, . , , : - , , ! : - - ! : - , - ! ! A Coal Valley woman was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy in 2015. Kayla Rose Marie Blair, 27, pleaded guilty but mentally ill in Rock Island County Court to one count of a felony predatory criminal sexual assault. In exchange for her plea, prosecutors dismissed three additional charges of predatory criminal sexual assault. Blair must serve 85 percent or just over five years of the sentence before she can be considered for parole. She will serve three years of mandatory supervised release once she completes her sentence. She also must register for life as a sex offender. She was arrested in October 2015. According to court documents, Blair abused the boy between January and September. SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Department of Justice (DOJ) and other Southern California law enforcement officials took part yesterday in a training provided by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). CAMTC has been providing specialized training in an effort to assist law enforcement and local governments in meeting their duty to maintain the highest safety in massage establishments. The DOJ is the latest agency to have officials undergo CAMTC training. The two-hour session focused on a variety of topics, ranging from general information sharing between organizations to the types of evidence CAMTC uses to take disciplinary action, including suspension and revocation. The training sessions strengthen information sharing between CAMTC, law enforcement agencies, and code enforcement officers and provide valuable information on best practices that law enforcement agencies can use to save time and money, while successfully shutting down criminal enterprises. After officers receive the training, which has been offered for the last two years, they are armed with detailed knowledge about how to work with CAMTC to take stronger enforcement action and craft more focused policies in the fight against illicit massage parlors. "CAMTC is pleased to provide this training to law enforcement agencies across the state," said Rick McElroy, director of CAMTC's Professional Standards Division. "We believe communication and information sharing are critical components in ensuring public safety by working together to close illicit 'massage parlors.' As the public demand for accessible therapeutic massage increases, it is essential that we collaborate with all stakeholders to weed out the bad apples." The mission of California Massage Therapy Council (a private public benefits corporation) is to protect the public by certifying massage professionals in California that meet the requirements in the law, and approving massage programs that meet the minimum standards for training and curriculum. The training was for the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, which the DOJ leads, but the Task Force sponsored for the Southern California Regional Human Trafficking Task Forces, which include Task Forces from San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles. Contact: Regina Wilson 951-823-7659 SOURCE California Massage Therapy Council ST. LOUIS, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare announced today that it is awarding $150,000 to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). This grant will support expanding the capacity of NAMI Homefront, an adaptation of NAMI's highly successful Family-to-Family program, to specifically serve veteran and active military families. Centene recognizes the unique needs of these families and is grateful to them for their service. Today there are more than 1 million family caregivers who assist a veteran or active military service person who served post 9/11. This grant is aimed at helping these families receive the support they deserve. "Supporting our veterans, active duty military and the families caring for them is a high priority for us. The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare is proud to partner with NAMI in this important initiative," said Kathy Bradley-Wells, President of the Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare. Addressing mental health conditions for members of the active military, veterans, and their families is a growing concern. Rand Corporation has released information showing the high prevalence of these conditions as well as the toll on caregivers, many of whom are caring for children as well. Interventions and support for these caregivers is a growing unmet need. Many post 9/11 family caregivers are younger 40 percent are between the ages of 18 and 30. They are likely to be caring for someone with a mental health or substance use condition, are employed, may also be a veteran, and often lack an adequate network of support. NAMI Homefront seeks to fill that void by connecting caregivers through education, support and community resources. "For 28 years, we have proudly served military members, veterans, and their families by providing health care solutions to the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs," said Billy Maynard, President and CEO of Health Net Federal Services (HNFS). "As an industry leader, HNFS pioneered practices to help keep Service Members and families psychologically ready in the face of multiple deployments, high-risk assignments and now, the transition from battlefield to home. Since 2004, HFNS has been extremely honored to support the mental health needs of military families through the Military Family Life Counseling program. We believe programs like NAMI Homefront are critical to raise awareness of the issues facing military families, particularly caregivers who are their family's backbone but often face and overcome huge challenges with few resources for support." The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare focuses on improving the quality of healthcare for medically underserved individuals and families and economically distressed areas and supports Centene Corporation's mission of transforming the health of community. In addition to this funding for evidence-based peer support programming for veteran and active military families, the Foundation has funded efforts to address childhood obesity, homelessness, limited mental health care access in rural communities, and poor nutrition for children and families, among others. "NAMI Homefront was developed to meet the unique needs of military and veteran families," said Mary Giliberti, CEO of NAMI. "We are so thankful to the Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare for providing support to expand and improve the program to help more families." About The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare is a non-profit private foundation dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare in the United States. The Foundation serves as a resource to identify and support innovative approaches to improving and increasing the quality of and access to healthcare for low-income individuals and families. This is accomplished through an inspired philanthropic giving plan that seeks to promote efforts and activities that identify and address core causes of unequal access and treatment in healthcare. About NAMI NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. www.nami.org | www.facebook.com/nami | http://twitter.com/namicommunicate About Health Net Federal Services Health Net Federal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), has a long history of providing cost-effective, quality managed health care programs for government agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (VA). As the managed care support contractor for the TRICARE North Region, Health Net Federal Services provides health care services to approximately 2.8 million uniformed services beneficiaries, active and retired, and their families. Health Net Federal Services provides quality, cost-effective health care solutions for veterans, as well as behavioral health services for active duty service members, veterans and their families. Visit www.hnfs.com for more information. SOURCE Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CFGI is pleased to announce its west coast expansion with the opening of a San Francisco office. Through this expansion, CFGI will build on its sixteen years of success serving clients ranging in size from venture-backed to Fortune 500. CFGI is a team of top-flight professionals with Big 4 public accounting experience that partners with its clients to provide the expertise and resources necessary to meet today's demanding accounting and finance challenges without the restrictions of auditor independence. Shane Caiazzo, CFGI Co-Founder and Partner, stated, "The San Francisco market is a vibrant and innovative business community that complements CFGI's expertise across technology, life sciences, and financial services clients. As a national leader in IPO readiness, technical accounting, and SEC reporting, the San Francisco market will allow us to leverage our depth of expertise that comes with 1000's of successful projects, enable our clients to leverage the value that comes with our scale of expertise, and to take advantage of our networks and benchmarking that comes from working with 100's of clients across the country." CFGI's San Francisco office is being led by Gregory Lynch, Managing Director, who brings a tremendous amount of experience across IPO, reverse merger, M&A, revenue recognition, and stock compensation transactions. Lynch added, "The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most exciting business communities in the world and our office is an indication of the firm's continued growth as an industry leader in finance and accounting advisory services. We believe our San Francisco team adds to our ability to support clients in this region with resources to address their most crucial accounting, finance and operational challenges." CFGI Office Locations: San Francisco 600 California Street, 14th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 (415) 670-9041 Boston 99 High Street, 30th Floor Boston, MA 02110 (617) 531-8270 New York 250 Park Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10177 (212) 572-6296 Philadelphia 1500 Market Street 12th Floor, East Tower Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215) 246-3406 About CFGI: CFGI is a unique and highly specialized accounting advisory firm strategically positioned to help companies through the most challenging and complex business scenarios. As an extension of your corporate finance team, CFGI partners with CFO's and Controllers to assist in a variety of capacities from technical accounting advisor to M&A support and delivers seamless support services. To learn more, visit www.cfgi.com or call us at (617) 531-8270. SOURCE CFGI Related Links http://www.cfgi.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Choice Hotels supports efforts to ensure the safety and security of the United States. At the same time, we urge the administration to find a balanced approach that promotes travel. More specifically, we ask the administration to welcome international visitors and immigrants who travel to our country to enjoy our sights and landmarks, conduct business, visit family, and to live and work, while providing appropriate travel security solutions that protect all Americans. In the meantime, Choice Hotels will be waiving all cancellation fees for travelers who are from the regions impacted by the recent executive order. About Choice Hotels Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the world's largest lodging companies. With more than 6,400 hotels franchised in more than 40 countries and territories, Choice Hotels International represents more than 500,000 rooms around the globe. As of September 30, 2016, 745 hotels were in our development pipeline. Our company's Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria hotels & suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, and Vacation Rentals by Choice Hotels brands provide a spectrum of lodging choices to meet guest needs. With more than 28 million members and counting, our Choice Privileges rewards program enhances every trip a guest takes, with benefits ranging from instant, every day rewards to exceptional experiences, starting right when they join. All hotels and vacation rentals are independently owned and operated. Visit us at www.choicehotels.com for more information. 2017 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved. SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc. Related Links http://www.choicehotels.com NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Clean Slate Laser, a White Plains-based tattoo removal business, is here to help New Yorkers start their New Year right. The state's No. 1 tattoo removal company has expanded its services to a new and convenient location on W 36th St., right in time to help clients kick off 2017 with a "clean slate." Those looking to revamp their image can do so in mid-town, thanks to a variety of industry-leading procedures at Clean Slate. Whether a customer is hoping to lighten up an old tattoo to make room for another; clean up their look to enlist in military services; or say goodbye to cancer radiation ink marks, Clean Slate Laser offers a personal, comfortable and safe experience. "We're thrilled to bring our expertise to the heart of New York City," said Jeff Garnett, co-founder of Clean Slate. "Because tattoos often represent deeply personal stories, we're incredibly proud to offer customers intimate consultations with the highest quality procedures." Some of Clean Slate's worklike assisting military recruits, or cancer survivorsis done at a discounted rate to assist customers from all financial backgrounds. Additionally, the company partners with Fresh Start, a New York City-based non-profit, to help former gang members remove gang-related tattoos. "Removing gang-related tattoos, especially when they're located on the face, can mean the difference between getting a job or going back to prison," Garnett said. "Former gang members with jobs have a 10 percent chance of returning to prison, where those without jobs have a 90 percent chance." The tattoo removal business is booming and projected to increase from $1.2 billion in 2016 to $3.5 billion in 2020, according to the global research firm Market Research Future. With so much room for growth, Clean Slate is committed to staying ahead of the curve while maintaining the integrity of its work. About Clean Slate Laser Clean Slate Laser is a tattoo removal business founded by Mary and Jeff Garnett in 2012. The company has three locationsManhattan, White Plains and Staten Islandand performs thousands of procedures a year. For more information, visit www.cleanslatelaser.com, or follow on Facebook @CleanSlateLaser Media Contact: [email protected] This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Clean Slate Laser Tattoo Removal Related Links http://www.cleanslatelaser.com LONDON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Commercial Non-Life Insurance Brokers in Switzerland, plus the BrokerBASE and market data file that accompany it, investigates the importance of brokers in the distribution of non-life (P&C) insurance for business, public sector and not-for-profit customers in Switzerland. This study first provides unique data concerning the size, segmentation and growth of the Swiss commercial non-life insurance market itself. It then quantifies the share of this market that is intermediated by brokers and, based on extensive primary research covering all significant broking entities, it ranks the leading 30 brokers in Switzerland according to their approximate revenues derived from commercial non-life insurance, excluding income from other activities such as personal lines and employee benefits consulting. This study provides unique data in the following areas: - the value of commercial non-life insurance markets from 2011 to 2015 with a segmentation between commercial liability, motor, property, MAT and other premiums and with a split for 2015 alone by size of insured entity (i.e. micro, small, medium, large and very large customers); - the distribution share of brokers in this market in both 2011 and 2015 and the revenues consequently generated by them in each year that represent the value of the market for commercial lines broking in Switzerland; - the approximate segmentation of commercial lines broking revenues by size of insured entity (i.e. again with a split across micro, small, medium, large and very large customers); - the combined share of commercial lines broking revenues of the top three and top ten brokers in 2015 with this data broken out in the BrokerBASE for each of the top 30 brokers in Switzerland; - also for the top 30 brokers, the approximate segmentation of their total broking revenues in 2015 (expressed as a percentage range) between commercial lines, personal lines, employee benefits plus life / health insurance, and wholesale insurance / reinsurance; - forecasts for 2019 for the value of commercial non-life insurance premiums, brokers' distribution share of this market and the revenues predicted to be generated by brokers in that year from commercial lines. Moreover, the study can be used in one or more of the following ways: - to quantify the size and structure of both the underlying commercial non-life insurance sector and the associated commercial lines broking market in Switzerland; - to understand how the value of both of these is likely to segment by size of insured customer; - to understand the competitive landscape for commercial lines broking in Switzerland as defined by market concentration, the presence of international brokers and the business mix of the top 30 competitors; - to identify the leading commercial lines brokers in Switzerland, with coverage of competitors such as Aon, Kessler & Co, Swiss Risk & Care, Swissbroke Group and VZ Insurance Services. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/1142078/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com JACKSON, Mich., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers Energy announced today that Greg Salisbury, an executive with leadership experience in manufacturing industries, has been named vice president of distribution performance, effective Feb. 15. "We continue to build our leadership strength so that we can achieve world-class performance delivering hometown service," said Garrick Rochow, Consumers Energy's senior vice president of distribution and customer operations. "Greg's extensive background will support the culture necessary to establish and meet new goals that will better serve our customers across Michigan." Salisbury will be responsible for implementation of quality principles within the company's Distribution and Customer Operations group, including overseeing metrics analysis and reporting, and field operations support. He will report to Rochow. Salisbury comes to Consumers Energy from Stryker Corp. in Michigan, where he served as vice president of global supplier quality. Prior to joining Stryker in 2010, he served in leadership roles at General Motors and Fresh Solution Farms in Michigan. He obtained his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan Business School and a bachelor's degree in manufacturing and systems engineering from the GMI Engineering and Management Institute. Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com. Check out Consumers Energy on Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consumersenergymichigan Twitter: https://twitter.com/consumersenergy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/consumersenergy Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/consumersenergy SOURCE Consumers Energy Related Links http://www.consumersenergy.com BOSTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Actifio, the copy data virtualization company, today announced that Continental Resources (ConRes), a technology and professional services provider has deployed Actifio's industry-leading copy data management software for its customers. With Actifio, ConRes has enabled its customers to gain faster, flexible copy data access for DevOps, Business Intelligence (BI), reporting, and Help Desk functions, resulting in reduced infrastructure and operating costs. ConRes, based in Bedford, MA, has more than 50 years of experience consulting organizations on their technology investments. It provides businesses with high-tech products, services and support, including complete IT infrastructure and data center solutions, with a focus on the needs of commercial, higher education and government organizations. "More and more of our customers are waking up to the realization that their data is a potential goldmine," said Kevin McCann, Chief Operating Officer at ConRes. "However many of them lack the means to control and organize this data in a way that would allow them to extract value from it. With Actifio's platform, we're giving them the Swiss Army knife of data management tools which will help them not only control costs and data sprawl, but help them transition to the cloud and drive real business value from data." "Continental Resources embodies the right mix of experience and vision we look for in our partners," said Ash Ashutosh, CEO at Actifio. "As enterprise and commercial companies become aware of the need to modernize their data management model, partners like ConRes are important to converting technical capabilities into real business results." About Continental Resources Businesses, higher education and government organizations rely on Continental Resources (ConRes) for high technology products, services and support - from complete IT infrastructure and data center solutions, to test instrument sales and rentals, to building OEM/embedded computing devices. To learn more, visit Conres.com. About Actifio Actifio virtualizes the data that's the lifeblood of businesses in more than 30 countries around the world. Its Virtual Data Pipeline technology enables businesses to manage, access, and protect their data faster, more efficiently, and more simply by decoupling data from physical storage, much the same way a hypervisor decouples compute from physical servers. To accelerate toward hybrid cloud architectures, build higher quality applications faster, and improve business resiliency and availability, Actifio is the first and only enterprise class copy data virtualization platform. For more, visit Actifio.com or follow us on Twitter @Actifio. Media Contact: Meredith Kelly Bite for Actifio [email protected] SOURCE Actifio Related Links http://www.actifio.com The 32-day voyage departs Anchorage/Seward, Alaska for New York City on August 15, 2017, and sails through some of the most spectacular, remote areas of the previously unpassable polar region. Crystal Serenity's 2017 Northwest Passage Explorer will mark the final voyage for a classic Crystal ocean ship to sail through the Arctic region. All-inclusive cruise fares start at $21,855 per person and are available for booking by contacting a travel professional or calling 888.799.2437. Crystal's " Crystal Clear Choices " promotional savings offers additional value for bookings made by March 31, 2017. "The Arctic is like nowhere else on the planet," says Graham Dickson, Arctic Kingdom president and CEO. "As the top land-based operator in the Arctic, we are excited to be providing exceptional opportunities for Crystal Serenity guests to authentically experience the Arctic unlike ever before." Local Inuit guides, Northerners, marine biologists, archaeologists, expert divers, conservationists, photographers, and wildlife experts round out Arctic Kingdom's team of expedition leaders and speakers for the epic voyage. Besides the many environmental perspectives of the Arctic, there are several cultural nuances to be explored by Crystal guests during the historic passage with visits to Ulukhaktok, North West Territories; and Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet, Nunavut. "Partnering with Arctic Kingdom, the leading travel operator in this unique region, further raises the bar on the experience for our guests by offering them expertise from local adventurers," says Edie Rodriguez, Crystal's chairman, CEO and president. "Planning and collaboration with top experts and authorities is a must to ensure the safety of our guests and crew. We continue to work closely with the United States and Canadian Coast Guards, Transport Canada, and a myriad of federal, state, provincial, territorial and local government agencies." In addition to carefully crafted Crystal Adventures, the ship's captain will safely position the ship to take advantage of impromptu "Unexpected Adventures," supported by Arctic Kingdom, including zodiac outings to view glaciers, kayaking in protected bays, and trekking the tundra with an expert guide, and helicopter flights to view the Arctic landscape from the air, favorable weather conditions permitting. Likewise, expedition teams will be scouting for wildlife including polar bears and whales throughout the voyage. Specialized viewing equipment on board will allow guests to experience incredible viewing from the comfort of the vessel. Just as it was last year, Crystal Serenity will be accompanied through the Canadian Arctic by an escort vessel, providing enhanced safety and both vessels will use low-Sulphur Marine Gas oil fuel, exceeding environmental regulations. The escort vessel will carry additional safety and environmental protection equipment, as well as personnel specifically trained in its use. In addition, it will serve as a platform for two helicopters for ice reconnaissance and flight seeing, and zodiacs for landings in areas without a port facility. Both vessels will be manned by highly trained crew members and Canadian ice-pilots experienced in all aspects of operating safely in the Canadian Arctic. As it expands its reach to all luxury travelers across the globe, Crystal evolves to The World's Most Luxurious Hospitality and Lifestyle Brand Portfolio. Crystal Cruises is the World's Most Awarded Luxury Cruise Line, having earned "World's Best Cruise Ship" in Conde Nast Traveler's Reader Choice Awards for 23 years; been voted "World's Best Large Ship Cruise Line" by Travel + Leisure readers for 20 years; and the "Best Luxury Cruise Line" by travel professional organization Virtuoso for three consecutive years (2014, 2015 & 2016). The newest and upcoming extensions of the celebrated Crystal brand include Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises, Crystal Luxury Air, Crystal River Cruises The World's Most Luxurious River Cruise Line , Crystal AirCruises and Crystal Exclusive Class with Crystal Residences. Arctic Kingdom is the global leader in land-based travel, custom experiences and logistics in the Arctic. Unparalleled expertise in Arctic wildlife and habitat, and unmatched access, built through years of experience and deep-rooted relationships with local Inuit communities, allows Arctic Kingdom to provide the most incredible Arctic experiences in safety and comfort. Arctic Kingdom uniquely offers polar bear viewing in every season throughout the year, as well as exclusive opportunities to safely see narwhal, bowhead whales, walrus, and even polar diving. From scheduled Arctic safaris, to private journeys, and logistic support for film & TV productions, Arctic Kingdom has been crafting legendary Arctic adventures for almost 20 years. www.arctickingdom.com CONTACT: Paul M. Garcia MaryBeth Mckenzie, Director, Global Public Relations, Crystal Director Marketing and PR, Arctic Kingdom (310) 203-4305 (416) 838- 2219 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Crystal Cruises Related Links http://www.crystalcruises.com DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dee Snider from Twisted Sister gloriously tapped into limitless fun at Mark Begelman's music studio nicknamed Markee, where he rocked his heart out, just a few short weeks ago. Mark Begelman and Keith Ridenour, owners of Markee Music, keep attracting top musicians in the country. No wonder musicians choose Markee Music, it has a state of the art recording studio for all recording and rehearsing needs. The studio, located at 1700 S Powerline Rd, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, is a top notch studio that offers rehearsal and recording services to gifted musicians. The Markee Music team wasn't left out as they enjoined the bliss, bouncing off lots of appreciation to the Twisted Sister for choosing them. Markee is the material imagination of masterminds Mark Begelman and Keith Ridenour, both conversant with the music domain. The facility's goal, following its done-to-death vision, is giving the South Florida Community the formidable music recording and rehearsal facility of all time with great services and prices. Dee Snider is a songwriter, radio personality, screen writer and actor, dedicated to steering the band to impeccable achievements. He gained prominence in the 1980's and has kept up with the spirit to date. He started off singing locally in the church choir and nurtured his talent ever since, a wise move that has enabled him cruise his way to prominence. Recently, he has released another music video, 'So What' aimed at paying tribute to the protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, North Dakota. Mark Begelman, like Dee Snider, are both musicians who share a passion which is charity. Mark Begelman was recently touted as one of Florida's most charitable men. Meanwhile Dee Snider recently sang a beautiful Emotional Stripped Down Version of "We're Not Gonna Take It" for cancer awareness in honor of Criss Angel's 2 year old son who is in remission from leukemia. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE Mark Begelman Related Links http://www.markbegelman.wordpress.com DES MOINES Legislation seeking state authority to set regulations for roadside solicitations of passing motorists for charitable donations ran into problems Wednesday. There were concerns it would preempt local control and possibly open cities to legal challenges on free speech issues. Members of a House Local Government subcommittee said more work was needed on a bill being pushed by representatives of Iowa firefighters that would establish a state law. The law would permit public safety officials to solicit contributions from passing motorists while standing on a road or street if they were seeking donations for charitable purposes on behalf of a charitable organization. House Study Bill 58 set out requirements and deadlines for local permitting and liability insurance coverage and included a provision that all local ordinances, regulations and rules not consistent with the proposed state statute would become void on July 1. The local preemption would not apply to proceedings or punishments in process prior to July 1. Lon Anderson, a lobbyist representing Iowa Professional Firefighters, said the legislation was needed because some cities including Burlington, Davenport and Des Moines -- have created or are enforcing ordinances that have reduced their charitable fundraising activities. Its our understanding that this was done to prevent panhandling that can occur that the cities want to get a handle on, he added. Anderson said the firefighter associations in Iowa were seeking state intervention because efforts to find some workable accommodation with local jurisdictions have not been successful. Lindsey McCune, government affairs manager for the Iowa League of Cities, said her members in no way want to negatively impact our public safety officers and their ability to generate revenue, but the language in HSB 58 creates a statewide prohibition against certain types of speech by certain people that is problematic. Its not a content neutral regulation and, therefore, we do believe that it might not pass a constitutional challenge and it places local governments at risk of being sued, McCune told subcommittee members. Also, she said, cities believe they should be able to regulate where people stand along roadways in their localities. This is a safety concern at its core and one that we feel is most appropriately left in the hands of the cities, not the state, McCune noted. Doug Struyk, a former legislator representing the city of Des Moines, said he believes the bill would run afoul of a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an Arizona case that held local ordinances must be content neutral. He said basing an ordinance on nonprofit status and then tying that to law enforcement would not meet the content neutral standard. We are up against the United States Supreme Court and, as strong as the Iowa House and the Senate are and after the governor signs it, we cant trump that, Struyk said, and were putting our cities in a position where theyre going to spend a lot of money trying to defend the situation. The three subcommittee members asked interested groups to meet to address their differences and the constitutional issues in question so they could reconvene in a week or 10 days to consider revisions that would improve the measure. I think this needs a lot more work, said subcommittee member Rep. Andy McKean, R-Anamosa. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care, a joint-venture created to bring a new model of high quality, patient-focused urgent care centers to the Bay Area, today announced the "Love Your Heart" health initiative in conjunction with February's American Heart Month. Between Monday, Feb. 6 and Wednesday, Feb. 18, Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care will offer free blood pressure readings, Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations and waist circumference measurements at all locations. "We are excited to continue our patient-first culture of care through our 'Love Your Heart' health initiative," said Todd Latz, CEO of GoHealth Urgent Care. "By providing free, convenient access to these important screenings, patients can gain insights into their heart health, empowering them to learn more about cardiovascular issues and achieve or maintain healthier lifestyles." According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, and more than 730,000 Americans have a heart attack each year. The free screenings are offered to increase awareness of cardiovascular issues and encourage more people to take charge of their heart health. The screenings will take approximately 30 minutes, and patients will be provided with real-time results as well as literature on cardiovascular health. Patients have the option to check in online or just walk in. "Even people who are generally aware of cardiovascular health can benefit from learning more about the risk factors and ways to prevent heart problems," said Dr. Erick Miranda of Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care. "Our goal with these important tests, which we are providing at no cost, is to equip patients with the information they need to better understand cardiovascular health and educate them on how to manage their own potential heart conditions." Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care's network has opened eight urgent care centers across the Bay Area its newest facility opened Jan. 30 in Redwood City. The centers combine GoHealth Urgent Care's award-winning and inviting facility design with Dignity Health's best-in-class, quality providers. All Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care Centers operate seven days a week with extended evening hours and the opportunity to "save your spot" by checking in online. Each center features x-ray equipment and a lab, combined with an integrated electronic medical record system that can be accessed by caregivers across Dignity Health and ensures consistent and informed care, as well as seamless referrals to specialists. GoHealth Urgent Care is currently one of the 10 largest urgent care companies in the U.S., and is rapidly expanding its patient-focused centers to markets across the country. GoHealth Urgent Care more than doubled in size in 2016 and is poised for even greater growth in 2017. In addition, GoHealth Urgent Care will continue its focus on delivering industry-changing healthcare innovation, from pioneering partnerships to new patient-first initiatives and offerings. About GoHealth Urgent Care At GoHealth Urgent Care, we place the needs of our patients firstby providing an effortless patient experience, a welcoming culture of care and seamless integration with market-leading health systems and our communities. GoHealth Urgent Care operates almost 60 urgent care centers in the New York and Portland, OR, metropolitan areas, and San Francisco Bay Area. GoHealth Urgent Care's current partners include health systems that are at the forefront of care delivery innovation, including Northwell Health, New York's largest health system, Legacy Health, the largest nonprofit, locally owned health system in the Portland-Vancouver area, Dignity Health, one of the nation's largest health care systems, headquartered in San Francisco, and now Hartford HealthCare, the largest integrated health system in the state of Connecticut. GoHealth Urgent Care is a d/b/a of Access Clinical Partners, LLC, a TPG Growth portfolio company. TPG Growth is the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG, which has over $70 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.gohealthUC.com/hearthealth. About Dignity Health Dignity Health, one of the nation's largest health care systems, is a 21-state network of nearly 9,000 physicians, 56,000 employees, and more than 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In FY14, Dignity Health provided nearly $2 billion in charitable care and services. For more information, please visit our website at www.dignityhealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. SOURCE Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dignity Health Dominican Hospital has received a three-star rating for the quality of its coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the highest designation possible. "Dominican Hospital's heart and vascular program delivers unsurpassed cardiac care to our patients, right here in our community," said Dominican Hospital President Nanette Mickiewicz, MD. "The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is considered one of the highest standards by which to evaluate cardiac surgery programs, and this recognition underscores the excellence of our surgical team." The designation is the result of a comprehensive rating system that compares the quality of cardiac surgery programs in the majority of hospitals across the nation. The STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) gathers information from more than 90 percent of the facilities that perform adult cardiac surgery in the United States. Of the 859 ACSD participants included in the most recent reporting period of July 2015-June 2016 for isolated CABG, just 82 received a three-star rating. "Dominican Hospital's cardiac program is the most decorated in the Monterey Bay area, and treats the most complex cases," said Bilal Shafi, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon. "We deliver a comprehensive approach to care that leads to the best outcomes for our patients." The Society of Thoracic Surgeons three-star rating is one of several recognitions Dominican's cardiac program has received recently: Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Coronary Interventional Procedures by Healthgrades in 2016 Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Cardiac Surgery by Healthgrades in 2016 Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Coronary Interventional Procedures in 2016 Five-Star Recipient for Coronary Bypass Surgery by Healthgrades in 2016 Five-Star Recipient for Coronary Interventional Procedures by Healthgrades for 3 Years in a Row (2014-2016) Recipient of the Healthgrades 2016 Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award Recipient of the Healthgrades 2016 Coronary Intervention Excellence Award Dominican Hospital's cardiac program offers comprehensive heart care, including prevention programs, diagnostic technology, and cutting-edge treatment. In addition to coronary bypass surgery, the cardiac surgery program offers open-heart surgery, valve and aortic repairs, aneurysm procedures, and minimally invasive techniques such as Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). For more information, call 831.462.7243 or visit dignityhealth.org/dominican/hearts. About Dominican Hospital Dignity Health Dominican Hospital has been caring for the Santa Cruz County community for 75 years. Dominican offers emergency services and is a Certified Stroke Center. Dominican's services include the only comprehensive Cancer Center in Santa Cruz County, a Total Joint Replacement program, advanced neurological and endoscopic services, and an expert heart and vascular team treating some of the most complex cardiac cases in the Monterey Bay area. Dominican has received national recognition for superior patient safety, cardiac care, and stroke treatment from Healthgrades, a leading provider of comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Dominican also has received several awards for environmental excellence. To learn more, please visit our website: dignityhealth.org/dominican. Join our community: https://www.facebook.com/DominicanHospital http://twitter.com/DominicanCares https://www.instagram.com/dominicanhospitalsc SOURCE Dignity Health Dominican Hospital Related Links https://www.dignityhealth.org/dominican/ DETROIT, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The DTE Energy Foundation and Cranbrook Institute of Science today announced they have partnered to provide nearly 7,500 middle school students with hands-on, immersive STEM and environmental science outreach programs in Detroit, Ecorse, Trenton and River Rouge schools. The new DTE People Power Place Outreach Initiative will help students develop important comprehension and skills in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In 2016 the DTE Energy Foundation provided grant support over a three-year period, which allows Cranbrook educators to bring science to middle school students in grades six through eight. "Supporting educational initiatives, especially in the areas of STEM, has always been a top priority of the DTE Energy Foundation," said Faye Nelson, vice president at DTE Energy and board chair and president of the DTE Energy Foundation. "By partnering with the Cranbrook Institute of Science, we're helping to bring enriching educational experiences for students in underserved areas, from world-class science experts that are based right here in our own backyard." All programming includes hand-on opportunities using appropriate objects and artifacts from the Institute's collections to create unique classroom experiences that are Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned. This will provide students the opportunity to interact with actual oil shale, coal, and local bedrock to better understand geology, and witness the power of electricity by building their own simple circuits using light bulbs and buzzers. "The DTE Energy Foundation and Cranbrook Institute of Science share a common mission in helping to make sure students are skilled in science and math," said Dr. Stafford, director, Cranbrook Institute of Science. "People Power Place gives us the chance to show students how exciting science is." On February 1, from 10:30 am until 12:30 pm, Trevor Lauer, president and COO, DTE Electric, and Cranbrook Institute of Science Director Dr. Michael Stafford, will visit Boyd Arthurs Middle School in Trenton. While there, they'll participate in partnership programs focusing on geology and electricity being presented to students in grades 6 through 8. About Cranbrook Institute of Science Cranbrook Institute of Science, Michigan's Museum of Natural History, is part of the world-renowned Cranbrook Educational Community at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The museum is open Tuesdays-Thursdays 10 am - 5 pm, Fridays and Saturdays 10 am - 10 pm, and Sundays noon - 4 pm. Regular admission is $13 for adults and $9.50 for children 2-12 and senior citizens (65+); children under 2 and members are admitted free. Courtesy of MASCO Corporation Foundation, admission is free after 5 pm on the first Friday of each month. Other Fridays and all Saturdays after 5 pm admission is reduced to $6.50 for adults and $5.50 for children 2-12 and senior citizens; children under 2 and members are admitted free. For more call (248) 645-3200 or visit http://science.cranbrook.edu. About the DTE Energy Foundation The DTE Energy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), continuing the legacy of community support and involvement of its electric and natural gas utilities, which serve 2.2 million electric customers in Southeast Michigan and 1.2 million natural gas customers in Michigan. In 2016, the DTE Energy Foundation provided $15 million in grant support to nonprofits throughout the company's service territories. As one of Michigan's leading corporate citizens, DTE Energy is a force for growth and prosperity in the 260 Michigan communities it serves in a variety of ways, including philanthropy, volunteerism and economic progress. http://www.dteenergy.com/foundation SOURCE DTE Energy Foundation Related Links http://www.dteenergy.com MADISON, Wis., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EatStreet will add delivery services in 10 U.S. cities following the acquisition of certain assets of Philadelphia-based food delivery start-up Zoomer. The purchase, which includes restaurant contracts, strengthens EatStreet's commitment to provide customers with a holistic and consistent experience from the time they order food via EatStreet's platforms to the moment it's delivered to their doorsteps. "We're obsessed with ensuring the food-ordering experience is effortless for customers," said Matt Howard, EatStreet CEO. "We've built a customer-driven delivery strategy and bringing on board the talented Zoomer workforce allows us to own the process from the moment of hunger to the time the food arrives." The assets from Zoomer give EatStreet the immediate ability to manage food delivery for both high-volume restaurants many already part of EatStreet's partner network in 10 markets and other EatStreet restaurants. Delivery capabilities will begin in Ann Arbor, Champaign, East Lansing, Ithaca, Madison, Milwaukee, Newark, Delaware; New Brunswick, Richmond and Syracuse. About 1,000 delivery drivers and 200-plus restaurants will join EatStreet effective today. The driver workforce in those 10 markets, will convert from contractors to W-2 employees, allowing them access to benefits and other company perks. Additionally, about 30 corporate Zoomer employees also will join EatStreet, spanning functional areas from dispatch, operations, in-market leaders and sales. EatStreet will open a Philadelphia-based office for many of these workers. Having grown exponentially since its launch seven years ago in the dorms of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, EatStreet serves 250-plus markets with access to more than 15,000 restaurants. Last year EatStreet closed its most recent round of funding, securing an additional $15 million and pushing investment to nearly $40 million. Coupled with its consistent growth, the funding has allowed EatStreet to pursue strategic opportunities such as Zoomer in order to accelerate its mission to be the most customer-focused food ordering company in the U.S. About EatStreet EatStreet is the largest independent online and mobile food ordering service in the U.S. Via its app and website, EatStreet streamlines the process of connecting diners to more than 15,000 restaurants in more than 250 cities nationwide. Founded in 2010, EatStreet is a privately held company with more than 150 employees based in Madison, Wisconsin. For more information, visit eatstreet.com/press. SOURCE EatStreet WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Falun Dafa Association of Washington, D.C.: On Jan. 25, 2017, the China Daily paid supplement in the Washington Post carried an article attacking classical Chinese dance performance Shen Yun, which just finished a successful week-long run at the Kennedy Center. The Washington Post has been carrying these paid supplements in print and online on a regular basis for over a decade. James Fallows observed in The Atlantic, "Official Chinese Propaganda: Now Online from the WaPo!" in 2011 that chinawatch.washingtonpost.com misleads readers to think it is a blog focused on China issues, written and approved by the Post. China Daily is the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party. Its distribution in the U.S. and the rest of the world is really a component of the Communist regime's elaborate propaganda strategy to manipulate public opinion overseas, and disparage, slander, and vilify whomever it targets. As the presenter of Shen Yun shows in DC, we are dismayed that the Post failed to exercise discretion over ad content in its China Daily supplement and has given a platform to slander. Though a standard disclaimer is included that the content is an ad, we believe the Post cannot be absolved from responsibility for what it prints. Would the Post print advertisements with anti-Semitic language or racial slurs? Would the Post print an advertisement from the Nazis that painted Auschwitz as a happy, wholesome workplace? If the answer is no, then why did the Post print an article slandering an American arts company by a foreign regime. It is sad to see the Washington Post sacrifice its principles for profits, and assist an evil regime to spread its propaganda to the American people. This is a regime that the U.S. Congress unanimously condemned for killing large numbers of prisoners of conscience and selling their organs for profits (see H.Res.343 passed on June 13, 2016). Shen Yun Performing Arts, the world's premier classical Chinese dance and music company, was founded in New York in 2006 by a group of artists who practiced Falun Dafa. Its mission is to revive China's 5,000 years of divinely inspired traditional culture, arts and values, which have been largely destroyed in China under communist rule. WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 2, 1:30pm WHERE: Murrow Room, National Press Club, 13th floor WHO: Falun Dafa Association of Washington, D.C. SOURCE Falun Dafa Association of Washington, D.C. SAN DIEGO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DistribuTECH 2017 (BOOTH #3039) FreeWave Technologies, Inc. (www.freewave.com), a leader in industrial, secure Machine to Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) wireless networking solutions, today unveiled a new look and website that reflects its move into the next generation of the industrial IoT: The Programmable Edge and Fog Computing. Edgy, modernized and bold, the new FreeWave visually projects its mission to help organizations around the world connect and gain valuable intelligence from devices even in the most challenging of locations and conditions anytime, anywhere in a secure, reliable fashion. Share This: Check out the new FreeWave where #IoT meets the programmable edge! www.freewave.com #IIoT #M2M #fogcomputing FreeWave believes that programmability at the SCADA and Sensor access layer will drive major digital transformation initiatives for distributed enterprises in 2017 (see news release dated Jan. 23, 2017, "FreeWave Technologies Predicts Fog Computing and IT/OT Convergence.") "We have set our sights on solving our customers' most difficult challenges not only connecting and controlling devices, but automating and leveraging data at the Edge in order to make good decisions fast," explained Scott Allen, CMO of FreeWave. "Great information received quickly can lower costs and improve operational efficiencies and help elevate companies to entirely new levels in the digital transformation era." IIoT Applications at the Edge For applications like distribution automation, operators now have the option of less expensive wireless solutions that, as the technology continues to diversify, can move away from basic ladder logic and into more modern programming languages, such as Java and Python. This opens up an entirely new sector of software development for Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications at the Edge. Additionally, next generation platforms require the ability to transport that data directly to a specific server, where cloud computing and Big Data initiatives can turn sensor data at the edge into predictive analytics, and eventually, actionable intelligence to save both time and money while maximizing operational output. New IIoT Products & Two New Partnerships Introduced at DistribuTECH In line with this vision, FreeWave steadily increased its focus on R&D. At DistribuTECH 2017, FreeWave is announcing a new product and two new partnerships all designed to help utilities, municipalities and Smart Cities operate more efficiently and intelligently thanks to a focus on making data smart at the edge. The new announcements include: Zumlink Z9-C and Z9-T Radios ( http://freewave.com/products/zumlink-900-series/): FreeWave introduced the Zumlink-Z9-PE last Fall, but now it brings the next generation, high performance platform to market. ZumLink is the underpinning of the company's go-forward IIoT strategy for IIoT and embedded radio applications. The Z9-C and Z9-T deliver high speed Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) functionality in a radio module that is half the size of a credit card. FreeWave and Systech application partnership ( http://www.systech.com/): Systech developed an industrial Tank Level Control application that resides on and executes from FreeWave's ZumLink Industrial IoT (IIoT) Programmable Radio for edge networks (http://freewave.com/products/zumlink-ipr-iiot-programmable-radio/). The new application features an easy-to-use "ITTT (If This Then That)" process control programming interface that will control analog, digital and RS485 sensors linked to the ZumLink programmable radio. The FreeWave ITTT App is designed for a user-friendly experience and requires no previous programming knowledge or practice. Technology partnership with E2E Technologies ( www.e2etechinc.com ) : E2E is a comprehensive solutions provider specializing in communication architecture design, implementation and network management. E2E's Stingray Network Management System (NMS), supports the full array of FreeWave's industry-leading wireless communication solutions and is optimizable for IT professionals looking to manage individual components of a limited IIoT or M2M communications system within a larger IT network management framework. New Website Conveys FreeWave's Dedicated IIoT Focus and Serves as an Industry Resource FreeWave's new website not only promotes a new stylized look that reflects its vision of "connecting and making devices intelligible" from sensor to server, but it is also a rich reserve of information and resources. The new design makes it easy for users to find the information they want. It engages viewership with simple, fast ways to navigate and offers a rich repository of customer examples, blogs, product information and one-click help features. "We designed this website to reflect what our customers and partners want. Simple, easy to navigate with informative content," Allen said. "It is attractive and engaging, but, very functional as well. We designed FreeWave's new site to be a source for everyone to learn more about IIoT, the Programmable Edge, Fog Computing along with ways they can implement it. From white papers to customer success stories to industry-rich blogs, we've tried to make this a rich, engaging online experience that will help assist viewers through their journey of the IIoT." What's Next? Allen says FreeWave has an aggressive product development schedule together with additional planned partnerships that will offer more programmable edge applications to help customers continue to automate, secure and maximize their data and devices at the Edge. "FreeWave is taking bold new steps to lead the IIoT market with its rejuvenated focus, vision and execution strategy," Allen said. "All the feedback from our customer, partner and analyst communities have enthusiastically endorsed our direction. We have a clear vision, a set market direction and the resources to execute it with a vengeance over the next several years. This is what the market has said it needs, and we will deliver it." About FreeWave Technologies FreeWave Technologies (www.freewave.com) is a leading provider of wireless Machine to Machine (M2M) solutions that deliver reliable access to data for leading companies in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) markets. As the #1 provider of wireless IIoT to the oil and gas industry, FreeWave's fast, flexible and easy-to-deploy solutions streamline connectivity over long distances to also create significant operational efficiencies for government, defense and UAV/Drone contractors, agriculture equipment manufacturers, energy and smart grid networks, municipalities and more. With 20-plus years of experience in the M2M market and millions of radios deployed in the field, customers repeatedly turn to FreeWave to maximize their value in connecting M2M devices to optimize real-time decision making. Contact: Charles Trowbridge Catapult PR-IR 303-581-7760 [email protected] SOURCE FreeWave Technologies, Inc. Related Links http://www.freewave.com Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. will match donations given in-store to the Weaver family and is donating ten percent of sales from those days' sales as well. Supporters can donate in store or online . Participating locations in the Dallas area will also offer $2 sandwiches all day Wednesday. Participating locations: 4610 North Central Expressway Dallas, TX 75206 2525 Wycliff Ave. Dallas, TX 75219 600 N. Central Expressway McKinney, TX 75070 1509 W. 7th Ave. Corsicana, TX 75110 This fundraiser is the first in Dickey's donation matching program, intended to increase impact for individual fallen officers' families in their time of need. Wherever Dickey's operates, the barbecue brand hopes to provide support for first responders. Barbecue, Boots & Badges, Dickey's charitable foundation, raises funds to purchase equipment and meet other needs for police officers and firefighters. The donation matching drive complements the general support efforts of the foundation by designating fundraising efforts for a specific fallen first responder's family. "Dickey's is proud to serve those who protect us," says Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "We hope to provide support and relief to the Weaver family. While we wish tragedies like this never happen, we want to do what we can to help the Weavers and other families who may face these circumstances in the future." To find the Dickey's nearest you, click here. About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic, slow-smoked barbecue. All meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant which is why at Dickey's, "We Speak Barbecue." The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, savory sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids' meals every Sunday. The brand has expanded to 600 locations in 44 states. In 2016, Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" and ranked in the top ten of Franchise Times' "Fast and Serious." Dickey's Barbecue Pit was recognized for the third year by Nation's Restaurant News as a "Top 10 Growth Chain" and by Technomic as the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country." For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188. Media Contact: Michelle George / Callie Head [email protected] / [email protected] SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue Related Links http://www.dickeys.com FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its arrival in South Florida merely 5 years ago, G Marine, has become the exclusive dealer of fine European yacht brands including Fairline, Astondoa, EVO Yachts and now adds Wallytender, one of the world's most iconic brands. Based in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Wally has revolutionized yacht design with its unmatched boats, having launched over 45 sailing yachts and more than 120 power boats from 45' upwards that uniquely combine the latest technology and contemporary design. G Marine will display the newest addition, the Wallytender X (WTX) at Yachts Miami Beach in its booth at Entrance 5 New Yachts Docks A1-5 / A14-19 (across from the Fontainebleau Hotel). The Wallytender X is the latest version of the Wallytender, which debuted in 2001 opening up a new market. The boat was created for high-speed lovers with its triple Mercury 400 HP outboards, originally developed for racing, providing 60 knots, combining speed and comfort. The 45' boat has a 13' beam and many lu G Marine will display the newest addition, the Wallytender X at Yachts Miami Beach in its booth at Entrance 5 New Yachts Docks A1-5 / A14-19 (across from the Fontainebleau Hotel). The Wallytender X is the latest version of the Wallytender, which debuted in 2001 opening up a new market. The boat was created for high-speed lovers with its triple Mercury 400 HP outboards, originally developed for racing, providing 60 knots, combining speed and comfort. The 45' boat has a 13' beam and many luxury features like teak decking, carbon fiber trim and metallic paints. This will be the Wallytender's American debut. The vast walk-around deck features two sun lounges, one forward that converts into a casual dining area, with a pop-up table, and one aft. The Raymarine-equipped central helm console incorporates all controls for easy single-handed operation, simplifying maneuvering and handling and enhancing safety. Two refrigerators exemplify some of the comfort features, and a below-deck cabin with head, adds overnight jaunts to the joy of open-air living on the water. Designed by Luca Bassani, Wally founder and chief designer, the Wallytender X combines lightweight composite construction and advanced hull design to produce a boat that runs smoothly at speed in any seas and can carry 12 people in safety and comfort. The luxurious onboard experience is created by the clean and practical solutions, which are applied to every detail, using custom-made components that define the Wally approach to functional design with style. G Marine believes that this boat perfectly fits into the performance center console growth market, which reflects the ever-changing lifestyle of today's boater. The boat accommodates day cruising, watersports and even fishing; its hard top provides shade to the captain and helm seated passengers, and two optional awnings with carbon poles can shade both the forward social cockpit and the aft sun pad. "We are very proud to be the sole dealer for Wallytender and to add the excellence and respect of the brand to our European lines from Spain, England and Italy," says David Galante, G Marine COO, "The Wallytender is built for the most discerning clientele; it gives us the ability to best serve our current clients and the expanded needs of yachting enthusiasts across the Americas." "Wally is pleased to be part of G Marine's portfolio of European brands for its sound reliability and reputation," says Luca Bassani. "We are convinced that this new product with the outboard propulsion is the perfect fit for carefree days on the water of beautiful South Florida and Central America, offering the ultimate performance experience, blended with our distinguished style." For more information visit G Marine at its new Fort Lauderdale office, 1515 SE 17th Street, or on the web at www.gmyachts.com. 954 866 1636. High-resolution photography (photos credit Gilles Martin-Raget) and specs upon request and online: G Marine Press page. Password: gmyachtsmiami Show model Wallytender X Shady Lady Technical Specifications Length overall: 45 ft. Beam: 13 ft. Draft: (hull/drives down): 1' 11" / 2' 7" Displacement (dry) 12,125 lbs. Fuel: 400 US gallons Fresh water: 63 US gallons Engines: 3 x Mercury 400 Verado, top speed, 60 knots (Including: propellers, throttle control, hydraulic steering, fuel and electrical systems, joystick optional) SOURCE G Marine Yachts Related Links http://www.gmyachts.com SEATTLE, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- World leaders in global health are featured speakers at the University of Washington's (UW) public symposium, Global Health: Next Decade, Next Generation, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Husky Union Building. The day-long public symposium marks the 10th anniversary of the UW Department of Global Health as well as the anniversaries of many other Seattle-based global health organizations. The event will be live-streamed starting at 8:30 a.m. Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, and Dr. Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and former infectious disease fellow in UW Medicine, will share their views on the challenges the world faces regarding global health policy while training the next generation of global health leaders. Two ministers of health, who trained at the UW School of Public Health and UW Medicine, will be featured speakers: Dr. Bernice Dahn of Liberia, who was chief medical officer during the Ebola outbreak, and Dr. Patricia Garcia of Peru, who has vowed to break down obstacles in the health system, will discuss pandemic disease preparedness and innovative approaches to education and training, respectively. Dr. Chris Elias, president of the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will moderate the closing session on Innovative Approaches to Global Health Education and Training. Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) will speak at a private reception later that evening celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Department of Global Health. And Drs. Dahn and Garcia will be speaking at Kane Hall Feb. 7 for an alumni event sponsored by the UW School of Public Health. Dr. Judith Wasserheit, chair of the UW Department of Global Health, called 2017 a jubilee year in global health because of the milestone anniversaries of many organizations that have put Seattle on the map as a hub for global outreach as well as education and training. Statewide, 168 global health organizations work to improve health in 150 countries. This collective activity equates to $5.8 billion in direct economic benefit to Washington State's economy and generates $46 million in tax revenue, according to the Washington Global Health Alliance. "Geneva has always been considered the epicenter of global health and now it shares that distinction with Seattle," said Wasserheit. "As we enter our second decade, we face unprecedented challenges, such as the growing frequency and severity of pandemic infectious diseases and the ballooning burden of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancers and mental health problems. Climate change has already had a profound effect on health world-wide. Our faculty, students, staff, and graduates, together with partners right here in Seattle and around the globe, are committed to forging solutions to help tackle these grand challenges." The Department of Global Health was founded in 2007 with $20 million endowment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and funding from an anonymous donor, the Washington State Legislature and the University of Washington, to bring together global health activities across campus. A joint department of the UW School of Medicine and UW School of Public Health, the department now has 390 faculty from 15 of the 16 UW schools and colleges. More than 1,500 students took courses offered by the department in the last academic year and alumni are now working on improving health in 28 countries. Last year, UW President Ana Mari Cauce launched the UW's Population Health Initiative with the goals of improving human health, environmental resilience and social and economic equity. The Department of Global Health, with partnerships in more than 130 countries, is a key player in this effort. "The University of Washington and the Puget Sound region are rapidly becoming a center for tackling the health challenges that face populations around the world and right here at home. Those efforts rely on robust partnerships, and this symposium will help strengthen those partnerships by bringing together a wide range of collaborators to share what they've learned and to see how we can work together to improve population health," said Cauce. More than 20 renowned speakers and thought-leaders will be presenting at the symposium. Panels will cover pandemic disease preparedness and response; prevention and care for non-communicable diseases; impact of global environmental change on human health; and innovative approaches to global health education and training. Other local organizations celebrating 10-year anniversaries include the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation; the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth; the Washington Global Health Alliance; and the Washington State University Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. Health Alliance International, affiliated with UW, is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and PATH are celebrating 40 years of service. To learn more, go to www.globalhealth.washington.edu/10-years/symposium. The event is free and open to the public. The event will be live-streamed starting at 8:30 a.m. Follow the Twitter conversation at #GHNextGen. Media contacts: Bobbi Nodell, [email protected], 206.543.7129, and Susan Gregg, [email protected], 206.616.6730 SOURCE UW Medicine Related Links http://www.washington.edu LONDON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new report "Global Mobile Imaging & Cath Lab Services Market Assessment & Forecast: 2016 - 2020" by SA-Business Research & Consulting Group, MRI leads the mobile imaging services market by value amongst all imaging modalities, and accounted for 36.7% of the market share in 2015. Mobile MRI is also expected to be the fastest growing segment with CAGR of 2.62% from 2016 to 2020. Magnetic resonance imaging is one of the most widely used imaging technologies for various medical specialties. Approximately 65-75 million MRI procedures are performed each year. Although MRI provides high resolution and detailed images of internal organs which are vital in disease diagnosis and progression studies, it has certain drawbacks. Patients with implants or tattoos with magnetic ink cannot use MRI imaging services. Although profitable monetarily for hospitals, hiring a mobile MRI requires significant planning and understanding of dimensions of MRI trailer and road accessibility. Sufficient parking space must be available for long MRI trucks and trailers. This market research study by SA-BRC also focuses on several other mobile diagnostic modalities such as computed tomography, mammography, x-ray, ultrasound, cone beam CT and Cath Lab services among others. Mobile diagnostic services are provided through automobile platforms such as trucks and large vans. Mobile imaging service providers have been aptly addressing these issues for healthcare service providers. Imaging devices installed in trucks and trailers can travel to hospitals or other locations in the community to offer flexible diagnostic services. According to American Cancer Society once in year scan is recommended for women above 45 years of age. More than 2.5 million females in the U.S. were recorded with history of breast cancer in 2016, as stated by Breastcancer.org; while more than 55,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer were recorded in 2014 in the U.K. by Cancer Research UK. Mammogram services are offered free across the world as actively promoting awareness of breast cancer. Life Saving Images, recently set up a bus for free mammogram screening in Merced California. The report also provides insight on the global mobile diagnostic imaging & cath lab services market by six geographies. Scarcity of medical imaging devices has become a crisis in some developed economies including Canada, U.K., France and others. This has drastically increased waiting time for patients at hospitals and diagnostic centers. To address these issues, hospitals are looking at temporary solutions to avoid heavy investments. Mobile imaging services have proved to be the best alternative to reduce waiting time, and clear patient backlog. Mobile imaging and cath lab services market is largely concentrated in North America which accounts for 90.2% market share while Europe contributes to 7.6% of the market. Latin America and parts of Asia are emerging as potential commercial opportunities to expand market reach. Key service providers covered in this report include Aged Care Imaging, Agito medical, Alliance Healthcare, Alliance Medical, Alpha One Imaging, American Mobile Medical, Atlantic Mobile Imaging Services, Australian Mobile Dental Care, Avera, Big Sky Mobile Imaging, LLC, BMI Mobile Imaging, Canada Diagnostic Centres, Canada Mobile X-Ray Inc., Canadian Medical Alliance, Cardiac Services Mobile, Inc., Cardoson Medical, Care UK Health Care, Catalina Imaging, CHI St Luke's Health Memorial, CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances, CMMS Mobile Imaging Services, Cobalt Health, Dynamic Mobile Imaging, Fora S.p.A, Front Range Mobile Imaging, Iowa Heart Center, Jacksonville Mobile Imaging, Inc., Lackawanna Mobile X-ray Inc., Midwest Mobile Imaging, Midwest X-Ray, Inc., Mobile Imaging Ltd. and Mobile Life Imaging LLC among a total of 80 service providers across the world that are covered in this report. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4662512/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com WODEN | Several law enforcement agencies conducted search warrants in a small town in northwestern Hancock County on Tuesday. The Britt Police Department says it and the other agencies served two search warrants in Woden, population 225. Police say multiple drug-related items were found. No one was arrested. Additional details were not released. Agencies that joined Britt police were: Hancock County Sheriff's Office, Iowa State Patrol, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office, Kossuth County Sheriff's Office, North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, West Hancock Ambulance Service, Woden Fire Department, North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force Special Operations Group (SOG), Iowa State Patrol Tactical Unit and Kossuth County Emergency Management. Woden is about 15 miles northwest of Britt. -- Molly Montag BOSTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Hill Partners announced today the first and final closing of the firm's sixth private equity fund, Great Hill Equity Partners VI, L.P., at its hard cap of $1.5 billion of limited partner commitments. The fund had a target of $1.25 billion, and the firm began fundraising in late September 2016. Similar to Great Hill Partners' prior funds, Fund VI will seek opportunities to finance the acquisition, recapitalization, or expansion of rapidly growing middle market companies ranging in size from $25 million to $500 million. The firm's growth buyout strategy is based on rigorous sector research, proactive origination, value-added company-building tactics, conservative use of leverage, and emphasis on exits to large strategic buyers. Since its inception in 1998, Great Hill Partners has raised $5.3 billion in capital commitments across all funds. Fund VI will be invested by Great Hill Partners' team of 25 investment professionals, led by Managing Partners Christopher Gaffney, Michael Kumin, Mark Taber, Matthew Vettel; Partners Christopher Busby, Nick Cayer, Rafael Cofino, Peter Garran; and CFO Laurie Gerber. Latham & Watkins LLP advised Great Hill on the fundraise. The firm did not work with a placement agent. About Great Hill Partners Great Hill Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm that has raised over $5 billion in commitments since inception to finance the acquisition, recapitalization, or expansion of rapidly growing middle market companies in a wide range of sectors within the business and consumer services, healthcare, media, communications and software industries. Great Hill targets investments of $25 million to $150 million. For more information, visit www.greathillpartners.com. Contact : Mary Kate Bertke, Investor Relations Great Hill Partners 617-790-9466 [email protected] SOURCE Great Hill Partners Related Links http://www.greathillpartners.com DALLAS, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Greenhill & Co., Inc.'s secondary advisory group, a leading advisor focused on the secondary market for alternative assets, has released its semi-annual secondary market pricing study for the second half of 2016. The study reveals that while global secondary volume of $37 billion in 2016 was down modestly from $40 billion in the prior year, it still represented the third largest year in secondary market history. The modest decline in market volume was partially a function of smaller average deal size in 2016. Greenhill estimated that the average secondary transaction size in 2016 was $180 million, compared to over $200 million in 2015 and over $300 million in 2014. This gradual year-over-year decline can be attributed to several factors, including: (i) fewer sizable ($1 billion or greater) transactions being brought to the market, (ii) an increase in the number of tail-end transactions, which by their very nature include a greater number of funds but limited net asset value ("NAV"), and (iii) the continued evolution of the secondary market, which sellers have begun to access more frequently as a means of rebalancing their alternative asset portfolios as opposed to pursuing larger, one-time sales. "While global transaction volume on a dollar basis receded slightly in 2016, the actual number of deals that closed was greater than ever before," noted Stephen Sloan, a Managing Director of Greenhill and the Co-Head of Capital Advisory. "Market activity remains healthy and available dry powder is currently at historically high levels," added Sloan. Secondary pricing in 2016 remained robust, with the average high bid across all strategies at 89% of NAV, compared to 90% of NAV in 2015. Buyout funds again priced higher than any other strategy, at 95% of NAV, which reflects a 100 basis point increase over the prior year. This modest improvement was largely driven by an increase in supply of more recent vintage funds (e.g., 2010-2015), many of which priced at or near par, and in some cases garnered double-digit premiums to NAV. With respect to the other strategies, real estate pricing declined marginally to 88% of NAV, while venture pricing rebounded from its three-year low in 2015 to 78% of NAV in 2016. Greenhill also noted a general improvement in the pricing environment as the year progressed. "Secondary activity at the beginning of 2016 started slowly, largely due to volatility in the public equity and commodity markets and Brexit," noted Chris Bonfield, a Managing Director of Greenhill. "However, as these conditions moderated and markets stabilized, buyer and seller behaviors returned to normal and secondary pricing clearly benefitted during the second half of the year," added Bonfield. The report also estimates there was $9 billion of GP-led transaction volume in 2016, which constitutes the fastest growing segment of the secondary market. Many recent GP-led transactions shifted from complex restructurings towards more-straightforward fund-level tender offers, where there are fewer GP-LP conflicts. "We've learned a great deal over the last 24 months about what makes GP-led transactions successful; it will be important to apply these lessons going forward to ensure future transactions result in a win for both existing LPs and GPs," noted Brian Mooney, a Managing Director of Greenhill. To help institutional investors understand the development and state of the secondary market, in 2005 Cogent Partners, which was acquired by Greenhill in 2015, began providing insight into the pricing levels obtained in actual secondary transactions. In this latest release of the paper, Greenhill updates the pricing levels with an analysis based on the universe of funds that Greenhill marketed for clients during 2016. The full report is available to institutional investors upon request on Greenhill's website (www.greenhill.com). Greenhill & Co., Inc. is a leading independent investment bank entirely focused on providing financial advice on significant mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, financings and capital raising to corporations, partnerships, institutions and governments globally. It acts for clients located throughout the world from its offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Melbourne, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. Greenhill's secondary advisory group is a leading advisor focused on the secondary market for alternative assets. The dedicated team delivers conflict-free and client-focused advice to the secondary market for fund investments and leverages Greenhill's leading Mergers & Acquisitions and Financing Advisory & Restructuring practices, industry expertise and global relationships and resources. Since its inception in 2002, Greenhill's secondary advisory team has advised on over $170 billion in transactions. Contact: Stephen Sloan Managing Director | Co-Head of Capital Advisory Greenhill & Co., Inc. (214) 871-5400 SOURCE Greenhill & Co., Inc. Related Links http://www.greenhill.com "We are thrilled to be working with Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell for the fourth year in a row as the Mardi Gras Presenting Sponsor. We could not ask for a better corporate sponsor for this charitable fundraiser," said Gordon Snyder, Chairman of the event. "Thanks to our sponsor, the Mardi Gras has raised more than $1,450,000 to provide funds to feed the homeless children in agencies throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. With the number of homeless children in our community on the rise, we look forward to another year of raising money for this very worthwhile cause." "The Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell Mardi Gras for Homeless Children event is truly one of those events that makes you proud of which to be a part," said Dan Bell, Marketing Manager for Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell, "We are thrilled to continue our support and want to recognize the members of the Northern Kentucky Restaurant Association for their unwavering commitment to this event that makes it so special. There is no doubt that if you attended the event last year, you want to come back," he said. Mardi Gras features more than 50 booths of fantastic food and beverages furnished by the members of the Northern Kentucky Restaurant Association. A highlight of the upcoming celebration is a Royal Court parade featuring Cincinnati Bengals Running Back Giovani Bernardas Grand Marshal, Scott Sloan and Sheila Gray as King and Queen, complete with the Beechwood High School Marching Band and a float. Live and silent auctions offer a remarkable selection of items at amazing savings. In addition, the event includes live music by Robin Lacy and DeZydeco. The Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell Mardi Gras event takes place February 23rd, Fat Thursday this year, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. or VIP tickets at 5:30pm, which grant you early access to the event, are available for $80.00 per ticket, individual tickets are $60.00, and table sponsorships are also available. So act fast as this popular annual event may sell out. The money raised goes to feed children in need at the three local charity organizations. For more information on how you can help call 859-291-NKRA (6572) or check us out at www.mardigras2017.org. Contact: Gordon Snyder 100 E RiverCenter, Ste 1050 Mardi Gras for Homeless Children Covington, KY 41011 Phone 859-392-2250 Fax 859-261-5156 [email protected] SOURCE Northern Kentucky Restaurant Association NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market: Overview Hemophilia is a rare blood disorder. Hemophilia is a combination of two Greek words that is haima (blood) and philia (affection). Hemophilia is a hereditary disorder, passed from parents to the child. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder which causes excess bleeding and poor blood clotting. The people with hemophilia are generally known as hemophiliacs. There are two main type of hemophilia, hemophilia A and hemophilia B. Hemophilia A or classical hemophilia is the most common type of hemophilia, caused by lack of factor VIII in blood. Hemophilia B also known as Christmas disease, as it was firstly diagnosed in person named Steven Christmas. Hemophilia B is caused by lack of factor IX in blood. Other hemophilia are hemophilia C, Acquired Hemophilia etc. Hemophilia A & B is passed from mother to child, but hemophilia C is passed from both mother and father to child. This report analyzes the current and future prospects of the hemophilia treatment drugs market based on type of product, disease indication, distribution channel and geography. Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market: Research Methodology The research is a combination of primary and secondary research, conducted for understanding and arriving at trends, used to forecast the expected revenue of the major radiography techniques in the near future. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts with information collected from in-depth interviews and discussions with a number of key industry experts and opinion leaders. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, investor presentations, analyst presentation and various international and national databases. The report provides estimated market size in terms of US$ Mn for each Product type, disease indication, distribution channel, and geography for the period 2015 to 2024, considering the macro and micro environmental factors. The revenue generated from each product was calculated by considering number of products used in the procedures and their market demand as per their use, number of product launched, average cost of products of each sub segment, trends in industry, end user trend, and adoption rate across all the geographies. The revenue generated for disease indication was calculated on the basis of prevalence of diseases in humans. Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market: Scope The market report comprises an elaborated executive summary, which includes market snapshot that provides information about various segments of the market. It also provides information and data analysis of the market with respect to market segments based on type of product, disease indication, distribution channel and geography. The market overview section of the report analyzes market dynamics such as drivers, restraints and opportunities that influence the hemophilia treatment drugs market in the current and future scenario. The report also provides value chain analysis of the market that describes the sequence of activities involved from manufacturing to their final reach to the end users. Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market: Regional Outlook Market share analysis among the market players is analyzed to signify percentage share of the major players operating in the market. All these factors will help the market players to decide about the business strategies and plans to strengthen their positions in the global market. Based on geography, the market has been analyzed for countries of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Key Players Mentioned in the Report are: The report also profiles the major players in the market and provides various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments. Major companies profiled in the hemophilia treatment drugs market report are Novo Nordisk A/S, CSL Behring, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Bayer AG, Pfizer Inc., Biotest AG, Kedrion Pharma, Inc., Octapharma AG, Shire Plc, Biogen and some other players who are involved in the hemophilia treatment drugs market. The global hemophilia treatment drugs market is segmented as follows: Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market Revenue, by Product type Recombinant coagulation factor concentrates Factor VIII Factor IX Combination Plasma derived coagulation factor concentrates Factor VIII Factor IX Combination Desmopressin Antifibrinolytic agents Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market Revenue, by Disease Indication Hemophilia A Hemophilia B Others Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market Revenue, by Distribution Channel Hospital Pharmacies Retail Pharmacies E-commerce Global Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market Revenue, by Geography North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany France Italy Spain U.K. Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan India Australia & New Zealand Rest of Asia Pacific Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04662500-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com "Secretary Clinton's decision to come to Wellesley is profoundly inspiring to all of us at the College. As Wellesley students, we arrive here believing in a future that respects women's potential and accomplishment, but as graduating seniors, and at this moment in history, we look to Secretary Clinton, our sister, as someone who will inspire us to make that future now, " said Casey Butler '17, co-president of the senior class. Amal Cheema '17, also co-president, added, "She is the best person to represent who we have become at Wellesley and who we strive to be in the world. Her tireless push for progress embodies the spiritand the couragewe seek in breaking down barriers and shattering glass ceilings of all kinds." "Secretary Clinton has changed the face of American politics, showing the country and the world that there must be no limit to the heights to which women can rise," said Wellesley College President Paula A. Johnson. "She joins a long line of women history-makers, including fellow Wellesley alumnae, who give us all a profound sense of hope that the future is ours to define. A true force of nature, Clinton inspires women of all ages to find their voice, to defy expectations, to reject stereotypesto match their competence with confidence in pursuing tangible, positive change in the world. Her persistence, her love of service, and her commitment to fight for women and girls serves as a living example of how to make 'what appears to be impossible, possible,' as she said to her fellow graduating classmates at Wellesley in 1969. For these reasons and many more, Wellesley is immensely honored to welcome her home as this year's commencement speaker." From First Lady, to U.S. Senator, to Secretary of State, Clinton's years of service to the country have made her one of the most prominent political leaders of our time. Clinton's historic run for the White House in 2016 brought women's leadership, women's rights, the gender pay gap, and other issues central to gender equality into the global spotlight like never before. Her longtime and outspoken support for women's rightsshe famously said "women's rights are human rights"earned her the admiration of women and girls across the world. Clinton has kept strong ties to the College that had a powerful influence on her political worldviewclassmates have described her as a consensus builder, a listener, and a true leader at a tumultuous time. She has also remained close to her friends from Wellesley, many of whom have supported her political aspirations since she ran for student government president. This is not the first time Clinton has been asked to deliver a commencement address at her alma mater. In 1992, she gave the address as the United States' First Lady. And in 1969, she was the College's first-ever student commencement speaker. The story of Clinton's rise to some of the highest positions in government is often linked to her Wellesley years and how the College cultivated her approach to leadership, which placed the greatest emphasis not on power but on participation and helping others. Clinton has said that Wellesley prepared her "to take on some of the rough-and-tumble" of a life in politics, and taught her "if you get knocked down, get back up." During the presidential campaign, her 1969 student commencement speech, which launched her into the national spotlight, became a touchstone for media narratives about Hillary Rodham's political, ideological, and rhetorical formation. More recently, she has said of Wellesley, "It is a special place. It helps women discover our talents; it gives us the freedom to set our own paths; it shows women that when we work hard and stay true to our values, there's no limit to what we can achieve." The world's preeminent college for women, and, increasingly, a global center for women's leadership, Wellesley has championed women's intellectual and social development and leadership for over 100 years. The College provides women with an exceptional educational experience and supports their ability and determination to make a difference in the world. From secretaries of state to award-winning writers, and from CEOs to scientific leaders, Wellesley alumnae make contributions in every arena. About Wellesley College Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an outstanding liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to some 2,400 undergraduate students from 49 states and 58 countries. Press Contacts: Chris Hennessy, Wellesley College, 781-283-3201, [email protected] Lauren Judge, Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, 617-391-9625, [email protected] Chief Communications Officer: Elizabeth Gildersleeve, Wellesley College, 781-283-2376, [email protected] SOURCE Wellesley College Related Links http://www.wellesley.edu NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixpoint Partners, a leading global investment bank serving the middle market, today announced the successful closing of The Huron Fund V L.P. ("Fund" or "Fund V"), with $550 million of total limited partner capital commitments. The Fund, which is the sixth investment vehicle for Huron Capital Partners ("Huron"), closed at its hard cap and in excess of its $500 million target. Receiving commitments from a number of top-tier investors, including endowments, foundations, multi-manager funds, public pensions, corporate pensions and family offices, the Fund closed after just three months of marketing and was oversubscribed with over $1 billion of demand. Like its predecessor, The Huron Fund IV L.P., which also closed above its target at $500 million of capital commitments in 2013, Fund V will seek to utilize Huron's operationally-focused, buy-and-build approach to identify and acquire fundamentally-sound companies and build them into leaders. The Fund will seek control transactions in the lower middle market with valuations generally under $200 million and will focus on committing a total of $20 million to $70 million per transaction. The firm is led by its senior partners, Brian Demkowicz, Michael Beauregard, John Higgins and Peter Mogk. "We deeply value the tremendous confidence and broad support that our new and existing investors have placed with our experienced investment team and remain focused on delivering strong returns to our LP base," said Brian Demkowicz, Managing Partner at Huron. "We look forward to deploying our buy-and-build strategy in partnership with seasoned executives to improve and grow our businesses through strategic initiatives, operational improvements and add-on acquisitions." "With over $1 billion of demand for Fund V, we believe Huron's 16-year track record drove robust demand from investors for its disciplined investment process and proven strategy," said Eric Zoller, Partner at Sixpoint Partners. "Huron is an excellent representative of Sixpoint's exceptional relationships in the lower middle market for our LPs." Larry Smith, Partner at Sixpoint Partners added, "Given Huron's long track record and focus on attractive opportunities within the lower middle market, we expect Huron's oversubscribed fund to generate strong returns, and we look forward to continuing our partnership." About Huron Capital Partners Based in Detroit, Huron is an operationally-focused private equity firm with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies through its proprietary ExecFactor buy-and-build investment model. Huron prefers complex situations where it can help companies reach their full potential by combining its operational approach, substantial capital base, and transaction experience with seasoned operating executives. Founded in 1999, Huron has raised over $1.7 billion in capital through six committed private equity funds and invested in 130 companies. The Huron buy-and-build investment model includes equity recapitalizations, family succession transactions, market-entry strategies, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts of companies having revenues up to $200 million. Huron targets fundamentally-sound companies that can benefit from the firm's operational approach to creating value. Huron's sector focus includes business services, consumer products & services and specialty manufacturing. For more information, please visit www.huroncapital.com. About Sixpoint Partners Sixpoint Partners is a leading global investment bank focused on a diversified set of services and solutions for the middle-market private equity industry. The firm's core areas of focus include (i) primary fund placement, (ii) secondaries advisory and (iii) co-investment placement across a wide range of industries, strategies and geographies. Sixpoint Partners has a reputation for its direct, results-driven style and for delivering innovative solutions to complex problems in order to create long-term value for clients. Sixpoint is headquartered in New York with offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit http://www.sixpointpartners.com/. Sixpoint Partners, LLC, is a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA (http://www.finra.org) and SIPC (http://www.sipc.org). Sixpoint Partners Asia Limited is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (http://www.sfc.hk). SOURCE Sixpoint Partners Related Links http://www.sixpointpartners.com NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Synopsis The report provides a detailed look into the infrastructure sector in South Africa, including analysis of the state of the current infrastructure, the regulatory and financing landscapes, and the major projects in the construction pipeline. The report covers all key infrastructure sectors: roads, railways, electricity and power, water and sewerage, communication, and airports and ports. Summary Infrastructure expenditure in South Africa is forecast to increase over the 20162020 period. According to Timetric's Infrastructure Intelligence Center (IIC), the infrastructure construction market's value rose from ZAR152.5 billion (US$11.1 billion) in 2010 to ZAR222.3 billion (US$16.1 billion) in 2015, and is projected to reach ZAR335.3 billion (US$24.3 billion) by 2020 in nominal value terms. This is based on the assumption that a number of major infrastructure projects will proceed as planned, including the 5,000MW Upington Solar Power Park project, the Gautrain Commuter Expansion, the Gauteng Freeway Improvement: Phase II Bulk Distribution System, the Port of Ngqura Manganese Export Terminal Expansion and the JohannesburgDurban High-Speed Rail Link. However, there are policy and political uncertainties that will weigh on investor confidence and could result in projects being delayed. Scope A concise analysis of the administrative, economic and political context for infrastructure in South Africa. An in-depth assessment of the current state of infrastructure in South Africa, including roads, railways, electricity and power, water and sewerage, communications, airports and ports. A focus on main political and financial institutions involved in the infrastructure market, as well as the competitive and regulatory environment. For each infrastructure sector, an explanation of the key drivers of growth in new investment and an analysis of the project pipeline, with a detailed look at the prospects for major projects and the companies that have secured contracts. Reasons To Buy - Assess the current state of South Africa infrastructure, and the main drivers of investment, including the key institutions and financing methods. - Investigate forecasts and gain an understanding of key trends in each of the main infrastructure sectors. - Analyze the main project participants operating in each sector, to better understand the competitive environment. - Identify top projects by sector, development stage and start date, to inform expansion strategy. Key Highlights Timetric is currently tracking 96 strategic infrastructure construction projects in South Africa at all stages of development, from announcement to execution. These projects have a total investment value of US$117.9 billion. The electricity and power sector accounts for the largest share of the project pipeline, with a total project value of US$90.2 billion. This is followed by railway infrastructure projects with a pipeline of US$11.1 billion. The pipeline for road infrastructure projects values US$6.5 billion, and for water and sewerage infrastructure it stands at US$5.9 billion. For airports and other infrastructure, the total pipeline stands at US$4.1 billion. In the 20152016 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report, South Africa ranked 59th out of 140 countries in terms of the overall quality of its infrastructure. The country was positioned ahead of other major African countries, with Nigeria ranked 133, Egypt 114 and Algeria 101. In the 2016 Medium-Term Budget Statement (MTBS), Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that the government would continue to invest in economic infrastructure in line with the National Development Plan (NDP). Over 20162019 the government will spend ZAR987.4 billion (US$71.6 billion) in constructing and modernizing infrastructure. Of the total, ZAR334 billion (US$24.2 billion) will be invested in transport and logistics, ZAR243 billion (US$17.6 billion) in energy, and ZAR137 billion (US$9.9 billion) in water and sanitation. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04665921-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com MONTREAL, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - iNovia, Canada's Go-To Early Stage Venture Capital Fund is pleased to welcome to its team two technology industry veterans - Scott Munro and Todd Simpson. iNovia's increased presence in the Bay area and Silicon Valley will accelerate portfolio growth and the building of strategic relationships. "Building strong corporate and strategic relationships in the Bay area and around Silicon Valley has proven highly successful for some of our most promising Canadian portfolio companies such as: Allocadia, AppDirect, Lightspeed, Vidyard, TopHat, Clearpath Robotics and Thalmic Labs", says Chris Arsenault, iNovia's Managing Partner. "So, we looked for successful entrepreneurs and CEOs in Silicon Valley who also had strong ties with Canada to further support our growing portfolio. We are excited to announce that we have teamed up two such individuals." Joining the iNovia team are: Scott Munro - Ex-Chairman and CEO of Savoir Technology Group, a company he grew from $50 Million to a $1 Billion run rate prior to selling the company. Subsequently, Scott founded Pagemill Partners, a Palo Alto based middle market investment bank which was acquired by Duff & Phelps. Pagemill has completed over 250 transactions primarily on the sell side in software, communications, internet and media and hardware. Scott will help our portfolio companies in developing the foundations for acquisitions, successful exits or initial public offerings. He is now a Venture Partner with iNovia and resides in Northern California. "Having previously worked on a transaction with iNovia, I knew the positive culture and team dynamic. We each have a passion for helping great entrepreneurs achieve their goals and I'm looking forward to adding my knowledge in M&A to the benefit of all", says Scott Munro - Venture Partner at iNovia Todd Simpson is an accomplished entrepreneur and executive originally from Calgary, and now lives in the Bay area. He was Chief Strategy Officer at AVG, Chief of Innovation at Mozilla, and had CEO roles in both public and private companies. He joins us as a full-time Venture Partner and is based in San Francisco. "I've watched iNovia's growth over the last ten years with interest and excitement. Having built several startups and run both public and private companies, and with a strong desire to give back to Canada, I jumped at this opportunity at iNovia", says Todd Simpson - Venture Partner at iNovia. "Giving iNovia a permanent presence in the Valley will allow us to provide even more guidance and value to our portfolio, while helping with partnering and exit strategies." About iNovia Capital iNovia is an early stage venture capital firm that partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build the next generation of digital platforms and services. We leverage our distributed team and network of experienced founders, company builders and engineers to foster the growth of category-defining businesses. Headquartered in Canada, iNovia manages $500M and invests across North America. For more information, visit www.inovia.vc. SOURCE iNovia Capital Related Links www.inovia.vc PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspirock, a provider of online trip-planning solutions, today announced it has begun licensing its award-winning trip-planning technology to destination marketing organizations (DMOs). The tool, which allows travelers to build custom itineraries featuring a destination's attractions and activities, received the prestigious Brand USA Marketing Innovation Award at The Phocuswright Conference on Nov. 15, 2016, in Los Angeles. The annual conference brings together the most influential travel industry leaders from around the world. Inspirock.com enables users to access a database of nearly one-half million attractions and activities worldwide and then create custom day-by-day sightseeing itineraries. The tool recommends what to do at a destination based on user preferences. An easy-to-personalize schedule takes into account factors such as when attractions are open and how much time each activity will take. The trip-planning functionality can easily be incorporated into any destination website. Inspirock was one of four winners recognized for demonstrating groundbreaking applications and solutions supporting the travel industry. In addition to the Brand USA-sponsored award for travel marketing innovation presented to Inspirock, the three other awards presented at The Phocuswright Conference were in the categories of Startup and Emerging, plus a General Catalyst Award for Travel Innovation. "Inspirock's solution is particularly helpful for travelers who want to explore faraway destinations," says Carroll Rheem, Brand USA's vice president of research and analytics, who presented the award to Inspirock at The Phocuswright Conference. "It allows travelers to discover and use destination content in a way that makes trip planning easy. The panel, which selected Inspirock from a highly competitive list of 24 travel companies, expects its innovation to help destination marketers reach travelers worldwide." "We are honored to be selected as the most innovative destination marketing solution by a premier DMO like Brand USA," says Prakash Sikchi, Inspirock co-founder. "We look forward to using our innovation to help DMOs promote travel to their destinations, which is one of the best ways to support local economies." Inspirock will offer a range of licensing packages to DMOs. About Inspirock Drawing from its proprietary worldwide database of nearly a half million attractions and activities, Inspirock (www.inspirock.com) enables users to quickly and easily explore a destination's offerings and create personalized sightseeing itineraries. The technology can power visitors' trip planning on any website where users are exploring a destination's attractions and activities. Founders Prakash Sikchi and Anoop Goyal decided to create a company that would use technology to make it easier for people to travel. The company's name commemorates the setting: perched high on a rock overlooking Inspiration Lake in Washington state. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Inspirock.com is a privately held company founded in 2012. About Brand USA Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation's first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. entry policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization's mission is to increase international visitation to the USA in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past three years Brand USA's marketing initiatives helped welcome more than 3 million incremental visitors to the USA, benefiting the U.S. economy with nearly $21 billion in total economic impact, which has supported, on average, 50,000 incremental jobs a year. For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit TheBrandUSA.com. For information about exceptional and unexpected travel experiences in the United States, please visit Brand USA's consumer website VisitTheUSA.com. SOURCE Inspirock Related Links http://www.inspirock.com VANCOUVER, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSX: ITH, NYSE-MKT: THM) ("ITH" or the "Company") announces that it has completed payment of the $14.7 million derivative land payment, approved a $6.3 million 2017 work program to advance the Livengood Gold Project (all $US), and commenced a management transition plan with the appointment of Karl Hanneman as Chief Executive Officer. Completion of Livengood Land Acquisition On January 12, 2017, the Company paid $14.7 million for the timely and full satisfaction of the final derivative payment due with respect to the acquisition of certain mining claims and related rights in the vicinity of the Livengood Gold Project in Alaska (the "Project"). On January 17, 2017, the Full Deed of Reconveyance releasing the Deed of Trust on the acquired property was recorded and the Company is now in full ownership and has no further liability with respect to this acquisition. After closing the $22.0 million private placement as previously announced on December 28, 2016 and payment of the final land payment, the Company had uncommitted cash of $7.5 million as of January 20, 2017. Approval of 2017 Livengood Work Program On January 23, 2017, at the first Board of Directors meeting after the election of Marcelo Kim as Board Chair, the Board approved a 2017 budget of $6.3 million. The work program incorporated in this budget will seek to build upon the Project improvements announced with the October 24, 2016 Pre-Feasibility Study (2016 PFS), focusing on improving the mineralization and alteration models used to support the resource block model, evaluating alternative block models for production schedule opportunities, and completion of several phases of metallurgical work to better define and optimize the flowsheet and recovery parameters. The 2017 work program has been specifically designed to target those aspects of the project that could deliver the highest NPV increase for the least expenditure. Preliminary work on the block model and metallurgical recovery variability indicates a potential NPV benefit of up to $280 million and $100 million respectively (see section below 2017 Work Program Details). The engineering firm of BBA Inc. (BBA), who provided support for the 2016 PFS, will be retained to continue work in the 2017 program. Work is also planned to advance the environmental baseline efforts needed to support future permitting. However, the Company cautions that, until this multi-phase metallurgical program and the updated block model are completed and the results thereof are incorporated into a revised financial model, there can be no assurance that the overall recovery increases, potential process optimizations, or block model improvements, will, in fact, be realized, or that any such increases, optimizations or improvements will have the overall effect suggested above. Management Transition On January 26, 2017, the Board approved a management transition plan, effective January 31, 2017, in which Karl Hanneman, currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO), will become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), managing both the CEO and COO responsibilities. Tom Irwin, the current CEO, will transition into a part-time position of Senior Advisor prior to his standing for election to the Board at the May 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM). Mr. Hanneman has more than 35 years of Alaska-based mining industry experience. Prior to joining ITH as Livengood Project Manager in 2010, he played a key role on the team at Teck that worked to successfully resolve significant permitting issues at the Red Dog Mine and was Alaska Regional Manager for Teck during the exploration, development, and permitting of the Pogo Gold Mine by Teck/Sumitomo. Mr. Hanneman has led or participated in a number of industry and State of Alaska sponsored organizations, including the Alaska Minerals Commission, Council of Alaska Producers, Resource Development Council, and the Alaska Miners Association. Mr. Hanneman serves as a director of Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc., a private company with an operating coal mine in Alaska, and Northrim BanCorp, Inc., a public bank holding company engaged in commercial banking in Alaska. Mr. Hanneman holds a B.S. (Honors) degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Alaska. Tom Irwin, CEO, said "I am pleased we have completed this important phase of the optimization work and look forward to participating with the new CEO, the new Board Chair and the Board as they progress the Project. ITH has an exceptionally talented team and Karl is the right person to lead the Company as we further advance the Livengood Gold Project." Karl Hanneman, COO, said "The fundamentals of the Project are compelling: one of the largest gold resources in North America that is not owned by a major, an accessible location in a stable jurisdiction, and a project that is highly leveraged to the gold price. Tom's leadership has helped build a strong foundation for progress and I am pleased to have been asked to lead the team on the continued development of this exciting investment opportunity." Marcelo Kim, Chair of the Board said, "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Tom for all his great work and dedication in advancing the Livengood Project and look forward to having him join the Board at the 2017 AGM. The Board has unanimously backed Karl to be the new leader of the Company and think that he is the best candidate to lead this team as ITH embarks on a work program to continue de-risking the Project down an eventual permitting path." As part of its 2017 plans, the Company has been invited to the BMO Capital Markets 26th Global Metals & Mining Conference on February 26 - March 1, 2017 in Hollywood, Florida. Marcelo Kim, Board Chair, and Karl Hanneman, CEO, will attend on behalf of the Company. 2017 Work Program Details The 2017 work program will implement specific recommendations presented in the 2016 PFS. Specifically, with respect to improving the mineralization and alteration model, metallurgical testwork to date has indicated that gold recovery for rock type 7 (RT7), and perhaps rock type 9 (RT9), is negatively impacted by the presence of antimony in the form of quartzstibnite and jamesonite mineralization. The Project is currently limited in its ability to model in three dimensions the spatial distribution of this antimony mineralization, because only 50% of the Project drill intercepts were assayed for antimony. As part of the work program, the stored pulps of all drill intercepts in the 2016 PFS modeled pit will be assayed to allow modeling and variance analysis to be completed that could potentially improve the geologic model used to support the block model and thereby potentially improve overall Project gold recovery by the isolation of zones in the model with varying recoveries. With respect to evaluating alternative block models, during 2016 BBA developed a grade-shell block model for ITH using LeapFrog software and inverse distance squared interpolation. BBA interpreted the geological data to support projection of mineralization envelopes along the trend of the intrusive dike mineralization, which dips approximately 20 degrees to the south. Metal Mining Consultants Inc. was then retained to use this preliminary grade-shell block model to produce a production schedule, which, when imported into the ITH financial model used for the 2013 feasibility study (2013 FS), resulted in an approximately $280 million dollar NPV improvement ([email protected]% and $1500) compared to the Multiple Indicator Kriging (MIK) block model that was actually used in the 2013 FS. However, there was insufficient time available to validate the grade-shell model and integrate it into the mine planning, production schedule, and financial analysis for the 2016 PFS prior to releasing the results of the 2016 PFS. Completion of a geostatistical analysis to potentially cap grades and quantitatively evaluate the model projections against the drill intercepts is work that still must be completed in the 2017 program before the grade-shell model could be relied upon and used to update the 2016 PFS. While there can be no certainty that the final model would result in any improvement to the results of the 2016 PFS, the preliminary work to date demonstrates the sensitivity of the Project to the modelled head grade and strip ratio and justifies additional effort to attempt to improve and validate an updated resource model. Work in connection with the 2016 PFS has indicated that the Project economics are sensitive to recovery, grind size, reagent consumption and test conditions (oxygen, pH, lead nitrate). The metallurgical work included in the 2017 program will complete additional testwork on the 100 kg of each of 5 rock types remaining from the PFS Phase 9 composites in order to allow better optimization of these critical variables. Metallurgical results reported in the 2016 PFS show a range of recovery for certain rock types that can vary up or down by more than 5% from the values used in the 2016 PFS, depending upon rock type, sample and test conditions. To illustrate the potential sensitivity of improved (or decreased) recovery, ITH estimates that, if the metallurgical work, in combination with the improved resource model, was able to demonstrate an overall recovery improvement of 5% for RT7 and RT9, it would result in an improvement of approximately $100 million ([email protected]% and $1,250) as compared to the 2016 PFS. A decrease in overall recovery of 5% would have an equivalent negative effect. However, the Company cautions that, until this multi-phase metallurgical program and the updated block model are completed and the results thereof are incorporated into a revised financial model, there can be no assurance that the overall recovery increases, potential process optimizations, or block model improvements, will, in fact, be realized, or that any such increases, optimizations or improvements will have the overall effect suggested above. About the Livengood Gold Project For full details with respect to the assumptions underlying the current reserve and resource estimates and pre-feasibility study economic analysis for the Livengood Gold Project (2016 PFS), please see the technical report entitled "Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Livengood Gold Project, Pre-Feasibility Study, Livengood, Alaska", dated October 24, 2016, and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR or on the Company's website. Qualified Person Chris Puchner (CPG 07048), a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Puchner is not independent of ITH, as he is the Chief Geologist of the Company and holds common shares and incentive options. About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. controls a 100% interest in the Livengood Gold Project, located along the paved Elliott Highway, 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. On behalf of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (signed) Karl Hanneman Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements with respect to the proposed use of the proceeds of the December 2016 private placement by the Company, the ability of the Company to carry out and complete optimization studies with respect to the Livengood Gold Project, the potential for the results of the 2017 work program to have a positive effect on the 2016 PFS economics, and the magnitude of the anticipated effects, the ability of the Company to advance the Livengood Gold Project, the potential development of any mine at Livengood, business and financing plans and business trends are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, proposed, planned, potential and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the outcome of the expected remedial de-listing review by the TSX, the use of proceeds from the December 2016 private placement, the potential inability of the Company to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and certain securities commissions in Canada and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical report filed with respect to the Company's Livengood Gold Project. This news release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States or Canada. SOURCE International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Related Links http://www.ithmines.com LONDON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Internet of Things refers to the interrelated devices that are able to transfer data over a network without requiring computer and human interaction devices. Internet of Things is directly and indirectly associated with daily lifestyle products across the globe. Internet connectivity is one of the major requirements of different application as it is expected to grow at high rate in next forecast period. Furthermore, internet connectivity requires more monitoring through applications and human interactions. Moreover, Internet of Things offers an easier and comfortable controlling of different electronic devices from one place. Internet of Things is definite as an invisible and intelligent network of things that correspond directly or indirectly with each other which is fueling the enlargement during the forecast period. Global Internet of Things Market: Drivers IoT is expected to transform how we work, live and other things. Smart object and their different applications such as smart cities, smart homes, and smart environment is dynamic the evolution of the universal market. Moreover, increasing demand of smart wearable electronic products in different application is boosting the market growth. The prospective for cyber physical systems to improve productivity in the production process and supply chain are growing the demand of industrial sector in Internet of Things market. Additionally, fast technological advancement is increasing the global IoT market growth. Wi-Fi connectivity is growing rapidly and due to various government initiatives supporting the widespread usage of WiFi and collaboration between various companies, market is experiencing a surge and is forecasted to grow considerably during the forecast period. Consequently, all drivers are set to contribute to the expansion of global market of Internet of Things in the upcoming years. Moreover, IoT finds in application such as urban planning and environmental planning, is could create immense opportunities for the IoT market. Growing acceptance in the various industrial segments along with strong economic growth in growing economies are contributing to the prospective growth opportunities of the global Internet of Things market. Internet of Things is anticipated to increase acceptance through end-user applications like medical and manufacturing and this will lead to the increase in the growth of IoT market in the upcoming years. However, the major challenge that Internet of Things markets likely to face is the lack of standardization in IoT products and interoperability problems. The privacy and security problems with usage of cloud technology is likely to obstruct the anticipated growth of IoT market. Global Internet of Things Market: Scope of the Study Based on application, the Internet of market is generally classified into media, manufacturing, medical and healthcare, consumer application, energy management and others. Geographically, Internet of Things market is classified into Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The key companies in the global Internet of Things market have been competitively profiled across the five broad geographic regions. This competitive landscape is inclusive of the various business strategies accepted by these key players and their recent developments in the field of Internet of Things. Furthermore, the report contains analysis of market attractiveness of different applications and provides an insight into various application areas of the Internet of Things. A detailed analysis of the various dynamics of the market of global Internet of Things market is provided in the report. Opportunities, restraints and market drivers are also covered in this report. Thus, the report of global Internet of Things offers a detailed report of the market and that includes the projection of the global IoT market revenue-wise (USD Million) from the period of 2016 to 2024. The global Internet of Things market is characterized by the presence of numerous major players in the market. The major players of the market compete their competition on the basis of factors such as price, performance, quality, support services and innovations of product. Major players in IoT market are Intel Corp. (U.S), Amazon (U.S), Microsoft Corp. (U.S), Cisco Systems Inc. (U.S), Google Inc. (U.S), AT&T (U.S) and Apple Inc. (U.S) among others. The global high resolution dispensing systems and equipment market has been segmented into: Internet of Things Market, by Technology Zigbee Bluetooth Low Energy Near Field Communication Wi-Fi RFID Internet of Things Market, by Application Media Manufacturing Medical and Healthcare Consumer Application Energy Management Others Internet of Things Market, by Geography: The market is broadly segmented on the basis of geography into: North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Latin America Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3431570/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intoxalock, a leading ignition interlock provider, has recently launched a Media Resource Room (https://www.intoxalock.com/media) to provide members of the media with assets to support news being generated about this life-saving device, including latest news releases, high resolution photography, videos, tips, related industry information and statistics. "Even though they've been around for more than 20 years, ignition interlock devices are still a newer concept to many consumers," said Brad Fralick, Intoxalock Director of Government Relations. "As legislation around drunk driving prevention continues to expand, it's important for the public to understand how critical ignition interlocks are in saving lives." An ignition interlock device is a breathalyzer that is installed into a person's vehicle. The device must be blown into before the engine can be started. If alcohol is detected on the breath sample, the vehicle will not move. Once the vehicle is successfully started, the breathalyzer must be blown into at random times throughout the drive to prove continued sobriety. According to Fralick, in addition to even understanding what an ignition interlock is, a common misconception is that ignition interlock devices are only for drunk driving offenders. They can be a benefit to non-offenders as well, including teen drivers. "Ignition interlock devices could be the best kept secret for parents wanting help in the fight against teen drinking and driving. Even if a teen hasn't been arrested or charged with drunk driving, for as little as $1.67 a day, parents and guardians can choose to voluntarily install an ignition interlock device in their high school or college student's vehicle, preventing them from driving when intoxicated," he said. It's Intoxalock's hope that ready access to little-known information like teen prevention and other relevant information and statistics will provide media with accurate details to supplement all aspects of news coverage regarding ignition interlock devices. About Intoxalock Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, Intoxalock (http://www.Intoxalock.com) developed its state-of-the-art ignition interlock device in conjunction with researchers from Iowa State University. Recently celebrating their 23rd anniversary in the alcohol monitoring business, Intoxalock currently services clients that are legally required to install an IID or home alcohol-monitoring unit in 41 states across the nation, in addition to voluntary clients in all other states. In the last 10 years, the ignition interlock industry has grown three-fold and is expected to continue as drunk driving legislation strengthens. The Media Resource Room can be found at https://www.intoxalock.com/media. SOURCE Intoxalock Related Links http://www.intoxalock.com SEATTLE, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente's acquisition of Group Health Cooperative became final today, and with that, Group Health's more than 651,000 members and more than 6,000 employees in Washington are now part of the largest integrated health system in the nation. With the acquisition, Kaiser Permanente now serves more than 11.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia, providing both care and coverage. Through this acquisition, Kaiser Permanente expects to better meet the needs of individuals as well as large commercial and national accounts with employees who live and work in Washington. The move will bring Kaiser Permanente to an additional 19 counties in Washington state, including 25 primary care clinics in 17 cities, three urgent care facilities and four outpatient surgery centers. Kaiser Permanente will invest $1 billion over the next decade to expand and modernize facilities and technology, and to improve care and service. There are no immediate changes to the member care and coverage. The name change will become final in the coming weeks. "We are proud to extend our integrated model, delivering the future of health and health care to the residents of Washington state," said Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. "Since our inception 71 years ago, we have continued to deliver high-quality, affordable and accessible coverage and care to more people and communities in ways that align with our mission. Kaiser Permanente and Group Health have had a working relationship stretching back nearly 20 years, and this collaboration has resulted in high-quality care outcomes and medical excellence. We are honored to build upon the legacy of health care leadership in Washington state." Kaiser Permanente's quality performance is regularly rated at the top for measures in preventive and specialty medicine in national surveys that compare the quality of care among health plans and hospitals, including the National Committee for Quality Assurance and the U.S. Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Kaiser Permanente is recognized by industry experts for high-quality care year after year, and this acquisition brings together two leaders in integrated care delivery," said Steve Tarnoff, MD, president and executive medical director, Washington Permanente Medical Group. "The impact on care delivery and benefit to our members and patients will be tremendous, through improvements in technology, added capital resources, and a new partnership with 19,000 Kaiser Permanente physicians in both evidence-based care delivery and clinical research. These benefits will be felt by Kaiser Permanente members in Washington for years to come." Across the country, Kaiser Permanente has embraced technology to bring its members innovative new ways to access care and service, and the Kaiser Permanente health care system in Washington is also expected to become more connected and accessible. "Kaiser Permanente will invest in the facilities, technology, member experience and local workforce to ensure the best possible health care and coverage for the people and communities in Washington," said Susan Mullaney, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington. "With these investments, our integrated model, comprehensive facilities and interactive technologies will enable us to provide our members personalized care and service on their terms, when and where they want it. More broadly, in the communities we serve, we intend to be an active partner, investing time and resources aimed at achieving total health for everyone the optimization of mind, body and spirit." Kaiser Permanente and Group Health share a similar history. Both emerged in the years after World War II as organizations that pioneered the novel approach of integrating and offering care and pre-paid coverage together. Both organizations have worked with exclusive medical groups that stress a preventive approach to medicine, and at the same time offer the entire spectrum of medical specialties. These medical groups practice evidence-based medicine and support robust research operations that focus on measuring which therapies and approaches work best. Today's closing of the acquisition is the culmination of a process that began in December 2015, when Kaiser Permanente and Group Health Cooperative announced that a definitive agreement had been signed. Group Health then held a series of town hall meetings and discussions throughout the state of Washington regarding the proposed acquisition, engaging Group Health members as well as other individuals in the community. The review and approval process included approval by both state and federal regulators. About Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 11.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share. J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisors to Kaiser Permanente in the transaction. Contact: Marc Brown, [email protected] 510-271-6328 Jackson Holtz, [email protected] 206-448-2728 SOURCE Kaiser Permanente Related Links http://www.kaiserpermanente.org PINE BROOK, N.J., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Frier Levitt, LLC, a national boutique healthcare law firm, announced today That Brian S. Kern, Esq., has joined the firm as Of Counsel. Kern will focus on continuing to grow Frier Levitt in all areas of health law, including payor audits, HIPAA matters, and matters before the Board of Medical Examiners, as well as Mergers and Acquisitions activity. He joins the firm's Healthcare Practice Group, working closely with Daniel Frier, Esq. and Jonathan Levitt, Esq., Co-founding Partners of Frier Levitt, as well as John Morrone, Esq. a partner of the firm. He joins Frier Levitt from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., where he was NE Regional Director of Healthcare. "Brian is a great addition to our firm," said Frier. "His experience, background, and reputation in Healthcare are well known and respected. We are excited to have him as a part our team," he added. Kern is admitted to the NJ State Bar Association and is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA). He frequently speaks before heath law and medical organizations, including state, county and specialty societies. He writes for publications throughout the healthcare industry, including MedScape (of WebMD) where he serves on the editorial advisory board, Medical Economics, and MD News. Kern is currently on the Board of NJ Medical Group Management Association (NJMGMA), where he serves as its Affiliate Chair, and a member of the Union County Medical Society Judiciary Committee. He has testified before the NJ Legislature, and has worked on several bills impacting healthcare in NJ. In 2016, he was honored as one of "40 Under 40" by NJBIZ. About Frier Levitt, LLC Frier Levitt is a national boutique healthcare law firm located in Pine Brook, New Jersey. Our 26 attorneys bring collective experience and backgrounds in pharmacy, hospital administration, professional licensing, Attorney General actions, clinical practice, and medical billing. We provide comprehensive legal services to healthcare providers, including physician groups, laboratories, surgery and imaging centers, Compounding and Specialty Pharmacies, Outsourcing Facilities, chemical manufacturers, repackagers, wholesalers, group purchasing organizations, buying groups, and other healthcare related businesses. Frier Levitt is uniquely positioned to serve as a guide to healthcare providers, offering a broad and deep understanding of federal and state healthcare laws and regulations and the industry as a whole. For additional information, visit www.FrierLevitt.com. Media Contact: Adam Toris Phone: 973.618.1660 Email: [email protected] This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Frier Levitt, LLC Related Links http://www.FrierLevitt.com In 2017, Swiss luxury skincare brand La Prairie will partner with Art Basel, the world's leading art platform, in a first-of-its-kind partnership. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463455/Art_Basel_Logo.jpg ) (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463460/La_Prairie_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463456/La_Prairie_Art_of_packaging.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463459/La_Prairie_Science_and_Arts.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463457/La_Prairie_brand_seal.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463458/La_Prairie_design.jpg ) As part of this exciting initiative, La Prairie will be present in Art Basel's Collectors Lounge throughout the duration of the fair, where VIPs will have the opportunity to experience the La Prairie universe and enjoy customized La Prairie treatments. Using rare, precious ingredients, La Prairie continues to break the codes of luxury skincare. Founded on the belief that the scientist's creative process is akin to that of the artist, every La Prairie formulation begins with an audacious vision. "We are very excited about the partnership between La Prairie and Art Basel, which we feel perfectly represents our quest for timeless beauty and our passion for audacity," said Patrick Rasquinet, President and CEO of La Prairie Group. "Indeed, from the painstaking research behind our scientific breakthroughs to the opulent formulations that envelop the senses, from the jewel-like packaging to the high-touch service, art is not just what La Prairie is, it is what we do," he added. That innovative spirit is mirrored in the world of contemporary art. "We are delighted to be partnering with La Prairie, a company that, like Art Basel, has Swiss roots and has built a global reputation for unparalleled excellence," says Marc Spiegler, Art Basel's Global Director. In addition to establishing the partnership with the art fair, La Prairie will also mark the 30th anniversary of its iconic Skin Caviar. To celebrate the occasion, La Prairie plans to collaborate on a scientific and artistic innovation with a select group of contemporary artists, to be announced at a later date. About La Prairie La Prairie is the leader in luxury skincare, present in 90 countries around the world. Synonymous not only with luxury, the La Prairie name evokes innovation, performance, high-touch service and Swissness - the purity, precision, innovation and craftsmanship inherent to the extraordinary land that saw the brand's inception in 1978. La Prairie endeavors to fulfill a quest for timeless beauty through the highest standards of advanced technology combined with exquisite formulations and elegant packaging - elevating science to art. About Art Basel Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel's engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives. In 2014, Art Basel launched its Crowdfunding Initiative, in collaboration with Kickstarter. This initiative presents jury-selected art projects to potential benefactors, which include Art Basel's vibrant audience and the Kickstarter community. The initiative has catalyzed much-needed support for outstanding non-commercial art projects worldwide and so far has helped pledge over $1.2 million to creative projects around the world. For Art Basel Cities, launched in 2016, Art Basel is working with selected partner cities to develop vibrant and content-driven programs specific to the individual city. Connecting them to the global art world through Art Basel's expertise and network, Art Basel Cities supports its partners to develop their unique cultural landscape. For further information please visit artbasel.com. Press Contact Florent Canepa - Global Communications & PR Director [email protected] +41-44-947-82-10 SOURCE La Prairie MORRISTOWN, N.J., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- One of New Jersey's fastest growing Christian churches, Liquid Church, has been selected to host Night to Shine sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, an unforgettable prom night experience designed especially for people with special needs, ages 14 and older. More than 350 churches around the world will host Night to Shine simultaneously on Friday, February 10, 2017. Guests at Night to Shine will receive the VIP treatment, with a red carpet prom entrance and friendly paparazzi snapping their photo. Once inside, guests will visit stations for hair and makeup, shoe shining, corsages and boutonnieres, and then move onto the main event dancing! The highlight of the evening will be the crowning ceremony, where each Night to Shine guest is crowned a prom king or queen. Liquid Church is hosting five proms in Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union Counties on February 10th and expects more than 500 prom guests to attend in total. One-thousand Liquid Church volunteers will be on hand to create this special event, including 500+ "buddies," who will serve as personal hosts for each and every prom guest. "It's truly our privilege and passion to serve families with special needs. We want to show them the love of Jesus and put those who are often last, first. Hosting Night to Shine is an incredible way to do that," said Tim Lucas, lead pastor and founder of Liquid Church. "We know that New Jersey has the highest rate of Autism in the nation. The need is tremendous, and so for the second year in a row, we're hosting five proms across North Central New Jersey to accommodate even more families with special needs." Worldwide, 201 Night to Shine host churches honored more than 32,000 kings and queens of the prom in 2016 with the help of 75,000 volunteers. Night to Shine 2017 promises to be the biggest event yet, with more than 350 churches already signed up to participate all around the world. "We are honored to be able to work with so many churches across the county and around the world to impact the lives of people with special needs," said Erik Dellenback, executive director of the Tim Tebow Foundation." After such an amazing response to the first two years of Night to Shine, our prayer is that this event will continue to change the face of Valentine's Day weekend from simply a celebration of love, to a celebration of God's love for people with special needs." For more information on Night to Shine hosted by Liquid Church, please visit: www.LiquidChurch.com/NighttoShine For more information on this worldwide movement and to support the continued growth of Night to Shine, visit: http://www.timtebowfoundation.org/index.php/night-to-shine/ ABOUT LIQUID CHURCH: Liquid Church is one of New Jersey's fastest-growing Christian churches. Officially launched in 2007 by Lead Pastor Tim Lucas, the church's vision and mission is to "Saturate the State with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," with six campuses in Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union Counties. Each week, more than 3,500 people experience Liquid Church's worship services in New Jersey and around the globe through Church Online. As part of its global outreach, Liquid provides clean drinking water to the poorest of the poor, with dozens of completed wells in several countries including El Salvador and Nicaragua - and most recently, Rwanda! Liquid Church's innovative approaches to outreach and ministry have been spotlighted by CNN and The New York Times. www.LiquidChurch.com. ABOUT THE TIM TEBOW FOUNDATION: The Tim Tebow Foundation exists to bring Faith, Hope and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. That mission is being fulfilled every day through the foundation's seven areas of outreach, including W15H, Timmy's Playrooms, Orphan Care, Adoption Aid, the Tebow CURE Hospital, Team Tebow and Night to Shine. For more information on the Tim Tebow Foundation, please visit www.timtebowfoundation.org Press Contact: Lauren Bercarich [email protected], 908-389-6153 SOURCE www.LiquidChurch.com Related Links http://liquidchurch.com GREENWICH, Conn., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Littlejohn & Co., LLC, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, announced today that it has acquired Brown Jordan International, Inc., ("BJI") a leading manufacturer of indoor and outdoor furniture serving a variety of commercial and consumer markets. Headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida, BJI offers a complete line of indoor and outdoor furnishings primarily for use in hospitality, leisure, multi-family, corporate, restaurant and other commercial environments through its Brown Jordan, Charter, Texacraft, and Tropitone segments. "Brown Jordan is an iconic brand and BJI is a unique platform in the outdoor and indoor furniture market" said David Simon, Managing Director of Littlejohn. "We are excited to partner with BJI's management team to drive the Company's next leg of growth." "BJI's unique value proposition, driven by superior quality, service, innovation, and order execution has enabled BJI to win market share across each of its business segments," said Gene Moriarty, Chief Executive Officer of BJI. "The Company's low-cost, domestic manufacturing and distribution footprint is a strategic asset and we welcome Littlejohn's expertise and support to help us execute on a number of high-return continuous improvement initiatives to deliver even more value to our customers." Steven Kalter, Principal of Littlejohn, added, "Under Gene's leadership, BJI has diversified and grown its end market exposure through a focus on investing in its commercial segment. We look forward to supporting the Company's acquisition program to further strengthen its positioning as a one-stop shop for its customers in both the commercial and consumer markets and leverage its best-in-class distribution network." Financing for the transaction was provided by Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP provided legal counsel to Littlejohn. Moelis & Company served as exclusive financial advisor to BJI. About Littlejohn & Co., LLC Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity firm investing in middle-market companies that are undergoing a fundamental change in capital structure, strategy, operations or growth that can benefit from its operational and strategic approach. The firm is currently investing from Littlejohn Fund V, L.P., which has $2 billion in capital commitments. For more information, visit www.littlejohnllc.com. Contact: Chris Tofalli Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC 914-834-4334 SOURCE Littlejohn & Co., LLC Related Links http://www.littlejohnllc.com KELOWNA, British Columbia, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Marapharm Ventures Inc. (OTCQB: MRPHF). Marapharm's focus is on corporate growth and excellence by acquisitions, operations and investments. Marapharm invested in Veritas Pharma Inc. "Veritas" (news releases January 9 and January 11, 2017, Marapharm purchased 15 million shares and rights to acquire shares) and to date, this investment has increased substantially in value. The synergy with Veritas and Marapharm and the development of both company's products enhances corporate and shareholder value overall. Medical research by Veritas scientists can help to monetize Marapharm's intellectual properties and products of subsidiaries currently under development. Marapharm, with the assistance of Veritas, intends to advance its cannabis strains. "With our unique vertical grow system, yields and quality will be maximized. We think Veritas is a great business model and investment in the cannabis space. Marapharm is the majority owner and largest shareholder of Veritas," Linda Sampson, Marapharm CEO. Veritas and or its subsidiary Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd. "Veritas"" have designed and are implementing clinical trials of cannabis strains for pain. Health Canada has granted permission to conduct research. Chemical and animal studies by Veritas have identified suitable strains that warrant immediate human trials which are intended to be implemented this year. The management team consists of veteran academic pharmacologists, anaesthetists and chemists whose commercial mission is to patent its findings in order to sell or license to cancer clinics and pharmaceutical companies, thereby, targeting multi-billion dollar global markets. ABOUT VERITAS PHARMA INC. http://www.veritaspharmainc.com Veritas trades in Canada, ticker symbol VRT on the CSE, in the United States, ticker symbol VRTHF on the OTC, in Europe, ticker symbol 2VP.F on the FSE. Veritas is a discovery and development company, advancing the science behind medical marijuana. Veritas has brought together a highly accredited team of pharmacologists, anaesthetists and chemists with substantial success in both academia and industry, specifically in drug development. The Veritas laboratory is located within the University of British Columbia (UBC). Veritas applies a comprehensive scientific approach to medical marijuana claims. Veritas's mission has been to develop the most effective proprietary cannabis strains for specific disease conditions and to provide doctors and patients with conclusive science evidence to recommend and use medical marijuana with confidence. Veritas has an advanced application to Health Canada for a Medical Marijuana facility to be located in Sechelt, British Columbia and, the Canadian Government has said it will legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use. Veritas and its employee group consisting of several doctors work closely with Health Canada. ABOUT MARAPHARM VENTURES INC. http://www.marapharm.com Marapharm trades in Canada, ticker symbol MDM on the CSE, in the United States, ticker symbol MRPHF on the OTCQB, in Europe, ticker symbol 2M0 on the FSE. Marapharm has 300,000 square feet of medical marijuana licenses for it's land and facilities in WA and NV and about two and a half years ago, Marapharm applied in Canada to Health Canada for a MMPR (Production and Sales) license and has passed the necessary security clearances. The application is currently in the in-depth screening process. In September 2016, Health Canada contacted Marapharm with a provision to amend its application to allow for the new regulations, ACMPR. Additional information on the operations or financial results of Marapharm are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the CSE website (http://www.thecse.com), the OTC website (http://www.otcmarkets.com) and Sedar website (http://www.sedar.com ) under the profile for Marapharm Ventures Inc. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: http://www.marapharm.com or Linda Sampson, CEO, 778-583-4476, email [email protected] STOCK EXCHANGES: Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB has approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE, the FSE nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD - LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", 'may", "will", "project", "should", 'believe", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumption but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and the forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: http://www.marapharm.com or Linda Sampson, CEO, +1-778-583-4476, email [email protected] SOURCE Marapharm Ventures Inc. RICHMOND, Va. and HOUSTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Markel Corporation ("Markel") (NYSE: MKL) and SureTec Financial Corp. ("SureTec") announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Markel to acquire SureTec for approximately $250 million, inclusive of a three-year earn out. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including insurance regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of 2017. Following the acquisition, SureTec will operate as a separate business unit, with John T. Knox, Jr., SureTec's current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, leading his seasoned team in his current capacity. The operating unit will become part of Markel's Specialty division and US Insurance segment. Richard R. Whitt, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Markel, commented, "We are very excited to have John and the SureTec team join Markel. Since its start in 2002, SureTec has grown its surety business prudently and profitably with a diversified product and geographic mix. It has become a top 20 player in the surety market nationwide through its offerings of contract, commercial, and court bonds. As with all our acquisitions, we look forward to exploring opportunities to profitably grow the business." John T. Knox, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SureTec, remarked, "We could not be happier to be joining Markel. I look forward to leading what will become Markel Surety and building upon SureTec's success while benefiting from Markel's financial strength and (re)insurance capabilities, which will position us to better serve our customers and grow our business." TigerRisk Capital Markets & Advisory served as financial advisor and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal advisor to Markel. Locke Lord LLP served as legal advisor to SureTec. About Markel Corporation Markel Corporation is a diverse financial holding company serving a variety of niche markets. The Company's principal business markets and underwrites specialty insurance products. In each of the Company's businesses, it seeks to provide quality products and excellent customer service so that it can be a market leader. The financial goals of the Company are to earn consistent underwriting and operating profits and superior investment returns to build shareholder value. Visit Markel Corporation on the web at markelcorp.com. About SureTec Financial Corp. SureTec is one of the largest privately owned surety companies in the US. SureTec's largest subsidiary, SureTec Insurance Company, is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. In partnership with professional surety producers and independent agents, the company has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, San Diego, and Orange County, California. SureTec operates in 50 states and has one international affiliate. Visit SureTec on the web at suretec.com. Disclaimer Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Markel's and SureTec's beliefs, plans or expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on Markel's and SureTec's current plans, estimates, and expectations. There are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by such statements. Neither Markel nor SureTec assumes any obligation to update this release (including any forward-looking statements herein) as a result of new information, developments, or otherwise. This release speaks only as of the date issued. SOURCE Markel Corporation Related Links http://www.markelcorp.com SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketo, Inc., the leading provider of marketing software and solutions, today announced that it has hired experienced enterprise leader Greg Wolfe as its new chief operating officer (COO). Wolfe will succeed executive vice president and COO Jason Holmes, who will be stepping down in March. Marketo has also appointed Eric Johnson, former Qlik president of the Americas, as its new chief sales officer, effective immediately. Wolfe and Johnson will report to Chief Executive Officer Steve Lucas. "I am ecstatic to welcome Greg and Eric to my executive team. Both have extensive customer, field, and operations experience from esteemed enterprise software companies and will play a critical role in Marketo's path to becoming the undisputed engagement platform leader," said Lucas. "I would also like to thank Jason for his contributions to Marketo. His deep digital marketing domain expertise, customer knowledge, and passion helped Marketo become a world-class organization able to meet the demands of its growing customer base. The entire Marketing Nation wishes him all the best in his next endeavor." Wolfe was executive vice president and general manager, global operations and sales at Business Objects (acquired by SAP) before leaving the company to found Emalex, a consulting firm for business-to-business technology companies. At Business Objects, he led the organization through hyper-growth and saw the company become the number one business intelligence provider in the world with over $1 billion in revenue, millions of licensed users, and more than 5,000 employees. His more than 25 years of experience leading sales and operations for enterprise technology companies include executive leadership positions at Crystal Decisions (acquired by Business Objects in 2004) and Xerox. Wolfe will be charged with driving Marketo's broad growth initiatives, unifying management of strategy, execution, and accountability of the entire organization as the company grows and evolves. "I am extremely excited to join Steve and the rest of the Marketo executive team to lead during the company's next phase of growth and potential," said Wolfe. "Marketo's global market opportunity is immense, and I look forward to bringing my knowledge and skills to the organization and the Marketing Nation more broadly!" Johnson is an accomplished sales executive adept at leading enterprise-level technology brands to meet and exceed their revenue goals. At Qlik, Johnson oversaw a team of more than 250 people across sales, presales, business development, and consulting that drove 40 percent of the company's annual revenue. Prior to Qlik, he served as executive vice president of global enterprise sales at BlackBerry. Johnson joined BlackBerry after more than two years at SAP where he was senior vice president and general manager, global database & technology. Johnson was with relational database server provider Sybase before it was acquired by SAP. During his tenure there, he held numerous global operations positions including senior vice president and general manager, North America. Johnson will lead Marketo's global sales operations. "As we enter into the Engagement Economy, the digital future where everyone and everything is connected, Marketo will take our customers, partners, and employees to new levels of success with the best leadership team in the industry," added Lucas. To learn more about Marketo's executive team, visit https://www.marketo.com/company/leadership/. About Marketo Marketo provides the leading engagement marketing software and solutions designed to help marketers develop long-term relationships with their customers - from acquisition to advocacy. Marketo is built for marketers, by marketers and is setting the innovation agenda for marketing technology. Marketo puts Marketing First. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with offices around the world, Marketo serves as a strategic partner to large enterprise and fast-growing small companies across a wide variety of industries. To learn more about Marketo's Engagement Marketing Platform, LaunchPoint partner ecosystem, and the vast community that is the Marketo Marketing Nation, visit www.marketo.com. SOURCE Marketo, Inc. ESTHERVILLE | An Estherville man and woman police say exposed their children to methamphetamine face criminal charges. Jereca Schroder and Cody Brown, both 25, were each charged Monday with a felony count of neglect of a dependent person and misdemeanor child endangerment. An investigation by the Iowa Department of Human Services found Schroder and Brown exposed their 3-year-old and 5-year-old children to meth, police say. The children were removed from the home by Iowa DHS. Schroder was seen by a judge and released on bond. Brown remained jailed on previous charges, including felony second-degree robbery. He was accused of robbing Shroder of cash during a dispute in mid-January. Molly Montag ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Maserati North America today announced its January 2017 sales results, solidifying the luxury Italian automaker as the number one premium brand for year-over-year sales in the United States with an increase of 69.3 percent for January, compared with the same month in 2016. Maserati sold 889 units last month in the United States, up from 525 units in January of 2016. The January sales record for Maserati was due in part to the release of the brand's first-ever SUV, the highly-anticipated Levante, as well as the delivery of updated Quattroporte and Ghibli models. Maserati North America's strong start to the new year will continue with a presence at both the upcoming Chicago Auto Show and Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. Maserati's Levante SUV will be on public display at both events. The Levante represents a new chapter in Maserati's iconic history. With more than one hundred years of automotive excellence behind it, Maserati has introduced its first SUV to represent the house of the Trident's core values with a sport utility vehicle that is truly the 'opposite of ordinary.' The Levante is unique blend of design, exclusivity and performance a genuine Maserati first and foremost. Expected to shift one's perception and ignite the senses, the Levante is 100 percent Maserati and 100 percent SUV. A genuine 'Made in Italy' product, the new Levante is produced at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy. Images available for download at: www.media.maserati.com ABOUT MASERATI: Maserati produces a full line of two and four door models legendary for their spacious handcrafted luxury, thoroughbred performance and everyday usability. The Maserati product range includes now the brand new SUV Levante, revealed in Geneva in March 2016, available with V6 Twin-Turbo engine from 345 up to 424 hp, equipped with the All-Wheel- Drive Q4 system and air suspension standard. The sedan range is based on the full-size Quattroporte and the mid-size Ghibli sport sedan, which earned a 2013 Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS)*. The flagship Quattroporte GTS leads the charge with a 523 HP twin turbo V8 while both the Ghibli and Quattroporte are available with All-Wheel-Drive, a competition bred twin-turbo 404 HP V6 and an adaptive 8 speed automatic transmission. The two-door GranTurismo line continues with several variants of coupes and convertibles that combine elegance and comfort for four adults, with a 6 speed automatic transmission to keep the legendary Maserati performance and exhaust note close at hand. Maserati automobiles and merchandise can be found at authorized retailers across North America. Information on Maserati can be found at www.maseratiusa.com for the U.S. or www.maserati.ca for Canada, 1-877-My-Maserati (877-696-2737). *Built after November 2013. Follow Maserati North America, Inc. @MaseratiUSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. SOURCE Maserati North America, Inc. Related Links http://www.maserati.com NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mesothelioma Compensation Center says, "We are urging an electrician, plumber, pipefitter or insulator who was exposed to asbestos at a power plant and now has mesothelioma to call us at 800-714-0303 for direct access to some of the most renowned and experienced mesothelioma attorneys in the United States. Mesothelioma compensation claims involving a power plant worker can easily exceed one million dollars in terms of a settlement. Coal Fired Power Plant Coal Miner "We are all about making certain that people with mesothelioma receive the best possible financial compensation; power, energy, or utility workers are our specialties if they have this rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure." http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com While the type of facility can vary, one common denominator with power plants is asbestos exposure if the electrical worker, plumber, or skilled tradesman worked at the plant prior to 1990. The Center is especially focused on assisting electrical workers, electricians, plumbers, welders, insulators, pipefitters, and/or maintenance personnel who now have mesothelioma because the compensation for these types of people should be so significant. "The catch in obtaining the best possible mesothelioma compensation attorneys is the need to have the nation's top mesothelioma attorneys as we would like to discuss anytime at 800-714-0303," says the Mesothelioma Compensation Center. http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com The types of power plant workers with mesothelioma the Mesothelioma Compensation Center would like to assist include: A coal-fired thermal power plant worker A commercial nuclear power plant worker A US Navy Veteran tasked to maintain a nuclear power plant on a submarine or navy ship Hydro Electric power plant worker Nuclear Research Reactors (Frequently these types of reactors were funded by the military) The Mesothelioma Compensation Center specializes in assisting specific types of people who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. The Center's top priority is assisting US Navy Veterans, shipyard workers, oil refinery workers, public-utility workers, chemical plant workers, manufacturing workers, power plant workers, plumbers, welders, electricians, machinists, nuclear power plant workers, hydro-electric workers or oil and gas production workers who have been diagnosed with this rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. In most instances a diagnosed person with mesothelioma was exposed to asbestos in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, or 1980's. http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com The states with the highest incidence of mesothelioma include Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon. However, a former power plant worker with mesothelioma could live in any state including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, or Alaska. The Mesothelioma Compensation Center says, "Before you hire a law firm to advance a mesothelioma compensation claim for yourself or a family member please call us at 800-714-0303 to ensure you are talking directly to the nation's most capable mesothelioma attorneys." http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com For more information about mesothelioma please refer to the National Institutes of Health's web site related to this rare form of cancer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mesothelioma.html Media Contact: Michael Thomas 800-714-0303 [email protected] SOURCE Mesothelioma Compensation Center Related Links http://mesotheliomacompensationcenter.com WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of First Liberty Institute, praises Judge Gorsuch's consistent record on religious liberty. "As a candidate, President Trump promised to appoint pro-religious freedom judges to the Supreme Court," Shackelford says. "Today, he took a positive step toward achieving that goal." "As a religious freedom law firm, we have one criterion for evaluating judicial candidates. We ask, 'Does this candidate have a proven record of upholding the Constitution, especially as it relates to religious freedom?' I am pleased to say that Judge Gorsuch has just such a record, authoring or joining multiple landmark opinions upholding religious freedom." Some of the most notable religious freedom opinions Judge Gorsuch wrote or signed as a judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals include: HHS Abortion Pill Mandate Judge Gorsuch wrote and joined opinions supporting the rights of ministries and closely-held family businesses to be free from the burden imposed by the HHS Abortion Pill Mandate ( Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius (2013), Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell (2015)). Judge Gorsuch wrote and joined opinions supporting the rights of ministries and closely-held family businesses to be free from the burden imposed by the HHS Abortion Pill Mandate ( (2013), (2015)). Establishment Clause Judge Gorsuch wrote or signed opinions upholding the constitutionality of the public display of Ten Commandments monuments ( Summum v. Pleasant Grove City (2007), Green v. Haskell County Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners (2009)). Judge Gorsuch wrote or signed opinions upholding the constitutionality of the public display of Ten Commandments monuments ( (2007), (2009)). Monuments and Memorials Judge Gorsuch wrote an opinion defending the existence of cross-shaped memorials for fallen state troopers (American Atheists, Inc. v. Duncan (2010)). "America needs Supreme Court justices who will uphold the Constitution and defend the religious liberty of every American," Shackelford says. "I am hopeful that Judge Gorsuch will live up to President Trump's and the American people's expectations and strongly protect our constitutional freedoms." About First Liberty Institute First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans. SOURCE First Liberty Institute Related Links http://firstliberty.org ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Arlington County is thrilled to welcome Nestle USA, a subsidiary of Nestle S.A., a leading global nutrition, health and wellness company, to its community as a new leader in the business market. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe made the announcement this afternoon that Nestle USA will invest $39.8 million to relocate its corporate headquarters from Glendale, CA to Arlington's Rosslyn neighborhood in a move that will create 748 jobs. Nestle USA will occupy 206,000 square feet in Rosslyn's 1812 N. Moore address beginning in September 2017. "We have waited a long time to make this announcement," said Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette. "We wanted to find the ideal company to move into 1812 N. Moore, which we consider to be one of the most prominent office buildings in Arlington. With today's exciting announcement, we have found that perfect company and are thrilled to welcome Nestle USA to our community." The Rosslyn high-rise office building has been vacant since construction on the building was completed in 2013. The building, which offers top-notch technology and some of the most stunning views of the D.C. skyline, was chosen for its centrality in the D.C. region, available workforce and accessibility to major transportation venues for collaboration with Nestle USA's headquarters around the world. "Nestle USA carefully considered a number of locations and Arlington hit all the marks. The area offers appealing benefits for our current employees as well as a great talent pool for the future. This location allows us to be closer to our business operations, our customers and other important stakeholders," said Paul Grimwood, Chairman and CEO of Nestle USA. "Nestle's growth over the past 150 years has enabled us to improve millions of lives through the products and services we provide, employment opportunities, our supplier networks and the economic contributions we make here in the U.S." Nestle USA's decision to locate the company in Arlington also signifies a major step forward in Arlington's effort to diversify its economy. Once known as a government suburb, Arlington has taken a concentrated effort in recent years to attract new and different companies to Arlington, specifically those associated with the innovation economy and with a global scope. "Nestle USA is the latest company to choose Arlington as its corporate home, and it represents a significant shift in that more and more companies are looking at Arlington as providing the workforce, technology and access needed for success and expansion in this new economy," said Victor Hoskins, Director of Arlington Economic Development. "Nestle will be a key partner in our business community, and I look forward to working with the company as it continues to be a leader on the global stage." As part of the deal, Nestle USA will receive a total of $6 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia in a Commonwealth Opportunity Fund grant, which will be matched by Arlington County in the form of $4 million in Industrial Development Authority Performance Incentives grants and $2 million in Arlington County infrastructure mainly focused on Metro, transportation and the area surrounding the new headquarters. Arlington County is also providing extensive relocation assistance to the company to help ensure a seamless transition and maintain a high level of employee retention, including workforce assistance, familiarization tours, a staffed onsite resource center and technology tools to help transferring employees learn more about relocating to Arlington and the entire D.C. region. Arlington Economic Development Arlington Economic Development (AED), part of Arlington County Government, is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of an economically competitive and sustainable community, and the creation of exciting, diverse and amenity-rich places. AED provides visionary leadership and superior services to Arlington's business and arts community, its tourism industry and its real estate development. For more information, visit arlingtoneconomicdevelopment.com. Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. Slightly smaller than 26 square miles, it is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, and one of only a handful with the prized Aaa/AAA/AAA bond rating. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods and quality schools, and has received numerous awards for Smart Growth and transit-oriented development. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world including the Pentagon Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business. SOURCE Arlington Economic Development Related Links http://www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Netwrix Corporation, the first vendor to introduce a visibility and governance platform for hybrid cloud security, announced today a call for nominations for the SysAdmin Blog Awards, which will recognize the brightest and most tech-savvy blogs for their contributions to the IT community. Freelance and corporate tech bloggers, as well as IT professionals, are invited to submit technology blogs for the following six categories: Best Cloud Computing Blog Best IT Security Blog Best Tech Tips for System Administrators Blog Most Humorous Blog 24/7 Tech Support Blog IT Career Blog Winners will be determined by judges from SysAdmin Magazine's editorial team. The deadline for submissions is 20 February 2017. The shortlist for the SysAdmin Blog Awards will be announced on 1 March 2017 in the Netwrix Blog and in the March issue of SysAdmin Magazine. Six finalists, announced on 14 March 2017, will receive prizes from Netwrix and SysAdmin Magazine Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headsets. "The IT industry is rapidly evolving, so there is a growing demand for superior content that provides IT pros with valuable information about the latest trends in information technology," said Russel Smith, Contributing Editor at Petri IT Knowledgebase. "It is essential that great tech blogs receive acknowledgement from the professional community, so bloggers can spread best practices and strategies among their peers and help them do their jobs better." "Knowledge sharing is a major success factor for improving organizations' security savviness," said Alex Vovk, CEO and co-founder of Netwrix. "The evolving cyber threat landscape forces IT pros to search out new practices that could help them better evaluate potential risks, mitigate security threats and manage their IT environments more efficiently. SysAdmin Magazine has always served as a platform for sharing expertise and experience, and I am glad that now it gives recognition to the greatest blogs that help IT pros better navigate through the plethora of information about cybersecurity, networking, cloud computing and other technology topics." To find more about the SysAdmin Blog Awards or to nominate a blog, please visit: www.netwrix.com/go/BlogAwards2017 About SysAdmin Magazine SysAdmin Magazine is a free source of knowledge for IT professionals who are eager to keep a tight grip on IT security and do their regular jobs faster. Each month, SysAdmin Magazine offers a wide range of publications about practices and strategies that system administrators can use to improve the security of their IT environments. SysAdmin Magazine is published under the auspices of Netwrix Corporation to provide independent, high-level industry expertise for IT professionals. About Netwrix Corporation Netwrix Corporation was the first vendor to introduce a visibility and governance platform for hybrid cloud security. More than 160,000 IT departments worldwide rely on Netwrix to detect insider threats on premises and in the cloud, pass compliance audits with less effort and expense, and increase productivity of IT security and operations teams. Founded in 2006, Netwrix has earned more than 100 industry awards and been named to both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. For more information, visit www.netwrix.com CONTACT: Erin Jones Avista PR for Netwrix P: 704.664.2170 E: [email protected] SOURCE Netwrix Corporation Related Links http://www.netwrix.com IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The analysts at Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today reported the estimated average transaction price (ATP) for light vehicles in the United States was $34,968 in January 2017. New-car prices have increased by $1,123 (up 3.3 percent) from January 2016, while falling $453 (down 1.3 percent) from last month. "Industry transaction prices remain at high levels, rising more than 3 percent this month," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "The changing mix of sales in favor of utility vehicles is the primary driver for the year-over-year strength, as average prices in SUV segments climbed modestly, while the prices of subcompact SUVs declined. Demand for subcompact SUVs, one of the hottest segments in 2016, appears to be slowing down, although new models from Ford, Nissan and Toyota could help spark interest in the segment." The Detroit Three continue to perform well with some of the greatest year-over-year increases. In particular, General Motors climbed 4 percent in January 2017, as all of its brands reported increases in transaction prices. Cadillac had the greatest gain at 7 percent, thanks to the new CT6 sedan and XT5 crossover. Chevrolet rose 3 percent, with the new generation Camaro showing the most improvement, up 10 percent year-over-year. GMC increased 5 percent on a strong mix of its full-size SUVs, the Yukon and Yukon XL. Nissan North America also continues to make average transaction price gains, up 5 percent for January 2017. A sales mix in favor of SUVs and trucks is partially responsible, as well as the new Armada SUV, which rose 18 percent. The new Titan also is performing well, up 9 percent. Infiniti climbed 2 percent with help from the Q50 (up 9 percent) and its new lineup of engines, including the 400 horsepower Red Sport trim. Segment January 2017 Transaction Price (Avg.)* December 2016 Transaction Price (Avg.)* January 2016 Transaction Price (Avg.)* Percent Change December 2016 to January 2017* Percent Change January 2016 to January 2017* Compact Car $20,610 $20,535 $20,201 0.4% 2.0% Compact SUV/Crossover $27,027 $26,901 $26,617 0.5% 1.5% Electric Vehicle $39,041 $39,376 $39,315 -0.9% -0.7% Entry-Level Luxury Car $41,387 $41,494 $39,501 -0.3% 4.8% Full-Size Car $34,286 $34,590 $34,079 -0.9% 0.6% Full-Size Pickup Truck $47,035 $46,865 $46,285 0.4% 1.6% Full-Size SUV/Crossover $61,304 $61,352 $60,117 -0.1% 2.0% High Performance Car $96,890 $94,251 $105,386 2.8% -8.1% High-End Luxury Car $93,772 $93,599 $94,917 0.2% -1.2% Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car $25,160 $25,633 $25,044 -1.8% 0.5% Luxury Car $56,202 $56,885 $55,838 -1.2% 0.7% Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover $41,162 $41,108 $41,220 0.1% -0.1% Luxury Full-Size SUV/Crossover $83,197 $83,144 $85,035 0.1% -2.2% Luxury Mid-Size SUV/Crossover $54,282 $54,326 $54,754 -0.1% -0.9% Mid-Size Car $25,129 $25,194 $25,072 -0.3% 0.2% Mid-Size Pickup Truck $32,209 $32,633 $31,622 -1.3% 1.9% Mid-Size SUV/Crossover $37,370 $37,414 $36,770 -0.1% 1.6% Minivan $33,590 $34,143 $32,301 -1.6% 4.0% Sports Car $30,665 $30,149 $30,356 1.7% 1.0% Subcompact Car $16,659 $16,715 $16,455 -0.3% 1.2% Subcompact SUV/Crossover $24,438 $24,428 $24,580 0.0% -0.6% Van $33,782 $34,009 $33,367 -0.7% 1.2% Grand Total $34,968 $35,421 $33,845 -1.3% 3.3% *Kelley Blue Book average transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives To discuss this topic, or any other automotive-related information, with a Kelley Blue Book analyst on-camera via the company's on-site studio, please contact a member of the Public Relations team to schedule an interview. For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb, and get updates on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+kbb. About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com/) Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book Trade-In Values and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new and used cars this week. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com ranked highest in its category for brand equity by the 2016 Harris Poll EquiTrend study and has been named Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year for five consecutive years. Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. is a Cox Automotive brand. About Cox Automotive Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, vAuto, Xtime and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of $18 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com. SOURCE Kelley Blue Book Related Links http://www.kbb.com DALLAS, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Huggies, the fastest growing diaper brand in U.S. hospitals, is launching a new diaper for the smallest babies Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diapers. These diapers are made explicitly for babies weighing less than two pounds (900 grams), and specially-designed to protect the delicate skin of premature babies, while promoting healthy growth and development. The new diaper is part of No Baby Unhugged, Huggies promise to ensure babies get the hugs they need to thrive. The New Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diaper was developed in close partnership with NICU nurses and Neonatal Therapists. The New Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diaper is specially designed to fit babies weighing as little as 2 pounds. Huggies launches specially-designed diaper to protect skin and promote healthy growth and development of babies weighing less than two pounds. Huggies Little Snugglers Diaper Portfolio for Newborns, designed for optimal fit to promote healthy growth and development. Fewer than 1.4 percent of babies born each year fit this category, and Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) have lacked a diaper solution specifically designed for this fragile population. Responding to this unmet need, Huggies worked closely with NICU nurses and neonatal therapists to develop the Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diaper. "We're passionate about helping all babies thrive, especially the smallest and most fragile. This Huggies diaper reflects our ongoing commitment to deliver innovative solutions for the NICU," said Eleonora Daireaux, Vice President, Huggies North America. "After hearing of the need for a diaper that meets the special requirements of these babies, our expert teams in skin science, research, product safety and manufacturing were inspired. Knowing every second counts for these babies, the team acted quickly to bring Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diapers from concept to launch in hospitals in just six months." The process to create Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diapers included intensive research and design optimization, as well as interviews with nurses and neonatal therapists to ensure the design provided optimal fit for healthy growth and development. The diaper features gentle, specially-sized fasteners and a narrow, absorbent pad to provide a flexible fit so that baby can be comfortably positioned in a fetal tuck, with arms and legs close to the body. The soft, smooth liner and gentle leg gathers offer leakage protection without irritating fragile, underdeveloped skin. "Good-fitting diapers are important to the healthy growth and development of our smallest patients," said Anjanette Lee, MS, CCC/SLP, NTMTC, an infant development specialist at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas, one of nine Level III and Level IV NICUs that tested the new diaper. "In our experience, we found Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diapers conformed to the baby's bottom without gapping or limiting leg movement. The thinner fasteners and less material at the waist provided a good fit for baby while still protecting their fragile skin." Every Huggies Little Snugglers Nano and Micro Preemie Diaper goes through a rigorous inspection process, including a 40-point hand inspection, and are individually folded and hand-packed with care for these vulnerable babies. A Growing Portfolio of NICU Products Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diapers are the latest in a portfolio of products designed for the NICU, including Huggies Little Snugglers Micro Preemie Diapers and Huggies Natural Care Extra Sensitive Wipes, the first and only baby wipe developed specifically for premature baby skin. No Baby Unhugged Promise Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diapers are part of No Baby Unhugged, Huggies promise to ensure babies get the hugs they need to thrive, which includes: NICU products designed for the unique needs of premature babies Hospital hugger programs that help volunteers provide hugs and support for NICU babies when mom and dad can't be there Longstanding leadership fighting diaper need, including more than 200 million diapers and wipes donations to help all babies stay clean, dry and healthy On-going clinical research and resources like Every Change Matters: A Guide to Developmental Diapering Care, the first review to consider diapering within the context of developmental careincluding skin care, physical development, sensory elements, and bonding Healthcare professionals can get more information about No Baby Unhugged and Huggies Little Snugglers Nano Preemie Diapers, including ordering information, at huggieshealthcare.com. About the Huggies Brand Huggies believes deeply in the Power of Hugs. That's why every Huggies diaper and wipe is inspired by parents' hugs. For nearly 40 years, Huggies has been helping parents provide love, care and reassurance to help babies thrive. No Baby Unhugged is Huggies promise to ensure babies get the care they need to thrive, including innovative everyday products, growing hospital hugger programs, specially-designed products for the smallest of babies, on-going clinical research and resources, and diaper and wipes donations. Huggies is the fastest growing diaper brand in hospitals and partners with NICU nurses to develop diapers and wipes that meet the specific needs of pre-term infants. For more information on Huggies No Baby Unhugged program visit the "Why Huggies?" page at Huggies.com. About Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust Kimberly-Clark brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No.1 or No. 2 share position in 80 countries. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company's 145-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. [KMB-B] For media interviews, contact: Jacqueline Jones Edelman 312-240-3360 [email protected] Terry Balluck Kimberly-Clark Corporation 972-281-1397 [email protected] SOURCE Huggies Related Links https://www.huggies.com ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Norovirus outbreaks are spreading throughout the United States, not only affecting travelers while on a cruise, but preventing some from taking a trip altogether. Leading travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, answers four common questions about travel insurance coverage for cruisers who face a higher risk of contracting the virus. "Historically, Norovirus outbreaks have been most common on cruise ships, but early this year, we've seen outbreaks throughout the United States," said Squaremouth spokesperson Megan Singh. "Travel insurance can help sick travelers in either situation, both covering them to cancel their cruise, or for medical costs while on the ship." Can I still purchase coverage for the Norovirus? Travelers can purchase a policy to include both the Trip Cancellation and Emergency Medical benefits as long as they are healthy and have not been exhibiting symptoms or diagnosed with the Norovirus when the policy is purchased. What if I get the Norovirus before my cruise? The Trip Cancellation benefit can provide coverage to travelers who become ill and need to cancel their cruise. In order to be covered, they must be able to provide medical documentation from a licensed physician prohibiting travel. What if I get the Norovirus while on my cruise? Travelers who become sick during a cruise may be covered for the related medical expenses, including Medical Evacuation costs to be disembarked, and even to return home early if medically necessary. Can I cancel my cruise if I'm worried about getting the Norovirus? Fear of contracting the Norovirus is not a covered reason to cancel a trip under standard Trip Cancellation policies. However, travelers who purchase the Cancel For Any Reason upgrade can cancel for a reason that is not otherwise covered, including fear of contracting the virus. For more information on travel insurance coverage for cruises, visit Squaremouth's Cruise Travel Insurance Information Center. ABOUT SQUAREMOUTH Squaremouth compares travel insurance policies from every major travel insurance provider in the United States. Using Squaremouth's comparison engine and third-party customer reviews, travelers can research and compare insurance products side-by-side. More information can be found at www.squaremouth.com. Available Topic Expert: Megan Singh [email protected] (727) 378-0938 SOURCE Squaremouth Related Links http://www.squaremouth.com MASON CITY | A Mason City man was given a 10-year suspended prison sentence Tuesday for dealing methamphetamine. Jay Teepe, 30, was put on probation for five years for a felony conviction of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. He must complete the Cerro Gordo County Drug Court program as part of his probation. A $5,000 fine was suspended, but he must pay a $125 surcharge and other costs and fees. Law enforcement found 6.6 grams of methamphetamine as well as digital scales and packaging materials during a search warrant at Teepe's residence on April 18, 2015, according to a criminal complaint. He pleaded guilty to the charge in December 2016. Two additional charges of methamphetamine delivery were dismissed. Teepe also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury. He was sentenced to 365 days in jail with all but two days suspended and fined $315. He was put on probation for one year. The domestic assault took place on Aug. 21 at a Mason City residence. The Cerro Gordo County Attorney's Office later filed a felony charge of first-degree burglary against Teepe in connection with the incident, but it was dismissed as part of a plea agreement. CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of American Heart Month, Outcome Health (formerly ContextMedia) today announces a collaboration with the American Heart Association. Through this joint initiative, health information produced by the American Heart Association will be delivered by way of Outcome Health's technology platform to consultation rooms across 55,000 member offices. The two organizations will also collaborate to produce original video content and infographics to be shared with millions of patients via Outcome Health's Digital Wallboards, Exam Room Tablets and Waiting Room Screens. Outcome Health and the American Heart Association will work together to bring technology and information to cardiology consultations in order to improve understanding of heart conditions, decision making and treatment options to improve outcomes in the fight against cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. "Outcome Health's network will provide an effective platform for us to engage patients and share meaningful public health information about heart disease prevention, the importance of healthy lifestyle choices and science-based treatment guidelines to improve outcomes of heart conditions," said Jason Dyer, SVP of Digital Marketing and Content Syndication. "We're excited to work with Outcome Health to extend our information into the physician-patient consultation." Following its recent acquisition of AccentHealth, Outcome Health brings health information and intelligence to over 20% of all the outpatient facilities in the country. On Outcome Health's Digital Wallboard, 3D anatomical renderings of the heart are used more than any other diagram, and in over 95% of cardiology-related consultations. "Providing insights and content from the American Heart Association across our nationwide platform will be a benefit to millions of patients and caregivers who crave meaningful information and intelligence while they make decisions about preventing and managing heart disease," said Anil Harjani, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Outcome Health. "With 12.4M unique patients visiting their physician annually for heart disease each year according to the CDC, the need for this type of intelligence during the consultation is urgent, and the opportunity for impact unmatched." About Outcome Health Outcome Health delivers better health outcomes and impacts the human condition positively through technology. Founded in 2006 by Rishi Shah and Shradha Agarwal, the company has doubled each year in its scale of technology implementation at outpatient healthcare facilities, business partnerships with global life sciences and medical device companies, product innovation and team growth. Decision platforms such as digital anatomy boards, interactive educational tablets and mobile connectivity in consultation rooms deliver measurable outcomes through actionable intelligence on conditions, treatments and lifestyle changes to improve the quality of life. To find out more about Outcome Health, visit www.OutcomeHealth.com. Media Contact: Philip de Guzman, Communications Lead, Outcome Health (312) 636-7320, [email protected] SOURCE Outcome Health Related Links http://www.outcomehealth.com RIDGEFIELD, Conn., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Owl Computing Technologies ("Owl"), a next-generation cybersecurity solutions provider, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Acuity Technologies Holding Company, ("Acuity"), an affiliate of DC Capital Partners ("DC Capital"). Acuity will serve as the parent holding company for both Owl and existing portfolio company, QRC Technologies ("QRC"). Founded in 1998, Owl designs, develops, manufactures, and sells advanced network security products and cyber defense solutions that protect military, intelligence, and critical infrastructure networks and data. The company's proprietary and patented products enable a fail-safe, one-way transfer of data between discrete networks and/or domains, often involving varying security levels. QRC is an integrated mobile and broadband network solutions provider for government, military, and law enforcement agencies. The combination of Owl and QRC will offer enhanced capabilities to customers who require proactive threat warnings and secure networks to manage the current threat environment of cyber-attacks and increasing global terrorism as well as accomplish a variety of other COMINT and SIGINT missions. The combined company has over 100 employees, the majority of whom hold high level security clearances. Thomas J. Campbell, Chairman of Acuity and Managing Partner of DC Capital, said, "Owl has a reputation for excellence, a proven and highly skilled team with significant expertise in their field, and a portfolio of innovative and differentiated solutions. The combination of Owl and QRC will create a company with a diverse product offering, comprehensive capabilities, and significant engineering talent. With increased data usage and geopolitical instability, the importance of protecting military, intelligence, critical infrastructure, and corporate networks and data has continued to grow. We are building a platform to address these priorities and making the requisite research and development investments to solve our customers' most difficult problems." Dr. Ronald Mraz, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Owl said, "Combining with QRC is a major strategic opportunity for Owl. It allows us to not only expand our client base, but also, with the incremental investment from DC Capital, meaningfully increase our research and development. We believe that this union with QRC will provide substantial value to customers, while providing extensive opportunities for our employees' personal and professional development." Owl will remain headquartered in Ridgefield, CT and the management team will continue to lead the company. QRC and Owl will retain their existing brands and will continue to operate as they have to date but with the expectation that there will be complementary market and research and development synergies. DC Capital plans to meaningfully invest in Owl by increasing research and development efforts and adding more engineers and business development resources to better serve existing customers and to expand into new markets. Bluestone Capital Partners, LLC acted as financial advisor and Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP acted as legal advisor to Owl in connection with the transaction. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP acted as legal advisor to DC Capital. About Owl Computing Technologies Owl Computing Technologies designs, develops, manufactures, and implements next-generation cybersecurity solutions for critical networks. Owl DualDiode Technology, a proprietary data diode-based solution, boasts over 27 technology patents and has over 2,000 successful deployments globally across intelligence, government, military, utility, energy, and other critical infrastructure networks. Owl's deterministic, hardware-enforced technology secures networks and enables the reliable and robust one-way transfer of any data type, including streaming sources. Owl was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Learn more at www.owlcti.com. About QRC Technologies QRC Technologies designs, develops, and services a host of proprietary Radio Frequency products and provides comprehensive integrated solutions primarily for government, military, and law enforcement agencies. These products and solutions address a wide range of SIGINT and COMINT missions for the tactical user community. QRC's products are employed globally on a myriad of manned, unmanned, and autonomous platforms and labs. QRC was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Learn more at www.qrctech.com. About DC Capital Partners DC Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, focused on making control investments in middle market, U.S.-based, Government Services and Engineering & Construction Services businesses. Learn more at www.dccapitalpartners.com. Media Contact DC Capital Partners Douglas T. Lake, Jr. 202-737-5220 www.dccapitalpartners.com SOURCE DC Capital Partners Related Links http://www.dccapitalpartners.com With over 30 years of experience, Dave brings a strategic perspective to the Paraco Gas executive team stemming from his breadth of knowledge of all aspects of running large organizations. In his new role, Dave will be responsible for Sales, Marketing, Human Resources and Operations, working with Paraco CEO Joseph Armentano and the team to set forth the future strategy of the company. His responsibilities will include preparing for and driving growth for the company in all market segments. "Dave has a proven track record of success and has demonstrated his ability to consistently deliver results," said Armentano. "He is extremely qualified and fits perfectly within the culture of our organization. I have all the confidence in the world in Dave's ability to bring our company to the next level through a very aggressive growth plan which will focus on our employees and the customer experience." Dave is originally from Boston, Mass., where he grew up helping his dad and brothers run a small heating oil business. He has previous experience working at companies such as Pepsi Cola and Nestle Waters, where he was the Executive Vice President and General Manager for their $700MM home and office water route business. Most recently, Dave worked for Schwan Food Company, a $1 billion frozen food delivery business, as President of their Home Services Division. Muscato stated, "I am extremely excited to join the Paraco family and share in its commitment to excellence, integrity and safety, and will work hard to continue the long history of serving Paraco customers, employees and the communities where we operate." Dave resides in Weston, Connecticut, and will be based out of Paraco's corporate headquarters in Rye Brook, New York. Contact: Mike Gioffre - [email protected] 704-321-5558 - ParacoGas.com About Paraco: Paraco Gas Corporation is one of the leading propane gas companies in New York State and one of the top regional propane marketers in the Northeastern US. Established by Pat Armentano in 1968, our family-owned company provides propane gas services to residential, commercial and wholesale markets from locations throughout the United States. SOURCE Paraco Gas Related Links https://www.paracogas.com NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pencils of Promise (PoP), a global education organization, today announces a $1 million dollar grant from American entrepreneur, Timothy Sykes through The Timothy Sykes Foundation. The donation, which is the single largest donation PoP has received to date, will help PoP implement change on a transformative level and change the fact that 250 million children around the world lack basic reading and writing skills. "I believe knowledge truly is power and education is key to the future of our children. That's why it is my personal mission to support education in communities that are in desperate need of some of the everyday resources that many of us take for granted," said Sykes. "I have seen first-hand some of the amazing work Pencils of Promise does around the world and I'm proud to help them further their mission." This contribution will be utilized in two of PoP's key areas of focus: school builds and literacy programming. A majority of the grant will help build 20 new primary schools across Ghana, Guatemala and Laos, to be completed between 2017 and 2018. The building of these schools will give thousands of students for years to come access to a safe, clean and engaging learning environment they otherwise wouldn't have. The remaining portion of the grant will aid the funding of PoP's Innovation Pipeline, which was established in January 2016 to enhance the tools utilized by PoP teachers to improve literacy in the classroom. More specifically, PoP will continue expanding their e-reader program, which provides 3rd-6th grade students in Ghana e-readers with over 150 pre-loaded books in both English and the local language. This is one of PoP's most successful advancements to date. "Over the past year, Timothy has been such a fantastic supporter of PoP and we are so appreciative of his generous donation," said PoP CEO Michael Dougherty. "This is just the beginning of helping change the lives of kids across the globe as we continue to expand our efforts of increasing quality education." It is generous donations like this that allow PoP to further their mission of increasing access to quality education in rural communities. It is estimated that this donation will impact roughly 26,040 students in a 20-year time-span. About Pencils of Promise: Pencils of Promise is a for-purpose organization founded in 2008 with the goal of increasing access to quality education for children in the developing world. PoP works with communities across the globe to build schools and create programs that provide educational opportunities for children. To date, PoP has built over 380 schools and provided access to education to more than 35,000 students throughout Ghana, Guatemala, Laos and Nicaragua, establishing itself as a leader amongst the innovative global nonprofits working toward sustainable social change. About Timothy Sykes: Timothy Sykes is a self-made millionaire whose success story is well known for turning his $12,415 Bar Mitzvah money into $1.65 million by the age of 22. A former hedge fund manager, Sykes left the industry to work as a financial activist and educator, sharing his trading strategies with more than 6,000 students in 70 countries. He is the author of the best-selling book "An American Hedge Fund" and CEO of Millionaire Media. Sykes is also a devoted philanthropist and started his own charity The Timothy Sykes Foundation in 2014. His philanthropic work is dedicated to providing and improving education opportunities to people living in third-world countries. Press inquiries: Pencils of Promise Kirby Allison JONESWORKS [email protected] SOURCE Pencils of Promise HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) Secretary Curt Topper and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Director of External Affairs Howard Pollman were joined today by state Senator Art Haywood to kick-off Black History Month in the Capitol with the unveiling of the PHMC exhibit, "Trailblazers: Notable African Americans in Pennsylvania History," which made its return to the Capitol after a 7-year hiatus. "It is often said that we really ought to be celebrating African-American contributions to our history and culture year-round," Topper noted. "I agree with that idea too. But this year I am especially grateful for the start of February. Our progress on the path of American ideals requires essential reminders and examples for us all to follow, examples like those we are about to unveil in this exhibit Trailblazers: Notable African Americans in Pennsylvania History,." The State Museum of Pennsylvania presented Trailblazers: Notable African Americans in Pennsylvania History, a new photography exhibit focusing on the accomplishments of African Americans and their contributions to the Commonwealth in 2005. The exhibit highlights significant African Americans and presents a good opportunity to introduce visitors to the diversity of the state's history. The African Americans featured in the exhibit are closely associated with Pennsylvania and entered into jobs, activities and businesses where no African American had gone before. It depicts stories of real-life people from Pennsylvania and tells those who view the exhibit about the many accomplishments and contributions of these outstanding citizens. "PHMC is thrilled that this exhibit, designed to commemorate and inspire, has found a new home in The State Capitol, where it will be seen by thousands of visitors and perhaps inspire them to do great things and become trailblazers in their own right," said Howard Pollman, PHMC's Director of External Affairs on behalf of the agency. The exhibit features 23 portraits and an information panel. Through the work of DGS, PHMC, Senator Haywood and Representative Harris, the Trailblazer exhibit will be a permanent exhibit in the East Wing Rotunda of the Main Capitol Building in Harrisburg with eight portraits being displayed annually on a rotating basis. The 8 portraits that will be displayed for 2017 are: Marian Anderson (1897-1993) Classical Music & Opera Singer (1897-1993) Classical Music & Opera Singer Billy Eckstine (1914-1993) Jazz Musician (1914-1993) Jazz Musician Virginia Florence (1903-1991) Librarian (1903-1991) Librarian Josh Gibson (1911-1985) Negro League Baseball Player, Baseball Hall of Famer (1911-1985) Negro League Baseball Player, Baseball Hall of Famer Charles 'Teenie' Harris (1908-1998) Photojournalist Dr. Rev. Leroy Patrick (1915-2006) Minister and Civil Rights Activist (1915-2006) Minister and Civil Rights Activist Robert Purvis (1810-1898) Abolitionist and Civil Rights Leader (1810-1898) Abolitionist and Civil Rights Leader C. Delores Tucker (1927-2005) Politician Civil Rights Activist MEDIA CONTACT: Troy Thompson, DGS, 717-787-3197, Howard Pollman, PHMC, 717-705-8639 SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of General Services Related Links http://www.state.pa.us NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Polyols or sugar alcohols have been used as sugar substitutes in a wide variety of foods, beverages, confectionery and even pharmaceuticals among others. Polyols are not only used for their sweetness, but also for adding bulk and texture, providing a cooling effect, inhibiting the browning that occurs during heating and retaining moisture in foods. The commonly used polyols include sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, lactitol, erythritol and isomalt. Polyols are increasingly used in food and pharmaceutical applications due to their excellent functional properties and health benefits. The demand for low calorie foods containing polyols is expected to grow further, driven by increasing consumer awareness of diabetes, as well as weight management. Sugar-free confectionery, chewing gum and low-caloric diabetic foods are major application areas driving growth in the global polyols market. This global report analyzes polyols comprising sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol, erythritol, isomalt and lactitol. The study also explores the key end-use applications of polyols including Confectionary, Food & Beverages, Personal Care and Others (Pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals). The global markets for the above-mentioned polyol types and end-use applications are analyzed in terms of both volume in metric tons and value in USD for the 2014-2022 analysis period. Sorbitol market estimated in this report does not include sorbitol used as an intermediate in manufacturing Vitamin C. The global market for polyols (sugar alcohols) is analyzed across major regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World. The regional markets further analyzed for 13 more independent countries across North America United States, Canada and Mexico; Europe France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom; Asia-Pacific China, India, Japan and South Korea. Global volume consumption of Polyol Sweeteners or Sugar Alcohols is forecast to be 1.6 million metric tons in 2017 and is projected to reach 1.9 million metric tons by 2022 at a CAGR of 3.4% between the two years. The report exclusively analyzes the end-use application sectors of each polyol type for all major regions and countries for the analysis period while discussing the overall applications of polyols. Asia-Pacific is the leading global volume consumer of Polyols, forecast to be 899.5 thousand metric tons (55.8% share) in 2017, which is expected to post a 2017-2022 CAGR of 3.8% and reach a projected 1.1 million metric tons by 2022. In terms of value, too, Asia-Pacific dominates the global market for Polyols with a share of about 47%. This global polyols market report includes 952 charts (includes a data table and graphical representation for each chart), supported with meaningful and easy to understand graphical presentation, of market numbers. This report profiles 15 global players and 44 overall major players across the globe. The research also provides the listing of the companies engaged in manufacturing and supply of polyols. The global list of companies covers the address, contact numbers and the website addresses of 101 companies. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04660893-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com CONCORD, N.C., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a well-documented fact that New York is one of the greatest food cities in the world, showcasing some of the best culinary selections there are to offer. PreGel (Pre Gelato) aims to do the same at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, March 5-7, at the Jacob Javits Center, booth #1907. The specialty dessert ingredient manufacturer will feature brand new flavors and cutting-edge culinary techniques that get the most uses out of one product. Black Currant Gelato made from PreGel's Black Currant Fortefrutto(R) flavoring paste. The sweet, earthy flavors of raspberries and gooseberries merge with aromatic hints of passion fruit and floral notes to create this mouthwatering traditional paste, delivering the undeniable flavor profile of the exotic European berry. Italian Hot Chocolate made with PreGel's Italian Hot Chocolate Mix. The name suggests exactly what this premium powdered mix supplies rich, authentic Italian hot chocolate. When made the Italian way, the consistency creates an indulgent pudding-like dessert drink that is thick enough to enjoy with a spoon, but the recipe can be customized to palate preferences. The question is: if every exhibiter going to the showcase has the same intent to promote new products and concepts how will PreGel show its swag and attract the unique curiosity of passerby? For starters, where else will anyone get PreGel's celebratory 50th anniversary orange mimosa gelato that will only be offered at the company's booth? Also, with PreGel being in a New York state of mind, the staff will quickly get to the bottom line about how business owners can increase their bottom line with multi-useful ingredients for artisan desserts. Presenting in the city that never sleeps, PreGel will bring culinary energy with ongoing demonstrations of trendy food pairing concepts and exhibit frozen desserts in popular American and European flavors including butter pecan, black currant, and traditional frozen custard. Useful giveaways, informative collateral, and dessert samples will be distributed, and there will be the opportunity to support PreGel's initiative with Smile Train, a charitable organization dedicated to repairing cleft palates of children in developing countries. About PreGel America Established in 2002, PreGel America is the U.S. subsidiary of PreGel (Pre Gelato), a global developer, manufacturer, and distributor of specialty dessert ingredients, with main headquarters in Reggio Emilia, Italy. PreGel was built on producing authentic dessert ingredient solutions for passionate chefs who desired high quality and shelf-stable ingredients for the creation of innovative finished desserts. The company's diverse product lines include bases, bases with flavorings, pastes, compounds, variegates, toppings & fillings, coatings, and instant dessert bases in four main sectors: Gelato, Sorbetto & Ice Cream, Soft Serve Ice Cream, Pastry & Confections, and Specialty Beverage Solutions. PreGel provides private label options, a team of dedicated sales agents for all regions of the U.S., and hosts PreGel International Training Centers staffed by trained and award-winning chefs in North Carolina, California, Florida, and Illinois. With distribution facilities in Charlotte, NC and Los Angeles, CA, PreGel sells directly to full service restaurants, quick service restaurants, frozen dessert establishments, coffee shops, bakeries, patisseries, pizzerias, hospitality and tourism, grocery stores, colleges, universities, hospitals, and other noncommercial foodservice, as well as distributors in the United States. Your Passion. Our Ingredients. It's not just a slogan; it's what PreGel believes in. For more information, visit www.pregelamerica.com. Contact: Janae Morris, PreGel America Tel.:704 707 0300 ext. 326 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pregelamerica.com SOURCE PreGel America Related Links http://www.pregelamerica.com NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform EXPERT ALERTS Trump Administration's Efforts to Combat ISIS How Brands and Consumers Are Navigating Issues in the Political Climate EXPERT ROUNDUP Immigration Reform (22 experts) MEDIA JOBS Features/Special Projects Editor Modern Healthcare (IL) Copy Editor LevFin Insights (NY) Legal Content Writer Pacer Monitor (NY) OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES The Digital News Race: How Media Meets the Demands of an Online-First World 5 Essential Tips Every Beginner Photographer Should Know Blog Profiles: Winter Sports Blogs ------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPERT ALERTS: Trump Administration's Efforts to Combat ISIS Don Haider-Markel Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science University of Kansas "The Trump administration can call it whatever it likes, but to increase the involvement of the U.S. military against ISIS in Syria and Iraq would require sending more troops, especially if it wants to create so-called safe zones in Syria. We could do more to arm the Kurds and others in Syria, but any dramatic difference in the American approach would require sending more personnel and weapons -- such as artillery. In short, this requires putting more Americans in the line of fire." Haider-Markel can discuss issues surrounding the Trump administration's efforts to combat ISIS. His research includes terrorism, extremist groups, public policy and American politics. He has written numerous books and peer-reviewed journal articles on a number of issues, including criminal justice, terrorism and extremist groups and LGBT politics. Contact: George Diepenbrock, [email protected] How Brands and Consumers Are Navigating Issues in the Political Climate Noelle Nelson Assistant Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behavior University of Kansas, School of Business "It's unusual in that consumers are demanding that companies have a 'position' on all things political right now. So, people are paying close attention to every action or communication a company makes, and even a misinterpretation of information -- like perhaps what happened with Uber -- can be detrimental. Companies are having to navigate this heightened consumer attention environment, and they need to more closely analyze all public communication." Nelson can address how brands and consumers are approaching and navigating issues in this political climate, including recent responses to Uber and Starbucks on social media in wake of Donald Trump's immigration executive order. Nelson's broad research portfolio includes studying working memory and negative effect in consumer behavior. She has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles that focus on consumer behavior. Blog Post: http://bit.ly/2knP1Tf Contact: George Diepenbrock, [email protected] EXPERT ROUNDUP: Immigration Reform (22 experts) Following are experts from the ProfNet network who are available for interviews regarding immigration reform and the Trump Administration's immigration policies: Steve Legomsky Emeritus Professor of Law Washington University in St. Louis Legomsky is a noted expert on immigration law. He served as senior counsel to the secretary of Homeland Security on immigration issues and as chief counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He can comment on a wide range of issues related to immigration law and policy. "The U.S. overseas refugee process entails rigorous vetting and typically takes one to two years to complete. So no competent terrorist would choose the overseas refugee system as the preferred strategy for gaining access to U.S. territory. It simply wouldn't make sense." Contact: Neil Schoenherr, [email protected] Camilo Perez-Bustillo Executive Director, Human Rights Center; Research Professor, Human Rights and Law University of Dayton Perez-Bustillo says President Trump's immigration policy plans will create a crisis for refugees, immigrants and U.S.-Mexico relations: "The president's plans for immigration reform, the border wall, and refugees sadly seem to confirm many of our worst fears that the Trump administration is retreating from key principles of international human rights and international law. These plans will erode our nation's historic role as a nation of compassion and hospitality for refugees and immigrants and create more hardships for them. Also, as signaled by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's decision to cancel his meeting with President Trump, U.S.-Mexico relations stand at the brink of unprecedented, and perhaps irreversible, crisis." Contact: Shawn Robinson, [email protected] Erin Corcoran Professor of Immigration Law University of New Hampshire "What we know about the wall is that it doesn't work. If the reason why people are coming doesn't change, the smugglers will just change their routes and build tunnels, which they are already doing. It's important to look at the historical trends that show the number of people arriving in the United States continues to go down. What has changed is the demographics. Five or 10 years ago, it was mostly men crossing the Mexican border, coming for work or reuniting with family. Recently, we're seeing an increase in women and children coming from Central America where they are fleeing horrific violence," said Corcoran. "When looking at other immigrant populations, we had, until recently, a so-called Muslim registry, which just created huge fear in the community. There were no terrorists found by the program, and a lot of racial profiling; it was seen as a failure. Many security experts feel that alienating that community, or creating fear, actually undercuts the ability to get valuable information." Corcoran is well-versed in all matters of immigration, including the new administration's plans to build a border wall, why it will need congressional approval, banning immigrants from some Muslim countries, the now-defunct Muslim registry, sanctuary cities, refugees, vulnerable populations, the DREAMer program, and immigrants and their contribution to the U.S. economy. She is the former director of the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership and Public Policy (2013-2014) and the Social Justice Institute (2009-2013). Her scholarship and presentations center on protecting non-citizens through systemic changes to the immigration system, including providing government funded non-attorney legal representation, professionalizing the immigration prosecutors' office, and requiring best practices for adjudicating claims of unaccompanied minors seeking immigration relief. Video: http://bit.ly/2k5prSB Contact:Robbin Ray, [email protected] Paul W. Posner Associate Professor of Political Science Clark University, Worcester, Mass. Posner is available to discuss U.S. - Latin American relations: "President Trump's proposed construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, while highly popular with his base, is a grossly misguided policy that reflects a profound misunderstanding of the immigration issue. Construction of a border wall will not address the severe economic and social problems confronting working Americans, but has already significantly damaged U.S.-Mexican relations and the image of the U.S. globally." Posner's research focuses on Latin American politics. He teaches courses on Latin American politics, U.S.-Latin American relations, comparative environmental politics, and democratic theory. Bio: https://www2.clarku.edu/faculty/facultybio.cfm?id=459 Website: www.clarku.edu Contact: Jane Salerno, [email protected] Heather Silber Mohamed Assistant Professor of Political Science Clark University, Worcester, Mass. "While Donald Trump made immigration issues central to his campaign, the American people do not agree with his approach on immigration. Numerous surveys consistently demonstrate that a majority of Americans support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and only a minority support construction of a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border." Silber Mohamed is available to discuss Latino politics, immigrant socialization and participation, immigration policy, and identity politics in the U.S., with a focus on the influence of race, class, and gender. The author of "The New Americans? Immigration, Protest, and the Politics of Latino Identity," Silber Mohamed is affiliated with the Latin American and Latino Studies concentration and the program in Women's and Gender Studies at Clark. She also worked for six years on Capitol Hill, in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Website: www.clarku.edu Contact: Jane Salerno, [email protected] Polly J. Price Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Law, Professor of Global Health Emory University School of Law "Under President Obama, both President Trump and congressional Republicans criticized the use of executive orders for immigration matters. Now the reverse is true, yet there are clear limits to President Trump's ability to direct immigration policy from the White House. Congress is a necessary partner, especially to approve the astronomical sums necessary to fulfill Trump's directive. And only Congress can fix the real problem -- the woeful state of America's immigration courts. The immigration court system is widely recognized to be underfunded and under-staffed, with its resources lagging far behind those provided to CBP and ICE. Immigration courts face an immense if not overwhelming backlog of nearly one-half million cases, leading to lengthy delays and increasingly high levels of detention." Price is the author of two books and numerous articles on American legal history, citizenship, property rights, and the judiciary. At Emory, Price teaches citizenship and immigration law, torts, legislation and regulation, American legal history, global public health law, and Latin American legal systems. Bio: http://law.emory.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/faculty-profiles/price-profile.html Contact: Elaine Justice, [email protected], or Polly Price, [email protected] Marie Marquardt Scholar-in-Residence Candler School of Theology, Emory University "Beginning in about 2013, the Stewart Detention Center saw a surprising shift. The people who were requesting visits from El Refugio were increasingly teenagers and young adults who'd been detained at the U.S./Mexico border and flown to Stewart. In most cases, they weren't trying to sneak into the U.S., but were actually presenting themselves to the U.S. Border Patrol to seek asylum. No criminal record, no criminal activity. And almost all of them were deported back to dangerous communities in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Most of what is happening in their communities is linked to gang violence, recruitment and extortion." As a scholar and immigration advocate, Marquardt has spoken in classrooms and communities across the nation about how the U.S. immigration system is broken and why it needs to be repaired. She is co-chair of El Refugio (http://elrefugiostewart.org), a non-profit program that aids immigrants detained at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga., a private prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America under contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She's had a close view of both the system's flaws, as well as its human costs. Marquardt also is an author of young adult fiction, and her latest book, "The Radius of Us," deals with the hardships that Latin American teens face in fleeing gang violence and seeking asylum in the U.S. Bio: http://candler.emory.edu/faculty/profiles/marquardt-marie.html Contact: Elaine Justice, [email protected], or Marie Marquardt, [email protected] Laurie Woog Attorney, Woog Law Office, LLC Of Counsel, Mandelbaum Salsburg Adjunct Professor, Union County (NJ) College Says Woog: "Immigration law is complex. People who say they aren't against immigration, but just want people to only come in 'the legal way,' often don't realize how few legal avenues there are for people to enter the United States to live or work even temporarily." Woog clerked for a federal judge and has more than 20 years' experience in the immigration field. She focuses on business cases for employers and talented individuals in the sciences, arts, academia and business, as well as family immigration including marriage-based green cards immigrant visas for overseas relatives. She has a private practice in Scotch Plains, N.J., and serves as of counsel to the law firm of Mandelbaum Salsburg in Roseland, N.J., heading its immigration practice. She has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Wisconsin Law School and Union County (NJ) College. She has a BA from Harvard and a JD from Northeastern University Law School. Expert Contact: [email protected] Clete Samson Of Counsel Attorney Kutak Rock LLP "Beyond the wall, President Trump's Executive Orders effectively eviscerate President Obama's prior approach to prioritize the removal of only those undocumented immigrants with significant criminal history. Practically speaking, President Trump's executive order will be very costly to implement and may lead to the arrest and detention of individuals who are ultimately eligible for some form of immigration benefit that allows them to remain in the United States." Samson served as a federal trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2009-2016 where he prosecuted removal cases throughout Nebraska and Iowa and served as the point of contact on all worksite enforcement cases across the nation. He can address how President Trump's executive orders relate to immigration enforcement priorities, removability, and civil fines and penalties for employers hiring unauthorized aliens compares with President Obama's approach to those same issues. He also can address immigration removal and custody proceedings, criminal/immigration matters, visa compliance, key preventative advice to avoid liability associated with improper I-9 compliance and what is involved during a related government investigation. Contact: Mark Wiederin [email protected] Abel Rodriguez, JD Assistant Professor of Religion, Law, and Social Justice Cabrini University "A more just immigration system must begin with a fundamental shift in the way we imagine people in migration." An active immigration advocate, Rodriguez's scholarship focuses on immigrant justice. In addition to teaching courses on social justice, law, and religion, Rodriguez provides pro bono representation to low-income clients in immigration court and engages with organizations dedicated to Latina/o community empowerment. Prior to Cabrini, Rodriguez held a split position as the immigration specialist at the Defender Association of Philadelphia and staff attorney at Nationalities Service Center, in which he advised noncitizen clients about the immigration consequences of their criminal convictions and represented the formerly convicted in deportation proceedings. He is available to discuss immigration law and policy, the intersection of criminal and immigration law, and public interest law. Contact: Lori Iannella, [email protected] Roy Beck CEO, Founder NumbersUSA Beck is available to discuss all aspects of immigration policy, and can explain the rationale behind limiting both illegal and legal immigration: "U.S. immigration policy should reflect American workers' interests." Beck is CEO and founder of NumbersUSA, the nation's largest grassroots immigration-reduction organization. He has informally advised President Trump on immigration issues and provides frequent commentary in the nation's top media outlets. Website: https://www.numbersusa.com/about Contact: Colin Valentine, [email protected], or Jacy Gomez, [email protected] Dr. Carina Bandhauer Professor of Sociology Western Connecticut State University, Danbury Dr. Bandhauer earned a Ph.D. at Binghamton University in 2001. She specializes in the sociology of immigration, racism and globalization, with a regional specialization in Latin America. Dr. Bandhauer has long worked with immigrant communities in many capacities, including undocumented students and Syrian refugee assistance in the U.S., and has worked with rural communities in El Salvador since 1993. She served as creative consultant for the production of the film "El Pueblo Unido," which documented her work in El Salvador and premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2004. Her forthcoming book is entitled "Be American or Get Out! Tracing the Modern Anti-Immigrant Movement 1961-2017." Contact: Sherri Hill, [email protected] Elizabeth "Liz" Holtzman Counsel and Co-Chair, Government Relations Herrick, Feinstein, LLP Holtzman can discuss economic implications, legal processes and the history of immigration reform. She is co-chair of Herrick's Government Relations Group, where she focuses on government relations at the federal, state and local levels, and in litigation. During her 22-year career in government, including four terms as a U.S. congresswoman, Liz chaired the Immigration and Refugees Subcommittee and co-authored the Refugee Act of 1980 with Senator Ted Kennedy. Contact: Kelly Whalen, [email protected] Gregory J. Palakow Partner Archer (Attorneys at Law) Palakow has chaired the firm's Immigration and Homeland Security Group for over a decade. He is a longtime member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, New Jersey Chapter, and counsels U.S. and international businesses in United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rules and nuances. He regularly represents U.S. employers in all of their immigration needs. In this role, Palakow counsels clients on the Immigration and Nationality Act, (INA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and with U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulatory compliance. He handles North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) work visa applications, and their resolution through United States Custom and Border Patrol (CBP). Bio: http://www.archerlaw.com/attorneys/gregory-j-palakow/ Contact: Megan Egan, [email protected] Robert S. Whitehill Partner Fox Rothschild Whitehill has focused his practice exclusively on immigration and nationality law for more than two decades. Chair of the firm's Immigration Group, Whitehill serves the immigration needs of individuals and employers, including those skilled and highly trained in the sciences, the arts, medicine, and commerce and industry. He also assists employers in securing non-immigrant work visas for new hires and permanent residence for permanent personnel; health care institutions with immigration issues of foreign-born professional staff; institutions in developing and implementing system-wide immigration policies and protocols; multi-national companies in bringing in executives, managers or individuals with specialized knowledge; universities with foreign-born faculty, researchers, and graduates, including Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh; entrepreneurs forming startup enterprises or relocating to the U.S. in securing treaty-based visas; and individuals seeking status based on family or asylum. Bio: http://www.foxrothschild.com/robert-s-whitehill/ Contact: Megan Egan, [email protected] Roger Tsai Of Counsel Holland & Hart LLP Leading the firm's immigration practice, Tsai counsels universities and companies in the healthcare, technology, and energy sectors on securing temporary and permanent visas for foreign national employees, including H-1B visas and permanent resident status. He also represents companies under investigation by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and helps companies perform internal audits of their employment eligibility documents. Bio: https://www.hollandhart.com/rytsai#overview Haley Gibbs, [email protected] Benjamin Lawrance Professor of History and Anthropology, Hon. Barber B. Conable Jr. Endowed Chair of International and Global Studies Rochester Institute of Technology Lawrance's expertise is in refugee issues, comparative and contemporary slavery, human trafficking, human rights and asylum policies. He is a legal consultant on the contemporary political, social and cultural climate in West Africa. He has served as an expert witness for over 350 asylum claims of West Africans in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands, Israel, and many other countries, and his opinions have featured in appellate rulings in the U.S. and the U.K. He received his Ph.D. and A.M. from Stanford University, and his M.A. and B.A. (Hons.) from University College London. Contact: Greg Livadas, [email protected] Donathan Brown Associate Professor of Communication Studies Ithaca College An expert on immigration, race and public policy, Brown is able to comment on immigration reform through the lens of race. He is the immediate past editor of the Journal of Race and Policy, and lead author of the books "When Race and Policy Collide: Contemporary Immigration Debates" and "Voting Rights Under Fire: The Continuing Struggle for People of Color." Learn more about Brown's expertise on the Ithaca College website. Books: http://www.amazon.com/When-Race-Policy-Collide-Contemporary/dp/1440831246 and http://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/PrintProduct.aspx?pc=A4419C Website: http://www.ithaca.edu/news/experts/?item=6779 Contact: Dan Verderosa, [email protected] Prakash Adhikari, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Political Science Central Michigan University Adhikari's research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations, with specific focus on civil war, forced migration and transitional justice. Bio: https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/chsbs/PoliticalScience/FacultyandStaff/Pages/Prakash-Adhikari,-Ph.D.aspx Contact: Daniel Digmann, [email protected] Nancy Powers Assistant Professor of Political Science Kenyon College Powers is an expert on the politicization of immigration and Latin American politics. She teaches courses on immigration, citizenship, national identity and poverty. She has worked extensively with organizations supporting immigrants and farmworkers, including in both Ohio and Florida. Kenyon College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college of approximately 1,650 students located in central Ohio. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest private college in Ohio. Contact: Mary Keister, [email protected] Jacob T. Muklewicz Shareholder and Chair, Employment and Immigration section Kirton McConkie PC Muklewicz's U.S. immigration and visa practice focuses on employment- and investor-based issues. He represents U.S. and foreign companies that lawfully employ skilled foreign workers in the U.S., as well as foreign investors who pursue investment opportunities in the U.S. market. He strategizes with clients on identifying nonimmigrant and immigrant visa options and pursuing the most appropriate option given current U.S. immigration statutes and regulations. He has published articles on immigration reform and litigation strategies for immigration issues. Website: http://www.kmclaw.com/attorneys-Jacob-Muklewicz.html Contact: Carlos Arcos, [email protected] Tristan Borer Professor of Government and International Relations; Government and International Relations Department Chair Connecticut College Borer's teaching revolves around issues of human rights and the politics of refugees. She specializes in transitional justice, international relations and gender and human rights. Borer is the recipient of several research awards including a grant from the United States Institute of Peace and the Joan Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. In addition, the American Political Science Association awarded her the Best Paper in Religion and Politics. She has also won two different teaching awards at Connecticut College, as well as an award for Outstanding Teaching in Political Science by the American Political Science Association. Website: www.conncoll.edu Contact: Kerry Meehan, [email protected] **************** MEDIA JOBS: Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/ Features/Special Projects Editor Modern Healthcare (IL) Copy Editor LevFin Insights (NY) Legal Content Writer Pacer Monitor (NY) ***************** OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES: Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line. THE DIGITAL NEWS RACE: HOW MEDIA MEETS THE DEMANDS OF AN ONLINE-FIRST WORLD. Every newsroom faces this challenge: News breaks, and it's a rush to get the story online. News organizations have been placing more focus on digital and social media for years. The past year even has been a turning point for many news organizations, including newspapers that have cut back on print editions and put more stock and resources into their online presence. Read more: http://bit.ly/2jXiBOn 5 ESSENTIAL TIPS EVERY BEGINNER PHOTOGRAPHER SHOULD KNOW. Multimedia is an integral part of any content, especially online. Think about it: If an article has an eye-catching header image or a neat infographic, you're more likely to read through it and engage with it, right? But there's more to photography than just pointing and shooting. A fresh and clean result enhances your storytelling. Here are the five things I always consider to ensure that I get the best photo possible, whether you're using a DSLR, mobile, or digital camera: http://bit.ly/2jj6TKg BLOG PROFILES: WINTER SPORTS BLOGS. Each week, PR Newswire's Audience Relations team selects an industry or subject and a handful of sites that do a good job with promoting and contributing to the conversation. This week, they look at winter sports blogs: http://bit.ly/2jRIzjL **************** PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. SOURCE ProfNet Related Links http://www.profnet.com NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the most innovative production Nature has ever presented, this five-part series employs more than 30 animatronic spy cameras disguised as animals to secretly record behavior in the wild. These "spycams" reveal animals as having emotions and behavior similar to humans: specifically, a capacity to love, grieve, deceive, and invent. Among the featured Spy Creatures are: Spy Orangutan, Spy Croc Hatchling, Spy Meerkat, Spy Egret, Spy Tortoise, Spy Prairie Dog, Spy Macaw, Spy Sloth, Spy Cobra, Spy Bushbaby, Spy Squirrel, Spy Adelie, and Spy Baby Hippo. These robotic, uncanny look-alikes infiltrate the natural world to film surprising behavior among wildlife from around the globe. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries airs Wednesdays, February 1, 8, 15, 22, and March 1, 2017 at 8 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings). After each broadcast, that episode will be available for limited online streaming at pbs.org/nature. Miniseries producer and director John Downer, whose productions such as Earthflight and Penguins: Spy in the Huddle, were presented by Nature, says this was the first "spycam" series to be shot in ultra-high-definition (UHD) and is "the most ambitious and biggest Spy series yet." Downer explains that the series' aim "was to capture these elusive moments where animals do something so extraordinary that makes us consider our own connection with the natural world. Inevitably those moments are rare, but by deploying a menagerie of lifelike Spy Creatures and other remote cameras over long periods of time and filming thousands of hours of footage, it was possible to capture many never-seen-before moments." "This series is a big step up from how we currently view and understand animals," says Nature executive producer Fred Kaufman. "It is surprising in every way." The special sequences recorded by the Spy Creatures' built-in cameras are many: Spy Croc Hatchlings not only captured on film a female Nile crocodile gathering her babies in her mouth for the first time in the wild, but these robotic look-alikes were also picked up with the baby crocs showing what it was like as the mother croc carried them all underwater. Spy Tortoise caught the attention of a young chimpanzee who becomes uncharacteristically possessive of this new-found toy or pet, unwilling to share it with other chimps. Spy Langur, embedded with a group of 120 langur monkeys in India , is grabbed and dropped by a teenage langur, prompting a gathering of the monkeys around the motionless "spycam" in a sign of empathy and mourning. , is grabbed and dropped by a teenage langur, prompting a gathering of the monkeys around the motionless "spycam" in a sign of empathy and mourning. Spy Chick reveals life inside a tree nest, where a female red-billed hornbill is confined with her chicks and dependent on her mate to feed them for more than two months through a slit in the walled-up entrance before making her way out. Spy Bushbaby was present with other conventional cameras to help document a filming first as a young chimp befriends an abandoned genet kitten and tries to gently comfort it, showing compassion for another species. These realistic robotic cameras need to gain acceptance among their real-life counterparts, e.g., Spy Wild Dog Pup mimics the body language of the African savannah's wild dog pack. It utilizes submissive postures, tail wagging, and play bows to win them over. Likewise, Spy Prairie Dog was designed to perform a jump yip, a leap on two legs, which is a visual signal to unite the prairie dog colony in Colorado as well as a sign of vigilance. And it was clear Spy Tortoise fooled the male tortoises for a bit during mating season as the "spycam" unexpectedly found herself approached by a rather amorous male. Although 34 new Spy Creatures were created for the miniseries, most of them had to have backups, given mishaps in the wild. In total, around 60 different spy cameras, including the Spy Creatures, were deployed to film the production. Logistically, up to 10 Spy and conventional long lens cameras could be used at any one time. Filming the episodes in 21 countries took three years with more than 8,000 hours of footage shot. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries: Love Episode 1 airs Wednesday, February 1 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS Spy Creatures explore the rarely seen emotions of animals, revealing if they are as strong and complex as our own. Join the "spycams" as they are accepted into a wild dog pack, witness elephant love, and are mourned by a troop of monkeys. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries: Intelligence Episode 2 airs Wednesday, February 8 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS Spy Creatures infiltrate the world of animal intelligence, ingenuity, and creativity. Watch our spies disguised as animals observe a gray squirrel stealing Spy Nut, a sea otter cracking open a meal, and an orangutan washing with soap. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries: Friendship Episode 3 airs Wednesday, February 15 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS Spy Creatures and their new wild friends rely on each other to look out for predators. A Spy Meerkat babysits meerkat pups while a Spy Cobra pretends to attack the mob. Spy Crocs witness a convenient partnership between real crocodiles and birds. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries: Bad Behavior Episode 4 airs Wednesday, February 22 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS Spy Creatures infiltrate the underground world of animal mischief, crime, and retribution. Spy Monkey is caught between crossfires as real monkeys fight over beach bar alcohol. Spy Egret is also a waterhole victim when elephants throw mud everywhere. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries: Meet the Spies Episode 5 airs Wednesday, March 1 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS The final episode explains how the concept of the Spy Creatures evolved at John Downer Productions from the original Bouldercam to the Penguincams that inspired the next-generation "spycams" featured in this series. It shows the painstaking work that goes into building the lifelike models and how the team deploys and operates the robotic cameras on location all over the world. It contains funny and unexpected moments, much of which is experienced from the viewpoint of the "spycams" themselves. Nature is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET. For Nature, Fred Kaufman is executive producer. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries is a John Downer Production for BBC, PBS and THIRTEEN Productions LLC. Spy in the Wild, A NATURE Miniseries is presented as part of a multi-title co-production deal among PBS, BBC and BBC Worldwide North America. The partnership provides a pipeline of the high-quality, entertaining factual programs that PBS and BBC audiences have come to expect. Nature pioneered a television genre that is now widely emulated in the broadcast industry. Throughout its history, Nature has brought the natural world to millions of viewers. The series has been consistently among the most-watched primetime series on public television. Nature has won more than 700 honors from the television industry, the international wildlife film communities and environmental organizations, including 17 Emmys and three Peabodys. The series received two of wildlife film industry's highest honors: the Christopher Parsons Outstanding Achievement Award given by the Wildscreen Festival and the Grand Teton Award given by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. The International Wildlife Film Festival honored Nature executive producer Fred Kaufman with its Lifetime Achievement Award for Media. PBS.org/nature is the award-winning web companion to Nature, featuring streaming episodes, filmmaker interviews, teacher's guides and more. Support for this Nature program was made possible in part by the Anne Ray Charitable Trust, the Arnhold Family in memory of Clarisse Arnhold, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, the Filomen M. D'Agostino Foundation, Rosalind P. Walter, Sandra Atlas Bass, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by the nation's public television stations. Websites: http://pbs.org/nature, http://facebook.com/PBSNature, @PBSNature, #NaturePBS http://pbsnature.tumblr.com, https://www.youtube.com/user/NaturePBS, #SpyInTheWildPBS About WNET WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 . WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport About BBC The BBC has an unrivalled global reputation for the factual content it produces across arts, history, documentaries and natural history, and broadcasts some 7,000 hours of high-quality, distinctive factual programs a year on television. The BBC is recognized as an industry leader in terms of innovation, consistently pushing the boundaries of its productions, delivered to our audience by the most engaging and inspirational experts. About PBS PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 100 million people through television and nearly 33 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS' premier children's TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents' and teachers' most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter. SOURCE WNET Related Links http://www.wnet.org/ NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RiXtrema, an industry-leading company that provides risk management tools and analysis to the financial advisory and broker/dealer community to help ensure that clients get the analysis and advice they need, today announced the results of a quantitative analysis of fee inefficiency in 401(k) plans. "For some time, pressure has been building on plan sponsors to address the issue of fee waste in qualified plans," said RiXtrema President Daniel Satchkov, CFA. "With the new DOL Fiduciary Rule, this pressure is being applied to the financial advice industry as a whole. We undertook this research because we recognize the need for rigorous quantitative evidence to show how much retirees are overpaying in 401(k) plans." The research used the same algorithms available in the 401kFiduciaryOptimizer, a quantitative diagnostic software for retirement plans. "The 401kFiduciaryOptimizer is the first and only software that uses sophisticated quantitative methodologies to improve menu design for retirement plans," said Satchkov. "We have devoted years of research to ensure that plan advisors can bring science-based savings and diversification improvements to retirement plans." RESEARCH RESULTS OVERVIEW RiXtrema analyzed 7,472 retirement plans from the Department of Labor EFAST database. EFAST is an all-electronic processing system of Forms 5500 and 5500-SF which are filed each year by pension and welfare benefit plans to satisfy annual reporting requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. Based on a conservative analysis, it is estimated that plan participants could save on average .44% a year by switching into lower cost investments that are quantitatively very similar to those they already hold. Similarity is defined as a combination of category filters, together with historical and forward looking predicted-correlation based on a multi-factor model. With a 401(k) assets total of $2.8 trillion (as of the end of 2014), there is a potential savings of at least $12.3 billion. REASON FOR RESEARCH It has been widely argued that 401(k) and other retirement plan participants are poorly served by plan menus filled with expensive mutual funds that tend to underperform over time due to higher fees and lack of consistent alpha. Until now, there has been surprisingly little quantitative evidence regarding fee inefficiency in retirement plans and plan waste. The DOL used an average figure of 11.3 basis points as an estimate of waste in 401(k) plans, but that figure, which was not clearly sourced, has been widely criticized. An independent study indicated that menu restrictions in an average plan led to an additional cost of 78 basis points above a low index fund basket, but that study could be challenged based on the argument that high fee funds held by participants cannot be directly compared to low cost funds due to the unique return and correlation profile. The goal of RiXtrema's research was to find a low fee replacement for high fee funds, but only where it could be proven that the replacement does not materially change the risk/return profile offered to participants in their current menu. PATENT PENDING ALGORITHM The algorithm described in the research, for which a patent is pending, forms the basis of RiXtrema's new 401kFiduciaryOptimizer, the first software to quantitatively compare and convert existing retirement plan menus into proposed, lower fee, better diversified lineups. James Duffy, Chair and Managing Director at Park Avenue Strategic Partners, who learned of the software through RiXtrema's affiliation with the Center for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX), described his firms's very first experience with it. "Using the 401kFiduciaryOptimizer to identify a local plan at potential risk, we secured a meeting with one of the company's partners. We presented a preliminary report based on the information gleaned from the company's most recent 5500 filing. This alone raised the partner's concern to the point of retaining our firm to complete a full analysis, providing us with all requested documentation before the end of that first meeting. Upon presenting our final presentation, we were retained as lead advisor for the plan. The RiXtrema platform provides a compelling call-to-action for unsuspecting plan sponsors, enabling us to help them reduce future liability. This was just the first of many cases for which we intend to rely on the RiXtrema solution." You can visit RiXtrema in the Veo Village at the TD Ameritrade Institutional LINC conference in San Diego, Feb. 1-4, 2017, where they will be showing recent enhancements to the software. About RiXtrema Founded in 2010, RiXtrema is a portfolio crash-testing company that helps advisors discuss risk with clients. Long used by fund managers, pension plans and funds of funds, RiXtrema has introduced its risk management tools to the financial advisory and broker/dealer community to help ensure that clients get the analysis and advice they need. The RiXtrema research team received the 2015 Peter L. Bernstein award, one of the most prestigious awards in finance, for its article Risk Estimation and Hedging: A Reverse Stress Testing Approach, published in The Journal of Derivatives in April 2015. RiXtrema solutions include Portfolio Crash Testing; BioniX, the first robo platform for advisors that includes sophisticated risk modeling; IRAFiduciaryOptimizer, the first software to quantitatively compare and convert existing retirement portfolios into proposed new, compliant portfolios comprised of securities approved by the independent financial advisor or broker/dealer and the related 401kFiduciaryOptimizer DOL software solution geared for plan advisors. For more information, visit www.rixtrema.com. Contact: Leslie Swid Impact Communications [email protected] 913-649-5009 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE RiXtrema Related Links http://rixtrema.com MASON CITY | Three people who are starting new lives thanks to the Cerro Gordo County Drug Court celebrated their accomplishments Tuesday. Many hugs were exchanged in the courtroom following the graduation ceremony for Jacque Paulsen, Jeff Lowman and Shane Godden, all of Mason City. "My heart has changed a lot," Godden said. Cerro Gordo Drug Court graduate grateful for second chance MASON CITY A year ago Phillip Melby was facing a possible prison sentence for violating hi The Cerro Gordo County Drug Court began two years ago. It's goal is to rehabilitate drug offenders without sending them to prison. Participants approved for drug court meet with District Court Judge James Drew once a week for 12 to 18 months. The other members of the drug court interdisciplinary team the county attorney, a probation officer, a substance abuse counselor and a defense attorney as well as other drug court participants are present during these meetings with the judge. Participation in drug court is a condition of probation. One they graduate, they return to regular probation. Paulsen entered the drug court program in May 2015. She said the program was difficult, and at the beginning "I was probably being a little bit of a pain." However, she said she had a lot of support along the way. "I have accomplished so much," Paulsen said. She graduated from La'James College of Hairstyling and is now working full-time as Cost Cutters. She said she got an apartment for her and her daughter and is now able to pay her bills. "I never thought I would be here, and it's because of drug court," she said. Drew addressed each graduate personally during the ceremony, which was attended by other drug court participants as well as families and friends of the graduates. He said when Paulsen told him she wanted to pursue her cosmetology license, he didn't think it was possible. Cerro Gordo Drug Court celebrates second graduate MASON CITY The threat of losing her daughters forced Bridget Stitt to confront her meth ad "You proved me wrong on that," he said. "Your future is bright." Drew said Lowman has earned the respect of his employer, Aeron Advanced Manufacturing, and is setting an example not just for the other drug court participants but also for his own family. Lowman thanked his wife, Lori, for "sticking with me." He said they were homeless for a while, but now he is working full time. "We are doing great," he said, noting they are saving money and "living the dream." Drew told Shane Godden that in his case the drug court team was just "in the co-pilot seat" while he led the way to his rehabilitation. Cerro Gordo drug court could be on chopping block MASON CITY | The Cerro Gordo County Drug Court and other specialty courts around the state could be in jeopardy due to a shortfall in state fu "I think he (God) has something special planned for you," he said. Godden, who now works at the Northern Lights Men's Homeless Shelter, credited God for how far he has come. He recalled praying while he was sitting in jail. During Tuesday's ceremony, Godden thanked the drug court team and his family. "I just love you guys," he said. "This has been an amazing journey." GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Saga Communications, Inc. (NYSE MKT: SGA) announced today that it will release its 4th Quarter 2016 results at 9:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. The company will be holding a conference call on the same date at 11:00 a.m. EST. The dial-in numbers are as follows: Domestic and International Dial-in Number: (612) 234-9960 The Company requests that all parties that have a question that they would like to submit to the Company to please email the inquiry by 10:00 a.m. EST on March 7, 2017 to [email protected]. The Company will discuss, during the limited period of the conference call, those inquiries it deems of general relevance and interest. Only inquiries made in compliance with the foregoing will be discussed during the call. Saga's earnings release will contain certain non-GAAP financial measures including station operating income and free cash flow. A reconciliation of all non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures will be provided in the earnings release. Saga Communications, Inc. is a broadcasting company whose business is devoted to acquiring, developing and operating broadcast properties. The company owns or operates broadcast properties in 26 markets, including 68 FM and 32 AM radio stations, 4 television stations and 5 low-power television stations. For additional information, contact us at (313) 886-7070 or visit our website at www.sagacom.com. SOURCE Saga Communications, Inc. Related Links http://www.sagacom.com AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Rita Ranch, along with partners Highland Homes and Operation FINALLY HOME, is pleased to invite the public to the groundbreaking ceremony that will honor U.S. Army Spc. David DeTuccio, a Purple Heart recipient who will soon be a Santa Rita Ranch resident. Operation FINALLY HOME, a national non-profit organization, pairs wounded, ill or injured veterans with inviting communities and customized homes that will fit their (and their family's) needs. David DeTuccio is one such recipient. On Saturday, November 12, he and his family attended the UT vs West Virginia game in Austin, TX. There, they were surprised and tearful as they were offered a mortgage-free Highland home in the Santa Rita Ranch community. DeTuccio, who joined the military in 2007, was deployed in Baghdad in 2008, where his unit, the 10th Mountain Division 2nd Infantry 30th Battalion, was known for being involved in raids and extractions. On Feb. 19, 2008, they were ambushed outside their compound. DeTuccio was struck with an improvised rocket-propelled explosive device, and was transported to Balad Air Base trauma center. Multiple surgeries and therapies followed, leaving DeTuccio with shrapnel wounds, severe PTSD, memory loss, headaches, and seizures among other recurring difficulties. Santa Rita Ranch is pleased to be part of the Operation FINALLY HOME project and process, the first phase of which commences at the future home of U.S. Army Spc. David DeTuccio and family. This groundbreaking ceremony is open to Santa Rita Ranch residents and members of the general public who want to congratulate a hero on his recent and well-deserved good fortune. The DeTuccio family will be participating in the groundbreaking, as will the Santa Rita Ranch and Highland Homes' team, including developers Ed and Elizabeth Horne along with Operation FINALLY HOME. The new DeTuccio family home is slated to be finished at the beginning of June; the family anticipates a move-in date toward the end of June. We encourage the public to join us, and to enjoy light refreshments at the Ranch House Welcome Center at Santa Rita Ranch immediately following the ceremony. Date: February 10, 2017 Time: 10:30 AM (Please arrive by 10:15 AM) Address: Santa Rita Ranch 608 Inspiration Drive Liberty Hill, TX About Santa Rita Ranch Santa Rita Ranch is a 3,100-acre community located north of Austin near Liberty Hill, two miles off 183 North, just north of the Hwy 29 and Ronald Reagan intersection. It is developed by Elizabeth and Ed Horne and Mariner Real Estate, with a distinctive Hill Country style. You can learn more at : http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/santa-rita-ranch-highland-homes-and-operation-finally-home-honor-veteran-david-detuccio-with-mortgage-free-home-300369168.html About Operation FINALLY HOME Operation FINALLY HOME was established in 2005 as a nonpartisan/nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. The mission of Operation FINALLY HOME is to provide custom-built, mortgage-free homes to America's military heroes and the widows of the fallen who have sacrificed so much to defend our freedom and values. Operation FINALLY HOME partners with corporate sponsors, builder associations, builders, developers, individual contributors, and volunteers to help America's military heroes and their families transition to the home front by addressing one of their most pressing needsa home to call their own. To find out more, visit OperationFinallyHome.org. SOURCE Santa Rita Ranch CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fastweb (www.fastweb.com), the leading website for scholarship and financial aid information and a member of the Monster network, is honoring African American History Month with a focus on important scholarship opportunities available now for graduate, undergraduate and college-bound African American students. Rewarding scholarship opportunities are available for those pursuing studies in journalism, medicine, math, science, economics and more. Fastweb is highlighting these scholarships in their new resource, Scholarships for African American Students. Eligible students can access and apply today to rewarding opportunities such as the Royce Osborne Minority Student Scholarship, Reginaldo Howard Scholarship, Manhattan Central Medical Society Scholarship, Ventures Scholars Program and more. Programs offer various awards from $2,000 to full tuition. More scholarship programs can be found in Fastweb's scholarship directory for African American students. This directory outlines new and large scholarships, and is frequently updated as new opportunities become available. Fastweb.com provides helpful and insightful online resources for all students, helping find ways to fund their education. Resources are available online and always at no charge. About Fastweb: Fastweb, a top site in the Monster Worldwide network, is the nation's recognized leader in helping students pay for school, by providing scholarship and financial aid information, as well as information on jobs and internships. One out of three college-bound seniors use the site and more than 50 million users have benefitted from Fastweb's information and services. Fastweb lets students create personalized profiles that can be matched against its expansive databases of colleges and scholarships. As the oldest and most popular free online scholarship matching service, the database has more than 1.5 million scholarships totaling over $3.4 billion. To learn more about Fastweb, visit www.fastweb.com and follow Fastweb on social media for the latest on paying for school all year long: Twitter (at @PayingForSchool); Facebook; Pinterest; Google+. About Monster Worldwide: Monster Worldwide, Inc. is a global leader in connecting people to jobs, wherever they are. For more than 20 years, Monster has helped people improve their lives with better jobs, and employers find the best talent. Today, the company offers services in more than 40 countries, providing some of the broadest, most sophisticated job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management capabilities. Monster continues its pioneering work of transforming the recruiting industry with advanced technology using intelligent digital, social and mobile solutions, including our flagship website monster.com and a vast array of products and services. For more information, visit monster.com/about. SOURCE Fastweb Related Links http://www.fastweb.com AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, today announced Scott Equipment has chosen Epicor Commerce Connect for Epicor Prophet 21 as its new e-commerce platform to create a seamless online shopping experience for its customers and improve order efficiency. Scott Equipment is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company, which was founded in 1977, distributes high quality, technically advanced, and energy efficient automation products to the industrial market. "As an industrial supplier, we must be flexible and cater to the needs of our customer base and our online services must extend this flexibility. With Epicor Commerce Connect, we are able to do this while also adding in rich content, link to other services and feeds, take advantage of information sharing, and supply the information they need in a timely manner." Jeff Scott President Scott Equipment When the company was searching for a new e-commerce platform, the ability to differentiate themselves from their competitors was important. They not only wanted to showcase their products on the website, but also provide a customer-focused and hands-on experience. "Customers want the same online experience from their local industrial suppliers that they get from large online retailers in their personal life," explained Jeff Scott, president, Scott Equipment. "They need to access things like invoices, quotes, and sales history without picking up the phone. These online services need to be flexible, customer oriented, and customizable. As an industrial supplier, we must be flexible and cater to the needs of our customer base and our online services must extend this flexibility. With Epicor Commerce Connect, we are able to do this while also adding in rich content, link to other services and feeds, take advantage of information sharing, and supply the information they need in a timely manner." Customer-Focused Shopping Experience with Industry-Specific Solutions Scott Equipment's previous e-commerce system was dated and inflexible, which discouraged customers from using the website. Ordering products online has become the norm, and many of their customers search online for a specific need, vendor, or part number. Epicor Commerce Connect creates a seamless online shopping experience and also increases search engine optimization (SEO), giving the company higher rankings on searches. With Epicor Commerce Connect, Scott Equipment is not only able to showcase the products that they offer, but also able to suggest pairing different products to assist customers in making the right purchase decision to solve their problem. This customer-focused shopping experience differentiates the company from its larger competitors with a service not typically offered. "Epicor Prophet 21 is a proven success for distributors of all sizes, and the software is becoming more powerful and valuable to companies that need a one-stop shop for their services," said Doug Smith, director of product marketing, retail and distribution, Epicor. "With a combination of features and functionality to accurately streamline processes, Prophet 21 enables distributors to automate pricing, inventory and even quoting, ultimately reducing time consumption." About Epicor Commerce Connect for Prophet 21 Epicor Commerce Connect for Prophet 21 is a robust cloud-based platform based on 20 years of experience in e-commerce that drives rich B2B and B2C online experiences for consumers, customers and suppliers and is essential for business' success today. It enables customers to develop unique websites quickly and manage them easilyproviding the necessary tools to digitalize today's distributor and empowers them to deliver a strong customer experience throughout the typical order lifecycle. Visit the Epicor Commerce Connect solution hub to learn more. About Epicor Software Corporation Epicor Software Corporation drives business growth. We provide flexible, industry-specific software designed around the needs of our manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service industry customers. More than 40 years of experience with our customers' unique business processes and operational requirements are built into every solutionin the cloud or on premises. With this deep understanding of your industry, Epicor solutions manage complexity, increase efficiency, and free up resources so you can focus on growth. For more information, connect with Epicor or visit www.epicor.com. Epicor, the Epicor logo and Prophet 21 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Epicor Software Corporation. Contact: Katie Chubb Public Relations Specialist Epicor Software Corporation +1 512 278 5365 [email protected] SOURCE Epicor Software Corporation Related Links http://www.epicor.com The $1.6 billion joint venture has brought together a portfolio of leading-edge plasterboard, ceiling and finishing products. To ensure global reach and view, USG Boral engaged SGK to brand its varied processes and brands packaging into one core, consistent master brand. The common goal was to unify 14 categories across 12 markets and 13 businesses into one cohesive efficient packaging system. Starting with a purpose-built program from insight to execution, the USG Boral and SGK teams conducted extensive audit sessions within the different markets and spoke to a diverse range of stakeholders, architects, builders, contractors, distributors, and end users. The aim was to create a unified portfolio architecture that allows for future premiumization, whilst optimizing brand recognition and product navigation. The packaging was designed from the ground up, based on the strategic idea of "smart pragmatism." The result is a design that enables easy navigation of product types through vivid colors and bold typography. A smart set of icons made advanced performance features visible, while the graphic system maximizes visual impact for the USG Boral brand. Adhering to the global design and color guidelines across the core and premium ranges, Anthem Worldwide, part of the brand development group of SGK, led the creative strategy through to production for over 1,300 SKUs in sequenced phases using a cloud-based, graphic management system. This ensured enough flex to respond to multiple markets, languages, cultural nuances and regulations, while bringing technical superiority to life. SGK's Client Solutions group engineered solutions for greater design-to-print efficiency, serialization, anti-counterfeiting and future packaging innovation. Through three launch phases, one global packaging system was achieved in market with the strength and flexibility to build brand consistency while responding to local needs. "Our partnership with SGK has been a fascinating journey in designing a new, cohesive packaging system for our diverse portfolio across the APAC and Middle East markets. The system manages to convey the union of USG Boral's premium positioning and best-in-class building products technology, manufacturing and distribution footprint. We are now becoming ONE USG Boral across 12 different markets and cultures throughout Asia, Australia and the Middle East." - Jeremy Verstraete, Marketing Director, USG Boral USG Boral is currently being rolled out in 12 markets including Australia, China and Korea. SGK is a leading global brand development, activation and deployment company that drives brand performance. By creating brands, activating and protecting brands, we help our clients achieve higher brand performance. SGK's global footprint spans more than 20 countries. SGK is part of Matthews International Corporation. SOURCE SGK LONDON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Summary In 2016, Singapore's telecom services market will decline 1.7% over 2015. This is partly due to the substitution of fixed telephony services by mobile voice and OTT apps. Mobile data will remain the largest revenue contributing segment and the growth will be driven by telcos investments to enhance speeds and coverage. In addition, telcos are investigating new areas including 5G technology, smart city/IoT/M2M, cyber security, managed services, OTT video and data analytics to diversify their revenue streams. Key Findings - The overall telecom service revenue in Singapore is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 1.5% during 2016-2021. - Mobile revenue will account for 63.7% of the total telecom revenue in 2021. - The Singapore telecom market will be dominated by Singtel, Star Hub and M1. Operators will continue to invest on 4G coverage expansions and deployment of fiber-optic network to boost the data connectivity to support government's Smart Nation initiative. - The entry of new fixed and mobile operators will result in greater competition. - The country saw the merger of the telco and media regulators and operators are already offering converged telco/media services. Synopsis "Singapore: Embracing Smart Nation, Telco/Media Convergence and Fixed/Mobile Competition" a new Country Intelligence Report , provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Singapore today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2021. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband and mobile sectors, as well as a review of key regulatory trends. The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following: - Regional context: telecom market size and trends in Singapore compared with other countries in the region. - Economic, demographic and political context in Singapore. - The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, number portability and more. - A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice and mobile data. - Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed and mobile sectors and between voice and data from 2016 to 2021. - The competitive landscape: an examination of key trends in competition and in the performance, revenue market shares and expected moves of service providers over the next 18-24 months. - In-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice and mobile data: a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by network technology and by operator, as well as of average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period. - Main opportunities: this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in Singapore's telecommunication market. Reasons To Buy - This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of Singapore telecommunication market, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies. - Accompanying Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Singapore mobile communications, fixed telephony and broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares. - With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality. - The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in Singapore telecommunication market. - The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Singapore. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4595295/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com SAUSALITO, Calif., Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitecore, the global leader in experience management software, today announced the Sitecore Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) for 2017. Now entering its eleventh year, the Sitecore MVP program recognizes MVP contributions in building Sitecore solutions and evangelizing the platform among customers and partners. Every year, the Sitecore MVP Awards honors individuals with a passion for sharing their knowledge and expertise through active participation in online and offline Sitecore communities. This year, the company identifies the following types of MVPs: Technologist : An individual who actively participates in online and offline communities to share his or her knowledge and expertise with other Sitecore partners and customers. : An individual who actively participates in online and offline communities to share his or her knowledge and expertise with other Sitecore partners and customers. Digital Strategist : An individual who has strong experience with data-driven marketing, plus experience on how to implement the Sitecore Experience Platform to drive business results. : An individual who has strong experience with data-driven marketing, plus experience on how to implement the Sitecore Experience Platform to drive business results. Commerce : Experts and enthusiasts who use Sitecore Commerce to empower e-commerce solutions and are actively participating in online and offline communities and events. : Experts and enthusiasts who use Sitecore Commerce to empower e-commerce solutions and are actively participating in online and offline communities and events. (New this year) Cloud: An individual who is a cloud solution expert and deploying the Sitecore platform in the cloud, and actively participating in online and offline communities and events. MVP candidates are evaluated by a panel of Sitecore employees ranging from developers to members of the executive team. They are selected based on their mastery of Sitecore's platform and ability to share knowledge with Sitecore partners, customers, and prospects. MVPs serve a one-year term, eligible for annual renewal, and receive the following exclusive benefits: Access to privileged resources including early access to releases, direct contact with the product team, and senior executives A personal Sitecore license that can be used for R&D purposes and early releases Invitations to speak at and attend Sitecore events, such as the annual Sitecore Symposium and regional MVP meetings An exclusive invitation to the annual MVP Summit where they get executive insight into product and company strategy, plus networking and group activities Access to a private MVP forum on the Sitecore Community website https://community.sitecore.net/ Broad industry recognition as a proven Sitecore expert and community leader, including placement on Sitecore's dedicated MVP website: www.sitecore.net/mvp This year, Sitecore has designated 215 Technology MVPs, 39 Digital Strategist MVPs, 18 Commerce MVPs, and 10 Cloud MVPs representing 29 countries and more than 140 companies. One of the keys to the company's continued growththe partnership with Microsoft on Azurewas an expansion of Sitecore's work in cloud, which welcomes technical and non-technical nominations with experience in cloud solutions. Even though the Azure Web Apps compatible version of Sitecore was just released in November, the community has fully embraced it, providing large numbers of blog posts, videos, and many discussions in user groups. "The Sitecore MVP Awards recognize and honor those who make substantial contributions to our loyal community of partners and customers," said Pieter Brinkman, Director of Developer and Platform Evangelism, Sitecore. "MVPs consistently set a standard of excellence by delivering technical acumen, platform enthusiasm, and a commitment to giving back to the Sitecore community. They truly understand and deliver on the power of the Sitecore Experience Platform to create contextualized brand experiences for their consumers, driving increased revenue as well as loyalty for life." View the full list of 2017 Sitecore Most Valuable Professionals here: www.sitecore.net/mvp2017 About Sitecore Sitecore is the global leader in experience management software that enables context marketing. The Sitecore Experience Platform manages content, supplies contextual intelligence, automates communications, and enables personalized commerce, at scale. It empowers marketers to deliver content in context of how customers have engaged with their brand, across every channel, in real timebefore, during, and after a sale. More than 4,900 brandsincluding American Express, Carnival Cruise Lines, easyJet, and L'Oreal have trusted Sitecore for context marketing to deliver the personalized interactions that delight audiences, build loyalty, and drive revenue. Contacts Media: Sitecore Ryan Donovan [email protected] Hotwire PR for Sitecore Veronica Herico 415.820.4168 [email protected] Sitecore and Own the Experience are registered trademarks of Sitecore Corporation A/S in the USA and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Sitecore reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice. 2017 Sitecore Corporation A/S. All rights reserved. SOURCE Sitecore Related Links http://www.sitecore.net The 'Kids Eat Free All Day Every Day' promotion will be offered to dine-in customers at more than 400 participating restaurants nationwide. For every $9 spent during the dine-in experience, one child in the party will receive their Kids Plate for free. Kids Plates include all of the restaurant's most popular kid-friendly meals all of which are served with a choice of fries or applesauce. Kids Plate options include: Original Steakburger Mini Corn Dogs Macaroni & Cheese Steakburger Minis Hot Dog Grilled Cheese Chicken Fingers Jim Flaniken, Sr. Vice President, Marketing commented: "Steak 'n Shake has an extremely strong value proposition that resonates with customers, especially parents. We are pleased to transform our 'Kids Eat Free All Weekend' offer to a new and improved offer of 'Kids Eat Free All Day Every Day', allowing us to provide even more value to families every day of the week." In addition to the new 'Kids Eat Free All Day Every Day' offer, Steak 'n Shake will again freeze menu prices throughout 2017. This extends the menu price freeze the restaurant company committed to for 2016. Menu prices will be frozen in more than 400 participating restaurants across the country, including everything from the Original Double Cheese Steakburger 'n fries for $3.99 to the Classic hand-dipped milkshakes for $2.99. Mr. Flaniken added, "Throughout all of 2017, we have no intention of raising menu prices. We operate Steak 'n Shake on a simple principle: If we take care of our customers, our customers will take care of us." Steak 'n Shake also continues to provide value throughout the week for everyone, including the 24 Meals Under $4 menu offering, Half Price Happy Hour on all milkshakes and drinks served weekdays from 2-4, and $3.99 All You Can Eat Pancakes during breakfast. Steak 'n Shake's focus on quality including using 100% beef without preservatives or artificial ingredients, as well as fresh produce, always hand-crafted to order has created the benchmark for success in the better burger category. Centered on a food culture designed to provide the highest quality burgers, fries, and shakes, Steak 'n Shake sources, slices, grinds, and provides the freshest and choicest quality ingredients available for all its menu options. For additional information on Steak 'n Shake, visit: www.steaknshake.com. About Steak 'n Shake Inc. Steak 'n Shake, a classic American brand, serves premium burgers and shakes in more than 550 restaurants across the country and the world. Founded in 1934 in Normal, Illinois, Steak 'n Shake is the leader in the "better burger" segment of the restaurant industry, serving hand-crafted, premium Steakburgers and hand-dipped milkshakes. Steak 'n Shake is the recipient of the Nation's Restaurant News Golden Chain Award. Zagat has recognized Steak 'n Shake as having the No. 1 Milkshake. Steak 'n Shake Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings Inc. SOURCE Steak 'n Shake Related Links http://www.steaknshake.com LONDON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Executive Summary The traditional markets, of US and Europe, have continued to dominate the yacht industry. As the US recovered from the impact of the global recession, an increasing number of customers from this region regained their interest in the yachting industry. However, the affluence of the Middle East is shifting the industry dynamics towards this region, owing to the larger share wealthy clientele. The other key markets include Brazil and Russia, where the younger wealthy population has shown an explicit interest in yachting. While North America is globally the largest yacht market followed by Europe, China is the most important emerging yacht market. Even though the current Chinese Government's anti-corruption drive has dampened the market for luxury goods in China, the yacht industry's outlook is bright.It is projected that the number of leisure boats and yachts in the country will reach 100,000 by 2020 from a mere 3,000 in 2012. The market in 2020 will be worth approximately USD 8.16 billion. The China anti-corruption campaign which commenced in November 2012 hit the industry and growth slowed down leading to players promoting more affordable yacht models to to an upper-middle-class and high-net-worth as opposed to ultra-high-net-worth crowd.While larger boats did not see much growth in sales in 2015-2016, smaller boats are will maintain the sales momentum. It is estimated that if China makes it more convenient and attractive to buy yachts then the market can double to what it currently is by 2020. It is projected that the number of yachts longer than 8 meters in China will reach 163,510 by of 2030. The yacht industry in China is projected to grow at a compound average annual growth rate of 30% in the period 2015-2025 and the country is expected to become the largest Asian yacht market over this period. Why should the report be purchased? The report 'A Study of China's Yacht Market 2016' highlights key drivers of and trends emerging in China's yacht industry. The Initiatives and performance of key global players including Sunseeker International, Sanlorenzo SPA, Ferretti Group, Azimut Benetti, Princess Yachts International Plc., Gulf Craft Inc., Brunswick Corporation, Sunbird Yacht Manufacturing Co., Cheoy Lee Shipyards Limited and Shanghai Double Happiness Yacht Co.has been presented. The current market scenario and future prospects of the sector has also been examined.The report contains latest industry-related opinions. Research methodology and delivery time Smart Research Insights has conducted in depth secondary research to arrive at key insights. Data collected from key public industry sources and publications has been scanned and analyzed impartially to present a clear picture of the industry. All recent developments which impact the sector dynamics have been captured and used to support the research hypothesis. The report is available as single-site single-user license. The delivery time for the electronic version of the report is 3 business days as each copy undergoes thorough quality check and is updated with the most recent information available.The delivery time for hard copies is approximately4 business days, as each hard copy is custom printed for the client. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4661018/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com PARKER, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 2016 was a development year for Jeff Proctor's Team Honda Racing Ridgeline team. They had great success in unusually demanding conditions during the SCORE International series Baja 500 and iconic Baja 1000 race in Mexico, but were hit with minor issues at the Mint 400 race in Nevada. With thousands of race miles under their belts, and a dialed in race truck, the team is anxious to hit the 7200 class at the Best In The Desert series Parker 425 race in Parker, Arizona. Jeff Proctor's Honda Ridgeline launches leaps jump at Parker 425 Photo Credit: Bink Designs The Parker 425 is the first race of the year, and the team is looking forward to a great race. The course is a tough one that is exactly what the Ridgeline was designed to endure. "I have always liked the Parker course," says Jeff Proctor, "It has such a diverse mix of terrain from sand washes and super rough rock sections to wide open rally roads. Our program continues to get stronger and we are looking forward to enhancing our results from last season. Our goal is to add to our SCORE series wins with a victory in the Best In The Desert series." The Honda Ridgeline team has made some important changes for 2017. Aaron Laeng has joined as the Team Manager. Laeng will focus on race preparations, planning, and logistics. He will also spend time navigating from the right hand seat. David Cowan is now the crew chief and will use his extensive experience and keen eye for attention to detail to benefit the team. "On the heels of the Ridgeline having been selected last week as North American Truck of the Year, we are pleased to announce the extension of this agreement to continue racing the Ridgeline with Proctor Racing," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. "In just its first full season, the Baja Ridgeline has already claimed several class victories in desert truck racing, and we look forward to adding to those successes with the continuation of this strong partnership." With a clean slate, and stronger than ever, the Team Honda Racing Ridgeline team is looking forward to getting back in the dirt in 2017. The Parker 425 will be their first chance to open up the high tech, twin turbo Honda in the extraordinarily demanding conditions that offroad racing provides. For all the latest on the Honda Ridgeline Off-road team go to: http://www.hondaoff-road.com/ or HondaOffRoadRacing on Facebook, Instagram: @HondaOffRoadRacing or Jeff Proctor on Personal Instagram: @proctor_race. Photography By: Bink Designs Media Contact: Bink Designs Phone: 619.922.2465 Email: [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg image2.jpg image3.jpg image4.jpg Related Links Team Race Report Honda Off-Road This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Team Honda Racing Ridgeline LYNDHURST, N.J., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Team on the Run has collaborated with U.S. Cellular to help enrich the carrier's solution portfolio available to their growing enterprise customer base and to continue capitalizing on their expanding network of 4GLTE capabilities. The addition of this new technology to their solution offering will allow U.S. Cellular customers to manage their businesses from mobile phones, tablets and desktop devices. Team on the Run is a business process communications tool that enhances the operations for businesses across industry verticals -- operational task-flow and communication is simplified, the efficiency of today's mobile workforce is maximized. Team on the Run was chosen for its ease of deployment, multi-industry applications and for its secure and robust features; such as VOIP, Push-To-talk, Business Forms and GPS/Dispatch. Pascal Beglin, CEO for Team on the Run, said: "To be selected by USCC is a privilege we are honored to work with a carrier that understands the value proposition they must offer their customer to go beyond simply offering voice and data. We know our solution can make a huge difference in the competitiveness and data security of our End Users." Scott Scheuber, Director of Product Management for U.S. Cellular, said: "We look forward to our business and government customers using our new Team on the Run solution and experiencing how it can simplify and enhance their operations." About Team on the Run: Team on the Run is a NJ-based subsidiary of StreamWIDE, a telecommunications company delivering SIP based software and services to over 70 Telco operators and 200 + million end users world-wide for over 15 years. Team on the Run is creating a lot of buzz in the mobile space for SMB, Enterprise, Non-Profit, and Government organizations. The concept of Team on the Run, is to ensure affordable secure messaging, team connectivity, and simplify mobile business workflow highlighting push-to-talk, asset location services and critical alert systems. https://blog.teamontherun.com; Twitter.com/Teamontherun; https://www.teamontherun.com; www.teamonmission.com, www.streamwide.com. About U.S. Cellular: U.S. Cellular is the fifth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier offers coverage where the other carriers don't and a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers' lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. U.S. Cellular has the Highest Wireless Network Quality Performance in the North Central Region, according to the J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study, and 99 percent of customers have access to 4G LTE speeds. To learn more about U.S. Cellular, visit one of its retail stores or uscellular.com. Team on the Run Matt Miller Communications Director, Email: [email protected] U.S. Cellular Katie Frey U.S. Cellular Media Relations, Email: [email protected] This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com. SOURCE Team on the Run Related Links https://www.teamontherun.com PAM4 signaling has become a critical enabling technology for next-generation communications links. PAM4 links operating at 28 Gbaud enable a 56-Gb/s raw data rate on each lane, with multi-lane configurations offering aggregate throughputs of 100G, 200G, and 400G. These interfaces are seeing rapid standardization by OIF and IEEE, defining a challenging set of specific test requirements for designers and test engineers working in this ecosystem. Teledyne LeCroy's QPHY-56G-PAM4 simplifies and automates testing to the OIF CEI-56G-PAM4 and relevant PAM4-based IEEE 802.3 interface standards. Measurements include (but are not limited to) eye diagrams, eye widths and heights, linearity, signal to noise and distortion (SNDR), transition time, linear fit pulse peak, and equalizer measurements. QPHY-56G-PAM4 will initially be available with transmitter test coverage for the OIF CEI-56G-VSR-PAM4 interface standard (both host- and module-output test points). Coverage will expand shortly to include MR and LR variants of OIF-CEI-56G-PAM4, as well as IEEE 802.3bs and 802.3cd Ethernet standards. Teledyne LeCroy will demonstrate automated testing to the OIF CEI-56G-VSR-PAM4 standard at booth 733 at DesignCon 2017 in Santa Clara, California, on February 1st-2nd. Teledyne LeCroy's QualiPHY automated compliance test solution platform is designed to reduce the time, effort, and specialized knowledge needed to perform compliance testing on high-speed serial buses. QualiPHY guides the user through each test setup with easy-to-follow connection diagrams, performs each measurement in accordance with the relevant test procedure, compares each measured value with the applicable specification limits, and fully documents all results. Pricing and Availability QPHY-56G-PAM4 will be available on LabMaster 10Zi-A oscilloscopes (note an instrument of at least 50 GHz bandwidth is required for compliance to some tests). Contact Teledyne LeCroy for pricing and availability. About Teledyne LeCroy Teledyne LeCroy is a leading manufacturer of advanced test instruments that measure, analyze, and verify complex electronic signals. The Company offers high-performance oscilloscopes and protocol test solutions used by electronic design engineers in a wide range of application and end markets. Teledyne LeCroy is based in Chestnut Ridge, N.Y. For more information, visit Teledyne LeCroy's website at teledynelecroy.com. 2017 by Teledyne LeCroy. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Media contact: Hilary Lustig, Teledyne LeCroy (845) 578 6120 Editors' Technical contact: Patrick Connally, Product Marketing Manager (845) 425-2000 Customer contact: Teledyne LeCroy Customer Care Center (800) 553-2769 Website: teledynelecroy.com SOURCE Teledyne LeCroy Related Links http://www.lecroy.com BOB HILLIARD STANDS WITH MEXICO "Innocent Mexican citizens have been killed and their families have had no recourse through the court system to seek justice," said Bob Hilliard, Founding Partner at Hilliard Munoz Gonzales, LLP in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hilliard has taken up the cause of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, a 15-year-old Mexican citizen killed by U.S. Border Patrol Agent, Jesus Mesa, who shot the teen at point-blank range as the unarmed boy stood yards away in Mexico. "The agent shot him twice," an eyewitness said. "He thought about it for about five seconds, because he shot at him once, left him astonished, then shot him again." A BOY'S TRAGIC DEATH "One round struck subject under left eye, subject expired on scene." This is how a U.S. Border Patrol report described the June 2010 shooting. Hilliard filed suit on behalf of Sergio's family to ensure that the boy's tragic death would bring about significant reforms in the conduct of border agents. On February 21st, Mr. Hilliard takes the case to the Supreme Court of the United States to present oral argument that the protections of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment apply. HILLIARD SPEAKS FOR THE VOICELESS Mr. Hilliard goes before the highest court in the land to speak for the voiceless Mexican citizens victimized by excessive force at the hands of U.S. government agents. Border agents have shot across the border and killed at least eight Mexicans since 2006, according to government records. So far, all attempts to hold these agents accountable for their actions have failed, because the victims were Mexican citizens standing on Mexican soil. THE KILLING ZONE Mr. Hilliard said, "The border is a symbol. It is more than the physical end of one country and the beginning of another. It is a reminder of an indisputable and permanent connection of cultures and peoples, of shared lives and daily interactions." He continued, "Our border line was never meant to be a bright line, marking the end of the rule of law and civil protections, giving those who should know better permission to shuck their training and responsibility and open fire on neighbors." SEEKING PROTECTION FOR MEXICAN CITIZENS A previous decision by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed efforts to bring those responsible for Sergio's death to justice, suggesting that the teenager was not protected by the U.S. Constitution, because he "was on Mexican soil at the time he was shot." "Our Constitution is strong enough to protect the most vulnerable and innocent of our southern neighbors," said Mr. Hilliard. "The Fourth Amendment prohibits unjustified use of deadly force." The High Court will decide if Sergio's family can sue the U.S. Border Patrol and whether the U.S. Constitution protects noncitizens like Sergio, who are the victims of a U.S. agency's excessive force. HILLIARD: "THIS CASE IS ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG" Mr. Hilliard said, "To watch this increasing epidemic of unjustified shootings and not acknowledge our own responsibility to ensure justice for the victims lowers us to the basest level of inhumanity." Mr. Hilliard continued, "The court should be the conscience of the people. It must acknowledge that human worth is not determined by place of birth and justice is not determined by where that life ends especially a young life cut short when a U.S. law enforcement agent, standing inside the U.S. and governed by this country's constitutional constraints, pulls the trigger." Mr. Hilliard asked, "Was Sergio less worthy of protection simply because he was a poor Mexican national? Regardless of where each of us stands on the immigration debate or the building of a border wall, this case is about right and wrong, life and death. About a young life taken too soon by the actions of a U.S. Border Patrol agent." ABOUT HMG Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP (HMG) specializes in mass torts, personal injury, product liability, commercial and business litigation, and wrongful death. Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP has been successfully representing clients in the United States and Mexico since 1986. SOURCE Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP LONDON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Broadcasting Industry and Manufacture of Decoders: The combined radio and television broadcasting sector employs some 13,200 people and generated revenue of R36.9bn in 2014. The sales value of radio, television and broadcasting equipment totalled R12bn in 2015, a figure that is expected to increase once the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) migration process, which will require at least 5 million set-top boxes (STBs), is fully underway. Opportunities and Challenges: The increasing convergence between traditional TV and radio platforms and digital and internet-based technologies has created opportunities for broadcasters to reach new audiences and a number of new players have entered the market. Recent technological advances with regards to internet television have given rise to two further broadcasting models: Over the Top (OTT) TV services and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). Although the IPTV market is still small it has been identified as a potential area of expansion by Telecoms operators, Telkom and Vodacom. However, plans to expand in the internet TV segment have consistently been delayed by concerns regarding South Africa's broadband penetration and quality. Also of concern is the delay in migration from analogue to DTT which had an initial deadline of 2008. Industry stakeholders have attributed the lack of progress to a combination of regulatory ineffectiveness and a host of objections and legal disputes brought by broadcasters and the Department of Communications. Of particular importance are the disagreements regarding the inclusion of access control systems in the subsidised STBs. Report Coverage: The detailed report on South Africa's broadcasting sector, including the manufacture of decoders, describes the current market, examines the latest regulatory and corporate developments and discusses factors influencing the success of the sector. The report profiles 34 players including the commercial television broadcaster subscription-based DSTv, which is operated by MultiChoice and owned by the Naspers media group, as well as the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), which is beset by financial and leadership problems. The major manufacturers of DSTv decoders, Altron TMT (Pty) Ltd and Vektronix are profiled, as is CZ Electronics Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd, one of the 26 companies awarded a contract for the manufacture of STBs. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/2675598/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com BRUSSELS, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The British Tamils Forum (BTF), Swedish Tamils Forum (STF) and United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC) urge the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to take the full four months provided to thoroughly evaluate Sri Lanka's GSP+ application. BTF, STF, and USTPAC also call on the European Parliament to request a briefing from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights before deciding on GSP+ reinstatement. On 11 January the European Commission recommended reinstatement of GSP+ trade benefits to Sri Lanka. The EU withdrew GSP+ benefits in 2010 in response to persistent human rights abuses. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union now have up to four months to raise objections before benefits are reinstated. "We respectfully disagree with the European Commission's recommendation to reinstate GSP+," said Ravi Kumar, General Secretary of the British Tamils Forum (BTF). "Recent reports from UN treaty monitoring bodies and UN Experts demonstrate that the government of Sri Lanka has not done enough to address serious human rights abuses. In December the UN Committee Against Torture found that torture remains a 'common practice' by the police. This indicates a serious failure to implement the Convention Against Torture." The European External Action Service (EEAS) stated that GSP+ is a conditional trade scheme based on both ratification and implementation of 27 conventions that relate to human rights, labour rights, environmental rights and good governance. Sri Lanka must follow these strict criteria to become a GSP+ beneficiary. "We urge the European Parliament to take the full four months to review Sri Lanka's GSP+ application," said Dr Karunyan Arulanantham, President of the United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC). "This will give the EU time to seek a briefing from the High Commissioner and obtain his in-depth knowledge of Sri Lanka's adherence to and shortcomings with the human rights conventions required under GSP+. The full four months will also provide the time needed to review the High Commissioner's report." High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein will present a report on Sri Lanka's human rights record at the 34th session of the Human Rights Council in March this year. "We all want economic development in Sri Lanka. But for development to benefit all communities human rights protections must be in place," said Govindarajah Jeganmohan, Chairman of the Swedish Tamils Forum. "Sri Lankans, including Tamils, Muslims, journalists and human rights defenders, continue to face human rights abuses. State impunity persists. GSP+ should only be provided once the rights of all of Sri Lanka's citizens are respected and the rule of law is upheld," said Mr Jeganmohan. About BTF: The British Tamils Forum, also widely known as 'BTF' is an organisation which represents and gives voice to a large Tamil community in the United Kingdom in political and socio-economic spheres. 'Working for peace with justice and dignity.' About USTPAC: USTPAC is a US-based Tamil advocacy group advocating for a cessation of ongoing human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, accountability for crimes committed during and after the civil war, and a political settlement to address the root causes of the conflict. It has worked for these goals at the UNHRC since 2012. About STF: STF is an organization in Sweden that brings together people and Tamil local organizations to pay attention to the humanitarian crises, human rights and war crimes committed by the government of Sri Lanka. Contact: Dr. K Arulanantham, USTPAC Ph: 1-571-317-0998 Website: www.ustpac.org Email: [email protected] Twitter: @UstpacAdvocacy M Jeyapalan, BTF Tel: +44 (0) 7766 832 754 Email: [email protected] SOURCE USTPAC Related Links http://www.ustpac.org LIVONIA, Mich., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund (FWSF), a Livonia, Michigan-based nonprofit devoted to assisting Michigan soldiers and their families, announced today that Kowalski Sausage Company recently made a $45,000 donation to help local veterans. Michael Kowalski, President of Kowalski Sausage Company, has been a proud supporter of veterans and veteran charities over the years. In recent times, Kowalski has sent care packages to U.S. troops deployed in Iraq. Steve Kowalski Michael's grandfather, Steve Kowalski, who led the sausage company in the 1950s, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Steve was sent home on hardship status to help care for the family business when his father, Zygmund, co-founder of Kowalski Sausage Company, became ill. Agnes Kowalski, Zygmund's wife, the other co-founder, helped Zygmund launch Kowalski Sausage Company in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1920. "Kowalski Sausage Company is proud to support our veterans for the many sacrifices they have made," said President Michael Kowalski. "We have always felt an obligation to give back to those who have given us so much." Established in 2006, the FWSF, an all-volunteer organization, provides financial support and assistance, from medical expenses to housing costs, for Michigan veterans and their families. "We appreciate the support and generosity of Kowalski Sausage Company," said Dr. Lynn Phillips, Director of The Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund. "The Kowalski family has donated to many local causes over the years, and we are proud that they support our veterans." For more information about the FWSF, visit www.fwsf.org. You may also check out its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fwsf1. For more information on Kowalski Sausage Company, visit www.kowality.com. About The Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund (FWSF) Established in 2006, the Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund (FWSF) is a Livonia, Mich. based nonprofit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to helping those veterans (and their families) in Michigan who return from the Iran and Afghanistan campaigns and find themselves in need of financial support and assistance related to a variety of areas, from medical expenses to housing costs. FWSF members are a diverse collection of concerned people from Michigan's business and private sectors. For more information, please visit www.fwsf.org. About Kowalski Sausage Company Emigrating from Poland to America was the way to a dream life. Agnes and Zygmund Kowalski both believed this and began their careers as owners of a small grocery store on Chene Street in Detroit, Michigan. Wanting to bring their favorite foods from the old country to the USA, they added a smokehouse to the store and production of Polish Kielbasa and other sausages began. Demand grew and a factory was built on Holbrook Avenue in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1920. Kowality sets Kowalski product apart from the competition, as well as the continued use of hardwood chips to smoke our famous old-world recipes. In the 95 years Kowalski has been in business, we have not changed our secret family recipes. For more information about Kowalski, please visit www.kowality.com. Contact: Dr. Lynn Phillips Director, FWSF 734-904-6645 [email protected] SOURCE The Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund (FWSF) Related Links http://www.fwsf.org LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Touro University Worldwide (TUW), a nonprofit online university accredited by the WASC Senior Commission of Universities and Colleges, is pleased to announce a special military scholarship program. This scholarship program follows the long tradition of Touro's appreciation of and unique relationship with service members, veterans, and their families. TUW focuses on quality education, affordability, a military friendly environment, and exemplary student services. "As an appreciation to military members for their service and sacrifice, we created a military scholarship program, making TUW the most affordable online university," says Dr. Yoram Neumann, Chief Executive Officer of Touro University Worldwide. "Active duty personnel, veterans, and their families can now earn a high-quality undergraduate or graduate degree at the fraction of the cost that other online universities charge." This military tuition program is offered for active duty and reservist military members from all service branches including those in the Coast Guard and National Guard. Retirees and veterans with an honorable discharge and Department of Defense employees are also eligible. This program is also extended for spouses and children of the aforementioned. Eligible military students will receive the special military tuition rate. Bachelor's programs have a tuition rate of $250 per credit hour, master's program at $300 per credit hour, and doctorate program at $560 per credit hour. In addition, military students will be awarded 100 percent scholarship (free tuition) for up three courses, depending on their degree program and the number of credits that they have completed at TUW. As a military friendly university, there is no limitation on the time to complete course credits to be eligible for the military tuition rate and scholarship. The university is also waiving the application fee. A complete online library and resources are included in the tuition so there are no extra expenses on textbooks for students. Courses are offered six times a year, resulting in a clear and supportive path to the successful completion of degree programs. To learn more about TUW's commitment to the military and their scholarship program, visit TUW.edu/military. About Touro University Worldwide (TUW) Touro University Worldwide (TUW) is a non-profit university, accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, and is part of the Touro College and University System. TUW Offers degrees that range from AA degree to Doctorate level. For more information, visit TUW.edu. Related Files Military Tuition Scholarship Program_v2.docx Related Links Military Achievement Scholarship Military University This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Touro University Worldwide Related Links http://TUW.edu TULSA, Okla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ambassador Hotel Tulsa, Autograph Collection (www.AmbassadorTulsa.com/) is excited to announce the recent achievement of a highly prestigious accolade. A long-time Tulsa favorite, the Ambassador Hotel has been awarded the highest honor by one of the largest user-generated and review supported travel sites, TripAdvisor. The Ambassador Hotel is now listed as #9 on the 2017 TripAdvisor Top 25 Hotels in the United States. While many hotels around the United States dream of being awarded TripAdvisor's Top 25 Hotels, only a few receive this prestigious accolade, which is chosen by millions of travelers worldwide. The hallmark of Travelers' Choice winners is remarkable service, quality, and value. CEO of Coury Hospitality (www.CouryHospitality.com/) and native Tulsan behind the Ambassador, Paul Coury, says, "As the first boutique hotel our team opened, The Ambassador Tulsa has always been near and dear to me. On behalf of everyone at Ambassador Tulsa, we would like to offer our most sincere thanks to our guests and especially to those who played a direct role in delivering such humbling acknowledgments for our dedicated team members." "Always Perfect," "Highly Recommend," and "Always a Pleasure" are just some of the glowing reviews the Ambassador Hotel Tulsa has received. With numerous achievements and awards, this Four Diamond Boutique Hotel is a must visit with friends and family. To experience prestige and excellence like nowhere else in Tulsa, visit the Ambassador Hotel Tulsa, 1324 S. Main Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For more information or to book a stay, visit http://AmbassadorTulsa.com Ambassador Hotel Tulsa, originally an upscale housing property for oil barons and wealthy families, has since evolved into a Four Diamond Rating, high-end, boutique hotel that is proud to be a part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. The Tulsa hotel oozes historic character and extravagance with Mediterranean-inspired architecture and European interiors. The hotel also boasts about its on-site restaurant and staple to the Tulsa area, The Chalkboard (www.ChalkboardTulsa.com/). This family-owned restaurant continues to serve top-tier cuisine in breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner creating an impressive culinary dining experience. "Millennials are increasingly attracted to places with character, and we are the only Autograph Hotel Collection in Tulsa," says CEO Paul Coury of Coury Hospitality. Since its establishment, the Ambassador Hotel Tulsa has enjoyed being the center of Tulsa's cultural, economic and social scene. The Ambassador Hotel Tulsa is proudly represented by Coury Hospitality, a full-service hospitality company whose portfolio of properties include extraordinarily preserved hotels located in Tulsa, Okla., Kansas City, Mo., Wichita, Kan., and Oklahoma City, Okla. each designed for discerning travelers seeking the very best in contemporary luxury and sophistication, service of the utmost discretion, and a splash of historic elegance. Experience our refined style of hospitality, where a devotion to guest experience is a signature of every stay. For More Information, Please Contact: Andrew Mungul General Manager [email protected] 918-587-8200 SOURCE Ambassador Hotel PHOENIX, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Troxell, a national leader in education technology & collaboration solutions for more than 60 years, is proud to announce the arrival and return of Clint Knudsen, who joins the company as the new Regional Vice President for the Western States Sales Territory. He will oversee Account Executives servicing school districts in California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. Clint originally joined Troxell in February of 2008. His efforts helped to firmly establish Troxell as an important education partner to local school districts in Utah and Idaho, who were striving to strengthen the classroom learning environment. He is the recipient of a number of national awards and recognition for his success. "We are pleased to welcome Clint back to the Troxell family," said Mark Barber, Senior Vice President of Sales. "Through his efforts in building long-lasting relationships with local school districts, Troxell enjoyed unprecedented business growth in the Utah/Idaho territory with his customer base. In his new role, we expect to see the best practices of his past achievements translate to his new team and build upon that solid foundation to set up their ongoing success." Clint has been an active participant in education serving on state education technology boards, serving local youth organizations, working with state educators, being a mentor to STEM students, and more. After a successful 5+ years with Troxell, Clint accepted a senior sales position with global manufacturing and electronics company Siemens, staying for 3 years. He is excited to return to Troxell in his new role and looks forward to making an impact, fulfilling his passion for education. Clint graduated with a Marketing Communications degree from the University of Utah. You may contact Clint Knudsen at 800-352-7912 x4300. About Troxell Headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, Troxell is the nation's leading end-to-end solution provider for technology and collaborative solutions in K-12 and higher ed. With 65 offices nationwide, we combine large-scale purchasing power with the high-touch, consultative approach of a local specialist. Find a location near you. For Press Inquiries Contact: Raigan Irwin-McCabe, VP of Marketing SOURCE Troxell Related Links http://etroxell.com MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tru-D SmartUVC recently signed a supplier contract agreement with Vizient, Inc., the largest member-owned health care company in the country. Vizient serves a diverse membership and customer base that includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers. Tru-D SmartUVC Tru-D SmartUVC in a patient room. "Becoming an approved Vizient supplier gives Tru-D the opportunity to deliver enhanced savings on its unique, automated UV disinfection robot's clinical differentiation and value proposition to Vizient's membership of academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers who access the Vizient contract portfolio," said Chuck Dunn, CEO and President of Tru-D SmartUVC. "We are excited to work with Vizient and look forward to a long-term relationship while delivering a rapid return on investment to members." Tru-D is the pioneer of no-touch UV disinfection taking to market the world's first UV robot in 2007 and continually providing industry-leading innovation over the past decade. Tru-D is the only device of its kind backed by a CDC-funded, randomized clinical trial. Results of the landmark Benefits of Enhanced Terminal Room Disinfection (BETR-D) study proved that enhanced terminal room disinfection strategies including Tru-D decreased the risk of acquiring an infection among patients admitted to the same room by a cumulative 30%. Tru-D's robust Program Management Team develops customized Standard Operating Procedures ensuring Tru-D seamlessly integrates into hospital workflow models with minimal impact on labor costs and without the need for additional full-time employees. Tru-D's team of client managers, training staff and technical experts work each day with the mindset of continuous improvement. Together they optimize Vizient members' utilization of Tru-D and make the most of member clients' investment and trust in Tru-D. The Vizient relationship will be led by Lelese George who has worked in a corporate accounts capacity within the health care industry for more than 15 years. "My personal attention is focused on successfully demonstrating Tru-D's unique value proposition and executing a strategic plan towards optimizing the mutual success of our Vizient contract," said George. Tru-D works by generating UV energy that is proven to kill harmful pathogens that can remain behind from manual cleaning. After traditional cleaning methods are performed, Tru-D is rolled in to the room to complete the disinfection process. Activated by a remote control outside the room, Tru-D operates from one position and administers a single cycle of UV light. Using patented Sensor360 technology, Tru-D compensates for room variables such as size, shape and the amount of equipment in the room, calculating the precise time necessary to disinfect the room. Once the cycle is complete, the operator is notified via audio and/or text message that the robot is ready to proceed to the next targeted room. For more information, visit Tru-D.com. About Tru-D SmartUVC Tru-D SmartUVC is the only UV disinfection device backed by a CDC-funded, randomized clinical trial. Using Sensor360 technology, Tru-D compensates for room variables and delivers the precise, calculated dose of UVC needed for terminal room disinfection. For information and links to independent studies on Tru-D, visit Tru-D.com. Christin Yates Public Relations Tru-D SmartUVC 901-774-5771 [email protected] SOURCE Tru-D SmartUVC Related Links http://tru-d.com/ MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care company, has announced it is actively searching for qualified candidates to fill 9,000 positions nationwide, including large numbers of contact center representatives in Dallas, Tampa and Columbus, Ohio. WHAT: In preparation for its busy spring season, TruGreen is accepting applications for a variety of seasonal and full-time positions, including management, sales, lawn specialists, finance, IT, customer service and call center representatives. TruGreen seeks motivated candidates with excellent communication and relationship building skills. TruGreen offers competitive benefits including holidays, paid time off, medical, dental, vision and prescription benefit plans, and 401k participation. The company also offers an incentive and reward trip each year for qualifying exceptional employees. Past destinations include Hawaii, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. TruGreen also rewards its local branches that achieve the highest customer count in their region with a donation of $2,000 to a charity of the team's choice. In 2016, TruGreen donated more than $130,000 to non-profit organizations through this program. TruGreen is currently accepting applications and coordinating interviews. WHEN: Interested applicants can apply online now. WHERE: Apply online at https://jobs.trugreen.com WHY: TruGreen is committed to maintaining a work culture that fosters the highest standards of integrity, respect and professionalism. The company helps its employees reach their personal and professional goals by providing them with a unique combination of independence, support and opportunities for ongoing development and growth. TruGreen seeks candidates who share these values and who want to be part of a proud, dynamic team. TruGreen is committed to Diversity and Inclusion, serving as an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer of Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities. For more details, click here. About TruGreen Memphis, Tennessee-based TruGreen is the nation's largest lawn care company, serving more than 2.3 million residential and commercial customers across the United States with lawn, tree and shrub care. TruGreen believes more life should be lived outside and is committed to providing a beautiful lawn to serve as the foundation for outside experiences and lifelong memories. As the leader in the professional lawn care industry, TruGreen helps define responsible lawn care practices, conducts industry-leading education and training for our people, pioneers new application technologies and educates our customers on proper mowing and wise-use watering techniques. Today, there are approximately 260 TruGreen lawn care branches in the United States and Canada, plus about 35 franchise locations. Go to http://www.TruGreen.com or http://www.facebook.com/TruGreen for more information about TruGreen. SOURCE TruGreen Related Links https://www.trugreen.com Arrivals accounted for 50.9 percent of U-Haul traffic in Minnesota in 2016 thanks to locations like St. Paul, Mankato, Alexandria and Apple Valley, the cities to pace the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks. St. Paul ranks ninth among U.S. Growth Cities for locations with a population of more than 50,000. Follow the Top 10 Growth States daily countdown through Feb. 3 on Twitter @uhaul and view other migration trends reports, including the U.S. Growth Cities release, at myuhaulstory.com. Growth States are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul truck rentals entering a state versus leaving a state during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions that occur annually. "Minnesota is growing very well as a whole," said Christopher Bohlman, U-Haul Company of Southern Minnesota president. "We have a strong, healthy economy. The unemployment rate is extremely low and houses are being built in the suburbs." U-Haul grew its truck and trailer inventory in Minnesota in 2016 as the Company opened 46 new neighborhood dealers and posted a net gain of 12 dealers across the state. "U-Haul provides the community with the right moving equipment at the lowest cost," said William Piette, U-Haul Company of Northern Minnesota president. "We keep growth moving toward the state and within the state." Find U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers in Minnesota at uhaul.com/locations. U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The geographical coverage from more than 21,000 U-Haul locations, including neighborhood dealers and Company-owned and -operated stores, provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry. About U-Haul Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 139,000 trucks, 108,000 trailers and 38,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 536,000 rooms and more than 50 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. www.uhaul.com Contact Jeff Lockridge Sebastien Reyes E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 602-760-4941 Website: uhaul.com SOURCE U-Haul "Every day we help unite the world and today hundreds of our leaders came together to fight one of humanity's gravest issues - starvation," said Munoz. "This morning we showed that United's shared purpose not only connects people around the world but makes a life-changing difference in the communities we serve. Businesses can be successful and have a heart." United partnered with Rise Against Hunger (formerly Stop Hunger Now) which focuses on ending hunger by providing food and life-changing aid to the world's most vulnerable communities. The three-hour event which packaged 285,120 meals represents Rise Against Hunger's largest food-packing event ever held in Chicago. The meals created will help feed nearly 3,000 children in El Salvador for an entire year. "We're pleased to be partnering with United Airlines for the first time to help end world hunger and poverty," says Rod Brooks, President and CEO of Rise Against Hunger. "Our vision is to make a difference through initiatives that will provide relief to those facing immediate food insecurity and offer opportunities for children and families to become educated, healthy and self-sufficient. When hunger is targeted, you give leverage and hope to every other cause including disease and the welfare of women and children." United's leaders from 14 countries across five continents worked hand-in-hand with senior executives for the first half-day of the conference at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center to package meals as part of the team-building service project. Approximately 1,600 meals were packaged per minute, resulting in 43,560 pounds of food. United Airlines' 2017 Global Leadership Conference themed "The New Spirit of United" has assembled the company's worldwide management group to meet with Munoz and the senior executive team to learn more about the strategic plan the company put into action last fall to build the best airline in the world for its employees, customers and everyone it serves. The conference also includes a number of leadership development and team-building programs as part of the agenda. About United United Airlines and United Express operate more than 4,500 flights a day to 339 airports across five continents. In 2016, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 143 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 737 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express partners operate 483 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL". About Rise Against Hunger Rise Against Hunger (formerly Stop Hunger Now) is driven by the vision of a world without hunger. With program locations in 20 U.S. cities and five international partners, Rise Against Hunger coordinates the packaging and distribution of nutrient rich meals to 37 countries worldwide, providing food and life-changing aid to the world's most vulnerable, meeting immediate nutritional needs today, and empowering strong, resilient communities tomorrow. Join us at www.riseagainsthunger.org to help end world hunger. SOURCE United Airlines Related Links http://www.united.com GAINESVILLE, Fla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Way of North Central Florida Director of Development Chris Wells to present for the second time at the annual United Way Worldwide Fundraising for Impact Summit February 6-9 in Phoenix, Arizona. Wells' presentation will focus on UWNCFL's Small Business Partnership, a unique program that partners small business owners with United Way to focus their charitable giving in their local communities. Over the past two years, this initiative has grown the agency's Community Investment Fund by 15%, which is five times its annual expected growth and the single largest increase in the organization's 60 year history. "There are 28 million small businesses in the United States and roughly 90% of them have 20 or fewer employees," said Wells. "This is our biggest opportunity to reach new donors who were not previously engaged, allowing them to focus their giving in a way that is local, manageable and impactful." This program the first of its kind in the US creates new revenue independent from the typical United Way workplace payroll deduction campaigns, which have been on the decline for more than 30 years, largely due to the changes in how Americans work and changing global economic conditions. "Since its inception, we have grown to 150 Small Business Partners," said UWNCFL President & CEO Deborah Bowie, "which is only the beginning. We are excited to be included in the United Way Worldwide conference once again, and to share our program with United Ways all over the globe. It is our belief that this strategy represents one of the most significant opportunities for revenue growth across the 1,300-member United Way network." In September 2016, UWNCFL hosted an expanded day-long conference focused on establishing the Small Business Partnership Program in United Ways across the country. A number of Florida United Way professionals attended the September session, as well as development teams from Texas and Utah. A second conference is scheduled in Gainesville on April 28. More information can be found at www.MissionMainStreet2017.EventBrite.com. SOURCE United Way of North Central Florida WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau: BLACK HISTORY MONTH Profile America Wednesday, February 1st. February is Black History Month, a time to honor the many contributions to our nation's history made by people of African descent. Started as a special week in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson, the observance is now a full month of activities across the country. African-Americans, in counting single race or in combination with others, number over 43 million in the U.S. By 2060, this figure is projected to reach 74.5 million nearly 18 percent of the country's entire population. Although New York has the largest black population of any state or equivalent at 3.8 million, Washington, D.C., has the highest percentage at over 51 percent. Cook County, Illinois, effectively Chicago, had the largest black population of any county in 2012, numbering 1.3 million. Profile America is in its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. Source: Population: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/PEP/2015/PEPSR5H National projected Black population: http://www.census.gov/population/projections/files/summary/NP2014-T10.xls State, county and city Black populations: http://census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff01.html Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau Related Links http://www.census.gov "Over the three years of "What's Next" surveys, the shift from an internal staff focus to one centered on the citizen experience has been dramatic," said Ashley Fruechting, Vision's senior director of marketing. "It's clear that local government leaders recognize their responsibility to provide citizens with digital services at the same level of accessibility, transparency and efficiency they enjoy in the private sector." More than 435 municipal and county government officials, serving communities with populations of less than 1,000 to more than 1.5 million, participated in the December 2016 online survey, which assessed the current state of digital communications and projected future trends. For the first time, elected and appointed local government officials and administrators represented the largest group of survey respondents. Increased participation by this group - nearly double from last year (to 34% from 18%) - points to the growing importance of citizen communications. A copy of the survey report and infographic now are available for download here. Insight 1: Recognizing the Responsibility to Keep Pace with Technology Echoing survey results from the prior two years, an overwhelming majority (97%) of government leaders said they believe that local governments have a responsibility to keep pace with ever-changing technology. The positive response to this forward-looking survey question continued to track upward from 95 percent in the 2016 report and 94 percent in 2015. "As technology evolves, so does communications. We have to keep pace with the changing environment or the message gets lost," said a county council member from Alberta, Canada. Insight 2: Increased Focus on Digital Citizen Engagement As the need for local government to engage its citizens continues to rise, only 5 percent of survey respondents rated their agencies "outstanding" in effective citizen engagement, while 18 percent said their agencies were "below average" or "poor." "As local government, our duty is to serve the public; and part of the equation to engaging the public is through new technology," said a city administrator from Texas. Insight 3: Local Gov Websites are Essential For the third straight year, the majority of local government participants described their agency website as "integral to their overall communications and public service strategy," with 93 percent responding that it was either "essential" or "important." However, the number of respondents who rated their agency's website as "highly effective" showed a notable drop to 26 percent in 2017 from 34 percent in both 2015 and 2016. Budgetary issues surfaced in a number of write-in comments. "We try our best to keep citizens aware, making information available, yet it all still takes some staff time and energy for all of these issues. Many smaller governments cannot afford to invest what is required," said a county commissioner from Minnesota. The good news is nearly three-quarters (73%) of this year's respondents predict they will be highly effective in 5 years. Insight 4: Increasing Demand for Online Citizen Service A widespread challenge is still evident as participants rated how well their websites allow visitors to conduct business online. While only 8 percent gave their website an "outstanding" rating, it is double the number in the 2016 survey. At the other end of the spectrum, 16 percent of respondents said their website was "below average" or "poor," while just over three-quarters (76%) said their website was "average" or "good" in delivering online services. When asked to cite the top issue with their current websites, respondents cited (1) limited citizen engagement, (2) not mobile-ready and (3) difficult to navigate. This correlates with responses to the question about priorities for the next 12 months, in which three out of four local gov leaders (75%) cited "expand citizen engagement" as an important focus. Rounding out the top three priorities for 2017 were mobile integration/responsive design (59%) and minimize cybersecurity risks (47%). "Security is a huge concern, and I'd rank that first. Open-source software doesn't cut it anymore. We might as well have a huge target on our foreheads. If we do not keep up with the rapid pace of updates, we become vulnerable. Proprietary software will vastly improve our security profile," said a communications manager from Washington State. Insight 5: Websites Expected to Leapfrog Social Media in Effectiveness A dynamic shift is predicted over the next 5 years in the effectiveness of an agency's channels of citizen communications. Currently, social media was ranked as a "highly effective" communications channel by 43 percent of respondents, while only 26 percent ranked their agency website as highly effective. But by 2021, 73 percent of respondents predict that their websites will be highly effective compared to 70 percent for social media channels. Insight 6: Accessibility Mandates Challenge Local Leaders Federal mandates calling for the removal of barriers that prevent interaction with or access to websites by people with disabilities are a growing concern for local government agencies. New rules on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website compliance will be issued in 2018 and existing guidelines such as ADA, WCAG 2.0 and Section 508, are increasingly being enforced. Yet 87 percent of respondents (only a 2 percent improvement over last year) said they have moderate, weak or no knowledge of Federal web accessibility requirements. "Too many departments, too much information to have to make easily accessible." Senior Advisor-Policy & Communications, Utah "Overall, this year's survey reveals that many local government leaders continue to grapple with internal and external challenges that prevent them from being as effective and transparent as today's technology allows," Fruechting said. "Today's citizens demand to be heard. Thankfully, the opportunities to increase satisfaction, build trust and foster engagement on the local level are greater than ever. The good news from this year's survey is that local government leaders are increasingly aware of the tools and technologies that exist to help them meet those needs." For more information about Vision's transformative technology, or to request a free website review and consultation, please call 888-263-8847 or visit info.visioninternet.com/free-consultation. About Vision Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Vision is a national leader in government website design, development and hosting with more than 700 government, non-profit and education clients in U.S. and Canadian communities with populations that range from less than 1,000 residents to more than 5 million. For more than 20 years, Vision has created cost-effective solutions that increase government efficiency, build transparency and promote interactive communications with citizens. The company's powerful, easy-to-use subscription-based content management system, visionLive, keeps local government websites relev ant and effective; and the new visionPulse community engagement platform enables local governments to gather feedback on important issues. For the second year in a row, Vision has been named to Government Technology magazine's GovTech 100, a listing of leading companies developing innovative or disruptive offerings to improve or transform government. The company also was named a top 10 company serving local government by Engaging Local Government Leaders in its 2016 ELGL Choice Awards. CONTACT: Lynette Viviani 973-534-1004 [email protected] SOURCE Vision NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- W. P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC), an internally-managed net lease real estate investment trust, announced today that ToniAnn Sanzone has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Sanzone has been serving as interim CFO of W. P. Carey Inc. since October 2016. W. P. Carey Inc. Appoints ToniAnn Sanzone Chief Financial Officer Mark J. DeCesaris, W. P. Carey's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to announce the promotion of Toni Sanzone to the role of Chief Financial Officer, in recognition of the technical expertise, leadership and commitment that she has demonstrated since joining W. P. Carey, as well as the outstanding job she has done as interim CFO." "After conducting a thorough search process of qualified external and internal candidates through Korn Ferry, it became clear that Toni's strong financial, communications and collaborative capabilities, as well as her detailed knowledge of the company, made her the best candidate to assume the position full-time. This choice is also consistent with our policy of hiring candidates with strong potential and providing them the opportunity for professional growth and advancement, and we look forward to Toni's continued contributions to W. P. Carey." Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Sanzone added, "I am honored to undertake the role of CFO and look forward to contributing to the company's ongoing growth and success." Ms. Sanzone has been serving as interim CFO of W. P. Carey Inc. since October of 2016, having served as Chief Accounting Officer since 2015. Ms. Sanzone joined W. P. Carey in April 2013 as Global Corporate Controller, prior to which she served as the Corporate Controller at iStar Financial Inc., where she held various senior accounting positions from 2006 to 2013. Ms. Sanzone is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the states of New York and New Jersey. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting from Long Island University, C.W. Post (now LIU Post). About W. P. Carey Inc. W. P. Carey Inc. is a leading internally-managed net lease REIT that provides long-term sale-leaseback and build-to suit financing solutions primarily for companies in the U.S. and Europe. At September 30, 2016, the Company had an enterprise value of approximately $11.0 billion. In addition to its owned portfolio of diversified real estate, W. P. Carey manages a series of non-traded publicly registered investment programs with assets under management of approximately $12.2 billion. Its corporate finance-focused credit and real estate underwriting process is a constant that has been successfully leveraged across a wide variety of industries and property types. Furthermore, its portfolio of long-term leases with creditworthy tenants has an established history of generating stable cash flows, enabling it to deliver consistent and rising dividend income to investors for over four decades. www.wpcarey.com Institutional Investors: Peter Sands W. P. Carey Inc. 212-492-1110 [email protected] Media Contact: Guy Lawrence Ross & Lawrence 212-308-3333 [email protected] SOURCE W. P. Carey Inc. Related Links http://www.wpcarey.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, a collection of well over 100 businesses and trade associations that represent millions of American jobs announced a new coalition to stop the Border Adjustment Tax or BAT. Americans for Affordable Products (AAP) will run a national campaign to engage consumers and show lawmakers that pursuing tax policy that will result in higher costs for their customers on everyday items including food, gas and clothing is the wrong approach. The BAT is a component of the U.S. House Republican tax reform proposal, and will significantly hurt American consumers and the nation's largest employers by increasing the cost of everyday products by up to 20 percent. "As a business owner who works every day to add value to my customers and serve the needs of families, I am deeply concerned about the Border Adjustment Tax. Without question, it will increase prices paid by consumers and threaten the existence of companies like ours. We need Members of Congress to listen to the urgent objections of small business job creators and stop this giveaway to big corporations at the expense of middle income and working class families," said Learning Resources, Inc. Chairman Rick Woldenberg. Consumer Technology Association (CTA) President and CEO Gary Shapiro commented, "While well intended, a proposed Border Adjustment Tax could increase prices on a wide range of basic consumer goods, hitting the pocketbooks of middle class Americans. We urge policymakers to incentivize U.S. manufacturing in ways that don't hurt the hundreds of thousands of American businesses who employ millions of American workers." "The retail industry pays among the highest effective tax rates of all industries. We, therefore, enthusiastically support reforming the current tax code and welcome the fact that both the President and Congress do so as well. However, the Border Adjustment Tax is harmful, untested, and would put American retail jobs at risk and force consumers to pay as much as 20 percent more for family essentials. We are committed to working with Congress to ensure they understand the impact of this proposal, and to pursue tax reform that reduces rates and benefits American consumers," stated Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) President Sandy Kennedy. National Retail Federation (NRF) President and CEO Matthew Shay concluded, "Whether it's the automobile you drive, the gasoline you use, the groceries you put on the table, or the shoes and the clothes you put on your feet and back, the prices of all of those things will get driven up by the Border Adjustment Tax. Consumers ultimately are the losers from any effort to tax imports because the economy in the United States is driven by consumers. There are plenty of taxes already on hard working Americans and the retailers that serve them, and higher prices just add to that burden. We support creating a less complicated, more straightforward and equitable tax code, and will work with both the Administration and Congress to achieve that goal, but the Border Adjustment Tax is not the answer. Some may consider this a better way forward, but it is definitely not the best way." American consumers oppose a policy that exempts exports from being taxed while taxing imports because of the real-life impact it will have on their everyday lives and household budgets. For example, according to the NRF, upon passage, the BAT will cost American families as much as $1,700. While members of AAP oppose the BAT, they recognize the hard work by Members of Congress to reform the tax code and support provisions such as lowering the overall corporate tax rate and the territorial tax approach, which limits taxes on U.S. companies to income earned only in the United States. To learn more about AAP and its supporters, or the BAT, click here. Several Key BAT Opponents : Trump Campaign Senior Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow: "'This is an exercise in government planning and complexity that I believe is doomed to fail,' conservative television commentator Larry Kudlow said of Ryan's proposal on CNBC last week. Kudlow helped write Trump's tax plan 'I think the whole corporate tax reform, which is the most important pro-growth measure, will go down the drain over this.'" (Rachael Bade, "How Trump Keeps Trampling On Hill GOP's Big Plans," Politico, 1/17/17) Americans For Prosperity President Tim Phillips: "Americans for Prosperity will be making the House GOP's border adjustment plan for tax reform a Rubicon for congressional Republicans to cross at their own risk. 'There is a strong disagreement over border adjustment tax, which is really a tariff,' AFP's president, Tim Phillips, said in a call with POLITICO. 'This is something we're going to fight tooth and nail.' How tooth and nail? Phillips, says the group isn't ruling out attack ads or backing primary challengers of Republicans who back that sort of proposal, even though the group likes most of the House GOP plan. 'We have a history of following up,' he said, and 'holding accountable' members who don't see eye-to-eye with the group. AFP's network members from across the country have already started stopping in to their House members' offices to lodge their opposition to the provision, Phillips said going as far as to compare the effort to the group's fight against Obamacare. Whether the group will get assistance from Trump who criticized the House Republican plan recently, before walking it back somewhat is another question. 'We certainly hope so,' Phillips said. 'It would harm so many of the people who are the core of his constituency' 'It will take the country and the Republican Party back a century to protectionism and again, tariffs,' said Phillips, who added that it would lead to a loss of purchasing power for 'millions of Americans.'" (Bernie Becker, "Mnuchin Unruffled," Politico Morning Tax, 1/20/17) Club For Growth President David McIntosh: "House Republicans now have a prime opportunity to undertake corporate tax reform, and they've proposed some pro-growth ideas, including rate reductions, incentives for investment, and reform in how purchases are expensed. Unfortunately, all of that good reform could be wiped out by a separate complicated proposal from the House GOP that amounts to a costly new consumer tax called the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) It's another case of Washington creating winners and losers, instead of doing what's necessary to reduce taxes across the board: Congress must do the hard job of actually cutting the size of the federal government and its spending, instead of gaming the tax code to create costly offsets There's no debate over the fact that Congressional Republicans must do pro-growth tax cuts across the board. The Tax Foundation has projected that Trump's tax overhaul would produce about 7% in economic growth. The corporate tax rate needs to be lowered, with incentives for investment. But Congress also needs to dramatically cut federal spending, and not simply substitute a new consumer tax to feed Washington's endless demand for more revenue." (David McIntosh, "Let's Bury The Idea Of A Border Adjustment Tax," Investor's Business Daily, 1/20/17) Forbes Media Chairman & Editor-In-Chief Steve Forbes: "REPUBLICANS in the House of Representatives are inadvertently setting a nasty political and economic trap for Donald Trump. Yes, it's the Republicans, not the Democrats, who are ready to administer an unnecessary black eye to the new President. That's not their intention, but it manifestly will be the result. The vehicle for this unwitting GOP punch is a new exaction called the border adjustability tax. This levy will cost American consumers at least a trillion dollars over the next ten years. Knowing how Washington politicians calculate these things, you can bet the amount will end up being considerably more. Prices for everyday items, such as socks, shoes and household appliances, will go up. So will tech devices like the iPad, not to mention automobiles and trucks. Gasoline? Millions of Americans will pay an additional 30 cents or more per gallon at the pump. Lower-income and struggling middle-class Americans will get hit the hardest." (Steve Forbes, "OMG! House Republicans Are Preparing To Hit Consumers With A Horrible New Tax That Will Harm Trump And Hurt The Economy," Forbes, 1/11/17) Americans for Affordable Products is a coalition of job creators, entrepreneurs, business leaders and consumers united against higher prices on everyday necessities. To learn more, please visit: www.KeepAmericaAffordable.com. To schedule an interview with an Americans for Affordable Productsrepresentative, please email [email protected]. SOURCE Americans for Affordable Products TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - West Face Capital Inc. today issued the following statement following the procedural ruling today by the Ontario Court of Appeal in the lawsuit by Callidus Capital Corporation and The Catalyst Capital Group Inc. for alleged defamation. West Face notes that this appeal decision concerns only a motion about the form and content of the plaintiff's pleadings at the very outset of this case, and does not concern the merits of allegations by Callidus and Catalyst, let alone the propriety of their business practices or public disclosures. "While West Face is disappointed by the decision of the Court of Appeal in this procedural matter, we respect the Court's decision and are considering our options regarding an appeal," said Greg Boland, Chief Executive Officer. "West Face believes that the underlying claims made by Callidus and Catalyst are without merit and will continue to defend them vigorously. We also look forward eventually to proceeding to discovery in this case, where we will test Catalyst's allegations that West Face's research into Callidus was inaccurate. West Face continues to deny these allegations." This most recent decision is entirely unrelated to Justice Newbould's decision from August 2016 when he dismissed in its entirety Catalyst's claims regarding Brandon Moyse and the WIND transaction. As a part of that decision, Justice Newbould concluded that the Catalyst witnesses including in particular CEO Newton Glassman lacked reliability and credibility. In his cost endorsement, Justice Newbould further noted that Mr. Glassman "was not able to accept that he lost his chance to acquire Wind by being outsmarted by someone else." Justice Newbould also found that "[Mr. Glassman] was certainly playing hardball attacking the reputation and honesty of West Face. However, in spite of the best efforts of Catalyst's very able and skilled lawyers, he utterly failed." Justice Newbould's decision is under appeal by Catalyst, and the Ontario Court of Appeal has not yet heard arguments on that appeal. Additional information about these lawsuits is available at www.catalystlitigation.com. The website provides access to the public court materials from the various lawsuits launched by Catalyst against West Face, including materials filed in court by each of Catalyst and West Face. West Face invites any interested parties to review the court materials and make their own assessment of these lawsuits, which West Face believes are wholly without merit. About West Face Capital Inc. West Face Capital Inc. is one of Canada's leading alternative investment managers combining control-through-distressed, high-yield, negotiated finance, proactive equity, and private equity activities. West Face's capabilities are underpinned by a seasoned multi-disciplinary investment team, proprietary origination channels, deep sector expertise, and the ability to address investment targets in domestic and international markets. SOURCE West Face Capital Inc. Related Links www.westfacecapital.com CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Winsight, LLC ("Winsight" or the "Company"), a leading B2B information provider, announced today that Charlotte-based investment firm Pamlico Capital ("Pamlico") led a majority recapitalization of the Company in partnership with the existing management team. CEO Mike Wood Jr., along with other management team members and existing investors will maintain significant ownership in Winsight and will continue to manage the growth of the Company with support from Pamlico. The transaction, funded with both equity and debt, provides substantial growth capital to support the Company. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Winsight provides actionable information, market intelligence, professional events, and media to the global restaurant, noncommercial foodservice, and convenience retail industries. The Company offers a multi-channel portfolio of brands across research, data and analytics, events, magazines, web sites, e-newsletters, and content marketing solutions. With nearly 800 customers, Winsight's solutions enable customers to drive engagement with target audiences, refine business development strategies, and network within the industry. Mike Wood Jr. noted, "Our team is proud of the success we have achieved to date and we believe Winsight is well positioned for future growth by continuing to provide innovative solutions for our customers. The Pamlico team brings expertise and ongoing capital for additional investment and acquisitions, and we are excited about what this will mean for Winsight's employees and customers. We see the opportunity to continue growing Winsight and increase our presence and offerings to our restaurant, foodservice, and convenience markets, and are pleased to have a financial partner to execute our strategy." Pamlico Partner Scott Stevens added, "We are thrilled to partner with management and support exciting future growth opportunities. The management team's passion for their business, track record of new product development initiatives, and ability to expand through acquisitions stood out to us. The Winsight management team is poised to grow across multiple fronts, and the business represents a leading platform in the B2B information market." Winsight was advised by East Wind Advisors (exclusive financial advisor) and Latham & Watkins LLP (legal advisor). Pamlico was advised by Alston & Bird LLP (legal advisor). About Winsight Winsight provides actionable information, market intelligence, professional events, and media to the global restaurant, noncommercial foodservice, and convenience retail industries. The Company offers a multi-channel portfolio of brands across research, data and analytics, events, magazines, web sites, e-newsletters, and content marketing solutions. With nearly 800 customers, Winsight's solutions enable customers to drive engagement with target audiences, refine business development strategies, and network within the industry. For additional information, please visit www.winsightmedia.com or www.technomic.com. About Pamlico Capital Pamlico Capital is a private equity firm founded in 1988 that invests in growing middle market companies in the U.S. Pamlico Capital seeks growth equity and buyout investments of up to $100 million alongside proven management teams in its target industries: Business & Technology Services, Communications, and Healthcare. Since inception, the firm, based in Charlotte, NC, has invested over $2.5 billion. For additional information, please visit www.pamlicocapital.com. CONTACT Sheila Charapata Director of Marketing Winsight, LLC +1 312-940-1970 [email protected] SOURCE Winsight, LLC Related Links http://www.WinsightMedia.com NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced that the following Guggenheim exchange traded funds (ETFs) have declared distributions. The table below summarizes the distribution for each ETF. Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share GSY Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration ETF1 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0593 GTO Guggenheim Total Return Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.1619 BSCH Guggenheim BulletShares 2017 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0272 BSCI Guggenheim BulletShares 2018 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0291 BSCJ Guggenheim BulletShares 2019 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0343 BSCK Guggenheim BulletShares 2020 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0417 BSCL Guggenheim BulletShares 2021 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0446 BSCM Guggenheim BulletShares 2022 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0490 BSCN Guggenheim BulletShares 2023 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0521 BSCO Guggenheim BulletShares 2024 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0591 1On September 30, 2013, Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration Bond ETF changed its name to Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration ETF. Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share BSCP Guggenheim BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0577 BSCQ Guggenheim BulletShares 2026 Corporate Bond ETF2 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0511 BSJH Guggenheim BulletShares 2017 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0747 BSJI Guggenheim BulletShares 2018 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0897 BSJJ Guggenheim BulletShares 2019 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0943 BSJK Guggenheim BulletShares 2020 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.1015 BSJL Guggenheim BulletShares 2021 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.1113 BSJM Guggenheim BulletShares 2022 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.1139 BSJN Guggenheim BulletShares 2023 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.1286 BSJO Guggenheim BulletShares 2024 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF2 02/01/17 02/02/17 02/07/17 $ 0.0880 2BSCQ and BSJO have an inception date of 9.14.16. The distribution rates for these ETFs reflect the net income accrued from inception through 10/30/16. Future distribution rates will reflect the standard net income accrued during the previous month. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. To the extent any portion of the distribution is estimated to be sourced from something other than income, such as return of capital, the source would be disclosed on a Section 19(a)-1 letter located on the Funds website under the Literature tab. Distributions may be comprised of sources other than income, which may not reflect actual fund performance. For more information, please visit http://www.guggenheiminvestments.com/products/etf. About Guggenheim Investments Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners, with $209 billion3 in total assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. We focus on the return and risk needs of insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. Our 275+ investment professionals perform rigorous research to understand market trends and identify undervalued opportunities in areas that are often complex and underfollowed. This approach to investment management has enabled us to deliver innovative strategies providing diversification and attractive long-term results. Read a funds prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the funds investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) at http://guggenheiminvestments.com or call 800.820.0888. The referenced funds are distributed by Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC. Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management businesses of Guggenheim Partners, LLC (Guggenheim), which includes Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC ("GFIA") and Guggenheim Partners Investment Management (GPIM), the investment advisors to the referenced funds. Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, is affiliated with Guggenheim, GFIA and GPIM. 3 Guggenheim Investments total asset figure is as of 12.31.2016. The assets include leverage of $12.3bn for assets under management and $0.4bn for assets for which we provide administrative services. Guggenheim Investments represents the following affiliated investment management businesses: Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, Guggenheim Real Estate, LLC, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited, and Guggenheim Partners India Management. CHICO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Work Truck Solutions, the first online platform that enables commercial inventory searches by body type and chassis, for both truck buyers and industry supply chain stakeholders, announced their new office location today in Troy, Michigan. "The level of support that the OEMs have provided to help expand our services to their dealers, and the support that we are receiving from the industry at large, told us that our presence in the motor city is an important commitment to support our planned growth," reported Work Truck Solutions CEO Kathryn Schifferle. "We are not only expanding our network of dealers, we are integrating supply chain stakeholders, primarily body manufacturers and distributors, into our inventory and data network. By aggregating their data, we will be able to supply everyone with a clear picture of the market channel, and be able to create solutions to challenges inherent in this fragmented industry." Since 2015 Work Truck Solutions' network grew from 77 dealers to well over 500 dealers; they expect to scale even more quickly in 2017. In 2016 they added 'locator' buttons onto key body manufacturer and distributor websites to help truck buyers locate dealers' in-stock upfits (trucks and vans modified with vocational bodies and equipment). This includes vehicles from class 1 through class 8. Here's how it works: A buyer goes to their favorite dealer's website and clicks on the "Work Truck" button. A visual carousel of body and chassis styles appears, and their second click takes the buyer to complete specs on the truck or van needed for their specific vocation. The buyer can then call or request online for that very truck. If the buyer knows the brand of body they want, they can go to that locator button to search for one on a local dealer's lot. Meanwhile, the dealers and body manufacturers have access to monthly analytics reports that show which chassis styles and body types were clicked, giving everyone a better feel for what customers need, and perhaps more importantly, which trucks to keep on lot, avoiding the potential 4 to 6 month delay if ordered. In addition to the most complete specs and images for work trucks, Work Truck Solutions also offers dealer access to their Dealer Trade Network, a market sharing and global search tool that enables dealers to share and track down commercial inventory on lots across the country. The number of unique commercial vehicles and pickups currently being displayed in Work Truck Solutions' inventory network, and available through their search tools, is scaling at an average of 20% per month. "It's gratifying that dealerships and manufacturers are recognizing the effectiveness of our service," added Schifferle. "It's a very exciting time around here." For more information on Work Truck Solutions, visit www.worktrucksolutions.com. To become part of the growing network of dealers, manufacturers and distributors using their inventory solutions, email [email protected]. About Work Truck Solutions: Work Truck Solutions is the commercial vehicle inventory solution that enables dealerships, and their truck buyers to view complete work truck inventory. The inventory is searchable by chassis and body type, and provides a simplified online process for finding, quoting and floor planning work truck inventory. Work Truck Solutions is growing rapidly and delivering value for dealers and their truck buyers, for OEMs, fleet management companies, body manufacturers and distributors across the country. Today Work Truck Solutions is serving dealers from all major commercial brands and has co-op programs in place with most manufacturers to off-set 50 percent of their monthly fee. Media Contact: Kathryn Schifferle 855-987-4544 SOURCE Work Truck Solutions Related Links http://www.worktrucksolutions.com NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons or entities that purchased BT Group plc ("BT Group" or the "Company") (NYSE:BT) American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) between May 23, 2013, and January 23, 2017, inclusive ("Class Period"). Investors who have incurred losses in BT Group plc ADRs are urged to contact the firm immediately at classmember@whafh.com or (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774. You may request the filed complaint and obtain additional information concerning the action on our website, www.whafh.com. If you purchased ADRs of BT Group plc within the class period and would like to become involved in assisting the litigation process, you may, no later than March 27, 2017, request that the Court appoint you lead plaintiff of the proposed class. The filed complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that (i) BT Group's Italian division had engaged in improper accounting practices; (ii) as a result, BT Group significantly overstated its earnings; (iii) the foregoing facts, when they became known, would foreseeably cause BT Group to cut its revenue, earnings, and free cash flow forecasts; and (iv) as a result, BT Group's public statements were materially false and misleading. Specifically, on October 27, 2016, the Company announced that it uncovered "inappropriate management behavior" at its Italian division. BT Group revealed to investors that it "conducted an initial internal investigation" which included reviewing accounting practices during which the Company "identified certain historical accounting errors and reassessed certain areas of management judgment." As a result, the Company announced that it had "written down the value of items on the balance sheet by 145 [million]." On this news, BT Group's ADRs fell from $23.82 on October 26, 2016 to a closing price of $23.25 on October 27, 2016 a $0.57 or a 2.39% drop. On January 24, 2017, BT Group issued a news release entitled Update on investigation into BTs Italian business and on BT Group outlook. On this news, BT Groups ADR price fell $5.05, or 20.67%, to close at $19.38 on January 24, 2017. Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in New York, Chicago and San Diego. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions regarding your rights and interests in this case, please immediately contact Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP by telephone at (800) 575-0735, via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com, or visit our website at www.whafh.com. ## Follow the firm and learn about newly filed cases on Twitter and Facebook. ## Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Danish English Press release New Cloud Removes Barriers for Life Sciences New hybrid cloud solution helps life science companies implement their cloud strategies in compliance with latest regulatory requirements. Copenhagen, February 1, 2017 - The new Enterprise Hybrid Cloud for life sciences is launched by NNIT, a leading provider of IT services and consultancy for the pharmaceutical industry. The enterprise hybrid cloud gives life science companies the opportunity to scale the use of the platform. This service enables life science companies to comply with regulatory requirements when deploying workloads in Public Cloud (Based on Microsoft Azure) and Private Cloud (NNIT Datacenter) to be combined and connected in a Hybrid Cloud. The platform is qualified in compliance with regulatory requirements from European Medicines Agency and US Food and Drug Administration. "Success in a regulated industry requires the scalability and agile functionality delivered by the cloud. Executives tend to hold back from cloud migration, however, because of complex compliance requirements, e.g. to data integrity, data privacy and validation. The Enterprise Hybrid Cloud removes these barriers" says Torben Thorhauge, Vice President of Infrastructure Outsourcing Life Sciences, NNIT. The new solution ensures tight security and gives pharmaceutical companies full control of data. They also get global scalability, agile functionality and tailored service to help them keep costs in control while leveraging the benefits of the cloud. The launch is part of NNIT's strategy to exploit its legacy and heritage from the pharmaceutical industry globally, explains Mette Steffensen, Senior Vice President, Life Sciences, NNIT: "The pharmaceutical industry applies very high standards for security, documentation and quality. This is part of our DNA, we have grown out of the life sciences industry so it's only natural that we develop a unique and competitive solution, which meets the companies' needs spot on," she says. ******** More information Helga Heyn, NNIT Communications, +45 30 77 41 81, hhey@nnit.com About NNIT Enterprise Hybrid Cloud Solution for Life Sciences www.nnit.com/gxp-cloud About NNIT NNIT is an international consultancy in the development, implementation, validation and operation of IT for the life sciences industry. We create value for our clients by treating their IT as if it was our own, and of course, we meet the industry's strictest regulatory requirements. We apply the latest advances in technology to make our clients' software, business processes and communication more effective. NNIT A/S has more than 2,800 employees. For more information please visit www.nnit.com. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Visakhapatnam, Jan 27 : India is becoming one of the most transparent and open economies in the world with sector after sector opening up for foreign investment notwithstanding the wave of protectionism elsewhere, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday. Addressing the Partnership Summit in this coastal city, he said that 90 per cent of the investment in India is through the automatic mode, which reflects the transparency and ease of doing business. Jaitley told delegates from 40 countries attending the two-day event that India is investing in a big way in different areas of infrastructure and rural areas and this is what keeps the growth process going. Jaitley said the world is facing serious challenges as it struggles to get out of the slowdown process. "The future appears to be uncertain and there is also a rising tendency, more particularly among the developed world, in falling back on protectionism," he added. The minister said over the last few years, what has got India growing at a reasonable rate among the fastest growing economies are a series of factors -- the most important being the change of attitude and vision of the people. "Never in history have we seen a situation where people of India come out and openly become so increasingly aspirational that they start supporting and demanding reforms and changes in Indian society and the economy," he added. On demonestisation, he said although it shook the system for some time, it was now gradually integrating the shadow, parallel and informal economy with the formal economy. He claimed that the size of the formal economy is expanding and so also are transactions in the banking and digital modes. He said demonetisation of high denominational currency notes was one of the three major changes that had happened over last one year. Stating that India was largely a non-compliant society, he said the states and central government were struggling to generate revenues. Jaitley said demonetisation, coupled with the Goods and Services Tax (GST), will accrue larger revenues to the states and the Centre and expand size of the formal economy. He described JAM (Jandhan, Adhaar and Mobile) as one of the three directional changes making financial inclusion far easier. He said JAM was helping the government in better targeting subsidies, resulting in huge savings that can be spent on the less privileged. Jaitley said at a time of global slowdown, having some high growth states like Andhra Pradesh will contribute to India's growth. Jaitley was all praise for the state for recording higher growth than the national average and achieving number one ranking in ease of doing business with two-and-half years. He foresaw Andhra Pradesh over the next few years growing at least 4 to 5 percent ahead of the national GDP. The Finance Minister said that Andhra had huge potential and promises to be the most vibrant economy on the east coast, with a focus on manufacturing and services. He said that once the Polavaram project is commissioned, the state will become an agriculture powerhouse. He said there were reasons for special relationship with Andhra Pradesh as its division created two unequal parts. "This part is more unequal on account of several reasons," he said and claimed that the Centre is fulfilling promises made to the state. Central ministers M. Venkaiah Naiduand Nirmala Sitaraman, as also Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, were among those present at the inaugural ceremony. This is the second consecutive year that the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with the central and state governments. is holding the summit in this coastal city. Islamabad, Jan 28 : Missing Pakistani blogger Salman Haider has been found, Geo News reported, quoting police sources. Haider, a poet and academic who has been a vocal opponent of religious extremism and the Pakistani authorities' abuse of opposition activists, had been reported missing from Islamabad on January 8. His disappearance led to an online campaign for his safe return. At least five bloggers and activists reportedly disappeared in the country and Haider was the best known among them. The others who have vanished were critical of organised religion, the influence of clerics in Pakistan and the country's powerful military on social media. According to family of Haider, he was with friends in the Bani gala area here and told his wife that he would return soon. But later she received a text message from Haider's phone saying his car should be taken from Koral Chowk. Hundreds protested in major cities in Pakistan, calling for the activists' safe return. Relatives and rights groups allege that the country's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency was behind the disappearances as part of a larger crackdown on dissent. No group had claimed responsibility for the abductions. Jalalabad (Punjab), Jan 28 : Continuing his frontal attack on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's family, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was an "icon of corruption". "Sukhbir Badal is an icon of corruption. The biggest corruption in any state of the country is occurring in Punjab," Rahul said at a rally in support of Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu. Bittu, a Congress MP from Ludhiana, is pitted against Sukhbir Badal from Jalalabad assembly seat for the February 4 assembly elections. Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims of fighting corruption, Rahul said: "Modi should explain why is he supporting Sukhbir if he is fighting corruption?" Rahul said Sukhbir Badal, who is also President of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which has an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state since 2007, and the SAD had deviated from the ideology of Sikhism's founder, Guru Nanak Dev. "Sukhbir Badal claims he is protecting the Sikh religion and ideology of Guru Nanak Dev. But Sukhbir and the Akali Dal say everything is theirs," the Congress leader said. He said the Badal family had monopolised all businesses in the state, including transport, cable TV and mining etc., and were getting commission from liquor trade. "The Badals have finished all industry in Punjab. They don't allow people from other countries and states to invest and start industry here. Industry has moved to other states and Punjab youths are rendered jobless," Rahul said. He said the youths were being denied government jobs by the Badal government. The Congress Vice-President cautioned people against supporting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal. "Punjab needs a Chief Minister from Punjab. (Arvind) Kejriwal runs Delhi like a dictator," he said. He reiterated that Congress Punjab unit chief Amarinder Singh would again be the Chief Minister if the party returns to power in Punjab. On Friday too, Rahul Gandhi had slammed Modi as well the Akali Dal on the corruption issue. "Modi talks of corruption and religion at various places. But how can he stand with the corrupt Akali Dal leaders and talk of fighting corruption?" Gandhi had said at an election rally in Akali stronghold Majitha in Amritsar district. Majitha is represented in the assembly by Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, who is a brother-in-law of Sukhbir Badal and brother of Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur. The 117-member assembly will go to polls on February 4. The counting of votes will be held on March 11. The main contest is between the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the Congress and the AAP. Islamabad, Jan 28 : Prominent Pakistani academic and human rights activist Salman Haider, who went missing earlier this month from Islamabad, is "fine and safe" and has returned home, his brother Zeeshan Haider confirmed to Dawn. However, he did not divulge further details. A professor of Fatima Jinnah University, Haider, went missing on January 6, following which a report was registered at the Lohi Bher police station by his wife. Police found the professor's car from Koral Chowk but did not receive any information about him. Haider, who has been a vocal opponent of religious extremism and the Pakistani authorities' abuse of opposition activists, was reported missing from Islamabad on January 8. His disappearance led to an online campaign for his safe return. Earlier, social media activists Waqas Goraya and Asim Saeed disappeared from Lahore on January 4, Ahmed Raza Naseer went missing from Sheikhupura on January 7 while Salman Haider vanished from Islamabad on January 6. The others who have vanished were critical of organised religion, the influence of clerics in Pakistan and the country's powerful military on social media. Haider was reported missing after he failed to return home on the night of January 6. That night, his wife had received a text message from his number, telling her the location of his car and where to recover it from. Police said the FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by his brother Zeeshan. In 2014, when sectarian killings were rife, Haider had penned a poem titled "Kafir", which quickly went viral on social media. The poem critiqued the intolerance prevailing in the country and quickly garnered critical acclaim. After his disappearance, hundreds protested in major cities in Pakistan, calling for the activists' safe return. Relatives and rights groups allege that the country's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency was behind the disappearances as part of a larger crackdown on dissent. No group had claimed responsibility for the abductions. Chennai, Jan 29 : After getting a firm commitment of Rs 3,000 crore allocation over the next two decades for atomic power projects in the last Union Budget, the nuclear power sector is not expecting anything new in the upcoming 2017-18 budget, said the Atomic Energy Commission chief. "Unlike other industries, we do not have any new expectations from the Union Budget. Yes, it is true last year Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced annual additional allocation of Rs 3,000 crore to expand nuclear power capacity," Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Sekhar Basu, who is also the Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), told IANS. "Our focus now is on setting up 10 more 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR). The PHWRs are our own technology. Apart from expanding the power generation capacity, this would give steady stream of orders for the domestic industry involved in the nuclear field," Basu said. Presenting the Budget for 2016-17, Jaitley said: "In the power sector, we need to diversify the sources of power generation for long-term stability. Government is drawing up a comprehensive plan, spanning next 15 to 20 years, to augment the investment in nuclear power generation." Echoing Basu was S.K. Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. He told IANS: "When a project is designed, the funding part is finalised after discussions with the government." Sharma said new sites to house reactors -- indigenous as well as foreign -- are being explored. In response to a question raised in Parliament, the government has said it has accorded in-principle approval to set up 14 units of 700 MW in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. Basu said after six 1,000 MW units from Russia, India will source VVER 1,200 MW reactors from that country. He said various locations for housing the next batch of six Russian reactors are being looked at. "It has to be a coastal site," Basu said, adding Andhra Pradesh could also be considered as a potential site. According to the Russian nuclear power company Rosatom, it is building two such VVER reactors at Belarus. The VVER reactors are Russian Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reaktors, translated in English as Water-Water Energetic Reactors. (Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in) New New Delhi, Jan 29 : Anti-terrorism cooperation and the lack of progress in defence deals, notably the purchase of 200 Kamov Ka-226 utility choppers by India, are to figure prominently when National Security Advisor Ajit Doval holds official talks in Moscow on Monday, sources said. Russia has attached much importance to the visit since Doval's proposed engagement with Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev was announced in Moscow by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov himself. A Kremlin veteran, Patrushev is considered a key aide to President Putin. Highly placed sources said the Russians will bring up the issue that despite the signing an inter-governmental deal with Russia over a year ago, there has been no progress forward from the Indian side on the issue of purchasing the twin-engined Russian utility helicopter. "The proposal is over a year old. The agreement was firmed up during the summit meet between our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and President (Vladimir) Putin in Goa last October. Hindustan Aeronautics is to hold a majority stake in the venture that will execute the project," a source said. "But they (Hindustan Aeronautics) see a conflict of interest," the source added, referring to the Indian state-owned company's own light utility helicopter programme. The Ka-226 deal was a major component of defence pacts worth $10 billion signed between India and Russia during the October 2015 summit. India confirmed to buy 200 choppers of which 60 were to be fly-away, another 60 as knock-down units and the balance 80 to be made in India. The Ka-226s were to replace India's aging fleet of Cheetah and Chetak choppers. As regards the proposed new Indian entity, while Hindustan Aeronautics is to hold 50.5 per cent stake in the joint venture, Russian entities -- RH and ROE -- are to have the remaining 49.5 per cent equity. Sources indicated other roadblocks as well in executing the deal. "Hindustan Aeronautics has agreed to offer their light utility helicopters for a lesser price than what Ka-226 will cost. Officials there are also hesitant as it will hurt its own chopper programme and come in the way of the huge export market they see for them," said the source. "A huge cost will be involved in the new infrastructure that is proposed at Tumkur (near Bengaluru) for this, as existing facilities are fully occupied with ongoing programmes." Washington, Jan 30 : Clergy members have denounced US President Donald Trump's plan to favour Christian refugees over others, as discriminatory, misguided and inhumane, the media reported. In an interview to the Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday, Trump said his administration will give priority to Christian refugees because they had suffered "more so" than others, "so we are going to help them". The President's remarks came after he signed an executive order on the same day to temporarily bar US entry to refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations -- Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Besides the clergy members, Trump's remarks about the Christian refugees was also slammed by some of the evangelical, Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant leaders who represent the churches most active in trying to aid persecuted Christians. "We believe in assisting all, regardless of their religious beliefs," said Bishop Joe S. VAsquez, the chairman of the committee on migration for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Jen Smyers, the director of policy and advocacy for the immigration and refugee programme of Church World Service, a ministry affiliated with dozens of Christian denominations, called Friday a "shameful day" in US history. In interviews on Sunday, churchgoers in several cities were sharply divided on the issue, the New York Times said. "You look at a city like Mosul, which is one of the oldest Christian populations in the world," said Mark Tanner, 52, a worshipper at Buckhead Church, an evangelical church in Atlanta, referring to the besieged Iraqi city. "There's a remnant there that want to stay there to be a Christian witness." "So yes...We should reach out to everyone, but we have to be real about it and as far as who you let come into the country." Nmachi Abengowe, 62, a native of Nigeria who attends Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, cited Muslim-on-Christian violence in Africa in defending Trump's preference for Christian refugees. "They believe in jihad," he said of Muslims. "They don't have peace. Peace comes from Jesus Christ." Jim Jacobson, the president of Christian Freedom International, which advocates for persecuted Christians, applauded the executive order and said: "The Trump administration has given hope to persecuted Christians that their cases will finally be considered." In 2016, the US admitted almost as many Christian refugees (37,521) as Muslim refugees (38,901), according to the Pew Research Centre. Panaji, Jan 30 : Acting on the Election Commission's directive, authorities here have filed an FIR against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for asking voters to take money from other parties but vote for his AAP, an official said on Monday. Goa's Chief Electoral Officer Kunal said the FIR was filed under the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of People Act at a local police station. "In pursuance of a direction from the Election Commission, returning officer of Mapusa has filed a complaint before the Mapusa police station. The matter is sub judice. "We will send a compliance report to the Election Commission," he said. Earlier this month, the Election Commission issued a show cause notice to Kejriwal, asking him to explain his comments made in Goa on January 8 where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader exhorted voters to accept money from other political parties and vote for his party instead. In all his four speeches at various rallies in Goa last weekend, Kejriwal had said people should not just accept Rs 5,000 but demand Rs 10,000 from politicians keen on offering money but vote for AAP. The Congress has demanded that Kejriwal be arrested. "Asking voters to accept bribes is a serious issue. We demand the arrest of Kejriwal," said Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar. Dublin, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Pet Food Market (By Food Type, By Animal Type, By Region, By Country): Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2016-2021)" report to their offering. Global Pet Food Market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 3.94% during 2016-2021 The growth is driven by the increasing demand grain free products along with the increasing demand of natural pet food products. Additionally the increasing ownership of pet cats and dogs with the increasing trend of pet humanization and premiumization of pet food will drive the market in the forecast period. Moreover the market is getting consolidated in terms of recent mergers and acquisition where big brands are acquiring the smaller firms in order to increase their product variety and market expansions. Although, the dog food market is gaining the maximum market share and will dominate the market share in the forecast period as well. In terms of derivative type the animal, grain free and genetically modified product are gaining the market share. APAC is predicted to grow with a CAGR of 4.42% during the year 2016-2012F, which is mainly driven by the increase in ownership of pets along with the rising awareness of pet owners to switch from the local brands to international brand. The market is largely driven by the increase in spending of pet owners towards the pet food products, increased focus of pet owners towards their pet health , rising awareness for the traditional veggie food for the pet will give the huge growth momentum for the market in the forecast period. Report Highlights: - Primary Research: Interviews conducted with key management people to gain quality responses and deeper insights. - Secondary Research: Data and insights from industry associations, annual reports, company presentations, premium journals and internal database. - Actual Period: Historical and current market sizing (2012-2015) - Forecast Period: Projected market sizing (2016E-2021F) - Companies Covered: Mars Petcare Inc., Nestle Purina Petcare, Blue Buffalo, Hill's Pet Nutirion, Diamond Pet foods, Heristo Aktiengesellschaft(AG), Invivo Animal & Health Nutrition, Big Heart Pet brands - Strategic Recommendations The report provides coverage by Animal Type, By Pet Food Type, By Region, By Country: By Animal Type - Dog - Cat - Fish - Others By Food Type - Dry Food - Wet Food - Snacks - Mixers Key Topics Covered: 1. Research Methodology 2. Executive Summary 3. Strategic Recommendation 4. Product Overview 5. Global Pet Food Market: An Analysis 6. North America Pet Food Market: An Analysis 7. Asia Pacific Pet Food Market: An Analysis 8. Europe Pet Food Market: An Analysis 9. Germany Pet Food Market, By Value - 2011-2021F 10. France Pet Food Market, By Value - 2011-2021F 11. Market Trends 12. Market Dynamics 13. Porter's Five Force Model 14. Company Profiling - Big Heart Pet brands - Blue Buffalo - Diamond Pet foods - Heristo Aktiengesellschaft(AG) - Hill's Pet Nutirion - Invivo Animal & Health Nutrition - Mars Petcare Inc. - Nestle Purina Petcare For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5dww5k/global_pet_food New Delhi, Jan 30 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sought the opposition's support for smooth functioning of the Budget Session of Parliament in an all party meet, but opposition members made a vocal protest against the budget presentation on February 1, around a month earlier than usual. Opposition members also said they will raise the issue of demonetisation, ceasefire violations and internal security in the brief session - ten days in total and eight working days. Trinamool Congress had announced it will not attend the all party meeting, and the first two days of the Parliament session protesting demonetisation. Ruling National Democratic Alliance member Shiv Sena was also missing from the meeting. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the Prime Minister appealed to the opposition members to ensure peaceful debate in parliament, even if there are political differences. "The Prime Minister called Parliament a 'Maha Panchayat' and said that differences may arise between parties but democracy should win and there should be debate in Parliament," he said. Ananth Kumar said parties agreed that debate should take place. "All parties, especially those in the opposition, said they wanted debate and both houses should function," he added. Asked about the absence of Trinamool Congress, and Shiv Sena, the minister said: "There are elections going on, there are some civic elections as well." Opposition leaders meanwhile said they aired their objections to the budget date, before the start of assembly elections in five states on February 4, in the all party meeting, adding that they wanted to debate demonetisation issue in the session. Talking to reporters after an all-party meeting in the Parliament Library Building, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said the decision to advance the budget was against democratic practices. "The way the government has decided to present the budget on February 1 is undemocratic. Our government in 2012 postponed the budget till elections," he said. Scindia said his party would raise issues like demonetisation, increase in ceasefire violations on the Line of Control and security scenario in the country. "This half of the session is short, so we have asked the government to allocate two days for discussing these issues and three days for motion of thanks to the President's address," he said. Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury said the decision to have an early budget will have consequences. "They will only have data till the second quarter of the year, the figures of the third quarter will not be there. "Demonetisation has had such adverse impact on the economy. Its effect will not be taken into account because the figures will not be available," Yechury said. "The government should postpone the budget." He said his party too wanted a discussion on demonetisation. Asked about the opposition's demand to postpone the budget, Ananth Kumar said: "This is the nation's budget, for the benefit of the nation. The Supreme Court has given its verdict." The Trinamool meanwhile hardened its stance, announcing that its members will not attend Parliament on the first two days of Parliament session. "Trinamool MPs will not be present in Parliament on the first two days of the Budget session in protest against demonetisation, which was implemented without taking Parliament into confidence, and restrictions on withdrawal limits from bank accounts which are still in force," said a party statement. The session's first day - January 31 will see President Pranab Mukherjee address a joint sitting of both houses and the Economic Survey will also be presented. The budget will be presented on the second day -- February 1. The session will have a break from February 9, be reconvened on March 9 and end on April 12. New Delhi, Jan 31 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said the government will welcome any decision taken by the Election Commission on simultaneous polls to the assemblies and Lok Sabha, in consultation with political parties. Addressing the joint session of the two houses of Parliament at the start of Budget Session, the President said the proposal of simultaneous polls needs to be debated as a move towards eradication of money power in elections. "My government will welcome any decision by the Election Commission after consulting the political parties," the President added. New Delhi, Jan 31 : Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Wednesday after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2016-17 in the House. The house met at 12.40 p.m. after President Pranab Mukherjee addressed a joint session of both the houses in the Central Hall of Parliament. The proceedings on the first day of the Budget Session began with tabling of a copy of the President's joint address. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, then made obituary references to former members, including Surjit Singh Barnala, Sunder Lal Patwa, Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and four others. Jaitley then presented the Economic Survey 2016-2017. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs S.S. Ahluwalia presented the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Fifth Ordinance, the Payment of Wages Ordinance and the Specified Bank Notes Ordinance promulgated by the President. Speaker Mahajan then adjourned the House for the day. New Delhi, Jan 31 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said that frequent elections put development programmes on hold and the government welcomes a constructive debate on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Addressing the joint session of the two houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, the President said that funding of elections to eradicate the misuse of money power also needs to be debated. "Frequent elections put on hold development programmes, disrupt normal public life, impact essential services and burden human resource with prolonged periods of election duty. My government welcomes a constructive debate on simultaneous conduct of elections to Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies," he said. "Funding of elections to eradicate the misuse of money power also needs to be debated. My government would welcome any decision taken by the Election Commission in this regard after consultations with political parties," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pitching for a debate on the need of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Mukherjee had also referred to the issue in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day, saying the time was ripe for a constructive debate on electoral reforms and a return to the practice of the early decades after independence when elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies were held simultaneously. Tehran, Feb 1 : Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran will never use ballistic missiles to attack other nations, nor will it produce nuclear warheads, but it reserves the right to self-defence. Giving a press conference on Tuesday here, alongside his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, Zarif said that the missiles aren't part of the nuclear accords. "Iran will never use missiles produced in Iran to attack any other country. No Iranian missiles have been produced to carry nuclear warheads," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying. Zarif was responding to international reports that Iran had recently carried out ballistic missile tests. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in 2015, saw the Islamic Republic agree to downscale its nuclear program in exchange for the alleviation of international sanctions. That deal was struck between Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Britain, Russia, France and China -- plus Germany). Responding earlier on Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the Alliance was investigating the incident. The United States and Israel reportedly called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to the reports of the Iranian ballistic missile testing to be held at the New York headquarters. Russia, a fellow signatory in the nuclear accord, came out in defence of Iran's ballistic missile testing and accused the United Nations of "heating up the situation" by calling for a meeting. Late on Monday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his opposition to the Iran missile tests on Twitter, saying: "Iran launched a ballistic missile again. This is a flagrant violation of the Security Council." New Delhi, Feb 1 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-president Rahul Gandhi rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to see Senior Kerala MP E. Ahamed who is admitted there. Other senior Congress leaders like A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nahi Azad and Ahmed Patel also joined them late Tuesday night. Many Congress MPs demanded to see Ahamed, but hospital officials did'nt allow this. Ahamed suffered a heart attack on Tuesday and collapsed in Parliament's Central Hall. He was rushed to RML hospital, where he was put on life support system. "Ahamed is extremely critical and has been put on life support system. He has been shifted to the Trauma Centre ICU and is currently under close observation of doctors," a senior doctor at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital told IANS. A team of three doctors, consisting head of cardiology Neeraj Pandit, head of anaesthesia Rajesh Sood and In-charge of Nursing facility R.S. Tonk, has been constituted to monitor Ahamed's condition. Ahamed, a former Minister in the UPA government and a longtime IUML MP from Kerala, was admitted to RML after he fell unconscious in Parliament's Central Hall during President Pranab Mukherjee's address. The 78-year-old Ahamed has served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. New York, Feb 1 : An Indian-origin man, who was allegedly a member of an international gang that trafficked drugs from Pakistan-Afghanistan region, was caught in Kenya and brought to the US to face narcotics charges, New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara has said. Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami and three others "ran a Kenyan drug trafficking organisation with global ambitions," Bharara said on Tuesday. "For their alleged distribution of literally tonnes of narcotics - heroin and methamphetamine - around the globe, including to America, they will now face justice in a New York federal court," he added. The prosecution's account of the 2014 operation to bring down the gang known as "Akasha Organization" sounds like a thriller with undercover operatives who pretended to be South American drug dealers to infiltrate it and used Skype to communicate. They code-named heroin "chickens" and touted its quality as "diamond." The operatives, described as "confidential sources" (CSs), were working under the direction of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Baktash Akasha Abdalla, Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Gulam Hussein and Goswami, who also called himself Vijay and Vicky, were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November, 2014, at the request of the US government and finally brought here on Monday, officials said. They were to be produced before a federal magistrate judge later on Tuesday. The four were charged with narcotics offences based on their plan to export to the US 99 kilogram of heroin and two kilogram of methamphetamine that they brought to Kenya, the prosecution said. Hussein, described as a resident of Pakistan and a long-time associate of Goswami, headed a transportation network that distributed massive quantities of narcotics throughout the Middle East and Africa. Hussein has "acknowledged responsibility" for transporting tonnes of heroin by sea, according to the prosecution. Believing the operatives were South American drug cartel members, the four negotiated with them on behalf of the Akasha Organization to procure hundreds of kilos of heroin from suppliers in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region and to produce hundreds of kilos of methamphetamine to be sent to the US, the prosecution said. Hussein agreed to transport the heroin to East Africa, for delivery to the undercover operatives, according to the prosecution account. Goswami, meanwhile, told the operatives that the South American cartel would have to pay for only half the consignment of 98 kilogram of heroin that Ibrahim Akasha delivered to them, prosecutors said. The four men were arrested before another planned meeting with the operatives. Washington, Feb 1 : The US Federal Department is considering to bring child pornography charges against former Democrat Anthony Weiner that could send him to prison for 15 years, a media report has said. Weiner has been under investigation since a 2016 report revealed that he had exchanged lewd messages with an underage girl in North Carolina. His lawyers have been meeting with Manhattan federal prosecutors in a bid to minimise his potential punishment, the New York Post reported Tuesday. Weiner could be charged with production of child porn for allegedly soliciting explicit photos of the teen, the Post said. He was forced to resign his House seat in the scandal that derailed his 2013 comeback campaign for mayor by sending lewd texts under the pseudonym "Carlos Danger". The crime carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years, and a maximum of 30. Other charges under consideration include receipt of child pornography, which carries a five-year mandatory minimum, and possession of child pornography, the report added. The laptop Weiner used to communicate with the girl was seized by the feds and helped derail Hillary Clinton's presidential bid when FBI Director James Comey announced in October 2016 that some of her emails to Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, had been found on it. In August, Abedin announced she was leaving Weiner after The Post exclusively revealed he had sent a woman a lewd photo of himself wearing white underpants with their four-year-old son lying next to him. Weiner was forced to resign from the Congress in 2011 after accidentally tweeting a crotch shot that he initially tried to blame on a hack of his account. A spokesman for Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara and a lawyer representing Weiner declined to comment on the case. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Former Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma on Wednesday took charge as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), an official said. Verma, a 1979 batch officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, was appointed on January 19. He was appointed to the post almost one-and-a-half months after the superannuation of previous incumbent Anil Sinha on December 2. Verma will serve for two years. Although he is due to retire in July, the government could give him an extension. His appointment as the CBI director was his 24th posting in his 36-year career as a police officer. Verma started his career as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (under training) in Delhi Police on December 24, 1979. He was the Delhi Police chief for 11 months. New York, Feb 1 : The US President Donald Trump took to Facebook Live to name Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court spot that has been vacant for nearly a year since the sudden death of former Chief Justice Antonin Scalia. According to a report in CNET on Tuesday, Gorsuch, 49, currently serves in the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Colorado. Not following the convention of making an announcement to a press gathering, Trump made his announcement on Facebook live as more than 211,000 followers watched the live stream. "We will be streaming the historic event LIVE," the White House posted on Twitter, along with a link to the @POTUS (President of the US) Facebook account. Trump has used Twitter and Facebook extensively during and after his election campaign to reach to his followers. "The tech industry is also keenly interested in how SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the US) could rule on the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from illegal search and seizure of property. That's taken on new complications with our increasing use of digital communications," the report noted. MONACO - February 1, 2017 - GasLog Ltd. (NYSE:GLOG) ("GasLog") and GasLog Partners LP (NYSE:GLOP) ("GasLog Partners" or the "Partnership") announced today that, following Simon Crowe's decision to step down from his position as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), the Boards of GasLog and GasLog Partners have appointed Alastair Maxwell as CFO, to be effective immediately following the 20-F filings for GasLog and the Partnership, anticipated to be early March 2017. Simon will remain CFO until the filings are made and will work with Alastair to ensure a smooth transition. After 29 years in investment banking, Alastair Maxwell has a wealth of experience in both energy and finance. Most recently, Alastair was the Co-Head of the Global Energy Group in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs from 2010 to 2016 having previously been Head of the Energy Group in the EMEA region at Morgan Stanley. Alastair has worked on a wide range of M&A transactions and equity, debt and structured financings across all segments of the energy value chain. Paul Wogan, GasLog Ltd. CEO, said, "On behalf of the Board, Chairman Peter Livanos, and the Management team, I am pleased to welcome Alastair to GasLog. His deep understanding of the energy sector and financial markets and his involvement in some of the largest transactions in the industry will make him a huge asset to the team." Andy Orekar, GasLog Partners CEO, said, "On behalf of the Board and Chairman Curt Anastasio, I am thrilled to have Alastair join the Partnership. His global energy experience, finance expertise and proven leadership capabilities are highly complementary to our senior executive team." Alastair Maxwell commented, "I am delighted to be joining GasLog and GasLog Partners at such an exciting time in the LNG market and in the development of the Group. I look forward to working with the GasLog team to build on the growth and shareholder value that they have delivered over the last several years." About GasLog GasLog is an international owner, operator and manager of LNG carriers providing support to international energy companies as part of their LNG logistics chain. GasLog's consolidated fleet consists of 27 LNG carriers (22 ships on the water and 5 on order). GasLog also has an additional LNG carrier which was sold to a subsidiary of Mitsui Co. Ltd. and leased back under a long-term bareboat charter. GasLog's consolidated fleet now includes nine LNG carriers in operation owned by GasLog's subsidiary, GasLog Partners. GasLog's principal executive offices are at Gildo Pastor Center, 7 Rue du Gabian, MC 98000, Monaco. About GasLog Partners GasLog Partners is a growth-oriented master limited partnership focused on owning, operating and acquiring LNG carriers under multi-year charters. GasLog Partners' fleet consists of nine LNG carriers with an average carrying capacity of approximately 149,500 cbm, each of which has a multi-year time charter. GasLog Partners' principal executive offices are located at Gildo Pastor Center, 7 Rue du Gabian, MC 98000, Monaco. Contacts: Paul Wogan Chief Executive Officer Phone: +44 203 388 3108 Andy Orekar Chief Executive Officer Phone: +1 212 223 0847 Jamie Buckland Head of Investor Relations Phone: +44 203 388 3116 Jammu, Feb 1 : The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was Wednesday adjourned for half an hour following uproar and clashes between the ruling party and the opposition leaders in which one marshal of the house was injured. Furniture was broken and mikes uprooted inside the state assembly here after Speaker Kavinder Gupta failed to restore order in the house. Immediately after the house met, opposition leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stood up and asked the Speaker to resign since he had neither decided on expunging the remarks of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti regarding Article 370 nor had the Peoples Democratic Party Chief Minister made a statement in the house to clarify her stand. The Speaker told the house he had examined the record of Monday's proceedings and had found nothing repugnant which needed to be expunged. Upon this, senior National Conference leader and former Speaker of the assembly Muhammad Akbar Lone clashed with senior Bharatiya Janata Party Minister Choudhary Lal Singh. They had heated verbal exchanges and gestures. Meanwhile, some furniture were broken inside the house during the ruckus. An uprooted mike hurled in the air hit a marshal of the house on his head. The injured marshal was evacuated for treatment and the Speaker adjourned the house amid chaos. Mehbooba Mufti was not present in the house during this pandemonium. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Do Delhi Police cases against more than a dozen Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and legislators hold merit? Perhaps not, given the series of court observations raising questions over shoddy investigations and delays in filing charges in most of the cases. At least 15 leaders of AAP -- which swept to power in Delhi in February 2015, winning 67 of 70 seats -- have been accused of various offences, including sexual harassment, forgery, extortion, domestic violence and rioting. Thirteen were arrested and are out on bail. Two of the accused have already been acquitted. Courts have rapped the police for alleged incompetent investigations in most of the cases. Some political observers believe the AAP, which handed out the first electoral rout to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after its sweeping victory in the 2014 general election, is being deliberately targeted by the ruling dispensation at the Centre, which has control over Delhi Police. Advocate Rebecca John is among those who has alleged a conspiracy in the cases against AAP MLAs. She said many of the cases, some of which she said she has personally examined, were based on "very flimsy material". "All those cases have to be looked at differently. I feel that many of the cases are based on very flimsy material. And it would be very difficult for the police to string up a credible chargesheet in any of those cases," she said. However, Atul Shrivastava, a public prosecutor in two cases -- the fake law degree case against Jitender Tomar, MLA from Tri Nagar, and the domestic violence case against Somnath Bharti, MLA from Malviya Nagar -- said the court has taken cognizance of the cases. "It is unfair to say there is no substance. Else, the court won't have taken cognizance of the (Bharti) case," he said, adding that charges against the former minister have been filed. Senior advocate K.K. Manan, who filed the complaint against Tomar, is, however, disappointed that the police are yet to file a chargesheet. "The case against Tomar is fool-proof," Manan claimed. "The police should investigate the matter within the prescribed timeframe. If they are unable to get credible evidence against the MLA, they should file a closure report," the advocate told IANS. "There is documentary evidence against Tomar and a few other people. They (the police) should file the chargesheet and let the court decide. They are unnecessarily sitting on the files," he said, adding that if the chargesheet was not filed within the given timeframe, the "man will be discharged". Advocate John sees this as a symptom of the police "unease" with some of the cases. "The police may still somehow put together a chargesheet. But I can clearly see the unease of the police as it is easy to register a case but very difficult to sustain the investigation... Since the cases lack moral, legal and factual basis... I can sense the dilemma of the police. "It appears to me that the motive behind these cases is not necessarily that somebody has committed an offence. It seems more because there is a vested interest to make sure that as many AAP MLAs are embroiled in legal cases as possible." John believes it is "very sad for us that the police force of a city is openly partisan and begins to file cases against individuals of a party based on the political dispensation at the Centre". AAP leaders too have claimed innocence, saying they are being framed due to the upcoming elections in Punjab and Goa -- where the fledgling political party is contesting for the first time after its success in Delhi. "We have always believed in the judiciary and will knock at its door to prove our innocence. The use of (investigative and tax agencies like) CBI, IB, IT to defame AAP MLAs has gained us public support. Everybody knows that this witch-hunting is to stop us from doing our work," Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, AAP MLA from Model Town, told IANS. Tripathi was acquitted by a Delhi court in a sexual harassment case. He alleged that the central government, under which Delhi Police operate, had "tarnished its own image" by filing false cases against AAP leaders. MLA from Okhla Amanatullah Khan, who has been accused of culpable homicide and sexual harassment and is out on bail, claimed the "witch-hunting" by the BJP has helped the AAP gain support in poll-bound Punjab. "It will be proven when the AAP wins Punjab. People in Punjab are supporting us because they know how the BJP has crossed all limits to stop us from working in Delhi," Khan told IANS. "Our win will be because of people's reaction to what they have been doing to us". (Vishav and Ruwa Shah can be contacted at vishav@ians.in and ruwa.s@ians.in ) New Delhi, Feb 1 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here on Wednesday that sanitation cover in rural areas has gone up from 42 per cent to 60 per cent. "Swachh Bharat Yojana -- sanitation coverage up from 42 per cent in October 2013 to 60 per cent... Open defecation-free villages are now being given priority for piped water supply," Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha. "We propose to provide safe drinking water to cover 28,000 arsenic fluoride affected habitations in the next four years (2020)," he said. For imparting new training to the people in rural areas, mason training will be provided to five lakh people by by 2022, Jaitley added -- "with an immediate target of training at least 20,000 by 2017-2018." He also said that Panchayat Raj institutions still lack the human resources for implementing developmental programmes. "A programme of human resource reforms for results will be launched in 2017-18 for this purpose. The government will continue to work closely with the farmers and other people in rural India to improve life and environment. This is a non-negotiable agenda for our government." Panaji, Feb 1 : The bitter electoral battle between a former RSS leader and guru, and his illustrious and politically-powerful shishyas, is fast attaining mythical proportions in this coastal state going to the hustings on February 4. Ranged against each other are Subhash Velingkar, the sacked Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief, and three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians he personally groomed and mentored -- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Union Minister of State for Ayush Shripad Naik. Fighting for the same electoral constituency, the conservative Hindu vote, the battle between the Velingkar-mentored Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) and the BJP seems to be taking a leaf out of Indian epics Mahabharata and, to some extent, the Ramayana, if the comments made recently by leaders from both the parties are considered. Regarded by the BJP party cadre as the "Bhishma pitamaha" of state politics, after the grand patriarch of the Mahabharata, Velingkar was sacked as the Goa RSS chief last year after his consistent critcism of the state BJP for backing English over regional languages as a medium of instruction in schools. Velingkar, during his tenure as Goa Sanghachalak, mentored several generations of BJP leaders, including Parrikar, Parsekar and Naik. Immediately after he was sacked, Laxmikant Parsekar, however, decided to depict him as the warrior Karna, whose kavach kundals had been stripped off and was therefore rendered vulnerable. "There is nothing to fear now. He has lost his kavach kundals," Parsekar said just as the BJP's poll campaign kicked off. In the Mahabharata, the kavach kundal is a reference to Karna's earrings which made him invincible in battle, but the warrior was tricked into parting with them by Lord Indra, disguised as a pauper, rendering Karna vulnerable. Parsekar, obviously, was referring to Velingkar's sacking from the RSS, an organisation which he had been a part of for nearly 50 years. Velingkar responded in equal measure. "My kavach kundals are not linked to the RSS post. I am a Sangh Swayamsevak for life. He should know our kavach kundals are not temporary in nature. Their kavach kundals will fall when elections are held," Velingkar had retorted. The rhetoric wedded to mythology did not end with this. When asked if the GSM, which is contesting five seats as part of an alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Shiv Sena, would be able to take on the might of the ruling BJP, party President Anand Shirodkar told IANS: "Our five Pandavas are fighting the Kauravas of the BJP. And you know who eventually won the battle of righteousness." For the Shiv Sena, it would appear that Velingkar is Lord Krishna incarnate. "This election is a contest like the final war as described in the Mahabharata. While the BJP represents the Kauravas, those who are fighting against them are the Pandavas. Velingkar is for us like Lord Krishna, who is going to guide non-Congress and non-BJP forces to victory," former state Shiv Sena President Sudip Tamhankar had said. Velingkar himself, in a speech on January 29, slipped in a bit of the Ramayana in the Pernem assembly constituency while campaigning for the MGP. "Power has gone to their heads in such a way that during the corporation elections in Panaji last year, they tried to once again sow the seeds of Portuguese influence in their manifesto. Some people have studied in IIT, even Ravan at the time had studied in the IIT of that era," Velingkar said, in a veiled reference to Parrikar, an Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay alumnus. While top BJP leaders have refused to directly criticise Velingkar, in their public speeches they have suggested that the former RSS leader had lost his bearings due to age. In response to a question about Velingkar's criticism on Sunday, Parsekar said that he would not like to respond to his allegations against the BJP. "It is not necessary for me to react to Velingkar's comments. It would be good if you clarify with him... We have allowed him to talk. Let him keep talking. We will keep listening," Parsekar said. (Mayabhushan Nagvenkar can be contacted at mayabhushan.n@ians.in )) Philadelphia,Feb 01: : Glucose, stored as glycogen, is the main energy source for the brain and red blood cells and a new research shows the link of the lack of glucose with the Alzheimer disease. A recent study led by Dr. Domenico Pratico, a professor at the Temple University in Philadelphia used a mouse model to uncover the effects of the glucose deprivation on the brain. The researchers found that the glucose deprivation in the brain may cause cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment is the pre-stage of the Alzheimer disease and a mild form of cognitive impairment gradually develops to Alzheimer at later stages.The patients in the pre-stage will start to experience problems with reasoning, judgment, and memory. The new study indicates glucose levels in the brain start to decline before an occurrence of cognitive impairment. In a previous study by Dr. Pratico, the impact of glucose loss on the brain was brought into light. The findings revealed that brain automatically starts building up a protein named 'phosphorylated tau' on encountering the loss of glucose. The protein then gradually creates fibers or tangles that block the essential nutrients to the neurons. This makes the brain cells to deteriorate and eventually, the brain cells die.These tangles are, by default, linked to the development of Alzheimer and dementia. For the new study, the scientists used mice that were fed with 2-deoxyglucose, a chemical compound that blocks the glucose from reaching the cells, from the time the mice were 4 months old. After injecting the compound for several months, the mice were tested for cognitive functioning, mainly on memory and learning attributes. The mice exhibited poor memory and learning capability than the mice who were not administered with the chemical compound. Further microscopic tests revealed the neurons in the chemical compound fed mice were weakened which led to the deterioration of the memory encoding of the mice. The researchers also found higher traces of the tau protein and dead cells in such mice. Dr. Pratico found that glucose deprivation leads to brain damage and a high likelihood of diabetes when glucose is unable to enter the cells. He further noted that insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes is a known risk factor for dementia. The findings also provided enough evidence to suggest the P38 activation to the development of Alzheimer. This is also the first research to implicate that the activation of P38 kinase leads to glucose deprivation which further triggers memory and cognitive impairment, synaptic miscommunication between neurons, and neuronal death. The researcher believes that the drugs targeting this kinase in the brain may represent a suitable therapeutic approach for the treatment of both AD [Alzheimer's disease] and related tauopathies for which impaired glucose utilization is an established risk factor. Dr. Pratico further sees this as an exciting avenue of research and hopes that a drug targeting this protein could bring big benefits for patients. The study was published in the Nature journal 'Translational Psychiatry'. London, Feb 1 : Executives at British Academy Film Awards are fearing that Hollywood stars will use their acceptance speeches at to promote their political views. Several celebrities, including Meryl Streep and Dev Patel, have voiced their views on US President Donald Trump both onstage and on the red carpet recently. According to The Sun, the producers of the ceremony, organised by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), believe an endless string of speeches regarding the presidential election would be a disaster -- resulting in the BBC broadcast potentially being edited if more than the odd reference is made, reports dailymail.co.uk. BAFTA heads are now reportedly afraid that this year's ceremony, which will be held on February 12, will be full of celebrities vocalising their political standpoint -- thus detracting from the films being recognised. "Having 15 back-to-back Trump speeches would be a disaster and would take complete attention away from the films," said a source. According to a report by dailymail.co.uk, the BAFTA heads have no intentions to acknowledge their fears to the stars. The source added: "Nobody wants to tell the stars what they should or shouldn't say and bosses expect the odd reference. But the last thing they want is a string of political rants, particularly with Trump's Britain visit and his Muslim ban in full flow." The source went on to mention that if any one went beyond a brief comment and begin to discuss racism, their speech may be edited. An official BAFTA spokesman said of the matter: "We respectfully ask all winners to keep their acceptance speech short." The anti-Trump movement has been at its peak this week in reaction to the immigration ban. Trump signed an order to suspend entry of refugees to the US for 120 days and imposed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria. A 90-day ban was also placed on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Mumbai, Feb 1 : Actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh is proud of his brother Dhiraj Deshmukh, who will contest the Zilla Parishad (district council) polls from Latur, Maharashtra. "Can't begin today (Wednesday) without two people who define who I am. As I begin my journey in politics, seek their blessings Aai Pappa," Dhiraj, son of Vilasrao Deshmukh, the late Union minister and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, tweeted. Riteish, whose other brother Amit is also a politician, wrote: "Absolutely proud of you. Pappa would have been the happiest today. Grassroots, Latur, ZP." "I will vote for you... Not because you are my brother but because you are a deeply committed person. Proud," he added. The actor's wife actress Genelia Deshmukh has wished Dhiraj luck as well. The young aspiring politician has also found support in actor Jackky Bhagnani, who tweeted: "A man who believes in the dream of rural being global. Wishing Dhiraj all the very best as he files his nomination papers for ZP Elections." Kathmandu, Feb 1 : Nepalese Hindu families on Wednesday visited temples across the country to worship the goddess of knowledge and wisdom as they marked the Shree Panchami festival. Parents helped their children write messages in chalk on the walls of the temple to the Hindu goddess Saraswati while other devotees prayed and made offerings of butter lamps, Efe news reported. Shree Panchami, also known as the Spring Festival, is an auspicious date on the Hindu calendar when devotees seek blessings from the goddess in the hope she will help them excel in learning and education. Nepalese students across the country observe the festival by visiting temples dedicated to the goddess, with younger students often taught their first lessons in reading and writing the letters of the alphabet. The schools also hold special activities and prayers. The festival also marks the beginning of the spring season and is considered an auspicious day to start new business ventures or to get married. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Students may see an increased presence of online courses at institutes of higher learning with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday proposing to harness information technology for learning purposes. Presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley charted out schemes aimed at enriching youths, and expressed his design to "leverage information technology through the 'Swayam' platform with at least 350 online courses". The access to these Massive Open Online Courses (Moocs) will be widened through Direct-to-Home (DTH) channels dedicated to education, Jaitley said. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is already in the process of asking colleges to submit the list of all such online courses being offered at their institutes. With an aim to unburden educational boards and bodies of some of their loads, Jaitley proposed to establish a 'National Testing Agency' which would conduct all entrance exams for higher education on their behalf. "This will free CBSE and AICTE (Central Board of Secondary Edcucation and All India Council for Technical Education) from administrative burden and enable them to focus on academics more," he said. He also announced to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) to 600 districts, from the currently operational 60 districts. A total of 100 Indian International Skill Centres will be established across the country to impart advance professional training and training in foreign languages. "This will help them (youths) get jobs abroad," Jaitley said. Jerusalem, Feb 1 : Over 3,000 Israeli police officers arrived at the illegal West Bank outpost of Amona on Wednesday morning to carry out a court-ordered eviction, as activists barricaded themselves inside. More than a dozen youths blocked the entrance to the outpost, burnt tires and hurled stones to prevent the forces from entering, Xinhua news agency reported. The forces assembled at the outskirts of the outpost, urging the settlers to leave peacefully, without clashes. Some of Amona's 42 families have already left, but hundreds of activists and residents barricaded themselves in the outpost and said they are determined to resist the eviction. Over the past months, the dispute over Amona became a symbol of the hardline settlement movement and a major issue in Israeli politics and the society at large, with implications for the fate of the entire settlement movement. Israel's top court ruled in 2014 that Amona must be evicted because it was built on private Palestinian land. The court later set February 8 as the final date for the eviction. The eviction would be the first time the Israeli government has evacuated a Jewish outpost in four years. Amona, east of Ramallah city, is the largest among about a hundred outposts that are scattered across the West Bank. These outposts were erected by ultra-right settlers without permits from the Israeli authorities but the governments often have turned a blind eye to their construction. There are an additional 120 settlements that Israel considers as legal. Both outposts and settlements are illegal under international law as they were built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mikros Systems Corporation (OTCQB:MKRS) today announced that former United States Congressman David W. Jolly has joined its Board of Directors. Mr. Jolly brings over 20 years of experience in Federal Government appropriations and contracting to Mikros Systems. From March 2014 through January 2017, Mr. Jolly served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing the 13th District of Florida. While in office, Mr. Jolly served on the House Committee on Appropriations where he was responsible for oversight and funding of all Federal Departments and Agencies, including the Department of Defense. Prior to joining the United States Congress, Mr. Jolly was the managing partner of his government relations firm, Three Bridges Advisors, and law firm, Three Bridges Law. Mr. Jolly began his career serving as a senior staff member, and later as general counsel to United States Representative C. W. Bill Young, who served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations between 1999 and 2005. During his career, Mr. Jolly has provided strategic advice and government relations services to numerous organizations in a multitude of industries, including Federal defense contractors. Tom Meaney, Mikros President and CEO, commented, We are honored to welcome Representative Jolly to our board of directors. David has a deep understanding of both the defense business and Mikros Systems, particularly our manufacturing and depot center in Largo, FL within his former Congressional district. Davids experience with Federal Government appropriations and contracting will provide our business development team with valuable insight and advice as we continue to manage our growing defense business. Prior to being elected to Congress, we worked with David on a consulting basis and we are very excited to continue our professional relationship with him as he returns to the private sector. Mr. Jolly commented, I welcome the opportunity to serve Mikros Systems Corporation in its mission to support the readiness of our Armed Forces. The ADEPT product is critical to the operation of the AN/SPY-1 Radar System aboard U.S. Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers while the ADEPT Distance Support Sensor Suite provides critical monitoring and diagnostics for the Navys Littoral Combat Ship class. I look forward to working with Tom, his senior management team, and my fellow board members in helping guide the Company as it executes on these and other important programs and pursues new opportunities to serve the Department of Defense. About Mikros Mikros Systems Corporation is an advanced technology company specializing in the research and development of electronic systems technology primarily for military applications. Classified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a small business, its capabilities include technology management, electronic systems engineering and integration, radar systems engineering, command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems engineering, and communications engineering. Mikros primary business is to pursue and obtain contracts from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Navy, and other governmental authorities. For more information on Mikros, please visit: www.mikrossystems.com. Source: Mikros Systems Corporation CONTACT: Thomas J. Meaney - (609) 987-1513 Important Information about Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this news release other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements which contain our current expectations about our future results. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties. We have attempted to identify any forward-looking statements by using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "could," "expects," "intends," "may," "should" and other similar expressions. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in all of our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results, events or financial positions to differ materially from those included within or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes in business conditions, a decline or redirection of the U.S. Defense budget, significant delays or reductions in appropriations for our projects, the termination of any contracts with the U.S. Government, changes in our sales strategy and product development plans, changes in the marketplace, continued services of our executive management team, our limited marketing experience, competition between us and other companies seeking SBIR grants, competitive pricing pressures, market acceptance of our products under development, delays in the development of products, our ability to adequately integrate our new software offerings into our business model, statements of assumption underlying any of the foregoing, and other factors disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements. Washington, Feb 1 : San Francisco became the first city in the US to file a lawsuit over President Donald Trump's executive order targeting sanctuary cities, the media reported. "The President's executive order is not only unconstitutional, it's un-American," said Dennis Herrera, the city attorney. "This country was founded on the principle that the federal government cannot force state and local governments to do its job for it, like carrying out immigration policy. I am defending that bedrock American principle," Herrera was quoted by CNN as saying. Trump signed an order on January 25 mandating that the federal government withhold grants from localities that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, a practice known as "sanctuary". The suit sought to prevent the federal government from blocking funds to San Francisco. Herrera estimated that the city had about $1.2 billion in federal funding at stake. The order also directed the attorney general to explore "appropriate enforcement action" against local government agencies following sanctuary policies. San Francisco's lawsuit alleged the executive order was unconstitutional and exceeds the President's power. It claimed the city already complies with applicable federal law, according to the report. The lawsuit stated that Trump's order deprives San Francisco of its sovereign power to choose how it devotes resources and forces it to carry out the agenda of the federal government. Mayors of several sanctuary cities, including San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, have vowed to fight the order, saying it will unravel delicate relationships between immigrant communities and law enforcement and tear apart families. "San Francisco is safer when all people, including undocumented immigrants, feel safe reporting crimes," the lawsuit said. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the death of senior Kerala parliamentarian E. Ahamed, describing him as a "fine human being" and a "committed democrat". "In his death India has lost an outstanding parliamentarian. He was a committed democrat and beloved leader of Kerala, whose simple life style and commitment to cause... was an example to an entire generation," Gandhi said. Gandhi also conveyed her solidarity to the family and supporters of Ahamed "in this hour of grief". Ahamed died here early on Wednesday, hours after suffering a severe cardiac arrest in the Central Hall of Parliament during the President's address to the joint sitting of both Houses on Tuesday. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced setting up of an autonomous National Testing Agency for conducting entrance exams to higher education institutions and said the government will undertake reforms in the UGC. Presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley also assured greater administrative and academic autonomy to educational institutions subject to their performance. "We propose to set up a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing agency to conduct all entrance exams to higher education," Jaitley said. The Minister said the aim was to free the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) from administrative responsibility and allow them to focus more on academics. "In higher education, we will undertake reforms in the UGC (University Grants Commission). Good quality institutions would be enabled to have greater administrative and academic autonomy. Colleges will be identified based on accreditation and ranking, and given autonomous status," he said. He also said an 'Innovation Fund' for Secondary Education will be created to encourage local innovation for ensuring universal access, gender parity and quality improvement. "This will include ICT (information and communication technology) enabled learning transformation. The focus will be on 3,479 educationally backward blocs," said Jaitley. Jaitley also announced widening the access of SWAYAM or the "Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds", a web portal by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, where Massive Open On-line Courses (MOOCs) are available. "We propose to leverage information technology and launch SWAYAM platform with at least 350 online courses. This would enable students to virtually attend the courses taught by the best faculty, access high quality reading resources, participate in discussion forums, take tests and earn academic grades. "Access to SWAYAM would be widened by linkage with DTH channels, dedicated to education," he said. Jaitley also proposed introducing a system of measuring annual learning outcome in schools. He said that emphasis will be given on science education and flexibility in curriculum to promote creativity through local innovative content. Dharamsala, Feb 1 : Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay will travel to Japan to deliver talks and highlight the Tibetan cause, his office said on Wednesday. Sangay will give a series of public talks and engage in dialogue on issues concerning Tibet, Asia and the world from February 4 to 18, said a statement. This is Sangay's third official visit to Japan after 2012 and 2016. The Tibetan exile administration is based in Dharamsala, which is also home to the Dalai Lama. Lahore, Feb 1 : US President Donald Trump as a dinosaur with a concrete wall for a tail, of Trump as a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan with the slogan "The Un-Islamic State of America" -- are among the cartoons posted by Middle East artists on social media in protest against the US administration's visa ban on seven Muslim major countries. Expressing their anger against Trump's visa ban on Muslim countries, many artists depicted him as a leader who discriminates against people on racial and regional basis, Dunya News reported on Wednesday. The artists in their cartoons suggested that Trump was exploiting the people having Islamic beliefs. A toon tweeted by "Emad Hajjaj Cartoons" depicts Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as driving a tank towards the disputed Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem towing the US embassy in Tel Aviv with Trump sitting atop it, and controlling the start-and stop-lever -- in a reference to the controversial proposal to shift the US embassy to Jerusalem. "They tweeted political cartoons showing links between Trump and freemasonry, not to mention his unpopular urge to form wall between the United States and Mexico," it said, adding that the cartoonists left no stone unturned to "displease the American President." Another cartoon shows Trump, with his blonde mane shaped like a gun - pointing at the world. Brussels, Feb 1 : In an extraordinary attack on the new US President, European Union President Donald Tusk called Donald Trump an existential threat to Europe. In an open letter to leaders of the 27 member states, Tusk included the Trump administration as part of a group of "dangerous" challenges facing the bloc, citing Russia, China and radical Islam as other threats. "The change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation, with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. He issued a call for "political solidarity" before a summit in Malta later this week where Europe's heads of states will gather to discuss the future of the bloc, the Independent reported on Tuesday. The former Polish Prime Minister said that an assertive China, Russia's aggressive policy, "terror and anarchy" in the Middle East and "worrying declarations by the new American administration" put the future of Europe in jeopardy. "The disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the US, Russia and China." Trump had earlier called Nato "obsolete" and dismissed the 28-member EU as a "vehicle for Germany" and said he's had "a very bad experience" with the EU as a businessman, said a report in CNN. Stefan Lehne, a former EU diplomat from Austria, said Tusk's "dramatic language is something you wouldn't expect. It's extremely worrying, but I can see why. Trump's policies to the EU are completely unprecedented. "Every Brit and European was socialised to expect the US to lead on every international crisis. Now you have a US President who wouldn't mind at all if the EU fell apart," CNN quoted Lehne as saying. Tusk's statement comes as the EU faces Russian assertiveness, a refugee crisis, rising populist movements in Europe and critical elections in France, the Netherlands and possibly Italy. New Delhi, Feb 1 : To ensure greater transparency in political funding, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday sharply cut the cash donation a political party can accept and announced "electoral bonds" to promote legitimate funding of parties. Any anonymous cash donation to a political party will now be limited to Rs 2,000 -- a sharp drop from the Rs 20,000 limit earlier. Further, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue bearer bonds that a donor may buy through cheques and digital payments. He or she can then give the bond to a political party which must deposit it within a month in a pre-determined account. While this gives the donor the option of remaining anonymous, both ends of the transaction will happen through the banking system. Jaitley made the announcement in the Union Budget for 2017-18 saying political parties would have to take donations above Rs 2,000 through cheque and digital payments. The decision of the government to reduce cash donations will require political parties receiving a donation above Rs 2,000 to disclose the identity of the donor. Earlier, most of the political parties had been declaring that a majority of their donations were below Rs 20,000, and thus anonymous. Jaitley said the government proposes to amend the RBI Act for issuing the electoral bonds under the new scheme. "This will bring greater reform in political funding while preventing future generation of black money," Jaitley said He said that the government has accepted the Election Commission's recommendation to bring in transparency in political funding. The commission had asked the government, among other things, to bring down the limit of anonymous donations to Rs 2,000. "Even after 70 years of independence, there is no transparency in political funding. Most donations are received in cash and the donors too hesitate to disclose their identity," Jaitley said. Chandigarh, Feb 1 : Blaming Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal for the Tuesday bomb blast, the AAP on Wednesday urged the Election Commission to intervene and get him (Sukhbir) arrested. While alleging that Sukhbir Badal and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal leadership in Punjab could be behind the Maur Mandi car blast, AAP General Secretary Sanjay Singh said Sukhbir Badal's arrest was essential to ensure peaceful assembly elections in Punjab on February 4. An Aam Aadmi Party delegation led by Sanjay Singh met Punjab Chief Electoral Officer V.K. Singh here and sought the panel's intervention. "AAP has given a complaint against Sukhbir Badal to the Election Commission, seeking his arrest and interrogation," Singh told the media here. "We have no doubt that the frustrated SAD and Congress were behind incidents of violence and they can commit any heinous crime to disturb the election process," he said. He said that Akali Dal and Congress leaders were hand in glove to create a tense atmosphere in the state. Sanjay Singh said the Punjab government had failed to solve any of the sacrilege cases of Guru Granth Sahib, high-profile murders in Jalandhar and Ludhiana and the Nabha jailbreak by gangsters. The death toll in Tuesday evening's car bomb blast near Bathinda city rose to five on Wednesday with two more children who were seriously injured succumbing to their injuries. The victims include two men and three children. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded the arrest of Sukhbir Badal, son of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and also the Home Minister. "To ensure peaceful elections, Sukhbir Badal should be immediately arrested. His role in (the) blast be probed. He will cause more violence," the AAP leader tweeted. "Sukhbir Badal is a hardened criminal who will go to any extent to ruin Punjab and its peace. Election Commission MUST arrest him to ensure peaceful elections," added Kejriwal, who is campaigning in Punjab. The AAP, the Congress and the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance are the major contenders for power in Punjab. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Senior Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav on Wednesday criticised the Union Budget presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying it was "anti-poor and anti-farmer". "The budget does talk about farmers, the unemployed youths and most importantly government's scheme of demonetisation," he told IANS. "There is nothing for farmers in it. Also, it does not talk about employment generation for youths," Yadav said, adding that the BJP had talked about two crore jobs for the youths. "Where are those jobs," he asked. Yadav also criticised the government for merging the Railway budget and the general budget, and said it was done "unnecessarily". "What was the need to merge the two? They just finished provisions for the Railways in just one and half pages," he said. The Janata Dal-U leader emphasised that the government should have talked about the small industries and farmers in the budget, saying that they are the most affected sections of the society after demonetisation. The government should have told the nation how much black money and fake currency did it get after demonetisation. New Delhi, Feb 1 : While welcoming the government's move to establish the Computer Emergency Response Team for Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) to curb hacking and securing online data, cyber experts on Wednesday said much more is needed to be done in order to safeguard our computer networks and payment gateways as India aims to go digital. During his Union Budget 2017-18 speech in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that CERT-Fin will be set up soon. "Cyber security is critical for safeguarding the integrity and stability of our financial sector. A CERT-Fin will be established. This entity will work in close coordination with all financial sector regulators and other stakeholders," Jaitley said in Parliament. "Although establishing the CERT-Fin is a nice move towards improving cyber security in the banking and finance sector, we need far more focus to safeguard computer networks and payment gateways targeted by state and non-state actors," Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert, told IANS. Following a malware-related security breach in 2016, the State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and YES Bank blocked millions of debit cards that were compromised in one of the biggest data breaches in the Indian financial sector. "We had expected far more allocation of funds towards fighting cyber crime, including initiatives towards strengthening our cyber law enforcement agencies in the budget. We also need to strengthen our cyber law so that online fraudsters can be nailed fast," Duggal added. According to Altaf Halde, Managing Director, Kaspersky Lab-South Asia, the CERT-Fin will lead to collaboration between the technology companies and the banking system in the country. But "with demonetisation and India going digital, we would like to see more focus from government to allocate budget into improving our cybersecurity framework," Halde told IANS. Global network and endpoint security firm Sophos stressed that while the government's efforts to combat cyber crime are commendable, we can improve once the National Cyber Security Policy is fully implemented. "To establish a secure environment for India's information technology (IT) infrastructure and related assets, it is imperative to create a solid foundation to thwart any risks that will ensure that both public and private entities, including small enterprises are well equipped to face the cyber security challenges of a connected world," Sunil Sharma, Vice President (Sales) Sophos, India and Saarc, told IANS. Finland-based IT security company F-Secure hailed the move to set up CERT-Fin. "The synergy created by these announcements, along with the efforts of cyber security solutions, is going to further inspire new users to come online, aiding India's transition to a digital economy," Amit Nath, Head of Asia Pacific (Corporate Business) F-Secure, told IANS. PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Linkplay Technology, a leading WiFi audio solution provider and one of the first audio platforms approved for integration with Alexa Voice Service (AVS) for hands-free voice recognition and push to talk capabilities, hosted 300 attendees from global speaker brands, OEMs and ODMs for an Amazon Alexa technology summit. The one day conference held in Shenzhen, China provided an opportunity to educate customers interested in designing and building Powered by Linkplay products with AVS. The presenters introduced the broad AVS ecosystem and offered insight on developing customer differentiated audio products and other smart home devices. The keynote speakers included Linkplays Founder and CEO, Lifeng Zhao, Ph.D., and Amazons Director of Alexa Voice Service, Jon Kirk, in addition to executives and senior technical experts from technology partners Conexant, a leading provider of audio and far-field voice technology solutions, and Sensory, a leader in speech and vision technologies. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3be6e19b-205b-488a-b66c-e5da95843f8b http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/43540d96-9aaa-405e-853b-fdc2c9cb5a7f Linkplays patented Smart WiFi audio hardware and software module provides AVS integration, global streaming music content integration, app and cloud development, and multi-room speaker capabilities as well as low latency, high resolution (192khz/24bit; 44.1KHz/16bit), loss-less audio. It enables customers to bring products to market faster and more cost effectively, shortening product development cycles from 3 6 months. The AVS-enabled Linkplay platform has been incorporated into five brands speaker products, including FABRIQ, GGMM E5 Wireless, Jam Audio Voice, iLuv Aud Click and Omaker WoW, and many more will be launching this year. Linkplay makes it possible for speakers to be wireless and hands-free with consumers simply asking Alexa to play their favorite music, turn on the lights in the living room, provide news, traffic and weather reports, set alarms, order food, and more. Linkplays turnkey WiFi audio solution provides access to millions of songs through services such as Amazon Music, Audible, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Spotify, TIDAL, Napster, and many others and operates with AirPlay, DLNA, Spotify Connect, and QQPlay protocols, making it seamless for companies to bring music to their devices. Specializing in interruption-free music streaming from any iOS or Android device to speakers over a WiFi network, Linkplays solution eliminates the need to connect a phone to the speakers, allowing users to stream music without interference from calls or texts. We are seeing overwhelming excitement from customers eager to integrate our platform and voice services, said Lifeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Linkplay. It is important that we educate our customers about the possibilities available with AVS-enabled audio products and differentiated feature sets, in addition to other categories of products for a smart home. Linkplays features include a holistic audio package with customized hardware, firmware, mobile app and cloud server for OTA and Amazon Alexa with wake-up mode. Also, the platform offers multi-channel wireless stereo pairing, as well as left and right channel playback on two or more WiFi speakers simultaneously. The multi-source functionality supports audio streaming from the cloud, NAS, local music (from phone or tablet), USB disk/TF card or third party app and offers support for AUX-in, SD/USB, and Bluetooth re-transmission to multi-room via WiFi. If you are with the media and would like an interview, please contact Linda Ferguson, PR Director, Lindaf@Linkplay.com. For more about the Alexa Voice Service, visit the Amazon developer portal. To learn more about how Linkplay can help you develop a product with Amazon Alexa, send a request to Alexa@linkplay.com. About Linkplay: Linkplay Technology, headquartered in Silicon Valley, CA, was founded by a global team of hardware and software engineers, business executives, and wireless audio experts. Linkplays patent-pending technology is a turn-key WiFi audio platform with global streaming music content integration, app and cloud development for speaker brands and ODMs. Technology partners include original design manufacturers (ODMs), component suppliers and key technology investors. For more information about Linkplay, visit www.linkplay.com or email info@linkplay.com. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Total capital and development expenditure on the Indian Railways during the next fiscal has been pegged at Rs 1,31,000 crore, with a little less than half to be provided by the government, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget presentation on Wednesday. "For 2017-18, the total capital and development expenditure of Railways has been pegged at Rs 1,31,000 crore. This includes Rs 55,000 crore provided by the government," Jaitley said presenting the Union Budget 2017-18, which for the first time in 93 years merges the erstwhile Railway Budget with the general budget. "This decision (to merge budgets) brings the Railways to the centrestage of government's fiscal policy and would facilitate multi-modal transport planning between railways, highways and inland waterways," he said. "The functional autonomy of Railways will, however, continue," he added. The Finance Minister spelt out the four main focus areas for the Railways in the budget as being "passenger safety, capital and development works, cleanliness, and finance and accounting reforms." He also announced a Rail safety fund -- Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh -- which will be created with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of five years. As part of accounting reforms, accrual based financial statements will be rolled out by March 2019, he added. The service charge on Railway tickets booked through IRCTC will be withdrawn. Jaitley also said dedicated trains would be launched for pilgrimage and tourism travel. Moreover, a new Metro Rail policy will be announced, which is expected to open up new jobs for the youths. Kolkata, Feb 1 : According infrastructure status to the affordable housing sector, as proposed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Union Budget 2017-18, will open the door to foreign funds at cheaper costs to developers, experts said on Wednesday. The move will attract greater investments in the sector, they added. The budget proposals also make the affordable housing developers eligible for the government's incentives, tax benefits and institutional funding. "Affordable housing developers will now be eligible for several government incentives, subsidies, tax benefits, and most importantly, institutional funding," said Neeraj Bansal, Partner and Head of Real Estate & Construction, KPMG in India. "The infrastructure status could also mean that the government may release land specifically for affordable housing development in central locations of major urban centres in India," he said. Partner with Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, Hemal Mehta said: "With the infrastructure status, developers can access foreign funds at a cheaper cost by way of debt and it will be a priority lending for banks as well. This should result in progress in the sector." Tata Housing's MD & CEO Brotin Banerjee said the infrastructure status to affordable housing had been a long-standing demand of the sector. "The government has realised that housing and infrastructure can be two pillars to increase the GDP and accelerate economic growth." Easy and dedicated access to institutional financing and higher limit on external commercial borrowings will attract more investments and assure sustained growth of affordable housing in India, making it the core driving segment for the real estate," Banerjee said. On the other hand, long-term financing at lower rates will reduce costs of construction for developers, allowing them to pass on benefits to consumers. The new status will increase the resource allocation for the sector, catalysing housing supply and reducing the supply gap, he said. Experts also say the move will not only allow access to cheaper loans to developers of budget housing but significantly boost the sector in achieving the government target of Housing for All by 2022. "The affordable housing sector has seen a significant change in the government's existing scheme, with the qualifying size requirements now changed from built-up area to carpet area of 30 sq.m and 60 sq.m for projects within the municipal limits of the large four cities," Amit Enterprises Housing CMD Kishore Pate said. According to property consulting firm Knight Frank India's CMD & Director Shishir Baijal, the shift in eligibility criteria for affordable housing from built-up area to carpet area will increase the unit size by 20-30 per cent and will offer home buyers the benefit of owning larger units. This will also encourage leading real estate players to enter the affordable housing segment. The Finance Minister reduced the holding period for land and buildings from three years to two years for long-term capital gains purpose. "This would help improve investability in properties in comparison to shares and stocks where the period is one year," Bansal said. Baijal also said the move in connection to long-term capital gain tax would help the marketability of real estate as an asset class. "Changes in the taxation aspect of JDA (Joint Development Agreement) will greatly encourage more land owners to partner with developers that will benefit the real estate developers and in turn is likely to benefit the end consumers," he added. Patna, Feb 1 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said Union Budget 2017-18 is "disappointing" for people, particularly the poor, farmers and youths. Both the Janata Dal (United) President and the RJD chief pointed out that the central government has failed to provide special packages to backward states such as Bihar as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign for the state assembly polls in 2015. "The budget has disappointed the people. There is nothing that could speed up growth and development in the country. It is not going to help the common people, farmers and the youths," Kumar told the media here. The Chief Minister said he expected special packages for Bihar but there was no such mention in the budget. "Bihar got nothing new in the budget." Kumar questioned the Centre's silence over how much black money returned to the banks after demonetisation and what benefit did the November 8 move bring to the Indian economy. "Why has Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech in parliament not given any information about how much black money returned following demonetisatiion and the benefits of demonetisation." According to the Chief Minister, it was surprising that there was no specific reference to the much hyped move of demonetising old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes. Lalu said it was a 'nirashajanak' (disappointing) budget as there was no relief for the common people, who have been fighting for survival after demonetisation. "Why has the central government failed to inform how much employment it provided to youths last year as Modi had promised to bring in two crore jobs each year. "What about special focus to help farmers, who have been committing suicide," Lalu asked. The RJD chief said the budget was anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-youth. Mumbai, Feb 1 : Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, actor Sonu Sood and action star Jackie Chan spread the message of brotherhood prior to the release of "Kung Fu Yoga", which is part of the three-film agreement signed between India and China. In a video, posted by Salman on Twitter on Wednesday, the trio can be seen saying: "Hindi-Chini bhai bhai." Chan was recently in India to promote his film "Kung Fu Yoga", which was shot in Dubai, Iceland, Beijing and India. During the "Rush Hour" star's visit to Mumbai, Salman had tweeted a photo with the Hong Kong star holding panda toys in their hands. In fact, the "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" star had also thanked Chan for giving the film to his "Chedi Singh Sonu Sood. This is the coolest". Sonu had played Chedi Singh in the 2010 film "Dabangg", which starred Salman. Directed by Stanley Tong, "Kung Fu Yoga" is slated to release on February 3. Bhopal, Feb 1 : The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress on Wednesday termed the Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in parliament, as "disappointing" for all sections of society. The party's Madhya Pradesh unit President Arun Yadav said: "We expected special provisions for farmers, workers and youth, but nothing happened." He said a proposed increase of Rs 50,000 in income tax exemption was not enough. Yadav said the central government was trying to offer "lollipops" to lure people but they know it was trying to "pick-pocket" them. Islamabad, Feb 1 : Protests in Pakistan demanding the release of India-wanted militant leader Hafiz Saeed escalated on Wednesday as Syed Salahuddin, Hizb-ul Mujhadeen chief, called upon Islamabad to reverse its detention order, which it termed "painful and cowardly". Saeed was detained on Monday night under Section 11-EEE (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1977, a notification issued by the interior ministry said. The move came after years of pressure on Pakistan from neighbour India, the US and the UN to put the Jamaat-ud-Dawah leader on trial. His detention could potentially ease the recently escalating tensions with New Delhi, which blames Saeed for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Salahuddin, chairman of United Jihad Council (UJC), said in a statement: "Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has not only been urging the international community to break its criminal silence on Kashmir, but he has also been exposing the atrocities of India's imperialistic regime." In one such demonstration on Wednesday, demonstrators held an effigy, on which portraits of US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and flags of the US and India were affixed. The effigy and a banner with portraits of the duo and flags of both countries were torched afterwards. They were also carrying several banners and placards, inscribed with slogans in favour of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief. "House arrest of Hafiz Saeed to please India is unacceptable," read a big banner. The JuD leaders also warned the government of launch of a protest movement if Saeed was not released immediately. They said the responsibility would lie with the Nawaz Sharif government if the Kashmir movement suffered any disruption or weakness as result of Saeed's arrest. The protesters promised to take out a nationwide rally on February 5 on the instruction of Hafiz Saeed. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Aiming to empower villages through a hike in MGNREGA funds, poverty alleviation and 100 per cent electrification by May 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday focussed on rural India. In his Budget speech, Jaitley said 100 per cent electrification of villages will be achieved by May 1, 2018. The government has allocated Rs 4,843 crore to electrify the rural areas under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana in financial year 2017-18. The Finance Minister also announced a 24 per cent hike for rural, agricultural and allied sectors as compared to last year, allocating Rs 1,87,223 crore for financial year 2017-18. "The government will continue to work closely with the farmers and the people in the rural areas to improve their life and environment. This is a non-negotiable agenda for our government," Jaitley said in Parliament. Announcing to build one crore houses for the homeless and those living in kutcha houses by 2019, Jaitley allocated Rs 23,000 crore for 2017-18 against Rs 15,000 crore allocated last year. Jaitley also said the government aims to make one crore households and 50,000 Gram Panchayats "poverty free" by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Stating that 133 km of new rural roads were paved every day in 2016-17 against 73 km per day during 2011-14, Jaitley dedicated Rs 27,000 crore for rural roads for financial year 2017-18 against Rs 19,000 crore last year. "Hundred per cent targets for roads were achieved in the Left wing extremist areas during the last financial year," the Finance Minister said. Stating that the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) has made tremendous progress, Jaitley said the open defecation-free villages are now being given priority for piped water supply, under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP). "We propose to provide safe drinking water to over 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations in the next four years," Jaitley said. Speaking of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Jaitley said participation of women in the scheme has increased from 45 per cent to 55 per cent. The Finance Minister also announced that the budget for MGNREGA has been increased to Rs 48,000 crore for 2017-18 from Rs 36,500 crore in 2016-17. He also announced that for better monitoring, geo-tagging of all MGNREGA assets is being done and space technology will be used for better transparency. The minister said five lakh farm ponds and 10 lakh pits were fully achieved in 2016-17 and about 10 lakh farm ponds would be completed by March 2017 under MGNREGA. "My overall approach, while preparing this budget, has been to spend more in rural areas, infrastructure and poverty alleviation and yet maintain the best standards of fiscal prudence," Jaitley said. Lahore, Feb 1 : Some government and private doctors in Pakistan are importing cheap stents from India and selling them here at higher prices, a media report said. According to Dunya News, Indian stents are the cheapest in the world and some doctors sell them by packing the stents with fake barcodes and international labels after importing them from India. "The Indian stents that cost between Rs 25 to 28 thousand are being sold for Rs 3 to 3.5 lakh by the doctors in this filthy act," the news portal said on Wednesday. The Indian stents are also available in different hospitals of Pakistan under fake names. "The investigation teams have demanded the record of barcodes of stents from the hospitals, as every stent has a unique barcode which doctors are bound to keep in their records. The details of the stent and its company can be traced through the barcode," it added. Some doctors are reportedly putting stents in patients even if there is no need of it, just for their greed for money, it said. Kanpur, Feb 1 : At least 50 persons, including women and children, are feared trapped under the debris of an under-construction building that collapsed here on Wednesday, police said. The building, located in Jajmau area, was owned by Samajwadi Party leader Mehtaab Aalam, a police official said. Two bodies have reportedly been pulled out of the debris while the condition of seven injured was stated to be critical. The army has also been pressed into service to rescue those trapped inside the building. Additional Director General of Police Daljeet Chowdhary told IANS: "As of now we can't confirm casualties but people pulled out of the debris are critically injured." Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 1 : Senior Kerala MP E. Ahamed, who died on Wednesday, was a rare Indian politician who enjoyed wide personal contacts in the Middle East and used them well when he was a central minister. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader was also a respected parliamentarian and played a major role in building his party's ties with the Congress in Kerala. Ahamed, a former Minister of State for External Affairs, collapsed in Parliament on Tuesday after a heart attack. He was declared dead on Wednesday. He is survived by a daughter and two sons. His wife died in a car accident in 1999. And unknown to many, the soft-spoken Ahamed played a role in improving India's ties with the Arab world. The 78-year-old was regularly elected to the Lok Sabha since 1991. The IUML is the second biggest group in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala. A law graduate, Ahamed, who entered politics as a student, was first elected to the Kerala assembly in 1967 and had an uninterrupted stint till 1991 when he contested a Lok Sabha seat. He became the national President of the IUML on account of his vast experience in Delhi politics. It was during his stint as Industries Minister from 1982 to 1987 that Kerala saw the first signs of a boost on the industrial front. He was instrumental in tapping the resources of the cash-rich non-resident Keralites. Today, deposits by non-resident Keralites in banks are estimated at Rs 1.30 lakh crore. Ahamed led Indian delegations to the UN 10 times -- from 1991 to 2014. He was the only UDF candidate to be elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004, all the other 19 seats going to the Left Democratic Front. In July that year, Ahamed made a dramatic television appearance in Arabic following the kidnapping of three Indians in Iraq. The appeal was broadcast over Iraqi, Kuwaiti and Omani channels and led to the eventual release of the hostages. Ahamed also played a role in securing the release of the passengers of an Indian Airlines plane hijacked on a flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi. A close aide told IANS that Ahamed's closeness with top leaders in Saudi Arabia turned out to be useful for New Delhi. "Ahamed was close to (then) Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee too," said a source. Former diplomat T.P. Sreenivasan told IANS that Ahamed was one politician who had excellent contacts with numerous top leaders in the Middle East. Soon after his 2004 victory, Ahamed became the first IUML leader to be appointed in the union cabinet and served a second stint when the UPA-II government assumed office in 2009. It was this long stint in the Lok Sabha that helped the MP to become a vital link between the IUML and the Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The Kerala government declared Wednesday a holiday in Malappuram district for all educational institutions as a mark of respect to Ahamed. His funeral will be held at his hometown in Kannur on Thursday. ATLANTA, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The internet tire buying experience is becoming more and more fragmented. Consumers are buying tires from online retail stores and having installation done at local neighborhood tire stores. TreadHunter, the premier online tire marketplace, connects online consumers directly to local retail tire stores, bringing the online tire sale back to neighborhood tire stores and unifying the purchase and installation experience for the consumer. TreadHunter is excited to announce a partnership with Dunlap & Kyle Co., Inc., also doing business as Gateway Tire and Hesselbein Tire. The partnership provides these retail customers easy access to TreadHunters online tire marketplace. This agreement covers all retail tire store customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. If you are a retail customer of Dunlap & Kyle, Gateway Tire or Hesselbein Tire and would like to participate in this exciting new opportunity to increase your online sales, contact TreadHunter or your local sales representative. In less than a minute you can be selling tires online and not just installing tires bought online. Greg Spence, TreadHunter CEO, said, "Working with Dunlap & Kyle is a great opportunity for both of our companies to bring an online tire marketplace solution to the enormous and fast growing online consumer who prefer to shop directly online. With a simplified registration, automated inventory updates, mobile app and a seamless integration with Dunlap & Kyles inventory we have a great partnership to drive more sales to these neighborhood retail customers." Robert Dunlap said, "The TreadHunter marketplace solution allows our dealers and retailers to move easily onto an online marketplace to sell their tires and keep 100% of the 'tire profit'. Connecting consumers to the local store this way is one of the keys to future growth. About Dunlap & Kyle Co., Inc. Dunlap & Kyle Co., Inc. is a leading wholesale and retail tire dealer, also doing business as Gateway Tire and Hesselbein Tire, selling to independent dealers and retail stores from seventeen US wholesale locations. About TreadHunter Inc. TreadHunter Inc. is the premier national online tire marketplace (www.treadhunter.com) that connects neighborhood retail tire stores directly to internet consumers. Retailers sell tires from their inventory at their own price. Brussels/Paris/Tokyo, Feb 1 : Donald Trump came under attack from Western allies, with EU President Donald Tusk dubbing the new US President an "existential threat to Europe". French Minister of Economy and Finance Michel Sapin said the Trump administration posed "a serious risk to world trade order" while Japan rejected Trump's charges of manipulating its foreign exchange market. In an extraordinary attack on Trump, the European Union chief called Trump, elected as the US President on January 20, an "existential threat to Europe", the Independent reported. In an open letter to leaders of the 27 member states, Tusk included the Trump administration as part of a group of "dangerous" challenges facing the bloc, citing Russia, China and radical Islam as other threats. "The change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation, with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. He issued a call for "political solidarity" before a summit in Malta this week where Europe's heads of states will discuss the future of the bloc. The former Polish Prime Minister said that an assertive China, Russia's aggressive policy, "terror and anarchy" in the Middle East and "worrying declarations by the new American administration" put the future of Europe in jeopardy. "The disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the US, Russia and China." Trump had earlier called Nato "obsolete" and dismissed the EU as a "vehicle for Germany" and said he's had "a very bad experience" with the EU as a businessman. French Minister Sapin said the decisions of Trump's administration "pose a serious risk to the world trade order". When the future of global trade was increasingly being questioned and trade openness caused dissatisfaction, "we are facing today a new wind of contestation of the benefits of commercial openness", Sapin was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. He said this challenge leads in particular the US "to take unilateral protectionist decisions that could destabilise the global economy as a whole. "Unexpectedly, it is China who poses as a defender of free trade on the international scene against the American withdrawal." Japan on Wednesday rejected Trump's charges that it had been manipulating its foreign exchange market to devalue the yen. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga rejected Trump's charges as "completely baseless", Efe news reported. Suga denied that Japan intervenes in the foreign exchange market. He said the country bases its monetary policy on the G7 and G20 agreements. Trump said on Tuesday in New York that Japan and China were playing the devaluation market in recent years. Suga added that Japan's financial policy was aimed at achieving consumer price index stability and not at bringing down the yen. Trump had earlier criticised Japan and China for their monetary policies and said he intended to include clauses against currency manipulations in the event of negotiating trade agreements with the two countries. The matter is expected to be discussed during the first official meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on February 10 in Washington which will focus on economic ties and their bilateral security agreement. Islamabad, Feb 1 : The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, beleaguered by internal rifts, is headed for more difficult days as India is attempting to block on "procedural grounds" the appointment of a Pakistani diplomat as the next secretary general of the eight-member grouping, a Pakistani daily said on Wednesday. "The Saarc secretariat can, therefore, potentially remain a headless body for a long time if the stalemate prolongs and the dispute is not resolved soon," Dawn said. The turn of a Pakistani to head the Saarc Secretariat, which is held by rotation for a period of three years, starts from March 1, 2017, and continues till February 28, 2020. This is the first time in Saarc's troubled history that it is moving towards a standoff over the Secretary General's appointment. Amjad Hussain Sial, a career diplomat, had been nominated by Pakistan as the 13th Secretary General of Saarc to replace the outgoing Kathmandu-based Saarc Secretariat Secretary General Arjun Bahadur Thapa, whose tenure expires on February 28. Sial's nomination was made at the Saarc Council of Ministers in Pokhara (Nepal) in March 2016 and was endorsed by all member states. New Delhi, however, through a diplomatic note last month asked the secretariat to adhere to the "due working procedures" in the appointment of Thapa's successor, it said. The Indian position was that the nomination had to be ratified by the Council of Ministers meeting in Islamabad, which could not happen due to postponement of the summit after India and other members of the bloc pulled out of the meeting over terrorism. Pakistani officials, meanwhile, accuse India of employing "delaying tactics". They insist that concurrence had been received from all members, including India. Relations between Islamabad and New Delhi nosedived last year due to the aggravating situation in Jammu and Kashmir. India also accused a Pakistan-based militant group for the attack on one of its military camps in Uri and later withdrew from the Saarc summit that was to be hosted by Pakistan in November, citing concerns over terrorism. The eight-member regional bloc has long been held hostage to the intense Pakistan-India rivalry although its charter explicitly disallows bringing regional disputes to the forum. Pakistan has been contributing 24 per cent of the Secretariat's budget. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in his meeting with outgoing Saarc Secretary General Thapa last week said India "impeded the Saarc process and violated" the spirit of the Saarc Charter. London, Feb 1 : Smoking consumes almost six per cent of the world's total spend on healthcare and nearly two per cent of global GDP, a new research has found. In 2012 the total cost amounted to $1,436 billion, with nearly 40 per cent of this sum borne by developing countries. The four BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- accounted for 25 per cent of it, the findings showed. "These findings highlight the urgent need for all countries to implement comprehensive tobacco control measures to address these economic costs," the researchers said. The detrimental impact of smoking on national health systems and economies has been widely studied since the 1960s, but most of these studies have focused exclusively on high income countries, the researchers noted. So Mark Goodchild from World Health Organization (WHO) and colleagues wanted to include low and middle income countries to come up with more accurate estimates of the total global cost. And so they included data from 152 countries representing 97 per cent of the world's smokers. They used the 'cost of illness' approach, first devised in 1960. This divides the economic impact of an illness into direct costs, such as hospital admissions and treatment, and indirect costs representing the value of productivity lost to death and disability in current and future years, for a given year. The direct and indirect costs are then added up to provide the overall societal cost, usually expressed as a percentage of annual gross domestic product (GDP). The researchers used data from sources such as the WHO and the World Bank to uncover information on the proportion of ill health and death attributable to smoking, national employment rates, and GDP for each of the 152 countries, to inform their calculations. These showed that in 2012, diseases caused by smoking accounted for 12 per cent (2.1 million) of all deaths among working age adults aged 30-69, according to the study published in the journal Tobacco Control. This figure included 1.4 million adults who would have been in the workforce. The number of working years lost because of smoking related ill health added up to 26.8 million, 18 million of which were lost to death with the remainder lost to disability. In terms of health spend attributable to smoking, this totalled $422 billion, equivalent to nearly six per cent of the global total. The researchers pointed out that their calculations did not include the health and economic harms caused by second hand smoke or smokeless forms of tobacco, and that their estimates of lost productivity applied only to those who were economically active. Kathmandu, Feb 1 : The 53rd meeting of Saarc Programming Committee began here on Wednesday and could mark revival of the regional bloc following postponement of the 19th Summit that was scheduled in Pakistan in November last year after India and some others members expressed their inability to participate. Though the two-day meeting at joint secretary/director general level only entails discussions about the budget allocation of five Saarc regional centres, some specialised bodies and their annual programme, it will definitely set a positive tone to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan and for resumption of the Saarc process, said officials. They also expressed the hope that it will pave the way for meetings at higher levels. One diplomat participating in the meeting said that officials from both India and Pakistan were very positive, accommodative and flexible on the first day of the meeting. After India announced that it was pulling out of the Islamabad summit "in the wake of the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an Indian Army base in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir" -- which New Delhi blamed on terrorists based in Pakistan -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan followed suit, leaving the fate of the regional bloc hanging in the balance. Pakistan, the host nation, then announced postponement of the summit, throwing Nepal, which is the current chair of Saarc, into a quandary. Since the postponement of the summit, member states had almost lost their communications and no meetings or engagements were either planned or convened. Earlier, the Programming Committee meeting was to take place ahead of the 19th Saarc Summit, but following the postponement of the summit, the meeting had failed to convene. The Programming Committee is the lowest level mechanism in Saarc below the Saarc Standing Committee, which is held at the Foreign Secretaries level, and Saarc Council of Ministers held at Foreign Ministers level. Nepal is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the Saarc Chair. Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 1 : Both the ruling Left and the opposition Congress in Kerala on Wednesday dubbed the Union Budget 2017-18 as "disappointing and lacklustre". In a statement issued here, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there is nothing in the budget to redress the woes of demonetisation. "Kerala submitted a list as part of the pre-budget exercise but nothing was looked into. The cooperative banking sector had taken a beating on account of restrictions imposed due to demonetisation. We expected some relief in the cooperative banking sector but nothing has been done," said Vijayan. He said the allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is "appallingly poor" and will not be enough to provide jobs even for 40 days in a year. State Congress President V.M. Sudheeran said the budget has nothing to cheer Kerala. "The long-standing demand for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in our state has not materialised; likewise, railway needs of Kerala have also been left unattended. There is nothing to revive banking sector that was badly affected by demonetisation. Overall it's disappointing," said Sudheeran. However, Jaitley has provided funds to the Spices Board, Tea Board, Rubber Board, Coffee Board, Cochin Shipyard. New Delhi, Feb 1 : A sombre mood overshadowed the Budget proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday due to the death of sitting IUML MP E. Ahamed, with the opposition Congress, which had asked for postponing the budget by a day, remaining mostly silent - allowing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to read his budget speech unhindered. The 2017-18 budget, which had for the first time the railway and general budgets merged and was presented around a month earlier than the usual date, saw the ruling party members thumping their desk repeatedly -- amid a largely silent opposition. The opposition's mood remained grim, and there were very few exchanges between the ruling and opposition benches. Congress President Sonia Gandhi was not present in the House. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, who later called the budget a "damp squib", was seen sitting flanked by party members Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, exchanging words with them from time to time. As soon as the House met, obituary reference was made to Ahamed, a former minister in the UPA government and a long-time Kerala MP of the Indian Union Muslim League. Ahamed was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest in Parliament's Central Hall during President Pranab Mukherjee's address on Tuesday. He died early on Wednesday. The members stood in silence for two minutes as a mark of respect to Ahamed. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced that the House will not sit on Thursday as a mark of respect to Ahamed, but that the budget has to go on. "I would have adjourned the house for the day but today's sitting has been specifically fixed by the President for presentation of the Union Budget for the financial year 2017-18 which is a constitutional obligation. In view of this exceptional situation, the House may go ahead with the presentation of the Union Budget," she said, leading to a brief uproar as Congress members wanted the budget to be postponed and the house adjourned. "I requested you today that the House should be adjourned because E. Ahamed was a very senior member. Nearly 45 years he was there in legislative affairs. As a mark of respect the House must be adjourned today. He was on his duty yesterday. He collapsed at the joint sitting," said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. However, as Finance Minister Jaitley stood up to present the budget, the Congress members gave up their protest and sat on their seats. The opposition members did not even once thump their desks - a usual mark of welcoming an announcement in the House - at any point during the Budget speech, and nor did they voice protests. They just sat very quietly throughout. The only time a Congress leader, Kharge, interrupted Jaitley was when he was making an announcement on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, but it was not audible as his microphone was switched off. The ruling NDA party members meanwhile cheered the Finance Minister through the announcements, specially when he hailed demonetisation as a "bold and decisive" step. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also seen thumping his desk as Jaitley mentioned demonetisation. Jaitley also broke into poetry twice during his speech. One of them came as he talked about black money. "Nayi duniya hai, naya daur hai, nayi hai umang Kuchh the pehle ke tarike to kuchh hain aaj ke dhang, Roshni aa ke andheron se jo takrayi hai Kaale dhan ko bhi badalna pada aaj apna rang." (This is a new world, and new times; the earlier ways have changed. Light has struck the darkness, and black money had to change its colour). In another verse, he said: "Iss mod pe na dar kar tham jaiye aap, Jo baat nayi hai usse apnaiye aap, dar jate hain nayo raah par kyo chalne se, hum aage aage chalte hain, aaiye aap." (Don't be scared of moving ahead at this turn, accept the new things. We will walk ahead, follow us). Talking to reporters later, Kharge responded to the minister's poem and said: "We cannot follow their path, it is not the right path." Islamabad, Feb 1 : The Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency on Wednesday slammed reports of lodging a case against Salman Haider and other activists for allegedly committing blasphemy on social media. The agency clarified in a statement that they received an application but no case was lodged yet. Earlier, it was reported that the FIA lodged a case against Salman Haider and other activists for allegedly committing blasphemy on social media. Agency Deputy Director Noman Ashraf Bodla has directed the investigation officer to call Haider to the FIA office and engage him in the investigation. Hafiz Ahtasham Ahmed submitted an application to the FIA Station in Iqbal Town, stating that the FIA should act against the bloggers for allegedly spreading blasphemous content on social media under Section 295 C and the Anti-Terrorism Act. Earlier, an application for registering a blasphemy case against the four missing activists under section 295-C was also filed in Islamabad. The application submitted by the chairman of Muhammad Tahir "Civil Society of Pakistan," alleged that the missing activists including Salman Haider and Waqas Goraya had been hosting Facebook pages with inflammatory and blasphemous content. Lucknow, Feb 1 : BJP's Lok Sabha member from Mathura Hema Malini on Wednesday said rival parties were entering into opportunistic alliances due to fear of the growing influence of her Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Bollywood's yesteryear actor-turned-politician said her party will get majority in all five assembly polls-bound states. "People are supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his bold steps like demonetisation, which brought out the black money in a big way," she said. While the Prime Minister is taking the country forward and working for public welfare, other political parties were busy with politicking, she added. The veteran actor is likely to kick off the campaign for the BJP candidate from Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh from Thursday. She was on a visit here to lay the foundation stone of a multi-crore ISKCON temple in the state capital. Tehran, Feb 1 : Iran's Defence Minister Hossein Dehqan on Wednesday confirmed the recent ballistic missile test by his country. "The recent (missile) test was in line with our programmes, and we will not allow any outsider to interfere in our defence affairs," Dehqan was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying. Iran's missile test by no means contradicts the Iranian nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, nor the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, the minister said. Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015, to endorse a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. The defence minister said that the country's missile tests were part of Iran's defence plans aimed at fulfilling its national interests, and no one or country could affect the country's plans and decisions. He reiterated that Iran's missile programme was for deterrence purposes. Details of the recent missile test by Tehran have not been publicised, but it was the first test by Iran after new US President Donald Trump took office on January 20. On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned Washington against fomenting tensions over the missile programme of Iran. Zarif expressed the hope that Iran's missile programme would not be used as an excuse by the new US administration to create new tension for his country. Iran's tests of missiles falls outside United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, Zarif said in a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart. The resolution only points to the ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, he said. "We have announced that none of our ballistic missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads," Zarif said. "Iran would not allow others to decide on its defence programme." Islamabad, Feb 1 : Pakistan opposition party Tehreek-e-Insaf members on Wednesday protested in the National Assembly after they were not allowed to table a resolution against US President Donald Trump, who has recently drawn criticism around the world over his controversial visa ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. President Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the US and temporarily barred travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks. The bans, though temporary, took effect immediately, causing havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The draft resolution signed by PTI members against the Trump administration had signatures of Pakistan Peoples Party's members as well. When the opposition members sought permission to table the resolution, Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi turned it down, Geo News reported. The Deputy Speaker suggested the opposition to give a notice to presenting the resolution or consult the government on it. At this, PTI lawmakers stood azt their seats and protested against it. "There have been protests around the world and the Pakistani government should also summon US ambassador and inquire him on the issue," the protesting members demanded. SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProfitBricks, the leading channel-focused cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider, today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company, has named the company to its 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2017 list. This annual lineup recognizes the most innovative cloud technology suppliers in each of five categories: infrastructure, platforms and development, security, storage, and software. For the fourth consecutive year, we are excited to be named one of the industrys coolest cloud vendors by CRN, said Aaron Garza, vice president of Business Development at ProfitBricks. As the most channel-friendly cloud IaaS provider in the industry, we offer partners flexible, high-performing cloud networks at a great value. Our technology enables channel partners to move away from expensive, complicated, and difficult to manage on-premise data centers and into the cloud. We look forward to the new and collaborative ways we can work with channel partners to build profitable cloud businesses with our best-in-class technology. The 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors are selected by the CRN editorial team for their creativity and innovation in product development, the quality of their services and partner programs, and their demonstrated ability to help customers benefit from the ease of use, flexibility, scalability and budgetary savings that cloud computing offers. In addition to recognizing cloud technology suppliers for outstanding products and services, 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors serves as a valuable guide for solution providers trying to navigate the cloud market. The list aids prospective channel partners in identifying the vendors that can best help them improve or expand their cloud services. Cloud-based solutions are now a universal staple of IT services and an integral feature of solution providers portfolios, said Robert Faletra, CEO at The Channel Company. It is therefore more important than ever for solution providers to be able to find and choose the best, most capable cloud vendors to partner with. CRNs annual list of the 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors helps them identify and engage these expert suppliers in order to grow and strengthen their cloud businesses. Congratulations to all the vendors on our 2017 list, which have distinguished themselves in this extremely competitive and essential technology area. The new 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list will be featured in the February 2017 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/cloud100. To learn more about ProfitBricks, please call 1-866-852-5229 or email product-us@profitbricks.com. About ProfitBricks ProfitBricks is the leading channel-focused cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider. The company offers solution providers the most innovative, best performing, and easiest to use cloud networks on the market today. ProfitBricks enables a seamless transition to a cloud recurring revenue model through its innovative virtualized data center and cloud APIs. Hosted in some of the highest echelon of data center space, ProfitBricks provides a flexible licensing model and no binding contracts. To learn more, please visit www.profitbricks.com. New Delhi, Feb 1 : The government on Wednesday allocated Rs 48,853 crore for the health sector for the financial year 2017-18 -- a 23 per cent increase, and announced two new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jharkhand and Gujarat. Aiming to reach out to the rural populace with better health care, Finance Minister during his Budget speech for 2017-18 said: "Two new AIIMS will come up in Jharkhand and Gujarat." Though Jaitley did not announce the total budget allocated to the health sector, the budget copy showed that Rs 48,853 crore has been allocated against Rs 39,688 for the period 2016-17. On other health initiatives, Jaitley said the government has prepared an action plan to eliminate Kala-Azar and Filariasis by 2017, Leprosy by 2018 and Measles by 2020. "Elimination of tuberculosis by 2025 is also targeted. Similarly, action plan has been prepared to reduce Infant Mortality Rate(IMR) from 39 in 2014 to 28 by 2019 and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) from 167 in 2011-13 to 100 by 2018-2020," said Jaitley. According to the government, 1.5 lakh Health Sub Centres will be transformed into Health and Wellness Centres. Stating that there was a need to ensure adequate availability of specialist doctors to strengthen Secondary and Tertiary levels of healthcare, Jaitley said: "We have therefore decided to take steps to create additional 5,000 Post Graduate seats per annum." "In addition, steps will be taken to roll out DNB (Diplomate of National Board) courses in big District Hospitals; strengthen Post Graduate teaching in select ESI and Municipal Corporation Hospitals; and encourage reputed Private Hospitals to start DNB courses. We will work with the state governments to take these tasks forward," said Jaitley. He on the occasion also said the Government is committed to take necessary steps for structural transformation of the Regulatory framework of Medical Education and Practice in India. "We propose to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules to ensure availability of drugs at reasonable prices and promote use of generic medicines. New rules for regulating medical devices will also be formulated. These rules will be internationally harmonised and attract investment into this sector. This will reduce the cost of such devices," said Jaitley. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said he was disappointed with the Union Budget 2017-18 as Delhi has again been deprived of its due share in central taxes. "Delhi has been deprived of its due from central share in this year's budget too... Delhi's share in central taxes remains stagnant for the 17th year at Rs 325 crore," Sisodia tweeted soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Budget in the Lok Sabha. Later, a Delhi government statement said that it had asked the central government to enhance the allocation to at least Rs 5,000 crore. "The Budget of Delhi has increased from Rs 8,739 crore in the year 2001-02 to Rs 46,600 crore in 2016-17, whereas the share in central taxes has remained frozen at Rs 325 crore since 2001-02." "However, states are getting share in central taxes every year based on the annual increase in collection of central taxes," the statement said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government expressed disappointment and slammed Jaitley for not earmarking any funds to Municipal Corporations of Delhi. "Indian government provides basic and performance grants to local bodies in all states. However, local bodies in Delhi are not getting any support from the central government despite providing 10.5 per cent of our annual tax collection to the local bodies," the Delhi government said. Earlier, Sisodia also slammed Jaitley for not going all the way to do away with anonymous donations to political parties. "Why are political parties free to accept cash donations up to Rs 2,000? Why does a vegetable vendor need to go cashless for even transactions of Rs 20 and parties can accept Rs 2,000 in cash," Sisodia asked. In his budget speech on Wednesday, Jaitley announced that political parties receiving donations above Rs 2,000 will now have to disclose the identity of the donor -- a sharp decline from the earlier limit of Rs 20,000. Islamabad, Feb 1 : A 17-year-old girl was raped and strangled to death in Pakistan's Sindh province , officials said. The body was recovered from an under-construction house in Surjani area in the suburbs of Karachi, Dawn reported on Wednesday. A police surgeon confirmed the victim had been raped and killed. Deputy Superintendent of Police Sohrab Meo told Dawn it appeared the girl was strangled with her 'dupatta'. New Delhi, Feb 1 : To ensure greater transparency in political funding, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday sharply cut the cash donation a political party can accept and announced "electoral bonds" to promote legitimate funding of parties. Not impressed with the move, the opposition called it mere hogwash and instantly questioned the source of funding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "hugely expensive" election rallies. Presenting the Union Budget for 2017-18, Jaitley said any anonymous cash donation to a political party will now be limited to Rs 2,000 -- a sharp drop from the Rs 20,000 limit earlier -- and that political parties would now have to take donations above Rs 2,000 through cheque and digital payments. Further, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would issue bearer bonds that a donor may buy through cheques and digital payments. He or she can then give the bond to a political party which must deposit it within a month in a pre-determined account. While this gives the donor the option of remaining anonymous both ends of the transaction will happen through the banking system. The government's decision to reduce cash donations will require political parties receiving a donation above Rs 2,000 to disclose the identity of the donor. Earlier, most of the political parties had been declaring that a majority of their donations were below Rs 20,000 and thus anonymous. Jaitley said the government proposes to amend the RBI Act for issuing the electoral bonds under the new scheme. "This will bring greater reform in political funding while preventing future generation of black money," the Finance Minister said. He said the government has accepted the Election Commission's recommendation to bring transparency in political funding. The commission had asked the government, among other things, to bring down the limit of anonymous donations to Rs 2,000. "Even after 70 years of independence, there is no transparency in political funding. Most donations are received in cash and the donors too hesitate to disclose their identity," Jaitley said. However, the opposition was not impressed with the move. "This is a meaningless move in a directionless budget. If they actually want to bring transparency in political funding, they should have created a national electoral corpus in consultation with Election Commission and all major parties," Congress leader Anand Sharma said. He explained the unified fund should be used to fund all recognised national and state political parties. CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury too said as much, adding that corporate funding of political parties should immediately stop. "The corporates should instead donate to this national electoral corpus instead of directly donating to parties," Yechury said. He also demanded a cap on spending by political parties during election campaigns. "Currently there is a cap on spending by candidates but not on parties. Parties can spend as much as they like. For example, you can see the hugely expensive election rallies of Prime Minister," the CPI-M leader said. He said people can now not donate in cash but they can provide free services such as free buses for a rally or food packets for 10 lakh people. "Where is the accountability for that?" he asked. Anand Sharma also echoed similar sentiments. "They are talking of transparency. Will they tell where is all the money for helicopters, chartered planes and cars for BJP leaders during election rallies coming from?" Sharma wondered. Regional bigwigs such as Samajwadi Party (SP) and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) too failed to see any merit in the move. SP Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agrawal termed the move as "jumla" (hogwash), saying nothing would change on the ground. "The parties which earlier showed one lakh rupees by five donors, will now show through 50 donors. Nothing is going to change and no transparency can be brought in this way," Agrawal told IANS. BSP's Rajya Sabha MP Veer Singh said the move is meaningless for them as most of his party's donations come in small amounts, which are much below Rs 2,000. As per the report by Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) on sources of funding of national and regional parties, BSP is the only party to consistently declare receiving no donations above Rs 20,000 between 2004-05 and 2014-15. An ADR report on sources of political funding had last month revealed that over two-thirds of the funds of national and regional parties were from 'unknown' sources. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday proposed to allocate Rs 396,135 crore for infrastructure development in the Union Budget 2017-18. "The total allocation for infrastructure development in 2017-18 stands at Rs 396,135 crore," Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha. On a sector-specific basis, the transportation sector has been proposed to allocate Rs 241,387 crore. "For transportation sector as a whole, including rail, roads, shipping, I have provided Rs 241,387 crore in 2017-18," Jaitley said. According to the minister, the high magnitude of investment for the development of transport infra sector will spur a "huge amount" of economic activity across the country and create more job opportunities. "Railways, roads and rivers are the lifeline of our country. I feel privileged to present the first combined budget of independent India that includes the Railways also," Jaitley said in his budget presentation speech. "We are now in a position to synergise the investments in railways, roads, waterways and civil aviation." About the major sub-segment of the transport sector, the minister elaborated that Indian railways development expenditure has been pegged at Rs 131,000 crore. This includes Rs 55,000 crore provided by the central government. "For passenger safety, a Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh will be created with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of five years," the minister said. "Besides seed capital from the government, the railways will arrange the balance resources from their own revenues and other sources. Government will lay down clear-cut guidelines and timeline for implementing various safety works to be funded from this Kosh." The minister told the house that a new 'Metro Rail Policy' will be announced soon with focus on innovative models of implementation and financing. "A new Metro Rail Act will be enacted by rationalising the existing laws. This will facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operation," Jaitley elaborated. Apart from railways, Finance Minister Jaitley proposed to increase budgetary allocation to the road sector by 11.94 per cent. "In the road sector, I have stepped up the budget allocation for highways from Rs 57,976 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs 64,900 crores in 2017-18," Jaitley pointed out. "2,000 km of coastal connectivity roads have been identified for construction and development. This will facilitate better connectivity with ports and remote villages." The minister disclosed that the total length of roads, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), built from 2014-15 till the current fiscal year is about 140,000 km "which is" significantly higher than the previous three years. For the civil aviation sub-segment, select airports in Tier II cities will be taken up for operation and maintenance in the PPP (public private partnership) mode. "Airport Authority of India Act will be amended to enable effective monetisation of land assets. The resources, so raised, will be utilised for airport upgradation," Jaitley explained. The minister added that a specific programme for development of multi-modal logistics parks, together with multi-modal transport facilities, will be drawn up and implemented. "An effective multi modal logistics and transport sector will make our economy more competitive," Jaitley added. Referring to the telecom sector as an important component of "our infrastructure eco system", the minister told Parliament that under the BharatNet Project, optic fibre cable (OFC) has been laid in 155,000 km. "I have stepped up the allocation for BharatNet Project to Rs 10,000 crore in 2017-18," the minister informed. "By the end of 2017-18, high speed broadband connectivity on optical fibre will be available in more than 150,000 gram panchayats, with Wi-Fi hot spots and access to digital services at low tariffs." "A DigiGaon initiative will be launched to provide tele-medicine, education and skills through digital technology." On the energy sector, the Union Budget proposes to set up 'Strategic Crude Oil Reserves'. "In the first phase, three such reserves facilities have been set up. Now in the second phase, it is proposed to set up caverns at two more locations, namely, Chandikhole in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan," the minister said. "This will take our strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 MMT (million metric tonne)." Besides, for the sub-segment of solar energy, the minister proposed to take up the second phase of 'Solar Park' development for an additional 20,000 MW capacity. In addition, the minister added that a new and restructured central scheme -- 'Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme' (TIES) -- will be launched in 2017-18. New Delhi, Feb 1 : India and Russia discussed bilateral security and defence cooperation as well as plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between them during the two-day visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Russia. Doval was on an official visit to Russia, on the invitation of Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, from January 30-31, an official statement said here on Wednesday. The talks were part of regular high level consultations between India and Russia. Both sides discussed issues of mutual bilateral, regional and global interest, with a special focus on security and defense cooperation between both sides. They noted with satisfaction the ongoing cooperation between them in meeting threats to their national security, particularly those emanating from terrorism in their respective regions, and unequivocally reaffirmed their intention to continue to work together to confront these challenges, it said. Doval and Patrushev noted that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries was a great asset for both the peoples, and a factor of peace and stability in the region and the world. They agreed to further strengthen this partnership in all areas. The two sides also highly evaluated the plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia in 2017, and pledged to make 2017 a special year in the history of their relations. Separately, both countries held high-level consultations on counter terrorism issues in New Delhi on January 31. The Indian delegation was led by Preeti Saran, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, while the Russian delegation was headed by Oleg V. Syromolotov, Deputy Foreign Minister. Both sides shared views and assessment on the threats posed by the scourge of terrorism, including state-sponsored, cross border terrorism faced by India. They also shared concerns regarding the emergence of Af-Pak region as the epicentre of terrorism. They discussed successful experiences in curbing terrorism and countering radicalisation. Both sides agreed that the UNSC 1267 Sanctions List processes for blacklisting various terrorist individuals and entities must be stringently complied with. Prospects for deepening engagement on counter-terrorism under the UN, BRICS and SCO mechanisms were also emphasized, a statement said. Both sides agreed to a joint action plan which seeks to focus on enhancing capacity building, frequent expert-level meetings, sharing of insights, exchange of best practices in countering radicalization and curbing terrorism. India and Russia are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS - an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. India and Russia, in October last year, signed big-ticket defence deals worth nearly Rs 60,000 crore. Washington, Feb 1 : Subba Rao Kolla, an Indian American Republican from Washington DC, announced he will run against incumbent Democrat John Bell for the Virginia House of Delegates 87th District seat, the media reported. Kolla, a real estate businessman and a community activist, if elected, will become the first Indian-origin member of the Virginia House of Delegates, American Bazaar reported. Kolla immigrated to the US in the 1990s and became an American citizen in 2008. In a statement, Kolla said: "Whether helping new citizens navigate the area and become citizens or volunteering as I have for the past three years on the Loudoun County Board of Equalization, I understand the importance of having accessible, hands-on help from our elected officials. "My top priorities as a member of the State House will be education, transportation and working with small businesses and taxpayers to reduce government interference and regulation. As a conservative Republican, I believe the government that governs least, governs best," he added. Kolla is a realtor in Loudoun County, having worked in real estate for over 10 years, and is well-known among the local Telugu community. He holds an M.Tech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and owns his own real estate firm, Advin Realty. He is also engaged with the Indian American community, both at the local and national level. His work with the community has been lauded by former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell as well as by the Telugu Association of North America (TANA). Kolla was one of the delegates during the Republican National Convention held in Cleveland last July. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the death of senior Kerala MP E. Ahamed, calling him a "fine human being" and a "committed democrat". "In his death India has lost an outstanding parliamentarian. He was a committed democrat and beloved leader of Kerala, whose simple lifestyle and commitment to cause ... was an example for an entire generation," Gandhi said. She conveyed her solidarity with the family and supporters of Ahamed "in this hour of grief". In a condolence letter to Ahmed's son Ahamed Rayees, Gandhi said she was deeply grieved over the passing away of his "beloved father". "E. Ahamed was widely respected and admired for the complete sincerity and dedication with which he undertook every task, his warm human qualities, his diplomatic skills which made him strike a warm rapport with leaders of several countries and his outstanding qualities as a parliamentarian. "At this time of grief, you much take consolation from the fact that he was active and engaged in public service until the very end and that he did not suffer a long and painful illness," she wrote. Gandhi also said she personally mourned the "loss of a warm and loyal friend, a man with a simple, modest way of life who cared deeply for the under-privileged and vulnerable and always put their interests first, and a leader of broad vision, humanity and integrity. "Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gnadhi also held him in high esteem. His many admirers and supporters, not just in Kerala but in the whole country and in the Muslim world, will always honour his memory and be grateful for his rich contribution to our national life," she wrote. Ahamed died here early on Wednesday, a day after suffering cardiac arrest in Parliament during the President's address to a joint session. New Delhi, Feb 1 : The Delhi High Court has asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led government if it was acting as a "super guardian" to parents by limiting the choice of schools to admit their kids in nursery to the neighbourhood only. Justice Manmohan said on Wednesday: "We have to see the effect or impact of this notification... What I find here is that no one will go beyond three kilometres." The court was hearing the pleas of two school bodies and some parents who challenged the education department's recent circulars that laid down the guidelines for nursery admission for the 2017-18 session. The notifications have made "distance" the primary criteria for tiny tots' admissions. The judge noted that parents, who want their kids to be sent to a particular school, might not share the same interest as that of the government which has brought in the neighbourhood criteria for private unaided schools built on public land. The Action Committee of Unaided Recognised Private Schools and Forum for Promotion of Quality Education has challenged the Delhi Development Authority's condition for allotting land to some private unaided schools that requires them to reserve 75 per cent seats for students in the neighbourhood. The circular has enforced the land allotment clause and thereby restricted admissions to schools on DDA land to their locality. The parents have argued that the new rules have curtailed their rights to admit their wards to a school of their choice. The government has said that the schools, after decades of accepting the conditions, cannot go back on the terms under which they were allotted land. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday proposed to infuse an additional equity of Rs 1,800 crore in the cash-strapped national passenger carrier Air India for 2017-18 fiscal. The budgetary support has been provided to the airline on account of a turnaround and financial restructuring plan worth more than Rs 30,000 crore which was passed in April, 2012. "The provision (turnaround plan of Air India) is made for government investment in Air India to meet the equity shortfall to discharge its liabilities related to loans, NCD (non-convertible debentures) etc. which are government guaranteed," the document on 'Notes on Demands for Grants' for the Ministry of Civil Aviation read. According to the expenditure budget document 2017-18, a total outlay of Rs 2,308 crore has been proposed to be provided to the state-run airline. The government had allocated Rs 1,713 crore to the flag carrier as budgetary support for 2016-17 with a total outlay of Rs 2,065 crore. However, the revised estimates for 2016-17, showed that the state-run airline's budgetary support reached Rs 2,465.21 crore with a total outlay of Rs 2,900.21 crore. SHELTON, Conn., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 3Gtms, Inc., a leading provider of Tier 1 transportation management software, and TranSolutions Inc., the worlds premier vendor of freight claim management software, announced today a new technology and mutual referral partnership. The partnership includes creation of direct integrations between the systems, to speed up and simplify the claims process. TranSolutions freight claim management software, MyEZClaim, delivers state-of-the-art claim management technology that simplifies the entire work flow process, from data entry and information processing to reporting and data analysis. It allows shippers, brokers and LSPs to save time on freight claim filing and increase cost savings with improved automation, data sharing and alerts. An intuitive cloud-based solution, MyEZClaim tools can be accessed through any connected desktop computer in the world. TranSolutions was the first to develop a freight claim management system and has continued with a spirit of constant innovation, said J.P. Wiggins, Vice President of Logistics for 3Gtms. Its culture and approach to solving challenges makes it a natural fit with 3Gtms. MyEZClaim will be a valuable asset for our customers and gives them an intuitive solution for processing claims. 3Gtms has the newest technology of any Tier-1 TMS provider in the industry and a very impressive list of clients, many of which are joint customers, said Joe Celestina, Director of Business Development for TranSolutions. They have disrupted the TMS industry with their platform which is rapidly becoming the new gold standard. By working together, we can offer companies a robust suite of TMS and freight claim management services that are easy to use and flexible to the customers needs. 3Gtms and TranSolutions already serve many common customers, including Corporate Traffic Logistics, Freight Management Inc., and Bemis Manufacturing Company. About 3Gtms 3Gtms is the fastest growing, Tier-1 transportation management system (TMS) provider. It is dedicated to helping shippers and logistics service providers gain a competitive advantage through technology. Whether you move $5 million or $5 billion in freight, its 3G-TM solution seamlessly manages the full transportation lifecycle, including transportation planning and optimization, execution and settlement, empowering customers to make better shipping decisions while meeting their service goals. 3Gtms is dedicated to delighting its customers and as a result, holds a 100% customer satisfaction rate that is unmatched in the industry. For more information, visit: www.3gtms.com. About TranSolutions TranSolutions is the worlds premier vendor of freight claim management software. In 1996, it revolutionized the logistics software industry with the introduction of MyEZClaim, the worlds first freight claim software. Since then, its product base has expanded to six claim management products, and the company has developed a reputation as the best software for processing loss and damage and freight bill overcharge claims. TranSolutions also offers CarrierClaim, a solution to help carriers manage their freight claims. For more information, visit: www.transolutionsinc.com. New Delhi, Feb 1 : Of the 107 social schemes and welfare programmes announced in the Union Budget for 2016-17, 43 were implemented and 4 partially implemented by the ministries concerned, work on 59 was in progress while one was dropped, said the Finance Ministry on Wednesday. "In view of implementation of GST, there will be a separate set of Appellate Tribunals operating. With the approval of the Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley), it has been decided to drop the proposal to create 11 new benches of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT)," said the ministry in a statement. Among the important proposals on which "action was completed" were providing cooking gas (LPG) connection for women members of the poor households. "As against the target of release of 1.5 crore LPG connections during 2016-17, more than 1.44 crore connections have been released under the scheme in 35 states/UTs. Out of the 653 districts, 550 districts have been issued at least one connection in each district, as on December 22," it said. A sum of Rs 2,000 crore was earmarked to meet the initial cost of providing the LPG connections and the scheme will be continued for two more years to cover 5 crore below poverty line (BPL) households. The Power Ministry had electrified 4,219 villages as on December 12, against the target of 8,360 for 2016-17 though 7,108 were electrified against the target of 6,686 in 2015-16. "As the government is committed to achieve 100 per cent village electrification by May 1, 2018, Rs 8,500 crore has been provided for Deendayal Upadhayaya Gram Jyoti Yojna and Integrated Power Development Schemes," said the statement. The ministry has released Rs 5,448 crore till December 26 for the twin energy schemes, which were partially implemented. To promote the Stand Up India scheme, banks had disbursed Rs.1,624 crore to 16,021 beneficiaries during the current fiscal after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it on April 5, 2016. In addition, Rs 500 crore was also released to the National Credit Guarantee Trust Company on June 30. The central government had circulated a model Shops and Establishments Bill to all states for allowing small and medium shops to remain open throughout the week on the lines of shopping malls to create more jobs in the retail trade, which is the largest service sector employer in the country. The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas had notified on March 21, 2016 the policy guidelines on pricing regime, titled, "Marketing, including pricing freedom for the gas to be produced from discoveries in deepwater, ultra deepwater and high pressure-high temperature areas. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy was further liberalised to allow up to 49 per cent in the insurance and pension sectors through the automatic route and 100 per cent in Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs)and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were allowed up to 100 per cent of each tranche in securities receipts issued by ARCs subject to sectoral caps. With a view to promoting 'Make in India', the Ministry of Home Affairs on October 17 approved to grant permanent residency status to foreign investors investing Rs 10 crore within 18 months or Rs 25 crore in 36 months under the FDI route. Imphal : Imphal Feb 1 (IANS) The Manipur High Court on Wednesday issued a stern warning to secretaries of the central government to comply with the court directives or face action. A full bench, comprising Chief Justice Rakesh Ranjan Prasad, Justices N. Koteswor and K. Nobin, said that from time to time directives have been issued on remedial measures to handle the economic blockade. These should be complied with or the court will "fix responsibility". The United Naga Council (UNC)-imposed blockade in Manipur to protest against the creation of new districts has been in force since November 1. The bench directed: "There should be at least 100 oil tankers in each trip of highway convoys. While 50 tankers should bring petrol, the rest should be carrying kerosene and diesel. These should be transported four times a week." Besides, the high court also instructed to bring consumer goods and to rein in prices. The highways should also be repaired and maintained well by the authorities and action-taken report should be submitted to the court on February 7. "The Secretaries of the Surface Transport, Defence and Home ministries should be notified and in case of failure to comply with the instructions, responsibility will be fixed," it ruled. The high court further directed the Advocate General of Manipur to ensure that the office-bearers of the UNC make a personal appearance in the court on February 7. Gaidon Kamei and S. Stephen, President and Publicity Secretary, respectively, of the UNC were arrested on November 25 and have been in custody. However, A. Noutuneswori, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal East, has permitted both of them to take part in the tripartite talks slated to be held in Delhi on February 3. Sources said that the state intelligence agencies has made the list of the office-bearers of the UNC available to the Advocate General. Manipur has been facing acute scarcity of all items on account of the blockade. Vijayawada, Feb 1 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the union budget will steer the nation in the right fiscal direction. In his reaction to the budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Naidu said growth-specific spending will boost infra and employment generation. Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is an constituent of the BJP-led NDA government at the centre, said that the budget had many proposals which will yield the results in long term. He thanked Jaitley for giving capital gain tax exemption to farmers who have pooled their lands towards construction of state capital Amaravati. The Chief Minister said the state was still waiting for statutory status to special package announced by the Centre last year. He reiterated the demand that Visakhapatnam should be made a railway zone. Naidu welcomed the sharp cut in anonymous cash donation to political parties and remarked that some parties exist only for donations. The TDP chief backed the idea of simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and Assemblies mooted by President Pranab Mukherjee during his address to joint session of Parliament on Tuesday. Naidu said simultaneous polls should be held for all bodies from panchayat to Parliament. Kolkata, Feb 1 : In view of reviving sagging economy, Bengal industries are betting big on the budgetary announcements as higher expenditure in infrastructure, focus in rural and small industries are expected to provide a growth impetus along with creating jobs. "The budget proposals to increase spends in rural areas, infrastructure development, poverty alleviation as well as the agricultural sector should provide a growth impetus to the Indian economy and a pickup in consumption demand," said ITC Ltd Chairman Y.C. Deveshwar. He also said push towards digitisation was indeed welcome as it would ensure a quantum jump in efficiency, enable mainstreaming of the informal economy as well as inclusive empowerment through technology and innovation. The companies which have a strong presence in rural and agriculture sectors will be benefited more, as the government has increased its fund allocation for rural, agriculture and allied industry by around 24 percent year-on-year to Rs 1.87 lakh crore, said Calcutta Chamber of Commerce's President Dinesh Kumar Jain. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated record spends for the rural sector, including MGNREGA, PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana), 100 percent rural electrification, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana and also raised capital expenditure by 25.4 percent. He accorded infrastructure status to affordable housing and allotted Rs 55,000 crore for Indian Railways. The capital expenditure for Railways is pegged at Rs. 1.31 lakh crores. "It (the budget) aims to make the best use of the available resources to deliver the best possible results. In this regard, the decision to abolish plan and non-plan expenditure and to opt for a consolidated outcome budget is indeed a step in the right direction as it brings in higher degrees of accountability," said Srei Infrastructure Finance's Chairman and Managing Director Hemant Kanoria. Providing a 5 percent corporate tax relief, by reducing the rate from 30 percent to 25 percent, to MSMEs with a turnover of less than Rs. 50 crore and also abolishing FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) to boost investor sentiment are also expected to yield benefits. "Tax cut for the MSMEs with an annual turnover of Rs 50 crore and the emphasis on affordable housing will drive the growth engine while the abolition of FIPB and putting 90 percent of FDIs on the automatic route will go a long way for the ease of doing business," said Bandhan Bank's MD and CEO Chandra Shekher Ghosh. "Listing for CPSEs, promotion of digital transactions through the Aadhar route and expectations of increased lendings by banks, agriculture credit push of Rs. 10 lakh crore to galvanize rural purchasing power, investments on youth and skills are the noticeable areas in the budget," said Bengal Chamber President Sutanu Ghosh. Panaji, Feb 1 : Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi doesn't realise the difference between the response of the Indian armed forces to cross-border terrorism during the earlier UPA rule and that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he wears Italian spectacles, BJP President Amit Shah said on Wednesday. "Now Rahul baba asks Modi ji, there is cross-border firing during your government. It used to happen in our government too. So what is the difference? You will not know Rahul baba, you are wearing Italian spectacles," Shah told a rally in Bicholim town in north Goa. "(The difference is) when your government was in power, the cross-border firing was started by Pakistan and ended by them. Now, there is a BJP government and Narendra Modi is its Prime Minister and Manohar Parrikar its Defence Minister. Now the firing is still started by the Pakistan Army, but it is now ended by the Indian Army," Shah said. "They fire a bullet and we respond with a cannon... no one has the courage to severe our soldier's head," the BJP President said. Itanagar, Feb 1 : Arunachal Pradesh Governor P.B. Acharya on Wednesday reviewed the security scenario in the state with senior state officials and central security agencies. During the meeting, the Governor called upon the officials to strengthen the security apparatus and simultaneously initiate action to change people's mindset to promote a Pan-India spirit. "Every citizen of the state must be respected. It is the prime duty of the security agencies to instil a sense of security," the Governor stressed at the meeting attended by officials of the Arunachal Pradesh Police, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Seema Suraksha Bal, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Assam Rifles. Acharya also asked the Arunachal Pradesh Police to constitute a peace and security committee involving opinion makers to aid the security agencies in maintaining law and order, promote peace and harmony and also help the poor and needy. "Do more than your call of duty. Involve trend setters and opinion makers such as senior citizens, ex-servicemen and college and university students in your programmes," he said. Acharya also asked them to help farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs of the region by buying their products for the forces, which would solve the product marketing challenges to some extent. The Governor also held a meeting with different banks' officials in the state and exhorted them to put in their best efforts towards the state and central programmes, particularly the Jan Dhan Yojana and insurance schemes, for financial empowerment of the people. New Delhi, Feb 1 : With the BJP-led government seeking to focus on the poor, youth and farmers in the budget presented on Wednesday, political analysts said promises will have to match performance for the party to reap long-term electoral dividends. They also said that the budget will not have any significant impact in altering equations for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the five states going to the polls in February-March. Political commentator and senior journalist S. Nihal Singh said the government will continue to build on its narrative of being "pro-poor." "This is standard legend. Everything they are doing, they say it is for the poor whether it is demonetisation or anything else," Nihal Singh told IANS. He said that people will judge if pro-poor slogans are "propaganda" or are driven by action on the ground. Nihal Singh said the budget announcements will not have any significant impact on the elections in five states. "I do not see much impact," he said, adding that the BJP already has some advantage as demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes would have finished any piles of unaccounted cash with its opponents. Assembly polls will be held in February-March in Punjab, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The government has said that it has given maximum emphasis to farmers, villagers, poor, dalit and the underprivileged sections of the society in the budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday. A.S. Narang,a former professor of political science at IGNOU, said it was a "safe budget" with "not much risks taken." He said the government has to implement promises in areas such as job creation to reap electoral dividends in the next Lok Sabha polls. "The challenge will also be to convey its message of higher financial allocations to sections such as farmers," he said. Narang added that budget announcements will not have much impact on the outcome of assembly polls. Subrata Mukherjee, a political analyst who taught at Delhi University, said there should have been more stock-taking in the budget about promises made by the government in the past two-and-a-half years. He said the unorganised sector faced difficulties during demonetisation, announced in November last year, but there was no major relief for it in the budget. "The finance minister could have talked of unintended consequences of demonetisation. It would have gone down well with people," Mukherjee said. United Nations, Feb 1 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said here on Wednesday that the US travel ban imposed on refugees and immigrants from seven Middle East and North African countries "is not the way to best protect the US or any other country," voicing his hope that "this measure should be removed sooner rather than later". The secretary-general made the remarks in response to a question as he was briefing reporters here on his travel to Ethiopia, where he attended an African Union summit, Xinhua reported. In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Monday, Guterres commended African countries for opening their borders to refugees and people fleeing violence while other parts of the world, including the developed West, close boundaries and build walls. "In my opinion, this is not the way to best protect the US or any other country in relation to the serious concerns that existed about the possibility of terrorist infiltration," he said. "I don't think this is the effective way to do so." "What was lacking was a capacity to have a comprehensive approach to the problem," he said of the US ban, adding that it is very important to review "the very dramatic situations the refugees are facing when they have no chance to reach protection." "And I think this measure should be removed sooner, rather than later," the UN chief said. On Tuesday, the secretary-general issued a statement via his spokesman, saying that refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are entitled to protection, and he expressed concern at decisions around the world that have undermined the integrity of the international refugee protection regime. "Refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are finding more and more borders closed and increasingly restricted access to the protection they need and are entitled to receive, according to international refugee law," the statement said. Under the executive order signed by President Donald Trump last Friday, refugees from all over the world will be denied US entry for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. The countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Paris, Feb 2 : Embattled conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon accused the left-wing party of being behind his wife's fake job scandal, which he described "an institutional coup d'etat." "We are facing an institutional coup d'etat. This affair does not come from us, it comes from the left," Xinhua news agency quoted Fillon as saying on Wednesday. The former Prime Minister asked conservative lawmakers to show "solidarity" and "hold on for 15 days," until financial investigators unveiled the outcome of the preliminary inquiry into allegations that Penelope Fillon had been paid more than 900,000 euros ($969,750) for work as a parliamentary assistant and for a culture magazine she hadn't done, according to press claims. The satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported last week that the Republican presidential candidate hired two of his five children as parliamentary assistants when he was a senator. Both had earned 84,000 euros. Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Stephane Le Foll said Fillon's remarks were "unacceptable." A week ago, financial prosecutors had opened a preliminary inquiry into the possible "misuse of public funds" and "misappropriation of assets" relating to Fillon's wife's "fictitious" job. As the investigation gathers momentum, investigators searched French parliament on Tuesday. However, no material evidence, including an access badge and specific emails when she was a parliamentary assistant, were found during the raid, according to local reports. London, Feb 2 : Politicians in House of Commons gave overwhelming backing to the Brexit bill, paving the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the Article 50 mechanism for Britain to leave the European Union. The vote on Wednesday night, came after two days of intensive debating when around 180 members of parliament (MPs) spoke for and against the measure. The final figures stood at 498 'yes' against 114 'no', which gave the government a clear and comfortable majority of 384, Xinhua news agency reported. The vote was the most critical in a process that will lead to more detailed discussions before peers in the House of Lords vote, ahead of Queen Elizabeth II giving the bill her Royal assent. The debate was called after the Supreme Court ruled last month that parliament had to vote on triggering Article 50, the mechanism for any country wanting to leave the EU. The final speaker in the debate, government minister David Jones, urging MPs to "trust the people" and saying the government was clear that the referendum outcome would apply to the whole of Britain. Jones said the British government insists it will work with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And in a message to the people of Europe, he said: "You will still be welcome in our country, as we trust our citizens will still be welcome in yours." Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the government had chosen not to make the economy the priority, but had prioritized immigration control, which was a clear message from the referendum campaign. LISLE, Ill., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kretschmar Premium Deli Meats & Cheeses is once again inviting country music fans to enter for a chance to win a legendary country music experience. By partnering with the Country Music Association (CMA) and country music artist Easton Corbin, Kretschmar is offering fans access to the Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience. A grand prize winner and their guest will enjoy a four-night stay in Music City this summer during the CMA Music Festival, along with hotel accommodations, spending cash, concert tickets, and a meet and greet opportunity with Corbin. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c5246ddb-6818-4bfc-a00f-80de5c2c3032 From February 1, 2017 through April 30, 2017, Kretschmar Deli fans can enter for a chance to win by visiting www.KretschmarDeli.com/Country and filling out an electronic entry form. Entrants can also earn additional entries by sharing the Sweepstakes via Facebook, Twitter, and email. Kretschmars website gives fans access to featured music videos and information on upcoming performances with Kretschmar Country artists Corbin, Ruthie Collins, Kelleigh Bannen, and Natalie Stovall. "Our grand prize winner will experience the best that Nashville has to offer, said Michael J. Sargent, senior brand manager for Smithfield Foods. "Kretschmar Premium Deli Meats & Cheeses stand for legendary taste, and we wanted to offer our consumers the chance to win an experience that meets those standards. Fans travel from all over the world to be a part of the CMA Music Festival, and we know our grand prize winner will make memories there that will last a lifetime." Additionally, fans that enter the Sweepstakes will have the opportunity to play an Instant Win Game. The Instant Win Game will give fans the chance to win prizes such as a Kretschmar-branded guitar, a Kretschmar YETI Cooler, and a Kretschmar Country Music gift pack that includes Kretschmar coupons, guitar picks, and Kretschmar Country artist hero cards. For more information about Kretschmar Deli, or to review the complete set of rules and enter the sweepstakes, please visit www.KretschmarDeli.com/Country. Kretschmar is a brand of Smithfield Foods. CMA Music Festival is a registered trademark of Country Music Association, Inc. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (AND WASHINGTON, D.C.) 18 YEARS AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweepstakes ends April 30, 2017. For Official Rules, prize descriptions, odds disclosure, and free method of entry, visit www.KretschmarDeli.com/Country. Sponsor: John Morrell & Co., 805 E Kemper Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45246. About Kretschmar Kretschmar Premium Deli Meats & Cheeses has meant quality since 1883. Our hams are made with a unique hardwood smoking process. Kretschmar poultry and beef are hand-trimmed using the finest cuts. Our full line of Off-The-Bone deli meats are delicately sliced from the leanest, most tender cuts. And our premium Wisconsin cheeses repeatedly win in competitions world-wide. Try the Legendary Taste of Kretschmar today. For great recipes and more, like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/kretschmardeli or visit our website at www.kretschmardeli.com. About Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny, and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com. About CMA Founded in 1958, the Country Music Association was the first trade organization formed to promote a type of music. In 1961, CMA created the Country Music Hall of Fame to recognize artists and industry professionals with Country Musics highest honor. More than 7,400 music industry professionals and companies from around the globe are members of CMA. The organizations objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry and advance the growth of Country Music around the world. This is accomplished through CMAs core initiatives: the CMA Awards, which annually recognize outstanding achievement in the industry; the CMA Music Festival, which benefits music education and is taped for a three-hour TV special; and CMA Country Christmas, featuring Country artists performing original music and Christmas classics for broadcast during the holiday season. All of CMAs television properties will air on the ABC Television network through 2021. About Easton Corbin With two No. 1 singles, multiple awards and nominations, plus performances on some of the biggest stages in the world, Mercury Nashvilles Easton Corbin has made a lasting impression on the country music landscape. He is lauded for his traditional country sound, authentic lyrics and mastery of understatement. American Songwriter says, "Easton Corbin has one of those rare, glorious voices that was madejust madefor singing country music. His self-titled debut album released in 2010 and spawned back-to-back hits A Little More Country Than That and Roll With It; making him the first country male artist in 17 years to have his first two consecutive singles reach No. 1. In 2012 the Gilchrist County Florida native released his sophomore album, All Over The Road, which included the Top 5 hits Lovin You Is Fun and All Over The Road. Corbin set a career-best debut on Country Airplay with his top 5 hit single, Baby Be My Love Song," from his No. 1 debuting album About To Get Real. His latest single, Are You With Me, was most added song at country radio the day it was released. Are You With Me first appeared on All Over The Road and was such a special song to Corbin he carried it over to About To Get Real in hopes it would be a radio single. Corbin spent 2016 on one of the biggest tours in country music -Carrie Underwoods The Storyteller Tour. Corbin is currently in the studio working on new music for his fourth studio album. The Federal Prison Handbook, by Christopher Zoukis I wanted to provide a definitive guide for individuals facing incarceration, prisoners who are already inside and their friends and family. What happens on the first day of prison? Are showers really that scary? Thousands of people are sent to federal prison each year in the United States. Add to that the many family and loved ones effected when someone they know is going to prison, and you have a larger percentage of the population who have burning questions about life in prison. Finally, there is a comprehensive, realistic guide to surviving in a federal prison - the Federal Prison Handbook. I wanted to provide a definitive guide for individuals facing incarceration, prisoners who are already inside and their friends and family, says author Christopher Zoukis, a college-educated inmate and prison advocate. The newly-released Federal Prison Handbook compiles information to not only help prisoners and their loved ones protect themselves and their rights, but to help keep prisoners safe by explaining how to avoid the near-constant conflicts found inside prisons. Some of the topics inside include: What to expect on the day youre admitted to prison, and how to greet cellmates for the first time What to do about sexual harassment or assault The best ways to avoid fights, and the options that provide the greatest protection if a fight cannot be avoided Medical, psychological and religious services How to communicate with the outside world through telephones, computers and mail. What you can buy in the official commissary and the underground economy How to avoid scams, schemes, theft and other problems Comprehensive analysis of Federal Bureau of Prisons policy and regulatory guidelines About Christopher Zoukis Christopher Zoukis is an outspoken prisoners rights and correctional education advocate who is incarcerated at FCI Petersburg Medium in Virginia. He is an award-winning writer whose work has been published widely in major publications such as The Huffington Post, Prison Legal News, New York Daily News and various other print and online publications. Learn more about Christopher Zoukis and the Federal Bureau of Prisons at prisonerresource.com. Media Inquiries Christopher Zoukis is pleased to speak with media by telephone about topics related to prison education and justice reform. For more information or to book an interview, email info(at)prisonerresource(dot)com, phone 1 (800) 695-1073 or send a request in writing to: Christopher Zoukis Federal Correctional Institution Petersburg P.O. Box 1000, #22132-058 Petersburg, VA 23804 What Others Say About the Federal Prison Handbook "A true resource for anyone involved with the prison system." -- Alan Ellis, America's leading federal criminal defense attorney "Provides a wealth of useful information and solid advice. . . [A] treasure trove of penal acumen and knowledge." -- Alex Friedmann, Managing Editor, Prison Legal News "The Federal Prison Handbook is one of my go-to guides for matters related to the federal prison system. An invaluable resource for attorneys . . . , prisoners, and their families." -- Jeremy Gordon, federal criminal defense and appellate attorney, General Counsel of Prisology "This is the most informative . . . prison handbook that we've ever seen; and we've seen them all." -- Mark Varca, expert attorney and Chairman of FedCURE Mark Cowan revealed that the assembly was not simply for the students, but also a way to show appreciation for a very special and unsuspecting teacher. On January 9th, 2017 Mark Cowan and the Mad Scientists from Mad Science sparked interest in learning at Mustang Creek Elementary in Yukon. STEM assemblies focus on teaching kids the principles of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. By using simple concepts and fun experiments, STEM assemblies inspire kids to explore the world around them through science and math. In addition to the STEM assemblies, Mad Science also provides after school programs and summer camps. The ultimate goal of Mad Science is to inspire kids to pursue STEM related careers later in life. With that being said, the way Mad Science sparked interest for Mustang Creek Elementary was via a very exciting assembly. The STEM presentation was headed up by Derick Professor Mad Brock. Professor Mad used his thrilling science experiments to teach and inspire kids to continue learning throughout their lives. Professor Mad also got the kids involved by calling them up to assist in his various experiments on stage. At the end of the assembly, Mark Cowan revealed that the assembly was not simply for the students, but also a way to show appreciation for a very special and unsuspecting teacher. Being a teacher can be a thankless job, so STEM assemblies always make sure to celebrate the teachers who inspire their kids everyday. Mark Cowan, the sponsor of this STEM assembly, presented 1st grade teacher, Cori Stricker, with a $50 Amazon gift card and a Certificate of Appreciation to say thanks for all her hard work. That wasnt the only gift given that morning! As a final gift, Mark Cowan donated the "Big Book Of Science Experiments" to the school so that the kids can continue exploring and learning! Sponsors like Mark Cowan are the main reason these STEM assemblies can continue to happen all across the state. By sponsoring this event, Mark helped bring the joy of learning and exploration to the young kids of Yukon, Oklahoma. Learn how to sponsor a STEM assembly by clicking here to contact Marketing 2 Point 0, Inc. for more information! DENVER, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pax8, the leading value-added cloud distributor, today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company, has named the company to its 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2017 list. This annual lineup recognizes the most innovative cloud technology suppliers in each of five categories: infrastructure, platforms and development, security, storage, and software. It is an honor to be named one of CRNs Coolest Cloud Vendors, said Ryan Walsh, senior vice president of Partner Solutions at Pax8. We are proactively listening, engaging, and building comprehensive partner programs to help solution providers navigate the changing IT landscape and capitalize on the shift to cloud. We remain committed to delivering the highest quality of enablement, cloud products, solutions, and support for our partners. The 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors are selected by the CRN editorial team for their creativity and innovation in product development, the quality of their services and partner programs, and their demonstrated ability to help customers benefit from the ease of use, flexibility, scalability and budgetary savings that cloud computing offers. In addition to recognizing cloud technology suppliers for outstanding products and services, 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors serves as a valuable guide for solution providers trying to navigate the cloud market. The list aids prospective channel partners in identifying the vendors that can best help them improve or expand their cloud services. Cloud-based solutions are now a universal staple of IT services and an integral feature of solution providers portfolios, said Robert Faletra, CEO at The Channel Company. It is therefore more important than ever for solution providers to be able to find and choose the best, most capable cloud vendors to partner with. CRNs annual list of the 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors helps them identify and engage these expert suppliers in order to grow and strengthen their cloud businesses. Congratulations to all the vendors on our 2017 list, which have distinguished themselves in this extremely competitive and essential technology area. The new 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list will be featured in the February 2017 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/cloud100. To learn more about Pax8, please contact the cloud experts at (855) 884-PAX8, email info@pax8.com, or visit www.pax8.com. About Pax8 Pax8 is the leading value-added cloud distributor offering top cloud products and solutions to the IT channel. The company is driving the business transition to the cloud through its comprehensive enablement and technology. The Pax8 cloud marketplace provides efficient and intelligent cloud product configuration so service providers can easily create and customize bundled solutions for their customers. To fuel partners success, Pax8 offers on-demand marketing programs, sales assistance and training, provisioning automation, and subscription billing. As the experts in cloud innovation, Pax8 is well-engineered to sell, assemble, and deliver quality cloud solutions to its worldwide channel of service providers. For more information, please visit www.pax8.com. Follow Pax8 on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com. We believe school boards and superintendents are looking for innovative solutions, and the TransPar Group of Companies is uniquely suited to deliver innovative responsible school transportation. The TransPar Group of Companies announced today the addition of key leadership, operations and sales personnel in two of its three business units. The TransPar Group of Companies is a partnership of leading organizations spanning the school transportation industry. They offer an array of products and services that represent the most comprehensive and responsible solutions in the industry, focusing on student safety, and improving the cost and quality of school transportation operations. Within the TransPar business unit, the industrys leading management and staffing services business, Doug Martin has been named President. Doug takes over for his father and 35-year school transportation industry veteran, Kyle Martin, who co-founded TransPar more than 20 years ago. Doug has been involved in a core leadership role with TransPar over the past ten years. In addition, TransPar has promoted Scott Allen to Chief Operating Officer. Scott brings more than 30 years of experience in school transportation operations as a manager, contractor, and industry consultant. TransPar was founded over twenty years ago to assist clients with developing the safest and most reliable school transportation programs possible, adds Kyle Martin. And it is with those same principles in mind that we are transitioning our leadership to Doug and Scott. Recently, we have expanded both our geographic reach and service-line breadth, due in large part to their hard work. Moving forward, through their leadership, and in collaboration with our new partner companies, we believe that Doug and Scott are best equipped to lead this business into the next stage of its growth. I am honored and humbled to take the reins of a company that has provided tremendous value to its school transportation clients for the past 21 years, and to continue building a company thats making a real difference in the school transportation industry, stated Doug Martin. Scott and I have known each other for many years, and we are confident that the future of TransPar, as a member of the TransPar Group of Companies, is bright. Today school transportation is more challenging than ever before demands and expectations are higher while programs and school choice drive inefficiencies in transportation. Combined with fiscal pressure, demands for new technology and safety, we believe school boards and superintendents are looking for innovative solutions, and the TransPar Group of Companies is uniquely suited to deliver innovative responsible school transportation solutions. In addition, Transportation Services Co. (TSC), which provides full-service fleet management, announced that Chris Vincent has been hired as Vice President of Sales. Chris joins the TSC leadership team with Tod Eskra, who also recently joined the organization in late 2016. TSC is focused on maximizing its clients core transportation asset, their school bus fleet, by minimizing school bus life cycle costs. Chris brings a 15-year background of fleet management expertise to TSC, having worked closely with Tod at Enterprise Fleet Management. Chris most recent role at Enterprise was as a Director responsible for starting and building Enterprise Fleet in the Midwest. With Tods existing leadership and industry expertise and the addition of a proven sales leader in Chris, we believe that 2017 will be a banner year for TSC as we continue to expand throughout the U.S. and Canada, added Tim Ammon, Chief Business Development Officer for the TransPar Group of Companies. Our nations schools need innovation and new technologies for their transportation to create efficiencies, lower costs and improve operations. Weve built TSC to address these challenges head-on. As the only fleet management business exclusively focused on our industry, weve found that the TSC value proposition creates significant value for our school district and contractor customers. For more information about the TransPar Group of Companies and their portfolio of products and services, please visit http://www.TransParGroup.com. About TransPar Group of Companies The TransPar Group of Companies is a partnership of three leading organizations from across the school transportation industry that offer an array of products and services that represent the most comprehensive and responsible services in the industry. And this is done while keeping students safe and improving the cost and quality of school transportation operations. The three business units include TransPar, which provides Management and Staffing Services to develop solutions for difficult operational questions and problems; School Bus Consultants which offers Advisory Services to deliver resources and expertise that transportation contractors and organizations often cannot access on their own; and Transportation Services Co. providing Fleet Management Services and Training Products to help customers create the strong foundation necessary to support effective service delivery. So no matter the needs, the TransPar Group of Companies is the all-inclusive solution to creating a successful, reliable, and profitable student transportation program. For more information, please visit http://www.TransParGroup.com. What I found most compelling about TransferTo is the scale and breath of the Network. India is the worlds largest recipient of remittances and TransferTo is the global access point for Mobile Money Transfers and International Airtime Top-Ups to India TransferTo, (https://www.transfer-to.com), leading B2B Cross-Border Mobile Payments Network, has appointed Gautam Kalro as Country Head, India to lead rapid expansion of TransferTo in India. What I found most compelling about TransferTo is the scale and breath of the Network. India is the worlds largest recipient of remittances and TransferTo is the global access point for Mobile Money Transfers and International Airtime Top-Ups to India. Our technology and API is top-notch, yet simple and is already in use in over a thousand organizations globally. This is the most exciting time to join TransferTo and Im looking forward to expanding our partnerships, improving our offer, and ensuring greater customer satisfaction. Kalro, a native of India has over 15 years of experience in the remittance industry and has led growth in partnerships, sales and marketing for MoneyGram and Western Union, long-term partners of TransferTo. Prior to joining TransferTo Kalro worked for Regus as a Director with a track record in achieving sales and revenue. The drive toward Indias cashless future is a relentless crusade across all levels of government, business and consumers. This is a critical juncture India for Indias digital money revolution and were confident that Gautams leadership will help navigate and bring growth to a complex landscape of airtime and mobile money transfer, said Eric Barbier, Founder & CEO, TransferTo. TransferTo is headquartered in Singapore and has presence in London, Miami, Mumbai, Dubai, Nairobi, San Francisco, Jakarta, Barcelona, Mexico City and San Salvador. About TransferTo TransferTo operates a Cross-Border Mobile Payments Network for emerging markets, processing transactions in real-time for duly licensed financial institutions and merchants. TransferTo offers solutions for businesses providing remittance, push payment and merchant payment services. Leading companies around the world, including Vodafones M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Tigo Money, Western Union, Xoom and PayPal, rely on TransferTos Mobile Payments solutions for digital payments. For more information, please visit http://www.transfer-to.com Scalable Visibility Solutions for 10G, 40G and 100G Enterprise Networks We are providing scalable and proven visibility solutions for our partners in enterprise networks of 10G, 40G and 100G Garland Technology, the leading manufacturer of network TAPs is a second-time sponsor of the Cisco Live user conference in Berlin, Germany on February 20 - 24, 2017 at Messe Berlin. Garland Technology will be joined by partner, Performance Vision, the leading Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and network visibility vendor at booth E85. The combination of Garland network TAPs and Performance Visions physical and virtual capture appliances allows for 360 degree visibility to monitor the Cisco Network. View Joint Solution Brief Garland Technology will showcase its two newest visibility solutions that support network monitoring and management in high speed environments. The new Modular Passive Fiber Chassis and PB100 Packet Broker System can be used separately or deployed together to create a unified visibility platform that provides the Cisco Network every bit, byte and packet wherever the packets flow: physical network, virtual, Cloud and Software Defined Networks (SDN). NEOX Networks, Germanys distributor for both Garland Technology and Performance Vision will be joining the Garland Technology booth E85 to showcase end-to-end visibility solutions from their portfolio of Cisco compatible solution partners. As bandwidth demands grow in the areas of monitoring and securing network traffic, we needed to provide a scalable and proven visibility solutions for our partners. We test and validate our products to ensure that all the data - every bit, byte, and packet - feeds the Cisco Solution. said Chris Bihary, CEO/Co-Founder of Garland Technology. We are committed to providing solutions for the complete enterprise network, from 1G access to 10G distribution and up to 40G and now 100G data center core. Boris Rogier, COO of Performance Vision added: We are excited to attend this major event in Berlin with our partner Garland Technologies where we will be introducing our revolutionary new release PV 4.2. It adds a unique visibility into performance of Citrix environments, thanks to its wire data, applications and IT infrastructure analytics. Garland Technology New Data Center Visibility Solutions The Modular Passive Fiber Chassis is an affordable and scalable solution for enterprise management. This 1U Chassis, supports single-mode fibers: OS1/OS2 and multi-mode fibers: OM1/OM3/OM4 and Ciscos BiDirectional optical technology and can accommodate 16 to 24 TAPs. The Modular Fiber Chassis allows the user to add and change fiber TAPs according to network needs either on-the-fly or in the future. The PB100 10G/40G/100G Packet Broker System provides filtering, aggregating and load balancing functions that distribute the desired traffic to the designated security or monitoring tool(s). In addition to feeding the tools that data they require, additional applications are root cause analysis, historical look back and validation of policy changes. Both product lines are fully compatible with Ciscos enterprise network platform as well as legacy network access points (TAPs) and packet brokers. In early 2014, Garland Technology joined Ciscos Solution Partner Program a network of companies that offers market-ready solutions for Cisco users. This program helps Cisco users gain complete visibility for their advanced network monitoring tools. Network TAPs are considered the best practice by network professionals when 100% packet capture and traffic visibility is required. Companies that still rely on their traditional SPAN ports will eventually experience packet loss from oversubscribed ports, thus making their network monitoring and analysis appliances ineffective. About Garland Technology Garland Technology guarantees precise data monitoring capabilities with a full line of network test access points (TAPs) including: network TAPs that support breakout, aggregation, regeneration and bypass modes; packet brokering, load balancing and filtering products; all available in portable, 1U or 2U chassis systems. Garland network TAPs support all networks, including copper wire in 10/100M, 10/100/1000M and fiber in 1G, 10G, 40G, 100G. Garlands design and educational-based approach includes a team of network designers to work directly with you and your team to meet your network access and visibility needs and provide you with the best solution for any monitoring or security appliance - allowing you to see every bit, byte and packet. For more information, visit http://www.garlandtechnology.com. Follow us on Twitter @GarlandTech. About Performance Vision Performance Vision (PV) is a leading vendor in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and network visibility markets (NPM). By providing a wide range of innovative solutions that help IT managers obtain a global vision of their infrastructure, as well as application performance and usage, PV allows a 360 visibility on network performance and application delivery. PV provides full stack performance monitoring based on wire data, which helps avoid and solve performance degradations by providing a proactive and comprehensive monitoring of the end-user experience in real time. More than 250 customers use PV for their daily IT operations, to optimize application delivery across their infrastructures. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.performancevision.com, or follow us on Twitter @PerformanceVision. Industry leading payment gateway USAePay and CDE recently partnered to further secure merchant payment processing through contactless EMV and P2PE solutions. Offering a complete EMV solution, the Key Injection Facility (KIF) service offered by CDE acts as an integral part of encrypting the PaySaber MP200 contactless EMV device. CDE is a TR-39 audited encryption service organization (ESO). CDE ensures POS equipment such as the MP200 meets the latest industry standards for maintaining customer privacy and data security. To get in touch with a CDE representative to discuss USAePay products, call (877) 547-9010 or e-mail USAePayPartners(at)cdeinc(dot)com. "We are very excited to be working with CDE," says Martin Drake, President of USAePay. "They are uniquely positioned as one of the first hardware fulfillment facility's to handle P2PE certified equipment. We feel this partnership will be critical for our resellers continued success servicing the ISV market place as well as traditional merchants." USAePay welcomes and supports new partnerships with fulfillment houses such as CDE to further service the diverse needs of merchants processing payments. Forming payment technology relationships only increases opportunity and most importantly, security for merchants and business owners. "CDE is extremely pleased to partner with USAePay to help their clients and resellers achieve compliance standards," commented Randy Siebold, VP at CDE. "They continued to provide leadership in delivering solutions for the evolving requirements and we are honored they selected us to assist their clients." As a PCI Compliant, channel friendly payment gateway, USAePay strives to provide smarter solutions for a variety of merchants and business needs. For more information on USAePay platform, software and hardware partnerships, please visit http://www.usaepay.info. *** About USAePay USAePay is a family-owned business based in Los Angeles, California. For more than 15 years, the company has been assisting merchants with payment processing solutions to fit their needs. USAePay's payment gateway supports most of the major platforms in the credit card industry and works with some of the leading check platforms. USAePay is pleased to work with most of the larger merchant service banks in the US and Canada. For more information, please visit http://www.usaepay.com or call 866.USA.EPAY (872-3729). About CDE CDE is an industry leader in asset management and support services for the quickly evolving POS and payments industry. Focused on emerging technologies, security and compliance CDE manages the many challenges involved in device encryption and equipment management operations by tailoring solutions according to their partners' unique strategies and requirements. CDE has been in business for over 25 years and is headquartered in Marietta, CA. For more information, please visit http://www.cdepossolutions.com. To get in touch with a CDE representative to discuss USAePay products, call (877)547-9010 or e-mail USAePayPartners(at)cdeinc(dot)com It is especially gratifying to be honored for the campaigns we created and implemented for two organizations that work tirelessly with individuals with special needs. Team Fleisher Communications is pleased to announce its selection by the East Central District (ECD) of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as a recipient of three 2016 Diamond Awards. The annual awards, prized by PR firms across the region, recognize excellence in public relations (PR) and marketing campaigns. They are given to programs that use exemplary skill, creativity and resourcefulness to successfully address communications challenges. Team Fleisher was recognized with a Diamond Award for a multifaceted promotion it developed with Osborn Barr, a St. Louis-based advertising agency. Osborn Barr turned to Team Fleisher to secure earned media for a Columbus event for the United Soybean Board, supporting soybean farmers. In addition, Team Fleisher received Merit Awards for its work on behalf of its client Disability Rights Ohio (DRO), an organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of Ohioans with developmental disabilities, and for a community relations campaign it designed for client Eastway Behavioral Healthcare, an organization dedicated to advancing behavioral healthcare services through its innovative programs and services. It is especially gratifying to be honored for the campaigns we created and implemented for two organizations that work tirelessly with individuals with special needs, said Marcy Fleisher, founder of Team Fleisher Communications. I can think of no better way to use the varied skills of our exceptional team of professionals. We are equally as proud of the extensive earned media placements we secured for the United Soybean Board for their Columbus event. The coverage helped educate local farmers about the advantages of growing high oleic soybeans, something that benefits not only them, but consumers, as well. In March 2016, DRO filed a class action complaint in U.S. District Court (Case No.: 2:16-cv-282) against the state of Ohio and various state agencies on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities who must live in institutions or are at risk of institutionalization because of Ohio's current service system. Fully aware that this litigation would be controversial and newsworthy, DRO retained Team Fleisher Communications to create and implement a comprehensive communications strategy. Team Fleisher developed a strategic roadmap to increase awareness and clarify DROs objectives and initiatives, highlight the organizations strengths, weaknesses and challenges, and outline the best communication practices moving forward. Located in Montgomery County, Eastway Behavioral Healthcare has offered behavioral healthcare, rehabilitation and housing services for Ohio adults and adolescents struggling with mental illness since 1949. For the past 20 years, Eastway has also provided residential programming for Franklin County youth at its Montgomery County location. A 2014 purchase of the former Hannah Neil facility in Columbus allowed Eastway to become an in-county provider, with expanded support and services to the families of Franklin County. However, Eastway was largely unknown in Central Ohio. Administrators understood that first impressions would be critical, so they turned to Team Fleisher to create and implement an external strategic communications plan that would introduce the organization to the Central Ohio market. Osborn Barr, a St. Louis-based advertising agency, turned to Team Fleisher for help with an event. The United Soybean Board, a group of farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers, was looking for ways to educate farmers about the high oleic soybean business and its benefits. Osborn Barr was looking for a partner to assist them in reaching local consumer media markets in order to reach farmers and encourage them to grow more high oleic soybeans. Together, Osborn Barr and Team Fleisher launched an outreach initiative focused on the annual Columbus Food Truck Festival, which attracts more than 40,000 people over a three-day period. Three participating food trucks agreed to cook with high oleic soybean oil, and several industry and farm leaders were enlisted to talk about high oleic soybean oil and its benefits for food companies. Team Fleisher had three weeks to deliver media coverage. One dozen media stories were secured; with one-third of them live coverage from the festival. The earned media was then leveraged in social media and in marketing collateral sent directly to Ohio farmers, consumers and those in the food industry. The three awards will be presented to Team Fleisher and other award recipients at a future Central Ohio Chapter event. Tweet This: @TeamFleisher recognized for excellence in public relations, awarded three 2016 @PRSA East Central #DiamondAwards. #WeveGotThis About Team Fleisher Communications Team Fleisher Communications delivers outstanding communications solutions based upon decades of experience. We have a proven track record of securing results for organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. As senior-level communicators and former journalists, we understand how to tell stories, pitch reporters, secure earned media and leverage coverage. We work fast and efficiently to get the job done right. And we deliver results always. For more information visit Teamfleisher.com. VPItoolkit PDK LioniX represents a new pluggable library extension to VPIcomponentMaker Photonic Circuits providing circuit-level simulation support of the PDK building blocks for the integrated optical waveguide technology TriPleX by LioniX International. This allows a designer to rapidly prototype PICs with prerequisite functionality without going deep into the details of device layout and fabrication process. All the custom building blocks available in VPItoolkit PDK LioniX can be used alongside with a broad set of standard modules and instrumentation in VPIcomponentMaker Photonic Circuits. Hierarchical circuit designs and advanced parameter scripting, sweep and optimization of layout-defining parameters, sensitivity and yield analysis are supported transparently for designers helping to increase their productivity. Finally, once the PIC design is completed and optimized, its layout can be exported to PhoeniX Softwares OptoDesigner for adding packaging and electrical wires routing. OptoDesigner is the ultimate photonics design suite enabling designers to automatically synthesize photonics designs, driven by fabrication information and required optical specifications. It is the definitive platform for integrated photonics design and fabrication, with Process Flow visualization, Photonics simulations and Chip and Mask layout as the main modules. As last step the GDSII mask layout will be created and verified and can be sent to LioniX International for fabrication. LioniX International proprietary integrated optical waveguide technology TriPleX is based on LPCVD processing of alternating Si3N4 and SiO2 layers. It allows for medium and high index-contrast waveguides that exhibit low channel attenuation. In addition, TriPleX waveguides are suitable for operation at wavelengths ranging from 400 nm through 2.35 micrometer. The high index-contrast and broad wavelength range make the TriPleX technology extremely suitable for a variety of applications ranging from telecom to sensing. About VPIphotonics VPIphotonics sets the industry standard for end-to-end photonic design automation comprising design, analysis and optimization of components, systems and networks. We provide professional simulation software addressing demands in integrated photonics and fiber optics, optical transmission links and networks. Our team of experts performs design services addressing customer-specific requirements, and delivers training courses on adequate modeling techniques and advanced software capabilities. Our award-winning off-the-shelf and customized solutions are used extensively in research and development, and by product design and marketing teams at hundreds of corporations worldwide. Over 160 academic institutions joined our University Program enabling students, educators and researchers an easy access to VPIphotonics latest modeling and design innovations. About LioniX International LioniX International is a leading global provider of customized microsystem solutions, in particular integrated photonics-based. We provide customized solutions for OEMs and system integrators, from design to fully assembled modules, by vertical integration and in scalable production volumes. We secure our technology leadership by maintaining our strong IP position. LioniX International B.V. was established in April 2016 and includes SATRAX B.V., XiO Photonics B.V. and LioniX B.V. a suite of independent companies that had been active in the technology development of photonic integrated circuits for a suite of applications since 2001. Currently, LioniX International employs nearly fifty highly educated personnel, including a management team that has decades of experience in the micro/nano system technology space. About PhoeniX Software Pioneering photonics design automation already since 1991, today PhoeniX Software has a global presence and is a trusted and well recognized partner for a large number of organizations. PhoeniX Software enables the easy and cost-effective realization of integrated photonics chips and systems, by means of internally developed superior products and services. Customers range from large OEMs to start-ups and include some of the worlds top universities and research institutes. As the leader in Photonic IC design solutions, PhoeniX Software will continue to support the transition of PIC technology from the lab into the fab, by anticipating market demand and customer needs. In combination with strategic partners, this results in offering world class design flows and access to all relevant fabrication technologies for our customers. Datacap and Vantiv IP add support for the Equinox L5200 and L5300 Businesses using our L5200 and L5300 terminals can now accept chip and contactless payments, helping them avoid chargebacks related to the EMV liability shift. Datacap Systems, a leading integrated payments middleware provider, has completed US EMV level 3 certification with Vantiv Integrated Payments for the EMV-enabled L5200 and L5300 from Equinox Payments. Point of Sale providers who have integrated to Datacaps industry-standard NETePay for semi-integrated payments now have plug and play access to the Equinox L5200 and L5300 in addition to existing EMV-certified PIN Pad options from Ingenico and Verifone. The third EMV-capable release of NETePay for Vantiv Integrated Payments is certified to utilize the Equinox hardware supporting Point to Point Encryption, EMV, MSR, PIN and NFC contactless transactions. Were excited to be part of Datacaps solutions portfolio that eases the burden of EMV integration and certification for retailers and developers, said Rob Hayhow, vice president Business Development at Equinox Payments. Businesses using our L5200 and L5300 terminals can now accept chip and contactless payments, helping them avoid chargebacks related to the EMV liability shift. NETePay provides Point of Sale developers with a processor and hardware agnostic integrated payments solution for US and Canadian EMV. As support for more devices are added via on-going processor certifications, Point of Sale partners gain immediate access without requiring additional development or certification. If your Point of Sale package isnt yet integrated to Datacaps payment interfaces, contact us today to get started! About Equinox Payments Brookfield Equinox LLC (dba Equinox Payments) was founded in 2014 as a result of an acquisition of assets from Equinox Payments, LLC. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, Equinox is looking beyond product features to rethink and reimagine the customer payment experience. Equinox is owned by NBS Payment Solutions (NBSPS), based in Toronto and a leading provider of electronic payment solutions for over 25 years. NBSPS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, a global asset manager with over $225 billion of assets under management. About Datacap Systems Datacap Systems celebrates 33 years of successfully designing, manufacturing and marketing innovative integrated payment solutions. One simple interface allows Point of Sale developers to keep pace with evolving trends and payment industry standards, so they can spend development dollars on POS innovation rather than integrated payments. Because we sell our products exclusively through authorized POS resellers, merchants receive high-end payment solutions coupled with top-tier installation, service and support. Integrated payment solutions from Datacap are utilized by hundreds of POS applications in an array of vertical markets. Contact us to learn more! For organizations to gain reasonable assurance about their cyber readiness, a wide range of disciplines need to be brought to bear, including pre-breach technology, vulnerability assessments, insurance and other stop-gap measures Risk Cooperative and Ridge Global are proud to announce the establishment of a strategic partnership with Aronsons Technology Risk Services Group to help companies improve their cybersecurity posture and resiliency. Aronson clients will now be able to access additional services and capabilities, including cyber education courses, insurance solutions, and cybersecurity tools to protect critical information. For organizations to gain reasonable assurance about their cyber readiness, a wide range of disciplines need to be brought to bear, including pre-breach technology, vulnerability assessments, insurance and other stop-gap measures including responsive governance, public relations, and remediation capabilities. Together with Ridge Global, we are delighted to partner with Aronson to offer our unique combination of expertise to companies that need help with addressing 21st Century Risks, said Dante Disparte, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Risk Cooperative. This partnerships first initiative involves the launch of a 360 Cybersecurity Survey designed to evaluate the collective state of readiness amongst Aronson clients. This survey goes above and beyond merely assessing an organizations IT infrastructure and security protocols. With this tool, companies will be able to better understand the financial impact and business continuity issues cybersecurity poses for their organization, as well as benchmarking with their industry peers. Cybersecurity is a top of mind concern for many businesses struggling to face this fast-evolving risk. Our collaboration, with two best-in-class solution providers, builds upon Aronsons commitment to helping our clients address emerging challenges, said Payal Vadhani, Partner-in-Charge of Aronson LLC's Technology Risk Services Group. Aronson maintains an agile approach to the cybersecurity landscape by helping clients understand, customize, and implement leading practices that deliver lasting results. Ridge Global and Risk Cooperative add unique and vital capabilities to our solutions set. It is estimated that cyberattacks cost businesses as much as $400 billion per year, which includes direct damage plus post-attack disruption to the normal course of business. Between 2013 and 2015 cyber-crime costs quadrupled, with the reported incidence rate growing exponentially. Such costs are expected to quadruple again by 2019, to in excess of $2 trillion. For more information on how this partnership can benefit your organization, please contact Aronsons Technology Risk Partner, Payal Vadhani at 301.231.6200 or pvadhani(at)aronsonllc(dot)com. About Risk Cooperative Risk Cooperative is a specialized strategy, risk and insurance advisory firm licensed to originate, place and service innovative risk-transfer and insurance solutions in all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Risk Cooperative helps organizations address risk, readiness and resilience through a comprehensive service and solution offering in partnership with leading insurance companies and value-adding partners. For more information, visit http://www.riskcooperative.com About Ridge Global Unlike natural disasters or other events that can disrupt your business, cyber attacks occur every minute of every day in every industry. While the threat cannot be eliminated, Ridge Global can help you aggressively assess and manage your risk. We continually evaluate emerging tools to address evolving threats so you can be assured that you have access to the best and latest solutions. Ridge Global was founded by Tom Ridge, the first U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania, to help organizations decrease security risks. He has assembled a team of globally recognized experts who offer clients strategic counsel on identifying, preparing for and mitigating enterprise risk. For more information, visit http://www.ridgeglobal.com About Aronson LLC Aronson LLC provides a comprehensive platform of assurance, tax, and consulting solutions to todays most active industry sectors and successful individuals. For more than 50 years, we have purposefully expanded our service offerings and deepened our industry specialties to better serve the needs of our clients, people, and community. From startup to exit, we help our clients maximize opportunity, minimize risk, and unlock their full potential. For more information, visit http://www.aronsonllc.com It is an exciting time for electric utilities right now says Mandana White, Programme Director of SGTech Europe 2017, the annual smart grid project exchange event organised by Phoenix Forums. With smart grid budgets now under pressure, utilities and suppliers alike are being pressed to think even more strategically and creatively about how they select, implement, operate and maintain new smart grid technologies, whilst maximising system functionality, cyber-security, and life-cycle. The event, SGTech Europe 2017, takes place 28-30 March 2017 at the Novotel Amsterdam City in the Netherlands, and offers a practical implementation focused programme, with 40+ electric utilities sharing practical case-studies. The event opens with a morning of strategic plenary sessions, addressing the big themes currently impacting the smart grid community, such as; the regulatory landscape, IoT, renewables integration, big data, cloud, and cyber-security, among others. In the afternoon and throughout day 2, the event breaks into 3 parallel tracks, each one focused on practical implementations of; Smart Substations, SCADA, and Packet Telecoms. Day 3 offers three parallel workshops, each one deep-diving into the fundamentals of a critical topic underpinning the smart grid; IEC 61850, CIM, Cyber-Security. Alongside the conference runs the solution zone, offering a focused display of 20+ automation product and service suppliers such as: DNV GL, GE, Siemens, Locamation, COPA-DATA, OTN Systems, ECI and more. The adjoining Live Demo Labs offer 1:1 demonstrations of innovative new technologies, providing participants with the opportunity to test-drive new solutions and determine their suitability for their specific grid environment. Facilitated networking opportunities include a series of roundtable discussions where participants get the opportunity to discuss key themes in small groups, and a networking evening reception where all participants from across the three technical tracks come together for networking beyond their functional boundaries. A great opportunity to meet utilities from all over Europe, and to hear about their plans to upgrade their networks. It was interesting to see different migration strategies and how utilities are adapting to that. The conference was very well organized. Exactly according to plan. High quality presentations which fully covered the different challenges in the industry. Brre Jensen, Manager of Network Department BKK Fibre @ SGTech Europe 2015 Highlights of SGTech Europe 2017 include: Strategic Plenary Sessions hear the strategic plans and priorities of leading electric utilities and understand where budgets are being focused and resource is being allocated to drive the practical implementation of the smart grid in the next 2-3 years Case-Study Programme hear from the technical experts and decision makers on the lessons learnt from pilot projects and commercial deployments of key automation technologies and architectures in the substation automation, SCADA and packet telecoms domains Utility Heavy Speaker Line-Up selected on the strength of the projects they are involved in, their pivotal roles in implementation decision making and their innovative insights on lessons learnt and future road maps Roundtable Discussions bring your specific automation challenges to the table and brainstorm and problem solve intensively with the entire smart grid technical community Solution Zone spanning all 3 days of the event, get up to speed with the latest automation systems and solutions on the market, discuss your specific grid automation challenges with the tech innovators and get tailored advice to help propel your implementation plans to the next level Live Demo Labs providing a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the most advanced and forward looking automation systems, technologies and tools on to the market Networking Evening Reception relax and unwind after an intensive day of presentations and panel discussions, meet with colleagues from across the European smart grid technical community, allow new ideas to cement and new partnership opportunities to emerge Speakers include: Peter Hermans, CTO Stedin Aurelio Blanquet, Director of Automation - EDP Distribuicao Robin Hagemans, Manager Data & Insights Alliander Nicola Cammalleri, Technical Manager, Network Components Standardization of Global I&N Enel Luke Seewald, Director of Customer Service and Metering - London Hydro Jurgen Tusch, Head of Telecoms - Innogy Bengt Almgren, Head of Regional Networks Ellevio Ranko Stojakovic, Head of Grid Operations Stedin Boris Avramovic, Head of Secondary Systems HOPS Sonke Loitz, Team Manager Protection and Control - Netze BW Walter Schaffer, Head of Electrical Grids & Smart Grids Program Manager - Salzburg Netz Jan Vorrink, Manager National Control Centre, Systems Operations TenneT Brre Jensen, Manager of Network Department - BKK Fibre Ana Kekelj, Head of Process Control Department - HOPS Lieven Degroote, Head of Distribution Operations Centre Eandis Anders Johnsson, Power System Specialist - Vattenfall Distribution Nordic Ott Antsmaa, Distributed Energy Manager - Elektrilevi OU Cristina Fundulea, Project Engineer, Transmission Operations Technical Support - SP Energy Networks Ernst Wierenga, Technologist, Protection, Control & Telecommunication - TenneT Thierry Coste, Project Manager & Research Engineer - EDF R&D Seamus Keena, Electrical Engineer ESBI Ronan Durkin, Electrical Engineer ESBI Benoit de Neuville, Senior Grid Expert Sibelga Anne van der Molen, Expert Asset Management, Grid Strategy Stedin Frank Bodewes, Telecoms Consultant Enexis Philip Westbroek, DSO Security Officer Enexis Carlos Montes Portela, OT Security Officer Enexis Marko Kruithof, Manager Sustainability & Renewables Stedin Michel Acacia, Senior Expert, ICT & Secondary Systems - Elia Birkir Heimisson, Power System Engineer & System Operator - Landsnet hf Antti-Juhani Nikkila, Advisor, Power System Fingrid Erwin Kooi, Information Security Architect Alliander Auke Huisman, Programme Director, Smart Grid Solutions Joulz Oleg Gulich, Smart Grid Project Manager Caruna Cyrille Gerard, Project Manager & Telecom Expert EDF Sergio Ramos Pinto, Assistant Director, Networks Digital Platform - EDP Distribuicao Marco Leenen, Security Officer - Utility Connect Ed van der Pijl, Enterprise Architect Stedin Frank Visser, Telecommunications Architect Alliander Erik Moll, Telecom Policy Advisor - Utility Connect & 450 Alliance Bas Mulder, Technical Professional Intelligent Networks and Communication - DNV GL Theo Borst, Head of Section, Energy - DNV GL Ivo Kuijlaars, Consultant - DNV GL Amadou Louh, Consultant - DNV GL Bas Kruimer, Senior Manager, Smart Grid Services Accenture Jeroen Fidder, Smart Grid Management Consultant Accenture Menne Bos, Senior Principal Network Technology Accenture Jarno Assen, Senior Manager, Digital Accenture Glenn Janssen, Senior Manager, Security Consulting Accenture Edward Benning, Smart Grid Integration & Security Lead for EMEA Omnetric Group Event dates and location: 28th 30th March 2017 Novotel Amsterdam City, The Netherlands Event website: http://www.sgtech-europe.com For more information, interview and media accreditation: Mandana White, Director, Phoenix Forums Ltd Email: mandana(at)phoenix-forums(dot)com Tel: +44 (0)20 8349 6360 Phoenix Forums is an independent conference producer specialised in the smart grid sector. We work hand in hand with engineering professionals to create innovative event concepts and high quality programmes that inform technical decision makers and enable them to deliver exceptional results. Our approach is entirely market led. We stay exceptionally close to industry developments. Through our regular, rigorous and unbiased process of depth interviews with TSOs, DSOs, power generators, engineering consultancies, and technology innovators, we stay one step ahead of industry developments and provide live event platforms that act as a catalyst for new ideas, new directions, and new approaches to achieving future energy security. Kicking off the New Year are promotions for eight of the nations most talented lawyers at Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman. Senior counsel criteria here at the Firm is one of the highest bars set by law firms in the nation. In addition to having sharp legal skills, litigation prowess and consistent results, lawyers enjoying this designation must have the full package which clients have come to expect, said Stewart Reid, Managing Partner at WSHB. This accomplished group includes a licensed real estate broker, a world champion equestrian, and an advocate for special needs children. Ashley Beagle Based in WSHBs Riverside office, Ashley Beagle has successfully represented clients at arbitration and trial, including securing a multi-million dollar jury verdict in a high profile subrogation matter and obtaining favorable outcomes in multi-million dollar construction disputes. Beagles practice focuses primarily on construction, real estate and land use, business, and transportation litigation. Beagle regularly represents public and private owners, residential and commercial builders, and design professionals in complex construction law matters involving mechanic liens, stop notices, bond claims, payment disputes, construction defects, delay and inefficiency claims, differing site conditions, change order claims, and False Claims Act disputes. As part of her practice, Beagle works with various construction industry clients from preparing and drafting procurement documents for new projects to trial and arbitration of complex construction disputes. This work includes representation of the largest community college district in the nation regarding the implementation and administration of its $6 billion construction bond program. Michelle Birtja Practicing in the Firms Los Angeles office, Birtjas practice is focused on complex civil litigation with an emphasis in medical malpractice defense. Birtja attended Western State University College of Law, graduating with an Exemplary Public Service Award and a Criminal Law Justice Center Award. While at Western, Michelle was chosen to be part of the Year One Honors Program, reserved for students in the top 10% of their class and she also was awarded the Witkin Award for Excellence in Criminal Procedure. Brooke Bohlke - Bohlkes practice in WSHBs Las Vegas office specializes in the area of civil litigation representing insurers, self-insured employers, hotels, casinos and restaurants, transportation providers, and construction companies in all phases of litigation. Her experience includes personal injury and workers compensation defense, construction defect, and premises and product liability matters. Thomas Fama - Specializing in the areas of real estate including title insurance issues and broker liability; construction defect, and personal injury defense, Fama is based in the Firms Northern California office. He successfully defeated at Trial a mechanics lien claim brought by a subcontractor against a lender in Placer County Superior Court and received a defense verdict this past December on a veterinary malpractice case with a very contentious Plaintiff. Experienced in all facets of litigation in real estate including trial and appeal, Fama is a member of the Contra Costa County Bar Association and is a licensed real estate broker. He also works with home builders on a repair strategy with construction defect claims in an effort to avoid litigation. He recently worked with a small builder, several consultants and insurance carriers in Butte County on an accepted proposal to repair extensive water damage to 16 single family homes that resulted in the builder avoiding a multi million dollar lawsuit. Kevin Fitzpatrick - From WSHBs New York office, Fitzpatricks practice focuses on the defense of claims involving premises liability, construction accidents involving the New York State Labor Law, motor vehicle/trucking and toxic torts. Fitzpatrick defends real estate owners and managers, corporations and governmental entities. Vanessa Herzog Based in WSHBs Los Angeles office, Herzogs practice focuses on civil litigation involving transportation companies; real estate brokers and agents; ADA claims; complex civil liability issues. Herzog enjoys a national reputation for consistent results in high risk and complex matters, including catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. She also has substantial experience handling complex litigated matters for trucking companies, owner-operators, limousine companies, fixed route bus and paratransit service providers, common carriers, and public entities and provides counseling and risk management training on accident response, best practices, driver qualifications and insurance coverage. Christina Mamer - Mamer is an attorney in the Firms Las Vegas office, and her practice focuses on the defense of employment, professional and medical malpractice, product liability and business tort matters across the State of Nevada. Mamer actively handles class actions and high exposure tort matters in both State and Federal courts, and she has defended brokers, medical providers and large employer groups and associations on a variety of claims. Her practice has included litigation involving a variety of cutting edge areas of the law, including defective e-cigarette devices and emerging pharmaceutical liabilities. Mamer is also often asked by clients and business groups to consult and advise on emerging liabilities under the anti-discrimination laws and to provide best practices for risk management. Prior to attending law school, Christina was employed as the Vice President of Human Resources for a real estate development company. Alan Nolley, Jr. - Nolley has successfully represented his clients at trial in state and federal court, in appeals, arbitration hearings and in the negotiation of contracts, license agreements and other business transactions. Nolley's practice also includes the defense and prosecution of commercial and business claims and counseling of clients regarding contract and related business matters. Nolley has particular expertise in environmental, real estate, professional liability and construction litigation involving technical legal issues and claims. Nolley's environmental practice includes representing both plaintiffs and defendants, including Fortune 500 companies and public and private entities, in litigation involving large-scale contamination claims brought under CERCLA (Superfund), RCRA, HSAA, NEPA, and other state and federal environmental laws. About Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP Founded in 1997 by David Wood, Kevin Smith, Stephen Henning and Daniel Berman, WSHB is one of the fastest growing law firms in the United States. WSHB currently employs over 200 attorneys in 21 offices in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. With active practices in professional liability, employment, commercial, medical malpractice and healthcare, construction, environmental, real estate, transportation, subrogation, toxic tort and intellectual property litigation, WSHB has tried over 900 cases to verdict and is internationally recognized for an exceptionally high rate of success. WSHB is proud to be one of the most diverse law firms in the country, receiving a top 5 ranking on the American Law Journals Diversity Scorecard as well as being the recipient of DRI's Law Firm Diversity Award. CHICAGO, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Longford Capital today announced that Russell J. Genet has joined the firm as a Director. Mr. Genet will assist with investment sourcing, due diligence, and monitoring of portfolio investments. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c09a501b-6a70-451b-8ab4-04b9529ae334 Prior to joining Longford Capital, Mr. Genet was a partner in the international law firm, Nixon Peabody LLP. While at Nixon Peabody, Mr. Genet served as the national leader of the firms IP Litigation practice group. For nearly 20 years, Mr. Genet has assisted companies defend and monetize intellectual property rights in a wide array of industries, including electronics, computers, software, telecommunications, medical devices, and many others. Mr. Genet has significant experience litigating complex intellectual property matters in federal courts throughout the United States, before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Many companies approach us seeking financing to enforce their intellectual property rights. We select only the most meritorious cases for investment. Russ Genet is a seasoned intellectual property attorney with decades of experience evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of intellectual property claims. In addition, Russs background as an electrical engineer enables him to communicate effectively with technical personnel, including engineers, inventors, and expert witnesses. Russ adds depth and experience to our team, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Longford Capital, stated Bill Farrell, Managing Director and General Counsel of Longford Capital. Mr. Genet was most recently recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer for IP Litigation for 2017. In 2013 and 2014, Mr. Genet was recognized as an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property. Also, in 2014 and 2015, Mr. Genet was ranked as a leading Illinois lawyer for litigation by the IAM Patent 1000. Mr. Genet earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is a member of the Illinois Bar and admitted to practice in Illinois and before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Genet is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, and the Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Genet stated, For nearly twenty years, I have represented clients involved in complex intellectual property litigation. Longford Capital enables companies of all sizes to enforce their intellectual property rights, and I am excited to apply my skills and experience to Longford Capitals best-in-class underwriting process. I look forward to helping Longford Capital identify the strongest opportunities for investment. About Longford Capital Longford Capital is a private investment company that provides capital to companies and leading law firms involved in large-scale, commercial legal disputes. Typically, it funds attorneys' fees and other costs necessary to pursue claims in return for a share of a favorable settlement or award. The firm manages a diversified portfolio and considers investments in subject matter areas where it has developed considerable expertise, including, business-to-business contract claims, antitrust and trade regulation claims, intellectual property claims (including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret), fiduciary duty claims, fraud claims, claims in bankruptcy and liquidation, domestic and international arbitrations, and a variety of others. For more information, please visit www.longfordcapital.com. "Ive studied Tudor history for 48 years and have always fantasized about going to the court of Henry VIII. So, I decided to do just that. In a review for Circle of Time, the newest release by Debra Shiveley Welch, an award winning author, Readers Favorite reviewer Lex Allen states, Five stars are not enough for Debra Shiveley Welch's Circle of Time. An accident in the Bermuda Triangle throws Bridget (Bridge) Littleton through time. She awakens in the home of the Lyttleton family, her own ancestors, in the year 1532 near Bristol, England. Thus begins a fascinating alternative history story of love, mystery, intrigue, life and death in the court of King Henry VIII. Ms. Shiveley Welch deftly interweaves a handful of themes, from the 'butterfly paradox effect' of time travel to the life and loves of Henry, Anne Boleyn and Bridge to present an addictive read of epic proportions. Not since Outlander by Diana Gabaldon have I read such an intoxicating story that grabbed me from page one and kept me reading almost without a break. The novel has also been nominated for the upcoming Global eBook Award. Welch is best known for her novels which take place in the Westerville and Columbus area. When asked about this departure, she replied, Yes, I prefer to write about Columbus and Westerville. These are the places I know and love, but after writing Spirit Woman, I needed to have some fun. Ive studied Tudor history for 48 years and have always fantasized about going to the court of Henry VIII. So, I decided to do just that. Welch is now working on Brave Heart Woman, book three of the Cedar Woman Saga, which she assures will take her readers back to her home town of Westerville. About the Author Debra Shiveley Welch was born in Columbus, Ohio USA and grew up in the Greater Columbus area. She now resides in Westerville, Ohio with her husband Mark and son Christopher, also a published author, and photographer. The winner of multiple awards, Welch is the author of eight books: Circle of Time, Swinging Bridge, Spirit Woman, Cedar Woman, Christopher Meets Buddy, A Very Special Child, Son of My Soul The Adoption of Christopher, and Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams, Debras first novel, co-authored with Linda Lee Greene. All are available through Amazon and all major online and onsite stores. In addition to writing Brave Heart Woman, a sequel to Spirit Woman, Welch is currently working on Our Family Table, a companion cook book to Son of My Soul - The Adoption of Christopher, which will feature recipes from a Chopped and Chopped Junior champion, Memories of an Old Farmhouse, a micro-memoir about her memories of her familys ancestral farm and Walking Lisa Home, a paranormal fantasy. ISBN 978-1897512807 To arrange a book signing or interview, contact Ms. Welch at DebraSWelch(at)aol(dot)com or 614.882.6683 The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Grand Parade is highlighted by the carrying of the Mikoshi We are proud as a community to continue to bring this 50th festival through the hearts of our volunteers to people who want to learn more about Japanese culture - Co-Chair, Richard Hashimoto The executive committee of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is proud to announce its dates for the 50th annual festival on - April 8, 9 & April 15, 16 and is free to the public. The Grand Parade will be on April 16 starting from SF Civic Center and ending in Japantown. The theme for this years festival will be A Golden Journey 50 Years of Japanese Culture The first Cherry Blossom Festival took place in April of 1968 and now enters its 50th year with hopes of continuing for years to come. The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is said to be the second largest festival outside of Washington, D.C. to celebrate the blooming of cherry blossoms; and held at the biggest of three remaining Japantowns in the United States. We are proud as a community to continue to bring this 50th festival through the hearts of our volunteers to people who want to learn more about Japanese culture says Richard Hashimoto, co-chair of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival. Every year, the festival is joined by hundreds of performers from both Japan and California to give our hundreds of thousands of spectators a comprehensive palette of the Japanese culture. The festival features a Japanese cultural arts area, exclusive non-profit vendor food area, Arts & Crafts vendor area and Japanese cultural stage performances at over five venues in San Franciscos Japantown. This year marks some new additions to the festival like a film festival, an expanded Sakura 360 Area (http://bit.ly/2017Sakura360Page) a nighttime event and the 50th Anniversary Gala (http://bit.ly/NCCBF50thGala). The gala will be held the night of April 14 at the Westin St. Francis at Union Square and will be highlighted by a silent auction, dinner and cultural performances. Ending the festival is the Grand Parade, and the annual raffle for cash, tickets and other prizes. The 2017 performers and schedules will be finalized in late March. Check our website (http://bit.ly/NCCBF) for the latest information. Our festival is supported by the heart and benevolence of volunteers. Please help support us by including a request for volunteers in any posts about the festival. Link to volunteering at the festival is here (http://bit.ly/BeAnccbfVolunteer) For media and press pass requests, please visit http://bit.ly/2017NCCBFMedia. Craig Goldenfarb proudly announces the launch of the 7 Figure Attorney Summit, a half-day seminar for solo attorneys and small law firms. The Summit will be held on Thursday, March 16th, 2017 from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the brand-new Hilton West Palm Beach. The founder of 7 Figure Attorney, Craig Goldenfarb, Esq., is the owner of the personal injury law firm that bears his name, the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. Mr. Goldenfarb founded his firm in 2002 with nothing more than a secretary and a dream. Today, his seven-figure law firm employs five attorneys, supported by a paralegal, administrative, and marketing staff of fifty wonderful and happy employees. Mr. Goldenfarb is organizing the Summit for one singular purpose: to help other attorneys discover that they too can build a law firm that produces seven figures in net profits per year. The idea for the 7 Figure Attorney Summit came to me when I realized there are no similar workshops or seminars in Florida, organized and delivered by an attorney, for attorneys, Mr. Goldenfarb said. I have a unique perspective that I am willing and able to share information that can greatly improve business for so many local attorneys. Im going to tell my story of how I did it. In addition to Mr. Goldenfarbs presentation, the Summit includes speakers Michelle Winfree, Director of Administration for Craig Goldenfarbs law firm, and Tom Copeland, the firms Marketing Director. Mrs. Winfree and Mr. Copeland are slated to speak on a wide range of topics including employee acquisition and engagement, law firm management, and effective marketing principles. Mr. Copeland explains why the Summit is something local attorneys dont want to miss. What Im most excited about is the caliber of talent on the stage. We arent selling you on a product or service, like so many other seminars commonly allow their speakers to do. Instead, we are sharing our tools, tactics, and strategies that allow us to do our job so effectively and efficiently, which ultimately contributes to our firms continued growth. Our attendees will walk away with actionable knowledge regarding all the aspects of running and growing a law firm, that they can put into practice the very next day. There is no ulterior motive, other than to share our knowledge and expertise, Mrs. Winfree added. The 7 Figure Attorney Summit is only $299.00 for this first year, and that registration fee includes breakfast, lunch, and valet parking. Attendees are expected to arrive early and stay late to take full advantage of the joint Q&A session featuring each of the speakers, slated for the early afternoon. Solo and small firm attorneys of any area of law, or attorneys who are contemplating a move into private practice, will benefit the most from the 7 Figure Attorney Summit. You can register for the Summit online at http://www.sevenfigureattorney.com. A Little Book of Love: a precious glimpse into a true man of God, who dedicated his life to prayer and helping others in his quest to do God's work on earth. A Little Book of Love is the creation of published author, Elaine Mselle, born in Jamaica West Indies. She came to the USA when she was eighteen years old. She lived mostly in New York City. She got married, had five children (a girl and four boys). After travelling to Africa and Europe, she returned to live in New York. She is an artist. She paints, does photography, and has knowledge of motion picture production. She worked for many years as a professional registered nurse. Elaine attended the School of Visual Arts, New York City, New School University N.Y.C. and Pace University, Pleasantville, NY. She was inspired to write this book because Old Dougs life was dedicated to doing Gods work. She saw and heard some of the wonderful things he did in Gods name and she hopes others who read this book will know that God is with us always. As a nurse, she saw that Old Dougs diagnoses and treatments were so similar to some of these modern doctors. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Elaine Mselles new book journeys through a long and fruitful life lived, spent aiding people who were both mentally and physically ill, in the pursuit of caring for families who need help the most. This book is about the never-ending love that God has for us. Its about people who live within their Christian faith, loving God and doing good works for others. View a synopsis of A Little Book of Love" on YouTube. Consumers can purchase A Little Book of Love at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, Kobo or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about A Little Book of Love, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Expression Of Hope -The Mel Pender Story: a delightful and inspiring story of perseverance and drive resulting in a lifetime of achievement and valor. Expression Of Hope -The Mel Pender Story is the creation of published author, Melvin Pender, native of Atlanta, a retired military officer, Olympian, entrepreneur, and community leader. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Melvin Penders new book describes how the strong legs and quick feet attached to Melvin Pender's five-foot, five-inch frame, have taken him to first-place finishes as a world-class sprinter. His gift of speed reached a pinnacle when he won a Gold Medal as a member of the 4 x 100 relay team in the 1968 Mexico Olympics. The feat was accomplished while Army Captain Pender was a combat soldier who was pulled out of the fighting in Vietnam which was an unpopular war. The story of Penders life will cause hearts to pound with joy, sadness, anger, and pride, as he chronicles his life's journey from childhood to pre-teen years idolizing the military and his decorated war hero, Audie Murphy, while growing up in two different impoverished and segregated worlds in the South. He was not limited by his surroundings, though, and found good and bad in them. Determination was etched into Penders DNA, and he wanted to do something to make his family proud, and "be somebody!" His, is a story of the American Dream. He owns it, and he embraces it. He was scarred by the racial challenges of the 1950s and 1960s, but Pender found better angels, black and white, and kept his dream from becoming a racial nightmare. The United States Army and track propelled him into an historic figure. For some, Pender is the track world's "Black Knight," not because of his color, but because he befriended and helped others in his profession as a big brother, father-figure, and as a friend. View a synopsis of Expression Of Hope -The Mel Pender Story on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Expression Of Hope -The Mel Pender Story at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, Kobo or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Expression Of Hope -The Mel Pender Story, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. The Outer Banks Association of Realtors awarded Jean-Paul Peron of The Outer Banks Real Estate Company the 2016 Realtor of the Year Award. The award recognizes individuals who serve not only the real estate profession but also the community. J-P Peron is a Carova resident, and specializes in property located on the Northern beaches of Carova. He became a licensed REALTOR in 2004 and moved to the Outer Banks in 2008. He devotes volunteer time to N.E.S.T. and the Carova Volunteer Fire Department, and for every home Peron sells, he donates $500 to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund in the name of the buyer or seller. It helps the new buyer to be part of the community, and its a memento for the seller, he said in a recent phone interview. Being a people person who also likes to fly under the radar, J-P says he was blindsided by being voted Realtor of the Year. I did not expect to ever get that award. In her nomination of J-P Peron for the award, Monica Thibodeau of Carolina Designs Realty, noted that J-P became active as a volunteer when he first arrived on the Outer Banks. He saw the need to do a lot of technical training with the agents to bring everyone up on whats out there technology-wise, said Thibodeau. He exudes professionalism and is always striving to do the right thing. Jean-Paul Peron is the current secretary of the Outer Banks Association of Realtors and is slated to be the boards Director at Large for 2017-2018. Before relocating to the Outer Banks, Jean-Paul worked in Newark, Delaware with Weichert Realtors. He has also worked for Re/Max Ocean Realty and Sun Realty before starting Outer Banks Real Estate Company with his partner Morgan Mason, who is a Broker in charge of the Southern Shores office while J-P is the Broker in charge of the Carova office. J-P enjoys selling property in his neck of the beach. I have the opportunity to meet my potential neighbors, he said. He delights in the opportunity to work in a 4x4 locale and make his living without ever having to touch the pavement. J-P Peron has been married to his wife Lori for twenty years, and they share their northern beach home with two cats. Monica Thibodeau has known Jean-Paul Peron throughout his career in Outer Banks real estate. She was thrilled when her nomination of J-P was accepted by the Board. I think he leads by example, she said. Hes a great guy. This year marks the 39th such award presented by the Outer Banks Association of Realtors. Their website lists the Realtor of the Year recipients with awards dating back to 1977. The Association is located in Nags Head and has 850 Realtors and Associate Members. Outer Banks Association of Realtors, 201 West Eighth St., Nags Head, 27959. "For these reasons, we call on all people of faith and of moral commitment to join the growing New American Resistance and to fight these unjust actions." Please see the statement below: It was with anger, fear, and a sense of fierce resolve that Union Theological Seminary received news on Saturday of President Trumps travel ban on seven Muslim countries. As a proudly Christian-founded and now multi-religious seminary, we are a community of scholars and students devoted to studying the religious and humanist values that have, for centuries, nurtured and guided the peace and well-being human persons and communities. This Executive Order makes a mockery of these values. It should appall and disturb all people of good conscience and faith and must be resisted at every turn. The ban is, at its heart, deeply un-democratic. Its aim is to shatter dreams and destroy lives, not to encourage broad-based human flourishing. In this, it repudiates what is perhaps most noble about our country, the fact that immigrants are invited to come, thrive, and contribute to our American Dream, in all its vibrancy, hopes, and flaws. Democracy affirms respect and concern for human beings; democracy insists that human beings can never be objects. This ban is an insult to all who have worked to build our country, and to those who have given their lives to assure and expand these freedoms. It by no means reflects the will of vast numbers of Americans, and it is an affront, particularly, to the basic religious freedoms that our Constitution vows to honor and protect. In addition, it is clear this administration is actively overtaking federal institutions in such a way that they will not have traditional oversight in matters of security and war. This makes the opportunity for expansion of their egregious policies very real and our concern very appropriate. The destructive impact of this ban cannot be underestimated, even for those not directly affected by it. It has created an environment in which a group of people are being singled out, stigmatized, and targeted for punitive action. As history shows us, this bigoted branding of a whole religion and of entire countries is a deadly, cynical, and decadent political game in which there can be no winners, only wasted lives and broken communities. The Trump immigration ban did not emerge from thin air, but rests upon tacit, pernicious, and pervasive Islamophobia that permeates the countrys public rhetoric and culture. The government has cultivated an environment that permits suspicion and bias towards Muslims, Muslim immigrants, and refugees. Many people, even liberals and progressives, have hemmed and hawed over this fact for too long. The time to unequivocally reject Islamophobia as a form of bias in clear words and actions, including knowledge and protest, is now. And so, we lift up the long tradition of Islam that teaches that the diversity of Gods world is a gift to humankind to be treasured and never abused. The more diverse we are, the richer our world and the happier our lives. We lift up the Buddhist call to compassion in all things and its reminder of the brutal damage that an unchecked ego, like President Trumps, can inflict upon others. We also put before you the many humanist traditions that remind us constantly of our ethical responsibility to work towards the well being of all people and of the earth. As a community, we welcome and protect a marvelous and gifted diversity of students, including DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students, Muslim students and faculty from not just the U.S. but around the world, LGBTQ students, students who are devoutly pro-choice, students who stood at Standing Rock, and students who marched with Black Lives Matter. We at Union cannot help but wonder, When will President Trump come for us - or for you? That we can even imagine such real-life possibilities exposes the damage that this order has already inflicted upon the hearts and minds of so many. In truth, when the Trump Administration tries to divide and conquer as with this immigration ban, they are already coming for us all. So, inter-community solidarity is critically needed in the face of this evil edict. For these reasons, we call on all people of faith and of moral commitment to join the growing New American Resistance and to fight these unjust actions. We are particularly concerned that the sentiments behind this order are praised by many Christian Americans who believe such action is faithful and Godly. This is wrong, and should be denounced, theologically as well as politically, in every church and faith community across the land. At the heart of the Christian tradition is the call to love one another, to welcome those who are strangers, who are different, who suffer, who are in need. Indeed, turning your back on anyone, be they friend or foe, is an action directly refused by Jesus. So should it be by all Christians who seek to follow him. Because of this, we ask our Christian brothers and sisters who support this action to return to the pages of their Bibles and read its words again, closely and with open hearts. Hear the word of the Lord who speaks through the Hebrew Prophets and harshly condemns those who would shun the stranger and sojourner, or pour wrath upon those who suffer. Hear today, the voices of our Jewish sisters and brothers who remind us ever-anew of the power of this biblical vision. We ask that you read, again, the New Testament Gospels, especially Jesuss Sermon on the Mount. The message of love and of freedom for all Gods children is strong and unswerving. Please, we ask, do not close your eyes to the truth of your faith and do not turn your back on the God who calls us to build communities marked by love, justice, and mercy. Please, we beseech you, do not be fooled by President Trump. This ban is ungodly and dangerous, and the scope of its heresy will no doubt expand in the days ahead. Imagine if such a ban was released against Christians in Christian countries deemed dangerous. Would you not see its evil immediately? Please, we pray that you will reject these forces of evil, stand against the soul-harming hatred it breeds, and join us in the movement to stop the harm. As an international, ecumenical, and interreligious seminary, we at Union recognize that, now more than ever, the social, moral, and political issues we face are global in scope. This ban impacts international students studying in the U.S., our students going to other countries, and scholarly and artistic participation in vital international conversations, conferences, and teaching. We need a vibrant exchange of ideas among people from all over the world and from various religious perspectives to develop effective, compassionate, and just responses to crises. We at Union, along with many other people of faith and of conscience, around the country, and throughout the world, promise to stand against these policies and to uphold religious and humanist values that celebrate the fullness of human family, in all its magnificent diversity. Moreover, we promise to continue cultivating forms of leadership in our students and amongst our faculty that count well-honed wisdom and compassionate care among the highest values of leadership. There are many of us, our voices are loud, our commitments are strong, our will is as tough as steel, and our faith, unswerving. Were all in this together. About Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a seminary and a graduate school of theology established in 1836 by founders deeply impressed by the claims of the world upon the church. Union prepares women and men for committed lives of service to the church, academy, and society. A Union education develops practices of mind and body that foster intellectual and academic excellence, social justice, and compassionate wisdom. Grounded in the Christian tradition and responsive to the needs of Gods creation, Unions graduates make a difference wherever they serve. Union believes that a new interreligious spirituality of radical openness and love is the worlds best hope for peace, justice, and the care of Gods creation. Empowered by groundbreaking inquiry aligned with practical realism and a bias for action, Union is charting a profound new course for enduring social change. Union graduates make a difference wherever they serve, practicing their vocations with courage and perseverance, and speaking clearly and acting boldly on behalf of social justice in all of its forms. ## CONTACT: Ian Rees Ian(at)gzandassociates(dot)com | 215.869.9064 Lisa Sherman-Cohen lisa(at)gzandassociates(dot)com | 347.539.7382 From their locations adjacent to the campus of The Johns Hopkins University and the Mercy Medical Center and in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood, these well-positioned investments will continue to enjoy substantial appreciation in the future. RWN Development Group, owned by award-winning regional developer Richard Naing, announces the sale of its portfolio of 10 properties in Maryland. More information is available at http://www.rwndevelopmentgroup.com. The properties, the majority of which are located in downtown Baltimore, represent some of the most unique and historic buildings in the City, including The Hotel Brexton and The Court Square Building. Many of the properties have undergone a significant restoration or are now under renovation. Both sales and joint ventures will be considered, according to RWN President Richard Naing. He will also consider partnerships and other arrangements such as trade for a yacht or an exchange for real estate, specifically in Florida. A complete property list is available at http://www.rwndevelopmentgroup.com. The portfolio includes the following properties among others: THE COURT SQUARE BUILDING 200 E. Lexington St, Baltimore, MD 21202 Built in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression 20 Story, Redevelopment Opportunity for Hotel, Apartments and/or Offices plus Retail BOURBON STREET/FORMER HAMMERJACKS 316-318 GUILFORD AVE Baltimore, MD 21202 New high-rise (up to 100 stories) available for development, or adaptive re-use, into a Food Court/Market, or Offices, or Retail/Restaurant THE HOTEL BREXTON & 913 TYSONS Baltimore, MD 21201 29 room Luxury Boutique Hotel in Mount Vernon and adjoining Townhouse http://www.hotelbrexton.com INN AT THE COLONNADE (PLUS UNIT 509) 4 W. University Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21218 Doubletree by Hilton Hotel with 125 Rooms and Private Garage, and extensive patios and meeting areas, located directly across from The Johns Hopkins University. http://www.colonnadebaltimore.com MT. VERNON APARTMENTS 902-904 ST PAUL STREET Baltimore, MD 21202 16 renovated Duplex & Studio Apartments DISTRICT COURTHOUSE 310 Gay Street Cambridge (Dorchester County,) MD 21613 Renovated with a new 10-year State of Maryland Lease UNITS 201, 203, 205, 207 PIERSIDE Baltimore, MD 21230 Four commercial waterfront offices leased to one tenant, 10 years. According to Naing, the portfolio represents a myriad of real estate investment and/or development opportunities in burgeoning areas of Baltimore. From their locations adjacent to the campus of The Johns Hopkins University and the Mercy Medical Center and in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood, these well-positioned investments will continue to enjoy substantial appreciation in the future, says Naing. I look forward to working with potential buyers who will build on RWNs demonstrated commitment to the City, he adds. The RWN Development Group portfolio showcases Richard Naings 44-year career in the real estate industry, which started with his creation of Naing International Enterprises in 1973 and which was followed by the founding of RWN Development Group a decade later. His acquisitions have included multi-million dollar properties such as The King Ranch in Granby, Colorado, once owned by the Enron Corporation. Over the years, developer Naing has become well-known for his development, restoration and preservation efforts, which have earned accolades for work in Washington, DC and beyond. A milestone project in the nations capital is 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., which won a 1992 Architectural Institute Award and which continues to be one of the most desirable addresses in Washington, DC. Historic DC area developments include Teddy Roosevelts Mansion on 19th and Jefferson and Ulysses Grants Home on 1020 16th Street. Notable, highly regarded residential projects include the conversion of a Chevy Chase apartment building into luxury condominiums, which was named The Louie for Naings future wife. His last DC project was The Kalorama Lofts at 1700 Kalorama Road in Adams Morgan, which achieved some of the highest prices on record for condominiums in the District. Naing moved his company headquarters to Baltimore, Maryland, in 2004 with his purchase of the Boxer Portfolio, which consisted of eight historic buildings in downtown Baltimore, including The Equitable Building and Browns Arcade, that have since been converted to hotels, offices, and apartments. He was also the owner of The Jefferson at 101 North Charles Street, which he purchased for $2 million in 2005 and sold six months later for $6 million. Naing spent the next 12 years investing in Baltimore and its distinctive buildings. He counts among his most rewarding achievements a $7.6 million investment in the redevelopment of the landmark Brexton building, childhood home of Wallis Simpson, which had been abandoned for 25 years. His luxury boutique hotel, The Hotel Brexton, garnered a Baltimore Heritage Preservation Award Award in 2010. Many of our projects like The Hotel Brexton have been a labor of love, explains Naing. Im proud of our work to bring the regions jewels back to life and l look forward to bringing the same passion and drive to the next phase of my life. Once his Maryland portfolio is sold, Naing plans to retire and sail around the world. The long-time resident of Potomac, Maryland aims to return to his native Myanmar (Burma), where he will use his decades of experience to assist developers in that country. He is already an investor in the development of an oceanfront luxury resort in Myanmar, known as Wind Song. ABOUT RWN DEVELOPMENT GROUP: RWN Development Group, headed by President Richard Naing, is one of Greater Baltimores top minority-owned businesses. Based in Maryland and specializing in the Baltimore/Washington DC Corridor, RWN consists of a team of multidisciplinary experts with extraordinary qualifications in commercial and residential real estate. Since its founding in 1983, RWN has been responsible for the development of a wide range of significant, high-impact, and high-profile properties in Washington, DC and throughout Maryland. More information is available at http://www.rwndevelopmentgroup.com. ### The integration of Nanion SyncroPatch 384PE with Genedata Screener takes APC experiments to a new level Genedata, a leading provider of advanced software solutions for drug discovery and life science research, today announced new automated patch clamp (APC) functionality in Genedata Screener for Ion Channel Screening and a Genedata Ready-to-Run integration with Nanion SyncroPatch 384PE. The package provides seamless data capture and innovative analysis of Nanions multi-sweep, multi-dose current traces as well as interactive access to the raw traces for visualization and analysis optimization. The Genedata Screener/Nanion SyncroPatch 384PE integration will be demonstrated along with the new functionality at an SLAS2017 tutorial session, one of the Genedata Screener events at SLAS2017. Genedata will present at Booth #541; Nanion Technologies will present at Booth #1311 (Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC Feb. 4-8). Effortlessly Scale Up Automated Patch Clamp Reduce Data Analysis Time Upwards to 95% APC technology provides scalable functional measurement of ion channels, which are increasingly becoming important therapeutic targets in drug discovery. However, advanced APC measurements generate gigabytes of data per plate, resulting in data analysis bottlenecks and incomplete workflow support when multiple plates are screened. Researchers rely on Genedata Screener for Ion Channel Screening to address these data analysis challenges, and the latest version of Genedata Screener further advances these capabilities. In a single session, Genedata Screener supports the simultaneous analysis of any number of ion channel probes across multiple plates, and covers the complete workflow from individual events to final results. This full integration and workflow automation can reduce analysis time by upwards to 95%. The integration of Nanion SyncroPatch 384PE with Genedata Screener takes APC experiments to a new level, notes Dr. Niels Fertig, CEO of Nanion Technologies. With Nanion SyncroPatch 384PE, recording from 384 wells in parallel, ion channels can now be measured for drug discovery and safety testing in a cost-efficient high throughput manner. The full binary integration of the SyncroPatch with Genedata Screener creates a complete and streamlined workflow -- from data acquisition to APC-specific analysis to final results reported to the data warehouse. Users of Nanion instruments with Genedata Screener also can: Weed out false positives and confirm strong leads early-on in the drug discovery process, based on the rich APC data, to accelerate time-to-market. Integrate the full suite of Nanions QC parameters with compound information and cursor settings directly imported from the instrument, which allows for automatic and coherent data evaluation. High throughput screening laboratories face a real challenge in finding effective solutions to analyze and compare huge amounts of data from diverse in-vitro assays. On the Genedata Screener platform, researchers can combine ion channel data with results from other screening technologies, continues Fertig, Many of our customers in HTS labs already use Genedata Screener in their data analysis workflow and this factor combined with the softwares rich capabilities, ease of use, and excellent support from Genedata influenced our decision to integrate with Genedata Screener rather than other software solutions. Nanion Technologies - First Ready-to-Run APC Instrument Vendor Nanion is among a group of forward-thinking instrumentation vendors that integrate their instruments with the Genedata Screener platform. Through the Ready-to-Run program, partners enable their customers with an out-of-the-box, efficient connection of their respective instruments to the customers data analysis in Genedata Screener. Additionally, customers benefit from support for the latest, complex screening technologies such as high content screening (HCS), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and APC. Nanion distinguishes itself as the first Ready-to-Run partner integrating APC instrumentation with Genedata Screener for Ion Channel Screening. Nanion is an innovative, leading instrument company for automated patch clamp research and screening. Our collaboration now enables our joint customers to considerably scale up functional ion channel screening in drug discovery to increase their chances of success, said Dr. Othmar Pfannes, CEO of Genedata. With Genedata Screener installed at most of the worlds leading pharma companies, we strive to work with innovative technology providers such as Nanion to further streamline and automate workflows and accelerate the pace and quality of high-throughput screening in drug discovery. Editorial Notes Genedata will hold the following sessions at SLAS2017: Tutorial: Genedata Screener for SPR February 6: 2:00pm 2:45pm. Room 143B Tutorial: Effortlessly Scale Up APC Research February 7: 9:30am- 10:15am. Room 143B SLAS SIG Meeting: Compound Combination Screening February 8: 8:00am 9:15am. Room 144B About Genedata Genedata transforms life science data into intelligence with a portfolio of advanced software solutions and scientific consulting. With award-winning platforms, combined with deep domain expertise, Genedata enables dramatic increases in productivity and quality of research, development, and production. Founded in 1997, Genedata is headquartered in Switzerland and has offices in Germany, Japan, and the US. http://www.genedata.com. Follow Genedata on LinkedIn About Nanion Technologies Nanion Technologies is a leading provider of instrumentation for ion channel drug discovery and screening. Founded in 2002, Nanion has grown over the last 15 years to a company with over 80 employees worldwide. With headquarters in Munich, Germany, Nanion has subsidiaries in the USA, Japan and China, as well as distribution partners in seven other countries. The Nanion team has developed and successfully established four generations of automated patch clamp instruments for sophisticated and high throughput applications in ion channel research and drug discovery. http://www.nanion.de Disclaimer The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties related to contract cancellations, developing risks, competitive factors, uncertainties pertaining to customer orders, demand for products and services, development of markets for the Company's products and services. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. All product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Enrico Signoretti - Head of Product Strategy OpenIO OpenIO has great technology and unique product characteristics that set this company apart from traditional object storage vendors. I fell in love with SDS and Grid for Apps. OpenIO, an innovator in object storage and serverless computing, today announced the appointment of Enrico Signoretti as Head of Product Strategy. Signoretti will provide OpenIO with his market perspective, to help product and ecosystem development, and content and awareness for OpenIO's next-generation object storage based solutions. He will work closely with the company's technical and marketing teams, and with customers, to share the company's vision and direction. Since the early days of our relationship, we felt that Enrico clearly understood our vision and positioning in the market. We are excited to work with such a talented profesionnal and to have him as part of our team. 2017 will be an important year for OpenIO, and we are confident that Enrico will help us disrupt the storage industry, said Laurent Denel, CEO, OpenIO. Signoretti joins OpenIO after six years as an independent IT analyst, blogger, and advisor, serving primary storage vendors, startups, and end users in Europe and the United States. Signoretti runs Juku.it, a popular blog on storage and cloud topics, and he launched TECHunplugged, a one-day traveling conference on IT infrastructure topics for end users, which he co-organized for two years. "OpenIO has great technology and unique product characteristics that set this company apart from traditional object storage vendors," said Signoretti. "I fell in love with SDS and Grid for Apps a few months ago, when I had the chance to work with the OpenIO team on a project, and now I'm looking forward to being part of this team to help with product strategy and development." About OpenIO OpenIO brings the future of object storage to businesses of all sizes today. It offers the most flexible and versatile solution to solve the scale-out challenges businesses face, from 1TB to thousands of PetaBytes. This open-source solution provides a new way to build backend services for applications, allowing companies to combine data processing and storage on a single platform. The future of storage is here. Find out more at http://www.openio.io, and follow @openio on Twitter. SAN RAMON, Calif., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MoCA welcomes Cambridge Industries Group (CIG) headquartered in Shanghai, China with US headquarters in Santa Clara, CA, as an Associate member. We are honored that CIG recognizes the value MoCA membership offers to their company, said Charles Cerino, President of MoCA. They will greatly help us in our mission of providing technology that meets and exceeds industry requirements for performance and reliability. As we announced at CES 2017, CIG is now offering MoCA adapters that ensure home networks deliver gigabit speeds reliably, explained Ali Taslimi, EVP and Head of NA Sales and Marketing at CIG. This adapter will extend wireless coverage to every room in the house. About Cambridge Industries Group, (CIG) CIG is a leading global SDN / NFV networking equipment manufacturer based in Shanghai (China) with US headquarters in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, CA). CIG is a privately held company founded by Gerald G. Wong in 2005 with focus on developing and manufacturing PON, home-networking (routers; Wi-Fi, G.hn and MoCA APs, etc.), Carrier Ethernet and Data Center switching products. For more information, please visit www.cambridgeig.com. About MoCA MoCA technology is the fastest and most reliable in-home backbone for Wi-Fi and has been adopted by cable, telco/IPTV and satellite operators worldwide. MoCA 2.0 offers actual throughputs (MAC rate) up to 1 Gbps and MoCA 2.5 is capable of up to 2.5 Gbps actual throughput. MoCA 2.1 and MoCA 2.5 also offer an additional set of network management and security features. MoCA Access is a FTTB extension targeting MDUs worldwide. Additional applications include hospitality, education, government and other residential/business environments using existing coaxial wiring. The Alliance has 217 certified products and 44 members worldwide. Visit www.mocalliance.org for more information. Copyright 2017 Multimedia over Coax Alliance. All Rights Reserved. MoCA and the MoCA logo are trademarks of the Multimedia over Coax Alliance, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Tata & Howards William Andres, who served as Project Manager for both winning projects, accepted the awards at the ACEC/CT EEA Awards Dinner. Both projects were of critical import to Connecticut residents for both safety reasons and historical significance, and it was a true honor that their value was recognized by ACEC Connecticut. Tata & Howard, Inc., a leading innovator in water, wastewater, stormwater, and environmental engineering solutions, was awarded two 2017 Engineering Excellence Merit Awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Connecticut (ACEC/CT). The awards, which honor the very best of Connecticuts engineers and the projects they have created for the citizens of Connecticut, were presented during ACEC/CTs Engineering Excellence Awards Dinner held on January 23, 2017 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, Connecticut. Tata & Howards winning projects included the Means Brook Reservoir Gatehouse and Dam Rehabilitation project for the Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut, and the Repair and Modification of the Skilton Road Stone Masonry Arch Bridge project for the Town of Watertown, Connecticut. Both projects provided improved safety, functionality, and aesthetic value to Connecticut residents. Receiving Engineering Excellence Awards for the two projects was gratifying, said William S. Andres, P.E., Associate at Tata & Howard, who served as Project Manager for the projects. Both projects were of critical import to Connecticut residents for both safety reasons and historical significance, and it was a true honor that their value was recognized by ACEC Connecticut. The Means Brook Dam, originally constructed in 1916 in Shelton, Connecticut and currently owned by Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut, required repairs to improve reliability and safety. The project included replacement of the deteriorated upstream and downstream faces of the dam and the crest, and modernization and rehabilitation of the gate chambers, while maintaining the active public water supply. The Skilton Road Bridge, originally built in 1865 as a one lane, dry stone masonry arch bridge over the Skilton Gorge in Watertown, Connecticut, was found to be structurally deficient in 2013 and required rehabilitation. The bridge is on the national register of historic places, so special consideration was required during design to preserve the historic nature of the bridge. The project was partially funded by the Local Bridge Program, which required the width of the bridge to be increased to accommodate two traffic lanes, and the Town requested that a sidewalk be installed on one side of the bridge. These two design challenges were met by installing transverse prestressed concrete across the existing bridge. The bridge is owned by the Town of Watertown, Connecticut. Tata & Howard is a member of ACECs national chapter as well as its state chapters in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. About Tata & Howard, Inc. Founded in 1992, Tata & Howard, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned water, wastewater, stormwater, and environmental services consulting engineering firm dedicated to consistently delivering cost-effective, innovative project solutions. Working with clients as a trusted partner, Tata & Howard provides a full range of environmental engineering services, from concept to completion, as well as sustainable solutions including low impact development and LEED certified building. Tata & Howard has gained a solid reputation as an industry leader in the Northeast by bringing knowledge, integrity, and dedicated service to all sized markets, both public and private. With offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Arizona, and Texas, Tata & Howards national expansion has included projects in Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit http://www.tataandhoward.com. CereScan Logo The scan visualizes plaques present in the brain that are prime suspects in damaging and killing nerve cells in Alzheimer's. Before amyloid PET, these plaques could only be detected by examining the brain at autopsy. CereScan is now a registered amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging site in the $100 million Imaging DementiaEvidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) Study (Ideas-Study.org). CereScan can offer Medicare-covered amyloid PET scans to study eligible Medicare patients who are referred by participating IDEAS dementia specialists (neurologists, psychiatrists and geriatric medicine physicians). The research study seeks to determine the clinical usefulness of PET imaging of brain amyloid deposits in the diagnosis of patients who are being evaluated for Alzheimers disease and dementia. Medicare will only cover these exams for seniors if done as part of clinical trial or data registry. Currently no private insurer covers amyloid PET scans for patients being evaluated for dementia or memory loss. I encourage local dementia specialists to review participation requirements, register for the trial and refer eligible patients to CereScan to get Medicare-covered amyloid PET scans that may better inform their care and future Alzheimers diagnosis and treatment, said John Kelley, CereScan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Diagnosing Alzheimers disease is complex. With no single test currently available, diagnosis is based on an individuals history, physical examination and cognitive testing. Amyloid PET imaging represents a potential major advance in the assessment of people with cognitive impairment. The scan visualizes plaques present in the brain that are prime suspects in damaging and killing nerve cells in Alzheimer's. Before amyloid PET, these plaques could only be detected by examining the brain at autopsy. The IDEAS study will follow Medicare beneficiaries to determine if amyloid PET scans may help physicians make more informed treatment decisions. There has never been a study of this scale to evaluate the clinical value of brain amyloid imaging in diagnosing and caring for those affected by Alzheimers. The dementia specialists and facilities that register for the IDEAS Study will play an essential role in engaging the nearly 19,000 individuals needed in the study and carrying out the amyloid PET scans, said Maria Carrillo, PhD, Alzheimers Association chief science officer and IDEAS Study investigator. Patients cannot directly enroll in the IDEAS Study. IDEAS Study dementia specialists must enroll patients whose cases meet the study criteria and refer them to registered PET imaging facilities, such as CereScan for an amyloid PET scan. These scans will be performed and interpreted by a nuclear medicine physician or radiologist who is registered to take part in the IDEAS Study. Results will be provided to the ordering doctor for disclosure to the patient and to support further diagnostic decisions. Scan results and diagnosis will be captured for the study. The IDEAS Study is sponsored by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), with funding and direction provided by the Alzheimers Association, the ACR and the manufacturers of the FDA-approved radiopharmaceuticals for amyloid imaging. Step-by-step registration instructions are available for board-certified neurologists, psychiatrists and geriatric medicine physicians interested in enrolling eligible patients in the IDEAS Study. Registered dementia specialists interested in referring enrolled patients to CereScan can call (866) 722-4806 or write to sstrauss(at)cerescan(dot)com. As a company, were committed to exceeding our clients expectations in the fast-changing marketing and sales environment while ensuring our employees have an opportunity for growth, both within Televerde and beyond. The Poverty Alliance is delighted to welcome Televerde as an accredited real Living Wage employer. The Living Wage commitment provides that everyone working at Televerde, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors on site, receive a minimum hourly wage of 8.45. This is significantly higher than the national minimum wage of 7.20 for workers aged 25 and over or 6.95 for under 25s This is a difference of more than 2000 in a year for workers. Televerde is proud to support the real Living Wage as it is based on the real cost of living. Televerde, the B2B sales, marketing and demand generation leader, is currently building out its European headquarters in Glasgow. The facility is a complete contact centre that will employ 170 staff members, including approximately 130 skilled multilingual agents. The contact centre includes language capabilities in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Scandinavian and Eastern European languages. Televerde specifically chose Glasgow as its European headquarters based on the citys ability to serve its customers with strong and motivated multilingual talent and the geographic proximity between the U.S. and continental Europe. As a company, were committed to exceeding our clients expectations in the fast-changing marketing and sales environment while ensuring our employees have an opportunity for growth, both within Televerde and beyond, said Morgan Jones, general manager, Televerde Europe. We fully support the mission of The Poverty Alliance and The Living Wage Foundation. We are proud to carry this accreditation as we continue to build out our team in Glasgow. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis and it has cross-party support both in Scotland and in the UK as a whole. Peter Kelly, Director of The Poverty Alliance who oversees accreditation in Scotland said, We are delighted to welcome Televerde to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer. Our movement is growing and we celebrate these forward-thinking employers. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard days work with a fair days pay. We have accredited over 700 employers in Scotland who join nearly 3,000 leading employers across the UK ranging from independent printers, bookshops and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE. About The Poverty Alliance The Poverty Alliance is working in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation to accredit Living Wage employers in Scotland. Go to http://www.scottishlivingwage.org and http://www.livingwage.org.uk The Poverty Alliance is the national anti-poverty network in Scotland, established in 1992. We are an independent organisation with over 230 members drawn from the voluntary and public sectors, trade unions, researchers, faith groups and individuals with direct experience of poverty. Our aim is to work with others to enable communities and individuals to tackle poverty. We have a number of key policy areas that provide the focus for our activities; these are addressing low incomes, supporting services to address poverty, enhancing the participation of people with direct experience of poverty in policy development processes, and addressing attitudes to poverty. About the Living Wage Foundation The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support. The London Living Wage is currently 9.75 per hour. The UK Living Wage outside of London is currently 8.45 per hour. These figures are set by the Resolution Foundation and overseen by the independent Living Wage Commission. The Living Wage Foundation recognises and celebrates the leadership shown by Living Wage employers across the UK. There are nearly 3,000 accredited employers.They are an initiative of Citizens UK. They believe that work should be the surest way out of poverty. They receive guidance and advice from the Living Wage Advisory Council. The Foundation is supported byprincipal partners: Aviva; IKEA; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; KPMG; Linklaters; Nationwide; Nestle; Resolution Foundation; Oxfam; Trust for London; and Queen Mary University of London. About Televerde Televerde is a global marketing and sales solution provider dedicated to acquiring new business and accelerating revenue for our clients. By offering proven solutions in the areas of marketing technology services, strategic engagement planning, data intelligence, demand generation, teleservices and inside sales, Televerde has helped a host of large and mid-sized companies generate over $6.5 billion in revenue. To learn more, visit http://www.televerde.com. In the darkened corners of any town USA, there's an atrocity taking place that many people rarely acknowledge: human trafficking. It's prevalent, has destroyed millions of lives, and often unfolds closer to home than most think. The initiative N2GIVES supports organizations that fight this horrific reality, while restoring hope for those affected. The idea for N2GIVES came naturally for conceptualists Duane Hixon and Earl Seals. The founders of N2 Publishing which produces more than 900 community magazines for neighborhoods around the country Hixon and Seals long ago made "giving back" a core principle in the company's mission. Realizing the rampant damage caused by human trafficking, they decided to add this focus to N2's philanthropic efforts. "Our goal is to be really good at private business, so we can support people who are really good at running nonprofits," Hixon said. "These nonprofits have to spend so much money and time just to raise funds to keep their doors open. We want them to focus on what they're good at, which is fighting for the cause." According to the International Labour Organization, the human trafficking problem is big and growing each year. Recent studies estimate there are 20.9 million victims globally. Of this number, 68% of them are trapped in forced labor; 26% of them are children; and 55% are women and girls. While there is no official estimate on the number of victims in the United States, it's happening in cities big and small across the nation. N2, headquartered in Wilmington, NC, first got involved in the fight upon realizing that human trafficking existed in its own small coastal town. The company replaced its initial shock with the desire to do something about it and fast. Hixon contacted a local nonprofit called A Safe Place and asked how his company could help. In getting to know the people who ran the organization, he found out about Patricia. She was a trafficking survivor, who had gone to school to become a social worker and now wanted to work at A Safe Place. There was one problem: The nonprofit could not afford to hire her. N2 stepped in, donating enough money to cover her salary. Earlier this month, N2 Publishing announced the 36 non-profit recipients of the more than $2 million the company is donating as a part of its N2GIVES initiative. As N2 grows, Hixon and Seals said so will the amount of their annual donations. "It's heartbreaking to hear about people with no voice," Hixon said. "To be able to help them, that is so fulfilling." For a full list of the recipients, visit http://www.n2gives.com/. About N2 Publishing Based in Wilmington, N.C., N2 Publishing, Inc. is "turning neighborhoods into communities" by partnering with affluent neighborhoods to produce private, monthly publications filled with resident-contributed content. Every N2 issue is personal, relevant, and unique to the community it serves. Visit N2 Publishing online at http://www.n2pub.com. Park Cities Pet Sitter Dog Training "With the group (training class) environment, it is an ideal time to work on your dogs socialization with other dogs and humans." Joette White, President of Park Cities Pet Sitter Park Cities Pet Sitter has announced a 5-week group dog training class beginning in late February 2017. The series of classes will be taught by Park Cities Pet Sitter trainer, Valerie Fry, who is an official C.L.A.S.S. evaluator. C.L.A.S.S. is an acronym for Canine Life and Social Skills. It is an educational curriculum developed by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers that promotes dog training techniques using positive reinforcement. Students taking Park Cities Pet Sitters Bachelors level of C.L.A.S.S. will learn how to handle their dog in a variety of real-world scenarios, while learning to set rules and boundaries with their dog in a way they will understand. Dogs in the group dog training class will learn: how to wait until they are invited to enter a location; how to wait calmly while being leashed up; how to walk on a loose leash; how to meet other humans and dogs while on a leash; how to wait for their food bowl; the Leave It command; the Settle command and other important behavior cues. The 5-week group dog training C.L.A.S.S. will run for 5 consecutive weeks beginning Saturday, February 25th from 1pm to 2pm. Cost for the class is $150. Each dog in attendance must have one adult handler, and a maximum of 8 dogs will be allowed to participate. Classes will be held at Glencoe Park at 3700 Glencoe Street in Dallas. Park Cities Pet Sitter President, Joette White, says that clients love participating in a group dog training class this time of year, and expects this class will fill up quickly. We love putting on a class like this one this time of year, says White. People seem to have recovered from the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and the weather is starting to improveso it really is the perfect time to work on your relationship with your dog. This class is great for people who may have recently added a new dog to their family, or for those who feel like they need to brush up on their dog training skills. Plus, with the group environment, it is an ideal time to work on your dogs socialization with other dogs and humans. It really is a great way to improve your skills as a dog handler, while spending quality time with your dog. To learn more about Park Cities Pet Sitters C.L.A.S.S. group dog training class, or to register to participate, visit http://www.pcpsi.com/events. About Park Cities Pet Sitter: PCPSI has served the Dallas/Plano areas 7 days a week, 365 days a year since 1992, and was recently named the 2017 Business of the Year by the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. Pet sitting, daily dog walks, pet taxis, overnight sitting, pet supply shopping, litter box cleaning and dog training are all part of the services PCPSI offers. Park Cities Pet Sitter is bonded and insured, and all sitters are employees--not independent contractors. A manager is on-call 24 hours a day to handle any emergencies. Go to http://www.pcpsi.com to learn more. We have an obligation to assist the brave men and women who risked their lives fighting for our country. They deserve the chance to become parents if they are having trouble conceiving, said Dr. Daniel A. Potter, Orange County Medical Director. Pasadena, CA: HRC Fertility (HRC), the largest provider of advanced fertility treatment in Southern California, has reaffirmed its commitment to helping our nations heroes with its newly expanded Honor Our Military Heroes program. HRCs nine locations now offer their IVF (in vitro fertilization) discount program to all active duty military personnel, reservists, National Guard members and veterans and their spouses. This new program provides military personnel with a 40 percent discount for a variety of IVF services. IVF is a very successful form of infertility treatment, but many insurance plans do not cover treatment, including TRICARE for active duty military. HRCs goal is to relieve some of the financial burden from couples who are left to pay out-of-pocket for their infertility treatment. We have an obligation to assist the brave men and women who risked their lives fighting for our country. They deserve the chance to become parents if they are having trouble conceiving, said Dr. Daniel A. Potter, Orange County Medical Director. With Honor Our Military Heroes, we are able to deepen the discounts for IVF as well as grow this unique program for different categories of service members. HRC physicians are excited to provide significantly more access to IVF treatment to the more than 600,000 veterans residing in San Diego and Los Angeles County, many of whom are in their prime childbearing years. San Diego also has the nations largest concentration of military personnel, including 100,000 active duty members. To qualify for the military discount, the patient or spouse needs to show identification as proof of their involvement with the U.S. Armed Forces. "Im proud of my husband, who continues to serve our country through the Navy Reserve, said Elizabeth Y., patient of Dr. Jane Frederick, HRC Fertility Newport Beach Medical Director. "Were equally grateful to HRC for honoring the military discount for reserve families so that we can start our family. Thank you, Dr. Frederick and team for your gentle, compassionate care. This truly means everything to us! About HRC Fertility Since its inception in 1988, HRC Fertility (HRC) has been one of the largest providers of advanced fertility treatment in the world, with success rates higher than the industry average. HRC has nine locations throughout Southern California, with offices in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. Each office is staffed with fellowship-trained reproductive endocrinologists and infertility specialists. HRCs state-of-the-art embryology lab continues to be at the forefront of reproductive clinical research. For additional information about any of the services HRC offers, please visit http://www.havingbabies.com or call (866) HRC 4 IVF (472-4483). silicon review 50 fastest growing private companies I knew five years ago when I joined the company that BROWZ would be big. 2016 only reaffirms how great this opportunity is. Were thrilled, but not surprised with the growth trajectory of the company. BROWZ, LLC has been named one of The Fifty Fastest Growing Private Companies to Watch by The Silicon Review. An honor that BROWZ considers to be the capstone of 2016, the companys fastest growing year both in terms of revenue and customer acquisition. Elaine Beitler, BROWZ CEO, spoke candidly in her interview with The Silicon Review. In terms of their success, she says I knew five years ago when I joined the company that BROWZ would be big. 2016 only reaffirms how great this opportunity is. Were thrilled, but not surprised with the growth trajectory of the company. Beitler attributes the organizations growth to outstanding employees, the companys patented technology, and market conditions. This team is incredibly talented, everyone at BROWZ sees the potential, and is dedicated to providing our customers with the highest level of service. We live in a time where organizations uphold the highest standards, to protect life and operate in compliance to regulatory standards. Our team is committed to ensuring that our clients only work with the best contractors, suppliers and vendors. Thats our job, to provide assurance through supply chain qualification, education and contractor management. Beitler continues, The team is constantly striving to improve our products and solutions. The market is rewarding us for that. BROWZ OneView is a great example. This investment focused on enhancing and improving the process for our clients as they prequalify and manage their contractors, suppliers and vendors. BROWZ OneView is the latest product development in the BROWZ suite, which the company considers to be significant in the overall evolution of supply chain management and contractor management services. Enhancements within the contractor management system include high performance dashboards, supplier proximity mapping, action center alerts, dynamic widgets, simplified searching, and a full view into the interactions of each supply chain member and their BROWZ representative. To learn more about BROWZ and their process to qualify and manage supply chains visit http://www.browz.com About BROWZ: BROWZ ensures that supply chains are safe, qualified, and socially responsible by delivering a comprehensive solution to prequalify, assess, and monitor supply chain compliance based on the unique needs of your business. BROWZ provides comprehensive assessments using patented, configurable technology and expertise, resulting in the site operators confidence of a safer work environment for clients and supply chains around the world. The BROWZ product suite addresses global supply chain needs related to qualifying your supply chain, addressing risk, managing employee-level data, conducting safety auditing, and sourcing new suppliers. ### Vaccines This has the potential to allow your own body to mount an attack against your own tumor to kill it. One Million Solutions in Health works with the NIH through a one-of-a-kind partnership to bring science forward. Many technologies have been available for licensing or collaboration agreements. However, to accelerate a cure for cancer, this information is being shared via a webinar regarding a "Cancer Vaccine with a Unique Tumor-Associated Antigen". This science has been patented after being created by Dr. Bira Arya, Senior Investigator, National Institute on Aging IRP. This presentation features an exceptional discovery in the search for unique cancer antigens. It is a cancer vaccine with unique tumor-associated antigens. NIH scientists have isolated a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) that is widely expressed in various human tumors, so this sets the stage for a cancer vaccine solution. A new patent was recently issued on this technology. And, importantly, this TAA contains a number of immune dominant regions/epitopes that are readily recognized by human T cells. It has been shown that humans can efficiently elicit specific helper and cytolytic T cells capable of killing human tumors. > This antigen is over-expressed in metastatic cancers > Human T cells elicit responses to this antigen and kill the tumors expression of this antigen > This has the potential to allow your own body to mount an attack against your own tumor to kill it The focus is to understand how immune cells control diseases like cancer, and how we can use this knowledge to develop potent therapeutic formulations to combat cancer. Cancer strategies often dont cure patients, and patients often relapse. To illicit long-lasting, disease-free survival, current thinking suggests the need to induce immune responses against cancer. To do this, a number of strategies can be utilized under the auspices of cancer immunotherapy. In considering a cancer vaccine, in order to be effective, it needs to have a unique target, against which immune cells will be responding. Review the webinar here: "Cancer Vaccine with a Unique Tumor-Associated Antigen". ABOUT ONE MILLION SOLUTIONS IN HEALTH: As a not-for-profit, the goal of One Million Solutions in Health is to shape health care by sharing solutions and, importantly, to accelerate the discovery, development and delivery ... of innovative cures, treatments and preventative measures for patients around the world. By facilitating efforts to ensure organizations can Connect, Learn + Share, Innovate and Collaborate, our vision is to improve health care delivery, accelerate life sciences research and share patient and consumer-focused ideas and solutions. By engaging scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, industry experts, health care professionals, and patients across various disciplines, and from around the world, we can utilize the power of the internet to disrupt things in a positive and transformative way to accelerate the movement of new solutions and scientific discoveries from the scientist to the patient. The Technology Evaluation Consortium (TEC) brings together life sciences and/or health care companies and technology providers, and other relevant partners (e.g., government and Universities) to evaluate and validate technologies or services in a collaborative environment. The model empowers technology providers and industry end users to collectively assess a number of technologies in a cost-effective manner, producing a depth and breadth of results that no company can achieve alone. We are on our way towards accelerating high-potential innovations, catalyzing investment and increasing awareness of, and support for, important ideas to improve health and save lives. We are thrilled to have you be a part of this transformative journey! IF YOU HAVE A TECHNOLOGY, SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY OR MEDICAL SOLUTION YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP SHARE WITH THE WORLD, CONTACT US. For more information: http://www.onemillionsolutionsinhealth.org CONTACT: One Million Solutions in Health Dawn Van Dam Executive Director & CEO Email: dawn.vandam(at)onemillionsolutionsinhealth(dot)org Phone: 416-402-8274 Twitter: @DawnVanDam To be recognized for our growth and impact on the industry is an honor. Freshdesk, the leading provider of cloud-based customer engagement software, today announced that it has been named as a winner on the 2017 CRM Watchlist. Freshdesk is one of four new winners to make the list, an award that measures not just company and product success but also industry impact. Those selected as winners excelled in 2016 and are expected to continue on a positive trajectory in the future. According to Paul Greenberg, CRM analyst and best-selling author of CRM at the Speed of Light who started the CRM Watchlist 10 years ago, The Watchlist is designed to find companies who have not only had a significant impact in the market the year before but also are built to continue having that impact in the following approximately three years. Very often in the tech industry awards are given out for specific products in a category or specific achievements by individuals. The CRM Watchlist is a company level award and recognizes contribution from everyone in the company to achieve impact in the industry. When we founded Freshdesk in 2010, many were skeptical as we decided to jump into a crowded space. We saw an industry about to shift towards more authentic and social interactions with customers, in need of a company to drive that change. We continued to work towards our mission and have built a company not just worth considering but worth investing in, said Girish Mathrubootham, Founder and CEO of Freshdesk. To be recognized for our growth and impact on the industry is an honor. For Freshdesk, 2016 was a significant year for growth and impact. The company reached 100,000 customers, grew to 900 employees worldwide, opened an office in Berlin and raised an additional $55 Million in funding. Freshdesk made significant investments in key technology both in terms of product development and expansion, launching new products Hotline.io and Freshsales, as well as acquiring companies focused on integrations, chatbots, mobile and artifical intelligence. Much of this technology will play an integral part of Freshdesks roadmap in coming years as the company looks to lead the way for SaaS in the customer engagement space. To read more about the CRM Watchlist and view the complete list of winners, click here. About Freshdesk Freshdesk Inc. is the leading provider of cloud-based customer engagement software. Freshdesks suite of products include the flagship product, Freshdesk, which allows organizations to support customers through email, phone, websites, forums, and social media; Freshservice, a cloud-based service desk and IT service management solution; Hotline.io, an in-app support and engagement platform for mobile-first businesses; and Freshsales, a CRM solution and sales system for high-velocity sales teams. With powerful features, an intuitive interface and a freemium pricing model, Freshdesks products are widely used by teams and companies of all sizes, from SMB to enterprise. Based in San Bruno, California, with offices in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and India, Freshdesk is backed by Accel, Tiger Global Management, CapitalG and Sequoia Capital India. The company has over 100,000 customers around the world including 3M, Honda, Bridgestone, Hugo Boss, University of Pennsylvania, Toshiba and Cisco. For more information, visit http://freshdesk.com. SMITHFIELD, Va., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. (the Company) today announced the closing of its previously announced senior notes offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 2.700% senior notes due 2020, $400 million aggregate principal amount of 3.350% senior notes due 2022 and $600 million aggregate principal amount of 4.250% senior notes due 2027 (collectively, the New Notes). The New Notes are initially guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by each of the Companys subsidiaries that is expected to become a borrower or a guarantor under its new senior credit facilities and, in the future, the New Notes will be guaranteed by each of its subsidiaries that guarantees obligations under certain material debt facilities or certain material debt securities of the Company or any guarantor. The Company also announced the results of its previously announced cash tender offer for its 7.750% senior unsecured notes due 2017 (the 2017 Notes) having an outstanding aggregate principal amount of $445.0 million. The tender offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 27, 2017 (the Expiration Time). The Company has accepted for purchase approximately $359.9 million (or approximately 80.9%) of the 2017 Notes. The Company will pay all holders of 2017 Notes accepted for purchase in the tender offer $1,028.00 per $1,000 principal amount of 2017 Notes tendered plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the settlement date, which is expected to be February 1, 2017, the settlement date. The Company expects to fund the payment for the tendered and accepted 2017 Notes with a portion of the net proceeds from the New Notes offering. The New Notes and the related subsidiary guarantees were offered and sold in the United States to qualified institutional buyers in an offering exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and to persons outside the United States in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The New Notes and the related subsidiary guarantees have not been registered under the Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as the dealer managers for the Tender Offer. The information agent and tender agent was D.F. King & Co., Inc. Questions regarding the Tender Offer should be directed to Goldman, Sachs & Co. at (800) 828-3182 and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC at (800) 624-1808. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offering, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Language Forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, are made throughout this release. The forward-looking information may include statements concerning the company's outlook for the future, as well as other statements of beliefs, future plans and strategies or anticipated events, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking information and statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks and uncertainties include availability and prices of livestock, raw materials and supplies, livestock costs, livestock disease, food safety, product pricing, the competitive environment and related market conditions, ability to make and successfully integrate acquisitions, operating efficiencies, access to capital, the cost of compliance with environmental and health standards, adverse results from ongoing litigation and actions of domestic and foreign governments. These forward-looking statements represent the Companys judgment as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the proposed transactions will be completed as anticipated or at all. One of the many benefits of our courses is that they provide a classroom experience that reflects the world that students will know beyond high school. Online classrooms are effective tools for delivering rigorous instruction, complex ideas and even organizing student lab work. Thats the finding of the latest survey of schools working with The Virtual High School (VHS, Inc.), a nonprofit empowering schools with the industrys best online learning programs. The VHS online learning model has proven so successful that 66 percent of VHS students sitting for AP exams passed with a score of 3 or higher in 2016, exceeding the national average of 60.4 percent. One noteworthy example is AP Environmental Science, which involves an independent research project as well as the use of laboratory materials and equipment. VHS students pass rate (a score of 3 or higher) for the related AP exam was 76.3 percent while the national average was 46 percent. Another example is AP European History, which includes activities such as debates and role-playing through student audio recordings as well as participation in research groups using Web 2.0 information tools. That course had a pass rate of 73.7 percent compared to the national average of 54 percent. But the most significant pass gate was in AP English Literature and Composition, which involves an independent summer assignment and had a pass rate of 90.9 percent, well above the national average of 45 percent. AP Environmental Science employs a hands on lab kit, as well as the same digital tools and data sets that scientists use, to engage students in meaningful lab experiences, supporting the development of key science practices, said Kim Spangenberg, Associate Dean of STEM at The Virtual High School. Students follow instructions in thoughtfully-designed investigations and work independently to successfully complete their labwork, and our AP exam results show that this approach works. VHS is home to one of the largest catalogs of online AP courses, with 23 AP offerings. Students taking VHS AP courses connect with other students across the country and around the world in a collaborative learning environment. Throughout their studies, students from diverse backgrounds share their thoughts, experiences and opinions with peers. In addition to the hands-on lab work for science courses, VHS AP courses offer a variety of resources for students to explore including vibrant class discussions and intriguing projects. The VHS course catalog consists of more than 200 unique online courses. The 2016 survey of VHS participants also found a 97 percent retention rate of VHS members in the 2015-16 school year (up from 93 percent in the previous year), indicating strong educator and student satisfaction with the quality of instruction being delivered. One of the many benefits of our courses is that they provide a classroom experience that reflects the world that students will know beyond high school, said Carol Ribeiro, President & CEO of VHS. In addition to critical thinking and analytical skills, our students develop respect for different ideas, cultures and opinions because they are learning in a global classroom environment. Our online classrooms contain students from a variety of backgrounds who learn with, and from, one another and their teachers. This approach has proven results and offers students a comprehensive education that prepares them to be successful in a global society. About The Virtual High School The Virtual High School (VHS, Inc.) is an online learning pioneer. Since 1996, the nonprofit organization has set the standard for quality online education. VHS provides middle and high school online courses for students and professional development for educators. The organization also meets the unique educational needs of schools through custom course development, individualized course offerings, and support for blended learning initiatives. VHS design and delivery standards are the model used by the National Education Association in their recommended standards for online learning. The organization has won numerous awards, including the Stockholm Challenge Award for Global Excellence in Information Technology and is a three-time winner of the United States Distance Learning Associations (USDLA) award for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices. For more information, visit http://www.VHSlearning.org or call (978) 897-1900. # # # Willie E. May, director of major research and training initiatives at the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (Credit: NIST) Willie E. May has been named director of major research and training initiatives at the University of Marylands College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS), effective February 1, 2017. May resigned as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and under secretary of commerce for standards and technology on January 3. In his new role, May will return to his alma mater (Ph.D. 77, chemistry) and work with CMNS Dean Jayanth Banavar to develop new relationships and expand existing partnerships with corporations, foundations and government agencies on major research initiatives. He will also assist the college in obtaining additional support for graduate student education, training and mentoring. We are extremely delighted that someone with Willies extensive research and leadership experience will be joining the college to help magnify our pursuit of funding for large collaborative, cross-disciplinary research projects and graduate student training efforts, said Banavar. Prior to being appointed director of NIST in May 2015, May served as acting director beginning in May 2014 and as deputy director beginning in August 2011. Before that, he led NISTs research and measurement service programs in chemistry-related areas for more than 20 years. An American Chemical Society (ACS) fellow, Mays personal research focused on trace organic analytical chemistry and investigations of the physico-chemical properties of organic compounds. His research resulted in more than 90 peer-reviewed publications. As a leader at NIST, May supported the success of his colleagues, facilitating flexible scheduling for female scientists with children and mentoring black scientists at a time when neither activity was encouraged. He was instrumental in establishing the joint NISTUMD Dolphus E. Milligan Graduate Fellowship to encourage more black chemists to pursue a Ph.D. and the ACS Scholars Program that provides scholarships to underrepresented minorities. Mays numerous honors include the ACS Award for Public Service; the Federal Laboratory Consortium Laboratory Director of the Year Award; the National Bureau of Standards Equal Employment Opportunity Award (twice); the Arthur Flemming Award for Outstanding Federal Service; the ACS Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry Award; the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers Henry Hill and Percy Julian Distinguished Lecture Awards for exemplary work and leadership in the field of chemistry; and Department of Commerce Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. He has given commencement addresses for CMNS, Wake Forest Universitys Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. To read more about Willie May, visit https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/features/3496. With the likely confirmation of Judge Gorsuch, we fear that the American people will be disadvantaged by an ideologically predisposed jurist who will not protect the rights of the disadvantaged. Last night, President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a Federal Appeals Court Judge from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, to the United States Supreme Court. Since February of 2016, the vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia has remained unfilled. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate blocked any consideration of President Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. In response, LULAC National President Roger C. Rocha, Jr. issued the following statement: Now more than ever, it is important that our nation's highest court continues to protect the civil rights enshrined in our Constitution. Certainly we hoped President Trump would have appointed a more mainstream judge with a clear appreciation for minority-related issues. We hope that over time, Judge Gorsuch's views reflect the sensitivity to such issues and ensure that the Constitution protects all Americans, including the less advantaged." LULAC National Executive Director Brent Wilkes also issued the following statement: "Almost a year ago, partisan politics prevented Judge Garland from filling the seat left by Justice Scalia, and it is Judge Garland who should be the next Supreme Court Justice. With the likely confirmation of Judge Gorsuch, we fear that the American people will be disadvantaged by an ideologically predisposed jurist who will not protect the rights of the disadvantaged. Our country needs a U.S. Supreme Court with justices that recognize the purpose of the Constitution, which is to protect the rights of the minority community." ### The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nations largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULACs programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit http://www.lulac.org. Effigy Mounds National Monument Quarter WHAT: The United States Mint will launch the America the Beautiful Quarters Program coin honoring Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. The ceremony will be held at Allamakee Community School District High School Gym in Waukon, Iowa. $10 rolls of newly-minted Effigy Mounds National Monument quarters will be available for exchange following the event. Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter designer and fourth-generation Iowan Richard Masters will receive special recognition at the ceremony. Mr. Masters, an artist in the United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program, has designed coins and medals for the Mint for more than 10 years. Additional event highlights include remarks by Edmore Green, Tribal Chair of the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska, and a videotaped message from Iowa native Peggy Whitson, astronaut and biochemistry researcher for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. WHO: Marc Landry, Plant Manager, United States Mint at Philadelphia Jim Nepstad, Superintendent, Effigy Mounds National Monument Edmore Green, Tribal Chair, Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska Fred Schuster, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley Brittney Carroll, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Joni Ernst Michael Olson, for U.S. Congressman Rod Blum Richard Masters, Artist, United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program WHEN: 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 WHERE: Allamakee Community School District High School Gym 1059 3rd Avenue N.W. Waukon, Iowa 52172 COIN FORUM The United States Mint will host a coin forum the evening before the launch ceremonyMonday, Feb. 6, 2017, 5:30 6:30 p.m. Central Standard Time at the Effigy Mounds National Monument Visitor Center, 151 Highway 76, Harpers Ferry, Iowa 52146. The coin forum is an opportunity for the public to learn about upcoming United States Mint coin programs and initiatives and express their views about future coinage. The Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter is the 36th release in the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program, a 12-year initiative that honors 56 national parks and other national sites authorized by Public Law 110-456. Each year, the public will see five new national sites depicted on the reverses (tails sides) of the America the Beautiful Quarters. The United States Mint is issuing these quarters in the order in which the national sites were officially established. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: View b-roll of the Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0tTzy8W9ek&list=PLoycqRjxZI6Y5A9igJnCtTuDMZhVoyM_9. View an interview with Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter sculptor Renata Gordon at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0tTzy8W9ek&list=PLoycqRjxZI6Y5A9igJnCtTuDMZhVoyM_9. Find a digital image of the Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter at https://www.usmint.gov/downloads/pressroom/ATB/36-Effigy-Mounds-IA.jpg. Find information about the United States Mint and the America the Beautiful Quarters Program at http://www.usmint.gov/. Contacts: Effigy Mounds National Monument Sheila Oberreuter: Sheila_oberreuter(at)nps(dot)gov, 563-873-3491 ext. 123 Bob Palmer: 563.873.3491 ext. 121 # # # United States Mint - Connecting America through Coins Give To Others is charitable website designed to help connect those in need with those who wish to give. Give To Others was created by Todd and Amy Caputo as a local Syracuse charity. In the 12 years since inception, Give to Others has partnered with more than 250 charities and non-profit organizations in Central and Upstate New York along with countless individuals to facilitate the donation of items from those who have them to those who are in immediate need of them. Based on their success in Syracuse, NY, Give to Others is expanding to Chicagoland. The website offers a donation system that is fast, simple secure, free and easy to use! It is a great way for the Chicago community to donate everyday items directly to participating charities who need them. All donations are matched up directly through an on-line needs list posted at GiveToOthers.com. Common needs include school supplies, computers, electronics, home cleaning products, furniture, toys and even personal services and professional training. All aspects of the donation and acceptance are facilitated online, free of charge, in a private and secure environment. To learn more or to donate much needed items visit GiveToOthers.com. Our Mission: "Bring Together Those In Need With Those Who Wish To Give" In Syracuse, New York and Chicago, Illinois the Give To Others website brings together Charitable Organizations, Individuals, Families, Businesses. Give To Others provides an efficient and convenient way give and to find items that are needed. Charities register on the site providing a list of items they need to collect. Individuals or businesses who wish to give may search the site, reviewing the charity needs, and contributing items and services. Best of all, this service is absolutely free of charge for all to use! We want your suggestions, thoughts, and questions please contact us by email or call 888-619-0032. We also need your help, please contact us to find out how! http://givetoothers.com/ Mr. Kramer, known to be outspoken and controversial, is considered to have been a creator of political strategies that brought HIV therapies to market early and encouraged large increases in federal spending on research. The World AIDS Museum and Educational Center (WAM) today announced the opening on March 8 of a major new exhibit, AIDS Crisis in America: 30 Years of ACT UP - A Convergence of Disease, Art and Human Resilience. The exhibit will run for eight weeks at WAM and several other venues throughout Fort Lauderdale. Controversial artwork, film and photography will be featured which document the 30-year history of ACT UP, the primary organization behind political and social responses to the AIDS pandemic. More information about the exhibit is available here. The opening will kick-off a three-day series of events from March 9-11. Academy Award Nominee, Larry Kramer, author of the frequently-produced play and TV drama The Normal Heart, numerous books and other plays, and an influential AIDS activist, will play a key role in two of three events on March 9th and 10th. The kickoff for the three-day event will include a book-signing party with Mr. Kramer and Kevin Sessums, one time executive editor of Interview and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair. This will take place at WAM from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on March 9. Mr. Kramer will be available to sign his thought-provoking books: The Tragedy of Todays Gays; Women in Love and Other Dramatic Writings; Reports From the Holocaust: The Making of an AIDS Activist, and Faggots. New York Times Bestseller, Kevin Sessums, will be available for signing his books: I Left it on the Mountain and Mississippi Sissy. During An Evening With Larry Kramer, the centerpiece of the three-day event, Mr. Sessums will interview Mr. Kramer about the history of the HIV/AIDS crisis and corresponding evolution of the LGBTQ movement at 7:30 p.m. on March 10. This major event will be held at the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale. Robert Boo, chief executive officer of the Pride Center at Equality Park and David Jobin, chief executive officer of Our Fund Foundation of South Florida will be participating in the event. Through his writing and as co-founder of Gay Mens Health Crisis in 1982 and of ACT UP in 1987, Mr. Kramer, known to be outspoken and controversial, is considered to have been a creator of political strategies that brought HIV therapies to market early and encouraged large increases in federal spending on research. On March 11, from Noon-5:00 p.m., WAM and The Stonewall Museum will co-sponsor an all-day Poz Millennials Symposium featuring a panel of influential people involved in AIDS crisis activism during the past 30 years. The Museum is under its second annual contract to provide educational programming on HIV and sexually transmitted diseases to the Broward County School District. The schedule of events and costs: Exhibit opens March 8 at Noon at the Museum. For more information on this exhibit, please visit the World AIDS Museum and Educational Center website. Book Signing Party, March 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Museum. An Evening with Larry Kramer, March 10, 7:30 p.m., at the Museum. $25 admission. Youth Symposium, March 11, Noon-5 p.m. at ArtServe, cosponsored by WAM and Stonewall Museum and Archives. For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact: Hugh G. Beswick, CEO World AIDS Museum and Educational Center 1201 NE 26th Avenue, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-390-0550 (museum) 412-523-5245 (mobile) hughbeswick(at)comcast(dot)net "As demand for detecting bad welds and more importantly preventing them from occurring to begin with continues to increase, deployment of this new technology will play a pivotal role in improving weld quality and reducing product defects" WeldComputer Corporation has announced its latest U.S. patent for new technology that will benefit resistance welding operations around the world. This technology has allowed the company to introduce an innovative new process that provides a practical method for instrumenting new and existing welding guns to obtain real-time information needed to assess and control the quality of each weld as it is being formed. For the past 30 years, WeldComputer technology has been routinely deployed on press type and rocker arm welders to reliably monitor weld thermal response, one of the parameters needed to evaluate weld nugget growth and adaptively control the welding process. However, according to Robert Cohen, CEO of WeldComputer, this type of measurement has been less than ideal in automotive applications. In the case of automotive grade welding guns, he explains, due to nonlinear high friction in the actuating mechanism, only a portion of the thermal expansion and contraction translates into measurable motion. The remaining portion of the thermal response causes deflection of the linkages and arms of the welding apparatus instead. This problem is further exacerbated when servos are involved, because they often have sluggish and inconsistent responses to quick thermal mechanical transients. The new patent covers an innovative method for formulating a composite measurement of the actuator mechanism motion and apparatus deflection linkages together, which provides a more accurate measurement than either could provide alone. Until now there has not been a practical method of reliably obtaining this type of information on the majority of automotive grade type welding guns in operation worldwide, Cohen sums up. As demand for detecting bad welds and more importantly preventing them from occurring to begin with continues to increase, deployment of this new technology will play a pivotal role in improving weld quality and reducing product defects down the road in automotive and other commercial welding applications. WeldComputer Corporation manufactures a broad line of welding controls and monitors for commercial, military and aerospace resistance welding applications. WeldComputer controls and monitors work with spot, projection, seam, flash, butt, stud and capacitive discharge welding equipment to improve weld quality, increase weld consistency and throughput, reduce scrap, and improve worker safety, helping to reduce costs and improve quality assurance beyond what can be achieved with conventional equipment. WeldComputer adaptive controls have been granted military approval to eliminate destructive testing. Contact Melissa Conpropst, Customer Service, info(at)weldcomputer(dot)com or Peter Michos, Marketing, marketing(at)weldcomputer(dot)com The Athens contemporary reception desk, as seen at Smooth Generation, is one of our most popular designs. In addition to taking on my custom request, Bernie collaborated with me, and came up with the perfect solution to meet the needs of my client. While its true that mass-produced office furniture has been available for decades, and custom office furniture has been around for centuries, 90 Degree Office Concepts is changing the way companies buy furniture for their workplace. The CEO of Palantir, a multi-billion-dollar Palo Alto company, says he loves it. This is just one of many positive comments describing the way 90 Degree Office Concepts has combined furniture production and customized design, making it possible for small and large companies alike to outfit their offices in the size, color, and material of their choiceon a time schedule surpassing even the fastest industry-standard production and delivery times. In the office furniture arena, it can be challenging to find ways to maintain flexibility while offering customers a wider range of choice. At the same time, custom producers are now pressed to become more design-oriented, with faster delivery times. New design processes and delivery expectations are in place for clients nationwide. Smart Communications of Florida, which needed an impressive 22-foot boardroom table and matching reception area furniture in just two and a half weeks to impress a really big client flying in, had this to say: First off, thank you for getting our tables done in the small window we had. The receptionists desk is awesome, and we get compliments on it from everyone who walks by. While production office furniture is available out of the box in about a week or two, color and size options are normally limited to one, two, or three depending upon the size of the suppliers facility and their ability to carry stock. On the other hand, customers tend to struggle to convey their design ideas to furniture producers, while the producers themselves may or may not be familiar with office design, space planning, and commercial-grade construction. In addition, custom office furniture can take three to four months to arrive. 90 Degree Office Concepts has found a way to marry these two two systems, by providing clients with an exclusive set of designs that can be modified to the buyers preference while including free, personalized design consultation. This process takes the pain, unfamiliarity, and budgetary stress out of designing an office without a designer. For the consumer, the best part is the ability to receive their new furniture in just two to four weeks. Mindy, an interior designer in Fort Lauderdale, added her comments about 90 Degrees revolutionary process: In addition to taking on my custom request, Bernie collaborated with me, and came up with the perfect solution to meet the needs of my client. 90 Degree Office Concepts is a privately-held office furniture design/production company located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Its mission is to provide companies with modern, innovative office furniture featuring multi-level design solutions to help them elevate the look and feel of their workplacewhile following their own budget, not the suppliers. SmartCurrent helps you make your data valuable by applying our unique methodologies developed from years of delivering analytics insights to executives. "Andrew Edwards literally helped to create the digital analytics industry when he co-founded the Digital Analytics Association. I am thrilled he has joined our team to provide even more value to our clients." said Judah Phillips, Founder of SmartCurrent SmartCurrent, a Massachusetts-based data and analytics consulting company, announced today that digital analytics industry-pioneer Andrew Edwards will join the company as Managing Director. Edwards brings over 20 years of industry experience to SmartCurrent, having co-founded the Digital Analytics Association in 2004. Andrew built some of the first web sites in the early 1990s and, in 2013, pioneered the concept of Convergence Analytics, which predicted the digital marketing and measurement landscape common today. In 2015 Edwards authored, Digital is Destroying Everything (Rowman & Littlefield), which accurately predicted a number of trends gaining momentum today, including the increasing impact of algorithms on global markets and the staggering political influence of social media. Andrew previously in 2002 founded Technology Leaders, a digital analytics consulting company, and has held other senior leadership roles throughout his career. No small number of companies can provide what are called digital analytics services, said Mr. Edwards. But my keen interest in joining SmartCurrent is its top-down approach where, instead of providing implementation, SmartCurrent provides strategic data services to executives tasked with generating value from their data. Andrew is rare in the industry, said Judah Phillips, Founder of SmartCurrent. In addition to his laser-focus on what comes next in technology, he has deep experience helping companies realize the value of their data and how to use it to help people make decisions. We provide even greater value to our clients with Andrew aboard. SmartCurrent has delivered some very impressive and very strategic projects over the past several years. They are in a class of their own in the analytics industry, said Mr. Edwards. Theyve defined an analytics strategy for one of the worlds leading media companies. Theyve created a multi-year roadmap and operating model for analytics and business intelligence for a global investment bank. Theyve built out data-driven Centers of Excellence for more than one Fortune 500 company. With implementation now become a commodity, I agreed with SmartCurrents focus on delivering strategic services to companies that need to organize, deploy and drive value out of their data by using analytics and data science across all of their brands and divisions. Over the years, Edwards has advised some of the largest and well-known companies in media, finance, insurance, consumer goods, publishing, real estate, and pharmaceuticals. For several years, Andrew was a regular columnist at ClickZ. In the 1990s Edwards won awards from Deloitte & Touche for his pioneering efforts in the interactive space. In 1993 an article in Crains New York Business identified Andrew as one of the very earliest practitioners in the business of building commercial web sites in New York City. About SmartCurrent: SmartCurrent was founded in 2012 by noted author and analytics expert Judah Phillips to provide strategic data and analytics consulting services to senior executives tasked with transforming their businesses with data and analytics. The services include strategic planning, governance, and detailed data deployment roadmaps, as well as data visualization and data science initiatives. The firm helps its clients achieve key business goals by identifying opportunities in their analytics and other data assets; and by ensuring that current data acquisition and deployment capabilities are aligned with the organizations future vision. SmartCurrent clients have included some of the most recognized global names in consumer goods, automotive, global finance, ecommerce, and media. About Judah Phillips: Judah is an award-winning consultant and founder of SmartCurrent. He helps people create value with analytics and data science. Philips is the author of several industry-defining books including Ecommerce Analytics (Pearson, 2016), Digital Analytics Primer (Pearson, 2014) and Building a Digital Analytics Organization (Pearson, 2013). Judah also teaches business and analytics at both Boston University and Babson College. For more information, please contact data@smartcurrent.com or 1-800-636-9505. . I love the support and networking opportunities you find at 3CS. There is incredible diversity: geographic, background, work and educational experience, gender, and cultural. It has long been known that community colleges have the flexibility needed to respond to the cybsersecurity workforce needs in a timely manner. Community College Cyber Summit (3CS) is the only national conference that focuses bringing community colleges up to par with the best cybersecurity resources, curricula and technologies. Beat the rush and sign up now for the early bird discount for the 3CS, which takes place June 28-30 at Prince Georges Community College and National Harbor, Maryland. I love the support and networking opportunities you find at 3CS. There is incredible diversity: geographic, background, work and educational experience, gender, and cultural. And everyone I've met shares a passion for meeting the cybersecurity workforce and educational needs of our Nation and the global world in which we live. I am inspired!, states Susan Svane, North Central Texas College. The 3CS brings together community college educators and leaders to exchange information on cybersecurity in all technology fields. Students also are invited to participate, as there is a pre-summit job fair on June 28 as well as a student track. This years theme is Strengthening Our Cyber IQ. Presentations and workshops will be available for community college faculty and administration interested in any of these four tracks: 1) for faculty and colleges new to cybersecurity education, 2) for experienced faculty and programs, and for those colleges aspiring to apply for recognition as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Two Year (CAE2Y), 3) for teaching cybersecurity across the curriculum and throughout the nations critical infrastructure, and 4) for students attending the 3CS Pre-Summit Job Fair. Early bird registration is $150 and ends March 31. Community college faculty, administration and students are encouraged to register early due to limited seating. Register here: my3cs.org/registration-accommodations About Community College Cyber Summit: The Community College Cyber Summit (3CS) is organized and produced by the National CyberWatch Center, National Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA), CyberWatch West (CWW), Cyber Security Education Consortium (CSEC), Broadening Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC), and Advanced Cyberforensics Education (ACE) Consortium, which are all funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The outcomes of 3CS will leverage community college cybersecurity programs across the nation by introducing the latest technologies, best practices, curricula, products, and more. To learn more, visit my3CS.org. BOXBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Egenera, a leading provider of wholesale cloud services to the channel, today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company, has named Egenera to its 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2017 list. This annual lineup recognizes the most innovative cloud technology suppliers in each of five categories: infrastructure, platforms and development, security, storage and software. The 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors are selected by the CRN editorial team for their creativity and innovation in product development, the quality of their services and partner programs, and their demonstrated ability to help customers benefit from the ease of use, flexibility, scalability and budgetary savings that cloud computing offers. Tweet This: @TheChannelCo names @egenera @CRN 2017 100 Coolest #Cloud Computing Vendors list #CRNCloud100 www.crn.com/cloud100 In addition to recognizing cloud technology suppliers for outstanding products and services, the 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list serves as a valuable guide for solution providers trying to navigate the cloud market. The list aids prospective channel partners in identifying the cloud services vendors that can best help them improve or expand their cloud services. Egenera was chosen by CRN to honor its Xterity Cloud Services, one of the few wholesale managed cloud services on the market today. Xterity is sold exclusively through the channel and was designed from the ground up with product features and programs to make selling, deploying and managing cloud services easy and extremely profitable for partners far more so than the major (commodity) cloud vendors. Xterity Cloud Services combine the security and reliability of Tier 3 and Tier 3+ datacenters worldwide with enterprise-class hardware and software to deliver wholesale managed private and public cloud IaaS including bare metal, disaster recovery, backup and migration, along with 24x7x365 partner support and assigned account management. Cloud-based solutions are now a universal staple of IT services and an integral feature of solution providers portfolios, said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. It is therefore more important than ever for solution providers to be able to find and choose the best, most capable cloud vendors to partner with. CRNs annual list of the 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors helps them identify and engage these expert suppliers in order to grow and strengthen their cloud businesses. Congratulations to all the vendors on our 2017 list, which have distinguished themselves in this extremely competitive and essential technology area. 2016 was a year of tremendous momentum for Egenera. Our Xterity wholesale managed cloud services were widely adopted by a record number of end users worldwide via our ever-expanding partner network. Today, more than 175 service provider channel partners offer Xterity due to its extremely high margins, brandable offerings, self-service intuitive interface, fast time to revenue and channel-only model, said Pete Manca, President and CEO of Egenera. The new 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list will be featured in the February 2017 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/cloud100. Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook About Egenera is a leading provider of wholesale cloud services to the channel. Xterity, Egeneras cloud service, offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS), Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) and cloud migration to partners seeking to deliver monthly recurring revenue cloud services with no upfront costs, and compelling margins. Headquartered in Boxborough, Mass., Egenera hosts Xterity in Tier 3 and Tier 3+ datacenters in Boston, MA, Ashburn, VA, San Jose, CA, London, Dublin(2) and Tokyo. For more information on the company, please visit egenera.com. Follow Egenera on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. About the Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com The 2017 Husson University Ethics Symposium will feature a lecture by Dr. Steven A. Fesmire called "Rescuing Democracy from Moral Fundamentalism: How Moral Certainty is a Roadblock to Sustainability." In the face of global warming and serious partisan division, we struggle to address environmental problems. Perhaps a more pragmatic approach can help us make progress toward solving some of these issues. As citizens of a democracy, Americans seem to face a series of intractable problems associated with environmental sustainability. One of the major obstacles to implementing solutions is deep partisan and ideological divisiveness. We cant seem to agree on what constitutes the right thing to do. This year, Husson Universitys Ethics Symposium will examine this issue as part of a presentation by Dr. Steven A. Fesmire, professor of philosophy and environmental studies at Green Mountain College in Vermont. His lecture, Rescuing Democracy from Moral Fundamentalism: How Moral Certainty is a Roadblock to Sustainability, will take place at the Gracie Theatre on Monday, February 6, 2017 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. The presentation is free and open to the public. Dr. Fesmire is a great example of a long line of American pragmatic thinkers going back to William James and John Dewey, said Cliff Guthrie, Ph.D., a professor of ethics and humanities at Husson Universitys College of Science and Humanities. Like these other thinkers, he argues that we should view our moral disagreements more like practical everyday problems, and that Americans are great at using their imaginations to come up with new solutions to practical problems. The lecture will focus on the challenges created in democratic societies by moral fundamentalism a disposition to believe that there is only one right way to think about and solve moral or political problems. Fesmire will then go on to discuss ways to deal with moral fundamentalism so that democracies can successfully address the tangled local, bioregional, and global problems that prevent our lives from becoming healthier, more just, and more sustainable. More About Dr. Fesmire: Fesmire is the author of Dewey (Routledge Press, 2015), winner of the 2015 Choice Outstanding Academic Title award. He is also the author of John Dewey and Moral Imagination: Pragmatism in Ethics (Indiana University Press, 2003) and the winner of the 2005 Choice Outstanding Academic Title award. In addition, Fesmire is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Dewey (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2017) and is preparing a manuscript titled Ecological Imagination: Essays in Pragmatism, Ethics, and Education. He was a 2009 Fulbright Scholar at Kyoto University and Kobe University in Japan, a 2015-16 visiting scholar at Dartmouth College, and a 2016 fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Beyond teaching practical career-related knowledge, Husson University is committed to education that helps us better understand ourselves and our society, said Dr. Patricia Bixel, dean of the College of Science and Humanities. In the face of global warming and serious partisan division, we struggle to address environmental problems. Perhaps a more pragmatic approach can help us make progress toward solving some of these issues. If you would like more information about the upcoming presentation, or if you need to talk to someone about special arrangement or accommodations, please contact Cliff Guthrie, professor of ethics and humanities at guthriec(at)husson(dot)edu or 207 941-7760. For more than 100 years, Husson University has prepared future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent superior value in higher education. Our Bangor campus and off-campus satellite education centers in Southern Maine, Wells, and Northern Maine provide advanced knowledge in business; health and education; pharmacy studies; science and humanities; as well as communication. In addition, Husson University has a robust adult learning program. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu. Daniel Cottrell, IHC Specialty Benefits We have an industry leading suite of voluntary products, and the knowledge and relationships that Daniel brings to our organization will be a catalyst to continuing the exceptional growth that IHC has experienced in the specialty health market. Past News Releases RSS The IHC Group Acquires PetPartners,... IHC Specialty Benefits Rick... 2017 Career Opportunities with... The IHC Group (IHC) announced today the appointment of Daniel Cottrell as Senior Vice President of National Accounts for IHC Specialty Benefits, Inc., a member of The IHC Group. Mr. Cottrell has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, most recently serving as Vice President for Cigna Payer Solutions where he managed national level Payer relationships. Additionally, Mr. Cottrell also previously held key roles with Willis, Inc. & BlueCross BlueShield of TN. In his new role, Mr. Cottrell brings a track record of successfully growing profitable books of specialty health business. Mr. Cottrell will be primarily responsible for developing strategies to support the continued growth of IHC's Specialty Benefits division through strategic partnerships that will expand the distribution of IHCs specialty health products for employer groups and individuals. Daniel is a valuable addition to our management team as we continue to adjust to an ever changing healthcare environment, said Dave Keller, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for IHC Specialty Benefits. We believe that we are ideally situated to benefit from the anticipated changes in the health insurance marketplace. We have an industry leading suite of voluntary products, and the knowledge and relationships that Daniel brings to our organization will be a catalyst to continuing the exceptional growth that IHC has experienced in the specialty health market over the past three years. Mr. Cottrell, who will report to Mr. Keller, attended California University of Pennsylvania and currently resides in Collierville, Tenn. For more information on IHC Specialty Benefits, please contact Dave Keller at 952-746-6610 or email at dave(dot)keller(at)IHCGroup(dot)com. About The IHC Group Independence Holding Company (NYSE: IHC) is a holding company that is principally engaged in underwriting, administering and/or distributing group and individual specialty benefit products, including disability, supplemental health, pet, and group life insurance through its subsidiaries since 1980. The IHC Group owns three insurance companies (Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York, Madison National Life Insurance Company, Inc. and Independence American Insurance Company), and IHC Specialty Benefits, Inc., a technology-driven insurance sales and marketing company that creates value for insurance producers, carriers and consumers (both individuals and small businesses) through a suite of proprietary tools and products (including ACA plans and small group medical stop-loss). All products are placed with highly rated carriers. InvestmentBank.com to Exhibit at Investment Banking Conference Deal Capital Partners, LLC (http://investmentbank.com/) is pleased to announce the company will be attending and exhibiting at the Annual Winter Conference for the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors in Las Vegas, Nevada 2017. The attendance will help the company network with and provide services to leading middle-market advisors and investment bankers across North America and around the world. The conference will last two days and includes the Deal Bash exhibit as well as other training, networking and break-out sessions for both advisors and investors. As first-time attendees to the conference, the Deal Capital team will be showcasing a number of quality deals to potential investors as well as networking with other investment bankers. Because our business includes one part advisory and one part technology, we are looking forward to meeting with and discussing our platform with both investors and other intermediaries, including M&A advisors and investment bankers, says Carl Christensen, VP of Corporate Strategy. It will be the perfect venue for us to discuss our system and the advances we are making in assisting other middle-market operators. The conference is expected to be well-attended with over 500 middle-market private equity, family office and individual investors as well as the advisors that serve companies looking for a meaningful exit through a merger or acquisition. In addition, the conference is directly meant to benefit deal makers by providing context and connections for opportunities that may arise in the near future. We expect to connect with some quality, qualified capital providers at the conference, Christensen says. There should be ample opportunities for connecting with capital sources on immediate deal needs as well as for those that will soon be in the pipeline. About Deal Capital Partners, LLC Deal Capital Partners, LLC is an M&A advisory firm with a focus on technology-enabled investment tools for middle market providers including investors, entrepreneurs and intermediaries. The firms focus includes assisting across the investment banking and finance ecosystem from mergers and acquisitions to growth capital. The company assists on investment banking deals in real estate, healthcare & medical, software & technology, business services, oil & gas and consumer products. Metcalf & Associates, a leadership development and management consulting firm, recommends Voice America radio series Innovative Leaders Driving Thriving Organization. Partnering with The Institute For Strategic Clarity and VibrancyStory.com, Maureen Metcalf, CEO interviewed global thought leaders who shared unique leadership perspectives and academic research. Interviews, Forbes.com articles, blogs and academic papers are all published on the vibrancy thought leadership page. The series, along with other global leaders is archived on Voice America website, is available on the Metcalf & Associates thought leadership page. Expert advice and unique insight can be heard from the following top leading experts among others: 1. Interview CEO Perspective on Building A Vibrant Organization: Jim Ritchie-Dunham, Annabel Membrillo and Ana Claudia Goncalves discuss Organizational Vibrancy. Vibrancy is making a great impact in entire organizations and in pockets of organizations around the world. 2. Interview Creating Vibrant Departments in Large Complex Organizations. This interview with Jim Ritchie-Dunham and Dan Mushalko looks at WCBE public radio station in Columbus, Ohio. WCBE is an organization that has tested high on the vibrancy scale while the parent organization scored as less vibrant. Dan and Jim discusses his success factors driving vibrancy. 3. Interview Creating Vibrant Organizations to Drive Performance: Ecosynomics. Jim Ritchie-Dunham, Christoph Hinske and James Drinkwater discuss how this framework drives organizational abundance by improving an organizations ability to innovate out of key problems and create strategic advantage. 4. Interview How Big Change Happens. Christoph Hinske talked about his keynote to the World Green Building Council in Venice focused on retrofitting all buildings in Europe. The gathering was part of the EU funded BUILD UPON project, the worlds largest collaborative effort on building renovation. His topics included a discussion of: how do your agreements increase the probability of successful transformation; what is an agreements map and the cost of scarcity calculation; how does mapping and calculating the cost of agreements drive change and what concrete steps can I take to evaluate my agreements? 5. Forbes.com article, Do Leaders Benefit from Understanding Frameworks? 6. Forbes.com article, What Questions Help Identify High Quality Leaders for Your Organization? 7. Integral Leadership Review article, Co-hosting: Creating Optimal Experience for Team Interactions. In an era where business is conducted across global boarders and complexity is increasing dramatically, it is imperative for leaders to understand the impact effective agreements have as the foundation for successful and vibrant organizations. said Metcalf & Associates CEO, Maureen Metcalf. This interview series is already being adopted by academic and corporate leadership programs to expose leaders and students to leading thinkers from across the globe. The shows are accompanied by blog posts that build on and support the radio content. Metcalf & Associates, Inc., is a leadership development and management consulting firm that uses an integrative approach to help leaders and their organizations innovate how they lead and how they operate, helping them thrive in a rapidly changing environment. CEO Maureen Metcalf is an acclaimed thought leader who has developed, tested and implemented emerging models that dramatically improve leaders and contribute to organizational success. Hack Reactor Prep removes barriers by providing students the opportunity to learn JavaScript fundamentals from anywhere, at any time, at no cost. Hack Reactor, the countrys leading network of coding bootcamps, announced the launch of Hack Reactor Prep, a free, self-paced online course. Built from Hack Reactors groundbreaking course material, Hack Reactor Prep is ideal for students intending to take the Hack Reactor immersive and other highly selective coding bootcamps. This is the first time Hack Reactor has made its prep curriculum available online at no cost. I really liked the abundance of exercises that were available for students to practice, says Preda Anuvatnujotikul, a Prep student based in Hong Kong. The breadth of exercises was good to gain a solid comfort level with JavaScript. I felt adequately prepared and I was accepted to Hack Reactor's immersive course after the interview. As a self-paced online course, Hack Reactor Prep hopes to solve challenges that students face today. Many people who want to pursue a career change to software engineering simply cannot afford to quit their job to fully dedicate themselves to prepare for a coding bootcamp, especially when it comes to a scheduled, in-person prep course, says Shawn Drost, co-founder of Hack Reactor. Not being able to prepare properly can obstruct & demotivate a student from a rigorous admissions process. Hack Reactor Prep removes barriers by providing students the opportunity to learn JavaScript fundamentals from anywhere, at any time, at no cost. Hack Reactor Prep takes students through a series of JavaScript exercises to gain facility with various JavaScript tools and building blocks. Once they have a command of these, students solve a series of toy problems of increasing complexity and continue to improve their problem solving skills. The course culminates in a live performance section where students practice communication skills while understanding the pressures of a technical interview. With two versions available, a no cost version called Basic Prep and a paid version called Premium Prep, both provide the same proven curriculum and almost 200 challenging exercises. Premium Prep, which includes one-on-one mentor support and mock interviews, has proven successful with 85% of students being accepted into Hack Reactor. I had an amazing time, said Vincent Liu, who was accepted to the immersive course at Hack Reactor New York City. Take this course because it is a great way to be introduced to JavaScript. Hack Reactors powerful immersive course has educated thousands of software engineers with a curriculum built for lasting success in the technology industry. Now, Hack Reactor Prep further provides accessibility and convenience in education by making it easier than ever for anyone to join the growing technology sector. To learn more about Hack Reactor Prep, visit http://www.hackreactor.com/prep-programs. About Hack Reactor Hack Reactor's mission is to empower students to succeed in new careers in Software Engineering through accelerated, best-in-class programs and a strong, caring community. Their groundbreaking software engineering program trains students 11 hours per day, 6 days a week, over 12 weeks. Hack Reactors curriculum cultivates mastery of computer science fundamentals and the JavaScript programming language, and our third-party verified student outcomes pace the coding bootcamp industry. Thousands of Hack Reactor alumni work in a variety of mid- to senior-level engineering roles at industry leaders like Google, Adobe, LinkedIn, NASA JPL and Amazon, as well as many growing technology companies. For more information, visit: http://www.hackreactor.com. Michele is a respected colleague with a unique talent and ability to create a refreshed, natural look for patients with facial rejuvenation, and we are excited to introduce her to our practice, says Dr. Khosh Dr. Maurice Khosh is a leading New York Facial Plastic Surgeon delivering unsurpassed surgical skill with elegant artistry in the specialties of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face, along with treatment of ear, nose, and throat conditions. With a commitment to personal care and outstanding results, Dr. Khosh values a supportive and harmonious atmosphere where patients feel at ease with the services they are receiving. Michele Rivard, PA-C, is the newest addition to Dr. Khoshs leading Manhattan practice. With the distinctive ability to help patients achieve a natural look using neurotoxins and dermal fillers, Ms. Rivards collaboration with our practice continues to enhance each patients experience while helping them rediscover their natural beauty. Her knowledge of facial rejuvenation techniques and her commitment to unmatched patient care is a vital component to the continued success of our practice. Michele is a respected colleague with a unique talent and ability to create a refreshed, natural look for patients with facial rejuvenation, and we are excited to introduce her to our practice, says Dr. Khosh. More About Dr. Maurice M. Khosh: As a highly esteemed dual board certified facial plastic surgeon practicing in Manhattan, NY, Dr. Maurice M. Khosh is a founding member of the New York Head & Neck Institute and the former Director of Facial Plastic Surgery at Columbia University. With continued appearances on Castle Connollys Top Doctors List (2013-2016), Dr. Khosh has also been awarded the Patients Choice Award, which solidifies his dedication to providing the highest level of patient care in his field. Offering a full menu of cosmetic and reconstructive surgical and non-surgical procedures, including facial rejuvenation, Dr. Khoshs intricate experience spanning 20+ years is why he is recognized as one of the top cosmetic and reconstructive surgeons in the country. For more information about the many services offered by Dr. Khosh, visit his website at Facedoctornyc.com or contact his Manhattan office directly at (212) 339-9988. Prepared by Find Local Company Jack Price, founder of Price Rubin & Partners and concert pianist formerly known as Dickran Atamian, recently announced the award-winning Eroica Trios February concert schedule in Hawaii. The highly acclaimed Eroica Trio is one of the most sought-after chamber music ensembles performing today, said Price. This is probably the most branded trio ever in classical music. The renowned Eroica Trio won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in a highly successful Lincoln Center debut and has since toured the United States, Europe and Asia. While maintaining their demanding concert schedule, the Eroica Trio has released eight critically lauded recordings for Angel/EMI Classics. The Eroica Trio Hawaii tour kicks off on Saturday, February 11, in Honolulu on Oahu (time and location TBA). The trio will also be performing on Saturday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Orvis Auditorium in Honolulu. The tour then moves to the Big Island town of Kamuela on Sunday, February 12, at 4 p.m. at the Kahilu Theatre and Monday, February 13, at 10:30 a.m. (location TBA). Big Island dates are also scheduled for Tuesday, February 14, in Hilo (time and location TBA) and Wednesday, February 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Hilo Performing Arts Center, University of Hawaii. The program for all Eroica Trio Hawaii engagements will include the Bach Chaconne, Piazzolla Otono, Villa Lobos Aria, Piazzolla Primavera, Schoenfield Cafe Music and Dvorak Dumky Trio. About Jack Price, Price Rubin & Partners Artist Management Jack Price helps artists develop their individual market branding and career milestones. The Price Rubin & Partners staff makes thousands of calls every month to decision-makers who are in charge of talent acquisition for concerts, corporate events and fundraisers. They offer real-time reporting where artists can see their campaign (which is personally supervised by Jack) unfolding second by second. Price Rubin stands for transparency and accountability in artist management today. For more information, please call (310) 254-7149, (PRI) CER-UBIN or visit http://www.pricerubin.info. About the NALA The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. Immigration attorney Tifany Markee is celebrating fifteen years as a legal professional. More important than the number of years I have practiced is my ability to look back and see my work pay off for individuals, families and companies throughout the world, said Ms. Markee, a partner at Milner & Markee, LLP. I know that my dedication and commitment to improving my profession has made a true difference, and for that I am very proud. I look forward to the next fifteen years with equal excitement. Ms. Markee received her Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude in May 2001. She is currently an active member of the California State Bar and American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is also a Certified Specialist in U.S. Immigration and Nationality law by the State Bar of California. Furthermore, Ms. Markee, the mother of two internationally adopted children, is one of only a handful of attorneys across the nation with an active practice in the adoption, immigration, and citizenship of foreign-born children. She is an active lecturer and mentor in this field and frequently speaks at law schools and professional organizations, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Academy of California Adoption Attorneys. Tifany has dedicated herself to this demanding field of law, and has successfully presented and assisted with cases before the CIS, Board of Immigration Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Federal District Courts, said Nora Milner, senior partner at Milner & Markee. The firm is very fortunate to have her unique skills and experience in international adoptions. About Milner & Markee, LLP Since 1987, Milner & Markee has focused on Immigration and Nationality Law. Milner & Markee maintains two offices, one in San Diego and one in Palm Desert, CA. For more information, please call (858) 451-6269, or visit http://www.milner-markee.com. About the NALA The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. Toshiba Cooling Tower Low Voltage Motor Toshibas new EQP Global Severe Duty Cooling Tower motor is ideal for industrial cooling tower applications where durability and reliability are essential, said John Rama, Business Director for the TIC Motors and Drives division. Toshiba International Corporation (TIC) today announced the development and availability of the new EQP Global Severe Duty Cooling Tower motor. The low voltage motor is specifically designed for cooling tower applications in wet and humid environments. Built with a severe duty enclosure and coated with corrosion-resistant epoxy paint, the motor can withstand the most extreme operating conditions. Toshibas new EQP Global Severe Duty Cooling Tower motor is ideal for industrial cooling tower applications where durability and reliability are essential, said John Rama, Business Director for the TIC Motors and Drives division. Available in to 75 horsepower (HP), the Cooling Tower motor features severe duty IP56 protection and is designed to operate in 100% humidity. Enclosure options include totally enclosed fan cooled (TEFC) and totally enclosed air over (TEAO) designs for all operating conditions. Additional features include: Ingress Protection IP56 for Wet & Humid Environments 1800 & 1200 RPM Designs 230/460/ or 575 V 3-Phase 60 Hz Up to 365T NEMA Frame Suitable for Inverter Duty TIC has developed a proud tradition of producing some of the most reliable, robust motors in the market. With in-house design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities, TIC can customize each motor to specific application requirements. In 2017, TIC will commemorate 50 years of doing business in the United States with a series of innovative product launches throughout the year. Learn more about the complete line of EQP Global low voltage motors by visiting http://www.toshiba.com/tic. About Toshiba International Corporation TIC is a Toshiba America Inc. (TAI) Group Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. TIC is headquartered in Houston, Texas and employs approximately 1,200 people. TIC provides application solutions to a wide range of industries including industrial, and transmission and distribution systems. For more information about TIC, please visit http://www.toshiba.com/tic. About the TIC Motors & Drives Division The TIC Motors & Drives division, which offers a full range of motors, adjustable speed drives, and motor controls, is anchored by a totally integrated manufacturing process; research and development, design, engineering, production and manufacturing, and after-market service and support are all commandeered under one single roof. With the capability to test products together as a complete system before sending out into the field, TIC ensures the highest level of quality, performance, and reliability. Debt & Credit Lawyer's Sergei Lemberg The least we can do in the face of President Trump's discriminatory executive order is to negotiate with creditors and credit bureaus on behalf of refugees who are unable to make payments on their mortgages, cars, and credit cards. Sergei Lemberg, who as a teenager landed at New York's JFK International Airport as a Russian refugee, has lived the American dream. Now one of the nation's most prominent consumer attorneys, Lemberg is throwing open the doors of Debt & Credit Lawyer (http://www.debtandcreditlawyer.com) to offer free debt- and credit-related legal services to the estimated 90,000 refugees and visa holders impacted by President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries. "The travel ban may have a devastating financial impact on those who live in the U.S. but who are detained or who are stuck in foreign countries," said Lemberg. "I want to help them get back on track." Debt & Credit Lawyer, a retail subsidiary of the decade-old Lemberg Law, last week opened its doors in Norwalk, Connecticut, to assist clients in resolving debt, fixing credit report mistakes, and navigating bankruptcy. According to Lemberg, "The least we can do in the face of President Trump's discriminatory executive order is to negotiate with creditors and credit bureaus on behalf of refugees who are unable to make payments on their mortgages, cars, and credit cards." Lemberg, whose firm has recovered more than $35 million on behalf of more than 18,000 clients victimized by debt collectors and others, understands that missed payments can begin a downward spiral that undermines dreams and aspirations. "When I arrived in the U.S. as a refugee, I was welcomed with open arms," he said. "I want to ensure that refugees and visa holders whose entries are delayed by the travel ban know that they are welcome and that we're here to help." __________ About Debt & Credit Lawyer Debt & Credit Lawyer works with clients to build a creditor shield that shuts down creditor abuse, asserts the consumer's rights, delivers a solid debt defense, and guards the consumer's credit score. Sergei Lemberg can brief you about debt relief options, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and other relevant issues. For more information, contact: Sergei Lemberg Lemberg Law http://www.DebtAndCreditLawyer.com http://www.LembergLaw.com CLEVELAND, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, today announced that it has acquired Helac Corporation, headquartered in Enumclaw, WA. Helac specializes in the design and manufacture of helical rotary actuators, known for their tremendous torque output, compact dimensions, exceptional load bearing capability and rugged, reliable performance. Helac also manufactures a line of attachments primarily for use in material handling and construction equipment markets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Helac is a pioneer in the development of helical rotary actuators and represents a strategic addition to our world-leading hydraulics product portfolio offering customers solutions in a wide variety of markets, said Andy Weeks, President of the Parker Hydraulics Group. We are excited about the opportunities to strengthen Parkers position in key growth markets and expand the reach of Helac products through Parkers global sales channels. Helac had revenues of approximately $75 million with 300 employees in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. The acquired company will become a business unit of Parkers Cylinder Division within the Hydraulics Group with sales reported in Parker's Diversified Industrial segment. As we looked at options for future growth we sought a partner that shares our deep commitment to innovation, serving our customers needs and delivering high quality products and services, said Dean Weyer, CEO Helac Corporation. Parker Hannifin has all of those qualities along with an entrepreneurial culture and decentralized operating model that will allow Helac employees to thrive and grow. We are excited for the future of our business working in concert with such a well-respected global leader in hydraulics. Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For 100 years the company has engineered the success of its customers in a wide range of diversified industrial and aerospace markets. Parker has increased its annual dividend per share paid to shareholders for 60 consecutive fiscal years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index. Learn more at www.parker.com or @parkerhannifin. ### The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) this week announced the passage of HB 1432/SB 1347 by the Virginia House and Senate Committees on Courts of Justice. The legislation, conceived by AKTI and sponsored by Delegate Lee Ware, R-65, and Senator Bryce Reeves, R-17, will reform current state laws to authorize any person to carry an automatic knife concealed when such knife is carried for the purpose of engaging in a lawful profession or recreational activity the performance of which is aided by the use of an automatic knife. The bill also removes automatic knives from the list of weapons for which selling, bartering, giving, or furnishing is a Class 4 misdemeanor. The legislation now moves to the House and Senate floor for votes the next few weeks. Ensuring that the Code of Virginia provides for the safety of the public, while not impinging on the rights, and needs, of law-abiding citizens is one of the most important obligations entrusted to a member of the General Assembly, said HB 1432s sponsor, Delegate Ware. I am pleased to be patron of House Bill 1432, I am grateful for the indispensable assistance of AKTI in preparing and securing Committee passage of the bill, and I look forward to advocating for full passage of the bill during the 2017 General Assembly." AKTI is a non-profit 501(c)6 organization that represents all segments of the knife industry and knife users, promoting reasonable and responsible knife legislation and enforcement. We believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to carry their essential and valuable tools without the fear of arbitrary, inconsistent and ineffective government restrictions. We are extremely pleased to see HB 1432 and SB 1347 pass the Courts of Justice Committees, and look forward to the bill passing the House of Delegates and the Senate in the near future, said AKTIs Executive Director, Jan Billeb. We have worked closely with Delegate Ware and Senator Reeves on this bill, and are thankful for his leadership on the issue. Delegate Ware and Senator Reeves are true champions of responsible knife owners in the Commonwealth of Virginia, said AKTI President CJ Buck. We are also grateful to Chairman Rob Bell, R-58, Chairman Obenshain, R-26, for his support in passing the bill. Finally, AKTI wants to thank Knife Rights and the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) for extending their support of the legislation. About AKTI: The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) is a non-profit organization (501(c)6) representing all segments of the knife industry and all knife users. Formed in true grassroots fashion by concerned industry leaders after considerable discussion with individual knifemakers, knife magazine publishers, and a broad section of the knife community, AKTI has been the reasonable and responsible voice of the knife community since 1998. AKTIs mission is to ensure that Americans will always be able to make, buy, sell, own, carry and use knives and edged tools. To learn more, please visit http://www.akti.org and https://www.facebook.com/saveourknives. ***** If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity. PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move. NIA charge sheet against Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel, 3 others in case related to global terrorist network and crime syndicate: Official. PLEASANTON, Calif., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO) today announced it will release first quarter 2017 financial results on Thursday, March 2, 2017, at 4:15 PM ET. Following the release, the Company will host a conference call at 5:00 PM ET to discuss the results and current corporate developments. The live dial-in number for the call is 855-643-4430 (U.S.) / 707-294-1332 (International). The participant passcode for the call is Cooper. A simultaneous webcast of the call will be available through the Investor Relations section of the Cooper Companies website at http://investor.coopercos.com and a transcript of the call will be archived on this site for a minimum of 12 months. A recording of the call will be available beginning at 8:00 PM ET on March 2, 2017 through March 9, 2017. To hear this recording, dial 855-859-2056 (U.S.) / 404-537-3406 (International) and enter code 266737. About The Cooper Companies The Cooper Companies, Inc. ("Cooper") is a global medical device company publicly traded on the NYSE (NYSE:COO). Cooper is dedicated to being A Quality of Life Company with a focus on delivering shareholder value. Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to developing a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical is committed to advancing the health of families with its diversified portfolio of products and services focusing on womens health, fertility and diagnostics. Headquartered in Pleasanton, CA, Cooper has more than 10,000 employees with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com. COO-G WYOMISSING, Pa., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Customers Bank, a community-based, full-service bank with assets of approximately $9.4 billion, once again ranked among the best and largest banks in the nation in Forbes 2017 Best Banks in America ranking released in January 2017. Customers Bank was ranked 35th out of the 100 largest banks in America and is the #1 Pennsylvania-chartered bank on the list. Forbes is in its eighth year of ranking the largest banks of America, which this year ranged from banks with $8 billion in assets to banks with $2.5 trillion in assets. The Forbes ranking is based on metrics related to growth, profitability, capital adequacy and asset quality. Customers Bank has ranked among the 100 largest banks in America since 2015. We are pleased to be recognized among the best of the countrys 100 largest banks for the third year, said Jay Sidhu, chairman and chief executive officer of Customers Bank. Notable rankings like this one are further proof of the success and profitability of our customer-focused banking model. We look forward to another year of continued growth as we provide exceptional value, service and convenience for our customers. Since Sidhu and his executive team joined the bank in 2009, Customers grew from a $250 million-asset bank to a $9.4 billion-asset high-performing bank with a focus on a high tech, high touch strategy to provide customers with the latest technology and personalized service. Customers Bank has also been recognized among Bank Director magazines fastest growing banks, the Philadelphia Business Journals Philadelphia 100, and Lehigh Valley Business Journals Fastest Growing Banks. About Customers Bancorp, Inc. and Customers Bank Customers Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company located in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania engaged in banking and related business through its bank subsidiary, Customers Bank. Customers Bank is a community-based, full-service bank with assets of approximately $9.4 billion that was named one of Forbes magazine's 2017 100 Best Banks in America (there are over 6,200 banks in the United States). A member of the Federal Reserve System with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Customers Bank is an equal opportunity lender that provides a range of banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals and families through offices in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Committed to fostering customer loyalty, Customers Bank uses a High Tech/High Touch strategy that includes use of industry-leading technology to provide customers better access to their money, as well as Concierge Banking by appointment at customers homes or offices 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers Bank offers a continually expanding portfolio of loans to small businesses, multi-family projects, mortgage companies and consumers. Customers Bancorp, Inc. voting common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CUBI. Additional information about Customers Bancorp, Inc. can be found on the Companys website, www.customersbank.com. Cookies What are cookies ? How do we use cookies? How to control cookies? Managing cookies in your browser see what cookies you have got and delete them on an individual basis block third party cookies block cookies from particular sites block all cookies from being set delete all cookies when you close your browser X A cookie is a small text file that a website saves on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site. 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Google will anonymize the information sent by removing the last octet of your IP address prior to its storage.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website and compiling reports on website activity.We not use, and not allow any third party to use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any personally identifiable information of visitors to this site. Google may transfer the information collected by Google Analytics to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google`s behalf.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.You may refuse the use of Google Analytics cookies by downloading and installing Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics.Cookies are also used to record if you have agreed (or not) to our use of cookies on this site, so that you are not asked the question every time you visit the site.You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed.Most browsers allow you to:If you chose to delete cookies, you should be aware that any preferences will be lost. Also, if you block cookies completely many websites (including ours) will not work properly and webcasts will not work at all. For these reasons, we do not recommend turning cookies off when using our webcasting services. News World news Trans Adriatic Pipeline to Cost EUR 4.5 Billion (Project Chief) Azerbaijans Shah Deniz Consortium will start its first gas sales to Turkey and Georgia by the end of 2018, adding that sales to Europe are slated to begin by early 2020, TAP General Manager Ian Bradshaw said AUTHOR: publics.bg TAP The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which aims to pump Azeri gas to Europe by 2020, will cost EUR 4.5 billion in total, the project chief has stated, as quoted by Anadolu Agency and Hurriyet Daily. We could not voice an exact figure until now as the contract prices were unclear. We can comfortably name the price. The project will cost 4.5 billion euros, said TAP General Manager Ian Bradshaw, adding that this figure also includes the design and engineering works that have been continuing since 2009. TAP will start near Kipoi on the border of Turkey and Greece, where it will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). From there, the TAP will continue onshore, crossing the entire territory of Northern Greece, its longest stretch, then onwards east to west through Albania to the Adriatic coast. The offshore section of the pipeline will begin near the Albanian city of Fier and it will traverse the Adriatic Sea to tie into Italys gas transportation network in Southern Italy. Bradshaw noted that Azerbaijans Shah Deniz Consortium will start its first gas sales to Turkey and Georgia by the end of 2018, adding that sales to Europe are slated to begin by early 2020. He added that the compressor station construction of the project will start at the first quarter of this year, while the offshore works are planned to be made in 2018 and 2019. For the first time in the nearly 25-year history of the PW Bookstore of the Year Awards, a childrens only bookstore, Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis, was named one of five finalists. The shortlist was announced in Wild Rumpuss hometown during Winter Institute 12, which was held at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis from January 2730. Childrens books are well represented at the other four finalists, which are general bookstores with strong childrens sections: Avid Bookshop in Athens, Ga.; The Kings English Bookshop in Salt Lake City; Parnassus Books in Nashville; and Prairie Lights in Iowa City. The 2017 PW Bookstore of the Year Award shines a light on some of the most creative and energetic bookstores in the business, said PW executive v-p and publisher Cevin Bryerman. The awards come at a time when many experienced a strong year despite the tumultuous election. The winner of the 2017 PW Bookstore of the Year Award will be named in March and will be featured in the pre-BookExpo edition of Publishers Weekly on May 15. The awards will be presented at the Celebration of Bookselling at BookExpo in New York City. After seven months of contentious debate over the merger, the International Digital Publishing Forum, developer of the EPUB e-book format standard, and the W3C, the internet standards organization founded by Tim Berners-Lee, have officially combined organizations. IDPF president George Kerscher, said that the merger of the two organizations will ensure that EPUB will remain a standard relevant to the future of the global online and print community. By combining our organizations, we not only align our technology roadmaps, but also accelerate the adoption of content that is natively accessible and device-friendly for all types of publishing, whether you are reading on the Web or offline." Under the merger, the IDPF will be absorbed into the W3C. IDPF members voted overwhelmingly (88% in favor) in support of the merger in November 2016. In addition the IDPF said that an unprecedented number of IDPF members who contributed to the development of the EPUB standard have relinquished any rights they have in the standard to ensure that EPUB is an open and royalty free standard. The approval for the merger came despite vigorous objections by Steve Potash, OverDrive CEO and founder of the Open E-Book Forum, the predecessor organization to the IDPF. Bill McCoy, former executive director of the IDPF, will join the W3C in a new managerial role to oversee the transition of former IDPF members and other publishing-related organizations into the new W3C structure. In addition, the former IDPF board of directors will join the W3C Publishing Steering Committee to oversee publishing issues and work with the publishing committee. To address concerns about the continued development of the EPUB standard, the W3C has set up the EPUB Community Group that is free and open to anyone to participate. The W3C has also created the W3C Publishing Business Group for former IDPF members as well as current W3C members and other interested groups. Under the newly merged structure, the Publishing Business Group will serve as forum for digital publishing issues. The new group will hold its first meeting on March 13 in the London during the London Book Fair. The W3C has also organized a meeting to discuss the next generation EPUB requirements. The EPUB Summit will take place March 9-10 in Brussels, Belgium. W3C CEO Dr. Jeff Jaffe, said, W3C is thrilled to gain the expertise of the publishing industry with its rich tradition of excellence in developing many forms of content for books, magazines, journals, educational materials and scholarly publications. Working together, Publishing@W3C will bring exciting new capabilities and features to the future of publishing, authoring and reading using Web technologies." Former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton has sold a yet-to-be-titled new book of quotations and personal essays to Simon & Schuster. The book, which is expected to publish under the S&S trade imprint in fall 2017, will tell stories from Clinton's life, including her experiences during the 2016 presidential election. It will also feature a collection of inspirational quotations. These are the words I live by, Clinton said, according to a press release. These quotes have helped me celebrate the good times, laugh at the absurd times, persevere during the hard times and deepen my appreciation of all life has to offer. President and CEO of Simon & Schuster Carolyn Reidy bought world rights in all formats to the book from Robert B. Barnett of Williams & Connolly. President and publisher Jonathan Karp and v-p & executive editor Priscilla Painton will serve as editors. In addition to publishing in the U.S., the book will also be published by Simon & Schusters international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, and as an audiobook by Simon & Schuster Audio. In a second deal brokered between Reidy, Barnett, and Jon Anderson of the Children's Publishing Division, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers will publish Clintons bestselling It Takes a Village for the first time as a picture book in fall 2017. The book will be illustrated by two-time Caldecott Honor winner Marla Frazee. Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator. Paula Wiseman will be the editor. It Takes a Village will also be published by Simon & Schusters international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - This years Indiana Small Farm Conference begins with a series of workshops and a tour of some of the states most innovative urban agriculture operations. Its the most ambitious agenda weve had so far, said James Wolff, Purdue Extension-Allen County educator and one of the conference organizers. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about everything from new food safety regulations to farm financial management. But weve also made sure there will be plenty of opportunities to network with Purdue Extension educators, specialists, speakers and other producers. The daylong workshops will be offered March 2, at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Center, 1900 E. Main St., Danville. Topics are: * Hop Workshop: Indiana farmers and nationally recognized hops producers will discuss varieties, disease issues, processing and marketing. Speakers are: Lori Hoagland, assistant professor of horticulture at Purdue; Tim Weigle, integrated pest management specialist at Cornell University; Tom Cresswell, clinical engagement associate professor at Purdues Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory; Jean Jensen, research associate in Purdues Department of Food Sciences; Steve Miller, senior resource educator and hops specialist at Cornell; and Sara Williams, treasurer of the Indiana Hop Growers Association. * Starting and Sustaining a Small-Acre Farm in Indiana: Participants will learn what skills and resources they will need to start a small-scale farming operation. Speakers include Sam Smith, farm business specialist with the Intervale Center, an organization promoting local food systems; Tamara Benjamin, Extension diversified agriculture specialist; and Eliot Coleman, author of the books The New Organic Grower, Four Season Harvest and The Winter Harvest Handbook and one of the countrys foremost experts on organic farming. * On-Farm Food Safety for Fruit and Vegetable Growers-Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training: Scott Monroe, Extension food safety educator, and a team of PSA-certified trainers, will discuss how the FSMA produce rule impacts farms of all sizes and how producers can minimize the risks associated with foodborne pathogens. This session meets federal FSMA Produce Rule training requirements. New this year is an Urban Agriculture Tour. Participants will visit a school-based livestock project, a commercial hydroponic farm and commercial market farm. The tour runs from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 2. Conference sessions March 3-4 will cover more than a dozen topics, including: * Tools and Innovation on Small Farms * Pricing Strategies for Your Products * Carcass Quality and Animal Health and Production * Balancing Farm and Family on a Small Acre Farm Vendors will display a wide range of agricultural equipment, products and services during a trade show March 3-4 in the facilitys exhibit hall. Exhibitor registration will be accepted through Feb. 20. Cost of the conference is $75 for one day, $135 for two days and $190 for three days for those who register before Feb. 6. Afterward, costs are $90, $162 and $228. The last day to register is Feb. 20. For more information and to sign up, go to the Purdue Extension Small Farm Team website at https://www.purdue.edu/dffs/smallfarms/indiana-small-farm-conference/ or visit https://www.facebook.com/PurdueExtensionSmallFarms/ on Facebook. Writer: Darrin Pack, 765-494-8415, dpack@purdue.edu Sources: Michael ODonnell, 765-747-7732, modonnel@purdue.edu James Wolff, 260-481-6826, jmwolff@purdue.edu Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415; Darrin Pack, dpack@purdue.edu Agriculture News Page PEORIA Caterpillar Inc. announced Tuesday it will locate a limited group of senior executives and support functions in the Chicago area later this year, while reaffirming the ongoing importance of its presence in Peoria and Central Illinois. "Caterpillar's board of directors has been discussing the benefits of a more accessible, strategic location for some time," Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby said in a company news release. "Since 2012, about two-thirds of Caterpillar's sales and revenues have come from outside the United States," he said. "Locating our headquarters closer to a global transportation hub, such as Chicago, means we can meet with our global customers, dealers and employees more easily and frequently. "We value our deep roots in Central Illinois, and Peoria will continue to be our hometown," Mr. Umpleby said. "The vast majority of our people will remain in this important region where we have many essential facilities and functions. The new location is also an opportunity to add to our talented team while improving the productivity of our senior leaders." Caterpillar officials said continuing challenging market conditions and the need to prioritize resources to focus on growth prompted the company to decide not to build a previously announced headquarters complex in Peoria. The current headquarters building will continue to be used for Caterpillar offices. Over the past five years, Caterpillar along with its employees and retirees has contributed more than $60 million to support thousands of families, organizations and programs across Central Illinois. The company will continue its philanthropic support and deep civic involvement in the Peoria area. "As mayor, I never want jobs moving out of the city," said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis. "However, the overwhelming majority of Caterpillar employees and their families based in the Peoria area won't be impacted by this decision. I'm pleased Caterpillar continues to call Peoria its hometown. Selected senior executives will move into leased office space this year and, once the location is fully operational, about 300 employees will be based there including some relocated from the Peoria area. CHICAGO (AP) Lawsuits filed by two Chicago residents saying they were unlawfully prevented from re-entering the U.S. by President Donald Trump's executive order have been resolved. Attorneys for Dr. Amer Al Homssi and an Iranian native who filed a John Doe lawsuit say federal authorities acknowledged Wednesday neither traveler should have been barred from re-entering the country based on the president's executive order, and both would be coming home. Al Homssi is a Syrian citizen and legal resident of the United Arab Emirates. The internal medicine resident says his U.S. visa was canceled as he tried to board a flight to Chicago from the UAE where he got married. The second man traveled to Iran to care for his sick mother. A ticketing agency refused to issue him a ticket to Chicago. VIRGINIA, Ill. (AP) A judge has ruled prosecutors can present evidence that Curtis Lovelace was abusive to his second wife when he is retried in his first wife's death. The Quincy Herald-Whig reports a judge ruled Tuesday. It's a reversal from the former Adams County prosecutor's first trial when Erika Gomez was barred from testifying about the claims. Lovelace is charged with first-degree murder in 38-year-old Cory Lovelace's Valentine's Day 2006 death. He faces a Feb. 27 second trial after the first ended with a deadlocked jury. Lovelace's attorney argued Gomez's testimony would include "vindictive, angry and untrue allegations," and would turn the trial into a "sideshow." Lovelace has said he found his first wife dead in bed. An initial autopsy was inconclusive, but prosecutors argued subsequent forensic tests and photographic evidence determined she was suffocated. WASHINGTON The Trump administration moved Tuesday to distance itself from a leading climate change doubter who was part of the team leading the transition for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration an appointment that had alarmed NOAA employees. An official with the Department of Commerce, the agency overseeing NOAA, said Kenneth Haapala no longer had a role in the transition and did not take part in meetings about potential appointments. The official, who contacted McClatchy but spoke only on the condition of anonymity, citing departmental policy, was unable to say when Haapala had stopped serving on the transition team. Haapala heads the Science and Environmental Policy Project and serves as a policy expert at the Heartland Institute, organizations that have long criticized climate change scientists, including those at NOAA, and attempted to discredit their work. Haapala couldnt be reached for comment this week, but as recently as Saturday he had gone online to defend his unpaid, temporary position on the Department of Commerce transition, landing team. Writing in his Week That Was newsletter on Saturday, Haapala responded to a Jan. 24 letter sent to President Donald Trump by two congressional Democrats demanding that Haapala be removed from the Department of Commerce transition team. Haapala said he had long faced political attacks for challenging scientific findings that human activities were contributing to climate change. Daring to confront conventional thinking has its own responsibilities and penalties, he wrote. NOAA employees interviewed by McClatchy expressed alarm that Haapala would have a role in the agencys management. But according to the senior Commerce Department official, Haapala did not attend meetings or offer up names for appointments while serving in the transition. From inauguration on forward, he has not had a role, the official said. Haapalas involvement with the Department of Commerce transition was disclosed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva in a letter they wrote to Trump last week demanding Haapalas removal. The White House did not respond to a request for comment Monday. On Tuesday, it said Haapala no longer had a role in the transition. 2017 McClatchy Washington Bureau Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau at www.mcclatchydc.com Question the timing all you want, but last weeks legal filing by Attorney General Lisa Madigan to stop paying state employee wages without an official appropriation is long overdue and is completely consistent with a 2016 Illinois Supreme Court ruling and with her (and the governor's) opposition to a similar lawsuit brought by social service providers. Back in 2015, after the General Assembly and the governor couldnt come to terms on a budget deal, AFSCME and other unions went to court and asked a judge to force the state to pay state workers even though there was no official appropriation for the salaries. That ruling remains in place today. But this passage in the Illinois Constitution pretty much says it all: "The General Assembly by law shall make appropriations for all expenditures of public funds by the State." So the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in March of 2016 on a different case that the portion of AFSCME's contract with the state requiring payment of back wages could not be honored without a proper legislative appropriation. In other words, no appropriation, no payment, even with a contract. It was a completely reasonable decision. The governor shouldn't be able to sign contracts and then force state payment without an actual appropriation. The potential for abuse is mind blowing. Just imagine if Rod Blagojevich could've paid whomever he wanted, how much he wanted without any legislative permission. Gov. Bruce Rauner's position against a lawsuit brought by human service providers is also completely in line with that 2016 Supreme Court decision. The service providers say their signed state contracts mean they should be paid in full even though the General Assembly hasn't approved the appropriations to do so. Never once has Gov. Rauner said those providers ought to be paid without a formal budget in place. But there he was last week saying that Attorney General Madigans motion would directly harm state workers while urging her to drop her legal motion. Hes been fighting the state employee unions since Day One and has said he wants to help social service groups, yet he wants state workers paid without an appropriation but doesnt want social service providers paid the same way? Cmon, man. I was born at night, but not last night. Whats he really up to? Give me a minute and I'll get to it. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin's reaction to AG Madigans move appeared to fly in the face of common sense: "This decision clearly undermines the legislature's duty to negotiate a bipartisan solution." I was in Decatur to give a speech last week about the prospects for the Senate's much-touted "grand bargain" when I found out about AG Madigan's motion. My speech, as initially written, gave that bipartisan effort no better than a 50-50 chance to spur a final deal. If the attorney general had filed her motion last year after the Supreme Court ruling, we wouldn't be in this mess today, and Leader Durkin most certainly knows it. Nothing focuses the General Assembly's bipartisan attention quite so much as a massive crisis. So, why didn't she file it last year? I'm told she wanted to give the General Assembly and the governor some time to work things out. They eventually agreed to a stop gap budget, so she laid low. But that stop gap budget expired at the end of December and the General Assembly left town last week without making significant progress. There will naturally be widespread suspicions that AG Madigan acted on behalf of her father. The Illinois Republican Party explicitly made that very point when it claimed the attorney general "decided to put Speaker Madigan's power politics ahead of hard-working families in an effort to shut down state government." That last sentence is the key here. The governor has done all he could to avoid a shutdown because a shutdown means all the emphasis would then be on quickly passing a real budget and the tax hikes which go along with it to reopen the governments shuttered doors. And that means the governor will lose much (or most, or possibly even all) of his beloved "leverage" to force through his various anti-union/pro-business economic reforms. And that leverage, whether he admits it or not, is the extreme pressure thats been put on social service providers and the people they serve since this impasse began 18 long months ago. The attorney general has asked the judge to allow the governor and the General Assembly to delay any order until Feb. 28th to give them time to work out a deal. Get on it, folks. Go To The Polls And Pull The Lever We hope everyone turns out to pull the lever next Tuesday (Nov. 8). Actually, new voters wont know what we are talking about, as the... Letters To The Editor Street Closure Dangers Neighbors, Friends, Citizens of NYC/QUEENS: Many may not know that NYC has decided to close off miles of streets to cars in... "These tournaments are about getting better and building into the big game, so we'd like to think that we'll see more improvement tomorrow," Gardiner said. 20 minutes ago The 26.2km line is part of the route from the Adriatic port of Koper to the Austrian border, but is currently considered to be a bottleneck limiting both capacity and performance. In addition to reducing journey times, the project will increase line capacity from 328 to 354 trains per day, while annual freight capacity will rise from 20.57 million tonnes to 24.41 million tonnes. The line will be resignalled and level crossings will be eliminated, and the maximum axleload will be increased to 22.5 tonnes. Stations at Celje, Lasko and Rimske Toplice will be upgraded to provide level boarding and 3.5km of noise barriers will be installed alongside the line. The European Union is contributing 90.6m towards the 282.4m project, which is due to be completed in 2020. Creel was appointed CP president and chief operating officer in February 2013 and joined the CP board of directors in May 2015. He previously served as executive vice-president and COO of Canadian National Railway (CN), and held various positions at CN including executive vice-president operations, senior vice-president Eastern and Western Regions, and vice-president Prairie Division. Creel began his railway career at Burlington Northern Railway in 1992 as an intermodal ramp manager in Birmingham, Alabama. He also spent part of his career at Grand Trunk Western Railroad as a superintendent and general manager and at Illinois Central Railroad as a train master and director of corridor operations, prior to its merger with CN in 1999. Creels professional association with Harrison began at BN. Creel is a graduate of Jacksonville State University. He also completed the advanced management programme at the Harvard Business School. This transition has been planned since Keiths arrival back in 2013 and we are confident in his abilities to lead the company, says Mr Andrew Reardon, chairman of the board. Under Hunter Harrison's leadership, CP built a strong foundation for future success; that foundation, together with Keiths passion for railroading, operational expertise and commitment to customer service and safety, positions the company well for many years to come. Harrison has teamed up with activist investor Mr Paul Hilal, who last year left William Ackmans Pershing Square Capital Management to launch his own activist fund, Mantle Ridge. According to the Wall Street Journal, CSX is discussing a settlement with Harrison and Hilal that could make Harrison CSXs CEO. The parties are reportedly discussing Mantle Ridges request for more than three CSX board seats, but CSX is said to be unwilling to hand over that many seats. Mantle Ridge is acquiring a large stake in CSX with the hope of installing Harrison to improve the companys performance, and has raised more than $US 1bn for its CSX stake. According to Reuters, any push to quickly replace CSX CEO Michael Ward, who plans to retire in 2019, would need to occur before the companys February 10 director nomination deadline. If the two sides fail to strike a deal, Hilal may be forced to nominate a slate of directors who can put Harrison in the CEO seat. Harrisons track record of cutting operating costs and driving up profitability at the helm of CP and at CN has helped CSX shares surge 30% since news of the Mantle Ridge plan surfaced. Many industry observers believe that a Harrison-led CSX and a Creel-led CP will eventually merge, forming a US-Canada transcontinental railway and triggering a final round of Class I mergers. Today the Dutch parliament will debate a bill that aims to regulate the supply to marijuana-selling coffee shops. If the proposal is subsequently adopted, it would be a first step towards the legalization of cannabis production in the Netherlands. The Netherlands should proceed cautiously in implementing any regulations, taking into account the models devised elsewhere and remembering that once enacted the rules will be difficult to change. To avoid any conflicts with international treaties, cannabis cultivation would remain formally prohibited. But, if passed, the law would offer the Minister of Health the opportunity to tolerate a number of commercial enterprises to produce cannabis. It is an attempt to tackle the unintended consequences of the current cannabis policy in the country. The current Dutch policy of decriminalizing consumption and tolerating the existence of commercial outlets for low-volume retail sales (coffee shops) has been more or less successful in its aim to separate the markets for hard and soft drugs. But it has also created problems. Most notably, the unregulated back door coffee shops' need to stock their supply on the illegal market has indirectly contributed to the Netherlands becoming a major producer of herbal cannabis, a transit hub for cannabis resin and a destination for drug tourists. Drug syndicates have been among the main beneficiaries of this model, while law enforcement is costing the government millions of Euros. In 2015 alone, the Dutch police dismantled 5,856 cannabis plantations, almost 16 per day. Netherlands is no longer a front running country in drug policy. Internationally, the country has been overtaken left and right. Media reports covering the draft bill therefore extensively refer to U.S. states such as Colorado or Washington as the new textbook examples of cannabis regulation. The quality of the products is closely monitored by the state government and labels with Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) chips ensure that no plant can escape the regulated supply chain. Yet the Netherlands should take caution in relying on states like Colorado as the exclusive blueprint for regulation. A lucrative marijuana industry has developed in Colorado and Washington, consisting of tens of thousands of jobs. That could happen in the Netherlands as well: the combined revenues of Dutch coffee shops are estimated at 1 billion euros. We know from experience that once economic interests are involved, it is very difficult to make changes in policy design. The majority of the cannabis business owners are undoubtedly responsible entrepreneurs. But with tobacco and alcohol we have seen that the public interest does not always prevail over a powerful industry lobby. In addition, the starting situation in the U.S. is completely different from the Netherlands. The key position of the Netherlands in international drug trafficking, for example, won't disappear overnight. The consequences of the proposal could also depend on the current export volume of domestically grown cannabis. A wide range of estimates are suggested, with 80 percent being mentioned most frequently. Few experts are willing to endorse this figure. But if foreign demand for Dutch weed (Nederwiet) remains substantial after regulation, illegal cannabis plantations will remain profitable in the Netherlands. The consequences for the demand and price of cannabis are extremely uncertain. Colorado's marijuana price decreased significantly after legalization. Although tolerated production companies will have to pay taxes and pay for energy costs, the cannabis price under the proposal will probably fall. Regulation means that significant risks disappear from the supply chain and that producing companies can create economies of scale. Such cost savings can be passed on to consumers. If the price of cannabis at the counter is too high, the street trade will thrive. If the price in coffee shops drops after regulation, then demand is likely to increase. This will be a fine line. It will take years before the real impacts of regulation will be known. It is important that all the design choices are well thought through in advance and that price and sales in the tolerated and illegal markets are monitored closely. Where necessary, adjustments will need to be made over time. The greater the economic interests, the more difficult it becomes to reverse the policy choices made. Stijn Hoorens is a researcher at the non-profit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and head of RAND Europe's Brussels office. This commentary originally appeared on Volkskrant on February 1, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. Ahead of the new Formula One season, Televisas Izzi has launched a digital mosaic feature and increased Mexican distribution of Canal F1 Latin America. Televisa was the first Mexican partner of the Mediapros pay-TV network, reaching a distribution agreement for both satellite platform Sky and cable operator Izzi in March 2015 Following the networks increasing success as Formula One returned to Mexico in 2015, Izzi Telecom increased the channels availability from the Tier 3 to the Tier 2 package last summer, resulting in a 700% distribution boost for Canal F1 Latin America Izzi Telecom has also launched a digital mosaic feature this season. The on-demand option enables viewers to watch each Grand Prix through five different live feeds from various angles.Along with Argentina, Mexico is one of the Latin American countries in which Canal F1 has gained its strongest distribution , being available through the Televisa platforms Axtel and Totalplay. Spains Aire Networks has tapped Interxion to expand its over-the-top (OTT) platform Perseo TV. The company will work with Interxions Madrid office to develop a new portfolio of OTT solutions, targeting pay-TV operators and business clients.Aire Networks currently manages a delivery network with covers 90% of Spains territory through fibre and LTE technology. Its Perseo TV Solution delivers video-on-demand (VOD) content and live streaming channels in both IPTV and OTT environments.Our technological solution aims to meet the growing demand of convergent packages with content and telecom services while relying in a single provider, said Raul Armero, marketing director, Aire Networks Perseo TVs service requires high-capacity connections. Even though Aire has its own data centres in Spain, the Netherlands, the UK and the United States, Interxions role will be fundamental to guarantee a stable connexion now and in the near future, added Zigor Gaubeca, network engineerings director of the cloud-based TV platform.Interxions solutions have been selected before for major telecom players, such as Telefonica , which selected it to distribute pay-TV signals to cable headends and VOD providers. Irans public broadcaster IRIB has issued five temporary permits to deliver Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) in the country. The companies are local mobile operator Irancell; Setad-owned Aseman; Iran Electronic Publication; the Samsung-led consortium Baran Telecom; and Tarashe Sabz - a consortium comprising local internet service providers (ISPs).All the companies, except Iran Electronic Publication, had been awarded the permits in October 2016. However, they were revoked in November due to a dispute between IRIB and the national regulators, according to Iranian daily, the Financial Tribune.Announcing the IPTV licences, IRIB director Abdolali Askari said: Subscribers will now have access to a wide range of media uploaded by the companies or the IRIB.The state radio and TV broadcaster said the services would complement IRIB programmes already delivered through terrestrial and satellite services. IPTV services will boost online publication of original content, Askari added. MOSCOW, February 1 (RAPSI) Bailiffs have brought Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny charged with embezzlement at the Kirovles timber company to the Leninsky District Court of Kirov, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday. Earlier, the court ruled to forcibly bring Navalny to the courtroom. In November, Russia's Supreme Court overturned sentences against Navalny and his accomplice Pyotr Ofitserov in Kirovles embezzlement case and sent it for retrial. Russia's Supreme Court delivered the ruling taking into consideration the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Nevertheless, the Supreme Courts ruling didn't meet expectations of both prosecutors and defense lawyers. ECHR ruled in February that Russia had violated Navalny's and and Ofitserovs right to a fair trial. In particular, according to ECHR, sentences against them were issued with numerous violations because of a lot of references being made regarding another defendant Vyacheslav Opalyov. Proceedings against Opalyov were treated as a separated criminal case after he had admitted his guilt. Additionally, ECHR noted that Russian courts failed to review claims by defense that Kirovles case may have a political motive behind it and did not provide adequate evaluations of such claims. ECHR itself did not find a political motive in the case. The court ruled to compensate Navalny with 48,000 euro of legal costs and Ofitserov with 22,000 euro. Additionally, Russia is to pay 8,000 euro each in damages. Russias Justice Ministry filed a request seeking referral of the case to the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg Court, but the request was dismissed. Navalny was given a five-year suspended sentence for embezzlement at the Kirovles timber company in July 2013. In May, Moscow's Lyublinsky District Court increased a probation period for him to 5.5 years. Ofitserov received a four-year suspended sentence. According to investigators, while serving on a voluntary basis as an adviser to the Kirov Region governor Navalny organized the theft of over 10,000 cubic meters of timber from Kirovles company between May and September 2009. Investigators claimed that Pyotr Ofitserov, then Director of Vyatka Timber Company, and Kirovles CEO Vyacheslav Opalyov were involved in the scheme. If money and trade were the only issues, China could likely generate a significant amount of leverage in the Philippines, and China has been slowly increasing its share in Philippine trade over the past 10 years. China has also shown that if Duterte would be willing to accept the Chinese position on sovereignty of the islands in the South China Sea, China would be willing to considerably increase its relatively small investment in the Philippines. The problem is that if Duterte were to accept Chinas terms, he would have to give up Philippine sovereignty claims. Allying his country with China could also mean a great deal of economic difficulty, not just because of the U.S. response, but also because of other countries that would be unhappy about an alliance between Manila and Beijing. Empathetic Analysis Dutertes crass language offends some; his mercilessness in carrying out his self-declared war on drugs and corruption in the Philippines offends others. Many also attribute his mercurial personality and his colorful remarks to stupidity at best and raving lunacy at worst. Looking at Dutertes actions instead paints a rather different picture, one of a smart, ruthless political leader attempting to play a weak hand to maximize benefits for the Philippines. At the global level, consider that until Duterte took office, fewer people around the world cared whom the Philippine president was or could name him. The Philippines is a militarily weak country in a dangerous neighborhood, and it faces a Chinese rival that outclasses it in terms of economic, military and diplomatic strength. The Philippines felt threatened and embarrassed, not just by Chinas advances, which deprive Manila of what it considers sovereign Philippine land, but also by a lack of firm U.S. support for the Philippine position. Duterte has turned this position on its head by using the Philippines one major strength: the strategic importance of its location in the Asia-Pacific region. The Philippines is now being courted by the worlds great powers: China, Japan, Russia and the United States, all of whom are willing to accept Dutertes outbursts on the chance that doing so might aid their chances of solidifying an old relationship with the Philippines or developing a new one. Despite U.S. officials insisting that all is well when speaking about the Philippines, despite the fact that Duterte or one of his underlings walks back his anti-U.S. comments each time he makes them, and despite the fact that the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty signed by the U.S. and the Philippines remains in place, Duterte has injected a degree of uncertainty into the relationship with the United States, which is the Philippines main security blanket. When a country is as weak as the Philippines and depends on changing the behavior of a much stronger country, the weaker power must get creative. The one thing the Philippines can do is make U.S. policymakers and strategists doubt that it can be taken for granted, then make demands and hope that the doubt is enough to change the stronger powers behavior. For months, the U.S. has been blaming Duterte for potential human rights abuses related to extrajudicial killings in the drug wars, and yet on Jan. 14, the U.S. State Department changed its tune, saying the U.S. was unable to verify human rights abuses in the Philippines. This is a small and relatively insignificant concession in the broader relationship, but the point is that Duterte has already succeeded in shifting the parameters of the relationship to be more responsive to his desires. This is a difficult gambit to continue, but thus far Duterte has done a good job maximizing the value of the Philippines geographic position in terms of diplomatic relations. The Philippines main problem with the U.S. is not that the U.S. has been too aggressive it is that the U.S. has not been aggressive enough in countering Chinas expansionist moves in the South China Sea. Duterte is exploring an alliance with China to decrease Philippine dependence on the United States, but the main goal of doing so would be to give Manila more leverage in its relationship with the U.S. The problem for Duterte and Xi is that China and the Philippines ultimately have a fundamental, mutually exclusive imperative. For Manila and Beijing to bury the hatchet, one side must give up sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. Neither side is going to do that, and at the end of the day, what the Philippines needs most is a United States that will defend the Philippines from China. Duterte expresses this sentiment when he criticizes the U.S. for focusing on alleged human rights abuses carried about by the Philippine government. The Philippines focuses on the shared imperatives that have made the Philippines and the U.S. treaty allies since 1951, and Duterte wants the U.S. to mind its own business when it comes to his domestic moves to solidify his power and undertake ambitious reforms. Conclusion China wants to have the Philippines as an ally. The Philippines wants to become less dependent on the U.S. The United States wants the Philippines to behave as the U.S. wishes. However, desire does not determine reality. Until either China or the Philippines is willing to give up sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, it is hard to see how an alliance between Beijing and Manila could work. Until the Philippines develops a better military or finds a naval power capable of replacing the U.S. security guarantee, the Philippines will remain an American ally, if a reluctant and boisterous one. The U.S. has always been slow to learn that self-righteous moral indignation does not translate into strategically valuable action and will have to re-examine its approach to the Philippines if it wants the relationship to be based on anything more than superior strength and need. Duterte is likely to produce plenty more eyebrow-raising quotes, but until one of these variables changes, the Philippine relationship with China wont progress much beyond a tease. Social network group admin charged with pushing teens to suicide found sane ST. PETERSBURG, February 1 (RAPSI) A psychiatric examination of Philipp Budeykin, aka Philipp Fox, an administrator of a closed group on social network Vkontakte who stands charged with inciting teenagers to commit suicide, has found him mentally fit, RAPSI learnt in the St. Petersburg Main Investigations Directorate of Russia's Investigative Committee on Wednesday. A criminal case was opened in May 2016 after several Russian media outlets reported about so-called Groups of Death, numerous groups where young people were encouraged to kill themselves. Investigators claim that from December 2013 to May 2016 eight Groups of Death were registered on Vkontakte network. Fifteen teenagers from various regions of Russia were members of these groups and committed suicide. Searches were conducted in ten regions of Russia. About ten people testified in the case against Budeykin who was arrested on November 15. He remains in detention since his arrest. On January 10, the Oktyabrsky District Court in St. Petersburg extended his detention until May 15. We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today The notion of Francois Fillon as the frontrunner and favourite to be the next President of France always looked a little fanciful. He's my tasse de the, certainly, but I'm not French and while I adore the place it seems unlikely that my eccentric view, that France needs a dramatic burst of pro-market reform to give it some urgently required va-va voom, was ever likely to find favour with a majority of voters. It is President Donald Trumps most controversial executive order to date. The document, signed last weekend, temporarily halts the admission of refugees from several terrorist hotspots in the Middle East and North Africa. It also caps the total number of refugee admissions at 50,000 per year. These limitations are in keeping with presidential precedent set by Bush and Obama. So, why the maelstrom of outrage? Its been so over the top, youd think the United States had permanently barred its gates to immigrants and twisted the Statue of Libertys torch-bearing grip into a Heisman stiff-arm. Not only is that simply not the case, but there is an iron-clad national security rationale backing the presidents policy. Having led the Department of Homeland Security transition team and briefed Trump when he was president-elect, I know firsthand that this policy is driven by a heartfelt desire to keep Americans safe while making America a safe haven for those affected by the horrors of ISIS and brutal dictators. The Policy Idea But before getting into motivation, lets look at what the policy actually does. It temporarily halts all refugee admissions from all countries for 120 days. While 120 days may seem like a long time, current refugee admissions take, on average, more than two years to process. The temporary suspension may add inconvenience, but it by no means represents the ending of Americas refugee program. Perhaps more controversially, the policy imposes a 90-day ban on entry by individuals coming from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, and it halts the admission of Syrian refugees until the administration has determined sufficient changes have been made to the USRAP [the United States Refugee Admissions Program] to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest. In other words, the United States wants to take the time needed to review and improve its process for admitting refugees -- especially refugees from terrorist-ridden Syria -- so it does not suffer the same problems experienced by our European partners, problems which have led to deadly attacks on innocents. Some have denounced this action as a radical, un-American break from past practice. Yet, for years, the Obama administration essentially shut Syrian refugees out of the admissions process. From 2011 to 2014, the Obama administration allowed a mere 201 Syrian refugees into the country. Last year, that number spiked to more than 13,000, with no change in the vetting process. Some have asked why the seven countries on the list were chosen, and why others which have been home to terrorists, such as Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, were left off. Its a reasonable question, for which there is a reasonable answer. What is clear from the administrations actions to combat terrorism so far is that they intend to fight current and future wars, not those of the past. Most intelligence and defense experts agree that, as ISIS is beaten down in Iraq and Syria, its fighters who survive will flee, seeking refuge in other nations where they are less likely to be recognized -- and where they may resume their unholy war. The seven nations on the list are the seven nations identified by the Obama administration as the most likely places from which fleeing terrorists will seek entry into the United States, either directly or indirectly, after first emigrating to Europe. To ignore terrorists intentions to strike the United States is to ignore reality. While ISIS fighters posing as refugees have not yet attacked the United States, that does not mean they will not. In fact, you can count on them trying. Our enemies are forward-thinking and opportunistic. To be successful, counterterrorism policy must be forward-thinking as well, anticipating 10 steps ahead rather than merely responding to the threats (think shoe-bombers) of the past. But, what about that cap on refugee admissions? The 50,000 per year limit is very much in line with past practice. For example, in 2004, the Bush administration limited refugee admissions to 70,000, and wound up admitting fewer than 60,000. In 2012 the Obama administrations cap was nearly 80,000, but only about 70,000 were ultimately admitted. It was not until 2016 that these numbers skyrocketed. Problems of Implementation Well, what about the way this policy was implemented? Here, we can agree, there was much to criticize. The lack of consultation between executive agencies and the confusion on whether green-card holders would be affected, for example, were unforced errors -- altogether avoidable and unnecessary. Thankfully, implementation problems can be and are being overcome. Constructive criticism helps improve the process. But ignoring the rationale behind the policy and demonizing well-meaning Americans who believe it is a measured attempt to balance the responsibility to protect American citizens while helping those in need is despicable. Our world continues to grow more and more dangerous. Islamist terrorists have discovered that they can wreak havoc by taking advantage of the plight of the very people they have displaced. We must be smarter; we must be more prepared, and we must defeat them. Property details: Please note that iVacay LLC is not affiliated with nor does it represent the resort described in this item ad. Please read entire ad! If you have any questions, please e-mail us before placing a bid. (Due to West Virginia guidelines on purchasing Real Estate; West Virginia Residents will not be able to participate in this Auction) MARRIOTT MANOR CLUB AT FORDS COLONY Williamsburg, Virgina The resort is located within Ford's Colony, a 2,500-acre (1,000 hectares) community near Colonial Williamsbur... Price: $ 499 Seller State of Residence: Texas State/Province: Virginia City: Williamsburg Number of Bedrooms: 2 Number of Bathrooms: 2 Location: , Williamsburg, Va You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 2 Pitching a so-called "mansion tax" for New York City homeowners this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio made the case that the city's wealthiest residents already stand to benefit from tax breaks under President Donald Trump, and therefore should be able to afford an additional property tax. "The wealthiest among us have every reason to expect a major new tax break at the federal level given the proposals already put forward by President Trump and Congress," de Blasio testified in Albany on Monday. "We think in light of the fact that the wealthiest will be receiving a substantial federal tax break that its time that they pay their share of the state and local taxes." The tax, which City Hall says would go towards affordable housing for seniors, would be a 2.5 percent property transfer tax on sales north of $2 million. The city's budget office predicts that the tax would impact about 4,500 real estate sales in the coming fiscal year, generating about $336 million for the city. "The proceeds will help provide affordable housing to roughly 25,000 low-income seniors," said mayoral housing spokesperson Wiley Norvell. The assistance, in the form of vouchers, would be in addition to affordable housing commitments for seniors in Mayor de Blasio's controversial affordable housing plan. That plan has to date generated financing for more than 4,000 units of affordable senior housing, according to the city. This is not the first time Mayor de Blasio has pitched a mansion tax. His first, pitched in 2015, failed. Budget experts say this requestwhich requires approval from the state senate and assembly, as well as the governor's officeis a long shot. "It will likely be a tough sell in Albany," said Doug Turetsky, a spokesperson for the NYC Independent Budget Office. "They've got their own high-end tax up for renewal this year. It's a stretch to think that Albany will hit high-end New Yorkers twice." Norvell countered that while "nothing worth doing is ever easy," he predicts the climate in Washington will sway the state. If the tax were to pass, Turetsky predicted, it could "even the playing field" for New York homeowners. Currently, he said, many millionaires avoid paying a mortgage recording tax, or tax for taking out a mortgage, by paying for properties in cash or doing their financing overseas. "If you are getting your financing from a bank in France or Dubai there is no mortgage recording tax to the city," he explained. On the other hand, he said, wealthy people might simply start making sales just below $2 million to avoid the tax. "What you are likely to see with this kind of tax, if you have a $2 million threshold, is an increasing number of sales coming in at $1.9 million, just under the threshold," he said. "You are looking at a group that has the option to evade the tax," said Maria Doulis, director of city studies for the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan research group that analyzes city and state spending. "They can move, they can not buy property here, they can make decisions to change behavior based on the tax." According to City Hall, there are a bulk of sales happening in the neighborhood of $4 million, which would not likely sell for less than $2 million to avoid the tax. The governor's office did not immediately comment on the mayor's proposal. Bobbie Sackman, a spokeswoman for LiveOn NY, an advocacy group for seniors, stressed Tuesday that the need for senior affordable housing is "deep and dire." According to a recent LiveOn study, the waiting list for senior public housing is about 200,000 people. According to the group, two out of three seniors living in rent stabilized housing pay more than a third of their income in rent, making them rent-burdened. Sackman said that while "we don't know where the mansion tax is going to go," she'd like to see it made available to seniors who want to stay in their current apartments. "To keep seniors in their current homes is key," she said. Norvell said the tax would likely fund a combination of new senior housing construction, and vouchers for rent-burdened seniors. Are you relatively new to this bustling metropolis? Don't be shy about it, everyone was new to New York once upon a time, except, of course, those battle-hardened residents who've lived here their whole lives and Know It All. One of these lifers works among us at Gothamistpublisher Jake Dobkin grew up in Park Slope and still resides there. He is now fielding questionsask him anything by sending an email here, but be advised that Dobkin is "not sure you guys will be able to handle my realness." We can keep you anonymous if you prefer; just let us know what neighborhood you live in. Dear Jake, I have been going to protests every weekend, and they feel therapeutic to me, and I like to believe they help. But are they helping? Should New Yorkers keep protesting? Sincerely, Power to The People A native New Yorker responds: Dear PoTP: Of course protesting helps, and you should keep doing it. It makes a difference in three ways: by showing the opposition Democrats that they have a huge base of support, and shouldn't waver in their beliefs; by reminding the leaders of the Republican party that if they push things too far, we could have a revolution on our hands; and by raising the spirits of those protesting, which is very important, for this will be a long struggle. Take Occupy Wall Street, which is often given as an example of a big protest that didn't accomplish much in the way of reform. But quite the contrary: it raised the issue of income inequality in a way that had never been done before, which led to a ton of consequential changes in this country, most especially Obama's 2012 victory. The people who camped in Zuccotti Park changed the conversation, and that changed history. New York has had a long tradition of protest, going right back to The Flushing Remonstrance against Peter Stuyvesant (that one was over Quaker rights to worship). Since that time we've had hundreds of huge protests, riots, and political actions: Draft Riots in the 1860s, marches for workers' rights in the 1920s, the occupation of Columbia in the 1960s, etc. If protests are so ineffective, why would they keep happening? Wouldn't someone have eventually noticed, "Hey, nothing ever comes of this!" I've heard it argued that putting together a protest in these earlier times took more work, and required a lot of organizing that led to commitment to long term action. Today, with Facebook groups and Twitter, a protest can fly together almost by itself, and even if it goes hugely viral and half a million people show up, their commitment beyond the one protest is quite low. I think this view is wrong; Facebook might actually increase commitment by getting you to join a group and receiving updates from them for the rest of your life, or at least until you figure out their impossible settings. I think organizers in the 1960s would've loved to have those capabilities to organize future actions. From this past weekend's Immigration ban protest. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) What about the "headfake" theory of anti-protest? That's the one that says the current administration is deliberately making provocative moves, like banning Muslims from entry to the United States, knowing they'll get a strong protest reaction that will draw the media's attention away from other, more important stories, like Steve Bannon taking over the national security apparatus. To me, this sounds like paranoid thinking: never assume malice when simple incompetence will suffice. You really think, after the first week they've had, that Trump's circle has such foresight into the future as being able to predict the outbreak of massive unplanned protests? And that this would drown out some other piece of news? Even if you believe that, did it work? The Steve Bannon story has been front-page news for three days: it's on the front page of the Times right now. No, I think if you're going to engage in conspiratorial thinking you should ask who benefits from discouraging protest movements. Surely you could make a strong argument that people who say "protests never work" are in the employ of people who don't want to see millions of feet hitting the streets. And who would that be? It seems to me that Trump has basically tied up all three branches of government, and the only real risk to his presidency now is a sustained uprising against his policies, of the sort we saw during the Arab Spring. The Women's March last weekend, and the wildcat airport strikes this weekend, could, if you squint, begin to look like the start of an uprising like that. Sunday's march downtown in response to Trump's immigrant and refugee ban. (Scott Lynch / Gothamist) Even if we don't end up with a Tahrir Square, the protests certainly energize the participants (and even people watching on TV!) That energy can get poured back into other types of action: letter-writing, organizing for the midterms in less than 2 years, raising funds for legal action with the ACLU, etc. Yes, some of that would have happened anyway, but nothing adds a kick in the pants like marching down 5th Avenue with 400,000 other people. So keep doing it. For the sake of our fragile democracy, we need an emboldened opposition, and unfortunately, there will be daily and weekly occasions to march for the next four years. In solidarity, Jake N.B. The best list of protests and actions in NYC can be found here. Ask a Native New Yorker anything via email. Anonymity is assured. It's cold and gray, and you don't want to move from your couch. Perfect! Treat yo self (and yo shelf) by cozying up to these titles until spring. Many of these books have movie or TV adaptations hitting screens this year, others will allow us to wax nostalgic about events from the past year and some will help us muddle our way through adultish-hood. RedEye's Margaux Henquinet contributed. Advertisement @elisekdelo | ekdelossantos@redeyechicago.com Movies The Circle By Dave Eggers Vintage Books, $15.95 Think of this as a kind of Big Brother meets Facebook Live storyyou might be a little wary of your smartphone after you read it. Mae Holland lands a job and quickly climbs the ranks at The Circle, a fancy perk- and party-filled tech organization. It seems like a good time until its products get more and more privacy-invading, with disastrous results. The stacked cast of the film, due out April 28, includes Emma Watson (as Mae), Tom Hanks, John Boyega and Karen Gillan, plus Ellar Coltrane, the kid from Boyhood. Silence By Shusaku Endo Picador, $16 Winner in 1966 of Japans Tanizaki prize for the years top work of fiction or drama, this historical fiction novel tells the story of two Portuguese missionaries sent to Japan at a time when Christians there were brutally tortured and killed for their faith. Martin Scorseses film version, starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson, is out now. The Sense of an Ending By Julian Barnes Vintage International, $14.95 How accurately do your memories of your past reflect what really happened? That appears to be the central question in The Sense of an Ending, a short novel about a 60-something man who is willed a pair of documents that make him question the way he remembers his school days and how hes lived the years since. The film, due out March 17, features Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling. And heads up, Downton Abbey fans: Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Henry Talbot (Matthew Good) are in this, too. Beauty and the Beast By Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villenueve Harper Design, $29.99 The award-winning design studio behind props and graphics from the Harry Potter movies continues to add to their gorgeously illustrated childrens classic books series. Beauty and the Beast is the third in the series (after Peter Pan and The Jungle Book), and it comes out just in time for the much-hyped live-action Disney movie, in theaters March 17 and starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. The Zookeepers Wife By Diane Ackerman W.W. Norton & Company, $15.95 If you never tire of stories about real people who met danger and hardship with heroism, this ones for you. Jan and Antonina Zabinski ran the Warsaw Zoo until German attacks destroyed its structures, killed many animals and forced them to close. So they got involved with the resistance, using the zoo and their home to shelter as many as 300 Jewish people over the course of the war. Jessica Chastain stars as Antonina in the film, due out March 31. Before I Fall By Lauren Oliver HarperCollins, $10.99 Dont let the YA label fool you; this novel tackles some tough stuff. Popular teen Samantha Kingston finds herself in a nightmare Groundhog Day situation when shes forced to repeatedly relive the last day of her life, leading her to try to change for the better, get things right and, maybe, escape her death. The film opens March 3, with Zoey Deutch of Everybody Wants Some!! and Why Him? in the lead role. Everything, Everything By Nicola Yoon Delacorte Press, $18.99 You might have heard of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, sometimes known as bubble boy disease, which leaves people who have it extremely vulnerable to infectious diseases. This YA novel tells the story of Madeline, an 18-year-old with the disorder who cant leave her house and whose world is limited to her mom, her nurse and her booksuntil a boy named Olly moves in next door. Amandla Stenberg (aka The Hunger Games Rue, RIP) stars in the film, due out May 19. New Year, New You A-Z Great Modern Writers By Caroline Taggart and Andy Tuohy April 4, Cassell, $20 This gorgeously illustrated book features 52 writers from the 20th century. Its the latest installment of the A-Z Great Modern series by Tuohy (Artists and Directors hit shelves in 2015), and each author gets a short bio and a must-read list of works. Because your to-be-read list can always get a little bit longer. Adultish By Cristina Elena Vanko April 4, TarcherPerigree, $15 Is that diary you bought for the new year still woefully empty? Have you already misplaced your planner? Chances are you just didnt get the right one. Adultish is more workbook than weekly planner, but it gives you all the right prompts to start jotting down ideas and recording your accomplishments as you try to figure out this thing they call adulthood. Lonely Planets Best in Travel 2017 Lonely Planet, $14.99 If one of your New Years resolutions is to travel a bit moreor at least daydream about it a little bit morethis is the book for you. Conveniently travel-sized, the cool travel brand (this is not Rick Steves Europe) picks out the Top 10 countries, regions and cities to visit this year, as well as five travel trends you should definitely jump on the bandwagon with. Own It: Oprah Winfrey in Her Words B2, $10.95 Oprahs been inspiring people for decades, but its been a while since shes been on TV every day making people laugh or ugly-cry as she interviewed celebrities and regular people alike. Luckily, this little book compiles her best quotes and nuggets of wisdom from years of interviews, statements and other media coverage, organized into topics such as setting yourself up for success in your career, maintaining work/life balance and helping others in need. TV The Daily Show (The Book) By Chris Smith Grand Central, $30 For 17 years, Jon Stewart was the sharp-witted, skewering voice that called out politicians and the rest of America for the crap they said and did. This book looks back on the shows long run and success, as told from Stewarts perspective, along with those of his correspondents (many of whom have continued on to have successful careers of their own), staff and guests who were featured on the show. Damn Fine Cherry Pie By Lindsey Bowden Harper Design, $24.99 This unauthorized cookbook from the cult classic TV series Twin Peaks hit shelves just in time for the shows revival (which supposedly will hit screens sometime this year). Whether youre a newcomer or someone who watched the original series, these more than 100 recipes inspired by characters and scenes from the show will feed your fandom. Big Little Lies By Liane Moriarty Berkley, $9.99 Like many No. 1 New York Times Best-Sellers, Big Little Lies is being adapted for the small screen in an HBO series slated to premiere later this month. The novel centers on a murder mystery and three women whose lives seem perfect on the outside but are actually on the verge of spinning out of control. Fictionally Fabulous By Anne Keenan Higgins April 4, Running Press, $18 Olivia Pope. Cher Horowitz. Mary Richards. All of these TV and movie characters have iconic looks, and this book explores how fashion and the big and small screens have intersected and evolved over the decades. The book features illustrations of each character by Higgins. Current Events The Meaning of Michelle Edited by Veronica Chambers St. Martins, $24.99 Already feeling nostalgic about the Obamas? Youre not alone. Sixteen writers reflect on the former first lady, her unique journey to the White House and what she brought to the Obama administration. Director Ava DuVernay, Broadway star Phillipa Soo and feminist writer Roxane Gay are among those who penned essays for the book. Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents By Cormac OBrien Feb 14, Quirk, $16.95 We know all about the presidents accomplishments and misdeeds, but what about the simply straight-up weird stuff the most powerful men in the country did? Well, if youve ever wondered about how much George Washington spent on booze or which president reported a UFO sighting, this book is the one for you. Your weekly trivia team will thank you. (This edition has been updated to include President Trump.) A Season for the Ages By Al Yellon Sports Publishing, $19.99 Hey, so were stretching current events a little bit here, but lets be real: Chicago is going to be celebrating the World Series until next October (when hopefully well be celebrating another one ... too soon?). This book details how the 2016 Cubs finally clinched the title and trophy that had eluded them for 108 years. Eat & Drink How to Eat a Lobster By Ashley Blom April 4, Quirk, $12.99 Because adulting can be hard sometimes and yet we increasingly find ourselves in adultish situations. With the increasingly inventive cuisine available in our city, you dont want to be caught scratching your head when youre out to dinner with a new boss or future in-laws. This book walks you through how to eat tricky crustaceans and carve a chicken. Get a head start prepping for next years Chicago Restaurant Week! The Periodic Table of Wine By Sarah Rowlands The Periodic Table of Cocktails By Emma Stokes April 18, Abrams, $15.95 each Industry fears tougher US stance on IP after President Donald Trump asserted that foreign countries must pay a fair share for drug development costs. Aneesh Phadnis reports. IMAGE: Donald Trump has told pharmaceutical majors that foreign countries have been "freeloading" on the US with price controls that limit what can be charged on their citizens for medicines. Photograph: Alexandra Beier/Reuters. The Indian pharma industry fears a tougher US government stance on intellectual property rules after US President Donald Trump asserted that foreign countries must pay a fair share for drug development costs. Trump made the remark and reiterated his call to lower drug prices for American consumers and said he will encourage local manufacturing. Trump, who met senior executives of pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and others, said foreign countries have been "freeloading" on the US with price controls that limit what can be charged on their citizens for medicines. According to D G Shah, secretary general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, Trump's remarks indicate a hardening of stance by US government on intellectual property rights issues. "This was anticipated and I believe the US will put pressure on India to amend its intellectual property rules to allow longer exclusivity for patented products and making generic versions difficult," he said. According to Shah, prices of patented drugs are lower in Canada, United Kingdom and Australia in comparison to the US. In India, price of patented drugs does not come with government imposed price control. "I believe the US President is targeting the big innovator companies in the US and wants them to manufacture locally," he added. "Innovation costs are borne by companies and not by the US government. There is no mechanism at present how the innovation costs can be recovered from citizens of foreign countries," said Kewal Handa, promoter-director of Salus Lifecare. Trump told the drugmakers that pricing had been "astronomical". "We have to get prices down for a lot of reasons. We have no choice, for Medicare and Medicaid," Trump said at the meeting, citing the nation's government insurance programs for the elderly, the poor and the disabled that together are the largest US purchaser of medications. Trump also said currency devaluation by other countries had increased drugmakers' outsourcing their production and called on the companies to make more of their products in the US. He added that foreign countries must pay fair share for drug development costs. "We're going to end global freeloading," Trump said. With inputs from Reuters. Will the US Congress pass the bill to double minimum wages for H-1B visa holders? Will US President Donald Trump issue an executive order to restrict H-1B visas? Ayan Pramanik and Shivani Shinde Nadhe report on the uncertainties that have dragged down shares of TCS, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies. IMAGE: Indian IT services firms have been reducing their dependence on H-1B visas. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters . India's information technology industry will face short-term challenges if the Bill to double minimum wages for H-1B visa-holders is passed in the United States Congress. The impact will be felt by American technology companies such as IBM, Accenture and Microsoft, which have been sending Indian engineers on these visas to the US. A California lawmaker Zoe Lofgren, on January 31, introduced a Bill in the US Congress requiring companies that employ workers on H-1B visas to double their minimum pay to $130,000 a year, the first revision proposed in nearly two decades. The legislative process will take time. US President Donald Trump was likely to issue an executive order restricting H-1B visas, his spokesperson Sean Spicer said separately. The development forced investors to sell IT stocks, dragging shares of TCS, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies down. The BSE IT index was down 2.96 per cent to 9,586.34 on Tuesday. "If this proposal is accepted it will mean short-term pain for Indian IT services players, but in the long run they will figure out ways of circumventing it. This will also impact global technology players, so do expect some pushback from these companies against this Bill," said D D Mishra, research director at Gartner. A November study by brokerage JP Morgan said Indian IT services firms had been reducing their dependence on H-1B visas and were hiring local workers in the US. In contrast, IBM, Accenture and Microsoft have applied and been granted a higher number of these short-term work visas to send engineers to work in the US. "Indian nationals account for 69 per cent of the total H-1B visas issued; this percentage has been rising over the years helped by applications from Indian nationals from outside India and increasingly from MNCs using India as an important resource base," wrote analysts Viju K George and Anshul Agrawal in the report. The top 10 IT firms account for 23 per cent of the total new H-1B visas approved (109,292) in 2015, and excluding IBM and Accenture this falls to 18 per cent, according to the report. "The approved visa petition count for Indian IT firms has dropped to 39 per cent in 2014-15. Within this, TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant and HCL Technologies collectively received 44 per cent fewer visa petition approvals," the report said. Indian firms have collectively hired over 50,000 local engineers in the US over the last decade and have stepped up efforts to hire more from campuses and other US firms. "Some of them had already started hiring more on-site. What they did not expect is that there would be a proposal to double the minimum wage for H1B visa-holders. While both Indian and US companies will focus on more offshoring, for certain types of service delivery, firms will mandatorily need on-site presence," said an analyst with a global brokerage firm. Indian software lobby group Nasscom, which will take US technology firms in a delegation in February to meet the Trump administration, has argued that America faces a shortage of over 1 million computer science engineers and the Bill has loopholes that will nullify the objective of saving American jobs. "Our suggestion is that they should calibrate the conditions keeping in mind the skills shortage in the US. Once that is done, they should not leave any loopholes in the rules being framed that leave some channels open for circumventing the limits," said Nasscom president R Chandrasekhar. "Raising wage levels for dependent companies alone will defeat the basic objective as non-dependent companies can continue to bring in skilled workers at lower wage levels," he added. 'We need to put aside our anxieties about the Budget for now and possibly for long, and carry on as best as we can,' advises Shreekant Sambrani. Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com The Big News about the Budget for 2017-18 that Mr Arun Jaitley presented in Parliament on February 1 is that there is no Big News. Sure, it broke some new ground, such as advancing the date of presentation to the start of February from the end of the month, took into its fold the hitherto separate Railway Budget and did away with the somewhat esoteric distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure (of interest solely to card-carrying economists). But that really did not amount to Big News. That is the most welcome feature of this Budget, at least to this writer, who now need no longer brace himself to commenting on this annual Rite of Spring. Article 112 of the Constitution of India mandates that 'The President shall in respect of every financial year cause to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for that year, in this Part referred to as the "annual financial statement." The estimates of expenditure embodied in the annual financial statement shall show separately (a) the sums required to meet expenditure described by this Constitution as expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India; and (b) the sums required to meet other expenditure proposed to be made from the Consolidated Fund of India.' We have grown accustomed to calling the said annual financial statement the Union Budget. The Constitutional requirement is for a plain vanilla accounting statement, which should arouse not much interest, leave alone cause excitement, among even people cognisant of such matters. Such, however, is not the case and has not been for a long time. In the good old pre-liberalisation days, the annual Budget was much feared by the hoi polloi as well as the elite. Governments perpetually strapped for funds used the occasion to raise taxes on all matters of goods, including daily necessities. They disappeared from shop shelves some days in advance of the customary February 28 Budget day (February 29 in leap years), only to miraculously reappear immediately after the Budget was presented at 5 pm (as the custom was then), albeit with post-Budget price tags. Households savvy to this sharpness turned hoarders themselves even earlier. Toiletries, cigarettes, and even the lowly safety matches were among such goods. Post-1991, major changes in government policies including tax regimes were announced in Budgets. The 1993 Manmohan Singh Budget was a landmark in this regard, as was the 1997 P Chidambaram Budget. Every man and woman in the street was interested in what the finance minister had to say, or so it seemed. The growth of cable television made Budgets into spectator sports, with a whole slew of 'experts' pontificating and scoring the Budget (usually at least 7 on a scale of 10). Politicians either condemned it or cheered it, depending on which side of the aisle they occupied in Parliament. All that happened this year, too, as was to be expected, but it was easy to discern a palpable lack of interest among the usual suspects on the tube. Halfway through the nearly two-hour long Budget speech, the longest in this writer's memory, it was evident that not much had changed since the last annual exercise, except the numbers. Mr Jaitley mercifully did not reel out a whole mess of them (unfortunately, he frequently stumbled on those that he did). Some 'new' developments -- actually, mostly expected ones -- did find a place in the second half of the speech, though. These included a boost in infrastructure spending (now up to nearly Rs 4 trillion, or just under a fifth of the Budget expenditure), a reduction in income tax rates from 30 per cent to 25 per cent for companies with an annual turnover of less than Rs 50 crore, a lower personal income tax rate of 5 per cent for taxable incomes between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, and a surcharge of 10 per cent on income tax for taxable incomes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. Otherwise, it was a straightforward business-as-usual Budget, with some occasional encouraging words and some, even fewer, admonitions. All this is good. In an increasingly market-oriented economy, the role of the government and its policy interventions must be at the periphery and not the centre. The Budget is one instrument among the many that a government must use in fulfilling its appointed tasks of providing transparent, equitable, fair and accountable governance. Its carrots and sticks must be of small proportions to remove such imbalances as may have occurred in the normal course of events. Any major policy interventions, if at all needed, must be separately conducted. The government was most likely not motivated by such logic in presenting this workman-like Budget. Its interventionist bent is still very much in evidence, as will be discussed below, but it was held in check by the two 'tectonic' events as Mr Jaitley called them. The first is the new Goods and Services Tax regime that will come into effect later this year, the results of which, though most likely positive, may yet have a hidden danger lurking. The second, the elephant in the room, is the demonetisation of high currency notes. Mr Jaitley himself called it a disruption, and the country is still recovering from it. Any further shocks could have been unbearable. The government had not much room to sugar coat the pill when its own Economic Survey had estimated a day earlier a setback to the GDP of between 0.25 and 0.50 per cent as a result of the notebandi. So there was no cash bonanza in the Jan Dhan accounts, no great tax reductions, or any other populist measures for that matter. There were no killing modifications to the capital gains taxes either, as was feared. The government has been held to the straight and narrow path of fiscal prudence and its own earlier commitments to clean up the economy. *** The government did reveal its colours, though, in the narrative that accompanied the otherwise not-so major increases and changes. For example, Mr Jaitley expended considerable energy in explaining the higher allocations for irrigation, crop insurance and agriculture marketing as the required stimulus for the sector. His colleague, Mr Nitin Gadkari, who had earlier headed the rural development ministry, went so far as to say that these measures would lead to annual agricultural growth of 6-plus per cent from the next year onwards. Of course, policy-makers would be loath to admit that the expected 4.1 per cent growth of agriculture this year comes on the basis of last year's near stagnation and the good monsoon this year. That makes it an occurrence not attributable to such government interventions as may have happened. In fact, one is tempted to say that farm sector growth takes place despite policy interventions (except one), rather than because of them. If we examine the record of the last 50 years, three factors have made agriculture grow mainly. The first is better varieties and their planting material, the one intervention that works invariably, good monsoons which are as yet not even predictable, and markets for the produce determined by consumer incomes and preferences. High-yielding varieties of staples led to nearly trebling India's foodgrain production since 1965. Bt seeds similarly doubled the cotton crop in the last decade or so. Hybrid vegetable and fruit varieties enhanced their production three-fold in the last 35 years, and increasing consumer incomes provided matching demand support. The same is true of dairying as well. The short point of this is that the government is doing all other things in agriculture that count for little. There was no mention of research support and the word hybrid appeared nowhere in the Budget speech. This most potent engine of agricultural growth is anathema to a section of the Sangh Parivar and it seems the government has now retreated to denial. One of the ten thrust areas of the Budget was youth. We heard the same litany of allocations to programmes and schemes that have not worked. This writer has been reading papers from a recent seminar on the subject. Paper after paper from grass-roots levels highlighted the increasing distance between education and skill enhancement programmes on the one hand and employment opportunities of the kind the youth aspire to. The dire warning was the demographic dividend could turn into a population bomb. The Economic Survey, too, pointed to this. Yet the Budget and the prime minister's comments on it would make us believe that growth through youth is a low-hanging fruit ready for easy picking. It is also somewhat unrealistic to expect that growth and employment will soar simply because of increased allocation to infrastructure. The many large multiplier effects of the Golden Quadrilateral highway programme of the first NDA government will not readily repeat themselves in the changed conditions. There must be a more nuanced understanding of why the programme is not firing on all fours despite the strenuous efforts of the last three years. The same approach needs to be used for analysing the stubborn refusal of private investment to stir. In their absence, the routine rhetoric of the Budget sounds a mere incantation of a mantra, not a sound strategy. *** In the final analysis, policy-makers have to come to grips with the many contradictions that co-exist in the enigma called India. As the eminent economic writer T N Ninan mentions in his The Turn of the Tortoise (2015), a major reason, if not the major one, for the Indian impressive economic numbers in the aggregate is its sheer size, which cuts both ways. If India today is the third largest economy in purchasing parity prices (seventh in current nominal dollars), it is also home to the world's largest numbers of poor, illiterate, sick and hungry people, malnourished and underweight children and pregnant and lactating women. This has been the case always, and was so with China as well, but it managed to break the shackles a generation ago while India is still struggling. Yet another dilemma that dogs India is that while even its so-called middle class has at best very poor purchasing power even in purchasing parity prices, placing it firmly in the Third World, the aspirations of even its neo-middle class (as the prime minister calls the entrants to the lower rungs of income) seem to match those of the First World. One significant way out of these, it appears, is poor tax compliance. Mr Jaitley contrasted India's low base of tax payers with its soaring purchases of automobiles and foreign travel (the Budget offered no suggestion about reconciling this leading to higher compliance). One must return to Mr Ninan for what the future holds. He believes that much the same that has been happening so far will continue, since there is still reluctance 'to break the egg,' which manifests itself as partial reform, 'by stealth,' as he describes it. The impressive growth is largely because of relatively high savings/investment rates, which will propel more people into the middle class, even when defined in the global framework. The role of the government is likely to diminish even in areas such as banking and defence production. The power balance will increasingly favour states in the spirit of true federalism. And finally, the garrulous, often dysfunctional, liberal democracy is here to stay. That scenario may not light up high-wattage bulbs of hope and aspiration, but is a comforting safety blanket. So we need to put aside our anxieties about the Budget for now and possibly for long, and carry on as best as we can. At a time when Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Chinese President Xi Jinping responds by overhauling the People's Liberation Army and restructuring the command of the PLA Navy to emphasise Beijing's resolve to dominate the South China Sea. Former senior RA&W officer Jayadeva Ranade explains what is going on. Barely ten months before the 19th Party Congress assembles in Beijing towards the end of this year, Chinese Communist Party chief and China's Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping took a major step towards operationalising an integrated command structure in the People's Liberation Army and clearly outlined the future shape of the PLA's Theatre Commands created early last year. In mid-January 2017, Xi initiated the process of appointing younger, professionally qualified officers to the higher echelons of the PLA. A surprise disclosure was made by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on January 15, 2017, which cited independent sources to say that nearly 50 senior officers are being retired, including 18 full-ranking generals. As on the occasion of the 18th Party Congress in November 2012, now too it appears that high-level military appointments, including to the Central Military Commission, will be made and announced before the Party Congress. With this batch of retirements, the number of PLA officers of the rank of major general and above who have been dismissed or retired since Xi took over as CMC chairman exceeds 135! Xi appears keen on selecting younger, professional, officers of his choice for key slots in the PLA and as members of the CMC. Reflecting the importance accorded to the PLA Navy and developments in the South China Sea, the official English language China Daily and Global Times separately confirmed on January 21, 2017, that 1956 born Vice- Admiral Shen Jinlong had been appointed commander of the PLA Navy. Other official reports disclosed that Vice-Admiral Yuan Yubai, a nuclear submariner, has been appointed commander of the PLA's Southern Theatre Command. He is the first PLAN officer to break the monopoly of the PLA ground forces and head a Theatre Command since they were created early last year. As commander of the PLA's Southern Theatre, Vice-Admiral Yubai's operational jurisdiction includes the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. Also born in 1956, Vice-Admiral Yubai came into the spotlight at the Shangrila Dialogue in Singapore in September 2015 when, as commander of the PLAN's North Sea Fleet, he emphatically declared that the South China Sea belongs to China. 'The South China Sea, as the name indicates, is a sea area that belongs to China,' the admitral declared. 'And the sea from the Han dynasty a long time ago where the Chinese people have been working and producing from the sea.' Vice-Admiral Yubai studied at the Qingdao Submarine Academy and spent his entire career in the North Sea Fleet commanding Han class submarines. He has commanded the PLAN's 1st Submarine Base. In 2013, he led China's 14th Counter Piracy Task Group to the Gulf of Aden and in July 2014 was promoted as North Sea Fleet Commander. At a time when US President Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Vice-Admiral Yubai's appointment as Southern Theatre commander emphasises China's resolve to dominate the South China Sea. It also emphasises the maritime role of the PLA's Southern Theatre, which was created early last year, and gives notice of an enhanced role for submarines in the Asia-Pacific. Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong replaces 71-year-old Admiral Wu Shengli as PLAN commander. The Hong Kong-based Chinese-language daily Ming Pao called Jinlong's appointment a 'surprise' to many people. Official Chinese media reports said Jinlong's new appointment was disclosed during am video chat on January 20, 2017, morning with officers and sailors of the 25th escort fleet to the Gulf of Aden. In the video address, Admiral Jinlong 'encouraged the sailors to strive to make greater contributions to the protection of national sovereignty, security and development interests.' Admiral Jinlong commanded a North Sea Fleet destroyer flotilla for several years before his appointment as director of a Vessel Training Centre in the North Sea Fleet in 2003. He later commanded the Lushun Naval Support Base. On December 1, 2008, the People's Daily published an article titled 'Naval Non-Combat Military Operations: Challenges Faced and Counter-Measures' by Jinlong, who was identified as a commander of a North Sea Fleet Support Base. Later in 2009, he wrote an article on Naval Operations Other Than War, after which he was appointed commandant of the Dalian Naval Academy. He later commanded the Naval Command College in Nanjing and in August 2014, was appointed deputy commander of the South Sea Fleet. Four months later he was promoted as commander of the South Sea Fleet. He commanded the Chinese navy squadron that took part in Rim of the Pacific exercises out of Pearl Harbour in 2014 and has attended the International sea-power symposium held in September 2016 at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. As PLAN Commander, Shen Jinlong will be a member of the CMC. Another appointment of interest was that of Vice- Admiral Wang Hai, former deputy commander of the PLAN, who was promoted commander of the South Sea Fleet. He had served in the South Sea Fleet for a long time and his return to the fleet underscores its importance to the leadership. It is the only fleet that has nuclear ballistic missile submarines and an aircraft carrier under its command. In September 2012, when China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning was commissioned, Vice-Admiral Wang was the first commander of the PLAN aircraft carrier battle group. Other appointments announced were of Rear Admiral Zhang Wendan, former deputy chief of staff of the Southern Theatre Command, who has been promoted as commander of the North Sea Fleet and Rear Admiral Wei Gang, former deputy commander and chief of staff of the Southern Theatre Command, who was promoted commander of the East Sea Fleet. Jayadeva Ranade, former additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, is president of the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy. IMAGE: The car that was blown away by the IED blast. Photograph: PTI Photo The death toll in the Maur Mandi blast rose to six on Wednesday with three children succumbing to injuries, even as police suspected the use of improvised explosive device and sought NSG support in probe into the explosion which has triggered a political blame game just days ahead of assembly polls. Three persons were killed on Tuesday in the explosion near the venue of the poll campaign of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi at Maur Mandi. One more child has succumbed to injuries at CMC hospital in Ludhiana, Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said on Wednesday, adding, the victim has been identified as Saurabh Singla, 13. Earlier, Ripandeep, 9, and Japsimran, 14, died at the CMC hospital where they were admitted. Thirteen injured, three of them critically, are undergoing treatment at different hospitals. Punjab Director General Police Suresh Arora along with other senior police officials Wednesday inspected the blast site. He said it was an unfortunate incident. Arora said the Home Ministry has been requested to send experts of NSG to identify the material used in the explosion. Asked whether the IED was used to carry out the blast, the DGP said one pressure cooker exploded in this incident while another was found at the spot. A forensic team has reached the site to probe the matter, he said. On terror angle, he said, Stating that this (terror) angle is not possible, it will be wrong to say at this moment. We are not ruling this possibility. Asked whether there was any input on the possibility of such a blast, the DGP said, In the context of Punjab, there is always suspicion that anything could happen. That is why strict security arrangements were done... And now this incident happened. The Election Commission had sought a report from Punjab Police on the car explosion. In the report submitted to the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer V K Singh, police blamed some mischievous elements for the car blast with the help of IED, a state election official said. The police investigation found two pressure cookers were to be used in carrying out the explosion, the official said. In the incident, one cooker exploded while other was found near the blast site, the official said, adding circuit chip and shrapnel, nuts and bolts have also been recovered from the blast site. The blast was so powerful that it ripped apart the car. The EC directed the concerned officials in the state to step up vigil, tighten security and carry out inspection before the start of any poll campaign event in the state. IMAGE: An injured being shifted to hospital after the blast. Photograph: PTI Photo The Commission has also appealed to all the political parties not to make allegations against each other in connection with the blast in Bathinda. We have appealed to the political parties not to make allegations against each by raising car explosion issue till the election process is over, official said. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal condemned the blast and urged people to exercise calm and said those involved in it would be dealt with severely. Nobody would be allowed to disturb the hard-earned peace and communal harmony in the state," he had said earlier in the day. Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal demanded immediate arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to ensure peaceful elections. To ensure peaceful elections, Sukhbir Badal should be immediately arrested. His role in yesterdays (Tuesdays) blast be probed. He'll cause more violence," Kejriwal tweeted. Sukhbir, on the other hand, alleged that the blast at Maur was a direct result of the nexus between AAP and radical elements. Congress Punjab chief Amarinder Singh also blamed Kejriwal for the explosion saying he had been promoting extremist forces like Khalistan Commando Force in the state. The Bathinda administration has written to the principal secretary to the chief minister for granting ex gratia of minimum Rs 3 lakh each for the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured. The blast had occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday night shortly after the rally by Congress Harminder Singh Jassi. Jassi, who is a relative of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, escaped unhurt in the incident but his security guard Ram Babu, a Central Reserve Police Force personnel, was injured. As per preliminary probe, the blast had occurred in a car which was found to be stolen and was bearing the registration number of a two-wheeler. The chassis and engine number of the vehicle was also struck off, police officials said. The blast was so powerful that it ripped apart the vehicle. Initially, it was suspected that the blast was caused by a LPG cylinder in the car. But later it was found that the car did not run on gas. Three passers-by who were killed on Tuesday evening have been identified as Harpal Singh Palli, 40, Barkha, 7, and Ashok Kumar, 35, police said. 16 persons had suffered injuries in the explosion which came ahead of the February 4 polls. Out of 13 injured, Jaskaran Singh, 26, Amrik Singh, 26, and Ankush, 11, who are admitted to DMC hospital in Ludhiana, were stated as critical. Remaining 10 injured have been admitted in different hospitals in Bathinda, official said. Following the Budget being announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, leaders across the political spectrum provided their views. IMAGE: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at Parliament before presenting the Budget in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Thumbs-up Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the Budget as futuristic with an aim on fulfilling the dreams of every section, including the poor, the farmers and the under-privileged while focussing on job creation, transparency, urban rejuvenation and rural development. This is a Budget for the future -- for farmers, underprivileged, transparency, urban rejuvenation, rural development, enterprise, Modi said. Lauding Jaitley for presenting a good budget, he said it will speed up the development of the country, create new employment opportunities, double farmers income. It will bring a big change in the financial condition of the villages, Modi said. It also attempts to raise middle class incomes without any increase in fiscal deficit. Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah said the Budget is aimed at all-round development with sops for the youth, women, farmers, the poor and middle class and that it will usher in a new era of progress. He also called historic the announcement to restrict cash donation to Rs 2000 to a political party from one source, saying it will bring transparency and cleanliness in political funding and expressed hope that all parties will welcome it. It is a budget aimed at all-round development. On the one hand it is pro-village and pro-farmers and on the other it also provides new possibilities for youths willing to strike out on their own. It has given relief to middle class and will also help realise the dream of the poor and lower middle of owning a house, he told reporters. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said this Budget will bring the Indian economy at the number one position. It is a revolutionary budget in the history of India. This budget will bring our economy at the number one position. A lot of innovative ideas are implemented on this budget, it is a revolutionary change and this budget will bring transparency in politics. I believe that this budget will end black money and corruption, Gadkari said. Thumbs down Slamming the Budget, Rahul Gandhi said it lacked a clear vision and had nothing for farmers, youths and job creation. We were expecting fireworks, instead it was a damp squib. It is just sher-o shayari in the budget. There is nothing for farmers and youth and nothing for job creation. There is no clear vision, the Congress vice-president said. Highlighting the need for employment creation, Rahul said, The main issue facing India today is creation of jobs. How are you going to solve that problem? On that front there was nothing. No vision, no idea and for farmers absolutely there is nothing. There was nothing in the budget for poor, unemployed and farmers. It is shameful. Farmers are suffering and there is a need for waiving their loans. There was nothing in the budget. These are fundamental issues. On Rail Budget, Rahul said, Modi had promised the bullet train. Where is the bullet train now? Railways fundamental problem is safety. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the Budget as clueless and missionless and said it had no roadmap for the country or the future, from a government that has lost all the credibility. The Trinamool Congress supremo wanted to know the figures due to the move, saying taxpayers were still saddled with restrictions on withdrawals. A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility, she wrote on Twitter. Terming the budget as 'contractionary', a 'complete gimmick' and full of jumlas (rhetoric), the Communist Party of India-Marxist said it would neither help in expanding domestic demand nor increase employment but burden the people as the government aims at substantially hiking indirect taxes to raise resources. "The finance minister has joined the prime minister and the BJP president in producing jumlas. And this budget is a classic example of that," party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters. Maintaining that the budget was completely opposite to the recommendations of the latest Economic Survey that the government should look inwards and bolster domestic demand, he said, "This is a contractionary budget and not an expansionary one... It's a complete gimmick." To buttress his views, he reeled out data from the budget document and said revenue expenditure as a percentage of GDP was 13.36 per cent last year, compared to 12.74 in 2017-18. "This years budget includes the revenue of Railways also, which was not there in 2016-17... so compared to the last budget, the revenue has declined substantially," he said. Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav said the government did not touch upon the issue of how much black money has been recovered post demonetisation. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the proposals to cleanse political system do not specify how the government plans to implement it. They have promised all these things keeping polls in five states in mind. They have not said anything for farmers, youth, women. They have accepted that GDP growth has gone down, Kharge said. Biju Janata Dal leader in Lok Sabha Bhartruhari Mahtab wondered from where the revenue would come for the government at a time when the manufacturing growth is coming down. He, as also his party colleague Tathagata Satpathy, said more relief should have been given to the middle income group. Mahtab said that with the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, it had become essential to give benefit to salaried and fixed income groups. Satpathy said that the FM handled the demon part of demonetisation through smooth language and smattering of poetry. Mahtab, however, said greater thrust on infrastructure and investment in rural development was welcome. Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said it has 'completely forgotten' the farmers, youth and senior citizens, even as he said that it has provided relief to the salaried class. "While the Budget has given relief to salary earners, it has completely forgotten farmers, youth, senior citizens and women with no substantial provisions for them," he told. Even though Jaitley has announced that the skill-training sector will continue to remain high on priority, with rural areas set to get more attention, Sawant claimed that the sector had 'failed miserably' during the present government's tenure. Questioning Jaitleys assertion that affordable housing will get infrastructure status, the Sena MP sought to know from the Centre how many affordable houses have been built so far. "There are announcements on the housing sector for the poor. But, how many houses have actually been built in the last two-and-a-half years? At many places, houses have been built but the people are yet to get possession. At many places, it is also seen that the area of the house grossly differs from the area promised," he said. Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Yadav denounced the Union Budget as bereft of any substance and questioned the rationale of continuing with a railway minister who did not present the budget of the ministry. He also described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a twin brother of American President Donald Trump, who, he said, was seen taking wayward decisions since ascending to the top chair in the United States. The Union Budget presented today is bereft of any substance for any section of the society, he told reporters. The minister in his Budget speech did not make any reference as to how many unemployed youths it gave jobs to, the RJD chief said. He was particularly harsh on the merging of Railway Budget with the General Budget. They have demolished the tradition of presentation of separate Rail Budget since Independence... what is the rationale of continuing with a railway minister when he cannot present the budget of his ministry, Lalu, who served as railway minister during United Progressive Alliance I government, said. The RJD chief also questioned the NDA governments wisdom of going with presentation of the Budget despite the death of former minister and MP E Ahamed. Anti-incumbency sentiment in Punjab puts SAD in a weak spot. But voters remain divided over AAP and Congress. Sahil Makkar reports. IMAGE: An AAP rally in Amritsar. AAP hopes to win all the anti-incumbency votes in Punjab, and is expecting a good percentage of traditional Congress voters to join it. Photograph: PTI Photo. Some 114 km from Punjab's state capital Chandigarh, a group of men were engaged in an intense conversation in Jhande village of Ludhiana district. The men mostly farmers, dairy owners and retired servicemen had gathered at village's chaupal after a day's work to discuss life and politics. Their conversation soon broke out in a heated argument when it came to voting for the party in the state assembly elections scheduled on February 4. A few, who had earlier voted for the two traditional parties -- the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) -- now want a change in Punjab and are ready to experiment with the newbie Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). But these advocates of the new party were immediately challenged by the traditional voters of the Congress with sound reasoning and a lone SAD supporter. "We want to vote for a change, a new party and a new ideology. People have got tired of the SAD and the Congress in the past 70 years and now want to give five years to AAP," says Balbir Singh, an ex-serviceman. He doesn't agree with Congress acolyte Baljeet Singh, a school teacher who believes that chief of AAP Arvind Kejriwal has betrayed Punjab on the controversial issue of the Sutlej-Yamuna canal link and his party candidates are novice. Baljeet says he would have changed his preference had AAP declared a Punjab its chief ministerial candidate. "We cannot accept an outsider. The chief minister has to be a Punjabi with good image," he says, hinting at Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, who hails from the neighbouring state Haryana, and comedian-turned politician Bhagwant Mann. The lone Akali supporter Sukhdev Singh, a Jat-Sikh who had been reluctant in joining the debate with the other squabbling men in the pack, finally broke his silence saying his family had always supported the cause of panth (sikh religion), and they still believed in Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a champion of Sikh religion. The other Sikhs agreed too that their old parents, too, would vote for SAD for the same reason. Jhande village has around 1,600 voters and the villagers have got sharply divided between the Congress and the AAP because of the 10-years of anti-incumbency against the Badal-led SAD government. IMAGE: SAD's Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab's Deputy CM, at a rally in Moga. It is alleged that the Congress and SAD-BJP are having a friendly fight -- SAD fields weak candidates where the Congress is strong and vice-versa. Photograph: Courtesy Sukhbir Singh Badal/Facebook. This story of division of votes repeats in most villages of Malwa, a cotton belt, which has 69 out of the total 117 assembly seats. In the previous 2012 assembly elections, the Congress had won 31 seats with a vote share of 40.6 per cent and the SAD registered victory on 36 seats with 40.3 per cent votes in Malwa, which comprises of Rupnagar, SAS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur, Mukstar, Faridkot, Bhatinda, Mansa, Sangrur, Barnala and Patiala districts. AAP hopes to win all the anti-incumbency votes, and is expecting a good percentage of traditional Congress voters to join it. AAP is drawing a large mass in its rallies, but so are the Congress and the SAD. Though it is unlikely that SAD will loose a substantial vote share, what makes AAP more hopeful than the others was its performance in Punjab during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. AAP had lead in 33 seats assembly segment and remained second on another six. The other advantage that the party enjoys over the Congress and the SAD is early start of its campaign. While the AAP announced its candidates much before the polls, the other two parties could only finalize their contestants post poll announcement. This gave AAP enough time to plaster every Malwa village wall with messages in Punjabi reading: "Kejriwal, Kejriwal sara punjab AAP de naal (Kejriwal, all of Punjab is with AAP)." "Their (AAP) candidates have already been twice to their respective constituencies and are doing door-to-door campaigning. We started late and got only 14-17 days of campaigning. We expect AAP to win anywhere between 30-35 seats, but there would be a tough fight on each of these seats," concedes Ashok Kumar, a senior Congress functionary in Bhatinda. The Congress is worried that AAP has regained its momentum after the latter's graph went down following controversies surrounding the conduct of its senior leaders. The schedule caste vote bank, which forms a formidable 32 per cent of the state population, of the Congress also seems to be slipping away in favour of AAP. The biggest supporter of AAP has emerged to be youth, who don't carry the baggage of traditional loyalties to old parties. "Akalis have spoiled Punjab youth because of drugs. Congress is the same, we youngsters have decided to vote for AAP," says Sanjeev Singla and his gaggle of friends in Pratap Nagar of Bhatinda. Singla's parents, however, are convinced that only Congress can give a stable government to Punjab. IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi in Faridkot. The Congress, too, has adopted multi-pronged strategy to counter the AAP phenomenon. Photograph: @OfficeofRG/Twitter. The Congress, too, has adopted multi-pronged strategy to counter the AAP phenomenon. Rumour mills are working full time in the state that the Congress and the SAD are having a friendly fight on most of the seats, meaning the SAD gave a weak candidate where the Congress candidate was strong and vice-versa. It is also alleged that the SAD-BJP, whose activists and posters are barely visible on the field, were transferring its vote to the Congress. Captain Amarinder Singh, the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress, however has strongly refuted the charge in an interview to Business Standard. What is working against AAP and in favour of the Congress is the internal fight within AAP. Those AAP workers who didn't get party seats or any other organizational post are openly badmouthing against the party and contesting candidate. "AAP leaders took money from every possible candidate knowing well that they had to give it to only one. Most candidates are turncoats or don't enjoy a good public image. The rest are new faces. AAP will only get voted in the name of Kejriwal," says Mahesh Gupta, a former AAP functionary and resident of Jalandhar. The open revolt by former AAP workers and a concentrated social media campaign against failure of the Kejriwal government in Delhi has slightly titled the scale in urban area towards the Congress. Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and seven others were acquitted in the 2007 RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi murder case on Wednesday by a Madhya Pradesh court, which held the state police and the National Investigation Agency conducted the probe with "prejudice" and produced "weak and self-contradictory evidences". "The contradictory evidences by police and the NIA in the case raised serious doubts in the whole case," the First Additional District and Sessions Judge of Dewas Rajiv Madhusudan Apte said while acquitting Thakur, Harshad Solanki, Vasudev Parmar, Ramcharan Patel, Anandraj Kataria, Lokesh Sharma, Rajendra Choudhary and Jitendra Sharma. Joshi, once a close aide of the Sadhvi before they fell out over some dispute, was shot dead in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas on December 29, 2007 in Audyogik Police station area. Thakur, also an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, is in judicial custody. She was not present in the court when the verdict was pronounced as she is undergoing treatment in Bhopal. "My clients were absolved due to the contradictory evidences of Industrial Area Police, Dewas, and the NIA, which were not found trustworthy by the court. This has been observed by the court in para 124 of the operating order," defence lawyer Raghuveer Yardi told PTI. "The court has observed that the analysis of evidence gathered by the police and NIA reveals that in the sensitive and serious cases like murder, both the prosecution agencies carried out investigation with prejudice," he said. "They (the police and the NIA) didn't conduct investigation seriously and the self-contradictory and weak evidences of the agencies were insufficient to convict the accused and the contradictory pari-materia (a rule of statutory interpretation) makes the prosecution highly suspicious," advocate Yardi said quoting the order. Initially, the probe had hit a dead-end, but later the arrest of a person in Rajasthan led the district police to Thakur and other accused. The trial was shifted from the district court to the Special NIA Court in Bhopal a few years ago. However, the matter was shifted back to the district court in September 2014 on the ground it was a murder case and does not come under the ambit of the NIA, which is an anti-terror probe agency. Public Prosecutor Girish Munji said the state will take a call on challenging the order in the competent court after studying the judgement. Like Thakur, Solanki, Lokesh Sharma and Choudhary too were not present in court. While Solanki is lodged in Ajmer jail, Lokesh Sharma and Choudhary are in Panchkula prison in Harayana. Lokesh Sharma and Choudhary are also accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case. Accused Jitendra Sharma, Ramcharan Patel, Kataria and Parmar were present in the court. Hearing the verdict, Parmar and Kataria broke down. The supporters of acquitted persons shouted slogans in the court premises after the verdict. This is the first time the Pakistan army has publicly backed the arrest of India-focused jihadis, says Ajai Shukla. A day after Pakistan's government arrested Muhammad Saeed, the chief of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayiba, along with four associates and issued orders against the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its humanitarian aid front, the Falah-e-Insaniyet Foundation, the Pakistani street is abuzz with speculation about what motivated this crackdown. Pakistani government sources discreetly suggest that Saeed was detained to insulate Pakistanis from President Donald Trump's order banning non-US travellers from seven Islamic countries from entering the US, and a follow-up suggestion from his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, that this could be extended to Pakistan. In contrast, Saeed flatly accused Pakistan of succumbing to Indian pressure. 'This is taking place because of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's insistence, Trump's pressure and Pakistan's helplessness,' Saeed stated after his arrest, according to Reuters. Even so, the Pakistan army's acquiescence would have been essential for such a step. Earlier this month, Business Standard quoted top Pakistan army sources who revealed that the new army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, was readying to curb the LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed in order to ease tensions with India. According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, the army's public relations chief, Major General Asif Ghafoor, stated at a media briefing on Tuesday: 'This (Saeed's arrest) is a policy decision that the State took in (the) national interest. Lots of institutions will have to do their jobs.' This was the first time the Pakistan army has publicly backed the arrest of India-focused jihadis, which it has long regarded as 'strategic assets.' That raises the question has Trump's blockage of Muslim travellers provided the Pakistani army and government with a plausible reason to crack down on Saeed and the LeT, without making it appear like India was being placated? The action taken against Saeed is stronger than what the Pakistani media has painted. For years, Saeed operated freely and openly in Pakistan, thumbing his nose at a $10 million bounty that Washington offers for information leading to his arrest, and being the star speaker at public rallies that whip up hatred of India. Now, unexpectedly, he is detained under Pakistan's stern Anti-Terrorist Act of 1997. Nor is the LeT chief under 'house arrest' as the media has erroneously noted. True, Saeed is at home in Lahore, but this has been notified a sub-jail. He is under full arrest for activities that 'harm peace and security' of Pakistan. This is significantly different from being arrested for acting again India, or sending militants into Kashmir, all of which are perceived as legitimate activities in Pakistan. When Saeed was placed under home arrest after the LeT struck Mumbai on 26/11 (2008), the widespread impression across Pakistan that this was at New Delhi's behest ensured the terrorist chief was released within six months. This time round, there was a markedly different feel to Saeed's arrest. On Monday, when he was taken into custody from Markaz Al-Qadsia, the JuD headquarters in Lahore, four key associates were simultaneously picked up from across Punjab, reports the credible Pakistani newspaper, The Express Tribune. Indicating a centrally directed, geographically dispersed crackdown, two associates -- Zafar Iqbal and Abdul Rehman Abid -- were arrested from Markaz Tayyaba, the LeT headquarters at Muridke. A third, Abdullah Ubaid, was picked up in Faisalabad; while a fourth, Kashif Niazi, was arrested in Multan. To nobody's surprise, New Delhi has taken a sceptical view of Saeed's arrest. On Tuesday, the MEA stated: 'We have seen reports on the Pakistan ministry of interior order placing the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the Falah-e-Insaniyet Foundation under the watchlist and also the notification under which the Falah-e-Insaniyet Foundation has been included in the second schedule of their anti terror legislation under United Nations Security Council Resolution No 1267.' 'Exercises such as yesterday's orders against Hafiz Saeed and others have been carried out by Pakistan in the past also. Only a credible crack down on the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attack and terrorist organizations involved in cross border terrorism would be proof of Pakistans sincerity,' the MEA said. Analysts say quiet scepticism from New Delhi would create a better climate for the government of Pakistan to act against jihadi groups than overt triumphalism, or breast beating by the Indian media. For now, a rampaging Trump has provided the necessary cover. It remains to be seen whether Indian politicians, in an election season, can display restraint and provide Pakistan with the space to act. New Delhi sources are now watching carefully for renewed progress in Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi's trial for the Mumbai 26/11 attack. IMAGE: Despite a US bounty of $10 million for information leading to his capture, Muhammad Saeed, the Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist, traveled without restrictions in Pakistan, appearing in public places with impunity. More insights on the Lashkar-e-Tayiba in the related links below. What happened when Indian-American cartoonist Vishavjit Singh stood outside Donald Trump's inauguration dressed as Captain America? Monali Sarkar finds out. IMAGE: Vishavjit Singh was pleasantly surprised by the reception his Sikh Captain America avatar received outside Donald Trump's inauguration, January 20. Photograph: @SikhProf/Twitter.com Does someone wearing the iconic Captain America blue unitard with a star on the chest and holding the bulls-eye shield necessarily have to look like Chris Evans? Not according to Sikh-American cartoonist Vishavjit Singh and photographer Fiona Aboud. Singh, the creator of Sikhtoons, had created an illustration for New York Comic Con of a Sikh man -- with a beard, turban, and brown skin -- in the superhero's regalia. And when Aboud met Singh, soon after the gurdwara massacre in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, she envisioned the character in 3-D. She encouraged Singh to don the Captain America costume himself and pose for a photo shoot around Manhattan as part of her project Sikhs: An American Portrait. Singh's Sikh Captain America avatar has since gone places, challenging and shattering stereotypes and prompting strangers into thinking and talking about diversity. And his most recent stop was United States President Donald Trump's inauguration. 'My Captain America alter-ego is all about promoting a twitch in our perceptual reality to create a space where perhaps for a few moments we can look beyond our stereotypes,' Singh told The Huffington Post. He was prepared to face 'resistance and even outright aggression,' and was surprised when he did not. He said this was a rare instance when he faced no threat, no anger. 'More than a few supporters of the soon-to-be president were very open to my presence and message. Many came up to take photos with me,' he added. 'I heard a ton of "Yes, that is right on." A young woman offered an extra Inauguration ticket to me. A few police officers complimented me on the uniform.' Aboud was there to photograph the Sikh Captain America's new experience. IMAGE: Vishavjit Singh created an illustration of a Sikh Captain America for New York Comic Con a few years ago. Photographer Fiona Aboud envisioned this character in 3-D; she encouraged him to don the Captain America costume himself and pose for a photoshoot around Manhattan as part of her project Sikhs: An American Portrait. Photograph: Kind courtesy Fiona Aboud Singh dressed as a classic American superhero was an ideal addition to Aboud's work, which aims to redefine what it means to 'look American' while simultaneously building greater understanding around the presence and identity of Sikhs in the US. 'My idea is to photograph Sikhs and, instead of photographing them in the gurdwara and places that more typically highlight indicators of their Sikhism, to photograph them in their homes, in ordinary American places, in their everyday lives basically, in order to visually make them American," she had earlier told Rediff.com. "Because that's the whole problem with all the hate crimes -- the misunderstanding is that people go, 'Oh, well they're not American.' By showing them in those environments, people can start to see them as more similar maybe. Like reverse-orientalism or something." This is not to say that she's attempting to erase their Sikh-ness in the images. It's just a matter of redefining what that means for Sikh Americans. This is part of why she didn't shoot the aftermath of the Oak Creek gurdwara massacre of 2012. Tragedy is not her focus, and to jar is not her intent. She knows fully the importance of showing and publicising such events, but news outlets did that job. And even for those who follow these horrors and empathise with those who have suffered, it's easy to pin Sikhs as victims of hate crimes, feel the injustice, and then get on with your more normal American life. Aboud wanted to spotlight "meaning in the banal and the everyday that we overlook." She wanted her artwork to resonate more universally than the searing of violent images, to strike a chord of familiarity, put common ground beneath the subject and the viewer, and get to the heart of being simultaneously Sikh and American. IMAGE: At the inauguration, Singh also carried a sign that read: 'Black, Muslim, Trans, Latino, Asian, White. We All make America Great Again.' Photograph: Kind courtesy @SikhProf/Twitter.com With years of capturing the mundane realities of Sikh lives, 'Sikhs: An American Portrait' became a passion project. "It's definitely been the longest running of anything I've done," Aboud had told Rediff.com. "Also, it has the potential to change people's perspective." "At the end of the day, as a photographer, you leave behind your images; they are a sort of historical document of what exists in the now. It's a lofty way of thinking of it, but that's kind of how I feel." Her work took on a deeper significance as Aboud photographed the Sikh Captain America at Trump's inauguration. Because, as Singh told The Huffington Post, 'Our journey ahead is going to be bumpy ride through with major political turbulence. Our main weapon of choice has to be knowledge. We need to make sure not to let the anger drive us towards hate.' According to the AIADMK, 947 people died of grief after J Jayalalithaa's death on December 5. Her party announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh per death and published the list of the deceased in the party newspaper. But when Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar visited 17 of these families, randomly selected from a list provided by the AIADMK, he discovered that not everyone had received the ex-gratia. But that is not all. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com For the poor in Tamil Nadu, she was their saviour. They may not have understood, or cared for, J Jayalalithaa's politics, but there is no denying that some of the decisions she took made their lives easier. These included, among other things, low-priced Amma canteens, Amma salt, Amma seeds, Amma pharmacies, Amma cement, Amma drinking water... When the state was grappling with female foeticide in the early 1990s, she introduced the 'cradle baby' scheme (where parents could drop off their unwanted baby instead of killing the child). She launched a low-cost health check-up scheme and a low cost health care plan. She provided free laptops to students. Last year, she announced the state would soon have Amma gyms and parks in rural areas. Eleven low-cost wedding halls, equipped with all the necessary facilities, would be built across Tamil Nadu. She had planned low-cost short stay homes near government hospitals that could be used by a family member looking after a patient. She announced the building of over 90,000 lavatories and bank loans for women self-help groups. She had planned to improve the lighting on rural roads. No wonder then, Jayalalithaa had been accepted by much of the state as Amma (mother). When she passed away on December 5, 2016, after 75 days of hospitalisation, the state did not erupt in flames as expected. But underneath the seeming calm was a tremendous overflow of grief. Not everyone was able to accept the death of their beloved Amma. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoles a distraught Chief Minister O Panneerselvam as V K Sasikala looks on. Her party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, released an initial list of 108 people who, they said, had died of shock after her death. As the days passed, names on that list increased -- to 300, to 600... Now, according to the AIADMK list, the grief at her loss has resulted in 947 deaths. The AIADMK announced that Rs 300,000 would be given as compensation to the families of those who had died in grief after Amma's untimely death. To qualify for this compensation, a party spokesperson said, the deceased had to have been a member of the party; or a family member had to be a party member; or they had to have been known supporters of the party. Death due to health, age-related or other natural causes do not seem to have been considered as reasons while compiling this list. Party spokesperson Dheeran told Rediff.com on January 2 that Rs 3 lakhs had been given to each of the families of the 947 people who had passed away in Amma's wake; the list, he said, had been published in the latest edition of the party newspaper, Namadhu MGR. The AIADMK provided Rediff.com with about 600 names and addresses of families who, it said, had received this compensation. However, none of the families that this correspondent visited -- Rediff.com randomly picked out 17 families -- had received the promised Rs 3 lakhs. When Rediff.com pointed this out, Dheeran said, "It is the responsibility of the district secretary, local MLA and other party functionaries to collect the cheque and give it to the affected families." "If you bring it to the notice of the party headquarters," Dheeran added, "they will make sure the compensation reaches them immediately. All payments are made by cheque so there is no chance of anyone being missed out or the money going to the wrong person." One of the affected homes we visited was in Chinnapanicheri, Kundrathur, in Kancheepuram district. A family elder, E Chellammal, left, had passed away the day after Amma died. The two bikes parked outside the house bore the two-leaf AIADMK symbol and Jayalalithaa's image. "We all belong to the AIADMK," says her grandson Muthu. "We were leaving to attend Amma's funeral and Granny asked us where we were going. We were at the Marina (beach) watching the burial when we got a call from home saying Granny had died of a heart attack." Though Chellammal was over 70 years old, her family says she was healthy. She had two sons, but was staying with her daughter Kumari. Kumari says they have not received any money from the party, though the party cadre had come home and taken down their details. In Konnam village, Kancheepuram, a bedridden 82 year old was shocked to hear of Jayalalithaa's demise. While watching the funeral on television, Kanniammal, left, started crying, recalls her granddaughter Kavitha. Though there was no evidence that they were AIADMK supporters -- unlike most of the other homes we visited, there were no posters or photographs of M G Ramachandran or J Jayalalithaa or the party symbol anywhere -- their name was on the list. Kanniammal, who lived in a small hut, received a monthly old age pension from the government, a sum of Rs 1,000 that goes a long way in a village. Her death shocked the family, says Kavitha, because Kanniammal was in relatively good health. She is survived by her sons Sekar, Selvam, Manikkam and daughters Mughili and Anjali. They are yet to receive the promised Rs 3 lakhs. "Now who will give me my monthly pension?" wails Kavitha. Another name on the list is that of N Ramesh, who reportedly lived in Moluchur village, Sriperumbudur taluka, Kancheepuram district, and passed away on December 6. According to the address given to us, he lived on Ambedkar road. We searched the entire street but could not find an N Ramesh or his family staying there. There was another Ramesh -- a T S Ramesh Babu -- who resided on this road; he looked more than a little stunned at our query. At Povarasan Street, Arani, Sriperumbudur, Kanchipuram district, P Raghavan, left, of indeterminate age, passed away on December 6 as he was watching Amma's funeral on television. When we reached his home, his aged-looking widow Vembuli was weaving a mat from dried coconut leaves. She did not know her age either. "The doctor said he died of a heart attack," she told Rediff.com. Her husband, she says, was too old to work. Like she did before her husband's death, Vembuli survives by taking up MGNREGA work whenever it is available. "When I don't have work, my children give me food," she says. Her children too work as daily labourers. "When will I get the money?" she asks, looking sadly at her husband's photograph which, for some strange reason, has a now defunct Rs 1,000 note pasted under it. N Lakshmanan, left, was only 58 years old when he collapsed from a heart attack. Like P Raghavan, and most of the people we met, his family said he was at home watching Jayalalithaa's funeral on December 6. "He was a primary member of the AIADMK and has been in the party since J Jayalalithaa took over," says his grieving wife. It was only recently that the couple celebrated the joy of becoming grandparents when their only daughter became a mother for the first time. Lakshmanan, who worked as a clerk in a private transport company, was being treated for high blood pressure, and was overweight, his wife adds. Though she says he had been upset after Amma passed away, his wife is shocked by his demise. "I did not expect this," she says. The party members have submitted his details, but the family is yet to receive any compensation, she says. Locating the family of Jaffar Hussain -- another name we randomly chose from the list provided by the AIADMK -- proved impossible. His address was listed as hutments, Pudupettai Link Road, Chennai. There are more than 1,000 hutments along the Coovum river. Finding the family of B Devendiran in Masoodi colony, Maduvai, Guindy, Chennai, proved equally impossible. Masoodi colony has 14 streets and each street has more than 2,000 houses. Our random sampling now took us from north Tamil Nadu to Tirunelveli district in south Tamil Nadu. Here too, the people we contacted seemed to have passed away from a heart attack after watching the late Puratchi Thalaivi's funeral on television. And yes, none of them had received any compensation from the AIADMK. IMAGE: Jayalalithaa's supporters in tears outside the Apollo hospital in Chennai. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo Grief-stricken V Issakithai of Pillayar Koil street, Indira Nagar, Palayancottai, Tirunelveli, watched Jayalalithaa's funeral on television on December 6. At 10.30 pm, the 51 year old complained of chest pain. She was rushed to Bell Hospital, where she was given an injection. Her family was advised to immediately move her to the Medical College Hospital, where she passed away a few hours later. Issakithai, a priest, performed the pooja at the local Mariamman temple every morning and evening. Her family says she did not have any major health issues and did not suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure. Issakithai, who was an AIADMK member, is survived by a son and two daughters. Like Issakithai, S Govindarajan, who lived on Pillayar Koil Street, Ariyakulam, Palayancottai, Tirunelveli, had no history of diabetes, blood pressure or epilepsy, says his family. The 53 year old was watching Jayalalithaa's funeral on television when he had an epileptic attack. He was rushed to the local hospital, where was he was declared dead on arrival. He too was a temple priest. But, unlike Issakithai, he was a party supporter, not a party member. A bachelor, he lived with his elder brother. His sister-in-law explains, "We liked Jayalalithaa because, like us, she was an Iyengar." IMAGE: Jayalalithaa's supporters mourn in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters S Murugan, a carpenter who lived on Pandarakudi street, Rettiarpatti, Palayancottai, Tirunelveli, also passed away a day after Jayalalithaa's death was announced. He was watching the television the next morning when he complained of breathlessness, says his family. The doctor took an ECG and diagnosed a heart attack. Murugan was admitted to the Government Medical College hospital at 9 am and passed away two-and-a-half hours later. An AIADMK party member, he too had no history of diabetes or pressure. His son and daughter are yet to receive any compensation, though they say party members had made some inquiries. S Sankaran, who was also known as Sakkarai Chettiar, lived on Bajanai Koil street, Nettur, Alangulam, Tirunelveli. "He had dinner the previous night (December 5, the day Jayalalithaa passed away) and slept well," says his daughter. The next morning, while he was watching television at 7 am, he collapsed and passed away immediately. The 85 year old was in good health, says his family; they believe he died of shock at the news of Jayalalithaa's demise. Sankaran, who used to run a restaurant before he retired, has six children, all of whom are AIADMK party members. However, they are yet to receive any compensation, they say. IMAGE: A woman walks past a Jayalalithaa poster. Photograph: Babu/Reuters We decided to check out a few more addresses. Krishna Pillai is said to have lived at Kurinchi Street, Courtallam, where the waterfalls of Tirunelveli are located. However, there is no Kurinchi Street in Courtallam. Neither is there a Nalla Mada Natanur in Shivanattanur, where R Thirumalaikolundhu is supposed to have lived according to the AIADMK list. Mariappan lived on North Street, Mannarkoil, Ambasamudram, Tirunelveli. A labourer, he too died of a heart attack as he watched Jayalalithaa's funeral. At the hospital, the otherwise healthy 43 year old was declared dead on arrival, says his family. An AIADMK party member, he leaves behind a son and a daughter. S Balamurugan, (above, a family member shows his photograph), who lived on North Kaladi street, Valasai, Kadyanallur, Tirunelveli, was a mirror case. The 32 year old collapsed while watching Jayalalithaa's funeral and was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, says his family. A driver, Balamurugan leaves behind three sons. M Mariselvam, who worked at the TTV brick kiln, North Pudur, Sankarankoil, Tirunelveli, too died of a heart attack. After Jayalalithaa's demise, the workers from the kiln decided to pay her homage. The next day, they took out a silent march and garlanded Jayalalithaa's photograph at the town's main street. Then, they returned to the kiln. "He came back with us, sat down here," points a worker, "and passed away." The local doctor declared the 42 year old, who has three daughters -- one of whom is married -- dead, they say. Thirty-year-old K Murugan -- who lived on Arunthiyar street, Peranur Vallam, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli -- was shocked to hear about his beloved Amma's demise. He complained of chest pain and was taken to Tenkasi Hospital, where the doctors recommended moving him to the Medical College Hospital in Tirunelveli, says his wife Maheshwari. The next day, at 8.30 pm, he passed away, leaving behind a son and daughter. Maheshwari says she is still waiting for the promised Rs 3 lakhs. IMAGE: Jayalalithaa's supporters pay tribute at her burial site in Chennai. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo Solomon George, a longtime member of the AIADMK, told Rediff.com, "All party members, their family or their relatives who died at that time have been presumed to have died of shock after hearing about Amma's death." No other cause of death, clearly, has been considered by the party. What is equally strange is that almost every death seems to have occurred due to a heart attack while watching the late Tamil Nadu chief minister's funeral on television. Equally strange is the fact that none of the randomly picked families Rediff.com visited had received the promised money from the AIADMK, though party spokesperson Dheeran insists 947 families have been paid compensation. AIADMK Treasurer O Panneerselvam clearly has bigger responsibilities in his latest role as the chief minister of the state. Ukraine: UN 'gravely concerned' by deteriorating situation as violence flares in Donetsk Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 January 2017 Related Document(s) Security Council resolution 2202 (2015) [on the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements (12 Feb. 2015)] Cite as UN News Service, Ukraine: UN 'gravely concerned' by deteriorating situation as violence flares in Donetsk, 31 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5891985240e.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 January 2017 - Amid outburst of violence in Ukraine, the United Nations Security Council and the top humanitarian official there expressed grave concern today about the "dangerous deterioration" of the situation in the country's eastern region and its severe impact on the local civilian population. In a press statement, Council members condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements along the contact line in Donetsk region that lead to deaths and injuries, including among civilians. The members of the Security Council expressed their full support of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and underlined the need for strict compliance with resolution 2202 (2015), which endorsed the "Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements," aimed at ending the violence in eastern regions of Ukraine. "The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime," the statement concluded. Earlier in the day, the humanitarian community and the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country also expressed grave concern by the "drastic deterioration" of the security situation in eastern Ukraine and its humanitarian consequences. In a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN and its aid partners in the county expressed particular concern about the impact on the civilian population on both sides of the 'contact line.'" Casualties continue to be recorded. Sustained targeting of and damages to civilian infrastructure adds to the already difficult conditions. This situation, they said, is exacerbated by the harsh winter, and may have irrevocable consequences. "The Government of Ukraine is doing its outmost to provide support and to coordinate humanitarian efforts." The humanitarian community stressed that due to the shelling, the Donetsk Filter Station (DFS) stopped working on yesterday, leaving some 15,000 to 17,000 people in Avdiivka without water, and potentially affecting up to 400,000 people served by the facility. Moreover, on 30 January the fourth power line to the Avdiivka coke plant was damaged by shelling, leaving it without power, and further impacting on the supply of hot water. Urgent repairs are needed to restart the heating system. With temperatures falling well below -10 degrees Celsius, should the heating system stop working it will freeze and will require weeks to restart. In Donetsk, city water is being redistributed from Verkhniokalmiuska Filter station, and other cities are surviving by using local water reservoirs designed to provide 24 hours of storage. In villages such as Vasylivka, Spartak, Verkhnotoretske and Kruta Balka water delivery has stopped altogether, and in part of Yasynuvata water is now cut. "An immediate cessation of hostilities is urgently needed to prevent further loss of lives and to enable repair teams to urgently restore critical basic services to hundreds of thousands of affected civilians living in -10 below zero temperature," said Humanitarian Coordinator Neal Walker. UN fund allocates $6 million to help thousands in violence-hit parts of Central African Republic Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 January 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN fund allocates $6 million to help thousands in violence-hit parts of Central African Republic, 31 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/589198d540d.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 January 2017 - The top United Nations relief official today approved an allocation from the Organization's humanitarian emergency response fund to assist the response to new emergencies triggered by a surge of violence in the Central African Republic's Kaga Bandoro, Bambari and Bria areas. The top United Nations relief official today approved an allocation from the organization's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support response to assist the response to new emergencies triggered by a surge of violence in the Central African Republic (CAR)'s Kaga Bandoro, Bambari and Bria areas. The allocation, amounting to $6 million and allocated by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien today, will enable the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to reach some 36,800 people facing food insecurity due to the crises in the last few months of 2016 that not only led to new displacements but also caused a significant decline in commercial activities in the areas. "The humanitarian community is deeply concerned that a crisis linked to the scarcity and soaring prices of essential foodstuffs will aggravate a situation that is already extremely worrying," warned Joseph Inganji, the head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in CAR. The CERF allocation, with approximately 3,600 tons of food, will meet urgent food needs for four months. In Bria and surrounding areas, located about 600 kilometres north-east of the national capital, Bangui, 12,800 affected people will receive assistance. Similarly, about 10,000 people in Bambari, Grimari and the region (about 300 kilometres from Bangui), and 14,000 people in the Kaga Bandoro (some 330 kilometres from Bangui), will also benefit from the allocation. According to OCHA, the CERF support will partially cover the urgent humanitarian needs of newly displaced people with regards to food security. In addition to these funds, the Humanitarian Fund in CAR also triggered its emergency reserve mechanism on two occasions: first in December 2016 with $1 million to support the response to the food crisis in Bria; and then, in January 2017, it complementary addressed needs including shelter and non-food items, camp management, water, sanitation and hygiene, logistics, protection and health. OCHA further noted that the humanitarian community in country continues to advocate for additional funds to cover the remaining needs. CERF is one of the fastest and effective ways in which the UN supports rapid humanitarian response for people affected by natural disasters and conflict. The Fund receives voluntary contributions throughout the year to provide immediate funding for lifesaving humanitarian action anywhere in the world. It is managed by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator on behalf of the UN Secretary-General. Yesterday, the Fund had allocated some $100 million to sustain operations in nine "neglected crises" around the globe, enabling life-saving assistance for more than six million people in Cameroon, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia and Uganda. Syria: UN-supported talks delayed until 20 February to give opposition time to unite Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 January 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Syria: UN-supported talks delayed until 20 February to give opposition time to unite, 31 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58919a5040d.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 January 2017 - The United Nations envoy for Syria today said that he asked the Security Council to postpone the UN facilitated talks that had been scheduled for 8 February in Geneva until 20 February, in order to give the war-torn country's opposition time to unite and participate as one group. "We want to give a chance to this Astana initiative to actually implement itself," Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York, referring to the talks held last week in the Kazakh capital on solidifying a ceasefire in Syria, which had been brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey. He said that in Astana, the Syrian Government, the opposition and the three guarantors of the ceasefire agreed on a mechanism - a group of experts - to monitor the truce, adding that a technical follow-up meeting on the creation of the mechanism is scheduled to take place in the Kazakh capital on 6 February with the participation of the UN. He explained that the delay of UN-supported intra-Syrian talks would give time for the ceasefire to solidify, give the Government a chance to consider concessions, and give a chance for the armed groups to come as "one unified opposition." Mr, de Mistura said he will issue invitations for the Geneva talks around 8 February. He reiterated that his work is guided by UN Security Council resolution 2254 (2015), which endorsed a roadmap for a peace process in Syria, including issues of governance, constitution and elections. Cut off by fighting, thousands of Yemenis urgently need aid and protection UN official says Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 January 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Cut off by fighting, thousands of Yemenis urgently need aid and protection UN official says, 31 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58919aa6412.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 January 2017 - The senior United Nations humanitarian official in Yemen voiced extreme concern today about the safety and well-being of citizens in the south-eastern part of the country, where military operations are cutting off services and causing harm to civilians. "A halt to the fighting is required to facilitate the delivery of assistance to Al Mokha and enable the free movement of civilians," said Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, in reference to the port city on the Red Sea coast of the country. Up to 30,000 people are estimated to be trapped in Mokha, roughly one-third of the population, and in need of immediate protection and relief assistance, Mr. McGoldrick said. He noted also that scores of civilians have been injured by repeated airstrikes, shelling and sniper attacks in and around Mokha, which has also ground most services, including the main market and the water supply system. Meanwhile, in Dhubab, also a district of Taiz Governorate, tens of thousands of civilians are being forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting. Mr. McGoldrick warned that some are using mined roads, and many have already been previously displaced or lost livelihoods in the fighting. "I call on all parties to the conflict to meet their obligations under the international humanitarian law," he said, urging all parties to ensure the humanitarian organizations have "rapid, safe and unimpeded access to reach the people in need in the town of Al Mokha and the wider affected region." In addition to concerns for civilians, the UN aid official expressed concern about recent damage to roads and bridges connecting the port city of Al Hudaydah with other governorates. Noting that infrastructure is vital for moving humanitarian and commercial supplies, Mr. McGoldrick said he deplored such actions "as they risk further isolating Yemeni communities and aggravate the already alarming food security situation." UN agencies and partners are mobilizing food, water, shelter and medicines for those in need, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Clashes in north-eastern South Sudan halt UN migration agency's humanitarian work Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 31 January 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Clashes in north-eastern South Sudan halt UN migration agency's humanitarian work, 31 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58919ad940e.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 31 January 2017 - Thousands of people in need of aid in South Sudan's Upper Nile area will have to wait indefinitely, after fighting forced the United Nations migration agency to suspend humanitarian activities in the area. Violence in Upper Nile has once again hindered the ability of IOM and other relief agencies to provide assistance to populations seriously in need, said the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) South Sudan Chief of Mission, William Barriga. Civilians will undoubtedly suffer as sporadic fighting makes it more difficult for aid workers to deliver services. In addition to aid, the agency was in the process of registering people to receive supplies, when clashes between the Government and opposition forces forced everyone to evacuate. An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people remained in line when the team was forced to flee. According to IOM, clashes reached Wau Shilluk on 27 January, just as a 14-person team from the UN agency was about to resume registration. A partner organization, which provides aid, was with UN agency at the time. Wau Shilluk is located north-eastern South Sudan, across the White Nile River from Malakal town. Malakal was one of South Sudan's largest urban areas before the current crisis and home to more than 33,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are sheltering at the protection of civilians (PoC) site, said IOM. The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) yesterday condemned the latest fighting and urged all parties to protect civilians. Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 1 February 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups, 1 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5891deb64.html [accessed 5 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. For the past four years, the Kremlin has sought to stigmatize criticism or alternative views of government policy as disloyal, foreign-sponsored, or even traitorous. It is part of a sweeping crackdown to silence critical voices that has included new legal restrictions on the internet, on freedom of expression, on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and on other fundamental freedoms. Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Moscow) June 5, 2014 Regional Public Association in Defense of Democratic Rights and Freedoms "Golos" (Moscow) June 5, 2014 Center for Social Policy and Gender Studies (Saratov) June 5, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) Women of Don (Rostov region) June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended February 29, 2016) Kostroma Center for Support of Public Initiatives (Kostroma) June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended June 19, 2015) Interregional Human Rights Association "Agora" (Kazan) July 21, 2014 (the organization was shut down December 29, 2016) Regional public organization "Ecozaschita! Womens' Council" (Kaliningrad) July 21, 2014 Public Verdict Foundation (Moscow) July 21, 2014 Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Moscow) July 21, 2014 Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms / JURIX (Moscow) July 21, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 26, 2015) Soldiers' Mothers (Saint Petersburg) August 28, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 23, 2015) Freedom of Information Foundation / Institute for Information Freedom Development August 28, 2014 PIR Center September 3, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended February 24, 2016) Association "Partnership for Development" (Saratov) October 2, 2014 (the organization was shut down November 6, 2015) "News Agency MEMO.RU" (Moscow) November 20, 2014 Regional Press Institute (St. Petersburg) November 20, 2014 Moscow School of Civic Education December 9, 2014 Rakurs, Arkhangelsk regional non-governmental LGBT organization December 15, 2014 All-Russian movement "For Human Rights" December 22, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 30, 2015) Human Rights Center (Kaliningrad) December 25, 2014 Krasnodar Regional Social Organization of University Alumni December 25, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended April 22, 2016) Regional social organization "Public Commission for Academic Sakharov's Heritage Preservation" December 25, 2014 Resource Human Rights Center (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down November 3, 2015) Regional Public Organization "Man and the Law" (Republic of Mari El) December 30, 2014 Center for Social Development "Vozrozhdeniye" (Pskov) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down January 31, 2017) Public Human Rights Organization "Civil Control" (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 The League of Women Voters (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) Free Press Support Foundation December 30, 2014 Interregional Non-Governmental Organization "The Committee Against Torture" January 16, 2015 (the organization was shut down September 13, 2016) Educational Center "Memorial" (Sverdlov region) January 16, 2015 Autonomous non-profit human rights organization "Youth Center for Consulting and Training" January 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended July 22, 2015) "Information Bureau of the Nordic Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg" January 20, 2015 Jewish regional branch of the Russian public organization "Municipal Academy" January 26, 2015 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) The noncommercial partnership "Press Development Institute - Siberia" January 30, 2015 Center for social, psychological and legal help to victims of discrimination and homophobia "Maximum" (Murmansk) February 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down October 28, 2015) Interregional public fund for civil society development "Golos-Povolzhye" (Samara) February 6, 2015 Interregional charity organization "Siberian Environmental Center" (Novosibirsk) February 12, 2015 Center for Civic Analysis and Independent Research / GRANI (Perm) February 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended June 19, 2015) Municipal public organization "Samara Center for Gender Studies" (Samara) February 16, 2015 Regional Fund "Center for Defense of Mass Media Rights" (Voronezh) February 26, 2015 Regional Charitable Social Foundation "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) March 6, 2015 Regional Ecological Social Movement "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) March 6, 2015 Humanist Youth Movement (Murmansk) March 13, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 25, 2015) Regional Social Organization for Contribution to Harmonization of Interethnic Relations "Azerbaijan" March 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended July 22, 2016) Regional Social Environmental Organization "Bellona-Murmansk" March 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down October 16, 2015) "Educational Center for Environment and Security" (Samara) March 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 8, 2015) Foundation "Migration XXI Century" March 27, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended November 25, 2016) Eco-logika (Rostov) April 3, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended March 30, 2016) Transparency International Russia - April 7, 2015 Social Environmental Organization "Planeta Nadezhd" April 15, 2015 Foundation for Consumers' Rights Defense (Novosibirsk) April 17, 2015 (the organization was shut down May 12, 2016) Civic Assistance Committee April 20, 2015 Foundation 19/29 - Foundation for Support of Investigative Journalism April 24, 2015 Commemorative Centre of History of Political Repressions "Perm - 36" April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 18, 2016) Women's League (Kaliningrad ) April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 16, 2015) Legal Expert Partnership "Soyuz " May 7, 2015 (the organization was shut down 25 August 2015) Center for Development of Non-Commerical Organizations May 13, 2015 Club of Accountants and Auditors of Non-Commercial Organizations May 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended March 30, 2016) Informational Bureau of the Council of Ministers of Northern Countries (Kaliningrad) May 13, 2015 Sutyajnik (Yekaterinburg) May 15, 2015 Human Rights Academy (Yekaterinburg) May 15, 2015 Ecological Center "Dront" (Nizhny Novgorod) May 22, 2015 The non-profit organization "Liberal Mission" Scientific Foundation of Theoretical and Applied Research May 25, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 11, 2015) The non-profit Dynasty Foundation May 25, 2015 Union of Employers (Tula region) May 28, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 13, 2016) Youth organization "Nuori Karjala/Young Karelia" June 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down March 25, 2016) Siberian Center for Support of Social Initiatives June 19, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Interregional Social Foundation for Peace in the South and in the Northern Caucasus June 19, 2015 Informational Center "Free Inform" June 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 21, 2016) Center for Independent Sociological Studies (St. Petersburg) June 22, 2015 Regional Organization for Population and Development June 23, 2015 Geblerov Ecological Societ (Barnaul) June 23, 2015 Association "Legal Basis" (Yekaterinburg) July 3, 2015 Interregional Non-governmental Organization "Northern Environmental Coalition" (Petrozavodsk) July 8, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 1, 2015) Komi Human Rights Commission "Memorial" (Syktyvkar) July 21, 2015 Altai Regional Public Fund for 21st Century Altai (Barnaul) July 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down March 28, 2016) Interregional Public Foundation for Civil Society Development "GOLOS-Ural" (Chelyabinsk region) July 22, 2015 SREDA Foundation July 28, 2015 Non-governmental environmental organization "Green World" (Nizhny Novgorod) July 29, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 28, 2016) Civic Action Foundation (Perm) August 5, 2015 Alliance of Funds of Local Communities of the Perm territory August 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 26, 2016) Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center regional branch of the "For Human Rights" All-Russian movement (Nalchik) August 18, 2015 (the organization was shut down November 6, 2015) The Human Rights Center of the Chechen Republic (Grozny) August 21, 2015 Interregional Social Ecological Foundation "ISAR-Siberia" (Novosibirsk) August 26, 2015 Perm Regional Human Rights Center (Perm) September 3, 2015 Siberia's lifeline (Novosibirsk) September 3, 2015 Golos Foundation in Support of Democracy September 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 21, 2016) Jewish Cultural Center "Hesed-Teshuva" (Ryazan) September 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 13, 2016) Sakhalin Environment Watch (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) September 18, 2015 Yasavey Manzara Information and Research Center (Naryan-Mar) September 23, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 15, 2016) Consumer Rights and Environment Protection Association "Princip" (Moscow region) October 5, 2015 Far East Center for the Development of Civil Initiatives and Social Partnership (Vladivostok) October 13, 2015 Russian Research Center for Human Rights October 20, 2015 Women of the Don (Rostov region) October 27, 2015 Friends of the Siberian Forests (Krasnoyarsk) October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 6, 2016) Photography Club "Sobytiye" (Omsk) October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 16, 2015) Research and Information Center "Memorial" (St. Petersburg) November 6, 2015 Baikal Environmental Wave (Irkutsk) November 10, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 1, 2016) Glasnost Defense Foundation November 19, 2015 Human Rights Institute November 20, 2015 Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North November 27, 2015 Green World (Leningrad region) December 2, 2015 Mashr (Republic of Ingushetia) December 8, 2015 Woman's World (Kaliningrad) December 11, 2015 Panorama Information and Research Center (Moscow) December 18, 2015 Dauria Ecological Center (Chita) December 30, 2015 (the organization was shut down September 1, 2016) Yekaterinburg Memorial Society (Yekaterinburg) December 30, 2015 Bureau of Public Investigations (Nizhny Novgorod) January 14, 2016 Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Orenburg) January 14, 2016 Institute of Forecasting and Resolving of Political Conflicts (Nizhny Novgorod) January 22, 2016 Ryazan Historical, Educational and Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Ryazan) February 1, 2016 Society of Assistance to Social Protection of Citizens "Peterburgskaya EGIDA" (Saint Petersburg) February 2, 2016 (the organization was shut down April 26, 2016) Center for Health and Social Support "SIBALT" (Omsk) February 15, 2016 Chelyabinsk Regional Organ of Public Independent Action "Ural Human Rights Group" (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Women of Eurasia (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Ural Democratic Foundation (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Legal and Social Support Charitable Foundation "Sphere" (Saint Petersburg) March 1, 2016 Centre for Civic Education and Human Rights (Perm) March 3, 2016 The International Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation "Batani" (Moscow) March 11, 2016 Center for Social and Labor Rights (Moscow) March 21, 2016 Arkhar (Gorno-Altaysk) April 5, 2016 (the organization was shut down October 6, 2016) Publishing House "Valentin Manuylov" April 15, 2016 Tengri School of Soul ecology (Altay) - May 17, 2016 Hanse Buero / Information Bureau of Schleswig-Holstein in Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad) - May 24, 2016 (the organization was shut down December 30, 2016) Krasnoyarsk Regional Public Organization Agency of public initiatives (Krasnoyarsk) - May 27, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Saratov Regional Public Organization "Socium" (Engels) - May 30, 2016 Perm regional non-governmental organization "Perm Civil Chamber" (Perm) - June 9, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Regional non-governmental organization Integration center "Migration and Law" (Moscow) - June 16, 2016 Non-Profit Partnership "ESVERO" (Moscow) - June 22, 2016 Andrey Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice (Moscow) - June 29, 2016 Altai regional sport and patriotic youth public organization "Arctica" (Biysk) - July 6, 2016 Autonomous non-governmental organization "Free Word" (Pskov) - July 13, 2016 The Institute of Economic Analysis (Moscow) - July 22, 2016 Penza regional youth civic organization for prevention of negative phenomena among youth "Panacea" (Kuznetsk) - August 15, 2016 (the organization was shut down December 8, 2016) Samara regional, civic organization "American alumni club" (Samara) - August 26, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit organization "Publishing house 'Park Gagarina'" (Samara) - August 31, 2016 Levada Analytical Center (Moscow) - September 5, 2016 Environmental Watch on North Caucasus (Maikop) - September 13, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit human rights organization "Draftee's school" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 Foundation for support of civil freedoms "Legal mission" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society Memorial (Moscow) - October 4, 2016 Sverdlovsk regional non-profit foundation "Health Era" (Ekaterinburg) - October 11, 2016 Chapaevsk non-profit organization "Chapaevsk city medical personnel association" (Chapaevsk) - October 21, 2016 Regional charity foundation "Samarskaya gubernia" (Samara) - November 2, 2016 Non-profit partnership "Internet Community" (Samara) - December 13, 2016 Autonomous non-profit organization for social support "Project April" (Tolyatti) - December 19, 2016 ANNA Centre for the prevention of violence (Moscow) - December 26, 2016 Southern Human Rights Centre (Sochi) - December 26, 2016 Sverdlovsk branch of the International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society Memorial (Ekaterinburg) - December 29, 2016 SOVA Center for Information and Analysis (Moscow) - December 30, 2016 Sverdlovsk civic organization for assistance to legal migration "Nelegalov.Net [No Illegals]" (Ekaterinburg) - January 10, 2017 Environmental human rights center Bellona (Saint Petersburg) - January 16, 2017 Youth civic organization "Pro-movement" (Altay region) - January 25, 2017 Kaliningrad regional civic organization "Society for German culture and Russian Germans Eintracht - Soglasie" (Kaliningrad) - January 31, 2017 And the four NGOs which registered voluntarily: Non-commercial Partnership "Supporting Competition in the CIS Countries" June 27, 2013 "The Union of Young Political Scientists", KarachayCherkess Republican Youth Social Organization December 15, 2014 Regional Social Movement "Novgorod Women's Parliament" (Veliky Novgorod) March 6, 2015 Center of Independent Researchers of the Altai Republic June 10, 2015 Leader of at least 1 NGO faces criminal charges personally: Jon Stewart may have traded the late night comedian anchor's chair for an animal farm, but that doesn't mean he isn't paying close attention to what Donald Trump has been up to since becoming presidentStewart returned to televised civilization briefly last night to catch up on all things Trump with his buddy Stephen Colbert. Wearing one of the rescue animals from his farm on his head (it's the new men's fashion: "super long tie, dead animal on head, boom"), he proceeded to read some new executive orders, which included transplanting the Great Wall of China to the Mexico border and declaring America's official language "bullshit." But after a lot of wig-adjusting and giggling between the two old friends, Stewart got to the more sobering reason why he was there with the third and final "order": I, Donald J. Trump, am exhausting. It has been eleven days, Stephen. Eleven fucking days. Eleven. The presidency is supposed to age the president, not the public. And the reason that I Donald J. Trump (this is his words) am exhausting is that every instinct and fiber of my pathological self-regard calls me to abuse of power. I Donald J. Trump want, no deserve, not just your respect but your adoration. Parades with the tanks, and synchronized dancing. And why can't they train 10K doves to spell out 'Trump; in the clouds. How hard can it be, they're already flying?! I Donald J. Trump am exhausting because it is going to take relentless stamina, vigilance and every institutional check and balance this great country can muster to keep me, Donald J. Trump, from going full-Palpatine, with the lightning coming out of the fingertips and the "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate.' We have never faced this before: purposeful, vindictive chaos. But perhaps therein lies the saving grace of my, Donald J. Trump's, presidency. No one action will be adequate. All actions will be necessary. And if we do not allow Donald Trump to exhaust our fight, and somehow come through this presidency calamity-less and constitutionally partially intact, then I, Donald J. Trump, will have demonstrated the greatness of America, just not the way I thought I was gonna. Before Stewart, Colbert caught up on all the latest Trump news in his monologue: "This is supposed to be the honeymoon," he said of the many bumps in the road for Trump's administration so far. "How could he blow the honeymoon? He's had three of them!" While Donald Trump has officially moved into the White House and remains impressed with the beautiful phones he can use in the nation's presidential mansion, putative First Lady Melania Trump hasn't joined her husband in Washington just yet. In case you were maybe hoping East 57th and 5th wouldn't be its own little police state for the foreseeable future, the word now is that Melania might never leave Trump Tower. Hope you like traffic! The news of our eternal traffic jam/endless overtime spigot comes courtesy of official Trump house organ U.S. Weekly. In following up on their inside look at the fun-loving and 100% human Trump family, they gave us an exclusive look inside the "mysterious world" of Melania. One aspect of that mystery that the magazine purported to answer was whether she'll move to Washington and potentially free New York City from four years of Fortress Fifth Avenue. A "family insider" told the magazine that Melania is for sure not moving until Barron finishes the school year here, and that the family "will reevaluate toward the end of the school year if they will keep this arrangement or if Melania and Barron will move to Washington." Given that the magazine's cover screams "SEPARATE LIVES" and that Donald Trump told ABC that living alone in the White House is just fine, Melania just might live here forever. Which would be fine except that it's cost New York City a ton of money to protect Trump Tower when it was treated as White House North, and the protection just adds to the ultra-militarized takeover of city streets by the NYPD. The city has denied an initial report that NYPD security at Trump Tower was costing $1 million per day, but Councilmember Dan Garodnick, who represents the district Trump Tower is in, tells us that it costs $500,000 per day to protect the building when Trump is in town. In 2009, the Chicago Tribune reported that it cost the city of Chicago $2.2 million total to protect Barack Obama's home between November 2008 and April 2009, which is dwarfed by the reported $37.4 million dollars it cost New York City to protect Trump Tower between Election Day and Inauguration Day. "I respect their family and their need to make personal decisions, but I'm very concerned that it might mean more regular presidential visits," Garodnick told Gothamist when asked about the possibility that Melania may stick around. "It's simply not workable for the President of the United States to be in Midtown on a regular basis," which is something Garodnick thinks will happen if Melania does keep living in Trump Tower. "We hope that [the president] does not treat Trump Tower like a pied-a-terre and spends most of his time in Washington," Garodnick said. "Fifth Avenue is the busiest bus route in the city. The security infrastructure has caused real harm to local businesses, and it is not sustainable on a regular basis." Garodnick said he wasn't sure how much money it cost the city to protect Trump Tower on a daily basis when Trump is in Washington. A mayoral spokesperson told Gothamist that "the city is still in the process of determining that figure." Brian Reed working on S-Town. (Photo by Andrea Morales) It's undeniable that 'Serial' launched podcasts to a new level, while gripping the nation with its first season (which focused on the 1999 murder of Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed). While their second season didn't get quite the same amount of hype, there was a completely separate podcast that became everyone's obsession: Mystery Show, created by Starlee Kine. Confusingly, Gimlet Productions dropped the podcast while it was in the early stages of season two last year. The two forces have teamed up, however, and will be launching a new podcast in March. From their announcement today: This American Life and the creators of Serial announced the formation of podcast production company Serial Productions. The first podcast to launch under the new production banner will be S-Town, a nonfiction limited series set in rural Alabama and hosted by long-time This American Life producer Brian Reed. Production of S-Town began when a man reached out to This American Life bitterly complaining about his small Alabama town. He wanted a reporter to investigate the son of a wealthy family who had allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. Brian agreed to look into it. But then someone else ended up dead, and another story began to unfoldabout a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure and the mysteries of one mans life. This story takes so many unexpected turns, says Ira Glass. Every episode is a new surprise. And the story has this feeling and mood thats different from anything else weve done. I dont think people have heard a show like this. The S-Town editorial team includes Glass, Sarah Koenig and Starlee Kine. All episodes of S-Town will be released simultaneously in March 2017, so we'll find out if binge-listening works as well as binge-watching. The team also has two more podcasts in development, but no details have been released on those. Hundreds of New Yorkers braved freezing temperatures Tuesday night on Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza at a rally calling upon U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to take a firm stand against the Trump administration. The rally was the latest in a series of weekly gatherings poetically dubbed "What the F*ck, Chuck?" outside the senator's Brooklyn home on Prospect Park West and his offices in Midtown. As a series of speakers stood on a platform and shouted over a mobile PA system, protesters cheered and jeered as they held signs with slogans like "Buck Up Chuck"; "Resisting Trump Is Your Primary Duty"; and "Filibuster Filibuster Filibuster." Hae-Lin Choi, of the Democratic Socialists of America and Resist Trump NY, took the stage first, announcing herself as an immigrant and telling the crowd why organizers had called for the protest. "We planned this rally to Schumer's home to help him find the spine and maybe some of the other body parts he needs to grow," she said, citing Schumer's early "yea" votes on Trump's nominees to lead Defense, Homeland Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency. Choi said organizers were encouraged by Schumer's announcement in recent days that he would vote no on eight more nominees, but that they see this as a bare minimumand they intend to keep up the pressure. "Senator Schumer must be bold and stand with the working class," she cried over the loudspeaker. "He has to champion the resistance or get out of the way and we'll find someone that will." As Choi spoke, the crowd chanted, "Stand up, or get out of the way." That was the common theme running through the speechesmeet our demands or you will feel our wrath at the ballot box. Paulina Davis, vice chair of the organization National Women's Liberation and a member of its Women of Color Caucus, blasted President Donald Trump's nomination of Georgia Congressman Tom Price, a hard-right opponent of reproductive rights, to be secretary of Health and Human Services. "They would rather see women die from a lack of healthcare if it means they can block our access to birth control and abortion," she said of the Trump administration. Davis issued a warning to Senate Democrats considering supporting what she called Trump's "anti-woman, anti-abortion, profit-over-people" nominees. "If you don't ensure that we put up a big fight," she said, "we will replace you with someone who will. Park Slope resident Francesca Valerio, who stood not far from the gas generator for the PA that kicked choking fumes upon a brave swath of the crowd, said she didn't have much experience with political activism, but that Trump's election had brought her out into the streets. "I just think what's going on is appalling on every level," she said. "I feel like I can't stay home." Like many in the crowd who spoke to Gothamist, her feelings for Schumer seemed a bit softer than the speakers'. "I'm pretty happy with Chuck," she said. "But I want him to do everything he can." Also represented at the rally were speakers from the grassroots Muslim group MPower Change, SEIU Local 32BJ, the Communication Workers of America, and New York Communities for Change. Patrick Youngkin, a member of CWA Local 1102 and a former Marine, shouted gleefully, bringing the crowd to a fury. "I fought for the right to protest, I fought for the right to assemble, and hold elected officials accountable," he said. "Senator Schumer, your constituents, we're going to take this fight to the street. But it's your duty as Senate minority leader to take this fight to the floor." After an hour or so of speeches, organizers directed protesters to march the few hundred feet from Grand Army Plaza to the area on Prospect Park West across from Schumer's apartment building. (Only 50 people were allowed to actually stand in front of the building.) The crowd chanted the usual protest fare"This is what democracy looks like"but also more pointed messages, like "What the fuck, Chuck?" and "Grow a spine." A man looked out his window from Schumer's building, then slammed it shut. Two kids peered out at the crowd. Angelo Roefaro, a spokesperson for Schumer, explained in an email to Gothamist that the senator has been working to oppose Trump. "From day one, Senator Schumer made it very clear that he had major concerns with at least eight of the nominees in what he termed the 'swamp cabinet' of billionaires and bankers," he wrote. "He fought off the Republican effort to bum rush this group through the Senate in one fell swoop, and instead forced a series of hearings to more fully question them and examine their records and their conflicts of interest." Around the corner from Schumer's house, Gothamist rang the bell of a townhouse, curious if the noise was irritating the locals. Peter Gallo, 77, a retired marketing executive originally from Germany, answered the door, his young grandson racing around. Gallo said the protests were not disturbing him. "It should be louder," Gallo said. "We should have a demonstration every day." A town hall at Schumer's district office at 780 Third Avenue is scheduled for Thursday at noon.There is also a rally. Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/01/2017 --On January 26, 2017, in the 2011 federal crime case (Dist. of Colo. case no. 09-cr-00266-CMA), Colorado Springs attorney Gwendolyn Lawson filed a motion seeking disclosure of grand jury materials to challenge the suspicious actions of Assistant United States Attorney Matthew T. Kirsch before the grand jury. Lawson believes that Kirsch vindictively pursued a second grand jury and engaged in misconduct that prejudiced or biased grand jurors into issuing an indictment. The first grand jury apparently rejected Kirsch's illegitimate attempt to gain a criminal indictment against six technology executives (known on the Internet as the IRP6) from IRP Solutions Corporation in Colorado Springs, for failing to pay corporate debts to staffing companies. "But if I don't pay somebody for the work they've done, that is not a federal crime," one grand juror pointed out in the original grand jury. In the second grand jury, Kirsch eliminated all defendants' witnesses that testified in the first grand jury, choosing only to call a single, newly-assigned FBI agent, Robert Moen, as his sole witness, presumably, to conceal prior evidence presented to the original grand jury, to gain an indictment. According to Lawson's motion, the law permits disclosure of grand jury material "upon a showing that grounds may exist for a motion to dismiss the indictment because of matter occurring before the grand jury, i.e., if there is any evidence of misconduct." "Given that a second grand jury is considered part of an ongoing investigation, AUSA Kirsch is obligated to provide transcripts and exhibits from the first grand jury to the second one and is not permitted to get a sanitized indictment by excluding that information," Lawson tells A Just Cause. "Additionally, a prosecutor is required to ensure the grand jury has adequate time to review all documents from the original grand jury, and Moen, as a newly-assigned agent, is not permitted to engage in hearsay by describing aspects of the investigation he was not personally involved in," states Banks of A Just Cause. After receiving information from A Just Cause, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has also found probable cause to investigate Kirsch's conduct before the grand jury. Senator Hatch is investigating allegations of grand jury misconduct by Kirsch, the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office and the IRS related to illegally obtaining church and parishioner banking records, likely through collusion with the IRS," says Lamont Banks, Executive Director of A Just Cause. "Court records indicate Kirsch was allegedly engaging in a selective prosecution by targeting the Colorado Springs Fellowship Church (CSFC) and its parishioners," adds Stewart. "It is not a coincidence that the IRP6 were all faithful members of the church for decades," says Banks. In the first grand jury, the lead FBI agent gave testimony and presented exhibits showing that the IRP6 and the church members that worked as contract employees through staffing companies, were engaged in a money laundering scheme where church members and the executives were funneling money received from staffing companies into church coffers. Court records show that Kirsch ONLY subpoenaed church parishioners to testify before the first grand jury and excluded dozens of other contract employees unaffiliated with the church that worked for IRP Solutions. Kirsch's decision to only subpoena church members and allegedly illegally obtain their specific banking records while excluding dozens of other contract employees unaffiliated with CSFC raises serious questions about Kirsch's motives and the integrity of the grand jury process," says Cliff Stewart of A Just Cause. Parishioners tell AJC they were peppered with questions about the church and their Pastor, Rose Banks, who is also the mother of IRP6 defendant David Banks. A parishioner says she was asked if the church was a cult. "Kirsch's actions suggest he was allegedly illegally using the grand jury as a subterfuge to target the church, but the reason for that is still a mystery," says Stewart. Court records show Kirsch indicted and convicted Lawanna Clark, Pastor Banks' daughter, on a single perjury count, claiming she lied about withdrawing money from the IRP bank account. Kirsch told the jury it was Clark's signature on bank withdrawal slips, but after trial, a reputable handwriting expert concluded the signatures were not Clark's. When Clark presented the findings to AUSA Kirsch, he disregarded the evidence, saying Clark should have brought it up during trial and recommended 18 months in prison. Judge Arguello also disregarded Clark's innocence and sent her to prison for 6 months. A Just Cause has provided Senator Hatch with key court documents that show Kirsch had received banking records as early as 2003, likely through collusion with the IRS, which was 4 years before the first grand jury proceedings in early 2007. When the first grand jury, who had not issued a subpoena, asked lead FBI agent John Smith how he obtained the banking records, Smith said by subpoena. Parishioners tell A Just Cause that their banks verified that they never received a subpoena from the government. Other information provided to Senator Hatch includes the grand jury foreman stating in open court that Rose Banks, the Pastor of CSFC, was the target of the Kirsch's investigation and there is documented evidence that Agent Smith told staffing companies to contact private attorney Greg Goldberg of the Holland and Hart law firm about the case, not Kirsch. Court documents show that Goldberg, a former federal prosecutor who previously worked with Kirsch in the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office, HAND-DELIVERED a letter to Kirsch, stating that IRP executives were running bogus businesses and should be prosecuted, also directing Kirsch on what charges they should be indicted on. "It appears to me that Goldberg was allegedly directing the investigation, which is a violation of federal law," says Stewart. During proceedings, IRP6 attorneys filed motions for the government to allow them to view the grand jury subpoenas which was vigorously opposed by Kirsch, asserting that allowing the defense to view the subpoenas would be a "slippery slope" that would expose the tactics used by the government to acquire banking records. "The issuance of grand jury subpoenas is not some covert or secret process and Kirsch's opposition to the viewing of the subpoena indicates he might be concealing the illegal conduct he used to get the records," says Stewart. Court records show Judge Arguello paid lip service about the grand jury subpoena being an administrative document which should be released to the IRP6 defendants but ultimately denied the request. Judge Christine M. Arguello, is the subject of a pending judicial complaint (http://bit.ly/2ba9827) which presents irrefutable evidence of Kirsch and Arguello conspiring together with bias to disregard prevailing law and the constitutional rights of the IRP6. The judicial complaint appeal has been pending since August 18, 2016. "Predictably, Judge Arguello doubled-down on her bias against the IRP6 by arbitrarily denying Lawson's request for grand jury materials the same day the motion was submitted, absurdly claiming Lawson had not shown a particularized need for the grand jury records," says Stewart. "The court documents indicate to me that AUSA Kirsch obtained an indictment against these men by deceptive means and undermined the integrity of the judicial process, which definitely rises to grand jury misconduct," says Lawson. Lawson was the appellate attorney for 5 of the IRP6 defendants. A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017 Business Here's how this free app turned amateurs into UAE's top professional stock market traders Going into business without first having some basic knowledge of how the market works and the tools at our disposal increases your risk of getting into trouble. Simulators provide learning platforms for people who want to start learning how to invest. In these undated file photos, Hun Sen ( right ) and Sam Rainsy speak to reporters after a meeting at the National Assembly. By refusing to make some of his cabinet available for questioning by the National Assembly, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is continuing his attempts to put his opposition on the sidelines. In a Tuesday interview Hun Sen told the pro-government media outlet Fresh News that he is refusing to allow three of his ministers to respond to questioning in the National Assembly. Members of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) wanted to grill Minister of National Defense Tea Banh, Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon, and Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng on a range of issues. Independent political analyst Lao Mong Hay told RFAs Khmer Service that Hun Sens decision runs contrary to the National Assemblys rules and the countrys constitution. He [Hun Sen] violates the constitution and the internal rules of the National Assembly, Lao Mong Hay said. The internal rules say questions and answers shall occur every Thursday. While opposition lawmakers have the right to question the ministers, the ministers also have protections, Lao Mong Hay explained. There are also conditions for the questions to be raised, he said. For example, it is forbidden to ask questions related to cases being processed by the court. Military promotions, the border and labor issues Those protections could stifle some questions, but opposition lawmakers could still put the ministers on the spot as the ongoing controversy over the demarcation of the border with Vietnam, a lack of jobs, and the recent promotion of three soldiers who pled guilty to beating a pair of opposition lawmakers could be fair game. CNRP Chief Whip Son Chhay told RFA he wants to see a written letter from Hun Sen explaining why the ministers cannot appear before the National Assembly. We want to question them about reform, he said. Does the ministry of national defense have a proper mechanism to defend the territory; for promotions in rank, et cetera? he added. Because lately we have noticed that some guys without the proper background have been promoted too quickly. We just want to know the procedures. On May 27, 2016 soldiers Mao Hoeun, Sot Vanny, and Chay Sarith pled guilty to assaulting CNRP lawmakers Kong Saphea and Nhay Chamroeun. All three men were members of Hun Sens bodyguard unit, an elite operation within the Cambodian armed forces that functions as a kind of Praetorian Guard for Asias longest-serving national leader. Though the three pled guilty to the attack, they served only a year of their four-year sentence in prison. Soon after they were released in November, the men were promoted, although its unclear whether they still remain in the bodyguard unit. Chay Sarith was promoted from colonel to brigadier general by a royal decree signed by King Norodom Sihamoni dated Nov. 22. Sot Vanny and Mao Hoeun were promoted from lieutenant colonel to full colonel on Nov. 17. The border issue has been a potent political issue as opposition lawmakers have often accused Hun Sen of ceding land to neighboring Vietnam and of having an uncomfortably cozy relationship with Hanoi. Labor issues have also bedeviled Cambodia for years, and CNRP lawmakers want to probe the exploitation of Cambodians working overseas and issues involving the issuance of passports and visas for workers. These threats show the panic of Hun Sen Hun Sens decision to keep his ministers from testifying comes after he launched a new attack on the opposition. In a Tuesday speech before the National Assembly, Hun Sen pushed for legislation that would bar his chief political rival from heading a political party and threatened to seize and auction off the CNRPs headquarters. Those threats came after the National Assembly stripped CNRP deputy leader Kem Sokha of his minority leader title. Hun Sens Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) holds a majority in the National Assembly. Threatening to have CNRP headquarters seized looks like an attempt to eliminate the party by destroying the CNRP leadership and foundation, said independent analyst Meas Ny. If it happened as per Mr. Hun Sens speech, it would be a big danger for the CNRP. Via his Facebook page, CNRP leader Sam Rainsy described Hun Sens latest actions as those of a man desperate to hold on to power. These threats show the panic of Hun Sen as his certain defeat in the communal elections in June 2017 and the legislative elections of July 2018 draw closer, Rainsy wrote in his post. He no longer has any appeal to the electorate, so he personally hounds me, as I am the symbol of resistance to his autocratic and corrupt power. In September, Sam Rainsy was found guilty of defamation for claiming that Prime Minister Hun Sens social medial team had bought likes on Facebook from click farms abroad to increase the appearance of support. And in December, he was sentenced to five years in prison in absentia for posting what authorities said was a fake government pledge to dissolve the Southeast Asian country's border with Vietnam. Sam Rainsy has been living in France since 2015 to avoid arrest in a defamation case brought by former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in 2008. Despite what appears to be a vendetta against him, Sam Rainsy said that he remains confident he will prevail in the end. Hun Sen has tried for years to misuse the courts to exclude me from politics and to suppress or divide the CNRP, so in that sense there is nothing new, he wrote in the post. He has failed because the CNRP remains a united force that will defeat him in the 2017 and 2018 elections. Reported by Zakariya Tin and Sarada Taing for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. Chinese police have detained a number of people in recent weeks for making online comments said to be "insulting" to police officers online. Police in the southwestern region of Guangxi said they had detained a man surnamed Jiang on Monday who posted under the handle "Changchun Social Sister" on the comments section of a social media post about a police officer in the northeastern city of Harbin who died in the course of his duty. According to the city police department in Guangxi's Nanning, Jiang had "confessed to insulting a police officer" after he commented on the story. Meanwhile, police in Beijing and Guangzhou had launched a joint operation to find and arrest a user with the handle lukehcen0 commented that "anyone who kills a police officer is a hero," the state-run Legal Evening News reported. The man was taken in for questioning on Saturday on orders from the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing, it said. Harbin police officer Qu Yuquan, was attacked after being called to a brawl at a karaoke bar on last Friday and later died from his injuries in hospital, the police said via social media. In total, six people have been arrested in recent weeks for "insulting a police officer," according to a social media post from police in the eastern province of Shandong. They included a steel mill manager surnamed Zhao from the central province of Henan, detained for "slandering the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party and the People's Police," and a resident of Tieling in the northeastern province of Liaoning who is accused of hurling "abuse" at dead traffic policeman Luo Zhenbo via his account on the WeChat smartphone app. "Another dog dies, great! That's one less of them," the man, identified only by his surname Zhang, allegedly commented on the local traffic police WeChat channel. Zhang was handed a 10-day administrative sentence for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" for the comment, the post said. And a user with the handle Xiaohuataba was also recently detained for similar reasons, it said, without giving details. Projection of police power Lawyer Qian Zhaomai said he doesn't believe the comments amount to a criminal charge. "I don't think you can say that this constitutes picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," he said. "Normally, if somebody is arrested for verbally abusing a police officer in public, they are charged with obstructing an officer in the course of their duty." "I don't think that online abuse [amounts to the same thing] ... because the law says that you have to show that the actions had serious consequences," Qian said. "I think the main thing is that this shows us the level of public rancor towards the police." Online activist Huang Yongxiang said the moves are likely intended to project police power to intimidate the population. "This is definitely a projection of police power, who devote huge amounts of manpower to limiting freedom of speech," Huang said. He said the move is likely an attempt to suppress public criticism of the police following a series of high-profile deaths in police custody. "The public image of the police has been very poor, especially in the past couple of years," Huang said. "The police are trying to use intimidation to protect themselves, especially those working on the front line." Harbin rights activist Sun Dongsheng said there is now a nationwide operation afoot to remove any dissenting voices from the public sphere in China. "There is no rule of law in this country, which is ruled by a bandit regime," Sun said. "They can destroy people at will." "They stamp out any signs of dissent the moment they appear," he said. "They have all the power, the guns and artillery, and there is no such thing as law enforcement anymore." "There's just the Communist Party's private army of thugs," he said. Growing climate of fear Zhejiang rights activist Wu Bin said there is a growing climate of fear around what people post online. "There's no sense of safety with online expression anymore," Wu said. "The police can just come and take you away whenever they like." "It's like living in North Korea, things are that ridiculous now," he said. He said he didn't believe the reported comments had incited violence against the police. "They were just expressing their opinion, that the police are no good," Wu said. "Everyone should have the right to express their views." He said there are no clear definitions of what constitutes an "insult." "Does this mean that anyone who doesn't praise [the police] is insulting them?" Wu said. "I totally disagree with that." Hebei-based veteran journalist Zhu Xinxin said he disagreed with what lukehcen0 had written. "Everyone's life is of equal value, and actually China's police force are in a very awkward position, expected to protect the public on the one hand and at the same time to act as the political tools of a dictatorial regime," Zhu said. "Yes, they have done a lot of bad things and ... everyone agrees that they have far too much power with not enough checks and balances," he said. "These comments are definitely representative of some public opinion, but I think it's important to separate our criticism of individual police officers from the system they serve," Zhu said. "They shouldn't be regarded as the same thing." Reported by Xin Lin for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Siu-san and Lee Lai for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. China's state propaganda machine has moved to erase all mention of "disappeared" billionaire Xiao Jianhua from state media and internet sites, amid growing skepticism over his departure from the former British colony, a leaked document showed on Wednesday. "Please would all websites, including Weibo, WeChat, and mobile media apps, find and delete any news items relating to Xiao Jianhua or the Tomorrow Group," the propaganda ministry ordered media editors via a directive leaked online and published by the U.S.-based China Digital Times website. "For immediate implementation," the directive said. Meanwhile, another statement purporting to be written by Xiao following his mysterious departure from a Hong Kong hotel in the early hours of Friday morning, appeared as a front-page advertisement in the city's Ming Pao newspaper. "Thanks to everyone for your concerns," it said. "I am currently receiving medical treatment overseas ... I haven't been abducted to mainland China." "I believe that the Chinese government is a civilized one that abides by the law," the statement said. In an apparent reference to speculation over Xiao's role as a student during the pro-democracy movement of 1989, the statement said Xiao was a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, and a loyal overseas Chinese who doesn't support opposition forces. "Please would everyone set their minds at rest!" it concluded. Whereabouts unclear Confusion has been mounting over Xiao's whereabouts after he was reportedly abducted by mainland Chinese state security police from his apartment in Hong Kong, a separate legal jurisdiction under the terms of the1997 handover agreement. The Financial Times reported that Xiao was "accosted" in his waterfront apartment in the Four Seasons resort at around 1.00 a.m. on Friday by "five or six plain-clothed Chinese public security agents," who took him to mainland China along with his bodyguards. But the Apple Daily newspaper said the kidnapping was arranged via Hong Kong's criminal "triad" societies, who escorted Xiao and his wife Zhou Hongwen by train across the Huanggang Port border crossing by train to Shenzhen. Zhou was allowed to return to Hong Kong, but later received a call from Xiao asking her not to allow the incident to "get blown out of proportion," prompting her to withdraw the missing persons report filed with the city's police, the paper said. Xiao's departure from Hong Kong was immediately compared to the cross-border detention of two of five booksellers from the city last year who were accused of selling "banned" political books across the internal immigration border to customers in mainland China. Former Causeway Bay Books employee Lam Wing-kei, the only one of the five to depart from the official Chinese government script regarding their detentions, said his colleague Lee Bo's wife had acted similarly after he "disappeared" from his Hong Kong workplace in December 2015. Lam said Xiao's disappearance is a clear indicator that China no longer respects the "one country, two systems" approach promised before the handover. "I think that statement is definitely fake," he said. "It's the same thing that happened with us ... I also issued a statement because I was told that I had to." He said the incident will naturally cause people to worry. "If it was the police coming over and kidnapping him back to the Chinese mainland, then this would be a very clear breach of the one country, two systems principle," Lam said. Broken promise Under the terms of the 1997 handover, Hong Kong was promised the continuation of its existing legal system and traditional rights and freedoms. But the detention of the Causeway Bay booksellers for actions that fell within the confines of Hong Kong law prompted an international outcry. According to veteran political commentator Willy Lam, the Hong Kong government should seek assurances from Beijing that a similar scandal won't happen again. "The Lee Bo scandal affected Hong Kong's image as an international financial center," Lam said. "This time, Beijing has blatantly sent its own agents to carry out operations in Hong Kong's poshest hotel." "The video footage from the Four Seasons shows them carrying out law enforcement in Hong Kong ... without any attempt to cover it up," he said. "This is a clear breach of Hong Kong law." He said he believes Xiao's detention could only have been ordered from the highest echelons of the ruling Chinese Communist Party leadership in Beijing. "Some of these billionaires have quite close ties with [President] Xi Jinping's political rivals, and they are resident in Hong Kong for tax purposes, and some have even become permanent residents of Hong Kong," he said. "Perhaps another purpose of this operation was to send a warning to these mega-rich people living in Hong Kong that they can't escape from the long arm of Beijing." Investigation continues Meanwhile, Hong Kong police on Wednesday denied rumors that they had any involvement in Xiao's departure from the city. "The incident first came into notice of Police after a 'Request for Police Assistance' report was received on Jan. 28," the force said in a statement on the official Hong Kong government website. "Police attach great importance to the case and active investigation is under way." It said the investigation had continued in spite of the request from Xiao's wife Zhou Hongwen that the missing persons file be closed. "Police ... have requested the mainland authorities' assistance [in finding out Xiao's status] on the mainland," it said. The concern over Xiao's apparent abduction came as the U.S.-based nongovernment organization Freedom House slightly downgraded Hong Kong's rating as a "partly free" territory in an annual report published on Wednesday. The city's score for political rights and civil liberties dipped from 63 to 61 out of 100, with the report citing "Beijing's encroachment on freedoms in the territory" as a factor affecting its score. It also cited the case of the five booksellers. By comparison, mainland China scored 15 out of 100 points, and was rated "not free." Reported by Goh Fung for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Ding Wenqi for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers pray before taking their positions at a frontline camp in Loije township near Mai Ja Yang outside the town of Laiza in northern Myanmar's Kachin state, in a file photo. The Myanmar governments peace team has invited the rebel Kachin Independence Organization, whose army is engaged in hostilities with the government military, to the commercial capital Yangon for peace talks, KIO vice chairman General Gwan Maw said Wednesday. Government peace envoy Tin Myo Win told us in his letter to come to Yangon if we want to have political talks, Gwan Maw told RFAs Myanmar Service. He also said the KIO, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), has long wished to hold such talks, a message it has sent to the government through the Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN) under the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of nine ethnic armed groups that did not sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) with the government in October 2015. We had written before [to the government] to iron out our misunderstandings, and we had wanted to receive a reply about that, he said. We want to discuss any particular topic that concerns the KIO, but right now we want talk about [the government] calling us terrorists and about the ongoing military offensives, he said. After that we can choose other topics for talks. The KIA is one of four ethnic militias that banded together to form the Northern Alliance, which launched coordinated attacks on Nov. 20 on government and military targets in northern Shan state and the 105-mile border trade zone between Myanmar and China. The groups other members are the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The Northern Alliance said last week that it had wanted to participate in peace talks with the government slated for February, but demanded that delegates from China and another ethnic militia, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), be permitted to attend as witnesses. The government is gearing up for another round of peace talks expected in February in the ongoing 21st-Century Panglong Conference, an initiative spearheaded by State Counselor and de facto national leader Aung San Suu Kyi to bring peace and national reconciliation to Myanmar after decades of ethnic separatist civil wars. The first 21st-Century Panglong Conference meeting was held late last August and early September to bring armed ethnic groups to the negotiating table, though no agreement was reached. Reported by Aung Moe Myint for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Myanmar police chief Major General Zaw Win cautions reporters in Naypyidaw to accept only information that the police confirm about the killing of prominent rights attorney Ko Ni, Feb. 1, 2016. Myanmars police chief told media on Wednesday not to believe a leaked police document circulating widely via social media regarding the investigation of the murder of prominent human rights lawyer and ruling party advisor Ko Ni. The prominent 63-year-old Muslim lawyer and advisor to the National League for Democracy (NLD) party was shot point blank in the back of the head on Jan. 29 at Yangon airport after returning with other government officials from Indonesia where they participated in a workshop about interfaith tolerance and reconciliation. In the document published on social media on Tuesday, Kyi Lin, the gunman who killed Ko Ni and a taxi driver who chased him, told police that a man named Myint Swe hired him to murder the lawyer in exchange for a car. Of course, some things could have leaked out, but the best thing is not believe such things and to accept only what police have confirmed, police Major General Zaw Win told reporters in the capital Naypyidaw. There are so many things online which are not true, he said. Some media reports on Wednesday said a man named Myint Swe had been arrested in southeastern Myanmars Karen state, but police officials there denied it. We havent nabbed the mastermind in Karen state, said state police chief Kyi Lin. We are doing our police work. We cannot confirm anything yet. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Myanmar police had arrested three other people in Ko Nis assassination, including Myint Swe, whom they accuse of masterminding the killing, near the Myanmar-Thailand border. Police did not identify the other two suspects, the report said. The central government has not announced any updates on the arrest of Myint Swe or others behind Ko Nis death. The Presidents Office said on Monday that the killing was done to undermine the countrys stability. Tensions between minority Muslim groups and the Buddhist majority run high in Myanmar, where a recent crackdown in the northern part of Rakhine state left about 90 people dead and forced more than 65,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee their homes. Reported by Kyaw Thu and Win Ko Ko Latt for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Afghan forces have continued to lose ground to insurgents throughout the country since taking over security responsibilities from NATO at the end of 2014, a report by a U.S. watchdog said on February 1. As of mid-November, the government controlled or influenced 57.2 percent of Afghanistan's 407 districts, a 6.2 percent decrease from August and a 15 percent reduction from a year earlier, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in the report. At present, almost one-third of the Afghan population or 9.2 million people "live in areas that are contested," it said, and about 2.5 million people live under the control or influence of the insurgency, down from 2.9 million three months ago. It was unclear why the population directly controlled by the Taliban shrank. One factor could be larger than expected internal displacement caused by the conflict. The United Nations estimates that nearly 640,000 Afghans had to flee their homes in 2016. Meanwhile, the report found that the death rate among Afghan forces soared by 35 percent last year, prompting it to conclude that the Afghan government and security forces need continued support and cannot survive without donor assistance. Based on reporting by AFP and dpa Security forces in Azerbaijan have killed four alleged extremists the government suspects were plotting terror attacks, the Caspian Sea countrys State Security Service says. The service said the suspects were killed in a shoot-out on January 31 during a search operation that was launched after they opened fire at security forces. A fifth alleged member of the group was taken into custody. According to the security service, the suspects were connected to an unspecified religious extremist group abroad and planed a series of terrorist attacks on Azerbaijan's territory. It did not say where the shoot-out took place. It was impossible to verify the statement by the authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic. Based on reporting by trend.az and Interfax Daghestan's parliament voted last week to abolish the free medical care to which the families of the republic's former leaders are entitled after those leaders leave office. That provision was one of the privileges enumerated in what has become known as the "law on golden parachutes" passed in late 2013, shortly after Ramazan Abdulatipov was formally confirmed as republic head. The timing of the amendment is likely to fuel ongoing speculation that Abdulatipov, who turned 70 last year, will be dismissed before his formal term in office ends next year, possibly to be replaced by a Russian Interior Ministry general. The "law on golden parachutes" entitles former republic heads to personal bodyguards for the duration of their lifetime; the use of official transport and communications; medical care; life insurance paid for from the republic's budget; and a monthly pension equivalent to 75 percent of their final salary. Those benefits will remain in effect but will apply only to former republic heads who have reached pension age. Abdulatipov's predecessor, Magomedsalam Magomedov, 52, who is currently a member of the Russian presidential administration, is therefore not yet entitled to claim them, unlike his father, Magomedali Magomedov, who headed the republic from 1994-2006, and Mukhu Aliyev, who held that post from 2006-10. In June 2015, Daghestani lawyer Marat Ismayilov wrote to Daghestan's Prosecutor-General Ramazan Shakhnavazov arguing that the law violated federal legislation on budget spending that bars regional parliaments from enacting legislation that entails expenditure that cannot be paid for out of the region's revenues. Some 74 percent of Daghestan's budget comprises subsidies from the federal government. Six months later, Shakhnavazov formally demanded the annulment of the law, but legislators rejected that demand at a session from which representatives of the prosecutor's office were excluded. Shakhnavazov appealed the parliament's decision to Daghestan's Supreme Court, which after obtaining from the republic's Finance Ministry details of the costs involved conceded that the provision of free medical care for former leaders' family members is illegal, but upheld the privileges to which former republic heads are entitled. Shakhnavazov then took his complaint to Russia's Supreme Court, which likewise upheld those privileges. What impelled Daghestani parliamentarians to amend the law last week is not clear. (They reportedly calculated that doing so will save 2 million rubles [$33,285] a year.) But the move is likely to reignite speculation that Abdulatipov's days as republic head are numbered. A document released in December by a St. Petersburg think tank listed him, together with Adygeya head Aslan Tkhakushinov and Volgograd Oblast Governor Andrei Bocharev, among federation subject heads whose rating had fallen over the past year. Tkhakushinov, 69, stepped down in January at the end of his second term. Just days later, journalist and Kremlin insider Maksim Shevchenko quoted unnamed "extremely reliable sources" as predicting that Abdulatipov would shortly step down, and that retired Colonel General Sergei Chenchik, who formerly headed the Interior Ministry directorate for the North Caucasus Federal District, would be named acting republic head in his place. But Gadjimet Safaraliyev, who represents Daghestan in the Russian State Duma, immediately discounted that possibility, affirming that Abdulatipov will serve out his full term (which ends in September 2018). Commentator Aleksandr Polansky, for his part, made the point that if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to replace Abdulatipov now, doing so would constitute a tacit admission that he had made a major strategic error in dismissing Magomedsalam Magomedov in early 2013 after just three years and naming Abdulatipov to succeed him. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL. The regional police chief in the north of Kosovo has been suspended after he was accused of refusing to implement the government's policy on phasing out license plates issued by Serbia when Kosovo was still part of the country. Nenad Djuric was suspended after the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo announced on November 3 that he is suspected of criminal offenses related to his refusal to implement the plan. Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla said that the refusal to implement the governments decisions represents a serious threat to the security and stability of Kosovo. The Kosovo police is one [force] and all its members should have the same mission: the rule of law and the creation of a safe environment for all citizens regardless of difference, Svecla said on Facebook. We will not allow any action that violates this mission, and together with the Kosovo Police we will continue its implementation. The main party representing Serbs in Kosovo, Serbian List, said that the decision to suspend Djuric was illegal. Goran Rakic, chairman of the party, said that the Serbs should "strengthen and build" their own institutions in northern Kosovo in cooperation with Serbia. Rakic said that he has called an extraordinary meeting of the Serbian List with the mayors of four municipalities in the north of Kosovo with Serbian majorities. The meeting will be held after the "illegal and anti-Serbian decision" to suspend Djuric, he said. Radic said he will call on Serbs to vacate institutions in the north, including judicial, police, and other institutions. Meanwhile, the head of the office for Kosovo in the Serbian government, Petar Petkovic, told a news conference on November 3 that Djuric was suspended because "he stood in defense of the Serbian people." He questioned what mistake Djuric had made by refusing to participate in the decisions of Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, which are political." Djuric said on November 2 that the police in the north would not implement the government's decision to issue warnings to drivers who have cars with license plates issued by Serbia. Djuric was appointed regional police commander in the north in June 2013 after Kosovo and Serbia reached the first agreement on the normalization of relations in the dialogue mediated by the European Union. The agreement stated that the regional commander in the four municipalities with Serbian majority is to be appointed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo has attempted several times this year to require its Serb minority to change their old car plates from before 1999 when Kosovo was still part of Serbia. Authorities began implementing the latest plan to phase out old vehicle license plates on November 1. Kurti announced the plan last week, saying drivers would first be given warnings during an initial three-week period starting on November 1. That is to be followed by a two-month period when 150 euro ($149) fines will be issued. There will then be another two-month period during which temporary license plates will be valid. If drivers do not change their plates by April 21, their vehicles will be confiscated, according to the government decree. Kosovo and Serbia fought a war in 1998-99, with Kosovo eventually declaring independence from Serbia in 2008. Ethnic Serbs in the north of Kosovo have been using car plates issued by Serbian institutions since the end of the war with the acronyms of Kosovar cities such as KM (Kosovska Mitrovica), PR (Pristina), or UR (Urosevac). The government in Kosovo regards the plates as illegal but until now has tolerated them in four northern municipalities with Serb majorities. WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump has long portrayed himself as a consummate deal maker, an image he made central to his presidential campaign. That reputation could face a stern test if he pursues one of his proposals: renegotiating the Iran nuclear deal. Trump has sent mixed messages on how he would handle the accord between Iran and major world powers that lifted some sanctions on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. At times, he said he would "renegotiate" what he described on the campaign trail as "one of the worst deals we have ever made." At other times, he said he would "dismantle" it. Scrapping the deal altogether would almost certainly alienate European allies and trigger retaliation from Iran, possibly including ramping up both its contentious nuclear program and its projection of regional power. But any bid to renegotiate the accord would be fraught with those same risks, experts say. "No Iranian politician would be in a situation to accept a deal that is worse for Iran and better for the United States," Ali Vaez, a senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, tells RFE/RL. "Already, the current agreement has many opponents -- many powerful opponents -- inside Iran, and I think no Iranian politician is in a position to take a step that would basically humiliate them internally and turn into a poison pill for them," he adds. Bilateral Deal As Helga Schmid, the secretary-general of the EU's foreign policy service, noted recently, the deal hammered out over many years between Tehran and the P5+1 group of powers (the United States, Britain, China, France, and Russia, plus Germany) "is a multilateral agreement that cannot be renegotiated bilaterally." Thus, Vaez says, any effort by Trump to renegotiate would likely be a bilateral process between Washington and Iran, the results of which -- if any -- would then serve as an addendum to the main deal. During Trump's presidential campaign, one of Trump's foreign policy advisers highlighted the potential bilateral nature of any renegotiation effort. "He is going to revise it after negotiating one-on-one with Iran or with a series of allies," Walid Phares said in a July interview with the Daily Caller, adding that Trump would not implement the deal "as is." Getting Iran to come to the table, however, appears to be a tall order for the moment. "Renegotiation is out of the question," Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on January 17, adding that the deal "isn't something where one person elected can say, 'I don't like it.'" Sanctions Trump could use sanctions to pressure Iran to negotiate, including by imposing new punitive measures or reversing executive orders used by former President Barack Obama to lift some sanctions on Tehran in order to comply with the nuclear deal. Such a move, however, would likely stiffen Iran's resistance to new talks, says Mark Fitzpatrick, executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "Why would Iran agree to renegotiate a deal with a party -- the United States -- that would have just violated the last deal? They would have little reason to do so," Fitzpatrick tells RFE/RL. If the current deal is torn up, Iran's nuclear program "would resume in a new manner that would shock Washington," the country's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, was quoted by Al-Jazeera as saying recently. If the Trump administration were to unilaterally restore sanctions that were lifted under the Iran deal and, as a result, penalize foreign parties for doing business with Iran, it could cause a rupture between Washington and its allies in Europe and around the world who "wouldn't want to go along," Fitzpatrick said. Economic Incentives Besides the threat of new or revived sanctions, Trump could offer economic incentives in exchange for further concessions from Iran, including longer-term limits on Tehran's enrichment of uranium beyond 5 percent or the ability to reprocess plutonium, Vaez of the International Crisis Group says. To secure such concessions, the Trump administration could dangle access to the U.S. financial system, which Iran continues to be denied and was not a condition of the nuclear accord. Iran has complained that it is not benefiting fully from the deal due to U.S. sanctions outside the scope of the nuclear deal and related to Washington's concerns over issues such as terrorism and human rights. "That is the leverage that the U.S. currently has, and I think the Iranians have already realized that without access to the U.S. financial system, they will have many difficulties for conducting trade," Vaez says. Such leverage could be deployed to seek nonnuclear concessions as well, including greater cooperation from Iran in ensuring a cease-fire and political transition in Syria or helping to end the war in Yemen, where Iran is backing the Houthi rebels that captured the country's capital in 2014, Vaez adds. Fitzpatrick says Trump could use the opportunity to boost American business as well, noting the president's earlier complaints that the deal has not benefited U.S. companies. The exception is Boeing, which reached a $16 billion deal with Iran thanks to an aerospace industry condition in the accord. "One of the big cards...is to remove the sanctions that prohibit U.S. businesses from entering into the Iran market," Fitzpatrick says. "There's a lot more potential for such American business, and I can think that somebody like (former ExxonMobil CEO and Trump's nominee for secretary of state) Rex Tillerson would go along with that." A More Durable Deal Trump's picks for top national security posts so far have resisted calling for the Iran deal to be scrapped. In his Senate confirmation hearing, Tillerson called for a "full review" of the accord. New CIA chief Mike Pompeo was a fierce opponent of the deal while in Congress, but in his Senate hearing stressed the importance of "aggressive" verification that Tehran is complying with the terms of the accord. Meanwhile, new Defense Secretary James Mattis said in his hearing that the landmark deal was flawed but must be upheld. That doesn't mean there aren't targeted punishments that Trump or Congress could mete out. In an op-ed last month, former U.S. Senator and vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman and former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mark Wallace argued that deficiencies in the Iran deal could be rectified by "securing an agreement with Iran to verifiably curb its regional aggression, state sponsorship of terrorism, and domestic repression of human rights." "In exchange, Iran could be given broad-based sanctions relief and even normalization of relations," they argued. The former officials, both of whom opposed the accord, suggested punishing Iran for noncompliance with measures such as designating the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization and backing legislation that would impose further U.S. sanctions related to Iran's ballistic-missile program. Vaez of the International Crisis Group says the ongoing tension between Tehran and Washington is the most significant factor contributing to the fragile state of the nuclear deal, but that a deal between the Trump administration and Iran could make the accord stronger and "more durable." Washington, however, would have to be prepared to offer attractive concessions and not rely exclusively the threat of sanctions, Fitzpatrick says. While sanctions contributed to Iran's eagerness to secure a deal, the Islamic republic did not fully commit until Washington made a "major concession" by allowing some uranium enrichment. "It was a combination of sanctions and of mutual compromise that produced the deal," Fitzpatrick says. "Sanctions alone didn't bring about the last deal, and I don't think would have brought it about -- and I don't think would bring about a future deal." Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine. But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown. The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes dual-use technology. The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case. The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war. At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products. But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States. A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers. These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations. To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components. The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China. Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU. "Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24. "Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions. Chinese Cameras, California Chips Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets. Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media. "The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019. The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components. One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone. Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers. Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military." The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology. Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone. Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication. Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone. Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran." "TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said. Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California. According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions. "This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes. AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. 'No Authorization' Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia." "As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. . But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020. The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries. The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine. BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward." The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes. "For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations." BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines." Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report. The presidents and prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo are due to meet on February 1 for a new round of talks aimed at improving their relations, which are still strained nearly two decades after a deadly conflict. The talks, hosted by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, follow a recent spike in tensions between the two countries. The last such meeting was held on January 24, when the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia agreed to hold further high-level talks on establishing normal relations. The friction between Belgrade and Pristina increased in early January with the detention in France of former Kosovar Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, a guerrilla commander in Kosovo's 1998-99 war for independence from Belgrade, on war crimes charges. It increased days later when a Serbian train with signs reading "Kosovo is Serbia" was turned back from the border with Kosovo. Kosovar leaders have accused Belgrade of trying to destabilize the country and plotting to take control of an ethnic-Serbian-dominated enclave in northern Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is recognized by 114 countries. Serbia accused Kosovo of seeking to provoke war. Strewn among the aircraft wreckage and obliterated homes outside Kyrgyzstan's capital lie the charred remnants of iPhones, luxury cigarette lighters, and other electronic gadgets disgorged when a Turkish cargo plane slammed into a village near Manas International Airport. The crash of the MyCargo 747-400 in dense early morning fog on January 16 killed four crew members and 35 villagers in Dacha-SU, nearly half of them children. But it also set off a storm of inquiry, fueled by contradictory statements from the Istanbul-based flight operator, into suspicions that some of the cargo was part of an illegal scheme to line officials' pockets or to feed the gray market in this fledgling democracy of 6 million people. "Some goods found at the crash site deepen our suspicions," Omurbek Tekebaev, a veteran lawmaker and deputy chairman of a parliamentary commission looking into the incident, told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service in late January. He added that "there is a basis to suspect that there is systematic smuggling going on at [Manas] airport" and that the commission expected to deliver its conclusions in late February. The Kyrgyz parliament formed the 11-member commission, representing six parties, to clarify the ownership of the cargo and its planned destination. One of the lawmakers' central questions is whether the pilots were stopping in Bishkek simply to refuel the four-engine jet or were planning to unload some of its 86 tons of goods. En route from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek, the plane was descending toward Manas when it slammed into a former vacation community that now houses permanent residents. Eyewitnesses told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service that looting broke out almost as soon as police and emergency workers arrived at the crash scene, with even first responders hauling off as many of the undamaged smartphones and other electronic devices as they could carry. "One policeman took off his shirt and filled it with mobile phones," a young boy said. Tekebaev, who heads the opposition Ata Meken (Fatherland) party, suggested that key sources for the investigation were stonewalling. "First of all, the information about the crashed plane provided by the Kyrgyz authorities and the Turkish air company" -- a reference to ACT Airlines, which operates as MyCargo Airlines --"is contradictory," he said. "Their statements are being changed accordingly to fit the situation." Tekebaev also criticized airport officials to whom the commission had turned for information. "We have seen that authorities [at Manas airport], especially officials of the aviation services, have no desire to cooperate with us," he said. "Some of them demonstratively refused to do it." Busra Goksay, an assistant manager at ACT Airlines, which owns the ill-fated aircraft, told RFE/RL from Istanbul on January 18, two days after the crash, that the plane was landing in Bishkek to unload cargo. WATCH: Disturbing Tales From A Kyrgyz Morgue An ACT Airlines press release on January 19 said the plane had enough fuel when it left Hong Kong to fly nonstop to Istanbul. But when Hamza Tiglay, deputy director-general of MyCargo Airlines, appeared in Bishkek on January 19 to record a video for Kyrgyzstan's Emergency Situations Ministry that was distributed to the media, he repeatedly said that the flight was due to refuel at Manas and change pilots but was not scheduled to unload cargo. "We land in Bishkek exclusively for refueling and crew changes," he said. Airport officials have gone on the record to say the same thing -- that the plane was only going to refuel in Bishkek -- yet they have declined to provide flight records or other documents to back that claim. They have denied access to employees who might confirm that version of events. They didn't provide any documents. I think perhaps they need some time to create some 'official' papers or to eliminate some information." The parliamentary commission has requested information from airport officials about MyCargo's 51 previous flights from Hong Kong to Manas. "They didn't provide any documents," Tekebaev said. "I think perhaps they need some time to create some 'official' papers or to eliminate some information." Emergency Situations Minister Kubatbek Boronov has said the cargo was not intended for delivery in Kyrgyzstan, and the Transport Ministry added in a statement that the plane was stopping to change pilots. A Turkish MyCargo pilot, Nihat Yilmaz, who has flown the Hong Kong-to-Istanbul route, echoed those statements to RFE/RL. But Donald Knutson, an international aviation expert, told RFE/RL that the Boeing that crashed in Kyrgyzstan could easily fly 9,000 kilometers with a full payload without refueling. The flight between Hong Kong and Istanbul is around 8,000 kilometers, and 86 tons would represent only around 75 percent of a 747-400's payload capacity. MyCargo received a license in September to land in Bishkek for technical reasons, according to Transport Minister Jamshitbek Kalilov, but is not allowed to make commercial stops in which it would deliver or pick up goods. Tekebaev noted the discovery of printed materials at the crash scene that were printed in Kyrgyz and Russian, Kyrgyzstan's official languages -- "clearly oriented toward the Kyrgyz market -- [they] create big suspicions." An RFE/RL correspondent at the crash site confirmed seeing instruction manuals printed in Kyrgyz among the debris. President Almazbek Atambaev's failure to visit the site of the tragedy or meet with survivors for a full 10 days led to criticism and speculation about unacknowledged official involvement with the cargo. Atambaev was ending a combined official and private visit to China and flew home to Kyrgyzstan in the hours before the MyCargo crash. His plane was reportedly diverted to Issyk-Kul to wait for the weather around Bishkek to clear before he flew on to the capital. A presidential spokesman, Almaz Usenov, told RFE/RL that Atambaev had "nothing to do with the cargo" on the Turkish plane. There are reasons to be doubtful about the official information" provided by airport and government officials. A clue to the cargo mystery emerged on January 27, when international transport firm Global Link Logistics said it was expecting a MyCargo plane coming from Hong Kong to arrive at Manas airport. Spokeswoman Anna Nedugova told RFE/RL that Global Link Logistics was hired by JTI Kazakhstan to process the goods from the MyCargo plane and deliver them to "the door of the recipient," JTI Kazakhstan, in Kyrgyzstan. She said JTI Kazakhstan had told Global Link Logistics on January 12 that the cargo would arrive at Manas by January 20. Nedugova's assertions suggest airport representatives and government officials were either unaware that MyCargo was going to unload goods at Manas airport or knew about it but tried to avoid disclosing that fact. "There are reasons to be doubtful about the official information" provided by airport and government officials, Janar Akaev, another member of the parliamentary investigative commission, told RFE/RL. Tekebaev said lawmakers were still undecided as to "whether or not we believe there are smuggling or corruption schemes at the airport." He added: "We will investigate not only the Hong Kong-Bishkek-Istanbul flight, [but] we will investigate how many cargo flights operate in total and how much cargo has been transported to the country or gone through Kyrgyzstan on other flights as well." Tekebaev said the parliamentary commission is continuing its investigation and expects to issue a final report in February. In October, 45 tons of smuggled goods, including iPhones and other electronic devices, were found on two trucks leaving Manas airport. There have been no arrests in that case. Kyrgyzstan, which joined the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union in 2015, is plagued by large-scale smuggling and other forms of corruption. The country slipped in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index last year to 136, from 123 on the world list in 2015. With contributions from Gulaiym Ashakeeva and Kubat Kasymbekov of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Hungary for his second visit in two years, a development that has many in the European Union looking on with concern. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans February 2 meeting with Putin comes at a time of heightened worries within the bloc about the views of new U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed disdain for the European Union and a desire for closer relations with Moscow. "We are concerned [about the trip], there is no doubt about it," an EU official requesting anonymity told RFE/RL on February 1. "It is Putins year. He's looking at a divided Europe, which the Visegrad Four (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia), especially Hungary, are making more divided due to actions like [inviting Putin to Budapest], and a United States that for the first time is providing no counterbalance to [Putin]. Putin's visit -- his second to Budapest in two years and his third official meeting with Orban in that time -- is primarily to discuss economic issues, including the controversial Paks nuclear-power plant that Russia is contracted to build and further agreements on natural-gas purchases. Putin has received few invitations to EU countries since Moscows illegal 2014 takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region and the introduction of EU sanctions against Moscow over its interference in Ukraine. Antisanctions Leader Analysts see the visit as an opportunity for Putin to encourage Hungary in its efforts to get the EU sanctions against Russia lifted. "Im not surprised that President Putin visits Hungary so frequently, and his upcoming visit to Hungary is just one illustration that Putin is interested in keeping pressure on the EU," Lithuanian European Parliament member Petras Austrevicius told RFE/RL. "And Im sure [it is an effort to] destroy our solidarity." Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto railed against the EU sanctions in Budapest on January 27, saying they had failed to change Russian involvement in Ukraine and had severely affected the Hungarian economy. "I don't think we should celebrate that we hit the Russian economy because it's bad news for Europe as well," Szijjarto said, claiming that Hungary had lost $6.5 billion in exports to Russia because of the sanctions and countersanctions imposed by Moscow in retaliation. "If the sanctions were truly effective, they should have had some impact by now." Analyst Peter Kreko, director of Budapests Political Capital Institute, told The Moscow Times that the government figures on economic woes due to the sanctions spat are "simply false" and intentionally inflated. Russia, for its part, said Russian-Hungarian bilateral trade has decreased by 50 percent over the past three years, to $3.9 billion. Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said the fall in trade is due to "anti-Russian sanctions and the volatile global economic environment," adding that Hungarian investment in Russia had decreased from $2 billion in 2015 to $1 billion last year. Szijjarto's assertions have been echoed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Czech President Milos Zeman, who in August called for EU sanctions against Russia to be lifted. Such sentiments are music to the ears of the Kremlin, which is hoping to expand such official views into Western Europe with victories by Russia-leaning candidates in crucial March parliamentary elections in the Netherlands and the April-May presidential election in France. Newfound Friend? "What a wonderful world," exclaimed Orban after Trumps surprising U.S. election win in November. Reportedly one of the first foreign leaders to call the entrepreneur and former reality star after his triumph, the populist Orban and his government are reveling in the change in U.S. leadership from Barack Obama to Trump. "Timing [for the Putin visit] is, let's say, perfect. The visit has great significance since there's a great expectation all around the world about the improvement of the U.S.-Russia bilateral relationship," said Szijjarto. He added that when Budapest tried to improve relations with Moscow in the past, "we had to face American pressure not to do it." The Obama administration followed the previous Putin visit to Budapest, in 2015, by sanctioning six Hungarian officials for corruption. "Now there will be no more American pressure," said Szijjarto. Orban, who rose to popularity in the early 1990s as an anti-Soviet "freedom fighter," defends his efforts to improve ties with Moscow by pointing to the need for cheap energy from Russia and his obligation to put the "interests of the Hungarian nation" first. Russian presidential aide Ushakov said on the eve of Putin's visit to Budapest that several political topics -- including the intensified fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in Ukraines Donbas in recent days -- will be on the agenda. More than 10,000 Romanians protested outside the main government buildings in Bucharest after an emergency decree was announced which decriminalized a number of offenses relating to corruption and abuse of power. The protesters gathered in sub-zero temperatures on January 31, calling for the government to resign. The new rules decriminalize offenses involving less than 200,000 lei ($48,000). (Reuters) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has established a security zone with border controls along the country's border with neighboring Belarus. A set of government documents posted on February 1 said a "full-fledged border-protection regime" has been established after Belarus last month announced it was abolishing visas for short-term visitors from some 80 countries, including the United States and European Union member countries. The new visa policy takes effect on February 9. Russia's decision came as a surprise because Russia and Belarus have formed a "union state" since January 2000 and there have been no border controls between the two countries. However, officials in Moscow have said Minsk's decision to abolish visas presents a security threat to Russia. Belarusian television said the government was not commenting on the new security zone. With reporting by TASS and Interfax SAMARA, Russia -- A Russian court has convicted a youth activist of terrorism-related offenses for a social-media post praising the mass killing at a gay nightclub in Florida last year, but declined to sentence him to prison. Prosecutors had recommended a three-year prison sentence for Ramil Ibragimov, who was found guilty of "public calls for terrorism and justifying terrorist activities" by a military court in the Volga River city of Samara on February 1. The judge fined Ibragimov 50,000 rubles ($830) and ordered the confiscation of the mobile phone he used to make the post. In the June 14 Instagram post, Ibragimov -- the head of Tatarstan's Union of Young Leaders of Innovations -- expressed support for the killing of people he referred to as "fags." In vulgar language, he expressed regret that injured survivors of the attack "did not croak." The post came two days after gunman Omar Mateen fatally shot 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Ibragimov acknowledged the post but pleaded not guilty. ON MY MIND An escalation in the Donbas. Suspicions that Moscow was behind a cyberattack against the Czechs. A Russian military buildup in the Arctic. These are just a few of the items featured below and they seem to point to a pattern: that Vladimir Putin's regime is feeling emboldened and is preparing to be even more assertive. As I note in today's Daily Vertical, a State Duma deputy has referred to Russia's neighbors as "so-called countries" and said "borders are not eternal." Putin's strategy has long been to test the waters, see what he can get away with, adapt, and move forward. And right now, he seems to think he can get away with a lot. IN THE NEWS The United Nations Security Council has expressed "grave concern" over the "dangerous deterioration" in eastern Ukraine and called for a halt to the violence. Two Russian FSB officials and a former employee of a leading cybersecurity firm have been charged with treason, defense attorney Ivan Pavlov told Interfax. Hackers have breached dozens of e-mail accounts at the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic in an attack that was similar to the 2016 hacking of the U.S. Democratic Party during the U.S. presidential campaign, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek has said. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance and the new U.S. administration agree on the need for dialogue with Russia "from a position of strength." A Russian prosecutor called for a three-year prison sentence for a youth activist from the Tatarstan region who is on trial over a social-media post praising the killing of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida last year. Eight EU member states are calling for more cooperation between the United States and the European Union in pushing for reforms in Ukraine, according to a document seen by RFE/RL. Tension is high in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has flared between government troops and Russia-backed separatists over the past three days. The retrial of Aleksei Navalny, a prominent Russian anticorruption campaigner and foe of President Vladimir Putin, resumed today after he arrived in the city of Kirov from Moscow escorted by bailiffs. LATEST POWER VERTICAL BLOG In case you missed it, in my latest Power Vertical blog post, Tinker Tailor Hacker Spook, I take a crack at unpacking the recent espionage cases involving FSB cybersecurity officials. WHAT I'M READING The Fall Of A Cyberspook Anna Nemtsova has a piece in The Daily Beast on the fall of FSB cybersecurity official Sergei Mikhailov. His arrest, she writes, "raises questions about who knew what, and when, about the hack of the U.S. elections." Just Say No To A 'Grand Bargain' Writing in Foreign Policy, Daniel Baer, the former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, makes the case against a grand bargain with Russia. "The international order is based on values, institutions, and moral leadership -- not transactional politics," Baer writes. Ukraine Between Trump And Putin Ian Bateson has a report from Ukraine's eastern front, where he explores the country's fate in the event of a new detente between Washington and Moscow. Trading Places Aleksei Gorbachev has a piece in Nezavisimaya Gazeta on how the budding Trump-Putin friendship is causing the Kremlin and Russia's opposition to swap positions about the United States. Arctic Exposure Andrew Osborn of Reuters has a piece on Russia's renewed military push in the Arctic. "Interviews with officials and military analysts and reviews of government documents show Russia's buildup is the biggest since the 1991 Soviet fall and will, in some areas, give Moscow more military capabilities than the Soviet Union once had," Osborn writes. Nordic Exposure Politician and political analyst Petri Makela looks at Finland's efforts to retool its military to combat hybrid threats from Russia. When Viktor Meets Vladimir Lili Bayer in Politico, in advance of Vladimir Putin's visit this week to Hungary, explains the importance of Viktor Orban in Russia's strategy. "For the Kremlin, a public visit to Budapest at this time has both symbolic and political value," Bayer writes. "Putin wants to show the Russian public at home that Russia is a world power. Moreover, at a time when the Kremlin is hoping to cooperate closely with the new U.S. administration and improve relations with European partners, Moscow could also usefully show that Putin isnt a pariah." Hacking The Czechs The Guardian looks at suspicions that Russia was behind a recent cyberattack against the Czech Foreign Ministry. MINSK -- Authorities in Belarus have detained Ukrainian journalist Vitaliy Sizov and ordered him to leave the country due to the fact that he was barred from entering Russia. Sizov arrived in Minsk on February 1 to cover talks between the so-called contact group on regulating the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He told RFE/RL that Belarusian police forcibly removed him from his hotel and ordered him to leave the country within 24 hours. "They told me Russia had barred me from entering its territory until 2021," Sizov said. "Because Russia and Belarus are members of a union state I cannot be on the Belarusian territory either, they said." Sizov is a journalist working for a Ukrainian television channel broadcasting to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, where Ukraine's armed forces have been fighting against Russia-supported separatists since 2014. Sizov added that he planned to leave Belarus within 24 hours, right after the talks, anyway. He is officially accredited with the Belarusian Foreign Ministry and has visited Belarus several times in the past. Ukraine said on February 1 that one of its soldiers had been killed in the country's east, where fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has flared over the past four days. Ukrainian officials had reported the deaths of seven soldiers in the past few days, the highest casualty toll in weeks. Funerals were held on February 1 for many of the victims. The sides traded blame for the surge in hostilities concentrated around the government-controlled town of Avdiyivka. An emergency official said that 175 people, including 88 children, had been evacuated to nearby towns by bus. Shelling left many residents of the town, north of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, without electricity, water supplies, and heating in temperatures well below freezing. Ukrainian military authorities say that an unarmed military transport plane was hit by antiaircraft fire from a Russian naval vessel over a disputed area of the Black Sea. Ukraine's Defense Ministry said no one was injured in the February 1 incident and the plane returned safely to base despite being hit several times. A spokesman for the Russian Black Sea Fleet -- based at the port of Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 -- said the Ukrainian aircraft acted "provocatively" by flying at "extremely low altitude." The Russian spokesman denied that the aircraft was fired upon, saying such claims by Ukraine were "a lie." The spokesman said the plane made close passes to Russian oil platforms and security guards sent it a warning signal. The Ukrainian military said the shots were fired from a Russian Navy antisubmarine corvette patrolling the area. The incident occurred before noon local time over a part of the Black Sea that both Russia and Ukraine claim. Based on reporting by Dumskaya.net, DefenceBlog.com, Interfax, and TASS The Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), which is attempting to regulate the conflict in eastern Ukraine, has urged both sides to adhere scrupulously to the agreed cease-fire and to withdraw heavy weaponry away from the contact line as previously agreed. The TCG -- which includes Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- met in Minsk on February 1 amid a significant uptick in fighting between the Ukrainian military and Russia-backed separatists in recent days around the government-controlled town of Avdiyivka. The TCG statement also called for "safe and secure access" for OSCE monitors and the "facilitation of humanitarian efforts" aimed at restoring water and electricity supplies. Also on February 1, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the renewed fighting "the most serious spike in violence in a long time," adding that the humanitarian situation for civilians in Avdiyivka was "dire, with 20,000 people facing freezing temperatures without heat, electricity, and water." Stoltenberg also called on Russia "to use its considerable influence over the separatists to bring the violence to an end." The Ukrainian military said on February 1 that nine servicemen and one civilian were also injured in the previous 24 hours. Ukrainian officials had reported the deaths of seven soldiers in the past few days, the highest casualty toll in weeks. An emergency official, Vladislav Husinskyy, said that 175 people, including 88 children, had been evacuated to nearby towns by bus on the morning of February 1. Shelling left many residents of the town north of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk without electricity, water supplies, and heating in temperatures well below freezing. WATCH: 'Humanitarian Emergency' After Fighting Escalates In Eastern Ukraine The AP news agency quoted residents of Donetsk as reporting incessant outgoing and incoming artillery salvos through the night and in the morning. Separatists said two civilians were killed and another wounded in the shelling of Donetsk and the neighboring town of Makiyivka. The UN Security Council on January 31 expressed "grave concern" over the "dangerous deterioration" in eastern Ukraine and called for a halt to the violence. Kyiv and Moscow are accusing each other of being responsible for the recent escalation, with Ukraine's Foreign Ministry describing it on January 31 as "a clear indication of Russia's continued blatant disregard of its commitments under the Minsk agreements." Speaking on February 1, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected accusations that Russia and the separatists were responsible for the flare-up of hostilities, and called on Kyiv to stop what he said were "provocative actions." Peskov also said that the escalation was evidence what he called the need for "a swift resumption of dialogue and cooperation between Russia and the United States." Russian-U.S. relations are badly strained over Moscow's aggression in Ukraine, its actions in Syria, and what U.S. intelligence agencies say was state-directed interference in the U.S. presidential election. U.S. President Donald Trump has called for improved relations with Russia, and both the White House and Kremlin said a conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 28 was a positive sign. Despite substantial evidence, Russia denies claims by Kyiv, NATO, and Western governments that it stirred up separatism in the region and has sent troops and weapons to Ukraine to support the separatists. The European Union, United States, and other states have imposed sanctions on Russia over the conflict, as well as for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014. With reporting by Christopher Miller, AP, UNIAN, TASS, and Interfax We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Following criticism from constituents that he isnt accessible, Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, answered questions for them via Facebook Live on Tuesday evening from Washington, D.C. He talked about topics such as the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trumps administration, immigration, the opioid addiction crisis and the presidential election. Brat has said hell hold town halls in his district after the new presidents first 100 days in office. The forgotten man, that was a symbol for this election this year, said Brat, who spoke for about 38 minutes. Brat was asked if he supports cutting public funding for Planned Parenthood. Describing himself as pro-life, Brat said were all in favor of giving women the best health care possible ... however, the taxpayer funding of abortions ... is the problematic part. Regarding Trumps executive order on immigration and refugees, Brat said: Its not a ban. Its not a Muslim ban. He said he is proud that we are a country of migrants, adding, thats who we are. We believe in religious toleration and bending over backwards to protect individual rights, he said, but we have to make sure we are safe. As for the initial implementation of the presidents order the green card piece was fumbled a little bit, he said, but Reince Priebus, the presidents chief of staff, quickly clarified the policy. One questioner asked Brat about Trumps placement of top strategist Steve Bannon on the National Security Council. Thats the presidents prerogative, Brat said. I dont know the details on all the folks who are up for those positions, so Im going to leave that up to the president. Brat said he was troubled that some of his constituents havent felt represented. He said he tries to be transparent and to explain every vote he makes. I continue to pledge to folks I will be the most accessible congressman you can find. Proponents of expanding Virginias DNA databank have raised $33,000 toward the cost of a Virginia State Crime Commission study that may be put off because of a lack of funds. Albemarle County Sheriff J.E. Chip Harding and Commonwealths Attorney Robert Tracci were in Richmond Friday with the parents of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student slain in 2014, lobbying for the study aimed at the possible expansion of the database to include those convicted of more serious misdemeanors. Currently DNA samples are kept from convicted felons and from those convicted of 14 serious misdemeanors, primarily sex-related offenses. Harding and the Grahams were told by legislators the study may have to be put off this year due to budget limitations. Harding said Tuesday that the Albemarle Sheriffs Foundation has offered to donate $10,000, Harding and his wife will write a personal check for $5,000 and that another $18,000 has been pledged by others who wish to remain anonymous. The money can be transferred to the states general fund to support the study, he said. Harding said the speaker of the House of Delegates, William J. Howell, R-Fredericksburg, said he would ask the commission to consider the study. It is unclear, however, if a lack of funds is the full problem. Kristen Howard, executive director of the commission, which has a small staff, said Tuesday that the request from Howell, when received, would be considered with other requests by an executive committee after the current legislative session, likely in the spring. Susan Graham, whose daughter was slain by Jesse L. Matthew Jr., told the Richmond Times-Dispatch after her meeting with legislators last week that, We feel that this study is a major first step and were very hopeful that it will be taken forward in some way. The Grahams believe that had Matthews DNA been in Virginias DNA databank following his 2010 misdemeanor conviction for trespassing, it could have solved the 2009 slaying of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington and the 2005 rape of a Fairfax woman. John Graham said, If hed been compelled to give a DNA sample in 2010, he would very quickly have been linked to those two earlier, very serious crimes and he would probably have been in jail ... he wouldnt have met Hannah that Sept. 19, 2014, and she would still be alive. And so its a particularly sore point for us. Thats partly why were so passionate about this, said Graham. We know we cant bring Hannah back but we can learn the lesson from Hannahs tragedy and try to ... protect other Virginians, he said. Harding said the crime commission would be asked to review the impact of databank expansion in states such as Wisconsin and New York. He said the commission would examine the impact of DNA enhancement on solving crimes, averting future crimes, and freeing the wrongfully convicted. It would also review safeguards against the unauthorized collection, dissemination, or use of DNA data, said Harding, who hopes the study can be completed this year before the next General Assembly session. WAYNESBORO With heart-warming irony, a pair of hunters concern for two cold and apparently abandoned black bear cubs led to their rescue two weekends ago. Unfortunately, one of the cubs died a day after biologists from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries picked them up. But its sibling is still at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro, waiting to get back in the woods. In Lunenburg County, located in southcentral Virginia, about 130 miles west of Norfolk, the two rabbit hunters were out in the woods Jan. 21 when they heard two bear cubs crying. They could see the young bears but saw no sign of the sow. At that point, they did the smart thing by not approaching the cubs. Wherever cubs are seen, the mother is usually not too far away (although that turned out not to be the case this time.) And if a sow senses her young are being threatened or are otherwise in danger, she could attack. Its one of the few situations in which black bears, usually shy creatures who try to keep their distance from people in most situations, will attack a human without being directly provoked. Instead, once it became clear that the cubs were alone, the hunters called the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to alert the agency to the cubs location, just in case the mother did not return for her young. Many hunters are nature enthusiasts and wildlife conservationists, Amanda Nicholson, director of outreach with the Wildlife Center, said. The cubs were left alone until the next day, Nicholson said, when there was still no sign of the mother. So VDGIF intervened at that point, she explained. One of the cubs had crawled out of their den and was cold and wet. The biologists warmed and rehydrated both animals, but one of the cubs died that same night. The remaining cub was transported to the Wildlife Center, where it was estimated to be just 10 days old, and found to be in good health. The cub was examined, given subcutaneous fluids and then set up in an incubator, Nicholson said. The rehabilitators fed the cub around-the-clock and took turns taking feeding shifts to ensure the cub was getting enough nutrition throughout the night. VDGIF started checking other dens for a surrogate mother for the cub. Last fall, they collared 10 female bears in hopes of using them as surrogate moms in situations like this. The abandoned cub was placed in a den last Wednesday. However, there were no signs of activity so they retrieved the cub and brought it back to the WCV. They will continue to try to find a new den and surrogate mother. VDGIF biologists will pick up the cub today to try out another den. Nicholson praised the hunters, saying they did the proper thing by assessing the situation and calling VDGIF. In this case, there were no signs of the mother, but we dont want people to bear-nap bears accidentally, she said. Its best to give it time to see if the mother comes back. If anyone is ever concerned about a bear situation, they should call VDGIF. They will probably never know what happened to the cubs mother. The sow couldve left the den and been injured, Nicholson hypothesized. She may also have been startled and abandoned the cubs. While that doesnt happen frequently, it does happen in the wild, particularly with new, first time sows. We are in the throes of a new administration, but much remains the same. Congress is, for the most part, the same self-serving group who did not have the backbone to stand up to the unconstitutional executive amnesty order that Obama signed, nor to oppose Obamacare. This Congress certainly has no real interest in passing amendments to limit members tenure, or to require the exercise of fiscal restraint with a balanced budget. Furthermore, the executive orders with which the past several presidents have made structural change for their terms in office are by nature not in keeping with the proper balance of power that the federal government was designed to operate under. Legislating from the bench has become another avenue of overreach that decidedly imbalances the power structure in the federal government. The Founding Fathers foresaw our current situation and devised a plan for the Constitution to be amended. While congressional amendments have been the only method used until now, that is not the only avenue offered in the Constitution. The other allows for two-thirds of the states to request a Convention of States and this is what the Virginia General Assembly is currently considering. With anything that has never been done before, there are bound to be fears of what may transpire. However, these fears can easily be laid to rest with some facts. First, many use the 1787 Constitutional Convention as evidence of what great calamity will befall us at a Convention of the States. They believe that convention delegates abandoned their purpose to amend the Articles of Confederation. This is simply untrue. In fact, it was Congress that, not wishing to be left looking foolish once it was clear that a convention would be convened, passed a proclamation stating that they agreed it to be expedient to call such a convention to solely amend the Articles. Congress, however, has no authority in a Convention of States, and that proclamation had no authority over the convention whatsoever. Most of the states had sent delegates with a stated purpose to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate for the exigencies of the Union. In this, their delegates were true to their directives. This was in no way a runaway convention. Some also assert that James Madison did not approve of the Article V process. They may wish to review Federalist #43, written by Madison himself, wherein he states, regarding the Article V amendment process, that (t)he mode preferred by the Convention seems to be stamped with every mark of propriety. It guards equally against that extreme facility which would render the Constitution too mutable; and that extreme difficulty which might perpetuate its discovered faults. It moreover equally enables the general and the state governments to originate the amendment of errors as they may be pointed out by the experience on one side or on the other. There are also fears that there is no provision by which to limit the convention, but this is also unfounded. To begin, prior to the Constitution, there is a robust history of interstate conventions, from which the standard procedures would be modeled. There is also sufficient Supreme Court case law interpreting Article V from which to pull. Additionally, the convention may only recommend amendments, which then must be separately approved by three-fourths of the states. Furthermore, research has shown that two-thirds of the states did indeed pass applications for a convention by the early 20th century, but because the applications did not all call for a convention on the same agenda, Congress refused to call the convention. This indicates that the convention most certainly can and will be limited, as in fact the original Constitutional Convention was. In short, attempts to cast a Convention of States in a bad light are nothing but fear-mongering through half-truths and unsubstantiated claims, in an effort to dissuade the General Assembly from passing an application to call a Convention of the States. This is unfortunate, as such a convention would benefit everyone, not just one side of the political aisle or the other. State sovereignty has been trampled through federal overreach, and it is time to put an end to the dysfunction of the federal government through the very method that our Founders provided in the Constitution. The current state of the federal government emboldens both sides to equally push through their agenda with impunity. The only way to stop this is with an Article V Convention of States. By Evan Mascagni Perhaps no person in the history of American politics has framed the importance of advocating for individual liberties better than Thomas Paine, one of our nations Founding Fathers. In his pamphlet, Common Sense, Paine made a clear and decisive argument that Americans must seek independence and pursue freedom. Man did not enter into society to become worse than he was before, not to have fewer rights than he had before, Paine wrote, but to have those rights better secured. Sen. Glen Sturtevant Jr. and Del. Terry Kilgore have introduced important legislation in Richmond to protect the free expression and speech of Virginians (SB 1413 and HB 1941, respectively), and they need the support of their colleagues to advance it without delay. Paines words resonate now more than ever. Virginia lawmakers have an opportunity to secure one of the most sacred rights: the right to freely express how you feel and say what you believe without fear of reprisal. Without this critical piece of legislation, Virginians can be silenced through a legal mechanism known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (or SLAPPs). Currently, 28 states and Washington, D.C., have anti-SLAPP laws, some stronger than others, but the Commonwealth of Virginia is not one of those states. Moreover, there are no federal laws in place to protect Virginians from SLAPPs. Over the past decade, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington have all enacted anti-SLAPP legislation. At a time when politics has become hyperpartisan, it is clear that the issue of defending free expression is one that eclipses party lines. Take the case of two bloggers from Christiansburg, Va.: Terry Ellen Carter and Tacy Newell-Foutz. After writing about their displeasure with a developer who left mounds of dirt on a property, the bloggers were hit with a lawsuit for libel. Though Virginias state court eventually ruled in favor of the bloggers, they were forced to spend hours in court and thousands of dollars in legal fees. The case of the two Virginia bloggers might have had a different outcome had there been a law in place to defend free expression. In states with strong anti-SLAPP laws, cases are often dismissed by the courts, and defendants are able to have their attorney fees recouped. An anti-SLAPP law will not only defend against attacks on free expression, but will also save everyday Virginians their hard-earned money and time. A law to protect free expression and speech is something that all Virginians can rally around. Without it, the more than 8 million Virginia residents will be left unprotected from the threat of frivolous litigation for simply speaking their mind. As Paine famously said, Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it. Virginians need lawmakers to step up and protect their fundamental rights. The time to act is now. Its time to pass common-sense legislation that will protect all Virginians from lawsuits that aim to silence and intimidate. January was warmer than normal in Richmond, yet it still managed to bring several inches of snow and Richmonds coldest temperature reading in 17 years. February could also be a month of contradictions. It has a reputation for hints of early spring dashed by single-digit cold; snowfall one week and a tornado outbreak the next. And that was just 2015 and 2016. *** Beyond the immediate seven-day forecast, its hard to know when we will be dealing with weather systems and what impacts theyll have on the state. We do have a general clue about the temperature and precipitation from the Climate Prediction Center, the branch of the National Weather Service responsible for weekly, monthly and seasonal forecasts. The CPC expects the average temperature for the month of February to be warmer than normal for Virginia and almost all of the continental U.S. That doesnt rule out cold days, but the odds favor more of the mild ones. For precipitation, there are equal chances for Virginia to be above normal or below normal. The first 10 days of the month will feature a few rainmakers, but the trend is less clear after that. The Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions are most favored for above normal precipitation. Cold snaps are bound to happen even in a mild winter month, but in February we can start to enjoy more sunlight. The Richmond area gains about two minutes of sunlight each day this time of year, which adds an hour of day length over the course of February. By the last day of the month, the sun will rise in Richmond at 6:42 a.m. and set at 6:03 p.m. As a result of the extra solar heating, the average high increases from 49 to 55 over the next four weeks while the average low rises from 29 to 33. Warm days start to happen a bit more frequently, with a long term average of six days warmer than 60 degrees during the month. On the other hand, there are typically 18 nights below freezing. February could still turn out to be a colder month than January. That happens about once every three years, most recently in 2015. *** The CPCs January outlook hit the mark with an outlook that called for warmer-than-normal conditions on the East Coast. When Richmonds daily highs and lows for the month are averaged together, January was 41.6 degrees. That was 3.7 degrees warmer than the 30-year average, but not one of the top 20 warmest. Most of that upward influence came from the mild morning lows. The major cold snap of Jan. 7-10 was memorable, but those numbers are heavily outweighed by the two mild weeks that followed. Richmond took an abnormally long 17-day break from freezing nights. Only 10 days during the month had a low at or below 32 degrees, which is about half of Januarys typical quota. It was wetter than a typical January, too, with 4.29 inches of precipitation at Richmond International Airport. The one big dose of snow for the month was on Jan. 7, and the season-to-date snow tally stands at 7.1 inches. For the second year in a row January was snowier than average. *** Meteorologists cant have all the fun. Punxsutawney Phil will emerge with a prognostication on Thursday, but what about the Richmond-area critters? Check richmond.com/weather on Thursday to see my search for answers, plus a gallery of cute groundhogs and memorable moments from the RTD Archives. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Danielle Kitzmiller wasnt looking for a handout; she just wondered if people who sell leggings might give her a discount on a few pairs for her son. But when LuLaRoe representatives in Stafford County heard how their product soft and clingy pajama-like pants in assorted colors and patterns might help her son get a leg up on treatment for a skin disease, they didnt offer kid-sized pants at a reduced price. They started sending free ones until 4-year-old Jackson was almost knee-deep in leggings. He got 27 pairs, a puzzle and toys. Consultants also sent a LuLaRoe outfit for his mother. I was floored, Kitzmiller said, adding that she wasnt expecting anything of the sort when she posted her plight on the Stafford Talk Facebook site. That was unbelievably sweet. Its not the only example of kindness shown to the military family. Kitzmillers husband, Randy, is a special agent in the Air Force and currently deployed to Korea. She is British and has no family locally, although she has made a lot of friends in their three years in Aquia Harbour. In addition to being a mother to Jackson, 4, and Ethan, 2, Kitzmiller also runs a mobile dog-grooming business, specializing in pooches that arent thrilled about getting a haircut. She sets up shop in homes and then cuts and clips where the dogs are comfortable. She suspended her grooming business for January and February because of Jacksons health problems. While hes been tested for various allergies, he suffers from an extreme case of eczema that drives him crazy, she said. He scratches until his arms and legs bleed. Its not unusual for his sheets to be covered in blood each morning. Dirt and germs from his fingernails get transferred into the open sores, and serious infections result. Hes developed abscesses that start as a tiny pimple, become red and inflamed and have to be lanced. Twice in the days before and after Christmas, he was hospitalized, with one infection that led to sepsis, a complication that causes blood poisoning and can be fatal. His skin doesnt work properly; it doesnt protect him like it should, his mother said. His is kind of like Swiss cheese. She says shes tried every home remedy possible since his birth, when his skin was as rough as fine sandpaper. But nothing seemed to stop the itching. After the last hospitalization, doctors suggested wrapping gauze strips with Vaseline over Jacksons arms and legs and then putting on compression pants to keep the dressings in place. The pants provided by the hospital were expensive and werent covered by insurance. And, they didnt hold the gauze in place when Jackson acted like a normal 4-year-old. Kitzmiller wondered if LuLaRoe leggings would do the trick, and she quickly got an answer. Most of the leggings came from Stafford residents, who sell the popular clothing online or have parties showing the offerings. Kitzmiller also got pants from Lindsey McGovern, who makes customized childrens clothing through her business, Winning Colors Baby. Those who knew her from her grooming business sent Jackson pants featuring the Union Jack flags and red phone booths, which she calls telephone boxes. Friends also sent hot meals, helped with her younger son and made arrangements for her dogs to find new homes when Jackson was hospitalized. The LuLaRoe culture is to bless lives and strengthen families, said representative Laci Nicholas, whose husband also is currently deployed. I know the strain it can cause a family, and I can only imagine the added obstacle of having a child ill on top of it, Nicholas said. Stephanie Sonnenberg believes other consultants helped for the same reason she did. A pair of leggings is really nothing, if her son is happy and it makes it easier for her. The treatment seems to be working, and Kitzmiller is grateful for the gifts from consultants Jenn Moody, Samantha Storch, Leigha Pecher, Sarah McClutchy, Nicholas and Sonnenberg. Jackson is doing great, a few little sore bits here and there, but overall the best hes looked, pretty much ever, the mother said. LEXINGTON Twenty years after she wrote the opinion that forced Virginia Military Institute to admit women, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg paid a visit Wednesday to the school, which she called a better place. During a public interview with her two biographers, Ginsburg was asked to respond to criticism from many including her close friend and fellow justice, the late Antonin Scalia who said at the time that ending the all-male tradition at the state-supported school would kill it. I knew it wouldnt. It would make VMI a better place, Ginsburg said to applause from a crowd that included hundreds of cadets. It was the first time Ginsburg had visited VMI since the Supreme Court heard the case. Women now make up about 11 percent of the corps of cadets. In the Cameron Hall audience on Wednesday was Kelly Sullivan, a member of the first class of women to enter VMI in the summer of 1997, one year after Ginsburg authored the landmark decision. I was completely blown away by the talk, Sullivan said afterward. Sullivan said she felt a strong connection to Ginsburgs account of how it felt to be one of the few female students at Harvard Law School in the 1950s. Ginsburg said she and the other eight women in a class of about 500 men felt like they were constantly on display, with the assumption that they represented all women whether they failed or succeeded. The same thing was true of Sullivan and her fellow female cadets. Although we had the same struggle, she did it first, Sullivan said, and she paved the way for us. Ginsburg, 83, displayed a keen recollection of how the opinion came together with frequent input from Scalia, who wrote a blistering dissent and how it shaped the laws that apply to gender discrimination. She interspersed her legal analysis with personal stories, from her early days as a trailblazing womens rights attorney to her current physical training regimen, which includes 20 push-ups a day. Long considered a part of the Supreme Courts liberal bloc, Ginsburg did not venture into current events, such as President Donald Trumps nomination the day before of conservative appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace Scalia on the nations highest court. She had fond words for Scalia, with whom she was close despite their polar-opposite political views. I miss him very much, she said. Without him the court is a paler place, because he brought such zest to our discussions. In what she likened to a game of pingpong, she and the conservative justice shared copies of their draft opinions in the VMI case, in which she wrote for the 7-1 majority and he in a sharply-worded dissent that declared: VMI is dead. He picked up on all the soft spots and encouraged me to make the opinion stronger, Ginsburg said. As for the cadets who felt the same way that Scalia did in 1996, Ginsburg said: I think they learned from their women classmates how much good women can do for the institute. By the time the VMI case got to the Supreme Court, the U.S. military academies already had begun admitting female students reinforcing Ginsburgs belief that women could hold their own in the rigors of being trained for war in a higher education setting. One of the exhilarating things for me in my lifetime is to see how the military has opened opportunities for women, she said. All doors must be open to our sons and daughters, and they will choose to enter those doors if they have the will and the talent to do so, she said. One of the precedents established in a case was that gender-based discrimination cannot pass legal scrutiny in a public setting, unless there is proof of an exceedingly persuasive justification. VMI made no such showing, the court concluded. There are women who are ready, willing and able to undergo the tough training at VMI, Ginsburg said, and if they want to, the state of Virginia cannot deny them. Ginsburg spent nearly an hour taking questions from her two biographers, Mary Hartnett and Wendy Williams from Georgetown University Law Center. She also met in private with law school students and professors at adjacent Washington and Lee University. Ginsburg was appointed to the nations highest court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. At the time, she was just the second woman on the court following Sandra Day OConnors appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan but she now presides along with two other female justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. During her remarks, the justice wore a pin that was given to her by a VMI alumnus after she wrote the 1996 opinion. As part of a class custom at the time, graduating cadets gave the pins to their mothers. In a letter that accompanied the pin, the cadet wrote that his mother had since died. He thought she would be proud if I would wear it, Ginsburg said. RICHMOND A Fredericksburg police officer pulled over Travis Blair and fatally shot him after a chase and struggle in March. Soon after, Police Chief David Nye authorized public release of the officers identity: Christopher Brossmer. Blair had a warrant for failing to appear in court on a drug charge and his father told The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg he held no animosity toward the officer who shot his son. Release of the officers name wasnt required by state law, but it was not prohibited, either. While many Virginia police agencies dont release an officers name until the investigation of a shooting is over, a 2015 Fredericksburg police policy says officers will be named within 72 hours of a shooting unless their safety is threatened. Del. Jackson Miller, R-Manassas, wants such police policies to end. Miller, a former police officer, is sponsoring House Bill 2043, which would forbid a police chief or any public official from naming an officer who discharges a gun, or is under investigation for using force, until an investigation is complete, unless the investigation lasts longer than six months. Naming an officer beforehand or providing information to the public that would identify the officer would become a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. So if Millers bill were law, a chief like Nye who released the name of an officer before an investigation was complete or a police officer passing on information to a reporter could be charged with a crime for doing so. The bill cleared a House subcommittee 5-1 and is scheduled to be heard Thursday in the House General Laws Committee. Miller said the bill would protect police and standardize a policy for identifying them after an incident. Most agencies wont release anything until well after the investigation, he acknowledged. I believe Fairfax and a couple others decided theyre going to release it really quickly, probably based on pressure they got for other issues. Miller said he didnt have firsthand knowledge of officers in Virginia facing threats after a shooting, but he said the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police relayed examples. Itll let emotions die down after a police shooting, Miller said of his bill. The state NAACP and the Virginia Press Association criticized the proposal, which comes following a series of police shootings nationally that were captured on bystanders cellphone video, such as the fatal shooting in 2015 of Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina. Officer Michael Slager shot him in the back as he ran. Police in the United States killed 1,092 people in 2016, according to a database from The Guardian newspaper. Little to no information is publicly available in Virginia about the officer after a police shooting. Any history of disciplinary problems, previous shootings or use of force complaints is shielded from the public in Virginia law. Anything that broadens the gap between the community trust and law enforcement, that would deepen the divide, cannot be a good thing, said Linda Thomas, president of The Virginia State Conference NAACP. And so we would urge lawmakers to ... vote this down, and continue on the pathway that leads to better communication, citizens review and oversight in the investigatory process, and to continue to remedy anything that would prevent law enforcement officers from being in tune and in touch with the community. She also noted that after a police officer shoots someone the person shot is named and opened up to public scrutiny, while cloaking in secrecy the identity of the public servant who is paid with taxpayer money. Shrouding such information encourages public mistrust of police, she said. Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the bill would override some police policies and deny a chief or sheriff the ability to name an officer even if they think the information should be publicized as is currently allowed by law. There will be times when it would be in the publics interest for having that information in a more timely manner, she said. Betsy Edwards, executive director of the Virginia Press Association, said Millers bill would criminalize transparency. Police jurisdictions are not being forced to release the names. Its totally up to the officers in charge, the sheriffs, the police chiefs to decide whether or not its appropriate, she said. The vast majority of jurisdictions use the discretion to not release the name. ... I think the police chiefs and sheriffs know their communities and know whats in the best interest overall in the community and their relationship with the community. A Fairfax County policy adopted in 2016 would be overruled if Millers bill became law. Fairfax police release the name of an officer who fatally shoots someone within 10 days, as long as there isnt a security threat to the officer. Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham authorizes release of an officers name case by case, with safety being an important factor, Gene Lepley, police public affairs director, said in an email. The Roanoke County Police Department drew public criticism for refusing to release the names of two officers who shot and killed a teenager nearly a year ago. Early in the investigation, police said there was no discernible benefit to exposing officers to unwarranted speculation while the facts related to the incident are yet to be fully known. Once Chief Howard Hall announced that the officers would not face charges or discipline, he said he still would not release their names because he legally did not have to, and out of concern for the privacy and security of officers. He never elaborated on those safety concerns. In 2014, when a Roanoke County police officer shot an armed man at the Friendship Retirement Community, the department released the officers name the day after the shooting. The Roanoke Police Department generally has released names of officers involved in shootings. The department has said it does not have a formal policy on disclosing information about shootings or the names of officers involved. The increased national scrutiny of police shootings raises a need for more balance, said Wayne Huggins, executive director of the Virginia State Police Association and a former superintendent of Virginia State Police. He said he supports Millers bill, but expects it would be amended in some fashion if it survives the legislative process. Police are under scrutiny and criticism in a way Huggins hasnt seen in his career, he said. We have seen instances around the country where the police officer is presumed guilty even before the investigation is completed, Huggins said. While he acknowledged Virginia hasnt had the level of controversial police protests as some other states, the national mood about policing and concerns over safety weigh on police officers, he said. So theres a need to balance the publics desire for information with safety of a police officer, he said. Millers bill would afford a degree of protection for a law enforcement officer until an investigation is complete, he said. These use-of-force incidents can get super charged in a hurry. And this will give the law enforcement community the opportunity to kind of protect themselves, he said. And were not suggesting that the names should not be, at the appropriate time, released. Millers bill echoes 2016s Senate Bill 552 from Sen. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, which would have allowed the names of all Virginia police officers to be withheld from the public. Critics said Cosgroves bill was an extreme reaction to anti-police protests and would have hindered the publics ability to hold police accountable for their actions. After passing the Senate last year it was killed by the same subcommittee that advanced Millers bill this year. Del. Jim LeMunyon, R-Fairfax, heads the subcommittee that heard Cosgroves bill in 2016 and Millers bill last month. He was the lone vote against Millers bill in subcommittee, in part because, he said, it would supplant the discretion of local officials. Every situation is different, LeMunyon said. The question is do you trust the people on the ground in the different place and situation to exercise their judgment responsibly or not? He added that the bill could also lead to awkward situations where an officers name becomes public through unofficial channels and is widely known on the internet or in the media. The government employees are still bound not to talk about it as if its still a secret when it really isnt, he said. Roanoke Times reporter Amy Friedenberger contributed to this report. RICHMOND Legislative efforts to codify free speech on private college campuses that accept public funds were silenced Wednesday. The House Education Committee voted down a bill that would require private, nonprofit Virginia colleges and universities participating in the Tuition Assistance Grant program to include in the student handbook free speech protections for enrolled students. The idea for the bill by Del. Chris Head, R-Botetourt, came from a political science professor at Hollins University. Hollins codifies its free expression protections in several places in its student handbook. It is undeniable that students are protected in their exercise of freedom of expression by the First Amendment, the Hollins handbook reads. Hollins, Washington and Lee University, Roanoke College and more than 25 other Virginia colleges accept the tuition grants. Free speech is essential, particularly on college campuses, because students learn through an open dialogue, Head said. When presenting the bill, Head pointed to free speech controversies at several private colleges outside the commonwealth that sprang up during the presidential campaign. Head said his bill was an attempt to get ahead before any such incidents happen at Virginia colleges. Head noted an incident at Emory University where, after someone scrawled messages supporting Donald Trump in chalk across campus, some scared students compared the writings to hate speech and pressured the campus administration to limit such acts of expression. Were living in a time right now where were seeing some potentially violent acts happen among student groups that are on two sides of the issue about who our president currently is, Head said. Thats crazy. Weve got to be able to talk. The committee killed Heads bill with a voice vote. No one voted in favor of the proposed legislation. I have a little trepidation going into private schools on this, said Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William. They are private. Other opponents said the bill could create a scenario for the state to excessively regulate private colleges. Representatives from the Council of Independent Colleges also pointed out the tuition assistance funds are awarded to students, not colleges making the legislation hard to enforce. The tuition assistance grant program was designed to help Virginia residents who attend one of 30 eligible, private institutions. The nexus between the TAG program and the college is not there, said council lobbyist Reggie Jones. RICHMOND The Senate Committee for Courts and Justice on Wednesday booted a bill that would have expanded the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, was defeated on a 9-6 vote. It would also have added disability and gender to the definition of a hate crime. In 2015, there were 155 hate crime offenses reported in Virginia, Favola told the committee, citing data from Virginia State Police. This is a 21 percent increase over the prior years. She went on to specify on what basis the hate crimes were committed. Eighty-two were based on racial bias, 23 on religious bias, 15 on ethnicity, 13 on disability and 22 on sexual orientation. Jurisdictions voluntarily report hate crimes based on disability and sexual orientation to the state police, Favola said. The bill would have required all jurisdictions to do so. Crime analysts and experts believe that one of the reasons that our hate crime numbers are rising is because were not prosecuting and were not [making] a good educational effort on what exactly constitutes a hate crime, Favola said. Equality Virginia, the Attorney Generals Office, the Virginia Interfaith Center and ACLU of Virginia spoke in support of the bill. Anti-gay hate crimes are the third most frequent kind of hate reported nationally, said James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia. The Family Foundation of Virginia spoke in opposition to the bill. Josh Hetzler, the foundations legislative counsel, said the group is fundamentally against the idea of a hate crime. We think it amounts to a thought crime, he told the committee, adding that it makes no sense to punish someone based on their thoughts. Bills attempting to include sexual orientation within the definition of a hate crime have regularly failed in the General Assembly. Ill be back next year, Favola said after the committee voted. RICHMOND A House of Delegates committee advanced two bills Wednesday that would change how schools deal with students facing suspension and, advocates say, give kids a better shot at improving their behavior. The Senates Education Committee will take up matching bills Thursday. The legislation calls for schools to shift their approach for disciplining students away from sending kids home and having troubled kids get even farther behind. Del. Dickie Bell, R-Staunton, sponsor of the House bills, says the idea is for schools to address issues and work toward solving problems rather than suspending or expelling a student. Sending students home and keeping them from the structured environment of school makes things worse because kids fall farther behind, he said. It also makes it more likely that students will drop out of school or land in the juvenile justice system. House Bill 1534 calls for reducing the maximum length of a long-term suspension from 364 calendar days to 90 school days. The bill originally called for suspensions not to extend beyond 45 days. A measure that called for keeping long-term suspensions from extending into the next school year was taken out as well. (Senate Bill 995 is the Senate version). And HB1536 would prohibit students in preschool through third grade from being expelled or suspended for more than five days except for drug offenses, firearm offenses or certain criminal acts. The bill originally called for keeping preschool through fifth grade students from being suspended or expelled. (SB997 is the Senate version). Bell and Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, sponsor of the Senate versions, withdrew a third bill that would have prohibited schools from suspending or expelling students solely for disruptive behavior unless the behavior involved intentional physical injury or is a credible threat of physical injury to another person. The legislation grew out of a report last year from the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center. The report found that in the 2014-15 school year, state schools issued 123,107 short-term suspensions to 68,802 students, 2,922 long-term suspensions to 2,819 students, and 388 expulsions. RICHMOND Legislation to require proof of U.S. citizenship before registering to vote in Virginia elections passed the Republican-controlled House of Delegates Wednesday on a 64-33 vote along party lines. Echoing President Donald Trumps claim, made without evidence, that millions of people in the country illegally have made it onto the voter rolls, the GOP-sponsored bill would apply to state and local elections because citizenship tests are not allowed in federal elections. Citizenship could be proved with a birth certificate, passport, naturalization document or other record accepted under federal law. Anyone registered to vote as of Jan. 1, 2018, would not have to prove their citizenship. You may be aware that there have been cases of non-citizens either inadvertently or intentionally registering to vote in the commonwealth, Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, the bills sponsor, said on the floor this week. This was designed to prevent that. Federal courts have ruled that states cannot add proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms. Cole said courts have not ruled on whether states can enact those requirements solely to register for state and local elections. A conservative legal group, the Public Interest Legal Foundation, claimed in a report last year that it had found more than 1,000 cases of non-citizens on Virginias voter rolls and would likely find more with better access to election records. Democratic lawmakers and some election officials cast doubt on the reports accuracy, saying the group had misinterpreted the data and that many of the cases may involve citizens who erred on their paperwork. If the bill passes the Senate, it would almost certainly be vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who has emphasized voting accessibility and this year called for repealing the states voter photo ID law. House Democrats opposed the measure, calling it an onerous restriction that would force Virginians to dig up paperwork that many dont have readily available. Critics also questioned the notion that people in the country illegally would put themselves at risk to vote. I think committing a felony to vote in an election is something that no non-citizen in their right mind would do, said Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax. Others questioned how the requirement would work in practice if some voters were registered only to vote for federal offices, which are often on the same ballot as state and local races. The bill is House Bill 1598. RICHMOND State lawmakers proposed a solution Tuesday to a school funding crisis in the coalfields and other rural areas faced with declining school enrollment. School districts with fewer than 10,000 students that have lost 10 percent or more of their student population within the past 10 years would receive a funding supplement to offset state funding declines because of shrinking enrollment. Del. Nick Rush, R-Christiansburg, introduced the 10-10-10 formula from the floor of the House of Delegates after representatives from coalfields schools met with House and Senate leaders in January to discuss a solution to their enrollment and funding problems. Statewide, education seems to be going relatively well, Rush said. For years now, the schools in our rural areas have been struggling, primarily due to economic downturns and enrollment losses. As jobs have disappeared in the coalfields, students have, too. With a school funding formula largely based on average daily student enrollment, the 3 percent drop coalfields schools weathered last year had school officials scrambling to cut costs by consolidating schools, staving off building repairs and choosing not to replace retiring teachers and staff. The 15 percent funding supplement would apply to 39, mostly rural, school districts and adds up to $8.9 million in state funding for those schools. Localities such as Wise (4.7 percent population loss since 2010, according to new Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service population estimates out this week), Buchanan (6.7 percent) and Dickenson (5.7 percent) counties as well as Martinsville (2 percent) and Danville (2.5 percent) would be among the districts in Southwest and Southside that would qualify. The supplement also would apply to schools in the Shenandoah Valley, Northern Neck and others. Rush called the appropriations a cost to maintain supplement that would help schools maintain their buildings and resources, though the school districts would be able to use the additional funds as they see fit. Whether you have 17 kids on a bus or 22 kids on a bus, you still have to drive the bus, he said. Whether you have 300 kids in your high school or 265, you still have to turn the lights on. The amount allocated to each school district would vary because it would be 15 percent of the average daily membership amount for that district multiplied by the number of students lost in the past decade. Montgomery County and Christiansburg, which make up the large part of Rushs district, are not included on the list, but Rush also represents part of Pulaski, whose schools would qualify for the supplement. Rush serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and introduced the budget proposal because he helped craft the temporary solution for the funding problem many rural Virginia schools face. As part of the funding solution, the state also would shift additional Virginia Lottery money back to schools, by raising the amount of lottery funding from 29 percent to 40 percent. The recommendations will be included in the proposed budget members of the House will present Sunday. A small group of Roanoke veterans is organizing to challenge some of President Donald Trumps policy decisions that they say could increase the risk for American military abroad. In particular, they pointed to Trumps executive order temporarily banning admission to the United States of travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations and suspending admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely. Jim Dixon, a retired major in the Virginia National Guard member and Gulf War veteran, called the policy hasty, ill-conceived and unvetted. Not only do terrorist groups, including ISIS, gain propaganda value, increase the likelihood of attacks on service members, Dixon said, the order has also corroded trust with our allies in the region. Dixon and Bill Staton, another retired guard member and Gulf War vet, said the ban, coupled with the detention of Muslim families, including an Iraqi interpreter, at U.S. airports last weekend and Trumps continued allusions to taking Iraqs oil, all contribute to their concerns. The two spoke at the War Memorial in Roanokes Lee Plaza, where they announced launch of Veterans Protecting Freedom. They describe the groups mission as holding the president and Congress accountable for upholding their oaths to protect the Constitution. Another Vietnam War era veteran, Manuel Dotson, joined them. All three are self-described Democrats, but said their perspective in this case comes from their military service and isnt partisan. Dixon and Staton said they had come from the office of Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, where they spoke with his legislative aide about Goodlattes support for Trumps policies, and also seeking common ground. For more information, find the group Veterans Protecting Freedom on Facebook. AngloGold Ashanti mulls 30% reduction of carbon emissions by 2030 AngloGold Ashanti has come up with a new carbon emissions reduction target which seeks to achieve a 30% absolute reduction in its Scope 1 and Scope 2 Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2030, as compared to 2021. This will be achieved through a combination... Lucara Q3 revenue, output drop Lucara Diamond, which wholly owns the Karowe mine in Botswana, realised $49.9 million in revenues in the third quarter of 2022 compared to $72.7 million in the comparative quarter. The revenue includes $46.5 million from the sale of 99,301 carats and... Gemfields to auction 187,775-carat cluster of emeralds Gemfields is set to auction a 187,775-carat cluster of emeralds discovered at its 75%-owned Kagem mine in Zambia in March 2020. Viewing of the Kafubu Cluster commenced on 31 October and bidding will close on 17 November. Tiffany jewellery pieces to highlight Jewels & Jadeite auction in Hong Kong Jewellery pieces by Tiffany & Co, including those by renowned designer Jean Schlumberger, are among the highlights of Bonhams Jewels and Jadeite auction in Hong Kong on November 26, 2022. Element Six, which makes synthetic diamond supermaterials, announced last week that, subject to consultation, it intends to move all production from its Freeport site at Ronaldsway to production sites in Shannon, Ireland, and Springs, South Africa. That would see the closure of its Isle of Man operation during 2017, iomtoday news source reported. Nigel Beaumont, Element Six operations manager, said: Regrettably the proposed restructuring will have implications for the 33 staff. We are committed to work closely with all involved over the coming months to ensure the consequences of this decision are managed with responsibility and consideration. Chief Minister Howard Quayle says he is sad that 33 jobs are to be lost at Element Six - but insists this is no reflection on the islands performance. Element Six, whose island operation changed its name from Diamanx in 2002, is a member of the De Beers Group of Companies. The company is a global leader in the design, development and production of synthetic diamond supermaterials, and operates worldwide with manufacturing sites in China, Germany, Ireland, South Africa, US and the UK. Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels Australia will on Thursday release December figures for trade balance and building approvals, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The trade balance is expected to show a surplus of A$2.00 billion, up from A$1.234 billion in November. Building approvals are tipped to shed 1.8 percent on month and 11.1 percent on year after gaining 7.0 percent on month and falling 4.8 percent on year a month earlier. Japan will see January figures for consumer confidence and monetary base. In December, the confidence index had a score of 43.1, while the base spiked 23.1 percent on year. South Korea will provide January numbers for consumer prices; in December, overall CPI was up 0.1 percent on month and 1.3 percent on year, while core CPI fell 0.1 percent on month and added 1.2 percent on year. Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam will see January results for their respective manufacturing PMIs from Nikkei. In December, Malaysia's score was 47.1, while Taiwan was at 56.2 and Vietnam was at 52.4. Finally, the in China remain closed on Thursday for the Lunar New Year; they will reopen on Friday. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Voting along party lines, the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senator Jeff Sessions', R-Ala., nomination as Attorney General on Wednesday. The Republican-controlled committee voted 11 to 9 in favor of sending Sessions' nomination to the full Senate, where he is expected to be confirmed. Democrats used a procedural maneuver to delay the vote by a day amid anger over President Donald Trump firing acting Attorney General Sally Yates. Yates was fired Monday night after instructing Justice Department lawyers not to defend Trump's controversial ban on immigrants from some Muslim-majority nations. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee, said she has no confidence Sessions will show the same level of independence as Yates. "Instead, he has been the fiercest, most dedicated, and most loyal promoter in Congress of the Trump agenda," Feinstein said during a hearing on Tuesday. Democrats have also raised concerns about Sessions' record on issues such as civil rights, women's , and voting rings. Meanwhile, Republicans have steadfastly defended their colleague, highlighting the Alabama Senator's years of public service. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, described Sessions as a man of integrity and a man of his word and said he will enforce the laws fully, fairly, and independently. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News Potentially imperiling her confirmation, two Republican Senators have announced they will oppose President Donald Trump's nomination of charter school advocate Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, both revealed Wednesday that they will vote against DeVos. Both Collins and Murkowski, who are seen as moderate Republicans, have expressed concerns about DeVos' support for school voucher programs. The announcements make Collins and Murkowski the first two Republicans to break with Trump on any of his Cabinet nominees. With no Democrats expected to vote for DeVos, the GOP cannot afford any more defections if she is to be confirmed. If the remaining 50 Senate Republicans support DeVos, Vice President Mike Pence would need to vote to break the potential 50-50 tie. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News MIAMI Her water tasted like rusty pennies; the pepperoni pizza like metallic cardboard. The more chemotherapy sessions Monica Faison-Finch got, the faster her taste buds gave out. Over time she became thinner and thinner as her appetite diminished. Everything that touched her tongue was tasteless. But then, a miracle happened. When I tried the miracle fruit before my meal, my life changed, said Faison-Finch, who was being treated for cervical cancer. It was like the first time I had tasted food in about five or six weeks. It was like I was having my first meal. Miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum), which grows on a small emerald tree, is a red berry native to Ghana. People have known for centuries that eating the tiny tropical fruit, the size of a large jelly bean, affects the way food tastes. Scientists say the fruit binds the taste receptors on the tongue. After eating just one berry, the flavors of the food a person eats within the next hour are greatly enhanced. Lemons taste like lemonade, strawberries as if they were on steroids. Homestead brothers Erik and Kris Tietig, owners of the Miracle Fruit Farm in Redland in South Dade, have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of miracle fruit to cancer patients at local hospitals, charity organizations and research universities since 1972. Over the decades, as the fruit became more popular, more people began to request it and the orders became too voluminous to handle. Thats when the brothers, who grew up on their parents farm, Pine Island Nursery, built a separate farm to cultivate, sell and donate the fruit in larger quantities. We are called and visited by people in one of the hardest times of their life, said Erik Tietig, 40. When were able to help them with the miracle fruit, mask that metallic sensation and actually enjoy a meal, its really a small victory. The fruit itself doesnt have much nutritional value. Its the unique glycoprotein called miraculin that conceals undesirable flavors and intensifies the natural flavors of the food. One of the most common complaints nowadays with our patients is the very strong, metallic taste that occurs in the mouth of the patients undergoing treatments, said Dr. Mike Cusnir, director of medicine at the Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami Beach. Cusnir said one of his patients introduced him to the fruit in his office. He said he was shocked that researchers were not doing much with the revelation that the fruit can improve taste, whichhas been such a common complaint of our patients for decades. After losing a family member to cancer a few years ago, the Tietigs were determined to help people battling the illness. They came face to face with the reality that patients often suffer extreme nausea and aversion to eating and as a result, struggle with unwanted weight loss. Miracle fruit is not a fad. It doesnt cure cancer or even help prevent cancer, Erik Tietig said. But what it does do is help alleviate terrible symptoms of chemotherapy in a very real and a very immediate way. Although the Tietig family had been donating miracle fruit from Pine Island Nursery since 1972, the Miracle Fruit Farm didnt come into existence until 2012. People knew we had it through word of mouth, but over the years, we went from people calling in a dozen times a year to dozens every day, Erik Tietig said. The farm sits in Redland, Miami-Dade Countys agricultural district. The Tietigs asked that the exact location not be disclosed. The family farm grows, packs and ships the fruit four days a week for both retail and wholesale customers. Right now, the farm has about 7,000 trees, which live in a shade house. In January, another 7,000 miracle fruit trees will be planted. The berries, which are in season year-round, are sold for 50 cents to $1 each. The majority of the farms production gets donated. The fruit is available for purchase because its the farms primary source of business and income, Erik Tietig said. However, he said the farm consistently donates the fruit to local hospitals, cancer centers and universities. This year, recipients included the University of Florida, Miami Cancer Institute and the Soroptimist of Homestead, an international organization that aids women and girls in need. A few local hospital systems have received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fruit for their patients. The objective of cancer care is to add life to the years more than years to the life, Cusnir said. Anything we can do to keep the quality of life to the patient, so that we can keep the patient on the treatment by itself, its going to be beneficial, and it becomes a win-win situation. But it hasnt been that easy. Because the fruit is difficult to harvest, it took the brothers years to discover how to produce the fruit in large quantities The fruit itself goes bad anywhere from one to three days after being picked off the tree. Most farmers had shunned the berry, because it has no commercial viability and is highly perishable. Consequently, patients were having a tough time finding it, Erik Tietig said. You dont realize how important a meal is until that satisfaction is taken away from you. And the miracle fruit has the ability to restore that. We were determined. Adamant that they would make it possible, the brothers invested their own money and built the miracle fruit farm themselves. After years of research and trial and error, the brothers found a way to get the plant to mature quicker, a process they are keeping secret. We learned that we can grow them from cuttings, Tietig said. We developed ways to clone them without altering its DNA and then grow them in a controlled environment. In the last six months, the brothers even rolled out miracle fruit tablets, designed to have a longer shelf life than the fruit. Their success in bringing the fruit to South Florida has broken barriers. Cancer patients swear by the fruit, saying it has brought new life during their toughest times. Faison-Finch was able to tolerate the smell of food again; her husband didnt have to cook outside. Lynne Guadamuz of Homestead said she was able to drink water and get the nutrients she needed. Carol Sheppo of Vero Beach said spaghetti and meatballs tasted like they were supposed to taste like spaghetti and meatballs. It just opened up the whole flavor of food again, and life, Sheppo said. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Still Standing: Four the Moments legacy honoured at Nova Scotia Music Week When a quartet of Halifax women began singing together a cappella in the name of social justice in 1982, there was little in the way of a music industry at play in Atlantic Canada. And even if there had been, its likely that Four the Moment would ... By SA Commercial Prop News A new R1 billion mixed-use development in Cape Town CBD gets green light despite facing objections. Cape Town CBD File photo. A new R1 billion mixed-use development in Cape Town CBD has been given the go-ahead despite facing objections. Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, last week gave the final approval for the development of a R1 billion, multi-use development in the CBD between Riebeeck Square on Buitengracht Street and the historic Bo-Kaap neighbourhood. The development is set to provide 4 000m of retail space, lifestyle activities and 250 residential apartments. The building currently on the site houses a car dealership. ALSO READ: Cape Town's formula for success The proposed development has since the onset been met with fierce opposition from the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association. Osman Shaboodien, chair of the association, said that there has been a long battle to try and make the development more acceptable to the residents of the Bo-Kaap. He certainly is not happy with the approval of the development by De Lille and claims it is only welcomed by developers and the City Council. ALSO READ: Port Elizabeths inner-city renewal on track The building will have a major impact on the day to day living of the residents in Bo-Kaap. It will impact traffic, retail, offices and privacy not to mention the environment, blocking sunlight, creating shadows and blocking our beautiful mountain view, said Shaboodien. The developer of the property, Jose Rodrigues, said that the development will target a Green Star rating by incorporating environmentally sensitive development and modern energy efficient technology. Construction could start in June or July this year. During the two year construction phase he expects up to 500 direct and indirect jobs to be created. Rodrigues emphasised that the development will be fully aligned to the objectives of the City of Cape Towns new spatial planning legislation and will help meet the residential demand of the CBDs growing population. ALSO READ: Nedbank backs Umhlanga's new mixed-use development with R1bn Regarding a petition by Bo-Kaap residents opposing the development, Rodrigues said there was a normal public participation process with the window for comments even extended to 90 days instead of the required 30 days. He said he has met with representatives of the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association and explained to them that it would not be viable to start a redesign from scratch. The City of Cape Town predicts that Cape Town will require an additional 500 000 new residential units by 2032, which equates to nearly 32 000 new units per year. With over R8bn worth of construction already earmarked for the city centre over the next four years, Cape Town is well ahead of other South African metros in terms of infrastructure, business growth and its ability to attract investment Nine members of a family were killed on Wednesday when a speeding truck rammed into a sport utility vehicle in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, police said. The victims hail from Jamuniyamau village of Faizabad district. They were returning after offering prayers at a shrine in Bahraich. More than 20 people were injured in the accident and rushed to medical facilities where the condition of four was said to be critical. Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Christians to stand by their faith and believe in resurrection and eternal life, admitting that we all fear death. "We are all a bit afraid of dying," Francis told pilgrims gathered at the Vatican for his weekly general audience. "Before the mystery of death, and the loss of our loved ones, we Christians are challenged to hope more firmly in the Lord's promise of eternal life," Francis said. The first Christian communities also "had some difficulty" with death, Francis said, citing the "still relevant" teaching of Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Thessalonians. Francis noted how Saint Paul told the early Christian community to believe in the afterlife and to "wear its faith like a helmet". $1000+ Reward Offered in Merrilee Cooley Homicide Cooley's car was found at the Miramonte Lodge Apartments on SE McLoughlin. Merrilee Cooley was a missing person until her body was discovered in the trunk of her car. Help solve this murder: Call 503-823-HELP (4357) (PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers of Oregon, is asking for the public's help to solve the homicide of Merrilee Cooley. 68-year-old Merrilee Bonnie Cooley of Johnson City was last seen by her family on December 26, 2016. Two days later she was reported missing to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. On January 5, 2017, the Milwaukie Police Department located Cooley's car, a black 2010 Kia Optima, in the parking lot of the Miramonte Lodge Apartments on Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard. In the trunk officers discovered the body of Merrilee Cooley. The Oregon State Medical Examiner determined that Cooley died of homicidal violence. There is no suspect information at this time. Crime Stoppers of Oregon offers cash rewards for information, reported to Crime Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in any unsolved felony crime and tipsters can remain anonymous. Information about any unsolved felony crime is eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000. Information about any unsolved homicide is eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,500. Information learned from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube should be shared as these tips may lead to the identification of a suspect or suspects. Links can be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers. Submit an anonymous tip: Text CRIMES (274637) - Type 823HELP, followed by the tip. Online at http://crimestoppersoforegon.com/submit_online_tip.php Call 503-823-HELP (4357) Visit www.tipsoft.com to download the TipSubmit app for the iPhone or Droid. _________________________________________ Here are the felony arrests reported in the Helena area during the month of January. Defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Salina Central holds off Great Bend 40-35 Kenyon McMillan and Gunnar Gross each rushed for more than 200 yards in Salina Central's 40-35 playoff victory over Great Bend. Digiciel Samoa Ltd presented a $1million tala dividend to local shareholders yesterday. The presentation was made by the Chairman of Digicel in Samoa, Pepe Christian Fruean, to the Chief Executive Officer of the Samoa National Provident Fund, Faumuina Esther Lameko-Poutoa, at the S.N.P.F. Boardroom. Pepe said this is an exciting time for the bigger and better network. Since 2012, weve paid back our local shareholders $8.6 million, he said. The board of Digicel is very pleased to make such payments because at the end of the day its our customers, our local partners that allow us to create the business that we are and to offer the services we do and receive the success." Its appropriate thereby to return some of this to our shareholders. Its a day of celebration and a day of thanks, we thank our customers and shareholders for their faith and support. Digicel Samoa is owned by the Digicel Group but twenty per cent of the company is owned by a local company called C.S.L. Mobile. The majority shareholders of C.S.L Mobile are the Samoa National Provident Fund (S.N.P.F.), Samoa Life Assurance and C.S.L. The Chief Executive Officer of S.N.P.F. Faumuina congratulated Digicel on behalf of the local shareholders. On behalf of the local shareholders which include Samoa National Provident Fund, Samoa Life and C.S.L. we would like to say thank you to the Chairman of the Digicel Board for declaring the dividend of 1 million to us the local shareholders, she said. I think the partnership between Digicel and the local shareholders has been very successful over the last few years. Over the last few years weve seen technological innovation as well as world class services delivered by Digicel to the people of Samoa. As a result of that partnership, we at N.P.F. are the direct beneficiaries of it. Were very thankful to receive this gift and hope that the company will continue to prosper and continue to grow in the next year. Digicels C.E.O., Milos Surhl, handed over the cheque. Digicel Samoa has had a very long and fruitful relationship with local shareholders dating back 10 years. The facilities at Vaimea Primary School will soon undergo a facelift. This is thanks to a US$98,000 (T$225,000) grant assistance from Japan signed over by Japans Ambassador to Samoa, Tuimaugaoalii Kazumasa Shibuta, yesterday. The President of the Vaimea Primary School Committee, Lefau Waikaremoana Soonalole, signed on behalf of the school. The grant is part of an initiative by the Japanese government called Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (G.G.P.), which will assist in the reconstruction of the oldest section of the current school building complex. I am very pleased to sign today for the grant and support your school, he said. As you know the Japanese government already supports the community and weve already rebuilt over a hundred primary schools." Education is very important, I would like to ask you to manage this finance properly and supervise the construction company to build transparently and with high discourse." Tuimaugaoalii reaffirmed Japans commitment to the continuation of its support for projects within communities at the grassroots level through its grant assistance. Japan is very keen to continue to provide support to development projects at the grassroots level through its G.G.P., he said. The implementation of these projects contributes to strengthening the friendship ties of two nations, Japan and Samoa as well as supporting the S.D.S. 2017-2020 strategic key outcomes of improving education standards and access to education. Japans well known project scheme, Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) has helped fund mainly human security and other development projects within communities. The most popular project to receive this grant assistance is public schools. Since its inception in 1991, many of the public schools across Samoa have benefitted in having secured comfortable school buildings. President of Vaimea Primary School, Lefau Waikaremoana Soonalole is grateful. This is a great day for Vaimea Primary School and a day weve been waiting for, he said. On behalf of all the committee and all the students of Vaimea, we would like to express our gratitude to the government of Japan. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. This verse from Psalms 23 guided a special service for the Samoa Victims Support Group held at the Catholic Cathedral on Sunday. Reverend Utufua Naseri, who conducted the service, said the verse is the guiding principle of S.V.S.Gs work for 2017, it sets sail with the God of Miracles. Father Falaniko Matulino, the Head of the Apia Vicariate of the Catholic Church welcomed the Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, the Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, members of cabinet and hundreds of leaders from churches, villages, government ministries, partners and friends of S.V.S.G. who came together in prayer. Church leaders from different denominations took part during the service. Among them was Reverend Taumafai Komiti of the Methodist Church Matafele; Associate Pastor Faamatuainu Amosa Pouoa of the Apia Harvest Centre and Reverend Dr. Mosese Mailo, Principal of the Piula Theological College. The bible readings were provided by Pastor Sauileola Timo of the Seventh Day Adventist Afega and President Pulotu Lyndon Chu Ling of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints Malie Stake. The beautiful hymns were sung by choirs from the Catholic Church Luatuanuu, CCCS Church Toamua, Methodist Church Matafele and the S.V.S.G. Village Representatives who travelled all the way from Falealili. And the big island of Savaii did not want to be missed out on the Thanksgiving Service. Elderly and S.V.S.G. village representatives from Savaii travelled on the last ferry to take attend the service. And through Rev. Utufua Naseris sermon, S.V.S.Gs family was reminded that in their journey, they will encounter difficulties and challenges, but only through the divine intervention of the God of Miracles, they we be able to endure and continue. He reminded S.V.S.G. and its family of supporters to take guidance from the Psalm of David as it speaks honestly about the reality of life; that there will be green pastures associated with good days, then still waters, mountains, the obstacles that we have to overcome, then hatred and rejection associated with the valley of the shadow of death. Patron Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau together with the Chair of the Board, Georgina Lui acknowledged the coming together of the S.V.S.G. Family in prayer. The truth is easy enough to see. We live in a world thats getting smaller and smaller by the day. Even on these remote shores, accessibility to everything and anything has never been easier. Things that used to take months and years to get done are now only taking a couple of days in some cases a couple of seconds. A trip around the world, which would usually take several weeks, can now be reduced to a few days thanks to the availability of super fast jumbo jets and the like. In terms of communication, the availability of the Internet has literally transformed the world into one global village. Samoa today is very much part of that technological village thanks to the governments ongoing efforts to keep us abreast with the rest of the developing world. Nowadays at the touch of a button, you can see the other side of the world; you can now send information within milliseconds. We can now speak face-to-face through video chat programmes to our friends and families anywhere. Whats more, we can meet people from any corner of the world, virtually, and exchange new thoughts on issues of the day. Once upon a time, one had to access a computer and a secured landline to be able to enjoy these services. At another point in time, we all remember the phone booths in Apia where the queue of people can hear you asking a relative in New Zealand for some money. Those were tough times. Not anymore. Mobile phone developments and wireless technology is changing the world in much bigger ways. Consider the rural areas of Samoa that previously didnt have access to phones and internet services. With the arrival of Digicel, Bluesky and the introduction of Internet on mobile phones, now anyone with access to a cellphone signal can get lightning fast speed. Just about everyone nowadays has a mobile phone. Some people believe it or not have two or three depending on which girlfriend is calling on which phone. The availability of these technological advances have brought many wonderful benefits. It means students can easily research information, parents can keep in touch with their friends and small businesses can be competitive in a global market place. The things that were quite impossible many years ago have become a breeze. Whats scary is that technology keeps evolving. It gets better and better. There is a new gadget thats being introduced to the world on a daily basis, which changes the way we do things. If you closely observe how the world is at the moment, its like it is being compressed to a one-size fits all package. And as impossible as it may seem, weve seen how far the world has developed to this day that nothing is impossible. But with every good development, there are always negative sides. And when it comes to the threat of cyber crimes, it is one of the least discussed topic with people becoming so caught up in the hype of technology. This is why the launch of a Cyber Security Strategy for 2016-2021 by the government yesterday is important. Everyone needs to know they are protected. The Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupai, is well aware of the dangers. Every day, you get a spam email on your computer, he said. And every hour of the day, there is a virus attached to your computer system. And millions of credit cards have been stolen. We are not immune to cyber attack ladies and gentlemen. We can be attacked by anyone from anywhere around the world at anytime. We couldnt agree more. We believe as well as encouraging the use of wonderful internet technology, our people should also be educated about this danger. Because no one is immune. And the Minister makes a very good point. While we work hard to do a productive and competitive economy, our efforts are equally matched by criminals with hostile motivations, he said. So if we are to take full advantage of new technology to drive economic growth, we need to fully understand the risks. Afamasaga said the launch of the Samoa National Cyber Security strategy means the government is placing cyber safety first. Its a positive move to enable businesses and individuals to share ideas and information, and continue to innovate online with confidence and trust, he said. Its a working manual that will demonstrate to the world, that we are open for business and that you can safely operate business in our country. Finally, he reminded everyone that the government cannot do at it alone and that many hands make light work. These cyber attacks require a comprehensive and a cooperative response, between government, private sector, and individuals. We all need to play a part by fostering understanding of cyber security issues and promoting good practice so that is a big part of this strategy. I challenge all of you today, and your patriotism, that after you study our plan, and think you can help, please volunteer. I challenge the government agencies and the communication sector to not let this booklet be a dust collector on your shelves or a decorator for your desk. Its a working manual and let us develop the actions and follow. And let us all fight against cyber crime. Let us secure our cyber space for a thriving economy for our country. Well done, Minister Afamasaga! Now lets put those words into action and turn that book into something meaningful to protect us all. Have a fabulous Thursday Samoa, God bless! Dear Editor, Re: Corruption stops justice Ill be very interested to find out what sort of cash flow or income the country is generating from that foreign investment company (forgot the name) weve just set up, and if theres any income from it, is it gonna to be made public. Maybe thats what Liuga was referring to excess budget. The companys transactions is based on secrecy so Im wondering how much of the dealings in the company is on record and how much is kept secret, because it can easily be a cash flow business set up by the P.M. and a select few individuals for their own amusement under the guise of a legitimate government operation. Profits for the book, and the rest for themselves. I started on an article about Commissioner Fuiava and my theory on how its gonna pan out last night, which is quite relevant to the current friction between the Judiciary and the executive. Id decided to erase it as I didnt wanna be putting thoughts into the corrupt agenda which has already been colluded between the executive and parliament, which is the representative of the people. Lets say the Judiciary as professionals, trained for the honour of their duties, and hopefully is not swayed in to this re-engineering of the laws by the executive to own a country. As such, we dont have a country; we are subjects of a man that owns a country. Government Ministers are not part of the machinery of government. They are employees of the man that owns the country. This was clearly displayed by the inability of the two senior Ministers to take control of the situation in the current Police Commissioners dispute or claims of corruption in the force and have to wait till the P.M. is in the country. Any decisions without his authority is subject to isolation. We know thats true as in the case of a rising star in our politics that was the D.P.M. only to be swept outside as discarded garbage on simple inclination that he will soon challenge the Alpha male for leadership of the pack. One look at the lineup of Ministers when they were first announced and youll notice the same trend as weve seen with all the government C.E.Os. They are all yes men. Ministers that were put in there to occupy a seat to give the illusion of a functioning government. They once in a while give a public position to be relevant like the Minister of Education and the Minister of Technology and then back to the usual 4WD and govt functions to parade their wives and their positions as a reward and then back in the hush, hush box. The two or three Ministers appointments that were either odd or obvious was first Papalii Niko Lee Hang. His appointment I believe was a cleanup job from the Liugas mess. It was better to hush, hush the claims of corruption than to have Papalii as an enemy of system so he was offered a portfolio. Leao Tuitama is quite obviously a balancing act. Not a statesman by any means but to counter the inexperience of the choirboys in other areas. Then Fiame Naomi. This is the politics of name rather then ability. Perhaps loyalty at the most. No statesman by any means of the word. The point is; our crime fighting Police Commissioner will probably be written off after his contract is over as the ghost letters pointed out as the most logic means of ridding him. Hes too honest for the regime to continue. The Judiciary will have an uphill battle with the executive in that they cannot contest the new laws of re-engineering other then administered it. They will either be lavished with perks from the executive to buy their loyalty or their appointments to the bench be politicized ie, new young Judges that are easily bought appointed to the bench that are just choirboys for the P.M. I want to repeat what Putin said to the western media not so recent, how can we not see this? Steve R. Carroll College President Tom Evans signed a letter Monday by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities opposing President Donald Trumps executive order on U.S. immigration. Evans was in Washington, D.C., for the ACCU annual meeting, when the letter was unanimously approved by all the ACCU presidents present, said Evans. More than 80 Catholic colleges and universities signed the letter so far, and more have been adding their names daily, he said. We stand in solidarity with other Catholic and higher education organizations that recognize the moral obligation of our country to assist migrants, particularly those who are fleeing any kind of persecution, the ACCU letter states. Although Carroll does not currently have any foreign students from the seven countries affected by the ban, it stands "in solidarity with other Catholic and higher education organizations, Evans wrote in a letter Tuesday morning informing the Carroll Campus Community of Carrolls stance (see text of Evans letter in sidebar). The ACCU letter aligns with Carrolls mission, Evans said. Its who we really are as an institution. In his letter to the Campus Community, Evans wrote: We are resolute in our mission that Carroll College rededicates its spiritual, academic, and social resources to the service of the citizens of Montana, its home, and to the worldwide human family through continuing efforts to guarantee to individuals, to groups, and especially to the marginalized the right to life, to personal and social dignity, and to equality of opportunity in all aspects of human activity.' Prior to signing the ACCU letter, Evans consulted with Carrolls chancellor, Bishop Thomas, and the board chair, Dannette Sullivan. This current ACCU letter ties back to Carrolls origins, Evans said. Most Catholic colleges and universities in the United States were founded to be a place where immigrants, particularly in our case Irish Catholic immigrants, could be educated when they couldnt be educated and were not welcome at other institutions in this country. Its very much in keeping with our early purpose ... in being supportive of immigrants looking for a better life. Were not looking for a political fight, Evans said, but really looking for a way to show and lend our support to voices out there at other Catholic colleges and institutions. It is also an action of solidarity with statements by Pope Francis and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Evans has heard an outpouring of support from the Carroll College community in response to signing the ACCU letter. The community includes faculty, staff, employees, students and the board of trustees. The ACCU letter quotes Bishop Joe S. Vasquez, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration: "We believe that now more than ever, welcoming newcomers and refugees is an act of love and hope. We will work vigorously to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed in collaboration with Catholic Charities, without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans, and to ensure that families may be reunified with their loved ones." When asked about outcomes, Evans replied, Im hopeful that the show of support from so many presidents of Catholic colleges and universities can show we are affirming and recognizing our missions ... and staying true to who we are as welcoming of those seeking an education and seeking a better life. Evans has only signed one other ACCU letter, he said. This is only the second occasion that has come about. In December, Carroll signed an ACCU letter regarding DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, which supports undocumented students having the opportunity to pursue their education. This academic year Carroll has 26 international students from 20 countries, including: Bulgaria, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Guatemala, Japan, Jamaica, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. The only other institution of higher education in Helena, Helena College, has no students from the seven countries impacted by the executive order, according to HC public information officer Barb McAlmond. The ACCU press release can be found at: www.accunet.org/files/Press_Media/2017-Executive-Order-Press-Release.pdf Small business owners at the Savalalo Flea market can expect a new mini-permanent market as their place of work in the next six months. This was confirmed by the Minister of Public Enterprises, Lautafi Fio Purcell. Since the Savalalo market was destroyed by fire a year ago, the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C.) has provided a temporary market for the vendors to sell their products. Back then, each vendor was provided with $1,000. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said the tents are only a permanent solution. But this was a year ago. Today, the tents are a source of headaches. The place does not really keep the rain out but it definitely keeps the heat in. Asked for a comment, Lautafi said the main reason for the delay is due to the Apia Waterfront project. As you are aware, the government will start working on the Apia Waterfront Project soon, said Lautafi. And so we dont want to come up with a plan now as they (vendors) might be asked to relocate again. Lautafi said the Cabinet has already approved a plan to build semi-permanent shelters for the vendors. We will build shelters that are more secure and safe for the vendors and the small businesses. We are aware that the tents they are using now are not safe for them as the tents they are using now are starting to leak when its raining. But we have been discussing with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment about their plans on the Apia Waterfront Project, as they are the ones spearheading the project, so that we can make a move and work on building new shelters for the vendors. We dont want to build permanent shelters and then end up having to move again, that will only waste money. But we are looking at a way in which we can make this work easily without having to move a lot and waste money. Lautafi went on to say that he also feels for the tenants and business owners. To me, I feel for the people using the market and selling their products there. So to tell you the truth, we need to do something as soon as possible. Right now we are negotiating so that everything falls into place so that one plan wont affect the other. So probably in the next six months, we will be able to do something about it. Many vendors expressed frustrations about the delay. But they have no choice but put up with the struggles because their families livelihoods depend on the money they make from there. Vendor Fuimaono Malae from the village of Aleisa said they have been struggling to earn money since the fire. The tents are bad for business when the weather is bad. When it rains, the water comes into the stalls and when its windy, our products collect all the dust from the road. Its really hard to earn money, especially when its raining. Sometimes, I dont hang up the clothes to sell because its raining all throughout the week. The sad thing about it is that, for most of us, our families are depending on this for money. But there are days where we dont earn a single cent because of bad weather. Another tenant shared the same feeling. Fia Aliitasi from the village of Vaitele Fou said sales have been really slow. Its been a tough year for us since the old flea market was burnt. You know most of us have been doing this ever since we were young and most of our families are depending on us to provide money for them. But its hard because of the condition of the market that we are using now. I think something should be done as soon as possible so that we dont have to keep using these tents. You know I dont hang up my clothes to sell most of the time because of the rain. It would be a waste of time if I put it up because the clothes will get wet. I am not happy with the place we are using right now. I know it is only temporary but I am still unhappy with it, our sales dropped and we hardly have any customers nowadays. The government of Samoa celebrated a milestone yesterday. It was the launch of a Cyber Security Strategy for 2016-2021, which aims to ensure private information for Samoan citizens are not only protected but the privacy of Samoans remain private and confidential. Held at the Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi (T.A.T.T.E.) Building, the occasion was attended by government officials and special guests. Chief Justice, his Honor Patu Tiavaasue Falefatu Sapolu was present. Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupai, highlighted the importance of cyber security for all citizens of Samoa. Our location and isolation from the big part of the world has helped keep us safe, from traditional forms of attack, our borders are well covered and well protected from the importation of guns and other weapons, he said. But every day, you get a spam email on your computer. And every hour of the day, there is a virus attached to your computer system. And millions of credit cards have been stolen. We are not immune to cyber attack ladies and gentlemen. We can be attacked from anyone from anywhere around the world at anytime. Afamasaga said the government is looking at capitalising on technology to grow the economy and investing in sub-marine cables is a major part of this. For instance, the Tui-Samoa Submarine Cable is a big part of this. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Next year, we also hope to launch the Pacific Cable project. Our aim is for Samoa to be the hub of the Pacific in communication by 2020, he said. All that will improve our efficiency and increase our capacity to be better and effectively communicate without cyber work. Internet will no longer be a luxurious reserve for only a few but it will be for any Samoa to easily access information. However, while we work hard to do a productive and competitive economy, our efforts are equally matched by criminals with hostile motivation. So if we are to take full advantage of new technology to drive economic growth, we need to fully understand the risk. Afamasaga said the launch of the Samoa National Cyber Security strategy means the government is now prioritising the safety of Samoans. It is an initiative to ensure that your information is safely guarded and that your privacy and security is top priority of the government, he said. Its a positive move to enable businesses and individuals to share ideas and information, and continue to innovate online with confidence and trust. According to Afamasaga, this is also an open invitation to other countries to bring in their businesses to Samoa. Its a working manual that will demonstrate to the world, that we are open for business and that you can safely operate business in our country. Finally, he reminded everyone that the government cannot do at it alone and that many hands make light work. These cyber attacks require a comprehensive and a cooperative response, between government, private sector, and individuals. We all need to play a part by fostering understanding of cyber security issues and promoting good practice so that is a big part of this strategy. I challenge all of you today, and your patriotism, that after you study our plan, and think you can help, please volunteers. I challenge the government agencies and the communication sector to not let this booklet be a dust collector on your shelves or a decorator for your desk. Its a working manual and let us develop the actions and follows. And let us all fight against cyber crime. Let us secure our cyber space for a thriving economy for our country. The new Chief Executive Officer of the A.N.Z. Bank in Samoa, Bernie Poort, is excited about his new role. Weeks into his term as the man driving A.N.Z. Bank in Samoa, Mr. Poort is quietly optimistic about the prospects for growth not just for the bank but also for the nation. Mr. Poort though is no stranger to Samoa. He and his wife Susie were based in Samoa for four years when he was the Head of Commercial Banking. He took up the role of C.E.O. of A.N.Z. Tonga and now he is back. Firstly let me say it is fantastic to be back to Samoa and for both Susie and I it feels very much like home, he told the Samoa Observer. The opportunity came about through some long term planning by A.N.Z. Management to build continuity around our senior leadership in the Samoan business. Pleasingly, it extends well past me and we now have some really talented local A.N.Z. talent in overseas postings hopefully aspiring to return home one day also. Mr. Poort added he had thoroughly enjoyed his time in the Kingdom. Our business is blessed with some really talented people and the two years went very fast, he said. For one of Samoas closest neighbors its culturally very different, but has many of the same economic challenges as Samoa. One thing I will really miss is the amazing supply of fruit and vegetables best watermelons anywhere! Im delighted my new role sees me with some strategic oversight of our business in Tonga as well as the Cooks Islands. But growing and consolidating the A.N.Z.s business in Samoa is his focus for now. We will continue to play our role as Samoas largest bank, he said. We are the only truly international bank operating here with a commitment to the Pacific for over 135 years. I can tell everyone we are here to stay. We will continue our investment into digital banking channels and our work around financial literacy to the broader community. Our customers will remain the core focus of everything we do, every day. Internally one of my passions has always been Healthy Lifestyle as well as having a bit of fun, and I hope we can extend that out to our customers and the broader community. So what do you see as the challenges for growth in Samoa? There has been plenty of investment in both the Tourism and Agriculture Sectors of the economy some through aid, some private, said Mr. Poort. We need those sectors now to really take root and both face formidable challenges. For tourism its finding ways to attract new tourists to the market and increased airline passenger access. The time is now, Samoa is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and safest places in the world who wouldnt want to come and visit? The challenge is its not cheap to get here, or to stay, service and food are not always at a consistent world standard. We need to all work together to capture this opportunity that exists in the global tourism market today. Agriculture also has challenges what can we do well and what we can do in sustainable quantities to meet both export standards and demand. I still think there is considerable upside in focusing on trade with our neighbors. Having taken a sabbatical from Samoa, Mr. Poort notes that there has been a number of positive changes while he was away. Notably the new airport looks impressive when you arrive, he said. Its fantastic to see the Sheraton Aggie Greys Hotel open and we now have a first class luxury hotel in our tourism mix, Taumensina Island Resort another beautiful property, extension of the bypass road, Bluebird and Frankies both seem much bigger. Im sure there is plenty more. Things are more expensive and I have seen a bit on this topic in the press over the last week every one everywhere says the same thing Melbourne, Auckland, Nukualofa, Suva it is true of everywhere around the globe. The negatives would be that we lost some great people and good friends since I was last here, Tupua Fred Wetzell from the Foundation of Samoa (A.C.P), Margaret from S.B.E.C, Erna from S.I.F.A and sadly plenty more. Mr. Poort replaces Mathew Fisher who will be retiring from the bank at the end of the year after 33 years of service to A.N.Z., and four years in the role of C.E.O A.N.Z. Samoa. He has over 30 years of banking experience specializing in Corporate and Commercial relationship Banking. He holds a Degree in Banking and Finance from Monash University. He is joined by his wife Susie Poort and they have five children back in Australia. He is on a two year contract here in Samoa. San Diegans already know full well that foreigners are competing for their jobs. They dont need national politicians from Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders telling them to worry. Consider the recent blowback from layoff decisions of two prominent regional companies, Qualcomm and Southern California Edison. The layoffs highlighted a controversial corner of immigration policy occupied by H-1B visas, which allow companies to hire foreign workers for up to six years in specialty occupations such as software, engineering, biotech or even fashion modeling. Early this year, Edison began displacing about 500 information technology workers, about 100 voluntarily and 400 through layoffs. But their functions were outsourced to Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, two giant firms based in India. Commentary More columns about Business by Dan McSwain Before they left, some workers were compelled to train their replacements, and some of them were foreign nationals working in the U.S. The H-1B program was supposed to be for projects and jobs that American workers could not fill, one Edison worker told Computerworld, an IT news magazine. But were doing our job. Its not like they are bringing in these guys for new positions that nobody can fill. Not one of these jobs being filled by India was a job that an Edison employee wasnt already performing. California Inc. business newsletter Sign up for our business newsletter for the week's top business headlines from the editors of The San Diego Union-Tribune and the LA Times. Hits your inbox every Monday by 7 a.m. In response, 10 federal lawmakers asked the Department of Labor to investigate whether the H-1B program can be used to directly replace American workers. As of June, that probe was under way, according to Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Indirect replacement is no better, if youre the one losing a job. Last month, Qualcomm said it would cut roughly 15 percent of its global workforce, about 4,700 workers (it employs 15,000 in San Diego; 31,000 worldwide). Executives havent released any details, yet the news lit up social media. There are large, multistory apartment complexes in Kearny Mesa and Clairemont Mesa full of Qualcomm engineers from India, said Gail Anderson, a commentator on the Union-Tribunes digital editions. Id say send them all back. Hiring amid expansion Qualcomm, which dominates segments of the smartphone industry, has received about 2,900 H-1B visas since 2009, a period of rapid expansion. Although some are probably renewals of three-year visas federal agencies dont break out those numbers for individual companies the total works out to 19 percent of the 15,000 people the company hired over the last six years. Put another way, Anderson is correct, in theory: Qualcomm might reach its domestic layoff target simply by firing guest workers. However, business reality would seem to rule out the simple approach. As I mentioned, executives arent discussing layoff details. Still, it stands to reason that if H-1B workers were necessary to begin with, arbitrarily firing them would hurt the company. This would hurt the 26,000 or so Qualcomm employees who remain, not to mention shareholders and customers. Its a familiar argument. Big tech employers say they struggle to fill highly technical jobs with qualified Americans, so the program is essential to international competitiveness. And losing that competition just sends more jobs overseas. Tech workers in demand Led by Microsoft (which recently cut 7,800 jobs), theyve lobbied Congress to permit far more H-1B visas. Legislation caps tech visas at 85,000 a year, but exemptions for nurses, university researchers and others boost the true annual figure to 120,000 or so. For perspective, the U.S. has allowed roughly 1 million immigrants a year over the last decade to legally gain permanent residency. Meanwhile, illegal immigration has been almost nonexistent since 2007, although 11 million unauthorized immigrants still live in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center. The H-1B program for temporary workers is clearly popular with employers. Federal officials in April received a record 233,000 applications, or nearly four times this years tech slots. Criticism of the program comes from two directions: Many H-1B workers dont become U.S. citizens, so hiring them ultimately transfers skills to foreign competitors. Some pay lower wages Meanwhile, they tend to depress wages. Regulations call for equivalent pay, but employers often use loopholes to pay at the low end of industry scales. Others sympathize with foreign workers, saying the program amounts to indenturement because the visas belong to employers. Workers who lose jobs generally must leave the country. Such leverage adds potential for abuse. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has said that, although some foreign workers are needed, the H-1B and other guest worker programs help business owners with cheap labor at the expense of workers. What right-wing people in this country would love is an open-border policy, Sanders said last month. In broad terms, this view is shared by Donald Trump, the Republican contender who last week issued a policy paper advocating a temporary halt to all immigration. On H-1B visas, Trump favors boosting the prevailing wage for foreign workers until employers find it more efficient to hire Americans. He said Republican rival Sen. Marco Rubios bid to triple the number of such visas would decimate women and minorities. H-1B joins campaign Rubio, along with Jeb Bush and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, have called for comprehensive reforms that would provide paths to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. Yet Sanders and Trump, who are drawing crowds and rising in polls, seem to be driving the immigration debate. In his policy paper, Trump also cited academic research suggesting that U.S. schools are graduating plenty of citizens with degrees in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), but they are having trouble finding jobs. In other words, the ballyhooed STEM shortage is a myth. Other studies argue the opposite. And rising wages for software engineers suggest tight supply. Some economists say most Americans would be better off without H-1B visas if Congress reformed immigration policy to offer residency and eventual citizenship for sharply higher numbers of people, putting skilled workers first in line. More workers, higher GDP The Congressional Budget Office reckoned the overhaul that passed the Senate in 2013 (but failed in the House) would have allowed 10 million more immigrants over the next decade beyond that allowed by existing law, boosting the level of gross domestic product by 3.3 percent. Canada famously uses a point system that favors people with job offers and advanced degrees. The U.S. sticks to favoring family reunification, and doesnt focus on skills. In San Diego, the issue is far from academic. Recent immigrants long ago came to dominate low-wage jobs in hospitality, farming and landscaping. Then they moved into middle-wage jobs in construction and manufacturing. Now natives increasingly encounter competition from young, hungry recent graduates in professional and technical services, a sector that has added a net 24,300 jobs since 2009 in San Diego County. And Qualcomm is far from the only local employer using H-1B visas. The list ranges from biotech giant Illumina to Accelrys, a software firm. Just as certainly, talented foreigners have played key roles in powering economic and technical achievement in San Diego. Focus on innovation At Achates Power, a startup that has invented a dramatically cleaner and more-efficient diesel engine, 10 percent of its 50 workers used H-1B visas and about one-third were born abroad, the Union-Tribune reported in 2013. Its easy to see why Congress is reluctant to discourage such innovation on U.S. soil. With the American economy gaining strength as the rest of the world slumps, global competition will only grow in ferocity. Regardless of where talk of national reform ends up, the emotional power of the immigration issue seems unlikely to diminish. For decades, workers have watched jobs disappear to foreign competitors inside and outside the U.S. And for years, pundits and politicians said boosting skills offered a path to job security. Reality is more complex. Competition has arrived at the highest skill levels. Increasingly, workers face the following stark choices: Settle for less money, or work harder and more skillfully than the guy coming for your job or both. Or you can wait for politicians to limit trade and immigration in ways that protect more jobs than they destroy. Given the dismal history of such measures, that could be a long wait. Note: I've updated this column to make it clear the CBO estimated the Senate bill would have allowed permanent residency for 10 million more legal immigrants (potentially doubling new green card recipients) over the next decade. That's in addition to those permitted under current law, which varies from 10 million to 13 million in official estimates. One-third of San Diego Countys working-age households dont earn enough money to make ends meet, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Center on Policy Initiatives. This means that over a million people in San Diego are living in economic insecurity, are living on the edge, and are worried about their next meal, said Peter Brownell, research director for the institute, a nonprofit economic and social justice analysis and advocacy group. The numbers are better than they were in 2014, the last time the institute issued a similar report. Then, about 38 percent of San Diego families were below the self-sufficiency standard. Advertisement Brownell said the improvement is due largely to more people finding jobs, not wage increases or a drop in the cost of living. The percentage of households below the poverty marker where at least one person is working full time has stayed roughly the same, at about 25 percent. The report measures the bare bones cost of living housing, food, transportation, health care, child care and taxes to see what it takes for households to get by without public or private assistance. For a single adult living alone, that annual income is $27,942, or $13.23 per hour for a full-time worker. For a family with two adults, one preschooler and one infant, its $88,616. All told, 269,068 households in the county headed by people under the age of 65 have incomes too low to cover basic expenses, according to the report. By household type, about 23 percent of those without children and 48 percent of those with children are below the making-ends-meet line. By race and ethnicity, 23 percent of white households are in the group; 26 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander; 43 percent of black; and 52 percent of Latino. The report also highlights a difference between households headed by single fathers and those run by single mothers. For the men, 53 percent cant cover their basic expenses, compared to 69 percent of the women. The discrepancy, the report says, is because women earn 74 cents for every dollar men make at jobs throughout the county. Brownell said the center uses the self-sufficiency standard, developed at the University of Washington, instead of the federal poverty rate because the latter is a one size fits all measurement that doesnt accurately reflect the cost of living in San Diego. For a single person without children, anyone making more than about $12,400 per year is considered above the federal poverty line. For two adults living with one preschooler and one infant, the threshold is $24,036. According to the federal figures, 13.8 percent of the countys households are living in poverty. As the dominance of digital devices collides with our accident-prone tendencies, the result is a $4-billion-per-year cell phone repair market primed for a tech-industry takeover. Leading that charge is San Diego startup CellSavers, which is celebrating two years in business, having ramped up operations to 20 full-time staffers working at its local office, plus another 20 spread across its offices in San Francisco and Israel. Advertisement Started at the beginning of 2015, the startup, backed by $18 million in venture financing, dispatches a device technician to a customers locale, on demand, to repair a cracked phone screen or fix any number of other defects. And the whole process should take 60 minutes or less. We started CellSavers because we believe the local service repair industry is broken, said Itai Hirsch, co-founder and president. We wanted to create ... the fastest, safest, easiest way to get our devices repaired. Today, the local company operates its come-to-you, device-repair service in 22 markets around the country. It currently sees the highest demand in its most-established metros, which include San Diego, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Chance House, a CellSavers technician, fixes a damaged iPhone at the San Diego Union-Tribune headquarters. (Lara Hochuli/San Diego Union-Tribune) Since launch, CellSavers says it has repaired nearly 80,000 devices across the U.S. It hasnt done so alone. The company follows the gig-worker model popularized by Uber, where independent contractors in each market are matched with people in need. If theres a distinction from Uber, its that the startup says it only accepts less than 10 percent of workers who want to be on-demand technicians, or savers as theyre called in company parlance. Theyre also reportedly paid better than most gig-workers, making, on average, $30 and $60 per repair. Take Chance House of Spring Valley, who used to work for Sony, but now runs his own device-repair business. He now spends the bulk of his time fielding calls for CellSavers. The job, he said, pays pretty well and theres enough demand to keep him busy. In San Diego, the startup has around 70 technicians who can provide service anywhere in the county even at places like bars and sporting events, where phones are prone to being dropped. As far as devices go, CellSavers services iPhones, iPads, Samsung Galaxy devices and Googles Pixel phone. Prices vary based on model and damage, but tend to be reasonable when considering the convenience of on-demand service and an included warranty. For instance, a cracked screen on an iPhone 5 will cost $79 to replace, whereas an iPhone 6 will cost $99 to fix and an iPhone 7 will cost $239. Parts are generally more expensive for newer devices, Hirsch said. But, overall, CellSavers prices arent necessarily meant to be the lowest in town, he added. Were not in a competition over price, he said. Were offering a premium service. Our goal is to become an affordable solution for everybody. When were able to offer a lower price (than the Apple store) we do, and when we dont, we dont. We do not want to jeopardize our business. Beyond appealing to the common klutz, the company has convinced esteemed Silicon Valley firm Sequoia Capital, which led its seed round in 2015, that its on-demand repair business is a reliable one. Thats in part because the company claims to make a profit on every repair. And, already, CellSavers says its profitable in its earliest markets. Though it is also investing capital a.k.a. losing money elsewhere around the country to establish its business and stand out from mom-and-pop repair shops, which currently dominate the market. (The cell phone repair business) is very local in nature today, said Gili Raanan, the general partner at Sequoia in charge of the CellSavers investment. One of the challenges ahead of us is building a reputable brand with consumers that will be recognized nationwide. I believe we can achieve that. Perhaps the surest sign of that is the most obvious: Screen sizes are only getting bigger and people will always be prone to shattering them. Business jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin The Montana for Immigrants gathering scheduled for Friday in Helena has been relocated to the Downtown Walking Mall. The event will begin at noon on the first block of Last Chance Gulch near the trolley. We chose this space because historically it was the location of many of Helenas Chinese businesses, the Facebook page for the event says. We feel that this is an appropriate place to show our solidarity with immigrants and appreciation for Montanas immigrant heritage. Organizers say participants will peaceably assemble to express their opposition to President Donald Trumps executive order that banned citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days and stopped the admission of all refugees for 120 days. As of Tuesday evening, 152 people said they planned to attend. Protests that have cropped up around San Diego County over the past few weeks are drawing some unusual participants first-time demonstrators who suddenly feel motivated to make their voices heard. The activism fueled by the election of President Donald Trump and the controversial policies hes unveiled during his first few weeks in office has been a surprise to many, including the leaders of longtime political groups who once struggled to draw a handful of people to their meetings. Now its standing room only, they said. I have never seen anything like the numbers coming out, said Caroline Theiss-Aird, a Vista resident and vice-chair of North County Immigration Task Force, which organized a rally Sunday that drew 200 people. People who have never done anything before are coming out in droves. Advertisement Theiss-Aird called whats happening across the region and across the country an organic movement. (People) really feel under attack at a very basic level, Theiss-Aird said. And I dont think that is an exaggeration. If shes surprised, count that double for 73-year-old Jim Hamilton of Oceanside, who attended his first protest Tuesday outside the Vista office of Congressman Darrel Issa. That event drew more than 125 people, while a similar event in downtown San Diego outside the offices of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and newly elected Sen. Kamala Harris drew roughly 100. A third protest was held in El Cajon, outside the offices of Congressman Duncan Hunter. Related Resist Trump Tuesdays show up in downtown San Diego Hamilton said he and his wife are concerned about the direction the country is headed and felt compelled to see what they could do. All the news gets on your soul, Sharlene Hamilton said. I feel like Ive got to do something. Many of the protesters are taking their cues from Indivisible, a kind of blueprint for grassroots activism written by former Congressional staffers. The guide started out as a poorly formatted Google doc with typos, co-author Leah Greenberg said Tuesday. She and her husband posted it and sent it to friends, expecting that perhaps someone might find it of use at some point. Greenberg said they woke up the next morning to find it had gone viral. Weve been blown away by the immediate and spontaneous organizing, she said. Just the energy out there is unbelievable. One of the most common themes we have heard from people writing us is that they are not political people. Many say they have never called their senator about anything. San Marcos resident Kassie Panian, 52, marched in downtown San Diego as part of a push to start a national movement dubbed Resist Trump Tuesdays. She is new to activism. I have voted every election, but I never did this, she said, adding that she now plans to join an Indivisible group. By Tuesday, Indivisible had been downloaded about 1.3 million times more than double the 582,000 downloads it had been two weeks earlier. Just over the last week, the number of groups registered with the Indivisible site jumped from just shy of 4,000 to more than 5,300 an increase of more than 34 percent. The people signing up do not consider themselves political partisans, but are called to action by the times, Greenberg said. There are dozens of Indivisible groups in San Diego County, including the one founded by Ellen Montanari, which organized the rally outside of Issas office. Also new to activism, Montanari said she believes the Womens Marches around the country moved people from their social media accounts to the streets. That got people moving, and once they are moving, they dont stop, Montanari said. Issa spokesman Calvin Moore said the office encourages people to speak out and that they are happy to meet with anyone. He noted that Issa held a town hall by telephone on Monday that drew 6,000 callers. The protestors in Vista held signs that covered many issues healthcare, immigration were tops but the common theme was resistance to the actions and agenda of the new president. The protestors who gathered outside the Democratic offices in San Diego were focused on encouraging legislators to stick to their values and stand up to the president. What we want to tell them is that we not only expect them to say no to the Trump agenda, we expect them to lead the resistance to it, Kathy Stadler, a 43-year-old Clairemont resident, said of rallying outside the senators offices. who runs a few groups, including one registered with Indivisible. Membership of that group, she said, grew from 10 to 200 over the last week. After the rally in outside Issas office, Vista resident Shiloh Strawbridge one small child on her hip, another clutching her hand made her way to the front, to get more information about future events. I would rather not be an activist I have my hands full, the 38-year-old said, motioning to her kids, ages 2 and 4. I just came to say we need our healthcare. She said she and her husband have a small business, and the only way they can do that is because we dont have to get a corporate job to get healthcare. She called the loss of the Affordable Care Act terrifying. We are not political, we are not partisan, Strawbridge said standing in front of Issas Vista office. We just want our voice to be heard. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT Not every book has a happy ending. Not every bookstore, either. Thats been true for a while, and now add to the casualty list Fifth Avenue Books, a Hillcrest mainstay for 30 years, which is closing its doors at the end of February, putting three employees out of work. Owner Robert Schrader said his used bookstore, known for the size and variety of its inventory (40,000 titles), has been losing money for several years, most recently about $1,000 a week. While he had hoped the drought was temporary, he now sees it as inescapable: The traditional brick-and-mortar bookstore simply cant survive in the age of online book selling. Advertisement A similar story line played out all across America in the first decade of this century, as sales plummeted and stores closed. The Borders chain went out of business. Predictions were made that as more and more people flocked to e-readers, only about 5 percent of all sales by now would be printed books. But in the past five years theres been an interesting plot twist. Sales of e-readers have flattened and the number of stores nationwide has risen, at least as measured by membership in the American Booksellers Association. Bookstore sales through the first 11 months of 2016 were up 3.4 percent compared to the same period in 2015, to about $10.5 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Book sellers are carving out specialty niches and emphasizing author events, hand-picked selections for customers, the shop local movement, and other features not available with online merchants. The resurgence has prompted Amazon, the digital retailing giant often cited as the main cause of the bookstore decline, to open its own retail outlets in Seattle, Portland and San Diego, where theres a branch in University Town Center. Five more Amazon stores are coming soon to Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. So where some see an inevitable march toward bookstore oblivion, others see signs of hope. Which is why, in the same week Schrader was announcing the closure of Fifth Avenue Books, another used bookstore just a few miles away was marking a different milestone. Verbatim Books was celebrating its first anniversary. Changing nature of shopping Used bookstores are in some ways the unwanted stepchild of the publishing industry. The only one who makes any money when a used book is sold is the seller not the author, not the publishing house, not the printer. But the stores consume a significant slice of the book pie. In a September survey by the New York-based Codex Group, about 11 percent of 4,600 people who had purchased books in the previous month bought them used. That compared to 33 percent who bought (or received as gifts) new books, said Peter Hildick-Smith, president of Codex. Its always been a fairly busy little sub-economy, he said. And when the digital age disrupted the industry, used bookstores, with their lower prices, were better positioned to survive. Thats one reason San Diego, like many other cities, has more used stores than new ones. In just the area where Fifth Avenue Books is closing, there are several other used stores, including Bluestocking Books, which is right across the street; Verbatim, on 30th; Footnote Books and the Controversial Bookstore, on University Avenue; and Adams Avenue Book Store, in Normal Heights. There are no stores in that area specializing in new books, although West Grove Collective in South Park has a small selection. Upstart Crow, a fixture in Seaport Village for 35 years, closed at the end of December. But that doesnt mean online retailing hasnt affected used stores, too. The internet has changed the nature of shopping, said Kris Nelson, owner of Bluestocking Books since 1999. Its not just the small downtown shops that are feeling it. Now the malls are, too. Schrader said one of the reasons hes closing Fifth Avenue Books is because online buying has totally changed peoples perceptions of books. Theyre treated now just like plumbing parts, as items with bar codes, he said. More people used to value the experience of browsing in a bookstore and finding things they didnt know existed, Schrader said. We tell ourselves because of the internet we are exposed to more, but in practice we tend to have just the people who are our friends on Facebook, and we read things that share our viewpoints. Were limiting ourselves. Other owners, though, have found that the in-store experience is what people are craving. We want that sense of belonging to the neighborhood, said Jim Hall, who bought Point Loma Books last year and changed the name to La Playa Books a re-branding that emphasizes its bayfront-village ties. Halls daughter, Amy Hesselink, manages the store, which opened in late October and mostly sells used books. Indie bookstores these days are all about community, she said. My dad really believes in that, and in the tactile relationship that you can experience a book much better when you have it in your hands. 1 / 14 Justine Epstein, co-owner of Verbatim book store in North Park. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 14 Some of the book displays at Verbatim book store in North Park. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 14 Tall bookshelves across the floor in Verbatim book store in North Park. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 14 Some of the book displays at Verbatim book store in North Park. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 14 Customer Eduardo Moran purchases books about the comic book industry from Justine Epstein at Verbatim book store in North Park. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 14 Some of the book displays at Verbatim book store in North Park. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 14 The Verbatim book store gets a significant amount of walking traffic in the North Park neighborhood. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 14 Customers filed in and out of the Fifth Avenue Books store in Hillcrest to take advantage of the going out of business sale. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 14 At Fifth Avenue Books in Hillcrest, Jan Tonnesen, left, sold a book in spanish to Justin Hazeman, who is learning to read in spanish. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 14 The childrens books section at Fifth Avenue Books is full of the classic favorites. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 14 Customers filed in and out of the Fifth Avenue Books store in Hillcrest to take advantage of the going out of business sale. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 14 Customers filed in and out of the Fifth Avenue Books store in Hillcrest to take advantage of the going out of business sale. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 14 Customers filed in and out of the Fifth Avenue Books store in Hillcrest to take advantage of the going out of business sale. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 14 Customers filed in and out of the Fifth Avenue Books store in Hillcrest to take advantage of the going out of business sale. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) Niche marketing Specializing in particular genres has been a successful survival approach for stores that sell new books. Mysterious Galaxy in Clairemont calls itself a place for Books of Martians, Murder, Magic, Mayhem & More. Now some used bookstores are taking a similar approach. At Verbatim Books, theres a corner devoted to zines, handmade, limited production publications. There are a lot of local people making them now, and there really arent other places in North Park selling them, said Greg Theilmann, the stores co-owner. People come in because theyre a cool thing to check out. He and co-owner Justine Epstein, who used to work at Fifth Avenue Books, opened their store in January 2016 after noticing how much foot traffic there is along 30th Street, especially on weekends. We had a great first year here, Theilmann said. I think what it shows is that people value physical books as opposed to e-books, and they value a place where they can come and find them. How much longer that will be true is anybodys guess. Its a struggle to stay open, said Bluestocking Books owner Nelson, who turned to crowdfunding about a year ago to help her store with overdue bills and a computer upgrade. A big reason were still here is because of the loyalty and the kindness of our readers and our friends who answer the call. Hers is the third bookstore in its location, dating back to the 1960s. Keeping up with the changes of the digital age has meant offering books through the stores website and Amazons third-party program. But its clear where her heart is. The staff and I really treasure the tradition of books and the community coming in to share reading and the literature they love, Nelson said. Thats what we want to perpetuate. Books and bookstores help people find common ground about ideas and the things going on in the world. She paused. Sorry, thats some groovy book love there. But its why were crazy enough to keep doing what we do. Judge Neil M. Gorsuch was resting midway down a Colorado ski slope last year when his cellphone rang with the news that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had died. I immediately lost what breath I had left, Gorsuch recalled in an April speech, and I am not embarrassed to admit that I couldnt see the rest of the way down the mountain for the tears. Now, as President Trumps pick to replace Scalia on the high court, Gorsuch is seen by many on the right as a fitting replacement for the iconic jurist that Gorsuch considered a lion of the law. Advertisement Like Scalia, Gorsuch, 49, who serves on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, is a well-respected conservative who believes judges should decide cases based on the law as it was understood when passed, not on how they think it should be. Hes a clear, impassioned writer, albeit without Scalias flair for biting sarcasm. But Gorsuch also evokes the qualities of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch worked as a law clerk. (If confirmed, Gorsuch would join three justices who previously clerked on the high court, but he would be the first ever to serve alongside the justice he or she worked for.) Like Kennedy, 80, Gorsuch is a Westerner with a polite, congenial manner who at times has won praise from liberals. He may be more conservative than Kennedy when it comes to expanding individual rights, but he seems to lack Scalias fervor for overturning liberal precedents from decades past. Which way Gorsuch skews could be pivotal for the future of the court. Conservatives clearly hope hell be more like Scalia than Kennedy, a centrist swing vote who has often joined liberals on issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Some conservatives have even expressed hope that Gorsuchs personal history with Kennedy might enable him to draw the Reagan-appointee back toward the right. In his April speech, Gorsuch described Scalias approach to judging as his model. Perhaps the great project of Justice Scalias career was to remind us of the differences between judges and legislators, he said. Lawmakers may appeal to their own moral convictions and to claims of social utility to reshape laws for the future, he said. Judges should do none of these things in a democratic society. Judges should instead strive (if humanly and so imperfectly) to apply the law as it is, focusing backward, not forward, and looking to the text, structure and history to decide what a reasonable reader at the time of the events in question would have understood the law to be not to decide cases based on their own moral convictions or the policy consequences they believe might serve society best. His approach to judging won him admirers in conservative circles. He was among the 21 judges whom Trump cited during the campaign as potential Supreme Court nominees. And since the November election, a small team of White House lawyers has been reading the opinions of prominent conservative judges, and there, Gorsuch stood out. His opinions do not include Scalia-like jabs, but he carefully explains the law and how it should be understood. Neil Gorsuch is an impressive, wide-ranging legal intellectual and the one of most respected originalists of his generation, said Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. His opinions show a commitment to the history and text of the Constitution, regardless of where the results lead. Former 10th Circuit Chief Judge Robert Henry, an Oklahoma Democrat appointed by President Bill Clinton, described him as a highly principled conservative jurist who is a marvelous writer. His judicial temperament is superb. I think he is an outstanding nominee. In 2006, when President George W. Bush nominated him for the appeals court, the Senate approved him on a voice vote. That easy confirmation no doubt played a major role in his nomination on Tuesday, Gorsuchs views on abortion always a closely watched issue in high court confirmations are not clear. He wrote about the importance of life in his book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, which argued against laws permitting people to have help in ending their lives. He concluded in favor of retaining the laws banning assisted suicide and euthanasia based on the idea that all human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong. Some anti-abortion advocates have taken comfort in that language, though others remain skeptical, noting his use of the word fetus in some writings rather than unborn child. If Gorsuch replaces Scalia, a fierce critic of Roe vs. Wade and a reliable conservative vote, it would likely preserve the courts previous ideological balance, with Kennedy holding the deciding vote in the most divisive cases. The real tipping point on the court could come if Kennedy or Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer depart, giving conservatives, including the courts conservatives, an opportunity to overturn the abortion right and other liberal precedents. Gorsuch has roots in both his native Colorado and in Washington, D.C., where he lived as a high school student after his mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was chosen in 1981 to head the Environmental Protection Agency under President Reagan. She ran into trouble with environmentalists and congressional Democrats and was forced to step down in 1983. He is an Episcopalian and would be the only Protestant on the current court. Five of the justices are Catholic and three are Jewish. Gorsuchs Ivy League academic resume is the most traditional of the three candidates who made Trumps short list. He graduated from Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md., and then earned degrees from Columbia University, Harvard Law School and Oxford University, where he met his wife. They have two daughters. Gorsuch spent nearly a decade working as a lawyer in Washington, where he won a huge anti-trust verdict. He is thoughtful and principled. He is one of our countrys finest federal appellate judges, said Washington attorney David Frederick, a former law partner who describes himself as a Democrat. In the years we practiced law together, he was a wonderful colleague, and I would expect the justices to appreciate his affability and willingness to consider carefully a range of viewpoints. While he has regularly taken the conservative side in many cases, he has also written strong opinions on religious liberty, executive power and due process of law that might well have been used by civil libertarians who rushed to court this weekend to challenge the temporary travel ban issued by Trump. For example, in the objections from some Christian employers over the Obama administrations so-called contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act, Gorsuch sided with the employers, concluding they had a religious-liberty right exempting them from the mandate. But he also emphasized the importance of protecting unpopular religions. The federal law protecting religious liberty doesnt just apply to protect popular religious beliefs, he wrote. It does perhaps its most important work in protecting unpopular beliefs, vindicating this nations long-held aspiration to serve as a refuge of religious tolerance, he wrote in 2013. In August, he wrote an opinion for the 10th Circuit reversing federal immigration officials and ruling for an immigrant living in Oklahoma who was seeking lawful status. While his case was pending, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals announced a new rule that would require the man to leave the country for 10 years. Gorsuch said it was unfair to change the law and apply it retroactively to immigrants. The due process concerns are obvious: When Mr. [Hugo] Gutierrez-Brizuela made his choice, he had no notice of the law that the BIA [Bureau of Immigration Appeals] now seeks to apply, he wrote. And equal protection problems are obvious too: If the agency were free to change the law retroactively based on shifting political winds, it could use that power to punish politically disfavored groups. He concluded by saying it was time to scrap the so-called Chevron doctrine, which calls for judges to defer to executive agencies. Instead, judges should fulfill their duty to exercise their independent judgment about what the law is, he wrote in Gutierrez-Brizuela vs. Lynch. His skepticism about deferring to executive agencies won him praise from conservatives who objected to Obama administration regulations. But it may pose problems for Trump and his administration when it relies on executive actions to enforce new rules. University of Notre Dame law professor John Copeland Nagle highlighted the irony of nominating Gorsuch. Who would have guessed that President Trumps most important decision in his first weeks in office would be to limit his own power?, he said. He called Gorsuchs opinion in the immigration case the most encouraging sign for the future. President Trump, in other words, has chosen someone committed to enforcing the constitutional separation of powers, even if that means Trump gets less power. Gorsuchs best-known opinions have focused on religion and its role in public life. He dissented when the 10th Circuit struck down a Utah law that allowed for memorial crosses donated by the Utah Highway Patrol Association to commemorate fallen troopers. In 2013, the 10th Circuit, including Gorsuch, ruled in favor of the Green family, owners of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores, who sought a religious exemption from paying for drugs or devices that they believed could destroy a fertilized human egg. Gorsuch wrote a concurring opinion explaining the decision. All of us face the problem of complicity. All of us must answer for ourselves whether and to what degree we are willing to be involved in the wrongdoing of others, he wrote. For some, religion provides an essential source of guidance both about what constitutes wrongful conduct and the degree to which those who assist others in committing wrongful conduct themselves bear moral culpability. No one disputes that the Greens religion teaches that the use of such drugs and devices is gravely wrong, and a government requirement for them to supply them itself violates their faith, representing a degree of complicity their religion disallows. A year later, the Supreme Court came to the same conclusion in a 5-4 decision. david.savage@latimes.com On Twitter: DavidGSavage ALSO Trumps first week: For many in Arizona, it doesnt get any better than this Analysis: Trumps early missteps threaten impressions of presidential competence Trump administration signals that some bans on U.S. entry could be extended indefinitely California could help students get through college without debt but at a hefty potential cost of $3.3 billion annually, a new state report says. The report by the state Legislative Analysts Office laid out different ways the state could help students at the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges cover both tuition and living expenses. For the record: A previous version of this article said that national student debt has topped $1 billion. The analysis comes as concern rises over spiraling student debt, which has topped $1 trillion nationwide. Worries over college costs also have deepened among some families since UC regents approved a tuition increase last week and Gov. Jerry Brown proposed phasing out the states Middle Class Scholarship program for new students beginning this fall. Cal State University trustees also are considering a tuition increase. Advertisement The report cautioned that moving to cover both tuition and living expenses would carry a significant price tag and that potential consequences should be carefully considered. But Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who initiated the Legislatures request for the report last year, said the program could be phased in over several years to keep the costs reasonable, and lauded the report for laying out a range of policy options. The goal was never to do this overnight, McCarty said in an interview Wednesday. This report gives us a realistic road map to do this over a number of years. College affordability and reducing student debt loads is a top legislative priority. For students who attend Los Angeles schools and live off campus, the report calculates annual college costs of $19,845 for East Los Angeles College, $25,060 for Cal State L.A. and $30,345 for UCLA. About 53% of UC and Cal State students graduate with debt averaging around $19,500, the report said. Only 2% of community college students take out loans, which average around $5,000. Those debt levels are below the national average. Yet, according to a survey last December by the Public Policy Institute of California, Californians view college affordability as the top problem facing the states higher education system, and 82% want to see more scholarships and grants. A program to cover both tuition and living expenses would be more generous than the free college plans proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. Those cover only tuition. Under Californias current financial aid programs, more than half of undergraduates in the UC and Cal State systems pay no tuition. Many of those students, however, say they still struggle to pay for housing, food and other expenses in the states high-cost urban centers. In estimating potential program costs, state analysts calculated the gap left to cover college expenses after deducting expected student and family contributions and federal financial aid. The state costs to fill the gap would vary considerably depending on various factors, including whether aid would be limited to full-time students and whether they would get it for each year of their studies. McCarty, who heads the Assembly Budget Subcommitttee on Education Finance, plans to hold a joint hearing on the report on Feb. 27 with Assemblyman Jose Medina (D-Riverside), who chairs the Assembly Higher Education Committee. To read the article in Spanish, click here teresa.watanabe@latimes.com Twitter: @teresawatanabe MORE EDUCATION NEWS UC regents approve first tuition increase after six-year freeze; some students infuriated Trump order banning entry from seven Muslim-majority countries roils California campuses Few school supplies but a lavish party: At charter school, teachers saw a clash between scarcity and extravagance Two men pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Wednesday to conspiring to sink their 57-foot sportfishing charter boat in an insurance scam. Christopher Switzer, co-owner of Eclipse Sportfishing based in Mission Bay, and Mark Gillette, co-owner of the boat named Commander, were rescued from the sinking vessel on Oct. 11, about seven miles south of Dana Point. Gillette told rescuers the boat was rapidly taking on water and the pumps couldnt keep up, according to a search warrant affidavit. He estimated the boat would be underwater in an hour. The Coast Guard launched a helicopter and the men were eventually picked up by Orange County sheriffs deputies in a boat. Advertisement The next day, divers with a marine salvage unit inspected the boat in open sea. The divers noticed that in four locations in the engine room PVC pipes that supply water to the bait tanks and fish holds were broken, according to the affidavit. The valves to the pipes were also in the open position. Divers were able to close valves and used pumps and air bags to float the boat. It was towed back to San Diego. The salvage experts told the Coast Guard the damage appeared to be intentional, the affidavit said. A few days later, an investigator on the boat overheard an argument between Gillette and an insurance adjuster who had arrived to inspect the damage. Gillette said he didnt want the adjuster on the boat because the adjuster was using accusatory language, the affidavit said. A few days later, Gillette notified the Coast Guard he would not be filing an insurance claim. In their guilty pleas, Gillette, 37, and Switzer, 39, admitted to trying to sink the boat by destroying the PVC piping, pumping sea water onto the boat and puncturing the bulkhead. They made several false statements to authorities, including that their first sign that something was wrong was an unexplained loss of power, and that they didnt know why their boat was flooding, the plea agreement said. They also acknowledged their actions put rescuers at risk. They have agreed to reimburse the Coast Guard more than $15,000 for the rescue and other costs. kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @kristinadavis A man accused in a series of attacks on homeless men last year, three of whom died, has been returned from a state mental hospital to San Diego, where his criminal case could resume. Jon David Guerrero, 39, was sent to Patton State Hospital in October after doctors and the court determined he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. He was ordered to remain at the facility in San Bernardino County until competency had been restored. San Diego Superior Court Judge Margie G. Woods said Wednesday she had received a certification of Guerreros mental competence from the hospital in San Bernardino County but did not make any further rulings as to the status of the criminal case. Advertisement Instead, at the defenses request, the judge scheduled a competency hearing for Feb. 22, and a trial for March 1. Deputy Public Defender Dan Tandon said outside the courtroom that the dates were set in case his office decides to challenge the doctors determination as to whether Guerrero is psychologically able to stand trial. Prosecutors have filed charges of murder and attempted murder against the defendant, but he has not yet been arraigned. Guerrero is accused of violently attacking five homeless men over a 12-day period in July. He was arrested last summer after a pair of officers in Golden Hill found the last victim screaming in pain. The first victim was Angelo DeNardo, 53, whose body was found early July 3 under a freeway bridge in Bay Park. A railroad spike had been driven into his head and chest. He was then lit on fire, Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey has said. A second man, Manuel Mason, 61, was found critically injured in the Midway District on July 4. He had a railroad spike driven into his sinus cavity. He survived his injuries, but was blinded. Shawn Mitchell Longley, 41, was found dead in Ocean Beach on July 4. Dionicio Derek Vahidy, 23, was injured on July 6 but died days later. A final victim, Michael Papadelis, 55, was found screaming and bloodied on July 15. He survived. Each was injured with a railroad spike, the prosecutor said. When Guerrero was arrested, police found a mallet and spikes in his backpack, along with identification belonging to two of the victims, authorities said. Investigators found a bucket containing rocks, railroad ties and more spikes in Guerreros downtown San Diego apartment. Last week, investigators revealed Guerrero is also suspected of killing Molly Simons, 83, in a North Park alley off Arizona Street near University Avenue the morning of July 13 two days before he was arrested. Simons was not homeless. She lived with her husband in San Diego. According to an autopsy report, Simons was walking to a nearby bus stop on her way to volunteer at a YMCA when a man on a bicycle hit her in the head, knocking her to the ground. A witness called 911 and Simons was taken to a hospital. Doctors determined she had suffered a serious head injury, and despite medical intervention, her health deteriorated quickly, according to the report. She died about two weeks later. dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield Spell backwards, forwards. Print the word vote upside down, but in the correct order. Write every other word in this first line and print every third word in same line (original type smaller and first line ended at comma) but capitalize the fifth word that you write. If you can figure out those puzzles, plus 27 others, congratulations. In another era, you would have been eligible to vote in the South. UC San Diego political science professor and former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher recently gave his students a so-called literacy test black people in the South once had to take to vote. Advertisement I wanted them to really understand how precious a right this is, and how this right was denied to people for generations on in, Fletcher said. Eighty five percent of students who took the test couldnt complete it within the 10-minute time limit, and nobody got the 100 percent required to pass it. The only way I could describe it was devastating, student Alexis Soto said about taking the test.You literally heard the gasps. This is a test obviously designed for you to fail. Soto described the questions as maddening, and said hed feel confused and kind of angry if he had been given such a test at a voting place. Literacy tests were introduced by Louisiana in 1890 and administered disproportionately to black voters throughout the south until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. Take the Louisiana literacy test Fletcher said the tests were designed to disenfranchise black voters and were all but impossible to pass, which his experiment with students confirmed. One of the 30 questions on the test asks the taker to Write right from the left to the right as you see it spelled here. Some were vague and seemed to have incomplete instructions, such as: Draw five circles that one common inter-locking part. Another instructed to Divide a vertical line in two equal parts by bisecting it with a curved horizontal line that is only straight at its spot bisection of the vertical. Fletchers class this quarter is on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the actions that led up to it, beginning with the Declaration of Independence. The class goes through the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v. Holder, which found a section of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. To illustrate how the subject remains topical, Fletcher recently showed his class a video of Secretary of State Alex Padilla rejecting President Donald Trumps claim of widespread voter fraud in California. Padilla is scheduled to be a guest speaker in class this week. The bulk of class discussions are about the history of voting rights in America, a subject fascinating to Fletcher. Voting is interesting, he said. Its one of the only issues where the public has been democratically enfranchised and democratically disenfranchised. Throughout the history of voting rights, you see tremendous progress and tremendous setbacks. One setback came in 1870 with the 15th Amendment, which stated that the right to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. While the amendment appears to ensure freed slaves had the right to vote, Fletcher said its wording had been crafted by southern racists as a loophole. UCSD professor Nathan Fletcher teaches the history of voters rights in America, but also keeps the subject topical with news clips about voting rights and claims of voting fraud. (David Brooks / San Diego Union-Tribune) The original draft of the 15th Amendment said the right to vote shall not be denied, period, Fletcher said. Adding the line that identified only race as a prohibited reason to deny the right to vote meant southern states could find other reasons, such as failure to pass a literacy test, to deny the right without violating the Constitution, he said. So these (tests) were constitutionally a way to say, Were not denying you the right to vote because youre black, Fletcher said. Were denying you the right to vote because you cant pass this impossible test. Cesar Solis, a third-year political science major, said he had heard of the tests but hadnt seen it before taking it in class. I really didnt know what to expect, he said. I thought there would be some sort of history questions. But after I saw it, it was clearly a test made for anyone who takes it to fail. Solis said he imagined that people who took it would feel demoralized. I put myself in the shoes of a voter back in the day and how it could impact their lives, he said. They probably tried to take the test once and never returned again. Second-year political science major Liam Barrett, who works to increase voter registration at UC San Diego as head of the Student Organized Voter Access Committee, said seeing the test impressed on all students what black voters went through in the South and how much effort was put into keeping them from the polls. John Mears, a third-year political science major with an emphasis on public law, is a member of College Republicans and said he is heavily involved in politics. Its crazy to see how voting rights have changed through history, and were seeming to go in the opposite direction since the mid- to late-1960s, he said. Mears said he was familiar with literacy tests, and even had a high school teacher who assigned them to students when he was a senior. The difference between then and now, he said, was that his high school teacher gave it on the first day of class and didnt let on what it really was. She sat us down and said, You will fail this class if you dont pass this test, he said. There was quite a bit of terror, to say the least. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 Activists from civil rights organizations and faith-based organizations in San Diego came together on Tuesday to announce a new coalition aimed at protecting religious freedom and combating Islamophobia. The coalition, the Forum on Religious Freedom, was created by the Council on American Islamic Relations after many other local organizations reached out to the civil rights group to find out how they could help in reaction to the refugee ban signed on Friday by President Donald Trump, CAIR executive director Hanif Mohebi said. I dont need to say much about what is going on, about the executive order and its effect on the community, Mohebi said at a news conference announcing the forum. It has put our community on edge. Advertisement The forum will fight against bigotry and hate, Mohebi said, and it will work to keep American Muslims from being marginalized or targeted. As this union, we are going to work day and night beyond this presidency to make sure such things never happen to begin with, Mohebi said. The coalition will hold town halls to educate the community. It is also implementing an emergency hotline and a legal fund. Mohebi was surrounded by more than 50 supporters at the news conference announcing the new coalition. He said more than 20 organizations have joined. Imam Taha Hassane, director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, said the point is to stand in solidarity with all minority groups and faith groups, not just the Muslim community. We will be standing together with one body and one heart, Hassane said. Several Christian faith leaders from around the county announced their support of the new group. We often forget the Bible that I read showed Jesus was a refugee, said Rev. Shane Harris, a Baptist minister and San Diego chapter president for the National Action Network. We should not just be a country that accepts Christians. We should accept all people. Rev. Beth Johnson, co-president of the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice, emphasized the unity of thought among the different religions in terms of helping those in need. All of our religious traditions and ethical systems teach us that we are to uphold the worth of every person, Johnson said. A false narrative that associates refugees with terrorism has become pervasive in the U.S., said David Murphy, executive director of the International Rescue Committee, a refugee resettlement agency in San Diego. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Murphy said, the U.S. has admitted more than 800,000 refugees, and none have committed acts of terror. The forums first town hall meeting is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. at the Islamic Center of San Diego. kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate Up to 100 protesters marched in downtown San Diego on Tuesday as part of a national attempt to start a weekly event called Resist Trump Tuesdays. The protesters began the march around 12:30 p.m. from Front Street, visiting the San Diego offices of U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein. Harris office at 600 B St. is in the same building as The San Diego Union-Tribune. Advertisement San Diego Police said they escorted the crowd to mare sure they made it through intersections safely. There were roughly 60 people at the protest when it came to 600 B St., but police said the crowd was around 100 people when it ended at 2 p.m. at City Hall. The police were wonderful. They protected us as we crossed the street, said Nancy Cohen, 65, of Encinitas. Cohen said they wanted to thank Feinstein and Harris for their efforts and urge them to oppose the confirmation of agency nominees selected by President Donald Trump: Betsy DeVos for secretary of the Department of Education, Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Steve Mnuchin for secretary of the Department of the Treasury and Scott Pruitt as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Staff writer Pauline Repard contributed to this report. RELATED Protestors gathered to support the Affordable Care Act. Also to denounce Trumps Muslim ban and Steve Bannons influence on Tuesday. Protesters gather at the San Diego International Airport to protest President Trumps travel ban. Participants met at the San Diego Civic Center Plaza in downtown San Diego and marched along the 1-mile route on Broadway to the County Administration Center. phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar ALSO Across the border in Tijuana, few worry about Trumps wall County Supervisor Dianne Jacob outlined an array of priorities over the next year, setting goals that she hopes county government will pursue long after current board members leave office. But the chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors issued a more immediate warning in her State of the County address Wednesday regarding major fiscal challenges, including possible budget cuts of $100 million. Advertisement She also announced a push to change the employee pension system in an effort to reduce costs. We may need to pull together this year like never before, she said. If cuts and shifts proposed by Governor (Jerry) Brown go through, along with possible changes in Californias health insurance marketplace, we may be looking at a $100 million dollar hit to our budget. This is an unusual turn of events for a county that has taken pride in its fiscal wherewithal. Jacob and three other supervisors have served on the five-member board for at least 20 years each and back then they took over a county that was in financial peril. They responded by bringing in new executive leadership, privatizing many government services, and creating managerial and cultural changes that emphasize fiscal restraint. The county hasnt worried about insolvency for a long time and now touts its sterling Triple A credit rating from top financial institutions and a balanced $5.4 billion budget. A coalition of labor, faith, and community organizations said after Jacobs address that the countys financial standing is so strong and its reserves so large that its time to spend more on services to help the most vulnerable people in the region. Yet Jacob predicted in her speech at the County Operations Center in Kearny Mesa that 2017 could be the toughest year for this board. Her speech came just weeks after supervisors voted 4-1, with new member Kristin Gaspar opposed, to raise their pay by $19,000 annually, a move that also boosted their pensions. Supervisors raise their own pay in face of opposition Jacob did not unveil specific potential spending cuts or ways to increase revenue. The countys chief administrative officer and finance experts draft the budget and present it to supervisors in May to review and amend. In January, Brown announced that the state is on course for a $1.6 billion deficit by summer due to slowing revenue growth. Its the first time since 2012 that California is projected to enter the red. Jacob spent much of her speech discussing a menu of proposals that span county operations. The countys 2,000 miles of streets are not being adequately maintained because revenue from the state gas tax has dropped by 21 percent in the last five years, she said. That has led to a 60 on the pavement condition index, a rating system for streets. The county is spending from its savings to make up the loss and used $20 million in 2016. Jacob said that in the next two weeks she and Supervisor Bill Horn will ask county staff to find sources of funding to improve road conditions to a 70. These numbers matter, Jacob said. They matter because the lower the rating, the more it costs to repair and maintain these roads. She also called for the creation of an endowment to support park operations and the creation of new parks. She also called for changes to employee pensions due to rising costs and languishing returns. Jacob advocated different benefits for new employees that would require them to divert a larger share of their paycheck into the retirement fund while reducing the size of pension payments theyll receive when they retire. To sustain our defined benefit plan, we must work together, once again, to make changes in future pension benefits to reduce the burden on taxpayers and preserve vital county services, she said. A local labor leader said the county has not made a case that its fiscal health depends on pension concessions. They have not discussed how that would benefit any part of the budget, said David Garcias, president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 221. The labor organization represents about 10,000 of the countys 17,000 employees, and members include social workers, tax collectors, clerical staff and others. Its currently negotiating a new contract with county officials. Four years after she made addressing Alzheimers disease a priority, Jacob said she wants the county to create a senior czar position to help make sure the needs of the oldest county residents are being met. A high-profile leader is needed to make sure that all the appropriate arms of County government are working together to meet the needs of seniors, especially those with dementia, she said. The county needs to do what it can to allow seniors to age in their homes for as long as possible before they enter professional care institutions, prevent senior homelessness, and make sure that people who have Alzheimers and other forms of dementia receive appropriate treatment, she said. Jacob also promoted a new government services smart phone application so that people can report potholes, unfair charges at the gas pump (the county makes sure they are accurately calibrated), and graffiti, among other issues. Other governments, including the City of San Diego, have similar applications, and several tech companies specialize in customizing mobile products for local governments. Jacob also said she will continue to support fire services and the sheriffs department, key providers of public safety services, particularly in the rural back country. She said the county and partners have also made progress in combating sex trafficking, and must continue their effort. Additionally, Jacob called for the expansion of Camp LEAD, a three-day overnight program that sends high school students from all walks of life to a retreat for team-building exercises and to discuss prejudices and cultural differences. These kids go back to school and become role models, Jacob said. Theres a positive ripple effect across campus. Many at-risk kids who take part go on to have fewer absences from school and better grades. They are less likely to lose their way. Labor leader Garcias and others called on the supervisors to do more for those in need by expanding services. They noted the county has has a standing fund balance of $1.89 billion. They have a rainy day fund, its time to use it, he said. Jacobs priorities dont do enough to address the needs of many county residents, and government must do more, concurred Peter Brownell, the research director for the Center for Policy Initiatives, a progressive think tank. He said while the state and federal governments make major decisions that impact the economy, the county also plays a role. Brownell urged the supervisors to focus on creating jobs that pay a living wage and training the workforce to take advanced jobs, particularly in the biotech industry. He added that county contractors should be required to pay their workers a living wage. Twitter: @jptstewart joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1841 San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has come out against President Donald Trumps executive order that prohibits refugees and people from seven countries from entering the United States. I am confident we can strengthen Americas security without shutting Americas doors, Faulconer, a Republican, said in a statement. More opposition to Trumps immigration is surfacing in San Diego, a city thats home to the busiest land border-crossing in the Western Hemisphere. Besides the mayor, a city board that promotes better relationships between San Diegans and communities in other countries has criticized a Trumps prohibition on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, while a small business group also warned that Trumps immigration policies will hurt the regions culture, economy and workforce. Advertisement Faulconer said he supported an improved the screening process to identify immigrants who would post a threat while still letting other people enter the U.S. Americans deserve an immigration policy that keeps us safe but this temporary ban which affects children, mothers, innocent families and allies who support our Armed Forces is not the right direction, he said. On Friday Trump signed an executive order that put a 120-day prohibition on all refugees entering the United States while also indefinitely stopping entry by all Syrian refugees. It also blocks for 90 days entry by people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Syria and Somalia. The president said that the restrictions would increase security. Iraqis who worked along U.S. military forces as interpreters or liaisons say they now facing death warrants by being denied entry to the country promised earlier. Professionals recruited by San Diegos research and medical institutions can all no longer enter the United States. Trumps policy could be particularly damaging to San Diego, the citys International Affairs Board said in a statement. San Diego is an entrepreneurial knowledge capital, driven by a culture of innovation, the board. This culture of innovation is fundamentally dependent on the best and brightest minds having free and open access to San Diego educational institutions, business, and all our City has to offer. We are concerned that this Executive Order will close out important voices of innovation from San Diego in particular, hurting our central economic sectors. San Diego is home to large refugee communities and many people who live here have friends and family who could face harm in other countries, the board said. The proposed wall and increased border security will be particularly damaging to the regions economy, according to members of Main Street Alliance of San Diego, a business network. Francisco Garcia, the owner of Modern Architecture Services, said that immigrants regardless of status are crucial to his business. Ive been in business for a decade, and I see the contributions of fellow immigrants, documented and undocumented, on our local communities, he said. And Osvaldo Blackaller, the owner of Cueva Bar restaurant, said his business depends on its cultural ties to Mexico. My restaurants success has been possible through the merging of cultures, the blending of foods and a team from all over the world, he said. On Jan. 24 Trump signed orders that begin the process of building a contiguous wall along the United States border with Mexico. San Diego County has had some sort of incomplete barrier separating it from its neighbor to the south since the 1950s. Twitter: @jptstewart joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1841 A judge has determined that San Diego County didnt follow proper procedures in an audit of the June primary election and must use a different process when verifying future contests. In a Jan. 10 judgment, San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil determined that state election law says all mail-in ballots need to be included in a manual count of votes from 1 percent of precincts. Previously the County Registrar of Voters only used mail-in ballots received by Election Day in its manual count, while excluding mail-in votes received after polls closed. All ballots - including votes cast by mail, at polling places and accepted provisional ballots - are counted toward election results, but only a small portion are used in an audit used to double-check that votes are accurately counted by automated tabulation systems. Advertisement Ray Lutz, the head of government watchdog organization Citizens Oversight Inc., said in his lawsuit that all types of ballots cast, including mail-in votes received by the registrar before and after Election Day as well as provisional ballots, should be included in the manual tally to ensure that election fraud has not occurred The court agreed with Lutz in part. Wohlfeil determined that all legally-cast mail-in ballots can be used in its audit, regardless of when the registrar receives the returned ballot. The judge disagreed, however, that provisional ballots must also be used in the audit. The judge ruled provisionals do not need to be in the 1 (percent) manual tally. We agree with this. He also ruled more vote-by-mail ballots need to be included. We do not agree with this, county spokesman Michael Workman said. The decision will make elections more expensive and could make it difficult for the Registrar of Voters to finish counting ballots ahead of deadlines included in state law, he said. Both Lutz and San Diego County said they plan to appeal. We always planned to appeal it because it only applies to San Diego County. It has to go through appeals to apply to all the counties, Lutz said. The decision has no retroactive effect on the June primary, or the November general election. Lutz, however, said the countys auditing method left it susceptible to voter fraud, and he believes that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would have won the Democratic nomination for president and ultimately the White House had different procedures been used in the California primary. Sanders rival, Hillary Clinton, had already won support from enough Democratic delegates to secure the nomination before the states June 7 primary. Twitter: @jptstewart joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1841 San Diego legalized recreational pot dispensaries on Tuesday and the city also opened up the possibility it will allow pot farms, manufacturing facilities and testing labs. San Diego is the first local city to approve recreational marijuana sales since state voters approved Proposition 64 in November, and no other cities in the county have indicated they intend to follow suit. Sales of recreational pot will begin when statewide regulations being crafted in Sacramento are completed sometime before next January. Dispensaries along the coast may have to wait for Coastal Commission approval, but city officials said thats expected by October. Advertisement The San Diego City Council unanimously agreed on Tuesday to allow the sale of recreational marijuana at 15 dispensaries approved by the city to sell medical marijuana, pending the state action, and any additional dispensaries the city approves in the future. Council members also agreed to consider later this year approving regulations for commercial cultivation, testing and distribution of marijuana and byproducts of the drug, such as edibles. Specific regulations for those activities werent available for the council to approve on Tuesday because city staff and the San Diego Police Department had recommended the city ban them based on concerns about crime and other potential problems. Council members said they were partly motivated by the November election, when 62 percent of city voters approved Proposition 64. They told us what they expect us to do, said Councilman Chris Ward, noting that Proposition 64 also allows local governments to legalize cultivation, manufacturing and testing. Councilwoman Barbara Bry said the councils move could boost city tax revenues and the local economy while also making sure marijuana products are safe. I believe it is our responsibility to implement the will of the voters, she said. Its also our duty to wisely and responsibly regulate every part of the supply chain in order to ensure that our consumers have a safe and vetted product. The council also included a sunset clause in the legislation it approved, forcing the city to either ban or approve cultivation and manufacturing within nine months. In addition, the council agreed to allow existing cultivation and testing facilities already operating within the city to stay open until the council decides how to regulate such businesses. City revenues from marijuana would be significantly higher if San Diego agrees to allow cultivation and manufacturing, the office of the citys independent budget analyst told the council. No estimate of overall revenue was given, but the head of the Ocean Beach Planning Board said San Diego could receive as much as $30 million per year. San Diego voters approved a local tax on recreational marijuana on Nov. 8 that would start at 5 percent and rise to 8 percent in July 2019. That tax would apply to pot farms and factories as well as dispensaries. The councils vote came after a three-hour public hearing where supporters and opponents of legalization focused mostly on cultivation and manufacturing, not sales at dispensaries. Supporters of allowing cultivation and manufacturing said banning those activities would cost San Diego jobs by shifting such activities to Orange County and other areas, and increase air pollution by forcing tons of marijuana to be trucked into the city from elsewhere. They also said there is essentially no other industry allowed to sell its product, but not allowed to grow, manufacture or test it locally. Opponents said factories manufacturing edibles, hash oil and other marijuana products are prone to explosions, and that pot farms have been linked to organized crime. Police Lt. Matt Novak, commanding officer of the Police Departments narcotics unit, said pot farms and factories are magnets for crime and would put additional stress on police resources. He also said farms and manufacturing facilities in Colorado had experienced fires and explosions, noting that they typically use pesticides and other dangerous chemicals. Our take is this is going to very much negatively affect public health and public safety, Novak told the council. He also said organized crime syndicates have used the opportunity to grow marijuana legally in states like Colorado to boost supplies of the drug that they then divert to states where its illegal because they can charge more there. Its not clear how loose or strict the council would be willing to be on regulations for cultivation and manufacturing, but Councilman Mark Kersey expressed a desire to see narrowly crafted rules proposed. Phil Rath, leader of a coalition of the citys permitted medical marijuana dispensaries, said the group is open to reasonable regulations for pot farms and factories. But he said allowing such activities would be crucial to helping close illegal dispensaries, who dont pay taxes, dont adhere to strict city security rules and can get the marijuana they sell more cheaply because they can buy it from anywhere. If this trend of adding costs to legal operators while illegal sellers avoid them continues, price differences are going to further force consumers to increase their illegal purchasing habits, Rath said. People vote with their pocketbook and thats what were afraid of. The citys 15 legal dispensaries, eight of which have opened, all conform with regulations that prevent such businesses from opening near housing, schools, churches, parks and other sensitive uses, while also requiring security guards, cameras and other safety measures. The legislation adopted on Tuesday would also refine some existing regulations to avoid some unintended consequences of the citys medical marijuana ordinance, which was approved in 2014. An example is making the definition of a park more specific to prevent open space and riparian areas from blocking some proposed dispensaries, which will allow a few more to open. The legislation would also tighten sign rules to allow only alphabetic characters spelling the name of the business. This change is in response to dispensaries seeking to add graphics of marijuana plants or related images. Dispensaries would also face a new requirement to remove graffiti within 24 hours and keep the area surrounding their businesses free of litter. Customers would need to be 21 years old a requirement under Proposition 64 to buy recreational marijuana, while medical marijuana would still be available to those 18 and up. San Diego on Tuesday headed in the opposite direction of the county Board of Supervisors, which voted last week to move ahead with a plan to ban pot farms and dispensaries in unincorporated areas and to force existing facilities to shut their doors in the next few years. The city of La Mesa is the only local government other than the city of San Diego to indicate it may allow cultivation and manufacturing. The legal dispensaries in San Diego that have opened are located at 3703 Camino del Rio South in Mission Valley, 2335 Roll Drive in Otay Mesa, 3452 Hancock St. in the Midway District, 658 E. San Ysidro Blvd., 2405 Harbor Drive in Barrio Logan, 7128 Miramar Road in Mira Mesa, 5125 Convoy St. in Kearny Mesa and 10671 Roselle St. in Torrey Pines/Sorrento Valley. Seven others have received final approval but havent yet opened. Their locations are: 8863 Balboa Ave. in Kearny Mesa, 8888 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., 3455 Camino Del Rio South in Mission Valley, 4645 DeSoto St. in eastern Pacific Beach, 1028 Buenos Avenue in Linda Vista, 3500 Estudillo Street in the Midway District and 3385 Sunrise Avenue, just southeast of downtown in Stockton. david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick A Cal State San Marcos student was raped Tuesday in a campus parking lot by a man she had chatted with on a social media app, university police said. After meeting up on campus about 11 a.m., the assailant drove the victim to Lot B on Craven Drive and raped her, police said. The student was then dropped off a short distance away. The student told police her attacker was white, in his late 20s, with a dark tan. His hair was styled in a ponytail with hair shaved around the sides. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt with red letters and dark gray pants. Advertisement The man was driving a white, four-door and older-model Honda, police said. Officials said the social media app the victim and suspect used to communicate had anonymity features. The name of the app was not disclosed. Anyone with information was asked to call campus police at (760) 750-4567, the universitys SAFE hotline at (760) 750-7233 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Breaking News Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez Dense fog forced the FAA to temporarily prohibit some flights from landing at the San Diego International Airport Tuesday evening, officials said. The ground stop, which was put in effect due to low visibility levels, was lifted shortly before 7 p.m. Inbound flights from Southern California, Nevada and Arizona had been delayed for about half an hour, an FAA spokesman said. Before the ground stop was called off, Southwest Airlines cancelled San Diego-bound flights for the rest of the night, an airline spokesman said. Advertisement The fog began to roll over the San Diego airport about 5:30 p.m. There was less than half a mile of visibility at the airport into the night, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. The agency issued a fog advisory for the coast of San Diego County until 9 a.m. Wednesday. Breaking News Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez A pursuit suspect who tried to run away from San Diego police slid down a trash chute at a National City apartment complex early Tuesday, police said. Officers found the 20-year-old man hiding in a dumpster at the end of the chute and used a police dog to arrest him, San Diego police Officer Josh Hodge said. The chase began after an officer tried to pull over a stolen vehicle on Uclid Avenue near Federal Boulevard shortly before 3 a.m. Advertisement The driver went westbound on state Route 94, then southbound on Interstate 805 into National City. The suspect stopped near an apartment building at D Avenue and Kimball Way, ditched the vehicle and ran through the complex, Hodge said. The man went down a trash chute that led to a dumpster, Hodge said. Officers found him hiding and let loose a dog to take the man into custody. The suspect was taken to a hospital for treatment of a dog bite, then booked into jail on suspicion of vehicle theft, evading police and resisting arrest. Breaking News Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez Hawaiis Kilauea volcano is putting on a spectacular show as lava spews from a crack in the mountain and pours into the sea in an explosion of steam, ash and debris. Advertisement Video taken in late January by the scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory shows the natural phenomenon appearing like a firehose of red, molten rock pouring into the ocean. It is cascading out of a crack said to be about 11 inches wide above the sea cliff at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. During one particularly large burst the spatter from the lava flow, which was measured at 428 degrees Fahrenheit and measured 3 to 6 feet wide, triggered pulsating explosions that are throwing bits of lava onto the top of the sea cliff, observers said. Geologist Matt Patrick told Big Island Video News that he hadnt seen anything like it in his nine years of monitoring the volcano. Kilauea has been erupting from a crater called Puu Oo since 1983. The latest lava flow began after a delta on the mountain collapsed on Dec. 31 taking a 4-acre portion of cliff with it. Park officials have set up a viewing area so visitors to the area can view natures show from an area of relative safety. 619-293-1710 debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com twitter.com/Debbi_Baker Lewis and Clark County commissioners have been asked to commit to joining the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, a move they have put off for years over some concerns. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board has a long history of supporting confirmation of Supreme Court nominees from both Democratic and Republican presidents, so long as they are highly competent, experienced, ethical and not extremists. We supported President George W. Bushs nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito. We supported President Obamas nominations of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Senators should not get in the way of distinguished nominees within the broad judicial mainstream. This point of view used to be widely accepted. But since 22 Democrats opposed Roberts in 2005, each new nominee has faced sharp partisan criticism and substantial opposition. Advertisement Now President Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch, a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Given that this comes after one of the dirtiest tricks in Senate history the Republican majoritys refusal to even hold hearings on qualified, moderate Merrick Garland, the federal appellate court judge nominated by President Obama in March to replace the late conservative Antonin Scalia Senate Democrats may go to extraordinary lengths to try to block Trumps nominee. They are eager to use Gorsuchs nomination as a vehicle both to demonstrate their understandable fury over Garlands treatment and to show solidarity with the millions of Democrats outraged over Trumps victory despite losing the popular vote and Trumps actions in his first two weeks as president. But two wrongs still dont make a right. Gorsuch is an impressive jurist, and that judgment goes beyond his Harvard law background, his clerking for two U.S. Supreme Court justices and the acclaim hes received as a judge and professor. He is no Republican hard-liner. Gorsuch has views about criminal justice that emphasize civil liberties, not government authority, far from the norm for conservatives. In 2013, he gave a powerful, laudable speech lamenting the ever-growing complexity of the criminal code, wondering what happens to individual freedom and equality when the criminal law comes to cover so many facets of daily life that prosecutors can almost choose their targets with impunity? President Trump shakes the hand of his Supreme Court nominee, federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch, on Tuesday night at the White House. (Carolyn Kaster / AP) There will be pushback from pro-choice groups. Gorsuch has not written explicitly about Roe v. Wade, but much has been read into his condemnation of assisted suicide on the grounds that the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong. Yet analysts say his confirmation would still leave the anti-Roe faction on the court a vote or two from the majority. Chief Justice Roberts is a conservative, but his history suggests hed be wary of tossing out such a high-profile precedent. For these reasons, we believe that if Gorsuch does well in his nomination hearings and if no red flags emerge in the heavy scrutiny he is likely to face in coming weeks, he deserves confirmation. Theres also a chance that the nomination fight fizzles out because of simple politics. Ten Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018 represent states that Trump won on Nov. 8, and some may worry about what a no vote on Gorsuch would mean for their re-election chances. Democrats may also want to delay any knock-down, drag-out confirmation fight for the future day Trump may get to replace one of the courts liberal judges with a conservative pick instead of swap a conservative for a conservative. But even if Democrats mount opposition, the Republicans have 52 votes in the Senate and can use the nuclear option of changing Senate rules to overcome a filibuster if Republicans cant muster 60 votes to block it. Barring a bombshell, Gorsuch should prove hes within the legal mainstream and be on his way to confirmation. If he is confirmed, everyone should hope that Gorsuch will be a thoughtful, wise justice even if many remain angry about Garland. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: UTOpinion Local rep needs to push back against Trump Regarding Republicans mission? Listen more, talk less (Jan. 26): Rep. Darrell Issa should oppose congressional funding for a border wall when the issue comes to a vote. Issa has argued that our nation has a spending problem, so he should share my concern. NPR estimates the cost of a Mexican border wall at between $15 billion and $25 billion and Rep. William Hurd called the proposal the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border. Advertisement More than 1,000 San Diegans protest at Lindbergh Field this week after President Donald Trumps recent travel ban. (Nancee Lewis / San Diego Union-Tribune) Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. E-mail letters@sduniontribune.com Mail: Andrew Kleske, Reader Outreach Editor San Diego Union-Tribune P.O. Box 120191 San Diego, CA 92112-0191. You can also leave a comment below The wall has never been about effectiveness; its a symbol of American strength turned to waste, of American allies rejected. A change this drastic to Americas physical and ideological landscape deserves to be decided democratically. Lest Issa protest that Donald Trumps election was the American people making that decision, I may remind him that 57 percent of his district voted against Trump. Issa must represent us. Emily Bentley Clairemont Trumps wall will pay for itself in long run With all due respect to Krista DeBusschere (Reaction to Trumps latest wall proposal, Jan. 27), who in her letter asked what 20 American cities would do with $1 billion each, her ill-thought-out comments have an obvious reply. Building a barrier (wall/fence) combined with other security measures prevents the influx of the next 5 million to 10 million illegal immigrants, for whom the various cities and states will not have to pay for sustenance, health care, education and incarceration. The American public will be saved, in just a couple of years, the entire cost of the wall (which will cost far less than the $20 billion she imagines) many times over. Philip Taylor Rancho Penasquitos California will suffer for opposing the president Regarding Governor: State is not turning back on policies (Jan 25): Wednesdays U-T had several articles highlighting Californias contempt for the United States of America. Gov. Jerry Browns State of the State address vowed to fight the Trump administration on its policies and Browns new attorney general promised legal actions for the fight. These promises obviously entail significant taxpayer resources to implement, while Brown is projecting a $1.6 billion budget deficit. Our socialist Legislature must expect the most heavily taxed citizens in the nation to pay by forking over more of their earnings. Californias overt contempt and hostility being shown to President Trump is mind-boggling and will probably result in punitive federal economic actions against the state starting with Browns bullet train fiasco. But Brown shouldnt worry because his boss is Californias president, Hillary Clinton. Joe Saline Bonsall Readers at odds over cartoons on abortion I am angered by the publication of Steve Breens virulently anti-choice cartoon (We hold these truths... , Jan. 28), which runs contrary to your editorial policy. You justify it in terms of fairness and run it alongside an anti-Trump cartoon with an apparently pro-choice message. But the two messages dont carry the same weight. Breens cartoon is in-your-face and ugly. The other cartoon is far less direct, and those who have grown up since Roe v. Wade may not even understand that desperate women used to self-induce abortions using coat hangers. Trumps policies will put womens lives and well-being at risk and that is the message your editorial page should endorse. In the interest of balance, you fell down on this crucial task. Nancy Sandweiss Bonita * * * Matthew Hall (Why we ran these cartoons in the Union-Tribune, Jan, 28) says conclusively that his editorial board is pro-choice as if that superficial slogan ends the debate. Pro-choice is actually a macabre turn of phrase that hides behind womens rights to divert attention from the ugly reality of federal funds gushing into the coffers of those general contractors of death called Planned Parenthood, which plans for anything but parenthood. Their succeeding millions of abortions has caused a demographic collapse of the U.S. population, forcing our government to outsource child bearing by admitting a tidal wave of indigent immigrants, millions of whom have sworn allegiance to a religion that is openly, even violently hostile to our constitutional government. Steve Breens pro-life phrase means the adoption of policies that favor giving birth to American children as the first choice. If the editorial board were actually pro-choice, it would long since have supported diverting those murderous abortion funds to instead help unwed mothers so that many more American children could have been under the Stars and Stripes. Larry Stirling Mission Hills Wearing the flag shows disrespect for nation Regarding the photo with the article Bishop, UCSD students protest Trump policy (Jan. 31): In the U.S., the flag is a symbol of extreme honor and respect. We display it with pride. There are laws protecting it against disrespect. The publication of the photograph of the Muslim woman wearing the flag as a hijab at a protest rally is tangible proof that Muslim women do not understand nor respect the honor of this country that provides them with a multitude of opportunities and rights beyond what a Muslim country will provide for them. This blatant show of disrespect now makes me question and wonder if perhaps President Trump isnt exactly correct. Ann Sisco Point Loma Want to see more letters that appear only online? Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. The Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library has opened a technology lab that gives teenagers access to 3-D printers, a recording studio and gaming center with Xbox and PlayStation, and Wi-Fi hot spots to use in the community. The Legler Benbough Teen IDEA Lab (IDEA stands for innovation and digital expression activity) opened recently at the Market Street library with widespread support. Every child in San Diego deserves the opportunity to succeed and there is no better way to provide that opportunity than by giving them the tools and training they need in the heart of their neighborhood, Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a statement. The IDEA Lab will give young men and women exposure to the skills they need to get good-paying jobs in our innovation economy. Advertisement The multimedia center aims to become a hub where teenagers can embrace science, technology, engineering and math the increasing essential STEM skills. The facility was designed with input from local teens and neighboring schools. For the first time in a San Diego Public Library facility, a Wi-Fi hot spot lending program will be offered through a partnership with Sprint. Using a library card, teens can check out a Wi-Fi hot spot to use outside the library for a period of three months. Fifty hot spots will be available at the new lab for borrowers that complete an orientation prior to checking out the devices. This space is designed to provide every teen in this community with the opportunity to learn, experiment, create and collaborate with other teens, said Library Director Misty Jones. The project was paid for with public and private funding. Working with the San Diego Public Library Foundation, the nonprofit Legler Benbough Foundation invested $1 million to help build the lab. Some $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also contributed to the project. The lab is open to 12- to 18-year-olds. A library card is required for equipment use. maureen.magee@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @MaureenMagee A scientific journal has retracted a paper by a San Diego researcher who claimed that jets have been flying over the county and secretly emitting toxic chemicals that pose a public health hazard. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health said that it discovered that a paper by independent geophysicist J. Marvin Herndon contained mistakes and lacked scientific rigor. The journal performed the review after critics challenged Herndons widely-stated belief that tanker-jets have been spraying coal fly ash into the troposphere for geoengineering, weather-modification and climate-modification purposes. Advertisement The paper was published in August and was supplemented by a news release in which Herndon claimed that the consequences on public health are profound, including exposure to a variety of toxic heavy metals, radioactive elements, and neurologically-implicated chemically mobile aluminum released by body moisture in situ after inhalation or through transdermal induction. The news release included numerous photos purporting to show toxic coal fly ash chemtrails in the skies above San Diego. The Federal Aviation Administration refers to such streaks as contrails, or the condensation from aircraft engine exhaust. Paul B. Tchounwou, the journals editor, issued a retraction on Sept. 2 that details Herndons mistakes. The retraction also says, The language of the paper is often not sufficiently scientifically objective for a research article. Tchounwou did not explain why the journal failed to notice the papers lack of objectivity when it was first submitted for publication. Herndon, 71, said in an email Sunday, The retraction of my peer-reviewed and published scientific paper was based upon a systematic, aggressive attack by one or more individuals making blatantly false and/or pejorative remarks. I explain the circumstances in detail in the attached document that can also be downloaded: https://www.nuclearplanet.com/public_rejection.pdf You may or may not know of my communications with San Diego officials: https://www.nuclearplanet.com/emails.html The very aggressive campaign to have my two scientific papers on tropospheric coal fly ash retracted is good evidence that I am right on target. You may quote me as saying that I will continue to oppose the retraction until truth and reason prevail. Much of this controversy was brought to light by Retraction Watch, a blog written by Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky, a pair of science journalists whose work has been causing a stir in academia. The two writers have starkly publicized the sort of retractions and corrections that used to receive little notice. Their work has raised questions about the integrity and completeness of scientific peer review. The state Supreme Court upheld a murder conviction Monday for one of the so-called Bird Rock Bandits who was charged with killing a La Jolla surfer nearly five years ago with a single punch. Advertisement Seth Cravens was convicted in 2008 of second-degree murder in the death of Emery Kauanui Jr., 24, who suffered a brain injury during a street fight in May 2007. Cravens was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. In August 2010, an appellate court determined there wasnt enough evidence to support the murder conviction, and reduced it to voluntary manslaughter. That decision would have cut Cravens sentence to 16 years. The high courts 6-1 ruling means the life sentence will stand. The Court of Appeal not only failed to acknowledge that the fatal blow here was a sucker punch (or that it was inflicted with enough force to knock Kauanui unconscious before he even hit the pavement), but failed as well to grapple with the evidence tending to show (Cravens) pattern of using sucker punches to his advantage, wrote Associate Justice Marvin R. Baxter in the courts majority opinion. One justice agreed with the majority opinion but on separate grounds. Justice Joyce L. Kennard wrote the dissent, arguing that the evidence did not show that Cravens who is right-handed but struck the fatal blow with his left knew that the punch would endanger Kauanuis life. Cravens, now 26, was one of five La Jolla High School graduates charged with murder in the high-profile case, but he was the only one who went to trial. Prosecutors argued that the young defendants part of a loose-knit crew known as the Bird Rock Bandits had participated in a group attack on Kauanui on May 24, 2007, outside his mothers La Jolla home. Cravens, who had a reputation for beating and bullying people in the La Jolla area, threw the devastating blow. He struck Kauanui once in his jaw, causing him to fall and strike his head on the pavement, fracturing his skull. He died in a hospital four days later. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said in a news release that the high courts ruling holds a murderer accountable and restores justice for the victim. The Attorney Generals Office did an outstanding job arguing this case to the Supreme Court and our office is grateful for their work to uphold Seth Cravens conviction. Mary Ellen Attridge, a deputy alternate public defender who represented Cravens during the trial, said she was disappointed in the courts ruling and there may be grounds for the appellate attorney to ask for another hearing. The court made some mistakes, and we will be filing a petition for rehearing within 15 days, said Randall Bookout, who represented Cravens for the appeal. He declined to go into specifics as to what errors were made. Its rare that such petitions are granted. The case grabbed the publics attention locally and nationally, in part because the District Attorneys Office attached gang allegations to the murder charges, which increased their potential punishments significantly. That sparked a debate over whether the young men, most of whom came from the affluent beach community, were gang members. Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach, who prosecuted the case, argued that they were, but a judge determined the group did not fit the definition of a gang under state law. Three of the defendants Matthew Yanke, Eric House, and Orlando Osuna eventually pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Henri Hank Hendricks pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact. In addition to murder, a San Diego Superior Court jury found Cravens guilty of other charges, including felony assault and making a criminal threat, stemming from other incidents. Roach said during the trial that Cravens and his friends left a La Jolla bar about 1 a.m. after House and Kauanui got into an alcohol-fueled altercation. The group drove to Kauanuis residence on Draper Avenue and a fight broke out. Defense attorneys argued it was never a group brawl. At some point, Cravens and Kauanui exchanged words and Cravens cold-cocked him, the prosecutor said. She argued that Cravens was guilty of second-degree murder under a theory of implied malice, meaning that he knew what he was doing was dangerous to human life, but did it anyway. Attridge argued that Craven did not and could not have known that one punch could result in death. The state 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego agreed and reduced the murder conviction, but the state Supreme Courts ruling reversed that decision. MISSOULA A new poll of voters in Rocky Mountain states found significant bipartisan support for conserving public lands rather than developing their natural resources. We saw stronger support than expected among Trump voters in terms of proactive conservation efforts, said Lori Weigel, one of the survey analysts for Colorado Colleges annual Conservation in the West poll. We did see more support for oil and gas leasing, and coal mining on public lands among trump voters than Democratic opponent or third-party voters, and thats to be expected. But it was more striking how often we saw agreement than where we saw big differences. For example, 68 percent of those polled in the seven states along the Continental Divide wanted the Trump administration to protect clean water, air quality, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, compared to 22 percent who wanted emphasis on domestic energy development, responsible oil and gas drilling and coal mining. Fellow poll analyst David Metz said there was at least a plurality in every state favoring public lands protection over resource extractions. In Montana, the split was 63 percent in favor of conservation while 24 percent wanted energy development. Metz and Weigel represented Democratic- and Republican-affiliated polling firms, and designed the questions to reflect a bipartisan approach. Public lands drive our economy and define our way of life in Montana and in surrounding states, said Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who participated in the poll press conference by phone. We have too much to lose if we allow these national treasures to be put at risk. Bullock noted that 82 percent of respondents supported improving access to public lands for anglers and hunters. He also highlighted the finding that 94 percent of respondents supported improving and repairing infrastructure in national parks and outdoor destinations. Montanas outdoor recreation economy support 64,000 jobs and nearly $6 billion of economic activity in the state, Bullock said. About 11 million people a year visit the states public lands. After being told that Trump had pledged to manage public lands in the footsteps of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was credited with creating national parks and monuments, 63 percent of the respondents said they approved of that approach. Weigel said when looked at by party, 67 percent of the Republicans agreed with Trumps Teddy Roosevelt approach while 57 percent of Democrats did so. Trump also pledged to undo former President Obamas moratorium on federal coal leasing, which was imposed last January. The poll found 63 percent opposed more coal mining on public lands, while 33 percent spoke in favor. An average 81 percent among the seven states favored continuing Obamas restrictions on methane gas flaring and leaking, including 84 percent in Montana. The Trump administration is expected to attempt rolling back the methane rules. The results of the new Colorado College poll showing broad, bipartisan support among Western voters for keeping public lands public and responsible energy development certainly reflect the wide support we see among hunters, anglers, rafters and wildlife watchers, regardless of political party, National Wildlife Federation western sportsmens campaign manager Aaron Kindle wrote in an email. Sportsmen in the West and across the country are united in our passion for our American outdoor heritage and proponents of selling it off, carving it up or giving it away should take heed. The annual poll found 70 percent of the residents in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico considered themselves conservationists. That was up from 63 percent in 2016. In Montana, the share jumped from 71 percent last year to 78 percent in the current sample. Pollsters called 2,800 people by cell phone and landline in December and January, reaching 400 registered voters in each state. The final results had a 2.74 percent margin of error region-wide, and a 4.9 percent margin for individual state results. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of 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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe MOIESE If youre looking for work, the National Bison Range has several jobs it needs done, but be advised: The pay is low. Nonexistent, to be precise. The Bison Range has long depended on volunteers, especially during its annual bison roundup. But with several full-time positions now having gone unfilled for anywhere from one to almost five years, the national wildlife refuge is stepping up efforts to recruit members of the public to help out. The refuge will host an open house next week, and invites anyone interested in learning more about the projects for which volunteers are being sought to stop into the Visitor Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The list of things that need doing range from staffing the Visitor Center, to mowing public use areas, to clerical duties, to assisting on biological projects. Weve had some degree (of volunteerism) over the years, but probably not this degree, said Laura King, acting visitor services manager. We dont see having any staff added, so we need volunteers to keep programs moving forward and help keep the gates open. Hiring at the Bison Range appears to have largely been in limbo for some time. The refuges fate has been up in the air since a federal judge in 2010 pulled the plug on an annual funding agreement that split refuge jobs between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. A year ago, USFWS said if it were introduced in Congress, the agency would back a bill to transfer the Bison Range to the tribes. That would remove the range from the National Wildlife Refuge system, and USFWS control. In the meantime, a growing list of USFWS positions at the Bison Range have not been filled. *** The Bison Range has been without a law enforcement officer for one year, a permanent visitor services manager for 1 years, a deputy project leader for three years, a lead biologist for four years and another biologist position has been vacant for almost five years. Project leader Jeff King said USFWS is moving forward to hire a law enforcement officer by May, but the other jobs remain vacant. Currently, the nearly 19,000-acre refuge that is visited by more than 200,000 people a year has four maintenance workers, one biologist and the project leader on staff. He referred all other questions about Bison Range staffing to the USFWS Mountain-Prairie Regional offices in Denver. There, multiple phone messages left this week with Will Meeks, the assistant regional director for refuges, and Anna Munoz, the assistant regional director for external affairs, were not returned. We want to do the best job we can, and our volunteer workforce is important," Laura King said. One of my objectives is to build a more solid volunteer base here. The few we have now are indispensable. Laura King is Jeff Kings wife. She is on detail to the Bison Range from USFWS, meaning its a temporary assignment. Rules bar her from being supervised by her husband, and she is supervised by the regional office. *** While there is no pay involved, there are potential perks. There are two RV pads with water, electric and septic hookups available for volunteers to use, one at the Bison Range and one at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, part of the complex overseen by Bison Range staff. There is also limited housing available for out-of-town volunteers. Some people volunteer for specific events such as the bison roundup each fall or projects, while others donate many hours over several months assisting in the Visitor Center or keeping day-use areas mowed. A press release announcing the open house listed several chores the staff is seeking help doing. Theyre looking for volunteers for trail maintenance, minor construction projects, answering phones, cleaning and maintaining restrooms, and interacting with the public in the Visitor Center and on the refuge. There are several ongoing biological projects that volunteers can assist with, and office tasks such as filing and the organization of historical records. Weve always utilized volunteers, Jeff King said, including approximately 25 during last years roundup. This is nothing new the biggest difference is, with Laura acting as visitor services manager, were taking it a step further and reaching out. The press release said the National Bison Range will continue to recruit volunteers until all our needs are met. London, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/01/2017 -- Max Wille, a student of fashion, modern day feminist and entrepreneur, has officially launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new line of slip-on sneakers named 'March On', to commemorate the 2017 Women's March. The Kickstarter campaign aims to garner widespread support and financial backing to manufacture, market and distribute her shoes to a mass audience. Inspired by the wonderfully creative signs and artworks made by the protesters around the world, Max Wille's Kickstarter project is a dedication to the 2017 Women's March, and an effort to make sure the energy and purpose of the marches do not fade with time. The 2017 Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, in support of women's rights. The rallies were aimed at Donald Trump, immediately following his inauguration as President of the United States, due to statements and positions of his regarded by many as misogynistic or in other ways reprehensible. Estimates put worldwide participation at 4.8 million with at least 408 marches were in the U.S. and 168 in 81 other countries. Wille hopes that march participants and others will make an artistic and contemporary statement rather than letting the protests fade after an eventful start of 2017. "Over 3 million of us have marched for women's rights. Dont let our protest end here, keep walking strong for our rights," said project and March On shoe creator Max Wille. "By buying a pair of my shoes, you will march on as a feminist for our rights and the rights of our children." The 'March On' shoe design focuses on comfort, quality and durability. With a likely manufacturing site in Portugal, each pair of 'March On' shoes will consist of a rubber sole, and a cotton or canvas "upper". The prints will be carefully assembled and collected and will be transferred onto the fabric by digital print, ensuring the images are "sharp and long lasting" and in line with the goals of the march. Shoe designs can even be customized with a customer's own photos from the 2017 Women's March as prints on their pair of 'March On' sneakers. "Currently we are sampling fabric for our sneakers, various qualities of cotton and canvas, to make sure they are easy to wear, comfortable and durable. The samples should be finalized in March, when production will start. Once [Kickstarter] funding is reached, every supporter will be contacted with a choice of at least the 3 designs shown and sizes to choose from," says Wille. Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. 'Backers' who support a project on Kickstarter get an inside look at the creative process, and help that project come to life. All 'Backers' of the 'March On' Kickstarter campaign who pledge 30 or more (about $37) will receive a pair of the slip-on sneakers. The Kickstarter campaign is officially open until February 23, 2017. For more information about the Kickstarter campaign, visit: http://kck.st/2koxKtC Contact: Max Wille Phone: +44 7521243071 Email: marching.on.2017@gmail.com Website: http://kck.st/2koxKtC Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/01/2017 -- The Global Top 100 Packaging Manufacturing Companies Market latest research report provides in-depth analysis of definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The report also consists of development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status of Packaging Manufacturing Companies Industry. Get a PDF Sample of the Top 100 Packaging Manufacturing Companies Market Research Report at: http://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-sample/10058388 Fast Facts! -The number one producer of food cans and metal vacuum closures in the world is Crown Holdings, Inc. -The Senior Vice President of Consumer Packaging Division at Graphic Packaging International, Inc. is Michael S. Ukropina. -The largest producer of metal packaging products for a wide range of customer goods in China is CPMC Holdings Limited. -The Executive Vice President of Global Purchasing at Berry Plastics Corporation is Scott Farmer. -In the year 2014, net sales of Espoo, Finland headquartered food and drink packaging specialist, Huhtamaki Oyj was $US 2.5 billion. -The largest container glass packaging solutions provider in India with a 55% market share is Hindustan National Glass & Industries Limited. -In October, 2015, Alexander Baumgartner was appointed Chief Executive Officer of, Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH, one of the world's leading manufacturers of flexible packaging and labels. -50% of all pizza boxes in North America is produced by WestRock Company. -At 34 locations, the Mayr-Melnhof Group converts more than 702,000 tons of carton board into folding cartons per annum, making it Europe's leading manufacturer of folding cartons. Browse more detail information about The Top 100 Packaging Manufacturing Companies Market Report at: http://www.absolutereports.com/the-top-100-packaging-manufacturing-companies-worldwide-10058388 There are many producers of packaging worldwide. This Packgaing manufacturers report outlines the Top 100. These are the companies with the knowledge, experience and funds that enable them to progress, produce and market innovative products which competes effectively in global markets. The companies outlined in this report are located across the globe. They produce all types of packaging e.g. corrugated packaging, flexible packaging, folding cartons, glass packaging, metal packaging etc. for all Worldwide Packaging manufacturers sectors. Between them, they have almost one million employees. Profile information for each company in 'The Top 100 Packaging Manufacturing Companies Worldwide' normally comprises of: -Specialised fields such as Company Description, Ownership, Number of Employees and Revenue -Company Contact Information - Address, Telephone and Fax Numbers, Email and Website Address -Key Company Decision Makers - From CEO and Main Board, to Key Senior Managers Report Target Market: 1) Packaging Manufacturers Usage: competitive/financial analysis and strategic partner/alliance identification 2) Suppliers 'The Top 100 Packaging Manufacturing Companies Worldwide' is perfect for suppliers of goods and services such as carton board, printing presses, flatbed die-cutters, gluing machines etc. to identify top potential customers. 3) Distributors The following report is perfect for distributors of industrial and consumer packaging solutions to classify the leading manufacturers with the best products. 4) Packaging Industry Associations: 'The Top 100 Packaging Manufacturing Companies Worldwide' is a useful reference tool for packaging industry associations. Purchase report @ http://www.absolutereports.com/purchase/10058388 Note: Most people will be aware of some of the major packaging manufacturing companies such as Bemis Company, Inc., DS Smith Plc and Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd. but this report looks at all 100 of the top companies - companies like - Elopak AS - Headquartered in Oslo, Norway and wholly owned by the Ferd Group (one of Norway's largest privately owned industrial groups), Elopak is an international supplier of paper based packaging solutions for liquid food. The Company has 13 manufacturing units and 2,800 employees. It sells 13 billion cartons in 80 markets worldwide. It is led by Niels Petter Wright, CEO and Tom Helge Egenes is Director of Strategic Sourcing. Get Discount on The Top 100 Packaging Manufacturing Companies Market Research Report at: http://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-discount/10058388 About Absolute Reports Absolute Reports is an upscale platform to help key personnel in the business world in strategizing and taking visionary decisions based on facts and figures derived from in depth market research. We are one of the top report resellers in the market, dedicated towards bringing an ingenious concoction of data parameters. NASAs Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has spotted the five most distant gamma-ray blazars a type of galaxy whose intense emissions are powered by supermassive black holes yet known. Blazars constitute roughly half of the gamma-ray sources detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT), the principal scientific instrument on the Fermi spacecraft. Astronomers think their high-energy emissions are powered by matter heated and torn apart as it falls from a storage, or accretion, disk toward a supermassive black hole with a million or more times the Suns mass. A small part of this infalling material becomes redirected into a pair of particle jets, which blast outward in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light. Blazars appear bright in all forms of light, including gamma rays, the highest-energy light, when one of the jets happens to point almost directly toward us. High-redshift blazars detected by LAT are of great astrophysical importance as they are extreme objects whose energetics remain a mystery, said Dr. Roopesh Ojha of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center and co-authors. Such blazars are intrinsically interesting since they inform us about the evolution of gamma-ray blazars and are, by definition, some of the more luminous blazars in the LAT sample. These blazars appear to host very massive black holes and could shed light on the origin and growth of black holes in the early Universe. Dr. Ojha and his colleagues searched for the most distant sources in a catalog of 1.4 million quasars. Because only the brightest sources can be detected at great cosmic distances, the astronomers then eliminated all but the brightest objects at radio wavelengths from the list. With a final sample of about 1,100 objects, they then examined LAT data for all of them, resulting in the detection of five new gamma-ray blazars: J064632+445116, J151002+570243, J135406-020603, J163547+362930 and J212912-153841. Once we found these sources, we collected all the available multiwavelength data on them and derived properties like the black hole mass, the accretion disk luminosity, and the jet power, explained Dr. Vaidehi Paliya of Clemson University. Expressed in terms of redshift, the newly-discovered blazars range from redshift 3.3 to 4.31, which means the light we now detect from them started on its way when the Universe was between 1.9 and 1.4 billion years old, respectively. The most distant object, J151002+570243, emitted its light when the Universe was just one-tenth its current age. This blazar hosts a black hole with a mass of 3 billion solar masses. Another of these distant blazars boasts a black hole more than twice this size. All of the objects possess extremely luminous accretion disks that emit more than two trillion times the energy output of the Sun. This means matter is continuously falling inward, corralled into a disk and heated before making the final plunge to the black hole. The main question now is how these huge black holes could have formed in such a young Universe. We dont know what mechanisms triggered their rapid development, said Dr. Dario Gasparrini of the Italian Space Agencys Science Data Center. The astronomers presented their findings January 30, 2017 at the APR17 Meeting of the American Physical Society in Washington, DC. _____ Roopesh Ojha et al. 2017. Expanding the Gamma-ray Universe: High Redshift Fermi-LAT Blazars. APR17 Meeting of the American Physical Society, abstract # S4.00008 This article is based on a press-release from NASA. A baby dolphin in Argentina has been killed, just because a bunch of tourists wanted to capture the perfect selfies with it. According to a national newspaper, La Capital, the selfie-crazed tourists dragged the aquatic mammal from the ocean in San Bernardo. The gruesome deed was captured on video and has since been uploaded on YouTube. The clip shows the tourists touching and literally mobbing the dolphin. "They let him die," an observer quoted in La Capital. "He was young and came to the shore. They could have returned him to the water-in fact, he was breathing. But everyone started taking photos and touching him. They said he was already dead." According to the National Geographic, this is the second occurrence that has taken in Argentina and that too within a span of a year, where a young dolphin has died due to the callousness of selfie-seeking tourists. Last February, a baby dolphin from the endangered La Plata species died on a beach in Santa Teresita, a resort town in Argentina. A group of tourists had passed the dolphin around until it died due to dehydration. "Social media has changed the landscape, making exotic animals seem adorable and acceptable, but what you do not see is the suffering that lies behind the images," National Geographic reported last year. The popularity of instant photo sharing social media sites like Instagram and Facebook has led people to constantly look for ways to take and share the most unique photos. In this quest, a spate of tragic incidences is occurring, and harming animals is one of them. In 2015, a Colorado park was forced to close itself due to the need of tourists to take selfies with bears, without any heed to the risk posed on the animals or their own selves. The images of the newly discovered and stunning Amazon coral reef were released. The reef was just discovered last year during the expedition of scientists off the coast of Brazil. BP and Total set to drill for oil near newly discovered coral reef at the mouth of the Amazon https://t.co/1q49nWEYVz pic.twitter.com/iJZejJaZFT Energydesk (@Energydesk) February 1, 2017 The scientists were aboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza and spotted the system about 721 feet below the sea and 62 miles off the coast. It stretches from French Guiana to Brazil's Maranho state. They saw the corals flourish in clear, sunlit water. The Amazon reef is home to over 60 species of sponges, 73 species of fish, stars and spiny lobsters, according to The Guardian. First stunning photos revealed of Amazon river coral reefhttps://t.co/KsKVtoMtZC pic.twitter.com/LbrdoGyfAP Blues White (@theblueswhite) January 31, 2017 Nils Asp, a researcher at the Federal University of Para in Belem, Brazil, said that this reef system is significant for many reasons, including the fact that it has unique characteristics regarding use and availability of light. He further said that it has a huge potential for new species and it is also important for the economic well-being of fishing communities along the Amazonian coastal zone. First Photos of New Amazon Coral Reef System Released https://t.co/19zxSIg9ov pic.twitter.com/6aN8qRR5i7 World of Nature (@WorldfNature) January 30, 2017 On the other hand, the unique and helpful system might be in danger from oil drillers. The Greenpeace campaigners have expressed their concerns regarding the oil companies such as BP, Total and Petrobras that could be given permission from the Brazilian government to drill the said area. They could have drilled about 15-20 billion of barrel reserves, according to Fox News. Thiago Almeida, a campaigner at Greenpeace Brazil, said that they must defend the reef and the entire region at the mouth of the Amazon river basin from the corporate greed that puts profits ahead of the environment. The Greenpeace Brazil stated that there were 95 wells that had been drilled in the region, none of which found economically or technically viable gas and oil. On the other hand, the Brazilian government speculates that the region may contain about 14 billion barrels of oil. The space rocks or also referred to as meteorites hunting has been given a go signal for the British scientists. They aim to gather meteorites in the cold Antarctica. On the other hand, the British scientists only target one strange class of meteorites. These are space rocks made of iron. These rocks are the smashed-up innards of bodies that almost became planets at the beginning of the Solar System, according to BBC News. Dr. Katherine Joy at Manchester University said that finding more of them could give them important clues to events that occurred some 4.6 billion years ago. She further said that they cannot access the iron core of the Earth. On the other hand, the iron meteorites provide them with a nice guide as to what the inside of the Earth is like and gives them an indication of how many planets there may have been in the early Solar System. Iron meteorites are mostly made from an iron-nickel alloy or referred to as meteoric iron. They have two mineral phases, namely, the kamacite and the taenite. This iron found in iron meteorites became the known earliest usable iron that was used by humans, which signaled the beginning of the Iron Age. Iron meteorites are considered fragments of the cores of huge ancient asteroids that have been crushed by impacts. Researchers search for them in deserts and Antarctica. There were more than 35,000 meteorites that have been collected and about two-thirds of them have been recovered from Antarctica. The British team is yet to decide where to conduct its research. On the other hand, it would be more likely along the Argentina, Shackleton or Pensacola ranges. Meanwhile, Dr. Joy said that NASA has just announced the Psyche space mission, which will visit an iron asteroid. She further said that it is going to be a body made of exactly the type of material they hope to be collecting in Antarctica. Alien hunters have become obsessed with the reality of extraterrestrial existence as claims of alien abduction fill their minds for years. While scientists continue their quest in finding concrete evidence of alien life, psychologists explain how people telling stories about being abducted by aliens come up with their beliefs. The Conversation reported that psychologists have provided scientific explanations behind countless claims of alien abduction. According to studies, these people may have a personality called proclivity for fantasy, where they often confuse reality with their fantasies. People prone to fantasy are often led to believe that what they have imagined actually happened, which is why those claiming to have encountered extraterrestrials seem to be telling the truth. Another psychological explanation is a personality called dissociation, where a person's mental processes detach themselves and from reality. This often occurs as a form of escape when a person is undergoing stressful to extremely tense life situations. Psychologists believe that these claims of alien abduction could be a combination of susceptibility to false memories and personality characteristics. In addition, psychologists point sleep paralysis as another factor that could prompt false memories. This occurs when a person becomes conscious when he transitions from sleep to wakefulness while he is unable to move. Those who have experienced sleep paralysis share the same claims of being awake and not dreaming, a realistic perception of the environment, and feelings of fear and dread. Experiencers also feel pressure on their chests as if they are restricted to a lying position, have difficulties in breathing, as well as a sense of an evil or supernatural presence (e.g., aliens). "[If] you're having episodes that are becoming somewhat more frequent, see a sleep specialist to see if there's any underlying medical disorder that might be causing the sleep paralysis," Dr. Shelby Harris, director of Behavioral Sleep Medicine at the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at the Montefiore Health System in Bronx, New York, told Live Science. And just like any other strange conditions, it does work best to see an expert before jumping to conclusions. Bathroom mats. Toilet seats. Shoes. Dog tags. All of these items have, in recent years, gone on sale adorned with images of Hindu deities, particularly that of Ganesha, known most commonly in the West for his elephant face. It is inappropriate, and it is offensive to devotees, said Rajan Zed, a Reno-based Hindu activist who protests against such commercial products. I havent seen Christ on toilet seat covers. Or any symbol of Islam, said Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of religion at the University of Florida. If you wouldnt do it with one, why do you want to do it with something else? Or at least wouldnt it behoove you to check? Every few months, Zed said, he receives a message about some insensitive commercial use of a Hindu image. Most recently, Zed called on Amazon to pull deity-decorated skateboards and bedding from its online shelves. (This was not the first time the retailer got itself into hot water over such practices. In June, the hashtag #boycottAmazon trended on Twitter in India after users discovered doormats with images of Hindu deities available for sale. Amazon removed the items within days.) Earlier this month, Zed asked online retailers Wayfair and Kess In House to stop selling bathmats, doormats, dog beds, leggings and rugs with images of Ganesha, who often is invoked in prayers for prosperity and success at the beginning of new ventures. Another time, there was the Burger King commercial in Spain that featured Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, sitting atop a hamburger with the caption, The snack is sacred in Spanish. (Many Hindus are vegetarian, with beef considered especially off-limits because cows are considered sacred.) The use of these images in a secular context, and particularly in a context that is in direct opposition to the basic tenets of the Hindu religion, displays a lack of respect, Narayanan said. In Hinduism, myriad deities and their representation through images, sounds (like the chanting of om) and expressive forms like dance or music are an attempt to capture the many facets of a supreme being whose existence is difficult to grasp, Narayanan said. As such, depictions of the sacred are themselves considered to be sacred, she said. Consider that time in 2013 when Urban Outfitters drew criticism for selling socks with depictions of Ganesha around the ankles. Feet are considered the lowest form of a being, Narayanan said. Pointing ones feet at another person is considered to be extremely disrespectful, while bowing at someones feet is a mark of veneration. When you have your foot not just pointing to but touching a god on footwear, its a double-whammy, Narayanan said. Even the most liberal Hindus that I know would find [this] particularly jarring. Its not that Hindus categorically reject the use of religious images on artistic or commercial products. In India, for example, images of Lakshmi are commonly used to sell lottery tickets. In another well-known advertisement, Hanuman, a monkey-faced deity known in Hindu mythology as an efficient, swift emissary, promises fast delivery for ABT Parcel Service, a transportation and post service in south India. Context shapes whether something is a misappropriation or appropriation or appreciation, said Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, an advocacy group for Hindu Americans. Someone whos doing it out of appreciation or reverence would never put it on a toilet. That automatically becomes the filter, she said. Most of the time, when Zed reaches out to companies to ask them to stop selling an item or displaying an advertisement, he said, they apologize and comply. Its ignorance, basically, Zed said. People dont know our traditions and our deities. Indians are a relatively new immigrant group in the U.S., with many having arrived after immigration laws changed in 1965 to abolish national-origins quotas and establish a preference for skilled workers and families. Indians make up only about 1 percent of the U.S. population, and Hindus are a fraction of that, as Indians practice a variety of faiths. There also are Hindu immigrants from other countries, albeit in even smaller numbers. Knowing someone from a religious group is linked with having more positive views of that group, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey. Only 22 percent of respondents in the survey said they knew someone who was Hindu, and when asked to rate their attitudes toward various religious groups on a feelings thermometer (where 0 degrees meant viewing a group as coldly and negatively as possible), they rated Hindus somewhat neutrally, at 50 degrees. By contrast, a majority of Americans said they knew someone who was Catholic or Jewish; those groups received ratings of 63 and 62 degrees, respectively. Susan Scafidi, a law professor at Fordham University in New York and author of Who Owns Culture?, a book about cultural appropriation and American law, said people commonly borrow religious symbols from other cultures because they are the clearest expression of those cultures. People reach for things that are accessible and dont stop to think necessarily what those pieces of culture might mean, Scafidi said. Instead, they infuse the symbol with their own, usually inchoate, meaning, she said. It doesnt typically come from a place of racism or hatred. Its more thoughtlessness, Scafidi added. But after a group has made it known that a particular use of an image or cultural artifact is offensive, companies that continue to use it are choosing to place profits above respect, she said. Some Hindu symbols have become particularly valuable to brands. For instance, Brahma Beer in Brazil is by some estimates the ninth-bestselling beer in the world. Though the reason behind the selection of the name Brahma is unclear (the brand originated in 1888), the name also refers to a Hindu god and is antithetical in a religion that sees alcohol as impure or that at the very least would not associate it with worship. Zed said he contacted Anheuser-Busch InBev, now the owner of Brahma, about discontinuing the product, but he acknowledged that it was too significant a revenue source for the company to terminate. In the U.S., the multibillion-dollar yoga industry has for years produced yoga mats, towels and exercise pants that place om symbols and images of Ganesha close to or directly underneath the feet and legs. But Scafidi said these images are probably more an asset than a liability to companies at this point because they have been accepted by the mainstream rather than seen as offensive to another culture. Thats a big problem, said Shukla, of the Hindu-American Foundation. On the one side, people are very familiar with Hindu concepts like karma or reincarnation and practices like yoga, she said. But on the other hand, these elements have been stripped of any association with Hinduism. Shuklas group is trying to change that. Its members previously launched a Take Back Yoga campaign to educate the public about yogas connection to Hinduism. This year, when the American holiday of Halloween and the Hindu holiday of Diwali overlapped, the group embarked on an effort to dispel myths about the swastika, a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in Hinduism that was notoriously misappropriated by Hitler. The more people understand about Hindu practice, the greater the likelihood of [symbols] being used in context, Shukla said. MARION, S.C. Marion County School District joined school districts throughout the state and nation to celebrate School Board Recognition Month in January. More than 600 locally elected and appointed school board members throughout the state were recognized by schools and communities for their service and dedication to public education. The theme School Boards Stand Up 4 SC Public Schools recognized the important roles school boards play in promoting and advocating for quality education. School board members are elected/appointed by the people in their local communities to represent their voice and to ensure the success of schools and students. The efforts of school board members often go unrecognized, said Kandace Bethea, the interim Marion County School District superintendent. This month we honor the year-round commitment that school board members make to our district and the community. In the Marion County School District,school board members develop policies and make tough decisions on complex educational and social issues impacting the entire community. They bear responsibility for 4,800 students, 750 employees, 16 buildings and an annual budget of more than $35 million. As a part of School Board Recognition Month, Marion County School District board members participated in an official signing of the South Carolina School Board Member Ethical Principles during their January school board meeting on Jan. 17. By signing the principles, school board members publicly vowed to uphold effective governance principles and pledged to improve public education in their community. The men and women serving Marion County School District and their years of service: >> Chairperson Cynthia Legette, 20 years >> Vice chairperson Levant Davis, 11 years >> Ritta Hennecy, 12 years >> Rev. Cynthia V. Brown, six years >> Ogleretta White, one year >> Linda O. Neal, two years >> Charles White, eight months FLORENCE, S.C. HopeHealths Brittany Timmons, DNP, and Director of Community Relations Tiffany Straus reached out to community members Jan. 23 with a health care-focused presentation to the League of Women Voters Florence Chapter. Topics included local trends in health care, happenings at HopeHealth and the importance of advocating for community health centers. Timmons discussed a variety of local issues such as health conditions resulting from the 2015 floods and 2016 Hurricane Matthew, the South Carolina behavioral health crisis and the current state of the Affordable Care Act. Straus fielded questions and concerns from attendees about the possible changes health centers are facing, including the repeal of the ACA, potential cuts to Medicaid, a 70 percent funding cut and changes to the 340B pharmacy program. Mr. Cameron Watkins is an exceptional band director, Hartsville High School Principal Charlie Burry said. He directs a very well-organized and highly structured program, one that requires much of his students. He is able to extract this kind of commitment from his students because they know that he cares for them as more than musicians or pieces in this years show. DECATUR Two Decatur men are facing Class X felony charges punishable by up to 45 years in prison, for allegedly robbing a woman of her car at gunpoint, while promising her they would reward her with some marijuana. The victim reported that after she listed her vehicle for sale, four males came to her near-northside residence about 3 p.m. Jan. 23. After test driving the vehicle, the suspects returned to the residence where two of the suspects displayed small black semiautomatic handguns and threatened to shoot her if she did not 'sell' them the vehicle in exchange for cannabis, said an affidavit by a Decatur patrol officer. The woman agreed to accept the marijuana for her vehicle out of fear for her safety. The males did not actually provide her with the cannabis, and all four got into her vehicle and left, the victim told police. Officers located the woman's car, parked in the 300 block of North 18th Street, about 1:20 a.m. Jan. 25. The vehicle was occupied by Courtney Vaughn, 21, who was seated in the front passenger seat, the affidavit said. Vaughn told police the name of a 17-year-old male who had been driving the vehicle and was in a nearby residence. As officers processed the scene, the 17-year-old and Andre D. Miller, 24, exited from the residence. Miller told police his cousins had purchased the vehicle, and he was supposed to drive them somewhere because he has a license. A witness told police Vaughn and the 17-year-old brought the vehicle to the 18th Street residence to pick up Miller. That witness said Miller was seen in that same vehicle on several occasions recently. The victim was taken to the scene, where she identified the males as three of the subjects who had robbed her of the vehicle at gunpoint. Police found a digital scale with cocaine residue in the vehicle. Vaughn and Miller were arrested and booked into the Macon County Jail, where they are being held on bonds of $30,000 and $50,000, respectively. They were each arraigned Tuesday on three felony counts: Class X aggravated vehicular hijacking, vehicular hijacking and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. Miller previously served a two-year prison sentence in a 2009 Class X home invasion case, in which Miller and another male entered a woman's apartment, punched her in her nose, put a pillow over her face and stole money from her purse. Miller pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. The 17 year-old-male and a 16-year-old male were both arrested and detained at the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center. Miller and Vaughn are due in court Feb. 15 for preliminary hearings. DECATUR Your online footprint can have far-reaching consequences. Kids often think that what they're doing on social media is private, just between them and their friends, said Joel Witt, principal of the Lutheran School Association's kindergarten through eighth grade. They don't grasp how easy it is for a photo or information to get passed from person to person. The parents buy their kids a cellphone, but it opens up an entire world, Witt said. You give a gift like that, and never follow up. You can compare it to giving your kid the keys to the family car and then never checking up on where they're going. The internet, he said, is far more accessible to things parents should worry about, and kids may believe that they're anonymous online when they're not. During an assembly for students at LSA High School on Tuesday, Christine Feller of the High Tech Crimes Bureau, Office of the Illinois Attorney General, spoke. We've been having issues, high school Principal Allison Nolen said. We've been talking about this since last semester, but we pushed it forward because it was an issue. We're going down to sixth grade (with the message) to let them all know what could happen. Feller asked how many of the LSA students expected to go to college, join the military or have a job one day. Nearly all raised their hands. What you do online can directly impact all of those things, Feller said. If you apply for a job or scholarship, she said, the second thing people do after reading the application or resume is check out the applicant's social media presence. If they see foul language and nude photos, that's going to affect their opinion of the applicant poorly and quite possibly cost the applicant the position. There are also more frightening prospects. Young people in a dating relationship might share nude photos with each other that one or the other shows their friends, who show their friends, and the photo can end up in child pornography networks where they will keep circulating for years. Feller urged the students to search their own names and screen names online to see what comes up, to keep their social media presence PG-rated and use all the privacy and security measures available, and to only accept social media friends who really are friends, that they know personally and well. Briley Housh, a senior, said he knew some of what Feller said already, but hadn't thought about other parts of her presentation. Teens don't use Facebook as much anymore, said Abby Summers, also a senior, though they haven't given it up completely. Snapchat is the most popular social media among her friends and she was not aware that photos shared there can be saved and, potentially, found and used by strangers. That disturbed her. Even in the future, (social media) can actually haunt you and ruin your life, he said. I'm going to go back and look at (my privacy settings) to see if I have locations on and all that stuff. I don't want anything to happen. DECATUR Tim Dudley, vice chairman of the Macon County Board, has taken on a new position with the city of Decatur. Dudley, 57, began working on Monday as the city's development and revitalization specialist. He will be taking on some of the functions of Patrick Hoban, the city's economic development officer, who resigned effective Friday, to move to a position in Tinley Park. But Billy Tyus, assistant city manager for development services, said Dudley is not replacing Hoban. Some of the functions of the specialist position are in support of economic development, Tyus said. We are looking at how to best organize all the positions of the economic development department. Tyus said he is excited about the hiring of Dudley to fill the position, which was first advertised by the city in August. The good thing about Mr. Dudley is that he has the background and experience to carry out a variety of these functions and has a heart and passion for helping our community, Tyus said. The duties assigned to Dudley will include revitalization of neighborhoods, pursuing annexation and planning and zoning. The council has talked about being more active in annexation, Tyus said. He said Dudley was hired because of his many positive qualifications. His background is varied. That will help him work on economic development projects. He will be able to step right in and work, Tyus said. Dudley, who is relinquishing his job as Realtor for Brinkoetter & Associates Realtors for the city position, said he will continue to serve on the county board, where he has been a member for the past nine years. A former Richland Community College trustee, Dudley served as central regional manager for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for three years, ending in January 2015. The annual salary range for the position of development and revitalization specialist is between $50,000 and $55,000. DECATUR Richland Community College will begin offering buyouts to employees in an effort to keep a handle on its finances. The board of trustees approved a plan at a special meeting Tuesday night that would start a "voluntary separation incentive program" for all full-time employees at the college. Factors such as the increasing cost of personnel, declining enrollment and a lack of state funds all went into the decision to implement the program, said Richland President Cris Valdez. It gives employees the opportunity to opt out voluntarily and provides us flexibility with our personnel and staffing levels to move forward as we see the results of this program, he said. The program begins today, and eligible employees have 45 days to submit an application. Employees whose combined age and years of full-time service at the college are equal to or exceed 60 are eligible for the program. Those who participate in the plan will receive an incentive payment, with the weekly amount equal to their base salary as of today divided by 52. Those employees will receive one week of pay for each year of full-time employment up to 26 weeks. Participants must agree to separate from the college no later than June 30. Incentive will be paid after their final date of employment. The plan is not offered to grant-funded or contract employees. There is no set number of buyouts nor dollar amount that the college is looking to hit, said Greg Florian, vice president of finance and administration. Florian said officials will wait and see how much interest there is by employees. Were hoping to reduce our payroll, but its really the individual's choice whether they want to do this, he said. Officials said it was too early to speculate on whether layoffs could occur as part of an effort to reduce spending. Florian said they will keep an eye on the buyouts and a potential new state budget that could provide financial relief for the college. Officials will work with employees on when they would prefer to leave, but Florian said they will make sure that spring semester classes are not affected before May's graduation. Tuesday's move comes just a few weeks after it was announced that several administrative positions at the college would be eliminated, including the chief of staff, vice president of economic development and innovative workforce solutions and director of human resources. Two positions will also be eliminated in the Duplication Center, which will close this spring. The cause for the cuts and buyouts are a combination of the school experiencing a 13 percent decline in enrollment over the past six years and a loss of funds from the state, which used to account for roughly 13 percent of the colleges budget. The board approved a budget in December that did not count on receiving any money from the state, in part due to the nearly two-year long budget stalemate in Springfield. Arctic Kingdom will share their knowledge of the regions culture, wildlife and geography with passengers on board and lead discovery expeditions ashore. Last year Crystal teamed with Expedition Voyage Consultants for what was one of its most successful journeys ever. This year's 32-day voyage departs Seward, Alaska, on Aug. 15, bound for New York City. 'As the top land-based operator in the Arctic, we are excited to be providing exceptional opportunities for Crystal Serenity guests to authentically experience the Arctic, unlike ever before,' said Graham Dickson, president and ceo, Arctic Kingdom. Local Inuit guides, Northerners, marine biologists, archaeologists, expert divers, conservationists, photographers and wildlife experts round out Arctic Kingdoms team of expedition leaders and speakers for the voyage. Besides the many environmental perspectives of the Arctic, there are cultural aspects to be explored by Crystal travelers during visits to Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, and Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet, Nunavut. 'Planning and collaboration with top experts and authorities is a must to ensure the safety of our guests and crew. We continue to work closely with the United States and Canadian coast guards, Transport Canada and a myriad of federal, state, provincial, territorial and local government agencies,' said Edie Rodriguez, Crystal chairman, ceo and president. As with last year's expedition, Crystal Serenity will be accompanied through the Canadian Arctic by an escort vessel. Both ships will use low sulfur MGO, exceeding regulations. The escort vessel will carry additional safety and environmental protection equipment, and specifically trained personnel. In addition, it will serve as a platform for two helicopters for ice reconnaissance and flight seeing, and Zodiacs for landings. Crystal said this will mark the final voyage for one of its classic ocean ships to sail through the Arctic region. (The company is building polar-class vessels.) All-inclusive cruise fares start at $21,855 per person. The 'Crystal Clear Choices' promotional savings offers additional value for bookings made by March 31. The citizens of the seven countries subject to the temporary 90-day ban on entry to the US Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya. These are not major suppliers of seafarers to international shipping but issues could occur. West of Englands US attorneys, Freehill, Hogan and Mahar, said they thought it was clear that seafarers from the seven countries would be denied entry to the US over the next 90 days whether they held valid visas or not. Noting that it was difficult to predict how the EO will be fully implemented the firm said it did not believe that vessels carrying crew from the seven countries would be barred from calling the US. However, it said that it would not be surprised if owners had to post hired security guards at the vessels gangway to stop such crew members leaving the vessel. The circular added that crew replacements involving seafarers from the seven countries would be complicated, if not prohibited and recommended owners in such a position avoid crew changes in the US over the next 90 days. A medical emergency requiring a crew change could serve as a basis as exception to the ban said Frehill, Hogan and Mahir. SGX noted in its monthly dry freight report that Chinese coal demand had been one of the main surprises for the market in 2016. Looking forward, that same dark cloud of uncertainty is likely to linger over 2017, the report said. Our latest industry survey revealed widespread expectations that Chinas 276-day production restrictions will likely be resumed from the spring, with uncertainty over the impact on import demand as central policymakers adjust production and prices to their desired levels. Last April China limited its coal mines 276 days of annual production, however, this was lifted with the onset of winter and higher domestic demand. SGX also noted that Indian coal import demand this year would also hinge on domestic production. While Chinese iron stocks at ports have hit a record high this year thermal coal inventory has declined. Pelindo II hoped to consolidate cargo to reduce the cost per container by up to IDR1.5m ($113), president director Elvyn Masassya was quoted as saying. There will be some cargo consolidation. Large ships could stop there, and the logistic costs could compete with Singapore, Elvyn said. He noted that these moves could help costs by between IDR1m and IDR1.5m Tanjung Priok hopes to become more of an international hub, exporting directly instead of transshipping through Singapore. Because of the hub status, the shipment of goods will be more efficient, particularly for goods from Java and Sumatra, Elvyn said. Elvyn claimed that Tanjung Prioks facilities and capacity are sufficient to be a hub port and it just needed to attract more direct calls. He did not elaborate on the how many lines have expressed such interest. We already have adequate terminals and equipment. We only need to coordinate with shipping companies to inform them that the cost of transit at Tanjung Priok will be lower, he added. Local reports quoted him as saying at a military event that amid concern about the proliferation of extremism and piracy in the southern waters of the Philippines, he had requested China to patrol the areas in international waters leading to the Sulu Sea as well as the Malacca Straits. I also asked China if they can patrol the international waters without necessarily intruding into the territorial waters of the country. We would be glad if we have their presence, Duterte said, adding that the Asian giant could send patrol vessels, not necessarily "grey" warships. He did not say if China had responded. These areas have been hit by kidnapping and piracy attacks on commercial vessels thought to be led by Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf, which has forced shipowners to divert vessels on longer routes or give up trading there altogether, pushing up costs and transit times. He reiterated however that this could be done without deploying naval assets, using just Chinese coast guard vessels, which could enter territorial waters without necessarily impinging on sovereign rights. The Philippines has an arbitration ruling in its favour against China on its rights to the Spratleys. At least some of China's coast guard vessels are lightly armed and have been known to act aggressively in their national interests, most recently against Vietnamese fishing vessels in disputed waters off their coast. There appeared to be some immediate backpedalling from government with National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon clarifying that the Duterte's comments were simply part of broader concerns on the continuing kidnapping activities in Mindanao. Terrorism is an international concern, thats what he meant. If he may have mentioned one country, all countries are also concerned on terrorism, Esperon said. There is an existing trilateral maritime agreement between the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia on joint air patrols in the problem areas bordering their respective territories. The vessels are sold at $13.5m each by dAmico Tankers, subsidiary of DIS. dAmico Tankers will maintain commercial employment of the vessels High Endurance and High Endeavour of 46,992-dwt and 2004-built and has agreed with the buyer a four-year time charter agreement. The sale of these two vessels agreed with a known counterparty, is perfectly in line with DIS long term strategy of maintaining a very young owned fleet, by gradually substituting our oldest vessels with the newbuildings we have been ordering in the last four years, said Marco Fiori, ceo of DIS. At the same time, we will keep the commercial management of these two vessels for four additional years, through a time charter in contract made at an attractive rate, which might give us a good potential upside in a growing product tanker market. In addition to this, the above deal is expected to generate a profit on disposal of approximately $2m, which will benefit DIS first quarter 2017 results, Fiori added. Meanwhile, DIS has shipbuilding contracts with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for the construction of six LR1 product tankers with expected delivery between 2017 and 2018. WASHINGTON -- President Trump's refugee ban and travel restrictions are a disgraceful exercise in cruelty. They do nothing to make us safer -- and may, in fact, make us less safe -- but they punish Muslims, and that is his whole point. Fear and loathing of Islam was one of Trump's campaign themes. He appealed to those who wrongly see the fight against terrorism as a clash of civilizations between Christian and Muslim worlds -- and see Muslim immigrants as a kind of fifth column intent on destroying America from within. During the campaign, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." He later modified this position into a call for "extreme vetting" of Muslim immigrants, including Syrian refugees. But he continued to cite a discredited survey, conducted by a stridently anti-Muslim group, purporting to show that many Muslims in this country support "global jihad" and the replacement of our legal system with Islamic Sharia law. Is Trump just playing politics or is he truly an anti-Muslim bigot who believes this rubbish? At this point, it hardly matters. He has fulfilled his campaign promise by striking a gratuitous blow against would-be immigrants and visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries -- Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. Even more shamefully, Trump has barred entry by refugees from all nations worldwide. Perhaps he will have the Statue of Liberty toppled and sold for scrap. "This is not a Muslim ban," the president claimed in a statement. But unquestionably it is. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an early Trump supporter, said Saturday on Fox News that "when [Trump] first announced it, he said, 'Muslim ban.' He called me up. He said, 'Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.'" Giuliani said the ban is not based on religion, but rather "on places where there [is] substantial evidence that people are sending terrorists into our country." The countries covered by Trump's executive order were indeed singled out by the Obama administration for extra scrutiny. But if "sending terrorists" were the major criterion, surely Trump would have included Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks came from. And as for the supposed goal of "extreme vetting" for refugees, former President Obama already put such a system in place. In 2011, Obama paused the refugee flow so that authorities could reinvestigate tens of thousands of refugees who had already come to the United States. Homeland Security officials instituted rigorous vetting procedures for new refugees that require multiple interviews, and many months of waiting, before an applicant is cleared for entry. What, then, is the point of Trump's executive orders? To kick around some Muslims who are too weak to kick back -- and to further the pernicious narrative of global conflict between Muslim and Christian worlds. Trump's orders carve out an exemption for religious minorities, which in this context clearly means Christians in majority-Muslim countries. By all means, I believe, the United States should be a haven for Christians or any other religious group that is persecuted. But the vast majority of those who have suffered at the hands of the Islamic State, the Syrian regime, al-Shabab and other evil forces in the affected countries are Muslims. If you prick them, do they not bleed? Trump's action was abominable; the reaction, however, has been heartening. Thousands of people spontaneously gathered at airports around the country in protest. Immigration lawyers set up shop in busy terminals and worked to gain entry for passengers who were detained. Federal judges intervened to keep travelers from being sent home. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his nation would welcome any refugees the United States turned away. Other world leaders criticized the move, as did -- cautiously -- a few Republican senators. Iran and Iraq announced they would reciprocate and close their borders to Americans. Trump's orders were not circulated through the normal interagency process before being issued, and it showed; key questions were left open, such as the status of green card holders from the affected countries. But while the administration's incompetence might have blurred the orders' impact, it did not soften their intent. This wasn't about making America safe. It was about nationalism, xenophobia and punishing innocent Muslims for the vile acts committed by terrorists. It was a betrayal of our most fundamental American values. And he's been president for barely a week. Editors note: This article is part of a three-day series, State of the Standoff, delving into Illinois budget stalemate and its far-reaching effects on education, social services and more. See also: DECATUR The state of Illinois owes the Decatur school district $1.5 million from fiscal year 2016, and $2 million, so far, for 2017. Most of that money was targeted for reimbursements for special education, transportation and early childhood programs. They're pretty good about paying the general state aid on time, said Todd Covault, chief operational officer for Decatur schools. But it's all of the other required programs, like transportation, that they're slow about. The list of vouchers owed to Decatur, on the state comptroller's desk but as yet unpaid, is three pages long. And that's just one district out of 859 in the state. Covault's concern is that if the legislators ever get a budget pulled together, the state can't afford to fund education at the promised levels. In April, when the state is due to settle up, he said, he's afraid officials will scale back the amounts, after districts have already spent the funds. It's an indication of a bigger problem that just hasn't burst yet, Covault said. Decatur schools began the fiscal year with surplus of $2 million, Covault said, which kept the district from having to consider budget cuts for the first time in 10 years. If state funds come through as promised, that money would replenish the reserve fund. Currently, it behooves school districts to build up cash reserves when feasible in order to have a rainy day fund, he said. Unfortunately, it seems to rain a lot in Illinois. During the bleak years, districts tend to spend down these cash reserves. Funding of public education in Illinois is inherently inequitable, said Sen. Andy Manar on Wednesday, during a conference call about the governor's school funding reform commission. The commission just concluded its work and is issuing a report on its findings. Among those, Manar said, is that the current school funding formula doesn't account for different needs in different districts. "The commission recommended that we have to account for the unique needs of every district, and account for the fact that it takes more to educate a child living in poverty to get the same outcome as a child that doesn't live in poverty," Manar said. "That change alone, if we can accomplish it, will take a tremendous bite out of the inequities." The commission's report must now be turned into a bill and passed, Manar said, and the hope is that it will be passed this spring, in time to affect funding for education in the 2017-18 school year. Because of the way schools are funded in Illinois, districts with higher property values, or equalized assessed valuation, depend less on state money. If the state doesn't come through as promised, or if funding is cut, a property-tax rich district doesn't feel the pinch and services to students aren't affected. Districts such as Bloomington, with its $832 million in equalized assessed valuation, are better situated to weather a shortfall than poorer districts such as Decatur, with its $704 million in equalized assessed valuation as of 2014. The Illinois State Board of Education says the minimum amount required to educate each child in the state is $6,119 per year, an amount known as the foundation level. Illinois law requires the state to provide school districts with the difference between that amount and the district's own wealth as calculated by an equalization formula. The state also provides a Supplemental Low-Income Grant, or poverty grant, that is based on the district's population of low-income students. Bloomington's poverty grant was $4.1 million for the 2016-17 school year, while Decatur's was $21.1 million. Small districts like Mattoon struggle even more. Mattoon's equalized assessed valuation for the 2016-17 school year was calculated at $310 million, with $1.4 million subtracted for enterprise zones, and the district's poverty grant was $2.7 million. However, for 11 of the last 15 years, the state has not fully funded schools, sending districts as much as 10 percent less than the full amount. In a wealthy district with little poverty, that could be a fraction of the overall revenue, yet it might cut significantly into a less wealthy district's budget. At Central A&M, for example, the $704,000 payments for special education and transportation that have yet to be paid amount to 10 percent of the district budget, said Superintendent DeAnn Heck. The less wealthy districts that rely more on state funding are the ones more at risk, Covault said. If a wealthy district, come March (doesn't get the money), they can say, 'Well, I wasn't expecting $3.5 million anyway. I was expecting a minimal amount.' It's not as dramatic to a wealthy district. The Education Funding Advisory Board has submitted recommendations to the General Assembly and governor to increase the foundation level to $9,204, beginning with fiscal year 2018 on July 1. This recommended increase would require $4.6 billion in additional funds for education for fiscal year 2018, almost double the current appropriation. The last time the state adopted the Education Funding Advisory Board's recommendation was 2002. The current foundation level of $6,119 has remained the same since 2010. Increasing funding for basic education in Illinois will be a challenge, but it is a challenge we ask every policymaker and citizen to embrace, said the board's chairwoman, Sylvia Puente. The children of Illinois deserve no less. We ask our policymakers to note that in each of the years that the state has failed to meet its obligations, school districts must continue to meet all of the statutory requirements imposed upon them. This situation should not be allowed to continue. AFRICA Burundi Expected Council Action In February, the Council is expected to be briefed by the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Conflict Prevention, Jamal Benomar, on the Secretary-Generals report on the situation in Burundi. Key Recent Developments The security and political situation in Burundi, which deteriorated sharply after April 2015 when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced that he would run for a controversial third term, remains dire. While the number of casualties has declined and the security situation has improved, serious human rights abuses continue to be committed daily with impunity, mainly by the government and the Imbonerakure, the youth group of the Nkurunzizas party. The overall level of oppression and state control over Burundian society has increased, manifested by arbitrary deprivations of life, enforced disappearances, cases of torture and arbitrary detention on a massive scale. Furthermore, these actions are taking place in an environment where freedoms of expression, association and assembly are virtually non-existent. An estimated 325,000 people have fled the country since the beginning of the crisis. Adding to the tense situation, Burundis minister for water, environment and planning, Emmanuel Niyonkuru, was killed by unknown assailants in Bujumbura early on the morning of 1 January 2017. On 7 January, the prosecutor-general, Sylvestre Nyandwi, announced that six suspects had been arrested. On the political front, there seems to have been no headway in the Inter-Burundian Dialogue, led by the East African Community (EAC) and facilitated by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa. On 9 December 2016, at the end of a three-day visit to Burundi, Mkapa reportedly said that the legitimacy of Nkurunzizas presidency should not be questioned and that his facilitation was focused on creating favourable conditions for free, fair and credible elections in 2020. Since then, the opposition has demanded that Mkapa step down as facilitator. It also voiced its wish to see the UN and AU become more involved in the process. According to media reports, in late November, Nkurunziza requested the then Secretary-General to work with the incoming one to appoint a replacement for Benomar. (Over the years Burundi has declared as persona-non-grata several UN envoys.) This request comes after Burundi decided in October 2016 to suspend all cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and later in October to withdraw from the ICC Statute. Resolution 2303 of 29 July 2016, authorising a police component with a ceiling of 228 officers to monitor the security situation and support the human rights monitoring of OHCHR, under the authority of Benomars office, remains unimplemented. Adopted under Chapter VI, the resolution urged Burundi to cooperate fully with the police component, including giving unhindered access to detention facilities. At the same time, the resolution took note of the fact that Burundi had only consented to the deployment of 50 police officers for training the local police. Burundi has publicly rejected the resolution. The AU deployment of an authorised 200 human rights observers and military experts to Burundi remains incomplete and underfunded, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the AU and Burundi regarding the terms of deployment has yet to be signed. In a 19 September 2016 report to the Council, the Secretary-General proposed that the Council authorise him to provide a targeted logistical support package for the AU deployment. The Council has yet to take action on this issue. The AU Peace and Security Council discussed Burundi on 6 October 2016. It called for the resumption of the Inter-Burundian Dialogue under the aegis of the EAC. It also urged Burundi to sign an MoU with the AU Commission for the deployment of the AU human rights observers and military experts in Burundi, as well as to engage with the UN on the deployment of the police component. On 26 December 2016, a spokesperson for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) military said that its forces had killed 10 Burundian soldiers on 21 December after they crossed the border, apparently in pursuit of rebels from the ethnic Hutu National Forces of Liberation (FNL). Reportedly, this is the first skirmish between Burundian and DRC soldiers since 2003. Benomar last briefed Council members in consultations on 8 November 2016. Human Rights-Related Developments On 18 November 2016, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted its concluding observations and recommendations on the report by Burundi (CEDAW/C/BDI/CO/5-6). Among other comments, the Committee expressed serious concern about the exacerbation of violence against women since April 2015, including lack of efforts to document incidents of sexual violence and widespread impunity. On 22 November 2016, the President of the Human Rights Council (HRC) announced the appointment of Fatsah Ouguergouz (Algeria), Reina Alapini Gansu (Benin) and Francoise Hampson (UK) as members of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi. Ouguergouz will serve as Chair of the Commission. The Commission, established by the HRC (A/HRC/RES/33/24), is responsible for identifying alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses in Burundi. It will present oral briefings to the HRC in March and June 2017; its final report to the HRC is due in September 2017. On 29 November, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination adopted a decision (1/91) deploring the Burundian governments growing lack of cooperation with the international community and called on the government to immediately admit a UN contingent of police officers as authorised by the Security Council in resolution 2303 in July. Key Issues An immediate issue is ensuring that the situation in Burundi does not descend into chaos and further violence, including ethnically motivated violence. On the political front, a main issue is finding an avenue for renewed and productive engagement between the Council and Burundi in order to solve the political crisis. Promoting the deployment of the police component, in accordance with resolution 2303, and the deployment of AU observers are also key issues, as is re-establishing Burundis cooperation with OHCHR. Options In order to resolve the ongoing crisis in Burundi, steps the Council could take include: coordinating efforts with the AU and EAC in engaging with Burundi to advance the Inter-Burundian Dialogue and facilitate both the UN and AU deployments in the country; inviting Mkapa to brief it on developments in the Inter-Burundian dialogue; requesting the Secretary-General to engage with the Burundian government, directly or by establishing a position of special envoy for Burundi, in order to provide for a greater UN role in the Inter-Burundian Dialogue; adopting a logistical support package or another form of support for the AU deployment in Burundi; re-engaging with Burundi on ways to implement resolution 2303, or find a new platform for engagement if that proves impossible; and adopting targeted sanctions against spoilers of the political dialogue and those responsible for human rights violations. Council and Wider Dynamics With Burundi currently entrenched in its opposition to the implementation of resolution 2303a position well known prior to the adoption of the resolutionthe Council is at an impasse with respect to its engagement with the country. Some Council members, such as Russia and the African members, stress the need to establish a new basis for renewed engagement with Burundi, particularly as half a year has passed since the adoption of the resolution. Others, such as the US and France, hope to make headway with Burundi on the implementation of the resolution, a goal complicated by Burundis current attitude towards Benomar. Council members are hopeful that the new Secretary-General may be able to re-engage with Burundi in order to break the impasse. At the same time, Council members fear that the current state of affairs in Burundia relatively stable security environment accompanied by severe human rights violationscould become a tolerable status quo for the international community. On the issue of logistical support for the AU, France, the UK and the US have over the last few years been consistently opposed to granting such requests for missions outside of the UN system, due to budgetary concerns. Other Council members take the view that at this point, the AU is the only operational international presence in Burundi and should be supported in order to monitor the situation. They hope this issue will be more readily considered if an MoU officially accepting the AU deployment is signed with the government. The penholder on Burundi is France. UN Documents on Burundi The Council established a UN police component in Burundi of 228 officers for an initial period of one year. This contained the report of the Secretary-General on options to enable the UN to facilitate the deployment of AU human rights observers and military experts. This called for the implementation of resolution 2303. PEACEMAKING, PEACEKEEPING AND PEACEBUILDING Conflicts in Europe Expected Council Action In February, the Council will hold a ministerial-level open debate on the maintenance of international peace and security, focusing on conflicts in Europe. Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraines minister of foreign affairs, will chair the debate. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been invited to brief. Other briefers, though not yet confirmed, could include the representatives of the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). At press time, it did not appear that there would be a Council outcome. Background Though expected to usher in a period of stability, the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in the emergence of new security threats and challenges in Europe. In the early 1990s, the breakup of Yugoslavia was followed by a series of violent conflicts in the new Balkan countries. On the eastern flank of the continent, conflicts developed in the former Soviet Republics of Georgia (Abkhazia and South Ossetia), Moldova (Transnistria) and Nagorno-Karabakh. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has been the most recent significant threat to the stability and security of the continent. Close to 10,000 people are estimated to have been killed and more than a million displaced since the conflict in Ukraine started in 2014. The Security Council continues to be formally engaged in discussions on several European issues on its agenda (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and Kosovo) and has discussed the situation in Ukraine when requested by members. In addition, annual briefings by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have provided a useful forum for discussing several protracted conflicts in Europe that the Council has not formally addressed. By organising the debate, Ukraine wanted to draw attention to what it regards as the inability of existing mechanisms to properly address protracted conflicts in Europe, as well as incomplete implementation of relevant Council resolutions on the issue. Furthermore, Ukraine argues that the Council should pay closer attention to protracted conflicts in Europe because they have the potential to escalate and therefore threaten the overall stability and security of the region. The debate will provide a forum for members to evaluate current threats to international peace and security posed by the conflicts in Europe while also discussing the best ways to tackle these issues. Members will be invited to provide their views on the role of the Council, as well as the Secretary-General, in addressing protracted conflicts in Europe. Given that at the moment regional and sub-regional organisations such as the OSCE and the EU play a leading role in the conflict and post-conflict environments in Europe, Council members will also explore ways in which the cooperation between these organisations and the UN could be more effective. The OSCE has played a crucial role in conflict resolution efforts in Ukraine through its participation in the Trilateral Contact Group. With about 700 unarmed observers, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) has been given the responsibility for monitoring certain aspects of the implementation of the 2015 Minsk agreement. In addition, the OSCE plays a leading role in international efforts regarding frozen conflicts in Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria. The EU has been actively engaged in the Balkans, where it has promoted the EU integration process, and played an instrumental role in the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, leading to a series of agreements between the two. Considering the number of African conflicts on the Councils active agenda, members will be invited to share lessons learned from those conflicts that could also be applied to some situations in Europe. More specifically, members could address best practices in conflict resolution and prevention achieved through the more institutionalised relationship between the Council and the AU. Another issue that the debate will seek to address is what role the Council ought to play in situations where parties seem to obstruct existing agreements, Council outcomes or both. Among the conflicts in Europe, this has been the most prominent issue in the case of Ukraine, where there has been almost no progress in implementing the provisions of the Minsk agreement, which the Council endorsed in resolution 2202. UN DOCUMENTS ON CONFLICTS IN EUROPE This was a resolution that endorsed the Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements signed on 12 February 2015. This was a presidential statement on cooperation between the UN and the EU, highlighting the EUs comprehensive approach to maintenance of international peace and security. This was the report of the Secretary-General, the United Nations and conflict prevention: a collective recommitment. This was a report on cooperation with regional and other organisations. AFRICA Cote dIvoire Expected Council Action In February, the Council is expected to receive a briefing from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Operation in Cote dIvoire (UNOCI), Aichatou Mindaoudou, on the latest and final report on UNOCI and recent developments. The mandate of UNOCI expires on 30 June 2017, after which the mission is expected to be terminated. Key Recent Developments At its last meeting on Cote dIvoire on 28 April 2016, the Council unanimously adopted resolutions 2283 and 2284. The former terminated the sanctions regime, while the latter extended the mandate of the UN mission for a final period until 30 June. In line with resolution 2284, the military component of the mission will be withdrawn by 30 April while French forces will provide support for the mission until the end of its mandate on 30 June. Thereafter, the UN will continue its presence through its country team. Following his re-election to the presidency in 2015, Alassane Ouattara vowed to initiate the process of reforming the constitution. Ouattara sought to modify the eligibility criteria for prospective presidential candidates. Under the constitution, both parents of a candidate had to have been born Ivorian citizens for the candidate to qualify for office. This issue has been at the core of the Ivorian crisis because of the substantial immigrant population in the north of the country. Ouattara was barred from running for the presidency in 2000 because of claims that his father was of Burkinabe origin. The ensuing civil war divided the country between the rebel-held north, which supported Ouattara, and the government-controlled south. During the 2010 elections and the crisis that followed, Ouattaras opponents again claimed he was ineligible to run for office due to his alleged foreign origin. On 11 October 2016, the parliament approved the new constitution that Ouattara had submitted earlier in the month. The new constitution sought to modify the eligibility criteria for presidential contenders by requiring that, in addition to being exclusively Ivorian, at least one of the candidates parents must be an Ivorian citizen by birth. Other changes included the creation of the post of vice president, who would be appointed by the president, and a senate. Some in the opposition claimed that Ouattara would use the vice presidency to establish a favourable successor to himself. Ouattara argued that the post of vice president would ensure continuity in case the president was unable to exercise his duties. In a referendum held on 30 October 2016, Ivorians approved the new constitution, with more than 90 percent voting in favour. The turnout, which was about 40 percent, was lower than expected. The media reported sporadic violence at about 100 polling stations where opponents of the amendments tried to destroy ballot boxes and disrupt the vote. Some members of civil society and the political opposition had called for a boycott, arguing that drafting process was not inclusive and that voters were not properly informed about all the proposed changes. Nevertheless, Ouattara formally signed the new constitution into law on 8 November. On 18 December 2016, the coalition of political parties led by Ouattara won an overwhelming majority in parliamentary elections, allowing him to form a new government. Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan dissolved the government on 10 January. The same day, Ouattara appointed Duncan to the new post of vice president. Guillaume Soro, a former leader of the rebel group Forces Nouvelles, was re-elected president of the National Assembly, a post he has held since 2012. Concerns about the security situation emerged on 6 January when some elements of the army, demanding better pay and working conditions, mutinied against the government. Dissatisfied soldiers, predominantly former rebels integrated into the national army, took control of the second-largest city, Bouake. Despite the mutiny, the situation was relatively calm, and no violence was reported. On 7 January, Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi travelled to Bouake to negotiate with the soldiers. Later that day, Ouattara announced that a deal had been reached with the rebellious soldiers to end a stand-off. While he acknowledged the soldiers grievances, Ouattara condemned the methods they had used to raise the issue with the government, which he said only damaged the image of the country following recent significant economic development. After the mutiny, Ouattara dismissed the heads of the army, police and gendarmerie. On 13 January, a government delegation led by Donwahi held further negotiations with the soldiers in Bouake. There were reports of gunfire in Bouake and at other military installations throughout the country. The same day, both sides announced that an agreement had been reached though no details were made public. On 17 January, the government announced that it had started transferring funds to mutinous soldiers. Protests by soldiers erupted in several other cities that day, including in the capital, Yamoussoukro, where at least two soldiers were reportedly killed during the unrest. According to media reports, soldiers in other parts of the country wanted to receive the same compensation as the soldiers in Bouake who initiated the revolt. Human Rights-Related Developments The Human Rights Council (HRC) considered the report of the independent expert on capacity-building and technical cooperation with Cote dIvoire in the field of human rights, Mohammed Ayat, during its 32nd session in June 2016 (A/HRC/32/52). The report, covering the period from 12 November 2015 to 31 May 2016, welcomed the progress that Cote dIvoire had made but also cautioned that challenges remained in terms of ensuring reconciliation and justice and the consolidation of democracy and human rights. On 1 July 2016, the HRC adopted a resolution renewing the mandate of the independent expert for a final period until 30 June 2017. The resolution requested the independent expert to present his final recommendations to the HRC at its 35th session. On 11 July 2016, a joint report by UNOCI and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on rape crimes and their prosecution in Cote dIvoire, covering the period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2015, concluded that rape crimes and impunity remain a problem and recommended a number of measures, including accelerating the implementation of the national strategy against gender-based violence and revising the criminal code to include a definition of rape and other forms of sexual violence. In a statement on 20 January following his 10-17 January visit to Cote dIvoire, Ayat praised the successful organisation of the 2015 and 2016 elections and expressed satisfaction at the publication of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Dialogue Committee in November 2016, calling for its recommendations to be studied closely. Ayat further said that the government must continue to reform the security sector and strengthen institutions to preserve its achievements, noting his concern at military and police mutinies, violent incidents in Abidjan and civil servants strikes. He urged the government to adjust the handover plan with UNOCI and the UN country team to ensure necessary support for the promotion of human rights. Key Issues The most prominent issue for the Council is the ongoing drawdown of the UN mission and its imminent termination at the end June. In light of the recent mutinies by soldiers throughout Cote dIvoire, an increasingly important issue for the Council will be monitoring closely the ability of the government to maintain security and political stability in the country. The mutiny exposed several potential risk factors that the Council will follow closely. These are mainly the lack of cohesion in the military and inadequate control and command. Options Considering the ongoing drawdown of the mission and the prevailing view among members that the country is relatively stable, the most likely option is for the Council to receive the briefing and take no action. However, should the mutiny continue and threaten stability and security in the country, the Council could adopt a statement urging the relevant actors to defuse the tensions and resolve the issues through dialogue. In the extreme case of an escalation of violence, the Council could consider delaying the termination of the UN mission and using the remaining UN troops or even authorising reinforcements to assist in restoring order. Council Dynamics Council members have maintained a common position on Cote dIvoire during the past several years. France, the former colonial power and penholder, has been the most prominent advocate for the UN to disengage from the country. In April 2016, France led the proposals in the Council to terminate the sanctions regime (resolution 2283) and extend for one last time the mandate of the UN mission (resolution 2284). In overwhelmingly supporting these actions, Council members indicated that Cote dIvoire has become a well-functioning country with a vibrant economy and security forces that are capable of maintaining security in the country. However, some members might question the assertions of stability in the country following the recent mutiny and could raise this during the meeting. UN DOCUMENTS The Council extended the mandate of UNOCI for a final period until 30 June 2017, after which the mission would be terminated. The Council adopted a resolution terminating the sanctions regime in Cote dIvoire. This was the special report of the Secretary-General on UNOCI. This was the vote on resolutions 2284 and 2283. This was a press statement on the terrorist attack in Cote dIvoire. ASIA DPRK (North Korea) Expected Council Action In February, the chair of the 1718 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi (Italy), who succeeded Ambassador Roman Oyarzun (Spain) on 1 January, is due to brief Council members in consultations on the Committees work. Ahead of the briefing, the Sanctions Committee is scheduled to discuss the final report of its Panel of Experts under resolution 2276. In addition, Cardi is expected to convene a briefing open to all UN member states. Key Recent Developments In resolution 2321, adopted on 30 November 2016, the Council imposed additional unprecedented sanctions on the DPRK in response to the nuclear test conducted on 9 September. One of the main objectives of the resolution was to further restrict exports of coal from the DPRK as a source of income for financing prohibited activities. Resolution 2270, which was adopted in March 2016 in response to the DPRKs 6 January nuclear test, had imposed a ban on coal exports, but it contained an exemption clause for livelihood purposes that was used to circumvent the ban. With resolution 2321 there is now a binding cap on how much coal the DPRK can export per year. States are required to report all transactions promptly to the Sanctions Committee, which will declare when the allowed quantities have been reached and all further procurement of coal from the DPRK must stop. (For more background on the resolution and its other provisions, please refer to our 29 November 2016 Whats in Blue story.) In a 2 December 2016 letter to the Council, the DPRK rejected the sanctions resolution as another excess of authority and a violation of the sovereignty of the DPRK by the Security Council acting under the instructions of the US. Furthermore, in a 8 December letter, the DPRK urged the Secretariat to answer a 23 May letter in which it claimed that the Security Council had acted outside its mandate in declaring nuclear tests and peaceful satellite launches to be a threat to international peace and security. It asked for a clarification of the legal basis for the Councils actions and why similar measures had not been taken against the US or other countries engaging in the same activities. In a 5 January letter to the Secretary-General, the DPRK rejected a response it had received on 20 December 2016 referring to article 39 of the UN Charter (which concerns what measures the Council can take to restore international peace and security). The DPRK asserted that the article cannot be the legal grounds for sanctions resolutions. In his annual New Years speech, DPRK leader Kim Jong-un declared that preparations for the first test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) were in the final stages. The foreign ministry later repeated the claim, and Republic of Korea (ROK) military officials also said they believed the DPRK had built two ICBMs and placed them on mobile launchers to be ready for test-firing in the near future. In an apparent response, Japan, the ROK and the US conducted a joint military exercise on detection and tracing of DPRK missiles from 21 to 23 January. Sanctions-Related Developments On 15 December 2016, the Sanctions Committee adopted the list of conventional arms dual-use items referred to in one of the provisions of resolution 2321, which had directed the Committee to adopt such a list within 15 days of the adoption. The items on the list are subject to the import and export ban first imposed by the Council in resolution 1718. On 17 December, the Committee announced the removal of five vessels from the sanctions list annexed to resolution 2270, citing new measures that had been taken to establish confidence that the vessels were not controlled or operated by the Ocean Maritime Management Company, the entity that was listed by the Committee in July 2014 for its involvement in the arms shipment intercepted by Panama in July 2013. On 21 December, the Committee submitted its annual report to the Council. At press time, the final report under resolution 2276 of the Panel of Experts assisting the Committee was expected to be ready for circulation to Council members by the end of January. Human Rights-Related Developments On 7 December 2016, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report on the human rights implications of the involuntary separation of Korean families, concluding that the primary responsibility for resolving this issue rests with the governments of the DRPK and the ROK. The report recommended a number of measures, including allowing unhindered people-to-people contacts between the two countries and protecting people who leave the DPRK, including women and children, from trafficking and other human rights violations that break their family ties. On 9 December 2016, the Security Council held its third meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK, following its decision on 22 December 2014 to add the situation in the DPRK to its agenda as an item separate from the non-proliferation issue in response to the findings of the February 2014 report of the Human Rights Council commission of inquiry. The meeting was convened in response to a joint request from France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, the UK, the US and Uruguay, conveyed in a 1 December letter to the Council president. The format of the meeting was the same as in 2015, with briefings by Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson and Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour, followed by statements by Council members and the ROK. As was the case on the two previous occasions when the human rights situation in the DPRK was discussed, there was a procedural vote at the request of China on adopting the agenda for the meeting. China objected to the agenda on the grounds that the Council was not a forum for discussing human rights issues, still less for the politicisation of such issues. The agenda was subsequently adopted by a vote of nine in favour, five against (Angola, China, Egypt, Russia and Venezuela) and one abstention (Senegal). In a statement on 20 December 2016, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, Tomas Ojea Quintana, welcomed the DPRKs ratification on 6 December of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He called on the DPRK to implement the treaty in consultation with people with disabilities and for the opportunity to be used to advance the implementation of other human rights treaties previously ratified by the DPRK and to encourage broader engagement with human rights mechanisms. Key Issues The fundamental issue for the Council is how to deal with the growing threat to international peace and security posed by the DPRK as Pyongyang continues to develop the countrys nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities in direct defiance of the Councils demands. A related issue is whether the tightening of sanctions will achieve the stated objectives of preventing the DPRK from making further progress and inducing Pyongyang to engage with the international community, or whether a different approach is needed. A continuing issue is the importance of ensuring effective sanctions implementation by all member states while avoiding adverse humanitarian consequences or negative effects on legitimate livelihood activities, as emphasised in resolutions 2270 and 2321. Options One option is to hold the chairs briefing in a public meeting, perhaps followed by consultations, to provide a forum for Council members to express publicly their concerns about the DPRKs actions. With regard to the planned briefing for UN member states, it provides an opportunity to explain the new sanctions measures, emphasise the importance of strict implementation and remind them of the reporting obligations under resolution 2321, which called on states to report to the Council within 90 days on measures taken to implement the resolution. At the Committee level, the immediate task is to examine the forthcoming Panel of Experts report and decide on what actions to take in response to its findings and recommendations. The Committee could also issue a press statement immediately after its first discussion of the report to raise awareness of the report and highlight specific areas of concern. Council and Wider Dynamics The adoption by consensus of resolution 2321 seems to indicate that there is a high degree of unity among Council members on the continued application of sanctions as one of the main tools for dealing with the threat posed by the DPRK. Council members recognise, however, that sanctions alone will not be enough and that the impact of the new measures depends on the degree of compliance by member states, above all by China. Despite the unity on sanctions, there are continuing tensions related to the planned deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in the ROK, as agreed with the US last year. Following the adoption of resolution 2321, both China and Russia expressed their firm opposition to the THAAD deployment, with China urging the parties concerned to stop forthwith the deployment process. On 13 January, China and Russia announced that they had agreed to take countermeasures in response to the deployment. Even as Council members express confidence that sanctions will have an impact, they also seem to expect that Pyongyang will engage in new provocations and that this is not a question of if but when. There was initially speculation that the DPRK would conduct a missile test to coincide with the inauguration on 20 January of the new US president, Donald Trump. Since that did not happen, it is now seen as likely that the DPRK will carry out some kind of military provocation in connection with Kim Jong-ils birthday on 16 February or the annual ROK-US joint military exercises in March. Under the current circumstances, there is great interest in the forthcoming report from the Panel of Experts as Council members are looking to get a better sense of the impact that the most recent sanctions have had so far and compliance by member states. The US is the penholder on the DPRK. UN DOCUMENTS ON THE DPRK This was a resolution on sanctions. This was a resolution extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee, and deciding that the Panels mandate should apply with respect to measures imposed in resolution 2270. This was a resolution condemning in the strongest terms the nuclear test conducted by DPRK on 6 January 2016 and its ballistic missile launch of 7 February 2016, and demanding that it comply immediately with its international obligations. This was the DPRK letter regarding the response to its 23 May letter. This was another DPRK letter denouncing resolution 2321. This was the DPRK letter requesting an answer to its 23 May letter. This was a letter from the DPRK rejecting the sanctions resolution adopted on 30 November 2016. This was a joint request for a meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK from France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, the UK, the US and Uruguay. This was the DPRK letter asking the Secretariat to clarify the legal basis for the sanctions imposed by the Council. This was a meeting on the situation in the DPRK. This was the adoption of resolution 2321. This was the Sanctions Committees annual report. This was a press statement listing five vessels. This was the new conventional arms dual use list adopted by the Sanctions Committee. In Hindsight: Resolution on Israeli Settlements The Council on 23 December 2016 issued a rare rebuke of Israel with the adoption of resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlements as having no legal validity and constituting a major obstacle to a two-state solution. The Councils consideration of the text on the issue, the first resolution adopted on Israel-Palestine in nearly eight years, elicited extreme pressure from the government of Israel and the incoming US administration on the Council member which had tabled the draft resolution, demonstrating how such pressureexternal to the Councilcan attempt to thwart Council initiatives even where consensus has been reached among its members. The story of resolution 2334, however, also demonstrates how elected members can play an instrumental role in galvanising the Council on even the most contentious issues. Throughout much of 2016, the Palestinians had been working on a resolution that condemned Israeli settlements and conducting bilateral consultations with the members of the Council. It was expected that a text would be circulated following the 8 November 2016 US presidential election, when it was thought that the US might not use its veto. However, by early December, there were no indications that a vote was pending. Having been a strong proponent of Council action on the issue during its term on the Council, which was soon to end, New Zealand circulated its own text and called for two meetings for the Council to discuss its options in addressing the conflict. New Zealand had hoped to allow the Palestinians to proceed with their settlements text before introducing their draft, which urged the resumption of negotiations and addressed incitement to violence, Israeli settlements and the situation in Gaza. However, with the year soon coming to an end and with Egypt (the Arab Group representative on the Council) not having introduced a text, New Zealand decided to convene Council members to discuss their options. In the two meetings, on 13 and 20 December 2016, Council members discussed the New Zealand draft, along with other options. All members expressed concern about the dwindling prospects for a two-state solution, and the majority felt the Council needed to act imminently. Most members believed that if the Council were to capitalise on a rare window of opportunitybefore the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, when the outgoing administration of President Obama might refrain from using its vetothey needed to pursue a strong text, either outlining parameters for a peace agreement or condemning Israeli settlements as an obstacle to peace and a two-state solution. It appears the latter option was preferred by most members. Following parallel consultations by the Arab League on the Palestinian text, Egypt, later joined by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela as cosponsors, unexpectedly put the Palestinian settlements text in blue on the evening of 21 December and called for a vote the following day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to Twitter to call on the Obama Administration to veto the anti-Israel resolution and Trump also via Twitter urged Obama to veto the text, which he said puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position. Following a phone call between Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt requested the President of the Council and the Secretariat to cancel the vote the following morning, ostensibly to allow more time for consultations. It was unclear to Council members whether Egypt intended to reschedule the vote or if it would retract the text under rule 35 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure, which states that a motion or draft resolution can at any time be withdrawn so long as no vote has been taken with respect to it. That afternoon, following informal discussions among the other co-sponsors, Malaysia informed Egypt that it would host the Palestinian delegation as well as New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela to discuss how to proceed. At that meeting, it was agreed that it was crucial to proceed in a timely manner to maintain momentum and circumvent the application of pressure on Council members to obstruct the adoption. Palestine presented a new text, with the addition of some uncontroversial language that could be put in blue for a vote, though there were concerns about introducing new language after extensive bilateral consultations had taken place. Following the meeting, Malaysia communicated to Egypt via email that if Egypt did not call for vote on the draft in blue by the following day, the co-sponsors intended to prepare a separate draft that would be submitted for the Councils immediate action. They requested a response by midnight that night (22 December) on whether Egypt would proceed to call for a vote on the draft in blue. In the event that Egypt decided that it could not proceed to call for vote on 23 December 2016, the delegations reserved the right to table a draft and to put it to vote as soon as possible. These members were aware that rule 35 also stipulates that if a draft resolution has been seconded, the representative on the Security Council who has seconded it may require that it be put to the vote as his motion or draft resolution with the same right of precedence as if the original mover had not withdrawn itmeaning that whether or not Egypt withdrew the text, the co-sponsors could initiate a vote on the exact same text. The following morning, 23 December, Egypt proceeded to withdraw the text without consulting with the Arab Group. The co-sponsors met once again and, with the support of the other members of the Arab Group, agreed to table the exact text that had been withdrawn, with Egypt removed from the list of co-sponsors. (This was a marked departure from recent practice, whereby any Palestinian-drafted text has been tabled by the Arab representative on the Council.) The text was put to a vote that afternoon, and was adopted with 14 votes in favour and a US abstention. US Ambassador Samantha Power, in her explanation of vote, stated it had been a long-standing position of successive US administrations that settlements undermined Israels security and eroded prospects for peace. She emphasised, however, that due to anti-Israel bias at the UN, and because the US did not agree with every word in the resolution, the US chose to abstain instead of vote for the resolution. She added that her delegation would not have let the resolution pass had it not addressed terrorism and incitement to violence. The resolution, which was adopted under Chapter VI of the UN Charter and lacks an enforcement mechanism, is the first Council resolution focused on Israeli settlements since resolution 465 of 1980. One key aspect of the text is that, while it does not contain an explicit referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), it is seen as implicitly encouraging the ICC to proceed with a case, as it is currently undertaking a preliminary investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the 2014 Gaza conflict and Israels settlement activities. The Rome Statute defines as a war crime the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, and resolution 2334 adopts the same language of transfer, condemning the transfer of Israeli settlersin violation of international humanitarian law. The resolution is also seen as encouraging member states to refrain from conducting business with Israeli enterprises operating in the occupied territories, as it calls upon all Statesto distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967. The resolution calls on the Secretary-General to report to the Council every three months on the implementation of the resolution. MIDDLE EAST Iraq Expected Council Action In February, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Jan Kubis will brief the Council on the latest Secretary-Generals report on the activities of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). His briefing is likely to focus on the security and humanitarian impact of the governments military campaign to retake Mosul from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). UNAMIs mandate expires on 31 July 2017. Key Recent Developments On 17 October 2016, Iraqi government forces, supported by Kurdish troops and Sunni tribal fighters with the US-led coalition providing air support, launched the military operation to retake Mosul from ISIL. After the government forces liberated Ramadi and Fallujah in 2016, Mosul remains the last major stronghold of ISIL in Iraq. On 9 November 2016, Kubis briefed the Council on the humanitarian consequences arising from the Mosul offensive. At that time, some 42,000 people had been displaced from Mosul, while the vast majority of its inhabitants, projected at over one million, faced dire humanitarian conditions. In the initial phase of the Mosul offensive, Iraqi forces liberated one quarter of the citys territory, but the operation stalled due to ISILs use of suicide bombings, sniper attacks and other guerrilla tactics. On 27 December 2016, a US-led anti-ISIL coalition airstrike destroyed the last remaining bridge over Tigris River that connected the east and the west sides of Mosul. In addition to limiting the movement of ISIL fighters between the two sides of the city, the destruction of the bridge also impaired movement of civilians. On 29 December 2016, the second phase of the offensive began to retake the eastern side of Mosul. On 23 January, the Iraqi government announced that its forces were in full control of the eastern side of the city. Meanwhile, while losing ground in Mosul, ISIL has increased terrorist attacks in other parts of Iraq. It claimed responsibility for a 31 December 2016 double bomb attack and a 2 January car bomb attack in predominantly Shia neighbourhoods of Baghdad. According to OCHA, more than 160,000 people have been displaced from Mosul since 17 October 2016. Given the ongoing offensive and anticipated push by the Iraqi forces into the western side of Mosul, OCHA predicts a risk of further displacement, potentially an additional half million people. Close to 90 percent of internally displaced persons are sheltered in the emergency camps run by the Iraqi government and UN agencies. Council members have been updated on the humanitarian aspect of the Mosul offensive on two occasions. On 2 November 2016, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour and the head of OCHA, Stephen OBrien, briefed Council members in consultations under any other business on the human rights and humanitarian implications of the offensive to liberate Mosul. This meeting was initiated by Egypt and the US following a request by Iraq. In the second meeting held on 4 January, at the request of Russia, OBrien briefed Council members again on the humanitarian situation in and around Mosul. On 26 November 2016, the Iraqi parliament approved a law that integrated Shia-led militias, or the popular mobilisation forces (PMF), into the Iraqi armed forces. The law placed the PMF on payroll of the government and under the nominal command of the prime minister. Some Sunni politicians raised objections to the law on the grounds that it would contribute to deepening sectarianism in the country and fragment the national military forces. The PMF forces, estimated at around 100,000, are involved in military operations in predominantly Sunni areas, including the Mosul offensive. In December 2016, Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Iraqi National Alliance, the largest Shia block in the parliament, met with the members of the major Sunni bloc, the National Forces Alliance. Al-Hakim presented his national reconciliation plan which sought to ease the protracted sectarian and political divisions in the country. At press time, the details of the plan were not public and the leaders of both blocs seemed to be working on a compromise document. UNAMI has stressed that while this is solely an Iraqi initiative, UNAMI will assist the government in all national reconciliation efforts. On 7 January, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad. Following the meeting, Abadi said a deal had been reached regarding the Turkish presence in Bashiqa region of Iraq, This, however, was not confirmed by Yildirim. The relationship between Ankara and Baghdad has been strained because of the continued presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq. Despite Baghdads objections, Turkey maintains troops in the Bashiqa region near Mosul to counter the activities of ISIL and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkey also wishes to participate in the Mosul military offensive, which Baghdad opposes. The indemnification period for the oil-for-food programme ended on 31 December as mandated by resolution 1958. On 30 December, prior to the expiry of this provision, the Council adopted resolution 2335 authorising the Secretary-General to continue to maintain the escrow account until 30 June 2017. The UN has yet to conclude an agreement with Iraq to protect the UN from liability resulting from the oil-for-food programme. Human Rights-Related Developments In an informal briefing to the Human Rights Council on 30 November, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, condemned reported grave violations of human rights by ISIL in and around Mosul, including the use of human shields, abductions and the killing of suspected informants. Gilmore noted that progress by the Iraqi government towards ensuring justice for victims and survivors, respecting human rights and international law and supporting the restoration and reconstruction of communities was encouraging, but considerable challenges remained. In a press statement issued on 21 January, UNAMI called on the Iraqi government to investigate reports of torture and murder of captured terrorist suspects in Mosul. The call for investigation came after video had been circulated on social media sites allegedly showing the brutal mistreatment and murder of at least three captured ISIL members in a retaken area between Intisar and Karma neighbourhoods of east Mosul at the hands of what appears to be Iraqi Security Forces Personnel. At a press briefing on 24 January, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the announcement by the Iraqi government that it has ordered an investigation into the incident. Sanctions-Related Developments On 16 and 28 December, the 1518 Iraq Sanctions Committee removed nine entities from the sanctions list as part of an initial push to wind down the Committee (SC/12635 and SC/12659). On 20 December 2016, the annual report of the 1518 Sanctions Committee noted that by the end of 2016, 173 entities and 86 individuals remained on the sanctions list. Over the course of 2016, 35 entities were removed from the list. Key Issues In light of the ongoing military operation to retake Mosul, the most urgent issue for the Council is to address the effects of the campaign on the human rights, humanitarian and security situations in Iraq. An ongoing issue is promoting national reconciliation and a genuinely inclusive government accountable to the Iraqi people. A related issue is determining how the Council and UNAMI can encourage greater cooperation on financial, security and humanitarian issues between Abadis dominant Shia Dawa party and Kurdish and Sunni parliamentarians, and thereby build confidence in the central government and fortify Iraqs response to ISIS. Options Options seem limited since the security response to ISIL is happening outside the Councils purview. However, the Council could adopt a statement: calling on all parties to strictly adhere to international human rights and humanitarian law and take every step possible to protect civilians; calling on the government to ensure that screening of civilians fleeing conflict areas be done in strict accordance with international human rights and international humanitarian law, underscoring that such screening should not be conducted by paramilitary groups; calling on the government to work towards enhanced security and humanitarian coordination with Kurdish and Sunni leaders and for UNAMI to support the government in that effort; and calling on the government to cooperate with UNAMI in areas that may require enhanced mission activities, such as human rights, rule of law, security sector reform, stabilisation activities in areas liberated from ISIL and best practices for child protection and gender policies. Council Dynamics Council members uniformly support UNAMI and believe that the missions mandate is sufficiently broad and flexible to allow Kubis to fulfil the missions good offices role. However, the Council has been largely disengaged from grappling with the underlying political divisions among Iraqs Shia, Sunni and Kurdish populations, beyond calls for an inclusive government. The Council has been similarly disengaged from directly addressing the humanitarian crisis, in contrast to its engagement with the humanitarian crises in Syria and Yemen. In November, Egypt and the US initiated the meeting on the humanitarian situation in Iraq, while Russia requested the latest meeting on this issue in January. Despite this, there are no indications that Council members are willing to engage more substantively on this issue beyond requesting briefings. The Council has shown little willingness to address Iraqs relationship with neighbouring Turkey, instead exhibiting preference for the two member states to resolve the issue bilaterally and to keep the disagreement out of the Council. The US is the penholder on Iraq issues in general, and the UK is the penholder on Iraq-Kuwait issues. UN DOCUMENTS The Council authorised the Secretary-General to continue to maintain the escrow account authorised by resolution 1958 (2010), and to retain the funds contained in there until 30 June 2017. This was a resolution renewing UNAMI for a year. This was report on UNAMI. This letter was from Iraq objecting to the Turkish incursion into Iraqi territory. This was annual report of the Sanctions Committee. This was a briefing on Iraq. EUROPE Kosovo Expected Council Action In February, the Council is expected to hold its quarterly briefing on Kosovo. Zahir Tanin, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), will brief on recent developments and the latest Secretary-Generals report. Serbia will probably participate at a high level, while Kosovo is likely to be represented by its ambassador to the US. Key Recent Developments Over the past few months, tensions between the political opposition and the government have subsided in comparison with the first half of 2016 when the crisis was most intense. On several occasions in 2016, the members of the opposition actively obstructed the work of the legislature and organised street protests. At the core of the crisis were certain aspects of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, particularly the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb Municipalities (ASM/CSM) in northern Kosovo. The opposition feared that this would create an additional layer of government and could potentially pose a risk of secession. There has been no major progress on the implementation of the existing agreements between Belgrade and Pristina, especially on the establishment of the ASM/CSM. Though it planned to draft the statute for the ASM/CSM by the end of 2016, the working group set up for this purpose is yet to do so. After it is drafted, the statute will still need to be approved by the Kosovo legislature. This could potentially be a challenging process, given the evident grievances of the opposition on this issue. However, there was progress on the issue of telecommunications, which has been discussed within the EU-facilitated dialogue. On 13 November 2016, Belgrade and Pristina reached an agreement that paved the way for the allocation of a unique international dialling code for Kosovo. Under the agreement, the subsidiary of the Serbian state-owned telecommunications company will be allowed to operate fully licensed fixed telephone services in Kosovo and to obtain a temporary authorisation for mobile telephony. The agreement formally came into force on 15 December, when the International Telecommunication Union officially assigned a dialling code for Kosovo. Heretofore, Kosovo used the dialling codes for Monaco, Slovenia and Serbia. Several events at the beginning of this year contributed to a heightening of the rhetoric between Belgrade and Pristina. Ramush Haradinaj, former prime minister and current leader of the main opposition political party Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, was arrested by French police after entering France on 5 January. French authorities acted on an Interpol notice requested by Serbia regarding Haradinajs alleged involvement in war crimes committed against local Serbs during the Kosovo war in the late 1990s. On 12 January, French authorities released Haradinaj on bail and barred him from leaving France, pending a final decision by the judicial authorities. In 2005, Haradinaj surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and was subsequently acquitted of war crimes charges in 2012. In a similar case in 2015, Slovenian authorities detained Haradinaj based on an Interpol notice requested by Serbia. He was released two days later after Slovenian authorities concluded that the ICTY had already addressed all charges in the arrest warrant. On 14 January, tensions escalated again after a Serbian train travelling from Belgrade to Serb-dominated northern Kosovo was stopped just before reaching the Kosovo border. The train was painted with the colours of the Serbian flag and carried the inscription Kosovo is Serbia in 21 languages. Soon after, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci sent police to the border crossing and instructed them to prevent the trains entry to Kosovo. However, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic ordered the train to stop just before reaching the border with Kosovo, claiming that Kosovo Albanians had attempted to mine the railway. In a press conference the same day, Vucic said that Pristina had tried to provoke a large-scale conflict. Furthermore, he noted that this would be his last warning and plea to the Kosovo Albanians not to try to attack Serbs with weapons, because Serbia would not allow this. In a media interview on 16 January, Thaci said that the train was intended to provoke Kosovars as a ploy for Serbia to intervene militarily and annex the Serb-dominated northern part of Kosovo. In light of the recent incidents, Federica Mogherini, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, called on both sides to meet under EU auspices in Brussels. The presidents and prime ministers of both Kosovo and Serbia attended the 24 January meeting with Mogherini after which they agreed to resume the UE facilitated dialogue on a high level. In other developments, on 1 December 2016, the Netherlands ratified the agreement with the government of Kosovo on hosting the special court that will investigate crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army during the conflict in Kosovo. The ratification of the agreement, which came into force on 1 January, cleared the last procedural obstacle preventing the court from becoming fully operational. The court will be located in The Hague, operate under Kosovo law and be staffed by international judges. On 14 December, Bulgarian judge Ekaterina Trendafilova was appointed President of the special court. Trendafilova had previously served as a judge of the International Criminal Court from 2006 to 2016. Earlier in 2016, David Schwendiman of the US was appointed chief prosecutor of the special court. Human Rights-Related Developments On 14 October 2016, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, said in a statement following her visit to Serbia and Kosovo from 3 to 14 October that cultural heritage is a human rights issue and must be depoliticised and de-linked from nationalistic agendas. Bennoune will present a full report to the Human Rights Council in a future session. Key Issues Maintaining stability in Kosovo remains the main issue for the Council, especially in light of the renewed tensions between Belgrade and Pristina. Another issue for the Council will be what role UNMIK can play in promoting the implementation of the existing agreements between Belgrade and Pristina. The Council will also closely follow developments regarding the special court for war crimes, in particular the cooperation of Kosovo authorities with the court. Options Should the tensions between Belgrade and Pristina escalate further or start posing a risk to overall stability, the Council could consider issuing a statement calling on both sides to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue. Another option would be for the Council to explore ways in which UNMIK could facilitate the implementation of the existing agreements between Belgrade and Pristina. The Council could consider the calls by some members, most notably the P3, to lengthen the reporting cycle and possibly modify UNMIKs mandate. Council Dynamics Kosovo continues to be an issue of rather low intensity for the Council for several reasons. First, other regional organisations, such as the EU, NATO and the OSCE, have been playing leadership roles in Kosovo. Second, the Council has been increasingly preoccupied with more pressing issues on its agenda. Third, several Council members seem to share the view that Kosovo does not require serious scrutiny because of its general stability and the progress it has made. However, some members with a particular interest in the region still follow the issue closely; these include Russia and the US as well as the EU members of the Council. The deep divisions among the permanent members have shaped Council dynamics on Kosovo. The P3 membersFrance, the UK and the USrecognise Kosovos independence and are supportive of Kosovos government, while China and Russia, which do not, strongly support Serbias position on the issue. Despite the ongoing political tensions in Kosovo, the P3 members have supported lengthening the reporting cycle and thus reducing the frequency of meetings on Kosovo, noting that there are more pressing issues that deserve the Councils closer attention. Russia continues to oppose any change in the reporting cycle or UNMIKs mandate, citing the unstable political and security situation and problems in implementing the agreements between Belgrade and Pristina. The permanent members longstanding entrenched positions are likely to paralyse any efforts by the Council to change the reporting cycle or alter UNMIKs mandate. Council dynamics are unlikely to change significantly in 2017 as a result of the rotation of five non-permanent members. Incoming non-permanent members Bolivia, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan do not recognise Kosovo, while Italy and Sweden do. Among outgoing members, Angola, Spain and Venezuela did not recognise Kosovo while Malaysia and New Zealand did. UN DOCUMENTS ON KOSOVO This resolution authorised NATO to secure and enforce the withdrawal of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia forces from Kosovo and established UNMIK. This was the report of the Secretary-General on UNMIK. This was a briefing on Kosovo. AFRICA Libya Expected Council Action In February, the Council is expected to receive a briefing from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Martin Kobler. The mandates of the Panel of Experts of the 1970 Sanctions Committee and UNSMIL expire on 31 July and 15 September, respectively. Key Recent Developments On 13 December 2016, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2323, renewing UNSMILs mandate to focus particularly on mediation and good offices efforts to support the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), the consolidation of the governance, security and economic arrangements of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and subsequent phases of the Libyan transition process. The resolution encourages UNSMIL to continue to prioritise its tasks and mediation efforts in full consultation with the Presidency Council and other Libyan institutions and in response to the needs and the evolving situation in the country. Council members diverged over whether to extend the mission for six months in order to closely monitor the situation in Libya and allow for possible changes to the mandate if needed or for a longer one-year period as recommended by the Secretary-General. Some Council members felt that a longer mandate would provide more stability for the mission and shortening UNSMILs extension would cast a negative light on developments in Libya. As a compromise, the mission was extended for nine months, but the resolution specifies that the Council stands ready to review the mandate of the mission if needed after a strategic assessment review is conducted in early 2017. During consultations with Kobler on 6 December 2016, some Council members raised concerns at what they perceived as too positive a portrayal of the situation in Libya and stressed the lack of progress on the political front one year after the signing of the LPA. As a result, a press statement issued after the meeting included language expressing the Councils deep concern over the challenging political context and serious political polarisation in Libya. The LPA has failed to broaden its basis of support. International backing for the Presidency Council of the GNA has so far not translated into an increased capacity to deliver on the ground. The nine-member Presidency Councils work continues to be hindered by the boycott of two of its members and the lack of endorsement by the House of Representatives, its failure to provide basic services to the population and its excessive reliance on militias. On 2 January, one of the Presidency Councils deputy prime ministers, Musa al-Koni, resigned over the Councils failure to deliver. Military success against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its affiliates (namely the takeover of Sirte in early December and the military offensive in Benghazi) has been followed by increased tension and clashes among competing armed groups, such as the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar and Misrata-based militias, nominally allied with the Presidency Council. Haftar has made moves westward in Al-Jufra and Sabha. In an early December offensive against the LNA in the Oil Crescent region, several militias attempted to take over oil facilities that have been under the control of the LNA and managed by the National Oil Corporation since September 2016. (Reportedly the GNAs Defence Minister-designate al-Mahdi al-Barghathi was in support of the operation, which was later condemned by the Presidency Council.) On 11 January, Haftar visited the Admiral Kuznetsov, a Russian aircraft carrier that had recently been stationed off Syria. Aboard the ship, Haftar, who had previously asked Russia to support lifting the arms embargo for the LNA, spoke via video link with Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu. On 12 January, Khalifa Ghwell, who became the self-appointed prime minister of a so-called national salvation government in 2015, seized several ministries in Tripoli in an attempted coup. Following two postponements, members of the Libyan Political Dialogue met on 22 January in Tunisia; no representatives from eastern Libya attended. At the meeting, which was not attended by UNSMIL representatives, members discussed a proposal to reduce the number of members of the Presidency Council from nine to three, separate the role of prime minister from the head of the Presidency Council and amend article 8 of the LPA regarding the authority of the supreme commander of the armed forces. On 21 January, representatives of Libyas neighboursEgypt, Sudan, Algeria, Chad, Niger and Tunisiamet in Cairo with Kobler and representatives of the AU and the League of Arab States. In a joint statement, they stressed the need for a comprehensive political dialogue between all Libyan parties as the only way out of the crisis, rejecting a military solution to the conflict. In a press conference following the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokry expressed his intention to convene direct talks between the leaders of the Presidency Council, the House of Representatives and Haftar. Human Rights-Related Developments On 13 December 2016, a joint report released by UNSMIL and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights abuses against migrants in Libya concluded that the situation constituted a human rights crisis, with migrants subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, other ill-treatment, unlawful killings and sexual exploitation. The report recommended a number of measures for Libya, including releasing the most vulnerable migrants as a step towards urgently ending all arbitrary detentions, decriminalising irregular migration and adopting an asylum law, while also recommending that countries of destination beyond Libya expand safe and regular entry channels for refugees and other migrants and continue search-and-rescue operations at sea. In a statement accompanying the report, Kobler said that Libya must acknowledge the abuse of migrants but that the responsibility for addressing migration was broader and included countries of origin and destination. Key Issues The overarching issue is to ensure that the parties agree on a consensual solution for the political deadlock that addresses the issues raised by those refusing to support the LPA. Pressing external actors involved in Libya to exercise leverage to encourage engagement in the political process and to ensure the coherence of mediation efforts is a related issue. The potential for ISIL to disperse and increase its regional reach as a result of ongoing offensives against its strongholds in Libya is an urgent issue. Options Options for the Council include holding an unscripted and frank discussion to re-assess and seek agreement on a political strategy for Libya. As soon as the strategic assessment review of the UN presence in Libya is completed, the Council could adopt a resolution prioritising a limited set of tasks that UNSMIL can realistically achieve in order to align the missions mandate with the political, security and operational realities on the ground. Council members could also organise a visit to Libya and the region to hold discussions with the parties, including spoilers, and regional stakeholders to help overcome the political deadlock. Council Dynamics Council members generally support UNSMILs mediation efforts but have arguably failed to set a clear direction to reach and support a political settlement. Some Council members have emphasised the importance of a formal endorsement of the GNA by the House of Representatives and have engaged with parallel institutions, including providing various degrees of support to Haftars forces, while others have been interacting bilaterally with the Presidency Council of the GNA as the legitimate government of Libya. One of the suggestions in the Secretary-Generals report was a review of the international communitys approach to the Libyan democratic transition process, should efforts to adopt a new constitution and establish democratically elected institutions within a reasonable timeframe fail. Despite the opportunity provided by the December 2016 renewal of UNSMILs mandate, this strategic discussion has yet to happen in the Council, which currently includes key actors on Libya such as Egypt and Italy, in addition to the permanent members. The UK is the penholder on Libya and Ambassador Olof Skoog (Sweden) chairs the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee. UN DOCUMENTS ON LIBYA This was a resolution extending UNSMILs mandate until 15 September 2017. This was a briefing on Libya. This was a press statement that expressed deep concern over the challenging political and security context in Libya. DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) President Donald Trump is making an unannounced trip to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a weekend raid on an al-Qaida base in Yemen. Trump was to arrive Wednesday afternoon at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. Three other Americans were wounded in the operation, which was planned by former President Barack Obama's administration but approved by Trump. Trump was expected to join Owens' family for a private ceremony. The trip was not on Trump's public schedule. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported in advance. Overview During Ukraines presidency in February there will be two open debates, one at ministerial-level on conflicts in Europe and another focused on protection of critical infrastructure against terrorist acts. Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraines minister of foreign affairs, will chair both debates. The Council will be following the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) closely, with briefings and discussions on MINUSCA and the CAR Sanctions Committee planned. There will be discussion or mandate renewals on several other African situations this month: Cote dIvoire , on the final report of UNOCI; , on the final report of UNOCI; Guinea-Bissau , renewal of the mandate of UNIOGBIS; , renewal of the mandate of UNIOGBIS; Libya , on UNSMIL; and , on UNSMIL; and Sudan, renewal of the mandate of the Panel of Experts of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee. The Council will also be monitoring closely developments in Burundi and South Sudan, although no formal meetings are scheduled. Depending on developments, the situation in The Gambia may require the attention of the Council. On Syria, Council members will receive their regular monthly briefings on the political, chemical and humanitarian tracks. They will be following closely the outcome of the Astana talks and the preparations for the UN-facilitated Geneva talks scheduled for 8 February. On chemical weapons, the Council is expecting a report from the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM). Other Middle East issues that will be considered include: Iraq , an update on the activities of UNAMI and impact of the campaign to re-take Mosul from ISIL; , an update on the activities of UNAMI and impact of the campaign to re-take Mosul from ISIL; Israel/Palestine , the regular monthly meeting; and , the regular monthly meeting; and Yemen, renewal of the mandate of the 2140 Sanctions Committee and its Panel of Experts. The Council will have its quarterly meeting on UNMIK in Kosovo, and another on the activities of the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee. Other issues on the February programme of work include annual briefings on the activities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and on the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia. There will also be a meeting on the implementation of the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions regime. AFRICA South Sudan Expected Council Action In February, the Council will follow closely the situation in South Sudan. There may be a meeting to consider the Secretary-Generals 30-day assessment of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), including the deployment and future requirements of the Regional Protection Force (RPF), obstacles to setting up the force and impediments to UNMISS in carrying out its mandate. Given the gravity of the situation, other meetings could be scheduled on South Sudan during the month, depending on developments in the country. The UNMISS mandate expires on 15 December 2017. Key Recent Developments The security and humanitarian environment in South Sudan continues to deteriorate amidst a faltering political process and reports of fighting in various parts of the country. There are now more than 1.85 million internally displaced people in South Sudan, and 1.3 million refugees have fled to neighbouring countries, including 450,000 since the July 2016 violence. Approximately one-third of the population requires emergency food assistance, and the World Food Programme estimates that the situation is expected to further deteriorate during the peak of the lean season from May to July 2017. South Sudanese government officials continue to express ambivalence about the deployment of the Regional Protection Force (RPF), which the Council first authorised in August 2016 to, among other things, protect UN staff, humanitarian actors and civilians in Juba. On 10 January, Defence Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk said that the RPF was no longer needed, claiming that security had returned to Juba. On 13 January, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said that the government did not object to the force but that the Council would need to adopt a new resolution for it because its initial mandate under resolution 2304 had expired on 15 December 2016. Makueis statement failed to recognise that the mandate of the RPF was reauthorised by the Council through resolution 2327 adopted on 16 December 2016. A number of outstanding issues remain regarding the planning for the deployment of the RPF. While the government has agreed to provide land next to UN House in Juba for the force, on 12 January it rescinded its offer to allocate additional land near the UNs Tomping base. There also continues to be disagreement between the government and UNMISS on the RPFs mandate to protect the airport; on 20 January, President Salva Kiir said that while South Sudan would accept the force, it will not hand over the control of the airport to foreigners. The RPF, which was originally authorised for an initial four-month period ending on 15 December 2016, had to be reauthorised through resolution 2327 even though it has yet to be deployed and still may not be deployed in foreseeable future. Obstructions of the operations of UNMISS continue. In recent months, there have been reports that government forces have restricted the freedom of movement of UNMISS personnel or otherwise obstructed its operations in various parts of the country, including Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Western Equatoria, Jonglei, Lakes, Unity, Upper Nile and Western Bahr el-Ghazal states. On 19 December 2016, Kiir issued a presidential decree authorising a South Sudan national dialogue process. Kiir had outlined his plans for the national dialogue in an address to the national legislative assembly on 14 December, during which he said that the objectives of the dialogue would be to end violent conflicts in South Sudan, reconstitute national consensus, save the country from disintegration and usher in a new era of peace, stability and prosperity. Kiir envisions the dialogue as a process that will include local-level consultations, followed by regional peace conferences and, lastly, a national conference in Juba. Opposition leader Riek Machar, currently in exile in South Africa, has criticised plans for the national dialogue, reportedly saying that negotiations to end the civil war must take place first. On 14 January, Kiir issued a decree increasing the number of states in South Sudan from 28 to 32. The decree, which has been condemned by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement in Opposition headed by Machar, is reminiscent of Kiirs late 2015 order that divided the countrys ten states into 28 states. That decision was controversial in large part because it was perceived as increasing the control of the Dinka ethnic group over oil-producing areas of the Upper Nile region, and because it elicited concerns about the creation of ethnic enclaves that would exacerbate inter-communal tensions. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke at length with Council members about South Sudan on 9 January during his first monthly luncheon with them since taking office. Among the key issues he raised at this meeting were the importance of revitalising the political process; the need to deploy the RPF, which the Council first authorised in August 2016, and the importance of raising awareness of the risk of atrocities in South Sudan. On 23 January, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous briefed Council members in consultations on South Sudan. Ahead of the consultations, they held an informal interactive dialogue with Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana and the chair of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, responsible for overseeing the implementation of the August 2015 South Sudan peace agreement. Ambassador Olof Skoog (Sweden), President of the Council in January, read out elements to the press on behalf of Council members at the stakeout after the meetings. Among other things, members expressed concern about the fighting throughout South Sudan, called on all actors to end hate speech, called on the government to work constructively with the UN on a swift deployment of the RPF and encouraged the engagement of the Secretary-General in a reinvigorated political process. On 29 January, high-ranking officials from the AU, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the UN convened on the margins of the AU summit in Addis Ababa for a meeting on South Sudan. They issued a joint press statement that called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urged the parties to ensure inclusivity of the political process, both in the proposed National Dialogue and in the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement. Newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General David Shearer of New Zealand arrived in Juba on 20 January to assume his post. Human Rights-Related Developments On 16 January, UNMISS and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a joint report on human rights violations and abuses and breaches of international humanitarian law, including killings, rapes and arbitrary detention, committed in Juba between 8 and 12 July 2016 during and after fighting between the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO). The report found that the two sides appeared to deliberately target civilians, including on the basis of ethnicity and concluded that some of the violations and abuses possibly amount to war crimes. Key Issues The key underlying issue for the Council is what role it can play in reinvigorating the political process and in supporting those aspects of the August 2015 peace agreement that remain valid. This will require it to calibrate how it can add value to and coordinate with the efforts of the various regional, sub-regional and national actors with an interest in promoting peace in South Sudan. The Council further needs to determine how to approach Kiirs national dialogue; to date, Council members have merely emphasised the need for this process to be truly inclusive. Along with the search for a political process, another key and related issue is how to prevent the inter-ethnic conflict in South Sudan from descending into full-blown inter-ethnic warfare resulting in mass atrocities, given the warning signs that this is a possibility. Options One option is for the Council to request a briefing from the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, to learn about his engagement in the peace process in conjunction with key regional actors and get his input on how the Council could most effectively support the mediation process. Council members could also request to meet with AU High Representative for South Sudan Alpha Konare to get his views on the mediation and how the Council could best support his efforts. A further option is for the Council to adopt a resolution or presidential statement that: demands an immediate cessation of hostilities; reminds the government of its responsibility to protect civilians from atrocity crimes; encourages IGAD, the AU and the UN to vigorously pursue a mediated solution to the conflict; urges member states to provide operational support for the mediation efforts of the AU High Representative for South Sudan, given indications that resource constraints have hindered his work; and condemns restrictions on the freedom movement of UNMISS personnel and obstacles to humanitarian access imposed by the government. The Council could also consider holding an Arria-formula meeting on ways to combat hate speech and incitement to ethnic violence in South Sudan, inviting the participation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, international NGOs with a presence in South Sudan and key South Sudanese religious figures, among others. The meeting could be open to the wider membership and webcast in order to continue to raise awareness of the risk of mass atrocities in South Sudan. Council Dynamics Council members remain very concerned about the potential for the ongoing fighting in South Sudan to deteriorate into an all-out inter-ethnic war leading to mass atrocities and for the severe humanitarian crisis gripping the country to continue to worsen. While members have been emphasising the need for an overarching political strategy to resolve the crisis, it is not clear what the elements of that strategy will be. Furthermore, members do not have a unified approach regarding how to exert leverage on the parties to resolve the crisis, with strong divisions persisting on the usefulness of pursuing an arms embargo and targeted sanctions. Some members have noted that decisions pertinent to South Sudan that emerge from the AU Summit (scheduled for 22-31 January in Addis Ababa) will most likely help to inform the Councils next steps on South Sudan. The US is the penholder on South Sudan. UN Documents on South Sudan This extended the mandate of UNMISS for one year and reauthorised the Regional Protection Force. This resolution authorised the Regional Protection Force. This was an UNMISS report. This was the draft resolution on an arms embargo and targeted sanctions that failed to receive the necessary support to be adopted. It received seven affirmative votes (France, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, Uruguay, the UK and the US) and eight abstentions (Angola, China, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Senegal, and Venezuela). This was the Executive Summary of the report of the special independent investigation into the July 2016 violence in Juba. Status Update Counter-Terrorism In a 1 January press statement, Council members condemned the attack that same day at a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey during which at least 39 people were killed and 69 injured. In a 9 January statement, Council members condemned the attack in the northern Sinai city of Al-Arish, Egypt during which nine policemen were killed and over 13 injured. On 26 January, the 1373 Counter-Terrorism Committee held a meeting to discuss its 2017 programme of work. Democratic Republic of the Congo On 4 January, the Council adopted a presidential statement welcoming the signing on 31 December 2016 of a comprehensive and inclusive political agreement on the electoral calendar in the DRC. On 11 January, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous, briefed the Council on the latest MONUSCO report. Monseigneur Marcel Utembi, President of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo, also spoke. At press time, the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee was scheduled to meet on 30 January to discuss the latest midterm report by the Group of Experts assisting the Committee. Haiti In a 4 January press statement, Council members welcomed the announcement of the final presidential results from the 20 November 2016 elections in Haiti. They urged all political actors to accept the results, refrain from violence and work together to build a stable and prosperous country. Israel/Palestine On 8 January, Council members issued a press statement condemning in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jerusalem that day in which four Israelis were killed and 15 injured. On 17 January, the Council held its quarterly open debate on the Middle East, with Special Coordinator Nickolay Mladenov briefing. At the request of Bolivia, Mladenov also briefed Council members under any other business on 25 January on Israeli settlements following Israels approval of 2,500 new housing units in the West Bank a day earlier. Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict The Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict met on 9 January for the introduction of the Secretary-Generals report on children and armed conflict in Colombia. This was followed by meetings on 16 and 24 January to discuss the Working Groups draft conclusions to the report. Conflict Prevention On 10 January, the Council held a ministerial-level open debate on conflict prevention and sustaining peace chaired by Margot Wallstrom, Swedens minister of foreign affairs. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the Council for the first time, outlining his plans for reforms aimed at equipping the UN to do a better job at preventing conflict. Sweden, which produced a concept paper in preparation for the meeting, has announced its intention to draft a summary highlighting key points made in the discussion. Ninety-one member states, the EU and the OAS participated in the debate. Colombia On 11 January, there was a Council briefing by Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Mission in Colombia Jean Arnault, followed by consultations. Arnault updated Council members on the implementation of the missions mandate and the challenges highlighted in the Secretary-Generals latest report. Afghanistan On 11 January, Council members issued a press statement condemning terrorist attacks perpetrated by the Taliban in Kabul and Helmand the previous day, claiming the lives of over 133 people. The statement also condemned a10 January terrorist attack in Kandahar. UNOWAS, including The Gambia On 12 January, the Council received briefings from Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Taye-Brook Zerihoun and OCHA head Stephen OBrien on the Lake Chad Basin crisis precipitated by the Boko Haram conflict. Fatima Yerima Askira of the Borno Women Development Initiative and Youth Programmes Coordinator at Search for Common Ground Nigeria also briefed via video teleconference from Maiduguri, Nigeria. A number of Council members expressed support for a proposed Council mission to the Lake Chad Basin region. On 13 January, the Council was briefed by the head of UNOWAS, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, on the Secretary-Generals latest report on the region. The meeting was followed by consultations where issues discussed included the political crisis in The Gambia, the independent evaluation of the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) and Boko Haram. In subsequent elements to the press delivered by the Council president, Council members reiterated the full content of the Councils 21 December 2016 presidential statement on The Gambia. On 19 January, the Council adopted a resolution on the presidential elections in The Gambia, endorsing the decisions of ECOWAS and the AU recognising Adama Barrow as the legitimate president of the country. On 20 January, the Council adopted a presidential statement on developments in the region, welcoming among other things the conclusion of the independent evaluation on the UNISS. Following the adoption, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman updated members on the quickly evolving situation in the Gambia under any other business during consultations. On 25 January, Council members received a follow-up briefing on The Gambia from Chambas via video teleconference, which included discussing the 21 January joint declaration issued by ECOWAS, the AU and the UN following former President Yahya Jammehs agreement to transfer power to Barrow and to leave the country. Mali On 18 January, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous briefed the Council on the situation in Mali. Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop of Mali and Ambassador Sabri Boukadoum (Algeria) also spoke. During consultations following the meeting, Council members were briefed by Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of MINUSMA, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, and discussed challenges to the implementation of the 2015 Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation outlined in the Secretary-Generals 30 December 2016 report . In a subsequent press statement, they condemned the attackclaimed by terrorist group Al-Mourabitounagainst the camp of the Operational Coordination Mechanism in Gao which caused the deaths of dozens of persons. On 24 January, Council members issued a press statement condemning the attack against a MINUSMA camp in Aguelhoc that caused the death of a Chadian peacekeeper. Iran On 18 January, the Council met to discuss implementation of resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA on Irans nuclear programme. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman briefed on the Secretary-Generals 30 December 2016 report on implementation which covered the six-month period since the Councils last meeting on Iran on 18 July 2016. In addition, there were briefings by the head of the EU delegation, Ambassador Joao Pedro Vale de Almeida, on behalf of the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini in her capacity as coordinator of the JCPOAs Joint Commission, and Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi (Italy), who took over the role as 2231 facilitator from Ambassador Roman Oyarzun (Spain) on 1 January. The Council received a written report from the Joint Commission on 27 December 2016 (S/2016/1113), and from the facilitator on 17 January (S/2017/49). In an 18 January letter, Iran asserted that the Secretary-General had misinterpreted his reporting mandate and should cover not only implementation of annex B of resolution 2231 but also annex A (S/2017/51). Iran also contended that the report contained unsubstantiated information and false allegations. On 31 January, under any other business during consultations and at the request of the US, Council members discussed the ballistic missile test conducted by Iran on 29 January, with a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Miroslav Jenca. Cyprus On 20 January, the Council held a meeting with the troop- and police-contributors to UNFICYP. On 23 January, Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar and Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide briefed Council members in consultations. Spehar briefed on the latest UNFICYP report while Eide reported on the latest developments regarding the unification talks. On 26 January, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2338, renewing UNFICYPs mandate for another six months. Somalia On 27 January, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Michael Keating briefed the Council on the latest Secretary-Generals report on Somalia and the activities of UNSOM, while AUs Special Representative to Somalia Francisco Madeira briefed on AMISOM. Asha Gelle Dirie, the Chair of Goodwill Ambassadors for the 30 percent reserved seats for women in the Somali elections, also addressed the Council. On 20 January, the 751/1907 Somalia and Eritrea Sanctions Committee met with members of the newly appointed Monitoring Group assisting the Committee. Western Sahara On 27 January, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous briefed Council members during consultations under any other business on MINURSOs return to full functionality and the situation in Al-Guergarat, at Uruguays request. MIDDLE EAST Syria Expected Council Action In February, Council members expect to receive the regular monthly briefings on the humanitarian and political situations in Syria. Council members will be following closely the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, scheduled to be held in February. On chemical weapons, Council members will consider the next report of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), which is due in mid-February. At press time, it was unclear if a draft resolution, circulated by France and the UK, to impose sanctions on the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons against its own population, would be put to a vote. Similarly, it was unclear what the next steps might be regarding a Russian draft resolution that focuses on chemical weapons use in Syria by non-state actors and terrorists. Key Recent Developments Following the December fall of eastern Aleppo to government forces, the Council adopted resolution 2336 on 31 December 2016 welcoming Russia and Turkeys efforts to end violence in Syria and jump-start a political process. Resolution 2336 also included the Councils view that the 23-24 January Astana talks between the Syrian government and representatives of armed opposition groups should be considered a step toward the resumption of intra-Syrian talks under UN auspices in February. On 29 December 2016, Russia and Turkey had circulated several documents summarising their agreement on the ceasefire, including a monitoring mechanism for violations. Both in the negotiations and in explaining their votes on the resolution, several Council members raised concerns regarding the terms of the ceasefire, the lack of clarity on the monitoring mechanism and the risk of having a parallel political process if there was not adequate coordination with the UNs mediation efforts. On 20 January, Council members were briefed by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman on the preparation for the Astana talks. Ahead of the meeting, it was apparent that the government and opposition had differing objectives for the talks. The oppositions platform was to consolidate the ceasefire, get humanitarian aid flowing to besieged areas and seek the release of detainees from government prisons. The government viewed the talks as an opportunity to consolidate the ceasefire by seeking the separation of rebel groups from cooperation with Al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusrah and excluded from the terms of the ceasefire, and to lay the groundwork for more local reconciliation deals with armed groups, which are generally seen as surrender agreements after years of government bombardment and siege of rebel-held areas. The oppositions delegation was led by Mohammad Alloush of Jaish al-Islam, a group that is a part of the High Negotiations Committee, a Riyadh-based opposition umbrella group. In April 2016, Russia had unsuccessfully proposed placing Jaish al-Islam on the Al-Qaida/ISIL sanctions list. However, in a 29 December press release by the Russian Ministry of Defence, Jaish al-Islam was described as a moderate opposition group. In another apparent shift, Russia agreed to Turkeys request that the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes the Kurdish armed group YPG, not be invited to the Astana talks. At the conclusion of the Astana talks, Turkey and Russia, joined by Iran, signed a joint communique deciding to establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire. At press time, Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura was expected to brief Council members on 31 January on how the Astana talks can feed into preparations for the Geneva talks in February. The ceasefire is largely holding, except for the vicinity of Damascus where government airstrikes have continued. In particular, fighting in Wadi Barada between rebel groups and the government-allied Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah has severely restricted the flow of water to Damascus since late December, with both sides trading accusations over who is responsible for it. Fighting also continues in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, which has been besieged by the government for almost four years. Idlib, which is under the control of armed groups, has been receiving evacuees from Aleppo and other municipalities. Tension among armed groups has been rising, with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham attacking the headquarters of Ahrar al-Sham in Idlib on 19 January. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which is designated by the Security Council as a terrorist group, has been targeted by Syrian, Russian and US airstrikes. On 26 January, OCHA, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation updated the Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria, which continues to be critical. On 16 January, the head of OCHA and four other UN agencies issued a statement appealing for immediate, unconditional and safe access to reach those still cut off from humanitarian aid across the country. According to the statement, there are 15 besieged areas where up to 700,000 people, including an estimated 300,000 children, remain trapped. Nearly five million people, including more than two million children, live in areas that are extremely difficult to reach with humanitarian assistance due to fighting, insecurity and restricted access. Bureaucratic delays imposed by the government continue to limit the ability of the UN to reach those most in need. On 15 January, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) launched a major offensive against government-held Deir ez-Zor and captured the drop zone for humanitarian supplies, interrupting the towns only lifeline. Briefing the Council on 4 January, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo briefed Council members on efforts to re-establish the operational capacity of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) following its renewal with the adoption of resolution 2319 on 17 November 2016. The JIMs previous four reports have concluded that of the nine cases investigated, the Syrian regime used chlorine gas against its own population in three cases and ISIL used mustard gas in one case. There was insufficient evidence to make a determination in the remaining five cases. Since mid-December 2016, France and the UK have led negotiations on a draft resolution seeking to impose sanctions on the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons against its own population. In early January, Russia circulated another draft resolution noting the decrease of allegations of use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government and placing emphasis in their use by non-state actors. On 12 January, the US imposed unilateral sanctions on 18 senior officials of the Syrian government connected to the countrys weapons of mass destruction program and identified several branches of the government involved in the production and use of chemical weapons. On 29 December 2016, the OPCW issued a report stating that the destruction of 24 of 27 chemical weapons production facilities declared by the Syrian government in 2014 had been verified. However, the OPCW believes that Syrias initial declaration remains incomplete. Following the adoption of resolution 71/248 by the General Assembly on 21 December 2016, the Secretary-General, with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, developed the terms of reference for a mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of international crimes committed in Syria. The Secretary-General is expected to report on the operationalisation of this mechanism in late February. Key Issue Nearly six years since the start of a war that has exacted a death toll approaching 500,000, left 700,000 living under siege after the evacuation of eastern Aleppo and displaced half of the Syrian population, including 4.86 million refugees, the essential issue for the Council is to exert effective leadership in supporting a cessation of hostilities and efforts to reach a political solution. Options While the Council has many tools at its disposalsuch as imposing an arms embargo or targeted sanctions, referring Syria to the ICC or authorising a no-fly zone to deter Syria from using its aerial capacityP5 divisions have made it impossible for the Council to fulfil its role in maintaining international peace and security in the case of Syria. Regarding accountability, Council members could: hold an informal interactive dialogue with the Board of Inquiry to discuss its findings in relation to the 19 September 2016 attack on a humanitarian convoy outside of Aleppo; and organise an Arria-formula meeting with the Human Rights Councils Commission of Inquiry on Syria. Regarding chemical weapons, if the Council is able to determine that Syria has violated resolutions 2118, 2209 and 2235, it has the option to pursue the threat of sanctions implicit in all three resolutions. Council and Wider Dynamics Council members engagement on the Syrian political negotiations has been limited to following the lead taken by key actors outside of the Council. This was the case with the adoption of resolution 2336 on 31 December 2016 which was tabled by Russia and Turkey. In this context, Council members have made efforts to ensure that the initiative by Russia and Turkey does not undermine the UN mediation which is guided by resolution 2254 and the June 2012 Geneva Communique, endorsed in resolution 2118. Some Council members have expressed doubts over the governments willingness to compromise in peace talks on a genuine transitional governing body, given its recent military victories, particularly in Aleppo. It remains unclear if a draft resolution to impose sanctions against Syria over its use of chemical weapons, penned by France and the UK, will be put to a vote. After several rounds of negotiations, and given Russias rejection of the draft, Council members expect that it will be vetoed if it does proceed to a vote. It seems some Council members preferred to postpone such action in order to assess the degree of continuity in US policy on Syria between the new administration and the previous one. So far, Council members have not taken any initiative to promote accountability for the 19 September 2016 attack on a humanitarian convoy outside of Aleppo. A summary of the report of the UN Board of Inquiry was shared with the Council on 21 December. Even though the Board had received reports that Syrian forces were highly likely to have perpetrated the attack, the Board was not given access to the required data or to the attack site to determine responsibility. Relations between Turkey and Russia, strained since the downing of a Russian jet in November 2015 by Turkish forces, became closer over the summer of 2016 and culminated in the brokering of a new ceasefire in late December. Since August 2016, Turkeys priority in Syria has been its Operation Euphrates Shield, which has created a de facto buffer zone in areas previously held by ISIL, effectively preventing Kurdish control of contiguous areas in Syria along the Turkish border. In January, Turkey and Russia conducted their first joint airstrikes against ISIL targets in the town of al-Bab. The US-led anti-ISIL coalition has also conducted airstrikes around al-Bab in support of Operation Euphrates Shield, but not in coordination with Russia. UN DOCUMENTS ON SYRIA Welcomed efforts by Russia and Turkey to end violence in Syria and jumpstart a political process. Renewed the mandate of the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism for a further year. This resolution was adopted unanimously by the Council and required the verification and destruction of Syrias chemical weapons stockpiles, called for the convening of the Geneva II peace talks and endorsed the establishment of a transitional governing body in Syria with full executive powers. This was the first resolution focused exclusively on a political solution to the Syrian crisis. It was adopted unanimously. This was on the humanitarian situation. This was on chemical weapons. This was on the humanitarian situation. This was an update by the OPCW fact-finding mission on a 2 August 2016 incident and its 2016 activities. Was from Russia summarising the agreement reached with Turkey on a ceasefire and political talks for Syria. Was a summary of the UN Board of Inquiry report on the 19 September 2016 attack on a humanitarian convoy outside of Aleppo. This condemned the destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL in Syria following reports of the destruction of the tetrapylon and parts of the theatre of Palmyra. THE SECURITY COUNCIL The Security Council in 2016 Please click here for statistical graphs prepared by SCR of Security Council activity in 2016. Decisions and Meetings In 2016, the Council had one of its busiest years in the post-Cold War period. Several situationsBurundi, South Sudan, Syria, Western Sahara and Yemenrequired sustained attention. One new situation, Colombia, was added to the agenda. Terrorism continued to be a focus both in specific country situations, such as Mali and Yemen, and from the perspective of the financing of terrorism. Non-proliferation featured prominently, particularly in relation to the DPRKs activities, but also from the aspect of the dangers of non-state actors acquiring weapons of mass destruction. The Council adopted 96 decisions (resolutions and presidential statements), the most since 2008. The number of resolutions (77) adopted was the highest since 1993. Presidential statements (19) were the fewest since 1990. Resolutions were largely related to mandate extensions and sanctions renewals, but occasionally were adopted on wider humanitarian concerns such as protection of health care in armed conflict or emerging issues such as human trafficking. Presidential statements were used mainly as a means for the Council to convey the importance of sustaining peace processes or conducting elections in a credible manner, and were occasionally the outcome of a thematic debate. Press statements, which are not formal decisions of the Council but require Council consensus, fell from 128 in 2015, to 106 last year. Slightly more than half of these were on terrorist-related activities, attacks against civilians or attacks against UN personnel. The Council held 256 meetings: 237 public and 19 private. This was the second highest number of formal meetings in over 20 years. Regarding informal meetings, there were 169 consultations, rising to almost the same number as in 2014, after a slight drop in 2015. The issues that were taken up most frequently in consultations were Syria (50 times), Sudan/South Sudan (31 times) and Western Sahara (18 times). A closer look at meeting activity shows a steady rise in time spent and the number of briefers in open debates. In 2016, the Council spent 160 hours in 24 open debates with 1,334 speakers; in 2006, only 67 hours were spent in 13 open debates with 64 briefers. The longest session in 2016 lasted nine and a half hours and was on strengthening coordination in counter-terrorism, during Chinas presidency in April. The open debate on the Great Lakes Region during Angolas presidency in March was the only conflict-specific situation discussed in this format. Thematic issues such as children and armed conflict; cooperation with regional organisations, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, peace operations, protection of civilians and women, peace and security were the dominant issues in the open debates, along with the regular quarterly open debate on the Middle East. The only month with no open debate was September, when the New Zealand presidency chose the shorter briefing format to discuss the dangers to civil aviation posed by terrorism and attacks on medical facilities and personnel. A special aspect of last years activity was the time spent on the Secretary-General selection process. Although not reflected in the general statistics due to the informal nature of the meetings, Council members discussed this issue regularly during the monthly breakfast meeting of permanent representatives and under any other business. They also held six straw polls and one formal meeting, as well as 13 informal meetings with candidates. Trends in 2016 Unanimity Continues to Decline In 2016, Council members showed a greater tendency to put draft resolutions to a vote even when a unanimous adoption was not expected. There were ten non-consensual resolutions, two vetoes (both on Syria Aleppo-related resolutions) and two resolutions not adopted due to a lack of nine votes (South Sudan sanctions and Syria). The number of non-consensual resolutions was the greatest ever in the post-Cold War period. Nine Council members abstained at least once, on a range of resolutions covering the renewal of mission mandates in Liberia, South Sudan and Western Sahara; Israel/Palestine; establishment of a UN police component in Burundi; non-proliferation; international tribunals; sexual exploitation in UN peacekeeping; and human trafficking off the coast of Libya. Although there were abstentions by some membersAngola, China, Egypt, Russia and Venezuelawho had abstained regularly in 2015, there were also rare abstentions from France, the UK and the US. When France, Russia and the UK abstained on the resolution renewing UNMILs mandate it was the first time since the vote on the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 that France and the UK did not vote in favour of a US-proposed resolution, and the first time since 1988 that the UK abstained on a resolution. Members chose to vote against or abstain for substantive reasons as well as to express their disapproval with the negotiation process. Unhappiness with substantive revisions not being incorporated into the final draft and truncated negotiating time were among the reasons given for choosing to abstain. This was the case with the resolution on Western Sahara which was adopted with ten positive votes, two against (Uruguay and Venezuela) and three abstaining (Angola, New Zealand and Russia). It was the first time since 1991 that a resolution was adopted with two or more votes against it. Members also abstained because they felt that a resolution did not do justice to the complexity of an issue or that the Council was not the right venue for it. The former was among the reasons given when Venezuela abstained on a resolution on disrupting the illicit smuggling of migrants off the coast of Libya, and the latter when Egypt abstained on a resolution on sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel. While non-consensual decisions may allow for stronger resolutions, it raises questions about potential problems in implementation, particularly if it relates to mission mandates. The Burundi resolution establishing a UN police component and the South Sudan resolution authorising a Regional Protection Force, which were both adopted with ten votes for and five abstentions, have seen little progress. A More Active E10 Elected members working together found their voice in 2016 on issues both old and new. They took the initiative in drafting resolutions and led on new issues. The E10 met regularly, partly prompted by a common desire to engage more effectively with the Secretary-General selection process, but also in recognition of the usefulness of banding together as elected members. In the process, they made inroads into the penholder system. The first cracks in the system came in 2013, when elected members took on the Syria humanitarian lead role. In 2016, elected members took on a wider humanitarian lead role. The resolution on attacks on healthcare, adopted in May, was orchestrated by Egypt, New Zealand and Spain (the 2016 Syria humanitarian leads), together with Japan and Uruguay, over a four-month period. The issue of Israel-Palestine saw a mix of penholders including France and Spain working together, New Zealand and Egypt each making separate attempts, and then a coalition of Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela finally getting a resolution adopted. There was a nudge towards co-penholdership with the P5: France and Spain co-drafted the Syria resolution on Aleppo in October; and Senegal and the US worked together on a draft resolution on UN-AU cooperation. Venezuela broke new ground by having the E10 negotiate a presidential note on working methods of subsidiary bodies ahead of P5 involvement. By working together, small groups of elected members have been able to build alliances among themselves, while making a little progress towards re-establishing a more equitable distribution of responsibility in the Council. Increase in Council Visiting Missions In 2016, the Council undertook five visiting missions, the most since 2000. They were: Burundi, with a visit to the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (January); Mali and Guinea-Bissau, with a visit to the UNOWAS office in Dakar, Senegal (March); Somalia, with stops in Nairobi, Kenya and Cairo, Egypt, to visit the Arab League (May); South Sudan, with a visit to the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa (September); and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a stop in Luanda, Angola (November). These visits, which allowed the Council to engage directly with stakeholders in complex political situations, as well as with regional actors, appear to have been used as a means of sending a message in threatening political situations. While difficult to assess their impact, it seems that when the Council is united in its messaging, it can have some positive effect on the parties in the conflict as well as on coordination with the regional actors. However, if the Council is obviously divided, or if Council members are unable to move around the country, these visits may have a limited impact. The meetings with the AU, Arab League and UNOWAS were a significant aspect of the visits, allowing for an exchange of ideas on regional issues. While the increase in the use of visiting missions is generally viewed as a positive development, it has been suggested that better strategic planning beforehand and sustained follow-up after might enable these missions to be used more effectively as a tool for conflict prevention or mitigation. ASIA UNRCCA (Central Asia) Expected Council Action In early February, the Special Representative and head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), Petko Draganov, is due to brief Council members in consultations on the work of the centre. UNRCCA was established in 2007 for an open-ended time period. Key Recent Developments Since his last biannual briefing to the Council on 15 June 2016, Draganov has continued to engage bilaterally with the countries in the region (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and has also attended meetings of relevant regional organisations. From 22 to 24 June he visited Tashkent, Uzbekistan, for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as part of a UN delegation headed by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman. The UN delegation met with SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and also held bilateral meetings with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. On 18 and 19 October, Draganov attended a meeting in Tashkent of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. On 29 and 30 August 2016, Draganov visited Almaty, Kazakhstan, to deliver a keynote presentation to a high-level international conference titled Building a Nuclear-Free World. He travelled to Moscow from 14 to 16 September for consultations in the Russian foreign ministry and with the secretariat of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), addressing a session of the Permanent Council of the CSTO and taking part in a tripartite meeting of UNRCCA, CSTO and the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). On 8 and 9 December, Draganov headed the UN delegation to an OSCE ministerial meeting in Germany. UNRCCA hosted a number of regional conferences and workshops on relevant topics. On 12 and 13 September 2016, it co-hosted a workshop in Almaty titled Trans-boundary Water Resources in the Region of Central Asia: The State of Play. On 21 and 22 September, UNRCCA and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) co-organised a high-level conference on Identifying and Tackling Geo-Strategic Challenges to Promoting Development of the Licit Economy in Afghanistan in the Transformation Decade. On 8 and 9 November, UNRCCA co-organised an international seminar titled The Impact of Glaciers Melting on Water Resources in Central Asia in the Context of Climate Change in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. UNRCCA hosted a regular meeting of the mini-Dublin group, an informal coordination group of like-minded countries focused on the fight against illicit drugs, on 5 December 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. From 12 to 14 December, UNRCCA organised a regional seminar in Almaty on the role of parliaments in preventive diplomacy in Central Asia, and from 14 to 16 December hosted a three-day training workshop in Ashgabat on how to effectively counter the financing of terrorism in collaboration with the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force/UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) Office and UNODC. In other developments, the Chinese embassy in Bishkek was hit on 30 August 2016 by a suicide car bomb, which wounded at least three people. In a 1 September press statement, Council members condemned the attack as a terrorist act and called for a full investigation by the government to bring the perpetrators to justice. The Council held two debates of particular relevance to UNRCCAs work. On 28 October 2016, at the initiative of Russia, the Council for the first time held a debate on cooperation between the UN and CSTO, SCO and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The debate focused on the contributions of these organisations in countering threats to peace and security in Eurasia and Central Asia and the importance of enhanced cooperation with the UN, including UNRCCA. At the initiative of Senegal, the Council held its first open debate on the issue of water, peace and security on 22 November, with a briefing by the Secretary-General. In his statement, the Secretary-General highlighted the work of UNRCAA in this area. Key Issues Key issues include the rising threat of terrorism and extremism in Central Asia, the regional impact of the situation in Afghanistan, drug-trafficking, trans-boundary water management and ongoing tensions linked to border-related disputes. With regard to UNRCCA, a key issue is whether its role as a tool for preventive diplomacy and regional cooperation could be further enhanced and whether the Council could do more to support it. Options One option for Council members is to issue a press statement, as they have done in the past, reaffirming the importance of conflict prevention, expressing support for UNRCCAs activities in the region and reiterating other key elements from previous statements. Another option is to change the format of the briefing from a closed to an open meeting, perhaps followed by consultations, as is the case for the regular briefings by the UN Office for West Africa and the UN Regional Office for Central Africa. Council Dynamics As a new non-permanent Council member with a direct interest in the work of UNRCCA, Kazakhstan is likely to be able to bring a new perspective to Council discussions, and can also be expected to promote greater attention in general to the security challenges in Central Asia, which are naturally among its key priorities while on the Council. It remains to be seen, however, whether Kazakhstan will be able to help bridge recent differences among Council members that have since January 2015 prevented agreement on an UNRCCA press statement. In the past, and since the establishment of UNRCCA in 2007, the briefings on its work were normally followed by a press statement commending the centres conflict prevention role. More recently, however, Council members have been unable to agree on a statement mainly because of differences over new language proposed by Russia, as the penholder, relating to UNRCCAs cooperation with regional organisations. Previous statements simply encouraged increased cooperation and coordination between the Central Asian countries, UNRCCA and relevant regional organisations to strengthen the regions capacity to overcome challenges to peace, stability and sustainable development, but Russia sought to add specific references in this context to CIS, CSTO and SCO as well as the OSCE and the EU. This was unacceptable to the P3, however, and it seems a compromise was not possible. It has therefore been two years since the last Council press statement on UNRCCA (SC/11751), although Council members are generally supportive of the centre and agree that it plays a useful role. UN DOCUMENTS ON UNRCCA This was a press statement condemning a terrorist attack against the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan. This press statement welcomed the briefing in consultations on 21 January by Miroslav Jenca, the Special Representative and head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, and reiterated support for UNRCCA as an early-warning and preventive-diplomacy tool. This was an open debate on water, peace and security. This was the debate on regional cooperation with CSTO, SCO and CIS. MIDDLE EAST Yemen Expected Council Action In February, the Council is expected to adopt a resolution renewing the 2140 Yemen sanctions regime and the mandate of the 2140 Sanctions Committees Panel of Experts. Current sanctions measures expire on 26 February, and the mandate of the Panel expires on 27 March. Key Recent Developments The war in Yemen has continued amidst a worsening humanitarian crisis and stalled progress to resume political talks. The conflict pits the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite rebel group, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against the Yemeni government and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition. In a 6 December 2016 letter to the Secretary-General and the Security Council, the Yemeni government reiterated its rejection of the roadmap proposed by the UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as a basis for resuming peace talks. The government described the roadmap as flagrantly revers[ing] the three terms of referencethe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative and its implementation mechanism, the National Dialogue Conference outcomes and resolution 2216 and other relevant Council resolutionsand said it sows the seeds of a new phase of bloody conflict. On 18 December 2016, foreign ministers of the QuadSaudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the USmet with the foreign minister of Oman and Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Riyadh. They discussed the Special Envoys proposalspreviously referred to as the roadmapfor resuming peace talks. Following the meeting, the Quad released a communique reaffirming their support for the UN proposals, which represent an outline for a comprehensive agreement whose details will be settled in negotiations. The Quad emphasised that the transfer of presidential authorities, one of the steps in the roadmap to which Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi objected, will not take place until the parties begin implementation of all political and security steps. The communique outlined the seven key elements of the UN proposals, including sequenced security steps and necessary withdrawals and appointments for the political transition. The Quad further urged the Yemeni government to engage in talks on the basis of the proposals, welcomed the endorsement of the roadmap by the Houthis and Salehs party, the General Peoples Congress and called for a cessation of hostilities. In mid-January, the Special Envoy began a new round of shuttle diplomacy across the region, on which he briefed the Council on 26 January. Meanwhile, intense fighting continued, including in Taiz, Nihm (near Sanaa) and along the north-western Saudi-Yemeni border, front lines that have changed little over the past year. In January, the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government began an offensive to take the Red Sea port city of Mokha, which they reportedly captured on 23 January. In other violence, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for suicide attacks in Aden on 10 and 18 December 2016 that each killed more than 50 government soldiers. Concerns continue to be flagged about a potential famine as Yemens humanitarian crisis appears to worsen. OCHAs 31 December 2016 humanitarian bulletin estimated that 14 million people were food-insecure, of whom 7 million do not know where their next meal will come from. The bulletin noted import restrictions (particularly on medicines, food and fuel) despite the establishment and functioning of the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM). Moreover, a coalition ban on commercial flights to and from Sanaa since August has left several thousand people unable to seek necessary medical treatment abroad. The decline in the Yemeni Central Banks foreign reserves and the countrys liquidity crisis continue to compound the humanitarian crisis. Sanctions-Related Developments In January, the Yemen Panel of Experts submitted its final report to the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee. The report analysed the implementation of financial and travel ban sanctions, the arms embargo against Houthi and Saleh forces and violations of the designation criteria including international humanitarian law and human rights law. Among its findings, the Panel said it had not seen sufficient evidence to confirm any large-scale supply of weapons from Iran. It noted that the exploitation by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIL of the vacuum created by the war could be laying the foundation for terrorist networks that could last years. The report attributed violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, some of which may amount to war crimes, to all parties to the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition. The Committee was due to discuss the report with the Panel on 27 January. The Panel did not make new recommendations in addition to those in its 2015 final report and 2016 mid-term update. In November 2016, the Panel submitted statements of cases on two individuals associated with the Houthis and Saleh whom the Committee could consider subjecting to sanctions measures. Key Issues How the Council can support efforts to achieve a cessation of hostilities and the resumption of peace talks is a key issue. Renewing the sanctions and the mandate of the Panel of Experts, including considering how the sanctions can complement a political process to end the war, will be a key issue. Related to both sanctions and the Councils broader consideration of the Yemen conflict is the humanitarian crisis, including issues of humanitarian access and violations of international humanitarian law. Another key issue is the expansion of AQAP and ISIL. Options The Council is expected to renew the Yemen sanctions measures and the mandate of the Panel of Experts for a further 12 months from their respective expiration dates. In doing so, it could: demand an end to the prohibition of commercial flights to and from Sanaa; demand that parties to the conflict cease attacks on hospitals and infrastructure, and remove bureaucratic impediments that obstruct access to humanitarian assistance; affirm that UNVIM should provide clearance to and oversee inspections of commercial shipments to Yemen in accordance with resolution 2216, call on member states to cooperate fully with UNVIM, and request the Secretary-General to review the UNVIMs functioning and report to the Committee in three months; and call on member states to support the rehabilitation of port infrastructure, including the replacement of damaged cranes at Hodeidah port, to facilitate essential imports of food, fuel and other supplies. The 2140 Committee may further decide to designate new individuals to be sanctioned. The Council could also consider a new resolution on Yemen, as the UK had said it would propose in autumn 2016, which: demands an immediate cessation of hostilities, including of all land, sea and military activities; and calls for the sides to return to negotiations on the basis of the Special Envoys proposals. Council and Wider Dynamics The Yemen war is a situation on the Councils agenda over which Gulf countries have exercised a strong influence. For example, last autumn the UK, following pressure by Saudi Arabia, held back from its announced intention that it would submit a resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities and engagement in talks on the basis of the roadmap. The Saudis have opposed any new resolution that could be viewed as departing from resolution 2216, adopted shortly after the coalitions intervention, as a basis for addressing the conflict. Within the Council, Egypt, as a member of the coalition, champions Yemeni government and coalition positions. Russia tends to highlight the perspective of the Houthis and has played a role in making Council positions on Yemen more balanced, while at times raising the Yemen conflict in the face of criticism regarding its role in Syria. Among new incoming members, Italy and Sweden have expressed an interest in Yemen, such as trying to further address the humanitarian situation. Italy appointed a Special Envoy to Yemen this past September. The Quad emerged in July 2016 to break the impasse that was developing in peace talks that were held in Kuwait from April to early August. The US has had a key role in driving the Quads activities and in developing the roadmap. The change of US administrations may thus affect the role this group plays. The UK is the penholder on Yemen and Japan chairs the 2140 Sanctions Committee. UN DOCUMENTS ON YEMEN This was a resolution renewing the Yemen sanctions measures until 26 February 2017, and the mandate of the Panel of Experts until 27 March 2017. This resolution demanded the Houthis to withdraw from all seized areas and to relinquish all seized arms, and established an arms embargo on the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. This resolution expressed the Councils strong support for the next steps of the political transition and established sanctions against those threatening the peace, security or stability of Yemen. This was a briefing by Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, OCHA head Stephen OBrien and World Food Programme regional director Muhannad Hadi. This was a letter from the Yemeni government regarding the Special Envoys roadmap. The notorious smog that often shrouds Beijing is a complex brew of dust, soot and gases from smokestacks and tailpipes, trapped together by chemistry and the geography around China's capital. And when water and nitrogen oxides mix with enough fine particles in the skies over Beijing, the result can be a kind of feedback loop that produces sulfur compounds and more floating particles, further fouling the air. That's the conclusion of scientists who recently examined how a thick haze forms - and their findings may help China in its battle to curb the pollution that has risen with the country's rapid industrialization. Yafang Cheng, the project's lead researcher, said the results show how nitrogen oxides - released by power plants and most cars - fuels the smog. "I think our results show how tightly coupled the processes involving gas phase, liquid phase and solid phase substances in our environment," said Cheng, an atmospheric chemist at Germany's Max Planck Institute of Chemistry. "The atmosphere is very complex, so there can be synergetic effects." China's pollution problem is more than a nuisance. UN agencies blame it for more than one million premature deaths a year and warn it could shave two years off life expectancies in the world's most populous nation. It's fueling discontent at home and concerns abroad, said Jennifer Turner, who runs the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank. "The public is watching, and the government sees it's bad for business," Turner said. "Companies don't want to invest and tourists don't want to come when you can't breathe." RELATED: China Launches Environmental Police Force to Combat Its Pollution Crisis China is trying to cut the amount of smoke, soot and other pollutants put out by its factories and by the rapidly growing numbers of cars on its roads. But Beijing's problems in particular are complicated by geography. The city is flanked by mountains to its west and north, which produce periodic air inversions that trap smoke, dust and emissions from the city or from industrial zones to the south, Cheng said. Working from air samples taken during a major smog outbreak in 2013, Cheng and her colleagues found that particles suspended in the air absorb water and trap sulfur dioxide - a common byproduct of burning coal, which still runs about three-quarters of China's power plants. That compound mixes with nitrogen dioxide, another common fossil-fuel emission, producing sulfate particles. The more particles, the more water gets absorbed, and the process picks up speed. And it gets turbocharged when the concentrations of fine particulates - bits of dirt smaller than 2.5 millionths of a meter across - are at high concentrations. How many new synthetic chemicals do you think are being produced on an annual basis? Whatever your guess, there's a pretty good chance it's a massive underestimate. Fully 10 million new compounds are being unleashed each year: That's more than 1,100 every hour, or 19 per minute. If you read at about the same speed as I do, eight new compounds will have been produced by the time it takes you to get to the end of this sentence. According to a new analysis in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and Environment, the rate of increase in the production and diversication of pharmaceuticals and pesticides exceeds that of most previously recognized agents of global change, such as habitat destruction and even CO2 emissions. But, reports the analysis - by Emily Bernhardt of Duke University and colleagues - the amount of scientific attention being paid to them, and particularly their possible ecological impacts, is disproportionately low. Bernhardt and her co-authors "found that within mainstream ecological journals, studies of contaminant effects on populations, species, communities, and ecosystem processes lag well behind research on other, well-recognized drivers of global environmental change, with less than 1 percent of all papers in the 20 most highly cited ecological journals over the past 25 years referencing any type of synthetic chemical." At the 2015 meeting of the Ecological Society of America, with 5,000 attendees - the largest-ever conference of international ecologists - "only 1.3 percent of the presentations (51 out of 3810 abstracts) included any of our contaminant search terms. In comparison, 13 percent of all presentations referenced "nitrogen" and 22 percent referred to 'climate change.'" RELATED: Fast Food Consumers Chow Down on Chemicals As for why this should be: Well, for one thing, Bernhardt told Seeker, "It's really technically challenging work. A lot of questions are difficult to answer because most of the places where you really worry about chemical contamination have lots of different kinds of chemicals, and chemical identification and measurement is really hard." Furthermore, added G. Allen Burton of the University of Michigan, in-field ecological research is generally the only real option: Not only are laboratory studies of chemical compounds generally expensive and time-consuming, but they may well not anticipate what will happen in the real world. "So often these chemicals behave drastically differently when released into the environment than in the lab," he said to Seeker. "They're affected by sunlight, by temperature, other chemicals, organic matter, all kinds of things alter their form and potential toxicity. We can't just rely on our lab tests and our genetic markers, we have to have ecologists out there too. "Our waterways are filled with these chemicals - admittedly, often at very low concentrations, but a lot of these chemicals, especially pharmaceuticals and personal-care products, are active to organisms in the part-per-trillion range. Scientifically, to look at the interactions of these thousands of chemicals is just mind-boggling, it's overwhelming. But the answer is not to put our heads in the sand. It's not to ignore it. We have to be addressing this. We're morally obliged to, just as we are with climate change." But meanwhile, much funding has dried up. Bernhardt and colleagues report that the major funding agency for ecologists in the United States is the National Science Foundation's Department of Environmental Biology; but less than three percent of all current research grants and total funding "included any of our search terms in the project title or abstract." Additionally, note Burton and colleagues in a separate study in Environmental Science & Technology, overall funding of scientific research from the Environmental Protection Agency is a fraction of what has been recommended by the National Academies of Science. RELATED: Polar Bears Face a Chemical Poisoning Risk 100 Times Above Safe Levels It seems unlikely the next four years will see an increase in federal funding on environmental science of any kind, either. Bernhardt suggests that other approaches may be needed, particularly given the sheer number of chemicals being produced and the amount of human and financial resources that would be required to assess the ecological impact of them all. "Compounds that are being produced in massive quantities, and which we know are going to wind up in the environment, like pesticides, we should be paying particularly close attention to," she said. "Are they really better than the alternative? Or are they replacing something that we know is worse? I think those are the kind of questions that we should be asking at the front end of chemical production. Not all chemicals are bad: Some new pesticides can be much more targeted or can be used in much smaller quantities. So it's not as if every new chemical is a bad thing, but I don't think we're spending enough time considering which new synthetic chemical is really an improvement. Do we really need odor-resistant socks, when they come with the cost of all these textiles that are now embedded with nanoparticles? Do we really need whiter ice cream with titanium dioxide in it?" Burton and his co-authors hold up the example of Australia's Cooperative Research Centres program, in which academic, government and industry partners come together "to provide cutting edge, applied research that benefits all involved." And Bernhardt notes that publications on climate change showed a marked increase following the first IPCC Assessment Report, and wonders whether a similar international effort on synthetic chemicals would produce comparable results. "Certainly, it's an international problem," she said. "These chemicals don't respect international boundaries, so seeing attention on this subject on both national and international levels is what I'd really like to see happen." WATCH: Vinyl Is Everywhere, But Is it Safe? "Typically for these crowdsourcing platforms, you have a small number of users that are 'superusers'," she said during press conference on Monday (Jan. 30). Because these superusers do most of the work, the aim of GlobalXplorer is to increase the number of superusers and to decrease the desire to leave the platform out of boredom or other factors. Archaeologist Sarah Parcak, who is with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, funded this platform using $1 million in prize winnings from TED, a non-profit media organization. Among her influences for the platform was Galaxy Zoo , a project that allows the public and scientists alike to classify galaxy types in pictures from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Called GlobalXplorer , it lets users search hundreds of thousands of DigitalGlobe satellite images in Peru for signs of looting or construction, or even to look for sites that are hidden beneath the dense cloud cover. You can manipulate photos to highlight (or obscure) parts of the vegetation. And as you get more practice, like any good video game you will progress through levels and get access to exclusive content such as videos or Google Hangouts. A new website wants you to help archaeologists protect thousands of valuable archaeological sites worldwide from looting and other forms of human intervention. Parcak added that she doesn't yet know how successful the initiative will be, because it's never been done before. Peru was chosen as the first country because of its archaeological richness (most famous among them being Macchu Picchu) and also because the government is open to alternative ways of studying the sites, such as through the use of drones. A second country may be added later this year. If all goes well, users will identify sites of interest for archaeologists to pursue, in consultation with UNESCO and the Peruvian Ministry of Culture. To prevent more looting, GPS and other identifying information has been stripped from each satellite image. The site is also available in Spanish to encourage young people in Peru to take part in archaeology - and hopefully, to discourage them from looting the sites themselves. RELATED: Egyptian Pyramids Found With NASA Satellite Archaeologists searching out GlobalXplorer user-identified sites will keep participants informed in real time, Parcak pledged, using tools such as Periscope, YouTube videos, or more traditional blog posts. For her own team, Parcak said she hopes the project will save hours of time, because looking at satellite imagery is a time-consuming endeavor. Parcak added that archaeology is potentially a way to combat the "despair and fear that so many people have" in light of changing immigration policies in the United States these past few days. "We have had throughout history problems with climate change, economic crises, wars, disease, these things happening all at once," she said. "The thing that you see again and again with different ancient societies and culture, oftentimes after periods of crisis, you get resilience and renaissance and re-emergence... Human beings have great resilience and ability to survive challenges. It can give us a lot of hope for the future." WATCH VIDEO: What Really Happened On Easter Island? Fred May, left, talks with Officer Lucas Crawford during a Coffee with a Cop event at Whataburger on Aug. 23, 2016. When a hurricane rips across the ocean, a peculiar region of calm appears in its core - called the "eye of the storm." This surprising region of comparative calm is almost as dramatic as the powerful winds that whip around its perimeter. Now, astronomers have developed a method that is analogous to the eye of the storm to create their own region of calm, not within a violent weather system, but in astronomical observations of star systems. The biggest difficulty facing astronomers looking for worlds orbiting distant stars is the obscuring glare of starlight that can completely hide the dimmer light bouncing off orbiting exoplanets. The glare can be millions of times brighter than the reflected light, requiring astronomers to devise ingenious techniques to reduce that glare. Oftentimes, "occulters" are used within instrumentation - basically tiny disks that physically block the intense starlight from view (a bit like holding your hand up to the sun to block the sun's glare), allowing features around the star to be detected. Occulters, however, have their limitations. The biggest problem is that, though this method allows the detection of exoplanets orbiting far from their stars, too much glare still bleeds through, obscuring the signal of exoplanets orbiting near to their stars. Entire systems of planets can be blocked from view if their orbits are compact, particularly for more distant stars where planetary systems will appear smaller. By manipulating the properties of light, however, a new device called a vortex coronagraph installed at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii has revealed the presence of a brown dwarf closely orbiting the star HIP 79124 (pictured top) and highlighted a planet-forming cloud of dust around the young star HD 141569. Neither objects would have been spotted if the astronomers used more conventional methods of direct imaging. RELATED: 2-Faced Exoplanet Is Both Solid and Molten Rock "The vortex coronagraph allows us to peer into the regions around stars where giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn supposedly form," said research scientist Dmitri Mawet, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech in Pasadena. "Before now, we were only able to image gas giants that are born much farther out. With the vortex, we will be able to see planets orbiting as close to their stars as Jupiter is to our sun, or about two to three times closer than what was possible before." The vortex coronagraph works by manipulating the starlight coming directly from the star. A filter with microscopic concentric rings act to direct the star's glare away from the instrument's optics. As light is electromagnetic waves, in the center of the coronagraph these waves are directed to cancel each other out (a physical mechanism known as destructive interference). This canceled light creates a dark region in the center, called an "optical singularity," effectively blocking the glare of the star. This method therefore allows the reflected light of worlds orbiting very close to their star to be resolved. "Hurricanes have a singularity at their centers where the wind speeds drop to zero - the eye of the storm," added Mawet. "Our vortex coronagraph is basically the eye of an optical storm where we send the starlight." In the case of HIP 79124, a brown dwarf was discovered orbiting the star at a distance of 23 AU (astronomical units, where 1AU is the average distance at which the Earth orbits the sun). Brown dwarfs are commonly known as "failed stars" - they form a bridge between the most massive planets and the least massive stars and possess qualities of both. RELATED: Exoplanet Weather Report: Windy, With Clouds of Rubies and Sapphires In another vortex study, the innermost ring of planet-forming material around the star HD 141569 was studied. On combining the vortex data with infrared observations from NASA's Spitzer and WISE missions, plus the European Space Agency's Herschel mission, researchers were able to deduce that the material consists of silicate pebbles known as olivine, which is abundant in the Earth's mantle. The temperature of material was measured to be around 100 Kelvin (280 degrees Fahrenheit), a little warmer than the solar system's asteroid belt. "The three rings around this young star are nested like Russian dolls and undergoing dramatic changes reminiscent of planetary formation," said Mawet. "We have shown that silicate grains have agglomerated into pebbles, which are the building blocks of planet embryos." Both studies were published in the January 2017 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Blocking out more starlight from planetary systems will allow astronomers to better understand the formation of worlds around other stars, ultimately refining ideas about how the planets in our solar system formed, evolved and migrated to where they orbit the sun today. Ultimately, it will likely be a technique based on the vortex coronagraph that will capture the first direct image of a real Earth 2.0. "The power of the vortex lies in its ability to image planets very close to their star, something that we can't do for Earth-like planets yet," said Gene Serabyn of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a statement. "The vortex coronagraph may be key to taking the first images of a pale blue dot like our own." WATCH VIDEO: We Can Now Predict Weather On Alien Worlds The bot weighs a mere 93 grams (3.3 ounces), and the researchers consider its soft wings just 56 microns thick and 47 centimeters (19 inches) across to be among the device's top advantages. The silicone membrane stretches as one piece across the entire breadth of the "animal." Compared to other aerial devices with sharp blades, such as quadcopters, the scientists said, the Bat Bot's wings pose no threat to people or objects in it path. "Bat flight is the holy grail of aerial robotics. So we have challenged ourselves to reverse-engineer a bat's unrivaled agility, with an aim to build a safe, energy-efficient robot that can fly like a bat," said Soon-Jo Chung, associate professor of aerospace at Caltech. Chung co-authored a paper just published on the Bat Bot in the journal Science Robotics. Dubbed Bat Bot, the robot has a lightweight, carbon-fiber skeleton, a silicone-based membrane for wings, micro-motors that make the wings flap and an on-board computer that runs the show by communicating with several data-gathering sensors to handle flight control and navigation. Scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Caltech have designed and successfully tested an autonomous flying robot modeled on the real-life characteristics of a bat. While the bot was indeed modeled on a bat the researchers did not try to recreate Mother Nature's work to a T. While real bats have more than 40 joints on their wings, the Bat Bot designers wheedled their device down to nine joints controlled by micro-motors and designed to accommodate a small handful of dominant motions used by bats in flight. The bot, for example, can dive sharply and perform sharp turns. Future plans also call for it to be able to perch, clinging to structures such as steel framing in construction. Construction, in fact, is one of the applications for which flying bot could prove useful, the scientists said. The bat could monitor building progress, surveil work sites and help compare construction models with the structures actually being created. The device, the team said, could be equally useful in emergency settings, where first responders might need to go places humans can't, such as tight enclosures with minimal access. Finally, they added, even home users, such as those with disabilities or the elderly who live in multi-level homes, could find uses for a flying bot. The device could, perhaps, fetch medication or monitor activities in another room. The Bat Bot isn't ready yet for real-world use, the scientists stressed. For now it is hand-launched to give it some speed and has performed its dives and turns in an indoor, controlled environment, for flights of up to 30 meters (98 feet). So far, ground netting has protected the bot from damage caused by crashes. The team says it plans further work on the design, to ensure that the bot's electronics are protected, should an accident occur. The team also will give the bat some spectacles soon. "The plan, probably within the next year or so, is to get eyes on it. The eyes will be very, very lightweight cameras - basically a lens and a sensor, much like what's in your cell phone," study co-author Seth Hutchinson told Seeker. WATCH VIDEO: Robot Jellyfish Patrolling the Oceans So, geologists recently published a study in the journal Acta Astronautica discussing what could be achieved if the rovers did a survey, or overview, before carrying out focused science operations. It should be emphasized that the NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity have returned an incredible amount of science this way. Also, the general concept of the research area does become clear as the rover drives further. However, when it comes to looking for a specific features such as biosignatures - one of the stated goals of NASA's Mars 2020 rover - it's possible that an extra tour around the site could make searching for the signatures more efficient. A typical geology expedition on Earth would have a team doing an overall survey of an area before deciding on a specific area of study. On Mars, however, while scientists do their best ahead of time to study orbital observations of a rover's study area, for the most part, rovers travel from spot to spot (that look interesting from a distance) without the luxury of having a team to survey the area ahead of time. Martian rovers have the incredible advantage of exploring another planet, but the incredible disadvantage of being limited by time. As a veteran of the NASA rover teams, Aileen Yingst said the overview method has only been done a handful of times, such as when Curiosity explored Pahrump Hills in 2014. The Opportunity rover, which as been exploring Mars since 2004, has also done it once. "The idea is that we want to get the most bang for our buck," Yingst, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, told Seeker. "When we are on Mars and we have expensive and very complex, important resources that are doing our geology work, we want to make sure as scientists we are making the best decisions." The study took place near a unit of sedimentary rock south of Green River, Utah. (Green River is roughly three hours southeast of Salt Lake City.) Two human "rovers" were commanded to do observations of the unit, just following the instructions sent from a simulated mission control. RELATED: Mars Rover Curiosity Can Now Fire Laser by Itself They moved ahead a few feet at time, just as a rover would when commanded remotely. One rover did an overview walk first and then returned to do science, while the other went from target to target. In this initial test, what the team found is that the walkabout provides context, and allows the team to pass by sites that initially looked interesting in orbital pictures, but proved not to look so unique up close. For example, a clay signature seen from orbit could just be stuff weathered off the top of rocks, Yingst said. "That means that you know going in the second time around how important or not a site might be, because you have the whole picture in your head," she said. The research found that when looking at an area where many close sites are candidates for in-depth studies, the walkabout method likely saves time and increases science return. Yingst has another paper in the works that explores what happens if three competing teams go to the same site - a walkabout team, a target to target team, and a team of geologists surveying the site using traditional geological methods. The results are still being analyzed, but are expected to be released later this year. WATCH VIDEO: Here's Why We Can't Live Stream From Mars Detective work involving honeybees outfitted with ultra-small microchips reveals that a virus once thought to be relatively benign is causing honeybees to live fast and die young. The pathogen, a covert form of deformed wing virus that is described in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, may even be exerting a form of mind control over worker honeybees. "It's possible that the virus has evolutionary interests in manipulating workers to move out of the hive and then maybe transmit the virus to other patches in the environment or cause them to drift to other hives," author Tom Wenseleers of the University of Leuven told Seeker. He added that the theory may seem far-fetched, "but is in fact not that unlikely, given that the virus has been found to concentrate in specific centers of the brain that are involved in higher cognitive processes." He, lead author Kristof Benaets and their team tracked the movements of honeybees using the microchips - known as RFID tags - that weigh less than .0002 ounces. The little devices, affixed in this case to the backs of bees, are most commonly used to tag items in stores to prevent theft. The new study is among the first to tap the devices for investigating the impact of pollinator viruses. The researchers found that adult worker honeybees with deformed wing virus often show no outward physical symptoms of the illness, which can otherwise cause crippled wings when victims are infected in the larval stage. RELATED: Deadly Mites Can Leap from Flowers Onto Bees, This First-Ever Video Shows Still, the infected adult workers show bizarre behavior. They start foraging at much earlier ages, reduce their activity levels earlier than other adult workers and then die younger than honeybees without the virus. Aside from the possible mind control abilities of the virus, the initial fast living of the sick honeybees could be because the pollinators detect that they are ill and react by leaving the hive early in order to avoid infecting their nest mates, Wenseleers explained. Amid the confusion and outcry over Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees, a brief section about biometric identification mostly got overlooked. Section 7 in the document calls for the "expedited completion of the biometric entry-exit tracking system" recommended by the 9/11 Commission for travelers to the country. This applies to non-citizens and travelers from countries that don't have a bilateral agreement with the United States. Currently, when travelers entering the country who aren't U.S. citizens or from countries in the Visa Waiver program pass through immigration, they have their fingerprints scanned. Capturing fingerprint scans at U.S. borders started after 9/11 and first used machines that scanned two fingers, but now uses readers that scan all ten. The process exists only for entry, however. "The U.S. is perhaps the only country I'm aware of where there is no immigration at the exit," Anil Jain, a biometrics expert and university distinguished professor in Michigan State University's Department of Computer Science, told Seeker. Jain immigrated to the U.S. from Lucknow, India, in 1969. He's been working in biometrics recognition for 25 years, and on pattern recognition and computer vision for 45 years. The entry-exit system referenced in the executive order isn't new, Jain said. We have the tech, he said, but we don't have the process for handling travelers on their way out of the country. That means there's no consistent check to compare arrival with departure. Implementing such a check presents logistical challenges, though. Cost is a big one, Jain told Seeker, since international airports will need new separate areas to perform exit scans. The whole infrastructure has to change. RELATED: Biometric 'Brainprint' Is Now 100 Percent Accurate If biometric scanning freaks you out on principle, that's understandable. At the same time, consider how accepted the tech has become for consumer electronics. "We are providing fingerprints to unlock our mobile phones," Jain pointed out. "We are using fingerprints for mobile payment." Marios Savvides, an electrical and computer engineering research professor at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the CyLab Biometrics Center, said that Hollywood has done a good job stigmatizing biometrics. "Biometrics is just making computers smarter so they can understand who they're interacting with," he said. "It ensures that someone isn't trying to evade the system you have in place." Savvides, who came here from Greece 18 years, focuses on developing algorithms to making biometric scanning a more pleasant experience. The CyLab has an early prototype for an iris scanning system that can work from nearly 40 feet away. Despite our country's advanced technologies, both Savvides and Jain emphasized the United States is very much behind the time when it comes to biometric scanning at the borders, compared with other countries. The UAE, for example, uses iris scanning, Savvides said. "The use of biometrics is inevitable," Jain said. And its adoption comes down to trust. "Your hope is that that data will not be shared with anybody else, that it will not be used for any purpose other than for which it was collected." A new analysis of a half-pound meteorite from Mars shows that the Red Planet was volcanically active as far back as two billion years ago, making Mars home to not only the biggest volcanoes in the solar system, but the most long-lived ones as well. The meteorite, known as Northwest Africa (NWA) 7635, was found in 2012 in Algeria (pictured above). A new isotopic analysis, headed by University of Houston geologist Tom Lapen, ties NWA 7635 with 10 other Martian meteorites that likely were blasted out from the same volcano or lava plain by an impacting asteroid or comet about 1.1 million years ago. "We don't know exactly where these stones were launched from, but it is likely that they are from the volcanic plains and shield volcanoes of the Tharsis or Elysium regions on Mars," Lapen told Seeker. The study also showed that NWA 7635's solidified lava dates back 2.4 billion years, far older than similar meteorites (known by their scientific designation as incompatible trace element (ITE) depleted shergottites.) The previously analyzed meteorites range in age from 327 million years old to 600 million years old, the study shows. RELATED: Monster Volcano Gave Mars Extreme Makeover "The discovery of a single Mars ejection site with over 2 billion years of stacked lava flows is critical for understanding the volcanic history of Mars," Lapen said. "These data are exciting because this is the first direct evidence for the absolute timing, mantle source characteristics, and spatial associations of volcanism on Mars." The research also "sets a template for further testable hypotheses regarding the periodicity of magmatism, timing of volcanic gas fluxes into the atmosphere, and the nature of mantle dynamics over most of Mars' history," he added. The analysis confirms that some of the oldest volcanoes in the solar system are located on Mars. Mars already was known to host the largest known volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, which is as wide as the state of Arizona and about 16 miles high, according to NASA. NWA 7635 is among about 124 meteorites from Mars that have been recovered on Earth, NASA's Mars Meteorite website shows. Lapen's research appears in this week's Science Advances. RELATED: Do Space Volcanoes Hold The Key To Alien Life? Press Release January 31, 2017 Villanueva calls for deployment moratorium of domestic workers to Kuwait after another death of Pinay Senator Joel Villanueva, Chairman of Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development, has urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to issue a temporary suspension of the deployment of household service workers (HSWs) to Kuwait following reports of abuses against OFWs, the recent one caused the death of a Pinay household worker. The said worker named Amy Capulong Santiago was beaten to death by her Kuwaiti employers. She was reported dead on arrival on the same day another OFW, Jakatia Pawa, was executed by hanging on January 25, 2017. "I support the call of OFW advocacy groups urging the government to suspend deployment of household workers in Kuwait. We have been receiving numerous cases of abuse against our OFWs, and I deem it urgent for the government to temporarily stop sending domestic workers in countries where they are not being treated properly," Villanueva said. In 2016, OFWs made an appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte asking for assistance to help them return in the Philippines which resulted in the repatriation of some OFWs from Kuwait who suffered maltreatment. Villanueva has also urged DOLE and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) to review their policies in sending migrant workers abroad and look at ways on how to improve their assistance and protection to affected OFWs. The Senator stated that DOLE and OWWA should track the incidence of abuse and automatically issue a moratorium in sending workers to countries with high incidence of abuse. "Our primary concern should be the lives and safety of our workers. It should be automatic for the government to suspend the sending of workers in countries that do not treat our workers properly. We should not wait for someone to die for us to act on this," Villanueva stressed. In Kuwait alone, it was reported that there were at least 500 distressed OFWs who spent their New Year at government offices in Kuwait due to reported abuses against them by their employers according to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, OWWA, and Kuwait Migrant Workers Shelter. "Our OFWs have already been sacrificing so much to provide for their families in the Philippines. Let us not further aggravate their suffering by turning a blind eye on the abuses being committed against them by their employers. I deem it imperative to act on these incidents," Villanueva added. Last week, DOLE chief Silvestre Bello III said they are already studying to impose a deployment moratorium following reports of abuses against HSWs. Cayetano reiterates call for abolition of policies that burden OFWs Senator Alan Peter Cayetano reiterated his call anew for the abolition of policies that unnecessarily burden the country's Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). He specifically cited the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) and the collection of terminal fees, the same policies that some 200 OFWs in Hong Kong raised when they picketed outside the office of the Philippine Consulate General over the weekend. The protesters echoed the same sentiment that Cayetano shared in a live Facebook video after attending the first Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting last Monday. The protest staged by the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK) complained that the procedure introduced by the Department of Labor and Employment for securing the OEC in order to earn a refund of the terminal fee led to a "chaotic system that caused missed flights, long queues, fixers, and unnecessary expenses." Cayetano said the continued inclusion of the terminal fee in airline tickets purchased by OFWs violates the spirit of the law that exempts the latter from its coverage, and the exemption process only compounded the situation for the OFWs. "By law, migrant workers are exempted from paying the terminal fee. But since it is included in the ticket prices, they still have to line up to get refunds, which at times even causes missed flights," Cayetano lamented. "Let's spare our modern-day heroes from these inconveniences. We need to ease their burdens by abolishing these unwarranted government policies and replacing them with seamless, convenient, and hassle-free systems. Let's make our OFWs feel like VIPs," Cayetano stressed. Press Release February 1, 2017 Senate Session Hall Sponsorship Speech for Senate Bill No. 1108 HON. LEILA M. DE LIMA Senator Chairperson of the Committee on Electoral Reform and People's Participation Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, it is my honor as Chairperson of the Committee on Electoral Reform and People's Participation to report back to you that Senate Bill No. 1108 has been considered, studied and publicly heard. After taking into account the inputs of the Commission on Elections and other stakeholders, we are now recommending that Senate Bill No. 1108, introduced by Sen. Joseph Victor G. Ejercito be approved with amendments[1]. Before I joined public service, I was an election lawyer advocating for clean and honest elections. Advancing then the interest of my clients, I made sure that no mockery of the election process would take place and that they do not become victims of election cheating or violence. As an election lawyer, I served a number of Governors, Vice Governors, Congressmen, Congresswomen, Mayors, Vice Mayors, Councilors and even Barangay Chairmen. I am honored to have served as an election lawyer to the likes of then Senator Raul Roco, then Senate President Manny Villar, and now Senate President Koko Pimentel. Incidentally, Senator Pimentel's case was an eye-opener on the intensity and gravity of the electoral fraud and irregularities that transpired in the 2007 National and Local Elections. In the end, over 300,000 fake ballots were found to have been included in the tally of the elections and which were consequently invalidated by the Senate Electoral Tribunal in its 2011 Decision of that protest case. I also served as the election lawyer of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano who, during the 2007 Elections, was not a "favorite" of Malacanang, so to speak. Yes, I advocated for Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano at a time when the might of the entire administration was bearing heavily down on him. Fighting for truth and justice, I believed then that it was unfair and unjust if he was deprived of the chance to serve the public as Senator simply because he was critical of the Arroyo administration. Mr. President, it is exactly because of my experience as an election lawyer that I understand the need for the imposition of stricter penalties for the commission of election offenses, stricter than those already provided for in Batas Pambansa Bilang 881 or the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines[2] and Republic Act No. 8189 or the Voter's Registration Act of 1996[3]. Indeed, the idea of being imprisoned for SIX YEARS AND ONE DAY BUT NOT MORE THAN TWELVE YEARS, as proposed to be increased from the current imposable penalty of only one year to not more than six years, for the commission of an election offense would be a deterrent against the perpetration of election fraud or irregularities. Aside from this singular increase in the penalty for the commission of election offenses, this prospective law that seeks to amend the Omnibus Election Code and RA 8189 also provides for the following: 1. If the offender is an officer or employee of the Comelec, the AFP, the PNP, or any other security force including para-military units, he shall be punished with the maximum penalty of TWELVE YEARS; 2. If the election offense is committed through and attended by violence, coercion, intimidation, force, or threats, the guilty offender shall suffer a higher penalty of imprisonment of TWELVE YEARS AND ONE DAY at the minimum, up to TWENTY YEARS at the maximum; 3. The political party, coalition, or party-list to which the guilty offender belongs shall be penalized with a fine of not less than FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS, increased from the current Ten Thousand Pesos, as part of the civil liability incurred for the commission of the election offense; 4. In case of a prisoner illegally released from any penitentiary or jail, the director of prisons, provincial warden, keeper of the jail or prison, or persons who are required by law to keep said prisoner in their custody AND THE SUBJECT PRISONER shall suffer the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, if the prisoner illegally released commits any act of intimidation, terrorism or interference in the election; 5. For violations of prohibited acts under RA 8189, or the Voter's Registration Act, the same increase in penalties shall apply, including the graver penalties when committed with and attended by violence, coercion, intimidation, force or threats, or when committed by an officer or employee of the Comelec, the AFP, the PNP, or any other security force including para-military units; 6. If a felony penalized under the Revised Penal Code is committed in connection with an election or political exercise, the election-related element shall be appreciated as an aggravating circumstance in the commission of said felony; and 7. If the commission of the election offense likewise constitutes a felony under the Revised Penal Code, the offender shall be prosecuted separately and concurrently under the Omnibus Election Code and the Revised Penal Code. And perhaps most significantly, Mr. President, these proposed amendments will ensure higher success rates in the prosecution of such offenses, considering that these higher penalties will qualify potential witnesses to avail of the benefits of Republic Act No. 6981, or the "Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act", which, under Section 3, paragraph a of said law as it currently stands, requires that "the offense in which [the witness's] testimony will be used is a grave felony as defined under the Revised Penal Code, or its equivalent under special laws." The proposed increase in the penalty would precisely make it a grave felony, and therefore, qualify under the WPP of any witness to avail of the benefits thereunder. All these are imperative amendments to our existing body of election laws because our electoral process is sacred. It is the cornerstone of democracy itself.[4] Severe as it may seem, the gravity of the penalties in the proposed bill is commensurate to the crime committed, especially for Comelec officials and government security forces since they are the ones responsible of ensuring a free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections. This bill therefore pushes further against the culture of corruption and "bantay-salakay" in our electoral processes, against the practice of the guardians becoming the culprits of fraud and cheating. Admittedly, increasing penalties alone will not solve the problem of cheating in our electoral system. So long as only a few are prosecuted and jailed--and that is the reality now--and election officials will continue to be corrupted by candidates and their election operators. This is why the Committee on Electoral Reforms and People's Participation has lined up a series of bills proposed by our distinguished colleagues in this august chamber, measures that will in totality contribute to ensure effective election law enforcement, if not introduce an overhaul of the way we conduct our elections, including the reform of the political party system, the enactment of an anti-political dynasty law, and a re-configuration of election campaign financing towards the democratization of the donor's base and transparency on large campaign financiers. Needless to say, this proposed bill is but a first step towards what we envision as a modernized political party and electoral system geared towards greater public participation in the essential exercise of the people's political right to determine the future they want for themselves. But first, we must start with the basics of remedying the anomaly in our antiquated election laws, by putting more teeth on the penalties that were formulated long ago in a milieu and an era very different from our own. From manual elections we have shifted to automated elections, thus also shifting forms of election cheating from vote-padding and vote-shaving during the canvassing process to pre-election day election violations on campaign propaganda as well as massive-vote buying. Ang biro po ngayon ay imbes na sa mga abogado at operator na nagbubuhos ng perang pandaya, ay inuubos na lang sa vote-buying ang pera ng mga kandidato. Totoo man ito o hindi, ang punto ay nag-iba na ang kalakaran sa larangan ng ating halalan, kasama na dito ang mga pamamaraan sa pandaraya. Ang sagot natin dito ay ang walang tigil na pag-repaso ng ating mga batas para umakma sa umiiral na realidad ng ating panahon. Kung nasaan ang kalapastanganan sa pandaraya, doon tayo dapat matunton ng sambayanan, nag-uusisa at umuusig sa mga natitira pang mga politiko na hindi naniniwala sa pamamaraan ng demokrasya, ngunit sa kabila ay natutuwa pang umupo sa posisyon na nakamit sa pamamagitan ng pandaraya at pagnakaw sa hatol ng sambayanan. Tapusin na po natin ang ganitong uri ng pulitika at mga ganitong uri ng mga politiko. Ngunit sa kasalukuyan, dagdagan muna natin ang taon ng pagbilanggo sa mga mandaraya, opisyal man ng gobyerno o kandidato, para mabulok naman ang kanilang kampon sa bilangguan, at subukan nilang doon tumakbo bilang mga gang leader ng mga katulad nilang mga pusakal. Dahil mas malala pa ang kanilang kasalanan sa bayan bilang mga naturing na magnanakaw, pumapatay, at gumagahasa sa ating demokrasya. In the words of Sen. Ejercito, the author of the bill, "It is of vital importance to ensure that election results represent the sovereign will of the people and not manipulated by individuals who desire the seat of power to protect their personal interests." We must stand against unscrupulous individuals who allow themselves to be conspirators in the travesty of the electoral process. In light of the foregoing, I hereby appeal to my colleagues to lend their support for these imperative amendments to our body of election laws. Marami pong salamat! ________________________________________ [1] The paragraph on Page 2, Lines 26-35, shall now read as follows: "(B) In case of prisoner or prisoners illegally released from any penitentiary or jail during the prohibited period as provided in Section 261, paragraph (n) of this Code, the director of prisons, provincial warden, keeper of the jail or prison, or persons who are required by law to keep said prisoner in their custody AND THE SUBJECT PRISONER OR PRISONERS shall, if convicted by a competent court, be sentenced to suffer the penalty of [prision mayor in its maximum period] RECLUSION PERPETUA, if the prisoner or prisoners so illegally released commit any act of intimidation, terrorism [of] OR interference in the election." [2] Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines [3] Voter's Registration Act of 1996 [4] Jose B. Lingad vs. Hon. Andres C. Aguilar, as Presiding Judge of the Second Branch of the Court of First Instance of Pampanga and Juanita L. Nepomuceno, G.R. No. L-31478, January 23, 1970 You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Press Release February 1, 2017 Gatchalian: NTC needs 'super' powers to control telcos Senator Win Gatchalian is asserting the need to confer the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) with "super" powers to more effectively carry outs its regulatory mandate over powerful players in the telecommunications industry. Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, is recommending that the NTC be granted additional authority to allow it to more effectively discipline erring or incompetent telecommunication companies. The recommendation will be among the salient points that Gatchalian will include in the committee report. He plans to submit to the plenary in relation to the committee discussions on Senate Resolution No. 213, which called on the Senate to look into the economic effects on consumers and the national economy of the present model of operation and regulation of the telco industry. "The objective here is to see if we have enough regulatory mechanisms to make the playing field even. Telecommunications is a public utility, and just like other public utilities, it has to be regulated to make sure that the playing field is even, to make sure that customers are getting the value that they are paying for." Gatchalian said. Gatchalian noted admissions made during the committee hearing last week that the NTC has been hard put at imposing drastic penalties against telcos which fail to deliver satisfactory services to consumers. He cited as example the disclosure of NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios that they have failed to compel industry giants GLOBE and SMART to deliver the minimum speed of 12 mbps in Internet connectivity that their advertisements guarantee to their subscribers. Cabarios said that since the NTC and the two telcos differ on the issue of whether or not data connection speed limits can be imposed, the NTC has opted to be silent on the issue "because of the limitations in the law." He added that the measly penalty of P200 per day for non-compliance to NTC regulations is likewise not a deterrent to the telcos. Gatchalian promised to plug the loopholes in the NTC charter and give the agency more latitude to flex its muscles. "The NTC needs more teeth to better regulate the telecoms industry. I will make sure that it gets the same powers like the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission)," he said. The ERC is the body that regulates the energy sector. It has extensive powers, including quasi-judicial powers, to control and penalize erring power companies. Press Release February 1, 2017 Lacson bill gives PNP's IAS more teeth vs erring cops The Internal Affairs Service (IAS), the Philippine National Police's institutional watchdog agency, may soon get more teeth to curb abuses and further enhance discipline in the police agency, with a bill filed by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson. Lacson, who headed the PNP from 1999 to 2001, said Senate Bill 1310 seeks to make the IAS more effective and efficient, especially in the light of the anti-drug war being implemented by the present administration. "In order for IAS to fulfill (its) functions, it is crucial that the pertinent provisions of the law guarantee that the organization is capacitated and empowered in instilling discipline and enhancing performance of personnel and units of the police force at all levels of its command," he said. Under the bill, the IAS should conclude its investigation within 30 days, after which appropriate administrative and/or criminal charges shall be filed immediately. IAS has up to 30 days to resolve an administrative case against an erring PNP member. Decisions by the IAS shall be final and executory but may be appealed before the Interior Secretary, where the penalty involves dismissal, demotion or suspension for more than 90 days; or forfeiture of benefits equivalent to more than 90 days of pay. Also, the IAS - which shall proactively conduct inspections and audits of PNP units and personnel - shall have an automatic, direct, full and regular release of funds based on the approved annual general appropriations, to bolster its fiscal independence. The bill seeks to expand the IAS' motu propio investigation powers, covering "all acts and omissions, which tend to discredit the institution and hinder it from performing its tasks effectively and efficiently." It gives the IAS as well the power to formulate its own disciplinary rules and mechanism, including adopting provisions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' military justice system for uniformed personnel; and guidelines of the Civil Service Commission for non-uniformed personnel. The IAS shall have a national, regional, district, provincial and city offices. It will be headed by the Inspector General, with a rank of Police Deputy Director General, who will be assisted by deputy inspectors general for administration and operations. The deputies will have a rank of Police Director. The Inspector General must be an active duty commissioned officer of the PNP, a member of the Philippine Bar in good standing, and a holder of a Police Executive Service Eligibility, Career Service Executive Eligibility, or Career Executive Service Eligibility. Directors of regional offices will have the rank of Chief Superintendent, while directors of provincial and city offices will have the rank of Senior Superintendent. Meanwhile, the IAS will have a strength of five percent the total strength of the PNP, with any personnel joining the IAS not joining any other unit of the PNP. Also under the bill, the IAS will conduct character-building and similar activities to enhance its capacity for resisting graft and corruption; conduct intelligence operations in aid of lifestyle checks and investigations; and strengthen investigations of PNP personnel subject to its jurisdiction. It shall also impose restrictions, file appropriate criminal cases against PNP members before courts as evidence warrants, and actively assist in prosecution of such cases. The IAS shall also conduct summary proceedings and hearings of PNP personnel facing administrative charges. The IAS shall file cases against police personnel who violate the provisions of restrictive custody, including the custodian of those under restrictive custody. It shall also issue clearances including recommendations for promotion, transfer or appointment, and for financial transactions of PNP personnel. Press Release February 1, 2017 Legarda Hails Convening of Climate Change Commission, Concurrence of Cabinet to Paris Agreement Ratification Senator Loren Legarda hailed the convening of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Tuesday, January 31, as well as the submission of the certificates of concurrence (COC) in the Paris Agreement by all concerned government departments. Legarda, who was invited at the Joint CCC En Banc and Advisory Board Meeting in Malacanang as the principal author of the Climate Change Act, said that it was the first time that the President convened the Commission since the enactment of the law in 2009. "Under the Climate Change Act, there are three commissioners of the CCC and the chairperson is no less than the President of the Philippines. I am glad that for the first time since the law was enacted, the President has finally convened the Commission. This is a good sign that our President sees the importance of addressing climate change impacts as it affects the overall development of the country," she said. "In fact, we have also worked with the Executive Department to make the 2017 national budget more climate-adaptive. The allocation for climate-tagged programs, activities and projects for this year amounts to Php208.65 billion, mostly on infrastructure, agriculture and environment," said Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committees on Finance and Climate Change. Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that it has already received all the COC needed so that the President can ratify the Paris Agreement. "It is a welcome development that all concerned agencies of government are now ready to ratify the Paris Agreement. Once the Executive ratifies and transmits the instrument of ratification to the Senate, I would actively shepherd the Senate's immediate concurrence," said Legarda. "The issue of climate justice, which is one of the concerns of the administration, is enshrined in the Agreement. If we ratify, we become part of the succeeding meetings about the Paris Agreement. It is to our advantage that we are in the talks so we can converge with our fellow vulnerable nations on how we should move forward and compel big greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to do their fair share," she stressed. At the 2016 climate negotiations in Marrakech, Morocco, the Philippines sat as an observer in the ceremonial first meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement or the CMA. But once it ratifies the Agreement, it can already participate in the next CMA. Meanwhile, Legarda asked the CCC to prioritize the completion of the local climate change action plans (LCCAP) of all the 1,634 local government units (LGUs). "The CCC should guide LGUs in crafting the LCCAP and work with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on a timeline for completion. This is crucial because LGUs are the frontliners in our fight against climate change. They are the ones who can determine how their community is affected by climate change. The location of the community, the direct impact of climate change, and the risks posed by extreme weather events are crucial in crafting a climate change action plan," she explained. "The CCC should also roll out the People's Survival Fund (PSF) and give all concerned departments a detailed guideline of all international funding sources for climate change adaptation and mitigation, such as the Green Climate Fund, among others. The DFA can also help by acquiring through our embassies and consulates abroad the various sources of technological and financial assistance that our government can tap," she added. The PSF is a special fund in the amount of one billion pesos appropriated annually under the General Appropriations Act that aims to support LGUs climate adaptation activities, such as in the areas of land and water resources management, agriculture and fisheries, health, infrastructure development, and natural ecosystems preservation. This will also support the improvement of the monitoring, controlling and prevention of diseases triggered by climate change, establishment of forecasting and early warning systems, and strengthening institutional development for local governments, for preventive measures, planning, preparedness and management of impacts relating to climate change. Armenias Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center has lambasted the dropping of a criminal investigation into the offshore business interests of former Compulsory Enforcement Service head Mihran Poghosyan, describing the decision of the countrys Special Investigative Service as a cover-up. The Center writes: We believe that the sponsorship, unprofessional approach and lack of follow-up by the authorities regarding similar cases in the past, like the Cyprus offshore business scandal surrounding former prime minister Tigran Sargsyan served as a precedent for the dropping of the criminal case against Poghosyan. Last week, the SIS announced that it stopped investigating the offshore accounts of former Major General of Justice Mihran Poghosyan after Swiss and Panamanian authorities refused to help the probe into Panama Papers revelations. It turned out that the Swiss Federal Department of Justice turned down the Armenian request for legal assistance because the requirements of the request were not properly fulfilled. Armenian authorities launched an investigation into last Aprils media reports claiming the Panama Papers revealed that Poghosyan had shares in three offshore companies and that he was using his position to advance his business interests while concealing his income. The leaked document trove revealed that as of 2011, Poghosyan was connected to three companies registered in Panama: Sigtem Real Estates Inc.; Hopkinten Trading Inc.; and Bangio Invest S.A. He was the sole owner of Sigtem and Hopkinten, but it is not clear from the documents how much of Bangio he owned. BART agreed on Tuesday to pay $1.275 million to settle a lawsuit filed by three Bay Area counties that accused it of violating waste and hazardous-materials laws. The transit agency settled the suit within hours after it was filed in Alameda County Superior Court by district attorneys from Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties. The suit charged that more than 30 BART facilities lacked emergency response plans for spills of large quantities of diesel, petroleum, battery acid and fire-extinguishing chemicals. BART settled the lawsuit because the agency agreed it was not in compliance with the planning requirements, according to James Allison, a BART spokesman. The public and environment were not harmed by this noncompliance, but it was a serious problem, so thats why weve taken steps to correct it, Allison said. At stations in Pleasanton, West Dublin and Castro Valley, BART stored tanks with hundreds of gallons of diesel near high-traffic commuter routes, but had no plan to protect the public should a hazardous-materials spill occur, the Alameda County Public Health Department discovered in a 2014 inspection. The business plans were the driving force with this joint prosecution, said Stacey Grassini, lead environmental prosecutor for Contra Costa County. If a company has a certain amount of hazardous materials, they have to do these plans, five to seven pages, related to employee training, lists of all the chemicals and materials that are there and thats important, because it gives the community the right to know whats going on in a business. Its important for first responders and employees, too. In addition, the suit alleged BART had not stored petroleum and hazardous waste properly at many facilities. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. BART was cooperative throughout the investigation by the county prosecutors and hired an external auditor to make recommendations as part of the settlement, according to the Contra Costa County district attorneys office. The settlement requires BART to pay $675,000 in civil penalties, $300,000 for the cost of the investigation, and $300,000 over the next two years to create an environmental compliance position on its staff. Allison said the agency has already created the environmental compliance position and filled it in October. We hired a third party to do an audit, and we have implemented the vast majority of recommendations by the auditor so basically, at this point, weve done everything we can to come into compliance, he said. Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi Frederick Douglass, who has been dead for 121 years, is an example of someone whos done an amazing job, according to comments by President Trump on Wednesday. It was not immediately known if Trump believed that Douglass, the great 19th century abolitionist, was still alive. But several people listening to the presidents comment thought so. In rambling remarks during a ceremony in Washington to kick off Black History Month, Trump said: I am very proud now that we have a museum on the National Mall where people can learn about Reverend King, so many other things, Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody whos done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice. Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and millions more black Americans who made America what it is today. Big impact. To some experts, it sounds as if Trump, who was reading from a sheet of paper, had little idea what or whom he was talking about. I am glad President Trump invokes some of the great names in African American history but his comment does not display the depth of understanding that one would hope to have in a president, said UC Berkeley history professor emeritus David Hollinger, an expert on U.S. racial history. I want to dismiss him, but I dont want to sound dismissive, the professor added. At least he was reading the talking points. Douglass, born a slave in 1818, was an author, lecturer, preacher, abolitionist and candidate for vice-president. He died in 1895. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Novelist, short story writer and essayist Bharati Mukherjee, a professor emerita at UC Berkeley whose many works examined the Indian American immigrant experience, has died. Ms. Mukherjee died Saturday at New York University Hospital, said her husband, author Clark Blaise. She had rheumatoid arthritis for the past few years, he said, and suffered from cardiomyopathy. She was 76. She begged for death, Blaise said by phone. She was really not in pain as such, but she realized there was no turning around. A native of Kolkata, India, Ms. Mukherjee wrote numerous beloved and influential works that chronicled the lives of Indians on the subcontinent and in the United States. Her books include The Tigers Daughter (1972), Wife (1975), Darkness (1985), Wanting America: Selected Stories (1995), Leave It to Me (1997), Desirable Daughters (2002), The Tree Bride (2004) and Miss New India (2011). The Middleman and Other Stories (1988) won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Raised in India, Ms. Mukherjee traveled to the United States in the 1960s, earning a master of fine arts degree from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop in 1963 and later a doctorate. She and Blaise met at the Iowa Writers Workshop and had been married for 53 years. She was first of all a very beautiful person, Blaise said. But that was matched by her tolerance and decency and graciousness. Many writers, he said, felt indebted to her. I first knew her as one of her fans, author Amy Tan wrote in an email. I was in awe of her short stories and her articulate intelligence at public forums. I later knew her as a friend and fellow traveler, once to India to attend the weeklong wedding of her nephew where she dressed me in high-gaudy fashion and gave me the lowdown on everyone there. What a light in the world she was, Tan said. Such intelligence, talent, beauty, charm, grace, kindness and calm, a voice of reason and indignation when it was warranted. Author Joyce Carol Oates wrote, Bharati Mukherjee was the kindest, most beautiful, most elegant and gifted of human beings. Her prose fiction is masterful, giving us a perspective on a singular life imagined with impeccable care and judgment. Her best-known story is perhaps The Management of Grief most appropriately, an elegiac story of grief, mourning and endurance following the terrorist bombing of an Air India plane. Bharati will long be remembered for the clarity of her prose, her commitment to literature, and her strong, personal works of memoir and memoirist fiction combining intimacy and detachment, the visionary and the pragmatic. Author Ann Beattie knew Ms. Mukherjee from Skidmore College, where Ms. Mukherjee and her husband sometimes taught in the summer. I read her from the very first, Beattie wrote. Those glorious, glowing novels that brought us people entirely fascinating not because we knew them, but because she certainly knew them so well. But most of all, Beattie said, I think of how keen her interest was in the books of other writers she admired, how energetic and dependable and hard working she was. After retiring from UC Berkeley in 2013, Ms. Mukherjee and her husband sold their house in San Francisco last year, Blaise said, and moved to New York, where they have had a home for 35 years. The couple lived in Montreal from 1966 to 1980 (Blaise grew up in Canada), then moved back to the United States. Ms. Mukherjee became a U.S. citizen in 1989, the year she joined the English department at UC Berkeley. Ms. Mukherjee also had taught at Queens College and City University of New York. In addition to her husband, Ms. Mukherjee is survived by their son Bernard. The couples other son, Bart, died last year at age 51. John McMurtrie is The San Francisco Chronicles book editor. Email: jmcmurtrie@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@McMurtrieSF Former Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson has been confirmed as Secretary of State by a 56-43 vote, with both of Californias senators opposing the move. Shortly after the confirmation, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., tweeted that she voted against Tillerson. Tillerson has no formal diplomatic experience, and was seen as a widely controversial pick for the position. I voted against Rex Tillerson's nomination. We need a Secretary of State who will put America's national security first, she wrote. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also voted against his confirmation, according to a spokesman. She had strongly opposed Tillersons nomination, saying Exxon has a history of undermining American policy. Steve Helber/Associated Press Feinstein said she is particularly troubled by Tillersons response to questions during his confirmation hearing about Exxon Mobils business dealings with Iran, Syria and Sudan: According to public documents, Exxon established a joint venture with Shell to conduct business with state sponsors of terror. That joint venture Infineum sold petroleum products to Iran, Sudan and Syria, when those nations were being sanctioned by the United States. When announcing Tillerson's nomination in December, President Donald Trump said the 64-year-old is among the most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers in the world. Tillerson was sworn in as Secretary of State Wednesday evening, with Vice President Mike Pence administering the oath of office. Past coverage: Trump nominates Exxon CEO as Secretary of State Who is Rex Tillerson, dark-horse candidate for secretary of state? Mike Pompeo confirmed for CIA, Rex Tillerson passes key vote Russia friend Rex Tillerson adopts tough line on Moscow Exxon's Rex Tillerson and the rise of Big Oil in American politics Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani A burglary suspect died after being shot Wednesday afternoon when he tried to break into an off-duty Contra Costa County sheriffs deputys Alameda home, prompting a temporary shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood, officials said. A call came in about 10:45 a.m. reporting shots fired in the 2000 block of Buena Vista Avenue, said Lt. Jill Ottaviano, an Alameda Police Department spokeswoman. Investigators learned the suspect, identified only as a man, appeared to be breaking into the residence when a deputy whose name was not immediately released arrived home and opened fire. Ottaviano would not say if the suspect was armed. The wounded man was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, and later died, Ottaviano said. Police sent out a SWAT team to search the area for another possible suspect, prompting the shelter-in-place alert. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Steve Rubenstein / The Chronicle / / Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Don Lattin / / Don Lattin Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Don Lattin / / Don Lattin Show More Show Less Officers scoured the area, sealing off the scene with police tape, and a police dog also took part in the search, but no additional suspects were found, officials said. The Alameda County Sheriffs Office and San Leandro Police Department sent officers to assist in the incident. The shelter-in-place order was lifted about 12:45 p.m., but the Buena Vista Avenue block remained closed as police investigated the shooting. Don Lattin, a former San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who lives in the neighborhood, said he heard the sound of three gunshots, followed by yelling. Moments later, a couple dozen police officers swarmed the house with their guns drawn. Officers in an armored vehicle parked outside announced the house was surrounded and called for any suspects hiding inside to come out with their hands up, Lattin said. They had quite a little army out there. Rifles aimed at the house for a long time, Lattin said. It looked like something in Iraq. ... Your typical kind of overreaction. Steve Rubenstein and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF, @JennaJourno The University of California will pay $1.15 million to a former UC Santa Cruz student to settle her claim that a professor raped her when she was his student in 2015, and that campus officials knew the man had a history of pursuing students but did nothing to stop him. According to the claim, another student who worked at UC Santa Cruz was involved in the assault. Attorneys for the former student, Luz Portillo, say the settlement could be the largest awarded to an individual in a campus sexual assault case. Although The Chronicle does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, Portillo, now 24, said she wants to go public because she would have liked to know when she was assaulted that she was not alone. Sexual assault has been a very common theme in higher education, and it should not be happening, Portillo said. If me coming forward helps any other victim, thats the best thing I could have done. Portillo, who was 21 when she was assaulted, said the impact is spread across all aspects of my life not only academically, but personally. Im still working very hard to overcome it. Its been a very, very trying time. Portillos complaint says that in May 2015, she was wrapping up the last two classes of her major in Latin American and Latino Studies and preparing to graduate. The assistant professor teaching the classes held one of them at Woodstocks Pizza in downtown Santa Cruz, and after he and the students consumed several beers, according to the complaint, he invited Portillo and another student who was employed by the campus to go with him to the Loma Prieta Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains on June 13. While at the wine-tasting event (the assistant professor) encouraged Claimant to consume large quantities or wine, causing her to become severely intoxicated and lose her memory, according to the complaint. The three then went to the home of the student-employee, where they supplied Claimant with more wine, says the complaint. The two employees then engaged in non-consensual sex acts with the student who was drunk and not fully conscious. Her attorney, John Kristensen of Los Angeles, said Portillo woke up naked and aware that she had been raped. It was graduation day. I was in the hospital and missed graduation, Portillo said, adding that the assistant professor went to the graduation and served as master of ceremonies for the Chicano-Latino ceremony. But Portillo also immediately reported what happened to the campus office that handles violations of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination and harassment on campuses that receive federal funding. And she reported it to police. Officials at the UC office of system-wide President Janet Napolitano declined to comment, referring questions to UC Santa Cruz but said the settlement would be paid through a university-wide insurance program. UC Santa Cruz officials declined to answer questions, referring a reporter to a statement posted on the campus website Tuesday by Chancellor George Blumenthal and interim Provost Herbert Lee. The statement addressed what happened with the faculty member, not the student worker. As soon as these allegations were reported, the campus acted swiftly to address the victims claims, which appeared to be clear violations of the UC Santa Cruz policy on sexual violence and sexual harassment, the statement said. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. Blumenthal and Lee said the campus cooperated with police and placed the faculty member on leave during the campus Title IX investigation. The faculty member resigned June 1 as disciplinary proceedings began. Portillo sees things differently. This happened to me on June 13 (2015), and the professor wasnt removed until August, she said. It was not immediate at all and there was always some reason why it was delayed. The assistant professor could not be reached for comment. As for the student-employee, Portillo said she doesnt know what happened to her, except that I was always afraid that I might run into her on campus. The Santa Cruz County district attorney never pressed charges against either employee, said Kristensen, Portillos attorney. He said his own investigation revealed that the assistant professor had intimate relationships with two other students. UC policies prohibit employees from having personal relationships with students and others they supervise. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov Not because we were in need of anything but distraction, we attended the preview of the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale on Sunday, Jan. 29. If you are a collector/amasser/art lover/hoarder/appreciator of all the swell things life has to offer, those very things are for sale here, secondhand. The money a great chunk of it every year goes to the museum, so you come away not only with treasures but also with the feeling that youve helped support a worthy institution. (Thats what this plug is intended to do, too, by telling you that the sale takes place the first weekend in March. That will be two weeks past Valentines Day, but beware, love may still be in the air.) I made my way through the vast warehouse in search of an item. Perhaps an ugly lamp? a volunteer had suggested, so I was headed for the electrical department. It didnt take 30 seconds until I saw it: Bronze (probably fake), stone (probably fake), glass (probably plastic), in the shape of a monkey with its hindquarters raised in perhaps a friendly Hello, sailor greeting. Dangling from its shade was a fringe of balls and beads. This just suited my purposes. My plan was to jeer at that lamp in print, scoff at its hodgepodge design, use it for my journalistic purposes. And then I fell in love with it. Not 10 minutes after encountering it, I was forking over $15 and making mental plans to clear away other stuff from my Chronicle desk to make room. Im looking at it right now (and you can, too, if you read this column online). I believe in Darwin; perhaps this object depicts one of my primate ancestors. Perhaps not. As they say, the heart wants what the heart wants. Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitows documentary Company Town focuses on the 2015 supervisorial race for the Third District between Aaron Peskin and then-incumbent Julie Christensen. Peskins win was seen as a victory for the left and especially for long-term renters feeling threatened by Airbnbs efforts to monetize housing. Shooting started months before the election. We had no idea that Aaron would win, said Snitow, after a showing of the movie at the San Francisco Art Institute on Saturday, Jan. 28, with Peskin much applauded in attendance. Peskin said that hed agreed to participate partly because hed seen it as a good luck charm. Whenever you see one of these documentaries, he said, you always know theyre going to end right. (By right, of course, he meant left.) I thought you all might be at the SFO demonstrations, Snitow told the large audience at the beginning of the Q&A session. There was much talk about housing and Uber and Lyft. The so-called sharing economy has nothing to do with sharing, said Peskin, and everything to do with making money. In the Bing Studio at Stanford University on Friday, Jan. 27, Alan Cumming performed his Sappy Songs cabaret show. It was Cummings 52nd birthday, and after the show, he performed a DJ set at an after-party in the lobby. That party went on until 1 a.m., and included Cumming bodysurfing through the crowd. To commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was Friday, Jan. 27, Mark Leno was invited to speak at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 29. Leno had been a rabbinic student there 40 years ago; he dropped out and, much later, entered politics. He was honored at the college for his work raising money for the LGBT exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. President Trumps executive order of border restrictions was announced on Remembrance Day, and particularly in the Jewish community, said Leno, there was remembrance of the United States having turned away Jewish refugees in 1939. The audience in Cincinnati was a beautiful ecumenical gathering of faith leaders: an imam, Baptist and Methodist ministers, priests, rabbis. In the context of what was going on, everyone was motivated to join hands and share a commitment to resistance. ... As diverse as they were, they were unanimously opposed to the executive orders. Leno quoted a statement from Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect (U.S. partner of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam), who said the president is beyond the wrong side of history ... driving our nation off a moral cliff. Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik Public Eavesdropping Well, I guess being drunk isnt as glamorous as it used to be. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON President Trump late Monday appointed Thomas Homan to be the new acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security that identifies, detains, arrests and deports immigrants who are in the country illegally. Homan has been the agencys executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations, the division that carries out the removals. Another division, Homeland Security Investigations, has hundreds of special agents who investigate fraud and other crimes. Homans appointment could be seen as an indication that the president intends to carry out his campaign pledge to deport millions of immigrants in the country illegally and put more focus on ICEs deportation role. An executive order signed by Trump last week calls for tripling the number of deportation agents. Homan replaced Daniel Ragsdale, who was the acting director of ICE. The move came shortly after Trump fired Sally Yates, the acting attorney general who refused to defend his controversial executive order banning people from some mostly Muslim counties from entering the United States. John Kelly, secretary of Homeland Security, praised the appointment of Homan in a statement, saying, I am confident that he will continue to serve as a strong, effective leader for the men and women of ICE. According to the Department of Homeland Security press statement, Homan is a 33-year veteran of law enforcement who has nearly 30 years of immigration enforcement experience. He was as a police officer in New York; a U.S. Border Patrol agent and a special agent with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. Ragsdale, who was appointed deputy director in May 2012, was named acting director this month. He will return to the deputy director position. On Tuesday, Homan told reporters that the government is actively looking for jail space to help detain immigrants caught crossing the border illegally. He said ICE intends to carry out the presidents directives perfectly. Ron Nixon is a New York Times writer. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate About a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Arshad Chowdhury, an American-born college student who had been visiting friends in San Francisco, was told he couldnt get on a Northwest Airlines flight because his name sounded suspicious. He was terrified, alone and 3,000 miles from home and there werent hundreds of protesters at San Francisco International Airport demanding his fair treatment. Chowdhury, who is Muslim, was a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University at the time, and airport security and the FBI soon verified that he wasnt a threat. Still, the Northwest pilot would not allow him to board. He took another airline to Pittsburgh. But, according to Chowdhury, Northwest Airlines put him on a no-fly list, adding to his distress. Yes, this happened to an American citizen. And now were heading down that path again. Last weeks presidential executive order banning citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States ensnared legal U.S. residents. Green-card holders were detained at airports across the country, including San Franciscos. The ban has been challenged but, like Chowdhury, I wonder how deep the presidents hate will seep into national and international policy. I wonder whats going to restrain them from doing the absolute worst, said Chowdhury, an entrepreneur who now lives in New York. If you want to live in an America where youre afraid of your neighbors and your neighbors are afraid of you, great. But thats not for me. Were not the enemy, which is why we cant allow the erosion of civil liberties and civil rights to go any further. Xenophobia and Islamaphobia cant be allowed to suffocate sanity. Whats next religion tests, the denial of jobs based on religious affiliation, not prosecuting hate crimes and confiscating property? Do we have it in us to sit back and watch while our police, our military, our systems of power disenfranchise, disempower or even incarcerate millions of us because of our race or identity? asked Chowdhury, who was raised in a Bangladeshi community in Connecticut. Its a loud yes. Weve been doing it to the African American people since the beginning of this country. Lets not forget the suffering of the Japanese and the Native Americans at the hands of the American government. But hey, Ive got an off-the-wall solution: Lets just be inclusive. Lets take the lead of Muslims in Oakland who are opening their arms instead of closing their doors. Last weekend, the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California distributed 1,000 sleeping bags to homeless people in Oakland and San Jose. Friday, the center on Madison Street near Lake Merritt is participating in an interfaith food drive for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Payman Amiri, the Islamic Cultural Centers chairman, told me half of the organizations activities include reaching out to non-Muslims. Everybody wishes that their home is safe, and this countrys our home, said Amiri, a naturalized American citizen who was born in Iran. But brushing everyone with the same color I dont think its a good idea. Its creating an opportunity for some bigots to go out and harm people because their faith is different. Its very un-American. On Thursday, Zahra Noorbakhsh, an Iranian American comedian and self-described feminist Muslim, will open a comedy show at the center. The performance, titled On Behalf of All Muslims, couldnt be more appropriate. Or timely. It feels more necessary than ever to do what I can as a member of the Muslim community to bring as many allies as I can to the cultural spaces, she said. These issues impact all of us. It really allows me the ability to highlight that for the audiences that I entertain. Noorbakhsh, the cohost of the monthly #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast, told me her activism is spirituality rooted in the complexities of her cultural history. She used to joke that she was the pork-eating, alcohol-drinking, premarital sex-having Muslim. It was, for me, a way to complicate the narrative for those outside of the Muslim community that sought to simplify it so that they could turn it into the other and the villain, she said. I have to find ways to laugh, because thats also how I cope with anger. And I hope I can bring that sort of levity to the masses, she added. I hope that I can reflect a lot of the thoughts that theyve been having because of how much were being gaslighted by the administration. There are six performances of On Behalf of All Muslims. Im attending one with a Muslim friend. Weve chosen humanity over hate. Its the only way well all move forward. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr WRITTEN BY EILEEN QUINN Minutes after being saved by the crew of the rescue vessel Topaz Responder in late November, Mohamed , an asylum seeker from Cote dIvoire collapsed on the deck as he recounted the journey that brought him through Africa, into the Mediterranean, and to the edge of a watery death. They tortured me. I cant say what they did to me, he said. Am I alive? The following morning, after medical treatment on the ship, operated by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), Mohamed pointed to one of the men allegedly responsible for his ordeal: a skinny Libyan in his late twenties. As Mohamad described his month of imprisonment by smugglers in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, the young man moved toward him, clasps his hand on his shoulder and, seemingly aware he was being exposed, declared: Me, friend. The entreaty didnt work. As the vessel landed at the Italian port of Vibo Valentia, the Libyan was placed with three other suspected smugglers and taken into custody. The arrest of the Libyan is typical of how law enforcement has cracked down on African people smuggling rings since the start of the crisis in 2011, which has seen some 600,000 migrants and refugees cross the Central Mediterranean route to Italy in the five years so far. In 2016 alone, over 5,000 died. Law enforcement has known for the past half-decade that smugglers have used complex networks that reach deep into Africa and Europe. Despite this, those arrested have typically been low-level operatives picked up as they come ashore. But that is changing. Since mid-2015, Italian authorities have launched a series of operations, named Glauco, that have begun to unveil the structure of violent smuggling networks. In three stages, police and prosecutors based out of Sicily, under the supervision of the National Anti-Mafia Directorate (DNA), have arrested more than 70 smugglers, including those responsible for coordinating and financing operations. Previously, those arrested on arriving boats were usually young men, mostly from Libya, who play a minor role in the smuggling market and who pretend to be migrants like all the others, Carmine Mosca, the deputy chief of the police flying squad in the Sicilian city of Palermo, told OCCRP. The big guys back in Africa only send smaller smugglers on board with migrants. This is because they need contacts in Italy to go on smuggling migrants to Central and Northern Europe. But they wouldnt sacrifice the important ones, he said. The Glauco investigations, which have been carried out with the cooperation of countries including Holland and Sweden, have focused on just one part of the vast world of people smugglers: a network of Eritrean and Ethiopian nationals. Starting from Sicily, the traditional home of the Mafia, investigators have turned to familiar techniques for looking into organized crime. Over a period from May 2015 to July 2016, a combination of phone wiretaps and interviews with landed migrants and suspects led to a gradual understanding of the networks structure from East Africa, to Italy and Northern Europe. The picture that emerged was of a coalition of criminal groups, based in each country and drawing on local recruits, that passed human cargo through Africa before taking them by sea. Eritreans and Ethiopians handle the network thought to still be in operation at the source in the Horn of Africa. They work in turn with local gangs in Sudan to bring migrants across the Sahara to Libya. There, Libyans smugglers who control the sea crossing hold the migrants for ransom in warehouses until relatives pay for their releases, often after serious and sometimes deadly physical and psychological abuse. Once migrants reach Italy, the criminals from Eritrea and Ethiopia take control again, often funneling migrants north. I spent five months in one of those houses in Tripoli, because I had no money to pay for the journey. The Libyans were torturing us every day, saying that we would never live if we did not pay them, Somali migrant Osman Jibril said in a United Nations reception center in the Tunisian city of Medenine. I saw many people die there. The successive Glauco operations have revealed details on how money flows in smuggling networks. Costs for passage range from roughly US$ 1,000 to $3,000, using the opaque hawala Islamic brokerage system. The third and most recent phase of Glauco, concluded in July 2016, led to the discovery of the Italian financial center of this smuggling ring: a perfume shop in Rome. In a June raid, police seized over $550,000 in cash as well as a ledger showing the names and addresses of several people who cooperate with the organization, mostly in Africa. Read more Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images Thousands of University of California and California State University faculty members are warning President Trump that deviating from the Paris Climate Agreement as administration officials have recently hinted he might would undermine the future of our children and grandchildren. More than 2,300 faculty members throughout both public school systems signed an open letter to Trump released Tuesday. The president has in the past called climate change a hoax. He once famously tweeted that climate change was created by and for the Chinese. While the White House promotes exclusion, the Boy Scouts are showing tolerance and humanity. The youth organization is opening its ranks to transgender boys. Its a bit of stunner, coming without notice from a generally tradition-bound organization. But beginning three years ago, the Scouts dropped bans on gay youth and gay Scout leaders. Those changes came after lengthy debate and have taken hold. Donald Trump is such a consummate liar that in coming months and years our democracy will depend more than ever on the independent press finding the truth, reporting it and holding Trump accountable for his lies. But Trumps strategy is to denigrate and disparage the press in the publics mind, persuading the public that it shouldnt believe the press because its engaged in a conspiracy against him. Trump wants to use his tweets, rallies and videos to make himself the only credible source of public information about what is happening and what hes doing. It is the two-step strategy of despots. And its already started. Step 1: Disparage the press and lie about them. At a televised speech at the CIA, Trump declared himself to be in a running war with the news media, and described reporters as the most dishonest human beings on Earth. Trump then issued a stream of lies about what the press had reported, accusing the media of falsely underreporting the number of people showing up to hear his inaugural address. (When aerial photographs confirmed media accounts, he called the acting head of the National Park Service and demanded new photos.) Trump then accused the media of falsely reporting that he had disparaged the CIA. They sort of made it sound like I had a feud with the intelligence community, Trump said, continuing to criticize the press for its dishonest reporting. Where was all the outrage from Democrats and the opposition party (the media) when our jobs were fleeing our country? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017 In fact, Trump had repeatedly vilified the CIA and the entire intelligence community for reporting about Russias intervention in the 2016 election in order to help Trump. He had even accused intelligence officials of being behind a Nazi-like smear campaign against him. Then, at White House press secretary Sean Spicers first televised news briefing, Spicer blasted the press even more about its supposed false reporting of inauguration day events and numbers. (When confronted with Spicers outright lies, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, told NBC that Spicer had merely given alternative facts.) Later in the week, Steve Bannon, Trumps chief strategist, said the media to keep its mouth shut, and asserted that the press is now the opposition party. BORIS HORVAT/AFP/Getty Images Step 2: Threaten to circumvent the press and take the truth directly to the people. At his CIA speech, after denigrating the media, Trump issued an ominous warning. We caught them, and we caught them in a beauty. And I think theyre going to pay a big price. What price? One big clue came the next day at Spicers news briefing, when he said: The American people deserve better, and as long as (Trump) serves as the messenger for this incredible movement, he will take his message directly to the American people. Were not talking Roosevelt-like fireside chats here. Trumps tweets have already been firestorms of invective directed at critics, some of whom have been threatened by Trump followers stirred up by the tweets. And CEOs pray their companies arent targets, because stock prices of the companies he has already vilified have dropped immediately after his diatribes. Trump wont stop with tweets. In all likelihood, hell also take his message to the public through rallies, videos and live feeds on social media. Were seeing the emergence of pro-Trump news sources that get access at the expense of traditional news companies. Some Republicans seem willing to play along. Last week, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said it was better to get your news directly from the president. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth. The ultimate price the media will pay comes when a significant portion of the public trusts Trumps direct communications more than it trusts the media. But when that happens, our democracy ends. From Trumps perspective, its the perfect solution to his problem that the media reports the truth when Trump doesnt like the truth. And its the perfect punishment for a press that dares criticize him: He makes the press irrelevant by substituting himself as the source of truth. At that point, most of the public will believe his inauguration attracted a record number of attendees, he was elected in a landslide, and the election was marred by massive voter fraud. Theyll believe anything he wants them to believe that humans dont cause climate change, Vladimir Putin is a good friend of America; Muslims should be presumed dangerous; vaccinations cause autism; scientists shouldnt be trusted; and critics of Trump are enemies of America. Four years from now they may even believe Trump made America great again. 2017 Tribune Content Agency LLC Robert Reich, a former U.S. secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at UC Berkeley. He blogs at www.facebook.com/rbreich. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters. San Francisco City Administrator Naomi Kelly says conditions are so bad at the Hall of Justice that she wants to empty most of the building by 2019, several years earlier than planned. That means employees of the district attorneys office, the police and sheriffs departments and about 350 inmates in the jail at 850 Bryant St. would move out. The building is seismically unsafe and has had recent problems with raw sewage seeping between its floors. I would like to move everyone out of that building in two years ... so they dont have sewage dropping on them, Kelly said this week. Thats bad, but the inmates have it worse, she added. At least the (prosecutors) can go home. The inmates are there 24-7, and they are locked in. Kelly is among many people in city government who want to see the building shuttered, including Mayor Ed Lee and the employees who work there. But the idea has been talked about for years, and one of the biggest obstacles is the question of what to do with the inmates at the jail. Still, pressure is growing on city officials to do something. A coalition of city employee labor unions sent Mayor Ed Lee a letter Monday demanding he move employees out of the Hall of Justice. The unions also sent a letter to City Attorney Dennis Herrera asking him to examine the citys liability if people in the building die during an earthquake. In their letter to the mayor, the unions noted that the building suffers from asbestos, lead paint, pests, rodents, sewage leaks, power outages, flooding, consistently broken elevators. The unions claim the city has known for 25 years that the building is seismically unsafe. Given the fact that thousands of individuals continue to be subjected to these hazards 2 decades later, its evident that the current strategy employed by the Department of Real Estate is inadequate, inappropriate and highly irresponsible, the letter said. It was signed by International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers Local 21, the San Francisco Labor Council, San Francisco Municipal Employees Association, the San Francisco Police Officers Association, the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, and the San Francisco Municipal Attorneys Association. Deirdre Hussey, the mayors spokeswoman, said Lee believes it is a moral imperative to remove everyone from the Hall of Justice, including existing inmates. She said that before the mayor leaves office in three years, he expects to see efforts under way to get city employees, members of the public and inmates out of this terrible building. Prosecutor Supriya Perry has no shortage of stories about the working conditions at the Hall of Justice. Like the toilets overflowing. Or the elevators not working. But the one that stands out is when sewage seeped into her office in January. She secured plastic bags around her feet with rubber bands and then went into her office and grabbed the case files that were on the floor. That was one incident that hit me very personally because I waded through sewage. But there are so many things, Perry said. Katie Womack, a courtroom clerk, said she likes the physical structure of the building but doesnt like the overflowing toilets or the leftover asbestos. She said if the building is seismically unsafe, it should be condemned. Sometimes when I go down to the basement I imagine all that concrete crumbling down on me, she said. The citys 10-year capital plan calls for closing the Hall of Justice by 2023. In the meantime, it recommends that the city do the bare minimum to maintain the building. Its renewal needs have been de-prioritized, the capital plan states, although some repairs, such as water intrusion and waste management system issues, cannot be ignored completely for health/safety reasons. Kelly said she didnt have advance notice of the unions letter and that her decision was made based solely on the buildings dilapidated and worsening condition. And Kellys plan isnt final: The citys Capital Planning Committee has to agree to expedite withdrawal from the Hall of Justice and lease nearby buildings to house employees. The plan would not account for the criminal courts that are also housed at the Hall of Justice, as they are funded by the state. Ann Donlan, spokeswoman for San Francisco Superior Court, said court officials are unaware of any imminent proposal to move court staff and judges out of the Hall of Justice. The looming question is where the city will house the inmates of County Jail No. 4, given that there is no political will to build a new facility to house them, and reducing the jail population to a level where a new jail isnt needed could take years. In late 2015, the Board of Supervisors rejected an $80 million state grant that would have gone toward the $240 million cost of building a new jail. The mayor and Sheriff Vicki Hennessy supported the project, but a majority of the supervisors said it was too expensive. And a proposal floated last year to build a behavioral health justice center failed to gain traction. District Attorney George Gascon, who supported it, described the center as a place that combined public safety and mental health services, but opponents criticized it as another locked facility. The current plan, agreed upon by Hennessy, Department of Public Health Director Barbara Garcia and community activist Roma Guy, head of Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety, focuses on reducing the jail population, not replacing the facility. The recommendations include processing inmates more quickly so they dont linger in jail, expanding electronic monitoring of defendants, adding more mental health beds around the city and investing more in criminal justice programs aimed at diverting defendants into programs. Additionally, the working group says the sheriffs department should apply for another $70 million grant from the state to retrofit a nearby jail so that it could house some of the more dangerous inmates housed at the Hall of Justice. Hennessy said she welcomed continued efforts to reduce the jail population, although what she really wants to see is a replacement jail built. Im invested in trying to do what we can to get more people out of jail as long as we are still balancing it with public safety, she said. But Supervisor Mark Farrell said there still isnt a clear path forward for shutting down the jail in the Hall of Justice. Its disappointing that after rejecting a new jail, little to no progress has been made, Farrell said. There was a ton of rhetoric about alternatives, but we have little to show for it today. In the meantime, we gave up $80 million in state funding and kicked a gift horse in the mouth. Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen Rich Wood clearly remembers the first time he met Michael Wild more than 20 years ago. He was a rep pitching wine to Wild, the esteemed owner of Bay Wolf, a man hed been told could be a very tough sell in that department. Contrary to what Id heard, he was being really nice to me, Wood recalls. So at the end, I was like, So will you buy some wine from me? And he said, No, your wine is terrible. But I like you. It turned out to be the start of a long friendship that will come to a sort of culmination in the coming weeks, when Wood and his wife, Rebekah, are scheduled to launch the Wolf in the space that housed the seminal Bay Wolf, which closed last summer following 40 years on Oaklands Piedmont Avenue. Rich Wood describes Wild as his Yoda in the hospitality industry, and someone who was instrumental in helping the Woods get their popular Wood Tavern up and running 10 years ago in Oaklands Rockridge district. The respect is mutual. Wild, the beloved front-of-house face of Bay Wolf for most of its four-decade run, says it wasnt lost on him that the Woods had one of their first dates at his restaurant. That meant to me that Rich and Rebekah really understood the virtues of our restaurant and what we were trying to do there, he says. It was a neighborhood joint where you could eat well and drink well and have this really friendly and wonderful reception. That was what we aspired to at Bay Wolf. Wild detected a similar raison detre at Wood Tavern, a place that exists to satisfy the people going to the restaurant, not show off the chefs tweezers skills. And as he and his partner Larry Goldman entered their 70s and pondered retirement, he said having the Woods take over was the perfect, and really the only, succession plan. Rich and Rebekah, who have three young children and opened their adjacent sandwich shop Southie a few years ago, werent necessarily looking for a big new restaurant project. But the opportunity to take over Bay Wolf was simply too perfect to pass up. I just really thought that Bay Wolf was so dreamy; it was this romantic, rustic little house (where) you could have this wonderful, charming experience, Rebekah Wood recalls. So when it came up, we just couldnt say no. We led with our hearts almost before we led with our brains. Which isnt to say its been as easy as just handing over the key. While undeniably charming, the 40-year-old restaurant, which had been converted from a freestanding Craftsman-style home, was long overdue for an overhaul. Thats what theyve been doing for the past six months, completely renovating the interior, blowing out the kitchen and modernizing the decor. Rich describes the result, only half-jokingly, as Bay Wolf on steroids. He adds: People are going to be pretty surprised. By opening up the kitchen, theyre hoping to add the sort of buzz and energy of Wood Tavern to the central kitchen area, while maintaining quieter, more intimate dining areas on the perimeter and front patio. Michael Macor/The Chronicle Wood Taverns executive chef Yang Peng, who has become a partner in the new venue, will helm the kitchen (Esteban Escobar, formerly of Town Hall, replaces her at Wood Tavern). She plans an updated, California-seasonal take on French classics like coq au vin, veal, escargot and, of course, duck, a signature dish at Bay Wolf. For lunch, Peng says they will add hearty French-style baguette sandwiches. Compared to Wood Tavern, the Wolfs fare will be lighter, more fine dining, a little more feminine, Peng says. For the Wolf team, its been a balancing act, paying homage to the legacy of Bay Wolf while still making the place their own. There has also been no small amount of pressure in taking over a dining institution whose most common East Bay comparison was Chez Panisse. Theres this built-in good will that came along with this place, so it feels like its kind of ours to screw up, Rich Wood says with a laugh. We have a community thats looking forward to coming in, so we just want to open up and do our best: be warm and gracious and let the chips fall where they may. Wild, for his part, is confident in their success. He loves the remodel, describing it as pretty much the same but completely different. Its what we would have done ourselves had we been 30 years younger and had the resources. He also recognizes the same spirit of generosity in the new owners that he says was vital to the longevity of Bay Wolf. Theyre not measuring out the wine pours by the milliliter, he says. Craig Lee/SFC And even if Bay Wolf regulars dont immediately recognize the interior, they will recognize one familiar face: General manager David Johnson will resume that role at the Wolf. In fact, Rich Wood made it clear that Wild is welcome to come work the front of house whenever he wants. Wild might take Wood up on the offer but dont expect him to do any dishes. Anything is possible, he says. Nothings been formalized, but Ill certainly be available to shake hands, kiss small children, do some socializing. ...Just no heavy lifting. The Wolf: 3853 Piedmont Ave., between 40th Street and West MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland. Ethan Fletcher is a freelance writer in the East Bay. Email: food@sfchronicle.com Every sale I attend is unique. Some include Jerseys, some may be selling Holsteins, some sales have music, and sometimes there are carnival rides. Yes, carnival rides were a part of the festivities this past weekend at the California State Holstein Sale held at the Maddox Dairy in Riverdale, Calif. The fun-filled host night and sale of the state convention created many smiles from dairy cattle enthusiasts both young and old. Sales are not just a place for buying cattle, but they bring the dairy industry family together in several ways. Fellowship with others Cattle sales have a social atmosphere. They radiate with conversation when I walk into the sale tent. Whenever I am at a cattle sale, I make sure to catch up with friends, dairy farmers, and employers. You never know who you may meet, and there is the potential for friendship, business advice, or a future job/internship opportunities. New involvement in showing and dairy farming Probably my favorite part of attending sales is watching a young girl or boy bid on their first show calf. I think of all the memories they are going to experience just from that one animal! Purchasing a calf opens the door for thousands of opportunities to grow, achieve, and succeed as an individual. The next time you attend a sale remind yourself of all the excitement involved not only with the beautiful animals traveling to new homes and owners, but the camaraderie our industry has. Elise Regusci grew up on her family's farm in Modesto, Calif. Regusci attends Cal Poly University, majoring in dairy science with an agricultural communication minor. On campus, she is the Los Lecheros Dairy Club Ag Council representative and a member of the Cal Poly dairy judging team. Regusci is the current Brown Swiss Youth Ambassador and will be the 2017 Hoard's Dairyman summer editorial intern. Sarah Krevans was a 20-year-old college dropout when she got her first glimpse of the dysfunction of the U.S. health care system. While working in Boston as a home health aide with no formal medical training, Krevans was assigned to help a woman with postpartum depression, who was unable to speak, move from a mental health facility to her new home. Krevans now president and chief executive officer of Northern California health care giant Sutter Health frantically called anyone she could think of, including her father, a physician, for advice on therapy and support services. That experience, she said, opened her eyes to gaping holes in the treatment of poor and homeless people, and patients with mental illness and ultimately inspired her to go into health care administration. I saw such confusion and waste and really inadequate care in the system, said Krevans, a nominee for the 2017 Visionary of the Year award sponsored by The Chronicle and the School of Economics and Business Administration at St. Marys College. The patients were discharged and all of a sudden had no therapy, no professional support services. And they had a 20-year-old college dropout, me, responsible for anything related to their mental health and emotional well-being. That moment continues to shape Krevans vision and purpose at Sutter Health, the $11 billion, 50,000-employee health system she took over in 2016. The company is expanding initiatives to provide more health services to the homeless, and using data in new ways to improve care for patients. Sutter Health is one of the largest health systems in Northern California, with a market share of about 30 percent, according to a 2013 analysis by Christopher Whaley, a health economist and policy researcher at Rand Corp. Sutter has been accused of abusing its market power and over-charging customers, allegations the company says are without merit. It recently asked companies, through their insurance administrators, to waive their right to sue Sutter in court, or risk having to pay higher out-of-network prices for Sutter services. A Sutter spokeswoman said arbitration is the most cost-effective way to resolve disputes between providers and employers and has long been a standard part of Sutter contracts. Krevans is looking to expand Sutters street nurse program, a pilot project begun last year where registered nurses in Sacramento go to parks and shelters to administer medical care to the homeless. When people think of a visionary, they think of someone being struck by lightning, said Chase Adam, co-founder of the health startup Watsi who was last years Visionary winner and is now a member of the nominating committee for the award. Shes someone that started at the bottom, working in health care herself, and climbed the ladder and changed the system from the inside, and now taking Sutter in a cool direction. Under Krevans watch, Sutter is experimenting with data-driven programs designed to replicate small regional successes throughout Sutters broader network. Sutter operates 24 hospitals and 34 outpatient surgery centers. They stretch from San Francisco to Auburn in the Sierra foothills and from Crescent City in the states far north to Los Banos and Modesto in the Central Valley. Krevans is especially proud of two key programs: the Advanced Illness Management program, which treats patients with late-stage chronic illnesses in the last 18 months of their life with home-based care; and the ICU Liberation program, which tries to improve care for patients in intensive care by weaning them off of ventilators sooner and getting them up and walking. Weve been able to spread it across our hospitals, she said. Its a great example of how to take something that happens in one place and look at whether it works or not. The benefit to our communities of having hospitals and physicians being part of the system should be that if we do something well, we learn from it everywhere. And if we have a problem, we fix it everywhere. Krevans is also striving to tap into new ideas and technology from Silicon Valley. Sutter recently started a pilot project where primary care physicians wear Google Glass in the exam room with patients and use the technology to update charts. (While Google has discontinued sales of the computer headgear to consumers, it is still supporting medical and other business uses of the technology.) The goal is to spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients. The program began in Sutters Palo Alto Medical Foundation and has since been adopted by Sutter doctors in the Central Valley and Sacramento area. The health system has also formed a new partnership with NimbleRX, a Menlo Park online pharmacy service, to deliver medication to patients who have been released from the hospital. One of the things I have really tried to do to as CEO is make us a better partner for the innovation thats around us in the Bay Area, Krevans said. Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat__Ho Visionary of the Year award This is one of six profiles of nominees for The Chronicles third annual Visionary of the Year award, which is presented in collaboration with St. Marys Colleges School of Economics and Business Administration and City Nati3onal Bank. The honor salutes leaders who strive to make the world a better place and drive social and economic change by employing new, innovative business models and practices. The six finalists were nominated by a distinguished committee that included Chase Adam, co-founder of the nonprofit Watsi and winner of the 2016 award; Greg Becker, president and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank; Emmett Carson, founding CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Ron Conway, angel investor and philanthropist; Zhan Li, dean of the School of Economics and Business Administration at St. Marys College; Libby Schaaf, mayor of Oakland; Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker; and Michael Walker, executive vice president and regional executive of City National Bank. Chronicle Publisher Jeff Johnson, Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper and Editorial Page Editor John Diaz will select the winner, which will be announced during a March 30 event. To read more: www.sfchronicle.com/visionsf WASHINGTON The Trump administration condemned Iran on Wednesday for its recent test of a ballistic missile, saying it was putting Tehran on notice and threatening reprisals, still unspecified, from the United States. As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice, said Michael Flynn, the national security adviser, speaking in the White House briefing room. He said Irans test was the latest in a series of provocative actions that had destabilized the region and violated U.N. resolutions. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Organizers of the Bay Areas big-wave surf competition Titans of Mavericks filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week amid a selling of their assets and a slew of lawsuits but said the extreme sporting event has not been canceled. Titans of Mavericks LLC and its affiliate Cartel Management Inc. filed separate petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California and described the action as an effort to ensure a smooth and swift transition of the business and operations. The brand has seen explosive growth since its creation, Griffin Guess, Titans of Mavericks founder, said in a statement Wednesday. The process will allow Titans of Mavericks to reach new heights in the right hands. It is time for a larger organization to gain from all of our hard work. Doubt had circulated as to whether the event would take place this year, but Guess wrote in an email to The Chronicle that Mavericks 2017 is still on. Around $3 million has gone toward brand development and hosting the annual Mavericks event since 2014, according to a statement from the companies. Yet the bankruptcy filing comes after costly legal trouble for Cartel Management. Red Bull Media House North America Inc. filed a lawsuit against Cartel and Titans of Mavericks in the Superior Court of Los Angeles on Friday, just days before the bankruptcy action. Red Bull Media House sought an unspecified amount in damages after paying Titans of Mavericks $400,000 for the rights to webcast this years competition which hasnt happened yet then never receiving a refund after Cartel abruptly terminated the contract. After receiving Cartels purported termination letter, searching for a rationale for Cartels erratic behavior, Plaintiff found that Cartel is beset by financial and legal difficulties, the suit states. At the end of October, a jury in the Central District of California found Cartel and Marisa Miller, an international supermodel and Guess wife, were liable for $1 million after breaching a contract with another company, Segler Holdings LLC. The defendants apparently had violated a promotion deal with Segler Holdings Glissin sunless tanning products and salons. The San Mateo County Harbor District issues one of about 18 permits management needs to operate the wave competition, and was among the debtors named in the bankruptcy filing, said Steve McGrath, district general manager. The permit the Harbor District issues allows for water access to the harbor so the contest can be held at Mavericks Point Break, and provides on-land staging for equipment like contest tents, he said. Mavericks had been in the first year of a five-year permit contract with the district, but McGrath said the Harbor District never received the $6,300 owed in permitting fees from last years event. Yet another complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Cartel Management and Guess in 2014 by the surf-apparel and sportswear company Body Glove International LLC, seeking unspecified damages for breaches of an agreement, among other violations. The suit was ongoing. The famous contest north of Half Moon Bay that once brought thousands to the coast since the first event in 1999 had been met with less fanfare in recent years, but controversy has stayed a constant. In 2010, a giant wave broke the bones of some spectators after it threw them against a rock. In October 2015, organizers announced that South Africas Grant Twiggy Baker, winner of two of the Mavericks competitions, most recently in 2014, was banned from the 2016 contest for undisclosed reasons. Even from the first year back in the late 90s theres always been some controversy and a lot of politics around it, said Zach Wormhoudt, who says hes surfed at the competition every year of its existence. In the end, the contest, the experience of being a competitor in the contest, has kind of been the same. Its pretty awesome. The event is generally announced at the last minute, held any time between Nov. 1 and March 31 when surfing conditions are ideal. Each year, about 30 elite surfers ride waves that can measure 60 feet as they compete. Wormhoudt, 47, finished in second place in 2013. Its a special thing to be invited to, he said. Its definitely an honor. Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A maritime battle involving three venerable ferryboat operators has broken out in normally sedate Tiburon, roiling the waters around the towns ferry landing and testing the tempers of commuters whove grown tired of the bickering. Golden Gate Ferry, which already runs boats from Sausalito and Larkspur, was poised to take over weekday operations Monday from Blue & Gold Fleet, which has been running ferries from Tiburon to San Franciscos Ferry Building for 38 years. Schedules and free Clipper cards had been handed out, and passengers had been advised on how the transition would work. We were ready to go, and the commuters were ready to have us take over, said Priya Clemens, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. All that remained was the final go-ahead from the districts Board of Directors on Friday. It never happened. After what Golden Gates attorney interpreted as a threat of a lawsuit, a vote on the takeover was put off. The perceived threat came from the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry, which also runs out of Tiburon. Unfortunately we had this 11th-hour challenge, said Denis Mulligan, Golden Gates general manager. We were concerned they were going to go to court and get injunctive relief. Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry, a family-owned company that has run ferries between Tiburon and Angel Island since 1959, says it isnt interested in bumping Golden Gate Ferry out of the way so it can take over Blue & Golds operation. The issue is about safety, with Golden Gate running larger boats, said Capt. Maggie McDonogh, who operates the family business. Before Golden Gate starts serving Tiburon, she said, the district should realign its dock and do some dredging to ensure theres enough room for safe navigation. Mulligan said the work is costly and unnecessary. During an impromptu meeting of ferry riders on the second deck of Blue & Golds Royal Star during the 4:30 p.m. Tiburon run Monday, McDonogh told approximately 70 riders that Golden Gates bigger boats could crash into the piers. She also worried that Golden Gates larger ferries would block access to her companys dock. Golden Gates plan is to sublet space at Blue & Golds dock on the east end of the marina. Angel Island-Tiburon uses a separate dock, coming in and out of the harbor through the same area. I dont want you upset youre my community, said McDonogh, who lives in Tiburon, and insisted she supports improved commuter ferry service. I want you to be on a bigger, better boat. Nevertheless, its about safety. Blue & Gold, which will continue to run the ferry for the foreseeable future, uses the 105-foot-long Royal Star or the 127-foot Bay Monarch. Golden Gate plans to use the 135-foot Del Norte but cant rule out having to employ its old, reliable 169-foot Spaulding boats. I wont be able to get in and out, McDonogh said. The Fire Department wont be able to get in and out. Golden Gate officials, however, point out that the commuter ferries only run from from 5:30 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., while Angel Island-Tiburons weekday hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Golden Gate has been negotiating with Blue & Gold to take over the ferry since fall 2015 when the private ferry operator said it wanted out, and might cut service to just a single round-trip, as required by the state Public Utilities Commission, unless someone else took over. As the talks have dragged on, Blue & Gold has continued to operate the full service seven round-trip boats during weekday commute hours but has put slower boats on the service and changed schedules to reflect the longer travel times 30 minutes versus 20 minutes. Thats time stolen away from their families and jobs, said commuters, who feel that Golden Gate will offer better service. Im frustrated about being late to work every day and late to see my kids every day, said Matt Hochstetler, an investor at a mutual fund company who organized Mondays meeting on the ferry. Thats thousands of hours of lost work and family time every week. During Mondays onboard meeting, riders peppered McDonogh with questions, but thanked her for meeting with them. Some sided with her, but most seemed eager for Golden Gate to take over. I feel like this is last-minute, said Mark Goldstein, 58, a venture capitalist from Tiburon. It isnt fair. McDonogh said she had raised her concerns earlier but that Golden Gate had dismissed them and her. She also said that she had neither filed suit nor threatened legal action. Meanwhile, commuters are collecting signatures on petitions supporting Golden Gate, and discussing the ferrys future in online forums and via email. Golden Gate continues to negotiate with Blue & Gold. The ferry isnt on the agenda for Wednesdays Tiburon Town Council, but all sides are expected to make their arguments, and some commuters plan to plead for the council to mediate or otherwise settle the dispute. We just want to know whats really going on, said George Brewster, 68, a venture capitalist from Belvedere. Good grief. Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan The renowned surf competition at Mavericks will likely be canceled this year after its organizers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday. According to documents obtained by NBC Bay Area, Cartel Management Inc., and Titans of Mavericks LLC, the two primary organizers of the Pillar Point surf contest, are "drowning in debt." Last year, Cartel Management was on the losing end of a $1 million lawsuit in Los Angeles, and the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that both companies are being sued by Red Bull Media House North America for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. In the past, Red Bull has provided the live stream of Mavericks online. That suit was filed last Friday. In addition, the San Mateo County Harbor District, which issues some of the permits for the event, is listed as one of the debtors in the bankruptcy filing. San Mateo County Harbor commissioner Sabrina Brennan told NBC Bay Area she anticipates "there will not be a contest this year." PREVIOUSLY: Mavericks permit extended 1 year, women added to contest Mavericks, which has been held since 1999, is one of the year's most anticipated contests. Once the waves and the weather are right, invited surfers have 48 hours to get to Pillar Point for the competition. This year was supposed to be a landmark contest for the first time, women were added to the field. Cartel founder Griffin Guess told the Mercury News that a news release would be published later today to explain the "strategy overall." Leah Millis/The Chronicle Oakland carved out $300,000 Tuesday to fight deportations over the next two years, joining other large Democrat-led cities around the country that have laid out plans to fund legal defenses for immigrants threatened by the policies of President Trumps administration. The fund will go to a rapid response network composed of 12 Oakland organizations to help families that cant afford legal representation and that could be separated by Trumps promised crackdown on illegal immigration. The City Council approved the money days after the president signed executive orders stepping up border security and targeting sanctuary cities like Oakland. Hundreds of people met at the Federal Building in Oakland on Tuesday to protest President Trump's pick for U.S. secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. The protest coincided with the Senate committee's vote for DeVos on Tuesday, which ended with DeVos being approved. Her nomination was sent to the full Senate for final approval, despite questions by protesters over whether she is qualified for the position. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Francisco has become the proving grounds for AT&Ts leap into the newest frontier of wireless technology, and customers may soon enjoy clearer calls and faster apps as a result. The company on Wednesday unveiled its first operational small-cell wireless antenna in the nation, discreetly perched atop a lamppost on Battery Street in the Financial District. AT&T plans to install about 1,000 such cells across the Bay Area this year in an effort to meet the ever-increasing demand for mobile broadband while simultaneously laying the groundwork for future technology, the company said. Smart-city applications, driverless cars, artificial intelligence all of these will need strong connectivity, low latency and high data speeds, said Sinan Akkaya, the director of radio access network engineering at AT&T. So thats why were using small cells. The technology is designed to provide densely populated areas with better cell phone connections by concentrating signals across a smaller geographical area. The small cells also help lessen the reliance on cell phone towers, which are often located far from urban centers. As Bay Area residents know all too well, the strength of signals sent from traditional towers can diminish as they travel long distances and pass through buildings or across hilly terrain. AT&T is looking to solve that problem by activating the network of small cells across the city. The cells will be centrally controlled, meaning the company can make adjustments to quickly respond to fluctuations in demand. Other wireless companies are also experimenting with the technology. Akkaya said AT&T plans to install 280 more cells this year in San Francisco alone, enough to boost service for about 1 million customers. Two more small-cell antennas are scheduled to be activated this week in San Francisco, one along the Embarcadero and one in the Mission District. The cells, which house antennas in slim cylinders connected to power amplifiers, will be attached to lamp posts and telephone poles around the city. AT&T will install hundreds more small cells this year across the Bay Area in San Jose, Palo Alto, Concord and Walnut Creek. It will activate small cells in Los Angeles and New York City this year as well, but Akkaya said the company benefited from San Franciscos reputation as a hub for innovation in being able to move more quickly. We had the advantage of more focus because were in the technology capital of the world, so we were able to move a little, and the city has been great to work with. They helped us get our cells out there faster, he said. AT&T unveiled its small-cell project Wednesday alongside other technology the company is working on, including what it calls the AirGig, a device used to transmit high-speed wireless Internet over electrical power lines. The device is still in the research and development stage, the company said, but its intended to provide Internet services for rural communities. Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa The University of California will pay $1.15 million to a former UC Santa Cruz student to settle her claim that a professor raped her when she was his student in 2015, and that campus officials knew the man had a history of pursuing students but did nothing to stop him. According to the claim, another student who worked at UC Santa Cruz was involved in the assault. Attorneys for the former student, Luz Portillo, say the settlement could be the largest awarded to an individual in a campus sexual assault case. Although The Chronicle does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, Portillo, now 24, said she wants to go public because she would have liked to know when she was assaulted that she was not alone. Sexual assault has been a very common theme in higher education, and it should not be happening, Portillo said. If me coming forward helps any other victim, thats the best thing I could have done. Portillo, who was 21 when she was assaulted, said the impact is spread across all aspects of my life not only academically, but personally. Im still working very hard to overcome it. Its been a very, very trying time. Portillos complaint says that in May 2015, she was wrapping up the last two classes of her major in Latin American and Latino Studies and preparing to graduate. The assistant professor teaching the classes held one of them at Woodstocks Pizza in downtown Santa Cruz, and after he and the students consumed several beers, according to the complaint, he invited Portillo and another student who was employed by the campus to go with him to the Loma Prieta Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains on June 13. While at the wine-tasting event (the assistant professor) encouraged Claimant to consume large quantities or wine, causing her to become severely intoxicated and lose her memory, according to the complaint. The three then went to the home of the student-employee, where they supplied Claimant with more wine, says the complaint. The two employees then engaged in non-consensual sex acts with the student who was drunk and not fully conscious. Her attorney, John Kristensen of Los Angeles, said Portillo woke up naked and aware that she had been raped. It was graduation day. I was in the hospital and missed graduation, Portillo said, adding that the assistant professor went to the graduation and served as master of ceremonies for the Chicano-Latino ceremony. But Portillo also immediately reported what happened to the campus office that handles violations of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination and harassment on campuses that receive federal funding. And she reported it to police. Officials at the UC office of system-wide President Janet Napolitano declined to comment, referring questions to UC Santa Cruz but said the settlement would be paid through a university-wide insurance program. UC Santa Cruz officials declined to answer questions, referring a reporter to a statement posted on the campus website Tuesday by Chancellor George Blumenthal and interim Provost Herbert Lee. The statement addressed what happened with the faculty member, not the student worker. As soon as these allegations were reported, the campus acted swiftly to address the victims claims, which appeared to be clear violations of the UC Santa Cruz policy on sexual violence and sexual harassment, the statement said. Blumenthal and Lee said the campus cooperated with police and placed the faculty member on leave during the campus Title IX investigation. The faculty member resigned June 1 as disciplinary proceedings began. Portillo sees things differently. This happened to me on June 13 (2015), and the professor wasnt removed until August, she said. It was not immediate at all and there was always some reason why it was delayed. The assistant professor could not be reached for comment. As for the student-employee, Portillo said she doesnt know what happened to her, except that I was always afraid that I might run into her on campus. The Santa Cruz County district attorney never pressed charges against either employee, said Kristensen, Portillos attorney. He said his own investigation revealed that the assistant professor had intimate relationships with two other students. UC policies prohibit employees from having personal relationships with students and others they supervise. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov Several fake news websites have posted an article titled "Donald Trump triples financial aid to the Philippines". It claims Donald Trump has massively increased financial aid to the Philippines. The article begins like this: WASHINGTON DC (White House) - The President of the United States, Donald Trump, through his executive powers, has increased financial aid to the Philippines almost three-folds. The Philippines, who was receiving a maximum of $120 million for the past years from the United States would from immediate effect be receiving up to $300 million from the United States in financial aids. Yes, 'three-folds' instead of 'threefold', and 'financial aids' instead of 'financial aid'. (We do not know what "financial aids" is but it sounds like a pretty terrible disease...) We have not found any reports in the mainsteam media about this news so it is pretty safe to declare it fake. While we wait for other fact checking websites like Snopes to debunk this 'news' you can do your part too: The San Francisco SPCA is branching out from their city digs to head downtown in an effort to find forever homes for shelter residents. On weekdays during the month of February, the SPCA will bring adoptable dogs, cats, and rabbits for locals and downtown workers to meet and, hopefully, bring home. Organizers are planning a number of special events throughout the month, including Thursday "Yappy Hours" (4:30-6:30 p.m.) where guests can sip wine and meet the animals, daily "Coffee Cuddles" (2-3 p.m.) where people can snuggle with some puppies and kittens, and this Friday's "Bunny Bowl" (12 p.m.), where visitors can watch "cute bunnies get their game on." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate UPDATE (3/20): Per an email from a publicist, the scheduled April 8 date at Bottom of the Hill has been canceled. Before setting off on tour to commemorate the 20th anniversary tour of their self-titled hit record, Third Eye Blind will be paying back a bit of their success with a hometown benefit show in April. The show takes place on April 6 at the Chapel in San Francisco's Mission district to benefit the nearby 826 Valencia, a "pirate shop" and youth literacy workshop created by Dave Eggers. In June, the band will set off on a mostly national tour (one date will be played in Toronto, Canada) with Silversun Pickups and Ocean Park Standoff, beginning in Miami, Florida, and wrapping at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on July, 23. At each date, the band will perform their debut album in its entirety as an homage to their roots. "We are all about fostering a feeling of aliveness and connection," says front man Stephan Jenkins in a press release. "That's why we have the summer vibes, because our heat comes from being alive and in the moment and you can only get it when you are willing to keep it real. No one can create the vibes we do fronting over a backing track." Tickets for the Berkeley date are on sale now at their website. Tickets to the Chapel show will are on sale at Ticketfly. WASHINGTON Democrats are racing to respond to the wave of liberal outrage triggered by President Trump, jumping into protests, organizing rallies and vowing to block more of the new presidents nominees including, possibly, his pick for the Supreme Court. Those steps may not be enough to satisfy their increasingly aggressive party base. Following a second weekend of protests, a growing number of liberal leaders are demanding a filibuster of Trumps pick for the high court, setting the party on a path of fierce opposition to Trump and potential confrontation with their own elected officials. I hope Democrats will stand up and use every tool in their toolbox including a filibuster, said former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, one of the top candidates to be the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. But Senate Democrats remain wary of a total blockade, arguing the party should hold off making a decision until it can assess the choice. Trump says he will announce his nominee Tuesday evening. I want to make sure we thoroughly review the record and then go forward, said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who faces re-election in 2018. Well need to do a lot of work on any of them. In the weeks after Trumps election, Democrats debated whether the party should work with the new president on discrete policy initiatives, like infrastructure, or present a wall of opposition. As protests sprang forth across the country, their furious constituents have made it clear theyre demanding nothing short of complete resistance. Hundreds of demonstrators, chanting Just Say No! and Obstruct!, shouted down Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse at a Sunday community event, protesting the Rhode Island Democrats vote in favor of new CIA director Mike Pompeo. Last week, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren faced an outpouring of anger after she cast a committee vote for Ben Carson, the former Republican presidential candidate nominated to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development. She was forced to explain her position in a Facebook post that began: OK, lets talk about Dr. Ben Carson. And more than 3,500 people signed up on Facebook to march across Brooklyn to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumers home Tuesday night to protest his support for three of Trumps Cabinet nominees. Lisa Lerer is an Associated Press writer. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. With a gay pride parade that organizers tout as the largest in Arkansas and a reputation as a liberal haven in a conservative state, college-town Fayetteville took what seemed like a logical step in guaranteeing civil rights to its LGBT community. Voters approved an ordinance in 2015 banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, joining a handful of other communities with similar measures on the books. But Arkansas is one of three GOP-controlled states that had explicitly banned cities and counties from taking such steps, and state officials are challenging the action. The Arkansas Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday on whether the city or the state should prevail. The case is one of the first of its kind on the LGBT issue to reach a high court review, and could be an important test for cities in other conservative states that are trying to counter bathroom laws, religious objections measures and other efforts that critics consider discriminatory. It also comes as Democratic cities are pushing back on other issues. As we see many cities taking these steps, we also really see this backlash in state legislatures, said Cathryn Oakley of the Human Rights Campaign, the nations largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group. At least 40 bills seen as anti-LGBT have been introduced in 16 states so far this year, according to activists. The question of local control vs. states rights will be hotly debated. For Republicans who have traditionally extolled keeping power in the hands of the people, to pull power away from localities in favor of the state to me seems very hypocritical, and it tends to be really directed around progressive issues, Oakley said. But conservative leaders say the local actions are impractical and unsupported in state law. These ordinances run the risk of creating a patchwork of civil rights from one community or one county to another, said Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council, the social conservative group that had pushed for the state level ban. Arkansas civil rights law doesnt cover sexual orientation or gender identity, and in 2015 the Legislature banned cities from expanding protections beyond the current language. Tennessee has a similar ban, and the prohibition is also part of North Carolinas controversial law restricting which bathrooms transgender people can use. A state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against Tennessees ban in 2014. North Carolinas law, which prompted widespread boycotts of the state, is being challenged in federal court. Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas and its 27,000 students, and Eureka Springs, a mountain resort town known as a gay-friendly tourist destination, have approved broad antidiscrimination protections for LGBT people. Andrew DeMillo is an Associated Press writer. 1 Flint lawsuit: More than 1,700 Flint-area residents and property owners are seeking more than $700 million in damages from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its handling of the citys crisis with lead-tainted water. The Detroit News and the Flint Journal report the agency didnt respond to an administrative claim filed last year, clearing the way for Mondays lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The complaint calling for $722.4 million in health and property damages says the EPA failed to follow several specific agency mandates and directives. It says the EPA failed to immediately determine if local and state officials were taking proper steps to address the crisis. 2 Missouri execution: Nearly 19 years to the day after Susan Brouk and her two children were taken to a Missouri pond and killed, one of the men responsible for the crime was put to death Tuesday. Mark Christeson was given a lethal injection Missouris first execution since May. Christeson, 37, was hours away from execution in 2014 when the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay. This time, though, the court allowed the execution to proceed, and Gov. Eric Greitens declined a clemency request. Christeson was pronounced dead eight minutes after the injection, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. WASHINGTON When Shane Bradwell got out of jail in 2011, he knew he would have a hard time getting a job, so he decided to start a house-painting business. But he quickly ran into a roadblock: Massachusetts suspended his drivers license, not because he was a bad driver, but because of his drug conviction. That meant Bradwell had to balance scrapers and brushes and even a gallon or two of paint on his bike. On workday mornings, he peddled to the bus stop, hopped on the bus with all his gear, and traveled as far as he could. Then he unloaded all of his stuff, rearranged it on his bike, and rode the rest of the way to his job site. Neil Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge known for conservative views on religious freedom and the role of the courts, was nominated Tuesday by President Trump to succeed the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, setting the stage for a Senate battle over his confirmation and the courts ideological future. In a prime-time, televised announcement from the White House, Trump said he had chosen the very best judge in the country and added, Millions of voters said this was the single most important issue for them when they voted for me for president. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., immediately called for a filibuster when the nomination reaches the Senate floor. Such a move would require Republicans, who hold a 52-48 Senate majority, to win eight Democrats to their side to reach the 60 votes required to break a filibuster. Or Republicans could vote to abolish Senate filibusters, a move some party leaders have been reluctant to make because the tables would be turned if Democrats regained control of the upper house. Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward womens rights, and, most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence, Schumer said in a statement. The Republican National Committee countered that Democrats were scheming to deprive the American people of their rightful voice on the nations highest court. At 49, Gorsuch, a judge on 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, would be the youngest justice since Clarence Thomas was nominated for the nine-member court at age 43 by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate in 1991. In brief remarks Tuesday, Gorsuch said he, like Scalia, believed that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws. It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the peoples representatives. The Senates Republican leaders have kept Scalias seat vacant since his death last February, refusing to hold hearings on President Obamas nomination of federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland to replace the courts most outspoken conservative. Their blockade paid political dividends with the election of Trump, who promised to appoint a justice in Scalias mold, one who would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, and would protect the rights of gun owners. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., leader of the minority Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday she was concerned that Gorsuch would fulfill Trumps promise. She said the nominees past rulings upholding business owners objections to providing contraceptive coverage to female employees were elevating a corporations religious beliefs over womens health care. Trump, who announced 21 potential candidates for Scalias seat during his campaign all screened in advance by the conservative Federalist Society chose Gorsuch over the other finalist, Judge Thomas Hardiman of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, a colleague of the presidents sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry and a judicial advocate of gun owners rights. Gorsuch has never ruled on an abortion case. But he appeared to signal his position, evidently to the satisfaction of Trump and evangelical groups, in cases involving religious objections to birth control. He voted with the appeals court majority in 2013 to allow the arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby and other corporations run by religious conservatives to refuse to cover female employees use of contraceptives that the owners considered similar to abortion, a ruling the Supreme Court upheld in 2014. Gorsuch wrote a separate opinion saying the corporate owners should be allowed to sue on their own to avoid taking part in what their religion teaches them to be a moral wrong. In a dissenting opinion in 2015, Gorsuch supported a Catholic nonprofits claim that its religious rights would be violated by having to sign a form stating its objection to contraceptive coverage, thus allowing an insurer to provide the coverage. The Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on that issue. Gorsuch touched on his personal views in a 2009 book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, in which he opposed physician aid in dying and wrote that human life qualifies as a basic good. His addition to the court is unlikely to lead to a reversal of Roe, as five of the current justices have previously voted to uphold abortion rights. The ruling would be at stake if a second vacancy arose, with the departure of one of the courts senior justices such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83, Anthony Kennedy, 80, or Stephen Breyer, 78. The addition of two or three Trump appointees could also lead to a rollback of the courts 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage and leave a conservative majority in place for decades to come. In the short run, however, the new nominee could provide the deciding vote on other important issues. In one case, in which the court deadlocked 4-4 last year, a fifth conservative vote could prohibit unions of teachers and other government employees in California and 22 other states from charging fees to nonmembers for the costs of representing them at the bargaining table, a critical source of union funding. Another case awaiting possible Supreme Court review is a challenge to the California law requiring a permit, seldom granted in urban areas, to carry a concealed handgun in public. Scalias 2008 ruling declared a constitutional right to possess guns in the home for self-defense, but the court has not said whether the same rights apply outside the home. The high court is also likely to have the last word on the legality of Trumps executive order halting the entry of refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Gorsuch is the son of the late Anne Gorsuch Burford, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he was a law clerk for several judges, including Justice Kennedy. He then spent a decade practicing law in Washington, D.C., before his judicial appointment by President George W. Bush to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006. Like Scalia, Gorsuch is an avowed originalist who says he rules according to the text of the Constitution and statutes, as originally written and intended, without regard to legislators stated intentions or subsequent changes in national values. In an article in the conservative National Review Online in 2005, he said courts should have little say in determining public policy. American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education, Gorsuch wrote. On the other hand, as a judge he has criticized the Supreme Courts doctrine of generally accepting government agencies interpretations of unclear federal laws. Opponents say his position could endanger agencies rules protecting consumers. Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor, said Trumps nomination of a mainstream conservative like Gorsuch might be a signal to Kennedy, the most moderate of the courts current conservatives, that if you retire I will not be replacing you with a crazy person, with someone who will make you uncomfortable. But Geyh also said even a justice like Scalia might not be entirely to Trumps liking. He noted that Scalia was part of the courts 5-4 majority in 1989 that declared a right of free speech to burn the American flag, an act that Trump recently said should be punished by imprisonment and perhaps a loss of citizenship. Judges dont always follow their ideology, Geyh said. When the court takes up Trumps executive order on refugees, he said, if legislation (a 1965 federal law) prohibits you from discriminating on the basis of national origin, the fact that youre conservative isnt going to help you. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko Steps in the Supreme Court confirmation process Judiciary Committee: The nomination first goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has 11 Republicans and nine Democrats. A majority vote would send the nomination to the Senate floor with a recommendation for confirmation. Senate: The Senate has 52 Republicans, 46 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with the Democrats. A majority vote would be enough for confirmation, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called for a filibuster of the nomination. That would raise the required vote total to 60 for confirmation, meaning 41 opposing votes would block confirmation. Nuclear option: If Democrats filibuster, Republican leaders could resort to the so-called nuclear option to abolish filibusters for Supreme Court nominations and allow confirmation by a majority vote. A Democratic-majority Senate took that step in 2013 for lower-court appointments and other presidential nominees but excluded Supreme Court nominations. About Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch Born: Aug. 29, 1967, in Denver. His parents were Anne Gorsuch Burford, who served as President Ronald Reagans Environmental Protection Agency administrator from 1981 to 1983, and attorney David Gorsuch. College education: Graduated from Columbia University in 1988 and from Harvard Law School in 1991. Legal experience: Served as law clerk for Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., from 1991-92, and for Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy from 1993-94. Practiced law with a Washington, D.C., firm from 1995 through 2005. Nominated to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush in 2006, and confirmed by the Senate on a voice vote. The widow of Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen admitted to investigators that she helped him case three potential locations for his mass shooting, then cooked up a cover story while her heavily armed husband set off to carry out the carnage, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Details of the case against Noor Salman were revealed for the first time Wednesday in an Oakland courtroom, more than two weeks after federal agents arrested the 30-year-old woman at her familys home in the East Bay city of Rodeo, where she grew up. But Salmans attorneys said the government had no basis for its charges that she aided and abetted her husband by providing material support to a terrorist organization and obstructed the ensuing investigation. Charles Swift said Salman has a diminished mental capacity, was the victim of prolonged abuse by her husband, and was interrogated for 18 hours without a lawyer one day after the June 12 massacre of 49 people. Shes not religious, she had not had any contact with (the Islamic State), watched anything, done anything herself, Swift said after the hearing in U.S. District Court. You know what she is? Shes alive and Omar Mateen is dead, so she is the only person they can charge. The arguments played out during a bond hearing to determine whether Salman is a threat to the public, or a flight risk, if she is released before trial. Salman spent the hour-long hearing writing vigorously on a yellow legal pad, occasionally handing notes to one of her attorneys, Linda Moreno, and looking over to eight family members in the gallery. She wiped away tears when Swift described the domestic abuse she suffered. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu must decide whether to set a bond amount for Salman. That could allow her to be released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, where she is on suicide watch, and into the custody of her family after undergoing a psychological evaluation that the judge ordered Wednesday. Salman grew up in a four-bedroom home on Donald Drive in Rodeo before marrying her first husband in an arranged ceremony in the West Bank and moving to Chicago. When that marriage ended, Salman moved back to the Bay Area and, in 2011, connected with Mateen through an online dating site. The couple married in Hercules months later and moved to Fort Pierce, Fla., where they had a son. Salman returned to Rodeo after the attack and was arrested Jan 16. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney said during Wednesdays hearing that Salman should not be granted bond because her involvement in the rampage at the Pulse nightclub makes her a risk to the public. After repeatedly lying to investigators, Sweeney said, Salman admitted knowing Mateen was plotting an attack. She was aware he was watching (Islamic State) recruitment videos, and she knew he had been watching jihad videos at least two years before the attack, and said it upset her because her son was in the room, Sweeney said. In the 10 days leading up to the attack, the prosecutor said, the couple burned through $30,000, including $8,000 for a diamond ring for Salman. Laying out what may be the centerpiece of the governments case, Sweeney said Salman joined her husband while he cased possible locations for a shooting. Besides the Pulse nightclub, the couple allegedly visited CityPlace, an upscale entertainment area in Palm Beach, Fla., and Downtown Disney in Orlando, a promenade of shops, restaurants and movie theaters. When leaving, Mateen asked, What would make people more upset, an attack at Downtown Disney or at a nightclub? Sweeney said. Then on June 1, prosecutors said, the couple went to a bank to add Salman to Mateens account as his payable-on-death beneficiary, meaning she could access the account if she had a death certificate. The day after the mass shooting, Salman contacted the bank, Sweeney said, and also asked the FBI about obtaining a death certificate. In interviews with investigators, Salman said she made up a cover story for her husband, telling his family he was out to dinner with a friend after she watched him leave the house with an AR-15-style rifle and ammunition, prosecutors said. She said she knew when he left that he was going to commit an attack, Sweeney said. She showed herself to be a calculated and callous person. ... Her actions contributed to the death of 49 people. This is a level of danger that is very high. Salmans attorneys, though, suggested their clients alleged admissions were the unreliable product of a coercive interrogation. They said she was picked up at 4 a.m. the morning after the attack and questioned for the next 18 hours. The interviews started in a police car, moved to a conference room and ended in a small file room at a Florida FBI office, Swift said. They said, Were not getting what we want, he said. She is a special education student and a battered spouse and the government led her down a path. They said, You must have known. You must have known. You must have known. Instead of looking at Salmans alleged confession, Swift said, the court should review her actions on the night of the attack. He said she bought and wrote out a Fathers Day card, purchased a Worlds Greatest Dad shirt and went to bed. Salman, he said, likely believed her husband had gone out to dinner with a friend that night. Salman was not Mateens partner but his longtime victim, Swift said. Mateen, he said, had prolonged abusive steroid use, gained 60 pounds and became the Incredible Hulk during their 5-year marriage. We were surprised at the presentation of the governments case. We frankly expected more, Moreno said outside court. We now know there is no more to their case. After Ryus ruling, the case will be moved to Florida. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky Are you on the waiting list for the Tesla Model 3 sedan? You might have moved up the line for the mass-market electric car that's still under development. At least one person is claiming to have canceled an order over Tesla CEO Elon Musk's connections with President Donald Trump and his administration. Others are saying they would if they had paid the $1,000 required to put a car on hold. Some are also saying that Musk associating with Trump shouldn't be protested because it's good to have dissenting voices in places of power. While Musk has described Mr Trump as "probably not the right guy" to run the United States, he agreed to serve on Trump's Strategic & Policy Forum and a manufacturing council. "The more voices of reason that the President hears, the better," he has said. Musk praised Trump's choice for Secretary of State and says he agrees with Rex Tillerson's support for a carbon tax. And he took to Twitter to ask his followers for suggestions on ways to amend the immigration order. A college grant program created by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos offered "exclusively for white men" is facing criticism since it began accepting applications on Tuesday. The Yiannopoulos Privilege Grant, announced back in July, will award sums of $2,500 to the "minority group" of white men regardless of their major or political beliefs, as long as they answer a short essay about what they "plan to achieve in the future with [their] education" and submit a short video about how they'll contribute to America's future. The grant is funded by Yiannopoulos and private donors. "It started as a joke, but if you're a woman, or you're black... If you're disabled, or you're Muslim, or a refugee... If you identify as an attack helicopter, you can get free money," Yiannopoulos told a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo crowd recently. "But the facts say that actually it is young white boys who are educationally underprivileged. As educationally underprivileged as many other groups." Yiannopoulos goes on to state that men make up 43 percent of America's college students, ostensibly citing the National Center for Education Statistic's Back to School statistics for 2016. Women are certainly out-earning men as far as college degrees go, but Yiannopoulos does not mention that white students are still the majority racial group of post-secondary students at two-year and four-year colleges. A Princeton University professor called the college grant part of "a white nationalist agenda," and law professor Ian Haney Lopez at UC Berkeley, where Yiannopoulos is due to speak Wednesday, told CNBC that affirmative action programs like the ones that Yiannopoulos rallies against were implemented to "to welcome historically excluded and dehumanized groups into every school, neighborhood and workplace." UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks condemned Yiannopoulos' political ideas in an open letter to the student body Thursday, but stopped short of halting the conservative's appearance on campus. "Mr. Yiannopoulos is a troll and provocateur who uses odious behavior in part to 'entertain,' but also to deflect any serious engagement with ideas," he wrote. "He has been widely and rightly condemned for engaging in hate speech directed at a wide range of groups and individuals, as well as for disparaging and ridiculing individual audience members, particularly members of the LGBTQ community." Ed: Yiannopoulos was due to speak at UC Berkeley's Pauley Ballroom on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., but the protest was canceled due to some violent protestors. More on the story here. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A nationwide speaking tour from Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos has featured protests, controversy, a cancellation, and a gunshot. It will end Wednesday night in Berkeley with potato salad and some community togetherness. That's the idea behind a "dance party and potluck" planned for 6 p.m. at Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley Campus. The event is aimed at drawing attention away from Yiannopoulos, who has been at the center of a debate over free speech at every stop on his U.S. tour. "In our view, Mr. Yiannopoulos is a troll and provocateur who uses odious behavior in part to 'entertain,' but also to deflect any serious engagement with ideas," UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks wrote in an a letter to the community last week, acknowledging concerns about the appearance. "He has been widely and rightly condemned for engaging in hate speech directed at a wide range of groups and individuals." University officials decided that the Berkeley College Republicans had a constitutional right to invite him to speak, despite nearly 100 professors joining a petition calling for the event's cancellation. In protest, nearly 900 people indicated on Facebook as of Tuesday that they planned to put on a dance party to draw attention away from Yiannopoulos. "Our goal is to disarm and detract before and during the event with very loud music and an epic dance party!" wrote the organizers, who said they hope to "Celebrate the resilience, power, and sexy dance moves" of Berkeley's diverse community. Other protests, including a rally labeling itself "No space for racism on campus," are being organized with plans to "shut down that event." As the San Francisco Chronicle's Matier & Ross report, UC Berkeley police plan to bring in backup to help maintain order outside the event. The Berkeley appearance is the final stop on the U.S. tour. Event organizers canceled a similar event at UC Davis two weeks ago amid protests. Yiannopoulos rejects claims that he is racist, misogynist or a white supremacist. The rumors started Sunday: President Donald Trump would gut an Obama-era executive order that extends workplace protections to gays and lesbians who work for federal contractors. LGTBQ activists geared up for a fight. But by Tuesday morning, Trump had backed down. In a brief statement, the White House affirmed Trump's commitment to the measure, which covers about 28 million workers. Progressives celebrated it as a surprise, and a rare bit of good news from an administration run by Mike Pence, who signed a conservative "religious liberty" law in Indiana, supported "conversion therapy" and suggested that marriage equality would lead to "societal collapse." But support for gay rights isn't antithetical to a populist, anti-immigrant leader. In fact, it's very much in keeping with the far-right strategy across Europe. In France, the Netherlands and Germany, right-wing leaders have embraced causes such as gay rights and feminism. Islam, they argue, is a threat to the very people protected by these social movements. "It's a smart approach - one that serves to broaden their base. And, as Sasha Polakow-Suransky explained, it's working. She wrote in the Guardian: "They have made a very public break with the symbols of the old right's past, distancing themselves from skinheads, neo-Nazis and homophobes. They have also deftly co-opted the causes, policies and rhetoric of their opponents. They have sought to outflank the left when it comes to defending a strong welfare state and protecting social benefits that they claim are threatened by an influx of freeloading migrants. "They have effectively claimed the progressive causes of the left - from gay rights to women's equality and protecting Jews from antisemitism - as their own, by depicting Muslim immigrants as the primary threat to all three groups. As fear of Islam has spread, with their encouragement, they have presented themselves as the only true defenders of western identity and western liberties - the last bulwark protecting a besieged Judeo-Christian civilisation from the barbarians at the gates." One of the first far-right leaders to do this was Pim Fortuyn, an openly gay Dutch politician with staunchly anti-Islam views. Fortuyn used his sexuality to build his case against Muslim immigration. "In Holland, homosexuality is treated the same way as heterosexuality," he noted at one campaign event. "In what Islamic country does that happen?" Fortuyn was assassinated in 2002, but others have adopted his approach. In France, for example, the National Front has been labeled the party of racists, anti-Semites and homophobes for decades. Le Pen's father (and former Front head) once called the Holocaust a "detail of history." When Marine Le Pen (currently running for president of France) took charge, she worked assiduously to change that. Her National Front would appeal to a broader coalition of people, including those in the center and left. It would have to, if it wanted to win. Le Pen purged the party's racist leaders and warned others that that kind of behavior would not be tolerated. Today, Julien Rochedy told the Guardian, if someone tells a racist joke, "you will be attacked straight away." "There is such self-discipline these days," he said. "They are so afraid they'll be accused once again of being antisemitic or racist." Le Pen has done more than eschew racial language. She has filled her inner circle with openly gay advisers and party leaders. As Le Monde's Olivier Faye has written, she is "trying to erase another image that has stuck to the skin of the FN - that of homophobia." It has worked: Her share of the vote among married gay couples jumped from 19 percent in 2012 to 32 percent in 2015. That's even more remarkable because Le Pen opposes gay marriage. The Dutch far-right Party for Freedom has employed a similar strategy. Leader Geert Wilders is staunchly anti-Islam - he speaks often of an "Islamic invasion," in which radicalized teenagers and terrorists would take over the country and turn it into a theocracy. Wilders has proposed an immigration ban, a tax on Muslim women who wear headscarves and a ban on the Koran. Wilders has been brought up on charges of inciting racial hatred, but his message has resonated with older liberals who helped push an agenda of sexual freedom, feminism and gay rights in the 1960s. These values are now woven into the country's fabric. "Islam is a totalitarian ideology. Muslims are its victims. Just imagine you're a gay person in a Muslim family," Wilders wrote in one op-ed. "The more Islamic apostates there are, the less misogyny, the less hatred of gays, the less anti-Semitism, the less oppression, the less terror and violence, and the more freedom there will be." This has left gay people feeling threatened and reflexively suspicious of Muslims. It doesn't help that few Muslims march in gay pride parades. And the Party for Freedom has capitalized. As the Guardian explained: "Among openly gay couples and religious Jews alike, there is a palpable fear of being targeted by homophobic or antisemitic young Muslim men. Much as in France, this fraught atmosphere has made far-right parties seem a palatable option for groups who would never previously have considered voting for them." Amanda Erickson is deputy editor of PostEverything. Firing up dual tweet storms after President Trump announced his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court Tuesday evening, Californias female senators wasted no time bashing the presidents selection. Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, both focused on womens rights in their tweet-borne critiques of Gorsuch, employing the presidents own signature social media platform to voice their dissent. Gorsuch, who if confirmed by the Senate will replace the late Antonin Scalia following former President Barack Obamas bid to put forward the moderate liberal Merrick Garland who was stonewalled for almost a year by Republicans has a decidedly conservative record. Hes a known devotee of a Scalia-like near-literal interpretation of the Constitution who has also been praised by some liberals, according to the Associated Press. What Feinstein said: The #SupremeCourt must be a fair arbiter of the law not simply another political body making decisions based on ideology or partisanship. What Harris said: The next justice will have a profound impact on money in politics, voting rights, immigrant and women's rights, and more. Will Gorsuch be confirmed? Though Republicans have a majority in the Senate, which approves the presidents nominations to the Supreme Court, Democrats are still smarting from the refusal of their Republican counterparts to consider the nomination of Garland last year. If the Democrats filibuster, the Republican majority will have to consider a rules change to Senate procedure known as the nuclear option to remove the filibuster and allow a majority confirmation vote. That, though, could backfire if and when theyre out of power. Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call / / Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, nominated Sally Yates for the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award the day after President Trump fired her as acting Attorney General. Yates was canned Monday after she refused to defend Trumps executive order temporarily banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees from entering the United States. MOUNTAIN VIEW (BCN) Some 600 Google employees were evacuated from two buildings at the company's headquarters in Mountain View this morning when a gas line broke, fire officials said. A contractor using a backhoe to clear a blocked drain line accidentally pierced the 2-inch gas line, causing a strong smell of gas in the area. The break was reported at 9:53 a.m. at 1945 Charleston Road, a two-story office building on the Google campus. That building and 1965 Charleston Road were both evacuated by firefighters and Google employee emergency response teams, Mountain View Fire Department spokesman Lynn Brown said. PG&E crews put a clamp on the line at 10:24 a.m., and fire officials gave the all-clear at 10:56 a.m. PG&E crews are still working to fully repair the line. Charleston Road and Landings Drive, which were initially closed, have since reopened. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. DARLINGTON, England British journalist Julia Breens scoop about racism at her local police force didnt just get her on the front page, it got her put under surveillance. In the months that followed Breens exclusive, investigators logged her calls, those of her colleague Graeme Hetherington and even their small newspapers busy switchboard in an effort to unmask their sources. The two were stunned when they eventually discovered the scale of the spying. AMONA, West Bank Israeli forces uprooted this West Bank outpost on Wednesday, removing residents and hundreds of their supporters in sometimes violent clashes as they dismantled a community that has become a symbol of Jewish settler defiance. The evacuation, which followed years of legal battles, came amid a flurry of bold new settlement moves by Israels government, which has been buoyed by the election of President Trump. Thousands of police officers carried out the removal, squaring off against hundreds of protesters, many of them young religious activists who flocked to the wind-swept hilltop to show their solidarity with residents. Planting themselves inside trailer homes and the communitys synagogue, the protesters defied police, who carried some away. Protesters chained themselves to heavy objects or linked arms to form a wall against police, chanting Jews dont expel Jews! Dozens of residents reluctantly left their homes without resistance, young children in tow. This is my home. I want to stay here. It is my right to stay here, resident Tamar Nizri told Channel 2 TV news. This is expulsion, destruction, an injustice and a crime. The most basic truth is that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, including the West Bank, she said. With about 250 residents, Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected in the West Bank without formal permission but generally with tacit support from the Israeli government. It was the scene of violent clashes between settlers and security forces during a partial demolition exactly 11 years ago, on Feb. 1, 2006. Those homes were found to be built on private Palestinian land. Israels Supreme Court later ruled in 2014 that the entire outpost was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished, setting Feb. 8 as the final deadline after repeated delays. Nebi Qena and Tia Goldenberg are Associated Press writers. 1 Trump ban: President Trumps ban on people traveling to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries has sparked protests in the United Kingdom. Some 1.6 million people have signed a parliamentary petition calling for an invitation to visit Britain be withdrawn. Prime Minister Theresa May, however, says the state visit later this year will go ahead. Buckingham Palace officials said Queen Elizabeth would not comment on Trumps visit. 2 Insulting royalty: Thailands military government wants neighboring Laos to send back about half a dozen Thai citizens who have reportedly taken refuge there to escape being arrested for insulting the Thai monarchy, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Gen. Thawip Netniyom, head of Thailands National Security Council, said Tuesday that the people being sought used social media to attack the monarchy. The wanted persons are associated with the Red Shirt movement, which opposes the military government that seized power in 2014 and generally supports former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by a 2006 military coup. Laos, a single-party state governed by a communist party, tolerates no political dissent. WASHINGTON The standardized four-page checklist describes each Islamic State drone mission in chillingly impassive detail: Mission type (spy, bombing, training). Location (city, province). Drone components (motor, bomb ignition). Operation (successful or not). The form, apparently filled out by Islamic State drone operators in Iraq after every mission, was part of a batch of documents discovered in January by a Harvard researcher embedded with Iraqi troops in the battle of Mosul and then turned over to U.S. military analysts for review. The documents in Arabic and English offer a rare window into how the Islamic State has cobbled together a rapidly advancing armed drone program that increasingly threatens allied troops fighting the militant group. They show how the group has institutionalized a program using off-the-shelf technology to bedevil the militarily superior U.S. armed forces. The Islamic State has used surveillance drones on the battlefield for about two years. But an increase in attacks since October mostly targeting Iraqi troops has highlighted its success in adapting readily accessible technology into a potentially effective new weapon. In the past two months, the Islamic State has used more than 80 remotely piloted drones against Iraqi forces and their allies. About one-third of the aircraft, some as small as model airplanes, dropped bombs or were rigged with explosives to detonate on the ground, said Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U.S.-military in Baghdad. Eric Schmitt is a New York Times writer. News, January 25: Tracking the Traffickers Happy About It Thank you to Sen. Mimi Stewart for introducing this legislation, to the [organizations] for their support, and to the writer for getting it out to the public. Cindy Roper SFReporter.com Web Extra, January 24: Joking Around Not Happy About It It wasn't a joke. It isn't funny. It is seems to be a casual acceptance of male-dominated order enforced with interpersonal violence. Reading the plain English, I can't help but see it as a threat. John Iwaniszek SFReporter.com Reprehensible The far right has exploited the degree to which most progressives value kindness and compassion by making it politically incorrect to stand up against "opinions" that are morally reprehensible. Megan Conca SFReporter.com Get That Checked Out If he's telling the truth [that] he hasn't had a single complaint from southeast New Mexico, then southeast New Mexico has a serious issue that must be addressed. If domestic violence is viewed as funny in this region, then it almost certainly logically follows that women and girls in the area are more at risk here. This should be looked into. Bo Gardiner SFReporter.com Cover, January 18: Chop Suey on San Francisco Street Gee, Thanks I would like to thank Steven Hsieh for his excellent article that traced the history of the Chinese in Santa Fe. The historic documentation that was a major part of the article undoubtedly required significant research along with detailed interviews. As someone married to a Chinese woman who worked in one of the Gee's restaurants in the '70s, my wife and I took special interest in the article and appreciate the effort Mr. Hsieh employed to create a substantial history. Craig Campbell Santa Fe Correction Some Puebloan artifacts from Pueblo Bonito have, in fact, been exhibited in New Mexico beforein the 1980s. In "Unearthed, but Unseen" (Jan. 25), curator Wendy Bustard was quoted saying that they had never been on view here. SFR regrets the error. SFR will correct factual errors online and in print. Please let us know if we make a mistake, editor@sfreporter.com or 988-7530. Mail letters to PO Box 2306, Santa Fe, NM 87504, deliver to 132 E Marcy St., or email them to editor@sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. Santa Fe Reporter There exists across the globe a network of creators who produce audio and visual works for the sheer joy of art and a desire to to share the fruits of their labor with like-minded people. Among them youll find King Volume Records, a collaborative project between Los Angeles-based artist/musician/writer Chris Allison and Santa Fe artist/musician Todd Ryan White. These guys dont care about the money; they care about the product and sharing it with as wide an audience as possible. Earlier this winter, White and Allison curated and launched the first King Volume box set containing cassettes from Allison's band, Lord Loud as well as Lord Mountain from Santa Rosa, California, and Brooklyn's Dead Thingsplus pins, stickers and download codes for each. They sold out fast. It would ultimately be fair to define these bands as "metal" (the term is broad, to say the least), though when it comes down to the intricacies of each, there is nuance. Think elements of psychedelic garage rock like fuzzy guitars and heaviness, but also slight pop sensibilities and a less-than-serious vibe. Mostly, the music is fun and pretty much anyone can get into it. The bands share certain stylistic choices, but there is variety and, if we're lucky, maybe even the kind of jams that'll change some minds about heavier fare. "It's pretty accessible music," White says. "I think I really enjoy extreme music, but when it comes to the experience of wanting to represent music, I want to have open possibilities." Thus far, these possibilities have included the aforementioned box set, and future collections will adhere to a seasonal schedule (that means four sets and 12 bands per year) and a broader scope, geographically speaking. Preorders for King Volume's springtime release begin today, Feb. 1, and White says they expect to ship in late February or early March. With cassettes from Russia's Sonic Death, Norway's Steinsopp and Oakland's Mesmer, the variety expands even further, and those who order will get all the goodies listed above. For White, King Volume is not only a means to showcase bands he's excited about. It's about spreading collaborative artworks as far as he can. Members from bands on the label create and design their own album art, either alone or in conjunction with White. "We're really just having fun, and it's this great format for mixing art and music, which has always been my most important goal as an artist and as a musician," he says. "[The box sets] are also really limited, which we're hoping will create collectors who want to have everything we put out, and that also keeps it manageable. You get artwork and something physical, plus the download code, so you're taking something physical away with you and we also get to share the art." At $20 apiece, it's affordable, too, and the point doesn't have anything to do with making money. And though White doesn't want to give too much away at the moment, subsequent sets will include South African bands and eventually, he hopes, a continental set with artists from all seven continents. "I don't know how we'll do Antarctica, but we're going to try," he says, only half-joking. In the meantime, head on over to kingvolumerecords.bandcamp.com to hear music and buy merch like T-shirts bundled together with either one tape or a pin and, for a limited time, you can preorder that next set I was just talking about at a presale discount of just $16. Subsequent sets will follow a similar $16 early presale/$20 after official release structure, and you can believe it's a serious-ass value. White says that we can also expect King Volume's debut vinyl release, the forthcoming Pase Paranoia by Lord Loud, to be available in the not-too-distant future. "We're always told the music industry is dying, but bands have never been more creative or engaged," says White. "With just a little bit of vision, you can really be participating in some of the best music ever made without it being difficult and without really worrying about the cost." Santa Fe Reporter Michael McCamley liked to plan. It was part of his job in the US Army and according to his son, state Rep. Bill McCamley of Dona Ana County, that instinct to plan for the unexpected extended to family matters, including death. In 2010, doctors diagnosed the retired lieutenant colonel with a rare, terminal disease similar to ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. After discussing it with his family, the elder McCamley decided to fill out an advance directive stating that he was not to be kept alive artificially if and when that time came. "Everyone knew what the situation was and what his decision was," Rep. McCamley said. "He really got the most out of his last few years." Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Mesilla Park (left), with his late father Michael McCamley (right). (Courtesy Bill McCamley) In May 2014, Michael died "peacefully with his family around him," his obituary read. Today, McCamley says his father's autonomy and planning made a painful loss slightly easier to handle. "There was a grace and dignity with his passing," McCamley said. The Democratic lawmaker said that plan allowed the family to enjoy his father's last few years. That experience inspired McCamley to cosponsor legislation that would allow terminally ill patients to medically end their own lives. If passed, House Bill 171, sponsored by McCamley and Rep. Debbie Armstrong, D-Albuquerque, would put to rest the issue of aid in dying after years of fighting in courts. The trouble with statute McCamley said he usually sticks to legislation addressing the state's economy but decided to team up with Armstrong on "aid in dying" after the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled last year that the issue must be settled by the Legislature. Aid in dying is distinct from assisted suicide in that a doctor doesn't administer the lethal dose of medicine to the patient. Over the past few years, the issue went back and forth in New Mexico courts. In 2014, a district judge in Bernalillo County ruled patients have the right to take a fatal dose of drugs prescribed by a medical doctor. In her ruling, Judge Nan Nash wrote, "This court cannot envision a right more fundamental, more private or more integral to the liberty, safety and happiness of a New Mexican than the right of a competent, terminally ill patient to choose aid in dying." The state of New Mexico appealed the decision and the case eventually wound up in the state's high court. Last year, the Supreme Court justices ruled that aid in dying is not a fundamental right in New Mexico and cited an existing state law that identifies assisted suicide as a fourth-degree felony. If Armstrong and McCamley's bill becomes law, New Mexico would become the sixth state to pass such a measure through law. Montana is the only state that approved the practice through its Supreme Court. Oregon, Vermont, Washington, California and Colorado all allow patients to self-administer a lethal dosage of medication to end their own lives. Those states require patients to submit two oral requests, at least 15 days apart, and one written request to a physician. Yet, proponents of aid in dying argue that allowing the practice through legislation instead of the courts becomes increasingly restrictive. States are too involved in the process, End of Life Liberty Project Director Kathryn Tucker said. "Doctors don't look to law books to practice medicine," she told NM Political Report. Tucker has extensive experience in advocating for aid in dying, having argued Washington v Glucksberg, a national aid in dying case, in front of the US Supreme Court. In that case, the court ruled that aid in dying is not a right granted by the US Constitution and left it for the states to decide. Tucker is also outspoken about what she sees as overly restrictive legislation allowing self-administered death. "If you impose a statute that says, 'Here's how you practice medicine,' you hamper the evolution of medicine," Tucker said. Armstrong's bill would require patients to submit and sign a written request before taking the lethal drugs but would not include the timeline other states require. Still, some see aid in dying and assisted suicide as the sameand say significant issues arise from allowing anyone to end their own life. Outlook unknown Executive Director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops Allen Sanchez has a few problems with the bill. He told NM Political Report his organization opposes Armstrong and McCamley's bill on moral grounds. "It's wrong for us to call this an aid in dying," Sanchez said. "It's suicide." Sanchez said there is too much room for human error when physicians allow patients to die on their own termsan argument commonly used by death penalty opponents. "There's no remedy, there's no reversal," Sanchez said. During the 2016 special legislative session when House Republicans pushed to reinstate the death penalty, many Democrats argued death after a wrongful conviction has no reversal mechanism. But proponents for allowing aid in dying maintain the practice is rooted in personal decisions, not government interference. "No one is saying you have to make this choice," McCamley said. Armstrong, who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, has placed the bill on the agenda for Friday. Gov. Susana Martinez is publicly silent on the issue. Spokesmen for Martinez did not reply to e-mailed questions from NM Political Report on whether she might sign such legislation. State law already allows doctors to prescribe a highly potent dosage of drugs to terminally ill patients in order to limit pain in their last days. Like McCamley's father, patients can also sign an order allowing them to die naturally instead of being kept alive artificially. This story first appeared on nmpoliticalreport.com. Santa Fe Reporter It took Lisa Durkin about a month, she figures, of staying after school two or three nights a week. Usually shed be in her classroom until 7 pm gathering lesson plans or logs of contact shed had with parents. Slowly, she built her case. By the time she finished compiling the documentation she hoped would prove to her school district and the state that she was the top-notch teacher she'd always been, Durkin's binders contained 710 pages of information. Dennis Roch is the superintendent of Logan Municipal Schools and no stranger to the time-suck that is educational data reporting. There are only 316 students in the district this year. And while people in the tiny town about 20 miles west of Texas are fiercely proud of their Logan Longhorns, the district only employs a handful of administrators. It's the superintendent who often has to handle reporting duties. Roch's district must file more than 140 sets of data with the state Public Education Department every yearstats running the gamut from attendance records to school meal and bus inspections to student assessments. Often, he's sending the PED information that it already has. "It's like, you're in the same department. You're looking at the same data. We send that up to you digitally. Just tap the database and you'll have it," he tells SFR. "Those types of things are frustrating." He's not surprised, though. Roch is also a Republican state legislator and is just finishing a two-year stint as chairman of the Legislative Education Study Committee. For years, New Mexico has been trying to figure out how to best measure the performance of its students, teachers and schools. The theory: Gather more information, measure more stuff, and the people who set the direction for the state's schools can't help but find the right compass heading. Yet, the public education system still seems lost. There's plenty of data to support that dismal conclusion. Education Week's yearly Quality Counts survey just ranked the state 49th overall. When the publication put together what it calls its "Chance-for-Success index," New Mexico dropped to dead last. In fact, New Mexico is awash in education data. And on the day before the legislative session began last month, Roch's committeethe most powerful group of lawmakers charting the course for the state's schoolslearned we're drowning in it. Christi Martin, an Austin-based educational consultant, studied all the information school districts and charter schools have to report to the state. The Santa Fe-based Thornburg Foundation funded the study with the blessing of the committee and the PED. Martin concluded that New Mexico educators spend far too much time and money dealing with data. She worked with a small group of educators to find out more about the effort and cost of keeping up with reporting requirements. She crunched the numbers and then compared them to Texas, Nevada and Delaware. New Mexico outspent them all. The study estimates the state spends almost $212 per student per year to meet all its reporting requirements26 percent more than Texas, 56 percent more than Delaware and 205 percent more than Nevada. The study figures that's $357,000 every year in salary costs for the average district to report data to state and federal agencies. New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera says Martin's work is "an excellent opportunity for us to look at our systems and efficiencies." If it sounds like she's choosing her words carefully, she is. Now in her seventh year on the job, Skandera has clashed with career educators who say she's a data darling dead-set on finding the right measurables to support a more-with-less approach to New Mexico schools. A report that says her department isn't doing a good job of using the information it collects is not exactly good for business. Add to that the dismal state budget pictureSkandera says she's less focused on expanding initiatives during the legislative session than she is on preserving funding levels for her key projectsand the likelihood of a data bailout seems slim. That's because the study suggests the largest gains can be made through better technology. "Evolving into this system that ultimately is cost-saving and time-saving for our schools and our districts takes time and sometimes an initial investment," Skandera tells SFR. If you're just learning education-ese, read that as: If you can find the money for a new software system, let me know, because I just don't see it. For the study, Skandera's department worked with Martin to show how it collects the information schools send to the state and how it shares that data internally. Martin gave the state credit for developing a more streamlined reporting systemthe Student Teacher Accountability Reporting System, or STARSbut said that once all the test scores, evaluations, attendance charts and other information makes its way to the state, the heavy lifting is nowhere near finished for schools. More than a dozen different programs then start asking districts to tweak their reports in what the study called "a protracted and bewildering data validation process." The whole ordeal is particularly burdensome for charter schools and smaller districts like Logan. As superintendent, Roch spends more time submitting data than his counterparts in larger districts. "I will call up to the PED, talk to the Title I bureau, and they're asking for information about how many special ed students we have," he says, "And I'll say, 'We send that in in our reports to the special ed bureau.' And somebody on the phone will say, 'Well, we don't really talk to that bureau.'" As a Republican and as an educator, Roch supports much of what Skandera and Gov. Susana Martinez are trying to accomplish with their educational agenda. He's all in favor of tracking the progress of his students, teachers and schools through data. But some of it seems useless to him. "If you can't use it, it doesn't do any good. I don't want us to be data-rich and information-poor." Martin's study right off the bat recommends a hard look at nine different reportseverything from parent surveys to violence and vandalism reports to an accounting of health servicesand suggests much of what's collected is either redundant or takes more time to collect and report than could be useful to policy makers. Three of the reports could be axed by the PED. The remaining six would need legislative action to be changed or ditched altogether. Roch isn't sure, however, whether any legislation to make such a move will see the light of day in the current legislative session. Martin's report is no secret, and both Democrats and Republicans are free to introduce whatever bills they wish in the 60 days they are at the Capitol. Skandera doesn't plan to stop gathering information in the meantime. The PED is in the midst of a pilot program to see if it can ease the burden for school districts and make the reporting process more efficient. As both her supporters and her critics would say, she's devoted to her data. "What gets measured, gets done. And data is really an incredible tool to inform instruction," she insists. The controversial education chief acknowledges, though, that there's no sense in collecting information for its own sake. "Data that's not used is not a good tool." Why New Mexico hasn't figured out a way to more efficiently use all the information to drive instructional change and get results isn't clear. Certainly the cost of a fancy new software system is a major hurdle. "We don't have any immediate funding opportunities," Skandera says, "but that doesn't mean we won't consistently look for them." Martin's report says the state wouldn't have had to look far. New Mexico is one of only three states that have not leveraged federal funding to help track educational progress. Many states have already won millions of dollars in grants through two rounds of funding. New Mexico has missed out on both, and the next chance to win any federal cash isn't until 2018. It would not be fair to Skandera to say she broke something that was working. New Mexico's schools routinely brought up the rear in national surveys like the one by Education Week long before she arrived, and when Democrats ran the show. There's an adversarial air to the education discussion at the Roundhouse these days. It doesn't bode well for the likelihood of major systemic change for education during the 2017 session. For one, there's no money. Next, the flagships of the current education agendaemphasis on standardized test scores, a complicated teacher evaluation matrix and an A-through-F grading system for individual schoolshaven't delivered substantially better outcomes for students. Veronica Garcia, current superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools and the woman who held Skandera's job under Bill Richardson, acknowledges graduation numbers have improved under her successor. But she cautions against equating graduation with proficiency. "We want to make sure that kids are graduating ready for college and career. If you look at remediation numbers, they are pretty high," Garcia says. "What we hear from the business community is that the soft skills we still have to work on; things like showing up on time and kids who know how to work in groups." Then Garcia adds something interesting. "I think we need to analyze and look at the data. See how we can improve. Because we want to make sure that we're graduating students who really can go on and have productive lives and not be demoralized when they try to go to a community college and have to take remedial courses." There's a clear desire by educators of all stripes to get a better picture of what's going on in education; to see what's working. While schools languish in the doldrums, political parties are at odds about how to put some wind in their sails. Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, admits the bills that would make the most difference, in his eyes, "if they were to get through both chambers, likely face a veto from the governor." At the same time, he offers little chance for key Martinez programsholding back third-graders who can't read proficiently, for instanceto even make it out of the committee hearings where potential new laws are vetted. "I think we're treading water at best right now," Soules offers. Educators are keeping their heads above water, but barely. Schools are the largest single budget item funded by the state each year and a prime place for lawmakers to hunt for cost savings. "You have to look towards schools for that. However, we've underfunded the schools for years and years and years, so it's very difficult when we're having budget issues to then cut from schools that are already woefully underfunded." He's unimpressed by Gov. Martinez' early rhetoric; the governor told a business group just days before the session began that she planned to target $120 million from school district cash reserves to shore up the current year's budget. She called the reserves a "slush fund." "That shows a lack of understanding of how schools work and how their funding works," Soules says. "They think it's just money sitting around to buy donuts for principals." In reality, school districts use their reserve accounts almost like a revolving line of credit. The money can be used to make payroll, fund liability insurance installments or to leverage federal education dollars, which require schools to foot the bill before they're reimbursed by Washington DC. Even people like Soules acknowledge that doesn't mean there's no money to be had, but painting schools as wasteful doesn't make sense to him. "There isn't money sloshing around waiting for somebody to use it in education. We cut it all already." Charles Goodmacher looks like he's been working the last week of the legislative session, not the first. Late one afternoon last week, sitting on a couch outside the Senate chambers, his blue tie is slightly off-center. His hair, usually neat, shows signs of having had a tired hand run through it at least a few times. The lobbyist for the National Education Association, a union for teachers and support staff, Goodmacher has been trying to stem the tide of legislation aimed both at cutting funding and finding more ways to measure the progressor lack of itin New Mexico's education system. The NEA and another teacher's union, the American Federation of Teachers, went so far as to sue the state over teacher evaluations in 2014. Those two lawsuits are still pending. Five days after SFR interviewed Skandera for this story, she quietly disclosed support for a small shift in teacher measurements. Under the plan, student test scores would account for 40 percent of an evaluation instead of the current 50 percent, and more weight would be given to a principal's observation of the teacher in class. What else do lawmakers want to do with public education? The wheels on the bus go round and round and round and round House Bill 47 would extend the recommended life for everyday school buses to 15 years. Its currently at 12 years. By adding three years to the useful life of the big yellow taxis, the state delays having to spend $17.3 million on 204 buses. Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Logan, says the Legislative Education Study Committee was all in favor of the move and that the replacement cycle for buses takes into account maintenance costs and mechanical evaluations that can hammer buses that drive rural routes. Safety first, he says. We were very, very careful about that. Its not like were saying theres some magic number of 12 and once that passes, the bus is unsafe, Roch says. Activity buses in the state are allowed to age up to 20 years. Were sending kids out on 15-, 18-year-old buses now. And hundreds of miles away. Another run at the windmill for early childhood education This might be the year. House Joint Resolution 1 is an ambitious plan to increase the annual distribution from New Mexicos Land Grant Permanent Fund, which was created in the Constitution to fund schools forever and is currently at a whopping $15 billion. The increase is 1 percent, with two years of that payout giving K-12 schools a budget boost of roughly $130 million before the money goes entirely to early childhood education programs. The additional distribution would be permanent. Thats likely to raise the hackles of lawmakers who point out that, despite sometimes well-meaning advocates who call it a rainy-day fund, the money in the Land Grant Permanent Fund is supposed to be, well, permanent. The State Investment Council has steadfastly warned legislators against expecting unreasonably high returns to justify spending a larger percentage of the fund. The proposal passed its first committee this week on a party-line vote, with Democrats supporting it and Republicans in opposition. Double-secret probation for charter schools House Bill 46, sponsored by Rep. Christine Trujillo, D-Albuquerque, would put a moratorium on new charter schools until 2020. The alternative schools have been a big hit with some lawmakers and are a particular favorite of Hanna Skandera, the Secretary of Public Education, who says they foster innovation. The bill is only 24 words long, but that may be 24 words too many for the governor, who wields the veto pen. Still, Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica Garcia says the moratorium makes sense in a tight budget environment. When you look at the charters, theyre like little districts, right? Would anybody say, Hey, lets create a new small school district of 125-200 kids right now? They would think youre crazy. So why would we allow charters? We dont have that money right now. Goodmacher's organization called Skandera's idea to alter the balance a minor step in the right direction. The proposed legislation is a bit of a poison pill, though. It gives many teachers more of what they want, but it would also make the evaluation system part of state statute rather than an administrative policy, a move that makes it harder for future leaders to change. He doesn't fault lawmakers for having to make "horrible choices" about how much to lop off the budget for schools, but he thinks the fact that the state's schools are in this predicament speaks volumes. "I think the signal is clear that it's more important to provide money, both through tax breaks and through direct support, for potential businesses to come into our state than it is to fund sufficiently the education of our students who are here and now," Goodmacher says. The father of two students currently in Rio Rancho's school system argues, like many advocates, that strong schools are just as valuable to luring businesses to the state's sagging economy as an aggressively low tax structure. He points to a state like California, which is not known for low taxes but is in many ways considered an attractive environment for companies to sprout and grow. "Your taxes are going to be higher in California," Goodmacher says, "but you'll be located in a place where your potential employees want to live." Though he and the governor are far from pitching tents in the same education camp, they share that sentiment. During her State of the State address, Martinez emphasized the role of educationand public safetyin economic development. She also hit on her continued desire to figure out what's working for New Mexico schools and to duplicate it. "The old approach cannot prevail herewhere we used to dole out cash with no measures of success or incentives to expand opportunities for children," Martinez told lawmakers on the session's opening day. "We must prioritize our spending on proven, successful programs; ones that bring real results to districts that embrace them." If it were ever true that educators were on the dole and were rarely, if ever, held accountable for results, it's certainly not true now. There's no money to hand out without accompanying hand-wringingthe "horrible choices" Goodmacher mentioned. And while Martinez and Skandera believe compiling data can at least make sense of the horrible choices, it's also clear that New Mexico isn't doing as much as it could with the numbers it gathersand educators on the ground wonder how, or if, all this number-crunching is really helping. Lisa Durkin has been a practicing educator for more than a quarter century. You can hear the passion in her voice as she talks about how hard her freshman physical science students try or what it's like to work at a school where the entire administration has turned over twice in the last four years. Durkin is convinced that the job she does matters, that she's contributing to the greater good and the better she is at teaching, the better off society will behowever small or large the measure. She's not against evaluating teachers or any other part of the education system. "You know what? If it worked, that would be awesome," she says. "I would be cheerleading. But I don't think we've seen any type of measurable, statistically significant improvement in the productivity of schools based on these reform measures. Lisa Durkin shows off the documents she compiled for her recent teacher evaluation710 pages of them. (Courtesy Lisa Durkin) "It's such a huge use of our resources. If you look at the shift of school resources toward meeting these accountability measures..." Durkin begins to trail off. Her school and her districtboth of which SFR agreed not to name because she says her criticism is not aimed at themis like almost all others and could use whatever resources are being sucked up by reporting requirements that go above and beyond what's necessary. All this from an educator who earned the rating she needed and felt she deserved under the state's teacher evaluation matrix that rolled out in 2012. Durkin is, in the eyes of the New Mexico Public Education Department, an exemplary teacher. It feels nice, no question. But it doesn't feel a whole lot different. "What does it mean that I got this exemplary rating when I'm the same teacher?" she wonders. "Year after year after year I teach the same subject to the same age level of kids. If we are to innovate and bring schools to a place that's going to meet our needs in modern society, is accountability how we get there?" For Durkin, the answer is no. But she's been around long enough to know that the data in the two binders and 710 pages she used to prove her worth to the state should be kept close at hand. There's always next year. Santa Fe Reporter Aid in Dying After the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled it was up to the Legislature to enshrine in state law the ability of New Mexicans to end their own life through doctor-prescribed medication, a bill that would allow it has been introduced. SFR takes a closer look in this week's issue. Solvent! Probably! Gov. Susana Martinez $26 million in cuts from a series of bills passed by the Legislature to bring New Mexico into positive budget territory for the current year. But the solvency package and leave enough room for the state to balance its budget. Gun Check The Senate Public Affairs Committee OK'd background checks for private gun sales. The measure would not apply to gun show sales by licensed firearms dealers. Teacher Eval Changes New Mexico Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera supports lessening the importance of student test scores in yearly teacher evaluations. Teacher's unions have loudly protested the fact that standardized test scores make up half their assessment. Skandera would if lawmakers agree to make the evaluations part of state law rather than the current system in which the evaluations are a relatively easy-to-change administrative rule. Certified Trouble New Mexico's state-run organic certification program has been running a deficit since the last gubernatorial administration. Faced with scrapping the program or raising fees, the state Department of Agriculture is trying to to keep the doors open without having to ask the Legislature for more money. Islamic Center Says Thanks The New Mexico Islamic Center says it has received an since President Trump's ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the US. The center's president says people have offered to help any way they can. Meow Again After two weeks of renovations and exhibit changes, Meow Wolf is today. Bring on the Stolen Hopes and Jeans Every once in a while, there's a crime so brazen, so calculated, so criminally fantastic that it deserves to be described by that greatest of all theft words: Heist. that crime? Subscribe to the Morning Word at Thanks for reading! The Word reminds you nothing says "I forgot Valentine's Day" like 9 pm dinner reservations.Subscribe to the Morning Word at sfreporter.com/signup Santa Fe Reporter Xero founder Rod Drury and TradeMe founder Sam Morgan wrote letters of support for Peter Thiel's application for New Zealand citizenship, which was approved under the "exceptional circumstances" provisions of the Citizenship Act, Department of Internal Affairs documents show. In the 150 pages of documents, released at 5:10 pm on Wednesday, Drury and Morgan wrote letters "validating the skills and connections Mr Thiel has" as part of his application for citizenship. Thiel, the San Francisco-based billionaire investor and Facebook board member, applied to be granted citizenship under exceptional circumstances, specifically that as an entrepreneur and philanthropist there was public interest in him using his skills in New Zealand and on behalf of New Zealanders. "As a world-class entrepreneur Mr Thiel believes that with the right support New Zealand can achieve a place at the top of the world's list of best countries for entrepreneurs," DIA said in its letter recommending Thiel's citizenship be approved. "Mr Thiel states that New Zealand is one of the best places in the world for establishing businesses." In his letter, Drury said Thiel was "well known in the international technology industry for his numerous achievements" and he and his team had been proactive in connecting Xero and Pacific Fibre with their networks in the US. '"Peter is a leading global player and we believe his connections will generate immeasurable opportunities for New Zealand," Drury said. Morgan said that New Zealand needs to connect to the world to enable tech companies to reach their potential, and Thiel was a "wealthy and well connected" entrepreneur and investor who could help local companies "find the talent and capital they need to reach their potential." "I believe Peter is committed to New Zealand and that he can make a tremendous contribution to the technology industry and to New Zealand's success," Morgan said. Thiel also wrote a letter seekingr citizenship, where he said he admired the country and had "consistently found New Zealanders to be open and friendly, with a 'no nonsense' way of getting the job done." "I appreciate I would not ordinarily qualify for a grant of citizenship under such circumstances, but believe I am an exception in that my business, travel and range of interests is international and in that regard, I believe that I am in a similar category to other New Zealanders - Douglas Myers, Graeme Hart, Chris Liddell, are names that come to mind," Thiel said. "I am happy to say categorically that I have found no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand." Thiel is a member of US President Donald Trump's transition team, having donated to his campaign, and a long-time libertarian who has in the past invested in the exploration of seasteading, the development of a floating city in international waters which could serve as a politically autonomous settlement. Liddell, formerly chairman of Xero, has joined the Trump as a strategic adviser in the White House. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKC - ADDITIONAL US PRIVATE PLACEMENT FUNDING SECURED Spark New Zealand Limited's Annual Meeting Results 2022 Fonterra Australia settles class action proceedings PFI - Q3 Dividend, Development and Divestment Update November 4th Morning Report FPH to announce half year results on 29 November 2022 ATM - FDA approval to supply infant milk formula to United States Steel & Tube - Adopts ESG World Platform BGP - 3rd Quarter Sales to 30 October 2022 GEO - Quarterly Operating Update From: grace mark Date: Tue, 31 May 2016 06:41:08 +0000 Subject: hoping to hear from you soon Dearest one, How are you and your work? i hope that you are fine and healthily. My name is grace Mark Adam i am 24 years of age from Republic of Sudan in Africa presently i am seeking asylum in the refugee center here in Dakar Senegal as a result of the civil war which is taking place in my country Darfur Sudan. My late father Mark Adam Bashir before his death he was the Personal assistance to Sudanese Vice-President, my family was kill by Sudan President in helicopter crash, i believe that you are a trust worthy and caring person, that is what makes me to disclose my identity to you. I would like to know more about you,Your likes and dislikes,your hobbies and what you are doing presently, please darling here is my photo below, I will tell you more about myself in my next mail. Miss Grace From: grace mark Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2016 07:54:58 +0000 Subject: this is all about me My Dearest one, I am more than happy in your reply to my mail How are you today? How was your day, hope fine. as for me, loneliness have been my friend over here in Dakar Senegal. In this camp we don't allowed to go out from the camp any how sometimes we used to take permission. Its just like one staying in the prison and i hope by God's grace i will come out here soon. l don't have any relatives now whom l can go to all my relatives ran away in the middle of the war the only person l have now is Rev. John Dada, who is the Rev father of the all (Christine Churches here in the camp )he has been very nice to me since i came here but i am not living with him rather i am leaving in the woman's hostel because the camp have two hostels one for men the other for women. The Rev father Phone number is, +221777231591 or +221777231591 if you call tell him that you want to speak with the girl from Dar-fur Sudan, he will send for me in the hostel and his e-mail address is (revernedjohndada77@yahoo.com) As a refugee here i don't have any right or privilege to any thing be it money or whatever because it is against the law of this country. I want to go back to my studies because i only attended my first year before the tragic incident that lead to my being in this situation now took place. Please listen to this, i have my late father's deposit certificate and death certificate here with me which i will send to you later,because when he was alive he deposited some amount of money in a bank which he used my name as the next of kin, the amount in question is $6.500 (Six Million Five Hundred thousand US Dollars). So i will like you to help me transfer this money to your account and from it you can send some money for me to get my traveling documents and air ticket to come over to meet with you. I kept this secret to people in the camp here the only person that knows about it is the Reverend because he is like a father to me. So in the light of above i will like you to keep it to yourself and don't tell it to anyone for i am afraid of loosing my life and the money if people gets to know about it i will be in trouble, I want to have your full information's such as; your full name........................ address............................. phone number....................... Occupation........................ As soon as i have all this information's i will give you the bank contact where the money was deposited for you to contact them on my behalf for the transfer. Remember i am giving you all this information due to the trust i deposed on you.I like honest and understanding people,truthful and a man of vision, truth and hard working who can invest this money wisely. My favorite language is English l speak it very fluently.Meanwhile the Rev father name is John Dada, i will like you to call me, like i said i have a lot to tell you. Have a nice day and think about me. Awaiting to hear from you, hope to see your photo nest time, Miss Graces From: grace mark Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2016 06:41:02 +0000 Subject: please contact the bank My Dear, I thank you once again for your kindness towards me. Remember i trust you dear that is why i am giving you all this information. is for you and you alone OK please keep it to yourself OK and know that trust is what matters and not any other thing, i really need you in all things OK, Meanwhile I have informed the bank about my plans to claim this money and the only thing they told me is to look for a foreign partner who will stand on my behalf due to my refugee status and the laws of this country.and i have write to them about you so you can send a mail to them tell them that you are coming on my behalf that you are my partner and trustee.. You will have 20% of the total money helping me In this regards and the remaining money will be managed by you in any business of your choice. which you think will be good OK, i will like you to contact the bank immediately with this information, tell them that you are my foreign partner and that you want to know the possibilities of assisting me transfer my $6.5 Million dollars, deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin. The contact information's of the bank is as follows: TRANSFER DEPARTMENT ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. HEAD OFFICE/: 36 ST Andrew Square Edinburgh EH2 2YE, UK. Fax: +4470457876777 The name of the Chairman of the Board is Sir Philip Hampton. Email.address (royalbanktransferdpt@mail.com) Email (philip.hampton2@aol.com) Depositor's Name: Dr Mark Adam Bashir from Sudan. Next of kin Miss Grace Mark Account Number Is ALC643I08701346/QB/71/B. My prayers is to move out from here as soon as possible.Please make sure that you contact the bank so that after the transfer you can send some money from that money for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you in your country. Contact them now on how to transfer the $6.5 Million dollars, deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin. My dear i am glad that God has brought you to help me out from this situation and i promise to be kind and will equally need you in every area of my life plus investing this money since i am still too young to manage it OK. As i told you before, this camp is just like a prison and my prayers is to move out from here as soon as possible. Please make sure that you contact the bank for more information OK,l am waiting to hear from you soonest!. Yours forever. Miss Grace Mark From: "royal transfer" Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2016 16:06:38 +0200 Cc: gracemark22@hotmail.com Subject: TRANSFER DEPARTMENT-ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. TRANSFER DEPARTMENT-ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. HEAD OFFICE/: 36 ST Andrew Square Edinburgh EH2 2YE, UK. Chairman of the Board. Philip Hampton: OFFICE Tel: +447031866574 Fax: +447967413754 E-mail (philip.hampton2@aol.com) Attention Mr , 7/ 5th / 2016 Acknowledgment of Application for Claim forward to the following questionnaire to this bank I have being directed by Mr Philip Hampton the director of Foreign Operation/Wire Transfer, to write you in respect to mail we received from you today. Actually, we have being informed earlier about you by the young lady Miss Grace Mark that she wishes you to be her trustee/representative for the claim of her late father's deposit with our bank. Late Dr Mark Adam Bashir is our late customer with substantial amount (US $ 6.500,000.00) of deposit with us. Hence you have being really appointed as a trustee to represent the next of Kin. However before our bank will transact any business concerning the transfer of the fund with you, we will like you to send the followings via email attachment: 1. A Fund of Origin which will permitting you to claim and transfer the funds to your bank account on her behalf and her International Passport. This Documents must be endorsed by a Senegalese resident lawyer as your partner is resident in Senegal and she will sign on it as the next of Kin. 2. The death certificate of late Dr Mark Adam Bashir for (Her late Father deceased confirmation of the death). 3. A copy of deposit certificate issued to Dr Mark Adam Bashir by our bank. Note that the above requirements are compulsory, and are needed to protect our interest,yours, and the next of kin after the claims of the Fund. Th is shall also ensure the smooth, quick and successful transfer of the fund will be made within 72 hours. If you and your partner can furnish us with the required Documents for the successful transfer. We promise to give our customers the best of our services. Should you have any question(s), please don't hesitate to contact our foreign transfer officer Mr Philip Hampton on telephone; Number +447967413754 for more directives/clarifications. Yours Faithfully Mr. Ewen Stevenson (Chief Financial Officer) RBS UK. Cc: Sir Philip Hampton Group Chief Executive RBS UK. TRANSFER DEPARTMENT-ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. From: grace mark Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2016 17:00:01 +0000 Subject: please contact the barrister My Beloved one How are you today? hope you are fine,i have little time to write to you, the office of the Reverend is busy today, Now about the request the bank needs from us. l told the Reverend about it and he gave me the contact of this lawyer below, he is a registered lawyer in the United Nations Camp here and he is also a registered member in (Senegalese Bar Association) he will help us in the transfer,write to him about the transfer. Bar (Dr) Philbert.Sanga Esq E mail address, (barristerphilbertsangalawfirm@gmail.com) Equity law firm telephone number +221768883025 Tell him that the bank asked you to get a Senegalese lawyer, that will help you get some documents in the high court of Senegal. before the transfer could be made.Have a nice time and always think about me. Yours for ever in Love. Miss Grace Mark. From: Philbert Sanga Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2016 11:03:46 +0000 Subject: FROM BARRISTER PHILBERT SANGA LAW FIRM CHAMBER MCBEN LAW FILM DAKAR SENEGAL SOLICITORS AND ADVOCATES DR. PHILBERT SANGA 1880 Grand Medina DAKAR SENEGAL PHONE: +221768883025 EMAIL: barristerphibertsanga@yahoo. com OUR REF: JLC/01541 YOUR REF: LMC/0549 Date 7th -7th -2016 YOUR Ref: DCC/Vol.111 Case No.015181 Your Date 7th -7th -2016. Ref: Power of Attorney/Affidavit of Support and Changing of Ownership and Support. With Due Respect Mr In respect of your mail which i received today in my noble law firm on how to prepare an Fund of Origin and International passport in your name for you to stand on behalf of your partner Miss Grace Mark to transfer some fund from (Royal bank of Scotland) to your Account. My Noble law firm wishes to bring your notice that before i can proceed with the Service i will like you to forward your personal Information to My Law Firm Immediately. FROM: 1) NAME; 2) ADDRESS ; 3) TELL ; 4) FAX; 5) E-MAIL; 6) COUNTRY: 7) PROFESSION; 8) AGE, All this Information Listed above will appear on the Fund of Origin. Note that i will be going to her country embassy here in Dakar Senegal and Immigration office concern the International passport to ascertain the cost of the Authentication of the Fund of Origin before it becomes Valid for the Transaction of the Fund into your Account. After Which My Law Firm will contact you back with the Required cost of the Fund of Origin and International passport before accepting to render the required legal Service to you. My Priority is to render that bast of my Efficient Service to my Clients. Thanks for the decision to work with my law Firm for this transaction. Yours sincerely in Service, Barrister (Dr) Philbert.Sanga (Principal Advocate).(ESQ) Tele.+221768883025 From: Philbert Sanga Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2016 16:35:39 +0000 Subject: Attn Sir/FINDING FROM FEDERAL HIGH COURT DAKAR SENEGAL. MCBEN LAW FILM DAKAR SENEGAL SOLICITORS AND ADVOCATES DR. PHILBERT SANGA 1880 Grand Medina DAKAR SENEGAL PHONE: +221768883025 EMAIL: barristerphibertsanga@yahoo. com OUR REF: JLC/01541 YOUR REF: LMC/0549 Date 7th-7th 2016 YOUR Ref: DCC/Vol.111 Case No.015181 Your Date 7th-7th- 2016. Ref: Power of Attorney/Affidavit of Support and Changing of Ownership and Support. With Due Respect Mr Sequel to the file that was submitted in your name on how to prepare a Fund of Origin and International Passport for you and your partner. In respect of the authorization letter and Fund of Origin that will enable you stand on your partner to transfer her money from (Royal Bank Scotland) to your bank account in your country or elsewhere. Prior to my enquirers from you are your partner, I was made to understand that there are Four documents required by them before the transfer of the Fund to your account. 1. A copy of Death certificate of your partner's late father. 2. A copy of his deposit certificate. (WHICH YOUR PARTNER HAS GIVEN TO ME AND I HAVE REGISTERED THEM IN THE HIGH COURT). It's now remaining the other two documents which is Fund of Origin and the International Passport which will enable the Bank to deal with you on behalf of your partner Miss Grace Mark a In view of above and from my inquiries, it will cost the sum of 600 Euros for authentication of the Fund of Origin 300 Euors for swearing of the an Oath at the federal high court here before it becomes valid, 200 Euros for preparing an international passport at Immigration office (before it will go out from Senegal here) and my legal processing fee of 180 Euors total (1,280 Euors) to get everything done, YOU ARE TO TRANSFER THIS MONEY THROUGH MONEY GRAM TRANSFER OR RIA MONEY TRANSFER OR WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER WITH THE INFORMATION BELOW. NAMEa Philbert Sanga. 1880 Grand Medina DAKAR SENEGAL. MAKE SURE YOU INFORM ME IMMEDIATELY YOU TRANSFER THE MONEY, SO WE CAN START THE PREPARATION OF THE DOCUMENTS (WHICH WILL BE READY BY THE NEXT TWO WORKING DAYS). Yours sincerely in Service, Barrister (Dr) Philbert.Sanga (Principal Advocate).(ESQ) Tel: +221768883025 From: Philbert Sanga Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2016 19:59:41 +0000 Subject: Attention. Attention Mr I Hereby let you know that i have read the receipt of your mail, forwarded to My noble law firm and i came to understood your point. in which the reason why you should send it true those facility is because that is the best way to receive it easily. as such that if you send it by bank it will take like three to four days to reach here and that means whenever the fund being arrival is when i will start process of the remaining documents being Fund of Origin and International passport of your partner Miss Grace Mark that will allow the bank to release her late fathers fund into your account within 72 hours, Actually i was calling your line for pass two days ago in which you was not responding to it and below down here are my company's bank account details which you are to use to wire the fund tomorrow and as soon as you do that, please get back to me with the scan copy of the payment slip in other to confirm on it and here is the account info below, Account Information's RECEIVER NAME: EMERIBE CHIGOZIE POLYCARP ACCOUNT NUMBER: 301010026616 IBAN NO: SN153 01301 301010026616 82 SWIFT CODE: UNAFSNDA BANK NAME: UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA (SENEGAL) ADDRESS: ROUTE DES ALMADISES-ZONE 12-LOT D-B.P 11476 DAKAR SENEGAL Thanks for you kindle understanding and co_operation towards this issue and also hoping to hear from you next as i know and believe that this letter is in order with you Good Day, From Desk Barrister.....Philbert Sanga Telephone Number..... +221768883025 From: grace mark Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2016 11:12:40 +0000 Subject: from grace mark From Grace Mark,,,,, I am very happy to inform you about my success in getting the fund transferred under the co-operation of a new partner from London. Presently I am in South Korea for investment projects with my own share of the total sum. Meanwhile, I didn't forget your past efforts and attempts to assist me in transferring the funds despite that it failed us some how.Now you will need to contact Secretary to the Rev whom used to be a God-Father to me when i was in Dakar Senegal camp, his name is Mr.Paul James and his email address is (pauljames_77@hotmail.com) MR PAUL JAMES SECRETARY EMAIL: Mr pauljames_77@hotmail.com Tel: +221761359368 Ask him to send you a Certified Bank Draft of $300.000.00-Dollars which I prepared and kept for your compensation for all the past efforts and attempts to assist me in this matter. I appreciated your efforts at that time very much. so feel free and get in touched with Mr. Paul James and instruct him where to send you the draft cheque. Please do let me know immediately you receive it so that we can share our joy and happiness after all the sufferings at that time. In the moment, I am very busy here because of the investment projects which me and the new partner are having at hand, because i want to finalize everything and go back to school.finally, remember that I had forwarded instruction to Mr. Paul James on your behalf to receive the money. Therefore feel free to get in touch with him and he will send the cheque to you without delay. Take care and bye for now. Yours Mrs Grace Mark. If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... On inauguration day, Joy First and other members of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance staged a protest in Washington. In protests since 2003, the group has focused on ending war, including drone warfare, but it also calls for racial justice, social-economic justice, and ending the threat of ecocide resulting from the climate crisis. Many group members have been arrested for acts of nonviolent civil resistance during the Bush and Obama years. MERRIMAC A letter form the U.S. Army sent to Sen. Tammy Baldwin has some some residents here concerned a public drinking water system near the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant might not be built. The letter, dated Jan. 17, 2017, states Approval of the decision document that would typically start the implementation of the drinking water system has proven more complex than originally anticipated and that a team of environmental program and legal professionals at Army headquarters and the Department of Defense are in the process of performing a comprehensive review of the actions that led to the proposed drinking water system. That comprehensive review process has town of Merrimac resident Gene Franks worried. Im quite concerned the Army is trying to renege on its agreement to provide safe drinking water to the town of Merrimac, said Franks, who is a member of the local group Citizens for Practical Water Solutions. A tremendous amount of work has been done in the community to get to this point, and without the drinking water system, we are left wondering if there is a danger of it coming to our homes. The Merrimac Town Board approved the establishment of a water district and a water district governing board in May 2015. It was the first major step in working with the U.S. Army to build a water system as part of a groundwater contamination strategy developed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2010. Since then, the U.S. Army has stated it would pay for and build a water system that would serve portions of the towns of Merrimac, Sumpter and Prairie du Sac. The cost for the system originally was estimated at about $20 million. The public water system was proposed to limit any future impact on rural residents' private wells from groundwater contamination spreading beneath the former ammunition plant. U.S. Army Representative Mike Sitton said the review is just another step in the lengthy process. There is a whole other level of review, Sitton said. We have to follow the law; we have a legal process and dollar limitations. Those individuals have a responsibility to review our work. Merrimac Town Administrator Tim McCumber said he isnt surprised by the Armys response. I think what got our attention was the tone of the two most recent letters, he said. First they are going ahead with it and now they are going to review the process. Well, its already been reviewed several times. McCumber said it took nearly five years to bring the proposal to a petition. Then they made the petition, were ready to move, and now they want to approve it again. I think the town's been pretty patient. Franks likened the situation to that of Flint, Michigan, where government officials chose to switch the source of residents' water supply, only to learn the new source contaminated people's drinking water. The government tried to get around it, and they fell on their faces, he said about the Michigan city. The same thing is going to happen in Merrimac if we let the Army pull up and ignore this thing. McCumber said the process has left Merrimac residents with questions about what to do with their wells and water supply. Every time a new home is built and we had 13 last year they all had to sink new wells, and then the Army may have to come and cap them, McCumber said. Why invest $8,000 to $15,000 if you know the Army is going to build a system? Sitton said the review is under way. When you are talking about a system that can cost upwards of $20 million, it gets complicated," Sitton said. The argument isnt over, but there is an official plan for Columbia County to take over the Gruber Automotive property along the Portage Canal, making it part of the County Administration Building under construction next door. We settled up on an agreement with (John Gruber) under which he will move out of the property by Feb. 15 in exchange for more time, said attorney Mark Hazelbaker with Kasieta Legal Group of Madison, who has represented the county in the eminent domain case. He agreed that the county could begin sending people onto the property immediately to do environmental testing and other inspections that we need to get started. Something weve wanted to get started since August. Actually a lot longer than that. The Columbia County Clerk of Courts has been holding onto $140,000 since Aug. 5 and $50,000 since Jan. 4 as compensation for seizure of Grubers property through eminent domain, to be used as a parking lot for the adjacent administrative building. But Gruber has not accepted the payments and presiding Dodge County Judge Brian Pfitzinger has not signed off on the deal. On Dec. 2, Gruber filed a motion for replacement of Pfitzinger, which was denied, and on Dec. 22, Pfitzinger ordered that Gruber vacate the property within 30 days. On Jan. 6, Gruber filed a motion for an injunction and restraining order, putting a halt on the countys plans for the property. Theres a lot of issues that are left unresolved and there has been an appeal filed, said Hazelbaker. Mr. Gruber was here and attorney Hazelbaker and the judge were on the phone, said Columbia County Clerk of Courts Susan Raimer. They discussed the funds that were released and the judge said that if Mr. Gruber followed the directives and statutes ... the money is here. Before county funds would be released to Gruber, according to Raimer, Pfitzinger said Guber needs to provide evidence of expenses incurred as a result of his relocation from the business at 208 E. Edgewater St. Grubers motion was denied in a hearing on Friday, but still making its way through the system is an appeal by Gruber to be addressed by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The court did refuse to vacate the Dec. 22 order, so he has filed an improper appeal with the court of appeals, which will waste more money, said Hazelbaker. The reason why the appeal is improper is that youre supposed to wait for a case to be done before you file an appeal. It is possible to file what is known as an interlocutory appeal. In an interlocutory appeal, which Cornell University Law Schools Legal Information Institute describes as being extremely rare, a three-part test must be met. First, the order must conclusively determine the disputed question, second, it must resolve an issue separate from the merits of the action, and three, it must be effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment. The property belongs to the county. The issue is how much the county has to pay him as far as just compensation, Hazelbaker said. I doubt very much that the appeal will get very far, but nothing surprises me. Gruber and Hazelbaker are scheduled to appear in court to argue compensation before a jury on March 3. JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-anticipated visit to Israel could take place in mid-2017 in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, as the two countries mark 25 years of their diplomatic ties. India's Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told news portal 'Ynet' about the visit and mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel, which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under 'Make in India' initiative. Informed sources told PTI the dates for Modi's visit have not been finalised but "it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017." Modi's visit is being discussed amid talks of a "close chemistry" between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. India-Israel ties have steadily progressed since the two countries established diplomatic relations in January 1992 but India has shied away from such high-level visits in the past. However, BJP-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to Israel. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejee's invitation. It was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi, coming after a gap of almost 20 years. The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003, when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Yet, bilateral ties have been on an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. The two leaders have met twice on foreign soil on the sidelines of UN-related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. During their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015, Modi had told Netanyahu: "I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened. Read Also: 'Buy American' And 'Make In India' Can Boost Trade: Republican Leader Intex 'MyWallet' Now Available For All Android Users Reforming the Affordable Care Act will likely come piecemeal, across several Congressional bills this year, former Gov. Tommy Thompson said Tuesday. Thompson, who served as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush, said he has met with the players strategizing the rollback and replacement of the ACA, also known as Obamacare, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Tom Price, President Donald Trumps pick for DHHS secretary who is currently in the confirmation process. Thompson, who made his remarks at a WisPolitics luncheon at The Madison Club downtown, said he has great faith and confidence in both Trump and Ryan to take advantage of the historic Republican majorities in Washington, D.C., and said it is paramount to pass reforms this year, ahead of the 2018 election season. "The path forward is going to find individual bills, Thompson said. Those bills, along with some federal administrative rules changes, will most likely be the way Obamacare is deconstructed, he said. Republicans will then have to come to an agreement on the magical potion of what a new health care model would include and then rebuild it all at once, he said. Obamacare was enacted in 2010 and covers about 20 million people nationwide including 3.5 million in Wisconsin, according to the state Department of Health Services. Critics of the law have said it hurts businesses and individuals as some health insurance premiums have increased, and people are forced to get health coverage or pay a fine. Supporters have said it has led to more people being covered and has enabled coverage for those who have had trouble getting it in the past, like people with pre-existing conditions. During his Tuesday talk , Thompson also said that a shift to a block grant model for the federal Medicaid program meaning that states would get a fixed amount of money and decide for themselves how to best spend it instead of billing the federal government is on the horizon. Thompson said his chief concern, especially for Wisconsin, is making sure that the baseline amount of money for those grants are equitable, and that the state is not penalized for not taking the Medicaid expansion that was offered during the Obama administration. Medicaid expansion was a provision in Obamacare that allowed for people earning 138 percent of the federal poverty level to be covered under the program. States could choose whether to opt into the expansion and provide that coverage for its residents. Gov. Scott Walker chose not to expand Medicaid in the state, believing the federal government would not uphold its plan to pay for it. The baseline (of funding) for Wisconsin is the biggest concern I have You got to treat us equitable because we did what we thought was right, Thompson said. We want to make sure Wisconsin is not penalized for not accepting an expansion. The Obamacare reform process would also include changes to the inter-state exchange of health care plans, he said, but said the new plan will keep a mandate that people with pre-existing conditions wont lose their coverage, he said. Determining how to retain the pre-existing coverage mandate from Obamacare, without penalizing taxpayers if they opt out of coverage, will be a fault line on the issue, he said. Thompson said he is involved in the reform process and has submitted ideas to Price, Ryan and Trump, who he said he has met at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps private estate. Thompson said Ryan told him that he is committed to really changing the direction of this country. Thompson said the Speaker will not miss an opportunity to implement major policy reforms this year with Republicans in control of all branches of federal government. But bridging differences among Republicans in the House will be a bigger challenge than getting some Senate Democrats to vote for a health care plan. Obamacare was done in a disjointed, partisan way, a mix of administrative rules and bills, he said. Obamacare is really an amalgamation of different ideas, different people, that never really reached agreement, Thompson said. Obamacare was the first major social change that was done in a wholly partisan fashion, he said. That, in part, led to a disjointed and ineffective roll out and implementation. NWS drug talk NYPD brass and borough officials discussed the heroin epidemic Tuesday at a community safety meeting hosted by the Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island. (Staten Island Advance/Kyle Lawson) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- NYPD brass and borough officials sounded off Tuesday on the borough's heroin epidemic. The symposium was held in front of a few hundred people at the Jewish Community Center in Seaview, as part of a community safety meeting hosted by the Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island. "I think the way out of this ... is for the teams we have to investigate overdoses," said NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neill. "This is going to be our way forward." O'Neill also gave a run-down of the agencies and joint task forces combating the issue, from federal authorities to police precincts on Staten Island. Authorities estimate more than 110 overdose deaths last year on Staten Island, where the population is about 475,000. "Talking public heath metrics, that's not an epidemic, that's a plague," said Richmond County D.A. Michael E. McMahon. There have been 30 convictions on the island related to opioid distribution since Oct. 1, as investigators continue to target dealers, McMahon said. Officials also explained a program in Staten Island schools that pairs a teacher and a police officer in the classroom.The curriculum started at the fifth grade level and is now being piloted at the seventh and ninth grade levels. "We are kidding ourselves if we think we can touch these kids in the fifth grade with this message, and then send them out in to this big bad world and they're equipped to deal with this epidemic," said Borough President James Oddo. "We have to get a curriculum in place, pre-K to 12 about healthy decision making..." Rural school advocates praised Gov. Scott Walkers plan released Feb. 1 to spend more money on the least-populated districts in the state, but they are also looking for more. The biggest priority for public schools this year, including those in rural areas, is an overall aid increase and lifting of revenue limits to allow the money to be spent in the classroom, rather than diverted to property tax cuts. Walker on Wednesday reiterated his promise to significantly increase K-12 funding in his budget next week. He provided no details. But his rural schools plan, released at schools in Wauzeka, Hilbert and Crandon, generally won praise. I think its a step in the right direction, said Kim Kaukl, executive director of the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance, which represents about 144 schools. Walkers plan calls for expanding and increasing a program that funnels money to the states lowest enrollment districts and putting more money toward the high cost of transporting students long distances. It also takes steps to stem teacher shortages and increase access to high-speed internet. Walker said the proposal was fashioned to address unique challenges faced by students in rural districts. Providing additional money for schools is a welcome change from previous budgets, said Dan Rossmiller, lobbyist for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. State Superintendent Tony Evers also applauded the proposal, but he renewed his call for the Legislature to consider his plan to equalize funding differences between rural and urban schools. He said thats the only way to stem the tide of teachers leaving rural schools for higher salaries in more urban areas. Walkers plan addresses the needs of rural schools, said John Forester, director of the School Administrators Alliance that represents about 3,000 principals, superintendents and other administrators. Its good stuff, he said. Hes definitely giving rural schools some of what they need. However, Forester and Kaukl said the top priority remains the need for a $200 per-student spending increase. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling reacted to his rural schools plan by saying Walker needs to restore $1 billion in state aid cut since 2011. She did not comment on the specifics of his proposal. Republican Rep. John Nygren, co-chair of the Legislatures budget-writing committee, said he was hopeful that Walker would be including even more investments for public schools in his budget. Walkers rural schools plan would: Increase sparsity aid by $20 million. That aid goes to districts with fewer than 745 students and a population density of less than 10 students per square mile. Walker said his budget will spend $12.3 million more on sparsity aid than was requested by the state Department of Public Instruction. Create a new $100-per-student tier of sparsity aid for districts with between 746 and 1,000 students. Provide 100 percent reimbursement, with a $10.4 million funding increase, for transportation costs for schools with fewer than 50 students per square mile and transportation costs that are 150 percent of the state average. Last year, the reimbursement rate was about 60 percent. Increase by $22.5 million the money available through Technology for Educational Achievement grants. The grants can currently be used to pay for training for teachers to use educational technology. Walker is also proposing allowing districts to apply for the grants to pay for making internet hot spots available on buses and for students to take home. The hot spots would allow students to get online to complete their homework when not at school. Increase grants for broadband internet expansion by $13 million. Require the University of Wisconsins flex option program to create a program to train teachers aides and other paraprofessionals already working in schools to become full-time teachers. This proposal is designed to help rural schools struggling with teacher shortages. The flex option program allows students to earn college credits by demonstrating real-life knowledge through online tests. Skidmore College is excited to host the 28th Annual National College Comedy Festival Feb. 10 - 11, 2017 in the Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theater. Established in 1990 by Emmy Award winning producer David Miner '91, the National College Comedy Festival is a student-produced annual comedy show that features popular professional comedians and premier college groups from around the country. This year's co-producers are Andrew Uebelein, Sarah Rabinowtiz, and Keegan Kelly, all class of 2017. Past participants include Tig Notaro, Eugene Mirman, Derrick Comedy, Rory Scovel, and The Upright Citizens Brigade. The festival has gained national recognition, including a profile in the New York Times. Founder David Miner '91 and past co-producer Jared Greenbaum '11 discuss ComFest at Skidmore. This year's lineup includes the following: Aparna Nancherla is a comedian of the stand-up variety, but can often be seen sitting. She recently worked as a writer and performer for Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC. You can also catch her on the current season of Inside Amy Schumer on Comedy Central and on the upcoming season of Judd Apatows Love on Netflix. Opening for Aparna Nancherla is Troy Walker. Walker serves as an ambassador of Denver comedy at national and local comedy festivals including The Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival, The Great American Comedy Festival, The Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, Portland's Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The Telluride Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs Montreal's New Faces of Comedy and most recently on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Saturday night The Improvised Shakespeare Company takes the stage to create a fully improvised Shakespearean masterpiece right before your eyes. Nothing is planned-out, rehearsed, or written. All of the dialogue is said for the first time, the characters are created as you watch, and if ever you're wondering where the story is going...so are they! The Improvised Shakespeare Company, founded in 2005 by Blaine Swen, has been performing its critically-acclaimed show every Friday night at the world famous iO Theater for over nine years and continues to entertain audiences around the globe with its touring company. The ISC has been named Chicago's best Improv group by both the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Examiner and has received a New York Nightlife Award for "Best Comedic Performance by a Group and was recently honored by the Chicago Improv Foundation as its "Ensemble of the Year". Opening for The Improvised Shakespeare Company is the sketch duo Nick and Gabe. Nick and Gabe join us from Chicago, where they recently closed their third hit comedy and musical revue show at The Second City. They are known for their hilarious satirical sketches and songs. Tickets are available for purchase beginning at 10AM on Monday, February 6 in Skidmore Colleges Case Center. College Performances Lineup Friday, February 10, 7pm: Whistling Shrimp (Cornell University) Chocolate Cake City (Emerson College) Starla and Sons (Brown University) The Sketchies (Skidmore College) Lunchbox (Wesleyan University) Feral Christine (Sarah Lawrence College) Out of Bounds (Brown University) AKT (Skidmore College) Saturday, February 11, 7pm: 45 Kings (Loyola University Chicago) Hammerkatz (New York University) Purple Crayon (Yale University) Skidomedy (Skidmore College) The Skits (Cornell University) Dangerbox (New York University) The Institute (Tufts University) The Ad Libs (Skidmore College) A Florida energy company says it plans to build a 100-megawatt solar energy center in northeast Wisconsin and sell the electricity it generates to a Sun Prairie utility company. NextEra Energy Resources said it will locate the facility next to the Point Beach nuclear power plant in Two Rivers. WPPI Energy, Sun Prairie, has agreed to buy all of its electricity from the solar installation for 20 years. NextEra says it will provide power to more than 23,000 people when its operating at top capacity. WPPI is a nonprofit, regional utility company that provides power to 51 locally owned electric utilities in Wisconsin including in Mount Horeb, Stoughton, Waunakee and Sun Prairie Upper Michigan and Iowa. This solar energy center adds diversity to WPPI Energys power supply portfolio in a way thats more cost-effective than other opportunities currently available to us, WPPI CEO Mike Peters said in a statement. Its too soon to tell how much the project will cost or how many solar panels will be used, NextEra spokesman Bryan Garner said. But a project NextEra completed in late 2016 in northwest Alabama could be an indication. The River Bend Solar Energy Center can generate up to 75 megawatts of electricity, enough for 15,000 homes, and includes more than 300,000 solar panels, NextEra said in a statement on the project. A story by WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Alabama, said the solar farm covers 640 acres and cost $150 million. WPPI vice president of power supply resources Andy Kellen said terms of the NextEra agreement are confidential. He said, though, customers of WPPIs member utilities will not have to pay a surcharge for the solar power. If the center generates 100 megawatts or more, it will need the state Public Service Commissions approval. NextEra owns the Point Beach nuclear plant, purchased from Milwaukee-based We Energies, in 2007. NextEra also owns the Butler Ridge wind farm in Dodge County, from which WPPI also buys power. The Point Beach solar farm will be built on a substantial portion of the 1,200 acres surrounding the nuclear plant, Garner said. But construction wont begin for about four years. Projects such as these typically take six to nine months to install, he said, and the solar center is not scheduled to start operating until 2021. When it does open, it will be the largest solar installation in the state and will nearly triple the 55 megawatts of solar energy in Wisconsin now, RENEW Wisconsin said. NextEra Energy Resources is a subsidiary of Florida-based NextEra Energy, a publicly traded company (NYSE: NEE), which is also the parent company of FPL, Florida Power & Light, the third largest electric utility in the U.S. KAMPOT, Cambodia A nearby sea, flanking mountains, a quartz-rich soil: Its the perfect spot on earth, devotees say, to yield a product they describe in that rapturous vocabulary usually reserved for fine wines: aristocratic, virile, almost aphrodisiacal, with subtle notes of caramel, gingerbread and mild tobacco. Celebrity chefs from Paris to Los Angeles swear by Kampot pepper, a southwestern Cambodian spice with a tragic past that is now reclaiming its global pre-eminence. It is also proving to be black gold for some of its once-impoverished farmers, thanks in part to Kampot pepper last year being awarded a Protected Geographical Indication by the European Union. This identifies unique products like Stilton cheese, Champagne or Darjeeling tea as originating in a very specific region. So far Kampot pepper production is a mere dusting just 70 tons last year. Vietnam, the worlds top pepper producer, churned out some 145,000 tons of the spice. But more plantations are springing up while Kampot quality is rated as high as ever and hitherto slack markets, like the United States, are getting hooked on the spice. A New York chef has even concocted a Kampot pepper ice cream while Michelin three-starred French chef Olivier Roellinger rhapsodizes about its olfactory richness and broad spectrum of flavors. A renaissance of pepper The spices EU designation has permitted a renaissance of pepper in Kampot. ... This not only recognizes the singularity of this pepper but helps protect it from imitations, says Nathalie Chaboche, a Frenchwoman who with her Belgian husband, Guy Porre, owns La Plantation, where pepper plants entwine 20,000 posts on a rolling green landscape fronted by the Gulf of Thailand. The couple, who started the enterprise four years ago after lucrative careers in the computer industry, aim to boost production from 6 tons last year to 50 tons in 2018 without weakening quality control or endangering Kampots hefty price. Kampot red pepper was recently selling in Germany for as much as 378 euro per kilogram ($185 per pound), compared to an average import price of about $8 for 1 kilo in Europe for Vietnamese pepper. The farm-gate price for the three pepper varieties red, white and black averages around $10 per pound. Believed to have originated in southern India, pepper became a widely traded item across Asia and Europe. Tested over 700 years Pepper farming in Cambodia was first recorded by a Chinese traveler in the 13th century, and energized centuries later by French colonialists. By the early 1900s, annual production peaked at 8,000 tons. War disrupted the industry and after their 1975 victory, the murderous Khmer Rouge turned farmers into slave laborers. Deeming the king of spice too decadent for their ultra-revolution, the regime left plantations to decay. A Japanese aid worker, Hironobu Kurata, pioneered a revival in the mid-1990s, but the scars of the Khmer Rouge era took long to heal. As late as 2000, only 2 tons were grown annually, but now about 450 farms produce Kampot pepper. Cultivators use methods tested over 700 years, with some injecting new techniques. Sorn Sothy, a former teacher and social worker, tries to reproduce the jungle environment native to the pepper plant on her small plantation. Palm leaves are used as shade; the soil is enriched with bat and cow manure mixed with bloodied animal bones. To ward off predatory insects, she sprays plants with a bitter extract from the leaves of neem trees. The plantation run by Chaboche and Porre is Cambodias first semi-automated pepper operation, but its more than 100 employees still do much of the work by hand. Our growing is traditional. The processing is modern, says Porre. Jean-Marie Brun, a French agricultural development expert, says the advent of large plantations could lower prices, and possibly quality. The future will tell us if the large plantations are as successful as the smallholder farms, he says. Ngoun Lay, the associations head and a fourth-generation pepper farmer, waxes bullish about the future despite potential problems and ongoing robust sales of fake Kampot pepper, mostly from Vietnam. A recent report, he says, shows European demand for the brand at around 200 tons. Farm gate prices have tripled over the past seven years, keeping once-poor farmers on the land rather than seeking menial work in neighboring Thailand. By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree Thirty-two hospitalizations in January for flu-related illnesses in Dane County has prompted health officials to urge residents to get a flu shot. Public Health Madison and Dane County said on Wednesday there hasn't been much flu activity locally yet, but it's becoming widespread across the country. "Since the first of the year, we've seen 32 flu-related hospitalizations in Dane County, and it probably won't be too long before we start seeing more cases," said immunization coordinator Diane McHugh of PHMDC. It takes about two weeks for the flu vaccine to be effective. The Centers for Disease Control said the vaccine used for the 2016-17 flu season will protect against the influenza viruses most common this season, including two A (H1N1 and H3N2) viruses, and one or two B viruses, depending on the flu vaccine. "When you have protection you are also helping to protect others who can't be vaccinated, such as infants under six months of age or those with weakened immune systems," McHugh said. The vaccine is available through your medical provider or at pharmacies or health departments, and PHMDC holds free immunization clinics on a regular basis; check the website http://www.publichealthmdc.com/documents/immClinic2017.pdf for more information. Dane County has received a $50,000 grant and will join a nationwide effort to reduce over-incarceration as it expands the countys Community Restorative Court from south Madison to countywide, officials said Wednesday. With the grant, from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the county became one of 20 jurisdictions across the U.S. to join the foundations Safety and Justice Challenge, a $100 million initiative that aims to change how jails are used in America. The money will be used to help expand the Community Restorative Court, which started as a pilot program in 2015 on Madisons South Side. Starting this year, though, it will be available to young low-level offenders throughout Dane County, thanks in part to the grant and greater funding included in the county budget. Those chosen to take part in the court are young people between the ages of 17 and 25 who have committed misdemeanor and ordinance violation-level crimes. The Community Restorative Court connects offenders, through trained volunteer peacemakers, with the victims of those crimes, giving them a way to accept responsibility and repair the harm theyve done through community service or other measures. Those who complete the program are not formally charged with a crime, and their names do not appear in court records. Those who fail or opt not to take part are charged in traditional courts. County Board Chairwoman Sharon Corrigan said Dane Countys project is the only restorative court among the jurisdictions just accepted into the Safety and Justice Challenge. She said that with acceptance in the challenge, its possible the program could receive other grant funding in the future. Dane County has also nearly doubled the funding for the Community Restorative Court, from $110,000 to $200,000, for 2017. With the MacArthur grant, it will now have $250,000 to put toward the court, Corrigan said. With the money, the county will also receive expert technical assistance supporting the court. During its existence, 54 people have been referred to the CRC. Fifty-one have taken part, 32 completed the program and 18 are still in it. Two opted out, and one was terminated. CRC Coordinator Ron Johnson said that its hoped that once the program is doubled, about 60 respondents, the word used for offenders, can participate at any given time. The program is among others aimed at reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system in Dane County. Sup. Shelia Stubbs, whose District 23 is on the South Side, said the court is part of the less talk, more action approach being taken in Dane County. Nearly half of those referred to the CRC were black, and just over a quarter were white. Most have been referred for disorderly conduct, with theft the second most referred offense. Most were referred into the program by the Madison Police Department. Nearly 65 percent of participants perform community service, while the rest write letters or give presentations, are given counseling or pay restitution. Best Canadian Blog 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 About Kate Why this blog? Until this moment I have been forced to listen while media and politicians alike have told me "what Canadians think". In all that time they never once asked. This is just the voice of an ordinary Canadian yelling back at the radio - "You don't speak for me." (goes to a private mailserver in Europe) I can't answer or use every tip, but all are appreciated! Katewerk Art Support SDA I am not a registered charity. I cannot issue tax receipts. Want lies? Hire a regular consultant. Want truth? Hire an asshole. The Proper Procedure Poor Richard's Retirement Trump The Establishment Weather Shop Click to inquire about rates. Dow Jones What They Say About SDA "Smalldeadanimals doesn't speak for the people of Saskatchewan" Former Sask Premier Lorne Calvert "I got so much traffic after your post my web host asked me to buy a larger traffic allowance." Dr.Ross McKitrick Holy hell, woman. When you send someone traffic, you send someone TRAFFIC. My hosting provider thought I was being DDoSed. - Sean McCormick "The New York Times link to me yesterday [...] generated one-fifth of the traffic I normally get from a link from Small Dead Animals." Kathy Shaidle "Thank you for your link. A wave of your Canadian readers came to my blog! Really impressive." Juan Giner - INNOVATION International Media Consulting Group I got links from the Weekly Standard, Hot Air and Instapundit yesterday - but SDA was running at least equal to those in visitors clicking through to my blog. Jeff Dobbs "You may be a nasty right winger, but you're not nasty all the time!" Warren Kinsella "Go back to collecting your welfare livelihood."Michael E. Zilkowsky Intelliweather Seismic Map Comments Policy Read this Best Of SDA Hide The Decline The Bottle Genie (ClimateGate links) You Might Be A Liberal Uncrossing The Line Bob Fife: Knuckledragger A Modest Proposal (NP) Settled Science Series Y2Kyoto Series SDA: Reader Occupation Survey Brett Lamb Sheltered Workshop Flakes On A Plane All Your Weather Are Belong To Us Song Of The Sled The Raise A Flag Debacle (Now on Youtube!) (.mwv Video) Abuse Ruins Life Of Girl Trudeaupiate Kleptocrat Jeans Child Labour I Concede Small Dead Feminist Protein Hoser: THK Interview The Werewolf Extinction Dear Laura (VRWC) We Wait Blogging The Oscars Jackson Converts To Islam Just Shut The HELL Up Manipulating Condi Gay Equality Rights Madison police are searching for a man who robbed an East Side bank just before noon on Wednesday. Nobody was injured during the robbery at Associated Bank, 4402 East Towne Blvd., police said. Police said the masked suspect went into the bank shortly before noon, claimed to have a gun, and took an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing on foot. The suspect is white, 40 to 50 years old, heavy build, wearing a dark blue mask and a dark coat. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers, 266-6014. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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William DeLucey, 69, died on Saturday morning after his truck flipped close to the intersection of River Forest Road on the Kings Highway. William DeLucey died in a truck crash on the Kings Highway on Clyde Mountain on Saturday morning. Daughter Betina, from Coffs Harbour, said the last time she spoke to her father he was excited at the prospect of travelling north and spending time with family. "He was on his way to meet his granddaughter for the very first time. The uncertain fate of Xiao Jianhua, a China-born billionaire who was last seen at a luxury Hong Kong hotel a week ago, has raised fresh fears about the city's autonomy amid media reports he may have been abducted by Chinese agents. There are conflicting accounts of Xiao's whereabouts, but memories are fresh in Hong Kong of the abduction last year of five staff who worked for a local bookseller that published gossip on China's leaders. Three of the staff were detained while in China, but two with foreign passports were taken there against their will from Thailand and Hong Kong. Those disappearances provoked outrage that Beijing was flouting Hong Kong's constitution, which gives Chinese authorities no right to conduct law enforcement activities in the city, a largely self-governing territory since its return to China from British rule in 1997. A Sydney-based removalist company offering "five-star services" is the subject of a public warning from NSW Fair Trading, after it garnered 70 complaints, including one from a consumer who allegedly suffered $30,000 worth of damage. Fair Trading issued a warning on Tuesday not to deal with Extra Mile Movers, a local and interstate removalist company based in Chipping Norton, in Sydney's south-west. "Fair Trading has received a steady stream of complaints against Extra Mile Movers about the slow, partial or non-supply of removalist services; property damage or loss; and demands for additional payment over and above the contracted price," said Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe. "There is also an alleged failure on the part of the trader to provide adequate redress for the complainants, leading to referrals to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal." In two days, President Donald Trump's travel ban wiped out $US4.9 billion ($6.48 billion) in market value for the United States' biggest airlines. The Standard & Poor's 500 airline index slumped 3.8 per cent combined on Monday and Tuesday, five times the 0.7 percent drop in the S&P 500. American Airlines Group, the world's biggest carrier, led the industry group with a 5.8 percent decline over the two days. The developments hold several concerns for investors. One is that the US restrictions would expand or spark retaliation by other nations; another, outlined by the International Air Transport Association, is the prospect of higher costs for carriers to enforce the rules, and potential ramifications if they don't. While it's hard to quantify, there's also a risk that some people will forgo travel to the US. "To the extent that America is becoming a less welcoming place, a less hospitable place, that could hurt leisure travel demand," said Jim Corridore, an airline analyst at CFRA Research. Can the flutter of a butterfly in South America, or in this case Oceania, really cause a typhoon in the USA? Australian biotech company Innate Immunotherapeutics just might be living proof that it can. A serendipitous series of meetings more than a decade ago, when the Auckland-based company was searching for an HIV vaccine, marked the start of a trail that has led to the company being at the front line of some of the intense brawling over Cabinet appointments by US President Donald Trump. Tom Price's holding in a small New Zealand based biotech has prompted a storm of criticism following his nomination as Trump's secretary of health and human services. Credit:AP A shareholder in the company is Dr Tom Price, who had worked as an orthopedic surgeon before joining the US Congress. He has been nominated to head the Health and Human Services department under President Trump. That shareholding, which Innate says is "very small" has kicked off a controversy over whether Price received a 'privileged offer' to acquire shares in the biotech outfit last year, since the shares were acquired at a discount. Coca-Cola could find itself at the centre of a CUB-style union campaign as workers in south-west Brisbane fight to hold on to their existing wages and conditions. The United Voice union claimed 100 workers at Coca-Cola's Richlands bottling plant had been offered wages ranging from $3693 to $4988 less than they were currently on. United Voice co-ordinator Damien Davie says Coca-Cola's offer is the worst he has ever seen. Credit:Chris Hyde That offer had been repeatedly rejected by the workers and United Voice co-ordinator Damien Davie said if the impasse was not overcome, Coca-Cola could expect a "CUB-style" campaign. That campaign, which included national boycotts of CUB-branded beers, was ultimately successful in December when 55 workers were reinstated to the company's Abbotsford brewery in Melbourne. Happy birthday to the synoptic chart. On February 5, 1877, the first weather map was published in Australia in The Sydney Morning Herald compiled from telegrams by one H.C. Russell. Writing from Hobart, library technician Russell Hill writes: "I would like to say well done great-great-great-grandfather and thanks for the memories." And the weather that day? Wind was nine pounds on the square foot, barometer 30.32, rising, and temperature 67F in the shade. Pleasant. Heather Harman (C8 doorbell triggered by neighbour's garage) prompts Geoff Linn, Gilead, to write: "We have ceiling fans in our retirement unit. Switch off one, the doorbell plays Banjo on my Knee. Switch off another, it plays Twinkle, Twinkle. The resident's button across the road triggers our next door neighbour's bell (Big Ben chimes)." "Perhaps it's the other way around every time Heather Herman's doorbell gets rung her neighbour feels a compulsion to back his car out of his garage." From Stewart Smith, North Kellyville. David Davies of Callala Beach recalls something similar with an old acquaintance. "He had to have a pacemaker installed and, thereafter, every time he made love to his wife his neighbour's garage door went up and down." Urban myth maybe? "How soon do you think before the media will be referring to the premier (Berejiklian) and her deputy (Barilaro) as B1 and B2?" Just wondering says Mila Yates, Valentine. Australia's top business groups have cautioned the government against making any more changes to the renewable energy target. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has resisted pressure from conservative backbenchers, including predecessor Tony Abbott, to dump the target. Wind turbines: Don't cut renewables, business leaders say. Credit:Bloomberg "The RET is the result of hard-won compromise, rather than anybody's perfect policy and should be left alone," Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox and Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said on Wednesday in a joint statement. "Additional changes to the existing RET would further undermine the credibility of national energy policy, damage investment and encourage state renewable energy schemes." Labor has slammed Malcolm Turnbull's personal $1.75 million donation to the Liberal party promised during the 2016 election campaign, accusing the multimillionaire Prime Minister of having "basically bought himself an election". Mr Turnbull has spent more than six months refusing to say how much he donated to the party, before revealing the figure on the ABC's 7.30 program on Wednesday evening. "I've always been prepared to put my money where my mouth is," Mr Turnbull said on the program. The Prime Minister said it was consistent with his and his wife Lucy's long history of philanthropy. Update: Madison police canvassing the Waterleaf Apartments area where the shots were fired found three bullets hit the side of an apartment building. A young man firing a handgun in an apartment complex courtyard Sunday didn't seem to be targeting anyone, Madison police said. Nobody was hurt after at least a half-dozen shots were fired at about 5:30 p.m. at the Waterleaf Apartments, 6700 Schroeder Road, police said. "A witness said the gunman was walking in the courtyard, his arm extended as he was firing a handgun," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "There were about eight other young men walking behind or alongside the shooter." Several callers to 911 reported shots being fired, and a group of teen males were in the immediate area. "Officers responded and located six bullet casings," said Lt. Timothy Radke. No property was found to be damaged. The motive for shooting was unclear. "It was not clear if the criminal was targeting anyone or anything," DeSpain said. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has revealed he donated $1.75 million of his own money to the Liberal Party for last year's federal election campaign. The contribution is believed to be the largest political donation by an individual in Australian history. Speaking to the ABC's 7.30 program on Wednesday night, Mr Turnbull initially said Australians were more interested in how he spent their money, rather than his own, before he confirmed the amount for the first time. "In the course of this current financial year, which is why it hasn't been disclosed on the AEC, I contributed $1.75 million. That was the contribution I made," Mr Turnbull said. Queensland teen Alyssa Azar has succeeded in her bid to become the youngest Australian in history to scale Mount Everest. After an attempt two previous attempts, this time her climb went without a hitch. Alyssa Azar, 19, conquered Mount Everest. Credit:Facebook In a message posted on her Facebook page, the 19-year-old's achievement was verified. "We can confirm that Alyssa has successfully summitted Mt Everest. This has been a goal she has been determined to achieve for several years," the statement said. A 10-year-old girl who died after contracting the herpes simplex virus suffered from a lack of continuous medical care, a coroner has found. Briony Klingberg became feverish and unwell at her Adelaide Hills home in January 2015. Over the following week she was seen by a number of doctors but none recognised she was suffering from the herpes simplex virus, which caused her organs to fail. In handing down his findings on Wednesday, Coroner Mark Johns said no single medical professional had an opportunity to observe the progress of the girl's illness. "It is easy to say in retrospect that continuity of care would have been highly desirable," Mr Johns said. Staff at NSW's Land and Property Information protested the government's privatisation plans last June. Credit:PSA Thirdly, it says prices of regulated products will be tied to Consumer Price Index, offering the operator "pricing certainty". Fourthly, it says there is the "significant scope for business optimisation" that could involve dramatically cutting costs by "implementing automation" and "cost management initiatives". Sydney's property market has soared 118 per cent in a decade, while Perth's house prices increased 4 per cent. Credit:Mark Merton And fifthly, it divulges the fact the winning bidder will gain the "first mover" advantage if it wants to "consolidate other government-owned land registries across Australia". At present, the South Australian Labor government is in the process of privatising its lands registry and it is understood the Victorian government is watching the NSW sell-off with interest. Land and Property Information currently maintains 3.9 million titles. This is expected to grow by 1.8 million over the next 40 years. Credit:Land and Property Information NSW In Western Australia, the registry's IT has been controversially outsourced - with no tender - to its own privatised subsidiary Advara, which has ambitions to operate land titles offices in other states. But, around the world, the spread of such privatisations has been stopped. In Canada, the Nova Scotia government decided last April "it was not the best option a government-led approach offers certainty". The UK's Tory government conceded last November that privatisation was not the best route and its land registry "will remain in the public sector". The NSW government plans to splash the one-off payment for the 35-year concession on rebuilding Parramatta Stadium and revamping ANZ Stadium. In June last year, it split the original LPI into five discrete units. It isolated the one, profitable unit "Titling and Registry Services", branded it "LPI", and began the bidding process. LPI now has three revenue generating functions: document registration services (such as property ownership transfers and discharge of mortgages), titling and plan services (creation of or changes to land parcels), and information delivery (providing of land title records). Opposition grows Lawyers, real estate agents, surveyors, property developers, unions, historians and investigative journalists are among the peak professional groups that oppose the long-term lease of the 150-year-old registry. They fear privatisation will lead to the degradation of LPI, higher costs for businesses and consumers, increased risk of errors and frauds, and increased risk to the security of private and sensitive data, such as marriages, deaths and bankruptcies. The Treasurer's office did not respond to Fairfax Media's request for comment. The government earlier said there will be safeguards such as minimum service levels, penalties, and step-in and termination rights, to maintain the integrity of the system. Prices of regulated services will go up only by CPI. "Our priorities during this process are maintaining the confidence of the NSW public in the titling system and promoting improvements, innovation, investment in technology and increased efficiency," Gladys Berejiklian, as Treasurer, said last year. The concession holder must assist and co-operate with the Registrar-General, including gaining his or her approval to create non-core services, such as blending data sets. Bidders preparing final offers It's understood four consortiums are in the binding bid stage: Macquarie's MIRA with Link, Borealis with its portfolio company Teranet and Computershare, Hastings Funds Management with First State Super and property player Advara, and private equity giant The Carlyle Group. Private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners has quit the race, according to the Australian Financial Review. Each bidder will tour the land titles office in Queen's Square in Sydney CBD and take part in a series of brief presentations by LPI management before lodging an "unconditional and fully financed", legally binding bid in late March. The EOI stage closed at the end of October last year and the indicative bid stage closed before Christmas. The EOI document says the NSW government "reserves the right to involve or deal with any parties, including, without limitation, those who have not complied with requirements outlined by or on behalf of the State in respect of the binding bid stage". The binding bid stage includes the submission of due diligence materials such as "legal, financial and tax, business optimisation and insurance due diligence reports". Government denies access The Law Society of NSW has rebuked the government for the "breadth of the exclusion from public access of information" related to the concession. The government has routinely denied Fairfax Media requests to access relevant documents because they are marked cabinet- or commercial-in-confidence. Under the Baird government, Ms Berejiklian and Dominic Perrottet spearheaded the privatisation move. They are now Premier and Treasurer, with Victor Dominello taking over the finance portfolio. Andrew Best and Jeremy Larkin, managing directors at JP Morgan, are leading the government's sale advisory team. The government has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on external advisors: Gilbert and Tobin for legal advice; KPMG for accounting, tax, separation and business optimisation advice; BIS Shrapnel for commercial and economic forecasts; Mercer for actuarial advice; and Willis Towers Watson for insurance advice. Do you know more? ehan@fairfaxmedia.com.au Loading Students were left stunned when a teenage boy walked into their classroom and allegedly stabbed a teacher and two students during morning roll-call at Bonnyrigg High School before walking away without saying a word, a witness says. A 16-year-old male student was arrested in the car park of a nearby supermarket over the stabbing at the school on Elizabeth Drive in Bonnyrigg on Thursday morning. A meat cleaver, two knives, a pair of scissors and two screwdrivers were found with a black Adidas bag not far from where the boy was arrested. "I didn't kill anyone. You have to tell my brother," the 16-year-old boy, who was wearing handcuffs and a school uniform, said. A car has gone up in flames at Durack in Brisbane's south. Luckily, no one was seriously injured - a police spokesman said the driver of the car had minor injuries, and paramedics have not transported anyone to hospital. A car has gone up in flames on Blunder Road, Durack. Credit:Brenda Moar/Facebook Emergency services were called to the scene at Blunder Road, Durack about 3.10pm, with two fire crews attending the blaze. While the blaze was fierce, the police spokesman said the road remained open. Chaos and violence gripped the centre of Melbourne on Wednesday, as police clashed with protesters over the forced removal of a homeless camp on the crowded street outside Flinders Street Station. Police arrested five people and three officers were injured as the deadline arrived for the camp to be cleared so that work could begin on upgrading the railway station. One police officer was punched in the back of the head amid frenzied scenes that brought the intersection of Flinders and Elizabeth streets to a standstill. The day started quietly, with fewer than a dozen people sleeping on the Flinders Street pavement, but took a tumultuous turn after protesters hijacked the camp and special operations police descended on the area. Emergency services faced with an unprecedented health crisis they could not have understood moved swiftly to curb the fallout from last year's thunderstorm asthma event that claimed nine lives, a review has found. Tony Pearce, the Inspector-General for Emergency Services, said more lives could have been lost had it not been for the response of the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, Ambulance Victoria, the Health Department and hospitals. "It was an almost exceptional response based on the fact nobody knew what they were responding to," Mr Pearce said following the release of his preliminary report, which provides the clearest picture yet of how the disaster unfolded. In the first 12 hours of the crisis, emergency services received 2332 calls, nearly four times that of Black Saturday. Over two days there were 9909 emergency arrivals at Geelong and Melbourne hospitals. Police are puzzled about the identity of a young woman in a black swimsuit whose body was pulled from shallow water at a Melbourne beach earlier this week. The woman, believed to be aged between her early 20s to mid-30s, was found by a jogger in front of the Black Rock Life Saving Club at 7am on Tuesday. The woman's shirt and bathers. Credit:Victoria Police Her death is not believed to be suspicious. Police believe the woman may have entered the water near the Sandringham Life Saving Club, possibly on Monday. Police arrest one of the rough sleepers. Credit:Penny Stephens "I think there were only half a dozen homeless people here, yet it's become a circus. The community didn't need a circus," she said. "I'm very concerned about the impact this is going to have." Police on Flinders Street on Wednesday afternoon. Credit:Penny Stephens By about 3pm, with verbal confrontations still breaking about between members of the public and police, Flinders Street which had been been closed to traffic and trams was reopened. Barricades were erected along the northern side of the station and street sweepers were cleaning the area previously occupied by rough sleepers. This man tried to ram a police car as the homeless were moved on from Flinders Street. Credit:Penny Stephens At a police media conference on Wednesday afternoon, Stuart Bateson, Acting Commander for North-West Metro, said most of the rough sleepers complied with police requests to move on on Wednesday morning. Mr Bateson said the large crowd of protesters became violent as police dismantled the camp. Police giving deaf homeless man Jonathan 'Link' Hardy a 15-minute warning to move on. Credit:Penny Stephens One police officer was punched in the back of the head by a female protester, he said, while two others sustained minor injuries. Police made five arrests, four of them protesters. Commander Bateson said one person repeatedly rammed their personal mobility scooter into police A man claiming he was at one point homeless yelled at the homeless at Flinders Street Station. The police took him away. Credit:Penny Stephens One person was arrested for assaulting a police officer, another for throwing something at an officer, one for public drunkenness, and two for resisting the police. Commander Bateson said police expected to lay charges in all cases. "Police moved in to facilitate work in Flinders Street station," Commander Bateson said. "For this work to be carried out safely we needed to clear all obstructions on the pathway about Flinders Street. "We tried to negotiate with those that remained, but ultimately when we moved in we were met with resistance from a small group of protesters. "As a result, three of our members were injured, and we have made five arrests." Commander Bateson acknowledged Wednesday's actions were no solution to homelessness, and were designed only to facilitate a safe workplace for renovations at Flinders St Station. He said police first spoke to the rough sleepers at 10.30am, telling them they would have to go, "and most of them left but unfortunately for us we had protesters come in behind the homeless". "Make no mistake, we have not solved the homeless issue we do not under any circumstances think we have solved the homeless issue and yes we will probably see them somewhere else in the city," he said. Commander Bateson said the police were familiar with many of the protesters. "We see these people regularly," he said. "They are our regular starters at any far-left protest. these are the people we see on the lines regularly, these are the people that we see assaulting our members, yelling at our members, spitting on our members." Before police moved in a number of the homeless people who had been sleeping in front of the station decided to pack up and leave on Wednesday afternoon, following escalating tensions at the site and an intense media presence. The rough sleepers have been offered temporary accommodation at a motel in Coburg. The resistance to police is being led by a handful of protesters, not themselves believed to be homeless, yelling slogans such as "homes not jails" and "homelessness is not a crime". At about 1pm, police began telling journalists that the rough sleepers and protesters would be given 10 minutes to move away or they would be arrested for obstructing the footpath. They also said journalists would be arrested if they did not move from the footpath. Half an hour later, silence descended as trams were halted along Flinders Street and workers began unloading yellow barricades from a truck. There were chaotic scenes at the makeshift camp on Wednesday, as media and many members of the public crowded around the small group of protesters standing in front of about a dozen rough sleepers. Some of the protesters became agitated, arguing about tactics, while the homeless people themselves mostly remained seated and quiet. Some yelled "shame" at a female television journalist. At about 12.45pm a spokeswoman from the Homeless Persons Union said police would "move in" within 20 minutes and that people had been offered a few days accommodation at the Coburg Motor Inn. A Victoria Police spokesman said police formally approached those experiencing homelessness at about 12.30pm and asked them to relocate. He said police were also monitoring the protest. Earlier, at 11.30am, two dozen police arrived at the camp, followed by a large contingent of council workers wearing fluoro vests. However they did not appear to approach the group of rough sleepers or their supporters, instead waiting a short distance away. A small number of protesters yelled out slogans such as "homelessness is not a crime" and "shame Doyle shame" and "Melbourne city is for all". A man who yelled at the group telling them to leave was taken away by police. Housing Minister Martin Foley said 15 people from the camp had already been "successfully housed" while four others had been placed in drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation facilities. "Work has already began to provide a pathway for rough sleepers out of the CBD." "Since Friday the government has supported agencies to assist those at Flinders Street access housing and services," he said. Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said scaffolding works had been "planned for months" as part of the station's $100 million upgrade. "The project team has worked closely with Melbourne City Council and other agencies to keep those affected informed," she said. The last remaining rough sleepers at the Flinders Street Station camp have been urged to accept a "pathway" out of homelessness or face eviction. Coburg Motor Inn The Coburg Motor Inn does not enjoy a good reputation on hotel recommendation websites. Many travellers report they could not even stay the night. On TripAdvisor, one reviewer notes he is shocked there could be worse motels in Victoria. "If there had been a chalk outline on the floor or crime scene tape I would not have been surprised." Another notes he "could not stay there at all would not house my dog there". On Wotif.com one reviewer notes "There was chickens living in the carpark area! Actual live chickens!". Another, perhaps ironically, notes as a pro: "Had somewhere to sleep not on the street". On Expedia it is rated 1 out of 5. Loading The spark for attorney Nicki Vander Meulens campaign lit three years ago when she started seeing the same juvenile clients over and over again for school-related offenses she thought should have been handled without involving the courts. Matt Andrzejewskis motivation hit last spring during a meeting at his daughters middle school. Frustrated with district administrators, he announced to the crowd his intention to run for the Madison School Board. Both are now candidates for Seat 7 on the board, challenging incumbent Ed Hughes. The top two finishers in the Feb. 21 primary will compete in the general election April 4. Hughes, running for his fourth three-year term, has never before had an opponent. Now hes facing accusations that hes stayed too long. I think we need a new voice on the board, new energy, said Andrzejewski, a psychology instructor at UW-Whitewater. Hughes, an attorney, counters that his service on the board has led to demonstrable benefits for the district, pointing to two recent examples. He took the lead in advocating for the successful operating referendum in November and was instrumental in an effort that is allowing the district to quickly access nearly $9.3 million from a successful Downtown tax incremental financing district. I think because of my efforts, were not going to have to lay off teachers or cut popular programs no matter what comes out of the next state budget, he said. Help all students Vander Meulen refrains from criticizing Hughes. She decided to run against him, she said, because they are both lawyers. It seemed like the most equal playing field. Many of the issues that animate her candidacy stem from her public defender work with juveniles and her experiences as a special-needs child and an autistic adult. She wants to find ways to keep young people out of what is often called the school-to-prison pipeline. Too often, she said, students are charged with crimes when their behaviors should be handled by the districts disciplinary code. She thinks every student facing suspension or expulsion should have legal representation to help keep them in school, something she has provided as a volunteer attorney with the Madison-based Student Expulsion Prevention Project. When we take them out of school, we completely stop the learning process, she said. She called the districts Behavior Education Plan (BEP) a great start. But the plan, which aims to keep students in school and reduce racial disparities in discipline, needs specific benchmarks to be more successful, she said, and students and teachers need clearer expectations. At age 3, Vander Meulen said, her parents learned she had cerebral palsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Aspergers syndrome, a disorder on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum. She has battled bullying and discrimination all her life, she said, and has come through it with a sharpened sense of injustice that she wants to put to use to benefit young people. I come from the disability process, but Im not a disability-only candidate, she said. I want to help all students succeed, because when one succeeds, we all succeed. Questions status quo Andrzejewski brings up the BEP, too. As a behavioral psychologist and neuroscientist, he thinks he could apply his expertise to the document and other district disciplinary issues. Kids do things for different reasons, and we have to understand that, and we have to address that in a much more individualized way, he said. As the only candidate of the three with a school-age child, Andrzejewski said he would bring the perspective of someone embedded in the issues. It was in his parenting role that he attended the meeting last spring at Cherokee Heights Middle School where he announced his board run. The meeting was intended to gauge interest in reconstituting the parent-teacher organization, he said. But he felt district employees monopolized the meeting instead of letting parents talk, one example of what he considers a top-down approach. Another example, he said, was the rollout of Personalized Pathways, the districts initiative to restructure the high school experience by offering pathways for students to explore college and career options. Administrators didnt get sufficient buy-in from parents and teachers before launching it, he said. The administration is controlling the message, he said. The board has been a big, fat rubber stamp, and thats gotta stop. He counts Hughes among the rubber stamps, saying Hughes has rarely challenged Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham or voted against her recommendations. I get the sense theres just a lot of agreement on the board and not a lot of conversations about alternatives, he said. Its valuable to recognize there might be opposing views. I think the board needs to seek out those voices. I understand the role Andrzejewskis comments about rubber stamps and needing new voices are vacuous statements that reveal a lack of understanding of how the district works, Hughes said. I think I understand the role of a board member. Im not an educational expert and were not supposed to be. Were there to hire a great superintendent and help her succeed and be advocates for the schools in the community and in response to the siege our public schools are under both at the state and national level. The input and influence of individual board members tends to be felt before matters come to a vote, he said. He gave as an example the districts maintenance referendum in 2015. As first proposed by Cheatham, the plan did not include the remodel of East Highs theater, Hughes said. I was successful in getting the theater added to the list of maintenance projects and, of course, voted in favor of going to referendum, he said. So, I didnt vote against anything, but the East High Theater would not now be under construction if it were not for my efforts. All three candidates agree that achievement gaps are the districts biggest challenge. Hughes said the current approach, which includes making sure classes are engaging and that theres a great teacher in every classroom, is showing promise. The good news is that the strategy were following means we cannot be successful in addressing the gap without benefiting every student in the district, he said. Andrzejewski said the district should include teachers more in curriculum decisions and focus more on the middle-school years to close gaps. Vander Meulen stressed the value of parent involvement and peer mentoring and of finding ways to keep students in school. Hughes voted Monday with the board majority to establish a public Montessori charter school. Both Andrzejewski and Vander Meulen say they oppose the creation of any new charter schools and would have voted against the proposal. WA Premier Colin Barnett has defended comments in which he said a former Labor minister "gave up" over the Claremont serial killer case, comments the Opposition has denounced as despicable. After results of a survey on Monday showed many police felt the force was seriously under-resourced, Mr Barnett said there should be some focus on police successes such as the recent arrest of the alleged murderer, who struck in 1996 and 1997. He also said former police minister and now Opposition police spokeswoman Michelle Roberts "gave up" and criticised investigators while they persevered with the case, prompting Labor's Ben Wyatt to call the Premier a "despicable little man". Mr Barnett, who was referring to Ms Roberts telling the Seven Network in 2015 she didn't have confidence in the task force formed to find the killer, said on Tuesday he was congratulating police for their tenacity over 20 years. A Perth woman has been left reeling after her stolen car was recovered by police, only to be stolen again within a matter of hours. The woman, who did not wish to be named, reported her Toyota Kluger stolen from the family's driveway during a home burglary in Settlers Hill on January 21. The woman urged Baldivis residents to keep an eye out for the car on social media, and one resident soon reported the car had been dumped on Palomino Parade in Heritage Park. "My husband drove out to see it, but it was locked and we don't have our spare key - as it was also stolen (during the burglary)," she said. Washington: The ranking Democrats of six House congressional committees asked the Pentagon on Wednesday for information about President Donald Trump's national security adviser, suggesting that he may have violated the Constitution's emoluments clause by accepting a fee for speaking at a 2015 Moscow dinner. Michael T. Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the event, a celebration for Russian Television. General Michael Flynn, White House national security adviser-designate, stands in the elevator at the Trump Tower. Credit:Bloomberg The lawmakers suggest that the fee he received may have violated the Constitution's emoluments clause, which prohibits top officials from receiving payments from foreign governments. "It is extremely concerning that General Flynn chose to accept payment for appearing at a gala hosted by the propaganda arm of the Russian government, which attacked the United States in an effort to undermine our election," the members wrote in the letter. Amsterdam: All ballots in the Netherlands' election next month will be counted by hand in order to preserve confidence in the electoral system after reports suggested its automated counting systems may be vulnerable to hacking, the government said. Intelligence agencies have warned that three crucial European elections this year, in the Netherlands, France and Germany, could be vulnerable to manipulation by outside actors, including Russia. "Reports in recent days about vulnerabilities in our systems raise the question of whether the results could be manipulated," Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk said in a statement on Wednesday. "No shadow of doubt can be permitted." He told broadcaster RTL that possible external actors included Russia. "Now there are indications that Russians could be interested, for the following elections we must fall back on good old pen and paper," he said. Paris: French police have searched presidential candidate Francois Fillon's office in parliament on Tuesday as an inquiry into alleged fake work by his wife threatened his campaign and party leaders began to consider a 'Plan B' without him. Fillon had been favourite to win the presidency for the conservative Republicans party until a week ago, when it was reported that his wife Penelope Fillon had drawn hundreds of thousands of euros in pay from state funds without doing any work. Penelope Fillon, wife of conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon, right, reacts during a campaign meeting in Paris, on Sunday. Credit:AP The allegations of pay for fake work, published in satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine, cast doubt on the squeaky-clean image that helped Fillon win his party's primary election over rivals who had faced legal issues in the past. An urgent official inquiry into whether the hundreds of thousands of euros - close to 1 million ($1.4 million) - his wife received in salary was a misuse of taxpayer's money also highlights a key plank of his campaign - that the state spends too much and half a million public sector jobs should go. Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his main lieutenant in the cabinet and Japan's top foreign exchange official have all pushed back against US President Donald Trump's assertion that Japan is keeping its currency devalued. "Japan's monetary policy is for the domestic purpose of beating deflation, and isn't done with foreign exchange in mind, so I think that those remarks are a little bit wide of the mark," said Masatsugu Asakawa, the Finance Ministry's foreign exchange policy chief. Speaking in parliament, Abe said that it is not accurate to say that Japan is devaluing the yen, and that he would explain Japan's monetary policy to Trump if necessary. He said that it's important to exchange views, including thoughts on foreign exchange. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga earlier called Trump's comments "totally inaccurate". Trump on Tuesday said: "You look at what China's doing, you look at what Japan has done over the years. They - they play the money market, they play the devaluation market and we sit there like a bunch of dummies," according to a transcript in Congressional Quarterly. An infamous people smuggler known as "Captain Bram" - who was accused of organising an asylum seeker boat trip that made international headlines when Australian officials allegedly paid its crew to return to Indonesia - has appeared in an Indonesian court. Abraham Louhenapessy, aka Captain Bram, was on Wednesday indicted in the Rote Ndao Court on people smuggling charges. He allegedly purchased a fishing boat and organised logistics for a boatload of asylum seekers to travel to New Zealand in 2015. The case was dubbed the "cash for boat turn-back scandal" after Australian officials intercepted the boat and allegedly paid $US32,000 to the captain and five crew members to return 65 asylum seekers to Indonesia. Captain Bram is facing between five and 15 years' jail. He was not one of the crew members allegedly paid by the Australian officials. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Meeting to discuss Insel Air Scheduled. PHILIPSBURG: --- Minister of Justice Raphael Boasman told members of the media that after holding meetings with Chief of Police Carl John and Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan they have decided to put a plan of action to deal with the ongoing situation at the prison. Without divulging information the Minister said that there will be more actions taken which will show in the near future that actions are being taken to better manage the prison system. He stressed that the raid that took place on Tuesday with the involvement of the marines are one of those actions. Apart from that, he indicated that an investigation began regarding the contraband items that were found inside the prison. Minister Boasman said when the investigation is concluded those responsible for smuggling the illegal items such as a loaded firearm in the prison will be held accountable and they will face the consequences. When asked by members of the media what else are being done to revamp the prison management since this is the fourth firearm found behind the prison walls Minister Boasman said: at least we found them before they were used to kill people. SMN News reporter indicated to the Minister that all the other Ministers before him have given the media the same type of answers while the chaos at the prison has been going on for years, and while he said that he met with the Chief of Police and Chief Prosecutor, the fact remains that the prison has a management team who should be held accountable for the years of mismanagement. SMN News indicated to the Minister that the answers given to the media on St. Maarten regarding the prison sound more like a broken record while the situation at the Pointe Blanche house of detention continues to deteriorate. The Minister admitted that he and other former Ministers may have sounded like a broken record but the fact is the problem at Pointe Blanche prison cannot be fixed from one day to the next. He assured that in the coming days or weeks the people of St. Maarten will see a change, which will include measures taken against the management team of the Pointe Blanche House of detention. He stressed that an investigation is ongoing and those responsible for smuggling the contraband items into the prison will be punished severely when found. Meeting scheduled to discuss Insel Air with Secretary General. Acting Minister of TEATT Raphael Boasman also announced on Wednesday that he will meet with the Secretary General of TEATT Miguel De Weever and the Head of Civil Aviation St. Maarten Louis Halley to discuss the impact the cancellation of Insel Air flights has on St. Maarten and its travelers and how they could find a possible solution. It should be noted at Insel flights were grounded by two pilots last week Wednesday which sparked an immediate inspection by Civil Aviation Curacao and Aruba. Both countries Aviation authorities grounded all of the MD-80s as they carry out their inspection. Ever since the grounding of these aircraft Insel Air was forced to cancel all International flights leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at various airports. While a large number of people are being affected Insel Air is yet to release a statement to the media regarding their predicament. The lack of information caused a chaos at Curacaos airport and other airports. Up to late Tuesday, the aviation authorities only released one of the MD-80s while the others are still grounded. Asked by SMN News if the government of St. Maarten will consider granting AVA its permit since they applied since last year, the Minister said that he is monitoring the situation with AVA and Curacao which he said is playing out in Curacao. Minister Boasman said that Insel in an operating Airline that is what has the priority of government, thus he is meeting with those responsible for finding a proper solution for the effects the cancellation of Insel Air flights to St. Maarten and other destinations. President Donald Trump canceled an expected speech on the economy in Milwaukee on Thursday without saying why or if he will reschedule. The trip would have been one of his first outside of Washington since taking office. Tech. Sgt. Meghan Skrepenski with the 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard in Milwaukee confirmed Tuesday that the visit had been canceled. She said she had no information on why it was called off. Trump was also slated to meet with business leaders while in Wisconsin. When the White House gave word on Monday that Trump planned to travel to the battleground state he won in November, a group called the Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump quickly organized a protest. According to its Facebook page, by late Tuesday afternoon 1,200 people were planning to attend a protest with another 4,500 interested. A White House spokeswoman denied that any protest was behind the change in plans. Due to scheduling, the leadership he was potentially traveling to meet with is now coming here, said deputy press secretary Stephanie Grisham. But large anti-Trump protests have been a recurring theme of the first weeks of his presidency. Millions demonstrated across the globe in a series of womens marches the day after Trump was sworn in, and this past weekend thousands more protested at the nations biggest international airports after the presidents executive order restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S. Gov. Scott Walkers spokesman, Tom Evenson, said he didnt have any information about why the trip was not happening or if it would be rescheduled. Walker met with Trump in the White House on Saturday and is close with his chief of staff Reince Priebus, who previously was head of the Wisconsin Republican Party, as well as House Speaker Paul Ryan. Walker is the head of the Republican Governors Association and a former rival of Trumps for the GOP presidential nomination who later got behind Trump as the GOP nominee. Parsec Introduces Real-Time OEE Performance Management Solution Posted by Publisher Software ANAHEIM, CA (Marketwired) 01/31/17 In the latest example of its efforts to help manufacturers maximize performance while reducing costs and complexity, today announced the launch of its real-time . Built on the companys powerful modular manufacturing management software platform, , the new OEE solution gives manufacturers unparalleled ability to monitor, measure and improve operations. The pressure to increase quality and quantity, while reducing costs, has manufacturers seeking a deeper understanding of trends and patterns and new ways to drive efficiency. The very nature of OEE is to identify the percentage of manufacturing time that is truly productive. It is the key metric for measuring the performance of an operation, but many companies measure it incorrectly, or dont measure it at all. Most OEE measurement systems capture data from a single source and offer reports that may be visually appealing but actually contain very little substance. Other OEE systems capture lots of data but fail to give operators the necessary tools to act on that data. The TrakSYS OEE Performance Management solution collects and aggregates data from multiple sources, leveraging existing assets, resources and infrastructure, and provides insight into areas of the operation that need improvement with the tools to take action. We are challenging manufacturers to go beyond OEE measurement and to begin thinking about performance management, said Gregory Newman, Parsec vice president of marketing. Our TrakSYS OEE Performance Management solution pinpoints the root causes of poor performance and closes the loop by providing actionable intelligence and the tools necessary to fix the bottlenecks and improve productivity. When designing the TrakSYS OEE Performance Management solution, Parsec took into account three key criteria for measuring OEE: Availability, Performance and Quality. Availability, or downtime loss, encompasses changeovers, sanitation/cleaning, breakdowns, startup/shutdown, facility problems, etc. Performance, or speed loss, includes running a production system at a speed lower than the theoretical run rate, and short stop failures such as jams and overloads. Quality, or defect loss, is defined as production and startup rejects, process defects, reduction in yield, and products that need to be reworked to conform to quality standards. As part of the solution, Parsec created a variety of standard dashboards and reports as well as the ability to customize reports through powerful web-based configuration tools. Our goal is to empower manufacturers to unlock unseen potential with their existing infrastructure, added Newman. Even small tweaks can save a plant millions of dollars each year. TrakSYS is an integrated platform that contains all of the functionality of a full manufacturing execution system (MES) in one package. The modular nature of TrakSYS brings complete flexibility to deploy only the functions that are required, without a major software upgrade. TrakSYS business solutions include OEE, SPC, e-records, maintenance, traceability, workflow, batch processing, sustainability, labor, and more. Next week, Parsec will be demonstrating TrakSYS and its OEE Performance Management solution at , located at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Parsec will be located in Hall A, Booth 5283 from January 7-9. Please visit for more information. Parsec is the developer of TrakSYS, a leading real-time manufacturing operations and performance management software platform. Manufacturing companies worldwide rely on Parsec for flexible and configurable software to manage and execute manufacturing operations across the value stream more effectively. Without production disruption, TrakSYS helps manufacturers to significantly improve asset utilization and efficiency, increase capacity with no new capital equipment, reduce production costs, decrease lead time, and improve profitability. With measureable ROI, TrakSYS delivers the bottom-line results that manufacturing companies are looking for. To learn more about Parsec, please visit , follow them on and , and like them on . Image Available: Stephanie Olsen Lages & Associates (949) 453-8080 4C Launches First Self-Serve Technology Solution for Snap Ads CHICAGO, IL (Marketwired) 01/31/17 Today, 4C Insights, Inc. (), a data science and media technology company, announced the general availability of its self-serve technology solution for Snap Ads. With 150 million+ daily active users and 10 billion+ daily video views, Snapchat has become a critical channel for brands to reach engaged audiences. Now marketers can easily manage advertising placements on Snapchat through the 4C Social Ads product. Were excited to be the first agency to use 4C for managing Snap Ads on a self-serve basis, said George Manas, President at Resolution Media. Weve seen great performance to date through the API with 4C and being able to work directly within their platform gives us the control we need to scale our clients programs. Through the 4C software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, marketers can closely manage their Snapchat campaigns. Advanced features available through 4C for Snap Ads include bulk editing, smart groups, and auto-optimization as well as single sign-on workflow for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. By fully committing to SaaS, 4C ensures that our products have the most robust feature sets and continually improve as the market evolves, said Anupam Gupta, Chief Product Officer at 4C. Managed service providers often take shortcuts in product development because their model accounts for people to plug the gaps. On the other hand, our self-serve technology for Snap Ads puts the power of our data science at marketers fingertips, so they can make informed campaign decisions more quickly and achieve key brand objectives. 4C is leading the convergence of television and social media. Along with its SaaS product suite, 4C also operates Teletrax, the worlds largest television monitoring network, enabling TV synced ads as well as robust analytics. The combination of these unique assets allows its clients to maximize media value across channels and screens. For Snapchat, marketers can synchronize their Snap Ads with their own TV ads or their competitors TV ads as well as specific types of programming. 4Cs products are built on more than 30 years of computational science research by Founder and Chief Scientist, Dr. Alok Choudhary, at prestigious institutions including Northwestern University. The companys patented technology also leverages hardware and intellectual property acquired through Civolution and Royal Philips Electronics. Please visit for more information. 4C is a global leader in data science and media technology with solutions for multi-screen convergence. Brands, agencies, and media owners rely on the 4C Insights Affinity Graph to identify their most valuable audiences and improve effectiveness across channels. With nearly $1 billion in annualized media spend running through its software-as-a-service platform, 4C offers activation on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat as well as TV Synced Ads across display, search, social and video. The company also provides advertising and content analytics leveraging its Teletrax television monitoring network which detects over 400 million TV asset airings on an annual basis. Founded in 2011 and based in Chicago, 4C has staff in 14 worldwide locations across the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Hong Kong, India and Singapore. Visit for more information. Isabelle Marcoux becomes first Canadian to win the Visionary Award for Strategic Leadership from global organization WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation MONTREAL, QUEBEC (Marketwired) 02/01/17 Note to Editors: There is a photo associated with this press release. Ms. Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of the Board of Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A)(TSX: TCL.B), has distinguished herself as the first Canadian recipient of the prestigious Visionary Award for Strategic Leadership presented by the WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation (WCD) for 2017. WCD is a global organization that brings together more than 3,500 women serving on over 8,500 boards. Ms. Marcoux will receive this award at the , which will be held in New York on May 10, 2017. According to WCD, the honorary award granted to Ms. Marcoux aims to recognize her proven leadership in making the strategic decisions and sound investments which are driving TC Transcontinentals transformation while ensuring the organizations short- and long-term profitable growth. In addition, this distinction reflects her personal commitment to the development and advancement of women into leadership roles, particularly as members of boards of directors and as senior executives. This award also highlights the caliber of governance practices she upholds as Chair of the Board of Transcontinental Inc. and as a director on the boards of George Weston Limited, Rogers Communications Inc. and Power Corporation of Canada. It is an honour to be recognized by WCD in the Visionary Award for Strategic Leadership category, said Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of the Board of Transcontinental Inc. By fostering a long-term view, I strive to make decisions that are in the interest of all our stakeholders in order to ensure TC Transcontinentals long-term growth. Im grateful to be able to rely on a strong and diverse board, which supported the strategic shift in our organization that our seasoned management team has been diligently implementing for nearly three years. Finally, I am proud to continue building a company that also stands out for its values of respect, teamwork, performance and innovation. As an accomplished leader and an engaged philanthropist in the community, Ms. Marcoux has been honoured on numerous occasions over the past few years. This includes being recognized three times as one of Canadas 100 most powerful women by the Womens Executive Network (WXN), namely in the Corporate Directors category in 2016 and in the Corporate Executives category in 2010 and 2012. Furthermore, in 2016, Ms. Marcoux was awarded the Medal of the National Assembly of Quebec, recognizing the impact of her continuous community involvement. In 2015, the Federation des chambres de commerce du Quebec presented her with the Mercure Leadership Germaine-Gibara Award in the Large Business category, acknowledging the exceptional contribution of a businesswoman who has demonstrated audacity and influence throughout her career and within her industry. Ms. Isabelle Marcouxs full bio can be found . About TC Transcontinental Canadas largest printer with operations in print, flexible packaging, publishing and digital media, TC Transcontinentals mission is to create products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers. Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are strong values held by the Corporation and its employees. The Corporations commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business and philanthropic activities in a responsible manner. Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A)(TSX: TCL.B), known as TC Transcontinental, has close to 8,000 employees in Canada and the United States, and revenues of C$2.0 billion in 2016. Website To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: Contacts: Media Nathalie St-Jean, Senior Advisor, Communications TC Transcontinental 514-954-3581 Financial Community Shirley Chenny, Advisor, Investor Relations TC Transcontinental 514-954-4166 NextTier Education Expands Capabilities to Offer its College Planning and Application Platform in More than 100 Languages CHICAGO, IL (Marketwired) 02/01/17 Today . announced it has again improved the college search and application process for students, particularly students who are English language learners and multi-lingual families. NextTier can now deliver its robust content and college planning and application platform in over 100 languages. With NextTier, students and families can instantly translate data and information on more than 4,700 colleges and 20,000 scholarships. NextTier Education is a web- and mobile-based postsecondary readiness platform that delivers critical information on every two- and four-year college in the U.S. The first platform of its kind, NextTier provides each student with a comprehensive college application plan, including a detailed list of every schools required tasks, step-by-step guidance and deadlines for completing each task in the process. The NextTier platform enables real-time, active collaboration between students, educators and parents. NextTiers proprietary database also includes information on more than 20,000 scholarships and grants, and helps to successfully match students with the right financial support opportunities. According to a 2013-2014 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, nine percent of public high school students (4.5 million) in the United States are English language learners. California has the highest percentage of ELL students at 22.7 percent. Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and the District of Columbia all have 10 percent or more of public school students who do not speak English as their first language. NextTier is committed to making sure every student has equal access to higher education, said Justin Shiffman, founder and CEO of NextTier Education. By adding translation capabilities, we have removed yet another barrier to college access, and created a centralized communication platform that allows students, educators and parents to stay informed and participate in the process, regardless of what language they speak. A cloud-based platform, NextTier education requires no hardware or software investment by schools and only requires minimal training for administrators and users. NextTier enables school counselors to quickly view every students list of deadlines and status in the application process, as well as communicate directly with individual students and groups via email and mobile texts to keep them engaged, motivated and on schedule. Founded in 2014, Chicago-based Next Tier Education, Inc. is the first postsecondary readiness solution with user engagement as its top priority. NextTier helps students find the right-fit schools, navigate the process to plan and apply to schools, and identify ways to finance their investments. Additional information is available at or by calling 312.690.9996. Kevin Martin Scott Phillips + Associates, Inc. 312.943.9100 x23 New MemSQL Spark 2 Connector Operationalizes Powerful Advanced Analytics SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Marketwired) 02/01/17 MemSQL (), provider of the fastest database platform for real-time analytics, today announced the release of the MemSQL Spark 2 Connector with support for both Apache Spark 2.0 and 2.1. MemSQL will showcase this new connector at Spark Summit Boston East 2017 () from February 7-9 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. In addition, MemSQL CTO and Co-founder, Nikita Shamgunov and product manager, Steven will present at the conference. New MemSQL Spark 2 Connector Operationalizes Powerful Advanced Analytics The new connector offers complete support for all Apache Spark 2 functions including using SparkSession as the entry point for the DataFrame API, providing access to manipulate data inside Spark and MemSQL. The connector allows bi-directional data movement between Spark and MemSQL. The MemSQL Spark 2 Connector also provides performance enhancing SQL push down support with filter and predicate DataFrame operations for faster in-database processing. The new MemSQL Spark Connector with support for Spark 2.0 and 2.1 continues our journey of being the best database to store and retrieve data quickly from Apache Spark, said Nikita Shamgunov, CTO and co-founder, MemSQL. With data sources continuing to expand, enterprises need to implement architectures that support fast, operational analytics. The MemSQL and Spark combination empowers users to harness streaming data and capitalize on real-time analytics. Developers who want to use the new MemSQL Spark 2 Connector can download it at . Speaker: Nikita Shamgunov, CTO and Co-founder, MemSQL Date: Thursday, February 9 from 2:00 PM 2:30 PM Location: Ballroom A Going real-time is the next phase for big data, and streaming remains a primary mechanism to get there. Spark provides groundbreaking capabilities to handle real-time data, including streams and transformation. And retaining both real-time and historical data provides the most accurate mechanisms for predictive analytics and machine learning. In this session, Nikita will outline architecting real-time data pipelines with the power of Apache Spark and a robust, distributed in-memory database. In particular, he will detail how some of the worlds largest companies are running business critical applications using Spark. Attendees will dive deep into the mechanics of real-time pipelines, the ability to durably store data, and how to instantly derive insights from billions of data points. Speaker: , Product Manager, MemSQL Date: Wednesday, February 8 from 5:00 PM 5:15 PM Location: Room 311 Learn tools, techniques, and use cases for integrating real-time analytics across your organization. Steven Camina, MemSQL Product Manager, will walk through critical technologies needed in your real-time stack, including Apache Spark, messaging queues, data management systems, and tools for data visualization and exploration. Steven will also provide a live demo, sharing how to build a data pipeline and real-time dashboard in under 5 minutes. MemSQL delivers the leading database platform for real-time analytics. Global enterprises use MemSQL to achieve peak performance and optimize data efficiency. With the combined power of database, data warehouse, and streaming workloads in one system, MemSQL helps companies anticipate problems before they occur, turn insights into actions, and stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. Visit or follow us . Kristi Kilpatrick Kilpatrick PR 650-302-6404 Protect Your Privacy: Everyoneas Personal Private Data Is for Sale in China In most of Western society, breaching personal privacy in the name of national security isnt necessarily an okay thing to do, however, the counterparts to the East in China have a much different perspective. Whether a Chinese citizen or simply living in China as a non-native, it is generally a safe assumption that the Chinese government is constantly watching and basically knows everything about the people both, online or off. One surprising aspect, however, is that its not always the government itself that is doing the watching, as Saa Petricic writes for CBC news, theres an industry of private and state-owned high-tech enterprises serving [the Chinese government]. A great example of surveillance by the Chinese government is explained by Peter Fuhrman in the Washington Post last year. He wrote that just about every time he got an international phone call on his Chinese mobile phone, he was pinged within seconds by a text message. It was an automated message from the anti-fraud department of the city of Shenzhens Public Security Bureau (PSB), Chinas version of the FBI. This message informed him in polite Chinese that the PSB knows he is on the phone with someone calling from outside China, and so he should have been especially vigilant, because the caller could be part of some scheme to steal his money or otherwise cheat him. For more information on how to [protect online identity](https://www.abine.com/index.html), visit their website. While the mass-surveillance of the Chinese people by its government is not necessarily breaking news, one characteristic that has come into play recently is the fact that the data being collected, is for sale online, and its not that expensive. An investigation done by the Chinese newspaper the Guangzhou Southern Metropolis Daily explains that detailed reports about friends and family including bank records, recent hotels stayed at, travel arrangements, border entry and exit records, real estate transactions, etc could be received for a little over $100 USD. The foremost argument in-favor of mass-surveillance by the Chinese government is national security. In China, however, the principles of national security are being brought to an entirely new level with the introduction of the idea of social credita social trustworthiness score given to citizens by the Chinese government. The notion behind this policy is simple: If trust is broken in one place, restrictions are imposed everywhere. As Americans, this kind of government surveillance is mostly considered atrocious, Orwellian, or even laughable. However, as it was explained in a blog post last week, Americans may be headed towards a period of mass-surveillance themselves as President-Elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in the coming days. While the American government continues to breach personal privacy, Americans may also be forced to reconsider, or redefine, the term privacy by following the lead of Chinese citizens. HPE Acquires Niara to Enhance Security at the Intelligent Edge PALO ALTO, CA (Marketwired) 02/01/17 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) today announced it has acquired , a Sunnyvale, California-based leader in the emerging User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) security market segment. Niara will operate within HPE Aruba to enhance the companys ClearPass network security portfolio for wired and wireless network infrastructure. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With this transaction, we are continuing to innovate at the Intelligent Edge with software-defined solutions to better protect our customers business and IoT data, said Keerti Melkote, Senior Vice President and General Manager, HPE Aruba. With over 20 billion IoT devices expected to be connected to networks by 2020, security is the number one concern for our customers. Combining Niaras next-generation behavior analytics software with Arubas ClearPass network security portfolio will deliver the industrys most complete visibility and attack detection system. UEBA is new class of security technology that is designed to identify next-generation security threats that have penetrated traditional firewalls and other perimeter systems. In defining the UEBA market, Gartner states, User and Entity Behavior Analytics offers profiling and anomaly detection based on a range of analytics approaches, usually using a combination of basic analytics methods and advanced analytics Examples of these activities include unusual access to systems and data by trusted insiders or third parties, and breaches by external attackers evading preventative security controls.(1) The Niara behavioral analytics software automates the detection of attacks and risky behaviors inside an organization and dramatically reduces the time and skill needed for security teams to investigate and respond to security events. Niara was included in a May 2016 Gartner report, Cool Vendors in UEBA, Fraud Detection and User Authentication, 2016.(2) Adding Niara to the HPE Aruba ClearPass portfolio advances HPEs Intelligent Edge strategy for transforming workplace and operational experiences within the fast-growing wired and wireless network infrastructure market for traditional and IoT devices. The Niara behavioral analytics solution seamlessly integrates with the ClearPass network security platform to create the industrys most complete visibility and attack detection system. After an incident is discovered by Niara, a ClearPass network access policy can be automatically triggered to isolate or disconnect the user or device from the network to prevent access to sensitive information such as credit cards or other customer and corporate information. ClearPass has earned a reputation as the industrys leading device and user-access policy solution, said Sriram Ramachandran, CEO and co-founder of Niara. Integrating Niaras advanced behavioral analytics with ClearPass is a natural extension that will now deliver network-wide, real time visibility and predictive assessment of potential risks inside the enterprise. We also are excited to elevate our relationship from a ClearPass Exchange integration partner, to directly contributing to Arubas growth. Click to read blog posts from and . Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is an industry leading technology company that enables customers to go further, faster. With the industrys most comprehensive portfolio, spanning the cloud to the data center to workplace applications, our technology and services help customers around the world make IT more efficient, more productive and more secure. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If the risks or uncertainties ever materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, the results of Hewlett Packard Enterprise may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to any projections of revenue, margins, expenses, effective tax rates, net earnings, net earnings per share, cash flows, benefit plan funding, share repurchases, currency exchange rates or other financial items; any projections of the amount, timing or impact of cost savings or restructuring charges; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, including the acquisition of Niara and the recently announced divestiture transactions, the execution of restructuring plans and any resulting cost savings or revenue or profitability improvements; any statements concerning the expected development, performance, market share or competitive performance relating to products or services; any statements regarding current or future macroeconomic trends or events and the impact of those trends and events on Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its financial performance; any statements regarding pending investigations, claims or disputes; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements or assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the need to address the many challenges facing Hewlett Packard Enterprises businesses; the competitive pressures faced by Hewlett Packard Enterprises businesses; risks associated with executing Hewlett Packard Enterprises strategy; the impact of macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the need to manage third-party suppliers and the distribution of Hewlett Packard Enterprises products and the delivery of Hewlett Packard Enterprises services effectively; the protection of Hewlett Packard Enterprises intellectual property assets, including intellectual property licensed from third parties; risks associated with Hewlett Packard Enterprises international operations; the development and transition of new products and services and the enhancement of existing products and services to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its suppliers, customers and partners; the hiring and retention of key employees; integration and other risks associated with business combination and investment transactions; the results of the divestiture transactions or restructuring plans, including estimates and assumptions related to the cost (including any possible disruption of Hewlett Packard Enterprises business) and the anticipated benefits of the transactions, including the acquisition of Niara, or of implementing the restructuring plans; the resolution of pending investigations, claims and disputes; and other risks that are described in Hewlett Packard Enterprises Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2016. (1) Toby Bussa, Avivah Litan, Tricia Phillips, Market Guide for User Entity Behavioral Analytics, Gartner, Dec. 8, 2016 (ID#G00292503), Pg.1 (2) Gartner, Cool Vendors in UEBA, Fraud Detection and User Authentication, 2016, 02 May 2016 Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartners research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Editorial contact Amid national opposition to President Donald Trumps executive actions on immigration, Madison officials are seeking to solidify support for immigrants, but theres sharp disagreement on exactly how to do so. Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, 5th District, and City Council members are formally introducing a resolution on Tuesday with a vote expected that night that would condemn recent Trump executive orders, reaffirm Madison as an open and welcoming city, and confirm city policies on federal immigration laws. The resolution would codify some of the citys current practices and policies on federal immigration enforcement and direct requests from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) to the citys Attorneys Office. Its a very important action of the council, Bidar-Sielaff said. It clearly spells out that we oppose the executive orders, that we stand very much with a strong policy protecting our community of immigrants. Mayor Paul Soglin, at a press conference Wednesday, said he supports the resolution except for a reckless provision that would designate the council offices on the fourth floor of City Hall as a safe space where all residents would be safe and protected. Soglin said he sees little practical value but great risk in the provision and vowed to veto the entire resolution if the language remains. The danger, Soglin said, comes from pricking Gov. Scott Walker and state lawmakers who thus far have let the federal government handle the relationship between cities and immigration enforcement, with Trump threatening to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities but cities feeling grounded in the law. The consequences of declaring the offices a safe space can be disastrous, Soglin said. In the last session of the Legislature, consideration was given to suspending state funding to sanctuary cities. Let us understand that we are far more vulnerable from a state government which has far more power to remove our funding than the federal government. Bidar-Sielaff said she stands by the full proposal, including the safe space. I firmly believe this is a time to be bold and stand up and not cave under threats of the Republican Legislature and our federal government, she said. I believe the mayor is playing politics and wants this to be about him. This is about the most vulnerable people in our community. Soglin said, We have made the point that we are a sanctuary city. We are committed to justice. The law is on our side. Let us avoid a futile gesture that that may make us feel good but that does not add to the sanctity of our position and only creates enormous risk. In a memo to council members on Wednesday, Bidar-Sielaff said she worked diligently on the resolution with the city attorneys office, based on a balance between what she wanted to accomplish and the city attorneys office legal advice. The language on a safe space is intentionally vague, she said. City attorney Michael May said language on the Trump executive orders and safe place is new, but the rest of the proposal is existing policy and practice, even though some of whats existing isnt written down. The safe space language is so vague that its essentially meaningless, May said, adding, I see it as aspirational. The three-page resolution condemns three Trump executive actions as contrary to the values of openness and inclusion of the city of Madison. On Jan. 25, Trump signed executive orders calling for the immediate construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and denying federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities if they fail to comply with federal immigration laws. Two days later, he signed an order that bars visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days and suspends the refugee program for four months and indefinitely curbs immigration from Syria. On Monday, the Madison Police Department announced a new standard operating procedure and revised language to its code of conduct to reaffirm and strengthen its position on immigration. WASHINGTON House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday defended President Donald Trumps divisive executive order on refugees and immigration, arguing that while the rollout was bumpy, the policy is consistent with Republican principles. The president has a responsibility to the security of this country, Ryan told reporters. What is happening is something that we support, which is, we need to pause. And we need to make sure the vetting standards are up to snuff so that we can guarantee the safety and security of our country. That is what this does. I think its regrettable that there was some confusion on the rollout of this, Ryan said, adding no one wanted to see legal permanent residents caught up in the immigration ban, which initially happened before the administration clarified that they should not be. Even though GOP congressional leadership was frozen out of the drafting of the order, Ryan told rank-and-file Republicans in a closed-door meeting before speaking to reporters he backed the decision to stop the U.S. refugee program and ban all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days. The action triggered mass confusion and chaos worldwide, split families and set off protests at airports across the country. In the aftermath, Ryan told the GOP the rollout was a little bumpy, been a few potholes in the road but the actual policy he agreed with, said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn. Ryan warned lawmakers to expect protests at their offices, Roe said, but reminded them the policy is in line with legislation the House has strongly backed in the past. Another lawmaker, Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida, said the speakers message was, Look, this shouldnt be a surprise to anybody; this is what we all campaigned on. ... Were looking at eight years of a legacy that were essentially undoing. Said Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y.: The speaker was very out in front today reminding our conference this is something we should be embracing. Ryans reassurances werent enough to quiet frustration from some members. Basically, I think the thrust of the executive order should have been a very positive move, said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. The way it was handled, though, put the Republicans on defense, and also caused great inconvenience to too many people. But the political question you ask, yeah, theyre losing political capital for no reason. It was a self-inflicted wound. For his part, Sen. Ron Johnson , R-Oshkosh, called the travel ban a pretty reasonable proposal and asked opponents to read the executive order and tell me what you disagree with. Johnson broke his silence on the travel ban in a radio interview Tuesday on WISN-AM, saying opposition to it is being blown out of proportion. Johnson is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Ryan also defended the surprising news, first reported by Politico, that the administrations repeated claims that Hill Republicans were involved in drafting the executive order apparently referred to staffers on the House Judiciary Committee who acted without the knowledge of GOP leadership. Congressional staffers help the administration all of the time, Ryan said. Associated Press reporter Andrew Taylor contributed to this report. We have more newsletters Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Never miss Somerset's latest and breaking news again by signing up to our Daily Newsletter Two pubs in Somerset and Dorset are listed among the best in the UK in the National Pub and Bar Awards 2017. The Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George near Crewkerne in Somerset is on the list, along with the Anchor Inn, over the border on the Jurassic Coast in West Dorset. They will now go on to compete in a national competition against 92 other pubs. The Lord Poulett Arms, Hinton St George The Lord Poulett is no stranger to awards. It not only won the Good Pub Guide award for Somerset Dining Pub of the Year 2009, 2012 and 2014, but it was also named one of the top 3 gardens in the country for dining alfresco by Gardeners World . There has been a pub on the site of The Lord Poulett since 1680. The current owners have only been in place since 2002. As well as a great selection of real ales and real log fires to enjoy, diners are spoilt for choice with five different menus available at the time of writing. On the lunch menu, starters range from 6.95, mains from 10.95 and desserts from 6. The Dinner Menu offers more choice, but sticks to the same price range. The Menu Du Jour offers two courses for 15.95 or three courses for 18.95. Sunday lunch comes in at 18.50 for two adult courses or 9.25 for two children's courses. A three course option will set you back 23, with plenty to choose from in each course. While this Easter Sunday you can grab a tasty three course meal for 25, again with plenty of choice available. Visit their website or call 01460 73149 for bookings. The Anchor Inn, Seatown Sat in a great location right on the Dorset coast, the 160 year old Anchor Inn is home to some quality Bridport real ales, and boasts a Cask Marque seal of approval. It's a great place to stop for a meal if you want to explore the Jurassic Coast that features in the hit ITV series Broadchurch. Relying exclusively on local suppliers, the spirit of Dorset really shines through on their menu too, and as you would expect from their location, they're very proud of their seafood. Starters begin at 6, main course at 12 and desserts at 7. You can garnish your food with side dishes from only 3, and children can eat from 5 a head. For bookings, head to their website , or call 01297 489215. The Albion, Bristol Specialising in fine food, great wines and first class hospitality, The Albion in Clifton, Bristol, opened in 2014 and is located in a grade 2 listed former coaching inn, which dates back to the 18th century. Diners can chose from three different reasonably priced menus, with all the food freshly prepared on site. The lunch menu offers homemade thin crust pizzas; 9, and freshly made sandwiches; from 6. On the main menu, a sharing platter or charcuterie board will set you back 12.50, starters and appetizers range from 3 each, main courses from 10.95 and sides cost from 3. A delicious pudding selection starts from 5.95. Visit their website or call 0117 973 3522 for bookings. Now check out the full list of 'best in county' pubs: The National Pub & Bar Awards County Winners: East Midlands Derbyshire The Cock Inn, Mugginton Leicestershire The Manners Arms Northamptonshire 185 Watling Street Nottinghamshire The Hockley Arts Club Rutland The Grainstore Brewery Tap East of England Essex Galvin Green Man Bedfordshire The Fancott Cambridgeshire The White Hart, Ufford Hertfordshire The Fox at Willian Norfolk The Crown, Pulham Market Suffolk The Turks Head London City of London The Trading House Greater London Four Thieves North East Durham The Copper Mine Northumberland The Feathers Inn, Hedley on the Hill Tyne and Wear The Botanist North West Cheshire Cholmondeley Arms Cumbria The Punch Bowl Inn & Restaurant Greater Manchester Albert's Schloss Lancashire Derby Arms, Longridge Merseyside The Ship & Mitre Northern Ireland Antrim The Northern Whig Armagh The Corner House Down Denvir's Coaching Inn Fermanagh The Taphouse Londonderry Dormans Tyrone Time Bar Scotland Aberdeenshire Cock and Bull Angus The Old Brewhouse Argyll and Bute Ballygrant Inn & Restaurant City of Aberdeen The Tippling House City of Dundee The West House City of Edinburgh The Caley Sample Room City of Glasgow WEST On The Green Clackmannanshire The Old Brewery Dumfries and Galloway The Steamboat Inn East Ayrshire Franklin & Sloane East Dunbartonshire The Stables East Lothian The Crown and Kitchen East Renfrewshire The White Cart Falkirk Johnston's Bar Bistro Fife The Ship Inn, Elie Highland Applecross Inn Inverclyde Old Bank Bar Midlothian The Sun Inn Moray The Red Lion, Forres Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) Westford Inn North Ayrshire The Canny Man North Lanarkshire Railway Tavern Orkney Islands The Ferry Inn Perth and Kinross The Old Mill Inn Renfrewshire Fox and Hounds Scottish Borders Allanton Inn Shetland Islands Pier Head South Ayrshire The Smoking Goat South Lanarkshire The Crown Inn, Biggar Stirling The Cross Keys West Dunbartonshire The Balloch House West Lothian The Volunteer Arms South East Berkshire The Crown at Bray Buckinghamshire The Swan Inn, Milton Keynes Village East Sussex The Bell, Ticehurst Hampshire The King's Head, Hursley Isle of Wight The Taverners Kent The Dog At Wingham West Sussex The White Horse, Chilgrove Oxfordshire The Bull Inn, Charlbury Surrey The Park Hatch South West Bristol The Albion Cornwall The Port Gaverne Hotel Devon The Cornish Arms Dorset The Anchor Inn, Seatown Gloucestershire Brewhouse & Kitchen Cheltenham Somerset The Lord Poulett Arms Wiltshire The Swan, Enford Wales Clwyd The West Arms Dyfed The Stackpole Inn Gwent The Bell at Skenfrith Gwynedd The Bull, Beaumaris Mid Glamorgan Nolton Corner Powys The Harp, Old Radnor South Glamorgan Tiny Rebel, Cardiff West Glamorgan Britannia Inn West Midlands Herefordshire The Bridge Inn Shropshire The Boathouse Bar + Grill Staffordshire The Fitzherbert Arms Warwickshire The George Townhouse West Midlands The Old Joint Stock Worcestershire The Swan Inn, Hanley Swan Yorkshire and the Humber East Riding of Yorkshire Pipe and Glass North Yorkshire Aldwark Arms South Yorkshire The Botanist West Yorkshire The Alchemist Lincolnshire The Hope and Anchor When photography was invented in France in the 1820s, some artists predicted even feared that it would in time take the place of painting. That didnt happen, but photographers around the world consistently have recorded images that reveal... The westerly winds, called pacchhon that blow through Punjab in Northeastern India this time of the year, normally signal a change of seasons. This time those winds are also heralding a change in the political landscape of Punjab, the homeland of hundreds of thousands of Indo-Canadians often referred to as NRIs or Non-Resident Indians. Hundreds of them have arrived from various cities in "Kanneda" (Canada), reported local media this week. In the southern belt of Punjab, known as the Malwa area, white jeeps with Canadian, Australian, British and American flags, are traversing the countryside bearing Punjabis, encouraging people to vote. NRI volunteers purposely dress differently. They wear their suits and ties even when they are campaigning in rural Punjab. They want to be identified as being different from the party they support. They want their 'pind' (village) to know that they have left their successful businesses or careers for a short break because they want to be part of the 'great change' that is going to come to Punjab, one news report said. Punjab is on the cusp of a history-making assembly election. Since 1947, the two traditional parties, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress, have dominated the electoral landscape and taken turns to rule the border state, seven times each. In 2012, the SAD combined forces with the BJP to rule Punjab. This time, however, a third political entity the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has disturbed the mould providing Punjab with a potent alternative force in the power sweepstakes. The high-octane battle of the ballot for the Punjab Assembly polls begins Feb 4 with 1,146 candidates fighting for 117 constituencies. As the NRI-brigade traverses Punjab to showcase why their homeland needs western transparency in governance, local politicians are making a mockery of democracy by offering freebies like rations, jobs and loans to lure voters. The Congress led by Captain Amarinder Singh has promised free travel for students, police officials, ex-servicemen, paramilitary force personnel and senior citizens in the state transport buses. It has also promised subsidized food canteens for the poor which will provide a meal at Rs5 throughout the state. THE SAD-BJB combine led by incumbent Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has promised vocational training to hundreds of thousands of youth by opening 2,500 skill development centres across the state, besides providing houses to the homeless, free pressure cookers, gas stoves and free education for girls up to PHD levels. Arvind Kejriwals AAP, which has mobilized the most support from NRIs with its anti-corruption campaign, is offering free medical and diagnostic tests in every village, a waiver of loans to farmers and compensation to families whose members have committed suicide. All the main players have described each others manifestos 'misleading and meaningless'. The fight for Punjab, which has traditionally been waged in the villages has also shifted to high-tech war-rooms With a large share (around 35-40%) of young voters in the state being internet users, the war rooms have come to a consensus that the next Sardar of Punjab will be chosen online and are devising blueprints to lure the youth vote. The war rooms are not only being used as a voter outreach tool but also to manage campaigns and media outreach. This is done through social media as well as conventional media like print, broadcast and television. Congress, which was the first to set up its war room in the state with a force of 450 people in Mohali, has taken the lead in gauging the mood of the voters and launching campaigns to swing votes to its side. The SAD, which is considered a traditional party and had been solely dependent on direct contact with voters till 2014 has also set up a war room, after it realised how AAP punched holes into its vote bank using digital media campaigns. It has employed nearly 80 people to manage its war room. Undeterred, the AAP's Punjab Facebook page boasts 865,000 'likes. Ironically, the young voters have to choose between ageing leaders who are the chief ministerial faces of two parties the SAD and the Congress. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is 89 years old. His Congress rival, Amarinder Singh, claims that Badal is actually 94 years old, while he himself will turn 75 in March. The AAP is yet to project its chief ministerial candidate As the final countdown to the polls begin this week in Punjab, perhaps the only thing that is certain is that great change is coming to Punjab. Everything you need to know about the Irish vs. No. 5 Clemson at Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night Two days before the new presidents inauguration, the Society of Professional Journalists and dozens of other media and government transparency groups sent a letter asking Donald Trump for a meeting to discuss his administrations relationship with the press. Among other things, the groups wanted Trump to affirm his commitment to the First Amendment, assure media access to his presidential activities, and allow expert government employees to talk to the media rather than muzzle them in favor of public relations officials. Trump has yet to respond. However, the new administration issued orders to employees of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture not to convey information to the media or public. Officials also imposed a news blackout at the Department of Transportation. Meanwhile, Trump claimed, with no evidence, that up to 5 million illegal voters participated in the election. His White House spokeswoman used the term alternative facts to explain false claims that Trumps inauguration audience was the largest ever, and chief strategist Steve Bannon called the news media an opposition party that should keep its mouth shut views Trump later endorsed. All this happened in Trumps first two weeks in office. Where does that leave us, as members of the press and guardians of your right to know what government is doing? First, we must report on official efforts to withhold information from the public which is, after all, footing the bill for government. On Day 1, the new administration scrubbed references to climate change from the EPA website (echoing similar actions by Wisconsins Department of Natural Resources and Public Service Commission). Expect more of the same. Second, we must continue to be vigilant in the face of Trumps tendency, first as a candidate and now as president, to engage in bombast and exaggeration. It is our duty to expose unprovable, and outright false, claims. Third, we must guard against politicians unwillingness to subject their actions to media scrutiny. It is our job to disclose what the administration is doing, even in the face of efforts to bypass the traditional White House press corps. As law professors RonNell Andersen Jones and Sonja R. West recently wrote in The New York Times, while the First Amendment prohibits government censorship and offers protection against lawsuits, journalists have few constitutional rights to government documents and sources, or from being maligned by people in power. Trump, they noted, appears set on blowing up the mutually dependent relationships the White House press corps has had with presidential administrations from both parties. This is why we should be alarmed when Mr. Trump, defying tradition, vilifies media institutions, attacks reporters by name and refuses to take questions from those whose coverage he dislikes, they wrote. Its not just about the media. Its about your right to know. To quote Jones and West, Like so much of our democracy, the freedom of the press is only as strong as we, the public, demand it to be. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city. Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Keep up to date with the latest stories with our WalesOnline newsletter A man who carried out a "campaign of rape" against a vulnerable young girl has been jailed for 14 years. Paul Edward Court abused the youngster over a 15-month period, repeatedly raping the girl who had special educational needs. The attacks happened a decade ago, but it is only in recent years the victim has come forward to report them. Court, aged 33, of Gwendoline Street, Port Talbot , had previously been found guilty of five counts of rape following a trial when he appeared in the dock of Swansea Crown Court for sentencing. Andrew Taylor, for Court, said his client maintained his innocence despite the verdicts but faced the custodial sentence he knew would be handed to him "with stoicism". The barrister said the defendant's family were standing by him, which boded well for his eventual release. Judge Peter Heywood said Court had carried out a "campaign of rape" against the vulnerable girl over a prolonged period. He sentenced Court to a total of 14 years in prison. Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police detective inspector Phil Sparrow said: "The victim in the case was a vulnerable woman, who was provided with multi-agency support and despite these challenges she had the strength and courage to support the police prosecution and provided evidence of her harrowing and traumatic experience. "She was supported throughout by specialist officers from Morriston CID, who continue to work tirelessly for victims of rape and target and pursue individuals who exploit the most vulnerable persons within our society. "In addition, this successful court result is testament to the courage of the victim and the commitment of the investigative team and hopefully this sentence will inspire trust and confidence in our communities to report these matters." The sentence was welcomed by children's charity, NSPCC Cymru / Wales. A spokesman said: "Court is a predatory sex offender whose campaign of sickening abuse on a vulnerable young child lasted 15 awful months. "The length of the custodial sentence imposed upon him reflects the seriousness of his crimes and his victim has shown tremendous bravery in reliving her ordeal in court. "This case is proof that survivors of abuse will be listened to, no matter how much time has passed. "Sexual abuse ruins childhoods and its devastating effects can last long into adulthood. That's why it's absolutely vital that victims get the support they need as soon as possible." Chimpanzees are in crisis, but NASA may be able to help: The agency recently announced a partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute, in hopes of helping chimpanzee conservation efforts. One hundred years ago, more than 2 million chimpanzees were in the world. Now, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that only 345,000 or fewer chimpanzees remain in the wild. The new partnership will use NASA satellites and the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat satellite to monitor the chimps' forest homes. One of the primary reasons chimpanzees are at risk is habitat loss, according to Lilian Pintea, a remote sensing specialist and vice president of conservation science for the Jane Goodall Institute. [8 Humanlike Behaviors of Primates] In fact, the deforestation is so drastic that it can be seen from space, Pintea said. In 2000, he saw a side-by-side comparison of satellite images of the area around Gombe National Park, a chimpanzee reserve in Tanzania. The images, one taken in 1972 and the other in 1999, show the dramatic deforestation that occurred outside the park. "NASA satellite data helps us understand what it means to be a chimp, by overlaying distribution of the habitat with the chimpanzee behavior and ranging data," Pintea said in a statement. This data enables him and other scientists to monitor where chimps are at risk with more context. Plain maps don't show the chimps' habitat along with human activities, according to NASA officials, whereas Landsat images can relay information about land use and its impact on the forests. Chimpanzees' habitat once spanned an uninterrupted belt of forest and woodlands, but chimps in the region now occupy increasingly small fragments of land outside the park area. Population growth, logging and charcoal production led to the increased deforestation, according to conservationist Jane Goodall. As such, Goodall said conservation efforts must include working with local communities. "It was really exciting to see the impact of these images on the villagers," Goodall said, adding that villagers could identify landmarks and sacred places in the satellite imagery. "It was like a piece of reality dropped magically from the sky." Satellite data will be used in the Jane Goodall Institute's conservation efforts to help inform scientists and conservationists, as well as the local communities, as the Institute plans for more thoughtful land use and support chimpanzee habitats. Original article on Live Science. An artist's depiction of the largest bodies in the solar system (not to scale). Solar system formation began approximately 4.5 billion years ago, when gravity pulled a cloud of dust and gas together to form our solar system. Scientists can't directly study how our own solar system formed, but combining observations of young stellar systems in a range of wavelengths with computer simulations has led to models of what could have happened so many years ago. How did the sun form? An artist's depiction of gas and dust surrounding a young star. (Image credit: NASA) The solar system is anchored by our sun. Before the solar system existed, a massive concentration of interstellar gas and dust created a molecular cloud that would form the sun's birthplace. Cold temperatures caused the gas to clump together, growing steadily denser. The densest parts of the cloud began to collapse under their own gravity, perhaps with a nudge from a nearby stellar explosion, forming a wealth of young stellar objects known as protostars. Gravity continued to collapse the material onto the infant solar system, creating a star and a disk of material from which the planets would form. Eventually, the newborn sun encompassed more than 99% of the solar system's mass, according to NASA (opens in new tab). When pressure inside the star grew so powerful that fusion kicked in, turning hydrogen to helium, the star began to blast a stellar wind that helped clear out the debris and stopped it from falling inward. Although gas and dust shroud young stars in visible wavelengths, infrared telescopes have probed many clouds in the Milky Way galaxy to study the environment of other newborn stars. Scientists have applied what they've seen in other systems to our own star. How did the planets form? The planets, moons, asteroids and everything else in the solar system formed from the small fraction of material in the region that wasn't incorporated in the young sun. This material formed a massive disk around the baby star, which surrounded it for about 100 million years an eyeblink in astronomical terms. During that time, planets and moons formed out of the disk. Among the planets, Jupiter likely formed first, perhaps as soon as a million years into the solar system's life, scientists have argued (opens in new tab). Scientists have developed three different models to explain how planets in and out of the solar system may have formed. The first and most widely accepted model, core accretion, works well with the formation of the rocky terrestrial planets but has problems with giant planets. The second, pebble accretion, could allow planets to quickly form from the tiniest materials. The third, the disk instability method, may account for the creation of giant planets. The core accretion model Approximately 4.6 billion years ago, the solar system was a cloud of dust and gas known as a solar nebula. Gravity collapsed the material in on itself as it began to spin, forming the sun in the center of the nebula. With the rise of the sun, the remaining material began to clump together. Small particles drew together, bound by the force of gravity, into larger particles, according to the core accretion model. The solar wind swept away lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium, from the closer regions, leaving only heavy, rocky materials to create terrestrial worlds. But farther away, the solar winds had less impact on lighter elements, allowing them to coalesce into gas giants. In this way, asteroids, comets, planets and moons were created. Some exoplanet observations seem to confirm core accretion as the dominant formation process. Stars with more "metals" a term astronomers use for elements other than hydrogen and helium in their cores have more giant planets than their metal-poor cousins. According to NASA (opens in new tab), core accretion suggests that small, rocky worlds should be more common than the large gas giants. The 2005 discovery of a giant planet with a massive core orbiting the sun-like star HD 149026 is an example of an exoplanet that helped strengthen the case for core accretion. The planet's core is about 70 times more massive than Earth, scientists found; they believe that is too large to have formed from a collapsing cloud, according to a NASA statement about the research (opens in new tab). Pebble accretion The biggest challenge to core accretion is time building massive gas giants fast enough to grab the lighter components of their atmosphere. Research published in 2015 probed how smaller, pebble-size objects fused together to build giant planets up to 1,000 times faster than earlier studies. "This is the first model that we know about that you start out with a pretty simple structure for the solar nebula from which planets form, and end up with the giant-planet system that we see," study lead author Harold Levison, an astronomer at SwRI, told Space.com at the time. In 2012, researchers Michiel Lambrechts and Anders Johansen of Lund University in Sweden proposed that tiny rubble, once written off, held the key to rapidly building giant planets. "They showed that the leftover pebbles from this formation process, which previously were thought to be unimportant, could actually be a huge solution to the planet-forming problem," Levison said. In simulations that Levison and his team developed, larger objects acted like bullies, snatching away pebbles from the mid-size masses to grow at a far faster rate. "The bigger guy basically bullies the smaller one so they can eat all the pebbles themselves, and they can continue to grow up to form the cores of the giant planets," study co-author Katherine Kretke, also from SwRI, told Space.com. The disk instability model Other models struggle to explain the formation of the gas giants. According to core accretion models, the process would take several million years, longer than the light gases were available in the early solar system. "Giant planets form really fast, in a few million years," Kevin Walsh, a researcher at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, told Space.com. "That creates a time limit because the gas disk around the sun only lasts 4 to 5 million years." A relatively new theory called disk instability addresses this challenge. In the disk instability model of planet formation, clumps of dust and gas are bound together early in the life of the solar system. Over time, these clumps slowly compact into a giant planet. Planets can form in this way in as little as 1,000 years, the models suggest, allowing them to trap the rapidly vanishing lighter gases. They also quickly reach an orbit-stabilizing mass that keeps them from death-marching into the sun. As scientists continue to study planets inside of the solar system, as well as around other stars, they will better understand how gas giants formed. Planets on the move Originally, scientists thought that planets formed in their current locations in the solar system. But the discovery of exoplanets shook things up, revealing that at least some of the most massive worlds could migrate through their neighborhoods. In 2005, a trio of papers published in the journal Nature (opens in new tab) outlined an idea the researchers called the Nice model (opens in new tab), after the city in France where they first discussed it. This model proposes that in the early days of the solar system, the giant planets were bound in near-circular orbits much more compact than they are today. A large disk of rocks and ices surrounded them, stretching out to about 35 times the Earth-sun distance, just beyond Neptune's present orbit. As the planets interacted with smaller bodies, they scattered most of these objects toward the sun. The process caused the massive planets to trade energy with the smaller objects, sending the Saturn, Neptune and Uranus farther out into the solar system. Eventually the small objects reached Jupiter, which sent them flying to the edge of the solar system or completely out of it. Movement between Jupiter and Saturn drove Uranus and Neptune into even more eccentric orbits, sending the pair through the remaining disk of ices. Some of the material was flung inward, where it crashed into the terrestrial planets during the Late Heavy Bombardment. Other material was hurled outward, creating the Kuiper Belt. As they moved slowly outward, Neptune and Uranus traded places. Eventually, interactions with the remaining debris caused the pair to settle into more circular paths as they reached their current distance from the sun. Along the way, our solar system may have lost members: It's possible that one or even two other giant planets were kicked out (opens in new tab) of the neighborhood by all this movement. Astronomer David Nesvorny of SwRI has modeled the early solar system in search of clues that could lead toward understanding its early history. "In the early days, the solar system was very different, with many more planets, perhaps as massive as Neptune, forming and being scattered to different places," Nesvorny told Space.com Where's the water? Even after the planets had formed, the solar system itself wasn't quite recognizable. Earth stands out from the planets because of its high water content, which many scientists suspect contributed to the evolution of life. But the planet's current location was too warm for it to collect water in the early solar system, suggesting that the life-giving liquid may have been delivered after Earth formed. Just one hitch: scientists still don't know where that water might have come from. Originally, researchers suspected comets carried it to Earth, but several missions, including six that flew by Halleys comet in the 1980s and the European Space Agency's more recent Rosetta spacecraft, revealed that the composition of the icy material from the outskirts of the solar system didn't quite match Earth's. The asteroid belt is another potential source of water. Several meteorites have shown evidence of alteration, changes made early in their lifetimes that hint that water in some form interacted with their surface. Impacts from meteorites could be another source of water for the planet. Recently, some scientists have even challenged the notion that the early Earth was too hot to collect water. They argue that, if the planet formed fast enough, it could have collected the necessary water from icy grains before they evaporated. Whatever process brought water to Earth likely did so to Venus and Mars as well. But rising temperatures on Venus and a thinning atmosphere on Mars kept these worlds from retaining their water, resulting in the dry planets we know today. Additional resources Read NASA's description (opens in new tab) of how the solar system formed, or watch an animation (opens in new tab) on the topic. of how the solar system formed, or watch an animation on the topic. Read a description (opens in new tab) of how stars and planets form from ALMA, which specializes in observing the disks planets are born from. of how stars and planets form from ALMA, which specializes in observing the disks planets are born from. Scientists have learned about planet formation by comparing (opens in new tab) worlds in our solar system with exoplanets. Saturn's outer B ring is highlighted in this new image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, taken Dec. 18, 2016, in visible light. The image features twice as much detail as any previous photo of the area. The fine structure near the edge on the left is referred to as "straw," and could come from embedded objects too small to see or from particle clumping caused by the regular tugging of a nearby moon. Saturn's rings appear as bright waves against a black sky in detailed new pictures from the Cassini spacecraft, which made its closest pass by the icy debris in years. The rings of Saturn are visible even in a small telescope from Earth, and they are embedded with icy particles ranging from dust- to house-size chunks. The new views of the rings provide scientists with more details on clumping particle structures called "straw" and features called "propellers" generated by moonlets embedded in the rings. It's the best view scientists have gotten since discovering those features in 2004 and 2005, respectively, shortly after Cassini's arrival at Saturn, NASA said in a statement. [Saturn's Glorious Rings in Pictures] This Cassini image, taken Dec. 8, 2016, highlights Saturn's A ring, at left, and shows a density wave a buildup of material that has formed from the pull of the moons Janus and Epimetheus. Clumpy perturbations called "straw" are also visible within that wave. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) Cassini is in its last year of operations as the spacecraft positions itself to make a suicidal plunge into Saturn in September. The probe is halfway through the completion of 20 orbits that graze past the outer edge of the main ring system of Saturn. Next, Cassini will make 22 orbits between the rings and Saturn before taking a swan dive into the gas giant. Cassini took this image of Saturn's outer B ring in visible light, revealing even more fine detail to be explored, NASA officials said. The bright marks are caused by cosmic rays and charged particles near the planet. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) "Cassini came a bit closer to the rings during its arrival at Saturn, but the quality of those arrival images was not as high as in the new views," NASA officials said in the statement. "Those precious few observations only looked out on the backlit side of the rings, and the team chose short exposure times to minimize smearing due to Cassini's fast motion as it vaulted over the ring plane. This resulted in images that were scientifically stunning, but somewhat dark and noisy." The new observations, by contrast, have both backlit and sunlit views, and resolve details as small as 550 meters (0.34 miles) across. Also, Cassini is making multiple passes by the region, an improvement over the first view obtained more than a decade ago, which lasted only a few hours. A portion of Saturn's A ring stars in this new Cassini image. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) "As the person who planned those initial orbit-insertion ring images which remained our most detailed views of the rings for the past 13 years I am taken aback by how vastly improved are the details in this new collection," Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team lead at the Space Science Institute in Colorado, said in the statement. "How fitting it is that we should go out with the best views of Saturn's rings we've ever collected." Some of Cassini's notable discoveries since 2004 include finding a global ocean and vents on the icy moon Enceladus, discovering liquid-methane seas on the orange moon Titan and imaging vertical structures in Saturn's rings. Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. A new imaging tool being used at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii has delivered its first photos of young planetary systems. The vortex coronagraph instrument, which is installed inside the Near Infrared Camera 2 (NIRC2) at the Keck Observatory, uses "tiny masks" to redirect the bright light of stars in order to peer into the regions closer to stars where planets form, according to a statement from NASA.. "Stars outshine planets by a factor of [a] few thousand to a few billion, making the dim light of planets very difficult to see, especially for planets that lie close to their stars," NASA officials said in the statement. To overcome this challenge, the vortex coronagraph redirects light away from the camera's detectors "using a technique in which light waves are combined and canceled out," NASA officials said. [Keck Observatory: Cosmic Photos from Hawaii's Mauna Kea] The newest images from the Keck vortex project captured a ring of planet-forming dust around a young star called HD 141569A, which is located 380 light-years from Earth. The instrument also spotted a cool brown dwarf known as HIP 79124 B orbiting its parent star at a distance 23 times further than Earth is from the sun, NASA officials said. (A brown dwarf is an object that didn't quite grow massive enough to start burning fuel and become a star). These new findings are the focus of two studies published in The Astronomical Journal in January 2017. This image shows a brown dwarf (a failed star) called HIP 79124 B, orbiting its parent star at a distance 23 times further than Earth is from the sun. The brown dwarf was imaged with the vortex coronagraph instrument at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) "The vortex coronagraph allows us to peer into the regions around stars where giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn supposedly form," Dimitri Mawet, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the lead author of one of the recent studies, said in the statement. "Before now, we were only able to image gas giants that are born much farther out. With the vortex, we will be able to see planets orbiting as close to their stars as Jupiter is to our sun, or about two to three times closer than what was possible before." When studying the images of HD 141569A, astronomers found evidence of pebble-size grains of olivine in the planet-forming material surrounding the young star. Olivine is one of the most abundant silicates in Earth's mantle and could therefore be an early sign of planet formation in this region, NASA officials said. What's more, the innermost of the three rings surrounding the young star is slightly warmer than the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, with an estimated temperature of minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 173 degrees Celsius), according to the statement. Left: The vortex mask made of synthetic diamond used in the new coronograph tool for the Keck Observatory. Right: A close-up of the vortex mask, which is 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) in diameter and .01 inches (0.3 millimeters) thick, shows its engraved pattern. (Image credit: University of Liege/Uppsala University) Astronomers will continue to use the vortex coronagraph to image young planetary systems and search for planets forming in the "frost line" of their host stars. The "frost line" is a region that is cold enough for volatile molecules such as water, methane and carbon dioxide to condense into solid icy grains to form rocky planets or gas giants. "The ability to see very close to stars also allows us to search for planets around more distant stars, where the planets and stars would appear closer together," Gene Serabyn, lead author of one of the studies and an astronomer at JPL, said in the NASA statement. "Having the ability to survey distant stars for planets is important for catching planets still forming." Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom,Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement Pretoria, January 31, 2017 (SPS) The African National Congress (ANC) expressed on Tuesday its regrets over the African Unions (AUs) decision to readmit Morocco into the organization, which represents an "important setback for the cause of the Saharawi people" In a statement from the ruling party, which was sent to the media this morning, stressed that the vote at the 28th AU Summit in favor of the Morocco's return to the AU bloc is against the search for self-determination and independence in the Western Sahara The statement said that SAs ruling party enjoyed longstanding fraternal ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario) and with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). "The ANC notes that this decision paves the way for the Kingdom of Morocco to take their place amongst the community of nations and to enjoy the benefits of AU membership whilst the Sahrawi people continue to suffer under an unjust occupation of their ancestral land. "The ANC whilst respecting the decision of the AU hopes that in coming months the AU will not allow the matter of the independence of Western Sahara to be swept under the carpet of political expediency." SPS 125/090 Washington, February 01, 2017 (SPS) - Western Sahara has been classified as a "non-free" territory where the respect for political and civic rights has declined significantly in 2016, according to a report by the US NGO, Freedom House, issued Tuesday in Washington. In 2016, the occupied Western Sahara experienced a marked degradation in the respect for democratic freedoms with a score of 4 points out of 100, the worlds worse score after Tibet, according to this report. The Freedom House Foundation considered Western Sahara as occupied territories, whose final status remains to be determined. The ranking is very much in line with the position of the US State Department which had maintained the occupied Sahrawi territories in the list of dependencies at the end of 2016, whose "sovereignty remains to be determined". The report of the US NGO includes 14 occupied or disputed territories with no defined status and 195 independent countries. SPS 125/090/TRA Addis Ababa, February 01, 2017 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary General of Frente POLISARIO, Brahim Gali affirmed from Addis Ababa that the accession of the Kingdom of Morocco to the African Union commits him to contribute effectively to the implementation of the UN-AU peace plan in Western Sahara and respect the sovereignty of the Sahrawi Republic over its territory. The President of the Republic stressed that the African Union remains an important guarantor of the United Nations in the implementation of the settlement plan blocked by the Moroccan regime during all these years and to work towards the complete resolution of the conflict between two members of the continental organization. He also pointed out that Morocco, when joining the African Union, is obliged to participate in the efforts of the two organizations (African Union and the United Nations) in resolving the conflict in Western Sahara. SPS 125/090/TRA London (U.K.), February 01, 2017 (SPS) - Moroccos admission to the African Union (AU) does not change the fact that the Polisario Front, the only legitimate representative of the people of Western Sahara has already won by being recognized by the Union, said Wednesday, the director of the Arab Centre for Social and Political Research (CARAPS) based in Geneva (Switzerland), Riadh Sidaoui. The Polisario has already won. The fact that it is recognized by the African Union, it is already a victory for the Polisario, Sidaoui told British Television BBC, from Geneva. He said that the fact the Morocco re-integrated the AU will certainly provoke confrontations and clashes between Sahrawi and Moroccan diplomats in debates, but it will not change the fact that Western Sahara has already won. Furthermore, the BBC also had an interview with the ambassador to the Sahrawi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sidi Mohammed Omar, who said that Moroccos return to the African Union will now make it possible to revive the decisions taken by the AU concerning the referendum in Western Sahara. Sidi Mohammed said that Morocco cannot change the AUs position on the Sahrawi issue, explaining that a member of the Union cannot unilaterally change the AUs constitutive act, which is opposed to colonization.SPS 125/090/700 The SUSSS scheme, now in its second year, saw applications close on 17 October 2016 with the retention period running until 31 March 2017. It is designed to assist active hill farmers and crofters through a payment coupled to the number of ewe hoggs they keep as breeding replacements for their flocks. The scheme has a fixed budget of 8 million per annum, and the payment rate will vary depending on the total number of eligible animals claimed in the scheme year. Payment rates under year one of SUSSS were equivalent to 78 per eligible ewe hogg well below the Scottish Governments original 100 estimate - due to significantly more animals being claimed than were expected. It is anticipated that the number of claimed hoggs may have increased again in year Two. NFU Scotland Livestock Policy Manager John Armour said: This scheme is a vital funding strand for Scotlands hill farmers. Farm inspections are imminent, so it is appropriate to remind applicants of the key scheme rules. Eligible ewe hoggs must be less than 12 months old at the beginning of the retention period (17 October) and must be home-bred. They must be retained on your holding or away winterings from 17 October to 31 March. If the number of ewe hoggs kept in the retention period falls below the number claimed due to natural circumstances or losses, then you have 10 working days from finding any reduction to notify SGRIPD in writing by e-mail, letter or online. The programmes, which were carried out in North Cumbria by three adjoining red squirrel conservation community groups (Brampton, Penrith & Solway) with a combined area of approximately 1430 square miles between July and December 2016 showed that 72.8% of grey squirrels were shot, 25.4% trapped and 1.8% were road casualties The figures for shooting rose to an average high of 86.6% in the months of October, November and December with 92% being achieved in one area in November 2016. Shooting was carried out at fixed points with baited feed stations using air rifles and with full appropriate risk assessments, insurance and strict protocols being in place. These figures show how important it is to utilise all the methods at our disposal to control grey squirrels, said Andy Wiseman, Chairman of The European Squirrel Initiative. Shooting carried out in a controlled and systematic way is clearly very effective in reducing grey squirrel numbers. Congratulating Julie Bailey who collates and produces the statistics from standardised squirrel recording data, Mr Wiseman went on to explain that over 1500 grey squirrels were removed during the six month period and the work was part of ongoing red squirrel conservation work carried out by these groups. We must congratulate all those involved in these programmes as it shows what can be done when a systematic, consistent and concerted effort is put in place to control grey squirrels. As a result of this work we are significantly reducing the damage to our Broadleaved forests and pushing back the grey invasion allowing our native red squirrels to thrive and prosper in this part of England, he added. I am responding to the Sunday editorial Do not shift special education burden to parents. I wish to comment on and clarify information presented regarding burden of proof (BoP). I am providing my personal perspective and this is not a statement from the Board of Education (BOE). First, the editorial implies that all Fairfield County superintendents support the proposal to shift BoP from the school districts to the plaintiffs (usually the parents). While some superintendents support the change, the Stamford superintendent and the Board of Education (BOE) are withholding such support. This issue was publicly discussed at the Jan. 24 BOE meeting. The problems with the legal process surrounding special education services go beyond BoP. The mediation and litigation process creates adversarial conditions that consume a great amount of administrative resources. Lengthy meetings take teachers and supporting personnel away from their daily obligations. Lawyers and arbitrators, who have little incentive to resolve cases expediently, drive the process while the students become the object of bargaining. There are aspects of BoP that are troublesome. In almost all legal settings, BoP is placed on plaintiffs. Connecticut is one of only five states that reverse the burden applicable to special education proceedings. As a result of bearing the potential legal costs incurred by both the prosecution and defense, the valuable input of educators, social workers and psychologists may become secondary to settling the case. This may not be in the students best interest. Current practice allows plaintiffs attorneys to collect fees from the school district even in cases where the district has successfully defended its decision. If an arbitrator or judge rejects a plaintiffs claim, yet orders a minor change in the services being provided, the plaintiffs attorneys are able to collect fees because the defense was not absolute. In Stamford, 95 percent of special education placements are based on mutual agreement or compliance with an agency (e.g. Department of Children and Families). For the remaining 5 percent of placements, whether BoP is assigned to the plaintiff or the defendant, the greater concern should be providing the best services for the student. Andy George is a member of the Stamford Board of Education. The views he expresses here are his own, and not intended to reflect those of the board. C an you imagine 1 trillion in cash? Actually, it is not so difficult. A single stack of 20,000 50 notes 1 million would be three yards high and weigh a little over 24kg. 1 billion? Twenty-four tons. A comfortable fit in a lorry. As for 1 trillion? Well, it would need a convoy of trucks to get from Heathrow to the City. Why do I ask you to picture this? Because, as we digest the gory details of Deutsche Banks Russian money-laundering scandal this week, its worth remembering that 1 trillion is stolen every year around the world. Not just in Russia, but in Asia, Africa and the US. Im not talking about old-fashioned gangsters, drilling holes in safe deposit boxes or executing daring Wild West bank raids. Todays robbers do not need guns, lock-picks and trucks to take the loot. They do not even need masks, because they dont hide their faces. No, the big-time modern thieves wear white collars and work as lawyers, bankers, accountants, politicians. And the money isnt stolen in the form of bundles of banknotes. You dont need that trail of trucks to Heathrow to cart off the booty. Its simply transferred electronically; a stream of numbers disappearing from bank accounts and payment orders. Mostly, its stolen from client funds in banks, or shareholders assets from corporations. It is then siphoned out of the countries from which it was pilfered, laundered in numerous offshore havens via schemes like Deutsches mirror trading project, which washed $10 billion of Russian money over five years. Finally, it is deposited in the accounts of reputable international banks or funds. When it all goes wrong and they end up in trouble at home, the billionaires come to Europe, claim to be victims of political persecution, and spend the laundered cash on yachts, jets, luxury goods and properties in pretentious places. London is the jewel in their real estate crown, of course one reason why the prices for properties here are unaffordable for ordinary citizens. I like to call this system third colonialism. It is far more sophisticated than the first Old Europes empires or the second the penetration of Third World economies by western banks, forcing them into debts that shackled them just as in colonial days. Why is this latest phase so different? Because previous forms of exploitation benefited whole nations in the First World. The only winners from the third colonialism are a tiny group of an international financial oligarchy with no particular geographic location. The third colonialism is one where the financial services industry of the West enables the civil servants and businessmen of poorer countries to funnel money to the richer ones. Deutsches Moscow office is the classic example, magically turning customers ill-gotten Russian roubles into dollars in London. From there, the money was doubtless stored in lavish properties in Belgravia and Knightsbridge. The UK has become a promised land for fugitive bankers from the East. Such gentlemen as Sergei Pugachev, alleged to have stolen 1 billion from his Mezhprombank. He enjoyed life in London for years before a British court ordered his assets be frozen around the world and convicted him of contempt. He fled to France, denying all fraud allegations against him and, claiming to be in fear of his life here. He alleged devices believed to be explosives were found in his car. In fact, a court later found, the explosives were trackers left by his creditors who feared correctly that he might do a runner. As Mrs Justice Rose put it in the High Court: I am very sceptical about the genuineness of Mr Pugachevs fears. Who knows, perhaps many of the fugitives residing in London are the victims of persecution and deserve our sympathy. There are certainly enough of them facing accusations, though. Take George Bedzhamov. He stands accused in Russia of misappropriating clients money at Vneshprombank, which collapsed owing clients 3 billion. He disputes the charges and says they are politically motivated. He was a respected person before all this he headed the Bobsleigh Federation of Russia, and was even awarded the countrys Order of Honor after the Winter Olympics in Sochi. But Russian law enforcement filed a criminal case against him. Bedzhamov was in Monaco at the time, where he knew the monarch of the dwarf state. Prince Albert II, you see, is a member of the International Olympic Committee and an Olympic bobsleigh competitor. Nevertheless, on April 21 Bedzhamov was detained by Monaco police after Russia issued a Diffusion and Notice Request for his arrest. He was put in the local jail, which resembles the conditions of a tidy hotel, but was soon released on bail. The Monegasque courts refused to extradite him, and now hes happily settled in London. Bedzhamovs sister Larisa Markus, the chief executive of the bank, is also accused of being part of a group that embezzled at least $13.5 million from the company and stashing it abroad. She too denies the charges. Meanwhile, Russian account holders in Vneshprombank are left missing their 3 billion. I should know: Im one of them, owed more than 7 million. Only the courts can decide if Bedzhamov, Pugachev and the others are innocent or guilty. What Id like to know is where my moneys gone. Wherever it is, Im sure it might find some more useful place in society. So heres an idea: the Standard and Independent have collected over 50 million for charity in the past few years. What about adding my 7 million to the pot? Im happy to do it, but how to locate the cash? Well, heres an idea. Lets make this article a reward poster for my missing cash. Id happily offer a prize to brave journalists, police or other Londoners. Let the hunt begin! Alexander Lebedevs family own the Evening Standard Update: The article was corrected on 23 March 2017 to make clear that (i) Mr Bedzhamov did not flee Russia but was in Monaco at the time the case against him in Russia was opened; and (ii) Prince Albert did not personally refuse to extradite him. We are happy to make these changes. Mr Bedzhamovs representatives have also asked us to state that although Russia issued a Diffusion and Notice request, as of 21 November 2016 INTERPOL confirmed it would refuse any international police cooperation and concluded that maintaining files on Mr Bedzhamov would not be compliant with INTERPOLs rules. T he 9/11 terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York was at the time the largest single catastrophe ever to hit the London insurance market. In the days that followed, many firms had serious doubts about whether they could pay the claims and still be solvent, and it turned out some couldnt. But the market survived as a whole most of its firms raised new capital, jacked up rates and carried on trading far more profitably than before. When Hurricane Katrina flooded much of New Orleans a few years later, it did the same all over again. Could it do it today? Could London take a hit of equivalent size estimated now at $200 billion (160 billion) survive the panic, pay the losses, attract new capital and hold on to its place as the worlds leading international insurance centre? Or has too much changed? Could the next big disaster be Londons last assuming, of course, the industry has not already moved to Dublin or Luxembourg as a result of Brexit? Might its sad epitaph be that it paid all its claims but that left it too exhausted to continue? A report published yesterday, which summarised the findings of what is probably the first and certainly the most wide-ranging stress test the insurance market has undertaken, sought to provide more clarity around the issues, even if it could not provide all the answers. It was the result of an initiative of Hiscox chairman Robert Childs, whose major triumph was to persuade so many in the sector to take part to make this a genuine reflection of how the market as a whole might perform. Herding cats is easier than persuading insurers to co-operate. It is a tribute to Childs that he got 28 organisations including HM Treasury and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to work through what would happen if they faced in quick succession a cyber-attack, a stock-market crash and a hurricane and then publish the results and lessons learned. The report is aimed at signposting improvements, not fostering recriminations, but the implicit conclusion is that if the market does not survive next time, it will be the fault of the regulators rather than the practitioners. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) had a dual mandate back in the day: it was concerned about solvency but it had to balance this against the need for the industry to remain competitive. The FSA has gone, and things are different today. The focus of the PRA is solvency. Its primary responsibility is to ensure that claims are paid, not that the industry lives to fight another day. This matters because speed and flexibility are of the essence in a catastrophe. Firms have days rather than weeks to raise new capital when disaster strikes. In 2001, the regulators were prepared to tell them to go for it without first demanding lengthy reviews and modelling. But even then, the market was left standing by Bermuda, which attracted roughly 10 times more new money than Lloyds of London. This pattern has been repeated after every disaster since. So the big question for next time is whether the regulator will be sufficiently switched on and nimble. The test showed how some underwriters and companies were not properly organised internally to cope with multiple disasters but it showed up the PRA even more. The regulator appears quite shaken by the number of people it needed to call here and in America, and how fast it was expected to move. Communication and understanding are clearly inadequate at the moment; the test will be whether the report provides a sufficient spur for the needed improvements. Even then, it may not be enough. If responsibility for solvency rests with the PRA, responsibility for the future competitiveness of the insurance industry now resides in the Treasury. This is not encouraging. When the 2008 financial crisis erupted, the FSA, the Bank of England and the Treasury were supposed to share responsibility for sorting things. Instead, they wasted precious time knocking seven bells out of each other, covering their backs and lobbying behind the scenes to divert the blame. But a positive sign is that the Treasury has kept a close watch on the current exercise, so perhaps it might be different next time. The other thing that will be crucial, but which the stress test could not probe, was the attitude of foreign jurisdictions. This is key because insurance is a truly international business, but global regulation tends to become very local in a crisis. Everybody likes to look after their own, and cares little about helping out with problems elsewhere. Thus at the time of 9/11, the UK Government in essence told the insurance industry to do whatever it took to get aircraft flying again. The industry delivered only then to have the EU competition authorities launch an inquiry into collusion in the aircraft insurance market. Even more difficult for the London market was the attitude of the American authorities. London was looking for co-operation to help navigate through the mess, but the concerns and focus of Americans was relentlessly domestic. Its officials made it abundantly clear almost as soon as the British got off the plane at Kennedy Airport that they really did not care what happened in London or whether its insurance market survived or not. Of course, with Prime Minister Theresa Mays new best friend in the White House, it may be different next time. But again that is probably not the way to bet. If London is going to bounce back from the next disaster one which is perhaps a bit overdue, given how benign the claims environment has been in recent times everyone in the market needs to think through in advance what they will have to do, and the regulator will have to find the nerve and vision to help them do it. B T moved to beef up the board of Openreach today but immediately ran into a row with its regulator. The telecom giant is trying to fend off calls for the internet infrastructure business to be completely separated from the main company. Today it appointed Sir Brendan Barber, the former head of the TUC, and telecom veteran Edward Astle to the board of Openreach, reporting to chairman Mike McTighe. Their pay wasnt disclosed but is likely to run into six figures for what will be busy, albeit part-time, roles. The industry and the regulator want evidence that Openreach is sufficiently separate from BT to be independent. Talks between Ofcom and BT are ongoing, but it is clear todays moves arent nearly enough. Ofcom said: These changes fall short of our requirements for a legally separate Openreach that delivers for all of its customers. We intend to take our plans to the European Commission this year. McTighe said: I understand that customers sometimes feel let down by Openreach because we havent always delivered the service they expect or that we hope to provide. Openreach provides internet to 26 million homes and businesses across the UK. Unions were pleased. Andy Kerr, deputy general-secretary of the CWU, said: The CWU has been pushing for [BT] to appoint a worker representative to the new board of Openreach. We are extremely pleased they have decided to appoint Sir Brendan Barber. I nvestors have fallen out of love with Rolls-Royce after a string of profit warnings over the past few years, but they were enticed back to Britains flagship engineer today. The catalyst was an upgrade to Buy from analysts at UBS, who urged clients to pile into Rolls. They say the aircraft engine-maker has become an unloved name, with the market sceptical about managements ability to turn the business around. In our view, Rolls will benefit from an early-cycle recovery in its non-Aero businesses. Signs of improvement in group performance should provide comfort to investors about the restructuring potential, analyst Celine Fornaro said. Earlier this week, it emerged that ValueAct, the US activist investor which has a seat on the Rolls board, had raised its stake to 11%. The UBS upgrade sent Rolls shares up more than 2%, although they ran out of steam later in the day up 6p, or 0.9%, at 673.5p. Decent manufacturing data from China boosted miners and helped the FTSE 100 up 66.50 points to 7165.65. Donald Trumps calls for drug- makers to cut the astronomical prices of drugs were diluted by plans to speed up approvals of new medicines and slash taxes, which boosted shares in pharmaceuticals companies. After his meeting with senior US drug bosses, Hikma Pharmaceuticals surged 55p, or 3%, to 1879p and Shire strengthened 110.54p, or 2.5%, to 4490.04p. Online property group Zoopla continued its spending spree by buying Hometrack, the housing data specialist, for 120 million. Investors welcomed the latest deal as the shares rose to a new high of 377p, up 10.8p, or 3%, today. Strong results from Apple last night lifted Imagination Technologies, which designs the graphics chips for the iPhone, by 3.5p to 242.25p. Egyptian gold-miner Centamin jumped 5.7p to 162.5p after unveiling a $178 million (141 million) dividend for shareholders. The fillip came after a 145% leap in underlying profits to $373 million last year. Mining royalties group Anglo Pacific penned a uranium streaming deal with Canadas Denison Mines worth 26 million. The shares dipped 4.75p to 127p after Anglo Pacific said it would partly fund the deal through a share placing, expected to be completed at a slight discount to the share price. S ir Charles Dunstone today took back control of TalkTalk, moving up to executive chairman of a business he founded and insists he loves. With chief executive Dido Harding standing down to be replaced by Tristia Harrison, the 30% shareholder is leaving the board of Dixons Carphone to focus on the telecoms company. He said: You cant really say I was ever a non-executive chairman. I love this business, it has got enormous potential. I love being the challenger brand. The beleaguered shares jumped on the news, up 9p at 166p, on hopes that Dunstone will revitalise a business that has lately been victim of a cyber-attack and continuing service complaints. There was immediate City speculation that Dunstone might link with private equity to buy the whole company, taking it off the stock market. The plunge in the shares in the past year, down a third, has taken a chunk off Dunstones personal fortune, although he remains a billionaire. Anlysis: Dido focused too much on rivals and hack hit her hard Critics of Dido Harding like to say if she spent as much time running TalkTalk as she did complaining about the opposition, the company would be in better shape. Indeed, she couldnt resist one last swipe at BT today, telling the Standard: Unlike BT, our corporate business is doing extremely well. We are much less dependent on the public sector. While it has been tempting to see her as a one-woman pressure group, racing between television studios to sound off about BT, persuading regulators to agree Openreach is too powerful has been a major part of getting TalkTalk moving. Its just that the City perception is that lately its growth has been slowing even while regulation is moving in favour of challenger brands such as TalkTalk. Todays figures make the point. It lost 42,000 broadband customers and 31,000 TV customers in the third quarter. Revenues fell. In a note to clients, Haitong Research marked the shares a Sell and noted markedly poor trends on all fronts. Harding and her chairman Charles Dunstone insist there is no link between the cyber-attack last year that saw 150,000 customer details stolen and her departure. But this was undoubtedly the low point of her seven-year tenure, which makes it hard to argue she is leaving on a high, however much good work she did along the way. Harding insisted the decision to go was her own. She will get her 12-month contract paid up but no special severance deal, sources insist. She will stay until May to hand over to Harrison, presently managing director of TalkTalk Consumer. Dunstone described Baroness Harding as a tireless, energetic and effective force for good. The City hasnt always been so upbeat, noting that profit targets have been missed more than once. George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: Investors will be relieved that the group says its on track to meet profit guidance, especially after Novembers half-year results were less than glowing. Customer churn has ticked up slightly, but over half a million customers have elected to re-contract onto the groups fixed low-price plans. More customers on low-price plans isnt exactly what one would want, but the groups hand has been forced by the cyber-attack. Defending market share at all costs has had to take priority. On a more positive note, while the group hardly has bags of momentum just now, these new, long-term contracts should mean the new CEO has a more stable revenue base to work with. TalkTalk was demerged from Carphone in 2010. Harrison is a close acolyte of Dunstone, having risen as part of a circle of telecoms executives he trusts. Dunstone is being replaced as Dixons chairman by Lord Livingstone, the former boss of BT. ' So, was that a surprise? asked the President. Was it? And yes: the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court is indeed unexpected, to the extent that it breaks the pattern of recklessness, sensationalism and belligerence that has characterised the Presidents first 12 days in office. As far as can be deduced from initial analyses of his rulings, Judge Gorsuch is an intellectually acute jurist, conservative rather than rabidly reactionary, and, potentially at least, a worthy successor to Antonin Scalia, whose death last year created the vacancy he will fill, if confirmed. How very much at odds is this apparently rational decision with all else that the President has done since he took the oath of office. He has alienated Mexicans with his insistence that they pay for his ludicrous wall. He has offended Jews by failing to recognise their specific experience of the Holocaust. He has turned a visit to the CIA into a vaudeville routine. He has infuriated the US military by appointing his close adviser Stephen Bannon to the principals committee of the National Security Council, while downgrading the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence. He has wasted time quibbling over the number of people who attended his inauguration, a row that has bequeathed to epistemology the crazed notion of alternative facts. Above all, Trumps executive order on immigration has plunged America into a germinal constitutional crisis, putting the courts directly at odds with the government and sowing outright confusion at border control posts in the nations airports. On Monday, Sally Yates, the acting Attorney General, was sacked for instructing administration lawyers not to implement the immigration order, whose legality she doubted and was promptly accused by the White House of having betrayed the justice department. In 1780, John Adams, later the second US President, sought to establish a government of laws, not of men in Massachusetts an objective that quickly became central to the American system of government. Less than a fortnight into his presidency, Trump has radically undermined that fundamental principle. The ban bars citizens of seven countries from entering the US for 90 days and suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days. Provided appropriate safeguards were in place, I have never been squeamish about time-limited security proposals to combat terrorism. I saw the point, for instance, of Tony Blairs failed bid in 2005 to enable the police to detain terror suspects without charge for up to 90 days. I understand the case for the collection of metadata to foil terrorist action. Yet Trumps travel ban has no meaningful value as a security measure. According to analysis by the Cato Institute of records between 1975 and 2015, nationals of the seven blacklisted countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen have not killed a single person in terrorist attacks on US soil. Indeed, the list is more notable for its conspicuous absentees specifically, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. As a counter-terrorist measure, the ban makes no sense whatsoever. On Saturday, however, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, who is close to the President, let the cat out of the bag. When he [Trump] first announced it, he said, Muslim ban, Giuliani told Fox News. He called me up and said: Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it legally. The team, Giuliani continued, immediately saw the difficulty of imposing restrictions based explicitly upon religious affiliation, and opted instead for the notional criterion of danger. But the root purpose of the restrictions was, quite clearly, to make travel difficult for Muslims, however patchily and arbitrarily. The scenes of human misery at US airports are not an unfortunate by-product of the ban. They are its primary objective. In a single interview, Giuliani has threatened to undo the meticulous work of 16 years. Since 9/11, senior politicians around the world have laboured hard not to frame the war on terror as a conflict between the Christian West and Islam. Blair and his successors have gone out of their way to characterise the Muslim faith as a religion of peace. 'It will take better men and women than this President a long time to undo the damage he has wrought' Six days after the destruction of the World Trade Center, George W Bush made a visit to a Washington mosque and condemned the harassment of American Muslims, whom he described as friends. It has been a first principle of the struggle against fundamentalism that there is a civil war within Islam, that the faith as a whole is not under attack, and that Muslims must never be treated as second-class citizens. With a stroke of the presidential pen, Trump has vandalised that finely balanced principle. The message of his ban is primarily cultural: it signals to Muslims around the world that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, this administration regards them as suspect. It has sown confusion among those green-card holders (those with permanent resident status) who are also nationals of the seven countries. It has given credibility to the longstanding claim of the extremists that, despite all claims to the contrary, the West is at war with Islam. I am usually suspicious of the argument that this or that measure will be a recruiting sergeant for the jihadis, since everything from the way Western women dress to the fiction of Salman Rushdie appears to antagonise them already. On this occasion, however, I think Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, is right to characterise Trumps travel ban as a potential propaganda opportunity for Islamic State. It will take better men and women than this President a long time to undo the damage he has wrought. As each day passes, he slips further from the moorings of sound sense and constitutional government. Of this alone one can be certain: the worst is yet to come. To get a handle on how the retail habits of Londoners have changed over the past decade, Soho is a pretty good place to start. While the capitals central district was once a destination saved for late-night liaisons, its now among the planets most exciting retail hotspots where enthusiasts can marvel at a vast and dynamic fashion scene. As a microcosm for British fashion, Soho combines emerging talent and exciting new ventures with the old establishment. At the heart of all this are shopkeepers Matthew Murphy and Kirk Beattie. They are currently celebrating 15 years in business and have served as trailblazers for independent concept boutiques previously with B Store (a Counduit Street retail icon which launched the career of many a London Fashion Week designer) and then with the OTHER shop which opened on Kingly Street in 2012. The duo, who offered retail platforms to the likes of Richard Nicoll and Roksanda when few others had noticed their talents, are widely credited with kick-staring a boom of indie-department stores which are now the jewel in the crown of the capitals fashion scene. This week OTHER shop will open a celebratory venture on Berwick Street which will host designers including Lemaire and Peter Jensen, thus sealing Sohos status as the beating heart of British fashion. Heres our guide to the other kids on the block. MACHINE-A catwalking.com Founded by fashion editors Stavros Karelis and Anna Trevelyan, this Brewer Street boutique is where true fashion diehards come to source the next big thing. With backing from Nick Knights fashion content platform ShowStudio, Machine-A serves as a launchpad for design talents who are too progressive for the mainstream. Its also the go-to store for a host of new establishment labels including Coitweiller and Liam Hodges. Head there now for the latest collection by Russian man of the moment Gosha Rubchinskiy. 13 Brewer Street, W1 Oi Polloi Credited with dressing the Brit Pop generation, this Manchester mecca opened a southern outpost last year. Bringing with it the casualwear brands on which its name was made, Oi Polloi sought to capitalise on the changing shopping habits of London men. Along with a cleverly curated selection of sportswear, the stores remit also includes basic brands Margaret Howell, Sunspel and French favourite APC (pictured). Denim labels are also among its key strengths. 1 Marshall Street, W1 Dover Street Market Having ditched its spiritual home on Dover Street, DSM is now located a short stroll from Soho in Haymarket. Among the worlds most globally renowned department stores, the Comme des Garcons owned-boutique is home to a host of the most prestigious brands on earth from Palace to Celine as well as to a carefully edited selection of emerging brands including future classic Homecore (pictured). Whether its a polka-dot wallet or a Simone Rocha dress youre after, this is your place. 18-22 Haymarket, SW1 Alex Eagle Combining homeware with art, photography and a selection of womenswear from across the globe, this design incubator is a must-visit for taste purists. A former fashion journalist, Eagles chic vision plays out through collaborations with artisan producers and designers. The brand remit includes a collection designed in conjunction with tailoring label Blaze Milano (pictured) and jewellery by Charlotte Chesnais, Rosa de La Cruz and Sophie Buhai. 6-10 Lexington Street, W1 L eading cultural figures have thrown their weight behind plans for a new gallery quarter that would make South Kensington swing again. Property management firm South Kensington Estates has submitted plans to transform a Grade II listed terrace of five townhouses it owns near the V&A into 30 commercial art galleries with an exhibition pavilion in a courtyard. The Cromwell Place Gallery would provide 35,000 sq ft of viewing space for independent exhibitors, curators and art institutions. Art dealer John Martin, who has joined forces with Scott Murdoch of property consultant CWM, said rising rents were squeezing gallery owners out of Mayfair and St Jamess. Dr Paul Thompson, rector of the Royal College of Art, said the scheme would not only help to address the urgent need for flexible gallery space in London for commercial galleries, but also provide welcome opportunities to public art institutions to present exhibitions in central London. Philippa Adams, senior director of the Saatchi Gallery, said the space will provide a gateway into Londons vibrant world. In documents put forward to Kensington and Chelsea council, Nic McElhatton, chairman of Christies South Kensington auction house, said the hub would enhance the existing cultural quarter. Art dealer Oliver Hoare added: South Ken will swing again. London Craft Week and the Royal British Society of Sculptors also backed the plans. Christopher Battiscombe, director general of the Society of London Art Dealers, said: The London art market is ... under threat from huge rent rises in Mayfair and St Jamess, which risk squeezing many dealers out of these two areas. The creation of a new centre for dealers in South Kensington may offer a viable alternative for many dealers, as well as for overseas dealers seeking to establish themselves in the UK. A statement by agent Gerald Eve on behalf of South Kensington Estates said the project was not driven by financial motivation. A final decision is due to be made by the council next Tuesday. Visit standard.co.uk/arts for the latest news and reviews from Londons arts scene Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout K irsten Childs is an award-winning writer of musical theatre. Her show The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin is about to get its European premiere at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, after it was first performed off-Broadway. It tells the story of Viveca, a young African American girl growing up in the 1960s, amidst the civil rights movement. She wants to be a dancer, but she's faced with the realities of racism and sexism which she combats with optimism and faith. What was the first musical to make you want to write musicals? Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella, the 1960s live TV version. Theres a song in it that Cinderella sings called In My Own Little Corner ('In my own little chair/I can be whatever I want to be'). Even though I knew I would never see a black Cinderella on TV, watching Lesley Ann Warren sing about how powerless little girls could reign supreme in the world of their imagination made life bearable, even beautiful. Fade out, fade in when I watched the Cinderella version with the African-American pop star Brandy thirty-two damn years later, I sobbed uncontrollably. Whats the hardest play youve ever written? Which brought you the most joy? When somebody asked Donizetti which of his operas was his favorite, he said, "How can I choose? A father loves all his crippled children. Yeah, that to both questions. (Okay, full disclosure: I was speaking to a friend of mine about this, and he responded with that quote, and I thought it was pretty awesome. Chuckle.) Which playwrights have influenced you the most? Lynn Nottage, Eugene Ionesco, Amiri Baraka, Ntozake Shange, Micki Grant, August Wilson, Lorraine Hansberry, Robert OHara, Edward Albee, Andrew Lloyd Webber (not a playwright, but an influence), Diana Son, Oscar Hammerstein II, Charles Fuller, Kia Corthron, Julia Cho, Tennessee Williams, Lisa Kron, Claudia Shear, Peter Stone, George Wolfe, Arthur Laurents, Ben Katchor, Stew, Oscar Wilde, Winnie Holzman, Kevin del Aguila, Adam Bock, Stephen Adly Guirgus, David Henry Hwang, Edmond Rostand, Jean Anouilh. And others thatll be mad I didnt include them after they read this interview. What is your favourite line or scene from any play? Mon panache. The last words uttered by Cyrano de Bergerac, the ultimate badass. Whats been the biggest surprise to you since youve had your writing performed by actors? That people get it. Whats been your biggest setback as a writer? My tendency to get sidetracked by insignificant BS (at least when I look back upon it, I can finally recognize that its BS). And the hardest lesson youve had to learn? Write from your own voice, because nobody wants to hear you sounding like someone else. What do you think is the best thing about theatre? And the worst? The best thing about theatre is that it exists. The worst, most disgusting thing about theatre at least in the US is that a lot of the people who could benefit greatly from seeing it cant afford it. Whats your best piece of advice for writers who are starting out? Not incredibly original, but still true: writing is rewriting. Are there any themes and stories you find yourself re-visiting with your plays? I just like to write about people that Id like to see on stage, living through interesting dramatic situations. And doing it while singing and dancing. To showtunes and funk. Are you on Twitter? Do you find it a help or a hindrance as a writer? I am on Twitter, and Instagram, and a bunch of other things, and I really have no idea what the hell they all are. I go around liking things and liking people and clicking on links and its all very diverting. And then I get offline and go to work. Why did you write The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin? As a child, I had trouble making sense of a society where white people said, I dont see colour, then ran like hell from neighborhoods being integrated by people whose colour they swore they didnt see. Where black people said Black is beautiful after making sure that the black beauty they praised was as diluted with as much whiteness as possible. Where women said, I want the same human rights as a man but smiled when they said it, because sweetly hopeful is so much more feminine than righteously demanding. I learned to navigate that world of confusion by holding close to the vest my true feelings, my ambitions, my hopes and dreams from those who would call me uppity for having them. Writing The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin gave me a chance to examine the contradictions of external and internalized oppression. When I finished it, I understood that I had written a musical about an outsider. And when an Asian man came up to me after a performance and said, Thats my story, I vowed that, at least in my theatre world, outsiders would always be welcome. Whats the best musical youve seen this year? Falsettos. What other art forms do you love when youre not in a theatre? Dance, visual art, photography, design crafts. If the Prime Minister said they were abolishing the theatre tomorrow, what would you do? I was originally going to answer this: Roll my eyes, because only a drama queen could issue a ridiculously impossible statement like that. But ridiculous impossibility has become sobering reality in my country. I will say that theatre is the story of what it means to be human. And through the best and the worst of times it will always be created and shared to comfort, provoke and sustain our yearning hearts. So, what would I do if they were abolishing the theatre tomorrow? Continue to write, and continue to fight for my right to write. The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin is at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, February 1 - March 11; stratfordeast.com Visit standard.co.uk/theatre for the latest news and reviews from Londons theatre scene. Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout W hen Dale Taylor-Gentles became homeless at 16, his dream of going to university seemed a world away. A breakdown in his relationship with his mother meant he had lived with his elderly grandmother, Bernice, in Brixton, south London, since he was 12 acting as her primary carer when she had a stroke and developed dementia. But her condition worsened and she had to go into a care home in 2014. At the age of 16 he couldnt again endure the bitter rows with his mother, so he ended up homeless and sofa-surfing, staying with friends and other relatives. Young carer: Dale with his grandmother Bernice / collect It was a scary time, he said. I didnt know where I was going to spend the next night and if I was going to be able to make it to college the next day. I wanted to focus on my education but that was suffering. He was eventually placed in Centrepoint accommodation in Camberwell, south London. They gave him a mentor who helped him keep his studies on track and apply for university. Centrepoint poem about homelessness He passed his A-levels after getting an unconditional offer to study at the University of East London, where, now aged 19, he is in his first year of a degree in sociology and criminology. During his time with the charity, he has also chaired the Centrepoint Parliament, lobbying Government on youth homelessness issues, including mental health, and being congratulated on his work by both Prime Minister Theresa May and Centrepoints patron, Prince William. Homeless patron: Dale meeting Prince William / David Montieth-Hodge He hopes to work in counter terrorism and national security after graduating. He said it was incredible the Centrepoint Helpline was to launch and would be a lifeline to at least 30,000 people turned away each year by local authorities with little or no support. Dale at the University of East London docklands campus where he is studying Sociology and Criminology / Lucy Young When I first looked for help from my local council they said I needed to go home to my mother, he said. I had to have the strength to keep going back for help, tell them I couldnt go home. Some people might not have, so the advice and support the helpline will give them will be vital. The Evening Standard's Homeless Helpline appeal is raising money for the Centrepoint Helpline, a brand new support service that will save young people from ending up on the streets. To donate please visit our Just Giving page. B enjamin Lebus is a generous sort. He has just one 10 note left to his name and hes used it to whip up a steaming dish of bad boy chorizo shakshuka for himself, his housemate Kit, and me, with leftovers for later. But then Lebus has his eyes on feeding the masses. Self-styled food entrepreneur Lebus, 24, makes what he calls food youll actually eat. A Deliveroo cyclist in his spare time, he posts cooking videos on his slick website, mobkitchen.co.uk, where there is only one rule: each recipe must feed four people for under a tenner. Lebus is giving the five loaves and two fishes trick a run for its money. You can actually put the most beautiful, almost restaurant-standard food together on a tiny budget, he says, a chefs apron flapping over his paisley-print T-shirt as he throws together the meal. It isnt just lack of cash thats putting people off cooking. Lebus feels that young people are also uninspired by clickbait cooking. So many Facebook newsfeeds are polluted with sticky, chocolaty, cheesy food porn, he says, which is fun but theyre not recipes youll actually want to cook. He also takes issue with clean eating, agreeing with those like Deliciously Ella and the Hemsley sisters who have spoken out against it as a fad. I just dont think its real food. No one cooks it. The kind of food theyre advocating, especially for students who have no money, is just completely unrealistic. Im trying to show theres a happy, halfway point between clean-eating and junk. His solution is Mob Kitchens trademark of professionally shot recipe videos, from 9.49 pesto courgetti to an absolute banger 9.90 gnocchi ragu, set to catchy indie jingles from little-known bands, who agree to feature for free in exchange for the exposure. Food and music are definitely linked. Ill usually have some tunes blaring in the kitchen, he says. Music is a key ingredient and has been since his dinner party days at Edinburgh University, where he studied history. Back then, dinner at his often went on until two or three in the morning. Mob Kitchen's sticky steamed miso aubergines As part of his mission he is intent on getting more students cooking. You need to have better standards than just bunging in two or three teaspoons of ready-made pesto, he says. People who arent cooking are missing out on such an enjoyable thing. Hes recently single but has wooed girls with his cooking before, although it was quite hard to bring a girl back home at university and cook her a nice meal without all my housemates sticking their heads in. 2017 cookbooks - in pictures 1 /9 2017 cookbooks - in pictures Scroll to see some of the best books to look forward to in 2017... Shutterstock / sheff Adventures of a Terribly Greedy Girl by Kay Plunkett-Hogge 12.99, Amazon, Pre-order now Zoes Ghana Kitchen by Zoe Adjonyoh 25, Amazon, Pre-order now Oklava: Recipes from a Turkish-Cypriot Kitchen by Selin Kiazim 25, Amazon, Pre-order now Green Kitchen at Home by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl 25, Amazon, Buy it now Prime: The Beef Cookbook by Chef Richard H. Turner 25, Amazon, Pre-order now Citrus by Catherine Phipps 20, Amazon, Pre-order now As an untrained chef he admits that he sometimes feels a bit of a fraud, but points to his dad, Matthew, who owns a restaurant in Oxford, as an inspiration. Lebus is the oldest of three sons and his mother, Rachel, is a couples therapist. Other influences include Jamie Oliver and Nigel Slater his absolute idol who tweeted Lebus to praise his tarragon pie. Ive seen everything Jamies ever made but Im always trying to reach out to Nigel on social media. Whenever he gets back to me and says That looks nice, which makes my day. Lebus is not convinced by the Governments proposed sugar tax. It feels a little draconian, as if the Government is getting too involved in peoples personal affairs. I think whats really important is much more education. He says that home economics should be an essential part of the curriculum. When I was at school we had two food classes in biology. Its shocking how many people turn up at university completely unable to put a simple meal together. Are there any chefs hes less enamoured with? I emailed Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls people to ask for an endorsement, which can be huge for a site which is just starting out, and, amazingly, they re-grammed a video of one of my recipes. In half an hour, I got 300 new followers. I was so grateful, he says. Then they pulled it down from Instagram. Apparently Hugh doesnt advocate supermarkets. I was like: We dont all have a f***ing 60-acre farm in Dorset. As a recent graduate, money is tight for Lebus. London restaurants are too expensive, the Kilburn house hes staying in belongs to his housemate Kits mother. My dad wanted me to be a lawyer but Ive always been quite stubborn. Im not driven by money, otherwise I wouldnt be doing this. Follow Mob Kitchen on Facebook and Instagram. Follow Samuel Fishwick on Twitter: @Fish_o_wick A new study claims that good posture could help to treat the symptoms of depression. A paper by the University of Auckland is the first to examine whether adjusting something as minor as posture could help those who are clinically diagnosed with moderate depression. Studies have previously found a link between slouching and a decrease in self-esteem, enthusiasm and energy, but this is the first time the theory has been tested on those with mental health issues. 'Compared to sitting in a slumped position, sitting upright can make you feel more proud after a success, increase your persistence at an unsolvable task, and make you feel more confident in your thoughts,' lead researcher Dr Elizabeth Broadbent explains. 'Research also suggests that sitting upright can make you feel more alert and enthusiastic, feel less fearful, and have higher self-esteem after a stressful task.' The study analysed a group of 61 participants who were all diagnosed with mild-to-moderate depression. All of the study participants had a tendency to slouch, but half of the group were instructed to sit with levelled shoulders, a straightened back and an upright head during a screen test. Dr Broadbent then stuck a stiff piece of tape on their backs which would pull tight if they fell back into their hold habit of slouching. The other half of the group were instructed to sit in their natural slouching position. Best books on mindfulness 1 /14 Best books on mindfulness Find your inner peace with our pick of the best mindfulness and meditation books... Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world This bestseller will get you in the right frame of mind for 2016. Based on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) a successful form of brief meditation this book's success relies on the way in which authors Mark Williams and Danny Penman optimistically focus on adding joy to your life as opposed to ridding it of unhappiness. 10.50, Amazon, Buy it now Anti-Stress Dot-to-Dot Always thought that dot-to-dots were an activity for children? Apprently you're wrong be wrong the pictures in this book, featuring elegant buildings and nature scenes, will relax and focus your mind in a way you never thought a dot-to-dot book could. 5, Amazon, Buy it now I Am Here Now This will help enhance both your observation and creativity; with an audio track (featuring musings from mindfulness teacher Tara Brach) and a field notes page for recording purposes, I Am Here Now will enable your thoughts and emotions to take on a new lease of life. 7, Amazon, Buy it now The Mindful Workplace What better time to deploy the theories of mindfulness than at work? This book, filled with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques, provides an eight-week training course to keep your workplace attitude at its peak. 30.50, Amazon, Buy it now Get some headspace This book from Andy Puddicombe, founder of popular digital health platform Headspace, attempts to get people to take ten minutes out of their day for meditation purposes. Once the technique's been learned, these skills will stay with you for the rest of your life. 10, Amazon, Buy it now The Mindfulness Colouring Book Much like the dot-to-dot book above, this pocket-sized adult colouring book is the perfect activity for a 10-minute breather. Consider your stress and anxiety soothed. 4, Amazon, Buy it now The Little Book of Mindfulness In this day and age, it's more important to be in the moment than ever this book will help you with that. From Dr Patrizia Collard, these brief practices will rid your day of stress and have you feeling more optimistic. 4, Amazon, Buy it now Body Calm The saying mind over matter derives from the idea that our minds have the power to control our bodies if we really want them to. Equally, mental stress can have a damaging effect on our bodies. Newbigging teaches us a new self-healing meditation technique to help keep our bodies healthy and to understand the source of common stress and anxiety triggers. 11, Amazon, Buy it now The Power of Now The Power of Now has become one of the most famous mindfulness books out there. Helping us to tap into our innermost Being, Tolle guides us through various techniques to help us understand that the present moment is all that really matters. 8, Amazon, Buy it now A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled An ambassador for mental health awareness, Ruby Wax OBE has helped to make mindfulness accessible to all. Having suffered from depression herself, in this book she explores how modern living is causing us more stress and anxiety than ever as we know and see too much. Included are mindfulness exercises and tips for everyone from babies to adults; all with sound underlying scientific reasoning. 4, Amazon, Buy it now They were then asked to complete a stress-measuring task, which included giving a give a five-minute speech and counting backwards from 1,022 in blocks of 13. During the test, they were asked to give feedback about their mood and how they were feeling. The findings showed that, overwhelmingly, those who had corrected their posture had more energy and more enthusiasm. Within the paper, which is due to be published later this year, Dr Broadbent also notes that those who sat up straight also articulated themselves better and spoke more words during the test. Speaking to Psychology Today, Dr Broadbent explained that she first began exploring the link between posture and depression when she was feeling under the weather. 'I noticed that I was walking with my shoulders slumped and looking at the ground. I looked up and put my shoulders back, and immediately I felt much better,' she said. 'I hypothesized that, if this worked for me, it might work for other people, too. 'That is what got me started on this research pathway. 'From my own experience and from my research, I think adopting an upright posture can help people feel better. 'But I think much depends on context and situation, and more research is needed into when [this strategy] works and for whom.' While the concept needs further research, its thought that the findings could help us to gain a better understanding of mental health care. Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle P reppers - doomsayers gearing up for civilisations collapse - used to be seen as paranoid, tinfoil-hatted folk wasting time on a disaster that would never come. Not so much now. Before the presidential election, the Lincoln Leadership initiative polled Americans: Hillary Clinton voters reckoned there was a 63 per cent chance that Donald Trump would start a nuclear war. Survivalists call it the SHTF scenario - when the Shit Hits The Fan. And it might not even be caused by the geriatric man-babys tiny fingers on the nuclear button: it could be a financial system failure, a flu pandemic or climate change. When I interviewed Wahaca co-founder Thomasina Miers recently, she argued soil erosion was the great, unnoted crisis facing humanity. Locally, a London prepper, whos also a fund manager, says: People dont think about flood risk. My guess is that the Thames barrier is going to fail at some point. Battersea and Richmond will be buggered. Meanwhile, Lionel Shrivers latest novel, The Mandibles, is set in a future where the debt burden has left the US bust. Preppers arent crazy - theyre people who are capable of thinking creatively, she tells me. I think [economic collapse] is a real possibility. Though Ive so far found myself incapable of acting on that anxiety. I have savings and shares but I dont trust anything: the dollar, the pound or the markets. Many are acting on these fears, though. In Silicon Valley, survivalism has high-profile followers. Reddit boss Steve Huffman recently told the New Yorker that hed had laser eye surgery to prep himself for armageddon, while ex-Yahoo exec Marvin Liao has been learning archery. Others have built underground bunkers with air-filtration systems or land in New Zealand. In Shrivers novel, she discusses complexity theory - the idea that as the world becomes more complicated, it also gets more fragile: Complex systems collapse catastrophically. They can go on and on uncannily everything seems fine while instabilities build up in the system. Its a house of cards, the classic example, or a deep piled mountain of gravel, you trip one rock and the whole thing comes tumbling down. The 2008 economic crisis was an example of this: it showed how interlinked the system is now. People didnt have an idea how far the subprime mortgage crisis would proliferate or penetrate, says the prepper. In a disaster scenario, the fear is that you will be the person who falls over, shrieking go on without me! As Shriver notes, in the UK, we are now a long way from the wilds: We are very socially dependent and were not very competent animals any more. If you put me in the woods, I would starve. How best to prepare for the apocalypse, then? It depends on the type of disaster, but for most types, its important to have some form of portable wealth, says the London prepper. She suggests gold: Its elemental, so theres a finite amount of it in the world. But you need it in small parts like coins, or a bracelet or watch with links - not heavy gold bars. Diamonds probably arent useful, because they arent divisible - though uncut theyre easy to hide, because they dont sparkle. You could take silver as well, but the rate of gold to silver in currency value has really varied over the years and you have to carry so much more. If the collapse is economic, the Government may (as happens in the Mandibles) seize gold - so you need to hide it. She proposes a safe in the floor: It has to be accessible. With jewellery you wouldnt want it showing. Secrete them abut your person. Food is always peoples primary worry - stocking up on tinned goods being the cliche - but a lack of water will kill you first. Run a bath or - although this isnt easy in London - get a water butt. One of my colleagues in his 50s moved out of London and now lives on a farm he has bottled water in a vault underground. She also suggests stockpiling antibiotics. You wouldnt get some grand disease in this scenario, youd get a UTI then it would get infected - there aint any amount of cranberry juice that will fix that. She adds, darkly: And maybe you should have a suicide pill too. What retains value? What is biologically necessary to keep humans alive, says Shriver. Farmers will have a huge amount of wealth. And shelter matters. In case of nuclear war or disease, theres a seed bank in the Arctic a last resort for the planets crops. Transport is your next consideration, if you need to leave the capital. The Silicon Valley preppers tend towards motorbikes or helicopters. Cars arent going to work - the roads will be buggered, therell be a run on petrol and electric cars wont work, says the prepper. Id try to get out of London by boat, take my chances on a canal. Solo travel destinations - in pictures 1 /13 Solo travel destinations - in pictures Thailand Thailand Borders of Adventure, Becki Enright Essaouria The Gentleman Traveller Essaouria The Gentleman Traveller Essaouria The Gentleman Traveller Madrid Taylor Hearts Travel Mercado San Anton, Madrid Mercado San Anton, Madrid Taylor Hearts Travel New Zealand Intrepid Escape New Zealand Intrepid Escape New Zealand Intrepid Escape Sunset in New Zealand Intrepid Escape What you need depends on the type of crisis, of course. If its a flu pandemic, stay in your home, dont touch anyone, buy a mask and sanitary gloves. For a nuclear disaster (theres a map that shows you the fallout from a bomb hitting London: nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap), the prepper argues you should go east to Cambridge, due to the prevailing winds. But you may be best staying still: After Hiroshima, there was evidence that people who didnt walk around, who were trapped, fared better. They werent putting themselves in the way of radiation. The internet will be down, meaning encyclopedias and books, especially on health, disease and first aid, will have huge value. Information will be a currency. As Shriver notes, When its not written down, access to information becomes unstable. In the Mandibles, the internet has been taken out for 3, 4 weeks. Young people see that as the stone age - and it doesnt take any bombs. Im alarmed by how dependent we are on the internet. Weve turned over all our infrastructure to computers, capable of being infiltrated. Defence systems and air traffic control are computerised. We did this all leaping at the convenience. A post-collapse society may well be WROL - without the rule of law - which means property rights disappear. In that case, youre better off in a group - form a local militia. The best advice if youre really preparing for the collapse of civilisation is: you have to get a farm, and you have to stop other people taking it, says Shriver. Ultimately its what is wrong with the prepper movement in this country - its all focused on stockpiling resources and having land. You have to be able to keep them that is where the US prepper movement has a point: they stockpile guns. Im a supporter of gun control, not a gun nut, but when the state can no longer protect you and enforce property rights, you need a gun. Follow Rosamund Urwin on Twitter: @RosamundUrwin A man has been charged with falsifying a will by police investigating the death of an antiques dealer found bludgeoned to death outside her home. Robyn Mercer, 50, a renowned silverware expert, was found dead in West Molesey, Surrey, at 8am on March 14 last year after being attacked with either a machete or an axe. A post-mortem examination revealed that mother-of-two Ms Mercer, who was originally from South Africa, died after suffering multiple blows to her head. Her body was found down the side of her home after she was attacked and struck repeatedly on the ground, after police believe she went to put something in her bins. Robert Webb, 53, has been charged with fraud by false representation after allegedly falsifying a will around September 20 last year, Surrey Police said. Webb, of Walton Road, West Molesey, has been freed by police on conditional bail and will appear at Staines Magistrates' Court on March 1, a police spokesman said. Ms Mercer, a silver specialist, worked at JH Bourdon-Smith in Mayfair, west London, and was described by relatives as a "wonderful person, loving mother and devoted friend". She was said to have been highly respected in the antiques world in London, after working for the same family business for the last 25 years. Despite a 10,000 reward offered by Crimestoppers and the case featuring on the BBC's Crimewatch programme, no-one has been charged with her killing. Additional reporting by Press Association. A man and two women have been arrested after a fight broke out in a London courtroom. Police and paramedics burst into Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday afternoon after reports of a fight during an ongoing trial. The incident happened just yards away from the separate trial of Rolf Harris who is accused of a string of sex offences spanning four decades. One person was rushed to hospital with a shoulder injury following the unexpected incident. Photos taken at the court, on English Grounds on the Southbank, show two ambulances, a paramedics motorbike and several police cars parked outside. Police said they were called at just after 3.30pm to reports of an altercation. Southwark Crown Court / Getty One man was arrested on suspicion of assault and two women were arrested for affray. All three remain in custody at a police station in central London. A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: We were called at 3:30pm today to reports of an incident at English Grounds. We sent two ambulance crews and a motorcycle paramedic to the scene. We treated a patient at the scene for a shoulder injury and took them to a hospital in west London. On Wednesday, also at Southwark Crown but in a different courtroom, the jury in the trial of Rolf Harris retired to consider its verdicts. The Australian former TV entertainer denies six counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault. L ondons air pollution is so high all new homes and schools should be sealed up, only allowing filtered air to enter buildings, experts say. Housing experts have called for all new London homes to be fitted with whole-house ventilation systems which include airtight doors, windows which cannot be opened, and filters to purify outdoor air entering the home. The call comes ahead of a Government White Paper on housing which is due to be published later this month. The Sunday Times reported last week the paper would make the use of whole-house ventilation systems obligatory in developments in highly-polluted areas under current legislation its up to local authorities to decide whether to force developers to install them as a condition of planning permission. But the Government refuted the claim adding that it could not disclose what was in the White Paper. Simon Birkett of Clean Air London said all new builds should be sealed from toxic pollutants. Pollution in London 1 /8 Pollution in London This image taken near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich shows a thick layer of smog hanging over London Anna Rolls This image, taken in December 2016, shows the smog over London Pete Buckney This shot taken in 2015 from Hampstead Heath shows smog hanging over the centre of London Getty Images Pollution: thick smog hangs over London's Docklands PA Pollution hanging over the City of London 2011 FILE IMAGE AFP via Getty Images Smog: A thick layer of smog visible above London's skyline William Smith/@williamsmithorg He told the Standard: Its essential we start protecting people from fumes. Some London streets have the highest level of nitrogen dioxide, the toxic gas which comes from diesel fumes, in the world. He added: We have to seal up buildings because we really have no choice. If you live in a polluted spot in London there is no other way to protect people inside while we try to clean up the pollution at its source. You can remove 90 per cent of the worst pollution in outdoor air through air filtration. So we either build houses in polluted areas and dump people in them and wait 15 or so years, or we put in measures to help. Thats the choice. Clive Shrubsole, an expert in indoor environments at University College London, said mandatory whole-house ventilation systems in new builds was long overdue. He told the Standard: The UK indoor environments group have been calling for this for a long time. We need to put health at the core of all our housing policies because healthy business and living environments are good for business in the long term because they increase productivity. Loading.... But Mr Shrubsole stressed the need for a balanced ventilation system which could stop external pollutants getting in and at the same time allow internal pollutants, such as moisture and particle matter from cooking, to get out. Airtight houses are seen as a key solution to enable house building in London, the vast of majority of which is classified as an Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA), which means pollution breaches legal limits. According to the National Planning Policy Framework new developments cannot contribute to, or put people at risk from being adversely affected by unacceptable levels of soil, air, water, or noise pollution. Some have interpreted this to mean no new houses or schools should be built in AQAMs, and therefore in almost all of London. The Home Builders Federation said it was impossible to stop building houses in London and agreed airtight houses offered one solution to the pollution crisis. Andrew Whitaker, planning director at the Home Builders Federation said: "For social and economic reasons and to make the best use of land, we clearly need to continue to build homes in London. The potential to include mitigation measures alongside new developments suggests that modern, energy efficient homes, using the most up to date technologies which are well located to facilities people need to use, have the potential to be part of the solution to improving air quality, rather than contributing to the problem. T rain passengers are paying more for McDonalds Big Mac meals in the capitals train stations, a surprising new map has revealed. The popular fast food treat costs 4.59 in the concourse at Paddington station, but just a few seconds walk from the station the same meal can be found 10p cheaper. The survey, which so far covers a third of the fast food giants branches within the M25, found Big Mac meals in the capital cost on average 4.49. In Kings Cross station two separate outlets sell them for 4.59, while up the road in Camden they are just 4.19. In the main concourse of Victoria station they cost 4.69, but can be found 20p cheaper simply by going upstairs to the food court. In the McDonalds outside the station they are sold for 4.59. However, Waterloo was an exception to the rule, with a Big Mac meal costing just 4.39 in the major commuter hub. Price gap: Walking a few hundred metres for your Big Mac can save you 20p / Tom Ravenscroft The journalist and architectural historian behind the map, Tom Ravenscroft, said he was shocked to find Waterloo was so much cheaper than the other stations. He also said he was surprised to see no divide in prices between central and outer London, or between different boroughs. I was expecting to see broad patterns but that is not what I found, its really confusing, the 35-year-old told the Standard. There is an 80p difference between branches in London but no obvious reason why. I dont know if people are aware you can walk a few hundred metres and save yourself 20p. Victoria Station: Big Macs are 20p cheaper in the upstairs food court than in the main concourse / Tom Ravenscroft The average cost of a Big Mac meal in London is 4.49. The cheapest so far was discovered in the affluent south-eastern suburb of Greenwich, costing 4.09. Deptford resident Mr Ravenscroft said: Who would have known Greenwich would be the cheapest in London? Its right outside a DLR station and its an affluent, up-market area. If youre in Greenwich then stock up. The map, inspired by the Economists Big Mac index, found a store in Uxbridge selling Big Macs for a whopping 4.89 the current highest price. It is one of eight different prices recorded at restaurants within the M25. The map uses a colour code to differentiate between the different costs across the capital, and its creator hopes to soon add every single restaurant. A McDonalds spokesman said: We offer guidance around pricing, but ultimately our franchisees decide on those which are set, based on a number of factors including ongoing operational costs depicted by each site. We and our franchisees pride ourselves on providing good quality food, at affordable prices up and down the country and work to keep differences to a minimum. Click here to view the map and contribute. M ore than 1,000 homes in a leafy part of north London were tonight plunged into darkness after a power cut. Residents said they were stuck with candlelight while others living in homes powered purely by electricity feared temperatures dropping overnight. The electricity blackout hit homes across Muswell Hill and in Hornsey, Crouch End and Harringay at around 9pm on Wednesday night. Among those affected was Eastenders actress Jessie Wallace who lives in Muswell Hill. She said: My road has a power cut! I wouldnt give a s*** usually but I was enjoying watching Stake Out! One concerned parent living in Muswell Hill told the Standard: If its not on by morning I cant warm the babies milk. Blackout: More than 1,000 homes were affected. / @lizzienorth84 We cant use the baby monitor now so hopefully my oldest doesnt wake. We have two under-twos so it makes us feel quite vulnerable. We are moving house soon so our torches and candles are all packed so hopefully we wont have to do a nappy change in the dark. Helen Leake, who lives on Queens Avenue in Muswell Hill, said the lights in her house went out at just after 9pm. Candlelight: Many residents were without power for around an hour. / Lizzy Day She said: No fun when youre all electric. No heat is the main problem if it stays off for too long. Lizzy Day, who lives in Crouch End, said: The power cut came on just before 9pm, I was cooking my dinner when the power went. Ive lived in the area for about seven years and its happened a few times. Also struck by the power cut was pub the Hornsey Tavern where half the High Street was affected. Engineers were sent to fix the power outage, which UK Power Networks told the Standard was caused by a faulty underground cable. The company said power was likely to be back on between 10.30pm and 11.30pm but at just after 10pm many homes reported the power being restored. In a statement, UK Power Networks said: Our engineers are working as quickly and as safely as possible to restore electricity to properties in the N10 and N8 area affected by a power cut at just before 21.00 this evening. The cause is a fault on an underground cable. We realise how difficult it can be to be without power and apologise for any inconvenience caused. A south London care home has been fined after an elderly woman fell onto a radiator and suffered serious burns. The 79-year-old dementia sufferer Kathleen Walters was left needing skin grafts after she fell against her bedroom radiator in the Manor House Residential Home in Morden, south London. Mrs Walters was found at 8.20am with a large burn to her back after last been checked upon at 7.10am. When staff asked her how long she had been there, Ms Walters placed her hands far apart, Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in north London was told. The registered providers of the care home, Dudley and Helene Sessford, will have to pay 24,600 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to a charge of failing to provide safe care and treatment resulting in avoidable harm, the CQC said. Jenny Ashworth, prosecuting, told the court that the provider had failed to adequately control the risk of serious injury and the accident was avoidable because covering the radiator would have prevented the injury. Debbie Ivanova, CQC's deputy chief inspector of adult social care, said: "This incident was entirely avoidable. "The risk of people sustaining serious burns from uncovered radiators is something all care homes should be aware of. "Mrs Walters was known to be at high risk of falling over. Yet the registered provider failed in its duty to ensure that care and treatment was provided in a safe way, and as a result Mrs Walters was seriously burned. D ozens of anarchists who barricaded themselves inside a 15 million mansion in Belgravia face being thrown out by police today after a court ordered their eviction. Activists from the Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians have occupied the five-storey house owned by Russian oligarch Andrey Goncharenko for ten days but are expecting imminent police action to forcibly remove them after yesterdays decision. The group moved in to the empty property and boarded up the windows, setting up a kitchen and office space whilst spraying graffiti on the Regency era walls but a Central London County Court judge took just four minutes to grant the order. Squatter Daniel Gardonyi, 36, told the Standard he had been at the mansion since Friday helping to feed over a thousand people and providing rooms homeless mother and daughter. He said: Its been really fun. Its maybe a bit too posh and old-fashioned for us but theres a lot of room. They have even rolled out the red carpet, he says pointing at the grand spiral staircase. Squatters Daniel Gardonyi, 36, and Daniel stand in front of a boarded up window The group came under physical attack from a group they described as "fascists" on Saturday. We called the embassies to warn them that people were coming down to cause trouble and it wasnt us. "It wasnt too scary my comrade turned the fire extinguisher on them. If we are out there we are visible, we can buy tents and start another protest action just outside. The eviction will be non-violent but they are going to have to smash through a Grade II listed building to get to us and they always make a bigger mess. Squatter Dwain Kaye inside the group's 'media room' inside the squat The Anarchist collective spent the night on patrols along the balcony, barricading windows and putting up a large canvas on the roof in a bid to prevent police entry. Another squatter called Daniel said he had seen police training to break into the home to intimidate them. He said: I was having a cigarette on our lovely balcony and I just saw a crew of what looked like rock climbers with ropes hurrying down the road. I thought to myself were in Eaton Square I dont think there are any rock climbing places here but I could see for miles. We spotted them so they ran off. Well still be here even after the judge kicked off. It was worth going to court sometimes a miracle happens, you never know. But we are poor people against a very wealthy businessman so we didnt have much chance. Squats in Manchester never get this much attention which is why weve done it in such a high profile area. Utopian Bohemians squatting in London mansion Last year Eaton Square was named the most expensive place to buy property in Britain, with homes costing on average 17 million. The house is one of four purchased by Goncharenko over a three-year period, including Hanover Lodge, in Regents Park, for which he paid 120m making it one of the UKs most expensive homes. A marketing manager, 28, who lives opposite the occupied mansion, told the Standard: "There are rules and regulations. Everything has to be kept in keeping with the neighbourhood; it might be a bit Stepford Wives but lots of people like it. Another neighbour on the exclusive street, added: They havent been trouble at all. No noise or late night raves but it definitely looks messy [Duke of Westminster] Grosvenor would be turning in his grave if he saw the house like that. Whenever I walk around Victoria around McDonalds I do see the homeless problem has got worse, I do appreciate that. There shouldnt be a hole that people fall into. But if someone squatted my home I would be furious. Dwain Kaye, who represented the group in court and was landed with a bill of 8,735 in costs, added: This is about human rights, this is about our world and what we can do to change our perception of the world. What happens to the people here if they are forced to leave and the state isnt there to make the basic provisions to survive? W estminster council was accused of a grubby car tax grab as MPs condemned its planned parking surcharge for diesels. With Birmingham and other cities copying the borough by slapping charges on diesel cars, a cross-party group of MPs said it was wrong to hammer owners who bought in good faith. The right approach is not to have [a] grubby car tax grab by local authorities seeking to punish motorists, said Charlie Elphicke, the Dover Tory MP who chairs the parliamentary group for Fair Fuel. John Spellar, the Labour former Transport Minister, claimed: Westminster have been ripping off motorists for parking for decades. This looks like another money grab. The 10 million diesel drivers deserve a better deal. Diesel cars are being targeted because they emit tiny particulates plus nitrogen dioxide, which cause thousands of premature deaths. Westminster may charge diesel drivers 50 per cent more to park their cars in the most polluted areas, leaving them paying 7.35 an hour instead of 4.90. But the Government still taxes diesel company cars more lightly because they emit less carbon, blamed for global warming. This helps meet Kyoto green targets. Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice, the former head of the Downing Street policy unit, told the BBC that the danger posed by diesel pollution was only now becoming fully understood. Some Londoners are considering leaving the capital due to air pollution levels Nottingham, Derby, Leeds and Southampton are thought to be considering measures to discourage diesels. The AA has said if Westminster makes money, schemes will spread like wildfire. Sadiq Khan is set to introduce a toxicity fee or T-charge for the most polluting cars. A Westminster council spokesman said: We are trialling a diesel surcharge in the hope that it will deter drivers of the most polluting vehicles from entering Marylebone, a pollution hotspot. J eremy Corbyn was rocked today by two more resignations from his front-bench over his decision to back the Government on triggering Brexit. Dawn Butler quit as Mr Corbyns shadow equalities minister and Rachael Maskell resigned as shadow environment secretary just hours before a crucial Commons vote on moving Article 50 to take Britain out of the EU. Ms Butler told the Evening Standard: Im resigning. Its unfortunate we are in a very difficult situation in the Labour Party. The MP for Brent Central, which voted 60/40 in favour of Remain, follows London MP Tulip Siddiq, who resigned last week over Mr Corbyn issuing a three-line whip to back Theresa May. Extraordinarily, Labours Vicky Foxcroft, a shadow whip, remains in post despite stating publicly she would vote against Article 50 in direct conflict with her role as one of Mr Corbyns enforcers. Quit: Dawn Butler's letter of resignation to party leader Jeremy Corbyn. The party leader has issued a three-line whip demanding that his MPs back the government moves to leave the EU. But tonight a dozen London MPs, including two shadow ministers, will vote against triggering Article 50. Despite saying she would vote against Mr Corbyn tonight, Ms Butlers two page resignation letter praised his efforts to make Theresa May present her Brexit plans to the Commons. As leader of the opposition you have moved the Government from their position of Brexit means Brexit to one that has seen them agree to bring forward a white paper for parliament to properly scrutinise. Quit: Dawn Butler's letter of resignation to party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Unfortunately I still feel strongly that I want to send a message to our Prime Minister that I do not agree with the direction she is taking the country, the way for me to do that is to vote against this second reading. Shadow foreign minister Catherine West, the MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, and Dr Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton and shadow home office minister, confirmed to the Evening Standard that they will also be voting against triggering Article 50. Dawn Butler quit as Mr Corbyns shadow equalities minister / Getty Images Dr Huq said: It is the right thing to do and in accordance with the will of the people of Ealing Central and Acton, 70 per cent of whom wanted to remain in the European Union. My issue is not with Jeremy, who Im happy to serve under, its with Theresa Mays hardest of hard Brexits. Labour refused to say whether they would sack the frontbench rebels. Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, a close ally of the leader, sidestepped the question on BBC radio, saying the party was focusing instead on the needs of the country. She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: I think that what is more important is that we talk about what is going to happen to the country, what is going to be the consequence for the country. The row highlights divisions between the capitals Labour MPs and Mr Corbyns tight-knit inner London leadership. Mr Corbyns decision to back the Government on Article 50 is a source of immense frustration for some backbench rebels. Bermondsey MP Neil Coyle said Labours frontbench had committed to the Governments rushed and incoherent timetable which would see Article 50 triggered by March. He said: Members are rightly appalled at a frontbench acting without taking into account party policy or views. Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy said she would be voting against giving Theresa May the green light for hard Brexit which would take Britain out of the single market, because it isnt the best or even a good deal for Britain. Mike Gapes, Ilford South MP, hailed Londons Labour frontbench rebels today, adding: They are brave and principled and I respect them... they are committed to the interests of London. He added: This city will be seriously damaged if we have a Theresa May-style withdrawal from the single market and the customs union. Despite the Labour rebellion, the Government is expecting a comfortable win tonight. Only one known Tory rebel, party grandee Ken Clarke, is set to vote against triggering Article 50. The real difficulty for Mrs May could come next week when amendments are thrashed out in the Commons and pro-Remain Tories such as Anna Soubry and Nicky Morgan may choose to back plans to curb the Governments proposals. MPs will also have had a chance to scour the Prime Ministers long-awaited White Paper, due to be delivered tomorrow, which will set out crucial negotiating priorities for leaving the EU. On Wednesday evening it was also announced shadow environment secretary Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central, quit from the shadow cabinet. She revealed she will defy the Labour whip to vote against triggering Article 50 to formally begin Brexit in tonight's vote. A senior aide to Donald Trump has blasted calls for his UK state visit to be cancelled in the wake of his controversial travel ban. Sebastian Gorka, the Deputy Assistant to the President, told BBCs Newsnight that government policies should not be hostage to petitions. He spoke out after 1.7 million backed calls for Mr Trumps state visit to be axed amid a fierce backlash against his immigration crackdown. The petition, started by Graham Guest on Saturday, claims the Presdients visit would embarrass the Queen. Undemocratic: Mr Gorka suggested the petition calling for the cancellation Mr Trump's visit to the UK was undemocratic / @SebGorka Mr Gorka told Newsnight host Emily Maitlis he expected the visit to go ahead as planned. He said: The visit of Theresa May that just happened went superbly, and as a result I expect everything to go along swimmingly. If we keep government policies hostage to petitions, then everybody would say I dont want to pay any taxes and thered be a petition for zero taxes. That's not how a representative democracy functions, or a republic. His remarks came hours after the Commons Petitions Committee confirmed that the petition would be put forward for debate by MPs. It will be discussed alongside a second rival petition demanding that the US president is allowed to make the state visit to the UK, which has been signed by nearly 200,000 people. The debate will take place in Westminster Hall on February 20. Mr Trump has faced an intensifying backlash in the UK after he imposed a travel ban on refugees and people from Muslim-majority countries. A London MEP ridiculed Nigel Farage as he gave a speech to the EU Parliament live on TV by holding up a sign saying: Hes lying to you. Seb Dance, who represents London in the European Parliament, held up the handwritten sign with an arrow pointing at the ex-Ukip leader. The Londoner was promptly scolded by an EU official who made Mr Dance take down the sign. But as the scene unfolded live on the BBC News channel, scores of people quickly took to Twitter to praise the daring MEP calling the sign the best political heckle ever. 'He's lying to you': The sign held up Londoner Seb Dance in the EU Parliament on Wednesday. / BBC News Willie Elliot said prize for seat 44 please while Phil Verney said: I have never loved the EU Parliament more right now. But fellow Ukip MEP Bill Etheridge, who was also sitting in the chamber and watched it unfold, hit out at EU officials for letting it happen and called the behaviour disgusting. He has sent a complaint letter to EU officials about the incident and tweeted: Disgusting behaviour by Labour MEP holding defamatory sign up behind Nigel Farage as he spoke today. Pathetic and cowardly. He added: If the British Labour Party want to start making signs to display while people are talking I've got a few for them, let's start with sell out. The well-known Brexiteer and Trump supporter Mr Farage was visibly fired-up as he delivered a speech to the parliament on Wednesday afternoon during a debate on US border controls. Wearing a Trump pin badge on his lapel, Mr Farage accused EU leaders of "anti-Americanism" as he defended the US president's controversial travel ban which sparked mass protests. Mr Dance was seen on camera subsequently being talked to by a suited man. Seb Dance, who used to work for charity ActionAid at City Hall for the EU Parliament elections count. / PA Archive/PA Images Many Londoners - including Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy - praised Mr Dance, 35, who was elected to the EU Parliament in 2014. Ms Creasy said: "Good on London MEP Seb Dance for calling out Nigel Farage for his use of 'alternative facts' - Trump not a model for British representation!" Twitter user Jay said: "Look at this legend...no, not Nigel Farage. The man next to him holding up the hand made school sign at the European Parliament". Others were less impressed at the trolling. Steve Mills said online it was a "cheap shot and school boy tactics". W hen Theresa May talked about the special relationship with Donald Trump its unlikely she had this in mind. Street artist Pegasus has created the work showing the world leaders in a compromising position on Great Eastern street, Shoreditch, It shows May laughing while she apparently spanks the US president who is laid across her knee. The 32-year-old artist from Islington, north London, said hed had a mixed reaction to his piece, adding: I had a lot of people stop and laugh and take photographs. Then a lot of people who were more serious and were voicing how they were disgusted at Trump and how they thought May has just rolled over and been submissive to him. The artist said he encountered one Trump supporter who was less than impressed with the work, adding: He was an American tourist and he just stood there and took it in for a while. They he looked at me and said: You are disgusting and walked away. That was awkward. Theresa May and Donald Trump street art 1 /6 Theresa May and Donald Trump street art The PM and Donald Trump street art in Shoreditch Pegasus The PM and Donald Trump street art in ShoreditchArt Pegasus The PM and Donald Trump street art in Shoreditch Pegasus The PM and Donald Trump street art in Shoreditch @pegasusart The PM and Donald Trump street art in Shoreditch Pegasus Pegasus said he created the work as he felt passionately about the relationship between May and Trump. A lot of the time, when I watch the news, I feel like I am watching an apocalyptic movie. Protests round the world, it is a crazy world we live in now. I wanted to express my concern through the work. T heresa May left unclear whether President Trump notified her of his Muslim ban during stormy exchanges with Jeremy Corbyn this afternoon. The Prime Minister sidestepped the question by saying we all knew because restrictions on the rights of Muslims to enter the United States had been a Trump campaign issue. However, her opaque answer contrasted sharply with her firm denials that he gave notice during their White House talks of a separate refugee ban and that British citizens could be affected. Mr Corbyn accused her of failing to stand up to the President. Echoing Neville Chamberlains appeasement of Hitler he referred to a letter she had sent him with the jibe: I have in my hand her piece of paper. Mrs May hit back by pointing at Mr Corbyn and charging: He can lead a protest. I lead a country. She rallied Tory MPs by listing her achievements at the US talks, including winning Trumps 100 per cent backing for Nato. The exchanges at Prime Ministers Question Time began with Mr Corbyn asking her why Downing Street had failed to deny she had advance notice of the executive orders restricting travel issued by the President hours after she left the White House. She gave a scripted response, saying: If he is asking me whether I had advance notice of the ban on refugees, the answer is no. If he is asking me if I had advance notice that the executive order could affect British citizens, the answer is no. Grilling: Theresa May at Prime Minister's Questions / PA If he is asking if I had advance notice of the travel restrictions, the answer is we all did, because President Trump said he was going to do this in his election campaign. Mr Corbyn did not press her on the contrasting responses but asked why she had not criticised the travel bans immediately, saying she had failed in a duty to defend the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally 1 /48 Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally Caricatures: Unflattering pictures of the UK and US leaders. AFP/Getty Images 'No to racism': Protesters outside Downing Street. AFP/Getty Images Demo: Crowds packed out Whitehall to Parliament Square. PA Thousands: Westminster police tweeted this photo. MPS Westminster 'One nationality': Many signs carried pro immigration messages. REUTERS Dogs against Trump: One protester takes a break at the Westminster rally. REUTERS Speaker: Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti speaking to the crowd. Getty Images 'Full of garbage': A sign in Downing Street. Getty Images Prime Minister: Many banners carried messages targeting Theresa May, Getty Images 'Dump Trump': The signs carried personal attacks on the US President. Getty Images No Trump: Protesters chant and march. Getty Images Never again: Some posters looked back to the past. AFP/Getty Images Packed: Many protesters remarked at the amount of people. AFP/Getty Images Standstill: Buses had to divert because of the crowds. PA Anger: People demonstrate during a protest at Downing Street in central London. PA Crowds: Hordes of people took to the streets. Getty Images Anti-Trump: Thousands of people have slammed the President's policy. Getty Images Messages for May: Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside Downing Street. Getty Images 'Never again': Demonstrators march along Downing Street. Getty Images 'Muslim ban': Londoners marched with placards with messages for the PM. Getty Images NO: The anti-Trump rally spilled onto the road. Getty Images Humour: A sign drawing on a Mary Poppins pun. Caroline Lee Chants: The crowds were heard chanting 'shame on May'. Getty Images Welcome refugees: Protesters on Monday evening. PA Landmark: The iconic London eye seen in the background. PA 'Dangerous': One of the anti-Trump protesters. Lydia Ruffles Anti-Trump: Signs carried harsh words for the US leader. Emma Gibson Blocked: Protesters said Whitehall was brought to a standstill. Garry Knight 'Resist': A sign in Whitehall. Spectrum SINO Radio 'Bridges not walls': Many of the banners carried pro-globalization messages. Jessica Voorsanger Rally: The first crowds forming at the protest, which began at 6pm. Garry Knight United: Stop the War Coalition joined the protest. PA Gathered: People listened to speakers who fired up the crowd. Getty Images We stand together: Among the figures who were expected to attend were Lily Allen and Ed Miliband. Getty Images March: Some of the protesters holding placards. Getty Images Together: People of all ages joined in the rally. Getty Images President Trump has breached that convention. Why did she not speak out? he asked. Mrs May then criticised him for supporting mass demonstrations over the ban, and defended the Governments record in ensuring that British citizens would not be impacted by the restrictions. She said: The question is how you respond. The job of Government is not to chase the headlines, the job of Government is not to take to the streets in protest. Loading.... The job of Government is to protect the interests of British citizens and that is exactly what we did. A British chef killed fighting Isis in Syria shot himself to avoid being captured, his father has confirmed. Ryan Lock travelled to Syria in August after telling friends and family he was going on holiday to Turkey. The 20-year-old, from Chichester in West Sussex, was fighting as a volunteer with Kurdish armed forces the YPG when he died while fighting near Raqqa on December 21. Mr Locks father, Jon Plater, confirmed reports that it appeared he committed suicide to avoid falling captive to IS. He said: We did know. It is true - 100 per cent. 'Outstanding bravery': Ryan Lock died fighting Isis forces near Raqqa on December He and four other fighters are believed to have come under siege by Isis, and a YPG source told the BBC they showed "considerable resistance" before they were killed. The source said that "trace of a gunshot wound was found under the chin", suggesting suicide. Ryan Lock's body has been passed over the Syrian border into Iraq with military honours / YPG Kurdish rights activist Mark Campbell, from KurdishQuestion.com, told the BBC: "There are no words to describe the bravery required to take such an action. "ISIS were robbed of a predictable macabre propaganda opportunity by Ryan's action. Ryan Lock's body will be returned to his family in the UK / YPG "I personally believe he deserves the very highest of military honours for such outstanding bravery in the face of such a barbaric enemy." Mr Locks body had been in the hands of IS militants before being transported into Iraq on Tuesday. In a statement, his father said: "Since we heard the devastating news of Ryan, it's been pretty tough, especially [with] the difficulties surrounding the repatriation. We are grateful to the YPG for bringing him home." T he parents of Madeleine McCann have lost their court appeal against an ex-detective who alleged they were involved in their daughters death. Portugal's highest court threw out the libel case against Goncalo Amaral, who initially led the investigation into Madeleines disappearance ten years ago, after he made the claims in a book and documentary. The couple initially successfully sued Amaral for libel in 2015, and he was ordered to pay 500,000 euros (429,000) in compensation to Kate and Gerry McCann by a Lisbon court. The decision was overturned following an appeal last year but the McCanns took the case to Portugal's Supreme Court. While the judges' official ruling is yet to be published, lawyers for Mr and Mrs McCann have been informed of their decision. The couple said in a statement: "What we have been told by our lawyers is obviously extremely disappointing. Madeleine McCann - In pictures 1 /33 Madeleine McCann - In pictures Madeleine McCann Maddie disappeared in 2007 PA Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal ten years ago, during an interview with the BBC's Fiona Bruce at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough PA Screen grabbed image taken from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page of a message from Madeleine McCann's parents, Gerry and Kate, who has described the tenth anniversary of her daughter's disappearance as a "horrible marker of time, stolen time" PA Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz The Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz where Madeleine McCann disappeared Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann with a computer image of how their missing daughter Madeleine might look Reuters Maddie disappeared in 2007 Madeleine McCann: Disappeared in 2007 aged three PA Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, who has revealed that British detectives working on the Madeleine McCann case are still pursuing "critical" leads as the 10th anniversary of her disappearance approaches PA Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann before a charity run in London AFP/Getty Images The Ocean Club which is next to Apartment 5A in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeline McCann went missing PA Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal ten years ago, during an interview with the BBC's Fiona Bruce at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough PA Kate McCann Kate McCann speaks to press at a Lisbon court last year AFP/Getty Images Kate and Gerry McCann with their children Kate and Gerry return home from Portugal in 2007 AFP/Getty Images A general view of the coastline in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeline McCann went missing PA Portugal police Police in Portugal comb the Algarve resort after Madeleine disappeared in 2007 AFP/Getty Images Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann pictured shortly after Maddie went missing AFP/Getty Images Kate McCann Kate McCann cries during a 2008 TV appearance Madeleine McCann Maddie in an Everton shirt Everton FC/PA A general view of Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, close to where Madeline McCann went missing PA Members of Scotland Yard dig at an area during the search for missing British girl Madeleine McCann in Praia da Luz, near Lagos on 07 June 2014 Reuters Kate and Gerry McCann Kate McCann and Gerry McCann speak to press after being cleared of being formal suspects Getty Images A poster is shown whilst Kate and Gerry McCann give a press conference in 2012 about their missing daughter Madeline McCann Daily Mail Kate and Gerry pictured five years after Maddie went missing Getty Images The Ocean Club which is next to Apartment 5A in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeline McCann went missing PA Maddie's parents in an interview with Crimewatch A scene from a Crimewatch reconstruction BBC "It is eight years since we brought the action and in that time the landscape has dramatically changed, namely there is now a joint Metropolitan Police-Policia Judiciaria investigation which is what we've always wanted. "The police in both countries continue to work on the basis that there is no evidence that Madeleine has come to physical harm. "We will, of course, be discussing the implications of the Supreme Court ruling with our lawyers in due course." Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in the Algave resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends. Mr Amaral released the book three days after the case was closed in 2008. He later took part in a documentary for Portuguese television in which he claimed that Madeleine was dead, there had been no abduction and the McCanns had hidden her body. M ost Britons back Donald Trumps planned state visit to Britain, a poll has found. The survey, conducted by YouGov for The Times, found 49 per cent of the British public supported Mr Trumps UK visit with 36 per cent opposed. It is the first poll published on the contentious issue which has provoked widespread protest online and outside Westminster. Since Sunday more than 1.7 million people have signed a petition to prevent Mr Trump visiting the UK saying it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen. One million people call for Donald Trump's state visit to the UK to be called off It will now be debated by MPs on Februrary 20. But the poll shows the volume of protests is not the same as so-called public opinion. Theresa May has dismissed the petition saying she is "very happy" for Mr Trump's planned state visit to Britain to go ahead. The poll comes amid an intensifying backlash in Britain against the new US president's travel ban on refugees and people from seven predominately Muslim countries. Thousands join London protests against Donald Trump travel ban The executive order, which shut down the US refugee programme for 120 days and halted all immigration from Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen for 90 days, prompted thousands of Londoners to march on Downing Street on Monday evening. The home secretary, Amber Rudd, issued one of the strongest condemnations of Mr Trump's immigration policy, saying it risked becoming a "propaganda opportunity" for the Islamic State, according to The Times. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Londoners would not support "rolling out the red carpet" for Mr Trump until the muslim ban is lifted. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan: 'Trump's ban is cruel and shameful" Mr Kahn told the Standard:"We must now rescind the offer of a full state visit for President Trump - until this ban is lifted." A former teacher and Scouts leader who toured the world to sexually abuse young boys across four decades is facing the rest of his life behind bars today. Mark Frost, 70, signed up to the infamous Paedophile Information Exchange in 1978 while working as a teacher in the UK, but was not booted out of the profession until nearly 20 years later. He rose to be a senior figure in the Scouts movement in the 80s and early 90s, took up teaching posts around the country, and was even allowed to adopt a child despite his interest in young boys. Frost's teaching career ended in disgrace following two convictions for sex offences involving teenagers in the 1990s, and he then moved to Guernsey where he began a decade "under the radar" of authorities. Once off the Sex Offenders' Register, Frost, originally known as Andrew Tracey, quit the UK and changed his name. He was picked up in Thailand in 2013 on suspicion of child sex offences, but the Thai police let him slip through their fingers before he could be charged or extradited back to the UK. Frost is thought to have skipped between European countries in a bid to stay free before his eventual capture in Alicante, Spain last year. At the Old Bailey today, Frost admitted a string of historic sex offences dating from the late 1980s to his capture in Thailand in 2013. He now faces dying in jail after pleading guilty to the historical abuse of two male pupils in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s and nine boys, aged between 10 and 14, in Thailand between 2009 and 2013. Last year he admitted 22 charges of sex attacks children in Thailand and distributing indecent images, and his vile abuse can be reported today after he confessed to 17 further charges in Thailand and six counts of buggery against two of his former pupils in the UK. The charges include rape, sexual assault, causing or inciting sexual activity with a child and making indecent images of a child. CPS lawyer Ruona Iguyovwe said: "There is harrowing evidence that Frost systematically abused vulnerable young boys, exploited them and exploited their situation. "This case ranks as one of the most serious I've dealt with as a prosecutor." The National Crime Agency and charity NSPCC has set up a dedicated hotline for victims of Frost to come forward, fearing they have only scratched the surface of decades of abuse. Under the name Andrew Tracey, he worked as an English teacher at schools in Worcestershire, Hertfordshire, and Leyton in east London, and rose to the rank of commissioner in the Scouts. He is also understood to have been turned down for adoption through the Catholic Church because of his links to the Paedophile Information Exchange, before eventually succeeding in adopting a son through a local authority. Frost was first convicted of possessing indecent images of a child in 1992 but escaped with a 200 fine. He was then jailed for 12 months in 1993 for allowing his home to be used for drug taking and sex with a teenage girl. He was struck off by the Department for Education in 1996, and two years later he was jailed again for a year for indecent assault on a male under the age of 16. Frost was put on the sex offenders' register, eventually moving to Guernsey in 2002 where he came under investigation under Operation Ore, probing child abuse images online. After moving to Thailand, Frost lived off his teacher's pension and lured young boys to his home to play computer games or have a swim. He forced his victims to perform sex acts on a webcam for a fellow paedophile in the Netherlands, rewarding them with sweets and small sums of money. Following his arrest in Thailand, Frost fled back to the UK and because the Thai authorities had not issued an arrest warrant the British police were powerless to act. He left the UK again before he could be captured, but was eventually tracked to Spain under a European Arrest Warrant. Police then found a laptop with more than 1,000 child abuse images on it and evidence of his rampant offending. NCA deputy director Andy Brennan decribed Frost as a "predatory paedophile" and a "dangerous individual", urging other victims to come forward. "It has taken a long time to track him around Europe but this is a man who is very adept at avoiding arrest", he said. "He was under the radar a lot of the time - we just don't know what impact his sentencing will have. "I hope the publicity will encourage any other victims to speak out." The NCA is working with the NSPCC on the hotline - 0800 3280904 - for possible victims to come forward. Frost, of Callie Canaria, Gran Alacant, Santa Pola, Alicante, Spain, is expected to be sentenced later today. T he election of Donald Trump has brought anti-Muslim prejudice into the mainstream, a leading campaign group has warned. Hope Not Hate made the claim in a report on the rise of so-called counter-jihad right-wing activists who they say are have had a large influence on Mr Trump and some of his top team. It is claimed the sentiment has already manifested itself in the new Presidents immigration clampdown on seven Muslim-majority countries, a move that caused uproar around the world. Mr Trump has also appointed people like Michael Flynn as national security adviser, a man who once tweeted that fear of Muslims is rational. It is claimed theories about Muslims invading the West which until recently were only found in the darker reaches of the internet could now affect White House policy. The effects could also be felt in the UK and Europe, they say, with the threat of the far-right in upcoming elections in France, the Netherlands and Germany. The report states: Trumps election and his subsequent selection of Cabinet officials and advisers has accelerated a process of mainstreaming of anti-Muslim sentiment that has been happening for some years. The result is that prominent anti-Muslim activists are now at the very centre of power and decision making in America. Report author Joe Mulhall told the Standard things like Mr Trumps claim during the election campaign of no go areas for police in London showed the influence of anti-Muslim conspiracy theories on his thinking. He said: This idea theres an invasion to Islamify Europe has no truth to it. But it creates an anti-Muslim atmosphere in places like Britain too. Now its not just small, irrelevant blogs saying this in some corner of the Internet. Its a journey from obscure notions which then came out on to the streets with things like the EDL and have now made their way into the White House. His report concludes a combination with the traditional far-right and so-called "alt-right" poses a huge threat The report states: These groups pose a fundamental threat to the liberal progressive consensus and have the ability to halt, and possibly even reverse, the advancement towards more open, tolerant and equal societies. The rise of this broad revolt threatens the safety and security of all ethnic minority communities, especially Muslims, and provides a genuine threat to multiculturalism and undermines societal cohesion. The Standard has approached the White House for a comment. F irefighters in Chile were today continuing to battle devastating wildfires which have killed 11 people and forced the evacuation of more than 800 families from a coastal town. Thousands of people fought the fast-spreading blazes on the ground, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules dumped thousands of gallons of water on the area. A Boeing 747-400 supertanker from the United States also assisted local emergency crews yesterday. More than 100 fires have consumed forests, livestock and entire towns, prompting President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help. Ms Bachelet has called the wildfires the worst forest disaster in Chiles history. P resident Donald Trump made his latest bid to stamp his doctrine on America by selecting conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch as the nations next Supreme Court justice. The nomination of the Harvard and Oxford-educated judge is certain to be met with resistance among opposition Democrat lawmakers. But, in a departure from the in-your-face politics that have marked Mr Trumps first 11 days in office, his choice for the nations highest court was not seen as particularly controversial. Despite a bitterly divided US Senate, Judge Gorsuch is expected to win confirmation to fill the vacancy left by the February 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia. I am a man of my word, I will do as I say, something that the American people have been asking for from Washington for a very, very long time, the President said at the announcement last night in the East Room of the White House. Nominee: Judge Neil Gorsuch is watched by his wife Louise and President Donald Trump / Getty Images Today I am keeping another promise to the American people by nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch to be of the United States Supreme Court. The Denver-based judge had been a heavy favourite, but not before Mr Trump orchestrated a showdown worthy of The Apprentice. He invited both Judge Gorsuch and his closest rival, Pennsylvania-based Judge Thomas Hardiman, to Washington before announcing the victor. Judge Hardiman did not attend last nights announcement, according to reports. Protesters outside the Supreme Court as Donald Trump's nomination was announced / Getty Images Mr Trump praised Judge Gorsuchs outstanding legal skills and said his academic credentials, something very important to me, are as good as I have ever seen. At 49, he is the youngest judge to be nominated in 25 years. He praised the man he is expected to succeed, Justice Scalia, as a lion of the law. Agree or disagree with him, all of his colleagues on the bench cherished his wisdom and his humour and like them, I miss him, he added. On the campaign trail, Mr Trump hinted that he would consider challenging the historic Roe v Wade legislation legalising abortion - and Judge Gorsuch has made no secret of his pro-life views. The Presidents aim is to tilt the bench to the right on issues including abortion, gun control and other hot-button issues. Currently the Supreme Court consists of four conservatives and four liberals. Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally 1 /48 Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally Caricatures: Unflattering pictures of the UK and US leaders. AFP/Getty Images 'No to racism': Protesters outside Downing Street. AFP/Getty Images Demo: Crowds packed out Whitehall to Parliament Square. PA Thousands: Westminster police tweeted this photo. MPS Westminster 'One nationality': Many signs carried pro immigration messages. REUTERS Dogs against Trump: One protester takes a break at the Westminster rally. REUTERS Speaker: Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti speaking to the crowd. Getty Images 'Full of garbage': A sign in Downing Street. Getty Images Prime Minister: Many banners carried messages targeting Theresa May, Getty Images 'Dump Trump': The signs carried personal attacks on the US President. Getty Images No Trump: Protesters chant and march. Getty Images Never again: Some posters looked back to the past. AFP/Getty Images Packed: Many protesters remarked at the amount of people. AFP/Getty Images Standstill: Buses had to divert because of the crowds. PA Anger: People demonstrate during a protest at Downing Street in central London. PA Crowds: Hordes of people took to the streets. Getty Images Anti-Trump: Thousands of people have slammed the President's policy. Getty Images Messages for May: Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside Downing Street. Getty Images 'Never again': Demonstrators march along Downing Street. Getty Images 'Muslim ban': Londoners marched with placards with messages for the PM. Getty Images NO: The anti-Trump rally spilled onto the road. Getty Images Humour: A sign drawing on a Mary Poppins pun. Caroline Lee Chants: The crowds were heard chanting 'shame on May'. Getty Images Welcome refugees: Protesters on Monday evening. PA Landmark: The iconic London eye seen in the background. PA 'Dangerous': One of the anti-Trump protesters. Lydia Ruffles Anti-Trump: Signs carried harsh words for the US leader. Emma Gibson Blocked: Protesters said Whitehall was brought to a standstill. Garry Knight 'Resist': A sign in Whitehall. Spectrum SINO Radio 'Bridges not walls': Many of the banners carried pro-globalization messages. Jessica Voorsanger Rally: The first crowds forming at the protest, which began at 6pm. Garry Knight United: Stop the War Coalition joined the protest. PA Gathered: People listened to speakers who fired up the crowd. Getty Images We stand together: Among the figures who were expected to attend were Lily Allen and Ed Miliband. Getty Images March: Some of the protesters holding placards. Getty Images Together: People of all ages joined in the rally. Getty Images Republicans said last night they were confident the judges path through the Senate would be relatively painless. They're going to have a hard time explaining to the American people why they would obstruct one of the most talented legal minds in the country, said Cory Gardner, a senator from Gorsuch's home state of Colorado. During the campaign he promised the American people he would nominate a principled constitutionalist to replace Justice Scalia, added Texas Senator Ted Cruz. And tonight President Trump honoured that commitment. I think Judge Gorsuch is a home run, he added. However, Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer argued that Judge Gorsuch had repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me sceptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the Court. G erman police today arrested a Tunisian man suspected of plotting a terror attack during mass raids on homes, businesses and mosques. More than 1,100 officers were involved in the early morning raids in Frankfurt and surrounding towns in the western state of Hesse. The 36-year-old Tunisian is suspected of recruiting for Islamic State in Germany since August 2015 and building up a network of supporters with the aim of carrying out an attack in Germany, Frankfurts prosecutor general said in a statement. It said police had carried out the raids in Frankfurt am Main, Offenbach am Main, Darmstadt, Limburg and Wiesbaden as well as in other districts. Standing guard: German officers in front of a mosque during a terror raid in Frankfurt / AP Photo/Michael Probst Authorities are investigating 16 suspects, aged between 16 and 46, including the arrested man. The attack plans were at an early stage and there was no concrete target, the prosecutor general said. Peter Beuth, interior minister for Hesse, said there had not been any immediate danger. Security forces in Hesse intervened early to protect citizens from the threat of harm. Mr Beuth added that the raids had managed to destroy an extensive Salafist network. Salafism is an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam. Germany has been on edge since Tunisian Anis Amri killed 12 people at a Berlin Christmas market in December. A man has been shot dead by police on Hollywoods Sunset Boulevard after three people were injured during a stabbing spree. The suspect, aged in his 30s, was shot at a Jack in the Box restaurant at the tourist hotspot around 2pm on Tuesday (local time). The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said it had responded to a report of a stabbing when "officer-involved shooting took place". LAPD spokesman Tony Im said: "The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene due to be being struck by gunfire. "Three victims stabbed by the suspect have been transported to a local hospital." Mr Im said police believed the stabbings were a "random attack" and two of the victims were fighting for their lives in hospital. He confirmed officers had initially attempted to use a Taser on the suspect. Video footage posted online showed police kneeling over a man in a purple shirt as he lay face down inside the restaurant. A person can be heard calling for a belt or shoelace to help a victim sitting in a chair above a pool of blood. The incident happened close to the offices of news channel CNN. A n armed police officer admitted to a psychiatric unit barricaded himself in a room and threatened to commit suicide. The incident broke out on Wednesday morning in the psychiatric clinic of Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine at Istanbul University, local media reported. Police along with negotiators descended on the area. It was initially reported the man had taken several members of staff hostage. However, police said all people working at the faculty had been safely evacuated. Local media said the man had been receiving treatment at the facility for two years. The gun was not believed to be his. P resident Donald Trump has announced Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch as his nomination for the vacant US Supreme Court position. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Gorsuch, 49, would restore the countrys highest courts conservative majority. It is currently split four-four between left and right-wingers. There has been a vacant seat in the Supreme Court since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last February. Former president Barack Obama had put forward Judge Merrick Garland but Republicans refused to debate the choice for ten months on the grounds that it was too close to an election. Democrats in the Senate were left embittered and may now vote against Mr Trumps nomination who is considered a very traditional conservative in his rulings. Donald Trump nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court in bid to tilt bench to the right There is likely to be a divisive fight ahead that could see Republicans forced to break with Senate tradition in order to approve Judge Gorsuch with a simple majority, rather than the previously required 60 seat majority. But who is the man set to be at the heart of America's most powerful court, making key decisions on the most sensitive issues? Here is what you need to know about Neil Gorsuch. Judge Neil Gorsuch and his wife Louise, with whom he has two children / Alex Wong/Getty Images Background At 49 years old, Judge Neil Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter of a century. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, before earning a doctorate in legal philosophy from Oxford University. A keen fly-fisher, he lives with his wife Louise and two daughters in the city of Boulder, Colarado, and is also a professor of law at the University of Colorado. He would be the only Protestant on the nine-strong Supreme Court bench, with the others all Catholic or Jewish. Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally 1 /48 Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally Caricatures: Unflattering pictures of the UK and US leaders. AFP/Getty Images 'No to racism': Protesters outside Downing Street. AFP/Getty Images Demo: Crowds packed out Whitehall to Parliament Square. PA Thousands: Westminster police tweeted this photo. MPS Westminster 'One nationality': Many signs carried pro immigration messages. REUTERS Dogs against Trump: One protester takes a break at the Westminster rally. REUTERS Speaker: Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti speaking to the crowd. Getty Images 'Full of garbage': A sign in Downing Street. Getty Images Prime Minister: Many banners carried messages targeting Theresa May, Getty Images 'Dump Trump': The signs carried personal attacks on the US President. Getty Images No Trump: Protesters chant and march. Getty Images Never again: Some posters looked back to the past. AFP/Getty Images Packed: Many protesters remarked at the amount of people. AFP/Getty Images Standstill: Buses had to divert because of the crowds. PA Anger: People demonstrate during a protest at Downing Street in central London. PA Crowds: Hordes of people took to the streets. Getty Images Anti-Trump: Thousands of people have slammed the President's policy. Getty Images Messages for May: Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside Downing Street. Getty Images 'Never again': Demonstrators march along Downing Street. Getty Images 'Muslim ban': Londoners marched with placards with messages for the PM. Getty Images NO: The anti-Trump rally spilled onto the road. Getty Images Humour: A sign drawing on a Mary Poppins pun. Caroline Lee Chants: The crowds were heard chanting 'shame on May'. Getty Images Welcome refugees: Protesters on Monday evening. PA Landmark: The iconic London eye seen in the background. PA 'Dangerous': One of the anti-Trump protesters. Lydia Ruffles Anti-Trump: Signs carried harsh words for the US leader. Emma Gibson Blocked: Protesters said Whitehall was brought to a standstill. Garry Knight 'Resist': A sign in Whitehall. Spectrum SINO Radio 'Bridges not walls': Many of the banners carried pro-globalization messages. Jessica Voorsanger Rally: The first crowds forming at the protest, which began at 6pm. Garry Knight United: Stop the War Coalition joined the protest. PA Gathered: People listened to speakers who fired up the crowd. Getty Images We stand together: Among the figures who were expected to attend were Lily Allen and Ed Miliband. Getty Images March: Some of the protesters holding placards. Getty Images Together: People of all ages joined in the rally. Getty Images Career Judge Gorsuch was appointed to the US Circuit Court of Appeals by former president George W Bush in 2006. His solidly conservative rulings show Mr Trump is following through on his campaign promise to restore the courts 5-4 right-wing majority. Much like his late predecessor Justice Scalia, he is a known supporter of textualism, the practice of interpreting the law by its plain text, and maintains a strict understanding of the US constitution. Judge Gorsuch would be the only Protestant on the Supreme Court bench / Alex Wong/Getty Images In 2013, he upheld a ruling that a police officer was protected from prosecution after he used a stun gun on a 22-year-old who died in the incident. He has not ruled directly on abortion or gun rights, two of the most sensitive issues in American politics. However, he has been very vocal in his opposition to euthanasia (assisted dying). He wrote in his 2006 book The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: "All human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong. Why is he important? The US Supreme Court often makes the final decision on contentious laws and appeals to stay executions, hearing fewer than 100 cases a year. Explainer: what is an executive order? After being nominated by the President and approved by the Senate, each judge serves a lifetime appointment. Judge Gorsuch would make up one ninth of this court but, more importantly, he would restore the conservative majority that the Trump election campaign promised. How the worlds newspapers reacted to Donald Trumps inauguration 1 /14 How the worlds newspapers reacted to Donald Trumps inauguration New leader: An arrangement of British newspapers show US President Donald Trump on the front pages the day after his inauguration Getty Images The New York Post quoted Mr Trumps inaugural speech in which he promised to return power back to American voters. It said: Power to you, the people. New York Post The Washington Post ran with the headline: Trump takes power: New president vows to end American carnage. Washington Post Frances Le Figaro featured the billionaire businessman on the cover of its magazine edition, writing: What if he did the job? Le Figaro The headline of German newspaper Der Spiegel read: The new world order Trumps game. Der Spiegel The Daily Mail newspaper ran with the headline I swear to be the Peoples President with a picture of Mr Trump taking the oath of office Daily Mail The Daily Mirrors front page read: Trumps war on the world. Daily Mirror "Trump unveils new era", read the frontpage of the Times The Independent's headline said: "So help us god" The Guardian referred to Mr Trump's pledge to "Put America first" The Telegraph referred to Mr Trump's pledge to "end American carnage" The court may well end up hearing a case on the Presidents highly controversial executive order blocking entry to refugees. But it currently has cases this term on the rights of transgender students and the Texas death penalty. R ex Tillerson, the ex-boss of the biggest oil company in the world, has been confirmed as Donald Trumps new secretary of state. The 64-year-old oil and gas executive, from Texas, was voted into the role of the USAs top diplomat by Senate on Wednesday. He is the latest official to be sworn into President Trumps cabinet after being nominated in December. All cabinet nominees put forward by the president must be approved by Senate. Businessman Mr Tillerson made his name as the CEO of ExxonMobil after rising up through the ranks. Secretary of State: The USA's new top diplomat. / REUTERS He does not have any experience in government but is liked by President Trump for his business background and ability to make big deals on an international scale. The oil and gas chief travelled the world forming deals in Iraq, Iran, Thailand and Russia and grew the company to be the leading multi-national in oil and gas. President Trump tweeted last year: The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments. Father-of-four Mr Tillerson is also known for his ties to Russia which have been a point of contention for some opponents of President Trump. In his 41-year career at ExxonMobil, Mr Tillerson spent time in Russia working for the oil corporation and became a personal friend of Russias president Vladimir Putin. In 2013 President Putin even awarded him the high honour of the Order of Friendship. Opposition politicians in the Senate also fear Mr Tillerson could be a yes man who might not prevent President Trump pursuing foreign policy which leads the country on a march of folly. Environmentalists have also been left worried at the promotion of an oil and gas man to one of the top US jobs. L eonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson are the first stars to be announced as presenters for this years Oscars. The A-listers, who picked up the top acting prizes last year for their roles in The Revenant and Room, will be on hand to honour this years best acting stars. The first presenters were announced on Wednesday, just a few weeks ahead of the 89th Academy Awards. Mark Rylance and Alicia Vikander have also been confirmed to present this years awards for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. In 90 seconds: The 2017 Oscar nominations British star Rylance won his first Academy Award for his role in Bridge of Spies, while Vikander picked up a trophy for The Danish Girl. La La Land leads the way with an impressive 14 nominations at this years awards, equalling the record of Titanic and All About Eve. Academy Awards Oscar Nominations 2017 - In pictures 1 /52 Academy Awards Oscar Nominations 2017 - In pictures Ryan Gosling, right, and Emma Stone in a scene from, "La La Land." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture Dale Robinette/Lionsgate via AP Andrew Garfield in a scene from "Hacksaw Ridge", which is in the running for best picture Mark Rogers/Summit via AP "Manchester By The Sea." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios via AP "Hidden Figures." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture Hopper Stone/Twentieth Century Fox via AP Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in a scene from, "Fences." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture David Lee/Paramount Pictures via AP Jeff Bridges, left, and Gil Birmingham in a scene from "Hell or High Water", which has been nominated for best picture Lorey Sebastian/CBS Films via AP "Lion." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture Mark Rogers/The Weinstein Company via AP Amy Adams in a scene from "Arrival." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture Jan Thijs/Paramount Pictures via AP Alex Hibbert in a scene from the film, "Moonlight." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture David Bornfriend/A24 via AP "La La Land." Gosling was nominated for an Oscar for best actor in a leading role Dale Robinette/Lionsgate via AP Andrew Garfield has landed a best actor nod for his role in a scene from "Hacksaw Ridge" Mark Rogers/Summit via AP Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic. He has been nominated for best actor Cathy Kanavy/Bleecker Street via AP Casey Affleck is the currently the favourite to win best actor for "Manchester By The Sea" Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios via AP Denzel Washington is up for best actor for his role in Fences David Lee/Paramount Pictures via AP Emma Stone in a scene from, "La La Land." Stone was nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role Dale Robinette/Lionsgate via AP Meryl Streep in a scene from "Florence Foster Jenkins." Streep was nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role Nick Wall/Paramount Pictures via AP Isabelle Huppert in a scene from, "Elle." Huppert was nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role Guy Ferrandis/Sony Pictures Classics via AP Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy in a scene from the film, "Jackie." Portman was nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role Stephanie Branchu/Fox Searchlight via AP Ruth Negga as Mildred is nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role for Loving AP "Moana." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature Disney via AP "Kubo and the Two Strings." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature Laika Studios/Focus Features via AP "The Red Turtle." The film was nominated for best animated feature Sony Pictures Classics via AP "Zootopia." The film was nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature Disney via AP "My Life as a Courgette" (Zucchini). The film was nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature GKIDS via AP Dev Patel appears in a scene from "Lion." Patel was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor Mark Rogers/The Weinstein Company via AP Michael Shannon, left, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in a scene from, "Nocturnal Animals." Shannon was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor Merrick Morton/Focus Features via AP Lucas Hedges in a scene from "Manchester By the Sea." Hedges was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios via AP Jeff Bridges in a scene from "Hell or High Water." Bridges was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor Lorey Sebastian/CBS Films via AP Mahershala Ali, left, and Alex Hibbert in a scene from, "Moonlight." Ali was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor David Bornfriend/A24 via AP Nicole Kidman and Sunny Pawar appear in a scene from "Lion." Kidman was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress Mark Rogers/The Weinstein Company via AP "Manchester By the Sea." Williams was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios via A "Moonlight." Harris was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress A24 via AP Viola Davis in a scene from "Fences." Davis was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress David Lee/Paramount Pictures via AP Octavia Spencer (right) in a scene from "Hidden Figures" nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress AP Damien Chazelle arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "La La Land." Chazelle is nominated for an Oscar for best directing Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP "Arrival." Villeneuve is nominated for an Oscar for best directing Jan Thijs/Paramount Pictures via AP Barry Jenkins of "Moonlight," is nominated for an Oscar for best directing Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Kenneth Lonergan of of "Manchester By the Sea" is nominated for an Oscar for best directing Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Mel Gibson is nominated for an Oscar for best directing for "Hacksaw Ridge" Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP As well as being nominated for Best Picture, the film has been nominated twice in the same category for Best Song. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have both been recognised in the lead acting categories, while Damien Chazelle receives his second Best Director nomination. Meryl Streep has also broken an Oscars record and is now the most nominated performer in Academy Awards history. Dubbed by Donald Trump as over-rated, Streep has received a nomination in the Best Actress category for Florence Foster Jenkins. This years Oscars take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on February 26. When they go low, we go high. So said Michelle Obama in her Democratic Convention speech, during a presidential campaign which now feels like it happened 1,000 years ago. Yet, as the US and the rest of the world faces up to the Trump presidency, Obamas phrase has taken on an unexpected relevance in TV. What could be more stimulating to these mostly Democrat-supporting writing teams than the real-life political drama taking place behind the Oval Office doors? But with this new reality comes new challenges for the likes of House of Cards, Scandal, Homeland and Veep: do viewers in 2017 want an accurate mirror of politics as it is, hard-hitting polemical satire or just an escape into a fantasy of how government ought to be? If its an alternative election result you are seeking try Homeland, currently airing on Channel 4 (Sundays, 9pm). This series opened during the transition period in the run-up to the inauguration of a new female president, Elizabeth Keane, played by Elizabeth Marvel. Elizabeth Marvel as President Keane in Homeland / 20th Century Fox Marvel may be familiar as another presidential candidate: Heather Dunbar in House of Cards, but according to Homeland star Claire Danes, president-elect Keane is based on [Hillary] Clinton and maybe the smallest dash of Trump. She has the kind of tenacity of Hillary but is a little rogue and more intensely liberal. So while the Democratic Party might not have been able to blend Clintons establishment credentials with Bernie Sanderss popular appeal, theres nothing to stop TV giving it a go. This transparent fascination with Clintons thwarted FLOTUS-to-POTUS career path is shared by several of the new season shows. Likely because they began filming months before Trumps surprise triumph upended the world order. When House of Cards returns to Netflix on May 30, we can expect First Lady-turned VP candidate Claire Underwood to continue her pursuit of power with or without the help of her husband President Frank (Kevin Spacey). Though does the ominous upside-down flag trailer released last week hint at her chances of eventual success? Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood in House of Cards / Netflix The sixth series of Scandal (Sky Living, Thursday, 10pm) also features a First Lady who has overcome the difficulties in her marriage in order to run as president in her own right. Senator Mellie Grants fate hangs in the balance in the opening election- night episode, but if Scandal denies viewers Americas first female president, theyll have the first Hispanic president instead. Francisco Vargas (played by Desperate Housewives Ricardo Antonio Chavira) is her opponent. He would only be the first Hispanic president in the Scandal universe, of course. In The West Wing, that ultimate wish-fulfilment series for US liberals, President Matt Santos was elected to office a decade ago. According to writer and producer Eli Attie, the character was based on then-state senator Barack Obama. The biggest and best TV shows of 2017 1 /13 The biggest and best TV shows of 2017 Doctor Who The classic sci-fi show got a new lease of life with new companion Bill Potts BBC Line of Duty The BBC's acclaimed crime drama moved up to BBC One with more twists than ever before World Productions / BBC / Aidan Monaghan Broadchurch Chris Chibnall's mystery drama came to a close with a compelling final series ITV The Moorside Sheridan Smith puts in a stellar performance as she returns to TV in the BBC's Shannon Matthews drama Stuart Wood/ITV/BBC Apple Tree Yard Emily Watson starred in the BBC's gripping psychological thriller BBC/Kudos/Nick Briggs Fortitude, Series 2 Sky Atlantic's original Nordic noir-inspired chiller is back for more bloody mysteries Sky Atlantic Sherlock, Series 4 Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman return as Holmes and Watson in the BBC's mega hit PA Taboo Tom Hardy's dark thriller is unlike any period drama you've seen before FX Networks No Offence, Series 2 Paul Abbott's comedy-drama continues to walk a tonal tightrope with total ease Channel 4/Ian Derry The Voice A move to ITV has given singing contest The Voice a new lease of life ITV Contrast this with Trumps more than averagely white White House, where he presides over the first cabinet since Ronald Reagans not to include a single Hispanic American and it might seem that TV has simply opted to retreat into a peaceful slumber filled with progressive dreams. Wake them up again in November 2020. Yet, intentional or otherwise, there are still some impressively prescient parallels to note in the latest and upcoming series. The President might even be flattered by Netflixs Designated Survivor, in which a shocking run of events leads to a completely unprepared political outsider (played by Kiefer Sutherland), suddenly ascending to the highest office in the land. Like Trump, the new president makes tackling terrorism a top priority. Unlike Trump, hes also concerned with protecting civil liberties. As showrunner Jon Harmon Feldman explains: Weve explored episodes that involved the treatment of American Muslims at the hands of a governor and how that falls on the White House to combat what seems to be institutionalised racism. The real President may be an over-promoted reality TV star but surely his glamorous, telegenic wife Melania was made for the screen? Alas, her traditional approach to the duties of First Lady would be dismissed as corny in one of todays writers rooms. For TVs idea of how a modern First Lady should behave, see Rebecca Ingram, the wife of a presidential candidate in new 24 reboot, 24: Legacy (starts February 15 on Fox). Ingram, played by Homeland veteran Miranda Otto is glamorous, sure, but shes also the martial arts-trained ex- head of the Counter Terrorist Unit in DC who comes to the aid of the hero retired Army Ranger, Eric Carter. Its easy to match up other members of Trumps team with their TV equivalents. Chief strategist Steve Bannon and Scandals Cyrus Beene share a pantomime villain persona and the pallor of a Dorian Grey portrait. His campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is an amalgam of sweet-tempered Ainsley Hayes in The West Wing and EastEnders battleaxe Shirley Carter. Perhaps most uncanny is the parallel between new press secretary Sean Spicer and the confused and confusing Mike McLintock in Veep. According to the Washington Post, it was at Trumps instigation that Spicer admonished the press corps over their (accurate) reporting of inauguration crowd sizes, but the President was unimpressed, later calling Spicer not forceful enough. Sounds like the kind of dressing down Veeps Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) would deliver to her own hapless press secretary. Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally 1 /48 Thousands of protesters march to Downing Street in Trump rally Caricatures: Unflattering pictures of the UK and US leaders. AFP/Getty Images 'No to racism': Protesters outside Downing Street. AFP/Getty Images Demo: Crowds packed out Whitehall to Parliament Square. PA Thousands: Westminster police tweeted this photo. MPS Westminster 'One nationality': Many signs carried pro immigration messages. REUTERS Dogs against Trump: One protester takes a break at the Westminster rally. REUTERS Speaker: Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti speaking to the crowd. Getty Images 'Full of garbage': A sign in Downing Street. Getty Images Prime Minister: Many banners carried messages targeting Theresa May, Getty Images 'Dump Trump': The signs carried personal attacks on the US President. Getty Images No Trump: Protesters chant and march. Getty Images Never again: Some posters looked back to the past. AFP/Getty Images Packed: Many protesters remarked at the amount of people. AFP/Getty Images Standstill: Buses had to divert because of the crowds. PA Anger: People demonstrate during a protest at Downing Street in central London. PA Crowds: Hordes of people took to the streets. Getty Images Anti-Trump: Thousands of people have slammed the President's policy. Getty Images Messages for May: Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside Downing Street. Getty Images 'Never again': Demonstrators march along Downing Street. Getty Images 'Muslim ban': Londoners marched with placards with messages for the PM. Getty Images NO: The anti-Trump rally spilled onto the road. Getty Images Humour: A sign drawing on a Mary Poppins pun. Caroline Lee Chants: The crowds were heard chanting 'shame on May'. Getty Images Welcome refugees: Protesters on Monday evening. PA Landmark: The iconic London eye seen in the background. PA 'Dangerous': One of the anti-Trump protesters. Lydia Ruffles Anti-Trump: Signs carried harsh words for the US leader. Emma Gibson Blocked: Protesters said Whitehall was brought to a standstill. Garry Knight 'Resist': A sign in Whitehall. Spectrum SINO Radio 'Bridges not walls': Many of the banners carried pro-globalization messages. Jessica Voorsanger Rally: The first crowds forming at the protest, which began at 6pm. Garry Knight United: Stop the War Coalition joined the protest. PA Gathered: People listened to speakers who fired up the crowd. Getty Images We stand together: Among the figures who were expected to attend were Lily Allen and Ed Miliband. Getty Images March: Some of the protesters holding placards. Getty Images Together: People of all ages joined in the rally. Getty Images So is Veep showrunner David Mandel celebrating the rise of Trump and the wealth of new material it brings? He is not. Honestly, it makes everything harder, he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He cited a pretty funny scene revolving around a riff on the P-word, which had to be cut when its shock value was undermined by leaked tapes revealing Trumps own prolific P-word usage. Mandel also appreciates that Veeps problems run deeper than a few binned gags. What we used to do was sort of like funny incompetence. This is just sort of sad, scary incompetence. In fact, the whole premise of the show is threatened because when the real White House is more chaotic than the heightened-for-humour version, where does Veep go for a laugh? And if the real Presidents speeches have more plot twists than scripted TV, where does House of Cards go for drama? When they go low, must TV go even lower? Follow Ellen E Jones on Twitter: @MsEllenEJones On Monday, January 30, Rosenna So, Standardbred Canadas Chief Financial Officer since its inception in 1998, officially retired from her position after 33 years of dedicated service to the Canadian Standardbred industry. Her retirement ceremony took place during an afternoon event at SCs main office in Mississauga, Ont. Dan Gall, President & CEO of Standardbred Canada with retiring Chief Financial Officer Rosenna So (Photo Supplied) Dan Gall, President & CEO of Standardbred Canada with retiring Chief Financial Officer Rosenna So (Photo Supplied) Standardbred Canada employees, both past and present, joined in the office Monday afternoon to celebrate Sos exceptional tenure with the company, and to wish her the very best in retirement. It was a bit of an emotional affair for all of those in attendance, as it was tough to see one of Standardbred Canadas most dedicated and hardest-working employees go. It was particularly hard to see a friend off. It was not a sad afternoon, though, as Sos family at Standardbred Canada reflected on her time with the company and shared in the excitement of her upcoming travels, which include a six-week stint across Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Rosenna So with her husband, Peter. (Photo Supplied) Rosenna So with her husband, Peter. (Photo Supplied) It is with mixed feelings that I leave Standardbred Canada, said So, who was flanked by her husband, Peter. Im happy, but sad at the same time. I love my job, the membership, and all of the people that have made my 33 years with the company such a special experience. During my time at Standardbred Canada I have had great support from the Board, all of my bosses over the years, the managers, the staff, but especially all of the ladies in my department, Lynda, Denise and Ying. I couldnt have done it without them. So joined the Canadian Trotting Association in 1983 as its Accounting Administrator and within six months was transitioned into the position of Manager of Finance. She became SCs Chief Financial Officer in 1998 when Standardbred Canada was formed via the amalgamation of the breed's two national organizations, The Canadian Trotting Association and The Canadian Standardbred Horse Society. So explained that she is looking forward to shifting gears in retirement, as she will have more time to spend on her many hobbies, take part in volunteer work, and spend time socializing with friends. Chris Ferraz has now taken the reins as Chief Financial Officer at Standardbred Canada. Ferraz, who holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of Toronto, had been training at SC alongside So for the past few months. He has joined Standardbred Canada after a very successful ten-year tenure with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. Ferraz occupied various high-level roles during his time with the OLG, including General Manager, Audit Manager, Financial Controller and General and Operations Manager positions. LINCOLN A proposal that would start to close the states looming budget shortfall was generally well-received by lawmakers Tuesday. Some members of the Nebraska Legislature objected to proposed cuts, while others questioned whether the cuts represent a short-term solution to larger problems. State Sen. John Stinner of Gering, chair of the budget-crafting Appropriations Committee, defended the plan. This is not business as usual, he said. This is making the thoughtful, prudent cuts that we have to make in order to rebalance the budget as required by the state Constitution. Senators adjourned without taking a vote to advance the budget bill on to second-round debate. Work on the current fiscal year budget has amounted to a special legislative session within the current session. Members of the Appropriations Committee have begun working on the next two-year budget, during which lawmakers will face even tougher choices. The budget gap is projected at about $900 million through June 30, 2019, the end of the next two-year budget period. That projected shortfall equals about 6.3 percent of the budgeted and projected state spending during that same period. The downturn has largely been blamed on flat tax revenues and a gloomy agricultural economy. Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, said putting together the upcoming budget will be exceptionally difficult and urged lawmakers to consider both spending and tax policies that have reduced state revenue. Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus said the Legislature needs to consider tax credits in particular. And he argued that the proposed cuts may not indeed be cuts at all, but a shifting of burden into the future. A debt. A borrowing. Under the proposal, the cuts add up to about $157 million, but they are partly offset by $20 million in proposed spending increases. Ricketts had proposed $171 million in cuts that are also offset by $20 million in proposed spending increases. The plan spares K-12 education, corrections and some Health and Human Services programs. Omaha Sen. Bob Krist took issue with some proposed cuts to the Legislative Council. The plan calls for $811,000 in across-the-board cuts and take back $3.8 million unspent in 2015-16. The funds help to pay for maintenance when paint peels off the walls of senators offices in the State Capitol and for technology that allows the public to view the Legislature. Krist said he could live with the across-the-board cut, but argued against taking back of unspent money. This is a deep gouge to one of the most frugal operations in the state, he said. Under the committees plan, the University of Nebraska would face $13.3 million in cuts. Differing from the governors recommendations, the committee restored $5.2 million in unspent NU research money in 2015-16. The committee brought back $4 million that Ricketts proposed be cut from the Supreme Court to preserve funding that covers treatments meant to keep low-level offenders out of overcrowded prisons. It also restored $3.5 million to providers of developmental disability services to help make up a $7 million shortfall. The money would help cover some lost dollars due to an error by a state agency, said Lincoln Sen. Anna Wishart, who sits on the Appropriations Committee. Sept. 11, 2001, I was working as the station manager at a Greyhound bus terminal in Rockford, Illinois. I had just arrived at work when the first plane struck the North tower of the World Trade Center. At that point the details werent clear. We all watched with curiosity, trying to guess what could have possibly gone wrong. Then the second plane hit the South tower. What? How? Why? It became clear after a moment of confusion that this was obviously not some freak occurrence. As the day played out, the fear and anxiety grew. People wondered if they were going to try to hit all of the major cities. People I knew that had friends and loved ones in New York City, were scrambling to find out more information. How could this have happened? Why would anyone do such a horrific thing? Whats next? What do we do? We all looked to each other for comfort and we looked to our government for answers. We needed to see strength and decisiveness to make us feel safe. We pulled together, we stood together, we cried together, we prayed together and we united together. The only colors we saw, were red, white and blue. Looking back on this, I remember wishing, hoping and praying that the leaders of this country would be wise in the days ahead and lead us safely out of the smoke and ashes. Thinking about that day, and the days and months that followed, I am reminded that we can pull together as a country when we need to. I say that time has come. We need to come together again. We are grossly divided and its getting worse at an alarming rate. We have such an insatiable need to be right, that we never look at where we went wrong. We attack any opposing opinion ferociously and we dont let it go until we feel that we have successfully smothered the opponent. We ignore facts and argue blindly in defense of our position. A lot of people blame the media, I dont entirely disagree. The impassioned divide and the drama that comes with it is news-worthy. There are heated arguments on screen that started with a single question which quickly spread to social media and into our living rooms, offices and the local supermarket. The problem is that we arent fighting for the right things. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For everyone. Not just some. Thats what matters. Thats what our forefathers planned for this country. I hope that we will continue to have discussions, and that they become informed, productive and open minded discussions. I hope the generations to come learn from our mistakes. There will never be a day were we all get along, but I hope the day will come where we can build a productive society that learns to reach across the divide and works together for the betterment of Americans all Americans. We have to take responsibility for our role in where we are right now, both individually and as a country. With one hand holding a bottle of champagne and the other an oversized certificate declaring him the winner of $1 million from Publishers Clearing House, Bruce Saunders stood on the front porch of his western Davie County Monday and rattled off a list of things he plans spend his spend money on medical bills, fixing his lawnmower and helping family members. People poured in the thousands Wednesday afternoon to Bucharest's Victoriei Square, before the Palace of Government, to protest the Executive headed by Sorin Grindeanu having pushed through on Tuesday evening an emergency ordinance amending criminal law. According to spokesman of the Bucharest Traffic Police Ovidiu Munteanu the crowd keeps rising; at 19:30 hrs an estimated 40,000 people had gathered before the Government offices. Other major cities including Iasi (over 4,000), Cluj (over 10,000), Sibiu (over 7,000) and Timisoara (over 6,000) drummed up on social media support for the nationwide protest sparked Tuesday night against the law which would decriminalize abuse of office. Agerpres Over 100,000 persons, according to some Gendarmerie sources, are protesting on Wednesday evening in Victoria Square in Romania's Capital against the Government's decisions in the Justice area. Each group attending the demonstrations has its own slogans. Some chanted "Repeal, and then leave!, Otherwise, you take a risk!," others chanted "Day by day, we'll be here!." Most protesters have either flags or placards reading messages against the Government. "Down with corruption!," No amnesty, no pardon!," "Dragnea don't forget, Romania isn't yours!," "The crowd is shouting against the PSD [Social Democratic Party] 'elite'," "Another question: When are you leaving?," - are some of the messages displayed by protesters. Those present in Victoria Square are demanding the Government's resignation, the abrogation of the normative acts on Justice that were adopted in the Tuesday Government meeting, as well as early elections. A few protesters have come with loudspeakers playing the national anthem. Agerpres Marian Neacsu, the Honorary Advisor to Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu in the area of the relation with Parliament, confirmed on Wednesday a meeting of the Prime Minister with the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Hans Klemm. He specified that the meeting was requested by the US Ambassador. "I do not have many details. As far as I know, I think that things have unrolled as I know, the meeting should have taken place this morning, and I think that a meeting between Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu and US Ambassador Hans Klemm is taking place or has taken place. The meeting was requested by the US Ambassador and was scheduled for this morning. (...) It is a meeting scheduled for a long time for today (e.n. Wednesday) and from what I know it has taken place today. I do not know the subjects of discussion," Neacsu stated at the Senate, underscoring that he does not know the place of meeting. agerpres. The National Liberal Party (PNL) will tender on Wednesday, 1 February, a no-confidence motion against the Grindeanu Government, the approach being to be supported with signatures by the Members of Parliament from the Save Romania Union (USR) and the People's Movement Party (PMP), announces the PNL interim Chair, Raluca Turcan. "The motion's text is already drafted, signatures are collected, today we are going to tender the no-confidence motion and its main topic is to oust Grindeanu Government for defrauding the public opinion's trust, by rescuing their skin through dedicated laws," said Turcan at the end of the meeting of the PNL reunification Committee. She specified that the approach by the PNL is backed by the USR and the PMP, adding that she has also talked in this respect with leaders Nicusor Dan and Eugen Tomac. "The imperative of this moment is to mobilise all of the people of good faith, regardless of their political options. What we have seen in the past few days shows a huge confidence fraud and an enormous lie engineered by Liviu Dragnea, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and their accomplices, in order to save their skins and put them to shelter from the value and weight of the law in Romania," asserted Turcan. agerpres. NEW YORK New York filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Charter Communications Inc. of short-changing customers who were promised faster internet speeds than it could deliver. The lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan accused Charter's Spectrum unit, until recently known as Time Warner Cable, of systematically defrauding customers since 2012 by promising and charging for services it knew it could not offer. At least 640,000 subscribers signed up for high-speed plans but got slower speeds, and many subscribers were unable to access promised online content such as Facebook, Netflix, YouTube and various gaming platforms, the complaint said. The lawsuit seeks "full restitution" for customers, as well as hefty civil fines. In a press conference, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office filed the lawsuit after fielding thousands of complaints from unhappy customers. "The allegations in today's lawsuits confirm what many of you have long suspected," he said. "Spectrum-Time Warner has been ripping you off." Charter bought Time Warner Cable last year. In a statement, Charter said it was disappointed that the attorney general challenged Time Warner Cable's broadband speed advertisements that predated the merger. "We will continue to invest in our business and deliver the highest quality services to our customers while we defend against these allegations involving Time Warner Cable practices," the Stamford, Conn.-based company said. Among the allegations in the complaint was an accusation that Time Warner Cable leased older-generation modems to 900,000 subscribers knowing that the modems could not achieve faster internet speeds. Schneiderman had in October launched a probe into whether three major internet providers were shortchanging consumers. The others included Verizon Communications Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., now owned by European telecom group Altice NV. Nestle USA is moving its headquarters from California to northern Virginia, and as part of the relocation will centralize its IT operations in St. Louis, expanding its workforce in the city by 300 jobs. Swiss-based Nestle, the worlds largest food company with brands including Perrier water and Haagen-Dazs ice cream, already has a large presence in St. Louis. The U.S. headquarters of its pet products division, Nestle Purina PetCare, has about 2,700 employees at its office campus south of downtown and its Purina Event Center in Grays Summit. After Nestles acquisition of St. Louis-based Ralston Purina in 2001, Nestle moved 60 employees working on the Friskies cat food team from Glendale, Calif., to St. Louis, spokesman Keith Schopp said. Weve also added other Nestle functions since then, he said. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay called Nestle Purina an outstanding corporate citizen in a statement, adding: Purina and Nestle have brought hundreds of new jobs to St. Louis in recent years, and we look forward to their continued growth. The relocation of Nestle USAs information technology group to St. Louis beginning later this year will drive efficiency across Nestles U.S. operations, the company said in a statement. The IT organization provides support for multiple business units, including Nestle Waters North America, Nestle Nutrition, Nestle Professional, Nespresso, Nestle Skin Health and Nestle Health Science. As the company looks to the future, it will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the United States as a key growth market, the statement continued. In addition to its campus south of downtown, Nestle Purina PetCare has employees based at another office building at 100 North Broadway in downtown St. Louis. The location of the IT organization has not yet been determined, Schopp said. Companies that announced plans to add a combined 975 tech jobs in the St. Louis region over the past two years were accounting firm KPMG, real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield and mobile payments company Square. Shifting the IT jobs to St. Louis is only one part of substantial changes underway at the companys U.S. operations. Nestle USA said Wednesday that it planned to transition its corporate headquarters from Glendale, Calif., to the Rosslyn area of Arlington, Va., beginning later this year. That move will bring about 750 jobs to the Washington area. Nestle will continue to have a large presence in California with nine manufacturing facilities, including a Nestle Purina PetCare plant. The location of a bulk of Nestles facilities and customers prompted the move, the company said. Seventy-five percent of its U.S. factories and 85 percent of its top customers are situated in the eastern half of the country. Nestle USA also is moving its Technical & Production organization and supply chain teams to Solon, Ohio, where its prepared foods, pizza, baking and professional business unit is based. Nestle USA employs 51,000 people and product sales in the U.S. exceeded $26 billion in 2015, the most recent figure available. When artistic director Deanna Jent put Yasminas Necklace on the Mustard Seed schedule a year ago, she had no idea how apt it would seem when it opened Jan. 27. Thats the day President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee resettlement and entry into the United States for people from seven majority-Muslim countries. The heroine of Yasminas Necklace, a romantic comedy by Rohina Malik, comes from Iraq. Under the circumstances, is it OK to laugh? Malik, director Jent and a bright, lively cast make it impossible not to. The story is familiar in its broad outlines, distinctive in its particulars. Yasmina (lovely Parvuna Sulaiman), a painter, has fled her home in Baghdad by way of Syria and Turkey with her father, Musa (Amro Salama). Because shes a refugee whos a little too old to be unmarried (in her fathers opinion), it wont be easy for her to find a suitable husband in Chicago. Sam (Adam Flores) is in a similar position. His parents an Iraqi immigrant (Chuck Winning) with a good business and a Puerto Rican convert to Islam (Maritza Motta Gonzalez) are relieved that Sam is divorced from his first wife. (She was named Tracy. That pretty much tells the whole story.) But the divorce means many families will look at him askance. But Sam insists that hes not ready to remarry anyhow. And if he should one day change his mind, hell want a love match (even though his father observes that he should know better by now). Nevertheless, the parents and their Venezuelan imam (Jaime Zayas) convince Yasmina and Sam that it cant hurt to meet. Just have tea and cake! Is that too much to ask? To judge from Flores wonderfully woebegone face as Sam and his parents pay a call on Yasmina and Musa, maybe it is. Furthermore, Yasmina, who has refused to change into something pretty (or, at least, not black), is exactly as enthusiastic as Sam is. But their mutual discomfort offers common ground. Plus, Yasmina wants to start a foundation to help immigrants, and Sam, who works in finance, knows how to help her. As they spend time on the project, a true friendship blossoms. Can it turn into something more? The idea of elders pushing young adults into a good match is by no means peculiar to Iraqis. And Maliks shrewd combination of culture clash with a generation gap provides ample opportunity for comedy the elders rushing en masse into another room (while pointing out that they are only one room away!), the young couple trying to figure out if they can make everybody happy at once (unlikely). In these respects, Yasminas Necklace echoes plays about many families Jewish, Italian, Irish, Slavic, whatever who came to America unsure of what came next. Today, with immigration from the Near East in the news, its good to remember that these are families too, just as well-intentioned and misguided as the rest of us. Maliks gentle humor stands on solid comedic ground. However, the play gets off-track a bit in its portrayal of Latino Muslims. They certainly exist, but probably deserve a different play; here, its a distraction. There are also long excursions into Yasminas agonizing past. Some of that material particularly memories of the childhood friend she left behind, Amir (Ethan Joel Isaac) is handled with elegance and restraint. But thats not all. Malik also gives Yasmina a secret (a very predictable secret) that threatens to topple the balance. CLAYTON A prosecutor told jurors in a trial here Tuesday that the defendant fatally beat a gunman at a Florissant tavern in deliberate retaliation for shooting his brother in a bar fight. But the defense offered multiple other possibilities, including self-defense. Douglas Layman, 40, of the 11900 block of Quality Lane in Maryland Heights, is being tried in St. Louis County Circuit Court on a voluntary manslaughter charge in the Oct. 25, 2013, beating death of Edward Mueller, 63. Mueller had shot and wounded two men in the now-closed Pirates Cove tavern at 470 Howdershell Road. This entire case is a tragedy, assistant prosecutor Teresa Bomkamp told jurors, acknowledging that Muellers decision to shoot two men was not excusable. There was no self-defense here. Ed Mueller was held down and the gun was safe when Doug Layman decided to kill him. The shooting stemmed from a fistfight two weeks earlier at Laymans brothers home over Muellers refusal to retrieve a beer from the refrigerator, Bomkamp said. The night of the melee at Pirates Cove, Mueller shot Laymans brother and his friend after exchanging dirty looks and words, Bomkamp said. As people scattered, at least three men tackled Mueller to the floor, disarmed him of his .45-caliber pistol and held him down as Layman stomped, kicked and elbowed Mueller in the stomach. Laymans brother had been shot in the stomach and his friend in the chest; both survived. Another bar patron, Joseph Furlong, 56, of Florissant, testified Tuesday that he grabbed Muellers pistol and guarded it until police arrived. Officers found several people restraining Mueller on the floor between two pool tables. Police handcuffed Mueller and walked him to a police car outside. Mueller told police he did not seem hurt only intoxicated so police took him to the police station for questioning, Bomkamp said. To determine if Mueller was fit for confinement, police summoned paramedics who took him to a hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died a few hours later. Police initially thought he suffered a heart attack, but an autopsy showed death from blunt force trauma and massive internal bleeding in his abdomen. Prosecutors initially charged Layman with murder, but a grand jury later returned a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Laymans lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, told jurors his client never came close enough to the fracas on the floor of the bar to touch Mueller. And even if Layman had attacked Mueller, Rosenblum argued, he could have lawfully defended himself and his brother against a wild man with a gun who was absolutely out of his mind. Layman was in survival mode, Rosenblum said. This guy was a victim of his brother being shot. Rosenblum also suggested that it could have been Florissant officers who caused Muellers injuries by kneeing him in the stomach during the arrest. The trial continues this week before St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Siwak. Pirates Cove was the bar where another man, Randy Feger, 44, was fatally injured in a beating Nov. 8, 2012, during a washers tournament. UPDATED at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday with details including the attempted drug deal. ST. LOUIS A man was shot in the face Tuesday night on Interstate 70 after chasing a drug dealer who stole his money, police say. The shooting was just before 8 p.m. Earlier in the evening, the victim, 24, and a woman, 23, had gone to meet a man to buy drugs, according to police. The dealer took their money and drove away. The victims followed him to westbound I-70, near Adelaide Avenue. As the dealer took the exit ramp, he fired several shots at the victims' car. The man was hit in the face. The woman was not hurt. The victims drove to a gas station in the 6000 block of North Broadway just after the shooting, witnesses said. The man was conscious and breathing when he was taken to a hospital. Police on Wednesday say he was in critical but stable condition. The woman, 23, was arrested on an outstanding warrant from another jurisdiction. The shooter was described as a black man who is 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9. He has a medium complexion, thin build and wore light gray sweatpants and a light gray hooded sweatshirt with a blue stripe down both sleeves. Police did not have a description of his vehicle. BONNE TERRE Nearly 19 years to the day that Susan Brouk and her two children were taken to a pond and killed, one of the men responsible for the crime was put to death Tuesday. Mark Christeson was given a lethal injection Missouri's first execution since May. Christeson, 37, was hours away from execution in 2014 when the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay. This time, though, the court allowed the execution to proceed, and Gov. Eric Greitens declined a clemency request for Christeson, the first inmate to be put to death since the Republican took office. As the execution drug was administered, Christeson appeared to mouth "I love you" a couple times to people who were gathered to watch the lethal injection on his behalf. Soon, the inmate's eyes closed. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST, eight minutes after the lethal injection, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. "It was a heinous crime. I'm just happy to see justice finally served," said Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman, who witnessed the execution. "I have regrets for the family that it took so long, but I hope it provides closure to them." The killings of Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle, traumatized the rural area around the south-central Missouri town of Vichy. On Feb. 1, 1998, Christeson, then 18, and his 17-year-old cousin, Jesse Carter, decided to run away from a home outside Vichy where they lived with a relative. They took shotguns and went to a rural home about half a mile away where Brouk and the children lived. The cousins planned to steal Brouk's Ford Bronco, said Terry Daley Schwartze, who was Maries County's prosecutor at the time of the killing and now. When they arrived at the home, Christeson and Carter tied the children's hands with shoelaces. Investigators said Christeson forced Brouk into a bedroom and raped her. When they went back into the living room, Adrian recognized Carter and said his name. "We've got to get rid of 'em," Christeson told Carter, according to court records. The family was forced into the Bronco. Christeson and Carter loaded the SUV with electronics and other items and drove to a pond. Christeson kicked the 36-year-old mother in the ribs and cut her throat. She told her children she loved them as she lay bleeding. Christeson then cut Kyle's throat and held the boy under water until he drowned. Carter held Adrian while Christeson pressed on her throat until she suffocated, and then Carter pushed the girl's body into the pond. As Brouk struggled to stay alive, the cousins tossed her into the pond, where she drowned. Brouk's sister alerted authorities a few days later that the family was missing. A Missouri State Highway Patrol helicopter spotted one of the bodies in the pond, leading to a search that found the bodies of all three victims. Meanwhile, Christeson and Carter drove to California, selling Brouk's household items along the way. A detective in California's Riverside County recognized the cousins from photos police had circulated. They were arrested eight days after the killings. Carter agreed to testify against his cousin. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The U.S. Supreme Court intervened in 2014 amid concerns about the ineptitude of Christeson's earlier lawyers, who missed a 2005 deadline to file a federal appeal of his death sentence standard procedure in death penalty cases. Attorneys for Christeson again argued that he deserved a federal court review, and raised concerns about his mental competence, claiming he had an IQ of 74. But this time, the courts declined to step in. Missouri executed 16 men from 2014 to 2015, second only to the 23 executions in Texas over the same two years. Last year, Missouri had just one execution, largely because most of the 25 men on the state's death row have appeals remaining or are unlikely to be executed due to medical or mental health concerns. Updated at 10:16 p.m. after all lanes of I-70 were reopened LAKE SAINT LOUIS A pedestrian was fatally struck Tuesday night on Interstate 70 in Lake Saint Louis. Amanda M. Greer, 30, of Pacific was struck by three westbound vehicles about 6 p.m. just west of Bryan Road, according to a Missouri Highway Patrol crash report. Greer ran in front of an oncoming vehicle, a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu, in the passing lane, according to the report. The driver, a 30-year-old woman, did not see Greer in time. The Malibu struck Greer. The vehicle had damage to its front passenger side after the collision. The impact threw Greer into another lane, the report said. An oncoming Ford F150 and oncoming Hyundai Santa Fe in the lane were unable to react in time and also struck Greer. She was pronounced dead at the scene. All three drivers, two women and a man, remained at the scene and cooperated with the Missouri Highway Patrol's investigation. Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Nothum said Tuesday evening that the pedestrian had walked across several lanes of the interstate when she ran into the path of an oncoming vehicle in the passing lane. All westbound lanes near Bryan Road were closed to traffic after the incident. All lanes had been reopened by 10 p.m. The Missouri Highway Patrol was at the scene through Tuesday night. Police did not release details about how fast the vehicles that struck the victim were traveling or why the victim was on the roadway. WASHINGTON Democratic senators from Missouri and Illinois have so far reacted to President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nomination with a mixture of reticence and skepticism. Meanwhile, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., has emerged as a full throated supporter. Minutes after Trump announced his pick as Neil Gorsuch, Blunt released a statement saying the 49-year-old appellate judge had the experience and philosophy he was looking for, calling him "the right choice." Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate, and they would need eight Democrats to vote for Gorsuch to clear an expected filibuster. If that support doesn't materialize, GOP lawmakers are considering changing the rules an approach Trump encouraged Wednesday. Democrats are weighing that threat as they consider how hard to resist Gorsuch's nomination. If confirmed, he would fill the seat left vacant since the February 2016 death of the conservative Justice Antonin Scalia meaning the court's ideological balance would remain unchanged, while Democrats could preserve their most effective stalling tactic in case Trump gets the opportunity to replace a liberal justice. On the other hand, Democrats remain aggrieved that the same Republicans who refused to hold a hearing for then-President Barack Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, now expect the minority party to show deference to Trump's choice. The balancing act is most urgent for Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Missouri Democrat facing a tough reelection campaign in 2018. Conservative groups are already brandishing her words from last year, when she said every nominee deserves an up-or-down vote. On Wednesday, she said "I believe any nominee to the Supreme Court deserves a confirmation hearing, and the chance to earn 60 votes on the Senate floor," adding that she was going to take a "hard look" at Gorsuch's views and record. The two Supreme Court justices put on the court by Obama, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, each received more than 60 votes during their confirmations. In 2006, some Democrats tried and failed to filibuster then-President George W. Bush's appointment of Samuel Alito. He was confirmed with 58 votes. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber's No. 2 Democrat and a member of the Judiciary Committee that will vet Gorsuch, said he would press him on voting rights, immigration, privacy and "womens health". He added that he would support a hearing and vote on Gorsuch, "both of which were denied to an eminently qualified nominee presented by President Obama." Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she was still assessing Gorsuch, especially on civil rights and disability rights. She and Durbin also stressed Gorsuch's ability to act as an independent check on the Trump administration. JEFFERSON CITY Acting state agency heads shared their plans and priorities with Senate lawmakers on Wednesday, as a panel began the process of approving Gov. Eric Greitens cabinet picks. His appointees must be confirmed by the GOP-led Missouri Senate, and are likely to sail through. But they were first asked to address how theyd tackle some of the problems their respective agencies are faced with, including racial disparity in policing, a culture of harassment in the states prison system, and balancing environmental protection with pro-business policies. Anne Precythe, acting director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, fielded questions about how she would move forward with emerging complaints of sexual assault, racism and retaliation in the agency shes inherited. Theres been a cloud over the DOC when it comes to racism, said Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis. Precythe said she was somewhat familiar with the problems but had just begun investigating claims, some of which surfaced in the media and others that have been brought to her by prison staff. I need to figure out what the policies are and what are the things that need to be addressed specifically, she said. Precythe, who previously oversaw North Carolinas parole officers, also said she wanted to explore giving more resources and tools to probation officers as a way to reduce recidivism, a priority Greitens mentioned in his State of the State speech last month. The rapport between an officer and an offender is the most important thing to help the offender be successful, she said. Greitens choice for public safety director, Andrew Juden, vowed to strengthen ties between officers and the citizens they protect after the events in Ferguson. The way you prevent another Ferguson, of course, is by having law enforcement have a relationship with communities they serve, Sen. Kiki Curls, D-Kansas City, stressed to Juden. Carol Comer, who Greitens has tapped to lead the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, cited permitting efficiency as one of her top goals. We all want clean land, clean air, clean water. But there are sensible ways to get there, and also the regulated entity has a good idea of how its most cost-effective for them to meet those requirements, said Comer, a former environmental agency head in Indiana under Vice President Mike Pence. Republicans offered praise for Comers approach, having criticized the DNR in the past for inhibiting job creation by fining business rather than working with them to comply with rules and regulations. Chris Chinn, Greitens pick to lead the Department of Agriculture, told senators shed like to help bridge the states urban-rural divide by working with schools and communities interested in learning about farming. The panel also spoke to Sarah Steelman, a former Missouri treasurer asked to head the Office of Administration, about improvements to the state Capitol complex and awarding state contracts to more Missouri-based businesses. Editor's note: Sen. Kiki Curls' hometown has been corrected from an earlier version. JEFFERSON CITY If you've missed hearing from Jason Kander since his Senate bid against incumbent Roy Blunt fell short in November, you're in luck Friday night. The Democratic former secretary of state will participate a roundtable on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher at 10 p.m. Central time. He'll be joined by conservative firebrand Tomi Lahren and Republican strategist Rick Wilson; prominent atheist and author Sam Harris will be the top-of-the-show interview guest. Kander made national news in September when he assembled an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle blindfolded in a campaign ad, and hasn't shied from making political statements since his Nov. 8 defeat. In a usually ceremonial speech opening the Missouri House last month, Kander warned Republicans against making the state's new voter ID requirements any stricter. The requirements enshrined in the constitution by voters last year were hailed by Republicans as a means to prevent voter fraud. Democrats raised concerns that voter ID laws disenfranchise people of color, seniors, students and the poor, and cited studies casting doubt on whether voter fraud is a problem at all. If you choose to follow the example of Wisconsin and North Carolina, Kander said, I guess well see you in court. JEFFERSON CITY A House proposal prohibiting lobbyists from offering lawmakers gifts like Cardinals tickets, steak dinners and other freebies met a counteroffer in a Senate committee Tuesday. Instead of simply banning most gifts to individual legislators, Jefferson City Republican Sen. Mike Kehoe's measure would cap lobbyists' spending at $10 a day. Kehoe said his "cup of coffee" rule, a marked decrease from the $40 per day, per-lobbyist limit the Senate offered in vain last session, represented a starting point for negotiations with the House. "There's no magic number," Kehoe said. "We just put one in there to start a conversation." Gov. Eric Greitens campaigned on a total ban for lobbyist gifts and has encouraged lawmakers to make it happen this session. But despite a popular mandate to clean up the Capitol's image following a scandal-plagued 2015 session, a measure aimed at limiting gifts died in the Senate last year. Kehoe is confident this session will be different. "Lobbyist gifts are going to continue to be an issue," he said. "The governor's made it crystal clear and so has the (House) speaker. So it's in our best interest to make a bill with good, tight limits, not try and trick people and get something to the governor's desk." Rep. Justin Alferman, R-Hermann, whose bill passed the House with overwhelming support earlier this month, wasn't surprised by the $10 limit. "I'm not naive enough to believe the House position will make it through Missouri Senate totally clean," Alferman said. "But there's a lot of room for compromise between zero and infinity, and I'm going to go into conference committee to try keep the limit as close to zero as possible." Both bills still allow companies, universities and other interest groups to pick up the tab for an occasion so long as they invite the entire General Assembly, something they've spent an average of $250,000 annually on over the past five years. The House bill adds exemptions for honorary plaques, flowers, and gifts "customarily received" by someone from a lobbyist before they became a legislator. More than other 35 states already set limits on the amount lobbyists can spend on lawmakers: California bars them from spending more than $10 per month; Colorado legislators can't accept more than $50 in gifts per year. The bills are two of several ethics proposals this session. Along with gift limits, legislators are considering extending the time period lawmakers must wait before becoming lobbyists from the current six months to as many as five years. Alferman's legislation is House Bill 60. Kehoe's legislation is Senate Bill 305. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump nominated Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, opting in the most important decision of his young presidency for a highly credentialed favorite of the conservative legal establishment to fill the opening created last year by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch, 49, prevailed over the other finalist, Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, also a federal appeals court judge, and Trump announced the nomination at a televised prime-time event at the White House. The bonhomie of the ceremony was in stark contrast to the reaction of Democrats, who are ready for a pitched battle over the future of the Supreme Court. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Gorsuch will have to win over some Democratic senators to get the 60 votes needed to clear procedural hurdles. Trump broke tradition by entering the White House ceremony by himself, rather than alongside his nominee. He declared that after "what may be the most transparent judicial selection process in history," he had delivered on a campaign promise to "find the very best judge in America" for the court. Gorsuch took a humbler approach, and showed the flair for language that has won him praise as a legal writer. "Standing here in a house of history, and acutely aware of my own imperfections, I pledge that if I am confirmed, I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country," said Gorsuch, with his wife, Louise, at his side. Gorsuch pledged to be impartial and independent, and respectful of his place in government. "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives," he said. "A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." The selection of Gorsuch won extravagant praise from Republicans and conservatives, something that has been rare in the Trump administration's combustible start. The president noted that Gorsuch had been confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit 10 years ago without objection. "I can only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once for the good of the country," Trump said. That is unlikely. Democrats and liberals are still furious that the Republican Senate did not allow a vote on former President Barack Obama's choice for the Scalia seat, Judge Merrick Garland, and vowed to contest Gorsuch. An early sign of discontent: Trump invited senior Democratic senators to the White House for a reception to meet his Supreme Court pick, but they declined, according to senior aides. A group of legal and civil rights groups blasted the nomination, saying Gorsuch was a tool of conservative activists who would gut protections for consumers, workers, clean air and water, safe food and medicine and roll back the rights of women and gay people. Gorsuch and Hardiman, 51, emerged from a list of 21 as Trump's most likely choices. A third person on the shortlist - U.S. Appeals Court Judge William Pryor Jr. of Alabama - saw his chances diminish as some Senate Republican leaders have said his confirmation would be difficult. Trump considered six and met with four, including a federal district judge from Kentucky, Amul Thapar. Gorsuch got the word Monday, and the couple went to a neighbor's house in Boulder, where they were met by a team from the White House Counsel's Office. They were ferried along a country road to the airport, where they boarded a military jet to Washington. Gorsuch is seen as a less bombastic version of Scalia and would seem destined to be a solidly conservative vote on the ideologically split court. But friends and supporters describe Gorsuch as being more interested in persuasion than Scalia, who was just as likely to go it alone as to compromise. Gorsuch would be the youngest Supreme Court justice since Clarence Thomas was confirmed in 1991. But Gorsuch has been on the bench for a decade, and at his 2006 investiture ceremony, friends joked that his prematurely gray hair was fitting. "When Neil came to our firm in 1995 he had gray hair," said one of his law partners, Mark C. Hansen. "In fact, he was born with silver hair, as well as an inexhaustible store of Winston Churchill quotes." Indeed, Gorsuch came equipped for the ultimate judicial elevation. There is a family connection to Republican establishment politics, and service in the administration of George W. Bush. There is a glittery Ivy League resume - Columbia undergrad, Harvard Law - along with a Marshall scholarship to Oxford. There is a partnership at one of Washington's top litigation law firms and a string of successful cases. There is a Supreme Court clerkship; Gorsuch was hired by Justice Byron White, a fellow Colorado native, who shared him with Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy stood by that day in Denver to administer the judicial oath, and if Gorsuch is confirmed, Kennedy would become the first justice to sit with a former clerk on the Supreme Court's mahogany bench. But those who know Gorsuch and have studied his decade of solidly conservative opinions on the Court of Appeals say he more resembles the man he would replace - the late Justice Scalia - than the more moderate Kennedy. Like Scalia, Gorsuch is a proponent of originalism - meaning that judges should attempt to interpret the words of the Constitution as they were understood at the time they were written - and a textualist who considers only the words of the law being reviewed, not legislators' intent or the consequences of the decision. Critics say that those neutral considerations inevitably lead Gorsuch to conservative outcomes, a criticism that was also leveled at Scalia. Gorsuch would like to curb the deference that courts give to federal agencies and is most noted for a strong defense of religious liberty in cases brought by private companies and religious nonprofit groups objecting to the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. Gorsuch said in a speech last spring that as a judge he had tried to follow Scalia's path. "The great project of Justice Scalia's career was to remind us of the differences between judges and legislators," Gorsuch told an audience at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland. Legislators "may appeal to their own moral convictions and to claims about social utility to reshape the law as they think it should be in the future," Gorsuch said. But "judges should do none of these things in a democratic society." Instead, they should use "text, structure and history" to understand what the law is, "not to decide cases based on their own moral convictions or the policy consequences they believe might serve society best." But those who know him say he lacks Scalia's combustible, combative style. "He has very strong opinions, but he just treats people well in every context," said Melissa Hart, a University of Colorado law professor. She is a Democrat who clerked for former Justice John Paul Stevens and knows Gorsuch because he has taught judicial ethics, legal writing and antitrust law at the school. Gorsuch was born in Colorado and lives outside of Boulder with his wife, Louise, whom he met while at Oxford, and two daughters. The nominee is an Episcopalian, and would be the court's only Protestant. There are five Catholic and three Jewish members. But he spent formative years in Washington and graduated from Georgetown Prep. He witnessed firsthand how difficult Washington politics can be. His mother was Anne Gorsuch Burford, a lawyer and conservative Colorado legislator who was picked by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Her tenure was short and rocky: She clashed with environmentalists and was cited for contempt of Congress in 1982 for refusing to turn over subpoenaed agency documents relating to hazardous waste sites. Although she was following the legal advice of the Justice Department, Burford was forced to resign when the administration gave up the fight. She died in 2004. After his Supreme Court clerkship, Gorsuch joined the District of Columbia law firm of Kellogg Huber Hansen Todd Evans & Figel, where he developed a taste for litigation and eventually became a partner. He helped secure what his former partner Hansen said was the largest antitrust award in history and won praise for his courtroom style. Gorsuch did a short stint as a high-ranking official in the Justice Department and then was nominated to the appeals court by Bush. He sailed through on a voice vote in the full Senate and took his seat on the Denver-based court in August 2006. Gorsuch is popular with current Supreme Court justices, and his clerks regularly are hired for a term on the high court, not just by conservatives but also by liberals such as Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. On the appeals court, Gorsuch has not been called upon to consider two hot-button social issues that may come before the Supreme Court: same-sex marriage and abortion. After a federal judge in Utah struck down that state's prohibition on same-sex marriage, Gorsuch was not a member of the 10th Circuit that upheld the decision. It was one of the cases that eventually led to the Supreme Court deciding marriage was a fundamental right that could not be denied gay couples. Likewise, Gorsuch has not ruled on abortion. But activists on both sides of the issue believe they know where he stands. They point to language in his book "The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia," in which he opines that "all human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong." Additionally, his rulings on behalf of those who challenged the Obamacare mandate that employee insurance coverage provide all approved contraceptives seemed instructive. He noted the provision would require the objecting businesses to "underwrite payments for drugs or devices that can have the effect of destroying a fertilized human egg." Gorsuch's opinions favoring the owners of the Hobby Lobby craft stores and a nonprofit religious group called Little Sisters of the Poor took the same sort of broad reading of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as the Supreme Court's conservative majority. In Gorsuch's words, the law "doesn't just apply to protect popular religious beliefs: it does perhaps its most important work in protecting unpopular religious beliefs, vindicating this nation's long-held aspiration to serve as a refuge of religious tolerance." Hart, the Democratic law professor, said she resents what Republicans did on the Garland nomination but does not believe there is a "principled reason to block" Gorsuch. "He will have a strong influence on the court because he's a very persuasive writer," she said. "That's a little scary, but it's not disqualifying." National organizations that represent rank-and-file police officers are unhappy with being stigmatized by Justice Department consent decrees that put local police departments under federal court jurisdiction. Theyre hoping that President Donald Trump and Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions will roll back some consent decree provisions. In the case of the 14 police consent decrees currently in force, this is easier said than done. The federal judges in charge of enforcing the decrees are not likely to give up their authority just because the Justice Department has changed management. But under Sessions, who is expected to win Senate confirmation this week, the Justice Department is likely to be far less aggressive in policing police departments than it was under Barack Obamas attorneys general, Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch. In a confirmation hearing Jan. 10, Sessions, a longtime GOP senator from Alabama, said Justice Department intervention punishes entire departments for acts of a handful of officers. These lawsuits undermine the respect for police officers and create an impression that the entire department is not doing their work consistent with fidelity to law and fairness, and we need to be careful before we do that, he said. The National Fraternal Order of Police, which represents 330,000 U.S. officers, and the National Association of Police Organizations, see Trump as an ally. Police-community relationships are extraordinarily complicated, but if law and order is your mantra, it makes things appear to be simple. In the St. Louis area, only the city of Ferguson is under a police consent decree, and its reportedly having trouble meeting some of its stipulations. Ferguson is one the smallest of the 24 cities with which the Obama Justice Department reached agreements; 10 of them have been concluded. Theres disagreement over how effective the consent decrees are. An analysis done by The Washington Post and PBS Frontline in 2015 found mixed results. Of 10 cases where data were available, use-of-force incidents actually increased during or following consent decrees. In five other cities, such incidents decreased. A 1994 law, enacted after the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, gives the Justice Department the right to investigate the pattern and practice of police agencies violating the constitutional rights of citizens. Police chiefs tend to be more sensitive to community concerns than rank-and-file officers. Departments where chiefs get street officers to buy into the program show better results than those where police unions balk. The first test for Sessions will come in Chicago, where a 13-month investigation found exhaustive evidence of systemic violations of civil rights by the police department, which has a powerful union. Trump has been focused on Chicagos murder rate, not its police department. If his Justice Department wont help reform Chicagos police, theres little chance the administration will help anywhere else. Meet Babette Holder , the opposite of her distant cousin former Attorney General Eric Holder, who is an outspoken black conservative leader in Illinois. She serves on the Frederick Douglass Foundation and consults candidates, businesses and organizations with her vast knowledge of social media. WHEATON - February is Black History Month, and what better way to start celebrating it than by introducing Illinois conservatives to one of the state movement's most energetic and positive black conservative women? Babette is one of the co-founders of TheLastCivilRight.org, a group of Christian-conservative women that are political commentators and advocates for the principles of limited government, individual freedom, and free market. Rarely missing an opportunity to encourage other conservatives, Babette has appeared on numerous local and national radio shows and at press conferences with national black champions such as prolife leader Star Parker, declaring her heartfelt notion that "Black Women Matter." Babette, the mother of two teenage daughters, is active in local Republican politics as a precinct committeewoman in Milton Township of DuPage County and often spotted at Tea Party events. Find her on Facebook at Babette Holder and on Twitter @Bhold226 (Send us your suggestions for the next Illinois black conservative to feature in February at info@illinoisreview.com) Most of us have no idea what its like to be hunted. CBS has debuted a new fake-reality show in which fugitives are hunted by professional pursuers. But its a far cry from the real reality-show nightmare that plays out daily in countries like Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. There are people on the most-wanted lists in those countries who are hunted daily and should be regarded as heroes in this country. Instead, President Donald Trump is slamming the door in their faces with the entry ban he decreed last week. Among them are the translators, clerical workers and drivers working for American military forces, diplomats and journalists. I owe my life to people like them, as do most of my foreign correspondent colleagues from past wars. I know military officers who would do anything to help these patriots gain entry to this country because of the invaluable service they provided to U.S. troops. Hundreds of civilians in these countries have risked their lives to help fulfill our countrys mission in hostile lands. Theyve done it with energy and enthusiasm, never doubting that theyve chosen the right side in the fight for freedom. Right now, these patriots I call them patriots because they would put their lives on the line to defend this countrys values are being told to go home and stay home. Youre not wanted here because our president cant distinguish one Muslim from another. I could recount dozens of stories of their heroism in Iraq and Afghanistan. But first, its important to know some of their names: Hashem. Hassan. Ali. Haider. Osama. Wesal. I loved these guys like brothers. We argued. We laughed. And, boy, did we get into serious trouble. But never once did they run away or abandon me. Haider pulled me behind a wall when a car full of gunmen opened fire on us as we were interviewing an Iraqi policeman on a Baghdad street corner in 2004. He stood up to a gang of gunmen trying to abduct me during a 2003 street interview. Haider spent years as a hunted man in Baghdad for having worked with Americans like me. I once had to change his name when writing about him to minimize his danger. Today, I can mention Haider by his real name because he won U.S. asylum and now runs a guitar shop in Oregon. Osama and I drove to Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 because I wanted to write about a new Sunni insurgency based there. We tracked down an imam who sources said was the insurgents spiritual leader. Fallujah is where al-Qaida in Iraq, later the Islamic State, formed its first base. Even though I could speak Arabic, I wanted Osama to translate to make the interview go faster. But Osama spoke halting formal Arabic, and was translating so slowly that the imam grew angry and impatient. At one point in the interview, I cut Osama off in mid-translation and finished the sentence for him. Everyone in the room froze. It seems that I had forgotten to tell our hosts that I knew Arabic. The imam pointed a finger at me, and we had a brief exchange in Arabic. Then he stated: Journalists dont speak Arabic. Spies speak Arabic. Osama began shaking uncontrollably and begged me to leave immediately. I told him to stay calm and finish the interview. We made it out alive. In Basra, Iraq, Hassan and Ali were best friends and worked as my driver-translators in 2005. We worked on a story about how radically Basra had transformed since the fall of Saddam Husseins dictatorship. A new dictatorship was forming under the local rule of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadrs Islamist militia. Another American journalist, Steven Vincent, and New York Times correspondent Edward Wong were working on the same story. We all started receiving death threats, as did sources we spoke to. Our translators were growing nervous, but all stayed with the job because they believed the most important thing was to inform the American public about the chaos that had consumed their country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Wong and I wrapped up our work and left the country. Steven Vincent stayed behind. Not long after, he and his translator were abducted and shot. Steven died; the translator barely survived. The threats continued. Hassan and Ali phoned me regularly begging for help. They wound up leaving their families in hopes of going to Baghdad and applying for asylum at the U.S. Embassy a process that can take years. I never heard from them again. They were hunted, not on CBS, but for real. Hundreds of similarly dedicated people have braved extreme danger to keep the West informed or help U.S. military forces do their jobs. They enjoy no protective bubble. At night, they go home, where theyre monitored, followed and threatened. Imagine having endured their nightmares, then getting on a plane where your refuge is finally within reach. Only to be told that, because you come from the wrong country, you must go home and start over. Welcome to the reality show that is Donald Trump. I took my children into the voting booth with me and later my grandchildren so they could learn the procedure and why it is so important. Gov. Eric Greitens plan to cut more than $433,000 from the Animal Care Facilities Act Program, the program that oversees puppy mill inspections, is gravely disappointing. Missouris citizens care deeply about the treatment of dogs used in pet breeding operations, and Missouris reputation as a puppy mill state will continue to be bad for business without strict oversight of these operations. In fact, Missouri has had more commercial dog breeders in The Humane Society of the United States Horrible Hundred List than any other state for the last four years in a row. Many of them are repeat offenders who need more monitoring, not less, to prevent cruelty to mans best friend. In 2010, Missouri residents sent a strong message when they passed the ballot initiative known as Proposition B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act. Shortly thereafter, Missouri lawmakers gutted Prop B and replaced it with the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act. This action deprived dogs of many of Prop Bs safeguards, which would have included better protection from extreme temperatures, a ban on stacking cages housing the dogs on top of each other, and a limit on the number of breeding dogs that could be kept on a single property. But the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act did improve some standards, keeping Prop Bs requirement for annual hands-on veterinary exams for breeding dogs, banning harmful wire flooring and requiring more spacious enclosures and continual access to fresh water. The ACFA program oversees those basic protections. Under the state Department of Agriculture, the inspection program brings in revenue to help pay its own costs by charging annual licensing fees for more than 2,000 regulated facilities and fines. The program can generate even more revenue if inspectors enforced the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act more rigorously by fining the operators who repeatedly fail to take adequate care of their dogs. Examples of violations identified in the Horrible Hundred report include dogs with bloody lesions, emaciated animals with ribs and spines showing, puppies left outside in the winter cold and animals walking in their own feces. Despite an ongoing need for stronger enforcement efforts, Missouri has made some progress in addressing its puppy mill problems over the past few years, and should not turn back the clock now. For example, the Missouri Department of Agriculture cracked down on a few of the states most problematic puppy mills last year. Case in point: Jinson Kennel in Stella. Year after year, state and federal inspectors found sick and dying puppies at Jinson Kennel. Animals who died at Jinson Kennel included an underweight bulldog who was found dead with blood draining out of his rectum after being given improper medication labeled for cattle; a dying puppy left in a pen with its littermates and already marked on inventory as deceased rather than being taken to a veterinarian for treatment; and a female bulldog who died after she was not given proper care for an apparent uterine infection, according to inspection reports. While the Jinson Kennel finally surrendered its state license and had its federal license revoked in 2016, cuts in the budget will slow progress in closing down similar problem dealers. The governor should heed the vast majority of Missouri residents whose ethics demand better care for dogs in commercial breeding operations, instead of favoring the small minority who profit from those operations and lobby for relaxed oversight. Missouris reputation as a puppy mill state is bad for business, and bad for dogs; lets not make the problem worse. Amanda Good is the Missouri state director for The Humane Society of the United States. CHICAGO It was a violent start to 2017 in Chicago, with the number of shootings nearly duplicating the tally from the start of last year, which ended up being the citys bloodiest year in nearly two decades. Chicago police said January ended with 51 murders, one more than January 2016. About half of the citys murders last month happened in three districts on the South Side and West Side the Austin, Englewood, and Harrison districts. More HERE The three-page feature in RAIL magazine on the Stratford to Honeybourne rail line. THE case for reinstating the Stratford-upon-Avon to Honeybourne railway line features in the latest edition of RAIL magazine, which went on sale yesterday, Wednesday. In a three-page feature, Paul Stephen, assistant features editor of the magazine, which has 20,000 readers fortnightly, describes the long-talked-about and divisive plan as a no brainer. Under Network Rail rules, Warwickshire County Council (WCC) must promote the scheme, but as yet it has refused to do so. Paul writes: The case to reinstate the short, eight-mile route becomes glaringly obvious when considered in not just a local, but also a regional or even national, context. But he adds: Whether WCCs position changes or not, RAIL is happy to lend its voice to promote such a worthy reinstatement scheme that is indeed a no brainer. The line was the victim of cuts to public spending in the mid-1970s following the derailment of a freight train at Winchcombe. Then Chancellor, Denis Healey, told cash-strapped British Rail he could not justify the expensive repair costs when he had just applied for an emergency loan to the IMF to prop up the countrys ailing finances. RAIL magazines February edition went on sale yesterday, Wednesday, and is also available to download at www.railmagazine.com Rawlins, Wyoming (PRWEB) February 01, 2017 Braving sub-zero temperatures, AP Wyoming, L.M. Olson and the community of Rawlins, Wyoming celebrated the ribbon cutting at the new Rawlins High School for Carbon County School District #1. The project was designed by Fanning Howey Associates. "This new replacement high school with its world-class gym and swim facility has generated a lot of excitement in the surrounding community," said AP Wyoming Project Executive Tom Stone. "AP is proud to have been a part of this fantastic new facility and the new resources it provides to students, faculty and the community at large." The $58 million state-of-the-art replacement high school includes a new swim center with a lap pool, diving pool and water slides. The new school was built adjacent to the existing high school, which maintained phased-active occupancy throughout construction. The scope of work also included renovations to the existing auditorium and classroom wings, a new gymnasium, classrooms, auditorium, offices and cafeteria. AP and L.M. Olson will remain onsite for the next few months to complete abatement, demolition and site work on the old classroom building. AP Wyoming worked with joint venture partner and local contractor L.M. Olson to provide integrated preconstruction and construction services. About AP Wyoming AP Wyoming has been a Wyoming resident contractor since 2009, providing construction management, design-build and general contracting services to public and private clients statewide. AP Wyoming serves the higher education, municipal, K-12 school, energy, healthcare, multi-family, retail and senior living market segments from its office in Cheyenne. For more information, please visit http://apwyoming.com/. Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/02/prweb14025894.htm CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Argo Consulting, a leading global operations improvement consulting firm for chemical, energy and industrial clients, today announced the appointment of Charles Deise as senior vice president for the chemical business unit. Deise, a seasoned veteran has more than 25 years of experience in the chemical process industries, where he has been advising and working with global clients to implement programs that transform operations and improve productivity. Before joining Argo, Deise was vice president for Xerox Business Services and led their chemical business unit. Previously, he served as vice president for chemical, oil & gas and natural resources at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), senior vice president of supply chain solutions and strategic programs at Aspen Technology, and vice president of global services at ABB Process Solutions. "At Argo, we work in the trenches alongside our clients to transform an organization for the long haul," said Fernando Assens, CEO of Argo. "Adding Deise to our leadership team greatly strengthens our ability to provide operations insight and execution. That enables us to improve business performance for our clients in the chemical and related process industries." Deise's expertise is widely recognized. He has published several articles on industry trends and issues in Chemical Week magazine, and has given presentations on industry issues and trends at American Chemistry Council events. Deise holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering Technology from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. Follow Argo on LinkedIn. About Argo Consulting Argo is a global operations consulting company dedicated to implementing lasting performance improvements with offices in Chicago, Canada and Germany and an active presence in more than 20 countries. Specialties include: enterprise asset management, workflow management operations, supply chain optimization, product value management, operations due diligence, performance strategy alignment. Learn more at www.argoconsulting.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/argo-consulting-appoints-charles-deise-to-senior-vice-president-chemical-business-unit-300399991.html SOURCE Argo Consulting FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its arrival in South Florida merely 5 years ago, G Marine, has become the exclusive dealer of fine European yacht brands including Fairline, Astondoa, EVO Yachts and now adds Wallytender, one of the world's most iconic brands. Based in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Wally has revolutionized yacht design with its unmatched boats, having launched over 45 sailing yachts and more than 120 power boats from 45' upwards that uniquely combine the latest technology and contemporary design. G Marine will display the newest addition, the Wallytender X at Yachts Miami Beach in its booth at Entrance 5 New Yachts Docks A1-5 / A14-19 (across from the Fontainebleau Hotel). The Wallytender X is the latest version of the Wallytender, which debuted in 2001 opening up a new market. The boat was created for high-speed lovers with its triple Mercury 400 HP outboards, originally developed for racing, providing 60 knots, combining speed and comfort. The 45' boat has a 13' beam and many luxury features like teak decking, carbon fiber trim and metallic paints. This will be the Wallytender's American debut. The vast walk-around deck features two sun lounges, one forward that converts into a casual dining area, with a pop-up table, and one aft. The Raymarine-equipped central helm console incorporates all controls for easy single-handed operation, simplifying maneuvering and handling and enhancing safety. Two refrigerators exemplify some of the comfort features, and a below-deck cabin with head, adds overnight jaunts to the joy of open-air living on the water. Designed by Luca Bassani, Wally founder and chief designer, the Wallytender X combines lightweight composite construction and advanced hull design to produce a boat that runs smoothly at speed in any seas and can carry 12 people in safety and comfort. The luxurious onboard experience is created by the clean and practical solutions, which are applied to every detail, using custom-made components that define the Wally approach to functional design with style. G Marine believes that this boat perfectly fits into the performance center console growth market, which reflects the ever-changing lifestyle of today's boater. The boat accommodates day cruising, watersports and even fishing; its hard top provides shade to the captain and helm seated passengers, and two optional awnings with carbon poles can shade both the forward social cockpit and the aft sun pad. "We are very proud to be the sole dealer for Wallytender and to add the excellence and respect of the brand to our European lines from Spain, England and Italy," says David Galante, G Marine COO, "The Wallytender is built for the most discerning clientele; it gives us the ability to best serve our current clients and the expanded needs of yachting enthusiasts across the Americas." "Wally is pleased to be part of G Marine's portfolio of European brands for its sound reliability and reputation," says Luca Bassani. "We are convinced that this new product with the outboard propulsion is the perfect fit for carefree days on the water of beautiful South Florida and Central America, offering the ultimate performance experience, blended with our distinguished style." For more information visit G Marine at its new Fort Lauderdale office, 1515 SE 17th Street, or on the web at www.gmyachts.com. 954 866 1636. High-resolution photography (photos credit Gilles Martin-Raget) and specs upon request and online: G Marine Press page. Password: gmyachtsmiami Show model Wallytender X Shady Lady Technical Specifications Length overall: 45 ft. Beam: 13 ft. Draft: (hull/drives down): 1' 11" / 2' 7" Displacement (dry) 12,125 lbs. Fuel: 400 US gallons Fresh water: 63 US gallons Engines: 3 x Mercury 400 Verado, top speed, 60 knots (Including: propellers, throttle control, hydraulic steering, fuel and electrical systems, joystick optional) To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/g-marine-becomes-the-exclusive-dealer-of-wallytender-in-florida-caribbean-and-mexico-300400233.html SOURCE G Marine Yachts A woman is reflected in a window as she walks past an Abercrombie & Fitch store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (Reuters) - Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF), which is struggling with a relentless decline in sales, said Fran Horowitz, its merchandising head, had been promoted to chief executive of the teen apparel retailer. Horowitz replaces Michael Jeffries, who stepped down in 2014 after over two decades at the helm. The company suspended its search for a new head in 2015, while a team led by Executive Chairman Arthur Martinez managed day-to-day operations. Horowitz moved from the company's Hollister brand to take on the newly created role of chief merchandising officer in late 2015, as Abercrombie sought to make its apparel more attractive to teens. Abercrombie's sales have fallen for 15 straight quarters as it struggles to keep pace with tastes of teen shoppers, who are increasingly opting to shop at "fast-fashion" chains such as H&M , Inditex's Zara and Forever 21. To win back shoppers, Abercrombie is investing heavily in its online business and is closing underperforming stores. It has also hired designers from top brands to keep its trends fresh and is selling fewer of its once popular logo-centric designs. Abercrombie said Chief Financial Officer Joanne Crevoiserat has been given the additional responsibilities of chief operating officer. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) The company logo is seen on top of a building, where Caterpillar (China) Investment Co., Ltd. is located, in Beijing, January 22, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee By Tom Polansek and Dave McKinney CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) will move its global headquarters to the Chicago area from its longtime home in central Illinois this year, the company said on Tuesday, as it continues to grapple with weak demand for its earth-moving equipment. The companys decision to move its executive suite comes at a time of record-breaking crime in Chicago and a gloomy financial outlook both for the city and the state. At the same time, Chicago has drawn in big companies such as Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE: ADM), one of the world's largest agricultural trading houses, formerly of Decatur, Illinois, and food maker ConAgra Brands Inc (NYSE: CAG), formerly of Omaha, that see an address in the largest city between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as a plus for recruiting. Caterpillar, currently based in Peoria, Illinois, cited recruiting and access to a global transportation hub as factors in the decision to move about 300 senior executives and staff to Chicago, starting this year. "They'll be moving basically what I call the seventh floor of downtown - the senior executives and some HR people," said Lex Akers, dean of the Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology at Bradley University in Peoria, which is named after the company. The world's largest construction and equipment maker did not specify the exact location of its new headquarters. It will not build a previously announced headquarters complex in Peoria, where the company was founded in 1925. The decision marks a significant step away from the past by Caterpillar Chief Executive Officer Jim Umpleby, who took over on Jan. 1. He faces the challenge of reversing a multiyear sales decline triggered by the global commodities slump. Eli Lustgarten, senior vice president for Longbow Research, said the move to the Chicago area represents "new management looking for greater efficiency in dealing with its global business." The company cut 12,300 jobs in 2016, including 7,700 in the United States. It is also considering closing two major production facilities, including one in Aurora, Illinois. Shares were down 1.5 percent at $95.30 in afternoon trading. Spokesmen for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel declined to address whether local tax incentives helped facilitate Caterpillars move. Republican Illinois Governor Bruce Rauners administration had no involvement in the move and only learned of it after the companys announcement, an administration source said. Typically, state tax credits are not offered to companies wishing to relocate if they do not commit to adding new jobs. (Additional reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Lisa Shumaker) Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) questions U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy at a Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the Secret Service FY2016 budget on Capitol Hill in Washington March 19, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will grant the final approval needed to finish the Dakota Access Pipeline project, U.S. Senator John Hoeven and Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said on Tuesday. However, opponents of the $3.8 billion project, including the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation is adjacent to the route, claimed that Hoeven and Cramer were jumping the gun and that an environmental study underway must be completed before the permit was granted. For months, climate activists and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe have been protesting against the completion of the line under Lake Oahe, a reservoir that is part of the Missouri River. The one-mile stretch of the 1,170-mile (1,885 km) line is the only incomplete section in North Dakota. The project would run from the western part of the state to Patoka, Illinois, and connect to another line to move crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Hoeven said Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer had told him and Vice President Mike Pence of the move. "This will enable the company to complete the project, which can and will be built with the necessary safety features to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others downstream," Hoeven, a Republican, said in a statement. Representatives for the Army Corps of Engineers could not be reached immediately for comment late on Tuesday. The Department of Justice declined to comment. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week allowing Energy Transfer Partners LP's Dakota Access Pipeline to go forward, after months of protests from Native American groups and climate activists pushed the administration of President Barack Obama to ask for an additional environmental review of the controversial project. The approval would mark a bitter defeat for Native American tribes and climate activists, who successfully blocked the project earlier and vowed to fight the decision through legal action. On Tuesday evening, the Standing Rock tribe said the Army could not circumvent a scheduled environmental impact study that was ordered by the outgoing Obama administration in January. "The Army Corps lacks statutory authority to simply stop the EIS," they said in a statement. The tribe said it would take legal action against the U.S. Army's reported decision to grant the final easement. "JUMPED THE GUN" Jan Hasselman, an Earthjustice lawyer representing the tribe, told Reuters that Hoeven and Cramer "jumped the gun" by saying the easement would be granted and that the easement was not yet issued. Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environment Network, which has been a vocal opponent of the pipeline, said on Twitter that lawmakers were "trying to incite violence" by saying the easement was granted before it was official. There have been numerous clashes between law enforcement and protesters over the past several months, some of which have turned violent. More than 600 arrests have been made. Heavy earth-moving equipment had been moved to the protest camp in recent days to remove abandoned tipis and cars, with the camp to be cleared out before expected flooding in March. There were more than 10,000 people at the camp at one point, including Native Americans, climate activists and veterans. Several hundred remain. A spokesman for Hoeven, Don Canton, said it would probably be a "matter of days rather than weeks" for the easement to be issued. Oil producers in North Dakota are expected to benefit from a quicker route for crude oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. North Dakota Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp said the timeline for construction was still unknown but said she hoped Trump would provide additional law enforcement resources and funding to ensure the safe start of pipeline construction. "We also know that with tensions high, our families, workers, and tribal communities deserve the protective resources they need to stay safe," Heitkamp said. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Eric Beech in Washington, Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, David Gaffen in New York and Ernest Scheyder in Houston) By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Donald Trump has joined Russia, China and radical Islam as a threat to the European Union, EU leaders were told on Tuesday by the man chairing a summit where they will debate relations with the United States. European Council President Donald Tusk, a conservative former premier of Poland, wrote to EU national leaders to lay out themes for discussion when they meet in Malta on Friday to discuss the future of their Union as Britain prepares to leave. In vivid language that reflects deep concern in Europe at the new U.S. president's support for Brexit, as well as his ban on refugees and people from several Muslim countries, Tusk called on Europeans to rally against eurosceptic nationalists at home and take "spectacular steps" to deepen the continent's integration. Saying the EU faced the biggest challenges of its 60-year history, Tusk named an "assertive China", "Russia's aggressive policy" toward its neighbors and "radical Islam" fuelling anarchy in the Middle East and Africa as key external threats. These, "as well as worrying declarations by the new American administration, all make our future highly unpredictable," he said. Laying out issues leaders may address in a 60th anniversary declaration at Rome in March, Tusk said the EU unity built after World War Two and the Cold War was needed "to avoid another historic catastrophe". He also said Americans should not weaken Transatlantic ties fundamental to "global order and peace". "The disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China," Tusk wrote to the EU leaders. "Only together can we be fully independent." CAUTION TEMPERS DISMAY Senior officials discussed a possible EU response to Trump at a meeting in Brussels on Monday where some governments stressed that Europeans should not be hasty to alienate a key ally, diplomats said. "We don't want to get fired," one senior EU diplomat said in reference to Trump's reality TV catchphrase. Another said that because the full U.S. administration was not yet in place, Europeans should be cautious: "No government in Europe can respond in a coherent manner to this series of orders and tweets," the diplomat said. Yet after 11 days in office, Trump and his aides have stirred concern in Europe due to their doubts about NATO and countering Russia in Ukraine, as well as over free trade. The Socialist finance minister of France, a nation long skeptical of U.S. market economics, said on Tuesday Washington seemed set on protectionism that was a "grave risk to the world trade order". Friday's summit could also expose tensions with British Prime Minister Theresa May, who will attend a morning session on efforts to curb migrants heading for Europe from Libya but will leave before the other 27 discuss post-Brexit reforms. British and EU officials said they expect May to attend a lunch where all 28 leaders will discuss "international challenges", including Trump. But May's embrace of Trump by way of a visit to Washington last week and push for a post-Brexit UK-U.S. trade deal have irritated London's continental partners. Some were also annoyed by a British announcement that its citizens who also hold passports from the seven states on Trump's banned list could enter the United States. That, diplomats said, risked breaking EU rules on equal treatment for EU citizens. Washington later said it would accept all EU passports. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Lubomir Zaoralek, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, addresses the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 27, 2014. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine/Files By Robert Muller PRAGUE (Reuters) - Hackers have breached dozens of email accounts at the Czech Foreign Ministry in an attack resembling one against the U.S. Democratic Party that the former Obama administration blamed on Russia, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said on Tuesday. He said he was told by experts the cyber-attacks were likely conducted by a foreign state. He said the ministry's internal communication system was not affected and no confidential material was compromised, though an extensive amount of data was stolen. Zaoralek, whose email account was also hit, did not name any countries he thought may be responsible for the attack. "When I discussed this with the best experts that we have here, they told me that the character of the attack was such that the attack was very sophisticated, that it must have been, according to them, conducted by some foreign state, from the outside," Zaoralek told a news conference. "They also told me that the way the attack was done very much resembles the character of attacks against the system of the Democratic Party in the United States." A government source told Reuters authorities suspect the attacks originated from Russia. Zaoralek said the ministry had known since the beginning of January that hackers had breached its email, and added it was necessary to check whether other key government institutions have also been attacked, something he said was possible. He said the ministry was not registering any further attacks at the moment. The Czech Republic is a member of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance and of the European Union. In October last year, Czech police detained Russian citizen Yevgeniy Nikulin, who has been indicted in the United State for hacking computers of social media companies. The U.S. and Russia have both requested his extradition. The state attorney office has yet to file its recommendations on the requests. Obama administration officials said Russia engaged in cyber attacks during the U.S. presidential election campaign meant to tar the reputation of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and help Republican Donald Trump to victory. Russia denied this. Trump later acknowledged that Russia likely hacked the Democratic National Committee and the emails of top Democrats during the presidential election. Russian officials have denied all accusations of manipulation and interference intended to sway the U.S. election outcome or weaken the European Union. In December, Germany's domestic intelligence agency reported a striking increase in Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilizing German society, and targeted cyber attacks against political parties. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she could not rule out Russia interfering in Germany's 2017 election through Internet attacks and misinformation campaigns. (Additional reporting by Jan Lopatka; writing by Jason Hovet; editing by Mark Heinrich and Dominic Evans) By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - Fresh clashes broke out around South Sudan's second-largest city of Malakal on Tuesday, a rebel spokesman and a government official said, the latest turn in the struggle for the capital of the oil-producing Upper Nile region. The United Nations said Malakal, on the banks of the White Nile near the country's northern border with Sudan, was largely deserted after civilians fled the fighting. "The rebels had been trying to provoke the SPLA all this time because the SPLA has been given instruction not to wage offensives against the rebel forces," said military spokesman Colonel Santo Domic Chol, using the acronym for the military, known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army. "This is in line with the call by the president for the national dialogue," he added, referring to a presidential directive on dealing with the rebels. But rebel spokesman William Gatjiath Deng said government troops launched several attacks on rebel positions early on Tuesday. "In the fight this morning, Juba regime suffered heavy losses in human and material, as bodies of the Juba regime soldiers lie everywhere," he said in a press statement. Neither Chol nor Deng had casualty figures. Civil war broke out in 2013 in South Sudan after President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, fired his deputy president, Riek Machar, from the Nuer ethnic group. An internationally brokered ceasefire returned Machar to his position but broke down in July after a gunfight between the two sides in the capital. Machar and some of his fighters fled the country on foot in August, pursued by helicopter gunships. Sporadic fighting between the rebels and government forces broke out in Malakal a week ago, forcing officials to close the airport. On Friday, Chol told Reuters that 10 rebels had been killed in fighting in Ditang, near Malakal. The area around the city is a stronghold of Johnson Olony, a militia leader from the Shilluk ethnic group who was appointed an army general when he agreed to join the government in 2013. In April 2015, he announced he was deserting the military to join the rebels. The civil war has driven more than 3 million people from their homes. (Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Tom Heneghan) By Michael Dalder GRAFENWOEHR, Germany (Reuters) - Germany began sending tanks and other equipment to Lithuania on Tuesday as part of a NATO mission to beef up the defense of eastern Europe and send a signal of resolve to Russia, which has denounced the build-up as an act of aggression. The German army command said it was sending about 200 vehicles, including 30 tanks, by train to Lithuania along with 450 troops, the first of whom arrived last week. The transports would continue until late February. Seven decades after the end of World War Two, the movement of German troops to eastern Europe, even on a NATO mission, remains a sensitive issue both in Germany and the region. On Monday the U.S. military deployed thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry to Poland, the Baltic states and southeastern Europe in its biggest build-up since the Cold War. The movements are part of a strategy agreed by NATO leaders last July to reassure member states that were once part of the Soviet bloc and have been alarmed by Russia's seizure of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. The 28-nation Western alliance decided to move four battalions totaling 3,000 to 4,000 troops into northeastern Europe on a rotating basis to display its readiness to defend eastern members against any Russian aggression. The deployments focus on Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which fear Moscow could try to destabilize them by cyber attacks, territorial incursions or other means. Russia denies such intentions and has described NATO's behavior as aggressive and threatening. In early January, hundreds of U.S. tanks, trucks and other military equipment arrived by ship in Germany to be transported by rail and road to eastern Europe for use by U.S. troops being deployed under the NATO plan. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) James Ibori, former governor of Nigeria's Delta State, speaks after a court hearing outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Britain, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Estelle Shirbon By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Former Nigerian oil state governor James Ibori, who was recently released from a British prison after serving a sentence for corruption, has signaled a possible political comeback in Africa's most populous country. As governor of Delta State from 1999 to 2007, Ibori became one of Nigeria's most powerful men and enjoyed a millionaire lifestyle, with luxury homes in several countries. He was later extradited to Britain, where he pleaded guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering. The case was initially hailed as a high point in the fight against corruption, although it has since become bogged down in allegations of misconduct by British authorities. In line with normal British practice, Ibori was released in December after serving half of his 13-year sentence, taking into account pre-trial detention. He said he would return within days to Nigeria, where local media have reported that he remains influential in politics. "What happens in African politics - you are in it until you die," Ibori told Reuters in London on Tuesday. "I am a politician, I will always be a politician. I play the politics in my party and in my country for the good of my people," he said after a court hearing, part of ongoing legal proceedings in his case. Nigerian media reported that Ibori's release had prompted dancing in the streets in parts of Delta State. A video later surfaced on YouTube of Ibori being feted in London by supporters including a sitting Delta State senator who said, to cheers, that Ibori had "made" the careers of several prominent Nigerian politicians while in prison. Ibori declined to say whether this was true. "The prison telephone is meant for keeping in touch ... so you can reintegrate when you come out," he said. Asked if he would run for office again, Ibori said he was barred from doing so for 10 years because of his conviction, but that he intended to appeal to have that conviction overturned. The appeal would center on an allegation, made by one of Ibori's former associates, that a British police officer had taken bribes in return for inside information on the case before Ibori's conviction, and that prosecutors had covered it up. British police say the allegation was investigated, resulting in no arrests or charges. The state prosecution service says material supporting the allegation exists and it initially failed to disclose that to Ibori's defense team, but it is confident Ibori's conviction remains valid. Court proceedings are ongoing. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) By Ed Cropley ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Morocco rejoined the club of African states on Tuesday, 33 years after quitting over recognition of Western Sahara, bringing one of Africa's largest economies into the fold and raising hopes of a softening of one of its thorniest territorial disputes. Capping a year-long charm offensive that mirrored a broader investment push into Africa, Morocco's King Mohammed VI was cheered as he took his seat for the first time in the Addis Ababa headquarters of the 55-nation African Union (AU), one of the few international fora to recognize rival Western Sahara. Rabat left the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in 1984 in anger at its acceptance of the phosphate-rich territory on Africa's north Atlantic coast as a full-blown member. However, African support for Western Sahara - which the United Nations defines as a non-self-governing territory - has ebbed as the importance of Morocco's $110 billion economy, Africa's fifth largest, as a trade and investment partner has grown. At an AU summit this week, Morocco was re-admitted to the fold, with 39 countries expressing support and only 10, believed to be led by Algeria and South Africa, expressing reservations. "Africa is my home and I am coming back home," King Mohammed said, to applause from other heads of state. "I have missed you all." For Morocco, a relatively liberalized economy and firm Western ally, readmission to the AU should smooth its entry into fast-growing African economies to the south and help reduce its reliance on stagnant European markets to the north. In the last few years, Moroccan firms have made significant investments across Africa in everything from financial services to housing projects to fertilizer plants. King Mohammed made clear this was just the beginning. "Africa is indispensable to Morocco and Morocco is indispensable to Africa," he said. "MAJOR STEP" During his 20-minute speech, King Mohammed gave a nod to the tensions over Western Sahara, which has been contested since Spanish colonial powers left in 1975, but made clear he was not interested in making them worse. "We don't want to divide the continent," he said. Morocco claimed the territory after Spain's exit and fought a 16-year war with the Polisario independence movement, that established the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic with support initially from Algeria and then from across Africa. Since a 1991 ceasefire, Western Sahara has been split by a earthen berm, with U.N. peacekeepers monitoring the Moroccan forces in what Rabat calls its southern provinces and guerrillas in the Polisario-controlled area bordering Algeria. U.N.-backed attempts to hold a referendum on self-determination have been deadlocked since 1991 and Rabat has presented its own autonomy plan. Sahrawi foreign minister Salem Ould Salek described the AU's admission of Morocco as a 'major step' towards full international recognition since it would now be in the same room, on equal terms, with its rival. "It's a positive step for the people of Western Sahara," he told Reuters. "After 33 years, Morocco has realized that it has to sit with the Sahrawi Republic. We hope that Morocco will have the goodwill to resolve this conflict and withdraw its troops." The return to the AU comes at a sensitive time. Last year, Morocco expelled some U.N. staff from Western Sahara after then-U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon visited Sahrawi refugee camps in southern Algeria. In August, U.N. peacekeepers intervened when Moroccan forces crossed into a U.N.-mandated buffer zone and Polisario forces dispatched troops in kind to the remote area near Mauritania. (Corrects size of economy in para 4) (Additional reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Tom Heneghan) Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, makes a speech at the London Government Dinner at the Mansion House in London, Britain, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will tell the top U.S. diplomat in Britain on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's travel ban on people from a list of Muslim nations is prejudiced and will hurt rather than improve U.S. security. Khan, Britain's most prominent Muslim politician, will make his comments at a meeting of foreign dignitaries, including U.S. charge d'affaires Lewis Lukens and ambassadors from most of the countries affected by the ban, the mayor's office said. "Targeting people for no reason other than their faith or their country of birth is cruel, prejudiced and counterproductive," he will say, according to excerpts released to the media. Khan, a member of the opposition Labour party who was elected mayor last year, has called on Prime Minister Theresa May to cancel a planned state visit to London until he lifts the ban that he signed into force last Friday. More than 1.6 million UK residents who have signed an online petition against the visit. May has said the visit, which would include a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth, will go ahead, and 90,000 people have signed a counter-petition supporting it. Peter Ricketts, a former head of Britain's foreign ministry, said he was surprised the invitation had been issued so early into Trump's presidency, and that it would have been possible to invite him without the ceremonials of a full state visit. "My concern is the queen will have acted on the government's advice as she always does. Clearly there is now a lot of controversy around that," Ricketts told BBC Radio. "If the current level of protest and opposition goes on then I do think the queen is put in a difficult position." (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) By Omar Saley AGADEZ, Niger (Reuters) - In a dirt-floored room in the town of Agadez in Niger, a pair of flip-flops and a cold pile of ashes are all that remain of what was once a teeming stopover for migrants preparing the fraught journey across the Saharan Desert and onwards to Europe. Less than a year ago, Agadez was a boomtown - a hub for smuggling networks that profited off migrants seeking a better life and opportunities in Europe. But that was before the European Union, working with Niger's government, bankrolled a crackdown on the trade. "We have seen the numbers fall dramatically since August," said Marina Schramm, deputy chief of mission at the International Organization for Migration, which monitors migrant flows at two points in the Agadez region. "Before, we saw several thousand passages per week. Now we're close to zero ... several dozen," she said, noting that numbers normally fall in the winter, but not by so much. Some are holding up Agadez as a sign of a breakthrough in tackling the migration crisis. Other experts have urged caution, saying the smugglers may have simply moved deeper underground. Either way, the immediate impact on the town and the arid region surrounding it is dramatic. The European Union said that only 1,500 migrants crossed Niger in November, down from 70,000 in May, crediting the change to a new partnership strategy it launched with Niger last year. In late 2015, the EU established a fund with 1.88 billion euros ($2.01 billion) aimed at addressing migration originating across West Africa's arid Sahel and Lake Chad regions, the Horn of Africa as well as North Africa. Last year it added another 500 million euros to the fund and established partnerships with priority countries Niger, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mali, and Nigeria, financing a range of programs from security and border management to job creation. The EU began training security forces in Agadez in April. By November authorities had seized 95 vehicles and arrested 102 smugglers as well as nine police officers for migration-linked corruption, it said. DRIVEN UNDERGROUND? Despite those initial results, the EU acknowledged in December that the reduced traffic in Niger had not yet led to an overall reduction in arrivals in Europe. More than 181,000 migrants took the North Africa to Italy route in 2016, more than in any other year on record, though many likely arrived in Libya before the crackdown in Niger began. Smuggling could have just become more clandestine, said Peter Tinti, a senior research fellow with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. Tightening security often allows smugglers to charge a premium and can push migrants to take riskier routes, he said. "If it's not done right, anti-smuggling policies can increase smugglers' profit margins and decrease migrants' security," he told Reuters. Meanwhile, economic development programs funded by the EU to alleviate the poverty that pushes migrants to leave home in the first place could take years to show results. In Agadez, the immediate impact of the EU plan has been an economic bust. Streets that used to be thronged with money changers, phone sellers and car mechanics are now quiet. Smugglers' compounds that housed hundreds of migrants are empty. "I used to live here with lots of friends," said Guinean migrant Boubacar Lu, walking around one of the compounds with "remember me" and other messages scratched onto its clay walls. "Measures were taken, things changed." ($1 = 0.9355 euros) (Additional reporting and writing by Nellie Peyton in Dakar; Editing by Joe Bavier and Andrew Heavens) FILE PHOTO - Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, chief of the Islamic charity organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), sits during a rally against India and in support of Kashmir, in Karachi, Pakistan, December 18, 2016. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo By Saad Sayeed and Mehreen Zahra-Malik LAHORE, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani supporters of Islamist leader Hafiz Saeed staged small protests on Tuesday and condemned the United States, after police detained the accused architect of an attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people in 2008. Saeed, pointed to by critics as evidence of Pakistan's reluctance to crack down hard enough on militants, was held late on Monday at the headquarters of his charity before being placed under house arrest at his home in the eastern city of Lahore. He denies involvement in the Mumbai attack. The move follows a U.S. visa ban by President Donald Trump aimed at countries deemed linked to terrorism, and, while Pakistan was not named, a Pakistani official said worry over the new administration was a factor in the decision. Pressure from key ally China may also have played a role, according to senior Pakistani officials, who say Beijing has for months been quietly lobbying Islamabad to crack down on Saeed and other Islamist leaders. "Release Hafiz Saeed! ... Anyone who is a friend of the U.S. is a traitor!" chanted about 150 members of Saeed's Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in the southern city of Karachi. About 500 protesters shouted similar slogans outside the provincial assembly in Lahore. Demonstrations also were held in Islamabad, according to the JuD, which the United States says is a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group blamed for the Mumbai attack. Saeed founded LeT in the 1990s but later distanced himself from it. Arch-rival India was skeptical that Pakistan would bring Saeed to justice, pointing out that he had been detained before and released. "Only a credible crack down on the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attack and terrorist organizations involved in cross border terrorism would be proof of Pakistan's sincerity," said a statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs. BRINK OF WAR India has been demanding action against Saeed since the Mumbai raid by 10 gunmen from Pakistan, who infiltrated the city by boat and killed 166 people in a rampage that included attacks on two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a train station. The attack brought nuclear-armed Pakistan and India closer to war, although Islamabad denied any state involvement. Pakistan's military has long been accused of sponsoring LeT and other anti-India militants, a charge it rejects. Saeed was placed under house arrest just after the Mumbai attacks but was released six months later when a court ruled there was insufficient evidence against him. In recent months, Saeed has been holding regular news conferences to denounce a security crackdown in the Indian-controlled part of the divided Kashmir region. "If they believe that they can throw the Kashmir issue into the background through our arrests and our confinement, that is not possible," Saeed said as he was being led away by police. U.S. PRESSURE, CHINESE PERSUASION Saeed accused the government of bowing to pressure from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United States. "This is taking place because of Modi's insistence, Trump's pressure and Pakistan's helplessness," Saeed told reporters. The United States has listed both the LeT and the charity as "foreign terrorist" organizations and has a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed's arrest. The Pakistani government has not officially commented on why it acted now. A senior defense ministry official said the government had not been contacted by the new U.S. administration, but it had been feeling American pressure on the issue. "Trump is taking hard decisions against Muslim countries, there is open talk of actions against Pakistan also. So yes, this was a consideration," said the official, who declined to be identified. Several other government officials have said recently that long-time ally China has been working to persuade Pakistan to act against wanted militants such as Saeed. Officials in Beijing did not respond to queries on Tuesday, which falls during the Lunar New Year holiday. Since 2007, Pakistan has been battling the Pakistani Taliban and other militants seeking to impose strict Islamic law. But critics say it has targeted only militants who attack its own state, not those active in neighboring Afghanistan and India, such as the Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network and LeT. (Additonal reporting by Syed Raza Hassan in KARACHI and Douglas Busvine in NEW DELHI; Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel and Mike Collett-White) MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, when asked for his opinion on U.S. President Donald Trump's latest immigration policy, said on Tuesday he didn't agree with vetoes and that the world would not follow suit. "I'm not in favor of vetoes or of borders, nor do I believe that the world is heading in this direction," Rajoy said on the sidelines of a conference in Madrid. (Reporting by Paul Day) U.S. President Donald Trump listens to remarks by Defense Secretary James Mattis (R) after a swearing-in ceremony for Mattis at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria By Phil Stewart and Nobuhiro Kubo WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's defense secretary is expected to underscore U.S. security commitments to key allies South Korea and Japan on his debut trip to Asia this week as concerns mount over North Korea's missile program and tensions with China. The trip is the first for retired Marine General James Mattis since becoming Trump's Pentagon chief and is also the first foreign trip by any of Trump's cabinet secretaries. Officials say the fact that Mattis is first heading to Asia - as opposed to perhaps visiting troops in Iraq or Afghanistan - is meant to reaffirm ties with two Asian allies hosting nearly 80,000 American troops and the importance of the region overall. That U.S. reaffirmation could be critical after Trump appeared to question the cost of such U.S. alliances during the election campaign. He also jolted the region by pulling Washington out of an Asia-Pacific trade deal that Japan had championed. "It's a reassurance message," said one Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "This is for all of the people who were concerned during the campaign that then-candidate, now-president, Trump was skeptical of our alliances and was somehow going to retreat from our traditional leadership role in the region." Trump himself has spoken with the leaders of both Japan and South Korea in recent days and will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on Feb. 10. Mattis leaves the United States on Feb. 1, heading first to Seoul before continuing to Tokyo on Feb. 3. DEFENSE SPENDING Trump singled out both South Korea and Japan on the campaign trail, suggesting they were benefiting from the U.S. security umbrella without sharing enough of the costs. In one 2016 television interview, Trump said of the 28,500 U.S. troops deployed to South Korea: "We get practically nothing compared to the cost of this. Why are we doing this?" Mattis, in his confirmation hearing, appeared to play down those remarks, noting that there was a long history of U.S. presidents and even defense secretaries calling on allies to pay their fair share of defense costs. But his visit to the region comes amid concerns North Korea may be readying to test a new ballistic missile, in what could be an early challenge for Trump's administration. Speaking with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo ahead of his trip, Mattis reaffirmed a U.S. commitment to defend the country and "provide extended deterrence using the full range of U.S. capabilities." Analysts expect Mattis to seek an update on South Korea's early moves to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which, once in place sometime in 2017, would defend against North Korea's nuclear and ballistic capabilities. Still, a South Korean military official played down expectations of any big announcements during the trip, saying Mattis' first visit would likely be "an ice-breaking session" for both countries. In Tokyo, Mattis is to meet Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who has repeatedly said Japan is bearing its fair share of the costs for U.S. troops stationed there and has stressed that the alliance is good for both nations. Japan's defense spending remains around 1 percent of GDP, far behind China, which is locked in a dispute with Japan over a group of East China Sea islets 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Taiwan known as the Senkakus in Tokyo and the Diaoyus in Beijing. The trip also comes amid growing concern about China's military moves in the South China Sea. Tension with Beijing escalated last week when Trump's White House vowed to defend "international territories" there. China responded by saying it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over disputed islands in the strategic waterway. "What U.S. military people say is that considering the pace of China's military build-up such as anti-ship missiles and fighters, there are worries about Japan's capabilities," said a senior Japanese defense ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in Tokyo, Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom in Washington, and Ju-min Park in Seoul; Editing by Dan Grebler) The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Act) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes ). *The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting persons initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page. NOTE: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See Rule13d-7(b) for other parties to whom copies are to be sent. If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of Rule 13d-1(e), 13d-1(f) or 13d-1(g), check the following box . 3 This Amendment No. 10 to Schedule 13D (Amendment No. 10) relates to the common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the Common Stock), of rVue Holdings, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the Company or the Registrant). This Amendment No. 10 is being filed jointly by Roche Enterprises, Ltd. (formerly known as Acorn Composite Corporation) (Roche Enterprises) and Robert W. Roche (together, the Reporting Persons) to amend and restate the Items set forth below of the Reporting Persons Schedule 13D previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on October 25, 2012, as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on November 26, 2013, as amended by Amendment No. 2 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on February 11, 2016, as amended by Amendment No. 3 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on April 11, 2016, as amended by Amendment No. 4 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on June 3, 2016, as amended by Amendment No. 5 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on June 21, 2016, as amended by Amendment No. 6 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on July 26, 2016, as amended by Amendment No. 7 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on August 11, 2016, and as amended by Amendment No. 8 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on September 15, 2016, and as amended by Amendment No. 9 thereto as previously filed with the SEC on January 18, 2017 (as so amended, the Schedule 13D). Except as provided herein, this Amendment No. 10 does not modify any of the information previously reported on the Schedule 13D. Item 1. Security and Issuer. Item 1 of the Schedule 13D is amended and restated as follows: This Amendment No. 10 relates to the Common Stock of the Company. The principal executive office of the Company is located at 6688 Joliet Road, #255, Indian Head Park, IL 60525. Item 2. Identity and Background. Item 2 of the Schedule 13D is amended and restated as follows: (a) This Amendment No. 10 is being filed by Roche Enterprises, Ltd. (formerly known as Acorn Composite Corp.) (Roche Enterprises) and Robert W. Roche. Mr. Roche is the sole owner of Roche Enterprises and therefore may be deemed to have voting and dispositive power over securities owned by Roche Enterprises. (b) The principal business address of each of the Reporting Persons is: Roche Enterprises, Ltd. 5605 Riggins Court, Second Floor Reno, NV 89502 Robert W. Roche c/o rVue Holdings, Inc. 6688 Joliet Road, #255 Indian Head Park, IL 60525 (c) Robert W. Roche is the founder and Chairman of Oak Lawn Marketing (OLM), one of the largest and most recognized direct marketing businesses in Japan, with a principal business address of NHK Nagoya Broadcasting Center Bldg. 14F, 1-13-3 Higashi Sakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Japan 461-0005. Mr. Roche is also founder and Executive Chairman of Acorn International, Inc., a direct marketing company operating in China and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with a principal business address of 18/F, 20th Building, No. 487 Tianlin Road, Shanghai, China 200233. (d) The Reporting Persons have not, during the last five years, been convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors). (e) The Reporting Persons have not, during the last five years, been party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and as a result of such proceeding was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws. (f) The State of Incorporation or Citizenship of each of the Reporting Persons is Nevada (Roche Enterprises) and United States of America (Robert W. Roche). 4 Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration. Item 3 of the Schedule 13D is amended and restated as follows: On January 31, 2017, the Registrant and Roche Enterprises entered into a new Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Note, permitting draws of up to $80,000 in the aggregate, as reported in the Registrants press release issued on that date (the January 2017 Roche Convertible Note). The intent of the Registrant and Roche Enterprises was to provide for a source of additional short-term bridge financing for the Registrant to enable it to continue to operate, as it continues to seek longer-term financing. The January 2017 Roche Convertible Note provides for the conversion, at the option of Roche Enterprises, of the outstanding balance into shares of Common Stock at a conversion price of $0.002601 per share of Common Stock, the same weighted average conversion price applicable to the conversion of the Registrants former convertible note with an unaffiliated lender, Carebourn Capital, L.P., into shares of Common Stock during 2016. As a result, Roche Enterprises may, at its sole option, convert the balance of the note into approximately 30,757,401 shares of Common Stock (or more if accrued interest and other obligations thereunder are also converted). These shares issuable upon conversion are in addition to the shares issuable upon conversion of the Registrants earlier convertible note issued to Roche Enterprises as reported in Amendments No. 8 and No. 9 to this report (the 2016 Roche Convertible Note). The Registrant currently does not have sufficient authorized but unissued and unreserved shares of Common Stock to accommodate a conversion of the entire balance of the January 2017 Roche Convertible Note and the 2016 Roche Convertible Note, but the Registrant has undertaken to obtain shareholder approval for an amendment to its Articles of Incorporation to provide for an increase in authorized shares. For the purposes of this Amendment No. 10, all calculations of percentage ownership of the reporting persons assume that such an amendment has been adopted, such that there are sufficient authorized shares to permit conversion in full of both notes, and all options and warrants held by the Reporting Persons. Within the 60 days preceding the date of this Amendment No. 10, Roche Enterprises has not purchased any shares of Common Stock, with the exception of the purchase of the January 2017 Roche Convertible Note and the Common Stock issuable upon conversion thereof. Item 4. Purpose of Transaction. Item 4 of the Schedule 13D is amended and restated as follows: The convertible note financing referenced above is intended to provide the Registrant with a source of short-term bridge financing to enable it to continue to operate as it continues to seek longer-term financing. The Reporting Persons acquired the Common Stock based on their belief that such investment was necessary in order to provide for the continued operation of the Registrants business in the short-term. The Reporting Persons may purchase additional securities, if the Reporting Persons deem that such a transaction represents an attractive investment opportunity, or may similarly dispose of such securities to meet their investment objectives. Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer. Item 5 of the Schedule 13D is amended and restated as follows: (a) The aggregate number and percentage of the Common Stock that may be deemed beneficially owned by the Reporting Persons, based on 285,277,634 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding, is: Roche Enterprises, Ltd. 64.4% Robert W. Roche 64.5% (b) The number of shares of Common Stock over which the Reporting Persons have the power to vote and the power to dispose is as follows: Roche Enterprises, Ltd. 1. Sole power to vote or to direct vote: - 0 - 2. Shared power to vote or to direct vote: 257,044,980 (1) 3. Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition: - 0 - 4. Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition: 257,044,980 (1) 5 Robert W. Roche 1. Sole power to vote or to direct vote: 366,666 (2) 2. Shared power to vote or to direct vote: 257,044,980 (1) (3) 3. Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition: 366,666 (2) 4. Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition: 257,044,980 (1) (3) (1) This figure includes 143,176,276 shares of Common Stock that are owned by Roche Enterprises, 77,277,970 shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of the 2016 Roche Convertible Note, 30,757,401 shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of the January 2017 Roche Convertible Note, and 5,833,333 shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants that are exercisable within 60 days that are owned by Roche Enterprises. The shares of Common Stock reported as issuable upon conversion of the convertible notes are shares issuable upon conversion of the original principal amount thereof only. Interest accrued, and fees incurred, pursuant to the convertible notes could result in the issuance of additional shares upon conversion . (2) This figure includes 200,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of options that are exercisable within 60 days and 166,666 shares of Common Stock that are owned by Mr. Roche . (3) This figure does not include 16,382,217 shares of Common Stock that are owned by iVue Holdings LLC (iVue Holdings) and 1,625,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants that are exercisable within 60 days that are owned by iVue Holdings. Although Mr. Roche is the grantor of the trust that owns the majority member of iVue Holdings, he disclaims any beneficial ownership of such securities, as he does not have voting and/or dispositive power over such securities. (c) Except as described in Item 3 and 4 of this Statement, there have been no transactions effected with respect to the Common Stock held by the Reporting Persons within the past 60 days of the date hereof by the Reporting Persons. (d) No person(s) other than the Reporting Persons is known to have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or proceeds from the sale of, the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the Reporting Person. (e) Not applicable. Item 7. Material to be Filed as Exhibits. Exhibit Description Exhibit 1 Senior Secured Convertible Note dated January 31, 2017 Exhibit 2 Joint Filing Agreement (previously filed) 6 SIGNATURES After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, each of the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct. Dated: February 1, 2017 Roche Enterprises, Ltd. (formerly known as Acorn Composite Corp.) By: /s/ Robert W. Roche Name: Robert W. Roche Title: President /s/ Robert W. Roche Robert W. Roche 7 Exhibit 1 January 2017 Roche Convertible Note (see attached) 8 SENIOR SECURED CONVERTIBLE PROMISSORY NOTE Dated January 31, 2017 FOR VALUE RECEIVED, and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, rVue Holdings, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the Borrower), hereby promises to pay to the order of Roche Enterprises, Ltd. (formerly known as Acorn Composite Corporation), a Nevada corporation or its assigns (the Noteholder, and together with the Borrower, the Parties), the principal amount of up to $80,000 if, as and when Borrower makes draws hereunder as contemplated by the last sentence of this paragraph (collectively, the Loan) plus the interest calculated from the applicable date when the applicable funds were dispersed (the Loan Date), subject to terms and conditions as provided in this Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Note (the Note). During the term of this Note, Borrower may request up to four (4) additional loans from Noteholder, which Noteholder agrees to lend to Borrower, of up to $20,000 per month, commencing with December 2016, and continuing for each of January, February and March 2017 (each referred to below as a Draw). The sole conditions to each Draw shall be that Borrower shall request such Draw in writing and there shall not then exist an Event of Default hereunder. Borrower hereby requests, and Noteholder hereby agrees to lend, the Draw for December 2016 and the Draw for January 2017, promptly following the execution hereof. WHEREAS, the Noteholder wishes to loan up to US$80,000 to the Borrower pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Note; and NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises and the respective representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Borrower hereby agrees as follows: 1. Definitions . Certain capitalized terms used herein shall have the meanings set forth in this Section 1. Borrower has the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph. Business Day means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in the State of Nevada are authorized or required by Law to close. Collateral has the meaning set forth in the Pledge Agreement. Default means any of the events specified in Section 8 which constitutes an Event of Default or which, upon the giving of notice, the lapse of time, or both pursuant to Section 8 would, unless cured or waived, become an Event of Default. Draw has the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph. Event of Default has the meaning set forth in Section 8. Governmental Authority means the government of any nation or any political subdivision thereof, whether at the national, state, territorial, provincial, municipal or any other level, and any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or administrative powers or functions of, or pertaining to, government. Indebtedness of the Borrower, means all (a) indebtedness for borrowed money; (b) obligations for the deferred purchase price of property or services, except trade payables arising in the ordinary course of business; (c) obligations evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures or other similar instruments; and (d) obligations as lessee under capital leases. Law as to any Person, means any law (including common law), statute, ordinance, treaty, rule, regulation, policy or requirement of any Governmental Authority and authoritative interpretations thereon, whether now or hereafter in effect, in each case, applicable to or binding on such Person or any of its assets or properties or to which such Person or any of its assets or properties is subject. Lien means any mortgage, pledge, hypothecation, encumbrance, lien (statutory or other), charge or other security interest. Loan has the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph. Loan Date has the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph. 9 Material Adverse Effect means a material adverse effect on (a) the business, assets, properties, prospects, liabilities (actual or contingent), operations or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Borrower; (b) the validity or enforceability of the Note or Pledge Agreement; (c) the perfection or priority of any Lien purported to be created under the Pledge Agreement; (d) the rights or remedies of the Noteholder hereunder or under the Pledge Agreement; or (e) the Borrowers ability to perform any of its material obligations hereunder or under the Pledge Agreement. Maturity Date means the date that is 30 days following the date on which the final Draw is funded hereunder, except as may be extended pursuant to Section 11 of this Note. Note has the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph. Noteholder has the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph. Order as to any Person, means any order, decree, judgment, writ, injunction, settlement agreement, requirement or determination of an arbitrator or a court or other Governmental Authority, in each case, applicable to or binding on such Person or any of its assets or properties or to which such Person or any of its assets or properties is subject. Parties has the meaning set forth in the introductory paragraph. Person means any individual, corporation, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, association, company, limited or general partnership, unincorporated organization, Governmental Authority or other entity. Pledge Agreement means the Pledge Agreement, dated as of October 11, 2016, by and between the Borrower and Noteholder, as the same may be amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms. 2. Payment upon Maturity . Unless converted as provided in Section 3 hereunder, the Loan principal advanced pursuant to this Note, together with all accrued interest and fees from the Loan Date, shall become automatically due and payable by the Borrower on the Maturity Date. All payments shall be made in lawful money of the United States of America. Payment shall be credited first to accrued interest and fees due and payable and any remainder applied to the principal. Prepayment of principal, together with accrued interest and fees, may not be made without the Noteholders written consent. 3. Conversion; Fractional Shares . 3.1 Optional Conversion . At any time after the date hereof, the Noteholder shall have the option, at its sole discretion, to convert the outstanding principal and any accrued interest and fees, in whole or in part, into shares of common stock of the Borrower (Optional Conversion Equity Securities) at a per-share conversion price equal to US$0.002601, which is the weighted average conversion price actually paid by Carebourn Capital, L.P. upon conversion of its promissory note into the equity securities of the Borrower during 2016. In addition, upon the occurrence of any event described under Section 8 (including potential bankruptcy) at any time after the date hereof, each creditor of the Borrower after the date hereof, including the Noteholder (collectively, the Creditors), shall automatically and without further action by any Creditor be deemed to constitute a committee (the Creditors Committee), to which certain rights relating to key corporate and operational actions by the Borrower and other rights to be negotiated in good faith between the Borrower and the Creditors shall be granted to the Creditors by the Borrower. At a minimum, such rights shall include the Creditors right, at the Creditors Committees sole discretion, to require the sale of the Borrower, or to dispose of any or all assets of the Borrower, on terms believed by the Creditors Committee in good faith to be reasonable, in order for the Borrower to sufficiently satisfy the obligations that it owes to the Creditors. 3.2 Date of Conversion . This Note shall be deemed converted on the date on which Optional Conversion Equity Securities are issued in full to the Noteholder, and the Noteholder surrenders this Note in accordance with the terms set forth herein. 10 3.3 Mechanics and Effect of Conversion . No fractional shares of the Borrowers capital stock will be issued upon conversion of this Note. In lieu of any fractional share to which the Noteholder would otherwise be entitled, the Borrower will pay to the Noteholder in cash the amount of the unconverted principal balance of this Note (including any accrued interest and fees) that would otherwise be converted into such fractional share. Upon conversion of this Note pursuant to this Section 3, the Noteholder shall surrender this Note, duly endorsed, at the principal offices of the Borrower. The Borrower will, as soon as practicable thereafter, issue and deliver to the Noteholder, at such principal office, a certificate or certificates for the number of shares to which the Noteholder is entitled upon such conversion, together with any other securities and property to which the Noteholder is entitled upon such conversion under the terms of this Note, including a check payable to the Noteholder for any cash amounts payable as described herein. Upon conversion of this Note, the Borrower will be forever released from all of its obligations and liabilities under this Note. Promptly following the execution of this Note, the Borrower shall take all such actions as are required to ensure that at all times during the term of this Note, the Borrower shall have reserved sufficient authorized shares of common stock to accommodate all conversions that the Noteholder may be entitled to make hereunder, including without limitation taking all such actions as are required to do the following: (i) amending the Borrowers Articles of Incorporation to increase the authorized shares of common stock from 375,000,000 to 500,000,000 (the Authorized Shares Increase), (ii) filing with the SEC and timely responding to any SEC comments regarding a preliminary Information Statement on SEC Schedule 14C reporting shareholder action with respect to the Authorized Shares Increase, (iii) filing with the SEC, printing and mailing a definitive Information Statement on SEC Schedule 14C with respect to the foregoing, and (iv) filing a Certificate of Amendment to the Borrowers Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada, to implement the Authorized Shares Increase. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Maturity Date is extended pursuant to Section 11, then the Borrower shall not be obligated to take the actions specified in the foregoing sentence until February 15, 2017, and then only to the extent required by Law. 4. Pledge Agreement . The Borrowers performance of its obligations hereunder is secured by a first priority security interest in the collateral specified in the Pledge Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, all obligations of the Borrower pursuant to this amended and restated Note shall continue to constitute Secured Obligations pursuant to the Pledge Agreement. 5. Interest . Interest shall accrue from the Loan Date on the principal amount of the Loan at a rate of ten percent (10%) compounded per annum. The interest shall be calculated on the basis of a year of 365 days and for the number of days actually elapsed. The payment of interest hereunder shall be made in United States dollars on the Maturity Date, unless otherwise provided herein. 6. Representations and Warranties . The Borrower hereby represents and warrants to the Noteholder on the date hereof as follows: 6.1 Existence; Compliance with Laws . The Borrower is (a) a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Nevada and has the requisite power and authority, and the legal right, to own, lease and operate its properties and assets and to conduct its business as it is now being conducted, and (b) in compliance with all Laws and Orders except to the extent that the failure to comply therewith would not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. 6.2 Power and Authority . The Borrower has the power and authority, and the legal right, to execute and deliver this Note and the Pledge Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder. 6.3 Enforceability . Each of the Note and the Pledge Agreement is a valid, legal and binding obligation of the Borrower, enforceable against the Borrower in accordance with its terms except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors rights generally and by general equitable principles (whether enforcement is sought by proceedings in equity or at law). 6.4 Ranking . Except with respect to other Indebtedness to Noteholder, as of the date hereof, the Borrower has not permitted to exist or otherwise become directly or indirectly liable with respect to, any Indebtedness that ranks senior to the Loan. Except with respect to other Indebtedness to Noteholder, as of the date hereof, the Borrower has not permitted to exist any security interest which is senior to the security interest granted to Noteholder with respect to the Collateral. 6.5 Compliance with Other Instruments . Neither the authorization, execution, issuance and delivery of this Note will constitute or result in a material default or violation of any law or regulation applicable to the Company or any material term or provision of the Companys current Certificate of Incorporation or bylaws or any material agreement or instrument by which it is bound or to which its properties or assets are subject. 11 6.6 Valid Issuance of Equity Securities . The equity securities to be issued, sold and delivered upon conversion of the Notes will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and, will be issued in compliance with all applicable federal and state securities laws. 7. Affirmative Covenants . Until all amounts outstanding in this Note have been repaid or converted in full, the Borrower shall: 7.1 Financial Reporting . Deliver to the Noteholder as soon as available, but in any event within 60 days after the end of each fiscal quarter of the Borrower (commencing with the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2016), a consolidated balance sheet of the Borrower and its subsidiaries as at the end of such fiscal quarter, and the related consolidated statements of operations and cash flows for such fiscal quarter; 7.2 Use of Proceeds . Use the proceeds of the Loan received by Borrower from the Noteholder for general working capital and operating capital purposes. 7.3 Filing . Cooperate with the Noteholder to prepare and file any financing statement and notices of interest necessary or desirable to perfect the Noteholders security interest in the Collateral, and any continuation statement or amendment with respect thereto, in any appropriate filing office. 7.4 No Other First Priority Security Interest . Not grant any security interest, except to the Noteholder, that is pari passu with or senior to the security interest granted to the Noteholder with respect to the Collateral without prior written consent from the Noteholder. 7.5 No Other Senior Indebtedness . Not incur any Indebtedness, directly or indirectly, that ranks pari passu with or senior to the Loan, except from the Noteholder, without prior written consent from the Noteholder. 8. Events of Default . The occurrence and continuance of any of the following shall constitute an Event of Default hereunder: 8.1 Failure to Pay . The Borrower fails to pay (a) any principal amount of the Loan when due or (b) any other amount when due and such failure continues for thirty (30) days after written notice has been sent to the Borrower; provided, however, that for the avoidance of doubt, Borrowers failure to pay any amount due to the Noteholder with respect to Indebtedness evidenced by a separate promissory note shall not constitute an event of default hereunder. 8.2 Breach of Covenants . The Borrower fails to observe or perform any material covenant, obligation, condition or agreement contained in this Note or the Pledge Agreement other than those specified Section 8.1 and such failure continues for 30 days after written notice to the Borrower; provided that an Event of Default shall not be triggered if the Borrower disputes the alleged failures in the Noteholders written notice to the Borrower, and such alleged failures shall not constitute an Event of Default unless and until the dispute has been resolved in the Noteholders favor in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Note; and provided, however, that for the avoidance of doubt, Borrowers failure to observe or performan any material covenant, obligation, condition or agreement contained in any separate promissory note issued by the Borrower to Noteholder shall not constitute an event of default hereunder. 8.3 Bankruptcy . (a) the Borrower commences any case, proceeding or other action (i) under any existing or future Law relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, or other relief of debtors, seeking to have an order for relief entered with respect to it, or seeking to adjudicate it as bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, winding-up, liquidation, dissolution, composition or other relief with respect to it or its debts or (ii) seeking appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, conservator or other similar official for it or for all or any substantial part of its assets, or the Borrower makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors; (b) there is commenced against the Borrower any case, proceeding or other action of a nature referred to in Section 8.3(a) above which (i) results in the entry of an order for relief or any such adjudication or appointment or (ii) remains undismissed, undischarged or unbonded for a period of 60 days; (c) there is commenced against the Borrower any case, proceeding or other action seeking issuance of a warrant of attachment, execution or similar process against all or any substantial part of its assets which results in the entry of an order for any such relief which has not been vacated, discharged, or stayed or bonded pending appeal within 60 days from the entry thereof; (d) the Borrower takes any action in furtherance of, or indicating its consent to, approval of, or acquiescence in, any of the acts set forth in Section 8.3(a), Section 8.3(b) or Section 8.3(c) above; or 12 (e) the Borrower is generally not, or shall be unable to, or admits in writing its inability to, pay its debts as they become due. 8.4 Breach of Representations or Warranties . The Borrower materially breaches any representations or warranties of the Borrower in Section 6. 9. Remedies . Upon the occurrence of any Event of Default and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such Event of Default, the Noteholder may at its option, by written notice to the Borrower (a) declare the entire principal amount of this Note and any accrued interest and fees immediately due and payable; and (b) exercise any or all of its rights, powers or remedies under the Pledge Agreement or applicable Law; provided , however that, if an Event of Default described in Section 8.3 shall occur, the Loan shall become immediately due and payable without any notice, declaration or other act on the part of the Noteholder. In addition to any other amounts due hereunder, upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, the Borrower shall pay a one-time charge of ten percent (10%) on the default amount, plus additional interest on the default amount and the penalty above at the rate of fifteen percent (15%) per annum, compounded monthly, from the date of default until said default and penalty amounts are paid in full, plus the reimbursement to the Noteholder for its reasonable out-of-pocket costs of collections (including reasonable fees of its counsel). 10. Loan Processing Fee . The Borrower shall pay a three percent (3%) loan processing fee on the principal amount of the Loan. Such loan processing fee shall be aggregated with the principal amount of the Loan when calculating accrued interest under this Note. The loan processing fee is payable, together with any accrued interest and other fees, on the same terms as the principal amount of the Loan. 11. Extension Fee . If the Loan has not been repaid in full or otherwise converted in accordance with Section 3 of this Note on the initial Maturity Date, the Noteholder may, in its sole and arbitrary discretion, extend such Maturity Date up to three (3) months, in which case the Borrower shall pay to the Noteholder a loan extension fee of two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the then total outstanding amount (including the principal and all accrued fees and interest). Such extension fees shall accrue interest from the date of extension on the same terms as the principal amount of the Loan. 12. Miscellaneous . 12.1 Notices . (a) All notices, requests or other communications required or permitted to be delivered hereunder shall be delivered in writing, in each case to the address specified below or to such other address as such Party may from time to time specify in writing in compliance with this provision: (i) If to the Borrower: 6688 Joliet Road, #255 Indian Head Park, IL 60525 Attention: Mark Pacchini, Chief Executive Officer Email: [email protected] (ii) If to the Noteholder: Roche Enterprises, Ltd. c/o OAR Management, Inc. 9911 S. 78th Avenue Hickory Hills IL 60457 Email: [email protected] Facsimile: 708-430-1679 with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP 26th Floor, Wheelock Square 1717 Nanjing Road West Jing An District Shanghai 200040 China Attention: Don Williams Email: [email protected] Facsimile: +8621 2321 6001 13 (b) Notices if (i) mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by hand or overnight courier service shall be deemed to have been given when received; and (ii) sent by facsimile or e-mail during the recipients normal business hours shall be deemed to have been given when sent (and if sent after normal business hours shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of the recipients business on the next business day). 12.2 Expenses . Unless otherwise specified herein, the Borrower and the Noteholder shall each be responsible for the fees and expenses incurred by or on behalf of each such party in connection with the preparation and execution of this Note and the Pledge Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if it becomes necessary for the Noteholder to take any actions to enforce the terms of this Note or the Pledge Agreement against the Borrower (including effectuating the conversion pursuant to the terms hereunder), then the Borrower shall be responsible for any and all fees and expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Noteholder in connection with such enforcement. 12.3 Governing Law . This Note, the Pledge Agreement and any claim, controversy, dispute or cause of action (whether in contract or tort or otherwise) based upon, arising out of or relating to this Note, the Pledge Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby shall be governed by the Laws of the State of Nevada. 12.4 Submission to Jurisdiction . (a) The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally (i) agrees that any legal action, suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Note or the Pledge Agreement may be brought in the courts of the State of Nevada or of the United States of America for the District of Nevada and (ii) submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of any such court in any such action, suit or proceeding. Final judgment against the Borrower in any action, suit or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in any other jurisdiction by suit on the judgment. (b) Nothing in this Section 12.4 shall affect the right of the Noteholder to (i) commence legal proceedings or otherwise sue the Borrower in any other court having jurisdiction over the Borrower or (ii) serve process upon the Borrower in any manner authorized by the laws of any such jurisdiction. 12.5 Venue . The Borrower irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Note or the Pledge Agreement in any court referred to in Section 12.4 and the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court. 12.6 Waiver of Jury Trial . THE BORROWER HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATING TO THIS NOTE, THE PLEDGE AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY. 12.7 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness . This Note (as amended and restated), the Pledge Agreement and any amendments, waivers, consents or supplements hereto and thereto may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original, but all taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Note (as amended and restated) and the Pledge Agreement constitute the entire contract between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect thereto. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Note (as amended and restated) or the Pledge Agreement by facsimile or in electronic (i.e., pdf or tif) format shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Note (as amended and restated) or the Pledge Agreement, as applicable. 12.8 Successors and Assigns . The Noteholder may not assign or transfer this Note or any of its rights hereunder without the prior written consent of the Borrower; provided , however , that Noteholder may assign or transfer this Note to any Affiliate of the Noteholder. The Borrower may not assign or transfer this Note or any of its rights hereunder without the prior written consent of the Noteholder. This Note shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the Parties and their permitted assigns. 12.9 Waiver of Notice . The Borrower hereby waives demand for payment, presentment for payment, protest, notice of payment, notice of dishonor, notice of nonpayment, notice of acceleration of maturity and diligence in taking any action to collect sums owing hereunder. 14 12.10 Interpretation . For purposes of this Note (a) the words include, includes and including shall be deemed to be followed by the words without limitation; (b) the word or is not exclusive; and (c) the words herein, hereof, hereby, hereto and hereunder refer to this Note as a whole. The definitions given for any defined terms in this Note shall apply equally to both the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. Unless the context otherwise requires, references herein: (x) to Schedules, Exhibits and Sections mean the Schedules, Exhibits and Sections of this Note; (y) to an agreement, instrument or other document means such agreement, instrument or other document as amended, supplemented and modified from time to time to the extent permitted by the provisions thereof; and (z) to a statute means such statute as amended from time to time and includes any successor legislation thereto and any regulations promulgated thereunder. This Note shall be construed without regard to any presumption or rule requiring construction or interpretation against the party drafting an instrument or causing any instrument to be drafted. 12.11 Amendments and Waivers . No term of this Note may be waived, modified or amended except by an instrument in writing signed by both of the parties hereto. Any waiver of the terms hereof shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose given. 12.12 Headings . The headings of the various Sections and subsections herein are for reference only and shall not define, modify, expand or limit any of the terms or provisions hereof. 12.13 No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies . No failure to exercise and no delay in exercising on the part of the Noteholder, of any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof; nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. The rights, remedies, powers and privileges herein provided are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights, remedies, powers and privileges provided by law. 12.14 Electronic Execution . The words execution, signed, signature, and words of similar import in the Note shall be deemed to include electronic or digital signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same effect, validity and enforceability as manually executed signatures or a paper-based recordkeeping system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for under applicable law. 12.15 Severability . If any term or provision of this Note or the Pledge Agreement is invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect any other term or provision of this Note or the Pledge Agreement or invalidate or render unenforceable such term or provision in any other jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the parties hereto shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Note so as to effect the original intent of the parties as closely as possible in a mutually acceptable manner in order that the transactions contemplated hereby be consummated as originally contemplated to the greatest extent possible. 12.16 Further Assurances . Each of the Parties hereto agrees to use its reasonable best efforts to take or cause to be taken all action, to do or cause to be done, to execute such further instruments, and to assist and cooperate with the other Parties hereto in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable under applicable Laws or otherwise to consummate and make effective, in the most expeditious manner practicable, the transactions contemplated by this Note and the Pledge Agreement, provided that except as expressly provided herein, no Party shall be obligated to grant any waiver hereunder. [SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS] 15 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Borrower has executed this Note as of the date first written above. RVUE HOLDINGS, INC. By: /s/ Mark S. Pacchini Name: Mark Pacchini Title: CEO ACKNOWLEDGED AND ACCEPTED: Roche Enterprises, Ltd. By /s/ Robert W. Roche Name: Robert W. Roche Title: President 16 Supreme Court (SC) has adjourned hearing of Panama Papers case till Monday due to unavailability of senior judge, Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh. Justice Saeed on Tuesday underwent angioplasty at Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) after a heart attack. He has been advised a complete rest at least for one week. Also read: Justice Azmat Saeed hospitalised after heart attack Justice Azmat Saeed is part of a five-member SC bench that is hearing the Panama leaks case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his children on daily basis. Today, the bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa adjourned the case without any proceedings due to unavailability of Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh. Justice Khosa said Justice Azmat is recovering but he will remain under observation of doctors for three to four days. Therefore, hearing of the case is being djourned till Monday. The bench is hearing petitions seeking disqualification of the prime minister over the investments made in offshore companies by members of his family. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Wednesday denied that its aircraft has been used for the airlifting of a horse to Qatar, gifted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Emir of Qatar. "It is clarified that the news aired on some channels regarding the airlifting of a horse to Qatar in a C-130 aircraft is baseless and incorrect," said the PAF spokesperson. The spokesperson added that the PAF strongly denies the content of this news. Related: Premier Nawaz gifts horse to Emir of Qatar However, a letter stated that a "special aircraft (C-130) carrying a horse will travel to Qatar on 1 February, 2017 instead of 28 January, 2017". The letter added that the "horse is a gift from the Prime Minister of Pakistan to the Emir of Qatar State" "The diplomatic flight clearance should be valid for 72 hrs for the journey," the document further added. The letter was sent by the deputy chief of protocol in the foreign ministry. Humans are sometimes said to occupy a pecking order, but of course the term actually refers to chickens and other poultry. Mild pecking is normal behavior in the flock, employed by dominant birds (or despots) as a way to remind subordinates of their lower social position. But the practice can turn gruesome when thousands of birds are packed wing to wing. Then, some bottom-of-the-order birds are pecked to death and eaten. As poultry and egg farms increased in size in the 1920s and 1930s, feather-pecking and cannibalism, known in the trade as pick out, became serious threats. In 1939, Joseph Haas, founder of the National Band and Tag Company, devised a fashionable method to deal with cooped-up cannibals: mini sunglasses equipped with red celluloid lenses on a hinged aluminum frame. Poultry farmers were informed that having their chickens see the world through rose-tinted cheaters would make a sissy of your toughest birds. Until relatively recently, the party line among scientists was that cannibalism occurred in only a few species in the wild, like black widow spiders and praying mantises. Cannibalism, researchers felt, was an aberrant behavior resulting from a lack of alternative forms of nutrition or the stresses associated with captive conditions. But over the decades, evidence has been gathering for an alternative view. Cannibalism, it turns out, occurs in hundreds of species, perhaps thousands. The behavior varies in frequency between major animal groups nonexistent in some, common in others. It varies from species to species and even within the same species, depending on local environmental conditions. As important, the behavior serves a variety of functions, depending on the cannibal, and some of these have nothing to do with stress or captive conditions. There are even instances in which an individual being cannibalized receives a benefit. Before his death in a boating accident in 2000, Gary Polis, an ecologist at the University of California, Davis, came up with a list of cannibalism-related rules for invertebrates. Immature animals are consumed more often than adults, he found, and many species do not recognize individuals of their own kind (especially eggs and immature stages) as anything other than food. He noted that cannibalism was more common in females than in males, and that as alternative forms of nutrition decrease in availability, incidents of cannibalism will increase. Lastly, in a given population, cannibalism is often directly related to the degree of overcrowding. By the 1990s, Dr. Poliss generalizations had been observed among widely divergent animal groups, not just invertebrates. The benefits of consuming ones own kind, it seemed, can outweigh the costs. That price, though, can be substantial. Cannibals that consume their own relatives remove those genes from the population, reducing what scientists call their inclusive fitness. But the most significant drawback appears to be a greater chance of acquiring harmful, species-specific parasites or pathogens. In the most famous example, the Fore people of New Guinea were nearly driven to extinction as a result of their ritualized consumption of brains and other tissues cut from the bodies of deceased kin. Many had died of kuru, a neurodegenerative condition similar to mad cow disease, and their tissues contained the pathogen, spreading it even further. The Kids Menu As a new generation of researchers builds upon the work of scientists like Dr. Polis and Laurel Fox, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, cannibalism in nature has begun to seem almost normal. We now know that a significant amount of cannibalism occurs in mollusks, insects and arachnids. Additionally, thousands of aquatic invertebrates like clams and corals have tiny eggs and larvae that are often a major food source for the filter-feeding adults itself a form of indiscriminate cannibalism. In many fish species, adults can be a million times as large as their own eggs. Fish eggs, larvae and fry are vast in number, minute in size and high in nutritional value. This makes them a nonthreatening and easily collected food source. It is also why ichthyologists consider the absence of cannibalism in fishes, rather than its presence, to be the exceptional case. Although both fertilized and unfertilized eggs are probably eaten by thousands of species, the practice of consuming eggs from the same species has led to an interesting take on the kids meal. So-called trophic eggs, produced by some types of spiders, lady beetles and snails, function solely as food and often greatly outnumber the fertilized eggs in a given clutch. But the black lace-weaver spider (Amaurobius ferox) takes the concept of prepackaged meals a step further. One day after spiderlings hatch, new mothers lay a clutch of trophic eggs, which are doled out to their hungry babies. This keeps them satisfied for the next three days, after which the spiderlings are ready for their next stage of development. After their first molt, black lace-weaver spiderlings are too large for their mother to care for, though they are in dire need of additional food. In a sacrificial act of parenting, she calls the babies to her by drumming on the web and presses her body down into the gathering crowd. The ravenous spiderlings swarm over their mothers body. Then they eat her alive. In sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus), the babies doing the cannibalizing are not even born yet. The young of sand tigers, like hammerheads (Sphyrna zygaena) and blue sharks (Prionace glauca), develop inside the females oviducts, a developmental strategy known as histotrophic viviparity. Scientists who first looked at late-term sand tiger embryos in 1948 noticed that these specimens were anatomically well developed, with mouths full of sharp teeth a point (or several) driven home when one researcher was bitten on the hand while probing the oviduct of a pregnant specimen. Strangely, these late-term embryos also had swollen bellies, which were initially thought to be yolk sacs, a form of stored food. This was puzzling, since most of the nutrient-rich yolk should have been used up by this late stage of development. Further investigation showed that the abdominal bumps were not yolk sacs at all they were stomachs full of smaller fetal sharks. These embryos had fallen victim to the ultimate in sibling rivalry, a form of in utero cannibalism known as adelphophagy (from the ancient Greek for brother eating) sibling cannibalism. Such behavior is possible because sand tiger shark oviducts contain embryos at different developmental stages (a characteristic that also evolved in birds). Once the largest of the embryos run through their own yolk supply, they begin consuming eggs. And when the eggs are gone, the ravenous fetal sharks begin consuming their smaller siblings. Ultimately, only two pups remain, one in each oviduct. This is similar to the lifeboat strategy seen in birds like vultures and egrets. Here cannibalism is often the end result of asynchronous hatching: two eggs are laid, but one hatches several days before the other. The firstborn chick uses its extra bulk to win squabbles over food with its younger brother or sister. In instances where the parents are unable to provide enough to eat, the firstborn will kill and consume the younger sibling. During times of stress, this is an efficient way to produce well-nourished offspring albeit fewer of them. Examples of animal cannibalism are as numerous as they are interesting, from spadefoot toad larvae who eat their own brood-mates to legless amphibians called caecilians whose hatchlings peel and consume their mothers skin. And they occur among mammals, too. Polar bears consume other polar bears, and were doing so long before climate change impacted their hunting practices. And male lions, after taking over a pride, will eat the cubs that another male has sired. Both are examples of heterocannibalism the eating of nonrelatives. In lions, incoming males seek to terminate the maternal investment in unrelated cubs. More important, a lioness with cubs will not come into heat for a year and a half after giving birth. But, as has been observed in other mammals, like bears, a lioness that loses her cubs becomes sexually receptive almost immediately. It Isnt Just for Animals Are there instances where, as in the animal kingdom, human cannibalism makes sense? And if so, could this behavior resurface in the future? Cannibalism may be gruesome, and repugnant to our current sensibilities, but it has been widely practiced for a variety of reasons. Funerary cannibalism was practiced by groups like the Fore of New Guinea and the Wari of Brazil. These indigenous people were as mortified at the concept of burying their dead as newly arrived missionaries and anthropologists were at the thought of consuming their own departed loved ones. From kings to commoners, Europeans, too, once routinely consumed human blood, bones, skin, guts and body parts. They did it without guilt, a form of medicinal cannibalism. They did it for hundreds of years, and then they made believe it never happened. Throughout their long history, body parts were such important ingredients in Chinese culinary cannibalism that the historian and author Key Ray Chong devoted a 13-page chapter in his book Cannibalism in China to Methods of Cooking Human Flesh. Rather than an emergency ration consumed as a last resort, there are many reports that exotic human-based dishes were prepared for Chinese royalty and upper-class citizens. Human cannibalism has also been an instrument of terror. The practice was used to instill horror and intense fear in dissenters during Chinas Cultural Revolution, and Japanese soldiers cannibalized prisoners of war during World War II (a fate that President George H. W. Bush barely escaped after his plane was shot down). While filial piety is a highly regarded Confucian virtue, it was also the basis for an extreme act of cannibalism-related self-sacrifice. According to Chong, from ancient China through the 19th century, relatives provided parts of their own bodies (thigh and upper arm were the most commonly used) for the consumption and medical benefit of their elders. Then there are the more familiar stories, the tales of human cannibalism that springs from hunger. Throughout history and across multiple cultures, when people faced extremely stressful conditions like sieges, famines and strandings (the snowbound Donner Party), many eventually consumed their dead even their own relatives. In a procedure that had become known to seafarers as the custom of the sea, sailors cast adrift on the open ocean drew straws. The sailor who drew the short straw gave up his life so that rest might eat. In perhaps the most famous case, in 1765 a storm dismasted the American sloop Peggy, leaving it adrift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with its captain, nine crewmen and a single slave. After consuming the ships cat, their uniform buttons and a leather bilge pump, and after the captain had retreated to his cabin clutching a pistol, the crew decided to draw lots. The loser was to be served up as dinner. By an incredible coincidence, the slave drew the short straw. Although the man begged for his life, the captain was unable to prevent his murder, later writing that as the crew prepared to cook the body, one sailor rushed in, tore away the slaves liver and ate it raw. This is the horrific origin of the term lifeboat strategy, co-opted by ornithologists over two centuries later to describe the fate of unfortunate nestlings. As scientists have come to understand, factors like overpopulation and a lack of alternative forms of nutrition lead to cannibalism among animals, and it is clear that even modern humans have been driven to the behavior on many occasions. What, then, of the future? Populations are growing. Resources are dwindling. Deserts are spreading. And the societal rules that bind us together are proving more fragile than we ever imagined they could be. Maybe it is wise to remember that human cannibalism, so unthinkable now, was not uncommon not so long ago. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says Yemen has lost a decade in terms of growth in the public health sector due to the ongoing Saudi aggression against the impoverished country, voicing concern that many children are succumbing to malnutrition. "Because of the crumbling health system, the conflict and economic crisis, we have gone back to 10 years ago. A decade has been lost in health gains," Meritxell Relano, the UNICEF representative in Yemen, said in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday. The official noted that 63 out of every 1,000 live births are now dying before their fifth birthday in the Arabian Peninsula country, compared to only 53 children recorded in 2014. Some 3.3 million Yemenis, including 2.2 million children, are suffering from acute malnutrition while 460,000 under the age of five have severe acute malnutrition, Relano said. "What worries us is the severe acute malnutrition because it is killing children," she added, saying that the provinces of Saada, Hudaydah and Taizz were the most affected areas by malnutrition. Recently, Jamie McGoldrick, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, warned that the country had only three months left of wheat stocks. UNICEF is seeking $236.5 million for Yemen this year, as part of a wider appeal to help women and children in 48 countries across the globe. The Riyadh regime has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in a bid to reinstall the countrys ex-government and crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement. Nearly 1,400 children have been killed in the ongoing deadly Saudi campaign against Yemen, according to UNICEF. The Houthis and the Yemeni army have been defending Yemen against the Saudi offensive for almost two years. The military aggression has claimed the lives of over 11,400 Yemenis, including women and children, according to the latest tally by a Yemeni monitoring group. Smartgrowth is beginning the first in its series of free Smart Talk, Future Thinking events by bringing to town a Massey university professor known for speaking about the coming decline of the regions. In a recent Radio New Zealand interview, Paul Spoonley says what is happening in the regions between now and the 2030s is a story which many regional residents dont want to grasp or understand. The editor of Rebooting the Regions why low of zero growth neednt mean the end of prosperity - Paul says understanding what the countrys demographic future looks like is the first step to asking what are we going to do about it? The data shows many regions will decline in number of people living there, and they will be older. A major demographic change is already occurring, which will force many regions to manage the decline of their towns. But theyre not going to like it, says Paul. Tauranga on the other hand will be fine, and is a part of the Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga golden triangle that will dominate the New Zealand economy in the next 20-30 years. Its very difficult to get across to locals what population stagnation or population decline looks like and what it means to you. Many dont want to hear that story. And politicians of course dont want to broadcast the fact that as a local authority we have to deal with that. In terms of regional territories, two thirds of them will be in population stagnation or decline, and population growth will be focused on a small number of cities or regions. Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga; they will do very nicely. There will be some spill over from Aucklands growth but they are doing well in their own right. Taurangas booming. Of course theres a number of things going on. Its a retirement destination, attractive life style, its close to Auckland and its doing something that competes with Auckland, like having a port. It will do alright. Wellington will begin to flatline, Canterbury of course the rebuild, Queenstown Lakes will continue to do well - but outside of that, particularly the east cost of the North Island, the West Coast, Northland; you are looking at a fairly dismal future unless politically you say right this is the reality, what are we going to do that is going to be different. Smartgrowth Implementation manager Bernie Walsh says Pauls Tauranga talk is going to be tailored to the circumstances of the Bay of Plenty. What we are bringing him in to talk about, hes expert in general on population change, migration change, regional futures, says Bernie. In terms of our talk, its around demographic change. We have an ageing population and hes an expert around the positive things around the senior economy how you can leverage off that. Paul will be speaking ASB Baypark at Truman Lane on Tuesday, February 7, from 3pm to 5pm. Entry is free but registration is essential. The District Court judge who led the development of nga Koti Rangatahi o Aotearoa, the Rangatahi Courts, has received an international award honouring his pioneering work. Judge Heemi Taumaunu is the latest recipient of the prestigious Veillard-Cybulski Award which recognises his innovative work with children and families in difficulty. Judge Taumaunu developed and presided over New Zealands first Rangatahi Court in Gisborne in 2008 and encouraged fellow judges to set up other marae-based youth courts. There are now eight judges running Rangatahi Courts at 14 marae around the country, including Tauranga and Rotorua. Rangatahi Courts aim to rehabilitate young Maori offenders by reconnecting them with their cultural identity, and by involving local Maori communities in the process. Judge Taumaunu adapted the concept from Koori Courts that cater for indigenous youth offenders in parts of Australia. The model has also been adapted for Pasifika youth in New Zealand through two Pasifika Courts. I see this as a shared honour which recognises the commitment of all the judges involved in Rangatahi Courts and those communities who have embraced the concept of marae-based courts so their young people are offered more culturally appropriate access to justice, says Judge Taumaunu. The Switzerland-based Veillard-Cybulski Fund Association honours the work of husband-and-wife magistrates Maurice Veillard-Cybulski and Henryka Veillard-Cybulska, who both worked to advance the rights of children in the justice system. Presented every two years, the awards judging panel praised Judge Taumaunu was for his leadership skills in devising an inclusive system where Maori children learn who they are and where they have come from so they can change behaviour and realise their potential. Principal Youth Court Judge John Walker says Judge Taumaunus hard work and vision had helped embed the Rangatahi Courts in the New Zealand criminal justice system, encouraging a wider appreciation for the value of culturally responsive justice. While Chief District Court Judge Jan-Marie Doogue says the award was further recognition of innovative, judicially led initiatives in New Zealand. In 2015 the Rangatahi Courts won the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administrations Award for Excellence in Judicial Administration and in 2016 they received an Institute of Public Administration New Zealand award. Previous recipients of the Veillard-Cybulski Award include Dignite en Detention, a mental health project for young detainees in Rwanda, and Terre des Hommes - Aide a lenfance Foundation which implemented juvenile restorative justice in Peru. Bill Englishs announcement that the general election will be held on Saturday September 23 has been greeted by opposition leader Andrew Little. Confirmation of the General Election date of September 23 brings New Zealand one step closer to electing a new government that will give hope to all those left behind by National, says Andrew. Bring it on were ready and raring to go so we can change the Government and build a better New Zealand. The housing crisis needs to be fixed urgently to make first homes more affordable, help Kiwis get the health care they need and build the world class education system parents expect for their kids, says Andrew. Prime Minister Bill English says hes announcing the election date early as he believes its important to provide the country with some certainty. And that its in everyones best interest to have plenty of notice, says Bill. National will be campaigning on its strong record in Government and will go into the election with a positive and ambitious programme that will back New Zealanders to succeed. I am proud of what we are achieving for New Zealanders. Our economy continues to grow and diversify, more kids are staying at school longer and getting better qualifications, more people are getting faster and more efficient healthcare, we are investing at record levels in key infrastructure projects like schools, roads and ultra-fast broadband and we are supporting our most vulnerable by increasing benefit rates and investing in programmes to support them into work. New Zealand is well placed compared to many other countries. Thats down to the hard work of households and businesses across the country, backed by the National-led Governments clear and successful plan for our future. The challenge for our country now is to sustain that growth and build on it to deliver more again for all New Zealanders. The Governments intention is that the House will rise on Thursday, August 17, and Parliament will be dissolved on August 22. Writ day will follow on August 23, and nominations will close at noon on August 29. The last day for the return of the writ will be October 12. Bill English today outlined the parties National will consider working with following the General Election. Prime Minister Bill English. Under MMP elections are always close so we will be taking nothing for granted as we campaign for the right to lead New Zealand for another term, says Bill. We will be fighting hard to win every party vote to ensure we are in the best possible position to form a strong and stable Government that continues to deliver for all New Zealanders. However, MMP means we will almost certainly have to work with other parties. This will likely be in the form of confidence and supply agreements, which have worked well for us in the last three terms. His preference is to continue working with current partners - ACT, United Future and the Maori Party. He ruled out working with the Labour-Greens grouping. They are an increasingly far left, inward looking grouping, with no new ideas who dont back New Zealanders to succeed, says Bill. He didnt rule out New Zealand First saying that although it is an unlikely partner he is prepared to have post-election discussions with New Zealand First regarding the make-up of Parliament. Fonterra Board director Michael Spaans has stepped down from his post effective immediately due to ill health. Fonterra Chairman John Wilson says Michaels tireless contribution to the New Zealand dairy industry has been significant both inside and outside the Fonterra boardroom. Michael, a dairy farmer, came up through the ranks, spending time on the New Zealand Dairy Group Shareholder Council and then the Fonterra Shareholders Council before building his governance experience outside the industry. As a result, his insights and experience are invaluable, particularly on Fonterras Milk Price Panel, Audit and Finance Committee and the Co-operative Relations Committee. The coop agrees with the now former-director that once hes given a clean bill of health Michael should consider standing again for the Fonterra Board. To fill the vacancy created by Michaels resignation, Fonterra has appointed Ian Farrelly as new board director. Ian spent nine years as a Fonterra Director until retiring in December 2016. John says the Fonterra Constitution allowed for an appointment to fill a casual vacancy and Ians appointment will continue until the 2017 Annual Meeting. Ian is a highly qualified director with very recent and valued experience on the board. We are very grateful that he has agreed to continue his contribution to Fonterra. Mother Nature is full of mysterious beauty for those who care to look for it, and sometimes a chance encounter that lasts just a few minutes can justify months or even years of steadfast dedication. Andy Paterson, a 74 year-old expat who has lived in Torremolinos for 37 years, is one person who has had such encounters. A Yorkshireman with an energetic sense of humour, Andy is a respected ornithologist who has spent more than 65 years studying marine birds. Andy Paterson is considered an expert in his field, although he doesn't see it that way He is the founding member of the British Seabird Group, which was the first group of its kind in the UK, and he is also a member of SOE (Spanish society of ornithology). The results of his investigations concerning sea birds in the bay of Malaga have been published in several specialist magazines. Andy's love of ornithology is almost genetic, for he was born into a family whose lives revolved around wildlife. His grandfather was a gamekeeper on the private estate of the Duke of Norfolk, and his father spent his early years engulfed in the natural wonders of western Scotland. Both had good knowledge of the countryside and the wildlife within it, and so it was inevitable that Andy would develop an interest at a very early age. Andy never had conventional pets as a child; instead he had newts and sticklebacks, a badger, and an owl that slept on top of his wardrobe. Andy and the original James Bond Among the many amusing tales, Andys new book tells of his association with the original James Bond. Before the name was discovered by Ian Fleming, James Bond was an American ornithologist that worked at the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia. Fleming saw the name on one of Bonds ornithology books (Andy has a signed copy of this book ) and he decided the name would be perfect for his new hero. Today, the modest marine bird expert has several books under his belt and he is considered a leading figure among the bird watching sector in Spain. After dedicating practically his entire life to studying and recording rare marine birds at various locations around the world, the Yorkshire man has recently published his memoirs. Andy's latest book, Guiri Pajarero Suelto, (foreign birder on the loose), has moved away from the reference shelf. The book narrates his life from the perspective of a young ornithologist who embarks on a career that would take him to some of the most beautiful places in the world. A former teacher at an outpost school in the Bahamas, Andy has travelled extensively through Europe, North America, the Atlantic islands, Australia and New Zealand in pursuit of his passion. However, the writing of the book proved to be difficult, because at the time, his wife, who he met in Mallorca in 1977, was terminally ill. Andy's wife died after an extremely long battle with cancer, and so finding the time, or the enthusiasm, to work on the book was not easy. "It was difficult to get over the death of my wife, even though she had been ill for many years, but the writing did help divert my attention away from the grief a little I suppose," Andy says with a touch of melancholy. As well as his amusing tales and anecdotes, Andy, a competent artist, has also illustrated the book with detailed drawings of wild birds and animals. His home is decorated with photographs - for he is a keen photographer as well - and drawings of the ornithological world. One of his prized pictures was taken by a colleague and shows Andy feeding an albatross, which Andy describes as "one of the experiences of my career". Andy has decided that 'Guiri Pajarero Suelto' will be the last book that he will write. He now wants to spend more time enjoying his passion - watching rare birds and enjoying the wildlife around him. Whether this will be possible remains to be seen, because Andy is considered an expert in his field, although he doesn't see it that way. "I want to be ordinary Andy, a Yorkshire man who transferred to Spain, a bird watcher with a bit of experience who is willing to help others," he says. He is currently planning a bird watching trip to Iceland and another to the Pyrenees later in the year. "I've got to the stage in my life when people seem to be dropping off the planet, so I've decided to enjoy life while I still can," Andy says with a roar of laughter. A 70-year-old Augusta County man was arrested last month on sexual abuse charges dating as far back as 36 years ago. According to an indictment, James Olin Pyle Jr. is accused of having sex with a then teenage family member in Smyth County between July 1981 and December 1984. While the crimes are nearly four decades old, Lt. A.K. Moss, with the Marion Police Department, said the fact that the Commonwealth of Virginia has no statutes of limitation on felony crimes allowed the MPD to pursue the case. Due to the sensitivity of the case, Moss, who investigated, declined to comment on details. According to court documents, Pyle was released on a $10,000 secure bond and is due to return to Smyth County Circuit Court April 12 at 9 a.m. Pyle was among several other individuals indicted by a Smyth County Grand Jury during its December 2016 session. In addition to those previously reported by the News & Messenger, the grand jury also handed down the following indictments: Twenty-eight-year-old Michael Shayne Hayden, of Marion, was indicted on a charge of using a computer to facilitate a child sex offense. Coolidge Wayne Ellis, 43, of Marion was indicted on a charge of maliciously shooting within an occupied dwelling, abduction, attempted malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony. Brandon Lee Bowles, 32, of Gastonia, North Carolina, was indicted on four counts of felony credit card theft, in addition to five counts of grand larceny previously reported. Bowles was also indicted on three misdemeanor counts of petit larceny and eight misdemeanor counts of climbing on or in a vehicle. Michael Jason Salyer, 43, of Glade Spring was indicted on a third or subsequent petit larceny charge, an identity theft charge and an escape from lawful custody charge. Twenty-five-year-old Brittany Hope Jones, of Marion was indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and two counts of child endangerment. Twenty-year-old Samuel Nathan Gross, of Marion, was also indicted on conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in the incident. Lindsey Nichole Woods, 31, of Chilhowie, was indicted on a charge of possession of oxymorphone. Mackenzie Aaron Hoffman, 33, of Marion was indicted on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Antionette Kay Leverett, 30, of Marion, was indicted on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Thirty-year-old Justin Dale Stumbo, of Glade Spring, was indicted on a charge of obtaining money by false pretenses. Stephen Allen Hughes, 55, of Saltville, was indicted on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of morphine. Susie Mae Grubb, 34, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Thirty-one-year-old Joshua Lee Robins, of Saltville, was indicted on an assault and battery charge. Tamera Marie Breedlove, 43, of Glade Spring, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Twenty-four-year-old Allan Eugene Norman, of Marion, was indicted on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. William Andrew Stanley, 21, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Mevie Leigh Smith, 57, of Monroe, N.C., was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Fifty-year-old Michael Wayne Whitehead was indicted on two charges of possession of methamphetamine. Terry Edward Vaughn, 40, of Marion was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Harley Randall Davidson, 37, of Johnson City, Tenn., was indicted on a charge of eluding a law enforcement officer. Timothy Frederick Sheets, 44, of Sugar Grove, was indicted on a statutory burglary charge. Forty-year-old Tina Marie Weems, of Marion, was indicted on an abuse or neglect of a child charge. Jeremy Dean Harris, 32, of Chilhowie, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Amanda Leslie Kathern Jones, 31, of Atkins, was indicted on two possession of methamphetamine charges. Aaron George Edmiston, 28, of Marion, was indicted on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Thirty-year-old Holly Kristin Honaker, of Glade Spring, was indicted on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and eluding a law enforcement officer. Trey Matthew Ayers, 21, of Marion was indicted on five grand larceny charges. Matthew C. Garrett, 34, of Marion, was indicted on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon and a charge of possession of ammunition by a felon. Jessie Alvin Vannoy Jr., 55, of Atkins, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Sixty-five-year-old Larry Minor, of Storksville, Miss., was indicted on a felony charge of failure to stop at the scene of an accident. Forty-year-old Patricia Diane Rose, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Jimmy Queen, 37, of Saltville, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Paul Darrell Lamie, 44, of Ceres, was indicted on a malicious wounding charge. Amanda Leigh Justice, 29, of Marion, was indicted on a possession of methamphetamine charge. Steaven Joseph Storie, 21, of Chilhowie, was indicted on two charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer. Thirty-year-old Alicia Danyelle Hunt, of Saltville, was indicted on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Felicity Ann Harry, 41, of Atkins was indicted on possession of methamphetamine and possession of hydrocodone charges. Joshua Glenn Davidson, 28, of Saltville, was indicted on a malicious wounding charge and two counts of possession of methamphetamine. Larua Zumph Cano, 46, of Marion, was indicted on a obtain drugs by fraud charge. An indictment is the determination by a grand jury that sufficient evidence exists for the case to move forward. Those indicted will stand trial in Smyth County Circuit Court. Welcome, DISH customer! Please note that we cannot save your viewing history due to an arrangement with DISH. Watchlist and resume progress features have been disabled. ACCEPT Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. While it isn't 100 percent accurate, the number of Google searches performed on a product often indicates its popularity in locations across the world. UK autoparts company Quicko has applied the technique to car brand searches throughout 2016, and it shows that when it comes to vehicles, national loyalty often doesn't play a part. Leading the way as the most Googled car brand in the world is Toyota. The Japanese firm is the most searched-for car term in 74 countries, including the US, most of central and western Africa, China, and Australia. In second place is BMW, which took the top spot in 51 countries. Hyundai, meanwhile, is third - the South Korean firm is most Googled car brand in 17 countries. You might have expected certain car brands to always be most popular in their home countries, but this is only the case in Germany (BMW), France (Renault), Sweden (Volvo), and Italy (Fiat). Interestingly, Volvo and Fiat were ranked highest only in their country of origin, nowhere else. While Chevrolet missed out on being the number one brand in its native US, the company topped Google searches in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. One particularly unusual result comes from the African nation of Niger, where supercar manufacturer Bugatti is the most Googled automaker. It's suspected that the searches are carried out by people who wish to see videos of the cars in action or check out their specs, rather than actually buy one. Quicko has includes one caveat in its findings: Google isn't the most used search engine in several of the larger economies, including Russia, China, and South Korea - using these regions' local search engines would have given a more accurate indication of which car brand search was most popular. But Google still has quite a large presence in these nations. President Donald Trump's immigration ban fueled a public outcry and outrage worldwide and Google employees walked out of their offices to protest the controversial executive order. More than 2,000 Googlers from all over the world rallied against the immigration ban at Google campuses nationwide and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, co-founder Sergey Brin, and other company leaders joined the crowd at Google's Mountain View headquarters. Trump Immigration Ban If Silicon Valley was initially reserved, yet optimistic when Trump won the race to the White House, it all took a turn for the worse when the president signed the executive order banning people from seven countries from entering the United States. Visa holders, green card holders and people with dual citizenship were detained at airports unable to fly back to the United States although all their paperwork was in order. The immigration ban affected roughly 200 Google employees. Google recalled all staff last week, urging them to return to the United States immediately, but it remains unclear whether they all made it back. Like many other companies, Google has plenty of immigrants and even its leaders - Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin - are immigrants, so this immigration ban hit a soft spot. Both Pichai and Brin addressed the crowds of employees protesting on Monday, Jan. 30, joining the rally and encouraging people to keep fighting for what's right. Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet, had already told employees a few days ago that he believes the Trump Administration will do more "evil things" like they've already done in the immigration area. Pichai encouraged employees to share their immigration stories and said the fight will go on, suggesting that Google will continue making efforts to counter the immigration ban. Brin talked about his experience as an immigrant, coming to the United States as a child from the Soviet Union, which was the United States' greatest enemy at that point. The United States took 6-year-old Brin and his family and welcomed them as refugees back then, but now it's building walls and shunning people instead of helping them. #GooglersUnite Google employees rallying against the immigration ban carried signs with messages of tolerance and inclusion such as "No ban, no wall," "All are welcome," and "We are a nation of immigrants." Protesters took to Twitter to share images from the rally under the hashtag #GooglersUnite. A Twitter account with the same name has also been created, sharing similar messages of inclusion, love and tolerance to counter bigotry, racism and discrimination. Google is not the only company to take a stance against Trump's executive order. Several other companies have reacted to the immigration ban and their leaders have spoken out, all sending the same overall message. America would not be what it is without immigrants and closing up the borders is not a desirable solution. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed concern regarding the executive order and urged the president to focus on real threats instead of extreme vetting. Apple CEO Tim Cook also spoke out, point out that Apple would not exist without immigrants. Other technology companies joined the fray and denounced the immigration ban. Major U.S. companies pledged to help - Airbnb offered accommodation for travelers stranded because of the executive order, while Starbucks pledged to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years and take other measures as well. ACLU raised unprecedented funds after suing the White House over the executive order. The immigration ban has also fueled protests around the world, including the UK where a petition to cancel a Trump state visit gained numerous supporters. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A new report claims that Samsung will ship the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus with larger internal batteries than that of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The new smartphones will supposedly pack in 3,250 mAh and 3,750 mAh non-removable batteries. Samsung Galaxy S8 And Galaxy S8 Leaks Intensify Details regarding the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus have continued to leak on a practically daily basis leading up to its expected March 29 launch. Most recently, a render of the handset was published, which provided a close-up view of its reported "Infinity" display and an additional hardware button on its side, believed to be reserved for the company's new AI (artificial intelligence) virtual assistant, Bixby. It's believed that Samsung is going to increase the display sizes on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus to 5.8-inches and 6.2-inches, which is a stretch compared to the 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch screens on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Larger displays also means the Galaxy S8 series will require more power to light them up, and now a new report claims the next-generation smartphones will ship with larger batteries than that of their predecessors. Bigger Screens And Bigger Batteries? The new report comes out of South Korea and says that Samsung has provided its battery suppliers with an updated roadmap that now includes 3,250 mAh and 3,750 mAh batteries. This has led to speculation that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will use these batteries, which are larger than the 3,000 mAh and 3,600 mAh found in the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. A recent leaked image of the Galaxy S8 confirmed many important details coming to the next-generation flagship series. The photo showed the smartphone will retain its standard 3.5mm headphone port, gain a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, and unlike previous reports which claimed Samsung was planning to embed a fingerprint scanner into the display of the new smartphones, it looks like the company chose to relocate that button to the rear of the handset, right next to its camera. Samsung is expected to officially launch the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus at one of its Unpacked events, which will reportedly be held in New York City on March 29. The new smartphones are tipped to get an April 21 release date and reports have also claimed there will be a price increase compared to previous models, with the Galaxy S8 starting at around $850 and the Galaxy S8 Plus starting at $960. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Uber's self-driving car ambition just got another boost after it signed on the German automaker Daimler in an initiative to develop automated vehicles for its ride-hailing network. Looking at the announcement, however, one is left wondering if the partnership could really lead Uber to build a driverless car on its own. Uber's Role Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stated that, here, Uber is not going to be involved in doing the dirty work. Daimler, which is the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, appears to be tasked with assembling the car in its facilities and would merely ship the finished product to Uber's doorstep. The automated cars themselves will still own the fleet of automated vehicles and it will also operate them so Uber's role appears to have been relegated as that party who merely provides the ride-hailing network. This is not unlike saying Daimler builds the car and Uber provides the passenger. Uber On Self-Driving Technology That is not exactly a promising prospect since it might not advance Uber's proprietary self-driving technology at all. The reason given for this particular partnership set up was Kalanick's discovery that building a car is not as easy as Uber thought it would be. "Making cars is really hard. This became very clear to me after I visited an auto manufacturing plant and saw how much effort goes into designing, testing and building cars," Kalanick explained. "That's why instead of building them ourselves, we want to partner with the best auto manufacturers in the world." That statement is quite sensible especially if you consider the fact that Uber's business essentially stemmed from a ride-hailing app. Uber Is Ride-Hailing One should note, however, that Uber has already proved that it could actually dive into the automated vehicle business and gain some experience in the process. Uber is already developing a self-driving technology and it has been deployed in its recent collaboration with Volvo. This particular foray saw a more active role on the part of the company. Uber was there when Volvo's XC90 SUVs were retrofitted with automated technology and it was not a mere spectator. Also, there is the fact that Uber is currently sitting on a pile of cash, having raised billions in funding. Last year, for example, it snagged a $3.5 billion investment from the Saudi Wealth Fund. Therefore, Kalanick may harp about how difficult car-making is but his company cannot claim that it is lacking resources. Even startups such as Lucid Motors and Faraday Future have already built their respective EVs, complete with assisted driving technologies. Yes, yes, the latter has been struggling but the company is really trying and already has several prototypes to show for its troubles. In the Daimler partnership, Uber seems to have stayed true to the nature of its business literally. It is just along for the ride. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tiny air pollutants particularly those produced by power plants and vehicles can greatly increase risk for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, findings of an air pollution study revealed. The new study published in Nature journal Translational Psychiatry on Jan. 31 showed an association between tiny air pollutants and cognitive decline and dementia, a disorder of the mental processes marked by personality changes, memory disorders, and impaired reasoning. Dangers Of Fine And Inhalable Particles Produced By Fossil Fuels Study researcher Caleb Finch, from the University of Southern California's Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, explained that the microscopic particles produced by fossil fuels get into the body and into the brain through the nose. The cells in the brain treat these particles as invaders so they react with inflammatory responses, which exacerbate over the course of time and promote Alzheimer's disease. The offending pollutants, the PM2.5, are fine and inhalable particles with 2.5 micrometer diameter or smaller. The human hair, which is about 70 micrometers in diameter, is 30 times bigger than the largest of these PM2.35 particles. The findings back up earlier studies showing the dangers of air pollution on mental health. In a study published in January this year, researchers revealed that living in areas near high-traffic roads, where air pollution level is high due to the number of passing vehicles, is linked to 12 percent increased risk for dementia. Air Pollutants And Dementia Risk In Older Women The new study involved more than 3,000 women between 65 and 79 years old who initially did not have dementia. By looking at the data of the 3,647 enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), researchers have found that older women who live in places where fine particulate matter exceeds the standard of the U.S. Environmental Protection agency have 81 percent increased likelihood of suffering from cognitive decline, and 92 percent increased odds for dementia. "We hypothesized that long-term PM2.5 exposure increases the risk for accelerated global cognitive decline and dementia, further exacerbated by APOE 4," Finch and colleagues wrote in their study. "These hypotheses were tested within the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), a well-characterized, nationwide prospective cohort of older US women, for which we recently reported associations between elevated PM2.5 and smaller white matter volumes in multiple brain regions." Stronger Risk For Carriers Of APOE4 Gene Experiments with laboratory mice also showed that the adverse effect of the pollutant was stronger in women with APOE4 gene, a genetic variation associated with increased odds for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers chronically exposed female mice with the APOE4 gene to nano-sized air pollution over a period of 15 weeks. Researchers found that these mice accumulated up to 60 percent more of the amyloid plaque that boosts progress of Alzheimer's than mice that do not have the APOE4 gene. "The experimental data showed that exposure of mice to air particles collected on the edge of USC damaged neurons in the hippocampus, the memory center that is vulnerable to both brain aging and Alzheimer's disease," said Jiu-Chiuan Chen, from the Keck School of Medicine of USC. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. History has always been a mystery. Everyday a new dimension, every second a new mystery gets unearthed! Scientists have made a startling discovery of an age old "Lost Continent" that has been found beneath the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius. Scientists from Wits University's School of Geosciences, University of Olso and the German Research Centre for Geosciences have discovered a tiny piece of a "lost continent" that is buried below layers of lava in Mauritius. The crust was apparently enclosed by lava due to volcanic eruptions and is believed to be a fragment of an ancient continent, which broke away from Madagascar when the plate tectonic shift happened, resulting in India, Australia, Antarctica and Africa splitting up and forming the Indian Ocean. The 'Lost Continent' This lost continent is believed to be the outcome of the supercontinent Gondwana breaking up, which is almost 200 million years old. The discovery of the crust created quite a ripple and is believed to be the part of the ancient continent that broke off during the formation of the Indian Ocean. Scientists are researching more on the process which led to the breaking up of this lost continent so as to comprehend the planet's geological history more vividly. The traces of zircon disgorged during the volcanic eruptions and was discovered on the rocks signal the existence of an age old continent of Mauritia, which is believed to be lying somewhere underneath the islands in the Indian Ocean. Zircons occur primarily in granites and form a part of the continent plates. These minerals also have traces of lead, uranium, and thorium. Since the mineral has managed to survive the geological changes over a period of time, it is representative of the processes that have occurred and, therefore, could be "dated extremely accurately." The lead author of the study, Lewis Ashwal along with his fellow colleagues, closely observed the zircon deposits and confirmed that the residuum of the mineral was way too old to be a part of the Mauritius island. His hypothesis leaned more towards the existence of a lost continent that may have been washed away with the vicissitudes of time. "Earth is made up of two parts- Continents, which are old, and oceans, which are young. On the continents, you find the rocks that are over four billion years old, but you find nothing like that in the oceans, as this is where new rocks are formed," noted Ashwal. He further added that, in Mauritius, there are no rocks which could possibly be older than 9 million years. However, after the researchers performed a study on the rocks of the island, they found zircons that were 3 billion years old. By assessing these zircons, one can accurately gauge the exact period it belonged to as the mineral is believed to hold a rich record of the geographic processes. Professor Ashwal also asserted that the team discovered zircons which were of the same age, which further supports their theory that the existence of really ancient crustal materials under Mauritius may have resulted from the lost continents. He also suggested that several pieces of this "undiscovered continent" of various sizes are spread across the Indian Ocean, which is due to the breaking of the Gondwanaland. If the discovery of this lost continent turns out to be true, this may lead to a massive change in how people perceive history itself. The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications. Check out a short video about the lost continent. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. What started as a toothache has cost a Sacramento truck driver his life. Vadim Kondratyuk Anatoliyevich, 26 years old and a father of two in Antelope, was driving the route from Truckee to New York on Jan. 24 when he began to experience pain in the lower left portion of the mouth, according to his wife Nataliya as reported by Sacramento Bee. He made a stop at an Oklahoma dentist to have it checked, and he was prescribed antibiotics for the infection. The pain did subside but things took a turn for the worse. Tooth Ordeal Turned Deadly While on the drive, Anatoliyevich complained about the tooth to his wife over the phone. His delivery made it to New York, at which point his mouth already swelled and he had to be helped out by his brother. The two took turns driving as the pain in Anatoliyevichs mouth seemed manageable. Anatoliyevichs breathing became labored and he turned pale, Nataliya recalled. He was rushed to two Utah facilities, where he was given stronger antibiotics and put on dialysis. Unfortunately, the infection had already spread to his blood and lungs, and he succumbed in the morning of Jan. 30. The wife made it to his bedside before he died. It was just not healing how it was supposed to. It was just getting worse, the 22-year-old widow said in the report. Nataliya said her husband, with whom she spent four years and had 2-year-old and 11-month-old daughters, had diabetes but was otherwise healthy. He also recently visited the dentist to fill a cavity in a different tooth. He was a great husband, said the wife, who met her husband when they were teenagers attending a local Christian church. A GoFundMe page had been set up to help pay for the costs of moving Anatoliyevichs body back to California, the funeral service, and the familys expenses. Tooth Infections In general, tooth infections occur with food trapped in between teeth, inciting the proliferation of bacteria that could enter the tooth through cracks or cavities. Once left untreated, they could lead to inflammation at the roots, which could spread to the whole head and neck. In rare cases, infections could spread to the bloodstream and damage the organs, leading to death. Regular brushing and flossing are the key to preventing tooth decay, but once there is already throbbing pain, one should seek immediate dental attention to clean the cavity or remove the tooth if needed. Western Dentals chief dental officer Dr. John Luther cited a case in 2007 where a 12-year-old boy from Maryland suffered what he thought was a simple toothache but was actually a severe infection that later went to his brain and killed him. In a 2013 study, too, about one in 1,000 patients was found to die from tooth infections recorded from 2000 to 2008. This month, a Minnesota dental surgeon was charged for the death of a teen who underwent wisdom tooth removal. The dentist is accused of missteps that include incorrectly administering general anesthesia and failing to properly monitor during the dental procedure. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A hot crack that formed on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has been continuously pouring out a torrent of lava into the Pacific Ocean since late December last year. And it looks as though a powerful "waterfall" of lava is gushing into the waters, spurring explosions at the edge of the sea cliff, as seen in a video shared by the United States Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. "This is by far one of the most amazing events I've witnessed in nearly 10 years of photographing lava," said Warren Fintz, a professional videographer who took his own footage of the scene. A Powerful 'Waterfall' of Lava A lava flow into the ocean isn't entirely new, but experts say this most recent lava outpouring is unlike anything they have seen before. Located at the Kamokuna lava delta in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the "waterfall" of lava began spewing into the Pacific Ocean after several acres of land there collapsed on Dec. 31. When researchers examined the sea cliff during the weekend, they discovered the hot crack above the spot where the lava stream, approximately 1 to 2 meters thick, is pouring out. Temperatures as high as 428 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius) were recorded in the site, the USGS said. Just a few days ago, on Jan. 28 and 29, the lava flowing into the seawater caused explosions that threw fragments of molten lava into the air. Scientists said some of the fragments settled on top of the sea cliff, creating a small spatter cone. A Reminder for Tourists Many visitors and hikers are drawn to the spectacular interaction between lava and water to the area around the Kilauea volcano. In the footage taken by Fintz, he points out two hikers who carefully tread on the dangerous sea cliff, close to the edge where the action is taking place. As a portion of the bottom of the sea cliff falls off, the hikers scramble to safety away from the edge. An explosion from the sea then shoots debris to the area where the hikers had been peering. The Hawai'I Volcanoes National Park service reminds tourists that hiking and boating are discouraged in the area. Furthermore, the interaction of lava and the water below creates a harsh sea water plume that contains fine volcanic particles and hydrochloric acid that can irritate the eyes, skin, and lungs. Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano The Kilauea volcano's eruption from its Puu Oo crater has been ongoing since 1983 or about 34 years ago, according to USGS. The volcano has always been active ever since its formation about 300,000 to 600,000 years ago. A Facebook post by the Hawai'I Volcanoes National Park explained that the area from which lava is pouring is considered a sacred place by natives. In Hawaiian folklore, where the lava reaches the sea is considered the place where the volcano goddess, Pele, battles with her sister and goddess of the ocean, Namakaokahai. Watch the videos below. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A couple of weeks ago Samsung pushed out the Android 7.0 Nougat update for two of its devices - the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. While many of the owners of these devices have already benefited from the update, those who owning a carrier locked variant of the smartphones in the U.S. are still awaiting the arrival of Android 7.0 Nougat. However, things are about to change as T-Mobile has revealed on its support page that the testing for the update of its variants of the Galaxy S7 edge and the Galaxy S7 is underway. The two devices are listed under "T-Mobile Testing" on the carrier's site. "Devices listed here are currently preparing to deliver a software update. Select a device listed below to see where it is in the process. All devices are sorted by manufacturer," reads the section. Listed under the testing devices section are several handsets, which include the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. Navigating to the two handsets to check their update status shows that the testing is ongoing. "T-Mobile and the device manufacturer have agreed to support a new software update," reads the support page. T-Mobile Android 7.0 Nougat Update Basically, there are three different stages in the T-Mobile website's "update process" section. The first being Manufacturer Development which is essentially when T-Mobile and the device manufacturer agree to offer a certain update for that device. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge which are also awaiting Android Nougat support from T-Mobile are currently under this stage which indicates that these devices would take longer to get the support. The second phase is known as T-Mobile Testing which consists of the device going through T-Mobile certification which would ensure that the software would work properly in the device. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge are currently undergoing these certifications. The third and final stage is when T-Mobile releases the update after the testing and certifications are completed. AT&T Also To Roll Out Update For Galaxy S7 And Galaxy S7 edge? AT&T too is conducting tests for the Android 7.0 Nougat update for the Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S7 and is looking to roll it out as soon as possible. AT&T mentioned at that time that they were in the middle of beta testing and would be able to launch the updates in case there were no major hiccups during the testing. What To Expect? If you are a user of Samsung Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge with T-Mobile than you are going to be able to use Android Nougat in the not too distant future. Android Nougat 7.0 adds a lot of new features and improvements including better notifications, longer battery life, enhanced UI and instant apps. Photo: Andri Koolme | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Venezuelan government will increase cooperation with Colombia's military and police forces to face transnational crimes caused by drug trafficking, announced Friday by the Minister of... | Read More Quiz 1. Which of the following prepositions is not commonly found at the beginning of prepositional idioms? a) from b) out of c) toward d) on 2. Which of the following sentences contains an idiom that starts with a preposition? a) Hes going to end his addiction for good. b) Wade went to a baseball game yesterday. c) I made this card for my friend. d) Our car broke down on the highway. 3. Which of the following sentences does not contain an idiom that starts with a preposition? a) She stepped down from her position at the firm. b) My cousins have so many things in common. c) In general, summers become hottest around mid-July. d) The circus troupe traveled from afar. 4. Which of the following sentences uses a prepositional idiom incorrectly? a) Many books written over 100 years ago are out of print today. b) Do you think the dress is on sale? c) We must leave at once. d) Perhaps she did it on mistake. A liquefied natural gas plant in Sengkang, Indonesia, is the model facility for a proposed $888 million LNG plant and export facility in Port Fourchon by Energy World USA. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening announced that 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch is his pick to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Gorsuch will be vetted by the U.S. Supreme Court for confirmation, but already Louisiana leaders are speaking out on the nominee. Here's how Louisiana leaders are responding: U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said in a statement: Judge Gorsuch is an intelligent conservative and will bring a necessary perspective to ensure a fair and balanced Supreme Court. A swift confirmation is imperative while the seat remains open. The recent election gave the American people a voice in this debate and they made themselves heard by electing President Trump to fill this vacancy. Any action to prevent or delay a vote on Gorsuch's nomination is purely political and opposed to the wishes of the American people. U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy, R-Madisonville, said: The role of the Senate is to provide advice and consent. Many Americans are going to have to live with this Justice the rest of their natural lives. His decisions will affect many facets of their lives, economically, socially, culturally, and spiritually, said Sen. Kennedy. The American people deserve a full and fair vetting process. I like what I see so far, but look forward to learning more in the confirmation process. Neil Gorsuch is obviously very well-qualified based on his education and background, but I want to know whats in his heart. I want to know what he thinks about past Supreme Court decisions and how the Justices reached those decisions. I want to know whether he thinks personal preferences have a role in the judicial decision-making. I want to know if he knows the name of the person who cleans his office. Also, Im rather fond of the U.S. Constitution, and I want to make sure he is, too. U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson: President Trump campaigned on a pledge to nominate justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold the Constitution, and his selection of Judge Neil Gorsuch delivers on that promise in a big way. Judge Gorsuch is highly regarded for his exceptional intellect and fierce defense of the Constitution, and he was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support, including by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. While we can never truly replace Justice Antonin Scaliawho was one of the greatest legal minds in our nations historyin Neil Gorsuch, President Trump has chosen a principled conservative to fill this important vacancy. I urge the Senate to do their job of providing advice and consent in an expeditious manner so the Supreme Court can fully and properly perform its role in our great system of democracy. U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, a New Orleans Democrat who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said: After nearly a year of Senate Republican delay tactics, President Trump has nominated a judge who has been openly hostile to womens rights and lenient on police brutality to the Supreme Court. Despite the presidents trivial games, this selection has serious consequences for every American. Judge Gorsuch has displayed an inability to be an impartial check to either branch or protect the rights of women and minorities. As a result, I call on my Senate colleagues to oppose Judge Gorsuchs confirmation and demand a nominee with a record of protecting the rights of all Americans. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge: "Neil Gorsuch is an experienced, respected federal judge who has demonstrated a reverence for the Constitution and an understanding for the the law that instill confidence in his ability to protect the liberty and right to freedom promised to all Americans. I'd urge the Senate to stop playing games and quickly approve his nomination." U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City: "I am very pleased that President Trump has nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court left by the late Atonin Scalia. Judge Gorsuch is an exceptionally qualified individual, with a proven record on issues ranging from the sanctity of human life to religious liberty to the Second Amendment. He will strictly interpret the Constitution as our Founders intended and the people of this country deserve. I hope that he will be confirmed quickly, especially since he was previously confirmed to the appellate court by a unanimous vote." Attorney General Jeff Landry (R): I applaud President Trump for nominating Judge Gorsuch, a jurist with a proven record of upholding the Constitution. Judge Gorsuch has been a staunch proponent of states rights and religious liberty. He is committed to the Founding Fathers principle of a limited judiciary, famously saying that judges should strive to apply the law as it is, focusing backward, not forward, and looking to text, structure, and history to decide what a reasonable reader at the time of the events in question would have understood the law to be. While filling Justice Scalias seat will be a tough feat, I am confident Judge Gorsuch will continue to be an honorable and ethical jurist; and I look forward to his swift confirmation by the United States Senate. Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party: "One of the biggest tests a President has is who he or she will nominate for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. The President failed this test. The job is to nominate someone who can win 60 votes in the Senate - can win bipartisan support. Justice Sotomayor won 68 votes to confirm, and Justice Kagan won 63; Judge Garland you will recall didn't even get a hearing. Clearly, this president sought only to score points with his quickly evaporating base. I am sure it is not surprising that Democrats take issue with this nominee from a Republican President, but this nominee seems to be so extreme it merits a response. Not only has Judge Gorsuch ruled that your boss should control whether or not you have access to "The Pill", he also has ruled quite harshly against children with disabilities and against the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). He almost exclusively rules for big corporations and against their shareholders and employees. This track record alone shows he is an extremist and quite willing, despite his words last night, to be an activist jurist. He should be rejected by any means necessary." Roger Villere, Louisiana GOP chairman, said: "Tonight, President Trump followed through on one of his biggest campaign promises to the American people by selecting Judge Neil Gorsuch,conservative jurist to serve on the United States Supreme Court. I am confident Judge Gorsuch will strictly interpret the Constitution, protect our individual rights, and preserve the idea of limited government. We look forward to supporting Senators Cassidy and Kennedy in their roles in the confirmation process of Judge Gorsuch. Now that the people have spoken, it is imperative that the Senate grant the President's nominee an up or down vote." Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, said: "We commend President Trump for his choice of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court. We believe Judge Gorsuch will be the type of justice that would respect the wisdom of the original text of the U.S. Constitution and give deference to the will of a legislature to protect human lives and ensure the health and safety of women. We look forward to Senators Cassidy and Kennedy voting to confirm Gorsuch's nomination to the high court." See someone we've missed? Email ecrisp@theadvocate.com. Gov. John Bel Edwards and Attorney General Jeff Landry have again found themselves at odds over executive orders, and this time their sparring can be traced to President Donald Trump. Trump has signed 10 executive orders since taking office less than two weeks ago. The issues have ranged from so-called "sanctuary cities" to the federal Affordable Care Act. In a particularly familiar topic to the frequently-sparring Louisiana leaders, Trump said Tuesday that he plans to keep intact an executive order signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, that bars discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in federal government. Democrat Edwards and Republican Landry have been locked in dispute over how far the governor's executive order authority goes in a case related to the same issue protections for LGBT people. A state judge sided with Landry last month in dismissing an order that attempted to extend some employment protections for people based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Edwards has said he plans to appeal. On Tuesday, his administration said that Trump's action backs him up. "The governor's executive order banning discrimination in Louisiana is identical to the order President Trump is following," Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo said Tuesday. "Not only is discrimination not a Louisiana value, it's not an American value, and the governor and president agree on that issue." In an interview with the USA Today Network, Landry, who has been a big supporter of Trump and appeared in campaign materials for the president, declined to say whether he supports or opposes the federal order. "That's a federal question, and I'm a state attorney general," he told the publication. The state Democratic Party further released a statement challenging Landry to sue Trump, as he did Edwards. Through a spokeswoman, Landry told The Advocate that the state and federal orders aren't the same. "Unlike John Bel Edwards overreach, the presidents executive order does not purport to create new law," Landry spokeswoman Ruth Wisher said. "No amount of political gains or media spin will change the fact that Gov. Edwards exceeded his constitutional authority." Landry and Edwards each took office a year ago and quickly took adversarial positions on key issues, including the state budget, the handling of lawsuits and immigration policing. Landry is thought to be mulling a run for governor against Edwards in 2019, though he has not announced any intentions. +2 Spat over cars latest insight into Edwards admin-AG Landry tension, Dardenne says Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry asked for state approval for both a car allowance of Edwards supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, but has spoken favorably of Trump on occasion. Landry has remained uncritical of Trump, including on some of his most controversial actions since taking office. One of the president's recent executive orders has placed a temporary hold on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and ban on refugee programs. The move has sparked demonstrations among opponents in cities across the country, including New Orleans. The travel suspension order also has highlighted the split between Landry and Edwards. Landry has offered to help enforce the order, and Wisher said former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, who was fired by Trump late Monday evening, "chose to dismiss the law in order to make a political spectacle out of this important public safety issue." "The United States Attorney General serves at the pleasure of the President," Wisher said. "If he or she refuses to abide by the laws of this country, it sets an administration up for failure." Landry was elected. +2 Gov. John Bel Edwards: AG Jeff Landry is testing boundaries Gov. John Bel Edwards and Attorney General Jeff Landry have faced off on several issues in t Meanwhile, Edwards said he thinks adjustments are needed in the order. Unfortunately, the Presidents travel ban executive order was not properly vetted within the administration to ensure its wording, intent and implementation would inspire confidence, rather than sow discord, anxiety and confusion," Edwards said in a statement. "However, I am encouraged that the administration has recently clarified its intent and adjusted the implementation to address some of these concerns. Carbo further accused Landry of waffling on executive orders. "Jeff Landry can't make up his mind whether he's for or against executive orders, but one thing is clear, his political ambition will always come first," he said. Contributed photo by the Acadiana Center for the Arts -- Heidi Cody's "Climate Toothpaste" is an art object attempt to connect people who care but are not active on climate change, to climate advocacy groups that need help. It is featured in the Acadiana Center for the Arts' "American Beauty." A critical deadline is approaching for victims of the August flood who have insurance, which could have a major impact on how much money they receive from their flood insurance companies to fix their homes and replace their belongings. Standard flood insurance policies require policy holders to send insurers complete and sworn proof-of-loss claims in order to be appropriately compensated for losses. The original deadline was 60 days after the flood, which has been extended twice to 180 days. That means the deadline for the documentation of damage is between Feb. 5 and Feb. 27 depending on when the flood waters first reached a victim's home. The vast majority of flood victims have turned in proof-of-loss paperwork ahead of the deadline, according to FEMA officials. But an attorney representing flood victims seeking higher payments said the total losses might not have been fully represented in the paperwork that's been filed. FEMA spokesman Kurt Pickering said more than 96 percent of the 29,544 people who filed flood insurance claims have submitted their loss documentation. For the remaining 1,050 insured victims who have yet to finish their paperwork, missing the deadline means that flood insurers could reject the claim. Attorney Raj Pandit, who is representing clients seeking higher payments for their flood damages, said the deadline will also apply to thousands more who already received an initial flood insurance payment, but are expecting more along the line. "Failure to comply with the deadline could forever bar or prevent a home owner from seeking any additional money for the rebuild of their home from their personal insurance company," Pandit said. "Considering the breadth of the devastation we've seen from this flood, 180 days is grossly inadequate." Pandit said the full proof-of-loss documentation is onerous and can be "20 to 30 pages of line item loss estimates" which often requires an evaluation from a contractor. For homes with flood insurance, the insurers often provided an initial payment on the front end to begin the recovery process that typically was well below the total cost of damages. Pandit said many insured victims fall into this category, where they have technically submitted their proof of loss, but will have to provide additional evidence detailing their full losses to get supplemental insurance dollars. The deadline was extended a year after Hurricane Katrina and two years for Hurricane Sandy. FEMA already granted the first two extensions, at the request of Gov. John Bel Edwards. But Edwards' deputy chief of staff Julie Baxter Payer said they have not received "a volume of calls or requests" that the deadline be extended beyond the 180 days. She said they are evaluating how many flood insurance claimants have yet to file their documentation, and could still potentially request an extension. Pickering said those with rejected claims can appeal. He also said if the governor's office submitted another deadline extension, FEMA would review it. A jury of six men and six women is set to hear opening statements Tuesday morning in the trial of Dr. Alireza Sadeghi, a New Orleans breast re A longstanding relationship between two countries means being able to stand up for what's right. Australia has to be prepared to deliver difficult messages, not becoming indulgent of, or indifferent to, murder on a mass scale, like what we're seeing in the Philippines. Ever since President Rodrigo Duterte swept to power at the end of June last year, more than 1000 people have been killed on average each month, most often in extrajudicial executions. The victims are usually people suspected of using or selling drugs. Their names appear on unverified "drug watch lists" that, through hearsay and rumour, are drawn up by local political bosses, often turning into "hit lists" as they are handed down to the police and through them to killers on their payroll. Far from proving to be the champion of the poor he styled himself as, Duterte has overwhelmingly targeted the impoverished in his "war on drugs". The families who arrive each day at morgues to identify their loved ones, or who search the streets to find their bullet-ridden bodies abandoned next to a cardboard sign denouncing them as "pushers", come primarily from the Philippines' urban slums. For the police, these slums are rich with opportunity. As an anti-drugs police officer told Amnesty International, there are anti-drug units that get up to $US300 ($400) for each person they kill. During raids, they further enrich themselves by snatching possessions from the dead while planting "evidence". In falsified police reports, they claim with striking consistency that the alleged drug offender violently resisted arrest, therefore the killing was justified. Witnesses instead describe people being killed in cold blood while pleading for their lives. Harmful. Discriminatory. Counterproductive. Wrong. Lots of words come to mind when thinking about US President Donald Trump's recent executive order to ban nationals from seven Muslim countries from entering the US, suspend the resettlement of refugees for months and Syrian refugees indefinitely, and then slash refugee resettlement to the US by more than half. Yet Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull found no words at all, telling journalists "he would not run a commentary on the domestic policies of other countries". Turnbull stands in stark contrast to leaders from Canada, France and Germany who have spoken out about the harmful effects of the US presidential order. A demonstrator takes part in a protest against US President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban. Credit:AP At a time when the world is facing an acute humanitarian crisis, Trump's move seems irresponsible. It will harm people trying to escape war or persecution and abuse, not protect others from it. And, as Republican US senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said, banning and ostracising people from certain nations will likely have the perverse effect of being a "terrorist recruitment" tool. Trump's actions will have serious global ramifications. When human rights values are under attack, it is not the time to turn a blind eye to abusive polices. With Australia's chequered history of a White Australia immigration policy abandoned long ago, and as a successful multicultural nation, Turnbull could have presented compelling arguments for welcoming those from diverse religious backgrounds. But in failing to denounce the executive order, he fails to serve Australia's broader interests in a global order responsive to humanitarian concerns. Trump's action, bolstered by Australia's silence, may encourage other nations to adopt prejudicial policies with respect to race or religion. Like the conservative columnists playing a regular day in the culture wars, criticising the "hysteria" of anti-Trump activists in response to his executive order temporarily banning refugees and citizens from seven Islamic countries from entering the US. Such hypocrisy, writes David French in National Review, when the Obama administration's immigration edicts were just as bad. (No, they weren't.) So it's excruciating to watch the handful of politicians, journalists, experts and bureaucrats trying to business-as-usual their way through Trump's first fortnight, pretending we're not one tweet away from the collapse of the international trading order, or worse. Trump promised, in his pared-back style, a revolution from the grubbiest of grassroots. He's delivering. For all the talk about alternative facts, on some frightening level, the man says what he means and means what he says. This is what happens when a troll, a "malignant narcissist" according to some in the mental health fraternity, seizes the most powerful job on earth. The troll does not metamorphose into a statesman with respect for institutional norms just because he swears an oath one rainy inauguration day. (Allegedly, Donald Trump fully appreciates that some showers cannot be faked.) Demonstrators during a protest against Trump's controversial travel ban. Credit:AP Other commentators are bewildered at the apparent "ineptitude" and "incompetence" in Trump's "sudden" order. Never mind the merits of the order, they say where's the technocratic poise? Local officials received scant guidelines from the White House on implementing the ban, commonsense advice from the Department of Homeland Security was ignored, then conflicting pronouncements on green-card holders in transit to the US, Western leaders forced into special pleading for their dual nationals, airport chaos. But by now we ought to be grasping that chaos is the point: chaos being precisely what Trump promised and in his mind an affirmation of his potency. His early campaign vow to ban Muslims from entering the US had an enduring appeal among supporters. It was hard to envisage such a radical policy becoming a reality even after Trump's shock election win. What would the Saudis say? Well, bullies will always find a cowardly way to do their thing. The Trump White House picked seven rogue or failed states whose leaders can't effectively retaliate, but whose peoples collectively bear the brunt of Islamist oppression and violence. Ordinarily, images of distressed children and grandmothers detained by authorities and separated from loved ones would shame an administration into a spin offensive. Not so when the leader of the free world is empathy-impaired to the point of pathological; he blames the pandemonium on a computer outage and Senator Charles Schumer's fake tears. As for the protesters welcoming Muslims and the judicial ruling curbing the order these will be useful anti-liberal propaganda come the next terror attack on US soil. And the stories about travel plans thrown into doubt, lovers thwarted, careers trashed, the exemplary individuals caught in this net lauded filmmaker, artist, engineer, writer, journalist, academic, medical researcher 1, 2, 3 (does tuberculosis even exist in the Trumpian universe?) Tory MP, feminists, atheists, people who have internalised the American Dream more than most Americans, people who never even thought of themselves as Muslim while we're not on that topic for Trump, Steve Bannon and their most ardent supporters, the only sound sweeter than the bleating of global elites is the bleating of brown global elites. Over the past decade and a half, there has been shocking policy neglect and an abrogation of basic duty to protect the Australian public from outrageous increases in these essentially unavoidable housing costs it's time to decisively act on this basic need. David Cumming Lindfield It is hardly surprising that Malcolm Turnbull proposes to attack the federal opposition's 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 on the basis of "higher power prices and energy insecurity". Compared to Labor's laudable action on climate change, the government's reverse-action will effectively ensure that Australia misses out on a huge market for clean energy, transport and infrastructure. The fact that global temperatures are more than halfway to the 2 degrees limit under the Paris treaty does not seem to create any sense of urgency within this fossil-fuel addicted government. Despite being a signatory to that treaty, it continues to pursue high-carbon growth at all costs, and this, ultimately, is a self-defeating strategy; because in the long term environmental destruction will reverse growth. David Nash Manly I'm not a Liberal voter, but I really wanted to believe in Malcolm Turnbull. I wanted to believe that he would take this country forward, that he would intelligently engage with the Australian electorate. I thought he would uphold the values he so passionately spoke about prior to taking on the leadership of his party. I thought he was a breath of fresh air; a progressive and compassionate politician. I thought his leadership would change the direction of this country for the better. I thought he would be all he promised to be. Maybe all he ever was in the end was not Tony Abbott. Dawn Comninos Bronte Another $1m added to saga of human misery Earlier this week Scott Morrison boasted that the world, most notably President Trump, was "catching up with Australia" ("$1m paid to Nauru charity workers forced from island", February 1). The world apparently envies our immigration record. Does that include the unjustified ejection of Save the Children workers from Nauru in 2014? Another million dollars added to the costly saga of human misery. Lorraine Hickey North Avoca The Westminster convention of individual ministerial responsibility demands that the cabinet minister bears the ultimate responsibility for the actions of his ministry or department. Scott Morrison has effectively reversed this convention. His previous department (Immigration) has been left to bear the responsibility for his action of maligning the Save the Children workers in 2014. War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength, Morrison is right. Rob Davies Denistone The not-so-dumb idea behind the Australian Spirit Melbourne hosted the Olympic Games in 1956 the first time they were held outside Europe or the US. A few days before the closing ceremony, the International Olympic Committee received an anonymous letter. The writer suggested that instead of marching in uniform under their national flag, the athletes should join their new friends and walk and wave to the crowd in a spirit of joy and friendship. To the writer's surprise, the committee agreed with this suggestion. Arrangements had to be hastily made and the word went out to the participants. It was warmly received. And so at the closing ceremony, for the first time in its 60-year history, the young athletes abandoned national uniforms and flags and marched no, walked together as friends, black with white, all religions and races intermingled. This established a tradition that continues to this day. The writer of the letter was a 17-year-old Chinese-Australian, John Ian Wing. His mother died shortly after he was born and he spent his younger years in an orphanage until his father was able to look after him. He wrote anonymously as he didn't want to upset his father with his bold move and also because he feared the committee might think it a "dumb idea". I remembered this story on Australia Day, when a lot of people were asking, "What are we celebrating?" That's what I was celebrating. I call it the Australian Spirit. We need more of it in these extremely troubling times. Hugh O'Keefe Elizabeth Bay A way for Turnbull to speak his mind Some readers praised our Prime Minister's pragmatic coyness in accommodating President Trump's controversial (and possibly illegal) immigration policy to salvage the refugee swap deal (Letters, February 1). However, Malcolm Turnbull may well regret his silence in contrast to other Western leaders if the deal falls through. There is a simple solution to our refugee dilemma: why not let them in here? I am sure the prospect of years of detention will be deterrent enough for future boat people. We get to save billions of dollars in running offshore detention centres, and Turnbull will be free to say what he really thinks of the US President. Han Yang North Turramurra Sorry Alicia Dawson (Letters, February 1), you are quite wrong. Malcolm Turnbull has no cojones for Donald Trump to grab. Patrick Wells Ocean Shores The journalists death-riding the democratically elected President Trump with negative stories would do well to heed the words of John F. Kennedy: "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation afraid of its people." Like it or not, Donald Trump won the election and is now implementing the policies that got him there. It's called democracy. Give him a fair go or shut up. Paul Miles Gorokan The temporary travel ban imposed by Donald Trump is unfair in many respects but particularly in regard to travellers from Iraq. In 2003 Iraq was free of the terrorism we now speak about. The US and its allies invaded to achieve regime change. The net effect was to plunge Iraq into a hell of terrorism and to nurture al-Qaeda in Iraq and Islamic State. Iraq is on that travel ban list, and Saudi Arabia is not. Go figure. Michael Kennedy West Pymble Transparent donations Political parties would have a record of all who donate to them. The donors, I would have thought, would have a record for tax purposes if nothing else ("Loophole allows donations to be secret". February 1) Why is it not possible, in an age of automation, apps and computers, for all donations to be notified in "real time", or at the very least within a very short time of their occurrence? Brenton McGeachie Queanbeyan West Platform for dialogue Jenny Noyes' article was so last century ("The women of NSW deserve better ", smh.com.au, January 31). A better use of time and space would be to interview Tanya Davies about the basis for her personal pro-life views. Brexit and the Trump victory are a wake-up call for all of us to realise the average voter and reader is over the trench warfare of political correctness. Why not have a chat with the lady and build a platform for dialogue? That's how to influence for a better life for NSW women. Gerald Fogarty Kensington Quite an achievement Ah youth. Claudia Talon writes that she found her secondary schooling to be inter alia "accepted drudgery, a painful slog, and woefully outdated" ("School is designed to fail students", February 1). Yet by some form of magic here is an erudite, articulate and deep-thinking individual writing a well-constructed and thought-provoking article. Where did she learn those skills, I wonder? Ross MacPherson Seaforth Voice from above Next time John Bryant (Letters, February 1) is privately tuning in to " the quiet voice of our Creator", he might quietly ask Him how come He created gay people, and get Him to speak up a bit so we can all hear what He has to say. Kent Mayo Uralla Oliver an outstanding arbiter During the turbulent era of construction at Darling Harbour leading up to the Bicentennial, relations between management and unionists were often stretched to the limit (and sometimes beyond). Dave Oliver ,however, will be remembered as an outstanding arbiter for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. ("'Time for renewal' union chief resigns", February 1). Early in his career, Oliver was instrumental in assisting the resolution of complex issues, while at all times maintaining his responsibilities and loyalty to his union members.When remembering my meetings with Oliver on site, his rise through the union ranks came as no surprise, and I know that if he does enter politics, his constituency will have a loyal and fair minded representative, working in their best interests at all times. Max Petrie Palm Beach Not a double standard Mohamed Assoum (Letters, February 1) believes to have identified a double standard but he has not. If the Quebec mosque attack had been claimed to have been carried out in accordance with some religious creed and had similar atrocities with the same claims been carried out with regular monotony globally, I think we'd find that the worry expressed in the media would be exactly the same as we now see with regard to Islamic terrorism. Larry Tofler Lindfield Vandalising heritage site After spending at least $1 billion of state funds revamping Darling Harbour, why vandalise the Sydney Opera House with yet another function centre ("Opera House revamp condemned", February 1)? Removal of the "temporary" tents on the northern broadwalk is long overdue, but stuffing corporate facilities inside our world heritage icon, displacing rehearsal spaces, is a low act and must be resisted. Ian Ferrier Paddington Just who is the 'goose' I walked into a bar the other day, and sat down with the usual group. I opened the conversation with the statement; "The man's a goose" and promptly got total agreement. Only trouble was three thought I was referring to Donald Trump, and four thought I was referring to Malcolm Turnbull. Tony Lyons Lithgow The Trump approach Once it was, "all the way with LBJ". Now it's, "whatever will be with DJT". Tony Re Georges Hall Let's hope that the US quickly recovers from its debilitating attack of the DTs. Philip Bell Bronte What does it mean? I am concerned about "extreme vetting". Does, for example, water boarding fall within or without its ambit? Peter Bourke Rockdale A right royal sickie With all the brou-ha-ha over whether President Trump should be accorded a state visit to Britain, perhaps the Queen, in her role as the Australian head of state could solve the problem by doing that very Australian thing and chuck a sickie on the day ("Petition rejecting Trump gains more than a million signatures", smh.com.au, January 31). Nick Walker Springwood Tangled state About those big shoes in front of our new Premier Glad in Moir's cartoon on Wednesday. Their size is neither here or there. The problem is the tangled state in which Mike Baird left the laces. The Greens received more than $1 million from two big donors last financial year, helping bankroll the party's campaign for the July 2 federal election. Wotif founder Graeme Wood donated $600,000 to the party, the largest contribution to the Greens' $3.9 million in donations and other payments in 2015-16. Mr Wood, who was responsible for the largest single political donation in Australian history before Malcolm Turnbull's $1.75 million donation to the Liberal Party last year, also gave $6000 to the Queensland Labor Party. Reclusive Queensland mathematician, investor and high-end gambler Duncan Turpie continued his large contributions to the Greens, donating $500,000 to the party before the July 2 election. Malcolm Turnbull is preparing to ban foreign donations to Australian political parties and improve transparency around campaign financing in a bid to restore faltering public trust in the system. The Prime Minister had been accused of "rank hypocrisy" for backing a better disclosure regime while refusing on Wednesday afternoon to reveal how much of his own money he contributed to the Liberal Party's re-election fight. Speaking to the ABC's 7.30 program on Wednesday night however, Mr Turnbull revealed for the first time that he donated $1.75 million to the Liberal Party before last year's federal election. "In the course of this current financial year, which is why it hasn't been disclosed on the AEC, I contributed $1.75 million. That was the contribution I made," Mr Turnbull said. As thousands gathered at Detroit Airport to protest the Executive Order on Immigration signed by US President Donald Trump last weekend, a spontaneous gesture of unity happened. Realising it was approaching sunset prayers on Sunday evening, protesters lent their signs to be used as prayer mats by Muslims who wished to pray and formed a protective, silent circle around them. The company leading a $1.3 billion re-development of Cleveland's harbour legally made a $200,000 donation to the federal Liberal Party and three smaller donations totaling more than $20,000 to the ALP in Queensland in 2015-16, Australian Electoral Commission returns show. Walker Group Holdings is undertaking the $1.3 billion re-shaping of Toondah Harbour and a major restructuring of the nearby coastal section using reclaimed sand. The proposed Toondah Harbour project has been given the go-ahead to proceed to the EIS stage. The company also donated $5000 the Queensland Liberal National Party in August 2015, which is in opposition and not in government in Queensland. The Liberal Party has been in office federally since September 2013, while the Labor Party has been in office in Queensland since January 2015. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has expressed her sympathy for the children of a mother killed in a domestic violence murder-suicide on the Gold Coast. Speaking from Yeppoon on Wednesday, Ms Palaszczuk described the incident as incredibly tragic. "My thoughts and prayers are with those young children at the moment," Ms Palaszczuk said. "At the moment I want to ensure that those young children are getting all the support that they need following the tragic death of their mother." Seven teenagers have been charged with a combined 52 offences, after a fracas at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre on Monday. Police allege the youths assaulted staff members and willfully damaged property at the detention centre, and unlawfully climbed onto the roof. Seven youths have been charged over the fracas at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre on Monday. Credit:Nine News Brisbane The teens climbed the roof of the Wacol detention centre about 2pm on Monday, and video footage showed the shirtless boys throwing objects off the roof and smashing the airconditioning units with sticks. The last of the youths climbed off the roof at 2.50am on Tuesday. One staff member of the centre is recovering after being injured in the incident. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice and Attorney-General said the man was taken to hospital on Monday but released shortly after. But Ms Palaszczuk said she did not think there was any need for an expansion of the facility. The plan follows a deal struck with the Singaporean government to pay Australia to use the property to train 14,000 troops. Australian and Singapore soldiers take part in an exercise at Shoalwater Bay. Credit:David Cotton There is enough land for Singapore to conduct its training in central Queensland without losing grazing properties, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says. "We firmly believe that there is enough training area at Shoalwater Bay for the Singaporeans to conduct their training exercises," she said. "What is the secret deal that Malcolm Turnbull signed with the Singaporean government? What is the secret deal? Because I tell you what, he's not telling the people of this community what the situation is." But Ms Palaszczuk said she still supported the Singaporeans training in central Queensland because it meant jobs and a boost to the economy. One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson this week said she had legal advice that the plan was a breach of the Constitution and the Commonwealth Land Acquisition Act. But Ms Palaszczuk called for Ms Hanson to personally call Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and make him change his mind. Suggestions that a youth jail might be built on a greenfield site in one of the fastest growing suburbs in Victoria has drawn the ire of locals. The state government is planning a new youth detention centre with Fairfax Media reporting on Tuesday that the 250-bed centre would be built in Werribee South. Transport Minister Jacinta Allan wouldn't confirm a location for the new centre on Wednesday, saying only that "details are being worked through". But Werribee residents were up in arms about the suggestion that it could be in Melbourne's outer west. A major source of money for the Andrews government's $5.5 billion Western Distributor road project could be stoppered by the Coalition and the Greens. The project, which is currently out to tender, is designed to provide a major road alternative to the West Gate Bridge and ease truck congestion. But central to the funding of the project is an extension of Transurban's toll concession on CityLink for up to 12 years, which was part of its unsolicited pitch to the Andrews government for the road. The state is contributing more than $1.6 billion to the project. A man shot in the head last year may have again been targeted, with a tattoo parlour linked to him being peppered with bullets in a daylight shooting this week. Detectives are also investigating if the drive-by shooting at Ink bound in Glenroy in the city's north is connected with a shooting at the Campbellfield Plaza. Police at the scene of Tuesday's shooting on the corner of Wheatsheaf and Glenroy roads. Credit:Channel Nine The Wheatsheaf Road parlour was shot up about 11.40am on Tuesday. No one was injured. Company records show Nabil Maghnie is the director of the company that owns Ink bound. The 40-year-old father, who says he no longer has any involvement with the business, was shot in his head and chest last September. The last remaining rough sleepers at the Flinders Street Station camp have been urged to accept a "pathway" out of homelessness or face eviction. Protesters who have moved into the site have also been warned to move on. Bangash Hussain is from Pakistan and is homeless on Flinders Street. Credit:Penny Stephens Housing Minister Martin Foley confirmed on Tuesday that 15 people from the camp had been "successfully housed" while four others had been placed in drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation facilities. "This camp will have to break up today. That site later today will be a building site," he said. Melbourne's rail and tram networks must be returned to public hands so profits can be invested in improving infrastructure, the union movement has told Premier Daniel Andrews. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union is leading a call for the Labor government to use the 2017 expiration of the contracts for Metro and Yarra Trams to allow the state to once again operate the networks. Both companies have bids before the government and a decision on the next contract is expected soon. RTBU secretary Luba Grigorovitch, writing in The Age, argues that profits are being wasted on propping up foreign companies when the cash would be better spent on improving Victoria's public transport infrastructure. Western Australia's latest Lotto millionaires "accidentally" bought a Monday Lotto ticket instead of a Saturday ticket. The fairly innocent mistake won them $1 million. The winners, a father and son from Australind, now plan to celebrate over a couple of "tinnies." They were the only people in Australia to win on Monday night. "We usually play Saturday Lotto together," the father said. "But I got my days mixed up and bought the wrong ticket. The man who jumped into the Swan River to save a woman whose car plunged into the water in Crawley has shrugged off his bravery. The woman was driving along Mounts Bay Road just after 5pm when the vehicle veered off the road and ended up in the water. The driver, a woman in her 50s, was taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital but did not suffer any serious injuries in the accident. Her saviour Anthony, who was driving behind the woman when he suddenly saw her car disappear from view, said he was the only one "appropriately dressed" to leap into the river. One Nation is standing by its WA candidate for the seat of Pilbara despite his offensive and bizarre comments towards single women labelling them too "lazy to attract and hold a mate". Writing an article for the prestigious literary online magazine Quadrant in 2015, David Archibald claimed there were a number welfare programs that should be slashed because they support "lifestyle choices that could be defunded". "The first that springs to mind is single motherhood," he writes. "These are women too lazy to attract and hold a mate, undoing the work of possibly three million years of evolutionary pressure." Those who don't recall the past are doomed to repeat it. So what happens when there is no living memory of the global wars of the 20th Century? That's a theme that Prince Charles hit in a speech over night in the UK, according to London-based reporter Latika Bourke: Prince Charles warns the lessons of the Second World War are in danger of being forgotten. Credit:Andy Tyler Photography Prince Charles has warned the "horrific lessons" of the Holocaust and World War II "seem to be in increasing danger of being forgotten" in what is being interpreted as a veiled reference to the rise of nationalism, populism and US President Donald Trump. Also in London, the second trial of Australia entertainer heads towards its conclusion, Europe correspondent Nick Miller reports. Find Your Perfect New Car Match Compare Used Cars Side By Side By Side By Side NEW YORKCrowdtap, the people-powered marketing platform, conducted a study examining millennial vehicle purchasing and driving behavior, exploring preferences between millennials in both suburban and urban areas. The studys findings, summarized in a report titled Millennials Behind the Wheel, correlate directly to key tactics that can help auto brands connect with millennial consumers. The study calls out practicality as the catalyst for millennial vehicle purchasing decisions and driving behavior. Whether renting or buying, millennials are seeking a practical choice for either their short or long-term investments. KEY FINDINGS FOR AUTO BRANDS: Millennials are buying cars rather than investing in rental cars, and are buying more used cars than new. Millennials in both urban and suburban areas are purchasing vehicles, usually used. 86 percent bought cars, compared to a combined 14 percent who leased or rented a vehicle. Used car sales under $25,000 made up 65.9 percent of millennial car owners. 89.6 percent of millennials currently living in urban areas are planning to buy a car in the future, while 76 percent of current car owners plan to own between 1 and 6 more cars in their lifetime. Cost, space and environmental efficiency matter the most to both millennial buyers and renters. Millennials renting and buying decisions are driven by trust. Both urban and suburban millennials base their vehicle decisions on trust, including online reviews and recommendations from friends and family. When renting, 39.8 percent of millennials refer to online reviews from other drivers, and 31.5 percent refer to recommendations from friends and family. When buying, 44.7 percent rely on online reviews from other drivers, while 50 percent rely on recommendations from friends/family. Test driving guides 56.7 percent of purchasing decisions when buying. In those test drives, 68.8 percent prefer to have an expert on the vehicle they are driving in the car throughout, while 48.4 percent want to hear or see content from other whove bought that car previously. Millennials view cars as a necessity rather than a luxury. Millennials in big cities are relying on cars for quicker travel (47.4 percent), quick trips to the store (43 percent) and for trips outside of the city (47 percent). Suburbanites use their vehicles for a mix of commuting, running errands, and weekend travel (65 percent). 26.7 percent use their car mainly for running errands, 15.3 percent only use their car to commute, and 15 percent mainly use their car for weekend travel. With millennials being a key demographic that auto brands want to reach, its vital for marketers to understand what they are looking for in vehicles, as well as what influences their buying and renting decisions, says Peter Storck, SVP of research and analytics at Crowdtap. Our research shows that millennials are buying used cars, compared to renting, and investing in practical, spacious and environmentally efficient vehicles. Moreover, trust is becoming an increasingly critical aspect when investing in a car. Brands and marketers can build trust throughout the car-buying journey by leveraging authentic peer-to-peer ratings & reviews. Crowdtaps full Millennials Behind the Wheel report can be found here. Methodology Crowdtaps study polled over 200 male and female millennials (avg. age 29) in November 2016 living in either dense urban cities or more sprawling suburban areas about the ways in which they use and view automobiles, from renting to buying. The study was fielded within Crowdtaps member community, and utilized the platforms agile research tools. About Crowdtap Crowdtap is an award-winning technology company that connects brands with people to make marketing more effective. The Crowdtap platform combines community and technology to generate agile brand research, authentic peer recommendations and influential brand storytelling at-scale. The company builds passionate crowds of people to share their ideas, opinions and stories with brands in social media. With a growing community of passionate members, Crowdtap works with leading brands including General Mills, Heineken, Kraft Foods, P&G, Verizon, Walmart and Yum Brands. Crowdtap is headquartered in New York. Visit corp.crowdtap.com for more information. Program, if approved, would include provisions to recall and repair most affected vehicles. Options for older affected vehicles include buybacks or trade-in credits, or lease termination. All eligible owners and lessees of affected vehicles will receive cash payments. Herndon, VA (February 1, 2017) Volkswagen AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (together, Volkswagen) announced today that they have reached proposed agreements to resolve outstanding civil claims regarding approximately 78,000 affected 3.0L TDI V6 diesel engine vehicles in the United States. Two agreements have been submitted to the Court for approval: (1) a proposed class settlement with private plaintiffs represented by a Court-appointed Plaintiffs Steering Committee (PSC) on behalf of a nationwide class of current and certain former owners and lessees of eligible 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles; and (2) a proposed Consent Order submitted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). With the Court-approved 2.0L TDI program well under way and now this proposed 3.0L TDI program, all of our customers with affected vehicles in the United States will have a resolution available to them. We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders and thank our customers and dealers for their continued patience as this process moves forward, said Hinrich J. Woebcken, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. Proposed 3.0L TDI Settlement Program Under the 3.0L TDI settlement program, Volkswagen has agreed, among other terms, to provide cash payments to all eligible members of the class, and take the following specific actions: Recall and repair, free of charge to the customer, approximately 58,000 affected 2013-2016 Model Year Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles (so-called Generation 2 vehicles) to bring them into compliance with the emissions standards to which they were originally certified, if an appropriate Emissions Compliant Repair is approved by U.S. regulators. Buy back or offer trade-in credit of equal value for, or terminate the leases of, approximately 20,000 eligible 2009-2012 Model Year Volkswagen and Audi 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles (so-called Generation 1 vehicles) or, if approved by U.S. regulators, modify the vehicles to substantially reduce their nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions so as to allow eligible owners and lessees to keep them. Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to approximately $1.2 billion in benefits for the 3.0L TDI settlement program, assuming 100% participation in the program, a 100% buyback of all eligible Generation 1 vehicles and availability of an Emissions Compliant Repair for Generation 2 vehicles. Volkswagen expects to be able to bring affected Generation 2 vehicles to the same emissions standards to which the vehicles were originally certified. Volkswagen will begin the 3.0L TDI settlement program as soon as the Court grants final approval to the settlement agreements. At the earliest, approval will occur in May 2017. Potential claimants under the class settlement do not need to take any action at this time. Individual class members will receive extensive notification of their rights and options (including the option to opt out of the settlement agreement) if the Court grants preliminary approval of the proposed class settlement at a hearing scheduled to take place on February 14, 2017. More information about the proposed 3.0L TDI settlement program can be found at www.VWCourtSettlement.com. Notes to Editors The proposed settlement applies to all 3.0L TDI V6 diesel engine vehicles that Volkswagen, Audi, or Porsche marketed or sold in the United States for Model Years 2009 through 2016. The vehicles are divided into two generations, as follows: Generation 1 Vehicles Model Model Years Volkswagen Touareg 2009-2012 Audi Q7 2009-2012 Generation 2 Vehicles Model Model Years Volkswagen Touareg 2013-2016 Audi Q7 2013-2015 Audi A6, A7, A8, A8L, Q5 2014-2016 Porsche Cayenne Diesel 2013-2016 If Volkswagen is unable to obtain a timely approved Emissions Compliant Repair for eligible Generation 2 vehicles, it will offer to buy back or provide trade-in credit of equal value for, or terminate the leases of, eligible Generation 2 vehicles and may also seek approval by U.S. regulators to offer customers a modification to substantially reduce their NO x emissions. The 3.0L TDI settlement program also includes a proposed Consent Decree reached with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a proposed agreement with the State of Califonia by and through the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Attorney General on December 20, 2016. The program is subject to the approval of Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, who presides over federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) proceedings related to the diesel matter. As announced previously, under its proposed Consent Decree with the DOJ, Volkswagen will contribute $225 million to the environmental remediation trust that is being established under Volkswagens 2.0L TDI settlement program in the United States to fully mitigate the excess, lifetime NO x emissions of the affected 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles. As part of its agreement with the State of California, Volkswagen will also pay $25 million to CARB to support the use of zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in the State. By their terms, the proposed agreements announced today are not intended to apply to or affect Volkswagens obligations under the laws or regulations of any jurisdiction outside the United States. Regulations governing NO x emissions limits for vehicles in the United States are much stricter than those in other parts of the world and the engine variants also differ significantly. This makes the development of technical solutions in the United States more challenging than in Europe and other parts of the world. Volkswagen in the United States Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, employs more than 6,000 people in the United States and supports more than 1,000 dealer locations in all 50 states. Volkswagen has more than 60 years of history in the United States, where VWGoA maintains more than 30 U.S. locations including a LEED Platinum-certified manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chattanooga facility employs more than 2,500 people and supports suppliers who provide some 9,200 jobs. The facility produces the Volkswagen Passat and has recently expanded to accommodate production of a new, seven-passenger midsize SUV, the Volkswagen Atlas. Volkswagen is investing $900 million to expand its U.S. manufacturing footprint through production of the new SUV as part of Volkswagen AGs plan to invest more than $7 billion in North America from 2015 through 2019. IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported January U.S. sales of 21,698 vehicles, representing an increase of 10.1 percent versus January of last year, and the best January sales month in five years. Solid sales performance across the lineup was headlined by consumers' continued strong desire for crossover SUVs. Key January sales notes: The Mazda CX-5 posted its best-ever January with 8,068 vehicles sold, showing continued momentum leading up to the on-sale date of the all-new 2017 model later this Spring. This number represents an increase of 14.2 percent year-over-year (YOY). The Mazda CX-9 posted an increase of 210.7 percent YOY, with 1,591 vehicles sold. Mazda's CX crossover SUV salesincluding the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9were up 21.1 percent YOY with 10,843 sold. Of the total CX-line sales, 60 percent of vehicles were equipped with i-ACTIV All-Wheel Drive. Sales of the Mazda6 started the year off strong, posting a 28.3 percent increase YOY with 3,300 vehicles sold. Even with much of the U.S. experiencing winter weather, popularity of the MX-5 Miata continues with 929 vehicles sold. This number represents an increase of 65.9 percent YOY. Sales totals for the MX-5 include both the MX-5 soft top and MX-5 RF. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported January sales of 4,759 vehicles, down 18.6 percent versus January of last year. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom. If President Donald Trump is 2017s biggest villain so far in the eyes of many Americansor is it Steve Bannon?then ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero just might be their biggest hero. It was a habeas corpus petition from the American Civil Liberties Union that led a federal judge to stay Trumps ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries on Saturday night. Thanks to that and other legal action, the ACLU is reported to have pulled in more than $24 million in donations over the weekendmore than six times what it collects in a typical year. On Tuesday, Romero made a victory lap on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, but he did not take much time to celebrate the ACLUs success and instead used the appearance as a call-to-action for supporters across the country. Ive never felt anything quite like this, Romero said of his 16-year career. Its a bit breathless, but its exhilarating at the same time. This president is going down such a far, wrong-headed path, he continued. These executive orders are off the charts. This most recent one with the Muslim ban, its just astonishing that we would have a president of the United States enact an order within a week of him becoming president that is so fundamentally at the core un-American, immoral, unconstitutional. Asked by Noah to respond to Trumps claims that the order is not a Muslim ban, Romero said, Who are they kidding? Of course its a Muslim ban. He added, You promised us a Muslim ban, youve given us a Muslim ban, we read it as a Muslim ban, then you say its not a Muslim ban? Come on! After telling the story of how his staff suddenly ended up with all hands on deck this past Saturday, sending lawyers to airports all across the country, Romero praised Judge Anne Donnelly for understanding that the equities involved were too great to let Trumps order stand as is. Bizarrely, the screen cut to black on Comedy Central mid-interview, leading many viewers to suggest a Trump-led conspiracy theory was afoot to silence the ACLU. The Daily Beast has reached out to the network to find out what exactly happened and when it will be making the full interview available online (now above). Among those who noticed was Noah, who was apparently watching the taped interview at home. You may well have seen the meme by now: Ivanka Trump in a metallic silver Carolina Herrera gown, next to a young Syrian refugee wrapped up in a silver, reflective emergency blanket. The image was an unsubtle commentary on the glamorous photo Ivanka Instagrammed of herself and her husband, Jared Kushner, around midnight Saturday after hobnobbing with political elites at the annual Alfalfa Club dinner. As Ivanka and Kushner returned home to their children that night, other children around the country were still waiting for their detained parents in the chaotic fallout of President Trumps travel ban. It seemed to be a new low from Ivanka, who had been otherwise silent since her father signed an executive order banning travel to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries for three months. While tens of thousands of people across the country were protesting the presidents order, which indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., and lawyers flooded airports to help legal residents get home, Ivanka was publicizing her glitzy life as if nothing had happened. The timing of her Instagram post was particularly inopportune. Ivanka was supposedly the graceful Trump, yet her tone-deaf photo in the midst of a constitutional crisis seemed more in line with her fathers character. During Trumps campaign, Ivanka presented herself as someone who would moderate her fathers extremism, speaking on behalf of issues she claimed to care about, like wage equality and affordable child care. Yes, she stood behind her father, but many assumed she was whispering in his ear the whole time. They hoped the self-proclaimed daddys girl would talk some sense into her old man. It seems some in Washington are still looking at her to do so. Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff under the Clinton administration and outgoing president of the Alfalfa Club, reportedly applauded club members at Saturdays annual dinner for putting aside partisan differences as the nations capital becomes increasingly divided. And in doing so, we can build the bonds needed to bring the country together and to solve some of the problems facing us today, Bowles said, before addressing the presidents daughter. Ivanka, please tell your dad that we missed him tonight, and we wish him, as the leader of our country, a healthy and successful presidency. After all, Ivanka talked climate change with Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore after the election. She stepped down from management positions at her various fashion and lifestyle brands, and was reportedly cooking up plans to lobby Congress to expand child care for working women. The day before her father took office, Ivanka went on Good Morning America to promote her forthcoming book, Women Who Work, and reiterated her desire to support her father going forward but also those causes Ive cared about my whole professional career. But if her public persona since Inauguration Day is any indicationsilent beyond the coiffed and squeaky clean photos of herself and her family posted to social mediaits clear that either Ivanka doesnt have as much influence over her father as many hoped, or she doesnt care enough about issues shes advocated for in the past to stand up for them in even the subtlest ways. When President Trump signed his first executive order aimed at rolling back the Affordable Care Act, including many provisions that support working mothers, the former #WomenWhoWork ambassador proudly captured the moment on Instagram. While the president was reinstating the Global Gag Order, Ivanka was posting videos of her son crawling for the first time in the White House. She was silent while millions of women marched around the country to protest her fathers administration. Then came the photo of her black-tie evening at the Alfalfa Club, where she represented her fathers administration while his executive order separated children from their families. Ivanka and Kushner had been observing Shabbat, as they do every weekendfrom sundown Friday until sundown Saturdayand reportedly had little knowledge of the fallout from President Trumps executive order, which hed signed moments before sundown Friday. Yet by the time the photo was posted to Ivankas Instagram account, theyd had access to their phones for nearly six hours. Are we supposed to believe that Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, hadnt been briefed about chaos following Trumps order at some point during those six hours? That Ivanka hadnt seen the outcry over the travel ban on the news or her own social-media accounts before she posted the now-infamous silver dress photo on Instagram? A Vanity Fair source noted that Ivanka feels terrible about the post, and does not want something like this to happen again. However, until she signals any allegiance to the liberal values that were once entrenched in her public identity, many may perceive that Ivankas ideological core is as flimsy and fickle as her fathers. MOSCOWIn Russias toughest prisons, guards used to put bags over the heads of serial killers, rapists, and terrorists so they couldnt see the lay of the land outside their cells and plot an escape. In the Black Dolphin prison, which is for lifers, a favorite practice used to be to cover the convicts heads and push them through a gauntlet of security officers and guard dogs. After prison reforms in 2009 the bags were replaced with blindfolds, or in many cases done away with, even at the most remote penal colonies across Russia. But, apparently, word didnt reach the Federal Security Service, the FSB, at its headquarters on Lubyanka Square right in the heart of Moscow. For the first time in decades Muscovites in recent days heard that Russias most secret law enforcement agency had arrested one of its own top officers, and it happened in the middle of an official meeting. Like a scene out of some Brian de Palma movie, FSB officers grabbed their colleague and put a bag over his headand afterward made little or no effort to keep what they had done a secret. Sergei Markov, a member of the Public Chamber in the Russian parliament and adviser to the Kremlin, confirmed the incident to The Daily Beast. In early December, FSB Colonel Sergei Mikhailov, who was responsible for cyberwars and cyberattacks was arrested by the FSB; yes, with a bag over his head, he said. The twisted intrigues behind that dramatic event appear to be a tale of spy and counter-spy that may well stretch from Lubyanka Square to CIA headquarters at Langley, the FBI, and, yes, the White House. Were these and other officials recently arrested in Russia responsible for the hacking that helped Donald Trump win the presidency of the United States? Or were they moles inside the FSB who gave the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency the hard information allowing it to finger Russian President Vladimir Putin definitively as the man behind the conspiracy to disrupt Americas electoral process? Were they attackers and informants at the same time? Or is this case (implausibly) not related to those issues at all? Such detailed questions, thus far, are unanswerable. But on Tuesday, according to the news agency Interfax, Mikhailov and his deputy, Dmitry Dokuchayev, were officially accused of state treason for passing confidential information to the CIA. There were more than four suspects in this case, and I am defending some of them but cannot talk about their names before Thursday, Ivan Pavlov, a defense lawyer specializing in treason cases, told The Daily Beast. Initial stories about the case had made a connection between Mikhailov and a shadowy group of hackers in Ukraine and Thailand known as Shaltay Boltay, which means Humpty Dumpty. That organization, reportedly affiliated with Anonymous International, is most famous for hijacking the official Twitter account of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2014 and posting a tweet that read: Im resigning. I am ashamed of this governments actions. Forgive me. But its mischief didnt end there, and its activities are worth noting, not least, because Putin and the FSB may have seen them as provocations in the years before the American elections. According to a 2015 report by Daniil Turovsky for the Meduza website that was published by The Guardian, when Putin was carving Crimea out of Ukraine in 2014 the Humpty Dumpty hackers had gotten hold of documents exposing the Russian governments plans for grassroots demonstrations in Moscow to support the annexation. Humpty Dumpty also exposed some of the chicanery behind Crimeas referendum setting the stage for its return to Russia, and it allegedly hacked into the emails of Igor Strelkov, one of the early leaders of the secessionist movement in eastern Ukraine. So its not surprising that the name of Shaltay Boltay-Humpty Dumpty would be invoked in leaks about this case, perhaps as a message to those in the West presumed to be behind the organization. Kremlin adviser Markov told The Daily Beast that Col. Mikhailov definitely controlled Shaltay Boltay, which cooperated with the Ukrainian SBU [security service], which is the same as working for the CIA; he worked with them, which is obviously treason. But the defense lawyer, Pavlov, said that according to the information he has received so far the case has nothing to do with Shaltay Boltay hackers. The suspects were accused of cooperating directly with foreign companies and foreign intelligence agencies, and some of that cooperation allegedly dates back to 2012. A source quoted by Gazeta.ru, an online publication, suggested that Shaltay Boltay was just a distraction meant to confuse everybody in classic FSB style. As more details come out, the story continues to grow. The news agency Interfax reported that in addition to the four individuals accused, eight more have been identified as accomplices in the treason case. Meanwhile, searches on Tuesday reportedly resulted in the discovery of $12 million at Mikhailovs private residence. But nothing is simple in this case, connected as it is to the shadowland of hackers and special services cooperating with some Russian officials behind the backs of other Russian officials. So its the bizarre style of the arrest of Col. Mikhailov, deputy chief of the Information Security Center (ISC) at the FSB, that has been the talk of the town. A bag over a detainees head is a significant abuse, lawyer Oleg Khabibrakhmanov told The Daily Beast, and, ironically, FSB officers are the most vulnerable people, as they are inside the FSB system. We defended the rights of FSB officers in the Nizhny Novgorod region, said Khabibrakhmanov, one of the founders of the Russian lawyers group Committee for the Prevention of Torture. One of them, Col. Oleg Yefremov, was beaten to death in prison in 2011. His murderers told the court that they had killed the colonel on FSB orders. Why would the Kremlin want to leak the information about Decembers sinister arrest at the FSB in mid-January, just after the inauguration of President Trump and before Trump spoke with Putin on the phone? The leak happened now as a result of internal tensions between the clans in power, Markov told The Daily Beast. It is public knowledge that top FSB managers do not get along with each other. But to use the bag? The FSB is the most secretive and precise law enforcement agency in Russia when it comes to using repressive methods, said Anton Naumlyuk, a journalist who has covered more than three dozen FSB arrests of Muslims and alleged Ukrainian saboteurs. If they leaked the information about Mikhailovs arrest, it was done with only one purpose: to threaten everybody. On Jan. 12, the FSB allegedly fired Mikhailovs boss, Andrei Gerasimov, the head of the ISC, who was responsible for investigating high-profile computer crimes and apparently also controlled Russias leading hackers and cyberwarriors. Ruslan Stoyanov, a cybercrime investigator from Kaspersky Lab, an internationally famous Russian web security company, was arrested at the same time as Mikhailov. Stoyanov allegedly was also accused of treason and of receiving money from foreign organizations involved in cyberwars. Another open question is how they were caught. Who revealed their connections to the CIA, if such connections exist? According to the U.S. intelligence community, the Russians funneled embarrassing material about Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party to WikiLeaks, where it was picked up and used relentlessly by Trump. But for months he refused to concede there had been any Russian hacking. Even after Trump began to receive top secret briefings on Nov. 15, he publicly expressed his doubts, goading the CIA and other agencies to reveal publicly more and more about the sources of their information on the hacking issue. Then, finally, in the second week of January, barely 10 days before his inauguration, Trump grudgingly conceded that the Russians had set out to influence the election. By then, if the chronology of the arrests in Moscow leaked so far is accurate, the men allegedly cooperating with the CIA were already under arrest. On Jan. 28, Trump called Moscow and spoke with Putin about the importance of fighting terrorism. If they discussed the hacking issue and spying arrests, that has not been reported. Markov said he believes the arrest of the alleged spies will have little or no negative impact on the emerging friendship between the Russian and American leaders. The arrest of Mikhailov is a good example for Trump, Markov told The Daily Beast. He will totally understand that we cannot tolerate traitors in our security service agency, just like he cannot in the CIA. Kim Kardashian is a complicated woman. With a Twitter history mostly consisting of emojis to her fans and selfies from around the world, it would be easy to dismiss her social-media posts as somewhat shallow. But amid cookie-cutter approbation from celebrities all over America, it was 36-year-old Kims tweet of a table of statistics to her 50 million followers highlighting the statistical fallacy of President Trumps immigration ban, two days after its imposition, that stood head and shoulders above the rest. During the Kardashian clans recent well-publicized holiday to Costa Rica, younger sister Khloe also alluded to the situation back in the U.S., tweeting her 23 million followers that All this news breaks my heart the day after the ban was introduced. She followed up with a retweeted ACLU poster announcing the organization was working to block the unconstitutional ban. With just the title Statistics, Kardashian let the numbers speak for themselves. And speak they did: The post was retweeted almost 200,000 times and the story was picked up by a flood of news outlets, including BuzzFeed, Fox News, and the London Telegraph. Kim has occasionally touched on politically sensitive subjects in the past, she has been vocal in her support of the campaign for recognition that the massacre of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 by Turkey (then the Ottoman Empire) should be classified as genocide. Her father, Robert Kardashian, was a third-generation descendant of Armenian immigrants. How did Trumps America welcome the Kardashians back home from Costa Rica? With a raid of their private jet by immigration officials dressed in body armor, according to reports early Wednesday morning. They had just landed at Los Angeles International when the familyincluding Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kylie, Tyga, Kris, and their childrenwere forced to stay inside the plane while it was scoured by customs and immigration officers, The Sun reports. Photos show officials in what appears to be body armor boarding the plane; some of the familys children were on board at the time. It has been reported that the family spoke to Customs and Border Protection officials before leaving. A video shows a number of figures exiting the plane, with Kourtney clearly holding 2-year-old Reign in her arms, and Khloe helping Penelope, 4, down the stairs with Mason, 7, following behind. While theres no proof that the search is connected to Kims Muslim ban remarks, many are already questioning the timing. Kim, notably, declared herself a Hillary Clinton supporter back in 2015, posting a selfie with the candidate. Last year, she posted a statement on her website that said that she was supporting Hillary because she had thought about the things that are so important to me such as gun control and protecting womens rights to safe and legal abortion. The Kardashians are yet to mention the incident or make a formal statement. But if the family conclude it was retaliation for her social media remarks then one imagines it will bring a swift reunification to the Kardashian West households political divisions. One day in, and Twitter has already called February 2017 as the most lit Black History Month of all time. First, Donald Trump proved once and for all that he cant tell black people apart, and/or cannot differentiate living humans from centuries-old corpses. During a Black History Month event on Wednesday morning, our 45th President claimed that, Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody whos done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice. Confused listeners were quick to point out that Trump clearly doesnt know who Frederick Douglass is, and is describing the famous abolitionist in the same way he would a living government employee. Frederick Douglass died in 1895, suggesting that, despite being casual acquaintances with Omarosa, Donald J. Trump might not be all the way up on his black history. But Trumps weird statement was quickly forgotten when, with a single Instagram, pop icon Beyonce descended from the heavens to make America great again. In the stunning photo, a pregnant Bey clutches her stomach in a veil and lingerie. She writes, We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. - The Carters. Thats right: Bey and Jay are gifting this world with not one, but two new iterations of their genetic code. Henceforth, February 1st will be celebrated as a National Day of Patriotic Devotion, and this photo will adorn the walls of our public schools. And, as if that wasnt enough, theres the feel-good reunion between hip-hop heavyweights Drake and Nicki Minaj. Drake and Minaj have famously collaborated on a number of successful singles. Theres 2009s Best I Ever Had (Remix), 2010s Moment 4 Life, and 2011s Make Me Proud. Then theres 2015s Truffle Butter, a song about making money, selling records, and putting truffle butter on your pussy. On Only, Drake rapped: I never fucked Nicki cause she got a man / But when thats over then Im first in line. And while queuing up for a relationship sounds like exactly the sort of Drake-approved courtship tactic that would never work, the Canadian rappers long game might finally be paying off. Back in January, Minaj finally took everyones advice and started off the New Year without the dead weight. That dead weight would be Meek Mill, the Philly rapper turned hip-hop punching bag. In a giddy tweet, Minaj celebrated her new relationship status: To confirm, yes I am single. Focusing on my work & looking forward to sharing it with you guys really soon. Have a blessed New Year. We like to think that Meek Mill didnt know he was broken up with until he got an email from his bank informing him that Nicki had canceled his debit card. Allegedly, Nicki and Meeks relationship went south because he was stepping out on her with a Philadelphia boutique owner. Of course, this isnt the first time Meek Mill has redefined dumb. The rapper previously set the unofficial world record for most ill-advised hip-hop beef when he accused Drake of using ghostwriters. Drake responded by politely asking Meek if that was a world tour, or your girls tour? He also buried him under two rapid-fire diss tracks and a suffocating pile of savage memes. Publicly, Minaj stayed above the fray during this summer feud, essentially filing her acrylics while her boyfriend and longtime collaborator pulled each others hair out. But privately, as Drake later revealed, the proverbial pantsing of Minajs romantic partner didnt exactly bode well for her and Drakes friendship. Last April, the artist formerly known as Aubrey Graham told Beats 1s Zane Lowe that he and Minaj were on the outs. I dont really talk to Nicki, he confessed. Again, another person that I have a lot of love for and a lot of respect, not only for our past and how much work and time we put in, but even just the way she dealt with the situation [regarding Birdman and Lil Wayne] at hand. He continued, I understand what love is, and I understand a personal situation. She dealt with me how I would expect her to, which was with class, and I could only ever do the same. Drake was referring to the extended, painful falling out between Cash Moneys Lil Wayne and his mentor Birdman. As The Daily Beast previously reported, Wayne has accused Cash Money Records of owing him back pay, and threatened to go into retirement until he gets his due. In 2015, he filed a $51 million lawsuit against the label, alleging that Birdman violated his contract by endlessly delaying his album Tha Carter V. The suit was an attempt to break ties with Cash Money once and for all, and possibly take protegees like Drake and Minaj along with him. Last September, Drake posted an Instagram in support of Weezy, pledging, We are fighting until you get yours. Freedom to drop music and peace of mind. Minaj took a more tactful approach to the drama, explaining that, People know that I love Wayne and I have loyalty towards him, but I love Baby too. Im very close to Baby, and I dont think people know thatI am banking on the fact that theyre gonna work this out like family. As of today, the Young Money Holy Trinity is back together again. First, Minaj shared an Instagram of her and Drake, because there really isnt a more iconic duo. Apparently, breaking up with Meek, who took one look at the pic and deleted his Instagram, really did clear a path to reconciliation. And forgiveness couldnt have come at a better timeafter all, was anyone really buying that J. Lo relationship? Drake belongs with someone who will call him on his shit, make him pick up the check, and shamelessly use his body as a prop in a music video. So far, only Nicki and Rihanna fit that bill, and RiRi is way too busy leading The Revolution. A second Instagram featured the full squadDrake, Nicki, and Lil Waynephotographed by Young Money president Mack Maine. Now that Nicki is no longer wasting her time on Meek Mill, and Drake is done trifling with Taylor Swift, fans are hoping for a musical collaboration from the iconic trio. Because while boyfriends, girlfriends, and lawsuits may come and go, Young Money is forever. AURORA, ColoradoThe refugees at Mango House came to learn English, but they got a lesson in civics instead. Project Worthmore head Frank Anello stood in front of a group of 10 refugees sitting at their desks in a classroom decorated with world maps and an American flag Monday night to explain President Trumps new immigration ban. Does anyone know what is happening in America since Friday? he asked, then turned to a whiteboard and wrote 120 days. Translators speaking Arabic and Farsi slowly broke the news: Iraq, Iran, Yemen... Anello listed the seven countries blacklisted for travel, To Syria, they say no. Three Syrian families sat quietly as the meaning sunk in. How many people have family in Syria? Anello asked. Hands went up from people missing mothers, brothers, grandchildren. They want to know if the government can come and take their children, the translators relayed. This man is afraid somebody will come and slash the childrenbe dead. Abdul Alkekhai and his wife, Fatima Monla Ali, came to the U.S. in November from a suburb of Aleppo, Syria, where he was a radiologist and she was a teacher. Here they clean hotel rooms for less than $10 an hour. They fled Syria to Jordan where the vetting process to get to America took three years. They brought three of their children to the U.S. with them, but a fourth was left behind, because she has kids of her own. They do not expect to see her again unless the immigration ban is lifted. From a pocket in her robe, Fatima took out her phone and showed a picture of a determined-looking woman in a hajib, hand on her hip. Fatima writes the name Reem. I am tears, Fatima said in English, showing a trail down her cheeks. They dont know whether they will ever see her again. Mango House is not funded by the government. Its owned by P.J. Parmar, a single dad who is the doctor in the clinic. He is also scoutmaster of Americas only all-refugee Boy Scout troop. The son of Indian immigrants, Parmar bought the foreclosed office building and kept the word refugee out of the name because he wanted for it to sound like a cool place to hang out. The three-story orange building just off of Colfax Avenue has welcomed many people in refugee-rich Aurora, Colorado. One out of five Aurorans are from another country and 120 languages are spoken in its public schools. Ethiopian restaurants line the streets. For three years, thousands of refugees have turned to Mango House for assistance. In these hallways are classrooms where volunteers teach English and civics, there are food-share and after-school programs, and there is a health clinic. Nearly all of the 15,000 visits last year were paid for through Medicaid. In the dental clinic, a waiting room of Africans and Burmese, some of whom have never had dental care until they got to the U.S., wait to be seen by two dentists and seven hygienists. Among services at Mango House is Project Worthmore. Last Thursday as Trump was drafting his executive order banning refugees, dozens of Ethiopians, Burmans, Sudanese, and Congolese from the refugee center had a rally at the State Capitol, chanting Immigration Built This Nation to beeping commuters. As they protested someone had left two notes promising to blow up all you refugees in the centers stairwell and parking lot. The next day, a pickup truck full of Halloween-mask wearing men jumped out, yelled and held signs to a group of teenage Somali girls walking inside. Now theyre scared, especially for our sisters and mothers, who are targets because they wear the hijab, a Somali boy who was with them told Anello. The FBI is involved in investigating the crime the APD is calling a high priority. Monday night, Anello hustled back and forth between the English class and a board meeting where members discussed what to do about adding security. A new level of fear has set into Mango House since the bomb threat. This is absolutely a result of Trumps policies, says Parmar. We have to be aware of what people might do next. Seeing these kids actively being targeted makes me very sad not only because I saw similar things when I was young but also because Im supposed to be providing a safe place for them. Back in English class, Anello tells his pupils about how Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper was one of the first state leaders to step up and welcome Syrian refugees in November of 2015 when more than half of the nations other governors moved to keep them out. They can try and scare us but we will not give in to fear, he said. The room of refugee men and women quietly got back to learning English, even teasing each other as they stumbled over their ABCs. Life goes on. They already know what it's like to be at the mercy of a government. Nike Cuts Ties With Kyrie Irving Over Hate Speech JUST DID IT The brand has suspended its relationship with Irving and will no longer release the Kyrie 8. Weaken U.S. security by following Trump's methods If a president of the United States wanted to weaken our country's security, he would follow Donald Trump's playbook since taking office. He would remove the military chiefs of staff and the director of national security from the National Security Council and insert his political adviser, Steven Bannon, who has a dark, misogynistic worldview on the council. He would insult our strongest and most reliable allies in the fight against terrorism. He would bar entry into the United States from Muslim-majority countries, alienating the people in those countries on whom we depend in our fight with ISIS and other terrorist groups. He would confuse the American people with lies disguised as alternative facts and attack the free press by threatening journalists who call him out, thereby weakening our democracy and the social contract on which it depends. He would remain stubbornly ignorant of American and world history. He would make careless remarks about employing our nuclear arsenal. He would ignore rulings of U.S. courts that thwart his policies. Because Republicans have control of all three branches of government, they bear primary responsibility for protecting us from these real and present threats to our security and civil liberties. It is our responsibility, as citizens, to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions and to protest governmental actions that threaten our security and liberties. JAN HUGHES College Station Women should stop trying to be equal to men There have been two women's marches since Jan. 21, the so-called Women's March and the later March For Life. The latter effort has been going on for 43 years, so the marchers pretty much know what they're doing. According to Opinions page columns (Eagle, Jan. 26), those marching in the Women's March didn't have much of an idea about what they were doing. A column by Debra Hook said the Women's March was not about a single issue. She also said that the spirit of the march showed the momentum to carry women forward, when women lead, even though they might not achieve victory by even 2018 or 2020. Victory over what? Dom DiFurio's column said that the Women's March was to show support for women under the standard set by President Donald Trump. What standard? President Trump is well known for placing women in very important positions of power. Kellyanne Conway is a prime example of that. She's the first woman to lead a victorious presidential campaign. There was also a cartoon on that Opinions page, contrasting the Women's March with that of Kellyanne. The women marchers had their eyes closed, while Kellyanne's were open in that cartoon. That might imply that the Women's March was the blind leading the blind. Kellyanne was shown carrying a banner of "alternative facts," perhaps alternative to those carried by the Women's March. At the age of 81, I personally believe that women have their superiorities and men have theirs. I have read that men can see the big picture, while women are good with the details. And, show me a man who can have a baby. So, let's quit trying to make men and women equal. Thank goodness they aren't. JOY PAINTER College Station President Trump has soiled U.S. before world When President Donald Trump enthusiastically embraced torture as an official tool of American policy, he undermined our moral integrity and endangered Americans everywhere. A terrorist group or foreign government now can torture an American soldier or citizen and claim just to be doing what our government would do. Fortunately, for now at least, the protests of Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Sen. John McCain and many others stopped the policy proclaimed by a man who obtained five draft deferments to avoid military service. But where was the moral outrage about torture from our senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz? Where was the protest from our representative, Bill Flores? America was founded by colonists who viewed it as a "city on the hill," as a beacon and example for others. We often have fallen short of that aspiration, but generations of Americans, immigrants from all over the world, have tried to make that promise real. We viewed ourselves, as did the rest of the world, as a nation different from other nations. Trump's baseless attacks on the democratic process that elected him, his semi-ban on refugees and Muslims (apparently only from nations where he does not have major business interests), and superfluous border wall may excite the racist right as well as some conservatives, but they run counter to two centuries of American decency and exceptional values. The words of Shakespeare are as true now as they were four centuries ago: "Who steals my purse steals trash But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed. Our president has soiled our country. And all Americans and everyone who viewed America as an inspiring example of openness, fairness, and opportunity are the worse for it. JONATHAN COOPERSMITH College Station No surprise grown-ups are in the White House President Donald Trump is just doing what he was elected to do. His opponents reject reasoned discourse because they are too invested in the lies they fabricated that his "deplorable" voters are ignorant and immoral. The recent outrage over ending taxpayer funded abortion and enforcing immigration law by street protestors reminds me of children throwing a temper tantrum because they did not get their way. No surprise there: Grown-ups have come to the White House. W.R. KLEMM Bryan Undoing the damage to the Foreign Service will take decades The Foreign Service -- America's diplomatic corps -- is an indispensable part of America's foreign policy and national security toolkit. Disrupting the regular flow of new Foreign Service officers and specialists into the service damages America's national interests -- not only now but also for decades to come. Just as it takes 20 years to develop a navy captain or an army colonel, so it takes two decades to develop a new Foreign Service officer into a seasoned leader ready to run an embassy and guide an important bilateral relationship. The negative impact of a hiring freeze, which reports show does not save money, is amplified by the structure of the Foreign Service, which, like the military, brings in new members at entry level and promotes only the best to the next level. While this up-or-out system -- those who fail to move up are forced out -- ensures high performance and accountability, it depends on a steady stream of new recruits to function. Disrupt the intake of new recruits, and the Foreign Service is weakened both now and for decades to come. America's global leadership inevitably suffers from freezing Foreign Service hiring. It will probably take Rex Tillerson and the president a year or so to figure this out. JAMES W. CARTER Foreign Service officer, retired Bryan Thanks for attending Play a Hand for Hospice Hospice Auxiliary Brazos Valley wishes to thank all who participated in the success of Play a Hand for Hospice at Pebble Creek Country Club on Jan. 25. A special thank you goes to members of the Brazos Valley Chorale, under the direction of Eric Posada, who entertained us during the lunch portion of the day. We also thank those who donated items for the door prizes and especially to Sally Coble for her lovely quilt she donated for the raffle. All proceeds from this event goes to the non-profit Hospice Brazos Valley to help enhance the quality of life for those with terminal or chronic illnesses. JUDY NASH College Station British diva Amy Jackson, who turned 25 on Tuesday, rang in her birthday on the sets of superstar Rajinikanth's upcoming sci-fi thriller 2.0. By India Today Web Desk: Amy Jackson shot to fame after playing the leading lady in AL Vijay's Madrasapattinam. Though she's quite popular in Tamil and Telugu, Amy is yet to find a foothold in Hindi. The Theri actor, who is shooting for 2.0, rang in her birthday along with Shankar on the film's set. Interestingly, her 25th birthday also happened to be the third time she spent on Shankar's sets. advertisement ALSO READ: Nayanthara, Trisha, Tamannaah are gamechangers for Tamil cinema. Here's why SEE PIC: Shruti celebrates birthday with father Kamal Haasan Announcing the news on Twitter, she wrote, "Third birthday spent on @shankarshanmugh film set & this time with Mr @superstarrajini ! I couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate 25." Third birthday spent on @shankarshanmugh film set & this time with Mr @superstarrajini ! I couldn't ask for a better way to celebrate 25 ????? Amy Jackson (@iamAmyJackson) January 31, 2017 Superstar Rajinikanth has began the dubbing works for the film, which also stars Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as an ornithologist Dr. Richard. Touted as the costliest Asian film, 2.0, which is a sequel to the blockbuster Tamil film Enthiran, is made on a lavish budget of Rs 400 crore. Directed by Shankar, the film also stars Sudhanshu Pandey and Adil Hussain in pivotal roles. 2.0 has music by Academy Award winner AR Rahman and slated to release on Diwali next year. The film will release in 6 -Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English, Japanese and Chinese. Here's the video: --- ENDS --- No, they should look for unbiased information about the safety of the industry's billion-dollar baby from the industry itself. The chemical industry campaigners are insisting that the people making money off chemical sales are more trustworthy than scientists who have made a career studying causes of cancer. The rationale for the campaign is clear: It's not about protecting public health, it's about protecting corporate profits. Calornia court told: 'profits before people' Monsanto said as much last week in a California court as it tried to block the state's decision to require a warning on Roundup. Monsanto attorney Trenton Norris argued in court Friday that warning labels would hurt the company's finances because many people would stop buying Roundup. Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kristi Kapetan did not seem moved by the 'profits over people' message. She still must issue a formal decision, but said that California can require Monsanto to label Roundup as a possible cancer threat. Protecting glyphosate is critical for Monsanto and other chemical industry giants now. Not only are glyphosate herbicides big sellers around the world, but the industry is in the midst of rolling out new genetically engineered crops designed to be sprayed with combinations of glyphosate and companion weed killers. Monsanto has developed crops altered so that they tolerate being sprayed with glyphosate and dicamba, while Dow AgroSciences has developed crops tolerant of a new herbicide made of glyphosate and 2,4-D. The new biotech crops build on Monsanto's glyphosate-tolerant portfolio of corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and other crops. But even as the industry presses ahead with glyphosate-based technology, the chemical is under re-evaluation by both the European Union and the Environmental Protection Agency. And calls have been mounting for the chemical to be banned or severely restricted because of the cancer concerns and a range of other health and environmental concerns. 'Monsanto knew', say cancer plaintiffs And there is also the not-so-small issue of the dozens of lawsuits filed against Monsanto alleging the company has long known Roundup could cause cancer but has hidden the facts from the public. Those cases, brought by people from across the United States who have cancer or lost a loved one to cancer, have been consolidated in federal court in San Francisco where discovery is underway. Monsanto has so far turned over more than 7 million documents through that process. Court records show that plaintiffs' attorneys are building their cases around the IARC classification, while Monsanto is counting on the backing of the Environmental Protection Agency, which has stated that glyphosate is "not likely" to be carcinogenic for people. Just as Monsanto is trying to tear down IARC, plaintiffs are trying to discredit the EPA findings, saying Monsanto has unduly influenced the agency. On the same day that the chemical industry launched its anti-IARC campaign, US District Judge Vince Chhabria ordered each side in the Roundup litigation to submit briefs on how the work by both IARC and EPA is or is not relevant to the cases. The briefings are due on 8th February. Clearly not content to allow a federal court to sort out who is right or wrong on glyphosate, the chemical industry's championing of glyphosate includes a new promotional Twitter campaign #glyphosateisvital with postings proclaiming that the weed killer is essential to "maintain the production of safe, affordable food." Or as another posting asserts, "Time is running out to lobby to save #glyphosate". The campaign is featured on the @glyphosate twitter account established immediately after the IARC glyphosate classification. Who is really 'anti-science'? Embedded in the industry's truth-twisting tactics is the characterization of anyone who gives credence to scientific research showing problems with glyphosate, or the GMOs that go with it, as "anti-science". It's an effort to reverse reality and detract from the fact that it is industry backers, not industry critics, who deplore the findings of independent, peer-reviewed scientific research. "The pesticide industry recognizes it's on the defensive", said environmental lawyer Charlie Tebbutt. "It's doing everything it can to transform reality." As the post-truth Trump team looks set to dismantle environmental regulations and the protections they bring to the public, it's likely the chemical industry will only continue to elevate alternative facts. We all will need to work harder than ever to see through the spin. Carey Gillam is a veteran journalist and Research Director for US Right to Know, a non-profit consumer education group. Follow Carey Gillam on Twitter @careygillam. This article originally appeared on Huffington Post. Hazel Dormice, once widespread across the country are now restricted to the south and face further threats due to the loss of ancient woodland, climate change, clearance of hedgerows and a lack of coppicing. As an arboreal species, dormice rarely descend to the ground apart from when they are hibernating and now a new study from Manchester Metropolitan University's Dr Robyn Grant, Lecturer in Environmental Physiology and Behaviour, has shown how gaps in tree canopies are leaving these endangered creatures unable to cross between habitats using their hypersensitive whiskers. Dr Grant recorded high-speed videos of dormice and their whisker movements using a camera that captures 500 frames per second, with the videos proving that gaps in the tree canopy are now a major problem for the dormice. "Although dormice can jump quite large distances, when the gaps between platforms were larger than 10-15cm, the dormice started behaving differently - they would eat less of the food available to them and also spend more time travelling on the floor as opposed to the canopy," she explained. "This behavioural change would put the dormice in danger as this species is vulnerable to threats on the ground." The total adult population of hazel dormice in the UK is now thought to number about 45,000, distributed among a variety of widely fragmented sites. The UK Mammal Society Dormouse Survey in 1984 showed the species has been lost from seven counties in north and east England in the last 100 years. Even in optimal habitats, population densities are less than 10 adults per hectare. Large numbers still live on the Isle of Wight and although dormice are widely distributed in Wales, individual populations are small, scattered and isolated from each other. Building hedgerows, habitat corridors and dormouse bridges is critical to this species' survival. Carried out at the Wildwood Trust in Kent, Dr Grant's research into this endangered species was published in the Journal of Comparative Physiology, and shows that dormice use active whisker sensing, with footage revealing that dormice actively and purposefully move their whiskers to gather relevant information from their canopy at night. Like other rodents, dormice move their whiskers back and forth continuously in a motion called whisking' to navigate small gaps and to explore their environment. Dr Grant adds: "Dormice are nocturnal and arboreal - meaning they spend most of their time in branches of trees off of the ground. Their movement within this canopy relies on their whiskers. Hearing, vision and smell also play a role in guiding them around their environments." The preservation of the dormouse is critical since these rodents are a flagship species', (meaning that careful management of dormice habitats will benefit a range of other species). They are also important as bio-indicators' as they are particularly sensitive to habitat and population fragmentation. Their presence should indicate that the area can sustain populations of other sensitive species By Press Trust of India: Kohima, Feb 1 (PTI) Two persons were killed while several others suffered injured in clashes between the police and a mob as groups of people rampaged government properties since last night in Dimapur and Longleng districts, even as polling to some Urban Local Bodies in Nagaland were held today. In view of the prevailing situation, all mobile data services have been blocked in the state since midnight, while some tribal bodies which were opposed to the holding of the elections called for a bandh in the districts. advertisement In Dimapur, two youths died and at least three were injured as a crowd gathered near the private residence of Chief Minister T R Zeliang at 3rd Mile and a police force tried to stop them around 9.30 PM, a state official said. There were reports of the deaths caused by police firing but not confirmed by the official who did not want to be named. In Longleng, the interior district of the state, seven people were injured after police resorted to firing in order to prevent a mob from entering the office of the DC Longleng, the official said. The mob also damaged polling materials of all the 11 polling stations as tension continued to prevail in both the district even as the administration has imposed 144 CrPC. Cops also fired in air in Dimapur, where people had gathered protesting the governments decision, the official said. In view of the prevailing situation, all mobile data services have been blocked in the state since last midnight and will continue till the situation was brought under control, official sources said. Meanwhile, different tribal organisations were observing bandh in some districts of Nagaland to boycott the elections by not allowing the voters to exercise their franchise during todays polling in for the 12 councils. The bandh has been called so that people cannot participate in the polling to be held from 7 AM to 3:30 PM. In Kohima, Angami Youth Organisation (AYO) Neinguvotuo Krose said they are calling a bandh from 8 AM to 3 PM as the government wanted to fool the people with its "divide and rule" policy. He said restrictions would be imposed on functioning of government offices and movement of peoples representatives like MLAs and other politicians. All private activities, hospitals, business, educational institutions and pedestrians are exempted from the purview of the bandh, Krose said. (MORE) PTI NBS SUS KIS PS --- ENDS --- A bill to legalize the possession of switchblades in Virginia for recreational and work use passed the House of Delegates Monday. The legislation sponsored by Del. R. Lee Ware Jr., R-Powhatan comes at the request of a Richmond-area switchblade enthusiast worried that he and his colleagues in the Greater Richmond Knife Club are technically breaking the law by taking knives from their collections to monthly club meetings. During floor debate last week, Ware said the bill would also help roofers and other workers who may need easy access to a blade that can be opened by a button or switch, without the use of two hands. Look past the shining but disconcerting name, switchblade, and look at the actual purpose and words of the legislation, Ware said. And join me in helping ordinary folks hobbyists and tradesmen by voting on this bill. Del. Alfonso H. Lopez, D-Arlington, called switchblades dangerous and deadly weapons and said lawmakers were opening the door to loosening rules on other weapons such as ballistic knives, which can be ejected a short distance. Lopez also noted that the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights group, had voiced support for the bill as a self-defense measure. We are creating a minefield here folks, Lopez said. The Virginia Sheriffs Association raised concerns with the bills original form, saying recreational purposes could mean just about any activity, not just hobby collecting. The bill was amended to say lawful recreational activity. A handful of Republicans joined House Democrats in opposition to House Bill 1432. Under current law, switchblades cannot be carried concealed. Anyone caught with a switchblade is automatically presumed to have the intent of selling it and could be found guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $250. The bill now goes to the Senate. You can send your loved one a modern Valentine the boring way, something ordered off the internet and delivered by mail or a classic barbershop quartet could personally deliver a Singing Valentine. The SML Harmeneers Barbershop chorus will send a quartet to anywhere local that your recipient is. The Valentine will include two songs or more songs, a rose and a card. Al Nelson, chairman of the Smith Mountain Lake Harmeneers, said the group delivers about 50 Singing Valentines each year. Usually, men send them to women, but we do get guys as recipients. Sometimes theyre very embarrassed, because it will be in an office or some kind of public setting, he chuckled. Other Singing Valentines can be quite inspirational or emotional, he said. With homebound people or handicapped people some of these can bring tears to your eyes if you get to witness it. Overall, he said, most of the recipients are very enthusiastic when they get one. Nelson said the group already had been around for several years when he joined it about 20 years ago. About 22 active members make up the Harmeneers chorus. Within the chorus, there are groups that are formed as quartets, he said. Barbershop quartets have to blend, so you assigned for different people whose voices blend with the four different parts. Its not an easy hobby, but its very popular. The four parts are a lead, a bass, a baritone and a tenor. Nelson sings lead. Each February, the quartets of the Harmeneers deliver about 50 singing Valentines, Nelson said. Each quartet has its own geographic area, so they cover a wide territory, including Franklin County. When a Valentine is ordered, a quartet will take requests if its members already have it in their repertoire, or if they will have time to get together to practice it enough. If not, then the Valentine-sender would choose songs from the quartets established repertoire. Some of the most popular songs sung as Valentines include Let Me Call You Sweetheart, The Story of the Rose and Youre the Flower of My Heart, Sweet Adeline though they change Sweet Adeline to Sweet Valentine, Nelson said. Another popular activity each year of the Harmeneers is its annual show in November at Trinity Ecumenical Parish. Its very well attended, Nelson said. The Harmeneers are a member organization of the Barbership Harmony Society based in Nashville, he said. Many of the Societys member groups deliver singing Valentines across the nation. The group is active behind the scenes, as well. It offers scholarships to area high school seniors, funded in part through the Singing Valentines. So far, it has given more than $40,000 in college scholarships, Nelson said. They also have an outreach program to high school music teachers to encourage barbershop harmony. Also, we will provide things the school system doesnt have the money to pay for, he said. One of the things that impresses me is the fact that we get to give somebody money to help them out with their education, he said. My son went to college and it was expensive. Every dime helps. Plus, it feels good to support talent, he added. When you interview the kids these days for scholarships there are really talented people out there in the system. Barbershops quartets have been popular since way back in the 19th century, Nelson said. Its just a tradition of four guys (singing) around a barrel, essentially. It goes back quite a way. Theres more to it than just singing, he added: Where just a lot of guys. You have to like each other, too. Nelson said that the Harmoneers always welcome potential new members, Its a fun hobby. Its definitely something different. Anyone interested to learn more about the group, and to sing with them, is invited to their chapter meetings (which include plenty of singing) from 7-9 p.m. Monday nights at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Moneta. The Harmeneers is a mens group, he said, adding that the society for womens quartets is Sweet Adelines. Singing Valentines will be delivered from Friday, Feb. 10, through Tuesday, Feb. 14. To arrange local delivery of a Singing Valentine, call (540) 721-1437. For Singing Valentines in Bedford County, call (540) 297-9231, and in Lynchburg, (434) 851-9300. Each Singing Valentine costs $50, and all proceeds from them will support the Harmeneers music scholarship program. By Press Trust of India: Johannesburg, Feb 1 (PTI) Scientists have confirmed the existence of a "lost continent" under the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that was left-over by the break-up of the supercontinent, Gondwana, which started about 200 million years ago. The piece of crust, which was subsequently covered by young lava during volcanic eruptions on the island, seems to be a tiny piece of ancient continent, which broke off from the island of Madagascar, when Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica split up and formed the Indian Ocean. advertisement "We are studying the break-up process of the continents, in order to understand the geological history of the planet," said Professor Lewis Ashwal from University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. By studying the mineral, zircon, found in rocks spewed up by lava during volcanic eruptions, Ashwal and his colleagues have found that remnants of this mineral were far too old to belong on the island of Mauritius. "Earth is made up of two parts - continents, which are old, and oceans, which are "young". On the continents you find rocks that are over four billion years old, but you find nothing like that in the oceans, as this is where new rocks are formed," said Ashwal. "Mauritius is an island, and there is no rock older than nine million years old on the island. However, by studying the rocks on the island, we have found zircons that are as old as three billion years," he said. Zircons are minerals that occur mainly in granites from the continents. They contain trace amounts of uranium, thorium and lead, and due to the fact that they survive geological process very well, they contain a rich record of geological processes and can be dated extremely accurately. "The fact that we have found zircons of this age proves that there are much older crustal materials under Mauritius that could only have originated from a continent," said Ashwal. This is not the first time that zircons that are billions of years old have been found on the island. A study done in 2013 has found traces of the mineral in beach sand. However, this study received some criticism, including that the mineral could have been either blown in by the wind, or carried in on vehicle tyres or scientists shoes. "The fact that we found the ancient zircons in rock (six-million-year-old trachyte), corroborates the previous study and refutes any suggestion of wind-blown, wave-transported or pumice-rafted zircons for explaining the earlier results," said Ashwal. Ashwal suggests that there are many pieces of various sizes of "undiscovered continent", collectively called "Mauritia", spread over the Indian Ocean, left over by the breakup of Gondwanaland. advertisement "According to the new results, this break-up did not involve a simple splitting of the ancient super-continent of Gondwana, but rather, a complex splintering took place with fragments of continental crust of variable sizes left adrift within the evolving Indian Ocean basin," Ashwal added. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. PTI SAR SAR --- ENDS --- Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ... By India Today Web Desk: Anurag Kashyap is not known to be a docile, compromising person. The writer-director of critically acclaimed films like Dev D and Gangs of Wasseypur frequently gets into heated fights with Twitter trolls for criticising the government and particularly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. FROM INDIA TODAY MAGAZINE: Who's behind the trolls? In fact, recently when director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was manhandled by a few members of the Karni Sena on Padmavati's sets in Jaipur, Anurag vigorously criticised the culprits and consequently, got into a fight with right-wing Twitter trolls. advertisement ALSO READ: Padmavati is not real. Why are you angry? A frequent fixture of the questions and grievances directed at Anurag Kashyap is that he only attacks Prime Minister Narendra Modi and never opens up about supposed Islamic terror or alleged attacks on filmmakers like Vivek Agnihotri. OPINION: Dangal girl Zaira Wasim's apology sets a dangerous precedent for Kashmiri achievers So, Anurag took to Facebook to respond to the whataboutery once and for all. Here is what he wrote. "Where were you when.. ," so many "where were you when.." all of them have just one answer, I was right here and I did not need to speak up because , the people who should have spoken, spoke. Be it Zaira , when the government and its people responded imdtly and condemned it, be it Vivek's film , who had the support of the state.. I speak when the state maintains silence or ignores, because that's when one needs to speak up.. the time I regret not speaking up was when the FTII was happening because I was working with our government and I was made to believe, they are actually working on changing the situation and I believed them. I was said those things , those words directly by the junior minister of I and B and he said , you don't need to get involved, we are solving it and addressing it. I believed. I believed later too on the issues of censorship and stayed quiet. Then I was up against the wall during Udita Punjab and all of them went silent on me. That's when I saw through the method behind the suppression, and how in my unshakable faith I too was becoming a tool. That's when I woke up. And since then I am here and will speak for that , which is not spoken for. This is where I am and where I will be.. so all of you can take your ,"where were you when xyz happened and shove it up your shitless ass.... thank you" (sic) ALSO READ: Anurag Kashyap fights trolls (again), calls them 'kiraye ke deshbhakt' In an earlier Facebook post, Anurag Kashyap also defended his stance to questioning Narendra Modi about atrocities happening in the country. "I have been taught to engage and question those that govern us and I have been doing that since I was a student and V P singh was the PM , followed by Congress and now BJP. I have been taught that your PM is the head of the state or country , who you can question , seek answers, argue with but never fear him, because you chose him and he represents your well being. If one has to fear him than that's sad," wrote Anurag Kashyap. On the film front, Anurag Kashyap's last directorial venture was the serial killer film Raman Raghav 2.0, which released last year. No details are known as of yet about Anurag's next project. ALSO WATCH: Meet the social media gangster; trolls who ruin people's reputation for a price --- ENDS --- How to watch, stream and listen to Iowa football's game against Purdue By India Today Web Desk: Bigg Boss 10's second runner-up Lopamudra Raut got chatty with her fans on Facebook live chat. She was overwhelmed with the love she received. Lopa had an interesting journey in the house, that included tussle with fellow contestants and making some great friends as well. She picked her favourite and worst moment in the house. Here's an excerpt of the chat. advertisement Things you have learnt in the Bigg Boss house Bigg Boss house has taught me to be patient, and has equipped me with strength to handle adverse situations. I have learnt that quitters never win and winners never quit. Lopamudra, Rahul Dev and Rohan Mehra in a still from Bigg Boss 10. Picture courtesy: Colors TV Rohan and I have a very pure relationship. He has always stood by me and I have been there for him as well. In the house, where it is so difficult to survive, it's great to find a friend who tries to understand you. We will soon meet in Amritsar. He will take me to the Golden Temple, that's the deal we have. Sabse bada dilwala in the house - Rahul ji (Dev) Sabse mature gharwala - Gaurav (Chopra) and Rahul ji Sabse friendly - I was the most friendly one in the house Sabse disciplined - Bani Sabse ladaku - Om ji and Priyanka Jagga. I should get an award to survive with Priyanka Jagga and Om ji in the house Lopamudra in a still from Bigg Boss 10. Picture courtesy: Colors TV Bigg Boss' voice, Rahul ji and Rohan (their friendship), Manu and Manveer's jokes, cooking in the house and Weekend ka War. Every Friday we had Weekend ka War, and Salman used to send us such delicious food. Favourite moment When I won the task against Manveer for captaincy. Manveer was physically strong, and to beat him was a big deal for me. ????????? A video posted by Lopamudra Raut (@lopamudraraut) on Jan 31, 2017 at 12:05am PST Worst moment My fight with Priyanka Jagga. It was an unfortunate incident and I wish it didn't happen. My people ?????? Thank you @Kanchisingh09 for being a wonderful person. You are such a stunning person with a beautiful soul. It was amazing to see you at the after party. I also got to know how sweetly you used to send messages with the celebs who came to the Bigg Boss house for me. Haha and also you loved how @rohanmehraa and I used to fight ?????? Bigg Boss thank you so much for everything and to my Lopa Army ????????? I love you all so much. A photo posted by Lopamudra Raut (@lopamudraraut) on Jan 31, 2017 at 12:31am PST advertisement Most emotional moment When Rahulji and Rohan left the house, because I was so connected to them. And when I was made to sit on the villain's chair, and when everyone came and apologised after knowing the truth. What will she (Lopa) do if Mandana suddenly appeared right now? Can I see air right now? She is as good as this air to me. --- ENDS --- Starting your day with a yoga flow? Fuel your body, and your soul with this Yoga Glow Smoothie. Packed with hydrating ingredients and nourishing goodness, this smoothie is the perfect breakfast recipe to kickstart your morning. On our most recent trip to Guatemala, I was completely inspired by the fresh fruit and delicious smoothies abundant there. I also took so much away from the slower pace of life that the locals embraced. People didnt seem to rush around, but really take their time and be present in whatever it was that they were doing. After the craziness of moving your life across a continent, immersing myself in this slower pace was exactly what I needed. One morning in Antigua, C and I leisurely walked the cobblestone streets looking for a place to grab breakfast. We stumbled across Samsara and I was immediately in love with everything on their menu. The thing that really caught my eye was their pre and post yoga glow smoothies. Though I hadnt done yoga that morning (we were heading out on a hike), I went for the post-yoga and C had the pre-yoga and both of them were basically what dreams are made of. It was the perfect way to start the day and hydrate before a big hike in the sun. I became determined to recreate it at home! Not only did I want to recreate the smoothie, but I also wanted to make sure that this slower pace and really being intentional about my mornings also came home with me too. So before I left Guatemala I journaled my way through a new morning routine, which Ive stuck to since landing back on US soil. I wanted to share this new routine with you because I truly feel that my quality of life has dramatically improved since implementing it. 1. Wake up slow Ive talked about this before, but what it really means is giving myself an hour or so to ease into my day. Instead of rolling over and reaching for my phone, Ive developed other rituals before jumping head into the tech. 2. Hydration I love my coffee or matcha, but water is so key. Im trying to start my day with a cup or two of water and have been loving the Simple Truth Distilled electrolyte water because it actually encourages me to drink. Plus it has no artificial sweeteners or preservatives. 3. Move Working out in whatever capacity feels right that day is so important to me. Sometimes it means taking Bodhi on a walk or run, but most of the time its a good yoga flow to get my muscles moving and stretch them out. Getting my sweat on is all the more reason to hydrate! 4. Meditate Ill be doing a more dedicated post on this soon, but Ive been able to find a meditation routine that actually works for me and have noticed Ive been far more mindful and calm throughout the day. 5. Green smoothie this is nothing new, I love me a green smoothie, but Im officially obsessed with this Yoga Glow Smoothie based off the one I tried in Guatemala. The inclusion of Simple Truth Vapor Distilled Water with Electrolytes helps my body recover faster. Its been truly amazing to see how changing the first hour of your day can completely transform the way the rest of the day evolves. I encourage all of you to try changing things up and see how it affects your day. I cant imagine a bad day if it starts with this yoga glow smoothie! Yoga Glow Smoothie Print Recipe 5 from 1 reviews Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes Yield: 1 smoothie 1 x Ingredients Scale 1x 2x 3x 1 cup blueberries blueberries 1/2 ripe banana ripe banana 1/2 avocado avocado 1 2 cups kale cups kale 1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and chopped knob fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 1/4 tsp turmeric turmeric 1 tbsp raw cacao raw cacao 1/2 tsp maca powder maca powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon cinnamon pinch of sea salt 1 cup Simple Truth Vapor Distilled Water (I use the blueberry-blackberry flavored) Simple Truth Vapor Distilled Water (I use the blueberry-blackberry flavored) optional: scoop of protein powder. Instructions Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Nutrition Serving Size: 1 This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kroger. The opinions and text are all mine. Whats your morning routine? How about a post-workout meal? Much like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have become status symbols among car owners in certain circles, a German pipe company has become the benchmark for cool in the cannabis paraphernalia industry. RooR, a company based in Frankenthal, Germany, makes upmarket water pipes (commonly referred to as bongs) that command top prices. The brand, which is spelled with the second R capitalized and turned around, has become synonymous with high-end marijuana culture. Related: The Many Ways the Cannabis Industry Lacks Traditional Marketing Expertise The company, in a slate of recent lawsuits, accuses cannabis shops in the United States of trying to steal their luxury brand appeal. The company and its U.S. partner have accused shops in California, Florida and New York of selling counterfeit products under the RooR name. The company alleges that the sales are in violation of Trademark No. 3675839. Counterfeiting is a huge problem for us, Jay Farraj, owner of Sream Inc., told the Associated Press. Sream is RooRs partner in the U.S. He said the fake RooR items have cost his California business millions of dollars. Tricky legal area. RooR has filed its lawsuits in federal court. However, marijuana remains illegal under federal law. And thats just one of the complications of the marijuana market in general and the lawsuits in particular. The RooR trademark officially calls the companys product a bong. And the company, unlike some other bong makers, is open about its commitment to legal cannabis. The company site directly addresses the companys goal of creating products that promote refined cannabis culture. Products that violate federal law cannot seek trademark protection. Alison Malsbury, a Seattle lawyer who works in cannabis trademark issues, told the Associated Press many of the lawsuits could settle out of court as neither RooR nor the sellers are keen on discussing their business in a federal court. To go into court and say under oath that what you are doing is a crime, that's something a lot of people are unwilling to do," she told the Associated Press. However, Jamie Sasson, who is representing RooR and Sream in the Florida cases, told the Associated Press the company is willing to go to court to fight against the counterfeit products. Luxury brand appeal. A look at RooR products quickly shows why less scrupulous sellers might want to tap into the brands appeal. On its website, Roor offers a philosophy section that speaks to the companys commitment to using high-level materials and expert craftsmanship to create bongs that stand above the average. We guarantee first-class smoking delight, the company promises. The site features a shop that looks like the Internet version of a plush showroom. They include straight, beaker and ash-catcher types of bongs, as well as papers, vaporizers and wide variety of RooR gear. The company also has partnered with rapper Cypress Hill to create the Phunky Feel Tips glass tips used in smoking cannabis. Related: The Wishful Outlook for Marijuana Jobs in 2017 They also have limited edition bongs that run from about 250 to 2,200 euros (one euro is currently equal to about $1.07 in U.S. dollars). With a pipe created by Roor, you comprehend smoking as culture, not as a mere way of consumption. This is our responsibility, our motivation, and our task, the site states. To stay up to date on the latest marijuana related news make sure to like dispensaries.com on Facebook. Related: Luxury 'Bong' Maker Faces Unique Trademark Infringement Dilemma How Cannabis Ecommerce Challenges Are Driving Web Innovation The Many Ways the Cannabis Industry Lacks Traditional Marketing Expertise Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved The Congress' chief ministerial candidate said highly-placed sources in Punjab police had told him that the Khalistan Commando Force perpetrated the attack on Jan 31, in which 6 people were killed and a dozen others injured. By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday accused the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) of carrying out the IED blast in Maur Mandi in Bhatinda. He said highly placed sources in Punjab police had informed him about the KCF perpetrating the attack on Jan 31, in which 6 people were killed and a dozen others injured. In a politically-charged atmosphere, Singh launched an attack on Kejriwal, accusing him of hobnobbing with anti-national elements who were behind the Bhatinda IED blast. advertisement The Congress' chief ministerial candidate termed the attack a political conspiracy. He said that Kejriwal was playing with fire. "Kejriwal is responsible for bringing together Naxals on the one hand and Khalistani elements on the other. He is willing to go to any extent to win the election, even if that means mingling with forces considered anti-national", Amarinder alleged. Also read | Union Budget 2017: Captain Amarinder Singh hits out at Arun Jaitley for poll sops Amarinder minced no words in hitting out at the Badal clan too, alleging that the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated under the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) regime. He said, "As many as 53 gangs, besides the Nabha gangsters, were having a field day in the state." SAD INDULGING IN BLAME GAME OVER BHATINDA BLAST Minutes after the IED blast at Maur mandi in Bathinda, the ruling SAD started indulging in a blame game, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party of backing elements aiming to destabilise Punjab. Kejriwal hit back soon after, accusing Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal orchestrating the entire incident. With the campaigning coming to an end in the high-octane Punjab battle, the Bhatinda incident has given political rivals in Punjab fresh ammunition to attack each other as is evident from the exchanges on social media sites like Twitter. This is a do-or-die for Congress, AAP and SAD in what is a triangular contest. The state goes to polls on 4th Feb. Also read | Punjab Election 2017: Amarinder Singh pulls out all stops on home turf --- ENDS --- Dad frets over the young saplings dotting the sidewalks of downtown Grand Island. From his office on the bottom floor of the Yancey Hotel on Second Street, he examines and waters them frequently. As one of the members of the new Downtown Improvement Committee who acquires the trees, he feels responsible when they droop in Nebraska's harsh mid-summer heat. Dad loves his baby trees, loves downtown, and loves owning his own business - First Holiday Tour and Travel. Sometimes driving by the corner of Second and South Locust, I catch the stoplight and stare through the long windows of the Yancey willing Dad and my sisters to glance up and wave. Dad likes having his kids around so much he persuades some of us to work for him. Joe, Mick, Rick, Deb and Mary all will be employed at the travel agency at one time or another. I love watching Dad and my brothers and sisters manage the family business together. The rest of us pop in from time to time to help answer phones or fetch the mail from the post office. By the end of the 80's, we've all left home except for Tommy and Jeff who are still in high school. Dad's feeling bereft without a house full of kids. The travel agency is his way of keeping us close. After we reach adolescence, Dad suddenly becomes awkward and finds it difficult to be physically affectionate. Mom could hug the stuffing out of us, but Dad blushes and doesn't seem to know what to do with his hands. Debbie realizes this and loves to embarrass him. After work at the travel agency, she and Dad make their way to the parking garage strolling down South Locust in the rosy twilight. Then Debbie ever so casually reaches out to grab Dad's hand and swing it a little. Sometimes she puts an arm around him or snuggles her head against his shoulder. "Stop that!" Hugely embarrassed, Dad shakes her off, but Deb only laughs. The very next evening, she does it again. The younger kids tease Dad in a way that we older kids never would have. Dad was a different father with us - loving but stern, disciplined, exacting. "You need to get after these kids!" I scold Dad one day when my younger siblings are all still at home. "Why don't you discipline them like you did us?" He shrugs. "It didn't do you any good," he sighs wearily, as if Joe, Mick, Rick and I turned out to be serial ax murderers. At the travel agency, Dad and my siblings talk and joke and grow very close. Sometimes the atmosphere is more relaxed than it should be. Mick, ever the practical joker, takes full advantage of the casual freedom that comes with a family business. One morning, Mary arrives at the travel agency to discover the door ajar. "Mick?" she calls. The office is dark, and Mary wonders if she neglected to lock up the night before. She steps into the office and gasps. The safe is wide open, cash is strewn all over the floor, and then she sees my brother's hand outstretched on the floor behind the counter. Paralyzed with fear, Mary can only gape at the terrible scene. The hand moves, and Mick laughs. He rises from behind the counter and leans over it laughing helplessly at Mary's terrified expression. Mary and Jeff "Mick!" she screams. "How could you? That's the worst thing you've ever done to me!" Furious and trembling, she collapses into a chair. "I thought you were dead!" she moans and buries her face in her hands. Abruptly, she sits up. "Hey, I know," she grins. "Let's do it to Deb." Deb's reaction is just as gratifying, and Mick and Mary howl with laughter. Wisely, they refrain from pulling the joke on Dad and clean up the office before he arrives. Dad, though he loves office banter with his kids, is the consummate professional. Every day he arrives at the office in one of his immaculate suits, specifically purchased for his bigger-than-life frame, and a starched shirt he's carefully ironed himself the Sunday before. At precisely 7:30 he switches KRGI radio to Paul Harvey's morning broadcast, arranges his desk, and fires up the computer. First Holiday Tour and Travel is open for business. During slow times in the office, however, even Dad relaxes. One afternoon he takes the opportunity to slip out the hall door to use the restroom. In his absence, a customer arrives, and Mary waits on her at the long counter in the front. Dad has no idea Mary is helping a client when he steps back into the office and issues forth an endless, deafening belch so loud it fills every corner of the office. Dad, impressed with the result, chuckles in appreciation until an agonized Mary politely draws his attention to the appalled woman behind the counter. "I'm so very sorry," Dad reddens deeply, ducks his head, and hurries to his desk. Poor Mary is the victim of most practical jokes in the office. Since the time she was little, my brothers have relentlessly targeted her trusting, innocent nature. "Mary," Joe calls across the office, "you're supposed to return a call to Myra at Livingston Sondermann." Livingston Sondermann is a local Grand Island funeral home, and Joe repeats the number to Mary. "What's her last name?" Mary checks with Joe as the phone rings. Clowning, Rick tries on his new Christmas sweater. "Mains," Joe says. Mary falls for it hook, line and sinker. "This is Mary from First Holiday," she says in her most business-like voice. "May I speak to Myra Mains?" She hears it as soon as she says it and immediately bangs down the receiver to glare at Joe who is enjoying his joke immensely. "Did you actually ask for My Remains?" he pretends to be shocked. "I hate you," she snarls. But in the end, she always laughs. Nobody takes a joke better than Mary. The travel agency becomes a family gathering spot of sorts. If we have an itch to see each other on the spur of the moment, we simply jump in the car and head over to the office. There's always a cup of coffee, Dad's face lights up with his big grin, Deb and Mary fill us in on the gossip, and Mick entertains us. In the party room a floor above the office, we celebrate family birthdays. Rick never ceases to surprise me at these gatherings. Even more sentimental than my sisters and I, he reaches across Dad's awkward hug barrier and grabs our big father before he departs. "I love you, Dad!" he says almost jokingly. But he means it. A very young man, Rick experiences deep regret that he never told Mom what she meant to him. He refuses to make the same mistake with Dad. Rick's hugs embarrass Dad, of course, but he seems to like it. It gives us all a little courage to reach out and pat our huge father on the shoulder or land a quick peck on his cheek. I long to throw my arms around him to lock him in a proper embrace, but that would be altogether too much for Dad's sense of propriety. The travel agency office on the bottom floor of the historic, stately Yancey Hotel becomes an unlikely second home to all of us. In the years after Mom's death, it's almost a symbol of new starts. Life goes on, and we are managing together. Who would ever have thought all those years ago when Dad and Mom crammed us into the old brown station wagon dragging us from Denver to Grand Island that the corner of Second and Locust Streets would become so dear? It was a long time ago. Today I am past 60 but have gone out of my way to drive by the long empty old travel agency and stop at that same corner with nostalgic yearning. I miss seeing Dad through the long windows of the Yancey. But he'd be happy about his tiny saplings. They're fine, respectable shade trees now nourished by the good Nebraska soil. Mom and Dad are part of that good Nebraska earth, too, and the ten children they brought to Grand Island 45 years ago have grown and flourished like the trees. If I look hard through the long windows of the now vacant office, I can see my sisters tending the phones and Mick laughing with a customer. Dad stretches his long legs and folds his arms behind his big, impressive head. With deep satisfaction, he surveys his little kingdom. The stoplight is green. I sigh deeply and drive on. It was all a life time ago. But it seems as close as yesterday. AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted and accused Deputy CM for the blast. He even demanded that Badal junior should be arrested. By Ankit Tyagi: Political blamegame over the blast at an election rally in Bathinda is set to intensify. After ruling Akali Dal accused the extremist elements supporting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of being responsible for the IED blast at Maur Mandi in Batindha that claimed 3 lives and left over a dozen injured, now AAP has hit back accusing Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh for orchestrating the incident. advertisement AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted and accused Deputy CM for the blast. He even demanded that Badal junior should be arrested. To ensure peaceful elections, sukhbir badal shud be immediately arrested. His role in yesterday's blast b probed. He'll cause more violence Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2017 Sukhbir Badal is hardened criminal who will go to any extent to ruin Punjab n its peace. EC MUST arrest him to ensure peaceful elections Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2017 The incident took place yesterday near the rally of a Congress candidate. Initial reports attributed this blast to a cylinder explosion but later senior police officials claimed that it was an improvised explosive device in a pressure cooker that caused this powerful blast. Security agencies clearly point out that it was a planned attack. Meanwhile, minutes after the blast, politics over it began. Congress and Akali's are blaming AAP and have said extremist elements are backing the party to destabilise Punjab. AAP has been defending these allegations as desperate attempt of both traditional parties in Punjab to stop its surge in the poll bound state. Also read: Days before Punjab goes to polls, 3 killed, 15 injured in IED blast in car in Bhatinda Watch the video --- ENDS --- President Donald Trump's executive actions this week give fresh hope to the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access pipelines. And that's the way it should be. We applaud Trump's executive action to ease the way for the government to reconsider its review and renegotiate terms of the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline, which would transport tar sands crude oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas, has become one of the most studied and politicized pipelines in recent U.S. history. It was approved at numerous stages of development, at one point even by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but former President Barack Obama waffled on it, creating new hurdles for it to scale before rejecting the proposal in 2015. The Keystone pipeline is not the grand jobs engine as its supporters claim, but neither is it a dire threat to the environment as opponents contend. It's a pipeline, just like the many thousands of miles of other pipelines that move crude oil and gas from one end of the United States to another. Pipelines are safer than shipping oil on trucks, tankers and rail cars, and the economic and national security benefits in this case outweigh environmental risks. For example, a State Department study during the Obama administration concluded that carbon emissions from the Keystone pipeline would amount to less than 1 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, hardly a threat to climate change or greenhouse gas mitigation strategies. And experts say that moving the crude oil by rail, truck or tanker would generate at least a 28 percent bigger greenhouse gas footprint than the pipeline. The number of jobs created from the pipeline has always been a dubious claim, which unfortunately Trump repeated at the signing ceremony this week. Yes, jobs will be created but not the 28,000 that he claimed. The greater benefit is in maintaining jobs for U.S. refiners and suppliers and providing another source of crude closer to home. Canada plans to export its crude oil to market. Completing the pipeline gives the United States an opportunity to benefit from energy sources on this continent. Trump also took action on the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been in limbo since the Army Corps of Engineers halted the project in December to consider alternative routes. Protesters from the local Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others had stymied progress on the pipeline, claiming that it would pose an environmental threat to the tribe's drinking water and would cross through its reservation. We've examined those concerns and don't find them persuasive. The route does not cross the reservation and while it does travel underneath the Missouri River, the primary drinking water source for the tribe, eight other oil and gas pipelines already safely cross the river. Trump's executive memo directs the Army Corps to "review and approve in an expedited manner, to the extent permitted by law" the Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners' project. The approximately 1,100-mile pipeline from the Dakotas to Illinois is more than 90 percent complete and deserves a timely decision on the remaining piece. Hear Grand Island was a big success last summer, drawing 8,000 to 10,000 people to downtown Grand Island over the course of 10 summer evenings. The outdoor concert series will return this year. But in order to make it a sustaining annual attraction, broader financial support is required. Sixteen Grand Island companies supported the inaugural Hear Grand Island on Friday evenings at Railside Plaza. The concerts offer free admission. Organizers this year have a more formal structure in place with which to solicit funds. The structure consists of five sponsorship levels, ranging from Promoter ($500 in support) to Rock & Roll Icon ($10,000). Exposure will be provided at the concerts to sponsors commensurate with the level of support. The intermediate levels are $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000. Andrew Norman of Hear Nebraska told the Grand Island Rotary Club on Tuesday about the benefits of Hear Grand Island and plans for the future. When young adults move away, communities lose their future earning potential, their community contributions and their creativity, Norman said. In addition, a strong workforce helps Nebraska lure and keep companies. But music, Norman said, helps convince young people to stay, move back or visit. In Lincoln and Omaha, Grand Island is often talked about as a great model for investing in youth culture, Norman said. Normans operation started as a nonprofit online publication devoted to Nebraska music. That site still exists, attracting 760 visitors a day. In order to make money, Hear Nebraska has moved into event production. In 2016, the company produced 49 concerts in 16 Nebraska cities. Those concerts delivered $61,000 to 140 Nebraska artists. Hear Nebraskas ventures include the Good Living Tour, Hear Omaha, Hear Lincoln and a Lincoln music festival called Lincoln Calling. Hear Lincoln and Hear Omaha were the models for Hear Grand Island, although some things are different, Norman said. For one thing, the Lincoln and Omaha concerts are presented over the noon hour. Last summer, Hear Nebraska wasnt sure how Hear Grand Island would be received. But Norman said he was just overwhelmed by the turnout. A wide range of people showed up to hear a variety of different music, including soul, hip hop, folk, indie rock and country. The artists were impressed with Grand Island, Norman said. The goal, he said, is to make Grand Island a music and cultural destination. Also speaking Tuesday were downtown business people Brent Lindner and Sharena Anson, who spearheaded the launching of Hear Grand Island. Anson said that not only did last years series go well, but it also brought a lot of local artists out of the woodwork. Norman said organizers would like to recruit more Hispanic artists from Grand Island to perform. One goal is to share proceeds from the series with nonprofit organizations. Thats community right there people helping people, Lindner said. In lots of ways, organizers were flying by the seat of their pants last summer, Lindner said in an interview. This years series will have additional costs, Lindner said. Plans call for a bigger stage with a roof over it. Ten concerts are scheduled, with two rain dates included if needed. The series will have a total cost of about $75,000, which includes the cost of the music acts, security and insurance. HS Football: North Penn upsets Pennsbury in instant playoff classic With the game on the line, North Penn coach Dick Beck opted to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt against Pennsbury. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced several measures in the Budget today that the BJP would love to encash in the upcoming assembly polls. By Prabhash K Dutta: The Election Commission objected to Budget presentation ahead of elections in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa saying this might give the BJP undue advantage in assembly polls. But, after Supreme Court's green signal Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget in Parliament today and announced several measures that the BJP would love to encash in the assembly polls. advertisement NO TAX TILL Rs 3 LAKH While income upto Rs 2.5 lakh remains untaxed, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an additional rebate of Rs 2,500 for people earning between Rs 2.5 lakh-Rs 3 lakh. Jaitley did not change the tax slab, but he effectively made zero tax liability for people earning upto Rs 3 lakh per year. Also read | Budget 2017 has something for everyone: All you need to know The measure is expected to give BJP a rallying point in states like Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, where the party is hoping to make serious inroads into Congress' political hegemony. Uttar Pradesh and Manipur are among the bottom-three states having lowest per capita income in the country. These two rank just above Bihar. TAX RATE SLASHED FOR INCOME UPTO Rs 5 LAKH Further, Jaitley reduced the tax liability of next income group annually earning upto Rs 5 lakh by half from 10 per cent to 5 per cent. Given the fact that with nearly 16 per cent population of the country, Uttar Pradesh pays a little less than four per cent of total direct tax collection, the Finance Minister has benefited a wider section of population (read voters) in the state. The BJP is likely to take the message to people in all the states about working for the lower income group people. RAILWAY TICKETS MADE CHEAPER Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are among the states witnessing maximum sale of railway tickets. These are also the states to dominate booking of E-tickets through IRCTC. The Finance Minister proposed in his Budget to withdraw surcharge on ticket booking via IRCTC. In effect, he has reduced railway ticket fare. Even though the reduction is not significant, but the BJP has definitely got some talking points in elections. HIGHEST EVER ALLOCATION FOR MNREGA Jaitley increased the allocation for rural employment scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to highest ever Rs 48,000 crore. Also read | Union Budget 2017-18: Income Tax rate halved to 5 per cent for Rs 2.5-5 lakh slab advertisement This move becomes significant in view of the fact that the election-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab have recorded massive increase in jobs under MNREGA. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab have surpassed the projections for the financial year. MNREGA provides 100 days of wage employment in a year in rural areas. RELAXATION FOR SMALL BUSINESSMEN The small traders and businessmen are understood to be the core supporters of the BJP. The Finance Minster reduced the tax rate for small and medium enterprises having annual turnover upto Rs 50 crore to 25 per cent from earlier 30 per cent. Jaitley said that this move would benefit 96 per cent of the small and medium enterprises- a move that will stregthen BJP's support base further. WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- The Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) is hosting an Open House from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16 to showcase its renovated clinic on the Edwardsville campus. The clinic is equipped to provide a full scope of dental services, including preventive dentistry, cleanings, fillings, crowns and bridges, dentures, surgery, root canals and implant procedures. The clinic also is equipped to perform simple and complex pediatric dental care. It provides additional training laboratory space in support of the Clinical Certification Course of the SDMs International Advanced Placement Program. We are excited to embark on the next advancement for the School of Dental Medicine, said Dr. Bruce Rotter, dean of the SIU SDM. By reopening the Edwardsville clinic, we will be able to expand the scope of our available care, provide that care to a greater demographic and provide an even higher level of training to our students. The Edwardsville clinic was originally built in 1997 to add additional program capability for the SDM. However after 10 years, it was necessary for the school to give up occupancy of the building for several reasons including rental costs, increased space availability in Alton and a need for consolidation. Following several years of leased occupancy by various businesses, the University reacquired the building. Rotter pointed to many benefits to reopening the clinic at SIUE: Ability to provide services to the Edwardsville campus students, staff and faculty will have the option of choosing the School of Dental Medicine for their treatment needs without the commute to Alton Expanding childrens access to dental care programs Expanding specialty training programs with greater access to specialty care Providing a referral service for complex cases that require faculty expertise, while providing training for students and residents The $3 million project was funded from private donations, SDM Clinic Operation, SDM equipment use fees, Parking Services revenues for repairing and surfacing the parking lot, and University Plant funds. The clinic will open to the public beginning March 1. It is located at 195 University Park Dr. The SIU School of Dental Medicine students manage approximately 35,000 patient visits each year at its patient clinics in Alton and East St. Louis. In addition, students offer oral health treatment, screenings and education to more than 10,000 people annually through a wide variety of off-campus community outreach events. These opportunities provide students the training they need to graduate and become highly skilled dentists. The School of Dental Medicine is a vital oral health care provider for residents of southern and central Illinois, and the St. Louis metropolitan region. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy, in collaboration with Alton Memorial Hospital, BJC HealthCare and the American Diabetes Association, is hosting the 11th annual Free Diabetes Education Program at SIUEs Morris University Center from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. The annual free program provides information and features topics related to both Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes. Participants have the opportunity to attend speaker sessions, a vendor fair, receive free screenings and a free lunch, and speak directly with healthcare professionals. The Village of Glen Carbons Board of Trustees entered into an agreement with an Old Town church to eliminate parking problems. Trustees approved an agreement with St. Thomas Episcopal Church, located at 182 Summit Ave. The parking lot behind the church, which is accessed from School Street, has been considered a public parking lot, while ownership is split between the village and the church. The church, which also houses a day-care center, had approached the board asking that the lot be restricted during business hours so that the drop off and pick up of children would not be hampered by people utilizing the parking lot to patronize other businesses in the area. Because the village owns half of the lot, village trustees felt the village owned portion of the lot needs to remain public parking. In addition, because the village provides snow removal for the entire lot, the village, trustees felt that the part of the lot owned by the church should allow public parking during non-restricted times. Village Administrator Jamie Bowden said the village counsel as well as church officials have reviewed the proposed agreement. The church will maintain their section and we will maintain ours, Bowden said. In consideration of them letting the public use the lot after the restricted times we will provide snow removal. The final agreement restricts public parking on the church owned section of the parking lot between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Overnight parking in the entire lot is prohibited. In consideration of the church making the parking lot open to the public aside from the restricted times, the village will take the responsibility of snow removal. Mayor Rob Jackstadt thanked the Public Service Committee for its work on the agreement. Im glad weve worked through this issue and it seems like a fair agreement for all parties involved, he said. Bowden said once village signs the agreement, church officials will sign the agreement. Trustees unanimously approved the St. Thomas parking lot maintenance and use agreement. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi and Muhamad Arif (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 16:28 2103 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0bdb4386 3 Opinion foreign-policy,geopolitics,Asia-Pacific-region,China,diplomacy,South-China-Sea,Retno-Marsudi Free Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi on Jan. 10 made her annual press statement, which among other things highlighted the achievements of Indonesian diplomacy during the course of 2016 and outlined the challenges and opportunities that the country would face in 2017. As in previous years, the foreign ministers statement deserves much appreciation for giving interested stakeholders and the wider public a clearer picture of the focus and direction that Indonesian foreign policy will take this coming year. Having said that, there was arguably one thing missing from the statement: China. While China was obviously mentioned in the statement it was referred to when the foreign minister talked about the urgent need to speed up the conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and the appreciation she paid to Beijing in that regard there was nonetheless no direct reference to China when it came to the list of areas and issues upon which Indonesian diplomacy will focus this year. This is unfortunate. China is too important to be left off the diplomatic agenda and Jakarta simply cannot afford to approach China on a reactionary case-by-case basis. A clear, proactive and comprehensive diplomatic approach is needed, with Indonesia determining a set of national interests it wants to achieve when it comes to China. Indonesia should realize that China is the contemporary major strategic reality of international politics. Its experience elevating itself from practically being a pariah state to becoming one of the worlds economic giants in one generation was unprecedented. Moreover, unlike other rising powers that have come before it, Chinas strategic ambitions are global in outlook rather than limited to the region. Its economic investments in Africa and the deployment of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean are testaments to this. Worryingly, Beijing maintains contentious views over international laws and norms. Its refusal to accept the Permanent Court of Arbitrations ruling regarding its South China Sea claim is a clear indication that China now feels bold enough to challenge the post-war liberal world order that has kept the world relatively stable and peaceful. Indeed, it is difficult today to find any major international issues that lack Beijing s marks on them. Sooner or later, therefore, international actors, including those in Jakarta, must adjust their policies and approaches in light of this new reality. It is imperative, therefore, for Indonesias diplomatic corps to devise short-term, mid-term and long-term objectives with regards to Chinas rise. These objectives should be guided by our strategic view of the nature of Chinas rise, the challenges that need to be addressed and the opportunities we can reap from it. At the same time, any objectives regarding Chinas rise must also question the rise itself. Beijing s slowing economy, which has hurt the region, including Indonesia, because of Chinas lessening demand for commodities, should serve as a warning. Similarly the Chinese stock market crash in 2015 that saw share values plunge by almost a third should lead us to at least consider the possibility that Chinas rise is not all that it may seem. Indeed, some experts have raised concerns about a hard landing amidst a property bubble in which thousands of new buildings sit unoccupied in various ghost cities in China. In light of this, by making clear its approach toward China, Indonesia should not be afraid of antagonizing anyone and must be prepared for all eventualities. At the beginning of her statement, Minister Retno stated that the world is increasingly faced with uncertainty that threatens international peace and stability, which in turn would pose challenges in the effort to achieve Indonesias national interests. Uncertainty, indeed, is the main enemy of stability and peace. Indonesias ambivalent approach toward China, if anything, would only add to the uncertainties rather than help clear them up. *** A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi and Muhamad Arif are respectively the head and a researcher at the ASEAN Studies Program at the Habibie Center in Jakarta. The views expressed are their own. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. It was a chilly Sunday morning when hundreds of people braved the cold water in the holy-spring bathing pool at Tirta Empul Temple in Tampak Siring, Gianyar, Bali. They were there for one purpose: to observe a purification tradition called Banyu Pinaruh. The people shivered as they dipped their heads under the pools 26 water fountains, but they were delighted to feel the water splash onto their bodies. This holy water ritual, or melukat, symbolically cleanses the body and soul. North of Ubud, about a 90-minute drive from Denpasar, Tirta Empul is one of the favorite places for Balinese Hindus to perform melukat. At another location, the sacred Sebatu waterfall, dozens of people were queuing for melukat as well. Banyu Pinaruh is conducted for many reasons. Balinese Hindus usually go to the sea, a river, a lake or a waterfall for the cleansing ritual, preferably before sunrise. Banyu Pinaruh is always conducted on the day after Saraswati Day, when Balinese Hindus pray and express their gratitude to the Goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge. Consisting of the Balinese words banyu (water) and pinaruh (knowledge) or pengeruwuh (wisdom), the tradition is seen as a way of eliminating negative influences and forces that may impinge on a humans physical and mental state. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 14:30 2103 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0bdaee4d 1 Art & Culture Indonesian-fashion,Indonesia-Fashion-Week,designers,local-artists,local-designer Free The annual Indonesia Fashion Week will return for its sixth installment from Feb. 1 to 5 at the Jakarta Convention Center, Central Jakarta, bringing new goals to develop local fashion crafts. The flagship event of the Indonesian Fashion Designers and Fashion Entrepreneurs Association (APPMI) plans to present 25 shows involving about 200 designers, seminars and talk shows, as well as an exhibition featuring 520 fashion brands, including from Myanmar, Lebanon, India, Australia, Italy, Malaysia and South Korea. The highlight of the five-day spread themed Celebration of Culture will be the transformation of local crafts in the hands of designers to enter the international market. We are committed to developing and promoting cultural heritage through fashion. The fashion event itself will bridge local artisans, designers and consumers in its goal to preserve the cultures and history of Indonesia, said designer Poppy Dharsono, the co-founder of APPMI and the chairperson of Indonesia Fashion Week (IFW) 2017. (Read also: At Men's Fashion Week, a collection was out of this world) Indonesian fashion should be seen as a statement of wisdom and concern for social, cultural and environmental issues. She spoke at a pre-event in the Sultan Hotel, Central Jakarta, which was also attended by Edy Putra Irawady, the deputy coordinating economic minister for industry and trade. APPMI designers have taken an active role in supporting the governments program of promoting 10 major tourist destinations, including East Nusa Tenggara. At the pre-event they showcased some of their designs that use woven cloths from 22 regencies in East Nusa Tenggara. We upgrade the quality and give them a modern feel, appealing to both local and international markets, said Poppy. Besides the woven cloth, IFW 2017 will present the modernized embroidery called kerancang gunting produced by artisans in Kudus, Central Java, as well as fashion craft artisans from East Javas Banyuwangi and Balis Gianyar. For Muslim wear, according to Poppy, the designers will introduce the traditional womens clothing of Bengkulu, known as kuluk. To liven up the theme, creative director Ivan Gunawan said that visitors could learn about the intricate process of making traditional clothing in Indonesia through giant LED screens placed at the main entrance of the venue, as well as at the art installations at the center of the exhibition area. The celebrity fashion designer said the organizer would create a 30-meter-long runway, only for Indonesian models to walk on. It will be an all-Indonesian event in which we will also promote our own models, he said. An unprecedented culinary section will showcase traditional Indonesian cuisine and delicacies where visitors will be able to sample some of the best Indonesian dishes. APPMI, which received the International Star Award for Quality in the Gold Category in Geneva last year for the management of IFW, expects 150,000 visitors to attend the event and about Rp 120 billion (US$9 million) worth of transactions, a 20 percent increase over last years figure. This Budget has raised huge expectations as it is the first one after demonetisation and is being presented just ahead of assembly polls in five states. By India Today Web Desk: Union Budget is being presented in Parliament as scheduled, the expectations are high from the annual financial announcement. Senior Kerala MP E Ahamad passed away yesterday which initially lead to uncertainty over Budget presentation. This Budget has raised huge expectations as it is the first one after demonetisation and is being presented just ahead of assembly polls in five states. advertisement READ| Uncertainty over Budget after MP E Ahamed's death BUDGET 2017: 10 THINGS TO EXPECT In the backdrop of demonetisation and in the view seventh finance commission implementation, expectations are high that the Union Budget will propose favourable changes in the income tax rates and slabs. Some speculations are being made that income upto Rs 4 lakh year may be exempted from taxation. With roadblocks for GST having been cleared, service tax may be increased from existing 14 per cent to 18 per cent making the transition smooth when the new tax regime takes over. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to push for more digitisation of economy. Incentives may be announced to encourage digital payments to move cash-dependent economy to cashless economy keeping it in sync with the Digital India schemes of the government. Demonetisation has impacted GDP growth in the last quarters. The Union Budget may propose measures to boost Start Up India programme of the government. A tax-free regime for five years may be announced for start ups. The government is pushing for digital and mobile banking and transactions. This calls for better penetration of smartphones particularly in the rural India. Budget 2017 may announce steps to make good quality smartphones more affordable to all strata of society. The government has shown keenness on promoting its Housing for All scheme by 2022. The Finance Minister may announce some measures to make house loans cheaper. Expectations are high that tax rebate on house loans may be increased from existing Rs 50 lakh. With the Rail Budget having been merged with the Annual Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may announce measures to strengthen safety of trains and upgradation of tracks. Demonetisation has come as a jolt to manufacturing and it also presented an opportunity for the government to boost agricultural sector. The Budget is expected to propose measures to make fertilizers cheaper, improve irrigation infrastructure and cheaper seeds. The Modi government has been emphasising on improving India's ranking on ease of doing business scale. Arun Jaitley may announce corporate tax reforms. He has already promised reducing the corporate tax in phases to 25 per cent. Given the Modi government's emphasis on Make in India and Skill India plans, Budget 2017 is expected to propose measures to attract foreign investment to boost manufacturing in India. More budget allocations are expected for expansion of road, rail and port networks in the country. --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) New York Wed, February 1, 2017 13:24 2103 9b519824cb3263083aedb70a0bda79ae 4 Health health,reproductive-system,health-issues,female Free Tlaleng Mofokeng was a medical student intern when she was assigned to conduct community services at a number of under-resourced hospitals in Kwazulu-Natal province in South Africa. During my internship and community service, I found myself doing caesarean operations with only one nurse and I encountered so many rape victims and victims of abuse, recalled Mofokeng, now a 33-yearold medical doctor and popular radio talk show host in Johannesburg. Growing up in QwaQwa, she always knew she wanted to be a doctor. I realized we all needed to work harder to address the social injustices that lead to rape, violence and a lack of respect for bodily integrity, added Mofokeng, who is also an avid sexual health advocate and vicechairperson of the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition. Isaac Ejakhegbe from Nigeria shared his heart-wrenching memory of his cousin, who was suspended from high school because of teenage pregnancy and later died from an unsafe abortion. Today, he passionately draws from his experiences to advocate for sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), family planning, safe abortion, as well as the youths critical role in access for girls and women to family planning services in Nigeria. Young doctor Marvin Masalunga expressed how the rocketing number of teenage pregnancies and the unchanging numbers of maternal, infant and neonatal deaths had inspired him to promote family planning, especially among the poor in his hometown in Palawan province in the Philippines. The Philippines is largely a conservative country. Religion and cultural beliefs play a significant role in decision-making for many families. It is not uncommon to hear women refusing family planning methods because the Church is against it, or because their husbands do not approve of such methods, explained Masalunga. Rakibul Hasan is a journalist, blogger and author who writes about various critical SRHR topics in Bangladesh. With his Peacempire project, he constantly tries to break the taboo and create awareness against early and forced marriage and violence against girls and women. About 66 percent of girls get married at the age of 18 and 60 percent of them have their first babies at 19. Some 10 percent of young girls get pregnant when they are just 15 years old, Hasan said. (Read also: Sex, lies and tapegate: Raising awareness for women's rights) Active advocate: Isaac Ejakhegbe is one of the winners from Nigeria. He was inspired to work on female health concerns by the death of his younger cousin.(Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health/File) As for Islamic populations in general, if the majority of people in Bangladesh believed that God would feed upon newly born babies, why would people be concerned about the future of such babies? The society thinks the concept of contraceptive use does not exist in Islamic practices. So anyone working on it will be labeled anti-Islamic and a Western propagandist, he added. Dedicated doctors, a journalist and a health advocate were among the 40 winners of 120 Under 40: The New Generation of Family Planning Leaders, a multi-year initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore with support from Bayer. This years competition included nominees from Indonesia, including young doctors Anggraini Sari Astuti, Nisa Sri Wahyuni, Maryam Qonita, Fitri Sari, Dini Haryati, Loveria Sekarini, Muhammad Ami, Jaya Setiawan Gulo and Irfan Riswan. Despite the fact that family planning programs have clear advantages for national and global interests, in the last ten years, family planning programs across the world have been slowing down. Jose Oying Rimon II, director of the Gates Institute, said the winners have unique and powerful stories to tell. They are not only competent and well-versed in research and practice but, above all, they are passionate and determined. (Read also: Common problems of the female reproductive system) Winning cause: Patricia Douglas, a young medical doctor and avid girls' and women's health advocate, was awarded for her contribution to advancing reproductive health and family planning and girls' health issues in her home country of Guyana.(Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health/File) They believe strongly that family planning and reproductive health are fundamental rights for all people everywhere especially the youth, who are too often left out of the decision-making process. This years winners also include researchers and founders of nonprofits who work all over the world in clinics and universities, in offices, and in the field to advance family planning and reproductive health. The winners will continue to serve as advocates and activists, scientists and service providers, and journalists and teachers in their countries and on a global scale to improve the lives of women, men and all people. I have no doubt they will ensure that youth voices are heard more clearly and more often on important reproductive health issues around the world, Oying said. In Ethiopia, Minister of Health Kesetebirhan Admasu has championed the countrys highly successful Health Extension Network, which improves the quality and availability of primary health care services especially family planning and reproductive health through community-based health workers. In India, Vithika Yadav is providing accessible, non-judgmental information on SRHR through the digital platform Love Matters India. The 40 winners for 2016 were chosen through public online voting, with scores given by a jury of experts and leaders in family planning. Marvin was excited. Its definitely overwhelming, he said. After all, I did not expect to be one of the winners of this international program. Its exhilarating and joyous at the same time. This award means a lot to us. It is an affirmation that we are on the right track in terms of the activities that we have been doing for our constituents. Tlaleng shared her buoyant feeling. I feel honored and excited to be part of this group of amazing individuals. To be chosen out of a large pool of hard-working individuals is really special, she said. It means that we are absolutely correct in the unapologetic manner in which we demand reproductive health for all people who need it. The many girls and women who do not have access to modern contraceptive methods need the rest of us to do our part in advocating for comprehensive solutions, she added. With these winners driving it forward, Oying hopes the family planning field will continue the resurgence it has experienced in recent years. The energy and dedication of these young champions contributes significantly to that forward momentum. They are truly the next generation of leaders. Now they are not isolated anymore. They will connect with each other and together change the world for better. They will be positive disruptors to reckon with, Oying said. *** The writer serves as a member of the International Jury for the 120 Under 40 initiative. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press) Washington Wed, February 1, 2017 President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he won't roll back federal workplace protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people, giving a rare nod of approval to President Barack Obama's work on the issue. In a statement released early morning, the White House said Obama's 2014 executive order prohibiting LGBTQ workplace discrimination would remain intact "at the direction" of Trump. The announcement came just hours before Trump was to announce his pick for the Supreme Court. That nominee, if confirmed by the Senate, would have a say in potential court challenges to gay marriage rights. The Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage in 2015, but efforts are underway in some states to try to restrict the scope of the decision. "President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election," according to the White House statement. "The president is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression." The Trump administration has vowed to gut much of President Barack Obama's work from the past eight years and had been scrutinizing the 2014 order. Obama's directive protects people from LGBTQ discrimination while working for federal contractors. Human Rights Campaign, an opponent of the Trump administration, said it isn't convinced of the president's commitment to LGBTQ rights. HRC President Chad Griffin said Trump "has left the key question unanswered will he commit to opposing any executive actions that allow government employees, taxpayer-funded organizations or even companies to discriminate?" Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono has denied that a program to disburse Rp 1 billion (US$74,197) per year to every community unit (RW) in the city is unfeasible given the current budget constraints. Agus claimed the city budget could accommodate the program. The former middle-ranking military officer said that, according to his calculations, the program would only require Rp 2.7 trillion while Jakarta's annual budget was around Rp 70 trillion. There are approximately 2,700 RWs across Jakarta. Many have questioned the program's feasibility, including incumbent candidates Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat. How come Pak Djarot could not calculate it? [Rp 2.7 trillion] from Rp 70 trillion is nothing, especially if it is allocated to empower community units, Pak Djarot! Agus said after a campaign event with Jakartan youths in Central Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon. During a campaign visit in Cilincing, North Jakarta, on Monday, Djarot said the program would significantly burden the city budget. He also said giving Rp 1 billion to every RW could lead to misuse and potential corruption. (Read also: MUI chief accused of bias for issuing recommendation on Ahok) Many have considered the program to be a form of vote-buying because Agus promised to give people money to get votes. Agus has brushed off the allegations. A recent poll by Indikator Politik Indonesia suggested a drop in Agus-Sylviana Murnis popularity in January was partly caused by the lack of a thorough explanation of the program during the first official candidate debate on Jan. 13. (bbs) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 The campaign team of Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Sylviana Murni has launched a mobile application that enables residents to report suspected fraud during the campaign period and on voting day on Feb. 15. Agus said on Tuesday that the mobile app, Aplikasi Jaga Agus-Sylvi (Application to safeguard Agus-Sylvi), had been launched last week and through it, people could report any type of suspected fraud. Agus further said his team had received several reports from supporters on the ground, including on phantom voters, or people who were not eligible to vote in a particular electoral district but cast their votes there using means such as fake identity cards. Agus did not elaborate further on the reports. We are grateful that since the app was launched, we have received many reports, which we will forward to the KPU Jakarta [Jakarta General Elections Commission] and Bawaslu [Elections Supervisory Agency], Agus said after a campaign event for young people in Central Jakarta. He encouraged people to watch out for potential fraud in the election. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which backs the Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno candidate pair, previously warned supporters about foreigners potentially being deployed to vote for particular candidates. When campaigning for the pair over the weekend, PKS deputy advisory chairman Hidayat Nurwahid encouraged voters to observe their surroundings on voting day and to anticipate the possibility of foreigners casting votes illegally. Speaking to The Jakarta Post recently, Bawaslus Jakarta chair Mimah Susanti said her agency had not yet found any evidence to prove that so-called phantom voters existed. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 The campaign team of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama asserted on Wednesday that it would not report Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Maruf Amin to the National Police over a recommendation regarding Ahoks alleged blasphemy that was considered biased. Its not true that Pak Ahok will report Pak Maruf to the police for his testimony at Tuesdays hearing. Pak Ahok and his legal team will only report plaintiffs who have given improper testimony since his first trial, Ahoks campaign team secretary Ace Hasan Syadzily said in a written statement on Wednesday. Ma'ruf is not one of the plaintiffs [...] He was presented at the hearing as a witness in his capacity as MUI chairman, not as a representative of Nahdlatul Ulama [NU], he asserted, referring to Indonesias largest Islamic organization. (Read also: Dems reject conspiracy claim linking party's patron to MUI chairman) During the governors eighth hearing on Tuesday, Ahoks legal team accused Maruf of bias when issuing a recommendation on the blasphemy allegations against Ahok. According to the team, Maruf had been influenced by Democratic Party patron and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the issuance of a recommendation in which the council categorized Ahoks speech that cited a Quranic verse as blasphemous. The team claimed that Ma'ruf, who testified as a witness in the hearing, received a phone call from Yudhoyono on Oct. 6, one day before a meeting between NU executives and Dems-supported Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono-Sylviana Murni took place at the NU headquarters on Jl. Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta. Maruf attended the meeting. Maruf, however, denied all accusations during the hearing. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan said on Wednesday that if elected, he would impose policies to curb the number of children driving motorcycles as part of efforts to reduce traffic accident rates. The former education and culture minister added he was concerned about poor safety on Jakarta's roads. Speaking during a discussion on road safety, Anies said one of the policies he would implement was to make public transportation free of charge for children and teenagers so they did not need to take motorcycles everywhere. During my campaign, I have listened to a lot of parents complaining that public transportation costs are too high so they give their kids motorcycles instead. Therefore, affordable public transportation is important for Jakarta to have safer streets, Anies said. (Read also: Agus claims 'Rp 1b per RW' program feasible) Moreno Suprapto, racing car driver-turned Gerindra Party politician, appreciated Anies plan, adding that his research had found a worrying level of traffic accidents in Jakarta involving children between 16 and 21 years old. At such young ages, children tend to have uncontrolled tempers and this has been a major cause of a lot of accidents in Jakarta, he added. (bbs) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fachrul Sidiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Witnesses summoned on Wednesday to testify about treason allegations implicating some political activists, including Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia's first president, denied accusations that they planned to commit treason. Investigators with the Jakarta Police questioned Islam Defender Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab and secretary-general Munarman, as well as the chairman of the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), Bahtiar Nasir, on Wednesday in relation to a meeting attended by treason suspect Sri Bintang Pamungkas and several others. "Regarding the meetings, I visited Bu Rachmawati's house and she also has come to my house, but never have we talked about treason or planned to commit treason. Our meetings were mainly about the 411 and 212 rallies," Rizieq said upon arriving at the Jakarta Police headquarters. He was referring to two large rallies on Nov. 11 and Dec. 2 last year that were held to demand the prosecution of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Thajaja Purnama on blasphemy charges. On Dec. 2, the National Police arrested Rachmawati and 10 other people for treason-related charges and for insulting the government. They were accused of attempting to use the Dec. 2 demonstration at the National Monument (Monas) to topple the current government. Bahtiar, who arrived at police headquarters earlier than Rizieq, issued a similar denial, saying that his visit to Bung Karno University in Central Jakarta, where the meeting to discuss the alleged treason plan supposedly took place, was to deliver a sermon, in line with his capacity as a cleric. Meanwhile, outside the police headquarters, hundreds of FPI loyalists staged a rally to support their leader. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Wed, February 1 2017 Infrastructure development, according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, is an endless process amid ever-rising demand. This should be something quite familiar to state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II. Only six months after the inauguration of Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten, the company is now studying the possibility of building a new airport in greater Jakarta to serve the increasing number of passengers in Indonesias busiest city. AP II president director Muhammad Awaluddin said Jakarta needed a second international airport, as the capital city was expected to see 100 million passengers in 2026, around half of the countrys total passengers. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Suherdjoko and Eva Aruperes (The Jakarta Post) Semarang/Manado Wed, February 1 2017 Some General Elections Commission (KPU) offices across the country are facing difficulties delivering election material to remote islands following unpredictable weather and high waves that have hit the regions. In Central Java, bad weather has hampered KPU Jepara from delivering material to Karimunjawa, a tourist destination located about 80 kilometers north of Java. We have prepared election material for Karimunjawa but the authorities are not allowing sea travel in the area. We still have time until Feb. 6. If shipping is still prohibited on Feb. 6, we will ask the National Police or the Indonesian Military [TNI] to help distribute the material via ships or helicopters, KPU Jepara head M. Haidar Fitri said on Tuesday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Suherdjoko and Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Semarang/Pontianak Wed, February 1 2017 What would you do if you only had one candidate to vote for in an election? Some Indonesians, faced with that scenario, have resorted to campaigning for a kotak kosong (blank box), in a bid to prevent the sole candidate from winning the election. This year, 11 regions are set to see candidates run uncontested in the 2017 regional elections, which will be held simultaneously on Feb. 15 in 101 cities, regencies and provinces across the country. The term blank box is derived from the balloting system introduced in 2016 by the General Elections Commissions (KPU), which allowed voters who rejected the sole candidate to instead vote for a blank box on the ballot. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login The opposition parties have slammed the Narendra Modi government for not postponing the event despite the death of sitting Lok Sabha MP E Ahamed the same day. By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: The Opposition and ruling BJP are sparring over the presentation of Budget on Wednesday. The opposition parties have slammed the Narendra Modi government for not postponing the event despite the death of sitting Lok Sabha MP E Ahamed the same day. On the other hand, the ruling BJP has defended the Centre for going ahead with the annual exercise. advertisement Amidst this war of words, there are three reasons why the government may be justified in not deferring the Budget presentation despite vehement objections from the Opposition: 1. TWO PRECEDENTS It is not the first time that the Budget was presented despite a sitting member's death on the same day. There are at least two precedents. On August 31, 1974, the then minister of state in the Indira Gandhi government, MB Rana, died on the Budget day. The then Speaker GS Dhillon went ahead with the Budget presentation. Also read | Budget 2017 has something for everyone: All you need to know On April 19, 1954, sitting member Jujhar Pal Sorein died on the day Railway Budget was to be presented. But the House proceedings were held as scheduled. Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister then. On both the occasions, the Lok Sabha met in the morning, was adjourned for a few hours as a mark of respect to the departed and the Budget was presented in the evening. In those days, Budgets would be presented at 5 pm. 2. CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATION Unveiling of the Budget is a constitutional obligation. It is above party politics. This was also pointed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan while giving her ruling in favour of presentation of Budget as per schedule. She said President Pranab Mukherjee had specifically fixed February 1 as the day for Budget presentation and it was a constitutional obligation. However, before the called Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, she read the obituary and members of the Lower House stood in silence for two minutes to mourn the death of Ahamed. The Speaker also announced that the House would not meet on Thursday as a mark of respect to the departed member. 3. EMOTIVE ISSUE While unveiling of Budget is a constitutional obligation, adjournment of House or deferring its presentation due to the death of a sitting member is not. Despite serious objections raised by the Opposition, neither the Supreme Court nor the Election Commission stopped the Narendra Modi government from presenting the Budget on February 1, just three days ahead of the start of Assembly elections in five states. If the Supreme Court and the Election Commission did not stop the Budget presentation despite the forthcoming Assembly elections, the death of a sitting member was not a more serious issue to render its postponement. Far from being technical, it was an emotive issue. advertisement OPPOSITION'S STAND Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took the Centre to task for presenting the Budget hours after Ahamed's death, saying it was "improper, unfortunate and amounted to showing disrespect" to the departed leader. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge too criticised the BJP-led NDA government for proceeding with the presentation of the Budget in the circumstances. He even accused the Centre of delaying announcement of the news so that it could present the Budget without any hurdles. Also read | Union Budget 2017-18: Income Tax rate halved to 5 per cent for Rs 2.5-5 lakh slab Talking to India Today, Congress' Communication Department in charge Randeep Singh Surjewala slammed the Centre. He said, "The cavalier and inhumane manner in which the Modi government treated the family of Ahamed by forcibly preventing them from knowing about his emergent medical condition as also their maltreatment itself raises grave suspicion of the intent of the government. They wanted to keep Ahamed on ventilator till after the presentation of Budget." He further said, "Why should a government drunk with arrogance of numbers treat a former Union minister and his family in this cruel fashion?" advertisement BJP'S DEFENCE However, the ruling BJP launched a counter attack on the Opposition, particularly Congress over the issue. Speaking with India Today, party spokesperson Nalin Kohli said, "The Congress party maintains double standards "when faced with similar situation in office and when in opposition demanding exactly the opposite." Kohli alleged that Congress was willing to go to any extent for their sagging political fortunes, even if it meant the blocking of due process that should take place as per Constitutional provisions. WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- What would you do if you only had one candidate to vote for in an election? Some Indonesians, faced with that scenario, have resorted to campaigning for a kotak kosong (blank box), in a bid to prevent the sole candidate from winning the election. This year, 11 regions are set to see candidates run uncontested in the 2017 regional elections, which will be held simultaneously on Feb. 15 in 101 cities, regencies and provinces across the country. The term blank box is derived from the balloting system introduced in 2016 by the General Elections Commissions (KPU), which allowed voters who rejected the sole candidate to instead vote for a blank box on the ballot. Unopposed candidates in 2017 local elections.(JP/File) In Central Java, blank box communities are grouped under the Pati Election Democracy Monitoring Alliance led by Sutiyo. The group was formed as a response to the Pati regency election ballot having only one option, namely incumbent Haryanto and his running mate Saiful Arifin, a ticket backed by eight political parties. This sole candidate situation has proved that regeneration within political parties does not work, Sutiyo told The Jakarta Post. Despite this, many people in Pati dont know that they can choose to vote for the blank box if they dont want to vote for the sole candidate. Thats what weve been trying to do. However, it was not easy for Sutiyo and members of his group to campaign for blank box as they had to go door-to-door and use social media to spread the message to communities. We previously planned to organize ketoprak [traditional Javanese theater] to promote this movement. However, the police didnt issue the permit, Sutiyo said, adding that his group had also tried to recruit university students. We dont encourage people to be golput [abstainers]. We are just showing that people have the right to choose the blank box, Sutiyo said, adding that the members collected money to fund the groups activities. Should the blank box win, KPU commissioner Juri Ardianto said that the KPU would hold another election. We still dont know the procedure for moving forward with the election should the blank box win. This has not been specifically regulated in our laws. The lawmakers should further discuss this, Juri said, adding that to avoid an administrative vacuum, the government could appoint acting leaders in the respective regions. A blank box group also exists in Landak regency, West Kalimantan, as Karolin Margret Natasa and incumbent deputy regent Heriyadi are the sole candidate pair. The movement, called Pilih Kotak Kosong (Choose the Blank Box), has run its activities underground through word-ofmouth, such as through conversations in coffee shops, said Maskendari, who represents the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at the West Kalimantan Legislative Council. They havent carried out an open campaign. Rather, the movement is promoted through word-ofmouth in daily conversations, Maskendari said, adding that he had no idea who was behind it. (Read also: Seven provinces most vulnerable in 2017 elections: Index) In Papua, an expert at Cendrawasih University, Marinus Yang, criticized political parties for not listening to the people since there was only one option on the ballot for the Jayapura mayoral election, namely Benhur Tomi Mano and Haji Rustan Saru. A blank box campaign also exists in Central Maluku, where an organization called the Central Maluku Peoples Democracy Coalition has encouraged residents to vote for the blank box, instead of for incumbent regent Abua Tuasikal and deputy regent Marlatu Leleuri. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1 2017 The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) hopes to strengthen its business performance by selling more goods for profit and expanding its post-harvest facilities to absorb more produce from local farmers. By selling more options of commercialized products, apart from subsidized staple foods, the firm aims to jack up its earnings before tax by 74.4 percent to Rp 1.46 trillion (US$110.12 million) this year from Rp 841.7 billion last year. It also expects to increase revenue by 10.6 percent to Rp 51.4 trillion and invest up to Rp 2.3 trillion for post-harvest infrastructure. Bulog will introduce better quality products to increase profit. Weve started building brands with the tagline: sehat dan murah [healthy and affordable]. This is still in line with our vision to serve the public with affordable staple foods, said Bulog chairman Djarot Kusumayakti in a media briefing on Tuesday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang Wed, February 1, 2017 Central Java will soon have toll roads that cut down traveling time while offering breathtaking views for passing motorists. Currently under construction, the toll road connecting Central Javas capital of Semarang with the beautiful town of Salatiga will spoil motorists with scenic landscapes, majestic mountains and lush valleys. The 22.8 kilometer Semarang-Bawen toll road and the 17.6 km Bawen-Salatiga toll road will take motorists along the slopes of the mountains in Ungaran as well as well as over the rushing streams of Tuntang and Rawa Pening rivers. Moreover, a tall, 360 meter-long bridge that straddles one of these rivers will offer another spectacular vista. The construction stage of the Bawen-Salatiga toll road is expected to be completed by March. The construction project is 81.26 percent complete and we hope it will be finished in March. Ideally, the toll road can be used by motorists traveling to their hometowns during the next Ramadhan exodus, PT Trans Marga Jateng director for operations Ali Zainal Abidin said on Thursday. (Read also: Pillar supporting bridge on Bandung-Jakarta toll road deformed) PT Trans Marga Jateng is a private company co-owned by state-run toll road operator Jasa Marga and PT Sarana Pembangunan Jawa Tengah, a company owned by the Central Java provincial administration. At present, the companys workers are excavating and clearing land in the hilly regions of Kandangan and Polosiri, both in Semarang regency. They are facing the difficult task of clearing an opening on a 30 meter-tall hill in Polosiri. Weather conditions have often hampered our work there. When rain falls we have to stop work. Our target is to complete the toll road in one month, the companys manager for implementation oversight Togu H. Siringoringo said. In Kandangan, the workers have to deal with a different problem: unstable ground. The workers employ bored piling, a technique to drill a deep bore into the ground and fill it in with reinforced concrete, to deal with the problem. As many as 198 bored piles have been placed at a depth of up to 43 meters in Kandangan and 18 meters in Polosiri. Bored piling will stabilize the ground, Togu added. The Semarang-Bawen and Bawen-Salatiga toll roads are part of a 72.64 km-long network of toll roads connecting Semarang with Solo, the cultural center of the province. The network will be equipped with large rest areas with gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants and mosques. This network in Central Java is part of a much larger network of planned toll roads that will span 652 km from Cikampek in West Java to Surabaya in East Java. That network comprises the 321 km Cikampek-Semarang toll road, the 72.6 km Semarang-Solo toll road, the 178 km Solo-Mojokerto toll road and the 78 km Mojokerto-Surabaya toll road. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1 2017 The city administration has won kudos recently for expanding the bus rapid transit system (BRT). However, it is still failing to improve its bus safety record, with the number of accidents involving city-owned bus operator PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) rising over time. In 2016, City Hall recorded 783 accidents taking place on Transjakarta lanes, an 87 percent increase from the 415 accidents recorded in the previous year. Despite the increase in the number of accidents, 2016 saw fewer casualties, with five deaths compared with seven in 2015. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura, Papua Wed, February 1, 2017 Hundreds of voters with disabilities in Jayapura, Papua, are hoping they can cast their votes during the concurrent regional elections slated for Feb. 15. As Indonesian citizens with civil and political rights equal to others, we hope we can exercise our right to vote, although we have limitations Papua-chapter Indonesia Difable Foundation (PCI) secretary Robby Yong said in Jayapura on Tuesday. He said many people with disabilities did not have wheelchairs, while in several cases, those with severe disabilities could only lie on their beds despite the fact they had the right to vote. It is our hope that their right to vote can be exercised. If it is possible, election officials could visit them in their homes, just like polling station officials visit voters who are undergoing medical treatment in hospitals or who are incarcerated in prisons, said Robby. According to the Papua General Elections Commission (KPU), 554 disabled voters were set to participate in the upcoming regional election in Jayapura. Robby said that in earlier elections, many people with disabilities in Jayapura had not been able to cast their vote because they could not get to the polling stations. In the most recent election, around 40 people with disabilities in a Difable Foundation safe house refused to go to the polling stations, claiming some of them had suffered accidents when they tried to cast their vote. KPU Papua chair Adam Arisoi said there were no technical guidelines about serving disabled voters who did not have access to polling stations. Hence, it was their families who would hopefully help them reach polling stations to cast their votes. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1 2017 Jakarta deputy gubernatorial candidate Djarot Saiful Hidayat was surprised by a large banner that read 2017 Resolution: Put Ahok in prison when he was on a campaign visit to Jati Pulo, West Jakarta, on Tuesday. The banner referred to Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, Djarots running mate, who is currently on trial for blasphemy in relation to remarks he made in Thousand Islands in September last year. Djarot was inspecting an old pedestrian suspension bridge when he suddenly stopped after noticing the banner at the other end of the bridge.Isnt that provocative? he asked, while shaking his head, as reported by kompas.com. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Wed, February 1 2017 It is easy to become famous these days or at least infamous. A lecturer at a private university, Alfian Tanjung, told an audience that Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki used to be a member of the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), who held daily meetings with fellow members at the palace. Alfian is thus becoming much more known than he was a few weeks ago, for having leveled such a serious accusation. It is a serious allegation because it doesnt affect Pak Teten as a person but also the KSP [Office of Presidential Staff] that he chairs, Ifdhal Kasim, one of Tetens lawyers, said after submitting the complaint to the National Police. The best way to dismiss such allegations may be to ignore them, instead of catapulting the alleged offenders to fame, further fanning divisive debates over sensitive issues. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 A Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800 airplane carrying 123 passengers from Jakarta to Yogyakarta skidded of the runway while landing at Adisutjipto Airport on Wednesday evening, a Garuda Indonesia official said. It happened at 7:42 p.m. when the rain was pouring hard. All passengers were safe, vice president of corporate communications at Garuda Indonesia told The Jakarta Post Wednesday. The pilots of the flight were Capt. Rio Kurnia and Aulia Riyani and five cabin crew members were on board. He said the rain made the runway slippery. The aircraft was still on the runway but we hoped it could be moved in an hour, Benny said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Syamsul Huda M. Suhari (The Jakarta Post) Gorontalo Wed, February 1, 2017 Gorontalo province has reported a shortage of 13,505 ballots two weeks ahead of the election to choose a new governor. Gorontalo General Elections Commission (KPU Gorontalo) official Verrianto Madjowa said Wednesday the shortage of ballots included damaged ballots and ballots with flawed printing. Our colleagues have gone to Makassar to make sure the replacements arrive on Thursday via airplane, Verrianto said. The printing company of some of the ballots is in Makassar, South Sulawesi. (Read also: Violations detected in Jepara election campaign) He said the most damaged ballots were in Gorontalo municipality with 6,826, Gorontalo regency with 3,259 and Pohuwatu regency with 1,429. Three other regenciesNorth Gorontalo, Bone Bolango and Boalemo -- also recorded damaged ballots. For the gubernatorial election in Gorontalo, the province needs 811,888 ballots, including the 2.5 percent additional ballots. The head of Gorontalo KPU La Aba said the folding process had gone well, and that they did not hire people outside of his own staff. The office would start distributing ballots to district offices from Feb. 9 to 10. Three pairs will compete in the Gorontalo elections: Hanah Hasanah-Toni Yunus, Rusli Habibie-Idris Rahim and Zainuddin Hasan-Adhan Dambea. Hanah is the wife of Fadel Muhammad, former Gorontalo governor and former maritime and fisheries ministry. Her running mate Toni is a former Gorontalo regent. Zainuddin is the former Pohuwato regent and Bulukumba regent and his running mate Adhan is the former Gorontalo mayor. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Religious intolerance in the country has risen following President Joko Jokowi Widodos ascension to power in 2014 as the government has turned a blind-eye to increasing acts of intolerance against religious and ethnic minorities, a report has said. The report from human rights watchdog Setara Institute revealed that violations of religious freedom increased to 208 incidents in 2016 from 197 in 2015 and 134 in 2014, while acts of religious intolerance increased to 270 last year from 236 in 2015 and 177 in 2014. From 270 acts of intolerance, 140 acts reportedly involved state actors, including police officers and local administrations. Most of this intolerance occurred in the form of discriminative laws and indifference to intolerant behavior directed against minorities. Meanwhile, 130 acts of religious intolerance were committed by non-state actors, including local citizens, Islamic-based groups, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as well as the firebrand Islam Defenders Front (FPI). The number of cases involving state actors is rising, said Halili, a Setara Institute researcher on religious freedom. (Read also: Coping with growing intolerance in Indonesia) According to Halili, law enforcement officials, particularly the police, still face the same-old dilemma when it comes to their responsibility to suppress intolerant groups committing violence against religious minorities. There were 16 cases where the police turned a blind-eye to acts of religious intolerance in 2016. The police tend to be soft on intolerant groups who in most cases carry the mantle of Muslim-majority. This suggests that the police want to preserve and secure stability before freedom and human rights as they are worried that siding with the minority might escalate conflict in the country, he said. Such attitudes seem to make it difficult for law enforcement bodies to act decisively against intolerant groups. In fact, according to Halili, the government and its law enforcement bodies should always refer to the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion and belief for all Indonesians. If the government does not refer to the Constitution, the violations will continue. Jokowi will just continue the legacy of the former president [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono], where the effort [to uphold religious freedom] was stagnant and violations kept repeating, he added. Last year saw incidents of violence against minority religious groups such as the Gafatar, Ahmadiyah, Shia and Christian communities as well as believers of indigenous and native faiths. The highest number of cases occurred in West Java with 41 cases followed by Jakarta with 31 cases and East Java with 22 cases. Ex-members of Gafatar, which has been banned by the government, have been the victims of intolerant acts, including suffering the humiliation of being evicted from their homes in Kalimantan in January 2016. In a recent case in Bandung, West Java, the Reformed Injili Indonesia Church was forced to cancel a Christmas service following a protest by dozens of members of an Islamic group. The police were criticized for caving in to the mob. Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said the first two years of Jokowis administration had failed to improve on the Yudhoyono administration in terms of supporting religious freedom in Indonesia. The President has to always be careful in policy-making so that he will not lose the popular vote. Any political actor in Indonesia always tries to look like hes supportive of Islam, Bonar told The Jakarta Post. Traditionally, the House adjourns for a day to mourn a departed sitting member who dies either during the inter-session period or during the session itself. By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: Sitting Lok Sabha MP from Malappuram in Kerala, E Ahamed, died early on Wednesday. He had suffered a heart attack during President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the joint session of Parliament, a day before presentation of Budget. The Narendra Modi government wants February 1 this year to be a historic day. In a departure from tradition and for the first time in the history of independent India, Budget will be presented on this day. Earlier, it would be tabled on February 28. Moreover, also for the first time, there will be no separate Railway Budget from this year. It used to be presented on February 26 earlier. From this year, it has been merged with the General Budget. advertisement However, the death of Ahamed, the chief of Indian Union Muslim League, has raised doubts about presentation of the Budget today. As per tradition and established norms, the House adjourns for a day, after mourning the departed sitting member, who has died either during the inter-session period or during the session itself. Also read: Kerala MP and former Union Minister E Ahamed passes away after collapsing in Parliament LOK SABHA COULD ADJOURN TODAY On July 18 last year, the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Lok Sabha was adjourned to mourn the death of sitting BJP member Dalpat Singh Paraste from Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh. Paraste had died on June 1. Hence, the Lok Sabha adjourned after making obituary references. By that example, the Lok Sabha may be adjourned today to mourn the death of Ahamed, who had served as minister of state for external affairs during the UPA regime. BUDGET COULD BE PRESENTED BEFORE ADJOURNMENT But there is a possibility of the Narendra Modi government presenting the Budget before adjourning the House. The Rajya Sabha can function normally and the Budget may be presented there subsequently because Ahamed was not a member of the Upper House. The Lok Sabha was adjourned on the first day of the Monsoon Session last year only after carrying out some business. Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the newly inducted Cabinet Ministers before adjournment was announced to mourn the passing away of Paraste. In the same manner, the Budget may be presented before adjourning the Lok Sabha on account of Ahamed's death. However, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will take a final call after meeting Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge and others. Also read: Budget 2017: The many challenges Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must deal with --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara is slated to discuss solutions to curb the dissemination of hoaxes and false news circulating via Facebook with leaders of Facebook Asia-Pacific next week. The Indonesian government will include a request to ask Facebook to take immediate actions to take down false information on the agenda of the meeting, Rudiantara says. I will talk to Facebook Asia-Pacific via a video call next week to discuss the matter before meeting with representatives of the company in person, Rudiantara told the press on the sidelines of a meeting at the House of Representatives on Wednesday. We will focus the discussion on the thorough measures to shield users [from hoaxes circulating on Facebook], he added, expressing hope that the upcoming meeting with Facebook would lead to fruitful insights to help Indonesia, which is among Facebooks top consumers, deal with the growing number of hoaxes and false news items circulating in cyberspace. (Read also: Facebook wants drones to boost Indonesia's access to internet) In fighting the rampant circulation, the Communications and Information Ministry continues to screen online contents while closely working with various institutions, including religious-based groups, to educate the public about internet ethics. The ministry also works closely with the National Police, who are in charge of law enforcement. (wit) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1 2017 Religious intolerance in the country has risen following President Joko Jokowi Widodos ascension to power in 2014 as the government has turned a blindeye to increasing acts of intolerance against religious and ethnic minorities, a report has said. The report from human rights watchdog Setara Institute revealed that violations of religious freedom increased to 208 incidents in 2016 from 197 in 2015 and 134 in 2014, while acts of religious intolerance increased to 270 last year from 236 in 2015 and 177 in 2014. From 270 acts of intolerance, 140 acts reportedly involved state actors, including police officers and local administrations. Most of this intolerance occurred in the form of discriminative laws and indifference to intolerant behavior directed against minorities. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1 2017 The Jakarta Transportation Agency has nabbed six drivers of Metro Mini buses and confiscated their vehicles at the Pasar Minggu Terminal in South Jakarta for allegedly forging vehicle documents known as monitoring cards. Transportation Agency deputy head Sigit Wijatmoko said the six drivers were apprehended during a raid. We were suspicious because the cards were issued by the One-Stop Integrated Service Body [BTSP] but they were signed by Edi Junaedi as the head of the One-Stop Integrated Service Office [PTSP], he said as quoted by tribunnews.com. When the BPTSP still used the name of PTSP, Edi Junaedi was not the head of the body. The monitoring card is used to mark that the respective vehicle has not exceeded its capacity. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Wednesday that Indonesia would continue to impose the death penalty on those guilty of extraordinary crimes, including drug trafficking. We never claimed to have stopped executions, Prasetyo told lawmakers from the House of Representatives legal affairs and human rights commission during a hearing on Wednesday. (Read also: Its impossible for Indonesia to abolish death penalty: Expert) Prasetyo explained that executions had been put on hold while Indonesia lobbied for international support to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. We are still implementing the death penalty, but are focusing on the greater interest for the time being. The government is trying to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, he emphasized. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adisti Sukma Sawitri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Malaysian police have apprehended three men, including an Indonesian national, who are alleged supporters of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, for making terror threats and planning to go to Syria. The Indonesian citizen, who works as a security guard for an airline company, was captured along with a 32-year-old Malaysian, who is also a security guard at a private company in Kuantan, Pahang. Two out of the three suspects are security guards. One of them is Indonesian, 37 years old, and arrested in Kuantan on January 27, 2017. He works at Malaysia Airlines, Malaysian Police chief Insp. Gen. Khalid Abu Bakar said in a press statement, as quoted by kompas.com. (Read also: Social Affairs Ministry handles 55 Indonesian deportees linked to Islamic State) Khalid said the Indonesian man had contact with Malaysian fighters in Syria. He was recorded as having entered Turkey in 2013. A local counterterrorism unit arrested the two during a raid on Jan. 27. The unit also seized a shotgun and three volumes of Tarbiyah Jihadiyyah, a series of terrorism-related books containing teachings from IS and Al Qaeda. [The Indonesian man] was planning to take his wife to Syria to join IS, said Khalid. The third suspect, a 38-year-old Malaysian who is unemployed, was captured in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 29. He also allegedly threatened to attack a Negeri Sembilan religious affairs department office that he claimed had defied Islamic teachings. The [third] suspect also threatened to blow up several places in Kuala Lumpur, said Khalid. More that 250 people have been arrested in Malaysia between 2013 and 2016 for their affiliations with IS. (wit) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Boyolali Wed, February 1 2017 The Karanganyar Police in Central Java have named two students of the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) Yogyakarta as suspects following the death of three students in the climbing clubs freshman orientation program. The two are Wahyudi, alias Yudi, 22, and Angga Septiawan, 27. They were arrested early on Monday by the polices criminal unit. They were then brought to the Karanganyar Police headquarters. We have also confiscated items of evidence, said Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Condro Kirono on the sidelines of a meeting with President Joko Jokowi Widodo on Monday. He added that the team had searched the suspects rented rooms and confiscated backpacks, mobile phones, climbing shoes, clothes they used during the orientation program and rattan canes. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Jakarta Police are beefing up security to maintain safety during the questioning of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab and two other clerics as witnesses on Wednesday in a case of alleged treason. Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said the police had received notification that FPI members would stage a rally in front of the police headquarters. They will bring a crowd of about 2,000, Argo said on Tuesday evening as quoted by Kompas.com. We will prepare enough personnel to safeguard [the situation], he said, adding that the rally should disperse at 6 p.m. Apart from Rizieq, investigators at the Jakarta Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Ditreskrimum) are set to question FPI secretary-general Munarman and the chairman of the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Councils Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), Bachtiar Nasir. The three men would be questioned in relation to a meeting attended by treason suspect Sri Bintang Pamungkas and several others. Political activist Sri Bintang and several others, including Gen. (ret) Kivlan Zein, former lawmaker Sri Bintang Pamungkas, artist Ratna Sarumpaet and Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesias first president, were arrested on Dec. 2 last year in several locations in Jakarta, hours before a large rally took place to demand the prosecution of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy. The Dec. 2 rally in front of the State Palace was organized by the FPI and the GNPF-MUI. (fac) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Former president and Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) said on Wednesday that he wanted to meet with his successor, President Joko Jokowi Widodo, to allow him explain the accusations levelled against him in relation to ongoing political turmoil. During a press conference held at the partys headquarters in Central Jakarta, Yudhoyono also claimed that he had wanted to meet the President for quite some time but had been prevented by Jokowis inner circle. It is a pity that I havent had the opportunity yet. If I could meet him, my intention is to be blatant [on] who reported to him, gave him information accusing me of financing the 4/11 rally and exploiting it, and matters related to the treason cases, he said as quoted by kompas.com. SBY was referring to a large rally on Nov. 4 last year, when thousands of conservative Muslims demanded that Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama be prosecuted for blasphemy. If I am accused and defamed, as a human being, I tell you that all of [the accusations] are false, Yudhoyono said. Purportedly, [Jokowi] was eager to receive me but was prevented by two or three people around him. These people are so powerful that they can prevent the President from seeing a good friend, Yudhoyono said as quoted by kompas.com. The retired military general made the press statement after Ahoks legal team claimed that Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin had had a phone conversation with Yudhoyono in an attempt to persuade the MUI to declare that Ahok had committed blasphemy. Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin (wearing cap) appears as a witness during a hearing in the blasphemy trial of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in Jakarta on Tuesday.(JP/POOL/Seto Wardhana) Yudhoyonos oldest son, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, is running for Jakarta governor in the Feb. 15 race to rival Ahok, who is seeking a second term. Ma'ruf has denied the claim while Yudhoyono admitted to having a phone conversation with Ma'ruf, but said it was just a courtesy call and not a political conversation. (Read also: SBY calls for investigation into alleged "Watergate" scandal involving Ahok) In response to the former presidents statement, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said no one was preventing Jokowi from meeting with anyone. Similarly, the state secretary suggested that Yudhoyono disclose who the people were who had prevented him from meeting with Jokowi, kompas.com reported. (bbs) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Gunungsitoli District Court in Nias, North Sumatra, sentenced 45-year-old Agusman Lahagu, the main player behind the murder of two tax officers, to life imprisonment on Tuesday, the stiffest sentence meted out for such a crime in the countrys history. The prosecutor had demanded the death penalty and has appealed the sentence. The panel of judges declared Agusman, a rubber trader, guilty of murdering two tax officers, identified as Toga Parada Fransriano Siahaan 30, and Sozanalo Lase, 35, in April last year. (Read also: Two tax officers stabbed to death while on duty) The judges also sentenced four other people involved in the murder, namely Bedali Lahagu, alias Ama Yusu, Anali Zalukhu, alias Ana, Desima Lahagu, alias Dedi and Budi Rahmat Gulo, alias Rama, the Taxation Directorate General wrote in a statement issued on Tuesday evening. Bedali Lahagu, who is Agusmans younger brother, was sentenced 20 years in prison, while the judges handed down 10 years imprisonment to the three other defendants, who were Agusmans employees. The two tax officers were stabbed to death while attempting to collect taxes from Agusman during a meeting that turned into a quarrel. Shortly after the incident, President Joko Jokowi Widodo responded by calling on to the police to investigate the case thoroughly. Toga worked in the tax collection division at the Sibolga tax office, North Sumatra, while Sozanalo was a contract employee at the Gunungsitoli tax consultation and counseling office. (tas) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) New York Wed, February 1 2017 The 120 Under 40 project recognizes and highlights the achievements of the next generation of family planning leaders around the world. Tlaleng Mofokeng was a medical student intern when she was assigned to conduct community services at a number of under-resourced hospitals in Kwazulu-Natal province in South Africa. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login The government is all set to go ahead with the presentation of the Union Budget 2017, ignoring the Opposition's demand that it should be postponed following a sitting MP's death. By India Today Web Desk: The government is set to go ahead with the tabling of the Union Budget 2017, which had become uncertain following the death of sitting Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, E Ahamed, following a heart attack during President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the joint session of Parliament on Tuesday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has tweeted, "Watch me live presenting the Union Budget 2017 at 11 am, February 1, 2017. Jaitley posted a link to Lok Sabha TV too with the tweet. advertisement Earlier, sources in the government had said the presentation of the Union Budget may get delayed from its scheduled time of 11 am. "The Budget will be presented. Obituary may happen before or after it. The government has spoken to all parties and arrived at a consensus," sources said. "There are precedents. In the past too, a sitting MP or Minister of State had passed away and Budget was presented. In 1954, MP Paul Jujhar and in 1974 MB Rana, MoS Industry, had passed away," sources said.E AHAMED PASSES AWAY Ahamed, 78, had served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and was a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. As per tradition and established norms, the House adjourns for a day, after mourning the departed sitting member, who has died either during the inter-session period or during the session itself. Saddened by the demise of Mr. E Ahamed, a veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence. My condolences. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 Mr. E Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala's progress. His role in deepening India's ties with West Asia was notable. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 On July 18 last year, the first day of the Monsoon Session if Parliament, the Lok Sabha was adjourned to mourn the death of sitting BJP member Dalpat Singh Paraste from Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh. Paraste had died on June 1. Also read: Kerala MP and former Union Minister E Ahamed passes away after collapsing in Parliament Budget presentation uncertain today after sitting MP E Ahamed's death --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong and Nurni Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Lhokseumawe Wed, February 1 2017 Residents in Blang Lancang village in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, demanding compensation for their lands that were taken over by LNG producer PT Arun, illustrate the usually hidden crisis of areas that have been abandoned by companies after they cease mining operations. The villagers claim that they had been neglected since PT Arun stopped operating in the region in 2015.We havent received our promised rights, such as compensation for our lands, health and education, said Tengku Sultan Djufri S., the head of the Blang Lancang Family Association (IKBAL). Tengku said the villagers had been evicted from their lands for the development of an LNG refinery in 1974. They were promised resettlement. Instead, they have had to live in hundreds of makeshift houses surrounding the operation zone. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 The legal defense team of Basuki "Ahok Tjahaja Purnama on Tuesday accused Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin of bias for issuing a recommendation alleging that the Jakarta governor had committed blasphemy. According to the team, Maruf had been influenced by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the issuance the recommendation, in which the council categorized one of Ahoks speeches that cited a Quranic verse as blasphemous. During the eighth hearing of Ahoks blasphemy trial on Tuesday, legal team member Humphrey Djemat claimed Maruf, who testified as a witness, received a phone call from Yudhoyono on Oct. 6. That was one day before a meeting between executives of Indonesias largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Sylviana Murni took place at the NU headquarters on Jl. Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta. Maruf was present at the meeting. In the hearing, Humphrey frequently asked Ma'ruf whether the he was demanded by Yudhoyono" to "issue an edict" in response to a speech Ahok made during a working visit to the Thousand Islands regency on Sept. 27, 2016. The lawyer also asked the MUI chairman whether Yudhoyono had asked the NU to accept Agus and Sylviana at its headquarters". Maruf denied all of the accusations during the hearing. He remained tight-lipped when journalists attempted to interview him about the matter after the hearing ended at about 3 p.m. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 State-owned lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) announced its net profits had stagnated at Rp 25.8 trillion (US$1.9 billion) last year. The bank earned Rp 25.2 trillion in 2015. The publicly listed lender booked Rp 65.7 trillion in net interest income during the period, an increased of 16.27 percent year-on-year (yoy). Its fee-based income grew by more than 25 percent to Rp 9.2 trillion. "BRI consistently recorded positive growth during the last 12vyears because we implemented prudential banking principles so that our credits grow well with good quality," BRI president director Asmawi Syam told journalists in a press briefing in Jakarta on Tuesday. (Read also: BRI intensifies support for SMEs) BRI disbursed Rp 635.3 trillion in loans last year, up 13.8 percent from the same period the year before. Its third party funds (DPK) expanded by 12.6 percent to Rp 723.8 trillion. The bank's assets were worth just over Rp 1 quadrillion as of December last year, an increase of 14.3 percent yoy. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Despite an extensive "negative campaign" about Indonesian palm oil products and falling exports to most countries worldwide, exports to the European Union increased by 3 percent to 4.4 million tons in 2016, up from 4.2 million tons in 2015, as the commodities are much needed in the EU food industry. "EU governments continue to claim that palm oil is bad for health, but the demand keeps increasing every year," said Togar Sitanggang, secretary-general of the Indonesian Association of Palm Oil Producers (GAPKI) during a media briefing on Tuesday. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said palm oil contains more carcinogenic contaminants than other vegetable oils, although it did not recommend consumers to stop eating it. The EFSA said that further study was needed to assess the level of risk. (Read also: CPO reference price, export duty to rise in February) Meanwhile, some countries in the EU apply Palm Oil Free labeling policies that hurt the products image and a recent Amnesty International report said global palm oil brands benefited from forced child labor. However, Togar said such reports have not effected exports as, Apparently the EU food industry needs the oil. Italian confectionery firm Ferrero, for example, has launched an advertising campaign to assure the public about the safety of its Nutella spread, which is made using palm oil. The association said it expects the export of oil palm products to the EU to remain at about the same level this year because of more domestic use. Indonesia exported 26.48 million tons of palm oil products last year, a 5 percent decrease from the 25.1 million tons in 2015. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fachrul Sidiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 The Jakarta Police on Wednesday raided a house belonging to Firza Husein, a treason suspect who allegedly had intimate conversations over WhatsApp with Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab, to seek evidence for two cases. The police raided the house in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta, on Tuesday, hours after Firzas arrest over treason allegations. This is a follow-up to a report of pornography, Jakarta Police special crimes director Sr. Comr. Wahyu Hadiningrat told reporters at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Wednesday. He was referring to a webpage featuring explicit photos of a woman resembling Firza that went viral on social media. Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said that apart from the pornography case, the raid was also carried out to seek evidence for the treason case. We are killing two birds with one stone, he said. Firza was previously arrested for alleged treason along with 10 activists on Dec. 2, several hours before the start of a large-scale rally to demand the arrest of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in a blasphemy case. She was later released. Argo said both Rizieq and Firza could be charged under the 2008 Pornography Law if found guilty of producing or spreading pornographic content. Rizieq claimed the chat on the instant messaging service was fake and constituted attempted defamation. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 The police say they are facing difficulties looking into a 2011 report filed by former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Antasari Azhar against high-ranking police officers involving an alleged fake text message. National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that besides the fact that the text message was sent years ago, detectives were having difficulty finding out whether network providers kept records of text messages sent years ago. "Unearthing records of text messages can serve as a handicap, especially considering that the incident occurred years ago. Some content is automatically deleted after a certain period," Boy told reporters on Tuesday. (Read also: Antasari did not plead guilty to earn clemency: lawyer) Despite the difficulties, Boy asserted that detectives had begun to investigate the report, including trying to find the telephone number from where the text message was sent to Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, the murdered director of state-owned pharmaceutical company Rajawali Putra Banjaran. Antasari was granted clemency by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo last week, following his release on parole from Tangerang prison in Banten, West Java. National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian earlier said the police would reopen the investigation into the report filed by Antasari. The court sentenced Antasari to 18 years in prison in 2010 for masterminding the drive-by shooting of Nasruddin. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1 2017 As a regional city located far from Jakarta, the capital city of West Kalimantan, Pontianak, does not make headlines very often and people mostly consider the city as one of the most disadvantaged in the country. But on Tuesday, Pontianak proved the stereotype wrong and won the title as the countrys best regional governance reformer. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1 2017 Hundreds of people who crowded a house on Jl. Tipar Cakung, East Jakarta, had started to look a little worried after waiting for 30 minutes there. A stage and dozens of chairs were erected the night before and several banners were seen along the street heading to the house. Smiles bursted on the peoples faces when Gerindra chief patron Prabowo Subianto arrived at the venue. This is my president, give some space to my president, one lady shouted as she tried to get through Prabowos entourage in order to take a selfie with the retired military general. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Hundreds of people who crowded a house on Jl. Tipar Cakung, East Jakarta, had started to look a little worried after waiting for 30 minutes there. A stage and dozens of chairs were erected the night before and several banners were seen along the street heading to the house. Smiles bursted on the peoples faces when Gerindra chief patron Prabowo Subianto arrived at the venue. This is my president, give some space to my president, one lady shouted as she tried to get through Prabowos entourage in order to take a selfie with the retired military general. Prabowo, who was President Joko Jokowi Widodos rival in the 2014 presidential election, went to the stage and held a microphone. Suddenly, once he started to speak, the noisy crowd turned silent. We have a great task ahead: voting for a governor and vice governor. Vote for the right candidates. If you vote for the wrong man then you should not be angry, cry or whine, Prabowo said. His words were responded to with head nods throughout the audience. On Tuesday, Prabowo started his three-day campaign drive for Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno, who are supported by the Gerindra Party and the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). AniesSandiaga are running against two other candidate pairs in Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama-Djarot Saiful Hidayat and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono-Sylviana Murni for the election on Feb. 15. Prabowo was accompanied by former military chief Gen. (ret.) Djoko Santoso during his visit to Pinang Ranti, East Jakarta, earlier that day. Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto (center) joins a campaign visit of gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan (fourth left) in Kampong Aquarium in Luar Batang sub district, Penjaringan, North Jakarta on Jan. 7.(Antara/Yudhi Mahatma) On the first day of his campaign for Anies, Prabowo visited two neighborhoods in Cakung, a subdistrict considered to be a key battleground area with the second largest number of voters in the capital. In the 2014 presidential election, the majority of residents there voted for Prabowo over President Jokowi, giving hope to Prabowo and his team that residents in the area will once again stand by his side. We need Jakarta to be led by Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno. We need leaders who defend marginalized citizens and dont like to evict people, Prabowo said. The collaboration between the two has surprised many since Anies was a spokesperson for Jokowis presidential campaign team, but both parties suggested that it was now water under the bridge. Recent polls show the AniesSandiaga pair in second place, behind Ahok and ahead of Agus a positive trend after months of being ranked at the bottom by various surveys. Experts have said that despite having lost the presidential election, Prabowo remains a popular figure and his campaign support could boost Anies electability. (Read also: Anies-Sandi embrace celebs to attract young voters) It is believed that Prabowo would run again in the 2019 presidential election and Gerinda has indicated this to be a strong possibility. Pak Jokowi wants to run again in the 2019 election and we, the members of Gerindra, want to support Pak Prabowo again in 2019, the head of Gerindras executive board (DPP) Ahmad Riza Patria said as quoted by tribunnews.com. Meanwhile, two weeks ahead of the election, Anies said that his campaign team was working in full speed as most high-profile figures like PKS chairman Sohibul Iman and deputy advisory chairman Hidayat Nurwahid had joined on his campaign trail. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Bogor, West Java Wed, February 1 2017 Despite the governments concerted efforts, any progress toward creating policies that will significantly reduce economic disparity remains out of reach. President Joko Jokowi Widodo has repeatedly called on his Cabinet to step up its fight against inequality through several necessary measures, but the policies prepared are not out yet. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Budget initiatives for housing and education were welcomed by corporates, and the FICCI president especially commended the move to reform political funding. By Kiran Tare: The corporate and industries sectors have welcomed Union budget calling it as positive and booster to the rural economy as well as housing and infrastructure. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) president Pankaj Patel described the budget as "directionally correct and fiscally prudent". He said it strengthen the governance fabric of the nation. "I think the biggest takeaway from this budget is the reform introduced in the area of political funding. The demonetisation move of the government was an attack on the stock of black money and the measure announced in the budget on electoral funding will help attack the root cause of corruption in India. I give full marks to the government for this bold and pragmatic measure," Patel said. advertisement He welcomed the proposal of abolishing Foreign Investment Promotion Board as the institution was becoming increasingly irrelevant with as much as 90 percent of the foreign direct investment inflows coming through the automatic route. 'DREAM BUDGET FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING' Rahul Nahar, founder of Xrbia Developers called it a dream budget for the housing sector. "It is a dream budget for affordable housing. Infrastructure status will transform the sector much like deregulation did to telecom in the 1990's," he said. Bhavik Narsana, partner of Khaitan and Company is hopeful of changes in the pharmaceutical sector. "The medical council had recently amended its guidelines to encourage doctors to prescribe generic names of medicines. In the budget speech, it has been indicated that changes may also be introduced to the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules along similar lines. This will be a significant change if introduced and pharma companies will have to alter their marketing strategies," he said. Dr. Coral Nelson, MD of Orident, echoed Narsana. "We are also looking forward to the regulation of manufacturing, import, and sales within the medical device industry which will help in bringing quality healthcare to the people," he said. Also read: Union Budget 2017: Witty one-liners from experts and responses from politicians HOPE FOR HEALTHCARE Ritu Singh, co-founder of Ela, which provides medical solutions to women, hoped that the budget will bring great boost to healthcare and digital economy. "Increased government focus on healthcare especially on women health which has been untouched for a long, will provide a strong foundation for startups," she said. Azad Moopen, founder chairman of Aster DM Healthcare said healthcare sector has not been given much focus to attain the goal of right of health for all citizens. He, however, welcomed the proposal to link senior citizens' Aadhar cards with their medical status. "Aadhar-linked health cards will ease the worries with easily accessible information in times of emergencies especially for those senior citizens living alone," he said. Sanjana Desai, business development head of Mother's Recipe, had mixed reaction. "The finance minister's budget allocation for skill development in the rural areas will help job creation and will boost rural income and consumption. The focus on agri-based industries with incentives and credits extended to farmers would benefit us in terms of quality produce and increased availability of supply," she said. advertisement Also read: Union Budget 2017 made easy for you in 10 slides However, she expressed disappointment over no impetus for exports. "After demonetisation there was an absolute need to push consumer spending in the urban and semi-urban areas in the budget, which was not touched upon," Desai said. Akshay Munjal, president of BML Munjal University, welcomed the proposals in education sector. "The launch of Swayam platform, National Testing Agency and 100 skill centres across India will make up quality education accessible and available to the masses and will help empower a generation of future leaders. This will lead to an overall improvement of educational facilities across the country especially in tier two and tier three cities," he said. BANK EMPLOYEE UNION DISAPPOINTED Devidas Tuljapurkar, joint secretary of All India Bank Employees Association, called the budget a big disappointment. "Government has announced ambitious targets for agriculture credit, Rs 10 Lakh crore and Rs 1.40 lakh Crore for Mudra Loan. In case of agricultural loan, none of the bank is fulfilling target, for want of eligible borrowers. A large number of existing borrowers have already turned to NPA accounts. There is a need to take out farmers from debt trap before pursuing this ambitious target on which there is no initiative form the government," he said. advertisement Also read: Union Budget 2017-18: List of things to cost more, less Also watch: Modinomics17: Strengths and weaknesses of Union Budget 2017 --- ENDS --- Senior students: Students of the Refugee Learning Center (RLC) listen to their mentor in a makeshift classroom. RLC is one of four refugee learning centers established and run by refugees in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java. As more and more child refugees arrive in Bogor, hundreds have been put on the waiting list for attending the classes.(JP/Gemma Holliani Cahya)(RLC) listen to their mentor in a makeshift classroom. RLC is one of four refugee learning centers established and run by refugees in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java. As more and more child refugees arrive in Bogor, hundreds have been put on the waiting list for attending the classes.(JP/Gemma Holliani Cahya) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Budiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called the police to start a criminal investigation into an alleged illegal tapping incident involving his phone that he said was nasty as the Watergate scandal. During the press statement held in the headquarters of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party in Central Jakarta, he refused to take any questions from reporters, but he implied that he would not let the accusation made by Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's legal counsel against him slip away. Quoting the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, Yudhoyono said there was a criminal charge for such a violation. (Read also: MUI chief accused of bias for issuing recommendation on Ahok) "If they really have my phone call record, it was an illegal tapping, and its called political spying if it was coordinated with a political motive. Just like Watergate," he told reporters. He was referring to the Watergate scandal in the United States. In a hearing at the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday, Ahoks legal team accused Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin of bias for issuing a recommendation alleging that the Jakarta governor had committed blasphemy. The team said Maruf had been influenced by Yudhoyono, and they had a phone call record between the two to support their claim. Ma'ruf had denied the accusation while Yudhoyono admitted to having had a phone call with Ma'ruf but said it was just a courtesy call and not a political conversation. On Wednesday Yudhoyono also demanded President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to step in if it was proven that the phone tapping was executed by or with the help of law enforcement. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Unfinished land acquisition for the 142.3-kilometer high-speed railway connecting Jakarta and the West Java capital of Bandung has caused a delay in the disbursement of loans for the project from the Chinese government. State-owned construction company PT Wijaya Karta (WIKA) president director Antonius Kosasih said on Tuesday that the Chinese government had required 100 percent of the necessary land to be acquired before disbursing the loans. Only 10 percent of the land for the project remains to be acquired, said Anton on Tuesday, adding that Rp 2 trillion (US$149.7 million) was needed for the purchase. (Read also: Jakarta-Surabaya project may become high-speed train) In an agreement between the China Development Bank (CDB) and PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), the developer of the project, CBD will disburse 75 percent of the agreed loans worth $5.2 trillion after all the land is acquired, Anton said. Members of a consortium of four state-owned enterprises that group in PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI) WIKA, railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia, plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII and toll road operator PT Jasa Marga have agreed to transfer the additional capital to acquire the remaining land. PT PSBI holds 60 percent of the shares for the high-speed railway project, while another 40 percent is owned by companies from China. We will disburse the funds in February, Anton said as reported by tempo.co. Through the High Speed Railway Contractor Consortium (HSRCC), WIKA will handle 30 percent of the project worth $1.29 billion, while the remaining work would be handled by companies from China. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan Wed, February 1, 2017 Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post/Medan The Medan District Court delivered on Tuesday a life sentence to a university student who was found guilty of killing his lecturer. Roymardo Sah Siregar, a student at North Sumatra Muhammadiyah University (UMSU) in Medan, North Sumatra, stabbed Nurain Lubis after being scolded many times. The murder took place at the campus on National Education Day, which falls every May 2, last year, which made many see the crime as evidence of the country's failing education system. Presiding judge Sontan Marauke said the court found the defendant had intended to kill Nurain as he had carried a knife and hammer to campus and waited for the victim all day before attacking her. The defendant has committed premeditated murder that violates Article 340 of the Criminal Code and deserves a life sentence, said Sontan. On the day of the murder, Roymardo, who was in the sixth semester of his studies, left his rented room in the morning carrying a knife and a hammer to attend a class at the campus. He kept the tools inside a compartement of his motorcycle. As the lecturer for the class did not appear that day, he took the tools and put them in his pockets and headed to the building in which Nurain had her office. He saw her and followed her to the toilet, where he stabbed her four times in the neck and forehead. (wit) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 The Trade Ministry will impose the price ceiling of sugar at Rp 12,500 (93 US cents) per kilogram starting in March, a top official has said. The ministrys domestic trade director general Oke Nurwan said the government had issued import licenses to nine sugar producers to import 400,000 tons of raw sugar. Next month we will implement our plan so that it will help the sugar price [go] down, said Oke in Jakarta on Wednesday as reported by kompas.com, adding that the raw sugar would be manufactured by local producers before being handed over to the distributors. (Read also: Traders say imposing price ceiling on sugar is unfair) He said the government would not regulate the prices from distributors to traders in markets and stressed that the sugar prices to consumers should be Rp 12,500. The most important thing is that the traders in markets do not suffer from any losses, Oke added. Previously, chairman of the Indonesian Market Traders Association, Abdullah Mansuri, said the imposed price ceiling for the market traders was unfair because they had not been involved in the decision-making process. Abdullah said the traders should have been informed about the distribution of margins more specifically, the price at the retail level compared to the price at the wholesale level. It is unfair for us to have to implement the agreement without any explanation about the distribution of margins, said Abdullah recently. Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said the decision was made to help control the price of sugar. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Total E&P Indonesie (TEPI) president and general manager Arividya Novianto has announced that his company will start drilling six wells in the Mahakam oil field in East Kalimantan in March. Well have six wells, while [state-owned energy company] Pertamina will have 19 wells, said Novianto as reported by tempo.co at the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister in Jakarta on Wednesday. Novianto, who was accompanied by his predecessor Hardy Parmono, said during his meeting with Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan that they also discussed the transition of the Mahakam field takeover by Pertamina from the company. (Read also: Pertamina starts preparations for Mahakam gas block) We want to update the information about the transition with Pertamina. We will also inform about our drilling plan, he added as reported by tempo.co. TEPIs contract ends on Dec. 31 this year, after operating the Mahakam field for 50 years. PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam, a subsidiary of PT Pertamina, has been appointed to operate the block as from Jan. 1, 2018. As an operator, TEPI has a 50 percent participation right while the remaining 50 percent is owned by Impex Corporation Ltd. Novianto declined to comment on an offer of a 30 percent participation right with Impex Corporation, saying TEPI was focusing on the smooth transition of the Mahakam fields management. It has not been discussed. Our priority is a smooth transition. A smooth transition is more important so that production at Mahakam does not drop significantly, he added. TEPI expects to produce 1,430 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 53,000 barrels of oil per day in 2017. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 2 2017 More than seven years after the Montara oil spill disaster, which adversely affected the lives of thousands of Indonesian fishermen and farmers, the government has said it is ready to take legal action against the company accused of being responsible for the environmental catastrophe. The government will demand that Thailand-based oil producer PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) Australasia pay for environmental damage caused by its operations in the Timor Sea. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post) Perawang, Riau Thu, February 2 2017 The massive forest and land fires in 2015 that ravaged Sumatra and Kalimantan and affected millions of people in Indonesia and neighboring countries taught a lesson to many parties, including plantation companies that are often accused of being responsible for the disaster. Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sinar Mas Group, recently invited The Jakarta Post to one of its concessions in Riau to see how the company has tried to boost measures to help prevent forest fires from reoccurring. The company decided to establish an integrated fire management (IFM) center to monitor and inform its firefighters immediately if it detects hot spots around and in its concessions, Sinar Mas Forestry IFM general manager Sujica W. Lusaka said. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 2, 2017 Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Maruf Amin said he forgave Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama over the latters remark accusing Maruf of bias in issuing an edict on the allegations against Ahok. Ahok apologized in a written statement on Wednesday afternoon and Maruf said that although he had yet to hear the apology, he would forgive someone who had asked forgiveness. (Read also: Ahok apologizes to MUI chairman Ma'ruf Amin) When someone has apologized, of course I would forgive him, he said as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday evening. Maruf, who is also a top figure in Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), called on all NU members to also forgive Ahok. He said NU members should keep calm and restrain themselves. We dont want to have adversaries, Maruf said. In his apology Ahok said he did not mean to discredit Maruf. I apologize to KH Maruf Amin if I seemed to discredit him [when he testified at the trial] as a witness in his capacity as MUI chairman. I acknowledge that he is a Nahdlatul Ulama [NU] elder. And I respect him just like I respect other NU figures like Gus Dur [Abdurrahman Wahid] and Gus Mus [Ahmad Mustofa Bisri] figures whom I honor and see as models, Ahok said in a statement on Wednesday. Ahok also said he would not report Maruf to the police as threatened earlier in a hearing session of his alleged blasphemy case on Tuesday. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim, Indra Budiari and Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 2 2017 In rejecting allegations that he attempted to influence a senior cleric to issue the fatwa that ultimately led to the prosecution of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama for alleged blasphemy, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accused the government on Wednesday of tapping his phone, Yudhoyono, whose son Agus Harimurti is standing against Ahok in the upcoming Jakarta election, denied that he had asked Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Maruf Amin to issue a fatwa that Ahok had committed blasphemy when he cited a Quranic verse in a speech he made last September. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login By Priyanka Sharma: Harpal Singh's left arm is not working; it's probably paralysed now. But this problem is not the result of any disease or health complication. Instead, the 55-year-old is suffering from the malaise after a fake doctor (quack) he visited, administered a wrong injection on him. Singh went to other doctors at various city hospitals, including St Stephen, IHBAS and AIIMS, and now, doctors have suggested he will have to go under the knife to get his arm back in action. advertisement Singh has made a complaint to the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) against the quack who is running a small clinic at Shahadra. Singh's complaint is one of the many that the DMC has been investigating. Cases of quacks have gone up significantly as last year the DMC had reported 240 such complaints of fake doctors running illegal business in the city. In 2015, the council had just reported 120 complaints against fake doctors. Harpal, who works at an apparel factory told Mail Today, "I told the doctor about the pain in my arm when he was administering the injection to me, but he did not listen and said it will get better in some time. Next day, when I again visited his clinic, the doctor said now you to go some other hospital for treatment. It has been three months now that I am getting treatment at AIIMS and waiting for operation to be done as my left arm is not in action till now." 240 COMPLAINTS AGAINST QUACKS IN 2016 DMC registrar Dr Girish Tyagi said the council had received 240 complaints of quacks in 2016 and the incidents are being looked into. "In 2015, the DMC had reported over 120 complaints for which show-cause notices were issued against 102 complaints and FIRs were lodged in 72 cases," said Tyagi. These so-called doctors do not hold any formal degree. In 2016, a study titled 'The Health Workforce in India' reported by WHO highlighted that only 58 per cent of allopathic doctors have a legal medical degree and in rural India, whereas qualified doctors are just 18 per cent. Previously, the DMC had sought out a case against a quack named "Dr Alka Goel" who claimed herself to be a gynecologist and due to her wrong medication and treatment, a patient lost her life. Also read: Duping in name of arranging patient beds, fake doctor caught at Safdarjung Hospital HOW ACTION IS TAKEN "Whenever a complaint is registered, it is sent to the concerned chief district medical officer (CDMO) to visit the spot. They then send the report to the DMC whether the concerned person is an allopathic doctor or not. And if he/she is into allopathic medical practice, the DMC then issues a show-cause notice, following which the DMC investigates the matter and if the quacks fails during the probe, the medical council then asks him/her to shut down the clinic. This compliance report is then sent to the CDMO, deputy commissioner of police, station house officer and secretary of health," said Tyagi. advertisement DELAY BY POLICE Sometimes, it has been noticed that even after the DMC actions against quacks, their clinics mushroom elsewhere in the locality, informed an official, adding most cases are reported from east Delhi. Lack of coordination among the police, DMC and the government officials become the main reason behind delay in action. Thus far, 98 FIRs are still awaiting actions. Also watch: 300 doctors treating Delhi with fake degrees --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moh Zaki Arrobi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 2 2017 President Donald Trump has sprung yet another shock after he realized his dangerous campaign promise: banning travelers from several Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States. It is particularly ironic that Trumps decision came on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27). Seven countries from the Middle East and North Africa, namely Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan, were included in the ban list in his recent executive order. Citizens of these seven countries are deemed as posing a serious security and terrorist threat to the US. Accordingly, banning them is the best option to make America safer. In addition, this order clearly states that it is just the beginning of a broader ban in the future. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Australian authorities finally captured on Monday a man for trespassing on protected Indonesian property after almost a month of pursuit and multiple warnings from Indonesia. The 42-year-old unidentified man was arrested in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown for trespassing on the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Melbourne earlier this month, the Australian Embassy in Jakarta revealed Tuesday. The arrest was made just a few days after Indonesian government officials and legislators criticized Australia for failing to arrest a man who climbed onto the roof of the KJRI and hoisted the Morning Star flag of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM). The Australian Federal Police [AFP] can confirm it arrested a 42-year-old man in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown on Monday, the Australian Embassy said in a statement to The Jakarta Post. The individual was charged with Trespassing on a Protected Premises, contrary to Section 20 of the Protection of Persons and Property Act, the statement added. He has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, Feb. 23. The Embassy did not provide further comment on the case, saying it would be inappropriate because it is now before the court. Section 20 of the 1971 Act carries a fine ranging between 10 and 20 penalty units, whereby 1 penalty unit is equal to A$180 (US$135.93) for federal offenses. The flag-hoisting incident was filmed by an accomplice from outside the Indonesian premises, which was then posted on social media for wide distribution. Indonesian Consul General in Melbourne Dewi Wahab told the Post on Tuesday that there was only one suspect in the case, as the person recording the video did not engage in a criminal act. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir rejoiced following news of the arrest, conveying Indonesias hope that the perpetrator would be duly processed in accordance with the law. We received information from the Consul General that the AFP detained [...] the criminal responsible for the Melbourne KJRI incident, he said. We appreciate that the AFP was finally able to capture the perpetrator. Last week, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that lawmakers from the foreign affairs commission of the House of Representatives demanded that the Australian government take swift measures to legally process the demonstrator, who had remained at large since the Jan. 6 incident. The incident further exacerbated tensions with Canberra following Indonesias temporary suspension of military cooperation on language exchange programs with Australia, pending an investigation into another troubling affair that is scheduled to conclude by the end of this month. Australian authorities were accused of showing little interest in resolving the incident, until last weeks protests by the Indonesian government and lawmakers. The arrest also comes ahead of the expected arrival of an Australian delegation in Jakarta to attend the Ministerial Council on Law and Security Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 1, 2017 Australian authorities finally captured on Monday a man for trespassing on protected Indonesian property after almost a month of pursuit and multiple warnings from Indonesia. The 42-year-old unidentified man was arrested in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown for trespassing on the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Melbourne earlier this month, the Australian Embassy in Jakarta revealed Tuesday. The arrest was made just a few days after Indonesian government officials and legislators criticized Australia for failing to arrest a man who climbed onto the roof of the KJRI and hoisted the Morning Star flag of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM). The Australian Federal Police [AFP] can confirm it arrested a 42-year-old man in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown on Monday, the Australian Embassy said in a statement to The Jakarta Post. The individual was charged with Trespassing on a Protected Premises, contrary to Section 20 of the Protection of Persons and Property Act, the statement added. He has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, Feb. 23. The Embassy did not provide further comment on the case, saying it would be inappropriate because it is now before the court. Section 20 of the 1971 Act carries a fine ranging between 10 and 20 penalty units, whereby 1 penalty unit is equal to A$180 (US$135.93) for federal offenses. The flag-hoisting incident was filmed by an accomplice from outside the Indonesian premises, which was then posted on social media for wide distribution. Indonesian Consul General in Melbourne Dewi Wahab told the Post on Tuesday that there was only one suspect in the case, as the person recording the video did not engage in a criminal act. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir rejoiced following news of the arrest, conveying Indonesias hope that the perpetrator would be duly processed in accordance with the law. We received information from the Consul General that the AFP detained [...] the criminal responsible for the Melbourne KJRI incident, he said. We appreciate that the AFP was finally able to capture the perpetrator. Last week, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that lawmakers from the foreign affairs commission of the House of Representatives demanded that the Australian government take swift measures to legally process the demonstrator, who had remained at large since the Jan. 6 incident. The incident further exacerbated tensions with Canberra following Indonesias temporary suspension of military cooperation on language exchange programs with Australia, pending an investigation into another troubling affair that is scheduled to conclude by the end of this month. Australian authorities were accused of showing little interest in resolving the incident, until last weeks protests by the Indonesian government and lawmakers. The arrest also comes ahead of the expected arrival of an Australian delegation in Jakarta to attend the Ministerial Council on Law and Security Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Esther Htusan (Associated Press) Yangon Wed, February 1, 2017 The family of an assassinated adviser to Myanmar's government had worried about his activities and warned him to be careful, but he pursued his work for the sake of the country's people, regardless of who they were or what religion they believed, his daughter said Tuesday. Ko Ni, a prominent Muslim lawyer who advised Aung San Suu Kyi and her ruling National League for Democracy party, was shot in the head at close range as he was walking out of the Yangon airport Sunday. His family feels no regret for his high-profile political work and considers him a fallen hero, his daughter, medical doctor Yin Nwe Khine, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. "We were always worried about him and the danger he might face because of politics," she said. "But he was always very enthusiastic about politics. He wanted to do good for the sake of the people," she said in the family's colonial-era apartment on a crowded downtown Yangon street. "He didn't work for any particular people or religion." Ko Ni specialized in constitutional law, criticizing army interference in politics and advising Suu Kyi's party how to try to get around statutes in the army-imposed constitution that gave the military undue power in the government democratically elected in 2015. He was also an advocate for the Muslim minority in the overwhelmingly Buddhist country, a position that earned him the enmity of ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks and their allies. Suu Kyi as of Tuesday afternoon has not spoken publicly about the killing, and did not attend Ko Ni's funeral on Monday, instead carrying out her duties in the capital Naypyitaw. Her silence has disturbed some of Ko Ni's admirers. "I didn't notice if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi sent flowers for the funeral or not as it was a big crowd. But she never called or contacted us in person to give her condolences," said Yin Nwe Khine, using an honorific for older women. Pressed on how she felt about Suu Kyi's silence, she responded: "My father is the biggest thing for me. I've lost that big thing, 'my father' and I don't expect anything from anyone. The country and its people will judge what kind of loss my father's death was for them." Underlining the potential for controversy, a ruling party official at the gate to the family's apartment building told the largely Muslim crowd that journalists should not be allowed inside, sparking anger among the crowd who responded that the family had agreed to an interview. Ko Ni is survived by his wife, three children and his elderly mother. Police say the gunman also shot dead a taxi driver as he tried to flee Sunday. Officials described him as an ex-convict who had been imprisoned for illegally trading statues of Buddha. They have not publicly announced a motive for the killing, but a statement from President Htin Kyaw's office said that according to an initial interrogation of the suspect, the shooting was intended "to threaten the country's stability." There is much speculation that he was killed for standing up to the army, or for working on behalf of the Muslim community, but Yin Nwe Khine declined to take a position on the possible motive. "It is too early to say if we are satisfied with the case or not, because it just happened a few days ago," she said. "I think time and actions by the government will prove if they can reveal the truth or not. "My father died, he was killed and he was a fallen hero. And for his death, he deserves at least the truth. We deserve to have this one thing, the truth." Well known community askan Reb Shia Markowitz will be taking on a volunteer leadership role in Agudath Israel of America, as Chief Executive Officer, where he will oversee operations and manage the many divisions that cater to the diverse needs of the Jewish community. The Agudah has grown rapidly over the last few years and now has entire divisions dealing with government advocacy, limud Daf Yomi, social services, youth programming, housing assistance, end of life issues, special education, yeshiva services, constituent services and job training and placement, among others. That significant expansion has brought with it a need for additional management within the Agudah, prompting the board of trustees to make this move. With a more than 30 year history as an advocate for the Jewish community, Reb Shia brings a wealth of experience to the Agudah, including eight years as CEO of the American and Canadian Friends of Keren Hashviis, eight years dedicated to saving Jewish teenagers as a member of the Agudahs Iranian Rescue Committee and 28 years as a board member at Dor Yeshorim. Reb Shia is well known as the founder of the Shmitah Fund and is also one of the founders of the 2003 Simcha Guidelines which established rabbinically endorsed financial standards for weddings and co-founder of Yeshiva Ohr Reuven in Monsey. In his new role as CEO of Agudath Israel of America, Reb Shia Markowitz plans to raise the awareness of the important and significant role that Agudath Israel of America continues to play in the daily lives of every individual in the Jewish community. My goal is to get the word out, to have the Klal understand that the Agudah is the only charedi organization that is servicing the community on so many different fronts. It is the Kehillah structure of the community, as it is the address that most people point to when critical issues arise. Reb Shia noted that while the Agudah was started by Gedolei Yisroel, under the direction of the Chofetz Chaim and other prominent Gedolim more than 100 years ago, its existence is as vital today as ever. The Agudah is there for everyone, said Reb Shia. Wherever, whatever, whenever. Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Agudah, said that he looks forward to working closely with Reb Shia as the organization continues to meet the needs of the Jewish community, advocate for its religious and civil rights, and service its constituents through charitable, educational, and social service projects across North America. Shia Markowitz has been one of the outstanding askanim in Klal Yisroel for many years, said Rabbi Zwiebel. We are fortunate indeed that he has agreed to play this major new role in Agudas Yisroel. With no replacement for the body scanner, security officials are manually scanning passengers through metal detectors, which is not a foolproof method. By Ajay Kumar: The Indira Gandhi International airport has done away with the body scanner machine installed at terminal 3 due to its below-par performance. However, with no replacement at hand, security officials are back to manual scanning of passengers through metal detectors, which is not foolproof. "We had installed a body scanner machine (Pro Vision 2) to detect concealed objects made of metallic and non-metallic materials. During the trial period, the machine did not give the desired result," said an official of the Airports Authority of India. advertisement "It has multiple technical loopholes and hence, we decided to remove it following recommendations from CISF," the official added.SMUGGLERS CONCEALING CONTRABAND INSIDE THEIR BODIES Multiple security agencies deployed at IGI observed that smuggling of gold, silver and contrabands have been on the rise since last year with passengers concealing them inside their bodies. On November 15, 2016, two drug traffickers from Afganistan were arrested from T3 after the health of one of them named Gulam Rabani deteriorated. He was offloaded and admitted in AIIMS where doctors found 57 capsules of heroine concealed in his stomach. "Rabani had managed to dodge security agencies at T3 and boarded the flight. If his health would not have deteriorated, he could have managed to smuggle top quality heroine worth Rs 2 crore out of the country. The incident was an eye opener for us," the official said. Also read: Gold rush at airports after demonetisation Airport authorities had also imported a German-made body scanner machine but that too failed on technical parameters and thereby rejected by security officials. "We need a scanning machine emitting safe radio waves and capable of detecting a broad range of targets including weapons, explosives, banned liquids, gel, powder, plastic, metals, ceramic, etc. Many passengers conceal these banned items and manage to pass through manual scanning," a CISF officer said. CISF had cracked five cases at T3 last year where drug traffickers had tried to smuggle in heroine, ketamine and marijuana. Also watch: Pellets of cocaine recovered from stomachs of 2 foreigners arrested at Delhi airport --- ENDS --- As many as 25,000 cops were promoted by the Delhi Police last year. However, of the over two lakh cases registered, only nearly 56,000 were solved. By Chayyanika Nigam: Cops in the city managed to solve only about one-fourth of the crimes reported last year, data accessed by Mail Today show, even as officers lamented the lack of CCTV cameras and clues. The less-than-flattering statistics come against the backdrop of the Delhi Police promoting 25,000 of its personnel in 2016 to increase the number of investigators in the department. advertisement Amulya Kumar Patnaik, who took charge as the city's top cop on Tuesday, was the man behind the move as he believes that promoting the cops will not just help in reducing pending cases but also boost the men's morale. In 2016, granting "special grade designation", as many as 18,702 personnel were promoted- including 9,364 head constables to assistant sub-inspectors and 933 constables to head constables. 51 inspectors were also promoted to ACP, 117 sub- inspectors to inspectors and 596 ASIs to sub-inspectors. A total of 1,923 personnel were also promoted for functional requirements under the comprehensive scheme. ONLY 55,957 OF 2,09,519 CASES SOLVED IN 2016 According to the Delhi Police data, as many as 2,09,519 cases were registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code in 2016. Of these, cops managed to solve only 55,957 whereas the remaining 1,53,562 - or about 73.29 per cent - remained unsolved. Most of these unsettled cases are about robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, snatching, etc. Compared to 2015, the crime rate in 2016 went up by 8 percentage points. The data reveal that in 2016, a total of 4,761 robbery cases were registered, out of which 1,821 remained unsolved. Similarly, out of 14,307 burglary cases, as many as 11,902 cases remain mysteries. Snatching incidents have always been a headache for Delhi's top cops as they present the city in bad light. In 2016, as many as 9,571 such cases were registered, out of which the police failed to solve 6,207 cases. Also read: Amulya Kumar Patnaik is the new Delhi Police Commissioner OFFICIALS BLAME LACK OF CCTV, CLUES When Mail Today spoke to senior police officers, they blamed the situation on unavailability of CCTV cameras and clues. A total of 1,30,928 cases of theft including motor vehicle theft, were registered in 2016. But cops failed to solve 87 per cent of them. "Go for insurance and claim it after theft," BS Bassi, the then police commissioner, said once when the force failed to solve around 80 per cent of theft cases in 2015. He also said that if people get insurance, it will generate jobs with insurance companies. advertisement However, Delhi Police managed to solve most cases related to dacoity, murder, rape and molestation of women. According to the data of 2015, charge sheets have been filed in around 20 per cent of the cases. The data for 2016 are not available yet. A senior officer said a major chunk of the police force is engaged in unaccounted work, like VVIP movement, attending to petty civil complaints and providing security to religious congregations, political protests and other local as well as school functions. This adds to the crisis while severely affecting the investigation of cases. A report by voluntary organisation Praja Foundation claimed last year that the Delhi Police has been hit by staff crunch. The department's security wing is also responsible for keeping safe a slew of dignitaries including the President, Prime Minister, Vice-President and cabinet ministers. Also read: Delhi police to install night cameras to catch speeding vehicles --- ENDS --- If youre a church-goer, you might be used to getting a spiritual high every Sunday. However, we doubt that these congregation members expected to get an actual high during morning Mass. Brian Jones, 74, has been arrested for allegedly giving congregation members weed-laced biscuits on May 22 last year. Six people at St John the Apostle Catholic Church in Bloomington, Indiana, had to be taken to A&E after eating biscuits. They experienced various symptoms ranging from nausea, increased blood pressure, anxiety, and lethargy to paranoia. The Ellettsville police department soon opened an investigation into the incident. Each of the afflicted claimed to have eaten one of the biscuits brought into church by Jones and their urine tested positive for marijuana. The biscuits were then sent to the Indiana State Police Laboratory for analysis, where they tested positive for cannabinoids. (David Cheskin/PA) After searching Joness house, police found a brown oil that tested positive for weed. He has since been charged with criminal recklessness and possession of hash oil. Father Daniel Mahan, of the church, said to Fox: We are praying for everyone involved. We are praying for Mr Jones. We are keeping in prayer those who took ill that Sunday and we are praying for justice with mercy. The star-studded new live-action adaptation is set to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, with the first teaser trailer racking up over 127 million views within 24 hours of its release. The trailer shows a sneak peak of Belle's journey from the idyllic French village to the grand castle in which she is imprisoned, and where the real magic begins. The iconic voices of British treasures such as Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen and Ewan McGregor mirror the original voices of Mrs Potts, Cogsworth and Lumiere fantastically, and the casting of Emma Watson is what I'm sure will be proved to be an award-winning decision, casting a girl "so ahead of her time" both in character and casting. Luke Evans looks to be the perfect Gaston, and the piercing blue eyes of Dan Stevens behind the rugged grandeur of the Beast teases his eagerly anticipated transformation. The visuals of the adaptation are dazzling, with costumes and sets matching everything each little boy and girl could have dreamed of when watching the iconic Disney fairy tale as a child. From the ferocious wolves, to the 'Be Our Guest' showstopper, to the grand ballroom and the dress that dreams are made of. It's safe to say that we simply cannot wait. "Ever just the same, ever a surprise" indeed. Top chef Dan Barber is the brains behind WastED, a community of chefs, farmers, fishermen, distributors, processors and retailers working together to reconceive of the waste (and those are his air quotes) that occurs at every link in the food chain. For three weeks in March 2015, New Yorks Greenwich Village hosted the pop-up, devoted to the theme of food waste and reuse. Participating big-name chefs served dished composed entirely of ingredients that would ordinarily have ended up in the bin. Now, the waste-revolution is coming to London. From 24th February to 2nd April 2017, wastED London will be taking over Selfridges iconic rooftop. This innovation in sustainable restaurant practice is paving the way for home grown commercial kitchens to adopt similarly sustainable practices. With the right support, the next generation of restaurant-repreneurs could solve the food waste crisis. Food waste is a growing problem Back in 2016, no-waste cooking was tipped to become an era-defining movement, and its easy to see why: according to the UN, food demands will increase by up to 60% in 2050 as the population continues to grow, with supply failing to meet demand. The UK produces more food waste than any other country in Europe. In fact, the UK throws away almost 15 million tonnes of food waste each year, equal to tossing 1.3 billion meals in the bin. Not only does this massive food loss cost the UK over 19 billion each year, but our environment pays a heavy price as well: if food waste was a country, it would be the worlds 3rd largest emitter of CO2. We live in a society where both food waste and hunger coexist. In London alone, the amount of food waste we produce costs the average person 200 a year, rising to 700 for a family with children; for every five bags of shopping bought, the equivalent of one is thrown away. That amounts to 50 million incurred by waste authorities each year. From vegetable crops deemed too ugly to harvest, all the way to restaurant diners feeling too embarrassed to ask for a doggy bag, attitudes at almost every stage of the global food system are in need of an overhaul. Fortunately, the next generation of kitchen entrepreneurs are taking heed, and working towards a more sustainable future in terms of food waste. Commercial kitchens are making efforts to reduce food waste with locally sourced ingredients, variable portion sizes and set menus. One startup that has been making ripples one side of the pond is London-based innovators Winnow. The Guardian Sustainable Business Award winners have invented a smart meter for restaurants to document how much food waste they produce, enabling them to effectively change their process. Since the innovation was first put to use in 2013 it has saved commercial kitchen businesses 2m, and has reduced carbon emissions from the hospitality sector by 3,400 tonnes. Now, theres one trend thats really making headlines: putting food waste on the menu. Putting waste on the menu One persons waste can even be another persons multi-course tasting menu, in one New York based supper club. Salvage Supperclub hosts a Dumpster-dinner series in which guests are treated to dishes made up of ingredients frequently tossed out by supermarkets and big restaurants, like wilted basil or bruised plums. At a similar project in Dalston, London, the Save the Date cafe receives donations of around 150kg of chicken that would otherwise have gone to waste from a nearby Nandos restaurant per week. The Surplus Supper Club caters for events of all shapes and sizes using ingredients that would otherwise be thrown away. It's the most ethical catering imaginable: not only do they upcycle food destined for landfill, the club also offers training and support to help many of its volunteers back into society, around half of whom are, or have been, vulnerable. The Supreme Court allowed JNU to construct hostels in the south central ridge area, an area that experts say is already stressed due to construction activity. By Baishali Adak: More than a year after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sought permission to build four hostels and academic facilities on the south central ridge area, the Supreme Court has finally given the go-ahead, albeit with some riders. The premiere university will have to deposit five per cent of the total sanctioned project cost of Rs 107 crore, which comes to Rs 5.35 crore, with the ridge management board (RMB) to be used for conservation of the ridge. advertisement Besides, JNU will have to plant 1,200 saplings, which is 10 times the number of trees (113) they plan to fell. The judgement was delivered by a panel headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, and comprising Justices AK Sikri and SA Bobde recently. It said, "The varsity will also give the cost of undertaking of plantation and its maintenance for a period of five years to the Delhi forest department. They will ensure protection of wild animals and birds in the forested JNU campus, and strengthen its boundary wall wherever found necessary." JNU COUNSEL: DIRECTIVES BEING COMPLIED WITH JNU counsel Ginny Rautray said, "The university is duty bound to fulfill these conditions as ordered by the Supreme Court. As far as I know, these are being complied with." The pronouncement came after a central empowered committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar recommended approval of the project but with conditions. It said that the 2.937 hectare sought by JNU for building its hostels Shipra II and North East, an academic building and an extension of its advanced instrumentation research facility fell under the extended south central ridge area. Also read: JNU: Entrance examination fee hiked by 27 per cent EXPERTS: RIDGE ALREADY STRESSED DUE TO CONSTRUCTION The ridge is a northern extension of the ancient Aravalli range, believed to be some 1,500 million years old, and a green lung of the already choked city. Extending for 35 kms from Tughlaqabad to Wazirabad, it aids in groundwater recharge and blocking hot winds from Rajasthan. Experts say it is already under much stress with chunks of the forest land being privatised illegally and many governmental institutions like DELNET and AICTE coming up on it. It is learnt that after JNU sought permission for tree felling, the Delhi forest department did a geospatial survey of the land in 2015 and declared it a notified forest ridge area.' Deputy conservator of forests (West) Rajagopal Prashant submitted this, and recommended that the case to be forwarded to the ridge management board. The board, however, found it lying on the extended south central ridge area and gave its approval. advertisement Sameer Sood of NGO CHETNA, who filed the case, said, "The truth is that JNU applied for this clearance only after we served it a legal notice." JNU registrar Pramod Kumar, however, denied it and said it had taken care of due procedures. Also read: Great green land robbery: Delhi's green lung being transformed into concrete jungle --- ENDS --- Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. 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On the other hand, Deputy Director of RAB media wing Hossain Raisul Azam said, four persons, who the law-enforcers detained from the house belong to the militant group who carried out the July 1 Gulshan cafe attack. The law enforcers also recovered firearms and explosives during the drive. The seizure includes two pistols, 21 rounds of ammunition, four sharp weapons, gun powder and bomb-making materials, RAB-10 chief Jahangir Hossain Matubbar told tour Dhaka correspondent. The officer said, the militants rented the house introducing themselves as construction workers on January 23. "The landlord is a woman. When she asked for IDs and pictures, they told her she would get them on Feb 1," said the RAB official. RAB officers also said, Ashfaque is an IT graduate from a private university and got involved with militancy for five years while Shahinuzzaman, who was also held in the raid, is an expert in handling firearms. A breakaway faction of JMB constituted the Neo-JMB which was behind the terrorist attack on the Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed. An Indian girl was among those killed in the attack. --- ENDS --- The Michigan Department of Treasury has partnered with Inceptia, a division of the National Student Loan Program, to provide one-on-one counseling for those delinquent on their student loans. The yearlong pilot program is designed to create a payment plan to get the borrowers back in good financial standing, create a household budget, and better understand their credit score. To enter the program, borrowers must be delinquent on federal student loans from a public or private nonprofit Michigan college. For more information, visit www.loanassistmichigan.org. The pilot program runs until Jan. 1, 2018. E Ahamed collapsed in Lok Sabha after suffering a cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital where he died. By Jeemon Jacob: E Ahamed, former Union minister and Indian Union Muslim League national president who passed away today early morning at Ram Manohar Lohya Hospital, New Delhi had a long innings in national politics. E Ahamed collapsed in Lok Sabha after suffering a cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital where he died. He was representing Muslim-dominated Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency in Parliament. advertisement He was secular and a strategist among the Muslim politicians in India. He was Member of Parliament for 25 years and a legislator for 18 years. He was a minister for industries in Kerala during 1982-87 and Union minister of state for external affairs during 2004-09 and held portfolios of railways, external affairs and human resource development in the second UPA government. Also read: E Ahamed served country with great diligence: PM Modi The 78-year-old Ahamed will be remembered for ever for his secular stand he voiced in United Nations Assembly when he categorically made that Indian Muslims didn't want Kashmir to join Pakistan. His statement gave India an edge over Pakistan in terms of Kashmir issue. His efforts at diplomatic and personal-level helped India to maintain warm relationship with Arab world and he was rated as a trusted friend of Arab world. He used his personal friendship with the Arab world for cementing India's ties with Gulf nations. Born in Kannur in a business family, Ahamed joined IUML during his student days. His friendly manners and intelligence helped him to become chairman of Kannur Municipal Council when he was 25. Later he shifted to Malappuram where he excelled as the most popular politician among IUML cadres. Ahamed took a strong stand after the demolition of Babri Masjid to remain with Congress when IUML national president late Ibrahim Sulaiman Sett wanted to snap ties with the ruling Congress. "It was a turbulent period in our party. There was high pressure for snapping ties with Congress and shift to more aggressive stand. But if we had taken such stand, the radicals elements would have taken control of our party affairs," E Ahamed once told. His biggest contribution to Kerala was he delayed the process of radicalization among the Muslim community in the state. Kerala condoled the death of the popular leader E. Ahamed. Chief Minister Pianrayi Vijayan in his condolence message, remembered E. Ahamed as a great leader who contributed for the development of the state. "His death is a great loss not only for his party and family, but also for the state," Chief Minister said. advertisement Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy expressed shock over his death. "It was unfortunate we lost a great leader who always stood for the people." Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala told India Today that India lost a great statesman with his death. "I'd close relationship with Ahamed Sahib and we were together in Parliament. I lost a great friend and India lost a secular leader," Chennithala said. --- ENDS --- President Pranab Mukherjee said in a series of tweets that E Ahamed's "services to the nation will be long remembered". By Indo-Asian News Service: President Pranab Mukherjee today condoled the death of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP from Kerala E Ahamed and said he was a tireless "campaigner" for welfare of the "underprivileged". "Heartfelt condolences over the sad demise of IUML President, former Minister and MP, E. Ahamed," Mukherjee tweeted addressing him as a long-time "friend and colleague". Heartfelt condolences over sad demise of IUML President, former Minister and MP, #EAhamed, who was a friend and colleague of long years, President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) February 1, 2017 advertisement The President said Ahamed's "services to the nation will be long remembered". #EAhamed was a tireless campaigner for welfare of underprivileged, his services to the nation will be long remembered #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) February 1, 2017 E Ahamed, who on Tuesday collapsed in Parliament's Central Hall, suffered a cardiac arrest and died after undergoing treatment at the city-based Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Also read: E Ahamed served country with great diligence, says PM Modi The 78-year-old leader served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. Also read: Watch me live presenting Union Budget at 11 am, tweets Arun Jaitley amid row over E Ahamed's death --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: From Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Feb 1 (PTI) Hindus in Nepal today celebrated Basant Panchami by worshiping the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, with President Bidya Devi Bhandari attending the traditional ritual at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square. People across the country thronged Saraswati temples to offer prayers. In Kathmandu, devotees visited Swoyambhunath Temple in the outskirt of the city. advertisement On the occasion, the President listened to a special melody Basanta at the auspicious hour of 11:35 am and received tika and prasad. A contingent of the Nepalese Army presented a guard of honour to the Head of the State on the occasion. The ritual is observed every year during the festival, which marks the beginning of the spring season. Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda also attended the ritual and took tika and prasad. Also present on the occasion were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bimalendra Nidhi, ministers, the heads of constitutional bodies, special class high-ranking government officials and the chiefs of the security bodies. There is a tradition that the Head of the State and of the Government along with high officials attend the Basanta Shrawan ritual every year. The ritual has its origins in the Srimad Bhagawat Mahapurana which mentions about a particular episode in the life of the Hindu god Krishna in which Radha and her friends sing hymns in praise of lord Krishna heralding the arrival of the spring season. It is believed that the spring season begins from this day. At the Basanta Shrawan ritual, the Main Priest Aryal read out 12 hymns highlighting the significance of the Basant Panchami day and festival. PTI SBP PMS --- ENDS --- JW Marriott Phuket appoints new Italian Chef de Cuisine Andrea Genio JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa announced this week the appointment of Chef de Cuisine Andrea Genio, 28, to run its Italian kitchen, Cucina. Wednesday 1 February 2017, 10:47AM A native Italian, Chef Genio has over decade experience in the Hospitality Industry. He was born in the northern town of Busto Arsizio and developed his passion of cooking as a child at his mother's and grandmothers side. Cooking was sort of in my DNA, with my mother and grandmother both being chefs and previously owning restaurants. I took a lot of influence from my mentors throughout my time in the kitchen said Chef Andrea. Chef Andrea followed his passion and attended culinary school in Italy, at Istituto Erminio Maggia of Stresa where he received his formal training and laid the foundation for a career that would place him in the kitchen of world-renowned chefs. He began his culinary career in his native Italy at La Bisaccia in Sardina, moving on to work under the wing of the talented chef Matteo Vigotti at Novecento. It was during his time at Novecento that the restaurant earned its first Michelin star. He gained wide-ranging experience in 5-star hotels such as the Grand Hotel Terme, Italy, the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola in Au Lac, Switzerland and the Grand Hotel Park in Gstaad, Switzerland mastering his culinary skills and the difficult skills needed to manage the 5-star hotels kitchen. After a time, Chef Andrea's focus shifted to exploring new cultures, both to expand his culinary repertoire and seek a change of scenery which he found here in Asia. His eagerness to visit far-flung destinations and discover their exotic ingredients and spices in order to inspire his menus took him to a number of countries across the continent including Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and now Thailand. Prior joining the kitchen of JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spas Cucina, he was Chef de Cuisine at the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra in Cambodia. The fine dining restaurant Cucina seeks to capture Italys vibrancy with its open kitchen concept and a sophisticated yet inviting atmosphere. Seasonal dishes are created from premium local and imported ingredients paired with signature drinks and exceptional Italian vintages. Classic wood-fired oven pizzas can also be ordered to eat in or taked away to be enjoyed poolside or in-room. Chef Andrea's signature dishes includes Risotto al Nero con Ricci di Mare, which features black ink risotto served with scallion, sauteed red onion and sea urchin; Spaghetti alla Siciliana spaghetti in while wine sauce served with cauliflower, bread croutons, sun dried tomatoes, raisins, anchovies and pecorino cheese; Rollata di Coniglio Brasata Rabbit roll stuffed with mushroom and prosciutto served on green peas and black olives... just to name a few. The degustation lunch or dinner wouldnt be complete without the dessert, treat yourself to Chef Andrea's meal-in-the-mouth Torta Pane e Latte della Val Vigezzo. The Cucina restaurant opens for lunch from 12.30-3pm and dinner runs from 6-11 pm. Advance reservations are required. For more information or make a reservation, please contact: +66 76 338 000. Email: mhrs.hktjw.fbdiningexperience@marriott.com or visit: www.jwmarriottphuketresort.com PATA reiterates its commitment to the right to travel BANGKOK: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has issued a release reiterating the associations commitment to the right to travel as stated in Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. tourismtransporteconomicsimmigration By The Phuket News Wednesday 1 February 2017, 09:52AM PATA CEO Dr Mario Hardy. Photo: PATA The association recognises that each country has the responsibility to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. However, PATA is fundamentally opposed to any form of blanket travel ban based upon nationality, gender, race or religion, the release said. PATA CEO Dr Mario Hardy noted, Safety is the number one priority for the travel and tourism industry and this may only be addressed effectively through the concerted efforts of the worlds governments and international community working together. The travel and tourism industry accounts for nearly 10 percent of worldwide GDP. It is an industry that provides vital income and employment to local communities worldwide whilst creating a pathway towards understanding and empathy across borders and cultures. The recent Executive Order in the USA goes against the principles of this idea. In the end, the actions in the USA may tarnish the image of the country and risks impacting its tourism arrivals. The lack of clarity around the implications of this Executive Order has created chaos in airports and is affecting travel businesses such as airlines, tour operators, hotels and travel agencies around the world. The Association has been advocating improved visa facilitation for some time and last year we praised the Republic of Indonesia for its vision in easing access to the nations many attractions for tourists from 169 countries. Governments must build bridges, not walls, and we encourage all nations to work in harmony and unison to ensure that this vital industry remains profitable and sustainable for the benefit of all. Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia-Pacific region. The association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 101 government, state and city tourism bodies, 26 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 70 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia-Pacific and beyond. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 40 local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. Their grassroots activism underpins PATAs membership of the Global Travel Association Coalition (GTAC), which includes ACI, CLIA, IATA, ICAO, WEF, UNWTO and the WTTC. PATAs Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney and London. Phuket-bound Dutchman dies aboard flight from Qatar PHUKET: A Dutchman has died while on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Phuket this morning (Feb 1). deathpolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Wednesday 1 February 2017, 02:02PM Dutch national Jean Gustave Gruter, 88, was pronounced dead on arrival at Thalang Hospital after his flight landed at Phuket international Airport early this morning (Feb 1). Photo: Mark Knowles Capt Kraisorn Boonprasop of Thalang Police was informed by Thalang Hospital at 8:10am. Police named the man as Dutch national Jean Gustave Gruter, 88. Staff from Phuket International Airport informed Capt Kraisorn that Mr Gruter was with his relatives and friends on Qatar Airways flight QR842 which departed Doha at 8pm yesterday (Jan 31) and landed in Phuket at 6.20am today. The crew found him unconscious in the toilet of the plane at about 3:20am. After the plane landed at Phuket Airport at 6:14 am, Mr Gruter was transferred to Thalang Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Capt Kraisorn confirmed to The Phuket News that Mr Gruter had died approximately three hours before he was pronounced dead. For now we believed that Mr Gruter had a heath problem, said Capt Kraisorn. The Dutch embassy has been notified of Mr Gruters death, he said. Phuket tourists warned, but allowed to keep using beach chairs at Kata PHUKET: Officials patrolled Kata Beach today (Feb 1), handing out pamphlets to tourists reclining in sun loungers on the sand to explain that beach chairs are not allowed anywhere on the beach not even inside the 10% Special Zone. tourism By Tanyaluk Sakoot Wednesday 1 February 2017, 05:46PM Officials at Phukets Kata Beach are warning tourists that sun loungers are not allowed on the sand, but are allowing them to keep using them. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot Officials at Phukets Kata Beach are warning tourists that sun loungers are not allowed on the sand, but are allowing them to keep using them. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot Officials at Phukets Kata Beach are warning tourists that sun loungers are not allowed on the sand, but are allowing them to keep using them. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot Officials at Phukets Kata Beach are warning tourists that sun loungers are not allowed on the sand, but are allowing them to keep using them. Photo: Supplied Officials at Phukets Kata Beach are warning tourists that sun loungers are not allowed on the sand, but are allowing them to keep using them. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot Many of the tourists confirmed to The Phuket News that although they had been warned and that they now fully understood the rules, they were not asked to remove their sun loungers from the beach today. Karon Deputy Mayor Rachen Phuntarakit told The Phuket News, Yes, my colleagues have been handing out leaflets explaining Phukets public beach regulations to tourists for weeks. However, he admitted that his office was not taking any sterner action. I dont think issuing fines to tourists or filing charges against them is the right way to go. Right now, all we are doing is asking for co-operation. However, Enzo Rossi from Milan, Italy, said, I dont like this rule. Why did the officials make this rule for tourists? he asked. I like my beach chair, and I have cut my holiday here short. I will go to Myanmar for the rest of my holidays instead, said Mr Rossi, who is elderly, but declined to confirm his age. Any development at Kata Beach noticed today was that blue flags have been pitched on the beach to mark where the 10% Special Zone both starts and ends. Also known as the 10% zones at other beaches, the special zone is the only place on the beach where vendors may provide a regulated set of food, beverages and services, such as massages, to tourists. PM targets police position buying BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is set to exercise his special Section 44 powers under the interim charter to tackle the scourge of position buying in the police force. corruptioncrimepolicepolitics By Bangkok Post Wednesday 1 February 2017, 08:57AM The Prime Minister is set to use Section 44 against position buying in the police, by restructuring and reshuffling commanders. Photo: Bangkok Post Gen Prayut admitted there have been many allegations of position buying in the force involving huge amounts of money and the government is preparing to tackle it by restructuring the Royal Thai Police reshuffle procedure. In principle, supervisors at all levels, from the bottom at the provincial police commander rank to those holding middle and top posts, should have a say in appointments in their areas and the national police chief would make the final decision, said the prime minister. Under the current process, appointments of almost all commissioned officers are considered by the Police Commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, but this is not working, said Gen Prayut, also the head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), after the joint meeting of the NCPO and the cabinet. Currently, Gen Prawit has to consider more than 300 appointments and this is too tiring. There should be a screening process for each level first, he said. We have talked about how to restore the confidence of the public in the police, particularly in appointments and transfers where there are always accusations of a lack of transparency and position buying, said Gen Prayut. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Gen Prayut has asked Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who oversees legal affairs, to draft an order under Section 44 of the interim charter to restructure the police reshuffle process. Under the new process, supervisors at each level will be allowed to appoint and transfer officers under their jurisdictions, the same as in the military but the national police chief will have the final say, he said. The new system aims to prevent any intervention in the reshuffle process by the Police Commission. Lt Gen Sansern admitted the new system might not completely prevent corruption and malpractice because a major factor is still human behaviour, but it would be a major move to eradicate ill-intended activities in the system. Taksada Sangkhachan, an assistant government spokeswoman, said the cabinet meeting yesterday (Jan 31) also raised concerns over corruption in other state agencies and ministries. The cabinet highlighted to officials that drafting and using the budget of each state agency must be transparent and accountable. The Prime Minister stressed that any corrupt official must be prosecuted, she said. National Police Chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said he did not yet know the details of the Section 44 order. Read original story here. By Press Trust of India: Surajkund (Har), Feb 1 (PTI) The Haryana government will prepare a special plan for the expansion of the popular Surajkund International Crafts fair, which began here today. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the 31st edition of the annual mega event in Faridabad district, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, "The state government is going to prepare a special plan for the expansion of the crafts fair." advertisement Telangana, partner state of Haryana under the Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would be the partner state in Surajkund International Crafts Mela next year, he said. While extending greetings on the occasion of Basant Panchami and birth anniversary of Sir Chottu Ram, the Chief Minister said the fair was reducing distances as "people from all over the world participate in it". Welcoming the artisans, craftsmen and weavers of theme state Jharkhand, he said the state was blessed with rich minerals. He also congratulated the artists, who came from 23 countries in the fair, and said that the event would provide a platform for exchange of art as well as an opportunity to learn and understand each other. Khattar said last year, 17 lakh people had visited the mela. "In view of the enthusiasm towards the event, expansion on additional three acres of land had been made this year. More than 1,000 stalls have been set up at the event as against 850 last year. Any conflict works to break the society whereas art, culture and music work to connect the society," he said. The BJP leader said his government was observing the present year as Swarna Jayanti Year (golden jubilee) as Haryana was carved out as a separate state 50 years ago. He said the government had been working to connect the people with the mantra of Haryana Ek-Haryanvi Ek. Giving a push to cashless transactions, the Chief Minister purchased a shawl from the stall of Nepal, a hand made portrait of Prime Minister Modi and his own from Sri Lanka stall by using Mobikwik App and POS system. He also made a visit at the stall of partner country Egypt, where Ambassador of Egypt to India Hatem Tageldin, welcomed the Chief Minister. The 15-day long Surajkund fair will come to an end on February 15. PTI SUN SRY --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Islamabad, Feb 1 (PTI) India is attempting to block on "procedural grounds" the appointment of a Pakistani diplomat as SAARCs next secretary general, according to a media report here which has been strongly dismissed by New Delhi. "The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), beleaguered by internal rifts, is headed for more difficult days ahead as India is attempting to block on procedural grounds the appointment of a Pakistani diplomat as the next secretary general of the regional body," Dawn News reported. advertisement The SAARC secretariat can, therefore, potentially remain a headless body for a long time if the stalemate prolongs and the "dispute" is not resolved soon, the report said. Reacting to the report, official sources in New Delhi said India was not trying to block the appointment, it has only pointed out that "procedural" norms need to be adhered to which was also accepted by other SAARC members. The Pakistani turn, which is held by rotation, starts from March 1, 2017, and continues till February 28, 2020. Amjad Hussain Sial is a career diplomat who has been nominated by Pakistan as the 13th secretary general of SAARC, the daily said. This is the first time in SAARCs troubled history that it is moving towards a standoff over the Secretary Generals appointment, the report said. Sial had been nominated by Pakistan as the Secretary General to replace the outgoing top official of Kathmandu- based SAARC secretariat Arjun Bahadur Thapa, whose tenure expires on February 28. Sials nomination was made at the SAARC Council of Ministers in Pokhara, Nepal, in March 2016 and was endorsed by all member states. "New Delhi, however, through a diplomatic note last month asked the secretariat to adhere to the due working procedures in the appointment of Mr Thapas successor," the report said. Pakistani officials, meanwhile, have accused India of employing "delaying tactics". They insist that concurrence had been received from all members, including India, it said. The daily claimed that a copy of an Indian diplomatic note dated May 30, 2016 conveying its concurrence to Sials appointment as secretary general was also shared with it. New Delhi is now unnecessarily raising issues over the appointment, the report said, citing officials. SAARC is an eight-member regional grouping that comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. PTI ASK PYK AKJ ASK --- ENDS --- How many people have already voted absentee in South Dakota ahead of Election Day? elections By Press Trust of India: Chandigarh, Feb 1 (PTI) The ongoing Jat quota agitation in Haryana today entered its fourth day and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere, officials said here, even as AIJASS national president Yashpal Malik addressed the protesters at several locations. Amid elaborate security arrangements, the Jats held dharnas at several locations which remained peaceful, they said. advertisement The call for the fresh stir has been given by some Jat outfits, especially those owing allegiance to All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti headed by Yashpal Malik. In view of the large number of protesters gathering at Jassia village today, the authorities had to divert traffic on the Rohtak-Panipat national highway. Malik said that he addressed the gatherings at Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonipat and Panipat. Haryanas Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Ram Niwas said that no untoward incident was reported from anywhere. "The protesters are carrying out their agitation in a peaceful manner so far," Niwas said. The government is also closely monitoring the social media for maintenance of law and order, he said. Niwas said the Deputy Commissioners can exercise powers given under the National Security Act, 1980, if required, to deal with the protesters. "The DCs can take a call depending on the situation," he said. However, Malik alleged that this shows the "dictatorial attitude" of the Haryana government. "The NSA extends to the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. While NSA cant be invoked in J&K, but here in Haryana, where Jats are sitting in a peaceful manner, the powers have been given to DCs to take a call. "We want to remind the Haryana government that people of Haryana understand the language of love and coercive methods cannot be used to suppress their voice," Malik said over phone. He also demanded that ruling BJP should "first control its own MP (from Kurukshetra) Raj Kumar Saini (over alleged anti-Jat rants) before talking of invoking NSA." Malik said that in the coming days the number of protesters will swell at the dharna sites in support of their various demands. (MORE) PTI SUN IKA --- ENDS --- Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp is in a legal soup. His ex-managers have revealed that the over-budget lifestyle of the star has brought him down financially. By India Today Web Desk: Imagine a man living a life where he spends up to Rs 13.5 crore each month. That's Johnny Depp for you. The Pirates of the Caribbean star recently fired his management firm TMG (The Management Group) and sued the company for fraud. However, TMG has now filed a cross-complaint alleging that Johnny Depp was living an "ultra-extravagant lifestyle" wherein he would spend "in excess of $2 million (approximately, Rs 13.52 crore)." advertisement The cross-complaint by TMG illustrates Depp's over-budget excesses in detail: $75 million (over Rs 500 crore) on 14 residences spread all across the world An expenditure of $18 million (over Rs 120 crore) to buy and renovate a 150-foot yacht $30,000 (Rs 20 lakh) a month on "expensive wine" that Depp would get flown from around the world to him for his "personal consumption" "Depp also paid over $3 million (Rs 20 crore) to blast from a specially made cannon the ashes of author Hunter S. Thompson over Aspen, Colo.,: the lawsuit against Depp additionally states. ALSO READ: Highlights of Jaitley's Union Budget speech ALSO SEE: 5 big-budget Bollywood films of last 5 years According to TMG, Depp fired the management firm and refused to pay back the company on a loan worth $5 million (Rs 34 crore). He then sued TMG accusing the company of "self-dealing and gross misconduct." "Johnny Depp alone was solely responsible for his extravagant spending. Over 17 years, The Management Group (TMG) did everything possible to protect the actor from himself. In fact, when Depp's bank demanded repayment of a multi-million-dollar loan and Depp didn't have the money, the company loaned it to him so that he would avoid a humiliating financial crisis," the TMG states in a statement it provided to TheWrap.com. The statement goes on to say that "Over 30 years, TMG has never been sued by a client. The only reason Depp filed this lawsuit was to interfere with TMG's ongoing efforts to be repaid on the loan they had made to bail him out. TMG worked day and night to professionally manage Depp's business affairs, adhering to the highest standards." In 2017, Johnny Depp will be seen on the big screen soon in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales followed by Murder on the Orient Express. ALSO READ: Johnny Depp depressed over divorce with Amber Heard? ALSO WATCH: Shah Rukh beats Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise to become 2nd richest actor --- ENDS --- Rangoon actor Kangana Ranaut recently spoke about how a patriarchal society expects women to be docile and how men find intimidating women difficult to have sex with. By India Today Web Desk: Kangana Ranaut may consider herself "opinionated and inherently badass" but she is dejected that her contemporaries in Bollywood are not like her. According to her, her female contemporaries hold back from saying how they feel for fear of backlash. "Women are raised to believe they are healers. They can only nurture. People appreciate the goody two-shoes. Even the most successful women want to be liked by others. There is the alluring promise of heaven for those who can love selflessly. It's fine if they can't look themselves in the eye, but the world should see them as the epitome of holiness. They (her colleagues) don't stand up for themselves, forget doing it for others," Kangana told Mid-Day in an interview. advertisement WATCH: Kangana talks to India Today about being called a witch and a psychopath Kangana, winner of three National Awards (Best Supporting Actor for Fashion, Best Actress for Queen and then, Tanu Weds Manu Returns), also feels that men do not want to have sex with intimidating women. Being scornful of the patriarchal perspective, Kangana said, "(Men think) Intimidating women aren't worth having sex with." "Bold, stubborn women, who are achievers, are desirable only to those who are strong and assured. (For some men) it's frightening to handle a woman who can speak her mind. Thankfully, that's not true of everyone. Courage is often endearing and rare," Kangana added. ALSO READ: Shahid opens up on cold war with Kangana while shooting Rangoon All throughout 2016, Kangana Ranaut grabbed headlines because of the mutual mud-slinging between her and actor Hrithik Roshan. While Kangana insisted that Hrithik had an illicit relationship with her "behind closed doors", Hrithik vehemently denied of anything of that sort ever happening. Eventually, lawyers got involved and Hrithik-Kangana dragged each other to the courts. "I was dragged to court for being who I am. I was restricted to a relationship that was (carried out) behind closed doors and I fought it fair and square. People (can) talk rubbish, but they can't decide how I lead my life," Kangana said. The 30-year-old actor will soon be seen in director Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon alongside Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. She will then be seen in Aligarh director Hansal Mehta's Simran. --- ENDS --- An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand. Outbreaks of an acute neurological illness with high mortality among children occur annually in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, country's largest litchi cultivation region. By Press Trust of India: Eating litchi fruit may be behind the mysterious brain disease that has caused hundreds of unexplained deaths among children in recent years in Bihar, a new study published in the Lancet journal has claimed. Outbreaks of an acute neurological illness with high mortality among children occur annually in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, country's largest litchi cultivation region. advertisement Heat, humidity, malnourishment, monsoon and pesticides have all been considered at one stage to be contributing factors to the illness. "We aimed to investigate the cause and risk factors for this illness," researchers said. In a hospital-based surveillance, researchers from the National Centre for Disease Control in New Delhi and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention undertook laboratory investigations to assess potential infectious and non-infectious causes of this acute neurological illness. Children aged 15 years or younger who were admitted to two hospitals in Muzaffarpur in 2014 with new-onset seizures or altered sensorium were included in the study. They were age-matched against residents of Muzaffarpur who were admitted to the same two hospitals for a non-neurologic illness within seven days of the date of admission of the case. This group served as the control. Also read: Former Bihar MP Anand Mohan claims threat to life from jail superintendent Specimens of blood, cerebrospinal fluid and urine as well as litchis were tested for evidence of infectious pathogens, pesticides, toxic metals. Scientists also looked for other non-infectious causes, like presence of hypoglycin A or methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG), naturally-occurring fruit-based toxins that cause hypoglycaemia and metabolic derangement. Between May 26 and July 17 in 2014, 390 patients meeting the case definition were admitted to the two hospitals in Muzaffarpur, of whom 122 (31 per cent) died, researchers said. On admission, 204 (62 per cent) of 327 had blood glucose concentration of 70 miligrammes per decilitre or less. 104 cases were compared with 104 age-matched hospital controls. Litchi consumption and absence of an evening meal in the 24 hours preceding illness onset were associated with illness. The absence of an evening meal significantly increased the effect of eating litchis on illness. Tests for infectious agents and pesticides were negative. Metabolites of hypoglycin A, MCPG, or both were detected in 48 (66 per cent) of 73 urine specimens from case-patients and none from 15 controls. "Our investigation suggests an outbreak of acute encephalopathy in Muzaffarpur associated with both hypoglycin A and MCPG toxicity," the researchers said. advertisement "To prevent illness and reduce mortality in the region, we recommended minimising litchi consumption, ensuring receipt of an evening meal and implementing rapid glucose correction for suspected illness," they said. Also read: JDU is richest regional political party, says ADR report --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Abhinav Pandey Lucknow, Feb 1 (PTI) With Samajwadi party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav opposing the SP-Congress alliance, Lok Dal still sees an opportunity to convince him to campaign for its candidates in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. "We are hopeful that netaji (Mulayam) will campaign for our candidates. He was with our party and is a true samajwadi (socialist) and we are using his photograph in our campaign," Lok Dal National President Sunil Singh told PTI. advertisement On senior party leader Shivpal Yadavs statement after filing his nominations from Jaswant Nagar (Etawah) that he will float a new party after March 11, Sunil said in an interview, "I hope we will remain together." Lok Dal has already offered the embattled Samajwadi Party patriarch its symbol and national presidents post. Sunil said his party in ECs records was a registered, unrecognised party that was formed by veteran socialist leader Charan Singh way back in 1980 and "netaji" (Mualayam) was its founder member. "I have offered Lok Dals symbol and national president post to netaji, who is still our leader," he said. Lok Dal, which has the old election symbol of farmer ploughing field (khet jotta kissan), on which Charan Singh had become the chief minister of UP, wants to contest Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and has already short-listed names of 100 candidates. (MORE) PTI ABN SMI DV --- ENDS --- The much awaited Union Budget 2017-18 was presented on Wednesday by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. While many politicians from the opposition parties termed it an anti-farmers budget and one which only provides only lip service, many from the industry, corporate and education sector gave it a thumbs up. However, the health sector has been largely ignored if one goes by the experts. "The governments decision to open 100 international skill centres is a great initiative and will further provide a boost to the ongoing work to map India's skill sector to international skills sector. The launch of these centres will be a good step to make sure that all the labour going out of the country will be certified labour," said Siddharth Chaturvedi, director of AISECT -a social enterprise working in the areas of Skill Development, Higher Education, Financial Inclusion. "Further, the budget also focuses on making provisions for the development of rural India. The fundamental infrastructural changes related to road, housing and electricity in rural areas proposed in the Union Budget will go a long way to improve the quality of life in rural India. The governments focus on quality skills in rural India will help rural areas break away the employability barrier that currently exists because of lack of quality skills-based education in those areas," he added. However, those from the health sector were not too happy with the sector not being given much attention in the Budget. "Hospitals in rural areas should have been given infrastructure status. It's a positive Budget with a clear intention of the government to work towards reducing the cost of medical devices," said Dr S Gurushankar, Chairman, Meenakshi Mission Hospital , Madurai. "However, it is unclear how this will be achieved. One can only hope that the customs duty on medical devices comes down as most of these are imported. This will bring down the cost of setting up a hospital," he said. "Although the Budget addressed several areas positively, it has left some urgent needs unfulfilled. About 85 per cent of all hospitals in India are in the private sector. They are the ones largely dealing with non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions and not government hospitals. "Sadly, there was nothing in the Budget to empower private healthcare players in rural areas. Hospitals in rural areas should have been given infrastructure status. A ten-year tax holiday for starting new hospitals in rural areas could have been given to incentivize healthcare entrepreneurs to venture beyond the cities," he rued. On the corporate front, Kenny Ye, GM-Overseas Business, Alibaba Mobile Business Group, said, "Abolishing of FIPB- a body that clears proposals envisaging foreign investment up to INR 5,000 crore is a bold step and further liberalisation of Foreign Direct Policy (FDI) will cheer foreign investors. "While last years auctions removed spectrum scarcity in the country, expansion of Bharat Net project will ensure high-speed broadband to 1.5 lakh gram-panchayats via Wifi. "Further reduction of corporate tax for MSMEs is a welcome step but larger Indian conglomerates looking to compete with global peers will continue to find the tax rate challenging," he added. From the education sector, Akshay Munjal, President, BML Munjal University, said, "There are many welcoming initiatives in the Budget that will bolster the education industry in India." "The launch of Swayam platform, upliftment of 3,479 educationally backward blocks, setting up of the National Testing Agency and 100 skill centres across India will make quality education accessible and available to the masses and will help empower a generation of future leaders. This will lead to an overall improvement of educational facilities throughout the country, particularly in Tier-II and Tier-III cities," he added. BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday hailed the Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and said this budget is women- and poor-friendly. This budget is women, poor-friendly budget; PM Modi has fulfilled his promise made in 2014 to bring in transpanecy in politics, the BJP chief said in a series of tweets. Welcoming the effort to restrict the cash donation to Rs. 2000, Shah said that the step will bring transparency and cleanliness in political funding. I welcome the historical step to bring transparency and cleanliness in political funding by restricting the cash donation to Rs 2000, he said. I am sure all political parties will come forward and welcome this initiative of PM @NarendraModi, he added. Shah said that the increase in allocation for MNREGA will help create assets in rural India. Increased allocation for MNREGA at Rs.48,000 crore, from Rs.37,000 crore earlier, will help create assets in rural India, he said. Outlay of Rs.10lakh crore for agriculture credit, micro irrigation fund of 5K crore, increase in PM Fasal Bima Yojana will also help farmers, he added. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday presented the budget for 2017-18 and said the focus is on 10 important sectors, including farmers, infrastructure, digital economy and tax administration to transform, energise and clean India. The other areas of focus include rural India, the youth, poor and under-privileged, the financial sector, public service and prudent fiscal management. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia scheduled from June 1 to 3 as the 'Guest of Honour', sources said on Wednesday. This is to confirm that India has been invited as a Guest Country at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum which will be held in the city of St Petersburg, Russia from June 1 to 3, 2017," a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Other details of the Prime Minister's visit are being worked out, and we will announce them as and when they are finalized," the statement added. Earlier this week, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, had said that Russia was assigning a high priority to PM Modis visit. We will carry out detailed preparations for the visit, in terms of both the bilateral aspect and the multilateral forum as a whole, Peskov had said. The forum is an annual Russian business event for the economic sector that witnesses more than 4,000 people from over 60 different countries every year. The forum brings together the chief executives of major Russian and international companies, heads of state, political leaders, prime ministers, deputy prime ministers, departmental ministers, and governors. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The External Affairs Ministry has been given Rs 14,798 crore in the Union Budget, an increase of mere Rs 135 crore compared to last year with a major decline in allocation for projects in Afghanistan from Rs 520 crore to Rs 350 crore. However, the allocation for Nepal has been increased from Rs 300 crore to Rs 375 crore in the Budget, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament today. advertisement An amount of Rs 150 crore has also been allocated for Chabahar Port, a strategic oceanic port situated in Iran. While no allocation was made for the project in 2016-17 budget, an amount of Rs 100 crore was given under revised budget. As per revised estimate, Rs 13,426 crore was given to the Ministry in 2016-17, a decline of Rs 1236.66 crore from the budgetary allocation given that fiscal. In total, Rs 6479.13 crore has been earmarked under "total-aid to countries" which included Bhutan (Rs 3714 crore), African countries (Rs 330 crore) and Bangladesh (Rs 125 crore), Sri Lanka (Rs 125 crore). Separately, Rs 14798.55 crore has been earmarked for other expenditures like those relating to pilgrimages abroad (Rs 3.50 crore), Nalanda university (Rs 253.88), maintenance cost of Aircraft of Air India for VVIP travel (Rs 215 crore) and Special Diplomatic Expenditure (Rs 2200.01 crore). PTI PYK ZMN --- ENDS --- The World Bank has signed an agreement with the government to provide USD 201.50 million loan for quality engineering education across several states in India. The loan agreement is part of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP III), which is the third phase of a 15-20 year programme that started in 2002. TEQIP III has supported 250 engineering institutes, including NIT Surathkal, College of Engineering Pune, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad and BIT Mesra. "It has made a considerable impact on the quality of education by implementing institutional and policy reforms by focusing on institutional autonomy and accountability," World Bank said in a release. "The focus of the project is to strengthen engineering education in India's low-income, hill states and states of the North East." TEQIP III will support affiliating technical universities for the first time, multiplying benefits to all affiliated colleges and not just those being supported individually. The Washington-based funding agency has estimated that nearly 30 lakh under-graduates and post-graduates will benefit from it. Some 30 per cent of this will likely be females and 20 per cent from scheduled castes and tribes, the World Bank said. "It will also scale up post-graduate education, research, development and innovation at these institutions," it added. The agreement was inked between Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Finance Ministry, and Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank India. In the latest phase, TEQIP will impart skill training to labour market entrants more equitably across the country by focusing on states with under-performing engineering education set-up. "The focus on strengthening engineering education and research under TEQIP III will help prospective labour market entrants acquire the skills needed to produce a world-class technical workforce," said Ahmad. This project will help India meet its growing demand for highly qualified engineers, he said. Significant efforts will be devoted to monitoring and evaluation to ensure the investments result in better performance of the selected institutions, the World Bank said. The loan with 25 years of maturity with a 5-year grace period comes from World Bank concessionary arm International Development Association (IDA). Is the world dangerously moving closer towards war? The South China Morning Post quotes an official from Chinas Central Military Commission writing, A war within the presidents term or war breaking out tonight are not just slogans, they are becoming a practicality reality (The Statesman 29 January 2017). Quite obviously, it is in reaction to the recent statements coming out of the new administration in the United States. This view is shared by Dan De Luce who in a recent post in the Foreign Policy Magazine (26 January 2017) has accused Trump of leading the world to the brink. He quotes Evan Medeiros who served as the top advisor on Asia in Barack Obamas White House, labeling the US under Trump as both confrontational and disoriented on the South China Sea. He argues that the new administrations statements about US policy towards China and South China Sea are not only antagonizing and provoking China but also confusing allies and aggravating tensions. Rex Tillerson, Trumps choice for secretary of state, stunned lawmakers and foreign governments at his January 11 Senate confirmation hearing when he said that the United States would be ready to block Chinas access to artificial islands it is building in the South China Sea. If it is a serious statement of policy that the US would be ready to act upon, it would require a blockade which is an act of war. Like on many other issues, Trump believes, and he has very much given everyone to so understand from his campaign days, that it is time for the US to replace its weak dealing with China by a strong hand, assuming that getting tougher with China will lead Beijing to back down. So he is ready to break with the US stance on China of the past several decades. The statements emanating from the new US administration seem to suggest it is willing to court conflict with China without being terribly well-informed on this issue, De Luce quotes Mira Rapp-Hooper of the Center for a New American Security as saying. The idea behind Trumps approach seems to be that the United States has been weak in its dealings with Beijing, and that a strong hand is needed. Experts say the Trump administration is testing the hypothesis that if Washington simply gets tougher with China, Beijing will back down. But US encounters with China during Clinton or Bush administrations were by no means easy to handle. China has only grown more powerful today with a massive economy and an increasingly capable military equipped with ship-killing missiles that threaten the U.S. Navys dominance. And its leaders confidently believe that their countrys moment has arrived. Whether on Taiwan or South China Sea, China has made clear that it is not going to back down under pressure. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: We urge the United States to respect the facts, [and] speak and act cautiously to avoid harming the peace and stability of the South China Sea. The Trump administrations policies, as they are taking shape through statements and actions so far, appear to be directionless but provocative on all fronts (think of the newly declared immigration policy). Talking about the Indo-Pacific alone, it is baffling, to say the least, why the US should abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed 12-nation trade pact with strong support among Asian allies and partners which was a signature step of the Obama administration. Ash Carter, Defence Secretary in the preceding Obama administration, recently in a piece titled, The Rebalance and the Asia-Pacific Security (Foreign Affairs, Nov-Dec 2016) has shown the important role the US has played in this region since World War II: During Democratic and Republican administrations, in times of surplus and deficit, and in war and peace, the United States has played a part in the regions economic, diplomatic, and security affairs The results have been extraordinary: the Asia-Pacific has long been a region where every nation has the opportunity to thrive. According to him, the Trans-Pacific Partnership aimed to bind together the United States more closely with 11 other economies in the region is an opportunity that the United Statesshould not miss. Now the Trump administrations pull out of the TPP has given a severe blow to its credibility in the region, from Vietnam to Japan, and China will likely fill in the void. While threatening the use of force to restrict China in the South China Sea, Trump has given it a free hand in the Indo-Pacific. What should India do if the war talk between the US and China becomes more intense with the possibility of the impossible looming large? On a number of issues like terrorism and Indias attempt to become a NSG member, India and China are not on the same page. The Modi-Xi bonhomie of 2014-15 has paled of late. India has neither warmed up to the One-Belt-one-Road idea floated by China nor hesitated to express serious reservations on the China-Pakistan Economic Co-operation (CPEC) which runs through Pak-occupied Kashmir. On the other hand, India has positioned herself closer to the United States. Under Modi government India has signed, significantly departing from its policy of not entering into a military agreement with any major power, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the United States which will allow their militaries to work closely and use each others bases for repair and replenishment of supplies. Although under the agreement, as reported, comprehensive logistics support will be decided on a case-by-case basis by the parties, the agreement does include reciprocal logistics supportduring authorised port visits, joint exercises, joint training, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts (Indian Express 31 August 2016). Thus, there is enough room for India under LEMOA getting entrapped in a US-China conflict. There is, indeed, no reason for India to welcome a war at its doorstep now or in the foreseeable future, not to speak of getting engaged in such a war. If that be so, the best policy for India would be to help reduce such a possibility. Despite some amount of coolness in India-China relations of late, it is a fact that both China and India have maintained a decent relationship during the last few decades. Trump also is communicating with Modi. Therefore, India still has some leverage with both. It should take this opportunity and urge upon them the need for approaching and settling the issues not in terms of a zero-sum game but pragmatically within the framework of benevolent self-interest and consensus among regional countries. In todays world no country has the privilege of dragging the whole world into a nuclear holocaust. In such an effort for world peace Modi will certainly find collaborators among leaders from May to Merkel and beyond. The writer is former Professor of Political Science, Calcutta University, and currently Advisor, Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata Indo-Russian relations, described in happier times as civilisational and time-tested, transcending party lines and political vicissitudes, is long rumoured to be past its prime with India drifting towards the United States and Russia making overtures to Pakistan. At the BRICS summit in Goa in October, Russia steered clear of Indias effort to publicly name Pakistan-based terrorist outfits like Lashkar and Jaish in the official declaration in the face of Chinese resistance. If the USA replacing Russia as India's largest military partner and Indias signing of Logistics Exchange Agreement with USA are signposts of glacial shifts, Russias inevitable tilt towards China and Pakistan is more entrenched than is apparent. Last year, the mention by Zamir Kabulov, Russias special envoy on Afghanistan, of India's increasing cooperation with the US alongside his exhortation that the Heart of Asia should not be used as a platform by India and Pakistan for scoring brownie points came in the course of a joint drill, named Friendship 2016, the first-ever joint military exercises between Russia and Pakistan. A three-nation meeting on Afghanistan is on the anvil in Moscow, to bring together Russia, China and Pakistan in order to confer on matters of regional peace and stability. In a recent seminar on Russias position on Afghanistan and Syria at the Area Study Centre at Peshawar University, Russias Ambassador to Pakistan, Alexey Y Dedov, said the 1979 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was a tragic mistake. The icing on the cake was Dedovs admission that Russia and Pakistan have held discussions to merge Moscows Eurasian Economic Union project with the CPEC. Dedov said Russia strongly supported CPEC as it was important for Pakistans economy and also regional connectivity, totally unmindful of the Indian territorial claim that the corridor passes through the Pakistan-occupied region of Gilgit-Baltistan. Some observers peg Pakistans decision to develop closer ties with Russia on the 2011 killing of the Al Qaida chief, Osama bin Laden, followed by the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers the same year in NATO airstrikes on a checkpost along the Durand Line, Pakistans disputed border with Afghanistan. It is beside the point that India was rankled by Russia's decision to hold its first-ever joint military exercise with Pakistan days after the Uri terror strike which left 19 Indian soldiers dead, however much the Russians tried to justify it by saying that the exercise was meant to help Pakistan deal with terrorism. Times do change. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was looked at askance by the US, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and China alike. At that time the Soviets were Indian allies, and India was one of Chinas major rivals, while the Chinese were allies of Pakistan, which, in turn, was an ally of America and Saudi Arabia. The Americans and Saudis were major rivals of the Soviet Union. The Chinese, together with the Pakistanis, Arabs, Iranians and Americans, were propping up the Islamist militants in Afghanistan, who were fighting the Afghan Communists and the Soviet soldiers. Today, a common concern to combat Islamic fundamentalism and to stabilise Afghanistan has brought Russia and the United States closer in decades. India signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Soviet Union in August 1971 in the backdrop of a perceived fear of a triangular alliance among Pakistan, the US, and China. In 1956, during their visit to India, Russian leaders Bulganin and Alexei Kosygin referred to Kashmir as an integral part of India, if one leaves aside several Russian vetoes in favour of Indias position on Kashmir at the UNSC. Russias tacit support to India during the brief 1962 India-China conflict also breeds a strong sense of nostalgia, though today India fares poorly compared to the depth of Russias bilateral relationship with China, as much as India is veering away from Russia and getting supplanted by the US. The very cornerstone of the Indo-Russian strategic partnership cemented in 1971 had been questioned by the Russians themselves as early as in 1992. What explains Russian behaviour? To counter growing isolation from the West, the Kremlin has implemented an offensive policy of multilateralism with the great rising powers, in particular with China in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). It has also become more assertive in new theatres, such as conservative countries of the Middle East (Saudi Arabia), and in the former bastions of Soviet foreign policy ~ counterbalancing India along the way, for instance, through a reinforcement of military and economic cooperation. Russias most important priority remained economic modernisation, with a determination to win markets in arms and energy. China and India remained Russias largest buyers, purchasing more than 90 per cent of Russias annual arms exports. The advantage Russia has over most countries in the modern world is its large reserves of every kind of strategic commodity from diamonds to natural gas, and from aluminium to uranium. After the dissolution of the USSR, particularly in the mid-Nineties, both Russia and China struck a chord with one another, maintaining mutual support for core policy objectives respective to them. While Russia, wary of NATO expansion plans, was being pilloried by the West for the conduct of its war in Chechnya since 1994, it was defended by China, in return for which Moscow stopped criticising Chinas human rights record and reiterated its support for Chinas policies on Taiwan and Tibet. China took a fancy to Russias new foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov, who symbolised a further departure from Russias alignment with the West in the early 1990s, with a new emphasis on a multipolar world order and opposition to what was perceived as US unilateralism, and thus an urge to restore its big-power image. They cosied up to one another through an upgrade of their relationship to strategic partnership, proclaimed during Yeltsins visit to Beijing in April 1996, as a follow-up to which the leaders of the PRC, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan met in Shanghai to discuss border demarcation and military cooperation in the border regions, known as the Shanghai Five, later to evolve into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). They concurred on a range of international political issues, protesting, for instance, against the US and NATO action independent of the UN, in Iraq in 1998 and in Kosovo/Serbia in 1999 respectively, against the US national missile defence (NMD) system and the theatre missile defence (TMD) system planned in cooperation with Japan on the plea that they were not consulted, China particularly apprehensive that the defence systems might be used to tinker with their interests ~ for instance, to shelter Taiwan in a putative confrontation with China. Elizabeth Wishnick likens this development to Sino-US rapprochement during the Cold War, when she writes that much as China joined forces with the United States in the 1970s and 1980s against Soviet hegemony, today Russian and Chinese leaders are attempting to coordinate their responses to what they view as US unilateralism in world affairs. Russia has rallied around China unreservedly on the prickly issue of South China Sea and even after the Hague judgment conducted naval drills with China. If we are complaining too much about the downtrend of Indo-Russian relations it is not a new thing as it has been happening since the early 1990s. The premise of the Indo-Soviet relationship during the Cold War that rested on the twin pillars of mutual interest ~ containment of China and the reduction of Western influence in Asia ~ no longer exists. Russias fall from its pre-eminent position and the emergence of the United States as the worlds only superpower, combined with growing Sino-Russian military cooperation ~ reportedly more than 4,000 Russian scientists and technicians are currently working in Chinese defence production facilities ~ and Chinas steadfast refusal either to treat India at par, or to abandon its primary strategic nexus with Pakistan, contingent upon its need to anchor plans to develop infrastructure in South Asia and Central Asia, makes a strategic triangle between Russia, India and China as a viable opposition to American supremacy wishful thinking. India cannot hope to counterbalance China with Russian help either. Therefore, should a durable Russo-Chinese-Pak entente become the present geopolitical reality, we have to learn to fend for ourselves. The writer is a freelance contributor Nattering nabobs of negativism is probably the most enduring of the many alliterative pronouncements of Spiro Agnew, vice president in the Nixon administration until forced to resign because of corruption. This particular phrase, penned by Nixon speechwriter William Safire, derogatively denigrated diligent reporters for placing bad news above good. Why, Agnew asked rhetorically, did the malicious media not put priority on the positive? He attacked pusillanimous pussyfooters allegedly allergic to America. Inspired by the positive points of the spirit of Spiro Good News Agnew, below is a list of definitive developments that definitely deserve dissemination and discussion. First, democracy is becoming the accepted way of life for the worlds population overall, not just the privileged few. As recently as three decades ago, the people of Latin America lived almost uniformly in various degrees of authoritarian regime. Today, Castros Cuba is literally the only remaining dictatorship in the Americas. Despite pervasive and ruthless state political control, the increasingly desperate need for foreign investment is forcing Havanas geriatric communists to loosen their iron grip. Reestablishing long-severed diplomatic ties with the U.S. is one result. Even autocratic Hugo Chavez of Venezuela had to face the voters, and near the end of his rule lost on occasion. Once tiny Costa Rica was a beacon of freedom south of our border. Now that light spreads throughout the Americas. Likewise, reasonably honest and genuinely contested elections are spreading in Africa, Asia, the former Soviet Union and at least on local levels China. In the global context, the dramatic tumultuous Arab Spring overall is partly a manifestation of the worldwide drive toward fair representative government. Japan has largely remained out of the headlines, overshadowed by sometimes ominous news regarding China and other nations. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has responded to uncertain developments in the United States by reiterating strong personal commitment to our strong democratic alliance. Japans economy continues to be one of the largest, most productive on earth. Abe is giving priority to opening the economy. Indonesia, the worlds largest Islamic majority nation, is extremely important in strategic terms. The government is stable, a firm U.S. ally, effective in combatting Islamic terrorism. By contrast, during the mid-1960s apparent drift into the Soviet orbit encouraged American military escalation in Vietnam a crucial factor rarely mentioned today. Second, market economics is spreading, as alternative economic systems fail. Deng Xiaopings 1992 declaration of Peoples Socialism for China has become a benchmark event for not only that nation but the vast Asia regions overall, and well beyond. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between mainland China and Taiwan is an historic result of the free market economic revolution. Most major economic barriers have come down. In consequence, Taiwans role as source of investment, trade and expertise has been expanding. Third, global progress proceeds during extraordinary long-term growth in economic production. Yale Historian Paul Kennedy, in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, notes total world industrial manufacturing rose from an assigned base level of 100 in 1900 to 3041.6 by 1980. In industrial nations, the average human lifespan doubled in the twentieth century. This transformation in quality of life is described in the CATO Institutes Its Getting Better All The Time, by Stephen Moore and Julian Simon. Undeniably, free competitive economies and open competitive elections are interconnected, historically and currently. Adam Smiths classic The Wealth of Nations appeared in 1776, the year the American Revolution began. China Post/ANN. In an extraordinary attack on the new US President, European Union President Donald Tusk called Donald Trump an existential threat to Europe. In an open letter to leaders of the 27 member states, Tusk included the Trump administration as part of a group of "dangerous" challenges facing the bloc, citing Russia, China and radical Islam as other threats. "The change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation, with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. He issued a call for "political solidarity" before a summit in Malta later this week where Europe's heads of states will gather to discuss the future of the bloc, the Independent reported on Tuesday. The former Polish Prime Minister said that an assertive China, Russia's aggressive policy, "terror and anarchy" in the Middle East and "worrying declarations by the new American administration" put the future of Europe in jeopardy. "The disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the US, Russia and China." Trump had earlier called Nato "obsolete" and dismissed the 28-member EU as a "vehicle for Germany" and said he's had "a very bad experience" with the EU as a businessman, said a report in CNN. Stefan Lehne, a former EU diplomat from Austria, said Tusk's "dramatic language is something you wouldn't expect. It's extremely worrying, but I can see why. Trump's policies to the EU are completely unprecedented. "Every Brit and European was socialised to expect the US to lead on every international crisis. Now you have a US President who wouldn't mind at all if the EU fell apart," CNN quoted Lehne as saying. Tusk's statement comes as the EU faces Russian assertiveness, a refugee crisis, rising populist movements in Europe and critical elections in France, the Netherlands and possibly Italy. New Zealand will go to polls on September 23, Prime Minister Bill English announced on Wednesday. English took over as Prime Minister from John Key on December 12 after the latter resigned over family reasons. English, who made the announcement after his cabinet's first meeting in 2017, will seek a fourth consecutive term for the conservative National Party, which has been in power since 2008, Efe news reported. The Prime Minister also said Parliament will hold a final session on August 17 before being dissolved for the elections, which were earlier scheduled to be held in November. New Zealand votes for its Parliament every three years unless early elections are called. English is in favour of reaching agreements with the current partners of the government United Future, Association of Consumers and Taxpayers and the Maori Party and said an agreement with the right-wing populist New Zealand First party is "unlikely". However, he has ruled out working with the Labour and Green party who have sealed an alliance to defeat the National Party. The 53rd meeting of Saarc Programming Committee began here on Wednesday and could mark revival of the regional bloc following postponement of the 19th Summit that was scheduled in Pakistan in November last year after India and some others members expressed their inability to participate. Though the two-day meeting at joint secretary/director general level only entails discussions about the budget allocation of five Saarc regional centres, some specialised bodies and their annual programme, it will definitely set a positive tone to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan and for resumption of the Saarc process, said officials. They also expressed the hope that it will pave the way for meetings at higher levels. One diplomat participating in the meeting said that officials from both India and Pakistan were very positive, accommodative and flexible on the first day of the meeting. After India announced that it was pulling out of the Islamabad summit "in the wake of the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an Indian Army base in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir" which New Delhi blamed on terrorists based in Pakistan Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan followed suit, leaving the fate of the regional bloc hanging in the balance. Pakistan, the host nation, then announced postponement of the summit, throwing Nepal, which is the current chair of Saarc, into a quandary. Since the postponement of the summit, member states had almost lost their communications and no meetings or engagements were either planned or convened. Earlier, the Programming Committee meeting was to take place ahead of the 19th Saarc Summit, but following the postponement of the summit, the meeting had failed to convene. The Programming Committee is the lowest level mechanism in Saarc below the Saarc Standing Committee, which is held at the Foreign Secretaries level, and Saarc Council of Ministers held at Foreign Ministers level. Nepal is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the Saarc Chair. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Generally cloudy. High around 75F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with light rain developing after midnight. Low 66F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. From: rosa123000 Date: 2016-05-12 Hi, reply me(rosangelalulu66@hotmail.com) and i will tell you why i contacted you. From: Rosa Angela Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2016 09:22:36 +0000 Subject: wish to know more about you Thank you for your reply How was your day, i believe you had a nice one, Mine was a little bit warm over here in Dakar Senegal. My name is Rosangela Lulu, i am (24 yrs) I am from Liberia in Africa, i am 5.4ft tall, fair in complexion and presently i am residing here in Dakar as a result of the civil war that was fought in my country some years ago. My late father DR FREDRICH LULU was an international businessman before the rebels attacked our house one early morning and killed my family. It was only me that is alive now and I managed to make my way to a nearby country SENEGAL where i am leaving now under a Reverend father's care and i am using his computer to send these message to you. I would like to know more about you, our likes and dislikes, our hobbies. I will tell you more about myself in my next mail and i attached my pictures with this mail, Hoping to hear from you soonest. Sincerely Rosangela. From: Rosa Angela Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2016 13:27:11 +0000 Subject: this is my full life and i will like you to call so that we will discuss more on this Hello, How is your health and work? Things are very hard fro me here in Dakar Senegal. I do not have any relatives now whom i can go to all my relatives ran away in the midst of war the only person I have now is Rev John Dada who is the pastor of the (Christ for all Churches) he has been very good to me since I came here, The Pastor's Tel number is +221773824222 if you call and tell him you want to talk to me, he will send for me from the hostel to answer you, his e-mail address is (reverendjohndada65@yahoo.com) I want to go back to my studies because i only attended my first year before the tragic incident that lead to my being in this situation has occurred. Please listen to this, i have my late father of account and death certificate here with me I'll send you latter, because when he was alive he deposited some amount of money in a leading bank in Europe which he used my name as next of kin, the amount involved is $ 6.7 million (six million seven hundred thousand dollars). So I will like you to help me transfer this money to your account and from it you can send some money for me to get my traveling documents and air ticket to come to your country. I kept this secret from people here the only person who knows little about it is the Reverend because he is like a father to me. Thus, in light of the above you will like to keep it to yourself and not tell anyone I'm afraid of loosing my life and if the money comes to be known by people here. I will appreciate an urgent message indicating your ability and willingness to handle this transaction sincerely. After acceptance to assist me I would like to have your contacts complete enough to write the bank so that they will deal with you as my partner standing on my behalf. Before that, I would like to have your full contact as well as ... Your home address. Your full name. Your actual age. Phone number. Remember that I'm giving all this information due to the trust i have blindly given to you, I like honest and understanding people, Meanwhile, I'd like you to call me whenever you can as I still have much to say. sincerely Rosangela. From: Rosa Angela Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2016 11:30:17 +0000 Subject: contact the bank now for verification about the transaction. Remember i trust you, that is why i am giving you all this information!. My trust is for you and you alone, please i will like you to call me back today just as you promise when you call just tell the Rev father that you want to speak with me and he will send for me immediately +221773824222 I have informed the bank about my plans to claim this money and the only thing they told me is to look for a foreign partner who will stand on my behalf due to my refugee status and the laws of this country. You will have 20% of the total money for helping me and the remaining money will be managed by you and i in any business of your choice. In this regard i will like you to contact the bank immediately with this information, tell them that you are my foreign partner and that you want to know the possibilities of assisting me in transferring the ($6.7 Million US Dollars) Six million seven hundred thousand dollars deposited by my late father of which i am the next of kin to your account in your country. The contact information of the bank is as follows: TRANSFER DEPARTMENT ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. HEAD OFFICE/: 36 ST Andrew Square Edinburgh EH2 2YE, UK. Tel; +441315528117 +443457242424 Fax: +447045787677 name of the transfer officer is Sir Ross McEwan RossMcEwan@accamail.com rbstransferdept.uk@aol.com Account name Fredrich Lulu Next of kin Miss Rosangela Lulu Account Number Is ALC643I08701346/QB/71/B From: Ross McEwan Cc: rosaangelalulu53@hotmail.com Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2016 03:36:50 -0700 Subject: TRANSFER DEPARTMENT PROCEDURE. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC . E-mail address: infonlinetrans_rbs@accamail.com The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Registered in Scotland No. 90312. Registered Office: 36 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2YB. Attention Mr Our late customer Mr Fredrich Lulu deposited $6.7 million us dollar with our bank of which Ms Rosangela Lulu his surviving daughter is the heiress to it, she has submitted all the documents and papers that supported her claims but there is need for an activation of the account before a transaction can be made to an individual account because of the fact that the account has been dormant with time, and that activation she can not afford due to her status in her country of residence, that is why we opt for her to look for a partnership and one who can help her with the transaction. Additionally our bank has moved the money to a sister bank in Tbilisi Georgia because of much delay and also the fact that our bank will require more for an activation fee due to heavy taxation and the UK's banking rule, while our sister bank in Tbilisi Georgia will require a token of .005% for the same service, this is a move that is designed to help her since she can not be able to come up with any fee, now if you will be willing to help her with the transaction all you will need to do is to contact the bank in Tbilisi Georgia and pay the activation fee of .005% of $6,700,000 us dollar. Moreover the money has interest of ($431,387) us dollar for the long time it has been with our bank and also for it's services, and here is the contact details of the bank you should contact: JSC "KOR STANDARD BANK" 43 Chavchavadze 0162, Tbilisi Email: jsckorstandard_tbilisi.ge@citromail.hu From: Rosa Angela Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 17:15:11 +0000 Subject: FW: NOTIFICATION ALERT. Hello dear the new bank wrote to me, did you contact them? To: rosaangelalulu53@hotmail.com Subject: NOTIFICATION ALERT. From: jsckorstandard_tbilisi.ge@citromail.hu Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 13:02:24 +0200 To Mr We got an alert message from our sister bank in UK and Ms Lulu demanding inquiries about a possible transaction. NOTE: Here are the demands, (1) a scanned coppy of of your id card (2) phone number and address (3) and an active bank account details. Those requirements are urgently needed for verifications after which you be required to activate the account with .005% of the total fund or $3,350.00 US dollar (3,016.64 EUR) which is the minimum required for the volume of the money, whence you met the requirements a credible bank account will be issued you to make the activation fee reach to our bank Tbilisi Georgia branch. ATTENTION: The money can not be accessed without an activation and you urgent response is highly needed. Management "JSC" KOR STANDARD BANK JSC "KOR STANDARD BANK" 43 Chavchavadze 0162, Tbilisi Email: jsckorstandard_tbilisi.ge@citromail.hu Phone: +995557124553 From: Cc: Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2016 12:51:06 +0200 Subject: Notification Alert To Mr Details have been received and confirmed and what is left now is the activation of the account before transaction can done, the bank is please to forward this bank account to you for you to pay in the total amount of 3,350.00 USD or 3,023.96 EUR as of today's exchange rate into the stipulated account and forward the details of the payment. Account Name: Melania Chanishvili Bank: Liberty Bank Address: Aven.74 Chavchavadze, Tbilisi, 0162,Georgia SWIFT Code: LBRTGE22 Account Number: GE68LB0711169250758000 NOTE: You are required to notify the bank as soon as possible on reading this letter so that arrangement will start to process the transaction of the money into your bank account within 24 service hours. Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2016 20:03:49 +0000 To: Jon Vaalamo Subject: Dear Dear , i have delivered all the documents you are asking of me to the bank in UK some time ago and i have just written the bank to send them all to you, all i have with me now is my id card and i have attached it with this mail. You can call me at your convenient so we can talk and when you called tell anyone that answers that you will like to talk to Rosangela and we will talk, the number is +221773789671 i also have skype and my id is (rosa.dragas) you can add me up so we can talk on video. Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2016 05:33:23 -0400 From: rbstransferdept.uk@aol.com Cc: rosaangelalulu53@hotmail.com Subject: Acknowledgement letter ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC . E-mail address: infonlinetrans_rbs@accamail.com The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Registered in Scotland No. 90312. Registered Office: 36 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2YB. ATTENTION: Ms Rosangela Lulu The documents you deposited to our bank is non-refundable as they serve as our leverage and exchange for the transaction, there is no need or reason for you to make such request when all processes are near completion. And to Mr , our bank gives you our support and protection, the only reason why the money is transferred to Tbibili Georga is to make it all the more easier for you and Ms Rosangela Lulu since it will be a lot cheaper from that country than here, all process was done here and all you need is to activate the account and the transaction will be carried out, the bank in Tbilisi has no right to request any form of documents or papers from you other than your id, address and bank details, we have been following the progress of the transaction in accord with the promise we made to Ms Rosangela Lulu and you have nothing to fear, We promise to give our customers the best of our services. If you have any question(s) please contact Our foreign transfer officer. Yours Faithfully, Mr Ross McEwan (Foreign Operation/Wire Transfer Dept) If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... A minor was raped at a guest house owned by the Meghalaya Home Minister's son. This has led to demands that the minister be removed from his post. By Parbina Purkayastha: Pressure has been building on Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma to sack his home minister HDR Lyndoh after a minor was sexually assaulted at a guest house belonging to Lyndoh's son. The demand has become particularly intense after V. Shanmugathan stepped down as the state's governor over an alleged molestation case. Sangma, however, has refused to sack Lyndoh. "As of now, the law doesn't demand so," said Sangma, the chief minster told the press, adding, "Please have faith in the whole system of investigation and judiciary. Our administration of justice is vibrant, insulated from all manipulation."OPPOSITION DEMANDS REMOVAL advertisement Opposition parties and a women's rights group have upped the ante following Shanmugathan's resignation over an alleged molestration case. "If he (Shanmugathan) can be asked to resign on moral grounds, why can't the home minister be asked to do so? We want a free and fair probe," activist Agnes Kharsiing of the Civil Society Women's Organisation was quoted as saying. The United Democratic Party (UDP) and the BJP, among others, are also pushing the demand to remove Lyngdoh from his post "for an impartial investigation into the case." Also read: Meghalaya Governor V Shanmuganathan resigns over sexual assault allegations LYNDOH: POLICE CAN INTERROGATE ME The home minister, meanwhile, has been steadfast in saying that he is not in the wrong. "I did not run the guest house. The guest house is run by the management," Lyngdoh told the local media, adding, "I have given the police a free hand to investigate the case and find out the truth. If need be, the police can interrogate me too." Apart from the chief minister, Lyndoh has seen support coming in from Conrad Sangma, an MP from Meghalaya, who has said, "Just because a crime happens in someone's building it does not mean he is responsible. Yes, if he knew about it then he should be removed." So far, the state police have arrested 16 people in connection with the sexual assault case. Julius Dorphang the MLA from the Mawhati constituency is among those arrested. Also read: Meghalaya MLA Julius Dorphang arrested on rape charges --- ENDS --- remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The Free Downloads, led by George Leonard III (third from right), the son of famed Attleboro High School alum Georgie Porgie, are pictured in Providence. (submitted photo) Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister for Chemical and Fertiliser Anant Kumar and Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu were among those who visited the late leader's official residence at Teen Murti Marg here. By Indo-Asian News Service: Several ministers on Wednesday paid homage to senior Kerala MP E. Ahamed, who died early on Wednesday after suffering a cardiac arrest in the parliament a day before. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister for Chemical and Fertiliser Anant Kumar and Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu were among those who visited the late leader's official residence at Teen Murti Marg here. advertisement Also read: E Ahamed, Kerala MP and former Union Minister, passes away after collapsing in Parliament According to hospital authorities, Ahamed was officially declared dead around 2.15 am after being put on the life support system. "His body will be sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for embalming so that it can be flown to his hometown in Kerala," a senior doctor, who did not wish to be named, told IANS. The RML hospital does not have facilities to perform embalming. Ahamed, a former Minister in the UPA government and a long-time IUML MP from Kerala, was admitted to RML after he fell unconscious in Parliament's Central Hall on Tuesday during President Pranab Mukherjee's address. The 78-year-old leader served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. Immediately after the news of his death, many of the leaders including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Kerala Congress leader and parliamentarian K.C. Venugopal visited the hospital. Ahamed was initially admitted to the emergency department. However, as he showed no signs of revival, doctors put him on life support after shifting him to the trauma centre. A team of three doctors, consisting of head of Cardiology Department Neeraj Pandit, head of Anaesthesia Department Rajesh Sood and Nursing-in-Charge R.S. Tonk, monitored Ahamed's condition. --- ENDS --- The Alpha Tau Gamma house at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Total 3 accused have been booked in the case. The incident took place in Bheem Chaya building, RTO lane, four bungalow, Andheri West. By Mustafa Shaikh: A Retired Major was murdered in Amboli area on Tuesday night over fight on parking at his housing society. Deceased Subhash Mane (63 years) was assaulted by three people, one of whom has been arrested and identified as Kishore Shirke (52). Total 3 accused have been booked in the case. He was retired but he was in UN Mission and used to run a transport business in Mumbai. The incident took place in Bheem Chaya building, RTO lane, Four Bungalow, Andheri West. advertisement Also read: India U-19 team trainer Rajesh Sawant found dead in hotel room According to the Amboli Police, the incident took place around 10 pm on Tuesday where the issue over parking space turned into an argument and soon a fight ensued. Mane and Shirke both pulled out knives and assaulted each other. Mane was stabbed in the stomach and succumbed to his injuries during treatment. "He was rushed to the hospital and he passed away while being treated at around 2.30 am today. We have applied murder charges accused will be presented to court today," said senior inspector Bharat Gaikwad. Mane's wife Sushma is complainant in the case. According to her complaint, Mane was punched, assaulted with bamboo and stabbed during the fight which took place in the society premises. Also read: Pune techie chased and stabbed multiple times to death while she screamed for help --- ENDS --- Tribal groups are protesting the Nagaland government decision to award reservations to women in local body elections saying it infringes upon their special rights. By Indrajit Kundu: Two people died in police firing in Dimapur on Wednesday following violent protests by tribal groups opposing the Nagaland government's decision to hold elections to urban local bodies in the state. Hundreds of protesters opposing the government's move came out on streets in Dimapur and marched towards the private residence of Chief Minister TR Zeliang on Tuesday night. When police resorted to lathi charge, protesters pelted stones and even used Molotov cocktails. advertisement "They were trying to storm the private residence of the chief minister. In order to stop them, police used all possible means but they started pelting stones and even used Molotov cocktails. As the last resort, police had to open fire," Nagaland DG of Police LL Doungel told India Today. CURFEW IMPOSED UNDER SEC 144 Curfew has been imposed and prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 have been put in place in Dimapur. The government has also banned use of social media to curb spread of rumours, informed the DGP. On Wednesday, elections to urban local bodies in 12 towns across the state were conducted amidst a shut-down called by tribal bodies opposing the polls. There are a total of 32 urban councils in Nagaland, out of which three municipal councils and 29 town councils had elections pending. Also read: 2 lakh bogus voters name deleted from Nagaland list TRIBAL GROUPS: SPECIAL RIGHTS INFRINGED Tribal groups have been opposing the state government's decision of granting 33 per cent reservation to women in the local bodies. They have been saying that the decision infringes upon the special rights given to tribes under Article 371 (A) of the Indian Constitution. Tribes in Nagaland have their own customary laws and different tribes have their own set of laws governing its people. However, women's groups in the state have long been campaigning for greater participation in public bodies. But tribal groups oppose it saying that such reservation will disrupt the traditional division of responsibilities between men and women in accordance to existing customary laws. The anti-quota stir is being led by the Joint Co-ordination Committee (JCC), an umbrella body of all tribal groups in the state. On Wednesday, protestors rallied with the bodies of the two deceased and demanded the resignation of the chief minister. Meanwhile, shops and government offices, educational institutions remained closed due to the indefinite bandh called by the JCC, since Tuesday night. In Dimapur, angry protesters set ablaze a government vehicle for defying the bandh call. advertisement Doungel told India Today that the situation on ground was tense but under control. The state government has also announced the formation of a judicial inquiry commission to probe the deaths of two protesters following the police firing. Also read: Normal life disrupted by shutdown in Nagaland --- ENDS --- Organisation: Epic Sales Consult (FMCG Company) Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda Reports to: ICT Manager About US: Epic Sales Consult is a leading sales performance consultancy firm in East Africa, a pioneer in Sales Performance Consultancy Services across the EAC. (SPCS) We are specialized for the EAC markets and we exist with the primary zeal to save Peoples jobs, save our Companies & grow our economies by putting a stop to a dip in domestic & international sales. It is recruiting for a leading FMCG distributor. Key Duties and Responsibilities: The ICT Officer will provide a user-focused ICT support service to deliver solutions to incidents, service requests and system improvements. Safeguard system security, company information and maintain data integrity; ensuring end-user equipment is protected and users access is valid by managing security updates, access control, anti-virus, MDM, database authorisation, file permissions, security groups membership. End user application management/resolving end-user incidents and service requests. Maintain applications including user and system administration and configuration. Work closely with external applications providers to resolve problems. Maintaining the licensing register and ensure the Group conforms to the licensing requirements/ standards. Provide appropriate equipment to end-users. Maintain equipment; including software updates Work as a business partner with team to maximise investment in ICT solutions, improve effective use of systems and develop solutions and applications. Keep the ICT management team informed of any irregularities, potential risks or system failures Other duties as requested by the ICT Manager (Support and Improvements) I Head of ICT Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The applicant should preferably hold a Bachelors Degree in ICT/Computer Science The applicant should preferably hold a Bachelors Degree inICT/Computer Science How to Apply: All suitably qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to send their applications to recruitment@epicsalesconsult.com. All applicants will be responded to BUT only the qualified will be short listed. NB: The sensitivity of the positions requires applicants to provide a verification certificate, verifying authenticity of their Academic Documents. This is to be obtained from Document Verification Bureau. Tel:- +256 755132 656 Deadline: 12th February 2017 The Bank of Uganda (BoU) is the CentralBank of the Republic of Uganda. It was opened on the 15th August 1966. It is100% owned by the Government of Uganda but it is not a governmentDepartment. Bank of Uganda conducts allits activities in close association with the Ministry of Finance, Planning andEconomic Development (MoFPED). Bank of Uganda is responsible for monetarypolicy and maintaining price stability. By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Jan 31 (PTI) Ruing that no great power is "nudging" India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, Pakistan opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said he hopes India does not "repeat" its "threat" of using human "entitlements" such as water as a weapon. "I am not one to oversell our strategic location, but it does pivot us at a unique node of many potential regional collaborations. Yet instead of passing on the dividends of connectivity, we remain trapped in its nemesis, the corrosive flame of conflict," Zardari, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party told a Washington audience. advertisement "It is indeed a failure of the regions leadership that South and Central Asia is unable to grow its potential as an economic and energy powerhouse. It is also failure of the international communitys stated commitment to peace that we see no great powers rushing to nudge India and Pakistan to resolve one of the oldest disputes on the UNs roster of forgotten flashpoints," he said. For Pakistan, and even India and Asia, climate change is a very real danger, he said adding that his country is actually on the frontline of recurring natural disasters, flooding and droughts, Zardari said in his address to the US Institute of Peace, a top American think-tank. "As one of the 10 most water-stressed countries of the world, I know Pakistan cannot afford to be cavalier about shared resources. So I hope the current government in India does not repeat its threat of using human entitlements such as water as a weapon," the Pakistani leader said, referring to the Indus Water Treaty. He recalled that one of the worlds most successful water treaties actually holds down the distribution agreements between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank in the 1960s, enduring several wars as well as the fog of cold peace. The treaty, signed in 1960, gives India control over the three eastern rivers of the Indus basin -- the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- while Pakistan has the three western rivers -- the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The IWT also sets up a mechanism, the Permanent Indus Commission, which includes a commissioner from each country. "Threatening this treatys abrogation is one of -- is one example of how extremist postures in the region are failing the people of South Asia, blocking us from realizing our potential as an engine of Asian and global growth. Our sheer population explosion in South Asia, already home to one-fifth of humanity, puts us in no position to normalize the language of war and exclusion as a policy tool, yet temperatures are rising all round," Zardari said. PTI LKJ UZM --- ENDS --- Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a trade union affiliated to RSS, the ideological parent of BJP on Wednesday hit out at the union budget saying it had failed to live upto its objective and had not provided relief to those affected by the demonetisation. The BMS said the budget was disappointing to workers, salaried class and the poor. "The unorganised sectors, scheme workers and other labour-related concernenhancement of their honorarium, social security cover -- are totally overlooked," BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said in a statement. Budget presented by the finance minister (Arun Jaitley) for the year 2017-2018 failed to address the objective of budget as declared by him. The said objective of the budget was to 'Transform, Energise and Clean India' with the approach of poverty alleviation. There was huge revenue collection through demonetisation but same has not been transferred in social expending, he said. As everyone was expecting huge relief to those affected by the demonetisation, the RSS affiliated union said, budget had not given much. Migration caused due to demonetisation is not addressed. Though budgetary allocation to MNREGA has been increased, it is not in tune to the unemployment caused due to the demonetisation-led migration, Upadhyay added in a scathing criticism of the budget. As the NDA government boasted of giving tax relief to the salaried, the RSS body termed the tax relief as not as much as expected. BMS directed its affiliates to hold demonstration immediately against the budget to demand relook on the proposals and compensation to common man who supported demonetisation by bearing all sufferings. It called for strengthening labour intensive industries. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Union Budget lacked "vision" and was a "damp squib". "We were expecting fireworks, instead got a damp squib. The budget lacked vision. Any step to clean political funding will be supported by us," he said. In a series of tweets, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her disappointment with the budget. "A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless," she tweeted. By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Feb 1 (PTI) Pakistan today asked India to come up with "concrete evidence" against JuD chief Hafiz Saeed if it was serious about its allegations against him, a day after New Delhi said that only a credible crackdown on the Mumbai attack mastermind would be proof of Islamabads sincerity. "Pakistan does not need any certification or endorsement from India over the recent actions it has taken in relation to Hafiz Saeed," an Interior Ministry Spokesperson said here, referring to Saeeds detention on Monday. advertisement Saeed and four other Jamaat-ud Dawa leaders - Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz - were put under house arrest after an order was issued by Punjab Provinces Interior Ministry on Monday in pursuance to a directive from the Federal Interior Ministry on January 27. He said the actions taken by Pakistan have been carried out as per obligations vis-a-vis listing of Jamat-u-Dawa under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008. "India has constantly been using Saeeds political activities as a tool to malign Pakistan. The international community should take note and understand that Pakistan is a democratic society where judiciary takes free, independent and transparent decisions," the official said in a statement. "If indeed India is serious about its allegations, it should come up with concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed which is sustainable in court of law in Pakistan or for that matter anywhere in the world," he said, adding mere casting aspersions and leveling allegations without any corroborating evidence would not help the cause of peace in the region. He said that various actions that needed to be taken under the relevant resolution i.e arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze were not carried out for some reasons by the previous governments. India yesterday said that it was not impressed by Saeeds detention and only a "credible crackdown" on terror outfits, including Saeeds, will prove Pakistans sincerity as such actions had been taken against him in the past too. Meanwhile, the ministry placed Saeeds name among 38 others on the Exit Control List, two days after his detention. The ministry has forwarded a letter to all provincial governments and the Federal Investigation Agency, which included names of all 38 individuals placed on the ECL. All of them were said to be affiliated with JuD or Lashkar-e-Taiba. "Saeed, Ubaid, Iqbal, Abid and Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organizations within the meaning of Section 11EEE(1) of the ATA 1997 (as amended)," read a notification issued by the Interior Ministry. "As such, they must be placed under preventive detention." The Ministry of Interior had "placed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) on the Watch List as per UNSC 1267 Sanctions and have listed these organizations in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 (as amended)." advertisement The spokesperson further said that "Pakistan is still looking for justification and explanation from India as to how all the accused involved in Samjhauta Express bombing where 68 Pakistani nationals lost their lives have gone scot-free." PTI ZH AKJ ZH --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: Islamabad, Feb 1 (PTI) Some government and private doctors in Pakistan are importing cheap stents from India and selling them at exorbitant price with fake barcode and international labels, according to media reports. Indian stents are the cheapest stents in the world, and some doctors in Pakistan are selling them by packing the stents with fake barcode and international labels after importing them, the Dunya News reported. advertisement The Indian stent that costs Rs 25,000 to 28,000 is being sold for Rs three lakh to Rs three and half lakh by the doctors, the daily said. Moreover, the Indian stent worth Rs 13,000 is also available in different hospitals of Pakistan with fake name. The daily citing sources said the investigation teams have demanded the record of barcodes of stents from the hospitals, as every stent has a unique barcode which doctors are bound to keep in their records. The details of stent and its company can be traced through the barcode. Two types of stents are being imported from India at the moment. In one type, blood does not clot, and in other type, it clots. The stents in which there are chance of blood clotting are used more frequently due to cheaper rate, the daily said. Moreover, some doctors put stents in patients even if there is no need of that just to fulfill their greed for money, it said. PTI PMS AKJ PMS --- ENDS --- European Union President Donald Tusk says that the first weeks of Donald Trump are contributing to the highly unpredictable outlook for the bloc. In a letter to 27 EU leaders, Tusk mentioned the Trump administration as part of an external threat together with China, Russia, radical Islam, war and terror. The letter was not sent to Britain, which is poised to leave the bloc. Echoing statements from many European capitals, he said that those global challenges, as well as worrying declarations by the new American administration, all make our future highly unpredictable. He said that particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy. (AP) Foreign Ministry Director-General Yuval Rotem is scheduled to travel to Turkey next week as Jerusalem and Ankara resume diplomatic relations. Diplomatic relations broke down after the Marvi Mamara affair in which Turkish nationals were killed when IDF naval commandos boarded the Marvi Marmara trying to break the IDF marine blockade on Gaza. The commandos came under attack. This led to a chain of events and a total breakdown in relations. Rotem will be meeting with senior Turkish Foreign Ministry officials as well as with Israeli Embassy staff in Ankara, Israeli Consulate staff in Istanbul and local Jewish leaders. This is viewed as a first step in rebuilding diplomatic relations, which were once strong, to the extent that Israel and Turkey participated in joint military exercises. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu makes his first visit to the White House under the Trump administration in the coming weeks, one of the major issues that he plans to raise is the future vis-a-vis Iran, the US deal with that country and Tehrans nuclear program as well as cyber threats and Iran. In his remarks to the Tel Aviv CyberTech Conference on Tuesday, 4 Shevat, the Prime Minister stated (excerpts) Iran attempts to hack critical infrastructure in the region and in the countries of the West, many countries not in the West. The internet of things can be hijacked by nefarious actors for dangerous purposes with dangerous results. Again, what you see today is going to get a lot worse in the future if we dont band together. Thats why I intend to raise the subject and discuss the subject of cooperation in cyber security in my upcoming visit in Washington with President Trump. I had here a visit by Rudy Giuliani who is a special adviser to President Trump on cyber security. We discussed some of these aspects, but again, I think that Israel and the United States that are two leading powers, the United States obviously, the leading power in the battle for cyber security, Israel, I would say, is right up there, I think its critical that we augment whatever each of us is doing alone by our cooperation both on the government to government level and what we can do with our cyber security industries. Its not possible, as yet, to have a very broad cooperation for cyber security between many governments but its important to have cooperation between some governments, and especially like-minded governments and that [unclear] I think can come out of this discussion between President Trump and myself. We already had important discussions with the US government but I think we need to expand this and recognize that theres a core interest of the civilized countries and the democratic countries to protect themselves and their citizens against cyber-attacks. The more we work together, the stronger and safer well become. I encourage everyone here to invest in Israel, cooperate with Israeli companies, Im sure you recognize the spirit, you sense it, its powerful and strong and friendly. I think were truly sitting on the cutting edge of this new technology and weve had many successes in ensuring our security. Its not an accident as one would say. Its not an accident that in the froth and gushing of this entire Middle East and beyond Israel is a secure and safe environment. We have invested in our security in creative ways, successful ways, not only in the digital area, sometimes in the physical area. We stand, all of us, at the nexus of big data, connectivity and artificial intelligence. Great opportunities but great challenges. And Israel, were exploiting these opportunities and were meeting these challenges. I invite you to do both with us. And its my ardent hope that the nations around the world will come together to defeat our common threats and seize our vast opportunities. There is no better place to do so than the State of Israel. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Rabbi Yitzchak Hershkowitz, who runs the Chabad Center in Los Cabos, Mexico, reports having found a kosher para adumah that would be ready when Mashiach arrives. The rav found the red heifer while visiting a local farm in search of chalav yisrael. While milking a cow, he saw it with a young shepherd on the farm. He learned it has not yet calved and he rushed to document the animal. The last red heifer that was believed kosher was in New Jersey about two years ago. However, it gave birth to a black cow shortly after its second birthday and hence, rejected as a para adumah. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday 4 Shevat, met with outstanding students from Israeli high school cyber programs. During his visit, the Prime Minister told students, We have a national interest in the cyber sphere. It is a field that is creating opportunities on one hand and problems on the other. As a state, we have a national interest in being a leader; this may be seen in the thousands of visitors who came to the [CyberTech] event from around the world. We are doing everything in our power and you students need to strengthen us with your curiosity. This will have implications for you, the country and our economy. Your years in the security services will be golden years for the security of the nation and of us all. I encourage you to develop along two tracks of service and giving to the country and, later on, independent economic development. You are contributing to the country and it is your right to do so. This right creates commitment give us several years for the country. Also participating in the meeting were Israel National Cyber Bureau (INCB) head Dr. Eviatar Matania, National Security Council head and National Security Adviser Jacob Nagel, Prime Ministers Office Director-General Eli Groner, National Economic Council Chairman Prof. Avi Simhon and other senior officials. Announced at the meeting was the establishment of a first-of-its-kind national center for cyber education together with the security and academic establishments at a cost of NIS 24 million over the next five years. The financing of the center will be shared among the INCB (a unit of the Prime Ministers Office), the Rashi Foundation and additional sources. The national center is the product of work by the INCB and the Rashi Foundation. It will include a new agency, the National Center for Cyber Education and Teaching, which will develop new cyber teaching programs for young people and designated populations as well as training teaching personnel. The goal of the center is to strengthen existing teaching methods and to develop training programs in order to increase the number of quality groups of cyber experts for future integration into the Israeli security establishment, industry and academia. The decision to establish the center comes against the background of a growing need to maintain the level of excellence among existing cyber educational and training programs and to increase the quantity and quality of teaching personnel in the field. The new center will offer its services to existing and future cyber programs. Its activities will be focused in four main fields: Developing national teaching programs and new educational formats, with emphasis on virtual training in an advanced computerized environment for children, young people and academics in the cyber sphere; training teaching staff in the cyber sphere, including active professional support for existing teams and developing advancement tracks for them in cyber training as well as promoting their integration in industry; building a professional and knowledge base in the fields of cyber teaching and pedagogics alongside advancing research on ways to develop human capital in the Israeli technological and cyber spheres; and developing and applying a classification process for the various programs. Assessment methods will be developed for the various programs in order to promote effectiveness, efficacy, quality and constant improvement. Rashi Foundation Director for Cyber Education Saguy Bar will manage the center. A joint INCB-Rashi Foundation steering committee, with the participation of other partners, including the Education and Defense ministries, will oversee the establishment process, set an annual budget and monitor the development of the center. The center will also integrate leading science and technology education researchers in assessing and developing its cyber teaching programs and methods. Consideration will also be given to creating program development partnerships with a research university that will be selected on the basis of its academic quality in the field of computer sciences and cyber as well as its experience in scientific-technological instruction for children, young people and professionals. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photo Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO) Russian cybersecurity intelligence officers reportedly detained on treason charges are being accused of passing secrets to the CIA. Sergei Mikhailov and Dmitry Dokuchaev, who worked for the cyber wing of Russias FSB domestic intelligence service until their arrests in December, are accused of cooperating with the CIA, according to unnamed sources cited Tuesday by Interfax news agency. No officials have publicly commented, but Russian media outlets with links to the security services have reported in detail on the case. An executive from cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab has also reportedly been arrested on linked treason charges. U.S. intelligence agencies have alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election in favor of Donald Trump and that Russian spies hacked into the Democratic National Committee. (AP) From the next academic year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will give Class 10 students grades for practising yoga and expressing the love for India. By India Today Web Desk: Lately, patriotism in India has become such an important, touchy topic that from right-wing organisations to the honourable Supreme Court, many feel there is a need to promote it in every way possible. The Supreme Court made playing of national anthem mandatory inside cinema halls across the nation and ordered that people should rise during the anthem. Those who do not stand up, which by the way is a personal choice guaranteed by the Constitution of India, could now be arrested by the police or be thrashed by self-proclaimed custodians of patriotism. advertisement A report in the Hindustan Times said that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), from next academic year, will give grades to Class 10 students for expressing their patriotism and for practising yoga. In a notification issued on Tuesday, CBSE stated that X class students will be assessed on a five-point grading scale for "co-scholastic activities". Students can opt for yoga, martial arts, sports, NCC among others under the health and physical education category. The report also said the grades, despite being included in the mark sheets, will not affect the overall result. The CBSE notification said, "students should be provided opportunities to get professionally trained in the areas of their interest. Indigenous sports, yoga and NCC must be encouraged in the schools to create a sense of physical fitness, discipline, sportsmanship, patriotism, self-sacrifice and health care." --- ENDS --- Sen. John McCain has emerged as President Donald Trumps top Republican nemesis on Capitol Hill. Since Trumps inauguration, McCain has broken with the president on his immigration order, warned him against any rapprochement with Moscow, lectured him on the illegality of torture, and supplied only a tepid endorsement of Rex Tillerson, Trumps secretary of state nominee. Oh, and McCain also hammered Trump for backing away from instead of embracing international free trade agreements. As Trump presses ahead with an ambitious and contentious agenda at home and abroad, McCain is pushing back, using his seniority in Congress and his characteristic bluntness. McCain, 80, cruised to a sixth Senate term in November, defeating a Democratic challenger who hounded the senator for standing by Trump even after the billionaire businessman insulted him as a loser. Trump, who received several draft deferments during the Vietnam era, also said there was nothing heroic about McCains military record after he was shot down during the Vietnam War and spent 5 years as a prisoner of war. McCain dropped his support for Trump in early October after a 2005 recording surfaced in which Trump boasted about groping women. The move led to an outcry from conservative voters firmly behind Trump. But McCain overcame the backlash in what may have been his final election. He hasnt looked back. Trumps immigration order, signed by the president Friday, temporarily suspends all immigration for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. McCain, along with his close friend and Senate colleague Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they feared Trumps immigration order could become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security, McCain and Graham wrote. That elicited an angry tweet from Trump, who accused the two of looking to start World War III. McCain said Monday that Trumps order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to the United States for training so they can join the fight against the Islamic State. Right now, those Iraqis cant come to Arizona to train to be F-16 pilots to defend Americans, McCain said. Thats wrong. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain is one of the leading Republican voices in Congress on national security matters. Re-elected last year to another six years in office, he is free to challenge the president without fear of retribution from voters. And perhaps on no issue has McCain been more unequivocal than of Trumps desire for a better relationship with Moscow. Trumps praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin before and after the election signaled that U.S.-Russia relations could be getting a makeover even after U.S. intelligence agencies determined Moscow meddled in the campaign to help Trump win. But McCain has little interest in detente with a country that has invaded Ukraine, annexed Crimea, threatened Americas NATO allies, and backed Syrian President Bashar Assads murderous regime. Ahead of a telephone call on Saturday between the two leaders, McCain issued a blistering statement in which he called Putin a murderer and a thug who will never be an ally of the United States. He cautioned Trump against lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia and voiced his support for legislation that would broaden the punishments and even codify them in law. Each of our last three presidents had high hopes for building a partnership with the Russian government, McCain said. Each attempt failed, not for lack of good faith and effort on the U.S. side, but because Putin wants to be our enemy. He needs us as his enemy. McCain served in the U.S. House and then was elected to the Senate in 1986, succeeding conservative Barry Goldwater. He will be 86 when his new term ends, making him one of the oldest- and longest-serving members of the Senate. (AP) New Yorks Kennedy Airport has swiftly become one of the nations most closely watched immigration law centers. Volunteer lawyers and translators are camped out at a diner there, trying to find and free people detained under President Donald Trumps immigration order. Similar scenes have taken shape at other major U.S. airports from Dallas to Washington, D.C. Lawyers have filed roughly two dozen lawsuits on behalf of detainees in several states. Federal courts have blocked the government from removing people who arrived with valid visas, at least for now. Trumps order temporarily bans refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the U.S. He says its necessary to protect the nation from violent Islamic extremism. Civil rights advocates say the order violates constitutional protections against religious discrimination. (AP) Neil Gorsuch, named Tuesday as President Donald Trumps nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, has a solidly conservative pedigree that has earned him comparison to the combative justice he would replace, Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch clerked for two Supreme Court justices and worked in President George W. Bushs Justice Department before being appointed to the federal bench and authoring a series of sharply written, conservative opinions. His mother, Anne, ran President Ronald Reagans Environmental Protection Agency. But Gorsuch has also won praise among liberals and others in the Colorado legal community for his fair-mindedness and defense of the underdog. He is a very, very smart man. His leanings are very conservative, but hes qualified to be on the Supreme Court, said Denver plaintiffs attorney David Lane. I dont know that Judge Gorsuch has a political agenda and he is sincere and honest and believes what he writes. A judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Gorsuch lives in the hyper-liberal college town of Boulder and teaches at the University of Colorados law school there, also a progressive bastion. I think this should be Merrick Garlands seat, said Jordan Henry, one of Gorsuchs students there and a self-described liberal, referring to President Obamas nominee for the vacancy last year who was never considered by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. But she described Gorsuch as an eager mentor, always solicitous of students opinions and with a brilliant mind. Hes dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the justice system, said Henry, 29. I do take some comfort that he can be a Trump choice. Gorsuch is a Colorado native who earned his bachelors degree from Columbia University in three years, then earned a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington, D.C., law firm. He served for two years in Bushs Justice Department before Bush appointed him to a seat on the 10th Circuit in 2006. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, served as administrator of the EPA, but she was forced to resign 1983 amid a scandal involving the mismanagement of a $1.6 billion program to clean up hazardous waste dumps. Burford was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over Superfund records, which she claimed were protected by executive privilege. Neil Gorsuch has contended that courts give too much deference to government agencies interpretations of statutes, a deference that stems from a Supreme Court ruling in a 1984 case. More recently, he sided with two groups that successfully challenged the Obama administrations requirements that employers provide health insurance that includes contraception. Gorsuch summed up his minimalist judicial philosophy and focus on impartial judgment Tuesday evening. A judge who reaches every outcome he wishes is likely a very bad judge, he said after Trump introduced him from the East Room of the White House in a primetime televised address. Lane, who frequently clashes with law enforcement, praised Gorsuch as fair and open-minded. Lane won a $1.8 million jury verdict against the Denver Police Department in a brutality and wrongful arrest case. The city appealed and the case ended up before Gorsuch. Lane said Gorsuch tore into the citys lawyers and urged them to go to mediation rather than drag out appeals for years to deny the plaintiffs their reward. The mediation led the case to be settled for $1.6 million. Gorsuch has also drawn attention for siding with religious employers against the Obama administrations requirement that they provide health insurance that covers contraception. He also wrote a book arguing against assisted suicide. Marcy Glenn, a Denver attorney and Democrat, recalls two cases before Gorsuch in which she represented underdogs. In one, a college student faced criminal libel charges for mocking a professor; the court upheld the students right to file a claim against the prosecutor. In the second, homeowners sued over illnesses stemming from an old nuclear weapons facility outside Denver. Gorsuch revived their class-action lawsuit in a novelistic, 38-page ruling that began, Harnessing nuclear energy is a delicate business. He issued a decision that most certainly focused on the little guy, Glenn said. Rebecca Love Kourlis, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice, said Gorsuch has written 175 majority opinions and 65 concurrences or dissents in his decade on the 10th Circuit. Hes really earned his stripes, she said. Kourlis said Gorsuch is also a notable advocate for simplifying the justice system to make it more accessible. Legal services in this country are so expensive that the United States ranks near the bottom of developed nations when it comes to access to counsel in civil cases, Gorsuch wrote in a journal article last year. The real question is what to do about it. The article is written in Gorsuchs characteristic, straightforward style. He thinks its really important for people other than lawyers to understand what hes writing, Kourlis said. Gorsuch is also an avid skier, fly fisherman and horseback rider, Kourlis said. He teaches at the University of Colorados law school in Boulder. He is humble, he is extremely articulate and he is extraordinarily hard-working, Kourlis said. In his financial disclosure report for 2015, he reported assets ranging from $3.1 million to $7.25 million. He earned $26,000 for his law school duties and another $5,300 in book royalties that year. (AP) Following are a few photos of the people in Amona awaiting eviction this morning, Wednesday, 5 Shevat. We also see photos of the cubbies, bulletin board and sink area of the communitys daycare center, which stands idle today as once again, Jewish families await eviction by the Government of Israel. Most of the anger of residents is directed at the Bayit Yehudi party, which promised this would not occur and if they were unable to stop it, the MKs would break away from the coalition government, which they did not do. Bayit Yehudi party MKs are on the scene, most received with shouts of boos and accusation of blame for failing to keep their promises. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: , and Binyamin Council spokesman unit) [PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] After hours of standing around and advancing at a slow pace, a large number of border police are seen marching towards the center of Amona. It appears that they plan to bring in as many troops as possible to actually begin the eviction, which is expected to take a few hours. There are 3,000 troops reportedly taking part in the operation. Until this time there have not been any serious confrontations or injuries. The border police force appears to be heading towards the community shul and they are being pushed back by youths who have been waiting for their arrival. For the time being, police are not using any force whatsoever, seemingly determined to complete the mission without a repeat of the bloody scenes of the 2006 Amona eviction. Honenu reports one 17-year-old male was detained by police. No additional information at this time. It is pointed out that unlike during the first Amona expulsion, police are wearing caps and not helmets and body armor. In addition, there are no mounted units present as was the case in the first expulsion. Yassam commandos are not in their grey uniforms but wearing blue sweatshirts with Israeli flags on their sleeves. No one is holding a baton and the message is not the same intimidating one of the last expulsion. It is also reported that one border policeman has defied direct orders and is unwilling to continue playing a role in the eviction. The photos below show police in sweatshirts as well as the border policeman who is under arrest for refusing to obey orders and continue the eviction. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: TPS) Senate Republicans stood united behind President Donald Trumps nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, bracing for a bitter, months-long fight with Democrats over a conservative judge similar in philosophy to the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., immediately praised Gorsuch, a Denver-based judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying he has an impressive background and a long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution. One after the other, Senate Republicans echoed the leader, describing Gorsuch as a well-qualified jurist. If confirmed, the 49-year-old Gorsuch would be the youngest justice on the court and could be shaping decisions for decades. Democrats signaled they will challenge the choice, insisting that Gorsuch, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan Cabinet official, prove to them he is a mainstream nominee. Democrats are still furious with the way Republicans treated former President Barack Obamas nominee for the open seat last year, refusing to even grant a hearing or a vote to Judge Merrick Garland in Obamas final year in office. Instead, the seat remained empty for 10 months and the court operated with eight justices as McConnell maintained that the next president should make the nomination. This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court, said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Merkley suggested Monday, before the nominee was announced, that he will hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 votes for confirmation. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer hasnt officially said whether he would back a filibuster, the procedural maneuver that would require 60 votes. But he said after the nomination was announced that the Senate must insist on 60 votes, meaning McConnell will need bipartisan support. And any senator can move to filibuster. Democrats are under intense pressure from liberal groups and the party base to challenge every Trump nominee. As the nomination was announced, hundreds were protesting at Schumers Brooklyn home, pressuring him to vote against Cabinet picks and block the Supreme Court nominee. Like Merkley, a handful of Democrats came out in immediate opposition to Gorsuch. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said Gorsuch has sided with large companies over workers, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who said Gorsuchs rulings havent favored American workers or womens rights. Brown and Warren are up for re-election in 2018. Warrens Massachusetts colleague, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, also said he will oppose Gorsuch. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden indicated he would as well, citing Gorsuchs stand against laws that allow terminally ill people to end their lives. Schumer is in a tough position as he decides how to move forward. As liberal groups and Democratic voters angry about Trumps election victory press him to lead the loyal opposition, he must also be mindful of 23 Democrats and two independents up for re-election in 2018, including 10 in states won by Trump. Some of those senators could face blowback from voters who see Democrats as obstructing Trumps pick. And some might decide to vote for Gorsuch. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he had little sympathy for fellow Senate Democrats feeling pressure to support Trumps nominee because theyre running for re-election in 2018 in states that Trump won. Manchin is among those up for re-election I n 2018. I didnt come here to say, Oh my goodness, if I dont do this, I might not get re-elected,' Manchin said Wednesday on MSNBCs Morning Joe. Hes said he will examine Gorsuchs record and make a determination of whether to provide my consent. Several other Democrats were also noncommittal. Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat up for re-election next year in the Republican-leaning state, said he looks forward to sitting down with Judge Gorsuch, looking him in the eye, asking him tough questions, and finding out if he shares our Montana values. McConnell said he hoped all senators Democrats included show Gorsuch fair consideration and respect the outcome of the presidential election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama. The Republican leader made no mention of his treatment of Garland, whom Obama nominated in March after the sudden death of Scalia in February. The reference to an up-or-down vote was an acknowledgment of the challenge McConnell faces. If McConnell fails to secure Democratic support to move the nomination, hell come under intense pressure to blow up Senate rules and remove the filibuster, a move that would lower the threshold for approving Supreme Court nominees. Even Trump has suggested that McConnell scrap the rules. Outside groups almost immediately imposed a litmus test for Democrats considering their vote on the nominee. We have a message for members of the Senate on Judge Gorsuch: opposing Roe v Wade is a disqualifier, said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood of America. Nominees to the highest court in the land must make clear that they will protect our fundamental rights, including the right of a woman to control her body. The conservative Judicial Crisis Network has said it will spend $10 million to ensure Trumps pick is confirmed. The group launched its first ad buy within hours of Trumps announcement, airing ads in Montana, Indiana, North Dakota and Missouri, all states where Democrats are up for re-election and Trump won. (AP) The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is expressing concern about the United States response to the global refugee crisis, citing the consequences to millions of Jews who were unable to flee Nazism. The museum said in a statement Tuesday that in the 1930s and 1940s, the United States and many other countries refused to admit Jewish refugees from Nazism. The statement says anti-Semitic attitudes and national security fears were among the reasons for turning away Jewish refugees. The museum says there are legitimate refugees fleeing Syrian President Bashar Assads regime and genocidal acts by the Islamic State group. The museums statement comes after President Donald Trumps immigration order temporarily suspending all immigration for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. Its statement urged that U.S. policy should address security concerns while protecting legitimate refugees. (AP) Pro-Palestinians in the UK have called for the arrest of MK (Yesh Atid) Elazar Stern, who is visiting London. As a former senior IDF commander and Chief of IDF Personnel Branch, they want him arrested for war crimes for actions taken against residents of Gaza and PA (Palestinian Authority) areas. Party leader MK Yair Lapid spoke with the Israeli Ambassador in London, asking that he take the required action to protect Stern. Lapid told the media Major-General in the reserves Elazar Stern is in London to combat the BDS Movement which operates against the IDF and its commanders. I am certain everything will be done to protect him. Stern and members of the Yesh Atid young party plan to address college campuses in an effort to educate students regarding BDS. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) While some of the members of Bayit Yehudi were at Amona during the course of the day, it was not the welcome they were hoping for. Actually, most of the anger of residents and supporters is directed against the dati leumi party, which was quick to assure and promise residents a solution would be found. Some, including MK Betzalel Smotrich explained another eviction of Jews from their homes is a red line that may not be crossed, warning his party would break from the coalition if any yishuvim are removed. Today, it is clear to all that these were empty words. Many point out Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his Likud party explaining their hands are tied because of the High Court of Justice Decision but for Bennet and his followers, it was a red line. When party ministers Ayelet Shaked and Uri Ariel arrived, hey too were jeered. Bottom line is Bayit Yehudi failed and Amona is being removed. Speaking in Knesset as the eviction was taking place, Naftali Bennet explained that this battle was lost but there is going to be victory in Yehuda and Shomron as thousands of homes are being built and there will be changes annexing areas of Yehuda and Shomron, thereby adding significant legitimacy. Bennet clearly tried to signal success for his party but for today at least, no one appears interested in hearing what he has to say. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Attorneys for former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to President Reuven Rivlin. Officials on the presidents staff explain that the request will be handled like all others, with a copy passed to the Justice Ministry for its opinion and recommendation. Olmert has an additional eight months to serve in his 27-month sentence. He began serving his term in Massiyahu Prison on February 15, 2016. He filed an appeal least September, which was rejected and the High Court of Justice added eight months to his 19-month sentence, bringing it to 27 months. He was convicted on numerous charges including corruption and bribery. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) By Press Trust of India: From Harinder Mishra Jerusalem, Feb 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modis much-anticipated visit to Israel could take place in mid-2017 in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, as the two countries mark 25 years of their diplomatic ties. Indias Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told news portal Ynet about the visit and mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel, which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under Make in India initiative. advertisement Informed sources told PTI the dates for Modis visit have not been finalised but "it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017." Modis visit is being discussed amid talks of a "close chemistry" between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. India-Israel ties have steadily progressed since the two countries established diplomatic relations in January 1992 but India has shied away from such high-level visits in the past. However, BJP-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to Israel. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejees invitation. It was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi, coming after a gap of almost 20 years. The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003, when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Yet, bilateral ties have been on an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. The two leaders have met twice on foreign soil on the sidelines of UN-related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. During their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015, Modi had told Netanyahu: "I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened." PTI HM MRJ ABH AKJ ABH --- ENDS --- Delaware prisons were locked down Wednesday as authorities responded to a hostage situation at the states maximum security facility. Geoffrey Klopp, president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, said the Department of Correction commissioner told him that prison guards had been taken hostage at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna. In a brief statement, the department said that DOC Response Teams and Delaware State Police were on the scene responding to a hostage situation. A DOC spokeswoman said only that an emergency situation was reported at the Smyrna prison late Wednesday morning. The facility was placed on lockdown, as were all prisons in the state per DOC policy. Spokeswoman Jayme Gravell provided few details but described the situation as an isolated incident, adding that there was no threat to the public. Gravell said firefighters were called to the scene after reports of smoke and were being held on standby. Video from above the prison shows uniformed officers gathered in two groups along fences near an entrance to the prison. Later, video showed several people surrounding a stretcher and running as they pushed it across the compound. It wasnt clear if a person was on the stretcher. People could be seen standing near a set of doors with an empty stretcher and wheelchair. According to the departments website, the prison is Delawares largest correctional facility for men, housing about 2,500 inmates. It houses minimum, medium, and maximum security inmates, and also houses Kent County detainees awaiting trial. It is also the site of the states death row and where executions were carried out. The prison opened in 1971. (AP) Hrithik Roshan-starrer Kaabil is slowly catching up with Raees, starring Shah Rukh Khan, in the box-office race. By India Today Web Desk: Raees and Kaabil are going to complete seven days at the box-office on Tuesday. So far, neither film has been able to cross the Rs 100-crore mark domestically. Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees got more screens than Hrithik Roshan-Yami Gautam's film Kaabil and consequently, had a bigger opening on its first day. MOVIE REVIEW: RAEES MOVIE REVIEW: KAABIL advertisement Raees opened with Rs 20.42 crore, almost double of what Kaabil earned on January 25; Rs 10.43 crore. But now the gap is slowly closing. If day-to-day box-office estimates are to be calculated, it can be seen that the graph of Kaabil's box-office collection is rising over that of Raees. Here is the day-to-day breakdown of Raees's box-office collection: Day 1 - Wednesday (Jan 25) - Rs 20.42 crore Day 2 - Thursday (Jan 26) - Rs 26.30 crore Day 3 - Friday (Jan 27) - Rs 13.11 crore Day 4 - Saturday (Jan 28) - Rs 15.61 crore Day 5 - Sunday (Jan 29) - Rs 17.80 crore Total five day box-office collection: Rs 93.24 crore Here is the day-to-day breakdown of Kaabil's box-office collection: Day 1 - Wednesday (Jan 25) - Rs 10.43 crore Day 2 - Thursday (Jan 26) - Rs 18.67 crore Day 3 - Friday (Jan 27) - Rs 9.77 crore Day 4 - Saturday (Jan 28) - Rs 13.54 crore Day 5 - Sunday (Jan 29) - Rs 15.05 crore Total five day box-office collection: Rs 67.64 crore Shah Rukh Khan has been appreciated by critics and audiences alike for his anti-heroic turn in Raees. Shah Rukh plays a bootlegger called Raees in '80s Gujarat whose business is eventually thwarted by an honest police officer Majmudar, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. However, the paper-thin plot and the lacklustre Pakistani heroine Mahira Khan made Raees, eventually, a damp squib. ALSO WATCH: What works and what doesn't in Shah Rukh Khan's Raees Meanwhile, Kaabil was positioned as the underdog among the two films and audiences are slowly turning towards the Hrithik Roshan-starrer revenge thriller. Supposedly inspired by the Korean film Broken, Kaabil directed by Sanjay Gupta, revolves around a blind man going out to avenge his raped wife. ALSO WATCH: Does Hrithik's Kaabil do its job well? Find out here --- ENDS --- DISCOVERY DEAL A row between Sky and Discovery has been resolved, with the two striking a deal to keep 12 channels including Eurosport and TLC on the network. They had clashed over the amount Sky would pay Discovery, which had threatened to withdraw its channels from today. SUPPLY SWITCH SSE has seen 50,000 customers desert it in favour of rival energy suppliers. The power firm had announced in November that it would be freezing prices until at least April 2017, but a third quarter trading update showed that it continued haemorrhaging customers in the three months to December 31. COPPER CONTROL Polymetal International has taken full control of the Tarutin copper mine in Russia. The London-listed firm owned 75 per cent of LLC Vostochny Basis, which holds the licence, and has bought the remaining 25 per cent from Gerosena Trading Ltd, paying the 8million price tag by issuing 893,575 shares. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP British and US firms worked on 254 transatlantic deals in the second half of 2016 in a sign of confidence after the Brexit vote. Deloitte's figures show 172 of the transactions were US-to-UK, a rise of 3.6 per cent. There was a 20.4 per cent fall in activity going the other way. RETAIL FEARS The retail industry could lose 1m jobs unless it is given Government support, a report by a political think-tank warns. A year-long review by the Fabian Society found that the rapid growth of online shopping and rising business costs threatens to change the sector forever. CASH CALL Troubled Italian bank UniCredit is pressing ahead with an 11.2billion fundraising, despite fresh fears over its health. The lender is slashing 14,000 jobs and closing 944 branches but warned this might not be enough to meet European Union targets. OIL SHIPPED AIM-listed Eland Oil and Gas will ship crude from its Opuama Field in Nigeria as an alternative to exporting via pipeline. Chief executive George Maxwell said: 'The diversification of our export routes has been a key priority.' NEW FOCUS Oil and gas exploration firm Soco is seeking new assets. It has property in Vietnam, Congo and Angola but wants to diversify its sources of income, focusing on south-east Asia and north-east Africa. MINE STAKE Lucapa Diamond Company has bought a 70 per cent stake in Lesotho's Mothae diamond mine for 7.2million. The AIM-listed firm hopes to produce high-value diamonds from the mine within 12 months. BEST INVEST Money managed by UK investment firms grew by 12.6 per cent to 1billion last year, a trade body said. The Investment Association also said retail customers piled an extra 4.7billion into the market during the period. A major energy rip-off is being hidden from customers, Money Mail can reveal. Power giants failed to pass on falls in the costs of gas and oil over the past two years, figures in official reports show. The suppliers' gas and electricity costs fell by 23 per cent between January 2014 and March 2016. If the savings had been passed on, the average bill of 1,133 in 2014 would have fallen by 209 to 924 by the end of last winter. Power giants failed to pass on falls in the costs of gas and oil over the past two years But in fact the typical standard variable tariffs fell by 67 to 1,066 a year which means families paid 142 a year more than if costs fell in line, according to analysis by the switching website Energyhelpline. Suppliers are hiding behind a smokescreen to keep this secret from customers. Two years ago, watchdog Ofgem axed its monthly guide to energy company profits after firms complained it was inaccurate. The regulator published a new table two weeks ago that is supposed to make it easier to see whether you're getting a fair deal. But Money Mail found the table was almost impossible for customers to decipher. Rather than using pounds and pence, it displays wholesale energy costs using a baffling index. Ofgem admits it can't be used on its own to judge whether you are being charged too much. Energyhelpline had to compare the data with its own to find out if customers were being ripped off. The previous guide also showed in pounds the difference between what power firms were paying to supply energy to your home and what they were charging you. The new tables show only the rise and fall in supplier costs, rather than the profits they make, and will be published every quarter. Dermot Nolan, chief executive of Ofgem, says it has not buckled to lobbying by energy suppliers. 'It's a matter of public record that many said they didn't like it [but] that's absolutely not why we changed it,' he says. l.eccles@dailymail.co.uk Diageo is investing 18.6million in a Dublin distillery to produce Roe & Co Diageo is taking on Jameson-maker Pernod Ricard with an Irish whiskey. The drinks giant is investing 18.6million in a Dublin distillery to produce Roe & Co. It has made the move to take advantage of the global thirst for non-Scotch whiskeys, which is set to soar over the next three years. Diageo, the world's largest distiller, hasn't made Irish whiskey since 2015 when it swapped its Bushmills brand for Jose Cuervo's Don Julio tequila. Since then, data by International Wine and Spirits Research has revealed whiskey exports have jumped 19 per cent to surpass 3m nine-litre cases a year. Now Diageo has revived the name of whiskey-maker George Roe, who helped forge the golden age of Irish whiskey in the 19th century. His business, George Roe & Co, extended across 17 acres and was once Ireland's largest distillery. Diageo plans to convert the former Guinness Power House to create St James's Gate distillery, set to open in 2019. Until then, the 30-a-bottle tipple will be blended from whiskeys from existing distilleries. Airline woe The boss of Lufthansa has warned of troubling times ahead for the Gulf aviation market. Carsten Spohr said regional carriers will be forced to cut capacity to offset lower growth forecasts. Worry: Carsten Spohr said regional carriers will be forced to cut capacity to offset lower growth forecasts Mine deaths Hochschild Mining is investigating after two workers were killed at one of its underground mines. Shares slumped after the disaster on Tuesday at its Inmaculada gold and silver mine in southern Peru. The mine will be shut during the investigation. Snapped up Private equity firms have doubled their assets to 2trillion since the financial crisis, research shows. Data firm Preqin said the industrys value had risen in every one of the past eight years since the crash, as it gave the firms a chance to snap up cheap assets. Mail man The ex-finance boss of Royal Mail has taken on a new role at outsourcing giant Capita. Matthew Lester, who quit as finance director after more than six years at the Royal Mail, will serve as non-executive director at Capita from March and chairman of its audit and risk committee from the beginning of June. Safari bob Mastercard has teamed up with former Barclays boss Bob Diamond to boost its business in sub-Saharan Africa. Diamond nicknamed Safari Bob for his interest in the continent founded Atlas Mara, which owns a network of African banks, after quitting the UK bank in disgrace following the Libor rate- rigging scandal. Rising up First Direct has promoted its head of contact centres to run the bank. Joe Gordon will replace Tracy Garrad at the helm of the HSBC-owned lender. Garrad is set to run HSBCs operation in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Name change Investors Capital Trust has changed its name to F&C UK High Income Trust. Bosses said there would be no impact on day-to-day operations. Fine deal Firms being investigated by the City watchdog will be able to pay a reduced fine if they accept some charges against them while disputing others. Until now, if a business argued against any part of the Financial Conduct Authoritys findings they would be hit with a full fine. Costly error: Christabel Smith had to fork out for a new boiler After viewing the pretty four- bedroom Georgian town house overlooking the seafront, Christabel Smith and her husband Jonathan felt they had found their dream home. The 320,000 property would put a strain on their finances, but with its big rooms, large windows and sea views they felt it was worth the stretch. However, their joy at moving into the house in Ramgsgate, Kent, in December 2015 soon turned to despair. Within weeks the boiler packed up and replacing it would cost nearly 3,000. 'We were horrified,' says Christabel, 50. 'We were already under financial pressure from the move and it had started to snow, so we were freezing and broke. 'Everything had been so perfect with the house. The survey had been fine and the possibility that the boiler might be faulty never occurred to us. For ten hellish days we had no heating or hot water. 'We had to spread the cost of a new boiler around different credit cards to replace it. It has been horrific.' The Smiths' story is not as uncommon as it should be. Many homebuyers face the unexpected and often enormous expense of fixing or replacing a boiler shortly after moving in. This is because it rarely gets checked during a house sale. Though damp, timbers and the general condition of the property are assessed by surveyors, there is no obligation for home sellers to provide information about the boiler. According to research by boiler and homecare insurance provider Corgi HomePlan, the boiler is the most common item homebuyers overlook, with 39 per cent not getting an engineer to test it before they move in. Npower researchers say that one in 15 UK homeowners has never had their boiler serviced. Corgi HomePlan director Kevin Treanor says that just as you would not commit to buying a home without seeing the surveyor's report, it is just as important to see the full service record of all gas appliances. A Gas Safe registered engineer should inspect the home because the heating breaking down could be the least of your worries. 'Carbon monoxide kills around 50 people a year, with faulty boilers often to blame,' says Mr Treanor. 'Every one of these deaths is avoidable. people must minimise the risks.' Christabel Smith outside her property in Ramsgate, Kent. Many homebuyers face the unexpected expense of fixing or replacing a boiler shortly after moving in Heating engineer Jason Nicholls, of Northumberland based N&P Plumbing and Heating, recommends such simple checks as putting your hands on radiators to feel if they are hot while you are being shown around a house. 'It certainly shouldn't be lukewarm. Even if it's hot you should feel all over the radiator to check for any cold spots, especially around the bottom,' he says. 'If you are serious about the house, ask the seller or agent to have the heating on when you come to view it. Mr Nicholls says you should also ask how old the boiler is. 'Most last between ten and 15 years. if the boiler is older than that it's a red flag,' he says. He also suggests running the hot water tap for a minute: 'The water should feel pretty hot by then. If it doesn't, there could be a problem.' Christabel admits that when she bought their house she could hear an occasional dripping sound from the boiler. She didn't think much of it because there are often watery sounds in parts of older kitchens but when the plumber dismantled the boiler, he found that water had accumulated around the bottom of the tray and the whole area was corroded. 'We couldn't believe it when he said there was no chance of a repair,' she says. 'What's more it had to be switched off immediately as he said it was a safety hazard.' Danielle Clements, a property lawyer at Gorvins solicitors in Stockport, says that homebuyers should think about boilers in the same way they would about damp or cracks in ceilings: 'Check if the boiler has been serviced regularly and ask for the paperwork. 'If the seller cannot supply these then your solicitor may ask the seller to pay for or contribute to indemnity insurance. 'If the boiler is old and you still want to buy the house, you could negotiate a discount on the price to reflect this. Sometimes, though, boilers break down no matter how careful you are.' If something does happen after you move in and you want to pursue the matter, find out if any information about the faulty boiler was revealed during inquiries made during the conveyancing and whether there was any paperwork. 'You might be able to persuade the seller to contribute to the costs of remedying the fault if they were untruthful,' says Ms Clements. 'If they refuse you may struggle to pursue an action as a result of caveat emptor: let the buyer beware.' moneymail@dailymail.co.uk Banks are luring homebuyers with mortgage deals that come with cashback but they rarely offer the best rates. The number of home loans that give borrowers money when they sign up has soared by a third from 692 to 918 in the past six months, according to data firm Moneyfacts. The average payment is 350, but some customers are getting as much as 1,000 when their loan agreement is completed. Sweetener: The number of home loans that give borrowers money when they sign up has soared by a third from 692 to 918 in the past six months, according to data firm Moneyfacts Cashback deals are usually targeted at first-time buyers, who may want extra money to furnish and decorate their new home. Moneyfacts data show that, while the number of deals for borrowers who have deposits of up to 10 per cent has grown by 97 to 242 over the past two years, the average cashback has fallen by 59 to 408. Cashback is often useful for buyers at the start of the deal, but the rates on them are typically higher. This means that the monthly repayments could end up costing you more over the lifetime of the loan than you get in cashback. For example, Yorkshire Building Society has a 2.15 per cent five-year fixed-rate with a 995 fee. On a 150,000 loan, the monthly repayments are 647. It also has a 2.74 per cent five-year fix with no fee and 250 cashback. The higher rate pushes up your monthly repayments by 44 to 691 an extra 2,665 over five years. David Hollingworth, of broker London & Country, says: Dont choose your mortgage based on a cash lump sum. The rate is more important. p.thomas@dailymail.co.uk By Press Trust of India: Kolkata, Feb 1 (PTI) Two days after a video purportedly showed her alleged relationship with an Enforcement Directorate official probing the Rose Valley chit fund scam, Suvra Kundu, the estranged wife of its chairman Gautam Kundu, was today interrogated by Kolkata police sleuths. "Today, we questioned her at her residence for quite some time. If needed we will interrogate her again," a senior official of Kolkata police told PTI. advertisement According to Kolkata police, Suvra was interrogated after police recovered a hard drive and a laptop on December 15 which contained details about money laundering. "It was during a raid following demonetisation that we found those details," another police official said. Suvra came into the limelight after a CCTV footage purportedly showed her travelling with the investigating officer of Rose Valley scam, Manoj Kumar by air from Kolkata to Delhi last month and later checking into a hotel in Sunder Nagar area of the national capital. ED officials said Kumar, an assistant director of the agency, has been suspended pending enquiry even as he was removed from the cases he was probing like the Rose Valley chit fund case and some pertaining to the coal blocks allocation. Kumar has denied the charges, saying the entire episode was being blown out of proportion and was part of a "larger conspiracy" to take him out of the case. PTI PNT KK AAR --- ENDS --- Savers have an extra 10,000 protection if their bank or building society goes bust from this week. The Bank of England has raised the amount each saver can receive from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to 85,000 per person per licensed bank or building society. For joint accounts, it's 170,000. But beware: many of the top savings deals come with catches that could leave you with less protection. Changed: The Bank of England has raised the amount each saver can receive from the FSCS to 85k per person per licensed bank or building society Some set their own limits according to the country where their headquarters are based. Others share a single licence, so you might get only 85,000 of cover across multiple accounts at different banks. Firms have until June 30 to inform their customers of the changes. The 10,000 rise is to keep the UK in line with the EU-wide deposit protection limit of 100,000. The limit covers money in your current, savings and cash Isa accounts. It was cut to 75,000 in July 2015, when sterling was stronger, to keep it in step with the rest of Europe but since the Brexit vote, sterling has fallen against the euro so the limit has had to be raised. The figure is supposed to be reviewed every five years, but an 'unforeseen' event can trigger an earlier change. The new limit protects 98 per cent of all UK savers. The general rule is not to have more than the compensation limit with any bank or building society group. If, for instance, you have 50,000 with Halifax and 50,000 with Nationwide, then all your money is covered. But if you have your 100,000 with just one of them, then 15,000 would be at risk if the bank went bust. This is also the case where banks share a licence with their subsidiaries. For example, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, BM Savings and Saga share a single licence. So, if you had 50,000 with Halifax and 50,000 with Bank of Scotland, your 15,000 would still be at risk because there is only one licence and, therefore, one lot of 85,000 covered. Halifax used to be the deposit taker for AA Savings, too. If your AA account was opened before October 7, 2015, your money is still with the bank. If you opened it after this date, it is with Bank of Ireland, which also takes in cash for Post Office Money. Yorkshire and Norwich & Peterborough building societies also have one licence between them, as do National Counties and Family building societies. Co-op Bank and its Britannia brand work the same way. But other banks hold separate licences even though they are part of the same group. NatWest and RBS are sister banks, but you get the full 85,000 cover with each. M&S Money is owned by HSBC, but once again each gives you the maximum cover. Not all UK accounts are covered by the FSCS. Ikano Bank comes under the Swedish scheme, which covers UK savers up to 85,000. With RCI Bank, you're covered for up to 100,000 (around 85,000) by the French scheme. Under other rules of the UK scheme, you can have up to 1million of cover for six months if you have a 'temporary high balance', for instance, if you have received a payment from a house sale or an inheritance. sy.morris@dailymail.co.uk Addressing fire safety Living in San Diego County, the threat of fires is constant, that is why I have made fire safety one... Supporting animals As a trained Project Wildlife Native Songbird Rehabilitator, my experience raising orphaned and injured songbirds and returning them to the... Actor Samantha has agreed to be the brand ambassador for handloom products of the Telangana government, say reports. By India Today Web Desk: With back-to-back blockbusters like Theri and Janatha Garage, 2016 was a year for Samantha for all the right reasons. After years of speculation, Samantha and Naga Chaitanya got engaged on January 29 amid the presence of superstar Nagarjuna, wife Amala Akkineni, younger son Akhil Akkineni and daughter-in-law Shreya Bhupal. ALSO READ: Ilayathalapathy Vijay to romance Kajal, Samantha, Jyothika in his next advertisement ALSO READ: Has SS Rajamouli's Baahubali 2 earned Rs 500 cr even before release? Interestingly, Samantha has been appointed as brand ambassador for handloom products of Telangana government. According to reports, Samantha met Minister KT Rama Rao at Metro Rail Bhavan on Tuesday and expressed her interests on handloom products and enquired about the initiative taken by the government. Appreciating the actor's interests, KT Rama asked Samantha to be the brand ambassador for handlooms. KT Rama Rao took to Twitter and shared the news. Thanks @Samanthaprabhu2 for agreeing to be TSCO Handloom ambassador. Let's make handlooms fashionable. Congratulations on your engagement :) pic.twitter.com/RNuXbXRGvs KTR (@KTRTRS) January 31, 2017 Responding to Rao, Samantha wrote, "It's an honour sir can't wait to start work at my new job and thankyou." It's an honour sir ??? can't wait to start work at my new job??? and thankyou ??? https://t.co/EMfYgGlzFQ Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@Samanthaprabhu2) January 31, 2017 Earlier to this, veteran actor Kamal Haasan also extended his support for handloom products. Haasan wrote on Twitter, "I also support handloom weavers. Have grown seeing my father wear nothing but handloom clothes, through his life." I also support handloom weavers. Have grown seeing my father wear nothing but handloom clothes, through his life@KTRTRS Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) January 3, 2017 Meanwhile, Samantha is teaming up with Ilayathalapathy Vijay for an upcoming Tamil flick, which will be directed by Atlee. To be bankrolled by Sri Thenandal Films, the film also stars Jyothika, Kajal Aggarwal, SJ Suryah and Sathyaraj in pivotal roles. Grapevine also suggest that Samantha is likely to star in Tollywood star Ram Charan's next with Sukumar. --- ENDS --- NHLANGANO At least seven women who are employed at Juries Garment Factory in Nhlangano had to be rushed to hospital after inhaling what was at first suspected to be fumes from a gas leakage. Company representatives were, however, quick to dispel the fears about a gas leak at the plant when contacted yesterday. While confirming the disturbance yesterday, Spokesperson Elmon Ndlovu said the mishap was caused by a company that was drilling water within the company premises. Some of the affected employees were adamant that they inhaled something like gas while management maintains that it was just dust. We discovered it was dust, but because of the manner in which it occurred, everybody became anxious, and this caused nervousness among our workers. We took immediate steps to stop what was happening and that was when we discovered it was just dust which had engulfed the whole working area, explained Ndlovu. He said their operation at the factory was disturbed for an hour and a half, as staffers were apprehensive about going back inside. The affected textile workers, mostly those who suffered from diseases of the respiratory tract, needed treatment after they became dizzy upon inhaling the fumes in the afternoon, shortly after 3pm. The workers were busy doing with their duties inside the factory when others began to feel dizzy following a significant release of what was believed to have been the fumes into the factory. Many reportedly panicked and rushed towards the exit point. They were shouting for help. MBABANE It is probably not what suspended Judge Mpendulo Simelane expected. Yesterday, his attorney of record, Sipho Simelane, withdrew his services exactly 15 minutes before the start of his (judge) ongoing hearing. Judge Simelane got the disturbing message as he passed by the Mbabane Government Hospital on his way to the High Court where his impeachment hearing was scheduled to take place at 10am in the Conference Room. The judge told the commission that Simelane (Sipho) called him at 9:45am to inform him that he was withdrawing his services as his attorney of record. Zweli Jele, who prosecutes in the hearing, said he received a telefax message at 9am from Sipho indicating that he would no longer represent the suspended judge in the hearing. Jele asked Judge Simelane to give direction to the commission as to what was to happen next. Judge Simelane confirmed that his attorney had withdrawn his services. He said Sipho did not give an indication prior that he would no longer represent him. The judge asked that the hearing be proceeded with and he would represent himself. My counsel has since withdrawn his services from the matter, said the judge who attended the hearing in the company of his father. In fact the judges father has been attending the hearing ever since it started. The chairman of the hearing, Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala, said the commission could not proceed with the hearing under the circumstances. The ED contended that the economic offence court had failed to note the information about how Bharani Beach Resorts was used as a company to route the money which was later used to buy Kodanadu Tea estate. By Pramod Madhav: The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran's plea to discharge them from Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) violation case. Case against Sasikala and TTV Dinakaran: 1. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier contended in Egmore Economic Offence Court that a contravention complaint of FERA for acquiring USD 1,04,93,313 and transferring and making payment to the credit of Dipper Investments Limited was filed against TTV Dinakaran. advertisement 2. The ED also alleged that the foreign currency was remitted to NRNR account of R Susila, Sasikala's friend which was later re-routed through another person in the form of 25 cheques. 3. Sasikala and Dinakaran were discharged from this 1996 case by the Egmore Economic offence Court on May 18, citing lack of evidence. Following which the ED challenged the verdict in the Madras High Court. 4. The ED contended that the economic offence court judge had failed to note the information about how Bharani Beach Resorts, was used as a company to route the money which was later used to buy Kodanadu Tea estate. The ED said that is why Sasikala and Dinakaran should not be dicharged from the case. 5. Hearing the arguments, the court decided to accept the ED's case and dismissed Sasikala's plea to discharge herself and Dinakaram from it. 6. The court's decision has shocked the AIADMK camp as silent arrangements were being made to make Sasikala climb the chief minister's throne. Also read: Tamil Nadu's last day of assembly ends with CM OPS gaining DMK support --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: The January 27 assault on Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not go down well with the Bollywood fraternity. While a collective of Bollywood personalities such as Karan Johar, Priyanka Chopra, Ashutosh Gowariker, Anurag Kashyap and Deepika Padukone, among others, voiced their anger about the incident , most major stars like the Khans stayed silent about it. OPINION: Bollywood cannot fight political bullies because we don't respect our cinema advertisement WATCH: Sanjay Leela Bhansali gets thrashed by Karni Sena members in Jaipur Recently, Shah Rukh Khan opened up about his feelings regarding the issue and said that only discussion is the legitimate way to sort tough issues instead of resorting to violence. "As far as art and creativity are concerned, everybody wants to do something new, say something new. Art should start conversations, discussions. A person might like a painting, or a poem. Other person might not. So, it should be a discussion. And a discussion should be an exchange of knowledge," Shah Rukh said. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was attacked by members of Karni Sena on January 27 in Jaipur on the sets of Padmavati. The Karni Sena members alleged that Bhansali was shooting a romantic sequence between Rani Padmini (Deepika Padukone) and Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh). Karni Sena reasoned that since such an incident never happened in history, Bhansali was distorting historical facts and as such, slapping him and attacking his film's sets was the right move. ALSO READ: Padmavati is not real. Why are you angry? Later, Bhansali and Karni Sena came to an understanding that Bhansali would change the title of his film from Padmavati to something else. Bhansali also assured that his film was never going to have the controversial scene in question in the first place. ALSO READ: Karni Sena demands title of Padmavati changed, Bhansali says all issues sorted Shah Rukh Khan, who has earlier worked with Bhansali in the 2002 film Devdas added, "If anybody should have a disagreement, or an issue with a form of art, they should sit down and have a discussion. There's no other means that's plausible to sort issues out." In a recent podcast conducted by All India Bakchod (AIB), Shah Rukh Khan avoided commenting on the Bhansali slapgate incident, however, stating that he did not have anything to say and referred to the issue in the most non-specific terms possible. "Day before yesterday, some of the filmmakers...rightly or wrongly, I don't know their point of view...they all got angry with some disturbance that happened somewhere in India, related to something," Shah Rukh went on, refusing to be dragged into saying anything that could be cited as controversial. advertisement ALSO READ: 5 hilarious moments from Shah Rukh Khan's podcast with AIB --- ENDS --- Beaver County preparing for robust Election Day turnout As the Nov. 8 midterm election approaches, nearly 114,000 people are registered to vote in Beaver County. By India Today Web Desk: Seems like all is not going well for Shahid Kapoor. The actor, who just welcomed his first child with Mira Rajput, is apparently being stalked by a female fan. According to a report in The New Indian Express, a woman fan-turned-stalker has been following Shahid wherever the actor goes. And that's not all. The woman is said to have even joined the same gym as the one Sasha works out at. advertisement ALSO READ: Vastavikta Pandit - from failed actor to Shahid Kapoor's stalker While Shahid is supposedly dealing with the stress of being followed around town by a woman, the stalker is not ready to stop at anything. A few days ago, she followed Shahid to the sets of his younger brother Ishaan Khattar's film too apparently. This is not the first time that Shahid is facing an issue of the sort. A few years ago, Shahid lodged a complaint at the Versova Police Station against Vastavikta Pandit, the daughter of yesteryear actor Raaj Kumar. Pandit went missing from her Mumbai home after the complaint was lodged. On the work front, Shahid is currently busy working on director Vishal Bhardwaj's film Rangoon. He will be seen alongside Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan. ALSO WATCH: Shahid Kapoor being stalked by Raaj Kumar's daughter --- ENDS --- By Press Trust of India: hospital New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today assured all possible help to an Indian student admitted in a hospital in Georgia. "I have got the report. As per medical advice, your brother cannot travel at this stage. Your mother is with him in Georgia. "Her visa has expired. I have asked Indian Embassy to get her visa extended. Indian Embassy will extend all possible help," Swaraj tweeted after she was approached by the sister of the student. advertisement Posting the picture of her brother in the hospital, Gayathri Vijaykumar approached the minister on Twitter. "Madam this is my brother who is in a ICU for past 50 days in Georgia. We need your help to bring him back to India," she said. Responding to another tweet drawing her attention towards conduct of an Indian consular officer posted in the embassy in Tanzania while dealing with an Indian student from Harvard who was mugged in the East African country, Swaraj asked the name of the officer. "Charanya Kannan - I have carefully gone through your write up. "Just give me the name of this Officer in Indian High Commission in Tanzania," the minister said. According to Charanya, hailing from Chennai and a student at Harvard Business School, she was in Tanzania recently for a course when she got mugged. Sharing her experience through a blog on a news website, she said she was told by a consular officer at the Indian Embassy in Tanzania that "Nothing can be done. Even if you give me two crore rupees, nothing can be done." PTI PYK ZMN --- ENDS --- Airbnb, the online home sharing service, said bookings and revenues surged in the Capital Region in 2016, with the number of guests and revenues of hosts both more than doubling. The increases came as hotels in the Capital Region reported lower occupancy rates for the year, according to STR, a data and analytics specialist. In Albany County, the number of airbnb guests was up 143 percent to 7,400, while host revenue climbed 105 percent to $885,000. Saratoga County airbnb hosts accommodated 11,400 guests, up 104 percent. Revenues climbed 120 percent to $2.1 million. Rensselaer County's 62 hosts had a total of 2,600 guests during the year, up 72 percent, while revenues rose 147 percent to $350,000. And in Schenectady County, 1,050 visitors used airbnb, up 118 percent, while the county's 59 hosts shared $166,000 in revenue. "We are proud to see that more and more Albany residents are discovering home sharing as an opportunity to share their community with visitors from around the world, and earn a little bit of extra money along the way," said Josh Meltzer, head of New York Public Policy, airbnb. The home sharing service was launched in August 2008 by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia. Chesky, now CEO, is a 1998 graduate of Niskayuna High School. Meanwhile, hotels in the Capital Region reported lower occupancy rates as supply outpaced demand. Occupancy rates fell 3.2 percent to 61.6 percent in Albany County, and was down 6.5 percent to 65.2 percent in Rensselaer County. In Saratoga County, occupancy tumbled 9.7 percent to 65.2 percent, while in Schenectady County, occupancy rates fell 2.1 percent to 56.9 percent. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Airbnb is still a relatively small portion of the overall accommodations market. While airbnb hosts in Saratoga County collected $2.1 million in revenues, that compares with $104.7 million collected by the county's hotels. Airbnb's piece of the region's market is still below 2 percent. Still, airbnb's growth has been rapid. "It's becoming really a part of the hospitality landscape," said Michele Vennard, president and CEO of the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "They're not going to go away." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Albany As efforts to connect downtown Albany and the Warehouse District continue, four historic buildings in the Arbor Hill neighborhood are set for a $2 million rehabilitation. Local developer Patrick Chiou of 800 Broadway LLC joined the Community Preservation Corporation to secure $1.53 million in financing to rehabilitate 800-804 Broadway into 15 one- and two-bedroom apartments. Chiou has taken on several development projects to revitalize the area, most recently purchasing the 166-year-old Church of Holy Innocents on North Pearl Street to stabilize and redevelop the historic structure. He also renovated 83 Beaver St. into nine apartments, and joined a group of Chinese investors to buy two State Street buildings. "The redevelopment and historic preservation of these buildings is critical to the revitalization of the 'New Broadway,' and will play a key role in connecting Downtown Albany and the Warehouse District," Chiou said in a news release Tuesday. The apartments will offer off-street parking, with monthly rents between $1,200 and $1,475. The Community Preservation Corp., a nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company, provided a construction loan and a SONYMA-insured permanent loan through its agreement with the state Common Retirement Fund for the project. "Small buildings like these are the backbone of communities throughout our state, often serving as a haven of natural affordability for low- and moderate-income families," Rafael E. Cestero, president and CEO of the organization, said. "At CPC, we understand that it's not whether a project is large or small, it's the positive impact it can have in anchoring a community, bringing additional investment to the area, and giving people stable and sustainable housing opportunities." The rest of the funding will be from the developer, a city tax abatement and possible federal and state historic tax credits. Other recently completed projects in the area include 151 Henry Johnson Blvd., renovated into a mixed-use building, and 733 Broadway, renovated into 29 apartment units. afries@timesunion.com 518-454-5353 @mandy_fries Chiabella James "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back": One of the highlights of a Tom Cruise action movie is getting to see him run. There's something about the way Cruise sprints across the screen that shows real energy. With "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" he's traded the running for sleepwalking. Cruise goes from bored to disconnected in this sequel that only maintains the name of the title character from the previous film. Cruise's character is a loner who uses his military training to do good. He's tested when a good friend (Cobie Smulders) becomes the target of a military investigation. There's a secondary story about how Reacher might be a family man but it's equally as boring. The film would have been much better had Reacher been cut out and the focus been on Smulders. "Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks": Fans of Doctor Who have lamented how the story of the Doctor's very first regeneration was no longer available. The master negatives were destroyed in a purge of the archives back in 1974. That missing link of the Doctor Who story is back in a slightly different form. Animation has been created to go with the program's original audio recordings based on surviving photographs and film clips. The six-part adventure, presented in both color and black and white, features the regeneration of First Doctor, William Hartnell, into Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. It's a creative way to restore a key bit of history. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate With more than five decades in business journalism, Jane Bryant Quinn will share her knowledge about managing one's financial future in Albany next week. At the heart of her advice is a simple philosophy: Managing your money well is an investment in yourself. "That's what I love writing about," Quinn says. "How do you manage money for your future?" The event, organized by Women@Work, is set for 5 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Ave., Albany. The cost is $25 for new Women@Work members and $20 for current Women@Work members. Registration is open online. More Information See More Collapse Quinn's career has consisted of long-running columns in Newsweek magazine, Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, and a newspaper column syndicated to 250 papers by The Washington Post. She has worked extensively in television as a financial correspondent on the "CBS Morning News" and "The Evening News with Dan Rather." On PBS, she hosted her own program, "Take Charge!" And in 2010, Quinn cofounded The Daily Voice, which brings local news to communities online. She has received numerous awards, including an Emmy for excellence in TV journalism and a Loeb Award for Lifetime Achievement in business journalism. But when she entered the field of business writing some 50 years ago, women were a rarity. That when a McGraw Hill editor told Quinn she'd be covering money stories, something at the time she said she "knew nothing" about. "(My editor) told me to learn," she says. "I turned out to have an affinity for it. I never would have guessed." By age 27, she had built a strong reputation and eventually became editor of a newsletter called Business Week Letter, published by McGraw Hill in 1969. Newsletters were as popular as blogs at that time. "I had to go by my initials so no one would know I was a girl," she says. But that wasn't the first of her obstacles. When she was 21, she took a job at Newsweek distributing mail, seeing it as a way "to get her foot in the door," she says. It didn't take her long to discover only men went into the writing training programs there, so she left after nine months. Since, she says she's seen "huge changes" in journalism. "It was legal to pay women less for the same job men did," she says, adding at one point she made 30 percent less than men with the same job. Quinn now writes a finance column for AARP monthly business, addressing the many issues facing people ages 50 and older, including preparation for retirement, retirement affordability, making money last, when to claim social security, the best investments, health care and finding the right financial advisor. Quinn's latest book, "How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide," was just updated for 2017. Her previous book, "Making the Most of Your Money NOW," a comprehensive guide to personal finance, is now in its third edition. Today, she lives in New York City, and is married with two children and six stepchildren. She says while the law has sought to equal the playing field for women since the days she was paid less than her male co-workers, family obligations still sit mostly on the shoulders of women, presenting economic challenges. "If you're not getting wage increases and can't pay for childcare, you can't work," Quinn says. "(The idea that) there is a perfect family-life-work balance is a myth." Better opportunities exist now for women to leave the workforce and return later, though, she says, adding that she saw "investing in childcare as investing in myself." Albany Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order Wednesday giving the state attorney general's office the authority to investigate Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove for his handling of a case involving the fatal shooting of a DWI suspect by a Troy police officer last April. The order empowers the office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to conduct a public corruption probe of Abelove's conduct, including his decision to present the case to a grand jury that cleared the officer of wrongdoing less than a week after the shooting. Abelove took the case to a grand jury while the investigation was still going on, and the panel did not hear testimony from two civilian witnesses whose accounts may have contradicted the police's version. Cuomo's order will enable Schneiderman, if necessary, to empanel a grand jury and "to investigate, and if warranted, prosecute any and all unlawful acts or omissions or alleged unlawful acts or omissions by any person arising out of, relating to, or in any way connected with the incident and its subsequent investigation, including its grand jury presentation." Under state law, Schneiderman needs authority from the governor to investigate a sitting district attorney. Abelove, who is in his first term, faces potential consequences ranging from removal from office to criminal prosecution if Schneiderman's office uncovers wrongdoing. In a statement, a spokesperson for Schneiderman said their office's Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit "will follow the facts of this case wherever they lead." The spokesperson said the family of Edson Thevenin, the man shot, and the Rensselaer County community deserve answers. Abelove abruptly presented the case to a grand jury last April without notifying the attorney general. At the time, the attorney general's office had announced it would review whether to investigate the shooting under the terms of an executive order Cuomo signed two years ago giving Schneiderman the authority to intervene in cases in which unarmed citizens are killed during police encounters. Many district attorneys, including Abelove, challenged the governor's order giving the attorney general that jurisdiction. The Times Union has reported Abelove did not require Sgt. Randall French, the officer involved in the shooting, to waive his immunity from prosecution when he testified before the grand jury that cleared him. The decision by Abelove to not have the officer sign an immunity waiver raised questions about the validity of the grand jury's determination to clear the police officer. French remains on administrative leave. Schneiderman's office said Abelove did not notify them he was putting the case before a grand jury. The attorney general's office sought court intervention to take the case from Abelove, who agreed to turn over the case and his files and grand jury minutes in response to the lawsuit. The attorney general's ongoing investigation of the shooting death of 37-year-old Thevenin is examining if the incident unfolded as police officials described with the officer firing eight shots through the windshield of Thevenin's sedan after the car allegedly pinned the officer's legs against his police cruiser. People familiar with the investigation but not authorized to comment publicly said the attorney general's investigation has raised questions about whether that narrative is correct. "The family is very happy that Gov. Cuomo has decided that a full investigation is appropriate," said Michael A. Rose, an attorney for Thevenin's widow, Cinthia. "We've trusted that the people who are viewing the initial investigation regarding Edson's death are doing a full and thorough investigation, so that the truth will come out and the family will have the answers that they deserve." Another person familiar with the case said Schneiderman's office retained a private forensic specialist who visited Troy in early December to examine the car Thevenin was driving on the night he was killed. The forensic specialist also went to the shooting scene, said two people familiar with the probe. The forensic testing was supposed to determine the angle of the shots that pierced the windshield in relation to where French was positioned when each shot was fired, including whether the officer was moving or in the path of Thevenin's car when he fired. Troy police officials said French opened fired that night after a brief vehicle pursuit when he jumped out of his car and was trapped between his cruiser and Thevenin's vehicle, which was boxed in by two police cars. Thevenin was not armed, but police said under the circumstances they believe he was using his car as a weapon, and the officer feared for his safety. Thevenin had a prior conviction for DWI. Abelove's office issued a statement less than a week after the shooting saying a grand jury reviewed evidence in the shooting and found no wrongdoing by police. "Specifically, the grand jury found that (French's) use of deadly physical force was justifiable under the law," the statement from Abelove's office said. Schneiderman first asked Cuomo to give him the authority to intervene in cases involving fatal police encounters in December 2014, after a grand jury's decision not to file charges in the death of Eric Garner. The Staten Island man died when a New York City police officer placed him in a chokehold as officers confronted him for selling untaxed cigarettes. The governor's executive order limits the attorney general's intervention to cases where there are questions over whether an unarmed civilian posed a threat to police at the time the civilian was subjected to deadly force. John W. Bailey, an attorney for Abelove, characterized the action by the offices of the governor and attorney general as "political." Abelove is a Republican. Schneiderman and Cuomo are Democrats. "Joel Abelove did not do anything wrong," Bailey said. "He was told by the AG that morning of the shooting they were not going to assert jurisdiction. He proceeded with his investigation and he presented the matter to a grand jury. ... Randy French was within maybe split seconds of losing his life and he had to make a split-second decision, which he did." Two civilians told police they witnessed the shooting and did not believe French was in imminent danger when he opened fire. The witnesses, Keith Millington of Cohoes and Phillip E. Gross III of Troy, were both interviewed by Troy police and the Attorney General's office. Abelove has declined to say what steps his office took, if any, to subpoena Millington or Gross or otherwise try to get them to testify before the grand jury. blyons@timesunion.com 518-454-5547 @brendan_lyonstu The del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo is open Wednesday, becoming the first of casino to open since New York voters legalized table gaming. Del Lago opened at 10:30 a.m. after a ceremony attended by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and others. Albany New York's economic development czar was put on the defensive Wednesday as state legislators grilled him on two of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's signature development programs: the initiative formerly known as Start-Up NY and Regional Economic Development Councils. Republican and Democratic lawmakers at a joint legislative budget hearing on development had two primary gripes about Cuomo's programs, saying that rebranding Start-Up NY as the Excelsior Business Program was an admission the initiative has fallen short of lofty goals, and that transparency requirements for the Regional Economic Development Councils fall well short of what would be in place if those councils were created through law. Empire State Develompent President and CEO Howard Zemsky's response during three hours in the hot seat was that lawmakers are seeking to incorrectly characterize as failures what the executive branch believes are successful approaches to development. "Look, I'm just a business guy," Zemsky said. "I'm not a politician. I don't really get the whole value of saying something's failing when it's been an amazing success. I can't explain that. I understand you feel that way. I couldn't disagree more." Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, R-Schaghticoke, questioned the multimillion dollar marketing effort for Start-Up NY. "I'm just wondering," McLaughlin said, "why it is you've proclaimed it a success repeatedly here today, and for the past couple years this governor has proclaimed it a success all over the place up until a week ago, and now suddenly pulls the plug on it and renames it Excelsior, which is a complete waste of the $53 million in advertising," Cuomo and Zemsky have defended the marketing as an effort to improve the state's business image. While the former Start-Up NY has been shellacked for generating roughly 400 jobs (4,000 are projected in coming years), the REDCs face an equal amount of criticisms. The main point from several lawmakers was that REDC members are not subject to publicly released conflict of interest disclosures. Zemsky railed against attempts to malign the integrity of those on the councils and defended them as advisers to state agency heads who make the final decisions on what projects should receive what funding through the REDC process, for which the governor proposes another $750 million for 2017 his $152.3 billion executive budget. Zemsky said council members disclose some information to ESD, although it's short of full financial disclosures. His spokesman noted that council members recuse themselves as necessary and all scores for project applications are released online. "This is a way of deflecting, in my opinion, the attention away from a strategy that has been working," Zemsky said. "If there's anything we should keep doing for the next 20 years, it's the Regional Economic Development Councils, and I hope we do it and I hope we do it in a way that doesn't really push people away from participating and gives them the opportunity to participate, recognizing they don't in fact make the final decision with respect to public money." mhamilton@timesunion.com 518-454-5449 @matt_hamilton10 Schenectady Two and half years after a vacant home on Paige Street exploded, representatives from National Grid will hold a community meeting to discuss the incident on Thursday evening. The utility company employees are expected to discuss measures they've put in place since the blast on the afternoon of Aug. 10, 2014, according to Marva Isaacs, president of the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association, which is hosting the gathering. Additionally, National Grid will offer natural gas safety tips and answer questions. Isaacs said police Chief Eric Clifford is expected to attend the gathering at 6:30 p.m. at Bethel A.M. E. Church, 540 Mumford St. The dwelling at 310 Paige St. had been broken into and the gas line left open after the furnace was stolen, Isaacs said. After the explosion, city officials said the foreclosed property had been scheduled to be demolished and National Grid said it had not receive any complaints about a natural gas smell emanating from the property. At the time, city Building Inspector Eric Shilling said there was no formal policy about shutting off gas service on homes the city forecloses on. It's unclear if such a law is now on the books. Shilling also said back then that the task of permanently shutting down gas service to a property involves digging into the street, and sometimes the city isn't sure it wants to shut off heat and have the house fall into further disrepair. While the gas was on in the home, which the city acquired in October 2012, the electricity had been shut off at the meter. There were no injuries in the blast., but the homes on either side of the explosion sustained some damage, including a caved-in carport on one side and smashed windows and siding on the other. pnelson@timesunion.com 518-454-5347 @apaulnelson The makers of Ajith Kumar's upcoming film have unveiled the first look poster of the film. Titled Vivegam, the film will see Ajith as an Interpol officer. By India Today Web Desk: Ajith Kumar, who was out of action last year, will be next seen in Siruthai Siva's next popularly known as Thala 57 among fans. Ever since the announcement, Thala fans have been waiting with bated breaths as it marks Ajith's third collaboration with Siva after the stupendous success of Veeram and Vedalam. ALSO READ: Samantha to be brand ambassador of Telangana handlooms advertisement ALSO READ: Ilayathalapathy Vijay to romance Kajal, Samantha, Jyothika in his next ALSO READ: Has SS Rajamouli's Baahubali 2 earned Rs 500 cr even before release? As promised, the makers have announced the title and released the first look poster of the film, which is creating waves online. Titled Vivegam, the film will see Ajith Kumar as an Interpol officer, who is in charge of a crime in Chennai that leads him to different parts of the world. Be it the first look or leaked pictures of Ajith, Vivegam is one of the most anticipated Tamil films of the year. The team is currently wrapping up the remaining portions of the film. Interestingly, Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi has been roped in to play the bad guy. He also went on the record saying that Ajith Kumar is the one and only superstar and that he's very excited to work with him. Kajal Aggarwal will be playing the leading lady in the film. Directed by Siva, the film is expected to release in the second half of this year. Vivegam has music by Anirudh Ravichander, who is collaborating with Ajith Kumar for the second time after the commercial success of Vedalam. --- ENDS --- This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A handful of Capital Region school boards have gone public in their opposition to Betsy DeVos, an education advocate tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the nation's education department. Boards of education in Albany, Bethlehem and Schenectady have issued resolutions in recent weeks opposing the Michigan billionaire's confirmation as U.S. education secretary, a move that appeared likely but not definite Tuesday afternoon. Albany school board President Sue Adler said Monday the nation should not put its educational leadership "into the hands of a person who not only lacks the qualifications to fill the critical post for which she has been nominated, but who also has waged a personal war against public education." Known in the education world for her support of school choice, DeVos is admired by families who say when it comes to educating their children they deserve options beyond traditional public schools. These options come in the form of charter schools, private schools and religious schools and are often funded with a mix of public and private funds. Teachers unions and public school officials argue these options drain money from the public school system, which educates the vast majority of children in the U.S. and is subject to stricter oversight and regulations. Reaction to DeVos has crossed traditional divides, with school choice advocates joining those on the left who describe her lack of experience, credentials and knowledge of education policy and issues as alarming. At her confirmation hearing on Jan. 17, DeVos struggled to answer questions about the federal law guaranteeing rights for disabled children and refused to say whether she would hold all schools to the same accountability measures. Critics also point out that DeVos has no experience with the public school system, having received her own education from Christian schools. In particular, the critics take issue with comments she made in 2015 that described public schools as a "dead end." Schenectady's school board members pointed to the "abject failure" of Detroit charter schools an initiative bankrolled by DeVos as reason to oppose her. bbump@timesunion.com 518-454-5387 @bethanybump View Albany's resolution below. DeVos Resolution Final 1 17 by Bethany on Scribd This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The State Police posted the mug shots and descriptions of nine people in a weekly social media round-up Wednesday, including a woman wanted for allegedly breaking into a Stephentown pizza shop. Susan M. Murley is wanted in Stephentown for felony burglary and misdemeanor criminal mischief. Murley burglarized a pizza shop in September 2015, damaging property to get inside, State Police said. Troopers said the 48-year-old has ties to eastern New York and Pittsfield, Mass., where she has been previously arrested. Anyone with information should call the State Police at (518) 732-4644 or email Crimetip@troopers.ny.gov. Civilians should not take any actions beside contacting police. Troopers are also seeking eight other defendants. Ellwyn M. Cook, 63, is wanted in Franklin County for failure to pay child support. Cook owes about $70,000 in back child support, State Police said. A family court judge issued the warrant on May 7, 1996. Jonathan P. Stevens, 42, is wanted in Lewiston for misdemeanor petit larceny. Stevens stole donations from an Our Lady of Fatima Shrine candle box donation on July 4 inside the Chapel of the Blessed Mother, State Police said. His warrant was issued Oct. 5. Daniel A. McElroy, 40, is wanted in Binghamton for misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance. McElroy failed to appear in court on Dec. 23, 2010 to face the charge, State Police said. He has a large tattoo on the side of his neck, troopers said. Lashawn Brickhouse, 29, is wanted in Highland for criminal possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies. Troopers investigating a child's welfare being endangered arrested Brickhouse, State Police said. Troopers discovered Brickhouse had marijuana on him during his arrest and obtained a search warrant for his home, where they found a large amount of marijuana and an assault rifle, State Police said. A warrant for his arrest was issued after Brickhouse failed to appear in court to answer the charges, troopers said. He is also wanted by Poughkeepsie Town Police and the Ulster County Sheriff's Office. Victoria Bird, 27, is wanted in Syracuse for misdemeanor public lewdness. The warrant was issued after she failed to appear in court Oct. 5, State Police said. Amanda L. Murphy, 27, is wanted in Fishkill for criminal possession of a controlled substance, promoting prison contraband and possession of a hypodermic needle, all misdemeanor charges. Murphy failed to appear in court in early 2016, State Police said. She was arrested in May 2015 for possessing a controlled substance and again in July 2015 for entering Downstate Correctional Facility with a hypodermic needle containing heroin residue, State Police said. George Jakubowski, 22, is wanted in Tarrytown for misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. On July 19, 2015, Troopers stopped Jakubowski on the Cross Westchester Expressway for a traffic violation and determined he was drunk, State Police said. Noris Reyes, 26, is wanted in Nassau County for misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and multiple traffic violations. In 2014, troopers stopped Reyes on the Southern State Parkway for traffic violations and arrested her for drunken driving, State Police said. She was driving a gray Acura at the time of her arrest and her last known address is in Massapequa, troopers said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Washington President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer's flair, to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. He's known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump declared, announcing the nomination in his first televised prime-time address from the White House. Gorsuch's nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trump's own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the right's most powerful voice on the high court. With Scalia's wife, Maureen, sitting in the audience, Trump took care to praise the late justice. Gorsuch followed, calling Scalia a "lion of the law." Gorsuch thanked Trump for entrusting him with "a most solemn assignment." And he said, "Standing here in a house of history, I'm acutely aware of my own imperfections and pledge that if I am confirmed, I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution of laws of this great country." Some Democrats, still smarting over Trump's victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's "stolen seat." President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy after Scalia's death, but Senate Republicans refused to consider the pick, saying the seat should be filled only after the election. Trump's choice of Gorsuch marks perhaps the most significant decision of his young presidency, one with ramifications that could last long after he leaves office. After an uneven start to his presidency, including the chaotic rollout last week of a controversial refugee and immigration ban, Trump's selection of Gorsuch appeared to proceed with little drama. For some Republicans, the prospect of filling one or more Supreme Court seats over the next four years has helped ease their concerns about Trump's experience and temperament. Three justices are in their late 70s and early 80s, and a retirement would offer Trump the opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for many years. If confirmed, Gorsuch will restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench. But he is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on abortion, gay marriage and other issues in which the court has been divided 5-4 in recent years. Gorsuch has won praise from conservatives for his defense of religious freedom. In two cases that involved the contraception mandate under the Obama health care law, he sided with businesses and nonprofit groups that voiced religious objections to the requirement that they provide cost-free birth control to women covered under their health plans. The judge also has written opinions that question 30 years of Supreme Court rulings that allow federal agencies to interpret laws and regulations. Gorsuch has said that federal bureaucrats have been allowed to accumulate too much power at the expense of Congress and the courts. Like Scalia, Gorsuch identifies himself as a judge who tries to decide cases by interpreting the Constitution and laws as they were understood when written. He also has raised questions about criminal laws in a way that resembles Scalia's approach to criminal law. University of Michigan law professor Richard Primus said Gorsuch "may be the closest thing the new generation of conservative judges has to Antonin Scalia." Gorsuch, like the other eight justices, has an Ivy League law degree. The Colorado native earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington, D.C., law firm. He served for two years in George W. Bush's Department of Justice before the president nominated him to the appeals court. His mother was Anne Gorsuch, who was head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Reagan administration. Gorsuch is expected to face intense scrutiny from Democrats. Some liberals have demanded that Democrats block any Trump choice, underscoring the deep partisan discord surging through Washington. "Now is not the time for business as usual," MoveOn.org's Ilya Sheyman said in a statement. Gorsuch was among the 21 possible choices for the court Trump released during the campaign. Other finalists also came from that list, including Thomas Hardiman, who serves alongside Trump's sister on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Pryor, a federal appeals court judge and Alabama's attorney general from 1997 to 2004. If Democrats decide to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination, his fate could rest in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump has encouraged McConnell to change the rules of the Senate and make it impossible to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee a change known in the Senate as the "nuclear option." SAN ANTONIO A pregnant woman was arrested Tuesday after she allegedly attempted to rob a North Side bank and then flee in a taxi. Authorities responded to a robbery call at a Bank of America in the 3500 block of San Pedro Avenue. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Each year, in the days after the Academy Award nominations are announced, movie buffs, pop-culture fanatics and die-hard completists have a task ahead of them: To watch all of the best-picture nominees before Oscar night. In the olden days, that meant playing catch-up with a mere five films. Lately it can mean as many as 10. Today it means sitting down with nine movies in the remaining three and a half weeks before Sunday, Feb. 26. But you're in luck! Six of the nine movies tapped in the top category are still on the big screen in first release, at least for now: "Moonlight," "Manchester by the Sea," "Fences," "La La Land," "Hidden Figures" and "Lion." But the last four on that list won't hit video until spring estimated for April so if you haven't caught them yet, Get Thee Forthwith to a Movie Theater. The other nominees are all seeable in video formats before the Academy Awards, or will be in short order. (And one of them, "Hell or High Water," is coming to Proctors.) Below is the full list of best-picture aspirants, complete with viewing details and, where applicable, additional Oscar nods. Happy viewing: Jan Thijs "ARRIVAL" What is it: Mindful sci-fi epic that follows the mysterious landing of enormous, egg-shaped vehicles and the linguist who investigates. Who made it: Denis Villeneuve, director (nominated); Eric Heisserer, screenwriter (nominated); starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. Streaming: Now. On DVD: Feb. 14 David Lee "FENCES" What is it: Film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the struggling and striving pater familias of a black family in Pittsburgh. Who made it: Denzel Washington, director; August Wilson, screenwriter (nominated); starring Denzel Washington (nominated), Viola Davis (nominated) and Stephen Henderson. In theaters: Now. Streaming and DVD: Estimated April. Mark Rogers "HACKSAW RIDGE" What is it: World War II film focused on a pacifist, weaponless American combat medic in Okinawa. Who made it: Mel Gibson, director (nominated); Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, screenwriters; starring Andrew Garfield (nominated), Vince Vaughn and Sam Worthington. Streaming: Feb. 7. On DVD: Feb. 21. Lorey Sebastian "HELL OR HIGH WATER" What is it: Smart, gnarly drama of two bank-robbing brothers and the Texas Rangers in pursuit. Who made it: David Mackenzie, director; Taylor Sheridan, screenwriter (nominated); starring Jeff Bridges (nominated), Chris Pine and Ben Foster. In theaters: Special screenings at Proctors Tuesday, Feb. 7, Wednesday, Feb. 8, and Friday, Feb. 17. Streaming: Now. On DVD: Now. Hopper Stone "HIDDEN FIGURES" What is it: Inspiring account of three African-American women who crunched numbers for NASA's space race, battling racism. Who made it: Theodore Melfi, director and screenwriter (nominated); starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer (nominated), Janelle Monae and Kevin Costner. In theaters: Now. Streaming and DVD: Estimated April. Dale Robinette "LA LA LAND" What is it: Sparkling modern musical romance and dexterous homage to the classics, set in L.A. Who made it: Damien Chazelle, director (nominated) and screenwriter (nominated); starring Ryan Gosling (nominated), Emma Stone (nominated), John Legend. In theaters: Now. Streaming and DVD: Estimated April. Mark Rogers Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. "LION" What is it: Poignant study, based on a true story, of a young man's memories of his childhood in India before being adopted by an Australian couple. Who made it: Garth Davis, director; Luke Davies, screenwriter (nominated); starring Dev Patel (nominated), Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman (nominated) and Priyanka Bose. In theaters: Now. Streaming and DVD: Estimated April. Claire Folger "MANCHESTER BY THE SEA" What is it: Melancholic portrait of a man, stricken by grief and memory, who's named his nephew's guardian after his brother's death. Who made it: Kenneth Lonergan, director (nominated) and writer (nominated); starring Casey Affleck (nominated), Michelle Williams (nominated), Lucas Hedges (nominated) and Kyle Chandler. In theaters: Now (including Proctors screenings on Friday, Feb. 3). Streaming: Feb. 7. On DVD: Feb. 21. David Bornfriend "MOONLIGHT" More Information Oscar contest Test your Oscar predictions against other in our annual contest. Pick the most and get a chance to win movie passes. Go to http://timesunion.com/oscarcontest See More Collapse What is it: Dramatic and subtle triptych of an African-American in the Miami projects as boy, then teen, then man. Who made it: Barry Jenkins, director (nominated); Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, screenwriters (nominated); starring Mahershala Ali (nominated), Naomie Harris (nominated), Janelle Monae and Trevante Rhodes. In theaters: Now. Streaming: Feb. 14. On DVD: Feb .28. abiancolli@timesunion.com 518-454-5439 @AmyBiancolli An animal reserve is showing photos of other apes to female apes. After finding a potential mate, a female ape destroyed the device. By India Today Web Desk: In order to understand the emotions of orangutans and bonobos at the Apenheul Primate Park in Netherlands, they are now shown pictures of other apes on a mobile device. The move is made to understand their responses better -- from neutral to aggressive -- the researchers at the park said, according to a Metro report. advertisement "After seeing the photos, the monkeys have to push a button on the screen. In this way we can measure their capacity for reaction," the park said. Read - Bird flew: Saudi prince buys flight tickets for his 80 hawks The research is expected to improve the breeding programme for the apes. A local newspaper De Stentor also wrote that the park wants to know if female orangutans looking at pictures on a tablet, can show a preference for potential mates, before they are flown to the Netherlands. PRIMATES ARE EMOTIONAL BEINGS The results of 'Tinder for orangutans' suggest that bonobos, who are an endangered ape species, showed positive behaviours like searching for lice or sexual advancements. "The study shows that primates pay attention to the emotions of their peers. We now know, for example, that bonobos use body language to recognise emotions," the park said. But the study had to be suspended for the orangutans, after Samboja, a young female, destroyed a tablet stumbling upon potential suitors. --- ENDS --- Terrified children and anxious parents looked on in horror in Holycross village yesterday afternoon as two Garda patrol cars pursued a speeding vehicle which skidded around a sharp bend en-route to the Ballycahill road out of the village. The incident occurred as children were crossing the road to their parents cars at the end of the school day with one terrified eye witness telling The Tipperary Star that it was "only for the grace of God that a child was not mowed down." The River Suir Bridge which the motorist crossed at high speed pursued by Gardai. The vehicle crossed the River Suir Bridge at high speed with two Garda cars in pursuit and increased speed substantially as it passed Holycross Abbey, St Michael Community Centre, St Michael's National School and the Sue Ryder homes. It then had great difficulty in negotiating the sharp bend and didn't break speed as it crossed the main Thurles-Clonoulty road en-route to the Ballycahill road, past Holycross Ballycahill GAA field. onto Cormackstown and then took a sharp left onto Seskin - roads which are very narrow and blind in places and which are regularly used by walkers and joggers. "The kids were all talking about what they had seen afterwards. It only lasted a few seconds but there was real danger and parents were very frightened. A child could easily have stepped out in front of the cars and they wouldn't have had a chance," an eye witness said. It is understood that the motorist was apprehended afterwards close to Killinan. A protest march is being organised in support of Roscreas Garda Station, despite there being no threat to the Station, according to one of Tipperarys most senior Gardai. Former Labour party candidate, and Roscrea activist Shane Lee, is hoping members of the public will attend a rally on Saturday, February 11th next in opposition to what he terms the downgrading of Roscrea Garda Station. However, Supt. Bob Noonan told the Tipperary Star there is no question of any downgrade to Roscrea: There is no question of the Station being downgraded. Supt. Noonan rejected Mr Lees suggestion that the Garda Station in Roscrea is not contactable. I have had no complaints from anybody else in relation to it. People are mostly very positive in relation to Roscrea, and they have recently got two new Sergeants there. Weve been through all this before. This comes up every now and again in relation to rumour and innuendo. Supt. Noonan stressed that there are enough Gardai stationed in Roscrea to carry out their duties. Mr Lee said the reality is that the doors of the Station are closed around morning and midday and to me, thats downgrading as we speak. Mr Lee said there were only two or three guards on per unit. The doors of Roscrea Garda Station were always open to the public. If you ring Roscrea Garda Station now, you get through to somebody in Nenagh. The march is organised for 3pm, February 11th, starting at the AIB bank in Roscrea. Mr Lee said he felt there would be a groundswell of support for the campaign. On his facebook page, he posted: I raised this issue last year some time about the downgrading of our local Garda station in Roscrea. We were told it would not be downgraded. Please tell me Im not the only one who has called to the Station only to find (it) closed. (Recently) I called to collect an application form only to find the doors closed again. I rang Roscrea, but was diverted to Nenagh and was told lads are on a call. No one will be there until 9pm, (with a) change of shifts. That was at 7.55pm. When are we going to really stand up for our town and stop being left behind? Its so disheartening to see after all. We all depend on the Garda station at some stage. I want to make this very clear that this is not an attack at any of the Guards working in the station in Roscrea as they are doing the best they can with little resources. I also hope people do not put personal stuff on this status as anyone can be looking at it, added Mr Lee. New Inn Boys National School has received the thumbs up in a newly published Whole School Evaluation (WSE). WSE's assess all aspects of management and teaching in a school, and are carried out on all schools within the state at regular intervals. On September 19th - 21st last year, an Inspector carried out a WSE at New Inn BNS, and the report was published on January 6th last. New Inn BNS is a Catholic school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly. It has two mainstream class teachers. The special education needs (SEN) team is comprised of two shared teachers, a shared learning-support teacher and a shared resource teacher. The school caters for boys from second to sixth class and has a current enrolment of 46 pupils. Attendance levels are very good. There has been a significant number of changes to teaching personnel in the past two years. The acting deputy principal, the shared learning-support teacher and the shared resource teacher were all appointed to their posts three weeks prior to the commencement of the WSE. The key findings are: the learning achievements of the pupils are good. The pupils listening skills require further development. The overall quality of teaching is very good. Pupils with special educational needs benefit from the welcoming and inclusive atmosphere that is created in the school and support for these pupils is of a high quality. A wider range of speaking opportunities is required so as to improve the pupils confidence in using Irish. The range of reading material available to the pupils in Irish is limited and there is also scope to extend the range of reading material in English. Parents do not play a significant role in policy formulation or review. The board of management provides valuable support for the work of the school. The teaching principal provides effective leadership of teaching and learning. The key recommendations are: To ensure better engagement in lessons, pupils listening skills should be further developed. The range of reading material available to the pupils in both English and Irish should be extended. A wider range of speaking opportunities should be created to improve the pupils confidence in using Irish. The board of management should establish a process through which parents perspectives can be incorporated into policy formulation. The Inspector concludes that given the commitment of school staff to delivering high quality programmes of learning for pupils, the schools capacity to develop further is very good. Full story at education.ie Nenagh textile manufacturers, John Hanly & Co. Ltd, were given the ultimate seal of approval at last week's Showcase Exhibition when they were presented with two top awards at the annual Creative trade show including an award for their recent collaboration with top Irish designer Mariad Whisker. The long running textile company, which celebrates 124 years in business this year and lays claim to being one of the oldest weaving companies in the country, has been producing its own fabric at its Ballyartella mill since 1893. Managing director Brian Hanly, who is the fourth successive Hanly at the helm of the family business, equates the company's success to its "bricks and mortar" approach to production. Being able to say everything is produced, from start to finish, in our factory floors in Nenagh has been central to our longevity, explains Mr Hanly who took over the running of the business in 1985, which today employs 30 staff. John Hanly & Co Ltd was started by father and son Denis and John Hanly and traditionally focused on spinning and carding wool to produce flannels and blankets. However in 1950 a fire broke out in the mill destroying the entire building and the Hanly family home. After the fire a decision was made to move away from the carding and spinning trade and instead focus on weaving meaning that the business had to effectively build itself back up from scratch. Several years later, the business employed its first full time designer and multiplied the number of fabrics it produced for the textile industry and by the 1960's had linked with two other Irish mills to begin exporting their products to Europe and the US. In the 1970's the company produced its first accessories range of blankets and lambswool scarves as well as exporting its fabric directly to Germany, Italy, France, UK, USA and Japan. Fast forward nearly 40 years and the company today produces a wide range of scarves, capes, throws, blankets and caps while also counting the likes of Dubarry Ireland and DH Fashion among some of the many clients of its Hanly fabrics. We are very proud of these awards but its down to each member of staff that we have been able to remain in business. The textile industry is used to a certain amount of volatility but we have a very good group of people working for us, added Mr Hanly who was on hand to collect the awards for Best Overall Product and Best Product Award in the Fashion & TextISLE category at the RDS. [February 01, 2017] Ameri100 and NEC Corporation of America Announce Strategic Hosting Agreement to Deliver SAP HANA Migration Services Ameri100 (OTCQB: AMRH), a global leader in providing IT consulting solutions, has selected NEC (News - Alert) Corporation of America (NEC) as its primary cloud service provider to offer SAP HANA migration services for its U.S. customers. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005154/en/ Giri Devanur, President & CEO, Ameri100, said, "This agreement addresses the white-space in the SAP HANA migration market allowing our clients to accelerate the adoption of SAP HANA based applications with a highly secure and transparent private cloud delivery approach." Ameri100 believes that with this comprehensive offering, SAP clients will be able to harmonize their business processes and master-data, rationalize their ERP landscapes, re-platform and modernize, and migrate to SAP HANA quickly, easily, and affordably. NEC is a longtime SAP-certified gold partner and in mid-2016 announced its strategic move into high-security private cloud services when it chose Iron Mountain (News - Alert) as the primary co-location provider for its SAP HANA Hosting and Application Services. In this secure environment clients have access to high-performance NEC Nblock data center technology dedicated to their use in their own rack, cage and datacenter physically secured deep in Iron Mountain's Western Pennsylvania underground data center. The combination of these factors has helped NEC achieve SAP-certified HANA Operations, Hosting and Application Management Service status. Taichiro Hashizawa, EVP - NEC Corporation of America, said, "We are excited to see Ameri100 rely upon the NEC-Iron Mountain partnership to accelerate the adoption of SAP HANA as a Cloud Service in the market. Their clients will benefit the most from this powerful combination of Iron Mountain's security and our data center technology." About Ameri100 Ameri100 is a SAP-based strategy consulting firm that brings synergies of classic consulting and product-based consulting services to its customer base. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey with offices in New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Kansas and Toronto, as well as offshore centers in Bangalore, Mumbaiand Chennai in India, the Company is a global leader in consulting and technology solutions. Ameri100 is a Lean Enterprise Architecture Partner (LEAP), enabling clients to outperform the competition and stay ahead of the innovation curve. The Company leverages a global partner ecosystem that has deep knowledge and skills to build and implement great ideas that drive progress for clients and enhance their businesses through innovative solutions. For further information, visit www.ameri100.com. About NEC Corporation of America NEC Corporation of America (NEC) is a leading technology integrator providing solutions that improve the way people work and communicate. NEC delivers integrated Solutions for Society that are aligned with our customers' priorities to create new value for people, businesses and society, with a special focus on safety, security and efficiency. The Company delivers one of the industry's strongest and most innovative portfolios of communications, analytics, security, biometrics and technology solutions that unleash customers' productivity potential. Through these solutions, NEC combines its best-in-class solutions and technology, and leverages a robust partner ecosystem to solve today's most complex business problems. NEC Corporation of America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, a global technology leader with a presence in 160 countries and $25 billion in revenues. For more information, please visit www.necam.com. NEC information: www.necam.com Blog: www.NECToday.com LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/nec-corporation-of-america YouTube (News - Alert): www.youtube.com/interactiveNEC Facebook (News - Alert) fan page: www.necam.com/facebook Twitter (News - Alert): @NEC SAP Outsourcing Operations Partner: NEC 2017 NEC Corporation of America. NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service marks mentioned are the trademarks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005154/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] AppNexus Launches Direct Public Service Announcement Integration with the Federation for Internet Alerts NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AppNexus, the world's leading independent advertising technology company, today announced an unprecedented capability, in partnership with the Federation for Internet Alerts (FIA), to globally distribute geo-targeted weather advisories and life-saving warnings in real-time. A direct integration with the FIA Alert Hub, a centralized, cloud-based hub that aggregates official all-hazard alerts, and AppNexus' ad serving technology allows critical safety information from government agencies and non-profits to be delivered digitally to the public, anywhere in the world and more rapidly than ever before. The expanded capabilities mark a new realm of public emergency preparedness and see AppNexus become the first advertising technology company to distribute PSAs globally and in real-time. "AppNexus' mission is to build a better internet. Through our integration with FIA, we are extending the technology built for our platform enhanced targeting, mobile capabilities and campaign tools to help protect communities hyper-locally and in real-time," said Brian O'Kelley, CEO of AppNexus. "We are proud to partner with FIA in this important work." Since December 2016, FIA has sent 71,819 issued alerts to AppNexus, which resulted in 14,992 alert activations. These alerts resulted in the delivery of 471.8 million impressions served to the public. Examples of the expanded alerts served include avalanche, flash flood, tornado, red flag, winter storm, blizzard, severe thunderstorm and wind chill warnings. AppNexus is currently trafficking alerts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Environment Canada, with the ability to add alerts from other offcial alerting authorities, which can now be disseminated anywhere in the world. "As a founding partner of FIA, we're grateful to AppNexus for its commitment to the worthy cause of keeping citizens safe as media consumption becomes more digital and mobile," said John Montgomery, EVP Brand Safety, GroupM. "This new AppNexus direct integration with FIA will enable greater efficiency in ingesting alerts from more official sources and the targeting of those life-saving messages to impacted and relevant audiences." "This ability for AppNexus to assist during life-critical events is a major step forward in scaling alerts and improving community resilience globally," said Jason J. Bier, President of FIA. "As people consume digital media in greater numbers around the world, AppNexus will help save lives through its participation in the distribution of credible information." ABOUT THE FEDERATION FOR INTERNET ALERTS (FIA) FIA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. Its partners relay alerts for serious events such as child abductions or the imminent threat of a tornado or other hazard. Alerts are displayed immediately using the latest information from official authorities. FIA's emergency alerts override or overlay other online messages to display this urgent information to the areas impacted. A complete list of FIA Partners and Supporting Authorities can be found at www.internetalerts.org/partners. The FIA Alert Hub can be found at https://www.internetalerts.org/hub/dashboard and the FIA Messaging Hub can be found at https://www.internetalerts.org/hub/messaging. FIA Partners are also members of the Digital Advertising Alliance (www.aboutads.info) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (www.iab.com). ABOUT APPNEXUS AppNexus is an internet technology company that enables and optimizes the real-time sale and purchase of digital advertising. Our powerful, real-time decisioning platform supports core products that enable publishers to maximize yield; and marketers and agencies to harness data and machine learning to deliver intelligent and customized campaigns. For more information, follow us at @AppNexus or visit us at appnexus.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/appnexus-launches-direct-public-service-announcement-integration-with-the-federation-for-internet-alerts-300400334.html SOURCE AppNexus [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Press Trust of India: Kohima, Feb 1 (PTI) Tribal organisations in Nagaland today demanded the resignation of the TR Zeliang-led government in the aftermath of the killing of two persons and injuries to several others in clashes between the police and a mob. The demand was made by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), comprising Naga tribal organisations, during the send-off service of the two deceased at the Agri-Expo junction in Dimapur this afternoon. advertisement After the send-off service, the bodies of the two deceased were rallied through NH 29. The burial service will be held in the state capital here tomorrow. JCC representative Vekhosayi, while condoling the demise of the two persons during last nights public movement against the governments decision to hold polls today to 12 councils, said "their sacrifice should not go in vain". The JCC also demanded the suspension of the police personnel "involved in the indiscriminate firing", along with the Dimapur Police Commissioner. It also urged the government to nullify the polling held to the 12 town councils spread over the state today. Meanwhile, business establishments, government offices and educational institutions remained closed as the JCC has called for an indefinite bandh since last night. A government vehicle was set ablaze for defying the bandh call in Dimapur today. During the day, a government-registered motorcycle was reduced to ashes while the vehicle of former chief secretary Lalthara, who is currently the Advisor to Chief Minister TR Zeliang, was also smashed by bandh supporters. The State Civil Secretariat and Office of the State Election Commission also remained closed for the day, while the ministers preferred to move in private vehicles. Despite the boycott call of the tribal organisations, polling to nine town councils -- Jalukie, Peren, Naginimora, Tobu, Tizit, Pungro, Shamator, Aboi and Noklak -- were held peacefully. However, no voter turned up in Tening and Longkhim, while unruly mobs went into a rampage and damaged all the 11 polling stations as well as the EVMs in Longleng, because of which polling could not be held. Nagaland has 32 councils, which include three municipal councils and 29 town councils. Nominations in six councils were not filed, while the candidates of four councils withdrew from the fray, in compliance with the tribal organisations directive of boycotting the polls with a 33-per cent women reservation. PTI NBS MM RC --- ENDS --- [February 01, 2017] Motivated by Results, Delta Dental of Wisconsin Continues to Invest in Children's Oral Health School-age children without sealants have almost three times more cavities than those with sealants, according to the Center for Disease Control. But Delta Dental of Wisconsin is working to ensure more children receive sealants through a renewed commitment to the Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile program, an innovative school-based sealant program targeting students at high risk for decay. The Seal-A-Smile program provides oral health screenings, fluoride varnish, and sealants when necessary to school-age students around the state at no cost to their family. It is a result of a unique public-private partnership between the State of Wisconsin, Children's Health Alliance and Delta Dental of Wisconsin. The innovative partnership targets schools where 35 percent or more children receive free or reduced meals. Last year, the Seal-A-Smile program provided dental screenings and oral health education to 52,000 children, more than 26,000 of whom required sealants. Delta Dental of Wisconsin provided an additional $125,000 to expand participation in the sealant programs for the 2016-2017 school year. This is in addition to an annual $350,000 commitment to co-fund the program with the state. "According to the latest study by Wisconsin Department of Health Services, less than 18 percent of the third graders screened in Wisconsin need treatment, far better than the national average," said Ann Boson, Director, Charitable Fund & Community Relations at Delta Dental of Wisconsin. "This remarkable trend illustrates the significant impact that school-based sealant programs can have on oral health. These positive results will be felt for decades to come and is why Delta Dental will continue our commitment to co-fund the Seal-A-Smile program." In recognition of Children's Dental Health Month, the company also announced the recipients of several other oral health grants for organizations focused on improving outcomes and access to care for some of the state's most vulnerable populations. Delta Dental has so far awarded $776,500 in children's oral health grants for 2017. "We've already seen the successful impact that dental intervention can have on the prevention of cavities in children," said Boson. "Delta Dental of Wisconsin is committed to the oral halth of all Wisconsin residents. We will continue to support intervention, education, and restoration, as well as the dentists who provide these much-needed services." Awardees so far include: Marquette University School of Dentistry Fellowship Program The grant will fund three dental fellows who will provide much needed dental care for the communities around Eau Claire and Appleton. They will work out of Chippewa Valley Technical College and Tri-County Community Dental Clinic, where they will provide dental care to primarily low-income children. The fellowship program offers essential experience in providing public-health dentistry. Brown County Oral Health Partnership West Children's Clinic This grant will enable the Brown County Oral Health Partnership to open an additional clinic in the county equipped with six dental operatories. Funding will also create two more school-based sealant teams to address the severe need for dental care among vulnerable populations. Columbia St. Mary's Foundation Dental Programs The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Dental clinic provides free dental care for the uninsured in Milwaukee, many of whom are below poverty level. In addition, their sealant program served more than 10,000 children in the 2015/2016 school year. This year's grant will fund the creation of Ascension Smart Smiles Mobile Dental Clinic, a bus that will deliver dental care to students at schools and ensure more children receive urgent and restorative dental care. Door County Medical Center Dental Clinic The Door County Medical Center Dental Clinic is the only clinic in the area providing care to low-income families and those with Medicaid coverage. The grant from Delta Dental will allow them to increase the size of the clinic and purchase a digital X-ray, simultaneously making their new clinic fully functional and decreasing the wait list. Tri-County Community Dental Clinic This grant will fund the Focus on Children program, a preventive care and treatment program aimed at reaching children at a young age with dental screenings, preventive maintenance, and restorative services. The program serves 67 schools through its school-based and mobile bus programs and has led to a 37 percent increase in sealants placed and a more than 10 percent decrease in emergency or urgent cases. Madison Dental Initiative: Boys & Girls Club of Madison at Allied Family Center The Madison Dental Initiative provides urgent and ongoing dental care to the uninsured or those on Medicaid in Dane County. The Boys and Girls clinic site will offer a more comfortable location for children to receive dental care. The grant will cover construction costs of the new clinic. As the state's largest dental insurer, Delta Dental is committed to the oral health of all Wisconsin residents. The organization is accepting applications for 2017 oral health grants that focus on improving access to dental care and programs that help prevent dental caries in vulnerable populations. Eligibility requirements are available on the company's website, www.deltadentalwi.com/charitable-fund. About Delta Dental of Wisconsin For more than 50 years, Delta Dental has been working to maintain healthy communities and healthy teeth. We provide dental benefits and services to more Wisconsin companies, subscribers, and their family members than any other insurance carrier. Our mission is to improve oral health and wellness by extending access to care, advancing science, and supporting an effective oral-health workforce. Through Delta Dental of Wisconsin's Charitable Fund, we are committed to advancing solutions for Wisconsin's oral health. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005714/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Patheon Announces Completion of its Acquisition of State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Site Patheon N.V (NYSE: PTHN), a leading global provider of high-quality drug development and delivery solutions to the pharmaceutical and biopharma sectors, announced that it has completed the acquisition of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Florence, South Carolina from Roche Holdings, Inc. Patheon has begun integrating the site into the Patheon network. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005669/en/ Patheon adds 300,000 sq ft state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Florence, South Carolina, USA to its global network. (Photo: Business Wire) The site adds a 300,000 square-foot faciity with manufacturing capacity for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) ranging from development to manufacturing services. With the addition of this site, the company expands its capacity for manufacturing highly potent compounds, adds capabilities to support solid state chemistry, micronization (small & large) and future commercial spray drying. "We are extremely pleased to add this facility to the Patheon network and the talented professionals that will support a wide range of drug substance services," said Lukas Utiger, president of Drug Substance Services for Patheon. "Patheon has extensive experience and success integrating new sites into our global network and quickly leveraging the capabilities for the benefit of our clients." The new Patheon acquisition is a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. In its production space it features reactors ranging from 50-11,000 liters producing multiple products simultaneously, fully compliant to all applicable regulations, fully validated to meet the most stringent production, quality, cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices), safety and environmental standards. The site also provides highly flexible operations allowing the company to adapt quickly to new production needs and with capabilities in small and large scale manufacturing. The site will serve as Patheon's flagship U.S. API operation for commercial scale and mid-scale API production, and will also enhance Patheon's emerging pharma presence in the U.S. market. This acquisition is the sixth in the last five years and supports the company's plans to create the only integrated, end-to-end provider of pharma development and manufacturing services. About Patheon Patheon is a leading global provider of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services. With approximately 8,000 employees worldwide, Patheon provides a comprehensive, integrated and highly customizable set of solutions to help clients of all sizes satisfy complex development and manufacturing needs at any stage of the pharmaceutical development cycle. A Healthier World. Delivered. www.patheon.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005669/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Scott Equipment Enhances Online Shopping Experience with Epicor Commerce Connect for Epicor Prophet 21 AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, today announced Scott Equipment has chosen Epicor Commerce Connect for Epicor Prophet 21 as its new e-commerce platform to create a seamless online shopping experience for its customers and improve order efficiency. Scott Equipment is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company, which was founded in 1977, distributes high quality, technically advanced, and energy efficient automation products to the industrial market. When the company was searching for a new e-commerce platform, the ability to differentiate themselves from their competitors was important. They not only wanted to showcase their products on the website, but also provide a customer-focused and hands-on experience. "Customers want the same online experience from their local industrial suppliers that they get from large online retailers in their personal life," explained Jeff Scott, president, Scott Equipment. "They need to access things like invoices, quotes, and sales history without picking up the phone. These online services need to be flexible, customer oriented, and customizable. As an industrial supplier, we must be flexible and cater to the needs of our customer base and our online services must extend this flexibility. With Epicor Commerce Connect, we are able to do this while also adding in rich content, link to other services and feeds, take advantage of information sharing, and supply the information they need in a timely manner." Customer-Focused Shopping Experience with Industry-Specific Solutions Scott Equipment's previous e-commerce system was dated and inflexible, which discouraged customers from using the website. Ordering products online has become the norm, and many of their customers search online for a specific need, vendor, or part number. Epicor Commerce Connect creates a seamless online shopping experience and also increases search engine optimization (SEO), giving the company higher rankings on searches. With Epicor Commerce Connect, Scott Equipment is not only able to showcase the products that they offer, but also able to suggest pairing different products to assist customers in making the right purchase decision to solve their problem. This customer-focused shopping experience differentiates the company from its larger competitors with a service not typically offered. "Epicor Prophet 21 is a proven success for distributors of all sizes, and the software is becoming more powerful and valuable to companies that need a one-stop shop for their services," said Doug Smith, director of product marketing, retail and distribution, Epicor. "With a combination of features and functionality to accurately streamline processes, Prophet 21 enables distributors to automate pricing, inventory and even quoting, ultimately reducing time consumption." About Epicor Commerce Connect for Prophet 21 Epicor Commerce Connect for Prophet 21 is a robust cloud-based platform based on 20 years of experience in e-commerce that drives rich B2B and B2C online experiences for consumers, customers and suppliers and is essential for business' success today. It enables customers to develop unique websites quickly and manage them easilyproviding the necessary tools to digitalize today's distributor and empowers them to deliver a strong customer experience throughout the typical order lifecycle. Visit the Epicor Commerce Connect solution hub to learn more. About Epicor Software Corporation Epicor Software Corporation drives business growth. We provide flexible, industry-specific software designed around the needs of our manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service industry customers. More than 40 years of experience with our customers' unique business processes and operational requirements are built into every solution?in the cloud or on premises. With this deep understanding of your industry, Epicor solutions manage complexity, increase efficiency, and free up resources so you can focus on growth. For more information, connect with Epicor or visit www.epicor.com. Epicor, the Epicor logo and Prophet 21 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Epicor Software Corporation. Contact: Katie Chubb Public Relations Specialist Epicor Software Corporation +1 512 278 5365 [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scott-equipment-enhances-online-shopping-experience-with-epicor-commerce-connect-for-epicor-prophet-21-300400024.html SOURCE Epicor Software Corporation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] SoFi acquires Zenbanx to supercharge banking product development SAN FRANCISCO and CLAYMONT, Del., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SoFi announced today it has acquired Zenbanx, a Delaware-based fintech firm providing multi-currency mobile banking services in the United States and Canada. The company intends to leverage Zenbanx's platform and underlying technology to expand SoFi's growing suite of online personal finance offerings. "SoFi and Zenbanx share a vision that banking should and can be better, and have built products and services to do it," said Mike Cagney, co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of SoFi. "With Zenbanx joining SoFi, we're moving one step closer to becoming the center of our members' financial lives by adding SoFi deposit, money transfer, and credit card products to our offerings for members." Founded in 2012 by former ING Direct CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann, Zenbanx offers a mobile banking account that lets people save, send and spend money in multiple currencies both domestically and internationally. Zenbanx's mobile application was designed to eliminate the complexities of international banking and provide ease of use and security for customers. "SoFi and Zenbanx are well aligned to create an unparalleled financial experience for customers," commented Arkadi Kuhlmann, Founder and CEO of Zenbanx. "I am absolutely delighted that we are merging our visions and our talented teams." Kuhlmann is assuming an executive role leading banking products at SoFi, and Zenbanx's staff will be joining the company. Zenbanx's Claymont, DE nd Toronto, Canada locations will remain open as SoFi offices. Zenbanx customers in both the U.S. and Canada will continue to have access to their accounts through Zenbanx's mobile platform and will later be transitioned to SoFi bank accounts once the new product is finalized. The acquisition is expected to close in mid-February. Terms were not disclosed by the parties. About SoFi SoFi is a new kind of finance company taking a radical approach to lending, wealth management, and insurance. From unprecedented products and tools to faster service and open conversations, we're all about helping our members get ahead and find success. Whether they're looking to buy a home, save money on student loans, ascend in their careers, or invest in the future, the SoFi community works to empower our members to accomplish the goals they set and achieve financial greatness as a result. For more information, visit SoFi.com. To date, SoFi has received more than $1.4 billion funding, including a 2015 $1 billion Series E led by SoftBank, and SoFi's customers now number more 225,000. The company has over 800 employees across offices in San Francisco (HQ); Healdsburg, CA; New York City, NY; Helena, MT; Washington D.C.; and Cottonwood Heights, Utah. About Zenbanx Zenbanx is a financial technology provider that offers mobile, multi-currency accounts through relationships with regulated financial institutions. A Zenbanx account enables customers to hold balances denominated in up to nine currencies offered in a single account and conveniently and securely exchange among currencies and transfer funds domestically or internationally for a flat rate -- all from their mobile. Zenbanx accounts in the U.S. are available through a strategic alliance with WSFS Bank and in Canada through DUCA Financial Services Credit Union Ltd. (DUCA), in Toronto. Customer funds held in a Zenbanx account are subject to the security and insurance protection limits of a regular account. Zenbanx was founded in 2012 by Arkadi Kuhlmann (former CEO and founder of ING Direct Canada and USA) to make money global, mobile and secure. Incorporated in Delaware, Zenbanx has offices in Delaware, California, and Toronto, Ontario. For more information about the Zenbanx account visit Zenbanx.com. For press inquiries: Laurel Toney SoFi [email protected] (415) 735-4044 Cathy MacFarlane Zenbanx [email protected] (302) 766-1631 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sofi-acquires-zenbanx-to-supercharge-banking-product-development-300400201.html SOURCE SoFi [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Tilray Announces Medical Cannabis Export to Chile Tilray, a global leader in medical cannabis research and production, today announced that it has received necessary regulatory approvals in Canada and Chile to export medical cannabis for distribution to Chilean patients. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005120/en/ Tilray currently supplies pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products to thousands of patients, physicians, pharmacies, hospitals, governments and researchers around the world. (PHOTO: Business Wire) "Today's announcement marks Tilray's entry into Latin America and expands our international reach to a fourth continent," said Brendan Kennedy, Tilray President. "We are proud to be able to offer patients in need access to high quality, pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products." Tilray is partnering with Alef Biotechnology SpA to import and distribute Tilray products in the country. Alef is licensed by the Chilean government to commercially produce medical cannabis. Chilean law permits patients to access medical cannabis products under the supervision of a recommending physician. Currently, there are an estimated 88,000 Chilean patients suffering from a diverse range of conditions who could benefit from medical cannabis. The first shipment of Tilray products is expected to arrive in Chile by the end of February and will initially be available at select hospitals and pharmacies in Santiago. In addition to handling distribution of Tilray products in Chile, Alef has been granted the exclusive rights to distribute Tilray products in Brazil as part of an agreement between the two companies. "Alef Biotechnology is committed to improving the quality of life of patients in need," said Roberto Roizman, President of the Alef Biotechnology Board. "By importing Tilray's medical cannabis products to Chile we intend to ease the sufferingof those in need by offering pure, precise and predictable medical cannabis products." Tilray currently supplies pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products - including whole flower, oils and capsules - to thousands of patients, physicians, pharmacies, hospitals, governments and researchers around the world for commercial, compassionate access and research purposes. Tilray became the first medical cannabis producer in North America to be GMP certified in December 2016. GMP certification is the most rigorous standard that manufacturers of medical products must meet in their production processes, and it provides regulators and health care providers in countries new to medical cannabis with certainty that Tilray products are the safe and smart choice. GMP certification is enabling Tilray to expand international distribution of its products. In 2016, Tilray made history by becoming the first company to legally export medical cannabis products from North America to Australia and the European Union. In 2017, the company is focused on expanding global distribution of its products to additional countries in Europe and Latin America. GMP certification is also allowing Tilray to continue to break new ground in clinical research, advancing the science, safety and efficacy of medical cannabis for patients with a diverse range of conditions. Tilray currently supplies pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products for three different clinical trials in partnership with world-leading hospitals and universities: The first trial is being conducted in partnership with the University of British Columbia to examine the safety and tolerability of medical cannabis for Canadian military veterans and other patients suffering from PTSD. The second trial is being conducted in partnership with the University of Sydney, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse and the New South Wales government to study the safety, tolerability and efficacy of cannabinoids for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. The third trial is examining safety and tolerability of cannabinoids in children with Dravet Syndrome (a severe form of treatment-resistant epilepsy) at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Tilray plans to announce additional research partnerships in the coming year. About Tilray Tilray is a global leader in medical cannabis research and production dedicated to advancing the science, safety, and efficacy of medical cannabis. The company operates one of the largest and most sophisticated federally licensed medical cannabis cultivation facilities in the world, offering a range of products to patients, physicians, pharmacies, governments, hospitals and researchers in Australia, Canada, the European Union and Latin America. About Alef Biotechnology Alef Biotechnology is licensed by the Chilean government to commercially produce medical cannabis. The company is focused on medical cannabis research and development for the treatment of various medical condition. Its purpose is to increase the quality of life of those in pain, bringing dignity by developing innovative drugs and novel drug delivery systems to the market. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005120/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 31, 2017] U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Voluntarily Recalls Certain Smokeless Tobacco Products Manufactured at its Franklin Park, IL Facility U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (USSTC) is voluntarily recalling certain of its smokeless tobacco products, listed in the chart below, manufactured at USSTC's facility in Franklin Park, IL. USSTC has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the recall and is working with federal authorities on this matter. USSTC initiated the recall after receiving eight consumer complaints of foreign metal objects, including sharp metal objects, found in select cans. In each case, the object was visible to the consumer and there have been no reports of consumer injury. Complaints have been received from consumers in Indiana, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Ohio. The products at issue were manufactured solely in USSTC's Franklin Park, IL facility and distributed nationally. The majority of USSTC's cans are not affected, including Copenhagen Fine Cut in a fiberboard can, Copenhagen Long Cut in a fiberboard can and Copenhagen Long Cut Wintergreen in a plastic can. USSTC is instructing wholesalers and retailers to segregate the recalled products from their inventories. USSTC's sales representatives will assist wholesalers and retailers in returning the product. A consumer who has any of the products listed in the table below should not open or use the product. Consumers should contact USSTC at 1-866-201-9136 to return the product for a refund. The select cans subject to this recall: Cope Brand Products Long Cut Straight This recall applies to lots with no printed code on the bottom of the can, or with codes that begin with the letters "F", "R", "K", or "P". Copenhagen Brand Products Extra Long Cut Natural Long Cut Mint Long Cut Southern Blend Pouch Mint Pouch Wintergreen Long Cut (overseas military only) Fine Cut (overseas military only) Long Cut Straight (overseas military only) Long Cut Wintergreen (overseas military only) Pouch (overseas military only) Fine Cut Plastic Can (only available in Alaska and Hawaii) Long Cut Plastic Can (only available in Alaska and Hawaii) Pouch Plastic Can (only available in Alaska and Hawaii) This recall applies to lots with no printed code on the bottom of the can, or with codes that begin with the letters "F", "R", "K", or "P". Husky Brand Products Fine Cut Natural Long Cut Straight Long Cut Wintergreen This recall applies to lots with no printed code on the bottom of the can, or with codes that begin with the letters "F", "R", "K", or "P". Skoal Brand Products Bandit Mint Bandit Wintergreen Long Cut Apple (News - Alert) Tobacco Blend Long Cut Berry Tobacco Blend Long Cut Cherry Long Cut Citrus Tobacco Blend Long Cut Classic Long Cut Peach Tobacco Blend Long Cut Spearmint Pouch Apple Tobacco Blend Pouch Berry Tobacco Blend Pouch Citrus Tobacco Blend Snus Mint Snus Smooth Mint Xtra Long Cut Mint Xtra Long Cut Rich Tobacco Blend Xtra Long Cut Wintergreen Xtra Pouch Crisp Tobacco Blend Xtra Pouch Mint Blend Xtra Pouch Rich Tobacco Blend Fine Cut Wintergreen (overseas military only) Long Cut Mint (overseas military only) Long Cut Straight (overseas military only) Long Cut Wintergreen (overseas military only) Pouch Mint (overseas military only) Pouches Wintergreen (overseas military only) This recall applies to lots with no printed code on the bottom of the can, or with codes that begin with the letters "F", "R", "K", or "P". Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA Center for Tobacco Products safety reporting portal: https://www.safetyreporting.hhs.gov/fpsr/WorkflowLoginIO.aspx?metinstance=709428622019F34ADAB75147856347F95FEEDC7A. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131006443/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 31, 2017] Morocco's King Mohammed VI to African Union: "I am home at last" Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) - In a visionary speech delivered to the 28th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday, Morocco's King Mohammed VI reaffirmed his country's "commitment to the development and prosperity of African citizens" and pledged to "help bring about unity and progress" to the continent. The speech came a day after an overwhelming majority of AU member countries-39 of 54-agreed on Morocco's admission to the organization. "It is so good to be back home, after having been away for too long," began the King, referring to Morocco's more than 30-year hiatus from the organization. "I am home at last and happily reunited with you." Noting the "massive, outspoken support Morocco has received," the King referred to the organization as "a family we had not really left." "In fact, despite having been absent from the AU institutions for so many years, our links, which have never been severed, have remained strong and African sister nations have always been able to rely on us," he said, citing his 46 visits to 25 African countries, and that "since 2000, Morocco has signed nearly a thousand agreements with African countries, in various fields of cooperation"-almost twice as many as during the period between 1956 and 1999. The King spoke of the thousands of scholarships Morocco offers to African students to continue their hgher education in Morocco; the recently announced Nigeria-Morocco Africa Atlantic Gas Pipeline, which will "create wealth for neighboring countries and populations" and "help build more peaceful bilateral and multilateral relations"; Morocco's ongoing work to boost Africa's agricultural output and food security-by building fertilizer plants in neighboring countries and the launch at COP22 of the Adaption of African Agriculture initiative to support small-scale African farming; Morocco's many contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations on the continent and other efforts to promote stability; and the country's highly praised immigration policy which, in the "spirit of solidarity and humanism," has offered legal residence to more than 25,000 sub-Saharans living in Morocco "who have suffered too long due to their life in hiding." "All this confirms that Morocco is right to choose Africa," he said. "By doing so, my country has opted to share and transfer its know-how; in concrete terms, it is offering to build a safe, solidarity-based future." He emphasized that Morocco is seeking not to cause division but to bring unity, and to bolster the continent's leadership role on the global stage, saying "It is time for Africa to benefit from Africa's wealth"-a clear echo of similar statements he has made in recent years. The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131006445/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 31, 2017] Dent Zone Companies Announces Formation of Nobilis Group; New Entity Encompasses Dent Zone, AutoBodyGuard and PDR LINX Dent Zone Companies, a leader in Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) for more than a quarter century, has announced the formation of Nobilis Group, a new entity consisting of its Dent Zone, AutoBodyGuard and PDR LINX lines of business. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131006493/en/ Since 1991, Dent Zone has set the industry standard in paintless dent repair in launching the first PDR service contract and pioneering catastrophic repair services for the automotive industry. "With the same leadership team and owners in place, Nobilis is poised to continue our growth in the vehicle protection program marketplace," stated Nobilis Group President and CEO Troy Good. "This move acknowledges our expansion beyond our traditional focus solely on PDR, yet builds on that legacy and our rich heritage of powerful partnerships with many of the nation's automotive leaders," he continued. Dent Zone, which provides private label and direct programs for national automotive retailers, manufacturers, third party administrators and lenders, will continue to offer full administrtive services for PDR and associated vehicle protection programs. "The Dent Zone our partners have come to depend on for best-in-class product administration isn't going away," according to Stan Starnes, Nobilis Chief Operating Officer. "As part of Nobilis Group, Dent Zone will continue to deliver the same level of excellence for our PDR programs on behalf of our industry partners, ensuring that their end customers continue to receive extraordinary value and quality of service that is virtually unmatched in our industry." AutoBodyGuard, which acquired a national chemical manufacturer in 2015, will continue to distribute its suite of appearance protection products to the automotive, recreational and powersports markets from its Irving, Texas, manufacturing facility. PDR LINX provides catastrophic services including hail repair, fire and flood mitigation, and overspray removal services for national insurers, large retailers and company managed fleets. "We're driven to excellence in every market we serve," Good further explained. "We've innovated in a number of ways through our product and service offerings, and under the Nobilis name, our vision, and our commitment to being an industry leader, will only continue." ABOUT NOBILIS GROUP: Nobilis Group, Inc. is a provider of consumer vehicle protection programs to the automotive, recreational vehicle and powersports markets as well as catastrophic repair services for insurers, automotive retailers and company managed fleets. Dent Zone is widely credited with launching the industry's first paintless dent repair service contract and developing a national network of certified repair technicians to service customer claims. AutoBodyGuard distributes a full line of appearance protection and related programs to automotive, RV and powersports dealers through agents nationwide. Through PDR LINX, the company provides catastrophic repair services, including hail repair, flood and fire mitigation and overspray removal services. Nobilis, headquartered in Irving, Texas, celebrated Dent Zone's 25th anniversary in business in 2016. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131006493/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 31, 2017] The Gender Divide at Work: A TimesJobs Study NEW DELHI, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- - India Inc. Bets on its Male Employees to put in Extra Work Hours More Often but When it Comes to Working During Vacations, Female Employees Come up First - A New TimesJobs Study on 'The Gender Divide @ Work' Reveals Many Such Differences in Work Styles and Patterns Between The Sexes Many studies have been conducted on how men and women differ psychologically and emotionally as human beings. These differences also impact their career choices, as well as, their conducts at the workplace. Gender differences in work patterns, communication styles, negotiation methods and tactics have a big impact on the way men and women perform their professional duties and how they perceive the workplace. Putting in the Extra Hours Nearly 40% of both male and female employees put in around 10-12 hours in a regular day at work, however 70% male employees also do overtime at work as compared to 40% female employees. - Of the 70% male employees who put in extra time at work - 50% do it every day, 30% do it on alternate days and just 20% do it twice a week. - Of the 40% female employees who do overtime - 55% said they do it twice a week, 35% do it on alternate days and 10% do it every day. "While there has been a significant shift in evaluating performance based on productivity, this TimesJobs study confirms that perceived gender differences still exist. However, this is more of a mindset issue, than an actual difference in job performance. Even if women do not spend as many hours in the workplace, their productivity and output is equal, if not greater in some cases, than that of men today. This is increasingly being recognized in India Inc.," says Nilanjan Roy, Head of Strategy, Times Business Solutions. Though more male employees put in extra hours at work more frequently, the level of displeasure in doing overtime is almost equal for both genders. About 60% male and 70% female employees are not happy putting in extra hours at work. Out-of-Office but Still at Work Interestingly, female employees are more open to the idea of working during holidays and vacations with 55% femal employees saying they have no issues doing office work while holidaying as opposed to just 30% male employees agreeing to do so. Work-Life Balance Work-life balance holds great significance for both male and female employees as almost 70% male and 60% female employees clearly state they will not trade a good work-life balance for a better pay package. On the question of happiness with their current balance, 65% female employees say they are happy with their current work-life balance while only 40% male employees say they are happy with their current work-life situation. Taboo Topics While openly revealing matters related to job-search, salaries and increments are still regarded as taboos at workplace, TimesJobs reveals that these matters are often more forbidding for female employees, as 70% male employees are happy to disclose to their colleagues if they are looking out for a job change while 70% female employees are averse to the idea. Also, 60% male employees would comfortably disclose their salary package among their peers, while 70% female employees would not as they feel embarrassed and others will feel jealous or unhappy making comparisons. It appears that social factors and conditioning are by and large, responsible for the apparent gender differences at the workplace. But, at the same time, this study also reveals some interesting similarities and surprising facts which break gender stereotypes at the workplace and bring in a different perspective altogether. About TimesJobs: TimesJobs, a flagship business of Times Business Solutions (TBS), is a platform to help competent professionals make smarter career decisions. With over 25 million registered jobseekers across the board and more than 60 million page views every month, it is fast becoming the most preferred career portal among the candidates. TimesJobs is leading in the recruitment and employment space with its pioneering and dynamic divisions because it successfully meets all the needs of the jobseekers. Its major platforms include: TechGig: India's biggest dais for tech professionals to help them learn, showcase and compete in the IT industry. India's biggest dais for tech professionals to help them learn, showcase and compete in the IT industry. Job B uzz: A well-known portal that provides information and insights about different companies, job profiles and interview processes. A well-known portal that provides information and insights about different companies, job profiles and interview processes. StepAhead: StepAhead offers professional resume writing and distribution services, career astrology and resume improvement to help jobseekers accelerate their career. Also, TimesJobs has the largest collection of jobs in the market, which ensures that whenever and wherever there is a great opportunity, jobseekers will discover it on the platform. In the recruitment market as well, being the biggest platform for competent professionals who think of their careers first, TimesJobs has become the destination of choice for recruiters who seek to engage with the right talent. Media Contact: Aseem Seth Head of Corporate Communications Times Business Solutions - A Division of Times Internet Ltd. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @aseems Tel: +91-120-663-6338, +91-9910 273367 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 31, 2017] Bakingo: One Click Solution to All Your Cake Needs Launched in Gurgaon GURGAON, India, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FA Gifts Pvt. Ltd. has recently launched a new digital bakery venture-Bakingo. Aiming at overcoming the challenges in the bakery sector, this new venture will cater exclusively to the cake needs of the residents of Gurgaon, offering a wide-ranging assortment of cakes in both traditional and contemporary flavors. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463128/PRNE_Bakingo_logo_Logo.jpg ) Bakingo is the second business enterprise started by Mr. Shrey Sehgal and Mr. Himanshu Chawla, who already hold to their credit a successful e-commerce venture FlowerAura, which they co-founded in the year 2010. Holding an experience of 6+ years in the online flower and gifting industry, they conceived the idea of Bakingo with the objective to redefine the experience of ordering cake which has been cumbersome and unpleasant so far. With services such as same-day delivery, midnight delivery and delivery within 3 hours, Bakingo aims at creating a strong virtual presence which will help in penetrating the target audience and then expanding into the franchise stores that will make ordering cake online a hassle-free task. "One of our main USPs is delivering freshly baked cakes within 3 hours; therefore, we are striving to build strong delivery system of our own. We have also partnered with various delivery companies to accomplish this. Our endeavour at Bakingo is to deliver best quality cakes at every doorstep even at the eleventh hour. We want to establish Bakingo as synonymous to Cakes," says Mr Chawla. At present, the bakery sector has a growth rate of 20% YoY and market size of 6000-7000 crore, paving the way to abundant opportunities. In the words of Mr Sehgal, "At FlowerAura, 50% of our orders included cakes. We realized that cakes have become an indispensable part of celebrations, be it a small get together at home, a birthday bash, farewell or anniversary, or a grand corporate party." However, despite the strong market share, 60% of the sector is unorganized, and hence unable to cope with the needs of the customers, and lacks innovation, making the experience of procuring cakes an unpleasant one. Bakingo, with its bricks and clicks model, strives to overcome these challenges by catering to the desires of the customers and providing them with traditional as well as exotic tastes, at the right time and at the right place. By March 2018, they plan to establish their presence in 8 metro cities in India including Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. At the moment, Bakingo offers its services in Gurgaon. About FA Gifts Pvt. Ltd. FA Gifts Pvt. Ltd. owns two e-commerce business ventures namely, FlowerAura - an online flower and gifting portal that provides its services in 170+ cities across India since 2010, and Bakingo - a recently launched bakery venture that deals exclusively in cakes in the city of Gurgaon. Media contact Ritika Bhateja [email protected] +91-8882077077 Asst. Manager - Brand Communicator FA Gifts Pvt. Ltd. Facebook| Twitter [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Press Trust of India: Kohima, Feb 1 (PTI) Tribal organisations in Nagaland today demanded the resignation of the TR Zeliang-led government in the aftermath of the killing of two persons and injuries to several others in clashes between the police and a mob. The demand was made by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), comprising Naga tribal organisations, during the send-off service of the two deceased at the Agri-Expo junction in Dimapur this afternoon. advertisement After the send-off service, the bodies of the two deceased were rallied through NH 29. The burial service will be held in the state capital here tomorrow. JCC representative Vekhosayi, while condoling the demise of the two persons during last nights public movement against the governments decision to hold polls today to 12 councils, said "their sacrifice should not go in vain". The JCC also demanded the suspension of the police personnel "involved in the indiscriminate firing", along with the Dimapur Police Commissioner. It also urged the government to nullify the polling held to the 12 town councils spread over the state today. Meanwhile, business establishments, government offices and educational institutions remained closed as the JCC has called for an indefinite bandh since last night. A government vehicle was set ablaze for defying the bandh call in Dimapur today. During the day, a government-registered motorcycle was reduced to ashes while the vehicle of former chief secretary Lalthara, who is currently the Advisor to Chief Minister TR Zeliang, was also smashed by bandh supporters. The State Civil Secretariat and Office of the State Election Commission also remained closed for the day, while the ministers preferred to move in private vehicles. Despite the boycott call of the tribal organisations, polling to nine town councils -- Jalukie, Peren, Naginimora, Tobu, Tizit, Pungro, Shamator, Aboi and Noklak -- were held peacefully. However, no voter turned up in Tening and Longkhim, while unruly mobs went into a rampage and damaged all the 11 polling stations as well as the EVMs in Longleng, because of which polling could not be held. Nagaland has 32 councils, which include three municipal councils and 29 town councils. Nominations in six councils were not filed, while the candidates of four councils withdrew from the fray, in compliance with the tribal organisations directive of boycotting the polls with a 33-per cent women reservation. PTI NBS MM RC PS --- ENDS --- [February 01, 2017] Veteran Marketer and Entrepreneur Neeraj Bhagchandani to Direct GlassView's Singapore Office and Asia Expansion NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GlassView, the leading social video distribution platform, today announced that Neeraj Bhagchandani, a veteran marketer and entrepreneur, will direct the company's Singapore office and Asian expansion efforts. In his new role, Neeraj will serve as Vice President, Accounts, driving new business and helping brands achieve their social video campaign objectives. He will report to Patrick Kirby, VP, Accounts & Sales, in the company's New York office. "Neeraj brings a decade of experience helping brands achieve their digital marketing objectives in Asia," said James G. Brooks, Jr., Founder & CEO, GlassView. "With his experience, Neeraj is eminently qualified to lead our Singapore office as we expand our footprint in Asia." "I am excited to drive new business for GlassView in Asia while helping brands regain control of their video campaign goal through GlassView's unrivaled social video platform," said Neeraj. Prior to joining GlassView, Neeraj has overseen his own business and was Vice President of Display, Affiliate and Loyalty at ensogo where he also drove New Business while managing complex Affiliate and Loyalty marketing programs for the eCommerce giant across Asia. Bhagchandani joins a venerable team of industry leaders which includes a Board of Directors comprised of Beauty and Well Being Founder & Editor Clemence von Mueffling; former LVMH North America Chairman Renaud Dutreil, who previously held several ministerial positions in the highest levels of French Government; Jim Porcarelli, CoFounder of MediaCom North America; former Conde Nast executive Stephanie Newhouse; CBS Revenue & Operations Executive Director Dennis Colon; former Vogue.com Creative Director Candy Pratts Price; and Gregory Baker, former UK Minister of Energy & Climate Change and current member of the House of Lords. About GlassView GlassView's mission is to ensure clients' videos appear on top-tier sites reaching the most engaged influential audiences. Best known for delivering the highest level of performance, the GlassView social video platform offers access to over 1.2 billion unique users worldwide, and over 250 million unique users in the United States (comscore Nov 2016), reaching 98% of the connected country. The GlassView team and Board of Directors features executives from Conde Nast, MediaCom, and LVMH. Launched in 2015, GlassView is headquartered in New York City and has offices around the world including Japan, London, Europe and the Middle East. For more information on GlassView, please visit www.glassview.com. GlassView Singapore Six Battery Road Level 30 Singapore 049909 +65 9430 0330 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Quatrro Processing Services Announces Partnership With Mastercard for Transaction Processing Services GURGAON, India, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Quatrro Processing Services (Quatrro), a global fintech company that specializes in full service payment processing, today announced that it has won the contract of being the Type 1 Third Party Processor from Mastercard. As a result of the alliance, Quatrro will provide end-to-end technology and operations support to Mastercard for processing digital payments. The collaboration, being the first in South Asia for a payment processor, empowers Quatrro to operate Mastercard Interface Processors (MIPs) without the support of any sponsoring bank. The MIPs facilitate processing of credit and debit card transactions in real time and provide a link between Bank's/Processor's host and the Mastercard Network. Through this approval, Quatrro has also received an acquiring bin of its own that allows the company to offer merchant acquiring services directly after obtaining necessary approvals from Reserve Bank of India. Mr. Rajesh Dhuddu, Senior Vice President at Quatrro says, "The push towards digital payments across India especially after the demonetization exercise can yield very good results only if the payment processing infrastructure is available at affordable price points and without the need to incur significant upfront capital expenditure. This is the need of the hour for Banks, Payments Banks, Small Finance Banks, Prepaid Issuers, Wallet Companies and Merchants. With this approval from Mastercard, Quatrro is uniquely poised to address all these requirements especially of the financial institutions that belong to the long tail market." The spokesperson further added, "We are also delighted to become the first payments processor in the entire South Asia to obtain Mastercard Type 1 TPP approval. This reiterates the onfidence of Mastercard in Quatrro and its ability to provide a good 'product, price and performance' equation to financial institutions and empower them to further disrupt the digital payments market." Mr. Amitabh Khanna, Head Customer Delivery - South Asia at Mastercard said, "We welcome Quatrro's talented team into the Mastercard family. The association will strengthen our capabilities and will enable us to offer a true end-to-end solution to our customers. Quatrro's expertise complements Mastercard's products and services, enabling us to emerge stronger in the area of processing and switching." About Quatrro Processing Services: Quatrro Processing Services (QPS), a division of Quatrro Global Services, is a leading payment processing and fintech services provider to banks, financial institutions, prepaid issuers, wallet companies, merchants and payment gateways worldwide. The company's core team of over 600 seasoned associates consists of payments/cards transaction processing analysts, risk management professionals and technology experts with a track record of providing card processing and transaction processing services in the USA, India, Middle East and South East Asia. QPS' payment technologies offer Card Management Systems with an integrated switch that supports issuing (credit, debit, prepaid, Forex prepaid and virtual prepaid), acquiring, Mobile POS, ATM driving and payment gateways using one platform and interface. QPS payment solutions are built based on expertise in payment programs, product development, payment processing technology, loyalty and rewards solutions, payment security, consulting and information services. The company is uniquely positioned to offer next generation payments processing services providing unmatched ROI to financial institutions, merchants, payment gateways, processors, prepaid issuers, wallet companies and program managers. For more information, please access http://www.quatrroprocessing.com About Mastercard: Mastercard (NYSE: MA), http://www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. It operates the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities - such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardAP and @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau. Quatrro Processing Services Media Contact: Aman Malhotra Associate Vice President - Market Development Tel: +91-124-4561000 Email: [email protected] Mastercard Latika Taneja Head - Corporate Communications, Mastercard - South Asia Tel: +91-124-4836046 Email: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Reward Cloud Gives Quidco Customers More Bang For Their Buck LONDON, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital gift card platform Reward Cloud have announced a major new partnership with Maple Syrup Media offering Quidco customers an incentivised 'cash out function'. All Quidco users will now have the opportunity to convert their cashback credits into a digital gift card from their choice of top retail brands, with a minimum 5% uplift on their credit value (and as high as 20%). Through the Reward Cloud's unique interface, Quidco customers will be presented with a menu of brands with the corresponding uplifts to choose from. The cash out function converts their 100 cash to 105, or 110 credit, depending on their choice of preferred retailer, ready to spend in-store or online- immediately. And for the retailers, the cashback is recycled back into their stores; driving revenue and sales, developing brand loyalty and reaching out to a whole new potential customer base. Win-win all round then? Ido Padani, CCO from MSM explains; "Our business is built on constantly evolving our proposition to reward members. This new partnership will allow an extra level of versatility when it comes to cashing out, putting an emphasis of providing more choice and value for our members. This is just one of many additional ways we're curretly working to ensure our members have the best possible on-site experience." This deal with the UK's leading cashback site represents how the digital gift card industry is being revolutionised, with Reward Cloud at the forefront of this exploration of new and exciting distribution channels for retail partners. Gareth Gillatt, CEO and Co-founder of Reward Cloud adds, 'We're excited about working with Maple Syrup Media because it showcases how a digital gift card can be utilised in a completely new channel. It proves that a digital gift card programme can be immensely valuable for retailers, dispensing a variable value in real time.' Note to Editors: http://www.reward.cloud About Reward Cloud: Launched in 2016, Reward Cloud was founded by Gareth Gillatt and Alex Preece, who previously founded daily deal company Local Daily Deals before selling it to MoneySupermarket.com in 2011. A unique proposition in the digital gift card sector, Reward Cloud works through one simple API connection to generate and send digital gift cards to recipients on demand, instantly. No more waiting for a physical delivery, just instant gratification for the recipient. About Quidco Quidco was launched in 2005 by Paul and Jen Nikkel, Maple Syrup Media built its reputation as cashback pioneers with Quidco. We've since consolidated our credentials in the UK with grocery and travel specific ventures, CheckoutSmart and EarnAway. Our burgeoning team, based in London, Sheffield, Berlin, Paris and Durban, now operates Europe's largest portfolio of cashback and loyalty platforms. To date Maple Syrup Media has returned over 370 million cashback to customers and generated over 6.5 billion in incremental sales for retail partners. For more information, get in touch: Gareth Gillatt, Co-founder and CEO, [email protected] Alex Preece, Co-founder and COO, [email protected] +44-(0)7841-867597 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Trump's US Entry Ban Affects International Air Traffic POTSDAM, Germany, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- US President Donald Trump's entry ban on seven majority-Muslim countries is already impacting international air traffic. "Since the executive order became effective, we have registered a significant increase in the number of complaints over transatlantic flight delay," says Eve Buchner, founder and CEO of refund.me. Airlines are obliged to comply with government regulations. However, passengers must be appropriately accommodated even in such extraordinary circumstances. Air traffic restrictions can lead to uncertainty on the ground, resulting in considerable delays during check-in. or example, the Dutch airline KLM recently published a note on their website informing passengers about the situation and offering optional flight change or refund services for those affected. Eve Buchner advises passengers to inquire with airlines before departure, or to seek advice from the relevant embassies. "In any case, passengers should claim compensation for the ticket they cannot use because they are denied to travel. The changes in visa and entry regulations could not be anticipated and must not burden the flight passenger." About refund.me: Since its foundation in 2012, refund.me has assisted individual airline passengers and business travel buyers from 145 countries in securing compensation from 350 airlines for flight delays, cancelations, missed connections, and re-routings covered by European Union (EC) 261/2004 legislation. An estimated 11 million passengers per year are eligible for 5.5 billion in compensation for flight disruptions covered under EU 261/2004. There is no financial cost or risk to companies as refund.me operates on a no-win, no-fee basis. Refund.me has a 94% success rate in securing compensation. Media Contact [email protected] 0172-905-18-69 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Wharton Research Data Services Adds Sustainalytics' Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Data to its Award-Winning Research Platform Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS), the award-winning research platform and business intelligence tool for corporate, academic and government institutions worldwide, has added ESG data on more than 4,500 companies from Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of ESG and corporate governance research and ratings. A part of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, WRDS provides global corporations, universities and regulatory agencies the thought leadership, data access and insights needed to enable impactful research. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131005116/en/ Sustainalytics' ESG Data on the WRDS platform includes current and historical company ESG scores. In addition, the platform contains Sustainalytics' Controversy Scores, which provide insight into companies' involvement in significant business events. Academic researchers can benefit from Sustainalytics' ESG Data in the following ways: Gain insight into companies' policies, programs and preparedness to manage ESG risks; Identify ESG issues affecting a company and its industry peers; and Understand companies' historical ESG performance with coverage dating back to 2009. "WRDS is pleased to offer Sustainalytics' ESG Data to our researchers," said Robert Zarazowski, Managing Director of WRDS. "As global awareness of ESG issues increases, along withWRDS' emphasis on the real-world impact of financial research, we know Sustainalytics' insights will be an extremely valuable resource for our subscribers." "Sustainalytics is proud to work with WRDS to provide ESG information to their academic subscribers," said Sustainalytics' CEO Michael Jantzi. "Leveraging our robust ESG data and Controversy Scores, we hope more academic researchers will explore the impact and materiality of company sustainability issues. We look forward to a productive long-term relationship with WRDS." To learn more about Sustainalytics' ESG data on WRDS, please click here. ABOUT WRDS Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) provides the leading business intelligence, data analytics, and financial research platform to global institutions dedicated to enabling comprehensive thought leadership and historical analysis. WRDS provides researchers with one location to access over 250 terabytes of data across multiple disciplines including Accounting, Banking, Economics, ESG, Finance, Healthcare, Insurance, Marketing, and Statistics. Flexible data delivery options include a powerful web query method that reduces research time, the WRDS Cloud for executing research and strategy development, and the WRDS client server using PCSAS, Matlab, Python and R. Our Analytics team, doctoral-level support and rigorous data review and validation give clients the confidence to tailor research within complex databases and create a wide range of reliable data models. An award-winning data research platform for over 50,000 commercial, academic, and government users in 30+ countries, WRDS is the global gold standard in data management and research ? all backed by the credibility and leadership of the Wharton School. ABOUT THE WHARTON SCHOOL Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates economic and social value around the world. The Wharton School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 participants in executive education programs annually and a powerful alumni network of 95,000 graduates. ABOUT SUSTAINALYTICS Sustainalytics is an independent ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analysis firm supporting investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. With 13 offices globally, Sustainalytics partners with institutional investors who integrate environmental, social and governance information and assessments into their investment processes. Today, the firm has more than 300 staff members, including 170 analysts with varied multidisciplinary expertise of more than 40 sectors. Through the IRRI survey, investors selected Sustainalytics as the best independent responsible investment research firm for three consecutive years, 2012 through 2014 and in 2015, Sustainalytics was named among the top three firms for both ESG and Corporate Governance research. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131005116/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Fujitsu Supports First Digital Census in Egypt CAIRO, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fujitsu today announces that it is supporting the Egyptian government in conducting the first population census to be based entirely on digital processes. Fujitsu will provide hundreds of STYLISTIC tablet devices plus data center services for the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data. Automating and digitalizing the census process is expected to halve the time it takes to gather and evaluate data from Egypt's population of around 94 million, as well as increasing data accuracy and reliability. The Egyptian census takes place every five years. Starting in February and running over several months, the 2017 census is managed by Egypt's official statistical agency, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The final report is expected as soon as July 2017 - which will represent the fastest-ever turnaround for a census of this magnitude. Fujitsu STYLISTIC Q555 tablets will be used to collect population data, going door to door visiting Egyptian households. Data will be transferred via LTE/3G connections, and centrally stored and analyzed in the new CAPMAS data center in Egypt. The data center, which went live n 2016, has been delivered, installed and is being supported by Fujitsu and includes Fujitsu PRIMERGY RX2540 M2 servers and ETERNUS DX storage systems, as well as Fujitsu ETERNUS CS800 for backup. The Fujitsu tablets that will be used in the census were chosen for their ability to withstand demanding usage over long periods, and provide all-day operation even under difficult conditions, such as extreme temperatures and dusty environments. AboBakr ElGendy, President of CAPMAS, comments: "As this is the first time that we will conduct a census that is fully based on digital technology and does not use paper ledgers at any stage in the process, it was very important to us to select a technology partner capable of supporting this major project. We selected Fujitsu because of its all-round capabilities - in building and operating our new data center, and the Fujitsu STYLISTIC tablets for their robust, lightweight design, high reliability and enterprise-grade security features." Ayman Abdel Rahman, Managing Director of Fujitsu Egypt, said: "Supporting the census is a high-profile element of our role in helping digitalize services provided by the Egyptian government, and we are excited to be supporting this milestone project. Holding a census is a huge undertaking when you think about the sheer volume of data that needs to be gathered, and the fact that it literally comes from all over the country. By digitalizing census processes, the government will save significant amounts of time. With its first fully digital census, Egypt is leading the way in making the gathering and evaluation of statistical data more efficient and reliable." Following the completion of the census, the Egyptian government is planning to provide the tablets to schools for educational purposes. About Fujitsu: http://www.fujitsu.com/eg/about/ Media contacts Isabell Horvath Tel: +49-(89)-62060-4419 E-mail: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] GSMA: Low Power Wide Area Networks to Lead IoT Connections by 2022 The GSMA (News - Alert) today announced that Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) connections are set to exceed 2G, 3G and 4G and become the leading technology for Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, with 1.4 billion connections by 2022, according to new analysis by Machina Research. These figures underscore how the industry has aligned behind standardised, complementary LPWA technologies such as NB-IoT and LTE (News - Alert)-M, accelerating the development of the market. The GSMA's Mobile IoT Initiative, which promotes adoption of LPWA technologies, is currently backed by 67 global mobile operators, device makers, chipset, module and infrastructure companies worldwide. "In the space of nine short months, the GSMA's Mobile IoT Initiative has established market standards for LPWA that will play a fundamental role in the growth, development and adoption of the technology," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. "There are already several mobile operators around the world running Mobile IoT pilots, and this year, we'll see commercial launches across a range of sectors, providing complete IoT connectivity and delivering service to billions of new devices." LPWA networks are an emerging, high-growth area of the IoT, designed to support M2M applications that have low data rates, require long battery lives and operate unattended for long periods of time, often in remote locations. They will be used for a wide variety of applications such as industrial asset tracking, safety monitoring, water and gas metering, smart grids, city parking, vending machines and city lighting. "It is clear that LPWA technologies will revolutionise the Internet of Things, combining the ability to provide out-of-the-box connectivity with extremely long battery life. These qualities make LPWA technologies a perfect match for many IoT applications. The widespread availability of LPWA will catalyse the whole IoT ecosystem, supporting new use cases, enabling the increased sophistication and reach of many existing use cases, and accelerating adoption overall," said Jim Morrish, Founder and Chief Research Officer of Machina Research. Licensed LPWA networks complement and extend conventional wide area networks, allowing operators to optimise their existing high-quality mobile network infrastructure through an upgrade which makes use of 2G and 4G cellular technologies, as well as local area networks such as WiFi, Bluetooth and Zigbee. These licensed standards allow operators to optimise their existing mobile network infrastructure through an upgrade to LTE-M for LTE networks, while NB-IoT can use both 2G and 4G spectrum. They are designed to cover all use cases, ensuring customer choice and helping the IoT market to flourish. The GSMA Mobile IoT initiative is currently supporting the indstry in multiple global pilots, with full commercial solutions expected in market later this year. Mobile IoT at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) 2017 The GSMA's Connected Living Programme will host the 'GSMA Global Mobile IoT Summit' with leading industry experts on Sunday, 26 February from 13:00 - 17:30. The session will explore how the industry is working together to realise the full potential of Mobile IoT. There will also be a separate session called 'Mobile IoT (LPWA) - Open for Business' on Wednesday, 1 March 2017 from 13:30 - 15:30, providing an opportunity to learn about the latest commercial rollouts, launches and pilots. There will also be number of demonstrations of LPWA technology at the GSMA Innovation City located in Hall 4 in Fira Gran Via. For more information or to register, please visit www.gsma.com/connectedliving/event/mobile-world-congress-2017/. For more information on the GSMA Mobile IoT Initiative go to: www.gsma.com/connectedliving/mobile-iot-initiative/. Get Involved at Mobile World Congress 2017 For more information on Mobile World Congress 2017, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com. Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress on Twitter (News - Alert) @GSMA using #MWC17, on our LinkedIn Mobile World Congress page https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-world-congress or on Facebook (News - Alert) at https://www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress/. For additional information on GSMA social channels, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/about/contact/social-media/. The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital, which will be hosted in Barcelona through 2023. The Mobile World Capital encompasses programmes and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com. About the GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences. For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005478/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Vision Releases Results of 3rd Annual "What's Next" Survey EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Results of the third annual "What's Next in Digital Communications for Local Government" survey, released today by the government website and software experts at Vision, reveal that local government leaders continue to strive to increase digital interaction with citizens. Key areas of focus for 2017 include online citizen engagement, website accessibility and mobile-ready design. "Over the three years of "What's Next" surveys, the shift from an internal staff focus to one centered on the citizen experience has been dramatic," said Ashley Fruechting, Vision's senior director of marketing. "It's clear that local government leaders recognize their responsibility to provide citizens with digital services at the same level of accessibility, transparency and efficiency they enjoy in the private sector." More than 435 municipal and county government officials, serving communities with populations of less than 1,000 to more than 1.5 million, participated in the December 2016 online survey, which assessed the current state of digital communications and projected future trends. For the first time, elected and appointed local government officials and administrators represented the largest group of survey respondents. Increased participation by this group - nearly double from last year (to 34% from 18%) - points to the growing importance of citizen communications. A copy of the survey report and infographic now are available for download here. Insight 1: Recognizing the Responsibility to Keep Pace with Technology Echoing survey results from the prior two years, an overwhelming majority (97%) of government leaders said they believe that local governments have a responsibility to keep pace with ever-changing technology. The positive response to this forward-looking survey question continued to track upward from 95 percent in the 2016 report and 94 percent in 2015. "As technology evolves, so does communications. We have to keep pace with the changing environment or the message gets lost," said a county council member from Alberta, Canada. Insight 2: Increased Focus on Digital Citizen Engagement As the need for local government to engage its citizens continues to rise, only 5 percent of survey respondents rated their agencies "outstanding" in effective citizen engagement, while 18 percent said their agencies were "below average" or "poor." "As local government, our duty is to serv the public; and part of the equation to engaging the public is through new technology," said a city administrator from Texas. Insight 3: Local Gov Websites are Essential For the third straight year, the majority of local government participants described their agency website as "integral to their overall communications and public service strategy," with 93 percent responding that it was either "essential" or "important." However, the number of respondents who rated their agency's website as "highly effective" showed a notable drop to 26 percent in 2017 from 34 percent in both 2015 and 2016. Budgetary issues surfaced in a number of write-in comments. "We try our best to keep citizens aware, making information available, yet it all still takes some staff time and energy for all of these issues. Many smaller governments cannot afford to invest what is required," said a county commissioner from Minnesota. The good news is nearly three-quarters (73%) of this year's respondents predict they will be highly effective in 5 years. Insight 4: Increasing Demand for Online Citizen Service A widespread challenge is still evident as participants rated how well their websites allow visitors to conduct business online. While only 8 percent gave their website an "outstanding" rating, it is double the number in the 2016 survey. At the other end of the spectrum, 16 percent of respondents said their website was "below average" or "poor," while just over three-quarters (76%) said their website was "average" or "good" in delivering online services. When asked to cite the top issue with their current websites, respondents cited (1) limited citizen engagement, (2) not mobile-ready and (3) difficult to navigate. This correlates with responses to the question about priorities for the next 12 months, in which three out of four local gov leaders (75%) cited "expand citizen engagement" as an important focus. Rounding out the top three priorities for 2017 were mobile integration/responsive design (59%) and minimize cybersecurity risks (47%). "Security is a huge concern, and I'd rank that first. Open-source software doesn't cut it anymore. We might as well have a huge target on our foreheads. If we do not keep up with the rapid pace of updates, we become vulnerable. Proprietary software will vastly improve our security profile," said a communications manager from Washington State. Insight 5: Websites Expected to Leapfrog Social Media in Effectiveness A dynamic shift is predicted over the next 5 years in the effectiveness of an agency's channels of citizen communications. Currently, social media was ranked as a "highly effective" communications channel by 43 percent of respondents, while only 26 percent ranked their agency website as highly effective. But by 2021, 73 percent of respondents predict that their websites will be highly effective compared to 70 percent for social media channels. Insight 6: Accessibility Mandates Challenge Local Leaders Federal mandates calling for the removal of barriers that prevent interaction with or access to websites by people with disabilities are a growing concern for local government agencies. New rules on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website compliance will be issued in 2018 and existing guidelines such as ADA, WCAG 2.0 and Section 508, are increasingly being enforced. Yet 87 percent of respondents (only a 2 percent improvement over last year) said they have moderate, weak or no knowledge of Federal web accessibility requirements. "Too many departments, too much information to have to make easily accessible." Senior Advisor-Policy & Communications, Utah "Overall, this year's survey reveals that many local government leaders continue to grapple with internal and external challenges that prevent them from being as effective and transparent as today's technology allows," Fruechting said. "Today's citizens demand to be heard. Thankfully, the opportunities to increase satisfaction, build trust and foster engagement on the local level are greater than ever. The good news from this year's survey is that local government leaders are increasingly aware of the tools and technologies that exist to help them meet those needs." For more information about Vision's transformative technology, or to request a free website review and consultation, please call 888-263-8847 or visit info.visioninternet.com/free-consultation. About Vision Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Vision is a national leader in government website design, development and hosting with more than 700 government, non-profit and education clients in U.S. and Canadian communities with populations that range from less than 1,000 residents to more than 5 million. For more than 20 years, Vision has created cost-effective solutions that increase government efficiency, build transparency and promote interactive communications with citizens. The company's powerful, easy-to-use subscription-based content management system, visionLive, keeps local government websites relev ant and effective; and the new visionPulse community engagement platform enables local governments to gather feedback on important issues. For the second year in a row, Vision has been named to Government Technology magazine's GovTech 100, a listing of leading companies developing innovative or disruptive offerings to improve or transform government. The company also was named a top 10 company serving local government by Engaging Local Government Leaders in its 2016 ELGL Choice Awards. CONTACT: Lynette Viviani 973-534-1004 [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vision-releases-results-of-3rd-annual-whats-next-survey-300400222.html SOURCE Vision [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Celanese to Acquire Nilit Plastics Division Nylon Compounding Business Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global technology and specialty materials company, and Nilit, a major independent producer of high performance nylon polymers, fibers and compounds, today announced they have signed a definitive agreement for Celanese to acquire Nilit Plastics, the nylon compounding division of Nilit. Celanese will acquire Nilit Plastics' nylon compounding product portfolio as well as customer agreements and manufacturing, technology and commercial facilities. Nilit will retain ownership of the nylon fibers and nylon polymerization businesses worldwide, including facilities in Israel, the United States, China, and Brazil. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time. "Nylon compounds continue to be a material of choice in automotive, E&E, consumer and industrial applications, and this acquisition delivers on Celanese's intention to complement its broad portfolio by becoming a leading, global nylon compound supplier," said Scott Sutton, Celanese executive vice president and president of Materials Solutions. "Celanese will extend its global leadership position in the engineered materials business with the acquisition of Nilit Plastics as nylon continues to be adopted in growth industries where Celanese is already focusing significant product, solution and customer-focused development activities." "The nylon product portfolio of Nilit Plastics is one of the broadest in the market for polyamide compounds. This breadth is matched by the company's expertise in compounds based on polyamides and an in-depth knowledge of target markets and applications," said Ilan Melamed, managing director of Nilit Plastics. "Nilit Plastics is regarded by the market and its customers as a solution provider with its ability to develop and produce compounds exactly fit for the application. We are pleased to join Nilit Plastics with the Celanese family and bring our world-class products, technology and valued employee base to a global engineered materials leader where both our products and people will continue to grow." Celanese expects to integrate Nilit Plastics' nylon compounding product portfolio (http://www.nilit.com/plastics/) and production capabilities into the Celanese engineered materials business to include the following registered brands: FRIANYL flame retardant grades for electrical and electronics industries, meeting most stringent industry requirements, and in almost all colors. flame retardant grades for electrical and electronics industries, meeting most stringent industry requirements, and in almost all colors. NILAMID technical grades for industrial and automotive applications. technical grades for industrial and automotive applications. NILAMID specialty portfolio for extended performance requirements in terms of thermal, electrical, mechanical and tibological properties in particular. specialty portfolio for extended performance requirements in terms of thermal, electrical, mechanical and tibological properties in particular. ECOMID grades containing high-quality polyamide fibers and textile recycled for a combination of quality, high lot-to-lot consistency and competitiveness. (The most recent additions to the NILIT Plastics range, developed to cater to new market trends, include "XS" and "XT" types. NILAMID XS grades are compounds based on semi-aromatic polyamides, and FRIANYL XT and NILAMID XT are compounds based on polyphthalamide (PPA) provide superior performance, particularly in terms of high heat resistance and mechanical strength.) Nilit Plastics makes compounds based on polyamide 6 and 6,6 (PA6 / PA66) as well as different types of partially aromatic polyamides, including polyphthalamide (PPA). The division is dedicated to high quality specialties and has developed more than 3,000 different formulations in the last 40 years. Many of these compounds have been certified by independent authorities and more than 85 compounds are UL and VDE listed for flammability and electrical performances. Nilit Plastics has compounding production facilities in Europe and China. The parties expect to complete the transaction in the second quarter of 2017, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Until closing, Celanese and Nilit Plastics will continue to operate as independent businesses. About Celanese Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our two complementary business cores, Acetyl Chain and Materials Solutions, use the full breadth of Celanese's global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for our customers and the corporation. As we partner with our customers to solve their most critical business needs, we strive to make a positive impact on our communities and the world through The Celanese Foundation. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,000 employees worldwide and had 2015 net sales of $5.7 billion. For more information about Celanese and our product offerings, visit www.celanese.com or our blog at www.celaneseblog.com. All registered trademarks are owned by Celanese International Corporation or its affiliates. About Nilit Founded in 1969, Nilit (www.nilit.com) is an independent global producer of high performance nylon polymers, fibers and compounds. Nilit works closely with its international customer base from offices and production sites in Israel, the United States, Europe, Latin America, and China. Nilit is committed to creating innovative, customized nylon (polyamide) 6.6 solutions. With expertise in polymerization and compounding, as well as spinning and texturing, Nilit is known for its innovation and its tailored solutions for customers in the industries served. Nilit offers a comprehensive range of quality products and services for apparel and engineering thermoplastics applications. Forward-Looking Statements This release may contain "forward-looking statements," which include information concerning the company's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures and other information that is not historical information. When used in this release, the words "outlook," "forecast," "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "intends," "believes," and variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions, including the announced acquisition. There can be no assurance that the company or its customers will realize these benefits or that these expectations will prove correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this release, including with respect to the acquisition. Numerous factors, many of which are beyond the company's control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed as forward-looking statements. Other risk factors include those that are discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005365/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Linkplay Experiences Rapid Adoption of Its Turnkey WiFi Audio Speaker Solution Approved With Amazon Alexa Voice Service PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Linkplay Technology, a leading WiFi audio solution provider and one of the first audio platforms approved for integration with Alexa Voice Service (AVS) for hands-free voice recognition and push to talk capabilities, hosted 300 attendees from global speaker brands, OEMs and ODMs for an Amazon Alexa technology summit. The one day conference held in Shenzhen, China provided an opportunity to educate customers interested in designing and building Powered by Linkplay products with AVS. The presenters introduced the broad AVS ecosystem and offered insight on developing customer differentiated audio products and other smart home devices. The keynote speakers included Linkplays Founder and CEO, Lifeng Zhao, Ph.D., and Amazons Director of Alexa Voice Service, Jon Kirk, in addition to executives and senior technical experts from technology partners Conexant, a leading provider of audio and far-field voice technology solutions, and Sensory, a leader in speech and vision technologies. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3be6e19b-205b-488a-b66c-e5da95843f8b Linkplay Alexa Summit - China Jade Wu, Linkplay, John Kirk, Monson Tseng, and Todd Emerson, Amazon //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/43540d96-9aaa-405e-853b-fdc2c9cb5a7f Linkplays patented Smart WiFi audio hardware and software module provides AVS integration, global streaming music content integration, app and cloud development, and multi-room speaker capabilities as well as low latency, high resolution (192khz/24bit; 44.1KHz/16bit), loss-less audio. It enables customers to bring products to market faster and more cost effectively, shortening product development cycles from 3 6 months. The AVS-enabled Linkplay platform has been incorporated into five brands speaker products, including FABRIQ, GGMM E5 Wireless, Jam Audio Voice, iLuv Aud Click and Omaker WoW, and many more will be launching this year. Linkplay makes it possible for speakers to be wireless and hands-free with consumers simply asking Alexa to play their favorite music, turn on the lights in the living room, provide news, traffic and weather reports, set alarms, order food, and more. Linkplays turnkey WiFi audio solution provides access to millions of songs through services such as Amazon Music, Audible, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Spotify, TIDAL, Napster, and many others and operates with AirPlay, DLNA, Spotify Connect, and QQPlay protocols, making it seamless for companies to bring music to their devices. Specializing in interruption-free music streaming from any iOS or Android device to speakers over a WiFi network, Linkplays solution eliminates the need to connect a phone to the speakers, allowing users to stream music without interference from calls or texts. We are seeing overwhelming excitement from customers eager to integrate our platform and voice services, said Lifeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Linkplay. It is important that we educate our customers about the possibilities available with AVS-enabled audio products and differentiated feature sets, in addition to other categories of products for a smart home. Linkplays features include a holistic audio package with customized hardware, firmware, mobile app and cloud server for OTA and Amazon Alexa with wake-up mode. Also, the platform offers multi-channel wireless stereo pairing, as well as left and right channel playback on two or more WiFi speakers simultaneously. The multi-source functionality supports audio streaming from the cloud, NAS, local music (from phone or tablet), USB disk/TF card or third party app and offers support for AUX-in, SD/USB, and Bluetooth re-transmission to multi-room via WiFi. If you are with the media and would like an interview, please contact Linda Ferguson, PR Director, [email protected]. For more about the Alexa Voice Service, visit the Amazon developer portal. To learn more about how Linkplay can help you develop a product with Amazon Alexa, send a request to [email protected]. About Linkplay: Linkplay Technology, headquartered in Silicon Valley, CA, was founded by a global team of hardware and software engineers, business executives, and wireless audio experts. Linkplays patent-pending technology is a turn-key WiFi audio platform with global streaming music content integration, app and cloud development for speaker brands and ODMs. Technology partners include original design manufacturers (ODMs), component suppliers and key technology investors. For more information about Linkplay, visit www.linkplay.com or email [email protected]. Media Contact: Linda Ferguson PR Director, Linkplay [email protected] 503-869-5827 www.linkplay.com Palo Alto, CA [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A gunman, believed to be a patient at the psychiatric unit of Istanbuls Cerrahpasa Hospital, is holding a number of doctors and other staff hostage. By AP: An armed man is holding hostages in a hospital in Turkey's capital Istanbul, reports said. According to Turkish media reports, an armed man is holding a number of doctors and other staff hostage at a hospital in Istanbul. The Hurriyet newspaper has said that the gunman is believed to be a patient at the psychiatric unit of Istanbul's Cerrahpasa Hospital. It says police have been dispatched to the scene of the incident. --- ENDS --- advertisement [February 01, 2017] DarkLight Announces Strategic Alliance with Agile Defense, Inc. SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DarkLight, a next-generation cybersecurity analytics and automation platform, today announced a strategic alliance with Agile Defense, Inc., a leading Information Technology (IT) Solutions provider, to deliver and support the integration of technology to Federal and Civilian clients in the United States. The collaboration enables Agile Defense to bolt-on DarkLights Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution to their existing cybersecurity offerings, force multiplying the talent already deployed in a clients security operations center (SOC). Driven by the significant cyber analyst shortage, coupled with the staggering volume of cyber attacks, and the length of time it takes to train analysts, DarkLight augments the deductive and investigative skills of human analysts, capturing the expertise specific to the needs of their enterprise. Federal government agencies and departments can now acquire and deploy DarkLights cutting edge AI cyber analytics through Agile Defense, a capable partner with experience delivering complex projects across a broad range of Cyber, Enterprise Infrastructure & Systems Integration, Cloud Services and C4ISR. DarkLight makes it possible for our clients to do more with fewer cyber-analysts, said Jay Lee, President and CEO at Agile Defense. By automating manual processes, high-value analysts can be better utilized to hunt the extremely difficult and most dangerous 1% of threats. Were extremely pleased to partner with DarkLight to deliver such a significant improvement in security operations and cyber-defense. DarkLight encodes enterprise knowledge f expert analysts, reducing the time it takes to improve the skills of junior analysts and train those new to your organizations, said John Shearer, Co-Founder and CEO at DarkLight. By combining DarkLights innovative technology with Agile Defense, the alliance aims to replicate and distribute a new, revolutionary way to solve the workforce shortage problem. Security analytics are needed to magnify existing cyber talent. DarkLights artificial intelligence based platform represents a new era of human-quality data analytics. The scarcity and high-turnover of seasoned analysts currently plaguing the industry has fueled DarkLights mission to retain the best practices and techniques of the most senior analysts to speed up the onboarding process, without losing knowledge already gained. DarkLight represents a fundamentally new approach to capturing and automating cybersecurity knowledge of the workforce so the veteran analysts expertise is not lost when they leave the enterprise. Training time for new and junior analysts can be shortened from the typical eighteen-month training period by learning from the explainable AI encoded in DarkLight based on the experience and knowledge of more senior analysts. For more information on the benefits and uses of DarkLight, please visit: https://www.darklightcyber.com About Agile Defense, Inc. Agile Defense, based in Reston, VA, provides information technology (IT) services to a number of U.S. Federal Government clients across Civilian agencies and various branches within the Department of Defense. Agile Defense has been recognized as a Washington Technology Magazine Fast 50 Government Contractor and as a Entrepreneur Magazine Hot 500 Small Businesses. To learn more about Agile Defense, please visit www.agile-defense.com. About Champion Technology Companys DarkLight DarkLight is a next-generation cybersecurity analytic and automation platform. Driven by artificial intelligence (AI), this groundbreaking solution is a force multiplier which leverages the logic, knowledge, and reasoning of security analysts to deliver human-quality results, at scale. To learn more about the benefits and uses of DarkLight, please visit www.darklightcyber.com. Media Contact Caroline Dobyns LaunchTech Communications 410-353-5340 (cell) [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] ChineseInvestors.com (OTCQB: CIIX), Announces the Launch of its New Website for its New Subsidiary ChineseCBDoil.com. NEW YORK, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ChineseInvestors.com (OTCQB: CIIX), is pleased to announce the launch of its new website for its new subsidiary ChineseCBDoil.com. The website went live on January 31st under the URL: http://www.ChineseCBDoil.com. The Company is expanding into the medical marijuana industry with the launch of its website and plans to retail hemp oil and related products, which are legal to sell and distribute within China and in the United States in all fifty states (hemp oil is not marijuana, but indeed a separate and distinct plant made from hemp). CBD oil, derived from hemp is a product with medicinal qualities that are primarily used for anti-inflammatory and other common ailments. Its website is intended for the Chinese speaking population, a global market of 2 Billion people. Mr. Warren Wang, the Chairman of ChineseInvestors.com stated: "I am very pleased to see the investor reaction to our announced plans which we began to disclose over a month ago. Indeed the market has responded with very strong interest in our shares, and as a result we have achieved record trading volume and reached a new fifty-two week high in our shares last week. Our expertise in online communications with our background in media, technology, and journalism, via our http://www.Chinesefn.com website will further enhance our success. Our core business, the online distribution of news to the Chinese speaking population about financial markets and stocks has been a very solid and consistently robust business for our shareholders. Now as we expand into online retailing and distribution of CBD oils to the Chinese speaking population with a focus on hemp and medicinal needs via consumer products. This will create a much needed and growing niche for us to enter. Indeed, we believe we are the first public company to enter this market in China." Mr. Wang also added: "We have just presented at the NOBLE Capital Markets Institutional Investor Conference in Boca Raton Florida and will be presenting later today with meetings arranged by WallStreet Research and the South Florida Investment Forum. We were pleased to have WallStreet Research initiate coverage on our Company, which is featured at http://www.WallStreetResearch.org." About The South Florida Investment Forum and WallStreet Research WallStreet Research ("WSR") is a prominent research boutique led by Mr. Alan Stone, Managing Director of Alan Stone & Company, LLC (ASC). The firm specializes in the microcap and small cap investment arena, looking for emerging growth companies with strong management, unique or proprietary technology, significant market potential, financial strength, and outstanding long-term earnings growth possibilities. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, CA, Palm Beach, FL, and New York City, NY, and is well known for discovering undervalued companies and bringing them to the attention of the investment community. ASC/WSR also arranges road shows for its publicly traded clients, before the investment community in New York City, California and Florida. The South Florida Investment Forum is an expansion of the ongoing road show and conference activities of WallStreet Research, which has been running conferences, road shows and investor gatherings nationally for over twenty years. WSR is today ranked NUMBER ONE on the Google, Yahoo, and Bing Search Engines, and its Small Cap Conferences are also ranked NUMBER ONE on the search engines. Information on WallStreet Research can be found at http://www.WallStreetResearch.org. Information on The South Florida Investment Forums can be found at http://www.SouthFloridaInvestmentForum.com (SFIF). About ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (CIIX) ChineseInvestors.com, Inc., (CIIX), headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York City and Shanghai China, is a company that engages in providing a wide range of products, services, and information for the global Chinese population. Founded in 1999, CIIX endeavors to be an innovative company providing (a) real-time market commentary, analysis, and educational related services in Chinese language character sets (traditional and simplified); (b) support services to various partners; (c) consultative services to smaller private companies considering becoming a public company; (d) advertising and public relation related support services; and (e) other services we may identify having the potential to create value or partnership opportunity with our existing services. http://www.Chinesefn.com. The Company offers various products beyond the website information, the Company also offers a wide range of investor relations and is now beginning to change focus of solely being a premier Internet information provider by expanding into retail and online sales of CBD products via http://www.ChineseCBDoil.com. Information on CIIX can be found at http://www.ChineseInvestors.com. Contact / Source: ChineseInvestors.com Inc.? Warren Wang, CEO? 14 Wall Street, 20th Floor New York, NY 10005? Email: [email protected] http://www.Chinesefn.com http://www.ChineseCBDoil.com WallStreet Research Alan Stone, 310-444-3940 [email protected] Barbara Blake, 415-419-4239 [email protected] http://www.WallStreetResearch.org http://www.SouthFloridaInvestmentForum.com http://www.SouthernCaliforniaInvestmentForum.com http://www.SmallCapConference.org SOURCE ChineseInvestors.com Inc [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Panasonic, Xcel Energy, Younicos White Paper Shares Solar-plus-Storage "Portfolio" Microgrid Insights Panasonic (News - Alert), Xcel Energy, and Younicos have released a white paper, A Portfolio Microgrid in Denver, Colorado: How a multi-use battery energy storage system provides grid and customer services through a public-private partnership, that details a unique solar-plus-storage microgrid project under way at Denver's smart and sustainable transit-oriented development, Pena Station NEXT. This portfolio microgrid aids renewable energy grid integration; strengthens grid resilience through backup power and grid support services such as peak shaving and frequency regulation, and benefits diverse stakeholders and the entire power grid through a multi-use, lithium-ion energy storage battery system. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005496/en/ At Pena Station NEXT-a 382-acre transit-oriented development in Denver, Colorado-stakeholders Panasonic, Xcel Energy, Denver International Airport, Younicos, and LC Fulenwider, Inc. have partnered on a unique solar+storage microgrid that deploys the battery energy storage system for five complementary use cases. (Photo: Business Wire) "We're so excited about this 'portfolio' microgrid-and sharing insights from the project via this white paper-because of how a system such as this can unlock more benefits for more stakeholders," said Peter Bronski, a coauthor from Panasonic, "and how this public-private partnership approach to the microgrid and the battery system's stacked use cases can strengthen the overall economics and value propositions." Many microgrids and energy storage systems are deployed for single use cases by single entities, such as a corporation pursuing demand charge reductions or a university campus strengthening energy resilience. By contrast, the Pena Station NEXT project used a public-private partnership approach that resulted in a multi-stakeholder "portfolio microgrid." Project partners include Xcel Energy, Colorado's largest investor-owned utility with ambitious goals to meet rising in-state renewable energy standards; Panasonic, the equity-invested anchor corporate tenant at Pena and smart and sustainable technologies lead for Pena Station NEXT; Younicos, a global leader in MW-scale battery energy storage and storage software applications; and the City and County of Denver (Denver) and Denver International Airport (DEN), which are looking to improve the resilience and sustainability of critical DEN assets and better integrate the airport's loads with the surrounding grid. Additional partners include sustainability-minded master real estate developer L.C. Fulenwider, Xcel Energy's retail customers in Colorado, and Denver's residents. "As part of Xel Energy's Innovative Clean Technologies program in Colorado, we're eager to demonstrate how energy storage can integrate more solar energy on our system. We'll also examine how battery systems can become more cost effective by supporting the grid and providing reliability for customers," said Beth Chacon, director grid storage & emerging technologies, Xcel Energy. The Xcel Energy feeder for Pena Station NEXT already has 20% solar penetration and is expected to have 30% solar penetration by the time the microgrid project is completed in the first half of 2017. The 382-acre transit-oriented development links downtown Denver with DEN and is located adjacent to the Regional Transportation District's 61st and Pena rail station along the University of Colorado A Line train. Pena Station NEXT is an anchor of an emerging "live, work, play" aerotropolis around DEN, a proving ground for diverse smart and sustainable technologies before broader deployment, and the first major North American development to incorporate Panasonic's global smart city experience. Pena Station NEXT's portfolio microgrid includes a 1.6 MW dc carport solar PV system (located on a DEN parking lot and carport structure but with the solar PV system owned and operated by Xcel Energy under lease with DEN), a 259 kW dc rooftop solar PV array installed atop Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company's building using Panasonic HIT solar PV modules, and a Younicos 1 MW / 2 MWh lithium-ion battery system with inverter and controls, integrated in the company's innovative Y.Cube system. Panasonic's Denver operations hub building, which has an intelligent building energy management system, will serve as the initial anchor load for the microgrid. "Multi-resource microgrids that serve different use cases, like the one at Pena Station NEXT, are the types of deployments that will transform the grid on both sides of the meter," said Jayesh Goyal, Chief Commercial Officer of Younicos. "Our Y.Cube system is ideal for this type of commercial application: fully integrated components with batteries, plug-and-play functionality, and intelligent software to handle various control modes - essentially 'storage in a box'. We're proud to be part of this forward-looking project." The battery energy storage system will deploy five use cases: 1) solar energy grid integration via solar smoothing ramp control and solar time shifting, 2) grid peak demand reduction, 3) energy arbitrage, 4) frequency regulation, and 5) backup power for Panasonic's network operations center. The white paper coincides with DistribuTECH, one of the largest annual North American utility industry events. Visitors can learn more about this solar-plus-storage microgrid by visiting Panasonic experts at booth #4117. Download the white paper here. About Panasonic Corporation of North America Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies, and consumers across the region. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service, and R&D operations. Panasonic was featured in Fortune Magazine's 2016 ranking of 50 companies that are changing the world and doing well by doing good. Specifically cited were its smart and sustainable technologies, including its contributions to smart cities and the electric vehicle revolution. For more information, please visit http://www.PanasonicCityNOW.com. About Xcel Energy Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, please visit http://www.xcelenergy.com. About Younicos Younicos is a pioneer and market leader in game-changing energy and grid solutions based on battery storage. The company provides utilities, independent power producers, microgrids, and C&I customers with turnkey storage systems, supporting a wide range of business opportunities, including frequency response, peak shaving and capacity, integrated photovoltaic-plus-storage solutions, and grid-forming renewable energy systems. Customers benefit from Younicos's unparalleled experience of 150 MW deployed storage, 10 years of R&D at its MW-scale technology centers, and 24/7 O&M services. Younicos is based in Berlin, Germany, and Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.younicos.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005496/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Pax8 Honored as Coolest Cloud Vendor by CRN DENVER, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pax8, the leading value-added cloud distributor, today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company, has named the company to its 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2017 list. This annual lineup recognizes the most innovative cloud technology suppliers in each of five categories: infrastructure, platforms and development, security, storage, and software. It is an honor to be named one of CRNs Coolest Cloud Vendors, said Ryan Walsh, senior vice president of Partner Solutions at Pax8. We are proactively listening, engaging, and building comprehensive partner programs to help solution providers navigate the changing IT landscape and capitalize on the shift to cloud. We remain committed to delivering the highest quality of enablement, cloud products, solutions, and support for our partners. The 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors are selected by the CRN editorial team for their creativity and innovation in product development, the quality of their services and partner programs, and their demonstrated ability to help customers benefit from the ease of use, flexibility, scalability and budgetary savings that cloud computing offers. In addition to recognizing cloud technology suppliers for outstanding products and services, 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors serves as a valuable guide for solution providers trying to navigate the cloud market. The list aids prospective channel partners in identifying the vendors that can best help them imrove or expand their cloud services. Cloud-based solutions are now a universal staple of IT services and an integral feature of solution providers portfolios, said Robert Faletra, CEO at The Channel Company. It is therefore more important than ever for solution providers to be able to find and choose the best, most capable cloud vendors to partner with. CRNs annual list of the 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors helps them identify and engage these expert suppliers in order to grow and strengthen their cloud businesses. Congratulations to all the vendors on our 2017 list, which have distinguished themselves in this extremely competitive and essential technology area. The new 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list will be featured in the February 2017 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/cloud100. To learn more about Pax8, please contact the cloud experts at (855) 884-PAX8, email [email protected], or visit www.pax8.com. About Pax8 Pax8 is the leading value-added cloud distributor offering top cloud products and solutions to the IT channel. The company is driving the business transition to the cloud through its comprehensive enablement and technology. The Pax8 cloud marketplace provides efficient and intelligent cloud product configuration so service providers can easily create and customize bundled solutions for their customers. To fuel partners success, Pax8 offers on-demand marketing programs, sales assistance and training, provisioning automation, and subscription billing. As the experts in cloud innovation, Pax8 is well-engineered to sell, assemble, and deliver quality cloud solutions to its worldwide channel of service providers. For more information, please visit www.pax8.com. Follow Pax8 on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com. Pax8 Media Contact Amanda Lee ARL Strategic Communications for Pax8 (727) 272-0781 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Cambridge Industries Group Joins MoCA SAN RAMON, Calif., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MoCA welcomes Cambridge Industries Group (CIG) headquartered in Shanghai, China with US headquarters in Santa Clara, CA, as an Associate member. We are honored that CIG recognizes the value MoCA membership offers to their company, said Charles Cerino, President of MoCA. They will greatly help us in our mission of providing technology that meets and exceeds industry requirements for performance and reliability. As we announced at CES 2017, CIG is now offering MoCA adapters that ensure home networks deliver gigabit speeds reliably, explained Ali Taslimi, EVP and Head of NA Sales and Marketing at CIG. This adapter will extend wireless coverage to every room in the house. About Cambridge Industries Group, (CIG) CIG is a leading global SDN / NFV networking equipment manufacturer based in Shanghai (China) with US headquarters in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, CA). CIG is a privately held ompany founded by Gerald G. Wong in 2005 with focus on developing and manufacturing PON, home-networking (routers; Wi-Fi, G.hn and MoCA APs, etc.), Carrier Ethernet and Data Center switching products. For more information, please visit www.cambridgeig.com. About MoCA MoCA technology is the fastest and most reliable in-home backbone for Wi-Fi and has been adopted by cable, telco/IPTV and satellite operators worldwide. MoCA 2.0 offers actual throughputs (MAC rate) up to 1 Gbps and MoCA 2.5 is capable of up to 2.5 Gbps actual throughput. MoCA 2.1 and MoCA 2.5 also offer an additional set of network management and security features. MoCA Access is a FTTB extension targeting MDUs worldwide. Additional applications include hospitality, education, government and other residential/business environments using existing coaxial wiring. The Alliance has 217 certified products and 44 members worldwide. Visit www.mocalliance.org for more information. Copyright 2017 Multimedia over Coax Alliance. All Rights Reserved. MoCA and the MoCA logo are trademarks of the Multimedia over Coax Alliance, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Rob Gelphman VP, Marketing and Member Relations MoCA 1-408-838-7458 [email protected] [February 01, 2017] iNovia strengthens its presence in California with the addition of industry veterans Scott Munro and Todd Simpson MONTREAL, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - iNovia, Canada's Go-To Early Stage Venture Capital Fund is pleased to welcome to its team two technology industry veterans - Scott Munro and Todd Simpson. iNovia's increased presence in the Bay area and Silicon Valley will accelerate portfolio growth and the building of strategic relationships. "Building strong corporate and strategic relationships in the Bay area and around Silicon Valley has proven highly successful for some of our most promising Canadian portfolio companies such as: Allocadia, AppDirect, Lightspeed, Vidyard, TopHat, Clearpath Robotics and Thalmic Labs", says Chris Arsenault, iNovia's Managing Partner. "So, we looked for successful entrepreneurs and CEOs in Silicon Valley who also had strong ties with Canada to further support our growing portfolio. We are excited to announce that we have teamed up two such individuals." Joining the iNovia team are: Scott Munro - Ex-Chairman and CEO of Savoir Technology Group, a company he grew from $50 Million toa $1 Billion run rate prior to selling the company. Subsequently, Scott founded Pagemill Partners, a Palo Alto based middle market investment bank which was acquired by Duff & Phelps. Pagemill has completed over 250 transactions primarily on the sell side in software, communications, internet and media and hardware. Scott will help our portfolio companies in developing the foundations for acquisitions, successful exits or initial public offerings. He is now a Venture Partner with iNovia and resides in Northern California. "Having previously worked on a transaction with iNovia, I knew the positive culture and team dynamic. We each have a passion for helping great entrepreneurs achieve their goals and I'm looking forward to adding my knowledge in M&A to the benefit of all", says Scott Munro - Venture Partner at iNovia Todd Simpson is an accomplished entrepreneur and executive originally from Calgary, and now lives in the Bay area. He was Chief Strategy Officer at AVG, Chief of Innovation at Mozilla, and had CEO roles in both public and private companies. He joins us as a full-time Venture Partner and is based in San Francisco. "I've watched iNovia's growth over the last ten years with interest and excitement. Having built several startups and run both public and private companies, and with a strong desire to give back to Canada, I jumped at this opportunity at iNovia", says Todd Simpson - Venture Partner at iNovia. "Giving iNovia a permanent presence in the Valley will allow us to provide even more guidance and value to our portfolio, while helping with partnering and exit strategies." About iNovia Capital iNovia is an early stage venture capital firm that partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build the next generation of digital platforms and services. We leverage our distributed team and network of experienced founders, company builders and engineers to foster the growth of category-defining businesses. Headquartered in Canada, iNovia manages $500M and invests across North America. For more information, visit www.inovia.vc. SOURCE iNovia Capital [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Progrexion Celebrates Five Years of Community Giving Progrexion - a leading provider of credit report repair services for consumers in the U.S. - celebrated an important year of growth and giving in 2016. The end of 2016 marked the five-year anniversary of Progrexion's corporate giving initiatives, where its offices in Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Oklahoma gave back to their respective communities. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005866/en/ (Graphic: Business Wire) Progrexion has been around for about 17 years and has become an employer of choice due to its care for employees. The hiring and retention philosophy centers around the idea of hiring for the long term by providing each employee with the tools for not only reaching, but also exceeding potential. "Progrexion has seen tremendous growth in the last several years," said Progrexion president and chief operating officer Michael DeVico. "We opened a new site in Oklahoma in 2016 and now employ more than 2,000 dedicated employees. Progrexion has seen great success this year and we attribute that to our employees who have spent countless hours providing top-level service to customers as well as those in need." Progrexion retains a corporate culture that inspires employees to help others by participating in various giving programs held throughout the year. 2016 marked the fifth anniversary of Progrexion's giving programs and included programs like quarterly blood drives and an annual food drive wher employees gathered food and cash donations and donated to food banks and shelters local to each office. Other programs included Relays for Life and Bowl for Kids' Sake, a mentor program with Big Brothers Big Sisters. "Our company is based on helping other people achieve their goals, so we naturally want to help our communities around us," said Jeff Johnson, Progrexion CEO. "We have been privileged to help families across the nation by donating blood, employee time and funds to expand our reach and bless the lives of as many people as we can. There is no doubt in my mind that our community outreach and support has contributed to our growth." Progrexion is proud of its employees and their participation in giving programs throughout the year. In 2016, Progrexion employees: Donated 319 units of blood to the American Red Cross, roughly benefiting 957 lives Donated $89,194 and 7,387 pounds of food to local food banks Mentored, educated and raised $56,650 for low-income children through local Big Brothers Big Sisters Dedicated 6,000 man hours to pack more than 80,000 meal kits for Stop Hunger Now Volunteered 998 hours, walked 199 miles and donated $5,415 to Relay for Life. Donated $85,015 to various charitable efforts such as The Road Home, Homeward Bound, the Salvation Army, No Bully and Primary Children's Medical Center. Progrexion and its employees have donated $902,163 to local charities since 2012. Progrexion's growth and smart employee recruitment and engagement practices have garnered the organization national and local recognition including: Inc. 5000 Magazine's Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America, three times as Utah Business Magazine's Top 50 Fastest-Growing Companies, twice as the Post Register's Top Places to Work in Eastern Idaho and as a 2016 Best Company to Watch in Arizona by BestCompaniesAZ. To reign in the new year, Progrexion encourages those searching for a new career to consider positions currently open. For more information about employment at Progrexion, visit https://www.wickedtalentedpeople.com/. About Progrexion Progrexion is a leading provider of credit report repair services in the United States. Progrexion's technology and services help consumers access and understand information contained in their credit reports and ensure items on those reports are accurate, complete and verified. Progrexion technology and services are used by CreditRepair.com, its wholly owned subsidiary, and Lexington Law, an independently operated law firm. Progrexion was named by Utah Business Magazine as one of Utah's top 50 fastest growing companies. If you are interested in working for this great company, please visit www.progrexion.com/careers. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005866/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Canadian airports partnership launches website to educate about the risks of selling Canada's airports CALGARY, OTTAWA and VANCOUVER, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver international airports unveiled a new website that highlights the risks of selling Canadian airports to private investors. As the federal government contemplates a potential sale of major Canadian airports, the website educates Canadians about the negative impact a sale of airports would have on travellers and local communities. Selling Canada's airports to private, for-profit investors would increase travel costs for passengers, remove local voices from airport boards, and undermine Canada's economic competitiveness. Canada's airports are a success story. In the 1990s, the country's major airports were privatized by the federal government and transferred to not-for-profit airport authorities with a mandate to advance economic growth and promote development in the communities in which they operate. Today, Canada's major airports do not receive any funding from the federal government. Canada's major airportspay over $1 billion a year in rents and other fees to the federal government. "Canada is recognized as having the best aviation infrastructure and most efficiently-run airports in the world, and we are immensely proud of that," said Craig Richmond, President & CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. "Our success is due in part to the community-based, not-for-profit governance model for our airports. The current model works for passengers and for the communities we serve." The federal government is exploring options around a potential sale of Canada's major airports, turning them into for-profit enterprises run by private investors. "It's important that Canadians understand how airports have flourished under the current model," said Mark Laroche, President and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority. "Our passengers benefit from world-class facilities, prudent management and world-renowned customer service, and our communities benefit from significant economic impact. It's in our collective best interest to ensure that our airports can continue to succeed." "Airport authorities re-invest every penny earned back into our airports and that investment has created some of the best airport facilities in the world, but we're more than a business that builds runways and terminals. We are closely connected to our community, working with our partners to develop strategies that drive the economy of our cities and regions," said Bob Sartor, President and CEO of The Calgary Airport Authority. "We are launching this campaign to educate Canadians about the impacts to travellers and local communities if the federal government proceeds with selling the country's airports." Canadians are invited to learn more about the impacts that would be felt if Canadian airports are sold to private investors by visiting noairportselloff.ca. SOURCE Airports Partnership [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Owl Computing Technologies and QRC Technologies Combine to Offer Expanded Solutions to Customers RIDGEFIELD, Conn., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Owl Computing Technologies ("Owl"), a next-generation cybersecurity solutions provider, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Acuity Technologies Holding Company, ("Acuity"), an affiliate of DC Capital Partners ("DC Capital"). Acuity will serve as the parent holding company for both Owl and existing portfolio company, QRC Technologies ("QRC"). Founded in 1998, Owl designs, develops, manufactures, and sells advanced network security products and cyber defense solutions that protect military, intelligence, and critical infrastructure networks and data. The company's proprietary and patented products enable a fail-safe, one-way transfer of data between discrete networks and/or domains, often involving varying security levels. QRC is an integrated mobile and broadband network solutions provider for government, military, and law enforcement agencies. The combination of Owl and QRC will offer enhanced capabilities to customers who require proactive threat warnings and secure networks to manage the current threat environment of cyber-attacks and increasing global terrorism as well as accomplish a variety of other COMINT and SIGINT missions. The combined company has over 100 employees, the majority of whom hold high level security clearances. Thomas J. Campbell, Chairman of Acuity and Managing Partner of DC Capital, said, "Owl has a reputation for excellence, a proven and highly skilled team with significant expertise in their field, and a portfolio of innovative and differentiated solutions. The combination of Owl and QRC will create a company with a diverse product offering, comprehensive capabilities, and significant engineering talent. With increased data usage and geopolitical instability, the importance of protecting military, intelligence, critical infrastructure, and corporate networks and data has continued to grow. We are building a platform to address these priorities and making the requisite research and development invstments to solve our customers' most difficult problems." Dr. Ronald Mraz, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Owl said, "Combining with QRC is a major strategic opportunity for Owl. It allows us to not only expand our client base, but also, with the incremental investment from DC Capital, meaningfully increase our research and development. We believe that this union with QRC will provide substantial value to customers, while providing extensive opportunities for our employees' personal and professional development." Owl will remain headquartered in Ridgefield, CT and the management team will continue to lead the company. QRC and Owl will retain their existing brands and will continue to operate as they have to date but with the expectation that there will be complementary market and research and development synergies. DC Capital plans to meaningfully invest in Owl by increasing research and development efforts and adding more engineers and business development resources to better serve existing customers and to expand into new markets. Bluestone Capital Partners, LLC acted as financial advisor and Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP acted as legal advisor to Owl in connection with the transaction. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP acted as legal advisor to DC Capital. About Owl Computing Technologies Owl Computing Technologies designs, develops, manufactures, and implements next-generation cybersecurity solutions for critical networks. Owl DualDiode Technology, a proprietary data diode-based solution, boasts over 27 technology patents and has over 2,000 successful deployments globally across intelligence, government, military, utility, energy, and other critical infrastructure networks. Owl's deterministic, hardware-enforced technology secures networks and enables the reliable and robust one-way transfer of any data type, including streaming sources. Owl was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Learn more at www.owlcti.com. About QRC Technologies QRC Technologies designs, develops, and services a host of proprietary Radio Frequency products and provides comprehensive integrated solutions primarily for government, military, and law enforcement agencies. These products and solutions address a wide range of SIGINT and COMINT missions for the tactical user community. QRC's products are employed globally on a myriad of manned, unmanned, and autonomous platforms and labs. QRC was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Learn more at www.qrctech.com. About DC Capital Partners DC Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, focused on making control investments in middle market, U.S.-based, Government Services and Engineering & Construction Services businesses. Learn more at www.dccapitalpartners.com. Media Contact DC Capital Partners Douglas T. Lake, Jr. 202-737-5220 www.dccapitalpartners.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/owl-computing-technologies-and-qrc-technologies-combine-to-offer-expanded-solutions-to-customers-300400609.html SOURCE DC Capital Partners [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Employers Holdings, Inc. Appoints Tracey Berg as Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG), America's small business insurance specialist, today announced the appointment of Tracey Berg as its executive vice president, chief information officer. Berg has over 25 years of experience leading technical innovation and transformation. She reports directly to Douglas D. Dirks, president and chief executive officer. Berg most recently served as senior vice president and chief information officer for West Bend Mutual Insurance Company in West Bend, Wisconsin from 2008 until 2017. Prior to that, she served as 2nd Vice President, Strategy and Architecture and 2nd Vice President, Application Development for Assurant, Inc. Berg hols a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. "Tracey brings to EMPLOYERS an impressive array of knowledge and experience leading transformational change and deploying technology in ways that leverage business assets, nimbleness, and flexibility," CEO Dirks said. "We are excited to have her join the EMPLOYERS team as we develop and deploy leading edge technologies to support our small business customers." About Employers Holdings, Inc. Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) is a holding company with subsidiaries that are specialty providers of workers' compensation insurance and services focused on select small businesses engaged in low-to-medium hazard industries. The company, through its subsidiaries, operates in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Insurance is offered by Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, Employers Compensation Insurance Company, Employers Preferred Insurance Company, and Employers Assurance Company, all rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. Additional information can be found at: www.employers.com. Copyright 2017 EMPLOYERS. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005999/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Apart from lowering Income Tax rates, one of the major highlights of Jaitley's Budget proposal was new rules concerning political donation. By India Today Web Desk: Presenting the Union Budget 2017 in Lok Sabha today, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced important changes in the Income Tax slab. Personal income tax in Rs 2.5 lakh - 5 lakh bracket has been reduced to 5 per cent from 10 per cent. Apart from lowering Income Tax rates, one of the major highlights of Jaitley's Budget proposal was new rules concerning political donation. Political parties receiving donations above Rs 2,000 will now have to disclose the identity of the donor, Arun Jaitley said. advertisement WATCH: Arun Jaitley's full Budget speech While Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Jaitley for tabling a Budget which he said serves the interest of all, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi slammed it as a damp squib. "We expected some fireworks but it was damp squib," Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament. Although the finance minister made some populist announcements in his Budget, tax rates on certain items have also been hiked. Here is a list of commodities which will cost more, less: WHAT GOES UP Excise duty on un-manufactured tobacco raised to 8.3 per cent from 4.2 per cent. Excise duty on pan masala (gutkha) hiked to 9 per cent from 6 per cent. Excise duty on cigar, cheroots hiked to 12.5 per cent or Rs 4006 per thousand, whichever is higher, from 12.5 per cent or Rs 3,755 per thousand. Parts used for manufacturing LED lights will attract basic Customs Duty of 5 per cent and CVD of 6 per cent. Customs Duty on printed circuit board for manufacture of mobile phones hiked to 2 per cent. Such electronic items were tax free previously. Excise duty on non-filter cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm raised to Rs 311 per thousand from Rs 215 per thousand. Duty on aluminium ores and concentrates raised to 30 per cent from nil presently. E-rail tickets. Solar tempered glass used for manufacturing of solar cells/panels exempted from Customs Duty. Customs duty on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to be reduced from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent. Duty exempted on various Point-of-sale (POS) machines and iris readers to encourage digital payments. WATCH: Why Budget 2017 is important: All you need to know ALSO READ: Union Budget 2017-18: Income Tax rate halved to 5 per cent for Rs 2.5-5 lakh slab How Budget 2017 crossed four major hurdles to create history Railways in Union Budget 2017: Cheaper e-tickets, bio-toilets in all coaches; what else Jaitley said --- ENDS --- [February 01, 2017] CHADD Joins Amicus Brief Filed with Supreme Court in Landmark Case Regarding Students with Disabilities What defines a free and appropriate public school education for students with disabilities? This monumental question is currently being considered by the Supreme Court of the United States following oral arguments on January 11, 2017 in the case of Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. At issue is the legal standard to which public schools should be held in providing a meaningful education for the country's more than six million students with disabilities. CHADD, the leading resource on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has signed on to an amicus brief-or "friend of the court" brief-developed by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), arguing that children affected by disabilities are entitled to more than a minimum education under the law. "This is the most important case addressing special education in more than 30 years," says Matt Cohen, JD, a practicing attorney and an active member of CHADD's Public Policy Committee, which advocates on behalf of children and adults with ADHD. "It concerns what is meant by the word 'appropriate.' That single word is the most significant word in special education, as it defines what level of services schools are expected to provide for students with disabilities, including ADHD." The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), enacted in 1975, is a federal law that requires schools to serve the educational needs of students with disabilities. Its goal is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as students who do not have disabilities. The IDEA requires schools to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for eligible students, against which progress is measured on an ongoing basis. The parents of Endrew (Drew) F.-a student with autism and ADHD-removed their son from public school in Colorado when he was not making acceptable progress toward his educational goals. They were unsuccessful in convincing the school to provide more than the minimum services that appear to be required by law. Once enrolled in private school, Drew made substantial strides. Drew's parnts sued his public school, requesting tuition reimbursement for private schooling, but lost that battle in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The Supreme Court accepted Drew's parents' challenge to that decision. "Essentially, the matter at hand involves the interpretation of the IDEA and the standard to which schools should be held accountable," says Cohen. "There are different interpretations of the law and varying standards, depending on where you live. The way some schools have interpreted the standard is to do the bare minimum, which is far less than any of us would want for our children. The Supreme Court is being asked to decide if the lower standard is sufficient, or if the standard needs to be raised to ensure that public school education provides meaningful benefit for students with disabilities. It is CHADD's position that the minimum standard is profoundly inadequate and legally incorrect." Regardless of the outcome of the case, students with disabilities, including those with ADHD, are also entitled to protection in school under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the federal civil rights statute that says schools cannot discriminate against children with disabilities. According to this statute, schools that receive federal dollars must provide eligible children who have disabilities with an equal opportunity to participate in all academic and non-academic services the school offers. It is anticipated that the Supreme Court will make a decision regarding Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District by year end, possibly within the next few months. The complete amicus brief can be found at http://www.bazelon.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Eppf9hnETRM%3d&tabid=813. About ADHD ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity that interferes with daily functioning and life's achievements. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that the 8% of children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD. These children have higher rates of retention in grade level, high school dropout, and substance abuse than their peers. ADHD is very manageable using an individualized, multimodal treatment approach that can include behavioral interventions; parent and patient training, educational support, and medication. Within the school system, ADHD is managed by classroom strategies and interventions. About CHADD CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is the leading resource on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), providing support, training, education and advocacy for the 17 million children and adults in the United States living with ADHD, their families, educators and healthcare professionals. As home to the National Resource Center on ADHD, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CHADD is the most trusted source of reliable, science-based information regarding current medical research and ADHD management. To learn more, visit CHADD.org or call 310.306.7070. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005967/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Robbins Arroyo LLP: Roadrunner Transportation Systems, Inc. (RRTS) Misled Shareholders According to a Recently Filed Class Action Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP announces that a class action complaint was filed against Roadrunner Transportation Systems, Inc. (NYSE: RRTS) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Division. The complaint is brought on behalf of all purchasers of Roadrunner securities between May 8, 2014 and January 30, 2017, for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by Roadrunner's officers and directors. Roadrunner provides asset-light transportation and logistics services. View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog: www.robbinsarroyo.com/shareholders-rights-blog/roadrunner-transportation-systems-inc-feb-2017 Roadrunner Accused of Issuing Unreliable Financial Statements According to the complaint, in a series of filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, oadrunner officials attested to the accuracy of its financial statements, effectiveness of internal controls, and that all fraud was disclosed. However, the complaint alleges that Roadrunner officials failed to disclose that: (1) the company lacked effective internal control over financial reporting; (2) the company's financial statements dating back to the beginning of 2014 overstated the estimated results of operations; (3) the company's financial statements contained errors related to unrecorded expenses from unreconciled balance sheet accounts including cash, driver, and other receivables; and (4) the company's financial statements dating back to the beginning of 2014 were not reliable. On November 10, 2016, Roadrunner revealed that it would be unable to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2016. The company attributed the delay to a mistake in the calculation of its cash flow leverage ratio for the four quarters ended September 30, 2016. Then, on January 30, 2017, Roadrunner issued a press release announcing the restatement of prior period financial statements. In addition, the company stated that, "related press releases, investor presentations, or other communications describing Roadrunner's financial statements for these periods should no longer be relied upon." Roadrunner specified that an investigation uncovered various accounting errors that the company currently estimates will require prior period adjustments to Roadrunner's results of operations of between $20 million and $25 million. On this news, Roadrunner's stock fell approximately 33% to close at $7.74 per share on January 31, 2017. Roadrunner Shareholders Have Legal Options Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Darnell R. Donahue at (800) 350-6003, [email protected], or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website. Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201006200/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 01, 2017] Top 9 Vendors in the Visible Light Communication Market from 2017 to 2021: Technavio Technavio has announced the top nine leading vendors in their recent global visible light communication (VLC) market report. This research report also lists 11 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005665/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global visible light communication (VLC) market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire) The global VLC market will grow at CAGR of 77.86% during the forecast period. The VLC market is in its nascent stage. There is a growing demand for an alternative wireless communication technology because of the crowding of the RF bandwidth. This will result in the adoption of VLC technology during the forecast period. As the VLC technology is based on LEDs, it does not face distortions or spectrum deficits and can transfer data at very high speeds. Competitive vendor landscape VLC is an emerging technology that has gained much attention from academic, research, and standardization perspectives. The evolution in LED technology has provided the decisive push for the adoption of this technology. VLC is still in the introductory phase and has not been able to gain much market acceptance yet. This technology may be employed as a complementary technology to the existing wireless networks. "The VLC market has a high growth potential and is witnessing new product development, collaborations, acquisitions, and partnerships across the value chain. The market will develop further during the forecast period due to factors such as increased government funding, faster and safer transfer of data, R&D activities, bandwidth limitation, and acceptance among electronic device manufacturers," says Sunil Kumar Singh, a lead embedded systems research analyst from Technavio. Thus, the emergence of new opportunities in the market such as mobile companies looking to integrate the technology into their smart devices and lighting companies looking to enter the market will propel the long-term growth of the global visible light communications market during the forecast period. Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=56180 Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and containmultiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Top nine visible light communication market vendors fSONA Networks fSONA Networks engages in the manufacture of a line of SONAbeam free space optical wireless products for the broadband access market. The company's products serve enterprise clients, military, government, wireless service providers, and high-frequency trading firms who need low latency communications. Its product portfolio includes LAN bridging, free space optical wireless communications equipment for last mile access, and PCS/cellular backhaul applications. GE GE has established its presence in the VLC market with its offerings through the lighting segment. The company offers indoor positioning system. The GE LED lighting fixtures is embedded with indoor location technology. The solution integrates VLC, BLE, and inertial device sensors. It supports iOS and Android (News - Alert) applications on smart devices that are equipped with a camera and Bluetooth Smart technology. LightPointe Communications LightPointe Communications provides and manufactures broadband optical networking products such as outdoor wireless bridges for building-to-building enterprise connectivity and point-to-point 4G/LTE (News - Alert) applications, E-Band, and V-Band Radios. The company uses distributors and resellers to reach local and global markets. The company's products are used by telecom carriers, businesses, schools, and military and government. LVX System LVX System manufactures and markets the LVX system. The LVX system is a group of LED bulbs and dedicated equipment allowing the transmission of data by the rapid flickering of the LED bulbs. Nakagawa Laboratories Nakagawa Laboratories is engaged in the R&D and sales of optical wireless communication technology. It is a part of the Visible Light Communications Consortium (VLCC). It aims to speed up and promote the standardization of VLC technology. One of its products is the Visible Light ID System Development Kit. This kit helps in creating awareness and increase knowledge about VLC and aid in application development on VLC ID connection. Oledcomm Oledcomm is a leading provider of Li-Fi network interface devices enabling high-speed wireless data communication using the LED lighting network. The company designs and manufacturers Li-Fi equipment for the personal electronics, datacom, telecom, industrial markets, and LBS. The company's product portfolio includes Li-Fi hubs, Li-Fi adapters, Li-Fi routers, switches, LED drivers, DC-DC power supplies, network power supplies, and LED lighting. Outstanding Technology Outstanding Technology is based in Japan and has developed a technology known as Visilink, which is a VLC solution that provides omnipresent network connectivity using LED lighting infrastructure. The technology can operate at long distances or close proximity with pinpoint accuracy. It offers network access through nontraditional environments including electronic signage, general LED lighting, and computer/television displays. Koninklijke Philips (News - Alert) Koninklijke Philips offers a patented VLC technology for the company's indoor positioning system, which consists of LED fixtures, a cloud-based location database, and a software development kit that customers can use to build their mobile interaction platform. pureLiFi pureLiFi is engaged in light communications technology. It develops Li-Fi technology, which uses visible light spectrum instead of radio frequencies for wireless data communication. The company was established in 2012 as pureVLC Ltd. and changed its name to pureLiFi in November 2013. Browse Related Reports: Global General Lighting Market 2016-2020 Global Xenon Lights Market 2016-2020 Global SSL and Fluorescent Lighting Market 2016-2020 Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like computing devices, displays, and lighting. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005665/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017 crime By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday would be remembered for a long time to come for being historic in more ways than one. Besides the advancement of date from February 28 to February 1 and merging of Railway Budget with the General Budget, the annual exercise would be registered in the annals of parliamentary history. advertisement The presentation of Budget 2017 was full of suspense and melodrama. Ever since the Narendra Modi government disclosed the plan to advance presentation of the annual exercise to the moment Finance Minister Arun Jaitley finally started reading the speech in the Lok Sabha, the Budget witnessed a roller coaster ride. 1. ELECTION COMMISSION Several opposition parties, including Congress, Left and Samajwadi Party petitioned the Election Commission for not allowing the Narendra Modi government to present the Budget before the February-March Assembly elections in five states. They argued that the sops could be announced in the Budget and they would influence the voters in the poll-bound states. The election watchdog examined the sensitive matter and finally came out with its decision on January 23, barely a week before the presentation of the Budget. In its letter to Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha the same day, the Commission allowed the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to go ahead with its Budget presentation. However, it asked the Centre not to announce any state specific schemes in the Budget which may influence voters in the five states going to polls "in the interest of free and fair elections and in order to maintain level playing field during elections". Also read: Union Budget 2017 LIVE: Tax rates to be reasonable, 25 per cent for small firms 2. SUPREME COURT The second major hurdle came in the form of litigation in the Supreme Court. Advocate ML Sharma filed a PIL in the apex court requesting it to direct the Centre to present the Budget in the financial year 2017-18 which would commence from April 1, instead of February 1. The PIL also based its arguments on the forthcoming Assembly elections and said it would violate the Model Code of Conduct. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition seeking postponement of the Budget. A bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud rejected the plea and said there was no illustration to support that presentation of the Budget would influence voters' mind in the poll-bound states. 3. FIRE IN PARLIAMENT BUILDING A fire broke out on Tuesday night in a room in the Parliament House. A UPS in room number 50 caught fire. The fire service received a call around 9.30 pm and it pressed 12 fire tenders into service to douse the fire. It took about 15 minutes to put out the fire without any casualty or injury being reported. advertisement Had the fire spread or had it been severe, the presentation of Budget could have been put in jeopardy. However, it crossed the third major hurdle. Also read: Railways in Union Budget 2017: Cheaper e-tickets, bio-toilets in all coaches; what else Jaitley said 4. DEATH OF SITTING LOK SABHA MP E AHAMED As if the Budget was jinxed, the biggest hurdle came in the form of the death of Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala, E Ahamed, in the wee hours of the Budget day. Ahamed, who was the Indian Union Muslim League president, had suffered a massive heart attack during President Pranab Mukherjee's address to both Houses of Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session on Tuesday. He was rushed to hospital and finally his death was declared barely a few hours before the Budget was scheduled to be presented at 11 am. Presentation of the Budget was shrouded in uncertainty with Ahamed's death. According to established parliamentary norms, the concerned House is adjourned for the day as a mark of respect to the sitting member of that House who dies during the session or in the inter-session period. It appeared as if the Centre would not be able to go ahead with the Budgetary exercise. The Opposition too demanded its postponement by one day. advertisement It was left to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to take a call after meeting Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and others. As the House met, she read out obituary of Ahamed and asked Jaitley to commence his Budget speech. However, the Opposition, mainly the Congress MPs, objected to it and demanded deferment of the presentation by one day. But the Speaker said the date of presentation of Budget had been fixed much in advance by President Pranab Mukherjee. She said the Lower House would go ahead with the Budget presentation and not meet on Thursday to mourn Ahamed's death. As Jaitley started reading the Budget speech, the Congress members created ruckus. However, they yielded in a short while. This paved the way for the Budget to surmount the last major hurdle and create history. Watch the video --- ENDS --- You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). Jaitley, in the Budget presented on Wednesday, allocated a total of Rs 54,985.11 crore to seven paramilitary forces as against about Rs 52,443 crore for the ongoing fiscal. By Jitendra Bahadur Singh, Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Finacne Minister Arun Jaitley for transformative provisions in the Union Budget 2017-18 presented on Wednesday. He said that the Budget provides for systemic and political reforms and a transformative shift to our economy. Singh especially thanked Jaitley for various provisions for Ministry of Home Affairs in the Budget. advertisement Here is a low down of what Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his Budget for the internal security of the country: 1. An increased budget allocation of Union Home Ministry by 11 per cent. Rs 83,000 crore has been earmarked for the MHA for 2017-18, of which Rs 1,577 crore outlay is for the Intelligence Bureau (IB). 2. While there have been several instances in recent past when terrorists from Pakistan breached the border and carried out terror attacks, there is 17 per cent increase in budget allocation for Border Outposts (BOPs) from Rs 209 crore to Rs 244 crore in the current budget. A fence at the Indo-Pak border that is3323 km long, Bangladesh and India share a 4,096-km long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, so an ambitious plan to seal the borders is underway also in the budget. 3. Jaitley, in the budget presented on Wednesday, allocated a total of Rs 54,985.11 crore to seven paramilitary forces as against about Rs 52,443 crore for the ongoing fiscal. 4. Among these forces, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed for internal security, action against Maoists and operations against militants, has been earmarked the highest at Rs 17,868.53 crore. 5. Border Security Force (BSF), which guards Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders will get Rs 15,569.11 crore. 6. Central Industrial Security Force, responsible for security of country's airports, nuclear installations, key government buildings and private entities, has been allocated Rs 6,686.25 crore. 7. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), tasked with protecting the Sino-Indian border, has got an outlay of Rs 4,824.31 crore. 8. Assam Rifles, deployed along the Indo-Myanmar border and dealing with insurgents in the northeast, will get Rs 4,801.84 crore. 9. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan border, has been earmarked Rs 4,320.67 crore. 10. National Security Guard (NSG), the anti-terror commando force, gets an allocation of Rs 816.10 crore. 11. The budget allocated Rs 2,355.68 crore for erection of barbed wire fencing, construction of roads and induction of hi-tech surveillance on Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pak borders. 12. Under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) for J-K, Northeast and Left wing extremist states, the increase is 45 per cent from Rs 840 crores previouslyto Rs 1222 crore. advertisement 13. Under infrastructure, the budget for the building projects of Central Armed Police Forces and Central Police Organisations, has been increased by 33 per cent, from Rs 3012.98 crore to Rs. 4008.06 crore. 14. Delhi Police, which reports to the MHA, has been given 74 per cent for infrastructure with Rs 439 crores earmarked in the budget. 15. The IB, responsible for gathering internal intelligence, has been allocated Rs 1,577.07 crore while Special Protection Group, which guards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her children Rahul and Priyanka, will get Rs 389.25 crore. 16. National Intelligence Grid, which aims to link databases as an input in combating terrorism and intends to create a facility to improve capability to counter internal security threats, has an outlay of Rs 45.57 crore. 17. Rs 50 crore has been allocated under Nirbhaya fund for safety of women. Though there has been a huge criticism of funds lying idle. The amount has been dedicated to women safety across the country. advertisement 18. For border area development, allocation is 1100 crore, Land port authority of India gets Rs 300 crore, disaster management gets Rs 1009 crore. 19. Funds for various disaster management schemes have been increased from Rs 941.93 crore to Rs 1009.29 crore, amounting to an increase of 7.3 per cent. 20. A 32 per cent increase in funds has been provided for the relief and rehabilitation of migrants and repatriates, the budget has been increased from from Rs 910.28 crore to Rs 1205.90 crore. Also read: How Budget 2017 crossed four major hurdles to create history Also read: Union Budget 2017: Witty one-liners from experts and responses from politicians --- ENDS --- Jaitley said that the government is now seen as a trusted custodian of public money, and that he is grateful to people for their strong support. By India Today Web Desk: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said his Union Budget for 2017-18 allocates more towards rural areas, welfare schemes and infrastructure, while ensuring that government finances do not go out of control. Presenting his fourth budget in the Lok Sabha, the Finance Minister also outlined 10 themes for his latest exercise. "My approach in preparing the budget is to spend more on rural areas, infrastructure and poverty alleviation with fiscal prudence," he said. advertisement On demonetisation, he said it has long-term benefits and will create an economy that is bigger and cleaner. "The pace of remonetisation has also picked up and will soon reach comfortable levels. The effects of demonetisation are not expected to spill over to the next year." Highlights of Arun Jaitley's Union Budget speech: Propose to reduce existing rate of taxation of those with income between 2.5 lakh to 5 lakh from 10 per cent to 5 per cent RBI to launch electronic bonds An amendment being proposed to RBI Act to enable the issuance of electoral bonds for political funding Political parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or in the digital mode from their donors Maximum cash donation any party can receive will be Rs 2000 from one source Tax rate on small firms cut to 25 per cent Tax sops extended by three years on overseas borrowings like masala bonds RBI Payments Regulatory Board for digital payments announced Norms for incentives under affordable housing scheme eased Political parties continue to receive most funds through anonymous donations SIT has suggested no cash transaction above Rs 3 lakhs. Govt has accepted this I propose to reduce basic customs duty on LNG from 5% to 2.5 per cent in 2017-18 Not to remove Minimum Alternative Tax in 2017-18; Propose to allow a carry forward of MAT for a period of 15 years as against 10 years now Income tax for small companies with an annual turn over of 50 crore, now to pay 25 per cent , a 5 per cent reduction Capital gains tax to be exempted, for persons holding land from which land was pooled for creation of state capital of AP India largely a tax non-compliant society Revenue deficit pegged at 1.9 per cent The net tax revenue grew by 17 per cent in 2015-16 Plan to extend basket of financial instruments to which the capital gains can be invested sans payment of tax There is an urgent need to protect the poor from chit fund schemes, draft bill placed in public domain Due to demonitisation advance tax on personal Income Tax increased by 34.8 per cent Out of 3.7 crore who filed tax returns in 2015-16, only 24 lakh persons showed income above Rs 10 lakh Rs 10,000 crore for recapitalisation of banks We are largely a tax non compliant society, when too many people evade taxes burden falls on those who are honest FRBM review committee recommended 3% fiscal deficit for next 3 years Increased allocation for scientific ministry to Rs 37,435 cr in 2017-18 Fiscal Deficit target for 2017-18 is 3.2 per cent Total resources being transferred to the states and territories with legislature is Rs 4.11 lakh crore Defence expenditure excluding pension at Rs 2.74 lakh crore Total expenditure of budget 2017-18 has been placed at Rs 21.47 lakh crore Two new schemes to be launched for adoption of BHIM digital payment app New ETF with diverse central PSUs to be launched in 2017-18 LIC scheme for senior citizens with guaranteed 8 per cent return Aadhar enabled payment system to be launched soon;Banks have targeted to introduce additional 10 lakh Point-of-Sale terminals by March 17 Government considering introduction of new law to confiscate assets of offenders who escape the country By 2019 all coaches of Indian Railways will be fitted with Bio-Toilets Chandigarh and eight districts of Haryana have been declared Kerosene free Unmanned railway level crossings to be done away with by 2020 Propose to double the lending target of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and set it up at Rs 2.44 lakh crore for 2017-18 3.5 Crore youth will be trained under Sankalp program launched by the government Railway related state-run companies like IRCON and IRCTC to be listed on stock exchanges During 2017-18, another 5 lakh ponds will be constructed, for drought-proofing Foreign Investment Promotion Board to be abolished Road sector allocation at Rs 64,000 crore Solar plan phase 2 to add 20,000 MW capacity Mission Antyodaya to bring 1 crore households out of poverty and to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty-free Action plan to eliminate Kala Azar & Filariasis by 2017, Leprosy by 2018, Measles by 2020 & Tuberculosis by 2025 Total infra outlay pegged at over Rs 390,000 crore The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has been abolished Transport sector allocated Rs 2.41 Lakh Crore and Bharat Net Project allocated Rs 10,000 crore Unmanned level crossings to be done away with by 2020 Charges for e-booking of railway tickets through IRCTC withdrawn Railways will integrate end to end transport solutions for selected commodities through partnership By 2019, all coaches of Indian Railways will be fitted with Bio-toilets Atleast 25 stations expected to be awarded during 2017-18; 500stations to be made differently abled-friendly by providing lifts and escalators A new metro rail policy will be announced, this will open up new jobs for our youth Drought proofing of Gram Panchayats via construction of five lakh ponds across India Rail safety fund with a corpus of Rs 100,000 crore to be created over a period of 5 years Steps will be taken to launch dedicated trains for pilgrimage and tourism Two new All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) to be set up in Jharkhand and Gujarat Total allocation for rural, agricultural and allied sectors for 2017-18 at record Rs 1.87 crore, it is up by 24 per cent For senior citizens, Aadhar cards giving their health condition will be introduced Safe drinking water to cover 28,000 arsenic and Fluoride affected habitations in the next four years Open defecation free villages are now being given priority for pipe to water supply For youth, proposed to introduce a system of measuring annual learning; Science to be given focus We have moved from a discretionary administration to a policy-based administration Expectations included burning issues like inflation and price rise, issue of corruption & crony capitalism Our government was elected amidst huge expectations of people, the underlying theme of expectations being good governance Hope to resolve all issues regarding GST via consultations We are moving from informal to formal economy & the Government is now seen as a trusted custodian of public money Agricultural credit target fixed at Rs 10 lakh crore Government announces 10 new schemes under Budget 2017-18 Agriculture expected to grow at 4.1 per cent in current year Model law on contract farming to be sent to states for adoption MGNREGA allocation raised to Rs 48,000 crore One crore houses for poor by 2019 #Modinomics17: FM @arunjaitley presents Budget under 10 themes. #ITCard pic.twitter.com/QApfJheCC4 India Today (@IndiaToday) February 1, 2017 Also read: Budget 2017: 10 things to expect from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today Union Budget: Everything you need to know Budget 2017: The many challenges Finance Minister Arun Jaitley must deal with WATCH | Union Budget 2017: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's full speech --- ENDS --- On January 27, Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries for at least 90 days, to ban refugees for at least 120 days, and to prevent Syrians from entering the United States indefinitely. The order's ramifications have already been felt as at least over 100 newborns, families, the elderly, and everyone in between has been detained at airports or stranded in other countries with no way to get back into the U.S. Many tech companies are concerned that this order also threatens to hinder their ability to continue conducting their businesses. Part of the problem could stem from a loss of talent. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an email (according to the Wall Street Journal) that at least 187 of the company's employees will be affected by this ban. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella--an immigrant himself--publicly shared an email (opens in new tab) showing the company's support for any workers affected by the order. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg criticized the decision and pointed out that his grandparents emigrated to the United States from Germany, Austria, and Poland. The message from these high-profile companies seems to be that many in the tech industry are immigrants or are descended from recent immigrants, and bans like this one could have prevented some of the world's most influential companies from ever being created. Further, a study published in March 2016 by the nonpartisan National Foundation for American Policy said that more than half of the country's billion-dollar startups had at least one immigrant founder, while 70% "had at least one immigrant helping the company grow and innovate by filling a key management or product development position." The group recommended making immigration easier, not harder, and said "new immigration restrictions would likely prevent many future cutting edge companies from being established in the United States." Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said something similar in a memo to employees on January 29. The memo--which was published in full by the Oregonian and verified to Tom's Hardware by an Intel spokesperson--reads in part: First, as the grandson of immigrants and the CEO of a company that was co-founded by an immigrant, we believe that lawful immigration is critical to the future of our company and this nation. One of the founding cultural behaviors at Intel is constructive confrontation where you focus on the issue, and not on the person or organization. The statement we submitted today does just that. It focuses on the issues. We will continue to make our voice heard that we believe immigration is an important part of making Intel and America all that we can be. I have heard from many of you and share your concern over the recent executive order and want you to know it is not a policy we can support. Even if this ban is reversed, it could scare people from thinking about working in the American tech industry. That's the long-term effect. The short-term effect is that many tech workers might have to worry about their ability to stay in the United States or to come back if they visit another country. Amazon said in an email to employees that they shouldn't travel outside the country if they're already here, that it's working on a contingency plan for employees traveling when the ban hit, and that anyone who lives outside the United States and was planning to visit should put those plans on hold. AMD told Tom's Hardware that it's advised employees who might be affected by the ban not to travel in or out of the United States: AMDs core beliefs around inclusion and diversity fundamentally differ from the views demonstrated in the recent executive order banning travelers from certain countries. AMD believes that a diverse and inclusive workplace benefits our company and fuels innovation, this includes our talented employees from the restricted countries. While we await further clarity from the U.S. Administration on this travel ban, we have advised AMDs workforce from these countries to cease travel to or from the United States. We fully support all of our foreign-born workforce and will continue working with them to limit any potential personal hardships based on this executive order. When Tom's Hardware asked Nvidia if it had a statement on the ban, a representative replied: "We do not." The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), of which Nvidia is a member (along with many other companies), did issue a statement that reads in part: This hasty executive order is unlikely to achieve the desired goal and instead damages the principles that make this country a place immigrants aspire to work. In the short term, it left companies scrambling to aid valuable employees with legal work visas, and in the long term risks our economy and safety. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a non-political group that works on the internet's architecture and operation, echoed those concerns in its own statement: The IETF does not make comments on political matters. But we do comment on topics that affect the IETF and the Internet. Specifically, the recent action by the United States government to bar entry by individuals from specific nations raises concerns for usnot only because upcoming IETF meetings are currently scheduled to take place in the U.S., but also because the action raises uncertainty about the ability of U.S.-based IETF participants to travel to and return from IETF meetings held outside the United States. Other short term effects result from the money and effort tech companies are spending to fight the ban. Lyft pledged $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to fight the executive order. Google reportedly created a crisis fund (opens in new tab) that will donate up to $4 million to the ACLU, International Rescue Committee, and other rights organizations. Venture capitalists like Chris Sacca, tech executives like Tony Fadell, and others said on Twitter that they would match donations to ACLU. They've donated $260,298 so far, and other members of the tech community have made similar contributions. That isn't chump change. Nor is the effort it must have taken for Periscope to add a "proudly made in America by immigrants" stamp to its app, or for Playdots to update Two Dots and Dots & Co to encourage donations to ACLU, or for Microsoft, Amazon, and Expedia to support Washington state's suit opposing Trump's order. These efforts are meaningful, but they could also distract from the companies' primary missions. Tech companies are not charities or activist organizations--devoting money and time to this cause means those resources aren't going towards work on the innovations on which the tech industry relies. Critics have said Trump's order is "cowardly and dangerous," that it's "malevolence tempered by incompetence," and that its principles are "forbidden under human rights law." It's laudable for Silicon Valley to support humanitarian issues, but the tech industry's efforts also lend another form of criticism against the ban: simply, that innovation won't continue at the same pace if the United States closes its borders to the best and brightest minds out there. So youve been to Athens and seen the sights and youve partied on a Greek island. No, you still havent quite done Greece yet. Theres no denying that those who miss out on the countrys second largest city are missing out. Thessaloniki is a small yet safe hot spot for vibrant nightlife excursions and live music events. With the thousands of Greek and international university students that invade this city every summer its no wonder that the bars, nightclubs and gig spaces are aplenty. While the historical nature of Athens can be found in parts of this city, its the culture here that defines this metropolis. The tastemakers agree too. While Lonely Planet ranked the city as the worlds fifth best party city worldwide alongside Dubai and Montreal, the National Geographic Magazine labelled the city as one of its best tourist destinations. While in 2014 the Financial Times FDI magazine declared Thessaloniki as the best mid-sized European city for the future of human capital and lifestyle. What those lists all signify is that this Greek city might be a great place to visit now, but its only going to get better. That means the large number of venues and gigs that are happening across the city now is only going to increase as the culture of Thessaloniki grows. Thats not to say that the metropolis should be viewed as an up and coming urban sprawl though. The city is steeped in history with Thessaloniki being viewed by the old Greek songs as a romantic place. The area is also known for being the birthplace of a significant number of Greek composers as well. The likes of Manolis Chiotis, Stavros Kouyioumtzis and Dionysis Savvopoulos all found fame for their works in Thessaloniki. While its comparable to Athens in terms of its love of rock music, much like the rest of Greece, there are a wide variety of genres that are represented in this city as well (you only need to read below to see the evidence of this). Needless to say visiting and experiencing the music scene of Thessaloniki should be high on the list of any tourist with hopes of discovering Greece. Head to Bardos Live Bar to Check Out Some Local Bands Byron 3 Come 8pm every day of the week this live music venue opens its doors to the best Greek musicians regardless of whether theyre up and coming or stalwarts of the scene. While Greek rock and avant-garde music is showcased here the venue has a penchant for picking great storytellers. The interior has a warm homey feel which provides punters with the perfect laidback atmosphere for live music. Pick Up Some Local Vinyl Goods at On Stage Records, Kamvounion 8 Born in 2001 out of the owners intense passion for music this record label has become integral to Greeks independent rock foundations. With plenty of national and international bands on the roster checking out On Stage Records is likely to give you the closest encounter with the local music scene of Thessaloniki that youre likely to get. After youve sought out where the best local bands are playing you can buy vinyl from the labels online shop. Hear Thessalonikis Best at Block 33, 26is Oktovriou 33 A cornerstone of the citys live music scene since 2009 this establishment prides itself on displaying the best local music there is to offer. While some international bands do play here from time to time you can also find experimental theatre shows and art exhibitions pop up sporadically. While the yellow brick building might be off putting from the outside the Greek bands within definitely wont be. Experience the Awesome Sound Quality of Thessaloniki Concert Hall Maria Callas Street Opened in the year 2000 this building comprises of a 1400 seat auditorium and a much smaller performance space. While its an architecturally splendid sight from the outside, its interior provides some of the best audible quality youre likely to hear in Thessaloniki. The concert hall also comprises of a library and museum of musical instruments. Catch Jesus Is Angry At One of His Local Gigs We have no doubt that youll come across plenty of Greek rock in Thessaloniki, but by catching this experimental electronic outfit youll be opening up yourself to an entirely different side of the citys music scene. A side project of another well known local band I Knew Them Jesus Is Angry is electronic music the old fashioned way. This act performs with analog modular synthesisers and is sure to impress come the live show, but in the meantime have listen to a song below. Drink Tequila and Listen to Live Music at La Doze Vilara 1 & Suggrou Located in the hipsterville of Thessaloniki this cocktail bar has the best DJs and best drinks in this side of the city. It happens to draw a diverse crowd with its fifty different varities of tequila. Although few are keen to splurge on the one worth 500. While the venue already sounds like on hell of a party the fact that the owner George Tsiridis an art dealer and traveller loves foreigners and usually gives out a free welcoming beer only furthers that sentiment. Flick Through Indie at Lotus Record Shop Skra 7 Opened in late 1990 this establishment is the go to establishment for vinyl lovers. Thats not just because its been around for a long time either. While Lotus imports a large variety of CDs and records from overseas the owners carefully select quality and diverse music from a broad range of genres. Witness The Live Bands Of Gaia Live Doxis 5, Ladadika Located near the docks of the city this beautiful brick building has plenty of space inside for punters to experience an eclectic array of live music. There are plenty of stand-alone tables in the middle of floor for patrons to rest their beverage on while they listen too. In fact much of this venue caters for the relaxed type who are looking to enjoy a few casual drinks while the band play in the background. See The Best Audio Visual Spectacle In Greece At Reworks Festival The first ever audio-visual music festival in Greece has become an exictable prospect on the annual calendar. While the organisers state that its mission statement was to enhance the unbreakable relationship between music and contemporary art Reworks has provided artists with a space display innovative new ideas since the event began in 2005. The music aspect of the event extends to a large variety of electronic threads with DJs and musicians combining with installations, exhibitions and visual works to provide a unique experience. Check Out Mylos Club For The Citys Best Local Gigs Vaiou 5 A trusted source of live music shenanigans youll often find this place filled to the brim with passionate local music fans. With wooden floors and furniture that will transport you back a few decades that music on offer should jolt you back into the present. Make sure you check their website (with a bit of help from Google translate) ahead of time to see whats on and book yourself into the live Greek music experience. Experience Greek Hip-Hop Via Sifu VERSUS At the forefront of Greeks emerging hip-hop scene over the past decade has been this underground artist. Sifu at the core of things is all about rap and Thessaloniki. Proud of his heritage and the music he makes this veteran graffiti writer (yes you read that right) has been performing for around 15 years. Head To Noise Records For All Your Vinyl Needs Dimitri Margariti 5 When a record store has lasted for 20 years you know it must have a few more things going for it other than just the standard slabs of records. What has maintained this store throughout its history is the fact that it is one of the only establishments in Thessaloniki to sell modern international releases. Open six days a week with varying open times Noise Records is an important location for local music enthusiasts looking to sample the best international releases at the drop of pin. Get Historical At The Museum of Ancient, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Musical Instruments Katouni 12 This refurbished three-story building was reopened in 1997 as three exhibition spaces worth of 200 musical instruments. With the instruments dating back as far as 2,800 BC there is a wide array of history that can be sampled. While some of the instruments on display can be heard there is also an electronic archive in the museums library where tourists can listen to different scores. A musicology research department is also apart of this establishment. All photos in the article are courtesy of Dando himself (sent during correspondence). Sometimes the life of a rock star, even one not in the bright lights of celebrity these days, can make it difficult to pin one down for a talk. Evan Griffith Dando does have some notoriety when it comes to being an interview subject, but a journalist should never have a limited pre-conceived notion of the individual they are going to chat with. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see what you get. As Dando said to an interviewer in Manila recently, Drugs are good. Drugs are important. Drugs made my life what it is today. I dont condone them for anyone, everyone else, or anyone else, but if I had never taken drugs, I would be a complete failure in life. Taking that into consideration, I can see understand his point and the journey we took together was slightly altered but not too far out for either of us. The first attempt to chat with Dando was scrubbed when advised he was flying high when our call was scheduled. Word had it his aircraft had been delayed. We tried a few weeks later to tete-a-tete but the studio got in the way and Dando was incommunicado. Thanksgiving holidays were looming and The Lemonheads were soon to jettison off to Honk Kong, Viet Nam and Manila for shows prior to coming down under. Time was getting tight, but an invitation to talk to Dando on Turkey Day in America was lined up so I figured there would be no stuffing this up. Thanksgiving is a celebratory time and as the moment to call approached I was thinking we were going to miss each other again. Dando did answer when the phone rang but between the hub-bub in the airport bar, the short tale he spun of having to gather up odds and sods from his hotel, ingest some and then arrive at the airport to a touchy security screening, I could sense the stress of travel and/or the joy of celebration in his tone. Over the course of a couple of hours and calls and texts that ran from amusing to senseless, the option of talking when he arrived in Hong Kong seemed smoother for all involved. Expectations were not high, some other things seemed to be, but the next morning vision from the taxi from the Hong Kong airport arrived on my phone. Dando proceeded to tell me, I dont do drugs, I dont drink, I dont smoke and the new album is all about Christianity. His sense of humour intact after a long flight, the texting and videos and photos would carry on over a number of days. By the way, he later said, I hate Christianity. Maybe that was a further hint about the topicality of the record or maybe it will be about girls and doughnuts. We shall have to wait for the release to find out for sure. Dandos attraction to Australia goes back to last century, 1991, when he toured here and met up with Aussie rock band Smudge members Tom Morgan and Alison Galliway. Their impact along with Australian bass man, Nic Dalton, made Its A Shame About Ray an album all about Sydney. From mentions of King Street and drug deals to the title coming from a headline in a Sydney newspaper, the connections were made and the seeds for the future songs of that album had been planted to be sown later in studios far away. It has been a long time since The Lemonheads have put out a record of new music. Varshons, released in 2009, had Dando joined by Kate Moss and Liv Tyler, amongst others, performing a collection of enjoyable covers. Dandos warm and lovely solo album from 2003, Baby, Im Bored, was a pleasant collection, but otherwise the delivery of new tunes has been insignificant. There has been talk of a country record, some recordings or production with Ryan Adams and Dando did mention he is working on new songs for a record. Dando shot me a video, from a room in Viet Nam, of one of the new songs but it is not for public consumption due to the production quality and need to keep the creativity under wraps at such an early stage of writing. Dando still has the ability and that is easy to hear. Dandos short tour of Asia was filled with standard rock and roll hijinks and it appeared from the photos he shared that his fan base still enjoy the music and being in his presence . The frivolity and joy captured made it clear that this first short tour in Asia was something Dando was geared up for in many ways. Hi last appearance in Australia was with his long-time collaborator/friend Juliana Hatfield in 2012. Those gigs were warm, lengthy and enjoyable song swapping moments that were very well received. This time we have The Lemonheads back with Farley Glavin on bass, Todd Phillips on drums and Chris Brokaw on guitars. Dando said his present line-up is his greatest inspiration these days along with another Massachusetts bard, Willy Mason. He mentions that Mason and his friend Marciana Jones are creating some fine music in Marthas Vineyard and if you check out Dando on Twitter you can see them hanging out together. These two songwriters could make some fascinating New England music sometime soon when Dando finds his way back to his homeland. The barrage of texts asking me questions about the AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd and his recent issue with money and drugs, advising me he drinks coke, Gatorade and coffee in the morning (hopefully not mixed, although I know he could handle that concoction) and thanking me for staying with him during his tour of Asia and this long interview process have now stopped. It was all rather cute and fun and sweet, and you know, that is what you expect from Evan Dando. The addition of some stellar pop songs, a spice of some covers and the band bringing it all to life, and Dando holding it together up front should make for some intriguing sets of music. Check out The Lemonheads before they check out of our country. You will be disappointed and Dando will be sad if you dont drop in for a visit. Lemonheads Tour Dates TUE 9 DEC 2014 | CORNER HOTEL | MELBOURNE WED 10 DEC 2014 | CORNER HOTEL | MELBOURNE THU 11 DEC 2014 | METRO THEATRE | SYDNEY FRI 12 DEC 2014 | THE ZOO | BRISBANE Fore tickets and info visit www.handsometours.com Entitled Process, its an album of neo-soul, late-night R&B and earnest vocal pop. Fans have been anticipating a full-length release from Sisay following a couple of EPs and some A-list guest features, which means its been a long time coming. And though its often said you get a lifetime to write your debut album, Sisay wanted Process to be a reflection on the man he is today, not who he once was. Its a documentation of probably the last couple of years of my life, he begins, holding court at a back table in a busy Surry Hills cafe while on a whirlwind promo visit to Australia. Its my debut album, but I didnt want to completely raid the vault and pull out songs from when I was 14 or whatever not even from when I was 21. I wanted to make sure it was mostly fresh ideas. When Im writing, Im really just trying to just pull whatevers going on in my head up the well. It can be quite weighty, but its a much greater release and is so much more rewarding than just trying to keep it down. I dont necessarily write in the most traditional sense I feel like Ive always kind of been forced to write. I never really thought I was a wordy type of person, but something seems to happen when I let myself go, just freestyling in that environment. You can really surprise yourself. One such surprise came with Blood On Me, the albums lead single, which was released back in August. Although originally written from a primarily fictional place a dystopia of sorts there are key lyrics from the song (Grey hoodies / They cover their heads; I hear them coming for me) that have hit a little too close to home in regards to the police shootings of unarmed black men in the US. If Im being honest, the politics of that song are very coincidental, says Sisay. I wrote that song from a personal place, but in an entirely fictional world. It was more so gathered thoughts about things youve done wrong, written from the perspective of someone regretting their actions. It was inspired by Nina Simone a song like Sinnerman more than it ever was in regards to a social or political commentary. Its definitely very interesting to see how the song has taken a life of its own. He smirks, laughing to himself as he adds: I can definitely see how the parallels were drawn I mean, I could have just as easily said, Yeah, that was all me If you havent heard Blood On Me, theres still a good chance you will have come across Sisays voice on some other key tracks from 2016. Thats him laying down the hook on Solanges authoritative Dont Touch My Hair, for instance, while he also turned up on Frank Oceans Endless cut Alabama, as well as Kanye Wests Saint Pablo. Throw in the likes of Drake, SBTRKT and Jessie Ware for good measure and youve got yourself one of the hottest collaborators in contemporary music. It begs the question as to what makes a great collaboration for Sisay and the answer, he says, is not always so clear-cut. For me, its interesting because it means I get to make music that I wouldnt have made otherwise, he says. Its a natural thing for me. As a vocalist, theres always people wanting to work with you other artists, session musos, everyone. Sometimes its quite refreshing when someone has a really different take on something. Other times, it can be a little frustrating I remember working with this one producer whose style was really different to mine. His approach was really minimalist, and at the time I was trying to make songs with a really maximal approach. I was like, Why isnt there more stuff going on in this song? Its all up in the air, really its always a risk. You can have two really different people create something really complementary to one another, just as much as you can write with someone who is really similar and have nothing fruitful come of it. Its all about perspective a great collaborator will know how to alter yours and create something thats challenging. On the subject of collaborations, conversation turns to some of Sisays television appearances. In 2013, he sang and played piano on Drakes emotional live performance of Too Much on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, a song that itself is based on a Sampha original. Last year also saw Sisay appear alongside Solange on Saturday Night Live to perform the aforementioned Dont Touch My Hair. When asked about the experience of performing on such notable shows in such grand company, Sisays response is surprisingly calm and muted. Theres a bit of nerves going into performances like that I suppose its because youre a lot more aware of whats going on. At the same time, though, it feels kind of Theres a beat, as Sisay looks around the room; as if someone else in the cafe will know the word hes searching for. He continues: Its weird. I guess it feels kind of fake not least of all because youre very aware of it being a TV set while youre actually on it. Theyre made to look a lot more grandiose than they actually are. It certainly doesnt feel as though youre standing in Wembley Stadium or anything like that. It takes a bit of the edge off when you see it up close it feels a lot less spectacular, if that makes any sense. Its a bit more of a mind-fuck, if Im honest. Its like its playing tricks on you, yknow what I mean? With Process finally set for release this week, Sisay has also booked in a national tour in support. In late May, Sisay and his five-piece band will be playing some hotly anticipated headlining shows his first in Australia. Of particular interest is the Sydney Opera House, where he will take to the stage of the venues iconic Drama Theatre for two very special and, naturally, very sold-out performances. I havent had a chance to properly go down there and take a look at it for myself, he says of the world-famous landmark. I do remember being here with SBTRKT in about 2012, and I saw it from where we were staying. So Ive had a glimpse from afar, but I cant wait to get down there and have a proper look around. I remember when the dates were being booked, I saw it on the itinerary and I couldnt believe it I mean, the Sydney Opera House? That cant be right, I was saying. Well be in one of the smaller rooms there, but its still mind-blowing to say Im playing there. Rajdeep Sardesai, in conversation with top political leaders and industry experts, addresses five critical questions in light of one of the most anticipated Budgets in the last few years. By India Today Web Desk: India Today analysed what the Union Budget 2017-18 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley translated for the economy and how it will impact the country's growth in this fiscal year. Rajdeep Sardesai, in conversation with political leaders, highlighted 10 key takeaways, assessed the highs and the lows of the Budget and what different sectors had to say about the same. advertisement Union Ministers Jayant Sinha, Piyush Goyal, Babul Supriyo, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and economist Bibek Debroy among others were present in the show. Also read: Union Budget 2017 made easy for you in 10 slides The panel of experts assessed how far the Budget was able to answer five burning questions. 5 BURNING QUESTIONS 1. Was this a zero-risk, 100 per cent safe Budget? 2. Were the tax changes enough to enthuse the middle-class post demonetisation? 3. Will this Budget assure more jobs for the youth post demonetisation? 4. Rs 2,000 political funding cap welcome, but is it enough? 5. Does Budget give NDA a boost before UP and Punjab polls? Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation, said, "The country has reason to smile because this Budget is taking forward some important key reforms and introducing a few additional major reforms as well. And the policy moves that we have implemented after coming to power show that we are re-building the Indian economy for a sustainable fast growth." Sinha has been a former MoS for Finance in this government. When asked to explain what prompted the Congress to reject the government's claim that this Budget would boost growth, party MP Shashi Tharoor said, "We don't see enough in this Budget that would suggest a spike in employment opportunities for the youth. If you look at the NDA's record in the last two to three years, the highest mark they have touched in terms of job creation in a fiscal year has been 1,35,000, as against Modi's claims of providing 10 crore jobs." Also read | How Budget 2017 may help BJP fare well in Assembly elections in 5 states BJP MP Babul Supriyo joined in the discussion. Speaking about Jaitley's fixing a limit of political funding, Supriyo said, "It's an honest process. The effort of bringing down the amount political parties can receive as funding from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000 will definitely help." It's an honest process & the effort of bringing down from 20,000 to 2000 will definitely help: @SuPriyoBabul on political funding pic.twitter.com/1e2W8x39YE India Today (@IndiaToday) February 1, 2017 Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal also expressed his views on political funding. Goyal said transparency in political funding would encourage the corporate sector to participate in the process. Transparency in political funding will encourage the corporate sector to participate in the process: @PiyushGoyal#ModiNomics17 pic.twitter.com/1FPhXuTptV India Today (@IndiaToday) February 1, 2017 advertisement A voice from the industry also appreciated Jaitley's reining in on political funding, a key step in the process of cracking down on black money. Sunil Munjal, chairman of Hero Corp Services, said, "One of the sources of black money is political and election machinery". One of the sources of black money is political & election machinery: Sunil Munjal, Hero Corp Services #ModiNomics17 pic.twitter.com/x8wtjFfrl0 India Today (@IndiaToday) February 1, 2017 WATCH VIDEO: WHAT UNION BUDGET 2017 MEANS FOR THE ECONOMY; TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS, MORE --- ENDS --- "Pete Sanchez (Anderson's boyfriend), with the help of his father and another avid searcher, started a petition on Sunday, demanding that dashcam footage or any other surveillance obtained by police be released to the public. The petition already has more than 1,200 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon ." The latest development in a cold case search . . .Not so fun fact . . . While skepticism about the case has been easy to document . . . Drilling down from that . . . There's a small but dedicated contingent of this crew who have blamed police for the disappearance and have focused a great deal of their grief and anger at authorities.Developing . . . Talking KCMO Crime Meth Town Gunfire Today Fun To Distract From Decapitation Obamacare Deadline Today Show-Me Era Of Internets Taxes Local Theater Look Celebrate Even More Kansas City Non-Mexican Immigrant Diversity pique our interest in all things Internets tonight . . . And so we share these Kansas City mainstream media links that are worth a look this evening . . .And this is thefor right now . . . "Katherine Stepanek, was just fined $10,000 and placed on 2 years probation for their 2014 violating numerous laws in the Thorley v. Roberson meth town slap fight. Readers will remember that the Levota's political reputation took a serious broadside in that race when Phil worked as the campaign consultant for the well- funded incumbent hotty Roxane Thorley, who was soundly trounced by newbie Roberson . . . The concept of ethics in Eastern Jack is inherently funny so we're linking thisrounds up the sitch . . .And for clarification, again, we tag this as "Team Levota" given the obvious connection to the to political movers and shakers Phil's name in the report . . .For now the LeVota reign in this part of the KC metro has taken a serious hit but voters have a short memory and we wouldn't be surprised to see this team take another shot at local power amid so much talk of Democratic Party push back against Prez Trump.You decide . . . CJ Online: Kansas Civil Air Patrol officer calls for death of GOP legislator The Kansas man who recommended Rep. Stephanie Clayton swing from a tree for introducing a bill to prohibit carrying concealed handguns on college and university campuses serves as a lieutenant colonel in the states Civil Air Patrol. Jonathan Holder, commander of a squadron based at a Kansas National Guard Armory in Emporia, said he was offended that the Overland Park Republican proposed legislation that would undermine his constitutional rights . . . Holder declined Monday to be interviewed at length about his perspective on Claytons attempt to amend the concealed carry law. In a Facebook post, however, Holder was unapologetic about his choice of words. I stand by what I said and frankly dont care who doesnt like it, Holder said. So, go ahead and report me, deport me, unfriend me, block me or demand that the Grand Poobah of the Exalted Order of the Mysterious Rite of the Care Bears remove me from my position as Exalted Honcho of Lodge No. BR-549. Clayton said she contacted the Overland Park Police Department and the Capitol Police about Holders commentary on social media. She interpreted his statements as a potential threat . . . He also jumps through some pretty impressive hoops to talk about defending his constitutional rights and holding politicos accountable which might be valid IF HE DIDN'T PRECEDE THE REMARK BY CALLING HER A B*TCH. Which is just kinda vulgar, not that clever and makes it seem like this is just another angry old dude keyboard warrior in his underwear playing tough guy on the Intertubes. Let's start this conversation by reminding readers that politicos only care about their own safety and promotional opportunities on social media and this Overland Park police report is probably a waste of time considering all the much nastier stuff out there . . .Still . . .The latest revelation in this case offers another reason why social media is mostly a waste of time for people who aren't selling something . . .Deets and money line . . .Final takeaway from this Kansas dude . . .He says that the only people who would be offended areNote . . .But again . . . There are far worse threats circulating online and JoCo shock over tough talk from a pumped up boy scout who lacks impulse control reveals that locals are far too plugged into mobile phone drama.You decide . . . Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with a post on Facebook, on Thursday, paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. It is an unimaginable brutality that led to the mass extermination of the Jewish population of Europe and the decimation of the once thriving, Greek Jewish community, he said. "Never again!" he stressed and added: "It is a day of reflection and prayer as the ghost of populism - which is expressed through a a racist, xenophobic rhetoric - is threatening once again our world." "The multilevel crisis, that we all experience, is not confined to the economic and political system. But it extends to our values. Several people across the world - and I am not only referring to the Western world - tend to listen to divisive rhetoric, oversimplifications and "quick fixes" and are looking for new scapegoats. I hope that this day will give everyone the opportunity to seriously and responsibly consider what kind of world we want for ourselves and our children," he concluded. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report In an interview with Portugal's RTP TV, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos called on Turkey to respect both the history and the friendship between the two countries On Sunday a Turkish ship illegally entered Greek waters in the region of the Imia islets, ANA-MPA has reported. Greece immediately responded and requested that the vessel depart from Greek waters. After a few minutes, the Turkish FAC obliged and no further incident occurred. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) denied that its warship retreated following the Greek threats. The new Turkish provocation has been interpreted both as a show of strength and a response to Greeces decision not to extradite the eight Turkish military officers who fled to Greece after the attempted coup in July, the Greek government has said. In an interview with Portugal's RTP TV, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos called on Turkey to respect both the history and the friendship between the two countries. "We should not just say that we are good friends, but we have to prove it," he underlined. Sundays violation was a very serious one because it was not only the Greek maritime borders that were violated but the borders of Europe too. The Treaty of Lausanne was violated," Pavlopoulos, who is paying an official visit to Portugal, said. "I hope that there will be no other violation in the future because this will not only affect the bilateral relations but also Turkey's relations with Europe," said the President. Pavlopoulos also stressed the need to change the austerity policy in Europe, saying the current austerity policy causes problems such as higher debt, inequalities, unemployment. "We have to persuade our European partners," he added, "to change the specific austerity policy. Greece will remain in the eurozone and the European Union." Source: ANA-MPA RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have arranged to speak over the phone before the latters scheduled visit to Turkey on February 2. The communication was decided after the recent ruling by the Greek Supreme Court to block the extradition of 8 Turkish military officers at the request of Turkey to stand trial for treason, as well as the belligerent reaction by Turkey against Greece and the provocation at the Imia isles over the weekend. It should be noted that 40 Turkish military personnel stationed in Germany as part of NATO have also applied for political asylum. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality unit of global developer Emaar, has opened the doors to Rove Healthcare City - a new design-influenced, value-lifestyle hotel adjacent Dubai Healthcare City. Rove Healthcare City is the third property under Rove Hotels, a contemporary mid-scale lifestyle brand, and its unveiling follows the opening of Rove Downtown Dubai and Rove City Centre, with the focus on assuring an authentic and engaging customer experience. The unique selling proposition of Rove Healthcare City is its location, which is only 10 minutes from Dubai International Airport, Dubai World Trade Centre, Downtown Dubai and DIFC. In close proximity to the established neighbourhoods of Karama, Satwa, Bur Dubai and Deira, the hotel offers guests effortless access to a wide range of shopping and leisure options that are conventionally part of the tourist itinerary. Like all Rove Hotels, Rove Healthcare Citys elegant design and central location is further highlighted by hyper-connectivity walking distance from Dubai Metro, easy access to the main motorway and a hop stop away from cinemas, Wafi Mall and Lamcy Plaza, and leisure attractions. The unique character of the location, away from the bustle of the city, yet centrally placed near major business headquarters, cultural clubs, hospitals, educational institutions and residential neighbourhoods makes Rove Healthcare City a destination of choice for tourists and for an evening out for local residents. The 286-room hotel, with 30 per cent of the rooms interconnected for the convenience of families, will also serve as a stimulating cultural hub, where the young and trendy can get together for a social evening, and for families to enjoy quality time with friends and loved ones. Each room comes with a 48-inch interactive TV screen and a smart media hub - ideal for the tech-savvy traveller. The rooms have free Wi-Fi access, designer mattresses, sofa beds for extra guests, electricity points to accommodate all international plugs, a convenient mini-fridge, a large safe, and a modern bathroom with power rain showers. Rove Healthcare City lives up to its reputation as a social hub. The Daily Healthcare City is an all-day neighbourhood hangout where you can eat in or grab and go with quality coffee and healthy globally inspired food served till late. Its cuisine will also reflect the needs of the local residents with a choice of Indian and Asian cuisine being served. Assuring simplicity, flexibility, authenticity and fuss-free service the hallmarks of Rove Hotels, it will also celebrate its unique cultural idiom, where it takes inspiration from the neighbourhood, which is dotted with green parks, the childrens city, and the Dubai Creek, within walking distance. Rove Healthcare City also serves as a venue of choice for business events and Continuing Medical Education (CME) training programmes, which will appeal to healthcare companies, distributors and others seeking to engage medical professionals in Dubai Healthcare City. Its proximity to Rashid Hospital and the American Hospital means guests of in-house patients, especially wellness tourists, will have a comfortable place to stay. The new property will also be an ideal venue for artists who perform at the cultural venues nearby such as the Alliance Francaise, Al Nasr Leisureland, British Council, India Club and Iranian Club, among others. Rove Healthcare City will also appeal to the nearby international schools as well as the business headquarters located in the neighbourhood for hosting their guests. As with all Rove Hotels, there are standard features including free wi-fi access; late checkout at 2pm; swimming pool, sundeck and 24-hour gym; 24-hour self-service laundromat and interconnecting rooms. Chris Newman, chief operating officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said: Rove Healthcare City is a unique property that caters to the needs of the business community and visitors to the Dubai Healthcare City and the surrounding neighbourhoods. The location has a unique dynamic, being home to hospitals, schools, social and cultural clubs, family parks and malls. Tucked away from the bustle of the city yet in a central location, the area demanded a hotel that assures guests true value hospitality experiences. We deliver that with Rove Healthcare City. He added: The hotel upholds all the features that Rove Hotels are now known for and sought after by guests. In addition to offering a cultural ambience that will appeal to visitors, we are creating unique meeting venues for business guests. We have taken into consideration all the diverse needs of the different establishments in the locality to create a property that will be their first choice for business meetings and socialising. Seven Rove Hotels have been announced with another three more to open by 2020. In all, the 10 Rove Hotels will add over 3,700 rooms, in central locations across the city, just in time for Expo 2020 Dubai. - TradeArabia News Service For the past few days, top White House officials have been asked why the list does not include countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. By Press Trust of India: The White House has hinted that Pakistan, considered by many as harbinger of terrorism, could be included in US President Donald Trump's travel ban list. "Why not Pakistan," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked when he appeared at the George Washington University. "May be we will," Spicer said, responding to the question, which has been trailing senior White House officials ever since US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prevented people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US. advertisement These countries are Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. For the past few days, top White House officials have been asked why the list does not include countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. Over the weekend, the White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said that Pakistan is under consideration. "I believe it (ban) only has detrimental effects on the countries it has included and if that is extended to Pakistan it will create a whole host of hostilities," Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had told a Washington audience yesterday in response to a question. Also read: Donald Trump expressed hopes for better US-Pakistan relations, says envoy The White House Press Secretary indicated that Pakistan could very well be part of that list. "Maybe we will. The bottom line is we started with the seven countries that have previously been identified, did a 90-day review. Maybe during that 90-day review we find other countries or we take someone off or whatever. But it is a review process," Spicer said in response to the question at George Washington University. "Our number one priority as a government and as leaders is to protect the 324 million people who live in this country. So I understand that people may be inconvenienced a little coming into the nation. But this is our nation, our country. Our first and foremost responsibility is to our people," he said. "If people want to come to this country and visit or travel or study, then we welcome them. We've always been a welcoming country. But the idea that we should just have an open door and let people in willy-nilly is ridiculous," Spicer said. Also read | Modi's insistence, Trump's instigation, Pakistan's compromise: Hafiz Saeed on house arrest --- ENDS --- SSH, one of the leading master planning, infrastructure, building design, construction supervision and project management firms in the Middle East, has unveiled the design for a new childrens hospital at Al Shuwaikh region of Kuwait. The newest tertiary childrens hospital will be the largest of its kind in the world featuring a total of 792 beds that will suit all medical needs and methods of treatment. The 300,000-sq-m facility will be located within the Al Sabah Specialty Medical Area in Al Shuwaikh. A leading player in the construction sector, SSH boasts a reputation for design integrity and a portfolio that includes landmark projects throughout the region. The company had last year been appointed by Kuwaits Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Works to provide a study and design for the hospital on a design-award-construct basis. Global architects HKS and engineering firm WSP are also involved in the project. The Kuwait Ministry of Public Works today (February 1) for the first time unravelled the new design for the giant hospital project at Arab Health Conference being held in Dubai. The unique design concept has been delivered with a futuristic hospital design theme, comprising innovative and functional design that incorporates state-of-the-art technology and energy conservation. According to SSH, the Kuwait Childrens Hospital will be built using the highest standards of construction, materials and equipment. The hospital will provide a welcoming, comfortable, stress-free and home-like environment for its patients and their respective families. The facility also includes diagnostic and treatment centres to complement all tertiary care services, along with other non-clinical support and public departments, it stated. The scope of work includes non-healthcare structures, functions and services such as 2,400 car parking spaces, a helipad to support emergency air transport services and a day-care centre for infants, pre-toddlers and pre-schoolers, dedicated to children of staff working at the proposed facility. In addition, five shelters for civil defence have also been proposed, it added.-TradeArabia News Service Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company (DRPIC), a joint venture between Oman Oil Company (OOC) and state-owned Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), is moving forward on both the financing and contracting for its planned greenfield refinery in the Duqm region of the sultanate. The 230,000 barrel-per-day refinery project will come up in the new downstream hub under development at Duqm in Al-Wusta governorate on the east-central coast. Several construction packages are out to tender, with technical evaluation of bids completed for the main contracts and a shortlist recently released for a third major job, according to Oil Pro. The news follows the replacement of the government shareholders foreign partner in November. Commercial bids were invited by DRPIC in late 2016 following completion of technical evaluation for the two main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) packages, covering the process units and the offsites and utilities (O&U), on the planned refinery, it stated. The top bidders for the process units package include consortiums of the Netherlands-based CB&I with Taiwans CTCI; Japans JGC Corp with South Koreas GS Engineering & Construction and Italys Saipem; the UKs Petrofac with Japans Chiyoda Corporation and South Koreas Samsung Engineering; besides that of Spains Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) with South Koreas Daewoo Engineering & Construction, said the report. The JGC/GS/Saipem and TR/Daewoo teams are also bidding for the O&U contract, as are Petrofac with Samsung and a consortium of Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai Engineering, both of South Korea, with Japans Itochu Corp. Government-owned OOC has a 50 per cent stake in the DRPIC. Last year it had signed an agreement whereby KPI took over the equal stake formerly held by the Abu Dhabi governments International Petroleum Investment Company. On completion, the greenfield refinery will produce chiefly diesel, jet fuel, LPG and naphtha and also include units for hydrocracking, hydrotreating, delayed coking, sulphur recovery, hydrogen generation and merox treating. International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga), members of the World Bank Group, are backing the design, construction, ownership and operation of a 485-MW gas-fired power plant in Jordan to increase the countrys power generation capacity. Once operational, the plant will generate power at about a third of the current average cost in Jordan. IFC is investing up to $75 million in the combined-cycle plant, located in the Zarqa Industrial Zone, and mobilising $200 million of debt, alongside a consortium of lenders. Miga is providing a guarantee for 20 years, covering up to $215.6 million in commercial debt (principle and interest). The project is being developed by Acwa Power, a leading developer of power plants in the Middle East and North Africa, at a cost of about $485 million. It will replace one of the countrys oldest and least efficient fuel oil-fired power plants, which is currently being decommissioned, with one of Jordans most energy-efficient, eco-friendly gas-fired power plants. This will be a climate-friendly addition to Jordans power supply, with the use of combined-cycle gas turbine technology helping to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly compared to the plant it replaces, said Rajit Nanda, Acwa Powers chief investment officer. The Zarqa plant is expected to generate a gross average of 3,200 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, serving approximately 620,000 individual residential customers annually and adding about 150 MW to the national grid, urgently needed as the countrys influx of up to two million refugees increases energy consumption. It will reduce total GHG emissions by approximately 1,744 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. IFC is a long-term partner for Jordan, said Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC director for the Middle East and North Africa. We invested in the power generation sector in 2011 to, among other things, modernize older power plants using existing infrastructure, where possible. We are excited to see our long-term goal fulfilled, as the Zarqa plant will use the same site as the Hussein thermal power station, benefiting from existing infrastructure and a prime location near Amman and Zarqa. IFCs priority in Jordan is to help the government restore the energy sectors sustainability, and diversify the energy mix away from oil-based generation towards renewable and clean energy. The project also fits within the World Bank Groups Country Partnership Framework for Jordan to support private sector investment in key infrastructure, mobilise long-term capital to help bridge the funding gap, and have a significant climate change impact. Migas guarantee provides coverage to the issuers of commercial debt for the project, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank Corporation, against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, war and civil disturbance and breach of contract. The demand for power in Jordan is rising rapidly, said Sarvesh Suri, director of operations, Miga Among the best ways to meet this demand is modernizing Jordans power generation infrastructure. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Miga was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies by helping mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance; and offering credit enhancement to private investors and lenders. - TradeArabia News Service Travellers using Bahrain International Airport now have even more reason to stop and spend at Bahrain Duty Free with the opening of Bulgaris new expanded fragrances counter. Located at the Perfumes & Cosmetics section within the duty free and travel retailers refreshed departures retail hub, Bulgari has grown its footprint from three to an impressive 12-sq-m. The leading Italian luxury goods house, which has a 130-year old pedigree, is a long-term partner of Bahrain Duty Free, and its iconic black and gold livery is a focal point for the Perfumes & Cosmetics passenger journey. Commenting on the opening, Bassam Al Wardi, general manager, Bahrain Duty Free, said: With the unveiling of the new Bulgari space we have added a further element of upscale excitement to our existing collection of internationally renowned fragrance and cosmetics brands. By creating a stunning showcase such as this, Bahrain Duty Free continues to demonstrate its commitment to delivering a world-class travel retail experience; adding value not only to the passenger and airport experience, but to the kingdoms tourism economy, he added. In partnership with Bahrain Duty Free and Aer Rianta International, Bulgari is proud to be the first brand to unveil its new interior design concept in the newly refurbished Bahrain Duty Free shop, remarked Loic Le Toux, area sales manager, Bulgari. Top selling products covering both women and mens fragrances, and including Goldea, Jasmin Noir, Omnia, Bulgari Man and Aqva, create a standout visual counterpoint to the companys elegant branding and gentle contoured fascia. A highlight of the new counter will be the exclusive high-end Le Gemme collection, which is only available at selective doors worldwide. Our luxurious counter concept will further intensify the visibility of Bulgari perfumes in the travel retail domain; and is equally perfectly aligned with Bahrain Duty Frees own premium strategy, said Le Toux. This latest opening supports other successful recent openings across its 1,500-sq-m footprint, including Aer Rianta Internationals proprietary Candy Cloud confectionery concept, the Middle Easts first Johnnie Walker House and new dedicated premium watches boutique. - TradeArabia News Service This years Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (Ahic) will focus on diversification in the hospitality sector in response to the challenges faced by the region, according to the conclusions of a regional briefing in Doha in the run-up to the event. A review of asset management was also a key theme at the briefing in the Qatari capital, where some 40 hoteliers, hospitality investors and owners came together to shape the discussion at Ahic, which is running from April 25 to 27 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The dominant issue at Ahic this year will be how the GCC hospitality sector can retain its attractiveness to investors in spite of all that is happening in the region, said Andrew Humphries, chief operating officer of Katara Hospitality, who will be speaking at Ahic 2017. Following the discussions here at the Doha regional briefing, I think that the diversification of the GCC hospitality sector will be a key theme at Ahic. It is essential that diversification happens at all levels and that we have flexibility in our business models. The traditional model is changing and a new model must be found. One that is more aggressive on the sales side and more thoughtful on the costs side, while retaining the best of what we have, said Humphries. Mohamed Al Mahmeed, head of Tourism Investment Promotion at Qatar Tourism Authority, said: Qatar has a clear strategy to develop a sustainable tourism industry through 2030. The past year saw several key developments: the growth of the cruise tourism sector, measures to ease entry to Qatar - including the introduction of a new transit visa - and a new hotels grading and classification system. The focus for us moving forward is to support the diversification of the hospitality sectors offering and the development of new tourism products. Another key theme at Ahic, according to Saahil Lalit, Colliers International Associate Director, Hotels, will be asset management: With revenues falling, we need to discuss how we can get more out of our properties. He went on to highlight the rise in popularity of Airbnb in the region, calling for the need for the regions hospitality sector to respond to the challenge of the newcomer which can add significant volume to the market at short notice, and at low prices, he added. Commenting on the regional briefings value to the Qatari hospitality sector, in preparation for the April AHIC conference, Amruda Nair, joint managing director and CEO, Aiana Hotels & Resorts, said: It was valuable to be given access to performance data and trends data from across the region, to hear about different approaches, and to be able to have a dialogue with authorities. As an operator, it is great to be able to take a step back and get a big picture view. And in times of challenging market conditions, it is great to see how the industry can come together to respond. I think Ahic is an opportunity to look at investment criteria, and to discuss strategic collaboration between investors, operators, authorities and airlines, she said. Ahic 2017, which will be held in Dubai, will bring together more than 700 hotel owners, investors, developers, operators, consultants and experts from professional services to debate the hospitality investment climate against a backdrop of global catalysts for change and the macroeconomic environment. The conference will feature panel sessions entitled: The MacroEconomic Outlook for Middle East Hospitality; Do You Need An International Brand?; An A-Z of Reflagging Your Hotel; The Investment Climate Warms Up to the Mid-Market; and Concepts for the GCC. Sessions specifically targeted at hospitality investors will tackle issues such as white label operations, asset management, alternative models of investment, how to exit a contract, overseas acquisitions, working with master developers and achieving return on investment (ROI) on food and beverage. - TradeArabia News Service Al Manshar Rotana, a five-star business hotel in Kuwait, has appointed Abdul Nazeer as its new materials manager. Nazeer started his hotel purchasing career in 2006 at Villa, Rihab and Rimal Rotana in Dubai as a cluster store in charge. In 2008 he was promoted to materials buyer where he had started interacting with suppliers across the UAE and internationally. In 2010 he joined Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana in Abu Dhabi as materials officer and soon after in 2012 he was promoted to assistant materials manager. As a materials manager, Nazeer will be responsible for all the purchasing functions, storing and issuing of all stored food, beverage, engineering and operating equipment. An Indian national, Nazeer holds a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from the University of Calicut, India. - TradeArabia News Service Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay - the most romantic hotel in Manama - is offering couples heart-throbbing packages, decadent dining, spa treatments and more this Valentines Day. When arriving in a luxurious suite, guests are welcome to spend quality time together with their loved ones over a plate of sweet Valentines surprise amenity created by Four Seasons pastry chef Imad Boukli that awaits right upon check-in. Guests then can follow the heart to an evening of romance in one of the hotels three selected restaurants, which are preparing with carefully curated menus available only on the occasion of Valentines. Travel to Italy this Valentines Day On February 14, the hotels authentic Italian restaurant Vento impresses all love seekers with a four-course specialty menu prepared by Italian Chef Cristian Lisci. The menu begins with asparagus cream and crispy prawns, and continues with a line up of romance-instilled dishes such as pink ravioli saffron with ricotta, pan seared hammour, or tenderloin scalloppini truffle cream and potato porcini souffle. As a sweet ending, guests enjoy a delicious melting hot chocolate cake with pink peppercorn. Valentines Day dinner is priced at BD42 ($110.6) per person exclusive of beverages. For reservations: 00973 1711 5500 or visit Vento online. Celebrate Celebrity Style with Wolfgang Puck Also on February 14, CUT by Wolfgang Puck, the hotels American steak restaurant helmed by executive chef Brian Becher, will be sharing the love with an enchanting five-course dinner menu, from BD45 ($118.5) per person. CUTs special dinner menu on Valentines Day will feature beluga caviar from the Caspian Sea, French black truffle gnocchi, pan roasted French loup de mare, a duo of USDA prime beef and a lavish dessert highlighting sweet fresh raspberries with white chocolate mousse. For reservations: 00973 17115044 or visit CUT by Wolfgang Puck online. Extend the celebration of romance in re/Asian Cuisine by Wolfgang Puck where sweet prawn tom yum soup, crystal chive dumplings, live Maine "angry lobster," miso-honey marinated Alaskan black cod, and a decadent chocolate fondant to share will appeal to all Asian fusion appetites. Prepared by executive chef Becher and executive pastry chef Pierre Chambon, the sumptuous romantic dinner at re/Asian Cuisine by Wolfgang Puck is priced at BD45 ($118.5) per person exclusive of beverages. For reservations: 00973 17115046 or visit re/Asian Cuisine online. Romantic Spa Indulgence The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay invites guests to experience the power of love through the Valentines Spa Escape package, an exclusive collection of treatments to be enjoyed in the comfort of the Hotels private cabanas. Couple's Retreat Guests may indulge in a two-hour spa ritual complete with a relaxing full body massage, skin scrub and express facial using only 100 per cent natural products. The Valentines journey continues as guests savor a romance-infused three-course lunch, snacks or dinner including non-alcoholic beverages at Vento. Couples Retreat offer is priced at BD330 ($869) per couple. Couple's Escape The Spa invites all lovebirds to treat themselves and their Valentine to a relaxing head-to-toe 90-minute massage. Couples end their spa journey in the hotels indoor or outdoor pools, spa and fitness facilities. Couples Escape promotion is priced at BD230 ($605.6) per couple. Valentines Spa Escape package is available from February 12 to 28, 2017. For reservations, contact the Spa team: 00973 1711 5000. Let Four Seasons Take Care of Your Valentine Get a head start on romantic planning and visit Four Seasons Romantic Boutique, open from February 9-14 from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm in the Hotels Lobby. Choose from traditional heart-throbbing items such as homemade pink macaroons, chocolate pralines, and many more sweet treats straight from the Four Seasons kitchen. Give the Gift of Love For those who dream about romancing their loved one but cant be together on Valentines Day, give the gift of love with a Four Seasons Gift Card. Stay Longer for the Sake of Love For romance seekers convenience, Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay now offers the Stay Longer Third Night Free package. The hotel offers a complimentary third night as addition to two consecutive paid nights to continue exploring the very best of the romantic island destination. This package is perfect for couple's retreat in Bahrain. Package reservations and Gift Cards are available by contacting the Reservations team via email at [email protected] or by calling 00973 17115000. - TradeArabia News Service As the saying goes, "The customer is always right," which is why most flight passengers think that they're entitled to every request. However, people should take note that it's not always the case and there are 5 things travelers should not say to flight attendants. Asking For Other Food Options A lot of people think that it's just a normal thing to ask flight attendants about other food options. However, Escapehere reported that it's not normal because it's common sense that you shouldn't do that. The food that's on the tray are the only options that you have because once the plane takes off, what's on the plane is what you have. Can You Watch My Kids? This is probably the worst request a passenger can ask from a flight attendant. Flight attendants are not babysitters and even if it's just for a couple of seconds, it's just not reasonable. Even if your excuse is to go to the washroom, it's both risky for the baby and the flight attendant. Can You Lift My Bag Up For Me? Another thing that travelers shouldn't say to a flight attendant is asking for assistance to stow your bags in the overhead bins. If you decided to not check-in your heavy bag, make sure you can lift it on your own. If you can't lift it, then they can't lift it as well. Just wait for them to offer assistance. What Drinks Do You Have? According to the Daily Mail, flight attendants don't know every type of drink that's on board the plane. Usually, there's a menu stowed under your seat that you can read. Take the initiative of knowing what's available first and if it's not there, it's probably not on the plane so don't bother asking. Asking About Delays Just like passengers, flight attendants are also annoyed about delays. Try to listen for announcements why the flight is delayed so you don't anyone. These are the 5 things travelers shouldn't say to flight attendants and for those passengers who are guilty, you might want to be aware next time. Remember those flight attendants are people just like you. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 While the Air Force has started inducting women in combat aircraft flying, that initiative is an experiment and the lady officers have not yet joined operational squadrons. The women would be trained to chase and board suspicious vessels and nab smugglers. By Ajit Kumar Dubey: In a major step towards empowering women and greater gender parity, the Indian Coast Guard has become the first force to deploy female officers in combat roles on board its ships that patrol the country's maritime zone near the borders with Pakistan. The four women who have been deployed in the combat role are posted at the coastal areas bordering Pakistan and Bangladesh, including Jakhau in Gujarat and Haldia in West Bengal. advertisement "These officers have been posted on board the Air Cushion Vehicles, popularly known as hovercrafts, in the Coast Guard and have been trained to handle all types of situations including interception of suspicious activity boats like the MV Kuber, in which terrorists carried out the 26/11 terror attacks," Coast Guard officers told Mail Today here. Most countries employ women in various roles in their armed forces but only a handful, including Australia, Germany, Israel and the United States, have allowed them to take on fighting, or combat, roles. The aim of training these women is that they should be capable of handling all missions under the Coast Guard charter including boarding suspicious vessels, chasing such boats in the high seas or catching contraband smugglers there, they said. 'PASSIONATE ABOUT EMPOWERMENT OF LADY OFFICERS' Asked about the deployment of women officers on these hovercrafts, Coast Guard director general Rajendra Singh said, "We are intensely passionate about true inclusiveness and empowerment of lady officers. While the Coast Guard celebrates four decades, as part of our commitment, we have appointed these lady officers in combat roles." At the hovercrafts, the female officers are deployed along with senior male officers and sailors and carry out the same task that the men are expected to perform At present, a total of 18 hovercrafts serve in the Coast Guard, attached to units in Okha and Jakhua in Gujarat, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Mandapam in Tamil Nadu, and Haldia in West Bengal. Also read: In a first, ITBP women bravehearts unfurl tricolour at India-China border TRAINING BEGAN A YEAR AGO The training of these women was started by the Indian Coast Guard about a year ago at its base at Mandapam with four female officers- assistant commandants Anuradha Shukla, Sneha Kathyat, Shirin Chandran and Vasundhara Chouksey. Vasundhara Chouksey. These women sail on these hovercraft on both the seaboards and their tribe is set to expand in future as their training progresses. India had for many years kept women away from the frontline, citing concerns over their vulnerability if captured and their physical and mental ability to handle the stress of such deployments. advertisement The Navy, which is the biggest maritime force in the country, does not allow women to sail on board its ships. The Coast Guard started inducting women in combat roles after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interaction with military commanders last year urged them to give female officers combat roles and open more avenues for them in the services. Following this, the Air Force started inducting women in combat aircraft flying but that initiative is an experiment and the ladies have not yet joined operational squadrons. Also read: India's first female fighter pilots pave way for more women in combat When the Coast Guard informed defence minister Manohar Parrikar about the induction of female officers in operational roles, he urged the force to look for more avenues to strengthen women officers there. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was formally established in 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978, of Parliament as an independent armed force of India. It has more than 130 female officers under its command, forming around 10 per cent of the officer cadre there. The women have also been inducted in the flying branch as they independently operate Dornier surveillance planes and Cheetah choppers in the force. advertisement Also read: Will have to do same task as men, says Gen Bipin Rawat on frontline combat role for women --- ENDS --- American Airlines told a family after boarding they are no longer allowed on the flight. Two of their children had severe nut allergies and the pilot decided to get them off the plane. Dr. Rosanne Bloom and her family were flying with the US airline from Philadelphia to the Turks and Caicos Islands on Christmas morning. When Rosanne entered the flight, she had informed the crew that her teenage sons experienced nut allergies. The family had gotten on the plane and had settled into their seats. The last thing they expected was to be removed from the flight. In addition, the family's luggage had also been removed from the flight. When Dr. Rosanne Bloom inquired as to why they had been removed from the flight, the answer was because her two sons had an allergy. Dr. Rosanne Bloom said in an interview with NY Times that they had with them medicines, brought their own food and was comfortable staying on the plane. She said she even offered to sign a waiver and they were deplaned within two short minutes. Meanwhile, American Airlines spokesperson Matt Miller told Express that such decisions are left at the discretion of the pilot. He said that American Airlines could not be assured that customers will not be exposed to peanuts or other tree nuts during a flight. He further said that they strongly encourage customers to take all necessary precautions and seek medical advice prior to travel. Miller further stated that American Airlines policy is designed to make sure that customers do not think they can provide something they cannot. According to him, "the Philadelphia flight in their records indicate that when the airline was advised of the children's allergy to nuts, and when comments were made about possibly having to make an emergency landing during the flight if they were exposed to nuts, our crewmembers were concerned about their ability to complete the flight safely." He added that the captain made the decision to remove the family from the flight for safety reasons. He then apologized to the family who has experienced a disruption to their travel plans. However, he said that the decision was made with customers' best interests in mind. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 When it comes to seeking a great travel experience, oftentimes the best destination are those that are rarely caught under the tourism radar. Traveling to Uzbekistan proved to be one of the riveting ideas that aptly defy conventional expectations. In fact, this country's suffix alone already has a bad ring to it. Most 'cousins' of Afghanistan always leaves that kind of impression. But contrary to popular presumption, this Central Asian country has yet to introduce itself. Here are a number of things one can do to experience the best of Uzbekistan: 'Eats' Unusual, Isn't It? Puns aside, traditional Uzbek cuisine is one of the most off-beat fares tourists can try. In Uzbekistan, the most famous local dish is the 'plov' - a rudimentary but surprisingly delicious lamb risotto. Influenced by the previous Soviet occupation, the unsophisticated wild ration recipes that feed USSR's hardy soldiers have slowly made a good transition towards civilian taste. As a Central Asian state, Uzbekistan is also a crossroad of cultural ideas. In cities like Bukhara, Samarqand, and capital Tashkent, 10 of the country's best restaurants host renowned flavors endemic throughout the two hemispheres of Eurasia. Pray All Muslim Societies Have This Charm... Considering that Uzbekistan is a devout Muslim country, it is easy for prospective visitors to feel unnerved. After all, countries like Iran, Iraq, and Syria obviously do not exude a positive impression. But contrary to such presumptions, Uzbeks are predominantly Sufi Muslims. One may easily think of them as the Amish counterpart of Islam, where mysticism paves the way for wisdom and open-mindedness. The holiest places in Uzbekistan include the Shrine of Imam Al-Bukhari in Samarqand, the iconic Tomb of Prophet Daniel, and the burial site of Prophet Mohammed's cousin named Qasim ibn-Abbas. For the Sufi Muslims, these places are sacred but (fortunately) it does not exclude non-believers from conveying their own strange reverence to God (or the universe). Love To Brag With Friends! Anyone traveling to Uzbekistan can always bring a few fascinating stories back home as a result of exploring the unknown. Some of the few things visitors have learned include the lessons of sheer perseverance from Soviet rule, the enormous respect and equity afforded to female Sufi Muslims and the ingenuity that concocted the eclectic and unique Uzbek cuisine. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 An image taken from a flight going to Jeddah has gone viral on the internet. The image shows falcons flying together with other passengers on board the plane in the economy class area. People are now baffled with the unusual sight. According to The Drive, the uploader of the picture received a photo from his friend on board the flight and posted it on Reddit. As expected, the picture went viral and the user said that the unusual sight happened because a Saudi Prince bought 80 plane tickets for his falcons. There are no further details as to why the prince chose to have the birds transported via commercial flight. It's also a mystery why the birds were place in the cabin area and not in the cargo bay. Anxious flight attendants were really surprised by the situation. However, the New York Post reported that Saudia, Saudi Arabia's national carrier, has a policy that passengers can have their falcons board the plane. In fact, Doha-based Qatar Airways also has the same policy and allows six falcons to board the plane per flight. Falconry, a hunting tradition that involves falcons, is quite a common custom in Middle Eastern countries. Having these birds of prey is pretty common for the elite class because they serve as status symbols. For those passengers who can afford, they opt to have their falcons transported via plane to avoid theft. Falcons are really popular in the Middle East, in fact, some countries even have hospitals that specifically cater to these birds. Cone Nast Traveler reported that falcons must be issued passports to travel because these birds are prone to smuggling because of their high value. A falcon's passport is valid for three years and allows the bird to travel in the UAE. A leg ring is attached to the bird with an ID number that matches its passport. It's no wonder why this Saudi Prince bought 80 tickets to have his falcons fly to Jeddah. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 A shootout in a famous urban nightclub along with attacks in different most-frequented tourist resorts and destinations in the country had urged several Western countries to place a travel advisory for Turkey. In 2016, the country only had 31 million visitors accompanied by a 29.7 percent profit drop and economists said Turkey would need to do more to elevate its current tourism economy. Data from the country's official statistics office Turkstat indicated the country had a record high of 42 million visitors in 2015. A report from DW Germany highlights this data as an effect of terrorism attacks blamed on jihadists in many famous foreign resorts. Turkey's tourism decline began with a failed coup in July 2016, having foreign tourists disregard Turkey as their next destination for the latter half of the year and possibly the entire 2017. The recent nightclub shootout in Istanbul cemented further the undesirability of Turkey for foreigners due to lax security and violence. According to Hurriyet Daily News, Turkstat found Germans as the highest population of foreign visitors into the country along with Georgia. Numbers of Russian visitors have declined throughout the year following a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Russia. Foreign travelers build about 80.6 percent of the tourism economy with a population of 19.4 percent being Turkish who live abroad. According to DW Germany, Turkish officials believe 2017 is a better year for tourism as Russia and Turkey had stabilized their political tremors. DW Germany cites UN World Tourism Organization Secretary General Taleb Rifai believe Turkey's current state is perfect for tourism. Despite Rifai's encouragement to make tourism "the best response against terrorism," it is safety that is of huge concern for travelers. About 40 individuals were in the Istanbul nightclub shootout, which happened despite increased security measures in the city. A city-wide crackdown is feared by travelers to close down several known tourist sites that attract great volumes of terrorist activity. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 It is likely those who watched "The Godfather" or other Italian movies noticed that aside from the music in their voices, they have hand gestures that complement their speaking voices. Italian body language is equally expressive as their vocals and travelers who want to communicate in an Italian manner could learn these five common gestures that help enrich one's travels. According to CNN, one of these is the "Ntze," which it describes "looks like a yes" but "actually means no." The news website describes it as a "reverse nod" -- the opposite of the typical English gesture of nodding for agreement -- with the significant characteristic of a backward head movement with the "ntze" sound. Watch the nods; travelers can be misread in Italy. A hand gesture that is similar to the common Japanese photo gesture of a peace sign near one's cheek is -- in Italy -- a gesture that says one has had a great meal or one had eaten exquisitely. Travelers should watch their photo gestures -- the gesture looks adorable in photos but can look silly and hilarious for locals. Placing one's hand across one side of their shoulder in the motion of a reverse slap is a gesture of anger or disappointment. This one is fairly easy for travelers to avoid as most humans tend to place their arms across their hip or their legs when they are pleased -- and often cross their arms or ball their hands into fists when angry. Speaking of fists, avoid balling up hands when scratching one's head especially if talking to a local. According to Keep Calm and Travel, that is an Italian gesture that indicates the person spoken to is stubborn. But it is a great way to indicate impatience against a close Italian friend. Lastly, travelers in Sicily should avoid pointing towards one single eye even if not intentional. The Mafia of Sicily use this gesture -- known as "Occhio" -- to warn their targets that "they are watching." To avoid garnering attention, use this gesture sparingly. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 A man tried to open the emergency exit door of a Qantas airplane while in flight. The incident happened on Flight QF12 from Los Angeles to Sydney while the flight was on its 13th hour of its 15 hour journey. The plane was cruising at an altitude of 39,000 feet or 12 km above sea level, when the incident happened. The crew was quick to respond, the man was intercepted and returned to his seat. It was aboard an Airbus A380, as reported by Telegraph Co UK. The man was identified as 41 year old US citizen Manuel Gonzalez. It was not clear why he tried to open the door. Her was brought back to his seat and crew members surrounded him by seating around him for the rest of the flight. However, it is very unlikely that the emergency door would have been opened by the man. According to a pilot, Patrick Smith, "cabin pressure won't allow it." He says an aircraft door is like a drain plug and is fixed in place by the interior pressure. He also said that plane exit doors open retract upward into the ceiling or others swing outward, but that they open inward first. Smith adds that 1,100 pounds are pushing against each square foot of the door. Furthermore, the door is secured by a series of electrical and/or mechanical latches. One would need a hydraulic jack or superhuman strength to open it. However, the other passengers would not know that. Mr. Smith is also the author of a book about air travel entitled "Cockpit Confidential". When the Qantas plane landed, the plane's captain spoke to Gonzalez then he was turned over to the Australian Federal Police. He was later charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft; if found guilty, he can face up to 10 years in jail. Gonzalez has appeared in Central Local Court on 18 January, and will next appear in court on 15 March. During the first hearing, the prosecutor for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said the case would "likely" be treated as an indictable offense. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Camping is fun and it's one of the best activities for every traveler to experience the great outdoors. However, Iceland takes camping to a whole new level because travelers are allowed to camp under a volcano. The Telegraph reported that it's perfectly normal for campers to set up a camp under the shadow of a volcano. In fact, it's one of the highlights of the Iceland Wilderness five-night tour. SuperJeep is behind this amazing tour that will take travelers to the stunning Volcano Huts in Iceland's Husadalur Valley. The whole location of the amazing trip can be found in Eyjafjallajokull. Most people call this place Eyo for short and it's a mountain glacier located north of Skogar. According to Iceland On The Web, it's a mountain range that was formed since the Ice Age because of multiple volcanic eruptions in the area. Eyo is a cone shaped glacier and ranks 6th as the largest glacier in Iceland. It covers an area of 78 square kilometers and its ice cap covers the active Eyjafjallajokull volcano. In fact, back in 2010, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted on the 14th of April after 200 years. It caused a lot of flight delays and cancellations in Europe which affected almost 10 million travelers coming from all over the world. The eruption of the Eyo volcano lasted for almost 10 weeks and people documented that whole event. It was probably the reason that people are now attracted to visit Iceland. More travelers are seeking the thrill of witnessing the powerful volcano while camping under its shadows. Another attraction that travelers would see in Iceland is the Northern Lights. Eyjafjallajokull, along with the other glaciers surrounding the area channels the aurora borealis into the valley. Iceland is such a beautiful place to travel to with its natural wonders and stunning scenery. It's the perfect destination for the adventurous soul to experience nature at its finest. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The recent uproar caused by Donald Trump over the controversial immigration ban had people weeping and clamoring for justice. World leaders also protested on what outcomes the new policy mean for global travel, businesses as well as the safety of each country. Some companies defied the ban and assisted immigrants who sought refuge from the crisis. Here, we listed them below. Airbnb offers free housing. An emergency program they call it. The company will house refugees and Muslims affected by Trump's order or barring people coming from seven countries. Brian Chesky took to Twitter to express his concern, "Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing." Airbnb hosts and friends also poured their support for the program and protested against Trump's will. Starbucks. People go crazy for their coffee, and it seemed that the company is willing to lend their hands to the people who supported them through all these years. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz might have stepped down from his position, but when it comes to his feelings about the travel ban, he won't let anyone step on him. Starbucks seeks to hire 10,000 immigrants hit by the policy. Microsoft, Amazon, and Expedia. Three techno giants would back immigrants on this law. According to Fortune, Microsoft is "cooperating with the attorney general's office." Meanwhile, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos said, "To our employees in the U.S. and around the world who may be directly affected by this order, I want you to know that the full extent of Amazon's resources are behind you." Expedia is seen to support the lawsuit against the new law. Conde' Nast Traveler. That travel magazine which caters to luxury travels made a stand when it featured a video of a series of images of the banned countries. Though some have praised the site for its stand against racism and the immigration ban, some have harsh words for them too. Viber. Viber would let you call your loved ones whether they're in the US or among the seven banned countries listed by Trump. Its developer, Rakuten has strong sentiments about what's going on. Therefore as its response to the new law, free international calls will be made available to the countries. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 When it launches its new website, Angkor Wat would have increased its ticket prices as well. Tourists will find themselves paying steeper costs to get inside its temples, while Cambodians and all children under 12 years old, whether they be domestic or foreign tourists, will avail tickets for free. February is seen to be the month when this new policy is implemented, and foreigners will pay as much as 50 percent high than its usual price. A one-day pass it set to $37 from $20, a three-day pass of $62 from $40, and a week-long tour will get one of $72 instead of $60. According to Phnom Penh Post, Secretary General of the Cambodia Tourism Federation Carrol Sahaidak-Beaver said the high rates would not affect tourist arrivals on the site. "We are not anticipating any negative impact on tourism numbers for either Angkor Wat, the National Museum or Tuol Sleng Museum," she said. "The prices have been unchanged for 25 years and were overdue for an increase," Sahaidak-Beaver explained. But she did note, however, that it would help all stakeholders adjust to the price if only it announced and implemented earlier. The prices still do not hamper Cambodia's tourism as the secretary general mentioned that "many tour packages are sold well in advance." "It is difficult to go back and say there has been an increase," she said. "The new price is competitive to what is offered by our neighbors and internationally, and we fully support the increase." The price increase has been set to follow other hikes around tourist destinations of the country. According to the same report, the ticket price in entering the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh increased to $10, from $6.25. Meanwhile, although the increases are small in some tourist sites like the National Museum and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the price rose about $2, to $5 from its usual of $3. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The US is filled with beautiful natural/man-made attractions that travelers all over the world make a journey for and quite often, bridges are used to tie the gaps between states. But if you really stop and see, some of these bridges are also worth traveling to themselves. It's not a usual travel attraction, maybe only to those who love architecture, but there are bridges in the United States so beautiful, you should put some of them on your travel bucket list. Here are some of them: New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, West Virginia. Before this bridge was built on 1977, commuters have to spend 40 minutes to an hour just to get across on the old river at Fayetteville. Now, travelers not just praise the bridge for its convenience, but also for its picturesque quality. This is also a famous US spot for base-jumping and rappelling. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California. One of the most famous bridges in the world, it isn't surprising as traveling over the Golden Gate Bridge is an experience in itself. It connects San Francisco to Marin County, and every year, over 10 million people frequent the bridge. Its stunning views of the Alcatraz and Pacific Ocean contribute to its iconic status, as well as being one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Benson Bridge, Multnomah Falls, Oregon. Travelers will get the view of their lives if they ever find themselves crossing Benson Bridge, as it is located between beautifully in Multnomah Creek, providing a one-of-a-kind view of the majestic Multnomah Falls. Oregon is famous for it, and it is certainly known as one of the most beautiful footbridges in the US. Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York. Try crossing this bridge at night and you will get why Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most celebrated bridges in America. It took 14 years to build, and during its inauguration in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge. Being here gives anyone a magnificent view of the whole New York City Skyline, and because of this, it is awarded as a New York City Landmark, as well as a National Historic Landmark. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The controversial immigrant ban in the US sent people and companies worrying about, while Asia has other plans. The continent has lamented over the news, but it turns out they can make the situation an opportunity for them. Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, said in a tweet, "With the world now getting more isolationist it's time for Asean to start making it easier for tourists to come. Need an electronic Asean visa." According to our past article, ASEAN will be having its 50th birthday this year, and "they want to celebrate their 'birthday' by encouraging tourists to visit ASEAN nations with its highlight tour experiences and festivals." Other than the 50 celebrations, 50 travel packages, and 50 tour ideas they presented, the community would also focus on education. Reuters reported that Middle East travelers prefer Malaysia as their destination with about 200,000 tourist arrivals in 2016, coming from Donald Trump's list of banned countries. Since Malaysia is halal-certified, one can see why most Muslims want to stay there. Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters as well that, "The Middle East is a big market for us, especially in the medical tourism sector. They may choose to visit Thailand more, and this may also boost our sector." The ban would have a huge impact in Asia, especially in the tourism sector, now that the US limits its restrictions towards other countries. Citing Travelers Today ASEAN turns to gold, Visit ASEAN 50 has the goal of local and foreign visitors experiencing "ASEAN's diverse destinations, from culinary experiences and events to engaging with local communities." The report says, "To further entice tourists, special promotions for the celebration have been created for people to enjoy ASEAN's culture, heritage and nature - and above all, to feel the warmth of ASEAN hospitality." When one's problem is another's opportunity - is seems to be the belief of Asia right now. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 A supposed to be fun and memorable Lunar New Year holiday cruise in Malaysia took a deadly turn as the boat overturned, sending all passengers in the stormy seas. This dreadful incident happened in the coast of Borneo last Saturday. The cruise set off on Kota Kinabalu late Saturday and is supposed to sail to Mengalum, a tourist spot in Malaysia. However, due to a heavy storm and big waves, it caused the boat to sink, leaving its 27 Chinese tourist passengers and three crew members stranded in the cold waters. They were apparently left in the sea for 30 hours, until some Malaysian fishermen rescued them. According to Reuters, 3 passengers died from the incident, but four more Chinese tourists are still apparently missing along with one Malaysian. Because of this, nautical search along Borneo's waters have been intensified, with local naval ships searching an area of 2,400 square nautical miles. The Chinese government has been alerted about the incident and has sent assistance to help search for the missing tourists. They have also requested that all efforts must be quickly exhausted and a thorough and objective investigation must be commenced. Brunei has also sent some naval support to help the search. The head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, director-general Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar said in a statement last Sunday: "According to the skipper, the boat was 'broken' after being hit by strong waves, and sank. All the tourists were tied together and were carried away by the currents." The Malaysian government is now treating the case as a priority and ordered a thorough inquiry into the incident. "At the moment we must concentrate fully on the search and rescue efforts, "Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said. A rescued Chinese tourist named Fan Li Xia has shared that horrible experience in the hospital when she and the other passengers were immediately taken to after their rescue. "If we were found any later, I don't think I would have survived," she said. "My friend died. We dragged his body around for half a day, but we couldn't manage anymore so we had to let it go." See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 In response to the immigration ban imposed by US President Donald Trump last Friday, over 4,000 scholars, professors and researchers have signed a petition calling all other academics to boycott the international conferences scheduled in the United States in the future. The move aims to provide solidarity to the seven Muslim countries that are affected by the 90-day travel ban for refugees issued by President Trump. Economics and International Development Studies professor at Trent University, Haroon Akram-Lodhi, said that the petition signed by the academics is their means of supporting their Muslim colleagues in this time of predicament. Akram-Lodhi also held that international conferences are huge money-makers and are significant in the upsurge of a country's economy. "We don't want to give the economic support to the U.S. in this situation," Akram-Lodhi said. In a report by the Inside Higher Ed, Nadine El-Enany, one of the organizers in the said petition and is also a law professor at the Birkbeck School of Law, University of London said that after the news were bombarded with Trump's travel ban last week, academics have thought of ways on how to help their Muslim associates who are greatly affected by the immigration ban. The petition challenges the "intellectual integrity" of international conferences hosted by the United States considering the executive order currently being enacted by Trump's administration. According to a report by Chronicle, despite the difficulty of uniting the academics in terms of dealing with political issues, the petition for boycotting the US international conferences has already unified a number of professors in the academe including Emery Berger of the University of Massachusetts and Helen McCarthy, Queen Mary University of London's historian. Berger said, "Science is intended to be free and open, and any place that restricts the travel of scientists to present their work is a problem. We are talking about taking steps to mitigate this problem however we can. As of the present, there are over 29 million scientists and engineers in the United States and 5.2 million of which are immigrants. Aside from the support for the petition by the students, scholars and professors, there are also 50 Nobel Laureates who conformed to the campaign. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Travelers from all over the United States still searching for which vacation to take should take advantage of that next flight to Costa Rica. This tropical destination is on sale from the middle of February until the end of April, according to Airfare Spot. Costa Rica is arguably the most beautiful country in Central America. Tourists from all over the world come to Costa Rica. This country is a paradise for divers and birdwatchers and all those who love tropical greenery and fantastic sunsets. Costa Rica is a country in Central America, surrounded by Nicaragua to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Panama to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around 4.5 million, of which nearly a quarter live in the metropolitan area of the capital and largest city, San Jose. It's cloud forests and remote beaches are the perfect place to take a detox from all things digital, Travel + Leisure reports. Visitors can escape to the worry-free all-inclusive Secrets Papagayo, or do horseback riding exploring the Perez Zeldon mountains. Only a few places can compare to the biological diversity of Costa Rica, with its cloud forests, wetlands, and tens of thousands of unique species of flora and fauna. Since the 2012 opening of the new terminal at Liberia's International Airport, many properties have risen, but it's only very recent that the new luxury development came about. Promo available are a $273 round-trip to San Jose, Costa Rica from Chicago in March. Also available is a $304 from Newark Liberty International Airport to Liberia. Reservations to Costa Rica can be made with United, American Airlines, or Delta for Portland or Seattle departures costing between $348 and $354. Los Angeles-based travelers can travel with Avianca to Costa Rica for only $351. Another promo to Costa Rica is this $253 round trip from Boston to Liberia, see here. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Destination Asia, Asias leading destination management company recently announced the promotion of Kaci McAllister to General Manager of Destination Asia China, and Karen Cheng to Deputy General Manager of their Shanghai office. (TRAVPR.COM) THAILAND - February 1st, 2017 - Destination Asia, Asias leading destination management company recently announced the promotion of Kaci McAllister to General Manager of Destination Asia China, and Karen Cheng to Deputy General Manager of their Shanghai office. Kaci will now lead all country operations and business development in China. Karen will lead the Shanghai team in creating outstanding and unique experiences for all of their guests. Linda Wang, Managing Director of Destination Asia China said, I am so happy to announce the promotions of Kaci and Karen. Since they joined the company, they have both played an integral role in DA Chinas development and continued success. I am very confident that having them on the management team will lead to an even brighter future for us. Kaci joined the Destination Asia team in early 2014 to lead the companys product development throughout China and was promoted to General Manager in January 2017. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Kaci earned a Bachelors degree in German and a minor in Mandarin Chinese from Vanderbilt University. After graduating in 2010 she was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant in Germany, where she spent one year at the University of Tubingen conducting historical research. Upon completion of the grant, she moved across the world to rural Guizhou, China to pursue a career in tourism development and hospitality. She is thrilled to serve the Destination Asia China team and our clients as General Manager moving forward. Karen joined the Shanghai team in 2011 and has fourteen years of experience in the tourism industry. A native of Shanghai, she has handled hundreds of MICE programs throughout her career, including the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai Expo. Karen holds a degree in Tourism Marketing from Tongji University and is a true travel enthusiast. Her most recent adventure took her all the way to Antarctica! ### When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Unless we start paying cacao farmers more, we could be inadvertently contributing to the end of chocolate as we know it. Fifty-eight million pounds of chocolate will be sold to American customers in the weeks leading up to Valentines Day. Interestingly, most buyers will be men; the week prior to February 14 is the only time during the year when men overtake women as primary chocolate buyers. Regardless of your opinion on this Hallmark holiday, its undeniable that chocolate plays an important part. We love it and long for it, a symbol of both romantic and parental love. Now, imagine a world without chocolate, where it was impossible to buy a sweet, tasty bar to savor or dark powder to stir into steaming milk. Unfortunately, this is a very real possibility. The chocolate market is unstable for a number of reasons, as explained by Gastropod hosts Nicola Twilley and Cynthia Graber in their latest episode, We Heart Chocolate. We chocolate-lovers would do well to pay attention to the impending disaster since its not yet too late. The first major threat to chocolate supply is disease. Currently one-third of the annual crop of cacao (the substance from which chocolate is made) succumbs to diseases. This is the tragic result of growing a monoculture on vast plantations, where a single disease can ravage the entire lot. Currently 70 percent of cacao comes from West Africa, which creates added vulnerability. Secondly, cacao trees like a very particular climate. They will not grow outside of a narrow geographical band that measures 20 degrees north and south of the equator, and this is threatened by climate change. One solution is the development of hybrid varieties, but with increased resilience comes loss of flavor. Growing cacao in a diverse forest would offset both of these problems, but this requires a third problem to be addressed as soon as possible lack of compensation for cacao farmers. Farmers are walking away their cacao plantations because theyre not financially viable. For example, farmers earn a mere 10 cents per $2 chocolate bar. Its more lucrative to switch to other tropical crops like coffee or palm oil. Says Simran Sethi, author of Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of the Foods We Love and guest on Gastropod: I understand people bristling at the idea of a $10 bar of chocolate, but the truth is that we are not paying enough for these goods. And until we, as consumers, are willing to put more money behind these things, and explore these companies that are trying to reward farmers with money for sustaining these crops, I dont think we can [alleviate] the fear that chocolate will go away. Sethi points out how other foods, such as cheese, beer, and coffee, have all developed large specialty markets, but chocolate remains an outlier, with only one percent of its market considered specialty or high-end. Compared to coffee, whose specialty market represents 50 percent, this is surprising. People are not yet accustomed to seeking out fair- or direct-trade bars, quite possibly because they dont understand what it means. Not only does it mean that farmers will be able to implement better, more sustainable agricultural methods for a long-lasting, resilient crop, but it also means that their laborers will be paid better. Currently chocolate has a notorious intimate relationship with slavery, including forced child labor. These are good facts to keep in mind before heading out to your Valentines Day shopping. By all means, choose chocolate for your loved ones, but reach for the single-origin, small company-owned, artisanal chocolate bars, instead of the cheap, mass-produced bars that contain only a small fraction of cacao, with far more additives. Shocked by the price? Remember, youre doing it for the future of this decadent treat. Listen to the entire podcast here: Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 31 The star campaigner of the BJP and celebrity-turned-politician Hema Malini spoke for 90 seconds in support of party candidates for LS bypoll Rajinder Mohan Singh Chinna and Amritsar East constituency Rajesh Honey. Do ensure their victory and your future would be very bright, said Hema who apparently did not know LS bypoll candidate Chinnas name. When a party candidate told her the name, she responded, Kiska naam hai yeh? (Whose name is this?) The other sentence she spoke was, I have attended two-three meetings earlier and I came to know about this programme, so I came here. Now I have to go to another meeting. After attending the meeting, she left for Pathankot where she was schedule to attend another meeting. The organisers also did not wait for a minute, as she was directly escorted to the mike. Though the star campaigner was late by three hours, the crowd greeted her with slogans of `Hema Malini Zindabad and `Bole So Nihal. The gathering also shouted Dharam Paji Zindabad. Earlier the speakers of the BJP addressed her as Basanti Bhabi and Hema Bhabi, as they explained that Dharmendra was their brother. Chinna said people should vote for the LS candidate of the party whose government is also at the Centre. He said the victory of the Congress candidate would not help, as only he could ensure grants for the city because he enjoyed the blessings of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He also sought votes for Honey, saying that he is young, energetic and has the zeal to serve the public. Honey is pitted against the Congress candidate, Navjot Singh Sidhu. As per the Indradhanush plan, the public sector banks will be provided with Rs 10,000 crore in the next fiscal. Additional allocation would be made if required, the Finanace Minister said while presenting the Budget New Delhi, February 1 The government will infuse Rs 10,000 crore in public sector banks in the next fiscal and more will be provided if required, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. As per the Indradhanush plan, the public sector banks will be provided with Rs 10,000 crore in the next fiscal. Additional allocation would be made if required, he said while presenting Budget 2017-18. Under Indradhanush roadmap announced in 2015, the government will infuse Rs 70,000 crore in state banks over four years while they will have to raise a further Rs 1.1 lakh crore from the markets to meet their capital requirement in line with global risk norms, known as BaselIII. In line with the blueprint, public sector banks have been given Rs 25,000 crore in each fiscal, 2015-16 and 2016-17. Besides, Rs 10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The government has already announced fund infusion of Rs 22,915 crore, out of the Rs 25,000 crore earmarked for 13 PSBs for the current fiscal. Of this, 75% has already been released to them. The first tranche was announced with the objective of enhancing their lending operations and enabling them to raise more money from the market. Tax concessions to deal with NPAs In a big relief to banks struggling with bad loans, the government today proposed tax concession on provisions for NPAs while announcing capital infusion of Rs 10,000 crore for state-owned lenders. It also proposed that tax on interest will be levied on actual receipts and not on accrual basis in respect of Non Performing Asset (NPA) or bad loan accounts. He also proposed to tax interest receivable on actual receipt instead of accrual basis in respect of NPA accounts of all nonscheduled cooperative banks as well, at par with scheduled banks. This will remove hardship of having to pay tax even when interest income is not realised. PTI The FM has comprehensively addressed all areas of socio-economic priority farmers, poor and under-privileged, infra development and strengthening of the financial sector. Chanda Kochhar, CEO, ICICI Bank There are many positives for banks like the balance between need to spend and maintain fiscal discipline. The adherence to the fiscal roadmap, with a target of 3.2%, is also welcome. Shikha Sharma, Axis Bank chief A positive for the banking sector, thrust has been accorded to evolving a swifter and effective resolution mechanism. Provision for NPAs to avail tax benefits has been raised. Melwyn Rego, Bank of India Compliance easy for small taxpayers Making it easier for small tax payers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said there will be no scrutiny of assessees filing income tax returns for the first time. Individuals having taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh can just fill up a simple one-page form for filing their tax returns. "When too many people evade taxes the burden of their share falls on those who are honest and compliant. We are now tightening our noose around tax evaders and that money is coming to exchequer, so we are trying to reward the honest tax payers," Jaitley said at the post budget press conference. Rs 1,555 crore to boost garment exports Union Minister Smriti Irani today said the Rs 1,555-crore outlay in the Budget for remission of state levies will "greatly benefit" exports in the garments and made-ups segment of textiles. Putting out a series of tweets, Irani said she was "thankful" of the Rs 6,226.50 crore provision in the Budget for textiles. She felt that it will provide "a major boost to exports and employment, especially for women". Irani said that for the first time, the Budget has provided Rs 200 crore under PM Paridhan Rojgar Yojna to boost employment in the garment segment. Besides, the reduction in corporate tax for MSME units with turnover of up to Rs 50 crore "will benefit large number of textiles units". Rs 1,841 cr allocated to tourism ministry The government today allocated Rs 1,840.77 crore to the tourism ministry in the budget for the next fiscal, including Rs 959.91 crore for the Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around specific themes (Swadesh Darshan scheme). The ministry would be receiving a little over Rs 250 crore more in the 2017-18 fiscal as compared to the ongoing financial year for which it was allocated Rs 1,590.32 crore, according to the budget document. Decision on FRBM review report soon The report of the FRBM Review Panel, headed by former revenue secretary N K Sinha, will be carefully examined and appropriate decisions will be taken in due course, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. Expert view Removal of FIPB is a good move which will ease FDI inflow. Sadly no impetus for exports, science & technology, manufacturing sector which would have boosted the Make in India initiative. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon CMD This Budget would tremendously strengthen the economic muscle of the country. It is directionally correct, fiscally prudent and strengthens the governance fabric of the nation. Pankaj Patel, FICCI president While the reduction of corporate tax for the small and medium enterprises with turnover less than Rs 50 crore, is a welcome move, the India Inc was expecting it for large firms as well. Sunil Kanoria, assocham president Overall, the Budget builds positive sentiments among Indian industry and overseas investors that the Government would remain on the path of fiscal prudence while taking all possible measures to boost growth. Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII Divestment target Rs 72,500 crore The government said on Wednesday it will raise Rs 72,500 crore through disinvestment of PSUs, including listing of three railway PSUs IRCTC, IRFC and IRCON, and proposed merger and consolidation to create globally competitive public sector units. Payments Regulatory board The FM proposed creation of a six-member Payments Regulatory Board in the RBI, headed by its Governor, as part of bringing about structural reforms in the payment eco-system. For the purpose, necessary amendments are proposed in the Finance Bill 2017. Sops for electronics sector Government today announced various measures for the electronics sector which includes "record allocation" of Rs 745 crore towards incentive schemes like M-SIPS and EDF and duty exemption on POS machines, though the announcements fell short of enthusing domestic manufacturers. Penalty for Delayed ITR Taxpayers who do not file their returns on time will have to shell out a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 from AY 2018-19. "It is proposed to insert a new section 234F in the Act to provide that a fee for delay in furnishing of return shall be levied, the memorandum for the Finance Bill 2017 said. Import duty cut on LNG In a bid to promote gas-based economy, FM today halved the import duty on liquefied natural gas (LNG) to 2.5%, a move that will help cut cost of power and fertiliser production. It will result in cheaper import of fuel, which makes up for roughly 40% of the gas consumed in the country. Funds for scientific ministries Scientific ministries have been earmarked Rs 37,435 crore in this year's budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said, with the Department of Space witnessing a maximum hike of over Rs 1,000 crore in its allocation. Last year, the total allocation was Rs 32,030.72 crore. Charu Chhibber Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 1 Following news reports carried in these columns highlighting the plight of students of government primary schools at Railway Colony and Mauli Jagran in the absence of basic infrastructural facilities, city Mayor Asha Jaswal today visited both schools to take stock of the situation. The Mayor, along with Deputy Mayor and area councillor Anil Dube, has identified a vacant piece of land at Mauli Jagran for the construction of a new school building. As an immediate measure, the Mayor ordered provision of good-quality mats to the students of both schools, who are forced to sit on the floor in the absence of proper classrooms and furniture. The dari that is used by students is tattered and old, which provides no protection against the cold, she said. She also directed that repair works be carried out in both schools and broken windows be fixed at the earliest. She also directed that microwaves be provided at the schools so that the staff can have warm food. The school at Mauli Jagran is running in an old building that is not even meant to house a school. The Deputy Mayor, who is also the area councillor, was called and we identified a vacant plot where a new school can be constructed, said the Mayor, adding that she had already drafted a letter and would soon hold a meeting with the Adviser and the Home Secretary in this regard. I will also talk to officials of the Education Department. We want the best for our students, she said. The Mayor said at Railway Colony, she noticed an overall lack of cleanliness. I intend to talk to the railway authorities about the overall lack of cleanliness, particularly in the area adjoining the school. Cleanliness is crucial to students health, she said. Both schools under MC Both schools have been functioning under the Municipal Corporation ever since seven government primary schools in the city were transferred to the MC by the UT Education Department six years ago. Harish Khare Sometime in early 1959, JRD Tata, Indias most respected and iconic entrepreneur, wrote to Jawaharlal Nehru that though his group, the Tatas, would continue to keep funding the Congress Party, he wanted to inform the Prime Minister that it would also be financing the newly established Swatantra Party. The Tata doyen told the Prime Minister that he found the Swatantra Party to be having a much closer appreciation of the needs of the business community; hence, he felt his group was obliged to extend whatever support it could to the Swatantra Party. Unperturbed, Nehru replied to JRD that he and his group were fully entitled to fund and finance whichever political activity they deemed worth their penny. As far as he was concerned, he had no doubt in his mind that the Swatantra Party had no future in Indian politics. Nehru was proved right: the Swatantra Party folded its tent within 15 years, though not without some spectacular successes in the 1962 and 1967 Lok Sabha elections. What neither Nehru argued nor JRD understood was that the Indian business community did not need a party like the Swatantra Party, a political outfit that believed in plain, simple, clean capitalism, whereas the Indian businessmen had thrived only under State patronage and its louche cousin, crony capitalism. Both before and after the 1991 reforms, the so-called entrepreneurs relied on political connections for their financial prosperity. Even now, the Indian State retains a very capricious capacity to mug any business house of its happiness. That is why the totally strange and inexplicable sight of a Ratan Tata making a pilgrimage to Nagpur to pay a courtesy call on Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS boss man. All this needs to be recalled in order to contextualise Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys attempt to cleanse the political party's dirty financial stables. Over the years, all political parties have had access to huge and, that means, really huge funds to finance elections and political activity. And, this means a less-than-honourable juggalbandi with the dishonest businessman. This juggalbandi has been at the core of all the ills and imperfections of Indian democracy. On the one hand, there rose and, rose mightily the houses of the Adanis and the Ambanis; the rise has been attributed to their ability to cosy up to political leaders. On the other hand, we have had the politicians with business links the SK Patils, the LN Mishras, the Pramod Mahajans having acquired prominence and clout within their own parties. Narendra Modis own ascendency in Gujarat can easily be traced to the ecology of institutionalised crony capitalism. And, by all accounts, the BJP had outspent many times over all its rivals in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. No political party can pretend to have its hands clean, or even cleaner than the other. A handful of individual leaders may be able to claim a kind of personal honesty but none is entitled to a claim of ignorance about his/her party's ability to access dirty money. No political party can claim to be morally superior when it comes to receiving or extorting funds from businessmen, big or small. In recent years, AAP has sought to put in place a somewhat transparent system but, of late, it too has found itself being accused of unclean transactions. At first glance, Mr Jaitley has taken the first step towards forcing the political parties to clean up their account books. It is a political reform whose day has come. Not a day too soon. The middle classes, who have peremptorily colonised the sites of political argumentation, can be tempted to cheer this as a transformative moment. Yet, the temptation must be resisted-for three reasons. First, politics is an expensive business. A political party and its activities mobilisation of support and dissent, sustenance of a large number of party activists, and, increasingly, the need for access to expensive technology of social media cost quite a bundle. The bigger the party, the larger its establishment and larger the size of its baggage-and, the heftier its monthly bill. Second, the government at the Centre and in the states has not vacated its rent-seeking sites. There will always be temptation for a chief minister to use his coercive powers to generate easy money, for personal or political use. Political parties attract mostly the parasitic elements that come to the arena only to live off the taxpayer. And, third, there is no dismantling of crony capitalism. Consequently, the unclean and unethical businessman would continue to seek out the unclean and unethical politician. The businessmans greed and the politician's rapacity work in tandem. Nonetheless, a beginning has been made. Still, it would be reassuring to know that the Finance Minister's initiative was not simply motivated by political cleverness, aimed at grounding the BJPs rivals just as some suspect that demonetisation was primarily driven by a desire to pauperise the other political parties. That calculation seems to be coming unstuck in Uttar Pradesh. The Modi government has incurred a serious trust deficit. Political parties in India will continue to have a legitimate need for funds, both for and beyond electioneering activities. And, it is perfectly legitimate for a business house or a rich businessman to reward a political party or leader on account of a platform or ideology. In fact, even before Independence, most Indian business leaders willingly and cheerfully funded Mahatma Gandhis establishment. After 1947, many regional businessmen were inclined to fund, finance and support regional political outfits. Today, our politics has become so divisive and toxic that any reform becomes suspect. There is no JRD today who would be able to tell the Prime Minister that he would be funding his political rivals. There is no business house that does not seek a favour from the government of the day. This vulnerability induces moral timidity and financial chicanery. The unvarnished fact is that no corporate house can sanguinely acknowledge writing cheques for a political party's treasurer. No businessman can afford to earn the wrath of the ruling party and incite a visit from that ubiquitous ED or the CBI who invariably end up seizing incriminating documents. Even the most honest trader or contractor or entrepreneur remains vulnerable to the States minatory inspector. Mr Jaitleys budget has so ordained that the political parties including the BJP would have to rejig their financial connections. Transparency in public life is a much-desired goal, but it should not be used to frogmarch the rivals out of the political arena. New norms of a level-playing field will need to be institutionalised. Otherwise the Jaitley remedy may be worse than the disease. The Union Budget for 2017-18 is in line with the BJPs changed political stance of wooing the poor and shedding its suit-boot-ki-sarkar image. The Modi government has changed track and turned to the side where the numbers are the poor, farmers and the middle class which makes sense electorally. This is what every party tries to do look credible on welfare and capture the constituency of the deprived. Congress and BJP budgets frequently look similar. How to deliver the dole is the real challenge and the switchover to a technology-based foolproof system is being unnecessarily delayed. Indias economy moves mainly on four wheels-government spending, consumption, exports and private investment. This Budget focuses only on the first two. Exports have lost momentum due to a slowdown in Europe and the US. The situation can only worsen as Western leaders, including President Trump, increasingly turn protectionist. The windfall from oil has gone into refurbishing the government finances and good times may end if crude prices keep inching up. Indias companies, even the cash rich, are not investing here or abroad. Bank credit offtake is at its lowest in decades. Jaitley has pumped more money into banks. He had no option other than stimulating demand with government expenditure. Welfare carries its costs: more government, more taxes. Worse, the extended hand does not reach the needy. Since infrastructure is still not ready for direct cash transfers, the leaky system persists to the advantage of the vested interests. Poverty reduction efforts have drained the exchequer over the years. Competitive populism has led to cuts in funds for educational and health institutions which the poor access. It is not enough to say farmers' income will be doubled in five years without answering how and when. Incomes can rise if either farm inputs cost less or farm products fetch higher prices. The government is showing them the way to new markets. Job creation through MNREGA is welcome but Jaitley need not take much pride in making the highest-ever allocation for this UPA scheme. Instead the focus should be on plugging the leakages. MNREGA, say critics, is a needless burden on the taxpayer and a 2013 government audit found fault with its implementation. Ideally, in keeping with economic reforms, the government should limit itself to taking care of essentials like education, health and infrastructure and make institutions deliver. Every rupee of the taxpayers money must be accounted for. Modi has abandoned his idea of a minimum government. A lean efficient government with vibrant institutions is possible but no party, it seems, needs it as there are activists to adjust and the downtrodden to look after. Why it should take this long to scrap the FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) is a mystery. States have many such white elephants that feed on limited resources. Despite a questionable government approach the budget has a lot to commend itself. The budgets rural, MSME, housing and infrastructure thrust would hopefully perk up consumption and employment generation. The grant of infrastructure status to affordable housing will help lower the costs for builders and attract buyers, while the steps to reduce the capital gains tax for property sellers may wake up the sleepy real estate sector. Individuals and MSMEs have been granted tax relief, possibly to compensate them for the pain of demonetisation, inflicted suddenly and thoughtlessly on an economy running smoothly. What is not broke need not be fixed. Honest taxpayers and tax evaders should be treated differently. It is not enough to talk about a law to seize assets of economic offenders. Make it happen. Some states have already taken the lead. The drive against black money has kept a window open for political parties to let in nameless contributions. The 2,000 limit is open to as much misuse as the one for Rs 20,000. Jaitley has shied away from cleaning up an area notorious for peddling black money. There is a known route of laundering unaccounted cash through P-notes which remains unplugged. Vote politics has weighed on priorities. Jailtey has not hurt any section but lost an opportunity for hard decisions. It is an incremental, more-of-the-same budget that does not inflict pain on anyone and is fiscally sound but falls below expectations of those looking for something transformative. Unexciting, Mr Jaitley. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 1 Budgetary provisions with regard to agriculture announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech in Parliament today have triggered a political debate in Haryana. While Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar, whose official Twitter handle kept tweeting Budget highlights with regard to agriculture, has welcomed the announcements, Congress and INLD leaders have termed the provisions too little. In his Budget speech, Jaitley announced Rs 10 lakh crore for agriculture credits in the country, which is the highest ever, announced increase in cropped area under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) from 30 per cent in 2016-17 to 40 per cent in 2017-18 and 50 per cent in 2018-19. The minister also announced a dedicated fund worth Rs 5,000 crore to be set up for micro-irrigation under NABARD. With better monsoon, agriculture is expected to grow at 4.1 per cent, the Finance Minister said in his speech regarding agriculture and maintained that the government would set up a dairy processing fund of Rs 8,000 crore over three years with initial corpus of Rs 2,000 crore. Jaitley also made a mention of the state in his speech when he said Chandigarh and eight districts of Haryana had been declared kerosene-free. Being a predominately agricultural state, farmers as well as political class in Haryana was keenly waiting for the Budget. Committed to doubling the #farmincome in 5 years: @arunjaitley. Kisan Ki Sarkar, Kisan Ka Budget, tweeted Dhankar after Jaitley submitted his Budget to the Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to double farmers income by 2022. The present Budget is a move in that direction, said Dhankar when contacted. Congress MLA from Palwal Karan Singh Dalal, however, termed the Budget as anti-farmer. Increase of agricultural credits from Rs 9 lakh crore to Rs 10 lakh crore at a time when prices of farm inputs have gone up considerably is not going to help farmers cause, said Dalal. He said he had been already maintaining that the very concept of the PMFBY was erroneous, since it was pro insurance companies and against the interests of farmers. Parminder Singh Dhull, INLD MLA from the Julana assembly segment of Jind, said the Budget had disappointed farmers in the state. Rs 400 crore was collected from farmers as premium for kharif crop and more than Rs 600 crore will be collected now for the rabi crop, but farmers claims for damage to their crops were being rejected, he alleged. Dhull said he had expected something big like special economic zones (SEZ) for agriculture and state funding of insurance premium, but nothing of that sort happened. Gurjeet Singh Mann, a progressive farmer from Sirsa, said the Union Budget had nothing significant for the farmers, accept very meagre decrease agricultural loans. Budget reflects PM's pro-poor vision: CM Chandigarh: Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday hailed the Union Budget and said it would give demand, economy and digitisation a decisive push. Reacting to the Budget proposals, the CM was all praise for the governments move to bring the much-needed reforms in political funding by making political parties file income tax returns and lowering the maximum cash donation received by any party from one source to only Rs 2,000 from Rs 20,000. The Budget reflects the thinking and pro-poor vision of the Minister Narendra Modi, he added. TNS Traders happy Karnal: Traders of the district have hailed the announcements made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget. They said it was a historical Budget. They, however, said they were expecting exemption of tax up to Rs 4 lakh, but the Finance Minister had extended it to only Rs 3 lakh from Rs 2.5 lakh. The Budget will boost business as well as the agriculture sector, said Amit Gupta, vice president of Haryana Chamber of Commerce. Vijay Setia, a rice miller, said the Budget would be good for the sector. TNS Thumbs up from real estate Chandigarh: National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), the apex national body for the real estate industry, has hailed the Union Budget and said it would set in motion structured reforms in the housing sector of the country. Parveen Jain, president, NAREDCO said, The announcements made in the Finance Bill focuses on the uplift of the urban poor and the under privileged within our cities and rural areas. TNS Budget dismal: Sarv Karamchari Sangh Faridabad: The Sarva Karamchari Sangh, Haryana (SKS) , the leading government employees federation in the state, has described the Union Budget as dismal. Subhash Lamba, general secretary of the sangh, said while it was expected that the government would raise the income tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh, hiking it to just Rs 3 lakh had saddened a majority of the taxpayers. While the capitalist and industrialist lobby had been provided relief by decreasing corporate tax, the middle class and government employees had been ignored. Lamba said members of the All-India Government Employees Federation would take out a march and lay a siege to Parliament on March 2 to highlight the grievances of employees. TNS Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service Hisar, January 31 Nearly seven years after scores of Dalit families fled Mirchpur following a clash with upper caste Jats, a similar exodus appeared to have begun after fresh violence between the two communities last night. Around 40 families left the village today despite assurances by the district authorities of foolproof security. Around 100 villagers had reached Hisar town in two buses by the evening. As in 2010, yesterdays violence too was the fallout of a petty issue, which snowballed into a major clash that left four Dalit youths injured. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Complainant Tej Bhan alleged that Shiv Kumar, a Dalit youth, had two days ago won a 1,600 metres race event, which saw participation from all castes. Probably those beaten in the race could not digest a Dalit edging past them... a scuffle began when a group of Jat youths hurled casteist slurs at Shiv at a cyccling event last night, he said. When Shiv objected, he was attacked by around 40 persons, alleged Bhan. Ajmer Kumar, a Dalit, said they would return to the village only after the government fulfilled their demands. In April 2010, two Dalits were charred to death following a fight between the two communities over the barking of a dog. A fragile truce was restored by CRPF, which was withdrawn two months ago. The fresh violence has raised questions over the move to withdraw the security force. Deputy Commissioner Nikhil Gajraj denied it was a caste clash, saying among those arrested, one each was from Brahmin and Lohar castes while the other two were Jats. Sarpanch Satyawan too claimed it was a clash between youngsters and was unnecessarily being given a caste colour. Superintendent of Police Rajender Kumar Meena said additional forces had been rushed to the village, and that the situation was under control. Meanwhile, following state minister Krishan Bedis assurance, Dalits agreed to return to their village. Bedi assured them that the state government would consider their rehabilitation demand after the assembly poll in five states. Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, February 1 Amid high-voltage drama and scenes of vandalism over expunging of Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis remarks on Article 370, the state Legislative Assembly was adjourned sine die on Wednesday six days ahead of schedule. According to the revised notified calendar, the Assembly was to function until February 7, but the Speaker Kavinder Gupta announced adjournment of the House sine die following unprecedented pandemonium, violent protests and damage to furniture by the Opposition, comprising National Conference and Congress legislators. The NC and Congress MLAs stormed into the well of the House, tore off papers, flung chairs, uprooted mikes and threw tables, seeking clarification from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks that those trying to abrogate Article 370 were anti-nationals. The Chief Minister, incidentally, was not present in the House today. One of marshals was injured in the melee while NC legislators virtually came to blows with Forest Minister Lal Singh after a heated exchange of words following the damage to property of the House. As soon as the House assembled for the days proceedings, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sought a clarification from the Speaker on whether he had examined the records of the proceedings with regard to the Chief Ministers remarks and expunged her remarks on Article 370. The Chief Minister, during her speech in the Assembly on January 30, had stated that those who were taking the legal route to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35 (A) were anti-nationals. Speaker Kavinder Gupta had initially agreed to the BJPs demand to expunge Mehboobas remarks, evoking a strong protest from the Opposition. Responding to the Oppositions concern even as he evaded a direct reply on expunction of Mehboobas remarks, the Speaker said he had examined the records and the Chief Minister did not mean what has been said over her remarks. This reply led to ruckus in the House with NC and Congress legislators storming into the well and raising slogans against the government. National Conference legislator Altaf Ahmed Wani uprooted the mike and flung chairs in the air. Amid the chaos, the Speaker adjourned the House for half an hour. After the adjournment of the House, some of members virtually came to blows after Lal Singh exchanged heated words with NC legislators Mohammad Akbar Lone and Abdul Majid Larmi. However, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, PDP MLA Javed Mustafa Mir and marshals prevented the situation from getting worse. Amid the chaos, the House was adjourned sine die after two government Bills were passed. Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, February 1 The Supreme Court has granted the Centre four weeks to file the Expert Committee report on the use of pellet guns in Kashmir. Earlier on December 14, 2016, the apex court had issued a notice to the Centre and the J&K Government on a plea by the J&K High Court Bar association for banning the use of pellet guns by the security forces to deal with violence in the state. The court had also asked the Union Government to file the expert panel report on the use of pellet guns by the next date which was fixed for December 30. The matter was listed this week on Monday before a bench headed by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice NV Ramana. The Kashmir Bar Association in the matter was represented by a panel of lawyers, including Bar president Mian Qayoom and senior lawyer Zaffar Shah. The matter was listed at serial number 34 before the bench but due to time constraint, it was not taken up, one of the Bar lawyers present in the court told The Tribune. He said the Expert Committee report had not yet been submitted by the Centre and the J&K Government also hadnt filed its response to the plea. Post (the matter) for hearing after four weeks, the Supreme Court said in its orders upon hearing the counsel. The Supreme Court is hearing an appeal by the J&K High Court Bar Association, Srinagar, challenging the September 22, 2016, judgment of the J&K High Court rejecting the associations plea for ban on the use of pellet guns. Our Correspondent Samrala, January 31 The police claimed to have recovered 170 cases of country made liquor from a vehicle near here. They have registered a case and impounded the vehicle. As per information, the police, on a tip-off, signalled a pick-up truck to stop. It was was going from Rajewal village to Manki. Samrala SHO Manjit Singh said on seeing the police party, the driver escaped leaving behind the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, the police recovered 170 cases of country made liquor. The SHO said they had registered a case under the Excise Act. They have impounded the vehicle and are looking for the driver. New Delhi, February 1 In a bid to usher in more transparency in funding of political parties, the Budget proposals today introduced Rs 2,000 cash donation limit per person, slashing it from the existing Rs 20,000, besides introducing electoral bonds. Citing that even after 70 years the country could not evolve a transparent system of funding parties, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the proposals included receipt of donations by cheque or digital mode and electoral bonds that donors can purchase from authorised banks against cheque/digital payment. Under the scheme, to be introduced amending the Reserve Bank of India Act, these bonds will be redeemable only in the designated account of a registered political party and will be redeemable within the prescribed time limit. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The donor and the donee will get tax exemption. A donor will get a deduction, donee as a political party will get an exemption provided the returns are filed and donations by any single donor above Rs 2,000 are in the form of cheque or digital mode, Jaitley said at a press conference. While Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi welcomed the step, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury felt the cash cut would open up a plethora of ways through which unaccounted money would come in and demanded complete ban on corporate funding. However, Prof Jagdeep Chhokar of the Association of Democratic Reforms felt lowering the limit will not help bring about transparency, as parties that do not want to declare the source will now convert incoming donations into even smaller amounts. TNS Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 1 Despite rapidly expanding military prowess of China and an perpetually belligerent Pakistan, the Narenda Modi-led Government on Wednesday maintained a small hike of about 6.2 per cent in defence spending and announced an allocation of Rs 2.74,114 crore ($40.31 billion) for the fiscal 2017-2018. The budget includes a capital outlay of Rs 86,488 for new equipment, weapons, aircraft, naval warships, Army vehicles. This is a 9 per cent hike over the this years capital at Rs 78,586, indicating that the government will on its path of adding new weapons. Notably, Rs 6686 crore was unspent in this year and the spending was reduced in the revised estimates. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The overall hike works out to be about Rs 15,525 crore over the budgetary allocation for the ongoing fiscal (ending March 31) that was Rs 2,58,589 crore. This sum does not include the pensions bill which itself is close to Rs 85,000 per annum. Indias budget will be just about 26 per cent of China which is spending at $155 billion during its own fiscal year that ends almost the same time as Indias. Though the expense of the MoD will account for 9 per cent of all government spending, it leaves India gasping for breath to catch up with its neighbour China. The US has okayed a budget of $618 billion for this year, while Japan has passed a budget of US $43.6 billion for the year. Both have hiked the budget allocated for defence sector. The Ministry of Defence has literally been weighed down by increased salaries and pensions the expected effect of the Seventh Pay Commission and enhanced pensions after the one rank, one pension. The allocation for new weapons, equipment and systems has been increased, but not the quantum jump that is needed to rapidly bridge the gap. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who last year had not even mentioned the allocation for defence in his budget speech, this year mentioned the defence outlay. Already Indias expenses on operations and maintenance are dropping, while expenses on salaries have risen. Kozhikode (Kerala), February 1 Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized unaccounted Saudi riyal worth Rs 45.69 lakh from two Dubai-bound passengers at the Kozhikode Airport on Tuesday. According to DRI officials, the currency was cleverly concealed in a bunch of bananas in the check-in luggage of the two passengers. The passengers were scheduled to travel to Dubai on Indigo flight 6E-88 when the DRI officials acting on a tip-off intercepted them. ANI Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 1 Despite rapidly expanding military prowess of China and an perpetually belligerent Pakistan, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday maintained a relatively small hike of about 5.8 per cent in defence spending and announced an allocation of Rs 2,74,114 crore ($ 40.31 billion) for fiscal 2017-2018. The overall hike works out to around Rs 15,525 crore over the budgetary allocation for the ongoing fiscal (ending March 31) which stood at Rs 2,58,589 crore. This sum does not include the pensions. Though the expense of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will account for 12.77 per cent of all government spending, it leaves India gasping for breath to catch up with its neighbour China. New Delhis will be just about 26 per cent of Beijing, which is spending $155 billion on defence. The budget includes a capital outlay of Rs 86,488 cr. This money is meant for new equipment, weapons, aircraft, naval warships and Army vehicles. This is a 10 per cent increase over this years capital outlay of Rs 78,586 crore. The Indian Air Force has got the maximum, Rs 33,555 crore, under capital outlay, of which Rs 19,277 is earmarked for the aircraft, meaning the Rafale fighter jets. The pension bill of the MoD now accounts for Rs 85,740 crore, which is just Rs 748 crore less than what is going towards equipment. The salaries of the three Services and the civilian staff under them account for Rs 1,07,930 crore, which is now greater than the money spent on modernisation. New Delhi, February 1 In a pre-election Budget aimed at softening the demonetisation blow, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today halved the basic income tax rate to 5 per cent and lowered the rate for small companies, while boosting spending on rural employment, agriculture and infrastructure. Edit: An incremental budget Jaitley presented a merged railway and general Budget after advancing the dates by a month that provides a record outlay of Rs 3,96,135 crore for infrastructure schemes, besides a capital expenditure of Rs 1.3 lakh crore on railways and Rs 64,000 crore on highways. The FM perhaps was asked to build on the political gains of demonetisation, and that is why sections hurt by it were targeted for incentives. Small and medium enterprises got a tax cut and taxpayers were rewarded though not to the extent expected. And much against expectation again, the Budget lacked the surprise factor. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The Budget seeks to provide a record Rs 10 lakh crore in loans to farmers, boost funds for rural employment guarantee programme, bring one crore households out of poverty and promised to build one crore houses by 2019 for the homeless ahead of the crucial elections in five states. In view of the fact that the proposed GST is expected to be rolled out soon, he left indirect taxes largely untouched. While the tax rate for income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh has been lowered to 5 per cent, a 10 per cent surcharge has been slapped on income between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. The 15 per cent surcharge on income above Rs 1 crore will continue. The tax liability of all persons below Rs 5 lakh would be reduced to either zero (with rebate) or 50 per cent of the existing liability. In order not to have duplication of benefit, the existing benefit of rebate available to them is being reduced to Rs 2,500 available only to assessees up to income of Rs 3.5 lakh. While the taxation liability of people with income up to Rs 5 lakh is being reduced to half, all other categories of taxpayers in the subsequent slabs will also get a uniform benefit of Rs 12,500 per person. In the case of senior citizens above 60 years, there will be no tax up to Rs 3 lakh, while the exemption will be up to Rs 5 lakh in case of citizens above 80. Both the categories will attract a tax of 20 per cent on income between Rs 5-10 lakh and 30 per cent for income above Rs 10 lakh. Agencies Fiscal deficit down to 3.2% from 3.5% New Delhi: Moving ahead with the fiscal consolidation path, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has pegged the fiscal deficit for 2017-18 at 3.2 per cent, down from 3.5 per cent expected in the current financial year. Addressing the media, he said the Budget estimate for fiscal deficit was 3.5 per cent for 2016-17 and revised estimate is also 3.5 per and it will be achieved. Fiscal deficit is the difference between revenue receipts plus non-debt capital receipts (NDCR) and total expenditure. This indicates the total borrowing requirements of the government from all sources. Fiscal deficit of 3.2 per cent in absolute terms for the next fiscal comes out to be Rs 5,46,532 crore. PTI Affordable housing gets infra status New Delhi: Aiming to boost real estate sector, the government announced infrastructure status to affordable housing for encouraging investment and offered tax sops to developers sitting on completed but unsold homes. The allocation for Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin has also been raised. PTI Incentives to boost investment in NPS New Delhi: In a bid to boost NPS, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed higher tax rebate for investment in flagship social security programmes and allowed tax relief on partial withdrawal of up to 25 per cent of the contribution. PTI Now, tax exemption to CM, LG relief funds New Delhi: The government announced extension of tax exemption on contributions to Chief Ministers Relief Fund and Lieutenant Governors Relief Fund. At present, there is tax exemption on funds given to Prime Ministers National Relief Fund. Jaitley said Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF) and Lieutenant Governors Relief Fund (LGRF) are of the same nature as the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund at the level of state or the union territory. Therefore, it is proposed to amend the said clause so as to provide the benefit of exemption to the Chief Ministers Relief Fund or the Lieutenant Governors Relief Fund, he said. This amendment to I-T Act will take effect retrospectively from April 1, 1998. PTI Railways: Rs 1,31,000 cr Railway lines of 3,500 km will be commissioned and at least 25 stations are expected to be awarded for station redevelopment in 2017-18 BANKING SECTOR: Rs 10,000 cr To be injected into state-owned banks as capital in the coming fiscal as compared to Rs 25,000 crore budgeted for the current year Agriculture: Rs 51,026 cr To be used to double farmers incomes in five years and set up two dedicated funds of Rs 13,000 crore to promote micro-irrigation and dairy processing Health: Rs 48,853 cr To ensure availability of specialist doctors at the secondary and tertiary levels, creation of additional 5,000 post- graduate seats every year Defence: Rs 2,74,114 cr Out of this amount, Rs 86,488.01 crore is for capital outlay meant for acquisition of assets such as aircraft and tanks for the defence services Gurdeep Singh Mann Tribune News Service Maur (Bathinda), January 31 Three persons were killed and 11 seriously injured in a car blast in Maur Mandi late this evening as soon as Congress candidate from Bathinda (Urban) Harminder Jassi had ended his election rally. Jassi, a relative of the controversial Sirsa-based dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, escaped with minor bruises. He was in a Toyota Fortuner. The vacant car, a Maruti Alto, bore a false registration number. It was thrown up into the air up to 15-20 ft and fell, injuring at least 11 persons. The explosion occurred barely 5-10 metres from where Jassi had addressed the rally outside the Congress party office. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The police said Congress office in-charge at Maur Mandi, Harpal Singh Pali, was among the dead. The injured were rushed to Bathinda and Ludhiana hospitals. Local residents claimed they heard three blasts followed by gunshots immediately after Jassi had winded up the rally. Jassi's driver Vicky called it a planned attack. Shrapnels and bolts were found inside a pressure cooker used in the blast. Police officials did not rule out the use of RDX. The moment I heard the blast, I pressed the accelerator of the Toyota Fortuner. By then I heard two more blasts, Vicky claimed. The police found five cartridges and a Bullet motorcycle at the site. Agitated locals and Congress workers raised slogans against the police for laxity. Meanwhile, a report has been sent to the Election Commission. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has expressed grief over the deaths. Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 1 The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday allowed former minister and senior Congress leader Avtar Henry to cast his vote in Assembly elections due in Punjab on Saturday. An order by Justice MMS Bedi came less than a month after his name was deleted from the voters list over a row about his citizenship. His counsel Tanu Bedi told the court that the Returning Officer of Jalandhar North Constituency cancelled his registration in the electoral role, making him ineligible to cast his vote. Justice Bedi ruled a statutory appeal under Section 24 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950, was maintainable against the impugned order. This court is of the opinion that the petitioner deserves to be relegated to the alternative remedy of availing the statutory appeal against the impugned order as all the questions of law and fact can always be raised before the said appellate authority. Taking into consideration the imminent damage that could be caused to the petitioner, his name having been deleted from the electoral role by the impugned order, in the interest of justice, it is ordered that in case, the appeal is filed within a period of 10 days, the same will be entertained. All the pleas taken up in the present writ petition could be taken up by the petitioner and it is expected that all the pleas will be considered by passing a speaking order in appeal. Justice Bedi said that the verdict would remain suspended until the appeal was decided. Meanwhile, Henry can vote on the basis of an electoral roll drawn up on November 30, 2016. Bedi told the court that although an application Henry filed in 1968 said he was a Briton, he had been living in India since 1969. His Indian citizenship was cancelled on November 30, 2012. Henry had filed a revision petition under Citizenship Act, but his name was deleted from the voter list while it was still pending before the General Secretary (Foreigners) in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Parvesh Sharma Tribune News Service Sangrur, February 1 Dera Sacha Sauda on Wednesday announced to support the SAD-BJP alliance in the Assembly elections in Punjab despite facing alleged atrocities of SAD leaders after extending support to the Congress in 2007 elections. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Sadh sangat of Dera took the decision late last night that all its followers would support the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab. Sadh sangat has decided to support the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab, and we have announced our support. We have no powers, but have done it as per the wishes of the sangat, said Harinder Mangwal Insan, a member of 45-member state body of the Dera followers. Block, district and state-level meetings were held with the followers on January 19 in Salabatpura to decide on their support to a political party this Assembly elections in Punjab. In the meetings, members discussed local issues, performance of the sitting MLAs, and their attitude towards Dera followers. We never impose our decision over our devotees and take a final call only after a feedback from them. This time, sadh sangat wants to support the SAD-BJP so we will go with it, said Ram Karn Insan, a member of the political wing of the Dera. Dera head, on January 30, while interacting with the media through video conference had said that its the will of the sangat, which always prevails, adding that he has never asked any devotee to vote for any party. Ajay Ramola Tribune News Service Mussoorie, February 1 Finally, Congress leader Manmohan Singh Mall, who is also the president of Mussoorie Municipal Corporation, didnt withdraw his nomination today, the last day to do so, despite much persuasion from the party leadership. The party wanted him to withdraw his nomination in favour of Pritam Panwar from the Dhanaulti Assembly seat. Panwar is a Cabinet minister from the PDF quota in the state government. Earlier, Mall had filed his papers on the Congress ticket, but the party high command later decided to support Independent candidate Pritam Panwar. But Mall refused to withdraw his nomination. In 2012, Panwar had contested the Yamunotri seat successfully. He is contesting the Dhanaulti seat this time and has been seeking the support of the Congress. Though the Congress has agreed, the refusal of Manmohan Singh Mall has left them worried. Meanwhile, Mall has been campaigning wholeheartedly, claiming to be the official candidate of the Congress. His wife Beena Mall paid a visit to Gair village in the Dhanaulti Assembly segment and sought vote for him. Beena Mall said, My husband has been a loyal worker of the Congress for decades so the partys move to ask him to withdraw his nomination was unsolicited. Manmohan Singh Mall is within his rights to refuse and contest on the Congress ticket. Former Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola said it would be an injustice to not allow Mamnmohan Singh Mall to contest on a Congress ticket from Dhanaulti. I hope that the matter will be sorted out amicably, he said. Senior Congress leader Bitto Kavi said Manmohan Singh was the official candidate of the party. It would be suicidal for the party to dislodge him in favour of any other candidate, Kavi said. Meanwhile, Manmohan Singh Mall said he had legal right on the symbol and would not give way at any cost. The Congress high command has kept mum over the issue. It hasnt take any decision to expel Manmohan Singh Mall for defying its order. New York, February 1 An Indian-origin man, who was allegedly a member of an international gang that trafficked drugs from Pakistan-Afghanistan region, was caught in Kenya and brought to the US to face narcotics charges, New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara has said. Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami and three others "ran a Kenyan drug trafficking organisation with global ambitions," Bharara said on Tuesday. "For their alleged distribution of literally tonnes of narcotics - heroin and methamphetamine - around the globe, including to America, they will now face justice in a New York federal court," he added. The prosecution's account of the 2014 operation to bring down the gang known as "Akasha Organisation" sounds like a thriller with undercover operatives who pretended to be South American drug dealers to infiltrate it and used Skype to communicate. They code-named heroin "chickens" and touted its quality as "diamond." The operatives, described as "confidential sources" (CSs), were working under the direction of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Baktash Akasha Abdalla, Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Gulam Hussein and Goswami, who also called himself Vijay and Vicky, were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November, 2014, at the request of the US government and finally brought here on Monday, officials said. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) They were to be produced before a federal magistrate judge later on Tuesday. The four were charged with narcotics offences based on their plan to export to the US 99 kilogram of heroin and two kilogram of methamphetamine that they brought to Kenya, the prosecution said. Hussein, described as a resident of Pakistan and a long-time associate of Goswami, headed a transportation network that distributed massive quantities of narcotics throughout the Middle East and Africa. Hussein has "acknowledged responsibility" for transporting tonnes of heroin by sea, according to the prosecution. Believing the operatives were South American drug cartel members, the four negotiated with them on behalf of the Akasha Organization to procure hundreds of kilos of heroin from suppliers in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region and to produce hundreds of kilos of methamphetamine to be sent to the US, the prosecution said. Hussein agreed to transport the heroin to East Africa, for delivery to the undercover operatives, according to the prosecution account. Goswami, meanwhile, told the operatives that the South American cartel would have to pay for only half the consignment of 98 kilogram of heroin that Ibrahim Akasha delivered to them, prosecutors said. The four men were arrested before another planned meeting with the operatives. IANS New York, February 1 NEW YORK: An Indian-origin man, who was allegedly a member of an international gang that trafficked drugs from Pakistan-Afghanistan region, was caught in Kenya and brought to the US to face narcotics charges, New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara has said. Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami and three others "ran a Kenyan drug trafficking organisation with global ambitions," Bharara said on Tuesday. "For their alleged distribution of literally tonnes of narcotics - heroin and methamphetamine - around the globe, including to America, they will now face justice in a New York federal court," he added. The prosecution's account of the 2014 operation to bring down the gang known as "Akasha Organisation" sounds like a thriller with undercover operatives who pretended to be South American drug dealers to infiltrate it and used Skype to communicate. They code-named heroin "chickens" and touted its quality as "diamond." The operatives, described as "confidential sources" (CSs), were working under the direction of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Baktash Akasha Abdalla, Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Gulam Hussein and Goswami, who also called himself Vijay and Vicky, were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November, 2014, at the request of the US government and finally brought here on Monday, officials said. They were to be produced before a federal magistrate judge later on Tuesday. The four were charged with narcotics offences based on their plan to export to the US 99 kilogram of heroin and two kilogram of methamphetamine that they brought to Kenya, the prosecution said. Hussein, described as a resident of Pakistan and a long-time associate of Goswami, headed a transportation network that distributed massive quantities of narcotics throughout the Middle East and Africa. Hussein has "acknowledged responsibility" for transporting tonnes of heroin by sea, according to the prosecution. Believing the operatives were South American drug cartel members, the four negotiated with them on behalf of the Akasha Organization to procure hundreds of kilos of heroin from suppliers in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region and to produce hundreds of kilos of methamphetamine to be sent to the US, the prosecution said. Hussein agreed to transport the heroin to East Africa, for delivery to the undercover operatives, according to the prosecution account. Goswami, meanwhile, told the operatives that the South American cartel would have to pay for only half the consignment of 98 kilogram of heroin that Ibrahim Akasha delivered to them, prosecutors said. The four men were arrested before another planned meeting with the operatives. IANS Islamabad, Februray 1 Jamaat-ud-Dawa has threatened to launch a countrywide protest movement to demand release of their leader Hafiz Saeed. Pakistan put Saeed who has been suspected of having engineered the Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008 and four other leaders of the JuD under house arrest on Monday. The organisation, as well as the Difai (defence) Council of Pakistan (DCP) an umbrella coalition of more than 40 Pakistani Political and Religious parties said they would hold the Pakistan establishment responsible for disruptions to the Kashmir movement and claimed the detention was to please India "Only a few days ago, a public gathering of the DCP has designated 2017 for liberation of Kashmir, which had irked India. The house arrest of Hafiz will not, in any way, affect the movement. Hafiz Saeed was released by courts. His arrest is without any reason or justification and he should be released instantly," DCP Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said. The organsiations threatened to hold a nationwide rally on February 5. Militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideens commander Syed Salahuddin has also demanded Saeeds release, calling Pakistans action "painful and cowardly". Salahuddin, who heads the United Jihad Council (UJC), said in a statement that Pakistan government's move not only sent "a negative and disappointing message" to the people living in Kashmir, but it also showed "Pakistan's weak role in the ongoing freedom struggle" of Kashmiris. Protesters burnt effigies of US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at protests held in major Pakistan cities against the arrest. PTI Mexico City, February 1 Mexicos President on Tuesday sought to overturn rules the countrys telecommunications agency imposed on broadcasting networks and limit the regulators power. President Enrique Pena Nieto filed a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court that argues the agency does not have the authority to regulate some broadcast content, Humberto Castillejos, his chief legal counsel, told a news conference. The regulation on so-called audience rights, published in December by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), set out rules applying principally to Mexicos largest broadcaster Televisa and its rival TV Azteca. Audience rights is a term in Mexican law that encompasses issues such as advertising disguised as journalism, the line between opinion and fact and discriminatory content. Castillejos argued audience rights were part of the human right to information and should fall under the executive branchs authority. The suit challenges eight articles of a 2014 telecoms and broadcasting sector law largely written by Pena Nietos government. Its going against its own law, said Aleida Calleja, a telecoms analyst with information rights think tank AMEDI. They are taking audience regulations as a pretext to try to undermine the autonomy of the regulator. The IFT published the regulatory guidelines on Dec. 21 in the governments official gazette. They are due to come into force in February. A spokesman for Televisa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The IFT said in a statement that its regulations complied with the law. Reuters Islamabad, February 1 Pakistan on Wednesday asked India to come up with "concrete evidence" against JuD chief Hafiz Saeed if it was serious about its allegations against him, a day after New Delhi said only a credible crackdown on the Mumbai attack mastermind would be proof of Islamabad's sincerity. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Pakistan does not need any certification or endorsement from India over the recent actions it has taken in relation to Hafiz Saeed," an Interior Ministry Spokesperson said here, referring to Saeed's detention on Monday. Saeed and four other Jamaat-ud Dawa leaders Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz were put under house arrest after an order was issued by Punjab Province's Interior Ministry on Monday in pursuance to a directive from the Federal Interior Ministry on January 27. He said the actions taken by Pakistan have been carried out as per obligations vis-a-vis listing of Jamat-u-Dawa under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008. "India has constantly been using Saeed's political activities as a tool to malign Pakistan. The international community should take note and understand that Pakistan is a democratic society where judiciary takes free, independent and transparent decisions," the official said in a statement. "If indeed India is serious about its allegations, it should come up with concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed which is sustainable in court of law in Pakistan or for that matter anywhere in the world," he said, adding mere casting aspersions and levelling allegations without any corroborating evidence would not help the cause of peace in the region. He said various actions that needed to be taken under the relevant resolution i.e. arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze were not carried out for some reasons by the previous governments. India yesterday said it was not impressed by Saeed's detention and only a "credible crackdown" on terror outfits, including Saeed's, will prove Pakistan's sincerity as such actions had been taken against him in the past too. Meanwhile, the ministry placed Saeed's name among 38 others on the Exit Control List, two days after his detention. The ministry has forwarded a letter to all provincial governments and the Federal Investigation Agency, which included names of all 38 individuals placed on the ECL. All of them were said to be affiliated with JuD or Lashkar-e-Toiba. "Saeed, Ubaid, Iqbal, Abid and Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organisations within the meaning of Section 11EEE(1) of the ATA 1997 (as amended)," read a notification issued by the Interior Ministry. "As such, they must be placed under preventive detention." The Ministry of Interior had "placed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) on the Watch List as per UNSC 1267 Sanctions and have listed these organisations in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 (as amended)." The spokesperson further said "Pakistan is still looking for justification and explanation from India as to how all the accused involved in Samjhauta Express bombing where 68 Pakistani nationals lost their lives have gone scot-free. PTI The further we get from the engine, the greater the likelihood that fleets will use private label parts, contended Stu MacKay, president of market-research firm MacKay & Co., during a talk at the recent Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue event in Las Vegas. McKays remarks, given ahead of a panel titled The Current Architecture of the Private Label, were based on a MacKay survey in which 16% of the respondents said they use private-label parts. Hugh Charvat, CEO of AP Exhaust and panel moderator, said, This will always be a branded industry, but private label has carved a niche. He said private-label parts account for 20% to 25% of the $30 billion truck parts aftermarket. Image: Mack Trucks According to James Chenier, vice president parts sales and marketing for Volvo Trucks, people think of private-label parts as the good in the good-better-best continuum. But he added that there are a number of reasons other than cheaper price for selecting private-label parts. Terri Roseman, director of category management and marketing at FleetPride said, Private label does not always mean cheaper. We can define features and benefits of [our private-label products]." Regardless of the reason, Carlos Junquera, vice president of North American sales for Navistar, said that quality has to be there when it comes to private label. He said that Navistar uses the same quality standard for its branded and private-label parts. David Danforth, general manager and vice president of Paccar Parts, explained that when the company launched TRP parts, its private-label line, We validated and tested products. Charvat asked the OEMs on the panel why they created private-label parts lines. We have vehicles that last 25 years and [private-label] parts allow me to do business at a price point. I want to be relevant for 25 years and allow the customer to stay with us for the long term, Chenier said. He added that OEMs need a good-better-best offering to be meaningful to the customer through the vehicles life cycle. Private brands can address that issue. Danforth echoed that sentiment, saying that Paccar wants to have products for the second and third truck owner and for other brands of trucks. Mike Epps, managing vice president of parts at Rush Enterprises, told the group that it is difficult to build these [private-label] brands and added that Rush tracks warranty and failure rates for its private-label products to ensure quality. To people who are concerned about the impact of private-label parts on the trucking industry, Roseman said, Private label introduces more competition which drives innovation. Charvat remarked that he believes that as manufacturing has gone global, some content in [private-label programs] will likely be subject to tariffs. One question that gets raised about OEM private-label parts is whether they are allowed in a warranty repair. In many cases, the answer is no. Danforth said that in 2016, Paccar changed its policy on that and moved from not allowing private-label parts for warranty repair to allowing them. However, Volvo's Chenier said, As a rule, private brands are not allowed for warranty, but if uptime is an issue we will allow them. (By Tsem Rinpoche) Dear friends around the world, I have always been very attracted to Buddhism since young, although my parents forbade me to engage in it fully. I would always look for secret opportunities to do my sadhanas (daily prayers) and would be beaten severely if I were caught in the act. It was a very difficult period for me but if I were given a choice, I would happily and willingly go through all that again. One of the core tenets of Buddhism is Emptiness. In modern times, the attainment of perfect and complete understanding of Emptiness is made more difficult by ever-present distractions such as the Internet, Facebook and modern conveniences. The culture of materialism, peer pressure, and constant advertising does not help at all either. Thus, in many ways, the concept and understanding of Emptiness has become much more crucial and relevant for the people of today. In 2007 during a book club session at Kechara House, I gave a short teaching on Emptiness based on the book Dragon Thunder by Diana Mukpo. I also hope you enjoy this article on the Heart Sutra, perhaps the most famous teaching on Emptiness, and do leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Tsem Rinpoche The Heart Sutra Will Change You Forever Finding Wisdom in the Emptiness Penetrate the true meaning of the Heart Sutra, says Karl Brunnholzl, and nothing will be the same again. The secret is making it personal. There is no doubt that the Heart Sutra is the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition, which still flourishes in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, China, parts of India and Nepal, and, more recently, also in the Americas and Europe. The Heart of Wisdom Many people have said many different things about what the Heart Sutra is and what it is not, such as being the heart of wisdom, a statement of how things truly are, the key teaching of the Mahayana, a condensation of all the Prajnaparamita Sutras (the Buddhas second turning of the wheel of dharma), or an explanation of emptiness in a nutshell. In order to understand the actual words of the Heart Sutra, its helpful to first explore its background within the Buddhist tradition as well as the meanings of prajnaparamita and emptiness. When we read the Heart Sutra, it sounds nuts, but that is actually where the wisdom part comes in. One thing we can safely say about the Heart Sutra is that it is completely crazy. If we read it, it does not make any sense. Well, maybe the beginning and end make sense, but everything in the middle sounds like a sophisticated form of nonsense, which can be said to be the basic feature of the Prajnaparamita Sutras in general. If we like the word no, we might like the sutra because that is the main word it usesno this, no that, no everything. We could also say that it is a sutra about wisdom, but it is a sutra about crazy wisdom. Everything is Taken Away When we read it, it sounds nuts, but that is actually where the wisdom part comes in. What the Heart Sutra (like all Prajnaparamita Sutras) does is to cut through, deconstruct, and demolish all our usual conceptual frameworks, all our rigid ideas, all our belief systems, all our reference points, including any with regard to our spiritual path. It does so on a very fundamental level, not just in terms of thinking and concepts, but also in terms of our perception, how we see the world, how we hear, how we smell, taste, touch, how we regard and emotionally react to ourselves and others, and so on. This sutra pulls the rug out from underneath our feet and does not leave anything intact that we can think of, nor even a lot of things that we cannot think of. This is called crazy wisdom. I guess I should give you a warning here that this sutra is hazardous to your samsaric sanity. What Sangharakshita says about the Diamond Sutra equally applies to all Prajnaparamita Sutras, including the Heart Sutra: if we insist that the requirements of the logical mind be satisfied, we are missing the point. What the Diamond Sutra is actually delivering is not a systematic treatise, but a series of sledgehammer blows, attacking from this side and that, to try and break through our fundamental delusion. It is not going to make things easy for the logical mind by putting things in a logical form. This sutra is going to be confusing, irritating, annoying, and unsatisfyingand perhaps we cannot ask for it to be otherwise. If it were all set forth neatly and clearly, leaving no loose ends, we might be in danger of thinking we had grasped the Perfection of Wisdom. Sangharakshita, Wisdom Beyond Words A Manual for Contemplation Another way to look at the Heart Sutra is that it represents a very condensed contemplation manual. It is not just something to be read or recited, but the intention is to contemplate its meaning in as detailed a way as possible. Since it is the Heart Sutra, it conveys the heart essence of what is called prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom or insight. In itself, it does not fuss around, or give us all the details. It is more like a brief memo for contemplating all the elements of our psychophysical existence from the point of view of what we are now, what we become as we progress on the Buddhist path, and what we attain (or do not attain) at the end of that path. If we want to read all the details, we have to go to the longer Prajnaparamita Sutras, which make up about twenty-one thousand pages in the Tibetan Buddhist canontwenty-one thousand pages of no. The longest sutra alone, in one hundred thousand lines, consists of twelve large books. The Heart Sutra is on the lower end, so to speak, and the shortest sutra consists of just one letter, which is my personal favorite. It starts with the usual introduction, Once the Buddha was dwelling in Rajagriha at Vulture Flock Mountain and so on, and then he said, A. It ends with all the gods and so on rejoicing, and thats it. It is said that there are people who actually realize the meaning of the Prajnaparamita Sutras through just hearing or reading A. A Big Koan Besides being a meditation manual, we could also say that the Heart Sutra is like a big koan. But it is not just one koan, it is like those Russian dolls: there is one big doll on the outside and then there is a smaller one inside that first one, and there are many more smaller ones in each following one. Likewise, all the nos in the big koan of the sutra are little koans. Every little phrase with a no is a different koan in terms of what the no relates to, such as no eye, no ear, and so on. It is an invitation to contemplate what that means. No eye, no ear sounds very simple and very straightforward, but if we go into the details, it is not that straightforward at all. In other words, all those different no phrases give us different angles or facets of the main theme of the sutra, which is emptiness. Emptiness means that things do not exist as they seem, but are like illusions and like dreams. They do not have a nature or a findable core of their own. Each one of those phrases makes us look at that very same message. The message or the looking are not really different, but we look at it in relation to different things. What does it mean that the eye is empty? What does it mean that visible form is empty? What does it mean that even wisdom, buddhahood, and nirvana are empty? Forget Everything From an ordinary Buddhist point of view, we could even say that the Heart Sutra is not only crazy, but it is iconoclastic or even heretical. Many people have complained about the Prajnaparamita Sutras because they also trash all the hallmarks of Buddhism itself, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Buddhist path, and nirvana. These sutras not only say that our ordinary thoughts, emotions, and perceptions are invalid and that they do not really exist as they seem to, but that the same goes for all the concepts and frameworks of philosophical schoolsnon- Buddhist schools, Buddhist schools, and even the Mahayana, the tradition to which the Prajnaparamita Sutras belong. Is there any other spiritual tradition that says, Everything that we teach, just forget about it? It is somewhat similar to the boss of Microsoft recently having publicly recommended that PC users should not buy Windows Vista any more, but instead go straight from Windows XP to Windows 7. Basically, he was advertising against his own product. The Heart Sutra is similar to that, except that it tells us only what not to buy, but not what to buy instead. No, No, No In brief, if we have never seen the Heart Sutra and we read it, it sounds crazy because it just keeps saying no, no, no. If we are trained in Buddhism, it also sounds crazy (maybe even more so) because it negates everything that we have learned and try to cultivate. How does our mind feel when we are not grasping at anything, when we are not trying to entertain ourselves, and when our mind is not going outside (or not going anywhere at all), when there is no place left to go? The Heart Sutra and the other Prajnaparamita Sutras talk about a lot of things, but their most fundamental theme is the basic groundlessness of our experience. They say that no matter what we do, no matter what we say, and no matter what we feel, we need not believe any of it. There is nothing whatsoever to hold on to, and even that is not sure. So these sutras pull the rug out from under us all the time and take away all our favorite toys. Finding New Mental Toys Usually when someone takes away one of our mental toys we just find new toys. That is one of the reasons why many of the Prajnaparamita Sutras are so longthey list all the toys we can think of and even more, but our mind still keeps grasping at new ones. The basic point is to get to a place where we actually stop searching for and grasping at the next toy. Then we need to see how that state of mind feels. How does our mind feel when we are not grasping at anything, when we are not trying to entertain ourselves, and when our mind is not going outside (or not going anywhere at all), when there is no place left to go? Usually we think that if a given phenomenon is not something, it must be nothing, and if it is not nothing, it must be something. But emptiness is just a word for pointing out the fact that no matter what we say or think about something, it does not really correctly characterize that something because our dualistic mind just gets stuck in one extreme or the other. Thus, we could say that emptiness is like thinking outside of the box, that is, the box of black-and-white thinking or dualistic thinking. As long as we stay within the ballpark of dualistic thinking, there is always existence, nonexistence, permanence, extinction, good, and bad. Within that frame of reference, we will never get beyond it, no matter if we are religious, a scientist, a Buddhist, an agnostic, or whatever. Emptiness tells us that we have to step out of that ballpark altogether. Emptiness points to the most radical transformation of our entire outlook with regard to ourselves and the world. Emptiness not only means the end of the world as we know it, but that this world never really existed in the first place. Without developing a soft heart and compassion, which like water softens our mental rigidity, there is a danger that the teachings on emptiness can make our hearts even harder. The Epitome of Compassion Why is it called the Heart Sutra? It has that name because it teaches the heart of the Mahayana, primarily in terms of the view. However, the basic motivation of the Mahayana is also implicitly contained in this sutra in the form of Avalokiteshvara, the great bodhisattva who is the embodiment of the loving-kindness and compassion of all buddhas. It is actually the only Prajnaparamita Sutra in which Avalokiteshvara appears at all, and in it he is even the main speaker. Thus, the Heart Sutra teaches emptiness through the epitome of compassion. It is often said that, in a sense, emptiness is the heart of the Mahayana, but the heart of emptiness is compassion. The scriptures even use the phrase emptiness with a heart of compassion. It is crucial to never forget that. The main reason for Avalokitesvaras presence here is to symbolize the aspect of compassion and to emphasize that we should not miss out on it. If we just read all the nos and then get hooked on the no path of no self and no attainment, it gets a little dreary or depressing and we may wonder, Why are we doing this? or Why are we not doing this? In fact, the heart essence of the Prajnaparamita teachings and the Mahayana is the union of emptiness and compassion. Reading with a Soft Heart If we look at the larger Prajnaparamita Sutras, we see that they teach both aspects extensively. In addition to teaching about emptiness, they also speak about the path in great detail, such as how to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion, how to do certain meditations, and how to progress through the paths. They do not always say no, but also sometimes present things in a more positive light. Even the Heart Sutra, toward the end, comes up with a few phrases without no. Without developing a soft heart and compassion, which like water softens our mental rigidity, there is a danger that the teachings on emptiness can make our hearts even harder. If we think we understand emptiness, but our compassion does not increase, or even lessens, we are on the wrong track. Therefore, for those of us who are Buddhists, it is good and necessary to give rise to compassion and bodhichitta before we study, recite, and contemplate this sutra. All others may connect with any spot of compassion that they can find in their hearts. Let Go and Relax In yet another way, we could say that the Heart Sutra is an invitation to just let go and relax. We can replace all the words in this sutra that go with no, such as no eye, no ear, with all our problems, such as no depression, no fear, no unemployment, no war, and so on. That might sound simplistic, but if we do that and actually make it into a contemplation on what all those things such as depression, fear, war, and economic crisis actually are, it can become very powerful, maybe even more powerful than the original words in the sutra. Usually we are not that interested in, for example, our ears and whether they really exist or not, so with regard to contemplating what emptiness means, one of the basic principles of the Prajnaparamita Sutras is to make the examination as personal as possible. It is not about reciting some stereotypical formula or the Heart Sutra without ever getting to the core of our own clinging to real existence with regard to those phenomena to which we obviously do cling, or our own egoclinging. For example, the Heart Sutra does not say no self, no home, no partner, no job, no money, which are the things we usually care about. Therefore, in order to make it more relevant to our life, we have to fill those in. The Heart Sutra gives us a basic template of how to contemplate emptiness, but the larger Prajnaparamita Sutras fill in a lot of stuff, not only saying no eye, no ear, and so on. They go through endless lists of all kinds of phenomena, so we are welcome to come up with our own personal lists of phenomena that map out our personal universe and then apply the approach of the Heart Sutra to those lists. The Heart Attack Sutra There are accounts in several of the larger Prajnaparamita Sutras about people being present in the audience who had already attained certain advanced levels of spiritual development or insight that liberated them from samsaric existence and suffering. These people, who are called arhats in Buddhism, were listening to the Buddha speaking about emptiness and then had different reactions. Some thought, This is crazy, lets go and left. Others stayed, but some of them had heart attacks, vomited blood, and died. It seems they didnt leave in time. These arhats were so shocked by what they were hearing that they died on the spot. Thats why somebody suggested to me that we could call the Heart Sutra the Heart Attack Sutra. Another meaning of that could be that this sutra goes right for the heart of the matter, while mercilessly attacking all ego trips that prevent us from waking up to our true heart. In any case, so far nobody has had a heart attack here, which is good news. But the bad news is that probably nobody understood it either. For more interesting information: Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 13 of the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987, allowance is made for fair dealing for purposes such as non-profit research, private study, criticism, review or the reporting of current events. The Operator and author(s) of TsemRinpoche.com, a not-for-profit blog, do not claim ownership on the intellectual property rights of the contents, images and/or videos reproduced in this article. Any subsisting intellectual property rights shall belong to the legal owner of the contents, images and/or videos. Howard Wesley Conrad A Funeral Service for Howard Wesley Conrad has been scheduled for 10:00 AM, Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at Broken Arrow First Church of the Nazarene. Burial will follow at Bixby Cemetery under the direction of Hayhurst Funeral Home. Howard Wesley Conrad was born in Arkansas City, Kansas on Sunday, January 6, 1929, the son of Carol Wesley and Alma Mae (Newman) Conrad. He died in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma on Saturday, January 28, 2017. He was 88 years of age. Howard was born on a farm owned by his maternal grandparents. In the 7th grade, the family moved to Bixby to farm. He drove the family to Oklahoma at the age of 12. After graduating from Bixby High School, he attended Oklahoma A & M (now OSU). In 1952, he began work at Douglas Aircraft. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954. After his service in the Army, he returned to work at Douglas Aircraft, where he was employed until his retirement in 1994. Howard married the former Miss Patsy "Pat" Schmitz on September 17, 1961 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They raised a family of four boys in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Howard enjoyed singing in choirs and soloing for approximately 60 years. He was always involved in music, playing the accordion, saxophone, and synthesizer. He was extremely interested in electronics. In 1963, he built a Tic-Tac -Toe game with relays. He also had one of the first in-home computers and printers. Howard was passionate about his family attending church. He was a member at Broken Arrow First Church of the Nazarene. He was involved with numerous Work and Witness Mission trips with his sons and church friends. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Broken Arrow First Church of the Nazarene - Work and Witness, 401 W. New Orleans St., Broken Arrow, OK 74011. Howard is survived by; wife of 55 years, Pat (Schmitz) Conrad, Broken Arrow, OK., sons;Scott Conrad and wife Elizabeth, Broken Arrow, OK., Steve Conrad and wife Michelle, Tulsa, OK., Shawn Conrad and wife Stephanie, Bethany, OK., Stacey Conrad and wife Sara, Siloam Springs, AR., grandchildren; Emily Monlux, Andrew Abbott, Patrick, Phillip, McKinley, Kennedy, Reagan, Rachel, Marcus, and Michael (Manny) Conrad, great-grandchildren; Kyden, Parker, and Kassie Monlux, siblings; Phyllis Otto, Raleigh, NC, Orville Conrad, Branson, MO., Lois Burkholder and husband Charlie, Dayes, MD., Ann Jordan and husband Wayne, Tahlequah, OK., many Nieces, Nephews, Cousins, and Friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Della Cousins, and brother Donald Conrad. OKLAHOMA CITY Implementing Real ID and passing a teacher pay raise are priorities for House Speaker Charles McCall in the upcoming session that starts Feb. 6. McCall, R-Atoka, is serving his first session as leader of the lower chamber. On Tuesday, McCall said he is optimistic lawmakers can pass a phased-in teacher pay raise and come up with the funding for the first year, despite an $868 million budget hole. McCall also said he is hopeful the state will see improved economic conditions this year. He said a number of revenue-raising measures are on the table, including an increase in the tobacco tax, the reform of tax credits and incentives, a hike in the fuel tax and expansion of the state sales tax to services not currently taxed. Any tax increase would require a three-fourths vote in both chambers due to State Question 640, which voters approved in 1992. McCall said increasing taxes would require bipartisan support. A tax increase in the House would require 76 votes. House Republicans hold 74 seats. There are going to be some in the Republican caucus that are not for raising revenue, McCall said. Rep. Michael Rogers, R-Broken Arrow, has a bill that would phase in a teacher pay raise beginning at $1,000 the first year, $2,000 the second year and $3,000 the third year. Rogers is chairman of the House Common Education Committee. The first year would cost $52 million, McCall said. At the end of the day, I feel this is an important issue that we accomplish, McCall said. I believe the people of the state of Oklahoma expect us to figure this out. If lawmakers dont have the votes to increase revenue, they will look at reducing expenses, he said. McCall said he is hopeful a bill to implement Real ID makes it out of committee the first week of session and is on the House floor by the second week. You will see that being one of our priorities that we will move fast, and the teacher pay raise will follow closely behind it, McCall said. A 2007 state law said Oklahoma would not comply with the Real ID act. Passed in 2005, the federal law creates minimum standards for state-issued drivers licenses. The federal law was the result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which the perpetrators used false documents. Critics of the law cite privacy concerns. Measures introduced last year failed to garner legislative support. Failure to comply means Oklahoma residents would have to use an alternative, such as passports, to board commercial airlines. I fully expect that legislation will make it through the entire process, McCall said. Dear Amy: My 94-year-old father just told me that, decades ago, a family friend raped my mother. My mom passed away last year. This friend died many years ago, so theres nothing I can do to address the allegation. I cannot even determine if its true. Nevertheless, this information is quite disturbing. I wonder if I can or should disclose this to my sister, my wife or my children or anybody other than, perhaps, my therapist or clergy (if I had either). Burdened Dear Burdened: First, you should sit with your father and ask him to tell you everything he wants you to know. Ask him how he feels about what he is telling you. Give him lots of time to either respond or to sit quietly. Tell him you are very sorry he has been carrying this burden and let him know that you will carry it now. Yes, you should tell your wife because you need comforting, and you need to talk about this. Yes, you should tell your sister because you two are family, and she needs to know. Elderly people sometimes relive periods of trauma that they have more or less successfully buried for long periods of time. This is a phenomenon common to people who have fought in wars or whove been victims of crime or violence. Your father should be given plenty of opportunities to talk about this or anything else with you, friends or other family members, clergy and/or a therapist. The loss of your mother has no doubt brought on some extreme challenges for him including feelings of grief and guilt. Help him through this. Make sure your father is sleeping and eating well, and keep a close and loving eye on him. Keep in touch with his doctor, who can screen him for depression or other possible health issues. Dear Amy: I am a stay-at-home mother of two young preschool children. I baby-sit for my sisters 6-month-old boy while she is at work. Their older daughter goes to school. Recently, my nephew and his sister have been very sick with a nasty cough and fever that their pediatrician diagnosed as viral. My sister is a teacher and is reluctant to miss work to care for her children, so I agreed to baby-sit when my nephew was sick. Both of my kids, my husband and I caught the illness and were very sick for more than two weeks. Now that we are recovered, my niece and nephew are sick again. Should I refuse to baby-sit when my nephew is sick? Is that shirking responsibility? Is it irresponsible of me to expose my young children to illness? I am torn because while I want to care for my nephew, I want to protect my children/immediate family so we can function. What should I do? Torn Dear Torn: I shared your question with Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, associate professor of Pediatrics at The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. He responds: Viral respiratory infections are usually spread through direct contact or droplets from a sneeze. Most infection occurs when we touch an infected surface and then touch our own eyes, nose, or mouth. Training yourself to wash your hands with soap/water or hand sanitizer before leaving or touching your own face will reduce your risk of becoming ill, and of bringing any illnesses home to your family. This is why health care professionals work with sick people all the time and arent constantly ill! Presumably pediatricians dont have their own children in the exam rooms while they are exposed to viral illnesses, but your kids are with you when you care for this baby. You should teach them healthy hand-washing, but you can also expect them to be exposed. You dont want to continue to pass this viral illness back and forth between households, so yes you should ask your sister for a break for a couple of days in order for everyone to recover. Dear Amy: Thank you for your response to Disgusted in the Bathroom, who is grossed out when co-workers brush their teeth in the restroom. I brush my teeth after every lunch. I wonder where Disgusted would like me to go to do this? Given what people do in the bathroom, I am the one who should be disgusted. Hygienic Dear Hygienic: As I pointed out in my response, you are more at risk for contamination than Disgusted. Contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy @amydickinson.com. Readers may send postal mail to Amy Dickinson, c/o Tribune Content Agency, LLC., 16650 Westgrove Dr., Suite 175, Addison, TX 75001. Follow her on Twitter @askingamy or like her on Facebook. The West Indies are not going to Australia just to make up numbers, but aim for a Test series win. Christoph Ann telling secrets Common practice for LOC and signs with non-distinctive elements The afternoon of the INGRES conference in Zurich was dedicated to developments in trade secret, copyright, design and trade mark law. Prof Christoph Ann (TU Munich) explained the new Trade Secret Directive . He emphasized the importance of the issue in an age where every enterprise has valuable information to guard. Since trade secret protection is currently regulated in Germany in disparate acts, consolidating the regulation into a new Trade Secret Act seems the way to implement the Directive. Christoph Ann was sceptical, however, that a solution to the whistle blower protection problem could be found before expiration of the implementation deadline on 9 June 2018. A provisional solution would have to be found. Another area that requires reform is German civil procedural law - under the current rules, the old adage "lose the secret or lose the case" applies. Germany namely does not know any "counsel eyes only" restriction, which means that any submission to a court will be accessible to the counter party and possibly be mentioned in a public decision. This, in addition to the relatively strong patent protection in Germany, may be a reason why trade secret litigation is currently rather rare in Germany, unlike in the US, where it is increasingly common. Guido Kucsko (Schonherr) entertained the crowd with a tour de force of European copyright law. His main point, well taken by the audience, was that with ten Directives concerning copyright and three more Directives and three Regulations in the pipeline ( Portability Regulation Copyright in the Single Digital Market Directive, Audiovisual Media Service Directive ), the time has come for a consolidated EU Copyright Regulation that addresses all aspects of copyright in one act. Guido Kucsko also cautioned that OTK v. SFP, C-376/15 , which is generally read to allow punitive (double) damages under the Enforcement Directive is more cautious in its reasoning than the answer to the question would suggest. While the answer states that the Enforcement Directive does not preclude national legislation awarding a right holder "without him having to prove the actual loss, payment of a sum corresponding to twice the appropriate fee which would have been due if permission had been given for the work concerned to be used", the reasoning states that "it is not evident that the provision applicable in the main proceedings entails an obligation to pay [punitive] damages". Namely, "mere payment of the hypothetical royalty is not capable of guaranteeing compensation in respect of all the loss actually suffered", and "where payment for a loss calculated on the basis of twice the amount of the hypothetical royalty... a claim to that effect could constitute an abuse of rights, prohibited by Article 3(2) of Directive 2004/48". Peter Schramm (Meyerlustenberger Lachenal) reported on the developments in the highly contentious - and economically hugely important - issue of design protection for spare parts. Germany and Italy are taking contrasting views namely on whether wheel (caps) are "must match" parts in the sense of Article 110 Design Regulation , and two referrals are pending before the ECJ ( C-435/16 and C-397/16 ). The wording of the questions referred to the ECJ clearly indicates which way the respective courts - the German Bundesgerichtshof and the Italian Corte d'Appello di Milano - are leaning. While the Italian court wants to know whether "the principles of the free movement of goods and of the freedom to provide services within the internal market, (b) the principle of the effectiveness of EU competition law and of the liberalisation of the internal market, (c) the principles of effet utile and of the uniform application within the European Union of EU law and (d) the provisions of secondary EU law, [...], preclude an interpretation of Article 110 of Regulation No 6/2002, which contains the repair clause, that excludes replica wheels", the German court enquires whether "the application of the bar to protection as provided for in Article 110(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 limited to fixed shape parts, namely those parts whose shape is in principle immutably determined by the appearance of the product as a whole and cannot therefore be freely selected by the customer, s?" (emphasis added). Also mentioned was the tdecision issued by the District Court of the Hague in the consolidated casesand S ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2016:14383 , para 4.74], which held that toner cartridges can be protected under Community Design rights because they are not component parts of a complex product ( MARQUES Class 99 post ). Ulrich Hildebrandt (SKW Schwarz) shone a spotlight on the likelihood of confusion caused by non-distinctive elements, not mincing words when calling C-182/14 - MEGA Brands International v OHIM "the worst ECJ decision ever". A non-distinctive element, even when dominant, cannot by itself form the basis for a finding of a likelihood of confusion. Hildebrandt attributed the sometimes errant ECJ decisions to the case load of the court - parties had little financial incentives not to appeal to the ECJ, and the ECJ has a tendency to approve whatever the General Court found. Only 5% of appeals in trade mark matters are successful, which supports the thesis that the ECJ is not overly critical. Hildebrandt is optimistic, however, that the practice of the lower instances will improve, as the Convergence Program 5 - Relative Grounds Likelihood of Confusion (Impact of non-distinctive/weak components) addresses the issue in a sensible manner. Christoph Bartos (Member, Board of Apeal, EUIPO) highlighted developments in European trade mark law. The decisions were too many to mention here, but one that struck me as particularly important concerns the use of individual marks that are used "like" collective marks. In R-2897/2014-5 BOSQUE VERDE (fig.) / VINHO VERDE et al. the Board of Appeal found that regarding the proof of use in relation to Article 8(1)(b) and 8(5) CTMR invoked, the Opposition Division correctly concluded that the evidence showedand, consequently, that the opponent had not provided sufficient indications concerning the earlier marks nature of use. In other words, if you are registering signs that are used like collective marks as individual marks, you risk losing your mark for lack of use after the five year non-use period. Expect a surge in applications for collective marks. facebook like button Tweet tweet button for twitter Published January 31, 2017 MONROE, La. The University of Louisiana Monroe announced their selection as an Annie Lowe Stiles grant recipient from the Community Foundation of North Louisiana at a press conference Tuesday. Through the grant funds, along with matching funds, the College of Business and Social Sciences has been able to create twenty $2,000 scholarships for students enrolled in the bachelors degree programs in Computer Information Systems and Computer Science, as well as the students enrolled in the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program in Computer Information Systems. Dr. Ronald Berry, Dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences, said the funding will help increase the pipeline of the students needed to fill the in-demand jobs in the region, as well as to recruit those high-caliber students that the region desperately needs to move forward. We work very closely with our industry partners to ensure our programs are producing graduates ready for the workforce, said Berry. We have modified programs and created new ones to meet the changing needs of industry and continue to recruit the best and brightest students to those programs. Because of the particular importance related to the growth and success of CenturyLink and IBM, we are very excited about this gift today because it allows us to grow our student population in our technology programs. Funds for these scholarships in Computer Information Systems and Computer Science have allowed us to grow our enrollment to support the growth in the technology sector along the I20 corridor. We very much appreciate the support of the Annie Lowe Stiles Fund and the Community Foundation of North Louisiana for their support, Berry continued. Susan Chappell, Executive Director of the ULM Foundation and Alumni Relations, said one of the grant stipulations is that matching funds and internship programs be provided for the students. We received letters of support from CenturyLink and IBM, both of which provide internships for students in Computer Information Systems and Computer Science, Chappell said. We doubled the amount of the funds that the Community Foundation gave for the student scholarships with approval from Strauss Interests to match the scholarship grant with earnings from the Clifford M. Strauss fund, an endowment established in the College of Business and Social Sciences. Dr. Jose Cordova, ULM Computer Science Program Coordinator, said one of the most common questions students ask is whether there is any scholarship specific to Computer Science students. I would tell [students] to go to the ULM Foundations website for all sorts of scholarships and apply, but of course, thats not the answer we would want to give, Cordova said. And, up to this point, even though weve had partnerships with CenturyLink and IBM, the scholarship money was the missing piece. Well, now, the answer will change. We will definitely have that. To qualify for the Annie Lowe Stiles grant, a student must have a minimum ACT score of 24, a high school or college GPA of 3.2, and be enrolled in a Computer Information Systems, Computer Science or Math program. Kuwaits Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled wrote a message to the Iranian Regime, laying out that any relations between Iran and other Gulf countries must be based on the UN Charter and on the principles of international law. The Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, has pretended to accept this, but this is all front. The Regime previously had such an agreement with Saudi Arabia, which Iran broke. The Regime, in fact, will refuse to discuss issues with its opposition forces in its own country, preferring to imprison or murder them instead. If this is the mindset within Iran, how much worse would it be outside? Turki Aldakhil on Al Arabiya wrote: What the Iranian regime lacks is political realism. He notes that Irans real policy can be seen through its terror group, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), despite what the Regime leaders may say. However, he then claimed that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif possessed calm political rhetoric. Considering that Zarif has expressed pride in his role in killing 30,000 people, his calm, political rhetoric is up for debate but there is no denying how violent and ruthless the IRGC is. Many Gulf countries may find themselves unable to trust the Regime and they have nearly 40 years of evidence to back them up. Muslim Ban Donald Trump has ordered a temporary ban on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, even if: they have Green Cards theyre Syrian refugees whove already passed all the background checks theyve already worked on the USs side in the fight against ISIS theyre fleeing religious persecution, like Christians in Iran Trump also wants to suspend the issuing of visas to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen for at least 30 days. Trump said: We cannot, and should not, admit into our country those who do not support the U.S. Constitution or those who place violent religious edicts over American law. He argued that there was no way to tell the difference between a refugee and a terrorist. The ban would stay in place until the vetting process could be strengthened. Such bans have been used before, such as in the aftermath of 9/11, but were quickly revoked. This is at least, a watered-down version of his previous pledge for a total and complete ban on all Muslims entering the USA, but human rights groups around the world have rightly denounced Trumps plans. Traditional Alliances Trump has begun engaging with traditional US allies in the Gulf region to rebuild their relationship. In a joint press conference, Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and the French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, the two confirmed Trumps wish to rebuild the alliance between America and Saudi Arabia, along with containing Irans destructive influence in the region and finding a solution the Syrian crisis in line with UN Security Council resolutions and Geneva conventions. Al-Jubeir said: We look forward to working with the Trump administration and we are very positive about the future of the U.S.-Saudi relationship. Ayrault said that France and Saudi Arabia are leading the battle against terrorism and extremist ideologies. Thankfully, Trump appears to acknowledge that Iran is behind most terrorist activity in the middle east. Hopefully, he will end the appeasement of the murderous mullahs. Former US security officials have urged Trump to work with the Iranian Resistance instead. Safe Zones The Trump Administration plans to set up safe zones within Syria for refugees, as he has now banned them from entering the US but it could take as long as three months for the plans he has ordered, to even be announced, let alone implemented. Thats the same length as the Muslim Ban. The plans are backed by Turkey and a Syrian Islamist group said that they supported the idea in theory but wanted to see the US plans before commenting further. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said: Whats important is the results of this study and what kind of recommendation will come out. No Comments on New Logo, Identity, and Packaging for Serra by Official Mfg. Co. There is very little that one can say these ruins speak for themselves. When you see childrens clothes hanging out of windows, kitchens cut in half by shells and rockets, the real lives of people interrupted by war as it was happening, I think this will weigh very heavily on the conscience of the world for generations. But besides, we must think first that there are people here, some of them are returning to these ruins, who need help, immediate help. They are cold, they are hungry, they need to work to earn some money, they need the elementary things in life in this very ancient city. All of a sudden, they start again; I think we need to accelerate humanitarian assistance, we need resources for that. Irrespective of all the politics around this war, this is absolutely necessary and urgent for millions of people in Syria. We saw it in Damascus, we saw it in Homs, we see it in Aleppo, in many hard-to-reach and besieged areas of the country. So all the Syrian people need help. We cannot abandon them because the crisis is not over. Peace has to come. A solid, viable peace that is accepted by all and that will allow reconstruction to begin. This is very important because the level of destruction is much bigger than I thought. And I have read and followed this war. I didnt imagine it would be this widespread. You drive for miles and miles you see destroyed civilian houses, destroyed schools, destroyed hospitals. Everything has been ruined. There has to be massive investment here. But for this, you need stability. You need peace [so we] hope that the current effort will be successful, but rapidly so because people here cannot wait any longer. That message is very clear. Look at these ruins. The ruins of this war. This is what refugees from Syria, who are now denied entry [to the United States], have fled from. And it is not just here in Aleppo, although this is massive. Refugees from Somalia, refugees from Yemen, refugees from Iraq they all flee from destruction like this, from devastation like this. How can we turn them back? How can we not consider giving them protection? At least, for the time while the conflict is continuing, this is what they are escaping from millions of them. The world has to go back to solidarity, has to think again. Not with fear, not with suspicion, but with open arms, with an open mind, with an open heart. They need help, they need protection while the war goes on. One day, they will come back here, and they will reconstruct these cities. But now, in their hour of need, we cannot ignore their plight we need to help them. Multimedia: Photos and video from the High Commissioners visit to Aleppo are available on Refugees Media. Check back as more will be added later today. A related multimedia story can be found here. Media contacts: Scott Craig in Amman: [email protected]; +962 7 9276 0640 Firas Al-Khateeb in Aleppo: [email protected]; +963 930 403228 Expressing shock at the scale of the devastation in Aleppo, Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR today called for accelerated and immediate humanitarian assistance for millions of people trying to rebuild war-shattered lives in Syria. There are people here some of them are returning to these ruins who need help, immediate help. They are cold, they are hungry, they need to work to earn some money. They need the elementary things in life, he declared in a statement after touring the ancient city of Aleppo on the third day of a landmark visit to Syria. Grandi, who on Monday visited Homs, added: We need resources, irrespective of all the politics around this war. This is absolutely necessary and urgent for millions of people in Syria. We saw it in Damascus, we saw it in Homs, we see it in Aleppo All the Syrian people need help. We cannot abandon them because the crisis is not over. "Everything has been ruined. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that despite following the conflict closely nothing had prepared him for immensity of the destruction he witnessed in Aleppo. The level of destruction is much bigger than I thought I didnt imagine it would be this widespread. You drive for miles and miles you see destroyed civilian houses, destroyed schools, destroyed hospitals. Everything has been ruined, he said. Filippo Grandi meets children at the Jibreen shelter in Aleppo, Syria. Jibreen is now home to over 5,000 people displaced during fighting in the city. UNHCR/Firas Al-Khateeb Calling for massive investment for reconstruction, Grandi said peace and stability had first to take hold and rapidly -- saying people could not wait any longer. These ruins speak for themselves. When you see childrens clothes hanging out of windows, kitchens cut in half by shells and rockets, the real lives of people interrupted by war as it was happening, I think this will weigh very heavily on the conscience of the world for generations, he added. A resident of east Aleppo talks to UN refugee head Filippo Grandi. She fled her home when the battle for the eastern neighbourhoods erupted. Today she has returned, and is receiving UNHCR relief assistance. UNHCR/Bassam Diab Grandi made an impassioned plea to the world to renew solidarity with those suffering from the effects of conflict in Syria and other places such as Iraq, Somalia and Yemen. The world has to go back to solidarity, has to think again of these people not with fear, not with suspicion, but with open arms, with an open mind, with an open heart. They need help, they need protection while the war goes on. One day, they will come back here, and they will reconstruct these cities. But now, in their hour of need, we cannot forget their plight we need to help them, his statement concluded. He wrote about his address to the French National Assembly and members of the French Parliament at Victor Hugo Hall on January 17. The event was designed to discuss the future for French and European Policies towards the Middle East, in particular, towards Iran. Vidal-Quadras wrote: Dramatic missteps and miscalculations have defined Iran policy in Europe and the Americas over these past several years. Indeed, many mistakes that are ongoing to this day date back to the immediate aftermath of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He accuses the West of attempting to play nice with the Regime, making up a moderate faction, rather than opposing them for the violence they promote. He continued: It seems that almost as soon as the repressive theocratic government came to power, its Western interlocutors were looking for opportunities to foster cooperation with that regime and to pursue friendships with supposed moderate factions within it. Time and again, it has been revealed that those moderate factions do not actually exist, and yet the overall approach to Iran policy has rarely deviated. When the west calls Iranian President Hassan Rouhani a moderate, they imply that executing over 3,000 people in three years, cracking down on free speech and freedom of the press are moderate approaches. A notion that the UN must not agree with, as they passed a resolution on the state of human rights abuses in Iran, in December 2016. Vidal-Quadras notes that the West should support the Iranian Resistance, led by Maryam Rajavi, if they want to help the people of Iran and the people of the middle east. He wrote: Mrs Rajavis speech described Iranian contributions to rampant human rights abuses in Syria, as well as pointing out that the Iranian regime remains the greatest obstacle to a political resolution for that conflict. It is shameful that leading policymakers have turned their back on human rights abuses affecting the 80 million people of Iran, especially when so many of them are willing to risk arrest and torture by protesting their Government and rallying behind the resistance movement. He concluded: Western governments now have a clear choice. On one hand, to continue to invest in a regime that is likely to go even more hardline now that the leading pragmatist is gone. Or, on the other hand, they can break with a decades-long tradition of ignoring human rights abuses and marginalising Irans democratic opposition to finally begin to pursue a better future both for true Western interests and for the Iranian people. Apple joins Amazon, Google, Facebook, IBM and Microsoft in The Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society to study and formulate best practices on AI technologies. Responsible AI is the main goal for these tech companies. Artificial intelligence is slowly creeping into the different industries in the world. And the recent partnership with Apple is surprising for a lot of people. It is reported that Apple is very secretive about its strategic plans about AI. Tom Gruber and other Apple authorities want to join the group to create an open platform for discussion and engagement, as reported by Read IT Quik. But many point out that the group started in September 2016 and Apple joined late. There are allegedly reasons as to why Apple joined late. Some have pointed out that Apple is not willing to release their studies on AI which is a current focus of the company. The tech company enlisted Carnegie Mellon's Russ Salakhutdinov to lead the AI research. Then the veil of secrecy slowly lifts where AI researchers publish their work publicly. Machine intelligence for most people started with machines working on algorithms and doing machine work. But the definition of machine intelligence is slowly changing. Now, it is Siri recognizing voice commands, Facebook and Google analyzing everyone's photos and many more. Apple and the rest of the tech giants are collaborating to make sure that AI is being used with consideration for human values, as reported by All About Circuits. What does this mean for the future of tech? Apple and other tech companies are looking into the dangers of uncontrolled AI as recently expressed by Elon Musk. But according to a study conducted at the Stanford University, there is no reason to worry about Artificial Intelligence becoming a threat to man. The future may also involve underground development of the tech. For now, everyone believes that the launch of The Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society. Watch President Obama's take on the future of Artificial Intelligence in the Wired clip below: Harvard University has announced its plans to appoint a full-time Muslim chaplain. This comes in the midst of President Trump's immigration order. It was reported that several universities in the United States have urged its student and faculty community to forego international travel after President Trump signed the executive order banning travel to and from countries of concern. Individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen will not be allowed entry from the nation. Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger urged community members and visiting scholars from the banned countries to suspend their plans for international travel. Stanford University's Bechtel International Center took to Facebook to warn nationals of the banned countries to refrain from travelling. Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert confirmed that they are reviewing how the executive order of President Donald Trump will affect its student community. Gilbert also noted that they will do everything possible to assist and retain all of their international students. Recently, Harvard University President Drew Faust emphasized that the institution will continue to commit to internationalism. She also focused on the significant role that the presence of international scholars and students plays in helping the U.S. higher education industry to thrive. Faust also revealed Harvard's plan to appoint a full-time Muslim chaplain. The search will be led by a mixed committee of students, faculty and staff chaired by Harvard Divinity School Professor Ousmane Kane. Kane, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Contemporary Islamic Religion and Society, said that the position is "very important and timely" since the Muslim community has been feeling marginalized and persecuted with the events happening at a national level. The chaplain would be someone who supports members of the community and, at the same time, be someone who can enlighten the wider university body about the Islamic faith. Boston Globe reported that Iranian doctoral student at Harvard Mitra Akhtari admitted that the past two days have been the worst in her life. She and her family arrived in the U.S. in 2001 and she is now a U.S. citizen. The past few days were hurtful since the discrimination is no longer done by individuals but by institutions of the country. A North Korean University has enlisted the help of Texas A&M University, which is known for its agricultural economics and public health programs. On Monday, the only private university in North Korea asked for help on how to grow food in a land of chronic shortages. Reuters reported that the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), which opened in 2010 and was founded by evangelical Christians, has reached out to Texas A&M University. The school has said that the help is not based on politics but about humanitarian ideals. Yu-Taik Chon, executive vice president of the university, told Texas A&M officials that there is no school like it in North Korea. Chon added that this can lead to more opportunities for the outside world to work with future leaders of the reclusive nation. It was noted that North Korea and its planned rationing system was never able to fully recover from a famine that hit it in the 1990s. A World Food Program report found that, last year from April to June, the state gave out just 360 grams of rations per person per day. This is said to be the lowest amount for five years. PUST's volunteer faculty, a majority of whom are evangelical Christians, has already included subjects that were considered taboo in North Korea such as capitalism. Delegation members have said that the employees at the North Korean university do not discuss politics and religion in the classroom. The school is asking for help from 10 U.S. universities on subjects such as food security and how to improve nutrition. The other schools have asked not to disclose their names. Texas A&M University has developed projects in several parts of the world, such as Afghanistan and central Africa. According to KBTX, the school is helping PUST by donating published material, curriculum and common guides that farmers can use to enhance their programs. Texas A&M is also planning to send graduate students and professors to the reclusive country to teach. Edwin Price, Professor of Agriculture Economics at Texas A&M University, noted that this is part of efforts to build a bridge for peace through science and technology. A liberal arts college is piloting a program that will develop soft skills of students. The program was launched after employers expressed the need for employees that possess soft skills. They play an important role in company management and human relations. Reinhardt University, a small school in Georgia, launched the program Strategic Career Advantage Platform (S-CAP). The training is being conducted every Saturday. Topics included mediation, listening, emotional intelligence and impression management. After the training sessions, students were asked to write their reflections instead of taking a test. The reflections must include application of what they learned to real life situations, according to Inside Higher Ed. Technological advancements have made employers focus on hard skills or technical skills. However, excellent technical skills are not enough. Employee relationship contributes largely to the success of a company. Companies that rely on hard skills alone tend to have gender imbalance. Men are known to possess hard skills while women have soft skills. The belief that only hard skills are important, companies tend to hire more men than women. Acknowledging the importance of soft skills can result to gender balance, according to Biz Community. This means the company employs almost equal number of male and female staff. With an equal number of people working on hard tasks and soft tasks, there will be balance and harmony within the organization. Employees will be inspired t work harder for the company. Job interviews give recruiters the chance to discover an applicant's soft skills. Questions focus on "what the person is" rather than on "what the person knows." It is of great import to show case these skills when being interviewed, according to Fast Company. When preparing for an interview, applicants should prepare a detailed description of how he had resolved a problem in the company. Those who appeared to have done the right thing will most likely be given the job. The Italian media alleges that the four people arrested on Tuesday are under suspicion of smuggling helicopters and surface-to-air missiles in violation of international embargoes. According to La Repubblica, the couple Mario Di Leva and Annamaria Fontana, and a legal representative for Rome-based Societa Italiana Elicotteri, Andrea Pardi, were already part of another investigation into arms trafficking and recruitment of mercenaries between Italy and Somalia. The Libyan national is identified as Mohamud Ali Shaswish. La Repubblica reported that all are accused of smuggling air ambulances as well as the weapons to Libya and Iran between 2011 and 2015. The air ambulances were then converted into military helicopters. However, Reuters news agency reported that the three Italians were arrested, but police are still looking for the Libyan man. Citing police, Reuters reported that the military equipment was manufactured in the ex-Soviet bloc and shipped from third countries, including Ukraine and Tunisia. Investigations are focusing on the possible trafficking of arms destined to a group which supports ISIS in Libya. Di Leva is said to have converted to Islam, and changed his name to Jafaar. He is reputedly being investigated for suspected radicalization. La Repubblica also reported that prosecutors have in their possession a picture of the couple, Di Leva and Fontana, with former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. February 1 2017 Historic Environment Scotland has chosen to recognise a Brutalist public housing duo in Leith with its highest listing category possible after conducting a consultation with tenants.Since being built in the 1960s the grey edifice of Cables Wynd House and Linksview House have become local landmarks in their own right; particularly the kinked profile of the former, colloquially known as the Banana Flats, which attained global infamy after being committed to celluloid for Trainspotting.Lauding the twins as being of national or international significance Dawn McDowell, deputy head of designations at HES, said: In the early 1960s a new, higher quality, and more holistic approach to housing schemes was being pioneered, inspired by housing schemes in France which aimed to create not just houses but communities. Cables Wynd House and Linksview are amongst the best examples of these schemes, with their use of external access decks as a way of recreating the civic spirit of traditional tenemented streets, and the inclusion of modern features like lifts and heated flooring helping to lift living standards for the residents.Cables Wynd was the largest block of flats in Edinburgh at the time, and possibly the most accomplished architecturally, characterising the New Brutalism in building, which laid bare the essential materials of a buildings construction, using reinforced and in situ concrete.Professor Miles Glendinning, director of the Scottish Centre for Conservation Studies, added: These two blocks abundantly merit their listing at Category A, because they combine international excellence in modernist urban design with an attention to the spirit of place that is specific to Edinburgh, especially to the conservative surgery concept of urban renewal, pioneered by Patrick Geddes around 1900.Edinburghs post-war multi storey social housing redevelopments were designed to fit into small, highly constrained sites. I believe that Cables Wynd House in particular, was built in its distinctive curved shape as a creative solution to the constraints of that particular site. Along with Linksview House, it represents an outstanding synthesis of international modernist architecture with Geddess conservative surgery principles.Cables Wynd and Linksview are the 50th and 51st postwar buildings to be designated with an A listing, elevating them to being of equivalent importance as landmarks such as the Forth Road Bridge and The Royal Commonwealth Pool. We invite articles submitted by our readers. You can add an article (subject to editorial approval) by emailing the Juan Wilson with what you want to post.We will include your name as the author, or, if you are forwarding another's words, we will add you as the source. UW MBA Students Participate in Tourism Conference Students in the University of Wyomings Master of Business Administration (MBA) Program were among the participants in the 2017 Wyoming Governors Conference on Hospitality and Tourism at Little America in Cheyenne. The three-day conference, which consisted of a number of guest speakers, meetings and breakout sessions, concluded Tuesday. The UW MBA students attended writer and futurist Joe Tankersleys keynote address, which discussed the future of tourism in Wyoming and how it can be impacted by foresight, critical imagination and strategic narrative. Joe is the most optimistic person I have ever met when it comes to Americas future involvement with virtual and augmented reality advancements, says student Mitchell Schwab, a Star Valley High School graduate and MBA and law school student. Where most people fear the change, he embraces it. Its quite astounding, as he is not a millennial. Looking into a future where virtual and augmented reality may replace traditional tourism, there are opportunities to create virtual reality experiences that can be exported, augmented reality experiences that can enhance traditional tourism, and technology-free vacation experiences, says Keegan Haukaas, an MBA candidate and Evanston High School graduate. My biggest takeaway from Joes keynote address is that we are in a very dynamic social and economic period, says Tyler Cope, an energy management MBA candidate from Bixby, Okla. His optimism for potential developments in the future, with consideration for the risks of artificial intelligence, augmented or virtual reality, and complete interconnectedness, is eye-opening. UW MBA Program recruiter Tanner Parmely says participation in events such as the Governors Conference on Hospitality and Tourism allows students to apply what they are learning to the real world. It is truly a competitive advantage when entering the competitive marketplace that we have today, she says. Anyone with questions about the UW MBA Program, including how to apply, should contact Parmely at (307) 766-2449 or tparmely@uwyo.edu. Players keep popping up In Vietnam today there are three popular e-commerce models: C2C (which connects customers to customers), B2C (business to customer) and Marketplace (which provides a platform to process transactions). In the pure C2C model, similar to classified advertisements which connects the buyers and the sellers only in terms of information, chotot.vn remains the most prominent. However, to Vietnam's e-commerce, buyer's trust and delivery have been the issues, and supplying information seems not enough. Many companies provide a platform with third-party services such as shipping or payment. Among this group, Sendo.vn, owned by tech giant FPT Group, is a prime example. Recently Zalo of VNG Corporation, a technology company, also ventured into this market. But the name that has received the most attention recently was Shopee, a company started by Singaporean tech company Garena. After nearly two years in Vietnam, this company has been downloaded two million times on mobile and processed 10,000 orders per day. Customer base and volume of orders have been growing 20 per cent per month. In the B2C group, after the departures of Lingo.vn, and Deca.vn earlier, and while Adayroi.vn of property giant VinGroup has not made any breakthrough and Lotte.vn remained an unknown, Tiki.vn has continued to be the leader. Founded in 2010 as an online bookstore, Tiki.vn has expanded into other fields such as cosmetics and electronics. According to Tran Ngoc Thai Son, chief executive officer of Tiki.vn, book sales accounted for 70 per cent of the company's revenue in 2014, but that ratio is only 30 per cent today with the rest of revenue coming from other fields. Now, Tiki receives 15,000 to 20,000 orders per day. Even though Cdiscount.vn, the online shop of Big C supermarket which was acquired by Thailand's retail giant Central Group, was closed and merged with Zalora, the e-commerce space remains attractive to other retail companies. Not long after Korea's Lotte Group entered Vietnam's e-commerce with the Lotte.vn website, Japan's biggest retailer Aeon also arrived with aeoneshop.com at the beginning of the year. Finally, in the Marketplace group, Lazada.vn has seen no match with its 30 per cent market share (by revenue) in Vietnam's online retail market. Fierce competition The race will intensify in the coming months, because up to now no company has made a profit in e-commerce in Vietnam, so they will compete fiercely for larger market share. The prizes await the final winners of this race. Alexandre Dardy, chief executive officer of Lazada Vietnam, said Lazada will focus on attracting more brands to do business on its website in 2017. Its goal is to attract 10,000 companies, triple the current number. As for Tiki.vn, the focus will be on sustainable growth. In 2017, Tiki.vn will continue to invest heavily in fulfillment, a service in which sellers just need to send their products to Tiki's warehouses and let Tiki handle marketing and sales. Currently the company has two warehouses in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Hanoi, with total area of 10,000 square meters. Meanwhile, although arriving late, traditional retail companies are always considered strong contenders. While Lotte.vn focuses on cosmetics and fashion that are the strength of Korean brands, aeoneshop.com targets electronics and baby products carrying Japanese brands. Currently aeoneshop.com owns a chain of large modern retail stores from shopping centers to convenience stores. In addition directly owning four shopping centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Aeon bought 30 per cent stake in Fivimart and 49 per cent share of Citimart in 2015, and now indirectly owns 18 Fivimart stores in Hanoi and 66 mini-shops in Ho Chi Minh City. In essence, the race between purely e-commerce companies and traditional retail companies in Vietnam has not seen the clear winners, and purely e-commerce firms currently have an edge. However, with the determination of retail companies to expand online, the competition will be exciting to watch in 2017. The CIA has relented on allowing people to view once-classified agency documents online from their home computers. The spy agency relented on its policy after pressure from open-government advocates. Somali refugee Nimo Hashi holds her daughter Taslim at their home Tuesday in Salt Lake City. Hashi had plans to reunite Friday with her husband for the first time in nearly three years. But he wont be arriving as planned to see her and the 2-year-old daughter hes never met. He is among hundreds of people stuck in limbo after President Donald Trumps executive order. [January 31, 2017] Nominations Being Accepted for 18th Annual Marie R. Pistilli Women in Engineering Achievement Award The Design Automation Conference (DAC), the premier conference devoted to the design and automation of electronic systems, is now accepting nominations for the Marie R. Pistilli Women in Engineering Achievement Award. The 54th DAC will be held at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas from June 18 - 22, 2017. Nominations must be received no later than 5:00 PM, MST, Friday, March 3rd, 2017. This annual award, named for the late Marie R. Pistilli, the former organizer of DAC, recognizes individuals who have visibly helped to advance the profile of women in the electronics industry. This year's honoree (to be announced prior to DAC) will be presented with the award at the 54th DAC General/Opening Session on Monday, June 19, 2017. The Marie R. Pistilli award is open to men and women in industry or academia with technical or non-technical backgrounds. Nominees are individuals who have made notable contributions through work that has helped to advance the profile of women in engineering. Past recipients have played key roles in creating, launching or managing products that involved contributions from women, or created opportunities for women in the electronics industry. Others have been leaders within a company or organization who have helped raise the awareness of women, or mentors or role models for successful women working in all areas of engineering. "We are proud to carry on Marie Pistilli's legacy through the prestigious award named in her honor. For nearly two decades, colleagues across the semiconductor industry have put forward the names of individuals who shine as examples of innovation, ethics, mentorship, and accomplishment," said Worldwide Women in Electronic Design (WWED) chairperson McKenzie Ross of OneSpin Solutions. "Our selection committee looks forward to the challenge of selecting the 2017 honoree from among these beacons of engineering achievement." For more information and to submit your nomination, visit the Worldwide Women in Electronic Design webpage. Past recipients of the award include: 53rd DAC - Soha Hassoun, Professor/Chair of the Department of Computer Science, Tufts University 52nd DAC - Margaret Martonosi, Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University 51st DAC - Diana Marculescu, Professor, Carnegie Mellon University 50th DAC - Nanette Collins, Nanette Collins Marketing & Public Relations 49th DAC - Dr. Belle Wei, San Jose State University 48th DAC - Limor Fix, Intel Corporation 47th DAC - Mar Hershenson, Magma Design Automation (News - Alert) 46th DAC - Telle Whitney, Anita Borg Institute 45th DAC - Louise Trevillyan, IBM (News - Alert) Research 44th DAC - Jan Willis, Calibra Consulting 43rd DAC - Ellen Yoffa, IBM Research 42nd DAC - Kathryn Kranen, Jasper Design Automation, Inc. 41st DAC - Mary Jane Irwin, Penn State Univ. For additional information on the award, and the Design Automation Conference visit: https://dac.com/content/worldwide-women-electronic-design-wwed. About DAC The Design Automation Conference (DAC) is recognized as the premier event for the design of electronic circuits and systems, and for electronic design automation (EDA) and silicon solutions. A diverse worldwide community representing more than 1,000 organizations attends each year, represented by system designers and architects, logic and circuit designers, validation engineers, CAD managers, senior managers and executives to researchers and academicians from leading universities. Close to 60 technical sessions selected by a committee of electronic design experts offer information on recent developments and trends, management practices and new products, methodologies and technologies. A highlight of DAC is its exhibition and suite area with approximately 200 of the leading and emerging EDA, silicon, intellectual property (IP) and design services providers. The conference is sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Electronic Design Automation Consortium (EDA Consortium), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE (News - Alert)), and is supported by ACM's Special Interest Group on Design Automation (ACM SIGDA). Design Automation Conference acknowledges trademarks or registered trademarks of other organizations for their respective products and services. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131005278/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Labor rights activists have urged the government to invest in long-term human resource development by focusing on skills that migrant workers can bring back home before sending them overseas. Moeun Tola, executive director of the labor rights group Central, said that it has not focused enough on bringing skills home to roost. When they finish working in a host country for two or three years and return home there is no job market for the skills they acquire from overseas, he told the Hello VOA show on Thursday. Some of them end up migrating to Thailand after returning from [South] Korea. Therefore, they are not able to use their skills garnered from on-the-job training to help improve our economy. With no mechanism to monitor the implementation of agreements signed with host countries, some laborers have fallen victim to abuses, according to Tola. We see that when migrant workers are sent out, there is no concrete mechanism to monitor the working conditions of Cambodian workers, he said. They are abandoned and subsequently have fallen victim to exploitation, abuses, torture, and, in some cases, death. In 2016, Central handled over 200 cases of human trafficking, passport fraud, and imprisonment of workers in Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, China, and Qatar. There are international and domestic laws Cambodia is a signatory to that can be used to protect its citizens, but there is a lack of implementation, according to Mu Sochua, an opposition lawmaker. What we want the most is the protection for migrant workers, she said. Therefore, all contracts and cooperation paperwork we sign between our country and a host country must be done to international standards so that our people who migrate out of the country are protected from being trafficked, exploited, and tortured. Sochua said lawmakers will continue to monitor the implementation of the laws and agreements and will question the labor minister or relevant officials on the progress. In fact, the government has put in place a plan to reintegrate migrant workers by providing social and economic support, including employment services, skills development and recognition, enterprise development training, and investment programs, according to the Ministry of Labors policy on labor migration. But Sochua said this is only on paper and most of the skills do not match market demand. There is very little, she said. And do the skills provided fit their need? There is training on hair-dressing and sewing. How many people can survive on these? There are more than one million Cambodian migrant laborers working legally and illegally in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and China Prime Minister Hun Sen has said he will seize the opposition partys headquarters and the assets of its exiled leader, Sam Rainsy, as compensation in an ongoing defamation case. Hun Sen also said on Tuesday that Rainsy could be banned from leading a political party. The premier on January 18 filed a $1 million compensation claim as part of the defamation suit against Rainsy for allegedly claiming that Hun Sen had paid a popular political and social media activist to attack Rainsys party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party. Hun Sen made the announcement during a parliamentary debate to repeal Article 48 of the National Assembly regulations which would further strip powers from the opposition. He said, if the court ruled in his favor, I will freeze the assets and request protection, and then I will sell the entire asset. The opposition party headquarters under the ownership of Mr. Sam Rainsy will be on sale. Rainsy, who went into self-imposed exile in France in 2015, wrote on his Facebook page and on Twitter that Hun Sens comments were a sign of panic ahead of elections in June and next year. Hun Sen can no longer appeal to electorate, so personally hounds me, as symbol of resistance to autocratic, corrupt power, he wrote. Meas Ny, a social analyst, said the comments indicated that Hun Sen was expecting to win the case against Rainsy; further evidence, he said, of the judiciary being under his control. The prime minister knows that he will win since the judicial system is under his control. As what we have witnessed, the court follows what the prime minister says. In this case, he already knows that the court will not let him lose. Hun Sen has previously filed several separate lawsuits against opposition members. Mexicos notorious drug lord, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, twice escaped maximum security prisons in Mexico before his recapture and extradition to the United States. As he awaits trial in New York, VOA takes a look at what El Chapo faces in a federal court and in an American prison. Ramon Taylor reports. An American watchdog says Afghan national security forces lost about 7,000 personnel in the first 11 months of 2016 and the U.S.-backed government controls less than 60 percent of the country. The findings are part of a new quarterly report the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko released Wednesday, after submitting it to the U.S. Congress. "The numbers of the Afghan security forces are decreasing, while both casualties and the number of districts under insurgent control or influence are increasing, according to the report, though Afghan defense ministry officials immediately questioned it. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction is tasked to detect waste, corruption and mismanagement in the $117 billion Washington has invested in the war-ravaged country since 2002. More than half of the money has been spent on building and training Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF) personnel. From January 1, 2016, through November 12, 2016, according to figures provided by the Afghan government to USFOR-A (U.S. Forces Afghanistan), 6,785 ANDSF service members were killed and an additional 11,777 members were wounded, the report noted. Citing U.S. military assessments, it said that approximately 57.2 percent of 407 Afghan districts are under government control or influence, showing a nearly 15 percent decrease since November 2015. The number of districts under insurgent control or influence rose to 10.1 percent while the rest are contested, the report added. It cited Uruzgan and Helmand as among the most contested provinces, where five out of six districts and eight of 14 districts respectively are under insurgent control or influence. Afghan Defense ministry disagrees Defense ministry spokesman, Dawlat Waziri, disagreed with the report findings, claiming the government is in control of all 34 provinces and last years casualty toll was not different from 2015, when U.S. military said around 5,000 personnel were killed. The figures shown in the report are not correct. Certainly there were more losses in 2015 and 2016, compared to 2014 and you are aware of the reasons. But the report and statistics shown in it are completely incorrect and not factual, Waziri told VOA. Most of the U.S.-dominated international forces left Afghanistan in late 2014, allowing newly trained ANDSF to take control of the counterinsurgency operations. Waziri justified the battlefield losses, saying the fighting in Afghanistan intensified only after foreign forces withdrew from the country. But he vowed Afghan forces will show more progress in 2017 because of their experience and better performance in the previous year. SIGARs report, however, acknowledged that Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis national unity governments anti-corruption campaign has led to a noticeable drop in corruption when procuring goods and services. The quarterly report is the first since President Donald Trump took office January 20. Sopkoo observed it was a good opportunity for the new administration to reflect on the Afghan reconstruction mission. The report also warned drug production continued to proliferate in Afghanistan and the U.S. mission will face challenges unless the issue is tackled, because the Taliban insurgency is largely benefiting from the illicit narcotic income. President Donald Trump has said nothing publicly about his plans for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, but last week the Taliban reached out to him. In an open letter the group released to the news media, a spokesman called for Trump to abandon what he called a futile and unwinnable war. President Trump barely talked about Afghanistan and Pakistan during his election campaign, even though both countries are longtime U.S. foreign policy priorities, receiving billions of dollars in aid. At a time of increasing concern over the Afghan Taliban's rising influence, and the growth of other militant groups including the Islamic State, foreign policy experts are divided over what the new administration will do about a conflict that has now become the responsibility of a third American president. Leaving decisions for Trump Outgoing President Barack Obama said his successor would determine the next U.S. move. As president and commander-in-chief I have made it clear that I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven to attack our nation again, Obama said in July of last year. Instead of going down to 5,500 troops by the end of this year [2016], the United States will maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into next year through the end of my administration. The president cited the "precarious situation" in Afghanistan and "Taliban threat" as a reason behind his decision. But foreign policy experts have mixed predictions about the decisions a Trump administration may make. "If the new administration really wants to make progress in Afghanistan, they have to do something about the Taliban and Haqqani network sanctuaries that are still inside Pakistan, Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow of Asian Studies Center at Heritage Foundation, said. Curtis is optimistic about continued U.S. engagement in Afghanistan. We can expect that the new administration will judge and form its new strategy towards Afghanistan based on the actual conditions on the ground rather than domestic political timelines which we saw the Obama administration do, Curtis added. Former ambassador to Afghanistan and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Earl Anthony Wayne, agrees with Curtis about avoiding timelines. Many of us who have worked on Afghanistan and remain deeply committed to the work that has gone out there hope that we will see an enduring partnership emerge and a commitment without timelines, Wayne said. Trump might focus on Pakistan Some scholars suggest the Trump administration may shift its focus towards Pakistan. During the election campaign candidate Trump said the situation in Pakistan, not Afghanistan, is the regions main security problem. We know that Trump hasnt said a lot about Afghanistan during the campaign or after the election but what he said about the region makes it sound like he is primarily interested in the strategic problems related to Pakistan, said Rebecca Zimmerman, a policy researcher at Rand Corporation. But Thomas H. Johnson, director of the Naval Postgraduate Schools Program for Cultural and Conflict studies warns against that. His initial conversation with Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was very strange and his eventual policies towards Pakistan will have a significant impact on his Afghan policies, Johnson said. Johnson added that given his statements concerning NATO, Germany and other traditional American security instruments and allies, the past polices may mean little to the new U.S. president. Prominent Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid says, What you have now is a much more complicated regional situation with the Taliban also getting backing from Iran. They are in talks with Russia. They have been in talks with China. You have many more regional players involved." Anthony Cordesman, national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies also believes Pakistan is not the only country the United States should be concerned about when it comes to dealing with Afghanistan. He says the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, I think we are looking at a year which is going to be another year of very serious fighting. There is very little immediate prospect that you are going to have the kind of negotiations that would actually have a major impact or a predictable impact." Pakistan urged to do more In their defense, Pakistans military and civilian leaders have argued that they have sacrificed in the war against terror and have paid with blood and treasure. U.S. officials continue to assert that Pakistan could do more. We have seen progress. We have seen them take some steps to address these safe heavens, but clearly the problem persists and it is something, which is part of our ongoing conversation with Pakistan, said U.S. State Department spokesperson Mark Toner. Scott Worden, director of Center for Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace says Pakistan has to be convinced. I think there needs to be both carrot and sticks. There needs to be pressure on Pakistan to change some of its strategic calculations so that it supports better in the Afghan peace process, but at the same time Pakistan is not going to do that unless it sees benefits or opportunities." Members of Quebec city's Muslim community walked over thick, crusted blood dried into the carpet of their mosque Wednesday as they returned to the scene of last weekend's carnage where six men were shot to death. Blood was everywhere: on the prayer carpet, the walls, tables and in footprints leading to the basement where people took refuge from the shooter. Mosque vice president Mohamed Labidi said he wanted to open the center to the public so people could see what worshippers had to suffer. University student Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the case. He was arrested Sunday night following the massacre, in which 19 people were also wounded. Bissonnette was a fan of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and U.S. President Donald Trump and acquaintances described him as someone who took extreme nationalist, pro-Le Pen positions at Laval University and on social media. Six men, aged between 39 and 60, were killed when the gunman stormed the mosque and opened fire during evening prayers. Authorities have refused to specify what type of firearm was used in the mass shooting. Labidi, standing in front of a thick gob of blood at the entrance to the carpeted prayer area, pointed down and said the remains belonged to his friend Azzeddine Soufiane, a grocer and butcher with three children who immigrated to Quebec from Morocco. He said Soufiane ran to the shooter and tried to struggle with him, only to be shot dead. He was a generous man, Labidi said. Generous to the last moment of his life. He is our hero. Since the shooting, Labidi had been soft-spoken, but his voice rose as he spoke about his friend and his struggle living as a foreigner in Quebec City. We went to university together. He got a Ph.D. in geology and he couldn't find a job in this city because his name was Azzeddine Soufiane. He forged his own path by starting his grocery store, Labidi said. I didn't want to talk about it because it wasn't the time to do it ... but go to taxi stands and you'll see Ph.D.s and people with master's degrees because we do not find jobs here, he said. Ahmed El-Ghandouri wiped away tears as he spoke about knowing Soufiane for 35 years and helping him start his grocery store. This is my second home, he said of the mosque. But we have to return here. We don't have the choice. We have to clean, put it back in order. And we welcome people to come and see what Islam is really about. Mosque president Mohamed Yangui said the six bodies have been returned to their families. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said a funeral service will be held in the city on Thursday afternoon for three of the six men. There will be prayers for the three other victims. Two decades after the Lords Resistance Army began terrorizing civilians in northern Uganda, the LRA boasts just a fraction of its former strength, about 100 to 150 fighters active in parts of central Africa. However, the communities most at risk of attack have little protection in remote lawless regions of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In the village of Fenzane in southeastern C.A.R., for example, there are no government police officers, no army, and no United Nations troops. What they do have are regular attacks by bandits and armed groups like the Lords Resistance Army. Two people were killed in the village in an attack on Tuesday, just days after VOA visited. Wearing a weathered jacket inside a thatched hut, 46-year-old Jeane Nakanda said she and the other residents in the area feel abandoned by the government. Even though were just 10 kilometers from the town center, she said. The government doesnt think of us. Remote region There also has been minimal economic development in this rural remote part of the country. Theyre cut off out of reach of cellphone networks. But a $15-million project funded by USAID has found another way for communities to communicate and prepare for attacks an early warning network of high-frequency and FM radios. The community was regrouped and closed off in itself, said Yvon Brice Congo, who works on the radio project for Catholic Relief Services, And so the community didnt go from there, didnt circulate between the villages. And they were deprived of essential foods, the elements essential for the life and all. Congo and his colleagues facilitated the creation of organized community protection committees in 32 communities in C.A.R., and another 62 in the DRC. Catholic Relief Services brought VOA to the area to show how it works. Residents keep an eye on the movements of armed groups. They bring the information to the village chief who passes it onto the radio operator. The security information is shared via a solar-powered radio network operated by community volunteers. Before the project, the communities were very isolated, Fenzanes radio operator, Judical Mgbatissoungue, said inside of a small brick building with just enough room for a desk, a chair and his radio. In the past, the enemy came and we were surprised by that," said Mgbatissoungue. "Now its more difficult for them. We can prepare ourselves and be ready for the attack." Protection plans When info gets broadcast about armed groups nearby, the communities execute their non-violent protection plans. The community has already identified the spots in the village where the women and children go to the hiding spot, said Jean Modest Oumboyo, Fenzanes village chief. The men go and survey the village to make sure everything is okay. Residents also keep their belongings and food in different spots in the town so they wouldnt lose everything in a raid. In the nearby larger town of Zemio, Jean Paul Kpiboroano helps to get the security information out more broadly to the area over FM radio airwaves. Its distributed publicly only after its been verified by multiple sources. Attention, attention. Alert warning, alert warning, he says over the radio waves, using local Central African languages when sharing critical information. Kpiboroano said the LRA has been weakened and splintered over the past few years. In the bush, its not just the LRA who create the insecurity, said Kpiboroano, the Berassa FM radio station director. There are many forces of bandits who are found in the bush. If the LRA is defeated, the community protection plan designed by the project will survive forever. Its not just for the LRA. Its for us. Taking ownership This early warning network has reached nearly 300,000 people in isolated communities of C.A.R. and D.R.C. With no other protection available, these communities can rely only on themselves. So much of it is the process of taking ownership and taking on the responsibility that is a transformation often from what happens in a society, like here where there is a lot of manipulation by leadership sometimes and other actors here, said Scott Campbell, CRSs Central Africa regional director. That has real implications for ones self image and the entire community. Meanwhile, the new Trump administration has questioned whether the U.S. government should bother hunting down Kony. In the very small, globalized world of today, what happens in Africa, Middle East, Latin America has direct implications for us in America and vice versa, he said. We are all one human family and the interconnectedness of the world today is such that you cannot close yourself off from the rest of the world. When it comes to climate change, there are all kinds of ideas about how to address the problem. One that has been on the front burner lately is the 'engineering' approach. The idea is: humans can 'fix' the problem through technology, rather than by punishing people and industries that pump carbon into the atmosphere. Supporting clean energy technologies, and making them as cheap and plentiful as fossil fuels, is one way to engineer our way out of the problem. But according to a new report, protecting and rebuilding some of our coastal wetlands may be another way to get some carbon out of the atmosphere. Wetlands as carbon sinks The new study was done by researchers from the University of Maryland, with support from NOAA, and appears in the Journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The goal was to find the world's best 'blue carbon' storage sites. Blue carbon is what scientists call the carbon dioxide captured and held in the world's oceans and coastal systems. VOA spoke with lead author Ariana Sutton-Grier, an ecosystem ecologist at the University of Maryland, about the research. She says one of the main points is that the natural world has already figured out some effective ways to deal with excess carbon. "Coastal wetlands are some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet," she points out, "and they store a lot of carbon below ground." How much? "The researchers estimated that mangrove forests in the U.S. capture and store as much as 34 metric tons of carbon annually," the team said in a press release. "Which is roughly equivalent to the carbon emitted by 24 million passenger cars in a year." And that's just the U.S. How about the world? Including the United States, they estimate "coastal wetlands may capture and store more than 200 metric tons of carbon per year globally." That's a lot of carbon, but Grier admits, not nearly enough to solve the problem. "This would definitely not be a "silver bullet" that would "fix" climate change;" she says. "There is no silver bullet. Human emissions are much larger than natural sinks, but with a problem this big, we need to find multiple solutions to reduce and combat emissions..." To give you an idea how big, some of the best estimates suggest humans are pumping about 36 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year. To help reverse that trend means protecting, and perhaps beginning to restore the coastlines that have been degraded by human activity and rising sea levels. Protecting, and rebuilding That's no easy task. First of all, it's expensive. Take, as an example, the Coastal Wetlands, Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA), passed by the U.S. Congress in 1990. In the 26 years since it's been put in place, over 200 different projects have been authorized, affecting over 400-thousand hectares of coastal wetland in the state of Louisiana. The annual budget has ranged from 30 to 80 million dollars per year. It is an expensive, and a time consuming process, but Grier says worth its weight in gold, "if the world invested in coastal restoration in a major way," she says, "then yes, this would 'new' carbon sinks that would be an important contribution to climate change mitigation..." But it's about more than restoration. Grier says that in the past 250 years, the U.S. has lost about half of its total wetland area. And internationally, she says "...estimates are that we are losing between 0.7% and up to 3% of the global area of these habitats per year." Not only does that make hurricanes and flooding worse, but all that carbon that was being stored heads into the atmosphere. Grier calls it a double whammy. "In destroying or degrading these wetlands, they get drained and the oxygen in the air causes the carbon in the soil to be decomposed and blown off as CO2 so we lose the store, and what was a fabulous natural carbon sink becomes yet another human-caused emission!" The question arises: aren't there cheaper ways to save the world's carbon sinks, like the Amazon rainforest? Grier says there's more than one solution, but the researchers "believe that 'blue carbon' habitats may stand alone as the most efficient biological reservoirs of stored carbon on Earth." And as the world struggles to cut its emissions, restoring wetlands may be a particularly effective way to help meet those targets. Congressional Democrats pushed back Tuesday against President Donald Trump, declaring his controversial executive order on immigration "unconstitutional," just hours after he fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates for refusing to enforce the ban. Democrats, already outraged by the order temporarily limiting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, hailed Yates as "a patriot." The former acting attorney general had told Department of Justice employees in written guidance that she did not think a defense of the order was legal. The surprise firing increased Democratic ire on both sides of the Hill, sparking partisan battles as many Republicans continued to defend the goals and the legality of the order. The White House defended the president's decision to fire Yates, saying she was "not only responsible but required to execute lawful orders." Press secretary Sean Spicer described Yates' decision not to execute the order after it had gone through the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Compliance as "bewildering and defiant." But Democrats pointed to Yates' firing as further proof the executive order would not stand up in court because of numerous alleged violations of the Constitution. "The executive order discriminates by design. It's wrong. I believe it is illegal," Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Several federal courts have already found that President Trump's order is very likely unconstitutional." Senate Democrats retaliated for Yates' removal by derailing the expected confirmation of Trump's attorney general nominee, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, citing concerns that his closeness to Trump would impede his ability to make independent decisions in the role. "The attorney general is the people's attorney, not the president's attorney," Leahy said. "Ms. Yates' willingness to defend the rule of law, instead of defending President Trump's political whims, demonstrates exactly why having an independent attorney general is so important and why we have to be so careful in selecting our next attorney general." First lawsuits Democrats lined up on the House floor Tuesday in an ultimately failed attempt to bring legislation rescinding the president's executive order up for a vote. Representative Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who joined several others in introducing the legislation, said, "The president's executive order of Friday violates the law, it violates the Constitution and it violates good sense." Lofgren argued that the order violates the law based on language in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which specifically prohibits nationality-based discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas and other visas. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland took to the floor earlier in the day to argue that while the president has a duty to protect the nation, Congress is required to play a role in protecting the Constitution. "This Congress has a sacred duty to hold the president accountable and ourselves, doing so in a way that respects our Constitution and our values," Hoyer said. The efforts on the House floor followed a Monday night rally of House and Senate Democrats on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, surrounded by hundreds of opponents of the ban who chanted to the lawmakers, "Do your job!" "What the president did is not constitutional. Indeed, the view of many of us is it is immoral," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California told the crowd. But Representative Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican who has practiced immigration law, said, "The law specifically states that the president of the United States for national interest reasons can stop the entry of any immigrant or non-immigrants the law's actually really clear on that." Labrador told reporters he thought Yates' decision lacked a legal basis. "On her own, she decided this was illegal, and there is no case law out there that says it's illegal," he said. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin did not comment on the firing of Yates but told reporters Tuesday that the order was "something we support." Ryan who had strongly criticized candidate Trump's proposal for a ban back in 2015, citing the cooperation of Muslims as a key element in combating terrorism said he did not want to debate the order. Upcoming lawsuits The legality of the executive order will ultimately be tested in a longer-term battle fought in the courts. "It's a threat to our Constitution," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey told reporters Tuesday, announcing her state would be among the first to join a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Trump's executive order. According to Healey's office, the order violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment by discriminating against people on the basis of their country of origin or religion without sufficient justification. The lawsuit also alleges violations of the Establishment Clause and the due process guarantee in the Fifth Amendment, among others, as reasons for the unconstitutionality of the order. Healey was one of 17 Democratic state attorneys general to sign a letter pledging to work "to ensure the federal government obeys the Constitution, respects our history as a nation of immigrants, and does not unlawfully target anyone because of their national origin or faith." VOA's Michael Bowman contributed to this report. European Union President Donald Tusk says China, Russia and the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump are among the top external threats facing the bloc. His remarks came in a letter to 27 EU leaders before a summit Friday in Malta. "Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. Trump has insisted on policies that put the United States first, and has questioned whether NATO members are contributing their fair share to the alliance. Tusk laid out a defense of the European Union, saying it has never faced more dangerous challenges and needs "courage, determination and political solidarity." He said the European Union must stand up for its dignity in talks with the United States, Russia, China or Turkey, and must not give in to populist arguments and xenophobic sentiments that go against European integration. "It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent," Tusk wrote. With Trump calling for renegotiated trade deals, Tusk advocated for the European Union to protect its citizens and businesses and remember "that free trade means fair trade." He ended the letter by saying the bloc cannot give in to those who want to "weaken or invalidate" the bond between the United States and the European Union. Tusk wrote, "We should remind our American friends of their own motto: 'United we stand, divided we fall." The U.N. human rights office criticized Trumps travel restrictions Wednesday, calling the executive order a breach of Washingtons human rights obligations. In a statement signed by several U.N. human rights officials, the organization said the presidential directive was deeply troubling and could lead to further violence against people fleeing war zones. The U.S. recent policy on immigration also risks people being returned, without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, to places in which they risk being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in direct contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws which uphold the principle of non-refoulement, the statement said. The U.N. officials said the United States has a responsibility to accept refugees because the country is involved in conflicts that are forcing refugees to flee their homes in Iraq and Syria. A top Vatican official also expressed concern over Trumps executive order Wednesday and called on Americans to integrate those who arrive, who come into our society, into our culture." "We are builders of bridges, far less of walls, and all Christians should emphatically reaffirm this message, Monsignor Angelo Becciu, told the Catholic TV channel TV2000. [January 31, 2017] Joseph Federico Announces 2017 NJ MET, Inc. Membership Renewal with ASTM International NJ MET, Inc., an electronic component testing company, renewed its membership in ASTM International for 2017, announced Joseph Federico, NJ Met Vice President. "Over 12,000 ASTM standards operate globally. Defined and set by [ASTM], they improve the lives of millions every day ASTM standards enhance performance and help everyone have confidence in the things they buy and use - from the toy in a child's hand to the aircraft overhead. Working across borders, disciplines and industries we harness [ASTM] expertise of over 30,000 members to create consensus and improve performance in manufacturing and materials, products and processes, systems and services," according to the ASTM International website. "We continue to have the proud distinction of maintaining a world-wide accepted quality production infrastructure since our original ISO9000 certification acceptance 16 years ago. ASTM International standards continue to serve as a vehicle to maintain and improve the quality of our electronic component testing processes," said Joseph Federico from NJ MET's headquarters in Clifton, NJ. ASTM's leadership in international standards development is driven by the contributions of its members: more than 30,000 of the worl's top technical and business professionals representing 140 countries. Working in an open and transparent process and using ASTM's advanced electronic infrastructure, ASTM members deliver the test methods, specifications, guides and practices that support industries and governments worldwide. For over 38 years, NJ MET, Inc. has been a pioneer in the Commercial, Military, Aerospace, Industrial, Automotive and Medical fields providing worldwide quality electronic component procurement, screening and qualification testing of electronic component products. NJ MET, Inc. is AS9100 Rev. C / ISO9001:2008 certified and recently successfully completed of The Defense Logistic Agency's (DLA) laboratory suitability assessment and are now qualified to test federal stock classes (FSC) 5961 (Semiconductor Devices) and FSC 5962 (Microcircuits) to DLA's QTSL test requirements. NJ MET, Inc. is also registered with GIDEP, SAE International, ERAI, ASTM, ITAR, IEEE (News - Alert), and ANSI/ESD20.20. Their employees have hands on training in the Counterfeit Components Avoidance Workshop by The Components Technology Institute, Inc. The company just celebrated 38 years of Laboratory Procurement and Testing Services. NJ MET, Inc. has an outstanding A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information on the laboratory total quality system and ASTM participation, please call Joseph Federico at NJ MET Clifton, NJ (973) 546-5393. Please visit NJ MET at http://www.njmetmtl.com. You can visit ASTM International at http://www.astm.org View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131006007/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Breitbart News, the iconoclastic far-right website run until recently by White House strategist Steve Bannon, is planning to push deeper into Europe and to open bureaus soon in Germany and France to add to one already in London. And already European officials are dubbing Breitbart the Voice of Trump. They warn that if Breitbart is used as a propaganda vehicle by the new administration, it will aggravate already raw relations with European Union governments. The misgivings of European officials about Breitbart have mounted since Bannon's appointment to a seat on the principals' committee of the National Security Council an elevation that suggests the 63-year-old will be advising not only on domestic policies but also on geopolitics. White House press spokesman Sean Spicer dismissed concerns about the appointment as much ado about nothing, pointing out on Monday that Bannon has served in the U.S. military and has an extensive background on geopolitical affairs. McCain concerned But U.S. critics, including Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have called Bannon's inclusion a radical departure from any National Security Council in history. For now, in public, many European officials are maintaining a wait-and-see approach. We will not get, as the Brits would say, our knickers in a twist because we do not know exactly what the Trump administration will do, Dutch Ambassador Henne Schuwer said at an event in Washington last week. A spokesman for Breitbart declined to comment on the record when contacted by VOA. But Breitbart itself makes light of the controversy on its website, ridiculing those mainstream media whose reaction to its expanded influence "has run the gamut from bewildered hostility to turgid hysteria, and not much in between." A creeping anxiety Behind the scenes, many European officials speak of a creeping anxiety that the website, which claims 45 million unique monthly visitors, will seek to stir anti-establishment fervor in Europe much as it is accused of doing in the United States. The worry is that Breitbart will be a vehicle for weaponized information with planted stories useful to advance Bannon's Euro-skeptic agenda much as the Kremlin uses Russia Today for the same purpose," said a senior European Union official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity so as not to antagonize the new U.S. administration. Europe has key elections this year in Germany, France and the Netherlands and possibly in Italy, and in all of them far-right parties that view Breitbart and Bannon as allies are serious contenders. The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, who's running for the presidency of the European Parliament, said in a speech this week in London that he views President Trump and Bannon as threats to the EU. A three-pronged assault The former Belgian prime minister and European lawmaker said the EU is facing a three-pronged assault by outside forces determined to upend the European project. He said two of the forces are Russia's Vladimir Putin and radical Islamists, and then added: "We have a third front undermining the European Union, and it is Donald Trump. Verhofstadt singled out the enormous influence Bannon wields in the White House. Both Trump and Bannon have praised Brexit and have argued it is symptomatic of a growing populist movement across Europe, which they welcome. In an interview with the Times of London a few days before his inauguration, Trump praised Britain as smart for opting out of the EU, a bloc he argued is dominated by Germany and on the brink of collapse. One of the most gifted conservative provocateurs, Bannon is seen as the architect of a new kind of right-wing populism centered on white ethno-nationalist fears. And he has made it clear his ambitions are international. He told Bloomberg News last year his vision always was to build a global, center-right, populist, anti-establishment news site. An eclectic career Bannon's elevation to the NSC is highly unusual for a political strategist. He's had an eclectic career including service in the U.S. Navy, a stint at investment bank Goldman Sachs and a short spell as a documentary-maker. The founder of Breitbart News, Andrew Breitbart, who died of a sudden heart attack in 2012, once described Bannon as the the Leni Riefenstahl of the Tea Party movement, a reference to the Nazi propagandist. Bannon resigned as Breitbart's chairman when he joined the Trump campaign last year, but suspicions remain that it is heavily influenced by his thinking. The website is funded by hedge-fund tycoon Robert Mercer, a close friend of Bannon and key donor to Trump's campaign. Two of Breitbart's writers are following Bannon into the White House Sebastian Gorka and Julia Hahn, both of whom are being given staff positions in the NSC. On Tuesday, France's Le Monde newspaper had no reservation in describing Breitbart, as "le canal officiel de la nouvelle precedence" (the official channel of the new presidency.) Right to be wary Former U.S. intelligence officers and other who have worked closely with the intelligence community say the Europeans are right to be wary. There's a big concern that you're having this Breitbart-ization of the National Security Council, said Patrick Skinner, director of special projects at The Soufan Group, a strategic risk company. He says people being added to the NSC have a "stated preference to burn things down. That is the exact opposite of what you want in a National Security Council, he said. You don't want agitators. You don't want people who want to see the world burn. In fact, you want people standing there with a bunch of fire extinguishers. Europe's alt-right leaders, however, are energized by the change in leadership in Washington. In the Netherlands, Thierry Baudet, the leader of the anti-EU and anti-establishment Forum for Democracy party, boasted on Sunday that Brexit and Trump forces are now coming to his country. Baudet predicts his minority party will win enough parliamentary seats to form a coalition with another anti-EU faction, the Party for Freedom, led by the anti-Islamic firebrand Geert Wilders, who has been called the Dutch Trump. Clashes between government and rebel forces in South Sudans Upper Nile town of Wau Shilluk over the weekend have forced the International Organization for Migration to suspend its humanitarian operations for thousands of internally displaced people and host communities. The IOM was in the process of registering thousands of vulnerable people for humanitarian assistance in Wau Shilluk when fighting broke out. IOM reports the 14-member staff was forced to evacuate to safer areas, with the support of World Vision, which also provides humanitarian aid in the area. IOM information officer, Olivia Headon tells VOA Wau Shilluk has been relatively calm during the past year. She says this renewed fighting has come as a shock to the inhabitants and has disrupted the agencys ability to provide critical aid to the displaced and host communities. A lot of civilians have moved into the bush from the center of town during the shelling. Others are scared for their lives," Headon said. "So, we hope that this movement towards the bush has been temporary and we already see that some are returning to the town since it has been relatively quiet since Sunday. And, we hope that continues. IOM had registered more than 20,000 people for assistance in Wau Shilluk between January 16 and 26. Nearly 3,000 displaced and local residents remained to be registered when the agency was forced to halt the operation. Headon says IOM has been providing health care, and non-food items, such as hygiene kits for women, clothes and shelter material. She says suspending this operation has serious consequences. They are already in an extremely serious situation," Headon noted. " And, then when aid is cut off, it puts them in an even more dangerous situation where you have people who need life-saving assistance not being able to be accessed by IOM and other humanitarian partners. Fighting between the government and rebels began on January 25 south of Wau Shilluk. It has continued to spread toward Wau Shilluk and to Malakal town, South Sudans oil center, which is home to more than 33,000 displaced people. Donald Trump's chief strategist has pledged to "hammer" mainstream Republicans and liberals, has taken on the capitalist elite who sparked the 2008 global economic crisis, and has called the news media the "opponent" of the Trump administration. This week, the administration announced that Steve Bannon will also be a key member of the National Security Council the White House team that oversees U.S. national security and foreign policy. The move sparked both praise and outrage and, above all, renewed interest in who, exactly, this former banker is who wields so much influence in Washington. Meteoric rise He was born in November 1953 to working-class parents in Norfolk, Virginia "a blue-collar, Irish Catholic, pro-Kennedy, pro-union family of Democrats," is how he once described his family. His father, Martin, a telephone lineman, was hit hard by the 2008 economic crisis. Bannon has been a vocal critic of so-called "crony capitalists," the wealthy bankers and traders who were not criminally prosecuted for their role in sparking the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Bannon, who was not immediately available for an interview with VOA, studied urban affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. During the summer, according to the Boston Globe, he returned home to Richmond, where he worked in a local junkyard. Bannon went on to earn a graduate degree from Georgetown University and, finally, a masters in Business Administration from Harvard University. Bannon served seven years in the Navy as a surface warfare officer, then aboard a guided missile destroyer in the Persian Gulf and later as a special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon. As a civilian, he has worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs and invested heavily in media, producing more than a dozen films in the 1990s. During that time, he struck a deal that gave him a small stake in the royalties of several television shows, including the popular sitcom Seinfeld which ended up making him millions of dollars. Since 2000, he has written and directed nine documentaries, among them, the 2010 Battle for America, billed as "a searing look at the ongoing conflict between Constitutional Conservatives and an out-of-touch, arrogant, and ever-expanding central government." Another film, In the Face of Evil, is a 2004 documentary which claims to be relevant "as the 21st century's great conflict between freedom and Islamic Fascism takes shape." WATCH: See the trailer for 'In the Face of Evil' In his own words Bannon is perhaps best known for having served as the executive chairman of Breitbart News, a controversial conservative news site founded in 2008, which he took over after founder Andrew Breitbart died in 2012. Bannon has described the news site as "the platform for the alt-right," the alternative right wing, which rejects mainstream conservative politics. Breitbart's critics say the site promotes populists, nationalists, racists and xenophobes. U.S. Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called Bannon "a white nationalist." Retired Senator Harry Reid called him a "champion of white supremacists." Bannon has rejected such talk. However, he himself, suggested in an interview in 2015 that there were too many executives of South Asian descent running Silicon Valley businesses. Bannon has admitted Breitbart promotes a nationalist message but denies being racist and xenophobic, and admits that Breitbart may appeal to those segments of the population. "Look, are there some people that are white nationalists that are attracted to some of the philosophies of the alt-right? Maybe," he told Mother Jones in 2016. "Are there some people that are anti-Semitic that are attracted? Maybe ... some people are attracted to the alt-right that are homophobes, right? But that's just like, there are certain elements of the progressive left and the hard left that attract certain elements." A 'different calculus' VOA spoke with Patrick M. McSweeney, an attorney and former chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, who is a longtime friend of the Bannon family. He says the accusations are completely unfounded. "Steve and I went to the same high school, which was the only high school that was integrated in the 1950s and 60s in Richmond," McSweeney said. "And if you ever had a chance to meet his mother and father, you'd know exactly what I am saying. His mother, Doris, in particular, is among the least racially-biased people I know. And if anybody has a stamp on Steve, it's Doris Bannon." McSweeney describes Bannon as bright, hard-headed and goal-oriented. "Obviously," he said, one who operates on a "different calculus." "Steve sees the immediate obstacle to reaching his objectives and the president's objectives as being the media. And you'll lose the force of the argument when you begin discriminating between outlets, so it tends to be a blanket condemnation of the media," McSweeney said. Bannon has criticized mainstream U.S. media outlets as being biased against Trump, referring to them as "the opposition." In an interview with the New York Times last week, Bannon advised journalists to "keep their mouths shut" and just "listen for a while." "The paper of record for our beloved republic, the New York Times, should be absolutely ashamed and humiliated," he told that paper, arguing that the Times reporters are out of touch with the millions of Americans who voted Trump into office. Bannon and Trump have also been highly critical of the Washington Post, which in an editorial Sunday vowed not to fight with the new administration, but to wield "our pens and our laptops, our facts and our fairness." Role of religion Bannon has been critical of the Catholic Church for its stance on immigration and last year berated Speaker of the House Paul Ryan for "social-justice Catholicism." That said, he is a loyal Catholic. In the summer of 2014, Bannon, participated via Skype in a Vatican conference on poverty hosted by a conservative religious think tank seeking to promote "active participation of the Christian faith in the public square" that is, as explained by its founder Benjamin Harnwell, promoting "pro-life, pro-traditional family" values. "We're at the very beginning stages of a very brutal and bloody conflict, of which if the people in this room, the people in the church, do not bind together and really form what I feel is an aspect of the church militant, to really be able to not just stand with our beliefs, but to fight for our beliefs against this new barbarity that's starting, that will completely eradicate everything that we've been bequeathed over the last 2,000, 2,500 years," he told the conference. Bannon also spoke of being part of a "global tea party movement," a right-wing movement of middle-class, working people who say they are tired of being dictated to by a capitalist elite that treats them as mere economic commodities. His message has been consistent for years: He has promised to "hammer" the left-wing and mainstream Republicans. "The only way to take the country back from a left-wing establishment is to fight," he told conservatives a few years ago, and it's a battle that he warns won't necessarily be about "sunshine and patriots." "It's going to be people who want to fight," he said. In 2016, Bannon took a leave of absence from Breitbart in order to run Trump's presidential campaign, and said he has had nothing to do with Breitbart since then. Hillary Clinton has a lot of plans for 2017, including some reflections on her stunning loss last fall to Donald Trump. The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is working on a book of personal essays expected to come out September 26, Simon & Schuster told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The book, still untitled, is structured around hundreds of favorite quotations that have inspired her. The publisher said Clinton will use the quotes to tell stories from her life, up to and including her experiences in the 2016 presidential campaign and into her thoughts on the future. These are the words I live by, Clinton said in a statement. These quotes have helped me celebrate the good times, laugh at the absurd times, persevere during the hard times and deepen my appreciation of all life has to offer. I hope by sharing these words and my thoughts about them, the essays will be meaningful for readers, Clinton added. Clinton will also resume her relationship with the Harry Walker Agency, the speakers bureau she worked with after she stepped down in 2013 as secretary of state. Clinton's lucrative career as a speaker, notably her talks sponsored by Goldman Sachs, were criticized by primary opponent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and others as a sign that she was too close to the financial industry. Clinton does have some speeches arranged, but not through the Walker agency, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill told the AP. On March 8, she will address an International Women's Day event organized by Vital Voices, the initiative Clinton and then-secretary of state Madeleine Albright founded in 1997. Clinton will speak at a gala for the LGBT Community Center in New York on April 20, and, on May 26, she will give the commencement address at her alma mater, Wellesley College. Her student address at the 1969 graduation ceremonies helped make her a national figure. Growing re-emergence Wednesday's announcements mark a growing re-emergence for Clinton, who ran twice for the White House, hoping to become the country's first woman president. She lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries and, despite winning the popular vote, to Trump in 2016. Clinton, 69, was defeated in one of the harshest presidential elections in modern times, with Trump threatening to jail his opponent because of her use of a private email server while secretary of state. She has made few public comments since the election, but attended Trump's inauguration earlier this month and has been critical of his policies. She tweeted in support of the nationwide women's marches held the day after his inauguration and condemned his recent executive order restricting immigration. Her pinned tweet quotes remarks she gave November 9, the day after Election Day: To all the little girls watching ... never doubt that you are valuable and powerful & deserving of every chance & opportunity in the world. News reports have speculated that Clinton may run for mayor of New York City this year, although her book plans and return to the Walker agency make that unlikely. Merrill declined comment. Clinton has another project in the works: She will reissue her best-selling It Takes a Village in an illustrated edition for young people, Simon & Schuster told the AP. Clinton will collaborate with Marla Frazee, a two-time Caldecott finalist for the year's outstanding picture book. The original It Takes a Village was Clinton's first book and came out in 1995, when she was first lady. Clinton has since published Dear Socks, Dear Buddy and the best-selling memoirs Living History, which covered her life through her years as first lady and her successful Senate run in New York in 2000, and Hard Choices, about her years as secretary of state during Obama's first term. If the 2016 campaign was her last, her book of essays would be her first written while she was neither in public office nor anticipating a future run. A Simon & Schuster spokesman said the book's expected length was 384 pages, but declined to say how far along Clinton was with the manuscript. Simon & Schuster Carolyn Reidy said in a statement that she had been discussing such a book with Clinton since 1994. We are delighted that secretary Clinton finally thinks the time is right to share the words and thoughts that nourished and enriched her, and defined the experiences of her extraordinary life, Reidy said. Financial terms were not disclosed for her essay collection. Clinton was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients include Obama and Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton. Net author proceeds from It Takes a Village will be donated to charity. India has pledged to spend billions of dollars to boost the rural economy and ease the plight of poor people who were worst hit by the currency ban imposed last year to clamp down on untaxed money. Unveiling the countrys annual budget Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed optimism about Indias growth prospects, calling it a bright spot in the world economic landscape. But he cautioned that signs of retreat from globalization and rising oil prices have the potential to affect emerging economies, including India. Jaitley announced a 24 percent hike in rural and farm spending as part of a commitment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double farm incomes over five years. Farmers will get more access to credit and more money will be spent on irrigation, electricity and roads. Spending on a rural works program that guarantees 100 days of work to one member of a rural family will be increased substantially to $7 billion. The government hopes the measures will lift 10 million people out of poverty by 2019. The emphasis on rural welfare was widely expected in the budget, which was announced days before India begins to hold a series of crucial regional polls. Many in Modis party fear the controversial scrapping of high denomination currency notes last November, which disrupted the economy as it created massive cash shortages, will lead to loss of support in the elections. Poor people were the worst hit as they scrambled to get the new currency or even lost jobs. Jaitley said the worst of the cash crunch is over, and its effect will not spill into the next fiscal year when growth is expected to rebound to seven percent. The radical currency ban is aimed at cracking down on black money - money not paid in taxes - and cleaning up an economy where tax evasion is widespread. Jaitley called demonetization a bold and decisive measure. It has a strong potential to generate long-term benefits in terms of reduced corruption, greater digitization of our economy, increased flow of financial savings, all of which will lead to higher GDP growth and tax revenues, he told parliament. Pointing out that the number of Indians who buy cars or travel overseas is far higher than the number who pay income tax, the minister said "we are largely a tax non-compliant society. When too many evade tax, the burden of their share falls on those who are honest and tax compliant." Less than two percent people in India pay income tax. With an eye on increasing that number, the government said it plans to halve the income tax to be paid by people earning $3700 to $7400 per year. It also plans to lower taxes on small and medium sized companies. However the domestic industry was disappointed that taxes had not been lowered for big corporations a longstanding demand of big businessmen who say that the higher tax rates in India compared to most Asian countries make them less competitive. Iran's recent ballistic missile launch is absolutely unacceptable and the Trump administration will not turn a blind eye to such actions, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Tuesday. Haley spoke briefly to reporters after attending her first meeting of the U.N. Security Council a session Washington requested. We did call a meeting today to discuss what we know, which is we have confirmed that Iran did have a missile launch, a medium-sized missile launch testing on January 29, on Sunday, she said. That is absolutely unacceptable. Iran confirmed Wednesday that it carried out the missile launch but said it was not in violation of its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers. Under U.N. Resolution 2231, which was adopted after the Iran nuclear deal was agreed among six world powers and Tehran in 2015, Iran was called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles. But the resolution did not specifically demand it. U.S. President Donald Trump has called the Iran nuclear deal terrible, and while campaigning had threatened to tear it up. Have to back Resolution 2231 Haley, during her Senate confirmation hearing, characterized it as a disappointment that created more of a threat, but said she would focus on Iran's compliance with its provisions. What we know for a fact is that Resolution 2231 basically said that they could not go forward with ballistic missile testing, Haley said. What we need them to know is that Security Council Resolution 2231 means something. She said she told her 14 council counterparts that the resolution is only as good as its enforcement. So, what we are hearing from Iran is that they are being naive, saying we have no intention of attacking any country. I will tell the people across the world that is something we should be alarmed about, Haley added. She said the United States is not naive. You will see us call them out as we said we would, and you are also going to see us act accordingly. Limit Iran access to technology Haley said the United States also will follow through to make sure prohibitions on supplying Iran with technology to do such launches would be respected. We have said with this administration that we are not going to show a blind eye to these things that happen, Haley said. We're gonna act, we're gonna be strong, we're gonna be loud and we're gonna do whatever it takes to protect the American people and the people across the world, because that's what the goal is supposed to be. There was very significant concern about the ballistic missile launch, which has now been confirmed, Britain's U.N. envoy Matthew Rycroft told reporters. Launch called 'inconsistent' Rycroft said they have asked the committee that monitors implementation of Resolution 2231 to review the incident, and the council also has asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to investigate and report back to them. He said the January 29 launch is inconsistent with Resolution 2231, and he urged Iran to abide by all of its obligations. He urged Tehran to consider the regional repercussions of their actions. This is a step which is potentially destabilizing in an already unstable region, Rycroft said. Iran's U.N. mission sent out a statement reiterating its foreign ministry position, saying, Security Council Resolution 2231 does not prohibit legitimate and conventional missile activities. We reject politically motivated comments regarding Iran's missile program. Israel's president told his Mexican counterpart on Tuesday that he was "sorry for the hurt" over a tweet in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to praise U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to build a wall on the Mexican border. In a tweet Saturday that drew a rebuke from Mexico, the right-wing Netanyahu wrote: "President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea." Netanyahu had earlier sidestepped Mexico's demand for an apology and echoed previous Israeli explanations rejected as insufficient by Mexico's foreign minister on Monday of his remarks on Twitter. He said his comments did not refer to ties between the United States and its southern neighbor. The office of President Reuven Rivlin, whose post is largely ceremonial, issued a statement taking a more conciliatory line. "I am sorry for any hurt caused as a result of this misunderstanding, but we must remember that we are talking about a misunderstanding, and I am sure that we can put the issue behind us," Rivlin was quoted as telling Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Maintaining friendship Mexico's Foreign Ministry acknowledged Rivlin's apology. The ministry said Pena Nieto told Rivlin the tweet had upset Mexico and its Jewish community, before adding that Mexico wanted to maintain its friendship and cooperation with Israel. On Monday, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said he thought an apology would be "appropriate" for Netanyahu's tweet, while noting that Israel was a close friend of Mexico. Trump's planned border wall, which he says will keep out illegal immigrants, along with his threat to impose punitive taxes against Mexico to rebalance trade, has brought about the worst crisis in U.S.-Mexican relations in decades. Trump signed an executive order last week ordering construction of the wall. Netanyahu, in public remarks on Monday, said that in his tweet he had been referring to Trump's praise for the barrier Israel constructed along the Egyptian frontier, a fence with electronic sensors that has largely halted the influx of African migrants. "I did point out the remarkable success of Israel's security fence. But I did not comment about U.S.-Mexico relations. We've had, and will continue to have, good relations with Mexico," Netanyahu said in English at a cybersecurity conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Political commentators and opposition politicians in Israel said Netanyahu's tweet had needlessly thrust Israel into the U.S.-Mexican feud. At the Tel Aviv conference, Netanyahu said that Israeli-Mexican ties "are much stronger than any passing disagreement or misunderstanding." Jewish settlers clashed Wednesday with Israeli security forces that moved in to evacuate the illegal outpost of Amona in the West Bank. Dozens of settlers threw stones, burned tires and set up barricades to hinder the advance of 3,000 police and soldiers. The situation today is unbelievable and illogical, said settlement leader Yossi Dagan. It is unthinkable that a nationalist Israeli government would uproot a Jewish community in the historical Land of Israel. Amona is the largest of approximately 100 outposts in the West Bank that are tolerated by the government, but not officially authorized. The community was built in the 1990s on a rugged hilltop and is home to about 330 people, including 50 families. In 2014, Israels Supreme Court ruled the outpost was built illegally on Palestinian-owned land and must be dismantled. Facing a February 8 deadline, the right-wing government, which is a strong supporter of the settlement enterprise, reluctantly ordered the evacuation. To ease the blow, the government announced plans to build 3,000 new housing units in other Jewish settlements, on land claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. From the ruins of the houses of Amona we will build a new settlement, and from its abandoned courtyards we will establish kindergartens in all of Judea and Samaria, said Cabinet Minister Naftali Bennett, the leader of the hawkish Jewish Home party, referring to the biblical name of the West Bank. And from the painful loss of this hilltop we will begin to establish Israeli sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria. He said the Knesset, Israels parliament, will pass a new law next week legalizing dozens of unauthorized West Bank outposts. The settlement expansion comes in sharp contrast to the curbs Israel imposed during the two terms of former U.S. President Barack Obama, who saw the settlements as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. But Israeli officials believe the new administration of President Donald Trump is more sympathetic. Since Trump took office January 20, Israel has announced plans to build more than 6,000 homes in West Bank settlements. And in sharp contrast to the Obama administration, there has been no condemnation from the White House. Observers here widely assume Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not have moved ahead on such controversial construction without a tacit green light from Trump. The two leaders spoke on the phone two days after Trump was inaugurated and they are due to meet February 15 at the White House. Nevertheless, most of the international community remains strongly opposed to the settlements, which are seen as illegal under international law.We are concerned over recent announcements by the Israeli government to advance [more than] 5,000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. We once again warn against any unilateral actions that can be an obstacle to a negotiated two-state solution and call on both parties to return to meaningful negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and in accordance with international law. Israel had curbed construction under pressure from former U.S. President Barack Obama, who saw the settlements as an obstacle to peace; but, Israeli officials believe new U.S. President Donald Trump is more sympathetic, and they have announced plans to build thousands of homes in the West Bank since he took office on January 20th. Palestinian officials say the settlement expansion means an end to the peace process and hopes for a two-state solution The Palestinian Authority that rules parts of the West Bank demanded action. It is clear that ... Netanyahu is creating facts on the ground and destroying the very foundations of the two-state solution and the chances for peace, said Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi. We cannot afford four more years as Israel rushes to complete the unjust and illegal transformation and ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem and the final annexation of the occupied West Bank. We call on all global leaders to intervene immediately and include punitive measures and sanctions [on Israel] before it is too late. While Netanyahu says he supports the two-state solution, critics say building in the settlements is proof that this is little more than lip service. Many influential members of his coalition believe Jews have a biblical right to settle anywhere in the Holy Land, and Netanyahu himself has warned that he will not allow a Palestinian terror state to be established in Israels backyard. Former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager is registering her opinion on Republican President Donald Trump's order temporarily suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations with the words of her father, former President George W. Bush. Bush Hager posted an excerpt on Twitter Tuesday from a 2001 speech her father, a fellow Republican, gave at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. following the 9/11 attacks. Her father said, "Islam is peace" in his remarks. He added that Muslims "make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country'' and called for them to be "treated with respect.'' Bush Hager said in her tweet that the speech is a reminder "to teach acceptance and love to our kids for all races, all religions." Bush Hager is now a correspondent for NBC News. Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the Christian-based Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, has been asked to lead a task force about higher education in the U.S. The news was reported by the Chronicle for Higher Education, a publisher of education news since 1966. Its website has a monthly online readership of nearly 2 million unique visitors. The Chronicle reported that Falwell said he would evaluate what he called "overreaching regulation" and micromanagement by the U.S. Department of Education. He cited accreditation, student recruitment and regulations as concerns. "The goal is to pare it back and give colleges and their accrediting agencies more leeway in governing their affairs," Falwell told the Chronicle. He said he had discussed possible issues with other college leaders and an accrediting agency for the past two months. "I've got notebooks full of issues," he said. The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit schools. Instead, a middle layer of regional accreditation agencies does, which the Education Department selects. Falwell said President Donald Trump asked him to take the position, the Chronicle said. He said he released the news about his task force role after Steve Bannon, Trump's chief strategist, gave him permission. He told The News and Advance of Lynchburg that "there would be two presidential task forces on education" and he would lead both. Title IX probe Earlier this month, the Department of Education launched a Title IX investigation at Liberty University, The News and Advance reported. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in programs or activities at educational institutions receiving federal money. Liberty University receives about $445 million in federal funding. "Liberty University takes all complaints of sexual harassment or sexual discrimination seriously and fully complies with the law when allegations are made," a school statement said. The school has 15,000 residential students and more than 100,000 online students, according to the university website. It admits students from more than 80 countries, including South Korea, Canada, China, Nigeria and Brazil. Nationally, most students come from Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida, its website says. The Christian school mandates behavior and dress codes, such as "skirts/dresses [no shorter than two inches above the knee]" and "shorts are not permitted for class." Also, the school states, "Sexual relations outside of a biblically ordained marriage between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman are not permissible at Liberty University." In 2014, Liberty appealed to the Education Department to request a religious exemption from Title IX amendments "to impose discipline on students who have abortions," according to the department's response. The Education Department declined the request. "Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity operated by a recipient of federal financial assistance," the department responded. "The implementing regulation prohibits a recipient from discriminating against any student on the basis of a student's pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom." [January 31, 2017] Making the Switch to Polarization Diversity Vast amounts of data transmit across the Internet and telecommunications networks delivering, for example, real-time video calls from one cell phone to another - across the world. As people send and receive increasing amounts of data like ultra-high definition (4K, 8K) images over these largely optical fiber-based networks, and the demand for such increases, so too does the need for new technologies to transmit that data at enhanced speeds, with increased energy efficiency, and at lower cost. A promising way to do that is by using optical switches that relay signals carried by optical fibers from one circuit to another. One new technology in particular now offers significant improvement to the optical switches used by fiber optic networks. In work they will present at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC), held 19-23 March in Los Angeles, California, USA, researchers with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) describe the development of a new kind of an integrated optical switch, made using silicon photonics technologies in highly efficient ways. One requirement of such optical switches is that they be able to handle light signals with both vertical and horizontal polarizations. This is because optical signals carry data with both polarizations, a technique known as polarization-division multiplexing. To achieve this dual transmission, a separate switch circuit must be used for each polarization. In doing so, this doubles the size of the chip and increases the cost of the system. The new device, referred to technically as a "fully integrated non-duplicate polarization-diversity silicon-photonic switch," consists of a single 8 x 8 grid of 2 x 2 element switches. The researchers found that a single 8 x 8 grid with novel unique port assignments could take the place of two synchronized grids, and thus be used to imultaneously manage both polarizations of light, a method known as polarization diversity. "In this way, the switch chip achieves polarization 'insensitivity' without doubling the size and cost of the chip, which is important for broadening the practical application of such photonics integrated devices," said lead author Ken Tanizawa of AIST. "We strongly believe that a silicon-photonic switch is a key device for achieving sustainable growth of traffic bandwidth in optical networks, including both telecommunications and data communications, and eventually computer communications." The new device also features polarization splitter-rotators integrated onto the chip. The splitter-rotators take input light signals with both horizontal and vertical polarizations, divide them into separate polarizations, and rotate one 90 degrees to match the orientation of the other. Both polarizations are synchronously switched on the single 8 x 8 grid with the unique port assignments. The switched polarizations are then recombined by the polarization splitter-rotator so that they return to their original state. The researchers designed the device so that the distance traveled by any signal passing through the 8 x 8 grid is identical, regardless of its path. This means that the attenuation and delay of the signal are also the same, allowing for a consistently high-quality signal. The new switch is a proof-of-concept design. The researchers are now working to further improve the device and to create a design with a larger number of ports (such as a 32 x 32 grid) that would allow for the transmission of a greater amount of data. These advances promise to not only enhance network flexibility, but also open up new possibilities for the use of optical switching in future energy-efficient optical networks. Media Registration: A media room for credentialed press and analysts will be located on-site at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 19-23 March 2017. Media interested in attending the event should register on the OFC website media center: Media Center. ABOUT OFC The Optical Fiber Conference and Exposition (OFC) is the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. For more than 40 years, OFC has drawn attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections and move business forward. OFC includes dynamic business programming, an exhibition of more than 600 companies, and high impact peer-reviewed research that, combined, showcase the trends and pulse of the entire optical networking and communications industry. OFC is managed by The Optical Society (OSA) and co-sponsored by OSA, the IEEE Communications Society (News - Alert) (IEEE/ComSoc), and the IEEE Photonics Society. OFC 2017 will be held from 19-23 March 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, California, USA. Follow @OFCConference, learn more OFC Conference LinkedIn and watch highlights OFC YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170131006020/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Four men charged with directing a major heroin trafficking ring have been extradited to the United States from Kenya, U.S. prosecutors announced on Tuesday, in what officials say is a major blow to East Africa's cartels. Baktash Akasha, who U.S. prosecutors say led a Kenyan crime family called the Akasha organization that was involved in distributing heroin and methamphetamine, arrived in New York from Kenya along with three co-defendants on Monday. His co-defendants include Ibrahim Akasha, his brother; Gulam Hussein, a Pakistani charged with heading a drug transportation network; and Vijaygiri Goswami, an Indian businessman accused of managing the Akasha organization's drug business. They are expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan later on Tuesday. U.S. lawyers for Baktash Akasha, 40; Ibrahim Akasha, 28; and Hussein, 61, could not be immediately identified. Goswami's lawyer declined immediate comment. Group linked to ivory trade The charges stemmed from a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration probe into the Akasha organization, which it alleges is a major smuggling operation connecting the poppy fields of Afghanistan to European and U.S. cities. The Akasha family has been involved in the drug trade for years, according to U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks. The Satao Project, a private company focused on fighting poaching, said the Akashas' network was also linked to around 30 tons of ivory seizures. The four men had been fighting their extradition since being arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November 2014 in a U.S.-led sting operation. They had been out on bail when senior police officers from the counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics units in Nairobi arrested them in the coastal city of Mombasa on Sunday, their lawyer Cliff Ombeta said. Defendants caught in DEA sting According to U.S. prosecutors, in 2014, the defendants agreed to supply multi-kilogram quantities of drugs to individuals they believed were representatives of a Colombian drug-trafficking organization. Those individuals were in fact DEA informants who recorded their meetings with the defendants, according to court papers. Over the course of the negotiations, the Akasha organization provided 99 kilograms of heroin and two kilograms of methamphetamine to the DEA informants and agreed to provide hundreds of kilograms more of each, prosecutors said. Dozens of child soldiers are expected to be released from Colombia's FARC rebel group in the coming weeks as part of a peace deal that ended one of the world's longest-running civil wars. Under a November peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) ending 52 years of war, the rebels pledged to free all its remaining child fighters, mostly aged 16 and 17. The government and rebel commanders agreed last week that child combatants would be released once around 5,500 FARC fighters have moved to designated areas across Colombia where they will hand in their weapons over the next six months. Thousands of rebel fighters are leaving their jungle camps, crossing mountains and rivers, to reach areas agreed under the peace accord, a process expected to end on Tuesday. The departure of minors is a priority once the FARC enter the zones, Sergio Jaramillo, the government's chief peace commissioner, said last week. Children forcibly recruited The Marxist FARC was considered one of the biggest recruiters of child soldiers in the world during its half a century of war against successive governments. Nearly 3,700 children have been recruited into FARC ranks since 1999 and nearly one in five joined the rebel group aged 15, according to Colombia's child welfare agency (ICBF). Children, often from indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities living in remote jungle areas, were forcibly recruited by the FARC, the government and rights groups say. It is not clear how many child soldiers remain in rebel ranks. The FARC says it has around 20 child combatants, while government estimates put the number at 170. Released teens reunited with family Some of the rebels set to demoblize are now adults but joined the guerrilla group when they were under 18. In September, the FARC handed over 13 teenagers, aged 15 to 17, most of whom have been reunited with relatives, according to the government. Some former child combatants have said they voluntarily joined the FARC, many to escape abuse and poverty at home and others because they became orphans as a result of the war. While with the rebels, children were trained to fight with AK-47 assault rifles, use grenades and mortars, and to plant home-made landmines. Help planned for child soldiers Children also served as messengers, informants and porters, while girls were used as sex slaves and have undergone forced abortions, according to the government and human rights groups. Under the peace accord, the government has pledged to provide support, including psychological counseling, to help demobilized child soldiers, often illiterate and traumatized, reintegrate into civilian life. In an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation in October, FARC commander Victoria Sandino said some child soldiers were wary of leaving rebel ranks because they fear an uncertain future away from the insurgents they view as family. "My father was killed by the militants," says seven-year-old Mohammad, after wandering out of his schoolyard. "And IS didn't send me to school." Mohammad meanders back through the gates, as other students study math and Arabic language in classrooms, without lights or heat. But bright pictures of balloons, numbers and animals decorate the walls. Students say they are delighted to be back to school after three years at home, often not allowed to play outside because of the violence. By mid-February all students in eastern Mosul are expected to be attending school, and placement exams will determine their grade levels, according to Saab Ali, the school manager of the Al-Kufa boys' school. Some students may have kept up with their learning at home, and will advance beyond the grade they left after IS took over in 2014, he says. Others will pick up where they left off, or go back to repeat grades. "We are slowly coming back to life," explains Ali, while conducting a tour of the school. All the windows, the water tanks and the bathrooms are recently repaired after being broken under IS and on one wall is a mural, depicting people practicing good sanitation. Like other pictures in Mosul, IS blocked out the people's faces with green paint, saying putting people's faces in art is sinful. Every few minutes, the boom of outgoing mortar fire is heard, as IS is targeted in western Mosul. In the classroom, math students are asked if they are afraid of all the noise. "No!" they say almost unanimously, many of them smiling. "They all know that's the Iraqi Army firing at IS to free all of Mosul," says Ali. Children say they are not just happy to be going back to school because it gives them something to do. Resuming their education, they say, means once again being able to have dreams. "I want to be a doctor because I want to cure sick people," says Mohammad's brother Omar, 11, grinning. His smile fades as a teacher quietly tells us that Omar's father was a police officer, killed by IS like so many other members of Iraqi security forces. IS traumatic ideology Some teachers say the trauma the children experienced under IS goes deeper than the physical violence they witnessed and the people they lost. Under IS rule, parents may have privately taught children that IS ideology, which aggrandizes violence and hate, is morally wrong. But publicly, residents did not insult IS, lest they risk imprisonment or death. Hearing both scorn and praise for the militant group can be confusing for children, says Ibrahim Ghanim, an Arabic language and Islamic studies teacher. "Education is the key to ending Islamic State ideology," he adds. "It needs to start with opening schools and teaching them that IS ideology is wrong. We need to pay careful attention to education because years have been wasted." In his neighborhood on Friday, schools had not yet opened and IS mortars continued to fall from the sky. Schoolbooks were not yet available, but Ghanim was still hoping his children will be prepared for the upcoming placement exams. Thirty eastern Mosul schools are currently open and 16,000 children are attending, according to UNICEF. Other schools are being repaired after airstrikes, mortars or other attacks. But as Iraqi forces prepare to attack IS in the west, locals say across the Tigris River families are not yet looking forward to schools opening. Instead, they are just trying to stay alive. "We talk to our relatives in western Mosul secretly," says Mohammad, a baker. "On the other side, people are destroying their furniture to burn just to cook food. If anyone tries to escape, they are killed." IS uses religion to justify killing fleeing families, he says. "They say, You are going to a place of infidels, so you should die.'" Malawi has started moving 10,000 Mozambique asylum seekers back from the border to the newly reopened Luwani camp in southeastern Malawi. Nearly 12,000 Mozambicans seeking asylum have crossed the border into Malawi since December. There was excitement as the first buses arrived to move them to newly reopened Luwani camp. The buses traveled 320 kilometers to the camp. Upon arrival, the U.N. refugee agency gave the refugees food and utensils and assigned each family a plot. Tents were already set up. Before its official closure in 2007, the Luwani camp hosted more than 300,000 Mozambican refugees who had fled civil war between 1977 and 1992. The people being relocated here are from Zambezia province, one of five opposition strongholds where there has been sporadic fighting since the disputed 2014 elections. Increased tensions late last year pushed thousands of civilians to flee. Pensulo Loponi said pro-government FRELIMO fighters were torching houses and killing people they accuse of harboring opposition RENAMO fighters. He said he was with two friends coming from the market when FRELIMO soldiers accused them of being RENAMO and pointed guns at their heads. He said he showed his voting certificate as identification and was spared, but his two friends had nothing to show and were shot dead. The government said RENAMO fighters are attacking civilians to turn them against the government. As the asylum seekers were being moved Saturday, Mozambique state media reported President Filipe Nyusi called on RENAMO fighters to lay down their weapons and come to dialogue. The reopening of Luwani camp has been controversial for some. The governor of one affected district in Mozambique told state radio there in March that there is no conflict. He said people were fleeing drought and food shortages. Arriving at Luwani camp, 83-year-old Edess Maison said that is not true. She said her family had to abandon their pigs, goats and maize fields. She added that because there is no peace in their country they cannot return home. She said that as she spoke, fighting continued in their area. Maison also said that she and her family are thanking the Malawi government for taking them to this camp. The U.N. refugee agency said the relocation exercise continues all week. A UNHCR field officer told VOA that asylum seekers, as well as the host community, will have access to health facilities and a school there. Sen. John McCain has emerged as President Donald Trump's top Republican nemesis on Capitol Hill. Since Trump's inauguration, McCain has broken with the president on his immigration order, warned him against any rapprochement with Moscow, lectured him on the illegality of torture, and supplied only a tepid endorsement of Rex Tillerson, Trump's secretary of state nominee. Oh, and McCain also hammered Trump for backing away from - instead of embracing - international free trade agreements. As Trump presses ahead with an ambitious and contentious agenda at home and abroad, McCain is pushing back, using his seniority in Congress and his characteristic bluntness. McCain, 80, cruised to a sixth Senate term in November, defeating a Democratic challenger who hounded the senator for standing by Trump even after the billionaire businessman insulted him as a "loser.'' Trump, who received several draft deferments during the Vietnam era, also said there was nothing heroic about McCain's military record after he was shot down during the Vietnam War and spent 5 years as a prisoner of war. McCain dropped his support for Trump in early October after a 2005 recording surfaced in which Trump boasted about groping women. The move led to an outcry from conservative voters firmly behind Trump. But McCain overcame the backlash in what may have been his final election. He hasn't looked back. Trump's immigration order, signed by the president Friday, temporarily suspends all immigration for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. McCain, along with his close friend and Senate colleague Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they feared Trump's immigration order could "become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.'' "This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security,'' McCain and Graham wrote. That elicited an angry tweet from Trump, who accused the two of "looking to start World War III.'' McCain and other senators said that Trump's order, unless amended, would ban Iraqi pilots from coming to the United States for training so they can join the fight against the Islamic State. The travel ban could also affect Iraqis who worked with the U.S.-led coalition and, after lengthy reviews, received special immigrant visas to enter the U.S., according to the lawmakers. "I hope that they are working to walk what they did back and learn that you better really vet these decisions before you make them,'' McCain told reporters Tuesday. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain is one of the leading Republican voices in Congress on national security matters. Re-elected last year to another six years in office, he is free to challenge the president without fear of retribution from voters. U.S.-Russia Relations And perhaps on no issue has McCain been more unequivocal than of Trump's desire for a better relationship with Moscow. Trump's praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin before and after the election signaled that U.S.-Russia relations could be getting a makeover - even after U.S. intelligence agencies determined Moscow meddled in the campaign to help Trump win. But McCain has little interest in detente with a country that has invaded Ukraine, annexed Crimea, threatened America's NATO allies, and backed Syrian President Bashar Assad's "murderous'' regime. Ahead of a telephone call on Saturday between the two leaders, McCain issued a blistering statement in which he called Putin a "murderer and a thug'' who will never be an ally of the United States. He cautioned Trump against lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia and voiced his support for legislation that would broaden the punishments and even codify them in law. "Each of our last three presidents had high hopes for building a partnership with the Russian government,'' McCain said. "Each attempt failed, not for lack of good faith and effort on the U.S. side, but because Putin wants to be our enemy. He needs us as his enemy.'' McCain has been bucking his own party for years. In the mid-1990s, he worked with then-Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, to help President Bill Clinton restore full diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain also teamed up with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and, more recently, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to craft bipartisan legislation aimed at repairing the nation's flawed immigration system. McCain served in the U.S. House and then was elected to the Senate in 1986, succeeding conservative Barry Goldwater. He will be 86 when his new term ends, making him one of the oldest- and longest-serving members of the Senate. The smuggling of Afghan minerals supplies millions of dollars to armed groups, insurgents and strongmen in the country, an Afghan anti-corruption watchdog reported Wednesday. The Afghanistan Anti-Corruption Network said in a report that militant groups last year received at least $46 million from minerals and precious stones illegally exported from eastern Nangarhar province to neighboring Pakistan. The report said up to 750,000 tons of marble and talc stones were smuggled in 2016 from various parts of the restive province, where Taliban and Islamic State fighters have been active in several districts. "Every day, 500 trucks carrying white stones pass through government-controlled roads and arrive in Pakistan from where the stones are shipped to European countries," Zaman Khan Amarkhail, president of the anti-corruption network, told Radio Liberty's Afghanistan service. "Each truck carries around 45 tons of stone." Talc, one of the most in-demand minerals, is used in the manufacturing of various products including cosmetics, plastics, ceramics and paints. Afghanistan has some of the world's richest mineral resources, including extensive deposits of world-class copper, iron, gemstones and precious metals. Surveillance of mines 'weak' Insurgent groups and local strongmen have taken over mining operations in many areas and put a levy on minerals smuggled out of the country, watchdog groups say. "Unregistered and illegal artisanal and small-scale mining operations continue to be a source of civil strife, unrealized government revenues, and lost economic output," the U.S. Special Inspector General for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan (SIGAR) said last year in a report. "The unregulated and illegal excavation and trafficking of precious stones and other minerals has played a role in the fundraising strategies for militant groups and organized crime syndicates," the SIGAR report said. The Afghan government says fighting between Afghan forces and militant groups has led to an increase in illegal mining. "Due to the conflict and insecurity, we have not been able to properly protect the mines, and illegal extraction of mines and smuggling continue," said Ghizal Habibyar, Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum. Analysts say the mineral-smuggling occurs through a strong network of militants, local mafia, and some civil and military officials in the country. "A triangle of Taliban militants, including some Central Asian fighters that are linked with al-Qaida, local strongmen, and corrupt government officials are involved in this illegal business," Haroon Rashid Sherzad, a Kabul-based civil society activist and former deputy minister of anti-narcotics, told VOA. "It is a huge business for the involved parties who are thriving under a weak government surveillance," Sherzad said. The Afghan mines ministry says the government has banned the exports of minerals to Pakistan and encouraged local businesses to invest in the sector and legally export processed material to foreign countries. "But the ongoing insurgency and instability in the province has not allowed businesses to establish factories," an official of the ministry of mines told VOA, on condition of anonymity. Border corruption Pakistan and Afghanistan have no official agreement on the export of minerals to Pakistan. An ever-increasing demand by the Pakistani industrial sector continues to draw raw material from Afghanistan, including chromite, lapis lazuli, coal, and marble. Experts say border corruption is costing Afghanistan millions of dollars. Although customs revenue collections have increased during the past year, according to the country's finance ministry, rampant corruption at border crossings means the government loses an untold amount in revenues. "Surveillance is weak at the borders. An individual with a license to export 100 tons of stones would be able to export 1,000 tons instead," Sherzad said. "Corrupt officials turn a blind eye to illegal exports and, in return, they too benefit from it." According to the anti-corruption network, precious stones are being illegally extracted from at least 2,000 mines in northeastern Badakhshan province. "Last year, $300 million worth of precious stones were smuggled from the province to China," said Zabiullah Wardak, a member of the watchdog group. The remote Badakhshan province is connected to China through the narrow Wahkhan Corridor. The Taliban and Islamic State have imposed several illegal levies in areas they control. "They are receiving money by imposing various taxes, from Ushar [an Islamic tax on agricultural products] to municipality and transportation taxes," Sherzad said. He added that many Taliban commanders are running illegal businesses besides directing fighting against government forces. President Donald Trump's national security adviser says the administration is putting Iran "on notice" after it tested a ballistic missile. Michael Flynn told reporters Wednesday that the Trump administration "condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East that puts American lives at risk." He says "Iran is now feeling emboldened," criticizing the Obama administration for failing "to respond adequately." Flynn says that "we are officially putting Iran on notice," although it's not clear what he meant. Iran confirmed Wednesday that it carried out the missile launch but said it was not in violation of its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers. A defense official said this week that the missile test ended with a "failed" re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. The official had no other details, including the type of missile. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. On January 19, the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as president, as the world set its eyes on Washington, the notorious drug lord of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel boarded a plane from Ciudad Juarez to New York in an unexpected and sudden extradition. It was there that Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera, known as "El Chapo," who had twice escaped maximum-security prisons in his own country, would meet his most formidable match to date: a highly successful federal court system and a 12-story prison just across the Brooklyn Bridge, known to many as "Little Guantanamo." While Guzman faces trial in multiple states besides New York California, Texas, Illinois, Florida and New Hampshire criminal justice experts believe the U.S. Justice Department's choice of the Empire State reflects its confidence in its case against a man widely considered to be the world's most powerful trafficker. 'Very secure' facilities "New York is well-accustomed to trying high-notoriety defendants," Paul Callan, a former homicide prosecutor and CNN legal analyst, told VOA. "We have very secure courtroom facilities, we have secure jail facilities, and New York is used to handling the press and the kind of coverage that takes place in these high-profile cases." The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Callan added, lends itself to a demographically diverse and sophisticated jury. "A jury that is familiar with drug dealers, a jury that is familiar with 'snitch testimony,' as they call it, and that is when somebody is testifying for the government who may be involved in criminology himself," said Callan. "These jurors from Brooklyn have seen this all before." U.S. Attorney Robert Capers charged Guzman on 17 criminal counts that carry a mandatory minimum life sentence in prison. According to Capers, four among more than 200 tons of cocaine and heroin shipments attributable to Guzman were seized in the district alone; in all, seven-and-a-half tons were seized across the United States. 'Little Guantanamo' Following his arraignment, Guzman was transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), a high-security facility near lower Manhattan's financial district that has hosted notable high-profile criminals, including al-Qaida operatives and Bernard L. Madoff, operator of the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. Former New York Times investigative journalist Selwyn Raab, who spent his career covering criminal justice, has visited MCC many times. He considers its conditions to be among the most rigorous. "Here, he's going to be monitored 24 hours a day," Raab said. "He's not going to be able to go to the bathroom or take a shower or do anything without some eyes poking at him." In the high-security prison's 42-year history, few have escaped. Still, residents who work or live in near the prison in Tribeca, one of the city's most coveted white-collar neighborhoods, have mixed feelings about having Guzman there. "It's the cartel. If they want to get here, they'll get here," said Jean Young, a city employee from the area. "Thank God the federal building has a lot of checkpoints." Tribeca resident Luke Valente, on the other hand, considers Guzman's New York destination a success. Feeling of confidence "I have a lot of faith in the professionals that are working here and in the U.S. in general," Valente told VOA. "I think considering what he's done in the past, in places outside the U.S., as far as being in custody, I feel that much more safe and confident that they'll be able to see his sentence through." While his case is still pending, the public is unaware of whether El Chapo remains in MCC's "10 South" the prison's highest-security wing. The Department of Justice declined to confirm his whereabouts to VOA for "safety and security reasons." Guzman's next court appearance is scheduled for Friday. A judge suggested he appear via video conference, but his lawyers have demanded that he be physically present. The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels in Yemen is drawing in participants from across the Red Sea. Eritrea last month officially announced its "readiness to support the initiative without reservations and to extend its contribution to the alliance" of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf state allies. The typically tight-lipped Eritrean government, however, has not publicly elaborated on its military involvement in the Gulf. A report from a U.N. monitoring group on Somalia and Eritrea in October cited a former high-ranking Eritrean official who said "400 Eritrean soldiers were embedded with the United Arab Emirates contingent of the forces fighting on Yemeni soil on behalf of the Arab coalition. The report added that Eritrea was allowing the Gulf countries to use the port of Assab and its airspace to take part in the fight. In exchange for its involvement, Eritrea is receiving money and fuel, the report said. The monitoring group also said the engagement might violate a U.N. resolution and arms embargo enacted in 2009 and extended in October to prevent Eritrea from playing a destabilizing role in the region. The resolution and the groups mandate are subject to renewal in December 2016. 'Neighborly ties' In a statement issued Tuesday, Eritrea reaffirmed strategic neighborly ties with Saudi Arabia and condemned attacks on the Saudi Embassy in Iran, which was set ablaze following the execution of a Shi'ite cleric and others on January 3. In an interview with Voice of America, an Eritrean official defended the countrys right to aid its allies. While asking not to be named, he pointed out that Yemen is only 60 kilometers from Eritreas Assab port and raised the specter of a growing threat of terrorism in the region. Eritrea will be the first country to be affected if any instability is to occur in the region," he said. "If ports are affected, the premium of insurance would increase, and so on. We have common interest in the security of the region. The official also pointed out that Eritrea has most often been criticized for its isolation and frosty relationship with neighboring countries. Now, he noted, it is being criticized for becoming involved. This recent move by Eritrea should be commended, not shunned, he said. Motives for involvement Veteran Eritrea observers arent sure exactly what to make of the move. Theres a lot we dont know about what this cooperation looks like, what the arrangements look like, said Michael Woldemariam, an assistant professor of international relations and political science at Boston University. But from what I can tell, the main element of this cooperation is the use of Eritrea, particularly the port of Assab, as sort of a basic logistical hub from which states like Saudi Arabia and UAE are able to launch their operations into Yemen. The use of the port appears not to be limited to naval operations, Woldemariam said, adding it appeared that fighter jets were leaving Assab runways for sorties to hit Yemeni targets. As for the U.N. monitoring groups claim that Eritrean soldiers were embedded within UAE units fighting in Yemen, Woldemariam said he had not seen proof of that. It is also unclear what Eritrea is receiving in return, but Woldemariam said the desire by Eritrea to build alliances makes sense. The U.N. monitoring group made some claims that Eritrea might be receiving some fuel, perhaps economic assistance, investment theres sort of a range of things that I would imagine the Eritrean government would be eager to obtain in return for their partnership, Woldemariam said. Its quite likely that they are eager to garner diplomatic support from these countries as well. Saudi Arabia is an influential country, and one can imagine the ways in which the Eritrean government would like to get diplomatic support. Visit with Saudi king Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki recently met with King Salman of Saudi Arabia during a three-day working visit to discuss regional and international developments of mutual interest to both countries. A source who closely monitors the region, but who declined to be named because of professional concerns, said the partnership among Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and the UAE began as early as April after a falling out between UAE and Djibouti. The partnership raised eyebrows, since earlier allegations suggested that Eritrea was supporting the Houthi rebels and Iran on the other side of the conflict. The source said Eritrea which has seen thousands of young people flee and is in the process of an economic overhaul that includes the collection and reissue of its currency, the nakfa is in survival mode. Its new alliance with Saudi Arabia and the UAE should be seen in that light. The Afwerki regime is extremely versatile and wants to survive at all expenses, the source told VOA. It constantly switches allegiances in order to survive. Whether were talking about the [Palestine Liberation Organization] and Israel or Saudi Arabia and Iran, it is constantly navigating the waters in order to survive. Lawyers for the widow of the man who carried out a deadly attack at a Florida nightclub are urging a judge to release her from jail pending trial on charges she supported her husband's terroristic plans. Noor Salman's attorneys on Wednesday are expected to argue in an Oakland federal court that the widow is not a threat to public safety or at risk of fleeing. Family members have pledged their homes as collateral. Salman was arrested in November at her mother's home in Rodeo, California, a San Francisco suburb. She is charged with helping her husband plan his attack of the Pulse nightclub, where he killed 49 people and wounded 53 others. Attorney Haitham Amin said prosecutors have yet to turn over to Salman's legal team much of the evidence they have collected to make their case. Amin and court papers filed Tuesday by Salman's lead attorney Charles Swift say it appears Salman is charged with being present when her husband was making plans to attack the nightclub. In particular, Swift cites media accounts reporting that Salman accompanied Mateen on a "scouting trip'' in a car to the nightclub in the days before the attack and that she was with her husband when he purchased ammunition at a Walmart near their Fort Pierce home. Swift wrote "the evidence will show that the purported scouting trip occurred while the family was on their way home from babysitting the children of a relative, that Mateen chose to drive into Orlando and to pass by the Pulse Night Club, and that Noor, who did not possess a driver's license at the time, was at most a reluctant passenger who wanted to go home." Federal authorities arrested Salman in November at her mother's suburban San Francisco home and charged her with aiding Mateen's support of the Islamic State and then lying to FBI agents and police investigating the Orlando, Florida nightclub attack. Salman has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday in Oakland, California. Salman and Mateen lived with their 3-year-old son in nearby Fort Pierce, Florida before the attack. Salman and her son moved in with an aunt in Mississippi immediately after the attacks before settling with her mother in her hometown of Rodeo, California, about 25 miles east of San Francisco. Details of the charges remained under seal Tuesday and the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco did not return phone calls from The Associated Press. Mateen told her he needed the ammo for his job as a security guard when she asked him about buying the ammunition, the court filing said. "Although Noor may have been present when Mateen was possibly making preparations, mere presence alone is insufficient to establish aiding and abetting,'' Swift wrote. The African Union is moving forward on what it calls a "withdrawal strategy" from the International Criminal Court, a move that could alter peace, security and justice on the continent. Dozens of heads of state -- some of whom have been accused of war crimes or are wanted by the International Criminal Court -- quietly approved the strategy on Tuesday, the last day of the AU summit in Addis Ababa. African leaders have often accused the ICC of unfairly targeting them, pointing to the fact that of the 39 individuals indicted so far by the Hague-based court, all 39 are African. There was no grand announcement of the decision as leaders rushed through an early closing ceremony and leaders congratulated each other while a choir belted out the AU anthem, which includes the line: Let us dedicate ourselves to fight together/ for lasting peace and justice on earth. VOA News obtained verification of the decision from two sources who are well-connected within the AU, and who identically described the motion. In short, they said, the decision is not legally binding, but rather a political statement of support by the AU that if any of the courts 34 African members chooses to withdraw from the court, the AU will support the move. In the last year, three African nations have expressed intent to begin the lengthy and complicated withdrawal process -- Burundi, Gambia and South Africa. Decision could inspire more withdrawals Researcher Ndubuisi Christian Ani of the Addis Ababa-based Institute for Security Studies said it could inspire other states to start looking to leave the ICC. The withdrawal strategy, its a political tool for the AU to voice the collective concerns of the African states regarding to the ICC. With the withdrawal strategy being adopted, it now motivates African states to withdraw based on their own sovereign decisions without any clash from the African Union, he told VOA. That may not sound like much, and he stressed that the strategy is as vague as possible -- but its significant, especially for those who consider themselves victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The decision to withdraw is hugely, is very significant against the whole effort to combat human rights violations in Africa, he said. Especially in view of the fact that the African court is not yet functional and the judicial systems within the respective states, not reliable. Early warning system As the sprawling AU headquarters compound returned to its usual laconic state on Wednesday morning, the re-elected commissioner of the Peace and Security Commission, Smail Chergui, was back at work on the business of brokering peace in the Central African Republic, where rebels have challenged the government and sown chaos since 2012. He told VOA that the AU body is working hard on building an early warning system and a standby force to respond to conflict, along with demobilization initiatives in countries like conflict-plagued South Sudan. But, he said, this is not enough, indeed. When we talk about prevention, I think we also have to talk about our architecture for governance. These are interrelated. So, we are very active in working on all of those fields. President Donald Trump's executive order banning refugees from certain countries has brought stress, desperation, worry and confusion to a number of families in the United States and abroad. Trump's order temporarily halted the entire U.S. refugee program and banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days. Many refugees in the U.S. had expected to reunite with relatives any day, but now their plans are on hold. 5-year-old girl: far from mom and dad Nagi Algahaim, a U.S. citizen who runs a gas station in Detroit, said he's effectively stuck in Malaysia with his wife, a native of Yemen. Their 5-year-old daughter is at home with relatives in Detroit but the mother can't travel there. Algahaim, 33, said he and Kokab Algazali, 28, have been in Malaysia since December, seeking immigration documents to qualify her for a green card in the United States. Algahaim said Malaysia Airlines told them that while he can fly to the U.S., his wife cannot. But he's not leaving Kuala Lumpur without her. "She's been crying every day. It's heartbreaking," he said Tuesday. Their daughter, who has health problems, hasn't seen her mother since she was 8 months old. "As an American, I'm disgusted," Algahaim said. "I thought Trump was going to bring up America, not twist it around with fear and racism." Everything was set Everything was set for the Syrian refugees to fly to the U.S. A "processing error" that for months kept Baraa Haj Khalaf, her husband and baby daughter from joining her parents and two siblings in the U.S. had at last been taken care of. They were told to be at the Istanbul airport Monday for their flight to the U.S. - and a new life near Chicago. So confident were they that they were on their way to America after fleeing Aleppo, Syria in 2013, Baraa and her husband sold or gave away practically all of their belongings. In suburban Chicago, her 46-year-old father, Khaled Haj Khalaf, could hardly contain his excitement. "We were very happy," he said through an interpreter Tuesday. "This is the land of freedom, the land of democracy." Even some Chicago mothers had volunteered to collect furniture, food, clothing and toys for the baby at their future apartment. Then came President Donald Trump's executive order. Now all the refugees' plans and hopes are "in limbo," said Melineh Kano, executive director of a group called RefugeeOne, which is providing support for the volunteers. A family separated Abdalla Munye and his wife resettled in Georgia weeks ago but their 20-year-old daughter wasn't able to join them. Her flight was scheduled to arrive this week. Now her trip is on hold. Munye said his family stayed in refugee camps after fleeing the violence of Somalia, and his wife, Habiba Mohamed, said she watched her 11-year-old daughter be raped and killed. They are concerned about their older daughter, Batula, who remains in a refugee camp in Kenya. "Now that we are here and we have left her behind, we are in a lot of distress and worry," Munye, 44, said through a translator. "The only thing I can request from the American government is to help me be reunited with my daughter." The couple held out hope that first lady Melania Trump, herself an immigrant from Slovenia, might be able to persuade the president to reverse course. "She's a parent and she knows the love that a parent has for their child and I would like her to do her best to convince the president to change his mind," Munye said. A daughter who has never met her father Somali refugee Nimo Hashi bought couches and a new kitchen table for her Salt Lake City apartment in anticipation of reuniting Friday with her husband for the first time in nearly three years. Hashi said she last saw him when she was two months pregnant with their daughter, Taslim. Her husband has never seen his daughter. After Trump's order, it's not clear when the father and daughter will meet. The couple met in Ethiopia after both fled Somalia amid the civil war. Her refugee case had already been approved, so officials told her to go ahead to the U.S. where she could apply for her husband to join her. "I was so happy and joyous but that dream is shattered," Hashi said through a translator. "This is not right just singling out people from Muslim countries, being singled out based on religion." Stressed out Iraqi refugee Rana Elshekly expected to see her husband soon but his resettlement was put on hold. Now he is in limbo in Turkey. "Every time we talk it sounds like we are arguing because we don't know what to do," Elshekly said through an interpreter. "He's even trying to get me to come back to Turkey so we can at least all be together." Elshekly, 36, resettled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in October with her two young boys, 9-year-old Dair and 3-year-old Laith. Her husband, Hikmat Ahmed, 42, stayed behind after officials suggested that she and the children come alone to the United State to get out of the region faster. When she thinks about returning to the war-torn region, she remembers her 20-year-old pregnant sister who was recently killed in a bombing at a market in Iraq. "I start thinking of my boys, and I have to stay because of them," she said. No one showed up for dinner The Somali community in Providence, Rhode Island, prepared traditional home-cooked meals - including goat meat, vegetables and the crepe-like bread known as canjeero - and furnished an apartment for three brothers who were supposed to arrive Monday night. They never made it. The eldest brother fled his war-torn homeland in the 1990s and had been waiting to be resettled since 2000, when he registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency, said Baha Sadr of refugee resettlement group Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island. "For the past 16 years, most of his life, he was just waiting to get approval," Sadr said. "If anybody's in waiting for 16 years, how much more extreme vetting can they get?" From Afghanistan with worries Haidary Mohammad, 27, is celebrating little more than a week of being in the U.S., just barely settled into an apartment in Jacksonville, Florida, after years of working for the U.S. military as a translator in Afghanistan. Haidary was able to move with his wife. But his father, mother and sisters and brothers remain in Afghanistan. He hopes they'll be able to make it to the U.S. one day - like he did. But now there's much to be uncertain about. "I've been through a lot of firefights and ambushes and stuff like that in Afghanistan," he said, adding he applied two years ago to be resettled as a refugee, fearing for his life from the Taliban. "The Taliban look for the guys who work with Americans, and I was one of the guys," he told The Associated Press. Now he doesn't know what will happen with two friends who are helping U.S. forces and also want to come over. "There's two friends of mine still working in the north of Afghanistan with the Special Forces," he said. "Their paperwork is nearly done, one already got his visa, and they're still hoping to come." After a report of a contentious call between the two leaders, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump did not hang up on him, and that Trump committed to going forward with an agreement to resettle a group of refugees who were intercepted trying to reach Australia. The agreement was made during the presidency of Barack Obama. Trump has issued an executive order suspending refugee admissions to the United States, but it included a provision to make exceptions when admitting the person would enable the United States to conform its conduct to a pre-existing international agreement. The Washington Post reported that Trump told Turnbull the agreement is the worst deal ever, and that Australia was seeking to export the next Boston bombers. The White House has said that the group of about 1,200 refugees, the bulk of them from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, would have to pass extreme vetting before being allowed into the country. Trump further criticized the arrangement in a twitter post late Wednesday. Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal! A short time later, Turnbull told Australias 2BG radio that Trump had committed to going forward with the agreement. He committed to honor a deal done by his predecessor that no doubt he would say he would not have done himself, but he committed to stick tot he deal that President Obama has done, Turnbull said. He added that the arrangement always included that refugees would be assessed rigorously and thoroughly through the Americans own security system. Turnbull declined to give specifics about any reported animosity in his conversation with Trump, saying his administration does not indulge in public commentary. America is our most important ally. We have frank discussions with our ally, the Australian leader said. A ban? There has been controversy in recent days over whether Trump's directive to suspend refugee admissions constitutes a "ban." Trump and Spicer have both used the term to describe his executive order, but Spicer insisted Tuesday it is not a ban and blamed members of the media for popularizing the usage of the term. It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban, Spicer told reporters. It's a vetting system to keep America safe. When asked about a tweet Trump posted Monday using the term ban, Spicer responded that Trump is using the words that the media is using, and pointed to the number of Muslims who are still eligible to enter the U.S. It cant be a ban if youre letting a million people in. If 325,000 people from another country can come in, that is by nature not a ban. It is extreme vetting, he said. Trump, in a tweet early Wednesday, addressed the issue, telling members of the media to call it what you want. The bulk of the refugees involved in the agreement with Australia are from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. In addition to suspending refugee admissions for 120 days, and indefinitely for Syrian refugees, Trump's order also bans entry for 90 days to anyone from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday the listed countries lack the kind of law enforcement and record keeping necessary to convincingly describe the backgrounds of their citizens, and that the U.S. will be working with them and other nations to "tighten up on their procedures." "I would be less than honest if I told you that some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon. They're countries that are in various states of collapse, as an example, but, ultimately we'd like to see all those countries taken off the list." In addition to the refugees being considered under the Australia agreement, the U.S. is also preparing to process a group of 872 refugees who are due to arrive this week. "The Executive Order calls for refugees that were ready to travel, where it would cause undue hardship, that they should be considered for waivers. We have done that in concert with our Department of State colleagues," said Kevin McAleenan, the acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. Nolan Rappaport, a Washington-based U.S. immigration lawyer and a former immigration counsel for the U.S. Congress, told VOAs Persian Service that he expects the Trump administration to grant more exemptions from the travel restrictions. Trump can waive these travel bans both for refugees and for people from the seven countries on a case-by-case basis, Rappaport said. And if he had done it properly, taking more time with it, he could have set up some mechanism for issuing those waivers before he imposed the ban. As it is now, the public doesnt know much about these waivers many people dont know they exist and how you get one, but theyve already started giving them. Kelly also reiterated the Trump administration's defense that the immigration order, which includes seven Muslim-majority nations, is "not a ban on Muslims." He said religious liberty is one of the nation's most fundamental values. U.S. Representative Andre Carson, a Democrat from the midwestern state of Indiana, told VOA's Deewa service the order plays into the recruitment narratives used by militant groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaida, and also sends the message to the seven countries that the U.S. does not trust them. "I think it inflames Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment. I think it stokes fears in those who see Muslims as being other, and I think it's un-American and un-patriotic," Carson said. On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the entry ban went against "all international principles and commitments," and also contradicted what he said were longstanding claims that the U.S. government opposed the Iranian government, but not its people. "The basis of this wrong action is illegitimate discrimination. They would always say 'we observe human rights.' This is a violation of human rights," Rouhani said. Benjamin Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told VOA's Persian service the order is likely to cause more problems than it seeks to solve. "I have nothing against trying to ensure that our immigration system is secure by doing a review of our systems to ensure that they are adequately screening people and are sufficiently connected to the databases and the intelligence gathering that we need to make smart decisions," Johnson said. "But the notion that we would pass sweeping bans that look and feel a lot like they are focused more on religion and country of origin than they are on people's threat to the U.S. seems to me to be a terrible waste of resources and a completely wrong way to go." Border security was a major part of Trump's campaign message. In addition to signing the entry ban order, he has also ordered the extension of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He frequently touted to his supporters his endorsement by the National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents the nation's border patrol agents. McAleenan announced in a memo Tuesday the appointment of career border patrol official Ronald Vitiello as the new chief of U.S. Border Patrol. Vitiello had the support of the agents' union. The top Republican at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday took the first step toward scaling back the controversial "conflict minerals" rule, which requires companies to trace whether their products contain minerals from a war-torn part of Africa. In his first major action since becoming acting SEC chair earlier this month, Michael Piwowar announced he has directed agency staff to reconsider how companies should comply with the rule and whether "additional relief" from its requirements is necessary. Piwowar's action comes just one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that aims to slash government regulations. The White House has said the order does not apply to independent agencies like the SEC. However, independent agencies often try to voluntarily follow the spirit of such orders. The conflict minerals rule requires manufacturers, from Apple to General Electric, to tell investors if their products contain certain minerals from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is one of several SEC disclosure rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that Republicans and business groups have long sought to repeal, saying they force companies to furnish politically charged information that is irrelevant to making investment decisions. Another disclosure rule hated by many companies that was also in Dodd-Frank is the "resource extraction" rule, which forces oil and gas companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are slated to vote on a measure to repeal the resource extraction rule on Wednesday. In that case, Republicans are seeking to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to stop recently adopted regulations through a simple majority vote. The conflict minerals rule cannot be repealed through the Congressional Review Act because the law can only be applied to rules adopted since the end of May. However, SEC staff can issue interpretive guidance to scale back its requirements or, in a more aggressive move, staff can choose not to enforce it. Piwowar said the SEC will solicit comments from the public on whether SEC staff should update its guidance on compliance. The Dodd-Frank law also contains language which would let Trump order the SEC to temporarily suspend the conflict minerals rule for two years if it might harm national security. Piwowar did not ask the president to take such a step. However, he did raise some national security concerns posed by the rule, and said it has done nothing to help the humanitarian crisis in Africa. Rex Tillerson was sworn-in Wednesday night as the new U.S. secretary of state, hours after his confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Vice President Mike Pence gave the oath to Tillerson in the Oval Office of the White House as President Donald Trump looked on. Tillerson thanked Trump for giving him what he called an "enormous opportunity," and said he will always serve the interests of the American people at all times. WATCH: Tillerson thanks Trump for 'enormous opportunity' Trump congratulated Tillerson, saying the new secretary is respected all over the world and will bring his unique skills and great insight into global diplomacy. Only three Democrats and one Independent joined a united Republican caucus in backing Tillerson, who was confirmed by a vote of 56-43 after senators of both parties spent weeks mulling the ExxonMobil CEOs cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ability to put business interests aside and serve as Americas top diplomat. Watch: Republican-dominated Senate Backs Trump's Cabinet Picks He [Tillerson] has done a tremendous job for one of the largest businesses in the world, said Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican. Now, his enormous experience, aptitude and talent are going to be put to work for the American people. However, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland said, I remain concerned that Mr. Tillersons demonstrated business orientation would prevent him from being a secretary of state who forcefully advances the values and ideals that have defined our country." Cardin added that Tillerson will be asked to carry out Trumps dangerous and reckless foreign policy. Cabinet choices Meanwhile, the Senate also advanced three other Cabinet picks on Wednesday, as Republicans overcame dogged and, at times, unprecedented delay tactics by Democrats by taking unprecedented steps of their own. Senate committees advanced the presidents nominees for attorney general, treasury secretary, and health and human services secretary with Republican votes alone. The Judiciary Committee supported Republican Senator Jeff Sessions to become Americas chief law enforcement officer 11-9, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposed. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah described Sessions as a man who has devoted his entire life to the law to enforcing it, to protecting it, to defending it and, as a lawmaker, to improving it. Senator Sessions, although an amiable colleague, is well outside the mainstream of both Democratic and Republican positions on criminal justice reform, torture, privacy, and voting rights, said Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. Democrats delayed votes on multiple nominees by invoking arcane Senate rules and exercising procedural tactics whenever possible. Tillersons confirmation was set back more than a week when Democrats insisted on a preliminary vote ahead of final confirmation, and did so after having invoked a rule that delays a floor votes on a nominee. Sessions would have been approved in committee Tuesday, but Democrats invoked a little-used rule limiting the length of time a committee can meet, then spoke at length in the Judiciary Committee, ensuring the time limit would be reached before a vote could be held. Boycotted meeting Rarer yet, Democrats boycotted the Finance Committee Tuesday and Wednesday to forestall votes on Steve Mnuchin, the treasury secretary nominee, and Tom Price, nominee for health and human services secretary. Senate rules require at least one minority member be present for committee votes to proceed. A visibly frustrated Finance Committee chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, led a successful effort to change the rules governing the panel, and Mnuchin and Price were swiftly approved with Republican-only votes. The only chaos we have in the Senate is because of Senate Democrats, said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican. It is time [for Democrats] to get over the fact that they lost the election. The president is entitled to have his Cabinet appointments considered. Democrats insist extra time to consider Trumps nominees is needed. The proposed Trump domestic Cabinet is an unprecedented swamp of conflicts of interest, failures of disclosure, and dark money secrets, said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. None of this is good. Shortened tempers and frayed nerves have been evident in a body that prides itself on decorum and lofty debate. Hatch said Democrats were acting like idiots, while Cornyn blasted Democratic delay tactics as a hissy fit. Focusing on Trump Democrats, meanwhile, focused their firepower on the president. The opening days of this administration have been a Gong Show, but a Gong Show with a nuclear button, Whitehouse said. His [Trumps] incompetence is a threat to all around him. To say that it is amateur hour at the White House is to slander amateurs. This dangerous state of affairs puts all of Trumps nominees in a new light, he added. But the ire of recent days could be dwarfed by the fury of a looming battle over Trumps Supreme Court nominee, appellate court Judge Neil Gorsuch. Unlike Trumps Cabinet picks, Democrats could both delay and block Gorsuchs nomination. Republicans, who control the chamber, could change Senate rules that currently allow the minority party to insist on a three-fifths majority to confirm Supreme Court nominees. A rules change has been called the nuclear option as it would forever alter the Senate, a body where the minority party historically has been able to curb the ambitions of the majority. U.S. President Donald Trump's migration policy and trade protectionism are threats to South America and the region must take a stand against them instead of appeasing him, the head of UNASUR regional bloc said on Tuesday. Latin America has warily watched as Trump insisted he would force Mexico to pay for a wall between the United States and Mexico to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He has also threatened to tax Mexican imports and tear up the regional trade deal NAFTA if he cannot renegotiate it to gain more benefits for the United States. This is a wall that will separate us Latin Americans from the United States because if you affect Mexico you affect Latin America," Ernesto Samper, a former centrist Colombian president, said in a farewell speech to the South American bloc at UNASUR headquarters in Ecuador. His term at the helm of UNASUR formally ends on Tuesday. Let's be honest, the first announcements and executive orders of the new U.S. administration have to make us think, without hysteria, that we are facing a complex strategic threat, he said. Samper called on Latin America to seek strategies and not fall into appeasement syndrome as they seek to deal with Trump, who has no experience in office. Last week Peru and Colombia vowed to stand with Mexico, but otherwise the region has been largely quiet about Trump's early days in office. We need a prompt, serene, proportional and sovereign reaction and we need it now because tomorrow it could be too late, said Samper. The Syrian government has created an all-female military unit in a predominantly Kurdish city in northeastern Syria where U.S.-led Kurdish forces have been battling Islamic State. Jazya Sheikh Ali, a leading member of the ruling Baath Party, told the pro-Syrian Lebanese al-Jadeed TV that the unit will be comprised of volunteers and will have no minimum age requirements. At least 150 women have been recruited, Ali said, and will get "intensive training" on how to use small arms and staff checkpoints. A video posted Tuesday on Facebook by a Kurdish activist in the city shows women in Syrian military garb training outside Qamishli. Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the government has maintained a minimal military presence in the Kurdish region. Syrian troops in 2012 withdrew from most of the cities and towns in the north and northeastern part of the country to focus on fighting rebel groups elsewhere. In Qamishli, the largest Kurdish city in Syria, a small contingent of Syrian troops stayed on the outskirts of the city, leaving it mostly to Kurdish control. Fierce clashes broke out last summer as Kurdish forces attempted to widen that control. But Syrian forces prevailed, leaving an uneasy detente in the region. The new female military unit is comprised of ethnic Arab women from the city, which could inflame ethnic tensions, local analysts say. The women are expected to bolster the male force in the Syrian Arab army, which has been depleted through fighting with rebels and Islamic State militants elsewhere in Syria. "The [Syrian] government wants to send a message to the local Kurdish administration that they are willing to come back to this area," said Dilovan Cheto, a political analyst based in Qamishli. Cheto told VOA the Syrian military is suffering from a severe shortage of male soldiers, and the Syrian government believes female recruits "such as this unit empower their ranks." Syrian forces appear ready to reassert control in the Kurdish region after driving rebels from Aleppo, some 400 kilometers to the west, Cheto said. Propaganda material Kurdish units headquartered in the city and known as People Protection Units (YPG) have been a linchpin in the U.S.-led coalition in the fight against IS south of Qamishli. Strengthened militarily, the YPG appear firmly in military control of Qamishli. Ekrem Salih, a local reporter who follows military moves in the region, said the addition of an all-female unit is merely "propaganda material." "I don't think this will change anything as far as local military dynamics," he told VOA. "The YPG doesn't accept any military competitor on the ground. Therefore, this unit won't achieve any goals for the regime." Reached by VOA, YPG officials declined to comment on the female unit. The YPG, too, has an all-female arm called the YPJ, which has joined in combat against IS fighters. A timeline of key events following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and leading up to President Donald Trump's nomination of a new justice. Feb. 13, 2016 -- Scalia is found dead in his room at a Texas ranch where he had gone on a hunting trip. His death at age 79 leaves the high court split between four liberal justices and four conservatives. Within hours, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Barack Obama should not fill the vacancy during an election year and it should be up to the next president. Obama later says in a televised address that he plans to fulfill his constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor. March 16 -- Obama nominates Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to take Scalia's seat. Obama hopes Garland's reputation as a respected moderate puts pressure on Republicans to consider him. But Republicans stand firm and insist they will not even grant a Senate hearing. March 29 -- The Supreme Court announces its first deadlock in a case since Scalia's death, handing a win to labor unions in a high-profile dispute over fees. The split vote leaves in place an appeals court ruling that allows unions representing government employees to collect fees from all workers, even those who choose not to join. April 12 -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley tells Garland during a meeting that the Senate won't advance his nomination for the rest of the year. May 16 -- The Supreme Court sends back a dispute over access to birth control to lower courts. The move averts a 4-4 tie and suggests the justices could not form a majority to issue a ruling that would have settled the issue. May 18 -- Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, releases a list of 11 potential picks to replace Scalia. The list offers a mix of federal and state judges and appears tailored to win over conservatives still skeptical of Trump's candidacy. It includes federal appeals court judges Thomas Hardiman and William Pryor, who would later emerge as leading contenders. June 23 -- The Supreme Court announces it is deadlocked in a dispute over Obama's plan to protect millions of immigrants who are in the United States illegally. In the fourth 4-4 split of the term, the justices leave in place a lower court ruling that said the Obama administration lacked the authority to shield up to 4 million immigrants from deportation. July 21 -- Trump in his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination pledges to replace Scalia with "a person of similar views, principles and judicial philosophy." He says the pick "will be one of the most important issues decided by this election." July 21 -- Garland becomes the longest-waiting Supreme Court nominee without a Senate confirmation vote. The previous record was held by Justice Louis Brandeis, who waited 125 days before he was confirmed. Sept. 23 -- Trump adds 10 more names to his list pf potential Supreme Court nominees, including federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch, who would later emerge as a top contender. Nov. 8 -- Trump defeats Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, giving him the power to re-establish the court's conservative tilt. Jan. 18, 2017 -- Garland returns to his federal appeals court. Jan. 24 -- Trump narrows his choices to three judges, according to people familiar with the selection process. The leading contenders were Gorsuch, Hardiman and Pryor. Jan. 31 -- Trump announces Colorado Judge Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court. U.S. President Donald Trump has issued three executive orders that pertain to immigration in the past week. While that seems like it should be definitive, one important group of undocumented immigrants is still in limbo. At least 750,000 undocumented immigrants are still protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, signed by the previous administration. They are undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children commonly known as dreamers, referring to the proposed Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM ) Act, which is stalemated in Congress. But DACA expires in two years and after tumultuous days during which hundreds of visa holders have been denied entrance to the U.S., immigration proponents worry that the program is still on the table. At this point, I think we have to assume that everything that Trump said during his campaign, he's going to try to fulfill because so far that's what he has done ... We have to be prepared, Alma Couvorthie, senior director of community organizing at CASA de Maryland. Although Trump's day one promise was to end DACA, he told Time magazine in December that on this issue, at least, he is willing to work something out. But a provision in one of his immigration executive orders may say otherwise. Prepare for the worst Trump's executive order, Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, says the government cannot faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States if we exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. Which brings Couvorthie to urge lawyers, immigration advocates, and undocumented immigrants to be ready, get prepared, know your rights, and get organized in local communities. Couvorthie said the whole pro-immigration movement will exhaust any avenue to get relief either through the courts or Congress. We should not, for any minute, think that he's going to care for our kids and the families who have benefited from this program and who are actually contributing greatly to this nation, Couvorthie said. Bargaining chip? Proponents of tougher immigration laws and anti-immigration groups believe Trump should follow through with his promises to end deferred action. Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, advocates for more restrictive immigration policies, has told VOA he expects some leeway when it comes to the dreamers. There's no fundamental reason why one group of people should be allowed to break the law or others, but in the course of any kind of meaningful reform there's going to be some kind of give and take, Stein said, adding that DACA might be a place for some give. Gingrich backs DACA Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal adviser to Trump, told the Washington Post he is advising President Trump to keep DACA in place and avoid a politically treacherous confrontation. Why pick a fight over this group of people who have a lot of emotional stories to tell? It's not realistic. It's not practical, Gingrich told the newspaper. 'One of the lucky ones Thirty-year-old Maria Reyes, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico brought to the U.S. at 13, refuses to be scared. Im one of the lucky ones because I am here. These orders are actually bringing the community together. I'm confident this [DACA] is not going to change. Sometimes I worry, but I know I'm not alone," Reyes told VOA. President Donald Trump's decision Monday to fire an insubordinate acting attorney general was not unprecedented, but it is a rare occurrence in presidential history. Since President Harry Truman began his first presidential term in 1945, only 35 presidential appointees have been fired, according to a report compiled by Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and published by Politico. Trump's predecessor, President Barack Obama, faced heavy pressure to fire Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius after her bungled rollout of the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare and Attorney General Eric Holder after Holder was found in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over documents related to the Fast and Furious gun-tracking scandal. Each time, Obama stood by his appointees. However, both Holder and Sebelius later resigned. General Stanley McChrystal, whom Obama appointed to command U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2008, was the highest-level appointee to be let go during Obama's two terms. McChrystal was forced out in 2010 after making unflattering remarks about the Obama administration during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. He tendered his resignation June 23, the day after the story was published online, and Obama accepted the resignation later that day. Media spectacle Presidential historian Michael Beschloss told NPR that Cabinet-level officials are fired "extremely rarely," and that modern presidents, especially, are reluctant to fire high-ranking officials because of the media spectacle it creates. "You are probably going to have a situation in the future where presidents saddle themselves with people who should be fired, and they're afraid to do it because they're afraid it's going to hurt them politically," Beschloss said in 2013. Beschloss cited President Jimmy Carter's 1979 firing of four Cabinet secretaries as an example of why presidents are hesitant to fire top-level appointees, saying it contributed to Carter's re-election loss to Ronald Reagan the following year. "He wanted to show that he was changing the terms of his administration. It completely backfired," Beschloss said. "His polls plunged." People saw it as a confession by Carter "that he was going down in flames," Beschloss added. Trump, however, gained wide popularity hosting a reality television show in which he coined the catch phrase "You're fired," and he has succeeded politically while bucking most political norms. He barely hesitated before firing Acting Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday, after she refused to enforce his executive order that suspends U.S. entry of all refugees for 120 days, bans Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocks people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia all countries identified with jihadist violence from entering the U.S. for three months. A statement from the White House released after the firing said Yates' actions had "betrayed the Department of Justice." "Ms. Yates is an Obama administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration," the statement said. Order's legality questioned Earlier Monday, Yates issued written guidance to Department of Justice employees saying they should not defend the order against legal challenges. While Yates noted in her letter the executive order had been reviewed and approved by the Office of Legal Counsel, she still questioned its legality and instructed DOJ employees to disregard it. Trump replaced Yates with Dana Boente, a U.S. attorney from the state of Virginia, until the Senate confirms his pick for attorney general, Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, which is expected to happen this week. Some of Trump's political opponents criticized the decision, including leading Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York, who called it "chilling," but Trump wasn't the first president to fire a Cabinet secretary. From 1945 until the Trump firing, 12 presidents had fired 19 Cabinet agency heads, including Carter, who fired his secretaries of treasury, energy, transportation, and health, education and welfare, now known as health and human services. According to the list compiled by Sabato, defense secretaries are the most likely Cabinet appointees to be fired, with Presidents Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush all getting rid of the Pentagon leaders. Truman, Ford and Bush all saw a drop in approval ratings after the firings. Presidential approval ratings rose in only five instances after firing Cabinet appointees, Sabato wrote, but "all of the gains appear to be minor and short term." "Therefore, if the point of a sacking or a shuffle is to give the president a boost in the Gallup Poll, history suggests it isn't going to work," he wrote. "It can easily be counterproductive, bringing to the public's attention in a dramatic fashion that there is trouble afoot, serious enough to have cost someone his or her job." [February 01, 2017] Securli Siem Merges With NetTrust Analytics For Powerful Cyber Security Breach Prevention SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Netswitch Technology Management, a leading SIEM/SOC-as-a-service company, today announced the immediate availability of the security analytics-enhanced version of Securli, the industry's only SIEM platform that marries a cloud-based security incident and event management (SIEM) service with TaaSera's NetTrust, the industry leader in Network Behavioral Analytics. Securli, which was named by industry analysts as a global leader in Managed Detection and Response now leverages advanced security analytics to provide the industry's best defense against advanced zero-day malware attacks. TaaSera's NetTrust helps Securli's security teams to quickly isolate and remediate at-risk systems before data is lost, damaged, stolen or business continuity is interrupted. TaaSera's patented "Threat DNA" mapping technology identifies otherwise hidden network behaviors at runtime, and enables the automated analysis of contextual evidence while integrating tightly with the Securli SIEM ecosystem. "We are excited about the addition of NetTrust to our Securli platform," says Stanley Li, Chief Executive Officer of Netswitch. "The integration of Securli with TaaSera's NetTrust Analytics provides our customers with the maximum protection possible against zero-day and advanced malware attacks turning into breaches. It gives our security teams the tools they need to quickly identify malicious incidents of compromise and eradicate them before they are able to harm our customers' networks. Our unique SaaS offering is now accessible to everyone seeking the best cyber-threat defense available anywhere." Securli's security analysts have access to real-time visualizations of network systems at the greatest risk of breach, and the ability to identify the precise indicators of compromise (IOCs), in the right context and at the right time, to provide an actionable early warning system for breach containment and response. "Because malwae is increasingly able to avoid leaving traces in logs, critical IOCs and similar pre-breach behaviors can go unrecognized by SIEMs allowing dangerous and malicious activity to go undetected within a network's perimeter," said Eric Hale, TaaSera's CEO. "With the integration of NetTrust into the Securli SIEM platform, Netswitch's customers will be protected by the best possible data and analytics necessary to prevent compromised sensitive information, business disruptions and damaged reputations resulting from today's data breaches." "Effective, proactive breach defense takes a layered approach. There are certain complementary solutions that give security teams a leg-up in defending against cyber-attacks," said Pam Quilici, EVP of Crouse & Associates, a San Francisco-based wholesale property, casualty, financial services, and transportation insurance company. "Integrating TaaSera's NetTrust into our Securli platform gives us critical visibility into network behaviors that other solutions can't see. We are able to isolate and remediate systems at risk of breach before any major damage is done." The NetTrust Preemptive Risk Breach Detection System (BDS) was recently honored with the Gold Award in the New Products and Services category at the 10th Annual IT World Awards. ABOUT NETSWITCH Netswitch is a global cyber-security solutions provider, serving businesses of all sizes through Securli, its award-winning Managed Detection and Response platform. Securli Integrated Security Technologies are in use at over 3,000 client sites around the world providing managed intrusion detection and prevention, advanced behavioral analytics, preemptive breach detection, monitored and managed web firewalls and gateways, 247 SOC and security information and event management (SIEM), managed incident response and remediation and complete audit-ready regulatory compliance. Netswitch is headquartered in South San Francisco, California and serves the Middle East and APAC markets through its ASIA Pacific Headquarters in Hongkong. For more information about Netswitch and Securli, please visit www.netswitch.net. ABOUT TAASERA TaaSera is the leader in Preemptive Breach Detection Systems (BDS). With clear evidence that nine out of 10 enterprise environments are already compromised by exploited vulnerabilities and malware, TaaSera provides solutions to detect evidence of pending data breaches before data is lost or stolen. Based on cyber security research by SRI International, TaaSera's unique platform is protected by 9 patents around technology that maps the "Threat DNA" patterns of malicious coordinated network and endpoint behaviors without the use of signatures or sandboxes. The TaaSera team is comprised of security architects and subject matter experts with decades of experience in firewalls, intrusion detection, security event management, malware analysis and endpoint security. TaaSera has offices in Salt Lake City, Redwood City, CA and Erie, PA. For more information, please visit taasera.com or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/taasera. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securli-siem-merges-with-nettrust-analytics-for-powerful-cyber-security-breach-prevention-300397881.html SOURCE Netswitch Technology Management [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off Black History Month in the United States with what the White House called a "listening session" with representatives of the African American community. Trump hosted the session in the White House Cabinet Room. Most of those in attendance were supporters who helped work on the president's campaign and Trump's nominee to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson. The president read a list of his priorities for addressing problems facing African American communities and inner cities. "Were gonna need better schools and we need em soon. We need more jobs, we need better wages - a lot better wages. Were gonna work very hard on the inner city; Bens [Carson] gonna be doing that, bigly," Trump said. "We need safer communities and were going to do that with law enforcement. Were gonna make it safe; were gonna make it much better than it is right now. Right now it's terrible." One of those at the table with Trump was Reverend Darrell Scott, a Cleveland pastor who has been an active supporter of the president. Scott said he had been approached by representatives of a street gang in Chicago and that he wants to sit down to discuss the issue of street violence with representatives of the Trump administration. Trump has used street violence in Chicago consistently as an example of what he has called "carnage" in America's inner cities. President Donald Trumps pick to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, began the customary tradition Wednesday of meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Vice President Mike Pence joined Gorsuch as he traversed the halls of Congress, meeting first with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called Gorsuch an outstanding appointment. We are all thrilled and looking forward to getting the confirmation process started," McConnell told reporters. Pence said Gorsuch would be available to speak with all members of the Senate and that the administration looks forward to the opportunity for senators to get to know the judge. I think, as they do, they will come to understand the enthusiasm the president of the United States has for his appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States, said Pence. WATCH: Pence, McConnell, Ayotte meet with Gorsuch The confirmation could be contentious following the Republican refusal to hold confirmation hearings for former President Barack Obama's choice to fill the seat, which has been vacant for just under a year. Democrats voice opposition Senate Democrats immediately voiced opposition to the pick. The top Democrat, Senator Chuck Schumer, said he has "serious doubts" about Gorsuch and that his party will insist any Supreme Court nominee receive 60 votes in order to be confirmed. Watch: Senate Battle Brewing Over Trump Supreme Court Pick Senator Diane Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said it will take time to thoroughly review Gorsuch's record and expressed concern about Trump's campaign pledge to appoint justices who oppose abortion rights. "Then tonight, President Trump declared, 'I am a man of my word.' That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Judge Gorsuch voted twice to deny contraceptive coverage to women, elevating a corporation's religious beliefs over women's health care," Feinstein said. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter that in recent years the Supreme Court has "shifted dramatically," with decisions that favor corporate interests at the expense of American workers. He said the vacant seat "belongs to the American people, and I'll make sure their voices are heard." WATCH: Trump on Democratic opposition to nomination If confirmed, Gorsuch would restore the 5-4 conservative majority on the nine-member court that existed with Scalia on the bench. He would also be one of the youngest justices ever to sit on the court where lifetime appointments make a president's selections important long after he leaves office. During his introduction Tuesday, Gorsuch called the appointment to the Supreme Court "a most solemn assignment." He said if the Senate confirms him, he will do everything in his power to be "a faithful servant of the Constitution and the laws of this great country." He also spoke of his admiration for Scalia, calling him a "lion of the law." Republicans praised Gorsuch, a 49-year-old federal appellate judge from Colorado, whom they believe will continue Scalia's legacy as a conservative voice in the court. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Gorsuch has a "long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution." Senators Ted Cruz and Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, both touted Gorsuch as a judge who adheres to a strict interpretation of the Constitution common among conservative judges. Grassley said Gorsuch is "not like a lot of people on the Supreme Court who want to stretch congressional intent on the law or maybe read the Constitution beyond what the writers implied for the Constitution to say." Cruz called on the Senate to "move expeditiously" and said he believes Gorsuch will be confirmed. "The Democrats will not succeed in filibustering this nominee," he told VOA's Kurdish service. "They may try, they may not try. I don't know the answer to that. But they will not succeed." Republicans currently hold a 52-44 majority over the Democrats in the Senate. It would take just 51 votes to confirm Gorsuch, unless Democrats choose to filibuster the nomination, in which case 60 votes would be required to overcome the action. Gorsuch was previously confirmed in a voice vote by the Senate in 2006 after he was nominated by then-President George W. Bush to the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals. An individual tally of votes wasn't conducted because Gorsuch was seen as a non-controversial nomination. Last Friday, Sudanese-born Nisrin Elamin, a PhD student at Stanford University, was returning to the United States from a research trip to her home country. She returned the same day President Donald Trump issued an executive order temporarily barring citizens from seven countries, including Sudan. On arrival at Kennedy Airport in New York, she was briefly handcuffed, patted down and detained for five hours. Not knowing if she would be deported, she said she cried and felt humiliated. Elamin said she is one of the lucky ones. Watch: Congressional Democrats Tell Trump to End Travel Ban My experience pales in comparison to the vast majority affected by this order: the people who were sent back, she said in a written statement to VOA. To me this is a misguided policy targeting people from countries like my own, Sudan, where people are fleeing injustice, war and persecution. Elamin is one of tens of thousands of immigrants and visitors from countries affected by the presidents order. The order prohibits people from seven African and Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States for 90 days and halts the U.S. refugee resettlement for 120 days. U.S. opinion evenly split The order caused widespread chaos at airports over the weekend and prompted mass demonstrations in major U.S. cities. But many Americans are in favor of the order, according to a poll released Wednesday that showed public support at about 50 percent. Murshid Barud, a Minnesota resident of Somali origin, backs the presidents action. Barud, who sits on the executive committee of the states Republican Party, says the best thing the United States can do is to help the Somalis already living here assimilate, instead of taking in more refugees. Those folks should be [examining] how we reintegrate those kids that are already here in the United States with no high school diploma, with no education, with no path to successful life, instead of bringing refugees that are going to have a very hard time in these tough times in the United States, he told VOA. Barud said the hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees across the Horn of Africa should try to build new lives in Somalia, despite the chronic chaos and violence there. Anybody who cares about the Somali refugees should actually help them resettle in their own home country, he said. And make sure that there is peace, security and prosperity in their home country." Others say Trumps intent has been distorted as being against Islam. This is partially due to the inflammatory rhetoric Trump used on the campaign trail. But Mesfin Beshir, an Ethiopian-American and former refugee who ran for a state Senate seat in Massachusetts as a Republican, said he doesnt believe the order is discriminatory against Islam. I think he's trying to act for prevention, he said. He is being proactive rather than reactive. African immigrant Charles Kambanda, an attorney of Rwandan origin practicing in New York, said the order is simply an expansion of policies under former President Barack Obama that identified people from the seven countries covered by Trumps order for additional screening and questioning. Kambanda pointed out that although the United States is a generous country that has historically taken in refugees, it has no obligation to do so if that could put its citizens at risk. Does the order protect Americans? Protecting Americans was the reason Trump cited for his directives. All of the countries affected by the travel ban have a history of hosting or supporting groups the United States has designated as terrorist, most notably al-Qaida and Islamic State. However, John Cohen, former counterterrorism coordinator and acting undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said the order actually represents a break from the best practices adopted for screenings in recent years. Authorities have moved away from country-specific vetting programs and focused more on intelligence-driven vetting based on the travel patterns and behaviors of potential terrorists, he said. Cohen said that using such information helps officials focus their attention on people most likely to pose a threat. The problem with country-based vetting or country-based restrictions is that you are negatively impacting a large number of people who've done nothing wrong, he said. The order also creates ill will toward the United States, Cohen said, and does nothing to address the most likely perpetrators of future attacks: lone wolf attackers already living in the country. The primary terrorist threat facing the United States today comes from individuals who are already here, who become inspired by what they see on the internet and who carry out terrorist attacks in this country independent of any foreign terrorist organization, Cohen said. During the past two years, the United States has seen multiple attacks by people who fit that description, he said, such as the man who opened fire inside Orlandos Pulse nightclub, killing nearly 50 people. So Cohen is not a believer in Trumps directives. This order, in particular the restrictions of travel from these countries, will do nothing to address that serious threat currently facing the U.S., he said. U.N. envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, says he hopes to restart Syrian peace talks on February 20. The negotiations in Geneva were originally targeted for February 8, but de Mistura said Tuesday he does not think the opposition delegation will have its list of participants assembled in time. He further said that if there is not a list by February 8, he will assemble the list himself and make it as inclusive as possible. De Mistura briefed the U.N. Security Council on developments in the peace process, which included talks last month in Kazakhstan between the Syrian government and members of the armed opposition. That round ended with Russia, Turkey and Iran agreeing to serve as monitors of a December partial cease-fire. The Security Council said the Kazakhstan talks were a step toward a "strengthened cease-fire" and expressed hope that they would lead to progress in finding a political solution to the nearly six-year conflict in Syria. The council supports a multi-part framework that includes a total halt in fighting and a Syrian-led political transition with a new constitution and new elections. The plan does not specify what role President Bashar al-Assad might have in the future. That has been a major sticking point in years of attempted negotiations, with the rebels insisting he must leave power and Assad's supporters, including Russia and Iran, saying he should remain in office. New U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that the organization is working to avoid the worst for South Sudan. He also praised the international and regional cooperation that prevented large-scale violence in Gambia during its recent post-election crisis. Guterres spoke to reporters at the U.N. after his return from the African Union summit in Ethiopia. The new U.N. chief said the situation in conflict-torn South Sudan is dramatic and could worsen. Guterres said it was agreed at a meeting involving himself, leaders of the AU and East African bloc IGAD that they would cooperate to make sure South Sudan's national dialogue is genuinely inclusive going forward. He also met with South Sudans president. In a meeting with Salva Kiir, it was agreed that we will have better cooperation both for the U.N. mission to operate more freely inside South Sudan and for the Regional Protection Force to be put in place," Guterres said. African nations have proposed deploying 4,000 troops to South Sudan to help stabilize the country, where three years of conflict have displaced more than two million people. Guterres said it was agreed that Kenya would contribute troops to the force. Turning to the recent post-election crisis in Gambia, where President Yahya Jammeh initially refused to step down in favor of his democratically-elected opponent, Adama Barrow, Guterres said the episode demonstrated what is possible when there is regional unity. It is possible for action to be taken and it is possible for democracy, human rights and the freedom of peoples to be defended. When there is division in the region, it is much more difficult for the U.N. to be able to act accordingly, the U.N. chief said. The secretary-general said the narrative about Africa must not be based on the crises, but on the continents potential. He said Africa has grown economically and has great success stories that must be built on to achieve widespread and inclusive sustainable development. Guterres said that is the best way to prevent further conflicts. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for U.S. President Donald Trump to lift his executive order banning Syrian refugees indefinitely from the United States and temporarily restricting immigrants from seven countries. "It is obvious that in my opinion this is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country in relation to the serious concerns that exist about possibilities of terrorist infiltration," Guterres told reporters. "I don't think this is the effective way to do so. I think that these measures should be removed sooner rather than later." Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister and head of the U.N. refugee agency from 2005 to 2015, had been slow to denounce what many critics say is a ban that targets Muslim immigration to the United States. Guterres took the helm of the United Nations just one month ago and has faced reports the U.S. could substantially cut funding to the organization, as well as withdraw from an important climate change agreement. On Wednesday, he made clear he believed the U.S. measure violated "our basic principles," and he said that in an age of sophisticated global terrorist organizations, such measures were unlikely to prevent terrorist attacks. "If a global terrorist organization will try to attack any country like the United States, they will probably not come with people with passports from those countries that are hot spots of conflict today," Guterres said. WATCH: Guterres: Travel Ban Spreads Anxiety and Anger More likely strategy He suggested such groups most likely would use people carrying passports from "the most developed and credible countries in the world" or operatives who have lived "for decades sometimes" in a targeted country. That was the case in the 2015 terror attacks on Paris, where some of the terrorists were nationals of France and Belgium. "That is why it is so important to have measures that don't spread anxiety and anger," Guterres said. "Because when we adopt measures that spread anxiety and anger, we help trigger the kind of recruitment mechanisms that these organizations are now doing everywhere in the world." He noted it was important to have "very strong measures" for border management, "but at the same time not to place them in any discrimination linked to nationality, religion or ethnicity." The U.N. human rights office has been vocal in criticizing the travel restrictions, saying the order is a "breach of Washington's human rights obligations." In a statement signed by several U.N. human rights officials, the organization said the U.S. presidential directive was "deeply troubling" and could lead to further violence against people fleeing war zones. At the Vatican, a top official also expressed concern Wednesday and called for Americans to "integrate those who arrive, who come into our society, into our culture." "We are builders of bridges, far less of walls, and all Christians should emphatically reaffirm this message," Monsignor Angelo Becciu told the Catholic TV channel TV2000. EU warning Separately, European Union President Donald Tusk warned that China, Russia and the Trump administration were among the top external threats facing the bloc of European nations. His remarks came in a letter to 27 EU leaders before a summit Friday in Malta. "Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation, with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. Trump has insisted on policies that put the United States first, and has questioned whether NATO members are contributing their fair share to the alliance. Tusk laid out a defense of the European Union, saying it has never faced more dangerous challenges and requires "courage, determination and political solidarity." He said the European Union must stand up for its dignity in talks with the United States, Russia, China or Turkey, and it must not give in to populist arguments and xenophobic sentiments that go against European integration. Dependence on superpowers "It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent," Tusk wrote. With Trump calling for renegotiated trade deals, Tusk advocated for the European Union to protect its citizens and businesses, and remember "that free trade means fair trade." He ended the letter by saying the bloc cannot give in to those who want to "weaken or invalidate" the bond between the United States and the European Union. Tusk wrote, "We should remind our American friends of their own motto: 'United we stand, divided we fall.' " U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran has been "formally put on notice" for its ballistic missile launch, and warned that "nothing is off the table" in dealing with Tehran. In a tweet early Friday morning, Trump said Iran "is playing with fire" adding that "they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" Trump also took to Twitter Thursday morning, to continue his condemnation of the agreement that the U.S. and five other world powers reached to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump said Iran should be "thankful" for the agreement, and that the country was "ready to collapse" before the billions of dollars were unfrozen. Later, at a White House meeting with Harley-Davidson executives and union members, Trump said "nothing is off the table" in response to a reporter who asked whether military action against Iran was an option. The nuclear deal required Iran to limit its enrichment of uranium and convert several of its nuclear facilities to other uses. On Wednesday, it was Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who condemned Iran's recent missile launch, declaring it "just the latest in a series of incidents" in which Iran has threatened the U.S. and its regional allies over the past six months. He said leaders in Tehran were emboldened to take such action now because the nuclear agreement is "weak and ineffective," and because the other nations involved in the agreement failed to take action to rein in Iran's military ambitions. WATCH: Flynn puts Iran 'on notice' During a briefing at the White House, Flynn accused former President Barack Obama and other members of his administration of not being tough enough on Tehran. Ian Lustick, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told VOA the U.S. has to be careful in dealing with Iran's actions, citing as an example that Iran could make things worse for the 6,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq. "The majority of the population in Iraq is Shia, and sympathetic in one way or another to Iran," Lustick said. "There are very large and powerful militias in Iraq that are commanded by and trained by the Iranians. Those are some of the best fighting units that have had success against ISIS." ISIS is an acronym for Islamic State. Warning to Iran Iran also is being advised to proceed cautiously. Houchang Hassan-Yar, an international relations professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, told VOA Persian that the tone of Trump's warnings toward Tehran is similar to the tough rhetoric of former President George W. Bush, and marks a contrast with Obama's "cerebral" approach. "Given Trump's unpredictability and the fact that his national security and military advisers have written extensively about Iran as a regional threat to U.S. interests and those of U.S. allies, Iranian rulers would be well advised to think carefully about their next steps," Hassan-Yar said. A U.S. advocacy group, United Against Nuclear Iran, says international businesses are uncertain about Tehran's behavior. UANI has discouraged its contacts from trying to establish new deals with Iran. In an interview with VOA Persian, UANI President David Ibsen said companies are asking whether Iranian missile tests will result in a reimposition of financial sanctions on Tehran. "They also ask, if a company has dual national citizens [in Iran], will they be kidnapped or held incommunicado by the Iranian regime? Will they be doing business with front entities for the regime or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps? All these risks are very real, and companies have taken our warnings to heart," Ibsen said. Resolution 2231 Iran confirmed Wednesday that it carried out a missile launch Sunday, but said this did not violate the nuclear agreement by six world powers and Tehran in 2015. U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted after the nuclear deal was reached, called on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles, but it did not specifically ban such activity. Shahir Shahidsaless, an Iranian-Canadian political analyst, told VOA Persian on Wednesday that the resolution's lack of an explicit ban on ballistic missile activity is problematic for Washington. "The United States cannot rely on this resolution to condemn Iran at the U.N. Security Council, and for the same reason, Russia and China will not cooperate with the U.S. on this," Shahidsaless said. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, denounced Iran's missile launch as "absolutely unacceptable" during a Security Council meeting Tuesday, and said the Trump administration will not turn a "blind eye" to such actions. Britain's U.N. envoy, Matthew Rycroft, echoed Haley's concerns. Iran's U.N. mission issued a statement reiterating Tehran's position that "Security Council Resolution 2231 does not prohibit legitimate and conventional missile activities." On his first official trip to South Korea and Japan this week, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to reassure allies made nervous by President Donald Trumps criticisms of free rider nations that do not pay their fair share of mutual defense costs. I think that uncertainty is viewed as destabilizing or potentially destabilizing. I think a number of alliance partners in the region are raising questions about the credibility of the U.S. alliance commitments, said regional security analyst Daniel Pinkston with Troy University in Seoul. North Korean Threat The Pentagon says the defense secretarys decision to make East Asia his first overseas destination is meant to reinforce the longstanding U.S. commitment to defend its allies against North Koreas advancing nuclear and missile threat. The U.S. defense secretary already spoke with South Korean Defense Minister Han Minkoo on Tuesday by telephone. Mattis reportedly reaffirmed the U.S. obligation to uphold the mutual defense treaty, that would include providing extended deterrence, the guarantee that American armed forces would help counter any North Korean attack on its allies with the vast U.S. arsenal of conventional weapons and even tactical nuclear weapons. In addition, the two defense ministers agreed to deploy the U.S. THAAD missile defense shield this year as planned, over objections from China and despite mounting opposition in South Korea. President Trump also spoke to South Korean Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn this week to say the U.S. would remain a strong military ally. And Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with Trump at the White House on February 10. Trump uncertainty During the campaign Trump suggested he might withdrawal troops and allow allies to procure their own nuclear weapons to defend themselves, unless they agree to pay significantly more for American military protection. And in his inaugural address the president vowed to change U.S. policies that, subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. Leaders in Tokyo and Seoul have embraced the supportive statements coming from Trump and Mattis. But others expect the president to follow through on his campaign promise to use strong arm tactics to pressure Japan and South Korea to increase their defense contributions, just has he has done on other controversial issues like recently blocking visitors from seven Muslim-majority nations. Watch video report from VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb: Critics say the Trump administrations mixed messages to the region, and the increasing internal divisions and protests in the U.S., are leading allies to doubt whether they can continue to rely on American power. I think it would be odd if Japan and South Korea do not rethink their positions given the changes in the United States. Otherwise you will be completely at the mercy of the whims, and really the unpredictable conduct and deeds, from the Trump administration, said Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo. Nakano says Trumps hardline approach will be as divisive in Asia as it is in the U.S., and will likely lead to an increase in anti-American sentiment and closer ties to China. Converging interests But Pinkston says the existential threat that a nuclear North Korea poses will keep the U.S. and its East Asian allies united, and that even contentious negotiations over defense costs will not ultimately dismantle longstanding security relationships in the region, especially the ties between Washington and Seoul. The incentive to cooperate, particularly in areas of national security and economic cooperation between U.S. and South Korea, are so strong that I think it transcends any person or individual in the White House and also the Blue House, said Pinkston. Mattiss visit to East Asia, he says, as well as the continuation of annual joint military drills, will send a strong signal to adversaries in North Korea and China that the U.S. will remain engaged in the region. There are over 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan and more than 28,500 in South Korea to maintain regional security. Both countries maintain they are currently in compliance with current defense sharing agreements. Tokyo reportedly pays over $1.6 billion and Seoul over $866 million to Washington to support American troops, in addition to other base construction costs and support. The U.S. spent $5.5 billion in 2016 on its bases in Japan, according to the Pentagon. Four people will join the daily White House press briefing on Wednesday, as the "inaugural panelists" for "Skype seats," press secretary Sean Spicer said. The cyberseats are an attempt by the Trump administration to open the briefings to a more diverse group of journalists, as well as allow outlets without traditional White House access and outside the nation's capital at the briefings. The White House has not said how the Skype panelists were selected, although Spicer said that anyone applying for the seat must live at least 80 kilometers from Washington. Taking part Wednesday via video conferencing will be Natalie Herbick of FOX 8 TV in Cleveland, conservative talk radio host Lars Larson, Kimberly Kalunian of WPRI Radio in Rhode Island, and Jeff Jobe of Kentucky's Jobe Publishing. "I look forward to virtually welcoming them to the briefing room," Spicer said Tuesday. Skype, owned by Microsoft, is the world's largest video calling service. In announcing the Skype seats on January 23, Spicer said, "I think this can benefit us all by giving a platform to voices that are not necessarily based here in the Beltway." The press secretary told Yahoo News he hoped to make the video conferencing with journalists a daily occurrence. Zimbabwe's central bank has embarked on a program to promote the use of credit and bank debit cards in the rural areas to ease the country's cash shortages that have rocked the southern Africa nation for more than a year. Josephat Mutepfa, a deputy director at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at Cheziya High School in Gokwe, about 300 kilometers southwest of Harare, is urging people in this mainly cotton-growing rural area to use credit and bank debit cards instead of cash all the time. As he later told VOA, promoting the use of such "plastic money" in Zimbabwe has not been easy. I think the topical issue has been the issue of interest on bank accounts," said Mutepfa. "The other issue is: where do we get point of sale? The other issue is mainly, the issue of the unknown. People are not very confident in using new systems. And we also get a lot of questions from the people when we are out here which we take into account in terms of policy direction into the future. He said the program was getting a buy-in from community leaders such as traditional chiefs and church pastors who would convince their subjects to use plastic money. Attempt to alleviate cash crunch Zimbabwe has been facing an acute shortage of cash, forcing some people to sleep in bank lines hoping for better fortunes the following day. An introduction of Zimbabwes own currency called bondnotes, which traded at par with the U.S. dollar in November last year, has not helped the situation. Diana Mugari from Gokwe is among those who say Zimbabwe is not yet ready for the credit and debit cards the central bank is promoting. She insists on cash. In our shops, those with plastic money face discrimination," said Mugari. "Retailers allocate just one teller for those who want to use plastic money and there will be long queues. At times we do not get cash back or they put unreasonable limits on cash backs. That presents a difficult position for some as they would have traveled long distances here in Gokwe to a shop with a point of sale to buy. She urged President Robert Mugabes government to ensure that retailers with point of sale machines take care of those who need cash in rural areas for other transactions that cannot be done electronically. Addressing citizens' concerns Denford Mutashu, the president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers, said his organization was taking note of the concerns being raised by citizens. He said his organizations members had suffered from cash shortages and would want consumers' concerns addressed to adopt the use of plastic money. One of the concerns that came up was the issue of retailers charging a premium price for those using credit and debit cards. It was one topical issue we even got here. We actually thought that rampant in urban areas (only)," said Mutashu. "But you notice that quite a number of consumers here complaining about that. What we do as the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers, the reason why we are here is to engage. If it is bad business practice, we also educate them. Where it requires the necessity to bring in authorities then we have to do that. In Gokwe, Mutepfa said business people taking advantage of the cash problems would be fined as they were causing Zimbabwes financial instability. [February 01, 2017] Confluent Grows Subscriptions by Over 700 Percent in 2016 as Businesses Seize the Power of Real-Time Data Confluent, provider of the only streaming platform based on Apache KafkaTM, today announced record results in 2016 with over 700 percent subscription bookings growth year over year. The increasingly broad adoption of streaming platforms is driving demand for Confluent solutions across a variety of industries, including financial services, healthcare, technology, retail and automotive, among others. As enterprises become fully digital, they are transforming mission-critical infrastructure into streaming platforms to put real-time data at the center of their business. Companies want the ability to create new products, respond to customers and make business decisions in real time. To better serve its fast-growing customer base in Europe, Confluent also opened a new London office. Apache Kafka production deployments accelerated in 2016 and it is now used by one-third of the Fortune 500, including seven of the top 10 global banks, eight of the top 10 insurance companies, nine of the top 10 U.S. telecom companies and six of the top 10 travel companies. "We are seeing incredible demand for streaming platforms and real-time data from customers around the world," said Jay Kreps, co-founder and CEO at Confluent. "The dramatic shift from batch processing to real-time streaming is changing how enterprises do business, and companies that realize the potential of streams can immediately respond to their customers, their supply chain or competitive threats." Founded by the creators of Apache Kafka, the leading open source streaming platform for real-time data pipelines and stream processing applications, Confluent is the top contributor to the project. Confluent provides a distribution of Apache Kafka that adds enterprise and production-scale features and support, all backed by its unique expertise to maximize the impact of deployments across a variety of use cases. "As a leader in online and mobile travel, we process and analyze billions of messages per day," said Ravi Peddinti, Sr. Director Software Engineering at Priceline.com. "Working with the Apache Kafka experts at Confluent gives us the confidence to scale the data pipeline, improving business operations and overall reliability." Company Momentum (News - Alert) and Customer Highlights Confluent saw significant growth in 2016 due to the demand for streaming platforms. Highlights include: Grew subscription bookings by over 700 percent year over year Built a world class leadership team, hiring a CFO, CMO, vice president of sales, vice president of EMEA and a vice president of business development from industry leading companies Nearly tripled the number of employees and opened a European headquarters in London, United Kingdom to support the growing demand for streaming platforms across EMEA Added new customers including Priceline.com, Surescripts, Zopa and TiVo, along with other leading companies across industries in fifteen countries Launched Kafka Summit in San Francisco with over 550 attendees and thirteen sponsors. Due to the event's success, there will be two Kafka Summits in 2017: one in San Francisco and one in New York City Earned recognition as one of the coolest startups of 2016 by CRN and named in the ESG Delta-V Awards for impact on the big data and analytics market Product Innovations In 2016, Confluent released product innovations to make its streaming platform even more robust and enterprise-grade. The company also released capabilities that give organizations more freedom to transition to their desired cloud strategy. Highlights of these innovations include: Announced Confluent Enterprise, which includes Confluent Control Center, the company's first commercial product designed to operate and manage Apache Kafka at scale. Confluent Enterprise also includes multi-datacenter replication and auto data balancing for global scale and uptime, improved performance and greater ease when moving data, regardless of whether it is deployed on premises or in the cloud Grew the list of supported connectors leveraging the Kafka Connect API to over 60, including HDFS, JDBC, Apache Cassandra TM , S3 and Elasticsearch, with more in development and supported from companies in the Apache Kafka community , S3 and Elasticsearch, with more in development and supported from companies in the Apache Kafka community Launched Confluent University, a training program designed to teach developers, operators and administrators how to leverage and manage Kafka within their own organizations, and trained over 1,000 people on Apache Kafka in 2016 Contributed the Kafka Streams API to Apache Kafka, a powerful yet lightweight solution that allows enterprises to build elastic, scalable and secure real-time applications to power their core business. Companies from a variety of industries are already running Streams applications in production to process millions of business events per second Worked with the community to make Apache Kafka one of the most dynamic open source projects with more than 9,000 meetup members, over 1,500 individual code commits in 2016, 49 Kafka Improvement Proposals completed, increased stability with over 200 system tests that run nightly, and over 3,000 unit and integration tests that run before any change is accepted to ensure resiliency and quality Confluent Partner Program The Confluent Partner Program is designed to enable a rapidly growing ecosystem around Kafka and Confluent. The program provides partners with the resources, technical expertise and support to integrate, implement and innovate with Apache Kafka and Confluent. Partner highlights include: Surpassed 100 partners to-date since the program launched in March 2016 and continued to support the growing Apache Kafka ecosystem with connectors and supported services. New technology partners include Attunity, Couchbase, DataStax and Mesosphere, among others, as well as a wide-range of consulting and SI partners, including each of the Big Four consultancies Launched a fully supported Elasticsearch connector using the Kafka Connect API so developers can set up a reliable indexing pipeline; and partnered with DataStax to develop the Certified DataStax Enterprise Connector to easy connect Apache Kafka and Apache Cassandra TM Worked with Couchbase to release the Couchbase Kafka Connector to allow customers to expand their Confluent streaming platform with powerful analytics capabilities. Users can publish data from Couchbase buckets or archive Kafka records into Couchbase by specifying a simple configuration, all while maintaining the document structure that enables modern, data-driven applications Released Docker images for Confluent Open Source (News - Alert) and Confluent Enterprise. The images and documentation reflect best practices observed in the course of working with enterprise customers and a wide range of open source community users run Kafka on Docker at scale Became available and supported on both Mesosphere Enterprise DC/OS (Datacenter Operating System) and the open source DC/OS distribution, making it easy for customers to build and operate stream processing applications using Kafka Supporting Quotes "As part of re-architecting our core transaction processing infrastructure to include modern cluster based persistence technologies leveraging the Hadoop stack, we are working on incorporating streaming utilizing the robust cluster based topic architecture of Kafka. In our mixed world of Java and .NET server side code, Confluent has emerged as a key technical partner for Surescripts in support of our Kafka technology," said Keith Willard, Chief Architect at Surescripts. "Mesosphere DC/OS is the only production-proven platform that lets you quickly install and elastically operate containers and data services across both on-premise and public cloud infrastructure," said Peter Guagenti, chief marketing officer at Mesosphere. "Apache Kafka is incredibly popular among DC/OS users. This partnership brings together the deepest expertise and the best deployment tools to benefit our customers. Confluent and Mesosphere are making it easier than ever to install, deploy, and operate the software across distributed systems and containers." "With the Couchbase Kafka Connector, companies have access to a framework for building scalable and secure stream data pipelines with Apache Kafka and Confluent," said Narayan Sundareswaran, vice president of business development at Couchbase. "Our joint customers are using the connector to build real-time applications for a number of use cases, such as log clickstream analysis, fraud detection and recommendation engines. The Connector also enables developers using Kafka to build powerful, secure and performant IoT solutions and use cases." "With the Elasticsearch Connector, enterprises will have access to streaming data along with Elastic's rich search and analytics capabilities," said Craig Griffin, VP Business Development at Elastic. "By collaborating with Confluent, we're supporting the growing community of users leveraging Kafka and Elastic to power real-time decision making." "With the DataStax Enterprise Connector, our customers can easily capitalize on the value of Confluent's platform," said Kathryn Erickson, Head of Technology Partner Development at DataStax. "By working with Confluent, a leader in streaming technology, we are enabling our customers to fully realize the potential of real-time data." "With Confluent and Apache Kafka, enterprises can scale their big data architectures more efficiently," said Itamar Ankorion, chief marketing officer at Attunity. "Attunity Replicate enables customers to stream high-volume source data with real-time changes from many enterprise databases, such as Oracle (News - Alert), DB2 and SAP, into Kafka, making data lake initiatives and big data analytics easier than ever before." About Confluent Confluent, founded by the creators of open source Apache KafkaTM, provides the only streaming platform that enables enterprises to maximize the value of data. Confluent Enterprise lets leaders in industries such as retail, logistics, manufacturing, financial services, technology and media, move data from isolated systems into a real-time data pipeline where they can act on it immediately. Backed by Benchmark, Data Collective, Index Ventures and LinkedIn (News - Alert), Confluent is based in Palo Alto, California. To learn more, please visit www.confluent.io. Download Apache Kafka and Confluent Open Source at www.confluent.io/download. Connect with Confluent Read our blog: www.confluent.io/blog Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert): www.twitter.com/ConfluentInc Confluent, Inc. 2014-2017. All rights reserved. Apache, Apache Kafka and Kafka are trademarks of the Apache Software Foundation. All other marks used are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005431/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Pastor Evan Mawarire of #ThisFlag has been arrested at the Harare International Airport. Mawarire surprisingly returned to Zimbabwe where he fled following public protests on the deteriorating social and economic situation in the country. He spearheaded the protests in conjunction with Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign, another protest movement comprising various organizations. According to his close associates, Mawarire was picked up by the police. His lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, and police confirmed that the minister of religion was locked up at the Law and Order Section at Harare Police Station for skipping bail. He has been living in USA since he left the southern African nation a couple of months ago. Attorney, Doug Coltart, who lives in America said, Pastor Evan Mawarire was arrested at Harare International Airport upon his arrival in the country from South Africa this afternoon. He was taken into a room for questioning and was then transferred to the Law and Order section of Harare Central Police station in the back of a police truck. His lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, followed closely behind the vehicle. He is reportedly being charged with Section 22 of the Criminal Code (subverting a constitutionally elected government) which is the same charge in the matter that was thrown out by the Magistrate's Court in July 2016. Section 22 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act stipulates that it is a criminal offence to subvert a constitutionally-elected government by engaging in various activities that are viewed by the state as attempt to remove the government by physical force or violence, threats of boycotts, civil disobedience or resistance to any law. Any person who, whether inside or outside Zimbabwe (a) organizes or sets up, or advocates, urges or suggests the organization or setting up of, any group or body with a view to that group or body (i) overthrowing or attempting to overthrow the Government by unconstitutional means; or (ii) taking over or attempting to take over the Government by unconstitutional means or usurping the functions of the Government; or (iii) coercing or attempting to coerce the Government; or (b) supports or assists any group or body in doing or attempting to do any of the things described in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (a); shall be guilty of subverting constitutional government and liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years without the option of a fine. These are the same charges Mawarire faced which were dropped before he left Zimbabwe. He is expected to appear in court Thursday. Unite the Union Condemns President Trumps Travel Ban Unite the Union in Gibraltar says it stands in solidarity with all immigrants and condemns President Trumps racist and xenophobic action. "The travel ban implemented on specific Muslim countries goes against human rights and our humanitarian values are at stake." a spokesman for the Union said. "It is shameful that in this day and age a modern country adopts such discriminatory and fascist action. People should not be discriminated on faith, race, Nationality or Religion and we must remind the world that humanity is better than this. On the contrary of what President Trump might think refugees are not terrorists, they are human beings fleeing their homes due to war and despair." "Unite finds the lack of condemnation from the UK Government and Theresa Mays complicity to Donald Trumps travel ban disgraceful and question their own moralities. The fact that the US Presidents visit to the UK has not been stopped says a lot about the respect the UK Government has to its own citizens especially the Muslim community. We urge people to sign the petition which requests for the visit from the US President to be stopped. We praise the actions around the world of the thousands that have manifested and voiced their opinion against such inhumane act and we encourage a global movement against these policies. We must not be complacent; we must not stay silent and think this has nothing to do with us. Gibraltar although small in size has always raised its voice and stood up for injustices, it is therefore time for us to join the world and speak out. As Martin Luther King said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Gibraltar Participates At Berlin Money Show Gibraltar will once again this year be participating in the Berlin Money Show. This is the 46th World Money Fair to be held in Berlin and the 4th year that Minister Joe Bossano and Albert Poggio will be representing Gibraltar in this Forum. The Berlin show is the biggest annual event in which the national mints participate and it also involves wholesalers, retailers and collectors of coins and currency. The Minister will be attending the Guest of Honour Dinner on the 4th February and he will address the Forum on the 3rd. The theme of the address is The Historical Significance for New Circulating Coins for Gibraltar 2017 and the Queens 90th Birthday Collection. The new circulating coins and a commemorative issue will be launched this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum which is now celebrated as Gibraltars National Day. He will also launch the issue of a new coin by the National Mint on the Bicentenary of the Modern Sovereign which is being marketed by Samlerhuset, one of the biggest names in the world of coinage in Europe. There are a number of prearranged meetings with different participants to discuss potential areas of business in which the National Mint could have a role. As on previous occasions the promotion of our products also gives rise to enquiries from potential partners as our presence in this market is relatively new. This year the Gibraltar National Mint is sharing its stand with Tower Mint and the Commonwealth Mint, both of whom have a close connection to Gibraltar. However as in previous years the National Mint stand will continue to be manned by treasury staff. The stand showcases our coins and currency and also has sets available for sale. Photo: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images The founder and CEO of Bandcamp today joined many American business leaders including ones from Coca-Cola, Chobani, and Starbucks in speaking up against President Trumps immigration and travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim nations. Ethan Diamond promised in a newsletter that his company, a digital streaming and sales platform for music, would donate 100 percent of our share of the proceeds made off of sales this Friday, February 3, to the American Civil Liberties Union. In his letter, Diamond highlighted several music acts featured on Bandcamp that hail from areas affected by both the ban and President Trumps proposed southern border wall. We believe that knowledge and empathy are crucial weapons against fear and intolerance, Diamond wrote, encouraging readers to support musicians from Mexico and the seven banned nations: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia. Rachel Bloom. Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Not only will Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom write songs that are ultimately deemed too dirty to air on her own show, but shell also chip in to help write (presumably not too dirty) songs for fellow CW friends. BuzzFeed reports that Bloom has penned an original song for the upcoming musical crossover episode of The Flash and Supergirl. Bloom was so besotted by the two superhero series doing a musical outing that she immediately reached out to the CWs president to write a song, and was soon pitching ideas to the series executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg. The tune, which Bloom wrote with the help of her old Robot Chicken boss Tom Root, is dubbed Superfriends and will be performed by Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist. I am so excited to contribute more to the upward trend that is musicals in television and film. Music can be one of the most amazing and efficient forms of storytelling and character development, Bloom said in a statement. Also, it was really fun to write a comedy song for two superheroes. Blooms song will appear in the second of two crossover episodes the shows will be doing its a Flash episode and it will air on March 21. This Account has been suspended. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a very sad day here at the Real Housewives Institute. It appears that Kyle Renee Richards (I made up that middle name) has stopped hosting White Parties. This seems ironic (dont you think?) considering that a nationalistic zeal has taken root in our country that would make a White Party seems apropos. Maybe its a little too on the nose. Personally, I would like to throw a Joan Crawford-themed Planned Parenthood benefit called Wire Hanger. Please email your local congressmember if youd like to attend. Anyway, Kyle is not throwing a White Party this year because she must continue the infomercial that is Mauricios property listing in Malibu by throwing a Gatsby party in the backyard. She even plans it while wearing a The Agency ball cap because Maurice (Ive taken to calling him Maurice, like Kim Richards does) isnt around to do it for her, and The Agency, as the Skinny Girl of Beverly Hills, needed a little bit more branding. Also, we would like to congratulate Kyle for trading in the worlds most hackneyed party theme for what is surely the worlds third-most hackneyed party theme. (The second is a Pimps and Hos party, which considering the attendees at Kyles party they sure nailed the second one.) Before we can get to Kyles party, Lisa Rinna decides to show all the ladies how to actually throw a barbecue. After Kyles catered barbecue and everyone wearing gowns to Erikas Hot Dogs and Buns-themed sausage party, it seems like no one knows how to do some down-home cooking like Lisar and Harry Hamlin, the Master of the Meat. As someone points out, however, its still a pretty ritzy affair, especially considering the view of the Hills o Beverly from Lisars backyard. There are two things about the barbecue that I absolutely loved. The first is that, one summer, Harry Hamlin and Cindy Crawford were apparently in a Canadian pie-baking contest where they tried to outdo each other in some Aunt Bea kinda way. Celebrities: Theyre absolutely nothing like us because I have never heard of something this insane ever in my life and I started the Real Housewives Institute a decade ago! Secondly, the housekeeper has to go out into the garage to find flour. Why does Lisar have flour in her garage? Is this anything like Sonja Tremont Morgan, of the King Arthur Flour Morgans, having like eight bottles of Wesson Oil in her basement? Why are these women hoarding food? Are they secretly trying to get cast on Doomsday Preppers? But what I love more than both of those things is how much Lisars daughters Delilah and The Other One love Erika Jayne. They came down from being moody in their bedrooms just to say hi to her and tell her how much they want to be like her when they grow up. They even invited their best baby gay (they sprout so young these days!) so that he could shake her hand and they could all stand there awkwardly not knowing what to say in front of their idol. Also, Delilah looks amazing wearing that 70s crocheted tube top that makes her look like she just came from the set of The Girls adaptation coming to Lifetime this spring. (I also made that up.) The thing that I hated about the barbecue was Eden Sassoon. Ugh, Eden. No one has ever done Dorit a favor like Eden, because Dorit is no longer the thing I like least about the show. I even had a little micro-flash of liking Dorit when she was working with the trainer and was like, I want a toned body, but I dont want to do all the work. Amen, sister. Ive been saying that my whole Bugles-inhaling life. Dorit is also smart enough to tell Eden to either not bring up her drama with Kim and Kyle or to address it with Kyle so shes not talking behind her back. I wish Eden hadnt brought it up. To her credit, it does come up organically in the conversation, but thats because Eileen and St. Camille are telling Kyle how good they think that Kim is doing. Then Eden is like, Well, I dont want to share this with you, but here is how Im feeling. She then tells Kyle that she thinks Kim was very rude to her. Kyle asks for specifics and Eden tells her she just got a vibe. That is the problem with the whole Eden thing. No one has done anything to her. Neither Kim nor Kyle has said or done anything to give her the impression that they dont like her; she just has a feeling. Well, sister, if feelings were gold, I would turn into Trump Tower every time I see Tyler Hoechlin in his Superman costume because he gives me all the feelings all over my body. Im sorry, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah. Eden. Yes, so Kyle cant say if there is anything wrong with Kim because Eden cant give her anything concrete that shes reacting to. As Kyle tells Eden, shes probably just reading way too much into it. Duh, ya think? Eden thinks that sobriety is her way into their dynamic, but maybe she just needs to hang out with them and learn more about them as people and work up to the whole sobriety issue. This is especially true with Kyle, who must be sick and tired of talking about and defending her sister with these women, especially one that she just met. After everyone gets up and walks away from this conversation because of a potent sense of secondhand embarrassment and becauses Lisars dog literally comes over and poops on the conversation Eden still thinks it is a good idea to bring it up with Kyle and Kim at the Gatsby party. Kim shows up in some Frankenstein wedges and one of the 19 faux fur vests from Brandi Glanvilles oversized collection, so she already has enough problems without Eden coming over and pestering them. Eden tells them that she sees her and her sisters relationship in them and she wants to help. The problem is, neither of them want her help. They dont know her, she has been nothing but weird around them, and their messed-up dynamic is finally at a decent place after a couple of years of not talking. They need Eden like Kim needs to rob another Target. I just want Kim and Kyle to know that Im there for them, Eden says. Oh, they know. We all know. The problem isnt that they dont know. The problem is that she is there too damn much. You know how she brought Lisar a bottle of Love? Well, maybe the Sisters Richards need to give Eden a bottle of chill. Finally Eden decides to leave it all alone, but even still she cant help but bring it up to Lisa Vanderpump, freshly recovered from a mysterious vacation away from the women. Lisa tells her, We got off on the right foot, but Ill put that other foot up your ass if you come after my girl Kyle. That is the only GIF that I ever want to see ever again on all of the internet. Okay, maybe Latrice Royale saying Making them eat it, can come up like once a year, but other than that, only Lisa V. How long do you think she had that line on the shelf? How many limo rides on the way to these parties did she think, Okay, tonights the night for the debut of my signature line? How many nights did she not see the opportunity and just have to wait? How many nights did she ride home, her psyche torn and tattered by some other run-in with all of these screech harpies, with Ken drooling slightly on his suit jacket with his hand on her leg, did she feel like she missed an opportunity? How many silent rides did she think up all of these lines, all of these motions, practicing them while staring at her reflection in the window? She would never mouth the words, but she would invent scenarios and close them with the perfect little bon mot that wouldnt seemed rehearsed at all. She would file them all away in the notecards of her mind, just waiting to reach into her memory palace and touche her opponent with one of them. One day, this will work, she thought to herself, smiling as she touched the cool glass of the window with her pink-flecked fingertips, as the hills rolled by like a great black steed, galloping into the distance. Mudbound. Photo: Steve Dietl/Sundance Film Festival There were two unavoidable presences at Sundance this year. The first was snow, of which there were many feet, on the ground and falling from the sky nearly every day of the festival. But the second was nearly as ubiquitous, and certainly more of a welcome presence if you were trying to sell a movie. That was Netflix, which spent the festival snatching up movies left and right. The streaming giant left such a big footprint that its worth asking: Is this the new normal? Since releasing Cary Fukunagas Beasts of No Nation in 2015, Netflix has been attempting to become a bigger player in the film business. Last years Sundance saw both Netflix and Amazon barging into independent-movie distribution in a big way. The two teams led the field in number of acquisitions, and while Amazon made the major move with its purchase of Kenneth Lonergans Manchester by the Sea, for $10 million which fully delivered on its promise by earning the first Best Picture nomination for a streaming service Netflix attempted a similar play, offering $20 million for Nate Parkers The Birth of a Nation. That film would sell instead to Fox Searchlight for the lower, but still historic, price of $17.5 million, partly because Parker wanted to ensure a major theatrical release. Of course, we all know how that turned out. Its strange that Netflix should be so lucky in addition to having so much money, but there you have it: Life isnt fair, and well never know how Netflix mightve handled The Birth of a Nation differently from the way Fox Searchlight did. While none of its purchases at the festival really moved the needle when they eventually did hit streaming including Tallulah and The Fundamentals of Caring, which went for a combined $12 million Netflixs film division was also in a much different place at the time, still less than a year removed from its first release and with plenty of projects in development, but little to show for it. Sundance 2016 was a warm-up, and Sundance 2017 was the main event or the first main event of many. At this years festival, things were different from the word go. Netflix wasnt just in Park City to buy: It was making a full show of force, starting with the first movie in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. That film was I Dont Feel at Home in This World Anymore, the writing and directing debut of actor Macon Blair; Blair had pitched Netflix on the concept at Sundance 2016, and they financed the movie from the ground up. It wouldve been striking enough that Netflix had opened the festival, but when all was said and done, I Dont Feel at Home in This World Anymore wound up taking home the festivals Grand Jury Prize. While that award doesnt necessarily indicate a films prospects outside Park City one way or another of the last six Grand Jury Prize winners, two were Best Picture nominees (Beasts of the Southern Wild and Whiplash), two were indie hits (Like Crazy and Fruitvale Station), and two were flops (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and The Birth of a Nation) it indicates the degree to which Netflix managed to capture the spirit of the week, starting from the first day and ending with the last big sale. On Sunday, Netflix managed to get Mudbound, the Dee Rees civil-rights epic that was easily one of the festivals most-talked-about films. The price it paid, $12.5 million, even had the added benefit, at least in arms-race terms, of edging out Amazons $12 million purchase of The Big Sick to become the biggest sale at Sundance this year. If Manchester by the Sea was Amazons clear play to enter the awards-season race, then Mudbound is Netflixs, and the company beat out the likes of A24 and Annapurna to win the film. The question now remains how Netflix will choose to distribute it theatrically; Amazon achieved much of its success with Manchester, as well as fellow breakout Love & Friendship, by partnering with Roadside Attractions and respecting the traditional theatrical-release window before adding it to streaming. Chances are, for Mudbound, Netflix will probably break with its past tendency to debut its films on streaming at the same time they hit theaters, if in fact they hit theaters at all; as the Playlists Gregory Ellwood has argued, the risks of foregoing a wide theatrical release are too great for any film that truly wants to play for Oscars. But even with the impact that I Dont Feel at Home in This World Anymore and Mudbound made, they still represent just a fraction of Netflixs share of the festival. In addition to the other films that the company developed in-house and brought to the festival, including Charlie McDowells sci-fi mortality trip The Discovery and Deirdra & Laney Rob a Train, they also bought at least partial rights to another nine movies, by Indiewires count, including $8 million for Marti Noxons To the Bone. (The next-most-prolific buyer? Amazon, with four.) Oh, and lets not forget that 13th, Ava Duvernays Netflix Original documentary, got its own Oscar nomination while the festival was going on. So what was left for everyone else? Amazon did just fine, nabbing the aforementioned The Big Sick, definitely the film most people recommended to me in Park City; Gillian Robespierres Obvious Child follow-up Landline; the Keith Stanfieldstarring true-life tale of injustice Crown Heights; and Grateful Dead doc Long Strange Trip. Fox Searchlight made the biggest non-streaming play of the fest, dishing out $9.5 million for fan favorite Patti Cake$. Rookie distributor Neon got three well-liked titles, Ingrid Goes West, Beach Rats, and Roxanne Roxanne, fleshing out the slate it had begun assembling out of Toronto with the bonkers Anne Hathaway monster movie Colossal, which also played at the fest. And Sony Pictures Classics, which had purchased Call Me by Your Name earlier in January, was rewarded when the movie attracted early Oscar buzz on the heels of its rapturous reception. (SPC also picked up nun drama Novitiate and the eccentric Brigsby Bear.) That leaves out a few major players. While A24 saw its pre-fest purchase A Ghost Story heaped with praise (and plenty of discussion of pie), the hottest indie in town didnt come away with any new titles. Part of that may have to do with how crowded its 2017 schedule is, but you can almost certainly also credit that decision to the way that Amazon and Netflix have driven up the cost of festival shopping; for an outfit like A24, which had such great success developing Moonlight in-house, such a start-to-finish approach might be seeming increasingly alluring. And Megan Ellisons Annapurna, making its first steps into the distribution game, also left empty-handed, though again, they had no need to spend any money they didnt want to, having a robust financing operation already. Because thats the thing: Netflix and Amazon are in a different business from the rest of the indie distributors. Most of those companies make their money on revenue streams that stem directly from the movies they release; Netflix and Amazon do not. The calculus by which they must decide whether or not to buy a movie at a film festival is its own kind of math. Prolific spending isnt just less potentially harmful down the road it also pays more immediate dividends. With every new deal it makes, and each new movie it screens, Netflixs presence on the independent film scene only grows. There were winners and losers at Sundance 2017, but who was which will only become clear with a year or mores hindsight. But there was only one company that seemed more concerned with trying to possess the festival outright and that was Netflix. Photo: Cate Cameron/Cate Cameron/Colossal In the new movie Colossal (out April 7, and just announced as part of the lineup for South by Southwest), Anne Hathaway already has enough on her plate to deal with including a breakup and a humbling return to her hometown before she discovers one last, fairly significant thing: Shes also a monster. Or, to be more specific, Hathaway can inadvertently manifest a monster simply by stumbling across a childrens sandbox near her home, at which point this gigantic Groot-beast will appear in South Korea, mimicking her every moment. But how do you prove a power this far-fetched to a group of skeptical friends, including Jason Sudeikis and Tim Blake Nelson? Simple: You dance. Below, use a special slider to switch between Hathaways Ill-prove-it-to-you boogie and the Hatha-monsters replicated dance moves a continent away, and marvel that a movie could contain something this delightfully odd, as well as much, much more. Jon Stewart arrived in the latest menswear fashion inspired by President Trump (too-long tie, dead animal on head), when he dropped by The Late Show to commiserate with Stephen Colbert over the presidents most recent executive orders. It has been 11 days, Stephen. Eleven fing days, Stewart said, before revealing that he had Trumps next executive orders. Pulling a prop decree from behind Colberts desk, Stewart read the commander-in-chiefs next order: To secure our border, China shall immediately and without hesitation send us their wall. Done. Boom. Since Trump has been quite good at keeping his campaign promises, this idea also includes a solution for how to convince Mexico to pay for the wall: When the wall arrives at the southern border, we shut the lights, we pretend were not home. Its C.O.D., Mexico has to pay for it. Boom they pay for it. Done. This being the president who signed 20 executive orders in ten days, theres more where that came from. Thank god. Photo: nickiminaj/Instagram In what may be the years only sign that peace can prevail, it appears that Drake and Nicki Minaj are friends again. Making their reunion Instagram official, Nicki and Drake both posted photos of themselves hanging out together like a pair of old pals who would never let an ex temporarily wreck their friendship. Its the first time Drake and Nicki have publicly acknowledged each other since the two had an apparent falling out over the never-ending feud that was Drake versus her ex-boyfriend Meek Mill. (Except that one time Nicki said theyre grown-ass men who need to get over it.) Now that Nicki and Meek are kaput, unity has been restored in the Young Money empire. Drake and Nickis truce was reportedly orchestrated by label head and mediator Mack Maine, who brought the family back together last month (Lil Wayne included) for a peace summit in Miami. This is all an obvious cover for the real story here, which is that Drake re-listened to one of his old songs, got down on his knees, and groveled, quoting himself: Ill compromise if I have to, I gotta stay with the family / Not even talkin to Nicki, communication is breakin / I dropped the ball on some personal shit, I need to embrace it. Amen. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images This winter has brought a selection of great films that powerfully and painfully reflect the black experience in Barry Jenkinss Moonlight, a tender and aching coming-of-age story that portrays blackness, queerness, and masculinity in a way rarely seen on the screen, and Ava DuVernays 13th, a heartbreaking documentary that sheds light on mass incarceration as a form of modern-day slavery. February 3 sees the release of another crucial film, Raoul Pecks Oscar-nominated I Am Not Your Negro. The documentary, ten years in the making, creates visual poetry out of James Baldwins unfinished manuscript Remember This House, a text that rings eerily true almost 40 years later. The Haitian-born Peck eschews documentary conventions: There are no talking heads, only Baldwin, in archival footage and excerpts from the manuscript voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. The actor carries the heavy weight of Baldwins words sometimes fiery, often weary as he examines the civil-rights movement, the intersection of race and class, and the lives and deaths of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers. In our current political climate, its a film that demands to be seen. Just a month before the Oscars and a week before the inauguration, I sat down with Raoul Peck to discuss what Baldwin means to him, the importance of the class struggle in the fight for racial justice, and why he put Kendrick Lamar over the end credits. Theres so much to unpack with James Baldwins words, I need to see this film again. Its a very rich film with many layers. When you see it again, you almost see a different film. Its a really personal experience. Did you find it complicated to take the text and make it into a film because of all those layers? At first, it was the impossible project. I knew what I felt and why it was strong. I asked, How do I make the film? I had to go as far as I could artistically not only in terms of content, but also form. I had to make sure that I push the limits. And I had access to everything, which is unprecedented. I knew I better make something thats really original and different. Its like composing a symphony with many layers. My job was to make sure it was musical. So you brought in Samuel L. Jackson. I actually didnt realize he was narrating until the end credits. Some critics say its his best film. [Laughs.] Hes so understated here. He is a great actor, somebody that can take a text and create a character. I said, I dont want a narrator. What I need is a character. So you are the voice, you are the words. And every word has to be truthful and emotionally felt. Hes not just reading a sentence; hes feeling a sentence. Even the silences are full of tension. Do you know how much James Baldwins work meant to him beforehand? He probably read Baldwin. The text is so powerful, and thats why you feel like you want to listen to it again. Its a very strong philosophical, poetic, political text. You can quote all Baldwin all day. Baldwin doesnt really give you an easy black or white answer. You face the reality, whether its hopeful or hopeless. Whats your alternative? To lie down and die? Sometimes people ask me, are you an optimist or a pessimist? It doesnt matter. Whether I have a future or not is for me to decide. Do you intend to do something or not? But now you cant pretend it doesnt exist. Thats what the film does to you. After seeing the film, you cant say, Oh, I didnt know, is it that bad? That rings especially true under Trumps presidency. What do you hope your viewers will take away from this film? I feel like I did my duty, now its on the table. I think every citizen of this country should watch the film, or read Baldwin and get a grip on his life. I give you the tools for that. But I cant do the job for you. I refuse to make films where the audience comes for consumption. I make films where you know you are also part of the process. You bring something, and you will get at least as much from the film. If there is one thing, I would say I hope Baldwin will be taught in school and that people will pay attention to his work. This film took ten years to make. Did you feel it become increasingly more relevant, and did that put pressure to release it sooner? My impulse to make this film was already provoked by what I saw happening in this country and around the world. The civil-rights movement had done its part we have laws and institutions, and we even have Black History Month but does it really change the state of the people mentally? Does it change the fact that black families are more subject to abuse, to be killed, to lose their jobs? Does that change the distribution between the rich and the poor in this country? No. So I knew that the film was necessary, that Baldwin was necessary, and the book he wanted to write was exactly about that: the connection between Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., and how they were getting closer together. They were killed because they were starting to address the class situation. They understood the race situation is just one level of the same disease, which is the class separation the rich becoming richer and the poor poorer. When you read or listen to the last speeches of Martin Luther King, they had a totally different tone. He was talking about changing this country from the ground up. The next big march to Washington was a march against poverty. Thats when the system got scared, and they made sure that he would pay the price. Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter became a movement while you were making the film. Exactly. I didnt know that I would use Ferguson, but when you feel that there is a historical movement and Ferguson was historical I knew I needed that. The only difference is we started filming these killings and seeing them in the media and social media. Cops didnt start killing black people just five years ago. This is an ongoing situation. They have killed the whole leadership of the Black Panthers. Its nothing new. So when you want to make a film, you better be sure that its still gonna be important when you finish it. Hollywood has had diversity issues, and this past year feels monumental, almost reactionary to last years #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Do you feel skeptical of all this diversity praise? Last year, people reacted to the fact that there were no black or minority films in the Academy. This year its the contrary, but that cannot hide the fact that its a fundamental problem, which is that minorities are not in the position to green-light such films. We still depend on the generosity of a middle-aged white guy who barely knows anything about the rest of the world to makes these decisions. You know, you have to discuss for half an hour who Baldwin is and why he is important. As long as this is the situation, nothing will change. Its a structural problem. How do you think minority filmmakers should keep pushing the conversation? Well, the ones that are already in the system have no choice but to keep fighting and making films so that others can also come up onboard. Its everyones responsibility, particularly those with power. Like Baldwin says, white is a metaphor for power. We just decided this color is power, but it doesnt mean it has to be like this forever. So we have to challenge this power, this notion of whiteness, and change it. I noticed you used Kendrick Lamar in the end credits, as does Moonlight. Why that choice? I think that he is one of the most interesting voices right now. I have been skeptical, sometimes, about the importance of rap music, which I think is a capitalistic project to make money. Kendrick is a very particular poet, and what he says makes a lot of sense to me. He is strong; he has a very wise way of seeing the world around him. And I like his music, and I thought it was a perfect circle of this present generation, the voice that is following Baldwin, and a certain tradition of resistance and art and speaking up. And I was looking for a similar voice from today and wanted to address the younger generation [and tell them] its also your fight, you have to be a part of this. So the choice was evident for me. This interview has been edited and condensed. The Martin Museum of Art in Baylor Universitys Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center will host a reception with artists Sherry Owens and Sharon Kopriva from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday. Their work is featured in the museum exhibit A Confluence of Earth and Mind. For more information, visit www.baylor.edu/martinmuseum. Free tax prep The AARP Tax-Aide program will offer these free tax preparation services: Noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through April 18 at NeighborWorks Waco, 922 Franklin Ave. Call 752-1647. Noon to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through April 17 in Cclassroom 6 of the F.M. and Gloria Young Tower at Providence Hospital, 6901 Medical Parkway. Call 751-4000, ext. 2666. Noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through April 18 at First Baptist Church of Hewitt, 301 S. First St. in Hewitt. Call 666-2741. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays through April 13 at First United Methodist Church of Fairfield, 201 N. Mount St. in Fairfield. Call 903-389-2225. Submit items for Briefly in printed or typed form to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588; fax to 757-0302; or email to goingson@wacotrib.com. A legal service for low-income residents that incubated under the wings of Mission Waco is striking out on its own. Greater Waco Legal Services kicks off this week as an independent nonprofit organization, headed by attorney Kent McKeever, who started Mission Waco Legal Services in 2012. I think it opens new doors for us to really strategically structure ourselves for growth, McKeever said. Our mission is the same: to provide compassionate, affordable legal services for our community. As the sole attorney on staff at Mission Waco Legal Services, McKeever counseled low- to moderate-income clients on civil issues including rental disputes, wills and employment disputes, as well as immigration law, which accounted for about half of his caseload. In 2016, he assisted about 200 people directly, with another 200 coming to monthly legal advice clinics staffed by volunteers. McKeever said he is grateful to Mission Waco for helping get the legal ministry off the ground, but he thinks an independent organization will allow more focus on legal issues. He has raised his own money for the legal ministry and will continue to raise funds along with a newly constituted board of directors. McKeever said he hopes to add staff and build capacity to help more clients. The services are available to clients on a sliding fee scale to ensure they are affordable. What we hope to do in our strategic plan is to take steps toward hiring more full-time attorneys and support staff and expand into other legal areas, he said. Theres a lot of need for family law. McKeever, who has worked out of the Meyer Center at 1226 Washington Ave., is moving this week to temporary quarters at Waco Community Development, 1624 Colcord Ave. He said he is scouting permanent space, possibly on Elm Avenue. Mission Waco executive director Jimmy Dorrell said the new venture has his blessing, and he hopes to continue working with McKeever. Years ago, we talked about how the day would come when this would become too big for us to maintain, Dorrell said. Dorrell said he hopes to continue to somehow offer legal counseling, if only on a part-time or volunteer basis, to Meyer Center clients who have urgent legal needs. Two McLennan County Sheriffs Office deputies who started their careers in 1986 are planning to end their law enforcement tenure together, each marking 30 years of service in McLennan County. When I say a career in law enforcement is a calling, I really mean it is a calling, McLennan County Sheriffs Office Capt. Bubba Colyer said. I think we both feel that way. That this is something we were meant to do. Colyer, a 25-year veteran at the McLennan County Sheriffs Office, and Lt. Johnny Spillman, a 30-year veteran, publicly announced their retirement late last week in anticipation of their final day April 30. With careers spanning three decades, both law enforcement officials say they plan to spend more time with their families, take some time to decompress and see what other opportunities may be available. Everyone here does everything that they can do to protect the citizens of McLennan County, but right now, I think we both are feeling that this is the right time, Spillman said. Colyer said he has been honored to serve the county. To me, 30 years is a pinnacle, and I feel very honored to be in the positions Ive been in, and I know Johnny feels the same way, but we just wanted to go out on a high note, he said. Sheriff Parnell McNamara, who has worked with both officers since his time as a U.S. marshal, said he wishes both Criminal Investigation Division administrators well but is sad to see them leave the office. I am not letting them leave. I wish they were not leaving, McNamara said. Both Johnny and Bubba have done a phenomenal job for our sheriffs office and with our sheriffs office, so I really hate to see them go. It definitely is going to be a big void. Lengthy careers Both Colyer and Spillman started working at the McLennan County Jail in 1986 and graduated the law enforcement academy about two weeks apart. They worked as beat partners and in neighboring county districts before Colyer took a five-year break from the sheriffs office, starting in 2007, to act as Lorena police chief. Shortly thereafter, he started work as a lieutenant for McGregor police before making his way back to the sheriffs office in 2012. When Sheriff McNamara took over as sheriff, he offered me the captains position over CID (Criminal Investigation Division), Colyer said. We were talking about who would make a good lieutenant, and we both agreed on bringing Johnny back to CID. For the past several years, the two lawmen have worked as CID administrators, leading to an arrest in every homicide case in McLennan Countys jurisdiction. Overseeing 10 investigators, five mental health deputies, several civilian employees and working with Heart of Texas Region Mental Health Mental Retardation Center, both men said they are proud of what they have accomplished and think the department will be in good hands. They do everything that they can do, and we do everything that we can do to protect the civilians of McLennan County, but its just getting to be that time, Spillman said. McNamara said no immediate plans have been made to replace Colyer or Spillman. At last count, the 85th Texas Legislature will take up 14 bills designed to strip away reproductive rights from Texas women. The most insidious of these bills is the companion legislation SB25 and HB434 the Wrongful Birth Acts. The Legislature imposed a 20-week abortion ban in 2013. However, it is around the 20th week that fetal testing can truly determine the health of the pregnancy and discover if a pregnancy has gone horribly wrong. Choices for families at this stage are heartbreaking, and the Legislature, even more tragically, has determined it must get in the middle of this intensely personal decision. State lawmakers acknowledge with the wrongful birth bill that the outcome of a forced birth can result in the death of the mother and/or the birth of a seriously disabled child against the familys wishes. They are thus choosing to protect themselves from accountability in their responsibility for that outcome. To add to the injury is House Bill 87, which removes the fetal-anomaly exception to the 20-week ban, forcing women to carry nonviable pregnancies to term. SB406, HB201 and SB258 legislate fetal remains. These range from requiring death certificates for abortions to disposition of embryos and fetuses. The laws would compel women to pay for the cost of disposition and release their identity to agencies to cover costs of disposition if they cannot afford it. The privacy of women and their families is at risk. These intrusions into private medical choices of the woman and her family are extreme and heartless. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott actually had the Department of State Health Services implement this rule in late 2016 and it immediately landed in court, where a judge issued an injunction pending his ruling, resulting in yet another legal bill for Texas taxpayers. House Bill 844 and Senate Bill 415 purport to require what method doctors must use in performing abortions past the 20-week mark basically another late-term abortion ban. SB8 legislates the doctors procedures but also restricts clinic patients from donating the remains to research facilities. Ladies, get out your crystal ball and your wallet: SB20 requires that you buy supplemental health insurance if you think you might ever need to have an abortion. This bill prohibits coverage of abortions from any insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Human trafficking is a problem, and abortion-clinic health providers are trained to be watchful for signs that their clients might be victims of such trafficking. HB612 requires additional paperwork for the clinics and clients to complete yet more regulatory paperwork from a state that claims to be in favor of limited government. Clinics already report abuse to state agencies if they suspect a client is being coerced into having an abortion, and they would never perform the abortion if the woman doesnt explicitly agree to it. The bill also has some confusing language about informing the minor womans family of her situation. Finally, HB612 says it is OK to inform the woman of agencies that will help her carry the pregnancy to term, but it is against the law to refer her to abortion providers or give her any information that the choice to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is available. Need more regulations from the party that says we already have too much regulation? Meet House Bill 144 from annual to monthly reporting by abortion providers. Do gastrointestinal doctors have to provide monthly reports? A first-trimester abortion is three times safer than a colonoscopy. Oh, the result of death from an illegal abortion has been estimated at 700 times that of a legal abortion. Finally, Republicans go for their golden apple a total ban on abortions with SJR9 and HB948. SJR9 proposes a constitutional amendment giving fetuses the same rights as adults, while HB948 prohibits abortion from the moment of fertilization. HB948 would ban many forms of birth control and offer criminal prosecution for women who have abortions and doctors who perform them. These bills are designed to get Republicans another shot at reversing Roe v. Wade. Notwithstanding the constitutional rights of women, the legal fees alone would be staggering. Call your legislators to let them know this is money and time that could be better used for education or keeping children in the states care safe. Cheryl Foster is a business consultant in Waco. She has accounting and finance degrees from Texas A&M University and a masters in National Security Studies from American Military University. She is a volunteer with Planned Parenthood. Betsy DeVos, President Trumps nominee for U.S. secretary of education, would not be my candidate for that job. She is too optimistic about private school vouchers as a way to help disadvantaged children and seems ignorant of the congenital flaws of for-profit charter schools. But some of the negative reactions to DeVos, particularly the criticism of her never having attended a public school, are irritating. Suggesting that a private school education means you cant understand and support public schools is lazy thinking. The false image of out-of-touch private schools ignores the creative strength of our nations diverse approach to teaching children. DeVos acquired her primary and secondary education in the Holland Christian Schools of her hometown in Holland, Michigan. She graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a school that has a partnership with the Christian Reformed Church. You might argue that an exclusively nonpublic education is one reason she has been so critical of public schools until you consider the educational background of another prominent American who seems to be the opposite of DeVos in nearly all respects. That would be former President Barack Obama. Like DeVos, Obama never attended an American public school. His primary school education included two years at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School and a year and a half at the Besuki public school, both in Jakarta, Indonesia. He received much instruction in English there from his mother. He then transferred to the exclusive Punahou School in Honolulu, where he had a scholarship. He subsequently attended Occidental College, Columbia University and Harvard Law School, all private. Yet Obama has been an outspoken champion of public schools. Private school doesnt have to make you a snob. Catholic-educated teachers are among the best I have ever encountered in public high schools. To them, teaching is not just a job; its a mission. Many other privately educated teachers have done great work in public schools. Dave Levin attended Collegiate and Riverdale, New York City private schools and Yale University. Yet he and his friend Mike Feinberg became star inner-city public school teachers and founded KIPP, the largest and one of the most successful nonprofit charter school networks. DeVos could still develop an appreciation of the great work being done in urban public schools rather than call them a dead end, as she has done. But she has a long way to go. Like many supporters of tax-funded private school vouchers for disadvantaged students, she has overlooked the lack of many private school spaces for students like that. If private schools ever did accept significant numbers of voucher students, they would be sacrificing their treasured independence. Accepting lots of tax dollars invariably leads to federal regulation. DeVos support for vouchers buttresses the false belief that private school students are better taught than public school students. Research shows that public schools achieve about as much as private schools with similar demographics. DeVos also does not seem to understand that for-profit charters are handicapped in recruiting the many fine teachers who prefer that their schools spend every cent on helping students, not investors. The new bipartisan federal education law gives almost all the power over public schools to states and localities. Most of us have attended public schools and know their progress is dependent on local teachers, both privately and publicly educated. If we get the best people in those jobs, we have a chance for success no matter who the education secretary is in Washington. Jay Mathews is an education columnist and blogger for The Washington Post, his employer for 40 years. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered plenty of applause lines during his State of the State address before the Legislature on Tuesday, some of them actually deserved. For instance, he correctly challenged lawmakers to reform overwhelmed Texas Child Protective Services, whose failed administration ranks as a scandal in a state that claims to hold the lives of children sacred. Last year, more than 100 children died in our Child Protective System, Abbott told lawmakers. We can vote to end that. We can reform the system so that no more children die in it. We were right to inject emergency funding [during the legislative interim], but thats not a lasting solution. We need more workers, better training, smarter strategies and real accountability to safeguard our children. Already, legislation is in the works that would make this division of the Texas Family and Protective Services more directly accountable to the governor while expanding a program that would assist family members who take in abused and neglected children, staving off jarring relocations to foster facilities. And Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott is to be commended for leading efforts to encourage members of faith communities across Texas to put their religion into action through everything from baby-sitting to adoption. We applaud the governors gently nudging lawmakers over stingy funding of high-quality pre-kindergarten. When prioritized, Abbott said, this program will put children on the path to reading and doing math at grade level by the time they finish third grade, something that neatly dovetails with efforts of local educators and the Prosper Waco initiative. And his decision to make ethics reform a priority this session after its needless collapse in 2015 rates cheers, even if a bill by state Sen. Van Taylor doesnt go nearly far enough. Theres always 2019. On the other hand, Abbotts rallying cry against sanctuary cities should be pursued cautiously if the law enforcement officials who serve our cities are to be trusted. Its one thing to hold in city and county lockup dangerous illegal immigrants targeted for federal deportation; quite another when state law suddenly turns city and county law enforcement into agents enforcing federal immigration law. And if the Trump administration is to bolster border security, does our state need to fork over $800 million to also fortify the border? State dollars are scarce. Abbott cited other schemes that make better rhetoric than sense, including the Convention of States to amend the U.S. Constitution. As one local conservative remarked when this idea first arose, the notion might be worthwhile if states produced men of the caliber of Jefferson, Madison and Washington, but we dont. Much better to focus on other priorities, including fixing school finance, reforming CPS and forging strong ethics and transparency laws. WAHOO The City of Wahoo will become part of the Nebraska Main Street network. According to its mission statement, Nebraska Main Street Network exists to help communities develop traditional commercial districts so that they are attractive to residents and business friendly for commercial investment and economic growth, The Wahoo City Council voted unanimously last week to authorize the formation of the program in Wahoo. Prior to last weeks vote, several information meetings have already been held in Wahoo with the states Main Street leaders. Hoping to help the city make the most prosperous, beneficial steps as the community continues to transition after the opening of the Wahoo Expressway last year, Wahoo Resident Jerry Johnson has volunteered to lead the local Main Street effort. Johnson is also a board member for the Nebraska Main Street Network. He said the program works with communities on vision, revitalization and future projects. In Wahoo, the hope is for businesses to thrive as they begin to emerge on the expressway, and also to maintain and grow businesses in the traditional downtown main street, Johnson said. Part of working with Main Street will bring in resources from across the state, as the Main Street board includes representatives of retail, the Nebraska Department of Roads, the state historical society, interior design, architecture and engineering, Johnson said. The initial cost of becoming an associate level member of Main Street is $300, and this will provide the state-level resources, Johnson said. Johnson said there has been money set aside in the Wahoo Community Foundation to cover Wahoos cost to join. The first year associate level is for cities with populations over 1,000, he said. Johnson pointed out other cities that have taken advantage of the program and have found success include Bassett, Hartington, Gothenburg and Lexington. On a state level, the board has worked with communities and can share examples of what has worked well for areas of similar size and ambition, he added. In addition to the expressway and planned changes along Chestnut Street, Wahoo faces some imminent changes that might have impacts, including Costco coming to Fremont and the Southeast Community College learning center in Wahoo. There could be some new businesses spring up in Wahoo because of them, Johnson said. Main Street resources help with the new and how to adjust to it, but also come with life after experiences, he said. Johnson said the combination of Lake Wanahoo and the Wahoo Expressway has created a new thoroughfare through town along Chestnut Street. That stretches the traditional main street in Wahoo to beyond the downtown area. Future developments and evolving access point to Wahoo will be reflected in the currently proposed name for Wahoos Main Street program, which is Access Wahoo, Johnson said. Johnson said Access Wahoo incorporates access and connects the interior city to the expressway. As Johnson envisions it, Wahoos Main Street program will build relationships with the Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development, service clubs and schools in order to work together to embrace new businesses and also help downtown maintain and reenergize to a point that its self-sustaining. It was a unanimous vote of the city council Jan. 26 to authorize the formation of the program in Wahoo. With the Community Foundation picking up the costs and Johnson stepping forward to lead the charge, City Councilman Stuart Krejci said the program seemed to be a good fit for the city at this time. It is being presented to us without a cost, which is a benefit to us, he added. The only hesitation presented last week was by Councilman Mike Lawver, who questioned the need for yet another organization. But Johnson said at the council meeting the program was really not geared so much as creating another organization as it was at pulling together the organizations that already existed in town. Johnson will occupy an office in city hall he used when he served as the towns mayor. The office is not currently being used by Mayor Loren Lindahl. He will be bringing in his own phone and computer. Community improvement projects are not new for Johnson. He has previously done some similar work with the Nebraska Community Improvement Program. Funding for that program ended, but he and his wife, Arlene, worked with approximately 30 different communities, evaluated communities events and downtown areas, he said. About Me William Kelly I am a freelance writer, journalist and historian whose major interests are music and history, with a special emphasis on the assassination of President Kennedy. View my complete profile Blog Archive MATTOON -- February is the month to celebrate assessment at Lake Land College. Students and staff members are encouraged to participate in this years activities to learn about the importance of assessment. According to Lisa Madlem, director of academic support and assessment for the college, the assessment process at Lake Land is essential in order to make informed decisions that ultimately improve the teaching-learning process. Assessment seems fairly straightforward, but in reality, it is an involved process that systematically measures student performance in order to improve the quality of educational programs, courses and the institution overall, said Madlem. Lake Land College uses institution-wide measures and program- and course-specific measures to assess student outcomes. Learner outcomes have been established for each of the college's associate degree and certificate programs, as well as all courses. During Assessment Week, Feb. 6-10, Madlem will set up a student booth in the Luther Student Center with assessment information and prizes for students. Additionally, a student quiz will be posted on the student portal, the Laker Hub, where students can enter to win Subway gift cards and a grand prize Lake Land College Assessment Highway Companion Safety Kit. Overall, the college is actively assessing courses, programs and institutional departments said Madlem. Each component of assessment is working toward assessing the student experience and we are continuously learning from the assessment process in order to make necessary changes and plans of action to ensure that every student at Lake Land College is provided with a continuous learning environment. Assessment is an important step in developing Lake Land Colleges programs to best suit its students and their growing skills in order to prepare them to enter the workforce or transfer to a four-year university. It is thanks to previous assessments that the Business Division realized a need for students to learn spreadsheet software and began integrating it into already available classes. Similarly, the Agriculture Division has focused on integrating more precision agriculture information leading from a recommendation from the Lake Land College Agriculture Advisory Council. For more information about assessment at Lake Land College, contact Madlem at 217-234-5088 or lmadlem@lakelandcollege.edu or visit: http://www.lakelandcollege.edu/as/es/assessment/index.cfm. IF you are one of those parents who bought your child a bicycle for the new year but are struggling to find somewhere to... WHILE there is no guarantee of sunshine on the Sunny South East as we move into the autumn/winter season, revellers will nonetheless be thrilled... CHARLESTON -- Students and possibly even some faculty at Eastern Illinois University come from one of the seven countries listed in the immigrant travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump. Trump's executive order signed Friday bars refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from coming into the United States for 90 days. These countries are Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. EIU Office of International Students and Scholars interim chair Austin Cheney confirmed students and possibly even faculty fall under the same restrictions as others across the U.S. should they leave the country and try to return. Cheney said the international student office is advising international students who could be impacted by this ban that flying at this time could be challenging and is not recommended. Cheney said there is a lot of uncertainty following this ban. At this point flying outside of the country and even within the country could be dangerous for the students impacted, Cheney said. Because the university is in session and, therefore, students are in class, there is no immediate issue facing the affected students right now with no reason to go back home yet. However, should a family emergency or some other need call them back to their home country, Cheney said their situation could be exacerbated. Concern still looms as the country waits to see if the ban will be extended past the 90-day threshold and also past the end of the spring semester when students go home, Cheney said. He said he hopes it does not continue beyond that point. Nevertheless, the university president and the international office staff expressed support for those impacted Monday. An email was sent out to international students assuring them that Eastern was in their corner, Cheney said. They are a part of our family, the EIU family, he said. EIU President David Glassman issued a statement expressing disappointment in the change in policy. This action in no way reflects the views and values of Eastern Illinois University, and that we are greatly disheartened by this change in federal policy, Glassmans statement read. I am saddened by this turn of events that threatens the rights of many, including some individuals in the EIU community. We will continue to monitor these developments, while also supporting the rights of all our international students, faculty and staff. The university is currently reaching out to all international faculty and staff that would be impacted by the ban, said Vicki Woodard, university public information coordinator. The number of students, faculty and staff that are impacted by this ban has not been released. However, should the ban encompass more nationalities like Saudi Arabia, Cheney said, the number of impacted students at Eastern would be much larger. Criticism of the order argues that if the goal of the ban is to stop people from coming in from countries that harbor terrorists, places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia would be on the list. According to the Glassmans statement, international student faculty and staff seeking additional assistance may contact the Office of International Students and Scholars at 217-581-2321. For any individuals who seek counseling assistance, the university president urged them to contact the Counseling Center in the Human Services Building at 217-581-3413. This year, Eastern had record high amount of international students coming into the university. AS we count down the days, hours and minutes to Christmas, we at Waterford Today would like to make one appeal before the festivities... RENTS in Waterford are now spiralling out of control, with costs 16.2% higher than they were in the same period last year and... DESPITE the pressing need to do so, over half of all Irish people say they could not afford an average cost of 56,000 to... The team at Waterford Walls has hardly been able to contain its excitement this week as it brings another exciting artwork to the city.... WATERFORD Suir Valley has unveiled five new storyboards on the Story of Rail at Kilmeaden Station to coincide with the reopening of the Railway... When I hear police or a news report confirm that they believe a murderous act was not linked to "terrorism", I go ahead and make the assumption that they mean the perpetrator is white. This is compounded if I further read that the perpetrator was a "loner" or there is a mention of a history of mental health issues. Racial motivations, sexist motivations, or indeed any motivations behind the crime are often a mere footnote placed at the end of the story. The lighter colours are labelled "mentally ill" on the chart, whereas the darker colours denote "terrorist". It's perhaps a crude demonstration of a phenomenon we see play out time and time again when violent crime is reported. Following news of a murder or mass shooting incident, there is often a meme I see floating around social media. On it is a chart with a number of colours ranging from black, through hues of brown, then on to pink, beige and finally white, held up next to a cartoon man with fair skin. This is not to make light of the impact that mental health issues can have on a person's life. It's just that when it comes to crimes committed by people of colour, their mental health status and social network seem to be of little importance. If they're Muslim, that fact will be highlighted. Terrorism will not be dismissed so quickly. Indeed, even if the police investigations conclude that the crime is not a "terrorist attack", the message that filters to the press and the public often remains the opposite. A photo from the facebook page of Alexandre Bissonnette. Credit:Le Soleil Yet what about the crimes committed by white men which clearly fit the description of "terrorism"? Take the recent attacks on a mosque in Quebec which killed six people as they prayed and critically wounded another eight. As justice writer Shaun King details, for an entire day after the shooting, false reports circulated around the internet that the perpetrators were Muslim terrorists. Even as it came to light that the person allegedly responsible was 27-year-old, white, French Canadian man Alexandre Bissonnette, Fox News neglected to remove their false tweet detailing a "Muslim Moroccan" attacker. Indeed, it took the Canadian Prime Minister's office stepping in for this report to finally be removed. And as King also points out, our Facebook profile pictures are not suddenly awash with Canadian flags. Why not? It seems that now we know the killer was a white man and the people he murdered were Muslims, people don't care. This is despite the fact that by Justin Trudeau's own description, this was a "terrorist attack". It can be a steep learning curve if your child needs a notebook or tablet in the classroom, especially if their school offers little guidance. The night before the first day of school was once spent polishing school shoes and writing names on textbooks, but these days you can also find yourself installing software updates and creating online accounts. While many schools insist that students bring high-tech gadgets to class, unfortunately schools aren't always very helpful when it comes to setting up devices. WA teachers are at odds with parents. Credit:Lostinbids My daughter starts Grade 5 this week and needs an iPad in class let's call her Venus, the codename we used at home when she was young and we didn't want her to know we were talking about her. Venus has an older brother Mars, who starts Year 8 this week and is required to bring a Windows notebook to class. Personally I don't think kids need their own devices in primary school, such things can wait until high school, but that's the way our primary school has decided to go. The school has actually been pretty good when it comes to running iPad information nights for parents and sending home details about what's required for class, but I think it could do more to help non-tech savvy parents manage devices especially when it comes to security and data backups. Crown Perth in December launched third hotel Crown Towers to general applause from tourism bodies already gleefully counting their chickens Perth Stadium, Perth-London flights and Elizabeth Quay. It's true that the complex is now the biggest hotel in the city and will fill growing demand for luxury travel. But seeing as it was already one of the city's biggest fine dining destinations, home to Rockpool, Bistro Guillaume and Nobu, to me the most important question of all was... what's to eat? Epicurean This all-day buffet restaurant has joined the list of Crown's premium offerings, which as well as the above list include Modo Mio and Silks. Quebec: They call it "radio poubelle," or trash radio. Quebec City has developed the dubious reputation as Canada's capital of shock jocks, online radio hosts who love to provoke with their outrageous talk about women, homosexuals and Muslims. As this city of 800,000 deals with the emotional aftermath of Sunday's shooting at a local mosque that left six worshippers dead and several injured, the role of trash radio in spreading xenophobic attitudes is getting new attention. A 27-year-old local university student and follower of far-right causes was charged on Monday with murder and attempted murder in connection with the massacre. While there is no indication that the alleged shooter, Alexandre Bissonnette, was particularly influenced by trash radio, members of the Muslim community were quick to complain about the corrosive impact of the anti-immigrant rhetoric heard on the city's airwaves. Even Quebec City's popular mayor, Regis Labeaume, appeared to criticise the radio stations. Speaking at an outdoor vigil in memory of the victims on Monday evening, he denounced those who "get rich from peddling hatred". Patrick Norman Pat Chapman is a 34-year-old, Caucasian male who was last known to be in Piedmont which is near the area of Greenville, Missouri on May 10, 2020. Pat had stayed the night with a friend and his wife at their home. In the early morning when the friend woke to go to work. Pat was gone in his own Burgundy color 1995 Ford Escort. That is the last anyone was known to have seen him. The vehicle was later recovered on May 29, 2020 in Mill Spring, Missouri. CARBONDALE -- A little more than three years ago, Centerstone administrators opened an eight-bed critical care facility in Carterville, where people with mental health distress could be counseled and go to regroup for three to five days. It closed this past summer, and that program served 400 people and purportedly saved taxpayers millions from not having people show up at hospital emergency rooms. In Peoria, the 41-year-old Center for Prevention of Abuse -- which serves 5,000 women, men and children and seniors and those with disabilities in six counties -- had to eliminate its Safe From The Start for children (serving about 40 children at any one time) and its Self Neglect program for 90 seniors. Executive Director Carol Merna said the 105 staff members at CPA -- which operated on a $4.5 million budget -- helped find ways to keep the 40 percent of missing state funding as far away from the clients as possible. Farther south, cities serviced by the Southern Seven Health Department saw their clinic hours reduced to four days a week, or three or two or even one day a week, as is the case for the main location in Ullin in Pulaski County. All of this, said Judith Gethner, executive director of the Chicago-headquartered Illinois Partners for Human Service, is what has happened to human service agencies and providers across a state where they have had to wait to see what they will receive for expenses incurred months earlier. "How would you operate your life without 12 months of income?" she said. "The nonprofit has to find other resources to be able to sustain them when the government wasn't paying them. They didnt know when the money was going to come." Agencies have coped by extending their lines of credit, organizing fundraisers, furloughing staff and not filling vacant positions and doubling up on duties, she and others noted. The Southern Seven Health Department administrators, for instance, combined the duties of its nursing staff that was once at 15 a few years ago into a staff of eight. Some other social service agencies were not as fortunate. The Mahoney Transitional Living home, a facility in Rosiclare for homeless 16- to 24-year-olds, succumbed to the budget fiasco, closing in February. For a while this past year, the not-for-profit Stopping Woman Abuse Now domestic violence shelter in Olney closed, but is now back open. Local agency woes Delayed reimbursements and elimination of grants led LifeLinks mental health center in Mattoon to lose employees and have others taking on more responsibilities, according to Lynette Ashmore, its executive director. "You've got to give people credit," she said. "We are pushing people to do more. It's unfair to the people we serve." Two state grants that were completely eliminated meant a loss of $270,000, Ashmore said. One grant helped with a psychiatrist position, as reimbursements weren't enough to cover the expense, so the position was eliminated, she said. Another position was also eliminated and others for which there were vacancies haven't been filled, Ashmore added. Technology upgrades have been delayed and there have been more frequent reviews to ensure efficient delivery of services, she also said. The expiration of the state's stopgap budget in December "put us right back where we started," she also said. Projections show LifeLinks should receive all its state reimbursements during the 2017 fiscal year "but we don't know when," she said. The Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Service (SACIS) based in Charleston cut salaries and closed its office one day a week at one point, Executive Director Erin Walters said. The agency reverted to full salaries in November but that was "with the full knowledge that we will likely have to reduce again," Walters said. SACIS now has a waiting list for some of its services, cut staff travel to regional offices and reduced its education and prevention programs, she added. HOPE of East Central Illinois didn't receive any reimbursements from the stopgap budget, missing out on about $300,000, or half its total annual budget, Executive Director Althea Pendergast said. She said the agency that provides services for domestic violence victims hasn't reduced staff but has cut supplies and has to rely on fundraisers for now. "Right now we're staying afloat," Pendergast said. "We're really going to have to sit down and look at what we're going to do." Living, trying to plan in uncertainty Just because state legislators passed a stopgap funding measure did not mean the money was released the next day, said Gethner of Illinois Partners for Human Service. Often, recipients had to wait even longer, adding to their economic stress and load. "These guys are living under uncertainty," she said, adding that boards of directors collaborate with agency heads to create "financially sustainable plans going forward, and theyre realizing we have to close up programs," she said. "So oftentimes, they're having to work together to make these critical decisions about maintaining programs and staffs during a time when they are not getting reimbursed. "We dont know with certainty when theyre going to come and give us January to June of this year (and have to make difficult decisions in the meantime) because the board does not want to operate on this wait and see.' Her agency is one of those entities -- Voices for Illinois Children and the Sparrow Coalition of Southern Illinois are others -- that had made it their mission to track and tabulate the cost of legislators' inability to agree to a budget. Illinois Partners for Human Service created what it calls a "heat map" to show the impact of the state's slow pay to social service agencies, via communities, legislative districts, programs, for instance. The Center for Prevention of Abuse's Merna said not knowing also didn't help her staff with any kind of planning. They were able to absorb the 40-some children served by the loss of the Safe From The Start program (which cost $10,000 a month) and seniors served by the $52,000 Self Neglect program into other programs at the facility. That agency primarily serves clients in Peoria, Woodford and Pekin counties and serves seniors in parts of Fulton, Marshall and Toulon counties. "We continue to root for our legislators, but compromise is a very important piece of that, and we dont see a whole lot of compromise in the upper levels of leadership," Merna said. One million people impacted More than 1 million people have been impacted by cuts to social service agencies, ranging from those that offer services for mental health services and outreaches to youth and families, according to an Associated Press report quoting a United Way source. Gethner agreed with that assessment, noting that it's hard to come by a specific measure of the impact. She noted that there are about 400,000 state employees, some of whose jobs have been impacted. That estimate of one million people impacted reflects the notion that about a third of those accessing human services are affected in some way. Its a third of the people that are served -- its huge," she said. Toni Hayden, executive director of the United Way of Jackson County, said she's heard of several agencies dropping programs and facing closure on a day-to-day basis. "We have several agencies that have had to drop programs, which in turn is leaving clients with nowhere to go," Hayden said. "If some of these agencies cant get their state funding, its going to be basically detrimental in this area, because there is not a lot of services down here as it is." In Southern Illinois, one of those agencies particularly hard-hit was Centerstone, a not-for-profit provider of community-based behavioral health care for 14,000 people a year inside in the state. It has operations in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida. Its sites in Southern Illinois are in Alton in Madison County; Carbondale in Jackson County; Marion in Williamson County; and West Frankfort in Franklin County. Early on in the budget chaos, agency executives made the decision to drop the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, not because it received any state funding for it, but because officials made the calculated decision to conserve their resources, Chief Executive Officer John Markley said. This past summer, though, agency officials made the decision to close the Carterville facility, he said. "All of this chaos, if you will, adds chaos to our environment and to our industry where the people, in terms of developing services and service continuum that makes sense, service continuum that has quality, service continuum that lower costs, it prohibits us from being able to be that because we have no commitment from our state," Markley said. "And that to me, as a taxpayer, first off, is unacceptable." Trying to maintain 'status quo' While some social service agencies have closed, cut staff and programming, others are doubling down on resources and responsibilities, doing what they can to continue to meet the needs of others -- fulfilling their missions, Gethner noted. "We are, I guess, maintaining 'status quo' is probably the best way to describe it," said Nancy Holt, executive director of the Southern Seven Health Department. "We are probably 10 to 11 positions (down from) where we were prior to the budget crisis (that began FY 15). Before fiscal year 2016, six of the agency's seven clinics were open five days a week: the Anna and Metropolis clinics are open four days a week; the one in Cairo, three days week; in Vienna, two days a week; and the clinics in Hardin, Pope and Pulaski, down to one day a week. At the best, its an inconvenience," Holt said. "At worse, they cant get services, when they want to get service or they have to travel." For instance, if a mother misses her appointment for WIC -- Women Infants and Children -- she can't just drive to another clinic later that day or the next day; a fair amount of paperwork and processing has to be done, which could have that woman waiting another few weeks, Holt noted. What Southern Seven staff have done to help that is to forge relationships with area churches and food pantries to get needed food and milk to infants, children and the women. In some cases, Southern Seven Health Department staff themselves have purchased needed baby formula and food for the clients. Additionally, Southern Seven serves a largely rural part of the state, where there are large distances between cities and towns. Southern Seven nursing administrator Cheryl Manus quickly rattles off the distance from the Ullin site to the nearest next clinics: 20, 23, 24, 25 miles. "Thats the problem," Holt said. "Gas is expensive, some people dont have transportation and if you have to travel, say you live in Pulaski County, and you need a service on a day where we are not open on our Pulaski site and you have to travel to Anna you may be driving 20 miles or more and that would present a hardship. Other agencies, like Williamson County's Family Crisis Center, which provides shelter to families who are homeless, are "weathering the storm." We are weathering the storm," said Peggy Russell, executive director. "We have had to use our line of credit, that sort of thing, but we have been fortunate. We have not had to turn anybody away, we have not had to close at all. We did have to do a restructuring, and we cut back on a few hours and have changed the duties of some (of our staff)." Those include her duties, which now have her spending half her time as a case manager. The agency did lose two staffers and is now at five employees. Family Crisis Center, which operates on less than $200,000 a year, is looking to celebrate 33 years of service in March. Even through this budget crisis, the Family Crisis Center Russell has provided about 4,000 nights of shelter -- a recent average -- calculated as the time anyone sleeps there (a single person sleeping there one week would equal seven shelter nights). On average, the agency provides shelter, in a given year, to 175 to 200 people. Weve been very lucky, and weve been able to find a way to pick up the slack," Russell said. "The clients that were here two years ago if they were to come back, wouldnt notice any difference in the services. At Lutheran Social Services of Illinois' Prisoner and Family Ministry program, they also haven't lost any clients or cut any staff, but have scaled back some services. Leading to donor fatigue? The stalemate is leading to pressure on the state's residents, a type of donor-fatigue, noted the United Way's Hayden. "Theres such competition for fundraising, that is it making it hard, hard on the donors," Hayden said. "Theyre getting asked from every direction." Under the auspices of the WCO-WACAM Project, funded by Sweden, the WCO has supported the Customs Administration of Cape Verde with the undertaking and completion of its Time Release Study. The publication of the average release time is a priority for Cape Verde as Cape Verde is keen to not only improve its ability to attract further foreign direct investments but also to comply with the requirements of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. The Director of Customs, Mr. Guntar Campos, has informed the World Customs Organization that all relevant stakeholders involved in the TRS carried out at the Port of Praia at the end of June 2017 met on the 11th of January 2017 in order to finalize and validate the TRS report. The report will now be translated into English and published in the first quarter of 2017. The DG Customs has expressed his gratitude to the WCO for its effective support under the WACAM Project and has invited the WCO to attend the conference press foreseen for the presentation of the TRS report to the wider public in the upcoming weeks. For more information about this activity in particular and the WCO-WACAM project in general, please contact the WCO-Sweden Programme Director, Mr. Richard Chopra (Richard.chopra@wcoomd.org). (TCO-PSFR-GS6-86367) Vacancy No. EAPRO/TCO-VA-2016/73-2 Job Level : GS-6 Duty Station: Thailand Country Office, Bangkok Position No. : 86367 Application Close: 19 February 2017 Contract Type : Fixed-Term Purpose of the Position Under the supervision of Fundraising Specialist, the incumbent will assist in developing the donor retention strategic plan and implementing donor-centric communication programmes. With a focus on telephone marketing and new media, the objective is to better engage donors so they continue making regular donations, stay committed, make a larger gift, renew their regular donations, convert to become regular giving donors and build loyalty. The incumbent will manage the day-to-day operation both in-house and outsourced contractors to ensure optimum delivery of services. Major Responsibilities 1. Support in the development and execution of the private sector fundraising strategic plan Assist in developing donor retention and loyalty strategic plan and implementing donor-centric communication programmes with a focus on using telephone marketing and new media as a means to better engage with donors so that they continue making regular giving donation, staying committed, making a larger gift, renewing their regular giving donations, converting to become a regular giving donor and are saved from becoming an unintentional lapse donor created by dishonored payments due to change in the account details, expired credit card, lost/stolen/frozen cards and/or insufficient funds through a proactive follow-up system and increase of rebilling attempts, and managing and monitoring the performance of both in-house and outsourced contractors to ensure a delivery of excellent services in the area of data collection, gift processing, credit card/direct debit bank submission/collection and call center services. Provide overall administrative support to the team, including arranging meetings and drafting related minutes, maintaining the filing system, etc. 2. Support the monitoring of programme results and report on progress Provide support on the evaluation of the performance of each activity, including analysis of income, expenditure and return on investment (ROI) and progress against budgets. 3. Support in Knowledge Management and capacity building Research, analyze, verify and synthesize information on best practices and lessons learnt to support knowledge development and capacity building in the area of work Support capacity development activities through training and product knowledge briefing to improve performance of in-house and outsourced teams. Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. Drive-By Truckers Patterson Hood raised a bottle at the Bourbon Theatre Saturday, paying tribute to a friend -- an immigration lawyer who had been temporarily detained at an airport earlier that day. She, Hood said, was among those who are resisting President Donald Trumps immigration order, just one of the battles that Hood, DBT and, by its response, the audience that filled the Bourbon will be taking on against Trump and the Republican Congress. Its going to be a long four years, Hood said. But thats what were going to be doing, fighting the good fight. Fighting the good fight was very likely why the Truckers came out of the gate Saturday playing songs from their 2016 protest album American Band that packed a powerful punch live -- from the opening notes of a heartrending Guns of Umpqua through the swaggering rock of Ramon Casiano, Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn and the anthemic Surrender Under Protest. Before the show ended, DBT had done nine of the 11 American Band songs before stomping out with Hell No I Aint Happy, which, after the previous 2 hours plus, got a new context as did Buttholeville, Hoods f-you to an Alabama bar owner that he dedicated to a billionaire who need not be named. The Drive-by Truckers, as expected, brought the most politically charged show in Lincoln of the early days of 2017. But it almost surely will be far from the only anti-Trump call to activism that will come from local stages throughout the year, or, as Hood noted, for the next four years. That said, a couple other notes - the Truckers again proved that it is one of Americas -- make that the worlds -- great rock n roll bands. Its still baffling to me how DBT was ever considered a country band or an alt country group. And it was great to hear a slightly revamped version of Let There Be Rock, a song from 2001s Southern Rock Opera, the masterpiece of an album that the Truckers were touring behind at Duffys Tavern back in 2002. The Jan 28 show was the DBTs first in Lincoln since that Duffys show. Given the turnout -- it was close to a sellout -- audience response and Hoods on-stage commentary, its a pretty safe bet that the Truckers wont wait another 15 years to come back again. Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal to tour Europe Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal have toured the U.S. extensively. Now the Lincoln soul band is headed for Europe for a month of shows, beginning March 2 in Hamburg, Germany. The 28-shows in 31-days tour is slated to stop in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Slovakia and is scheduled for 11 dates in Spain. Hoyers promised to keep us apprised of the goings-on in Europe -- as he has done with previous U.S. tours. So stayed tuned. Hear Lincoln to return in August Hear Lincoln, the weekly outdoor free concert series presented by Hear Nebraska and the Downtown Lincoln Association, will be back this summer after a one-year hiatus -- with a couple of changes. First, the series is moving to August and September. Specifically, it will run for the 9 weeks before Lincoln Calling, ending the Friday before the festival begins. Second, the concerts, which will again be held at Tower Square, will be held in the evening rather than at noon. The exact times and the bands for Hear Lincoln 2017 will be announced later. Nebraska Folk and Roots Festival dates set The Nebraska Folk and Roots Festival will be held June 16 and 17, again at Branched Oak Farm The fourth edition of the festival will be the third held at the farm near Raymond. The festival lineup, times and admission charges will be announced later. Bestselling Author and Utah Lt. Gov. to Discuss Politics and Poverty at WSU February 1, 2017 OGDEN, Utah New York Times bestselling author J.D. Vance and Utahs Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox will examine politics and poverty during a discussion, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. in Weber State Universitys Shepherd Union Ballrooms. Vances book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis is entering 26 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The book tells a personal story of Vances struggles growing up in Americas Appalachian region, where he says poverty is family tradition. Hillbilly Elegy addresses themes of childhood trauma, opioid addiction and personal and societal failures that have led to intergenerational poverty and, in many ways, the election of Donald Trump, said Lt. Gov. Spencer J. Cox. I could not help but recognize several themes from my own life in rural Utah and hope that this discussion will be useful as we seek answers and solutions to the problems of intergenerational poverty, homelessness, disadvantaged youth and economic depression in rural areas. Vances mother was addicted to drugs, so his grandparents raised him. In his book, Vance looks at the people he grew up around with criticism and compassion, writing, Americans call them hillbillies, red-necks, or white trash. I call them neighbors, friends, and family. His story takes place both in Middletown, Ohio, where Vance grew up, and Jackson, Kentucky, the place he considers home. Vances grandparents moved from Kentucky to Ohio when they were young, which was common for many families looking for work. Those who made the move became known as hillbilly transplants. Breathitt County, Kentucky, where the rest of Vances family lived, has a 42.9 percent child poverty rate, according to the 2015 U.S. Census Bureau analysis. That figure doesnt include a large majority of people who live just above the poverty line. Its a stark difference from Salt Lake County, where the child poverty rate is 12.8 percent, and even a jump from Utahs most poverty-stricken counties, such as San Juan County, where the child poverty rate is 31.9 percent. Vance says the purpose of his book is to tell a true story about what the problem feels like when you were born with it hanging around your neck. Political pundits are looking at Vances picture of the poor, white working class as an explanation for the source of Donald Trumps loyal Republican supporters. Although Trump isnt mentioned in any of the chapters, the book gained traction for its insight on this topic during the election. Thanks to the help of his grandparents, Vance broke family tradition. He spent time in the U.S. Marine Corps after high school. Then he graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He transcended the violence and poverty where his family was stuck, yet he says his accomplishments arent extraordinary. Instead, he achieved something quite ordinary, which he says doesnt happen to most kids who grow up like him. At a time when many researchers are focused on the topic of economic mobility and intergenerational poverty, J. D. Vances compelling memoir offers important insights into the factors that keep people in poverty and the actions that allow people to move out of poverty and pursue the American Dream, said Michael Vaughan, director of WSUs Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality. The Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, the Department of Professional Sales and the Department of Sociology & Anthropology are sponsoring the discussion. This event is free, but tickets are limited. Visit JDVance.eventbrite.com to reserve a spot. Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University. Powerball up to $1.6 billion, now largest jackpot on record On Saturday, cellist Zuill Bailey will perform with Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra. Eight days later he will be in Los Angeles, where he'll attend the 59th annual Grammy Awards. The renowned cellist received his first nomination -- for Best Classical Instrumental Solo -- for his performance of American composer Michael Daugherty's cello concerto "Tales of Hemingway" recorded by the Nashville Symphony. The recording also was nominated for Best Classical Compendium and Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Bailey, 44, plans to attend the ceremony with 14-year-old son, Matteo. Im flying into L.A. on the red eye from Alaska, meeting my son there and going to all the receptions and parties and then to the Grammys the next day, he told What's Up, an alternative weekly newspaper in El Paso, Texas, where Bailey's been a music professor at the University of Texas at El Paso since 2004. The Grammys are definitely on that lifetime list, so it is going to be a neat moment, and to share it with my son makes it really special. In Lincoln, Bailey will perform Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor, Opus 104, with the orchestra during its "Baileys & Brahms" classical concert. The evening, set for 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, also includes Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E minor, opus 98, the composer's final symphony that pays homage to Beethoven, Bach and Handel. I believe we, in Lincoln, are in for a special treat having Zuill Bailey perform with our LSO, said LSO Music Director Edward Polochick. The Dvorak Cello Concerto is one of the finest works for cello and orchestra. Brahms himself felt that Dvorak would be the composer to carry on the great Romantic tradition, and hence the pairing of Brahmss powerful and passionate Fourth Symphony. Tickets are $30 and $15 and $5 for ages 17 and younger. For reservations, call 402-476-2211 or visit lincolnsymphony.org. Advertisement By Adam Morton Jan. 31, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY By Adam Morton Jan. 31, 2017 | 08:31 PM | PADUCAH, KY On Tuesday the Paducah Board of Commissioners met with city department heads in a workshop setting to start to develop a list of potential upcoming capital projects. City Manager Jeff Pederson and Assistant to the City Manager Michelle Smolen led the team through a process to select criteria that will be used to prioritize projects. After discussion and voting, a set of criteria emerged that will be used to rank projects during the budget process. Mayor Brandi Harless explained how the ranking system will work. "There'll be a committee put together, and the capital projects on a long list will be put through that ranking system to figure out which ones come up to the top. Then the commission will discuss again whether or not we agree that those projects are the ones we need to actually fund." The process began last July with a citizens survey. The next step will be for staff to use the prioritization process on a list of potential projects in February. Then, the project rankings and funding options will be presented at a city commission pre-budget workshop., Over the past few months, a team of city employees have been evaluating other cities' methods of prioritizing projects. The other cities included Bowling Green, KY; Tyler, TX; and the North Dakota University System. The criteria are often divided into two categories: outcome and technical. The outcome criteria relate to how the project impacts a goal while the technical criteria focus more on finances, legislation, and timing. The team of city employees considered a list of nine possible outcome-based criteria with the goal of reducing the list to five. They are: Safety, Property, Economic Vitality, Community Development, and Recreation. Each project also will be ranked using five technical criteria: Legal Mandate/Regulatory, Implications of Deferring the Project, Relationship to Other Projects/Coordination Capital, Fiscal Impact, and Operational Budget Impact. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 31, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 31, 2017 | 05:33 PM | PADUCAH, KY Police have released additional details about a reported vehicle theft and shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon. The McCracken County Sheriffs Department says deputies were dispatched shortly after 3 p.m. to a report of a vehicle theft in the 10000 block of Ogden Landing Road. Deputies said the initial investigation shows that 22-year-old Jeremiah Wooley saw a man on his property attempting to steal his vehicle. Wooley told deputies the man, later identified as 26-year-old Benjamin Upchurch, got into a pickup truck and began driving off the property, crashing through a closed gate. Wooley reportedly said the vehicle was coming toward him, so he fired a handgun in the direction of the truck. The vehicle that had been reported as stolen was later found at the intersection of Ogden Landing Road and Cairo Road. Upchurch surrendered without incident, and was taken to Baptist Health Paducah for treatment of non life-threatening gunshot injuries. Upchurch has been charged with theft by unlawful taking over $500 (auto), 2nd degree criminal mischief, criminal trespassing, 1st degree wanton endangerment, DUI 3rd offense and driving with a suspended license. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 01, 2017 | 06:15 AM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY An ongoing social services investigation has led to the arrest of a Paducah woman.According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Department, in September of last year, the Department of Community Based Services was involved in an investigation that involved the welfare of an eight-year-old child. On Sept. 24, the child was removed until the mother, 30-year-old Jessica Hurst of Paducah, could comply to criteria specifically set for the well being of the child.The child was returned to Hurst's home in December, but while attempting a follow-up visit on Dec. 29, drug paraphernalia was seen through the window of the front door of the home. Hurst's roommate, 30-year-old Matthew Robertson of Princeton, claimed that the drugs and paraphernalia were his. The child was then taken back into protective custody.Due to discrepancies discovered through Hursts stories and the events of the investigation, charges were filed with the McCracken County Attorneys Office.Hurst was charged on Sunday with first-degree wanton endangerment, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and prescription controlled substance not in the proper container. She was arrested and lodged in the McCracken County Regional Jail. By The Associated Press By The Associated Press Feb. 01, 2017 | 05:05 AM | CARBONDALE, IL Enrollment at Southern Illinois University Carbondale for the spring fell 7.4 percent compared to the previous spring, dropping the student population below 15,000. The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale reports spring 2017 enrollment totaled 14,636, down from 15,806 students enrolled in spring 2016. Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell said in a statement Tuesday the decline in spring enrollment was expected because students move on after December graduation. SIU reported there were 1,383 students scheduled to graduate in December. That is close to the 1,351 difference between the fall 2016 enrollment and spring enrollment. Colwell says the numbers mean the university is holding ground because spring semester figures "are a direct reflection of what we have seen in the fall." ___ Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com Advertisement By WestKyStar Staff Jan. 31, 2017 | MAYFIELD, KY By WestKyStar Staff Jan. 31, 2017 | 06:30 PM | MAYFIELD, KY Programs for February at the Graves County Public Library include a full schedule of fun and educational options: Jason Lindsey from the wildly popular Hooked on Science will be at the Library on Thursday, Feb. 16th at 4 pm. Students engineer happier endings to fairy tales as they design a house that cant be blown down, construct a bridge that keeps three goats safe from the troll and build a chair that even Goldilocks cant break. You wont want to miss this special event. If you have any questions contact the library at 270-247-2911. In conjunction with the Mayfield Animal Shelter the library will host a special program called Paws to Read. It will be every first Thursday of each month at 4 pm and will allow children to read aloud to a therapy dog or cat for 15 minutes. Patient, nonjudgmental pets help reluctant readers gain confidence and comfort with reading. Parents will need to fill out and sign a waiver before their child can participate. This program is open to children in grades K-6. If you have any questions, contact the library at 270-247-2911. The library has two special programs throughout the school year. Our Lego Program will be the first Monday of every month at 5 pm and daughter date night will be the first Tuesday of each month at 5 pm. For Lego night children and come and create anything out of their imagination and during daughter date night you can come with you child and make a craft to take home together. If you have any questions, call the library at 270-247-2911. The library has an exciting new program for adults and will host a PG game night for adults every second and fourth Thursday of each month at 6 pm. Guests will have the chance to play cards, board games, and other party games with others in our community. Bring a game, bring a friend, and bring a snack. If you have any questions, contact the library at 270-247-2911. Tired of the same old relationships? Need something new and exciting? How about a blind date with a book? Check-out the Graves County Public Library and a specially wrapped book, take it home, unwrap the love and enjoy! When you return your book to the library make sure to rate your date in order for the chance to win a gift card to Applebees. This will run until the end of February. If you have any questions, call 270-247-2911. On Saturday, Feb. 18th at 10:30 am the Graves County Public Library will have a Heart shaped box workshop. All supplies will be provided and you will be able make your very own personalized heart box. Space is limited so sign up at the library if you would like to participate. If you have any questions, contact the library at 270-247-2911. Do you enjoy playing board games as a family? The Graves County public library will host Family Game night on Tuesday Feb. 21st from 5 to 7 pm. Spend some time as a family playing games such as Uno, Monopoly, Blink, Apples to Apples Jr., and Clue. We will also have a Wii set up to play console games. Kids under 10-years-old should be with an adult. If you have questions, call us at 270-247-2911. The library will host family movie night on Tuesday Feb. 28th at 5 pm. Join the fun and find out why storks have moved on from delivering babies to packages. But when an order for a baby appears, the best delivery stork must scramble to fix the error by delivering the baby. Free drinks and popcorn will be served. The library staff will also have a special competition for a few prizes. Children under 10-years-old should be with someone over the age of 15. If you have any questions, call 270-247-2911. By The Associated Press Feb. 01, 2017 | 03:21 PM | LEXINGTON, KY A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit from former House Speaker Greg Stumbo challenging the legality of Gov. Matt Bevin's budget vetoes. Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd said Stumbo can't sue the governor because he lost his seat in the state legislature in November. Shepherd said the court might have the authority to settle the dispute if Stumbo had won. Last year, Bevin used his veto power to erase portions of the state spending plan, including an expanded preschool program and $9.4 million in community college scholarships for high school graduates. Stumbo argued the vetoes were illegal because Bevin filed copies instead of the original documents with the secretary of state. Bevin argued Stumbo ordered the House clerk to lock up the originals so he could not file them. Loading... The Brexiteer's refrain 'Take Our Country Back is cleverer than it looks. It asks for control, but it appeals to nostalgia. Underneath the surface, it's a call to turn back the clock. Take our country back, back to better days. Years of Sunlight does just that. By rewinding to the halcyon days of the post-war welfare state, when new towns were springing up around the country, Michael McLean focuses our attention on its subsequent decline. Set in Skelmersdale, an overspill town on the edge of the Liverpool, Years of Sunlight works backwards. As in Harold Pinter's Betrayal, three lives run in reverse, so that a story that starts with a charred body pulled from a burnt-out building tracks back 30-odd years through the dead man's life, all the way back to the sunny, carefree days of his childhood. Emlyn (Bryan Dick) was a lifelong addict, raised in care and always somewhere resentful of the fact. As the years roll back, he seems to clean up his act. The bruised and bloodied thirtysomething, dependent on methadone handouts from the state, was once a young artist desperately trying to find his feet and, before that, a boisterous child swigging Batman cocktails of orange and lemonade on holiday with his best mate Paul (Mark Rice-Oxley). At every stage of his life, Emlyn leans on Paul's mother Hazel (Miranda Foster), an Irish emigrant who hoped for a new start in Liverpool and found herself shunted on to Skem,' a community she neither chose nor fits. Depending on your point of view, she either supports Emlyn or indulges him a relationship that mirrors the welfare state. McLean's play gains from seeing both sides of state handouts. One moment embodies the whole. As a sober, young artist, Emlyn hosts an exhibition and while Hazel offers to buy a painting, Paul invites him to Ireland. One offers a lump sum, the other, ongoing support two different models of welfare, a one-off leg-up in life or continuing care. McLean suggests the spirit that built the new towns let them slide into disrepair; their fresh paint fading after years in the sun. Investing in infrastructure is nothing without investing in people. For one thing, it's unchanging and, in the figure of Hazel's boorish, bullying partner Bob (John Biggins), a Manns Ale man, McLean suggests that the new towns were very much products of their time designed by men, but inhabited by families. It is, ultimately, too slight a story to bear the weight of 30 years of social history, but that's not to say Years of Sunlight isn't a touching portrait of a lifelong friendship. Theatrically, the play keeps us guessing, holding key details back as it rewinds, but, for all the tenderness of Amelia Sears's production, it's not entirely convincing. Despite shape-shifting performances from Dick and Foster, the years falling off them rather remarkably, McLean's characters seem more like metaphors for Skelmersdale's decline than credible products of it. Years of Sunlight runs at Theatre503 until 18 February. A relatively dull month of trading ensured that the Premier League ended a transfer window in profit for the first time ever. According to Deloitte, the Premier League clubs combined spent a six-year high of 215million in January 2017. On deadline day, the big money was spent on Manolo Gabbiadini (who joined Southampton from Napoli in a 14million deal) and Robbie Brady (Norwich to Burnley for 13million). Elsewhere, Swansea signed Jordan Ayew from Aston Villa with Neil Taylor and 5million going the other way, while Crystal Palace brought in Mamadou Sakho on loan from Liverpool for the princely sum of 2million. However, the 20million fee Watford managed to secure for Odion Ighalo ensured that the window closed with the Premier League around 40million in the black. That may well rise too, as the Chinese Super Leagues transfer deadline isnt until 28th February, potentially leaving the door or window, if you like open for more expensive departures. Raising Nebraska's earned-income tax credit would help poor, working families more than cutting income taxes, supporters of two proposals told a legislative committee Wednesday. The earned-income tax credit, or EITC, is a refundable credit available to working families who have low to moderate incomes. Some 132,000 Nebraskans claimed the federal credit on their 2015 tax returns. The average credit was $2,361. Nebraska offers its own state credit, which is 10 percent of the federal credit. If lawmakers think the state can afford tax cuts this year, despite the $900 million shortfall, "why not look at one designed for the working families who need it most?" asked state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, one of two Lincoln senators who sponsored bills to increase the EITC this year. Pansing Brooks' proposal (LB69) would double the state credit over four years, costing the state an estimated $36 million per year once fully implemented. The other proposal (LB129), from Sen. Adam Morfeld, would raise it by 1 percent each of the next two years. Some surrounding states' credits are higher than Nebraska's, including Iowa's at 15 percent and Kansas at 17 percent, Pansing Brooks told members of the Legislature's Revenue Committee during a public hearing. The measures were supported by Nebraska Appleseed, the Nebraska Catholic Conference, the Center for People in Need, Nebraskans for Peace, Voices for Children in Nebraska and the Holland Children's Movement. No one testified in opposition. Revenue Committee members took no action on the bill Wednesday. Two members of the states teachers union opposed a bill Tuesday that would eliminate a master teacher program that pays for a prestigious national teacher certification and a stipend for teachers whove earned it. This program is the only support the state gives for teaching excellence and it must be retained, Maddie Fennell, a longtime Omaha Public Schools teacher and new executive director of the Nebraska State Education Association told the Legislatures education committee. Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings, who introduced the bill (LB214) at the request of Education Committee chairman Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, said the intent and merits of the program are fine, but its not a prudent use of state resources. There are all kinds of certifications for various professions and to my knowledge none of them are provided through state funding, he said. Legislators created the program in 2000, allowing for state funds to pay for the $1,900 cost of certification and an annual stipend up to $5,000 a year to teachers whod earned it, said Jay Sears, NSEA director of instructional advocacy. The amount of the stipend would decrease as more teachers became eligible, he said. The year the bill passed, a line item veto cut funding and it remained unfunded until 2015, he said. The same year, the Legislature removed $30 million from the state aid formula used to reimburse districts that had teachers with masters degrees. Groene suggested the program could pay for the cost of certification while leaving the decision about the stipend up to individual districts. I would make a deal with you senator, Sears said. If you give us back the $30 million that was taken out for the masters degree piece and put that into national board certification, well call it even. Some districts and federal grants have helped with the cost over the years, Sears said. Now, 120 Nebraska teachers are certified through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Another 29 are working toward it. More than 112,000 teachers nationwide have been certified. The governor has proposed cutting the funding to help reduce the state budget shortfall for the remainder of the fiscal year. But Sears said he doesnt want LB214 to eliminate the program entirely, because it provides an incentive for teachers and helps retain talented educators in Nebraska. Fennell said when she was teaching it took her 17 years to earn her masters degree because she couldnt afford it, and had OPS and a federal grant not paid for the certification she wouldnt have been able to do that. As part of her work in the certification program she analyzed student writing at Miller Park Elementary, where she was teaching at the time. The work helped her figure out which interventions were most effective, and once she knew that, the school expanded that work. That resulted in the school, where 95 percent of students live in poverty, scoring second highest at OPS in state writing tests, she said. Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln said there are few issues that have generated more letters than this one. Youve hit a hot spot, she said. Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn said the issue isn't whether the certification is worthwhile, just who pays for it. If local school boards think the certification is important, they could provide bonuses or find ways to fund it, she said. Sen. Adam Morefield of Lincoln said the law is another "tool in the tool box" for teachers and relieves some of the local property tax burden. Dear Food Doc: I evidently like crunchy foods, which drives the rest of my family crazy. Not that I am not going to change, but it is normal to like foods that crunch and make noise? Dear Reader: Weve all heard the expression that we eat with our eyes. While that may be true, some of us also eat with our ears. Noisy foods, it seems, are enjoyable. Thus, while it may not help with your family dynamics, at least you are not alone. The food industry has long been aware that sounds can drive consumer preference. Consider breakfast cereals. There is Capn Crunch, Honey Smacks, and of course Rice Krispies, made famous by the mascot trio of Snap, Crackle and Pop. Then there is the entire chip and snack foods category that is based on crunchiness. Food companies know that chips, pretzels, crackers, or cookies that lose crunch lose sales. Of course, when regular crispy doesnt quite provide sufficient crunch, there are always extra crispy versions, like extra crispy fried chicken, fries and even pizza. Not all crunchy, sound-provoking foods are found in the snack food aisle. Celery, carrots, apples, popcorn and nuts are hard to eat without a few sound effects. There are also some foods that might not immediately fit in the crunchy category, but which consumers still prefer crispy. The best example is bacon. Aroma and flavor certainly count, but for the perfect BLT, you need crisp bacon. Thus, despite your familys apparent disdain for your crunch-inducing food preferences, most consumers really like crispy, crunchy foods. In fact, for some foods, the sonic sensation is the main attribute. There is another reason why we like crisp and crunchy. For the most part, crisp equals fresh. Chips and crackers that are no longer crispy are considered stale or soggy, one of the worst descriptors food manufacturers want to hear. Of course not all noisy foods are crispy or crunchy. The sound of carbonation, whether from soda pop or Champagne, can engage your taste buds and appetite as quickly as aroma. There are also squeaky foods (think cheese curds or clams) and even creamy foods like ice cream that emit subtle sounds in the mouth. Given how important sounds are to eating likes and dislikes, its not surprising that scientists have developed sophisticated methods to measure texture and crunch. For example, so-called texture analyzers apply weight on a chip, and the force necessary to fracture the sample is then measured. At the same time, a microphone captures the sound. At the end of the experiment, the acoustic properties of the chips can be mathematically calculated. For real. Another cool experiment was conducted with subjects who ate Pringles potato chips while wearing headphones. The researchers were able to adjust the decibels up or down. At lower levels, the subjects thought the chips were soft or stale. When the decibel levels were cranked higher, the chips were rated as crisp and fresh. Same chips, but different perception, based entirely on sound. As you noted, not everyone likes noisy foods. Apart from slurping soup, smacking lips, chewing gum or other table manners issues, it is simply not possible to eat some foods without increasing the decibels. You cant, after all, make an omelet without cracking eggs. Still, there are some people (perhaps your family members) who are annoyed by food noises to the extreme. There is even a term, misophonia, which translates to dislike of sound, to describe this syndrome. For these people, food noises are so bothersome, they will avoid eating with other people altogether. The science of sound is so important to the eating experience that psychologists have begun to study just how our sensory perceptions are influenced by sound. One prominent behavioral psychologist, from Oxford University no less, asserts that sound is the forgotten flavor sense." Tell that to your relatives. The Nebraska Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a prison inmate's challenge to his conviction for raping a Waverly woman in 2012. Frederick McSwine, 30, is serving 57 to 85 years at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, plus another six to 10 on a separate case. It is the second time the Court of Appeals has considered the sex assault case. The first time, the court granted him a new trial based on a comment by the prosecutor in closing arguments. But, a year ago, the Nebraska Supreme Court reversed that decision, then sent the case back to the Court of Appeals to consider other trial errors McSwine had alleged. In an order Tuesday, the court went through the remaining claims, concluding that his trial attorney had not been ineffective in failing to subject the victim to handwriting analysis or to strike a prospective juror whose brother was a law enforcement officer or to object to evidence that portrayed the victim as sexually naive. But, the court ruled that the record was insufficient to review all of his claims that his counsel had been ineffective. That means McSwine can raise them in a later request for post-conviction relief. The high court's split decision reversed a March Court of Appeals decision that found the attorney's statements in McSwine's case misled the jury and prejudiced his right to a fair trial. McSwine had denied the allegations, saying the woman willingly had sex with him Oct. 13, 2012, then got angry when she learned he didn't want a relationship. The woman testified that he forced her from her home, the blade of a pocket knife to her back, and forced sex on her in wooded rural areas during the hours that followed. At the end of the "he said, she said" trial, the jury found McSwine guilty. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba dairy farmers will be able to join the Ontario-based Gay Lea Foods dairy co-operative as the countdown continues to when the co-op opens its first milk-processing plant in Winnipeg. Gay Lea and Abbotsford, B.C.,-based Vitalus Nutrition Inc. announced last fall they are converting a 97,000-square-foot former egg-processing plant Vitalus owns at 70 Irene St. into a state-of-the art milk-processing facility. The new plant is expected to begin receiving milk in August. When its at full production some time next year, the plant should be processing about 150 million litres of milk per year, Gay Lea president and CEO Michael Barrett said Monday. It will produce cream for the Manitoba market, butter for the Canadian market and dry dairy ingredients things such as milk protein concentrate for the domestic and international markets. SUPPLIED Gay Lea Foods dairy co-operative and Vitalus Nutrition Inc. are converting a 33,000-square-foot former egg-processing plant on Irene Street into a milk-processing facility. Barrett said Manitoba milk producers dont have to be co-op members to sell milk to the new plant. Thats because under industry regulations, the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba will supply all of the milk to the plant. Becoming a co-op member will make them joint owners of all of Gay Leas processing plants it also has 10 in Ontario and will entitle them to a share of its profits, he noted. As members, they also will have an opportunity to influence where the co-op is going to go (in the future), he said. Barrett declined to say how much theyre spending on the plant-conversion project, other than to say that it is multimillions of dollars. While joining the co-op wont be a requirement for local producers, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba chairman David Wiens said he expects many will join anyway. I think there is a lot of interest on the part of producers to become part of this co-op. It seems like theyre a fairly strong organization, and there has been a fair bit of growth, Wiens said. So theyve had some good revenues. Wiens noted some have suggested in the past that local producers form a dairy co-operative. But that can be challenging, he said. With them (Gay Lea) coming here and opening up their membership, it gives us an opportunity to be part of something where there is a proven track record and experience, Wiens said. And all of those things are very important. As he noted last fall, Wiens said the opening of the new processing plant will provide a shot in the arm for Manitoba producers because theyll be able to boost their production and still have their milk processed in Manitoba. He said while some local processors have been increasing their production capacity, some producers are still having to ship their excess milk out of the province because there isnt enough processing capacity here. So this new plant is still critical for us in order for us to keep growing with the market. He noted once the Gay Lea/Vitalus plant is in full production, it will likely have to bring in milk from other provinces to meet its needs. Thats something that hasnt happened in quite a few years, he added. With Gay Lea now getting the green light from its members to begin accepting members in Manitoba, the co-op has appointed a local milk producer Meredith Miller-Delichte to its board of directors. Miller-Delichte, her husband, Henry, and their two children operate Delichte Farms Ltd. in St. Alphonse. murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. There may be a dearth of venture capital in Manitoba, but there is no shortage of enterprise. There is also a surprising number of specialized funding opportunities available from dozens of federal, provincial and institutional programs that can aid companies in their growth even if they have to eventually go further afield for the serious money. In an effort to get more companies aware of the funding out there to create opportunities for more of them to grow, organized mayhem was staged Tuesday, when about 60 growing companies were matched up in one-on-one meetings with representatives from about five dozen funding programs and a handful of angel investors. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Danny Schur The day was organized by the Life Science Association of Manitoba and the Manitoba Technology Accelerator. About 800 seven-minute meetings took place. A post-event survey will determine what materializes, but the search for funding brought out many serious Manitoba business ventures from across the development spectrum. For the past five years, Danny Schur the composer and producer of the stage musical Strike! has been raising money to fund a movie version. He is close to his target of $10 million, with about $2.5 million of that coming from Manitoba angel investors and the provinces small-business venture capital tax credit program. He was looking forward to his first-ever meeting with Export Development Canada at the funding day event Tuesday to help monetize international distribution agreements that will let him get into production sooner. I know exactly who I need to see, Schur said. EDC can guarantee those international advances that come in over a number of years so that I can finance the movie for this summer. James Schellenberg, founder of Cubresa Inc., a Winnipeg company that has developed an innovative PET scanner that can non-invasively generate 3D images of biochemical processes in live animals, figured his company was a little further advanced than others attending. After years in development, his company will likely generate a few million dollars in sales of the high-tech research devices this year. Cubresa is also in the process of raising $10 million to fund the next iteration of the technology designed for the clinical (human) medical-research market. His Boston-based CEO is leading the charge on that front. But we try to use as many funding methods as possible to help us out, he said. Im meeting with everyone here (at the funding day event). Weve have had lots of government support over the years and lots of investor support in Winnipeg as well. Tracey Maconachie, president of the Life Science Association of Manitoba, said there are Manitoba companies that will be successful getting access to capital regardless of the fact Manitoba has become a fly-over zone when it comes to venture capital. But there are lots that need help. We hope that we can demonstrate to companies who do not know about programs that they exist, and if they dont have the skills (to successfully obtain those funds), they can gain those skills, she said. That is the value of such efforts to the community broadening the number of companies that know whats out there so more of them can be more successful. Winnipeg company Sightline Innovation is on the leading edge of the artificial intelligence curve, providing machine learning-as-a-service. Its CEO and founder, Wally Trenholm, has high-profile investors and regularly talks to potential funders in Silicon Valley. The 30-person firm is in the middle of a current round of funding. We are here to network with the Manitoba community, he said. All the conversations Ive had have been fruitful in one way or another. That is what makes it great doing business here. Rod Bruinooge, a former MP, is now slugging it out like many other entrepreneurs trying to launch a start-up with his partner, Lawrence Toet, a fellow former Manitoba MP. Their business is a ride-sharing app focused on sporting events called EventRide. This is absolutely helpful. Bruinooge said, offering kudos to Maconachie and Marshal Ring, the CEO of the Manitoba Technology Accelerator, who is helping EventRide develop. Its not a cliche, he said. Entrepreneurs have been saying it for a long time: it is very difficult to access capital in Manitoba. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/01/2017 (2104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. EMERSON Two weeks ago, a man named Abdi, wearing a parka and walking in snow up to his waist, was nearing exhaustion when he looked up and saw a big, brown sign that said, "Welcome to Canada". It was pitch black, about 9 p.m., when the Somali-born refugee sat down to catch his breath at the old Canadian customs office just outside the small Manitoba town next to the U.S. border. He took a sip of water and relaxed. Abdi, who did not want to be photographed or use his last name, was traveling on foot with four other men, all refugees from the African nation torn by civil war, who recently met at a refugee centre in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The five men were strangers weeks ago. But they each had a common goal: get out of the United States of America. How many Muslim refugees in the U.S. might follow? "Too many," Abdi replied, sitting in an office at the Welcome Place, which offers government-assisted refugees in Manitoba temporary shelter and legal assistance to refugee claimants like Abdi. "Not to follow me. They will run from Trump. Muslims say America is not safe right now." The irony is that when Abdi, now 30, fled Somali five years ago beginning a winding journey through Africa, then up through South America and Mexico his goal was always to reach the U.S., which he believed to be a haven of freedom. He eventually settled in Seattle, while trying to get landed immigrant status. He worked at a cleaning company. He spent 18 months in Alaska on a crab boat. He started his own bar business back in Seattle. But last year Abdis attempt to get landed immigrant status in the U.S. was rejected. So was his appeal. He had become an illegal immigrant. When Donald Trump was elected president in November, on a platform of cracking down on illegal immigrants and talking about banning Muslim refugees, Abdi a self-described monster Seahawks fan who fell in love with Seattle knew it was time to leave U.S. soil. "I felt that I wasnt safe," he said. "My life became terrible when he won. Every time he was talking about deportation, deportation, deportation." Abdi and his fellow asylum seekers who slogged through the snow in mid-January might only be the beginning. As the Free Press reported, Welcome Place dealt with 10 new refugee claims on Monday alone. Consider that Welcome Place usually averages between 50 and 70 refugee claimants per year but received 91 claims from October 2016 to Jan. 25 of this year. "Thats huge," said the facilitys executive director Rita Chahal, who added, "We anticipate that flow will continue. People are concerned. Theyre fearful. Theyre running for their lives. They want a country to call home." The problem, however, is that Welcome Places supports for asylum seekers are funded by private donations and it is running out of accommodations to keep claimants like Abdi on a temporary basis. The three apartment buildings now provided by the provincial government are full. And the contract with the province runs out in March. "Were out of space as of yesterday," she said. Emerson, where Abdi and his four fellow refugees first reached Canadian soil, has long been a funnel point for refugees on the run. In their case, Abdi called a taxi in Grand Forks and asked the driver, "Where is Canada?" All five got in the cab and asked the driver to drop them off just on the other side of Emerson. Abdi navigated the rest of the way through the snow and bush using a GPS tracker on his phone. "I walked in the snow that was up to here," he explained, pointing to his chest. "It was cold and miserable. Then it was dark. I thought that night maybe no more tomorrow for me." But Abdi, who is of slight build, kept plodding and urging his friends along. Eventually, his GPS confirmed they had crossed the border. Then they could make out some buildings and street lights. Two elderly Emerson residents, who were out walking, urged them to go to the medical centre to get warm and receive treatment, if needed. Abdi said two nurses on staff cared for them and called the RCMP, who took them to the Canada Border Services Agency. At the border office, Abdi said they were given blankets. He fell asleep almost immediately. "Im in safe hands," he thought. Meanwhile, residents in Emerson are also expecting more refugees to appear out of the bush. At the Emerson Inn, bartender Wayne Phiel, said refugees have shown up at the hotel several times over the last two years. Six came out of the bush last summer and rented two rooms for the night. In the morning, they had breakfast and a driver showed up to take them to Winnipeg. Just before Christmas, four others, with snow packed in their boots, walked in and simply asked, "Is this Canada?" When Phiel replied in the affirmative, the four asked that the manager alert the authorities, who came and picked them up. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Some refugees follow the river, walk across fields and some even cross the border at the old port now closed on the SE corner of Emerson. Phiel said one customs official told him to expect more such visits. He is more than happy to oblige. "Theyre all the same people," he said. "Theyre human beings. They want to start a new life." Pastor Keith Needham of the Emerson Baptist Church, also anticipates more refugee traffic across the border. Needham is an American citizen who lives in Pembina, N.D., and he has assisted some asylum seekers who have been turned away at the Canadian border for lack of proper identification. "I think there will be (more attempting to cross into Canada)," he said. "It wouldnt surprise me at all that the people here who face deportation if they dont want to go back home will seek a more generous society (for refugee status)." The fate of Abdi and others flooding across the border is far from certain, however. They still face the application process to seek asylum in Canada. But if accepted, Abdi said, his five year odyssey in escaping his African homeland might finally be over. "I want to feel safe inside," he said. "I want to be happy." randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @randyturner15 PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Emerson bartender and hotel manager Wayne Phiel: 'They're human beings. They want to start a new life.' A 20-year-old Lincoln man was arrested Tuesday on charges of generating child pornography and statutory rape after a 16-year-old girl told investigators the two had sex in a car last year. The teenager said she and Jose E. Campos, 142 N. 32nd St., had sex in early February, just before her 16th birthday, according to a court document. On her birthday, she said, Campos took a video of the two of them engaged in a sex act. He was 19 at the time. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. If you are driving by Lower Fort Garry on Wednesday, check out a snapshot of RCMP history at a special checkstop and take a moment to thank the Mounties. Wednesday was designated as the first annual Royal Canadian Mounted Police Day by the province to recognize the many contributions of RCMP officers to the safety and well-being of everyone in Manitoba. While reminding the public about road safety, officers from the RCMP Traffic Services division will be wearing period uniforms and showcasing different ways of transportation that were previously used such as snowmobiles, a dog sled and a Red River cart as part of Canadas 150th celebrations. New RCMP technology, such as e-ticketing, will also be on display. It is an honour to be part of this special celebration, recognizing the important work the RCMP are doing in our communities to ensure public safety, especially their work with young people throughout Manitoba, said provincial justice minister Heather Stefanson in a media release. The RCMP have played an important role in Manitobas history, which is clear as we celebrate our countrys 150th birthday. From all Manitobans, we thank you for your dedication, your service and your sacrifice. Children across Manitoba are invited to draw, design or create a card about the RCMP to recognize the many contributions of the mounties in Manitoba. All cards mailed to the province by May 31 will be displayed at the Legislative Building and then formally presented to the RCMP later this year. On behalf of all current and former RCMP employees in Manitoba, we are so very honoured by this important day, assistant commissioner Scott Kolody, commanding officer of D Division, said in a statement. The RCMP have a proud and strong history in the province of Manitoba and I feel privileged that our service is being recognized in this distinctive way. The RCMP were formally established by an act of parliament on Feb. 1, 1920, merging the North-West Mounted Police and Dominion Police of Eastern Canada. In Manitoba, RCMP Day was established by a private members bill introduced last fall by Cliff Graydon, member of the legislative assembly for Emerson. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Justice Minister Heather Stefanson and dignitaries are piped into the atrium in the RCMP D Division Headquarters Wednesday, where she announced Feb.1 will be the first annual Royal Canadian Mounted Police Day in Manitoba to recognize the many contributions of RCMP officers. A short video featuring remarks from several RCMP officers and the minister was released today to commemorate RCMP Day in Manitoba. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/01/2017 (2104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Community organizer Bernadette Smith has been nominated as the provincial NDP candidate for Point Douglas, replacing former New Democrat MLA Kevin Chief, who recently resigned. Smith was the sole applicant and won by acclamation at the Tuesday night meeting at the Ukrainian Labour Temple. She co-founded both the Manitoba Coalition of Missing and Murdered Women in Manitoba and the Drag the Red Initiative. She was recently named to the Order of Canada. Her sister, Claudette Osborne, has been missing since 2008. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bernadette Smith will carry the NDP flag in the Point Douglas byelection, which has yet to be called. Smith is currently assistant director of the WayFinders Program in Seven Oaks School Division, a community-building and social justice agency. Brian OLeary, who nominated Smith, said she has an amazing ability to take on the impossible. She has an ability to organize people, to mobilize them. OLeary is superintendent at Seven Oaks and was Smiths principal when she attended Isaac Newton School. Smith thanked party members and said she is prepared to help rebuild the party. Interim Liberal leader Judy Klassen will hold a news conference Thursday to introduce Liberal candidate John Cacayuran, a provincial civil servant who was the only person to file papers. The nomination meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at 490 Sinclair St. Premier Brian Pallister must set the byelection date for Point Douglas by early July, no later than six months after the riding became vacant. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/01/2017 (2104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Lucie Diane was forced to go cap in hand to fellow churchgoers for money after a Handi-Transit driver wrongly refused to accept her Winnipeg Transit token on New Years Day. Diane said not only has it happened again to her, but she has heard another Handi-Transit user had it happen to them recently. Diane was on her way to a church service on Jan. 1 with the temperature hovering around -11 C and already on a Handi-Transit vehicle in her wheelchair when she says she gave the driver a metal token with the Winnipeg Transit logo imprinted on it. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Lucie Diane was refused rides by Handi-Transit drivers because they wouldnt accept her Winnipeg Transit tokens. He looked at it and said, We dont take these, she said. I had one old paper (Handi-Transit) bus ticket in my purse, so I gave him that one and the five-cent difference (for the fare). But Diane realized at church she had no money for the return fare if the driver wouldnt take the token. It put me in a quandary, she said. I had to ask for cash from people so I could go home. That was a bit embarrassing. Diane said when she got on the Handi-Transit van, and was again told they dont accept the tokens, she called the services call centre. I spoke to Handi-Transit and they said, No, we dont take the tokens. I called Handi-Transit two more times and (on Jan. 2) I was told again they dont take tokens. I was frustrated because I had the tokens and I wanted to educate Handi-Transit that, yes, you should accept these tokens. City council approved the use of the tokens on Handi-Transit on Dec. 11, 2013. The decision came at the same time council approved free fares on Handi-Transit for all mandatory attendants required for safe travel of a registrant on all trips and identified via Handi-Transit application/functional assessment process. The minutes of the council meeting state the tokens used in the regular fixed route Transit service will be accepted as fare payment on Handi-Transit vehicles by registrants, however, no other regular fixed route fare products will be accepted on Handi-Transit. The city had the Royal Canadian Mint create the tokens. Diane said after she received information that city council had passed a motion that the tokens could be used on both its regular Transit service and Handi-Transit, she called again. They again said, Nope, they are not accepted, and I said I have information that contradicts that. They put me on hold and after four minutes or so, she came back and said, Yes, we do accept tokens. But then a few days later, I was coming for an appointment and the driver I had rejected the token. I was told to tell the driver to call Handi-Transit and after he did he accepted the token for payment. I dont know why Im the one who has to instruct their drivers. And Diane is not the only Handi-Transit user who has had a problem. Marie-Lynn Hamilton, an individual advocate with the Independent Living Resource Centre, which supports people living with disabilities, said they have heard at least one other Handi-Transit user has had the same problem trying to use the tokens. Hamilton said its a problem because the tokens are not something that can be purchased by individuals they are only available to be given out to the people who need it by schools, social agencies and non-profit groups. Its just tragic there is so much inconsistency, she said. Not only are there people with disabilities, but people trying to see a doctor and then they find they cant use them (tokens) and when it is -35 C out, it could be life threatening. It is unfathomable. Josie Fernandes, Winnipeg Transits manager of client services, apologized for the mix-up and said the problem may have occurred because, unlike the regular Transit service, Handi-Transit is contracted out to eight different companies to provide the service. I think when you have that many people doing the job, communication is a challenge, Fernandes said. But we have to ensure everyone knows the information they should know. The information is sent to the companies. They shouldnt have been misinformed like this. The payment should have been taken. Fernandes said Transit has again sent out its August 2016 operations bulletin to ensure all companies and drivers know the tokens can be accepted by Handi-Transit. Diane said she hopes all Handi-Transit drivers will now accept the tokens. Its not my job as a passenger to call in to have Handi-Transit tell the driver their policies. Im a customer. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 31/01/2017 (2104 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. After the shock of mass murder at a Quebec mosque and a jarring U.S. travel ban on people from seven Muslim countries, Manitobas Islamic community welcomed the warmth and security of vigils and demonstrations of support Monday. Yesterdays turnout throughout the country put a lot of us at ease, said Osaed Khan, the president of the Manitoba Islamic Association. We do have the support of our fellow Canadians. Monday night, close to 1,000 supporters gathered outside the Manitoba legislature for a vigil and 1,500 attended the Grand Mosque on Waverley Street later that night for prayers, he said. Were not alienated or feeling alone in the matter, said Khan. From the high anxiety and stress it was a transition to the positive, with flowers and messages of support. Six people were shot dead in the attack in Quebec City Sunday night. Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, a Laval University student, was charged with first degree murder and attempted murder. Prior to the deadly attack at the mosque, a pigs head was delivered to the mosque. That sent a chill through Winnipegs Muslim community after pork which the Quran tells Muslims not to eat was left on the windshield of a vehicle outside a mosque and mailed to the Islamic association earlier this winter. We didnt want to take that too lightly, said Khan. The Manitoba Islamic Association is stepping up its security, he said Tuesday before meeting with members of the RCMP. The Mounties were coming to offer condolences on the Quebec attack and, Khan hoped, some security advice. The Manitoba Islamic Association runs the Grand Mosque on Waverley and the Pioneer Mosque formerly Hazelwood in St. Vital. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS People gathered with Manitobans for Human Rights and the University of Manitoba Muslim Students Association at the Manitoba Legislative Building for a solidarity vigil and moment of silence for victims and families of the Quebec City Mosque Shooting Monday, Were looking to see if there are some grants available to make our communities and mosques a little safer, said Khan who was meeting with the areas Liberal MP Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South) and other provincial and civic officials. One federal program, run by Public Safety Canada, offers the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program, which funds and supports communities at risk of hate-crime. Our community is a bit anxious and a little bit worried, said Khan. Mosque security not a problem: defence and security expert The slaying of six innocent men by a student armed with an assault rifle was a lone-wolf terror attack and very rare, says the director of Centre of Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba. I dont think mosque security is a very big problem in Canada, said Jim Fergusson. The situation here is nowhere near as tense as it is in Europe, where mosques and synagogues, in France especially, are very well defended, he said. The spark for Sundays terror attack in Canada isnt yet known, he said. No one knows the trigger. He said governments here and around the world are trying to figure out what those triggers are and how to prevent people from acting on them. In Canada, de-radicalization efforts have mainly been through community groups who can intervene and identify who these people are, said Fergusson. But what if the threat is coming from the far right, Islamaphobic or anti-Semitic community? Thats one of the key problems, he said. Everyone knows radical right-wing extremists exist in Canada and the U.S. These people are being monitored by police and intelligence services, he said. Most governments are too obsessed with the Islamic problem perhaps to the detriment of other groups. There needs to be a shift, Fergusson said, from focusing on radical Islam to radical anti-Islam and other extremist groups. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS People gathered with Manitobans for Human Rights and the University of Manitoba Muslim Students Association at the Manitoba Legislative Building for a solidarity vigil and moment of silence for victims and families of the Quebec City Mosque Shooting Monday. Moderate Muslims are the first victims of Islamic radicalism and our best allies in combating their radicalism, said international human rights lawyer David Matas of Winnipeg. I see this on a daily basis with my refugee practice in Winnipeg, Matas said by email from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he is doing refugee work. He commented on the temporary travel ban imposed by the U.S. president. The Trump ban victimizes the victims of Islamic fundamentalism even further and undermines our efforts to combat fundamentalist terror, said Matas, senior legal counsel for Bnai Brith Canada. The struggle to combat Islamic fundamentalism is global. We have to appreciate the harm that Trump is doing to that struggle with that executive order and attempt to counter it by helping its victims and keeping (them) as allies in this combat those whose help Trump is turning away, said Matas. My attitude to Trumps executive order is it is the acting out of the bigotry on which he campaigned. A person who talks like a bigot acts like a bigot. Anyone who thought Trump, who talked so irresponsibly during the campaign, would behave presidentially in office has to be immediately disillusioned. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Close to 1,000 supporters gathered outside the Manitoba legislature Monday night. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. As Canada and the United States prepare to meet for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn into office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may want to keep Chinas stance on trade in his back of mind. Because, while President Trump cast off the mantle of world trade leadership, Chinese President Xi Jinping was already stooping to pick it up and Canada, a nation that lives by trading, must pay close attention to who is leading the trade parade and where they are taking us. Mr. Trump, in his inaugural address, repeated complaints about his countrys free trade treaties and announced a policy of America First. He said: Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. Upon taking office, hes moved quickly to close down borders and withdraw from trade. Mr. Trump backed away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade treaty linking the U.S. with Canada, Japan and nine other Pacific Rim countries. He still aims to built walls, both physical and metaphorical, to keep Mexican goods and people out of the United States. He instituted a travel ban to keep Muslims out. MICHEL EULER / the ASSOCIATED PRESS files Chinas President Xi Jinping At the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland President Xis Jan. 17 speech stood in stark contrast. His first appearance at the annual gathering of economic thinkers who have shaped the globalization agenda for the last 40 years. China had previously sent low-level delegations to the Davos meetings and showed little interest in free trade. But this was a dramatic shift in Chinese thinking. President Xi likened protectionism to locking oneself in a dark room in the hopes of protecting oneself from danger, but in so doing, cutting off all light and air. He added: No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war. China has done extremely well with globalization, raising a great part of its population out of poverty in the years since the death of Mao Zedong and becoming a huge trading nation. It still protects its giant, state-owned industrial monopolies, but President Xi may recognize, better than President Trump, the advantages of commercial competition and removal of protective trade barriers. Despite Mr. Trumps protectionist instincts, the drive toward freer world trade can continue if China actually puts its money where President Xis mouth is. The Pacific Rim nations that signed the late lamented Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty may be available for some kind of organized removal of trade barriers. It may be worth finding out what China thinks of the TPP and what steps it might take to open its internal market to products and investors from the other TPP nations. The Trump administrations protectionist policy claims Canadas attention now because the U.S. is our main export market. But we should not mistake Mr. Trumps instincts for a law of nature or the wave of the future. Freer trade is still the route to economic expansion. Chinas new interest in the subject should encourage Canada to keep pulling down walls. Hunter J. Kukowski, 30, of Winona died Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, at his home. Visitation will be held from 10:30 a.m. to time of Mass of Christian Burial at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Marys Catholic Church in Winona. Burial will be in Witoka Cemetery. A complete obituary will follow. Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. The annual Winona County Old Settlers meeting will be held Saturday, Feb. 4 starting at 9 a.m. with registration at Winona Middle School. There will be complimentary coffee, visiting, and door prizes. A beef roast dinner and a dessert will be served at 11:30 a.m. All tickets must be paid for in advance. Reserve tickets by Jan 28. The only requirement for membership is to be a current resident of the county for 31 years. If someone is no longer able to attend, please send the $5 per person dues needed to retain membership. The cost for the entire day and the membership fee is $15 per person. Guests and or non-members are welcome, $15 for the day. Ron's Old Tyme Band will provide music for all to enjoy, and there will be a visit from the Winona Clown Club. Following the dinner will be a short meeting. There will be a short history presentation about the Fremont Store. The floor will then open to anyone attending to speak about their memories of the store or years past. If anyone would like to have family pictures on display, they may bring them. There are no stairs, and ample parking. Friends and relatives are welcome. Tickets will be at the door at the time of arrival. Winona National and Merchants banks have been honored by the Minnesota Bankers Association as Community Champions for the ways they give back to and are involved in the community. The banks were two of just 24 statewide to receive the award. They were honored for their work giving charitably to many organizations, and providing funding, volunteers, materials, supplies, or food for their communities, the association said. This extraordinary level of volunteer participation by Minnesota banks demonstrates their deep commitment to the communities they serve, said association president Joe Witt in a statement. In addition to providing the capital that helps families and local businesses thrive, the banking industrys record of supporting local programs is second to none. The MBA is pleased to recognize these 24 banks for their commitment to making a real difference in their local communities. Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. Thomas Jefferson Our democracy is being undermined in so many ways during the first week of the Trump administration, all of which are alarming. But I would suggest the most distressing is the relationship between the Trump administration and the press. Trump and his lackeys (Sean Spicer, Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, et al.) have displayed contempt and hatred for journalism and journalists openly declaring war on the press, identifying it as an enemy and the opposition party. This is troubling on so many levels that justice to it cannot be done in a small amount of space, because it is complicated. A thorough discussion requires historical context, an understanding of the press and its responsibilities in a democracy and an understanding of propaganda. Suffice it to say: the First Amendment provides freedom of the press. Along with that freedom comes responsibility (as with all freedoms). The four essential roles a free press serves are 1) holding government leaders accountable to the people (the watchdog function); 2) publicizing issues that need attention; 3) educating citizens so they can make informed decisions and 4) connecting people with each other in civil society. Legitimate journalists labor on behalf of citizens. If the press does not provide us with the information necessary to make informed decisions and to make our political system accountable, we cannot do so. If the government is providing alternative facts that create a bubble of bullshit it is difficult to hold politicians answerable. Weve seen politicians lie to us in the past, but we have never seen the kind of blatant manipulation through psychological means into questioning our own reality (known as gaslighting) nor the complete disregard of easily verifiable facts countered by alternative facts. Many have noted that Trump and his people dont spin the facts they go full Orwell (perhaps this is why sales spiked last week for George Orwells 1984). There are valid criticisms of the press and how it handled the Trump candidacy but the legitimate press does not peddle alternative facts nor fake news. The press, many have suggested, now should assume an adversarial fair, but adversarial stance from outside the bubble and stop giving Trumps propaganda machine an ounce of air. Yes, we are being served propaganda by Trump and his mouthpieces. Propaganda is biased and misleading information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. It is a feature of an authoritarian press model. The authoritarian theory of mass communication describes how the media is influenced and overpowered by power and authority. In this model, media must respect what authorities want and work according to the wishes of the authorities though not under direct control of the government. Retribution and punishment are meted out if the press fails to provide positive coverage. In this model, the press and media cannot work independently, and its works are susceptible to censorship. Examples of the authoritarian model include China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, Uganda and Zambia in the 1990s. Burma just began relaxing its press rules. Censorship of the press does not have to be direct to be effective; it can take many forms and ultimately reduces or eliminates access to information that we need to make informed decisions and keep our politicians accountable. Weve already seen a few attempts by the Trump administration to curtail information we need: failing to answer questions from reporters, selecting particular news organizations to participate in news conferences, a media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior. All of these actions are meant to prevent us from getting information we need as citizens so can make our government accountable. Another disconcerting action taken by the Trump administration is his assignment of two former campaign aides to manage Voice of America, a government-funded multimedia network that reaches an international audience of 278 million in 100 countries and which now is also broadcasting to an American audience because of legislative changes in 2013. The network was managed by a bipartisan board until December 2016 when a provision in a defense bill transferred the boards authority to a full-time chief executive. This is occurring simultaneously with the Trump administration considering suggestions that would sell off (privatize) the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. I would suggest these are methods of censorship as well. The Trump administrations actions portend a serious undermining of our liberal democracy. There is a variety of ways through which you can help our institutions combat these assaults: support local journalism by subscribing to your local newspaper and consider contributing to Committee to Protect Journalists; contribute to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or any of its affiliates; contact your legislators encouraging them to eliminate Trumps budget proposal to axe the NEA and the NEH. In a recent interview, I was asked to reflect on what it looks like for rural voices to be heard, which has been a big talking point during this last election cycle. I referenced an op-ed from a friend of mine, former Congressman Dick Swett of New Hampshire. He stated, dont insist that everybody worship at the altar of global warming, just talk to them about common sense approaches to conservation. We dont need to sing out of the same songbook to be singing in harmony. Dicks advice could apply to a lot of issues where emotions often get in the way of solutions. Naturally, I dont think were going to agree 100 percent on many things, but I do think we agree a lot more than were letting ourselves think. One of these issues is that of equity; rural folks strive for equity with urban dwellers, just like within both urban and rural communities we seek equity between genders, races, generations, and more. As Minnesotans, we have typically done a good job of agreeing that our state does better when everyone succeeds. This includes all kids getting a good education, businesses of all sizes being able to succeed, and all residents no matter their skin color or religious background having access to economic opportunity. Statistics, however, continue to show that we have work to do. For example, we know that 14 percent of Minnesota kids ages 0-4 live in poverty (39 percent for black children and youth, 26 percent for Hispanic children and youth, and 25 percent for Native Americans) and that 8 of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundations (SMIF) 20 counties are in the highest range of income inequality in the state. When SMIF surveyed minority business owners in our 20-county region, we found that the main barrier to success was access to capital. Yet, studies continue to show women and people of color, especially new immigrants, are driving entrepreneurship. Economic inequalities and educational achievement gaps are not solely issues affecting the urban core. Earlier this month, Minnesota Public Radio host Tom Weber interviewed Dane Smith, President of Growth and Justice (which is a think-tank that advocates for equity through policy) as well as Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski. They pointed out that there are areas of great inequality in parts of Greater Minnesota. They mentioned issues ranging from access to high-speed internet and good infrastructure to racial disparities. Today, Greater Minnesota is more racially diverse than most people realize. I share the view put forward by Dane Smith that community leaders are addressing this and embracing this issue, because I see evidence of it every day. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is another institution undertaking a study on equity, and lack thereof, as a cause for economic concern. In that same vein, here at SMIF, we have launched The Prosperity Initiative to give minority-owned businesses one-on-one technical assistance. We received an Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program allocation from DEED to supplement our business lending to groups that have trouble accessing traditional bank financing. SMIFs Early Childhood team and partners are driving the conversation around affordable, quality child care in rural communities. All of our resources help rural populations trying to make a difference in their community. As Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, noted when announcing their new Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute: A lack of economic opportunity does not know racial or ethnic or even geographic boundaries. There are people in all communities who are struggling to get a fair chance at a good education and a good job. Investing in people of color, new Americans, women, veterans, people with disabilities, low-income people, young leaders and other historically under-resourced groups across all Minnesota communities is a win-win proposition. It can lead to increased economic opportunities for all Minnesotans. By creating welcoming communities that people want to move to and start businesses, raise families and volunteer their time, we create a state that is vibrant and strong. My colleague Diana Anderson, President of SMIFs sister foundation, Southwest Initiative Foundation, has the following African proverb on her office wall: If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. As we go forward, who can we bring along? A former Lincoln man accused of two rapes that happened more than 10 years ago pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree attempted sexual assault in Lincoln this week, according to Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly. Jaime Villasenor, 33, faces as many as 20 years in prison on each charge when he's sentenced Feb. 17. Villasenor was booked into the Lancaster County jail in May after completing a four-year federal prison sentence for re-entering the U.S. illegally. An arrest warrant says he's accused of raping a 22-year-old woman who was walking home from downtown Lincoln in November 2006. Hes also accused of raping a 33-year-old cab driver in January 2007, the warrant says. In both cases, the women said their attacker held a knife to their throats and threatened to cut them if they werent quiet or if they didnt cooperate. Villasenor was connected to the rapes in June 2015 when his DNA was matched to DNA taken at the time of the reported cases. Villasenor was deported in September 2006 after a criminal conviction in Los Angeles County, California. He was jailed on rape charges in January 2007 after coming back to the country a year earlier, according to federal court documents. In August 2007, Villasenor was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was deported a second time on July 21, 2010, and came back in 2012, when he was arrested in Texas, documents say. A committee will discuss potential changes to the powers and duties of two high-ranking Sauk County officials early Thursday morning. An agenda for the county meeting which was emailed to the media late Tuesday afternoon includes consideration of possible amendments to an ordinance involving the administrative coordinator and county board chair. The discussion among members of the Sauk County Boards Executive and Legislative Committee comes on the heels of recent controversy involving the departure of the countys last administrative coordinator and the hiring of a new one. Former Sauk County Administrative Coordinator Renae Fry signed a separation agreement with the county Dec. 2 that entitles her a years salary in exchange for her resignation. The deal will cost taxpayers nearly $135,000. Documents later released showed that despite mostly positive reviews from staff Fry faced multiple allegations going into her six-month performance review in late October. Several criticisms involved her working relationships with Board Chair Marty Krueger and the countys attorney, Todd Liebman. Liebman and Krueger are the only two county officials prevented from speaking negatively about Fry under terms of her buyout deal. One document showed Fry was ordered to recognize Liebman as her peer, despite a county ordinance that states every officer in the county is subordinate to the administrative coordinator. Liebman has said that language does not apply to him. A complete reading of the ordinance indicates that the corporation counsel has professional independence from the administrative coordinator, Liebman wrote in a Jan. 12 email. Liebman has proposed changes to the ordinance, including one that would specifically state that he is not subordinate to the administrative coordinator. Also during Thursdays meeting, Wisconsin Counties Association Chief of Staff J. Michael Blaska is slated to appear to discuss meeting procedures. The discussion is likely to center on a controversial board rule that involves closing off debate at meetings. The meeting includes an opportunity for public comment. The jury in a Baraboo homicide will resume deliberations Wednesday in the trial of a North Freedom man accused in an October 2015 fatal stabbing. Jurors began deliberation Tuesday afternoon after attorneys presented closing arguments in the seventh day of a trial for 29-year-old Jae M. Robinson. Robinson is alleged to have stabbed 36-year-old Anthony Inman, also of North Freedom, to death during a post bar-time fight in Baraboo. He has said Inman attacked him first with an illegal knife, and that he acted in self-defense. During closing arguments, prosecutors highlighted the 26 knife wounds that Inman received, saying that level of injury was not consistent with Robinsons self-defense claim. This is how the defendant saved his life, Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Dennis Ryan said as he pointed to a drawing that documented the numerous cuts, stabs, and other injuries found on Inmans body. Ryan described Inman and Anthony J. Peterson, 33, of Mauston, as two friends out for a night of fun drinking. He said they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and found themselves ambushed by three men who intended to start a fight with someone else. During closing arguments for the defense, Robinsons attorney, Michael Covey of Madison, zeroed in on the prosecutions ambush claim. He said such a plan was not plausible, and that the only testimony about it came from Peterson, who was injured in the fight. Covey questioned whether Peterson may have lied in order to protect Inmans reputation. The fact that Inman left his jacket down the block and approached the area with a knife gave credibility to Robinsons testimony that words were exchanged prior to the fight, and that there was no ambush, Covey said. Covey also raised doubt about claims that Robinson used a tire iron during the fight. Neither his DNA nor his finger prints were found on the object, and a co-defendant who testified that Robinson used it as a weapon made a conflicting statement in a recorded jailhouse conversation. Covey also referenced hand wounds Robinson said he received when he grabbed Inmans knife by the blade. He said the case essentially boiled down to the moment Inman attacked Robinson with a knife. At this point, Jae Robinson didnt have a whole lot of options, so he grabbed the illegal knife that was pulled against him, Covey said. (The wound to Robinsons palm) proves that Inman had that knife and blade extended while he was fighting Jae Robinson. With respect to the homicide charge, the jury in Robinsons trial was given the option of fnding him guilty of a lesser count of second-degree intentional homicide. Also charged with homicide and battery in relation to the fight are Matthew T. Harvey, Christopher L. Nash and Amanda N. Rotar, all of Baraboo. Rotar is accused of driving Robinson, Harvey and Nash from the scene after the fight in which they are accused of participating. A panel reviewing Wisconsins handling of a deadly deer disease will vote Wednesday on wide-ranging recommendations calling for the state to be more aggressive in efforts to slow the incurable infections spread through the herd. Preliminary recommendations would direct the state to make fighting Chronic Wasting Disease its primary goal in setting hunting quotas, intensify its tracking of the disease and consider culling deer from afflicted areas. Others include extending bans on feeding deer statewide, more enforcement against moving carcasses from infected areas, and establishment of stricter regulations to prevent outbreaks originating in deer farms. The Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan Review Committee began meeting in October and sent its initial recommendations to advisory councils in all 72 counties. On Wednesday the committee will review the input and finalize its report that assigns priorities to its recommendations. The Department of Natural Resources will present the report to the departments policy board, the Natural Resources Board. Researchers have suggested strategies for reducing the deer herd in specific geographic areas, and there is a recommendation for the department to give consideration to them. DNR staff should decide how to implement any recommendations that are incorporated into the agencys CWD plan, said committee member George Meyer, a former DNR secretary who is the executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. But there would be a backlash from the public if the department went back to the strategy it adopted and later abandoned of attempting to eradicate large numbers of deer in infected areas, Meyer said. Some of the recommendations could require additional funding and staff, Meyer said. The Legislature and the governor control funding for the agency. Elected officials have been reducing staff at the department for 20 years. Clearly one of the things to come from this plan is there is additional need for funding, Meyer said. Many committee members have favored a statewide ban on baiting deer to slow the spread of the disease. The practice is currently banned in more than 40 counties with boundaries within 10 miles of confirmed CWD cases. Many of the County Deer Advisory Councils would prefer to be able to decide on bans locally. Proposals for tough regulations on deer farms have been resisted by owners who say theyve been unfairly blamed for CWDs advance through the state. Installing more secure fences would be costly, the owners have said. The state has 387 registered deer farms. Other preliminary recommendations call for the DNR to do sufficient testing of deer for the disease, to cooperate with researchers and for the state to support research aimed at controlling the disease. Members of the review committee have heard from researchers who said CWD was spreading like wildfire through the state. Proteins called prions cause incapacitating holes in mammals brains. CWD prions affect deer and a few other animals. The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention havent found CWD in humans. The prions are virtually indestructible, so a deer can deposit them in soil and they will linger indefinitely. They often incubate for years before a deer shows symptoms. They can mutate inside an organism and emerge with new characteristics, including the range of animal they can infect. Wisconsins first cases of CWD were discovered near Mount Horeb in 2002. The DNR spent millions of dollars trying to eradicate it by killing deer in the infection zone. Hunters and landowners resisted, calling the strategy impractical and a waste of venison. Scott Walker criticized DNR deer management in his 2010 campaign for his first term as governor. As governor, Walker oversaw a much less aggressive stance. Testing for CWD has dwindled, but in March the DNR said 9.4 percent of 3,133 deer carcasses sampled in 2015 were infected, the highest rate yet. Last year Walker called for more study and asked for advice on guidelines for deer farms. He didnt endorse reducing infected deer populations. Illinois has maintained a 1 percent CWD rate in part by killing as many deer as possible in infected areas. The review panel is scheduled to meet from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Lussier Family Heritage Center, 3101 Lake Farm Road in Madison. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is more concerned about the safety of Syrian women and children than she is for American families. Her party and its sanctuary cities are willing to jeopardize American lives in the name of a political victory. On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump ordered the immediate suspension of immigration from the countries of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, for a time period of 90 to 120 days based on the countries ties to terrorists. Pelosi and company completely freaked out. Before the weekend even was over, protesters took to the streets and the national media proclaimed victory when a federal judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, issued a stay which, according to The Hill, only affects those who have arrived in the U.S. with previously approved refugee applications or were in transit with valid visas. Just a quick question: How do you get the attention of a federal judge on a Saturday? Contrary to the headlines, the stay did not block most of the executive order and it also is not a ban on Muslims. It was exactly what the American people requested last year an opportunity to examine our procedures to effectively process thousands of people at risk from terrorist states as a means of limiting the threat to a front-door terrorist invasion. This is not a first for this country. On April 7, 1980, former President Jimmy Carter ordered officials to invalidate all visas issued to Iranian citizens for future entry into the United States. His orders began immediately and, at the time they were issued, lasted indefinitely. President Trump at least offered a timeline. I dont recall protesters lining the streets on behalf of Iraqi citizens who are also Muslim. Pelosi, in the most grandiose way, grabbed a microphone in the Capital Building on the day of Trumps announcement and proclaimed As the Statue of Liberty holds her torch of welcome high, there are tears in her eyes as she sees how low this administration has stooped in its callousness toward mothers and children escaping war-torn Syria. The image of Lady Freedom no longer accepting your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free was a powerful one. Pelosi acted as if she personally would have to apologize to those Syrian mothers while our president seeks a way to safely extract this endangered group into the United States while protecting our own sovereignty. The risk of not properly vetting these refugees is very real. Just last month Europol, the law enforcement arm of the European Union, issued several warnings about the refugee crisis. The agency believes Syrian refugees may be vulnerable to radicalisation (sic) once in Europe and may be targeted by extremist recruiters. They stated the infiltration of refugee camps and other refugee/migrant groups is likely. Europol has the evidence to back it up: The Dec. 19, 2016, attack on a German market killing 12 people and leaving 56 dead. The March 22, 2016, attack on the Brussels Airport killing 32 people and injuring more than 300. These attacks were carried out by people infiltrating those countries in the name of ISIS. We have no reason to believe things here will be magically different. On Dec. 2, 2015, 14 people were killed in San Bernardino by people inspired by ISIS. The Boston Bombers from Chechnya were radicalized by an al-Qaeda cleric. How long before these terror groups reach out and inspire just one of the refugees that already are here? Pelosi and her Democrats have suddenly become backers of the U.S. Constitution for non-citizens. One could only wonder what would happen if they felt that strong when those same American rights pertain to American citizens. Is Pelosi willing to defend her position to the next American mother who is notified her child died in an act of terrorism on American soil? And that is the problem with sanctuary cities. Do we really believe that the open-door policies of cities like Madison and Milwaukee ultimately are to the benefit of the residents of Wisconsin? Are Mayor Tom Barrett and Mayor Paul Soglin willing to come to Baraboo and apologize when things go wrong because they defied federal law? Do we really need to wonder about our safety, or look over our shoulder, every time we go to Madisons West Towne Mall? A 90-day pause assessing refugee migration isnt racist, or an attack on Muslims. Its practical and its prudent. After all Pelosi, American lives also matter. Head of Wayland Academy, Joseph Lennertz said over the phone Tuesday that the school is keeping an eye on President Donald Trumps executive order related to travel and how the order could affect Wayland students. Nothing at this point directly affects any of our students because they are on campus, he said. Jan. 27, Trump signed an executive order that prohibits refugees and immigrants from entering the United States for 120 days if they are traveling from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The order is following through with Trumps campaign promise to introduce extreme vetting to immigrants. Lennertz said that currently there are no students from the seven countries targeted in the travel ban. However, there are a number of children attending Wayland with student visas. Since the ban took effect Friday, it has been a concern for Lennertz and facility, but he said the staff is always aware of these kind of restrictions. Weve made it clear that [the students] are all welcome here, he said. Over the weekend, hundreds of people protested at national airports and outside of the White House opposing the travel ban. St. Katharine Drexel School is entering its first year offering parents a choice under the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. There were 163 private nonsectarian and religious schools and school systems that registered with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction by the deadline for the 2017-18 school year through the Wisconsin Parental Choice programs. Other local schools participating in the Parental Choice Program are: Central Wisconsin Christian School, Waupun; Randolph Christian School Society, Randolph; Wisconsin Academy, Columbus; and St. Johns Lutheran School, Mayville. The program allows students who reside outside of the Milwaukee and Racine Unified school districts to use a taxpayer-funded subsidy to attend participating private or religious schools. To qualify for the program for the 2017-18 school year, a new student must have a family income equal to or less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $44,955 for a family of four or $51,955 if the childs parents or guardians are married. In addition, all students applying for the statewide choice program for the 2017-18 school year must meet one of the following attendance requirements: Attended a public school in Wisconsin in the prior school year; Was not enrolled in school in the prior school year; Are applying to attend kindergarten, first, or ninth grades for the coming school year; or Participated in the WPCP or Racine Parental Choice Program in the current school year. Eligible students in kindergarten through eighth grade may attend the private school with no charge for tuition. Eligible students in grades nine through 12 may be charged tuition if their family income exceeds 220 percent of the federal poverty level ($53,460 for a family of four or $60,460 if the childs parents or guardians are married). The private school, on behalf of each students parent or guardian, receives a state aid payment for each eligible choice student. The amount, set in state law, is $7,323 for students in grades K-8 and $7,969 for students in grades 9-12 for the current school year. Parents who wish to enroll their children in a private or religious school participating in the statewide voucher program for the 2017-18 school year must complete the online application between Feb. 1 and April 20 on the Private School Choice Programs Student Applications website at http://dpi.wi.gov/SMS/choice-programs/student-applications. After completing the application, parents must provide residency and income documentation to the school(s) they apply to before the close of the application period at 4 p.m. on April 20. Avacyn Albrecht Avacyn M. Albrecht, infant daughter of Andrew Albrecht and TiaRae Brown, died Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, after battling multiple medical issues since her birth four months ago. Avacyn was born Sept. 24, 2016, at St. Marys Hospital, one minute after her twin sister. She was the feisty one but was also seen as the protector. Her name stands for Angel of Hope and they are known to inspire others wherever they go. Although the time was all too brief, she inspired us every moment of her life. The memorial gathering will be at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Beaver Dam Friday, Feb. 3, from 11 a.m. until the memorial service at 1 p.m. The Rev. Collin Vanderhoof will officiate. She will be missed by her parents and twin sister Alayna; grandparents, Tammy (Mike) Matuszeske, Clint (Kristin) Brown, and Dave and Toni Meyer; great-grandparents Ken and Marlene Schlagel; and uncle Zac Brown. Koepsell-Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam is caring for the family. To leave online condolences or for directions and other information, visit our website at KoepsellFH.com. A group of Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers and liberal activists said Tuesday the open U.S. Supreme Court seat President Donald Trump plans to fill is a "stolen" one. Trump is set to announce his pick to fill the seat vacated by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in an announcement from the White House Tuesday evening. The seat has been vacant for nearly a year, after Republicans refused to hold confirmation hearings for Judge Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama's nominee. Politicians on both sides of the aisle made the vacancy a key issue in the 2016 campaign. Democrats argued Republicans weren't doing their jobs by blocking hearings, while Republicans argued the seat should be filled by the next president. The liberal group One Wisconsin Now pushed often over the last year for Republicans to consider Garland's nomination. OWN executive director Scot Ross said Tuesday there are issues within Trump's administration that must be resolved before his Supreme Court nominee is considered. "His lack of commitment and lack of compliance with the Constitution warrants a hold on this appointment," Ross said at a press conference Tuesday, citing the president's recent executive order on immigration and the subsequent firing of the acting attorney general who refused to defend it. The order indefinitely bans admission to the U.S. of Syrian refugees, bars for 120 days all other refugee admissions and prevents citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. "Nominating a justice to the Supreme Court who shares this administrations shameful and discriminatory views on immigration is reckless," said Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee. "This is the United States of America. Were better than this." Perceived by some as a religious test amounting to a "Muslim ban," the immigration order has provoked widespread criticism from Democrats, business leaders, academics and some Republicans. Others, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, have praised it as a necessary national security measure. Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, voiced concerns that a Trump nominee would support rolling back protections for LGBT rights, and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin director of government relations Nicole Safar said a Trump nominee would likely support efforts to limit access to, or entirely outlaw, abortion. Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said Trump's comments about voter fraud raise concerns that his nominee may support efforts to restrict voting rights. Meanwhile, Republicans are already seizing on expected Democratic opposition to Trump's nominee as they gear up for 2018 electoral fights. "After Senator Baldwin lectured (voters) over the last year on the importance of a full Supreme Court, Wisconsinites deserve to know that Senator Baldwin will stand by her past statements and swiftly confirm the Presidents nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court," a spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin said in an email to reporters on Tuesday. Nancy Hicks Reporter Nancy Hicks reports on Lincoln city government, but shes been following the leaders of local and state government for more than 40 years. Follow Nancy Hicks Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A city election is approaching, and the politicking has begun. Already folks are offering differing interpretations of reality by picking and choosing which facts they focus on. Here is one example. Last summer Mayor Chris Beutler offered a budget plan that required a 1-cent hike in the citys property tax rate. Republican council members offered an alternative plan that required no tax rate hike. Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird, a Democrat, on several occasions offered a budget plan in the middle -- that would require a half-cent increase in the tax rate. Under that compromise plan Gaylor Baird would have given the Republicans a veto-proof budget. She would have been the fifth vote for a veto override. But the four Republicans on the council were adamant. No rate increase. They called their own plan a compromise. And they refused her offer. So Gaylor Baird, unwilling to support the kind of cuts in the Republican budget plan, voted for Beutlers plan and thus the penny tax rate increase. The mayors veto was sustained and the Beutler budget and penny tax rate increase prevailed after a court battle. Last week Gaylor Baird became the first of the seven council candidates to send out a news release saying she would work to reduce the citys tax rate in light of the potentially large increase in home values. I will lead an effort to cut the citys property tax rate if these new assessment figures stand, she said in the release. Her announcement, an obvious attempt to position herself on the tax-thrifty side of the fence, brought quick responses from the Republican Party and Councilman Roy Christensen, a Republican running for re-election. Both pointed out Gaylor Baird previously supported the mayor's budget plan and a higher property tax rate. This council member supported more spending and a higher-than-needed property tax rate, said Christensen in his news release -- where he promised to work with council members and the mayor to reduce the citys tax rate. The release from the county Republican Party was even more inflammatory, and less than honest, saying Baird has fought tooth and nail to prevent property tax relief needed by Lincolnites. Neither mentioned her compromise proposal, which in retrospect would have meant a half-cent lower city tax rate than we have currently. Gaylor Baird, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to one of the three at-large council seats. Its rumored shes been targeted for defeat by some Republicans, so you can probably expect to hear more chatter in the future. Health Department director retiring Judy Halstead, who has worked at the local Health Department for more than 22 years and headed it for 6 years, is retiring. Halstead, a forward-looking director, with smarts, schmooze and integrity, says she needs more time right now to spend on family matters than her job allows. Halstead manages a public health department that provides services including restaurant inspections, dental care for low income children, vaccinations and picking up stray dogs. The department, which serves the city and county, has around 185 employees and a $20 million annual budget. Word on the street is that Beutler has a successor in mind but has not yet announced it. Halsteads replacement must be approved by both the City Council and Lancaster County Board, plus the local Board of Health. Heavy hitters for Christensen Roy Christensen, who is running for re-election to City Council and could consider a bid for mayor in two years, has some heavy hitters on his side. A reception invitation -- from Gov. Pete Rickets -- listed more than 60 supporters on a sponsorship committee, including former Gov. Kay Orr, members of the Nebraska Congressional delegation and several county agency heads. The committee includes Tom Nesbitt, who has announced he will also be a candidate for the council. Other known candidates for the three at-large council seats in the spring election include Braydon McLaughlin, Bennie Shobe, Lou Braatz, Leirion Gaylor Baird and Deb Andrews. West A improvement in pipeline A West A Street improvement project has moved off of planning documents and into the fast lane. The City Council recently approved a $1.255 million contract with Olsson Associates for design work. The West A project was listed in the Capital Improvement Program, which generally indicates the city is serious about a project. Often the city will begin setting aside money for a road project, another clue to the city's intentions. "But this is more than setting money aside. It is committing to the work," said Thomas Shafer, design and construction manager. Improvements from Folsom to the city's western border -- over 2 miles -- are included in the $17 million project. But there are still a few years before people can start complaining that construction is slowing them down. The city expects to begin construction on West A by the spring of 2020. Items are listed under the day of the event only, running as space permits prior to the event. To submit items, call 745-3511, email jcutsforth@capitalnewspapers.com or visit www.portagedailyregister.com . Include name and phone number. TODAY Free arthritis seminar: 6 to 7 p.m. Divine Savior Healthcare Wellness Center, 2815 New Pinery Road, Portage. Are you suffering from arthritis joint pain? Our experts will share options for relief. Call 608-745-6289 to register. G.G.s: 1:30 p.m. Civic League Clubhouse, Edgewater St., Portage. Hostess is Joyce Gloeckler and the program is by Virginia Laing. Library event: 10 a.m. Preschool Story Time for children ages 3 to 5 (younger siblings welcome), Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. Preschool Story Time is 30 to 40 minutes and focuses on books, songs, movement and other learning opportunities. This week the theme is Mixed-Up Story Time where stories, songs, finger plays and crafts that werent used last fall will be incorporated into this weeks story experience. Registration is recommended to ensure enough supplies and can be done by calling the Childrens Department at 742-4959, ext. 211 or online at www.portagelibrary.us. Senior meal: 11:30 a.m. Portage Area Senior Citizens Group, Municipal Building, 115 W. Pleasant St., Portage. The meal will be provided by the Columbia County Nutrition Center. If you wish to have a meal, call Lois Williams at 608-697-5800 by noon Tuesday to register. The cost is a cash donation which will be directly put back into the nutrition program. The meeting will start at noon with cards to follow. St. Vincent de Paul free medical clinic: 9 a.m. to noon. Wilz Drugs lower level, 140 E. Cook St., Portage. No appointments needed. Information needed is name, date of birth and a contact number. A chiropractor is available from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays. A foot clinic is available every week. The clinic can do exams and prescribe medications. Physical therapist available. Discounted medications are available at Wilz and Walmart. Call Bonny Oestreich, RN, at 608-234-0159 for information. Zumba/Zumba Toning: 5 p.m. Montello. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or 4dreamers@frontier.com. Zumba: 5:30 p.m. 1208 Northport Road (the former Freedom Carpeting building). This is a $5 drop-in class. For more information, contact Deb at THURSDAY, FEB. 2 DJMACK00001@yahoo.com or Rena at 697-6713. Library event: Toddler Thursday story time for children ages 18 to 36 months, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. This week toddlers will have fun with Socks in a story, song and counting, and craft. Registration is recommended to ensure enough supplies. For more information, call 742-4959, ext 211. Museum: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Portage World War II Museum, 119 E. Cook St., Portage. Free tours for veterans every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The tours take 2 1/2 hours. For information, call 608-697-3690. Ouisconsing School of Collaboration Culture Project Night: 6 to 8 p.m. Lodi Charter School, 103 Pleasant St., Lodi. Students in grades three through five present projects on cultures from around the world. This event is free and open to the public. Portage Family Skate Park public meeting: 5 to 6:30 p.m. Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. All interested people are welcome to attend. Meetings will be held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Cancellations will be announced on our Facebook page. Call 608-742-4959 for more information. Salvation Army Volunteer Appreciation Dinner: 5:30 p.m. Municipal Building, 115 W. Pleasant St., Portage. All are welcome. Please make a reservation by calling 920-980-7938. FRIDAY, FEB. 3 Art exhibit: Portage Center for the Arts Drury Gallery presents the exhibit The Flowers are Burning by Helen Klebesadel and Mary Kay Neumann, Portage Center for the Arts, 301 E. Cook St., Portage. Opening reception from 4 to 6 p.m. The gallery is open from 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Call 742-5655 for more information. Blood drive: Lodi Red Cross blood drive, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Faith Lutheran Church, 120 Faith Drive, Lodi. Download the American Red Cross Blood Donor app, visit www. redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767 to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed. A blood donor card or drivers license or two other forms of identification are required. Fish fry: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Knights of Columbus fish fry, Knights of Columbus Hall, 918 Silver Lake Drive, Portage. Cocktails at 4 p.m. Public invited. Cost is $10.75. Hope House support group: 1 to 2 p.m. Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. Has domestic violence touched your life in some way? Find connections with supportive individuals who have similar life experiences as you at Hope Houses newest support group. All are welcome. Held on the first and third Friday of the month. For more information, contact Katie Fluger, outreach advocate, at 608-356-9123. Seniors Bowling Social: 1 p.m. Fireball Lanes, 817 E. Wisconsin St., Portage. Cost is $6 and includes three games of bowling and shoe rental. Unique Singles: 5 p.m. Knight of Columbus Hall, Silver Lake Drive, Portage. All single men and women older than age 50 welcome. The group is strictly social with no dues or officers. SATURDAY, FEB. 4 Annual Oyster Stew and Chili Supper: 4 to 8 p.m. Rosedale Presbyterian Church, Highway 33 between Cambria and Pardeeville. Menu includes oyster stew, chili, cheese, crackers, gelatin, cake, rolls and beverage. Cost for adults is $8, children ages 6 to 12 are $4 and children younger than age 6 are free. Library event: 10 to 11 a.m. FamilyFunEvent, Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. This months family event is a Valentine Party for children of all ages and will include some traditional story time elements such as a story and song. Families will then work on projects that include a fabric heart-shaped wreath, heart-shaped bird feeders, pop-up cards, and more. Activities include a giant tic-tac-toe game and word search. To top off the morning participants will make a love potion to enjoy with other refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. Registration is not required. For more information, call 742-4959, ext. 211. University of Wisconsin Varsity Band Concert: 2 p.m. Portage High School, 301 E. Collins St., Portage. Michael Leckrone will be conducting the band in the high school gymnasium. Portage High School Alumni, Hyden Breene, trumpet, and Jaden Briggs, trombone, will perform with the band. They are both in their second year performing with the Varsity Band. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Portage High School Office or Bartels Middle School Office. Tickets for students and seniors are $5, adult bleacher seats are $10 and floor seating is $15. SUNDAY, FEB. 5 Bingo: 3 to 5 p.m. VFW Hall, 215 W. Collins St., Portage. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Hard cards are $1 and chips are available. All are welcome. Runs the first and third Sunday of each month. Zumba: 5:30 p.m. Rusch Elementary School, Portage. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or MONDAY, FEB. 6 Clinic: 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Westfield Municipal Building, 129 E Third St., Westfield. Bring childs immunization record. Parents must accompany all children under 18 years of age. If this is not possible, call the Marquette County Health Department at 608-297-3135 prior to the clinic. Euchre card party: 6:30 p.m. Bethlehem Lutheran Church, W8267 Highway 33 East, Portage. Public welcome. Contact: Cloe, 429-2363. Knights of Columbus: 7 p.m. meeting, Knights of Columbus Hall, Silver Lake Drive, Portage. Zumba/Zumba Toning: 6 p.m. Harrisville. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or TUESDAY, FEB. 7 Blood drive: 12 to 4 p.m. Portage Public Library, 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage. Download the American Red Cross Blood Donor app, visit www. redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767 to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed. A blood donor card or drivers license or two other forms of identification are required. Photography Interest Group: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Northwoods Inc., Highway 51 South, Portage. Meet with fellow photographers to share photos and tips, explore new ideas and inspire creativity for upcoming events. Call Fred Baewer with questions at 608-742-4691. Zumba Toning: 4:30 p.m. Woodridge Primary School, Portage. $5 drop in fee. Contact Tami at 608-346-3971 or Renovations remain on path for a new Italian restaurant to open in Portage this spring. Baraboo chef Philip Capone and Portage developer Richard Lynn reported this week the property at 2756 New Pinery Road has since early December undergone several upgrades, including new walls, heating system and electrical wiring. The property, owned by Lynn, was the site of World Buffet before fire damaged the property in June 2015. Capones Ristorante is a joint venture between Capone and his fiancee, Michelle Baxter of Baraboo. They expect to open in April. Weve laid out the kitchen and we have the equipment, so were where we want to be at this point, Capone said of the construction overseen by Lynn. Id like to open it sooner but only so much can be done. Workers, Lynn said, are changing out the windows and on Tuesday were putting in an Italian, authentic stone floor. After that, workers will begin interior decorating. Capone has not recently been on site to view construction efforts due to undergoing triple-bypass heart surgery in early January, he said. He expects to be completely recovered from the surgery in March. Ill be 110 percent, he said. Lynn said hes waiting to see how Capones health improves in the coming weeks and months, but that Capones health status is not going to change what were doing in renovations. That will be an Italian restaurant no matter who it is (as tenant), Lynn said. Lynn reported in December that he had many different tenants interested in the property on New Pinery, but that it was only available for an Italian restaurant. The restaurants menu is near completion, Capone said, including authentic Italian items, as well as veal, chicken and seafood options like shrimp, mussels, lobster tail and squid. Pricing, he added, will be affordable for all budgets. I dont want it to be (just) a special-events place, he said. Capone responded to negative statements made about him on social media regarding his personal life and past, acknowledging that he did at one time have a problem with alcohol. We all make mistakes in life, and if we dont look past them, things will never get done. Many statements made about him were either off or exaggerated, he said, noting hes been sober for more than 600 days and regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Hes open about his past, he said, because he wants to help others overcome challenges in their lives. Im my own success story, Capone said. Im a spiritual person, and Im looking forward to hiring people who need help also. Lynn said he is not concerned at all by Capones past or the negative statements made on social media. Im only concerned with the future, Lynn said. If I was concerned with peoples past we wouldnt do business with anyone. People who want to throw stones should take a look in the mirror first. His restaurant will serve alcohol, Capone said. The restaurant has not yet sought licensure, which he said will be in Baxters name. Capones would be the first Italian restaurant in Portage in nearly 10 years, Portage Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marianne Hanson said in December. The citys most recent Italian restaurant, La Bella Luna, operated downtown where Portage Asian Cuisine is now located. Capone, 62, is a Pennsylvania native who was once the personal chef for professional boxer Larry Homes. He said he has operated seven restaurants in 27 years and has cooked meals for celebrities like Frank Sinatra and President Donald Trump. He moved to Wisconsin four years ago and plans to move to Portage soon. Lois Westedt Lois L. Westedt, 86, of Belvidere, Illinois, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Lois was born Aug. 26, 1930, in LaGrange, the daughter of Zoern J. and Nina E. (Annis) Hansen. A graduate of Whitewater College High School in 1948, she received awards for music and perfect penmanship, of which she was very proud. Lois met Walter (Wally) Westedt at Tecks Ice Cream Company in Middleton. They married on Sept. 17, 1949, in Merrimac, and were blessed with 53 years together. Some of their favorite things were traveling, dancing, going to the Rose Bowl in 1994 to root for the University of Wisconsin-Badgers. Lois loved the Green Bay Packers and cheered them on till the end. She also loved curling with Walter when they lived in Racine. Together they raised three children, Linda, Wayne and Jill. Lois was a wonderful homemaker, and also involved in the community. She loved to bake, her sugar cookies, Danish pastries, cakes and pies were a treat for all. Devoted to her family, she made holidays, and birthdays special. Her grandchildren were her greatest joy in life; she made the most beautiful May baskets, and would drive to their homes early in the morning to surprise them. She was a room mother, Brownie leader, and den mother ...whatever was needed. Lois was active in Rotary, Red Hat Society, German Club, VFW Ladies Auxiliary (past president), and Womans Club (past president). She also volunteered at Highland Hospital, and served on the Belvidere Planning Commission. Left behind to cherish her memory, are her children, Linda (Ray) Melby of Beloit , Wayne Westedt of Rockford, Illinois, Jill Michels of Winnebago, Illinois; grandchildren, Travis (Lang Brown) Melby, Jessica (Jason) Melby Eisenmenger, and David (Melissa Peebles) Michels; her sister, Ella Ruetten; and brother Frederick Hansen; many nieces and nephews; and cherished friends. Lois was preceded in death by her husband Walter; her parents; sister Joyce Gierman; and brother Donald Hansen. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10 at Anderson Funeral and Cremation Services, 218 W. Hurlbut Avenue, Belvidere, Illinois. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until the time of service on Friday. Memorials can be made to the American Cancer Society, or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. To light a candle, or share a condolence visit, www.andersonfcs.com Mom will be in our hearts forever.... You are our Sunshine... Our only Sunshine...xoxoxo Sometimes it takes a region to create a quilt, and sometimes creating a quilt brings a region together. That certainly is the case in this area of south-central Wisconsin, where quilting is as important a pastime to some residents as ice fishing is in the winter and boating is in the summer. From Mauston to Portage and from Adams-Friendship to Sauk City and beyond, quilters are hard at work at their craft seemingly continually, collecting fabric, piecing together sections into a quilt-sized whole and having their creations then longarm stitched into high-quality keepsakes that adorn their homes and often keep their loved ones and even pets warm. The shared and often collective activity of quilt-making transcends the boundaries of the regions cities, villages and towns like few other activities. Quilters who live in Wisconsin Dells travel to Baraboo, Reedsburg or Portage to participate in classes, purchase supplies and join with fellow quilters in groups and guilds with such quaint yet colorful names as the Calico Capers (Endeavor) and Prairie Samplers (Sauk Prairie). Its like cooking in that way, theres a lot of time involved, youre not saving any money, but its the love you put into it, said Diane Bortz, owner and operator of Portages Welcome Home quilting store, a quilter and, at times in her stores basement, a sewing instructor. Its unique, its one of a kind. Stores serve quilters from every corner of the region with quilting supplies and seminars and classes. Baraboo, Endeavor and Reedsburg also feature quilting-oriented stores (Ardyths Sew and Vac Shop, Homespun Fabrics and Quintessential Quilts, respectively) to serve their communities of quilters. Quilting is such a staple across the region, in fact, that in at least one place where there isnt a bona fide quilting or crafting store (Sauk Prairie), the local Ace Hardware has stepped into the breach and features a Cards, Crafts and Collectibles department. It is unusual, but here at our Ace store we have a craft department that has some of the basic notions and tools for quilting as well as batting and fabric, said Jacque Scharf, technology and special projects coordinator for Ace, who also happens to be a quilter. Not your typical offering in a hardware store. Sharing and caring The regions quilters also come together to create quilts for higher purposes, notable among them Madison-based Blankets for Critters for homeless pets and the nationwide Project Linus, which provides hand-made blankets, including quilts, for critically ill children. The Cheerful Givers of Portage, for which The Welcome Home serves as a base of operations, meanwhile, make high-quality quilts for donation to Portages River Haven Shelter for the homeless, and the Charity Sew group of Baraboo, for which Ardyths Sew n Vac is the local hub, produces and collects quilts for such local causes as Hope House of South-Central Wisconsin. Its a continual work in progress, said Michele Miller, owner and operator of Ardyths. Were always working on putting together a quilt, and people sometimes just drop off quilts and say I made this, please find a home for it. Quilting, as Miller and most everyone else interviewed for this story confirmed, is as much or more about those who ultimately will receive the finished product than for the quilters who create it. We all have enough of this stuff in our homes, now were looking outside ourselves, Bortz said, as she oversaw a recent class in Welcome Homes basement studio. Maybe one percent we do for our families, the rest of the time were looking outside of ourselves to see what we can do for others. I think we all have our own motivation to quilt for others, said Scharf. Its a way to share your talent, a way to help others as you have time, a way for the more introverted personality to make a difference in someone elses life. Quilt that keeps giving A recent regionally created quilt could make a difference in potentially many lives, thanks to the efforts last fall of Dells-Delton-area quilter Jayne Gilbertson, who as a member of the Reedsburg Area Quilt Guild personifies the regional nature of the pastime in these parts. A prized quilt Gilbertson donated to the Lake Delton Fire Department was the grand prize in a fundraising auction by the department for the purchase of automatic external defibrillators for use in Lake Delton and Wisconsin Dells. Gilbertson had won the quilt a year earlier in the Reedsburg Area Quilt Guilds Christmas fundraising auction, and she also worked on the quilt as a guild member. The prized quilt was valued at $1,900, and, as the grand prize in the local fundraiser, it helped Lake Delton firefighters raise more than $4,500 for the purchase and long-term upkeep of three AEDs, which were installed at the Frank Fischer Senior Center in Lake Delton, the Kilbourn Public Library in Wisconsin Dells and the public entry area of the Lake Delton Fire Department/EMS building. The AEDs were purchased in honor and memory of Gilbertsons son Brian Gilly Gilbertson, a Lake Delton firefighter who tragically passed away in early 2014. We laugh about the quilt that keeps giving, Jayne Gilbertson said prior to the auction last fall. It gave to the Guild, and its giving again to the defibrillators. Gilbertson also has served as one of dozens of local quilting contributors to another region-wide example of quilts that keep giving, an effort that for the third consecutive year will bring the regions quilters together Feb. 4 for a day of quilt-making and probably quilt-awarding. Quilts of Valor That regional and national effort is the Quilts of Valor (QOV) movement, whose National Sew Day will again take place in the Dells at the Kilbourn Public Library and is sure to draw quilters from across the region, as was the case in 2015 and 2016. Founded in 2005 by Blue Star mother Catherine Roberts, who was inspired by her sons service to his country in Iraq, QOV has created and awarded more than 150,000 quilts to deserving veterans and service members affected by U.S. wars. Begun in the Dells area two years ago by local quilters Joann Van Wie and Barbara Sigmund, the local effort has produced and awarded dozens of quilts to veterans. The groups goal is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing, with the quilts made by members and the numerous volunteers who help them. Those efforts across the region since QOVs 2016 National Sew Day have resulted in the creation and awarding of more than 30 quilts, Van Wie said. The area QOV effort was born after Sigmund and Van Wie learned of the Foundation at the Quilting Expo in Madison. The two eventually recruited Dells-area longarm specialist Karren Watson to help and a regional movement was born. A longarm is the specially built machine that produces the stitching that both decorates and sews together the top, middle and bottom of a quilt known as the quilt sandwich. An experienced longarmer like Watson at the controls can transform a quilt into a valuable and collectible work of art, and the longarmers touch has been a trademark of the QOV movement thanks to its founder, according to the Foundations website. Van Wie and Sigmund organized the first National Sew Day in the Dells on Feb. 7, 2015, and in 2016 the second annual event drew more than 30 quilters, helpers and volunteers. Quilts of Valor founder Roberts refers to receiving a Quilt of Valor as the civilian equivalent of a Purple Heart, and the awards effect on its recipients and its importance for everyone involved was evident at the 2016 Sew Day, when Vietnam War veteran Bernard Bud Lawrence of Portage was literally draped with a quilt made by the local group. Were going to cover you right up, Sigmund told Lawrence as she and Van Wie pulled the quilt across his shoulders, to the applause of those on hand. These quilts cannot be given to somebody, they cannot be bought, they can only be awarded, Sigmund said. Though we never may know the depth of your sacrifice, to protect and defend the United States of America, by this gesture of gratitude, from a grateful nation, Joanne and I would like to award you this quilt of valor, and we would like to thank all the ladies who have come today to be a part of this ceremony. Lawrence, meanwhile, was overcome with emotion, and after the ceremony, as family members and friends crowded around him and the gathered quilters returned to their piecing effort, he shed a tear and recalled the service that led to it. Its a big honor, he said. Quilts of Valor produced by the regions quilters at that 2016 Sew Day made their way last summer to Operation Badger Base, a touring display of a replica of the Vietnam Wall that made stops in Madison and at Ho-Chunk Gaming-Wisconsin Dells. QOV presentations also have become a regular occurrence at the summertime Veterans Family Camp in Wisconsin Dells, with every veteran on hand there receiving a quilt, according to QOVs Wisconsin Coordinator Karen Demaree. They do a great job, Demaree said of Sigmund and Van Wie. National Sew Day The pair in January organized a gathering of a half-dozen or so quilters from across the region to prepare numerous quilting kits for national sew day. One of the volunteers on hand that day was Linda Sweeney, whose son, Iraq war veteran and Dells native Brennan M. Sweeney, received a Quilt of Valor in August in a ceremony at Dells American Legion Post 187. Sweeney puts the quilt on his bed and wrapped himself in it, his mom reported as she helped put together patriotic-themed blocks for use in quilt-making this Saturday. Thats precisely the use QOV members hope for, Van Wie said as she worked on Sewing Day kits of her own nearby. Its meant to give them comfort, she said. It absolutely is a gift of love, Sigmund said as she and Van Wie worked on a kit and their co-quilters did the same nearby in the same Kilbourn Library conference room where this Saturdays Sew Day will take place. Its something youve put your heart and soul into. President Donald Trump's pick to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court elicited praise from Nebraska Republicans and the state's congressional delegation, while local Democrats decried the nomination of a conservative jurist Tuesday night. Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was tapped to replace Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last year. "The president followed through with what looks to me like the best possible selection we could have," said J.L. Spray, the state's Republican national committeeman. Spray was impressed by Gorsuch's humility and honesty in his remarks following Trump's announcement. Gorsuch, who was unanimously confirmed for his appointment to the appellate court in 2006, has all the qualifications and credentials to be a supreme court justice, Spray said. Gorsuch and Judge Thomas Hardiman of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Pittsburgh, were reported to be Trump's top two candidates for the Supreme Court vacancy. Vince Powers, former chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, called Gorsuch an illegitimate nominee for the land's highest court. "This is President Obamas pick, said Powers, a Lincoln attorney. "The American people voted overwhemingly for Hillary Clinton and (Merrick) Garland. Powers doesn't believe Gorsuch should be confirmed by the Senate, which refused to even give Garland a hearing after Obama nominated him. If he is confirmed, Gorsuch will likely follow a tradition of conservative judges who rule in favor of corporations over the government and individuals, Powers said. Eric Berger, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Nebraska College of Law, said said both Gorsuch and Garland have credentials worthy of the Supreme Court. But they each would bring different mindsets to the court, he said. "I think (to) most fair-minded people (Judge Gorsuch) is much more ideologically conservative than Judge Garland was ideologically liberal," Berger said. Both of Nebraska's U.S. Senators, who will be involved in the confirmation process, applauded the nomination. Sen. Deb Fischer praised Gorsuch's "sharp intellect, steady judicial temperament, and long history of upholding the rule of law." She looks forward to reviewing his record as the Senate vets him, she said in a statement. Sen. Ben Sasse, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee that will first vet Gorsuch, called him a highly regarded jurist, who will be unfairly attacked by Democrats. "Senator Chuck Schumer is about to tell Americans that Judge Gorsuch kicks puppies and heckles piano recitals," Sasse said. "Thats hogwash." "Democrats are working overtime to cast Judge Gorsuch as a reflexive partisan but, as I said when Justice Scalia died, there are no Republican or Democratic seats on the Supreme Court." In Gorsuch's confirmation hearings, there should be no partisan debate, Sasse said. Fifty years of medical ethics at Wits In June 1966, Professor Henry Beecher of Harvard published a shocking article in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled "Ethics and Clinical Trials". The article described unethical research carried out by unnamed but prominent researchers and research entities. At this time no ethical screening of research existed. Catching the attention of Professor John Hansen, then head of Paediatrics at Wits, the article sparked the formation of a research ethics committee at the University to screen human medical research studies. Initially called the Committee for Research on Human Subjects, it was the very first research ethics committee to be established in Africa and the first in the Southern Hemisphere, nearly two decades ahead of other countries here. Fifty years later the Human Research Ethics Committee (Medical) (HREC), as it is now known, is a Wits success story. Since its first meeting in October 1966, at a time when no guidelines for medical research review existed in South Africa, Wits pioneered the development of such parameters. Wits did not limit itself to just human medical research. The University constituted the Animal Ethics Screening Committee in 1975 and the Human Research Ethics Committee (Non-Medical) in 1988. The Wits HREC committee, by virtue of its long-standing and highly experienced membership, has since played a leadership role in ethics in South Africa through various engagements: Members of the Wits HREC committee served on the Interim National Health Research Ethics Committee The Wits HREC Chair and a co-Chair were on the editorial team of the first National Department of Health research ethics guidelines, entitled: Ethics in health research: principles, structures and processes (2004) At the request of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the Wits Chair formed the HSRC Ethics Committee, serving as its Chair for three years and now as a member. In 2014 the Wits HREC (Medical) formed the Biobank Ethics sub-committee, because of the growth of biobanks worldwide. The Department of Health issued ethics guidelines in 2000 for clinical trials and in 2004 for general research. With the introduction of a Bill of Rights constituting that everyone has the right to bodily and psychological integrity which includes the right (c) not to be subjected to medical or scientific experiments without their informed consent, it is a legal requirement to gain HREC approval prior to beginning research. Over half-a-century, the Wits HREC has developed the highest ethics standards possible for medical research undertaken by the Wits. Professor Peter Cleaton-Jones, Chair of the Wits HREC, commented at the committees 50th anniversary event on Friday 27 January 2017 that, over its 50 years, the Wits HREC had played a key role in the medical ethics context, has challenged foreign sponsors who refuse to compensate patients, and has ferreted out fraudulent research and motivated that consequences be brought to bear for such lack of ethics. Today, housed within the Wits Health Consortium (a not-for-profit organisation and academic research vehicle), the Wits HREC (Medical) is custodian of the ethics of hundreds of sponsored clinical trials. A lure at both ends - puff adders leave nothing to chance One of Africa's iconic snakes, the puff adder use what is termed lingual luring to attract amphibian prey closer, and increase the odds of catching it. The Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) is one of Africas deadliest snake species, not only due to its deadly venom, but also because of its stealthy behaviour in the way that it hunts by ambushing prey. It has now emerged, however, that it has another deadly weapon in its arsenal, as it not only lies in wait for prey, but that it actively lures prey into striking range. By capturing and analysing thousands of hours of video footage of puff adders hunting in the wild, Wits University researchers, Xavier Glaudas and Graham Alexander, have shown that puff adders use what is termed lingual luring to attract amphibian prey closer and increase the odds of catching it. A puff adders strike is typically no longer than one or two head lengths (5-10cm) in distance, so it needs a strategy to attract potential prey to come within that striking range in order to catch it, says Glaudas, a herpetologist and Post Doctorate Fellow at the Alexander Herpetology Laboratory at Wits University. We have found that puff adders use their tongues that resemble an invertebrate that frogs feed on to increase prey capture rate. Funded by the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration, Glaudas and Alexander tracked 86 puff adders over three years at the Dinokeng Game Reserve, about 100km north of Johannesburg in South Africa. Glaudas captured wild snakes and tracked them by surgically implanting radio transmitters into the snakes and releasing them at their place of capture. We really wanted to have a closer look into the secretive lives of these fascinating animals, and specifically study their foraging ecology, says Glaudas. To aid his research, Glaudas and Alexander made use of video cameras, which they set up in front of puff adders that were lying in ambush position. We placed our cameras mounted on a tripod about 70cm away from the snake, and the camera continuously recorded what was going on. We came back the next morning to get the memory cards and reviewed everything that happened during the night, says Glaudas. We gathered over 4600 hours of video footage of snake foraging. So, that is 193 days of continuous footage over half a year. What Glaudas and Alexander saw surprised them. It was complete luck, says Glaudas. We know that snakes use their tongues to pick up scent cues in their environment, but these snakes were extending their tongues out of their mouths for up to 30 seconds, which is dramatically longer to what they do when they are just using their tongues to smell their environment. We know of several species that use tongue luring to attract prey. Some wading birds, like egrets do it, as well as alligator snapping turtles and some aquatic snakes, but this is the first time that it is reported in a terrestrial snake, says Glaudas. Even more surprising was the fact that the snakes only used lingual luring to attract amphibian prey. All the cases of lingual luring that we have observed occurred with frogs, which suggests that puff adders are able to distinguish between amphibian prey and other prey like small mammals. Glaudas and Alexander also witnessed puff adders waving their tails, suggesting the use of their tails as lures as well. However, none of the tail luring behaviour attracted prey within the cameras field of view, and more data on this are needed. We suspect that this behaviour is also used to attract prey, as it is pretty common in snakes, including adders, but we werent able to observe prey capture with the videos, says Glaudas. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. operates as a branded consumer products company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington and LumaBella brands. The Global Pet Care segment provides rawhide chewing, dog and cat clean-up and food, training, health and grooming, small animal food and care, and rawhide-free products under the 8IN1 (8-in-1), Dingo, Nature's Miracle, Wild Harvest, Littermaid, Jungle, Excel, FURminator, IAMS, Eukanuba, Healthy-Hide, DreamBone, SmartBones, ProSense, Perfect Coat, eCOTRITION, Birdola, Good Boy, Meowee!, Wildbird, and Wafcol brands. This segment also offers aquarium kits, stand-alone tanks, and aquatics equipment and consumables under the Tetra, Marineland, Whisper, Instant Ocean, GloFish, OmegaOne, and OmegaSea brands. The Home and Garden segment provides outdoor insect and weed control solutions, and animal repellents under the Spectracide, Garden Safe, Liquid Fence, and EcoLogic brands; household pest control solutions under the Hot Shot, Black Flag, Real-Kill, Ultra Kill, The Ant Trap, and Rid-A-Bug brand names; household surface cleaning, maintenance, and restoration products, including bottled liquids, mops, wipes, and markers under the Rejuvenate brand name; and personal-use pesticides and insect repellent products under the Cutter and Repel brands. The company sells its products through retailers, e-commerce and online retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin. Under Armour, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the developing, marketing, and distributing performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth. The company offers its apparel in compression, fitted, and loose fit types. It also provides footwear products for running, training, basketball, cleated sports, recovery, and outdoor applications. In addition, the company offers accessories, which include gloves, bags, headwear, and sports masks; and digital subscription and advertising services under the MapMyRun and MapMyRide platforms. It primarily offers its products under the UNDER ARMOUR, UA, HEATGEAR, COLDGEAR, HOVR, PROTECT THIS HOUSE, I WILL, UA Logo, ARMOUR FLEECE, and ARMOUR BRA brands. The company sells its products through wholesale channels, including national and regional sporting goods chains, independent and specialty retailers, department store chains, mono-branded Under Armour retail stores, institutional athletic departments, and leagues and teams, as well as independent distributors; and directly to consumers through a network of 422 brand and factory house stores, as well as through e-commerce websites. It operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Under Armour, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. Argan, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations management, maintenance, project development, technical, and consulting services to the power generation and renewable energy markets. The company operates through Power Industry Services, Industrial Fabrication and Field Services, and Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segments. The Power Industry Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction contracting services to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 15 gigawatts of power-generating capacity. This segment serves independent power project owners, public utilities, power plant equipment suppliers, and energy plant construction companies. The Industrial Fabrication and Field Services segment provides industrial field, and pipe and vessel fabrication services for forest products, industrial gas, fertilizer, and mining companies in southeast region of the United States. The Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segment offers trenchless directional boring and excavation for underground communication and power networks, as well as aerial cabling services; and installs buried cable, high and low voltage electric lines, and private area outdoor lighting systems. It also provides structured cabling, terminations, and connectivity that offers the physical transport for high-speed data, voice, video, and security networks. This segment serves state and local government agencies, regional communications service providers, electric utilities, and other commercial customers, as well as federal government facilities comprising cleared facilities in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Argan, Inc. was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. The following companies are subsidiares of PerkinElmer: 2Cure LLC, Analytica of Branford, Applied Biosystems, Arnel Inc., ArtusLabs, Beijing Huaan Magnech Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Testing Lab Co. Ltd., Beijing OUMENG Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Bio Evolution SAS, BioLegend, BioLegend CNS Inc., BioLegend China Beijing Ltd., BioLegend Europe B.V., BioLegend France SAS, BioLegend GmbH, BioLegend Inc., BioLegend Japan KK, BioLegend Shenzhen Ltd., BioLegend Taiwan Ltd., BioLegend UK Ltd., BioLegend Ventures LLC, Bioo Scientific Corporation, Biosense Technologies Pvt Ltd., Boulder Diagnostics Europe GmbH, Caliper Life Sciences, Caliper Life Sciences Inc., Cambridge Research & Instrumentation Inc., CambridgeSoft, Ceiba Solutions, Chengdu PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Cisbio Asia Pacific Ltd, Cisbio Bioassays SAS, Cisbio China Ltd., Cisbio.com, DIA.Metra S.R.L., DNA Laboratories Sdn. Bhd., Dani Analitica S.r.l., Dexela, Dharmacon Inc., EUROIMMUN AG, EUROIMMUN Brasil Medicina Diagnostica Ltda., EUROIMMUN Diagnostics Espana S.L., EUROIMMUN France SAS, EUROIMMUN Hangzhou Medical Laboratory Diagnostics Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Italia Diagnostica Medica S.r.l., EUROIMMUN Japan Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics Canada Inc., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics China Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Laboratory Diagnostics South Africa Pty Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medizinische Labordiagnostika AG, EUROIMMUN Polska Sp. z o.o., EUROIMMUN Portugal Unipessoal Lda., EUROIMMUN Schweiz AG, EUROIMMUN South East Asia Pte Ltd., EUROIMMUN Tianjin Medical Diagnostic Technology Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Turkey Tibbi Laboratuar Teshisleri A.S., EUROIMMUN UK Ltd., EUROIMMUN US Inc., EUROIMMUN US Real Estate LLC, Geospiza, Guangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Hangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Horizon Diagnostics Limited, Horizon Discovery, Horizon Discovery Biosciences Limited, Horizon Discovery Group Ltd., Horizon Discovery Inc., Horizon Discovery KK, Horizon Discovery Limited, Horizon Genomics GmbH, IDS Brasil Diagnosticos Ltda., Immunetics Inc., Immunodiagnostic Systems, Immunodiagnostic Systems Deutschland GmbH, Immunodiagnostic Systems France SAS, Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings Limited, Immunodiagnostic Systems Inc., Immunodiagnostic Systems Limited, Immunodiagnostic Systems SA, Inochem S.A. de C. V., Integromics S.L., Jiangsu Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., LabMetrix Technologies, Labtronics, Nexcelom Bioscience, Nexcelom Bioscience Holdings LLC, Nexcelom Bioscience Instruments Shanghai Co. Ltd., Nexcelom Bioscience LLC, Nexcelom Bioscience Ltd., NovaScreen Biosciences Corporation, OZ Systems International SARL, OZ Systems USA LLC, Omni International Inc., Optimization Zorn Corporation, Opto Technology, Orchid Biomedical Systems Pvt Ltd., Oxford Diagnostic Laboratories UK Limited, Oxford Immunotec, Oxford Immunotec Asia Ltd, Oxford Immunotec Global Limited, Oxford Immunotec Ireland Limited, Oxford Immunotec KK, Oxford Immunotec Limited, Oxford Immunotec Shanghai Medical Device Co. Ltd., Oxford Immunotec USA Inc., Pediatrix Medical Group - Newborn Metabolic Screening Business, Perkin Elmer Chile Ltda., Perkin Elmer Instruments Philippines Corporation, Perkin Elmer Italia SpA, Perkin Elmer Sdn. Bhd., Perkin Elmer Yuhan Hoesa, Perkin-Elmer Argentina S.R.L., Perkin-Elmer de Mexico S.A., PerkinElmer Argentina Holdings LLC, PerkinElmer Automotive Research Inc., PerkinElmer BV, PerkinElmer CV Holdings LLC, PerkinElmer Cellular Technologies Germany GmbH, PerkinElmer Danmark A/S, PerkinElmer Diagnostics Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Diagnostics Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Espana S.L., PerkinElmer Finance Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Finland Oy, PerkinElmer Genetics Inc., PerkinElmer Genomics Sweden AB, PerkinElmer Germany Diagnostics GmbH, PerkinElmer Global Diagnostics S.C.A., PerkinElmer Global Financing S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Health Sciences B.V., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Canada Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences FZ-LLC, PerkinElmer Health Sciences Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Puerto Rico LLC, PerkinElmer Health Sciences Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer Healthcare Diagnostics Shanghai Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Holding Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer Hong Kong Ltd., PerkinElmer IVD Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer Inc., PerkinElmer India Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer Informatics Inc., PerkinElmer Instruments Suzhou Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer International C.V., PerkinElmer Investments Ky, PerkinElmer Ireland Ltd., PerkinElmer Israel Ltd., PerkinElmer Japan Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer LAS Germany GmbH, PerkinElmer LAS UK Ltd., PerkinElmer Life Sciences International Holdings, PerkinElmer Life Sciences Singapore Pte. Ltd., PerkinElmer Limited, PerkinElmer Ltd., PerkinElmer Management Chengdu Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Management Shanghai Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Nederland B.V. , PerkinElmer Norge AS, PerkinElmer Oy, PerkinElmer Polska Sp. z o.o., PerkinElmer Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer SAS, PerkinElmer Saglk ve Cevre Bilimleri Ltd., PerkinElmer Schweiz AG, PerkinElmer Shanghai Equity Investment Fund L.P., PerkinElmer Shanghai Equity Investment Fund Management Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Shared Services Sp. z o.o., PerkinElmer Singapore Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer South Africa Pty Ltd., PerkinElmer Sverige AB, PerkinElmer Taiwan Corporation, PerkinElmer UK Holdings Ltd., PerkinElmer VertriebsgmbH, PerkinElmer chemagen Technologie GmbH, PerkinElmer do Brasil Ltda., Perten Instruments, Perten Instruments AB, Perten Instruments GmbH, Perten Instruments of Australia Pty Ltd., Qognit Inc., RHS Ltd, RayAl Ltd., SIRION Biotech, SIRION Biotech GmbH, SIRION Biotech International Inc., Sage Labs LLC, Shandong Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Haoyuan Biotech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Signature Genomic Laboratories, Singapore Biosciences Pte Ltd., Solus Scientific Solutions Ltd., SonoVol Inc., Suomen Bioanalytiikka Oy, Surendra Genetic Labs, Suzhou PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Suzhou Sym-Bio LifeScience, Suzhou Sym-Bio Lifescience Co. Ltd., Synthetx Limited, Tulip Diagnostics, Tulip Diagnostics Pvt Ltd., Vanadis Diagnostics, Vanadis Diagnostics AB, ViaCell, ViaCord LLC, VisEn Medical, VisEn Medical Inc., Wallac Oy, Wellesley B.V., Xenogen Corporation, ZeLab SAS, and chemagen Biopolymer-Technologie AG. Read More China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page By Rachel Mesch (Regular Contributor) In October of 1894, a French man by the name of Alfred Dreyfus was arrested for passing confidential documents to Germany. If you are reading this on the Wonders & Marvels page, chances are, you know that part of the story already. (If not, you can review the details here.) But the reason that you know this story is also why it remains relevant today: as a controversy driven by the press. Indeed, the arrest of Dreyfus turned into the Dreyfus Affair because of the mediaand because of the French publics insatiable appetite for news. In late nineteenth-century France, the rapidly developing, technologically advanced mass press had taken root like nowhere else. Fueled by an increasingly literate public, looser laws on freedom of expression, and a competitive marketplace, the number of newspapers multiplied. Circulations skyrocketed from a combined total of one million in 1870 to five million in 1910. Whereas in 1882 there were 3,800 periodicals printed in France, within ten years that already sizable number had tripled. The proliferation of the mass press had an immediate effect on the French public, especially those in Paris. As historian Vanessa Schwartz has demonstrated, newspapers changed the way that city dwellers related to each other, allowing readers to feel as if they were part of a social community, reading about the same things, interested in the same stories. But this new virtual community also had ways of tearing people apart. It was in the midst of this subtle yet profound transformation of the urban social fabric that the arrest of Captain Dreyfus became the Dreyfus Affair. Truth Vs. Hate As the espionage intrigue unfolded, full of emerging and mostly untruthful details about who gave what to whom and why, a vast web of publications, able to churn out both morning and evening editions (the original 24 hour news cycle), fed the publics unquenchable thirst for new information. For those paying close attention, the facts were proven to be on Captain Dreyfuss side fairly quickly: in 1896 Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, no friend of French Jews himself, discovered the real spy in Captain Esterhazy and provided the evidence to prove it. No matter. Dreyfus would not be exonerated for another ten years. This was largely because, with the help of the mass press, the Dreyfus Affair pitted facts against feelings, turning marginal flames of hate into a raging anti-Semitic fire. Guess which side sells more papers? Before Zola made his voice heard in 1898, most newspapers were feeding the slow-brewing populist rage against the intellectual class, with a special hatred for Jews like Dreyfus who had risen up in French society through the military. The French Anti-semite-in-chief was Edouard Drumont, who had written the virulent tract La France Juive (Jewish France) in 1886 and followed up by establishing his Antisemitic League. But it wasnt until he launched his newspaper La Libre Parole (The Free Word) that he had a vehicle in which to serve up hateful stereotypes on the daily. The Panama scandals of 1892involving German Jews Jacques Reinach and Cornelius Herzpaved the way for the Affair, showing Jewish involvement in state sanctioned bribery. Drumonts newspaper offered juicy details installment by installment. In doing so, it created an addicted readership primed for daily controversy. The ingredients for the perfect (media) storm were now at the ready. After Alfred Dreyfuss arrest and repeated convictions, La Libre Parole hit its hatefuland self-congratulatorystride. Down with Jews screams one famous headline above an image of Drumont himself. The illustrated version of the newspaper rejoiced in full page meme-like cartoons on its covers. Frenchmen, reads one caption from 1894 calling out Judas Dreyfus. Ive been telling you this every day for eight years! While initially anti-Dreyfus sentiments dominated the daily papers, supporters of Dreyfus slowly found their voice, aided ultimately by Emile Zolas famous accusationwhere else but on the front page of a daily newspaper. Zolas 1898 Jaccuse was as much an act of typographical genius as a rhetorical one: the bold-faced letters of his plea demanded attention through dramatic visual revolt against the broadsheet itself. Alternative Facts With one side deftly fanning the fames of populist rage, the other side continued to insist on the facts of the matter. You want confessions? Here are some! declared a poster from 1898, delineating the various testimonies that should have resolved the whole thing. But facts were no match for alternative facts. When anti-Dreyfusards created an official looking poster in 1898 declaring Dreyfus a traitor, replete with photographs of government ministers making statements to that effect, Dreyfusards responded precisely in kind. They produced a mirror image, with their own officials testifying to the captains innocence. And thus the most polarizing controversy of the modern era took its intractable shape, with each side doubling down on their version of the truth. But how to tell the difference, in what must have felt like a brave new journalistic world? How to distinguish between fact and fiction, equalized with the proper fonts and technological flourishes? The camera was a still new technology, especially for newspapers, and readers were inclined to trust its veracity. To call attention to this very problem, in 1899 the newspaper Le Siecle published a series of images entitled The Lies of Photography. In order to demonstrate how easy it was to doctor photographs, they juxtaposed sworn enemies in chummy postures. It was time for the French to learn that the camera does lie sometimes. So what was the public to do? Buy more newspapers of course, devour any details to confirm the accuracy of their side, and fly into a blistering rage when faced with the opposition. A Polarized Society The media was happy to record this as well. Who doesnt need a dose of self-deprecating humor in the midst of these maddening debates? Images from newspapers show happy families descending into chaos at the mention of Captain Dreyfus. Neutrality proved impossible even in the domestic safe space of the breakfast table as husbands and wives retreated to their separate headlines. Bedrooms were torn asunder; togetherness seemed impossible. People were no longer talking to each other, no longer meeting each others eyes, their interactions mediated exclusively by their choice of media. Truth Wins? The Dreyfusards were eventually vindicated, with the Captains full exoneration coming in 1906. The side of truth had spilled the most ink in the endthrough long treatises, full published volumes, and tedious records of the trials and legal proceedings. The facts can be boring, sometimes. But if truth ultimately won the media war that was the Dreyfus Affair, it was a Pyrrhic victory at best. The anti-Dreyfusards had waged far too many inky battles, in sound bites and caricatures, inflammatory headlines and vile rhetoric, for the public to emerge unscathed. Further reading: For more on the extensive visual record of the Dreyfus Affair, see Norman L. Kleeblatts edited volume for the Jewish Museum, The Dreyfus Affair. Art, Truth & Justice. Berkeley: U of California Press, 1987. The Fonds Dreyfus at the Musee dart et dhistoire du judaisme in Paris has a wonderful collection of over 3,000 objects relating to the Affair, over two-thirds of which are personal items that belonged to the Dreyfus family. For more on the late nineteenth-century mass press and its impact on Parisian society, see Vanessa Schwartz, Spectacular Realities: Early Mass Culture in Fin-de-Siecle Paris. Berkeley: U of California Press, 1999. Rachel Mesch teaches French literature, history, and culture at Yeshiva University in New York. She is the author of Having it All in the Belle Epoque: How French Womens Magazines Invented the Modern Woman (Stanford UP, 2013) and The Hysterics Revenge: French Women Writers at the Fin de Siecle. She is currently at work on a book examining transgender identity in the nineteenth century. WASHINGTON -- Hey, Republicans: Ready to take him literally yet? Two days after the election, I spoke with Grover Norquist, a conservative tax activist who had made peace with the prospect of a Trump presidency. Expressing confidence that Donald Trump wouldn't attempt the crazier promises made during the campaign, Norquist said Trump's supporters knew to take him "seriously, but not literally." Wrong! That hope comforted Republican officeholders and members of the establishment when they reluctantly embraced Trump during the general election. They averted their collective gaze when Trump made scapegoats of minorities, yielded to reckless impulses and exhibited authoritarian tendencies. Now Trump is president and -- who knew? -- he is making scapegoats of minorities, giving in to reckless impulses and governing with an authoritarian style. Trump said as a candidate that he would ban Muslims from traveling to the United States. Now he has done it, even if he doesn't use the term. Rudy Giuliani, explaining the new executive order, told Fox News that Trump assigned him the task of finding a "legal" way to have a "Muslim ban." And the son of national security adviser Mike Flynn praised the "Muslim ban" on Twitter before deleting his account. During the campaign, Trump often disparaged intelligence agencies for their "bad decisions." He said "I know more about ISIS than the generals do" and claimed generals had been "reduced to rubble." Now he has orchestrated what amounts to a coup at the National Security Council. Out: the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who no longer will attend all meetings of the committee that handles top-level decisions. Instead, political adviser Steve Bannon will serve on the committee. Trump at every opportunity said he would build a border wall and force Mexico to pay for it. He spoke often of tariffs on Mexico and specifically suggested a 35 percent tariff on certain imports. Last week -- surprise! -- the White House floated a 20 percent tariff on goods from Mexico to pay for a border wall. Trump is also proving himself to be the same temperamentally unsound figure who appeared on the campaign trail. He makes up extravagant falsehoods about voter fraud and crowd size and offers the absurd claim that his travel ban is "similar to what President Obama did." He has shown contempt for safeguards in the government, purging the State Department of top nonpartisan leadership. His White House kept Department of Homeland Security lawyers in the dark on the travel ban and then overrode their objections. He has continued to raise suspicion that he's driven by his financial interests, omitting from his travel ban several Muslim-majority countries where he does business. And he still shows disregard for detail, as seen in the administration's confusion about whether the travel ban covers those with green cards, and in an executive order on Obamacare that even opponents of the law warn could cause health-insurance markets to collapse before a replacement is available. Business leaders, including some previously friendly to Trump, have protested the travel ban, and some Republicans in Congress are opposing Trump on it, at least rhetorically. The Washington Post had counted 24 as of Monday who have opposed the order and 36 more with concerns. Meanwhile, as The Washington Post's Matea Gold and James Hohmann reported, conservative donors at the Koch network gathering last weekend condemned Trump's travel ban, and Charles Koch, who didn't get involved in the presidential campaign, warned of a "tremendous danger" of authoritarianism. Oh, so now they're worried? Many of these donors, like Republicans in Congress, chose not to take Trump literally during the campaign, looking away when presented with repeated warning signs. Now they have a serious problem -- as do we all. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Diversity key to facing future nuclear industry challenges 01 February 2017 Share The nuclear energy industry must demonstrate improved gender diversity to ensure it has the best talent to meet the challenges it faces, speakers at the Women in Nuclear (WiN) UK conference in London said today. "If we are to take advantage of all the available talent in our country, we should make sure that we actively promote our industry as an opportunity for all the talent that exists within our communities," said NuGen CEO Tom Samson. "Otherwise we are leaving behind an enormous talent pool which currently contains our future leaders, experts, operators, innovators, engineers, etc." He said the industry needs to improve its diversity profile across all aspects of the business. Women, he said, should be actively encouraged to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineeirng and maths) subjects, especially whilst at school. Samson said the industry should "explain to them the career prospects and opportunities in our industry and consider how we position ourselves to that particular target audience. We need more talent focused on STEM subjects to build and grow our industry." Samson said, as a relatively new company, NuGen has "something of an advantage in that we have got a blank canvas". Therefore, he said, the company can focus on building an organization from the ground up, with the systems and support to encourage and support diversity and inclusiveness. He said the industry needs to demonstrate improved gender diversity in order to attract the best talent available. Paul Spence, director of strategy and corporate affairs at EDF Energy, said the case for diversity is obvious. "The scale of the challenges we are facing as a company and as an industry - whether extending the lives of existing nuclear stations, building Hinkley on time and budget, the goverment bringing small modular reactors, developing battery storage - are enormous challenges," he said. Spence said we need to tap into the diverse range of skills in order to face those challenges. Spence said the nuclear industry has in place a system for ensuring safety. "Why aren't we equally systematic if we want to achieve diversity?" he asked. "It's the same set of things that we have to do. We have some policies, have some symbolic actions, have some measures, act when we are off-track, in some cases address the behaviours of people who aren't acting, make sure that the leadership and middle management keep saying it and the team on the ground see that the behaviour and rheotoric line up." Samson added the industry needs to "demonstrate environments in the organizations that exist in our industry where openness, communication, collaboration, inclusivity typically are ingredients of how we function. A lot of those things are instrinsicly tied to nuclear safety." Sarah Cole, submarine naval architect with the UK's Ministry of Defence, said the entire industry has a role to play in improving gender diversity. "We all have a role to play irrespective of whether you're in a senior or middle management, male or female ... We all have a place in committing to that change," she said. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Cameroon is a country in central Africa which borders 6 countries including Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Gabon. The country has a vast network of rivers within its diverse and numerous climatic regions. These rivers are part of the world's freshwater streams with large biodiversity and importance to local communities. The country has four major drainage patterns depending on the direction of flow of the rivers. Since most rivers pass through the fertile land, the waters are used for irrigation, particularly during the dry season. Some rivers such as Congo have been exploited for hydroelectric power due to their high potential. Major Rivers Of Cameroon Congo River The Congo River is the worlds second largest after Amazon River in water discharge, the worlds deepest river and the ninth longest river. The river Congo has a length of 2920 miles. The river flows through the rainforests of Cameroon and nine other African countries including Angola, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville, and Zambia. The Congo basin covers an area that is equivalent to 13% of the African continent land mass. The source of the river is in the mountainous highlands of East African rift before it eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean. The river supports more than 700 species of fish, a number of which are endemic, within its various eco-regions. The river has been exploited by local communities for transport, fish, and water for irrigation. Hydroelectric dams have been constructed along the course leading to fears of endangering the endemic fishes, frogs, and snails in the river. Benue River Benue River is a navigable river with a length of 870 miles making it the largest tributary of River Niger and it is shared with Nigeria. The river starts from Cameroon's Adamawa plateau from where it flows westwards then southwards before draining into the Niger River at Lokaja. The river has served as a source of fish and water for domestic, irrigation, and transport uses for many years to the riverine communities. However, due to the situation of the river, the water volume decreased leading to declining of fish and made the river hard to navigate during the dry season. Logone River Logone is a river stretching for 621 miles shared by Chad, Central African Republic, and Cameroon where it serves as an international border. The river is fed by two major tributaries (Pende River and Ouham-Pende) and drains into Chari River. The river is an important fishing ground for local communities. Logone is faced with threats during the dry season when the water volume reduces leading to reduced water for irrigation and domestic use. Chari River River Chari has its source in the Central African Republic from which it flows through Chad and Cameroon and drains into Lake Chad. Chari has a length of 590 miles, part of which forms international border between Chad and Cameroon. Chari provides an outstanding home for some fish species including nile and perch, making it an important fishing ground for many local communities. Management of river basins Basins of rivers in Cameroon such as Sanaga, Dja, Nyong, Oyono, and Wouri are vital to local and national economies in Cameroon and should, therefore, be exploited sustainably with management measures put up to counter the effects of human activities and reduce the impact of climate change on these rivers. Destruction of the river systems in Cameroon will mean a loss of part of the rich biodiversity supported by the rivers. Mali, a landlocked country in North Africa, is not heavily populated throughout. It has three different vegetation zones; the Niger River Basin at the center, the Sahara Desert in the north and the Senegal River on the south. Malis national parks and reserves are home to a broad range of both flora and fauna. They cover the Sahelian east-west zone to the Saharan desert zone. Bafing National Park is a valuable reserve to protect chimpanzees, while the massive Boucle du Baoule is an important cultural site Mali's National Parks And Reserves Bafing National Park Bafing national park was established in 2000 and covers 1,931 square miles. It lies in the southern Mali. It is part of the Bafing Biosphere; a protected area for chimpanzees, which comprises of large part of the Manding mountain range and Manding plateau. The Park is the only protected area for Chimpanzees in the plateau. It holds 1500-2000 chimpanzees. The Bafing Biosphere is a home to different breeds of flora. It supports the Western Derbys eland. It rains in the National Park from June to October. The temperatures are always moderate throughout the year. The park faces threats. The pastoralists displaced due to the expansion of agriculture in the area surrounding the national park, deplete the vegetation of the park. The human kill chimpanzees for their skin. The park authorities are responsible for administration, management and conserving of the park. However, the control and management are inadequate. Boucle du Baoule National Park Boucle du Baoule National Park, situated in West African Savannah and established in 1982, covers 9,780 square miles. The national park has two biogeographic zones: the Sahelian zone to the north and Sudano-Guinean zone to the south. Vegetation includes wooden savanna, grasslands, bush savanna, riverine forest along river and gallery forests. The African antelope is found within the park, as well as giraffes, monkeys, and warthogs. February and June are the best time to observe fauna. The rainy season falls from June to October. The temperatures are moderate. The park faces a significant threat from the clearing of land for agricultural use. Hunting and competition from livestock have devastated the animals. The park is administered and managed by the National Parks Department that is under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Animal Husbandry. Kouroufing National Park Kouroufing National Park was established in 2002 and covers 215 square miles Southwestern Mali. The park is part of the Bafing Biosphere. To the north of the park is Lake Manali, an artificial lake. The Bafing Biosphere is a home to different breeds of fauna. It supports the Western Derbys eland. The park is dedicated to the Chimpanzees conservation. It rains in the National Park from June to October, although the temperatures are always moderate throughout the year. The biosphere has no facilities or infrastructure for tourists. Instances of poaching have increased in the recent past. The park is administered and managed by the National Parks Department that is under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Animal Husbandry. Wongo National Park The Wongo national park was established in 2002 and covers 206 square miles in southern Mali. The park is part of the Bafing Biosphere (together with Kouroufing National Park and Bafing National Park). The biosphere comprises of Manding plateau and Manding Mountain. To the northeast of the park is Lake Manatali, an artificial lake. It is a park dedicated to the conservation of chimpanzees. It rains in the national park from June to October. The temperatures are always moderate throughout the year. Instances of poaching have increased. The park is administered and managed by the National Parks Department that is under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Animal Husbandry. Threats and Conservation The major threat to the wildlife of Mali is deforestation, hunting, proliferation of livestock, agricultural activities, and desertification. Other factors posing threats are pollution, mining operations, and fire breakouts. The conservation of the protected areas in Mali falls under the responsibility of National Parks of Mali, while the forests fall under the forest service. Significant conservation efforts have been launched in Mali with the funding from the Global Environment Facility under the auspices of UNDP, which aims to increase the area under the protection significantly. It also attempts to reinforce the management instruments to attain sufficient protection area, especially in the southern part of the country aiming the endangered species like the Western Chimpanzee and Derby Eland. China has a wide range of marine and inland fisheries which support a similarly wide variety of marine and freshwater fish that are native to the country. There are more than 700 freshwater species and thousands of marine species in China. China is the worlds leading exporter of fish. Extensive fishing has resulted in a decline of most of these species in their native habitats leaving some at a risk of extinction. Others are exploited in commercial aquariums and ponds. Native Fish Species Of China Balkhash perch (Perca schrenkii) The Balkhash is a freshwater fish native to China and Kazakhstan. The perch has an elongated body with medium-sized scales. The fish is mainly found in the waters of two lakes: Lake Balkhash and Alakol. The fish is an introduced species to some countries such as Uzbekistan. The populations of the fish have been on a persistent decline making the species rare in its habitat mainly due to the introduction of predatory species such as the Zander. The white cloud mountain minnow (Tanichthys albonubes) The fish has been listed as an endangered species by the Chinese government due to its reduced population, pollution, and restricted range. The freshwater fish has silver-green color and red marks on the fins. The species in their natural habitat are thought to be restricted to the Pearl River and Hainan Island. The white cloud minnow is an important species in the aquarium trade. Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) The silver carp has a laterally compressed body with a silvery color that changes to greenish on the top during adulthood. The scales of the fish are small with unusually placed eyes. The mouth of the fish faces upwards while its eyes face downwards and are placed in the middle of the body. The fish is distributed in parts of the Pacific drainage in China, Pearl River, Amur River and some parts of Vietnam. Silver carps feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton and can live up to 20 years. Japanese seerfish (Scomberomorus niphonius) The fish is native to the north-western Pacific coasts of China, Korea, Japan, and Russia in the subtropical and temperate waters. Due to heavy fishing in their native ranges, the populations of the fish have declined rapidly. In China, the species is listed as data deficient due to lack of information about the population of the species in Chinas fisheries. The fish migrates in the spring during the spawning period as well as in September to November during the feeding season. The species has an estimated lifespan of six years. Conservation efforts for fish in China Although there are laws that regulate fishing in particular fisheries, much needs to be done regarding research to identify the distribution, population sizes, threats, and conservation measures appropriate for Chinas fish species as most of these are classified as data deficient. Enforcement of existing laws is also necessary to the achievement of conservation goals. Other native species of fish in China include the white Amur bream, elongate bitteling, Chinese rice fish, Kunming nose, the eastern viviparous blenny and the Amur goby. Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world, located in Central Asia. The terrain in the country is made up of a large flat steppe (grass lands) that extend from the Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains in the East, and from the plains of western Siberia in the northern part to the deserts and oases of Central Asia in the South. The different climatic zones of the country allow a broad range of plant species that are native to the country, while other are found in the neighboring countries as well. Native Plants Of Kazakhstan Steppe Dwarf Cherry (Prunus fruticosa) Prunus fruticosa is a shrub native to Kazakhstan, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Western Siberia, Xinjiang China, Ukraine, Poland, and the Czech Republic. It best grows in loamy soils and requires a lot of sunlight. It has a dark brown bark and the appearance of its leaves change from dark green to yellow during autumn. Its flowers are white in May while its red fruits ripen in early August. Prunus fruticosa grows at forest edges by forming thickets. The fruit of the plant is light to dark red of between 8 and 25 mm in diameter ripening in the months of August, and the taste of the fruit is sour. Ludwig Iris (Iris ludwigii) This plant mostly grows in eastern Kazakhstan and can be easily noticed due to its crowding nature. Its flowers range from violet and blue. It grows up to 30 centimeters in soils with good drainage systems and open areas to receive the sunshine. It is being conserved due to the effects left behind by grazing animals and farming activities. In late August and early September, the plant produces seed capsules. Niedzwedzkia (Niedzwedzkia semiretschenskia) Niedzwedzkia is a plant named after the Russian botanist Vladislav Niedzwiecki. It grows in dry and rocky hillsides. It has purple flowers which are seen from the end of April and August. The range of the plant is in the Altai Mountains of Kazakhstan, Siberia, Russia, and Central Asia. The habitat of the plant is on the steppes, meadows, gravelly slopes, and thickets of stipa splendens. The plant is listed as IUCN red book as endangered. Primary threats to the plant include overgrazing and other farming activities. Starfruit (Damasonium alisma) Star fruit is a marshy plant native to Kazakhstan, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Russia, and France. It grows favorably in marshes and ponds and can grow to reach 1 foot. It produces its flowers from June to August. The plant species is classified as vulnerable according to IUCN red list. The population of the plant is severely fragmented and continues to decline because of loss of the habitat, reduced area of growth because of grazing land, and stabilization of water levels. There is no evidence of reduction of the factors causing the decline of plant population, and soon the plant may qualify for the endangered category because 50% of the habitat range and the plant population have been lost. European Bedstraw (Galium rubioides) The species is found in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and Europe. The plant species grows in damp areas such as swamps and stream banks. It has needle-shaped green leaves, and its flowers can either be green, yellow or white. It is being cultivated for its scent and is widely used in perfume and beverage industries. The plant grows erect to 100cm high having broad leaves that can be as long as 20cm and 15 cm wide. The fruits and roots of the plant have a reddish tinge. Tarda Tulip (Tulipa tarda) Tarda tulip is a perennial plant with green leaves that produces yellow flowers. This species is native to Kazakhstan and other countries of Central Asia and grows in rocky areas. It blooms in April and May. It grows from a bulb and has a leathery tunic. The flowers are yellow with white tips, while the stamen and the anthers are yellowish. Biodiversity of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is a nation with a beautiful environment, but most of its native plants are in danger of extinct due to risks such as grazing animals and loss of habitat due to the encroachment of humans. The best method of retaining these plants is by conservation of plants in high risks of extension. Kazakhstan has a broad range of plant that varies in structure and thier climatic zones. Kazakhstan is home to more than 6,000 species of vascular plants, 5,000 species of mushrooms, 2,000 species of seaweed and 485 species of lichens. Ghana is a country in West Africa bordered by Ivory Coast, Togo, and the Gulf of Guinea. The country is home to one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, Lake Volta. The Republic of Ghana, formerly known as Gold Coast, has a presidential system of government. The president is the head of government and chief of state. The country gained independence from Britain on March 6, 1957, becoming the first sub-saharan African country to attain independence. The president and vice-president are elected directly by an absolute majority of the popular vote and serve as both head of state and head of government in Ghana. The president serves a four-year term and is eligible for a second. Presidents Of Ghana Since Independence from Britain Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (1960 - 1966) Nkrumah Studied in the United States where he received a BA from Lincoln University in 1939. He also attained a Master of Arts in philosophy and a Master of Science in education in 1943. Nkrumah also taught at the University of Lincoln where he was elected the leader of the African Students Organization of America and Canada. He founded the West African National Secretariat with the aim of decolonizing Africa. He received honorary doctorates from Moscow state university, Lincoln University, Jagiellonian University in Poland, Cairo University, and Humboldt University in former East Germany. On July 1st, 1960 Ghana became a republic with Kwame Nkrumah as its first President. Major-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah (1966 -1969) Ankara was a career soldier who was promoted to a Major in 1956 and later Lieutenant Colonel. Ankara was Brigade commander at the time of United Nations operations in Congo and was in charge of a base in Luluaburg (in the present day Democratic Republic of the Congo). He was the only Ghanaian to receive the Military Cross in Leopoldville for exemplary work of saving the life of Lumumba in Congo in 1961. On February 24th, 1966 the government of Dr. Nkrumah was overthrown by the police and armed forces headed by Major General Joseph Arthur Ankrah. In 1967, Ankrah mediated between the warring groups in the Nigerian-Biafra war. He was finally compelled to resign as chairman of the National Liberation Council (NLC) and as head of state because of the involvement of bribery with a Nigerian Businessman. Brigadier General Akwasi Afrifa (1969 -1970) Akwasi Afrifa joined the Ghanaian military in 1957 and attended Aldershot military school in England in 1958. In 1960, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Ghanaian armed forces and was also one of the officers deployed to Congo under the United Nations operations in Congo. He rose through the ranks to become a major in the army. In April 1969 Brigadier General Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa became Head of state following the removal of Ankrah. He was the leader of the military government and Chairman of the Presidential Commission between 1969 and 1970. General Akwasi was executed ten years later before he could take his seat as an elected Member of Parliament. The Incumbent President Ghana was initially known as Gold Coast and changed to Ghana after independence. So far the country has had a total of 11 presidents, and the current incumbent is Nana Akufo-Addo. Akufo-Addo previously served as Attonery General from 2001 to 2003, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007. Neighbors and friends, church parishioners and volunteers, sisters and brothers, workers and taxpayers are all ways you can describe individuals with developmental disabilities. People with disabilities are an important part of our community. At the Arc of Nebraska, we work with individuals with disabilities and their families and friends, to advocate for services like job training and independent living assistance to help people achieve their goals. Disabilities like Downs Syndrome, Autism, Fragile X and others, may present challenges, but they certainly do not prevent anyone from using their gifts or pursuing their dreams. Service providers here in Lincoln, like Region V, VITAL Services, Companion Linc, Developmental Services of Nebraska, RHD Industries, ABLED, Integrated Life Choices, and Better Living Inc. all ensure the safety and well-being of individuals with disabilities, as well as provide support ranging from teaching people to navigate public transportation to helping individuals apply for jobs. These services promote independence for individuals with disabilities, helping them to become productive, stable members of our community. That is why we at The Arc applaud the Nebraska Legislatures Appropriations Committees recent decision to provide funding to the service providers that support people with disabilities every day. Despite difficult budget circumstances, the Appropriations Committee made the good decision to make up for lost funding for developmental disability services due to a discrepancy between federal rules and state practices. This funding prevents dire outcomes for individuals with disabilities, because if the organizations that provide services cannot afford to do so, people with disabilities face the loss of homes, jobs, and friendships that they have worked hard to establish. The Appropriations Committee did the right thing when they ensured that service providers would not have to close doors, lay off staff, or cut services due to lost federal funds. Nevertheless, there is still much work to do. First, the full Nebraska Legislature and the Governor must also support these important funds because the lives, livelihoods, and well-being of people with disabilities are at stake. If this funding is not approved, the state runs the risk of these vulnerable people being placed in institutions and nursing homes, at a substantial increase of costs than the use of community based providers. Second, the Nebraska Legislature must continue their commitment to people with developmental disabilities by funding services appropriately, and, when possible, by finding additional dollars to serve the 3,500 people who are still on waiting lists for services, some of whom, have been waiting for eight years. Finally, all Nebraskans need to weigh in, to tell their elected officials at the Legislature, as well as on local school boards, city councils, county boards, and in Congress that we believe in people with developmental disabilities and we want them to have the support they need. They are, after all, our neighbors and friends. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in the southeastern part of Africa bordering the Indian Ocean and six other countries. It covers an estimated area of 309,496 square miles with a population of approximately 24.6 million. The country was colonized by the Portuguese from 1505 until 1975 when it gained its independence. Portuguese is its national language. The country is headed by the president who is elected by the population. The current president of Mozambique is Filipe Nyusi. Presidents Of Mozambique Samora Machel Samora Machel was born on September 23rd, 1933 in Gaza Province, Mozambique to a family of successful farmers. He attended the mission elementary school. Samora did not complete his secondary school education but studied nursing in Maputo in 1954. He managed to get a job in a hospital in the town which aided in gathering the money to continue his education. He was against some colonial ideals and started campaigns against the colonial rule at the hospital, but since the police were watching him, he made his way to Tanzania. He underwent military training there and was part of the FRELIMO militants. He went back to Mozambique to fight the Portuguese who withdrew their powers. On June 25, 1975 the country was declared fully independent and Samoras government worked to make sure all key areas were under state control. Samora Machel died in a fatal plane crash within South African borders on October 19th, 1986. Joaquim Chissano Joaquim Chissano, the second president of Mozambique, was born on October 22, 1939, in Gaza Province, Mozambique. He attended high school in Maputo where he got a chance to go to Portugal to study medicine at the University of Lisbon. He played a significant role in the founding of FRELIMO and the negotiations that led to the attainment of independence. He was appointed a foreign affairs minister by president Samora. Under his tenure, the war-torn country was united by the peace treaty he offered the rebel as well as poverty eradication. He was re-elected to the office in 1994, and in 1999 where he served until 2005. Armando Guebuza Armando Guebuza, the third president of the Republic of Mozambique, was born on January 20th, 1943 at Nampula, Portuguese Mozambique. At the age of 20, he became a member of the FRELIMO at the beginning of the war towards the attainment of independence. After independence, he was the leader and general of the FRELIMO and was appointed the interior minister by President Samora. He ran for the presidential post in the 2004 elections which he won and was also re-elected in 2009 where he served for five years until 2015. Filipe Nyusi Filipe Nyusi, the fourth and the current president of Mozambique, was born on February 9, 1959, at Mueda village, Portuguese Mozambique. He studied at a Frelimo primary and secondary school in Tunduru and Mariri respectively. He trained in politics and military issues in FRELIMO. In 2008, he was appointed the Minister of Defence and in 2014, he was a presidential candidate in elections he won. Fuctions of the President According to the constitution of Mozambique, the president is the head of state, the head of government, and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He also serves as a symbol of national unity. Syria is a unitary semi-presidential dominant party republic located in western Asia. Its capital is Damascus, which is also the largest city in the country. The president of Syria is the head of state and government. The 2012 referendum transformed the country from a presidential state into a semi-presidential state. In this article, we will discuss the roles of the president and some of the people who held the position. Presidents Of Syria Since 1961 Nazim al-Kudsi Al-Kudsi was born in 1906 and later died in 1963. He undertook most of his studies outside Syria and returned to his home country after obtaining his Ph.D. from the University of Geneva. He joined politics in 1935, where he joined an anti-French independence movement called ALEPPO. He won a parliamentary seat in 1936 and was later appointed as the ambassador to the US. He ran again for the parliamentary seat from 1947 and won. He won in the next three elections, making him serve as an MP for 20 consecutive years. He ran for the post of presidency in 1961 and won. He restored healthy relationships with Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the west as the president. However, during his reign, he had sour relationships with Iraq and Egypt. He restored the economy by getting funds from the World Bank. However, some army officers thought that he was sidelining them in political matters and they attempted a coup in 1962. Another coup was planned in 1963 which led him to flee into exile in Jordan where he lived until his death. Luay Al-Atassi Attasi was born in 1926 in Homs city. He joined Homs military academy and participated in the Arab-Israeli war in 1948 in Palestine. He was appointed to various embassies as the military attache including in Egypt and the US. After the coup that toppled the reign of Al-Kudsi, Al-Atassi was appointed the interim government by the military officers. He was later made the president by the National Council for the Revolutionary Command. He later resigned as the president in June 1963 and abstained from any further political activity. Amin al-Hafiz Al-hafiz was born in Aleppo City in 1921, where he joined the military in his mid-20s and began his political life in 1958. He was part of the delegation that went to meet the Egyptian president where the two countries merged. After the cop and subsequent resignation of Al-Attassi, Al-Hafiz became the president. Saed Jadad toppled his government. He was jailed in Damascus but was later released and lived in Lebanon. Nurredin Al-Atassi Al-Atassi was born in 1929 and became a professional doctor. He became the president in 1966 but had no powers as the real power was vested to the deputy general secretary. In 1970, the defense minister Hafez al-Hasad led a coup that toppled the government. Al-Atassi was arrested and jailed in Damascus where he served a 22-year jail term. Bashar al-Assad Bashar took over power in 2000, and he is a son to Hafez Al-said who held the position from 1971 to 2000. He is a trained doctor having obtained his medical degree from Damascus University. He also joined the military and led the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1998. He was elected the president in 2000 and subsequently in 2007 with no opposing candidate. The first contested election was held in 2014 where Assad retained the post. He was implicated in the UN list of 20 sample war crimes indictments handed to the international criminal court. Roles, duties, and responsibilities of the president of Syria The Syrian president is the head of state and has vast powers. His or her powers may be delegated to his or her vice presidents and members of the council of ministers. The president is also vested with the powers to hire and fire the prime minister, ministers and also top military officers. Cameroon is a decentralized unitary democratic state with the president as the head of state. Cameroon gained its independence in 1960 from France and Britain. The country has had two presidents since its independence. The Presidents Of Cameroon History of the Presidency The first president of independent Cameroon was Ahmadou Ahidjo in 1960. The president in Cameroon represents the ultimate power in all spheres of civil governance. The president is elected on a seven-year term renewable for two terms, but the term limit was abolished by President Paul Biya as a limit to the choice of the people. Though Cameroon is a democracy, the president is immune to criticisms and prosecution for the decisions he takes while in office. Duties of the President The president is the head of state and the ultimate policymaker in Cameroon. The president is mandated by the Constitution to appoint and fire government officials including the prime minister, cabinet members, judges, governors, and parastatal heads, as well as other heads of state-owned corporations. The Cameroonian president is responsible for initiating any legal revisions of the constitution and other judicial law. The autonomy of the president in Cameroon is such that his decisions cannot be questioned and he has no obligation to seek an opinion from anyone- making decisions based on his views. Ahmadou Ahidjo 1960-1982 Ahmadou was born in northern Cameroon in 1924. He served as a radio presenter during the French rule and became the first civil servant from the north to work in the southern part of Cameroon. He joined politics in 1946 after his election to the Cameroon territorial assembly where he served up to 1957. In 1957, he became the president of the legislature up to May of the same year. Ahidjo was elected president of the Cameroon Union after independence, a position which he held until his retirement in 1982. Ahijo unified the two distinct territories of Cameroon which later became a stable nation during his rule. He faced several threats and unrests from various radical groups which he managed to defeat by 1970. He instituted a single party state in 1976. Upon his resignation in 1982, Paul Biya succeeded him as the constitutional president. Ahidjo lived in exile in France and Senegal until his death from a heart attack in 1989. Paul Biya 1982- to present Biya is the second president of the Republic of Cameroon. He was born in 1933 in the southern part of Cameroon to Christian parents. He succeeded Ahidjo as president within three days of the latters resignation. During the following two years, they fell apart with a series of coups said to be initiated by Ahidjo. Paul Biya sentenced Ahidjo to death for attempted coups. Biya has been criticized for his dictatorial tendencies and has been ranked as the 19th worst dictator in the world. Under his rule, several constitutional amendments have been made. The most important one was the removal of term limits on presidency giving him an opportunity to run for the president for more terms. His election is criticized for lack of transparency and fraud as well as the unpopular appointment and sacking of officials through the radio. Significance of the presidency The Cameroonian president is the overall authority in the country with the unquestionable power to make decisions. Wales makes up part of the United Kingdom and is located on the island of Great Britain. It is home to several famous landmarks, the most famous of which are referred to as the Seven Wonders of Wales. A rhyming poem helps the people of Wales remember the names of these sites. It is believed to have been written by an English tourist, who visited the country sometime between the late 18th and early 19th century. Each of the following wonders are located in North Wales. 7. Snowdon - Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, standing at 3,560 feet above sea level. The mountain and the area surrounding it has been protected as Snowdonia National Park and as a national nature reserve to conserve its native plant and animal species. The mountain is generally covered in snow during a large part of the year. Climate change, however, has affected the amount of snowfall in this area. In 2004, for example, the mountain saw 55% less snow than in 1994. Visitors can climb to the top through a number of routes, although the most popular is Llanberis Path. For those who would rather not climb, the Snowdon Mountain Railway is available. This train takes over 130,000 visitors to the summit annually. 6. Gresford bells - The Gresford Bells are located at the All Saints Church in the town of Gresford. While the church building itself is a beautiful architectural work that dates back to the 13th century, only its bells are included as one of the seven wonders. This is because the bells are renown for their strong ring and perfect tone. Over history, the bells have been rung to signify curfew, a coal mining tragedy, and World War II invasions. Today, visitors can hear them during church service on Sundays and Tuesdays. 5. Llangollen Bridge - The Llangollen Bridge is located in the town of Llangollen. It is the first stone bridge to cross the Dee river, built in the 16th century. The new bridge replaced an older bridge that had been built in the mid-14th century. This bridge is notable for its supporting arches, those under the bridge. An additional arch was added in the 1860s to extend the bridge over the new railway. It is protected as a Scheduled Monument. 4. St Winefride's Well - St. Winefrides Well is located in the town of Holywell. The wells story begins in 660 AD, when Caradoc, a member of local royalty, tried to have his way with Winefride, the daughter of a local chieftain. She refused his advances. Angered, Caradoc beheaded Winefride. When her head hit the ground, spring water began to flow. It is said that her uncle Beuno, now Saint Beuno, reattached her head and brought her back to life. Winefride, now Saint Winefride, went on to become a nun. A well was established at the site of the spring and its water is believed to cause miracles. It has been visited by believers since the 7th century, making it the oldest continuously visited pilgrimage site in Great Britain. 3. Overton yew trees - The Overton Yew Trees are located at the St. Mary the Virgin Church in the town Overton-on-Dee. Some of the trees are between 1,500 and 2,000 years old, making them older than the church, which was first built during the Norman-era. In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II planted a yew tree here during a local celebration. 2. St Giles' Church - St. Giles Church is located in the town of Wrexham and is the largest, medieval parish church in Wales. Its tower is actually considered one of the Seven Wonders, rather than the entire church. It is the tallest structure in the town and can be seen from all over. 1. Pistyll Rhaeadr - The Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall is the first wonder mentioned in the famous poem. It cascades over 240 feet over a cliff, falling in 3 distinct stages. The Afon Rhaeadr is river that flows out from the falls. Visitors can stay at the nearby bed and breakfast or enjoy lunch at the cafe. For those looking for a bit of exercise, a walking path leads to the top of the waterfall. The Whirling Dervishes The Mevlevi is a Sufi order in Konya Province, Turkey known for their practice of whirling as a form of remembrance of God. The rituals performed by the whirling dervishes have been recognized as one of the most enduring spiritual practices in the world. The dervishes live a life of austerity and poverty, and they are renowned as custodians of wisdom and enlightenment. History Of The Whirling Dervishes The whirling dance was popularized by Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), who was a Sufi mystic and poet. As legend has it, Rumi chanced upon goldbeaters in the town marketplace singing songs in reverence to Allah, and he began spinning in a circle with arms outstretched. As Rumi whirled, he entered a trance and became ecstatic, and with that, the dance was born. After Rumis demise, his followers continued with the practice and formed the Mevlevi sect. The order gained prominence under the Ottoman Empire when it contributed significantly to music and poetry. Purpose Of The Whirling Dance Rumi, as the founder of the dance, said that the dervishes represent the planets going around the sun in the solar system. The whirling dervishes acknowledge humanitys place in the cosmos and join in the movement of the earth. The dance is also interpreted as a re-enactment of death and resurrection, where the mind transcends, and the body is left to the ground. The dance is often viewed as a way of uniting with cosmic powers as well as with eternity and establishing a relationship between humanity and divinity. The Sama Ceremony Of The Whirling Dervishes The whirling dance features prominently in the Sama Ceremony performed in the ritual hall (samahane). For a boy to become a dervish he attended schools referred to as tekkes, where after 1001 days, he could be allowed to perform the dance. The Whirlers had to fast for several hours before commencing the dance. The ritual is strict and predetermined, and the dancers begin by bowing to the Sheikh, around whom they whirl. The Sheikh remains spinning on his axis. The whirlers don tall brown hats referred to as sikke which represents the tombstone. The Devr-i-Veled Walk involves a stately procession by the whirlers around the hall while wearing black cloaks (hirka) to symbolize the grave. Next, the dervishes stretch out their arms to let the black cloaks fall off revealing white robes or tennure which represent death. The dancers proceed to spin on their left foot while their right palms are outstretched upwards, and their left ones face on the ground. The right hand is placed to receive Gods beneficence which is bestowed upon the earth through the left hand. The eyes remain open but unfocused, and a musical repertoire known as ney is played. At the end of the dance, a part of the Qur'an is read, and the dervishes and the Sheikh depart with a greeting of peace. Decline And Contemporary Practice After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1924, whirling experienced a decline in Turkey. Whirling in tekkes was banned under Law 677 passed by the new ruler Kemal Ataturk. Kemal insists that Turkey, being a modern country, has no provision for Dervish magic. The dance is still banned in the nation today. The Mevlevi Sect is active, however, they were allowed partial rights to perform the dance in public in 1953 for tourism purposes. Dances are regularly conducted in Konya and Istanbul. Logo of the company Shell seen at a retail site in US. (File photo) BANGKOK, THAILAND: Shell has reached an agreement with KUFPEC Thailand Holdings Pte Limited, a subsidiary of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), for the sale of its subsidiary companies Shell Integrated Gas Thailand Pte Limited and Thai Energy Co Limited. Together these subsidiary companies hold a 22.222 percent equity stake held in the Bongkot field, and adjoining acreage offshore Thailand consisting of Blocks 15, 16 and 17 and block G12/48, for $900 million. Shells partners in the Bongkot Asset are the operator of the field, PTT Exploration & Production, with 44.445 percent equity, and Total with 33.333 percent equity. This transaction shows the clear momentum behind Shells global, value-driven $30bn divestment programme, and is consistent with the companys strategy to high-grade and simplify its portfolio following the acquisition of BG. This transaction is expected to be completed in Q1 2017. Worldofchemicals News When it comes to Nebraskas economic interests, the first few days of the Trump administration have been disastrous. It was no surprise, however, that on Monday after his inauguration, President Donald Trump did exactly what he said he would do signed an executive order that withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. That flourish of his pen officially killed off a trade deal predicted to boost ag cash receipts in Nebraska by $378 million a year. And now Trump seems focused on doing some of the other things he said he would do, like renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement and trying to come up with a way to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border. Fortunately Trump may not be able to accomplish those things unilaterally. Hell need the cooperation of Congress. Members of Nebraskas all-Republican delegation in Congress should gird themselves to do battle with the GOP standard-bearer. And Nebraskans, who voted in overwhelming numbers for Trump, should make clear to the delegation what their objectives are when Trump talks to Congress about trade deals. Because of NAFTA, Mexico is Nebraskas second largest export market. In 2015 Nebraska sent about $1.3 billion worth of goods to Mexico, including 30 percent of the states soybean crop and 17 percent of its corn crop. Imagine what would happen to the price of beans and corn if that market disappeared. Remember there is support in other parts of the country for renegotiating NAFTA, which Trump once called one of the worst deals ever made of any kind signed by anybody. Cheerleading for a new NAFTA is the AFL-CIO, which thinks it could bring back manufacturing jobs. In a particularly stupid move the Trump administration also floated the idea of imposing a 20 percent tariff on goods imported for Mexico as a way of making Mexico pay for the wall. Those paying the tariff, of course, would be American consumers. And if the United States imposed the tariff unilaterally, the impact could have had the cascading effect. Unilateral tarfiffs are against international rules agreed to by members of the World Trade Organization. If the U.S. breaks them, other members might try the same thing in retaliation. Its clear from his first few days in office that Trump has every intention of disrupting the status quo in Washington. Nebraskas representatives in the House and Senate will need to play by new rules and that means butting heads with the man that Nebraska voters helped put in the White House. (Scroll down for video) An airline employee in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was inspecting a plane to prepare it for takeoff, was shocked to find a large amount of cocaine hidden inside the nose of the aircraft. Tulsa police said that the American Airlines employee made the discovery at the Tulsa International Airport on Sunday afternoon, while he was performing maintenance on a Boeing 757. The plane came from Bogota, Colombia, and landed in Miami, Florida, before stopping for maintenance in Tulsa. Police estimate the cocaine to be worth up to $500,000. The airline employee told police that he found the cocaine bricks in the nose of the plane in new insulation. The bricks were covered with grease in an effort to mask the smell. The Tulsa Sheriffs Office notified the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in Miami, as the drugs came into the United States from another country. Thomas Zachary Breeding By: Alexis Bell WorldWideWeirdNews.com A fisherman spoke about the bad decision he made in life, which can cost him his freedom forever. The commercial fisherman of Florida, is facing life in prison after he did not resist his temptation when he found drugs in the ocean. 32-year-old Thomas Zachary Breeding is asking people to learn from his mistakes after he pleaded guilty to selling drugs. Breeding said that he was sailing about 50 miles south of Panama City, when he discovered the drugs floating in the open water. He reeled the package in and he found that the it contained 45 pounds of cocaine, which has a street value of about $500,000. Instead of contacting the authorities, Breeding contacted drug dealers and he gave it to them on credit. The dealers paid him as they sold the drugs. Breeding said that he was just a hard-working commercial fisherman. He said that he has no idea where the drugs came from and he has never been involved in the drug trade before this incident. The drugs could have come from drug traffickers who are known to leave floating packages of drugs at prearranged locations for dealers to collect at sea or from dealers who dumped the drugs overboard during a police pursuit. In 2012, Breeding had a run-in with the law when he and others went into protected breeding grounds of the gag grouper, and then lying to investigators about it. In that case, Breeding was sentenced to 15 months in prison. A young girl lost her life at the hands of her vicious teacher and her classmates. 10-year-old Joy Wangari of Kenya, was beaten to death by a teacher who ordered her classmates to join her because the girl was unable to read. The teacher ran away and went into hiding after the death of her student. Wangari was a student at the Mukandamia Elementary School in Nairobi. The teacher asked girls in the class to read, and when they reported that Wangari was unable to grasp the concept of reading, the teacher ordered the children to hit her. One day, the frustrated teacher began beating Wangari and she then ordered all of her students to join her in the cowardly act. Parents said that the teacher used the students to cover up her own actions. However, it all came to light when the child died of the injuries, which she suffered at the hands of her teacher and classmates. After the beating, the girl complained to the principal, but nothing was done and she was told to go home, where she lived with her 86-year-old grandmother. The girl was taken to a hospital, where she died after complaining of severe stomach pain. Another parent, Simon Mureithi, said that this was not the first instance of violence committed by teachers on students at this school. Mureithi said that he removed his child from the school after he was beaten by the teacher. He said that there are many other complaints over the cruel treatment from teachers toward students. aWe demand that all the teachers be replaced by more humane ones,a Mureithi said. A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took I marched to protest the Vietnam War. I marched for a woman's right to choose. I just marched on Jan. 21 to protest the cancer of financial inequality in this country. I marched for equal rights for women, for the LGBTQ communities and for better policing nation-wide because black lives matter. I marched for my husband, daughter and son because I love them. I marched for immigrants and for refugees as well as the DACA children because they deserve a chance. I marched for people with disabilities. I continue to march for a woman's right to choose when it comes to matters that affect her body and her life, as well as for the continued access to funded quality reproductive and basic health care. How Did Wrexhams Schools Rank in Annual Colour Coded Banding? This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jan 31st, 2017 The Welsh Governments annual colour coded performance data has been published with many of Wrexhams primary and secondary schools falling into the Green or Yellow categories. The colour coding system, which is released annually as part of the Welsh Governments National Categorisation System was been introduced in 2014 to help identify those schools in need of support to improve. Schools are placed into one of four colour-coded support categories to demonstrate the level of support they need. Each schools category is determined by a range of factors including its performance data and capacity to improve in areas such as leadership and teaching and learning. Local authorities and their regional consortia play a central role in the process which triggers a bespoke package of challenge and support in each school. Under the system there are four categories green, yellow, amber and red. Schools in the green category are deemed to be in need of the least support while schools in the red category are those identified as needing the most support. This years results show that there are fewer schools in Wales in need of the highest levels of support when compared to last year. Similarly, there are more schools categorised as needing lower levels of support. In summary: The proportion of green schools those needing less support has increased by 5% in the primary sector and 7% in the secondary sector. The proportion of red schools those identified as needing most support has reduced by 1% in the primary sector and 2% in the secondary sector. 41% of special schools have been categorised as green, and needing less support, with only 8% being categorised as red and in need of most support. In Wrexham a total of 10 primary schools were categorised as green, including one secondary school and one special school. A green rating means that a school has a track record in sustaining high level of learner outcomes, demonstrates resilience at all levels and challenges to move towards or sustain excellence. Two secondary schools in Wrexham were categorised as red meaning they are experiencing a decline in key aspects of their performance, statutory powers may be used by LEA and subject to intervention by LEA and regional consortium. The schools classed as red will also receive intensive support. Speaking on Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary for Education Kirsty Williams said: This system is not about grading, labelling or creating crude league tables but about providing support and encouraging improvement in our schools. It is about putting schools into a position that helps them to identify areas they can strengthen and what they need to do achieve further improvements. The figures we have published today show that 84.4% of primary and 64.6% of secondary schools are now in the green and yellow categories. This increase is to be welcomed, as these schools will have a key role to play in supporting other schools, sharing their skills, expertise, and good practice. In this way they will be making a vital contribution to our national mission of driving forward improvements in Welsh schools and moving us towards a self-improving system. However Plaid Cymru Shadow Education Secretary Llyr Gruffydd has warned that a lot of work still needs to be done to reverse years of decline and to improve school standards across Wales. Speaking about Tuesdays results, Llyr Gruffydd AM said: Todays results reveal some welcome signs of improvement, with a greater number of our schools being placed in the green category and fewer placed in the red. Of course, this categorisation is just one part of the wider evaluation of schools and it certainly should not be viewed as a way of ranking or labelling schools. We need to see an increase in the number of schools placed in the green category but also make sure that the support given to schools in the red category bring about a tangible improvement. The Welsh Government has presided over years of educational decline so any sign that the tide is being turned is welcome. But now is not the time for the Welsh Government and regional consortia to rest on their laurels. The focus must still be on supporting all schools to raise standards, and ensure that schools in all categories see similar rates of improvement. A full list of Wrexhams results can be found below GREEN The Rofft Cp School Froncysyllte Brynteg C P School Rhostyllen Cp School Barkers Lane Cp Wats Dyke County Primary Ysgol Heulfan Rhosymedre Community Primary St Peters School St Marys Rc Primary The Maelor School St Christophers School YELLOW Garth Cp Llanarmon Dc School Pontfadog Ysgol Acrefair Ysgol Maes-Y-Llan Ysgol Min y Ddol Alexandra C P School Bwlchgwyn School Ysgol Tan-y-Fron Black Lane C P School Rhosddu County Primary Ysgol Deiniol C P Ysgol Bryn Tabor Ysgol Sant Dunawd Holt C.P. School Ysgol Bodhyfryd Ysgol I.D. Hooson Ysgol Plas Coch Penygelli C P School Ysgol Penrhyn New Broughton Cp Hafod Y Wern Community Primary School Park Community Primary School Llay Gwersyllt Community Primary School Penycae Community Primary School Acton Primary Victoria Community Primary Ysgol y Waun Ysgol Bro Alun Borras Park Community Primary School Pentre Ciw Voluntary Controlled Borderbrook School St Giles Controlled Primary School Bronington Church In Wales V.A Madras Va School St Chads Church In Wales Aided School Minera All Saints Voluntary Aided School St Marys Church In Wales St Pauls Voluntary Aided Darland High School St Josephs Catholic And Anglican High AMBER Ysgol Cynddelw Cefn Mawr C P School Gwenfro Community Primary Ysgol Maes y Mynydd Ysgol Yr Hafod Eyton Primary School Brymbo Aided (St. Marys) St Annes Catholic Primary St Marys Overton Grango Ysgol Morgan Llwyd Rhosnesni High School Ysgol Clywedog RED Ysgol Bryn Alyn Ysgol Rhiwabon North Wales Young Talent Academy to Help Boost Skills and Provide Business Experience This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 1st, 2017 A new academy aiming to help boost skills and provide first hand experiences of businesses in North Wales is to launch. The North Wales Young Talent Academy is looking for people aged 18-30 to join a 15-month programme to boost skills and succession planning in the workplace. The initiative forms part of the North Wales Business Academy, a 4.4million European Social Fund (ESF) project involving Wrexham Glyndwr University, Bangor University, Coleg Cambria and Grwp Llandrillo Menai. The Passport to Excellence in Management course involves a set day at the OpTIC Technology Centre in St Asaph once a month, and flexible online learning. Those selected will partake in sessions on sales, social media, strategic thinking, global best practice, leadership, digital futures, marketing and other topics, as well as gaining fresh experience with mentors in their field. Lecturer and business owner Gaenor Wyn Roberts will coordinate the programme. She said: The North Wales Young Talent Academy is an innovative project designed to meet the needs of employers in developing, promoting and retaining new talent within the workplace. We plan to equip talented employees aged 18-30 with the knowledge, experience and skills needed to succeed in todays competitive business environment. Gaenor, from Abergele, added: This will be achieved through learning which is motivational, engaging and challenging, and which reflects the needs of local Welsh towns and communities in improving the value of the economy whilst embracing and responding to national and global changes and trends. Sessions will be delivered from a practical perspective and will include visits and first hand experiences of businesses in North Wales and beyond. The learners will achieve a tailored Level 4 qualification, which will be celebrated at an award ceremony next summer. The North Wales Business Academy was launched last summer by Wales Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Mark Drakeford. The scheme aims to support business growth and competitiveness by delivering university-accredited management qualifications to more than 1,000 employees over three years. Chris Jones, head of North Wales Business School at Wrexham Glyndwr, said: All four partners recognise the paramount importance of qualifications. However, we all agree that to create a positive legacy for the region, knowledge and skills must be utilised rather than summarised in a certificate on the wall. This project will deliver leadership and management training the right way, and the North Wales Young Talent Academy is a key part of that. Supported by 2.8 million of EU funds, the project will enable employers to access subsidies of up to 70% for training and staff development opportunities in areas including financial management, sales and marketing, business strategy, governance and operational skills and management. Iwan Thomas, regional skills and employment coordinator for the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, added: Having a collaborative approach amongst providers further demonstrates how working as part of a Team North Wales approach, our collective vision for a confident, cohesive region with sustainable economic growth, capitalising on the success of high value economic sectors and its connection to the economies of the Northern Powerhouse and Ireland can move closer towards becoming a reality. For more information on the project visit www.northwaleseab.co.uk or www.glyndwr.ac.uk. Follow @NWBizAcademy on Twitter. For more on the North Wales Young Talent Academy, call Gaenor Roberts or Rachel Allen on 01978 293375 or email gaenor.roberts@glyndwr.ac.uk Spot A Needle? Tell Your Councillor New Needle Hotline Planned For Public Use This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 1st, 2017 There was both praise and criticism over work undertaken in tackling antisocial behaviour in Rhosddu at a public meeting last night with the acknowledgment that more can still be done. The packed out meeting at Rhosddu Community Church was a follow-up to a similar meeting about antisocial behaviour and drug abuse, and a further public Q&A with the PCC both held in November 2016. The panel last night consisted of local Councillor Steve Wilson, Wrexham Town Inspector Wycherley, Chief Inspector Dave Jolly, Councillor Hugh Jones, Rhian Jones the Public Protection Officer from Wrexham Council, and an Executive Director from Wrexham Council Lee Robinson. Various apologies were given, including from Ian Lucas MP and Lesley Griffiths AM who have an office in the locality. There was no representatives from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, nor apologies given on their behalf. Chief Inspector Jolly opened the meeting with an overview and update since the last meeting, explaining the nitty gritty of a 40 day policing operation during November and December. Statistics given out included that over 2000 hours of PC and PCSO time was directed at the Rhosddu issues, but pointed out that those resources had to be pulled from other wards around the Wrexham area so there was a cost elsewhere to others for the work. Speaking of direct enforcement that took place, the meeting was told 58 fixed penalty notices had been issued for various breaches of the Public Space Protection Order that is in place and 28 people had been arrested. Various actions at Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) were cited, with some people being evicted out of the area. Praise for sterling work was offered by a resident on how the police had intervened in a difficult situation involving substance abuse, and as a result the friend in question was now clean for several weeks. Officers present were keen to highlight some of the more positive stories, explaining how one well known local character had offered thanks for turning his life around at a recent Christmas function. The ongoing anti-social behaviour noticeable around Rhosddu specifically was attributed to around 40 men, with the meeting told how work was taking place with them to explain how their actions impacted on others. The meeting was told how it was a myth that this group were not from the area, with the vast majority being Wrexham born and bred, and the rest having being in the area for over five years, and that not all were infact homeless. Later another rumour was countered, that this group was also responsible for a series of recent burglaries in the Rhosddu and Acton areas, with the meeting firmly informed by police that it was not the case. Chief Inspector Jolly added: It is wrong to blame them for everything. It is wrong to blame them for all the wrongs in society, and all the problems in Wrexham. He continued onto to sum up the situation from his point of view saying: We have not got it right, but things are a lot better. I am proud of my Officers and the work they have done. There were endless accounts of the day to day impact in the area on the lives of residents and those working in the area due to the individuals or groups of apparent service users for example those accessing services such as the Community Drugs & Alcohol Service, the Wallich accommodation and support services for homeless people. Not all were specific to clustered service provision in the Grosvenor / Rhosddu Road areas, with concerns raised about people in HMOs nearby. Perhaps most pointed was the mention from Lead Councillor Hugh Jones that he himself had to divert from the path he was taking when coming into Wrexham recently, but pointed out he did not feel threatened. Drug dealing in the Salvation Army, prostitution at a certain HMO, residents regularly wondering if people prone on a pavement were dead or alive, ongoing foul language, regular congregations of service users on business driveways at certain times, fear of leaving property, gangs of people giving passers by earache, concern about leaving houses empty to go on holiday and feeling threatened walking on certain roads or crossings were recounted by a number of attendees. Concern was raised not just on the wellbeing of the residents, but the safety of service users themselves, for example one person stating it was a matter of time before a serious injury or death occurs on the Grosvenor Road pedestrian crossing area. After the meeting one person described the response to the concerns raised as a rugby match, with responsibility being passed around sideways, and those who can enable solutions being elsewhere. One resident asked if a one-for-one needle exchange could be created, however was told the current system of many-for-none swaps was Welsh Government policy. Similar issues raised over the clustering of services in Rhosddu was passed up as a planning policy problem, with local objections probably overruled on appeal again control out of the hands of the local authority. Such answers did not sit well with the audience, with the largest round of applause of the evening given to a resident who told Cllr Jones You are talking rubbish, lad. Come and live in Rhosddu for six months. There is a high concentration of services here, and that is down to the Council. The gentleman pointed out that although he was not a fan and has never supported my local councillor he did feel the councillor in question was on a hiding to nothing, enquiring how many of the other 50 councillors had as many or even any services in their wards. Cllr Jones reiterated his position: It may sound trite, but we are where we are. If I lived here I would be asking the same questions as you. As a Council we do not have the power to remove. Most are not funded by Wrexham Council. As I say, those who pay the piper call the tune, and the money comes from Welsh Government. On the topic of clustering of services the point was raised if a voluntary move of services away from Rhosddu could be explored. A Council officer explained that there were benefits to clustering, noting: If they are not getting the stepping stone of services people could hang around more as the next step is not there. Chief Inspector Jolly highlighted that work was taking place with some service providers as there had been a feeling that a blind eye had been turned. Stronger terms and conditions imposed on those accessing services were explained, adding: We have done our best to change the processes. It is not a case of them ignoring the problem, but they are working with very difficult cases, taking time to run through the benefits of working with individuals to get in their heads which then create sustainable solutions. One new system was outlined in the meeting by a council officer, who detailed a bespoke needle hotline had been introduced to councillors, with the aim of rolling it out to the public. The meeting was asked if councillors had communicated this to them, to a resounding no from the crowd. The system appears to be a telephone number that councillors can call, and then Wrexham Council log and deal with the needle issue likely via the StreetScene team. Currently the number is being kept private, but the aim is to roll it out into a public service however only once Wrexham Council are satisfied that the service behind the system is working fine, with the officer adding: It is pointless having the number out there if we cannot respond efficiently. If people have concerns report it to Councillors and we can address it. Once we are happy with the process and that it works we will look at making it public. From the detail given all Councillors should have been aware of this new hotline, and should be communicating to residents in their ward that they can be a conduit of information into the new system. If you are looking for your local Councillor and their contact information click here for the relevant page on the Council website. A council officer also provided detail on some of that preparation work behind the launch of the needle hotline, acknowledging that some elements may seem ridiculous such as training on where and what to look for on clean ups but explained those who are not service users, or have had experience, would not be aware of where to look for needles. Other exploratory work was mentioned with the possibility of Wrexham being the first in Wales to trial auto capping needles, or safety syringes. One more lighter parts of the meeting came when a trader from the bus station enquired about security provision at that location, pointing out that allocated staff often they finish at 5pm and can be offsite several times in a day on other services such as locking up markets. This differed from the account offered by the Council, with the Officer saying that he was paying for longer hours. A program of works was referred to that will look to improve the bus station, with helping prevent anti social behaviour as a part of it. The old Walnut Public House was one specific HMO that was mentioned many times throughout the evening, with confusion over if it was initially granted planning permission on the basis of a student only letting. Thanks to Marc Jones who has been in touch since the meeting, and like many present has been looking up the application it appears first application was for student accommodation, however that was cancelled. The approved planning was for a non-student HMO, with the accompanying information referring to good quality student and HMO accommodation, also noting its proximity to Glyndwr University. Hopefully the local perception of student only planning was not shared with on the ball planning committee members who will have noted the subtle difference when granting it. Many were concerned about local rumours that there was also a planned application to convert the ex-pub into a bail hostel, which was put to bed by the local councillor and others who said they were unaware of it. There is an application for extending the HMO from 20 to 21 rooms, which raised the eyebrows of one resident and the local councillor, who pondered if such a number would enable something else. One local resident enquired if the Councils enforcement had been asleep on the job over planning issues, pointing out that such matters were in the hands of the Council and not Welsh Government. Another spoke how the local Community Councils often put together well reasoned objections but they are totally ignored when the go before the Planning Committee. One resident offered a cunning solution around planning appeals, pointing out that a recent improvement to a service centre was taking place on a listed buildings and therefore flat roof additions could be seen as out of character, and that the lack of parking could be given as a possible refusal reason. Later in the meeting one resident spoke of his understanding on the change in drugs use on a local and UK level, explaining how no longer was heroin the drug of choice but the former legal highs but now rebranded new psychoactive substances or NPSs. Describing how anyone at the meeting could get high for a fiver: People are not out of it, they get more aggressive. It is very hard, we have to realise all authorities are dealing with a big change in drug culture. Marc Jones told us after the meeting: Most people I spoke to after the meeting felt disappointed that no real answers had been given to the most pressing issues the problem of anti-social behaviour going forward, the problems of needles in the streets and the over-concentration of services for drug users and the amount of Houses of Multiple Occupation in the Grosvenor ward area. The councils default response was theres nothing we can do but it was clear from a number of issues raised by residents that they had powers in specific circumstances. Rhosddu is a very small residential area the over-concentration of services has created a huge problem that needs addressing by all those responsible. Im afraid tonight didnt do that. Input from the Town Centre Forum was also referenced by some on the panel, however as ongoing members/attendees we are unaware of any in depth discussion with decided outcomes from the Forum. Although no formal date was set for the next meeting, feedback times of around 6-8 weeks were cited in some of the answers given. A Nebraska Department of Roads employee who supervised Ord-area highway work was kicked to the curb after state auditors raised allegations he gave away asphalt millings in exchange for beer. The employee, whose name wasn't released, also took millings for his own driveway, auditors claimed. The millings were salvaged from a resurfacing project last summer on Nebraska 70 northeast of Ord. Those ground-up bits of pavement are typically used for filling eroded shoulders or are recycled by contractors for new pavement. They can also be sold to local governments for $10 per ton. With the Ord project, however, it appears the millings were shared around town like bricks from Grandma's backyard. The city of Ord got some in exchange for letting the roads crew use a city hydrant to draw water for the milling machine. The local school district, public power district and farmers cooperative received free millings, as well, according to the auditor. And several individuals in the area admitted to getting millings themselves for use in place of gravel in their driveways. Auditors were told by at least one person that the roads employee "received payments of beer in exchange," according to a letter from state Auditor Charlie Janssen's office. The millings were delivered using Department of Roads trucks, possibly in violation of laws governing use of state equipment, the auditors wrote. Auditors shared the allegations with roads officials in November. The next month, the employee was no longer with the department. It is unclear whether he will face misdemeanor criminal charges for misuse of state property. Valley County prosecutor Brandon Hanson didn't immediately return a message left on his office phone. Audit Manager Cindy Janssen, who is unrelated to her boss, said auditors were unable to determine what quantity of millings were given away. Roads Department officials said they don't track millings unless they are sold. In a formal response to the audit, department officials agreed to review their policies for handling millings statewide. "NDOR will continue to ensure that state assets are accounted for and safeguarded to the best of our abilities," the department said. In an outpouring of opposition to US President Donald Trump and in defence of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, thousands of people attended protests Monday throughout the UK. Denunciations of Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May for their Islamophobia were central to the protests. Protesters were overwhelming young. A number considered themselves socialists and supporters of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. As well as opposition to Trumpand Mays moves to consolidate a close relationship with his administrationthe protests reflected growing hostility to the whipping up of noxious anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia, which was accelerated during last years Brexit referendum campaign. There was a stark contrast between the genuine and heartfelt response of the protesters and that of the organisers of the demonstrationwhose opposition to Trump is that he is pursuing policies antithetical to the interests of British imperialism. Representatives of the pro-European Union faction of the ruling elite used the protests to oppose the UK allying itself with the US and to instead form a progressive alliance in support of an orientation to civilised Europeabove all the French and German governmentsagainst Trump. This was exemplified by the platform at the London demonstration. Owen Jones, a leading advocate of the Remain in the EU campaign and a pivotal figure in the Labour right-wings attempt to remove Corbyn following last years referendum vote to leave the EU, convened the rally. The main speakers included former Labour leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron. The Liberals are set to vote against the triggering of Article 50the means by which Britains EU exit beginsand are demanding a second referendum. Despite his belated calls for May to cancel her invitation to Trump for a state visit to the UK this year, Corbyn absented himself from the London demo and instead sent close ally Diane Abbott. Socialist Equality Party campaigners distributed the WSWS perspective, The Trump-Bannon government: Rule by decree, and explained that opposition to Trump must be combined with opposition to the Remain faction of the bourgeoisie in the UK and to the European powers. It must be centred on the mobilisation of the working class, in the US, Europe and internationally. Despite having just one days notice, tens of thousands people converged on the prime ministers Downing Street residence. By 7 p.m., the crowd stretched the length of Whitehall and drowned out the official speakers as they shouted anti-Trump and pro-immigration chants. Many thousands took part in demonstrations in around 35 UK locations. Several thousand protested in Britains major towns and cities including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Brighton, Newcastle and Liverpool. Up to 3,000 demonstrated outside the Town Hall in Manchesters Albert Square. Chants of No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here, filled the air. Everywhere people held aloft homemade banners with slogans such as, First they came for the Muslims, and we say, No not this time, Never Again, and Build bridges, Not walls. In Leeds, demonstrators chanted, Trump is a liar! and No hate! No fear! Donald Trumps not welcome here! Official figures for the Sheffield demonstration were at 2,000, but the crowd was probably double that. Speaking at the rally was former Green Party leader and progressive alliance advocate Natalie Bennett, who plans to contest the Sheffield Central constituency at the next general election. Bennett demanded that the British government emulate Germany and France, which she claimed were standing up against Trump. Germany, well done, she told the crowd, praising Chancellor Angela Merkel. France is resisting too, she claimed, as was the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They were setting an example to Theresa May, who lacks a moral compass, she asserted. Bennett also claimed that the United Nations was a source of opposition to Trumps anti-democratic actions. A Liberal Democrat councillor said that his party were united with the Greens and Labour in their opposition to Trump. We have no disagreements on this issue, he said. We stand together. Calling for opposition to Trumps state visit, he said, I am proud of Her Majesty the Queen and she will be put in a very bad position if Trump is allowed to visit. Maxine Bowler, Socialist Workers Party and Stand up to Racism representative, praised the large numbers involved in the January 21 Washington Womens March, promoting racial and gender politics alongside empty eulogies to democracy. We are a little over a week into Trumps presidency and our nightmare of what we thought it would be like has come true. This latest policy on entering the US is divisive and anti-Muslim, she said, praising professional racial politician and Democrat, the Rev. Al Sharpton, for his assertion that the election was over and resistance now begins. Referring to Trump, she said, Many are appalled by this misogynist, racist bully. Its just like in the 1930s. Trump is even proposing a register for Muslims. That is why we need to unite together. Hitler could have been defeated if everyone was united. The only speaker that drew a comparison between Trumps policies and those being implemented in Britain was a representative of the Sheffield Asylum and Refugee group. His group had dealt with May as home secretary and as prime minister, and her own policies are very much like Trumps, he explained. In May 2012, Home Secretary May had spoken of creating a hostile environment for asylum seekers. It was she who was responsible for the launching of Home Office vans, with posters on the side telling immigrants to Go Home. In 2014, May deported thousands of students who had come here to study on the grounds that they were illegal, he continued. The Supreme Court recently said that that was illegal. He drew attention to policies of the British and European governments against migrants trying to enter the EU. Rescue ships had been withdrawn from the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, he explained. This was a policy to let them drown to deter other asylum seekers. As a result, 5,000 men, women and children died last year alone in those waters. Ahead of the demonstrations, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was asked in Parliament to clarify whether UK citizens and dual nationals would be impacted by the ban, in an emergency debate requested by Ed Miliband. It became an occasion for denouncing the May government for extending uncritical support to Trump and calling for his planned state visit in the summer to be cancelled. Johnson promised that no British passport holders would be affected, but was jeered by opposition MPs when he claimed Trump was being pointlessly demonised over his refugee ban and that Mays visit to Washington had been highly successful. A petition urging that Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen, had secured in excess of 1.7 million signatures by Tuesday evening. A briefing to Westminster journalists confirmed the state visit by Trump would go ahead, while a source told the BBC that cancelling the visit would be a populist gesture that would undo everything. Drug distributors have recently been hit with millions of dollars in fines for failing to report suspicious orders of prescription painkillers to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). These drug distributors, along with drug manufacturers and retail pharmacies, have contributed to the growing opioid epidemic in the United States. The opioids that are manufactured by companies such as Purdue Pharma and Insys Therapeutics are distributed to retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens by drug distributors, also known as drug wholesalers, who act as middlemen. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) requires these drug distributors to identify and report suspicious orders of controlled substances to the DEA. Still, drug wholesalers have repeatedly failed to do so, while industry lobbying has curtailed enforcement of the law by the DEA. The recent penalties and fines reflect more the flagrant manner by which the drug distributors have allegedly violated the law, than any renewed effort by regulators to clamp down on the practice. Earlier this month, McKesson, the nations largest drug distributor, paid a record $150 million civil penalty for alleged violations of the CSA. The settlement with the Justice Department requires the company to suspend its sales in Colorado, Ohio, Michigan and Florida for multiple years, although this will be done on a staggered basis that critics say will minimize the orders impact. The settlement follows a $13.5 million civil penalty McKesson agreed to in 2008 for failing to develop a system to detect and report suspicious orders of controlled substances. The 2008 settlement required the company to develop a compliance program, but a government investigation found that the company failed to adhere to it. This past December, drug distributor Cardinal Health agreed to pay $44 million to resolve allegations that it failed to report suspicious orders placed in Maryland, Florida and New York. In Florida, for example, the companys own investigator warned in 2010 against selling narcotics to the Gulf Coast Medical Pharmacy. The warnings were ignored. While wholesale distributors would normally expect to send 65,000 doses of oxycodone to a pharmacy of this size, Cardinal shipped more than 2 million doses to Gulf Coast in 2011 alone. Cardinal announced a few weeks ago that it had also reached a $20 million settlement with the state of West Virginia to resolve a lawsuit alleging similar practices in that state between 2007 and 2012. Cardinal flooded West Virginia with 241 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills during this period, more than any other drug distributor. West Virginia also settled lawsuits with other drug wholesalers, including a $2.5 million settlement with Miami-Luken and a $16 million settlement with AmerisourceBergen. In nearly all cases, the companies denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. McKesson, Cardinal and AmerisourceBergen are the three largest wholesale drug distributors, accounting for 85 percent of all drug shipments in the United States. The San Francisco-based McKesson, for example, which is currently number five on the Fortune 500 list, had $190.8 billion in revenues and $2.3 billion in profits in 2016, according to the companys annual report. The fines imposed on the drug wholesalers are minuscule in comparison to their revenues; they are simply another business expense necessary to keep the profits rolling in. Previously, the DEA had focused its enforcement efforts on doctors, retail pharmacies, and drug manufacturers. In 2005, the DEA began to aggressively crack down on companies distributing prescription opioids by launching its Distributor Initiative. According to an October 2016 investigation by the Washington Post, starting in 2013 there was political pushback against DEA enforcement, as the pharmaceutical industry ramped up its lobbying of congress. DEA leadership began delaying and blocking enforcement actions, while agency lawyers demanded higher standards of proof to initiate civil cases. As a result, the number of civil cases filed by the DEA dropped from 131 in 2011 to only 40 by 2014. In 2014, members of congress, led by Republican representatives Tom Marino of Philadelphia and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, proposed legislation that would weaken the DEAs enforcement powers. Between 2014 and 2016, McKesson, Cardinal, AmerisourceBergen and the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, the drug distributor trade group, spent $13 million lobbying congress in favor of the legislation, known as the Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act. The Act, which passed and was signed into law by Obama in 2016, requires the DEA to show that there is an immediate instead of imminent threat to the public before the agency can suspend the licenses of wholesalers, a much more onerous standard to demonstrate. Companies that fail to report suspicious orders can postpone or prevent the DEA from taking action against them by simply submitting a corrective action plan. Enforcement by the DEA has been further hampered by the revolving door between pharmaceutical companies and the DEA officials charged with regulating the industry. An investigation by the Washington Post this past December found that at least 42 DEA officials had been hired by pharmaceutical companies or their law firms since 2005. This includes officials from the DEAs Diversion Control Division, which is charged with preventing prescription drugs from reaching the black market and has the power to suspend or revoke the licenses of doctors, pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies. A total of 31 former employees in the diversion division left to work for the pharmaceutical industry or law firms that represent it, including five DEA officials who went to work for McKesson. The DEA diversion officials who have gone to the industry since 2005, reports the Post, include two executive assistants who managed day-to-day operations; the deputy director of the division; the deputy chief of operations; two chiefs of policy; a deputy chief of policy; the chief of investigations; and two associate chief counsels in charge of legal affairs and enforcement actions against pharmaceutical companies. The high rate of turnover makes you really wonder whether those officials were acting in the interests of the DEA rather than the companies they were regulating, Craig Holman, an expert on revolving-door issues at Public Citizen, told the Post. Just by seeing your colleagues going that way, that tells you that you can shape your future employment prospects if you behave accordingly, Holman said. The irresponsible promotion and distribution of prescription painkillers by unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies, wholesale distributors, and retail pharmacies has exacerbated the opioid epidemic in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of opioid overdose deaths in the United States has nearly quadrupled since 1999. Sixty-one percent of the 41,055 drug overdoses in 2014 were due to opioids, an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous year. The author also recommends: US deaths from synthetic opioids surge by 72 percent [19 December 2016] Virginia declares opioid addiction a public health emergency [29 November 2016] Mark Christeson, 37, was executed at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri, Tuesday night. It was the first execution in the state since May 2016. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as the lethal injection was administered, Christeson appeared to mouth I love you a few times to people who were gathered to watch the execution, and his eyes soon closed. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. local time, eight minutes after the lethal injection began, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. The US Supreme Court refused to grant Christeson a stay of execution. Newly elected Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, a Republican, also refused clemency. In a statement Tuesday, the Republican said he thoughtfully considered the facts of Christesons case and chose not intervene. Christeson was convicted and sentenced to death for the brutal murders of a mother and her two children in southern Missouri. Christeson, then 18, and his cousin Jesse Carter, 17, raped Susan Brouk and then murdered her and her daughter Adrian, 12, and son Kyle, 9. Christeson was the first person executed in the state since 1989 to have had no federal appeals review, an unconstitutional violation of due process, after his previous attorneys missed a key filing deadline for court papers in 2005. Once the missed filing came to light, the attorneys also refused to cooperate and kept the information from their developmentally disabled client. For years afterward, Christesons lawyers also prevented him from seeking new counsel, and courts eventually declared that all of his claims for relief had now been waived and he was procedurally barred from review. These issues led the US Supreme Court to intervene in 2014, granting a stay only hours before his appointed execution. The Court sent the case back to the lower courts, which were directed to appoint new, conflict-free counsel for Christeson. While the federal trial court appointed a new attorney to represent Christeson, it approved only 6 percent of the requested budget for the counsel. This created a new conflict of interest for substitute counsel, who did not have the funding to investigate and assess his severe intellectual impairment. Attorneys appointed to challenge Christesons 2014 scheduled execution carried out an initial review of his records, which found that his mental impairment was likely due to some combination of chemical exposure in utero, several concussions leading to unconsciousness, and sexual and physical abuse from infancy through childhood. The attorneys also uncovered records showing he had failed in special education classes and scored only 74 on an IQ test. This history has never been even cursorily reviewed by the courts, and Christeson was never subject to a comprehensive social evaluation with psychological testing. In January 2015, the Supreme Court threw out a ruling by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denying Christeson another chance to have his case heard. But before the appeals court had decided whether to consider Christesons appeal of its ruling that he was procedurally barred from review, the state of Missouri proceeded to set his execution date for January 31. Governor Greitens, who denied clemency under these conditions, recently noted, As a constitutional conservative, I believe, as you do, that the Constitution applies to every citizen. I believe in the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees the right to a fair trial and adequate legal representation for all. Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, spent the weekend in the nations capital meeting with Vice President Mike Pence. He has made no comment on President Donald Trumps executive order banning travel for residents of seven predominantly Muslim countries. About 200 people have been sentenced to death in Missouri since the state reenacted the death penalty in 1975. Eighty-seven people have been put to death. There are currently 25 men on death row in the state, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, including two who have been declared mentally unfit for execution and two who were granted stays due to medical conditions that might make their executions painful. Gold, directed by Stephen Gaghan, screenplay by Gaghan, Patrick Massett and John Zinman; 20th Century Women, directed and written by Mike Mills Representative of the generally lackluster crop of current movies, Gold, directed by American filmmaker Stephen Gaghan (Syriana, 2005), is very loosely based on one of Canadas most notorious stock scandals and one of the largest mining scandals in history. The value of Bre-X Minerals Ltd collapsed in 1997 when a supposedly enormous gold deposit in Indonesia proved to be a giant hoax. In Gaghans rearranged and refocusedand Americanizedversion of events, Matthew McConaughey plays Kenny Wells, who according to the movies prologue, is being groomed in 1981 to take over the family mining business in Reno, Nevada from his father (Craig T. Nelson). Kenny is a born prospector, but also a drunk and a flim-flam man. Seven years down the road, Kenny, now balding and paunchy, has lost everything and operates out of a bar where his long-time girlfriend Kay (the endearing Bryce Dallas Howard) works. In his booze-soaked, addle-brained state, he suddenly recalls legendary geologist Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez), who went looking for bauxite in Indonesia and struck it rich by finding copper instead. Pawning all his valuables, Wells flies to Indonesia to meet Acosta, who is convinced that vast deposits of gold lie buried in the jungle. Beset by disease and labor strife, the pair ultimately discover the largest goldmine of the century. Sealing a deal with Mike on a paper napkin, Kenny returns to Reno and soon catches the attention of big-time New York investors like Bryan Woolf (Corey Stoll), followed by South African mining tycoon Mark Hancock (the exceptional Bruce Greenwood). There are effective moments here. Kenny and Mike ride a tidal wave of success. However, their manipulative and savvy Wall Street partners view the crude Nevadan in particular as a drunk raccoon [in possession of] the Hope Diamond. News arrives that Indonesias military under dictator General Suharto has taken over the operation, and Kenny and Mike try to salvage their pot of gold by going into business with Suhartos troublesome son. Remarkably, during the stock market euphoria over the Indonesia gold rush, none of the short-sighted investors bother to investigate a mine that never yields a single ounce of gold. Gaghans Gold relies too heavily on McConaugheys talents and personality to push forward its flaccid narrative. Presumably feeling the burden on his shoulders, the actor compensates for the defects of the drama by running wild and devouring a good deal of the scenery. In the face of the lead actors pyrotechnics, Ramirez and the rest of the cast maintain some degree of composure. However, the movies major problem is not McConaugheys acting. While Gaghan is probably sincere in his desire to make a statement of some kind about Wall Street predations, he prefers not to address it head-onor with much genuine commitment. As the director mentions in an interview, I wanted it to be a fable of capitalism, a fairy tale. I didnt want it to be a literal interpretation of something. A more concrete, compelling presentation of a major stock market con job, in fact, would prove more of a nightmare than a fairy tale. There was a fascinating story to be told in the Bre-X scandal. But Gold suffers from the type of half-hearted, amorphous opposition to the status quo that prevails in relatively comfortable film circles. These are not life-and-death questions to this milieu. Syriana, it must be said, was a more intense and intriguing work. Inappropriate comparisons have been made between Gold and John Hustons classic film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), which involves a trio of ill-fated gold prospectors in Mexico. Hustons movie is a sharp critique of get-rich-quick schemes, self-deluding pipe dreams promoted by poverty and desperation and, more generally, the corrupting, debasing influence of the pursuit of gold and wealth. B. Traven, the author of the 1927 novel on which the film is based, was a left-wing German who lived in Mexico for many years (although a good deal of mystery still abounds about his identity). In addition to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Traven wrote a remarkable series of books, the so-called Jungle Novels, about the harsh conditions in Mexico prior to the Revolution. Sad to say, both the Traven novel and Huston film belong in a different category of artistic endeavor than Gaghans Gold. In Hustons film (from his own script), a toothless old prospector (Walter Huston, the directors father) has this to say: A thousand men, say, go searchin for gold. After six months, one of ems luckyone out of the thousand. His find represents not only his own labor, but that of 999 others to boot. Thats uh, 6,000 months, uh, 500 years scrambling over mountains, goin hungry and thirsty. An ounce of gold, mister, is worth what it is because of the human labor that went into the findin and the getting of it Aw, golds a devilish sort of a thing anyway. You start out to tell yourself youll be satisfied with 25,000 handsome smackers worth of it, so help me Lord and cross my heart. Fine resolution. After months of sweatin yourself dizzy and growin short on provisions and findin nothin, you finally come down to 15,000 and then 10. Finally you say, Lord, let me just find 5,000 dollars worth and Ill never ask for anything more the rest of my life....Yeah, here in this joint, it seems like a lot. But I tell you, if you was to make a real strike, you couldnt be dragged away. Not even the threat of miserable death wouldnt keep you from tryin to add $10,000 more. $10,000, youd want to get 25. $25,000, youd want to get 50. $50,000, a 100. Like roulette. One more turn, you know, always one more. 20th Century Women Mike Millss 20th Century Women is set in Santa Barbara, California in 1979. The three twentieth century women in question are Dorothea (Annette Bening), Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and Julie (Elle Fanning). The goings-on revolve around the raising and maturing of Dorotheas 15-year-old son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) and take place in her old Victorian home, which is being restored (ever so slowly) by the only adult male in the household, William (Billy Crudup). Jamie develops under the guidance of archetypal females from three different generations. While there are a few passing references to cultural landmarks, the movie makes the most of President Jimmy Carters July 1979 Crisis of Confidence speech, treated by the filmmakers as a font of wisdom and an example of presidential genius. Carter claimed that the fundamental threat to American democracy came from a crisis of confidence, reflected in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. It is not entirely clear what Mills would have us make of this. Carter presided over a reactionary administration, at home and abroad, and helped set the stage for what was to come. In any event, Bening is amusing in this trite piece and provides some sorely lacking dramatic weight. Millss movies tend to draw on his own life experiences. His latest film apparently mirrors the feminist influence on him of his mother and sister, while 2010s Beginners deals with an adult man whose father comes out as gay late in life, as Millss father did. With all due respect, given the overall banality of 20th Century Women, why does Mills continue to think his life will be so fascinating to the rest of us? Ongoing tensions within the Greens erupted last week, with prominent representatives of rival groupings issuing bitter recriminations against one another. The conflict centres on how the Greens, an increasingly discredited party of the political establishment, can reverse its declining support amid mounting hostility toward the entire parliamentary set-up. This threatens to provoke a split. On Friday, former party leader Bob Brown accused Lee Rhiannon, a federal senator from New South Wales (NSW), of destabilising the party. Brown stated: When it comes to political white-anting, Lee is the Greens version of Tony Abbott. He was referring to former Liberal-National Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was ousted by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a factional coup in 2015, and has since been accused of undermining the current government. Brown also claimed: NSW voters have often told me they wont vote Green until Lee goes. Thats why Labor loves her. Rhiannon responded by declaring that the Greens were at a crossroads and needed to make a populist appeal. On Sunday, the Greens national council sent a letter to all members, warning that the formation of formal factions is incompatible with our party structure and rules. The edict follows the establishment of Left Renewal, a grouping within the Greens whose supporters include close associates of Rhiannon. The public flare-up is the latest in a series of conflicts which have escalated since the federal election of July 2. Amid a collapse in support for Labor and the Liberal-Nationals, the Greens national Senate vote was down almost 5 percent compared with 2010. Their highest votes were in the most affluent inner-city electorates of Sydney and Melbourne, underscoring that the partys base is overwhelmingly among privileged sections of the upper middle-class. Party leader Richard Di Natale, Brown and national officials blamed the poor result on Rhiannon and other figures in the NSW Greens, who were denounced by Labor MPs and the Murdoch press as lunatic lefties during the campaign. In reality, the fall in support for the Greens was a result of its open integration into the political establishment, which has eroded illusions that the party represents an alternative to Labor and the Liberal-Nationals. The Greens 2016 election campaign centred on assurances that it was a responsible party and overtures to Labor for the establishment of a coalition government committed to the austerity dictates of the corporate elite. This followed the Greens participation in a de facto coalition with the former federal Labor government of Julia Gillard. While propped up by the Greens between 2010 and 2013, the minority Gillard government dramatically escalated the assault on healthcare, education and welfare, and aligned Australia with the US pivot to Asia, a massive military build-up in preparation for war against China. The Greens at the state level have replicated this model. Most recently, from 2010 to 2014, the Tasmanian Greens played a leading role in a Labor-led coalition government that moved to close public schools and dramatically reduce public spending at the behest of the financial elite. Since the 2016 election, Di Natale has elevated figures associated with the right-wing of the party to positions of greater prominence and demoted others with ties to Rhiannon. For instance, last September, former Wall Street banker Peter Whish-Wilson, who has advocated the abolition of weekend penalty rates, among other openly pro-business policies, was appointed the Greens treasury spokesperson. The tensions within the Greens have escalated in response to polling indicating a further decline in the partys support. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, internal figures show a drop from 11.2 percent at the beginning of 2016 to around 10 percent at the end of the year. The Rhiannon wing, which has close ties to various trade unions, protest groups and the pseudo-left organisations, has responded by warning that the party risks being bypassed by a developing movement of workers and young people against the major establishment parties. Their concerns are entirely tactical. Like Di Natale, Rhiannon has been a leading figure in the Greens for decades, and has enthusiastically supported all its parliamentary manoeuvres, including its participation in the Gillard government. In her comments last week, Rhiannon called on the Greens to adopt populist and anti-capitalist rhetoric and seek to reverse the partys declining support by appealing to the broad hostility to social inequality, the assault on public spending and the destruction of jobs, wages and working conditions. Rhiannon declared: We need to be able to inspire people and demonstrate that the Greens can challenge ruling elites and end the obscene and growing inequality both at home and abroad. The Bernie Sanders experience in the US shows that people with radical and anti-establishment policies can win mass support. How the Greens inspire people to join with us and vote for us is our challenge in 2017. Bernie Sanders won some 13 million votes in last years US Democratic Party primaries by posturing as a socialist and opponent of the billionaire class. Proving that his rhetoric was aimed at shoring up the right-wing Democratic Party, he then endorsed Hillary Clinton and called on his supporters to vote for herthe favoured candidate of the banks and the military-intelligence apparatus. Since the election, Sanders has declared that he would be delighted to work with US President Donald Trump in implementing protectionist measures, such as tariffs on Chinese and Mexican goods and tearing up trade agreements. In a significant comment last week, hinting at how she believes the Greens can win back support, Rhiannon declared: The Greens are at a crossroads, with Labor appearing to move left on some issues and minor parties also pulling our votes away. What Rhiannon means by Labor moving left is in fact its adoption of demagogic Australia First rhetoric, which has only intensified in the wake of Trumps election. Labor leader Bill Shorten has called for limits on overseas workers entering Australia on temporary 457 work visas, and for subsidies and other protectionist measures to shore up the market share and profits of Australian-based corporations. The minor parties to which Rhiannon referred include One Nation and other xenophobic organisations, which have won a degree of support by blaming immigration and foreign competition for the social distress affecting working class and regional communities. Rhiannon is advocating that the Greens compete with the populist right-wing. The Greens senator has a long history of advocating economic nationalist measures. In late 2015, for instance, she denounced the US-led Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade bloc directed against China, on the grounds that it would constrain our sovereignty over critically important issues. She has prominently called for the protection of Australian steel companies by the introduction of procurement policies that mandate the use of Australian-produced steel in public construction. Rhiannon has also previously called for government subsidies to the car industry and other sections of manufacturing, on the pretext of defending Australian jobs. Each of these campaigns has been carried out in alliance with the unions, which use protectionist rhetoric against foreign competition to divert attention from their collaboration with the major employers in the destruction of jobs, wages and conditions. At the same time, the unions and the Greens seek to divide Australian workers from their counterparts around the world, who face similar attacks on their living standards, working conditions and social rights, as a result of the ever-escalating race for "international competitiveness" on the part of the ruling elites of all countries. Rhiannons orientation has been supported within Left Renewal. While the federal senator has stated she is not a member of the faction, its political line is indistinguishable from hers. At a Left Renewal public meeting in Sydney last week, young representatives of the faction warned that the Greens would be left in the dust if the party did not change its approach. Like Rhiannon, speakers repeatedly invoked Sanders as the model to follow. Representatives of the pseudo-left groups Solidarity and Socialist Alliance hailed the emergence of the new faction as a step forward for the left. In reality, the entire axis of the Left Renewal project within the Greens is aimed at confining political discontent and alienation in the working class and youth within the existing parliamentary set-up. Protesters opposed to US President Donald Trump spoke with reporters for the World Socialist Web Site at Monday evenings demonstrations in London, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Glasgow. London Angelica, 15, said, I think its important for young adults to be interested in political movements and its going to impact the whole world, not just America, adding, We have to make sure things will change and that means more protests like this one. Zaine said, I am an American Muslim living in London and grew up in America and what Trump is doing now is not the America I grew up in. We were welcome in school. I was one of three Muslims in the class with my sister and we had no problems with the teachers and other students in the class. In the US, the richest stay strong while the small people at the bottom are run over. Zaine thought Trump would get kicked out of the White House as I have never seen a president have this much outrage in history in the first weeks of his presidency. Anna, a forensic worker, said, To disrespect someone because of their religion is absurd ... The power of people is stronger than the people in power. We can speak above them because they do not speak for us. The Democratic Party is silent on this and through that silence they are helping Trump. Lara said, This is now very similar to the 1930s. Trump has created unbelievable amounts of racial division and frankly, he did not win the popular vote. My grandfather fought the Nazis so I am proud of that. Fascism is a result of failure of capitalism. We need more widespread popular support for these type of demonstrations. Manchester Jamie, who holds down three jobs, said, Im one of these people who dont believe in borders. I don't understand the concept of being proud of ones nation. I want Theresa May out. To replace her will take a seismic shift. We need to give a revolutionary attitude a chance. Jamie expressed support for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. When reporters pointed out his record of constant accommodation to Labours right wing since he became leader, Jamie responded, Were waiting for the knock-out punch [from Corbyn] that never comes. Jackie, a teacher, said she attended because I didn't want to look back and think I had not done anything to change what was happening. She said the dismissal by the May government of over 1 million people protesting Trumps policies and his upcoming state visit to the UK was similar to the Blair Labour government ignoring mass protests against the Iraq war in 2003. I hope that we have learned the lessons war is about the money and vested interests. Trump has not banned people from countries where he has business interests. The Iraq war was all about the oil. Glasgow Angela said of Trumps chief of staff Steve Bannon, I dont think this is a Trump presidency, I think it is a Bannon presidency. He is the one who is controlling Trump. Bannon is basically a Nazi. ... Talking to people who are slightly older than me and remember the end of the 1970s, they say they have never felt this kind of tension since Cold War times when everyone was afraid that someone would press the nuclear button. Given the global tension that is there, something could feasibly kick off. Justin, a student from Lithuania, said, I think there should be demonstrations and people should act because people are being cut off from their homes and from their families. Everything is inter-connected right now, you cant generalise against certain groups and nationalities. Roisin, a nurse, said, I think the start made by the Trump government is diabolical. It is on a slope that is taking us back in time. I am worried about my future, about the future of people across the world who are going to be victimised and criminalised. A lot of his rhetoric, comparing people to vermin and animals is exactly what Nazi Germany was doing, to move people against the Jewish population. He is doing the same against the Islamic population. Pauline said, I think people are disillusioned with so much, especially with the media. Obviously, theres a lot of racism going on in America as well, but I think theres a lot of disillusionment and anger over people being left behind. Leeds Molly, an international development student in Leeds, said, Trump and what he represents is not just a problem for the US. It is a problem all over the worldthat is the rise of the far right. It is an attempt to move everything backwards in time. I think there were a lot of reasons he was elected. The main one was a protest vote because of how bad things had become in the US. People are very dissatisfied and they voted for someone they thought was anti-establishment. They were sadly mistaken. He represents the elite, but to a more terrifying degree than we have seen in decades. He wants to take things back to the 1930s. It is going to make things worse for all of us. I think we have to take collective responsibility. We have to change the system. Socialism is the only way forward. Lauren said, Its beyond me how dangerous America is right now. Trump is an egotist whos only thinking about himself, and hes drawing in dangerous people behind him, who are going to make changes that are going to have an impact on generations of people. Ethan said, Trumps executive order is banning people coming and stopping people travelling who have green cards and have been vetted and are definitely not terrorist. Those countries with oil and stuff like that, which makes him money and he has vested interests in, he wont sabotage them. Sheffield Alison said, They seem to be turning the clock back to the middle of the last century. ... It is in every area, from the misogyny, the attitude to ethnic minorities, the reaction to refugees, to climate change. Every day when you wake up, you wonder what will be next. There are obviously huge inequalities in society that Trump is able to exploit. He claims to speak for them, with his criticisms of the elite. But he is part of the elite. Hillary [Clinton] was obviously disliked as a candidate, so lots of people didnt want to vote for her. Another person would probably have done better. That said, she still won the popular vote. Carrie said, Everything that has been simmering below the surface for a long time has come to the top. There are those who feel finally they can get their way. A group of pupils from High Storrs School attended. Euan explained, Weve come out because we have a strong hatred towards Trump. He stands for everything I disagree with. Stan said that it felt like the world, and the US in particular, was stepping backwards. Quin, agreed. It is similar to what happened in the 1930s. Jill said, Both my sons are in the United States and they are married to American women. I hate Trumps stance on women in particular. It is part of his whole mentality. Presidents are meant to be the figureheads of a country, to unite it. What I find most worrying is that his actions will only increase the danger of terrorism by removing peoples rights. Will said, My grandmother was an Austrian Hungarian refugee during the Second World War. Innocent people are fleeing conflicts, we should all be doing everything we can to help them out. Tamil Nadu police brutally attacked a peaceful mass demonstration against an Indian Supreme Court ban on the age-old Tamil sport of Jallikattu (bull taming) in the early hours of Monday, January 23. Indian authorities had been taken aback by the mass character of the protests. They had erupted, outside the traditional political parties, less than a week before and rapidly won support from broad sections of the rural and urban population in Indias sixth largest state. As the protests spread and anti-Indian government slogans became increasingly prevalent, political authorities in New Delhi and Chennai became apprehensive. First and foremost, because they are keenly aware that Tamil Nadu, despite being a so-called advanced state, is bursting with social anger over mass joblessness, chronic poverty and gaping social inequality and, therefore, fear that any mobilization involving large numbers of working people could spin out of control. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian government authorities were also concerned that the protests, which had a distinct Tamil taint and were largely directed against Indias highest court and central government, could be exploited by Tamil regional chauvinists and separatists. The decision to crack down on the protest movement was taken jointly by the ruling AIADMK state government, led by Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, and the central government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu supremacist BJP. Just hours after police launched their violent attack on protesters gathered on Chennais Marina Beach, the Home Ministry said it was ready to deploy Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel to restore law and order in Tamil Nadu if the state government requested support. In reality, it was the police, acting on orders from their political masters, who ran amuck on Marina Beach. Angered by the unprovoked police violence unleashed on the Jallikattu protesters, several hundred fishermen intervened. The police then turned viciously on them. Police broke into the fishermens nearby houses, smashing their household items and attacking men, women and children. Video clips showing police beating people, including women, and setting fire to three-wheeler taxies and motorcycles went viral. The Jallikattu protest movement mushroomed, spreading to cities, towns and villages across Tamil Nadu, after police arrested several hundred people for joining a January 17 protest in Alanganallur, a village famous for hosting Jallikatu competitions. Three days later, on January 20, unions affiliated with the Tamil Nadu-based DMK, the Stalinist Communist Party of India (Marxist), and other opposition parties sponsored a 12-hour sympathy strike in an attempt to boost their flagging popular support. The strike severely disrupted public sector transport, especially bus travel but also passenger trains. Many schools and colleges were also shut down to express solidarity with the Jallikatu protest movement. Tamil Nadus Tourism Dept. had previously showcased Jallikattu in Alanganallur. However, in May 2014 the Supreme Court (SC) of India banned the sport in response to a lawsuit filed against it by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, an animal rights NGO. The court based its ruling on legislation passed in 2011 under the previous Congress Party-led national government that forbids bulls from being used as performing animals. A sport whose roots can be traced back to cow-herders in ancient India, Jallikattu is generally performed during the four-day Tamil Nadu harvest festival of Thai Pongal, which ended this year on January 17. It is meant to be a display of male prowess and involves the subduing of a bull. However, unlike traditional Spanish-style bull-fighting it does not conclude with the killing of the animal. Whatever the merits of Jallikattu, it is not played with the intention of giving injury to anyone. As with other such cultural activities, socialists do not support their arbitrary suppression by the capitalist state and uphold the democratic right of people to organize their cultural and leisure activities. The massive protests against the banning of Jallikatu was of a contradictory character. Undoubtedly it gave expression to and was fueled by growing alienation from, and anger with, the authorities and political establishment. When Panneerselvam, after conferring with Modi and quickly passing a state law legalizing Jallikatu, went to Alanganallur to inaugurate the sports revival, protesters barred his entry to the village. Seeman, the leader of the virulent Tamil chauvinist Naam Thamizhar Katchi (We Tamils Party), was also given short shrift when he tried to join the protests. In TV interviews several protesters did point to the dire social crisis in rural areas due to drought, unemployment, crop failures, and mounting debt. A particularly jarring expression of this crisis is the phenomenon of farmer suicides. In Tamil Nadu, they reached a new high in December, with 106 farmers reportedly taking their lives due to economic distress. The pressures on working people, rural and urban, have been exacerbated by the Modi governments demonetisation measure. Touted as a surgical strike against corruption, it is actually an attempt to shore up Indias indebted banking system at the expense of working people. The economic turmoil caused by rescinding more than 85 percent of Indias currency has resulted in millions of workers losing their jobs. According to an analysis published by the Indian Express, between November, when demonetization was announced, and January, the number of jobless workers seeking employment under the governments National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme spiked from 3 million to more than 8 million per day (see: Indias demonetisation scheme causing mass hardship). That said, the protest movement had a Tamil regionalist slant, one the states political establishment sought to make ever more explicit. On leaving for his meeting with Modi in New Delhi, Panneerselvam vowed that he would not back off even a bit from upholding the heritage and culture of the Tamils. The opposition parties, including the Stalinist Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM, joined in the effort to separate the Supreme Courts arbitrary ban on Jallikattu from its systematic attack on democratic and worker rights and to portray the ban in exclusivist terms as an attack on Tamil culture and Tamil pride. For its part, the Maoist group that publishes vinavu.com denounced what it called the Delhi imperialists for their attack on Tamil cultural rights, while claiming to oppose Jallikattu on the ground the sport is being played by a dominant caste group. However, as the protest movement gained in strength, the Maoists quickly changed their tune and gave it their full support as an example of Tamil assertion. For decades, Tamil regionalism has been used as a vital mechanism of class rule, to assert the claims of the local bourgeois elite for greater autonomy and a greater share of the booty of the Indian bourgeoisie, and above all to split the working class in Tamil Nadu, from their class brothers and sisters elsewhere in India and internationally. The CPM and CPI have played a major role in promoting regionalist politics in Tamil Nadu as elsewhere in India, claiming the various regionally-based bourgeois factions are a progressive ally in opposing the parties of the so-called big bourgeoisie, the Congress and the BJP. This has included rallying workers and rural toilers to support the Tamil state government and elite in their reactionary, decades-long dispute with Karnataka over the sharing of the resources of the Cauvery water. Similarly, in the neighbouring state of Kerala, where the Stalinists have repeatedly led the state government, the CPM has encouraged linguistic-cultural chauvinism, by joining with all manner of right-wing bourgeois and chauvinist outfits, including its ostensible arch-rival, the Congress Party, in a dam dispute with Tamil Nadu. As part of the parliamentary maneuvers that saw the CPM and CPI back a series of right-wing governments at the Center, most of them Congress-led between 1989 and 2008, the Stalinists went back and forth in Tamil Nadu between supporting the big business DMK and AIADMK. After the AIADMK ditched them as electoral allies on the eve of the 2014 national election, the Stalinists cobbled together another right-wing alliance out of DMK and AIADMK split-offs and other regional parties, the abortive Peoples Welfare Front (PWF). The sudden eruption of mass protests over the now-overturned Jallikatu ban is only the latest sign of seething social anger and opposition across India. Last September some 100 million workers participated in a one-day general strike against the BJP governments pro-investor policies. For this opposition to find positive and sustained expression a new working class party must be built through the ruthless exposure of the Stalinist CPM and CPI and their trade union affiliates as props of bourgeois rule. Such a party must be based on the Trotskyist program of Permanent Revolution: the working class must rally the rural poor and other toilers behind it in the struggle for a workers government based on a socialist internationalist program. The agricultural crisis, which was at the root of the mass protest over Jallikatu, cannot be resolved without abolishing the capitalist profit system. While posturing about resisting Trump, Senate Democrats are either supporting or permitting the bulk of his extreme right-wing cabinet nominees to go forward for confirmation. Senate Democrats maneuvered to delay Senate committee votes on Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary and Congressman Tom Price for Secretary of Health and Human Services. However, Betsy DeVos (Department of Education), Montana Representative Ryan Zinke (Department of the Interior) and former Texas governor Rick Perry (Department of Energy) all advanced to the confirmation stage on Tuesday. Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, received enough votes in the Senate on Monday to open debate on his confirmation as the Secretary of State. It is expected that the Senate will vote today to approve his nomination. Every Republican Senator supported the procedural vote to proceed, along with three Democrats, Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota) and Mark Warner (Virginia) and one Independent, Angus King (Maine). Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Secretary of Labor, was confirmed on Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 93-6 vote. Democrats are boycotting committee votes that would advance the nominations of Mnuchin and Price. Without at least one Democrat attending the hearings, the Republicans on the committee are unable to move forward with a vote. Following Trumps firing of acting attorney general Sally Yates on Monday after she refused to enforce the travel ban on immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries, Democratic senators extended their remarks in committee on Tuesday in order to delay until today a vote on Sessions. Once moved by the committee, it is all but guaranteed that Sessions nomination will be approved by the Senate. Even with all of the Democrats posturing, the billionaire DeVos, a long-time enemy of public education, advanced Tuesday to a full confirmation vote in the Senate after the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted along party lines to recommend her. While none of the 11 Democrats on the committee cast their vote for DeVos, they did not take any steps to block her nomination from advancing. DeVos confirmation is now all but guaranteed with Republicans controlling a majority in the Senate. In addition to being a leading proponent of charter schools and vouchers that funnel state funds from public schools to religious and private for-profit schools, DeVos is also a prominent Republican financier. She gave campaign donations amounting to $1 million to 21 Republican Senators who will be voting on her confirmation. DeVos and her family also donated $2.25 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and $900,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2016 election cycle. During one of her Senate hearings, she admitted that it was possible that she and her family had donated $200 million to Republican candidates in the last several decades. DeVos husband, Dick DeVos, is a billionaire and former CEO of Amway, a company cofounded by his father. Her brother is Erik Prince, the founder of the Blackwater military contractor notorious for activities during the Iraq war, now known as Academi. Prince, who was an advisor for the Trump transition team, also oversaw the assembling and training of a private mercenary army for the United Arab Emirates. Representative Zinke and former Governor Perry, both shills for the energy industry and opponents of environmental regulation, passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support. Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat, gave his support to both nominees. Perry is well known for pledging to eliminate the Department of Energy when he was running for president in 2012. He is now one pro forma vote away from leading the federal agency that he once deemed unnecessary. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, has voted to slash the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency and supported legislation that would open federal lands to corporate interests. He has played to right-wing religious fundamentalism, declaring Democrat Hillary Clinton the antichrist and voting to defund Planned Parenthood for providing abortion services. The Sri Lankan pseudo-left Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) used a meeting to mark 39 years since its founding to celebrate its opportunist history. Its leader Wickremabahu Karunaratne declared that his party would continue to back the present pro-US government so as to defend democracy and hailed the NSSPs long record of similar alliances with bourgeois parties. The NSSP was formed in 1978 by Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) leaders who had stayed in the party after it entered a coalition government with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in 1964 and again in 1970, with disastrous consequences for the working class. Karatunaratne split from the LSSP after its sweeping electoral defeat in 1977 but never broke with its treacherous program of class collaborationthat is, the subordination of workers and youth to one or other faction of the Sri Lankan bourgeoisie. Karunaratne declared at the anniversary meeting: We are going forward after a democratic revolution, adding that the NSSP wanted to isolate reactionary forces and gain victories for progressive forces through its united front with the democratic movement. The NSSP leaders democratic revolution is the ousting of former President Mahinda Rajapakse and his replacement by Maithripala Sirisena in the January 2015 election. Far from being democratic or a revolution, Rajapakses ouster was a regime-change operation orchestrated behind the scenes by Washington with the assistance of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. The NSSP, along with other pseudo-left groups, trade unions, non-government organisations and academics, acted as cheerleaders in denouncing Rajapakses anti-democratic regime and covering up the equally anti-democratic record of Sirisena and the UNP. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) was the only party that exposed the bogus character of the NSSPs democratic demagogy and fought for the political independence of the working class, warning that both Rajapakse and Sirisena would deepen the assault on living conditions. The SEP pointed out that Washington was not backing Sirisena out of concern for democratic rights but because it was hostile to Rajapakses ties with Beijing and was seeking to integrate Sri Lanka into its aggressive preparations for war against China. Two years on, the fake-lefts have intensified their campaign to defend the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government as it implements the austerity demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and faces growing opposition among workers, students and the poor. Karunaratne opposes these struggles, declaring that the workers and poor involved are helping Rajapakse to build fascist forces. He insists that the priority must be to defend the government. In reality, by subordinating the working class to the capitalist government of Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, the NSSP is blocking the development of an independent political movement of workers on the basis of a socialist perspective. In doing so, the fake lefts, including the NSSP, United Socialist Party (USP) and Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), are directly assisting Rajapakse, who is now seeking to exploit the growing social discontent by whipping up Sinhala chauvinism in order to return to power. Karunaratne attempts to disguise his support for the Colombo government as a united front with the democratic movement and declares that this is the example given by Lenin and Trotsky. The Marxist tactic of the united front has nothing in common with the NSSPs de facto political alliance with Sirisena and Wickremesinghe. Lenin and Trotsky always insisted the political independence of the party and the working class was paramount in any united front. The purpose of a united front was to take concrete actions to defend the working class and its organisations. There should be no mixing of slogans and programs, and the party had to have the right and responsibility to trenchantly criticise its temporary partners. The NSSP does the exact opposite. It shamelessly promoted Sirisena and Wickremesinghe in the 2015 presidential and general elections and has continued to do so in the face of growing anger in the working class. As a result, Karunaratne was included in the governments top advisory body and was given a regular column in the state-owned press to denounce critics and hail the democratic revolution. At the anniversary meeting, Karunaratne boasted that the NSSP had diligently followed the united front program and, as a result, had made many gains in overcoming the problems facing the masses. In fact, the history of the NSSPs united fronts with the SLFP and the UNP is a record of one disaster after another for the working class. Emerging from the LSSP in 1978, the NSSP subordinated workers to the SLFP and denounced the new UNP government of President J.R. Jayawardene for its anti-democratic actions and vicious anti-Tamil provocations that precipitated the countrys communal war in 1983. As the war with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) plunged the country into crisis, Jayawardene appealed to the opposition parties for a round table conference. Despite the Jayawardene governments harassment of the NSSP, Karunaratne told last months meeting that he accepted his [Jayawardene] invitation without any hesitation, when he called us for discussions in 1985, to find a democratic solution to the ethnic problem. The NSSP played a critical role in promoting this democratic charade and allowing Jayawardene time to prepare a bloody crackdown against growing social unrest among rural Sinhala youth. While NSSP was painting the government in bright democratic colours, Jayewardene and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the Indo-Lanka Accord in July 1987 to send Indian peace-keeping troops to disarm the LTTE and suppress the Tamil people. While the Indian military was suppressing the Tamil population to the North and East of the island, the government was able to unleash the Sri Lankan security forces against the working class and its organisations. In 198788, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) operated in tandem with the military, murdering workers, union leaders and political opponents who opposed its communal campaign against the Accord. The Revolutionary Communist League (RCL), the SEPs forerunner, called for a genuine united front of workers parties and organisations against the murderous attacks of the military and JVP gunmen. Significantly, the NSSP rejected the call and insisted that the RCL join its so-called United Socialist Alliance (USA), which included the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP) of Chandrika Kumaratunga. The RCL rejected the proposal, pointing out that the USA was not only a political bloc with the bourgeois SLMP but was working in cahoots with the very state forces that were also terrorising the working class. Karunaratne bragged about erecting camps to fight the [JVP] enemy. The USA formed a group called Peoples Revolutionary Red Army (PRRA) that received arms from the government and collaborated with the state forces. After working together with the JVP to suppress the working class, the UNP government turned on the JVP and launched a ruthless campaign of state terror, not only murdering JVP leaders and members, but slaughtering around 60,000 rural youth. Having promoted the UNP as democratic and worked alongside the military, the NSSP also bears responsibility for this massacre. As opposition grew to the UNPs autocratic government, the NSSP switched to backing Kumaratunga, whose SLMP had rejoined the SLFPs ranks. At the anniversary meeting, Karunaratne recalled joining Rajapakse, an up-and-coming SLFP leader, to organise a human rights march in 1990 to the sacred god city of Kataragama, giving his career a much-needed boost. In the 1994 elections, the NSSP condemned the UNPs dictatorial methods and backed the election of the SLFP-led Peoples Alliance and its presidential candidate Kumaratunga. Opposition to Kumaratunga grew as she broke her promises of peace and democracy and intensified the war against the LTTE. The NSSP first turned to the JVP, the organisation that had murdered its leaders in the 1980s, and then to the UNP, which, by the early 2000s, was promoting itself as the party of peace. Rajapakse replaced Kumaratunga as SLFP leader, won the presidency in 2005 and restarted the war against the LTTE in 2006. At the same time, the government launched a vicious campaign of abduction and murder. Hundreds of Tamils, media critics and political opponents were disappeared or openly murdered. Karunaratne and USP leader Siritunga Jayasuriya formed the Platform for Freedom with Ranil Wickremesinghe, falsely painting him as a great democrat. As a minister in the UNP governments of the 1980s, Wickremesinghe was responsible for the war and state terror during 198889. As prime minister between 2001 and 2004, he led a wholesale attack on the social rights and living conditions of working people. At last months meeting, the NSSP leader declared that he decided to support the UNP leader because Rajapakse was going towards fascism and after observing the way that Ranil was fighting. He triumphantly boasted we won the battle by bringing to power Sirisena, who had been a senior minister in the fascist Rajapakse government until November 2014. Karunaratne functions as an unscrupulous apologist for the democratic Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government as it uses the military, police and courts to suppress struggles of workers and the poor. Last month, the government deployed navy soldiers and police against Hambantota port workers fighting to defend jobs. Karunaratne justified this attack by claiming those workers were recruited by Rajapakse and privatisation of the port was an action to solve the debt problem of the country. At the same time, Karunaratne has not uttered a word as the government has forged closer political and military ties with Washington as it prepares for war against China. The silence is not accidental. The NSSP and the pseudo-left organisations internationally have increasingly become pro-war and pro-imperialist supporters of US-led interventions and warsin Libya, Syria and the regime-change operation in Ukraine. It is time to draw the necessary conclusions from the long and treacherous record of the NSSP and other fake-left organisations. The working class can only defend its living standards and fight the growing danger of war by breaking from all factions of the capitalist class and their apologists such as the NSSP. Successive SLFP and UNP governments are responsible for the islands protracted 30-year civil war and the deepening assault on the democratic rights and living conditions of the working class and the poor. Above all, what is required is the building of a revolutionary party based on the struggle for socialist internationalism and the political independence of the working class. We urge workers and youth to study the record of the SEP, which has consistently opposed all the parties of the bourgeoisie and fought for a workers and peasants government to establish a Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Eelam as part of the struggle for socialism throughout the region and internationally. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality launched its campaign to win group status at New York University in recent days, receiving an enthusiastic response from students and workers alike. In the wake of Trumps executive orders barring travelers from seven-predominantly Muslim countries, the mood on campus was a tense mixture of nervousness and anger. Campaigners distributed nearly two thousand leaflets announcing its public meeting, The fight against the Trump administration: The way forward. The meeting will take place on Thursday, February 2 at 7:00 pm at Judson Memorial Church Assembly Hall at 55 Washington Square Park South. The IYSSE is also holding a sidewalk demonstration on Thursday at 2:00 pm to defend immigrants and mobilize the working class against Trump. The rally will be held on the corner of W. 4th St. and Washington Square East in front of the courtyard next to Bobst Library. Many young people responded to the IYSSE meeting and rally leaflets with proclamations of Yes! When asked what they thought of the executive orders, several students angrily shouted their opposition. Most students with whom the IYSSE spoke expressed their hostility to the Democratic Party for laying the basis for Trumps victory and for passing the anti-immigrant laws now used by Trump. Last semester, the NYU administration and the Student Activities Board (SAB) barred the IYSSE from holding meetings on campus by rejecting its application for group status, despite the fact that the IYSSE met all the requirements. The IYSSE wrote a letter to the SAB requesting further information about the reasons for the denial and asking a series of questions about the schools connections to the military and real estate speculators. The SAB replied but neither responded to IYSSE questions nor gave any further information. IYSSE campaign teams began this semesters drive for club status by collecting dozens of signatures within several hours. One passer-by said, Im interested in getting past the two-party system. If we had a viable socialist party, things would have been different. Right now, I feel very confused and emotional. It feels like the Democrats dont do anything until theyre on the wire. The IYSSE met several regular readers of the World Socialist Web Site. Many students had already read the WSWSs recent articles exposing the NYU administrations ties to Manhattan real estate speculation and the military-intelligence apparatus. Michael, a media, culture, and communications student at NYU, said, I dont know why NYU would be sponsored by the military. People pursuing education are not prone to joining the military, and I had no idea that this was going on. Speaking about the election, he added, I didnt think that he [Trump] would do what he said. I thought it was just for tactical reasons that he was saying these things. Now with the wall we have new tensions with Mexico. He kind of resembles a dictator. I dont want a sleazy businessman as president. This situation is bad for democracy. An internal NYU source also gave the IYSSE previously unknown information that the NYU administration exerts influence on the decisions of the SAB and pressures them as to what groups should be accepted. Not only does this make a mockery of the supposed independence of this student group, it also confirms the IYSSEs fears that the administrations close ties to finance capital and the military-intelligence apparatus likely influenced the decision to deny the IYSSE club status. The IYSSE learned that the SAB is under significant pressure from the university to cut down on the number of groups it accepts, and this has left some members of the SAB dissatisfied. Margarett, an NYU student, said, This university is the top in many fields, and I think every university should be turned into a center for debate. I even think that it is crucial to have conservative professors on campus, that way we dont have a drastic shift like what happened this election. I was disappointed with the election. It is like we have regressed back into a kind of populism, and there is a disregard for the facts. Arthur, an NYU worker, said that NYU pays campus workers poorly and that many, including himself, must work second or third jobs to make ends meet. He was appalled to learn of NYUs close ties to the military and intelligence agencies: Theyre digging into peoples private business, and students come to learn at this schoolthat doesnt have anything to do with the FBI or the CIA. He said it was very difficult for workers at NYU to get by in New York City, one of the most expensive places on earth. He cannot afford to live in Manhattan and commutes an hour to and from work each day. Transit fares keep rising, but wages dont. For working class people, our checks are not going up, but food costs are rising, and so is the rent, the telephone bill and health care. Health care is one of the most basic benefits that we should all receive. When Arthur learned that NYU had barred the IYSSE from club status by claiming that there was not enough money to fund the club, he voiced his opposition: They have more than enough money to help establish a club for students to fight for workers. I have a sharp feeling you all are going to be successful, you just have to keep pushing at it. New information continues to come to light confirming the chauvinist, ultra-right wing views of Alexandre Bissonnette, the 27 year-old Laval University student who has been charged with five counts of murder and six of attempted murder over Sunday evenings attack on a Quebec City mosque. Bissonette contacted police only minutes after the assault on the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec and surrendered to them shortly thereafter. Weapons, including an AK-47 automatic rifle and a high-powered hand-gun, were found in his car. According to eye-witnesses, the masked gunman who opened fire on Muslims at evening prayer reloaded his weapon twice during the attack. Sundays shooting left six Muslim-Canadians dead and caused nineteen other to be hospitalized. The dead included Canadians of Algerian, Moroccan, and Guinean origin. Most, if not all, were longtime Canadian residents. One was a professor at Laval University. Several others worked for the Quebec government. Two of the wounded remain in a critical condition. Doctors have stated that they may suffer lifelong impairment. According to authorities, at his arrest Bissonette expressed remorse, or at least concern about the fatalities, and spoke about taking his own life. Police claim he has given no explanation for his actions. Nor apparently did he leave any on his computer or social media. However, he was clearly acting on the basis of ultra-right wing political views. Since Sunday night, numerous people who encountered Bissonnette in recent years, from the spokesman for a refugees support group, to fellow Laval University students, have said he was virulently anti-immigrant and an unabashed admirer of Marine Le Pen, the leader of Frances neo-fascist National Front, and of US President Donald Trump. Both Le Pen and Trump have systematically stoked anti-immigrant chauvinism and Islamophobia. Last Friday, just two days before the mosque massacre, Trump signed a patently anti-democratic and discriminatory executive order, excluding refugees, visitors and US permanent residents from seven Muslim countries from entering the US. According to several associates of Bissonnette, Le Pens high-profile visit to Quebec last spring served to radicalize him. Those who viewed Bissonnettes Facebook page before it was taken down on police order, report that in addition to confirming his support for Le Pen, the National Front and Donald Trump, it showed him to be an admirer of the Israeli Defense Forces and a gun-enthusiast. Olivier Banville, the former president of the Parti Quebecois (PQ) club at Laval University, told the Montreal daily Le Devoir that Bissonnette was in discussion with him for a time in 2014 about joining the pro-Quebec independence party. Significantly this was when the PQ was championing a so-called Quebec Charter of Values chauvinist legislation that would have banned public sector workers, at the cost of their jobs, from wearing religious head-coverings and other ostentatious religious symbols. An exception was to be made for discrete crucifixes. Media reports have portrayed Bissonnette as an introvert and a loner who had been subjected to bullying throughout much of his youth. That he is likely psychologically troubled in no way detracts from the political character of his actions and, even more importantly, the culpability of the political establishment and capitalist elite. In Canada, as in and the other imperialist democracies, the ruling elites have promoted a noxious political and social environment through their phony war on terror narrative. They have carried out wars of aggression in the Middle East, sweeping attacks on democratic rights, and policies aimed at redistributing wealth to the most privileged sections of society. Canadas current prime minister, the Liberal Justin Trudeau, denounced the Harper Conservative governments open appeals to Islamophobia as divisive. However, Trudeau and the Liberals voted for Harpers Bill C-52, which in the name of fighting Islamic terror, has armed the national security apparatus with what even the Globe and Mail, the traditional mouthpiece of Torontos Bay Street banks, describes as police-state powers. Now Trudeau is bending over backwards to placate Trump, because the Canadian ruling elite views a close alliance with Washington as vital to aggressively pursuing its own imperialist interests on the world stage. Trudeau has scrupulously avoided criticizing Trump for his ban targeting Muslim travelers to the US, his plans to militarize the Mexican border and other flagrantly anti-democratic and chauvinist actions. For the past ten years Quebecs political establishment and corporate media have promoted the lie that immigrants, especially from Muslim countries, are a potential threat to "our democratic values." The amalgam between Muslims and terrorists is never far away. Last August, for example, Jean-Francois Lisee, the new leader of the Parti Quebecois, the alternate governing party of the Quebec ruling class since the 1970s, issued a demand on his Facebook page for the "banning of the burka BEFORE a jihadist uses it to hide his or her movements for an attack." In the aftermath of Sundays atrocity some journalists have acknowledged, if only very partially, its connection to Quebecs reactionary debate over excessive accommodation to minorities. Michele Ouimet, a columnist with the Montreal daily La Presse, pointed to an "unhealthy climate fueled by trash radios that allow themselves to say anything and chroniclers who vomit on Muslims and Jews." In an official statement, Philippe Couillard, the Liberal Premier of Quebec, obliquely referred to this climate by saying: "The words that are spoken and the words that are written are not insignificant." The two parties most openly associated with the chauvinist discourse on Quebec identity, the PQ of Lisee and the Coalition Avenir Quebec of Francois Legault, immediately rejected any link between their anti-immigrant appeals and the horrific act carried out by an ultra-rightist most likely influenced and encouraged by their positions. The two have promised to continue to demand a public debate on banning the chador and the burka in publicalthough Lisee thought it politic concede that his earlier warning that a burka could be used to conceal an AK-47 assault rifle was "not a good idea." Couillard's statement, however, was entirely demagogic. His government has mounted an all-out assault on workers by slashing social programs and pensions, while cutting taxes on the rich and big business. At the same time, it has tabled legislation that directly targets the Muslim community by forbidding access to health care, education, and other essential public services (except in emergencies) to women who cover their faces for religious reasons. The shuffling of posts in the leadership of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) last week was a carefully prepared operation. On January 24, the SPD made the surprise announcement that the former president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, would run as its candidate for chancellor in this autumns federal election. Schulz also becomes chairman of the SPD, replacing Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who, in turn, takes over the post of foreign minister from Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is due to assume the post of federal president. Journalists close to government circles have gone to great lengths to present this change of posts as a personal, spontaneous decision made by Gabriel. Der Spiegel claimed that Gabriel decided only last Saturday to renounce the chancellor candidacy, taking by surprise all of the others involved, including Schulz. Such reports are aimed at obscuring what really took place. When one examines the political positions of Gabriel and Schulz, a very different picture emerges. The ruling circles in Germany are repositioning themselves. They consider the nationalist policy of the new US president, Donald Trump, to be not only a danger, but also an opportunity for them to realize their own great power ambitions. They regard the SPD as the most suitable instrument to achieve this end. That is why Schulz has been built up by the media as the bearer of hope for the SPD, bringing with him the chance for an election victory. In fact, Schulz personifies the despised politics of the SPD like no other. As a long-standing member of the conservative Seeheim circle in the SPD and the de facto leader of a grand coalition in the European Parliament, he belongs to the right wing of the party. In a long interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper on January 24, Gabriel made clear the SPDs agenda. Trump, he said, means business, but this was no cause for timidity. He continued, If Trump starts a trade war with Asia and South America, this opens up opportunities for us Europe should now work quickly on a new Asia strategy. The spaces that America leaves free must now be used. He added that if US protectionism leads to new opportunities for Europe throughout Asia, we should take advantage." In order to facilitate such a turn to Asia, Gabriel is striving for a core Europe under German leadership. He listed as top priorities strengthening Europe, developing a common foreign and security policy and, above all, building our own Asia, India and China strategy. Brexit could provide the decisive impulse. The exit of Great Britain is being discussed much too defensively, he said. It is also an opportunity to increase the cooperation of a group in the EU and strengthen core Europe enormously. A few hours after the interview was published, Gabriel announced the change of posts in the SPD leadership. Three days later he was foreign minister. Gabriels course was supported by the Swedish EU commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, who is responsible for trade policy. She announced that the EU had a long list of countries wishing to conclude trade agreements, including Japan, Mexico and members of Mercosur, the South American trade bloc. Many of these countries have been negotiating much more intensively with the EU since the election of Trump. On Thursday, SpiegelOnline published a commentary by its Brussels correspondent titled Trump can be Europes chance. He presented Trumps isolationism as providing new possibilities for European trade, but went further, writing that an even more long-term opportunity for Europe was the imminent loss of moral leadership by the US. [Emphasis in the original.] This explains why Schulz is seen as a suitable candidate for the implementation of this policy. He has spoken out relatively clearly against Trump and now plans to exploit the widespread indignation over Trumps racist and authoritarian policies to advance the interests of German imperialism, presenting Germany as the embodiment of Western values. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who worked very closely with former European Parliament President Schulz, has also distanced herself from Trump, but her own party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is deeply divided on the issue of refugee policy and nationalism. Its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is cooperating with ultranationalist parties such as Hungarys Fidesz and has expressed some sympathy for Trump. In order to regain lost SPD voters, Schulz wants to promote social justice in the upcoming election campaign and turn to people who work hard. But apart from a few rhetorical thrusts against tax evaders and highly paid executives such as former VW boss Martin Winterkorn, he has nothing to offer. Such hollow denunciations do not cost him anything, and Winterkorn is no longer in office. At the same time, Schulz defends the anti-working class Hartz laws as necessary reforms, and is not even prepared to commit himself to an increase in the meagre minimum wage, on which it is impossible to live. He has little chance of winning back the millions of former SPD voters who, as a consequence of SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schroders Agenda 2010, now spend their lives trapped in precarious, low-paid jobs. His appeal is to well-paid union and party officials and sections of the middle class, who are quite prepared to fall in behind Germanys great power ambitions in exchange for a few moralistic phrases. Schulz would be prepared to govern in a coalition with the Greens and the Left Party. Last Saturday, the printed version of Der Spiegel published a long article, which, underpinned by economic data, bluntly formulated the foreign policy objectives of German imperialism. The article projected a radical break in transatlantic relations between Germany and the US and perhaps even the transformation from friend to foe. It went on to advise preparing countermeasures and seeking out allies, in Asia, for example. According to the article, the federal government is planning a chain of trade agreements that give German companies access to the boom region in the Pacific. The article specifically touts the prospect of better relations with China, adding that, A new Berlin-Beijing axis could at least partially replace the old transatlantic order. This perspective is a mixture of megalomania and delusion. Contrary to the line taken by much of the German media, the US under Trump does not plan to withdraw into isolationism, but rather to replace economic methods of imperialist dominance with naked military force. Barely noted by the German media is the fact that when visiting the Pentagon, Trump signed not only an executive order banning migrants, but also an executive order for a great rebuilding of the Armed Forces. Following the Obama administrations decision to upgrade the US nuclear weapons program at a total cost of $1 trillion, Trumps rebuilding will increase annual military spending from $600 to $700 billion. Leading representatives of the Trump administration have threatened China with a blockade of the islands in the South China Seaan action that would amount to a declaration of war. Trumps government will not remain idle if Germany and Europe seek to move more aggressively into Asia at the expense of the US. The foreign policy outlined by Gabriel and Schulz and the transformation of the US from friend to foe set the course for a military confrontation with the worlds biggest nuclear power, which Germany fought in two world wars in the last century. President Donald Trump has chosen an ultra-right acolyte of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to fill the vacancy created by Scalias death a year ago, nominating Neil Gorsuch, a federal appellate judge from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, Colorado. Trump unveiled the nomination in a prime-time television production Tuesday night that had been hyped for several days but seemed anticlimactic, lasting only 15 minutes. The former reality television impresario sought to build suspense for the event by inviting the two finalists to Washington for the occasion, although he did not complete the degrading spectacle by forcing the runner-up, Judge Thomas Hardiman of the Third Circuit in Pennsylvania, to make an appearance. Gorsuch has all the right-wing credentials to be Trumps selection. He is a reliable vote against abortion and for all manner of legal privileges and exemptions for religious groups and institutions; he is a proven defender of the police against democratic rights; and he has sided with businesses against consumers and workers in the vast majority of such cases he heard. The judge comes from right-wing Republican stock. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was appointed administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1981 by Ronald Reagan, and given the task of dismantling antipollution regulations. When the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives sought EPA records of how money in the so-called Superfund for cleaning up toxic waste was being spent, Gorsuch defied congressional subpoenas, was cited for contempt and was eventually forced to resign. The newly nominated justice describes himself as an originalist and a textualist, both terms embraced by Scalia, the longtime leader of the reactionary bloc on the Supreme Court. These terms were employed to give Scalias ultra-right jurisprudence a constitutional gloss, but they did not denote any intellectually consistent approach. Scalias method was entirely arbitrary: in cases of critical importance to the ruling class, he would start from the desired outcome, and work backwards to the necessary premises, while claiming to discern in the original text of the constitution, written in 1789, a literal meaning applicable to issues in a vastly more complex, mass society. The most notorious example of this cynical approach was the 5-4-majority decision in Bush v. Gore, which halted the vote counting in Florida and awarded the 2000 presidential election to the Republican. Scalia invented an equal protection argument, supposedly rooted in the 14th Amendment but not raised by lawyers for either side, and which the court majority declared should be applied only once. The result of Scalias initiative was to install as president the candidate who lost the popular vote by half a million votes. Now Scalias replacement is being selected by a president who lost the popular vote by a much wider margin, nearly three million votes. Besides his professed admiration for Scalia, Gorsuch has another, equally reactionary judicial mentor. In his brief remarks accepting the nomination, he cited the great honor of having clerked for appellate court judge David Sentelle, now semi-retired. Sentelle was named to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the second-highest US court, by Ronald Reagan, with arch-reactionary US Senator Jesse Helms as his principal sponsor. Sentelle would go on to form part of the 2-1 decision in 1990 quashing all charges against the two main conspirators in the Iran-Contra affair, Lt. Col. Oliver North and Admiral John Poindexter, who ran and oversaw the illegal Reagan administration effort to arm the Contra terrorists fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Four years later, Sentelle headed a three-member special judicial panel that decided to remove independent counsel Robert Fiske, who had been appointed to investigate charges against President Bill Clinton involving the Whitewater real estate deal, and had found no basis for any criminal prosecution. Fiske was replaced by Kenneth Starr, former Reagan solicitor general and a ferocious ultra-right partisan, who transformed the independent counsel probe into a five-year witch-hunt that culminated in Clintons impeachment. By citing both Scalia and Sentelle in his remarks, Gorsuch was sending a clear message to the ultra-right wing of the Republican Party: He may have spoken softly and diplomatically to the television audience in accepting the nomination, but he has learned his trade at the feet of experienced and deeply reactionary judicial operatives. In his ten years on the appeals court, Gorsuch has had several cases involving bogus claims of religious exemption from the Affordable Care Act mandate that employers provide health plans that include birth-control coverage. He was part of the right-wing majority in the Hobby Lobby case, later upheld 5-4 by the Supreme Court, in which the evangelical family that owned the company claimed that it would violate their religious beliefs to allow their employees to have insurance coverage that included birth control. The Supreme Court has been operating with only eight justices instead of nine for the past year because Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings or take a vote on the nomination of Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland, the right-wing Democrat nominated by Barack Obama last March. Their purpose was to keep the vacancy open in case a Republican should win the presidential election and be able to fill it. Neither Obama nor the Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, made any serious effort to force a vote on Garland and, given his right-wing, pro-business record, there was little popular support or even interest in the issue. Senate Democrats are expected to proceed in a similarly spineless and cowardly fashion in relation to the Gorsuch nomination. He will receive all the courtesies of the Senate, including private meetings with key Democrats, a rubber stamp from the Judiciary Committee, and enough Democratic votes to insure his installation as the ninth member of the court. While Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer has threatened a filibuster, and the rhetoric has been amplified in the wake of mass protests against Trumps executive order banning refugees and visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries, this is entirely for show. When George W. Bush nominated Gorsuch for a seat on the Tenth Circuit in 2006, not a single Democratic senator voted against him. The author also recommends: The legacy of Antonin Scalia [15 February 2016] Who is David Sentelle? [24 February 2007] More than 200 students rallied and marched at Wayne State University in Detroit on Monday evening against Trumps executive order banning refugees and visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries. Metro Detroit has a higher percentage of residents with Middle Eastern roots than any urban area in the US, and Wayne State University is the home of thousands of students who are immigrants or the children of immigrants. The protest was the latest in the series of demonstrations in the Detroit area and around the US after Trump signed the order Friday, which indefinitely bars Syrian refugees, suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocks citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. Local protests were held over the weekend at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the Detroit enclave of Hamtramck, which has a large Yemeni, Bangladeshi and Eastern European population. Students carried handmade signs reading, No person is illegal, No Wall! No Ban! and Our Nation is a nation of immigrants. The protest was sponsored by Students Organize for Syria, Amnesty International, Students for Justice in Palestine and By Any Means Necessary (BAMN). Several speakers denounced Trumps attack on immigrant rights. Nathan Kuehnl, a PhD student, announced that signatures were being gathered to petition the university president and governing bodies to make Wayne State a sanctuary campus so that we guarantee we do not share information about students immigrant status unless it is legally ordered of us. The organizers, however, offered no other political perspective than protesting and appealing to the political establishment, particularly the Democratic Party, to defend immigrant rights. This was encouraged by the pseudo-left organization BAMN, which presented the election of Trump as the outcome of the supposed domination of white supremacy and the growth of a neo-fascist, anti-immigrant movement in the United States. In his comments, BAMN leader and organizer David Douglass did not say a word about the Obama administration and the Democratic Party and how it paved the way for Trump through endless wars, mass deportations, and relentless attacks on the working class. Instead, he issued a series of demands clearly directed to the Democratic Party, including abolishing the electoral college and stopping deportations. He called for the building of a new immigrant rights and civil rights movement based on a new generation that is majority non-white. After organizers led a series of chants, the microphone was opened for other speakers. Socialist Equality Party member Jerry White was warmly received by the audience when he announced he was speaking on behalf of the SEP and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at Wayne State University. The anti-immigrant ban imposed by the Trump administration is an attack on all working people, black, white, immigrant and native born, White said. What is being done to immigrant workers today will be done to crack down on the democratic rights of all those who want to oppose Trumps attacks on education, on health care and Social Security, and all of those who want to oppose war. White referred to the Palmer Raids in 1919-1920 when thousands of immigrant workers and working class leaders were rounded up and deported in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the wave of militant strikes in the US. Because they were sympathetic to socialism and opposed the war, they were rounded up in cities like Detroit, thrown in mass detention camps in Fort Wayne on Jefferson Avenue and deported from the United States, he said. The rich have always sought to divide the working class along ethnic, linguistic and religious lines; have used racism to divide and weaken the working class. And it has only been through the unity of all workers of every race and nationality that the working class ever made any gains in its social struggle, White said as the crowd applauded. Mr. Trump and his fascist adviser Stephen Bannon are attempting to tell the workers of the United States that the cause of our problems such as unemployment, of budget cuts and school closures is not the billionaires, like Trump, Betsy DeVos and the Wall Street barons. They are telling workers that workers in other countries are getting rich by taking away our jobs and our schools. This is an absolute fraud. There is a redistribution of wealth in American society and its not going to immigrants; its not going overseas; its going to Wall Street. Its going to the corporate aristocracy which controls both big business parties, White said as the crowd cheered. To take up a fight, students here should turn to the workers throughout the city of Detroit, including the workers at GMs Detroit-Hamtramck plant where in March 1,300 workers will lose their jobs. The report of the impending layoffs was greeted with boos. We have to unite all of the struggles against war, against police killings, against unemployment, against the attacks on education. But one thing must be understood. The Democratic Party is not going to fight Trump. The working class has to fight Trump. White noted that President Obama was the deporter-in-chief and had deported 2.5 million immigrants. He bombed the people of the Middle Eastthe very countries that Trump is banning people from. To build an opposition to war, to build an opposition to racist attacks and xenophobia and attacks on immigrants, young people have to turn to the working class and build a powerful socialist movement that will put an end to war, inequality, and attacks on democratic rights forever. Nicholas, a graduate student attending the march told the WSWS, I think the Trump immigration policy is wrong. What he is doing is illegal. You cant deny entry on the basis of religion. I have a friend who is in grad school who is Iranian. If he goes home he will not be allowed back into the country. The uncertainty is so great. People dont know what to do. I have members of my family who were in the Holocaust. I think it is the same danger that is coming back now. Fear is growing, and in some cases fear is preventing us from being human. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A terrified girl trapped in a janitor's closet and a Delta flight crew hiding inside a briefing room are among those who called 911 during the Florida airport shooting spree that killed five people and wounded six others. Broward Sheriff's Office released the first batch of calls Tuesday. The FBI is still reviewing others that will be released later. An operator tells a male caller at a bar to take cover and to get everyone around him to do the same. Another operator tells a Delta crewmember to stay put because the scene was still active. Authorities say 26- year-old Esteban Santiago, an Iraq war veteran, opened fire in a baggage claim area Jan. 6 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, causing pandemonium as passengers and employees ran for cover. Santiago was taken into custody after allegedly firing 15 shots. (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) ATLANTA, Ga. (WTXL) - New legislation was introduced today that promotes the growth of Georgias music industry. According to the Georgia House of Representatives, State Representative Matt Dollar introduced House Bill 196, which provides state tax exemptions on royalty income for musicians. Representatives say "this legislation is designed to not only retain and attract talent, but to also allow Georgia to compete with other states." Additionally, Dollar believes this music bill will help create a wide variety of jobs in the industry and has great economic development potential for Georgia. The bill comes right on time for Georgia's Music Day at the State Capitol, tomorrow, Wednesday, February 1st. The annual event brings together and celebrates Georgias entire music industry and recognizes this industry at the capitol. Music students of Lincoln Music Teachers Association (LMTA) members will play from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 12) at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore at SouthPointe Pavilions, 2910 Pine Lake Road, to raise money for the LMTA Music Outreach Program (LMTA-MOP). Barnes and Noble will donate a percentage of all sales made at the south store on Feb 12 for those who identify themselves as friends of LMTA. Online sales will also qualify for the donation from Feb. 12-17. Go to www.bn.com/bookfairs and use Bookfair ID 12091484. LMTA is a nonprofit organization of independent music teachers and college faculty that provides educational and performance opportunities for their member teachers and students. The Music Outreach Program is administered by a nine-member volunteer committee of LMTA teachers, partnering with local music stores, piano tuners and businesses. A maximum of 50 students are being served by 14 professional teachers who meet continuing education criteria. The annual cost of lessons for an individual student is approximately $850. The LMTA Music Outreach Program is supported in part by grants from the Nebraska Arts Council & the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, the Lincoln Community Foundation, the Pearle Francis Finigan Foundation, the Cooper Foundation, the Harris Foundation, Viking Foundation, private donations and LMTA fundraisers. More information is at www.LMTA.info. Tax-deductible donations may also be made through www.LMTA.info to support the Music Outreach Program. If You Go BIG READ 2017 EVENTS A variety of Big Read events are planned at locations on the Central Washington University campus and in the wider Kittitas County community. Programming is diverse and includes genres such as performing arts, multi-media, poetry, literature and more. All events are free and most are open to the community. Below is a condensed listing of upcoming events. For a complete list with descriptions and updates, visit the CWU Big Read event calendar at http://neabigread.org/communities/?community_id=2245. Kick-off reception: 6 p.m. Friday, Clymer Museum & Gallery, 416 N. Pearl, Ellensburg Kittitas Valley Unitarian Universalist Book Discussion, 7 p.m. Feb. 16, KVUU Church, 400 N. Anderson, Ellensburg Music and Words Confront War, 6 p.m. March 1, CWU McIntyre Music Building Recital Hall 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.s Beyond Vietnam Speech, 6 p.m. April 4, CWU Student Union Building Roslyn Library Book Club Community Discussion, 6 p.m. April 6, Roslyn Public Library, 201 S. First St., Roslyn Amy Quan Barry Reading*, 7:30 p.m. April 12, location TBD Tim OBrien Talk*, 7:30 p.m. April 25, CWU McConnell Reception for Tim OBrien, 5 p.m. April 27, CWU McIntyre Music Building Recital Hall *Craft talks and readings are provided in partnership with CWUs Lion Rock Visiting Writers series. School staff members oversee the loading of students onto buses after classes let out at Garfield Elementary School in Yakima, Wash., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Area school districts are looking at different ways to make snow days. (SHAWN GUST/Yakima Herald-Republic) Fady Fayez Sabry walks out of court Sept. 23, 2013 following a preliminary. He's since been sentenced to four years in prison and had his medical license revoked after admitting to molesting three patients. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic) You are the owner of this article. Fred Burke, a science teacher at Chiawana High School in Pasco, Wash., helps set up smoke taint study equipment in a hoop house at the WSU Prosser research center. Burke is participating in the regional Partners in Science program funded by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. (Courtesy Photo by WSU Tri-Cities) If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules: Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy. The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party. We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters. Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month. WATERFORD County Executive Jonathan Delagrave is scheduled to hold the first in his series of monthly listening sessions for 2017 from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, in the meeting room at the Waterford Village Hall, 123 N. River St., Waterford. No appointments are necessary. Racine County residents are encouraged to attend these listening sessions for the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with the county executive on any county-related topic. Accompanying Delagrave will be members of the county executives staff and other elected officials and county supervisors, if their schedules permit. Delagraves listening sessions are usually scheduled on the second Wednesday of the month, but are subject to change. Future sessions are scheduled for March 8 at the Cesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Avenue, Racine; April 12 at the Western Racine County Service Center, 209 N. Main Street, Burlington; and May 10:at the Union Grove Municipal Building, 925 15th Ave. Ismail Haniyeh, who is seen as Hamas next leader, returned to Gaza on Saturday after a long absence. It was his first trip outside Gaza since the collapse of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt, the toppling of Hamas ally, Mohamed Morsi, and the election of the bitter rival, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter For five months, Haniyeh wandered along the Persian Gulf under the unconvincing excuse of a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Saudi Arabia. Its no secret the pilgrimage is supposed to last a week at most; Haniyeh used his days and nights abroad for consultations on urgent matters in Doha, the capital of the Hamas-friendly emirate of Qatar. Ismail Haniyeh (L), Khaled Mashal and Mahmoud Abbas (archives) On the agenda was the selection of a replacement-successor for the charismatic Khaled Mashal , the political bureau chief. In Hamas, a clandestine-run organization, this is a long and winding process with no binding target. There is no list of competitors for secretary-general and no election campaign. The Shura Council, a sort of parliament, is familiar with the two leading figures: The veteran Mousa Abu Marzook, who resides in Egypt, and Haniyeh, who has no intention of relocating from the al-Shati refugee camp in the strip. As long as he is in Gaza, the secretary-general will be subject to the Egyptians mercy, and al-Sisis Egypt will continue to view Hamas as a dangerous organization. On the one hand, Egypt strives to be part of the picture when it comes to Hamas conduct. On the other hand, it is at odds with Hamas patrons in Turkey and Qatar. Khaled Mashal and his gang, however, suspect that Egyptian intelligence is receiving Israeli advice regarding the organizations moves. Since Morsis removal, Egypt has shut down the Rafah crossing, complicated the movement of trucks into the strip and sealed hundreds of smuggling tunnels in a bid to paralyze Gazas alternative economy. In such a situation, Israel has a monopoly over the economy of the strips two million residents, and the coordinator of the governments activities in the territory can place their hand on the faucet at any given moment. If you ask Israeli experts what area they find more troublingthe strip or the West Bankyoull receive a sweeping response: Israel is constantly monitoring Hamass plans to take advantage of the dual governmentl in the West Bank cities. On the one hand, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has bolstered his status in the political context. On the other hand, his status on the Palestinian street has grown weaker, and Hamas is sparing no efforts to try and create a conflict between the Palestinian Authority and Israel in an attempt to take over the West Bank. Heres the first absurdity: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas despise each other, but have both declared their desire to resume the peace process while having no faith in any negotiations. Abbas prefers to complain to international institutions, and Netanyahu to approve the construction of thousands of new housing units in Judea and Samaria in order to kill a solution with the Palestinians. And heres the second absurdity: With all his doubts regarding Abbas, Netanyahu did not hold back in trying to ensure that the seventh Fatah convention would in fact take place. Israel carried out arrests ahead of the conference to guarantee that Hamas supporters would not torpedo the event. Abbas succeeded, with quite a lot of help from the Israeli supporters of his government, to secure his loyalists in all the senior positions. If you dig deeper, experts on the situation will insist that Abbas does not support terror, that security coordinations are going on, and that the heads in charge of the security apparatuses have learned to overcome criticism on the Palestinian side. With Hamas as a joint enemy, the efforts against the organization are being carried out under fascinating cooperation. There is no target date for the appointment of the next Hamas secretary-general. While Haniyeh seems to have the best chance, the Hamas parliament could decide to extend Mashals mandate by another year for a variety of reasons: The succession battles among Abbas close associates; the war in Syria; the problematic relations with Egypt; the reconciliation with Fatah, which no one is really interested in; and the new president at the White House. If the Trump administration moves the American embassy to Jerusalem, Hamas will rush to set the West Bank on fire. Israel, for its part, will continue its search for weapon labs in the West Bank and with its waves of nightly detentions. And when the Palestinian street wants Abbas to finally retire, Israel will make sure that Hamas does not raise its head. NEW YORK -- More than a dozen Jewish community centers around the United States and one in Canada received bomb threats on Tuesday, the third wave of threatened attacks against them this month. A total of 14 centers across 10 states, along with one in Canada, received the threats, according to David Posner, a director at the JCC Association of North America who advises centers on security. He said most of the centers had received the all-clear from law enforcement officials and had resumed regular operations, though security was heightened. Two families remained to be evacuated from the illegal Amona outpost late Wednesday night, with the temperature hovering one or two degrees above zero. In addition, several dozen residents had blockaded themselves inside the synagogue, and some 200 youths remained walking through the settlement at 10pm, according to police. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Police plan to first evacuate the remaining families of the 40 that have been evacuated that day, followed by the evacuation of those barricaded in the synagogue. Security forces intend to make all efforts to evacuate the synagogue in an orderly manner to avoid the image of police desecrating a holy site. The police reported that they were attempting to speak with those sequestered inside to reach an agreement on their exiting the synagogue to avoid any physical confrontation. Thursday morning, Ministry of Defense officials will commence the next stage of the evacuationpacking the belongings that the residents have left behind and removing the structures with engineering equipment. Blockaded synagogue Violent clashes had broken earlier in the afternoon as hundreds of activists staged fierce resistance against thousands of policemen deployed to the outpost to implement an evacuation ordered by the High Court of Justice (HCJ). The HCJ accepted the petition that day submitted by human rights group Yesh Din on Wednesday. According to the ruling, the Amona agreement reached between the settlers and the government is unlawful, since it states that the evacuated settlers will be moved to land belonging to Palestinians. The ruling was 21. Clashes in Amona ( : ) X In mid-December, Amona residents had approved a new compromise deal offered by the government. According to the new relocation deal, a total of 24 families out of 40 will be able to move to an adjacent plot regulated as absentee property on the hill, not covered by the courts ruling instead of the 12 proposed in the previous proposal. Evacuating into the night (Photo: Motti Kimchi) However, since January 23, the deal has been on hold due to the court issuing an order in response to a petition filed by residents of the Palestinian village of Silwad. The plaintiffs, represented by Yesh Din, a legal rights NGO, petitioned the court to issue an injunction against the planned relocation of Amona, claiming some of the plots in question are owned by residents of Silwad. However, since January 23, the deal has been on hold due to the court issuing an order in response to a petition filed by residents of the Palestinian village of Silwad. The plaintiffs, represented by Yesh Din, a legal rights NGO, petitioned the court to issue an injunction against the planned relocation of Amona, claiming some of the plots in question are owned by residents of Silwad. Evacuating into the night (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Thirteen protestors were arrested for various offenses, and at least 24 police officers were lightly wounded as they went from building to building to remove the activists and residents, and physically drag out the most obstinate among them. Eleven of the policemen, one in moderate condition, were evacuated to the hospital by 4pm while dozens of activists were distanced from the area for public disorder offences. Hadassah Medical Center reported Wednesday evening that is had been treating 18 people injured in the evacuation. Among them are residents of the settlement, Border Patrol Police and IDF soldiers. Those brought to the hospital were suffering from wounded extremities, skin and eye contact with aversive substances and hypothermia. Most had been lightly injured. Amona residents loading onto buses (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Despite a number of families who opted to evacuate peacefully, enraged activists used any tools, objects and substances at their disposal to sling at the officers in their effort to frustrate the eviction, including glass bottles, furniture, paint cans, oil, potatoes and even bleach. "A Jew doesn't evict a Jew!" the youngsters chanted. Police issued a statement shortly after the violence erupted describing the events that had unfolded. Photo: Gil Yohanan Police were attacked by anarchists with substances that were thrown on them and caused burning the eyes of a number of policemen who also required medical treatment at the scene. The Israel Police will not allow this and will act accordingly, the statement read. Policeman injured The statement went on to say: "The Israeli police are acting with restraint in order to allow those families of settlers who wish to evacuate to do so. However, those who abuse this restraint and act violently toward police we be dealt with accordingly. One of the policemen was said to have refused to take part in enforcing the evacuation, and was consequently praised by the residents as a hero, who called on others to follow suit. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg However, the Police Spokesperson's Unit insisted that the officer did not disobey orders. "A border policeman had difficult time, felt uncomfortable and unwell. The emotional strain is overwhelming here. He felt a little uncomfortable and moved aside, the explanation read. Policeman injured (Photo: Reuters) Around 330 Israeli settlers live in Amona, the largest of scores of outposts built in the West Bank without official authorization. The Supreme Court ruled in November, after a lengthy legal battle, that settlers had to leave Amona because their homes were built on privately owned Palestinian land. Crowds of police officers began entering Amona earlier in the morning while hundreds more fanned out on its perimeters as the evacuation got underway. Photo: Amit Shabi The officers, who immediately faced hostile activity upon entering the outpost as a few activists began hurling stones at them despite previous commitments to non-violence, did so unarmed and unprotected, equipped with neither guns nor batons. Moreover, the officers were clad not in their usual uniform but simply blue T-shirts. Policemen greeted by angry activists (Photo: AFP) On Tuesday morning, security forces began blocking roads leading to the outpost with bulldozers, which hundreds of activists managed to penetrate as they prepared for a showdown with the police. Police move into Amona (Photo: Amit Shabi) Police attempt to remove activists (Photo: AFP) In response to the police presence, teenage activists began blocking the main access road to Amona and burning tires as they began what may be a last-ditch resistance against their extrication from their homes, which the HCJ ruled were built on privately-owned Palestinian land. Activists burning tires on Amona's access road (Photo: Gil Yohanan) Police roadblocks and checkpoints were erected along all of Route 60 at all intersections between Jerusalem and Ofra while all thru-traffic was blocked, except for area residents and those with official authorization. Photo: EPA Photo: Eli Mandelbaum Activists protesting the evacuation advised one another "to find a spot to be during the evacuation. Whether it is in a home or in a synagogue, no one can be outside. Whoever is outside will be caught and put on a bus. That is game over." Written on a WhatsApp group, activists urged each other to remain as obstinate as possible, and compel security personnel to remove them by forces while refraining from violence. Photo: Reuters Photo: Gil Yohanan "During the evacuation nobody get up and go, even if the police tell you to. We are not evacuating by choice. Make the police remove you with as much force as possible, without violence," the messages said. "The best thing would be for four police officers to have to take one of us out. Police won't act violently if you don't act violently. The prime minister has an interest in seeing the evacuation go ahead with as little gore as possible. We will all try to make the evacuation take as much time as possible. We will not get up and leave, we will tie ourselves to each other and to furniture and do what we can to stop a Jewish community from being destroyed." Activists barricading themselves in preparation for evacuation (Photo: Matti Amar/TPS) Photo: Gil Yohanan In an interview with Ynet, Amona resident Tamar Benizri said, "The houses are full of people, dozens of people and young people are in the streets. These roadblocks have done us a favor and seem to have encouraged more people to come. The challenge is something that motivates action. People came, climbed up the hills in the rain and mud; arrived exhausted, but happy, and more and more will keep coming. It is amazing." Photo: AP Hundreds of teenagers managed to infiltrate the Amona outpost Tuesday night in a last-ditch effort to hinder the evacuation. Additionally, Amona rabbi Yair Frank wrote, "We will not raise a hand against a police officer or a soldier, but we will not leave our homes willingly on our feet. They'll need to carry us." Photo: AFP Dozens of youth activists, some residents and some not, assembled in buildings and sang religious songs as tears fell from their eyes in what are likely their final moments on the hilltop. Others wrote messages on the walls of the buildings and began conducting prayer services. "We won't leave our homes on our own. Pull us out, and we'll go," one settler told reporters. "It is a black day for Zionism." Singing songs in their final moments (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) On a nearby hilltop, Issa Zayed, a Palestinian who said he was one of the owners of the land on which Amona was built, watched the scene through binoculars. "With God's help, it will be evacuated and our land will return to us," he said. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF posted notice at the entrance to Amona, stating that within 48 hours, all persons must exit the area and leave no property behind. Security forces also requested to propel an observation balloon to the sky above Amona from Tuesday night until February 2. Photo: AP Photo: Gil Yohanan Meanwhile, the Regulation Bill, which seeks to retroactively legalize outposts, passed its second and third reading in a special Knesset committee ahead of a Knesset plenum vote scheduled to take place next Monday. Photo: Gil Yohanan Families leaving Amona (Photo: EPA) The outpost, built in the 1990s, stretches out over a rugged, grassy hilltop and looks out across the valley onto Palestinian villages. In 2006, Israeli police demolished nine homes at Amona, setting off clashes pitting settlers and their supporters against police and soldiers. Several dozen trailers have remained and the outpost has become a symbol for the settlement movement. Violent clashes with police in Amona ( : ) X Its fate has threatened to rupture Netanyahu's narrow coalition, which is dominated by ultranationalists who support settlements. In 2006 Amona saw a violent partial eviction, with nine shacks torn down by authorities. Police were confronted by thousands of settlers and more than 200 people were injured. The Amona issue had caused tension within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government. But it eased after he got behind a law proposed by the Bayit Yehudi party, a far-right political ally, to retroactively legalize dozens of outposts. This would not apply to Amona because of the existing court decision. "We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel," Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett tweeted after the evacuation began. The legislation is expected to be passed in parliament next week. It is opposed, however, by Israel's attorney general and legal experts predict it eventually would be overturned in court. Bayit Yehudi MK Betzalel Smotrich on Wednesday morning compared the evacuation of the illegal outpost of Amona to rape. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "The evacuation won't be violent because these are non-violent people, but it'll be painful just like when a horrible thing happens it's painful," he told Ynet. "When you rape a woman, it's painful. What they're doing here is brutal rape," Smotrich added. "They're going to take people out of their homes for no fault of their own." Bayit Yehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich in Amona (Photo: Ofer Meir) Smotrich arrived at the outpost early Wednesday to protest the impending evacuation, which is being carried out by the right-wing coalition government he is a member of. The Amona settlers received a 48-hour notice on Tuesday after a compromise deal signed with them fell through. The deal would've seen a peaceful evacuation in return for the government providing them with alternative housing on nearby plots. "Nothing good will come of this," Smotrich continued. "This is the tyranny of the judicial authority, which is raping us, raping the government, raping elected officials, raping those who received a mandate from the people. We want to build the settlements, develop it." When asked about his comparison between the evacuation of Amona and rape, the firebrand MK insisted that "both are a terrible, awful things. Both are painful, both are sad. We need to shout out and protest against both, we need to prevent both." "All I did was to provide an example of how this cannot stand. There's no such thing. How can you tell someone to sit quietly after something so horrible and awful was done to him?" he continued. Bayit Yehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich in Amona (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) Despite the fact his party is a senior partner in the government that is carrying out the evacuation, Smotrich claimed that "quitting the government right now will be of no use. We're going to bring up the Regulation Bill (to a vote). We're regulating the settlements." "I came here hurting, sad, very frustrated," Smotrich lamented. "Primarily from the situation in which a town in Israel is being demolished on our watch. I'm sad and frustrated we couldn't prevent this, but I can say with certainty that we did everything we could. Unfortunately I'm not very optimistic about the decision the High Court of Justice is going to make. I wish they come to their senses at the last moment. We're here to share with the residents' pain and ensure this is the last time." Smotrich also clashed with Likud MK Oren Hazan, who told his coalition partner: "Tell (Bayit Yehudi leader) Bennett to go home. The person who looks people in the eye and tells them 'you won't be removed from this mountain,' comes and takes pictures, smiling and selling them slogans, and a minute later sits at home (while they're being evacuated)is not worthy of being in the Knesset." Hazan and Smotrch clash (Photo: Ofer Meir) A visibly distraught Hazan further accused Bayit Yehudi of "only outflanking the government on the right. It's all politics. My heart is being torn apart," adding cynically: "Are you the only ones in pain? Are you the only owners of the Land of Israel?" "Bennett should learn how to act and what leadership is about," Hazan continued. Security forces were surrounding the outpost on Wednesday morning to stop more right-wing activists from arriving to Amona and protesting the evacuation. Meanwhile, at the entrance to the outpost, troops were trying to lower the flames as tensions nevertheless mounted high. IDF officials said they were giving the residents of Amona an opportunity to willingly evacuate. BERLIN -- More than 1,100 German police searched 54 homes, business premises and mosques in Frankfurt and other towns in the western state of Hesse in the early hours of Wednesday and arrested a Tunisian man suspected of planning an attack, German authorities said. The 36-year-old Tunisian is suspected of recruiting for Islamic State in Germany since August 2015 and building up a network of supporters with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack in Germany, Frankfurt's prosecutor general said in a statement. More than a dozen Jewish community centers around the United States and one in Canada received bomb threats on Tuesday, the third wave of threatened attacks against them since January. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter A total of 14 centers across 10 states, along with one in Canada, received the threats, according to David Posner, a director at the JCC Association of North America who advises centers on security. Evacuation of Miami JCC Jan. 9 (Photo: CBS) He said most of the centers had received the all-clear from law enforcement officials and had resumed regular operations, though security was heightened. "We are concerned about the anti-Semitism behind these threats," Posner said in an emailed statement. He added that the previous threats phoned in this month were deemed to be hoaxes and that no one has been injured. Jewish community centers in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada received the threats, according to the statement. Telephoned threats on Jan. 9 were made against 16 Jewish community centers in nine US states, and a second wave on Jan. 18 targeted 27 centers in 17 states. Some of the calls were made using an automated "robocall" system, while others were made by individuals, security officials have said. After the second round of threats, the FBI said that it and the Justice Department were investigating possible civil rights violations in connection with threats. No arrests have been made. The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain has submitted a request to a British court to arrest Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern, a major general in reserves, for "war crimes committed by the IDF." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Stern is visiting the UK as part of a delegation advocating against the BDS Movement at leading London universities. MK Stern in London The British-Arab organization noted that during Maj. Gen. (res.) Stern's tenure in the IDF, he took part in military operations in which war crimes were committed, mentioning particularly the first Lebanon War and the Sabra and Shatila massacre, when MK Stern was serving as an officer in the Paratroopers Brigade. The Israeli Embassy in Britain, the Office of the Speaker of the Knesset and the Knesset Guard were informed of the request and forwarded the information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. MK Stern was briefed how to conduct himself and he was advised to keep a low profile and not do any media interviews. He is scheduled to return to Israel on Thursday. "Israel regrets the cynical attempt to use the British legal system for anti-Israel political goals. We are confident that British authorities will not fall in the trap," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon. Yesh Atid delegation to London The Yesh Atid youth delegation arrived in London earlier this week to speak in front of students at universities such as Oxford and Cambridge about the boycott against Israel. The delegation met with students, MPs, Jewish community representatives and student leaders. "I am proud to lead a delegation of young people on an information campaign to British campuses and to represent Israel against the de-legitimization campaign being launched against us," said MK Stern before the trip to London. "The struggle for world opinion is a difficult challenge for the State of Israel and is important for our future as a country. As such, we at Yesh Atid took it upon ourselves to lead this just struggle for Israel in the world and confront students in Europe to tell them the truth about Israel." Poland published the first online database with the names and other personal details of nearly 10,000 staff who operated the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi German death camp. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The database, which the IPN says contains 9,686 names is just the beginning of a wide-ranging project that will cover the staff of other death and concentration camps that Nazi Germany set up in occupied Poland, Institute of National Remembrance chairman Jaroslaw Szarek told reporters in Krakow. Auschwitz (Photo: AP) Around 25,000 names have already been gathered so far. Szarek said the project is in part intended to curb the use by foreign media of the erroneous phrase Polish death camps to refer to sites built and run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland. Warsaw has long called out media for identifying the camps as Polish due to confusion caused by their geographical location. But according to Szarek, it is sometimes the case that this is done in bad faith due to anti-Polish policy. The new database, available in five languages is a tool to fight lies, Szarek said. Were not expressing an opinion; were presenting the cold, hard facts. Staff presenting the database (Photo: EPA) The ruins of gas chambers, crematoria and barracks at the site bear witness to the killing of around 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, at the camp built in 1940 in the southern city of Oswiecim in occupied Poland. An estimated 232,000 of Auschwitzs victims were children. The new database comes days after the museum at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp urged Germans and Austrians to hand over any material that could shed light on the motivations and mentality of its wartime staff. Museum director Piotr Cywinski said that the institution was seeking more information about the death camps staff as part of efforts to better understand the influence of populist mechanisms of hatred for human beings. The new database also presents 350 verdicts against camp staff in war crimes trials after the war, but the documents still need to be translated. The list of names was compiled in large part by Professor Aleksander Lasik, who began his work in 1982 by identifying the Nazi SS staff that ran Auschwitz. Cywinski said the Nazis destroyed many files as they fled the camp toward the end of the war. We have more documents about the camps prisoners than about its staff, he said. Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) delivered a statement to the Knesset plenum Wednesday morning, expressing his regret over the evacuation of Amona, hailing its residents as heroes and promising a series of measures to strengthen Israeli presence in the West Bank. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Hope will grow out of this difficult day and we will build a new community after the demolition of Amonas homes. Out of the wreckage of Amona we will build children's playgrounds throughout Judea and Samaria. As a result of the legal defat, we will impose new rules in Judea and Samaria and legalize all the communities, Bennett promised. Naftali Bennett (Photo: Gil Yohanan) And because of the painful loss of our foothold on the mountain, we will seek to impose sovereignty of the State of Israel in the entire region of Judea and Samaria, he stated at the same time as police forces began crossing the gates of Amona to implement a court-ordered evacuation. Bennett, who found himself the target of intense criticism of the furious residents, whom his party represents, exclaimed his continued support and sympathy for the fate that has befallen them at the behest of the High Court of Justice (HCJ). Angry residents face policemen in Amona (Photo: AFP) For 20 years the residents of Amona have clung to the mountain, under difficult physical conditions, in stormy winters and hot summers, in the face of security risks and intifadas, he lamented from the podium. But what is difficult is the uncertainty regarding their future. The residents of Amona live on the mountain, not for personal gain, but (out of a sense of a deeper mission) for the nation and the land. Heated resistance (Photo: Reuters) Bennett went on to reiterate the difficulty of the days events before going on the offensive against the HCJ. The truth must be stated. We began the campaign while facing a final an unequivocal decision from the High Court. We went to Amona and looked the residents in the eye. We knew that we were embarking on a campaign against all the odds, but we did not give up, he asserted, in an attempt to convince his political base of his efforts to prevent the ultimate outcome. Police line up outside Amona (Photo: Gil Yohanan) Together, with the residents of Amona, we overturned all stones, we tried every option and exhausted every move to save Amona. Unfortunately, the struggle for Amona did not succeed. We lost the battle but we are winning the battle for the Land of Israel, he added as he sought to inject a small dose of optimism in the assault on the ideology of his party and followers. Photo: AFP Turning to the evacuees, Bennett extolled what he described as the determination and steadfastness of the Amona residents, saying that it has saved thousands of Jewish families from evacuation and saved the communities of thousands of families in our land." Photo: AFP Bennett then ended his speech by issuing an emotional plea: I call on the pioneers of our generation from the communities Judea and Samaria: Raise your heads and continue to settle the land, he said while imploring the Amona residents to refrain from violent actions against the Israeli security forces. We have no other soldiers. We have no other soldiers. We have no other army. Under no circumstances can anyone raise his hand. Amona residents, the nation of Israel is with you. We are all brothers. Avigdor Lieberman (Photo: Ido Erez) Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman visited the settlement of Ariel where he commented on the evacuation and the resistance. My heart is with the settlers. We all fell compassion and understanding for their quiet protest, which is natural. In a democratic state a fundamental right of the residents is to protest and I hope that it will remain within the law, Lieberman said. In a message from the Police Spokesman's Unit: "Israeli police are acting with restraint in order to allow those families of settlers who wish to evacuate. However, those who abuse this restraint and act violently toward police we be dealt with accordingly. Israeli police have been attacked by anarchists who have thrown objects at them, causing injuries to the eyes of several police officers, who needed to receive medical treatment. Police will not allow this and will act accordingly." RACINE Friday is shaping up to be a pivotal day for the future of the Bray Center, 924 Center St. Racine Family YMCA CEO Jeff Collen confirmed Tuesday that the YMCA board will meet Friday afternoon to discuss and possibly approve the purchase of the independent, nonprofit community center. The Bray Center closed to the public in September because of financial issues. Well present everything back to our board and our board will let us know if they want us to move forward and how they want us to move forward, Collen said. Then well have to talk with the Bray Center board and make arrangements with them. While Collen expressed excitement about the possible purchase earlier this month, he called any report saying the sale would absolutely go forward premature. Collen said an issue with one of the Bray Centers heating units could drive up the YMCAs financial burden in such a purchase. The biggest obstacle is going to be the ongoing needs of the building itself, he said. As the mechanical equipment in that building reaches its life expectancy, its sort of the ongoing building need vs. the capital dollars available in the community to be able to take care of those. Outstanding issues If the YMCA does purchase the building, it will likely do so by paying off the centers mortgage and line of credit, which amount to about $60,000, according to Collen. The purchase would be funded by donors who, while currently anonymous, will likely be named publicly once the purchase is approved. They are going to be playing an important part in moving forward, Collen said of the donors. Collen added that while it could be possible to work out a rental agreement with the Bray Center board, that doesnt seem like the best option. We know that the capital dollars are available to just go ahead and do the purchase, he said. Ultimately, the biggest concern remains how much additional money the YMCA would pay for the buildings maintenance. The board just really needs to understand what the potential capital needs are, Collen said. We believe that the ongoing funds to operate the center are there and will continue to be there. The Bank of Israel is preparing new NIS 20 and 100 banknotes for release later this year. The bank released designs of the new notes Tuesday, which will feature famous writers and poets, Leah Goldberg and Rachel Bluwstein. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The bank released the designs ahead their official distribution into the public domain and emphasized the new watermarks and security features in order to prevent forgery and counterfeiting. New NIS 20 banknote example According to the Bank of Israel, spikes in forgeries and counterfeits are recorded when new currency is introduced as criminals attempt to take advantage of the public's lack of familiarity with the new banknotes and their security features. As such, the bank has distributed examples of the new notes to manufacturers, suppliers and vending machine companies in order for them to calibrate machines and prepare technically and operationally for new currency. New NIS 100 banknote example The new notes are the third and fourth currency exchanges to have been introduced in the last three years as part of a multi-year plan by the Bank of Israel to replace aging currency. The new NIS 20 notes will have dimensions of 129x71mm and will be colored red. The background image on the front will feature palm tree branches, accompanied by small text from a section of the poem "Kinneret" written by Bluwstein. The image on the back of the note will feature a landscape image of the Sea of Galilee. Back side of the new NIS 20 The new NIS 100 notes, on the other hand, will be orange and measure 143x71mm. The background image on the front of the note will display almond tree blossoms, while the text on the note will feature a section of the poem "I love the almond tree blossoms." The back of the note will depict a group of deer and a section of the poem "White Days." Back side of the new NIS 100 The new bills will be composed of a special material and contain complex watermarks consisting of the characters on the bill and the value of the bill, along with a security line and color-changing icon. The bill will also accomodate people with impaired vision, featuring Braille, other tiny holes and transparent sections. Police issued a statement that during the evacuation of Amona outpost, 15 police officers were lightly injured, as a result of unidentified objects being hurled their way, the throwing of stones and glass bottles. 11 police officers were evacuated to Jerusalem's Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital and Ein Kerem Hospital to receive medical treatment. Police have arrested four rioters so far. Israeli authorities said Tuesday that nine Venezuelan converts to Judaism will be allowed to move to Israel in light of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, reversing an earlier decision to keep them out. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Israel's Interior Ministry had initially rejected the nine for immigration, saying they did not meet criteria to ensure they are committed Jews and not just seeking a better life in Israel. Venezuela in crisis (Photo: Reuters) According to an official in Israel familiar with the case, there was evidence suggesting some of the applicants converted to Judaism in order to take advantage of Israeli social benefits, including health insurance. The official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the converts' personal status. But advocates argued that the converts, from the Venezuelan city of Maracay, are in mortal danger amid food shortages and violence in Venezuela. They claim the Interior Ministry, headed by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish minister, discriminated against the converts because the Conservative Movement, a liberal stream of Judaism, had converted them. Venezuelan Jewish converts Hermidez Garcia, from right to left, Franklin Perez and Jackson Marrone (Photo: AP) Liberal Israeli lawmakers subsequently called on immigration officials to come up with a "creative solution" to save the Jewish converts from danger in Venezuela. Following a stormy parliamentary committee hearing Tuesdayin which representatives of the Conservative Movement and liberal lawmakers sparred with officials from the Interior Ministryimmigration officials said the nine could move to Israel if they underwent a repeat Conservative conversion and joined an "established religious community" once in Israel. The Jewish Agency, a nonprofit that works closely with the Israeli government to serve Jewish communities worldwide, said it had proposed the compromise. "I am pleased that our compromise was accepted by all parties at today's Knesset hearing on the matter and that the individuals in question will be able to come to Israel without delay," said Natan Sharansky, the Jewish Agency's chairman. "Finally there is justice," said Franklin Perez, leader of the Venezuelan community, which began gathering in the members' homes to study Jewish texts about five years ago. "The emotion I feel is only comparable to when my children were born." Perez said he was stunned to learn about Israel's new decision from a journalist, but that he is now looking forward to realizing his dream to move to Israel. Venezuelan Jewish converts Sahir Quintero, from left to right, Sarai Garcia, Nathanael Garcia, Hermidez Garcia, and Nadine Martinez (Photo: AP) Israeli opposition lawmaker Yael Cohen Paran, who fought on the behalf of the Venezuelans, praised the decision."This is saving them. It is amazing," she said, tears in her eyes. But she and other advocates said the repeated conversion was "legal fiction" and called on officials to be more accepting of Jewish converts. Reform and Conservative converts are eligible to apply for immigration to Israel, but officials said the Venezuelan converts did not meet the criteria for citizenship because they were unaffiliated with a Jewish community during their conversion and for a period of time after it. The closest Jewish community to the converts is two hours away, in Caracas. Rabbi Andrew Sacks of the Conservative Movement in Israel said the converts took regular Skype lessons from a rabbi in Oklahoma, and were unable to join an established Jewish community during their conversion studies. Only some time after the conversion did they find a Jewish community in Caracas which accepted them, he said. Rabbi Juan Mejia, the Oklahoma-based rabbi who oversaw their conversion, said he was "very grateful to God for all the indefatigable efforts of the Conservative movement in Israel" in rescuing the converts from harm and bringing them to the Jewish national home. "It is troubling, however, that in order to do so they are still required to jump through hoops not required of anyone else," he said. The Venezuelan converts are expected to undergo a repeat conversion and move to Israel in the coming weeks. The Jewish Agency, a nonprofit organization that works closely with the Israeli government on immigration, said it will pay for their flights and housing, and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a charity, will provide them with additional assistance during their first months in Israel. The immigration officials said the Venezuelan converts will be allowed to stay as temporary residents in Israel, and are eligible for citizenship and government social benefits after being a part of an established religious community in Israel for at least nine months. As authorities and the High Court of Justice (HCJ) attempt to hammer out the details of a permanent solution to the relocation of Amona evacuees , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly already told the Amona residents that the government was willing to establish a new settlement on any plot of land of the residents choosing, on the proviso that it is on state land. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter According to officials in the political establishment, Netanyahu recently committed himself before the Amona residents to overseeing the construction of a new settlement in order to calm the prevailing tension and anger. Following said rumors, Netanyahu set up a team Wednesday evening to promote founding a new settlement, as was promised to the settlers a month and a half prior (it is not yet confirmed that Netanyahu had promised to set it up anywhere the settlers choose). The team is to include representatives of the settlers, and the prime minister's chief of staff. It will begin work immediately in an effort to find an appropriate site for the new settlement. Amona settlers yell out in protest at IDF soldiers during evacuation X In the above video, Amona settlers can be heard screaming at IDF soldiers that are working to evacuate them, pleading for them to refuse their orders and demanding that they remove their hats, which have the Star of David stitched into them. Netanyahu (Photo: Gil Yohanan) The site on which any new settlement is to be established is expected to be in the Binyamin region. Amona leaders are also expected to respond to Netanyahus rather elastic offer following the conclusion of the evacuation, which was characterized by heated clashes with the police and resulted in a number of injuries and arrests. Evacuating Amona (Photo: AFP) The Amona compromise, which had been reached between the government and the settlers, was rejected by the High Court of Justice on Wednesday. The HCJ found the compromise to be illegal, since it stated that the evacuees would be moved on to land belonging to Palestinians from the village of Silwad. Amona children removed from their homes (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) The court's decision put the kibosh on the Amona compromise the Finance Ministry had reached with the settlers. This despite the fact that the Finance Ministry had recently approved funding the evacuation with NIS 150 million, which was set to go toward setting up new caravans in the outpost of Ofra, setting up a new Talmudic study center, severance pay and allocating resources for receiving the settlers in Ofra. The HCJ's ruling does not, however, affect the evacuation, as the settlers are to be transferred to temporary lodgings in the nearby outpost of Ofra, and were not expected to be directly moved to housing on the Palestinian land mentioned in the compromise. The evacuation had created tensions and outright conflict between political factions within the government. Most notably, right-wing Likud and Bayit Yehudi members have found themselves on opposing sides of the issue, with Bayit Yehudi accusing the Likud of selling out the settlers, and Likud members accusing Bayit Yehudi members of catastrophizing the situation by leading the settlers to believe that the evacuation was avoidable. Bayit Yehudi Leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett called on Netanyahu "to immediately exercises his authority over Defense Minister (Avigdor Lieberman) and prevent the destruction of agricultural land in Amona. It isn't necessary to destroy them, it will be sacrificing land unnecessarily." The Defense Ministry issued its own statement in response, saying that "As opposed to Minister Bennett, Minister Lieberman did not order the destruction of agricultural land and is not interfering with a military order. Since Amona residents have submitted their objection to evacuating agricultural land to legal adviser to Judea and Samaria, and the matter is now being discussed legally, it will obviously be resolved by the High Court." Lieberman also issued a personal statement, referring to the Israeli communal settlement in the West Bank where he lives, "As a resident of Nokdim, my heart is with Amona residents during this trying time, and I expect all elected officials, and particularly governmental ministers, to show the evacuees empathy and consideration, and not to take advantage of the residents' plight to make false accusations and stir up controversy with the people of Israel in an attempt to rake up narrow political gains." Lieberman (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) Bennett gave a speech Wednesday morning, saying that "Unfortunately, the fight for Amona did not succeed. We lost the battle, but we're winning the war over Israel." He added that "From this hard day, hope will spring, and a new settlement will be built from the ruins of Amona. Out of its demolished yards, we will found kindergartens throughout Judea and Samaria." Bennett (Photo: Gil Yohanan) Earlier Wednesday, Bayit Yehudi faction leader Shuli Mualem informed the Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) that her faction's MKs will not be voting in the Knesset, as they plan on staying in Amona during the evacuation. Maya Berman was shocked to discover on Monday that a swastika had been carved onto the door of her North Virginian house when she returned home from work at 6pm, but her concern only increased when she found anti-Semitic pejorative the following evening. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "We're in complete shock," she told Ynet. "Until today, none of us personally felt any kind of anti-Semitism." Berman's husband, Shai van Gelder, is a California native who previously came to Israel to volunteer for combat service with the IDF. He said that upon discovering the swastika he thought that this was a one-off occurrence, "but the next day, Tuesday, we were shocked to find that someone had added to the door of the house the words 'JEW PIGS.'" Berman told Ynet, "This isn't 'fake news'; it's real, and it's scary. We only live 20 minutes form the capital Washington, and we didn't expect to see something like this in our lifetime." The couple reported the incident to the police, who still don't know who was responsible. In the interim, they recommended that the couple stay alert. "We spoke with the superintendent about putting up security cameras, and we're definitely considering buying a weapon," Berman said. "Jewish organizations, like the Jewish Federation, promised to look into the matter with the authorities. The JCRC told me that there's been an increase by dozens of percent in the number of anti-Semitic incidents against Jews since Trump was elected." In a post Berman described her feeling following the discovery: "shock, rejection, anger, nausea, and a lot of despairnone of these words even begins to describe how I felt." Berman and her husband "Please, tell me more about how racism and anti-Semitism no longer exist. Go on we live in the wealthiest county of North Virginia, only twenty minutes from our capital. Is there no more grace in this world?" She continued. A wave of hate crimes On the same day in which the swastika was sprayed in North Virginia, other swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti were sprayed in a high school and public library in Northbrook, Chicago, as well. American media outlets have claimed that the wave of hate crimes and harassments, some distinctly anti-Semitic, have accompanied Trump's election since November. The Washington Post published that the FBI stated that Anti-Semitic crimes are among the most common religious hate crimes in the US, and that racist violence against Jews is on the rise. A month ago, a Jewish family from Arizona discovered that vandals had defaced the large menorah they placed in their backyard and turned it into a huge swastika. Another family from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, received threats and insults after national newspapers published stories according to which they had allegedly got their son's school to cancel their Christmas production. The United Nations is strongly condemning an attack along Cameroon's border with Nigeria that killed a UN independent contractor and four others. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the UN secretary-general's special representative for West Africa, said in a statement Wednesday that the attack took place near Kontcha, Cameroon. The contractor's nationality was not released. Three Nigerians and one Cameroonian also were killed in the Tuesday afternoon attack. Several others were wounded. The UN says the group was part of a technical monitoring team carrying out a field mission related to border demarcation. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had summoned the Russian ambassador to complain after Moscow refused to issue visas to two Norwegian members of parliament. The ministry said the members of parliament's foreign affairs committee had been due to visit Moscow on Thursday and Friday after receiving an official invitation from Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council. It said Moscow had blocked the visas because of Norway's sanctions against Russia, imposed after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Foreign Minister Borge Brende said the visa denial was "highly regrettable" and that Norway had protested through diplomatic channels before summoning Teimuraz Ramishvili, the ambassador. For many in the Israeli settlement of Bet El, deep in the West Bank, Donald Trump's choice of Jared Kushner as his senior adviser on the Middle East is a sign of politics shifting in their favor. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter They regard Kushner, whose family's charitable foundation has donated tens of thousands of dollars to their settlement, as part of a diplomatic rebalancing after what they view as eight years of anti-Israel bias under the US administration of Barack Obama. Kushner and Trump (Photo: Reuters) "He will stand up for our interests. I suppose he will lean in our favor," said Avi Lavi, 46, who has lived in Bet El for more than 40 years. "He'll be fair, as opposed to Obama, whose policy leaned always towards the Arabs." New US President Trump says his son-in-law Kushner, 36, is capable of brokering the "ultimate deal" to deliver peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Roi Margalit, manager of the Bet El Yeshiva, a seminary complex with around 400 students, said Kushner, an Orthodox Jewish father of three, understood the position of Israeli settlers better than previous envoys. "At least now we have someone who knows us," the 43 year old added. "He will now have to study the other side (the Palestinians) and see if there is any common ground." Trump's pick for Israeli ambassador has sparked particular enthusiasm in the community: David Friedman, who chairs the American Friends of Bet El Institutions fundraising group. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Kushner and Friedman. Kushner, a businessman who built his career on real estate and publishing, has said little about his views about one of the world's most intractable conflicts, either during the campaign or since Trump took office. The big question for the Palestinians is whether he can be an impartial actor given his family foundation's past financial ties to Bet El. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been careful to say he looks forward to working with the Trump administration, but others are less optimistic. Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior official at the Palestine Liberation Organization, the main Palestinian political umbrella body, said Kushner could not be a neutral envoy if he was supportive of Israeli settlements. Hani al-Masri, a political scientist and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies, said Kushner would be a representative of Israel rather than of the United States. "If he attempts to resume negotiations, he will seek to hold them at a lower level than previous negotiations. It will be more biased to the Israeli position in an era where Israel is more extreme." 'Natural dealmaker' Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in east Jerusalem. Israel has built about 120 settlements in the West Bank. About 350,000 settlers live there and a further 200,000 in east Jerusalem, among about 2.6 million Palestinians. Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon (Photo: Reuters) (Photo: Reuters) Most countries consider the settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state. Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land and security interests. Bet El, a community of 1,300 families perched on a hillside where many believe God promised Jacob the land, has been financed in part by donations from American backers. Among its donors have been the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which gave $10,000 in 2003, and the foundation of Charles and Seryl Kushner, the parents of Jared, which gave $38,000 in 2013, US tax records show. The New York-based American Friends of Bet El Institutions hosts dinners to raise funds for the settlement, which overlooks the Palestinian city Ramallah. Kushner has left it up to his father-in-law to comment on what role he might play. "Jared is such a good kid, and he'll make a deal with Israel that no one else can," Trump told The Times of London newspaper last month. "He's a natural dealmakereveryone likes him." Middle East analysts say the settlement donations by Kushner's family foundation are not necessarily deal-breakers. After decades of failed negotiations, the real test is whether he is prepared to rethink the way the Middle East peace process is conducted, said Hugh Lovatt, a fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Beit El (Photo: AFP) "If he reverts to pushing for a process for the sake of process and diplomatic prestige, then he will prove no more successful than his predecessors," Lovatt told Reuters. "If he acquiesces to Israeli territorial demands and gives a green light to more settlement activity, he could even do irreparable damage to the prospects of long-term peace." A key diplomatic factor will be whether the Trump administration commits itself to a two-state solutionIsrael and an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side. This remains firmly the goal for the Palestinians and, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israelis. But some of Kushner's supporters in Bet El appear to be heading in a different directionand the political voice of hardliners could prove a significant obstacle should peace talks resume. "The two-state solution is a scam," said Shai Alon, the head of the local council, who describes himself as optimistic about the "Trump era". "It's not going to happen." The Serbian authorities on Wednesday imposed restrictions on the movements of migrants in a camp near Belgrade, after three men allegedly attacked a woman and her children near the refugee centre, a minister said. The migrants will now need permission to leave the camp, a set of former army barracks in the town of Obrenovac, just outside Belgrade, said Labour Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who is also in charge of refugee centres. Although the so-called Balkan route to Western Europe was shut last year, migrants continue to flow through Serbia to its northern border with Hungary. Over 7,000 migrants, mainly from Afghanistan, remain in the country, which is culturally and financially ill-equipped to care for them. The legislature is beginning to kick into full swing. We spent most of this week debating changes to the rules. On Wednesday, I was pleased to address the Independent Insurance Agents of Nebraska during an event at the governors mansion. I have heard from a few constituents regarding a couple bills in the legislature that deal with the privatization of education in Nebraska. There are bills in the legislature that create independent public schools, school voucher programs and additional school accountability. All these bills have been referred to the Education Committee, of which I am not a member. At this time I am not sure which bills will advance to the full legislature for debate. I have many questions regarding voucher programs for public education and the creation of charter schools in Nebraska. As we face a budget constraint, I also am waiting to see the fiscal impact that the privatization of school, vouchers and charter schools. Like many other institutions, public schools are on a tight budget, and I am not sure this is the right time for the state to be diverting state resources to new programs. My two daughters attended parochial school through their elementary years. They attended public high schools following elementary school before attending private colleges, so I have experience with both institutes of learning. My wife and I are pleased with all their years of education. I struggle with this issue a lot, because I truly believe in the value of a Christian based education and see how vouchers can be a part of making that possible for families. At the same time, I also know that my wife and I made a very conscientious decision to send our children to a parochial school fully knowing that it would be a sacrifice within our family to be able to afford it. Yes, it was going to cost us money to both pay taxes towards the public schools and the tuition for the parochial school, but that was a decision we made because we thought it was worth the investment. It is my belief that since the State of Nebraska requires all children to attend school, it is our obligation to ensure that public schools are adequately funded to provide a good, quality education. I believe that public schools across the state are above average in comparison to other states. Many parents have the option of sending their children to private school now, it is just not subsidized by the government. As these education bills advance out of committee, I will keep an open mind on how to advance these bills while expressing my concerns to the legislative body. As always, if we can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My door is open and I have made it a goal to be accessible to the constituents of our district. Please stop by any time. My e-mail address is mkolterman@leg.ne.gov, and the office phone number is 402-471-2756. David and Katie are always available to assist you with your needs. If I am not immediately available, please do not hesitate to work with them to address any issues that you may need assistance. Please continue to follow me on Facebook at Kolterman for Legislature and on Twitter at @KoltermanforLegislature. News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-11-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. SEWARD Concordia University, Nebraska will host its annual Career and Graduate Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2017, in the Cattle Conference Room, located in the Janzow Campus Center on Concordias campus. Businesses such as University of Nebraska School of Law, Monsanto, Sandhills Publishing, Cabelas and the Nebraska Department of Corrections will be seeking high functioning candidates for internships and employment. Positions available will cover a broad range of job types and fields of study. While the Career Fair is targeted towards current students and recent graduates of Concordia University, Nebraska, all who are interested are welcome and encouraged to attend. Various prizes will be awarded to attendees, highlighted by the grand prize of a $400 scholarship. All prizes are available to Concordia University, Nebraska students only. The event is run by a volunteer team of ten students and is overseen by Corey Gray, director of career development at Concordia University, Nebraska. YORK Whats the secret to living 100 years? For Marjorie Watson, the magic word is attitude. Watson, in her fifth year as a resident of Willow Brook assisted living in York, was born Jan. 11, 1917 and reached the century mark on that day of 2017. We had a couple big parties, she said with a twinkle in her eye that made it clear she thoroughly enjoyed the attention and festivities. Born on a farm near Fairmont, Watson spent the first eight years of her education in a country school. Then came time for her and two classmates to take their leap to the big time; town school at Fairmont. We were scared to death, our little group, she recalls with a laugh. Not to worry. Ten former classmates at the one-room school who had gone ahead of them to Fairmont showed them the ropes. The first decade following her birth was rugged on her familys farm as one dry year piled on top of another and then another and another. The crops werent too good, but we made it, she said. The folks kept the farm. Watson said she was blessed to be married to three fine gentlemen in her lifetime, all of whom she outlived. Manford Cotner became her husband in 1939 and the couple farmed near Waco until his death in 1965. Nurses training followed in Lincoln, I knew I had to do something to support herself, she said, and that led to a lifelong passion for the profession and a 10-year career in nursing and administration at the retirement home in Utica. She next married John Stuhr who passed on in 1968. The marriage to Gilbert Watson lasted three decades until he died in the early 1990s. They were all good men, she said. I loved nursing, she recounts, but when she married Watson, He said I could quit. I loved it, but I had other things to do, too. She had a son with Cotner who lives in Arizona as does his son and her only grandson. A step son, Lavern Stuhr of Utica, is a very caring person in her life, too. Watson took care of the nuts and bolts of her own financial and other affairs until only a couple years ago when she handed those duties to Phyllis Honnor. She, along with husband Bill, keeps a very close eye on Watson. The womens families have been close for a couple generations. Prodded a bit by Phyllis, she shared a story about how Watson came to be husband number three. He had long been a neighboring farmer, she explained, who spent most of his life cultivating the home place and looking after his parents until their death. He was a quiet guy, she said, and always a good neighbor who would share the work. One day he showed up at her house and set to work sprucing up the yard and grounds. Joking, she told him if he would buy a little corner of her land and build a house on it, Id hire you. He didnt go for that idea, however he showed up the next day and the couples courtship sparked then and there. Of the joke about buying a corner of her property days later much later, he said, I wasnt going to buy any land. I was going to marry you. She said he wanted a church, too and joined her at the Methodist Church in Waco where she remains a member today. Watson is very happy with the life she enjoys at Willow Brook. I like it. Im glad Im here, she said of her home since age 96. What were things like in her early years compared to now? Life is altogether different and Im kind of glad, was her answer. I like it this way. I have lots of friends here. Watson looks back on days of no electricity or telephone. Days when the rollers would come off your skates and send her kid tumbling. Its much more modern now, especially farming. Im glad about these new things because it matters. It helps people out. Its so marvelous and Im glad its that way. Not one to sit around, she very much enjoys going out. At least once a year this century-long farm girl gets in the car to go out and look at the corn and when they do she picks me an ear, Watson said, motioning to Phyllis Honnor. Thats her job, she flatly stated as both women chuckled. I get to go plenty, Watson said. She likes to go out and eat, said Honnor. Yes, I do, confirmed Watson. The Honnors take their friend to visit relatives, shop, go to parties or just go for a drive. People are so wonderful today to pay attention to the elderly. There are so many people to help. That is a blessing as far as I am concerned. Todays lifestyle, she said, is just nicer. People are working as hard, but its easier. You can see that things get done sooner and better. About retirement living for an independent soul, she advises, The quicker you adjust to it and enjoy it the easier it is to be taken care of. I enjoy people and here we have got the best. They are always so kind to one another. Asked by Phyllis Honnor to share her secret to living 100 years, Watson answered, Attitude, I think, does have a lot to do with life. A person who is happy, she believes, is just bound to live longer and be healthier. I love to listen to people, she said, offering another hint to long life, but I like to tell them a few things, too, she acknowledged with a laugh. Life has been good to me, blessing her with good friends and husbands. It is what you make it. It just falls right to you. Now life is so easy for me and I enjoy it, she said. Life is good if you let it be. Five Reservists from the 507th Civil Engineer Squadron here are expected to complete construction on a 1,500 sq. ft. emergency 911 call center by April 1. The call center is located within the 72nd Security Forces Headquarters and Station 4 of Tinker Fire and Emergency Services. It is expected to be fully operational before the Star Spangled Salute Air Show May 20-21, according to 507th CES project managers Joe Wade and Senior Master Sgt. James Randol. This is an excellent opportunity for us to show active duty what our Reservists can do, said Lt. Col. Richard Ropac, commander of the 507th Mission Support Group. The 72nd Mission Support Group and the 507th Mission Support Group collaborated to combine the manpower of the 507th CES and the materials of the 72nd MSG. In our resource-constrained environment, this call center really showcases the exceptional facilities we can build with limited funds and manpower, said Col. Michael Green, 72nd MSG commander. Using fewer funds on construction will allow for the center to receive state-of-the-art equipment, according to 1st Lt. Aaron Wolfe, 507th MSG executive officer. Through the efforts of the 507th CES, we are saving the government roughly $3 million to $4 million dollars, said Maj. Kevin Smith of Tinker AFB Fire and Emergency Services. The call center will be the first agency to have Next Generation 911 in the state of Oklahoma, an internet-based system that allows digital information such as photos, videos, and text messages to flow seamlessly from the public into the 911 network and then to emergency responders, according to the 911 website. The hardware is approved, but we are still awaiting approval for our software, said Smith. Our communications personnel will be installing $2 million worth of communication equipment in the new facility. All on-base landline calls will be dispatched at the new facility, and the dispatchers will have the capability to receive and transfer cell phone calls to and from other 911 call centers as appropriate. The new 911 center will be run by two security forces controllers, two fire and emergency services operators, and a dispatch supervisor. In 2016, Tinker AFB Fire and Emergency Services responded to 1,345 calls, according to Assistant Chief Brian Farris. Once the calls come in, our dispatchers will have the ability to dispatch fire, police, and medical via radio, said Wolfe. Emergency Medical Dispatchers are specifically trained to walk callers through potentially life-saving techniques over the phone when seconds matter. Five 507th CES Airmen are working on the call center full-time: Master Sgt. Deric Nixon and Senior Airman Hunter Conatser, heavy equipment operators, Tech. Sgt. Jose Cabral and Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Terry, structures journeymen, and Staff Sgt. Michael Wallace, an electrical systems technician. Eleven Airmen from the 624th Regional Support Group volunteered alongside the local recruiting station in support of a career fair at Kaimuki High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, Jan. 27.The 624th RSG recruiter, Tech. Sgt. Michael Shinohara, gathered Airmen with various backgrounds to showcase what the Air Force Reserve can offer to the more than 800 Hawaii students.We made sure to get someone from every career field to help answer any questions the students may have, said Shinohara. We have firefighters, civil engineers, air transportation specialists, public affairs and medical career fields. Airman A.J. Asensio, an air transportation specialist with the 48th Aerial Port Squadron, shared his motivation for joining the Air Force Reserve with the students. I thought, Ill do something for myself and maybe leave a legacy, said Asensio. With the Air Force you get to change the world. Your job might seem small, but it always makes a difference. I may be loading medical supplies that will help someone during a war."Arcenio also credits the Air Force Reserve for inspiring him to lead a healthy lifestyle.It demands a lifestyle change, because being physically and mentally fit is a big deal in the military, said Asensio. Being in the Air Force changes your overall well-being physically, mentally and financially for the better.Hundreds of students stopped by to talk with the Reservists, to include Princess Heaven Baez, a Kaimuki Freshman.I am glad this booth is here, said Baez. I want to learn more about the military and what my options are for the future. As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More Dobra, k. Szczecina 900 m2 40 miejsc parkingowych Atut: Dodatkowe dochody z paczkomatow InPostu, a juz niedugo i z myjni samoobsugowej. Tradycyjny zakup nieruchomosci, mozliwosc wykupienia uzytkowania wieczystego. WAUWATOSA Gov. Scott Walker plans to increase a state tax credit for low-income working families but it applies only to those with a single child. The increase to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would come six years after Walker reduced the credit as part of a budget savings plan. It is the latest spending proposal Walker has unveiled ahead of his 2017-19 budget address next Wednesday. Speaking Wednesday to a Rotary Club meeting in Wauwatosa, he called the spending an investment of reform dividends referring to the savings the state has reaped from his 2011 Act 10 changes to public employee benefits. What we have now is what we call the reform dividend and it allows us to invest in our priorities at an even higher level than we did before, Walker said. The EITC provides a refundable income tax credit to low-income working families based on a percentage of a similar credit provided by the federal government. Democrats, who opposed Walkers reduction of the EITC in 2011 and have advocated for increasing it in past budgets, were pleased that Walker plans to boost it, which would cost $20 million a year starting in the second year of the budget, according to Walker spokesman Tom Evenson. Anything that we can do to try to expand the EITC is a good thing, said Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg. It should be a place where Republicans and Democrats can come together. It rewards work. Its just smart tax policy. Walker is scheduled to introduce his budget proposal next week. After that, lawmakers will get a chance to revise it. Single child only Democrats, however, criticized the idea that only low-income families with one child would benefit from Walkers proposal. Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, criticized it as unfair to low-income families with more children. Walkers office noted the current benefit is 15 times greater for families with three or more children than for families with one child. Also the state has the second-lowest credit for families with one child, but the third-highest for families with three or more children among states that have an EITC. For families with one child, the credit would increase from 4 percent to 11 percent of the federal credit, increasing the maximum amount that could be claimed from $135 to $371. The amount decreases as a claimants income increases. According to Walkers office, more than 130,000 low-income working families would benefit. There are currently 253,000 families already receiving the credit, for a total of about $100 million per year. It would also lift an additional 850 families above the poverty line. The credit is refundable, so for some families it reduces tax liability and for others it results in a tax refund. Families with two or more children wouldnt be affected by the proposal. They will continue to receive the credit as enacted under the 2011-13 state budget. Under that reduced rate, the maximum credit is $613 for families with two children and the maximum is $2,131 for families with three or more children. Overall, those changes saved the state about $16.3 million per year. The state spent $101.8 million in taxpayer money on the credit in 2015-16, about one third of it from the state and the rest from the federal government. That compares to $126.2 million a year before the state made changes to the credit, with about $82.5 million coming from the state and the rest from the federal government. The tax credit is among several proposals Walker introduced Wednesday that he said would help strengthen families. Families are the foundation of our society, Walker said in a statement. While we are taking steps to make public-assistance programs a trampoline, not a hammock, a second vital component to move children out of poverty is to ensure families and work are rewarded, not penalized. Life and career planning Walker is also proposing that the state Department of Public Instruction incorporate The Success Sequence into K-12 school academic and career planning programming starting in 2019. The sequence, which was recommended by Walkers Future of the Family Commission and is based on research from the Brookings Institution, emphasizes that students should graduate high school, get a job and wait to have children until age 21 and after marriage. Walker framed the issue as one of lifting people out of poverty from a young age. He pointed to research that found only 2 percent of adults who follow those steps end up living in poverty and 75 percent end up in the middle class. Its not about morals. Its not about values, Walker said. Its about science. The Brookings research also shows a racial gap in those who adhere to the three steps, with 59 percent of blacks attaining middle-class status compared with 73 percent of whites. Jenni Dye, research director for the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, said there are other strategies for preventing premarital pregnancy that Walker has opposed, such as providing contraception and reproductive health services to low-income women. Poverty will be solved through structural change that gives people opportunities to succeed, not through Gov. Walker preaching about their individual choices, Dye said. Other proposals Walker announced: $1 million for the Department of Children and Families to implement a public messaging campaign based on the Success Sequence and emphasizing father involvement in childrens lives. Require custodial and noncustodial parents to comply with child-support orders to get FoodShare benefits, a reversal of a policy change under former Gov. Jim Doyle. Starting in 2018, allow couples for the first three years after marriage to receive the greater of either the EITC they would receive as a married couple or before they were married. CA Gun Owners Are Already Subverting the State's Expanded Assault Weapons Ban By Alex Yablon. January 23rd, 2017 Beneath the taxidermied deer and bighorn sheep heads, some of the display racks at San Diego's SoCal Gun sit bare. "There are no AR-15s for sale anymore," manager Greg Kerrebrock said. An end-of-year crush cleaned out the shop's inventory as customers gobbled up models affected by a new law that kicked in on January 1. Part of a sweeping package of reforms pushed by Democrats in 2016, the regulations clamped down on a gun industry innovation, known as the bullet button, that flouted an earlier statute meant to regulate rifles with detachable, quickly reloadable ammunition magazines. Under the revised rules, Californians in possession of assault weapons that incorporate a bullet button and certain other features have until the end of this year to register them with the state, a step that some gun owners are loathe to take. Stores like SoCal can't sell new bullet button-equipped guns, and don't yet have an alternative that they can be sure will comply with the enhanced restrictions. But all that could soon change. Just as they did the last time California updated its longstanding assault weapons law, enterprising gunsmiths are ready with new products that could render the tighter restrictions largely moot. On the same day that Governor Jerry Brown signed the new law, Darin Prince, the inventor of the original bullet button, announced the release of a gun add-on called the Patriot Mag Release. ....... "My goal is to at least slow down the carnage", says Marc Levine, the Democratic state assemblyman who sponsored the law revising California's assault weapon statute. This is similar to the "getting guns off the streets" approach, and as usual it is the good guys who bear the brunt of frivolous law making. This all produces the 'cat-and-mouse' process whereby 'workarounds' are sought to beat the system - all in order to fight the intrusion into Second Amendment rights. Some of the most ridiculous restrictions include cosmetics, such as pistol grip, flash suppressor etc - this is quite simply blatant "gun control". "You don't have to be Jewish to fight by our side." 2017 JPFO All rights reserved. jpfo@jpfo.org 1-800-869-1884 Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership 12500 NE 10th Pl. Bellevue, WA 98005 USA "America's most aggressive defender of civil rights" We make the NRA look like moderates Join JPFO Back to Top Stiri pe aceeasi tema - Table tennis player Bernadette Szocs said on Tuesday that she wholeheartedly wishes for Simona Halep, who tested positive for roxadustat during an anti-doping check, to prove she is innocent, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook - At its meeting on Tuesday, the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) examined and approved the proposals of the Ministry of Energy for the improvement of Romania's energy resilience, shielding the population and ensuring the continuity of electricity and gas supplies at prices that do not burden - Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Wednesday, when asked about an amendment submitted by senators from the ruling coalition for a 50% increase in local rates and taxes, that the decision was taken inside the coalition, noting that the option regarding the establishment of these taxes according - The Chamber of Deputies adopted, on Tuesday, the draft law by which the peony is declared the National Flower of Romania. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro Help your friends know more about Romania! Share - The total area affected by the drought is 555,289 ha, in 37 counties and Bucharest, according to the reports and minutes of damage assessment prepared by prefects until Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development informs. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste - President Klaus Iohannis has sent a message on Tuesday on the occasion of the Annual Reunion of the Romanian Diplomacy in which he emphasizes the need to actively continue the steps to achieve Romania's major goals at European level, with emphasis on joining Schengen and finalizing the Cooperation - The chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Marcel Ciolacu, said on Tuesday evening for private TV broadcaster Antena3, that in his opinion, a Government reshuffle is needed until the end of this year. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook - An aircraft belonging to the Turkish Airlines company, which was flying on the Miami - Istanbul route, landed on Tuesday afternoon on the Bucharest-based Henri Coanda Airport, as one of the passengers had medical problems, the Bucharest Airports National Company announced (CNAB). Fii la curent NH - Proposed Voter Suppression for Second Amendment Practitioners By Dean Weingarten. January 25th, 2017 Article Source A bill has been introduced into the New Hampshire legislature. It is designed to suppress the exercise of the Second Amendment and voting. The bill to discourage Second Amendment practitioners from voting is HB350. It is unlikely to pass in Second Amendment friendly New Hampshire. It shows the Democrat mindset to suppress the votes of people they disagree with. The bill requires that people who are going to vote divest themselves of their Second Amendment rights while they are voting. In New Hampshire, no license is required to carry a firearm openly; it is fairly simple to obtain a license to carry a handgun concealed. The number of concealed carry licenses is unknown. Statewide records are only kept for out of state permits. The bill requires that people be unarmed while in the actual practice of voting. It also requires that they not control any firearm while voting, thus forbidding that they leave their firearm locked in their car. From the bill at legiscan .com: I. No person shall knowingly carry a loaded or unloaded pistol, revolver, firearm, or other deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V, whether open or concealed, or whether licensed or unlicensed, upon the person or within any of the persons possessions owned or within the persons control at a polling place during a federal, state, or municipal election. II. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a class B felony. According to an article from New Hampshire, it has never been illegal to carry weapons to polling places in New Hampshire. The article is in the left leaning Seacoast Online. If a single instance of abuse had occurred, it would have been mentioned at seacoastonline.com: Additionally, he warned, some residents might carry weapons to the polls, which is legal under state law. We are going to follow the law, Selig said. As long as nobody is being threatening toward anyone else with their weapons, its a non-issue. We are just making sure everyone is safe. None of the commenters at the site was able to find a single instance of abuse, either. The safety of carrying weapons to the polls has never been an issue. The intent of the legislation seems clear: discourage people who exercise their Second Amendment rights from voting. When you make it more difficult for a group to vote, be it illegal aliens or Second Amendment activists, some of them will find the extra step to be the one that keeps them from voting that day. Second Amendment supporters tend to be 3.7 times as likely to be Republicans as Democrats, 82% to 22%, according to Pew. This legislation seems to be an attempt to suppress the Republican vote. 2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included. Link to Gun Watch. Well, here's a new one, which just shows how the left can come up with yet another idea to try and infringe on the Second Amendment. While it may probably fail to pass, the mere fact that it has been conceived is despicable. Out of many 'soft targets', a polling place is yet another location where a radicalized 'nut job' might decide to attack to further their 'cause' - how much easier if no armed citizens are permitted. Back to Top A critical moment As Nepals economic prospects expand, who benefits and how will depend on the success of its democratic system Diplomacy and health Nepal should focus on how our people can benefit from the countrys involvement in health diplomacy Envoys assure govt support to elections Members of the diplomatic community on Tuesday told the government that they would extend all possible support to the governments bid to hold the elections. Farmers bar mill from supplying sugar to mkt Sugarcane producers from Morang and Sunsari districts have barred Eastern Sugar Mill from supplying sugar to the market for the past week after the mill failed to pay them for the raw material. YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan, the Government continued discussing performance reports for 2016 of public agencies, including their compliance with the governments action plan 2016, priorities and assessed performance. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Government, reports were delivered by the Minister of Nature Protection, Minister of Economic Development and Investment, the Head of State Property Management Department and the Head of State Committee for Urban Development. Minister of Nature Protection Artsvik Minasyan reported that an inventory of Lake Sevan fish resources was carried out in the period under review, and a 38.9 percent increase in fish resources was recorded. In the meantime, the Ministry was able to identify the barriers to natural reproduction of trout. An ecotourism information center was set up, which is supposed to summarize the capacities of the sphere and provide the necessary statistics to tour operators. An automated water management system was introduced in Ararat Valley. In addition, the National Green Economy Center and Jermuk National Park were established last year. Cleanup activities continued in Lake Sevan coastal areas. As a result, an area of 93 thousand hectares has already been cleared of garbage and wastes. Reforestation was completed on 70 hectares. The Minister said they are working on the possibility of handing over the national parks to trust managers. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan instructed to take consistent steps toward capitalizing and raising efficiency in the environmental sector. Head of State Property Management Department by the Government Arman Sahakyan reported that a new plan for privatization has been developed in accordance with the Prime Ministers instruction, which has already been sent to the Government Staff, and will be submitted to the National Assembly following a final discussion. Karen Karapetyan urged them to speed up work in this direction. Minister of Economic Development and Investment Suren Karayan reported back measures aimed at export promotion, attracting investment, improving the business environment and developing inbound tourism in Armenia. In particular, efforts were made to provide for Armenian products entry into the networks of multinational corporations, ensure most favorable conditions for Armenian products on the Eurasian Economic Union and other regional markets, as well as to increase the exports. Preparations have been made to establish a free economic zone on the border with Iran. Practical work is expected to begin by this April. To facilitate access for Armenian passenger cars to Iran, the guarantee fees were substituted with insurance payments. As a result, the required cost threshold was reduced threefold. Steps have been taken to promote business ties and increase the awareness of Armenian products abroad. 21 business and investment forums were held, with 80 contracts signed with foreign business partners. The ministry organized the visit of a delegation from the Russia representation of METRO AG. Negotiations were conducted on the export of Armenian products. In particular, an agreement has been reached with Lenta and x5 commercial networks on arranging the export of Armenian cheese to Russia. Chairman of State Committee for Urban Development Narek Sargsyan reported that the Committee had implemented measures aimed at simplifying the procedures applicable in the field of urban development, optimizing general layouts in rural areas, coordinating investment-oriented efforts, developing investment packages and attracting investors. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The electricity tariff for consumers in Armenia will decrease by 1.22 drams starting February 1. The Public Services Regulatory Commission had defined the following tariffs for electricity sold to consumers by the Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC. According to the new tariffs, for consumers using 110 kV feed the daytime tariff for 1 kWh is 33.48 drams, and the nighttime tariff 29.48 drams. For consumers using 35kV feed, the tariffs are 35.98 drams and 31.98 drams respectively. For the 6 (10) kV feed, the commission defined the tariffs as the following : daytime 41.98 drams, nighttime 31.98 drams. In terms of 0,38kV and less feed ( the majority of population) the tariffs are defined as: daytime 44.98 drams ( previously 46.2), nighttime 34.98 drams. For socially vulnerable families the tariffs are 40 drams for daytime use and 30 drams for nighttime use. Several factors impacted the revision of the tariffs, one being the decrease of gas prices supplied to thermal power plants. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The United Nations Security Council welcomed the January Astana talks between Damascus and the opposition and urged to re-launch the negotiations as soon as possible. In a statement, members of the Security Council said the Astana talks are an important step aimed at re-launching the Geneva negotiations process. They urged Staffan De Mistura, UN special envoy, to re-start the negotiations in Geneva as soon as possible. Earlier, the United Nations envoy for Syria said that he asked the Security Council to postpone the UN facilitated talks that had been scheduled for 8 February in Geneva until 20 February, in order to give the war-torn countrys opposition time to unite and participate as one group. We want to give a chance to this Astana initiative to actually implement itself, Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York, referring to the talks held last week in the Kazakh capital on solidifying a ceasefire in Syria, which had been brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey. He said that in Astana, the Syrian Government, the opposition and the three guarantors of the ceasefire agreed on a mechanism a group of experts to monitor the truce, adding that a technical follow-up meeting on the creation of the mechanism is scheduled to take place in the Kazakh capital on 6 February with the participation of the UN. He explained that the delay of UN-supported intra-Syrian talks would give time for the ceasefire to solidify, give the Government a chance to consider concessions, and give a chance for the armed groups to come as one unified opposition. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Amid outburst of violence in Ukraine, the United Nations Security Council and the top humanitarian official there expressed grave concern on January 31 about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in the countrys eastern region and its severe impact on the local civilian population, the official UN press statement says. In the press statement, Council members condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements along the contact line in Donetsk region that lead to deaths and injuries, including among civilians. The members of the Security Council expressed their full support of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and underlined the need for strict compliance with resolution 2202 (2015), which endorsed the Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, aimed at ending the violence in eastern regions of Ukraine. The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime, the statement concluded. Earlier in the day, the humanitarian community and the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country also expressed grave concern by the drastic deterioration of the security situation in eastern Ukraine and its humanitarian consequences. In a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN and its aid partners in the county expressed particular concern about the impact on the civilian population on both sides of the contact line. Casualties continue to be recorded. Sustained targeting of and damages to civilian infrastructure adds to the already difficult conditions. This situation, they said, is exacerbated by the harsh winter, and may have irrevocable consequences. The Government of Ukraine is doing its outmost to provide support and to coordinate humanitarian efforts. An immediate cessation of hostilities is urgently needed to prevent further loss of lives and to enable repair teams to urgently restore critical basic services to hundreds of thousands of affected civilians living in -10 below zero temperature, said Humanitarian Coordinator Neal Walker. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Germany's center-left chancellor candidate Martin Schulz, former President of the European Parliament, has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's policies as "un-American" and warned against lifting sanctions imposed against Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis, Reuters reports. "What Trump is doing is un-American," Schulz said, adding that the United States like no other country in the world stood for enlightenment, democracy and freedom. "If Trump is now driving a wrecking ball through this set of values, then I will tell him as chancellor: That's not the policy of Germany and Europe," Schulz added. Speaking about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine conflict, Schulz said that sanctions imposed against Russia could only be lifted after both sides had implemented the so-called Minsk peace plan. "As long as the Minsk peace agreement is not fully implemented, the sanctions cannot be lifted. We must tell Putin very clearly that Russia is obliged to respect and defend international law," Schulz said. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The Stop Corruption information campaign kicked off in Armenia, organized by the EU, aimed at raising awareness about corruption and presenting the EUs actions in his direction. Head of the EU delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski said the EU will continue assisting the efforts of the Government of Armenia and the civil society in the fight against corruption. This year allows us to make a step forward. This is due to the fact that the Armenian Government has raised the fight against corruption to a rather high level in its agenda, several legislative initiatives have been adopted, and appropriate measures have been taken to introduce the necessary tools in the fight against corruption. We also have a very professional and purposeful civil society which is actively involved in the works. There is no need to prove that corruption is a global problem. There isnt a country which doesnt deal with corruption challenges, and Armenia is one of them. Some countries deal with it better, some dont the Ambassador said. He expressed conviction that the success of the efforts depends on the responsibility of citizens. The awareness campaign has been designed in cooperation of the Government, several experts in the fight against corruption and well as representatives of the civil society. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The bidders of the international tender announced for selection of contractors for the construction of the Armenia-Georgia overhead power lines and substations in assistance of the German KfW development bank will be announced in the first quarter of February. The ministry of energy infrastructures and natural resources told ARMENPRESS the deadline for the bids of the construction of the high voltage substations is February 6, and for the overhead power transmission lines February 8. The programs purpose is connecting the electricity-energy systems of Armenia and Georgia, with a high voltage DC converter station near the Georgian border, in Ayrum. From the Georgian side the connection will be through a 500kV overhead power transmission line from the Marneuli substation. As result, the current electricity exchange capacity of 200MWs will be increased to 350 MW by 2019 in the first stage. Over 188 million Euros loans and grants have been involved for the first stage. The capacity will be increased to 700MW in 2021 after completion of the second stage, and the final stage up to 1050MW based on market and regional cooperation demands. The construction will also boost the development of the mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia-Georgia-Armenia-Iran in the energy sector. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The Eurasian Economic Commission Board discussed on January 31 the decrease of customs fees, formation of transparent and civilized markets, elimination of obstructions for trade between EEU countries and other issues, the Eurasian Economic Commission told ARMENPRESS. EEC Chairman of the Board Tigran Sargsyan said Presidents of EEU countries set global pretentious issues before the Commission, which correspond to the priorities of development of member states and their vision of the future. Decisions passed in the EEC must help to achieve those goals. Only in that way we will be able to show the real benefit of integration to everyone and benefits of forming a common market of products, services, financial and human resources. Tigran Sargsyan highlighted the fact that in Kazakhstans President Nursultan Nazarbayevs annual address the vectors which were pointed out as main directions of the countrys development in 2017 are also important for the EEU. That is the digitization of economy and improvement of transportation-logistical infrastructure. Within the frameworks of creating a EEU integrated information system the EEC Board approved one of the demands of the components, which unifies the database of member states agricultural-industry complex. 7 internet-sources are planned to be created, including the common registrar of agricultural plant, forecast indicators, livestock information etc. Users will be able to modify their production by calculating the changes of demands in the products and services markets. Another important decision of the Board was approving the task, according to which the EEU member states are proposed to inform stakeholders on the possibility of notifying the Board on limitations and obstructions in internal markets of the Union. The process can be done through https://barriers.eaeunion.org. The Board also approved the proposal on discussing the development of the labeling system in the Union during the upcoming EEC Council session. The EEC Board approved to decrease and temporarily eliminate customs rates on imports of several products for footwear manufacturing, which are used as designing materials. The 0 rate will apply from March 1, 2017 until February 28 of 2019. Fate of Oriental II, Park View apts to be decided by mid-March The fate of two high-rise apartment buildings that were declared unsafe for use due to damage suffered during the 2015 earthquake will likely be decided by mid-March. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The All-Armenian Student Association (All-ASA) of the United States will be coordinating the annual simultaneous college campus Stain of Denial silent protest against denial of the Armenian Genocide, Asbarez reports. Members of the Association will hold the protests in their universities and colleges. Stain of Denial is organized to engage college students in raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide, its ongoing denial, and the need for recognition and reparations. The protest is held every winter in order to symbolize the fact that genocide denial by nations including the Republic of Turkey and the United States continuously occurs throughout the year and not only on April 24th, the day that is typically cited as the beginning of the systematic deportation and extermination of Armenians and other minorities in the Ottoman Empire. The protest will concurrently take place on campuses throughout the United States from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, along with complimentary activity on social media that specifically incorporates the hashtags #StainOfDenial, #ArmenianGenocide, and #DivestTurkey, aimed at augmenting the events exposure. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. 64 people requested asylum in Armenia in the second half of 2016. 9 in 64 are males and females under the age of 17. According to official data, 34 of the asylum seekers were Syrian citizens. 12 were Iraqis, 8 Iranians, 5 Ukrainians and 4 other nationals. 1 man had no citizenship. Overall 10 applications have been dropped or suspended. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The delegation of Galust Sahakyan, Speaker of Armenias Parliament, was received on January 31 by Chuichi Date, Speaker of the House of Councillors (Upper House) of Japans Parliament. The parties discussed the level of parliamentary cooperation of the two countries and stated that the cooperation in this format will even deepen the Armenian-Japanese relations even more and create new opportunities for the two countries. The sides namely highlighted actions aimed at strengthening cooperation in economic, commercial and cultural areas, as well as development of tourism. Chuichi Date expressed his gratitude for Armenias assistance aimed at eliminating the consequences of the devastating earthquake in Japan. He expressed opinion that the cooperation of the two countries will develop even more also in the fields of preventing emergency situations and joint actions on eliminating their consequences, taking into account that Japan and Armenia are aware of the devastating consequences of earthquakes. The Parliaments Press Service told ARMENPRESS Speaker Sahakyan thanked for the numerous assistance and joint programs by Japan for Armenia. The parties also discussed various other issues and specific programs aimed at cooperation between the Parliaments. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Edward Nalbandian, minister of foreign affairs of Armenia, held a meeting on February 1 with Canadas Ambassador to Armenia H.E. Mr. John Ronald Kur, who conveyed Canadas foreign minister Chrystia Freelands message to her Armenian counterpart, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. Minister Nalbandian thanked for the message and in his turn handed over his message to minister Chrystia Freeland. The parties praised the dynamically developing partnership between Armenia and Canada since the establishment of diplomatic relations 25 years ago, and discussed new areas of cooperation and prospects. The meeting also focused on actions taken for activating political dialogue, commercial cooperation, agricultural and IT, and cultural exchanges. The ministry of foreign affairs told ARMENPRESS the Armenian FM and Canadas Ambassador appreciated the close cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats. The sides exchanged ideas over effective cooperation within the framework of the UN, Francophonie and OSCE. The minister and the Ambassador talked about issues related to cooperation aimed at preventing crimes against humanity and genocides. The parties also discussed the migration issue which resulted from the developments in the Middle East. Minister Nalbandian appreciated the Ambassadors personal contribution in the development of Armenian-Canadian ties and bestowed him the Medal of Honor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan paid a working visit to the Koyatk Province to discuss provincial issues with community heads and entrepreneurs. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Government of Armenia, Karen Karapetyan noted that heads of ministries and state agencies will start submitting investment programs this week and the list will be published next week. The Government Staff has reviewed 471 investment programs 345 out of which we consider realistic. The total investments for the programs amount to 2.4 billion USD. The Government considers possible to implement programs with a total investment of 830-850 million USD, the PM announced, adding that this does not mean that all the programs for 2017 will be possible to implement, since it depends on bilateral efforts. This is the potential we see for now 345 programs. Both the financial source and the program managers are already known, Karen Karapetyan stated, adding that at the moment the Cabinet discusses 55 more programs. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenia imported 1 billion and 864.6 million cubic meters of gas from Russia in 2016. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of Gazprom Armenia, 1 billion and 844.3 million cubic meters were utilized in the mentioned period. Energy and industrial spheres utilized respectively 420 and 173.1 million cubic meters. 581 million cubic meters were supplied to the population, while 467.3 million cubic meters were supplied to gas stations. The remaining 202.8 million cubic meters were utilized by other consumers. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Armenia Richard Mills finds positive trends in Armenias anti-corruption struggle, but believes there is still much to be done in this direction. In his speech before the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia Richard Mills assessed encouraging the fact that Armenian Premier Karen Karapetyan highlights anti-corruption struggle in his public speeches. I have been heartened to see more Armenians speaking openly about how corruption affects them, Armenpress reports Mills saying. He added that one area where significant progress can be noted, and for which he wishes to strongly commend the Armenian government, is its commitment to have Armenia join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, or EITI. Over the past year, the Embassy has partnered with the government and civil society on a number of other anti-corruption initiatives. For instance, we have supported programs by local media outlets to develop their investigative journalism skills, which helps the media sector fulfill its crucial democratic function of holding government and public figures accountable and of keeping the citizenry informed, the Ambassador said. He noted that to achieve meaningful progress in the fight against corruption is for the government to demonstrate political will. Encouraged by the Prime Ministers public commitment to tackle corruption, Ambassador Mills offered two specific suggestions for the government to consider. First, I suggest that the government strengthen the independent role and responsibilities of the Ethics Commission on High Ranking Officials. I applaud the governments recent step in this direction. Significant changes have been made to the Administrative Violations Code and Criminal Code, providing for fines, criminal sentences, and limitations on holding government positions for 3 years for individuals who submit false income declarations. But more needs to be done. One fix would be for the Government to make clear that the launching of an investigation into possible corrupt activities by a government official does not require specific evidence of an actual bribe paid or a favor given, but could be triggered by a prosecutors assessment that the assets declared by a government official are so great as to trigger reasonable grounds of suspicion. Armenian media has done a very good job of analyzing ethics declarations and identifying instances where officials declare assets that are 40, 50 or one hundred times greater than their government salaries, but there was no indication of follow up by the Government, the Ambassador said. He also offers that an entirely independent anti-corruption body should be established with full investigative and prosecutorial authority. According to the Ambassador, this was a specific recommendation by Mr. Peter Ainsworth, the Senior Anticorruption Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice whom the Embassy brought to Armenia twice in the last year for consultations with government and civil society. Richard Mills thinks this is a propitious time for the government to consider this suggestion, as the Prime Minister is currently deciding how to restructure the existing Anti-Corruption Council and formalize the connections and lines of authority between the Anti-Corruption Council and other bodies with anti-corruption mandates. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USA to Armenia Richard Mills highlight the fair and free upcoming parliamentary elections which will enjoy public trust. During his speech before the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia Mills agreed with President Sargsyans characterization that these elections will shape the future of Armenia and it is crucial they be free and fair, and that the Armenian people have confidence in the results. To help make the Armenian governments public commitment to credible elections a reality, USAID in partnership with the European Union, the UK, Germany, and the UN Mission to Armenia has provided financial support for the new voting processes and electoral equipment agreed upon by the government, political opposition, and civil society last year, unprecedented agreements that required compromises on all sides. These measures will make possible same-day voter authentication and the publication of signed voter lists after the elections, Armenpress reports the Ambassador saying. But the diplomat clarified that these additional measures cannot, by themselves, guarantee free and fair elections. They can make the electoral process more transparent and make it more costly to commit fraud, but the elections will be free and fair only if the government demonstrates the political will to make them so, and if the political opposition and civil society act to safeguard the process. The burden is on the government and its constituent institutions the Central Election Commission, law enforcement bodies, and the judiciary to take the appropriate actions and foster a climate in which the Armenian people are able to freely express their will at the voting booth. At the same time, a free and fair election also requires responsible civic engagement in the election process from the political opposition and civil society, which is why we were glad to see them work with the Government last year, and hope that spirit of positive and constructive collaboration will continue throughout the electoral period and beyond, Mills stated. According to him, for free and fair elections to take place, the government must also create a climate in which media and civil society are free, independent, and unfettered. We do take the government at its word that it intends to conduct free and fair elections, just as we take the opposition parties and civil society at their word that they intend to play a constructive role in the process, and this is something well be watching closely over the next few months, US Ambassador to Armenia said. Parliamentary elections will take place on April 2, 2017. Election campaign will kick off on March 5. Parties and coalitions have to submit supplications for standing elections during the period of February 6-16 to the Central Electoral Committee, while the proportionate and regional lists of the parties and coalitions have to be submitted in the period of February 16-26. Der Spiegel news weekly reported that Deutsche Boerse chief Carsten Kengeter told a government official of plans to merge with the London Stock Exchange before a large stock purchase was made German authorities have opened a probe into stock purchases in 2015 by Deutsche Boerse group head Carsten Kengeter, shortly before the announcement of the market's planned merger with the London Stock Exchange, a spokesman said Wednesday. The inquiry centres on the acquisition by Kengeter of Deutsche Boerse shares worth about 4.5 million euros ($4.8 million) on December 14, 2015, the bourse spokesman told AFP. Two months later, in February 2016, Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange unveiled their merger plans, an announcement which sent their share prices shooting upwards. "The investigators are studying if there is a possible suspicion of insider dealing," the Deutsche Boerse spokesman told AFP, adding that Kengeter had "always been transparent" about the operation. In a short English-language statement, Deutsche Boerse said the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office "today investigated at Deutsche Boerse AG in respect of a share purchase by its chief executive officer which was carried out on 14 December 2015". The share purchase was "in implementation of the executive board's remuneration programme as approved by the supervisory board of Deutsche Boerse AG," it said. "Such (a) programme provides for an investment of the executive board members in shares of Deutsche Boerse AG," it added, saying that it was cooperating "fully" with prosecutors. The company spokesman said that the board has asked Kengeter "to act as a real entrepreneur" and acquire shares in the company. "This is what Mr. Kengeter has done," the spokesman stressed, adding the had "always been transparent about his purchase of shares". Deutsche Boerse board chairman Joachim Faber called the accusations against Kengeter "groundless", arguing that discussions around the merger with the London Stock Exchange did not begin until the second half of January 20106. - Merger plan criticised - Wirtschaftswoche, a German economic weekly, reported that police and prosecutors had carried out searches in relation to the case. Story continues The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse merger would create a financial markets behemoth competing with the likes of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and ICE in the United States, as well as the Hong Kong stock exchange in Asia. The planned merger, which has hit turbulence after last year's shock decision by Britain to quit the European Union, would ring up one of the globe's biggest groups for stock listings and market data, tying the Frankfurt-dominated eurozone to a post-Brexit London. The proposed deal has drawn sharp rebukes from France, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, fearful for their own stock exchanges, owned by Euronext. Deep concerns over competition helped scupper two earlier attempts by Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange to merge, in 2000 and 2005. Last month the London Stock Exchange said it had agreed to offload the French arm of clearing house LCH to European rival Euronext in order to ease some of those fears. London hosts roughly 1.3 trillion euros of euro clearing transactions every year, a status that is now in danger with the British vote to leave the EU. Deutsche Boerse operates the Frankfurt exchange, as well as the Luxembourg-based clearing house Clearstream and the derivatives platform Eurex. The Frankfurt prosecutor's office could not be reached Wednesday for comment. Carsten Spohr (centre left), Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa, and Australian James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, pose following a press conference on boosting cooperation, on February 1, 2017 in Abu Dhabi The Lufthansa chief on Wednesday reiterated the German carrier's opposition to state subsidies for airlines, as he signed a cooperation deal with Abu Dhabi's Etihad, one of the main Gulf carriers accused of receiving government support. "It is not a secret that Lufthansa has always been and remains an opponent of state subsidies," Carsten Spohr said at a joint press conference in Abu Dhabi with Etihad chief James Hogan. He said a partnership should be based on "openness and fairness", while adding that two successful groups could have their differences and still become "successful partners". The two carriers said Wednesday that a codeshare agreement had taken effect, and they also sealed a $100-million global catering accord and signed an engineering memorandum of understanding. Western legacy carriers have long accused the three fast-growing Gulf carriers, Etihad and Dubai's Emirates and Qatar Airways, of receiving state subsidies that give them an edge over competitors. Spohr told reporters he would like to see the rules of the World Trade Organisation applied in aviation, "as we see that for other global industries". However, relationships between governments and airlines appeared likely to grow as "we see a wave of protectionism around the world", he said. Spohr, who has in the past dismissed speculation that Etihad would buy a share in Lufthansa, said the airline industry needed "rationalisation" with a "healthy relationship between offer and demand". The German carrier agreed in December to lease 38 aircraft from struggling Air Berlin, in which Etihad has a 29-percent stake. Under the outgoing Hogan, Etihad pursued an ambitious expansion policy through equity partnerships in other airlines. It saw Etihad spend hundreds of millions on stakes in foreign airlines, including acquisitions of 49 percent of Alitalia, 19.9 percent of Virgin Australia and three percent of Irish carrier Aer Lingus that it offloaded in 2015. Some of the investments have been costly, however, with Etihad having had to keep Air Berlin alive with regular cash injections. Story continues Etihad, which announced last month that Hogan would step down in the second half of 2017 after more than a decade at the helm, has said the Abu Dhabi-based carrier will review its strategy. On Wednesday, Hogan defended his policies, saying Etihad and its shareholders continued to support an expansion strategy that the carrier would "fine-tune". "Partnerships are at the heart of our strategy," he said. Goods imported via Indian ports to become dearer Foreign goods imported to Nepal via Indian sea ports are going to become expensive, as the Indian government has imposed 4.5 percent service tax on ocean freight cost, drawing criticisms from Nepali traders. 'We saw what happened in the airports': Asylum seekers from U.S. surge into Manitoba The temperature dipped as low as 12 C on Friday as a group of three refugees crossed from Minnesota into Manitoba, the end point of a long journey from Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. "It was dangerous. We were afraid that maybe, we didn't know what would happen. The wildlife and the city, something can happen," said one of the refugees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "But we were telling each other to keep up." The number of refugee claimants scrambling across the Canada-U.S. border, cutting through snowy fields to seek asylum in Manitoba, has soared since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency, Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council staff say. The recent refugee and his wife flew into Minneapolis 26 days before for a new life and freedom. But when Trump signed an executive order on Friday, putting a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the States and some other Muslim-majority countries, the refugee said he lost hope their applications would ever be accepted. "We saw what happened in the airports and that's why we tried to cross the border," he said. In the past three months, Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council staff said they have met with more than 80 applicants looking to open refugee files. The normal number for an entire year is 50 to 60. The council opened 10 new files on Monday alone, executive director Rita Chahal said, noting that most claimants came from Djibouti, while a few are from Somalia and one is from Eritrea. Eight walked over the border, while two others entered the country at the Niagara border crossing in Ontario and were transferred to Winnipeg because they have family there, said Ghezae Hagos, a paralegal with the council. "They're arriving in a variety of ways. Many of them are walking through fields and finding other ways to get in; not stopping at the border, but coming straight to Winnipeg," Chahal said. "Others are making a claim at the Emerson border and then either find a ride to Winnipeg, or in some cases, we have gone down to the border and picked up clients and brought them here. But a lot of them are walking, yes." Story continues The Emerson border crossing is about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg. Chahal can't speak about specific cases for privacy reasons, but said the majority of refugee claimants are concerned about their safety in the U.S., and specifically afraid of deportations. "The act of closing a border might be illegal but what they are doing is not illegal," Hagos said. "They are asking for a refugee claim and the chance to be heard and treated fairly. "To be free from persecution is a right we need to guard." 'Really scared of what is going on' Prior to Trump's election, many of the people who sought asylum in Canada came here after having their refugee claim or asylum case rejected by the U.S. Now, many haven't even bothered to make a claim there, said Hagos. "They are really scared of what is going on in the U.S. and that the U.S. is not welcoming refugees and asylum-seekers anymore. So they just use it as transit [to get to Canada]," he said. "I'm talking about people who are educated, people who have a very, very strong case [for refugee status in the U.S.]. They said that they cannot take the chance of [making a] refugee claim in the U.S. because they might get rejected, they might not get fair treatment." Chahal said the surge into Manitoba has created a burden on the Interfaith Immigration Council, which works to get people's applications in order and to find them safe places to live. "It's always a concern when people are risking their lives in any way, so we want to assure that when people reach our doors, the first thing we want to do is get them safety, make sure they have a place to stay and some basic necessities are met." On Christmas Eve, two refugees from Ghana were hospitalized in Winnipeg after they got frostbite after getting lost on Highway 75, near the Canada-U.S. border at Emerson. - 'They almost froze to death': Refugees frostbitten after walking to Manitoba border Safe Third Country Agreement People wouldn't need to dangerously walk through cold Canadian fields to get into the country if the Safe Third Country Agreement was suspended, said Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees. The agreement between Canada and the U.S. was signed in 2002 and came into effect in 2004. It effectively prevents refugees arriving from the States from requesting asylum in Canada, although there are a few exceptions, because it stipulates that anyone seeking refugee status must do so in the first country they enter. Dench said that there is some hope that the States might withdraw from the agreement given Trump's policies and messaging. "It would mean that [asylum seekers] would be able to make a refugee claim at the land border in an orderly and safe way so we could put an end to people crossing the border irregularly and putting their life and limbs at risk in frigid temperatures," she said. "This is an agreement that does not favour the U.S. and we know the new president has expressed disapproval of agreements, international agreements that are not in the U.S. interest," she said. A widowed mother of three, facing deportation, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada failed her family, who fear their lives will be in jeopardy if they are sent back to Jamaica next month. "I'm at a loss," said Natasha Gordon-Jones, who has spent the last five years in St. Catharines, Ont. trying to keep her family safe after her husband's brutal murder. "I have exhausted my efforts. I have paid over $25,000 to lawyers. I've got receipts to show." The family of four is scheduled to be deported on Feb. 24 by Canada Border Service Agency, to the country they've been trying to escape. "It's not because of poverty why I'm here. It's circumstance," Gordon-Jones told CBC News. The Gordon-Jones family kept its deportation fight a secret, until one of her sons, 17-year-old Joshua-Lee Jones revealed this unknown past and his family's struggle to his Grade 12 English class at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School two weeks ago. Now students and teachers are fighting for the family and supporting them. They've launched a campaign to help them obtain refugee status. 'What murder is like in Jamaica' Gordon-Jones and her husband, Everton Jones owned a scrap metal business in Spanish Town, Jamaica before he was murdered while heading to work, on July 29, 2011, she says for refusing to pay extortion money to a gang. "I thought that was where it would have ended," she said. "Little did I know, that was the beginning." It didn't stop there, despite police involvement. After Everton's death, Gordon-Jones claims she "started getting threats," including two unidentified men who showed up at then 12-year-old Jason-Lee's school, and a phone call telling her if she didn't pay protection money her 18-year-old daughter, Sasha would be raped. "They're going to make an example of the family. They don't stop," she stated. Story continues "Do you know what murder is like in Jamaica? They leave nothing, these are heirs of me and heirs of my husband. [We're] dead." When the threats didn't stop, Gordon-Jones got on the next flight to Toronto with her three children, Sasha, 18, Jason-Lee, 12, and Michael, 8 to stay with her sister in Mississauga, Ont as tourists. Fighting 2nd deportation order, lawyer says She's been fighting ever since appealing for refugee status to keep her family alive, but she's running out of time and resources. According to her immigration lawyer, Osborne Barnwell, this isn't the first time the family faced deportation. In early 2014, the family's refugee status application was dismissed because a previous lawyer didn't include relevant facts to her case, Barnwell told CBC News. He says this launched a long, drawn legal battle with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada and Canadian Border Service Agency. One day before they were scheduled to be deported Gordon-Jones applied for a judicial review of their case, which granted them an additional two years, but it wasn't enough. It was ultimately rejected in November 2016. Shortly after, Barnwell filed a federal court petition seeking a pre-removal risk assessment application, which evaluates the risk of persecution for those being removed from Canada. Ultimately this avenue was denied too because, according to Barnwell, Canada Border Service Agency didn't believe the letter a Jamaican police officer supplied supporting the family's claims that they would be in danger if they moved back to the country was legitimate. CBC News contacted Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada about the case, but didn't receive a response to our questions. On Feb. 24, the family will be deported. 'They're everything, they're my life' Jason-Lee says he is surprised and grateful for the reaction after he decided to reveal his and his family's plight to his teacher and classmates at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School two weeks ago. Now, the school's students, teachers and alumni are advocating on their behalf. "Just imagine what we've gone through for five years and out of nowhere people start being nice and you're like 'whoa, this has been Canada all this time?'" Jason-Lee said. "It surprised me actually." His grade 12 English teacher, Catherine Chin Yet is spearheading the support. "We've had alumni students from Holy Cross contact me who've heard the story and writing letters to the Minister of Immigration. Its been overwhelming," Chin Yet said. To Jason-Lee, his class is not just supportive, "they're everything, they're my life," he adds. "They make sure I have food. They make sure I'm stable in my mind. They just think of it and they're doing it... They're doing everything that is humanly possible." The 17-year-old wants to be an aeronautical engineer and plans to pursue a post-secondary education. He was recently accepted into Brock University and Carleton University's engineering programs. This is what Gordon-Jones says hurts her the most about her family's situation is they're "going to kill [her] son's dream." "The kids are happy. This is life, this is freedom," she said. "Why are you taking away my kids' lives?" Consultancy firm Brand Finance released its annual list of the most valuable brands in the world on Wednesday, and theres a new name at the top of the pile. Google Global Hardware Operation director Paul Froutan (L) talks to Belgium King Albert II (2nd L) and Belgiums French-speaking socialist party (PS) President Elio Di Rupo (2nd R) and Walloon Region Economy Minister Jean-Claude Marcourt (R) during a visit at the site of the future Google Datacenter in Mons June 16, 2009. REUTERS/Thierry Roge Google (GOOGL), which came in second last year, overtook Apple (AAPL) to take the top spot. The search giant added a staggering $21 billion to its value over the past year, taking its total value to $109 billion. It last ranked as the most valuable brand in 2011. The worlds 24 most valuable brands. (Courtesy of Brandirectory) Brand Finance calculates value as the amount a company would be willing to pay to license its brand as if it did not own it. It also takes future revenue attributable to a brand into account. Tech brands dominate the top 10, with Wal-Mart (WMT) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398.HK) the only companies not in the internet or telecom industries. Google was named the most valuable brand in the world in a recent Brandirectory survey. (Courtesy of Brandirectory) It wasnt good news for all tech companies, though. Swedish telecommunications firm Ericsson (ERIC) lost 46 percent of its value, causing it to drop 204 places in the past year. Meanwhile, HP (HPQ) lost 60 percent of its brand value, the biggest percentage loss of any company on the list. Amazon.com (AMZN) gained the most value over the past year, increasing $36 billion to $106 billion, good for the third most valuable brand in the world. Despite grabbing the number two spot, Apple lost $38 billion in brand value, the largest net decrease of any company in the past year. Amazon.coms value rose by more than $36 billion during 2016. (Courtesy of Brandirectory) Companies from the United States grabbed 198 of the 500 spots, including eight of the top 10. China, Japan, France and the United Kingdom complete the top five. You can check out the full list on the Brand Finance website. MORE: The 46 most corrupt countries in the world Himalaya adds 2nd Airbus jet to fleet Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint-venture carrier, inducted second Airbus A320 aircraft in its fleet on Tuesday. Open Education Top Fears Shutting the Door on Open Education Fear and anxiety can keep many educators from embracing open educational resources and open pedagogy. Here, "open" proponents explain common concerns. Open educational resources (OER) and open pedagogy are gaining traction in higher ed, and for good reason open education expands access to courses, saves students money and invites peer review. But for some students, faculty and administrators, fears about "open" are real, and in some cases, justified. Faculty used to teaching behind closed doors who are often subject-matter experts without any instructional training may be worried about opening up their research or pedagogy for the world to see. And students some of whom may be marginalized and already find themselves targeted by trolls online may be concerned about completing assignments in the open. Changing the way faculty and students engage with each other in the learning process is a big change, and like any change, can be messy, said Kim Thanos, founder and CEO of Lumen Learning, an organization devoted to helping schools access and use open resources. "I think that I would say generally, there are some very common concerns or fears that a faculty member might have," said Thanos. "It really is the fact that for a long time, teaching has happened behind the closed door within the classroom." Letting Go of the Traditional Textbook "You might have heard, 'What's the second most private location? It's the classroom, and the first one is the bedroom,' right?" said Gerry Hanley, executive director of MERLOT, an online library of free and open online educational resources maintained by the California State University system. Hanley doesn't see fear as the predominant emotion among faculty members faced with adopting open educational resources. Rather, he sees anxiety: about increased workload, about adopting materials they're unfamiliar with, and about what "open" means for accessibility. "I think it's really a workload issue," said Hanley. "Open educational resources don't often have the full package of supplemental material that publishers provide, and so it often means faculty have to pull together additional assignments, homework assignments, what might be lecture materials things along those lines." Faculty members accustomed to teaching from a textbook may find this kind of workload to be anxiety-inducing. They may not know how to choose the right supplemental materials, or may be worried that they haven't done enough research or looked in the right places. Or, they may worry that if they use something in class without the proper permission, they will find themselves in hot water with a publisher. "Some of them are concerned about the copyright issues," said Hanley. "Do they actually have the permission? Is someone going to come after them and sue them because they're reusing other people's materials inappropriately?" It's a valid fear, he said, and one the Creative Commons license is working to eliminate, as well as organizations like MERLOT and Lumen Learning. The majority of the concerns Lumen Learning hears about OER, said Thanos, are worries that material published openly online won't be as good as the content produced by publishers. Jim Luke, an economy professor and leader of the Open Learning Lab at Lansing Community College in Michigan, said that fear normally disappears as soon as faculty get a chance to review OER materials. "Most of this stuff is curated anyway. It's essentially been peer reviewed," he said. "They start looking closely at some of the materials, the OpenStax books, and the fears tend to go away." WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Air pollution may cause more than just lung disease: New research suggests that if tiny particles in the air from power plants and cars are inhaled, they might also invade the brain, increasing the risk for dementia. "Although the link between air pollution and Alzheimer's disease is a new scientific frontier, we now have evidence that air pollution, like tobacco, is dangerous to the aging brain," said study co-senior author Caleb Finch. He's with the University of Southern California's (USC) Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. For the study, the USC scientists collected samples of air particles with technology designed by university engineers. The researchers used the technology to expose female mice to air pollution. "Our state-of-the-art aerosol technologies, called particle concentrators, essentially take the air of a typical urban area and convert it to the air of a freeway or a heavily polluted city like Beijing," study co-author Constantinos Sioutas, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, explained in a university news release. "We then use these samples to test exposure and assess adverse neuro-developmental or neuro-degenerative health effects," he added. The mice carried a certain genetic variation, called the APOE4 gene, which increases the risk for Alzheimer's. After being exposed to air pollution for 15 weeks, the mice had 60 percent more amyloid plaque, the clusters of protein associated with the degenerative disease, the researchers said. They also analyzed data on more than 3,600 3U.S. women between the ages of 65 and 79 years from 48 states. None of the women had dementia when the study began. After considering certain variables -- such as race, ethnicity, lifestyle and health -- the researchers found older women living in areas where miniscule air pollution particles exceed federal safety standards may be at 81 percent higher risk for cognitive decline. They may also face a 92 percent greater likelihood of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The negative effects of air pollution on the brain were particularly notable among the women who the APOE4 gene, the study authors added. The research was published Jan. 31 in the journal Translational Psychiatry. If their findings were extended to include the general population, the study's authors calculate that air pollution might be to blame for about 21 percent of all cases of dementia. The research comes with several caveats. First, it did not prove that air pollution causes the risk of dementia to rise. Second, studies involving animals frequently fail to produce similar results in humans. Finch said: "Microscopic particles generated by fossil fuels get into our body directly through the nose into the brain. Cells in the brain treat these particles as invaders and react with inflammatory responses, which over the course of time, appear to exacerbate and promote Alzheimer's disease." Jiu-Chiuan Chen, co-senior author of the study, said, "Our study -- the first of its kind conducted in the U.S. -- provides the inaugural scientific evidence of a critical Alzheimer's risk gene possibly interacting with air particles to accelerate brain aging." "The experimental data showed that exposure of mice to air particles collected on the edge of [the] USC damaged neurons in the hippocampus, the memory center that is vulnerable to both brain aging and Alzheimer's disease," added Chen, who is an associate professor of preventive medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine. Less than one-third of all U.S. counties have ozone or particle pollution monitors, according to the American Lung Association. The group notes that six of the 10 most polluted U.S. cities are in California. The USC researchers said the findings could have global implications because pollution has no borders. More information The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more on dementia. By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump as a political novice on Wednesday, stepping up criticism of the Republican's immigration policies including a temporary travel ban on Iranians. Tehran has already said it will take legal, political and reciprocal measures in response to Trump's order suspending the entry of people from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. Rouhani turned the focus on Trump himself in a live address on state television, saying: "He (Trump) is new to politics. He has been in a different world. It's a totally new environment to him." "It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world," added Rouhani, who led a rapprochement with Washington under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama. Trump's has said his travel order, signed on Friday, is needed to protect national security. He has also promised a sharp shift in policy on Iran, calling the nuclear pact that Tehran signed with Washington and other world powers "the worst deal ever negotiated". The renewed impasse with may further weaken Rouhani's efforts to attract foreign investors to Iran, particularly if it slows the implementation of the deals for 80 Boeing jets and 100 Airbus struck last year. "Today is not a time for separating nations by walls," Rouhani said, in an apparent reference to Trump's promise to build a barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. Opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration moves spread inside the United States on Tuesday, with Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington state joining others suing the administration over the travel ban. France vowed on Monday to defend Iran's nuclear deal, strengthen trade ties with Tehran, and double the number of visas available to Iranians. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Andrew Heavens) -New Capital Will Accelerate APGs Exit From The Oil Crisis And Support Key 2017 Marketing Initiatives- -Neil Braverman To Become New Chairman Of The Board - Matt Van Steenwyk Appointed As Lead Strategic Director- LYNNFIELD, Mass., Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Power Group Corporation (OTCQB:APGI) today announced the completion of the initial round of a $3 million private placement of Subordinated Contingent Convertible Promissory Notes (Notes) with several existing shareholders, members of management and investors affiliated with members of its Board of Directors. The unsecured Notes bear interest at the rate of 10% per annum and will become due and payable on July 27, 2017. The principal amount of the Notes, together with all accrued but unpaid interest thereon, will automatically be convertible into shares of Series E 12.5% Convertible Preferred Stock (Series E Convertible Preferred Stock) at a conversion price of $100,000 per share, immediately upon the effectiveness of the filing of a Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations of Series E Convertible Preferred Stock with the Secretary of State of Delaware. Each share of Series E Convertible Preferred Stock will be convertible to our common stock at a conversion price of $0.10 per share. Upon the conversion of the Notes into shares of Series E Preferred Stock, we will issue to each investor a ten-year warrant to purchase a number of shares of common stock equal to ten times the number of shares issuable upon conversion of the Series E Preferred Stock, exercisable at $0.10 per share. We have agreed, however, not to file the Certificate of Designation until certain conditions are met, the details of which and other details of the transaction will be set forth in a Current Report on Form 8-K, which we will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. Concurrent with the closing of the financing, Neil Braverman became our new Chairman of the Board of Directors replacing Maurice Needham who will remain as a Director. Mr. Braverman is a major investor in the company and has been a Director since April 30, 2012. He is the founder of Associated Private Equity and previously founded and was co-Chairman of Safeskin Corporation, the leading manufacturer of latex/synthetic gloves to the healthcare and electronic markets. Matthew Van Steenwyk was appointed by the Board of Directors as Lead Strategic Director with more direct focus on helping to optimize the strategic marketing initiatives for the Company. Mr. Van Steenwyk has been a Director since July 21, 2015 and is the lead investor in the Company. Mr. Van Steenwyk has been Managing Director of Longbow Technology Ventures since 2010. He has over twenty-five years of investing and operating experience across multiple industries with a strong focus on energy related industries. About American Power Group Corporation American Power Groups subsidiary, American Power Group, Inc. provides cost effective products and services that promote the economic and environmental benefits of our alternative fuel and emission reduction technologies. Our patented Turbocharged Natural Gas Dual Fuel Conversion Technology is a unique non-invasive software driven solution that converts existing vehicular and stationary diesel engines to run concurrently on diesel and various forms of natural gas including compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, conditioned well-head/ditch gas or bio-methane gas with the flexibility to return to 100% diesel fuel operation at any time. Depending on the fuel source and operating profile, our EPA and CARB approved dual fuel conversions seamlessly displace 45% - 65% of diesel fuel with cleaner burning natural gas resulting in measurable reductions in nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other diesel-related emissions. Through our Trident Associated Gas Capture and Recovery Technology, we provide oil and gas producers a flare capture service solution for associated gases produced at their remote and stranded well sites. These producers are under tightening regulatory pressure to capture and liquefy the flared gases at their remote and stranded well sites or face significant oil output reductions. With our proprietary Fueled By Flare process technology we can convert these captured gases into natural gas liquids (NGL) which can be sold as heating fluids, emulsifiers, or be further processed by refiners. Given pending federal methane capture regulations, we anticipate our next generation NGL processing systems will have the capability to convert the residual flared methane into pipeline quality natural gas that can be sold for a variety of dedicated and dual fuel vehicular, stationary, industrial and household uses. See additional information at: www. americanpowergroupinc.com Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Opinions With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements and opinions, including, but not limited to, statements relating to new markets, development and introduction of new products, and financial and operating projections. These forward-looking statements and opinions are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein, and cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from such forward-looking statements and opinions. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, the fact that, our dual fuel conversion business has lost money in the last seven consecutive fiscal years and our flare gas capture and recovery business has yet to generate measurable revenues, the risk that we may require additional financing to grow our business, the fact that we rely on third parties to manufacture, distribute and install our products, we may encounter difficulties or delays in developing or introducing new products and keeping them on the market, we may encounter lack of product demand and market acceptance for current and future products, we may encounter adverse events economic conditions, we operate in a competitive market and may experience pricing and other competitive pressures, we are dependent on governmental regulations with respect to emissions, including whether EPA approval will be obtained for future products and additional applications, the risk that we may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights, factors affecting the Company's future income and resulting ability to utilize its NOLs, the fact that our stock is thinly traded and our stock price may be volatile, the fact that we have preferred stock outstanding with substantial preferences over our common stock, the fact that the conversion of the preferred stock and the exercise of stock options and warrants will cause dilution to our shareholders, the fact that we incur substantial costs to operate as a public reporting company and other factors that are detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2016 and the Company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and opinions, which speak only as of the date hereof. ICP delay concerns traders Industrialists based in the eastern region have expressed concern over delays in constructing Integrated Check Post (IPC) on the Nepal side of the Jogbani-Biratnagar border, although the Indian side has already completed constructing one. Amsterdam - February 1, 2017 - Intertrust N.V. ("Intertrust" or "the Company") [ticker symbol INTER], the leading global provider of high-value trust, fund and corporate services, has acquired the remaining 25% stake in Intertrust Management Spain, S.L. (formerly known as Structured Finance Management (Spain), S.L. ("SFM Spain")) together with the affiliated professional services activities of Azcona y Asociados de Consultoria Tributaria, Juridica y Contable, S.L., ("Azcona"). Intertrust acquired a 75% stake in SFM Spain as part of the acquisition of Elian on September 23, 2016. The remaining 25% of SFM Spain was held by Azcona, a local Spanish competitor that specialises in the provision of corporate secretarial, accounting and tax compliance services. Under the joint venture agreement with Azcona, all clients of SFM Spain were serviced by Azcona. SFM Spain provides capital markets services to leading financial institutions and alternative investment funds active in Spain. The transaction strengthens Intertrust's position in Spain, making it a leading independent provider of capital markets-, funds- and corporate services. All Azcona staff members have transferred to the Intertrust team, thereby more than doubling the headcount of the Madrid office to a total of 63 employees. The Intertrust and Azcona teams will co-locate in new premises during the course of 2017. The increased scale of the combined office strengthens Intertrust's client service capabilities and broadens its career opportunities for employees. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed. The transaction does not have a material impact on the Company's financial position or results. For further information Intertrust N.V. Anne Louise Metz Director of Investor Relations, Marketing & Communications annelouise.metz@intertrustgroup.com Tel: +31 20 577 1157 About Intertrust Intertrust is the leading global provider of high-value trust, fund and corporate services, with approximately 2,400 employees located throughout a network of 41 offices in 30 jurisdictions across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle-East. The Company delivers high-quality, tailored services to its clients with a view to building long-term relationships. Intertrust's business services offering is comprised of corporate services, fund services, capital market services, and private wealth services. Intertrust has leading market positions in selected key geographic markets of its industry, including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Jersey, and the Cayman Islands. Intertrust works with global law firms and accountancy firms, multi-national corporations, financial institutions, fund managers, high net worth individuals and family offices. the estimated population This version is not perfect, in that "20,000, ten times the estimated population of 2000" is a little awkward and does not make complete sense, but basically it logically compares 20,000 with 2000. This choice has two issues. First there is no logical antecedent for "that". Ten times what of the estimated population? Second, though there are multiple black rhinos in the population of black rhinos, in the sentence itself, there is no logical antecedent for "their". "ten times more" is not logical. The point is that 20,000 is ten times 2,000. "ten times more", if it means anything, means eleven times, and eleven times 2000 is 22,000, not 20,000. "amount" does not correctly refer to a countable number. Also, "the population's estimated amount of 2,000" is awkward and does not clearly convey that the number of rhinos in the population was 2,000. This version repeats the "ten times more than" error seen in C, and "their" has no logical antecedent. Also, this version illogically compares "black rhinos" to "their population estimate of 2000". This version repeats the "ten times more than" flaw and the "amount" error seen in C. "that" is unnecessary and has no logical antecedent. "their" has no logical antecedent. The entire choice is unnecessarily wordy and does not directly compare 20,000 with 2,000, but rather compares 20,000 with "that of ... 2,000", a comparison that conveys nothing that makes sense. Africa's black rhino population in the mid-1970's numbered about 20,000, ten timesof 2,000 in 1997.(a) the estimated population(b) that of their estimated population(c) more than the population's estimated amount(d) more black rhinos than their population estimate(e) more than that of their population's estimated amountThe best answer is A._________________ Tue, 11/2 (11:30am ET): How V40 Scorers Use Visualization to Excel on Verbal The idea of building New Towns to absorb growth is frequently considered a cure-all for urban problems. It is erroneously assumed that if new residents can be diverted from existing centers, the present urban situation at least will get no worse. It is further and equally erroneously assumed that since European New Towns have been financially and socially successful, we can expect the same sorts of results in the United States. Present planning, thinking, and legislation will not produce the kinds of New Town that have been successful abroad. It will multiply suburbs or encourage developments in areas where land is cheap and construction profitable rather than where New Towns are genuinely needed. Such ill-considered projects not only will fail to relieve pressures on existing cities but will, in fact, tend to weaken those cities further by drawing away high-income citizens and increasing the concentration of low-income groups that are unable to provide tax income. The remaining taxpayers, accordingly, will face increasing burdens, and industry and commerce will seek escape. Unfortunately, this mechanism is already at work in some metropolitan areas. The promoters of New Towns so far in the United States have been developers, builders, and financial institutions. The main interest of these promoters is economic gain. Furthermore, federal regulations designed to promote the New Town idea do not consider social needs as the European New Town plans do. In fact, our regulations specify virtually all the ingredients of the typical suburban community, with a bit of political rhetoric thrown in. A workable American New Town formula should be established as firmly here as the national formula was in Britain. All possible social and governmental innovations as well as financial factors should be thoroughly considered and accommodated in this policy. Its objectives should be clearly stated, and both incentives and penalties should be provided to ensure that the objectives are pursued. If such a policy is developed, then the New Town approach can play an important role in alleviating Americas urban problems. Show Spoiler C 1. The passage contains information that answers which of the following questions? (A) Where did the idea of New Towns originate? (B) How does Britains New Town formula differ from that of other European countries? (C) What is the purpose of building New Towns? (D) What incentives and penalties will be necessary to make a New Town formula workable? (E) Why have European New Towns been financially successful? Show Spoiler B 2. The author believes that New Towns are not being built where they are genuinely needed because (A) the government offers developers incentives to build in other areas (B) the promoters of New Town are motivated chiefly by self-interest (C) few people want to live in areas where land is still cheap (D) no studies have been done to determine the best locations (E) federal regulations make construction in those areas less profitable Show Spoiler A 3. According to the author, ill-considered New Towns will tend to weaken existing cities in which of the following ways? I. They will cause an erosion in the tax base of existing cities. II. The will divert residents from existing cities to other areas. III. They will increase the number of low-income residents in existing cities. (A) I only (B) II only (C) I and II only (D) II and III only (E) I, II, and III Show Spoiler A 4. According to the passage, as compared with American New Towns, European New Towns have been designed with greater concern for (A) social needs (B) financial factors (C) urban congestion (D) the profits of developers and builders (E) the environment Show Spoiler A 5. The authors tone in discussing developers, builders, and financial institutions ( Highlighted ) can best be described as (A) critical (B) pedantic (C) evasive (D) captious (E) vitriolic Show Spoiler C 6. It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes which of the following about suburbs? (A) They are a panacea for urban problems. (B) They will soon be plagued by the same problems that now plague cities. (C) They are poor models for New Towns. (D) They drive up property values in inner cities. (E) They alleviate some, but not all, of Americas urban problems. Show Spoiler B 7. It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers the present American New Town formula to be (A) thoroughly considered (B) insufficiently innovative (C) potentially workable (D) overly restrictive (E) financially sound Show Spoiler A 8. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with (A) arguing for a change in policy (B) exploring the implications of novel idea (C) comparing and contrasting two manifestations of the same phenomenon (D) proposing a radically new solution to an old problem (E) summarizing recent research on a topic (A) Where did the idea of New Towns originate?(B) How does Britains New Town formula differ from that of other European countries?(C) What is the purpose of building New Towns?(D) What incentives and penalties will be necessary to make a New Town formula workable?(E) Why have European New Towns been financially successful?(A) the government offers developers incentives to build in other areas(B) the promoters of New Town are motivated chiefly by self-interest(C) few people want to live in areas where land is still cheap(D) no studies have been done to determine the best locations(E) federal regulations make construction in those areas less profitableI. They will cause an erosion in the tax base of existing cities.II. The will divert residents from existing cities to other areas.III. They will increase the number of low-income residents in existing cities.(A) I only(B) II only(C) I and II only(D) II and III only(E) I, II, and III(A) social needs(B) financial factors(C) urban congestion(D) the profits of developers and builders(E) the environment(A) critical(B) pedantic(C) evasive(D) captious(E) vitriolic(A) They are a panacea for urban problems.(B) They will soon be plagued by the same problems that now plague cities.(C) They are poor models for New Towns.(D) They drive up property values in inner cities.(E) They alleviate some, but not all, of Americas urban problems.(A) thoroughly considered(B) insufficiently innovative(C) potentially workable(D) overly restrictive(E) financially sound(A) arguing for a change in policy(B) exploring the implications of novel idea(C) comparing and contrasting two manifestations of the same phenomenon(D) proposing a radically new solution to an old problem(E) summarizing recent research on a topic Interim order to control dust pollution inside valley The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order to adopt measures to control dust pollution caused by water pipeline installation underway in different parts of Kathmandu Valley. "See as she come fine": Nigerians gush over Teni as she shows off new smaller figure in photos KU padlocked for 10 days Kathmandu University remains padlocked for the past 10 days, affecting teaching and learning activities. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Man killed in animal attack A wild elephant charged at pilgrims who were on their way to Dudheshwor Mahadev Temple in Parsa on Monday evening, killing 60-year-old Thag Prasad Yadav of Nichuta VDC, police said on Tuesday. Meet on preparing Nepals airports for disasters starts The capacity of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) has become so overstretched that it could be in real trouble should an emergency situation arise, experts said. Nepali stabs fellow Nepali migrant to death A Nepali migrant worker was killed in Malaysia after being attacked reportedly by his Nepali room partner with a knife. No vote if our demands not met, warns Mahato Sadbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato on Tuesday reiterated his demand that a revised constitution amendment bill should be passed, warning that the Madhesis would not accept the elections in the present situation. NSU, ANNFSU supporters clash A violent clash erupted between supporters of the Nepal Student Union (NSU) and the All Nepal National Free Student Union (ANNFSU) at a hostel of Lamjung Campus in Sundar Bazaar on Monday night. On 3-5 October 2017 Kyiv is going to host the Space and Future Forum to network international experts and youth, many of whom will also participate at the first CosmoHack in the world. Joinfo provides media coverage of the Forum, and some of its topics were already discussed ... PM Dahal, Deuba dont want crisis to end: UML General Secy CPN-UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel has alleged that the Constitution amendment proposal registered by the government is deliberate a ploy to avert the implementation of new constitution. Motorolas Moto Z line of smartphones support swappable add-ons called Moto Mods that you can attach to the back of the phone to add functionality. Right now, the list of Moto Mods you can buy includes a JBL speaker, a camera with a zoom lens, several battery packs, and a projector, as well as a vehicle dock or just a style shell that changes the look of your device. But Motorola is encouraging developers to come up with their own Moto Mods, and the maker of an interesting one is running a crowdfunding campaign on Indieogogo. The Ultimate Moto Z Mod with Wireless Charging has a kind of ambitious name. But its basically a slim cover that you can add to the back of a Moto Z phone to add Qi wireless charging support. Thats what you get for a pledge of $35. Spend $45 and you get an infrared port as well as wireless charging, allowing you to use your phone as a remote control for your TV or other gadgets. If the project raises at least $5,000 in funding, the plan is to begin shipping the Mods in November which feels like an eternity from now when you consider how quickly new products come out in the smartphone space. But even if you decide to upgrade to a new phone later this year, Motorola has pledged that its sticking with the Moto Mod design for now, which means the companys 2017 Moto Z phones will likely support Mods designed for the 2016 lineup. The Ultimate Mod is also an entry into Motorolas Transform the Smartphone challenge, which means the developer is also competing for a chance to pitch the idea to Motorola executives and partner with the company. via 9to5Google Eugene Robinson Eugene Robinson is an Associate Editor and twice-weekly columnist for The Washington Post. His column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. In a 25-year career at The Post, Robinson has been city hall reporter, city editor, foreign correspondent in Buenos Aires and London, foreign editor, and assistant managing editor in charge of the paper's award-winning Style section. In 2005, he started writing a column for the Op-Ed page. He is the author of "Coal to Cream: A Black Man's Journey Beyond Color to an Affirmation of Race" (1999) and "Last Dance in Havana" (2004). Robinson is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and has received numerous journalism awards. Kuwait, which has posted a budget surplus for 16 years in a row, has approved for the third consecutive time a budget with expenses surpassing the income forecasted by the state despite the introduction of several austerity measures to reduce state expenditures. The financial year begins on April 1 in Kuwait and Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh said the budget deficit for the year is estimated at $25.9 billion. The government is considering the issuance of international sovereign bonds to finance the deficit but no date has been fixed. Al-Saleh hinted, in November 2015, that it would be offering around $9.8 billion to international investors at the beginning of this year. The foreign reserves that were accumulated during the glorious days of high oil prices are expected to reduce state borrowing. Kuwait heavily depends on revenue generated from oil and it is estimated to account for around 88% of the states total income. The drastic fall of oil prices from $150 a barrel to around $20 before recovering to around $50 has affected the countrys income. Oil revenues for the 2017-2018 financial year are expected to provide around $38.4 billion. Amid an increase of 36%, the expenses of the country are estimated to be around $75.3 billion which is more than double that amount. In the previous years, Kuwait built up a sovereign wealth fund worth around $600 billion. The money is invested mostly in the United States, Europe and Asia. The countrys sovereign wealth has already contributed 10% of revenues to the budget. Meanwhile, a long-term development plan has been launched. Kuwait 2035 vision also dubbed as New Kuwait is designed to activate development, boost the economy, diversify productivity, and press ahead with economic and financial reforms through mega projects while giving a leading role to the private sector. Where people die is often important to them and their families, as well as being important for planning health care services. Most people want to die at home, but most die in hospital. While the trends have been studied in cancer, other diseases, such as respiratory, are rarely looked at even though they are common and increasing causes of death. In a new study, published today in BMC Medicine, researchers from King's College London's Cicely Saunders Institute studied a national data set of all deaths from two common groups of respiratory diseases - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Interstitial Pulmonary Diseases (IPD), covering 380,232 people over 14 years. Both conditions result in a high use of hospital services, especially among people in advanced stages. This leads to high healthcare costs. In the UK in 2010, for example, it is estimated that IPD cost 16.2 million per year in hospitalisations. The NHS spends more than 810 million annually managing COPD, with hospital stays accounting for around 250 million per year. In this study, which was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, the team looked at the impact of a national end of life care strategy to reduce deaths in hospital. The main findings included: Hospital deaths from COPD and IPD fell by 3-6% in the eight years following the introduction of the End of Life Care Strategy. This reversed previous trends. However, those patients with more than one disease or disorder (multimorbidity) did not show a fall in hospital deaths. People with three or more different diseases, as well as their COPD or IPD, were over a third more likely to die in hospital than those who did not. Deprivation also independently increased the chances of dying in hospital. London had the highest hospital deaths, and the South-West and South East Coast regions had lower hospital deaths than most other regions. Living in urban areas increased the chances of hospital death. Surprisingly for people with COPD, being single, widowed or divorced was associated with reduced chances of dying in hospital. Researchers suggest that this may show that when family members are present, they do not know what to do when breathlessness escalates which increases the chance of patients being admitted to hospitals. Lead author, Professor Irene Higginson from King's College London said: "Understanding which factors affect place of death is vital for planning service and improving care, especially given our ageing population, rising chronic diseases worldwide and the high costs of hospital admissions. "Our results show that while the End of Life Care Strategy may have helped to move some deaths out of hospital for people with respiratory disease, it still misses important groups. "It was particularly concerning that there was no fall in hospital deaths for people with multimorbidity, and that the disparity widened over time. In the UK, the number of people with three or more long-term conditions is predicted to rise from 1.9 million in 2008 to 2.9 million in 2018, requiring a major increase in healthcare expenditure. "It is therefore essential that future strategies for end of life and palliative care directly target those at highest risk, especially with multimorbidity, and in deprived areas and cities, and this may require different approaches." More information: Irene J. Higginson et al, Which patients with advanced respiratory disease die in hospital? A 14-year population-based study of trends and associated factors, BMC Medicine (2017). Journal information: BMC Medicine Irene J. Higginson et al, Which patients with advanced respiratory disease die in hospital? A 14-year population-based study of trends and associated factors,(2017). DOI: 10.1186/s12916-016-0776-2 The pathogen: The unicellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, surrounded by red blood cells. Source: Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU Medical Center How does one combat a tropical disease when most of those infected are unaware that they carry the pathogen responsible? How can one reach, test and treat the population at risk? A pilot study by LMU researchers suggests possible answers. Chagas disease is caused by the unicellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is endemic to many parts of Latin America. It is estimated that somewhere between 6 and 7 million people around the world harbor the parasite, and over 10,000 people succumb to the disease every year. In areas where the disease is endemic, the parasite is transmitted mainly by insect vectors, principally blood-sucking bugs. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies Chagas as a neglected tropical disease. The acute phase of the disease is accompanied by rather non-specific symptoms, which explains why many people who have been infected are unaware of the fact. In the absence of effective treatment, however, the disease evolves into an asymptomatic and lifelong chronic phase. In about 30% of cases this leadsyears or even decades after the initial infectionto dysfunction of multiple organs, involving, in particular, the nervous system, the heart, and the esophagus and the gastrointestinal system. In light of the increase in international mobility, a German-Spanish team led by Dr. Michael Pritsch and Professor Michael Holscher of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the LMU Medical Center has now carried out a pilot study with a view to assessing the epidemiological situation of Chagas disease among citizens of Bolivian origin living in Munich and its implications for healthcare services. The findings appear in BMJ Open, the open-access edition of the British Medical Journal. Chagas disease is endemic to more than 20 countries in Latin America, of which Bolivia is by far the most seriously affected. In the study, the Munich researchers interviewed and examined 43 individuals with Bolivian roots, most of whom have resided in Germany for years, and approximately half of whom were born here. Four of these persons (9.3%) were found to be infected with T. cruzi. This rate of infection is lower than that recorded in comparable studies of Bolivian migrants elsewhere in Europe, e.g. in Spain, but the authors point out that the sample size is not large enough to be representative. Nevertheless, the researchers view the prevalence of infection among the study population as "alarming," not least because monitoring and treatment of the disease pose a considerable challenge to the German healthcare system, which they believe it is inadequately prepared to meet. Virtually none of the study population had previously been tested for T. cruzi, and most of them knew little about the disease itself, the risks associated with its progression or the ways in which it can be transmitted. In the absence of its natural vector, the main routes for transmission of the pathogen are via contaminated blood products or in the course of organ transplantations, and by passage from mother to child during pregnancy. In fact, a mother and her daughter were among the four seropositive individuals detected in the studywhich suggests that congenital transmission had occurred in this case. Given the prevalence of the disease among the study population, the authors call on the German public health authorities to intensify their efforts to reach Bolivian migrants German healthcare system. They suggest that campaigns to disseminate information on the disease should be undertaken, in cooperation with migrant communities from countries in which the disease is endemicwith a view to reaching undocumented migrants who lack valid residency permits, and are therefore particularly at risk. Given that epidemiological data relating to Chagas disease in Germany are extremely patchy, the ability to control of the potential for transmission of the disease is severely compromised. The researchers therefore urge that steps be taken to improve monitoring of the condition. Blood donors are routinely asked whether or not they have or have had any of a number of parasitic infections, and Chagas is among the diseases listed in the questionnaire, and people who have visited countries known to harbor the parasite are excluded from giving blood for 6 months after their return. However, there are no guidelines for testing groups already at risk, and pregnant women who come from endemic areas are not routinely tested for the presence of the parasite. The authors of the study hope that the measures they suggest will lead to the discovery of further cases of infection and to successful treatment of the victims and asymptomatic carriers. In this way, the risk that the pathogen might be non-vectorially transmitted in Germany could be significantly reduced. More information: Miriam Navarro et al. Cross-sectional, descriptive study of Chagas disease among citizens of Bolivian origin living in Munich, Germany, BMJ Open (2017). Journal information: BMJ Open , British Medical Journal (BMJ) Miriam Navarro et al. Cross-sectional, descriptive study of Chagas disease among citizens of Bolivian origin living in Munich, Germany,(2017). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013960 President Bhandari attends Basanta Shrawan ritual President Bidya Devi Bhandari attended the Basanta Shrawan ritual at the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Credit: Chalmers University of Technology When a vaccine is given, there's always a risk of side-effects since it induces an immune response. The BIO-department is involved in the largest vaccine project ever, with the aim to develop new tools for monitoring vaccine safety. Vaccines are general; the same vaccine is given to everyone. But people are individuals, and some may react to the vaccine with unwanted side-effects. With new cutting-edge tools it might be possible to predict side-effects before they actually occur, thus giving the chance of rapid treatment. The technique could also, further down the line, give clues to make vaccine side-effects more rare and vaccines safer. Researchers from Chalmers Department of Biology and Biological Engineering is working together with a total of 18 partners from different academic disciplines in the EU-project BioVacSafe (Biomarkers for enhanced vaccines immunosafety). Among the partners are Imperial College London, Max Planck Institute and Gothenburg University as well as world leading pharmaceutical companies. The overall goal is to develop tools to speed up and improve the monitoring systems of vaccine safety, both before and after release to the market. We want to monitor patients to find side-effects before the patients have noticed them themselves, says Sakda Khoomrung, project leader at the division of Systems and Synthetic Biology. The project started in 2012 and has gone very well. There's potential to continue as we see good results of our work. The Systems Biology-researchers, headed by Professor Jens Nielsen, is contributing to the BioVacSafe-project as responsible for two parts. One is to design and implement a web-based platform that will integrate different types of data, such as transcriptomics, metabolomics and clinical data. Sakda Khoomrung is working with the other part; to analyze metabolic response to the vaccines. Serum samples have been collected from 60 patients in total. A third, 20 patients, was given the influenza vaccine Fluad, 20 was given the Yellow fever vaccine Stamaril, and 20 was given placebo. The researchers analyzed blood taken from each patient on three occasions before the vaccine (or placebo) was administrated, and a total of eight times afterwards. The patients stayed in the hospital for a full week during the study, giving the researchers complete control over their food intake and activities. This is important since metabolomics shows the body's response to both food and other habits, such as exercise, smoking or drinking. The group was then monitored for three additional weeks after going home. "In our preliminary results, we found that there is a metabolic response to an individual vaccine, and that this changes over time," Sakda Khoomrung says. "Primary metabolites such as lipids and amino acids metabolites that are involved in your basic life functions and change when you move, exercise or get sick are particularly sensitive to changes that occur during immune responses. These metabolites could potentially be used as metabolite biomarkers, helping to improve our understanding of vaccine safety, or identifying the metabolic responses to indicate side-effects. I personally believe this is an important piece of information that will greatly help for the development of the next generation of human vaccine." The BioVacSafe project has received funding until the end of February 2018. Sakda Khoomrung is confident the research will continue, but maybe in another form. "It could be split up in different projects. We have shown interesting results, worth taking forward." Credit: University of Nottingham The results of a study by researchers at The University of Nottingham suggest that the risk of liver cancer in patients with cirrhosis may be much lower than previously thought. Liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most serious complications of cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, caused by long-term liver damage. However, an analysis of health records, published in the academic journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, found that the 10-year incidence of HCC in UK patients with cirrhosis is actually only four per cent, or lower. Joe West, Professor of Epidemiology in the University's School of Medicine, led the study and believes that the results could better inform doctors on how best to focus resources for the benefit of patients with liver damage. He said: "This very low incidence of HCC occurrence in people with cirrhosis caused by alcohol or of unknown origin suggests that surveillance for HCC among these groups is likely to benefit patients little. "As surveillance incurs substantial cost, it is therefore unlikely to represent value for money for the NHS. There may well be other ways of spending this money that would benefit patients far more." Cirrhosis is caused by long-term damage to the liver, which leads to a build-up of scar tissue which replaces healthy tissue and eventually can result in liver failure. The researchers identified more than 3,000 patients with cirrhosis of the liver using the UK's General Practice Research Database between 1987 and 2006 and then cross-referenced this information with diagnoses of HCC on linked national cancer registries. The study found that only 1.2 per cent of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 1.1 per cent of patients with cirrhosis of unknown cause will develop HCC within a decade. The highest 10-year incidence of HCC was among those with cirrhosis due to chronic viral hepatitis (four per cent). More information: J. West et al, Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma among individuals with different aetiologies of cirrhosis: a population-based cohort study, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2017). DOI: 10.1111/apt.13961 Credit: University College London A new test for bladder cancer could enable GPs to test a urine sample and spare patients the discomfort of a cystoscopy in hospital, according to UCL research published today in Clinical Epigenetics. The test, called UroMark, has been developed by UCL researchers and uses cutting edge genomic sequencing to detect abnormal cancer DNA in a urine sample. The research team, led by Professor John Kelly and Dr Andy Feber (UCL Cancer Institute), identified a panel of DNA alterations which are highly specific to bladder cancer and found that when used on DNA from urine, UroMark detected bladder cancer with a high degree of accuracy (98% of cases), equivalent to a cystoscopy, currently the clinical gold standard. The study was carried out on 300 patients and the UK Medical Research Council has awarded 1.42 million for two larger trials which are currently underway across 32 hospitals. The trials will confirm the accuracy of UroMark before it becomes widely available for clinical use. Approximately 11,000 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year in the UK. For most people, an early sign of bladder cancer is blood in their urine (haematuria), but many patients experience symptoms such as recurrent infection; and the urgency and irritation to urinate. Normally, patients with blood in their urine are sent to hospital for tests, which include passing an instrument along the water pipe or urethra to inspect the bladder (cystoscopy). The new test will avoid the need for cystoscopy for many patients and can be tested by GPs if cancer is suspected. Professor John Kelly said: "We have good evidence that patients, particularly females, are diagnosed late with bladder cancer and often patients visit a GP several times with symptoms prior to detection. Having the UroMark test available to GPs will mean that patients can be tested at an early stage to rule out bladder cancer." The team anticipate that UroMark will reduce the costs of having to refer patients to hospital. In the UK around 110,000 cystoscopies are performed each year, at a cost to the NHS in the region of 55.39 million. More information: Andrew Feber et al. UroMarka urinary biomarker assay for the detection of bladder cancer, Clinical Epigenetics (2017). Andrew Feber et al. UroMarka urinary biomarker assay for the detection of bladder cancer,(2017). DOI: 10.1186/s13148-016-0303-5 Killer T cells surround a cancer cell. Credit: NIH MYC is a regulator gene. It controls the expression of other genes and codes transcription factors or proteins involved in many fundamental cellular processes. It's also among the most frequently altered genes found in cancer, making it a profoundly attractive target for cancer therapies. But MYC has proved very complicated and an elusive therapeutic target. In a new paper published this week in PNAS, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, in collaboration with colleagues at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, the University of Colorado School of Medicine and SignalRx, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, describe a potential new class of anti-cancer drugs that inhibit two or more molecular targets at once, maximizing therapeutic efficiency and safety. "Most anti-cancer drugs have a single target. They try to do one thing, such as block a single receptor or signaling pathway," said study co-senior author Donald L. Durden, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and associate director for pediatric oncology at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. "This paper is proof-of-concept of a completely different mode of drug discovery clearly separated from the standard practice of one drug, one target." Specifically, Durden and colleagues engineered a small molecule called SF2523 in silico, using molecular modeling crystal structure and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, to simultaneously disrupt two key MYC-mediating factors that promote cancer cell growth. Those two factors are PI3K, an enzyme, and BRD4, a protein. In cell and mouse models, they found SF2523 concomitantly inhibited PI3K and BRD4, blocking MYC activation and expression and markedly inhibiting cancer growth and metastasis, with improved efficacy and less toxicity to the host. "This is a 'first in class' approach to achieve a maximum inhibition of MYC in the treatment of the multitude of cancers known to be driven by the MYC oncogene," said Durden. "These findings suggest that dual-activity inhibitors are a highly promising lead compound for developing new anticancer therapeutics." More information: Forest H. Andrews et al, Dual-activity PI3KBRD4 inhibitor for the orthogonal inhibition of MYC to block tumor growth and metastasis, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2017). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Forest H. Andrews et al, Dual-activity PI3KBRD4 inhibitor for the orthogonal inhibition of MYC to block tumor growth and metastasis,(2017). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613091114 Adults from highly deprived areas are less likely to receive prevention care and advice and more likely to have a tooth extracted, compared to those from the least deprived, according to new research. The study provides evidence of an increasing need for treatment with age, smoking, exemption from payment and deprivation status, all of which have implications for health services planning and provision. The researchers, from the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy and the Dental Institute at King's College London, examined data from a dental facility where teeth are restored, when possible, and there is a strong preventive approach, from 2008-2012. They looked at individual factors, including demography, smoking status and whether patients were exempt from paying for treatment, as well as contextual factors, such as deprivation based on area of residence, to identify factors which predict the types of dental treatment received. The study is published in the journal PLOS One. They found that: Adults from the most deprived fifth of the population were more likely to receive 'tooth extraction' when compared with least deprived, and less likely to receive preventive 'instruction and advice'. There was also evidence of a higher rate of 'tooth extraction' among adults who were exempt payment, older than 65 and male. Preventive care was much more commonly provided than nationally. Smokers had a higher likelihood of receiving all treatments and were notably over four times more likely to receive 'instruction and advice' than non-smokers. The odds of receiving treatment increased with age among adults. Principal investigator Dr Kristina Wanyonyi from the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy said: "In utilising routinely collected data from visits to the dentist we were able to understand more about patients' needs and plan services effectively. "The University of Portsmouth Dental Academy, which is a collaboration between the University of Portsmouth and King's College London Dental Institute, is in a unique environment to evaluate dental care in the NHS and this research provides evidence on the need to promote the availability of electronic records for use in patient-centred research." Co-author Professor Jenny Gallagher from King's College London said: "We know from other research that people from areas of higher deprivation are more likely to suffer from tooth decay, less likely to attend regularly and only go for emergency care when in trouble. We want to encourage patients not to wait but to attend regularly so that dental disease can be picked up early and the need for extraction is reduced. Also to ensure that they take any preventive care and advice available to reduce the risk of further disease. "The results provide a crucial insight into the provision and receipt of contemporary dental care, and should inform discussions on performance indicators that target priority groups such as smokers and future planning for our ageing population." More information: Kristina L. Wanyonyi et al. Dental Treatment in a State-Funded Primary Dental Care Facility: Contextual and Individual Predictors of Treatment Need?, PLOS ONE (2017). Journal information: PLoS ONE Kristina L. Wanyonyi et al. Dental Treatment in a State-Funded Primary Dental Care Facility: Contextual and Individual Predictors of Treatment Need?,(2017). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169004 Prostate cancer seems to induce significant changes in the shape of the prostate apex, while benign prostatic hypertrophy appears to drive the differences observed on the posterior side of the central gland for patients without cancer. Credit: Mirabela Rusu Preliminary computerized imaging reveals the shape of the prostate and a compartment within the glandcalled the transitional zoneconsistently differ in men with prostate cancer than those without the disease, according to new research led by Case Western Reserve University. The finding may provide a new avenue to diagnose the diseaseperhaps even the cancer's aggressiveness. The differences held up in comparisons of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 70 patients. The scans came from three different medical institutions in Ohio and two in Sydney, Australia, on different makes and models of MRI's. The research is published in Scientific Reports today. "Looking at shape is a fundamental shift from looking at the intensity of pixels in an image to predict if a patient has prostate cancer," said Anant Madabhushi, F. Alex Nason professor II of biomedical engineering and leader of the research. "Pixel intensities vary, but shape is resilient." Variability in MRI scans can result in disagreement as to whether prostate cancer is present, in turn potentially resulting in unnecessary biopsies and treatments. The American College of Radiology and others are working to develop standards to eliminate inconsistencies in imaging. "Here, we potentially have an image-based biomarker for prostate cancer, which is not greatly sensitive to the MRI parameters used by each institution, the maker of the MRI or the scanner itself, " Madabhushi said. A new view To find the differences in shapes, the researchers took images of 35 cancerous prostates, aligned them into a single frame and created a statistical shape atlas. They then took images of 35 healthy prostates, aligned them in one frame and created a second statistical shape atlas. The researchers then aligned the two frames and controlled for sizetumors and a noncancerous condition, called benign prostatic hyperplasia (which some images in this study showed), increase the gland's volume. Comparing cancerous and cancer-free prostates showed clear, statistically significant differences in both the shape of the transitional zonewhich is in the central part of the glandand the gland itself. The researchers analyzed and compared the images from each of the five medical institutions and found that, no matter where the images were from, differences in shapes between cancerous and cancer-free prostates were consistent. Madabhushi said that if shape proves to be a reliable marker of cancer, it could be combined with radiomics, which employs computer algorithms to extract differentiating features in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. Complementing strategy In a paper published in the December issue of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Madabhushi and colleagues found they could accurately identify cancer by the microarchitecture and heterogeneity of the tumor in the prostate's peripheral zone, which is the area surrounding the transitional zone. The researchers found that aspects of cancerous features in the peripheral zone differed from cancerous features found in the rest of the gland, leading them to identify tumors there. As with shape, the peripheral zone features held up across the institutions in Tuku, Finland; Sydney, Australia and New York City that contributed MRI scans in this study. As a follow-up, researchers are now working to identify radiomic features from the peripheral and transitional zones along with measurements derived from the prostate shape to use as predictors of whether a patient has cancer or not. Further, they are trying to determine whether shape can also predict if the cancer is aggressive or slow-movinga key in determining how the disease is treated. More information: Mirabela Rusu et al, Computational imaging reveals shape differences between normal and malignant prostates on MRI, Scientific Reports (2017). Journal information: Scientific Reports Mirabela Rusu et al, Computational imaging reveals shape differences between normal and malignant prostates on MRI,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/srep41261 The executive order restricting individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US is 'a step backward,' for medical education, patient care and biomedical research in this country, write medical department leaders from Massachusetts General Hospital and six other major academic medical centers. In a Perspectives article published Online First in the New England Journal of Medicine, leaders of the Departments of Medicine at seven major academic medical centers characterize the executive order restricting individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. as "a step backward" for medical education, patient care and biomedical research in this country. Written by Katrina Armstrong, MD, physician in chief at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the article expresses concern "that the consequences of this approach for U.S. health care, and our field of internal medicine, are far reaching and damaging." Armstrong and her co-authors cite the importance of the free exchange of ideas among clinicians and medical scientists around the world, and note that, "Over the past 50 years, the U.S. biomedical research enterprise has benefited greatly from the ideas, creativity, ingenuity, and drive of international medical graduates and other non-U.S. nationals engaged in biomedical research." They cite the key contributions of foreign-born physicians and scientists to U.S. hospitals and academic medical centers, as well as to U.S.-based global health and disaster relief efforts. The article notes that international medical graduates receiving residency training at U.S. hospitals often go on to work in underserved areas of this countryincluding rural and Native American communitiesor in the Veterans Health Administration system. As an example of the immediate impact of the executive order, the article states that more than 100 personnel at Boston-based Partners HealthCare, which includes MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital, have been directly affected by the order. Suspension of the Visa Interview Waiver Programwhich allows "low-risk" individuals previously screened and interviewed for a prior visa application to reapply without an additional interview"risks creating substantial backlogs in the processing of new and renewal visas for trainees from any foreign country," they write. The authors conclude that "immigration policy that blocks the best from coming to train and work in the United States and blocks our trainees and faculty from safely traveling to other countries is a step backward, one that will harm our patients, colleagues, and America's position as a world leader in health care and innovation." Credit: University of the West of England A unique self-build project undertaken by homeless former military personnel has the potential to be expanded nationwide, according to experts from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). Academics with expertise in economics, ethnography, health and housing tracked the experience of armed forces veterans as they worked on a scheme to build their own homes on a plot of land in Bristol. In an evaluation of the project, they concluded the initiative had transformed the lives of those participants who remained with the project until the end by helping improve their relationships, job prospects, mental wellbeing and physical health. A group of 10 homeless veterans aged 30-55 received on-the-job training and support as they set about building their own homes on a site in York Road in 2015. The project was spearheaded by the Community Self Build Agency (CSBA) charity in response to a growing awareness of ex-services personnel being found among those sleeping rough. It is estimated 15 per cent of veterans might be homeless for a time when they leave the forces - which includes living temporarily in a B&B or hostel, or 'sofa surfing' as well as sleeping on the street. Through the self-build scheme, veterans who have struggled to readjust to civilian life after military service received support to build their own homes, find employment and reconnect with their families. UWE Bristol's evaluation team, led by Senior Research Fellow Anthony Plumridge and funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), found the scheme to be cost effective and beneficial to the wider community with every 1 spent yielding up to 7.20 of benefits. The assessment was conducted to measure the effectiveness of the scheme, developed with Knightstone Housing Association. The findings could now be used to help establish the best way of running similar projects in future. The York Road development of 10 homes was the second self-build project undertaken by veterans organised through the CSBA, with the first scheme in Bristol's West Street completed in 2012. The West Street project also proved successful, with participants gaining employment, reducing alcohol or drug dependency, rebuilding family relationships and extending social networks. Sites in Weston-super-Mare, Plymouth and Wrexham have now been earmarked for similar developments. The research summarised in the report included in-depth interviews with self-builders conducted by Dr Katherine Collins. The veterans spoke of feeling pride and a sense of achievement, increased confidence and willingness to trust. Some noticed improvements in physical health, attributed to the combination of food provided every day on site, exercise, fresh air and improved sleep. Most participants later found work, using their experience on site, training and contacts made with subcontractors. One self-builder told researchers: "it gave [me] my life back. If I didn't go on this project I'd probably still be where I was at, in hostels and I still think I'd be doing that or jail or in a nut house" The report said: "Our analysis showed that participants in the project had a positive effect on the self-builders' relationships, with the majority reconnecting with estranged family. It helped several self-builders to find work, and improved others' prospects through training. It improved their mental wellbeing, and in two cases, their physical health. "We found that being strongly motivated towards a goal contributed to a self-builder's success, as did the willingness to stick with the project, even during difficult times and delays. The emphasis among the CSBA team of encouraging and enforcing daily attendance on site helped get self-builders into a routine, and the rapport and personal support provided on site contributed to the overall impact. "Our overall recommendation is that the work of the CSBA with the ex-service personnel should be continued and expanded." Ray Lock CBE, Chief Executive of FiMT, said: "There are many components that contribute to a successful transition from military to civilian life, and there is clear evidence that most service leavers have the knowledge and resilience to cope with the process. However, and for a variety of reasons, some people struggle, and providing a secure and safe home, together with a framework of skills and employment and the opportunity to reconnect with friends and family, can be the catalyst for positive change. "Self-building schemes could, it is indicated by this report, act as an enabler for change while delivering considerable benefits. The challenge now is to exploit these findings perhaps more ambitiously to expand the self-build movement across the United Kingdom, so as to reach out and transform the lives of many, many more. The evidence is here the opportunities await." More information: Evaluation of the impact of self-help projects in supporting ex-Service personnel: Evaluation of the impact of self-help projects in supporting ex-Service personnel: www.fim-trust.org/wp-content/u E-CSBA-self-help.pdf Credit: stock.adobe.com Using a statistical method initially developed by Google, a Yale School of Public Health-led research team has devised a novel way to better analyze the impact of vaccines. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Pneumococcus, a bacterial pathogen, is one of the most significant causes of pneumonia around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pneumonia is the leading cause of death globally in children under the age of 5. Vaccines that prevent pneumococcal infection can decrease pneumonia rates, but quantifying the impact of the vaccine remains challenging. A team led by Daniel Weinberger, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, used a method called "synthetic controls," which was not previously applied in an epidemiology context, to analyze the impact of the pneumococcal vaccine. Created by Google to analyze web traffic, the method allowed the team to separate changes in pneumonia rates caused by the vaccine from other unrelated factors, providing a clearer picture of the vaccine's impact. The idea to use a method from outside the field of public health to analyze vaccine impact arose from a meeting Weinberger attended at the World Health Organization (WHO). At the meeting, "there was a discussion of how to adjust for changes in data that are unrelated to the vaccine," he said. To accomplish that, "we felt we had to look outside the typical toolbox we were using." The team began to explore approaches used to analyze data in other fields, including economics and web analytics, and discovered a paper on Google's method of synthetic controls. They determined the method could be applicable to vaccine evaluation. The team examined pneumonia hospitalization data from five countries: the United States, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico. They found that the pneumococcal vaccine significantly reduced pneumonia hospitalizations in young children, and reduced hospitalizations for invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia in children and adults. The team also found that, in contrast to previous studies, the vaccine did not reduce pneumonia hospitalizations for all causes in older adults in any of the five countries following the introduction of the vaccine in children. "This suggests that our understanding of which pathogens are causing pneumonia in adults might not be exactly right," said Weinberger. "Pneumococcal strains targeted by the vaccine might be causing a smaller fraction of pneumonia in that age group." Weinberger said that the synthetic controls method could be useful in analyzing other public health problems. Groups from the CDC and the Pan American Health Organization have come to Yale to learn about the method and how to apply it to other data sets. Weinberger is also working with the Connecticut Emerging Infections Program, based at Yale, to apply this method to their data on other diseases, such as influenza. More information: Estimating the population-level impact of vaccines using synthetic controls, PNAS, www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1612833114 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Estimating the population-level impact of vaccines using synthetic controls, At Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, a refugee family of five arrived on an 18-hour flight from Africa and, unlike others who had hoped to enter the country over the weekend, was soon standing outside the airport, watching as snow fell like confetti. These refugees were not from the group of seven predominantly Muslim countries named in President Trumps executive order on immigration, but from the Democratic Republic of Congo; after fleeing gunshots from rebel fighters in their district of Uvira in 2010, they had spent six years in a refugee camp in Malawi. The exemption that allowed for their entry had been coordinated with the State Department during the turmoil after Mr. Trumps order suspending the arrival of refugees for 120 days. According to a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the order allowed for exemptions to admit refugees when in the national interest and when they do not pose a risk to U.S. security or welfare, including for certain religious minorities and certain refugees in transit. Church World Service, one of the nine resettlement agencies in the nation that contract with the State Department, said 872 refugees had been approved for resettlement before the end of the day Thursday. Saarc Programming Committee meeting from today The Saarc process, which hit a snag following the postponement of the 19th summit scheduled for November last year in Islamabad after Indias pull-out, Former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng says South Africans love him, no matter what. The controversial Motsoeneng was speaking at the Grace Bible Church in Soweto at the memorial service of gospel star Lundi Tyamara on Tuesday. The gospel artist died on Friday after a long struggle with TB and liver complications. Hlaudi went on to reference the Bible, saying that people will always be led by someone that they didnt want at first. The bishop will tell you that when you read the Bible, [it says] you will not be led by someone that you want. God is going to give you someone that you do not want. And I am one of them, Motsoeneng said. Motsoeneng, who was introduced as someone who supports creative arts, said that when he implemented 90% local music policy at the SABC he created employment in SA. I am very happy that I champion 90%. People can feel the transformation, they can touch it, they can eat it. Motsoeneng said the media had been overly critical of the policy. All media were saying that if we introduce 90% people will listen to other broadcasters. I dont know what kind of South Africans they are. All broadcasters, including community television, should play 90% music. It should not just be SABC. Blessers Motsoeneng said South Africans are blessers to artists outside of SA, but thanks to him, people can now feel the impact of transformation at the broadcaster. We have our own artists in SA. I dont understand why we as South Africans dont believe in ourselves. We believe that artists outside SA [are] better than ours, Motsoeneng said on Tuesday. News24 Now read: Hawks investigating SABC protest policy Person accused of arson in Russia cafe confesses Bayramov: Azerbaijan, Armenia leaders next meeting will take place in Brussels this month Unity rally of participants start march in downtown Yerevan North Korea launches 4 ballistic missiles Council of Border Guard Troops commanders discusses situation at CIS external borders Armenia ex-President Kocharyan joins rally in downtown Yerevan Russia oil, natural gas companies plan to collaborate with Iraq Armenia army intelligence troops 30th anniversary is solemnly celebrated (PHOTOS) Rally of unity in support of Karabakh kicks off in downtown Yerevan Pentagon announces sending 8 NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Spiritual Council meeting ends, Armenia and Artsakh security discussed Tropical Storm Nalgae death toll climbs to 155 in Philippines Artak Beglaryan is appointed advisor to Artsakh Minister of State (PHOTOS) US House committee extends deadline for Trump to produce documents on Capitol attack Over 200 elephants die in Kenya amid drought 13 dead in cafe fire in Russia Armenia Security Council chief to head for Poland, Netherlands, Lithuania Rishi Sunak: State cannot fix all problems Newspaper: To what extent Armenia adheres to sanctions on Russia? Biden accuses Twitter of spewing lies Newspaper: There are active political processes in Karabakh Qatar FM slams hypocrisy of calls to boycott World Cup France, Singapore and Switzerland begin joint testing of experimental digital currencies Oil war is Biden's biggest mistake Japan considers possible deployment of hypersonic missiles by 2030 Germany to install better air defense system over Defense Ministry buildings Erdogan and Stoltenberg discuss war in Ukraine Armenian MOD: Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire in direction of Armenian positions True cost of Europe's rejection of Russian gas White House tries to explain Biden's statement about freeing Iran Former Pakistani Prime Minister: Either we will have a peaceful revolution or a bloody one Aramyan: Why are police officers' salaries increasing, while defense officers' are not? Pentagon and U.S. weapons manufacturers to discuss Russia, human resources and supply chain Ankara says U.S. may approve sale of F-16s to Turkey within few months IMF: Turkey should tighten monetary policy and give the Central Bank more independence Pope urges religious leaders to keep the world from brink of abyss Putin awards Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II with Order of Honor U.S. says G7 countries realize need for coordinated response to China Round-the-clock curfew is introduced in Kherson Borrell says they can't put China and Russia on same level Olaf Scholz calls on China to influence Russia G7 foreign ministers express 'unwavering commitment' to protecting Ukraine, criticized PRC and IRI Political technologist explains why Pashinyan was elected chairman of board of ruling party in Armenia Erdogan signs up for TikTok China's army is constantly preparing for war amid provocative U.S. actions Kalin: Armenia is constructive about normalization of relations Poland asks EU to suspend fines Putin: Situation in Ukraine was deadly for Russia Portugal to test a four-day workweek US embassy in Armenia issues statement ahead of November 5 protests in Yerevan Dollar, euro go up in Armenia Baku authorities once again refuse to allow PFPA to hold protest rally Iranians commemorate anniversary of US embassy seizure Richard Kauzlarich: Azerbaijan, Armenia FMs meeting in Washington 'will send message to Putin' Russia ratifies protocol on requirements for length of service of EEU bodies' employees for pensions Armenia deputy defense minister in Russia, discusses military cooperation Yerevan receives proposal to hold Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan interparliamentary talks Health minister: We will work with fallen Armenia detainees relatives one more time after which bodies will be buried Putin allows mobilization of citizens with unexpunged criminal record for serious crimes Arnika, NESEHNUTI NGOs of Czech Rep. issue joint statement on plan to expand gold mine in Armenias Karaberd Putin urges to evacuate civilians living in Kherson from the war zone Iran parliament speaker to visit Armenia Ruling force MP: Canada is opening embassy in Armenia because we are one of worlds most democratic countries Girl with Armenian roots ends up in Vladimir orphanage Erdogan says he has agreed with Putin to supply grain to needy countries for free Armenia President, UK envoy agree to continue cooperation, close contacts Armenia FM receives EU Monitoring Capacity Spanish MPs don't approve agreement with Baku as a sign of solidarity with Armenia Japan says North Korea may go ahead with nuclear test Armenia government to allocate about $5M to Karabakh refugees support program Belarusian border service: Border guards intercepts Ukrainian training drone President appoints Ruben Vardanyan as Karabakh Minister of State US embassy expresses concern about human rights violation in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan continues muscle play on Iran border Ibrahim Kalin says Turkey will become an important gas center one way or another Biden: We're gonna free Iran Reuters: G7 countries and Australia agrees on fixed price for Russian oil World oil prices dropping Wizz Air to launch new flights between Venice, Yerevan EU assesses Armenia, Azerbaijan border commissions meeting in Brussels as constructive Artsakh President convenes enlarged working consultation Envoy: China supports Armenians Azerbaijan MOD disseminates disinformation, Armenia army did not fire Armenia ruling party recounts congress voting results Quake jolts Turkey Newspaper: Armenia PM once again manipulates topic of negotiations, Karabakh conflict Newspaper: Studies underway on Armenia MPs business involvement US wants to prevent Germany, other allies from working together with China Protests turn violent in Iran's Alborz Province Portugal is considering abandoning golden visa scheme Biden and Erdogan to meet at G-20 summit NATO supports normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and welcomes EU efforts Bank of England raises interest rates by largest amount since 1989 Scholz says Berlin must change its attitude toward China Cavusoglu and Stoltenberg disagree over Sweden's and Finland's fulfillment of commitments Turkish Vice President to visit Azerbaijan and occupied Shushi Britain buys 250 million pounds worth of oil from Azerbaijan from July 2021 to June 2022 Yair Lapid congratulates Benjamin Netanyahu on winning election Armenian MOD: Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense spreads another disinformation ENISA: War in Ukraine, geopolitics fuel cyberattacks STEPANAKERT. The Azerbaijani side violated ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces more than 15 times, from late Tuesday night to early Wednesday morning. During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired around 165 shots toward the Karabakh position-holders, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Defense Army informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The Azerbaijani armed forces fired one mortar in the eastern direction of the line of contact. The NKR Defense Army vanguard units are in command of the operational and tactical situation, and they continue confidently carrying out their military watch. The U.S. Congress introduced a resolution giving permission to the president of the country to use military force against Iran in the case if Islamic Republic of Iran tries to receive nuclear weapon, Lenta reported. The resolution says the President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as the President determines necessary and appropriate in order to achieve the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. It is noted that such a commitment will be continued to destabilize the region and pose a threat not only for the U.S., but also for its allies. As a result, the American president has a right to use military force against Iran to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons if he considers it necessary. The resolution is introduced by the democrat Elsie Hastings, one of the most consecutive opponents of the nuclear transaction with Iran. During the campaign Trump repeatedly criticized the Iranian nuclear deal and promised to reconsider it. Tehran, however, declared that he has no right to reject already reached agreements. YEREVAN. Armenia will get a 20-million euro loan from German KfW bank within the framework of the fourth housing finance programs. The funds will be granted to the banks and credit institutions that will lend them to end-users. The program will last 10 years, but some of its members are willing to grant loans for 29 years. The Armenian residents will be able to use funds for energy-efficient renovation of the houses (insulation, solar panels and water heaters, economical heating), as well as buying energy-efficient apartments and houses, or building homes. Lending to the citizens will start in February. The program involves 8 institutions: 5 banks (ACBA, Converse Bank, Armbusinessbank, Inecobank and "Ardshinbank") and 3 credit organizations: First Mortgage Company, Global Credit and Kamurj. YEREVAN. The EU aims to make 2017 a year of fight against corruption in Armenia, head of EU delegation Piotr Switalski said presenting "Stop the Flow of Corruption campaign. He expressed confidence that 2017 will be a breakthrough year in this regard, since the new Armenian government has put the fight against corruption among priorities in addition to serious efforts to form a new institutional and legislative framework. The EU will continue its assistance to the Armenian government, as well as to civil society in the fight against corruption. This year is an opportunity to make a step forward, Switalski said. According to him, Armenia has also a very professional and dedicated civil society which is actively involved in the fight against corruption. The campaign will feature animated films, music videos, campaign materials, which show that corruption is a bad phenomenon. Students seek donations for FSU elections As the date for the Free Student Union election nears, student unions are approaching colleges and other organisations seeking donations. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev wants to play a role in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Nazarbayev will thus prepare new initiatives for the settlement of the Karabakh issue, Kazakh parliament deputy Akhan Bizhanov told haqqin.az. Kazakhstan is going to strengthen its mediator activity in the resolution of the Karabakh issue. The existence of this problem worries Astana and narrows down its diplomatic field in the relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is our brotherly country, whereas with Armenia we are partners within the framework of international projects. Thus, Kazakhstan will try to help in the settlement of the Karabakh issue, he noted. YEREVAN. Lack of resolution in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is holding back Armenia's potential, Mr Richard Mills, the US Ambassador to Armenia, told Wednesday in his speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham). He praised the resilience of Armenian nation amid the April 2016 clashes in Karabakh and their tragic aftermath, as well as dramatic developments around the seizure of a police regiment in Yerevan, in July of 2016. Engagement in a peaceful resolution of the conflict is a personal commitment of the Ambassador, as well as a very important task for the US Government, he said. This is a priority to work with Mr. Richard Hoagland, a new US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is mediating peace talks, the diplomat added. He regrets that the suspended state of the conflict is leashing Armenia's economic potential, because closed borders, as an outcome of the conflict, fuel corruption inside the country. This makes it easier for large businesses to abuse their market influence and choke competition, he added. YEREVAN. - The upcoming elections in Armenia will indeed be free and fair if the Government demonstrated political will and if the civil society and opposition safeguard the process. The U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills said the aforementioned on Wednesday in his speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham). The diplomat recalled that after the constitutional referendum he welcomed the public commitment of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to restore the political confidence towards the electoral processes. Ambassador Mills noted that he agrees with President Sargsyans statement that tomorrows Armenia depends on the upcoming elections, and that it is important for them to be free, fair and for their results to enjoy the confidence of the public. To support the Armenian Government in implementing their commitment on trustworthy elections, the USAID along with the EU, UK, Germany and the UN office provided financial support for ensuring new voting processes and equipment. In this connection, consensus was reached between the Government, political opposition and the civil society of Armenia, Mills noted. According to him, this was an unprecedented consensus, all the parties making concessions. These measures made it possible to identify the voters, publishing the signed list of the voters on the voting day and after the elections. He also added that these additional measures do not per se guaranteed free and fair elections: They can make the process transparent, hinder the possibility of falsifications, but the elections will indeed be free and fair if the Government demonstrates political will and if the civil society and opposition safeguard the process. This load is born by the Government and its institutionsthe Central Electoral Commission, as well as the law enforcement and judicial institutions, he said. Mills stressed that they should take relevant measures and contribute to the formation of an atmosphere, where people will be able to freely express their will. At the same time the free and fair elections require the engagement of the political opposition and civil society in the electoral processes, he added. The US Ambassador expressed satisfaction with the latters work with the Government last year, expressing hope that this spirit of positive and constructive cooperation will retain also during the elections and after them. Taskforce set up to suggest modality Energy Ministry has formed a taskforce that will recommend a modality on acquiring right-of-way (ROW) from private landowners for the constriction of electricity transmission lines. YEREVAN. Becoming a part of the Extracting Industries Transparency Initiative is of utmost importance for Armenia, Mr Richard Mills, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, told Wednesday in his speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham). The Government of Armenia filed the application to join the Initiative last month, which is highly commendable. But this is not an end in itself, and requires the Government and the industry stakeholders to align with international standards of extracting, financial reporting, environment protection, and accountability, he added. This will greatly improve Armenia's economy, which largely depends on mining, he added. YEREVAN. In 2016, USAID has actively fostered employment in Armenia, Mr Richard Mills, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, told Wednesday in his speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham). Last year, the USAID mission in Armenia helped to set up six centers of farming services, which advise farmers on best practices of animal breeding. USAID has also been helping farmers to unite into cooperatives, which empower individual farmers and can generate new employment. This has led to establishing 41 new businesses, which employ, permanently or temporarily, 650 people, mostly in villages, where lack of employment is a greater concern. In 2016, the USAID, in partnership with the IBM, the Yerevan State University, and the Government of Armenia, has helped to connect the IBM Innovative Solutions and Technologies Center with top US technology universities. Thus, Armenian IT students from nine universities will have a broader access to the pool of knowledge and resources from the US. With the generous support of the Armenian American Hovnanian family, the Embassy established a Fulbright Hovnanian scholarship, which will enable talented students in business management to advance their studies in the US. Earning a degree and coming back as young entrepreneurs, they will bring along new skills for the Armenian economy, the Ambassador added. Defense Minister of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan on Wednesday briefed the Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif on the situation in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. During the meeting held on the sidelines of the official visit of the Armenian Defense Ministry delegation to Iran, the importance of expanding the cooperation was underscored. Apart from this, issues on the deepening of the relations between the two nations and regional processes were discussed, the press-service of the Defense Ministry informed Armenian News NEWS.am. Along with the importance of deepening the bilateral ties, the sides underscored the need for ensuring peace and stability in the region as an important guarantee for the development of the countries located there. Vigen Sargsyan, for his part, presented the situation on the contact line between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group towards the conflict settlement. Underscoring the need for the peaceful settlement, the sides confirmed their readiness to contribute to the establishment of peace and stability in the region. Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In his message, the Armenian FM noted that the political dialogue between the countries is successfully developing, the past quarter of a century being an instant in the age-old history of the two states. He also added that in the modern history of the two states, the period is characterized as the most important stage of establishing and developing ties, the press-service of the Armenian MFA informed Armenian News NEWS.am. According to Frank-Walter Steinmeier, over the past period a system of relations has been formed and a close cooperation based on mutual trust is developing. He also stressed that Germany supports Armenia in the issue of expanding relations with the EU. As a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, Germany continues working towards the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and supporting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, the German FMs message reads. European Parliament will support the cancellation of visa regime for Georgian citizens, stated in the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman David Mcallister, reports Sputnik-Gruzia. Some media outlets spread an information, that the vote of this issue will be moved until the European Councils February session, but later it had been denied. The vote will take place on February 2 in Brussels. The Georgian delegation headed by Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the Georgian parliament, has already arrived there. "I think, that tomorrow the European Parliament will approve visa liberalization for Georgians. Tomorrow is an important day for Georgia. The two sides have worked well for it, "said Mcallister. The chairman of the Georgian parliament Irakli Kobakhidze stated, that the visa cancellation is another step towards Georgia's rapprochement with the EU. Unwilling to Move, Canadian Diamond Company's CEO Stepping Down Dominion Diamond Corp. announced that it has begun identifying potential candidates to succeed CEO Brendan Bell, who has agreed to serve until June 30. Moving the corporate offices from Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories to Calgary "is not the right move for my family," he said. Dominion Diamond Corp., the the world's third-largest producer of rough diamonds by value, is looking for a new CEO. The company announced Jan. 30 that it has begun identifying potential candidates to succeed CEO Brendan Bell, who has agreed to serve until June 30. Moving the corporate offices from Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territories, to Calgary "is not the right move for my family," he said. Dominion is involved with two diamond mines located in the Northwest Territories -- the Ekati Diamond Mine, which it operates, and the Diavik Diamond Mine, in which it has a 40 percent ownership interest. Diavik is described by the company as Canada's largest diamond mine in terms of carat production. Diavik is located on an island at Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories, about 300 kilometers from Yellowknife and 220 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. "Both the board of directors and I agreed that this is an appropriate time for me to hand the reins to someone else. The decision to move the corporate offices of Dominion from Yellowknife to Calgary was necessary in order to reduce operating costs and support the long-term strength of the company and is one that I continue to support. For personal reasons, however, this is not the right move for my family. It has been a pleasure working with the company's senior management team and I will continue to do so until a successor has been identified," Bell said. Jim Gowans, chairman of the company's board, expressed the board's thanks to Bell. "We wish him all the best in the future. The board will be working closely with Brendan and the senior management team during the transition period, while the company continues to focus on increasing shareholder value through improved operations, optimizing capital allocation and growth, and other strategic opportunities." The Field Museums "Tattoo" exhibition, which runs through April, is by no means the first exhibition on the art of ink on skin among other shows, Milwaukee Art Museum hosted one here a few years ago but considering the size and reach of this Chicago institution, its surely one of the biggest. Though the show created by Paris Musee du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac opened in the Windy City in October, "Tattoo" which requires a separate admission ticket remains popular. There are more than 125 objects that tell the story of tattooing in cultures around the globe. I visited on the 106th birthday of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, a day which found tattoo artist and TV star Oliver Peck on hand tattooing in a studio built into the exhibition, and visitors lined up at the stanchions and some viewing windows to watch Peck tattoo a parade of lucky guests. But before that, visitors traveled through darkened galleries to see the show, which was strikingly designed and executed, with eight-foot-tall flash cutouts offering tantalizing views into upcoming rooms and silicone torsos and limbs displaying some really astonishing work. "We're a museum of natural history, and that means we're interested in cultures around the world," said Janet Hong, the exhibition project manager as we toured the galleries. "The reason we found this topic, tattooing, to be so interesting is that it is in so many different cultures around the world. "For us, in the past 40 years, we think of tattooing as self expression, as something artistic, an adornment on the body, but around the world, there are so many different reasons why people would want to permanently put images or text on their bodies, not just their own personal expression but for religious reasons, for community experience." "Tattoo" traces the varied lineages and uses of tattooing in East and North Africa, Canada, Asia, New Zealand and beyond. "I'm not exaggerating when I say that tattooing is on all continents of the world," said Hong. "That includes Antarctica because a lot of people who go to Antarctica actually come back with a tattoo. (In the show) you see things from different centuries, different places in the world." Personally, I found the two sections that discussed tattooing at Auschwitz to be among the powerful. One panel showed a young Israeli and his grandmother posing together, visible on his left arm is the number his grandmother had forcibly tattooed on her arm in the camp. The man voluntarily had the digits permanently written on his arm too in solidarity with her. Unsurprisingly, work of folks like Ed Hardy and his mentor, the iconic Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, are among the most popular in the show, because they are, to many Americans and folks around the globe, too the embodiment of modern classic tattoo art. Consequently, youll jostle for space in front of a range of rare original Sailor Jerry flash sheets toward the end of the exhibition. The work is a melding of a number of themes and styles: naval and South Pacific imagery, blended with American cartoon styles and themes of freedom and patriotism. "It's a real honor to celebrate the birthday of the historic Norman Collins, the historic Sailor Jerry," said The Field Museums Hong. "He comes at a really interesting moment in the history of tattooing." Get to Chicago, get to The Field Museum and check out "Tattoo," because Hong was spot-on when she said, "we have some wonderful things here from all around the world." "Whether youre someone with tattoos yourself or someone whos interested in contemporary art practices and cultures around the world, this exhibition has something fascinating in store. Tattoos are a way to make whats inside of you, your experience and your beliefs, manifest on your skin. Its powerful to encounter that." Tickets for the show range from $30 for "discovery" adult admission all permanent exhibits, plus one premium exhibit (such as "Tattoo") or a 3D Theater film to $36 for the adult "all-access pass," which includes admission to all permanent and premium exhibitions at The Field, plus a 3D Theater movie. Discounts are available for students, seniors and children. They can be purchased online. There will be live tattooing on select weekend dates between Saturday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, April 30. Here is the current schedule: Joel Molina, The Chicago Tattooing Company (Feb. 11-12, April 29-30) Jennifer Trok, Speakeasy Custom Tattoo (Feb. 18-19) Tine DeFiore, Black Oak Tattoo (March 25-26) Stephanie Brown, Butterfat Studios (April 8-9) For more information on the show, visit fieldmuseum.org. In this Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, file photo, Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during a news conference on Google's collaboration with small scale local businesses in New Delhi. U.S. tech companies fear the Trump administration will target a visa program they cherish for bringing in engineers and other specialized workers from other countries. Although these visas, known as H-1B, aren't supposed to displace American workers, critics say safeguards are weak. This comes amid a temporary ban on nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., including those who are employed by Google and other tech companies but were out of the country when the surprise order was issued Friday, Jan. 27. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal, File) Next on the immigration chopping block? U.S. tech companies fear the Trump administration will target a visa program they cherish for bringing in programmers and other specialized workers from other countries. Although these visas, known as H-1B, aren't supposed to displace American workers, critics say safeguards are weak. Critics also say the program mostly benefits consulting firms that let tech companies contract out their jobs to save money. The administration is considering a broad review of such programs, though there weren't many specifics in a draft executive order obtained by The Associated Press. This comes amid President Donald Trump's temporary ban on nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., including those who are employed by Google and other tech companies but were out of the country when the surprise order was issued Friday. Here's a look at how the H-1B visa program works and why tech companies are worried. ___ IS THIS A TECH VISA PROGRAM? The H-1B program is open to a broad range of occupations, including architects, professors and even fashion models. Companies must affirm that the job requires a specialty skill that cannot be filled by a U.S. worker. Many of these skills happen to be in tech. According to the Labor Department, the top three H-1B occupations are computer systems analysts, application software developers and computer programmers. The Labor Department says about half of its H-1B certifications are for those three occupations. ___ BY THE NUMBERS The U.S. government allows up to 85,000 new H-1B visas each year, and recipients can stay up to six years. Demand is usually higher, so the government holds an annual lottery. Advocates say that's a sign the cap needs to be raised. ___ WHAT ABOUT AMERICAN JOBS? By law, companies are required to pay at least the prevailing wage for that occupation. In some cases, they also must make a good faith effort to hire a U.S. worker before turning to an H-1B worker. The Labor Department must certify that these conditions have been met. After that, Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services conducts a lottery and the State Department issues visas to the lucky winners. Venky Ganesan, a managing director at venture capitalist firm Menlo Ventures, says that rather than displace low-wage workers, the program encourages students to stay in the U.S. after getting their degrees in high-tech specialties. He said many of them go on to start companies and hire U.S. workers. ___ SOUNDS GOOD, BUT . A 2011 study from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the Labor Department's review is "cursory and limited by law to only looking for missing information and obvious inaccuracies." An Associated Press review of Labor Department data showed that less than 2 percent of applications were denied in fiscal 2016. Critics say the program has turned into a mechanism for companies to contract out jobs to consulting firms. Indeed, the data show that top companies certified for H-1B visas are large consulting firms. Apple ranked eighth, and no other traditional tech firm made the top 15 in the AP review. ___ CONSULTING FIRMS TARGETED Last week, Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, whose district includes Silicon Valley, proposed raising the minimum annual salary for certain exemptions to $130,000, from $60,000. The change could require more companies to try to hire U.S. workers first. As news of the proposal circulated in India, shares of many Indian technology companies sank. The stocks of Wipro, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Servicesthe fifth, seventh and 10th largest sources of H-1B applicationseach fell 2 percent to 4 percent Tuesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange. As a Democratic bill, it has virtually no chance of passage in the Republican Congress, although the idea could be incorporated into other measures from the GOP. ___ WHAT ELSE? The draft order from the White House had few specifics, other than to review existing regulations, find ways to allocate visas more efficiently and ensure that beneficiaries are "the best and the brightest." This suggests that the Trump isn't looking to kill the program entirely. The order didn't propose anything specific about allocating visas, though one option is to scrap the lottery in favor of offering visas to the highest-paying jobs. Lofgren's bill would prioritize visas for higher-paying jobs and set aside 20 percent of slots for smaller businesses and startups. Tech companies have been clamoring for the government to increase the number of annual visas allotted, but there's no indication that's on the agenda. In fact, the number of visas could go down. Although the cap itself is set by law, there's no legal requirement for the administration to issue that many visas. 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology has been used for the first time to successfully produce live cows with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis, reports new research published in the open access journal Genome Biology. The researchers, from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University in Shaanxi, China, used a modified version of the CRISPR gene-editing technology to insert a new gene into the cow genome with no detected off target effects on the animals genetics (a common problem when creating transgenic animals using CRISPR). Dr Yong Zhang, lead author of the research, said: "We used a novel version of the CRISPR system called CRISPR/Cas9n to successfully insert a tuberculosis resistance gene, called NRAMP1, into the cow genome. We were then able to successfully develop live cows carrying increased resistance to tuberculosis. Importantly, our method produced no off target effects on the cow genetics meaning that the CRISPR technology we employed may be better suited to producing transgenic livestock with purposefully manipulated genetics." CRISPR technology has become widely used in the laboratory in recent years as it is an accurate and relatively easy way to modify the genetic code. However, sometimes unintentional changes to the genetic code occur as an off target effect, so finding ways to reduce these is a priority for genomics research. Dr Zhang explained: "When you want to insert a new gene into a mammalian genome, the difficulty can be finding the best place in the genome to insert the gene. You have to hunt through the genome, looking for a region that you think will have the least impact on other genes that are in close proximity. We employed a meticulous and methodological approach to identify the best suited region for gene insertion, which we show has no detectable off target effects on the bovine genome". The researchers inserted the NRAMP1 gene into the genome of bovine foetal fibroblastsa cell derived from female dairy cowsusing the CRISPR/Cas9n technology. These cells were then used as donor cells in a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, where the nucleus of a donor cell carrying the new gene is inserted into an egg cell, known as an ovum, from a female cow. Ova were nurtured in the lab into embryos before being transferred into mother cows for a normal pregnancy cycle. The experiments were also conducted using the standard CRISPR/Cas9 technology as a comparison. total of 11 calves with new genes inserted using CRISPR were able to be assessed for resistance to tuberculosis and any off target genetic effects. Genetic analysis of the calves revealed that NRAMP1 had successfully integrated into the genetic code at the targeted region in all of the calves. None of the calves that had the gene inserted using the new CRISPR/Cas9n technology had any detectable off target effects whereas all of the calves with the gene inserted with previously used techniques for CRISPR/Cas9 did. When the calves were exposed to M. bovis, the bacterium that causes bovine tuberculosis, the researchers found that transgenic animals showed an increased resistance to the bacteria measured by standard markers of infection in a blood sample. They also found that white blood cells taken from the calves were much more resistant to M. bovis exposure in laboratory tests. Dr Zhang said: "Our study is the first demonstrating that the CRISP/Cas9n system can be used to create transgenic livestock with no detectable off target effects. Our work has led to the discovery of a useful position in the bovine genome that can be targeted with this gene editing technology to successfully insert new genes that benefit agricultural livestock." More information: Yuanpeng Gao et al, Single Cas9 nickase induced generation of NRAMP1 knockin cattle with reduced off-target effects, Genome Biology (2017). DOI: 10.1186/s13059-016-1144-4 Journal information: Genome Biology Princeton professor Eric Wood and a team of Princeton engineers have deployed an advanced drought and flood risk monitoring program for environmentally vulnerable regions like Niger and other areas in Africa and in Latin America. The program assimilates weather data that are plentiful but hard to analyze for those on the ground. Credit: David Kelly Crow for the Office of Engineering Communications At a vegetable farm in West Africa, where the planting is done by hand, questions about weather boil down to the most urgent question of all: Will the rains be good or bad? Princeton professor Eric Wood, a hydrologist who usually works with global data and computer models, visited the small farm an hour out of Niamey, Niger, in 2013. There, he spoke with the very people who would benefit from a new drought and flood risk monitoring system that he had created. Farmers in Niamey rely on their agricultural agents, and by extension Wood's program, to tell them when the rains will come and how plentiful they will be. "There's a strong seasonal cycle of rainfall, coming from the south," said Wood, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "They want to know, will they have good rains or bad rains, when will the rainy season start? They want to make sure the rains are there before they plant. If they plant too early, the seeds will die before they get established. These are people who live on a couple of dollars a day, maybe less. It's very difficult for them to get new seed to plant. "You travel to these places and you realize just how great their needs are for information to help them cope with water management problems. And you walk away thinking that maybe, well you're doing some good. It does give great satisfaction." Wood and his team of Princeton engineers have deployed their advanced drought and flood risk monitoring program for environmentally vulnerable regions like Niger and other areas in Africa and in Latin America. The program assimilates weather data that are plentiful but hard to analyze for those on the ground. Developed at the request of UNESCO, the program enables users to survey a wealth of meteorological and hydrological data, including wind speed, temperature, precipitation, stream runoff and other metrics. The advent of technology gives considerable depth to such data. But synthesizing it into an easy-to-use format has been a challenge for scientists and stakeholders alike. Enter Wood, who also serves as director of graduate studies for Princeton's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a cadre of graduate students. Their African Flood and Drought Monitor (AFDM) and Latin American Flood and Drought Monitor (LAFDM) provide real-time climate modeling for multiple levels of users, from policymakers to community farmers. The Princeton team conducts instructional workshops in the various countries, the most recent in Brazil last July. One of the first of these workshops was held in 2013 during the visit to Niger. Perhaps most striking, the team created the programs with little direct funding. They leveraged earlier research supported from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create AFDM and LAFDM. Wood considers his team's cost-effective contributions a reflection of the kind of work engineers should be doing throughout the world. "Look, there's a need," said Wood. "I think it's important for people like myself, who have been funded over our careers by agencies like NASA and NOAA, to think about how we can serve communities that don't have access to what we've had. "This is a way for the support we've received to do good for underserved societies," he added. "These are groups and societies with limited capacity and great, urgent need. Why shouldn't we say, okay, I'm going to give something back?" He referenced the program's efficacy in northern Chile, for instance, where it picked up the probability of the devastating March 2015 floods in a region that hadn't seen rain in years. Wood's long-time collaborator at Princeton, Justin Sheffield, now a professor at the University of Southampton, England, added: "Scientists have a responsibility to ensure that their research not only has impact, but can be translated into benefits for populations in need. These drought forecasts have the potential to help decision-makers reduce impacts." While the data undergirding the programs has long been available, several factors made it difficult to access. Unreliable computer networks, a lack of technical sophistication, low institutional priority and the ability to unscramble and translate all the material into one meaningful forecasting tool were among them, said Princeton team members. AFDM and LAFDM scale down and merge meteorological and hydrological data to be consistent in time, explained Wood. The data are then applied to land-surface impact models that evaluate the risk for floods, droughts, stream runoff and crop impact, as well as spotlight historical and seasonal trends. The data do not exist in such a user-friendly format anywhere else. In effect, Wood's system comprises a one-stop web interface for those who want comprehensive weather information at or near real time. "These programs came from us recognizing that all the data out there were really hard to put together, even for professionals," said Princeton graduate student Colby Fisher. "There's always been a gap between research and what's actually done on the ground." Fisher characterized the programs as the "most public" of Wood's work in hydrological research and modeling. The data are culled from three sources, said Fisher. The Princeton Global Forcing Data Set includes historical weather statistics from 1948 to 2010; these are used to compare long-term patterns with current conditions. Data downloaded from NASA satellites provide the bulk of the system's offerings. This data is then buttressed with forecasts from NOAA's seven-day global weather forecasting model and seasonal climate forecasting model. There are three data distribution centers in Africa: Niger, Kenya and Zimbabwe. There are host programs in Santiago, Chile, and Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. The Princeton-based website, stream.princeton.edu, also provides access. "This [system] has confirmed the huge interest of the region for a monitoring and early warning tool for floods and droughts," said Koen Verbist, program specialist in hydrological systems and water with UNESCO's operation in Santiago. "Given that these instances are steadily increasing over the last few decades, the LAFDM is filling a gap to provide continuous updates on these water-related hazards." The first system was rolled out in 2012 with assistance from Sheffield and Princeton postdoctoral research associate Nate Chaney. The monitors have since been completely upgraded with new software developed primarily by Chaney, along with Fisher and Jonathan Herman, who worked with the Princeton team while a graduate student at Cornell University. The monitors are offered in six languages, and include scripts to download material on a daily basisall with minimal overhead. While AFDM and LAFDM provide data that lay out the combined impact of meteorological and hydrological phenomena, the models have been crafted to steer clear of interpretation. Wood insisted that advice does not fall under the system's purview. They provide data and context. They do not tell people what to do with it. Wood's biggest concern right now is sustaining his efforts. Adequate funding, perhaps from private foundations, is necessary to maintain the data distribution centers, and possibly engender additional sites or expand the size of the monitored areas. "As the world gets more populated and we have climate change," Wood said, "there will be more stress on the intersection of water, food and energy. People need these tools." Mangroves, such as these black mangroves photographed in Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico, excel at capturing and storing carbon. They also protect coastal communities from storms and flooding while providing important fishery habitat. Credit: Stefanie Simpson In the global effort to mitigate carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, all options are on the tableincluding help from nature. Recent research suggests that healthy, intact coastal wetland ecosystems such as mangrove forests, tidal marshes and seagrass meadows are particularly good at drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it for hundreds to thousands of years. Policymakers are interested to know whether other marine systemssuch as coral reefs, kelp forests, phytoplankton and fishcan mitigate climate effects. A new analysis co-authored by a University of Maryland scientist suggests that, while coastal wetlands serve as effective "blue carbon" storage reservoirs for carbon dioxide, other marine ecosystems do not store carbon for long periods of time. The research paper, published February 1, 2017 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, also notes that coastal wetlands can help protect coastal communities from storm surges and erosion. Coastal wetland areas are easier for governments to manage compared with ecosystems that reside in international waters, further adding to the strategic value of coastal wetlands in the fight against climate change. "We compared many different coastal ecosystems and have made a clear case for including coastal wetlands in discussions about greenhouse gas mitigation," said Ariana Sutton-Grier, an assistant research scientist at UMD's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center and a co-lead author of the research paper. "Coastal wetlands store a lot of carbon in their soils and are important long-term natural carbon sinks, while kelp, corals and marine fauna are not." Salt marshes, such as this one in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, capture and store large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. Credit: Ariana Sutton-Grier The research paper integrates previous data on a variety of coastal and marine ecosystems to determine which systems are best suited to mitigate climate effects. To make this assessment, Sutton-Grier and her colleagues evaluated how effectively each ecosystem captures carbon dioxidefor example, by plants using it to build their branches and leavesand how long the carbon is stored, either in plant tissues or in soils. Coastal wetlands outperformed other marine systems in just about every measure. For example, the researchers estimated that mangrove forests alone capture and store as much as 34 million metric tons of carbon annually, which is roughly equivalent to the carbon emitted by 26 million passenger cars in a year. Estimates for tidal marshes and seagrass meadows vary, because these ecosystems are not as well mapped globally, but the total for each could exceed 80 million metric tons per year. All told, coastal wetlands may capture and store more than 200 metric tons of carbon per year globally. Importantly, these ecosystems store 50-90 percent of this carbon in soils, where it can stay for thousands of years if left undisturbed. "When we destroy coastal wetlands, for coastal development or aquaculture, we turn these impressive natural carbon sinks into additional, significant human-caused greenhouse gas sources," said Sutton-Grier, who is also an ecosystem science adviser for the National Ocean Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This figure illustrates the efficiency of (L-R) mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass beds as reservoirs for carbon. More carbon dioxide is taken up from the atmosphere (green arrows) than is re-released (black arrows), while a substantial amount is stored in soils (red arrows) for hundreds to thousands of years if left undisturbed. Credit: Howard et al., 2017, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment The researchers' goal is to help inform resource managers and policymakers where to focus their limited resources to have the greatest impact on climate mitigation. The new analysis acknowledges that other ecosystems, such as coral reefs and kelp forests, provide valuable storm and erosion protection, key fish habitat and recreation opportunities, and thus deserve protection. But their capacity to store carbon over the long term is limited. "A common question I get from coastal managers and other stakeholders is whether oyster reefs, coral and kelp are effective 'blue carbon' habitats," said Stefanie Simpson, a co-author of the paper and manager of the Blue Carbon program at the nonprofit organization Restore America's Estuaries. "This paper highlights the role all of these ecosystems have in the carbon cycle, while calling out our coastal habitatsmarsh, seagrass and mangrovesfor their role as significant and long-term carbon stores." Researchers have often looked to terrestrial forests as carbon sinks as well. But most forests do not store substantial amounts of carbon in their soils. As such, the researchers believe that coastal "blue carbon" habitats may stand alone as the most efficient biological reservoirs of stored carbon on Earth. "The concept of 'blue carbon' has focused scientists and stakeholders on the tremendous potential of managing marine ecosystems for climate mitigation," said Patrick Megonigal, associate director for research at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, who reviewed an early draft of the manuscript but was not directly involved in the work. "This analysis takes a big step forward by explaining why coastal wetland ecosystems are particularly attractive for carbon-based management." More information: The research paper, "Clarifying the role of coastal and marine systems in climate mitigation," Jennifer Howard, Ariana Sutton-Grier, Dorothee Herr, Joan Kleypas, Emily Landis, Elizabeth Mcleod, Emily Pidgeon, and Stephanie Simpson, was published February 1, 2017 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Journal information: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment View from the interior of Devil's Gate: the cave in the Primorye region, about 30km from the far eastern coast of Russia, where the human remains were found from which the ancient DNA used in the study was extracted. Credit: Yuriy Chernyavskiy Researchers working on ancient DNA extracted from human remains interred almost 8,000 years ago in a cave in the Russian Far East have found that the genetic makeup of certain modern East Asian populations closely resemble that of their hunter-gatherer ancestors. The study, published today in the journal Science Advances, is the first to obtain nuclear genome data from ancient mainland East Asia and compare the results to modern populations. The findings indicate that there was no major migratory interruption, or "population turnover", for well over seven millennia. Consequently, some contemporary ethnic groups share a remarkable genetic similarity to Stone Age hunters that once roamed the same region. The high "genetic continuity" in East Asia is in stark contrast to most of Western Europe, where sustained migrations of early farmers from the Levant overwhelmed hunter-gatherer populations. This was followed by a wave of horse riders from Central Asia during the Bronze Age. These events were likely driven by the success of emerging technologies such as agriculture and metallurgy The new research shows that, at least for part of East Asia, the story differs - with little genetic disruption in populations since the early Neolithic period. Despite being separated by a vast expanse of history, this has allowed an exceptional genetic proximity between the Ulchi people of the Amur Basin, near where Russia borders China and North Korea, and the ancient hunter-gatherers laid to rest in a cave close to the Ulchi's native land. Exterior of Devil's Gate: the cave in the Primorye region, about 30km from the far eastern coast of Russia, where the human remains were found from which the ancient DNA used in the study was extracted. Credit: Yuriy Chernyavskiy The researchers suggest that the sheer scale of East Asia and dramatic variations in its climate may have prevented the sweeping influence of Neolithic agriculture and the accompanying migrations that replaced hunter-gatherers across much of Europe. They note that the Ulchi retained their hunter-fisher-gatherer lifestyle until recent times. "Genetically speaking, the populations across northern East Asia have changed very little for around eight millennia," said senior author Andrea Manica from the University of Cambridge, who conducted the work with an international team, including colleagues from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Korea, and Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin in Ireland. "Once we accounted for some local intermingling, the Ulchi and the ancient hunter-gatherers appeared to be almost the same population from a genetic point of view, even though there are thousands of years between them." The new study also provides further support for the 'dual origin' theory of modern Japanese populations: that they descend from a combination of hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists that eventually brought wet rice farming from southern China. A similar pattern is also found in neighbouring Koreans, who are genetically very close to Japanese. However, Manica says that much more DNA data from Neolithic China is required to pinpoint the origin of the agriculturalists involved in this mixture. The team from Trinity College Dublin were responsible for extracting DNA from the remains, which were found in a cave known as Devil's Gate. Situated in a mountainous area close to the far eastern coast of Russia that faces northern Japan, the cave was first excavated by a soviet team in 1973. One of the skulls found in the Devil's Gate cave from which ancient DNA used in the study was extracted. Credit: Elizaveta Veselovskaya Along with hundreds of stone and bone tools, the carbonised wood of a former dwelling, and woven wild grass that is one of the earliest examples of a textile, were the incomplete bodies of five humans. If ancient DNA can be found in sufficiently preserved remains, sequencing it involves sifting through the contamination of millennia. The best samples for analysis from Devil's Gate were obtained from the skulls of two females: one in her early twenties, the other close to fifty. The site itself dates back over 9,000 years, but the two women are estimated to have died around 7,700 years ago. Researchers were able to glean the most from the middle-aged woman. Her DNA revealed she likely had brown eyes and thick, straight hair. She almost certainly lacked the ability to tolerate lactose, but was unlikely to have suffered from 'alcohol flush': the skin reaction to alcohol now common across East Asia. While the Devil's Gate samples show high genetic affinity to the Ulchi, fishermen from the same area who speak the Tungusic language, they are also close to other Tungusic-speaking populations in present day China, such as the Oroqen and Hezhen. "These are ethnic groups with traditional societies and deep roots across eastern Russia and China, whose culture, language and populations are rapidly dwindling," added lead author Veronika Siska, also from Cambridge. "Our work suggests that these groups form a strong genetic lineage descending directly from the early Neolithic hunter-gatherers who inhabited the same region thousands of years previously." More information: "Genome-wide data from two early Neolithic East Asian individuals dating to 7700 years ago," Science Advances, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601877 , advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/2/e1601877 Journal information: Science Advances Lyrebird nest. Credit: Justin Welbergen The most common birds nests found today had their birthplace in Australia, and these nests may be key to many of our birds' success, according to new research from Macquarie University, released today. The research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, looked at the birds nests of passerines common song birds which include lyrebirds, fairy-wrens and magpies and found the ubiquitous 'open' cup nest evolved in Australia multiple times more than 40 million years ago. The birds resulting from these open cup nesting lineages gave rise to many of the worlds' birds today, and this study suggests that the open nests were perhaps a key to their success measured both in terms of how many species they evolved into, and how far they have spread around the world. "Among the passerine birds which make up 60 per cent of the worlds birds most species today build open cup-shaped nests, and only a minority build more elaborate roofed structures. The study shows that open cup nests evolved multiple times independently during early passerine evolution on the Australian continent, eventually becoming the most common nest type across the world today," said study co-author Professor Simon Griffith from the Department of Biological Sciences. The fact that these common open cupped nests appear to have arisen several times in different lineages, but around the same time, suggests that this was driven by the emergence of new predators or parasites or with changing climates and habitats. "Australia is host to the ancestors of today's common birds around the world, and the open cup nest that originated here is one of the innovations that perhaps has made them so successful," said Professor Griffith. These nests evolved specifically in Australia as this period of time was when a lot of today's bird species were rapidly diverging from one another, and nests, as well as many other aspects of behaviour, plumage, song and life history variation were also changing quite rapidly. "Until now we had assumed that more complex fully roofed nests had evolved from those without roofs. This study demonstrates that in fact it was the opposite, in that these simple nests evolved several times independently, and the bird families that made this switch to simple nests are some of the most species-rich bird families today, such as the Australian honeyeaters." "This research really underlines the importance of Australia as the source of much of the worlds' avian diversity Australia was the birthplace for which many key features of birds started out and still holds representatives of many of the ancient families," concluded Professor Griffith. More information: J. Jordan Price et al. Open cup nests evolved from roofed nests in the early passerines, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2017). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2708 Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Credit: Queen Mary, University of London There are significant differences between Leave and Remain MPs in what they want out of Brexit negotiations, according to polling conducted for The Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London and The UK in a Changing Europe. Among Leave MPs, 72 per cent prioritise controlling immigration or not paying into the EU budget over retaining access to the single market. MPs who voted to remain in the EU, however, are more divided, with less than half prioritising access to the single market over either immigration control or paying into the EU budget, with the rest taking a variety of different positions. Honouring the referendum result A minority (26 per cent) of MPs believe that the referendum result would not be honoured if Britain remained in the single market or continued to pay into the EU budget (35 per cent). The latter contrasts with polling by Lord Ashcroft in August 2016 which found 81 per cent of the public believed continuing to pay into the EU budget would not be compatible with leaving the EU. MPs see controlling immigration from the EU as key - with 58 per cent viewing it as a condition for respecting the referendum result. However, when it comes to EU nationals already living and working in the UK, MPs say that allowing them to stay is compatible with the referendum result - just five per cent say this is incompatible with leaving the EU. Post-Brexit world Three in ten (29 per cent) Leavers think it very or fairly likely the EU will thrive now the UK has voted to leave, whereas this view is held by two-thirds (66%) of Remainers. Leavers are very optimistic that the UK will be able to quickly sign trade deals with major powers such as China (all MPs who voted to leave were very or fairly optimistic), compared to just 24 per cent of Remainers. The vast majority of Leavers (86 per cent) think the deals the UK will achieve will more than compensate for any loss of trade with the EU, whereas 71 per cent of Remainers think they will be not make up for this loss. Leavers are much more positive about the state of the British economy in the future: 55 per cent of Leavers think that in a year's time, the general economic condition of the country will have improved, compared to eight per cent of Remainers. Meanwhile 97 per cent of Leavers think the economy will have improved in ten years' time, compared to just 36 per cent of Remainers. Professor Tim Bale of QMUL's School of Politics and International Relations said: "This shows how deeply Brexit has divided parliamentary opinion across a range of issues. The divide is not just between those who see the glass half full or half empty; it's a real divide between panglossians and pessimists." Support for a second referendum Almost half of MPs (49 per cent) believe parliament should have a vote on the final deal with the EU, as the Prime Minister has promised - although majorities of Leavers and Conservative MPs do not think this is necessary. There is little appetite for a further referendum: just 13 per cent of MPs wanted a second referendum to approve or reject any deal with the EU. The experience of the referendum has not led MPs to favour more referenda. Just three per cent say they are now more in favour of referenda than before, while 49 per cent are less so, including 70 per cent of Labour MPs. Professor Philip Cowley of QMUL's School of Politics said: "Although MPs want parliament to influence the Brexit process, they are not keen on rerunning the referendum - and their experience has clearly not made them more positive about participatory democracy in general." Cameron's renegotiation cost support When MP's were polled in late 2015, more than two-thirds of Conservative MPs said they were waiting for the Prime Minister's EU renegotiation before deciding how to vote. The latest poll found more than half of Leaver MPs say they became more favourable to Leave following the renegotiation. Referendum result took MPs by surprise The polling also found MPs overwhelmingly expected Remain to win and MPs claim to have been taken by surprise by the referendum result. Less than a quarter (22 per cent) thought the result would be a Leave victory; eight per cent thought it was too close to call - whilst 69 per cent expected Remain to win. UK in a Changing Europe director Professor Anand Menon said: "Leavers want to control immigration at all costs. Remainers are much more divided over what to prioritise - which may well make them less able to shape the debate." This spectacular image from the VLT Survey Telescope shows the Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334, upper right) and the Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357, lower left). These dramatic objects are regions of active star formation where the hot young stars are causing the surrounding hydrogen gas to glow red. The very rich field of view also includes dark clouds of dust. With around two billion pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. A zoomable version of this giant image is available here: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1705a/zoomable/ Credit: ESO Astronomers have for a long time studied the glowing, cosmic clouds of gas and dust catalogued as NGC 6334 and NGC 6357, this gigantic new image from ESO's Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope being only the most recent one. With around two billion pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. The evocative shapes of the clouds have led to their memorable names: the Cat's Paw Nebula and the Lobster Nebula, respectively. NGC 6334 is located about 5500 light-years away from Earth, while NGC 6357 is more remote, at a distance of 8000 light-years. Both are in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), near the tip of its stinging tail. The British scientist John Herschel first saw traces of the two objects, on consecutive nights in June 1837, during his three-year expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. At the time, the limited telescopic power available to Herschel, who was observing visually, only allowed him to document the brightest "toepad" of the Cat's Paw Nebula. It was to be many decades before the true shapes of the nebulae became apparent in photographsand their popular names coined. The three toepads visible to modern telescopes, as well as the claw-like regions in the nearby Lobster Nebula, are actually regions of gaspredominantly hydrogenenergised by the light of brilliant newborn stars. With masses around 10 times that of the Sun, these hot stars radiate intense ultraviolet light. When this light encounters hydrogen atoms still lingering in the stellar nursery that produced the stars, the atoms become ionised. Accordingly, the vast, cloud-like objects that glow with this light from hydrogen (and other) atoms are known as emission nebulae. Thanks to the power of the 256-megapixel OmegaCAM camera, this new Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope (VST) image reveals tendrils of light-obscuring dust rippling throughout the two nebulae. At 49511 x 39136 pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. OmegaCAM is a successor to ESO's celebrated Wide Field Imager (WFI), currently installed at the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope on La Silla. The WFI was used to photograph the Cat's Paw Nebula in 2010, also in visible light but with a filter that allowed the glow of hydrogen to shine through more clearly. Meanwhile, ESO's Very Large Telescope has taken a deep look into the Lobster Nebula, capturing the many hot, bright stars that influence the object's colour and shape. Despite the cutting-edge instruments used to observe these phenomena, the dust in these nebulae is so thick that much of their content remains hidden to us. The Cat's Paw Nebula is one of the most active stellar nurseries in the night sky, nurturing thousands of young, hot stars whose visible light is unable to reach us. However, by observing at infrared wavelengths, telescopes such as ESO's VISTA can peer through the dust and reveal the star formation activity within. Viewing nebulae in different wavelengths (colours) of light gives rise to different visual comparisons on the part of human observers. When seen in longer wavelength infrared light, for example, one portion of NGC 6357 resembles a dove, and the other a skull; it has therefore acquired the additional name of the War and Peace Nebula. Provided by ESO Credit: American Chemical Society A fungal form of meningitis leads to more than 600,000 deaths in Africa every year and is responsible for 20 percent of HIV/AIDS-related deaths globally, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An existing medicine could help curb these numbers, but its cost has been a barrier to access in some places. Now, scientists report in the ACS journal Organic Process Research & Development a more affordable way to make the drug. The antifungal flucytosine has been available to patients in the U.S. for decades. In 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that patients with Cryptococcal meningitis, an infection of particular concern to people with HIV/AIDS, take flucytosine in combination with amphotericin B as a first line of defense. Flucytosine is now on WHO's Core List of Essential Medicines. However, the drug is not registered for use in many African countries, according to the non-profit Doctors without Borders, and where it is available, many patients can't afford it. Currently, making the drug requires a multiple-step process that involves fluorination, chlorination, amination and hydrolysis from uracil. To help slash flucytosine's price tag and improve its availability, Graham Sandford and colleagues at Durham University in the U.K. wanted to come up with a simpler, lower cost way to make the drug. The researchers developed a one-step technique to make flucytosine out of readily available, naturally occurring cytosine. Their process involved simultaneously pumping inexpensive fluorine gas and a solution of cytosine in formic acid through a steel tube. This fluorinated all of the starting cytosine, and the researchers were able to isolate high yields of the resulting flucytosine by recrystallization. The researchers say the method should be simple to scale up for manufacturing and could help lower the drug's cost. The one-step method has been successfully developed to pilot-scale by industrial collaborators Sanofi-Aventis and La Maison Europeenne des Procedes Innovants in France. More information: Antal Harsanyi et al. One-Step Continuous Flow Synthesis of Antifungal WHO Essential Medicine Flucytosine Using Fluorine, Organic Process Research & Development (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acs.oprd.6b00420 Abstract In Africa around 625 000 mortalities per annum (20% of HIV/AIDS related deaths) are due to the affects of the Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) fungal infection. Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) recommended that the first line treatment for CM is a combination of amphotericin B and flucytosine, both now WHO Essential Medicines. However, flucytosine is not even registered for use in any African nation due, in part, to its relatively high cost of manufacture and lack of generic manufacturers. Currently, flucytosine is manufactured by an expensive four-step manufacturing process. Here we report a one-step continuous flow process involving the reaction of inexpensive cytosine with fluorine gas using stainless steel tubular laboratory and pilot-scale silicon carbide reactor devices which is readily scaleable to a manufacturing process with a low initial capital expenditure. Journal information: Organic Process Research & Development Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae bacteria, which infect the digestive system. Credit: Ronald Taylor, Tom Kirn, Louisa Howard/Wikipedia Oral administration of a cocktail of three viruses, all of which specifically kill cholera bacteria, prevents infection and cholera-like symptoms in animal model experiments, report scientists from Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts in Nature Communications on Feb. 1. The findings are the first to demonstrate the potential efficacy of bacteria-killing virusesknown as bacteriophages, or phagesas an orally administered preventive therapy against an acute gastrointestinal bacterial disease. "While phage therapy has existed for decades, our study is proof-of-principle that it can be used to protect against infection and intervene in the transmission of disease," said senior study author Andrew Camilli, Ph.D., Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and professor of molecular biology and microbiology at TUSM. "We are hopeful that phages can someday be a tool in the public health arsenal that helps decrease the global burden of cholera, which affects up to four million people around the world each year." In previous work, Camilli and colleagues searched for phages that are specific for Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes choleraa potentially lethal infectious disease marked by severe diarrhea and dehydration. While phages that kill V. cholerae are abundant in nature, the team identified three strains that uniquely retained the ability to kill V. cholerae within the small intestine, the site of infection in humans. These phages function by targeting bacterial surface receptors normally involved in infectiousness, making them ideal therapeutic candidatesto develop resistance, cholera bacteria must acquire mutations in these receptors, which cause the bacteria to become less infectious. Prevent and protect In the current study, a team comprised of Camilli, Minmin Yen, Ph.D., recent graduate of the Molecular Microbiology Program at the Sackler School, and postdoctoral fellow Lynne Cairns, Ph.D., carried out a series of experiments in small animal models of cholera to test the efficacy of these phages as a preventative treatment. Animals were given an oral dose of a cocktail containing all three phages, at time points ranging from three to 24 hours before infection with a standardized amount of V. cholerae bacteria. A preventative dose of the phage cocktail eliminated V. cholerae in the small intestines of over half of treated animals when given three hours before infection. In remaining animals, and for those treated up to 24 hours before infection, bacteria numbers were reduced 500-fold or more on average, compared to untreated controls. Overall, treatment was most effective in reducing bacterial load when given between three and 12 hours before infection. The team found no evidence of cholera-like diarrhea and no significant weight loss in treated animals. To study bacterial resistance, one of the historical obstacles to the use of phages as a therapy, the researchers isolated V. cholerae that survived treatment and conducted whole-genome and molecular analyses. While some bacteria acquired resistance against one or two of the phages, no bacteria were resistant to all three phages in the cocktail. As expected based on previous work, surviving bacteria that developed phage resistance had mutations in key protein receptors that rendered the bacteria avirulent and unable to cause infection. "It took almost a decade of work, from our lab and collaborators around the world, to identify these phages, understand their life cycle, reveal the underlying biology and mechanisms by which they attack cholera and show how resistance develops," said lead study author Minmin Yen, who conducted this research as part of her graduate thesis and is now a postdoctoral fellow in the Camilli lab. "By building on that work, we are now able to demonstrate that these phages can be effective at protecting against cholera and that the bacteria do not develop resistance to the phage cocktail." Filling a treatment gap Discovered roughly a century ago, bacteriophages have remained relatively unexplored in Western medicine as a therapy due to the prevalence of antibiotics. However, the dramatic rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has led to renewed interest in phage therapy, which can target specific strains of harmful bacteria while leaving host cells and beneficial bacteria unaffected. Carried by contaminated water, cholera spreads quickly through communities during outbreaks. A primary path of transmission is from infected individuals to other household members, a process that typically occurs within one to two days. The research team envisions the phage cocktail as a rapid-acting preventative oral medication that can be repeatedly taken during this critical window. Reducing household transmission when an outbreak begins would help slow the spread of cholera and lessen the impact of the disease on communities. With animal model experiments established, Camilli's team and collaborators are now exploring human clinical trials. Phage therapy has a well-established safety profile in humans, based on decades of use in eastern European countries such as Georgia. In addition, phages are the most abundant organism on Earth, and humans are continuously exposed to them with no harm. The team is also investigating the production of phages at scale, and believes that it can be done economically and priced appropriately for use in the developing world. They recently formed a companyPhagePro, which received seed funding as a winner in the Tufts 100K New Ventures Competitionto further test and develop their phage cocktail. Tufts University has filed a related patent application. If successful, their efforts could lead to an important tool for public health professionals. A cholera vaccine exists and is recommended by the World Health Organization, but needs to be given at least two weeks in advance to be effective. Rehydration therapy is the standard treatment for cholera, but clean water is typically hard to come by during an outbreak. Antibiotics are effective at eliminating cholera bacteria, but they contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant strains and can harm beneficial bacteria such as those in the large intestine. "A preventative phage treatment is unlikely to eradicate cholera, but we think that it could fill an important gap in treatment, which is immediate protection against transmission in households," said Camilli, who is also faculty in the Molecular Microbiology Program at the Sackler School. "Additional work needs to be done, particularly a deeper understanding of phage biology while inside the gastrointestinal system, but if we are able to confirm its safety profile and efficacy in humans, it has the potential to be the best option for many communities affected by cholera." More information: Minmin Yen et al, A cocktail of three virulent bacteriophages prevents Vibrio cholerae infection in animal models, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14187 Journal information: Nature Communications Lesser black-backed gull. Credit: Taylor & Francis The research, published in the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) journal Bird Study, looked at the breeding populations of three species of large gull; Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull on the Hebridean island of Canna, and the relationship between these gull populations and the fall in the quantity of fish landed in the nearby harbour of Mallaig. Between 1985 and 2000 an annual average of 13,726 tonnes of fish was landed in Mallaig. However, between 2007 and 2014 this had fallen to 4,456 tonnes. This has apparently had a profound effect on the Canna gull population. The number of breeding pairs of Herring Gulls peaked at 1,525 in 1988, Great Black-backed Gulls reached 90 pairs around the same time and the highest number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls was recorded at 63 pairs. At the latest count around 130 pairs of gulls bred on Canna in total, comprising of up to 95 pairs of Herring Gulls, 18 pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls and 13 pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. This population decline has also been associated with low breeding success, with only a small number of chicks successfully fledging in more recent years. Simon Foster, lead author on the paper, said "The Canna seabird study is one of the longest running annual studies in the world. It is an enormous privilege to be part of the team of highly skilled, dedicated volunteers who have been collecting the data for over 48 years. This has allowed us to track the changing fortunes of seabirds. The gull data are interesting if you look over a short time period you can see large changes, however over a longer period and using anecdotal information from the 1930s it becomes apparent that Canna gulls may be returning to more normal, albeit lower levels." Dr Viola Ross Smith, gull expert at the BTO, said "Breeding gulls have a bad reputation, especially in urban areas. However, it is worth remembering that all these species are classed as Birds of Conservation Concern, and the Herring Gull is on the Red List. It therefore seems important to identify the causes of population decline in rural colonies such as Canna, and find ways to conserve the birds at these sites, especially since gulls that fail to breed successfully are known to seek breeding opportunities elsewhere, including in towns and cities". More information: Simon Foster et al, Can changes in fishery landings explain long-term population trends in gulls?, Bird Study (2017). DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2016.1274287 Harvard medical researcher Soumya Raychaudhuri, of Brookline, Mass., pauses during an interview at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Raychaudhuri awaits the fate of a new hire, Samira Asgari, an Iranian national who was not allowed to board a flight in Switzerland to Boston due to the travel ban issued by President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Harvard Medical School professor Thomas Michel was so excited about recruiting Iranian researcher Soheil Saravi, he put Saravi's name on the door of his Boston lab when his new hire got his visa. Then President Donald Trump's travel ban took effect, blocking Saravi from entering the U.S. "It's interesting. This is a door. It's open," Michel said Tuesday. But he added this lament: "He can't walk through the door into this country to walk into this laboratory." Trump's ban on people from Iran and six other predominantly Muslim countries has frustrated academics like Michel, who feel like they've been robbed of a brain trust. Boston and other U.S. cities have long prided themselves on attracting the world's best and brightest. Many have been immigrants, and over the past half-century, their work has contributed to numerous Nobel Prizes. But the ban and the legal tussles it has touched off have cloaked all that in uncertainty. Another Harvard researcher, Soumya Raychaudhuri, is impatiently awaiting the fate of a new hire, Samira Asgari. Asgari, also Iranian, said last weekend that she was not allowed to board a flight in Switzerland bound for her new job in Boston because of the baneven though she already had been issued a J-1 visa allowing her to work in the U.S. In this Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, photo, Harvard Medical School professor Thomas Michel, of Lincoln, Mass., poses for a photo in his office at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Michel said he was excited about hiring Iranian national Soheil Saravi, but Saravi hasn't been allowed to enter the U.S., due to the travel ban issued by President Donald Trump, even though he has a visa allowing him to work in the country. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) "Feeling safer?" she tweeted. "It's a major setback," Raychaudhuri said. "She has expertise in infectious disease, as well as expertise in computational approaches. That combination is very rare. To find someone with that skill set is really a challenge." Saravi was to have worked on a research project examining the contractions of heart muscle cells and blood vessels. His chances and Asgari's prospects of being allowed to enter the U.S. remained unclear. The Trump administration insists the order is necessary to keep potential terrorists out of the country until security procedures are improved. "This is turning away the best and the brightest who want to come here, who see this as the land of opportunity," Michel said. "America will become less great as a consequence of these policies. I'm not a politician, I'm a scientist." 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Inner core, outer core, mantle and Earth's crust. Credit: Tatsuya Sakamaki Researchers in Japan say they may be one step closer to solving a mystery at the core of the Earth. It has long been established that approximately 85 percent of the Earth's core is made of iron, while nickel makes up an additional 10 percent. Details of the final 5 percentbelieved to be some amount of light elementshas, until now, eluded scientists. According to the Japanese research team, which includes Dr. Tatsuya Sakamaki and Prof. Eiji Ohtani from Tohoku University's Graduate School of Science, new experiments show that possible candidates for the light elements are hydrogen, silicon and sulfur. Experiments consisted of building model cores containing different materials and subjecting them to heat of up to 6,000 C and pressure 3.6 million times that at the surface of the planet. The researchers then measured the density and sound velocity, and concluded that the physical properties of the iron-alloy with those three elements are consistent with seismological observations in the actual core. Earth has a liquid outer core (2900~5100 km in depth) and solid inner core (5100~6400 km in depth). The core is one of the most important "final frontiers" for scientists looking to understand the history of Earth, and the conditions during its formation 4.5 billion years ago. This study was initially published in Science Advances by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Feb. 26, 2016. More recently, the team gave a presentation at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco in Dec. 2016. The solid inner core of the Earth and its possible light elements. Credit: Tatsuya Sakamaki More information: T. Sakamaki et al, Constraints on Earths inner core composition inferred from measurements of the sound velocity of hcp-iron in extreme conditions, Science Advances (2016). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500802 Journal information: Science Advances The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas Your choice for flooring in Central Texas! Your flooring is more than just the surface you walk on it's an integral part of your home. With over 35 years of flooring experience, The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas has the resources and knowled In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) A dramatic "firehose" stream of molten lava continued to shoot out of a sea cliff Wednesday on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. The lava stream, dubbed a "firehose" flow because it shoots lava outward from the source, started out as a drizzle coming down the sea cliffs after the New Year collapse, but has recently increased in intensity. The molten lava is now arching out and falling about 70 feet to the ocean below. When the molten lava hits the cool seawater, it reacts, causing explosions that can throw large chunks of hot rock and debris inland, where people hike in to see the lava, and seaward, where tour boats cruise the shoreline. Captains are constantly watching the cliffs and lava to keep their passengers safe, said tour boat owner Shane Turpin, who runs Lava Ocean Tours. "We've never had an incident," he said. "We're always watching for what the cliff is doing. Is it moving? Are the rocks rolling down the cliff? We can actually see the changes throughout the day." In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) Turpin described this flow as a "special," saying it "is definitely the most dramatic firehose event I've ever witnessed in the last three decades of viewing lava." On land, the National Park Service is responsible for visitor safety and has restricted the areas that people can go to view the flow, but Turpin said he sees people on the cliff edge where they shouldn't be on a daily basis. Lava bench collapses can happen at any time without warning and if someone was on the edge during a collapse "it would likely be a fatality," said Cindy Orlando, Superintendent of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Despite signs and roped-off areas, people still cross the boundaries and go to the edge of the cliffs near the lava flow, Orlando said. A "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) Park rangers have recently issued citations to people who cross into prohibited areas, but Orlando said it is nearly impossible to prevent everyone from breaking the rules. One of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" in the rock above the firehose flow, said USGS geologist Janet Babb. The crack runs parallel to the sea cliff and makes the surrounding land susceptible to collapse. When the large delta collapsed on December 31, it sent hot rocks and lava spatter flying into the air and giant waves outward. "The seaward side of that crack could fall away," Babb, who works at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, said. "That is of great concern because if it does, it's going to drop a lot of hot rock into the water and hot rock mixing with cool seawater makes for explosive interactions." The steam plume created by the lava reaching the water is also a concern. "It's super-heated steam laced with hydrochloric acid from the interaction with the seawater and has shards of volcanic glass," she said. "It's something to be avoided." In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) Babb said that this firehose event is unusual because it has lasted so long. Usually when a flow opens up like this, the lava quickly builds new land below and plugs the entry. "In this case, there's no evidence of a new delta is forming, which leads us to believe that the offshore topography there is very steep," Babb said. Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, and the most recent vent flow that is reaching the ocean has been ongoing since last summer. "There's no indication of it slowing down or stopping," Babb said. In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) This Jan. 28, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a lava stream pouring out of a tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 25, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a lava stream, up to 2 yards (meters) wide pouring out of a lava tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 28, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a closeup view of a lava stream pouring out of a lava tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 29, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a lava stream pouring out of a tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 28, 2017 photo, left, provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a crack that has developed near the site of a lava stream pouring out of a lava tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. The thermal image and graphic on the right shows the varying temperature of lava and rock within the crack, reaching as high as 428 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius). A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is this large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 29, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a lava stream pouring out of a lava tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Browne's skull and books. We are living in a golden age of popular science. Multiple television and radio programmes, best-selling books, well-attended science festivals around the world all reveal the apparently limitless public appetite for learning about science. Prominent scientists like Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker write best-sellers explaining the secrets of evolutionary biology and psychology to the public, while the life of the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has been the subject of a multiple-award-winning biopic. There is even supposedly a "Brian Cox effect". The books and media appearances of the pop keyboardist-turned-particle physicist, Professor Cox, are credited with a 20% rise in students taking A-level physics since 2008, and even more astonishingly, a massive 52% increase in applications to study physics at university in the same period. While this boom might suggest that we are at peak enthusiasm for popular science, the phenomenon is at least as old as the scientific revolution. Doctor, writer, and all-round polymath Thomas Browne (1605-1682) is now better known for his literary work but in his own time was legendary as the greatest and first scientific populariser of his day. Browne's best-selling Pseudodoxia Epidemica, or Common Errors, debunked myths in botany, geology, geography, anatomy, and zoology, as well as history and scripture. Going through seven editions during his lifetime and translated into several European languages, it made him the first public "expert" and a pioneer of popular science. Of ostriches and men Common Errors is a landmark work of myth-busting. In it Browne tackles important questions such as: do elephants have knees? Why do we say "bless you" when we sneeze? Is the earth a magnetic body? Did Jesus have long hair? Who would win in a fight, a toad or a spider? These questions were often deliberately provocative, a kind of 17th-century intellectual clickbait. Was the forbidden fruit an apple, he asks (and why, when there are so many nicer and more tempting fruits)? The answer, as is usual for Browne, revolves around complex questions of translation and etymology but the lead-in is daringly playful. This is typical of the way the book brilliantly introduces to its readers to cutting-edge developments in science and other fields of learning. Browne's learning rests on his vast reading and extensive experimental data (his notebooks record much grisly experimentation, including the toad vs spider incident), but it is presented with dazzling flair. One of Browne's most prolonged experiments involved the ostrich, acquired by his son Edward. A flock arrived in London in the early 1660s, brought by the Moroccan ambassador as a gift for the king, and immediately caused a splash exotic animals were rare in England at the time. Ostrich head drawn by Browne. Credit: Manuscripts in English on paper written by Sir Thomas Browne collected by Sir W Osler. Edward managed to get hold of one and kept it in his stables. A frenzy of letters between father and son followed, discussing its eating and sleeping habits, the shape of its feet, and the noises it made ("a strange odde noyse especially in the morning and perhaps when hungry"). This experiment in collaborative zoo-keeping came to an abrupt end when the ostrich died in its sleep one night, as Browne had predicted, being unused to the cold of a London January. It was immediately dissected. Browne was nothing if not thorough. The learned Dr Browne One of the most striking things about this work was that it was all published in English. At this time most scientific enquiry or natural philosophy, as it was known was conducted in Latin, and often circulated in manuscript or privately through social networks. While Browne was a keen letter writer (and fluent Latinist), he made a deliberate decision to make scientific discoveries available in English, and in print. Pseudodoxia offered the possibility of being up-to-date, at a time when the frontiers of knowledge were rapidly expanding, to anyone who could read and afford to buy a book. While this was still a limited category, it represented a huge advance in the potential for the public understanding of science. In anglicising science for a general readership, he also invented some of its key terms. Browne introduced over 700 words to the English language, many of them in the pages of Pseudodoxia. His coinages include "medical", "electricity", "hallucination", "incisor", "carnivorous", "coma", "migrant", and (fittingly) "misconception". Rapidly adopted by celebrated scientific contemporaries like Robert Hooke (1635-1703) and Robert Boyle (1627-1691), he had a lasting effect on the vocabulary of science with these words. It was this influence on which his reputation was built. Celebrated across Europe for his learning after the publication of Pseudodoxia, Browne was one of the first writers who used the emerging media as a bridge between scientific research and the general public. He built a reputation as a communicator, praised for his work in fashioning an English vocabulary of scientific discovery, and was much in demand for his learning. After his death a neighbour wrote admiringly: "The horizon of his understanding was much larger than the hemisphere of the world." This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. It is one thing to know that Earth has already faced abrupt climate changesalso known as DansgaardOeschger (DO) eventsin the past. But finding out the reasons for these dramatic and rather short term changes is another story, one that Dr Rachael Rhodes from the University of Cambridge is reconstructing using chemistry records from ice cores taken from Greenland. A common assumption with past DO events is that their occurrence was closely linked to major changes in Arctic sea ice extent: such changes feedback positively on Arctic temperature, and finding out exactly how this relationship works could be key to predicting how Arctic ice will react to ongoing climate change. Within the framework of her SEADOG (Sea ice across Dansgaard-Oeschger events in Greenland) research, Dr Rhodes is analysing records of sea salt and methane sulphonic acid in Greenland ice cores with a view to defining whether they can be used as proxies for Arctic sea ice extent. She is investigating four ice core records for spatial and temporal variability across DO events, and exploring the controls on marine aerosol deposition over the Greenland Ice Sheet thanks to the p-TOMCAT chemical transport model. Thanks to her findings, Dr Rhodes has optimised the p-TOMCAT model to represent modern-day sea salt aerosol deposition across Greenland. Ongoing work will identify scenarios of sea ice change consistent with ice core chemistry data across DO events. What are DO events and why is it important to better understand them? DO events are rapid and abrupt changes in the climate of the Northern high latitudes that occurred during the Last Glacial Period. They are named after two famous ice core scientists: Willi Dansgaard (Denmark) and Hans Oeschger (Switzerland) who first recognised these events in the stable isotopic ratios of water (a proxy temperature) of Greenland ice cores. How come we don't know more about these events yet? We know quite a lot about them. For example, from Greenland ice cores, we can decipher that temperatures changes of 5-16.5C occurred within centuries over Greenland. However, we still don't understand what ultimately caused these events. Several theories involve major changes to Arctic sea ice extent but there is little evidence from the paleoclimate archives to constrain this. How did you proceed to gather the desired information from ice cores? I am using sea salt (NaCl) concentrations measured on Greenland ice cores. Sea salt concentrations are relatively easy to measure but difficult to interpret in terms of climatic or environmental changes because many other factors can influence the signal that is eventually preserved in ice cores. In particular, variations in meteorology, such as the weather systems that transport the sea salt aerosol through the atmosphere to the ice core site, are known to impact the signal. I am using an atmospheric chemical transport model called p-TOMCAT to investigate to what extent ice core sea salt signals are influenced by sea ice area and by meteorology. This will help answer the question of whether or not the abrupt sea salt concentration changes across DO events can be linked to Arctic sea ice conditions. What can you tell us about your main findings so far? My initial work has focused on understanding the processes controlling Greenland ice core sea salt signal in the present-day. I have modified p-TOMCAT to calculate sea salt concentrations in the deposited snow and the model is doing a great job of replicating both the concentrations and seasonality of sea salt records preserved in ice cores. Results indicate that meteorology is the dominant factor affecting ice core sea salt signals at the inter-annual scale, but that sea ice conditions do exert some influence. I am testing how great a change in sea ice area is needed to override meteorology and become the dominant influence. How can these results help predict the future evolution of Arctic sea ice? This work will help us understand if/how sea salt concentration records in Greenland ice cores can be used as a proxy for Arctic sea ice extent. A positive result would disentangle the effects of sea ice-related and meteorology-related sea salt change, allowing sea salt concentrations to be employed as a sea ice proxy with confidence. Reconstruction of Arctic sea ice changes across the abrupt DO events is important because we ultimately need to understand how Arctic sea ice reacts to rapid climate change, like the one we are witnessing occurring right now. What do you still need to achieve before the end of the project next year? Now that the processes leading to ice core sea salt signals are well-understood for present-day Arctic conditions, I am adapting the model to run tests using meteorology and sea ice typical of the Last Glacial Period when DO events occurred. It will be interesting to test how the simulated sea salt signals respond to the huge changes in climate and sea ice thought to happen during DO events. More information: Project page: cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/195554 Provided by CORDIS Image of a cilium from a mouse cell with the cilium stained in blue and Caveolin in red. The base of the cilium is shown in green. Credit: Schou et al. Nat. Commun. 2017 Primary cilia are antenna-like structures present on the surface of most cells in the human body. The cilia are essential mediators of communication between cell types in the body. If the cilia are defective, this communication is disrupted, and the cells are unable to appropriately regulate important cellular processes, which ultimately can lead to severe diseases that may affect nearly every organ and tissue in developing embryos as well as adults. Research performed in recent years has shown that the ability of these small communicating antennas (cilia) to receive and transmit signals from the environment is critically dependent on transport of specific signaling receptors in and out of cilia. The cilia are found on the surface of almost every single cell in the body, and by constantly monitoring the environment, they control basic cellular behaviors, such as when a cell has to divide or migrate to a different position in the body during embryonic development. For example, in the developing embryo, there is the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway, one of the most important in the body for the development of several major organs such as the kidney and the brain. Defects in cilia that affect Shh signaling, or mutations in genes that code for Shh signaling proteins, can therefore lead to severe diseases called "ciliopathies," in which the kidney, brain and many other organs in the body are defective. In addition, defective Shh signaling has also been shown to cause brain tumors in children and adults. Despite the physiological importance of cilia for human health and disease, the molecular mechanism by which cilia receive and transmit signals is still not fully understood. A new study from the Cilia Group at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, published in Nature Communications, has now provided important new information that may help to resolve this long-time mystery. Associate Professor Lotte Bang Pedersen from the Department of Biology says, 'In this study, we found that a cholesterol-binding membrane protein called Caveolin (CAV1) is located at the base of the cilium and has a central role in the regulating the cilium's ability to activate the Shh signaling pathway. And the short version is that we now finally know how extremely complex and dynamic activation of this pathway isand we have identified a key switch that controls this activation.' Simplified diagram showing how the cilium regulates activation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling. Left: when Shh is absent, the signaling receptor Patched1 accumulates in cilia. Right: in the presence of Shh, Patched1 binds Shh and leaves the cilium. This causes another signaling protein called Smoothened to enter the ciliary compartment and activate the signaling pathway. The proteins Caveolin, Nephrocystin-4 and KIF13B are present at the base of the cilium and are required for the Shh-dependent ciliary entry of Smoothened. The diagram is based on Schou et al. Nat. Commun 2017. The figure shows the variety of proteins involved in activation of this extremely complex and dynamic pathway, but is also an example of the importance of defining all basic aspects in the cellular mechanisms by which cilia receive and transmit signals. As shown in the figure, activation of Shh signaling depends on ciliary entry of the signaling protein Smoothened and ciliary exit of the Shh receptor Patched1; Caveolin, Nephrocystin-4 and KIF13B regulate this very first step in the pathway. While Caveolin is required for activation of the Shh pathway at the base of the cilium, the new study identified two additional proteinsthe kidney disease protein Nephrocystin-4 and a molecular motor protein called KIF13Bthat are both required for regulating Caveolin at the cilium, and which therefore also contribute to activation of Shh signaling. It was already known that Nephrocystin-4 regulates the cilium's ability to receive and transmit signals, and that mutations in Nephrocystin-4 cause diseases of the kidney and other organs. With the new study, researchers are one step closer to understanding the molecular mechanism by which these diseases occur, which could lead to better treatments for ciliopathy patients in the future. Moreover, with the identification of KIF13B as an important regulator of signaling at the cilium, it may only be a matter of time before disease-causing mutations in KIF13B are identified in human patients with cilia-related diseases. Distributions of diffuse X-ray scattering in the new phase of PbZrO3. Upper and lower rows correspond to different domain states. Credit: Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University Scientists of Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU), in collaboration with French, Swiss and Polish researchers, have found unique atomic-scale processes in a crystal lattice of antiferroelectric lead zirconate during a synchrotron X-ray scattering experiment. The discovery is the first step toward creating efficient, electrolyte-free accumulators of electric energy. The article was published in Scientific Reports. During the experiment, the scientists tried to understand the microscopic physics of antiferroelectricsmaterials that are difficult to describe theoretically. The model object of this group is lead zirconate. The properties of this crystal are representative among lead-based antiferroelectrics, and having studied them, scientists can use the results for describing the properties of a broad range of materials. Understanding the physics of these materials is essential for creating new functional materials targeted at particular applications. Under external influence, this crystal may have two types of lattice dipole orderingthe dipoles are arranged either parallel or antiparallel to each other. The functional properties of the material depend on the lattice order. To analyze the functional properties, it is essential to understand how the structure of the material reacts to changing of the external parameters, such as temperature, pressure and field. During the experiment, the research group examined the influence of simultaneous change of temperature and pressure to the material properties. The measurements were performed at the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility). The synchrotron X-ray source is required to provide the photon flux, which is sufficiently strong not only for ordinary Bragg scattering, but also diffuse scattering. The diffuse scattering became the key to finding new properties in the crystal lattice. Researchers have determined that the symmetry of the crystal phases, which exists at high pressures and temperatures, is not the same as it was previously assumed. The conditions at which the experiment was carried out are similar to those that can be created in a future device in which energy storage and release takes place due to switching between the crystal phases of different structures. Such structural switching will contribute to the release of significant energy in a very short period of time, and the lack of electrolytes has obvious advantages in terms of integration and miniaturization of energy storage elements. In the research, the scientists found the formation of the incommensurate phase, a phenomenon rarely occurring in crystal structures. This object is difficult to describe theoretically. Specifically, they found the incommensurate phases of lead zirconate. "Based on the macroscopic measurements, researchers have suspected that the existing theories describing the crystal lattice are not fully correct. The contradictions arise when considering the evolution of the system in pressure-temperature space, and therefore, we wanted to find out what processes occur on micro levels. Thus, during the experiment, we identified the incommensurate phase in a substitution-free antiferroelectric for the first time," says Dr. Roman Burkovsky, the first author of the paper. Now the scientific community is faced with the task of construction of the theoretical models consistently describing energy states, and its reaction to external influence. "We have proved that such conditions exist in the model antiferroelectric, thus highlighting the new challenge to the scientific community. By solving this problem, we've taken a big step in the description of functional materials," said Burkovsky. More information: R. G. Burkovsky et al, Critical scattering and incommensurate phase transition in antiferroelectric PbZrO3 under pressure, Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/srep41512 Journal information: Scientific Reports Provided by Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University Retail Case Study: Perry Ellis Upgrades Oracle POS System Perry Ellis International (PEI) is one of the largest branded lifestyle apparel companies in the world with a diverse brand portfolio distributed through multiple channels.PEI has more than 70 stores in the United States and United Kingdom. Challenge and Project Scope It was imperative that the retailer integrate its online and physical store brand environments to provide customers and with a more seamless, premium shopping experience. PEI sought to transition from Oracle Retail v12 to v14, enabling the retailer to better leverage its goal of commerce anywhere; pricing and allocation capabilities; increased inventory visibility, accuracy and access; as well as modernize its point-of-service (POS) technology. Security was also a prime concern; PEI aimed to strengthen the security of its POS to better protect customers and itself, gain single sign-on integration, and ensure all payment software could be applied in other countries as stores were added. EMV-enabled payment integration, P2PE and tokenization were key parts of this. To achieve this, PEI sought a technology partner to lead the upgrade of its Oracle Retail and POS software suites across all U.S. and U.K. store locations. The scope also included: Oracle Merchandising Oracle Store Suite (Point-of-Service, Back Office, Central Office) RMS RPM Allocation SIM The RIB Custom and legacy integrations Data conversion and migration Services PEI chose BTM Global as its partner on this complex, aggressive project. BTM Global had the most innovative approach to what we needed, and was the only vendor to offer a true upgrade solution to transition us from v12 to v14, explained Sandeep Baghel, director of retail systems at PEI. Other vendors recommended a more expensive and time-consuming approach of a complete re-implementation of Oracle Retail v14. In addition to the cost- and time-effective nature of BTM Globals approach, its plan also proved to have the lowest downtime during the turnover. Results As a result of BTM Globals unique upgrade approach, the entire project was completed on time and marked the first enterprise upgrade to v14 for Oracle Retail. BTM Global worked expertly within the very highly customized v12 environment and collaborated with other vendors and partners along the way. In collaboration with PEI, BTM Global removed many of the custom modifications and helped the retailer better leverage Oracle Retail suites base capabilities. Zero modifications were needed in the merchandising suite and only a handful in the new POS. We had a very expedient, seasoned internal IT team, and BTM was the technical partner we needed to help guide us throughout the project, said Baghel. Our teams worked together very well and BTM did much of the work via video conferencing, which saved us money because it avoided the need to have a consistent, on-site presence. As a result of this strategic approach, BTM Global delivered its scope of the v14 upgrade in less than six months, saving PEI a tremendous amount of time and money. The retailer now provides a more modern experience for its U.S. and U.K. employees and customers; improved promotional abilities; clear inventory visibility; and EMV-enabled payment integration that delivers stronger security measures to protect customers and itself. PEI requested to continue its partnership with BTM Global for production and operational support. The project was a huge success and our partnership with BTM was a key part of this, said Baghel. Their unique approach delivered on its promises, helped us resolve our problems and meet our tight timelines. BTM Global provides retail system integration and development services for clients ranging from small regional chains to the worlds most recognized brands. Through development, implementation, support and strategic technology planning, they help clients make their systems more efficient, productive and seamless. More exclusive content at Pointofsale.com News, Products, Resources: - There have been calls for a 2019 Igbo presidency in recent times - Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the first to stir up the debate - National Chairman of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie has joined the debate The national chairman of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie has expressed optimism that an Igbo man will contest the 2019 presidential election. UPP chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie He said this will be likely be the case despite the belief of some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-east for the zone to wait till 2023. Okorie made the comment during a recent interview with New Telegraph, adding that his party was at the forefront of the Igbo presidency campaign. READ ALSO: Obasanjo under attack for drumming support for Igbo presidency His words: ''It was only the United Progressives Party (UPP) that had as a matter of party policy in the last elections zoned its ticket to the South-East. And because the party will do it again, an Igbo man will run for president in 2019, God willing.'' Reacting to the recent calls by Obasanjo for Igbos to take over power in 2019, Okorie said it is nothing new. His words: ''Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is not the first high profile Nigerian to express such support. ''If you recall, former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, made a similar call in 2015, when he said that if Ndigbo will present a presidential candidate, he will support them. ''Now, Obasanjo is coming from the moral point of view to say that it is high time we allow Ndigbo to lead Nigeria. ''If you analyse what he said; it means that all the political parties should look in the direction of the South-East for this injustice to be properly addressed. ''But the way Nigeria is structured, it is only Jesus Christ, who will come out as an Igbo man and win a presidential nomination in a major political party, except that party, had as a matter of deliberate policy, zoned its ticket to the South-east.'' READ ALSO: PDP attacks Okorocha over Imo Airline and 2019 election Meanwhile, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state has said that Igbos should forget about getting the presidency in 2019 but support the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Okorocha further said Igbos whould wait for the year 2023, adding that the Igbo presidency is assured under the All Progressives Congress (APC). Source: Legit.ng - Presidency said President Buharis daughters wedding is modest compared to the wedding of Goodluck Jonathans wedding - The presidency insisted that pictures can be deceptive and the public should not believe the pictures from Zahras wedding The administration of President Buhari has once again finds fault with the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan. Senior Special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said that Zahra Buhari's wedding to Ahmed Indimi was a very modest affair. Buhari is a modest man, he didn't spend much on Zahra's wedding Femi Adesina READ ALSO: 83 Nigerians deported from UK arrive Lagos airport Adesina, during an interview on Lagos Talk 91.3fm said: "Yes you saw pictures but pictures can be deceptive, pictures will not give you the exact impression, it doesn't communicate the exact thing that happened. I was at that wedding. I was the master of ceremony at the wedding launch. Despite the fact that it was the president's daughter's wedding, I will say it was modest." "If you know our President, you will know that there is no ostentatious bone in his body. That wedding luncheon was modest for a sitting president. I don't like to compare but we were here when President Jonathan's daughter got married. You know the number of cars that she got, 80. READ ALSO: 4 US states sue Trump administration over ban of 7 Muslim-dominant countries Meanwhile, during the same interview, Adesina reacted to plans to organise a nationwide protest led by 2Baba Idibia to complain about the situation of things in the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Adesina described those who are planning the protest are people who supported Goodluck Jonathans government and are still pained that he lost. He said: "This is a country of about 180 million people. It is impossible for 180 million people to think the same way. Yoruba has a saying that is you all sleep and put your head in the same direction, then you are all foolish because you would be breathing in one another's mouth and lungs. Dont forget the last election and how it went. Somebody scored 12.5 million votes, another scored about 15 million votes. There are some people who are still in that election mode. Watch the full video of the interview below: Source: Legit.ng Editors note: So much has been said about President Muhammadu Buhari's vacation, there are questions as to the president's state of health, with many arguing for and against his death. In this opinion by Wale Sokunbi, Nigerians are called to order regarding what they wish the president, there is a conscious effort to re-orient the people as regards their relationship with their leaders. The vacation dilemma Two major issues dominated public discourse in the past week. First, is the raging rumour on the death, or otherwise, of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is officially said to be on a 10-day vacation in the United Kingdom. I first chanced on the news of the presidents supposed death on the social media about two weekends ago, and immediately waved it off as one of the fake news for which that medium of communication is becoming quite notorious. But, I had apparently underestimated the great interest and excitement that any negative news about Buhari and his government generates among certain segments of the Nigerian population. READ ALSO: Presidency reveals date President Buhari will return back to Nigeria Opinion: President Buhari - Dead or Alive? What I had thought of as a mere tale spawned by some idle social media tattlers soon took on a life of its own, complete with intriguing plots and murderous suppositions that could dwarf any tale told by James Hardly Chase and the other old grand masters of fiction writing. Strangely, many of the carriers of these tales have worked themselves into a frenzy over a development that they believe is likely to lead to Nigerias second civil war, if not an actual dissolution of the country. Many of the purveyors of this most unlikely story can hardly keep their excitement under check, as they surreptitiously regale those with whom they choose to discuss the matter, with details of how the president was flown, totally unconscious, out of the country, and died shortly after arriving in London. READ ALSO: Man slaps Taxi driver into coma over Buharis alleged death rumour Yet, others hold firmly to online accounts of how the president was caught trying to kill himself, and rushed to the hospital, where he is now in a vegetative state, while his handlers, are trying to hoodwink Nigerians and rule the nation by proxy, as happened in the last few weeks of the late president, Umaru YarAdua. Others say Buhari has even been buried, while one person said he had called the presidents spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, and asked him why he had joined others by telling lies on the matter of the presidents death. The person, strangely, insisted that he did not believe that Buhari was dead, but he was convinced that his media handlers were lying that he was alive. What a contradiction! And the tale of the presidents death has not been limited to Nigeria. I have received calls from friends in the UK who say that the Nigerian community in London is agog with the news of Buharis death and how it is likely to throw Nigeria into turmoil. As one of the callers put it, every Nigerian over the age of 25 in London has been talking about nothing other than the impending trouble in Nigeria over Buharis death, in the past one week. Conspiracy theories Ask the local weavers of these intriguing tales and you will hear that with the president now dead, the people in Northern Nigeria have vowed not to accept the constitutional provision that the vice president, who incidentally is Prof. Yemi Osinbajo from the South West, becomes the president. Not only that, they will tell you that the recent meeting of the Northern Governors Forum with some of the nations former leaders from the North, was called to pressurise VP Osinbajo to either resign or face death, so that he would not aspire to the office of president when Buharis death is announced. Some even said Osinbajo was already being held hostage in Abuja. The story goes further that the Nigerian strongmen from Southern Nigeria, such as ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, have vowed to resist the move of the Northerners, hence the need for all Nigerians to begin praying violently for Osinbajo so that he is not killed by Northerners, as they have vowed to destroy the country if Buhari dies by any means, whether natural or otherwise When all these scary suppositions are woven around the antics of some Fulani herdsmen who have actually been holding Nigerians of other tribes to ransom and killing them in large numbers in different parts of the country. The Apostle Suleman saga The recent DSS clampdown on the Christian cleric, Apostle Suleiman of the Omega Fire Ministries, for calling on Christians in the country to defend themselves when herdsmen attack them; and the Christians in Southern Nigeria who are themselves getting into a frenzy over the Apostle Suleiman matter, it is not quite out of place for anyone to believe that Nigeria is about to become a cauldron wherein the different ethnic and religious groups will take up arms and engage themselves in a fight to the finish that will lead to the breakup and eventual destruction of the country. Where, exactly, does one begin unraveling these troubling suppositions? Already, pictures of the president with his wife, and with Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, which were recently released by the presidents handlers, have been disputed, and described as old file pictures, by doubtful Nigerians. Concerning the matter of President Buharis supposed death, it is highly unlikely that this is so. What is certain about President Buhari's state of health I, personally, never get worked up over the rumoured deaths of public figures. This is simply because the death of a public figure like Buhari, in which different people have different stakes, cannot be hidden for long. So, why would anyone hide it at all? And, why would any Nigerian, in the manner of the proverbial groom to whom a bride is being taken, break his back while trying to catch a glimpse of the bride by climbing a fence? Again, Muslims bury their death within 24 hours of their demise. If Buhari were to have died when he was rumoured to have passed on almost two weeks ago now, he would have been buried. No political suppositions or calculations will make true Muslims postpone the burial of their dead. So, we can safely assume that Buhari did not die when he was first said to have passed on, and he also had not died up till yesterday evening, otherwise the country would be preparing for his burial today. So, why are some Nigerians troubling themselves and, where did all the rumours of death come from, in the first place? The simple truth is that many Nigerians who harbour ill will against some of their leaders that they do not like and can do nothing to remove immediately, have developed itchy ears that seek to hear every evil and believe every evil about these leaders. In this task, the social media has become a veritable tool for the dissemination of jaundiced news and views to titillate the ears of such people. As if all these are not enough trouble for one country, some of the people of the South-South are said to have determined to financially strangulate Nigeria to bring Buhari to his knees, while some of the South-East citizens are said to be bent on breaking away from Nigeria. READ ALSO: We will punish those saying President Buhari is dead Presidency If these worrisome claims are not enough to throw well meaning Nigerians and our compatriots in the Diaspora into emotional turmoil, I wonder what else can. As Mr Tony Okoroji reportedly said in a recent Saturday Breakfast programme on television, Buhari is daily being killed on social media where there is an ongoing war to control and guide the minds of youths and other vulnerable Nigerians to detest him. Crude propaganda is being deployed as ethnic and religious missiles to turn the hearts of ordinary Nigerians against the president and his administration. And, all these are being done to gain advantage over him and the ruling APC on the Nigerian political chessboard in the run up to the 2019 elections. With all the ethnic and religious tension being given vent on social media, Nigeria needs to be careful to avoid a degeneration of thinly veiled hostilities among its various peoples and religions, to genocide. Rumours must stop It is time to stop the dangerous incubation and propagation of ethnic and religious animosities on social media. It is also time to check the war across the nations social classes. This country is in deep trouble and we all need to keep our heads and put heads together and on how to get the country back on track, instead of these endless battles against our imaginary enemy in Aso Rock. Back to Buhari. The presidents media handlers have said he will be back in the country this Friday, which is just 48 hours away. Let all tingling ears take a break and await either the presidents return , or the news of his death or incapacitation. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Legit.ng. Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@NAIJ.com drop an email telling us what you want to write about and why. More details in Legit.ngs step-by-step guide for guest contributors. Were ready to trade your news for our money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App. Contact us if you have any feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments. We are also available on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Legit.ng Opinion page! Source: Legit.ng - Presidency has asked pop star 2baba what his grievance is with Buhari's government - The presidency's question is coming on the heels of a proposed protest march to be led by 2baba - The police in Lagos has vowed to stop the proposed march The Presidency has reacted to the planned nationwide protest against the Buhari-led APC government scheduled to hold on the 6th of February 2017 and spearheaded by pop star and African Queen crooner, Innocent Idibia, popularly called, 2face. Political Storm: Buhari replies 2baba as police vows to stop protest march The Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Electronic Media, Lauretta Onochie has, Tuesday, called on the pop star to come on national TV to state his beef with Pres. Buhari instead of going on national newspapers to make his grievances known. According to her: Nigerians would like 2Baba to explain the policies that hes not happy with on National LIVE TV, as well as proffer alternative economic policies that would better serve all Nigerians. Not on newspapers that could have been written by anyone. READ ALSO: March against Buhari: Fayose joins 2Babas nationwide protests, says enough is enough However, in what seems like a response to the Presidency, 2face, in a statement he made available to newsmen on Tuesday, said that the people have hoped for a better Nigeria since 1999 but things are not getting any better for the majority. We are still where we are poor and desperate. Political Storm: Buhari replies 2baba as police vows to stop protest march I will no longer be quiet Thanking Enough is Enough, the 2Face Foundation, his fellow artistes and Nigerians fully in support of the protest the star allayed the fear of some that he might have been influenced by some political machinations, saying the protest is not a platform for politician or labour unions to manipulate. It is not a platform for politicians of any party to manipulate. I know you will still spin it but for one second leave your battles aside and just listen to people without trying to score cheap political points against one another. It is not a point scoring exercise. It is certainly not personal. It is not an organized labour platform. With all due respect to our comrades who have done much for Nigeria, this march is for the unrepresented. It is not a my religion or tribe is better than yours matter. All our blood is red. I, Innocent Idibia, am a living example of a Nigerian who owes their success to Nigerians of every tribe and religion. None ask what religion or tribe I am before supporting me. I am grateful. Meanwhile, the Lagos state police commissioner, Fatai Owoseni on Wednesday said he will not allow the planned protest against the Federal Government slated for February 5 to hold in the state. Popular musician, TuFace Idibia who joined the call for protest by some concerned Nigerians over the state of the nation, had used his social media platforms to appeal to his supporters to join the movement. But Owoseni, who had earlier stated that there was no official request from the protesters notifying security agencies of their plan, said Wednesday that intelligence report indicates that criminals might hijack the process. According to the police chief, the command wasnt ready for that kind of demonstration and as such would not allow it to hold. He said no matter how good an intention is, hoodlums would always find a way to harass, rob and attack innocent members of the public, who may wish to go about their Lawful duty. Owoseni said: Information reaching us revealed that some hoodlums are planning to hijack the peaceful protest. And as such, we wont allow it to hold in Lagos. We know that Tuface do not have the capacity to contain such a crowd and we will not fold our hands and watch while things go out of hand. At a press conference held earlier in the week, Owoseni said: The Civil Society had said that they do not need police permission to carry out any peaceful protest, but they should also be aware that there might be those who share an opposing view. This set of persons may want to disrupt the peaceful demonstration and would want to attack demonstrators. This is why we advise individuals or group of persons who may wish to embark on civil demonstration to inform the police so that adequate security arrangement would be provided. Source: Legit.ng Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether Read more by Alice Thwaite Alice Thwaite, 27, from London, moved to Berlin to bootstrap her business, The Echo Chamber Club, which promotes a pluralistic approach to news media. She gives us her view on the city she calls home. My favourite view in Berlin is this, by Frankfurter Tor U-Bahn station. Two large towers were built here in the 1950s by the Soviets just out of shot and if you look behind me, you can see the Soviet TV tower looming in the distance. They were built to show the strength of the communist ideology, but now it is just another interchange. There are few people and no tourists. It reminds me of the ebb and flow of what we consider to be politically important. It helps give me perspective. Where to live: Kreuzberg Like London and New York, districts in Berlin have starkly different identities. Its been said before, but Kreuzberg is Berlins answer to Shoreditch and Old Street in London. It is laid back and full of interesting workspaces and people. It is also significantly cheaper than east London. Properties in Kreuzberg go for an average of 3,650 per square metre. In Shoreditch, you would have to pay more than 10,000 per square metre. Related article: Berlins war on gentrification Where to unwind: Stadtbad Neukolln Im a swimmer, and it was one of my first missions to find the best swimming pools in Berlin. There is an entirely different culture around swimming in Germany compared with the UK the rumours about naked swimming in lakes are definitely true and as a result swimming is more something to do to relax, rather than to exercise competitively. The Neukolln looks more like an old Greek bathhouse than a modern swimming pool, and it is lovely to come here for an hour or two to unwind. Where to drink: Lerchen und Eulen Around where I live there are a number of fantastic bars, but you wouldnt look twice at them if you just walked past. One of my favourites is Lerchen und Eulen. I tend to order an Augustiner Lagerbier Hell, particularly because the wine and the cocktails in many bars just arent up to London standards. Lerchen und Eulen Where to go for an espresso: Bonanza Coffee This is a great coffee place tucked out of the way on Adalbertstrasse near Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station. They have a roastery out back and the coffee is always excellent. At the moment Im picking up a refillable filter coffee from Ethiopia. Where to go for a run: the East Side Gallery A nice 5km run takes you from Gorlitzer Park, west across the Spree River at Schillingbrucke, then on to the East Side Gallery, dodging tourists, then back across the iconic Oberbaumbrucke. Gorlitzer Park My favourite thing about this run is the impossibility of doing it just 28 years ago as you are constantly moving between what was East and West Berlin when the city was divided by the wall. A mural that is part of the East Side Gallery Where to go for dinner: Der Goldene Hahn My favourite restaurant in Kreuzberg is Der Goldene Hahn Italian food with a menu that is always being updated. If you are looking for something more Berlin, then I would recommend Max und Moritz near Moritzplatz U-Bahn station or Hofbrau near Alexanderplatz for a lively beer hall experience. Where to go with the kids: Woop Woop Ice Cream Founders of Woop Woop, Philipp Niegisch and Boris Konig If you have children, Woop Woop Ice Cream is a fun place to go. They specialise in ice-cream that is created in front of you using liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees. So its always fresh and a fun reaction to go and watch before enjoying some afternoon sugar. Photographs: Hannes Jung; NurPhoto via Getty Images; Kristof Lauwers/Alamy; Peter Ptschelinzew/Alamy Security by the Book Pick any county in the United States, money is scarce to non-existent, and in the pecking order of who gets the available money, the county library is way down the line. Funding has been scarce for the Uinta County Library in Evanston, Wyoming. Despite being loved by the local citizens, the library just didnt seem to be a pressing need. There havent been any recent break-ins at the library, though it has long been recognized that the security technology in use, was not first rate. The few security cameras the library had no longer functioned and a second-hand anti-theft gate didnt have all of the necessary parts to work properly considering the layout of the building. There was a strong feeling that personal security took precedence over security of property, so we focused on cameras, said George Strawley, Uinta County librarian. The county commissioners were already imposing budget cuts across the board because of sharp drops in the energy revenues that mean so much to Wyomings economy. The pain has been felt across the state. Strawley was determined to upgrade the security system, not just for protection, but also to determine how well the functionality of the library, specifically how many people were coming and going on any given day. The bottom line, for Strawley, was the library being used? Libraries run on statistics, circulation figures, patron registrations and door counts to name a few, Strawley said. When our old system that used a beam counter failed on us about a year ago, we were left unable to gauge how many people we were actually serving. Knowing that the library needed security, but that money was tight, Strawley found himself in a bind. He began a conversation with an integrator in Wyoming, who quoted a price for equipment and installation. That plan was just out of reach. A second conversation with an individual in the security industry revealed a possible plan that eventually worked out. Strawley was able to stay within budget and get a best-of-breed solution. This article originally appeared in the February 2017 issue of Security Today. Singapore is also one of the wealthiest cities in the world. In fact, Business Insider picked it as the #1 wealthiest city in 2016. Given this, it is not surprising that Singapore is also one of most expensive real estate markets in the world. Given this, one must wonder: just how nice and expensive can homes in Singapore be? Here at ValuePenguin, we try to help consumers make the best decisions financially. From this point of view, buying a home is one of the most important financial decisions one can make in her lifetime. Purchasing a luxurious home is an even bigger investment, and one must tread carefully when shopping for a multi-million dollar home. To explore just how expensive and nice the best homes in Singapore can be, we collected data on the most expensive homes in Singapore by neighborhood. If you are looking to purchase a luxurious apartment or home in Singapore, our study below might be of value. Key Findings Overall, we found that the most expensive homes in each of the 28 neighborhoods generally ranged from S$4.4 million to S$106 million. While the difference was humongous, these homes can all easily be considered to be "ultra" expensive. On the other hand, the price per square foot was generally consistent among the different areas, averaging to about S$2,289. However, we still saw some properties whose price per square foot reached above S$14,000. Either way, buying a property of this caliber is a titanic task that will most most certainly require some assistance from bank funding. If you are looking for a jumgo-size home loan at great rates, you can check out our study on the best home loans in Singapore. Orchard & Clementi Park Have the Most Expensive Home On Sale On PropertyGuru, the most expensive home in Singapore was in Orchard/River Valley. At S$106 million dollars, it's actually not even a home, yet. Spanning across 29,000 square foot, this property is ready for development for anyone who's rich and ambitious enough to create the house of his dream in this humongous area. Story continues The neighborhood that ranked second in our study was Clementi Park/Upper Bukit Timah area. It's a humongous private property spanning 4,000 square foot, and comes with a land area of 69,500 square foot, even bigger than the property we found in Orchard. Though its per square foot price was only around S$1,295, the total listing price was S$90mn. Photo of the Clemnti Park Property Listing. Source: PropertyGuru The Highest Cost Per Square Foot: Buona Vista, West Coast and Clementi New Town In terms of price per square foot, we found two properties that were the highest in Singapore. The first one was located in Boat Quay/Marina area, with a listed pricing of S$5.2 million. This corner terrace had a listed land size of 349 square foot, which translates to roughly S$14,899.71 per square foot of cost. Even though this is an astronomical figure, the property had some very swanky photos on the listing like the one shown below. Photo of the Boat Quay Listing. Source: PropertyGuru The second property was again found in Clementi Park/Upper Bukit Timah area. A part of the Clement Canopy condo, this unit was on sale for S$9.28 million with an area of 635 sq ft. This roughly translates to S$14,614 of per square ft cost, which is on par with the property we found in Boat Quay. Given the price, this property seems to come with some splendid amenities like the one shown below. Photo of the Clemnti Park Property Listing. Source: PropertyGuru Methodology To look for the priciest homes in Singapore, we searched on PropertyGuru for the most expensive homes by neighborhood. We collected data for all 28 districts, and rank ordered properties by 1) total price and 2) by price per square foot. In order to calculate each property's price per square foot, we divided the total price by either total land size or total property size, whichever was bigger. This was done in order to measure how much surface area an individual ends up owning by purchasing the property. In case of private residences with front and backyards, this would be the total land size. For town homes or villas with multiple floors, on the other hand, this would be the total property size. The article Most Expensive Residences in Singapore by Neighborhood Feb 2017 originally appeared on ValuePenguin. ValuePenguin helps you find the most relevant information to optimise your personal finances. Like us on our Facebook page to keep up to date with our latest news and articles. More From ValuePenguin: PUNCAK, Indonesia (AP) After getting death threats from Al-Shabab militants, Mohamed Dahir Saeed and his wife fled their native Somalia with plans to seek safety in Australia. They arrived in nearby Indonesia, only to be told "the sea is closed" for anyone attempting to make the perilous boat journey south. That was two years ago. Now another chance may be disappearing for Saeed and thousands of other asylum seekers who have made it to this Southeast Asian country with dreams of finding better lives elsewhere. "The majority of people here, the U.S. takes them," Saeed said. "Now the U.S. they say no Somalian, no Iraq, no Syrian, no Iran, no Sudan. ... So maybe we will go to another place. I hope," he said Tuesday, seated outside his tiny house perched above the Ciliwung River. For thousands of asylum seekers and refugees from Iraq, Somalia and other conflict-scarred countries, Indonesia is an often yearslong hiatus as they wait for the U.S. or another country to accept them. President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim countries and suspension of the U.S. refugee program has now made their tenuous situation even more uncertain. Indonesia is home to nearly 14,000 men, women and children seeking resettlement in other countries, according to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency. About 7,500 have been recognized as refugees, giving them the prized U.N. card that inches them closer to realizing their dreams of a better life. But last year just 610 were resettled in other countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany and New Zealand. At least 2,700 of those in limbo here are from countries listed in Trump's 90-day travel ban: Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya. Asylum seekers in general are affected by his 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program, and by his decision to cut the number of refugees the U.S. accepts this budget year by more than half, to 50,000. Story continues Some 3 million refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980, according to the Pew Research Center. Saeed, 31, said that if he had the chance he'd tell the U.S. president that as a Somalian he's a "peace man." He said he left Somalia after Al-Shabab militants fighting the government pressured him to join their group, and that one of the militants wanted Saeed's wife for himself. "Now in Somalia there is a war from Al-Shabab and government. So these Somalis who run from Somalia, they need peace because they need to work, they need to feed their family. They are looking for a better life." Indonesia, a vast but poor archipelago country of more than 250 million people in Southeast Asia, might seem an unlikely refuge. Initially, many people fled there because they believed it would be a jumping-off point to reach Australia by boat. That possibility no longer exists: Since September 2013, the Australian government has turned back the often barely seaworthy vessels. Puncak, a small West Java city nestled beneath a mountain that tempers Indonesia's tropical heat, is a magnet for men from the Middle East seeking sex and a pleasant climate. Because of its proximity to Jakarta, where asylum seekers can be summoned for a refugee interview, and because of the low cost of living, many families from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan and other nations also scrape out an existence there. Saeed is waiting in Puncak for a UNHCR interview he said he was told could happen in a year. Before that, he and his wife stayed on Batam, an Indonesian island near Singapore, in accommodations overseen by the International Organization for Migration. It was good there, he said. Food, a room and an operation for his wife to remove a cyst that made her infertile. But when UNHCR told them there would be no refugee interviews there, they made the agonizing choice a month ago to come to Java. They sold their mobile phones for money. His wife is sick again, but an operation is out of the question. One plus: The cool climate means they don't to buy a fan or an air conditioner an unthinkable expense. Despite the meager existence in Puncak, the endless days of boredom, the frustration and the waiting, living among the general population is for many preferable to the alternative of staying in one of the Indonesian government's overcrowded detention centers or camps. The government of predominantly Muslim Indonesia allows asylum seekers to live in the community but they are not permitted to work and lack access to schools and public hospitals. There is no financial support unless a nongovernmental group gets involved. If relatives or friends abroad stop sending money, surrendering to a detention center is the only option left. Khairullah, a minority Sunni Muslim from Iraq, said he fled Mosul about two years ago with his wife and two young sons. The Iraqi city was liberated last month from Islamic State group militants who captured it in the summer of 2014. "I want to go outside (Iraq) because there my life is very dangerous. Maybe I'm dead, maybe my wife is dead. Maybe one of my children," said Khairullah, who ran a barbershop in Iraq. He said he couldn't afford to live in Turkey or Jordan, but a friend convinced him that life in Indonesia's camps was decent, with two rooms for a family, money and food. "When I come here to Indonesia, I go to the camp, I don't see this. One room, small room, no money, food no good. I can't stay there." Now the family, expanded to five with the birth of a daughter in Indonesia, waits to hear the outcome of a refugee interview they had five months ago. Khairullah said a sister in Iraq sends $300 a month, but not always because of the chaotic conditions in the country. "Now we see the Trump news. No Muslims. Don't come, Muslims," he said, cradling his toddler Rawan. "You know, I don't sleep at night, just thinking. What about my future? For me it's OK. But what about the future of my sons? What about my daughter with no ID? What about them? I don't know what I do." The UN Security Council unanimously called Tuesday for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Ukraine after three days of fighting left at least 13 dead. The council endorsed a Ukrainian-drafted statement that did not raise objections from Russia, after meeting behind closed doors to discuss the violence in east Ukraine. Council members "expressed grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population." They "condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements along the contact line in Donetsk region that lead to deaths and injuries, including among civilians." The Minsk agreements, backed by France and Germany, lay out a series of measures to end the conflict in east Ukraine, but its implementation has been faltering. The latest bout of fighting has focused on the town of Avdiivka, which is in government-controlled territory. About 20,000 residents have been left without electricity. "The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime," said the statement. Russia has in the past routinely blocked draft statements submitted by Ukraine, a non-permanent council member. Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko told journalists following the council meeting that the violence in east Ukraine could be considered war crimes. "We think that these actions by Russia and Russian proxies may qualify as a war crime, a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions," Yelchenko said. The Ukrainian ambassador met Monday with new US Ambassador Nikki Haley who reaffirmed "the United States support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," the US mission said in a statement. There had been speculation that President Donald Trump's drive for friendlier ties with Russia would be at the expense of Ukraine, which accuses Moscow of backing separatist fighters in the east. The situation in east Ukraine will be discussed again on Thursday when the UN's top political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman and UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien report to the council on the latest developments. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people since 2014 -- more than half of them civilians. AFP News Zhang Yao recalls the moment he realised something had gone deeply wrong at the Chinese mega-factory where he and hundreds of thousands of other workers assembled iPhones and other high-end electronics. In early October, supervisors suddenly warned him that 3,000 colleagues had been taken into quarantine after someone tested positive for Covid-19 at the factory. "They told us not to take our masks off," Zhang, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of retaliation, told AFP by telephone. What followed was a weeks-long ordeal including food shortages and the ever-present fear of infection, before he finally escaped on Tuesday. Zhang's employer, Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn, has said it faces a "protracted battle" against infections and imposed a "closed loop" bubble around its sprawling campus in central China's Zhengzhou city. Local authorities locked down the area surrounding the major Apple supplier's factory on Wednesday, but not before reports emerged of employees fleeing on foot and a lack of adequate medical care at the plant. China is the last major economy committed to a zero-Covid strategy, persisting with snap lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines in a bid to stamp out emerging outbreaks. But new variants have tested officials' ability to snuff out flare-ups and dragged down economic activity with the threat of sudden disruptions. - Desperation - Multiple workers have recounted scenes of chaos and increasing disorganisation at Foxconn's complex of workshops and dormitories, which form a city-within-a-city near Zhengzhou's airport. Zhang told AFP that "positive tests and double lines (on antigen tests) had become a common sight" in his workshop before he left. "Of course we were scared, it was so close to us." "People with fevers are not guaranteed to receive medicine," another Foxconn worker, a 30-year-old man who also asked to remain anonymous, told AFP. "We are drowning," he said. Those who decided to stop working were not offered meals at their dormitories, Zhang said, adding that some were able to survive on personal stockpiles of instant noodles. Kai, a worker at in the complex who gave an interview to state-owned Sanlian Lifeweek, told the magazine Foxconn's "closed loop" involved cordoning off paths between dormitory compounds and the factory, and complained he was left to his own devices after being thrown in quarantine. TikTok videos geolocated by AFP showed mounds of uncollected rubbish outside buildings in late October, while employees in N95 masks squeezed onto packed shuttle buses taking them from dormitories to their work stations. A 27-year-old woman working at Foxconn, who asked not to be named, told AFP a roommate who tested positive for Covid was sent back to her dormitory on Thursday morning, crying, after she decided to hand in her notice while in quarantine. "Now the three of us are living in the same room: one a confirmed case and two of us testing positive on the rapid test, still waiting for our nucleic acid test results," the worker told AFP. Many became so desperate by the end of last month that they attempted to walk back to their hometowns to get around Covid transport curbs. As videos of people dragging their suitcases down motorways and struggling up hills spread on Chinese social media, the authorities rushed in to do damage control. The Zhengzhou city government on Sunday said it had arranged for special buses to take employees back to their hometowns. Surrounding Henan province has officially reported a spike of more than 600 Covid cases since the start of this week. - Distrust - When Zhang finally attempted to leave the Foxconn campus on Tuesday, he found the company had set up obstacle after obstacle. "There were people with loudspeakers advertising the latest Foxconn policy, saying that each day there would be a 400 yuan ($55) bonus," Zhang told AFP. A crowd of employees gathered at a pick-up point in front of empty buses but were not let on. People in hazmat suits, known colloquially as "big whites" in China, claimed they had been sent by the city government. "They tried to persuade people to stay in Zhengzhou... and avoid going home," Zhang said. "But when we asked to see their work ID, they had nothing to show us, so we suspected they were actually from Foxconn." Foxconn pointed to the local government's lockdown orders from Wednesday when asked by AFP if it attempted to stop employees from leaving, without giving any further response. The company had on Sunday said it was "providing employees with complimentary three meals a day" and cooperating with the government to provide transport home. Eventually, the crowd of unhappy workers who had gathered decided to take matters into their own hands and walked over seven kilometres on foot to the nearest highway entry ramp. There, more people claiming to be government officials pleaded with the employees to wait for the bus. The crowd had no choice as the road was blocked. Buses eventually arrived at five in the afternoon -- nearly nine hours after Zhang had begun his attempt to secure transport. "They were trying to grind us down," he said. Back in his hometown, Zhang is now waiting out the home quarantine period required by the local government. "All I feel is, I've finally left Zhengzhou," he told AFP. bur-tjx/oho/je/mca/cwl In this photo taken Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, Yemenis gather for a meeting with American lawyer Julie Goldberg, who is helping them with their cases, in Djibouti city, Djibouti. Hundreds of Yemenis with U.S. visas are stranded in the tiny African state of Djibouti because of President Donald Trump's ban on entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, lawyer Julie Goldberg said Wednesday. (Julie Goldberg via AP) LOS ANGELES (AP) A federal judge in Los Angeles has ordered the U.S. government to allow people holding immigrant visas from seven majority-Muslim nations into the United States despite President Trump's executive order banning them. In a temporary restraining order issued late Tuesday, Judge Andre Birotte Jr. ordered the government not to cancel any validly obtained immigrant visas or bar anyone from the seven nations holding them from entering the U.S. But it was unclear whether the order will have any effect. The State Department ordered all visas from the seven countries revoked on Friday, and the government has maintained that orders similar to Birotte's do not apply because the visas are no longer valid. The State Department declined comment Wednesday on Birotte's order, saying it does not comment on pending litigation. Stacey Gartland, a San Francisco attorney who represents a 12-year-old Yemeni girl whose parents and siblings are U.S. citizens living in California, acknowledged Wednesday that her client and hundreds of others with immigrant visas still may not be allowed in the U.S. under Birotte's order, but said she's optimistic. "This court order is a major victory and definitely gives us a path forward," Gartland said. "It's just a matter of getting it into the right hands of someone who'll obey the court order." Julie Goldberg, the Los Angeles-based immigration lawyer who filed the lawsuit that prompted Birotte's order, is trying to arrange flights for dozens of Yemeni citizens who have immigrant visas and are stranded in the tiny African nation of Djibouti, including the 12-year-old girl Gartland represents. Gartland said two major airlines have turned them down but they are trying to work with smaller airlines that will follow Birotte's order. "These are all children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens," Goldberg told The Associated Press from the Horn of Africa nation, emphasizing that those stranded are not refugees, though Yemen is engulfed in civil war. They received visas last week, she said. Story continues Mohamed Mosleh Jeran is one of the many waiting. After his family's home was blown up in Yemen's conflict, he and his wife and two young children spent two years in Djibouti. Last month, their younger son died during what should have been routine surgery. Last Thursday, the family received their U.S. visas and looked forward to joining Jeran's father, a U.S. citizen, in New York City. But Trump the next day announced his executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. On Saturday, Jeran's family was turned away at the Turkish Airlines check-in counter, Goldberg said. A spokesman for the airline did not respond to a call for comment. "Finally I am leaving Djibouti, but in my heart I was upset, I lost one of my kids," Jeran recalled to the AP. "But what can you do? This is life. I was happy my wife and son were leaving Djibouti, finally." But when they were turned away, "my wife, she was like a child, crying, my son, too.'" Jeran has been accepted to the University of Toledo to begin a masters' program in March, Goldberg said. "It's super frustrating," she said. "They're running out of money. Djibouti is very expensive. They can't go back to Yemen, they would be killed." Yemen has been gripped by conflict since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States, has been carrying out an air campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for nearly two years. Many Yemenis have fled on boats across the Bab al-Mandab strait to Djibouti or other Horn of Africa countries. In the United States, relatives of the stranded Yemenis are anguished. Esam Molhi and his wife, both green card holders from Yemen, now fear leaving for Djibouti to reunite with their 3-year-old daughter because Trump's order might keep them from returning home. The girl was born in Yemen, and the U.S. Embassy there refused to let her fly with her mother to join Molhi in the U.S., Goldberg said. The family has been pursuing a U.S. visa for the girl since then. The child is staying in a rented room in Djibouti with her Yemeni grandfather, Molhi told the AP from his home in San Francisco, where he works as an Uber driver. He has not yet seen her in person, and his wife has not seen her since she was a month and a half old. "This is unfair," Molhi said of Trump's order. "I want him to feel as I feel, you know?" The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti has posted an urgent notice online telling people, including those with dual nationalities, from the countries affected Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen not to schedule visa appointments or even attend existing visa appointments. ___ Associated Press writers Alicia Caldwell in Washington, D.C. and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report. AFP News Pope Francis warned the world is on the edge of a "delicate precipice" and buffeted by "winds of war" as he held inter-faith talks with one of Sunni Islam's top leaders in Bahrain on Friday. The 85-year-old Argentine decried the "opposing blocs" of East and West, a veiled reference to the standoff over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in a speech to religious leaders in the tiny Gulf state. "We continue to find ourselves on the brink of a delicate precipice and we do not want to fall," he told an audience including Bahrain's king and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's prestigious Al-Azhar mosque. "A few potentates are caught up in a resolute struggle for partisan interests, reviving obsolete rhetoric, redesigning spheres of influence and opposing blocs," he added. "We appear to be witnessing a dramatic and childlike scenario: in the garden of humanity, instead of cultivating our surroundings, we are playing instead with fire, missiles and bombs." The pope's visit, aimed at strengthening relations with Islam, comes with the Ukraine war in its ninth month, and as tensions grow on the Korean peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who met Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in September, told journalists that there had been "a few small signs" of progress in negotiations with Moscow, warning that peace initiatives should not be "exploited for other goals". Francis, who is on his second visit to the wealthy Gulf, later met privately with al-Tayeb, with whom he signed a Muslim-Christian manifesto for peace in the United Arab Emirates in 2019. "This meeting has great symbolic importance, both locally and internationally, for promoting peace and peaceful co-existence between different religions and civilisations," said Hala Ramzi Fayez, a Christian and member of Bahrain's parliament. - Sunni, Shiite talks? - Leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics, Francis has placed inter-faith dialogue at the heart of his papacy, visiting other Muslim-majority countries including Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. Al-Tayeb, who met with the pope on previous Middle East visits, also called on Friday for talks between Islam's two main branches, Sunni and Shiite, to settle sectarian differences. Later, the pope addressed 17 members of the Muslim Council of Elders, an international group of Islamic scholars and dignitaries, at the mosque of the Sakhir Royal Palace. He told them dialogue was "the oxygen of peaceful coexistence". "In a world that is increasingly wounded and divided, that beneath the surface of globalisation senses anxiety and fear, the great religious traditions must be the heart that unites the members of the body," he said. He also struck out at the arms trade, a "commerce of death" that he said was "turning our common home into one great arsenal". The pope, who is using a wheelchair and a walking stick due to long-standing knee problems, began the first papal visit to Bahrain on Thursday by hitting out at the death penalty and urging respect for human rights and better conditions for workers. Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Bahrain's minister of finance and national economy, insisted the country has "led the region" with its criminal justice reforms. "We have some of the most robust and wide-ranging human rights and criminal justice protections in the region," the minister told AFP on Friday. "There are very well-established channels through which any of these critics can go, well established institutions of accountability," he said, adding that the pope's comments on the death penalty did not single out Bahrain. "It is important to note that that reference... was a general reference to countries around the world," the minister said. Bahrain has executed six people since 2017, when it carried out its first execution in seven years. Some of the condemned were convicted following a 2011 uprising put down with military support from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. cmk-lar/par/ho/th/dwo A scrawny millennial with gaunt features and a studious frown, Joshua Wong looks like he'd struggle to take on a large steak, let alone the might of Communist China. Yet the bespectacled activist is the unlikely hero to a generation in Hong Kong, where he led a movement inspiring hundreds of thousands to join his cause for elections free from Beijing's interference. At the age of just 17, he spearheaded mass blockades that brought parts of the Asian financial center to a standstill in 2014, sparked by restrictions from Beijing on how Hong Kong's next leader will be chosen. Hailed as one of the world's most influential figures by Time, Fortune and Foreign Policy magazines, he is now the focus of an award-winning Netflix documentary due for release later this year. "We hope people around the world recognize that social movements can make things happen. They can make things change," Wong, now 20, told AFP by telephone from Hong Kong. "People may be depressed or downhearted with the political situation in their own country, but it's still optimistic to see hope and seek change by street activism." "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower" tells the story of how Wong became one of China's most notorious dissidents after the mainland Communist Party backtracked on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong. - 'David and Goliath' - Critics say the 79-minute documentary could not have picked a better moment, with political engagement piqued in the West as protesters take to the streets to decry the policies of new US leader Donald Trump. "You have a lone teenager taking on China and it's one of the things that attracted me to the story. The odds don't get much bigger. Talk about David and Goliath," Los Angeles-based director Joe Piscatella said in an interview. At the age of just 14, Wong campaigned successfully for Hong Kong to drop a pro-China "National Education" program, rallying a crowd of 120,000 to his cause. He was one of the 78 people arrested in September 2014 during another giant pro-democracy protest after China reneged on a pledge made during the handover to give Hong Kongers the right to choose their next leader. Umbrellas were used to shield activists from waves of police pepper spray, giving the nascent "Umbrella Movement" its banal yet iconic symbol of resistance. Galvanized by Wong's passion, the Umbrella Movement made headlines around the world, but was ultimately unable to shake up Hong Kong politics after weeks of protest. Wong continues to campaign under the banner of a new political party, Demosisto, for a referendum to determine who will rule Hong Kong after the "one party, two systems" principle codified in Chinese agreements with Britain expires in 30 years. "I'm still hopeful for the young generation here. In Hong Kong, more young people may be legislators in the future. I would say that this is just a starting point," Wong said. - 'That's my life' - Born to middle class Christian parents Grace and Roger Wong in 1996, Wong began his life of activism at age 13 with a protest against plans for a high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and the mainland. It was here that Piscatella's producer, documentary filmmaker Matthew Torne, first encountered Wong and, seeing something extraordinary in the youngster, started his camera rolling. "The first time I met Joshua, I was in awe... He's kind of a conundrum in that, when he walks into a room, he's not somebody you notice right away," Piscatella said. "You give him a microphone and a bullhorn and there's a change in him where suddenly he just becomes this other person where he's passionate and has this ability to connect with a large group of people." "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower" was picked up by Netflix and awarded the audience prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where Wong attended screenings, describing the support for the film as "unbelievable." Since the end of the Umbrella Movement, Wong has been denied entry into Malaysia and Thailand, attacked in the street and abused by pro-China protesters in Taiwan. But he takes it all in his stride. "That's my life," he shrugs, describing the drawbacks of his high profile, with a quiet insouciance, as "inconvenient" and vowing to fight on. "We didn't win in the last battle," he said, "but I'm still optimistic for winning in the final war." FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2015, file photo, Arkansas state Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, speaks about his bill that would prevent local governments from passing their own anti-discrimination laws. Hester's bill eventually became a law that the Arkansas Supreme Court will take up on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. The court has been asked whether an ordinance in Eureka Springs, and others like it, violates the ban against local anti-discrimination laws. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) With a gay pride parade that organizers tout as the largest in Arkansas and a reputation as a liberal haven in a conservative state, college-town Fayetteville took what seemed like a logical step in guaranteeing civil rights to its LGBT community. Voters approved an ordinance in 2015 banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, joining a handful of other communities with similar measures on the books. But Arkansas is one of three GOP-controlled states that had explicitly banned cities and counties from taking such steps, and state officials are challenging the action. The Arkansas Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether the city or the state should prevail. The case is one of the first of its kind on the LGBT issue to reach a high court review, and could be an important test for cities in other conservative states that are trying to counter bathroom laws, religious objections measures and other efforts that critics consider discriminatory. It also comes as Democratic cities are pushing back on other issues. "As we see many cities taking these steps, we also really see this backlash in state legislatures," said Cathryn Oakley of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group. At least 40 bills seen as anti-LGBT have been introduced in 16 states so far this year, according to activists. The question of local control vs state's rights will be hotly debated. For Republicans who have traditionally extolled keeping power in the hands of the people, "to pull power away from localities in favor of the state to me seems very hypocritical and it tends to be really directed around progressive issues," Oakley said. But conservative leaders say the local actions are impractical and unsupported in state law. "These ordinances run the risk of creating a patchwork of civil rights from one community or one county to another," said Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council, the social conservative group that had pushed for the state level ban. Story continues Arkansas' civil rights law doesn't cover sexual orientation or gender identity, and in 2015 the Legislature banned cities from expanding protections beyond the current language. Tennessee has a similar ban, and the prohibition is also part of North Carolina's controversial law restricting which bathrooms transgender people can use. A state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against Tennessee's ban in 2014. North Carolina's law, which prompted widespread boycotts of the state, is being challenged in federal court. In Arkansas, Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas and its 27,000 students, and Eureka Springs, a mountain resort town known as a gay-friendly tourist destination, approved broad anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people. More limited measures covering only government agencies and contractors were enacted in capital-city Little Rock, the county around it and in Hot Springs. Officials of those towns said the gay-friendly measures can help in attracting businesses. "I think certainly it sends a strong message to the community and to the public and to the entire country that we're an open welcoming city and we embrace diversity," said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola. Stodola and other officials have argued that other parts of state law allow for such local protections. A state judge agreed with that argument and upheld Fayetteville's ordinance, prompting the state's Republican attorney general to appeal to the high court. So far, the issue has mostly involved dueling legal briefs. Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams said no discrimination complaints have been filed under the new ordinance. Likewise, Eureka Springs has yet to have an applicable case. "We didn't anticipate that we would have any discrimination suits," Mayor Robert "Butch" Berry said. Cox said that if the Supreme Court rules for the state, conservatives may ask the Legislature to pass a more sweeping anti-local action ban. "We have determined as a society that things like civil rights should be handled at a different level and there are certain issues that are so important, they should be handled with uniformity," Republican Sen. Bart Hester said. ___ Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo AFP News Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was recovering in hospital Friday after a gunman shot him in the leg, with his supporters vowing the assassination attempt will not derail his "long march" bid to return to power. The attack on his convoy, apparently by a lone gunman, killed one man and wounded at least 10, significantly raising the stakes in a political crisis that has gripped the South Asian nation since Khan's ousting in April. Khan "was stable and he was doing fine" at Shaukat Khanum hospital in the eastern city of Lahore, his doctor Faisal Sultan told AFP Friday. Seemi Bokhari, a lawmaker with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said after visiting Khan the former premier was in high spirits. "The doctors are allowing him to move ... He is feeling perfectly well and he will soon be discharged," she told AFP. The 70-year-old former international cricket star had been leading a campaign convoy of thousands since last week from Lahore to the capital Islamabad when he was attacked. Khan suffered at least one bullet wound to his right leg when a gunmen sprayed pistol fire at his modified container truck as it drove slowly through a thick crowd in Wazirabad, around 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of Islamabad. "Everyone who was standing in the very front row got hit," former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, who was standing behind Khan, told AFP. Senior aide Raoof Hasan said it was "an attempt to kill him, to assassinate him". Chaudhry said party officials would meet later Friday to discuss the immediate fate of Khan's campaign march. "The real freedom long march will continue and the movement for people's rights will remain until an announcement on the general elections," he tweeted. - Threats - Party officials also called for supporters to stage rallies and marches across the country after Friday afternoon prayers, the most important of the week. Protesters lit fires and blocked roads in several cities late Thursday as news of Khan's shooting spread. His campaign truck has become a crime scene for now, cordoned off and guarded by commandos as forensic experts comb the area. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Thursday the attacker had been taken into custody. Officials shared an apparent confession video that was circulating online. "I did it because (Khan) was misleading the public," says a dishevelled man in the leaked video, shown with his hands tied behind his back in what appears to be a police station. He says he was angry with the procession for making a racket during the call to prayer that summons Muslims to the mosque five times a day. Pervaiz Elahi, the chief minister of Punjab, said officers who leaked the video would be disciplined. Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist militancy for decades, with right-wing religious groups having huge sway over the population. It has been no stranger to assassination attempts during decades of political instability, and the powerful military has led the country several times. Pakistan's first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was shot dead at a rally in Rawalpindi in 1951. Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was killed in 2007 when a huge bomb detonated near her vehicle as she greeted supporters in the city of Rawalpindi. - Kicked from power - Khan was booted from office in April by a no-confidence vote after defections by some of his coalition partners, but he retains huge support. He was voted into power in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform by an electorate tired of dynastic politics, but his mishandling of the economy -- and falling out with a military accused of helping his rise -- sealed his fate. Since then, he has railed against the establishment and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government, which he says was imposed on Pakistan by a "conspiracy" involving the United States. Khan and Shehbaz have for months traded bitter accusations of corruption and incompetence, raising the political temperature in a nation that is frequently at boiling point. Khan has repeatedly told supporters he was prepared to die for the country, and aides have long warned of unspecified threats made on his life. The attack drew international condemnation including from the United States, which had uneasy relations with Khan when he was in power. "Violence has no place in politics, and we call on all parties to refrain from violence, harassment and intimidation," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. sjd/fox/ecl/pbt/dhc HONG KONG (AP) Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of a Chinese-born Canadian billionaire reportedly seized in Hong Kong by mainland Chinese police, in a case that could rekindle concerns about overreach by Chinese law enforcement in the semiautonomous city. Xiao Jianhua is in mainland China, according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source close to the tycoon, one of China's richest individuals. Overseas Chinese news sites said earlier that Chinese police officers escorted Xiao from his suite at the luxury Four Seasons Hotel last Friday and took him away. Such news sites carry reports of political gossip and corruption scandals that can be difficult to verify in tightly controlled China. The reports contradict a front-page ad on the same day in the Ming Pao newspaper purportedly in Xiao's name, denying he was taken against his will. That would be an apparent breach of the city's mini-constitution, which prohibits mainland Chinese law enforcement agencies from operating in Hong Kong. "Let there be no misunderstanding!" the statement said. "It's not true that I've been abducted and taken back to the mainland." Xiao is the founder of Beijing-based Tomorrow Group. The 46-year-old is worth nearly $6 billion, making him China's 32nd wealthiest person, according to the Hurun Report , China's version of the Forbes Rich List. It's unclear why Xiao was targeted, but his case has parallels with that of five Hong Kong booksellers, who disappeared in 2015 only to turn up under control of the mainland authorities, sparking fears that Beijing was eroding Hong Kong's wide autonomy and rule of law. The five sold gossipy books about China's communist leaders that were banned on the mainland but popular with Chinese visitors. China's Ministry of Public Security and Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday, a public holiday in China. The Hong Kong police force said Wednesday they have asked Chinese authorities for help in following up on the case. Story continues In response to an inquiry about Xiao, the police force said initial investigations showed the "subject" crossed into the mainland at a border checkpoint Friday. They had launched the investigation after receiving a request for assistance from a family member on Saturday but a day later, the relative asked to withdraw the report after getting word that he was safe. Xiao is reported to have built his fortune in part because of close connections with the families of Communist Party leaders. In 2014, reports said he fled to Hong Kong following rumors he was the target of a graft investigation reports he denied at the time. A wide-reaching anti-corruption crackdown led by Chinese President Xi Jinping has snared dozens of executives at state companies. Chinese state media said in 2013 that Xiao controlled nine publicly listed companies and had stakes in more than 30 financial institutions. The New York Times reported in 2014 that a company Xiao co-founded paid $2.4 million to buy shares in an investment firm held by Xi's sister and brother-in-law. Rupert Hoogewerf, the Hurun Report's publisher, said Xiao holds the reputation of a "maverick visionary" who makes major decisions on his own and has gone to lengths to obscure Tomorrow Group's holdings, which include banks and securities companies. "He's one of the kings of capital of China," Hoogewerf said. "There's not many people moving money in the same way." According to the Ming Pao ad, Xiao was out of the country for medical treatment and would address the media once he finished his treatment. It followed similar statements the company posted this week on its Twitter-like Sina Weibo account, which have since been deleted. The ad said Xiao is a Canadian citizen and a Hong Kong permanent resident and enjoys protections of both, and also has an unspecified diplomatic passport. Xiao was named ambassador-at-large for Antigua and Barbuda in 2015, according to the Antigua government's website . The ad cited Xiao as saying he was a patriotic Chinese businessman who "has always loved the party and the nation, and has never participated in anything that would hurt the country's interests or the government's image, let alone support any opposition forces or groups." It's not unusual for officials, executives and other individuals detained by Chinese security to be pressured into releasing messages to their relatives or on their social media accounts claiming that all is well. Such messaging, coupled with censorship of reporting online by domestic media, has been seen as part of the Chinese authorities' efforts to tamp down concerns about the safety of the individuals concerned. The Canadian Consulate said it was aware of the reports and had contacted authorities "to gather additional information and provide assistance." Jean-Francois Harvey, a Hong Kong-based lawyer, said he expected the case would further alarm mainland Chinese investors and businesspeople who have closely watched Beijing's anti-corruption crackdown and the country's economic slowdown. In the wake of the booksellers' incident, Xiao's disappearance is likely to further degrade the perception that Hong Kong, unlike China, has an independent judiciary that operates outside of the political system, he said. "People will be questioning whether Hong Kong is a safe haven," Harvey said. "I think the answer to that question is very, very clear now, sadly." Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant and researcher Henry Hou in Beijing contributed to this report. FILE - In this file photo taken on, Wednesday, July 31, 2016, Congo opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi speak during a political rally in Kinshasa, Congo. Congo's opposition icon Etienne Tshisekedi, who pushed for democratic reforms for decades in this vast Central African nation and once declared himself president after saying the election was rigged by the incumbent, has died, his political party said late Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/John Bompengo,File) KINSHASA, Congo (AP) Congo's opposition icon Etienne Tshisekedi, who pushed for democratic reforms for decades in the vast Central African nation throughout dictatorship and civil war, has died, his political party said late Wednesday. He was 84. His death comes at a politically fragile moment for Congo, where he was heavily involved in the recent deal to get President Joseph Kabila to agree to step down by the end of this year after months of deadly protests. The parties signed a deal that has yet to be implemented. The stalemate already had worried observers, and Tshisekedi's death likely will compound the difficulties. Tshisekedi had been seeking medical treatment in Belgium, Congo's former colonizer. He has long battled rumors of ill health because of complications from diabetes. In 2010, he walked the 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the airport to his suburban home in Kinshasa upon his triumphant return from medical treatment abroad. A statement released late Wednesday by party spokesman Augustin Kabuya did not state a cause of death. Radio France Internationale said he died from a pulmonary embolism. It was not immediately clear when his funeral would be held back home in Congo. Tshisekedi formed the country's first opposition party in 1982 the Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS in an effort to combat the longtime dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. Despite serving as the country's most iconic opposition figure, he never managed to ascend to Congo's highest office though he once declared himself president after the 2011 election was marred by allegations of vote rigging by the ruling party. Most recently, he had been the current president's most outspoken critic, at one point last year accusing Kabila of "treason" for not stepping down at the end of his mandate. A court ruled that Kabila could stay on until the next election is held, but critics say the court was biased. Story continues "I launch a solemn appeal to the Congolese people to not recognize the illegal and illegitimate authority of Joseph Kabila, and to peacefully resist a coup d'etat that was carried out with the blessing of the constitutional court," he said in December in a message carried on YouTube. With his death, Tshisekedi did not live to see whether Kabila will make good on his promise to leave by the end of 2017. Even in his 80s, Tshisekedi had continued his advocacy, though he appeared somewhat frail in late July when he spoke at a rally upon his return to Congo after several years abroad, sporting his trademark flat cap. His son, Felix, has also become a prominent political figure and headed the coalition of opposition parties known as the Rassemblement. Tshisekedi was active on the political scene for decades, serving several times briefly as a prime minister under Mobutu, falling into the trap of many politicians co-opted by the dictator ultimately forced out in 1997. Tshisekedi went into exile in November 2000 after repeated clashes with the government of Joseph Kabila's father, Laurent, who became president after Mobutu's departure and then was assassinated in 2001. At one point, Tshisekedi was banished to internal exile in his home village about 700 kilometers (435 miles) west of the capital. But he made a triumphant return in 2003. Then when Congo finally prepared to held its first multiparty election in four decades, he initially asked his supporters not to register as voters, claiming the negotiations were flawed. He later backtracked and announced he would contest the presidency in that landmark 2006 vote, but only if voter enrollment were reopened to allow his supporters to register. Congo's electoral commission refused, saying there was no time. Tshisekedi then took on Kabila in the 2011 presidential election, ultimately contesting after Kabila was declared the winner. "I reject these results, and in fact I see them as a provocation against our people," the opposition leader told the AP at the time. "His term is finished. I am the president. I am the one who got the votes of the people." ___ Associated Press writer Saleh Mwanamilongo reported this story in Kinshasa and AP writer Krista Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that he won't run for South Korea's presidency, a surprise announcement that removes a key figure from the scramble to replace impeached President Park Geun-hye and further stirs the country's already tumultuous politics. The withdrawal of Ban, who had been considered the only major conservative contender, boosts liberal Moon Jae-in, who has enjoyed a comfortable lead in opinion surveys since Park was impeached in December. Ban told a hastily arranged news conference that he had wanted to use his 10 years of experience as U.N. chief to resolve a national crisis and achieve unity. But he said his "pure patriotism" and push for political reform were badly damaged by political slander and "fake news" that targeted him. He did not elaborate, but Ban has faced growing media questions about his political competence and corruption allegations. "I was also very disappointed by old-fashioned, narrow-minded egoistic attitudes by some politicians, and I came to a conclusion that it would be meaningless to work together with them," he said. Politics in South Korea has been upended by a massive scandal involving Park and her confidant, which prompted millions to take to the streets in protest. Prosecutors accuse Park of letting her friend Choi Soon-sil pull government strings from the shadows and collude with her to extort money from businesses. Park is on a trial at the Constitutional Court, which is deliberating over whether to confirm her impeachment or restore her to power. If she is thrown out, presidential elections, originally set for December, would be held within two months. Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister whose service at the U.N. ended in December, initially generated sizable interest in his home country and was widely seen as testing the political waters for a possible candidacy. But his approval ratings, which once outpaced Moon and other potential rivals, have been falling since the scandal flared in October. A survey released earlier Wednesday showed Moon, who lost the 2012 election to Park, had a 32.8 percent approval rating while Ban ranked second with 13.1 percent. Story continues Ban is not the first U.N. official to face difficulty in turning to politics after leaving the world organization. Kurt Waldheim, who served as U.N. secretary-general in 1972-81, later became Austria's president but his U.N. legacy was overshadowed by revelations that he served in a German unit linked to atrocities in World War II. Mohammed ElBaradei, former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, became a prominent critic of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak after his return home to Egypt. After Mubarak and his successor Mohammed Morsi were ousted, ElBaradei served as a vice president in the military-backed government in 2013, only to resign one month later in protest over a deadly government crackdown on Morsi supporters. After his return to South Korea on Jan. 12, Ban conducted politically tinged tours of the country and met high-profile politicians. But he saw his popularity decline further as he struggled to defuse media criticism that he lacks details about how to pursue reforms, is vague about his political identity and showed a lack of experience. One incident that caused Ban problems happened on Jan. 18 when reporters repeatedly asked him about his past support for Park's contentious 2015 deal with Japan over Korean women forced to serve as sex slaves for wartime Japanese troops. Tired of the same question, Ban described journalists with an insulting Korean term that can be translated as "jerks." He later apologized for the comment. Ban also repeatedly denied allegations in the media that he took bribes from a businessman at the center of a corruption scandal that led to the suicide of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in 2009. Moon, a former human rights lawyer, served as Roh's presidential chief of staff. Ban was also forced to defend himself over criminal charges against two of his relatives, who have been indicted in the United States on charges of plotting to bribe a Middle East official to influence the $800 million sale of a building complex in Vietnam. Ban has said he knew nothing about the alleged criminal activities. Meeting with reporters, Moon called Ban's decision "unexpected." Moon said he is willing to seek Ban's advice on international affairs, saying "Ban's experience in foreign policy and international politics should be actively used for our country." Ban's exit left the conservatives with no main contender to compete against Moon. Possible conservative candidates could be interim leader and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn or Yoo Seong-min, one of the politicians who bolted Park's embattled ruling party. ___ Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and Ashraf Khalil in Cairo contributed to this report. Web publishing is becoming an increasingly big part of businesses in many different industries and niches. But it can actually be a business in and of itself. Ivan Widjaya has been a web publisher since 2008, running sites such as Noobpreneur, Biz Epic and Previso Media, among others. If youre interested in building your own business as a web publisher, you can take some notes from Widjayas experience over the years. Heres how you can start your own web publishing business. How To Become a Web Publisher Choose a Domain and Hosting To get started as a web publisher, you first need an actual website. That means you need to choose a domain name that fits with your brand. Widjaya told Small Business Trends in an email, My first and foremost is deciding on the right domain name. Its a crucial part of your branding effort. Youll also need to choose a hosting provider. There are many options out there that you can compare based on your own needs. But Widjaya says that he usually focuses on quality and value instead of just choosing the lowest price. Create a Design From there, you need to actually design your website. The design elements that you choose should fit with the niche and brand you are creating for your business. But there are plenty of tools like templates and themes that you can use to get started even if youre not a professional designer. Widjaya says, Dont forget about design again, its a crucial part of your brand. I usually purchase premium theme/template, and customize it accordingly. Build a Social Presence So youve got a website and a basic brand. But now you need to find the people who will actually be interested in what you have to offer. Widjaya suggests starting at least with accounts on Facebook and Twitter. And once you create some content, you can use those platforms to promote your website. Focus on Great Content Once youve got your site up and running, the most important thing you need to do as a web publisher is to create great content. Your content should be relevant to your readers and fit with the brand youve created. You can also sometimes outsource your content creation to other writers. Widjaya does this sometimes, but still writes for each of his sites as well. Market Your Site Then, you need to make sure people are actually going to see that great content youve created. Widjaya suggests using those social accounts you set up, interacting and engaging with relevant accounts. But you can also consider using Facebook ads to help get the word out. In addition, SEO is a big part of getting your website found. Widjaya suggests using content to build links. And you should also make sure that your own site is optimized for SEO early on and then take that into account as you create content as well. Keep It Going Building a business as a web publisher is a long process. You cant just do the steps above one time and expect to be a success right away. You have to continually create quality content and then continually promote it. And be patient because success isnt likely to come quickly. Widjaya says, Start with the right mindset. Web publishing is a long game. I start seeing rewards (e.g. income) after 12-24 months of content publishing, marketing and management. If you want a light or healthy meal, there are plenty of restaurant options out there. But if you want large, hearty portions, theres Lumberjacks Restaurant. The company grew during the middle of a recession, but still manages to offer large meals to diners in various locations thanks to its franchise program. Read more about the business below in this weeks Small Business Spotlight. What the Business Does Offers large portions of down home menu items in a casual, log cabin themed restaurant. Founder Jeff Garrett told Small Business Trends, We are known as Where the Big Boys Eat with our old-fashioned, family style meals served in big portions at affordable prices. Business Niche Large portions and a unique environment. Garrett says, We offer an extensive menu of classic dishes in hearty portions. For example, our Chicken Fried Steak is nearly a half pound of lightly seasoned and breaded beef steak, fried golden brown and served with our own country gravy. The Ultimate Hungry Jack Combo includes two eggs, four strips of bacon, four sausage links, half a pound of ham, two pieces of French toast and choice of country potatoes, hash browns or fresh seasonal fruit. There is something for everyone. In addition to the lumberjack size portions, families can enjoy their meals in a log cabin environment that they just cant get at any other place. How the Business Got Started To take advantage of a great location. Garrett says, In 2004, I bought a Lyons restaurant in Redding, Calif. The Lyons chain was struggling at the time, having filed for bankruptcy twice and just limping along. The location was good, but the concept was lackluster, which caused me to get creative, thinking of ways to take advantage of the location. Maybe it was Reddings logging history ever-present in my subconscious, but one day I thought, Lumberjacks! My wife Susan and I became inspired to start a cabin-themed eatery with country-style, home-cooked meals everyone could afford. Shortly after putting our plan in motion we came up with the name Lumberjacks, and with a very appropriate tagline, Where the Big Boys Eat! Biggest Win Growing through a franchise program. Garrett explains, When I decided to franchise the Lumberjacks concept, I realized hiring the right executives and staff to grow the concept and support the franchisees was key to the success of the organization. The team is on the same page, its working toward the same goals and preaching the same message throughout the organization. The team has a similar vision and the flexibility on ways to reach our goals. In business, people are our biggest asset. Weve created a culture of inclusiveness and collaboration between the corporate headquarters and our franchise owners. Lumberjacks takes pride in treating its franchise owners as partners. It welcomes ideas from them for change in the company, menu, restaurants, etc., and evaluates all ideas with thorough consideration. This has helped grow the brand to its current and healthy state of nine locations across California and Nevada and a 10th location opening in the beginning of 2017. Biggest Risk Expanding during a recession. Garrett says, We took a risk opening six stores during the recession. But, we came out on top by taking advantage of favorable locations and negotiating reasonable leases. While other restaurants were going out of business, we were growing and building the concept. All the economic indicators were telling us not to take the risk and avoid growing the business at the beginning of an economic recession, but were forward-looking and continue to open more restaurants. How Theyd Spend an Extra $100,000 Remodeling restaurants when needed. Unique Element A 12-foot-tall lumberjack statue in front of each restaurant. Garrett says, Its definitely an attention-grabber, beckoning passerby to the restaurant. He creates a unique photo opportunity for visitors. When those photos are shared on social media, they provide additional exposure for the restaurants. Favorite Quote It all comes back to the basics. Serve customers the best-tasting food at a good value in a clean, comfortable restaurant, and theyll keep coming back. Dave Thomas, founder of Wendys * * * * * Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program Almost every business has to face some kind of regulations from government agencies in order to do business in the U.S. or elsewhere. Many of those regulations are designed to protect consumers or spur competition. But there can also be some negative effects for businesses even in the most well-intentioned regulations. Here are 25 regulations that could potentially impact your small business in some way. Regulations That Hurt Small Businesses The Affordable Care Act Often referred to as Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act has been a hotly contested law that impacts businesses and individuals alike. Businesses with more than 50 employees could face penalties for not supplying health coverage options to employees. And many have also had to deal with increasing premiums. But certain rules could change under the new administration, as President Donald Trump and Congress have already taken steps toward at least a partial repeal. Federal Tax Code The federal tax code involves many different requirements and regulations for businesses of different sizes. And being that its so complicated and all-encompassing, it can represent a major burden for small businesses that have to dedicate time and resources to determine exactly what is required of them. Overtime Rules This one may be a bullet small businesses have dodged. But a relatively new rule related to paying overtime for workers could have added an extra burden. Though the rule has been blocked by federal court action, businesses of all sizes could have seen a major change in the exemption limit that determines which employees are eligible for overtime pay. Government Contractor Pay For businesses that have government contracts or subcontracts, theres a rule that states workers must be paid at least $10.10 hourly for work done under those contracts. Mandatory Sick Leave Theres also a rule that states those government contractors must provide employees with up to eight days of paid sick leave a year. Independent Contractor Rules Since more and more businesses are utilizing the help of independent contractors over traditional employees, the rules regarding those contractors are changing. In some cases, if the contractor relies on a business for most of their work and income, the business has to meet some of the same requirements as it would with a traditional employee. Safety and Health Act Businesses must provide safe and sanitary work environments to employees, according to the Safety and Health Act of 1970. While creating a safe environment is almost certainly a plus for any business, this also means that many have to undergo frequent inspections and other time-consuming processes. Reporting Requirements on Gender, Ethnicity and Pay To combat discrimination and wage disparities, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission wants to require businesses with 100 or more employees to report how many employees they have in different gender and ethnic groups, and how much those employees are paid. This could lead to more time spent on paperwork and potentially lead to even more obstacles for businesses that have legitimate reasons for potential pay disparities. Clean Water Act While most businesses would agree that protecting sources of clean water is a good thing, theres a part of the Clean Water Act that some feel could restrict business activity. The rule states that wetlands can also be protected bodies of water. So businesses or property owners located on or near wetlands could face a number of obstacles when trying to get any construction or renovation work done on their property. Coal Emission Rules The coal industry is strongly regulated by clean air rules. So small businesses, including those that supply equipment to large coal plants, could see the need for their products or services phased out. However, theres currently an appeal case in the works that could see some rules change. Carbon Emissions Rules There are also carbon emission rules that apply to energy providers. While small businesses arent often responsible for generating energy themselves, these regulations can potentially lead to increased prices for energy customers, which can include small businesses. EPAs Risk Management Program Though this program is more likely to impact large businesses than small businesses, the EPAs risk management program can lead to businesses expending certain resources toward creating emergency and risk management plans. Truth-In-Advertising You cant include false or misleading claims in your advertising or marketing materials. Businesses that do so could face fines or other penalties. And again, most small businesses wouldnt object. But you also need to be able to back up any claims made in your advertising with proof that can withstand a challenge. This could lead to some extra work for you even though the act is meant only to protect consumers from false information. Fair Packaging and Labeling Act Businesses that sell food or other packaged goods are required to state all ingredients on the label, along with information about the product itself, the location of packaging and distribution. All information must also meet the standards of the Truth-In-Advertising Act, or businesses could face penalties. FDA Regulations If you sell any food based products outside of your state (aside from certain products that are monitored instead by the USDA) youll have to register as a facility and face inspections and other regulations with the FDA. State and Local Inspections If you have a smaller or home-based business where you make food items to sell even if you only do so within your state youre still subject to inspections and other regulations from your local or state governments. USDA Regulations Agriculture businesses are also subject to a number of different inspections and regulations depending on the food products or other items manufactured or sold by businesses. Joint Employment Rules Franchise businesses and subcontractors that work with other businesses could be considered joint employers with those other parties. For those small businesses, that can mean facing regulations meant for businesses with more employees and higher revenue. Minimum Wage The federal minimum wage for non-exempt employees is currently $7.25. So businesses must pay at least that much hourly to regular employees. However, many states have set higher minimum wages for employees recently. Unemployment Insurance Businesses with employees are required by law to provide certain types of insurance, including Workers Compensation, unemployment insurance and in some cases disability insurance. Immigration and Nationality Act Businesses hiring for jobs based in the U.S. can only hire U.S. citizens or those who have obtained work visas. So businesses must complete the necessary paperwork and submit forms to prove compliance. Employee Retirement Income Security Act If you have full-time employees, you may also be required to provide retirement benefit options to them. Identity Theft Regulation If your business collects financial or personal information from customers, you could be held liable if that information is stolen or used in any identity theft schemes. Fiduciary Rules for Advisors Designed to protect investors from conflicts of interest by investment advisors, the Department of Labors fiduciary rule places some extra compliance costs on professionals that provide financial advice and guidance. While this could potentially help to protect small businesses that use these services, it could also potentially lead to increased costs. State Licensing Requirements Not all business regulations come from the federal level. Each state also has its own set of licensing requirements that businesses there must comply with. And researching and keeping up with those requirements can take valuable time and resources from small businesses. Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now... 2. Jan 2017 at 22:26 Frozen Bratislava: New Year wraps city in an icy mantle Bratislava looked like a kingdom of ice in the first days of 2017, thanks to special weather conditions, freezing fog. Take a look at some well-known tourist spots as well as hidden corners, frosted white. Font size: A - | A + St Martins Cathedral is the biggest and most noteworthy church in Bratislava, which reached the height of its importance between 1563-1830 as the location for the coronation of 19 monarchs of the Hungarian Kingdom. (Source: Jan Pallo) The monumental Bratislava Castle described by some as resembling a table turned upside down has been dominating the citys skyline for centuries. Built at the top of an 85m-high hill, where it enjoys a key strategic location peering over the Danube, the castle has experienced heydays and periods of decline, all of which have contributed to its current appearance. (Source: Jan Pallo) The Slavin monument remembers the lives of the 6,845 Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of Bratislava in April 1945, many of whom are buried in six mass graves with 278 individually interred. (Source: Jan Pallo) The Slavin monument was designed by the Slovak sculptor and architect Jan Svetlik and was built between 1957-60 to be officially unveiled on April 4, 1960, the 15th anniversary of the liberation. (Source: Jan Pallo) The surviving part of a gothic tower moved to the Sad Janka Krala Park from the Franciscan Church, located in the historical centre, which was partly destroyed by an earthquake in 1897. The Park was established in 1774-76 as one of the first public parks in central Europe and is located just across the Danube from Bratislavas historical centre. (Source: Jan Pallo) Bratislavas Presidential Palace dates from 1760 and was formerly owned by Count Anton Grassalkovich, an advisor to Empress Maria Theresa and the chairman of the Hungarian Royal Chamber. (Source: Jan Pallo) Kozia Brana Cemetery on Sulekova Street. (Source: Jan Pallo) Kozia Brana Cemetery on Sulekova Street. (Source: Jan Pallo) Kozia Brana Cemetery on Sulekova Street. (Source: Jan Pallo) An open-air gallery in Horsky park, a piece of unspoilt nature on a hill that separates the Old Town from the western districts. (Source: Jan Pallo) An open-air gallery in Horsky park, which can be translated as Mountain Park, has its very own atmosphere. There is a cosy cafe beside the main entrance. (Source: Jan Pallo) Eagle defending entrance to one of the villas in Bratislava. (Source: Jan Pallo) Hidden yard of a villa in Bratislava. (Source: Jan Pallo) Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Bratislava Foreigners: Top 10 events in Bratislava Slovak National Gallery gears up to reopen after extensive refurbishment Is honey from your office roof the best in the world? Top stories Canadian police arrest pilot who took the cockpit drunk at Calgary airport. Font size: A - | A + Shortly before the scheduled departure from Calgary to the Mexican destination of Cancun, the police guided Slovak Miroslav G., a 37-year-old pilot, out of the plane. Staff of the low-cost airline, Sunwing, called the police after they realised that the pilot was behaving strangely and had even lost consciousness, the BBC news service reported. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Two hours after he was arrested, the pilot still had three times more alcohol in his blood than regulations allow. He was accused of assuming control of a plane while incapable. The plane with more than 100 passengers on board took off with another pilot. All the preconditions for a catastrophe were fulfilled, according to police spokesman Paul Stacey as reported by the TASR newswire, but the probability that the pilot would have taken off in that condition was really very low, considering the level of security, he added. The Slovensko.sk website designed to navigate electronic state services via a single access point already costs 47.5 million. Font size: A - | A + The state wants to invest additional millions of euros into the Slovensko.sk website. Some days before Christmas, the governmental agency NASES, which administers the website also known as the Central Government Portal, published in the official bulletin information that it wants to invest 19.5 million including VAT in the website. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement It has not announced a tender and instead it commissioned current service providers, GlobalTel and Swan Mobile, both from the Danubiatel holding, to do the job, the Dennik N daily wrote. The Slovensko.sk website provides services to the public and public authorities by means of an information system through a single access point. It has already cost 47.5 million and its launch was partly financed from EU funds. Now NASES wants to finance the changes from the state budget. It plans to extend functionality of the electronic registry and to adapt modules to changes in legislation amongst other projects. Read also: Read also: Card readers stocks running out Read more NASES justified its decision to commission current service providers because of a shortage of time. A planned law indicates the launch of an electronic register of selection proceedings in state service by June 1, 2017, i.e. the state has less than five months. The head of NASES is Norbert Molnar. In the past he worked for one of the providers Swan, the daily recalled. In Slovakia state-commissioned IT projects are criticised as being overpriced and ineffective. The process of the selection of service providers is also viewed as not transparent enough. One of the critics is the Slovensko.digital platform. It has also highlighted this commission and is now extensively discussing why NASES has not announced a public procurement and assigned the order directly. The carrier prepares for the departure of RegioJet from the route; there will be less trains. Font size: A - | A + The state-run rail passenger carrier Zeleznicna Spolocnost Slovensko (ZSSK) will add three pairs of IC trains on the Bratislava-Kosice route as of February 1. This way it will replace the trains of the private carrier RegioJet running on this route. RegioJet left the route as of December 31 in protest against the re-introduction of the state IC trains from mid December. But ZSSK will scrap one of its two pairs of IC trains that operate on this route now. Thus, passengers will have four pairs of IC trains to travel on the Bratislava-Kosice route. This will be one less compared with the time when RegioJet ran the route. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Read also: Read also: RegioJet will clear the Bratislava-Kosice track Read more The three unsubsidized IC trains will stop in 12 towns including Bratislava and Kosice and they will mimic the route operated by RegioJet. The ride should last five hours and 11 minutes or five hours and 17 minutes, respectively. Apart from the first and the final halt, they will stop in Trnava, Trencin, Zilina, Vrutky, Ruzomberok, Liptovsky Mikulas, Strba, Poprad-Tatry, Spisska Nova Ves and Kysak. The fourth pair of IC trains will stop only in six towns Bratislava, Trnava, Zilina, Poprad-Tatry, Kysak and Kosice. It should take four hours and 42 minutes to get from Bratislava to Kosice. ZSSK will monitor usage of the trains and in case of lack of passengers it plans to scrap some, ZSSK economic director Patrik Horny told a news conference in Bratislava on January 26 as cited by the TASR newswire. Fares for the IC trains on the Bratislava-Kosice route will remain unchanged and start at 15.90. ZSSK resumed the IC trains on this route as of December 11 after a one year break after it cancelled the trains because they were making a loss. The company would like to eventually get this service into the black. With the original model, i.e. not considering additional trains, the carrier estimated the IC trains to make a loss of about 1 million in the first year of operation. ZSSK is currently talking about a loss of 3 million for the first year. After re-evaluating and adjusting this service, the carrier would like it to be profitable in three to four years. Apart from the IC trains, ZSSK also operates subsidized express trains on the Bratislava-Kosice route. In contrast to the IC trains, children, students and retirees can travel on them free of charge. Slovakia has appeared twice in the stories published by the US media in the past few days. Font size: A - | A + The recently published piece titled How to Build an Autocracy by The Atlantic magazine offers a scenario of how the United States could look like if Donald Trump is sworn in for his second term in 2021. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Except for the fact that nobody listens to the critics, the salaries of poorer Americans have increased, similarly to the US deficit, corruption and Trumps power, and the media have grown noticeably more friendly to Trump as well, according to the pieces author David Frum. In this respect, he writes about current owner of The Washington Post daily Jeff Bezos who decided to sell it to an investment group based in Slovakia. Its new owner subsequently has closed the printed edition and refocused the paper on municipal politics and lifestyle coverage, the story reads. Frum was probably inspired by the current trend in central Europe where financial groups, often linked with politicians, acquire the media publishing houses, the Sme daily reported. This was not the first text published in the US media in connection with Slovakia. The Washington Post published a story titled Trump is ruling America with the agenda of Europes far right, describing how the new US president drew inspiration from some European populists. Read also: Read also: Analyst: Society has the tools to prevent the worst from happening Read more It mentions especially Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is also in the collage accompanying the text, together with Trump, French nationalist Marine Le Pen, and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban. The daily refers especially to Ficos statement concerning Islam. As early as 2015, Slovakia insisted it only wanted to take in Christian refugees, the story reads. The countrys populist prime minister, Robert Fico, warned that Islam has no place in Slovakia.. Slovak managers call for the simplification of taxes and a re-introduction of flat income tax, and fear the lack of qualified staffers. Font size: A - | A + Eight of ten business leaders in Slovakia expect the countrys economy will slightly improve or not change at all in 2017. They see the lack of qualified labour force as the biggest obstacle to their growth, while they would welcome the simplification of taxes. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement This stems from the Pulse of Economy 2016 survey carried out by the KPMG company in nine countries in central and eastern Europe. It suggests that 73 percent of business leaders in Slovakia would welcome the simplification of tax payments and respective administration. The share is lower than last year, when as much as 84 percent of respondents picked this option. Moreover, more than half of Slovak managers would welcome the re-introduction of flat income tax and a reduction of social payroll taxes. Overall, the managers in other countries of the CEE region see the biggest problem in tax administration. Of nearly 800 respondents, more than three-quarters would welcome its simplification. A majority of the respondents from Romania (92 percent) and the Czech Republic (86 percent) thus responded. Smaller entrepreneurs with limited resources especially have problems dealing with the administration accompanying the current system of tax collection, said Lubos Vanco of KPGM in Slovakia, as quoted in a press release. The survey also suggests that nearly two-thirds of Slovak business leaders consider the lack of qualified labour force the biggest obstacle to increasing turnover. The remaining top two obstacles concern strong competition in the market and amendments to laws. Other CEE countries also complained about the lack of labour force, especially the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Similar to last year, nearly three-thirds of respondents in the CEE region consider the shadow economy a problem. As much as 45 percent of them claimed the most serious problem is avoiding taxes by concealing real incomes of employees. In Slovakia, as much as 83 percent of managers consider the shadow economy a problem, which is 9 percent more than in 2015. More than half of respondents (53 percent) claim that VAT frauds are the most serious. This is a two-digit increase compared with the previous survey, when only two-fifths of respondents picked this option. As for the risks to doing business, 45 percent of CEE managers fear regulation risks in Slovakia, while in the world at large they are mostly concerned about cyber security. In Slovakia, the biggest fears concern regulations, attracting talent and operational risks. Now only state-run ZSSK operates the route. Font size: A - | A + Czech private carrier RegioJet dispatched the last train between Bratislava and Kosice on January 31. Since December 2014, when it started offering the services on the track, RegioJet has transported more than 2 million passengers. It also introduced several new services in trains, like purchasing train tickets via the internet, wi-fi, free drinks or daily newspapers, the SITA newswire reported. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement RegioJet decided to leave the track between Bratislava and Kosice due to discriminatory conditions in the market that result from the political decision to introduce free travelling for students and pensioners, the companys representatives said. Read also: Read also: ZSSK to replace RegioJet on the Bratislava-Kosice route Read more As a result, the commercial trains might have transported only a certain group of paying passengers. Moreover, after the political decision of Speaker of Parliament and SNS chair Andrej Danko to re-introduce state IC trains operated by ZSSK, there is no chance for another commercial carrier to operate on this track, RegioJet explained, as quoted by SITA. Following RegioJet's decision to leave the route, state carrier ZSSK decided to replace the trains and also broaden the list of stations at which it stops to serve former RegioJet customers. It has not replaced all the trains, however. Three candidates are seeking the position currently held by Jana Dubovcova. Font size: A - | A + A lawyer, a psychologist and a civic activist one of them may replace current Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcova whose term as the public defender of rights officially expires in late March. It should be a person who systematically deals with the human rights agenda, isnt member of a political party and has experiences and results [from work in the field], Grigorij Meseznikov, president of the non-governmental Institute for Public Affairs, told The Slovak Spectator when describing the qualities of a new ombudsperson. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The parliament has already confirmed three candidates for the post. The ruling coalition nominated Maria Patakyova, a vice-rector of Comenius University in Bratislava responsible for legislation, while the opposition parties proposed activist and former MP Janka Siposova. The last candidate is activist and teacher Anton Culen, nominated by far-right Peoples Party Our Slovakia (LSNS) and non-affiliated MP Peter Marcek. The deputies will elect a new public defender of rights for the next five years on February 8, two days after they are heard by the parliamentary human rights committee. A successful candidate needs to obtain at least 76 votes a majority of votes . Read also: Read also: Dubovcova spoke out even when they refused to listen Read more An unsuccessful EU court candidate Of the three candidates, Patakyova has the biggest chances to win as she is the joint candidate of the ruling coalition, Meseznikov opines. She is a recognised expert and authority in the legal sphere in Slovakia and also abroad, said Gabor Gal, MP for the Most-Hid party which nominated her, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Though Patakyova primarily focuses on commercial and financial law, Gal does not consider it a problem, saying she has also been dealing with the human rights agenda. He stressed she is not only an expert, but also a non-partisan candidate, as reported by TASR. I appreciate the offer of Most-Hid, Patakyova told The Slovak Spectator, adding that after assessing the requirements for the post she decided to accept it. Yet she refused to provide more comments, saying she will present her vision at the session of the human rights committee. Patakyova is also known as an unsuccessful candidate for a judicial post at the EU General Court. She failed to land the post due to her lack of French. No support to a whistleblower Though Patakyova has been dealing with the human rights agenda and the coalition parties highlight her qualities, she has already failed to support a whistleblower. When Zuzana Melichercikova reported about apparently murky practices in the admission of students to the universitys Law Faculty in 2010, which resulted in her losing her job, Patakyova did not help, the Sme daily reported on January 30. Patakyova has refused to comment on the incident. Most-Hid, however, does not see any problem with her behaviour, saying she was responsible for a different agenda at the time. The admission of students was the responsibility of then vice-rector of Comenius University Jan Pekar, the partys spokesperson Klara Debnar told Sme. Meseznikov, however, opines she could have at least taken a stand in the case. She has not commented on the issue at all, the analyst said, adding that it was a widely covered case and Melichercikova was even awarded a White Crow award, granted to whistleblowers by the ethics watchdog Fair-Play Alliance. Moreover, Patakyova has not even expressed her opinion on any other problems or scandals concerning human rights that have emerged over the past 10 years, though several personalities, even from academia, have done so, he said. I have a feeling that there are many more good candidates for the ombudsman post with proven experience, results, passion and dedication to human rights protection, Meseznikov added. An activist, but also an ex-MP Siposova, a joint candidate of the Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO-NOVA) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), is described as an experienced expert and activist in the human rights field. She, among other things, founded the first advisory centre for crime and violence victims in Bratislava, and then the nation-wide network called Victims of Violence Support. The opposition parties hope that under her leadership the whole ombudsperson's office will maintain its independence and professionalism that it received under Dubovcova, according to a statement provided to The Slovak Spectator. I really appreciate the offer, Siposova told The Slovak Spectator. She hopes that her work in the field will persuade the MPs that she is an appropriate candidate for the post. Siposova also served as an MP for OLaNO in 2014-2016, and now works as an advisor to OLaNO-NOVAs Erika Jurinova. She, however, does not consider her career in the parliament a problem. She made it to the parliament as an independent expert and says she has always remained true to her values and opinions. Political allegiance a problem? One of the conditions set by the law is that the public defender of rights should not be member of any political party or movement. This is also the reason why the ruling coalition supports Patakyova who, according to Prime Minister Robert Fico, is not burdened with her previous career in politics. In the case of this candidate we can say she will be absolutely impartial, which is a difference compared with the current ombudswoman who acted as an MP, Fico said, as quoted by TASR. He referred to the fact that Dubovcova was an MP for the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) since 2010. She, however, has not been a member of the party and left the parliament after she had been elected ombudswoman in December 2011. Meseznikov says that Dubovcova has not represented the interests of any party when acting as ombudswoman. Though she often clashed with the representatives of the second Fico government, it was not due to her political career, but rather her opinions on human rights protection that differed from the ones presented by the ruling party, the analyst opines. I can imagine that if there was someone with similar values as Dubovcova in the post, he/she would also have conflicts with Fico and his government, Meseznikov added. Michaela Terenzani contributed to this report Corporate tax in the US could be reduced the administration considers decreasing income taxes of legal entities from 35 to 15 or 20 percent. The question is how it will influence Slovakia. Font size: A - | A + Lower taxes, less red tape, the return home of US companies from Europe leading to the creation of new jobs. This is what US President Donald Trump promised, among other things, during his campaign. And he has already started fulfilling these pledges. He announced his plans to reduce corporate tax from the current 35 percent to somewhere between 15 and 20 percent after meeting with American companies. He also wants to massively reduce regulation. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The withdrawal of U. S. Steel Any rules that the new American administration will set in this sphere may well have an influence on several US companies operating in Slovakia. Apart from U.S.Steel based in Kosice, there is also for example, Johnson Controls, Boeing Aviation with its client centre in Bratislava, IBM and AT&T. These companies employ thousands of Slovak people. The hottest candidate for leaving the country is U.S.Steel. However, its withdrawal has been a matter of speculation for a long time, although Trump could speed up the process. U.S.Steel employs about 10,000 people in Kosice. The Americans are currently holding closed negotiations over the sale of the Kosice. plant with the Chinese Group He-Steel, according to the local Korzar daily. They could get about 1.5 billion dollars (i.e. about 1.4 billion) from the sale, the daily wrote. For Slovakia, domestic politics in Europe are a bigger threat than US politics, commented analyst Boris Tomciak of the Finlord company. The Chinese management will very probably try to change the structure of production, Tomciak said. Primary production is, even after expenses are included, cheaper in China, and so it would be economically more advantageous to change the Kosice steelworks into a specialised firm that would focus only on more complex products, the analyst concluded. Such a change would probably mean massive layoffs. Korzar estimates about 2,000 people, but Sme sources mention 3,000 to 5,000 people. The US firms in Slovakia, addressed by Sme, did not comment on the issue of potentially leaving the country. The American Chamber of Commerce has no official information so far, either. At this stage, I consider any notion of the potential effects on the Slovak economy premature, Michal Krcmery of the chamber said.. Rather, indirect impact Analysts do predict that Trumps measures will have an indirect impact on the Slovak economy: the companies already functioning here will not leave but new investments will probably not be directed to Europe. Multi-national car producers will build plants in the US and not in central Europe, Tomciak says. An example is Volkswagen, which will build assembly plants in the US. According to him, this will also draw sub-contractors and logistic companies to the US which might otherwise have operated from Slovakia. However, he considers that it will rather be the situation in western Europe i.e. in countries like Germany or France that could that have a more significant influence on Slovakia. In both these countries, there will be parliamentary elections this year, and the new parliaments could adopt measures against the US, which will also be unfavourable for Slovakia. Similarly as with the US, they too could come up with a considerable cut in corporate taxes, Tomciak foresees. Another threat is the potential adoption of a mere 9-percent tax on profit for firms in Hungary. Budapest wants to lure companies that would leave London after Brexit. The movements will take place between February 7 and 12. Font size: A - | A + Military technology will be moved through Slovakia in February, the Defence Ministry informed. The movements of Slovak and foreign armies and technology will take place due to international training, conferences, working meetings and other military activities within the bilateral cooperation of NATO units, the TASR newswire reported. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement As a result, 22 road and six railway transits of allied troops through Slovak territory and border crossings will take place between February 7 and 12. Due to security reasons it is not possible to publish further information, said Defence Ministry spokesperson Danka Capakova, as quoted by TASR. The most important movements will be supervised by the military police. Josef Pickel becomes the Slovak honorary consul to Israel. Font size: A - | A + Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatisation Peter Pellegrini opened the Slovak honorary consulate in the Israeli city of Haifa on January 31. The ceremony was attended by a representative of the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry, Meron Reuben, as well as Slovak Ambassador to Israel Peter Hulenyi. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Haifa is a place with huge potential in trade, science, technologies and research, Pellegrini said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. He pointed to the fact that Haifa is one of the strongest academic centres in Israel with three Nobel Prize laureates coming from this city. He later held a meeting with Haifa Mayor Jona Jahav at the municipal office, and subsequently the Slovak delegation moved to the Matam hi-tech park. The Slovak Vice-PM also delivered a speech at the opening of the CyberTech 2017 world conference in Tel Aviv. This is one of the biggest conferences in technologies and solutions for cyber security. The conference was opened by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and various personalities in the cyber business. Cooperation in digitisation of public sector Peter Pellegrini and Israeli Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel also signed a joint declaration to cooperate in digitisation for the public sector in Jerusalem on February 1. With madam minister, we signed a declaration to cooperate in modern and digital technologies, said Pellegrini, according to TASR. Im very glad that this memorandum will allow us to boost the bilateral exchange of experience and know-how but it will also help in the exchange of, for example, students and professionals in the field of modern technologies and cyber security. Israel is a leader in these fields and I strongly believe that the declaration will partly intensify expert cooperation between Israel and Slovakia. Pellegrini, along with the Slovak delegation of entrepreneurs, is on a working visit to Israel, during which he also held talks with Israeli Minister of Science, Technology and Space Ofir Akunis, and took part in the Israeli-Slovak business forum. The detainees include one of the bosses, a former elite polcie officer and a former candidate for the Slovak Olympic Committee. Font size: A - | A + The Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Pezinok, Banska Bystrica branch, took six alleged members of the gang into custody on February 1, while releasing seven others, spokesperson of the General Prosecutors Office Andrea Predajnova informed the TASR newswire. The prosecutor from the Special Prosecutors Office (USP) filed a complaint against the decision, which the Supreme Court will deal with. The Office requested that all 13 suspects remain in custody. Among the six imprisoned are, according to information available to TASR, one of the bosses, Lubomir K., aka Kudla, and former unsuccessful candidate for the Slovak Olympic Committee identified as Milan J. who was in the Slovak bob-sleigh team at four winter Olympics, according to the SITA newswire. Also detained was the former deputy head of the SWAT team of the National Criminal Agency (NAKA), lieutenant colonel Branislav B., nicknamed Baki. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The reasons for custody are fears of potential influence of witnesses and continued criminal activities, spokesperson of the STC, Katarina Kudjakova, said for TASR, adding that the decision is not effective yet. The judge for the preparatory proceeding of the STS originally began to consider the decision to take all 13 members of the gang into custody during their hearings on January 31. They were brought to court by NAKA on January 29 after a raid called Aladdin, including the alleged boss Lubomir K. who, however, reported to the police voluntarily. Then, seven were released. USP prosecutor Alexander Biro confirmed on January 31 that the men are members of the so-called Takacovci gang. They face charges mostly of founding a criminal gang, blackmail and fraud at top levels. He requires pre-trial custody for some, fearing they may influence their accomplices and thus mar the investigation. Some may even, according to him, continue criminal activities or flee. The USP prosecutor told TASR the charges concern previous crimes, between 2009 and present time. However, such appointments will have to be paid for and will only be available after 14:00. Font size: A - | A + The Health Minister Tomas Drucker (a Smer nominee) has proposed that patients in Slovakia should be able to make an appointment to see a doctor at a specific hour and date from 2018. However, patients will have to pay for this privilege dozens of euros, up to 30, and only afternoon appointments will be available, the Sme daily wrote on February 1. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Doctors will be allowed to examine patients between 12 and 15 hours after the appointment has been made. The electronic system of the Helath Ministry can be used to facilitate the process. The fee will be between 15 and 30, depending on the type of examination. Patients will also be able to call doctors at home but only outside the working hours of the surgery. The hours during which doctors treat patients for a fee will be called complementary office hours and will not be obligatory. However, to set such complementary hours, a GP will have to maintain 35 office hours a week working for free, i.e. at least seven hours a day. A specialist will have to guarantee at least 30 free hours a week (six hours a day), Sme wrote. The complementary hours are intended to take up only one-quarter of the total office hours meaning less than two hours for a GP and they will be allowed to treat one third of all patients at most, with the revenues not exceeding one-third of their total income. If doctors violate these rules, they face up to 2,000 in fines. We welcome this chance for patients who are busy and employed, Maria Levyova, head of the Association for the Protection of Patients Rights, said for Sme. On the other hand, the fee should be re-considered for women on maternity leave, and people with serious disability. This practice has already been introduced, by former minister Viliam Cislak (of the second government of Smer and Prime Minister Robert Fico) in 2015 but the fee oscillated between 5 and 15 at the time. STEM Coweta County School System in Georgia Piloting Labdisc Portable STEM Lab The Coweta County School System in Georgia is piloting the Labdisc portable STEM lab from Boxlight, as part of efforts to prepare for Georgias new science standards and usher in a hands-on, inquiry-based approach to its classrooms. A group of science teachers, selected by the district to serve as science ambassadors, are evaluating the Labdiscs to see how the data loggers can be incorporated into the new standards-related district lesson plans that the ambassadors are developing. The new standards focus on student performance in science so therell be a lot of emphasis on students generating data to use as evidence to support the hypotheses that they are making, said Donald White, the districts science content specialist, in a statement. So were moving away from a worksheet-driven classroom to one where were expecting the students to really do science. The district has procured seven Labdiscs, purchasing two and five from its vendor, PowerUp EDU, a Georgia-based company offering professional development and ed tech solutions. Three Coweta County high schools, two middle schools and two elementary schools are each piloting a Labdisc. The Labdisc retails at $600 apiece. White also tapped Regina Ahmann, a zoology and AP environmental science teacher at East Coweta High School, to receive a free Labdisc as part of Boxlight STEM Day Dec. 9. Ahmanns students used the portable STEM lab to study the relationship between temperature and humidity in several locations around their school, in both urban and green spaces. The students will share their data Feb. 15 with other schools that participated in the event from New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico and Guatemala. What I loved about this product is that its collecting data every second, Ahmann said in a statement. Theres no possible way my kids could have done that with a thermometer. You can get your big core concept across to students in a real-world framework. Mark Elliott, CEO of Boxlight, said in a statement, The Labdisc portable lab opens the door to inquiry-based learning in a variety of science fields, including biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science and geography. For more information, visit Boxlights website. The report deemed Amazon the third most valuable brand, at $106.4m, followed by AT&T at $87m, and Microsoft at $76.3m: Brand Finance Google has snatched Apples title as the worlds most valuable brand, ending the iPhone makers five-year reign. According to a study by valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance, published on Wednesday, the monetary value of Googles brand rose by 24 per cent last year to $109.5bn, propelling it to the top spot for the first time since 2011. Apples value fell from $145.9bn in the previous year to $107.1bn. [Google] remains largely unchallenged in its core search business, which is the mainstay of its advertising income, Brand Finance wrote in its report. David Haigh, chief executive officer of Brand Finance, commented that Apple has recently struggled to maintain its technological advantage over rivals. New iterations of the iPhone have delivered diminishing returns and there are signs that the company has reached a saturation point for its brand, he said. The Chinese market, where Apple has enjoyed a dominant market share, is becoming far more competitive with local players entering the market in a meaningful way. But late Tuesday, before Brand Finances sturdy was published, Apple posted forecast-beating results for the most recent quarter, reclaiming the throne as the worlds top smartphone seller for the first time in five years even beating arch rival Samsung. Alphabet, Googles parent company, reported in January better-than-expected revenue for the most recent quarter thanks to a fast-growing cloud-computing business and booming YouTube video advertising, but profits were hit by a one-off tax payment. The study of 500 brands deemed Amazon the third most valuable, at $106.4m, followed by AT&T at $87m and Microsoft at $76.3m. Facebook claimed the ninth spot in the rankings with a value of a slither under $62m. In Wednesdays report Brand Finance also crowned Lego the worlds most powerful brand, which is defined as one whose enterprise value is most positively impacted by the strength of its brand. The study found that much of the Danish family-owned companys success is owed to its partnerships with the Star Wars, Harry Potter and Batman franchises. Story continues Other brands that made it into the top five powerful ranking included Google, Nike, Ferrari and Visa. Walt Disney, which nabbed the title of most powerful brand last year, fell to sixth place. This may be because its 2016 Star Wars release was a spin-off and less successful than 2015s reboot of the main franchise, one of the highest grossing films of all time, Brand Finance wrote in the report. The company noted, however that it remains a hugely powerful brand and will be closely watched during 2017 when the eighth instalment of Star Wars is released and could propel the brand up the rankings again. FILE - In this May 8, 2016 file photo, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. Turnbull said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed during a weekend telephone conversation to keep an Obama administration promise to resettle an undisclosed number of mostly Muslim refugees held on the impoverished nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File) CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australia's prime minister insisted Thursday that a deal struck with the Obama administration that would allow mostly Muslim refugees rejected by Australia to be resettled in the United States was still on, despite President Donald Trump dubbing the agreement "dumb" and vowing to review it. The conflicting messages came hours after The Washington Post published a story detailing a tense exchange between Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during their first telephone call as national leaders. The newspaper reported that during the call, an angry Trump dubbed the agreement "the worst deal ever" and accused Turnbull of seeking to export the "next Boston bombers" a reference to Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who were born in Kyrgyzstan and set off two bombs at the 2013 Boston marathon. Turnbull declined to comment on the report, which also said Trump abruptly ended the expected hour-long conversation after 25 minutes as the Australian attempted to steer the conversation to other topics. "It's better that these things these conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately," Turnbull told reporters. Later, however, he denied during an interview with Sydney radio station 2GB that Trump had hung up on him, saying the conversation had ended "courteously." Turnbull told reporters the strength of the relationship between the two nations was evident in that Trump had agreed to honor the deal to resettle refugees from among around 1,600 asylum seekers, most of whom are on island camps on the Pacific nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Australia has refused to accept them and instead pays for them to be housed on the impoverished islands. "I can assure you the relationship is very strong," Turnbull said. "The fact we received the assurance that we did, the fact that it was confirmed, the very extensive engagement we have with the new administration underlines the closeness of the alliance. But as Australians know me very well: I stand up for Australia in every forum public or private." Story continues Yet shortly after Turnbull made those comments to reporters, Trump took to Twitter to slam the deal. "Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why?" Trump tweeted. "I will study this dumb deal!" Australians accustomed to the friendly relationship they have long enjoyed with the U.S. were transfixed by the drama. The Washington Post story shot to the top of the nation's trending topics on Twitter, and was plastered across the top of Australia's major news sites. The country's news networks launched running commentaries on it, debating how Turnbull should respond and what the spat meant for the future of the longtime allies' relationship. Trump, who a day before the conversation with Turnbull had signed an executive order suspending the admission of refugees, complained during the call that he was "going to get killed" politically by the deal, the newspaper reported, citing anonymous officials. "I don't want these people," Trump reportedly said. Trump also told Turnbull that he had spoken to four world leaders that day and that: "This is the worst call by far." Trump told Turnbull that it was "my intention" to honor the agreement, a phrase designed to leave the president wriggle room to back out of the deal, the newspaper reported. There have been mixed messages from Washington all week on the state of the agreement. White House spokesman Sean Spicer confirmed on Wednesday that Trump had agreed to honor the deal. But a White House statement sent to Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Thursday said: "The president is still considering whether or not he will move forward with this deal at this time." The U.S. State Department said in a statement later Thursday that the United States would honor the agreement "out of respect for close ties to our Australian ally and friend." "President Trump's decision to honor the refugee agreement has not changed and Spokesman Spicer's comments stand," the State Department said. The ABC spoke to senior Australian government sources who said The Washington Post report was "substantially accurate." Australian officials said the conversation was "robust" and "shorter than expected," while one minister told the ABC that "Trump hates this deal." Opposition leader Bill Shorten called on Turnbull to be open about his interaction with Trump, saying The Washington Post version of the call was worrying. "We shouldn't be finding out about what's happening to Australian policy through the news of foreign countries," Shorten said. Turnbull has likened himself to Trump in that both are wealthy businessmen who came to politics late in life. Turnbull also has a reputation for blunt conversation and tough negotiations behind closed doors. Turnbull has resisted pressure this week to join other Western leaders in condemning Trump's temporary ban of immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. "When I have frank advice to give to an American president, I give it privately, as good friends should, as wise prime ministers do when they want to ensure they are best able to protect Australians and Australia's national interest," Turnbull told reporters on Tuesday. Some observers suspect Turnbull has held his tongue because he is grateful to Trump for agreeing to honor the refugee deal. ___ This story has been corrected to show that one of the Tsarnaev brothers was not a U.S. citizen. By Luis Jaime Acosta and Brad Haynes BOGOTA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Defence ministers from Brazil and Colombia agreed to step up their fight against drug traffickers at a meeting on Tuesday in the Brazilian city of Manaus, where feuding drug gangs set off a recent string of deadly prison riots. The countries promised to share intelligence and transportation along a porous 1,000-mile (1,600 km) border cutting through the Amazon rainforest, where they have struggled to slow the flow of drugs in recent years. Demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as part of a deal ending more than 50 years of war has raised concerns that heavily armed former combatants could join with increasingly powerful drug gangs in Brazil. "We cannot let peace in Colombia be cause for concern in the region," said Colombian Defence Minister Luis Carlos Villegas. "We must stop the so-called dissident FARC forces from advancing toward our borders ... All of our military and policing muscle will be brought against the dissidents." The splintering of FARC forces coincides with a bloody realignment among the drug gangs running the roughly $4.5 billion (3.6 billion) cocaine trade in Brazil, the world's biggest consumer after the United States, and funnelling drugs to Europe. For years, Brazil's two most powerful gangs, the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command, based in Rio de Janeiro, divided the national drug market and shared the most lucrative trafficking routes. However, a wave of prison massacres starting in Manaus this month signalled a violent break between the PCC and gangs allied with the rival Red Command, leaving about 140 dead and underscoring the chaos in Brazil's penitentiary system. Brazilian Defence Minister Raul Jungmann stepped up visits to the country's remote border regions, pledging to double the budget for a high-tech surveillance programme supporting some 1,500 soldiers in the 24 garrisons along the Amazon border. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota and Brad Haynes in Sao Paulo; Editing by David Gregorio) By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Soviet war memorials have typically been pulled down in Eastern Europe since the collapse of communism, so when one was erected in Hungary last month ahead of a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, it caught attention. The low-key, 5-metre (15-foot) memorial stands in Esztergom, an historic town on the Danube river upstream of Budapest. It depicts an angel with inscriptions at its pedestal praising Russian soldiers who fought in both World Wars there. Hungarian media quoted Russia's ambassador, Vladimir Sergeev, as saying the monument demonstrated the strength of Hungarian-Russian cooperation. "It is very symbolic," Sergeev said. Hungary's overtures to Russia are unsettling to fellow European Union member states and Brussels just as they grapple with the implications of a thawing of relations between Moscow and Washington under U.S. President Donald Trump. There is real concern in Europe at Trump's support for Britain's looming exit from the EU and Putin is a vocal backer of anti-EU parties, with Orban one of the most eurosceptic leaders in the bloc. With Trump in the White House and the EU scrambling to halt a wave of populism sweeping the continent, Orban's government anticipates better relations with Washington and is calling for a new relationship between the EU and Russia. Thursday's meeting is Putin's seventh with Orban in total, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told a press briefing in Moscow, and the pair have met three times in the past two years. Ushakov said the two countries maintained "a very intense political dialogue." Inside the EU, Hungary promotes Russian interests such as the scrapping of economic sanctions imposed after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 [nL5N1FH257]. Trade ties include a gas supply agreement with Russia's Gazprom, and a deal for Russia to finance and build a nuclear power plant. Both sides want to boost bilateral trade. Orban has also followed parts of the Kremlin's playbook, cracking down on critical non-governmental bodies that he accuses of using foreign funding to subvert the political order. There was scope for still-deeper ties between Hungary and Russia, and if the EU grumbled Orban would likely point to Trump, said Peter Kreko, a lecturer at Indiana University. "All Orban has to do is point to America," Kreko said. "If Russia is good for them why should we exercise restraint?" ASTRAY FROM MAINSTREAM EUROPE Hungary has endorsed Trump's criticism of NATO's strategy towards Russia and denounced the sanctions against Russia over Ukraine as "useless". Orban clashed with the Barack Obama administration over what critics said was an erosion of democratic values by his government. With Trump in the White House, Budapest expects it will have more wriggle room. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Reuters he expected a "massive improvement" in U.S.-Hungarian relations following Trump's pledge to tone down the "export of democracy". [nL5N1FH257] He said Europe and Russia "need a new type of relationship". Hungary's alignment is in sharp contrast with the rest of the European Union, where Russia's alleged interference is taken with such alarm that several countries, such as Finland, have moved to set up agencies to counter it. [nL8N1DM28R] The Czech government too has a dedicated unit to deal with an "information war" waged by Russian hackers. On Tuesday it said it had registered hacker attacks similar to the ones Russia was suspected of levelling at the U.S. [nL5N1FL43L] Germany has also said it has detected an increase in subversive Russian propaganda. [nL8N1DH3LT] Yet, even given its friendly ties with Russia, Hungary remained firmly rooted in the Euro-Atlantic world, said Andras Racz, a Russia expert at the Peter Pazmany University. Two recent opinion polls showed that a large majority of Hungarians did not want closer ties with Russia, with only 6 percent viewing their country as eastern. "Theirs is not a friendship," Racz said of Orban and Putin. "There are no common values to base a long-term alliance on. It is cooperation based on currently similar interests." (Additional reporting by Denis Dyomkin in Moscow; Editing by Richard Lough) By Radu-Sorin Marinas and Luiza Ilie BUCHAREST (Reuters) - More than 250,000 Romanians demonstrated on Wednesday against a government decree decriminalising some graft offences, seen as the biggest retreat on reforms since the country joined the European Union in 2007. Romania's top judicial watchdog, the Superior Magistrates' Council (CSM), earlier in the day filed a constitutional court challenge to the decree unveiled by the new Social Democrat government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu. The number of protesters rose to a new high in the evening, reaching 130,000 to 150,000 outside the cabinet building in Bucharest. Another 100,000 to 150,000 were estimated by riot police to have joined similar rallies in 55 other towns and cities. The rally in the capital subsided peacefully by 2200 GMT, but after people left the square, a group of about 300 football ultras came in and threw fireworks and stones at riot police. The police dispersed them with tear gas. Two policemen and two protesters were slightly hurt by stones, the emergency service said. The decree that triggered the nationwide protests was approved by the cabinet on Tuesday evening. "Repeal it, then leave," protesters shouted. "Thieves, thieves." Many waved Romanian national flags. "Our chances are small but it is important to fight," said Gabriela Constantin, a 36-year-old architect. If enforced, as planned, within 10 days, the decree would, among other things, decriminalise abuse-of-power offences in which the sums involved are less than 200,000 lei (40,827). That would put an end to the current trial of Social Democrat party leader Liviu Dragnea, accused of using his political influence to secure state salaries for two people working at his party headquarters between 2006 and 2013. Dozens of other political figures from all parties stand to benefit from the decree. "I don't understand what the protesters are upset about," Dragnea told reporters on Tuesday. Two opposition parties, the centrist Liberals and the Save Romania Union USR, filed a no-confidence motion on Wednesday against the government which has little chance of succeeding. As parliament opened for its first regular session of the year, USR lawmakers paraded banners reading "Shame" and other opposition deputies shouted "Resignation" or "Thieves". The Romanian leu fell as much as 1.4 percent against the euro to 4.5540, marking a seven-month low, while longer-term yields rose 14 basis points. ENTRENCHED CORRUPTION Romania's Social Democrats won back power in a December 2016 election, one year after protesters drove them from office in an outpouring of anger over a deadly fire at a nightclub that many blamed on corruption and impunity. Anti-corruption prosecutors are currently investigating over 2,000 abuse-of-power cases. President Klaus Iohannis took part in an emergency meeting of the CSM, telling reporters afterwards: "The problem is that one cannot act the way the government did in a country with the rule of law, which Romania is and wants to remain." "The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone," European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and his deputy said in a statement. "We are following the latest developments in Romania with great concern." Six western countries including Germany and the United States issued a joint statement warning that the government's move would undermine Romania's international reputation and position in the EU and NATO. The decree would apply to ongoing investigations and trials as well as new cases. Criminal negligence would no longer be an offence, and the definition of conflict of interest would be narrowed. The government on Tuesday also approved a draft bill that would grant prison pardons. It says it would bring the criminal code in line with recent constitutional court rulings and ease prison overcrowding, claims disputed by many senior judicial figures. (Editing by Andrew Roche and James Dalgleish) DAKAR (Reuters) - An armed group attacked a U.N. technical team working along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, killing five people and wounding several, the United Nations Office for West Africa said on Wednesday. The attack occurred on Tuesday at around 1400 local time near the Cameroonian border town of Kontcha, the statement said. "The victims were one U.N. independent contractor, three Nigerian nationals and one Cameroonian national," it added. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, U.N. Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, condemned the attack. While the attackers have not been identified, the area is within a region where fighters from Islamist militant group Boko Haram are active. The insurgents have killed more than 15,000 people since 2009 and have recently stepped up suicide bombings. The U.N. team was working on demarcating the more than 2,000 km (1,200 mile) land border which has been a source of friction between the neighbouring countries in the past. (Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by John Stonestreet and Dominic Evans) Acquires German Customs Solution Provider znet group GmbH Sydney, Feb 1, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - WiseTech Global Limited ( ASX:WTC ) announced the acquisition of znet group GmbH (znet), a leading provider of customs solutions to the logistics industry across Germany. Headquartered in Wiesbaden, znet provides automated customs software and solutions to over 500 customers including Abbott, Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey, Nippon Express and UPS. At an expected purchase cost of up to EUR6.0m phased over up to 5 years and current annual revenue of approximately EUR2.0m and NPAT of approximately EUR0.1m this transaction is not material to the WiseTech Global group. znet will be consolidated into WiseTech group accounts from 1 Feb 2017. WiseTech CEO, Richard White, said "znet is an innovative provider of automated customs solutions and their development teams include customs compliance experts and customs IT professionals. We welcome the znet team to the WiseTech Global family and will work together to deliver even better solutions for our customers in the future". "This transaction is in line with our stated strategy of accelerating long-term organic growth through small, targeted, valuable acquisitions across new geographies and adjacencies. We are continuing to progress our pipeline of opportunities in key target regions of Europe, South America and Asia." About znet Founded in 1997, znet group GmbH (znet) is a leading provider of customs solutions to the logistics industry across Germany. Headquartered in Wiesbaden, with a team of ~30 people, znet products and brands include zara customs software, zafir precise customs consulting and zecur secure customs clearance. For more information on the znet Group, please visit http://www.znet-group.com About WiseTech Global Ltd WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) is a leading developer and provider of software solutions to the logistics execution industry globally. Our customers include over 17,000 of the world's logistics companies across 160 countries, including 41 of the top 50 global thirdparty logistics providers and all of the 25 largest global freight forwarders worldwide2. Our flagship platform, CargoWise, forms an integral link in the global supply chain and executes over 50 billion data transactions annually. At WiseTech, we are relentless about innovation, adding over 4,000 product enhancements to our global platform in the past five years while bringing meaningful continual improvement to the world's supply chains. Our breakthrough software solutions are renowned for their powerful productivity, extensive functionality, comprehensive integration, deep compliance capabilities, and truly global reach. For more information about WiseTech Global or CargoWise, please visit wisetechglobal.com and cargowise.com GUATEMALA CITY A former Guatemalan soldier deported from the United States in handcuffs and flanked by security on Wednesday maintained his innocence in the face of accusations that he helped massacre more than 200 people more than three decades ago during his countrys grueling civil war. Soon after Santos Lopez Alonzo landed in Guatemala City on a charter flight for American deportees, advocates for victims relatives said they hoped hed be held accountable for the onslaught that wiped out the small village of Las Dos Erres in 1982. We are very happy they deported him and that he must now face Guatemalan justice, above all, for the victims, who have always demanded justice, said Francisco Vivar, an advocate for victims. The now-64-year-old Lopez served with an elite unit of the Guatemalan army and is among four former soldiers accused in the massacre who were arrested after heading to the United States. Two are now serving time in American prisons for immigration crimes related to the killings and one was deported and sentenced to more than 6,000 years in prison. In an interview last week at a California immigration detention facility, Lopez said he guarded women and children during the massacre but killed no one. He told the Associated Press that he didnt fear Guatemalas investigation of the killings, but was afraid he would be tortured in his country as payback for assisting the U.S. government with its prosecution of one of his ex-comrades. He fought his deportation but a federal appeals court last month refused to block his return to Guatemala. The massacre took place at the height of Guatemalas more than three-decade civil war, which claimed at least 200,000 lives before ending in 1996. The U.S.-backed army was responsible for most of the deaths, according to findings of an independent truth commission set up to investigate the bloodshed. An elite group of soldiers was sent to search for missing weapons in Las Dos Erres in December 1982 but rounded up innocent men, women and children, raping girls and bludgeoning the villagers with a sledgehammer before throwing their bodies into a well. Lopez said he was a baker in the army and assigned to stand guard while others carried out the massacre. Soldiers escorted people out and returned empty-handed, he said, telling him only then that the villagers were being killed. He who owes nothing, fears nothing, he said of the massacre. If I had done something, if I had killed, I would be afraid, but I feel clean. More than a decade later, Guatemalas government opened an investigation and unearthed 162 skeletons at the well. Police said Wednesday that the onslaught left more than 200 people dead. Authorities issued arrest warrants for 17 soldiers, including Lopez, but the cases languished for years. In 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights demanded Guatemala prosecute the perpetrators. The U.S. began arresting the former soldiers, including Lopez, the following year. Lopez was charged in Texas with illegally re-entering the U.S. after a 1999 deportation order. But he was not immediately sent back because he was held as a material witness in the prosecution of another former soldier who lied about the massacre on his U.S. naturalization forms. Afterward, Lopez tried to fend off deportation, but the Justice Department argued that Lopez prevented villagers from escaping the massacre. While Guatemalan prison conditions can be harsh, department lawyers wrote that Lopez didnt prove he would be tortured by officials if he returned home. His lawyer, Sarah Vanessa Perez, said Lopez is vulnerable because he helped the U.S. government as a witness. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused last month to prevent his deportation. The United States is not going to serve as a safe haven for individuals who have committed atrocities overseas, said Jennifer Elzea, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They may live quiet lives, but they must be held accountable for the activities in which they participated. Lopez also acknowledged taking a 5-year-old boy from the village, claiming he saved him and raised him as a son. Ramiro Osorio Cristales grew up to become a key voice for victims. He received asylum in Canada, testified against some of the soldiers about his memories of the killings and cut ties with Lopez, who Osorio says mistreated him for years. Efforts to reach Osorio, who previously testified in Guatemala about the abuse allegations, were unsuccessful. Lopez denied mistreating him. Guatemalan court findings against other former soldiers put Lopez at the massacre but include few details of his involvement beyond taking the boy. Lopez said he knows the killings were wrong but could not denounce them at the time. Back then, he said the Guatemalan government had complete control. Orders are orders, given by the government, he said. For speaking up, they would have killed me, too. ___ Taxin reported from Los Angeles. WASHINGTON Democrats intensified their opposition to President Donald Trump on Tuesday by further delaying the confirmation of several of his Cabinet nominees, prompting a bitter showdown with Republicans who accused them of paralyzing the formation of a new administration. First, Democrats boycotted a Senate committee scheduled to take two votes, one on Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., Trumps nominee for secretary of health and human services, and the other on Steve Mnuchin, his choice to lead the treasury. Then, they blocked a vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Trumps nominee for attorney general. The theatrics reflected growing concern over Trumps travel ban for refugees and foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, an order issued Friday with virtually no consultation with top government officials or senior lawmakers. In blocking Sessions, Democrats also cited the presidents firing Monday night of acting attorney general Sally Yates for refusing to defend the ban. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and other Democrats strongly defended Yates against Trumps claim that she had betrayed the Justice Department. Yatess defiance of Trump took guts, Feinstein said. That statement said what an independent attorney general should do. That statement took a steel spine to have the courage to say no. I have no confidence that Sen. Sessions will do that, she added. Instead, he has been the fiercest, most dedicated and most loyal promoter in Congress of the Trump agenda. Democrats alone lack the votes needed to block any of Trumps nominees from taking office and there are no signs of Republican opposition to any of his picks. In fact, Republicans lashed out at Democrats for what they described as partisan, obstructionist moves. It is time to get over the fact that they lost the election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. The president is entitled to have his Cabinet appointments considered. None of this is going to lead to a different outcome. That did nothing to tamp down enthusiasm among liberal activists and some Democratic lawmakers to mount a fierce resistance to Trumps presidency. On the 12th day of Trumps presidency, Democrats said they now plan to match growing anger in the streets by exhausting every mechanism at their disposal even if it still results in Trumps nominees taking office. Democrats are going to keep fighting back, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. We are going to stand with people across the country. And we will keep pushing Republicans to put country above party, and stand with us. That stance was met with praise from liberal activists, labor unions and constituents, who have been pressuring Democrats to mount more resistance to Trump. Were seeing someone who came into office with a historic popular vote loss come in and push a radical, unconstitutional agenda, said Kurt Walters, the campaign director of the transparency group Demand Progress. Yes, radical and bold tactics are what senators should be using in response. During a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats criticized Trump for firing Yates and said that they would vote against Sessions out of concern that he would never similarly defy Trump in the face of a potentially unconstitutional act. Then they invoked an arcane rule to block the committee from holding a roll-call vote on the nomination, forcing Republicans to postpone the vote until Wednesday. In a nearby hearing room, the Senate Finance Committee convened to vote on Mnuchin and Price. Democrats boycotted that meeting entirely, denying Republicans a necessary quorum and forcing them to reschedule both votes. They had less success delaying confirmations elsewhere. They tried once again to stall a committee vote to advance Trumps pick for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, but Republicans prevailed on a party-line vote despite new revelations that her written responses to hundreds of questions from committee members appeared to include passages from uncited sources. Senators also confirmed Elaine Chao to serve as Trumps transportation secretary by a vote of 93 to 6 although, in a sign of a new level of toxicity, Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., was among six members of the Democratic caucus who voted against her. Chao, who is also McConnells wife, is the first transportation secretary ever to earn no votes, according to a C-SPAN review of Senate records. Additionally, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the nominations of former Texas governor Rick Perry to be energy secretary and Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to be interior secretary both with bipartisan majorities, sending them to the full Senate for final up-or-down votes. Developments in the Judiciary and Finance committees, however, signaled how defiant Democrats remain in stalling Trumps nominees. Most of the drama unfolded along a fluorescent-lit hallway on the second floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, sat at the dais with just three other Republican senators at the start of his hearing. Having just come from the Judiciary Committee, Hatch told his colleagues, Jeff Sessions isnt treated much better than these fellas are. Some of this is just because they dont like the president, Hatch said, later adding that Democrats ought to stop posturing and acting like idiots. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., agreed. I think this is unconscionable, he said. We did not inflict this kind of obstructionism on President Obama, added Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., the only other senator in the room. He added that the Democrats were committing a completely unprecedented level of obstruction. This is not what the American people expect of the United States Senate. In fact, in 2013, Republicans similarly boycotted a Senate committees vote on Gina McCarthy to serve as former president Barack Obamas Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Senators said at the time that she had refused to answer their questions about transparency in the agency. Republicans did it again that year to one of Obamas nominees to serve as a deputy secretary of homeland security. And throughout 2016, they blocked a hearing for Obamas nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland. Aware of the growing national anger with Trumps travel ban, Democratic senators began mulling their options over the weekend, aides said. In a series of interviews on Monday, Schumer threatened to jam the Senate calendar if Trump did not revoke his order or if Republicans did not allow a vote on legislation that would rescind it. Senate Democrats, were the accountability, Schumer boasted in an interview with Spanish-language network Univision. Strategy discussions continued late into Monday night and coincided with two developments: First, Trumps dramatic decision to fire Yates and a Wall Street Journal report on a discounted stock purchase by Price. A series of stock buys Price made in an Australian company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, has brought Democratic scrutiny for weeks. In 2016, he received a discounted price for his purchases as part of a private offering made to only a certain number of investors; the questions have been whether he received certain insider information from Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a company board member and its largest investor, and whether he got a special price when he bought $50,000 to $100,000 in shares last year. The Journal reported Monday that Price received a privileged offer that he had mischaracterized in the hearings when he said they were available to every single individual that was an investor at the time. Innate Immunotherapeutics CEO Simon Wilkinson told The Washington Post Monday that Price received the same 12 percent discount as about 620 shareholders in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, told reporters that Prices statements contradicted those by Wilkinson and other company officials. At a minimum, Wyden said, I believe the committee should postpone this vote and talk to company officials. On Tuesday, shortly before the Finance hearing began, committee Democrats huddled in Wydens office and agreed to boycott the meeting. They also voiced several concerns about Mnuchin: He initially misstated his personal wealth on a financial disclosure form, and he misstated under oath how OneWest Bank, a bank he led as chairman and chief executive officer, scrutinized mortgage documents. In some ways, were doing President Trump a favor, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in explaining the boycott. If these nominees had been confirmed, and then these stories broke about how they lied, how they made money on foreclosures, how they made money off of sketchy health-care stock trades, this would have been a major scandal for the administration. Now its just a problem we can fix. In the Judiciary hearing, Republicans defended Sessions but said little about Trumps executive order. Democrats ended the hearing by using the obscure two-hour rule that permits either party to stop committees from meeting beyond the first two hours of the Senates official day. During the Obama administration, Republicans used the same rule against Democratic Cabinet nominees. Then senators toiled over the actual vote on DeVoss nomination. Democrats complained that the vote should not count because Hatch a committee member who was simultaneously dealing with events in the Judiciary and Finance meetings was allowed to submit a proxy vote. After a recess and several minutes of heated argument, Republicans ordered a new vote with Hatch in the room and approved DeVos along party lines, 12 to 11. Hatch, the longest-serving Republican senator, later marveled at having to rush back and forth between three contentious hearings. I lost some weight here today, he quipped. Further delays and high-level vacancies across federal agencies could have far-reaching consequences. Some Republicans complained that the slowdown of Prices confirmation is hampering Republican plans to begin repealing the Affordable Care Act. The Washington Posts Amy Goldstein, Kimberly Kindy and David Weigel contributed to this report. VIDEO: Democrats boycotted a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee in which Steven Mnuchin, President Trumps nominee for Treasury secretary, and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., President Trumps nominee for health and human services secretary, would have likely been approved for consideration by the full Senate, on Jan. 31 at the Capitol. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) http://wapo.st/2kOgkXr Embed code: Hundreds of law enforcement, medical professionals, prosecutors, advocates and others who often work in the shadows the world of prostitutes and their pimps met in Albuquerque on Tuesday for a conference on human trafficking. Its a domestic problem and its a state problem, said Attorney General Hector Balderas, who hosted the conference at the Marriott in Uptown. In 2016, the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office served eight search warrants and six arrest warrants and worked on 33 sex-trafficking cases around the state. This, the second conference Balderas has hosted on the topic, drew a regional crowd. Sharon Pino, a deputy attorney general, told the conference that successful prosecutions in trafficking cases are dependent on the services offered to victims many of whom are addicts. Unless we are offering them services what is their incentive to walk away from the traffickers? she said. Cara Pierce, an assistant U.S. attorney in Dallas, said criminals are drawn to sex trafficking because they see it as a low risk, high reward crime. Its much more difficult to prove someone is trafficking sex workers compared to drugs, she said. Despite that, she presented a summary of several of her recent cases from northern Texas that led to lengthy prison sentences. Yazzmine Bouldin, who works at the former Albuquerque Rescue Mission, renamed Steelbridge, told her story of surviving the sex trade. She said when she was 15, a man charmed her into thinking they were in a relationship, but then had her repeatedly raped and drugged and forced her to work as a prostitute, which she did for the next four years. In a question-and-answer session, Bouldin advised medical professionals and police officers who talk with people who work as prostitutes to ask more questions to find out how they got involved in the trade. She suggested counselors or others ask prostitutes what they wanted to do with their lives when they were young. Create another world for them, she said. Andrew Romero, the man convicted in the death of a Rio Rancho police officer, has filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court, citing more than a dozen issues that he says resulted in an unfair trial. Romeros defense attorney, Tom Clark, said many of the issues outlined in a list submitted to the state Supreme Court relate to the heavy media coverage the case received and the impact that publicity may have had on jurors. A jury convicted Romero in September of first-degree murder and lesser charges in the May 2015 shooting death of Rio Rancho police officer Gregg Nigel Benner. Romero was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus 60 years. Although 13th Judicial District Judge George Eichwald permitted the trial to move from Sandoval County to Valencia County, Clark said the trial still took place within the Albuquerque media market, where coverage of Benners death and Romeros criminal case was relentless. He didnt go far enough in the change of venue, Clark said in an interview, adding that in a county farther from the Albuquerque media market, potential jurors might not be reading the news out of Albuquerque or watching this every night on the news. The document submitted to the Supreme Court on Jan. 23 argues that the extensive negative media coverage meant that potential jurors had extensive knowledge of the case. Also in the list of issues is concern that media coverage may have had an impact on two prosecution witnesses and could have tainted their ability to identify Romero. The document argues that security at the courthouse was exceptionally heavy on the first day of jury selection and that such a show of armed, paramilitary force by law enforcement and corrections officers was prejudicial to the defendant. Security forces included law enforcement officers and corrections officers in combat gear, armed with automatic weapons, according to the appeal. Officers were stationed at the entrance of the courthouse and patrolling each floor. There was also a canine unit on scene. The document mentions a recorded phone call which prosecutors said Romero made from a local jail. It argues that there was insufficient basis to establish that the voice in the recording is Romeros. Another alleged error included in the list was the decision to allow testimony at trial about robberies that Romero reportedly committed around the time of Benners death. It painted him out to be kind of a monster, Clark said. It was more prejudicial than probative. Anyone facing a life sentence receives an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court. At Romeros sentencing hearing, Eichwald said that he had done everything he could to make sure Romeros trial was fair so that he had little wiggle room at appeal. Listing examples, hed barred incriminating statements that Romero made to police after his arrest, relocated the trial from Sandoval County to Valencia County and gave Romero a Cadillac defense team. WASHINGTON Members of New Mexicos congressional delegation responded Tuesday to President Donald Trumps nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Sen. Tom Udall, a Democrat, said that Trump does not have a mandate to appoint an ultraconservative justice to the nations highest court and that he would fight any effort to reverse the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal nationwide. Neither Udall nor Sen. Martin Heinrich, also a Democrat, said Tuesday whether they planned to vote for or against Gorsuchs nomination. Heinrich said Gorsuch must be subjected to the highest level of scrutiny and any nominee to the nations highest court must have an unshaken commitment to the rule of law, separation of powers, and the rights enshrined in the Constitution. Meanwhile, Rep. Steve Pearce, a Republican, said he was confident in the preservation and protection of our Constitution with the nomination of Neil Gorsuch. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, assailed Gorsuchs opposition to abortion rights and urged the Senate to block his nomination. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., did not issue a statement Tuesday. SANTA FE Dogs in Santa Fe County will no longer be allowed to be kept on a chain or tether, as the Santa Fe County Commission on Tuesday amended its animal control ordinance for the first time in 25 years. Under amendments to the ordinance unanimously approved by the five-member commission, the only exceptions are when the dogs are in the presence of their owner in a park or open space, or in an emergency situation. Enforcement wont begin until after a six-month grace period during which the county will engage in education and outreach in the community. The amendment banning chaining of dogs is more strict than the city of Santa Fes ordinance, which allows dogs to be tethered to a trolley system. More changes to the ordinance are likely in the future. The commission decided to address the tethering issue first, as well as licensing and vaccination fees and changing language to make the ordinance consistent with state law, before considering other possible changes. I think this is a good starting point, said Commissioner Robert Anaya, who made the motion to approve the amendments. I think there will be the opportunity to make improvements. We cant go from zero to 65 overnight. The commission took up proposed amendments to the ordinance in October, but decided to postpone action until after the first of the year, when three new members of the commission came on board. Commissioner Anna Hansen, one of the new commissioners, had language in the proposed amendment removed that would have required dogs to be kept in an enclosed pen or fenced area. Instead, owners are only in violation if their dogs go off their property. Violations of the ordinance will become petty misdemeanors punishable by a fine of up to $300 and no more than 90 days in jail. Hansen added that she hoped the commission would later address other issues, such as nuisance barking and requiring dogs to be micro-chipped. Chairman Henry Roybal said he wanted more public input on any future changes. I want to have the community involved and engaged in bringing forward what they would like to have in there, he said. Before the vote, the commission heard from 17 people during a public hearing, including some from Animal Protection of New Mexico and NMDOG. Most of them urged the commission to make chaining up dogs illegal. Anyone who keeps their dog on a chain or pulley doesnt have a pet, they have a prisoner, Claire Bennet said. Others said keeping dogs chained was cruel, causing them to have increased anxiety and become depressed. Other changes to the ordinance included increasing licensing fees from $10 to $25 for dogs that were not spayed or neutered and a reduction of the fee to $3 for dogs that are spayed or neutered. Also, vaccinations are required for any dog, cat or ferret over 3 months old, subject to a $15 fine. PUNCAK, Indonesia After getting death threats from Al-Shabab militants, Mohamed Dahir Saeed and his wife fled their native Somalia with plans to seek safety in Australia. They arrived in nearby Indonesia, only to be told the sea is closed for anyone attempting to make the perilous boat journey south. That was two years ago. Now another chance may be disappearing for Saeed and thousands of other asylum seekers who have made it to this Southeast Asian country with dreams of finding better lives elsewhere. The majority of people here, the U.S. takes them, Saeed said. Now the U.S. they say no Somalian, no Iraq, no Syrian, no Iran, no Sudan. So maybe we will go to another place. I hope, he said Tuesday, seated outside his tiny house perched above the Ciliwung River. For thousands of asylum seekers and refugees from Iraq, Somalia and other conflict-scarred countries, Indonesia is an often yearslong hiatus as they wait for the U.S. or another country to accept them. President Donald Trumps travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim countries and suspension of the U.S. refugee program has now made their tenuous situation even more uncertain. Indonesia is home to nearly 14,000 men, women and children seeking resettlement in other countries, according to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency. About 7,500 have been recognized as refugees, giving them the prized U.N. card that inches them closer to realizing their dreams of a better life. But last year just 610 were resettled in other countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany and New Zealand. At least 2,700 of those in limbo here are from countries listed in Trumps 90-day travel ban: Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya. Asylum seekers in general are affected by his 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program, and by his decision to cut the number of refugees the U.S. accepts this budget year by more than half, to 50,000. Some 3 million refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980, according to the Pew Research Center. Saeed, 31, said that if he had the chance hed tell the U.S. president that as a Somalian hes a peace man. He said he left Somalia after Al-Shabab militants fighting the government pressured him to join their group, and that one of the militants wanted Saeeds wife for himself. Now in Somalia there is a war from Al-Shabab and government. So these Somalis who run from Somalia, they need peace because they need to work, they need to feed their family. They are looking for a better life. Indonesia, a vast but poor archipelago country of more than 250 million people in Southeast Asia, might seem an unlikely refuge. Initially, many people fled there because they believed it would be a jumping-off point to reach Australia by boat. That possibility no longer exists: Since September 2013, the Australian government has turned back the often barely seaworthy vessels. Puncak, a small West Java city nestled beneath a mountain that tempers Indonesias tropical heat, is a magnet for men from the Middle East seeking sex and a pleasant climate. Because of its proximity to Jakarta, where asylum seekers can be summoned for a refugee interview, and because of the low cost of living, many families from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan and other nations also scrape out an existence there. Saeed is waiting in Puncak for a UNHCR interview he said he was told could happen in a year. Before that, he and his wife stayed on Batam, an Indonesian island near Singapore, in accommodations overseen by the International Organization for Migration. It was good there, he said. Food, a room and an operation for his wife to remove a cyst that made her infertile. But when UNHCR told them there would be no refugee interviews there, they made the agonizing choice a month ago to come to Java. They sold their mobile phones for money. His wife is sick again, but an operation is out of the question. One plus: The cool climate means they dont to buy a fan or an air conditioner an unthinkable expense. Despite the meager existence in Puncak, the endless days of boredom, the frustration and the waiting, living among the general population is for many preferable to the alternative of staying in one of the Indonesian governments overcrowded detention centers or camps. The government of predominantly Muslim Indonesia allows asylum seekers to live in the community but they are not permitted to work and lack access to schools and public hospitals. There is no financial support unless a nongovernmental group gets involved. If relatives or friends abroad stop sending money, surrendering to a detention center is the only option left. Khairullah, a minority Sunni Muslim from Iraq, said he fled Mosul about two years ago with his wife and two young sons. The Iraqi city was liberated last month from Islamic State group militants who captured it in the summer of 2014. I want to go outside (Iraq) because there my life is very dangerous. Maybe Im dead, maybe my wife is dead. Maybe one of my children, said Khairullah, who ran a barbershop in Iraq. He said he couldnt afford to live in Turkey or Jordan, but a friend convinced him that life in Indonesias camps was decent, with two rooms for a family, money and food. When I come here to Indonesia, I go to the camp, I dont see this. One room, small room, no money, food no good. I cant stay there. Now the family, expanded to five with the birth of a daughter in Indonesia, waits to hear the outcome of a refugee interview they had five months ago. Khairullah said a sister in Iraq sends $300 a month, but not always because of the chaotic conditions in the country. Now we see the Trump news. No Muslims. Dont come, Muslims, he said, cradling his toddler Rawan. You know, I dont sleep at night, just thinking. What about my future? For me its OK. But what about the future of my sons? What about my daughter with no ID? What about them? I dont know what I do. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. New Mexico is updating a long-term plan for monitoring the effects of a 2015 mine waste spill that fouled rivers in three Western states. The state Environment Department released the draft late Tuesday. Public comments will be accepted through March 3. Environment Secretary Butch Tongate says the plan was developed by a state-led team that included science and engineering experts from agencies and organizations around the state. Tongate voiced concerns about the decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the final days of the Obama administration not to pay damage claims. He said there was little hope the agency would hold itself to the same standards required of private citizens and businesses. The agency triggered the spill at the Gold King Mine in southern Colorado, releasing 3 million gallons of wastewater tainted with heavy metals. FORT COLLINS, Colo. A former nurse in northern Colorado has withdrawn his not guilty plea to charges related to the sexual assault of three hospital patients who were sedated at the time of the abuse. The Coloradoan reports (http://noconow.co/2kPjIhE ) that 44-year-old Thomas Mark Moore withdrew his plea Monday, which means he will no longer face trial next month. Moore is charged with three counts of unlawful sexual contact and the case is set for a status conference next month. Moore is accused of assaulting three women at a Fort Collins hospital between December 2013 and January 2014. The alleged victims had reportedly given sedatives before Moore touched them inappropriately. The suspect remains jailed in Larimer County. ___ Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan, http://www.coloradoan.com The hotly-contested Bureau of Land Managements Venting and Flaring Rule enacted in the final days of the Obama presidency may be on its way out. The House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee heard House Joint Resolution 36 on Monday afternoon which seeks to repeal the rule that calls for a cut to the oil and gas industrys methane emissions by half by increasing monitoring and equipment requirements at wells. The resolution is sponsored by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) and co-sponsored by 33 other Republican representatives, including Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM). next week Congress will begin a series of actions to repeal what I believe are abusive last-minute regulations that are grossly inconsistent with Congressional intent or were acted upon without statutory authority, Bishop said during a teleconference last week, adding the rule will impose real and unnecessary harm on people. Western Energy Alliance president Kathleen Sgamma, which represents 300 oil and gas companies, said the House will hear the resolution this week, while the Senate will hear it in the next couple of weeks. Several states and industry members have sued the federal government over the rule, including the states of Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and the Western Energy Alliance and Independent Petroleum Association of America. That group and other opponents of the rule claim it oversteps BLMs authority and that state and Environmental Protection Agency regulations are sufficient. The BLM Venting and Flaring rule overlaps with regulations already adopted by the EPA and the State of New Mexico, said New Mexico Oil and Gas Association executive director Ryan Flynn in a statement. In New Mexico, where 56 percent of our oil and 63 percent of our natural gas come from leases on federal lands, the negative impacts of this redundant and ill-conceived regulation will be particularly severe. Those on the other side, including New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, contend the rule will provide additional royalties on natural gas that is currently flared to the states dwindling budget. It was necessary to intervene to require producers to pay royalties to New Mexico school children from gas that is unnecessarily wasted, Balderas spokesman James Hallinan said in an email. Kent Salazar, a board member of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors, said the rule would help the states financial situation. Were just asking that they put controls on their equipment so they do not just waste it, Salazar said. We cant afford to lose money like that revenue. A federal court for the District of Wyoming denied the plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction of the rule earlier this month. Maddy Hayden may be reached at 575-628-5512, mahayden@currentargus.com and @Maddy_J_Hayden on Twitter. 2017 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ TOKYO Former U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that he would not run for president of South Korea, a surprise announcement after weeks of laying political groundwork but then watching his plans erode over what he dubbed fake news. His decision leaves South Koreas conservatives without an obvious successor to Park Geun-hye, the beleaguered incumbent, and gives progressives an unexpected boost. Upon his return last month, Ban, a 72-year-old career bureaucrat, quickly found himself being buffeted around in South Koreas famously tumultuous political sphere. He was mocked on the Internet for being out-of-touch with his home society after a decade in New York, and corruption allegations were leveled at members of his family, dimming much of his star power. Ban called the attacks part of a fake news campaign to discredit him and his family. For the past three weeks, I have devoted everything I had, but my genuine patriotism and passion were damaged by rumors and fake news, Ban said Wednesday at a hastily arranged news conference at the National Assembly after meeting with the leaders of three political parties. I, my family and the U.N. have been greatly hurt. . . . I will give up my pure aspiration to achieve a change in politics under my leadership and unify the country. Ban joins other former U.N. chiefs who turned their backs on the world of elected politics. Boutros Boutros-Ghali did not heed calls from supporters to run in his native Egypt, and Ghanas Kofi Annan also decided against a bid for president in the West African country and opted to create a humanitarian foundation. Bans approval ratings had been steadily falling since his return to South Korea, and to a heros welcome, in early January. The latest polls showed him running at 13 percent, 20 points behind Moon Jae-in, the progressive front-runner. Moon, a former leader of the Democratic Party who favors engagement with North Korea and is skeptical about an American antimissile battery, said he was he was caught off guard by Bans decision. I was looking forward to a good competition, he told reporters. With Bans announcement, the progressive factions prospects just improved sharply, said Kim Yun-cheol of Kyung Hee University. Now it seems there is a higher possibility of a change in administration in the upcoming election with Ban dropping out of the race, he said. And all of this happened just one day before Jim Mattis, the new U.S. defense secretary, is due to arrive in Seoul, with the deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, at the top of the agenda. The announcement came as a shock to South Koreans because Ban had been going through all the motions of preparing to run. He had been visiting former presidents, kissing babies, bowing at graves and meeting political leaders. It was considered a matter of when, not if, he would announce his candidacy for the presidential election, whenever it is held. Elections were set to be held in December, at the end of Parks five-year term, but she is now facing impeachment over her role in a corruption and influence-peddling scandal. The Constitutional Court is weighing whether to uphold a National Assembly motion to impeach Park, with a decision possible later this month. If Park is impeached, the next presidential election must be held within 60 days of the courts decision. If she is exonerated, the election will be held in December as originally scheduled. Before the corruption scandal revolving around Park broke in October, Bans prospects for winning the presidency appeared good. But he has been hurt by his closeness to Park the two had repeated meetings last year, which were viewed here as a sign that they were hatching a handover plan and by allegations of corruption against those close to him. The United States has indicted Bans younger brother and his nephew on charges of bribery related to the sale of a high-rise building in Vietnam. The nephew has been indicted in New York, and the United States is asking South Korea to extradite the brother. Ban denies any knowledge of such a scheme. Separately, there have been rumors that Ban received bribes while he was foreign minister, which Ban vehemently denies. But even the whiff of corruption at a time like this was fatal, said Kang Won-taek, a political scientist at Seoul National University. The country has been gripped by the corruption scandal centering on the president and her confidante, but it has also dragged in a slew of business and political leaders. There have been mass protests against the establishment, but Ban belongs to the conservative establishment, so he had inherent difficulties and failed to gain support, Kang said. That Ban had no political experience and no political support base was another handicap, he said. From the beginning, he had trouble adapting to this new environment, Kang said. Indeed, Ban seemed to attribute his decision to the mudslinging political scene. I have found political players very selfish and to be stuck in the past, he said at the news conference. I have come to the conclusion that it is meaningless for me to continue my path with them. A spokesman for the Bareun, or Righteous party, formed out of the presidents conservative party amid the scandal and had been actively trying to recruit Ban, expressed astonishment. Yoonjung Seo in Seoul contributed to this report. Department of Homeland Security officials on Tuesday sought to defend their implementation of President Donald Trumps immigration order, as civil liberties attorneys said they were still pressing for more thorough compliance with court rulings on the measure. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said at a news conference Tuesday that department officials are and will remain in compliance with judicial orders, though attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union said they were not fully convinced that was the case. As of 7 p.m., for example, the administration had not yet provided a list of those detained to ACLU lawyers, despite a New York federal judges order that it do so, an ACLU lawyer there said. An ACLU lawyer in Los Angeles said the organization also has fielded reports that Customs and Border Protection agents are coercing holders of valid visas or green cards to voluntarily relinquish their documents, and a lawsuit in Virginia alleges similar conduct. Senior Homeland Security officials on Tuesday sought to quell concerns about travelers being denied entry in violation of court orders, holding a news conference to discuss the details with reporters. Officials and civil rights lawyers said the situation on Tuesday was a far cry from over the weekend when people with green cards and visas were being detained for hours on end, some of them ultimately flown out to other countries even as courts ordered that they should not be. But civil liberties advocates said a lot of confusion remained over how the order which temporarily bans refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from coming to the United States should be legally implemented. Coupled with the presidents firing of his acting attorney general over her refusal to defend the ban, they said they worried that the president was trying to run over normal checks on his authority. In New York where a federal judge ordered authorities nationwide to stop deporting or taking into custody those with valid immigrant and nonimmigrant visas the ACLU said it was still pressing for a list of who had been detained. That list is important to confirm that people have not been sent back in defiance of the courts order, and whether people are still being detained or denied access to counsel, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project. In the absence of the list, we would be left to simply take the unilateral assurances of the administration, which we will not do, Gelernt said. In Los Angeles, ACLU lawyers said they were still fielding reports of people who were being forced to endure hours-long processing, and sometimes coerced into signing away their legal rights to be in the United States. Jennie Pasquarella, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California, said one visa holder from Syria who had permanent resident status in Saudi Arabia was pressured into giving up his rights to be here, though he left with documentation saying he could remain for 18 days. She said people were still being held up though not for nearly as long as when the order first took effect. Its definitely felt like, at least through Sunday, they were ignoring the order, but it does seem like they have changed what theyre doing and not holding people in this prolonged manner, Pasquarella said. In some cases, the damage appears to already be done. Yemeni brothers Tareq and Ammar Aqel Mohammed Aziz, 21 and 19, for example, got into Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on Saturday morning. Their lawyers say they were then handcuffed and coerced, with no legal counsel present, into giving up the immigrant visas they had worked for years to secure. They were put on a plane to Addis Ababa, where they sat in the airport for three days without access to their passports, their lawyers said. On Tuesday, the brothers were sent to Djibouti, where for now they have been allowed to stay. Sara Yarjani, 35, a masters student at California Institute for Human Science, said she was similarly pressured into signing away her visa at the Los Angeles airport when officials told her she could either do so and leave on her own, or be forcibly removed from the United States and face the prospect of a one-to-five-year ban. Yarjani, an Iranian national whose parents live in Austria, said she spent 23 hours in custody Friday into Saturday, learning just before she was put on a plane of a judges order declaring those like her should not be deported. She said she told Customs and Border Protection officers as much, and one simply responded Wowzas before ultimately ushering her on board. It was so terrible and heartbreaking, Yajani said. Im still trying to find out what are the steps I can take. Attorneys general in four states have now moved to join the court battle over Trumps immigration order. The most immediate front appears to be what happens when people try to board U.S.-bound planes overseas. Immigrant rights advocates said this week that officials were preventing people from boarding those flights. Acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that in the past 72 hours, 721 people with visas from the seven countries listed on the executive order were denied permission at foreign airports to board flights headed to the United States, and asserted, There were carriers that overinterpreted our guidance. Becca Heller, of the International Refugee Assistance Project, said her organization is in touch with more than two dozen people some students with visas to study in the United States who have been removed from planes in cities such as Dubai and Doha. The federal court orders constrain the actions of government officials after people have landed in the United States but seem to have little practical value to someone waiting to board a U.S.-bound plane overseas. Immigrant rights attorneys said the government does not appear to be technically in violation of the court orders by advising airlines to turn away people before they have boarded planes heading to the United States, with the possible exception of people trying to fly to Bostons Logan Airport. Susan Church, one of the attorneys who brought the challenge there, said the judges order specifically requires Customs and Border Protection agents to tell the airlines that people traveling to Boston will not be deported or detailed. The airlines, despite being notified, are claiming they dont know about this order, Church said Tuesday. Its really outrageous, and its violating the court order. U.S. officials conceded at Tuesdays briefing that they had made mistakes, and that they would explore reports of people being coerced into signing away their documentation. Kelly said a small number of travelers were being held up for extra processing but that none were detained. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday issued written guidance designed to give airlines and travelers a clearer understanding of new rules. McAleenan also said that officials would soon allow 872 refugees into the country and that officers processed 1,060 waivers for green-card holders. Officials struggled to explain why the rollout of the order over the weekend was so chaotic. One individual familiar with the process said that leaders from Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security were briefed on the orders details on Friday afternoon in a pair of urgent conference calls, including one after Trump signed it. A second individual, though, said career operational staff and lawyers at Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security headquarters were not given an opportunity to review and comment on the order before it was signed. Kelly disputed reports that he had not been aware of the order or consulted on it until the last minute. He said he knew it was being written, saw at least two drafts before Friday, and that members of his legal team were involved. The Washington Posts Lori Aratani, Rachel Weiner, Michael Laris and Mark Berman contributed to this report. AMONA, West Bank Israeli forces uprooted this West Bank outpost on Wednesday, removing residents and hundreds of their supporters in sometimes violent clashes as they dismantled a community that has become a symbol of Jewish settler defiance. The evacuation, which followed years of legal battles, came amid a flurry of bold new settlement moves by Israels government, which has been buoyed by the election of President Donald Trump. Thousands of police officers carried out the removal, squaring off against hundreds of protesters, many of them young religious activists who flocked to the wind-swept hilltop to show their solidarity with residents. Planting themselves inside trailer homes and the communitys synagogue, the protesters defied police, who carried some away. Protesters chained themselves to heavy objects or linked arms to form a wall against police, chanting Jews dont expel Jews! Dozens of residents reluctantly left their homes without resistance, young children in tow. This is my home. I want to stay here. It is my right to stay here, resident Tamar Nizri told Channel 2 TV news. This is expulsion, destruction, an injustice and a crime. The most basic truth is that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, including the West Bank, she said. With some 250 residents, Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected in the West Bank without formal permission but generally with tacit support from the Israeli government. It was the scene of violent clashes between settlers and security forces during a partial demolition exactly 11 years ago, on Feb. 1, 2006. Those homes were found to be built on private Palestinian land. Israels Supreme Court later ruled in 2014 that the entire outpost was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished, setting Feb. 8 as the final deadline after repeated delays. In an apparent attempt to temper settler anger over the evacuation, Israel approved thousands of new settler homes a day before the outposts removal, signaling a ramping up of settlement construction under President Trump, who has indicated he will be more accepting of Israeli settlement policies. The settler movement is a potent political force in Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus nationalist coalition government is dominated by settlers and their allies. In contrast to his predecessors, Trump has voiced no objections to Israels latest settlement binge. Amona residents and their supporters had hoped Trump and his softer approach might open a door for the outpost to remain on the hilltop, to no avail. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said some 3,000 officers were deployed to carry out the evacuation. They were met by 1,500 protesters who erected makeshift barricades from smashed tiles, rusty metal bars and large rocks to slow the police advance. Police said some 20 officers were slightly injured by stones or an unidentified liquid hurled at them and a dozen protesters were arrested. Hundreds of protesters were removed from the hill and more than half of the outposts roughly 40 families had left their homes by nightfall. Protesters, who began arriving in the weeks ahead of the slated demolition, heckled officers and pleaded with them to refuse their orders. The evacuation was expected to drag into the night. As it proceeded, Israels Supreme Court rejected a government proposal to move Amonas residents to plots on the same hilltop, leaving them without a relocation plan. Many were headed temporarily to the nearby settlement of Ofra. The Palestinians and most of the international community consider both outposts and settlements illegal and see them as an obstacle to creating a Palestinian state. The Palestinians want the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war for their future state. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, and the territory was subsequently overrun by the Hamas militant group. Trump has said he wants to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, but has given no indication of how he plans to do this. His campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, the cornerstone of U.S. Mideast policy for decades, and he has surrounded himself with advisers with deep ties to the settlement movement. A day before the evacuation, Netanyahu approved 3,000 West Bank settler homes, in addition to earlier approvals of 2,500 homes in the West Bank and 560 in east Jerusalem. In a statement, Netanyahu said he has set up a team to look into establishing a new settlement to house the residents evacuated from Amona. Settlement supporters are banking on Trump to support or at least let slide an explosive bill that seeks to legalize several thousand additional homes built on land seized from Palestinian landowners. Instead, it would offer the Palestinians compensation. The evacuation marks the end of a yearslong legal battle by the Palestinians who own the land Amona was built on and witnessed repeated delays by the government to implement the court ruling. Our feeling is indescribable, said Abdel-Rahman Saleh, the mayor of the nearby Palestinian town of Silwad who assisted the landowners in building their case. This will open the way for other Palestinians to move ahead and retrieve their confiscated land. Ahmad Majdalani, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also welcomed the evacuation, but said the other settlement moves were meant to finally kill the two-state solution. Amonas evacuation drove a wedge through the hard-line coalition of Netanyahu, who has been caught between appeasing his pro-settler coalition allies and respecting the rulings issued by the Supreme Court. The pro-settler Jewish Home party had pushed Netanyahu to find a legal loophole that would keep the residents on the hill. Bilha Schwarts, 24, came with her husband and 9-month-old daughter to support Amonas residents. If they want it they can take it, we will not fight, she said. We will leave but we will come back. ___ Goldenberg reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report. CAIRO The Latest on the global reaction to President Donald Trumps temporary suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries (all times local): 7:40 p.m. The Vatican is criticizing U.S. President Donald Trumps immigration policy, with a senior official voicing concern and the Vatican newspaper saying Trumps recourse to walls and travel bans is counterproductive to Americas economic interest. Archbishop Angelo Becciu, a top official in the Vaticans secretariat of state, was asked Wednesday about Trumps immigration policy. He said: Certainly theres concern. Because we are messengers of another culture, that of opening, but also about the capacity of integrating those who arrive in our society and our culture. The Vatican newspaper LOsservatore Romano headlined a front-page editorial Wednesday with the words Closure isnt progress. The newspaper said protests by U.S. corporations to Trumps travel ban against citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations showed that closing doors to immigrants means depriving the country of potentially important resources. ___ 7:35 p.m. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the U.S. ban on travel into the United States and refugee resettlement violates our basic principles and is not an effective way to stop would-be terrorists. He told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday that these measures should be removed sooner rather than later. Guterres, who led the U.N. refugee agency for 10 years, said terrorist organizations have become very sophisticated and would probably use supporters with passports from developed and credible countries rather than people from countries that are hotspots of conflict today. The U.N. chief said measures like those adopted by the Trump administration that spread anxiety and anger help trigger the kind of recruitment mechanisms that these organizations are now doing everywhere in the world. Guterres said thats why the U.N. has been pushing for strong measures to control borders, but not to base them in any discrimination link to nationality, religion or ethnicity. ___ 6:55 p.m. A Syrian man who was detained with his family upon arrival in Philadelphia and forced to board a plane back home because of Trumps executive order says he is still in shock. Bassam Abu Assali was turned back over the weekend despite having an immigration visa. He says he would never have made the journey if he knew he would be humiliated this way. Abu Assali also says he would still like to live in the United States if he is allowed and that he believes America has democracy, freedoms and human rights despite what happened. He spoke to The Associated Press in the Syrian capital on Wednesday. Abu Assali also said that he believes Trumps ban is an individual act that does not reflect the position of the U.S. government. ___ 5:30 p.m. A top European Union official says the U.S. clarifications shielding EU nationals with dual citizenship from the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Trump does not change the blocs fierce opposition to the order. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told the European Parliament on Wednesday that what made Trumps order even worse was its Jan. 27 release date on the worldwide Holocaust Remembrance Day. She said, beyond commemorating the millions of Jews killed by Nazism, it also was a day to reject any discrimination and to reflect on our duty to host those fleeing persecution. Mogherini also urged Trump to pay attention to what is happening in his own country. ___ 5:15 p.m. Iranian-born Swedish actress Bahar Pars, who hopes to share an Oscar for best foreign film, says she and fellow actor Rolf Lassgard have decided to travel to the Academy Awards ceremony despite the confusion around U.S. President Donald Trumps travel ban. Pars, who got Swedish citizenship in 1995, said by traveling to the prestigious Feb. 26 ceremony in Los Angeles the effect will be a lot bigger. The 37-year-old actress holds both Swedish and Iranian passports. She tells The Associated Press that standing there together and holding hands is a statement in itself on Trumps temporary immigration ban against seven majority-Muslim countries, including her native Iran. Pars stars in Swedens entry A Man Called Ove. ____ 3:40 p.m. An American lawyer says hundreds of Yemenis with U.S. visas are stranded in the tiny African state of Djibouti because of President Donald Trumps ban on entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. Lawyer Julie Goldberg told The Associated Press on Wednesday that these are all the children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens. She says they are not refugees and that more than half of the more than 200 Yemenis are children. Speaking from Djibouti, Goldberg says she obtained a court order dated Tuesday from the U.S. District Court in Californias central district instructing the U.S. government to not enforce Trumps executive order and allow the Yemenis to fly to the United States. She seeks an airline that will comply with the order. Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014. ___ 2:40 p.m. British Prime Minister Theresa May says Donald Trumps refugee ban is divisive and wrong four days after she insisted it was a matter for the U.S. government. Trumps ban on citizens of seven majority Muslim nations entering the U.S. for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days has sparked protests in Britain, along with calls for Trumps state visit later this year to be scrapped. Asked about the travel ban at a news conference in Turkey on Saturday, May said that the United States is responsible for the United States policy on refugees. But on Wednesday she told lawmakers in the House of Commons that this government is clear that that policy is wrong. We wouldnt do it We believe it is divisive and wrong. ___ 2: 05 p.m. Five U.N. human rights experts say President Donald Trumps move to bar entry to the United States to citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries violates U.S. obligations on human rights. The five, who are commissioned by the United Nations, said in a statement issued in Geneva on Wednesday that Trumps executive order signed last week is clearly discriminatory and leads to greater stigmatization of Muslims. The order bars nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from U.S. entry for 90 days. The five U.N. special rapporteurs are Francois Crepeau on migrants; Mutuma Ruteere on racism; Ben Emmerson on human rights and counter-terrorism; Nils Melzer on torture and Ahmed Shaheed on freedom of religion. They cited U.S. obligations to protect the principles of non-refoulement or not chasing away people who have a right to protection and nondiscrimination based on race, nationality or religion. They said the United States responsibility must extend to offering refuge to people fleeing Iraq and Syria, citing U.S. participation in conflicts in those countries. ___ 12:45 p.m. The United Arab Emirates top diplomat has come out in defense of President Donald Trumps order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Wednesday that the United States was within its rights to take what he said was a sovereign decision concerning immigration. He says he does not believe the move was based on religion, and noted that the majority of the worlds Muslim-majority countries were not covered by the order. Sheikh Abdullah spoke following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Abu Dhabi. The Emirates is one of the United States closest Arab allies. It is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group and hosts American troops and warplanes taking part. ___ 11:45 a.m. Irans state TV is reporting that President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at the recent executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump to suspend immigration and visa processes for nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Iran. Rouhani described Trump and his administration as newcomers who dont understand politics, saying, A man had been living in another world and now has entered the world of politics. Rouhani also said that Trump would end up harming not only his own nation but other countries as well. Rouhani called the American administration dishonest for claiming to be on the side of the Iranian people, but then banning them. AUSTIN, Texas Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott blocked funding over so-called sanctuary cities for the first time Wednesday after Austins sheriff said the citys jails would no longer honor most federal immigration detainers. The move begins a crackdown Abbott wants in Texas over criminal suspects who are in the country illegally, which comes as he pushes to sign new laws that could go even further than President Donald Trumps new executive actions against sanctuary policies. Travis County leaders condemned losing $1.5 million in grant money earmarked for crime victim services, courts and other programs. They stood by Sheriff Sally Hernandez, an elected Democrat in Texas most liberal city, who announced after Trumps inauguration that her jails going forward would only honor immigration holds in murder, aggravated sexual assault and human trafficking cases. Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt wrote in a letter to Abbott that she was confident the sheriff is within the law. I am certain you have come to the same conclusion; else you would not be seeking to change current State law to put all Texas Sheriffs in the service of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Eckhardt wrote. The revoked funds came a day after Abbott used his State of the State address to declare a sanctuary city ban an urgent priority for lawmakers. A Senate committee on Thursday is expected to vote on a bill that would deny state grant funds to jurisdictions that discourage inquiring into the immigration status of a person under lawful detention or arrest. Abbott has also called for the power to remove locally elected officials if they dont comply. Trump signed an order last week to withdraw funding from sanctuary cities that decline to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. It didnt specify what kind of money could be pulled. In California, San Francisco officials sued over the order, saying it was unconstitutional and an invasion of the citys sovereignty. ___ This version of the story corrects that Austin jail will honor some detainers for the most serious crimes. ___ Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber WICHITA, Kan. The woman accused of murdering a Wichita woman and kidnapping her newborn baby is now in a Kansas jail. Online jail records show Yesenia Sesmas was booked Wednesday afternoon into the Sedgwick County Detention Center in Wichita. KAKE-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2kRP1YX ) the Dallas County Sheriffs Office says was released from that countys jail Wednesday morning to be taken to Kansas. Sesmas is accused of killing Laura Abarca-Nogueda at a west Wichita apartment in November. She then allegedly took the womans daughter, Sofia, who was six days old at the time. Sesmas and the baby were found two days later a Dallas home. The child was not injured and was returned to relatives in Wichita. The 34-year-old Sesmas was in custody in Dallas and was served extradition papers Jan. 6. ___ Information from: KAKE-TV. WASHINGTON There are plenty of unwritten rules about the Supreme Court nominees. You arent supposed to pick a justice based upon a litmus test of political issues. Justices arent supposed to retire in hopes of getting replaced by a like-minded president. And the opposition isnt supposed to block a pick unless there are extraordinary circumstances. Basically, partisan politics arent supposed to be a part of it. But of course, they are. And behind the scenes, everyone is gaming out how this or that pick or retirement will impact the future of the court. Such is the case with one particular aspect of Neil Gorsuchs nomination: his age, 49. And while President Donald Trump was pretty staid at his news conference Tuesday night, he did make one nod to the political advantage that the man he chose brings to the table. Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years, and his or her decisions can last a century or more and can often be permanent, Trump noted. And thats a big reason Republicans love the Gorsuch pick. Not only is he a demonstrated originalist in the mold of the man he would replace, the late justice Antonin Scalia; but he would also be providing the right flank of the court potentially decades of service. The idea of his serving 50 years is fanciful, given that Gorsuch would be 99 years old and no justice has ever served that long, but the point stands: The younger the nominee, the longer he or she is likely to hold down a spot for your side. And, in fact, Gorsuch is only the second 40-something nominee since 1971 and the fourth since World War II. The most recent to be nominated before his 50th birthday Clarence Thomas has inhabited the court for 26 years now and is still going strong in his late 60s. In Gorsuch, Trump would be adding a 49-year-old to a court whose average age has been among the oldest ever. The average age of a justice was over 70 before Scalias death a year ago. Were drawing something of an arbitrary line with Gorsuch here. While that 4 as the first digit in his age seems important, two of the last four nominees John Roberts and Elena Kagan were both 50 at the time, just one year older. And the four picks before Thomas were all between 50 and 52. So theres not a huge difference. But younger nominees do tend to serve longer. The four justices to serve at least three decades since the dawn of the 20th century were all between 45 and 55 upon being nominated. Those with the shortest tenures in the last 50 years Warren Burger and Lewis Powell were appointed at the ages of 62 and 65, respectively. The age factor has become a much bigger one over the years, as Americans and justices, by extension have been living longer. Some object to the concept of lifelong appointments for Supreme Court justices, noting that life expectancy was only 49 years old as recently as 1900, and the political stakes of these appointments have accordingly become much bigger and longer-lasting. They argue that the founders never intended for justices to all serve decades. Oliver Wyman notes that the average age of the first 10 Supreme Court justices to voluntarily vacate their seats was 59. The average age of the last seven? 80.7 years old. Applying that number to Gorsuch would mean he would be on the court for more than 30 years until around the year 2050. Back in 2011, The Posts Supreme Court reporter, Robert Barnes, offered this anecdote about Kagans confirmation: The phone rang last year as soon as the Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as the Supreme Courts newest justice. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said he wanted to be the first to congratulate and welcome Kagan to the court, she recalled at a recent event at the Aspen Institute. And Roberts told her one other thing: that the two were going to be serving together for the next 25 years. Only 25? Kagan responded. Indeed, 25 years does seem to be almost a baseline expectation these days. And in picking Gorsuch, Trump and Republicans hope their wager on the over will pay off. MONTROSE, Colo. A district attorney in western Colorado says a sheriffs deputy who shot and killed a man was ambushed and responding as any reasonable person would. The Montrose Daily Press reports (http://bit.ly/2jDJBiJ ) that District Attorney Dan Hotsenpiller announced Tuesday that Montrose County Sheriffs deputy Bruce Schmalz wont face any criminal charges. Hotsenpiller says an investigation found that Schmalz was on patrol at an old copper mine near the Utah-Colorado border in November when he was ambushed by 47-year-old William Score. Investigators found that Score fired into Schamlz patrol car six times before appearing to reach for more ammo. At that point, Schmalz fatally shot the man. Schmalz hand was injured in the incident. He returned to work the next month. Hotsenpiller says the shooting was justified. Sheriff Rick Dunlap says police dont know what Scores motive was. ___ Information from: The Montrose Daily Press, http://www.montrosepress.com ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Muslim students at the University of New Mexico and college campuses across the country honored World Hijab Day amid protests over President Donald Trumps travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. Students at New Mexicos largest university and others in Iowa and Virginia on Wednesday set up booths and asked non-Muslim students to take photos of themselves in hijabs and post them on social media. The day, founded in 2013 by New Yorker Nazma Khan, started in reaction to Muslim women being harassed for wearing the head covering used by some women who practice Islam. Organizers ask non-Muslim women to wear the hijab for a day in solidarity with Muslim women worldwide. I love it, said Sarah Rivali, 33, a non-Muslim student who lives in Albuquerque. I feel so beautiful. This is such a great idea. Students at Bluefield College in Virginia and Simpson College in Iowa also participated in World Hijab Day. At the University of New Mexico, Muslim students showed non-Muslim women how to wear a hijab. Afterward, students took selfies. Some Muslim women said they were mixed on the purpose of World Hijab Day amid Islamophobia and Trumps travel ban. Mouna Mana, director of Arabic Language & Culture at Qatar Foundation International in Washington, D.C., said Wednesday she finds the event is sweet, but uninspired. I feel like this is kind of hyped-up symbolism. Its probably well-intentioned, but sort of misses the point, said Mana, who wears a hijab. I think some of us are also just sort of bored of this idea of, well, lets just put on a scarf and call it a day. Muslims are dealing with very severe issues right now. Im sorry, putting on a piece of clothing doesnt really do it for me. Samia Assed, 51, of Albuquerque, said at first she was skeptical of a day celebrating the hijab as a symbol when the event began four years ago. But now she is slowly seeing how the message helps fight Islamophobia. The question I have is: what are you going to do after Feb. 1? said Assed, a Palestinian American. How do you make this into a movement? ___ Associated Press writer Noreen Nasir in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report. MOSCOW Russia and Ukraine traded accusations Wednesday over an incident involving a Ukrainian military aircraft flying over a Russian-operated gas rig in the Black Sea. Ukrainian presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko said the aircraft was fired upon while flying near two offshore gas rigs Wednesday. He posted a picture on Facebook showing a hole in the plane but added that the crew was not hurt. Russias Black Sea Fleet rejected the claim. It said the Ukrainian plane made two provocatively low runs over the Russian rigs, and a security officer fired a flare gun four times to drive it away and prevent a crash. It said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the flares posed no danger to the plane. The Russian Defense Ministry later summoned Ukraines military attache in Moscow to lodge a formal protest against what it called the planes dangerous maneuvers. The incident reflects the high tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors following Moscows annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula and support for a pro-Russia separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. It comes amid the worst fighting in months this week around Avdiivka, just north of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk. The rigs, which previously had belonged to Ukraine, have caused tensions for a long time. Ukraine has accused Russia of illegally seizing them and said it would demand compensation. Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE New Mexico school districts would be empowered to shorten the school day or end the school year early to help offset state budget cuts this year under a proposal that surfaced Wednesday in the state Senate. The bill, sponsored by Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces, made unlikely allies of Gov. Susana Martinezs administration and teachers unions both of which questioned the proposal during a committee hearing. Superintendents and school boards, in turn, spoke in support. Its a crisis none of us are happy about being in, said Soules, who has worked as a teacher himself. The Senate Education Committee heard testimony on the proposal Wednesday and scheduled it for further consideration Friday morning. The proposal, Senate Bill 290, would allow school boards to lift state-imposed requirements on teaching loads and length of the school day or school year during a fiscal crisis. They could also modify staffing patterns and make other adjustments. That could mean reduced pay for teachers or other employees, though its unclear whether union contracts could block those moves. The flexibility, in any case, would kick in only when the state reduces education appropriations by 2 percent after the districts have already set their budgets. And they could lift the state requirements only through the end of that school year. Soules bill includes an emergency clause that would allow it to go into effect immediately upon approval by the Legislature and governor. A representative of the Public Education Department spoke against the bill, saying school districts already have much of the flexibility proposed, if they get approval from the Cabinet secretary. He also said the proposed exemptions are too broad. Union leaders said the proposal doesnt go far enough to ensure that teachers would be involved in the decision-making. We need to figure out together what makes the most sense for the kids, Ellen Bernstein of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation said in an interview. Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque and a retired teacher, urged Soules to speak with union leaders and the Public Education Department to try to address their concerns before the Friday committee hearing. This is something I dont think any of us really want to do, Stewart said, but we understand the necessity of considering it. Charles Goodmacher of the National Education Association-New Mexico said hes optimistic that the bill ultimately will include an amendment that gives districts the flexibility they need while preventing further reduction of opportunities for student success here in New Mexico. The bill triggered a broader debate over how to help schools. Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, said the state went too far in cutting funding to school districts this year. He noted that his wife is a teacher. We have created a nightmare, he said. The governor and lawmakers this session have adopted a financial solvency package aimed at ensuring the state has enough cash to pay its bills through the rest of this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Under the plan, school districts with cash balances larger than 3 percent will face immediate funding reductions. The reductions are expected to total roughly $46 million. The districts are supposed to tap into their cash balances, or reserves, to offset the reductions and avoid classroom cuts. But school officials have also said they need the cash to help them cover costs, in some cases, before theyre reimbursed by the federal government or other sources. State funding to school districts was already cut during a special session last fall, and school officials say this sessions solvency package means they have endured about 3.5 percent in state cuts since setting their budgets last year. We have budgeted responsibly and are appalled at the need for this, Albuquerque school board member Barbara Petersen told senators, but do not know how we can move forward without this in place. WASHINGTON Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Wednesday that they intend to vote against the confirmation of President Donald Trumps education secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, giving Democrats two of at least three Republican votes they would need to block her appointment. Republican leaders said that despite the defections, they are confident DeVos will be confirmed. Shell be confirmed you can take that to the bank, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the majority whip. Both Collins and Murkowski said on the Senate floor that while they appreciate DeVoss efforts to help at-risk children through advocating for vouchers and charter schools, they are concerned that DeVos lacks the experience needed to serve as education secretary and improve public schools, particularly in rural areas. DeVos has no professional experience in public schools, and she did not attend public schools herself or send her own children to them. The mission of the Department of Education is broad, but supporting public education is at its core, Collins said. Im concerned that Mrs. Devoss lack of experience with public schools will make it difficult for her to fully understand, identify and assist with those challenges, particularly for our rural schools in states like Maine. Murkowski said children in remote communities across Alaska depend on a strong public school system, and that she isnt persuaded that DeVos has the background to strengthen that system. As she left the Senate floor, Murkowski said that her decision was the result of an outpouring of responses from Alaskans as well as her own research. I was trying to get to yes. I just couldnt, she said. A final confirmation vote is expected on the Senate floor either over the weekend or early next week, according to aides to Republican leadership. There are 48 senators in the Democratic caucus. If they vote as a bloc against DeVos, and if they are joined by Murkowski and Collins, the vote to confirm would be 50-50. In that event, Vice President Mike Pence a staunch DeVos supporter would cast the tiebreaking vote. It would mark the first tiebreaking vote by a vice president since Richard Cheney did so nine years ago. Joe Biden, Cheneys successor, went eight years as vice president without ever breaking a tie. If a third Republican senator votes against DeVos, she could lose the confirmation vote. Several are facing constituent pressure to oppose the nominee, including Patrick Toomey, R-Pa. Im all for her, Toomey told The Washington Post on Wednesday. Alaskas junior senator, Republican Dan Sullivan, would not say whether he will vote yes or no on DeVos. But his tone suggested he would lean toward support. He detailed concerns similar to what Sen. Murkowski was talking about. We have very almost frontier-type education environments where theres only one school in the communities. Theres no choice at all. But Ive had very good meetings with the nominee, he added. From my perspective I think shes going to be adequately focused on those issues. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the Trump administration has zero concerns that DeVoss nomination will be voted down. I am 100 percent confident she will be the next secretary of education, Spicer said at Wednesdays news briefing. Trumps nomination of DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and major donor to Republican causes, has triggered a sharp partisan battle, and she has faced an unprecedented level of opposition for a prospective education secretary. Both of the nations largest teachers unions mounted campaigns against her immediately after her nomination, but opposition broadened after she stumbled over basic education policy questions during her Jan. 17 confirmation hearing. Parents and teachers have flooded the Senates phone lines and email inboxes in recent weeks, urging senators to vote against DeVos. The nation is speaking out. . . . [S]enators need to listen, said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association. Several previous nominees were confirmed on a voice vote or by unanimous consent. The deepest division to date was over the nomination of John King , who was confirmed in March 2016 on a 49-40 vote. Even then, key Republicans including Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky , the majority leader voted in Kings favor, giving his confirmation a bipartisan blessing. The Washington Posts Kelsey Snell, Paul Kane and Ed OKeefe contributed to this report. WASHINGTON Top House Democrats called Wednesday for an investigation of President Donald Trumps national security adviser over his ties to a Russian propaganda outlet. They want the Pentagon to investigate whether Michael Flynn violated the Constitution by accepting payments from a government-controlled TV station in Russia. Flynn is a retired Army lieutenant general and intelligence officer. Flynn traveled in 2015 to Moscow, where he joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials in a celebration of the RT network. Flynn later explained he had been paid for taking part in the event, but brushed aside concerns that he was aiding a Russian propaganda effort. The top Democrats from six House Committees sent a letter to the Pentagon Wednesday seeking the investigation. It remains unclear how much Gen. Flynn was paid for his dinner with Vladimir Putin, whether he received additional payments from Russian or other foreign sources on separate occasions, or whether he sought the approval of the Department of Defense or Congress to accept any of these payments, the Democrats wrote. Laura Seal, a Pentagon spokeswoman, declined to comment to The Associated Press. She said the Pentagon would respond to the members of Congress. The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution prohibits federal officeholders from accepting gifts from foreign governments. The Defense Department warns that the prohibition applies to both active-duty and retired military. In his position as national security adviser, Flynn did not need to be confirmed by the Senate. That means he was not subjected to the same kind of public scrutiny as Trumps cabinet picks. The Democratic House members who sent the letter requesting the investigation were Reps. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Adam Smith of Washington, John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Adam Schiff of California and Eliot Engel of New York. ____ Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report. ___ Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephenatap Ask an evangelical why he voted for President Donald Trump and chances are high he will say it was because of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, after all, was responsible for issuing cases such as Roe v. Wade on abortion and Obergefell v. Hodges upholding gay marriage. On Tuesday, many of those evangelicals who want a justice who they see as likely to help overturn Roe got their wish when Trump nominated Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court, an appointment seen as a huge win for social conservatives. If Gorsuch is confirmed, though, what will evangelicals expect next from the president? On Thursday, Trump is expected to address the National Prayer Breakfast, a tradition for presidents since President Dwight Eisenhower and an interreligious event that especially attracts evangelicals across the country. Trump could use the event to reiterate some of the campaign promises he made to evangelicals, including his promise to defund Planned Parenthood and help end the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches from endorsing or opposing political candidates. A huge percentage (80 percent) of white evangelicals voted for Trump based on these promises, despite his involvement in the gambling industry, his previous views in favor of abortion rights and his obscene language about women. Evangelicals expect Trump to continue to fulfill his promises to them, said Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University and an early Trump backer. Its a happy group of people right now, Falwell said of evangelicals. Falwell and said he and other leaders who were involved in Trumps campaign, such as televangelists James Robison and Paula White, feel like they have had the best access to any president in recent memory. I think Trump is more one of us. Hes not an elitist. He doesnt look down his nose at evangelicals and Christians and conservatives. Im very shocked by how accessible he is to so many. He answers his cellphone any time of the day or night. Falwell said his father, Jerry Falwell Sr., an architect of the Religious Right, never had such access to previous presidents, including Republican ones. He said hundreds of evangelicals are getting positions at the lower levels of the administration. Under previous administrations, evangelicals would often go through a liaison to get their concerns heard. Falwell is pleased so far with his access to the Trump administration, saying he will talk with Trump on Wednesday and was on the phone with Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Tuesday. Bannon had asked him to lead a panel on reform of higher education regulations. Trump is not necessarily listening to religious leaders or political operatives who traditionally have been a bridge between the White House and religious voters. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, told The Post on Tuesday that the archdiocese, which normally has channels to communicate with the White House, has not had any contact with it yet at all. Trump is listening to people outside Washington, Falwell said, including megachurch pastors and Christian media influencers who will talk about Trump on their shows, blogs or Twitter feeds. Plus, evangelicals have one of their own in the White House: Vice President Mike Pence, who has called himself an evangelical Catholic. Someone like James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and now host of Family Talk, can call Pence on his cellphone. Ronnie Floyd, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, will be one of those attending the prayer breakfast Thursday and hopes the president will speak on abortion and religious freedom. His megachurch in Arkansas has a ministry to refugees, though he supports Trumps executive order last week that suspended refugee admissions, citing national security concerns. He opposes, however, Trumps decision to keep the protections that President Barack Obama extended to LGBT federal workers. I think its unnecessary that we have to try to grant special rights based on sexual identity, Floyd said, though he noted that he wasnt surprised since Trump suggested during his campaign he would promote LGBT protections. I think obviously we believe in America that all men are created equal. Floyd, who read a Scripture passage at Trumps prayer service at the National Cathedral during his inauguration weekend, said he was never asked to provide input during the Obama administration. He has served on Trumps evangelical counsel, which he said has stayed in touch with him weekly since it was formed in July 2016, and he continues to give Trump administration officials input. Floyd, whose Cross Church has 20,000 members, is especially excited by followers of Christ nominated for Trumps Cabinet. He listed Tom Price, the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department; Scott Pruitt, Trumps pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency; Betsy Devos, nominated to be education secretary; Rick Perry, tapped to head the Energy Department; Sonny Perdue, the nominee for agriculture secretary; and Jeff Sessions, the attorney general nominee. The administration has been way over the top in giving them visibility and recognition that we can bring values, Floyd said of evangelicals. Trumps Supreme Court pick was seen as a home run, according to Russell Moore, who heads the advocacy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Supreme Court was the No. 1 issue for many evangelical voters, he said. Moore expects Trump to work with Congress on more abortion legislation, including extending protections to people who dont want to provide abortions or contraception based on their conscience. Many evangelicals, Moore said, are divided over his executive order related to refugees. But so far, he said, evangelicals are generally happy with Trumps administration, especially his reinstatement of a policy prohibiting funds for abortions overseas. Most people are just waiting to see what the first 100 days will look like, he said. People are wanting to assume the best and to pray for success. The National Prayer Breakfast has served as an annual opportunity for politicians to speak about the role of faith in public life and has featured guest speakers on both the right (including Ben Carson) and the left (including Hillary Clinton). Carson, who has spoken twice, used his second speech in 2013 to launch attacks on Obama that upset leaders in the Fellowship, which organizes the breakfast. People were falling off their chairs, they were so upset, said Bob Hunter, one of the leaders of the Fellowship. He took advantage of the situation to jump-start his campaign. Trump, he said, is unpredictable, so leaders dont know what to expect this year. All we can do is pray for it and put people [from across the aisle] in a position where theyre sitting together, he said. Theres always a risk of something bad happening. Evangelical author Eric Metaxas, who was a prominent backer of Trump during his campaign, also took aim at Obamas views on abortion during his speech in 2012, which helped raise his visibility. Perhaps most famously, Mother Teresa in her 1994 speech decried abortion before President Bill Clinton spoke. Please dont kill the child, she said. I want the child. Please give me the child. Trumps recent travel ban will impact those living overseas who were planning to attend the prayer breakfast, Hunter said. He declined to share his personal perspective on the executive order, writing in an email: It would be inappropriate for me to say my perspective during this time. It is a time for unity, not words that might divide. The Fellowship, which has been seen by some as secretive and the subject of many media stories and a book by writer Jeff Sharlet, has made an effort in recent years to become more transparent by setting up a website with more information. According to its most recent tax filings in 2014, its assets were $10.9 million. It has drawn extra attention for politicians who have been involved in fellowship groups, notably Hillary Clinton and Mark Sanford when he was governor of South Carolina. The Fellowships unofficial leader for many years was Doug Coe, who is now 88 and due to health issues has offloaded many of his responsibilities to a handful of other leaders, according to Hunter. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Chris Coons, D-Del., are the chairmen of the breakfast this year, but four people handle the logistics of the prayer breakfast now. Those duties include choosing the speaker, a decision that is not announced before the breakfast. The leaders of the Fellowship focus on a shared admiration for the teachings of Jesus through small group gatherings, but they are not supposed to wade into politics. Coe, who has never told his staff whether he is a Republican or Democrat, emphasizes relationships. His mantra is, were not into politics, Hunter said. We know people are polarized. The reason for our existence is to try to help minimize that. Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report. . Hours after President Donald Trump banned millions of Muslims from U.S. shores, someone on Twitter brought up an old speech from an old president. Unifying, he wrote. Worth remembering. The speech makers daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, retweeted the comment. A few days later, Tuesday morning, she thought it was worth pasting the speech itself. This is not the America I know . . . Bush Hager wrote, quoting former president George W. Bushs speech at a mosque after the 9/11 attacks amid a violent backlash against U.S. Muslims. She tweeted: This is not the America I know just a reminder this am to teach acceptance and love to our kids for all races, all religions.. pic.twitter.com/32XohAGMv7 Fifteen years ago, shoeless, her father had walked through the sanctuary of the Islamic Center of Washington. It was six days after Islamist terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands. War plans awaited Bush back at the White House. But for six minutes that afternoon, he stood between an Islamic altar and a bank of TV cameras and admonished a country in fear. Weve just had a wide-ranging discussion on the . . . Bush paused for a few moments. On the matter at hand. Muslim men and women back-dropped the president. Like the good folks standing with me, he said, the American people were appalled and outraged at last Tuesdays attacks. He quoted from the Koran The English translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic, he said and then addressed a wave of Islamophobia that had followed the terrorist strikes. Dozens of attacks on Arab Americans were reported that week, The Washington Post noted at the time. Among them is the case of a Pakistani Muslim store owner who was shot and killed in Dallas Saturday evening. Ive been told that some fear to leave. Some dont want to go shopping for their families, Bush said at the mosque, and shook his head. Moms who wear cover must be not intimidated in America, he said. And then the line his daughter and many others would recall years later: Thats not the America I know. The wars Bush launched in Iraq and Afghanistan would make him a divisive figure, at best, in the Islamic world throughout his presidency. But years later, after he left office and anti-Muslim sentiment deepened in the United States, some would fondly remember that speech and the White Houses refusal to conflate Islamist terror groups with hundreds of millions of peaceful Muslims. When President Barack Obama visited a mosque near the end of his presidency, The Posts Aaron Blake reported, he took heat for it. Donald Trump said perhaps Obama feels comfortable there a comment thick with innuendo from a man who championed conspiracy theories about Obamas birthplace, Blake wrote. Trump, of course, would go on to win the presidency after calling in a speech to ban all Muslims for the United States. As Trumps popularity grew, some members of the Bush family reportedly turned from their fellow Republican. Bushs other daughter, Barbara Bush, was photographed at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, and his father, former president George H.W. Bush, reportedly told a private gathering he would vote for the Democrat. A spokesman for Bush declined to comment on the familys reaction to Trumps rhetoric about Muslims and his executive order last week, which barred visitors and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. The same breathing room President Bush afforded to President Obama will be extended to President Trump, the spokesman, Freddy Ford, wrote to The Washington Post. On Twitter, Bush Hager explained why she quoted her father: Just reinforcing his words that still, sadly pertain to today. Shes not the only one to think so. On Saturday Night Live last month, the actor Aziz Ansari remarked on his sudden appreciation for the former president. What the hell has happened? Ansari said in his monologue. Im sitting here wistfully watching old George W. Bush speeches. Two Republican senators announced Wednesday that they will not support Betsy DeVos nomination to become education secretary, in an unusual display of resistance from members of the presidents own party to his chosen Cabinet pick. And if a third Republican senator joins them, it may not only be unusual; it could be historic. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, both announced they wont back DeVos, who featured in a rough confirmation hearing two weeks ago, because of her views on the public education system. That leaves 50 Republican senators who could support her. If every member of the Democratic caucus joined Collins and Murkowski in voting no, Vice President Mike Pence would be forced into a rare tie-breaking vote as president of the Senate. But if another Republican senator bolts and some arent committing one way or another right now DeVos would be headed for defeat. And history shows its very rare for presidents with a Senate majority to see their nominees defeated. Very. The last two Cabinet nominees to be officially defeated were defense secretary nominee John Tower in 1989 and commerce secretary nominee Lewis Strauss in 1959. Both faced a Senate majority from the other party. Tower, a nominee of Republican President George H.W. Bush, lost the vote of one liberal Republican but otherwise had the complete support of his party. Strauss, an Eisenhower appointee, was defeated by a Senate that was dominated by Democrats who didnt need a bipartisan front. The last Cabinet nominee to be defeated thanks to losing senators from the presidents own party was way back in 1925, when Calvin Coolidges selection of Charles Warren for attorney general was rejected by both Democrats and some liberal Republicans. The vote took place in the aftermath of the Teapot Dome scandal, and Warren was thought to be too closely allied with the sugar industry and its unfair practices. In the end, 31 Democrats and one third-party senator joined nine Republicans to narrowly defeat Warrens nomination, 41-39. All 39 yea votes for Warren come from Republicans. Of course, its much more common for Cabinet nominees facing rejection to be withdrawn than actually face a vote they will lose. But even then, its been rare that this was the result of bipartisan opposition; more often its been the result of an emerging scandal or the opposition party having a Senate majority. Ronald Reagan in 1987 withdrew Robert Gates nomination to be CIA director amid bipartisan grilling about the Iran-Contra affair, which happened when Gates was deputy director of the CIA. Democrats alone could have stopped his nomination though, given they had a 10-seat majority. Gates was confirmed to the same post in 1991 after being nominated by George H.W. Bush. Other withdrawals in recent decades had more to do with scandal rather than bipartisan reservations. The tax problems of former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., derailed his nomination to be health and human services secretary in 2009. Conflicts of interest marred Bill Richardsons nomination to be commerce secretary that same year. During the Bush administration, 2004 homeland security secretary nominee Bernard Kerik and 2001 Labor secretary nominee Linda Chavez both succumbed to questions about ties to undocumented immigrants. Bill Clintons pick for attorney general in 1993, Zoe Baird, was withdrawn amid similar questions. Clintons veterans affairs secretary nominee, Hershel Gober, in 1997 faced questions about a four-year-old accusation of sexual misconduct. His CIA director nominee that same year, Anthony Lake, drew fierce opposition from Republicans, but not Democrats. The only other nominee who was withdrawn in the 20th century was Robert Wood to be Lyndon Johnsons housing and urban development secretary. The nomination was never reported to committee. So basically, since the dawn of the 20th century, weve seen a bipartisan group of senators take down a presidents Cabinet nominee precisely once. PRESCOTT, Ariz. Arizona authorities have confirmed that human remains recently found are those of a man missing for nearly a decade. The Yavapai County Sheriffs Office says dental records confirmed the remains found buried near Bagdad, Arizona, belonged to year-old Lawrence Powers, who was 58 when last seen in 2007. The Sheriffs Office says Powers was a partner in a mining claim outside of Bagdad with Anthony Richards, who is jailed on charges accusing him of identity theft and fraud in the use of a credit card belonging to Powers. Powers was declared to be presumed dead by a California court in 2012. Richards was returned to Arizona in 2016 after being arrested in the area of Terrebonne, Oregon. Albuquerque-based Pajarito Powder LLC is taking its hydrogen fuel cell technology to Europe as one of a select few companies invited to this years CleanEquity Monaco conference. The event, now in its 10th year, is hosted by the London-based specialist investment bank Innovator Capital. It allows companies with particularly promising clean technologies to meet with global investors and industry leaders. Pajarito is one of 30 companies from about 600 applicants worldwide chosen to present at the invitation-only event, which is backed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Monaco Economic Board and corporate sponsors. Its a big deal, said Pajarito CEO and chairman Tom Stephenson. Its recognition of the opportunities our technology offers and the success were gaining in the clean technology sector. The company, which launched in 2012, has developed a low-cost, non-metal catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells that could eventually replace platinum. Thats something developers are seeking to reduce expenses, since platinum catalysts, which are widely used today, account for nearly 40 percent of a fuel cells costs. The catalysts initiate the chemical reactions that power fuel cells, which convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity. The catalysts cause oxygen to separate into single molecules, creating a negative charge. They also break down the hydrogen, freeing up electrons and creating a positive charge. That creates an electric current through an environmentally friendly process that generates only wastewater when the hydrogen combines with oxygen molecules. Pajarito developed an iron-nitrogen carbon catalyst based on technology licensed from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico and other places. In Monaco, however, the company will present a new, re-engineered carbon material created from its original technology to reduce, rather than eliminate, platinum. That can help manufacturers immediately lower costs while increasing fuel cell performance and durability. Thats because standard carbon used in platinum catalysts today rapidly wear down fuel cells through corrosion, said Pajarito senior director of business development Webb Johnson. Its a re-engineered carbon that better supports platinum catalysts to help them withstand all the heavy-duty lifting needed for cars and trucks, Johnson said. Marketing the original catalyst material for platinum-replacement is still the companys long-term goal. But more development is needed to increase the energy derived from non-platinum catalysts before fully transitioning away from platinum. The long-term solution is platinum replacement, but we need to change the economics of hydrogen fuel cells now, and our new technology can help with that, Stephenson said. The Monaco conference can help Pajarito, backed by the Verge Fund in Albuquerque, push into European markets, where hydrogen-powered cars are gaining traction faster than elsewhere. Well get to tell our story with a select group of business leaders who could become strategic partners or investors for us in the future, Stephenson said. Nestle USA, the maker of Haagen-Dazs, Baby Ruth, Lean Cuisine and dozens of other mass brands, is moving its U.S. headquarters to Arlington, Virginias Rosslyn area, bringing roughly 750 jobs to a part of Virginia struggling with widespread office vacancies. The worlds largest packaged-food company which bills itself as a nutrition, health and wellness company will move in to the regions tallest building, which has remained vacant since it was completed in late 2013. Nestle was lured to the area, executives say, by its proximity to lawmakers, regulators and lobbyists and more than $16 million in state and county subsidies. Frankly, this brings us closer to the heartbeat of our industry, said Paul Grimwood, chairman and chief executive of Nestle USA, which is part of the global giant Nestle SA, based in Vevey, Switzerland. It allows us to collaborate not just with consumers but also with other important stakeholders in Washington and on Capitol Hill. The companys current U.S. headquarters is in Glendale, Calif., where it has come under fire in recent years for bottling water during the states record multi-year drought. In 2015, Nestle which has nine brands of water, including Arrowhead removed 36 million gallons of water from a natural forest in California to bottle and sell, prompting public criticism and at least one lawsuit. Nestle, founded in 1866, has built itself into a global powerhouse with worldwide sales of around $90 billion in 2015. In addition to Nestle Crunch, Butterfinger and Toll House, the companys brands include Hot Pockets, DiGiorno, Nescafe, Boost, Gerber and Purina. With Nestles move, the Mid-Atlantic region will now boast three major candymakers. Mars, the privately held maker of Snickers, Milky Way and M&Ms, is based in McLean, Va., and Hershey is based in Pennsylvania. In recent years, Nestle has made a steady push to remove unnatural flavors and colors from its chocolate bars and reduce the sugar in its Nesquik drink powders. It has also invested in health-care firms and medical device companies, and earlier this year it brought in Ulf Mark Schneider, a former health-care executive, as chief executive of its global operations. Virginia officials wooed Nestle for over a year, said Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D. The company considered 20 locations across the country but by October had narrowed its search to Rosslyn and Atlanta. Relocation of the Nestle USA headquarters was under consideration before the election cycle, said Lisa Gibby, a Nestle spokeswoman. We made the decision to come to Washington independent of the election of the president. Ultimately, Grimwood said, the states incentive package, combined with easy access to transportation and Arlingtons reputation for good public schools, helped seal the deal. The move brings Nestle closer to its customers and its productions facilities 80 percent of the companys U.S. products are sold east of the Mississippi River, where three-fourths of its 87 U.S. factories are based, Grimwood said. It also helps bring U.S. executives closer to the companys global headquarters and supports the companys government-related efforts. Nestle spent more than $16 million lobbying Congress between 2012 and 2016 on issues related to environmental regulations, trade and labor, according to public records. For northern Virginia, the arrival of Nestle USA, which in 2015 had $9.7 billion in sales, serves as proof that it can look beyond defense contractors for growth. The state is now home to more than 70 corporate headquarters, including Volkswagen Group of America, Hilton Worldwide and Capital One Financial. For us, its perfect, McAuliffe said, adding that he and Nestle executives finalized the deal four weeks ago while drinking Virginia wine in California. We brought in a company that is not dependent on federal government spending. We realize we do have to diversify, which means we have to bring in different types of businesses. The commonwealth is offering $10 million in cash grants to Nestle: $6 million as a Commonwealth Opportunity Fund incentive and $4 million from a Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant. Arlington County is offering an additional $6 million in incentives $4 million from performance grants and $2 million in infrastructure updates as well as additional money for extensive relocation assistance to help cover expenses related to the companys move and training of new hires. Nestle will spend an estimated $39.8 million building out its share of the 35-story high-rise. The company will take over 40 percent of the building, or about 206,000 square feet, on the top nine floors. The move will begin this summer and is expected to be complete by late 2018. Of the 750 positions in Rosslyn, about half will be new hires, Grimwood said. In addition to Nestles corporate operations, the Arlington office will house the companys confections and beverage businesses, as well as its online division. Nationally, Nestle has 51,000 employees. Monday Properties, a New York-based developer, began building 1812 N. Moore St. in 2010 as the country was slowly recovering from the global financial crisis. By the time the high-rise was completed three years later, northern Virginia was reeling from widespread government budget cuts and consolidation among defense contractors. Boeing and Northrop Grumman had both moved out of Rosslyn, leaving behind empty buildings. One-quarter of the suburbs office buildings remain vacant, according to real estate services firm CBRE. The 580,000-square-foot building, which rises 390 feet, sat empty for years as its owners searched for a flagship tenant. The Advisory Board Co. considered the building for its new headquarters before deciding to remain in the Washington, D.C., where it received $60 million in tax incentives. So when Nestle came calling, Monday Properties was determined to make it work. The last six months have been very heated, said Anthony Westreich, chief executive of Monday Properties. Weve been working on 1812 N. Moore St. for over a decade now, but once you have a tenant like Nestle coming in, thats going to help get more deals. Local business leaders said the Nestles arrival could help open the floodgates for other companies that might not typically look to the Washington area for their headquarters. Bringing in large companies such as Nestle from other parts of the country is particularly important, said Mary-Claire Burick, president of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District. A lot of the commercial deals weve seen so far have been one local market piping from another, Burick said. Whats so exciting about Nestle in particular is that its coming from another part of the country. This brings unprecedented momentum. MINEOLA, N.Y. An Internal Revenue Service attorney is facing charges he shipped methamphetamine from his Washington, D.C., apartment to a recipient in suburban New York. Federal prosecutors say Jack Vitayanon was arrested Wednesday in Washington. The plot allegedly involved unidentified co-conspirators in Arizona and on Long Island. Prosecutors say they have recordings that they say show Vitayanon smoking methamphetamine and discussing shipments of drugs. They say the alleged scheme lasted from September 2014 until last month. They say suspected methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, packaging materials and drug ledgers were recovered from his apartment. Vitayanon will be prosecuted in federal court on Long Island, but his initial court appearance was not announced. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney representing him. The IRS says it cant comment on specific personnel matters. WASHINGTON Natalie Jones, the deputy chief of protocol who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011, is a leading candidate to be President Donald Trumps new social secretary, according to two people with knowledge of the selection process. Before taking the powerful protocol job at the State Department, Jones was a finance director at the Democratic National Committee and for Hillary Clintons 2008 presidential campaign. Its highly unusual for a president to pick a holdover from a previous administration for the sensitive job, which involves planning events at the White House from high-stakes state dinners to Easter-egg rolls that communicate the president and first ladys agenda to the world. The social secretary reports to the first lady, but works closely with the president. The pick would signal that Melania Trump is willing to turn to political veterans, and not just those in the tight New York circle that the Trumps inhabit, to steer her tenure in Washington. Democrats, meanwhile, are said to be shocked that Jones would consider working for the Trump White House, whose divisive policies have sparked protest in liberal circles. Jones is no DINO, either; according to her New York Times wedding announcement, she met her husband at the DNC and they began dating during the Clinton campaign, where they both worked. Patrick Hallahan, her husband, raised $33,400 for the DNC last year. A State Department spokesman didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Jones is known for being gracious, polished and ultra-connected on both sides of the aisle. She likely came onto the Trumps radar screens because of her role planning Diplomacy by Design, an October event highlighting the fashion industrys cultural and economic power, which was followed by an elegant reception at the Blair House. She was highly visible at that event, said one attendee. If someone was looking for a social secretary they would have seen her in action there. David Monn, a Manhattan event planner, was among the fashionable crowd. He has planned state dinners for the Obamas, and also worked with the Trumps on the inauguration-eve candlelight dinner they put on for donors at Union Station. Melania Trump has been slow to staff up; so far, her lone hire has been Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a New York party planner known organizing the celeb-laden Met Gala. Wolkoff is said to be advising the first lady as she fills out her East Wing office. Michelle Obama, whose causes included promoting healthy eating and supporting military families, oversaw a staff of 24. SMYRNA, Del. Inmates at a Delaware prison took five corrections department workers hostage Wednesday, a move the inmates told a local newspaper was due to concerns about their treatment and the leadership of the United States. The hostage situation drew dozens of officers and law enforcement vehicles to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna and prompted a statewide lockdown of all prisons. One hostage was released Wednesday afternoon, but four remained in custody and negotiations were ongoing as the evening stretched on, authorities said. A preliminary investigation suggests the incident began around 10:30 a.m. when a correctional officer inside Building C, which houses over 100 inmates, radioed for immediate assistance, Delaware State Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz said at a news conference. Other officers responded to help, and five Department of Corrections employees were taken hostage. Later, inmates reached out to The News Journal in Wilmington in two phone calls to explain their actions and make demands. Prisoners funneled the calls to the paper with the help of one inmates fiancee and another persons mother. The mother told the paper her son was among the hostages. In that call, an inmate said their reasons for doing what were doing included Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that hes doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse. That caller said education for prisoners was the inmates priority. They also said they want effective rehabilitation for all prisoners and information about how money is allocated to prisons. Bratz did not address the phone calls during the news conference or give details about negotiations, which he said were ongoing. He did not take questions. We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of everyone involved and using all of our available resources, he said. The inmates released one hostage around 2:40 p.m., and that person was taken by ambulance to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Bratz said. Authorities dont know whether anyone else has been injured, he said. Bratz did not say how much of the prison, which houses about 2,500 inmates, was involved in the incident. But Bruce Rogers, counsel for the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, told The Associated Press Building C was under the inmates control. Rogers described the hostages as four guards and one counselor. He said hed been briefed on the situation by the union president, who was talking to officials at the scene. Video from above the prison Wednesday afternoon showed uniformed officers gathered in two groups along fences near an entrance to the prison. Later, video showed several people surrounding a stretcher and running as they pushed it across the compound. People could be seen standing near a set of doors with an empty stretcher and wheelchair. A Corrections Department spokeswoman said firefighters were called to the scene after reports of smoke and were being held on standby. According to the departments website, the prison is Delawares largest correctional facility for men. It houses minimum, medium, and maximum security inmates, and also houses Kent County detainees awaiting trial. It was the site of the states death row and where executions were carried out. The prison opened in 1971. In 2004, an inmate raped a counselor and took her hostage for nearly seven hours at the Smyrna prison, according to an Associated Press report at the time. A department sharpshooter later shot and killed 45-year-old Scott Miller, according to the report, ending the standoff. ___ AP writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report. PHOENIX The Arizona House on Wednesday approved legislation allowing city residents to shoot rats or snakes using small-caliber guns loaded with tiny pellets. The proposed law would allow anyone to shoot the tiny shotgun shells inside city limits, even if they arent trying to kill a snake. The 35-25 vote fell along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed to Republican Rep. Jay Lawrences proposal. There was no discussion. The formal vote on House Bill 2022 came a day after the House debated the bill and GOP majority lawmakers gave it initial approval over Democrats dissent. The proposal amends a landmark 2000 law aimed at celebratory gunfire enacted following the 1999 death of a Phoenix teen struck by a stray bullet. It adds an exception from felony charges for using the ammunition called rat- or snake shot in .22-caliber guns. Lawrence said Tuesday that his legislation isnt about shooting reptiles or rodents, despite the definitions in his bill referring to rat or snake shot. This is not a kill-animals bill, it has nothing to do with killing snakes, it has nothing to do with killing rats, cats or dogs, Lawrence said. This is a firearms bill, strictly and totally. Democrats worried that people would unnecessarily shoot wildlife. Even worse, they worried about unrestrained shooting within city limits. Generally, I think those two do not mix too well and we could see an increase of injuries to people as a result of this bill, Democratic Rep. Kirsten Engel, of Tucson, said of the proposal relaxing the ban on shooting within city limits. The 2000 law makes it a felony to fire a gun within city limits or within one mile of an occupied structure, with exceptions for self-defense or for dispatching a nuisance animal with a permit. PHOENIX The Arizona House has approved a plan to lease parts of the state mental hospital in Phoenix and its 93-acre grounds to private providers. Wednesdays vote on House Bill 2043 was unanimous, with all 60 House members voting for the measure. It now moves to the Senate. Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ told lawmakers on the House Health Committee last month that her department wants to build a Center for Psychiatric Excellence on hospital grounds. The private-public partnerships could include outpatient behavioral health services, urgent psychiatric and an emergency room, 24-hour holds for observation and stabilization and rooms for short stays for adult inpatient acute psychiatric services. Private providers could bid to use empty hospital wards, renovate and use vacant buildings or build new facilities. WASHINGTON David Shulkin, President Donald Trumps nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would seek major reform and a transformation of the department. But putting him at odds with the administration he is likely to soon serve, Shulkin would not privatize the federal health care system for veterans. There will be far greater accountability, dramatically improved access, responsiveness and expanded care options, Shulkin told the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. But the Department of Veterans Affairs will not be privatized under my watch. Shulkins opposition to turning over vast parts of the system to private doctors and the gradual approach he advocates at an agency still reeling from scandal puts him at odds with Trump advisers and some Republican lawmakers who are pressing for more drastic reform. Shulkin, now serving as VA under secretary in charge of the veterans health system, is likely headed for swift confirmation by the Senate, say Republican and Democratic aides. He would be the only holdover from former President Barack Obamas administration to serve in Trumps Cabinet. You will be fighting a war on multiple fronts. While trying to carry out the Departments mission, youll have to deal with a Congress that has not proven itself to be the most productive or cooperative partner, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., the committees top Democrat, told Shulkin as the hearing started. And youll have to deal with a new president who has taken some public positions on everything from privatization to his personal opinion of the VA workforce that are in stark contrast to positions you have taken. Shulkin, 57, was pressed by Republicans for assurances that despite his status as an Obama appointee, he would act swiftly to speed up a slow appeals process for benefit claims, improve accountability for poor performers and get veterans medical care faster. How can you be sure that some of the big focuses of President Trump and really shaking up VA will happen on your watch? Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, asked. He read from a letter from a Vietnam veteran in his state who called for a leader who would kick a and take names. Shulkin acknowledged that many people lost trust in the agency after scandal involving patient wait times. I dont have a lot of patience, he told lawmakers. Im going to be serious about regaining trust. If I dont do it, you should replace me. During his campaign, Trump called VA a broken system that treats illegal immigrants better than our vets. Tester asked Shulkin if Trump had attached conditions to his taking the job. Shulkin said no. Shulkin was confirmed unanimously for his under secretary post in June 2015, a sign he could move quickly through a Senate confirmation process that has become mired this week in partisan divisions over the presidents agenda. Several senators asked Shulkin if he would overhaul VAs existing program allowing veterans to seek care outside the system, as long as there is no VA care within 40 miles of their home. The Choice Program, a $16 billion fix passed in 2014 to speed up medical care, has been slow to roll out, little-used and the target of complaints from frustrated patients and doctors, whose payments often are delayed. Shulkin said the program was in disarray largely because VA contracts with a third party to administer it, an additional layer of complexity we need to take out. An internist who came to government with 30 years experience leading private hospitals, Shulkin would be the first VA secretary who has not served in the military. He has led the sprawling veterans health system the countrys largest, with 1,700 clinics and hospitals for 18 months, working to improve patients access to care after the scandal exposed fudged wait lists for medical appointments. Shulkin said of poor-performing VA employees, It is unfortunate that a few employees who deviated from the values we hold so dear have been able to tarnish the reputation of so many who have dedicated their lives to serving those who have served. Shulkin said that serving veterans is personal to me. The son of an Army psychiatrist, he was born on an Army base and trained at VA hospitals. He acknowledged that the benefit appeals system is a broken process that struggles to keep up because its technology is woefully dated. But he said Congress needs to provide the money to pay for upgrades. VA currently has 45,300 vacant jobs across the country, mostly for medical providers, Shulkin said. About 37,000 of these are exempt from the hiring freeze for executive branch agencies that Trump announced last week. Shulkin acknowedged that recruitment has been hurt by Republican attacks on agency employees. He expressed a willingness to expand private-care partnerships with VA hospitals by avoiding building new medical centers that are too costly or time-consuming to open. But officials on Trumps transition team and the president himself have said they favor extending those partnerships to medical care by giving veterans more options to use private doctors to allow faster access to care. Before the hearing, members of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a group of former troops from post-Sept. 11, gathered in Washington over chips and Potbelly sandwiches to discuss how to bring veterans issues to the attention of the Trump administration. This is already a victory for us and we have a strong relationship with him, said Paul Rieckhoff, the groups founder and chief executive officer. The issue is hes not a veteran and he will have to show us why hes qualified. Emily Wax contributed to this story. Digital Radio platform is seen as promoting the digital and connectivity revolution in the country. Digital Radio technology provides listeners with significantly improved audio quality and service reliability at an affordable price. This was stated by M Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, during his address at the Digital Radio for All Round Table Conference organised by Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) along with Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL). Elaborating further, Naidu said that it was an opportune moment for automotive manufacturers and retailers to incorporate Digital Radio systems in vehicles that provided consumers with significantly improved audio quality and service reliability at an affordable price. This would enable the scaling up and adoption of this new digital technology. Digital Radio provides benefits to all the stakeholders, including listeners, manufacturers, broadcasters and regulators. Regarding achievements of All India Radio (AIR) in adopting Digital Radio technology, the Minister mentioned that AIR has already completed the technical installation and upgradation of 37 powerful transmitters in the first phase of digitisation of radio broadcast, a project unparalleled in the world today. This would ensure reduced electric power consumption for all digital transmissions, saving AIR and taxpayers significant transmission cost in the future. He added that AIR has re-invented itself through its digital transmitters based on the International ITU standard Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). Emphasising on the need for the traffic advisory services on National Highways, Naidu said that the next phase of this service through AIR FM transmitters needed to be digitised based on the ITU standards to exploit its full potential. The service would offer multiple radio programmes, detailed and multi-lingual on-demand traffic & travel information and emergency warning services. From the listeners perspective the digital transmission would provide crystal clear and better-than-FM sound quality, enhanced programme choice, free access to textual news, sports, travel and weather information from the Internet in many languages simultaneously and would enable the transmission of emergency warning for immediately alerting the population in case of pending disasters. From a commercial perspective, the system provides audiences with receivers at an affordable price as well as an attractive package of benefits which include wider range of services, easier tuning and selection of programming, improved stereo and surround sound in cars amongst others. From a technical perspective, a key and a revolutionary feature of DRM is the ability to select from a range of transmission modes. This allows the broadcaster to balance or exchange bit-rate capacity, signal robustness, transmission power and coverage. The DRM broadcasting system is specifically designed to allow the new digital transmission to co-exist with the current analogue broadcasts. Langoor, the full service digital-first agency, announces the opening of its office in Mumbai, their first in the western part of the country, as they increase their service offerings to clients in the region. After a firm foothold in Sydney, Australia, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Singapore, Dubai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, this creatively adept team is all set to launch in Mumbai to strengthen its network amongst APAC clients. Based in Vikhroli, they will service MoneyGrams India business from Mumbai. They will also service a wave of new client wins in the near future as the team continues to strengthen its growth in the Indian Market. Commenting on the arrival in Mumbai, Venugopal Ganganna, CEO, Langoor, said With the addition of Mumbai to our list of cities on offer, we look forward to bring our creative strategies to the exciting market. By setting up our offices in business & trade hubs in India, our digital offering will further be strengthened. The strong team set up in Mumbai will help us achieve just that. We see more opportunities in India as it is one of the fastest growing markets for us. The growth also means more heavyweights join them at the head table. Yash Bhatia will be heading the position of Account Director at Langoor's Mumbai Office. Yash, comes with over 8 years of experience, with a strong background in digital media buying at the likes of Isobar, Mindshare and Starcom. Commenting on the new role, Yash Bhatia, Account Director, Langoor said, Langoor is growing quite fast and the opportunity of joining in their new Mumbai operation was really exciting. I am really looking forward to being part of this journey. 22nd to 23rd March 24th to 25th March One of Singapores most celebrated designers, Pann Lim, will soon join ADFEST 2017s panel of Jury Presidents, overseeing the Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus categories.Lim is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Kinetic Singapore, K+, Holycrap.sg and Rubbish Famzine.As a self-confessed design addict, its an honour to be overseeing these categories. Designers and art directors in Asia are well known for creating campaigns that are beautifully executed. But even more important than aesthetics is the fact that the regions best work marries execution with ideas. I cant wait to see who has been creating the best work over the past 12 months, says Lim.Lim strongly believes that creating work without an idea is a sin a belief that has earned him over 450 industry awards locally and abroad, including Singapores highest design accolade, the Presidents Design Award in 2013 and 2015, Gold Pencils at the New York One Show, Cannes Lions and a Yellow Pencil at the 2016 D&AD.Pann is constantly embarking on new projects in order to share his designs with the world, so were happy he can take time away from his busy schedule to join our jury at ADFEST, says Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST.Pann is a founding member of The Design Society and a frequent guest at Singapores design schools. He was also an adjunct lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic from 2012 to 2013.ADFEST 2017 will consist of two separate programs: Craft@ADFEST, which runs from; and Creative@ADFEST, which runs from. Whereas Craft@ADFEST will explore the technologies and trends influencing production, post and digital companies, Creative@ADFEST is tailored for agency and marketing professionals.ADFEST 2017 will take place at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand. For more information, visit www.ADFEST.com TIMES NETWORK, the television broadcast division of Indias largest media conglomerate The Times Group, has always been at the forefront of economic events that have a big impact on the nation. We believe that Budget 2017 will be a turning point for the country, as it comes against the backdrop of the current BJP led governments historic cash clean-up drive. There is a lot at stake for everyone, be it industry or individuals. The expectations are high from the government, which is expected to open the floodgates for reforms and cash in on Indias pole position at a global level. Keeping this in mind, TIMES NETWORK has a special programming lined up for the biggest announcement of the year Budget 2017, across its three leading news channels, ET NOW, TIMES NOWand MAGICBRICKS NOW. ET NOW Leading the power-packed campaign will be ET NOW, Indias leading English business news channel, with an exclusive campaign Budget 2017: Tryst with Destiny. In a way ET NOW will be a chronicler of history, considering the big shift in the functioning of the economy in the wake of demonetization. The channel will be the torch-bearer of budget debates, anchored by Sandeep Gurumurthi, Supriya Shrinate, Nikunj Dalmia, Mythili Bhusnurmath, Faye DSouza, Ayesha Faridi, Tanvir Gill and Swaminathan Aiyar. The channel will ensure that viewers get all the relevant information comprehensively on ET NOW, well ahead of competition. The one-hour special Budget Debate, anchored by Supriya Shrinate, will present views from India Incs top CEOs and renowned economists, policy makers like Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank; Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC; Pawan Goenka, MD, M&M; Nitin Gadkari, Union Highways Minister; Piyush Goyal, Union Power Minister; Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog; Prakash Javadekar, Union HRD Minister; Nirmala Sitaraman, Industry & Commerce Minister; Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Aviation; Ramdeo Agrawal, Motilal Oswal; Rashesh Shah, Edelweiss Group; Nilesh Shah, Kotak AMC; and Jahangir Aziz, JPMorgan; Shaktikanta Das, DEA Secretary; Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor; Arvind Panagariya, Vice-Chairman, Niti Aayog; Nalil Kohli, BJP Spokesperson; Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress Spokesperson and Shashi Tharoor, Congress Leader. As finance minister Arun Jaitley sets the agenda for Budget 2017, ET NOW will bring the insights from world renowned economists while ET NOWs Consulting Editor,Swaminathan Aiyar, will break up the key takeaways for the common man. Supporting the on-air line-up, ET NOW has designed a 360-degree campaign across different platforms, including print, OOH, radio, digital and trade. The channel has also lined up a contest for its viewers to enhance consumer engagement. Marketing plan for Budget 2017 The marketing plan for Union Budget 2017 included Print ads across eight major metros on February 1, 2017; Out Of Home (OOH) Advertising in Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore at major bus shelters, metro panels and branding at airports; EPG Branding at Hathway, DEN & Asianet; Radio announcements Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore; Digital campaigns for Budget special with hash-tag promotion; Trade promotions with Newsletter branding & Page Pushers and Viewer contest which includes Watch & Win IPhone 7. TIMES NOW The undisputed leader among English news channels, TIMES NOW will present non-stop programming from 7 am on Feb 1, 2017, titled Budget 2017: Votes or Vision. The penultimate budget before the current Governments term ends; expectations are intense from this budget. The government is walking a tight rope; its a double edged sword as an extreme reform oriented budget might be unpopular among the masses, especially with elections to 5 key states just around the corner. On the other hand a populist budget with sops will hit the nation long term economic growth. How will they strike the balance? Will it be votes for the party or vision for the nation? Catch a power-packed panel including Rajiv Kumar, Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Research, Rajiv Desai, Comma Consulting, Lord Meghnad Desai, Economist and Omkar Goswami, Chairperson of CERG Advisory decode the historic budget into news that the viewers can use. The budget coverage will begin with discussions on dissecting the economy in the run-up to the FMs speech. With the help of advanced technologies like augmented reality (AR) graphics and holograms, TIMES NOW will reach out to the common man. MAGICBRICKS NOW Tracking the Budget announcements closely, Magicbricks NOW will break up key policy decisions and analyze their impact on the Urban Citizen. Investors Guide, the exclusive show on personal finance, will decode the Budget from multiple angles and not just the lens of real estate. It will give an in - depth analysis on the tax policy and how it affects your wallet. The channel will bring live audience from across five cities, with personal finance experts answering all their queries on tax implications, investment possibilities and home buying. The channel will feature top experts like Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research, Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman, Dh Consultants, Anuj Puri, CEO, JLL and Pankaj Razdan, CEO & MD, Aditya Birla Life Insurance. This show will be anchored by Faye DSouza, Senior Editor, Personal Finance and Real Estate of ET NOW and Editor of Magicbricks NOW, will be telecast live across all three news channels TIMES NOW, ET NOW and MAGICBRICKS NOW -- at 7:00 pm. Its a Budget that can change the course of the Indian economy, a budget that can kick off the next phase of growth. This year, the network talks about Revolution on ET NOW, Votes or Vision and Eco-Political scenario on TIMES NOW and impact of Budget on common man on Magicbricks NOW, as world-renowned economists, corporate honchos and market experts debate the hits and misses. Watch TIMES NETWORK on February 1 as our path-breaking coverage on Budget 2017 unfolds on our three flagship channels! YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee held simultaneous protests in front of Belarus diplomatic missions in Washington, DC and New York City demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the Russian-Israeli blogger Alexandr Lapshin, reports Armenpress. The gathered voiced their discontent and outrage over Azerbaijans continuous assault against free media and journalists over the past several years, with Mr. Lapshin being the latest victim. We condemn in the strongest terms any attempt to silence or intimidate journalists and individuals who travel to the free and independent Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Belarus are two of Europes last remaining dictatorships and for us it is absolutely unacceptable to silence journalists for speaking up about human rights offences or for expressing their support for the free and democratic Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. We also call upon the United States government to take a strong stance on this issue in solidarity with the people of Nagorno Karabakh Republic, our democratic and reliable ally in the region, ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Steve Mesrobian said. Belarus police arrested Lapshin on December 15, 2016 in Minsk. Lapshin resides in Moscow and writes for the famous Russian Travel Blog. He is wanted by Azerbaijan for visiting Nagorno Karabakh in 2011, 2012 and 2016, and criticizing Azerbaijans policy in his blog. Official Baku demands extradition of Lapshin from the Belarussian leadership. The Deputy Prosecutor General of Belarus made a decision to uphold the request of Azerbaijans General Prosecutor on extraditing Citizen of Russia and Israel Alexander Lapshin, who is wanted for violating Articles 281.2 and 318.2 of Azerbaijans Criminal Code. Although Lapshin appealed the Belarussian Prosecutions decision, his claim was rejected. YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS. Young Armenian painter Suren Mesropyan, who departed for Slovakia only few months ago, has already presented his own exhibition. Around 45 paintings of the Armenian artist will be presented January 29 February 27 in Bratislavas CT GALLERY. Both representatives of arts and ordinary art fans attended the opening of the exhibition entitled Colors of Life. Thanking the exhibitions organizer and coordinator Kristina Kleinertova and other attendees, Suren Mesropyan said Colors of Life is his first individual exhibition, which is aimed at Bringing the bright colors of Armenia to Europe. Asked what is arts and painting for him, and what Slovakia is like compared to Armenia in terms of achieving success in arts, Suren Mesropyan said: For me arts, namely painting, is first of all a lifestyle, also to some extent a way of expressing ideas and perceptions. He added there are numerous similarities between Armenia and Slovakia. Slovakia is a little larger by territory than Armenia, and perhaps thats the reason why people here are also very sociable and hospitable, he said. Asked whether its possible to be engaged in arts in Slovakia and make a living by it, Suren said the issue of earning money through arts exists everywhere, however he didnt want to compare the two countries, and simply mentioned that making money is never a priority for a painter. Suren is planning to return to Armenia because he is closely linked to his homeland. Travelling directly helps to expand world view for people and namely for artists, it is a way of improvement, he said, assuring he will return to Yerevan, the colorful and lively city, very soon. YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan who is on an official visit in the Islamic Republic of Iran met with Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics of Iran Hossein Dehghan on January 31. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of MoD Armenia, the top military official of Iran welcomed the Armenian delegation and congratulated on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Armed Forces. Stressing the high level of Armenian-Iranian cooperation, the Defense Ministers of both countries expressed readiness to further deepen and expand bilateral relations. Vigen Sargsyan noted that it is necessary to organize regular meetings and develop an agenda of consultations so as to be able to deepen Armenian-Iranian relations. Apart from bilateral issues, the sides also discussed issues of regional and international security and settlement of conflicts. Referring to Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement and highlighting the efforts aimed at ensuring regional peace and stability, the sides emphasized the importance of exclusively peaceful and negotiated settlement of the conflict. At the end of the meeting Vigen Sargsyan and Hossein Dehghan gave a joint press conference summarizing the results of the talks. On the same day the Armenian delegation visited Tehran-based Malek Ashtar University of Technology, one of the key research directions of which are defense programs. Noting that military industry is of key importance for Armenia, Vigen Sargsyan attached great importance to deepening Armenian-Iranian defense cooperation also in scientific sphere. Afterwards, the Armenian delegation also visited Iran Electronics Industries specialized in engineering and implementing technological solutions for the defense spectrum. YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Islamic Republic of Iran denies use of force as a means to solve regional issues and will spare no efforts for their settlement, Armenpress reports, citing presstv.ir, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said in a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart. A continuous and firm campaign against terrorism and elements generating insecurity and instability in the region is one of the cornerstones of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dehqan said, adding that regional issues must be settled through dialogue and peacefully. The Iranian top military officer also stated that his country highlights friendly relations with regional countries. According to him, Tehran and Yerevan have constantly strengthened relations during the recent years and are ready to continue in the same manner. According to Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan, who is on an official visit in IRI, Iran is an important regional and international player and Armenia is ready to develop relations with it. He also stated that Armenia sees no military solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict. President Trumps pick for the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, meets the most important criterion for the successor to Justice Antonin Scaliathat he be an articulate exponent of originalism. Scalia was the most consequential justice in the last half-century because he had the intellect to forge a consistent jurisprudence and the pen to make it widely known. When he arrived on the Court in 1986, originalism had no influence in the legal academy. Today, even among liberals, it is the jurisprudential theory to beat. He not only changed the law but the legal culture as well. Changing the legal culture is as important as making the right decisions in individual cases, because only a good culture will preserve those decisions for tomorrow. Gorsuch is an avowed originalist and one of the best writers in the entire federal judiciary. That is not just my assessment, but that of Howard Bashman, who runs the leading blog on appellate decisions. It is also the verdict of the Green Bag, a magazine that makes annual assessment of legal writing. In 2014, it singled out Gorsuchs opinion in Yellowbear v. Lampert as a great piece of legal writing. Here is the beginning of the opinion: Andrew Yellowbear will probably spend the rest of his life in prison. Time he must serve for murdering his daughter. With that much lying behind and still before him, Mr. Yellowbear has found sustenance in his faith. No one doubts the sincerity of his religious beliefs or that they are the reason he seeks access to his prisons sweat lodgea house of prayer and meditation the prison has supplied for those who share his Native American religious tradition. Yet the prison refuses to open the doors of that sweat lodge to Mr. Yellowbear alone, and so we have this litigation. While those convicted of crime in our society lawfully forfeit a great many civil liberties, Congress has (repeatedly) instructed that the sincere exercise of religion should not be among themat least in the absence of a compelling reason. Thats a wonderful opening, clear and lucid, as accessible to a layman to lawyer. Gorsuch went on rule for Yellowbear under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a statute protecting the ability of inmates to exercise their faith unless the government can show a compelling reason why they shouldnt be allowed to. It is very close to the standard in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, under which Gorsuch ruled for the Little Sisters of the Poor in their challenge to Obamacares contraceptive mandate. Democrats are sure to attack Gorsuch over that ruling, but its important to remember that Gorsuch applied the same rigorous standard to the case of the Catholic nuns as he did to the case of a child murderer practicing a small, minority religion. He applies law fairly to the least of us. The Yellowbear opinion is also notable for its learnedness. Gorsuch cites many law review articles, as well as William James. With his wide-ranging intellect, Gorsuch will take full advantage of originalisms revived popularity among law professors, creating a powerful dialectic between the academy and Court. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to nominate a justice very much in the mold of Justice Scalia to fill the late jurists seat. The man he picked, Judge Neil Gorsuch, fits that mold. In ten years on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Gorsuch repeatedly turned to the original public meaning of the often open-ended words of constitutional text, rather than adapting the words to changing times. Gorsuch laid out this interpretive methodology in a 2016 decision: Ours is the job of interpreting the Constitution. And that document isnt some inkblot on which litigants may project their hopes and dreams for a new and perfected tort law, but a carefully drafted text judges are charged with applying according to its original public meaning. Gorsuch has similarly embraced Scalias commitment to applying the words of laws as written rather than trying to divine legislatures intent. Scalia was a critic of using unenacted legislative history and other devices to figure out the underlying meaning of statutory texta practice that can lead to jiggery-pokery, as the justice called the Supreme Courts efforts to read state as federal in interpreting Obamacare provisions in 2014. Gorsuch adopted this reasoning in a 2012 opinion, urging his Tenth Circuit colleagues to reconsider precedential holdings that the government need not demonstrate that a criminal defendant had knowledge of his felony status to secure a conviction under the federal firearms lawsdespite the laws explicit requirement of such knowledge. Gorsuch wrote, whatever the legislative history may or may not suggest about Congresss collective intent (putting aside the difficulties of trying to say anything definitive about the intent of 535 legislators and the executive . . .), the law before us that survived the gauntlet of bicameralism and presentment couldnt be plainer. Gorsuch, like Scalia before him, is hardly inclined to defer reflexively to the state on behalf of criminal defendants. Traditionally, individuals could be held civilly liable for accidentally transgressing legal norms, but to be criminally convicted, an individual had to have mens rea, Latin for a guilty mind. A 2010 study by the Heritage Foundation and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers found that 57 percent of the 446 new nonviolent crimes proposed in the 109th Congress lacked the traditional intent standard, as did 64 percent of those crimes ultimately enacted into law. Combined with the multiplication of federal lawsmore than 4,500 federal crimes are now on the books, along with an estimated 300,000 more crimes in federal regulationsindividuals often find themselves ensnared by criminal statutes for seemingly innocent conduct. In a 2013 speech to the Federalist Society, Gorsuch asked, What happens to individual freedom and equality when the criminal law comes to cover so many facets of daily life that prosecutors can almost choose their targets with impunity? This echoed Scalia, who in a 2011 case dissented from a Supreme Court majority decision that applied Congresss ambiguous law specifying violent felonies against the criminal defendant. We face a Congress that puts forth an ever-increasing volume of laws in general, and of criminal laws in particular. It should be no surprise that as the volume increases, so do the number of imprecise laws, Scalia wrote. In the field of criminal law, at least, it is time to call a halt. Gorsuch is less likely than Scalia was to defer to unelected administrative agencies interpretations of the congressional laws that govern them. The most important Supreme Court case that most non-lawyers have never heard of is the Courts 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which held that executive agencies are entitled to judicial deference in interpreting statutes they have been tasked with administering. Scalia supported this standardalbeit less deferentially than many of his colleaguesbut Gorsuch has questioned it. In a legal opinion last year, Gorsuch argued that the Chevron doctrine permits an executive agency to enact a new rule of general applicability affecting huge swaths of the national economy one day and reverse itself the next and interpret the scope of its statutory jurisdiction one way one day and reverse itself the next, thus undermining the separation between the legislative and executive powers that the founders thought essential. Legislation is currently making its way through Congress that would overturn Chevron, but even if that effort fails, a Justice Gorsuch should be a voice less deferential to the administrative state. Democrats should take solace in Gorsuchs tendency to question the state in matters of criminal law, as well as his tendency to assert judicial authority over executive-agency rulemakingat least to the extent that they are worried about overreaches under a Trump administration. Of course, many Senate Democrats will probably oppose the nomination, especially given the Republicans refusal to hold confirmation hearings for President Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland. But the GOP now, as in 2016, controls the Senate majority, and there is little reason to believe that Gorsuch will not ultimately be confirmedwith or without a Democratic filibuster. Scalia knew Gorsuch, who had taken him fly fishing in the Colorado Rockies. Gorsuch was on the ski slopes last February when he heard of his friends passing. I am not embarrassed to admit that I couldnt see the rest of the way down the mountain for the tears, Gorsuch remarked in a speech last spring. But today, somewhere up there, the late justice is probably smiling. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Cultivating opposition and confusion is not a political end in itself. Yet the sudden, unexplained rollout of President Trumps executive order on immigration from terror-spawning countries last Friday suggests that the Trump White House is actually seeking to provoke hysteria on the part of its enemiesor else is dangerously short on public relations and administrative skills. The Trump team needs to up its game quickly if it is going to fulfill the presidents mandate. Trumps order is legal and defensible. For 90 days, citizens of seven countries with particularly virulent terrorist networks will be denied entry to the U.S., while the administration investigates how better to research a visa applicants possible terror connections. It was President Barack Obama who designated the seven covered countriesIraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemenas so dangerous that if a European citizen or anyone else eligible to enter the U.S. without a visa merely visited them, that citizen would lose his right to visa-less entry to the U.S. Individual exceptions to Trumps entry pause may be made on a case-by-case basis. The order also suspends most refugee resettlement for 120 days and suspends the resettlement of Syrian refugees until further notice. The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security shall report to the president on deficiencies in visa and refugee screening within 30 days of the order and recommend how to improve the screening: what sort of identity documentation should be required, for example, how to better detect fraud, how to determine an intending immigrants likelihood of becoming a productive member of society. The executive action calls for regular disclosure of terrorist charges brought against foreign nationals, the extent of radicalization among foreign nationals, and the gender-based violence against women committed by foreign nationals. All these provisions pass statutory and constitutional muster. The president has the authority to suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens if he determines that their entry would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, in the words of a 1952 federal statute. Opponents of Trumps order claim that it violates the 1965 Immigration and Nationalization Act, which declares that no visa applicant shall be discriminated against because of nationality or place of residence. But the presidents constitutional power over national security matters takes precedence over a congressional anti-discrimination clause, as Andrew McCarthy has argued. Trump is acting here pursuant to his constitutional authority to protect the country from external threats. The 1965 law was aimed at previous immigration quotas designed to preserve the countrys ethnic balance; it was not a security measure. And previous administrations have agreed with the Trump reading. President Jimmy Carter banned all visas issued to Iranian citizens after his Justice Department concluded that national origin exclusions were legal, notwithstanding the 1965 law. This executive order is far from a Muslim ban, pace the press. Millions of Muslims remain as eligible for entry after the executive order as they were before it. The order singles out entries from seven countries based on evidence of the heightened Islamic terror threat there. If doing so is impermissible because those seven countries have Muslim-majority populations, then national security has been completely sublimated to political correctness. It is not the U.S.s fault that the individuals creating the most worldwide havoc with bombings and beheadings of civilians are Muslims motivated by radical Islamic ideology. The U.S. is forced to take its enemies as and where it finds them. Have Islamic terrorists come from other countries? Yes, but the seven countries selected by the decree are now the site of the most contagious terrorist ideology and chaos, according to the Obama administration and now the Trump administration as well. The critics cannot simultaneously argue that the pause is too sweepingtaking in a handful of Muslim-majority countriesand that it is not sweeping enoughnot taking in more Muslim-majority countries. Has Islamic terrorism been committed by second-generation immigrants? Yes, making it all the more critical to worry about the assimilation capacity of first-generation immigrants. Contrary to the constant media refrain over the last six days, refugee screening is anything but watertight. The idea that the governments of civil-war-torn countries are able to provide credible identity documentation is ludicrous. A review of how to strengthen refugee screening is long overdue. The Trump administration is trying to forestall the routine Islamic terror attacks that now afflict Europe, thanks to the inadequate vetting of immigrants and refugees and their sheer numbers. The fact that we have not had the number of attacks that Europe has had is no reason not to take preventive action now before it is too late. Department of Homeland Security secretary John Kelly gave a news conference on Tuesday in which he calmly and persuasively made the case for the order and rebutted the misinformation about it spread by the media. It was not the case that Kelly and Pentagon chief James Mattis were kept out of the loop, Kelly said; Kelly had seen several early drafts of the order. The question is: Why did it take so long for such a presentation to occur? The order was implemented first and then explained piecemeal later. By then, the narrative that it was racist, un-American, and a threat to world peace was dominating the airwaves. While activists and Democratic politicians would have designated the order a Muslim ban even had a full explanation been offered initially, at least that explanation would have been on the record and available for citizens to evaluate for themselves. Perhaps the Trump inner circle thought that having the president himself explain the order would give it too much importance. If so, then the White House should have designated someone else with gravitas to do it. The administration should have waited until the new attorney general was in place, made careful exceptions for visa-holders already in transit, and coordinated more rigorously with the implementing agencies. Acting Attorney General Sally Yatess grandstanding refusal to defend the order because she was not convinced that it was lawful or wise or just violated the traditions of the Justice Department and rightly resulted in her dismissal. But the administration did not need another mediagenic drama playing out with the Trump is a lawless bigot storyline. The initial confusion over the treatment of legal permanent residents (so-called green-card holders) was avoidable. So was the very real disruption to travelers. While the visa-entry pause is quite temporary, it was foreseeable that it would be spun as a cataclysmic betrayal of Americas very essence. It therefore required a public explanation. There was no need to rush the order through last Friday before the agencies were up to speed, unless the White House is pursuing a relentless shock-and-awe strategy that requires a strict timetable of near-daily attacks on the established order. Or perhaps the thought was to slip it in so that the ensuing ruckus would be eclipsed by the announcement of Trumps Supreme Court nominee. The new administrations sense of urgency about delivering on the presidents campaign promises is admirable. But just because Trump said that he was going to do something during the election does not obviate the need to explain that action now. Trump will never convince the Left that he is not a fascist. But ordinary Americans in the middle of the ideological spectrum deserve a full airing of the reasons behind Trumps executive actions. Trump advisor Steve Bannons contempt for the media and political establishment is well known. But that contempt should not spill over into a disregard for the persuasive and explanatory responsibilities of the presidency. Trump owes it to his supporters to create the rhetorical basis of governance. Photo by Pool/Getty Images Ian Allsop tries to get his point across in a world dominated by fake news and Russian interference. After months of dithering and speculation, I have finally decided what form this column should take in the future. It wont be a partial column, half-in and half-out. Or soft. But it may be a touch red, white and blue. A soupcon global. And it will definitely be hard. In the last week I have been in Saudi Arabia at their first major conference for civil society. The main event was 800 participants strong with around 600 men and 200 women all thinking about how charities can help them build towards Vision 2030; their new blueprint for the kingdom. The ministry was engaged and enthusiastic, as were the participants and foundations. All pulling in the same direction and looking forward to positive change. The speeches were on a stage, with two huge video displays and television and newspaper reporting with TV booms like nodding donkeys swooping over the audience. It was amazing to see the effort. In the social-media age, the protest sign has become the new pull quote. Demonstrators who took to the streets for the Womens March took President Donald Trump to task over womens rights, health care, immigration, xenophobia, and the environment, using thousands of unique and creative messages. But the sign that most stood out to me was the one below. Here was a visual statement raising the issues of intimacy, depth, and public expression of a presidents marriage. As photos are inherently open to interpretation, what are we to make of this? Naturally, the image draws a comparison between Obama and his successor. The sign in the photo emphasizes a special bond with Americas first couple, and its loss. To many, that relationship was a model and a source of inspiration. The first couple were seen as a fountain of stability, an endorsement of fidelity, and a special partnershipthe ultimate embodiment of the anti-Trump campaign slogan Love Trumps Hate. Perhaps that bond was just a presidential anomaly. But it matters as an expression of character. It matters because of our own extra-familial relationship to the president. (In effect, we are all married to the president and dependent on his or her support, concern, and consistency in a relationship lasting at least four years.) And it matters because of Trumps character, adversarial nature, and blatant narcissism, as well as his documented aggressive attitude toward women, his self-touted sexploits, and his multiple marriages. Donald Trumps relationship with his wife, Melania, is of legitimate and compelling public interest. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Related: 12 images that capture the new reality show at Trump Tower Before and during the campaign, most images depicting the couple came from controlled photo-ops. In more unscripted moments, including during inauguration festivities, photojournalists have dug deeper into the rapport between president and first lady. Of course, the Trumps are not the Obamas. Donald Trump is as physically blunt in his gestures as he is in his speech. Melania Trump is demure in her manner. Often she wears a poker face. Sometimes she looks sad. Other times, she seems indifferent. Differences in emotional chemistry and physical vocabulary notwithstanding, arguably every relationship reveals signs of when it is clicking and when it isnt. Many of the inauguration photos and videos of the Trumps suggested they are not on the same page. A photo posted by Leigh Vogel (@leighvogel) on Jan 20, 2017 at 11:39am PST Perhaps the contrast between the couples can be chalked up to jitters; the Obamas probably got more comfortable in the spotlight after almost a decade in the role. But in the image above, by Washington-based photographer and freelancer Leigh Vogel, the Trumps look icier than the weather. Its a quality that shows up in many images of the couple. Omg what did he say to her???? RUN MELANIA!!!! Posted by Blast Avenue on Monday, January 23, 2017 This GIF was made during Trumps inauguration ceremony. In it, Melania seems to brighten and shine when Trump looks in her direction, then wilts like a flower as soon as he turns away. Again, of course, the behavior could be perfectly random. A photo posted by monica (@monicafeldman74) on Jan 26, 2017 at 12:12am PST Then there was this photo taken during the inauguration luncheon in Statuary Hall by Reuters photographer Yuri Gripas. The Trumps bizarre expressions could be the result of any number of factors. Still, at this occasion for joy, the apparent unhappiness and disconnection in the photograph is striking. If recent imagery shows some fissures, another question to ask: How did we miss it in the imagery before? Related: 7 photos that capture the absurdity of the election Its possible we are witnessing this behavior between Donald and Melania because they no longer have as much ability to control their own visibility. (Earlier, I detailed Trumps manipulation of space, media, and visitors at Trump Tower.) Donald and Melania did not spend as much time together on the campaign trail as other couples have, a pattern that continues now that Melania is splitting her time between Washington and New York, where their son attends school. In fact, Us Weekly in a story posted today reported Melania may never move to the White House. The inauguration activities put the presidential relationship more under the microscope than ever before. The photo below in particular generated buzz across the political web. What lent it power, in this case, was its domesticity. The photo shows Trump and Melania arriving at the White House on inauguration day. The president-elect and his spouse traditionally greet the president and first lady before the official event and then ride to the swearing-in together. Its also the day the new first couple make their home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. What you see in the photo, by Mark Wilson for Getty Images, is Donald Trump greeting the first couple while Melania is left in the driveway. On one hand, its an act that could be chalked up to excitement or eagerness. At the same time, its the kind of rare and unforgettable moment in life a couple would want to share. Given such a clear illustration of me instead of we, its not hard to wonder whether Trumps disregard is emblematic of something deeper. Those dynamics, along with the publics natural curiosity about the first couples relationship leads me to Stephen Crowleys photo. The long-time New York Times political photojournalist, widely known for his editorial acumen, posted this photo on Instagram. A photo posted by Stephen Crowley (@crowleygraph) on Jan 22, 2017 at 8:45am PST Because most media images of Donald and Melania dancing at the Liberty Ball on inauguration night were pleasant and shining, its telling that Crowley chose to represent them like this. Whereas the telegenic couple looked radiant to most, Crowleys image casts them in an uneasy shadow. Whats really going on between these two? To the extent we, too, are in Trumps hands, I wonder how much more well get to see in the months ahead. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Michael Shaw is publisher of the nonprofit visual-literacy and media-literacy site ReadingThePictures, an analyst of news photos and visual journalism, and a frequent lecturer and writer on news imagery, photojournalism, and documentary photography. Follow ReadingThePictures via Twitter and Instagram. Most freelance journalists have a love/hate relationship with the job. They trade the freedom to pitch pieces and determine their own schedule for the price of dealing with slow responses from editors and delayed payments. Plus, rates are often lousy, and work is less plentiful these days in a news industry with a grim outlook. Many stringers have to prop up their journalistic work with custom content and other writing projects. These days I find that Im getting paid more for a sponsored tweet or Instagram post that takes less than a minute, than I do for actual journalism, multimedia freelancer David Leavitt, who has written for CBS Local and AXS.com, tells CJR by email. But there are good gigs, too. CJR asked more than two dozen freelancers about their experiences, with the goal of recognizing publications that value freelancers. We focused on pay, the editing process, turnaround time, and the ability to maintain a relationship with the publication. We want this to be an ongoing project, so we encourage those with positive freelancing experiences to contact Carlett Spike at cspike@cjr.org. Well update the piece with your feedback. Here are six news outlets that won endorsements from multiple freelancers: Trending: Donald and Melania Trumps relationship through a lens Sign up for CJR 's daily email Mel Magazine What it is: The LA-based publication aimed at men focuses on culture and lifestyle topics including health, sex, and relationships. Launched by Dollar Shave Club in 2015, some of its recent content includes training advice for men who dont have free time, and a case against those who mock the font Comic Sans. Mel Magazine has a detailed outline on how to pitch them, along with contact information. What they pay: According to Who Pays Writers, a website where writers can anonymously report rates, the only reported rate for the publication is 50-cents per word for a 3,000-word, heavily reported piece. What freelancers say: The editors are truly invested in making stories the best they can be, Tonya Riley tells CJR. [Executive Editor Zak Stone] has been really good at helping me reframe my stories, she says. Now working on her 10th story for Mel, Riley (bylines include Mic and Fusion) says her editor takes the time to work through stories with hertaking them from the idea stage to the bigger picture. For Riley, good pay and great editing are top priorities, so she says freelancers should keep that in mind when weighing the benefits of an opportunity. People shouldnt be discouraged from working with them just because they are a smaller name because you really get quality editing, and also the pay is very above average for most digital rates. Elon Green, who also has freelanced for CJR, and writer Devon Maloney credited Mel with taking on ambitious stories, regardless of whether they have a timely news peg. I was given a lot of freedom to explore topics other outlets might not have taken a risk on, says Maloney. Related: The Washington Posts secret weapon Pacific Standard What it is: Created and owned by the nonprofit Miller-McCune Center for Research, Media, and Public Policy, Pacific Standard sets out to dive into some of the problems plaguing society while highlighting the people who have offered solutions. The publication is based in Santa Barbara, California. Pacific Standard Editor in Chief Nicholas Jackson prides himself on having a good relationship with freelancers. He tweeted earlier this month about the importance of paying promptly and valuing writers. Pacific Standard posts guidelines for writers on its website. What they pay: Average rate is 50 cents per word, with one person reporting making $1.33 per word, according to Who Pays Writers. What freelancers say: Alissa Greenberg, a freelancer who has written for The Atlantic, Time, and Roads and Kingdoms, tells CJR that Pacific Standard was her best overall experience. Greenberg worked with culture editor Katie Kilkenny on a piece about the history of the Black Westwhich will appear in the March/April issue. Greenberg says Kilkenny was always responsive and available to offer feedback along the way. It was very collaborative in a way that made me feel like I had the power to shape the story, but I was supported if I was unsure which way to go, she says. I understood why my editor was making the changes that she was making and there was room for me to push back and explain this is why I think we should save this or keep it this way. It's important to me that we pay fast and fair (& don't ask freelancers to invoice us). & that the editor-writer relationship is a good one. Nicholas Jackson (@nbj914) January 5, 2017 Los Angeles Times What it is: The daily newspaper of Southern California has 1.4 million print readers daily, and 39 million monthly web visitors. As a newspaper that has science, auto, travel, and opinion sections, there are a wide range of possibilities for the types of stories freelancers could pitch the paper. Contact information for all the staff is available on The LA Times directory page, along with a few guidelines on how to pitch the paper for certain sections, such as travel. What they pay: Twenty cents per word for an opinion piece in 2015 is the last reported figure for the newspaper. A review of other years suggests the paper pays a higher word rate for stories that require reporting. In 2014, a freelancer received 53 cents per word for a roughly 1,500-word profile. What freelancers say: Mythili Sampathkumar, who focuses on science reporting, worked as a stringer for the paper while she was at the United Nations climate talks in Morocco. Sampathkumar (bylines include ThinkProgress and The UN Dispatch) says she most valued the feedback she received and the respect editors gave her. Alex Zavis (a foreign desk editor) really helped me to write for more of a general audience and was always available to answer questions, but understood that I had some expertise too. Quartz What it is: Created in 2012, the digital only outlet has a stated goal of shaping content for apps, mobile, and tablets, often featuring quirky stories including theories on what the next Star Wars movie title means and Snapchats struggle with fake news. The Complete guide to writing for Quartz Ideas is available on its website. What they pay: Rates ranged from seven cents to 33-cents per word, with most reporting they received payment in one months time. What freelancers say: Freelancers who spoke with CJR most appreciated the responsiveness of Quartzs editors. It made the editing smoother and the overall process much faster. It was the kind of feedback I like to receive, which is first more general notes from an editor, and then a chance for me to alter the story to be more along the lines of what they are asking for, rather than an editor going in there and just hacking away at it, one freelancer tells CJR. Another writer, Lydia Namubiru, agrees that the editors made the experience worthwhile. Namubiru, a journalist based in Uganda, says Quartzs Africa Editor, Yinka Adegoke, is wonderful to work with. Hes invested in the story and he wants it to come out right. His editing is very detailed and also hes hands off, she says. He tries to make me do the story that I say I will do, and he trusts me to know whats going on. The Guardian What it is: The Guardian is considered a global publication with verticals specific to the UK, US, and Australia. US features editor Jessica Reed wrote a post on what she looks for in pitches, and there is a separate writeup available for those interested in pitching the opinion section. What they pay: Who Pays Writers pegs the average pay rate at 38 cents per word. What freelancers say: Freelancers say there are two main reasons they enjoy working with The Guardian. The first is the editing experience. Second is exposure. The Guardian US attracts about 120 million page views per month. Green notes that writers have to weigh the overall benefits they will get out of the experience. There is always a calculation that everybody makeswell at least I make itand I think either you are writing a piece because you love the publication, or you love the editor, or the money is really good, says Green.There are publications that dont pay a lot of money and have flat rates for everybody on the web, but those could be the few publications that Id still write for because the editing is so good or because its a very big platform. The New Yorker What it is: The New Yorker is often thought of as the creme of the crop among magazines. Google How to freelance for the New Yorker, and there are a handful of articles offering advice and personal stories on what worked. Heres a rundown of how to contact various sections of the magazine. What they pay: As far as rates go, most freelancers turn to The New Yorker for the byline than the money. Rates of 17 to 20 cents per word for pieces 1,500 words or longer were reported in 2016. What freelancers say: Despite The New Yorkers long history, freelancers appreciated the fact their unique voice was never lost in the editing process. Additionally, those who wrote for print or web respect the attention and engagement they received from editors. Jacob Kushner, who has freelanced for 10 years with a focus on human rights (bylines include include Pacific Standard and Vice magazine), says engagement with the editor is his highest priority when freelancing. Its not just about having good editors, there are good editors everywhere. But often you have editors that just dont have time, says Kushner. If your editor cant give you the time of day, much less improve your reporting and writing, youre not going to get better. Related: What kind of journalist are you? Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Carlett Spike is a freelance writer and former CJR Delacorte Fellow. Follow her on Twitter @CarlettSpike. Trump attacking a journalist at his first news conference. The White House press secretary lying to the media at the first post-inauguration press briefing. Trump attacking the media in his speech to the CIA. None of it is surprising. Yet the result has been a mainstream media in a state of wounded pride and downright hysteria that I havent seen since the advent of Gawker. It is yet another irony in this moment of proliferating ironies that the billionaire responsible for the destruction of Gawker, Peter Thiel, has helped to create a president whose street-fighting tactics resemble those of the erstwhile website, which during its first years stunned the well-heeled, clubby, super-entitled, piety-sharing media elite with its naked insults, insinuations, and verbal assaults. The medias response then was to engage in soul-searching with regard to its status in the digital age, much as the medias response now is to engage in soul-searching with regard to its status at a time of alternative facts, and a president who daily showers contempt on the press. It is incredible, and incredibly depressing, to see the media turn on itself even as Trump is turning on the media. Responding to BuzzFeeds publication of the Trump-Russia memos, Jim Rutenberg wrote admonishingly in The New York Times: Every journalistic misstep gives more fodder to people who want to stop the efforts against fake news by turning the tables and labeling those effortsor any other solid journalism they dont likeas fake news as well, corrupting the term for their own purposes (a classic case of no, you are!). At a moment when we are in entirely uncharted territory, when the rules and conventions of politics and the media and the relationship between them have been upended, Rutenberg is warning journalists to be careful not to make a misstep. And his definition of a media misstep is anything that can be used by the medias powerful adversaries against the media. In other words, it is Trump and his cronies who decide what the misstep is. It is they who define journalistic malfeasance. Helping to create an atmosphere where caution is the dominant approach is not the most effective response to a situation in which the incoming president and his associates possess no caution at all. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Yet you can hardly imagine a situation in which the partisans of so-called fake news are more aggressive than they are now, or a situation in which attacks on and hatred of the mainstream press could be more intense. Helping to create an atmosphere where caution is the dominant approach is not the most effective response to a situation in which the incoming president and his associates possess no caution at all. Not once in the eight years that George W. Bush was president did he handle the press with the derision and contempt Trump displayed last week. He gave frequent news conferences. He never publicly sought to undermine the fundamental credibility of the media. He and other members of his administration cultivated close relationships with many media figures. Not once during Bushs two terms as president did I read, or even hear, any rational expression of a fear that he posed a real threat to the media as a legitimate institution, or to free speech as a democratic principle. Instead, the media in the Bush era relied on access and sources to assimilate the most catastrophic lie in American history. Bush was a uniquely bad president. But even at the height of TV and internet assaults on him and his administration, Bush never tried to curb the presss prerogatives, or to curtail its access to him and the people around him in any unconventional way. He did not publicly spew contempt at the media. He was not outrageously rude to reporters. There he was, year after year, yukking it up with the media at the White House Correspondents dinner. (And there he was, giving a sardonic thumbs-up to Hillary Clinton at Trumps inauguration.) Compared to Bush and Cheneys smooth, respectful manipulation and subjugation of the media, Trump and his regimes snarling hostility and barefaced lying to the pressi.e., their openness about their motivesare a gift to the republic. Nero might have fiddled while Rome burned, but he didnt tweet about it. Trump, however, wants everyone not only to be in awe of his presence and pronouncements, but also to lavish attention on his random thoughts. Clues to how he will governif he does governare all over the trail of tweets and public pronouncements he has left behind him like so many bird droppings. One boast he repeatedly made during his campaign was that he was spending only a fraction of what his opponents were for advertising and publicity. The gist of the reason he gave for this was that, unlike his opponents, he was a fascinating, larger-than-life personality who knew how to put on such a good show that the media would find it irresistible. One glimpse of the decor of Trumps penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue, half Hollywood mogul, half Versaillesits gold hues now transported by Trump to the interior of the White Houseand you can see how he conceives of himself with regard to the media. He does not expect a press pool or a mass of reporters shouting questions at a press conference. He wants, demands even, an entourage, in the same way that a celebrity has an entourage, or a monarch has a crowd of courtiers. Even at the height of TV and internet assaults on him and his administration, Bush never tried to curb the presss prerogatives, or to curtail its access to him and the people around him in any unconventional way. In the manner of a celebrity, Trump will amuse himself by giving praise or attention to one media figure while denying it to others, or by singling out some reporters for taunts and insults. In the manner of a monarch, he will confer favors on some media people and deny them to their rivals, thus causing the entourage to fight over every crumb of favor or attention he tosses to them. In the medias current precarious financial condition, such desperate internecine strife is not hard to stir up. This divide and conquer strategy, recognized and denounced by the media, is already working beautifully for Trump. In an interview in the Times, Thiel explained why Silicon Valley executives, previously hostile to Trump, dutifully attended an off-the-record meeting with Trump the moment they were summoned by the president-elect. I think, early on, everybody was worried that they would be the only person to show up, Mr. Thiel says. At the end, everybody was worried they would be the only person not to show up. This is Trumps strategy with the media. The insecure, status-anxious, financially unstable Trump has, if nothing else, a visceral grasp of the medias insecurity, status-anxiety, and financial instability. How else to account for the bizarre meeting at Conde Nast, off the record, between Trump and the editors of The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Vogue, among others? The strangest presence at the meeting was David Remnick, who the very night of Trumps election wrote an impassioned piece for The New Yorkers website in response to the astounding turn of events. Whether you agreed with Remnicks alarmist tone or not, his essay was an eloquent cri de coeur, raw and deeply felt. In the course of the essay, Remnick twice warned that the media would try to normalize Trump, and that this tendency should be resisted. Yet you could hardly imagine a more normalizing event than the editor of The New Yorker attending an off-the-record meeting with the president-elect. Compared to Bush and Cheneys smooth, respectful manipulation and subjugation of the media, Trump and his regimes snarling hostility and barefaced lying to the pressi.e., their openness about their motivesare a gift to the republic. When Graydon Carter was asked how he felt about the meeting being off the record, Carter replied, Not my preference. But I will abide by that. Explaining why he attended the meeting, Carter later told Politico, I try to be a decent host. I went to Anna Wintour and I said, Listen, I dont want to make [Trump] feel uncomfortable. On the one hand, a media howls and cries about an impending constitutional crisis in which the media will be essentially abolished. On the other hand, a prominent media figure expresses his desire not to make the president-elect fidget. Agreeing to meet off the record with a man who has placed himself beyond the pale of what is accepted in American political and public life has the simultaneous effects of confirming peoples conviction that the media inhabits an opaque bubble of privilege, and of helping Trump in his attempts to silence the media. If Trump refuses to be transparent with the American public about his tax returns, his business entanglements, and his relationship with Russia, why are these powerful and prestigious media actors abetting Trump in his lack of transparency in these matters by agreeing to, essentially, talk with him in secret? What if Trump gave a press conference and nobody came? What if the press stopped reporting on his every tweet and utterance? Trumps principal means of upending robust and protective social and political conventions would immediately come to a halt. Instead of publishing lengthy, fluffy profiles of social media billionaires, the media might now want to press the social media giants that more and more control our national life on their policies with regard to the most divisive and least qualified president in American history. The medias diffidence in the face of new forms of communication that pose threats both to the media and to democracy is as worrisome as its accommodation, when push comes to shove, of our incoming president. It would be invigorating for prestigious media outlets and figures to make the argument that the way things stand now, Twitter is aiding Trump in driving the country toward dark and dangerous places. His strident, deceitful, inciting Tweets, reported on by a media determined to hold him to account, yet at the same time eager to draw readers, are destroying the possibility of rational, patient public discourse. On the one hand, a media howls and cries about an impending constitutional crisis in which the media will be essentially abolished. On the other hand, a prominent media figure expresses his desire not to make the president-elect fidget. In the end, the social media companies, behind their democratic rhetoric, are about money and power. But we live in strange new times, in which shame, expressed across social media platforms, is a powerful tool. Instead of succumbing to outrage and hysteria, the media shouldalong with adapting to the new situation and holding Trump to account without vindictiveness or spitebe reexamining the forces that have, over the past two decades, helped cripple the media. In the meantime, I hope Trump and his people keep wearing their thuggishness on their sleeves. On Sunday, as the media was reporting that the Republicans were planning to reinstitute high-risk pools that would enable health insurers to once again deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, Trump tweeted about the demonstrations against his presidency, Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I dont always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views. His appearance of rationality and political decency, even as policies sponsored by him that will ruin countless lives were beginning to take shape, sent chills down my spine. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Lee Siegel , a widely published writer on culture and politics, is the author of six books and the recipient of a National Magazine Award for Reviews and Criticism. Across the region, police officials have big ideas about how drones could bolster residents safety and wellbeing. They could spot missing people, houses with blight or uncovered manholes. They could document accident scenes from the sky. They could determine when a roof is so hot its about to collapse, and be sent to find obstacles in tactical situations. Few are disputing the likely value of the technology, still in its infancy. But locally, many police chiefs are waiting for state lawmakers to establish legislation concerning drone use before they invest in the technology. I would kind of like to have one, said Groton City police Chief Thomas Davoren, noting that it could be used to track down blight. But the rules are changing so quickly. I would hate to invest in something and then not be able to use it. Such legislation has been proposed in Connecticut and passed one chamber in each of the last two legislative sessions. But its failed primarily because of time, not opposition to pass both and be signed into law. According to David McGuire, executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the ACLU, the organization is pushing to have similar legislation proposed again this year. This is useful technology that can help increase public safety, McGuire said. We in fact want police to be able to use it, but to use it appropriately without violating peoples privacy. Last year, the bill included provisions that would ban the use of weaponized drones in most situations, make police get a warrant to collect footage except during certain emergencies and give police-related organizations just more than a year to provide recommendations for policy regarding the retention of data collected by drones. The bill passed the House by a vote of 131-14. It never made it to the Senate floor. McGuire suggested the public should be louder about the legislation so it gets considered and passed. He said its a really good sign that law enforcement officials are looking for guidance, but that police using the technology without regulations is problematic. Law enforcement by their nature in trying to keep us safe often push the limits, McGuire said. We want them to vigorously defend our safety. But without meaningful rules, its impossible to know where the lines are. Across the state, McGuire said he knows of three police departments that are using drones: Hartford, Woodbury and Plainfield. In Plainfield, police were able to purchase a drone with a thermal-imaging, high-resolution camera and an ability to go 60 mph solely because of a $10,000 donation, according to the Norwich Bulletin. There, police reported planning to use the drone to find missing people and document crash scenes. But cost is not the barrier most chiefs expressed. Groton Town police Chief Louis J. Fusaro Jr., whose 21-plus years with the state police include time in the counterterrorism and emergency services units, brought up the use of helicopters as a point of comparison. He estimated it takes between $800 and $1,500 to keep one in the air for an hour. The cost to put a drone in the air for the same amount of time? Peanuts, he said. Still, Fusaro said his department hasnt discussed acquiring one. Privacy is an issue, he said, and so, too, is safety. Should a drone go out of range or run out of battery power, he explained, it could hit somebody or something on its way down. There are definitely advantages, but the technology is relatively new, he said. Just like a lot of other things, the laws havent caught up to it. According to Stonington police Capt. Todd Olson, his department isnt planning on using a drone anytime soon. Ledyard police Lt. Ken Creutz said his force has discussed the devices conceptually but also is waiting for policy before making any moves. Were relatively new here as independent police department and trying to get normal operating scenarios down smoothly before we try to introduce newer-edge technology like that, he said. But Im sure it will be a consideration down the road. In Waterford, however, police Chief Brett Mahoney said his department, along with other town agencies, has seriously discussed bringing a drone on board. Like Plainfield, Waterford is a heavily wooded town. Since police purchased ATVs years ago, Mahoney said, theyve been deployed countless times sometimes to recover stolen vehicles, sometimes to find people whove gone missing. Drones, he said, could expand the departments search capabilities tenfold. Mahoney, however, said he and others envision any drone that comes to Waterford as a town-wide asset. In large-scale storms, emergency management officials could use the drone to map the damage and let residents know whats going on. In fires, the drones thermal camera could warn firefighters a roof is hot and susceptible to collapse. When manhole covers are stolen for scrap, the drone could make the pollution control authority aware of it sooner. As for privacy issues, Mahoney said Waterfords drone would be used solely from a community safety perspective and wouldnt be used for surveillance. He said the department is looking for grant opportunities so the town doesnt have to foot the bill. From there, it will have to apply for licenses, get approval, set policy and then buy the equipment and train some officers and other officials. Mahoney expects all of that will happen within the next two years. Drones are another thing were going to have to deal with, Mahoney said. If were going to have to deal with it, we should also be allowed to take advantage of it. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 01/31/2017 President Trump today told drug executives to "get prices down" and pledged he would cut regulations to hasten approval of new drugs. But diabetes patients, tired of waiting, have filed a federal lawsuit against three drug companies, accusing them of fraudulent pricing. Trump met with top executives of Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Celgene, Amgen, Eli Lilly, and the PhRMA trade association and repeated his campaign trail promise to get drug prices down. He has called for allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. "Our industry takes seriously the concerns raised about the affordability and accessibility of prescription medicines, and we have expressed our commitment to working with the administration to advance market-based reforms," said PhRMA president Stephen J. Ubl in a prepared statement. "The current system needs to evolve to enable the private sector to lead the move to a value-driven health care system." Severe consequences The lawsuit filed on behalf of diabetes patients focuses on rebates, alleging that drugmakers abuse the system by publishing high list prices for insulin, which enables them to offer bigger rebates while leaving many patients with huge co-pays. A month's supply of some insulins can cost $900, according to the suit, which was filed in Massachusetts U.S. District Court under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt organizations (RICO) Act. It names Sanofi U.S., Novo Nordisk Inc., and Eli Lilly and Company. "Drugs that used to cost $25 per prescription now cost between $300 and $450," the suit alleges, charging that the three companies have raised their benchmark prices more than 150% in the last five years, leaving many patients unable to buy enough insulin to remain healthy. While drugmakers point to regulation and research costs to justify price increases, the suit states those arguments don't apply to insulin. "The manufacturers of insulin admit that their price hikes are unrelated to any jump in production or research and development costs. Instead, these increased benchmark prices are the result of a scheme and enterprise among each Defendant and several bulk drug distributors," the class action suit states. "Sticker" price "In this scheme, the Defendant drug companies set two different prices for their insulin treatments: a publicly reported benchmark pricealso known as the 'sticker' priceand a lower, real price that they offer to certain bulk drug distributors," the complaint continues, alleging that drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers conspired to increase the "spread" that they enjoy at the expense of patients in high-deductible healthcare plans, Medicare, and those with no insurance coverage. The consequences for patients are severe, sometimes deadly, the suit charges. "Unable to afford their insulin drugs, patients report under-dosing their insulin, injecting expired insulin, and starving themselves to control their blood sugars with as little insulin as possible. ... Because they ineffectively control those individuals blood sugar levels, these practices can lead to serious complications such as kidney failure, heart disease, blindness, infection, and amputations." With 29 million people, nearly ten percent of the U.S. population, living with diabetes, the financial and health consequences of the alleged price-fixing are severe, the suit argues. The suit was filed by the Hagens Berman law firm. 02/01/2017 Last June, Barack Obama signed an environmental bill into law that enjoyed rare bipartisan support from Congress. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, named for the senator who had drafted the bill years earlier before dying in 2013, was celebrated by some environmentalists, EPA officials, and Obama as the first real chemical safety reform the United States had seen in decades. Previously, all chemicals in commerce in the United States were regulated under the Toxic Control Substances Act of 1976, a law that environmental groups like the National Resources Defense Council said was deeply flawed and ineffective. The original TCSA law grandfathered in an estimated 80,000 chemicals without safety testing, allowing companies to sell products containing chemicals for which little data was available. The Lautenberg act, an amendment meant to reform the TSCA, was supposed to give regulators the power to demand safety reviews for commonly-used chemicals and require safety testing for new chemicals before they enter the market. Change, as always, would happen incrementally. Under the new law, we now have the power to require safety reviews of all chemicals in the marketplace," Jim Jones, assistant administrator of the of Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a press release following the bill's passage. Asbestos from Montana mine brings new questions In late November, EPA officials announced ten chemicals that they would evaluate under the new law. "If it is determined that a chemical presents an unreasonable risk, EPA must mitigate that risk within two years," the EPA explained at the time. Included in that list was asbestos, which the agency has already acknowledged causes lung disease. The EPA had tried to implement a ban on many asbestos-containing products in 1989, but a federal court overturned the regulations. About a decade later, residents in the town of Libby, Montana discovered that a W.R. Grace and Co. vermiculite mine just outside town had spread asbestos dust throughout the region. As many as 400 people died as a result, officials estimated. EPA officials from Region 8 spent the next 18 years overseeing the cleanup of a reported 2,000 properties nearby, as well as the mine itself. The local clean-up was coming to a close shortly before Trump took office. A warning for other homeowners? Millions of homes and businesses across the country are likely still insulated with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby, according to the Billings Gazette. But while the EPA implemented a local clean-up, the agency would not commit to informing the millions of other property owners across the country about the risks they faced, the local paper recently reported. Its too early to say what the result will be and what action EPA will take. TSCA requires these chemical risk evaluations be completed within three years, the paper quoted an EPA spokesperson as saying. The spokesman's comments, made shortly before Trump implemented what has been described as a "gag order" on EPA officials, drew criticism from public health advocates, who accused the agency of dragging its feet. With gag order, state of chemical safety is unclear Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Donald Trump has claimed in interviews that asbestos is "100 percent safe, once applied." Trump was also sued by undocumented Polish immigrant workers in the late 90s who said they were exposed to asbestos during the construction of Trump Tower. What Trump's pro-asbestos, anti-EPA attitude means for the fate of asbestos regulations under the EPA remains unclear. News outlets reported last week that employees at some federal agencies, including the EPA, were instructed to cease sending news releases or social media updates to the public. A memo sent to the EPA, obtained by the Washington Post, said that "a digital strategist will be coming on board" to screen the EPA's comments, adding that, Incoming media requests will [be] carefully screened. Asked about the asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana, and whether the EPA will warn other affected homeowners about the contaminated insulation, an EPA spokesman responded to ConsumerAffairs with a brief email: "Checking," is all it said. For 2017, Puerto Vallarta is forecasting 134 calls and more than 340,000 passengers, compared to 143 calls and 336,050 passengers last year, which in turn was up slightly from 2015. The port is working to rebuild its traffic level which reached a high of more than 589,000 passengers in 2008. We are committed to creating a passenger experience like a Mexican paradise destination, said a spokesperson for the port. Efforts underway include the construction of facilities at the port that will include tourist services, a Hacienda Tequilera, an aquarium, described to be the largest in Latin America, as well as public parking. The project is slated to be completed in the first half of 2018, she said. Unique Identity When finished, our new facilities will be an excellent way to portray the unique characteristics and identity of our state, Jalisco, not only for cruise passengers, but also for the 900,000 tourists that visit annually and stay in our hotels and resorts. Last year, land visitors generated some 24,839 sightseeing tours by boat in the bay with more than 632,022 passengers, a 2 percent increase from the year before. The spokesperson added that Puerto Vallarta has received several awards from cruise industry associations for meeting expectations and generating high passenger satisfaction ratings. Regular callers this season feature ships from Carnival, Holland America Line, Norwegian and Princess in addition to calls by Oceania. The most unusual call may have been the Costa Luminosa in September on a 99-day world cruise roundtrip from Savona. As the year came to a c lose, the December calendar included 17 calls and four days with two ships in port at the same time. The port had not yet published its 2017 calendar. Year-Round Carnival Cruise Line sails year-round with the Miracle and is thus responsible for the largest share of passengers. On her seven-day rotation, the Miracle also occasionally stays overnight in Puerto Vallarta. Next year, the 3,000-passenger Carnival Splendor will replace the 2,100-passenger Miracle, representing a 41 percent increase in capacity for the lines week-long cruises on the West Coast, according to Carnival. Three different itineraries will be offered: one itinerary visiting Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, another spending two days at Cabo San Lucas and a full day in Puerto Vallarta, and a third over-nighting in Puerto Vallarta with a day-long call in Cabo San Lucas. Among the passenger experiences ashore in Puerto Vallarta, Carnival tours feature zip-lining, swimming with dolphins, beach adventures, tequila tastings and nightlife. Highlights Princess highlights the Malecon, the boardwalk by the beach, as well as secluded coves and beaches, such as La Caletas and Yelapa, in addition to Isla Marietas, a series of uninhabited islands for kayaking, snorkeling and scuba diving. Sailing Mexican Riviera cruises from San Diego, Holland America describes Puerto Vallarta as squeezed into the space between Banderas Bay and the Sierra Madre mountains. Although it is no longer the well-kept secret of the artists, writers and Hollywood stars who first discovered it in the 1960s, the town still retains the essence of the fishing village it once was. Viejo Vallarta, the old town, is a mix of red-tiled buildings, cobbled streets, chic shops and busy open markets. According to Norwegian, which has published calls for the Norwegian Star sailing seven days through April 2018, Puerto Vallarta has retained a good deal of its small village charm along with 26 miles of beaches along the Banderas Bay. The lines recommendation is to stroll the cobblestone streets to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Or peruse the many local wares for sale at the open-air markets. --- Get an in-depth, behind the scenes look at the North America cruise market and the ports that make it happen in the 2016-2017 Winter edition Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine. Subscribe today. Three cruise ships will call into Pago Pago Harbor on day visits this month bringing nearly 3,300 visitors to American Samoa, according to a statement. The first ship to call will be Oceania Cruises, Insignia on February 10, arriving at 8.00am from Bora Bora, French Polynesia and departing at 4.00pm for Suva, Fiji.The vessel is on a 180 night return cruise from Miami, USA. The following day February 11, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seven Seas Navigator arrives from Bora Bora, French Polynesia at 9.00am. She leaves at 5.00pm for Suva, Fiji and is also on a 128 night return cruise from Miami, USA. The last ship for the month is Oceania Cruises, Sirena, making its maiden call to American Samoa. She arrives at 9.00am from Moorea, French Polynesia will depart at 6.00pm for Apia, Samoa. Habitat for Humanity San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys has announced that it will honor Princess Cruises and the Princess Cruises Community Foundation at the annual Hearts for Heroes Builders Ball on Friday, February 24th, according to a press release. Also to be honored, will be seven surviving Santa Clarita veterans of World War II. The funds raised at the event will be used to complete the remaining 24 homes of a 78-home neighborhood for low-income veterans in Santa Clarita. The event will take place at the Universal Sheraton Hotel in Universal City, CA. Princess will receive the Hammer of Hope Award, Habitats highest honor, which is presented to extraordinary individuals or entities who are leaders in their fields and communities specifically those who serve veterans and low-income families seeking to enter the middle class. Past recipients include Anheuser Busch, Home Depot, Citibank, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, The Gas Company, Primestor, and many others. Accepting the award on behalf of Princess will be its President, Jan Swartz. Princess is a longtime sponsor of Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV and as recently as this coming February will be hosting a TEAM Build at which Princess employees will spend the day building veteran homes. DuTrac Community Credit Union in Dubuque, Iowa is placing an emphasis on the importance of youth financial literacy. In 2016, they collaborated with community partners to hold five Financial Reality Fairs at local schools to help bridge the current financial education gap. They did so through the support of a grant from the Foundation. The need for ongoing financial literacy is strong among many Americans, said Andy Hawkinson, President/CEO of DuTrac Community CU. It is an especially strong need among school-aged young people where limited resources and prescribed curriculums limit the teaching of basic financial skills and knowledge. A Financial Reality Fair is an interactive financial literacy tool for high school students, helping students to experience some of the financial challenges they will face when they start life on their own. Its a hands-on experience in which students identify their career choice and starting salaries then complete a budget sheet requiring them to live within their monthly salary while paying for basics such as housing, utilities, transportation, clothing, and food. DuTrac provided a one-day Financial Reality Fair at four local high schools and one middle school, reaching over 1,018 students. DuTracs Reality Fairs included 13 different booths to assist students in making decisions based on their income, real-life anticipated expenses, and working within their budgets. Career Fairs allow you to communicate directly with our students about career opportunities in your organization and identify talented and skilled individuals ready to enter the workforce. Dalhousie Job and Career Fair The Dalhousie Job and Career Fair is an integral part of our winter/spring and summer job recruitment season. The Fair attracts hundreds of students each year and offers a starting point for Dalhousie students to communicate directly with employers and higher education institutions on employment and graduate study opportunities. Please join us February 9th, 2023 For more information please contact recruit@dal.ca A fungal form of meningitis leads to more than 600,000 deaths in Africa every year and is responsible for 20 percent of HIV/AIDS-related deaths globally, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An existing medicine could help curb these numbers, but its cost has been a barrier to access in some places. Now, scientists report in the ACS journal Organic Process Research & Development a more affordable way to make the drug. The antifungal flucytosine has been available to patients in the U.S. for decades. In 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that patients with Cryptococcal meningitis, an infection of particular concern to people with HIV/AIDS, take flucytosine in combination with amphotericin B as a first line of defense. Flucytosine is now on WHO's Core List of Essential Medicines. However, the drug is not registered for use in many African countries, according to the non-profit Doctors without Borders, and where it is available, many patients can't afford it. Currently, making the drug requires a multiple-step process that involves fluorination, chlorination, amination and hydrolysis from uracil. To help slash flucytosine's price tag and improve its availability, Graham Sandford and colleagues at Durham University in the U.K. wanted to come up with a simpler, lower cost way to make the drug. The researchers developed a one-step technique to make flucytosine out of readily available, naturally occurring cytosine. Their process involved simultaneously pumping inexpensive fluorine gas and a solution of cytosine in formic acid through a steel tube. This fluorinated all of the starting cytosine, and the researchers were able to isolate high yields of the resulting flucytosine by recrystallization. The researchers say the method should be simple to scale up for manufacturing and could help lower the drug's cost. The one-step method has been successfully developed to pilot-scale by industrial collaborators Sanofi-Aventis and La Maison Europeenne des Procedes Innovants in France. ### The authors acknowledge funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative, a joint undertaking between the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. The study is freely available as an Editors' Choice article here. The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With nearly 157,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org. Follow us on Twitter | Facebook Preliminary computerized imaging reveals the shape of the prostate and a compartment within the gland--called the transitional zone--consistently differ in men with prostate cancer than those without the disease, according to new research led by Case Western Reserve University. The finding may provide a new avenue to diagnose the disease--perhaps even the cancer's aggressiveness. The differences held up in comparisons of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 70 patients. The scans came from three different medical institutions in Ohio and two in Sydney, Australia, on different makes and models of MRI's. The research is published in Scientific Reports today. "Looking at shape is a fundamental shift from looking at the intensity of pixels in an image to predict if a patient has prostate cancer," said Anant Madabhushi, F. Alex Nason professor II of biomedical engineering and leader of the research. "Pixel intensities vary, but shape is resilient." Variability in MRI scans can result in disagreement as to whether prostate cancer is present, in turn potentially resulting in unnecessary biopsies and treatments. The American College of Radiology and others are working to develop standards to eliminate inconsistencies in imaging. "Here, we potentially have an image-based biomarker for prostate cancer, which is not greatly sensitive to the MRI parameters used by each institution, the maker of the MRI or the scanner itself, " Madabhushi said. A new view To find the differences in shapes, the researchers took images of 35 cancerous prostates, aligned them into a single frame and created a statistical shape atlas. They then took images of 35 healthy prostates, aligned them in one frame and created a second statistical shape atlas. The researchers then aligned the two frames and controlled for size--tumors and a noncancerous condition, called benign prostatic hyperplasia (which some images in this study showed), increase the gland's volume. Comparing cancerous and cancer-free prostates showed clear, statistically significant differences in both the shape of the transitional zone--which is in the central part of the gland--and the gland itself. The researchers analyzed and compared the images from each of the five medical institutions and found that, no matter where the images were from, differences in shapes between cancerous and cancer-free prostates were consistent. Madabhushi said that if shape proves to be a reliable marker of cancer, it could be combined with radiomics, which employs computer algorithms to extract differentiating features in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. Complementing strategy In a paper published in the December issue of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Madabhushi and colleagues found they could accurately identify cancer by the microarchitecture and heterogeneity of the tumor in the prostate's peripheral zone, which is the area surrounding the transitional zone. The researchers found that aspects of cancerous features in the peripheral zone differed from cancerous features found in the rest of the gland, leading them to identify tumors there. As with shape, the peripheral zone features held up across the institutions in Tuku, Finland; Sydney, Australia and New York City that contributed MRI scans in this study. As a follow-up, researchers are now working to identify radiomic features from the peripheral and transitional zones along with measurements derived from the prostate shape to use as predictors of whether a patient has cancer or not. Further, they are trying to determine whether shape can also predict if the cancer is aggressive or slow-moving--a key in determining how the disease is treated. ### The fellow authors of the shape study are: Mirabela Rusu, a postdoctoral researcher in Madabhushi's lab and now a Medical Image Analysis Scientist at GE Global; Soumya Ghose, senior research associate at Case Western Reserve; Andrei Purysko of Cleveland Clinic; Sadhna Verma and Jay Gollamudi of University of Cincinnati Medical Center; Jonathan Kiechle, Karen Herrmann, Vikas Gulani and Lee Ponsky of University Hospitals; Maret Bohm, Anne-Maree Haynes and James Thompson of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research; Daniel Moses of Spectrum Medical Imaging; Ron Shnier of Southern Radiology; Warick Delprado of Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology; and Philip Stricker of St. Vincent's Prostate Cancer Center. Scientists used one of the world's most powerful electron microscopes to map the precise location and chemical type of 23,000 atoms in an extremely small particle made of iron and platinum. The 3-D reconstruction reveals the arrangement of atoms in unprecedented detail, enabling the scientists to measure chemical order and disorder in individual grains, which sheds light on the material's properties at the single-atom level. Insights gained from the particle's structure could lead to new ways to improve its magnetic performance for use in high-density, next-generation hard drives. What's more, the technique used to create the reconstruction, atomic electron tomography (which is like an incredibly high-resolution CT scan), lays the foundation for precisely mapping the atomic composition of other useful nanoparticles. This could reveal how to optimize the particles for more efficient catalysts, stronger materials, and disease-detecting fluorescent tags. Microscopy data was obtained and analyzed by scientists from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) at the Molecular Foundry, in collaboration with Foundry users from UCLA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the United Kingdom's University of Birmingham. The research is reported Feb. 2 in the journal Nature. Atoms are the building blocks of matter, and the patterns in which they're arranged dictate a material's properties. These patterns can also be exploited to greatly improve a material's function, which is why scientists are eager to determine the 3-D structure of nanoparticles at the smallest scale possible. "Our research is a big step in this direction. We can now take a snapshot that shows the positions of all the atoms in a nanoparticle at a specific point in its growth. This will help us learn how nanoparticles grow atom by atom, and it sets the stage for a materials-design approach starting from the smallest building blocks," says Mary Scott, who conducted the research while she was a Foundry user, and who is now a staff scientist. Scott and fellow Foundry scientists Peter Ercius and Colin Ophus developed the method in close collaboration with Jianwei Miao, a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy. Their nanoparticle reconstruction builds on an achievement they reported last year in which they measured the coordinates of more than 3,000 atoms in a tungsten needle to a precision of 19 trillionths of a meter (19 picometers), which is many times smaller than a hydrogen atom. Now, they've taken the same precision, added the ability to distinguish different elements, and scaled up the reconstruction to include tens of thousands of atoms. Importantly, their method maps the position of each atom in a single, unique nanoparticle. In contrast, X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy plot the average position of atoms from many identical samples. These methods make assumptions about the arrangement of atoms, which isn't a good fit for nanoparticles because no two are alike. "We need to determine the location and type of each atom to truly understand how a nanoparticle functions at the atomic scale," says Ercius. A TEAM approach The scientists' latest accomplishment hinged on the use of one of the highest-resolution transmission electron microscopes in the world, called TEAM I. It's located at the National Center for Electron Microscopy, which is a Molecular Foundry facility. The microscope scans a sample with a focused beam of electrons, and then measures how the electrons interact with the atoms in the sample. It also has a piezo-controlled stage that positions samples with unmatched stability and position-control accuracy. The researchers began growing an iron-platinum nanoparticle from its constituent elements, and then stopped the particle's growth before it was fully formed. They placed the "partially baked" particle in the TEAM I stage, obtained a 2-D projection of its atomic structure, rotated it a few degrees, obtained another projection, and so on. Each 2-D projection provides a little more information about the full 3-D structure of the nanoparticle. They sent the projections to Miao at UCLA, who used a sophisticated computer algorithm to convert the 2-D projections into a 3-D reconstruction of the particle. The individual atomic coordinates and chemical types were then traced from the 3-D density based on the knowledge that iron atoms are lighter than platinum atoms. The resulting atomic structure contains 6,569 iron atoms and 16,627 platinum atoms, with each atom's coordinates precisely plotted to less than the width of a hydrogen atom. Translating the data into scientific insights Interesting features emerged at this extreme scale after Molecular Foundry scientists used code they developed to analyze the atomic structure. For example, the analysis revealed chemical order and disorder in interlocking grains, in which the iron and platinum atoms are arranged in different patterns. This has large implications for how the particle grew and its real-world magnetic properties. The analysis also revealed single-atom defects and the width of disordered boundaries between grains, which was not previously possible in complex 3-D boundaries. "The important materials science problem we are tackling is how this material transforms from a highly randomized structure, what we call a chemically-disordered structure, into a regular highly-ordered structure with the desired magnetic properties," says Ophus. To explore how the various arrangements of atoms affect the nanoparticle's magnetic properties, scientists from DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory ran computer calculations on the Titan supercomputer at ORNL--using the coordinates and chemical type of each atom--to simulate the nanoparticle's behavior in a magnetic field. This allowed the scientists to see patterns of atoms that are very magnetic, which is ideal for hard drives. They also saw patterns with poor magnetic properties that could sap a hard drive's performance. "This could help scientists learn how to steer the growth of iron-platinum nanoparticles so they develop more highly magnetic patterns of atoms," says Ercius. Adds Scott, "More broadly, the imaging technique will shed light on the nucleation and growth of ordered phases within nanoparticles, which isn't fully theoretically understood but is critically important to several scientific disciplines and technologies." ### The Molecular Foundry is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. The research was primarily supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Science. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov. DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov. Neutron analysis at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is helping researchers better understand a key enzyme found in a bacterium known to cause stomach cancer. Understanding the details of this enzyme, and thus the Helicobacter pylori bacteria's metabolism and biological pathways, could be central to developing drugs that act against H. pylori, but that do not attack the stomach's useful bacteria. "Most drugs, including common antibiotics, use a generalized mechanism to bind to their targets, which, in turn, eliminates the good bacteria you need to stay healthy, as well as the bad bacteria," said Andrey Kovalevsky, one of the instrument scientists at the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor and coauthor of this research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "By understanding how this enzyme functions, we can get clues about how to fine-tune a drug to recognize only a specific target, which would eliminate some of the side effects that cause so many problems for people when a more generalized approach to kill bacteria is used." Kovalevsky was part of a team led by Donald Ronning at the University of Toledo who used HFIR's IMAGINE instrument to study the metabolism of a bacterial enzyme known as H. pylori 5'-methylthioadenosine nucleosidase, or HpMTAN, which plays a key function in H. pylori. This bacterium garnered international attention in 2005 when a team of researchers was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for determining its role as a "bacterial culprit" in the development of gastric conditions, including ulcers, chronic gastritis and cancer. Ronning's team focused on H. pylori's use of a unique biosynthetic pathway to synthesize vitamin K2, which aids in the electron transfer processes, or chemical reactions, of all organisms. HpMTAN is one specific enzyme that functionbs within this unique pathway and provides the promising specific target or point of attack for new medications. Vitamin K2 acts to expedite the HpMTAN enzyme's interaction with other macromolecules, including the very bacterium that causes an array of gastric health issues. Neutron crystallography at HFIR's IMAGINE instrument allowed researchers to accurately visualize the positions and predict the movements of hydrogen atoms in HpMTAN, especially those involved in the critical stages when the enzyme binds to its substrate and then proceeds with the catalytic reaction. For a comprehensive view on the interatomic interactions, Ronning's team examined four different HpMTAN neutron structures to observe how ligands, or molecules that bind via noncovalent bonding, interacted with their respective enzyme sites. "This knowledge will inform future drug design efforts by taking advantage of the known orientation of the nucleophilic water molecule and its intimate interactions with the neighboring components of the enzyme," Ronning said. While Ronning qualified that the development of a new drug to treat gastric issues will take several years and continued study of the enzyme's behavior, he said that his team's research confirms HpMTAN's potential for use and this knowledge could, in fact, speed up the creation of such a medicine. ### This research was partially funded through the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and a cooperative agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. The work was conducted in part at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Research Neutron Source with the Technical University of Munich, both in Munich, Germany, and at ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE's Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov/. NGC 6334 is located about 5500 light-years away from Earth, while NGC 6357 is more remote, at a distance of 8000 light-years. Both are in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), near the tip of its stinging tail. The British scientist John Herschel first saw traces of the two objects, on consecutive nights in June 1837, during his three-year expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. At the time, the limited telescopic power available to Herschel, who was observing visually, only allowed him to document the brightest "toepad" of the Cat's Paw Nebula. It was to be many decades before the true shapes of the nebulae became apparent in photographs -- and their popular names coined. The three toepads visible to modern telescopes, as well as the claw-like regions in the nearby Lobster Nebula, are actually regions of gas -- predominantly hydrogen -- energised by the light of brilliant newborn stars. With masses around 10 times that of the Sun, these hot stars radiate intense ultraviolet light. When this light encounters hydrogen atoms still lingering in the stellar nursery that produced the stars, the atoms become ionised. Accordingly, the vast, cloud-like objects that glow with this light from hydrogen (and other) atoms are known as emission nebulae. Thanks to the power of the 256-megapixel OmegaCAM camera, this new Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope (VST) image reveals tendrils of light-obscuring dust rippling throughout the two nebulae. At 49511 x 39136 pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. OmegaCAM is a successor to ESO's celebrated Wide Field Imager (WFI), currently installed at the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope on La Silla. The WFI was used to photograph the Cat's Paw Nebula in 2010, also in visible light but with a filter that allowed the glow of hydrogen to shine through more clearly (eso1003). Meanwhile, ESO's Very Large Telescope has taken a deep look into the Lobster Nebula, capturing the many hot, bright stars that influence the object's colour and shape (eso1226). Despite the cutting-edge instruments used to observe these phenomena, the dust in these nebulae is so thick that much of their content remains hidden to us. The Cat's Paw Nebula is one of the most active stellar nurseries in the night sky, nurturing thousands of young, hot stars whose visible light is unable to reach us. However, by observing at infrared wavelengths, telescopes such as ESO's VISTA can peer through the dust and reveal the star formation activity within. Viewing nebulae in different wavelengths (colours) of light gives rise to different visual comparisons on the part of human observers. When seen in longer wavelength infrared light, for example, one portion of NGC 6357 resembles a dove, and the other a skull; it has therefore acquired the additional name of the War and Peace Nebula. ### More information ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky". Links * Zoomable version - https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1705a/zoomable/ of the giant image. * Photos of the VST - http://www.eso.org/public/usa/teles-instr/surveytelescopes/vst/ Contacts Richard Hook ESO Public Information Officer Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 3200 6655 Cell: +49 151 1537 3591 Email: rhook@eso.org If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound? Not only does the tree make a sound, so do the creatures inhabiting the forest -- or in this case -- the rainforest deep in the heart of Africa. Using remote sensing cameras and sound recorders, researchers from Florida Atlantic University are the first to capture rare video footage of a newly discovered population of critically endangered monkeys in one of the most remote regions in the world. Spanning nearly 2.2 million acres, about 50 times larger than Washington, D.C., and almost the size of Yellowstone National Park, the Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Central Africa is now home to a new population of the Dryas monkey. Originally believed to inhabit only one site on the planet in the Congo basin, this colorful and beguiling animal is about the size of a house cat. Field teams from the Lukuru Foundation TL2 Project discovered it near the border of the Lomami National Park when they noticed a dead monkey with a local hunter. They later confirmed it to be a Dryas monkey, known locally as Inoko. First discovered in 1932 and believed to be nearing extinction due to its small population size and unregulated hunting, this species has perplexed scientists for decades because of its elusive nature. "The Dryas monkey is extremely cryptic and we had to think of a creative strategy to observe them in the wild," said Kate Detwiler, Ph.D., a primatologist and an assistant professor of anthropology in FAU's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, who has been collaborating with scientists at the Lukuru Foundation for more than eight years. She also helped to discover a new species, the Lesula monkey, in that same park in 2012. "Dryas monkeys are drawn to dense thickets and flooded areas. When threatened, they quickly disappear into a tangle of vines and foliage, mastering the art of hiding." Detwiler jumped at the opportunity to bring the dryas project to her lab when her collaborator John Hart, Ph.D., scientific director of the Lukuru Foundation, revealed the discovery. For years, the Lukuru Foundation's TL2 Project team members have been surveying the rainforests for the presence of DRC's endemic and endangered species, and discovering diverse fauna including the Dryas monkey. Their efforts were the impetus for the DRC to officially establish the Lomami National Park within the Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba (TL2) conservation landscape last July, and is the country's first national park in more than two decades. FAU is the first university in the United States to conduct primate field research in the Lomami National Park and greater TL2 Landscape. Trying to capture the monkeys by video in the middle of the rainforest was no easy feat and required unusual tactics. Detwiler reached out to then 24-year-old Daniel Alempijevic, now a master's degree candidate in FAU's Environmental Sciences Program, to help accomplish the task. To get the job done, Alempijevic had to learn how to climb trees -- really tall trees -- and received a tree-climbing certificate from the Institute of Tropical Ecology and Conservation in Bocas del Toro, Panama. He is the first person to conduct an arboreal camera trap survey in the TL2 Landscape, and spent a semester there climbing very remote rainforest trees to set up the cameras. The cameras are placed in strategic locations on the ground, mid-range and in the canopy to determine what level of the forest the Dryas monkeys prefer. "This was an opportunity of a lifetime," said Alempijevic. "It was an incredible experience to work in the canopy of such a remote site, and to get the first camera-trap videos of an extremely rare and elusive species." Video footage from these camera traps are providing vital information about this critically endangered species as well as an array of other charismatic animals such as the bonobo, African palm civet, and potto who also inhabit the Lomami National Park. "The Congo Basin rainforest is the second-largest rainforest in the world, and contains some of the least known species on the planet, many of which are threatened from hunting pressure and deforestation," said Detwiler. "Our goal is to document where new Dryas populations live and develop effective methods to monitor population size over time to ensure their protection. Understanding where they reside is important, because the animals living inside the Lomami National Park are protected, as it is illegal to hunt." In addition to much needed conservation efforts, Detwiler and her team also are working to solve the evolutionary puzzle of the Dryas monkey using genomic research to test the hypothesis that this species is a close relative of the Vervet monkey. Since 2014, the Detwiler laboratory has been studying a free-living population of Vervet monkeys that have remarkably survived for decades in a narrow strip of dense mangrove swamp next to the airport in Fort Lauderdale. Alempijevic used this population to practice his camera trap methods and hone in his observation skills before leaving for the Dryas field study in the Congo forests. ### More information on the Lukuru Foundation's TL2 Project and the work conducted by Detwiler and Alempijevic is available on the foundation's blog at http://www.bonoboincongo.com. Detwiler and her team have received grants for this project from the Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Primate Conservation, Inc., Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, FAU Technology Fee Grant, and International Primatological Society. About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu. View video of the PTMD: https://youtu.be/dBIy5j7-Xt0 View this release on vt.edu: http://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2017/01/CAUS-PTMD.html Vampire bats are now feeding on the blood of wild boars and feral pigs. Growth in populations of these bats and swine threatens livestock herds and the environment The number of vampire bats, which transmit rabies and are a concern for livestock breeders, may be increasing in Brazil and the Americas along with growth in the populations of invasive feral pigs and wild boars (Sus scrofa). A group of researchers has recently reported an alarming rise in the numbers and distribution of S. scrofa, as well as showing that the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus is now feeding on the blood of these animals. Results of this study have been published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment by Mauro Galetti, a professor at Sao Paulo State University's Bioscience Institute in Rio Claro, Brazil (IB-UNESP/RC), his PhD supervisee Felipe Pedrosa, Alexine Keuroghlian, a biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS Brazil), and Ivan Sazima, a collaborating professor at the University of Campinas's Zoology Museum (MZ-UNICAMP) in Sao Paulo State. As numbers of invasive feral pigs increase, so does the damage to crops and native fauna, among other problems. S. scrofa is also a growing source of blood for vampire bats, so the population of D. rotundus is also likely to increase. Only three of the approximately 1,200 known bat species feed exclusively on blood, and all three are found only in the Americas. D. rotundus is the most widely distributed, inhabiting a territory that ranges from Mexico to Argentina. This species feeds mostly on livestock and poultry, but it has also been documented to prey on mammals such as tapirs and deer. In Brazil's Atlantic Forest biome, about 1.4% of vampire bats are infected with rabies. The proportion may be as high as 10% in the Peruvian Amazon. Transmission of rabies by vampire bats is a major concern for ranchers in Brazil, even in areas where cattle are routinely vaccinated. Wild animals, including feral pigs, are not vaccinated and may therefore pose a serious threat by spreading this disease. The researchers have used camera traps to monitor mammals in the Brazilian Pantanal and Atlantic Forest for the past 12 years. These are remotely activated infrared cameras that film at night when triggered by sensors that detect the presence of an animal. After checking 10,529 photos and videos with several examples of vampire bats feeding on feral pigs, cattle, tapirs, and red brocket deer (Mazama americana), the researchers selected 158 independent events in the Pantanal (101 with feral pigs, 38 with deer, and 19 with tapirs), and 87 events in the Atlantic Forest (35 with feral pigs, 29 with deer, and 23 with tapirs). Based on these events, they estimated that the probability of vampire bat attacks on feral pigs was as high as 10% for nights in which recordings were made. "The rabies virus is transmitted through the saliva of infected bats. D. rotundus is a reservoir for other viruses with epidemiological potential, including hantavirus and coronavirus," Sazima said. "Vampire bats are fond of pigs' blood, and switching from domestic to feral pigs must have been easy for such an adaptable animal." Invasion Feral pigs combine the ferocity of the wild boar with the size and fertility of the domestic pig, an animal selected to supply more meat and offspring than its wild ancestor. A male boar can weigh as much as 100 kg. Feral pigs often weigh over 150 kg and reproduce constantly. Brazil faces an unprecedented invasion of feral pigs in rural areas, with an increase of 500% in these animal populations since 2007. In 1989, feral pigs from Uruguay began crossing the border with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost state. This was the onset of the infestation in the South region. "Major incentives were introduced in the Southeast region in the mid-1990s to encourage the production of boar meat," Pedrosa recalled. "Producers imported sows and bred herds. But it proved not to be a very profitable line of business, and some producers gave up and released their boars into the wild." In an attempt to save their failing businesses, producers began crossing wild boars with domestic pigs, but they ended up also releasing the resulting crossbred pig-boars. As a result, the infestation previously confined to the South advanced through the Southeast to the Atlantic Forest region of Sao Paulo State. In the Pantanal, the invasion is older, dating from the colonial period, when free-range pigs raised by Portuguese settlers escaped and gave rise to the feral pig. "Wild boars, crossbred pig-boars, and feral pigs all belong to the same species as the domestic pig, Sus scrofa. The wild boar's original habitat was Eurasia, but it was introduced to Australia, South America, and the United States. Wild boars and other suids in a feral state are held to be among the worst exotic species in the world," the researchers say. The study concludes that the invasion of feral pigs in the Pantanal and Atlantic Forest areas is a serious threat and that "there is an urgent need to develop and implement effective control measures". Feral pigs are social animals that roam in groups. They are aggressive and highly dangerous. The problem is likely to spread. "Within a few years, they'll be in the Amazon and Caatinga biomes. In the US and Europe, S. scrofa is the fastest-growing vertebrate species. Nearly 14,000 wild boars were killed in Germany near the Danish border in 2016 alone," Galetti said. The problem may not be limited to suids. "Other viral diseases carried by boars and feral pigs may be transmitted to native animals that are bitten by vampire bats, such as tapirs, deer, and capybaras," Keuroghlian said. ### Global methane and ethane emissions from oil production from 1980 to 2012 were far higher than previous estimates show, according to a new study which for the first time takes into account different production management systems and geological conditions around the world. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, which scientists rank as the second-most important contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Yet while methane concentrations in the atmosphere can be easily measured, it is difficult to determine the contribution of different sources, whether human or natural. This is necessary information for reducing emissions. "In an oil reservoir, there is a layer of gas above the oil which has a methane content of 50 to 85 percent. When you pump the oil to the surface this associated gas will also escape," explains IIASA researcher Lena Hoglund-Isaksson, who led the study. In oil production facilities in North America, almost all of this gas is recovered and what is not recovered will for the most part be flared to prevent leakage (and potential explosions), while a very small fraction is simply vented. In other parts of the world, where recovery rates are lower, much larger quantities of this gas are released into the atmosphere. "Existing global bottom-up emission inventories of methane used rather simplistic approaches for estimating methane from oil production, merely taking the few direct measurements that exist from North American oil fields and scaling them with oil production worldwide," says Hoglund-Isaksson. This approach left a large room for error, so Hoglund Isaksson decided to develop a new method that could better account for the many variations in oil production around the world. In the new paper, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, Hoglund-Isaksson estimated global methane emissions from oil and gas systems in over 100 countries over a 32-year period, using a variety of country-specific data ranging from reported volumes of associated gas to satellite imagery that can show flaring, as well as atmospheric measurements of ethane, a gas which is released along with methane and easier to link more directly to oil and gas activities. She found that in particular in the 1980s, global methane emissions were as much as double previous estimates. The study also found that the Russian oil industry contributes a large amount to global methane emissions. A decline in the Russian oil industry in the 1990s contributed to a global decline in methane emissions which continued until the early 2000's. At the same time, Hoglund-Isaksson found, methane recovery systems were becoming more common and helping to reduce emissions. Yet since 2005, emissions from oil and gas systems have remained fairly constant, which Hoglund-Isaksson says is likely linked to increasing shale gas production which largely offsets emission reductions from increased gas recovery. Hoglund-Isaksson points out that her estimates are only as good as the data allow and that there is still uncertainty in the numbers. She says, "To improve the data, a close collaboration between the scientific measurement community and the oil and gas industry would be needed to make more direct measurements available from different parts of the world." ### 'There's a fly in my soup.' This statement conjures up the image of a dead fly in a bowl of soup rather than a genetically modified insect being served up with organic vegetables. However, this is not a totally unrealistic scenario as experimental releases of genetically modified insects have been approved by US regulators in 2014 very near farming areas. The question is whether fruit and vegetables exported from the USA to Europe and China can be sold under the "organic" label if genetically modified insects have developed on them. Guy Reeves from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plon, Germany, and Martin Phillipson Dean of Law at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, are drawing attention to this problem. In their view, clarifying statements on the part of US regulators is required to ensure that producers of organic commodities do not have to fear for their reputation. All around the world for the last 50 years, males sterilised by transient exposure to radiation have been used to successfully control a wide range of insect species (e.g. screw worm and medfly). While these males can still mate, the resulting eggs are not viable. A new elaboration of this technique that utilises genetically modified males that only produce sons has recently been approved for open field-testing in the USA. In both approaches where sufficient males are released over several generations the size of the wild female populations will decline and the pest population will gradually be reduced or become locally extinct. The following applications for mass open release of genetically modified insects for agricultural pest control have been submitted: UK 2011: withdrawn by the applicant Spain 2013 and 2015: withdrawn by the applicant USA 2005-2011: approved, releases took place at isolated location in Arizona desert New York State 2014-2017: approved, then withdrawn by the applicant in March 2016, in November 2016 all permit documents were withdrawn by the regulator. The permit allowed for the of release genetically modified diamondback moths 72 times per year until the end of March 2017. With releases of up to 100,000 moths per week on cabbage or broccoli fields totalling 40,500 square metres. The big advantage of releasing sterile insects is that pests can be controlled without the need to spray chemical insecticides into the environment. This is true for both the conventional irradiation approach and the new genetically modified approach. However, if the use of genetically modified insects in agriculture is to become a widespread solution for pest control, the implications stemming from the fact that genetically modified insects are intended to fly between farms needs to be adequately considered. Realistically this must be done in the context of the regulations on the presence of genetically modified contaminants in food that have developed over the past 30 years around the world. Organic farmers at risk The release of genetically modified insects has potential consequences for organic farmers, which are a particularly sensitive group in this respect. "There are some realistic circumstances where the mass release of flying genetically modified insects could harm organic farmers and erode consumer confidence in their products. Unfortunately, we can find little evidence of efforts to reduce this risk or even discuss the issue", explains Reeves from the Max Planck Institute in Plon. Using legal case studies around the world (Australia, China, Canada, EU and the USA) Reeves and Phillipson establish that any detected or conceivably perceived contamination of crops imported into countries that have not approved its presence is likely to be met with import bans, disrupting international trade. The situation for crop products internationally certified as "100 percent organic" has additional levels of complexity. These include the costs of any negative perceptions of involvement in this technology by organic consumers and the potential loss of organic certification by farms located near releases. The article also focuses on the situation of a hypothetical certified organic spinach farmer located near a widely reported approved release of genetically modified diamondback moths in New York State (USA). Currently, there is no obligation to inform local farmers of mass releases, which makes it difficult for them to plan or mitigate risks. This is even the case within the three kilometre area indicated by a published experimental study that may be appropriate for diamondback moth control programs. More transparency required In addition, a letter from the European Commission Health and Consumers Directorate-General indicates that inadvertent presence of genetically modified insects imported into the EU would be unapproved and that it is the responsibility of Member States to prevent this occurring. In order for genetically modified insects to be used successfully (potentially on organic farms), it is essential that all of the affected groups be involved in the development process and have access to regularly updated information. "While the introduction of driverless cars has the potential to bring a wide range of benefits it would be misguided to introduce them without making it clear that cyclists will not be knocked over by them. Likewise releasing flying genetically modified insects without considering the likely impact on sensitive groups of farmers is unwise and unnecessary", says Reeves. ### Original publication R. Guy Reeves and Martin Phillipson Mass releases of genetically modified insects in area-wide pest control programs and their impact on organic farmers. Sustainability 2017, 9(1), 59; doi:10.3390/su9010059 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Only about 35 percent of precancerous breast lesions morph into cancer if untreated, but physicians cannot identify which lesions are potentially dangerous. So all women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ undergo traditional therapy of surgery and possibly hormonal therapy and radiation. Now, Mayo Clinic researchers are about to test a vaccine that they hope will replace standard therapies and prevent recurrence for some, if not all, these patients. Keith Knutson, Ph.D., director of the Discovery and Translation Labs Cancer Research Program at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida, has received a $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to conduct a phase II clinical trial that will test a vaccine designed to establish lifelong immunity against development of these precancerous lesions. If ultimately successful, the vaccine could substitute for current ductal carcinoma in situ therapy and may become part of a routine immunization schedule in healthy women. "We ultimately want to eliminate ductal carcinoma in situ, which means preventing disfiguring surgeries and toxic therapies in the 60,000 women who receive this diagnosis every year in the U.S.," says Dr. Knutson, who designed the vaccine. Eliminating ductal carcinoma in situ also would reduce the overall breast cancer burden significantly, he adds. "Ductal carcinoma in situ is a significant health problem, accounting for about 20 percent of U.S. cases of breast cancer." Beginning in 2017, Dr. Knutson and his colleagues at the Mayo Clinic campuses in Florida and Rochester, Minnesota, will test the vaccine in 40-45 patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ. These patients will be treated with the vaccine first. Six weeks later, they will receive surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy) and other standard therapy. During the initial six weeks, physicians will monitor patients to see if ductal carcinoma in situ lesions reacted to the vaccine. "The hope is that they disappear," says Dr. Knutson. If successful, advanced clinical trials could be designed to test the possibility that vaccination may be a "safe alternative to conventional and problematic" treatment for ductal carcinoma in situ, he says. The new grant is the second that Dr. Knutson and his team have received from the U.S. Department of Defense to test a breast cancer vaccine. In 2015, they received a five-year $13.3 million U.S. Department of Defense Breakthrough Award to fund a phase II clinical trial testing a different breast cancer vaccine that Dr. Knutson had developed. That vaccine is designed to prevent the recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer, which is a subset of breast cancer for which there are no targeted therapies. A phase I trial of the vaccine found it to be safe. The vaccine to be tested on ductal carcinoma in situ also has been tested in a phase I clinical study. This vaccine is targeted against human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER-2), an oncogene known to play a role in the development and progression of an aggressive subtype of breast cancer known as HER-2 positive. Dr. Knutson suspects that excess HER-2 proteins are expressed in all subtypes of breast cancer, including the most common one: estrogen-positive breast cancer. He says that the phase I study of the HER-2 vaccine elicited an immune response in all tested individuals. The vaccine is designed to stimulate production of T cells that target initial development of ductal carcinoma in situ. "We don't know if the vaccine works just on HER-2 breast cancer," he says. "We believe that once an immune response is generated against the ductal carcinoma in situ lesion, it doesn't matter what subtype of cancer the lesion may become." ### Other key Mayo Clinic investigators are: Amy Degnim, M.D. Saranya Chumsri, M.D. Part of the funding also will go to TapImmune, Inc., a biotech company in Jacksonville, to produce the clinical-grade vaccine. TapImmune, Inc., has licensed the new HER-2 vaccine from Mayo Clinic. ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The classroom can reflect its students' learning preferences, and a study published today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings demonstrates evidence of this in medical education. At Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Alexandra Wolanskyj, M.D., senior associate dean for Student Affairs, and Darcy Reed, M.D., senior associate dean for Academic Affairs, collaborated with Janeve Desy, M.D., of the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine to assess the education methods preferred by the generation that makes up the highest population of medical learners. The study focuses on competency-based medical education, which consists of milestones and entrustable professional activities. Though attempts have been challenged in the past, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada have successfully introduced competency-based medical education to their respective institutions recently. The study notes that this change in attitude coincided with the increased presence of millennial medical students in the classroom. Defined as individuals born between 1982 and 2000, the millennial generation is described by the study as displaying more needs for perfectionism, transparency, rules and emotional stability, and less self-reliance, while setting high expectations. The step-based approach of competency-based medical education is formed on a continuum beginning at the novice level and provides milestones where specific feedback is offered to learners -- a component that Dr. Reed says is essential to a millennial's educational progress. "The milestone-based assessment provides a sense of mentorship to students by continuously following them down a spectrum and evaluating their performance," says Dr. Reed. "This assessment allows the individuals providing feedback to be very specific and tailor that feedback to millennial learners in a way that is pertinent to the skill set they'll need in their medical profession." The study attributes these traits to the global environment in which millennials were raised and their greater exposure to it through the internet. This exposure has influenced a generation that values technology, teamwork, personalization and mentoring in professional and educational settings. The study suggests that competency-based medical education satisfies these needs through a personalized education that also considers the emotional quotient and professional readiness of the student. "Millennials are extremely socially minded and inspired to serve patients," says Dr. Wolanskyj, the study's senior author. "Milestone-based assessment is essential for a number of reasons, chiefly for public accountability of how we're training future physicians, and [it] sets a high bar this generation is determined to attain." ### About Mayo Clinic Proceedings Mayo Clinic Proceedings is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes original articles and reviews dealing with clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, basic science research, and clinical epidemiology. Mayo Clinic Proceedings is sponsored by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research as part of its commitment to physician education. It publishes submissions from authors worldwide. The journal has been published for more than 80 years and has a circulation of 130,000. Articles are at mayoclinicproceedings.org. About Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic or http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/. In a Perspectives article published Online First in the New England Journal of Medicine, leaders of the Departments of Medicine at seven major academic medical centers characterize the executive order restricting individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. as "a step backward" for medical education, patient care and biomedical research in this country. Written by Katrina Armstrong, MD, physician in chief at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the article expresses concern "that the consequences of this approach for U.S. health care, and our field of internal medicine, are far reaching and damaging." Armstrong and her co-authors cite the importance of the free exchange of ideas among clinicians and medical scientists around the world, and note that, "Over the past 50 years, the U.S. biomedical research enterprise has benefited greatly from the ideas, creativity, ingenuity, and drive of international medical graduates and other non-U.S. nationals engaged in biomedical research." They cite the key contributions of foreign-born physicians and scientists to U.S. hospitals and academic medical centers, as well as to U.S.-based global health and disaster relief efforts. The article notes that international medical graduates receiving residency training at U.S. hospitals often go on to work in underserved areas of this country -- including rural and Native American communities -- or in the Veterans Health Administration system. As an example of the immediate impact of the executive order, the article states that more than 100 personnel at Boston-based Partners HealthCare, which includes MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital, have been directly affected by the order. Suspension of the Visa Interview Waiver Program -- which allows "low-risk" individuals previously screened and interviewed for a prior visa application to reapply without an additional interview -- "risks creating substantial backlogs in the processing of new and renewal visas for trainees from any foreign country," they write. The authors conclude that "immigration policy that blocks the best from coming to train and work in the United States and blocks our trainees and faculty from safely traveling to other countries is a step backward, one that will harm our patients, colleagues, and America's position as a world leader in health care and innovation." ### Armstrong's co-authors are Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine; John Carethers, MD, University of Michigan Health System; Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Michael Parmacek, MD, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Robert Wachter, MD, University of California, San Francisco; and Mark Zeidel, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Founded in 1811, the Massachusetts General Hospital is the oldest and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The largest nongovernment employer in the city of Boston, the MGH has nearly 25,000 employees, including more than 4,800 registered nurses. MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $800 million. MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital are founding members of Partners HealthCare System, a Boston-based integrated health care delivery system. Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) are collaborating to find innovative ways to counter cyber threats. The aim of this joint research project, called the Bio-Inspired Agile Cyber Security Assurance Framework (BICSAF), is to develop innovative technologies for tackling Advanced Persistent Threats. These are stealthy and continuous computer hacking processes run by individuals who target specific entities, such as private organisations and state agencies. Their long periods of covertness make it difficult to detect such threats with current technology. NTU Chief of Staff and Vice-President (Research) Prof Lam Khin Yong and BGU Vice-President and Dean (Research & Development) Prof Dan Blumberg signed the joint research agreement at the CyberTech Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday, 31 January 2017 (Wednesday, 1 February, Singapore time). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the event's guest-of-honour. The project will have S$3 million in joint funding from NTU, BGU and the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime Minister's Office, Singapore. The collaboration is supported by NRF through its National Cybersecurity R&D Programme. Led by the Cyber Security Research Centre at NTU, faculty and researchers from both universities will be involved. In developing new technologies to counter cyber threats, the two partners are inspired by the ability of the human body immune system to adapt to and fight ever-evolving bacteria and viruses. Prof Lam Khin Yong said, "Through this partnership, NTU and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will be able to develop innovative methods for combating one of the most complicated problems in cyber security - Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). This project will leverage on NTU's strong hardware-based research expertise and BGU's software-based core competences to combat this intractable problem." NTU has invested heavily in its cyber security expertise in recent years, including a S$2.5 million partnership last year with BAE Systems to jointly develop next-generation cybersecurity solutions. BGU has deep expertise in cyber security research and is at the heart of efforts to turn Beer-Sheva, Israel into a national and international cyber hub. Prof Dan Blumberg said, "BGU and NTU recognise the grave necessity of stopping Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), which are some of the hardest cyber attacks to detect, and have allocated significant funding over two years to develop early detection methods. "Cyber security is a global threat which has become a research topic of increasing interest at BGU and we are pleased to be collaborating with our partners in Singapore to stem the tide." Mr George Loh, Director (Programmes) of NRF and Co-Chair of the National Cybersecurity R&D Programme Committee, said, "Singapore has established a holistic national cybersecurity strategy that will support our Smart Nation vision and enhance Singapore's standing as a trusted digital hub. It is critical for Singapore to develop strong cybersecurity capabilities to protect our critical infrastructures such as our public transport systems, public safety systems, and energy systems, which are interconnected elements contributing to the quality of life for Singaporeans. "The collaboration between NTU and BGU will explore novel ideas to develop cyber-immune technologies to fight external adversaries that launch cyber-attacks on our critical systems, much like how our biological immune system works." The Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering at BGU is the largest in Israel, with significant resources in cyber security research. BGU also set up the Cyber Security Research Centre with the Israel National Cyber Bureau to identify risks while protecting critical national infrastructure. ### Media Contacts: Tan Yo-Hinn Assistant Director Corporate Communications Office Nanyang Technological University T: +65 6790 4889 E: yohinn@ntu.edu.sg Ehud Zion Waldoks Liaison to the Foreign Press Ben-Gurion University of the Negev T: 972-54-677-5564 E: ezw@bgu.ac.il Hoh Suk Mun Senior Officer, Corporate Communications National Research Foundation, Prime Minister's Office, Singapore T: +65 6694 5036 E: hoh_suk_mun@nrf.gov.sg About Nanyang Technological University A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and its Interdisciplinary Graduate School. It also has a medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London. NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes - the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering - and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) and the Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI). Ranked 13th in the world, NTU has also been ranked the world's top young university for the last three years running. The University's main campus has been named one of the Top 15 Most Beautiful in the World. NTU also has a campus in Novena, Singapore's medical district. For more information, visit http://www.ntu.edu.sg About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is the fastest growing research university in Israel, fulfilling the vision of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, who envisaged the future of Israel emerging from the Negev. From medicine to the humanities to the natural sciences, BGU conducts groundbreaking research and offers insightful instruction. The University is at the heart of Beer-Sheva's transformation into the country's cyber capital, where leading multi-national corporations leverage BGU's expertise to generate innovative R&D. A third of Israel's engineers graduate from BGU, with that number destined to rise as the IDF moves south and sends its brightest to swell the ranks of BGU's student body. To accommodate that growth, BGU has launched an ambitious campaign to double the size of its main campus. As it counts up to its fiftieth anniversary, the University's research becomes ever more relevant as its global reach broadens. For more information, visit http://www.bgu.ac.il About the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister's Office, Singapore The National Research Foundation (NRF) is a department within the Prime Minister's Office. The NRF sets the national direction for research, innovation and enterprise (RIE) in Singapore. It seeks to invest in science, technology and engineering, build up the technological capacity of our companies, encourage innovation by industry to exploit new opportunities that drive economic growth, and facilitate public-private partnerships to address national challenges. Under RIE2020, NRF is committed to create greater value in Singapore from our investment in research, innovation and enterprise through 1) closer integration of research thrusts, 2) stronger dynamic towards the best teams and ideas, 3) sharper focus on value creation, and 4) better optimised RIE manpower. Visit http://www.nrf.gov.sg/RIE2020 for more details. 83 new genetic variants that strongly influence human height have been discovered in a study led by Queen Mary University of London, Montreal Heart Institute, The Broad Institute and the University of Exeter 83 new genetic variants that strongly influence human height have been discovered in a study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), Montreal Heart Institute, The Broad Institute and the University of Exeter. The research, which is published in Nature, is the largest genetic study of adult height to date, with the international team of researchers analysing DNA from over 700,000 participants across the globe to determine why people have different heights. Adult height is mostly determined by the information encoded in our DNA - children from tall parents tend to be taller, and those from short parents are shorter. But growth from a small baby into an adult, and the role of genetics, is one of the most poorly understood areas of human biology. Hundreds of DNA changes that influence height have already been identified, but these common DNA changes often influence height by less than 1 mm. In this new study, the scientists found new DNA changes that led to differences in height of up to 2 cm - over 10 times the average effect of previously discovered gene variants. Senior co-lead author Professor Panos Deloukas from QMUL said: "The new genetic variants we found are rare in the population but their large effects on human height have revealed important new insights into human skeletal growth. The identified genes will be helpful in predicting a person's risk of developing certain growth disorders. There is also the hope that we may one day be able to use this knowledge to develop a precision medicine approach for dealing with growth disorders." Dr Andrew R Wood, co-lead analyst in the study at the University of Exeter said: "Our latest discovery means that we can now explain over a quarter of the heritable factors involved in influencing a person's height. How the body grows from a 40-50 cm baby into a perfectly proportioned adult three to four times the size, and how this occurs such that some of us end up being over half a metre taller than others, is a fascinating but poorly understood aspect of biology." Many of the new DNA changes are located in genes implicated in growth or bone biology, but many also highlight new biological processes that modulate height in humans. The researchers looked in more detail at two of the changes found in a gene called STC2. Only 1 person in 1,000 carries one of these genetic variants, but those who do are 1-2 cm taller. Further investigations by researchers at Aarhus University, Denmark, suggested that these variants modulate height by interfering with the availability of growth factors in the blood. Studying STC2 may therefore yield new insights into therapeutic strategies to treat growth failure, which affects 3-5 per cent of all children. Professor Guillaume Lettre at Universite de Montreal and the Montreal Heart Institute added: "In our study, we used adult height as a simple observable physical trait to understand how information in our DNA can explain how we are all different. The idea was that if we could understand the genetics of human height, we could then apply this knowledge to develop genetic tools to predict other traits or the risk of developing common diseases." The study was carried out using data from UK Biobank - one of the world's largest health studies. It includes extensive information on demographic and lifestyle factors, and the genetic make-up of the 500,000 men and women enrolled in the study. Participants are being followed up over the long term to allow scientists to study a wide range of diseases, including dementia, arthritis, cancer, heart attacks and stroke. ### For more information, please contact: Joel Winston Public Relations Manager, Queen Mary University of London E-mail: j.winston@qmul.ac.uk Tel.: +44 (0)207 882 7943 Mobile: +44 (0)7970 096 188 Notes to the editor * Study participants included those from the UK, Canada, USA, The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Iceland, France, Greece, Italy, Australia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Austria, South Africa, China, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Pakistan. * UK Biobank was established by the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Department of Health and Scottish Government and has also received funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK. * Research paper: 'Rare and low-frequency coding variants alter human adult height'. Marouli et al. Nature. Doi 10.1038/nature21039. Research paper will appear here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature21039 About Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is one of the UK's leading universities, and one of the largest institutions in the University of London, with 21,187 students from more than 155 countries. A member of the Russell Group, we work across the humanities and social sciences, medicine and dentistry, and science and engineering, with inspirational teaching directly informed by our research. In the most recent national assessment of the quality of research, we were placed ninth in the UK (REF 2014). As well as our main site at Mile End - which is home to one of the largest self-contained residential campuses in London - we have campuses at Whitechapel, Charterhouse Square, and West Smithfield dedicated to the study of medicine, and a base for legal studies at Lincoln's Inn Fields. We have a rich history in London with roots in Europe's first public hospital, St Barts; England's first medical school, The London; one of the first colleges to provide higher education to women, Westfield College; and the Victorian philanthropic project, the People's Palace at Mile End. Today, as well as retaining these close connections to our local community, we are known for our international collaborations in both teaching and research. QMUL has an annual turnover of 350m, a research income worth 125m (2014/15), and generates employment and output worth 700m to the UK economy each year. ARLINGTON, Va.--February 1, 2017--Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has been selected to receive the Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy for his longstanding commitment to improving the lives of Americans, and more recently, leading passage of the 21st Century Cures Act in the U.S. Senate. He will be honored at Research!America's Advocacy Awards Dinner on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. "Senator Alexander's leadership in driving investments in scientific research and implementing strategic policies that support public and private sector innovation will undoubtedly save lives and strengthen our economy," said Research!America Chair the Honorable John Edward Porter. "We salute his determination to ensure our nation's research ecosystem is equipped to meet the many health challenges before us." Sen. Alexander has served as Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee since 2007, and in that capacity has shepherded legislation crucial to the discovery, development and delivery of new medical advances, including the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) and the 21st Century Cures Act. As a member of both the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies and Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittees of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Alexander played a critical role in securing a $2 billion increase in the budget of the National Institutes of Health in FY16 and in ensuring annual increases in the National Science Foundation budget. "Last year, Congress passed into law 21st Century Cures, a bill that Senate Majority Leader McConnell called, 'the most important legislation of the year.' It will help us take advantage of the breathtaking advances in biomedical research and bring those innovations to doctors' offices and patients' medicine cabinets across the nation. It will help make better health possible for virtually every American, and I look forward to continuing our bipartisan work in committee this Congress on behalf of American families," said Senator Alexander. Sen. Alexander has a long track record of championing scientific and medical research and advancing key public health priorities. As governor of Tennessee, Sen. Alexander supported scientific research in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and in recognition of his efforts a new species was named after him. Since his election to the Senate in 2003, Sen. Alexander has worked to advance science and technology. He has sponsored several major pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening our nation's scientific enterprise, including the original America COMPETES Act, which implemented the recommendations of the landmark report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," and authorized increased funding for the National Science Foundation and other science agencies. Sen. Alexander has also played a pivotal role in children's health. He wrote the original PREEMIE Act to increase research on prematurity and strategies for helping children born prematurely, and helped secure passage of the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) to promote proper testing of medicines for use in children. Research!America's 2017 Advocacy Awards dinner honors outstanding individuals and organizations in advocacy for medical, health, and scientific research. The Whitehead Award, named in honor of Research!America founder, Edwin C. "Jack" Whitehead, recognizes exemplary leaders, particularly those in public office, who have demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing medical and health research as a national priority and who galvanize others in support of science. Other 2017 Research!America Advocacy Award honorees are Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the NIH, who will receive the Legacy Award; Kathy Bates, award-winning actress and Lymphatic Education & Research Network (LE&RN) spokesperson; Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Leland H. Hartwell, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and co-director of the Center for Sustainable Health at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and Virginia G. Piper Chair of Personalized Medicine; and The Lupus Foundation of America. ### About Research!America's Advocacy Awards Dinner The annual Research!America Advocacy Awards program was established in 1996 by the Board of Directors to honor outstanding advocates for medical, health and scientific research. Recognized individuals and organizations are those whose extraordinary leadership efforts have been effective in advancing our nation's commitment to medical, health and other scientific research. This year the awards event will take place on March 15, 2017, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.researchamerica.org/advocacy_awards. About Research!America Research!America is the nation's largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, Research!America is supported by member organizations representing 125 million Americans. Visit http://www.researchamerica.org. The research, published in the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) journal Bird Study, looked at the breeding populations of three species of large gull; Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull on the Hebridean island of Canna, and the relationship between these gull populations and the fall in the quantity of fish landed in the nearby harbour of Mallaig. Between 1985 and 2000 an annual average of 13,726 tonnes of fish was landed in Mallaig. However, between 2007 and 2014 this had fallen to 4,456 tonnes. This has apparently had a profound effect on the Canna gull population. The number of breeding pairs of Herring Gulls peaked at 1,525 in 1988, Great Black-backed Gulls reached 90 pairs around the same time and the highest number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls was recorded at 63 pairs. At the latest count around 130 pairs of gulls bred on Canna in total, comprising of up to 95 pairs of Herring Gulls, 18 pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls and 13 pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. This population decline has also been associated with low breeding success, with only a small number of chicks successfully fledging in more recent years. Simon Foster, lead author on the paper, said "The Canna seabird study is one of the longest running annual studies in the world. It is an enormous privilege to be part of the team of highly skilled, dedicated volunteers who have been collecting the data for over 48 years. This has allowed us to track the changing fortunes of seabirds. The gull data are interesting - if you look over a short time period you can see large changes, however over a longer period and using anecdotal information from the 1930s it becomes apparent that Canna gulls may be returning to more normal, albeit lower levels." Dr Viola Ross Smith, gull expert at the BTO, said "Breeding gulls have a bad reputation, especially in urban areas. However, it is worth remembering that all these species are classed as Birds of Conservation Concern, and the Herring Gull is on the Red List. It therefore seems important to identify the causes of population decline in rural colonies such as Canna, and find ways to conserve the birds at these sites, especially since gulls that fail to breed successfully are known to seek breeding opportunities elsewhere, including in towns and cities". ### NOTE TO JOURNALISTS When referencing the article: Please include Journal title, author, published by Taylor & Francis and the following statement: * Read the full article online:http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00063657.2016.1274287 About Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world's leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, and Technology and Medicine. From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Johannesburg, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues. For more information please contact: Sayjal Mistry, Press & Media Relations Coordinator email: newsroom@tandf.co.uk Follow us on Twitter: @tandfnewsroom Introducing Press Pass: journalist access to all Taylor & Francis Journal articles. Contact us for more details. About the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) BTO The BTO is the UK's leading bird research organisation. Over 40,000 birdwatchers contribute to the BTO's surveys. They collect information that forms the basis of conservation action in the UK. The BTO maintains a staff of 100 at its offices in Thetford, Stirling, Bangor (Wales) and Bangor (Northern Ireland), who analyse and publicise the results of project work. The BTO's investigations are funded by government, industry and conservation organisations. MISSOULA - University of Montana doctoral candidate Robin Steenweg shows how remote cameras can transform monitoring wildlife and habitat biodiversity worldwide in a paper published Feb. 1 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. He and study co-authors, including UM Professors Mark Hebblewhite and Jedediah Brodie, call for a global network of remote cameras. The researchers believe a large-scale, connected network that collects and manages data from remote cameras could help meet goals to conserve wildlife and other natural resources. "There is so much remote camera data being collected out there by both research scientists and citizen scientists, we just need to link it together," Steenweg said. He points to examples such as Snapshot Serengeti and Snapshot Wisconsin, which use citizen-collected, remote-camera data to drive conservation. Researchers and resource managers currently use remote cameras to monitor wildlife all over the world -- an estimated 20,000 cameras in 2015 -- and more are added daily. Steenweg and colleagues propose regional networks could be pulled together in national and even global biodiversity monitoring systems. "A hundred years ago, meteorologists went through the same process of building a set of standardized weather stations that now number in the tens of thousands across the world," Hebblewhite said. "Without this network, modern-day climate science would impossible." The researchers say ecologists already are linking together hundreds of remote wildlife cameras to successfully monitor biodiversity trends at regional scales, and they believe a global collaboration is the next step. The insights gained from remote cameras are powerful. Cameras have been used to document the first evidence of wolverine recolonization in California, endangered wildlife in Montana like wolverines and fisher, and elk and deer population trends in Idaho as an alternative to expensive aerial helicopter surveys. In the tropics and developing countries where it is difficult to observe or capture wildlife, noninvasive cameras are transforming ecology and conservation. Hebblewhite points to the Yellowstone and Yukon regions as an example of sharing resources. "We're linking together hundreds of remote cameras in the Canadian Rocky Mountain national parks so that wildlife managers can track trends of grizzly bears, lynx, wolverine and other sensitive wildlife species," he said. ### Researchers in UM's Wildlife Biology Program have pioneered the use of remote cameras for wildlife studies. Brodie has used remote cameras to show how snow affects wolf and elk interactions in Yellowstone National Park. He also has improved protected area conservation in Borneo by monitoring wildlife movements between those areas. In addition to Steenweg's pioneering work in the Canadian Rockies, UM doctoral student Tshering Tempa deployed 700 cameras across the entire country of Bhutan to obtain the first-ever countrywide population estimate of tigers. The study is online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1448/full. For more information call Steenweg at 406-243-5236 or email robin.steenweg@umontana.edu; call Hebblewhite at 406-243-6675 or email mark.hebblewhite@umontana.edu; or call Brodie at 406-243-5528 or email jebediah.brodie@mso.umt.edu. A team of scientists from the UK and the US have identified a genetically-distinct subset of helper T-cell associated with tissues affected by rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that primarily affects the joints, where the immune system attacks its own tissues and causes chronic inflammation and pain. T-cells are important mediators of the disease, interacting with B-cells to induce plasma cell differentiation and the subsequent production of inflammatory antibodies. In a study published today in the journal Nature, scientists from the University of Birmingham's Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, in collaboration with colleagues from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, USA, have described a new type of T-cell with a unique pattern of behaviour in RA-affected synovial tissues. These 'peripheral helper' T-cells, or T ph cells, are similar to the follicular helper T-cells (T fh cells) that induce B-cell differentiation within lymph nodes. However, T ph cells are genetically distinct from T fh cells, and crucially, they are able to migrate to RA-affected joint tissue, where they can interact with B-cells locally. During the study, researchers used mass cytometry to identify T ph cells in the synovial tissues of RA-affected joints, and global transcriptomics to clearly differentiate these T ph cells from T fh cells. The study also shows that T ph cells are able to induce plasma differentiation in vitro, and suggests that their migration into inflamed tissues in vivo is directed by a unique expression of chemokine receptors. While further work is needed to firmly establish cause and effect, the results of this study show that T ph cells are highly associated with RA, and raise the possibility of a T ph cell association with other autoimmune disorders. Professor Christopher Buckley, co-author of the study and head of the Rheumatology Research Group at the University of Birmingham, says: 'For years, genome-wide studies have suggested that T-cells are a key player in RA. Having initially expected to find them in the lymph nodes, we have finally found them hiding in plain sight, within the synovial tissue itself. 'Our findings imply that T ph cells are uniquely poised to promote B-cell responses and antibody production within pathologically inflamed non-lymphoid tissues, and suggest a promising novel treatment target for autoimmune disease such as RA.' ### One in 12 Canadians aged 55 and older skipped prescriptions due to cost in 2014, the second-highest rate among comparable countries, new UBC research has found. "When patients stop filling their prescriptions, their conditions get worse and they often end up in hospital requiring more care which in the long run costs us more money," said Steve Morgan, senior author of the study and professor in UBC's school of population and public health. The research draws on the 2014 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults (persons aged 55 years or older) in 11 high-income countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Among countries with publicly-funded health-care systems, Canada is the only one without coverage for prescription medications. In an analysis of survey responses from all 11 countries, the researchers found that Canada had the second-highest prevalence of skipped prescriptions due to cost, at 8.3 per cent. Access was worse only in the United States, where 16.8 per cent of respondents reported such financial barriers to filling prescriptions. In contrast, fewer than four per cent of the populations in most other comparable countries reported skipping prescriptions due to cost. In a separate analysis of the Canadian survey responses, researchers found that Canadians aged 55 to 64 face the greatest barriers to filling their prescriptions. One in eight Canadians aged 55 to 64 reported that they did not fill prescriptions because of cost in 2014, in comparison to one in 20 Canadians aged 65 and older -- who, by way of age, qualify for comprehensive public drug coverage in many provinces. Morgan points to gaps in drug coverage available to Canadians as a problem. Unlike other countries with universal public health care, public drug plans in Canada generally only cover select groups, such as social assistance recipients and people over age 65. Other Canadians may receive drug coverage from private insurance through their workplaces or none at all. The survey found that Canadians who did not have insurance were twice as likely to report not filling prescriptions because of cost. It also showed that low-income Canadians were three times more likely to report financial barriers to filling prescription medicines than high-income respondents. Morgan said the 2014 findings were consistent with studies that date back a decade, indicating affordability of prescription drugs is still a public health issue in Canada. "Our problem hasn't gone away. Financial barriers to prescription drugs are still high, both in absolute terms and relative to our peer countries." The research was described in two studies published in BMJ Open: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/1/e014287 and CMAJ Open: http://cmajopen.ca/content/5/1/E40.full ### MYC is a regulator gene. It controls the expression of other genes and codes transcription factors or proteins involved in many fundamental cellular processes. It's also among the most frequently altered genes found in cancer, making it a profoundly attractive target for cancer therapies. But MYC has proved very complicated and an elusive therapeutic target. In a new paper published this week in PNAS, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, in collaboration with colleagues at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, the University of Colorado School of Medicine and SignalRx, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, describe a potential new class of anti-cancer drugs that inhibit two or more molecular targets at once, maximizing therapeutic efficiency and safety. "Most anti-cancer drugs have a single target. They try to do one thing, such as block a single receptor or signaling pathway," said study co-senior author Donald L. Durden, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and associate director for pediatric oncology at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. "This paper is proof-of-concept of a completely different mode of drug discovery clearly separated from the standard practice of one drug, one target." Specifically, Durden and colleagues engineered a small molecule called SF2523 in silico, using molecular modeling crystal structure and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, to simultaneously disrupt two key MYC-mediating factors that promote cancer cell growth. Those two factors are PI3K, an enzyme, and BRD4, a protein. In cell and mouse models, they found SF2523 concomitantly inhibited PI3K and BRD4, blocking MYC activation and expression and markedly inhibiting cancer growth and metastasis, with improved efficacy and less toxicity to the host. "This is a 'first in class' approach to achieve a maximum inhibition of MYC in the treatment of the multitude of cancers known to be driven by the MYC oncogene," said Durden. "These findings suggest that dual-activity inhibitors are a highly promising lead compound for developing new anticancer therapeutics." ### Co-authors include: Forest H. Andrews, and co-senior author Tatiana G. Kutateladze, University of Colorado School of Medicine; Alok R. Singh, and Shweta Joshi, UC San Diego; and Guillermo A. Morales, and Joseph R. Garlich, SignalRx. Disclosure: Donald Durden, MD, PhD, is co-founder and a member of the board of directors and scientific advisory board of SignalRx. He also has an equity interest in the company. In the global effort to mitigate carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, all options are on the table--including help from nature. Recent research suggests that healthy, intact coastal wetland ecosystems such as mangrove forests, tidal marshes and seagrass meadows are particularly good at drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it for hundreds to thousands of years. Policymakers are interested to know whether other marine systems--such as coral reefs, kelp forests, phytoplankton and fish--can mitigate climate effects. A new analysis co-authored by a University of Maryland scientist suggests that, while coastal wetlands serve as effective "blue carbon" storage reservoirs for carbon dioxide, other marine ecosystems do not store carbon for long periods of time. The research paper, published February 1, 2017 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, also notes that coastal wetlands can help protect coastal communities from storm surges and erosion. Coastal wetland areas are easier for governments to manage compared with ecosystems that reside in international waters, further adding to the strategic value of coastal wetlands in the fight against climate change. "We compared many different coastal ecosystems and have made a clear case for including coastal wetlands in discussions about greenhouse gas mitigation," said Ariana Sutton-Grier, an assistant research scientist at UMD's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center and a co-lead author of the research paper. "Coastal wetlands store a lot of carbon in their soils and are important long-term natural carbon sinks, while kelp, corals and marine fauna are not." The research paper integrates previous data on a variety of coastal and marine ecosystems to determine which systems are best suited to mitigate climate effects. To make this assessment, Sutton-Grier and her colleagues evaluated how effectively each ecosystem captures carbon dioxide--for example, by plants using it to build their branches and leaves--and how long the carbon is stored, either in plant tissues or in soils. Coastal wetlands outperformed other marine systems in just about every measure. For example, the researchers estimated that mangrove forests alone capture and store as much as 34 million metric tons of carbon annually, which is roughly equivalent to the carbon emitted by 26 million passenger cars in a year. Estimates for tidal marshes and seagrass meadows vary, because these ecosystems are not as well mapped globally, but the total for each could exceed 80 million metric tons per year. All told, coastal wetlands may capture and store more than 200 metric tons of carbon per year globally. Importantly, these ecosystems store 50-90 percent of this carbon in soils, where it can stay for thousands of years if left undisturbed. "When we destroy coastal wetlands, for coastal development or aquaculture, we turn these impressive natural carbon sinks into additional, significant human-caused greenhouse gas sources," said Sutton-Grier, who is also an ecosystem science adviser for the National Ocean Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The researchers' goal is to help inform resource managers and policymakers where to focus their limited resources to have the greatest impact on climate mitigation. The new analysis acknowledges that other ecosystems, such as coral reefs and kelp forests, provide valuable storm and erosion protection, key fish habitat and recreation opportunities, and thus deserve protection. But their capacity to store carbon over the long term is limited. "A common question I get from coastal managers and other stakeholders is whether oyster reefs, coral and kelp are effective 'blue carbon' habitats," said Stefanie Simpson, a co-author of the paper and manager of the Blue Carbon program at the nonprofit organization Restore America's Estuaries. "This paper highlights the role all of these ecosystems have in the carbon cycle, while calling out our coastal habitats--marsh, seagrass and mangroves--for their role as significant and long-term carbon stores." Researchers have often looked to terrestrial forests as carbon sinks as well. But most forests do not store substantial amounts of carbon in their soils. As such, the researchers believe that coastal "blue carbon" habitats may stand alone as the most efficient biological reservoirs of stored carbon on Earth. "The concept of 'blue carbon' has focused scientists and stakeholders on the tremendous potential of managing marine ecosystems for climate mitigation," said Patrick Megonigal, associate director for research at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, who reviewed an early draft of the manuscript but was not directly involved in the work. "This analysis takes a big step forward by explaining why coastal wetland ecosystems are particularly attractive for carbon-based management." ### This work includes contributions from: Ariana Sutton-Grier (the University of Maryland and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); Jennifer Howard and Emily Pidgeon (Conservation International); Dorothee Herr (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature); Joan Kleypas (the National Center for Atmospheric Research); Emily Landis and Elizabeth Mcleod (the Nature Conservancy); and Stefanie Simpson (Restore America's Estuaries). The research paper, "Clarifying the role of coastal and marine systems in climate mitigation," Jennifer Howard, Ariana Sutton-Grier, Dorothee Herr, Joan Kleypas, Emily Landis, Elizabeth Mcleod, Emily Pidgeon, and Stephanie Simpson, was published February 1, 2017 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. This work was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Award No. NA14NES4320003), the Nature Conservancy, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and the Prince Albert II de Monaco Foundation. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations. Media Relations Contact: Matthew Wright, 301-405-9267, mewright@umd.edu University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences 2300 Symons Hall College Park, MD 20742 http://www.cmns.umd.edu @UMDscience About the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland educates more than 7,000 future scientific leaders in its undergraduate and graduate programs each year. The college's 10 departments and more than a dozen interdisciplinary research centers foster scientific discovery with annual sponsored research funding exceeding $150 million. A University of Queensland-led international study has discovered a new type of bacterial structure which has previously only been seen in more complex cells. Research team leader UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences microbiologist Emeritus Professor John Fuerst said the study had found pore-like structures in a bacterium called Gemmata obscuriglobus. "The pore-like structures appeared embedded into the bacteria's internal membranes, and showed some structural features similar to those in more complex organisms," he said. "This is a remarkable evolutionary finding, since most bacteria do not possess these structures. "Finding nuclear pore-like structures in the bacterial species Gemmata obscuriglobus is significant for understanding how the cell nucleus and the pores embedded in its membrane envelope could have evolved - a major unsolved problem in evolutionary cell biology." Professor Fuerst said the bacterium, which was first isolated from Maroon Dam in South-East Queensland in 1984 by UQ researchers Dr Peter Franzmann and Professor Vic Skerman, now constituted one of the most complex bacteria known. He said the finding suggested that the evolution of complex cell structures may not be unique to eukaryotes, which are organisms containing a nucleus and other structures (organelles) encased in a membrane. "The research finding is consistent with previous data my lab has published indicating that the Gemmata obscuriglobus bacterium contains a nuclear body compartment, which parallels the eukaryote nucleus." Professor Fuerst said the discovery was important for understanding how the first complex cells may have originated. "The results are of evolutionary significance, since the origin of eukaryotes is a major event in life's history," he said. Professor Fuerst said nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) were important in transporting molecules between the nucleus containing the DNA and the rest of the cell contents in eukaryote organisms such as protozoa, fungi, animals and plants. "They are dotted over the surface of the membranes separating the nucleus from the rest of the cell and enable communication between the nucleus and other parts of the cell," he said. "Like the membrane-bounded nucleus, NPC's had been thought to be restricted to eukaryotes." The researchers used a combination of techniques including advanced electron microscopy, a protein analysis method called proteomics, and bioinformatics genome analysis to make the discovery. ### The study, published in PLOS ONE, has been supported by Australian Research Council Discovery project grants to Professor Fuerst's laboratory. Co-authors include researchers from UQ's Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis; CSIRO; University of Illinois; and University of Canterbury, New Zealand. MAPP aims to realise the potential of advanced powder processes to provide low energy, low cost and low waste high value manufacturing routes and products to secure UK manufacturing productivity and growth. The launch event was attended by 150 delegates from across industry, universities, Catapult centres and sponsors. MAPP Director and RAEng Chair Professor Iain Todd, gave an overview of MAPP's vision and how MAPP aims to address the challenges and opportunities surrounding advanced powder processes through an ambitious interdisciplinary research programme. Professor Iain Todd explained "It's an exciting time for powder based processes with new opportunities opening up rapidly in a range of key sectors including aerospace, energy, automotive and healthcare. However, there are still some fundamental scientific issues to be addressed before these technologies can be adopted more widely. MAPP brings together leading UK researchers, industry and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to achieve right first time manufacturing for advanced powder processes and develop the next generation of manufacturing technologies. The EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hubs are key element in our approach to tackling the UK's productivity gap and solving some of the longer term challenges faced by the UK's manufacturing industry". Presentations from MAPP's academic partners highlighted how leading edge research is being applied to provide new insights on advanced powder processes and how this new understanding is leading to improved outcomes for UK manufacturing. Professor Peter Lee, from the University of Manchester and the Research Complex at Harwell, spoke about how experiments at the UK's Diamond Light Source are providing new information on the fundamental physics and chemistry of technologies such as additive layer manufacturing. Professor Andrew Bayly, from the University of Leeds, discussed how physical models can give a better understanding of the dynamic behaviour of powders in processes and some of the challenges associated with powder processing. Presentations from MAPP's industry partners outlined the opportunities for advanced powder processes, some of the challenges which need to be overcome, and how the research in MAPP, together with aligned programmes funded by industry and UK Government, are overcoming the challenges and delivering benefit for UK productivity and growth. Dr Alison Wagland, Technology Manager at Johnson Matthey, spoke about the use of powders in the production of catalysts for emission control and batteries for energy storage. Dr Rob Sharman, Global Head of Additive Manufacturing at GKN Aerospace, highlighted the opportunities for metal additive manufacturing in aerospace and the need to design new materials and powders which were tailored specifically for these new processes. Dr Phil Carroll, Chief Executive Officer at LPW Technology, spoke about the need to understand manufacturing from the perspective of the powder and the need for quality, traceability and consistency of powder materials. Dr Richard France, Senior Business Development Manager at MAPP said: "We've developed a strong vision and plan for MAPP together with our industry, academic and Catapult partners. Today has given us the opportunity to share our vision and plans for MAPP with a wider network so we can start to develop new opportunities for collaboration. The breadth of sectors attending and the feedback we've received demonstrates the appetite and need for MAPP." ### Maybe Gordon Gekko was right when he said that information was the most valuable commodity of all. A new study showing major investment advantages for banks in countries where public economic data is scarce seems to support that claim by the fictional corporate raider in the 1987 movie Wall Street. The study, conducted by a former Wall Streeter-turned academic, shows that banks - armed with superior access to local private information due to their extensive investments and relationships - enjoy major advantages over other investors. Direct and portfolio investors, for example, were shown to have far less access to similar information, and were consequently more hesitant to invest. "The Effects of Information Voids on Capital Flows in Emerging Markets" in the Journal of International Business Studies, one of the top-tier business journal in the world, also reveals another major advantage enjoyed by banks: the flexibility to act on new information so they can withdraw capital immediately or invest more heavily in targeted areas. "We argue that foreign investors differ in their sensitivity to information voids based on their own private information and their flexibility in responding rapidly to change," says study author Allison Kingsley, an assistant professor in management at the University of Vermont who spent a decade on Wall Street with Lehman Brothers and other investment firms. "In particular, we found that foreign banks were least hampered by information voids due to their extensive networks and privileged access to private information about local conditions, and their ability to adapt quickly to new information." In a far less advantageous position, according to the study, are direct investors that have both limited access to private information and an inability to respond quickly when faced with new information. Somewhere in between are portfolio investors who possess almost no access to local information, but the ability to liquidate quicker to "offset their ignorance." Kingsley says it would be easy to vilify banks based on the results of the study, but points out that that they play a vital role in infusing capital into emerging and frontier markets when others are less willing to do so. "Banks aren't scared to invest in opaque, information-scarce countries," adds Kinglsey. Kingsley and co-author Benjamin A.T. Graham, assistant professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, tested their hypothesis regarding the sensitivity of different investors to information voids by using cross-sectional data on local public information, and capital flows to the 30 largest emerging markets from 1994 to 2012. Specifically, they measured analyst coverage (the number of analysts covering each country in a given year actively tracking and publishing opinions on a company and its stock) and government transparency as their primary measures of local public information. They also included investment press coverage based on the number of investment-related articles published in English in a given year. Countries that scored the lowest on the availability of either type of local public information included Russia, Nigeria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Countries with the highest levels of government transparency were either members of the European Union (EU) like Hungary, Romania, Poland and/or countries with relatively well-developed democratic political institutions like Mexico and Columbia. Kingsley says not all countries are intentionally supressing information. Some governments simply lack the funding and ability to track and produce reliable economic data, while others choose not to for various reasons such as maintaining control over local markets. "If I was advising a country in these turbulent times where it's not clear who is going to win and who is going to lose, I would tell the country to release as much data as possible. I actually think that transparency will become the most effective strategy." ### New Haven, Conn.-- In a new study, Yale researchers identified a novel genetic defect that prevents brain tumor cells from repairing damaged DNA. They found that the defect is highly sensitive to an existing FDA-approved drug used to treat ovarian cancer -- a discovery that challenges current practice for treatment of brain tumors and other cancers with the same genetic defect, said the scientists. The study was published on Feb. 1 by Science Translational Medicine. Certain malignant brain tumors and leukemias have mutations in genes known as IDH1 and IDH2. The mutations render the cancers sensitive to treatment with radiation therapy or chemotherapy, significantly increasing the survival time for patients with the mutations. To better understand this sensitivity, a cross-disciplinary team of researchers led by Yale created models of the mutation in cell cultures. The researchers tested several existing cancer drugs on the mutated cell lines. They found that tumor cells with the mutant genes were particularly sensitive to a drug, olaparib, recently approved for the treatment of hereditary ovarian cancer. The drug caused a 50-fold increase in brain tumor cell death. Known as a PARP inhibitor, the drug acts on a defect in the DNA repair mechanism in the brain tumor cells, they said. These findings run counter to current practices in oncology. "Our work at Yale has practice-changing implications, as our data suggest an entirely new group of tumors can be targeted effectively with DNA repair inhibitors, and that possibly these patients currently are not being treated with the most optimal approaches," said senior author Ranjit Bindra, M.D., assistant professor of therapeutic radiology and of experimental pathology. Co-senior author Peter Glazer, M.D., professor of therapeutic radiology and of genetics, noted, "Our work raises serious caution regarding current therapeutic strategies that are aimed at blocking mutant IDH1 and IDH2 protein function, as we believe the DNA repair defect should be exploited rather than blocked." Based on these studies, the authors are designing a clinical trial to test whether DNA repair inhibitors, such as olaparib, are active against IDH1- and IDH2-mutant tumors. They anticipate that this trial will be open for enrollment later in 2017. "The opportunity to translate Yale science directly into the clinic is just so exciting, as it shows our ability to pivot seamlessly between the bench and the bedside, which is a key mission of our cancer center," says Bindra. ### Co-first authors are Parker Sulkowski and Chris Corso. Additional authors are Nathaniel Robinson, Susan Scanlon, Karin Purshouse, Hanwen Bai, Yanfeng Liu, Ranjini Sundaram, Denise Hegan, Nathan Fons, Gregory Breuer, Yuanbin Song, Ketu Mishra-Gorur, Henk de Feyter, Robin de Graaf, Yulia Surovtseva, and Maureen Kachman. Bindra and Glazer are inventors on a related patent application. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Cancer Society, the Cure Search for Children's Cancer Research Foundation, and the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Citation: Science Translational Medicine From: Joyce L. Gioia, CMC, CSP -- The Herman Group Austin , TX Wednesday, February 1, 2017 The Herman Trend Alert February 1, 2017 Five Global Wellness Trends to Watch in 2017 From time to time, we have covered trends in wellness; with our new-found availability of information from the Global Wellness Institute, we expect to be covering wellness more often. This Herman Trend Alert represents a taste of the wellness trends for 2017 and beyond that emerged from a recent worldwide meeting of 500-plus wellness experts who recently gathered in Kitzbuhel, Austria, for the Global Wellness Summit. Saunas go social Experiencing a sauna used to be a very private and solo activity; that is changing. We're seeing a reinvention of sauna with theatrical song and dance Sauna Aufguss events to shocking amphitheater saunas. It's clearly not your Mom's type of sauna anymore. Sweating is becoming spectacular and social. Architecture to support wellness There a serious shift in the architecture of living and working spaces to create buildings that support people's health. Many aspects of the "built" environment are becoming reengineered from indoor air quality to sleep quality and specially designed acoustics. A change that is long overdue! Silence Few in the developed world would dispute that we live is a world of 24/7 connectedness. To help guests turn off and unplug, wellness destinations are embracing a dramatic approach: true silence. From "silent spas" to new silent and contemplative "wellness monasteries", retreat locations are looking at how to support their guests in this "new" way. We're even seeing "silent" restaurants, salons, gyms, stores, and airports. Mental wellness becoming more important Look for apps to track your mental state, as mental wellness becomes the trend to watch. Wellness destinations will bring in neuroscientists and psychotherapists, while meditation will become mainstream, as the benefits are more widely known. Opportunities to express creativity center stage Many years ago, our author Joyce visited Canyon Ranch in the Berkshire Mountains. There she had the opportunity create a sculpture, that reinforced her love of art and design. Wellness retreats worldwide are now focusing on art, music, literature, and dance, too, as they provide engaging experiences for their guests. Expect more concerts, painting classes, and how-to-create classes at hotels, wellness retreats, spas, and studios. Special thanks to HotelsMag.com and its contributor Mark Grenoble and Jeff Weinstein for their attention to this important information. You can read the complete 55-page report from The Global Wellness Summit here ********* The Herman Group is a firm of Strategic Business Futurists concentrating on workforce and workplace issues. We forecast the future and advise clients regarding relevant trends and how those trends may affect their lives. Applying our expertise as Certified Management Consultants, we advise corporate leaders regarding employee retention and organizational development to help them build workforce stability. We help organizations become Employers of Choice. We also work with Employer of Choice, Inc. to formally recognize employers that meet the stringent standards dictated by the labor marketplace. As authors of management books and as active professional speakers, we inform and inspire people to make a positive difference in the world of work. You did really get the ball rolling with our retention presentation, overall we have seen a move in the right direction with our turnover. In practice since 1980, we have served a wide variety of clients throughout the United States and in other countries. Our global affiliates assist us in sharing our expertise and advice with clients internationally. Our team of professional consultants and trainers is supported by an administrative staff that gets things done. We also have consultants certified to deliver our programs in your local area. Delivering to both small and large groups across 100 industries, The Herman Group has provided over 2,500 educational and informative keynote speeches and training seminars worldwide. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, we travel extensively to meet the needs of our clients. We can always be reached through the support team in our office at (800) 227-3566. Overseas callers may reach us through 336-210-3547. Should you have any questions after touring our website, please call or e-mail us at info@hermangroup.com. Get started now on improving the stability and performance of your workforce and increase your chances for success in the future. Farming Minister George Eustice has confirmed farmers will be able to apply for organic support in 2017 and 2018. At a meeting yesterday (31 January) with members of the English Organic Forum, Mr Eustice confirmed that existing organic farmers and growers whose Organic Entry Level schemes are coming to an end, and new farmers who want to convert to organic, would be able to apply for support under the Countryside Stewardship scheme for the next two years. The Farming Minister confirmed that the application process for farmers will open later in 2017 and again in 2018. These agreements last for 5 years, providing some welcome stability in the face of major risks and uncertainties faced by farmers as the UK prepares to leave the EU. 'Demand is growing strongly' Organic charity the Soil Association has said it is welcome news that 'underlines the benefits' organic farming deliver and the 'value for money' that it represents. Peter Melchett, Policy Director at the Soil Association, who took part in the meeting, said: The demand for organic food is growing strongly in the UK, and is currently outstripping home-grown supply. Export markets for British organic produce present a further opportunity for British farmers to prosper, if the right Government policies are in place. Peter Melchett highlighted the United States as an opportunity for growth. The US has the largest organic market in the world with 43% of global sales. This market grew by 11% in 2015 far exceeding the 3% growth rate of the US non-organic food market. The US organic market has enjoyed years of steady growth largely unaffected by the recession, up from $17 million in 2006 to over $40 billion today. UK farming unions have urged European officials to extend the 12-week free-range status of poultry impacted by the compulsory housing order that is in place until 28 February. Free range eggs could be completely wiped from supermarket shelves if the Government's current housing order is extended beyond the end of February. The Presidents of the unions will ask that the extension applies to both free range eggs and poultry meat. They will plead the extension continues until the risk from avian influenza subsides. The farming union Presidents said in a joint statement: With this outbreak of avian influenza, we are in uncharted territory and this situation requires new measures that will help to solve the concerns of producers. The four UK farming unions are calling on MEPs and EU decision-makers to extend the 12 week period on free-range status until the risk has subsided to previous levels. Farmers across the UK and Europe need this extension to give them certainty that their produce will have a market. The demand from shoppers for free-range eggs and poultry meat has increased significantly over the past 25 years and we want our producers to be able to provide this for them. UK will be 'most affected' The Presidents said the UK market will be one of the most affected countries as a result of bird flu, due to half the UK's national flock being free-range, by far the highest percentage of any member state. They continued: If these steps arent taken to protect the industry, producers are facing the very real prospect that they could go out of business and the UK market will be unable to enjoy the free-range products they demand. British farmers have been quick to introduce enhanced biosecurity measures and have ensured that the welfare of their birds remains an absolute priority. The UK has documented eight cases of the disease in domestic poultry flocks and the four UK farming unions have been working closely with Defra, the devolved administrations, and the EU to deal with the outbreak. Copa-Cogeca, the European farmers organisation, has sent a letter to the European Commission setting out the concerns of European farmers and offered possible solutions, such as this extension, ahead of a meeting with MEPs. 52 sheep have been found in a field in Somerset after being stolen and kept in poor condition. The Rural Crime team said two had to be put down at the scene after being found in Yeovil. Officers said the thieves could have transported the animals more than 300 miles and were kept in poor condition. Inspector Joanna Mines, who leads the Rural Crime Team, said: "We believe the sheep we have recovered today are stolen and their tags show that animals within this flock originated from Devon, Somerset and places as far a-field as Cumbria. "Sadly they havent been kept in good condition recently and two had to be put down at the scene, so we will be looking at several offences in relation to animal cruelty in addition to theft. "We are keen to hear from anyone who believes the animals might be theirs, or anyone who has any information that can help with our enquiries." More than 600 sheep were stolen from Avon and Somerset during the summer of 2016 with 34 calves stolen from a farm near Wells two weeks ago. 'Far-reaching and long-lasting consequences' Inspector Mines added: "We understand the impact that livestock theft has on farmers and small holders. The financial and breeding implications can be far-reaching and long-lasting. "From the publics perspective there is a health and hygiene issue in relation to stolen livestock getting into the food chain. Farmers raise their animals, transport and slaughter them according to very strict guidelines which thieves are not necessarily going to adhere to. "The calves that were stolen two weeks ago had been wormed the day before, and therefore shouldnt enter the food chain for another 49 days for example. "I would urge markets and slaughterhouses to play their part. Dont create a market for stolen livestock. We do work closely with local businesses but we ask everyone to be vigilant. "The public can play their part too. We have launched a new text number for people to send information and intelligence about rural crime directly to the team, so please get in touch 81819." Police are searching for thieves who drove across four farm fields and cut through barbed wire fencing to steal a child's quad bike. A trailer and other tools were also reported stolen from a locked container on farmland at Green Lane, High Halden, Kent. Police Constable Dan Perry of the Rural Task Force said: "They have clearly used a 4x4-type vehicle with off-road tyres to gain access to this remote location. "I would particularly like to know of any 4x4 vehicles seen around this area over the weekend that were covered in mud and possibly towing a trailer. "I also ask anyone who is offered similar items for sale to contact us. "I would particularly like to know of any 4x4 vehicles seen around this area over the weekend that were covered in mud and possibly towing a trailer." Last November, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England came together in a commitment to intensify their fight against rural crime. The PCC for Cambridgeshire, Jason Ablewhite, said rural Crime 'continues to be a big problem' across the UK. Anyone with information is asked to phone Kent Police on 01843 222289 or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting reference number ZY/3760/17. A UK vote to approve EU proposals to authorise the first new GM crops for cultivation since 1998 suggests the crops may be grown across the country post-Brexit. The European vote was rejected by the majority of nation states, with the UK being one of eight to vote in favour. Farming minister George Eustice said last year future arrangements may be put in place for their regulation. "The Government's general view remains that policy and regulation in this area should be science-based and proportionate," he said. EU member states were voting on a proposal to authorise two new strains of GM maize, and the reauthorisation of the one GM crop currently grown in the EU (also maize). Thirteen member states voted to reject the new crops, while eight voted in favour. However, despite the convincing rejection of new crops, neither decision met the qualified majority voting bar and it is now up to the European Commission to decide what to do next. GM Freeze Director Liz ONeill said: "The UKs vote in favour of all three GM maize crops, despite each being banned in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, should ring alarm bells for anyone who wants to protect biodiversity and consumer choice in post-Brexit Britain." According to results of a study, on average, GM technology adoption has reduced chemical pesticide use by 37%, increased crop yields by 22%, and increased farmer profits by 68%. Yield gains and pesticide reductions are larger for insect-resistant crops than for herbicide-tolerant crops. Yield and profit gains are higher in developing countries than in developed countries. In May last year, a major review of GM crops by scientists in the US tentatively concluded that they pose no risk to human health. 'Contamination' Despite rapid adoption by farmers in many countries, controversies about the technology remain. Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, GeneWatch UK, GM Freeze and the Soil Association each expressed concerns that controversial Roundup Ready GM crops might be planted in England in Spring 2015. They said that would eventually harm the environment. "Monsanto and other GM companies are desperate to push their GM crops into other countries before the devastating impacts on wildlife and farming destroy existing markets," said Dr Helen Wallace, Director of GeneWatch UK. "The Government should not be caving in to commercial lobbying and putting British birds and butterflies at risk." Peter Melchett from the Soil Association said: "If GM crops spread, GM contamination will make organic farming impossible, and our growing organic market will have to be supplied with imported food." Mrs O'Neill from GM Freeze said: "British consumers don't want to eat GM food and both Scottish and Welsh governments have made it clear they are opposed to GM crops. So why are our representatives in Westminster doing their level best to hand over control of our food and our natural environment to big business?" An MP has said farmers will have 'huge opportunities' once they are free from the 'shackles' of the EU. Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger said farmers and growers must make their voices heard as the UK approaches Brexit. He said MPs needed to understand the needs of the farming community and act on them, in particular farmers' concerns about Government financial support once the UK leaves the EU. Mr Liddell-Grainger said UK farming had an enormous potential to grow and diversify once it was free to do so without 'bureaucratic interference'. The one great thing Brexit will give us will be the ability to sing the praises of our food and drink as among the finest in the world without being told were not allowed to, he told the Bridgwater Mecury. We have fantastic opportunities ahead to market and export, to produce more flexibly so we provide the country with more of the food it needs when it needs it and to create a far more exciting, dynamic and successful farming sector that we have seen for at least two generations. Farmers, not politicians or civil servants, are the real experts in agricultural matters and their views count. One of the most alarming statements I have heard in recent days is the assertion that the supermarket price war will continue to deliver cheap food to the British consumer because that ignores the fact that the price war has driven many farmers out of business and is threatening to do the same to many more. Mr Liddell-Grainger concluded: Whatever means it takes, whether public meetings or petitions, or poster campaigns, the needs of the industry must be laid out and made clear so they can be taken into consideration as we map the future for one of the worlds great farming sectors. Marts to donate Scotch Lamb for St Andrew's Day campaign Noxopharm Limitedhas announced it entered into a research agreement with the University of Hong Kong to conduct a brain cancer study.Noxopharms study aims to treat both primary and secondary brain cancer cells, in adults and children.The cancer treatment company says it will collaborate with the University, testing the use of the drug idronoxil (active ingredient NOX66) in treating brain disease.It comes after the company made a recent breakthrough in getting the drug, idronoxil, to cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain at high levels, as it demonstrated in rats.Noxopharm says only five of the 100 plus chemotherapy drugs available to oncologists, cross the blood-brain barrier - and those five drugs form the backbone of chemotherapy for malignant brain cancers. The Clean Power Plan is all but dead, and President Donald Trump has promised to bring back coal mining jobs in states like West Virginia and Wyoming. The common perception is that over-regulation has killed the coal industry, so it's easy to believe that coal will have a quick upswing in the coming months and years. In fact, miners that have avoided bankruptcy like Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) and Consol Energy (CNX 1.73%) were counting on a recovery to help their businesses. However, the energy industry isn't run by sentiment or politics, but by economics. And coal is on the wrong side of history for a number of reasons. This is clear to anyone who looks into the energy costs of coal relative to competing fossil fuels, and it's made all the more real with the recent announcement that that Consol is now contemplating getting out of coal altogether. I'm sorry to say, but coal will never be great again. Here's why. Natural gas is cheap and here to stay Hundreds of coal power plants have been shut down around the country and the main reason isn't regulation: it's cheap natural gas. And that's a trend that's going to continue, even in regions where coal is very popular. Salt River Project's Navajo Generating Station in Arizona, the largest coal power plant in the country, has said it will likely shut down soon because it's uncompetitive with low-cost natural gas. Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based We Energies said it will shut down the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant for half the year because wholesale electricity prices have been driven too low by natural gas. It's simply cheaper than burning coal. A similar dynamic is playing out at Duke Energy (DUK 0.42%), which has decommissioned nearly a dozen plants in the last few years. And Southern Company (SO 0.09%), which was once expanding its coal fired assets, is now shutting down coal plants and investing billions in renewable energy projects that are now the majority of new electricity generation in the U.S. The economics to keep coal plants open isn't worth it, and they're finding better investment opportunities elsewhere. Coal's slow death continues in the U.S., but it's really overseas where the trend is taking a dramatic turn for the worse. China and India are abandoning coal China was once going to be the savior of the U.S. coal industry. The country's rapid growth and need for energy was supposed to drive U.S. coal exports and result in profits for companies like Peabody Energy, which spent billions acquiring competitors and building out the capacity to export coal. But China turned out to have other plans. For reasons ranging from the health implications of coal to the economic competitiveness of renewable energy, China has essentially abandoned the coal industry, at least as far as future generation goes. The country recently cancelled plans to build 103 coal plants and is quickly shifting to a focus on cleaner energy. Beijing even said it would close all coal plants this year and transition to new natural gas plants. India, another country with rising electricity demand, has made even more drastic plans to move away from coal. It recently released energy plan says India won't need any new coal plants in the next decade and is looking to renewables and energy storage to lead. That's not a transition from which coal will ever be able to recover. Renewables will be the nail in the coffin Natural gas has led to most of the coal industry's problems in the past decade, but renewable energy is really the nail in the coffin. Wind and solar are now cheaper energy sources for new power plants than coal, which is why utilities in the U.S. and countries abroad are focusing their development efforts on renewables. The core challenge for coal is that wind and solar are already cheaper than coal power and they're still getting cheaper. Its entirely possible that, solar or wind combined with an energy storage option very well could be coal's death knell. When utilities are focused on making a profit and investing in renewable energy and natural gas but not coal, you can see what's going on. There may be a desire to make coal great again, but it's not going to happen. Simple economics is the reason -- not government policy. Investors count on Altria Group (MO 1.31%) to find ways quarter after quarter to boost its profits. That's a tall order for a company under attack on multiple fronts, with regulators, consumer advocates, and competitors all seeking to take down the tobacco giant. Yet coming into Wednesday's fourth-quarter financial report, Altria investors again had high hopes that the company would at least manage to keep its bottom line flat compared to year-ago levels, and the Marlboro maker actually surpassed those hopes. Nevertheless, some were disappointed about Altria's guidance for the coming year. Let's take a closer look at Altria's results and what they say about its future. Altria holds its momentum Altria's fourth-quarter results didn't include any huge surprises. Revenue net of excise taxes managed to eke out a 0.1% gain to $4.73 billion, which was actually slightly less than the $4.8 billion figure that most investors were expecting. Net income soared as a result of gains related to the merger of SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD 6.02%), jumping to $10.28 billion for the quarter. Even after taking out that one-time benefit, adjusted earnings of $0.68 per share were $0.01 higher than the consensus forecast among those following the stock. Taking a closer look at Altria's various businesses, much of the downward pressure on revenue came from the smokeable products segment. Revenue net of excise tax fell nearly 1%, although the company managed to boost segment profit by nearly 4% on an adjusted basis. High pricing managed to offset some of the sales declines, but the key issue was the drop in volume. Altria suffered a nearly 5% decline in sales volume during the quarter, in part because of the general decline in demand and in part from the fact that there was one less shipping day than in the year-ago quarter. Even adjusting for the calendar, Altria saw an adjusted volume drop of 3.5%, which it sees as in line with the industry overall. Market share was unchanged at 51.4%, with Marlboro seeing flat performance as well. Altria's smokeless products segment fared somewhat better. Sales jumped nearly 8% net of excise tax, and after taking out asset impairment and other extraordinary items, adjusted operating company gained 4%. Copenhagen's popularity helped sent volume up more than 2% for the quarter, and Altria added nearly a full percentage point to its market share in the industry, weighing in at 55.8%. Altria's wine business was the best performer of all, even though it's also the smallest. Revenue was up 8%, and adjusted profit soared 16% on 4% shipment growth and strong results from its core premium wine brands. CEO Marty Barrington was succinct in his praise for his company. "Altria had another outstanding year," Barrington said, and the CEO pointed to the stock's return of more than 20%, its rising dividend, and the successful conclusion of the Anheuser-Busch InBev deal with SABMiller as important highlights of 2016. Can Altria keep climbing higher? However, Altria's guidance for 2017 didn't fully live up to the expectations that investors had coming into the report. The tobacco giant's forecast includes adjusted earnings for the full year of between $3.26 and $3.32 per share, which was a bit lower than the $3.33 per share that represented the consensus forecast among those following the stock. The guidance calls for growth of 7.5% to 9.5% compared to where adjusted earnings finished 2016, but investors have hoped that the company would be able to get closer to the 10% growth mark. One thing that will be interesting to see going forward is the impact that Anheuser-Busch will have on its earnings. The beer maker's results won't show up in Altria's financials until the first quarter of 2017, with a one-quarter lag applying to earnings. Nevertheless, Altria expects that A-B InBev's contributions to profits will be significant and show the value of the diversification that it provides. Altria investors reacted negatively to the news, sending the stock more than 2% in pre-market trading following the announcement. The company's long-term growth story appears to be intact, but shareholders will have to see whether it can sustain the full momentum it has generated -- or whether Altria will start to see its pace of growth slide going forward. Investors in Franco-Nevada (FNV 6.04%) have seen strong results over the past nine years, enjoying average annual gains of more than 15% since early 2008. Yet what's particularly confusing for some investors is that much of Franco-Nevada's gains have come even during periods when gold's performance was lackluster at best. The answer lies in the particular business model Franco-Nevada has adopted, using streaming deals and royalty interests to get its exposure to the gold mining industry rather than taking on the direct obligations of mining operations itself. Below, we'll look more closely at how that has led to success even when gold and silver prices didn't fully cooperate. How Franco-Nevada makes money Franco-Nevada has produced its growth by structuring deals in two main ways. First, royalty interests involve Franco-Nevada paying money in exchange for a right to future royalty payments from a particular mine. When the mine produces metal, the royalty holder receives a monetary payment equal to a percentage of its net smelter return, or net revenue from the sale of the metal reduced by transportation and refining costs. Some of Franco-Nevada's precious metals royalty interests have come from acquisitions of other companies holding those assets, and Franco-Nevada has also made royalty interest agreements with energy producers to diversify its portfolio. More recently, though, Franco-Nevada has favored entering into streaming arrangements with mining companies. Under such arrangements, the mining company agrees to sell a certain amount of future production at a set percentage of the prevailing spot price of the precious metal in exchange for the financing the streaming specialist offers. In some cases, streaming obligations end after certain production targets have been reached, while other streaming agreements call for perpetual stream-related sales for as long as the mine is operational and producing. The effect of structuring precious metals streams The value of Franco-Nevada's royalty interests and streaming agreements has a relationship with the price of the metals produced by the mines that are subject to the agreements. As a result, one would expect the price of Franco-Nevada stock to track precious metals prices fairly closely. Yet over the years, Franco-Nevada has managed to grow despite the major oscillations in gold prices: In particular, the chart above shows two key cases in which the streaming and royalty specialist's stock diverged from commodity prices. First, in 2012 and 2013, Franco-Nevada stock was able to climb dramatically even as gold prices topped out and eventually moved sharply lower. Thereafter, even in a falling gold market, Franco-Nevada held its own. Over the past year, Franco-Nevada has spiked higher. Gold has recovered some of its lost ground over that time period, but the streaming company's performance has been far better. The reason is simple: Franco-Nevada has continued to do deals that have increased the amount of revenue and profit it has been able to generate. In early 2016, for instance, Franco-Nevada's deal with Glencore dramatically increased its potential for future receipts of gold and silver from Glencore's Antapaccay mine in Peru. More metal means more profit, even when metals prices stay constant. What to expect going forward In some ways, it's even better for Franco-Nevada when gold prices do fall. Under those situations, many mining companies get into difficulty, and it's easier for Franco-Nevada to structure deals with terms that are extremely favorable, because its mining partners have little choice but to agree in order to receive much-needed financing. Franco-Nevada will continue to look for good streaming and royalty deals, and its past track record of success shows that it's likely to keep finding them. As long as miners seek capital, Franco-Nevada will be in a good position to capitalize. This article was updated on July 9, 2017, and originally published on Feb. 1, 2017. Canadian mining company Northern Dynasty Minerals (NAK -0.12%) is sitting on one of the world's largest undeveloped deposits of copper and gold. There is one minor detail, though: It hasn't done much mining. That's because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency nixed the company's plans to develop the Pebble Project in Alaska in 2014 after ruling that it could threaten the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery. That decision pushed the stock below $0.50 per share for the next two years and forced previously committed partner Anglo American and investor Rio Tinto Group to abandon ship. What a difference a few months can make. The election of President Donald Trump, who favors fully utilizing American resources, has quickly reversed the fortunes of Northern Dynasty Minerals. Shortly after the inauguration, the company disclosed that it had the administration's support for development and would reach a solution with the EPA within 100 days, which it did. It also believes it could find a new partner (or consortium) before year-end. The sudden and unexpected shift in policy pushed shares to a market valuation of $900 million -- the highest since late 2011 -- before the stock slid back to half that. Investors are probably wondering where the stock will go from here. Given the lengthy permitting process and development timeline, it's fun to wonder: Where will Northern Dynasty Minerals be in 10 years? Green light and permitting To be fair, everything still hinges on whether the company receives approval from the EPA. That's not exactly a given, as previous decisions cannot simply be undone by a pen stroke -- even by a president. The good news is that the new administration has made good on its promise to smooth over past regulatory hiccups at the federal level, while the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has worked with the miner to ensure it doesn't stand in the way of progress. Today, the company is in the midst of the permitting process, which Northern Dynasty Minerals expects should consume $150 million and four years. The hefty price tag and complexity makes it necessary to find a deep-pocketed partner. After all, even after raising net proceeds of approximately $35.5 million in a stock offering in early 2017, the company is not in a great financial position to undertake such an enormous task by itself. At least, not without significant dilution and/or debt. Investment for development If the permitting process doesn't hit any snags (including additional environmental reviews after the initial green light), then Northern Dynasty Minerals and its partner(s) will be able to begin developing Pebble sometime around mid-2021. The potential is huge, comprising the following resource estimates: Mineral Measured Indicated Inferred Copper 3.83 billion pounds 53.42 billion pounds 24.55 billion pounds Gold 5.93 million ounces 64.62 million ounces 37.25 million ounces Molybdenum 0.21 billion pounds 3.20 billion pounds 2.18 billion pounds Silver 28.13 million ounces 315.5 million ounces 170.5 million ounces If engineers prove these "resource estimates" with higher levels of confidence, then the company could upgrade its figures to "reserves," which have several subcategories of their own. Assuming the numbers in the table above are roughly accurate for Pebble Project's long-term potential, it will take years to ramp up and scale production to meaningful levels. And even successful development doesn't guarantee profitability. The most important factor in the mining industry is all-in cash costs, which includes labor, equipment, energy, transportation, regulatory, and consumables, among other expenses. Pebble comprises 23,000 square miles of land that is home to just 1,500 people. American labor and regulatory costs will already increase production costs, but the rural nature of the project hints that infrastructure, energy, and transportation costs will be significant as well. Consider that Barrick Gold (GOLD 8.40%), a $20 billion company with extensive gold-mining operations, extracted 5.5 million ounces of the precious metal last year for an average cost of product sold of $800 to $850 per ounce. However, production costs were significantly higher for its American mines in Nevada than elsewhere in the world. And that's in a state that is the world's sixth largest gold-producing territory. Nevada is also home to more developed infrastructure and fewer environmental burdens than Alaska. Moreover, the company's main assets there -- Cortez and Goldstrike -- produce ore containing two times and three times more gold, respectively, than exploratory work estimates that Pebble contains. Taken together, these factors mean Northern Dynasty Minerals could see production costs north of $1,000 per ounce. What does it mean for investors? Northern Dynasty Minerals has a long and difficult road to resource extraction and profitable growth. To match an industry leader such as Barrick Gold, the company would need to produce millions of ounces of gold each year for many consecutive years, in addition to large amounts of copper and silver. While that's feasible on paper, investors should probably remain very patient with the owner of Pebble. A long permitting process, the high costs of development, and unknown cost profiles all present major risks to investors. After their return from the ISS almost all samples developed into new populations. The green alga (top 2 rows) also developed orange-coloured resting stages, whilst typically blue-green pigmented colonies were developed by the cyanobacterium (bottom 2 rows). The many different organisms from all participating partners were all mounted in such trays and then exposed to space on the outside of the ISS for one and a half years. Theyre alive! Two algae survived 16 months on the exterior of the International Space Station ISS despite extreme temperature fluctuations and the vacuum of space as well as considerable UV and cosmic radiation. That was the astonishing result of an experiment conducted by Dr. Thomas Leya at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Potsdam in cooperation with German and international partners. This labor-intensive experiment was part of the large-scale Biology and Mars Experiment (BIOMEX), a project coordinated by Dr. Jean-Pierre de Vera at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin. Dr. Leya himself had isolated the green algal strain CCCryo 101-99 of Sphaerocystis sp. on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago, and prepared it together with the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. (CCCryo 231-06), a blue-green alga from Antarctica. CCCryo stands for Culture Collection of Cryophilic Algae. Nostoc sp. and Sphaerocystis sp. are examples of cold-loving, or cryophilic, strains. They have special adaptation strategies to oppose cold and desiccation, allowing them to survive even under extreme conditions. Dr. Leya heads the Extremophile Research & Biobank CCCryo Working Group at Fraunhofers Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BB branch in Potsdam. For the past 18 years, the group has been studying the survival strategies of cryophilic algae, cyanobacteria, mosses, fungi and bacteria found in polar regions. Researchers had already ascertained in the laboratory that algae are largely unsusceptible to long-term desiccaton stress, extreme temperatures or UV radiation. Yet the extreme conditions of near-Earth orbit cannot be fully simulated in labs. We slightly desiccated the algal strains in preparation for their time in space, explains Dr. Leya. A Progress spacecraft transported the organisms into space on July 23, 2014, and a Soyuz capsule returned the algal cultures to Earth. All in all, they had to endure some 16 months on the outside of the ISS with only neutral-density filters reducing the effects of radiation. Sensors measured and logged temperature changes and amounts of cosmic radiation. Haus Heidelberg offering 1994 prices this weekend Haus Heidelberg German restaurant, which first opened its doors in 1994, is celebrating its 23rd anniversary with a throwback menu and throwback prices. Related Stories Well known for its authentic German comfort food, fun European decor and German-born owner and chef, Haus Heidelberg has made itself a cornerstone in area dining. Friday through the Sunday the restaurant at 630 Greenville Highway will celebrate with its 90s Throwback Weekend with a retro menu from the first year it opened. The menu will feature the delicious dishes they served at the time and the same prices at which they were first offered. Its become one of the biggest yearly events we host, said owner and chef Helge Gresser. Our first Throwback Weekend was held on our 20th anniversary, and it was a huge hit. Our customers love to come in and get their favorite dishes for such a discounted rate. Its our way of thanking the community for supporting us for so long. By Tufail Ahmad The role of the Pakistani Militarys Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is being suspected in a series of recent train mishaps, especially since the Indore-Patna Express train tragedy near Kanpur on November 20 in which about 150 lives were lost. The National Investigating Agency (NIA) is also investigating the ISIs involvement in these incidents. While the most likely cause of these train incidents seems to be the poor upkeep of rail tracks, the ISI has indeed been active throughout India in the recent decades. Scores of Indian nationals, mostly non-Muslims, were arrested from towns across India for their role as an ISI agent in recent years. These arrests revealed the involvement of ex-military officers, terror suspects, army clerks, criminals and others. Over the past decade and more, the cities and towns from where the ISI agents were arrested included Ahmedabad, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Mumbai, Delhi, Mohali, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Patiala, Jalandhar, Shimla, Aligarh, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Patna, Kolkata, Darjeeling, Agartala, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Bengaluru, Chennai, and so on. The names of these cities crop up when you search the websites of Indian newspapers. The ISI agents active in India are mainly of two types: those engaged in gathering secret information of military nature, and those involved in recruiting and planning terror modules. However, some are also involved in sabotage activities and in flooding the country with fake currency notes. In his book Pakistans ISI: Network of Terror in India, senior cop S.K. Ghosh examined the revelations of the arrested ISI agents and noted that the ISIs strategy involved the following: Use Kashmiri Muslims and cause subversion and terrorism across India, prepare an extensive ISI network and plant cadre of terrorists and spies in every part of India, trigger serial blasts in major cities, create insurgencies in parts of India where Muslim population is significant, and create newer fronts in Pakistans proxy war against India. Speaking of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Ghosh observed that these were not a Hindu-Muslim problem but an India-Pakistan problem. The ISI is supposed to be Pakistans external intelligence, which it is, but it also functions as a domestic intelligence agency. Its role in creating, nurturing and sheltering jihadi organisations is known as well as its role in creating political parties, spying on Pakistani politicians and pressuring the civilian governments. In 2014, the mass protests led by Imran Khan and the Barelvi cleric Maulana Tahirul Qadri against the elected government of Nawaz Sharif were planned by Lt.-Gen. Shuja Pasha, the former chief of ISI. In the external domain, the ISI has exercised total control on Pakistans foreign policies involving India, Afghanistan and the U.S. At least since the 1980s, the ISI has used its jihadi organisations in Afghanistan and right since 1947 against India in Kashmir. ISI specialises in proxy wars. Recently, former ISI chief Lt.-Gen. Zaheerul Islam said: The only successful proxy war against the communist USSR was won by Pakistan Army and ISI. The following jihadi organisations work as part of the ISIs network: the Afghan Taliban, who have their headquarters in Quetta; the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is also known as Jamaatud Dawa and has its headquarters in Muridke near Lahore; Bahawalpur-based Jaish-e-Muhammad is headed by Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released by India in exchange for the passengers of the Indian plane hijacked to Kandahar in 1999; Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, which is also known as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and is known for systematically killing Shias because it thinks Shias are not Muslims. Also, the ISI creates groups of terrorists, trains them and regularly sends them into Jammu & Kashmir to fight against Indian security forces. Walter Joseph Cawthorne, the Australian-born British army officer, is considered as the founding father of the ISI. He served as the head of ISI from January to June 1948 and went on to become the deputy chief of Pakistan Army from 1948 to 1951. In his book Faith, Unity, Discipline The ISI of Pakistan, German author Hein G. Kiessling notes that Pakistani historians cite the British intelligence service MI6 as the blueprint for the ISI, partly because the first training and equipment assistance came from MI6 and from the CIA. Since Pakistan was carved out of India and in enmity against India, it was the logical next-step for the ISI to target India. The ISI and the CIA cooperated during the 1950s and 1960s, especially after U.S. pilot Francis Powers was shot down in the USSR on 1 May 1960, having taken off in a spy plane from Peshawar. During the 1971 Bangladesh war, Kiessling notes, The CIA and ISI also cooperated in working against the Indira Gandhi government after she signed an agreement with Moscow on 7 August 1971 confirming peace, friendship and cooperation between India and the Soviet Union. Kiessling adds: During the 1960s, it was involved in the support of local militant groups in north-east India, and from the mid-1970s, it also helped insurgent Sikhs in Indian Punjab. This Sikh radicalisation and militancy in Punjab was crushed by senior police officer K.P.S. Gill during the 1980s. In Burmas Arakan region from where Rohingya Muslim refugees are nowadays coming to settle in parts of India including in Jammu, the ISI had been active right from the early days of Pakistan, which included East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. Mizo insurgent leader Laldenga and his supporters, as per Kiesslings book, had gone to Arakan from where the ISI had taken them to Karachi sometime in the early 1970s. Since Pakistan considers India its eternal enemy, the ISI is engaged in an eternal and enduring struggle against India. A number of terror attacks in Kashmir and other parts of India in recent decades, including those carried out by the Indian Mujahideen, were planned and executed by the ISI. It is unreasonable to expect that Indias intelligence agencies will always know everything that the ISI does in India, though they do work at their best. However, their work goes largely unnoticed because it involves prevention of ISIs anti-India designs. The new generation of Indian youths might not be aware of the ISIs large network across the country, but it must be stressed that the ISI is much more active in cities and towns across the country than can be publicly perceived. Indian youths must keep this in mind: an aware citizen is the always best defence for India. Source : IndiaFacts Ramanand Singh | HENB | Dhanbad : In its 19th anniversary, Tarun Hindu a Jharkhand based Hindu unity forum with its head quarter at Dhanbad calls for a greater Hindu Unity to end all persecution and injustice upon Hindus in the state and the country as well. The members of the organisation from its different rural units and many Hindu organisations participated in the occasion to make the programme a grand success. Many leaders and activists of Hindu Janjagruti Samity, Sanatan Sanstha, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Dharma Jagran Manch, Hindu Existence Forum, Dharma Utthan Samity, Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Bajrang Dal and others took part in the function. Sri Upananda Brahmachari of Hindu Existence, Chittaranjan Sural of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, Sri Bikarna Naskar of Dharma Utthamn Samiti, Sri Rajmangal Singh and Dr. Nil Madhav Das of Tarun Hindu were the dignitaries who inspired the entire Hindu mass present in the function. After its ceremonial opening of the function through chanting of hymns, lighting of oil lamps, offering flowers to the portrait of Swami Vivekananda and singing of devotional songs, the dignitaries highlighted various points on Hindu persecution, Hindu Regeneration and establishment of a Hindu Rashtra in Bharat within 2025. Chief guest Sri Upananda Brhamachari explained the causes for the disunity of Hindus and its remedies for Hindu empowerment. He said all Indians are concerned about the torture upon Hindus in Dhulagarh in West Bengal, or displacement of Hindu Pandits from Kashmir or the Communist attack upon Hindus in Kerala. As a matter of fact, Hindus are uniting and it will be a great difficulty for Secular and anti Hindus if they dont keep themselves in right track and respect the Hindu sentiments as well. Guest of honour Sri Bikarna Naskar gave importance to revitalize the strength of Hindu Temples as the epicenters of Hindu unity and Hindu regeneration. He said it is very unfortunate that for the only cause of Hindu disunity, Lahore Central Jail where Rajguru, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev were hanged that could not be possible to keep it under Indian Tricolor. The Hindu Shakti Peeth is now in Pakistan or Chattagram where Masterda Surya Sen fought against British and martyred that is also in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan. Though they fought for a freedom it is still under-achieved. Hindus must unite again for a Hindu freedom based on Dharma. Sri Chittaranjan Sural pointed out the reasons, why Bharat is still not a Hindu State being a mother land of one billion Hindus. He told, when there are 157 Christian Countries, 52 Islamic Countries, 12 Buddhist countries, even one Jews country, Bharat must be a Hindu country with its Hindu constitution. He expressed his view to replace the Secular word which was entered in the constitution through 42nd amendment during the emergency, in order to substitute secular word with the word Hindu as Bharat is a virtual country of Hindus in fact. He urged all the devout Hindus to give the Hindu teachings (dharma sikshan) to others so that the entire Hindu society can stand up on its own and end the trail of corruption, cow slaughter, love jihad and any evils before the Hindus. Dr. Nilmadhab Das, the founder of Tarun Hindus narrated the development of the organisation and its struggle in various sphere of rural environment. He welcomed the mass as its real strength of organisation. Pointing out two recent incidents at Nawa Tand and Dhadki Tand where Jihadi Muslims wanted to do harm to the minority Hindu families there. He asked the ruling party in Jharkhand to see the matter of Hindu persecution in some segments and hinted a greater repercussion if it is not checked rightly in time. Sri Rajmangal Singh, the Chairperson of the function praised the grand participation in the function and gave importance to make coordination of all Hindu organisations to combat any attack on Hindu society with a greater thrust and success. He urged the audience to recite Hanuman Chalisa at any troublesome point and keep Hanuman Chalisa in every Hindu home to keep the Hinduness intact and full of strength. After the exhortation from the dignitaries, the participants organised a huge rally (shobhayatra) from Steel Gate to Thana Mod (Police Line). Public welcomed the rally coming to roadside and Hinduwadi slogans were raised very enthusiastically. Solgans with the demand for Making Hindu Rashtra in Bharat, Prohibiting Cow Slaughter and Stopping Jihadi Terrorism and Banning Christian conversion were frequently raised by the participants. The 19th anniversary of Tarun Hindu passed three resolutions viz. 1) replacement of Secular word with the word Hindu in Indian Constitution, 2) repealing the voting rights for those who do not treat Bharat as their Mother land and dont keep their full faith in Indian Constitution 3) delete the word minority from constitution or otherwise give definition of minority properly. Source : Hindu Existence Both Wyoming State Senate and Wyoming House of Representatives in Cheyenne will start their day with ancient Hindu prayers on February third. These invocations will contain verses from Rig-Veda; the oldest existing scripture of the mankind still in common use. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver these prayers from Sanskrit scriptures before the Senate and House. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages. Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, besides Rig-Veda, will also recite from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. He plans to start and end the prayer with Om, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work. Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say Asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrtyor mamrtam gamaya, which he will then interpret as Lead us from the unreal to the Real, Lead us from darkness to Light, Lead us from death to immortality. Reading from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge the legislators to keep the welfare of others always in mind. Zed is a global Hindu and interfaith leader. Bestowed with World Interfaith Leader Award; Zed is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, on the Advisory Board of The Interfaith Peace Project, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, etc. He was invited by President of European Parliament in Brussels (Belgium) for a meeting to promote interfaith dialogue. He also leads a weekly interfaith panel Faith Forum in a Gannett publication for the last nearly six years. According to Dress Code in the Chambers During Sessions (as described in Management Council Policy 12-03), Business formal (for men is defined as a suit, or dress slacks, jacket, tie, dress shirt and dress shoes or dress boots. Boots must be polished.) dress is expected on the chamber floor during legislative sessions. But Rajan Zeds attire; who wears saffron colored robes, a ruddraksh mala (rosary), and traditional sandalpaste tilak (religious mark) on the forehead; has been reportedly approved by the Wyoming Senate President for February three. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA. In the 64th Wyoming Legislature, Eli D. Bebout is President of the Senate, which has 30 members; while Steve Harshman is Speaker of the House of Representatives, which has sixty members. Matt Mead is the Governor of Wyoming, whose nickname is Cowboy State and tagline is: Some things cant be explained. Only experienced. Source : From Our Correspondent Ireland has got the tougher of the two heats for this year's Eurovision Song Contest, in May. But first, we have to pick the song that Hometown's Brendan Murray will sing... The draw for the 2017 Eurovision semi-finals has taken place in the host city of Kyiv in Ukraine, and already there is disappointment for Ireland. This year, Ireland's entry will be performed by Hometown band member Brendan Murray, who is managed by Irelands pop guru and X-Factor judge, Louis Walsh. According to reports, in excess of 300 songs were submitted ahead of the closing date for entries earlier this month. Murrays manager, Louis Walsh (pictured with Philomena Lynott), will now listen to all songs received, along with an RTE-appointed panel and between them, they will choose the song to represent Ireland at the Eurovision contest. The bad news today was that Ireland has been drawn in the second semi-final, which will take place on Thursday May 11, a night on which 19 countries will take part. Ireland will be competing against strong countries like Russia, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Malta, Serbia, Romania and Austria. Only ten songs from each semi-final progress to the final, which takes place on Saturday, May 13. The draw has also contrived to deprive Ireland of the potential support of the United Kingdom, who have been slated to vote in the first semi-final on this occasion. The UK, along with the other countries that make up the so-called 'Big Five, automatically qualify for the final but are allowed to vote in only one of the semi-finals. The host nation, Ukraine also get a bye into the final. While being neighbours shouldnt matter a damn, increasingly in recent years, near neighbouring countries have conspicuously supported one another much to the disadvantage of Ireland, which in effect has only one neighbour at the competition. Advertisement Whether as a result of this growing bias, or otherwise, Ireland has failed to qualify for the final for the past three years, despite the fact that we have won more Eurovisions than any other country. "I'm honoured and excited to be representing Ireland in Kyiv in the biggest music competition in the world, Brendan Murray has said. "I was born in 1996, the last time Ireland won so I hope that will bring me luck! Somehow, one doubts it. A former stable hand who killed a 60-year-old woman who replaced him in his job has been jailed by a UK court for a minimum of 24 years by a judge who said the murder was a "culmination of seething resentment". Daniel Edwards, 22, killed Fiona Southwell, who was found dead with 19 stab wounds to her head and body at a farm near Hornsea, East Yorkshire, in July last year. Edwards was found guilty of murder by a jury at Hull Crown Court after just under three hours of deliberations. Judge Jeremy Richardson QC jailed him for life, ordering him the serve a minimum of 24 years in prison. He told Edwards: "It was the culmination of seething resentment of her having replaced you as a stable hand and the fact you were wallowing in your own self-pity and anger." The judge said Edwards was a man of "limited intellectual abilities" who deliberately armed himself with a knife with the intention of killing Miss Southwell. He said: "You planned to kill her by stabbing her to death. You executed that plan with ferocious determination and brutality." Edwards killed Miss Southwell at Grange Farm on July 15 2016. Judge Richardson said she was "a much loved woman who was well known in equestrian circles in East Yorkshire. "She was devoted to the care of horses, and country pursuits." He said she was "a good woman and person much liked and respected in her community". The trial heard how Edwards started to look after three horses at the farm in spring 2016, but was dismissed "in a gentle and understanding way" in May 2016 and replaced by Miss Southwell. The judge said: "You harboured a festering resentment about her doing the work you undoubtedly enjoyed." He said it was plain Edwards was in a "warped frame of mind" by mid July. The judge said: "The use of some of the language of the Facebook posting you later shared - you let out the demons within you." He said: "The attack on Fiona Southwell was merciless and savage. "She was stabbed many times about her head, neck and body. "It is plain you exerted considerable force to inflict such repeated, penetrating, savagery upon that poor woman, who was described by her brother and sister as gentle and kind." Judge Richardson concluded: "Not a shred of genuine remorse or regret has been uttered by you." Fiona Southwell's family said in a statement: "We will miss Fiona for the rest of our lives. "She was a gifted horsewoman, artist and poet. Her family and friends loved her and now all we have are our memories. "Fiona put her horses before herself, she was kind, hard-working and totally honest. She would never hurt a fly. "We would like anyone that knew Fiona to remember her where she was happiest, with her horses." Detective Chief Inspector Tony Cockerill said: "This was a dreadful attack on a defenceless lady by a 6ft tall, 21-year-old man who had armed himself with a kitchen knife. "A cowardly act by any measure and Fiona Southwell never stood a chance. "She was killed in a sustained and extremely violent attack." A jury has retired to consider its verdicts in the case of former TV entertainer Rolf Harris. The Australian denies six counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault, allegedly spanning four decades. The prosecution has argued it was in Harris's nature to grope women, including young girls, in public places, saying he had been good at getting away with it for years. Harris's defence claimed he was innocent of not only these latest charges but also the 12 counts of indecent assault he was convicted of in 2014. The jury in the first trial "got it wrong", his lawyer Stephen Vullo QC told Southwark Crown Court. On the first count, Harris is alleged to have put his hand up the skirt of a 14-year-old girl at a youth music event in London's Lyceum Theatre as she went to get an autograph in 1971. In the latter part of the 1970s, he is alleged to have put his hand up the skirt of a young girl as she approached him for an autograph outside a local radio station in Portsmouth. During a visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London in 1977 Harris is accused of having groped a blind, disabled woman, kissing her neck and "slobbering over her". The fourth alleged victim was a teenager helping on the TV programme Star Games in summer 1978. She told the court Harris had grabbed her breast, and later slid his hand up between her legs until he made contact with her crotch over her jeans. A fifth count sees Harris accused of asking a 13-year-old girl "Do you often get molested on a Saturday morning?" as he allegedly slid his hand under her clothed breast after she attended a broadcast of children's television show Saturday Superstore at BBC Television Centre in White City, west London, in 1983. The sixth charge is that Harris made a sexual comment while stroking the bare skin of the the 19-year-old complainant's lower back during an incident at a music studio near London Bridge in 2002. The most recent allegation relates to a woman, then aged in her forties, who said Harris thrust his crotch at her and grabbed her breasts in a "quick, opportunist grope" after the filming of a television show in 2004. Harris did not give evidence during the three-week trial, with his defence team claiming he would not have had much to say other than that he could not remember any of the incidents taking place, and reiterating his denial. The 86-year-old followed the first part of the trial via video-link from Stafford Prison, where he is serving a sentence for offences against four female victims. He was brought to court as the defence case neared its end, on the orders of Judge Alistair McCreath, who said it was important he attended for the close of the trial. Fear and threats have crept into the international political lexicon, so something constructive from Irish policymakers would be welcome. The first issue relates to healthcare. I heard a radio interview in which a young woman explained how her life had been saved by a donor after years of misery and a deteriorating prognosis. The much-maligned Irish health service notified her, at short notice, of a compatible organ, arranged for complex surgery, and had her discharged, with a new life, within weeks. It would be hard to find a more life-affirming story, and one about which I felt as proud, as an Irishman whose taxes underpin state services. The sting in this tale is that there is a woeful shortage of donors in Ireland, a nation that prides itself on its culture of compassion and community. In the absence of political leadership, we are left with an opt-in system for donating vital organs: you have to sign up. Lethargy, squeamishness, and an inclination to ignore this sensitive subject have left us with a policy that seems out of step with a spirit of generosity. After all, if, in death, you can help sustain life, why would you not do so? The French switched over to an opt-out system last month. Anyone can still sign up to a refusal register, if they have religious or conscience issues about this and 150,000 have done so but the introduction of this progressive policy opens up a new flank in the efforts to improve health outcomes and lives. You have to wonder why this does not get the same widespread political support in Ireland as the homelessness or water charges issues have elicited in the past two years. If it did, I suspect it would have the same positive effect as both the smoking ban and the same-sex referendum had on Irelands embracing of modernity and progressiveness. The second idea is another opt-in and opt-out matter, but for an entirely different subject young earners savings. A relative of mine who recently emigrated to Australia called for a chat. He was keen to explain how his new friends and colleagues in Sydney were all automatically signed up to a pension provision system that deducts monthly sums. He had now settled into a routine to create a retirement pot for many years ahead. He is a normal 20-something-year-old. He likes holidays, restaurants, cars, and other things that absorb earnings. Getting him to acknowledge the merits of long-term financial planning is a credit to the Australians. My fathers generation never worried about retirement, because the system enforced a policy that provided for the payment of two-thirds of salary on retirement. That no longer applies across the western world, and, unless something radical is done, we will create generations of new poor at the most financially vulnerable time of their lives. Australia took the progressive route around this issue by introducing the MySuper system, as far back as 1987. It has driven pension coverage to 94% and is in the process of guaranteeing pensions for all Australian income earners. In Ireland, the level of cover is at a pathetic 47%. Both the donor and pension issues contain mandatory directions about behaviour in two key areas of life. It will take conviction and vision in the political elite in Ireland to drive either, or both, of these issues, as there is no short-term electoral reward. However, each of the issues has the capacity to boost Irelands credentials as a country that plans progressively for its population in the long-term. Joe Gill is director of corporate broking at Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal. A resolution to double chief executive Patrick Coveneys potential performance-based share bonus from 100% of his basic salary to 200% and boost chief financial officer Eoin Tonges from 100% to 150% of salary was passed with the support of almost 60% of shareholders at the Dublin-based convenience food groups AGM in Dublin yesterday. Shareholder advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services had last week urged investors to reject the resolution. Greencore engaged with institutional shareholders on the matter last August, but has attributed the relatively high level of opposition to a change in its shareholder register since completing its near 700m takeover of US company Peacock Foods. Mr Coveney was paid a salary of 610,000 (710,000) last year, with additional benefits boosting his total remuneration package to 2.52m. Greencore will have to deliver earnings per share growth of between 5% and 15% for the next three years in order for the bonus entitlements to become a reality and the two directors wont be able to cash in on the bonuses for five years; two more than under the previous arrangements. The latter aspect is understood to have been a factor for the 60% of investors who approved the motion. Chairman Gary Kennedy told shareholders the share bonus plan still has to be earned, but brings Greencore in line with its Ftse-quoted peers and reflects the groups growth strategy. He said it is also a way of retaining an exceptional individual in Mr Coveney. In the coming weeks, the Greencore board will meet with newer institutional investors and said it hopes to see a higher level of acceptance for remuneration levels at next years AGM. Greencores shares were up by over 8% in London yesterday, before paring back and closing just under 7% ahead. In a first-quarter trading update, covering the three months to the end of December, Greencore said it is confident of meeting market expectations regarding its earnings for the 12 months to the end of next September. The quarter showed a 17% annualised increase in group revenues to 417m. Revenues in the core convenience foods arm jumped 16.4% to 402m, while the US was up by 31.2% even without early contribution from Peacock Foods. Speaking after the AGM, Mr Coveney said Greencore will be largely unscathed by Brexit, but will see prices for its products increase as the cost of raw materials such as beef and dairy imported to the UK rise as well. The main concern, he said, will be what happens to Britains immigration laws. While he foresees no job losses, Mr Coveney said the company will look to put more of its UK staff on permanent contracts in a bid to retain employees. Kevin Bruce walked free from court after hearing the DPP was dropping the prosecution against him. It is the third homicide case known to have run aground because of issues surrounding Dr Jabers work. Sources say up to 10 more cases may collapse. Mr Bruce was charged with the manslaughter of Anthony Barrett, who was found dead in a house in Kilkenny City in March 2013. His case was called at Kilkenny Circuit Criminal Court yesterday but Judge Brian OCallaghan was told the DPP was entering a nolle prosequi. Mr Bruce began judicial review proceedings in 2015, challenging Dr Jabers postmortem on the deceased. Concerns about Dr Jabers work were first raised in 2013 by his former boss State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy and led to the abandonment of the trial that year of Wexford man Michael Furlong, who had been charged with murdering Patrick Connors in Enniscorthy in 2011. Last December, the Court of Appeal ordered the retrial of Colm Deely, whose conviction for the 2011 murder of Deirdre McCarthy in Clare was overturned after objections were raised to Dr Jabers evidence. It emerged last month that Dr Cassidy has been carrying out a review of all of Dr Jabers postmortems from 2012 and 2013. Dr Jaber became deputy State pathologist in 2009 but quit in 2013 and has since returned to Saudi Arabia. The Irish Examiner understands a passenger had dual citizenship and was denied permission on Monday evening to board a flight as they tried to go through US pre-clearance at Dublin airport. The refusal was the first here since President Donald Trumps executive order was signed, temporarily banning entry into the US from seven countries. The US embassy here though last night provided clarity on entry into the US, saying that the travel of passengers with dual citizenship would not be banned. This was as long as those US-bound passengers hold the passport of an unrestricted country and possess a valid US visa. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said yesterday the person who was stopped from flying at Dublin was lawfully working and resident in Ireland and entitled to leave the airport. A review of US pre-clearance facilities in Ireland is now underway, which will be done by the departments of transport, justice and foreign affairs. This will take a few weeks. However, in a sign that facilities will remain, Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said now was not the time to place a question mark over the arrangements at Dublin and Shannon airports where US clearance systems operate. Mr Flanagan said the fast-track US entry scheme used by thousands of Irish air passengers must be maintained. As the international community struggles to make sense of the new US administration less than two weeks since Trumps inauguration, Mr Flanagan will meet senior Democrats and Republicans in his three-day visit. He is expected to meet senior figures from the new administration, including Trumps national security advisor, Mike Flynn, a meeting that was scheduled to take place last night. Today, the minister is also scheduled to meet speaker of the House of Representative Paul Ryan, the most senior Republican in Capital Hill. He will also meet Nancy Pelosi for the Democrats. Other issues that are expected to be raised include the peace process, the case of the 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US and Irelands concerns about Brexit. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin yesterday told RTE that he had been taken aback by the Government reaction to seeing if the US clearance measures here might be scrapped. The news emerged ahead of todays deadline for any move by US president Donald Trump to revoke the foreign carrier permit granted to its Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International (NAI), to fly between Ireland and the US. The NAI permit was finally approved by the US Department of Transportation (DoT) on December 2 following a two-and-a-half-year wait the longest pending application of its kind. In granting the final order sanctioning the permit, the DoT said it would become effective within 61 days unless disapproved by Mr Trump. A footnote in the order showed that the Obama administration did not intend to disapprove the order. Given that the Trump administration assumed power in the meantime, there were fears the new president may take a different view. Trade unions representing about 100,000 mostly airline and transport workers, including the US federation of labour organisations, the Airline Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants, and the Allied Pilots Association, petitioned the US court of appeals to have the DoT permit decision reversed. More than 100 members of congress also urged Mr Trump to reverse or halt the decision. The 61-day cooling-off period ends today, and sources close to the process said they do not expect the Trump administration to revoke the permit. The DoT declined to comment in detail on the process given that it is now the subject of a legal challenge. It is understood that NAI is now awaiting formal clearance from the US Federal Aviation Administration to begin selling tickets for its proposed Irish-US services. Once the FAA issues the paperwork, the airline is expected to announce, next month, services to the US from Cork, Shannon, Dublin, and Belfast airports. NAI is targeting a July launch date for its Cork-Boston services, with plans to launch Cork-New York next year. The flights will land at TF Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island, about 112km south of Boston. The airline has promised ultra-low fares, with introductory offers from 69 one-way. NAI declined to comment on the specifics but said a lot of preparatory work has been done since the permit was granted in December. With DOT approval in place, Norwegians focus has been on finalising our plans for new routes, greater competition, and lower fares in Ireland, Europe, and the US exactly what we promised and exactly what the EU-US Open Skies agreement was designed for, said a spokesman. In the next few weeks we expect to announce new transatlantic routes from Ireland and the US, offering some truly affordable fares that will allow as many people as possible to fly. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager revealed Apple has not yet paid any of the money it owes, even though the Government has agreed to put the funds in a special holding account. Facing questioning at the Oireachtas Finance Committee, Ms Vestager denied claims that the EU is targeting Irelands tax system and says it is enforcing state aid rules and fairness. Brussels argues Ireland did not collect enough tax due from Apple over a 10-year period and that the companys tax burden was reduced in what was an alleged breach of EU state aid rules. The ruling against Ireland, originally made in August last, threw the Government into disarray and it was forced to quickly reject the decision and defend its ongoing appeal of the ruling. Ms Vestager told the committee yesterday that EU state aid rules have been in existence for decades. However, multinational companies are pushing boundaries now. The EU investigation into Apples dealings began in 2013 following a US senate hearing where the company confirmed it had tax incentive arrangements here. The competition commission has examined tax arrangements for 19 companies here. However, no other cases remain open, Ms Vestager said. Fianna Fails Michael McGrath said there is a suspicion that the state aid rule argument is being used as a veil to undermine Irelands corporation tax system. The 12.5% rate for businesses here is the envy of other capitals and has attracted firms here for years. Mr McGrath claimed the EU has failed to adequately explain how Apple got superior tax treatment. The evidence is not seen, he said. However, the commissioner said the Apple ruling by Revenue is particular and unique to that company. She told Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty that the large, large majority of the unpaid taxes are owed to Ireland, as opposed to other states. The EU wants to restore a level playing field and have those taxes recovered, she said. Up to 1,000 tax rulings or arrangements across member states had been examined, she said. It has also emerged that the deadline has passed for Apple to put the 13bn in a special escrow holding account. It is up to Revenue to decide exact amounts due. Ms Vestager said the Irish Government is still working on the case. Finance Minister Michael Noonan said yesterday the Apple tax case will take four or five years to resolve. Despite the EU asking Ireland to clarify the amount of unpaid tax, Mr Noonan said this was a request to calculate the figure and that the account details are still being worked out. However, Patrick OShea also wants to widen the scope of an existing Brexit committee at the university to take advantage of growing numbers of researchers seeking to move away from the US. He begins his 10-year term this morning after a career as a physicist, professor and research director for more than 30 years in the US. While UCCs governing body chairwoman, Catherine Day, warned that the opportunities from Brexit might not be as great as some Irish research leaders predict, Prof OShea thinks differently. So if you have a hard Brexit, you can be sure that those who have strong EU funding will want to continue it. Thats why Ireland has an advantage, he said. We actually have a Brexit committee here on campus and Im going to broaden it now to the US, to look at how we can take advantage of these crises. Although his comments were made in an interview before last weekends order by US president Donald Trump, which prompted concerns internationally about the ability of researchers and academics to work in and visit the US, he referred to approaches already being received. What were seeing, and the same applies to the US more recently, is that were getting a lot of contacts from people who are exploring the opportunities in Ireland, from the US and from Britain, Prof OShea said. He is well aware of the danger of US or other foreign direct investment being withdrawn, but the UCC graduate also sees Irelands continuing advantages over other countries with its high-quality workforce, and what he says are low transactional costs. Part of that is the tax structure, but its also the legal structure, said Prof OShea. We have reliable regulations, honest government and honest people thats something we do not want to lose. Were an English-speaking country; were in the EU; we have close ties to Britain and to the Americas, and that puts us in a stronger position than you might think. He believes there is an untapped ability of UCC and other universities to attract much more private and corporate philanthropy. Prof OShea also said the funding options currently being considered at political level need to be widened. As an alternative to the focus on a study now, pay later system which is being considered despite opposition from student and trade unions, disadvantaged students should be able to begin and finish college debt-free, said Prof OShea. With the support of scholarships funded by philanthropy, Prof OShea said, Irish universities should be able to follow a need-blind admission system used by many colleges in the US. Im highly opposed to student debt. You do not want young people from disadvantaged communities starting off and being in debt, thats the worst possible situation, he said. Prof OShea replaces Michael Murphy as UCC president, and is the first since Bertram Windle in 1904 to assume the post without having held a professorship at the university. Take the scenic route through Cork with new UCC president, Patrick O'Shea Our gaze must not be averted. We must be open to the agony of our fellow occupants of this fragile earth, the President told foreign diplomats. There is an urgent need to look into the deep and quiet corners of those lives deprived of a right to participate at all levels of society because these lives deserve, again in the words of Pope Francis, a dignified welcome. Mr Higgins was speaking to members of the diplomatic corps during a new year greeting ceremony at Aras an Uachtarain yesterday. As democrats, we should also be concerned that an anti-intellectualism is feeding populism among the most insecure and excluded on this continent. We live in an atmosphere of diminishing respect for what I like to call the necessary grace of discourse. Mr Higgins said the EU remains a visionary and vital project irrespective of its failings and imperfections. He said: We are for its strengthening, its increased efficiency, its greater connection with the European Street, never in any sense as advocates for its destruction. The context of the United Kingdoms withdrawal from the union simply means that we must be resolute in mitigating and overcoming any negative consequence for the union and for Ireland. Mr Higgins said Northern Ireland is a living example of the positive impact of EU membership in supporting and framing a peace process, but there is now a risk old divisions might come to the fore in the upcoming election. There are also concerns about the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland, a region that has been transformed over the past two decades but is not yet fully reconciled or healed, he said. Mr Higgins believes the people of Northern Ireland expect their politicians to work together because of the support for the Good Friday agreement. He said: That democratic endorsement is a powerful one which reminds us that even in times of difficulty we have a duty of hope. The soon to be released Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner instead of a physical home button on the front of the device, according to a report from CNET Korea (via SamMobile). Referring to Galaxy S8 schematics the site clams to have obtained, the report predicts the Galaxy S8s fingerprint scanner will be placed to the right of the devices rear-mounted camera, a prediction which corroborates previous rumours about the new smartphone not featuring a physical home button on the front of the device. VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - February 01, 2017) - Luna Gold Corp. (TSX: LGC) ("Luna Gold") and JDL Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: JDL) ("JDL") are pleased to announce that they have entered into an arrangement agreement (the "Agreement") to combine their businesses, creating a multi-asset mining company (the "Transaction"). The combined company intends to change its name to Trek Mining Inc. ("Trek") and expects to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") under the ticker symbol "TREK". Trek Mining Highlights Strong leadership team: Combined executive team and directors have the financial, technical, construction and operations experience to advance the combined assets and build a leading mid-tier gold producer Combined executive team and directors have the financial, technical, construction and operations experience to advance the combined assets and build a leading mid-tier gold producer Significant cash position: Well capitalized with approximately C$66 M ($50 M) in cash and no cash debt Well capitalized with approximately C$66 M ($50 M) in cash and no cash debt Simplified balance sheet: All cash debt repaid or settled in equity All cash debt repaid or settled in equity Diversified asset portfolio: Asset portfolio anchored by near-term production from the Aurizona gold project in Brazil, increasing gold production from milling operations at the Koricancha Mill in Peru, and a pipeline of exploration-stage projects, providing a platform for growth Asset portfolio anchored by near-term production from the Aurizona gold project in Brazil, increasing gold production from milling operations at the Koricancha Mill in Peru, and a pipeline of exploration-stage projects, providing a platform for growth De-risks Aurizona development: Strong cash position increases construction financing flexibility for Aurizona and allows for purchase of long-lead capital items following completion of the feasibility study Strong cash position increases construction financing flexibility for Aurizona and allows for purchase of long-lead capital items following completion of the feasibility study Enhanced capital markets profile: Broad shareholder base with supportive and recognized investors and improved liquidity Trek will be well-funded, with approximately C$66 million ($50 million) in cash and no cash debt, and will be strongly positioned to advance the Aurizona gold project ("Aurizona" or the "Aurizona Project") to production. The Transaction also accelerates exploration at Aurizona with a focus on the drill-ready targets directly along strike from the existing reserves and resources at the Piaba open pit. Trek's portfolio includes the gold-producing Koricancha Mill in Peru and a robust pipeline of gold and copper exploration assets in South and North America. Christian Milau, CEO of Luna Gold said: "This transaction achieves a number of our near-term growth objectives and is the next step toward our vision of building a leading mid-tier gold producer. We have spent our first six months at Luna Gold focused on development of Aurizona. Our cash position post Transaction, together with a simplified balance sheet, will provide a solid foundation to advance Aurizona to production and accelerate exploration efforts. We see significant potential in JDL's asset portfolio and believe the combined company puts us on an exciting growth path." David Lowell, Chairman of JDL and incoming Director of Trek, said: "We are excited to team with Luna Gold in building a meaningful new mining company. JDL's shareholders will participate in the near-term gold production and exceptional exploration upside at Aurizona. The exploration potential, both on trend and regionally, represents a substantial opportunity for extension of the mine life and new discoveries. I look forward to joining the Trek Mining board of directors and continuing to work for the benefit of all our stakeholders." Lukas Lundin said: "I am pleased to support the merger of JDL and Luna Gold to create Trek Mining. I am enthusiastic about Trek's current portfolio of assets and am confident that this combination of management, assets and opportunity provides Trek with a strong foundation for success and momentum going forward." Pacific Road Resources Fund ("Pacific Road") and Sandstorm Gold Ltd. ("Sandstorm"), the two largest shareholders of Luna Gold, and Lorito Holdings (Guernsey) Ltd. and Zebra Holdings and Investments (Guernsey) Ltd., the largest shareholders of JDL (both controlled by a trust settled by the late Adolf H. Lundin), have entered into support agreements to vote in favour of the Transaction. Upon completion of the Transaction, Trek's asset base will consist of: Cash of approximately C$66 million ($50 million) including marketable securities 1 100% ownership of the feasibility-stage Aurizona Project in Brazil, a past-producing open-pit gold mine that is anticipated to recommence production by year-end 2018, targeting average annual gold production of 150,000 ounces for the first five years with all-in sustaining costs of $708/ounce 2 75% ownership of the Koricancha Mill, an operating gold ore processing facility in Peru 3 100% ownership of the Warintza copper-molybdenum exploration-stage project in Ecuador, with an inferred resource of 195 million tonnes at a copper equivalent grade of 0.61% 4 100% ownership of the high-grade past-producing Elk Gold project in British Columbia, Canada 5 100% ownership of the Ricardo Claim block in Chile, strategically located on the West Fissure fault that hosts numerous porphyry copper deposits including Escondida and Chuquicamata 6 Transaction Summary Under the terms of the Agreement, JDL will acquire all outstanding shares of Luna Gold pursuant to a plan of arrangement in exchange for 1.105 JDL common shares for each Luna Gold common share (the "Exchange Ratio"). Each Luna Gold warrant, option and restricted share unit will become exercisable for JDL common shares, as adjusted in accordance with the Exchange Ratio. The Exchange Ratio represents consideration of approximately C$2.20 per Luna Gold share based on the JDL share price as at the close of market on January 31, 2017, a premium of approximately 16% to Luna Gold's 20-day volume weighted average price and 23% to Luna Gold's share price as at the close of market on January 31, 2017. All Pacific Road debt will be repaid concurrent with or immediately following closing of the Transaction. In addition, the Sandstorm Debt Facility of $20 million, plus accrued interest, will be settled in exchange for equity, or a combination of equity and cash, concurrent with closing of the Transaction. Pursuant to the Agreement, the requisite approval of the Transaction for Luna Gold is the affirmative vote of: (i) 66 2/3% of the votes cast by Luna Gold securityholders, voting together as a single class, present in person or represented by proxy at the Luna Gold special meeting; (ii) 66 2/3% of the votes cast by Luna Gold shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Luna Gold special meeting; (iii) 66 2/3% of the votes cast by Luna Gold restricted share unit holders present in person or represented by proxy at the Luna Gold special meeting; and (iv) a majority of the votes cast by Luna Gold shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Luna Gold special meeting excluding, for this purpose, votes attached to Luna Gold common shares held by persons described in items (a) through (d) of Section 8.1(2) of MI 61-101. The requisite approval for each of the Luna Gold debt exchange and the Pacific Road debt settlement is the affirmative vote of a majority of the minority of the votes cast by Luna Gold shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Luna Gold special meeting. The vote on each of the Luna Gold debt exchange and the Pacific Road debt settlement will exclude, for this purpose, votes attached to the Luna Gold common shares held by persons described in items (a) through (d) of Section 8.1(2) of MI 61-101. The issuance of JDL securities pursuant to the Arrangement and the Concurrent Financing (as defined below) and the creation of new control persons will require a majority vote of JDL shareholders. The special meetings of both companies are expected to be held in the second half of March 2017. A joint information circular detailing the terms and conditions of the Transaction will be filed with regulatory authorities and mailed to the securityholders of Luna Gold and shareholders of JDL in accordance with applicable securities laws. Completion of the Transaction is expected to occur by the end of March 2017. Completion of the Transaction is subject to completion of the Concurrent Financing, which is fully backstopped by Pacific Road, and receipt of all regulatory, shareholder and court approvals in addition to other customary closing conditions. The Transaction includes customary deal-protection provisions, including non-solicitation of alternative transactions and a C$6.5 million ($4.9 million) reciprocal termination fee payable under certain circumstances. Concurrent Financing Concurrent with the Transaction, JDL intends to raise approximately C$27 million ($20 million) in a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Concurrent Financing") of subscription receipts of JDL (the "Subscription Receipts") at a price of C$2.00 per Subscription Receipt. Pacific Road has entered into an agreement with JDL to backstop the full amount of the Concurrent Financing. Completion of the Concurrent Financing is a condition to closing of the Transaction. Each Subscription Receipt will entitle the holder to receive automatically upon closing of the Transaction, without any further action on the part of the holder and without payment of additional consideration, one Unit, comprising one JDL common share (a "Common Share") and one JDL listed common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will have the same terms as the existing JDL common share purchase warrants listed on the TSX-V under the ticker symbol "JDL.WT" and will entitle the holder to acquire one Common Share of Trek at an exercise price of C$3.00 with an expiry date of October 6, 2021. The Shares and Warrants issued upon conversion of the Subscription Receipts may be traded by the holders through the facilities of the TSX-V and will not be subject to a statutory hold period. Proceeds of the Concurrent Financing will be used to repay all outstanding debt payable by Luna Gold to Pacific Road. Trek Leadership Team Luna Gold's executive team will remain in place with Christian Milau as CEO and Executive Director and Greg Smith joining as President and Executive Director. The new Board of Directors of Trek will have four directors appointed by Luna Gold, including the Chairman, with four appointed by JDL: Rob Pease Chairman Christian Milau CEO & Exec. Director Greg Smith President & Exec. Director Dan Wilton Director Marcel de Groot Director Felipe Alves Director Jim O'Rourke Director David Lowell Director Trek Mining Assets The Aurizona Project in northeastern Brazil produced gold from 2010 until late 2015 when it was placed on care and maintenance. The Aurizona Project produced a total of 329,042 ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.28 g/t gold and average recoveries of 88%. Remaining Proven & Probable Reserves are estimated at 18.6 million tonnes @ 1.62 g/t for 969,000 ounces of gold, with Measured & Indicated Resources (inclusive of reserves) of 29.9 million tonnes @ 1.67 g/t for 1,599,400 ounces of gold. 7 A Pre-feasibility Study for the Aurizona Project, completed in September 2016, is based on a new mine plan and mineral reserve estimate and outlines the design of an open-pit gold mine with the following attributes: 2 Production profile: 150,000 ounces of gold per year for the first five years, with an initial 6.5-year mine life 150,000 ounces of gold per year for the first five years, with an initial 6.5-year mine life Robust returns: After-tax internal rate of return of 34% at $1,250/oz ($1,350/oz: 40%) After-tax internal rate of return of 34% at $1,250/oz ($1,350/oz: 40%) Value: After-tax net present value (5% discount rate) of $201 million at $1,250/oz ($1,350/oz: $256 million) After-tax net present value (5% discount rate) of $201 million at $1,250/oz ($1,350/oz: $256 million) Low capex: Leveraging significant existing infrastructure at site results in capital benefits, with initial capital costs estimated at $146 million, including a new mining fleet, and life-of-mine sustaining capital estimated at $47 million Leveraging significant existing infrastructure at site results in capital benefits, with initial capital costs estimated at $146 million, including a new mining fleet, and life-of-mine sustaining capital estimated at $47 million Low all-in sustaining costs: Estimated at $708/oz of gold produced Completion of a feasibility study for Aurizona is expected around the end of Q1-2017 followed by an 18-month construction period, with first gold pour targeted for year-end 2018. 2 The Aurizona Project constitutes a large land package totaling approximately 241,400 hectares that includes the Aurizona mining license, brownfields exploration properties proximal to the Aurizona mine site, and earlier-stage greenfields exploration properties that are under option to AngloGold Ashanti Holdings plc ("AngloGold"). Near-mine, drill-ready exploration targets include Piaba West, which has the potential to extend the existing Piaba deposit 400 metres to the southwest, and Tatajuba. The Tatajuba target is situated on the same Piaba structure and represents a potential four-km extension along strike from Piaba West. An application is underway to convert Tatajuba to a mining permit with the objective of expediting exploration of this target. The greenfields land position covers approximately 191,426 hectares and is subject to a Joint Venture Agreement with AngloGold, whereby AngloGold can earn a 70% interest in the greenfields land position by spending $14 million on exploration over a four-year period. AngloGold commenced exploration in August 2016 and is currently undertaking extensive airborne surveys over the entire land package, including the brownfields properties and the Aurizona mine site. The Koricancha Mill, located in Arequipa, Peru, is an industrial gold processing plant with processing capacity of 350 tpd of ore. Koricancha purchases mineralized feed at a market discount from legally operating small-scale and artisanal miners throughout Peru and processes the material to produce gold and silver for its own account. Koricancha recommenced gold production during Q4-2016 and is focused on increasing throughput toward its installed capacity. 3 The Warintza Project is a copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit in southeast Ecuador. The project consists of mineral concessions covering a total of 22,676 hectares, located 40 km north of the Mirador copper-gold development project and near contiguous with the San Carlos Panantza exploration-stage copper-molybdenum deposit. A 2013 resource estimate for Warintza outlined 195.0 million tonnes of Inferred Resources grading 0.42% copper and 0.031% molybdenum, for 1.808 billion pounds of copper and 132.3 million pounds of molybdenum, and a copper-equivalent grade of 0.61%. 4 The Elk Gold Project in British Columbia, Canada consists of 27 contiguous mineral claims and one mining lease covering 16,566 hectares. Approximately 51,500 ounces of gold were produced between 1992 and 1995 from a test pit on site. A 6,597-tonne bulk sample was mined and processed in 2014, producing 3,531 ounces of gold with an average grade of 16.65 g/t. An updated resource estimate in 2016 outlined 1.043 million tonnes of Measured & Indicated Resources at a grade of 6.32 g/t for 211,900 ounces of gold, and 1.097 million tonnes of Inferred Resources at a grade of 5.94 g/t for 209,600 ounces of gold. 5 The Ricardo claim block consists of approximately 16,000 hectares strategically located along the West Fissure fault in Chile. The West Fissure fault hosts numerous large porphyry copper deposits including Escondida and Chuquicamata, two of the world's largest known copper deposits. While proximity to existing porphyry deposits does not guarantee that similar mineralization will exist on the Ricardo claim block, this property presents an interesting "area play" opportunity in Trek's portfolio of projects. Lock-up Agreements Luna Gold's officers and directors and certain shareholders holding, in the aggregate, 68% of the issued and outstanding Luna Gold shares, have entered into lock-up agreements with JDL to vote in favour of the Transaction. JDL's officers and directors and certain shareholders holding, in the aggregate, 30% of the issued and outstanding JDL shares, have entered into lock-up agreements with Luna Gold to vote in favour of the Transaction. Special Committee and Board of Directors' Approval Luna Gold's Board of Directors formed a special committee (the "Luna Gold Special Committee") of independent directors to consider the Transaction. The Luna Gold Special Committee has unanimously determined that the Arrangement is in the best interests of Luna Gold, based on its investigations and considerations, including a review of the Arrangement and the fairness opinion of National Bank Financial Inc., and after consultation with management and advisors. The independent directors of JDL have unanimously determined that completion of the Transaction is in the best interests of JDL, based on their investigations and considerations, including a review of the Arrangement and the fairness opinion of Haywood Securities Inc., and after consultation with management and advisors. Both companies' Boards of Directors (other than directors who have abstained from voting) have unanimously approved the Transaction and will provide a written recommendation, in the joint information circulars to be mailed to their respective shareholders, that their respective shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction. Advisors and Counsel National Bank Financial Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Luna Gold and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is acting as legal counsel. Haywood Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor to JDL and Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP is acting as legal counsel. Qualified Persons David Laing, BSc, MIMMM, Luna Gold's COO, and Scott Heffernan, MSc, P.Geo. Luna Gold's EVP Exploration, are the Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 for Luna Gold and have reviewed, approved and verified the technical content of this news release as it relates to Luna Gold's Aurizona Project. J. David Lowell, JDL's Chairman, is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 for JDL and has reviewed, approved and verified the technical content of this news release as it relates to the Warintza, Elk Gold and Ricardo projects. Conference Call and Webcast Interested analysts and investors are invited to participate in a joint conference call and webcast on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 8:30am EST (5:30am PST) using the following dial-in numbers. The webcast will be archived and accessible on both companies' websites. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 1, 2017) - Orca Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ORG) ("Orca" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a share purchase agreement with two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K)(NYSE:KGC) ("Kinross") (the "SPA"), whereby the Company is acquiring from Kinross all the issued and outstanding common shares of two wholly-owned exploration companies located and operating in Cote d'Ivoire (the "Acquisition"), which collectively own and have rights to the Morondo and Korokaha North exploration licences, and five exploration licence applications (collectively, the "Exploration Assets"). Closing of the Acquisition is subject to a number of conditions, including, but not limited to, the parties receiving approval of the Acquisition by the Minister of Industry and Mines of Cote d'Ivoire. The Company does not currently have an expected closing date and there is no assurance that the transaction will be completed. The Exploration Assets comprise a land package of 2,268km2 positioned on highly prospective structural trends related to known gold mineralisation (see figure below). The Exploration Assets have received little or no exploration, the most advanced being Morondo, where a discovery was made by Red Back Mining Inc. in 2010 (best intercept 66m at 1.53g/t). Gold mineralisation has been identified by trenching and 4,284m of shallow reverse circulation drilling over an area of 600m x 200m and is open in all directions. Orca plans to explore this prospect with the aim advancing it to resource status. The Korokaha North licence and Korokaha South application lie adjacent to the east of Randgold's Tongon Mine. The Bassawa and Satama applications are located on the southern extension of the Hounde Belt. The Zuenoula Ouest and Zuenoula Est applications are located north west of Perseus's Yaoure project. With the signing of the SPA, Orca intends to expand its exploration programmes into what is one of the most prospective but least explored countries in Africa, complementing its flagship Block 14 Gold Project in the Sudan. Upon the closing of the Acquisition, Orca will: issue 10,633,169 common shares in the capital of Orca to Kinross, which will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months, representing 8.6% of the post-Acquisition share capital of Orca; grant to Kinross a right to maintain its proportionate equity interest in the Company through participation in Orca's future equity financings, provided that Kinross maintains a minimum equity interest in the Company of at least 5%; grant to Kinross a 2-year right of first refusal on any subsequent disposal of the Exploration Assets, in whole or in part, by Orca; grant to Kinross a right of first offer on the Exploration Assets to take effect upon the expiry of the aforementioned 2-year right of first refusal; and grant to Kinross a 2% net smelter return royalty on any product mined and sold from the Exploration Assets. The acquisition by the Company of these highly prospective licences and applications from Kinross complements the applications already made by Orca in Cote d'Ivoire for licences covering 789km2. The combination of Kinross's licences and applications with Orca's licence applications represents a strategic exploration portfolio in Cote d'Ivoire (See Figure 1 below). Commenting on the transaction, Rick Clark, CEO and Director of Orca, said, "The addition of the Kinross Ivorian exploration assets to our portfolio not only complements Orca's own licence applications in this highly prospective jurisdiction, but also helps the Company realize shareholder value through geographic and geopolitical diversification. We welcome Kinross as a significant shareholder of Orca going forward. Orca's management has enjoyed a long business relationship with Kinross and we look forward to working with Kinross to close the Acquisition and fast track an aggressive exploration program in Cote d'Ivoire." Figure 1 - Cote d'Ivoire - Applications & Licenses About Orca Gold Inc. Orca Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ORG) is a Canadian resource company focused on exploration and development opportunities in Africa, where it is currently focused on the development of its 70%-owned Block 14 project in the Republic of the Sudan. The Company has an experienced board of directors and management team and a strong balance sheet, with a treasury in excess of $9.5 million as at December 31, 2016. The technical contents of this release have been approved by Hugh Stuart, BSc, MSc, a Qualified Person pursuant to NI 43-101. Mr. Stuart is President of the Company and a Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London. TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 1, 2017) - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX:DML)(NYSE MKT:DNN) is pleased to announce that Denison Mines Inc. ("DMI") and 9373721 Canada Inc. ("SPV"), both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company, have entered into definitive agreements with Anglo Pacific Group PLC ("APG") and/or its wholly owned subsidiary Centaurus Royalties Ltd. ("Centaurus") which are expected to raise aggregate gross proceeds to Denison of CAD$43,500,000 (the "Financing"). The Financing is comprised of (1) a 13-year limited recourse lending arrangement involving a loan from APG to SPV (the "APG Loan") and a further loan from SPV to DMI (the "SPV Loan"), each for CAD$40,800,000 (the "Lending Arrangement"), and (2) CAD$2,700,000 in proceeds from the sale, to Centaurus, of a stream equal to Denison's 22.5% share of the proceeds from the toll milling of certain Cigar Lake ore by the McClean Lake mill ("Streaming Agreement"). Additional details are provided below. Denison's President & CEO, David Cates, commented, "This Financing represents a truly creative partnership between Denison and APG - whereby Denison is able to use its existing asset base to provide the Company with the financial flexibility needed to advance our flagship Wheeler River project towards a development decision. With recourse being limited to the proceeds from Denison's interest in the toll milling revenues from the processing of Cigar Lake ore at the McClean Lake mill, this Financing allows Denison to benefit immediately from the cash flow expected to be produced from the McClean Lake mill over the next several years, without the overhang of a bullet payment or convert at the end of a debt, and without selling its strategic ownership stake in the McClean Lake mill or the McClean Lake Joint Venture ("MLJV")." Commenting on the Financing, Julian Treger, Chief Executive Officer of APG, noted, "This transaction ticks all the boxes for APG and moves forward our growth and diversification in a material way. The transaction should be accretive to our 2017 income, building on the more than doubling of income in 2016, which we now estimate to be in the range of 19.5m to 20.5m, following receipt of the final payment amount from Rio Tinto in respect of our Kestrel royalty. We are looking forward to working in partnership with Denison, and are pleased the structure of the transaction will facilitate its continued development." The Financing is expected to close in early February, and is conditional upon APG obtaining sufficient financing. APG is a publicly listed company, which trades on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:APF) and on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:APY), and has announced (concurrently, with its own news release regarding the Financing) that it will launch an accelerated equity placement book building process, which is expected to close no later than 3:00PM (GMT) today. CAD$40,800,000 Lending Arrangement The proceeds from the APG Loan will be on-loaned by SPV to DMI under the SPV Loan, and will be available for use by DMI and/or Denison, as the Company continues to advance its 60% owned Wheeler River uranium development project towards the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"). Importantly, the SPV Loan is limited in its recourse against DMI, such that it is generally repayable only to the extent of Denison's share of the toll milling revenues earned by the MLJV from the processing of the first 215 million lbs U 3 O 8 , from ore received from the Cigar Lake mine on or after July 1, 2016, under the terms of the current Cigar Lake Toll Milling Agreement (the "TMA"). The APG Loan will accrue interest at a rate of 10% per annum, but does not have a predetermined principal repayment schedule. The APG Loan is secured by a first priority interest in the assets of SPV - which will essentially consist of the SPV Loan to DMI. The SPV Loan will accrue interest at a rate of approximately 10% per annum, and also does not have a predetermined principal repayment schedule. Denison will guarantee the limited recourse loan repayments and will grant a second ranking pledge of its shares of DMI to secure performance by DMI of its obligations to pay the SPV Loan (on the limited recourse basis described above). The share pledge is second ranking to Denison's existing pledge of the shares of DMI to The Bank of Nova Scotia ("BNS") under the terms of its CAD$24,000,000 Letters of Credit Facility ("BNS Facility"). Both the APG Loan and the SPV Loan provide for regular payments against accrued and capitalized interest and principal balances to the extent payable in respect of Denison's share of the toll milling revenue earned by the MLJV from the Cigar Lake TMA. CAD$2,700,000 Streaming Agreement The Streaming Agreement entitles Centaurus to receive a stream from DMI equal to the amount of the toll milling revenue received by DMI under the TMA, once throughput from the McClean Lake mill exceeds 215 million lbs U 3 O 8 , from ore received from the Cigar Lake mine, on or after July 1, 2016. Other Financing Highlights No Warranty of the Future Rate of Production - In addition to the limited recourse nature of both the Lending Arrangement and the Streaming Agreement, no warranty is provided by Denison, DMI or SPV to APG or Centaurus regarding the future rate of production at the Cigar Lake Mine and/or the McClean Lake mill, or the amount or collectability of proceeds to be received or receivable by the MLJV in respect of toll milling Cigar Lake ore. Denison Retains Ownership of its 22.5% Interest in the MLJV - While the Financing is limited in recourse to Denison's share of the toll milling revenues earned from the MLJV from the processing of Cigar Lake ores under the TMA, Denison continues to own its 22.5% strategic interest in the MLJV, including the fully licensed and operating McClean Lake uranium mill, which is situated in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan. Potential for an Additional CAD$2,124,808 in Proceeds from the Exercise of Warrants - In connection with the closing of the Financing, Denison will grant 1,673,077 share purchase warrants, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals (including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE MKT), in satisfaction of a CAD$435,000 arrangement fee payable to APG. The warrants are expected to have an exercise price of CAD$1.27 per share, and will be exercisable for a period of 3 years immediately following the closing of the Financing. As a result, Denison may receive a further CAD$2,124,808 in proceeds from the exercise of the warrants. Amendment and Extension of BNS Facility - The terms of the BNS Facility have been amended to reflect certain changes required to facilitate an Intercreditor Agreement between APG, Centaurus, BNS, DMI and SPV. Amongst those changes, BNS and DMI have agreed, on the closing of the Financing, to replace a restrictive covenant to maintain CAD$5,000,000 on deposit with BNS (under the previous BNS Facility) with a pledge of CAD$9,000,000 in restricted cash or GIC's as collateral. Under the amended BNS Facility, Denison will pay letter of credit fees of 0.4% on the first CAD$9,000,000 (associated with the restricted cash), and 2.4% on the remaining CAD$13,000,000 of letters of credit issued under the facility. This is expected to result in savings to Denison of approximately CAD$180,000 per annum in letters of credit fees. In addition to the amendments, the maturity date under the BNS Facility has been extended to January 31, 2018. Use of Proceeds - The net proceeds of the Financing are expected to be used to fund development and exploration expenditures at the Company's projects and for general corporate and working capital purposes. Advisors & Counsel - Denison's financial advisor in respect of the Financing is Pareto Securities Limited, and its legal counsel is Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. About Denison Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Including its 60% owned Wheeler River project, which hosts the high grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, Denison's exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering over 350,000 hectares in the infrastructure rich eastern Athabasca Basin. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit and a 63.01% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property. Both the Midwest and J Zone deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 1, 2017) - Pilot Gold Inc. (TSX:PLG) ("Pilot Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce additional drill results from the Main and Aggie zones, as well as from the new Dip Slope and Warrior zones, located north and west respectively, of the Main Zone, at the 100% controlled Goldstrike Project in southwestern Utah. The primary target is shallow Carlin-style, oxide gold mineralization within the 14 km2 "Historic Mine Trend", between and down-dip of historic open pits. Highlights from the New Dip Slope Zone include: 0.51 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 41.1 metres (m) including 1.24 g/t over 6.1 m in PGS142 1.14 g/t Au over 6.1 m in PGS144 0.58 g/t Au over 21.3 m in PGS153 2.81 g/t Au over 3.0 m in PGS161 Highlights from the New Warrior Zone include: 0.59 g/t Au over 25.9 m in PGS166 0.86 g/t Au over 22.9 m including 1.45 g/t Au over 4.6 m in PGS188 To date, a total of three holes have been drilled in the Warrior Zone. The discovery hole, PGS126, returned 0.84 g/t Au over 10.7 m and 0.83 g/t Au over 10.7 m. Highlights from the existing Main and Aggie Zones include: 0.53 g/t Au over 22.9 m including 1.03 g/t over 4.6 m in PGS131 0.63 g/t Au over 10.7 m in PGS165 0.48 g/t Au over 24.4 m in PGS168 0.72 g/t Au over 32.0 m including 2.07 g/t Au over 4.6 m in PGS170 0.84 g/t Au over 27.4 m including 1.55 g/t Au over 10.7 m in PGS175 * Note that due to having two drills on the property, assay results for the holes are not necessarily received in sequence. Key Points The 2017 drill program commenced today, with two drills on the property. Initially, the drills will focus on the Peg Leg, Warrior and Dip Slope targets in order to include these areas in a resource estimate, projected for completion in Q2, 2017. The Dip Slope target covers an area approximately 2.5 km long and up to 800 m wide directly north of the Main Zone. The Dip Slope area hosts several historic pits, as well as unmined gold intercepts in historic holes adjacent to the pits. Approximately 85% of the target area is still undrilled, or only very sparsely drilled. The objective of the 17-hole, first-pass test of the Dip Slope was to identify areas where the host basal Claron Formation extends beyond the immediate pit areas under shallow cover. The results suggest that significant additional drilling is warranted. Drill testing of outlying areas will commence following receipt of the Plan of Operations. The Warrior target is located in the western Goldstrike Graben approximately 350 m west of the Aggie Zone. To date, Pilot Gold has tested this new zone with three drill holes. All three holes contain significant thicknesses of oxide gold mineralization. Follow-up drilling in 2017 will be focused on extending this zone where it is open to the north and west. Results from five follow-up drill holes at Peg Leg and 12 holes from the Covington Pit area to the west, are still pending. Complete table of drill results for the current holes: Complete table of results for all drilling by Pilot Gold at Goldstrike in 2015 and to date in 2016: Map showing the areas of new drilling and the location of historic hits at Goldstrike Goldstrike is located in the eastern Great Basin, immediately adjacent to the Utah/Nevada border, and is a Carlin-style gold system, similar in many ways to the prolific deposits located along Nevada's Carlin trend. Like Kinsley Mountain and Newmont's Long Canyon deposit, Goldstrike represents part of a growing number of Carlin-style gold systems located off the main Carlin and Cortez trends in underexplored parts of the Great Basin. The historic Goldstrike Mine operated from 1988 to 1994, with 209,000 ounces of gold produced from 12 shallow pits, at an average grade of 1.2 g/t Au. Moira Smith, Ph.D., P.Geo., Vice-President Exploration and Geoscience, Pilot Gold, is the Company's designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed and validated that the information contained in the release is accurate. Drill composites were calculated using a cut-off of 0.20 g/t. Drill intersections are reported as drilled thicknesses. True widths of the mineralized intervals vary between 30 and 100% of the reported lengths due to varying drill hole orientations, but are typically in the range of 60 to 80% of true width. Drill samples were assayed by ALS Limited in Reno, Nevada for gold by Fire Assay of a 30 gram (1 assay ton) charge with an AA finish, or if over 5.0 g/t were re-assayed and completed with a gravimetric finish. For these samples, the gravimetric data were utilized in calculating gold intersections. For any samples assaying over 0.200 ppm an additional cyanide leach analysis is done where the sample is treated with a 0.25% NaCN solution and rolled for an hour. An aliquot of the final leach solution is then centrifuged and analyzed by AAS. Metallic screen techniques may be employed where the presence of coarse free gold is suspected. Approximately 1000 grams of coarse reject material are pulverized and screened. Two splits of the fine fraction are assayed, as well as all material that does not pass through the screen (the coarse fraction). The final gold assay reported is a weighted average of the coarse and fine fractions. QA/QC for all drill samples consists of the insertion and continual monitoring of numerous standards and blanks into the sample stream, and the collection of duplicate samples at random intervals within each batch. Selected holes are also analyzed for a 51 multi-element geochemical suite by ICP-MS. ALS Geochemistry-Reno is ISO 17025:2005 Accredited, with the Elko prep lab listed on the scope of accreditation. Goldstrike is an early-stage exploration project and does not contain any mineral resource estimates as defined by NI 43-101. The potential quantities and grades disclosed herein are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource for the targets disclosed herein. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in these targets being delineated as a mineral resource. Further information on Goldstrike is available in the technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Goldstrike Project, Washington County, Utah, U.S.A.", effective April 1, 2016 and dated October 7, 2016, prepared by Michael M. Gustin, C.P.G. and Moira Smith, Ph.D., P.Geo. found at the top of this page or under Pilot Gold's issuer profile in SEDAR (www.sedar.com). About Pilot Gold Pilot Gold is led by a proven technical and capital markets team that continues to discover and define high-quality assets. Our core projects are Goldstrike in Utah, Black Pine in Idaho and Kinsley Mountain in Nevada. The Company also holds important interests in two Turkish assets, Halilaga and TV Tower, and has a pipeline of Western US projects characterized by large land positions and district-wide potential that can meet our growth needs for years to come. TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 1, 2017) - Cordoba Minerals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CDB)(OTCQX:CDBMF) ("Cordoba" or the "Company") and its joint-venture partner, High Power Exploration Inc. ("HPX"), a private mineral exploration company indirectly controlled by mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe Industries, LLC, are pleased to announce that Major Drilling International Inc. ("Major Drilling") has been engaged to expand Cordoba's exploration program providing a more powerful drill rig that will allow for the drill testing of deeper targets at the San Matias Copper-Gold Project in Colombia. The first two Major Drilling rigs are being mobilized to site and drilling is expected to begin next week. Additional rigs are expected to be mobilized to site in the near future. Following Cordoba's news release on January 23, 2017, announcing the discovery of bonanza-grade gold veins at Alacran where hole ACD036 intersected 0.9 metres of 4,440 g/t gold, 10.25% copper, 24.7% zinc and 347 g/t silver, drilling at Alacran will be focused on testing the extent of the newly discovered, bonanza-grade, structurally controlled, Carbonate Base Metal (CBM) veins, and the up-dip eastern extensions of the Alacran deposit where hole ACD033 intersected 108 metres of 1.26% copper and 0.87 g/t gold and the down dip extensions on the western side. Mario Stifano, President and CEO of Cordoba, commented: "We look forward to restarting our aggressive drilling program at our highly prospective San Matias Copper-Gold Project, which will focus on expanding the size and scope of mineralization at Alacran, as well as testing other high priority targets at San Matias that have previously yielded large widths of high-grade copper-gold mineralization." Figure 1. Project Location and Licences on Magnetics Based in New Brunswick, Canada, Major Drilling is one of the world's largest metals and minerals contract drilling services companies and who have a significant presence in Colombia. Alacran Copper-Gold System The Alacran copper-gold system is located within the San Matias Copper-Gold Project in the Department of Cordoba, Colombia. The San Matias Copper-Gold Project comprises a 20,000-hectare land package on the inferred northern extension of the richly endowed Mid-Cauca Belt in Colombia. The project contains several known areas of porphyry copper-gold mineralization, copper-gold skarn mineralization and vein-hosted, gold-copper mineralization. The Alacran system is located on a topographic high in gently rolling topography, optimal for potential open-pit mining. Access and infrastructure are considered favourable. Initial inferred resources at Alacran are 53.5 million tonnes of 0.70% copper and 0.37 g/t gold. Alacran is approximately two kilometres southwest of the Company's Montiel porphyry copper-gold discovery, where drilling interested 101 metres of 1.0% copper and 0.65 g/t gold, and two kilometers northwest of the Costa Azul porphyry copper-gold discovery, where drilling interested 87 metres of 0.62% copper and 0.51 g/t gold (Figure 1). The copper-gold mineralization at Alacran is associated with stratabound replacement of a marine volcano-sedimentary sequence in the core of a faulted antiformal fold structure. The deposit comprises moderately to steeply-dipping stratigraphy that is mineralized as a series of sub-parallel replacement-style zones and associated disseminations. The copper-gold mineralization is composed of multiple overprinting hydrothermal events with the main ore phase comprised of chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite-pyrite that appears to overprint an early magnetite metasomatic event. Joint Venture Agreement The San Matias Project is a joint venture between Cordoba and HPX. HPX has earned a 51% interest in the San Matias Project by spending a cumulative total of C$19 million on exploration expenditures on the project. Cordoba and HPX have entered Phase Three of their Joint Venture Agreement, whereby HPX can earn a 65% interest in the project by completing a Feasibility Study. About High Power Exploration (HPX) HPX is a privately owned, metals-focused exploration company deploying proprietary in-house geophysical technologies to rapidly evaluate buried geophysical targets. The HPX technology cluster comprises geological and geophysical systems for targeting, modelling, survey optimization, acquisition, processing and interpretation. HPX has a highly experienced board and management team led by Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Friedland, President Eric Finlayson, a former head of exploration at Rio Tinto, and co-chaired by Ian Cockerill, a former Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields Ltd. For further information, please visit www.hpxploration.com. By Jun Ji-hye North Korea has reportedly set up land-based sensors along its border with China to block attempts to flee the country. The North's national security agency has installed unmanned detection devices at barbed-wire fences located in the North Korea-China border area upon its leader Kim Jong-un's order, Yonhap News Agency said, citing sources familiar with the matter. It is the first time testimony on the land-based sensors has been reported. Previous reports had it that the Kim regime set up infrared search cameras along the border to detect people trying to defect. The young leader has stressed the importance of effectively dealing with defectors as quickly as possible especially after Thae Yong-ho, who was deputy ambassador at the North Korean Embassy in Britain, fled to South Korea last August, becoming one of the highest-ranking North Korean officials to escape the repressive state, according to sources. The land-based sensors have been placed on well-known escape routes, such as Hyesan in Ryanggang Province and around Hoeryong in North Hamgyong Province, the sources said, adding that the North plans to set up more sensors. The sensors are designed to detect motion by humans or animals. Once any motion is detected, relevant information is transmitted to security forces stationed near the border area. "Kim Jong-un ordered the national security agency not to waste too much time on dealing with defectors and to solve the matter at the earliest possible date," a source said. "In accordance with such an order, the agency has expanded its informers working at the border area." The informers hired by the agency even work together with some North Korean defectors living in the South to concoct a trap to hunt potential defectors. "The informers are asking the defectors in the South to disguise themselves as brokers who pretend to assist would-be defectors," the source said. "The disguised brokers contact residents in the North and tempt them to defect. Then, the informers are hunting for those who are trying to defect." In this process, dozens of residents have been arrested by the agency and executed for espionage, the source said, adding that the Kim regime's reign of terror has resulted in a decrease in the number of residents attempting to defect. The head of a Seoul-based group helping North Koreans defect to the South, asking not to be named, said 20 to 30 defectors have entered South Korea via China each month until last year, but this number has fallen off noticeably from this year. Thae fled to the South with his wife and children, revealing that his disillusionment with Kim's reign of terror prompted his defection. Since his arrival, Thae has been expressing his willingness to devote the rest of his life to the reunification of the two Koreas. Questioning will focus on bribery, blacklist and Sewol suspicions By Kim Rahn President Park Geun-hye's lawyers and the independent counsel team are holding last-minute talks to set the date for the first-ever questioning of an incumbent president in the nation's history. Independent counsel Park Young-soo himself is expected to quiz the President instead of assistant counsels later next week. To zero in on the President, the special prosecution team has questioned dozens of figures involved in the widespread corruption scandal, including former and incumbent government officials, ministers, professors and doctors. One of the key allegations the President faces is bribery involving conglomerates, which the prosecution had earlier failed to confirm and passed on to the counsel. Cheong Wa Dae officials allegedly pressured 53 companies to provide 77.4 billion won ($66.4 million) to the Mir and K-Sports foundations controlled by Park's confidant Choi Soon-sil. The counsel suspects some of them sought business favors from the government in return for the money. The money was funneled to Choi and her associates, but the team regards it as bribes for the President, believing Choi and Park shared economic interests an allegation Park denies. It sought an arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong for offering bribes, but a local court rejected the request. For more solid ground for the bribery charges, the counsel will have to question Park, the alleged co-recipient of the money. Another allegation is that the President allowed Choi, who has never held a government post, access to confidential documents and to meddle in personnel affairs. Former presidential secretary Jeong Ho-seong told investigators that the President had ordered him to seek Choi's opinion in state affairs. Choi also allegedly intervened in the appointment of high-ranking officials including former Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok, former Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong and former Korea Creative Content Agency CEO Song Sung-gak. In a recent interview with an online news outlet, Park partially admitted Choi's personnel affairs intervention, but said it was only about recommendations and the recommended candidates went through the verification process. But suspicions are growing that she also meddled in the appointment of ambassadors to several Southeast Asian countries where she sought business opportunities. The counsel will also dig into Cheong Wa Dae's alleged creation of a blacklist of artists critical of the government. While Park says she does not know about the list, the counsel has already collected evidence unfavorable to her, and arrested former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun on the charges. Negligence on Sewol What Park was doing in the first seven hours of the Sewol ferry sinking on April 16, 2014, is another issue the counsel team has to ask the President. More than two-and-a-half years have passed since the tragedy in which more than 300 lost their lives, but Cheong Wa Dae has failed to clarify Park's whereabouts, only continuing to say she received written and phone reports about the disaster and gave orders to officials. Her lawyers denied rumors that she was receiving cosmetic treatment during those hours, but without any details. If she was not properly responding to the sinking because of such treatment or other reasons, it would constitute dereliction of duty. It is to be seen whether the President will tell the truth about the "missing seven hours" to the independent counsel. Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Cyber & Intelligence, Platforms & Services (US), Air, and Maritime. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance systems, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems. The Cyber & Intelligence segment provides solutions to modernize, maintain, and test cyber-harden aircraft, radars, missile systems, and mission applications that detect and deter threats to national security; systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services for critical weapons systems, C5ISR, and cyber security; and solutions and services to intelligence and federal/civilian agencies. It also offers data intelligence solutions to defend against national-scale threats, protect their networks, and data against attacks; security and intelligence solutions to the United Kingdom government and allied international governments; anti-fraud and regulatory compliance solutions; and enterprise-level data and digital services. The Platforms & Services (US) segment manufactures combat vehicles, weapons, and munitions, as well as provides ship repair services and the management of government-owned munitions facilities. The Air segment develops, manufactures, upgrades, and supports combat and jet trainer aircraft. The Maritime segment designs, manufactures, and supports surface ships, submarines, torpedoes, radars, and command and combat systems; and supplies naval gun systems. It also supplies naval weapon systems, missile launchers, and precision munitions. The company was founded in 1970 and is based in Farnborough, the United Kingdom. The following companies are subsidiares of Brinker International: BI INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LLC, BI MEXICO HOLDING CORPORATION, BIPC GLOBAL PAYROLL COMPANY LLC, BIPC INVESTMENTS LLC, BIPC MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER AIRPORTS LLC, BRINKER ALABAMA INC., BRINKER ARKANSAS INC., BRINKER ASIA INC., BRINKER BRAZIL LLC, BRINKER CANADIAN HOLDING CO. ULC, BRINKER CANADIAN RESTAURANT CO. ULC, BRINKER CB LP, BRINKER CB MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER FHC B.V., BRINKER FLORIDA INC., BRINKER FREEHOLD INC., BRINKER GEORGIA INC., BRINKER INTERNATIONAL PAYROLL COMPANY L.P., BRINKER LOUISIANA INC., BRINKER MICHIGAN INC., BRINKER MISSISSIPPI INC., BRINKER MISSOURI INC., BRINKER NEVADA INC., BRINKER NEW JERSEY INC., BRINKER NORTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER OF BALTIMORE COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CARROLL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CECIL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OKLAHOMA INC., BRINKER OPCO LLC, BRINKER PENN TRUST, BRINKER PROPCO FLORIDA INC., BRINKER PROPERTY CORPORATION, BRINKER PURCHASING INC., BRINKER RESTAURANT CORPORATION, BRINKER RHODE ISLAND INC., BRINKER SERVICES CORPORATION, BRINKER SOUTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER TEXAS INC., BRINKER VIRGINIA INC., CHILIS BEVERAGE COMPANY INC., CHILIS INC. a Delaware corporation, CHILIS INC. a Tennessee corporation, CHILIS INTERNATIONAL BASES B.V., CHILIS OF BEL AIR INC., CHILIS OF KANSAS INC., CHILIS OF MARYLAND INC., CHILIS OF WEST VIRGINIA INC., Grady's Inc., MAGGIANO'S OF ANNAPOLIS INC., MAGGIANO'S OF HOWARD COUNTY INC., MAGGIANO'S OF KANSAS INC., MAGGIANOS BEVERAGE COMPANY, MAGGIANOS HOLDING CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS INC., MAGGIANOS OF TYSONS INC., MAGGIANOS PROPERTY CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS TEXAS INC., PEPPER DINING HOLDING CORP., PEPPER DINING Inc., and PEPPER DINING VERMONT INC.. Read More Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 900 bank branches and 3,300 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Orange S.A. provides various fixed telephony and mobile telecommunications, data transmission, and other value-added services to customers, businesses, and other telecommunications operators in France and internationally. It operates through France; Spain and Other European Countries; The Africa and Middle East; Enterprise; International Carriers & Shared Services; and Mobile Financial Services segments. The company offers mobile services, such as voice, SMS, and data; fixed broadband and narrowband services, as well as fixed network business solutions, including voice and data; and convergence packages. It also sells mobile handsets, mobile terminals, broadband equipment, connected devices, and accessories. In addition, the company provides IT and integration services comprising unified communication and collaboration services, such as LAN and telephony, consultancy, integration, and project management; hosting and infrastructure services, including cloud computing; customer relations management and other applications services; security services; and video conferencing, as well as sells related equipment. Further, it offers national and international roaming services; online advertising services; and mobile virtual network operators, network sharing, and mobile financial services, as well as sells equipment to external distributors and brokers. Orange S.A. markets its products and services under the Orange brand. The company was formerly known as France Telecom and changed its name to Orange S.A. in July 2013. Orange S.A. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Aqua Environmental Limited, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bro-Tech Limited, CALGON LLC, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, Cymru Holdings Limited, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, EPN Water Col Ltd., Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH in Liquidation, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co. Compagnie Ecolab, Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Digital Center Private Limited, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab International SDN BHD, Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 SCA, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 16 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 17 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 Sarl, Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Malaysia SDN. BHD., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BV, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios S.A.S., Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM B.V., NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE SAS, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA MANUFACTURING S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC (1), Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Deutschland Manufacturing GmbH, Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Private Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., National Wiper Alliance Inc., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Purolite, Purolite (China) Co. Ltd., Purolite (Int.) Ltd, Purolite (Pty) Ltd, Purolite AG, Purolite GmbH, Purolite Ileri Kimyasal Ticaret Ltd, Purolite KK, Purolite LLC, Purolite Ltd, Purolite NZ Limited, Purolite Private Limited, Purolite Pte. Ltd., Purolite Pty Ltd, Purolite S. de R.L. de C.V., Purolite SAS, Purolite SRL, Purolite do Brasil Ltda, Purolite s.r.o., Purolite sp. z o.o., Purolite C Corporation, QazSorbent LLP, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, TechTex Holdings Limited, Technical Textile Services Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, VanBaele Hygiene AG, Wabasha Leasing LLC, Zhe Jiang Purosoft Home Appliances Sale Co Ltd, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG. Read More Trinity Industries, Inc. provides rail transportation products and services under the TrinityRail name in North America. It operates in two segments, Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group, and Rail Products Group. The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group segment leases freight and tank railcars; originates and manages railcar leases for third-party investors; and provides fleet maintenance and management services. As of December 31, 2021, it had a fleet of 106,970 owned or leased railcars. This segment serves industrial shipper and railroad companies operating in agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. The Rail Products Group segment manufactures freight and tank railcars for transporting various liquids, gases, and dry cargo; and offers railcar maintenance and modification services. This segment serves railroads, leasing companies, and industrial shippers of products in the agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. It sells or leases products and services through its own sales personnel and independent sales representatives. Trinity Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1933 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. United Parcel Service, Inc. provides letter and package delivery, transportation, logistics, and related services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States. The International Package segment provides guaranteed day and time-definite international shipping services in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East, and Africa. This segment offers guaranteed time-definite express options. The company also provides international air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, distribution and post-sales, and mail and consulting services in approximately 200 countries and territories. In addition, it offers truckload brokerage services; supply chain solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industry; shipping, visibility, and billing technologies; and financial and insurance services. The company operates a fleet of approximately 121,000 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; and owns 59,000 containers that are used to transport cargo in its aircraft. United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 01.02.2017 LISTEN The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has once again honoured the leading Radio station in the Brong Ahafo Region, Space FM for making significant contributions towards issues-based and peaceful general election in December 2016. The Foundation consulted with eminent media professionals, team of researchers doing daily monitoring, coding and analysis of indecent expression on the various platforms before giving the award. The awardees were selected from the 70 most influential radio stations across the country. Four radio stations in Accra received the awards with the other nine coming from the other regions. Space FM is the only Radio Station in Sunyani that receive award. The event, dubbed, MFWA Post-elections Media Forum and Awards, was funded by the Ford Foundation, OSIWA, STAR-Ghana, the French Embassy, DW Akademie, International Media Support and the European Union. Joseph Okine, a news reporter who received the award on behalf of the Management of Space FM expressed gratitude to the organizers and pledged Space FMs commitment to live up to the standards in the media industry. Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa's poultry industry says it is on the brink of collapse due to hotly-denied accusations that the European Union is dumping cheap chicken in the country in a dispute over free trade. Workers, former workers and company managers from the South African poultry sector will march on the EU headquarters in Pretoria on Wednesday, furious over cheap imports and mounting job losses. But the EU has accused the industry of using it as a "handy scapegoat" for domestic production problems, and said volumes of EU chicken imported to South Africa were too small to be responsible for the crisis. Organisers of the march said that 4,000-5,000 jobs had already been lost, and that 110,000 more were at risk in the industry, plus 20,000 in the feed supply sector. RCL Foods, South Africa's largest poultry producer, last month laid off 1,350 employees -- 20 percent of its workforce -- and is selling 15 of its 25 farms. "This issue has been growing since the EU started to send more and more leg quarters to South Africa at what we consider dumped prices," RCL Foods managing director Scott Pitman, who will join the march, told AFP. "Not only have we taken a financial burden over the last five years, but the loss has got so big that we are going to go bankrupt if we don't cut the size of our business." The South African poultry industry alleges that the EU dumps off-cuts of "dark meat" -- chicken thighs and drumsticks -- in South Africa at below-cost prices because the European market prefers breast meat. 'Waste disposal' "This is a form of waste disposal," Kevin Lovell, the boss of the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), told AFP. South Africa is struggling with slow growth at just 0.4 percent last year and unemployment is stuck stubbornly high at 27 percent -- posing a major challenge to the ANC government. On Monday, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe suggested the government should intervene by buying poultry farms that are closing down and finding new markets for their produce. In the face of damaging accusations of dumping, the European Union has fought back, saying the South African poultry industry was blaming others for its own failures. "When people are losing livelihoods, trade deals can be a handy scapegoat," EU Ambassador Marco Cornaro told reporters on Tuesday. "It is a distortion... to think that it is the EU trade policy which is the origin, let alone the main source, of the current woes of the SA chicken industry." According to EU figures, EU exports account for less than seven percent of total South African chicken consumption, and EU imports of "dark meat" account for only 14 percent of local market consumption. Cornaro said a lack of competition, a severe drought pushing up feed prices, rising electricity costs and injecting brine (salt water) were causing South African industry's problems rather than EU imports. The EU said it would welcome marchers into their delegation offices on Wednesday to discuss their concerns. Brazil was the biggest poultry importer to South Africa in the first half of 2016, followed by Netherlands, Britain and Spain. Trade Minister Rob Davies told Bloomberg News last week the poultry sector was in "distress", adding "we will not have an industry to raise the competitiveness" if imports continue to flood the market. On top of tough avian flu restrictions, South Africa has imposed anti-dumping duties on EU importers and, in December, also introduced an extra "safeguard" tariff to try to protect the industry. The EU is South Africa's biggest trading partner, and the dispute marks a tricky start to the economic partnership agreement (EPA) between the two sides that came into force last year. The Coalition of Volunteer Groups (CVG), an affiliate group of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which played a vital role that culminated in the landslide victory of the party in the just ended general elections, has honored Mr. Archibold Cobbina, the Greater Accra Regional Organizer of the NPP. Mr. Cobbina, who was also the Greater Accra V16 Coordinator, was honored with a gigantic citation for his excellent organizational skills in the region. The citation was presented to him by the group in the company of his team and friends at Erata Hotel in Accra recently in demonstration of the groups appreciation to him for his selfless, splendid and invaluable contribution to the success story of the NPP in Greater Accra. The group chose among other things to present a citation to him with the sole reason that Mr. Archibold Cobbina is simplistic and therefore would not appreciate anything materialistic, hence the citation would be the best thing the group can use to appreciate him, they maintained. The group said Mr. Archibold Cobbinas organizational skills as well as his able leadership as V16 Coordinator led to the huge number of votes secured in the region by the New Patriotic Party (NPP). They argued that it is on record that the NPP secured seven (7) additional seats in Greater Accra Region to send their number up to twenty-one (21) seats in total. This unprecedented victory of the Party in the Region is attributed to the excellent strategies and dynamism brought on board by Mr. Archibold Cobbina, they noted. Mr. Archibold Cobbina, who could not hide his joy and surprise, dedicated the citation to all leaders and members of the various volunteer groups which operated not only in Greater Accra but also across the length and breadth of the country. He stated that the citation presented to him was the first he has ever received in his political career and entire life, saying this citation means so much to me, I am going to find a safer place in my room to hang it ". He also stated that the citation offered to him is a challenge for him and his team to work harder to ensure that Nana Akufo Addos presidency becomes the best compared to any other presidency in Ghana. According to him, the power the party has is the beginning of another journey into 2020 and beyond, therefore he wants to be part of that success story. He asked the volunteer groups to correct him whenever he goes wrong and their corrections will be taken in good faith. He seized the opportunity to encourage all volunteer members to remain calm as plans are far advanced by President Akufo-Addo to ensure that they get a fair share of the national cake. 01.02.2017 LISTEN Despite all our challenges, and in our weakest moment as a nation, there is at least a breathing space for us to coordinate our thoughts and make the best out of our mess. Undoubtedly, most Ghanaian cities are characterized by numerous environmental challenges of which pollution, traffic congestion, poor drainage system, poorly "planned" street lay out, as well as deteriorating housing conditions are the least of them. On another note, at the mention of the word "Zongo", all the challenges associated to an unplanned residential area comes to mind. Most of our Zongo communities basically lack access to social amenities and other vital elements that are relevant to sustaining their livelihood. Such problems therefore makes it highly rational for the establishment of a ministry to address these issues. However, if we don't consider certain issues as a nation, the existence of this ministry will be highly irrelevant and further worsen the situation at hand. I therefore want to bring to light some cardinal concepts the president the new ministry responsible for this, and all Ghanaians should consider for the success of this program, and for the benefit of the nation as a whole: Firstly, Participation: One of the major reasons as to why most of our ministries are not able to deliver effectively is the limited public participation in the execution of the activities of the ministry. This program is going to affect people, the temporal livelihood of households will be destroyed, their privacies will be invaded, without systematically involving, and educating our Zongo communities and residents of our cities in the activities of the ministry, we are likely to repeat the pattern of failure. Secondly, Objectivity: Our problem as a nation has got to do with the expression of our personal emotions and desires, over the better interest of our nation. This ministry, as a way of a start, will definitely deal with some communities in terms of development before they subsequently cover the nation at large. In selecting communities to be developed, there should be an objective criteria either than decisions based on political affiliations and tribalism. We shouldn't forget we are doing this for no one, but our beloved country. Thirdly, Let the professional planners work: A new ministry of this nature requires well trained Personnel that are enlightened in such a field. Luckily enough for us as a country, In addition to KNUST, we have UDS that is training quality and professional planners that have gone through all the heights of poverty zones and is well endowed with the practicalities of the development of our communities. If we truly want this ministry to succeed in the execution of their task, there should be a collaboration between the ministry and the products of these institutions. We shouldn't be politically inclined employ people who'll put the life of many Ghanaians at risk simply because of their limited expertise in the area under consideration. Lastly, for this ministry to function appropriately, there should be an attitudinal change. Most of the problems I earlier discussed do not exist because we lack their respective facilities as a nation, but they do exist because of our attitude as "Spectators" and not citizens of this country. If we continue to dump refuse anyhow, if we build, drive, and continue to do things anyhow like we still do, there is nothing the president and his ministry can do to save our cities and Zongo communities. Let's change our attitude and change Ghana for the best. The cardinal principles discussed, re emphasize on our roles as major stakeholders and that of the ministry. If Ghana can be great again, it requires dedication and passion from us all. "Let us all unite to uphold her, and make her great and strong." By Bioh Daniel Bsc Planning 400, UDS Editorial board chair, UDS central SRC 2016/2017 CONTACT [email protected] 0240124031 The morning after the severe rainstorm that ripped off a part of the roof of the Parliament House, saw cleaners clearing up the debris on the grounds this [Wednesday] morning. The storm wreaked havoc in several parts of Accra, affected activities in the Parliamentary chamber as the rain flooded in from the roof. Meanwhile, this disruption could lead to a relocation of the business of the House if need be, according to Majority leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu. The rain affected activities in the Parliamentary chamber las night as the rain flooded in from the roof. Some electronic gadgets installed in the chamber were left at the mercy of rain, as a few staff of Parliament were seen trying to salvage some important materials. Speaking to Citi News' parliamentary correspondent Duke Mensah Opoku on Tuesday, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said, if it may not be possible to hold business here, we can relocate to some other place. The Majority leader also suggested that reroofing of the building may not have been done well. The Chamber of Parliament was renovated in 2014 after MPs complained of congestion, resulting from an increase of parliamentary seats from to 230 to 275. Maybe the reroofing was not very well done because the old roof had been there and we never suffered this tragedy until it was removed, replaced and this is what we are now seeing, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu said. He, however, cautioned against jumping to conclusions on the matter and attributing the leakages to poor workmanship. Having said so, I think I also need to be cautious because we need to also know the intensity of the storm before we come to a conclusion. And because I am not in a position to ascertain the intensity of the storm, I will be cautious to attributing it primarily to poor work. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana The American Chamber of Commerce has urged Ghanaian producers who wish to export their produce to the United States to pursue the move despite threats by President Donald Trump to impose high taxes on imported goods coming into the country. President Trump after his inauguration announced plans to carry-out trade policies that will drastically reduce the volume of imports into America to help create jobs and protect the American economy. This has created a lot of anxiety among investors across the world. Already, China has warned that taking such unfriendly trade stance may affect American companies operating outside the country. But speaking to Citi Business News on the issue, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce-Ghana, Mr. Joe Mensah maintained that Mr. Trump cannot reverse major trade policies passed into law to protect developing countries such as Ghana. He argued that most trade agreements signed with Ghana and ECOWAS as a sub-region are binding regardless of the government. He refuted the assertion that President Trump can issue an executive order to reverse some pacts that are binding on the US. The beauty of America is that, regardless of who is at the top, the country still functions because they have institutions that work. Trump can do whatever he wants to do but that is short lived, he said. Expecting some form of stability in the short period, Mr. Mensah was hopeful Trump will go by the rules of the institutions after the government is fully formed. He stressed that no American citizen can sidestep the institutions of the country since it is the foundation of the country. At a certain point there will be equilibrium and everything will settle and then we will know the way forward because right now it is optimism up and down. Because nobody knows what he is going to tweet tomorrow morning. By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana 01.02.2017 LISTEN Watch the steps China is taking right now to curb the free flow of capital and cash out of the country in order to firm up its currency . They have limited the amount foreign and local investors can take out. Extra justifications and bureaucracy are required for foreign medical treatment, loans or student fees and profit repatriation. Foreign economists and their African cronies whose countries drained Africa dry have heavily criticized each of these steps in Africa! We have to admire China on their currency control or manipulation to favor their market and industry. Their trading partners claimed they intentionally devalued their currency so that their exports can cheaply compete outside. Right now China has seized the control of its currency so that it can appreciate against the United States dollar. Indeed, trading partners are so confused; some are still talking about weak renminbi, not realizing China has moved to defending it. African countries in general, Nigeria and Ghana in particular were opined on devalued currency when they have no finished products to export into foreign markets except raw materials that are already sold cheaply in exchanged for expensive finished goods. In most cases the same raw material in gold, diamond, oil or even fish are wrapped up in glittering packages or cans, polished and exported back to Africa. In the case of China, they export their finished products. During our lifetime, China had famine and conquered it. In order to control their population, they instituted controversial method of birth control of one family and one child. They have been able to relax that policy because they can now feed themselves. It shows that before a country can take control of its destiny, they have to be able to feed themselves first. If you could not feed yourselves, you are subjected to blackmail and control by your feeders. We have seen currencies of other countries depreciate and appreciate but not in Africa where our currencies have only gone one way: down. Western countries that continue to preach the advantages of depreciation to African countries so that they can buy our resources and raw materials cheap, cry murder when China depreciated its currency. Instead of Africans trying to find out the reasons for their double standard, we joined them working to our disadvantages. There are local and foreign trained economists that have been crying themselves hoarse trying to convey the same message President Trump got elected on in United States, simply put: Buy Africa! If nationalism is good for the most capitalistic country in the world, it cannot be that bad for African countries. Of course, markets are rigged as regulators imposed over $204B fines . African economists with colo-mentality insist on free-floating currency and liberalized market as the only way to move our economy forward because it attracts foreign investments. We do not argue against foreign investment. We actually want foreign investment, what we guide against are predatory investors that have no interest in long term infrastructure but temporarily park foreign pension funds and edge funds in stock market that has never added value to economy. Oh yes they have criticized China too but how effective are they in shaping Chinas policy? You should watch how Nigerians almost turn to fist fight on the streets about devaluation and how industries that use water and sugar to make beverages blackmailed Government on why they could not continue production and must lay off workers because they could not import their materials and machineries (that can be made locally) from abroad! We are talking about manufacturers that have been in these countries for almost a century but still importing ingredients and workers into Africa when most of what are needed are right in front of their noses locally. Even local bread makers grumbled about cassava in bread. After wheat bread content has been reduced, prices still went up so that they can import even more wheat to satisfy the taste of the consumer that do not like their local cassava in bread! The way your feeders control you is to change your taste from local food that you grow to their food that you have to import or that they command you to grow. African addiction to foreign food is not by accident; it is by plan and design. When they train our taste buds, they can leave us and we will train our childrens taste buds. The initially trainers of our taste buds do not have to be there. We perpetuate and transfer foreign taste and preferences to the next generation. Unfortunately, one generation refused to learn from the mistakes of the previous generation. Many of us remember Structural Adjustment and how it impoverished our middleclass professionals including our teachers and professors that never had the opportunity to build their own houses or buy another foreign made car since we never had local car production. Even if we had local production in anything, it has never been cheaper than foreign made. IMF and World Bank admitted at the International Conference in Ghana that implementation of it was wrong. Yet they come back with the same principle of devaluation of our currencies to get us into Promised Land of economic sufficiency. When these economists, supported by local cronies keep on selling us dummy principles and we keep on buying their brands, we cannot keep on blaming them. The fault is ours. The awareness today for frivolous consumption is higher than it used to be but we still need to turn it into action in terms of local production. The idea that we can sell enough raw materials to buy back finished products of the same raw material is incomprehensible if not stupid on its face. Yet this is what Africans have been encouraged to do and known to do for centuries. When we talk about toothpicks and pencils importation, it looks like trying to trivialize issues to justify out prejudice against foreign goods that are locally available. But it point to a deep-rooted bias against home production. We must learn how to appreciate Ijebu- and Okrika-made goods. Sometimes we want to believe that one has to be on drugs to be so induced. If you think opium was foreign gadgets like mirrors to our grandfathers, Bread and Wine of Jesus or the favorite food of Muhammad is Sunnah: these are spells on which Africans are mesmerized, you may be right. No wonder Okonkwo (of Things Fall Apart) took his horn to Church to receive wine! Fadime Gunay, who gave birth to a baby boy late on Sunday, was detained by police on Monday, the T24 news website reported. A group of police officers waited outside Antalyas Alanya Baskent Hospital in order to detain Gunay, whose husband was recently taken into custody over alleged links to the Gulen movement, said a tweet by former Turkish parliamentarian Feyzi Isbasaran. According to the T24 report, Gunay was taken to police headquarters with her one-day-old baby. After her interrogation, she was sent to court with her baby, who was taken by relatives when Gunay entered the courtroom. The court ordered Gunay to spend one more day in the hospital. In early January, S.A., a former private school teacher and mother of a week-old premature infant, was taken into police custody over links to the faith-based Gulen movement while she was on her way to the hospital to feed the baby. As part of an investigation carried out by Aksaray Public Prosecutor Ayhan Demir, S.A. was detained by police and taken to Aksaray from Sanlurfa province despite the fact that she produced hospital reports saying she should not travel as she gave birth a week earlier by C-section. She also told police officers that her baby was premature and needed to be fed breast milk and also requires special care in the intensive care unit. A day after S.A. was taken into police custody, another mother known as Meryem gave birth to twins by C-section in a hospital in Konya and was detained by police despite hospital reports that she should not travel and was taken to Aksaray from Konya in a police car. Despite Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, whose views inspired the Gulen movement, and the movement having denied the Turkish governments and President Recep Tayyip Erdogans accusation of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others, Erdogan calling the coup attempt a gift from God and the government launched a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody. Over 135,000 people have been purged from state bodies, in excess of 82,000 detained and more than 43,000 have been arrested since the coup attempt. Arrestees include teachers, journalists, judges, prosecutors, police and military officers, academics, governors and even a comedian. Critics argue that lists of Gulen sympathizers were drawn up prior to the coup attempt. The Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Africa-Network (ASMAN) has congratulated Hon. John Peter Amewu on his nomination as the Lands and Natural Resources Minister-designate by His Excellency, President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo. Hon. John Peter Amewu is a Cost Engineer with more than 15years experience in Government, Private Sector, Civil Society and International Development; and currently the Alumni Vice Chair for the Ghana Chapter of the International Mining for Development Centre (IM4DC). ASMAN is proud to be associated with your appointment as it marks victory for mining advocacy; and hope that your long association and involvement in mining advocacy on issues of small scale mining and community aspects of resource development, puts you in a best position to find lasting solutions to the challenges of illegal mining (galamsey). As we congratulate you, we also wish to request that you create a platform for regular interactions between the ministry and small scale mining value-chain operators to address key challenges on galamsey and the categorization of the small scale mining sector. The Executive Director of ASMAN, Nii Adjetey-Kofi Mensah, and the Board and Management of ASMAN see your appointment as the beginning of concrete efforts to address the challenges of disemination affecting mining policy (now available) and the environmental mining regulatory framework. In conclusion, ASMAN look forward to having a fruitful working relationship with you and the ministry on the call to regularise Galamsey. Congratulations When was the last time you were performing a task and gave it all your attention? I mean being totally focused, totally committed to what was before you and not allowing anything whatsoever to distract or take your attention away from itbe it studying your lecture notes, reading a novel, watching a documentary, or just spending sometime thinking, meditating? In a world of non-stop mass marketing, increased connection and the race to not get left out, are we losing touch with reality? Put another way; is the mass patronage of social media and our utter inability to spend any prolonged period of time without checking out our social media accounts at the expense of more important daily pursuits that deserve our undivided attention not indicative of our warped reality? If you find it impossible to spend a day without logging into one or another of your many social media accounts, and feel disconnected and alienated when your phones off for some time, then youre right bang in the matrix. In our haste to experience the new and the exciting and not be left out, are we not selling ourselves short? Of course, there are people who use social media and still are able to disconnect themselves when necessary, but not everyone is that smart. When you wake up feeling disoriented, depressed and disconnected simply because you are unable to access social media for one reason or another, then maybe its time you get to work on yourself and get yourself out of the matrix. I am all in favour of increased connection, and I am social media user myself, albeit not an ardent one, but I also think its a potential quagmire. With all its benefits; be it in terms of marketing yourself as a brand, putting your products and services out there, and just connecting with the right people to move your career and company forward, it has its downside. Multitasking sound cool but being at work or being focused on a task in hand and then intermittently checking your social media accounts is a sign of professional immaturity and impulsiveness. Unless you earn your corn as a social media worker in charge of a business brand page or other, dont become another boneheaded social media druggie. Its gets you connected but more and more disconnected from reality and can mess up your head. The more you allow social media to take over your world, the more likely you are to suffer from DADDivided Attention Disorder. You will become less likely to fully focus on tasks, incapable of delayed gratification, and dumber in your lifestyle. If youve allowed social media to suck you into the cesspool of narcissist livingonly feeling good and happy when people comment and commend you on Facebook, and feel left out, totally bored and listless when no one comes online for you to chat withits time you sort it out. Live without distractions, use social media but not compulsively. And once a month, get some good bookbe it fiction or non-fiction, turn off your phones, and just enjoy being focused and totally into something for once. 01.02.2017 LISTEN Former President Obasanjo while hosting the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ogun state chapter led by Bishop Tunde-Akin Akinsanya at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, threw weight behind a possible Igbo President for 2019. He proclaimed: Irrespective of the thinking of the people ahead of 2019, I personally think that Southeast should have a go at the Presidency too. In truth, whenever any issue that concerns a peoples future crops up, common sense and wisdom should take the centre-stage, rather than undue pandering to emotionalism, former governor of Abia state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, in his writing on Igbo after 2011 elections: What next? Is it time for the Igbo to be President of Nigeria? Do Ndigbo people have credible and detribalized personalities who have the capacity to preside over the affairs of Nigeria? Would an Igbo presidency guarantee the unity of Nigeria in the wake of continuous agitation for the Sovereign State of Biafra? These questions have been recurring since after the civil war, about 46 years ago. In addition, since Nigerias return to democratic rule in 1999, the Southeast region has remained an appendage for the production of presidents of Nigeria from other tribes of the country. Simply put it, the presidency has been rotating amongst the Southwest, North and minority South-South. That is why Obasanjo personally thinks that the Southeast should produce the next President, maybe after the north has had its eight years leadership as generally accepted, though not constitutionally documented. In 1999 and 2003, former vice president Alex Ekwueme contested the seat on the platform of the PDP and lost. In 2007 former governor of Abia state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, who has defected to the APC, contested for the presidential seat on the platform of the party he founded, the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA). Governor of Imo state, Chief Rochas Okorocha has continued to nurse the idea of becoming the first Igbo President of Nigeria through the ballots. But the Obasanjos quest is coming at a time when the polity is so much enmeshed in controversies. The incumbent president is barely two years in office, with rumours of ill health and death. There are reported cases of attempts by politicians even within and outside the ruling APC to outsmart others in the buildup to 2019 general elections. Obasanjo is joining the likes of former military heads of state, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) and General Yakubu Gowon, who had also called for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction. IBB said the agitation for Biafra republic was a distraction and setback. We do not need this distraction now. I will vote for an Igbo president in 2019, if I find one. Gowon in March when he delivered a lecture entitled No Victor, No Vanquished: Healing the Nigerian Nation to mark the 6th Convocation ceremony of the Chukwumeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), said it was wrong to conclude that the civil war broke out following the failure of the Aburi Accord but was the direct result of a unilateral decision of independence for Eastern Nigeria. If there was no secession, there would have been no war. It was a reluctant war waged to unite the country. An Igbo president would help heal the civil war wounds. The idea of rotational presidency is good. Controversies have trailed the proclamation for Igbo president. Youth groups in the Southeast hailed the idea. In a joint statement, the National President of the Igbo Youth for Good Governance (IYGG), Dr. Benjamin Okeke and the National President of Igbo Youth Initiative (IYI), Comrade Wilfred Eze, thanked Obasanjo for extending his sympathy for the Igbo cause and described him as the new father of democracy. This support for Igbo Presidency, the groups noted has given Ndigbo hope for realignment and fairness within a united Nigeria. They urged other elder statesmen and national figures to support the national call for apresident of Igbo extraction. But the ex-governor of Anambra state, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, believes Obasanjos call was because he understands the dynamics of the nations politics. A governorship aspirant of PDP in Imo State, Brady Nwosu, said the call was a very bold statement. But Chief Maxi Okwu of APGA chided the supports.Also, the founder of Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko berated Obasanjo whom he described as enemy of the Igbo people. In the Sun Newspapers of October 27, 2016, Acho Orabuchi wrote on 2019: A strong case for Nigerian president of Igbo extraction saying that the Igbo have a pool of qualified people more than any other ethnic group. They have a vision that encompasses the entire nation and not a section of it. A case in point is the Jonathan and the Obasanjo administrations that were replete with credible and qualified Igbo people whose records of service were impeccable. In its reaction, the Northern Progressives Youth Initiative (NPYI), carpeted Obasanjo and warned against playing God in the nations scheme of things. Secretary-General of the NPYI, Malam Gazali Abdullahi, noted that with so much fuss over the President Buharis medical examinations, it was sad that a former president would be canvassing a successor to a sitting president. He described Obasanjo as an enemy of the North, recalling that in the trying times of late former President Umaru YarAdua, it was the same Obasanjo who released statements against the late president who was battling for his life on his hospital bed. This time again, Obasanjo has shown that he is neither a friend of President Buhari nor a friend of the North; and as far as 2019 is concerned, only God, through the ballot of majority of Nigerians, and not one man, can decide who the president of Nigeria will be. In the same vein, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), warned Igbo people, especially the political class, to be wary of former President Obasanjo, because his recent romance with Igbo states is very suspicious. A leader of the group, Uchenna Madu described Obasanjos political antics, romance and friendship in Igboland as dangerous to the political survival of Ndigbo in Nigeria. In its New Year message to the Igbo political class, MASSOB alleged that Obasanjo, throughout his eight-year as Nigerias President, created political problems and roadblocks for Ndigbo by initiating political frustrations against Abia, Anambra, Enugu and Imo States. Obasanjo brazenly ignored Igbo land with no infrastructural development. He witch hunted our people. He also mesmerized Ndigbo by changing Igbo senators five times in office as Senate President. Today, some naive Igbo governors of Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu states are celebrating and inviting him to commission projects in their respective states. During his eight-year rule, he never visited Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu or showed concerns to his position as Igbo leader. However, the effect of the Biafran War, the unabated clamour for the actualization of Biafra, the political miscalculations by the Igbo, the unpredictability of the Igbo political class and personalities are some of the key factors against Igbo presidency. The Igbo denied Chief Chris Ngige to have been unopposed Senate President by defeating him on the basic of belonging to their presumed northern party, APC. The Igbo massively supported the PDP for 16 years and lost the position to the South-South minority Ijaw. Defections of Igbo PDP members to APC and the clamour for Atiku presidency in 2019 are gearing up. Governor Okorocha and many Igbo politicians are convinced that the only option available to Igbo people at the moment was the APC, so as not to face set-backs. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) through its spokesperson Emma Powerfuldescribed such pronouncements by some Northern elders as politics of compensation because Igbo presidency in 2019 was a distraction. He said the Igbo were not interested in playing politics of recompense, noting that the call was to douse tension. Politics of compensation was played during the June 12 1993 saga when the Yorubas were rewarded with Obasanjo presidency in place of M.K.O. Abiolas canceled poll, just as President Buhari was compensated because of Boko Haram terrorism. While the Igbo are fit to produce a president of this great nation, it is yet to be assured that other parts of the country can easily give support to them due to the persistent push for Biafra. This is because the political wave created by this agitation home and abroad is much more intellectually stronger than those of other regional quagmires. Hopefully, an Igbo President will emerge one day. And if it will be soon, who will the cap fit from a pool of democratic leaders some of who are Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Chief Chris Ngige, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, Chief Peter Obi, Chief Rochas Okorocha, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu, Prof. Pat Utomi, Retired Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Senator Pius Anyim, Senator In the Sun Newspapers of October 27, 2016, Acho Orabuchi wrote on 2019: A strong case for Nigerian president of Igbo extraction saying that the Igbo have a pool of qualified people more than any other ethnic group. They have a vision that encompasses the entire nation and not a section of it. A case in point is the Jonathan and the Obasanjo administrations that were replete with credible and qualified Igbo people whose records of service were impeccable. and Senator Ken Nnamani. This is in addition to the powerful political leaders of Igbo extraction from the South-South geopolitical zone such as Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, Godwin Emefiele and Dr. Ibe Kachiku, amongst others. Some of them are deeply lobbying and fraternizing with the northerners for their supports. That will be another topic for discussion. Muhammad Ajah is an advocate of humanity, peace and good governance in Abuja. E-mail [email protected] Accra, 1 February, 2017 - The Djondo Fellowship is pleased to announce the launch of its fellowship programme for businesses in Africa. The Fellowship aims to support African companies to profitably expand beyond their domestic economies and become multinational champions of African integration. It will enrol its first set of fellows in the second quarter of 2017. Gervais Koffi Djondo is the Founding Patron of the Djondo Fellowship. He is the co-founder of the Ecobank Group, as well as founder and Chairman of Asky Airlines. Chairman of the board is John Kufuor, former President of Ghana and Co-chair is Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius. Mr. Djondo said, The emergence of pan-African multinationals is one of the greatest success stories in Africa. We must sustain that momentum. The Djondo Fellowship will use the principles of integration and pan-Africanism to replicate the success stories of the continents most powerful companies. President Kufuor said, I am honoured to be part of a distinguished group of Africans working to accelerate integration on the continent. We see huge potential in technological improvement, efficiency and welfare gains in our region. These gains will create a solid Africa contributing to a global economy. Other members of the board of the Djondo Fellowship include: Paul-Harry Aithnard, Group Head of Securities and Asset Management, Ecobank; Didier Acouetey, President and Founder of the AfricSearch Group; Terhas Berhe, Founder and Managing Director of Brand Communications; Donald Kaberuka, former President of the African Development Bank and Arnold Ekpe, former CEO Ecobank. Several African companies struggle to expand beyond their domestic markets. The Djondo Fellowship will bring together local business leaders to learn through an intelligent and relevant programme from experienced professionals. This will support indigenous African companies to acquire the needed capacity that will help them grow beyond their borders. These local companies will tap into Djondo Fellowships ecosystem of financiers, strategy specialists and other experienced professionals across Africa. Gervais Djondo was recently awarded the AfroChampions Lifetime Award for his outstanding contribution to economic exchange within Africa. The AfroChampions Initiative is an innovative project, which promotes African private sector champions. Pressure is mounting on Parliament to investigate the allegation by an opposition MP Mahama Ayariga that they were bribed to approve the nomination of the Minister of Energy Boakye Agyarko. Leading civil society organizations such as the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) as well as pressure groups like OccupyGhana and Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) have waded into the debate, pushing for the leadership of the house to establish the veracity of the MP for Bawku Central's claim. Matters came to a head last Friday when Mahama Ayariga claimed that Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak who is the NDC MP for Asawase shared envelopes containing GH3,000 for NDC MPs serving on the Appointments Committee that is vetting Ministers of State who are going to serve in the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government to approve Mr. Agyarko. The Minority Chief Whip has already denied ever sharing envelopes containing GH3,000 each to approve the nomination of Mr. Agyarko to become Minister of Energy but this appears to have incensed his colleagues on the minority side of Parliament. Don't Resign Some have called on Mr. Agyarko, who has since been approved by Parliament to become Minister of Energy, to resign but the GII Executive Director Linda Ofori Kwafo said it is unnecessary. She said on TV3 Network that it would be out of place for the Minister of Energy to step down or be sacked by the President just because an allegation of bribery has been made against him. I will not agree that the honourable (Agyarko) should step down or be sacked, adding that parliament cannot be a judge in their own court. Mrs. Ofori Kwafo said that to get to the bottom of the matter, an independent body should be tasked to investigate the bribery allegations and not parliament. AFAG's Caution AFAG has also issued a statement saying it is gutted at the blatant lies and excessive use of propaganda by some supposed honorable members of Parliament, over the allegation and called for punitive action against Mahama Ayariga if the issue is finally investigated and he is found to have lied. The habit of mudslinging and slandering of people with decent credibility by some Ghanaian politicians must be condemned unequivocally. According to AFAG, Mahama Ayariga's claim was negated by his superiors on the Appointments Committee of Parliament, saying AFAG is, however, of the view that the public denial of this event by the Chairman of the Committee Joe Osei-Owusu and the minority Chief Whip clearly showed that Mr. Ayariga cooked up this story to damage the reputation and integrity of Mr. Boakye Agyarko, Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, Hon. Joe Osei-Owusu and by extension, the Minority Leader, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu. They said Mahama Ayariga is abusing the right to freedom of speech and expression with his wild allegation against Mr. Agyarko and others saying The claim of bribery by Hon. Mahama Ayariga against minister designate for Energy, Boakye Agyarko is very unfortunate. The allegation of receiving GH3,000 from the minority Chief Whip, Hon. Muntaka Mubarak as money supposedly coming from Boakye Agyarko to entice the minority to approve his [Mr. Agyarko] nomination has turned out to have never happened. AFAG believes that for a member of the highest echelon of the Ghanaian society to throw out such baseless accusation without any concrete evidence is reckless and ill-fated. This drama of allegations and denials by the NDC members of parliament is a major indictment on the house of parliament. AFAG said it fully supported the move by the Chairman of the Committee to go to court to prove his innocence and also encourage Mr. Boakye Agyarko and Alhaji Muntaka to take a similar step to bring this matter to an end. OccupyGhana Call OccupyGhana said it has observed with increasing unease, allegations and denials of corruption making the trade between Members of the Ghanaian Parliament's Appointments Committee. We are disturbed by the allegations of parliamentary rot and corruption by credible persons of the Ghanaian society against various other Committees selected to work on Bills such as the GIMPA Act, going as far as to accuse MPs of demanding bribes and payments before sitting on bills, the group said in a statement yesterday. The group called for independent Police investigation into what they called the damning allegations and a no-holds-barred criminal prosecution of anyone found to be on the wrong side of Ghanaian law in this scandalous development. In the same vein, we demand the harshest of parliamentary and possibly criminal sanctions for those making the allegations if they prove to be false. We respectfully call on the Police CID to immediately empanel a team to commence investigations and establish the truth, or the lack thereof, in any part of the nation-wrecking allegations. We absolutely refuse to allow Ghanas Parliament to either add itself to the list of the country's most corrupt institutions or become a citadel of false allegations, and our demand for this probe will settle the matter of whether or not our legislative arm of government can be trusted to uphold the rule of Law in the Ghanaian Republic, OccupyGhana added. By William Yaw Owusu GEORGE Owusu Ansah, Assemblyman for Apatrapa in Kumasi, says he and his colleagues will endorse any person that the presidency will elect as Kumasi Mayor. Rumours making rounds in Kumasi indicated that Kumasi assemblymen had declared their staunch support for Nana Kofi Senya, Assemblyman for New Suame, for the mayor position. The assemblymen, according to reports, had vowed to reject any person that would be elected as mayor if Nana Kofi Senya was overlooked for the enviable position. But Owusu Ansah stated that there was no iota of truth in the speculation which was making rounds across the media landscape in Kumasi lately. He assured that the assemblymen were ready and prepared to support anybody that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would elect as the next mayor of Kumasi. According to him, it was a fact that a bulk of the assemblymen in Kumasi, including him, wished that Nana Kofi Senya, who was their colleague, would be elected as the next mayor of the city. Speaking on Nhyira FM, the Apatrapa Assemblyman, however, indicated that the assemblymen would not protest if the president decides to elect a different person for the top job. He said the president knows better, regarding the plans of his administration to develop Kumasi so the assemblymen would wholeheartedly support any person that he would settle on as mayor. Mr. Owusu Ansah therefore implored the populace to reject rumours making rounds, which indicated that the assemblymen would only support Nana Kofi Senya and nobody else for the top job. According to him, the assemblymen only wished to see the effective transformation of Kumasi so they would not indulge in any act that would impede the development of the city. FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi SIX UNIDENTIFIED armed men raided the offices of the Burkina Faso Chamber of Commerce in Tema on Sunday. The robbers made away with properties running to several thousands of cedis and an unspecified sum of cash. Three out of the four security men on duty were rounded and tied up by the robbers before entering the offices. Confirming the robbery incident to the DAILY GUIDE, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Juliana Obeng, spokeswoman of the Tema Regional Police Command explained further that the incident occurred on January 29, 2017 at about 2:50 am. She said the robbers on reaching the premises, tied up 3 of the security men and asked another one to lead them into the office where monies were kept. According to her, the robbers upon entering the yard asked the security man leading them to lie prostrate on the floor before they embarked on the raid. ASP Obeng indicated that the security man, however, managed to escape from the premises, as the criminals got busy with their foray, and reported the matter to the police and patrol teams were dispatched to the scene. She said when the police arrived, the robbers had already left the scene but a cash sum of GH4,000 was found and the bound security men released. ASP Obeng noted that the case was under investigations and had therefore appealed to the public to assist with information for the arrest of the criminals. From Vincent Kubi, Tema Airtel Africa, a leading telecommunications company with operations in 15 countries across Africa, has described as speculative media reports stating its possible exit from Africa. According to the organisation, it remains committed to Africa and will continue to invest in its operations to grow sustainably in Africa. In a press statement issued and signed by Michael Okwiri, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Airtel Africa, the company noted: Airtel Africa's recent 3rd quarter results were strong. The underlying Africa revenues for the quarter accelerated by 6.0 percent Y-o-Y, the highest over the last 9 quarters. The organization's efforts to improve the quality of customer acquisitions have resulted in a reduction in customer churn to 4.9 percent from 6.0 per cent. Data consumption and revenues have grown by 91.0 percent & 24.0 percent Y-o-Y respectively, led by stronger data networks. The strong focus on cost management has led to a significant underlying EBITDA margin expansion of 4.5 percent Y-o-Y, which now stands at 24.5 percent. Africa is now generating positive free cash and is PBT positive in constant currency. Raghunath Mandava, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Airtel Africa, said, All the steps taken recently with regard to human resources and infrastructure have been geared towards readying the organization to grow efficiently and sustainably in the medium to long term. The company remains committed to competing in various markets and providing more choice to customers through further investments to ensure consistent delivery of quality and value for money services to our customers. We are also accelerating our investments in new data networks and to modernize our existing networks. We are committed to launching 4 G in multiple countries. He added that mergers and acquisitions continue to be the norm for any multinational organization and they affect all global organizations in equal measures as and when they happen. As a strategy, we look for opportunities to acquire or merge companies that are operating in a fragmented market structure with too many players in a small market. Last year, Airtel and Orange reached a mutually beneficial agreement on the assets in Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso. Similarly, Airtel also acquired assets in Uganda, Congo Brazzaville and Kenya in recent times. The agreements brought together the strengths of Airtel, Warid and Essar. This has offered benefits to customers in the form of a superior and wider network, affordable voice / data services and better customer care. Away from Africa, recently, we merged with Robi in Bangladesh to create a solid and profitable No.2 player in the market. The recent results demonstrate the effectiveness of Airtel's business strategy in Africa. The organization sees an opportunity ahead to emerge with a broader reach and sharper execution. A business desk report Kweku Asamoah (2nd left), Most Rev Charles Palmer Buckle and other staff of the bank show some applause at the event Management and staff of National Investment Bank (NIB), a leading bank in the country, on Sunday converged on the Physicians & Surgeons Hall in Accra to thank God for His guidance and protection last year. Management and staff of the institution danced and sang at the annual event by the bank. Guest speaker for the occasion was Most Rev. Charles Palmer Buckle, the Catholic Archbishop of Accra. Culling his sermon from Lamentations 3:22, the Christian minister commended the bank for recognizing God's mercies in its day-to-day operations. He advised Ghanaians to work hard to emancipate themselves economically primarily using their God-given talents. He also said God had endowed every Ghanaian with certain unique abilities which could only be activated by the individual. He therefore appealed to all to work hard and justify their inclusion. The bank, under the leadership of John Kweku Asamoah, Managing Director and Togbe Afede XIV, Board Chair, posted impressive profits last year. It launched its international master cards onto the market last year to offer relief to its traveling customers. Mr Asamoah said the bank was also on course to rolling out many products this year to register its place among the 32 universal banks operating in Ghana. Joyful Way Incorporated was the guest performers at the event supported by NIB's Choir. A business desk report Dr. Nortey Omaboe (third left) singing a hymn during the thanksgiving service The usual eight-day period for the registration of companies or businesses in Ghana by the Registrar-General's Department will soon be a thing of the past. The Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet), which disclosed this to journalists Friday in Accra on the sidelines of its fourth annual thanks-giving service, said it was assisting the Registrar-Generals Department to reduce the duration for business registration in Ghana to 24 hours or less. Executive Chairman of GCNet, Dr. Nortey Omaboe, indicated that the move was one of the topmost priorities for his outfit in 2017 which intends to help government to provide an enabling environment for the business community. He stated that we have deployed for them a portal so you can conduct your business online. For example, to make your annual returns, you can check whether your company's name has been taken or notyou can even pay your fees on line. And provided all your legal documents are there, then within 24-hours you can get your company. According to him, a number of requirements for business registration by the Department were being cut to facilitate the move. The payment system of the Department and that of the Domestic Tax Unit of the GRA were also being converged, he told the media. We have fully automated the processes and changed a lot of the business process themselves to try and make it short and streamline it, he said. The automation system, according to Dr. Omaboe, would make it possible for the general public to conduct business online. By Melvin Tarlue Business leaders, entrepreneurs and key public sector workers who are hungry to find solutions to stimulate growth and efficiency in their organizations, have joined Citi FM's Hello Kigali business tour to Rwanda. The Rwanda has been praised for its successes in eliminating overly bureaucratic and corrupt systems in its public sectors using technology and friendly legal regimes. Businesses are also thriving in the Rwandan economy, which has seen an average growth of about 7 percent in the last 10 years, pushed by manufacturing, agriculture, construction and services. Some of the government institutions that will host participants include the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and the Government Online service (Irembo) which have been influential in creating the conducive environment to attract investments into the East African country. They are expected to learn from the efficient and reliable government online services that have over the years, propelled the growth of the country from key government sectors. Other highlights of the trip include a visit to the Kigali Free Zone, Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA), as well as Rwanda's Commercial High Court. The Rwandan courts are known to have a paperless system which fast-tracks court processes and judgement of cases, especially those that apply to businesses. Rwanda has leveraged on the application of technology, making it the leading sub-Saharan country with the most affordable internet, according to Alliance for Affordable Internets 2015-16 affordability report released on February 22, 2016. Accompanying the business leaders to Kigali is the Head of the Business Desk at Citi FM, Vivian Kai Lokko. According to her, there are too many complaints about bureaucracies in our business sector, which curtail growth, and it is time to stop the talk shop and find practical solutions to turn things around. Most businesses are looking for solutions to propel their growth and we all know the narrative that companies in third world countries do not perform exceptionally compared to their counterparts in Europe, the US and other developed economies. The Rwandan case study shows that it is possible for business and for that matter countries in Africa to rub shoulders with their foreign counterparts; be it on growth, efficiency and profitability, she said. Rwanda's economy plunged into the doldrums after the genocide in the mid-1990s, but statistics show that today, the people live wealthy and healthier lives than most Africans. Poverty levels have reduced significantly with growth rates better than the continents biggest economy South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Botswana and even Ghana. One of the participants, the CEO of Emerald Properties, Henry Quartey, said he expects the tour to influence his business operations to maximize returns. Rwanda has been touted for a lot of good things; my goal is to go there and learn how they were able to transform the economy from a war-torn one to a leading economy. I also want to explore and take advantage of business opportunities in real estate and other industries. According to the Country Manager for RwandAir in Ghana, Shukrani Edy Hemedy, Rwanda has managed a quick comeback after the genocide due to the adoption of technology to boost its business operations. We have indeed expanded our technology offers from our airlines through to the commercial buses. Another way is that President Kagame himself is promoting IT in the country with his strong presence on social media platforms. This automatically attracts people to engage in the same way and makes it relatively cheaper to offer technology services, he stated. Every new high-rise building must have internet connection otherwise you will not have a construction permit. It's the way forward as everything is going online now, the Legal Consultant and Head of Doing Business at the Rwanda Development Board, Karim Tushabe, told Citi Business News ahead of the tour. A business desk report Yaw Osafo-Maafo 01.02.2017 LISTEN Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, says land acquisition is one of the major hindrances to the development of businesses in Ghana. According to him, many businesses are reluctant in establishing in Ghana due to the complex nature of acquiring land and exorbitant rent advance charges. To make the environment business friendly, the Senior Minister promised that government will take a second look at the land acquisition system in the country to make it easier for businesses to acquire land. Mr Osafo-Maafo, who made this known when he appeared before the Appointments Committee recently said, The method for acquiring land in this country is too complicated for anyone to understand. To really make the environment business friendly, we got to look at the land acquisition system in this country. People come to this country, ready to invest but most of them are put off because of multiple sale of the same land to people. Sometimes it is embarrassing, he said. Two-Year Advance Rent The Senior Minister bemoaned the two or more years rent advance that property owners take before renting out their property, stating that there is nowhere in the world that rent is paid for two years. He said, When there was a problem in Cote dIvoire, people wanted to relocate to Ghana but they were put off by rent advance. These are some of the things that may not look so obvious harmful to the economy but it's harmful to the economy. These are areas we have to look at to make the environment business friendly. The Minister-Designate for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, also explained to the media after his nomination by the President that the limited housing units had led to exorbitant rent advance payment. We know that what has given strength to exorbitant rent advance payment is because the units are less than the needs. So if you dont want to pay rent advance, then excuse me to say find your space but not here. If the houses are few you have under carpet dealings. Housing scarcity is underlying the whole arrangement so we need to solve the scarcity problem, he said. Mr Atta Akyea said, If there are several houses that people can go into, then this exorbitant way of extorting money from house users will go down considerably. He stressed the need to enforce the law regarding rent in the country. [email protected] By Cephas Larbi Ghana Media Center for Social and Economic Justice is disappointed that Parliament has missed the opportunity to purge itself of the corruption perception it currently face. There have been several allegations of corruption leveled against Ghanas Parliament in the past, of corruption, and of members who take bribe to do their normal work. However the bribery scandal that Parliament currently face has gained international attention, and we expected the house to have shown a high level commitment to the fight against corruption, by handing itself over to an independent non partisan body of enquiry to investigate the matter. We do recognize that Parliament has locus to set up any committee to investigate matters that affect their work. And we also do not have course to doubt the personal integrity of those Parliamentarians selected to be on the committee. But we are also guided by the popular injunction that all things are lawful, but not all things are permissible. Parliament holds a moral duty to itself, to have taken steps to leave no doubt in the minds of the public, that the house can be trusted going forward. However, the issue, in our opinion, has assumed partisan dimension, and there are too many cross-cutting interests and potential conflicts of interest amongst the selected committee members. Under the circumstance, any member who would have been selected from amongst Parliament will face the same credibility problem, because each one of has a partisan interest, and each one of them has already taken a stand in the matter before the house. For instance, Honorable Joe Ghartey, apart from being an NPP member of Parliament, is also a Ministerial nominee who has passed through the same committee that he is about to investigate. Assuming without admitting that he also paid bribe, how do we expect him to unravel the truth in the matter before him? In our view, what the Speaker has done can be likened to a group of thieves setting up a committee from within to investigate a robbery case that they themselves have carried out; the outcome will be the same, none of them will receive the appropriate punishment. We recommend that, under the circumstance, although the committee has credibility issues, the Speaker should allow for a live coverage of the committees work. In so doing the house could redeem its damaged image, and give the general public some confidence in the outcome of the committees work. Ghana Media Center for Social and Economic Justice is an independent, non partisan Ghanaian based non-profit media organization dedicated to the promotion of free, fair, just, informed and developed individuals and society where governance institutions and their leaders are held accountable and responsible for their actions and inactions. We achieve our aims by working with an extensive network of media, governance and environment practitioners and other experts who share our ideals. Our network of Journalists can be found in all ten regions of Ghana. James Kofi Annan (President) Email: [email protected] www.ghanamediacenter.org Sometimes I ask myself if national service should be compulsory for all Ghanaian graduates? Even the name, "national service", in my opinion is a misnomer. It should have been national suffering instead. My opinion on that topic is different. Fast forward, let us engage our imaginations now. The contribution of National Service Personnel to our economy is continually underestimated and the government does not care to place any value on tertiary education. Why are they so much concerned about the restoration and payment of trainee allowances and not an increment on NSS allowance? Is the current NSS allowance enough to cover for the living expenses of the graduates? The most interesting part of the story is that, Students in the Training Colleges were fed three (3) times daily and they get a bounty allowance at the same time as they are students. They also attain some gargantuan back pay allowance after their training and internship. How much can the service personnel (tertiary), who were trained and motivated to be the entrepreneurs of our land save from the peanut they are being paid? Can they start any serious business on their own after national service? How many of them does the government fully employ after the national service? Is this not the major cause of graduate unemployment in the country? Why will the government not allow the graduates find something profitable for themselves to do after school? These mind boggling questions have compelled me to write this article. Ghanaian graduates irrespective of their program of study or the type of sponsorship received during their education, are required under law to do a one year mandatory national service to the country. The National Service Secretariat (NSS) is the Government of Ghana agency mandated to formulate policies and structures for national service. A Service person is issued with a Certificate of National Service after a successful completion of the service. All personnel are entitled to only a month's annual terminal leave for the year that spans their service. The one month leave is usually given in June but not all personnel get the opportunity to enjoy this. Female service personnel may apply for a 3-month maternity leave. If the leave is granted the personnel, she is to serve for three extra months to make up for the period of service lost. Service personnel are paid only monthly allowances. The amount paid is determined by the Ministry of Finance. The allowance that is approved is what the ministry would pay the personnel throughout the service year. Payment is calculated from the date the service personnel reports for duty at his/her designated post and ends after the stipulated period. A national service person does not enjoy any back pay. They are most often laid off and not absorbed onto the salary payroll after their mandatory period of national service. They are made to go and find jobs under the scorching sun, sometimes against the restraining orders of government (embargo on employment). If each National Service Person in Ghana is paid at least a 1000ghc allowance, I'm sure the beneficiaries can utilize this money judiciously and save some to pursue their dreams in entrepreneurial ventures. This would propel a steep economic growth in the country. Unfortunately, the government would rather toy with the destiny of these graduates. What a pitty!!! Student Nurses and teacher trainees who were provided with accommodation and three times feeding whiles in school received 450ghc monthly. When it was scrapped by the previous NDC government, the current NPP government vowed to restore it when given the nod. This won them a lot of votes. The question I want to ask is, why should the national service personnel who paid their own school fees, continue to feed themselves, pay their own rent, transportation costs and other living expenses receive only 350ghc at the end of a whole month yet trainee students who were living in free hostels and fed three (3) times daily receive 450ghc each? Is that not a deliberate discrimination against the graduates? Are we all not Ghanaians? Should we continue to play politics with this? When you do a little analogy on the above you would realize that the National Service Personnel allowance as matter of urgency must be attended to by the government. Going to the university or the polytechnic should not deny a Ghanaian the privilege of enjoying their share of the national cake. Why is the current government feeling reluctant to pay the approved increment in the NSS allowance? How long are we going to continue politicizing everything? A visit to any public institution in Ghana would have revealed to you that there is staff deficit in almost all the public institutions in Ghana. The National Service Personnel are continuously engaged to take full time duties which purportedly are for permanent officers. Benefits that a permanent worker should have enjoyed, the service personnel does not enjoy because they are not entitled to it. Personnel posted to statutory boards, corporations and churches or quasi-church organizations are paid by those establishments and not the secretariat. The student trainees who receive allowances while they were students receive posting very shortly after their training and are absorbed onto the full time salary payroll to enjoy full time benefits as workers. Is the government not only helping these trainees to be more successful than the graduates who may no find any job immediately after the national service? Gone are the days where the young was always vulnerable in matters of discussion, now in the 21st century, the reality must be faced. Let us stop shying away from the truth and face the reality. Since the introduction of the National Service act (Act 426) and its implementation the National Service Personnel since 1983 has shown total commitment to the development of our nation. The government to should appreciate their contributions and pay the national service personnel what is due them. Thank you. Written by: CEPHAS KOFI AKORTOR President, MELTSA-UCC College of Health and Allied Sciences, UCC. ( [email protected]/0242856720 ). Communications Minister designate has allayed fears of a possible conflict of interest situation that may arise if she is approved as Minister. Mrs Ursula Owusu Erkuful who is currently at the Human Rights Court pursuing a case of unlawful dismissal by Zain Ghana Limited now Airtel said there are moves to settle the matter amicably. She made the comment during her vetting by the Appointment Committee of Parliament. Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa wanted to find out whether she had any legal score to settle with any of the networks and whether that tussle will not affect her work as minister. She admitted that there was a pending case with Zain, a case that started in 2009, which is yet to be resolved. Providing details about the reason for the legal tussle, Ursula Owusu stated that in 2009 She was disengaged by Zain Ghana, where she was then the Head of Communications. According to the company, she was relieved because her "public utterances was becoming an embarrassment." Ursula Owusu said the decision taken by the company amounted to a violation of her human rights so she proceeded to court. "It's purely a human rights case," she said, adding, "Zain is no longer working here. It's now Airtel. The managers have changed." The chair of committee Joe Osei Owusu pressed further to ask if the current owners which is Airtel have taken up the liabilities of Zain including court cases and all. Ursula Owusu reiterated that the managers have changed and the defendants in the case always make an appearance any time the case is called. She said the case is purely personal and will not get in the way of her position as minister. She promised to deal as fairly as possible with all the industry players. Acidic Tongue? Known for her abrasive posture and her ability to speak strongly on issues she feels convicted about, the MPs demanded to know if there were comments she may have made in the past which she now regrets. Ursula Owusu explained that in the heat of campaign battle, lots of fire was thrown on both sides of the political divide and she had to throw a few salvos as well. She said all the parties are guilty of foul language and hoped politicians will act like the way MPs act when they are in Parliament. She said her connection with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre where she schooled for her Masters in Security has played a role in toning down her comments. Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah Guwahati: Patriotic Peoples Front Assam (PPFA) appreciates newly crowned US President Donald Trump for his gesture to India terming the largest democracy of the globe as a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world. The northeast India based patriotic forum also expressed happiness that President Trump called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 January 2017 to invite the latter for visiting the United States later this year. Both politicians discussed opportunities to strengthen the partnership between the US and India in broad areas such as the economy and defense. They also talked about the security scenario in the region of South & Central Asia and finally resolved that both the democratic nations stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism. We find no reason to condemn President Trump for his American first policy and believe that every nationalistic leader has the right to pursue his patriotism without harming other nations interest, said a statement issued by the PPFA. The forum also denounced the apprehension of some non-resident Indians taking shelter in the US because of President Trumps aggressive nationalistic policy and argued that the proposed anti-terror strategy of the Republican leader would finally benefit India as a whole in the long run. We visualize Indias enhancing role in the international arena after President Trump joins hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin to counter international terrorism affectively. We are optimistic that New Delhi would nurture the relationship for a greater cause without compromising our national interest, concluded the statement. Issued by Rupam Barua, Nava Thakuria, Jagadindra Raychoudhury etc for PPFA The African Union has decided to allow Morocco back into the fold after a 33-year absence, despite stiff resistance from some member states over the status of Western Sahara. After an emotional and tense debate, member states decided by consensus to leave the question of the disputed territory of Western Sahara for another day, and resolve it with Morocco back in the family. Morocco has been admitted to join the AU with a view that it will become the 55th member of the continental body. That's made with the understanding that Western Sahara will remain a member of the AU, said Lamine Baali, ambassador of Western Sahara to Ethiopia and the AU. All the debates were focused on [the issue] that Morocco should respect the internationally recognised border of Western Sahara. The only African country not to belong to the AU, Morocco left its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in 1984 after the body recognised the independence of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. Morocco submitted its bid to rejoin last year, reportedly in the hope that being inside the AU would bring it diplomatic gains against Western Sahara's independence movement the Polisario Front and allow it to lobby against Western Sahara's membership in the AU. But Baali said Morocco had been re-admitted with the understanding that Western Sahara will remain a member of the AU. The membership of relatively wealthy Morocco was welcomed by many members of the AU, which has been criticised for being overly dependent on non-African donor funding. There was also some opposition from countries supporting the Polisario, observers said. An African Union source, who followed the debate for Morocco to return to the continental body, said that 39 countries supported Morocco's bid but nine voted against it. Polisario leader and member of the Sawhrawi delegation Minister Mohamed Beiset told Al Jazeera that while there was a lengthy debate, the wisdom of the African leaders made it possible to reach a consensus that was acceptable to everyone. The delegation decided, said Beiset, that it was better to have Morocco inside the house, inside the family, and to try to reach African solutions to African problems. He congratulated Morocco for joining the AU, and said it was a new opportunity that we should all seize in starting a genuine dialogue between us to reach a solution to the long-standing conflict that has separated us. -Starrfmonline The French embassy, as part of its commitment to good governance, democracy and the rule of law in Ghana, co-funded an abusive language monitoring Initiative which was crowned off with a Forum and Awards ceremony held at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, Accra. Within the context of long-standing relations between France and Ghana and in keeping with its unwavering commitment towards the consolidation of good governance and the rule of law in Ghana, the French embassy in 2016, provided financial support to the tune of 52 000 GHC (12 000 ) towards an initiative labelled Promoting Decent Language and Issue-based Campaigning for Peaceful Elections in Ghana. The initiative was the brainchild of the Media Foundation for West Africa. This organization is the largest non-governmental entity dedicated towards the promotion and defense of the right to freedom of expression of all persons, particularly the media and human rights defenders in West Africa. To help in its implementation, a group known as the Eminent Media Persons for Peace which was made up of distinguished personalities on the Ghanaian media landscape was formed. This group met journalists, radio talk show hosts and several owners of radio stations in selected regions across the country in order to sensitize and create awareness on the rules pertaining to democratic, tolerant, unprovocative and non-violent political dialogue in the public domain. Indeed, it goes without saying that at a point in time, there hung cloud of uncertainty as to the outcome of the Ghanaian general elections and the sustainability of peace thereafter in the country. Therefore having taken into consideration the influence of the media, especially via the radio in consolidating or jeopardizing peace as happened in the case of the infamous 1994 Rwandan genocide, these efforts were aimed at improving professional standards and promoting independent journalism in Ghana in a bid to ensure peace before, during and after the election. During the forum, the French ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Francois Pujolas congratulated Ghana for another seamless transfer of political power which he believes has further deepened the countrys gaining democracy. He was of the view that this was made possible in part due to the important role of the media in encouraging abuse-free language during the period. I have no doubts that this language monitoring campaign, including statements and meeting with stakeholders has played a key role in the result of peaceful elections he said. He was also quick to encourage media houses to exhibit even better professionalism in subsequent years. I believe that there are no democratic elections without free and pluralistic Media, but the Media must themselves exercise self-restraint and show a sense of responsibility he emphasized. He added that France along with other donor partners is equally proud of its involvement and collaboration with the media to promote peaceful political discourse. The event also saw the presentation of awards to several media houses which distinguished themselves in the promotion of decorous speech and issue-based programs during the electioneering period. 01.02.2017 LISTEN I dedicate this column to the courage of Madam Otiko Afisah Djabah, the President's nominee to head the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection. She made my day on Monday, when she appeared before the Parliamentary Appointments Committee in Accra and rode through the intimidating tactics of Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu and his National Democratic Congress caucus on the committee. That the Minister-in-waiting refused to be cowed down by the intimidating tactics employed by a group of 'political greyhounds' smelling blood, after ambushing her, is the mark of courage, which, unfortunately, is in very short supply in our socio-political evolution of late. I admire her for sticking to her beliefs and principles. In a world where the reward of office has tempted many dare devils to sacrifice their principles, Ms. Djaba demonstrated that in this tempestuous world, there is still room for people to stand up and be counted. Nearly eight years ago, Mr. Victor Smith and Ms. Ama Benyiwa-Doe, two celebrated NDC gurus, came before the same Appointment Committee with the reputation of a hard man and woman of the party Jerry Rawlings founded. They had made themselves heroes in the NDC by making several unsubstantiated allegations on the campaign trail against former President John Agyekum Kufuor, presidential candidate Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party. Mr. Victor Smith claimed in a series of publications that Mr. Kufuor, while sitting at the Castle as Constitutional Head of State of this Republic, had gained illegal payments totaling US$5m from oil deals with an oil magnate in the Middle East. From the way the story was packaged, giving very little away in terms of how the deal evolved and operated, it was as clear as today is Wednesday that the allegation could not stand the test of time. Somehow, officials of the party in opposition bought into it as a major propaganda tool. When Mr. Smith had his day at the Vetting Committee, where he had appeared for clearance to be dispatched to Koforidua as Minister for the Eastern Region, he sat sheepishly before its members and confessed that all that he had put in the public domain about the former head of state and oil dealings, were the figment of his own imagination. In effect, he lied through his teeth. The tragedy of that era was that Mr. Smith was not the only public officer nominated by then President John Evans Atta Mills to head a region, who failed the truth test. Ama Benyiwa-Doe, whose reputation of a hardened political activist had earned her the nickname Ama Chavez, was another big casualty. Apparently, truth had never been one of her greatest assets. The NDC Women's Organiser had made it her brief of going on campaign platforms around the country, accusing then presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, and the NPP generally, of dealing in narcotics. The NPP was interpreted as the National Narcotics Party by Benyiwa-Doe, party bosses and foot soldiers. When Ama Chavez was asked to substantiate her allegations at the Vetting Committee, she sat sheepishly before its members and told Ghanaians that all those allegations were 'political talk.' In effect, she manufactured those wicked lies to run down her political opponents. I wrote several articles on the two confessions, and asked the late President Mills to withdraw their appointments to serve as a huge learning curve in our political evolution. Unfortunately, the deceased President ignored my sentiments. Parliament, buoyed by the then NDC in the majority, promptly approved the two controversial nominations. Mr. Victor Smith was dispatched to Koforidua as Eastern Regional Minister, and later moved to London as Ghana's High Commissioner to the Court of St. James. Ms. Benyiwa-Doe was sent to Cape Coast to head my beloved region. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the leadership of the two persons in the two regions. For some of us though, the negative legacy of the two appointees tells something about the NDC as a political concept. If you ask me my honest opinion about the party in opposition, I would not hesitate to respond that integrity, probity and accountability, the three words thrown about with careless abandon by the founder of the party, have no influence on how the NDC functions. The three principles of honest leadership, do not appear to matter much to the political party founded with the butt of the gun. That is one reason I am not moved by the ugly noises emanating from mainly members and sympathisers of the political party founded by Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, about the performance of the Minister-nominee for Women, Children and Social Protection during vetting on Monday. Let it be known that the accusations flying about that Ms. Djaba failed to accord due respect to former President John Dramani Mahama, when she refused to apologise to the former head of state for describing him as a violent man, an embarrassment to the people of the north, and other descriptions which could not be termed complimentary, are based on the President's performance as far as Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) is concerned. I do not believe there are many Ghanaians alive, who are happy with the way SADA was used to bleed Ghana dry under the care of former President Mahama. As a Ghanaian, I agonise so much over how state resources were blown over SADA, without any official being sanctioned for wrongful use of state resources. At a point in time, it looked like officials at SADA had no respect for the Ghanaian intellect. For me, the explanation that guinea fowls reared by the Azontaba Cottage Industry, for instance, migrated to Burkina Faso, was an outright insult to all Ghanaians. Strangely, the Head of State took no action. That was not the only reason why Mr. Mahama did not help his own cause. After over GH33 million of hard earned state money had been wasted on an afforestation project that bore no fruit, the good people of Ghana were told that the trees planted withered away, because they were planted in the dry season. I think these two explanations especially, were downright insults. That apart, the fact that state resources lined people's pockets without any official accounting for those resources, told everything about the negative effect of 'PROJECT MAHAMA.' If Ghanaian politicians could defend their actions as Ms. Djaba boldly did at the Appointments Committee on Monday, this country would be on the mend. By the way, what is it that I am hearing? Did any member of the committee really question the Minister-designate for Women, Children and Social Protection on what former President Jerry John Rawlings fondly referred to as Babies With Sharp Teeth? I do not believe Ms. Djaba has the copyright for that description. Every child in Ghana knows that it was the founder of the NDC who coined the phrase to describe some members in his own party. Why should Ms. Djaba be held accountable for borrowing a phrase that has come to stay in our political lexicon? If the Minority Leader and his NDC caucus in the House have problems with the usage of the phrase, the right place to appeal to is Boom Junction. The NPP Women Organiser cannot answer for the actions of the founder of their own party. That is why Otiko should be left alone. The person in question is not a man. But I dare say that Ms. Otiko Afisa Djaba has balls. I cannot wait to see her perform her functions at the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection. Ride on Otiko, you have made my day. When a woman has done her very best, the rest of Ghana has to stand and applaud her bravery. I shall return! Ebo Quansah in Accra Multinational mining firm Perseus Mining Ghana Limited (PMGL) has commissioned a US$30 million resettlement housing facility for the people of Ayanfuri in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region. In its quest to oblige with the mining regulation, which demands communities to be 500 metres radius away from mining sites, PMGL has relocated 1,147 people from three communities, namely, Festish, Ensugya North and Kyereawewa. The 216.78 acres land resettlement facility, includes 187 houses, 12 institutional buildings, including two schools, three churches, 13-unit commercial facility, and a community centre, with a new palace for the chief, police post, fire point, and a community water and sanitation agency office on the drawing board. At the commissioning and handing over ceremony of 201 housing units of the Ayanfuri Kurofurom resettlement, which was attended by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minerals Commission, Dr. Toni Aubyn, and the Deputy Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, His Excellency Glen Askew, Mr. Jeff Quarteremaine, CEO of PMGL, explained that that the Edikan Estate began five years ago, when PMGL acquired the eastern side mining lease, where a moratorium was declared on February 14, 2012, and immovable asserts survey was done immediately afterwards. According to him, in 2013, the Resettlement Compensation Negotiation Committee (RCNC) was inaugurated to negotiate on the resettlement package, which came to a successful end in November, 2014, to pave way for the resettlement implementation to commence. CEO Quartermaine disclosed that the 201 housing and building contracts were awarded to five Ghanaians contractors, and that, not only has PMGL built houses, but has developed 6.8km of drains, extension of overhead power lines, street lights, and a robust small town water distribution system supplied by two mechanised boreholes. He urged beneficiary households to be patient and take good care of the houses and other facilities being handed over to them. I call on government authorities to exert their authorities at the site to ensure that the right thing is done, and that standards are maintained, so that this estate remains a beautiful and comfortable place resides in, and a place we can all be proud of long after Perseus has left the district. The PMGL boss stressed that in order for the mining firm to succeed, they will need good physical assets such as the Esuajah, Fobinso, Festish, Keyerewewa and Abenabena ore bodies, and Edinka plant and others. We also need finance to construct and sustain our infrastructure; we need a team of good people that can operate efficiently and produce gold that can be sold; we need a market to sell our gold; we need a solid social license to operate. In other words, we must earn the right to live and work in our adopted country and community, Jeff Quatermaine said, and gave the assurance that We are committed to working with the traditional and assembly authorities to achieve the goal of sustainable development in our catchment areas, the districts and the nation at large. He mentioned that PMGL, having recognised the transformational impacts of such assistance, has, since commencement of operations, has been working with the catchment community to provide various forms of assistance, including the building and renovation of schools, provisions of boreholes, road maintenance, vocational training of students and provision of scholarships to students from the community to undertake various courses at the Kumasi Training Institute. He disclosed that a trust fund had been established to serve as a medium through which the company provides financial resources for the sustainable development of communities. The said fund, he said, provides support in areas such as poverty alleviation, advancement of human education, promotion of agriculture, health improvement, culture heritage and sports. The company has contributed $3.9 million from 2011 to date into the Edikan Trust Fund to be used by communities to undertake projects they have selected, and that PMGL currently contributes $300,000 annually to the Trust Fund. The Minster-designate for land and Natural Resources, Peter Amewu, hailed PMGL for handing over the new settlement to the three communities. He revealed that Ghana has earned a substantial proportion of its foreign exchange from gold exports, adding that Ghana raked in US$2.4 billion from the export of gold alone in 2015, representing 13% of revenue accrued from mechanical exports. According to him, the presence of PMGL in Ayanfuri had created 2,340 jobs, which include 899 from local communities. The Minister-designate commended the mining firm for setting up the RCNC, which, according to him, is in consonance with section 73, clause 4 of the minerals and mining act, 2006(Act 703) ,which states that inhabitants who prefer to be compensated by way of resettlement, as a result of being displaced by a proposed mineral operation, are settled on suitable alternate land ,with due regard to their economic well-being and social and cultural values, and the resettlement is carried out in accordance with the relevant town planning laws. Mr. Amewu urged mining firms in Ghana to emulate PMGL, and realise that it is in their best interest to invest in corporate social responsibility initiatives, and to maintain strong relationships with their host communities. The Chief of Ayanfuri, Nana KwadwoAppiah III, expressed gratitude to PMGL for resettling his people to the new place, and urged the people to be patient and keep the authorities informed if they notice anomalies in their buildings, rather than jumping protocols and misbehaving. Nana Appiah III urged his people to take good care of the buildings. One of the beneficiaries, Paul Eshun, on behalf of his colleagues, expressed gratitude to PMGL for resettling them, but appealed to the mining giant to tar their roads for them. He further appealed for a bus to transport children to the new school, since some of them live far from the newly-built school. From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Ayanfuri 01.02.2017 LISTEN The Chinese community in Ghana has celebrated their new years festival in Kumasi, with a call for brotherly co-existence and collaboration with Ghanaians to enhance business relations. Monica Wei, spokesperson for the Chinese community in Kumasi, explained at the event that besides the exposure of Chinese tradition and culture, which demonstrate power, dignity and fertility in the performance of their traditional drumming and dancing, it is meant to enhance Ghana-China relations. She stressed the need for peaceful co-existence between the peoples of the two countries and improve upon trade relations in a peaceful and business friendly atmosphere. Ms. Monica Wei appealed to the Ghana government to collaborate with Chinese nationals in the country. Mr. Peter Chen, Director of Shengfa, a Chinese company dealing in heavy duty equipment, advised Chinese citizens in Ghana not to take advantage of the hospitality of the Ghanaian citizens and take the law into their hands and do whatever they like, but rather work and operate their businesses within the confines of the law. From Ernest Best Anane, Kumasi 01.02.2017 LISTEN The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has invested $20 million into the expansion of the Sekondi Fishing Harbour to accommodate more fishing vessels and individuals that access the port. The first phase of the harbor, which was constructed in 1998 as a landing site for 50 vessels, has now registered to over 100 vessels, resulting in congestion. A research conducted by JICA prior to the commencement of the second phase of the project, established that apart from fishermen, an estimated number of 10,000 people, including fish mongers and other intermediaries, access the port on a daily basis. Tomonari Takeuchi, the JICA representative, told newsmen in Sekondi-Takoradi last Saturday that overcrowding of the harbour had necessitated the expansion, which is almost 40% complete. He said the project is being undertaken by TOA Cooperation to construct improved breakwater, canoe berthing facility, additional ice making plant, and additional administration block. Other incentives alongside the construction include pavement of the area behind the fish handling shed, water tank, fuel tank and technical assistance (software component). Mr. Takeuchi said since current registered inshore vessels had outnumbered the 50 for which the harbor was constructed, the Phase II expansion will open-up for almost 126 fishing vessels. He added that phase II is a total improvement of phase I, as the ice making plant will produce extra 15 additional tonnes of ice a day to help fishers preserve their catch. As the ice making capacity in the harbor cannot cater for the increase of ice demand in accordance with the increase of ice demand landing volumes, fishermen are obliged to use low quality ice transported from neighbouring areas, he said. The phase II of the Sekondi Harbour construction started in 21st April, 2016, and is expected to be completed by December 31, this year. Mr. Takeuchi commended staff and managers of the harbour for effective maintenance of the facility, adding of all the ice plants installed by JICA in Africa, it is only the one in Ghana that is still efficient after almost two decades. Captain Eben Kojo Afadzi, Director of Port-Takoradi, explained that the overcrowding of fishing vessels at the port was a result of no proper landing sites for fishermen along the coasts of Ghana. He added that most fishermen prefer to land at the Sekondi Fishing Harbour, because they can have access to certain basic amenities like high quality ice blocks to preserve their catch for days while offshore. By Bernice Bessey 01.02.2017 LISTEN National Security Operatives from the Flagstaff House on Monday prevented dismissed Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) boss, Justice Yao Tsar from taking vital documents away from his office. The Chronicle investigations revealed that Mr Tsar visited the office on Monday, dressed in all white attire. According to our sources, Mr Tsar claimed that he had not received any official letter, which stipulates his dismissal and that Ghana thrives on Rule of Law and that, so far as he was concerned, nobody could sack him from office. While he was bragging, he was at the same time packing off his things. But some of the staff became incensed when they saw that Mr Tsar was packing vital documents that could help EOCO investigate certain cases. Some staff members, The Chronicle was told, quickly informed the National Security Operatives from the Flagstaff House who dashed in to prevent the former boss from taking the documents. He was sent to the Account Department to check whether financial records were intact. However, it was unclear whether the operatives have accounting background. He was asked to report to the National Security office yesterday (Tuesday) at 8:30 am. Mr Tsar was dismissed last Saturday following Chronicle publication on his investigation into the activities of the former Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Mr Stephen Opuni, in which the paper reported of conflict of interest. Shortly after his dismissal, staff at EOCO were in frenzy and expressed gratitude to God for the intervention. The Minister designate for Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said that she may not have married but for the services provided by instant messaging, voice and video application Skype. The outspoken lawyer married UK-based opthalmologist, Dr Samuel Owusu Ekuful on October 19, 2013 at her East Legon residence in Accra but she has revealed that their courtship and eventual nuptials were aided by technology. She made this known when she addressed a query from Bernice Adiku Heloo, the Member of Parliament for Hohoe Constituency during Parliaments Appointments Committee hearing on Wednesday regarding the specific benefits women could derive from quality communication services. Mrs Owusu, the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West constituency explained that technology improves long distance relationships and was a vital factor in her marriage. "That is a tough one and at the risk of being accused of bias, improved access to telecommunications makes everyones life easier, particularly for the woman and so things that would have put us at risk previously yo can now sit in the comfort of your home and do it if you have better data. "It helps improves relationships too, I keep using this example that i probably wont be married today if it hadn't been for Skype. Because my husband doesn't live here and I live here but thanks to the wonders of technology we were able to sustain a long distance relationship relatively painlessly," she said. Skype is an application owned by Microsoft that provides video chat and voice call services including the creation of video conference calls. Skype is based on a freemium model meaning much of the service is free, but Skype Credit or a subscription is required to call a landline or a mobile phone number. At the end of 2010, there were over 660 million worldwide users, with over 300 million estimated active each month as of August 2015. At one point in February 2012, there were thirty four million users concurrently online on Skype. The Registrar General's Department will from today (1st February 2017) begin sanctioning all business operators who have failed to file their annual returns and updates. According to the Registrar General, companies and partnerships who have failed to do so will pay a penalty of GH300.00 for each month that the entity defaults in addition to the statutory fees for which they are required to pay. As at the time Citi Business News visited the Registrar General Department on Tuesday (January 31, 2017), the office was quite busy with numerous people trying to file their annual returns to meet the deadline. The Registrar General in July 2016 commenced moves to get all business owners to file their annual returns as required by law. The move was also to wipe out from their records all dormant businesses in the country. But the commencement of the exercise late last year was extended after numerous pleas from business owners over the deadline given. Despite the extension, some business owners tell Citi Business News they may not meet the new deadline. What happened was that I actually did not hear about it and I was out of the country for some time. I just came today to do the returns and heard that today is the deadline. Right now what I am afraid of is that I may not be able to finish the process and will be forced to pay the penalty a business operator told Citi Business News' Jessica Ayorkor Aryee. Another said, Actually I am conducting the transaction on behalf of my brother and he delayed so he wanted me to help him get it done before the deadline on Wednesday. So I'm hoping I'm able to file all the requirements today. But the Public Relations Officer at the Registrar General's department, Constance Adomaa Takyi said the department will still go ahead and will from today sanction companies that have failed to file their returns. They have always come to plead for extension and we have listened. This was supposed to have ended on 31st December so we have given enough notices so I think we have done enough. Maybe not everyone might have heard it but that will still not prevent us from starting the penalty. she said. By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana The deadline for digital migration is likely to be extended, Minister-Nominee for Communications, Ursula Owusu has revealed. The migration was expected to take off in June 17, 2015, but was later postponed to September 2017, due to some hitches in the migration process. Speaking during her vetting at Parliament House on Wednesday, Ursula Owusu said the deadline might be extended further due to some exigencies that the Ministry is currently dealing with. I'm not sure about the switch over taking place in the next few weeks. The original time-table for migration was June 2015, it's been missed. The deadline I inherited was September 2017, I'm still receiving briefings on it and looking at the state of infrastructure, it may be necessary to extend the deadline, I don't know. Sitting here right now, I cannot tell you because we are still having discussions on that. My priority now is looking for the financing to power the network that has been the infrastructure put in place, and then subsequent to that, we can think about looking for additional funding for the set-up boxes which will enable those who have analog TV sets watch the new digital transmission; so once we solve all these problems, then we can stick to the September 2017 timeline, but if need be, we may have to extend it. Ghana missed the initial June 2015 deadline set under the Geneva 2006 agreement of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), after delays in accessing funding for the project. The then Minister of Communications, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, who announced this after receiving an evaluation report from bidders for the deployment of digital broadcasting infrastructure in the country, expressed regret that the country could not meet the deadline due to delays in accessing funding for the project. By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @EfeAnsah The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), has said it will remove billboards mounted illegally in the metropolis. Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, an advertising consultant with the AMA, John Yankah, said the AMA is targeting removing all illegal billboards by April 2017. We are targeting not only the recently mounted illegal billboards, but we are also looking at boards that were put out during the political campaigning that did not come through the due process. One of our targets is to ensure that these boards are removed before the rainy season, in April. The work is in progress. If you roam around the city, you will see cranes and AMA staff removing boards. Mr. Yankah's comments followed Tuesday's rainstorm that saw a number of billboards in Accra collapsed by the strong winds. This brought to the fore the safety risks some of the billboards pose to the public. AMA part of the problem Prior to Mr. Yankah speaking, the Executive Director of the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG), Francis Dadzie, said the AMA was complicit in the billboard problem because it put revenue generation over public safety. According to Mr. Dadzie, the National Road Safety Commission, the Ghana Highways Authority, the Police and the AAG tried to ensure best standards were adhered to with a programme in 2016, but he said the AMA opposed them. We tried to enforce some of these standards and regulations, but the city authorities opposed us, they didn't support the concept because of their revenue generation. They were looking at that over public safety issues. It is so easy to put up a billboard like standing by the road side to buy food in Ghana because the city authorities look at revenue generation as a priority over every other thing. Billboard issue not about standards Mr. Yankah however said the matter with the billboards stretched beyond simply adhering to standards. The issue is not solely about standards. The issue is about interference and not conforming to the criteria the Advertising Association of Ghana is not an exception in all of this. They are also part of some of the illegal works that go out there because they will not conform to criteria by the Assembly. He lamented that, attempts to enforce the regulations are disrupted by politicians and in some cases, the AAG itself. We need strong political will to support the agents managing and regulating the outdoors to ensure that these advertisers do not flout the law, Mr. Yankah stated. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana The Acting Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority, Hassan Tampuli says the immediate objective of the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency, Nana Addo Akufo Addo is to ensure the constant supply of quality fuel for both motorists and power generation. He said the provision of quality fuel will ensure smooth flow of vehicles for motorists and constant power generation for industries and households. Mr. Tampuli mentioned these objectives during his first meeting with staff of the Authority since his appointment as Acting Chief Executive. Mr. Tampuli also had an introductory meetings with Directors and Heads of departments of the NPA and subsequently met with all staff. He observed that the petroleum downstream sector is critical to the sustenance of the economy, security of the state and livelihood of its citizens. It is therefore imperative that the NPA upholds the highest health and safety standards in the downstream industry in order to promote the growth and development of the economy. Mr. Tampuli observed that the recent concerns raised by the public on safety standards of the petroleum downstream industry must be a wakeup call for the strict enforcement of regulations in the downstream industry. Mr. Tampuli pledged to provide the necessary leadership that drives results and appealed to all staff for their support to make the goals of the new administration a success. He assured the visibly enthusiastic staff of his commitment to quality and competence and tasked them to continue to deliver and show good results. Speaking on behalf of the staff of the Welfare Association of the NPA, Mr. Joseph Awen Awan, pledged the support, commitment and cooperation of staff towards achieving the vision of the new administration. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Lagos (AFP) - Nigeria's government and military have maintained the narrative for more than a year: Boko Haram, whose bloody insurgency has devastated the country's northeast, is a spent force. In December 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari said the Islamist militants were "technically defeated". Twelve months later, he said troops had run them out of their final enclave. Last month Major General Lucky Irabor, who heads the Nigerian counter-insurgency operation, told reporters the Islamic State group affiliate was "in disarray and... desperate". Throughout January, however, there were repeated attacks in Nigeria as well as in neighbouring Niger and Cameroon, raising questions about the extent of the claims of success. In the latest incident, rebel gunmen on Tuesday ambushed police vehicles on the main road between the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, and the town of Damboa, killing an officer. Last Saturday, as many as 24 people were feared dead when a convoy of civilian buses and trucks with a military escort was ambushed on the same road. There have been hit-and-run attacks against "hard" military targets such as bases while suicide bombers have struck at "soft" civilian targets such as mosques and camps for the displaced. 'Still around' Nigeria's government and its commanders on the ground have repeatedly attributed these recent attacks to the actions of a weakened rebel group lashing out. Last month, reporters were flown in a surveillance plane over the Sambisa forest in Borno state to be shown the military's apparent success in flushing Boko Haram out of its main base, "Camp Zairo". "Each time we are on surveillance mission, we used to see the activities of terrorists here with their vehicles parked under the trees," one air force officer explained on the flight. "But now you can't see such things. We have captured and taken over the place from them." Certainly, Boko Haram holds nothing like the territory it did in 2014, when its leader Abubakar Shekau declared a caliphate from the Borno town of Gwoza, threatening Nigeria's sovereignty. But there are fears that instead of defeat and capture, rebel fighters have merely been dispersed throughout the remote region around Lake Chad and are biding their time to regroup. That happened previously in 2013 when emergency rule was declared in three northeast states, including Borno, and Boko Haram was forced out of urban centres. Security analysts tracking the conflict have warned about complacency and underestimating the group's ability to adapt and revert to classic guerrilla tactics. One civilian vigilante leader in Rann, where last month a botched Nigerian air strike may have killed up to 236 civilians, said huge numbers of rebels may have moved in to the area recently. "One of those arrested confessed that around 6,000 fighters had moved into villages in the area," he told AFP after a Boko Haram attack on the same town, a day after the bombing. Another militia member in Biu, near the site of Tuesday's ambush, added: "Boko Haram are still around, although they have been badly weakened." Both attacks appear to back up Shekau's claim in a video message in December where he proclaimed: "We are safe. We have not been flushed out of anywhere." Claims 'diluted' Africa security analyst Ryan Cummings said the spate of attacks in January "at the very least dilutes any claims that Boko Haram may be a spent force and thus defeated". "It still comes down to the government erroneously conflating territorial capture with the defeat of Boko Haram, which is incorrect," he told AFP in an email exchange. "It is obvious the sect continues to possess the operational capacity to engage in armed incursions against a wide array of targets and is seemingly being more strategic in its employment of violence." Mass casualty attacks against civilians, using suicide bombers, may be designed to draw out security forces from counter-insurgency operations, he suggested. The group appears to be again targeting the military to restock weaponry -- as it did in 2013 and 2014 -- and camps for the displaced for much-needed supplies. The publisher of the sub-Saharan Africa defence and security forum Beegeagle's Blog said Boko Haram's capacity to launch large-scale hit-and-run attacks was clearly diminished. But they still posed a threat to the military, civilians and humanitarian aid convoys. "BH can only be factually described as being in disarray," he told AFP on condition of anonymity. "It would be hasty for anyone to proclaim their defeat at this stage," he said, adding that a response to the switch in tactics was needed. Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has refused an offer to join Corinthians of Brazil that would have included generous wages and a bullet-proof car. The Ivory Coast star, 38, is out of contract after a spell at Montreal Impact and was offered $120,000 (110,000 euros) a week, a 24-hours-per-day translator, six return tickets to Europe -- and a bullet-proof car. Drogba said on Twitter on Wednesday that he had spoken with the Corinthians president Roberto de Andrade to decline the offer. "I'm very honoured... but it doesn't feel like the right move for me at this time," wrote Drogba. The club thanked the player for showing an interest. "Life is made on choices and this renowned player will head for other horizons this season," Andrade said in a press release headlined "Thanks anyway, Drogba". In mid-January Corinthians' sporting director Flavio Adauto had indicated that Drogba had been approached by the club and that his relatively modest demands would be met. Drogba moved to Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, remaining at Stamford Bridge until 2012 then returning there for the 2014-2015 season. A Champions League and four-time Premier League winner with the Blues, Drogba has hinted at a return to Marseille. The former Ivory Coast captain has also played for Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray in Turkey. Government will next week convene a meeting with key stakeholders to begin the process of fashioning out a national Property Addressing System (PAS), to be developed in tandem with the National Identification system. The PAS is another indication of the Akufo-Addo governments determination to formalize Ghanas economy and facilitate accelerated national development. Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, announced plans for the meeting while speaking at a conference on Good Corporate Governance in Accra on Tuesday January 31, 2017. It was under the theme Accelerating Ghanas Development through Transparency & Integrity. While emphasizing the importance of a National Identification system in the growth strategy of any nation, Dr Bawumia underscored the NPP governments objective of integrating the various sectors of the economy to promote transparency and good governance through a proper addressing system. In addition to unique identification for individuals, we need unique identification for properties. It is very important for transparency and good governance that Ghana puts together a Property Addressing System, a post code system, totally GPS-based digital addressing system, Dr Bawumia stated. He continued: Every property, thanks to Google maps and others, has a unique GPS code. That we know. But we have so many different bodies and institutions Lands Commission, Survey Department, Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission everybody has their own maps. So were going to bring everybody together, sit down and forge this property addressing system once and for all. Starting from next week well have our first stakeholder meeting on this property addressing system, and it will help us as a country, if we work in tandem with the national ID system, to really formalize our economy. Among other benefits, a formalized economy will prevent people from escaping the payment of taxes and levies required for national development, Dr Bawumia stated. "The Good Corporate Governance Initiative was organized by the Action Chapel International in collaboration with KRIF Ghana and the US Embassy. H.E. Robert Jackson, Ambassador of USA to Ghana, was also present." Harare (AFP) - A court in Zimbabwe on Wednesday released on bail the pastor who last year led a surge of protests against President Robert Mugabe and is now facing subversion charges. "It is ordered that (Evan Mawarire) be admitted to bail," judge Clement Phiri said following Mawarire's High Court bail application. The court ordered Mawarire to surrender his passport and report twice a week to the police as well as paying a $300 (280 euro) bond. He will next appear in court on February 17. Mawarire, an evangelical pastor, started the popular "This Flag" protest movement last year, becoming a figurehead of opposition to Mugabe's regime. Mawarire was arrested on Wednesday February 1 at Harare airport as he returned to the country after fleeing in July in fear for his life when Mugabe publicly denounced him. Phiri described the prosecution's case as "weak" while prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba insisted that Mawarire was "a celebrated terrorist" who would abscond if bailed. Zimbabwe security forces cracked down last year after internet activism by the "This Flag" movement led to a series of anti-government protests and work strikes. The national flag became a symbol of anti-government protests after the then little-known pastor posted a Facebook video in which he had the flag wound around his neck as he deplored the country's worsening economic crisis. Mawarire's sister Teldah Mawarire tweeted that is was "great" that Evan had been released. "Activists should not be persecuted in the first place. Free expression is a human right," she wrote. Harare (AFP) - The Zimbabwean pastor who led protests last year against President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian government was arrested at Harare airport Wednesday as he returned to the country after several months abroad. Evan Mawarire emerged as the leader of the popular #ThisFlag protest movement that quickly grew into the largest street demonstrations against Mugabe in several years. "Unfortunately I have been arrested again," Mawarire said in a Facebook video posted while in handcuffs at the Harare central police station. "I hope we will get through this... But this is home to me, I am allowed to come back home. I committed no crime." Fadzayi Mahere, an activist and lawyer close to Mawarire, said he had been charged with subverting a constitutionally-elected government. The police were not immediately available to comment. At the airport, Mawarire "was escorted into another room by three men even before he went through immigration or customs", his sister Telda told AFP. The pastor fled to South Africa in July and then to the United States in fear for his life after being publicly denounced by Mugabe, whose ruthless security forces crushed the protest movement using batons, tear gas and water cannon. Economic collapse The cash-strapped government has struggled to pay civil servants and the military on time as the economy has suffered a severe meltdown with more than 90 percent unemployment. Mawarire, 39, was also detained in Zimbabwe last year for allegedly trying to overthrow the state, but a court dropped the charges against him -- a surprise move that triggered rare celebrations on the streets of Harare. The 92-year-old Mugabe, who is increasingly frail, has vowed to stand for re-election in 2018, though ZANU-PF party seniors have long been jockeying to step into the role when he dies. The national flag became a symbol of anti-government protests after Mawarire, a little-known evangelical pastor, posted a Facebook video last April in which he had the flag wound around his neck as he deplored the country's worsening economic crisis. "The president of Zimbabwe made comments to the effect that I was not welcome in Zimbabwe, but he doesn't get to make that decision for me," Mawarire said in an interview with South African website Daily Maverick shortly before he flew to Harare. He added that he was considering running for public office in Zimbabwe, where Mugabe has dominated politics since national independence in 1980 through election rigging and violence. In a vote widely seen as not credible, Mugabe easily defeated the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party in the last election in 2013. Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa is viewed as the most likely next leader, with Mugabe's wife Grace, 51, also a possible candidate. 31st January 2017- Airtel Ghana, winner of the Global Carrier Award for best CSR initiative has donated medical items to the Abokobi Community Clinic in Greater Accra Region. The donation was at the premises of the Abokobi Community Clinic by some employees of the company. The donation is in line with Airtel Ghanas commitment to support the delivery of quality healthcare to vulnerable communities across the country. The donated items included; wheelchairs, clutches, mattresses, disinfectants among others. Commenting on the donation, Hannah Agbozo, Airtel Ghanas Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs said the gesture was in fulfillment of the companys commitment to support healthcare delivery at the community level to impact the lives of Ghanaians. She said It is a well-known fact that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. As a business, we remain committed to building healthy and thriving communities through our community investment programmes. Todays is a demonstration of that commitment to ensure that community health centers are well resourced and positioned to respond to the medical needs of community members. It is our hope that this donation will go a long way to improve healthcare delivery in the Abokobi Community. Gabriel Kese-Yeboah, Administrator of the Abokobi Community Clinic who received the items on behalf of the clinic, expressed his deepest appreciation on behalf of the entire management body and promised that the equipment will be put to good use to serve the purpose for which it was donated. He said these items come at a time that the clinic is in dire need of items to facilitate effective healthcare delivery. We are grateful for the items donated to us. We will put them to good use as we strive to deliver effective healthcare to the communities that we serve. The Abokobi Community Clinic was established in 1994 to administer Healthcare to the inhabitants of Abokobi and its surrounding communities Airtel Ghana under its employee driven Make a Difference Day initiative continues to invest in programmes to enrich lives and empower local communities. The company has won several local and international awards for its community investment programmes including its recent award as best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at the Global and Africa Carrier Awards About Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 359 million customers across its operations at the end of July 2016. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com About Airtel in Africa Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has 17 operations in Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com, or like the Airtel Ghana Facebook page via www.facebook.com/airtelgh or follow us on Twitter via the handle @airtelghana. Last week I got upset for nothing. The Senior Staff Association (SSA) of Korle Bu is asking for the CEO to be interdicted. This is due to some GHC500,000 the CEO is alleged to have wrongly appropriated. This is similar to the end-of-year gold gift the Bank of Ghana gave to itself. It will be recalled that, without any provocation, the Bank of Ghana, in a show of catastrophic opulence, bought gold watches worth over $500,000 for its exiting staff, and since most staff of Korle Bu may never benefit from such unbridled largess, they create their own means of self rewards. A few years ago I was referred to Korle Bu on suspicion of Appendicitis. The Doctor told me I had to come back in two weeks for the surgery, because there was a long waiting queue of surgery appointments. Remember this particular condition is supposed to be an emergency. The Doctor told me all about the implications of not having the operation done by the next morning. He gave me his card, and arranged for my surgery the next morning, in his private hospital instead, if I wanted a quick operation. His hospital would charge GHC2, 000. This doctor did no test or scan or check to confirm or deny the referred situation. All he cared about was the money he was going to collect from me, and then he will rip me apart and remove whatever was left inside of me, appendicitis or otherwise, it did not matter. Somehow I decided to seek a second opinion from a Doctor at Trauma Hospital in Winneba. He too, without any examination, he straight away wanted to arrange for a private surgery the following morning, and he was going to charge GHC1,500. When I asked if he was going to conduct his own independent assessment, he became angry and asked me to leave his office. Meanwhile I did not feel the situation getting worst, so I took a dash to Mary Lucy Hospital at Awoshie, for a second opinion. It was then that Dr Davis told me that what I was experiencing could not have been Appendicitis. He did all manner of physical examinations, and took a number of scans, and he told me that I did not suffer from any Appendicitis. So finally I walked away from the hospital feeling good, and its been four years without any Appendicitis surgery. So you see, if I had not taken responsibility for my own health, these doctors would have opened me up for nothing. In the same year I was referred to the Urology department of Korle Bu; that one too turned out with nothing, I had no urine issue but I was wrongly referred anyway. To see the Urologist, I was given an appointment for seven weeks. However the nurse on duty told me that if I wanted to be seen quickly, then she could link me up with the doctor, the same doctor, but privately. I agreed, and I saw the doctor the following day in his office, the same office in Korle Bu. I got all I needed, and I paid all I had to pay, including the GHC200 daily consultation fees, but the money went into the doctors private pocket. No receipt, nothing. I just paid money to a government doctor who kept the money privately but who was using government facility to treat me. So while some of the Korle Bu CEOs are rewarding themselves with large sums of money, stealing money through dubious contracts, and giving themselves all the luxuries of life, their staff members are also finishing off from the bottom, giving patient private service for public treatment. The nurses and para-medical staff are looting the drug and ancillary stores, the cleaners are privately taking the detergents away, and the security men are taking their perks so they could allow the masons to tow the looted building materials away without problems. In the end why should you a CEO try to sack me, a staff, for stealing, when you know that you are stealing more than me? Why should you a CEO take any decision that deprives me of informal benefits, when you are able to build a mansion out of one single contract you awarded dubiously? No one should sack anyone, if you sack me, I will make life difficult for you; that is why everyone is wrong, or everyone is right at Korle Bu. Let us all stay. You are CEO, no one is competing with you, and no one is complaining about the amount of contracts you are awarding to yourself. But you too allow us to steal the drugs, allow us to operate our private clinics in the hospital, let us all pretend that we are looking after the patients, after all they will die one day, so let them die, so we can live. We have long passed the days of your reward is in heaven parlance. We will all collect our rewards right here in Ghana. Otherwise why would our judges whom we held sacred, why would they have collected money, goats and dross? It was because they have long seen that heaven is too far, the earth is here with us, and we will all share our loots, right here on earth. If the ministers will not give us some of the stolen money, we will sell justice, and pretend all is well. Of course pretence is the name of the new game. In 2013 the ex President, John Dramani Mahama increased his salary by 10%, and backdated it to 2009. Then in 2014 the ex president John Mahama reduced his salary by 10%. We all praised him for such sensitivity. By the time the president was leaving office, he had increased his own salary by 10%, taking retrospective effect from the year 2013. Do you get the drift? Do you remember Kweku Ananse and Ntikumah stories? We are sharing three mangoes; I am taking one, so that you also take one, so that I take one. Do you get it? Corruption and greed is swallowing all of us. These days reading the Auditor Generals report feels as though one is enduring rape; it stinks, its evil, and yet the over $3billion stinky annual corrupt revelations in the Auditor Generals report is only a fraction of the sucking away of Ghanas resources. Just think about the smelly Smartys deal when over half of the GHC3.6million contract sum awarded and paid was refunded to the state; no prosecution, nothing, and think about the dribbling spectacle the Woyome scandal turned out to be. So why shouldnt Korle Bu staff help themselves? If one MP will retire every four years, and take home GHC300,000, if one vetting beget GHC3,000 Ghana Cedis, why shouldnt one judicial injustice begot one dross? If an Assemblyman has to pay electorates for votes, then why should he not take money in order to approve a DCE or a Presiding Member? If a polling station executive pays before getting elected, then why should the MP not pay to get his vote? If an MP has to distribute trays, and kwankora for votes, then why should he not take GHC3,000 in order to approve a presidents nominee? Why should an MP not take money before approving government bilateral agreements? Or you think the MPs are fools? You think they dont know that before the loan agreement gets to the house for approval, you think they dont know that the Speaker would have been sorted out, you think they dont know that the President would have kick-backed by the time the contract is signed? You think they dont know that for every one contract, there is a Ford Expedition? Who told you that our MPs are in Parliament to make laws? If you care to know, our MPs are in Parliament to approve laws, not to make laws. They are in Parliament to balance their books. In fact they are in Parliament to take bribes, from the Speaker to everyone. My friend, get that into your head. Or if you doubt me, ask Algban Bagbin, ask P. C. Appiah Ofori, ask K. T. Hammond, ask them all, they will tell you what poverty of conscience has done to our sovereignty. Who told you that Mahama Ayariga is accusing Muntaka for nothing? If indeed Agyarko tried to give money to Ayariga, it might have been because he knows the system, and he knows how it works. Otherwise how would any sane majority person attempt to bribe a minority MP in order to gain his ministerial approval, someone whose party is in power, and his party has majority in Parliament? How? Agyarko belongs to the NPP. The NPP has 168 MPs as against NDCs 105 MPs, but still decides to give each vetting member GHC3,000, aabaaaah, Ghanas Parliament, Onaapo! James Kofi Annan Research Horizons, the University of Cambridges specialist research magazine, is devoting its latest issue to Africa. The magazines publication will coincide with the launch of a month-long Spotlight on Africa, during which a daily Africa-related story will appear on the Universitys research page. Articles in this special issue of Research Horizons (PDF attached) focus on education, health, art, sanitation, religion, energy, nutrition, food security, peace-building, infection and history. Among the stories featured are: The Iron Lady trialling a new supplement to combat anaemia in The Gambia; Anglo-African collaborations to increase agricultural productivity in Ghana and Ethiopia; Ideas of peace and the politics of conflict in Burundi; And the scientist who answered the call of duty to combat Ebola in Sierra Leone The issue includes a special pull-out map showing Cambridges engagement with Africa, and a feature on the Universitys flagship Cambridge-Africa Programme, which makes the mentorship and expertise of our researchers available to African researchers working in Africa on African priorities. CONTENT: https://issuu.com/uni_cambridge/docs/issue_32_research_horizons Education is everything Half the children in Africa miss out on school and basic learning as a result of poverty, gender or disability. Professor Pauline Rose in the Faculty of Education is highlighting the factors that limit childrens learning and the mechanisms that can improve the effectiveness of teaching. Recently, her team has been working with the non-profit organisation CamFed (Campaign for Female Education) which since 1993 has supported more than 1.6 million students in five African countries to attend primary and secondary school. Rose has been investigating how Camfeds programmes are meeting the needs of those who are most marginalised, asking what works, why and how much it costs. The Iron Lady Iron deficiency can be fatal. But in countries where patients are also likely to have other serious diseases, so too can the iron supplements used to treat it. Nearly 12 years ago, Dr Dora Pereira sometimes referred to as The Iron Lady was part of the team who had an idea for a new supplement. She now leads its clinical trial in The Gambia. Call of duty Working in a lab as a basic scientist can often seem far removed from the real world. But Professor Ian Goodfellow discovered that the skills he learned there would turn out to be surprisingly useful in fighting one of the most terrifying disease outbreaks of recent times: Ebola. He helped set up one of the first diagnostic laboratories in an EbolaTreatment Centre near Makeni, Sierra Leone. When ideas of peace meet politics of conflict Dr Devon Curtis, an expert in peacebuilding as a result of working with governments and the UN, shows how international ideas, practices and language of conflict resolution are transformed when they meet African realities and politics on the ground in Burundi. With a network of African scholars, she has turned her attention to possible new approaches and ideas of peacebuilding. The battle to have a baby in Africa The number of women who develop fatal complications during pregnancy and childbirth is so high in Africa that, in some cultures, women equate giving birth with going into battle. Ugandan Dr Annettee Nakimuli had been working with Cambridges Professor Ashley Moffett to uncover why so many women of African descent suffer pre-eclampsia. While Nakimuli and Moffett continue pinpointing the genetic basis of preeclampsia, and hope to bring out the first comprehensive textbook on African obstetrics, they are aware that one of the key issues surrounding pregnancy is that too many African women go to hospital too late, leaving it until their complications are advanced and dangerous. Dr Sharath Srinivasan, Head of Cambridges Centre of Governance and Human Rights, leads Africas Voices, a project aimed at understanding the thoughts and opinions of people in hard-to-reach African communities. He and colleagues have developed a methodology that can take data from radio programmes that encourage listener responses to draw out insights into attitudes to pregnancy. The Bible as a weapon of war What happens when former Lords Resistance Army (LRA) soldiers, those who have used the Bible as a weapon of war, return home from the front lines? How do former soldiers male and female, adults and children learn to reread and reinterpret scriptures that once spoke to them of fire and brimstone? This is the puzzle facing Dr Helen Nambalirwa Nkabala from Makerere University in Uganda working with Dr Emma Wild-Wood, from the Faculty of Divinity and the Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide. Of cabbages and cows Africas food requirements, along with its population, are growing fast. Three research programmes involving African researchers in Ghana and Ethiopia ask how a better understanding of viruses, parasites and the spread of disease can pave the way to improving agricultural yields. The aim is to ensure not only that every harvest is successful, but also that its maximally successful. Keeping the lights on in Ghana When Professor Abu Yaya from Ghana discovered that a retired lab technician had a stockpile of clays and feldspar he started to wonder why his country imports all of its electroporcelain a small but crucial component for electrical power transmission. This led to a collaboration with Cambridge materials scientist Dr Kevin Knowles that Yaya hopes will one day result in Ghana being able to manufacture affordable insulators, helping to expand the electrical infrastructure and reduce the frequent blackouts. Five years, five students: 25 Cambridge-African scholars Taskeen Adam from South Africa and Richmond Juvenile Ehwi from Ghana are part of a PhD programme thats enrolling five African students per year for five years, to help train world-class researchers for Africa. Waste not, want not in Tanzania Susannah Duck and Izhan Khan describe working with a Tanzanian community to install a sewage system that digests and cooks human waste into fuel and fertiliser. Their work is part of the student-led Cambridge Development Initiative (CDI), a volunteer organisation that works with African communities and students. One of their aims is to integrate research and innovations at the University of Cambridge to improve the quality of life for the Tanzanian underprivileged. Carriers of culture When Baptist missionary Reverend Kenred Smith captured moments of life with his camera in the Congo over 120 years ago he couldnt have imagined the photos would be chosen by a Congolese community to help them remember a country that many of them had fled. The photos are in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and were chosen by the Congolese Great Lakes Initiative as the basis of an exhibition in Cambridge to help them and their children reconnect with their heritage. Curious Objects Asante gold weights Among Cambridge University Librarys extraordinary collection of around eight million books, manuscripts and digital holdings are some unexpected items, including a set of weights made by the gold-rich Asante people of West Africa. Cambridge-Africa Programme Cambridge-Africa is Cambridges university-wide institutional structure to make its expertise, resources and influence available to support African researchers working in Africa on African priorities. We describe why its needed and how it works. Cambridges Engagement with Africa Pull-out map For further information contact Angel Gurria-Quintana ([email protected]), International Communications Officer, Office of External Affairs & Communications. The Brong Ahafo Regional Principal Investigator, at the Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHIRAJ), Mr. AppiahKubi, has appealed to politicians, and public office holders to follow due diligent in discharging their duties. According to him politicians and office holders across the world have come under heavy attack for misconduct. The principal investigator, who made this appeal in an exclusive interview with Space News in Sunyani, was reacting to the bribery scandal that has rocked parliament. The Bawku Central MP. MahamaAyariga last week alleged that attempts were made to bribe members of the minority caucus on the appointments committee with ghc 3000 each to influence the approval of the then Energy Minister Designate BoakyeAgyarko. Mr. AppiahKubi described the allegations and misconducts as shameful and as such dent the image of Ghanas Legislature. He added that such conducts must not be encouraged and calls for proper investigation into the matter. He has further called on the general public to be alert and report corrupt practices that has engulfed government institutions to the appropriate quarters. Kwabena Adu Koranteng a journalist with the New Crusading Guide who is also the Business News Editor of the Paper was on Friday, 27 January adjudged the Best Journalist in Extractives and Development Stories at the third IFEJ Flamingo Awards. Mr Adu Koranteng, a beneficiary of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) training on the extractives and the 2016 summer School who was present at the event won the award for the Best in Extractives and Best in Development news stories Speaking at the awards event organized by the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalist (IFEJ) at the Dubois center in Accra, on the theme "Strengthening Micro Finance Institutions to enhance the growth of rural and micro enterprises", Professor Ernest Aryeetey, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana stressed the need for Ghana to emulate countries like Sri Lanka and Kenya in the regulation of microfinance institutions. He said regulation of the microfinance sector would be more workable when linked to larger financial institutions like banks, as practiced in Sri Lanka and Kenya. He said the microfinance business was a risky one and players needed partners, such as commercial banks to share those risks by linking with other initiatives such as education. "Microfinance can make a difference but depends on how it is managed, structured and regulated. Mr Lloyd Evans, President of IFEJ, urged media practitioners to highlight and promote the activities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order to harness their potentials. "SMEs, when well-developed, can fill the unemployment vacuum the country is currently saddled with, he added. Mr Evans announced that IFEJ would collaborate with the Africa Centre for Economic transformation to hold a series of training programmes for its members, among other initiatives. Others winners at the awards are; Rebecca Adwoah Awuah of GBC 24 - Best Business/Manufacturing, Maxwell Akalaare Adombila of Graphic Business - Best in Agribusiness, Adnan Adams Mohammed of Economic Times - Best in Finance, Famous Atitsogbe, Best in Tourism and Best in Microfinance/Rural Banking and SMEs. Mr Alhassan Andani, Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, who chaired the event urged Journalists to be diligent in their work as a single mistake could create confusion. He gave the assurance that banks in Ghana would be ready to partner serious microfinance institutions to help grow the sector. 01.02.2017 LISTEN Fresh information reaching Adom News indicate the Local Content Coordinator at the Ministry of Energy under the previous government, Afua Amissah asked two Tullow Oil officials to move items from Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) to the warehouse of Rigworld, a private company at Takoradi. This runs contrary to what Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) said earlier, that they intended to move the items to "a GNPC-owned facility at Sekondi." It would be recalled that Adom News reported that GNPC and the then Ministry of Energy failed to mention the existence of EDC, a US$5million public-private partnership (PPP) project in Takoradi in their handing over notes to the Transition Team. Subsequently, they attempted, on two occasions, to move valuable equipment from the EDC premises but the BNI and Police CID stopped them. When Adom News asked GNPC why they failed to mention EDC in their handing over notes, and why they attempted to move the items, their response was that the Ministry asked them to take over EDC and they intended to move the items to a GNPC-owned facility at Sekondi to save cost. But Adom News has a copy correspondence sent by the Local Content Coordinator at the Ministry, Afua Amissah, to officials of Tullow and the Ministry, asking them to move the items to Rigworld warehouse in Takoradi. The letter, dated December 22, 2016, titled "EDC Asset Relocation" copied to at least seven persons at Tullow and the Ministry, stated that "Reference to TGL's (Tullow Ghana Limited) request that the Ministry remove assets from the EDC by 31st December 2016 in order to refurbish the premises to handover to the landlord, you are hereby requested to liaise with Mr. Nuertey Adzeman, Executive Director of Ghana Oil and Gas Service Providers Association to move the assets to Rigworld's warehouse at Takoradi." This confirms what Transition Team representative in the Western Region, Kwesi Biney said that he got wind of earlier plans involving same Afua Amissah to move the items on December 26, 2016, which was a holiday. When Adom News contacted Afua Amissah about the letter that she wrote asking that stuff should be moved from EDC to Rigworld warehouse, she said "our communications department is working on this issue so please contact Welington who is our Communications Director". Background EDC is a PPP project, between Tullow Oil and government (through GNPC), fitted with expensive state of the art equipment to train small scale enterprises to get contracts in the oil industry. Tullow Oil operated it for four years and suspended operations in August, 2016, subsequent to which the Energy Ministry under the previous government asked GNPC to take over the centre just before change of government happened. But both the Energy Ministry and GNPC failed to mention it in their handing over notes even though the state already had a stake in the centre. Meanwhile, on Friday, January 27, 2017, two workers of GNPC, named as Lawrence Kwao Sam and Paul Yeboah went to the EDC building allegedly to move out some valuable equipment but personnel from the BNI and Police CID prevented them. The two GNPC staff were said to have claimed that they were under instructions to move the equipment to avoid accumulation of rent, since the building that house EDC belongs to one John Kwasi Donkor, and the rent was due to expire February 1, 2017. But the landlord told Adom News that is a "mischievous lie" because he had written several emails to GNPC and to Tullow informing them that he was willing to let the equipment be in the building for free until the current government settles down and decides what to do with the centre. Indeed, Adom News has cited several emails in which John Donkor told Tullow officials and the new Petroleum and Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, that he was willing to house the equipment for free for the next few months as his contribution to jobs EDC is creating for the people of Takoradi. "I am also aware that they were moving the equipment including cars to the warehouse of Rigworld and not to any GNPC-owned building," he said. John Donkor also said the lease agreement between him and Tullow was for five years and is renewable for two years, ending 2020, so the claim that it expires on February 1, 2017 is untenable. He expressed shocked at the refusal by GNPC and its collaborators at the Ministry to list EDC in the handing over notes and the subsequent attempt by some individuals to shut down the centre and move out equipment for their personal benefit, under the guise of avoiding rent accumulation. The landlord said he suspects that the move by GNPC and their collaborators at the Ministry is yet one more attempt by some non-patriots to create, loot and share at the expense of the people of Takoradi. The most amusing thing about the reaction to the Trump administrations policies is just how shocked everyone seems by his announcements. He campaigned on the issues that are making him so unpopular with the liberal media right now. Why is anyone surprised? While I personally dont like Trumps policies, I do like the fact that he is doing what he says he would do. Up until now, just about every election campaign in a western democracy came with a mountain of gibberish about what a party will or will not do in power. Then when they got into office and safely strapped in for the next few years, contempt for the electorate became palpable. They usually renege on 80% of their promises. But not The Donald! He said he was going to build a wall along the US/Mexican border, and he has backed this up in the first weeks of his presidency. As an aside, I very much doubt that youll see a physical wall built across the border. There will be some additional construction, but drones and increased patrolling will take care of a lot of the wall. Trump is simply being a different kind of politician. Hes talking tough early, but knows full well the end result wont be as dramatic. Its like asking for a 20% raise when youd be happy with 10%. The crackdown on travellers from certain Muslim countries shouldnt come as a surprise, either. Trump said he was going to get tough on terror. That its stupid, divisive, and will continue to produce more enemies for the US in the long run are all beside the point. Trump is making a very visible statement to his supporter base that he is acting on his promises. The History of Fear The Reformed Broker blog points out nicely that there is a history of scapegoating in the US, so this is hardly new. Whatever the minority, they are always safe to demonise by those in power: To my Jewish, Irish, Asian and Italian friends, lets remember: Your ancestors were lower than dirt when they arrived here. Italians were referred to openly as a subhuman race of rats and criminals. Irishmen were apes and monkeys. Laws were passed to keep Chinese women out of the country, so that the Chinese males who were brought over for menial labor couldnt produce offspring. Jews were spat upon in the streets and routinely excluded from polite society. The message is that we (as in humans) have always been fearful and intolerant. You could say it started on a large scale with the Catholic Church, but they were simply exploiting a primal and deeply powerful emotion fear. Trump is doing the same thing. And its working, because, done right, it always works. Im not sure where this fear emanates from in the brain. But I bet it comes from an ancient part of it. A part that evolved with the very earliest humans. Thats because fear is linked to survival. Without fear, we wouldnt have survived and evolved as a species. But a brain that took millions of years to evolve is now having to deal with some very rapid social developments. We have only been dealing with different types of humans (different races) on a large scale for a few hundred years. The Age of Discovery, spanning from roughly the 15th to the 18th centuries, brought a wide variety of people into contact with each other for the first time. The evolution of our brain has taught us to be fearful of new people. Having someone protect us from our fears gives us comfort. Which is pretty much the platform Trump campaigned on. Fear. And he is the protector against this fear. But we have also evolved the capacity to reason. An evolved and enlightened individual should be able to use reason to overcome their fears in most cases anyway. But it takes application. Without it, the dominant emotion of fear will overcome reason every day of the week. Why Fear Rules the Market Fear is what causes stock market panics. Fear dominates all else. There is no reason. Just raw, primordial fear. This tells you Trump is a fearful person. He is driven by base instincts, and has no room for nuance or considered reason. Which is hardly a revelation But then again, Obama at least seemed like a President with nuance, and what did he do? Now Im just depressing youdamned if you do and damned if you dont. Anyway, the point I was trying to make before I got sidetracked on the fear and brain stuff was that at least Trump is making good on his promises. I dont like the promises, but I like that he is doing what he was elected for. So you shouldnt be surprised by anything he says or does. Hes said it all before. Its the same on trade. Overnight, one of Trumps trade advisers, Peter Navarro, told the Financial Times that Germany was using an undervalued currency to gain an unfair trade advantage. The greenback promptly fell. But was that really new news? Navarro is a protectionist. Everyone knows he equates economic strength with a trade surplus. But there are plenty of hardcore free traders in the Trump economic team, too. Navarros is not necessarily the party line on trade. But in the early days of the presidency, Navarro will get some airplay because Trump campaigned on a get tough on trade policy. The fact is that Germany is taking advantage of a cheap currency. For example, it has a massive trade surplus. From Reuters: Germanys current account surplus is expected to have hit a new record of $297 billion in 2016, overtaking that of China again to become the worlds largest, the Munich-based Ifo economic institute said on Monday. This would be equivalent to 8.6 percent of total output, which means it would once again breach the European Commissions recommended upper threshold of 6 percent. In 2015 the current account surplus stood at $271 billion. So Navarros comments, which made front page news in the worlds most read financial paper, are hardly shocking. But in the early days of the Trump presidency, shock seems to be an active policy. And the worlds media are only too happy to oblige. Tomorrow, Ill discuss Germanys trade surplus in greater detail, and why cutting it might not be as good for the US as Peter Navarro hopes. Regards, Greg Canavan Does the stock market lead the economy? Many traders think so. Brad Comincioli and Illinois Wesleyan undertook a study to verify this in 1996. Of course, there were other studies before. Pearce (1983) suggested that when investors are wealthier (in rising markets), they spend more, and thus economies do better. Conversely, falling markets thus precede recessions. However, Pearce also points out that stock market also at times provides false signals. For example, the 1987 crash was followed by a boom into 1989. Comincioli and Wesleyan found that the stock market does help predict the future economy. Changes in GDP were impacted by changes in stock prices. None of this was new information really In the 1920s, trader W.D. Gann knew about all this. He wrote in his book, Truth of the Stock Tape, in 1923 that Stock markets are nearly 612 months ahead of business conditions First bond prices rise, then stocks advance, third comes the business boom. He also wrote that in a stock market decline the following happens: stocks will be down 68 months while business is booming, because they discount the future business depression. They price in the recession before its apparent. In the US, for example, the S&P 500 started its decline in Jul 2015. It finally bottomed in February 2016. By this point most investors and traders had given up after about eight months just as Gann mentioned about 100 years ago. Look at the chart below on how the US GDP fared in 2016. You can see the GDP bottom in Jan 2016. Source: Trading Economics Click to enlarge For the final half of 2016, US GDP growth improved. This of course happened on the back of US stock markets making new highs. This was telling you in advance that corporate earnings were improving. It was telling you US payrolls were increasing, it was telling you US industrial output was rising, and that wages were growing. Dont underestimate the power in the ability to read a chart. The weight of money will always tell you the truth. Knowing some of the parameters that affect the economy is useful, but only watching the charts will tell you where things are moving to. Although it closed slightly down on the last trading day of the year at 2238, total year to date return for the S&P 500 was a respectable 12.48%. 2017 should provide many opportunities for trading, both on the long and short sides. The good news is out in Australia A strengthening US will also drag our local market along with it. Lets go back to the beginning of December last year. The main index of the Australian market, the All Ordinaries [XAO] fell to a low of 5384 on 5 December. Many commentators said at the time that earnings growth was flat and stocks were unlikely to rise. In fact, the market ran up over Christmas and into the new year, to go over 5,800 points. It was a Christmas rally. The market has retraced slightly as of now. But this week we got a taste of why the market rallied in the first place. The Australian reports that Australia logged record LNG exports in November last year. These massive LNG terminals are firing a new export boom for Australia. Our other major exports coal and iron ore are well up from their lows too. Chinese demand for raw materials has stayed a lot stronger than many people considered possible. Australias national income is now rising at the quickest pace in five years, according to the Australian. Rising commodity prices may give some impetus for wage growth to normalise and come off historic low growth rates, as an expanding mining sector helps cause a slight tightness in the supply of labour. The good news is coming out in the press, but the market has already priced this in. Thats why beginners to the share market are often confused. They pick up the paper and see positive headlines. Except stocks go down! The market has priced in the mainstream news long ago, and is now reacting to trends and currents that will only become apparent later. Regardless, Australias trade data is a very positive development overall. As we keep saying over at Cycles, Trends and Forecasts, the Aussie economy is on the up. Retraces and dips in the stock market are an opportunity to buy. For more on why that is, go here. Regards, Terence Duffy, Lead Researcher, Cycles, Trends & Forecasts From the Port Phillip Publishing Library Special Report: The Lazarus Project Your best chance to double every dollar you invest this year [More] Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? Legend of the creation of the tree Kola said that the kola nut was originally a food of the gods. Once, during a visit to the land, one of the gods left the nut that people found it. Since then, the tree kola and fruit of this plant began to be used for magic stimulant (aphrodisiac). Also, people found a lot of benefits of bitter kola for weight loss. Kola nuts grow on trees, which belong to the plant family called the Clusiaceae or Guttiferae. This beautiful evergreen tree can reach a height of 20 meters. It is something like wide-spread chestnut, as it has hanging branches with broad leathery oblong leaves, yellow flowers and star-shaped fruit. The fruiting tree starts only in the tenth year of life of a tree and it gives about forty kilograms of nuts a year. Kola nuts are large enough in length. They may be about 5 cm. Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? The homeland of the bitter kola nuts is considered to be the west coast of Africa. This plant is still quite unpretentious and easy to catch on in other circumstances, starting growing, for example, in India, Ceylon, Seychelles, Zanzibar, the Antilles and Australia. Today, bitter kola nut is spread almost all over the world. And it began its journey around the world with black people who were brought to the slave trade to the New World so that exotic nut appeared in Central America. English sailors brought kola nut to India, Ceylon, the Seychelles, and other places. Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? The Dutch began to grow wonderful nuts in Java, and the Germans cultivated it in Cameroon. Europe met with kola nuts at the end of the XVIII century, and by the middle of the XIX century, the miraculous properties of this plant (tone of the muscles of the heart) and began to be applied in a practical European medicine. Now especially large plantations of kola nuts are located in Guinea. The farmers purposefully grow and care for fruit-bearing trees all year round. Nuts require special care, as if it is dropped from a height onto the ground it can be broken - it is not allowed. Therefore, people have bent different networks under the trees or put bags mitigating the drop of nuts. Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? After collecting the nuts are transported to the city where they are sorted and washed thoroughly to get rid of the possibility of settling insects in them. Such meticulous care is conducted due to the fact that a large number of harvested nuts is exported. Thus, bitter kola nuts bring a stable income for traders, because depending on the quality of the nut and its size, the cost of the fruit can vary between 200 and 500 Guinean francs, that is 4-11 cents per nut. Every year this nut is becoming more and more popular. The reason is that bitter kola and weight loss have already become almost the synonyms. Because of its huge benefits for health people are buying more and more bitter kola nuts. How do bitter kola nuts affect health? Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? It is a plant with the pronounced tonic properties. It is used in order to enhance muscle power, stimulate the heart and central nervous system. Fresh kola seeds contain water, cellulose, starch, tannins, protein, fats, caffeine, essential oils, as well as a small amount of glycoside Kolatina and theobromine. It is the combination of caffeine and theobromine from Kolatina which determines the exciting action kola nuts as a natural tranquilizer. In medicine, kola nut extract is used in a dry or liquid form, as well as a tincture. Also, there are tonic pills. Chocolate with ground kola nuts is used as a tonic by skiers, climbers, and hikers. Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? READ ALSO: Does lime burn fat? For many years, the Europeans believed that the stories about the miraculous properties of kola nut were simple colonial fairy-tales. They began to treat this fruit seriously only after the French army lieutenant colonel gave a report to his superiors, which described the extraordinary properties of exotic fruit in details. He reported that in the process of climbing the mountain Kang, he had eaten powdered kola nuts, which helped him to move on without interruption and fatigue for 12 hours. This fact became an incitement to a detailed study of unusual plants. How to use bitter kola? Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? Kola nut can be called unique energy stimulant due to its high content of caffeine. European travelers of the XVI century described the unique qualities of this nut, which could not only completely suppress the feeling of hunger, but also relieved fatigue, as well as gave a charge of vivacity for a long time. Travelers noted that the natives were chewing this nut incessantly. It helped to lose weight and eat much less. Indeed studies have shown that under the influence of substances contained in the nut, it can improve brain function, increase concentration, which is especially important, for example, before the exam or responsible work. Bitter kola helps you to get clear thoughts; help get rid of fatigue and sleepiness. You do not waste your time having snacks as you do not feel hunger. Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? So people from tropical Africa (chewing just one grain of bitter cola nut) could walk about 80 kilometers a day under the scorching sun. The natives believe that the life-giving nut is able to quench your thirst, clean water, replace meat, increase potency, carry out detoxification after excessive alcohol consumption, lose all extra fat and so on. But, not all are equally related to kola nuts and some consider it a health hazard, because people are constantly getting used to chewing the nuts, practically abandons the normal food. Recent studies have shown that the kola nut is useful in the treatment of functional diarrhea (occurring in the nervous system). In some African tribes, during more than a thousand years people are used to chewing a piece of the nut before each meal to improve digestion. Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? Caffeine is a part of kola nut which helps curb appetite and improves digestion. It ultimately leads to weight loss. It speeds up the metabolism, the body is charged with energy for the long term. And it is without food. Looks like a miracle! The damage from the kola nuts possible side effects is very dangerous. People may get dyspepsia: heartburn, nausea, and vomiting due to excessive production of stomach acids; insomnia due to stimulation of the nervous system; high blood pressure. Bitter kola and weight loss: Does it work? Bitter kola nuts are eaten both fresh and dried. They were historically used to increase the physical strength during long multi-day trips, in order to suppress hunger, as well as the activation of all the vital functions of the body. The small amount of kola nut is safe, but its excessive and long-term use can cause addiction, nervousness, and insomnia, due to its caffeine content. You can lose weight due to bitter kola, but you should not forget about eating other healthy products: low-fat meat, yogurts, vegetables, and fruit. Otherwise, you may lose weight and get a lot of health problems in one package. READ ALSO: What are ginseng tea benefits for weight loss? Source: Legit.ng - Nigerians recently started a clamour for President Muhammadu Buhari to send Onnoghen's name to Senate for confirmation as CJN - Professor Itse Sagay of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has revealed why Buhari may not make the move Some retired Chief Justices of Nigeria (CJN) were conduits for corruption as they collected and shared bribes from people to judges, the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, has revealed. Sagay said some retired Chief Justices of Nigeria (CJN) corrupted the judiciary In an article titled: Appointment to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sagay said it was time for the government to inject fresh blood into the office of the CJN. Sagay said some of the former chief justices collected bribes in dollars to pervert the course of justice and corrupt judges. Some judges are currently facing corruption charges after they were raided by men of the Department of State Services (DSS). READ ALSO: Buhari is slow in handling affairs Femi Falana Besides, there have been calls by Nigerians for President Muhammadu Buhari to send the name of the acting CJN, Walter Onnoghen, to the Senate for confirmation. This is as Onnoghens tenure in acting capacity gradually comes to an end and no name had been released. But Sagay said the president would not just rubber stamp Onnoghen as recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for the office of the nations Chief Justice. The New Telegraph reports that Sagay accused the former CJNs of bringing ruins to the judiciary. The lack of due diligence on the part of the NJC allowed at least two Justices of the Supreme Court to slip through the net of judicial vetting to become the Chief Justices of Nigeria. And that became a permanent embarrassment to the judiciary and Nigeria as a whole. Up till today, one of them calling himself consultant regularly carries money to his former colleagues, still serving in the judiciary, to buy justice for his law chamber clients while the other one specialized in dollars and distributing it amongst vulnerable colleagues. Walter Onnoghen was appointed by Buhari as CJN in acting capacity, but his three-month tenure is almost ending These are the types of Justices who have brought ruin to the Judiciary, making it necessary for close vetting of candidates for Chief Justice of Nigeria at the Presidential level, Sagay reportedly said even though he did not mention a specific name. He reportedly added that corruption in the judiciary was fueled by the lack of due diligence in the appointment of justices for the Supreme Court by the NJC. READ ALSO: Buhari setting dangerous precedent Wole Olanipekun He also reportedly said this had resulted in the decay and the embarrassment the Supreme Court was facing currently. This load has fallen on the President because of the failure of the NJC to exercise due diligence in the past when making recommendations to the President. From my own perspective, without any privileged information, I believe that this is the process ongoing right now. He added: There has been extreme agitation and frenzy over the failure of the President to send Hon. Justice Onnoghens name for confirmation, literally within seconds of receiving the NJCs recommendation. These agitations have exhibited either ignorance, bad faith or down-right primordial motives. The crossroads in which we find ourselves today is entirely of the making of the NJC and the legal profession as a whole. There is need to inject fresh blood into our judicial system by appointing qualified lawyers from outside the bench straight to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. In this regard, senior law academics in our universities and senior renowned legal practitioners of integrity and acclaimed knowledge and skill in law should be an additional source to the appointment of appellate Judges, even as Chief Justice of Nigeria, directly. An appointee to the position of Chief Justice need not be the most Senior Justices of the Supreme Court. We must take into consideration the reputation, the integrity, the skill, productivity, established reputation of the candidate before appointing him to the position of Chief Justice of Nigeria. It is unhealthy to the judicial system and the performance and integrity of the Supreme Court to continue with the present system in which a recently appointed Justice of the Supreme Court could calculate the date in which he is going to become the Chief Justice of Nigeria based on the ages of those above him in the hierarchy. READ ALSO: Its a lie! Judges are not owed four months salary Senate I, therefore, appeal that our notoriously loquacious and unrestrained compatriots should desist from further hysteria to allow the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria to earn his position on his own merit rather than create a frenzy and furore which can result in the very opposite of what they are loudly agitating for. Source: Legit.ng - 83 Nigerians deported from UK - Those deported are residents whose documents had expired - Prisoners whose terms of imprisonment were almost completed were also deported Just few days after the United States under the administration President Donald Trump put a ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, the United Kingdom has also deported 83 Nigerians. The deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, early morning of Wednesday, February 1. Among those deported are residents whose documents had expired and prisoners who have almost completed their prison term. 83 Nigerians deported from UK arrive Lagos Airport The deportees were received by Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), police men and aviation security personnel. READ ALSO: Obama attacks Trump over ban on Muslims According to Punch, the spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, South-West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the deportees were expected to be in the country at 5 a.m. He explained that they would arrive through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, adding that officials of the agency and other government workers were expected to receive them. Farinloye said the prisoners would complete their jail terms in Nigeria. He said: We were informed that 83 Nigerians would be deported from the United Kingdom on Wednesday morning. Some of the people affected are those who havent completed their prison sentences. They would be taken to Nigerian prisons to complete their terms. Although we cannot tell the various offences, we believe others could be drug-related and immigration problems. We expect that when they arrive in the country, we would be able to know the real reason for their deportation. The aircraft is expected to arrive in the country at 5am at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. READ ALSO: Atiku denies removing Oba Akiolu from police Meanwhile, after the United States placed a ban on seven Muslim majority country, Iran in a move that is considered a reciprocal one, has placed a ban on US citizens entering the country. Iraqi politicians on Monday, January 30 banned US citizens from entering their country. Kamil al-Ghrairi and Mohammed Saadoun who are Iraqi politicians said the decision which was made at the parliament was binding. Although no specific numbers were given, they said this decision was made by majority of the politicians. Source: Legit.ng There are reports that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state are currently protesting at the entrance of the state House of Assembly. According to The Punch, the protesters said they would not allow Governor Olusegun Mimiko into the premises to present the 2017 appropriation bill to the members of the assembly. The 2017 budget presentation is scheduled to hold at 12 noon today, February 1. The assembly which had been sealed off by the police would be opened for the governor to present the bill. READ ALSO: Ondo lawmakers suspend Speaker over alleged N15m fraud The protesters said they were also protesting against an alleged move by the governor to send 38 bills to the state assembly for passage into law. Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, the leader of protesters, who spoke with journalists at the assembly entrance alleged that Mimiko was lobbying the lawmakers to earn life pension from the resources of the state. Recall that on Monday, January 30, the Ondo state police command shut the assembly premises following the crisis rocking the position of the Speaker. This was to prevent further altercations between factions loyal to Malachi Coker and Jumoke Akindele who are laying claim to be the Speaker of the House. Source: Legit.ng - The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has promised to take responsibility of the hospital bill of all victims of the pro-Trump rally - The group also promised to pay the bills for the funeral of its members who were killed during the rally - The IPOB said it does not abandon its people or members in such desperate times The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has promised to take responsibility of the hospital bill of all victims of the pro-Trump rally which took place in Port Harcourt on Friday, January 20. The IPOB said the group will foot all the hospital bills accrued by the victims irrespective of the cost. The group also said it will pay the bills for the funeral of its members who were killed during the rally. READ ALSO: We depend on our monthly contributions, no politician is sponsoring us IPOB (video) The group in a statement signed by its spokesperson Powerful Emma said: "All this efforts made by IPOB is without the help from any politician, donor or financier of any kind, all our finances comes from a few dedicated IPOB Family members in few countries around the world." Emma said the group does not abandon its people in such desperate times. He said: "Meanwhile, we don't abandon our people because we are IPOB. We are also going to secure the release of all our people in police, DSS, Army cells and those reminded in prison custody." READ ALSO: IPOB spits fire, cautions DSS over Apostle Suleman's invitation The group also promised to provide legal fees to facilitate the release of all its members detained by security operatives. "Nevertheless, IPOB under the command structure and the leadership of maxi Nnamdi Kanu is designed by God Almighty Chukwu Okike Abiama to fight for the restoration, emancipation and for the total liberation of our people in this contraption called Nigeria," Emma said. "Although, IPOB will not relent until our God given nation is restored no matter the odds and humiliation, it can never stop the quest for Biafra nation. "All those victims in Aba 9th February 2016, in Onitsha on 30th August 2015, 17th December 2015 at head bridge Onitsha and 29th/30th May 2016 at Nkpor and those in Asaba on 30th May 2916 and others who paid ultimate prices for the restoration of ancient nation called Biafra in one way or the other will never be forgotten both their families when Biafra is restored," he said. Source: Legit.ng - No fewer than three people have been reportedly killed in Adamawa state - They died during a between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Gereng community of Girei local government area - Six others were injured in the crisis A report by Thisday indicates that no fewer than three people have been killed in Adamawa state. They died during a between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Gereng community of Girei local government area. Governor Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa state Source: Depositphotos According to the report, six others were injured in the crisis. READ ALSO: How criminals, herdsmen invade Rivers state Nursing School An eyewitness reported that some members of the Gereng community were fishing in a pond near the River Benue yesterday, January 31 when some migrating herdsmen launched an attack on them. The eyewitness said the development irked members of the community who then launched an attack to repel the herdsmen but on getting there the herdsmen had fled the scene of the incident. The source said while the herdsmen were reported to have retreated, they only retreated to mobilise their fellow herdsmen for a full blown war with the community. READ ALSO: Another top pastor asks Christians to kill Fulani herdsmen who try to attack them Meanwhile, veteran comedian Ali Baba has named the Fulani herdsmen as the most powerful group in Nigeria. He went further to say they are the only people that can kill, destroy and go scot free without being arrested or prosecuted. Source: Legit.ng Following huge criticisms of Governor Ayo Fayoses declaration of support for music star Tuface Idibias nationwide rally, the Ekiti state leaders camp has hit back. Olayinka (right) says Fayose (left) has done nothing wrong by supporting Tuface's rally. Special assistant to Fayose on New Media Lere Olayinka, in a statement he released on Wednesday, February 1, slammed the criticisms which he blamed on supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He hinted that Fayose may be one of those bankrolling the event and wondered why that should concern the APC that has done the same in the past. READ ALSO: Buhari is a modest man, he didn't spend much on Zahra's wedding Femi Adesina The statement read: The blogosphere is now in flame just because Governor Ayo Fayose declared his support for Tuface's rally slated for Monday February 6th 2017. The APC online supporters have warned Tuface against allowing opposition politicians to join the protest. The hypocrisy of these APC people is legendary!!! Anyway, for the sake of clarity, Fayose only declared support for the rally being an opposition figure! However, If Fayose is one of those bankrolling the protest, so be it!!! I want to say without any fear or favour that 90% of protests staged against Goodluck Jonathan government had financial support from Bourdillon and APC controlled states and I stand corrected. Tuface's proposed rally has been surrounded by controversies. When Tinubu and APC Governors were bankrolling Actors and Actresses such as 9ice (Who later served as Special Adviser to APC Gov. Ajimobi in Oyo), Ronke Oshodi Oke (Shes a member of APC transition committee in Ondo), Dayo Adeneye D1 (current Commissioner for Information in Ogun State) Desmond Elliot (now a member of Lagos State House of Assembly), Jide Josoko (Veteran APC Reps Aspirant from Lagos) etc to stage protest against Jonathan's government, heaven did not fall. READ ALSO: JUST IN: Igbobi nurses protest non-payment of December and January salaries (photo) All the aforementioned entertainers were at Freedom Park, Ojota in January 2012 for one week, singing against Jonathan in the presence of Pastor Tunde Bakare of the CPC (now APC) and Dino Melaye; and Heaven did not fall then. Those of you making noise today applauded anti-Jonathan protesters and the opposition politicians supporting them. The then Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi in particular gave N10 million to Occupy Naija members in Ado-Ekiti. So why should Fayose's case be different? The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has failed in its bid to set aside a court judgment which declared the freezing of the Zenith Bank accounts of Governor Ayodele Fayose as illegal. Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti, on Tuesday, January 31, rejected a fresh bid by the EFCC to freeze the Zenith Bank accounts of the Ekiti state governor. Source: Legit.ng - The governor of Imo state Rochas Okorocha has said that he is better than his Imo state counterpart Willie Obiano - Okorocha said comparing him with Obiano is quite unbelievable - He also pointed out achievements garnered in Imo state ahead of the bordering Anambra state Governor Rochas Okorocha has said that he is better than his Imo state colleague Willie Obiano in governance The Imo state government has condemned a recent comparism between Anambra state and Imo state. The chief press secretary to the Imo state governor Rochas Okorocha said it is only a clueless person that cannot make such mistake. Sam Onwuemeodo said: To say the least, comparing Okorocha with Obiano is like comparing Messi of Barcelona FC with the left wing player of Mberi Secondary in Mbaitoli LGA of Imo State. Onwuemeodo who spoke to journalists in Owerri said his principal is superior in governance and leadership than Obiano. READ ALSO: Only Jesus can win a presidential nomination in a political party in Nigeria as an Igbo man - Okorie He also said in the South-East region the level of development in Imo state surpasses those in Anambra state. He also said that Obiano is unfit to rule a state like Anambra with its stirring political history. He further pointed out achievements of Governor Okorocha in business, economy and politics which has put him head and shoulder above Obiano. He said: That kind of motor park language was unexpected from a governor of a state who answers His Excellency, even when the Anambra governor did not explain what he meant by that. In what way was Governor Okorocha not an example of what a leader should be? READ ALSO: Buhari has an 8-year-tenure mandate and needs your support - Okorocha tells Igbo people Governor Okorochas claim was a healthy one, expected to provoke sound debates, which is the beauty of democracy. Governors with ideas and the right exposure gave their polite reactions, but the one without ideas (Obiano) took to insults. Leadership is all about ideas and service. Luckily enough, Obiano has been governor for almost four years while Okorocha has also been governor for five years now. Let Obiano publish his achievements in Anambra State even with high IGR, and let Governor Okorocha also publish his achievements in Imo. Then, we take off from there. READ ALSO: Pray for President Buhari to get well instead of campaigning for 2019 presidency - PDP blasts Okorocha As governor, Owelle Okorocha came up with ideas and popular policies like free education at all levels which has been working well in Imo, Community Government Councils (CGC), urban renewal programme, Ikuola Nkwu, Imo Air, massive road networks, building of universities, infrastructural revolution, and so many others. Let Governor Obiano mention at least one programme his government in Anambra State is known for, almost four years as governor. We may at this point, challenge journalists from the South-East to embark on project tours of Imo and Anambra and make their findings known to the public. Obiano, no doubt, has taken Anambra State several kilometres backward, while in Imo, Okorocha has raised the bar of leadership or governance. Source: Legit.ng - The chief judge of Delta state, Marshal Umukoro, says the signing of the death warrant would help reduce prison congestion and serve as deterrent to others - Umukoro calls for synergy between the police, prisons and the courts in order to boost justice administration Justice Umukoro has said signing the death warrant will help decongest Nigerian prisons. The Chief Judge of Delta state, Marshal Umukoro, has urged state governors to sign the death warrant of inmates on death roll in order to decongest the prisons. READ ALSO: Release El-Zakzaky, wife or go to prison, court tells IGP, others (EVIDENCE) Umukoro who gave the charge on Wednesday, February 1, in Ibadan during the 2017 Aquinas Day colloquium of Dominican Institute said signing the death warrant would reduce prison congestion, and served as deterrent to others. At the lecture titled: The Judiciary and Criminal Justice System: Odds and Ends, Mr. Umukoro said recent statistics from the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, indicated that no fewer than 1,612 inmates are on death sentence in Nigeria prisons, Premium Times reports. The chief judge also called for synergy between the police, prisons and the courts in order to boost justice administration. READ ALSO: I will return to Nigeria as soon as possible Ibori He said: Some criminal cases have been hanging without progress for over a year in some courts due to transfer of Investigative Police Officer (IPO) or as a result of IPO going on short course. Some courts too do not cooperate with the police and the prison to expeditiously dispose of criminal cases. This does not only lead to unnecessary waste of time, but also greatly affects the disposition of the accused person and the witnesses who look forward to seeing the end of the case." Though local and international organisations such have Amnesty International have repeatedly called for the abolition of the death penalty, it is however still legal in Nigeria where it can used to punish people convicted of crimes like murder and armed robbery. But before executions can be carried out, the death sentence must be approved by the state governor where the judgement was issued. However, some state governors use their prerogative to commute the death sentences to prison terms. Source: Legit.ng In an early morning tweet, President Donald Trump said he does not care what people call his recent order restricting people from seven Muslim countries from entering the US. President Trump's ban on people from some Muslim countries has generated a lot of controversies The president made this tweet following the worldwide condemnation that followed his recent order. Trump in his tweet said: "Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!' he said in a Wednesday morning tweet." Trump's tweet about the protests READ ALSO: Anger as Trumps first military action kills eight-year-old Anwar al-Awlakis daughter, 30 others Going further, he said: If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the bad would rush in to our country during that week. A lot of bad dudes out there!" Protesters say there should not be any ban in the US Recall that Trump signed an executive order banning refugees from Syria and travelers from that country, as well as Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Somalia and Libya, for 90 days. Following the ban, protests have erupted at international airports and lawmakers from both sides of the divide have lambasted Trumps order which mostly affects people from Muslim countries. Protests have erupted over the recent immigration ban across the US Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, has continued to dismiss the idea that Trump imposed a ban. DOWNLOAD: Legit.ng current affairs app for android to get the latest news He has made very, very clear that this is not a Muslim ban. This is not a travel ban, Spicer said. Meanwhile, Justen Charters, a deputy editor and commentator for Independent Journal Review, has blasted those who demonstrated across the US over the recent executive order placing a temporary ban on seven Muslim-dominated countries by President Trump. Source: Legit.ng - A group, the National Coalition Against Terrorism (NCAT) on Wednesday, February 1, stormed the streets of Maiduguri, Borno state - The group said the rally was conducted to celebrate the successful victory against Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East - The rally was themed the first mega peace rally in Maiduguri A group, the National Coalition Against Terrorism (NCAT) on Wednesday, February 1, stormed the streets of Maiduguri, Borno state. The members of the group, in their scores said the rally was to celebrate the successful defeat of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East. The group describing the rally and a mega peace rally called on remnants of Boko Haram to surrender to the Nigerian army. The groups national coordinator Kuanum Terrence said the rally was also aimed at sensitizing residents of the region on the need to a successful victory against insurgency in the region. READ ALSO: One policeman dead, others injured as Boko Haram ambush convoy in Borno Terrence said "It is instructive that this mega rally is holding in Maiduguri today, Maiduguri is not just the capital of Borno state or the economic hub of the north east geopolitical zone, it was also the epicenter of the activities of Boko Haram terrorists. See photos from the rally below: Some of the women who participated in the rally "That this rally is holding here today is a testimony to the progress made in taking back our land from the grip of evil that had threatened to consume us but which has now been thankfully averted. "We have our dear president Muhammadu Buhari, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to thank for this feat of being among the few locations on earth where the evil of terrorism has been halted within such a short time. Only those that experienced the north east before Mr President's assumption of office can fully appreciate what has happened here; this, here, was the same area where residents had given up hope of ever returning to but today the process of rebuilding our lives has begun in earnest. READ ALSO: After 2 bombings in 16 days, Borno residents celebrate Boko Harams defeat (Photos) Terrence said the war against the terrorists has been won because of the strong will shown by President Buahri and the leadership of the Nigerian military. He said: "We are grateful to these great military chiefs for turning the tide and winning the war. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok Ette-Ibas and the leadership of the other security agencies are warriors to whom we owe debt of gratitude. The group also appreciated the gallantry of the troops of the Nigerian military especially the front-line soldier who were on the battle field. "Not to be overlooked is the fact that we are using this event to send a clear message to the backers of terrorism and sponsors of Boko Haram that the north east remains unbroken and unbowed," Terrence said. Source: Legit.ng - The Nigerian Army has confirmed that a soldier who allegedly brutalised a female passenger is under interrogation - The incident allegedly occurred at a military checkpoint in Port Harcourt on Monday, January 31 - The Army authority also pleaded with the public to have faith and confidence in its ability to resolve the issue The Nigerian Army has confirmed that the soldier who allegedly brutalised a female passenger is under interrogation. The issue of discipline has been a reoccuring topic in the Nigerian Army The incident allegedly occurred at a military checkpoint in Port Harcourt on Monday, January 31. The internet was awash with the story of a young soldier, Sulaiman Olamilekan, who molested and beat up a lady blue-black forSulaiman Olamilekan, who molested and beat up a lady blue-black for 'talking about him' yesterday. READ ALSO: Nigerian army training: What are the stages? According to a post on the victims social media account, the lady simply identified as Jewel Infinity said she was on her way to Onitsha aboard a Toyota Sienna bus when her car was pulled over at a checkpoint. Jewel recounted that she was molested by a young soldier named Sulaiman Olamilekan who accused her of discussing him, and ordered her to disembark from the vehicle, kneel down and apologise to him. The director, Army public relations, Brigadier General Sanni Usman said the issue is currently under investigation. His words: As regards to the lady, I have communicated the matter to the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division and they are taking necessary action. I know that the soldier and his guard commander have been invited and effort is on to locate the lady. READ ALSO: The beginning of the start by Philip Agbese The Army spokesman also appealed to the general public to immediately report to the Army authorities any act of misdemeanour committed by any army personnel against the civil population. Please help us enlighten the public to have faith, confidence and trust in us by reporting such issues properly and if nothing is done, then they can go public with it, he said. Source: Legit.ng Report from Adamawa state is that unknown assailants have killed two white men who are believed to be contractors and five other officials of the states Ministry of Land and Survey. Unknown gunmen have been blamed for the attack According to Daily Post, the seven were killed in a village in Toungo local government area of Adamawa state while on official assignment. READ ALSO: One policeman dead, others injured as Boko Haram ambush police in Borno One of the victims was identified as Zakaria, a Director of the Adamawa State Ministry of Land and Survey. The officials were said to be demarcating the boundary of some villages between Cameroon and Niger when the incident happened. PAY ATTENTION: Get the latest news on Legit.ng News App It is not clear who attacked the officials but Adamawa is one of the states most affected by Boko Haram attacks after Borno and Yobe. Meanwhile, residents of Borno state have trooped out to celebrate the defeat of Boko Haram by the Nigerian Army. Reports from the northeast state are that the rally held at Ramat Square in Maiduguri, the state capital. Source: Legit.ng Jinja Muncipal Council Councilors have lauded President Yoweri Museveni for appointing the Kyabazinga of Busoga and the Democratic Party national chairman as Ambassadors in his office. The Councillors at a meeting chaired by speaker Morison Bizitu said the appointment of Prince William Nadiope Gabula and Baswari Mohammad Kezaala is very vital to the development of Busoga. The appointment of Mr Kezaala who is also a former Mayor of this council and Kyabazinga as Ambassadors by president Museveni will help Busoga benefit more than before therefore this council is apppreciativesaid Mr Bizitu the speaker. Mr Bizitu who was also charing council said besides benefiting Busoga as a whole, Mr Kezaala who lost the Mayor seat to NRMs Majid Batambuze has been put off the hook of unemployment. Kezaala was in court of appeal with Mr Batambuze seeking to over turn the ruling in the Jinja High Court that had thrown out apetition filed by Kezaala shortly after the election in 2016. Both Kezaala and Kyabazinga have verbally accepted the presidential appointments announced last week. Cultural and political critics including Busoga Bulale Youth group urge that the appointment of the duo is bound to weaken their powers in the offices they have been holding. We all have problems in life. At times we cannot solve them on our own. That is why we publish the letters of our readers to get your help. You might have been in a similar situation. You may know the solution. Share your opinion with those, who really need it. File photo of a sad black woman (not real photo). Here is the story our reader wants to share with us and get your opinions: "It wasn't real because I have never given it a real thought, well until three days ago, when I just blurted it out to Babe. It had been nagging in my chest, slowly becoming a nuisance, but until I actually said the words to Babe, the idea of dropping out had never been a real thing. Dropping out of school isn't the sort of thing a girl like me would/should consider. A girl brought up in a good home with everything catered for and stuffs stuffs stuffs. But more reasonably, a girl with so much academic excellence and promise. My secondary school was filled with the same phrases from everyone when I told them I wanted to be a writer, "you want to waste your brains" they would half say, half question. READ ALSO: One Biafra coin to be auctioned for about N46,000 My Papa hammered, drummed and sang the medicine thing - you will be a doctor. They so much believed in me, the girl with her face always buried inside a book. I still wonder why they didn't see it then, why they still can't see it now. Or maybe they can, they are just ignoring it, labeling it insignificant, a child that doesn't know any better. I grew up reading my Papa's newspapers (with much encouragement from him), then I shifted to novels, history books, documentaries - different sizes, hundreds to thousands of pages. I was so immersed in books (still am) and writing only followed naturally. One time Papa called me into his bedroom and told me he didn't want me to do medicine just because it was what he wanted. That day, he asked me what I really wanted - I said medicine. Maybe then I didn't know (who the eff am I kidding, I've always known!), but all I've ever wanted to do is write. Nobody was just listening because they felt self assured that someone with brains like mine should automatically choose medicine. Only Babe has ever looked at me with eyes full of genuine understanding when I say I just want to write. I did physics for a year, then pursued Nursing, got into medicine and surgery, and now switched to pharm sciences. And I finally realized the truth that I would not rest if it's not writing. It goes deeper than this, the uncertainty, the shallow feeling of emptiness, it's all irregular and just too depressing. I do not possess the elaborate vocabulary or literary prowess to put into words, how it really feels, the reality of the weight it puts on me. I told Babe I wanted to drop out. This time, do it my own way. Fill out my jamb form by myself and perhaps go for English and literary studies even if it means rewriting waec. And until now, when I finally voiced it out to Babe, and now typing it, the prospects of dropping out has never felt so real. It seems reckless and foolish but my spirit wouldn't be still." READ ALSO: Help! He led me on and made me keep this pregnancy, now he is nowhere to be found If you have been in a similar situation or know the solution, please share your experience with this young lady. If you also want to share your story in order to get other people's view about it, you can send the story to info@corp.legit.ng. Do not forget to type My story as the subject. We will reply you immediately and publish the story as soon as we can Source: Legit.ng A Nigerian soldier, Egbechi Oze, has been sentenced to jail by an army general court martial sitting in Maiduguri, Borno state after he fled his duty post. Premium Times reports that the private was absent for 270 days when he fled his post because of Boko Haram and took refuge in a state in the south east. READ ALSO: Governor Shettima accuses UNICEF, 126 NGOs of failing to provide services to IDPs The soldier was among those that were recorded as missing after Boko Haram terrorists attacked a military base in Gwoza. The court said that in spite of the fact that Oze had abandoned his duty post for almost a year, he still continued to enjoy his benefits. He was charged for not accounting for his rifle and cache of ammunitions he signed to be in his possession during the attack on Gwoza but was acquitted of the charges. READ ALSO: Borno government undermining fight against terrorism - Religious group This was because he lost possession of them when he was abducted by Boko Haram before soldiers finally attacked the place. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison and the court reiterated that he stands a chance of dismissal and refusal to be readmitted into the army for his court martial. Source: Legit.ng Sorry! This content is not available in your region WASHINGTON In a predawn raid on Tuesday, United States Special Operations commandos and Yemeni troops rescued eight hostages being held in a cave in a remote part of eastern Yemen by Al Qaedas affiliate there, officials from both countries said. The freed captives were six Yemeni citizens, a Saudi and an Ethiopian, who were unharmed, Yemeni officials said in a statement. Earlier reports that an American hostage was freed were incorrect, according to Yemeni and American officials. About two dozen United States commandos, joined by a small number of American-trained Yemeni counterterrorism troops flew secretly by helicopter to a location in Hadhramaut Province near the Saudi border, according to American and Yemeni officials. The commandos then hiked some distance in the dark to a mountainside cave, where they surprised the militants holding the captives. An ensuing shootout left seven of the Qaeda militants dead, the officials said. The hostages were then evacuated in helicopters. President Yoweri Museveni the newly elected First Vice Chairperson of the African Union and Tanzanian President John Magufuli have agreed to meet over talks on the Economic Partnership Agreement Kenya and Rwanda have already signed the deal but it wont be operational until all the East African Community member states sign the agreement, which is protested by Tanzania. EAC Heads of State led by their chairman President John Magufuli agreed in September to push for more time to allow more deliberations and negotiations on the matter. President Museveni says they need to discuss the issue, point on point because scattering it without discussion would be a mistake. The Tanzanian parliament already voted against signing of the EPA negotiated between the EU and the East African Community. They basically said, We know conflict, but we dont know Ebola,' said one American official in West Africa. The military is also tired from fighting two long wars, the official said. The Pentagon press secretary, Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, said the Defense Department was continuing to monitor the spread of Ebola, and was mindful that it doesnt just exist in Liberia. In the next month, it will send two mobile blood labs to Sierra Leone to help reduce the bottlenecks caused by delays in testing. Many aid officials in Sierra Leone said they crave a more effective command structure. The government runs a national emergency center, but aid officials said that with scores of foreign experts, government delegations and private charities flocking here, coordination was still messy, with many gaps and overlaps. It is extremely difficult, they said, to get even the most basic information, including how many treatment centers exist. There are also growing questions about corruption, with the government announcing recently that it had found 6,000 ghost medical workers on its payroll, even as real Ebola burial teams and front-line health officers say they have not been paid in weeks. Nothing, though, has raised more eyebrows than the new Kerry Town Ebola clinic, about a half-hours drive from the capital, Freetown. The clinic is an impressive campus of blue and white buildings lined up in perfectly straight rows, with all the orderliness of a military camp. It remains quiet, though, without enough trained nurses or hygienists to operate safely at anywhere close to capacity. Several aid officials said that the Sierra Leonean government had been in a rush to open the clinic, but that the aid group tasked with running it, Save the Children International, had never run a critical-care field hospital. The rows of empty beds have led to some nasty finger-pointing. Save the Children officials said the government had begged them to run the clinic. The government said Britain had made the decision. And the Britons said they had had no choice because no one else wanted the task. Mr. Somers had been part of a group of freelance journalists who covered the aftermath of Yemens 2011 uprising and had stayed on, working as a freelance editor at English-language publications and as a photojournalist. He was kidnapped in September 2013 while walking on a street in Sana, Yemens capital. Shortly before his death, Mr. Somerss family released a video in which they pleaded with his captors to release him, while insisting that they had no prior knowledge of the first rescue attempt. On Saturday, Mr. Somerss sister, Lucy Somers, told The Associated Press that F.B.I. agents had notified the family of her brothers death. We ask that all of Lukes family members be allowed to mourn in peace, she said. In the village where the rescue attempt took place, in the southern province of Shabwah, a tribal leader, Tarek al-Daghari al-Awlaki, said the American commandos had raided four houses, killing at least two militants but also eight civilians. He said that one of the civilians killed was a 70-year-old man. The shooting caused panic, Mr. Daghari said. Nine of the dead are from my tribe. He added that villagers had spent the rest of Saturday burying the dead and collecting spent bullet casings. American officials said they acted while facing a perilous deadline and a tiny window of opportunity. Mr. Somerss captors said in a video statement released Wednesday that they would kill him by Saturday unless unspecified demands were met. The ultimatum for Mr. Somers appeared to be largely a response to the first raid, on Nov. 25, an operation led by United States Special Operations commandos on a cave near Yemens border with Saudi Arabia. The commandos freed eight other hostages and killed seven militants, but found no sign of Mr. Somers, who apparently had been moved in the days before the operation. What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process. By Saturday, though, the United States had tracked him to a walled compound in the village in southern Yemen. American intelligence, including spy satellites, surveillance drones and eavesdropping technology, had pinpointed the location of Mr. Somers and one other Western hostage inside the compound, according to a senior military official who provided an account of the operation. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified operations. Image Pierre Korkie Credit... Gift of Givers, via Agence France-Presse Getty Images Americas Special Operations forces have played a central role in global combat missions since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the most notable being the raid into Pakistan in 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden. But the challenges of distance, weather, equipment failure, pinpoint intelligence and unpredictable actions by the adversary are ever-present. A raid in July by Special Operations forces against an Islamic State safe house in Syria also failed to free American hostages, who apparently had been relocated in advance of the mission. In the case of the raid Saturday, the intelligence on Mr. Somerss location was accurate. It seems likely that the deadline set by the militant captors to kill him on Saturday set the clock on carrying out the mission. It remained to be seen whether the killings represented a larger shift in the tactics of Al Qaeda, which has largely turned away from executing hostages in recent years in favor of negotiating ransoms a contrast to the frequent executions carried out by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. When they have faced military raids, Al Qaeda militants have executed hostages. The operation on Saturday began at about 1 a.m. The SEAL Team 6 commandos, joined by a small number of Yemeni counterterrorism troops, swept toward the village aboard V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft under cover of darkness early Saturday local time. They landed several hundred yards from the compound in an effort to remain undetected. Their effort faced steep odds. The compound, which was located in a remote, hilly area, surrounded by scrub, was guarded by about half a dozen gunmen, already jittery about a possible repeat of the previous rescue attempt. And the approach to the compound was sufficiently difficult that the commandos had virtually no element of surprise, which they typically plan for and rely on. The commandos were detected when they were less than 100 yards from the compound. It was not clear what alerted the militants. GUATEMALA CITY Shortly after 5 a.m. one day last week, a security guard opened the entrance of Roosevelt Hospital here to patients who had been lining up in the dark mountain chill for more than an hour. With silent purpose, they pushed through battered, half-lit hallways to claim the first places on wooden benches outside doors marked with words that promised help: urology or neurosurgery. Some had traveled for as many as eight hours to get here, guarding slips of paper from doctors who had sent their patients across the country to the best specialty hospital Guatemalas public health system can offer. We were a people that never complained, said Dr. Arnoldo Lopez, a pediatric surgeon at the hospital, as he described the doctors battles to get the budgets they needed. The patients think the attention they receive is normal. But in a few stunning months, Guatemalans shook off that resignation. In response to a widening corruption scandal, a mass protest movement forced out the president, Otto Perez Molina, less than two weeks ago. John Wetton, a bass player, vocalist and songwriter who adapted the dense, progressive rock he performed with bands like King Crimson into mainstream hits with the supergroup Asia in the early 1980s, died on Tuesday near his home in Bournemouth, England. He was 67. His manager, Martin Darvill, said the cause was colon cancer. A technically adept bassist with a smooth tenor voice, Mr. Wetton came up musically in London in the late 1960s and early 70s. He was part of a cohort of musicians, in groups like Pink Floyd and Yes, who were known for an ornate, maximalist brand of rock. King Crimson, founded in 1968, was another such band, and Mr. Wetton joined an incarnation of it in 1972, playing alongside the groups original guitarist, Robert Fripp, the drummer Bill Bruford, formerly of Yes, and others. He appeared on the groups albums Larks Tongues in Aspic (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974) and Red (1974). Max Wilcox, a classical record producer and engineer who won five Grammy Awards, and whom the pianist Arthur Rubinstein called his musical collaborator, died on Jan. 20 in Seattle. He was 88. The cause was complications of a stroke and Alzheimers disease, his son, Scot Robinson, said. For 17 years, until Rubinsteins retirement in 1976, Mr. Wilcox produced some 60 of his recordings for RCA Victor Red Seal. He counted Rubinsteins recordings of Chopins repertoire among his favorite productions. His other favorites included recordings of Beethoven by the pianist Richard Goode and the Emerson String Quartet. In addition to the Grammys Mr. Wilcox won as a producer, recordings he produced won 17. Mr. Wilcox came from a musical family and was himself an accomplished pianist. He also conducted, at Carnegie Hall and elsewhere, including a concert in 1973 with Rubinstein and the Liverpool Philharmonic. President Trump nominated a conservative judge from Denver, Neil M. Gorsuch, to the U.S. Supreme Court, presaging yet another political battle in Washington. The 49-year-old nominees legal philosophy echoes that of Justice Antonin Scalia, whose seat he will fill if confirmed. In Congress, Democrats sought to delay confirmation for Mr. Trumps cabinet picks after he fired the acting attorney general for defying his contentious immigration order. About 1,000 American diplomats around the world have signed a so-called dissent cable objecting to the order, and legal challenges are mounting. We met seven Iranians stuck in Amsterdam who are among thousands of people affected by the measure. While the immigration order has prompted protests and raised anxiety in corporate America and among U.S. allies, a broad swath of the U.S. electorate appears to welcome it. An attempt by the Trump Organization to limit its liabilities at a polluted site in South Carolina once owned by President Trumps oldest son may have just hit a wall. The issue involves a company called Titan Atlas Manufacturing that Donald Trump Jr. helped to start in 2010 in North Charleston and that failed two years later. In 2014, Donald J. Trump, while he was still running the Trump Organization, bailed out his son from the business misadventure by creating an entity called D B Pace. The new company took over a $3.65 million bank loan that had used the six-acre Titan Atlas site as collateral, and it eventually took ownership of the property itself. Last year, D B Pace also applied to take part in a program offered by the State of South Carolina that would limit its liabilities for pollution on the property, like chemical contamination of groundwater. Mr. Depp, by his own admission, often had no idea what was occurring in his bank accounts and would regularly sign whatever documents the Management Group put before him, without bothering to read what they said, on the assumption that his financial adviser was behaving as a loyal fiduciary and prudent steward of his funds and finances, his lawsuit asserts. And this is where the Trump administration comes in, because that word fiduciary is at the heart of a battle raging within the federal government over how much responsibility we ought to bear in managing our own finances, and how much we should trust the people giving us advice. (Fair warning: The next few paragraphs are wonky, but I promise well get back to Johnny Depp.) In 2015, President Barack Obama asked the federal government to force most of the nations financial advisers those people who tell us which stocks to buy for our 401(k)s to abide by whats known as the fiduciary standard, a set of rules that would require advisers to give their clients the best possible advice (rather than, say, advice that pays those advisers the highest fees). Its a very simple principle, Mr. Obama said at the time. You want to give financial advice, youve got to put your clients interests first. For most financial advisers, becoming a fiduciary was no big deal, because they had been giving good advice anyway. For instance, the investment firm Merrill Lynch said it would voluntarily hold its retirement advisers to the new standard. We view the Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule as a positive step for the industry and great news for investors, reads a company web page. Other investment firms, however, were less enthusiastic about the new rules and began furious attacks. Their objections ranged from the ridiculous (suggesting that tens of thousands of financial advisers would retire en masse to protest the new rule) to the legitimate (profits of some advisers are likely to fall, and the fees paid by some investors may rise under the new rule; whats more, there will most likely be some lawsuits against a small number of advisers as everyone tries to figure out how the new rules work). Bryan Hubbard, a spokesman for the O.C.C., declined to elaborate beyond the highly technical two-sentence statement the agency released in November describing the additional restrictions being placed on Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo has been in turmoil since September, when it admitted that thousands of its employees, under pressure to meet aggressive sales goals, had created as many as two million fraudulent accounts in the names of real customers. Some customers did not learn of the sham accounts until they began incurring fees on them. The O.C.C. which participated in a $185 million settlement deal with Wells Fargo that resolved several government lawsuits initially let the bank off fairly lightly, exempting it from some of the restrictions normally imposed on banks that break the law. Two months later, it reversed course and tightened its grip. What kind of oversight banks will face in the future is an open question. President Trump said this week that he intended to dramatically reduce federal regulations and do a big number on the Dodd-Frank Act, the Obama-era law that increased Wall Street restrictions. Republicans have already begun floating proposals to strip funding and powers from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the regulatory agency that, with the O.C.C., investigated Wells Fargo and drew national attention to its illegal acts. Investigators, including some hired by Wells Fargo, are still figuring out the full extent of the banks misdeeds. In a meeting this month with Wells Fargo employees, Timothy J. Sloan who took over in October, after the banks longtime leader, John G. Stumpf, was felled by the scandal acknowledged what a number of employees had previously said: that the bank may have retaliated against some workers who had tried to blow the whistle internally on its actions. Wells Fargo hired an outside investigator to review all calls made in the last five years to the banks ethics hotline in which the employee gave a name. About 40 percent of those who called identified themselves, the bank said. In one video clip, Pedro Hernandez calmly described encountering a boy on a sidewalk outside the bodega where he worked in Manhattan. He said he lured him into the basement with the promise of a soda, and he strangled him. In another, he smoked a cigarette as he walked with detectives through SoHo, showing them the corridor where he had left the body in a box with garbage. Something took over me, and I was squeezing more and more, Mr. Hernandez said in yet another video clip, dropping his arms, imitating the way the boy had drooped after choking him. The jury in State Supreme Court had seen the videos, taken from interviews of Mr. Hernandez with law enforcement officials and mental health experts, many times during the trial over the past three months. But as prosecutors made their closing arguments on Tuesday, they continued to focus on Mr. Hernandezs own words as they tried to convince jurors that he was guilty of kidnapping and killing Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who disappeared as he walked to his school bus stop nearly 40 years ago. Mayor Bill de Blasio and the largest union representing New York police officers announced a contract deal on Tuesday, resolving an acrimonious and protracted standoff that threatened to become a distraction as the mayor seeks re-election. The contract, which must be ratified by the unions 24,000 members, would give the police a raise higher than those in recent contracts signed with other uniformed unions, but city officials said that savings elsewhere in the deal offset it. Mr. de Blasio said the greater increase was justified by the change in techniques associated with neighborhood policing, the community-focused strategy he has championed. The deal also included an agreement that all officers below the rank of sergeant will wear body cameras by the end of 2019. This is a paradigm shift, this is a moment of tremendous transformation within the N.Y.P.D., Mr. de Blasio said during a news conference at City Hall. He said the pay increases in the deal were on par with other unions. Three synagogues in the area had also sponsored refugee families. In other cities and towns, apartments were rented, furnished and made ready, some by faith groups, some by neighbors. But in all these cases, the families were not chosen by religion, or country of origin, but by their need. These sponsors were a neighborhood or a parish or a congregation, the United States, pixel by pixel. At that local, practical level, executive orders on refugees are not baffling pronouncements, indifferent to human needs, but shopping lists for dish detergent and diapers and too many rolls of paper towel. The Syrian family bound for Connecticut had been living in Jordan since leaving Syria in 2013, said Ghassan Atohmashli, a distant cousin who lives in West Haven and provided a valuable credential in the United States approval process: a family tie. Mr. Atohmashli and his relatives are clients of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, or Iris, an agency that resettles refugees in Connecticut and collaborates with the community and religious groups to get newcomers set up. They were going to go to Cairo on Feb. 6 and then to the United States, Mr. Atohmashli said. That was to be the end of a long process that began with an application to a United Nations commission for refugee status in 2013. A ruling that someone is a refugee can take years, and periodically requires new interviews. After that, the United States screening process begins. A State Department website describes the process: U.S. Security screening of all refugees involves multiple U.S. agencies, including the Departments of State, Homeland Security (DHS), and Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Terrorist Screening Center, and two federal intelligence agencies, according to a State Department fact sheet dated Jan. 20. After months of questioning and paperwork, the family was approved. They bought three airline tickets at $950 each, Mr. Atohmashli said. On Friday, just as the Spring Glen group had topped $10,000 in its fund-raising, President Trump issued an executive order that indefinitely barred all immigration by people who had come from Syria. Organizations, particularly large ones, have a tendency to engage in group think. They need to make an extra effort to listen to dissenting views to ensure that the organization is pursuing the right goals. The Trump administrations new immigration policy would have benefited from a review and comment period to solicit dissenting views before a final decision. Then they might have heard from experts like Gen. John Allen and Michael OHanlon about the devastating consequences of the policy in the fight against the Islamic State, particularly in Iraq and Syria, and hopefully would have modified the policy accordingly. Instead, President Trumps inner circle is confronted with a wave of dissent, including the reported intention of scores of Foreign Service officers to protest the new policy through the State Departments official dissent channel. This presents the administration and the entire government with the question of how to balance the need for discipline for organizations to function effectively with the importance of open debate in determining the organizations goals. In the military, discipline that guarantees orders will be followed can also protect dissent, because there is a clear line between executing a lawful order and expressing an opinion about it. So this is where we are, just under two weeks into the presidency of a man who has never had to report to a boss or a board, who likes to imagine he gives all the orders, who fires or sues those who complain: An acting attorney general, Sally Yates, fired and accused of betrayal because she told her Justice Department subordinates not to defend President Trumps order closing the nations borders to more than 200 million legitimate foreign travelers, because it targets Muslims. A State Department where more than 1,000 career employees have publicly and lawfully dissented from that order, which they fear will weaken, not strengthen, the nations defenses against would-be terrorists. A Pentagon that thinks the order will needlessly alienate vital allies in conflict zones like Iraq where Americans and Iraqi Muslims are together resisting ISIS. And all across the government, in the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and even the Interior Department, a universe of federal employees rattled by directives on regulations and hiring, shaken by rumors of cuts in basic science involving energy, health and climate change, and wondering where the next edict will come from. Its important to remember just how radical and, yes, unprecedented the Senates approach to the previous Supreme Court nominee was. Republican leaders announced last March that they would not consider any nominee. They did so even though Barack Obama still had 10 months left in his term and even though other justices (including Anthony Kennedy) had been confirmed in a presidents final year. The refusal was a raw power grab. Coupled with Republican hints that no Hillary Clinton nominee would be confirmed either, it was a fundamental changing of the rules: Only a party that controlled both the White House and the Senate would now be able to assume it could fill a Supreme Court vacancy. The change is terribly damaging for the countrys political system. It impedes the smooth functioning of the court and makes it a much more partisan institution. These are not normal times. The seat Judge Gorsuch hopes to sit in should have been filled, months ago, by Merrick Garland, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, whom President Barack Obama nominated to the court last March. Judge Garland, a former federal prosecutor and 20-year veteran of the nations most important federal appeals court, is both more moderate and more qualified than Judge Gorsuch. That meant nothing to Senate Republicans, who abused their power as the majority party and, within hours of Justice Scalias death, shut down the confirmation process for the remainder of Mr. Obamas presidency. There would be no negotiations to release this hostage; the sole object was to hold on to the courts conservative majority. The outrageousness of the ploy was matched only by the unlikelihood that it would succeed until, to virtually everyones shock, it did. The destructive lesson Senate Republicans taught is that obstruction pays off. Yet they seem to have short memories. After Senate Democrats refused to attend votes on two of Mr. Trumps cabinet picks on Tuesday, Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said, We did not inflict this kind of obstructionism on President Obama. Even absent such dishonesty, any Democratic impulse to mimic the Republican blockade by filibustering Judge Gorsuch would be understandable. But Senate Democrats should be wary of stooping to the Republicans level, especially because any such effort is likely to prove futile, since Republicans have the votes to simply eliminate the use of the filibuster against Supreme Court nominees. The hearings should, however, present Democrats with an opportunity to probe Judge Gorsuchs views. So what might a Justice Gorsuch mean for the court? Like Justice Scalia, he is an originalist, meaning he interprets the Constitutions language to mean what it was understood to mean when it was written an approach that has led both men to consistently conservative results. I believe this, even though we come from different sides of the political spectrum. I was an acting solicitor general for President Barack Obama; Judge Gorsuch has strong conservative bona fides and was appointed to the 10th Circuit by President George W. Bush. But I have seen him up close and in action, both in court and on the Federal Appellate Rules Committee (where both of us serve); he brings a sense of fairness and decency to the job, and a temperament that suits the nations highest court. Considerable doubts about the direction of the Supreme Court have emerged among Democrats in recent weeks, particularly given some of the names that have been floated by the administration for possible nomination. With environmental protection, reproductive rights, privacy, executive power and the rights of criminal defendants (including the death penalty) on the courts docket, the stakes are tremendous. I, for one, wish it were a Democrat choosing the next justice. But since that is not to be, one basic criterion should be paramount: Is the nominee someone who will stand up for the rule of law and say no to a president or Congress that strays beyond the Constitution and laws? I have no doubt that if confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would help to restore confidence in the rule of law. His years on the bench reveal a commitment to judicial independence a record that should give the American people confidence that he will not compromise principle to favor the president who appointed him. Judge Gorsuchs record suggests that he would follow in the tradition of Justice Elena Kagan, who voted against President Obama when she felt a part of the Affordable Care Act went too far. In particular, he has written opinions vigorously defending the paramount duty of the courts to say what the law is, without deferring to the executive branchs interpretations of federal statutes, including our immigration laws. In a pair of immigration cases, De Niz Robles v. Lynch and Gutierrez-Brizuela v. Lynch, Judge Gorsuch ruled against attempts by the government to retroactively interpret the law to disfavor immigrants. In a separate opinion in Gutierrez-Brizuela, he criticized the legal doctrine that federal courts must often defer to the executive branchs interpretations of federal law, warning that such deference threatens the separation of powers designed by the framers. When judges defer to the executive about the laws meaning, he wrote, they are not fulfilling their duty to interpret the law. In strong terms, Judge Gorsuch called that a problem for the judiciary and a problem for the people whose liberties may now be impaired by an avowedly politicized administrative agent seeking to pursue whatever policy whim may rule the day. That reflects a deep conviction about the role of the judiciary in preserving the rule of law. That conviction will serve the court and the country well. Last week, The Denver Post encouraged the president to nominate Judge Gorsuch in part because a justice who does his best to interpret the Constitution or statute and apply the law of the land without prejudice could go far to restore faith in the highest court of the land. CHICAGO A shop vacuum became a lover; suction was involved. Feet turned into faces. A great fanged creature appeared with a man inside. Ghostly villagers assembled, silent and wreathed with smoke as their buildings burned and burned. It was a puppet invasion all part of the 11-day Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival and the latest proof that puppetry, a delicate and mysterious art so often restricted in this country to the childrens table, or relegated to fringe productions, has claimed a spot closer to the center. In an age when we seek relief from the relentless barrage of technology, this low-fi, handmade form provides it. A city where the dominant stage aesthetic for years was a kind of red-meat realism think Steppenwolf Theater Company, which unleashed John Malkovich on the world might not seem to be a place where puppetry would flourish. Yet the very existence of last months festival, and the eagerness with which dozens of institutions across Chicago have embraced it since its start in 2015, is emblematic of a development long in the making on American stages. Its not so much that puppetry is having an evanescent moment as that it has reached critical mass and settled in, cherished by grown-up audiences raised on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show who have had their hunger stoked by landmark puppet productions on Broadway: The Lion King, Avenue Q, War Horse, with its magnificent steeds. Compared to Mr. Kushner, who still has some ties to his familys real estate empire, Mr. Scaramucci appears to be making a clean break from his business, SkyBridge Capital. Although the sale price could rise as high as $230 million, depending on the companys future performance, Mr. Scaramuccis payment is fixed, he said in an interview on Monday. HNA is a newcomer to the asset management field in the United States, and companies like SkyBridge so-called funds of funds that act essentially as middlemen investing clients money in hedge funds have experienced pain in recent years. Citing high fees and disappointing performance, investors have withdrawn billions from such firms. SkyBridges asset pool has shrunk by more than $2 billion since mid-2015, and its flagship fund posted its second straight year of negative returns in 2016. While Mr. Kushners negotiations with Anbang apparently raised few eyebrows in Mr. Trumps inner circle, some White House officials appear to view Mr. Scaramuccis sale of his firm to HNA with more suspicion. Mr. Scaramucci was left out of the group of about two dozen White House aides who were sworn in on Jan. 22. One White House official cited concerns that it could take as long as three months for the SkyBridge deal to close and be approved by the ethics office. Mr. Scaramuccis lawyer said this period of time was standard for any large, complex deal. Image Inside the run-down building listed as Mr. Guans Beijing residence. With more than $90 billion in assets, HNA has been showered with cheap loans that have helped fuel its overseas purchases. Credit... The New York Times A White House spokesman did not comment on Mr. Scaramuccis status. Allies of Mr. Scaramuccis said the sale of his company was a red herring, and attributed the delay in his swearing-in to objections from Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, who they said had not favored giving Mr. Scaramucci a White House position. Mr. Priebuss allies denied that. What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process. In an interview, Mr. Scaramucci rejected any notion that HNA was seeking a friend in the administration, saying that his company was a highly attractive investment and that HNA was a logical buyer. HNA has described the purchase as an important toehold in the American market for its growing asset management businesses. When the Boy Scouts of America announced Monday that transgender boys would be welcome to camp, hike and earn merit badges alongside their peers, the move brought praise from critics of the organization who for years have called for more inclusive membership rules. But the decision, which came with little warning and reversed a more than century-old stance of determining gender based on birth certificates, further alienated many religious conservatives who were longtime advocates of the program. Now we see once again that the Boy Scouts really is committed to a gender-theory culture war that evangelical Christians and many other Americans just cant accept, said Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. Mr. Moore, a former scout, said Southern Baptist churches and others had been dismayed by Boy Scout policies for several years, as the Scouts moved first to allow openly gay youth members, and then openly gay adult leaders. Though several Southern Baptist congregations have stopped sponsoring Scout troops, Mr. Moore said others had held out hope that the organization would return to a more conservative worldview. In Colorado, Judge Gorsuch is known for his involvement with the outdoors and the local legal community. He lives in unincorporated Boulder County, in a mountain-view community on a property with several horses. He has raised chickens and goats with his teenage daughters, Emma and Belinda, and his wife, Louise, an avid equestrian. He is a black diamond skier and fisherman and hosts regular picnics for his former law clerks with another 10th Circuit judge, Timothy M. Tymkovich. Judge Gorsuch has not hesitated to take stands that critics say have a partisan edge. He has criticized liberals for turning to the courts rather than legislatures to achieve their policy goals, and has called for limiting the power of federal regulators. Nan Aron, the president of the Alliance for Justice, a liberal group, said Judge Gorsuchs stance on federal regulation was extremely problematic and even more radical than Scalia. Not requiring courts to defer to agency expertise when an act of Congress is ambiguous, she said, will make it much harder for federal agencies to effectively address a wide variety of critical matters, including labor rights, consumer and financial protections, and environmental law. In a 2005 essay in National Review, written before he became a judge, he criticized liberals for preferring litigation to the political process. American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education, he wrote. This overweening addiction to the courtroom as the place to debate social policy is bad for the country and bad for the judiciary. Image Mr. Gorsuch with other members of the Lincolns Inn Society at Harvard Law School, in a photo from the schools 1990 yearbook. Credit... Harvard Law School Yearbook Like Justice Scalia, Judge Gorsuch is a lively and accessible writer. Consider the first paragraph of a 2011 libel decision, which dispensed with the throat-clearing and jargon that characterizes many judicial opinions. Mr. Trumps strategists understand that filling Justice Scalias seat is not as significant as replacing Justice Kennedy. Im sure they would dearly love to see him step down soon, said Walter Dellinger, a former acting solicitor general. But he would like to be replaced by a moderate. If they chose a firebrand for the Scalia seat, Justice Kennedy might be more reluctant to leave. Of course, there is no guarantee the next nominee will be like this one. White House officials, naturally, did not voice that goal publicly. But as he left the announcement on Tuesday night, Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, said he believed that Judge Gorsuchs nomination would reassure Justice Kennedy that the future of the court was in good hands. I think Justice Kennedy will really enjoy serving with him, because he knows him well, Mr. Hatch said, adding, He might feel like its time to retire, too, because hes talked about that a few times. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 after two choices were rejected or withdrew, Justice Kennedy has emerged as the pivotal voice on many critical issues over the past three decades. While voting with the conservative wing on economic issues like Mr. Obamas health care program, he has sided with the liberals on social issues like abortion and gay rights. It is clear from these findings that respondents in Quebec are the most likely to hold unfavorable feelings towards Jewish and Muslim people, said the firms president, Lorne Bozinoff. Nowhere have those elements been as vocal as Quebec City. Handbills, posters and occasional demonstrations by such groups as the Federation des Quebecois de Souche (which translates roughly as people of original Quebecois stock) have proliferated in the city. Quebecois de Souches slogan is I exist, so I act, but as with fringe movements everywhere, it and other groups are most active behind the anonymity of the internet. Its very hard to know their numbers, said Stephane Leman-Langlois, a sociology professor at Laval University who studies Quebecs far right, adding that there is a small core to each group and that the followers are less active. He said the movement has fragmented and re-formed and groups have changed names for the past 20 years, although the recent surge in immigration has strengthened their cause. Its not a new thing, he said. La Meute, a group that includes many Afghanistan war veterans, has gathered about 43,000 followers since it started a closed Facebook page last year. The name means wolf pack in French, and its members are not politically virulent by United States standards but focus on concerns about Muslim immigration. At the other end of the scale are followers of Legitime Violence, a proudly fascist heavy metal band that announces its concerts to a vetted list of fans and performs songs like Final Solution, which is as subtle as it sounds. Other extremist groups in Quebec include Atalante Quebec; Pegida Quebec, which is an offshoot of a German group; and Soldiers of Odin. KABUL, Afghanistan American airstrikes hit Taliban positions in an embattled district of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday after the militants tunneled under an army post and set off explosives, causing heavy casualties, Afghan officials said. The toll from the explosions that rocked army posts in the town center of the Sangin district, which has been the scene of intense fighting for two days, was not immediately clear. Afghan officials said 10 to more than 20 soldiers had been killed, with many others unaccounted for. A Defense Ministry official, however, played down those numbers. Brig. Gen. Charles H. Cleveland, a spokesman for American forces in Afghanistan, said the United States military had carried out approximately 10 airstrikes in and around the town of Sangin, where Helmands main market and seat of government are, in the past 24 hours. We are continuing to focus closely on Sangin, and Helmand at large, to help our Afghan partners, General Cleveland said. Shakil Ahmad, a spokesman for the Afghan Armys 215 Maiwand Corps in Helmand, put the toll at 10 killed and six wounded. Other officials said the number of deaths was at least twice that. MOSCOW The war in eastern Ukraine that simmered quietly for months has erupted in a lethal bout of fighting in recent days. The violence, which killed at least eight Ukrainian soldiers and three on the pro-Russian side, shifted the front lines by only a few hundred yards in several spots, but potentially complicates American efforts to improve relations with Russia. The United States Army helps to train and equip Ukrainian soldiers, who are fighting Russian-backed separatists in two eastern provinces of Ukraine, in the only active war in Europe today. In the latest outbreak, the sides vied for control of what are known as gray zone territories, areas between the front lines that had previously been in buffer zones. The children around the world who need emergency international assistance the most come mainly from the countries singled out in President Trumps order barring entry to the United States, according to a United Nations assessment. Five of the seven countries where children are most imperiled are on Mr. Trumps list of nations where visas are suspended: Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The children most at risk are Syrian, whether they have fled as refugees or are still in their country, according to Unicef, the United Nations childrens agency. All Syrians have been barred indefinitely from entering the United States under Mr. Trumps executive order. AMSTERDAM Pedram Paragomi, a 33-year-old Iranian medical student, was excited about his first trip to the United States. It had taken him a year to arrange a postdoctoral research post at the University of Pittsburgh. When he sat down in Seat 19E, on a Boeing 777 operated by KLM out of Tehran early Saturday, he felt that he had finally fulfilled his dream. Its the excitement you feel when you make a long trip to an unknown destination, Mr. Paragomi said. It was not to be. Mr. Paragomi and six other Iranians remained stranded at Schiphol Airport outside Amsterdam on Tuesday, as their travel ordeal stretched into its fourth day. They were among thousands of people affected by President Trumps executive order barring from the United States, for 90 days, travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The largely spontaneous and spirited protests at American airports over the weekend focused on several aspects of Mr. Trumps order, including a 120-day ban on all refugees, an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees and an attempt later blocked by judges to deport people with valid visas or refugee status who had already arrived in the United States. WASHINGTON The choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, a natural storyteller, has produced more evening-length ballets in this century than most choreographers did in the 20th. Nearly all have narrative charm, vivid characterizations and marvelous designs. And most blend inventive fantasy with touching human intimacy. This week the Mariinsky Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia, takes The Little Humpbacked Horse, his adorably high-spirited 2009 two-act creation, to the Kennedy Center. Usually, this is the worlds most beautifully stuffy and elegantly unspontaneous company; here, as when it danced this ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, it bubbles over with impish sweetness. Its as if Mr. Ratmansky had reinvented the Mariinsky though the metamorphosis remains exclusive to this ballet. Humpbacked, a romp through Russian mythology, abounds in fantastic creatures: half-magic horses, a flock of firebirds, sea people. Theres also a foolish Tsar (echoes of Mr. Ratmanskys The Golden Cockerel, staged in 2016 by American Ballet Theater), surrounded by absurd, cartoonish Boyars. Every character, keenly delineated in dance and movement, is marvelously alive. Best of all are the three central ones: Ivan the Fool (not so dumb); the title character (shrewd, magical, irresistibly energetic); and the beautiful Tsar Maiden, or Tsarevna, who seems to fall in love with Ivan less for his looks than for his playfulness. Though I wish I could see all three Kennedy Center casts, Im happy to report that Tuesdays was led by Vladimir Shklyarov. In no other role is he so ebulliently, exuberantly fresh. On Tuesday, the Tsar Maiden was Anastasia Matvienko, playing the role with a screwball combination of beauty and tearaway impulsiveness. The title character was danced by the young Yaroslav Baibordin, intoxicatingly frisky. To get Mexico to pay for it, when the wall arrives at the southern border, we shut the lights; we pretend were not home, Mr. Stewart said. Its C.O.D.; Mexico has to sign for it. He also announced: America now finally has an official language. The new official language of the United States is baloney. (Mr. Stewart used a far stronger word beginning with b.) Mr. Stewart then read a third executive order of greater length: I, Donald J. Trump, am exhausting. It has been 11 days, Stephen. 11 [expletive] days. Eleven. The presidency is supposed to age the president, not the public. The reason that I, Donald J. Trump, am exhausting is that every instinct and fiber of my pathological self-regard calls me to abuse of power. I want no, deserve not just your respect but your adoration. Parades with the tanks and the synchronized dancing, and why cant they train 10,000 doves to spell out Trump in the clouds? How hard can it be? Theyre already flying. I, Donald J. Trump, am exhausting because it is going to take relentless stamina, vigilance and every institutional check and balance this great country can muster to keep me, Donald J. Trump, from going full Palpatine, with the lightning coming out of the fingertips and fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate. We have never faced this before. Purposeful, vindictive chaos. But perhaps therein lies the saving grace of my, Donald J. Trumps, presidency. No one action will be adequate. All actions will be necessary. And if we do not allow Donald Trump to exhaust our fight and somehow come through this presidency calamity-less and constitutionally partially intact, then I, Donald J. Trump, will have demonstrated the greatness of America. Just not the way I thought I was gonna. Mr. Stewarts appearance at the Ed Sullivan Theater was the latest of the rare visits he has made to this or any other television program since stepping down at The Daily Show, the Comedy Central news satire he hosted from 1999 to 2015. (That is also where Mr. Colbert first broke through, as a supremely arch correspondent, before going on to host The Colbert Report.) Some dramas derive their potency from the struggle involved in simply getting through the day. Thats very much the situation in which we find Tamsin (Erin Doherty), the anxious 19-year-old at the capacious heart of Wish List, the smashing debut play from Katherine Soper that is running in the Royal Courts upstairs studio theater through Feb. 11. In 2015, Ms. Sopers play won the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, the same accolade that two years earlier went to her fellow newcomer Anna Jordans Yen, now playing Off Broadway after its own Royal Court engagement this time last year. Both plays share an interest in people who lead tough, neglected lives and find the humanity amid a landscape that carries with it a sizable amount of hurt. At the warehouse where she logs in for work in ill-fitting boots, Tamsin is little more than a cog in an ever-churning machine, a point made clear by the conveyor belt that defines the designer Ana Ines Jabara-Pitas set. Packing boxes to a merciless timetable and under the watchful eye of a supervisor (Aleksandar Mikic) who may in fact be more sympathetic than he seems, Tamsin sustains cuts to her body and her already fragile ego. And, yes, she would like to call her brother during a break, if only she were allowed access to her phone. How did the usual edition come about? Theres a tragedy, especially in Russian culture, of geniuses surrounded by less talented well-wishers. Tchaikovsky was one of those, where certain people in his circle in this case Alexander Siloti, his student and an uncle of Rachmaninoff thought they knew better. Siloti had been in Europe and studied with Liszt. His tendency toward the superficially brilliant, and some of the traits of 19th-century pianism that are less noble than the tradition generally is in its best manifestations, resulted in these posthumous editorial changes. Some people like to eat organic food thats Tchaikovskys version and some people like to eat everything with sprinkles of MSG. Thats fine, as long as you know that what youre sprinkling is monosodium glutamate. So if one wants to play Tchaikovsky-Siloti, do that. I think its better to do what the composer himself wrote. Do these changes fundamentally alter the character of the piece, or are they just refinements? A bit of both. When you take it all together, there are maybe four, five significant changes and about 150, 160 minor discrepancies of articulation and dynamic indications in various orchestra parts, as well as in the piano part. What it suggests is a fresh look at how the piece is interpreted. Some skeptic might say that the percentage of the notes that are different is probably less than 1 percent, so whats the big deal? It gives us a chance to revisit something for sincere musical interest, something that is so often relegated to being an old war horse, and frankly not taken seriously enough because the criticism is that its so bombastic. It may be better than we are used to. I do find that in all the cases where there is a discrepancy, what the composer wrote is more suitable and fitting to the musical content, to the general poetry of the piece. Back in 2008, Charles Isherwood of The New York Times reviewed a new play by Tracy Letts, Superior Donuts, that was opening at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago. The work, he wrote, could be described as a valentine to the 1970s sitcoms of Norman Lear, which featured colorfully contrasted characters, formulaic but smart comic writing and a social conscience. Perhaps someone at CBS read that description, because now a sitcom has been made from the play. Not by Mr. Lear, though; the show that has its premiere on Thursday night on the network is more like a diminished imitation of prime Lear. The colorfully contrasted characters are still abundant, but the repartee is, for the most part, content to be merely snappy, not socially insightful. The reliable Judd Hirsch is Arthur, owner of the Chicago doughnut shop of the title. He has been plying his trade for 47 years, though how he has stayed in business that long is a mystery, since he seems to have few customers other than the handful of regulars that any sitcom set in a bar, bakery, restaurant or other small business must have. Early in the premiere, in walks Franco (Jermaine Fowler), a man in search of a job and full of ideas about how to sell more doughnuts. Arthur is white and tradition-bound; Franco is black and streetwise, or at least a tame prime-time sitcoms version of what that is. (Arthur and Franco differ on ho-hum whether graffiti is art or vandalism.) The two quickly too quickly, really settle into a wisecracking comfort zone. Arthur puts Franco on the payroll, and medium-strength jokes ensue as Franco introduces Arthur to internet marketing and wild new doughnut flavors that draw a hipster crowd. (Want to get this briefing by email? Heres the sign-up.) Good morning. Heres what you need to know: Trump announces his Supreme Court pick. Let the scrutiny begin. President Trumps nominee, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, a 49-year-old federal appeals court judge in Denver, is viewed as a conservative in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia, whom he would replace. Who is Judge Gorsuch? He has deep ties to Washington, where his mother was a high-level official in the Reagan administration. After attending Columbia and Harvard Law School, he served as a clerk for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Later, Judge Gorsuch worked in private practice and in the Justice Department. What is his judicial philosophy? Judge Gorsuch is an originalist, meaning he tries to interpret the Constitution consistent with the understanding of those who drafted it, our writer explains. Software modifications requested by Volkswagen provided yet another path toward potential input of data as a defeat device, said the letter, which was submitted as part of an ongoing lawsuit by a Volkswagen owner in Germany. The letter went on to quote verbatim from United States and European laws prohibiting the devices. A supplier has practically no possibility to say no, or they lose business from the biggest carmaker in the world, said Kai Borgeest, a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Aschaffenburg, Germany, who has testified as an emissions expert at the European Parliament. Bosch argued that the letter was misinterpreted and applied to different engines than the ones programmed to cheat, according to a court document filed Wednesday as part of the proposed settlement. The German car industry would probably not be such a powerhouse without Bosch. The company, which began as an electrical workshop in Stuttgart in 1888, supplied many of the electrical components, like spark plugs, that made mass-market cars possible. After World War II, Bosch was an indispensable partner as the immensely popular Beetle transformed Volkswagen into a global carmaker. Bosch, which has 390,000 employees, also supplies an array of components such as anti-lock brakes to BMW, Daimler and virtually all of the worlds major carmakers. It would be tough to find a car that does not have some Bosch parts. Bosch, which is owned by a foundation, is one of the worlds largest privately held companies, with sales last year of 73 billion euros, or $78.5 billion. Since early in its history, Bosch has cultivated a reputation as one of Germanys most conscientious companies. Although Bosch manufactured military goods for the Nazis during World War II, the companys wartime chief executive, Hans Walz, helped Jews to escape the concentration camps. Mr. Walz is recognized at the Yad Vashem holocaust remembrance center in Jerusalem. Beginning in the 1980s, Bosch played a major role in refining diesel technology for passenger cars, providing sophisticated fuel injection systems and computers that sit under the hood and manage the operations of the engine. The technology allowed carmakers to more precisely calibrate the way fuel is burned inside the engine and to reduce the vibrations and sooty exhaust. SAN FRANCISCO The financial start-up SoFi is getting closer to its ambition of being able to replace your bank. SoFi, or Social Finance as it is officially known, announced Tuesday that it was acquiring a company, Zenbanx, allowing SoFi to offer checking accounts, credit cards and international money transfers to its customers. SoFi, based in San Francisco, began in 2011 by refinancing student loans taken out by graduates of elite universities. Since succeeding in that niche, the company has expanded into personal loans, mortgage lending, asset management and even life insurance. But until now it has not been able to accept deposits, one of the most basic functions of a bank. Zenbanx was founded by the former chief executive of ING Direct, Arkadi Kuhlmann. It has built a clientele for online savings accounts that allow customers to move easily among different currencies, while using A.T.M.s to get access to cash. Democrats have already sought to stall the confirmations of Steven Mnuchin and Tom Price, the nominees for Treasury secretary and secretary of health and human services, by refusing to attend scheduled votes. They also tried to block Senator Jeff Sessions nomination as attorney general because they said he was too close to Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump also faces opposition from the State Department. A dissent cable taking apart Mr. Trumps executive order to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries has been making its way through American embassies around the world, attracting at least 1,000 signatures along the way. President Trump has also met the nations top drug company executives. On Tuesday, he promised to slash regulations at the Food and Drug Administration and make it easier for them to manufacture in the United States. But he also said that lowering drug costs remain a focus. Wells Fargo Some Wells Fargo employees were under so much pressure to meet aggressive sales goals that they took to creating fraudulent accounts. Now the scandal has stopped the bank from paying severance to the more than 400 employees it recently laid off. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency imposed additional restrictions on the bank, which limited what payments it was permitted to make to terminated employees without explicit regulatory approval. The rules were intended to curb golden parachute packages, and Wells Fargos severance plan is not eligible to be exempted. Former employees at all levels of the company are affected and the payments add up to several million dollars. SAN FRANCISCO New Zealand first. That was pretty much Peter Thiels feeling a few years ago, when the tech investor and future adviser to Donald J. Trump decided he loved the South Pacific island nation so much he wanted to become a citizen there. I am happy to say categorically that I have found no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand, Mr. Thiel wrote in his application. The 49-year-old investor, who was born in Germany, was granted New Zealand citizenship in 2011 but kept his American citizenship. Officials in New Zealand released documents related to Mr. Thiels application and approval Tuesday night, offering new details about his effort years ago to become a citizen in the middle of the current uproar in the United States over President Trumps border control measures. That citizenship has raised questions in New Zealand about the governments motivation, as documents show officials citing Mr. Thiels financial support and letting other requirements like living there slide. Mr. Trumps order, signed on Friday, temporarily banned all refugees as well as all citizens from Iran, Iraq and five other predominantly Muslim nations. Nowhere among corporations have the protests been greater than in the technology community, whose employees and customers cover the globe. Sam Sifton emails readers of Cooking five days a week to talk about food and suggest recipes. That email also appears here. To receive it in your inbox, register here. Good morning. The news swirls around us unabated, dividing families and the nation alike. Some are thrilled. Others are not. The sheer pace of change, with its accompanying tremolo of uncertainty, has put many on edge. Surely some revelation is at hand. And you want to talk about dinner? You do. Something in the neighborhood of 11 million people went to Cooking last month. I do. Its important, what you make to eat. Sometimes it is the only worthwhile product you can salvage from a day, John Irving wrote. Its not like writing, where you can labor for hours and end up with nothing. Its not like love. Maybe not like politics, either. Cooking, Mr. Irving wrote, can keep a person who tries hard sane. It can provide comfort as well. Your dinner table can be a sanctuary from the outside world, with its angry cries for and against. It can be a place to process the events of the day, the week, the month, the year, and always to celebrate the delicious. The course on the Constitution includes intense study of the Federalist papers and the later statements of Progressives like John Dewey, Woodrow Wilson and F.D.R. Hillsdale teachings describe the Constitution as a timeless document whose principles have been compromised by the creep of welfare and regulation. The more mainstream view is offered by Joseph J. Ellis, author of several books on the founders, who he says intended that the Constitution be a living document. The conservative narrative, he told me, defies the evolution of the United States into a major industrial superpower that requires federal institutions to regulate corporations and manage a much larger set of interests. If one subject captures the juxtaposition of Hillsdales pathbreaking origins with its present-day conservatism, it is race. From the official catalog: The college values the merit of each unique individual, rather than succumbing to the dehumanizing, discriminatory trend of so-called social justice and multicultural diversity. In 2013, Dr. Arnn was castigated by Michigan legislators when, during testimony against the Common Core, he made a remark about officials who questioned Hillsdales racial record. Years before, he said scornfully, Michigan officials had come to the campus with clipboards, trying to count faces and prove, he said, that the college didnt have enough dark ones. He later issued a barbed apology: No offense was intended by the use of that term except to the offending bureaucrats. To me, Dr. Arnn said: I think it is an urgent thing for the college to help those who are disadvantaged. He cited the charter school initiative as a response that fits Hillsdales values. Hillsdale has received private grants to foster K-12 schools, funded with public money, that introduce children to the ancient Greeks and constitutional principles and require the study of Latin. Hillsdale serves as a consultant without payment, again avoiding government funds providing local organizers a curriculum and teacher training. So far it is aiding 16 schools three of them, one in Georgia and two in Texas, serving mainly minority populations, Dr. Arnn said. We hope that a lot of those students will come here, he said. In the meantime, Hillsdale defiantly claims an exemplary record of opposition to racial discrimination. As if to drive home the point, the college is adding one more bronze to its Liberty Walk this spring: a statue of Frederick Douglass. He was the grandson of Russian and Lithuanian immigrants and the son of a dairy company accountant, and he was fired before he was 40. But Michael R. Bloomberg persevered to become, at last count by Forbes magazine, the worlds eighth richest person. He achieved this phenomenal success without a master plan. But in retrospect, his evolution from Eagle Scout to graduate of Johns Hopkins and Harvard Business School, to bond trader and partner at Salomon Brothers, to founder of a business information network that bears his name and three-term mayor of New York City was no accident. Mr. Bloomberg, who briefly mulled an independent campaign for president last year, shared some advice for students looking to succeed in business. Image Mr. Bloomberg in the 1964 yearbook for Johns Hopkins, where he was already a leader, student body president. Credit... Johns Hopkins University Choosing a College Nobody remembers where you went to school. The first job they may ask, by the third job they wont remember to. People put too much emphasis on that. Its much more important that you go to a place where you fit in and which has decent academics. People say they cant afford a college? My parents took out a mortgage, I had a job every summer working in a faculty parking lot. Then I got lucky, Sputnik was launched and the government created national defense loans. Serendipitous Decisions I think its fair to say I had absolutely no idea what I would do. I went in thinking I wanted to study physics, but German was a requirement, so I changed to the engineering school. The whole idea of college is to expose yourself to various ideas and cultures and places, to minor in something different, to travel abroad. Matthew Usukumah, an assistant planner at J. Crew, never thought he would be a model. But he will find himself on view at the brands presentation Feb. 12 alongside other real people cast for the show. Here, we get a look at what hell be wearing: a slouchy camel topcoat and crisp striped shirt under a Fair Isle sweater. Like other men dealing with the trend of looser, wider clothing, Mr. Usukumah found himself adjusting to a baggier silhouette. The look is comfortable, he said as he tried the ensemble inside the office of Frank Muytjens, the head of mens wear design at J. Crew. But also I feel refined. Mr. Muytjens said the addition of more oversize pieces was a natural evolution after the introduction of free-flowing garments last spring. Offering both a tailored and a looser pant gives a guy more options to play with, he said. Its easy to mix. J. Crew spring styles available at jcrew.com beginning mid-February. A laid-back attitude was very much in evidence at the kickoff party for New York Fashion Week: Mens. The Louisiana-born mens wear designer Billy Reid hosted the gathering, which took place Monday in the Cellar at the Beekman hotel in the financial district. It followed the unveiling of his fall 2017 collection in the same location which was more like an old-time hootenanny than a fashion show. As models entered a small room wearing the latest Billy Reid, the blues musician Cedric Burnside (grandson of the bluesman R. L. Burnside) sang Love Her Til I Die, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, for an audience of magazine editors and fashion fans seated at small tables. The fashion portion of the evening ended with a recitation of the Frank OHara poem Avenue A by the Tony Award-winning actor Alex Sharp. And then it was time to party. The gregarious Mr. Reid has become known in recent years for his Shindig, an annual event in Florence, Ala., where his brand is based, that features lavish meals, live music, dancing and a runway show. We wanted to bring a little piece of that to New York, Mr. Reid said. What else is at stake? In What the Trump Presidency Means for the Supreme Court, Adam Liptak writes: For now, abortion rights appear secure. In June, the court struck down a restrictive Texas abortion law by a 5-to-3 vote, with Justice Kennedy joining the courts four-member liberal wing. A new justice opposed to abortion rights would tighten that tally but not tip it. Similarly, affirmative action seems safe in the short term. In June, the court upheld a race-conscious admissions program at the University of Texas by a 4-to-3 vote. Justice Elena Kagan was recused but would almost certainly have voted with the majority, making the effective vote 5 to 3. Here again, a single Trump appointment would not change things. But a second Trump appointment is another matter, said Lee Epstein, a law professor and political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. We could see dramatic legal change, she said, with the recent affirmative action and abortion cases on the chopping block. Other areas of the law could be subject to faster change after a single Trump appointment. A threat to public-sector unions that ended in a deadlock in March, for instance, could soon reach the court again. This time, the challengers are likely to gain a fifth vote. The Supreme Court decides about 70 cases a year, reviewing only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of lawsuits and prosecutions filed in federal courts. The lower federal courts are for now dominated by Democratic appointees, and the vast majority of their decisions escape Supreme Court review. In the short term, that leaves plenty of room for significant and lasting liberal victories in the lower federal courts. But the compositions of those courts will start to change, too, as Mr. Trump appoints judges to them. If his list of potential Supreme Court nominees is any guide, his lower-court appointments will also pull the law to the right. In the meantime, the replacement of Justice Scalia with another conservative would return the Supreme Court to a familiar dynamic, said Ms. Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center. That means conservative legal activists will once again be able to attempt aggressive changes that push the law even further to the right, she said, but there will still be the potential for more progressive rulings like the marriage equality and abortion rulings we saw from the court even with Scalia. Article: Colleges Discover the Rural Student Before Reading The quotes below are from Voices From Rural America on Why (or Why Not) to Go to College. There are a lot of kids that dont think they are good enough for college. Emily Steele There is no shame in not going to college. Ryan Lee Im an Eagle Scout. I want to go out and do the best for myself. Richard Livingston Do any of those sound familiar to you? No matter where you go to high school, do you think students from your school might have similar attitides about college? Questions for Comprehension and Analysis 1. Why is Texas A&M sending buses to rural Texas to bring students to the campus for tours? Explain why Kai A. Schaff, director of the Center on Rural Educations and Communities at Penn State, said, All of a sudden, rural is on everyones mind. 2. Why did Adam Sapp, admissions director at Pomona College, say that rural students have a different understanding of complicated political and social issues? Why are colleges and universities now interested in attracting students from rural areas? 3. What are some of the statistics that underscore the challenges rural students face in going to college? What are some of the practical obstacles they face? Nobody shoplifts from a store that knows 3,214 ways to murder someone, a sign at the Mysterious Bookshop in TriBeCa warns. But if the countrys oldest independent purveyor of mystery literature gets the ax, its owner will know why: money. We lost, you wouldnt be wrong to say, six figures a year, for seven or eight years, said Otto Penzler, 74, the stores tireless proprietor. Supporting the store has led Mr. Penzler to a life of crime himself, with stints writing about mysteries, editing an Edgar Award-winning anthology of them and even publishing them (he started Mysterious Press in 1975). In 2005, when the store moved from its original location on West 56th Street, where it opened in 1979 on a Friday the 13th, no less to its current home on Warren Street, near the Sept. 11 museum and memorial, hordes of loyal customers followed. Detective stories are essentially fairy tales, Mr. Penzler said of the genres staying power. Theyre the battle between good and evil. Mr. Hernandez, who was an 18-year-old high school dropout working at a corner store in the SoHo neighborhood when Etan disappeared, was arrested in 2012 after his brother-in-law reported his suspicions to the authorities. The prosecutions case against Mr. Hernandez is based mostly on his confessions to investigators and other incriminating statements he made over the years. But by raising questions about his mental health and the possibility of a different killer, defense lawyers stirred enough doubt to leave the first jury deadlocked. Justice Wiley declared a mistrial after 18 days of deliberations failed to yield a verdict. That outcome has loomed over the retrial, which started in October. It was evident in the jury-selection process, described by the judge as extraordinarily long, and in the oblique references to an earlier proceeding that lawyers, who did not mention the first trial in front of the jury, made as they questioned witnesses about their previous testimony. Members of the first jury offered to help the lawyers strengthen their cases. Many of those who favored conviction met with prosecutors and, in some instances, wrote lengthy memorandums offering guidance on points to refine and even lines to use during the trial. (One suggested calling Mr. Hernandez a serial confessor.) Some, like Ms. Cueto, have attended the retrial, sitting near Etans father, Stanley Patz. Ive been here every day, Ms. Cueto said after prosecutors finished their closing arguments on Tuesday. She said that taking in the second trial had confirmed her opinion of the case and makes our decision even more certain. It has been difficult for some former jurors to pull away. Some held a vigil in 2015 on the anniversary of Etans disappearance. Image Mr. Hernandez in 2012. He is accused in the 1979 death of Etan Patz. Credit... Pool photo by Louis Lanzano Eighteen of us spent three months confined for hours together in the jury room, Edwin Thompson, a former juror, said. After an explosive fight with her boyfriend, Melissa Monserrate, 18 at the time and five months pregnant, shut herself in the bathroom and put a razor blade to her wrist. Her boyfriend found her before she could hurt herself. On that night, in December 2009, he stood guard by the door until the morning, making sure she did not leave to try to harm herself again. She had just moved out of her mothers apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, and begun living with her boyfriend and his family. The pregnancy was unplanned and difficult for Ms. Monserrate, who said she came from an unsupportive home environment. She discovered she was pregnant the summer before her senior year of high school and kept the news from her parents until she could no longer hide it. On Monday, she helped organize a march to support the ninth graders. Over half the schools nearly 400 students joined with teachers, the district superintendent and even the mayor to march from the school to the bus stop. Students chanted When they go low, we go high and, Ms. Hassans favorite: No hate, no fear. Everyone is welcome here. When they got to the bus stop, it was covered with signs with messages like, We are here with you and You are loved. Ms. Hassan doesnt know who put them there, but her hunch is that it was someone associated with the school. She also believes the march was just one example of how communities will come together in the face of hate and policies that promote it. The one thing that this administration cannot take away from us, the one single thing that it cannot touch, is love. Here are some reports of hate crimes and harassment that have drawn public attention in recent days. A man has been charged with hate crimes after allegedly attacking a Muslim employee at Kennedy International Airport last Wednesday night and shouting expletives about Islam and ISIS. To the Editor: Re Neil Gorsuch and the Supreme Court (editorial, Feb. 1): Your opinion that Democrats should block Judge Neil Gorsuch is well founded. Though he is qualified, his views are far out of the mainstream on corporate, labor, religious and womens issues. That can be fleshed out by senators before a cloture vote on a filibuster, allowing the public to see how far from the countrys moderate center this nominee is. Democrats shouldnt fear wearing the collar of obstructionism. It certainly hasnt hurt Republicans over the last eight years. Progressives, working people, women and anyone concerned about keeping religion out of government will thank them, guaranteeing future support. This principled strategy will clearly demonstrate what Democrats stand for, something thats been lacking recently. Let the process play out normally and block cloture. Republicans will howl, and then invoke the nuclear option, which would require only a simple majority for confirmation. At that point, an old-fashioned, talking filibuster could force the Republicans to abandon the rules change and find a more moderate pick. The rules favoring Senate minorities are there for a reason. Democrats need to use them, just as the Republicans used them successfully in the recent past. By framing the goal as preserving the constitutional mainstream, the Bork oppositions success necessarily defined the mainstream that existed in 1987. And the success seemed to go deeper, not only identifying but ratifying certain principles as being correct and beyond debate: that contrary to Judge Borks view, the Constitution encompasses a right to privacy that includes abortion; that the First Amendment protects much more than the political speech that Judge Bork claimed as its only legitimate focus; that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is valid in all particulars. Judge Bork, in a notorious article in The New Republic, had denounced the public accommodations provision of the law as based on a principle of unsurpassed ugliness, namely that government can override personal choices and coerce you into more righteous paths. But just as the Mississippi River changes course over time and redefines the boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana, the constitutional mainstream isnt static. No participant in the Bork battle could plausibly have maintained, for example, that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own a gun, as the Supreme Court would decide two decades later. Few if any anticipated the degree to which the First Amendments protection for commercial speech would be turned into a powerful deregulatory tool. The notion that a Supreme Court majority would invoke the Constitution to cut the heart out of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would have been dismissed out of hand. The idea that the Commerce Clause was insufficient to empower Congress, as an aspect of regulating a national market for health care, to require people to acquire health insurance, would have seemed bizarre; the court had not invalidated a federal law on Commerce Clause grounds since the 1930s. And only a year before the Bork nomination, the Supreme Court rejected as facetious the claim that the Constitution prohibits criminalizing consensual gay sex. Judge Borks insistence that the Constitution must be interpreted in light of the original understanding of its authors, a view Judge Gorsuch is said to share, was a fringe notion in 1987. Anthony M. Kennedy, the federal judge confirmed to the seat after Judge Borks defeat, reassured the Senate by rejecting originalism; the Constitutions framers had made a covenant with the future, he declared at his confirmation hearing. The originalism championed by Justice Antonin Scalia who was a year into his own tenure when Justice Kennedy joined the court and Justice Clarence Thomas has never gained a Supreme Court majority. But along with the propositions embodied in majority opinions over the past three decades, originalism has indisputably moved from off the wall to on the wall, to borrow an image from Prof. Jack Balkin of Yale Law School. No society is immune to acts of terrorism, especially by a lone wolf driven by deep hatreds. The United States has known many mass shootings; Norway had the mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik; in France last July, a man drove a truck into a crowd in Nice, killing dozens; the list could go on and on. When they strike, the measure of a wounded society is how it responds. On Sunday, Quebec City was struck when, officials say, a 27-year-old student named Alexandre Bissonnette, known to be a right-wing extremist, walked into a mosque, began shooting and killed six people. The shock across Canada was immediate and tangible: Tolerance is a proud theme in Canadian identity the country has taken in nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees since late 2015 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office. Now Canadians were wondering how this could have happened, and what it means a question made more acute by their widespread revulsion at President Trumps actions to block Muslims from the United States. The response of Quebecs premier, Philippe Couillard, is worth noting. Every society has to deal with demons, he said. Our society is not perfect. None is. These demons are named xenophobia, racism, exclusion. They are present here. We need to recognize that and act together to show the direction we want our society to evolve. That was what Canadians sought to do. Thousands gathered at memorial services across the country, including Mr. Trudeau on Monday. Speaking earlier to Parliament, he addressed the more than one million Muslim Canadians: Thirty-six million hearts are breaking with yours, he said, referring to the population of Canada. Know that we value you. The United States can best achieve its objective of denying international terrorists sanctuary in Afghanistan by implementing an integrated diplomatic and military strategy. The immediate goal is to defend the countrys government and strategic assets. In the medium run, we need to continue trying to stabilize that countrys shaky political order and keeping its state and security forces trained and funded. Over the long term, the United States would have to support efforts to build a more self-sufficient economy linked to Afghanistans neighbors. A political settlement, not just with the Taliban but also with Pakistan and other regional states, is essential for moving beyond the medium term. Reaching a settlement would require the United States to keep an open-ended troop presence as its main bargaining chip, while demonstrating willingness to discuss and negotiate a timetable for complete troop withdrawal with Afghanistan, its neighbors and the Taliban. Some Americans and Afghans, looking only at the short run, hope President Trump will strengthen the position of the United States and the Afghan government against the Taliban. Mr. Trump discussed sending more troops in a December telephone call with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, The Wall Street Journal reported. He may exert stronger pressure on Pakistan to stop harboring the Afghan Taliban and employ tougher military measures against the Taliban in Afghanistan, though there is no basis for believing that either of those measures would work better than they have for the past 15 years. Within a week of its creation, the March for Science campaign had attracted more than 1.3 million supporters across Facebook and Twitter, cementing itself as a voice for people who are concerned about the future of science under President Trump. Now, hoping to transform that viral success into something approaching the significance of the womens march last month, the campaign has scheduled its demonstration in Washington for Earth Day, April 22. Yes, this is a protest, but its not a political protest, said Jonathan Berman, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and a lead organizer of the march. The people making decisions are in Washington, and they are the people we are trying to reach with the message: You should listen to evidence. Last week, Dr. Berman found himself in the middle of a social media movement. While browsing a Reddit discussion about how the new administration was handling science, he came across a comment that he interpreted as a call to arms: There needs to be a Scientists March on Washington. Consider the smart speakers from Amazon and Google. Amazon said its Alexa smart assistant, which is used in its Echo speakers, automatically downloads software updates to defend against new security threats. Data from the Echo is also uploaded to Amazons servers only after people utter the wake word Alexa, the company said. That minimizes the likelihood that the device will record conversations unrelated to requests intended for Alexa. Google said its Home speaker similarly issued regular software updates and employed advanced security features, like a technique that disables the device if its software is tampered with. The company added that the speaker processed speech only after the words O.K. Google or Hey Google were detected. But other large brands occasionally engage in behavior that customers may find objectionable. The smart TV maker Vizio, for example, made headlines with revelations from the investigative news site ProPublica that it kept a detailed record of customer viewing habits and shared it with advertisers, who could then use the information to identify other devices you owned. Strengthen Your Wi-Fi Security Your Wi-Fi network is the pulse of your smart home, thus it is a vulnerable attack point. Mr. Britton and Mr. Arsene suggest connecting all your smart home accessories for example, your Amazon Echo, Nest thermostat, Samsung smart refrigerator and Philips Hue smart lights onto a Wi-Fi network that is separate from the one connected to your computing devices, like your smartphone, tablet and computer. With two distinct Wi-Fi networks, it will be harder for a hacker to jump from infiltrating your smart accessory on one network to a personal computer on the other network, Mr. Arsene said. The easiest way to create a second Wi-Fi network is to make a guest network. Many modern Wi-Fi routers, like TP-Links Archer C7 (the top router recommended by The Wirecutter, a product recommendations site owned by The New York Times), include the ability to host a network for guests that uses a name and password different from that of your primary network. Quarantining your smart speakers, lights and TV onto a guest network will allow them all to interact with one another, while keeping your computing devices safer in the event that any of the smart accessories are hacked. If you are paranoid about your Wi-Fi network being hacked, you can also change the Wi-Fi routers network settings to disable broadcasting the network name entirely, Mr. Britton said. That would make it difficult for a hacker driving by to detect and compromise your network, though it would also require house guests to manually type in your network name and password when they log on to your Wi-Fi. The political ads warned that illegal immigrants were dashing, by the millions, over the Mexican border, racing to claim taxpayer-funded public services in California. They keep coming, the announcer intoned over grainy aerial footage and a thrumming bass line. When viewed on YouTube today, these ads hardly seem the stuff of multicultural California as we know it. In 1994, though, that message helped lift Californias governor, the Republican Pete Wilson, to re-election. That same year, voters adopted a referendum, Proposition 187, denying state services to undocumented immigrants, including public education and health care. California is often held up as a harbinger of the demographics and, Democrats hope, the politics of the nation to come. Mr. Wilsons bet against immigration is thought to have hurt Republicans in the long run in the state. But in the dawn of the Trump era, the state is also a cautionary tale of what happens during the tumultuous years when that change is occurring rapidly. On Tuesday, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, would lead a Trump administration task force charged with deregulating American higher education. In describing his goals, Mr. Falwell focused on rolling back a series of initiatives that the Obama administration viewed as preventing abuses by predatory for-profit colleges. The goal is to pare it back and give colleges and their accrediting agencies more leeway in governing their affairs, Mr. Falwell told a Chronicle reporter. One nonprofit university that could benefit from this kind of regulatory retrenchment is Liberty University itself. Mr. Falwell alluded to two Obama initiatives: tightened standards for accrediting organizations that grant colleges access to federal financial aid, and new regulations that govern how students who have been cheated by fraudulent colleges can have their student loans forgiven. Trump files for re-election to hold on to his campaign cash On the day of his inauguration, President Trump filed paperwork to declare his candidacy in the 2020 election, but it wasnt necessarily a show of supreme confidence more like a grasp for cash. Financial disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission show that a lucrative December made the move an accounting necessity. The Trump campaign ended the year with $7.6 million in the bank and no debt, so any funds raised over $5,000 by the campaign in 2017 would have to be returned unless Mr. Trump registered as a candidate for 2020. He obviously was not prepared to offer refunds. And the money has kept flowing. The campaign brought in more than $4 million in expense refunds, mostly from members of the media and the Secret Service for the seats they used on his campaign planes. This arrangement is typical campaigns are required to charge the Secret Service and the press a fair rate. Whats unusual is that most of the campaigns air travel expenses, nearly $9 million, were paid to companies owned by Trump. There is one expenditure that has not slowed: Making America wear red hats again. The Trump campaign, along with two fundraising committees that raise money jointly with the Republican Party, brought in $6.5 million in contributions in the last month of 2016. More than a third of that was spent on on hats, mugs, stickers and other collateral. Wall Street financier tied to Chinese conglomerate wont get White House job for now Anthony Scaramucci, an investment firm founder and Republican donor, wont be assuming the role of director of the White House office of public liaison, as previously announced, a senior administration official said. Mr. Scaramucci on Wednesday was told by Reince Priebus, the chief of staff to President Trump, and by the chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, that someone else would have to be given the job. However, the official said, the two men plan to find another role for Mr. Scaramucci in the West Wing down the road. At issue is Mr. Scaramuccis sale of his firm, SkyBridge Capital, to a division of HNA Group, a politically connected Chinese conglomerate that will become the investment firms majority owner. The sale has not been completed, and West Wing officials said that the White House Counsels Office predicted it would take up to 90 days for Mr. Scaramucci to be cleared of potential ethics conflicts. WASHINGTON A divided Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general Wednesday, despite a fierce pushback from Democrats over President Trumps firing this week of the Justice Departments acting chief, who had objected to the administrations refugee policy. The action came on a straight party-line vote, with 11 Republicans supporting their former colleague from Alabama and nine Democrats opposing him. The full, Republican-controlled Senate now appears ready to approve Mr. Sessions nomination next week, which would give the Justice Department and its 113,000 employees a full-time boss after a tumultuous few days that called its independence into question. The judiciary committee vote came two days after Mr. Trump ousted Sally Q. Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration who was acting attorney general. Ms Yates had refused to defend the presidents order on refugees, saying its legality was unclear. The White House accused her of having betrayed her department. So far, Democrats have appeared unmoved, and occasionally seething. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said Judge Gorsuch who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit must meet the 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. History and especially recent history demand it, he suggested. This is nothing new. It was a bar met by each of President Obamas nominations, Mr. Schumer said. He argued that if Judge Gorsuch could not attract enough support, the answer will not be to change the rules of the Senate, but to change the nominee to someone who can earn 60 votes. He added that Mr. Trumps White House had demonstrated less respect for the rule of law than any in recent memory, placing a special burden on this nominee to be an independent jurist. Breaking a filibuster would require eight members of the Democratic caucus to join the 52 members of the Republican majority to advance the nomination, or force Republicans to change longstanding rules and push through the nomination on a simple majority vote. Transfers of power from one party to the other often compel lawmakers to shift their perspectives, leaning on arguments they once rejected. But the bipartisan whiplash in the Senate has been especially striking. Since Mr. Trumps announcement, the two parties have rushed headlong into an embrace of the others former talking points. Republicans have cast Judge Gorsuch as an unassailable choice, as Democrats did with Judge Garland, trumpeting his appeals court record and his impressive credentials. They reminded some Senate Democrats that they had voted to confirm Judge Gorsuch to a lower court once upon a time, as some Republicans had for Judge Garland. Senators like Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas who, before the election, raised the possibility of blocking a nomination indefinitely if Hillary Clinton won the presidency have insisted on swift action. WASHINGTON Two Republican senators on Wednesday said they would vote against President Trumps nominee for education secretary, delivering a blow to the White House and raising the possibility that Vice President Mike Pence would have to break a tie to win her confirmation. The nominee, Betsy DeVos, a billionaire with a complex web of financial investments, had already faced fierce opposition from Democrats and labor unions because of her political contributions to Republicans and her involvement in pushing alternatives to public education. But her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, during which she flubbed answers on education policy, also brought concerns from Republicans. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said Ms. DeVos had failed to demonstrate that she understood what public schools needed to succeed. I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved in one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers, that she may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools, and also what is broken and how to fix them, Ms. Murkowski said. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said she respected Ms. DeVoss clear devotion to students and valuable work in education. But she said she remained troubled by Ms. DeVoss focus on alternatives to public education, as well as what Ms. Collins called a lack of familiarity with federal laws protecting children with special needs and disabilities. On the town website, she also invited the public to make comments in the towns public meeting on Jan 31. Ms. Herbst, 58, said in a telephone interview that after posting her statement on Jan. 23, she attended the council meeting for the first time dressed as a woman. It was phenomenally positive; everyone was supportive, she said. We had a fairly packed crowd for a tiny town there were 15 or 20 people there. I explained to the people who had not just had a chance to see the website, and everybody said, O.K.,' and we went on and had a meeting. But as an elected official who was later appointed as mayor, Ms. Herbst said that she was given a very stern lecture by the town attorney about laws that govern elections and canvassing, and that she was told not to change her name before the coming election cycle. Ms. Herbst also said she has received thousands of messages of support, and three negative ones. Replies to announcements on her Facebook page and the towns website appear to be supportive, with residents praising her for coming forward in a state where, in most parts, it is legal to discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. In January, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, one of the most powerful Republican officials in the state, put Texas on the front lines of the nations culture wars when he announced the filing of a bill that would require people in government buildings and public schools to use the bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex. Critics said the bill discriminated against transgender people. Terri Burke, the executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said Mayor Herbst was showing tremendous courage in discussing her identity with the public. Sub-goals: From Feb. 1, I will go to the library to actually study instead of spending hours finding the 10 NYT articles I can read for the month (Im a college student, 3 is exorbitant). I will also stop binge watching episodes of Jane the Virgin. Fix My Finances Sara Dempsey My resolution and why I chose it: My resolution is threefold: to track my financial life more carefully; be more aware of how Im spending my money; and learn how I can make better choices with it. Sub-goals: In January, Ive brought my lunch to work every day and used both Mint and Personal Capital to track my spending. I also (finally!) enrolled in my companys 401(k) at 7 percent. Im testing to see if that percentage is the right one. I am reading up on index funds and looking to be a more educated investor. Deal With the Laundry Emma Gelsinger My resolution and why I chose it: To put my laundry away as soon as it is done in the washer and dryer. I chose this because although it may seem trivial, like many others that I know, I regularly found myself sifting through baskets (or piles) of clean laundry. And lets never underestimate the procrastination tactic of moving the clean laundry from the bed to the floor and back again ... needless to say, it causes some really unnecessary daily stress and frustration. Sub goals: 1. Buy a new (pretty) laundry basket and put the laundry in the washer as soon as it is full (one month in and so far so good!). 2. Make sure that everything going into the laundry basket actually needs to be washed to reduce unnecessary laundry. Get Back to the Music Erik Heger My resolution and why I chose it: My No. 1 resolution is to play my harp again. I have been playing harp my entire life, for fun and professionally. I was diagnosed with a nerve condition a few years ago: cubital tunnel syndrome. There are ways back to health, but it will take a lot of small steps and commitment. Sub-goals: Sleep with my elbow braces on every night for February and March. Work on physical therapy, neck, back, arms, jaw. Make that part of daily activity for February and March. SEOUL, South Korea Ban Ki-moon, the former United Nations chief, said on Wednesday that he would not run for the presidency of South Korea, a surprising announcement that deprived beleaguered conservatives of their likeliest candidate to succeed the countrys sidelined leader, Park Geun-hye. Mr. Ban, who returned to his native South Korea last month after 10 years as the United Nations secretary general, had been touted as a viable contender to replace Ms. Park, a conservative whose presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach her in December amid accusations of corruption. But Mr. Bans approval ratings have been falling, and he has been the subject of negative news coverage about his policy positions and a scandal involving his relatives. I have decided to fold my pure-hearted plan to lead an effort to achieve political reform and national unity, Mr. Ban said at a news conference at the National Assembly. He apologized to South Koreans who had supported his tentative presidential bid, including former diplomats and politicians. The Constitutional Court is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to end Ms. Parks presidency, and political parties have been gearing up for an election that could take place as early as this spring. If Ms. Park survives in office, an election will be held in December to decide who will succeed her when her five-year term ends next February. In June, after Mr. Trump said he would bar Muslims from entering the United States, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey demanded that Mr. Trumps name be removed from Trump Towers Istanbul. Mr. Erdogan, an Islamist, has arrested or fired 100,000 opponents and jailed 40,000 more after an unsuccessful military coup last summer. After Mr. Trumps election, Mr. Erdogan shifted his stance. I believe we will reach a consensus with Mr. Trump, particularly on regional issues, Mr. Erdogan said this month during a meeting with Turkish diplomats. Some cracks appeared to show after Mr. Trumps immigration order Friday: Mr. Erdogan called the move frankly disturbing. But he said he would still meet with Mr. Trump at an unspecified date and raise the issue then. And the name of Trump Towers remains unchanged. In Egypt, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has smarted from American criticism about the countrys human rights record and about the military coup that brought him to power, appears to be welcoming Mr. Trumps leadership. In December, after a phone call from Mr. Trump, Mr. Sisi agreed to delay a vote in the United Nations Security Council on Israeli settlements. Mr. Sisis silence in the face of the executive order on refugees was conspicuous, despite widespread sentiment in the region that it was anti-Muslim. In Kazakhstan, the countrys president for life, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, whose poor human rights record is well documented, said Mr. Trump had called him in December and complimented him on the miracle he had wrought in his country over its 25 years of independence. Mr. Trump was apparently not referring to Mr. Nazarbayevs 2015 re-election, which the Kazakh leader won with 97.7 percent of the vote. NEW DELHI Trying to spur an Indian economy hard hit by its cash shortage, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled plans on Wednesday for next years budget that would significantly increase spending on infrastructure, rural areas and antipoverty programs. The budget plan was presented by the minister of finance, Arun Jaitley, in a highly anticipated annual ritual. It included tax cuts for lower income taxpayers and small businesses, even as it came close to sticking with the countrys target for reducing its budget deficit. With this gradual approach, Ive ensured adherence to fiscal consolidation without compromising investment, Mr. Jaitley said in a two-hour speech before the Indian Parliament. The budget presentation came as five states in India prepare to go to the polls beginning Feb. 4th, including Indias largest state of Uttar Pradesh. The prime minister is hoping to win that state to gain control over the upper house of Parliament, demonstrating strength in advance of national elections in 2019. MANDALAY, Myanmar The police in Myanmar announced on Wednesday that they had arrested four people in the killing of a prominent Muslim human rights lawyer who was an adviser to the countrys leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi a death that raised new concerns about Myanmars rocky transition to democracy. The lawyer, U Ko Ni, was shot in the head leaving Yangon International Airport on Sunday while holding his grandchild. The brazen killing comes as Myanmar struggles to emerge from decades of military dictatorship and grapples with sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims. The police said they had arrested U Myint Swe, whom they accuse of masterminding the killing, near the Thai border. U Kyi Lin, who is accused of being the gunman, was arrested shortly after the shooting. They did not identify the other two in custody. Officials did not disclose a motive, but the presidents office said on Monday that the killing was carried out to undermine the countrys stability. MANILA Communist rebels engaged in peace talks with the Philippine government said on Wednesday that they were ending a six-month cease-fire, accusing the armed forces of encroaching on rebel territory and the government of reneging on a promise to release jailed comrades. The cease-fire has been credited with curbing the violence from 40 years of a rebellion that has left vast areas of the countryside mired in poverty and has killed at least 35,000 soldiers, rebels and civilians. In a statement, the New Peoples Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, said the cease-fire would end at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 10. The rebels blamed what they called President Rodrigo Dutertes failure to comply with the governments obligation to release all political prisoners by last October. PARIS New embezzlement allegations emerged on Wednesday against the French center-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon, adding uncertainty to an already tightly contested election. Mr. Fillons campaign was thrown into turmoil last week after Le Canard Enchaine, a weekly newspaper that mixes satire and investigations, reported that his wife, Penelope Fillon, was paid with taxpayer money for a bogus job as a parliamentary assistant to her husband and his deputy in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. On Wednesday, the newspaper published new accusations, reporting that Ms. Fillon had held the bogus job for even longer than initially reported from 1988 to 1990, between 1998 and 2007 and finally from 2012 to 2013 and that she had been paid 831,440 euros, or nearly $900,000, much more than the figure published last week. Mr. Fillon, a former prime minister, won primary elections in November to become the candidate for the center-right Republicans party. But the allegations have seriously damaged his presidential bid, and the French media, which until last week portrayed him as the favorite, is now openly wondering who might replace him if he drops out of the race. LONDON Easily winning a crucial vote among lawmakers, Prime Minister Theresa May was well on her way Wednesday to winning the parliamentary approval that Britains highest court said she needed before she could begin talks on ending more than four decades of European integration. Wednesdays vote, in the House of Commons, will not be the final parliamentary verdict on Mrs. Mays plans, but with 498 lawmakers in favor and 114 against, it was emphatic enough to show that any subsequent efforts in Parliament to complicate, or slow, the path to withdrawal would probably be in vain. The vote took place after two days of intense, sometimes agonized debate over a bill that, in just 137 words, sought permission to take one of the biggest decisions in British political life since World War II. The bill will still need to go to the revising chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords, where there are many opponents of British withdrawal, known as Brexit. But invariably the unelected upper chamber gives way to elected colleagues in the House of Commons, providing there is a clear majority there. BARCELONA, Spain President Trumps travel ban disrupted the plans of hundreds of people around the globe, but perhaps none more vulnerable than Sham Aldaher, a Syrian refugee girl, and her family. Sham, now 1, was born without an eye and with a seriously disfigured face. Following two complex operations at a Barcelona hospital, Sham is due to receive an eye prosthesis next Wednesday. Her family had then planned to resettle in the United States. They had already completed the required interviews and cleared all security checks before the plans were blocked by Mr. Trumps executive order to bar citizens from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries seen as threatening to Americas safety. They were travel-ready, and they are now barred, said Jayne Fleming, the head of the human rights team at Reed Smith, an American law firm that has been helping Sham and her family. Ms. Fleming and her team are now scrambling to see whether Britain, Germany or another country could instead welcome the family. Theyre distressed over not knowing what the future holds for them. ISTANBUL Turkey and Greece have reignited a decades-old disagreement over the sovereignty of a pair of uninhabited Aegean Islands, in a spat that analysts say risks aggravating other diplomatic disputes between the two countries. The Greek defense minister, Panos Kammenos, flew over the two disputed islands on Wednesday, the Greek government said, in a pointed response to a visit three days earlier to nearby waters by the commander of the Turkish armed forces, Hulusi Akar. The exchange is the most public disagreement over the tiny islands sovereignty since 1996, when soldiers from both countries landed on them before American-led mediation persuaded both sides to leave the area. Turkey disputes Greeces claim that the islands known as Imia in Greece and Kardak in Turkey entered Greek ownership in 1947, after first being assigned to Italy in 1923 following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. MOSCOW Vladimir V. Putin, Russias president, hardly misses a chance to talk tough on terrorism, once famously saying he would find Chechen terrorists sitting in the outhouse and rub them out. He and President Trump, notably dismissive of political correctness, would seem to have found common language on fighting terrorism except on one point of, well, language. During his campaign, Mr. Trump associated Islam with terrorism and criticized President Obama for declining to use the phrase radical Islamic terrorism. However, Mr. Putin, whom Mr. Trump so openly admires for his toughness, has, for more than a decade, done exactly what President Obama did. He has never described terrorists as Islamic and has repeatedly gone out of his way to denounce such language. The challenge for the administration in contemplating economic pressure is that it would be all but impossible to reassemble the international coalition that imposed draconian sanctions on Irans oil and banking industries and drew Iran into negotiations that resulted in the agreement limiting its nuclear program. Mr. Flynn pinned much of the blame for Irans aggressiveness on former President Barack Obama, saying his administration failed to respond adequately to Tehrans malign actions including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violations of international norms. He also noted that Mr. Trump had criticized agreements between Iran and the Obama administration as weak and ineffective. During the campaign, Mr. Trump spoke of ripping up the Iran nuclear agreement, though his aides now say their focus is less on abrogating that deal than on constraining Irans behavior in the region. In Yemen, for example, the Pentagon is considering stepped-up patrols and perhaps even airstrikes, aimed at preventing Iranian weapons from getting to the Houthis. In addition, Saudi officials are pushing for more support for their air campaign in Yemen, an administration official said. But officials said on Wednesday that there had been no change in the militarys posture. While the Obama administration targeted Houthis and conducted airstrikes against forces aligned with Al Qaeda in Yemen, current and former officials say Mr. Obama was wary of deepening American support for the Saudi air campaign because of concerns about the accuracy of targeting and the large number of civilian casualties. Obama said all the time, Aim before you shoot, said Derek Chollet, who served in the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department during the Obama administration. Anytime there was one of these heated discussions, and people said, Weve got to do something, he said, O.K., what does the intel say, and where will this take us? Near midnight on Tuesday, the Israeli government approved 3,000 more settler housing units in the occupied West Bank. That roughly doubled the amount of proposed new housing units announced in recent days. Then, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has come under heavy pressure from rival politicians on the right to take bolder steps to expand settlements, announced that he would promote the establishment of an entirely new West Bank settlement. Palestinians reacted with weary opposition, in the long absence of any real hope for the renewal of talks working toward a two-state solution, with a full Palestinian state alongside Israel. This is a government of settlers that has abandoned the two-state solution and fully embraced the settler agenda, said Husam Zomlot, the strategic affairs adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. It was a revealing and dramatic day on the chilly hilltops of the West Bank, now occupied for 50 years after Israels capture of it from Jordan in the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. The new construction announcements seemed timed to soothe hard feelings among the Israeli right as hundreds of soldiers and police officers converged early Wednesday on the unauthorized settlement outpost of Amona to evacuate it, days ahead of a court-ordered deadline for its demolition and after more than a decade of legal wrangling. It was built, the courts here say, on privately owned Palestinian land and has become a minefield for Israeli politicians. The secretary general stopped short of calling Mr. Trumps executive order illegal under international law. But asked whether it violates international obligations, he said: I think that those measures indeed violate our basic principles. And I think that they are not effective if the objective is to really avoid terrorists to enter the United States. Mr. Guterres is under enormous pressure. On the one hand, he must speak out against discrimination, in keeping with the rules enshrined in international conventions. On the other, he needs to avoid alienating the president of the United States, which is the United Nations biggest financial backer. Mr. Guterres declined to comment about the White Houses reported threats to cut financial support to the United Nations, saying he did not want to prejudge what has not yet been announced. When you talk too much about things that have not happened, you trigger the happening of those things, he said. He said he had held a very constructive discussion with the new United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley. What I am doing is to do everything I can to prove the added value of the U.N., to recognize the U.N. needs reforms, to be totally committed to those reforms, Mr. Guterres said. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Windy with rain likely. High around 65F. Winds SSW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 41F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Last week, we gave you the 10 tips you need to know for the Amazon Echo. But Amazon isnt the only company with a connected speaker on the market. Late in 2016, Google threw its hat in the ring with the Google Home, the companys most accessible Google Assistant device and a direct competitor to the Echo. Each speaker offers similar functionality, with their own set of quirks and benefits. For the list, we tried to steer clear of the basics, like the fact that you can play music through Spotify. Of course you can, its a connected speaker. Instead, we chose to focus on some of the Homes benefits you may not be aware of yet, or havent fully explored. If you chose Googles speaker over Amazons this holiday season, or perhaps as a Happy 2017 gift to yourself, here at 10 things you need to know: One of the best ways to enhance the utility of your Google Home is to pair it with a Chromecast, or any Cast-enabled device (like various Vizio TVs). This lets you do a host of cool things, like tell your Home to play Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt through Netflix on your TV. You can also control the volume, pause, play, skip around and more with just your voice. The feature works with YouTube and Google Photos, too, and will hopefully be expanded in the coming months. An easy way to stay on top of your agenda is to ask Home tell me about my day every morning. The Assistant will then tell you about the weather, your commute to work, whether you have a meeting scheduled and any reminders you may have set, rounding it out with the days news report. To get the most out of the feature, though, you should customize it in the Google Home app, so it knows where your work is and what kind of news you want to hear. The more Home knows about you, the more useful it is. Like with the Echo, Home is more useful thanks to IFTTT integration. Using the third party service opens a wealth of possibilities for your Google Assistant speaker, like the ability to find your phone, or turn on your TV with Logitechs Harmony Hub (if you dont have a Chromecast), add a task to Todoist and much more. If youre a Google Home owner, IFTTT is a must have. A frustration I had early on with my Google Home was that I was never completely sure if it heard me, unless I was looking at it. Because it only has two far-field microphones, as opposed to the Echos seven, you cant assume its always going to hear you. Luckily, you can remedy the uncertainty by turning on the wake sound. To do this, simply open the Home app, click devices, tap the three dot menu button on your Home, hit Settings and then scroll down to Accessibility (found under Device Info) and turn on sounds. If there are times when youd rather Google Home not listen, like when youre entertaining the Queen of England for dinner, you can mute the device with the press of a button. On the rear of Home, youll find the mute button which, when pressed, announces that the microphones are off and illuminates the four LED lights in red. Perhaps the best early feature of Home is the ability to curate your shopping list on Google Keep with the Assistant. While I would like for Google to open up the compatibility, allowing users to choose which note or list app they use or even just letting you to curate several notes on Keep, I have to admit the current implementation has made my life easier. Just tell Home to add an item to your shopping list and it will. Plus, you can share the list with family or roommates so everyone can stay on top of what to get. Google Assistant is currently way behind Alexa in terms of supported services, but the list is growing for Mountain Views digital assistant. You can order an Uber through your Home, plus a Dominos pizza, take a daily quiz from Buzzfeed and much more. Most of the integrated services are thin on utility, but its promising to see the list grow from solely Uber at launch. The most whimsical feature of the Google Home is by far the various games you can play. Mad Libs and Lucky Trivia are the stars here, showing off the Google Assistants smarts and personality, but there are numerous other modes to choose thanks to a bevy of integrated games added post-launch, like 21 Blackjack and Akinator the Genie. If youre having a game night with friends, throw in the Home for a round or two. A nifty, if hidden, feature of Google Home is its ability to remember things for you. At first, I thought this was useful in a benign way, like telling the Assistant what my cats name is, but the feature goes beyond that. If theres something youre constantly losing track of (for me, its my checkbook), simply tell Google where you put it and it will remember. For instance, I told my Home that my checkbook was in the office (the phrasing here can be simply Hey Google, my checkbook is in the office or Hey Google, remember my checkbook is in the office) and when I later asked it where my checkbook was, it told me what Id said and the date I said it. Unhappy with the Google Assistant? Simply say OK Google, fuck you to get out your anger. The Assistant will then tell you that you can send feedback if you have a problem. To do that, say OK Google, send feedback and the Assistant will ask you want you want to fix. Day begins early. The roosters blow reveille long before any hint of the sun, in the deep-indigo hour when Valledupar feels coolest. The bellicose cocks stand on tiptoe and flap starchy wings, their unearthly cries rising from every point of the compass. Tent vendors along the rocky Guatapuri River a few hundred yards from the Castro family compound start to stir. In a few hours, these entrepreneurs will heap sticks and planks to build fires for grilling ribs and plantains, arepas and chickens. Locals will come in droves to beat the hammering equatorial heat with a dunk in the icy river, pure snowmelt from Sierra Nevada ranges just north and west. Customers will blink through swirling smoke as the food hawkers fan coals and flip sausages and ladle sancocho, all to a soundtrack of blaring salsa and vallenato tunes. Alvaro Castro, patriarch of my fiances family and a native son of Valledupar, rises before the roosters. He eases out of bed in a house that he designed and built himself, years ago, back when Rio Luna, the family place, was no more than a rocky field. Today, a high painted wall encloses several houses and an acre or so of planted mango and shade trees, these surrounding a big smooth concrete plaza and a raised stage. Every April, thousands of paying customers crowd the compound to see famous vallenato and international performers. Rio Luna shows are a hot ticket at the musical Festival of the Vallenata Legend, one of the most important folk culture events in South America and Valledupars claim to fame. This morning in January, the concert lies too far in the future for real concern. Alvaro wants to check the farm, his wake-up ritual. He cranks a white pick-up with a king cab, headlights blazing, and guides it through an electronic gate and out into Valledupar. Times change. In Alvaros lifetime, Valledupar has grown from a slow-moving, languid country town into an energetic city of 400,000. Rising apartment buildings and banks serrate the skyline now, and one neighborhood looks like Bel Air. This hour, buses and motorcycles and cement trucks still snooze. A few minutes from town, on spreading savannah lands, grazes a small herd of Castro dairy cattle. The cows give good milk. Most trips to Bogota, Alvaro steps out of El Dorado airport proudly carrying a bag of fresh farm cheese from the herd. Delicious and salty, it graces our table at breakfast, a Colombian custom. The cheese goes fast. If were lucky, Alvaro also brings a box of fresh mangos plucked from the family trees. Ripeness doesnt matter. Colombians shred green mango into something like fettucine, then douse it with salt, black pepper, and vinegar a mouth-puckering snack or appetizer. Ripe mango, deep orange, chilled in a bowl and served with cafe con leche, might be the breakfast they serve in heaven. Alvaro checks out a stand of teca (teak), a fast-maturing, big-leafed hardwood. Teca can be harvested every few years to make furniture. A delay of the rainy season last year stunted the first Castro planting, but the hardy trees that remain have taken hold now and show promise. Alvaro cruises back to Rio Luna as the sun crests the eastern-most ridge of the Andes. (Troubled Venezuela lies on the far side.) He stops the pick-up some mornings for a deep-fried arepa with an egg inside. Wherever Alvaro pulls up, hes warmly greeted. Everyone seems to know him, and no wonder. Hes been a lawyer, a politician, a professor, a corporate consultant, a musical impresario, and now, approaching his seventh decade, a gentleman planter and cattleman. Hes also known to some as the host of a monthly cockfight, attended by scores of betting men with fine fierce birds. A number of the roosters that come to Rio Luna never crow reveille again. So Alvaro Castro is larger-then-life in this place, a son of a larger-than-life Castro family that for generations shaped Valledupar. One 19th-century Castro, a woman, gave Simon Bolivar 300 horses to use in the war that liberated Colombia from the Spanish. A Castro served as mayor, as senator, as governor. Others held prominent positions as artists, lawyers, doctors, writers, professors, developers, grandees. Alvaro, latest in the long line, rumbles back into Rio Luna after sunrise. He steps from the cab of his truck and hears an odd voice, like an old woman. It calls out from somewhere over the wall behind two other houses Alvaro designed and built: Marco! Ana Maria! A raucous parrot yells names from a neighbors tree. The bird learned to mimic Alvaro in past days when he returned from morning rounds and called out to wake his son and daughter. Maaarco! Ana Mariaaaaa! Marco lives in Santa Marta, up on the north Caribbean coast, but he stays at Rio Luna sometimes during duty weeks as a lawyer with a coal company operating an enormous open-pit mine outside Valledupar. Ana Maria works with Alvaro coordinating Rio Lunas musical events, and she has taught English in a local elementary school. Whit whewwww!!! A wolf whistle. Its hilarious, this squawking and whistling from green branches. Alvaro doesnt need to call the kids these days. They wake up to a mischievous parrot. Some of Alvaros kids live too far away to hear the parrot. My fiance Adela, the oldest daughter, and Pilar, the youngest, live in Bogota. So does Luz, their mother. The girls grew up to be an ophthalmologist and a SAP consultant. Their mom, now retired, worked bravely as a judge during the narco years. Sometimes, crazy, complicated, fantastic Bogota gets to be too much. Adela talks about going home, back to Valledupar. The dreamy remembrance of a childhood in a green world seems to grow a little stronger each year. In the meantime, crops rise, suns set, and days follow days in Valledupar. Its a beautiful world, made for memories. Adela and all the Castro family have been lucky to know such a place in her lifetimes. Image: Diego Robayo, CC-BY Charles McNair is Pastes Books editor emeritus. He served the magazine as writer, critic and editor from 2005-2015. Its nice to be reminded on occasion that not all of our so-called representatives in Congress have gone over to the dark side. While the majority of our federal lawmakers exist to blindly serve the military-industrial complex and other corporate interests, a select few do appear to be intent on restoring the American publics faith in government (Congress approval rating, according to Gallup, currently sits at a well-earned 18 percent). Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) proved her mettle in February 2016 when, fed up with the Democratic Partys undemocratic shenanigans, she resigned as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee and endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. Speaking to NBC News, the Iraq war veteran was frank about the rationale behind her decision: I think its most important for us to recognize the necessity to have a Commander-in-chief who has foresight. Who exercises good judgment. Who looks beyond the consequenceswho looks at the consequences of the actions that they are willing to take before they take those actions. So that we dont continue to find ourselves in these failures that have resulted in chaos in the Middle East and so much loss of life. Gabbard, in other words, took a moral stand against Hillary Clinton and her bloodthirsty band of humanitarian interventionists, whose hawkish machinations over the last fifteen years have transformed the Middle East into a perpetual warzone. Hillary was, of course, the chief thug behind NATOs smashing-up of Libya, and was later one of the loudest cheerleaders for regime change in Syria, despite conceding in one of her private, quarter-million dollar speeches to Goldman Sachs that the Syrian insurgency is dominated by terrorists who fight on behalf of our regional allies. Gabbard has been challenging the official Western line on Syria for years. Back in 2015, Gabbard and Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) introduced bipartisan legislation to the House, the goal of which was to bring to an end the United States illegal, covert war against Bashar al-Assads secular government. In support of the bill, Gabbard articulated ten commonsense reasons why the US policy in Syria is wrong. Among them: [I]f we succeed in overthrowing the Syrian government of Assad, it will open the door for ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other Islamic extremists to take over all of Syria. There will be genocide and suffering on a scale beyond our imagination. These Islamic extremists will take over all the weaponry, infrastructure, and military hardware of the Syrian army and be more dangerous than ever before. Moreover, Gabbard writes, even the best case scenariothat the U.S. successfully overthrows the Syrian government of Assadwould obligate the United States to spend trillions of dollars and the lives of American service members in the futile effort to create a new Syria. This is what we have been trying to do in Iraq for twelve years, and we still have not succeeded. The situation in Syria will be much more difficult than in Iraq. Needless to say, her attempts to inject a voice of reason and logic into the public discourse were overwhelmed by the roaring din of the mainstream medias propaganda machine. Few if any outlets saw fit to cover her argument and, if they did, it was only so they could denigrate it. After all, why should the American people have access to an alternative perspectiveespecially one as reasonable as Gabbards? That would only serve to undermine the states ability to manufacture public consent for its crimes. As I write, Gabbard is rapidly becoming something of a media punching bag, having committed the outrage of visiting Syria and, horror of horrors, meeting with President Bashar al-Assad. Headlines proliferate, the subtext sticking out like a sore thumb: Gabbard Wont Disclose Whos Paying For Secret Trip to Syria, The GOPs Favorite Democrat Goes to Syria, and so on. The media campaign to slander a principled critic of US military aggression is underway, in other words. Thus far most of the abuse has been confined to Twitter, though op-eds are sure to follow. The purpose, as always, will be to disregard and confuse what Gabbard says she witnessed on the ground in Syria, since her account directly contradicts the politically-correct narrative. Never mind that, in personally visiting the war-torn country and speaking with its inhabitants, Gabbard has done more than most Western journalists who write authoritatively about the conflictshe either doesnt know what shes talking about or shes lying, were told. The American people thus have two options: (1) credulously accept what the media tell them about Gabbard or (2) listen to what she has to say and, after doing additional, independent research, reach an informed conclusion about whether her position makes sense. Those interested in option two would do well to read a short piece Gabbard wrote for Medium, in which she declares that [i]t is clear now more than ever: this regime change war does not serve Americas interest, and it certainly isnt in the interest of the Syrian people. Informing that view are meetings she had with Syrian opposition leaders who led protests in 2011, widows and children of men fighting for the government and widows of those fighting against the government. She also spoke with Muslim and Christian religious leaders, humanitarian workers, academics, college students, small business owners, and more. How many columnists for the Washington Post have made direct contact with an equal range of sources? As it happens, the Syrians Gabbard spoke to are distressed by the Western medias one-sided coverage of the violence and bloodshed immersing their country. There message to the American people, Gabbard writes, was powerful and consistent: There is no difference between moderate rebels and al-Qaeda (al-Nusra) or ISISthey are all the same. This side of the debate on Syria, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. The Independents Robert Fisk), has been systematically censored in the West. From the start of the war in 2011, American journalistsrepresenting Washingtonhave proclaimed to speak on behalf of the Syrian people which, if true, would mean that Assad has zero support outside of the government itself. This is, for lack of a better word, stupid, and the Syrians Gabbard met with asked that she share their voice with the world, since heretofore no one has listened. For instance, they described to Gabbard how peaceful demonstrations in 2011 were hijacked by Wahhabi extremists who, acting as proxies for Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, exploited the peaceful protesters, occupied their communities, and killed and tortured Syrians who would not cooperate with them in their fight to overthrow the government. The political opposition in Syria, which Assad maintains is legitimate, is and always has been discrete from the armed opposition, which is made up of Islamist gangsters bent on imposing their fundamentalist interpretation of Islam on the whole of society. Gabbard heard testimony from a young girl who, at the age of 14, was kidnapped, beaten repeatedly, and raped by rebel groups who were angry that her father, a sheep herder, would not give them his money. The girl was forced to watch as a group of masked men murdered her father in their living room, emptying their entire magazine of bullets into him. Small wonder that the Syrian government, as recently as December 2015, remained the most popular party to the conflict: it boils down to a choice between modern secularism and medieval savagery. Gabbards meeting with Assad was, according to her, unplanned. But even if it were planned, so what? Is conversing briefly with Syrias president really more heinous than, say, hosting King Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White House? When Obama did so in September 2015, the Saudis were already seven months into their ruthless air war against Yemen, which has killed thousands of civiliansmany with US-manufactured bombs, including illegal cluster bombsand displaced millions. Nevertheless, Obama announced to the press at the time: Its a great pleasure to welcome his majesty King Salman to the Oval Office. The media seemed largely on board with that sentiment, which would be scandalous if it wasnt so predictable. Gabbard has recently introduced new legislation to CongressThe Stop Arming Terrorists Act. Its purpose is straightforward: to prohibit the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to arm and support groups cooperating with or affiliated with terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS. You can lend your support to the bill by signing her petition here. Tulsi Gabbard represents an aberration in our contemporary political culture: an honest, independent thinker with the courage of her convictions whos prepared to stand upalone, if need beagainst the corporate-run mob in Washington. We pay her no heed at our peril. Honestly folks, some yarns just write themselves. A true gift from the news cycle gods. Around 14kg of cocaine, the sweet white powder, has been found in the nose of an American Airlines plane in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Seven bricks of the stuff, carrying a street value of around US$200,000, were found stashed on-board a Boeing 757 aircraft that flew from, would you believe, Colombia to the US, where it was found by maintenance staff. The plane originally flew from Bogota to Miami, where the scheduled maintenance was originally set to occur. However swamped staff at Miami International Airport did not have time to service the craft, so it was diverted all the way to Tulsa instead. There, a technician noticed the insulation in the nose gear electronics bay was brand new. Closer inspection revealed the seven bricks of nose candy, all covered in wheel grease (likely as a measure to ward off drug detection dogs). Tulsa County Sheriffs Office officials then attended the scene and confiscated ze drugs. Law enforcement officials noted that the sophistication of the concealment was to such a level that it was likely the work of a Colombian-based cartel. Now then. Thats the serious bit out of the way. That is the details of the yarn from start to finish, and throughout the course of telling it I have kept my tongue largely in check. So now if youll indulge me for a moment Ive heard of flying high, but this is ridiculous! How much did flights cost? A rolled up $50? Are you telling me the plane wouldve been serviced in Miami, but the line was too big? I wonder if the planes staying in Tulsa now, or if its just a blow in? More like DOPElahoma, am I right! Thisd be the first time ever the City of Miami turned down a party. The carrier is literally called American Airlines. AIR LINES. Come on. Yeah, thatll do for now. Source: CNN. Men. Are you tired of being a pasty, translucent piece of garbage, but have thus far been too manly/afraid to use ~lady~ products? Well your deeply weird prayers have been answered, for Australia finally has a fake tan for us, the dudes. Melbourne company Bondi Sands has released the nations first fake man tan, a new aerosol foam called Everyday Gradual Foam for Men, and honestly considering our epidemic levels of skin cancer it might not be such a terrible idea. And to the companys credit, they readily acknowledge how strange it appears to have a tan specifically designed for dudes. As Bondi Sands co-founder Blair James explains, the product is designed for dudes who might not appreciate the existing products: Many of my guy mates were already using our Gradual Tanning Milk and they were asking for a product that did not leave a sheen on the skin, dried faster and did not have such a sweet fragrance. We didnt create the product because men cant use any of the other products in our range, we simply believed that those guys who already tanned or wanted to start tanning would enjoy a product more tailored towards mens preferences. So taking those horrific cancer stats into into account, which say that two in three Aussies will get skin cancer before the age of 70, plus my flat-out hatred of the terrifying, confusing outside world, this is probably actually a fine product. Even if its still a little bizzare that, once again, men are getting an existing product repackaged to fulfil some arbitrary idea of masculinity. When your masculinity is so fragile that you cant use regular sunscreen pic.twitter.com/QnToangPSw kennedy (@kennedyknight1) June 8, 2015 Masculinity ?? is ?? so ?? fragile ?? pic.twitter.com/pmDBlfiVNS Apollo (@thisisapollo) October 10, 2014 Masculinity is SO FRAGILE. It lays flat in your pocket so other men wont tease you for caring for your lips!!! pic.twitter.com/f7wxQqow5D ??llison (@TheQueenRegnant) February 9, 2015 Source: The Huffington Post. Photo: Getty / NBC NewsWire Stick 12 celebrities in the African jungle with naught to do but wish a hot shower would materialise, and youve got yourself an emotional vacuum. Weve already seen Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! contestant Casey Donovan tearfully discuss how she was catfished for six bloody years, and now 2014 Miss Universe Australia Tegan Martin has opened up about her struggles with body image and acceptance in the fashion industry. The 24-year-old claims she had no choice but to enter a beauty pageant after being branded too fat to compete on reality show Australias Next Top Model ironic given one of the shows current judges is Jen Hawkins, herself a former Miss Universe Australia and winner of Miss Universe 2004. A photo posted by Tegan Martin (@tegan.martin) on Jul 12, 2016 at 4:27am PDT She told her visibly-shocked campm8s: The only thing you can do [to launch a modelling career in Australia] is Next Top Model or Miss Universe. I was too fat for Next Top Model. They just said, like, they made out like I was too commercial.' In the world of modelling, youre either considered high fashion someone with a look or body suited to the catwalk or commercial, which means youre better suited to campaign work for the likes of Bonds, Seafolly etc (nothing to sneeze at, given commercial work can equate to a whole lotta dough). Tegan only made it through to the Top 50 when she auditioned for S7 of the Fox 8 series in 2011 the year won by Montana Cox, who has gone on to walk for the likes of Valentino, Emilio Pucci, Bottega Veneta and Etro at fashion weeks around the world. Because Paris ?? @maisonvalentino #legolas A photo posted by Montana (@montanacox1) on Oct 2, 2016 at 7:14pm PDT The Newcastle-born model admitted she had a borderline eating disorder at one point in her career, when she was trying to crack the industry in fashion capital Paris. I have always had curves like boobs and a bum and thats why when I lived in Paris I had to, like, starve myself to work. It is disgraceful but lucky I am out of that patch now. A spokesperson for Foxtel had no comment on Tegans comments. Photo: Instagram / @teganmartin. If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, you can call The Butterfly Foundation on 1800 ED HOPE / 1800 33 4673. Why You Like the Wines You Like celebrates diversity of wine and wine lover preferences. By: Boston Wine Expo Contact Tim Hanni MW ***@timhanni.com 707-337-0327 Tim Hanni MW707-337-0327 End -- Organizers of the Boston Wine Expo have announced that Master of Wine Tim Hanni, author of "Why You Like the Wines You Like" and "The Sweet Wine Lover's Manifesto," will present the keynote wine seminars and tastings on Feb. 18-19, at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center Boston, Mass.Hanni's presentation is a part of a larger campaign to eliminate myths and misinformation about wine that are prevalent in the industry today.One of first two Americans to pass the rigorous Master of Wine examination, Hanni is also a professional chef and an internationally recognized authority who is challenging the wine industry to understand, embrace, and cultivate all wine consumers, including those who prefer sweet wines, and to radically revise the prevailing false tenets of pairing wine with food.He will focus on the individual sensory genetic differences that determine the range and intensity of sensations people experience, and how "neural plasticity" influences changes in wine preferences over time.His seminar includes tasting of wine styles provided by Cornerstone Cellars, sensory demonstrations, and an introduction to his concept of Vinotypes ( www.myvinotype.com )."It is time to hit the reset button, and update sensory sciences and wine education," Hanni said. "Wine consumer preferences are largely misunderstood by wine experts, who focus too much on product trivia and not enough on providing personalized service to the people who love and consume wine."To make things worse, wine education is filled with inaccuracies and misinformation galore about history, traditions and the fantasy world of 'pairing wine with food," he said. "My job is to have every attendee walk away with a 'Wow, that was a blast,' after my presentation."On Saturday, Hanni is also is presenting For Sweet Wine lovers Only, a seminar that will feature a range of wines from Moscato to Vermouth. "We need to empower sweet wine lovers to stand up against the tyranny of the dry wine fashionistas and demand to be respected," Hanni said.Hanni will share his research, which demonstrates that sweet wine lovers have the most taste buds and extremely high sensory acuity. "Sweet wines were always enjoyed in France, Spain, Italy and Germany, counter to the widely held delusion that sweet wine is unsophisticated or of lesser quality than dry wines," he said. http://www.wine- expos.com/page.cfm/ action=Search/ SearchID=8/t= m/goSection= 11_1058 His company, eCode.me, is simultaneously launching a set of software, tools and training resources that are designed to connect winery tasting rooms and wine clubs with their consumers. Local author, Iric Nathanson, will be signing copies of book End --Downtown Minneapolis is an addition to Arcadia Publishing's popular Images of America series. The hardcover book is written by local author Iric Nathanson.Downtown Minneapolis evolved from a collection of modest frame buildings on the banks of the Mississippi River to the high-rise center of a modern American metropolis. With a burgeoning milling industry powering the local economy, the early frame structures soon gave way to substantial brick and masonry buildings, lining the streets of a bustling 19th-century commercial district. Downtown continued to prosper during the early years of the 20th century, aided by advances in transportation and communications. The heart of the city held its own during the Great Depression and World War II, but the postwar era brought new challenges as a suburban boom threatened the city's economic foundation. Enterprising local leaders responded with innovative developments to meet these challenges, and a reinvigorated downtown took on a new role as the site of a dynamic new residential community, now home to nearly 40,000 city residents.Iric Nathanson writes and lectures about local history. His articles have appeared in a variety of local publications including the StarTribune, Minnesota History, Hennepin History and MinnPost. Iric's 2010 book, Minneapolis in the Twentieth Century, the Growth of an American City, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.Barnes & Noble801 Nicollet MallMinneapolis, MN 55402Thursday, February 9th, 2017 at 12:00 p.m.Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.The combination of Arcadia Publishing & The History Press creates the largest and most comprehensive publisher of local and regional content in the USA. By empowering local history and culture enthusiasts to write local stories for local audiences, we create exceptional books that are relevant on a local and personal level, enrich lives, and bring readers closer - to their community, their neighbors, and their past. Have we done a book on your town? Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com Author Chris Holaday will be available to sign copies of book End --The warmth of the oven and the smell of fresh-baked bread conjure comforting memories of tradition and place. Aside from being a staple on every table in the South, these breads and their recipes detail the storied history of the region. Biscuits emerged from Native American and European traditions. Cornbread, with its vast variety, is a point of debate among Southerners over which recipe yields the most delicious results. The hushpuppy, developed possibly to quiet whining dogs, is a requirement for any true catfish or barbecue meal. Author Chris Holaday and top culinary instructor Marilyn Markel offer the mouthwatering history, famous recipes and heartwarming stories of Southerners in their kitchens.One of the top culinary instructors in the South, Marilyn has pursued her passion for teaching from Dallas to Chapel Hill to the Charleston, South Carolina area, where she now resides. The Georgia native has taught countless classes on all aspects of cooking and served as culinary director for several schools. Marilyn is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, Southern Foodways Alliance and International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). Her work has appeared in the Charleston Post and Courier among other newspapers, the magazine Edible Piedmont, and she was featured in the documentary Pimento Cheese, Please, produced by the Southern Foodways Alliance.Barnes & Noble3327 Pineville-Matthews RoadCharlotte, NC 28226Saturday, February 11th, 2017 at 10:00 a.m.Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.The combination of Arcadia Publishing & The History Press creates the largest and most comprehensive publisher of local and regional content in the USA. By empowering local history and culture enthusiasts to write local stories for local audiences, we create exceptional books that are relevant on a local and personal level, enrich lives, and bring readers closer - to their community, their neighbors, and their past. Have we done a book on your town? Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com Contact Joseph Bourne PM&E Inc. ***@pme-holding.com Joseph BournePM&E Inc. End -- Wyoming/Sousse, February 01, 2017 Aircraft manufacturer PM&E, Inc. (OTC:PMEA) announced today that their unaudited financials are being released today at OTCMarkets.com.CEO Joseph Bourne stated, "We want to stay on a strict schedule as it pertains to our plans to up-list later this year. Every step in the process is important. Step one commences today with the release of our unaudited financials. These are for the 12 months ending December 31, 2016. Note that they do not reflect the recent retirement of over 68% of all outstanding shares nor the significant flurry of business activity that has occurred, over the past 60 days specifically. Step two will be to complete our audited financials and as we've discussed, we have expedited the process and will have those prepared as soon as possible. Step three is to trade above a penny for 30 consecutive days and we feel that the business announcements made to date coupled with some exciting news we can't wait to share with you soon, our price per share will reflect its true value in due time allowing us to meet that third threshold."PM&E, Inc. is an aircraft company with a contracted manufacturing facility located in Sousse, Tunisia. The company is in the process of implementing a modern manufacturing plant in Tunisia and securing a facility for aircraft assembly in Wyoming. The company manufactures their signature line of EVADA Aircraft. Through a strategic partnership, DiNelly EXOGYRO also manufactures their commercial ultra-light gyrocopters at the same facility in Tunisia creating synergies and cost savings for both companies through a shared resources and revenues agreement.Mr. Bourne went on to say, "Some have had questions on the specifications of our product lines, specifically the DiNelly eXoGyro and the EVADA A4. Here is my response. We have put a lot of time and effort into the websites for both companies and all product lines as well. The links to our websites are listed below. We would encourage you to review all pages of each. Investors in our company should know what they are buying and there is a wealth of information on each site for you to review. Also, we make some posts or announcements from time to time on our social media pages, so we would encourage you to join us there as well. For major announcements, we will continue to put those out in press release format and we have several major announcements pending that we feel will bring even more excitement to the investment community. As always, we thank you for your support".Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/PME-Inc-432293210274534/(https://www.facebook.com/PME-Inc-432293210274534/%20)Google + : https://plus.google.com/u/0/110058910223174354829?hl=frTwitter : https://twitter.com/PMEA_Inc (https://twitter.com/PMEA_Inc%20)YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUUREk7BtuTwfWVQEgBDqnALinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/10877337Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. In addition to the factors discussed in the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, among the other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: adverse changes in the business conditions and the general economy; competitive factors, such as rival companies' pricing and marketing efforts; availability of third-party material products at reasonable prices; the financial condition of the customer; risks of obsolescence due to shifts in market demand; and litigation involving product liabilities and consumer issues. PM&E Inc. cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. PM&E Inc. expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.Mr. Joseph BournePresident/CEO001 (307) 392-4771contact@pme-holding.com eProseed CEO, Geoffroy de Lamalle, is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Sydney, Australia 1 2 Geoffroy de Lamalle, CEO, eProseed Jeroen Bolluijt, Managing Partner, eproseed Australia and New-Zeeland End --The new entity comes as eProseed expands its products and services to a growing number of customers. "We are always looking at better ways of supporting our customers and opening an office in Sydney is a logical next step," comments, Chief Executive Officer of eProseed.eProseed Australia and New Zealand will bring expertise to the region in innovative domains such as Enterprise Architecture, Database & Data Management, IT Modernization & Consolidation, Digital Transformation, and Industry Solutions."In particular, contacts have been established with central banks and regulators in the region and a strong interest was confirmed for, our supervision and insights platform, along with Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Cloud Integration Services offered by eProseed," says Geoffroy de Lamalle."Asia is now home to the world's fastest-growing economies, which contribute about 40 percent of global output and one-fourth of world trade. With growth come challenges. eProseed will continue to support customers in solving their hardest challenges,"says, the newly appointed Managing Partner for Australia & New Zealand.With a new office in Sydney, and after recent additional deployments in Europe, in the US and the GCC region, eProseed has significantly strengthened its 24/7 support services.eProseed is an ICT services provider and a software publisher. Honored with 8 Oracle ACE Directors and 14 Oracle Excellence Awards in the last 7 years, eProseed is an Oracle Platinum Partner with in-depth expertise in Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Engineered Systems.eProseed's portfolio of business applications and business accelerators is built on state-of-the-art, reliable technologies and sound knowledge of today's challenges, developed and maintained with the highest standards in mind. Comprehensive training and support are provided by eProseed's experts for both applications and underlying technologies.Headquartered in Luxembourg, in the heart of Europe, eProseed has offices in Beirut (LB), Brussels (BE), Dubai (AE), London (UK), New York (USA), Porto (PT), Riyadh (SAU), Sydney (AU), and Utrecht (NL). A report titled 'Takeover strengthens customer network in the USA' about the acquisition of a majority holding in Best Carbide Cutting Tools, LLC by the CERATIZIT Group was published in the newsletter of the technical journal 'maschine+werkzeug'. By: CERATIZIT Group Media Contact CERATIZIT Group ***@ceratizit.com +352 31 20 85-1 CERATIZIT Group+352 31 20 85-1 End -- The US American subsidiary of the carbide specialist CERATIZIT has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Californian solid carbide tool producer Best Carbide Cutting Tools, LLC, known for the high quality of its products with a focus on high-end micro-tools. Jacques Lanners, Co-Chairman of the CERATIZIT Group's Executive Board says that in taking this step CERATIZIT (link to: http://www.ceratizit.com/)is strengthening its customer network in the USA and building on a nation-wide network of distributors.Mark Nunez, President of Best Carbide says: "Thanks to this partnership, Best Carbide will have access to CERATIZIT technology and expertise. This will help the company to improve its manufacturing processes, technical capabilities and the quality of tooling with the goal of ultimately achieving a greater added value for our customers. For the first time in its 37-year history, Best Carbide becomes part of a global cutting tool organisation. We believe this will have substantial benefit for Best Carbide's stability, growth and advancement. The agreement is a win-win situation for both companies. Best Carbide Cutting Tools will continue to operate as it does today, but now with full support from the CERATIZIT Group."Read the complete article from 'maschine+werkzeug' for more information on this topic (in German) (link to: https://www.maschinewerkzeug.de/ werkzeuge/uebersicht/ artikel/mit- uebernahme-das- kundennetzwerk- in-den-usa-staerken- 2779105.html? et_cid=1& et_lid=1& et_sub=mw_woechentlich ). Newly Reinstated Ambassador Faye to Display Photo of President Adama Barrow By: Embassy of the Republic of the Gambia Contact Richard Sincere ***@scribeus.com Richard Sincere End -- In a ceremony scheduled for Thursday morning, February 2, His Excellency Sheikh Omar Faye will hang the official portrait of President Adama Barrow at the Embassy of the Republic of the Gambia in Washington, D.C.Recently reinstated as Ambassador of the Gambia to the United States after breaking with the regime of former President Yahya Jammeh, who refused to accept the will of Gambian voters who elected President Barrow on December 1, 2016, Ambassador Faye will replace Jammeh's official portrait with a new photograph of President Barrow."Our people were put through a test," said Faye in advance of the ceremony. "But the will of the voters eventually prevailed. Respect for the rule of law, democratic governance, and transparency will be our guides from now on."Members of the working press are invited to observe the ceremonial portrait-hanging at the Gambian Embassy. Ambassador Faye will be available afterward for interviews in person or by telephone.WHAT: Transitional Portrait-Hanging CeremonyWHEN: 10:00 AM, Thursday, February 2, 2017WHERE:Embassy of the Republic of the Gambia5630 16th Street, N.W.Washington, DC 20011- WHO: Ambassador Sheikh Omar FayeFurther information about the democratic transition in the Gambia will become available in coming days. Questions may be addressed to Richard Sincere at Scribe Strategies & Advisors ( http://www.scribeus.com ).-30- BNP Paribas Real Estate nominated Benjamin Limbourg as General Manager of BNP Paribas Real Estate APM Luxembourg. In addition to his responsibility as General Manager, Limbourg will continue to personally assume responsibility for the Letting & Sales department. Limbourg will closely work with the directors of the different business lines, [] Castellum AB is planning to acquire Sabbatsberg 24 in Stockholm the well-known Ferdinand Boberg building near Torsgatan, which housed Stockholm Vattens headquarters until last year. The acquisition rests on a final decision by the Stockholm City Council in March. The underlying property value amounts to approx. 84.8 million (SEKm [] JLL has appointed Miroslav Barnas as country manager of its Czech Republic business, which is headquartered in Prague, with immediate effect. He will lead the Czech business alongside his existing responsibilities as country manager for JLL's business in Slovakia. Tewfik Sabongui leaves the firm afte... [] Foreign Ministry: Any talk on safe zones for refugees in Yemen is unacceptable SANA'A, Feb. 01 (Saba) The Foreign Ministry had said that any talk on setting up safe zones for refugees and displaced in Yemen by the aggression forces is unacceptable and cannot be dealt with in the absence of full coordination with the authorities in the capital Sana'a. This work is unsafe and aims at violating the Yemeni national sovereignty under flimsy justifications promoted by the Saudi aggression, an official at the ministry said in a statement to Saba on Tuesday. The Saudi aggression and its allies are who created the problem of displaced people in Yemen, whose number is more than four million displaced since the start of the aggression war on Yemen on March 26, 2015, the official added. He indicated that the aggression's deliberate random air bombing led to killing civilians and causing a large amount of losses in property and service facilities, estimated at US $ 180 billion until the end of 2016. The official called on the new American administration to reconsider its position towards the Saudi aggression and to stop supplying the Saudi regime with weapons, intelligence information and logistical support. "Saudi Arabia encourages and works on the existence of terrorist groups in Yemeni territories to prevent any peaceful political settlement and portrays the situation as an internal civil war," the official said. BA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [01/February/2017] President receives Sheikhs and Notables of Dhalea province SANA'A, Feb. 01, (Saba) - President of the supreme political council Saleh al-Sammad met Wednesday at the Republican palace in Sana'a with sheikhs and notables of Dhalea province. During the meeting, President welcomed the sheikhs and dignitaries of al-Dhalea province, appreciating their great sacrifices to defend the homeland and to repulse the aggression and the aggressors. In this context, President confirmed that the crime committed by Americans against civilians and innocent citizens in the province of al-Baidha confirms that the US is the spearhead of the aggression against Yemen, emphasizing that this act cannot be authorized. He added that the United States is replacing the terrorist organization of al-Qaeda with Daesh in Yemen and the world. He stressed that the goal of the high sacrifices of the Yemeni people is pride and dignity and independence. Al-Sammad underlined the operations carried out by the army and the popular forces against the Saudi-naval forces on the fifth frigate in the Yemeni territorial waters caused the destruction of 20 percent of the power of the Saudi naval forces. For their part, the Sheikhs and dignitaries of al-Dhalea affirmed their continuation of fighting against the aggression and Saudi-paid mercenaries until achieving freedom, dignity and independence for Yemen. HA/ZaK Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [01/February/2017] Perena Gouma, a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington, has published an article in the journal Sensors that describes her invention of a hand-held breath monitor that can potentially detect the flu virus. The article, published in January 2017, explains in-depth how the single-exhale sensing device works and the research involved in its creation, which was funded by the National Science Foundation through the Smart Connected Health program. Gouma's device is similar to the breathalyzers used by police officers when they suspect a driver of being under the influence of alcohol. A patient simply exhales into the device, which uses semiconductor sensors like those in a household carbon monoxide detector. The difference is that these sensors are specific to the gas detected, yet still inexpensive, and can isolate biomarkers associated with the flu virus and indicate whether or not the patient has the flu. The device could eventually be available in drugstores so that people can be diagnosed earlier and take advantage of medicine used to treat the flu in its earliest stages. This device may help prevent flu epidemics from spreading, protecting both individuals as well as the public health. Gouma and her team relied on existing medical literature to determine the quantities of known biomarkers present in a person's breath when afflicted with a particular disease, then applied that knowledge to find a combination of sensors for those biomarkers that is accurate for detecting the flu. For instance, people who suffer from asthma have increased nitric oxide concentration in their breath, and acetone is a known biomarker for diabetes and metabolic processes. When combined with a nitric oxide and an ammonia sensor, Gouma found that the breath monitor may detect the flu virus, possibly as well as tests done in a doctor's office. "I think that technology like this is going to revolutionize personalized diagnostics. This will allow people to be proactive and catch illnesses early, and the technology can easily be used to detect other diseases, such as Ebola virus disease, simply by changing the sensors," said Gouma, who also is the lead scientist in the Institute for Predictive Performance Measurement at the UTA Research Institute. "Before we applied nanotechnology to create this device, the only way to detect biomarkers in a person's breath was through very expensive, highly-technical equipment in a lab, operated by skilled personnel. Now, this technology could be used by ordinary people to quickly and accurately diagnose illness." Stathis Meletis, chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Department, noted that Gouma's research shows how UTA's nanotechnology research can have a profound impact on health and the human condition in our communities, as outlined in the University's Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact. "Dr. Gouma's development of a portable, single-exhale device that can be used to detect diseases has implications far beyond the laboratory," Meletis said. "This shows the impact of nanotechnology on our everyday lives, and has potential for applications related to security and other important areas as well." In addition to Gouma's research, UTA engineering faculty have applied nanotechnology to fighting cancer, increasing energy efficiency and detecting harmful substances, among other applications. Colin Parrish, John M. Olin Professor of Virology at the Baker Institute for Animal Health in Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, an expert on influenza viruses and the spread of the virus in animals, says the highly pathogenic influenza strain currently infecting wild birds and domestic poultry in several European countries could be transmitted to birds in North America as migratory flyways of some European and North American wild bird species overlap in the northern reaches of Canada. Parrish says, "The strain circulating among birds in Europe is known as the H5N8 subtype, and this particular virus is a highly pathogenic influenza strain that appears to be readily transferred into poultry flocks and other domesticated birds from wild birds. "Migratory birds in Europe and in America normally follow separate north-south migratory pathways, and there is normally not much mixing between birds in each region, but there are areas where they come in contact. This virus seems to be quite transmissible, so there's a reasonable possibility that it could be picked up and brought over to the North American flyways. It looks like H5N8 is very effective at transferring from the wild birds into domestic poultry operations, so this is a concern. "As we can't do anything about bird migration, we have to be really vigilant about the possibility so we can control H5N8 in domestic birds if it arrives. The virus appears to cause severe disease in most birds that it infects, so it is likely that state surveillance would detect it pretty quickly if it were to arrive in North America. "Influenza is a virus that emerges periodically to cause epidemics in different birds or mammals, like the two types of canine flu we now have in North America and the recent feline influenza outbreak in New York City. We need to stay on top of it. We can't let down our guard." One in 12 Canadians aged 55 and older skipped prescriptions due to cost in 2014, the second-highest rate among comparable countries, new UBC research has found. "When patients stop filling their prescriptions, their conditions get worse and they often end up in hospital requiring more care which in the long run costs us more money," said Steve Morgan, senior author of the study and professor in UBC's school of population and public health. The research draws on the 2014 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults (persons aged 55 years or older) in 11 high-income countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Among countries with publicly-funded health-care systems, Canada is the only one without coverage for prescription medications. In an analysis of survey responses from all 11 countries, the researchers found that Canada had the second-highest prevalence of skipped prescriptions due to cost, at 8.3 per cent. Access was worse only in the United States, where 16.8 per cent of respondents reported such financial barriers to filling prescriptions. In contrast, fewer than four per cent of the populations in most other comparable countries reported skipping prescriptions due to cost. In a separate analysis of the Canadian survey responses, researchers found that Canadians aged 55 to 64 face the greatest barriers to filling their prescriptions. One in eight Canadians aged 55 to 64 reported that they did not fill prescriptions because of cost in 2014, in comparison to one in 20 Canadians aged 65 and older -- who, by way of age, qualify for comprehensive public drug coverage in many provinces. Morgan points to gaps in drug coverage available to Canadians as a problem. Unlike other countries with universal public health care, public drug plans in Canada generally only cover select groups, such as social assistance recipients and people over age 65. Other Canadians may receive drug coverage from private insurance through their workplaces or none at all. The survey found that Canadians who did not have insurance were twice as likely to report not filling prescriptions because of cost. It also showed that low-income Canadians were three times more likely to report financial barriers to filling prescription medicines than high-income respondents. Morgan said the 2014 findings were consistent with studies that date back a decade, indicating affordability of prescription drugs is still a public health issue in Canada. "Our problem hasn't gone away. Financial barriers to prescription drugs are still high, both in absolute terms and relative to our peer countries." UCLA researchers have found that an anti-inflammatory drug primarily used in Japan to treat asthma could help people overcome alcoholism. Their study is the first to evaluate the drug, ibudilast, as a treatment for alcoholism. Study participants were given either the drug (20 milligrams for two days and 50 milligrams for the next four) or a placebo for six consecutive days. After about a two-week break, those who took the drug were switched to a placebo for six days, and those who were taking the placebo were given ibudilast. The researchers found that the subjects' craving for alcohol was significantly lower when they were taking the medication. In addition, the participants' reactions were measured after they were asked to hold and smell a glass of their preferred alcoholic beverage but not allowed to drink it. The subjects reported being in a better mood while they were taking ibudilast than when they were on the placebo. The research evaluated 17 men and seven women who, prior to the study, reported drinking alcohol an average of 21 days per month and drinking seven alcoholic beverages per day when they drank. On the sixth day of each phase of the study, participants received an intravenous dose of alcohol -- the equivalent of about four drinks -- to test how the medicine interacts with alcohol and whether it can be safely administered when people are drinking. (Participants stayed overnight at the UCLA Clinical and Translational Research Center, where the study was conducted.) "We found that ibudilast is safe and well-tolerated," said Lara Ray, a UCLA professor of psychology, director of the UCLA Addictions Laboratory and the study's lead author. "This medication can be safely administered, including when people are drinking alcohol." Side effects from the drug, which included nausea and some abdominal pain, were mild, and none of the participants dropped out of the study. The research is published online by Neuropsychopharmacology, and will appear later in in the journal's print edition. advertisement Researchers also evaluated the drug's efficacy by looking at how well and how quickly participants could recover from a stressful situation. When the study began, the researchers asked participants to describe sources of stress in their lives. On the fifth day of each phase the study -- when the participants were taking ibudilast and again when they were taking the placebo -- researchers discussed those situations with the participants. The subjects' moods improved much more quickly after hearing about their own stressful situations when they were taking ibudilast than when they received the placebo. The treatment seemed to especially help those in the study who had depressive symptoms, which are common in heavy drinkers of alcohol. The drug appears to reduce the pleasurable effects of alcohol. Chronic alcohol consumption elevates brain inflammation in animals, and earlier research showed that ibudilast was effective in reducing rats' alcohol consumption. But it wasn't a foregone conclusion that it would also be effective in humans, Ray said. For one thing, other drugs that have shown promise in rats caused too many negative side effects in humans. That's a common problem when medications tested on animals are then evaluated for human use; Ray said that many medications that are effective in animal studies ultimately fail to help people -- a phenomenon she called the "valley of death" of pharmaceutical development. "We're excited to see that the strong animal data with ibudilast is now followed by our finding that ibudilast is well-tolerated in humans," she said. Ray, whose laboratory studies the causes of and possible treatments for drug and alcohol addiction, said testing new treatments for alcoholism is critical because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only four treatments for alcoholism, and they have been only modestly effective. Although the new study is promising, further clinical trials are needed, said Ray, who is also a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute. Ibudilast is not currently available as a treatment for alcoholism. Ray plans to test the drug on heavy drinkers who expressly want to quit drinking. (Those in the current study were not trying to quit.) She also plans to study how ibudilast reduces brain inflammation. Clinical massage and guided imagery may have a substantial, positive impact on patients' comfort at a very low cost, according to a study published in Critical Care Nurse (CCN). Researchers with Beaumont Health System in Royal Oak, Michigan, found that patients' self-reported pain and anxiety scores improved immediately after a clinical massage, while other patients who listened to a guided-imagery recording found the intervention to be very helpful, reporting improvements in pain, anxiety and insomnia. "Beneficial Effects of Guided Imagery or Clinical Massage on the Status of Patients in a Progressive Care Unit," published in the journal's February 2017 issue, describes how the health system uses integrative medicine to supplement traditional care and notes the results of the interventions on relieving pain, anxiety and insomnia for progressive care patients. The study took place on two floors of the progressive care units at Beaumont's Troy, Michigan, campus. The health system's Integrative Medicine Department has approximately 33 massage therapists. Considered the standard of care, clinical massage and guided imagery are routinely available to patients. During the study, patients on one floor of the progressive care unit were offered a free, 15-minute clinical massage Monday through Friday. A massage therapist used Swedish massage techniques with the patient in their hospital bed, typically involving hand or foot massage or scalp and neck massage, according to the patient's comfort level. Patients on the other progressive care unit were invited to listen to an audio recording specially produced for use in the unit that focused on reducing pain and anxiety and promoting sleep. These patients were asked during discharge if they had listened to the 30-minute recording at any time during their hospital stay and, if so, how many times. Patients also indicated why they had listened to the recording (for pain, anxiety or insomnia) and if they found it helpful for their issue. advertisement The 288 patients who used the interventions -- albeit a small percentage of those in the progressive care unit at a single hospital -- reported significant improvements in pain, anxiety and insomnia. In particular, the results show promise in the use of guided imagery as a very low-cost intervention with the potential to reach many patients. Specific findings include the following: Pain scores of those patients who indicated pain prior to the massage decreased from a mean of 4.5 to a mean of 2.3 afterward. More than 80 percent indicated a decrease in pain of at least one point after the intervention. Results from those patients who indicated some level of anxiety decreased from a mean of 4.0 before the massage to a mean of 1.9 afterward. More than 80 percent indicated a decrease in anxiety of at least one point after their massage. Eighty percent of the 45 patients who used the guided-imagery sessions stated that the intervention helped in some way. "The dramatic improvements in patient self-reported scores in pain, anxiety and difficulty sleeping indicate the positive impact to patients' well-being," said Gail E. Patricolo, BA(Hons), GradCertCAM, director of integrative medicine at Beaumont. "These interventions can be a practical, cost-effective way of improving patient care, but patients and staff alike first need to know more about them and the potential benefits." The study noted that the patient population in the progressive care unit may have affected participation, since many patients may have been too ill to participate. Progressive care nurses in a hospital typically manage patients who are more stable than those in critical care but who require increased nursing care or more rigorous monitoring than those receiving care in a medical-surgical unit. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), which publishes CCN, introduced the term progressive care more than a decade ago to describe the care needs of acutely ill patients who are moderately stable with a high risk of instability. Other common terms for progressive care settings include stepdown, intermediate, telemetry, transitional, high-acuity, direct observation or medical-surgical progressive care units. Progressive care nurses also may practice in long-term acute care hospitals where patients -- especially those who are ventilator-dependent -- may receive care. As AACN's bimonthly clinical practice journal for high-acuity, progressive and critical care nurses, CCN is a trusted source of information related to the bedside care of critically and acutely ill patients. Scientists from the University of Southampton have discovered an important way that the immune system can learn to recognize and fight cancers. The team, led by Professor Aymen Al-Shamkhani and funded by Cancer Research UK, has shown that a protein called Akt, is vital for the way the body remembers a cancer it has eradicated. The body's immune system includes cytotoxic T cells, which actively seek out and destroy infections or cancers. When they have dealt with the danger, the majority of T cells die, but the remaining ones turn into memory cells, which can recognize the threat if it comes back. However, how this actually works has previously not been clear. The Southampton team has found that a protein called Akt has a big effect on the number and type of memory T cells that a danger signal can generate. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, shows that Akt is critical for survival of T cells when they turn into memory cells and for how these can then react to future threats. Professor Al-Shamkhani, a Professor of Immunology at the University of Southampton, says that: "If we can harness Akt to boost the memory cells in numbers and ability we could offer more protection against cancer." He added: "Immunotherapy has shown great promise as a new type of treatment for cancer, but we need to find ways to improve the body's immune memory for cancer cells. If we can get the body's immune system to recognise cancers faster and better, that will be a big help in finding more effective treatments." Dr Justine Alford, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, says: "By revealing more about how the immune system learns to recognize and attack cancers, this laboratory study may have identified a way to make immunotherapy more effective and longer-lasting. The next step will be to see if this approach works, and is safe for patients." Over the past 40 years the University of Southampton has made a number of advances in cancer immunology and immunotherapy research, with a reputation for its 'bench to bedside' results. This year, the University will open The Centre for Cancer Immunology. It is the first of its kind in the UK and will bring world leading cancer scientists under one roof and enable interdisciplinary teams to expand clinical trials and develop lifesaving drugs. TOPEKA When Dr. John Egli describes his upcoming vacation as the trip of lifetime you know it has to be something really special. Egli, a world traveler, has set foot on just about every corner of the globe. Egli travels about three or four times a year, and hes recently made several trips to Africa, the Fiji Islands and other exotic locations. Now hes preparing to leave on a trip that will take him to the bottom of the world: Antarctica. Egli departs Wednesday. Im counting every second, he said. Ive talked with people whove taken this trip, and they all say the same, that theyve never had a trip better than this. Egli and a friend, Segundo Pena of Ligonier, will make the trip. The pair will head south through South America on the way to Antarctica. The first stop is Peru to spend a day marveling at Machu Picchu. Theyll then wind their way down to Puerto Williams, on Chiles southern tip, to board the Polar Pioneer, a Russian ship, for a two-day-long trip across open seas to Antarctica. Egli said the ship will skirt the edge of the continent for six straight days, allowing passengers the chance to set foot on the Antarctica shoreline at least three times a day. Egli has this vacation mapped out in his head. Once there, he plans to kayak from the ship to the shore every day, always carrying several different cameras, with a goal of photographing each and every native animal he meets. Visitors are warned to stay back and not get any closer than 15 feet to any of the local wildlife. Along with whales and seals, Egli said he anticipates seeing and photographing at least seven different species of penguins. One expected highlight of his trip is a visit to Antarcticas Paulet Island. Paulet Island is less than a square mile in size, Egli said. But theres 250,000 penguins on that island. The trip will be cozy, but nothing compared to Caribbean cruise ship standards. The Polar Pioneer, is small, carrying only 54 passengers. It lacks the pools, dining halls and elegant cabins of those ships that sail warmer waters. Antarctica trips arent inexpensive and require a lot of special planning. For example, Egli has been warned to bring a camera body for each lens he plans to use on the trip. Switching lenses could expose the cameras delicate inner workings to the elements, and the Antarctica weather can ruin a good camera in a second. Although its summer in the Southern Hemisphere right now, the weather still can be tricky. Eglis cruise line will provide each guest with a special waterproof coat made up of two layers. The cruise line also provides each passenger with a pair of boots. They provide you with the boots, because on that island, with 250,000 penguins, theres a lot of penguin do-do, and they want those boots washed every day, Egli explained. Hes also taking at least three pairs of waterproof gloves. The last item the Topeka doctor has added to his collection of special gear is a waterproof, voice-activated video and still camera. Antarctica trip veterans told him they place those cameras on the ends of extra-long selfie sticks and push the camera underwater for spectacular images. When the whales and the leopard seals go floating by, you stick the cameras underwater and get some fabulous pictures, Egli said, adding he expects to take thousands of photographs during his trip. This is not Eglis first cold-weather vacation. The well-traveled doctor took a previous trip that brought him 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle, as well as through the Northwest Passage on a small runabout. MYC is a regulator gene. It controls the expression of other genes and codes transcription factors or proteins involved in many fundamental cellular processes. It's also among the most frequently altered genes found in cancer, making it a profoundly attractive target for cancer therapies. But MYC has proved very complicated and an elusive therapeutic target. In a new paper published this week in PNAS, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, in collaboration with colleagues at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, the University of Colorado School of Medicine and SignalRx, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, describe a potential new class of anti-cancer drugs that inhibit two or more molecular targets at once, maximizing therapeutic efficiency and safety. "Most anti-cancer drugs have a single target. They try to do one thing, such as block a single receptor or signaling pathway," said study co-senior author Donald L. Durden, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and associate director for pediatric oncology at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. "This paper is proof-of-concept of a completely different mode of drug discovery clearly separated from the standard practice of one drug, one target." Specifically, Durden and colleagues engineered a small molecule called SF2523 in silico, using molecular modeling crystal structure and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, to simultaneously disrupt two key MYC-mediating factors that promote cancer cell growth. Those two factors are PI3K, an enzyme, and BRD4, a protein. In cell and mouse models, they found SF2523 concomitantly inhibited PI3K and BRD4, blocking MYC activation and expression and markedly inhibiting cancer growth and metastasis, with improved efficacy and less toxicity to the host. "This is a 'first in class' approach to achieve a maximum inhibition of MYC in the treatment of the multitude of cancers known to be driven by the MYC oncogene," said Durden. "These findings suggest that dual-activity inhibitors are a highly promising lead compound for developing new anticancer therapeutics." Preliminary computerized imaging reveals the shape of the prostate and a compartment within the gland -- called the transitional zone -- consistently differ in men with prostate cancer than those without the disease, according to new research led by Case Western Reserve University. The finding may provide a new avenue to diagnose the disease -- perhaps even the cancer's aggressiveness. The differences held up in comparisons of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 70 patients. The scans came from three different medical institutions in Ohio and two in Sydney, Australia, on different makes and models of MRI's. The research is published in Scientific Reports today. "Looking at shape is a fundamental shift from looking at the intensity of pixels in an image to predict if a patient has prostate cancer," said Anant Madabhushi, F. Alex Nason professor II of biomedical engineering and leader of the research. "Pixel intensities vary, but shape is resilient." Variability in MRI scans can result in disagreement as to whether prostate cancer is present, in turn potentially resulting in unnecessary biopsies and treatments. The American College of Radiology and others are working to develop standards to eliminate inconsistencies in imaging. advertisement "Here, we potentially have an image-based biomarker for prostate cancer, which is not greatly sensitive to the MRI parameters used by each institution, the maker of the MRI or the scanner itself, " Madabhushi said. A new view To find the differences in shapes, the researchers took images of 35 cancerous prostates, aligned them into a single frame and created a statistical shape atlas. They then took images of 35 healthy prostates, aligned them in one frame and created a second statistical shape atlas. The researchers then aligned the two frames and controlled for size -- tumors and a noncancerous condition, called benign prostatic hyperplasia (which some images in this study showed), increase the gland's volume. Comparing cancerous and cancer-free prostates showed clear, statistically significant differences in both the shape of the transitional zone -- which is in the central part of the gland -- and the gland itself. advertisement The researchers analyzed and compared the images from each of the five medical institutions and found that, no matter where the images were from, differences in shapes between cancerous and cancer-free prostates were consistent. Madabhushi said that if shape proves to be a reliable marker of cancer, it could be combined with radiomics, which employs computer algorithms to extract differentiating features in cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. Complementing strategy In a paper published in the December issue of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Madabhushi and colleagues found they could accurately identify cancer by the microarchitecture and heterogeneity of the tumor in the prostate's peripheral zone, which is the area surrounding the transitional zone. The researchers found that aspects of cancerous features in the peripheral zone differed from cancerous features found in the rest of the gland, leading them to identify tumors there. As with shape, the peripheral zone features held up across the institutions in Tuku, Finland; Sydney, Australia and New York City that contributed MRI scans in this study. As a follow-up, researchers are now working to identify radiomic features from the peripheral and transitional zones along with measurements derived from the prostate shape to use as predictors of whether a patient has cancer or not. Further, they are trying to determine whether shape can also predict if the cancer is aggressive or slow-moving -- a key in determining how the disease is treated. A new study by a UT Dallas professor found that negative first impressions formed by potential social partners may reduce the quality of social experiences for people with autism. The study was co-authored by Dr. Noah Sasson and doctoral student Daniel Faso in collaboration with researchers at Indiana University and Emerson College. In the study, non-autistic participants reported their first impressions of individuals with autism from videos of them during social interaction. The researchers found that the people with autism were rated similarly to non-autistic adults on trustworthiness and intelligence, but less favorably on likeability and awkwardness -- traits that are important to connecting with other people. Participants watching the videos also reported greater reluctance to pursue social interaction with the adults with autism. Colleagues at Emerson College reported similar findings for children with autism. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. "Our study provides evidence that the social difficulties faced by people with autism are exacerbated by how they are perceived by other people," said Sasson, an associate professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at UT Dallas. "We tend to think of social difficulties in autism as an individual impairment. But social interaction is a two-way street, and their social challenges are often affected by the judgments and social decisions made by those around them." Some study participants reviewed transcripts of what the participants said without seeing the videos. In these cases, the adults with autism were rated more favorably. advertisement "This suggests to us that it is something about how the adults with autism present themselves that drove the negative first impressions and not the substance of their conversational content," Sasson said. He said it is important to note that study participants did not meet the people in the photos and videos, and were not told whether the people they were viewing had autism. He said getting to know someone can reduce bias. "When somebody has prejudice, a meaningful interaction can help them better understand the other person, instead of judging people from afar," he said. "Unfortunately, what we found here suggests that people with autism may be given fewer social opportunities for this to occur." Sasson said the study findings highlight the obstacles that people with autism face in jobs and social situations. advertisement "Many adults with autism, like the ones I often work with here at UT Dallas, have intellectual and creative strengths. Finding environments that are conducive to these strengths and that minimize their weaknesses is incredibly important for helping them improve their quality of life," Sasson said. "One way to minimize those weaknesses is to encourage a more accepting social environment." Another part of the study by researchers at Indiana University found that people with autism reported a strong interest in social relationships but high rates of loneliness. Most want to have friendships and can notice when they are not being perceived well. According to Sasson, what often happens is that those with autism and those without autism have a motivation to avoid social situations. "It's hard for each to predict how an interaction might go. There's often anxiety on both sides. Each might be less inclined to engage because the situation is unpredictable and provokes anxiety. The easiest thing is just to avoid the situation," he said. He said those with autism often receive treatment to improve their socials skills. "Although this can be helpful in many cases, the social experiences for those with autism also could improve if the world was structured in a way that was a little more welcoming of their differences and played better to their strengths," Sasson said. "Many adults with autism say that, yes, we have disabilities and challenges. But this overwhelming emphasis on changing who we are is not always the most productive solution," he said. The rapidly changing U.S. health care system and other forces continue to create a tremendous demand for an innovative and flexible health work force. Yet there are concerns that the United States does not and will not have the workforce it needs to meet this demand without significant changes. New research published this month in a special issue of the journal Health Services Research (HSR) focuses on some of the novel ways that health care workers can be trained and deployed to improve the delivery, quality and cost of U.S. health care. Four of the 9 original research articles were authored by researchers at the George Washington University Health Workforce Institute (GWHWI), which together with the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) funded the special issue, "The Evolving U.S. Health Workforce." "A key driver of the increased need for healthcare has been, and will continue to be, the aging population," says Patricia Pittman, PhD, co-director of the GWHWI and an associate professor of health policy and management at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (GW). "In this special issue of HSR researchers demonstrate that the evolving U.S. health workforce is central to the ongoing search for ways to ensure access and quality of care, especially in rural and underserved communities." The articles in this special issue of HSR touch on four themes: The Changing Role of Providers: A team led by GW's Mary-Beth Malcarney finds that more and more hospitals and health systems are hiring community health workers. These health workers previously had been primarily employed by community based organizations. The new study says such workers often need new skills to go along with the shift. Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco document the expanded role of medical assistants and describe on the job training and career advancement programs that could be adopted by more health systems. The Changing Mix of Providers: Two additional GW teams explore changes in skill mix for health care professionals. Bianca Frogner and her colleagues assess the effects of electronic health record (EHR) adoption on staffing patterns in community health centers and find greater variation in the mix of providers in centers that have EHRs. Suhui Li and co-authors examine trends in nursing and support staffing levels over time, and find that while nursing is holding steady there is a slight decline in support staff hours. While this could increase nurse workloads, this study does not find evidence of job substitution. Access and Quality of Care: GW's Ellen Kurtzman and colleagues evaluate the effect of nurse practitioner scope of practice laws on the ability to deliver high quality care, and find that despite variations in laws, quality outcomes appear to be similar across states. Researchers from HRSA examine access to care for veterans and find that 24 percent of veterans live in provider shortage areas. Advances in Methods: A second HRSA team describes advances in the new microsimulation model used by this agency to project the primary care workforce supply and demand. University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill researchers offer an alternative approach for allocating General Medical Education (GME) training positions by specialty and location based on workforce projections. Lastly, another research team at UNC identifies variables driving physician relocation, and shows how different specialties may be responsive to different factors. Access reports at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hesr.2017.52.issue-S1/issuetoc Page Content In recent years, employers looking for ways to avoid many of the regulations and requirements related to employee health benefits have turned to self-insurance. For the most part, these were large or midsize organizations that were likely to have enough cash flow to meet the financial commitments associated with self-insurance. Smaller employers had historically avoided self-insured health plans out of concerns that their cash flow and risk tolerance would be a poor fit for self-funded coverage. Then the Affordable Care Act (ACA) put in place a range of plan design and coverage obligations for employer plans but exempted self-insured plans from many of these requirements. As a result, smaller employers began considering how they, too, could shift their health plans to a self-insured model. Data from the nonprofit Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) in Washington, D.C., found that self-insurance increased between 2011 and 2015: Among employers with fewer than 100 employees, from 11.9 percent to 14.2 percent. from 11.9 percent to 14.2 percent. Among employers with 100 to 499 employees, from 25.3 percent to 30.1 percent. Self-Insurance Basics According to the Self-Insurance Institute of America, a trade group in Washington, D.C., a self-insured group plan (also known as a self-funded plan) is one in which the employer assumes the financial risk for providing health care benefits to its employees. As opposed to fully insured employers, self-insured employers typically will: Pay for employees' out-of-pocket claims as they are incurred. Set up a trust fund to earmark money (from corporate and employee premium contributions) to pay incurred claims. Hire a third-party administrator (TPA), such as a commercial insurance provider, to administer claims. TPAs can also help employers set up their self-insured plans and coordinate provider network contracts. Purchase stop-loss insuran ce that kicks in once claims reach a specific dollar threshold, to protect against unpredicted or catastrophic claims. More than the ACA The Republican Congress is now moving to "repeal and replace" the ACA, although the timetable for doing so and the scope of the eventual replacement plan remain uncertain. "ACA exemptions made self-insurance much more attractive, so it is unclear what is going to happen," said Robert Pozen, senior lecturer at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. Regardless of the ACA's future, proponents argue that self-insured plans offer employers compelling opportunities beyond avoiding ACA compliance. While the ACA has been a key driver of the growth in self-insured health benefits, "many smaller employers are looking for a different approach to health coverage," said Michael Schroeder, president of Roundstone Management Ltd. in Cleveland. "Self-insurance can help them address limitations in underwriting and pricing, provide more control over plan design, and avoid taxes that can total 3 to 4 percent." Schroeder noted, for example, that because self-insurance allows employers greater access to aggregate claims data, these organizations can see what is driving cost increases and adjust plan design or target wellness initiatives to contain costs in any problem areas, such as workforce obesity. "With a fully insured plan, employers find out the total cost increase during annual renewal but receive no information that is specific to their organization" to see how their costs compare to their peers, he said. [SHRM members-only toolkit: Complying with and Leveraging the Affordable Care Act] Managing Risk The key issue for smaller employers when it comes to self-insurance is the size of the covered population and ensuring that these organizations have the resources to pay for unexpectedly large claims. "Self-insurance makes the most sense for companies with a healthy employee population," said Pozen. "But most companies do not have a workforce made up of 25-year-olds. And you never know when someone could have a costly illness or medical condition." Risk management tips include the following: Know your individual state's rules. Although stop-loss insurance coverage is commonly used by self-insured organizations, employers need to be careful when choosing a policy and to heed state requirements for this coverage. California, for instance, requires self-insured employers to have at least 50 employees and carry stop-loss coverage with a minimum deductible of $40,000. The intent is to prevent employers from buying stop-loss coverage with a deductible so low that the health plan resembles traditional insurance coverage while the employer avoids many of the requirements that the state places on fully insured plans. Mind the contract's fine print. "It is important to understand the terms and conditions for stop-loss coverage," said Pozen. Smaller employers tend to be low margin customers for these carriers. If there is a large claim, the insurer could terminate the coverage or refuse to renew the policy. "It is pretty predictable that an insurance company will want to get out of a policy that has experienced a large loss," he said. If that happens, the employer may have as little as three months' notice of nonrenewal and may not be able to replace that coverage easilyor at all. Even if the employer is able to find new stop-loss coverage, the cost could be prohibitively expensive. For that reason, it's important to work with a broker who understands the stop-loss market, said Pozen. Join with other employers. Schroeder said smaller employers can address concerns about stop-loss coverage and risk management by forming or joining a stop-loss captive that collects premiums from, and pools the risk among, a group of like-minded employers. A captive "allows employers to share these risks with other employers and spread risk in a larger group," he said. Schroeder said smaller employers can address concerns about stop-loss coverage and risk management by forming or joining a stop-loss captive that collects premiums from, and pools the risk among, a group of like-minded employers. A captive "allows employers to share these risks with other employers and spread risk in a larger group," he said. Choose an appropriate TPA. Contracting with a TPA with experience in the small employer market is also important. "TPAs that work with larger companies may not be as flexible and transparent," Schroeder said. To help smaller employers find a TPA that is able to meet their needs, he advised asking a prospective TPA questions about the average size of its self-insured customers and then delving down into matters such as: Customer service. Access to provider networks. Enrollment processes. Claims management and other technology. Joanne Sammer is a freelance writer based in New Jersey. This page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable. To help you find what you are looking for: Enter Search Term(s): Still cant find what youre looking for? Send us a message using our contact us form. To report a broken link or other problems with the website, please include the URL. Thank you for visiting state.gov. Islamic terrorist violence inside Pakistan continues to decline. Surprisingly the vocal popular support for Islamic terrorism in Pakistan was suddenly muted in late January as the military made some unexpected concessions regarding its support for terrorism and the government was able to go after a major Islamic charity that was long known (by literally everyone) as a front for Islamic terrorist fund raising. What caused this sudden change was the unexpected American threat to declare Pakistan a supporter of Islamic terrorism and restrict the movement of Pakistanis to and from the United States. What made this threat so convincing is that the newly (since January 20 th ) installed U.S. government started keeping campaign promises and banned seven nations (Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen) that have long been the source of most Islamic terrorism. Many in South Asia believe Pakistan should be on the list. Afghanistan and India have long called for such action against Pakistan but Pakistanis thought the Americans would never do it. The leaders of Pakistans Islamic parties, who normally call for violent demonstrations against any effort to shut down Islamic terrorists who only attack outside Pakistan were quiet. That was because many of their key supporters may be enthusiastic about Islamic terrorism, they are more concerned about family in the West, especially the United States, or seeking to go there. The Islamic political parties have grown stronger since the military cracked down on anti-Pakistan Islamic terrorists in 2014. But now even the military is concerned about Pakistan being labeled what it has long been; a major supporter of Islamic terrorism. The fear may not last, but its a refreshing change of attitude for people in the region, including most Pakistanis. Meanwhile there is less Islamic terrorist violence in Pakistani. In 2016 there were only 1,893 Islamic terrorism related deaths and for January 2017 the number was a quarter of the deaths for January 2016. Yet Pakistan remains the primary source of support for Islamic terrorism in the region. It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny this as more and more evidence surfaces. This has led to open discussions about how to deal with the mess these lies have gotten Pakistan into. Some of these public discussions feature Pakistani officials saying that to move against all Islamic terrorists in Pakistan too aggressively would mean more Islamic terrorist attacks inside Pakistan and that is not acceptable. While maintaining some terrorist sanctuaries makes sense to many Pakistanis it simply angers Afghanistan and India (and now Bangladesh as well) because they have long suffered from Pakistan based Islamic terror groups that had (and still have) sanctuary in Pakistan and until recently any Pakistani openly admitting that would be called a traitor and risk prison or death. What has been changing Pakistani attitudes towards this official denial was the growing evidence that the Pakistani position was all a lie and a self-destructive one at that. That includes Pakistan trying to blame all Islamic terrorist violence inside Pakistan on foreigners (usually India). This became embarrassing when Pakistani Islamic terrorists would get on the Internet and provide evidence that they, not India, did it. The Afghans and Americans also lost their patience with years of Pakistani promises that they were working on the problem when, in fact, that was all for show. Even major patron, arms supplier and ally China, concerned about current and planned major investments there, has threatened to cut back if Pakistan does not improve security and is calling for greater international efforts to do the same in Afghanistan where China has some major projects pending because of security concerns. This is a veiled criticism of Pakistani support of Islamic terrorism. Pakistan acknowledges that Chinese support is crucial yet even China has to deal with the terrorism threat created and sustained by the Pakistani military. All this has fueled the growing struggle within the Pakistani government as the military (and its intel branch, ISI) refuse to consider shutting down the remaining Islamic terrorist sanctuaries. While Afghanistans internal problems (corruption, ethnic and religious animosities) are caused and sustained by Afghans it doesnt help that neighbors like Pakistan actively keep the pot boiling. That is beginning to cause a lot more problems for Pakistan and in the long run that is a good thing for Afghanistan. The situation is different next door. India suffered 898 terrorism related deaths in 2016 and Islamic terrorism was not the major problem. The tribal rebels in the northeast accounted for 22 percent of the terrorism deaths in 2016. The Maoists were responsible for 48 percent and Islamic terrorists the other 30 percent. The Pakistani military was quite proud of its efforts to increase violence in Kashmir in 2016. Casualties among Indian security forces there hit a record high of 82 in 2016. Deaths had not been that high since 2008 when they were 85 for the year, down from 244 in 2005. Violence in Kashmir was highest since 2008 largely because the Pakistani military needed a distraction for the many Pakistani voters and politicians who are again trying to curb the power of the military. Despite being more active in 2016 the Maoists see themselves as facing extinction (communism as a global movement died in the 1990s) and the remaining ones in eastern India are trying real hard to survive. This includes a lot more terrorism (mainly bombings) and that means a lot more civilians killed. The Maoists are apparently willing to suffer the further loss of popular support those civilian deaths creates if it will help the remaining Maoists survive. Tribal Tribulations Pakistan considers Afghanistan a client state and many Pakistanis support that attitude because of the Pushtun threat. That threat is getting worse inside Pakistan. The Afghans are considered a collection of fractious tribes pretending to be a nation. With no access to the sea, most Afghan road connections to ports are with Pakistan. The Afghans resent this, especially since for thousands of years invasions of northern India (which, historically, lowland Pakistan was a part of) came out of Afghanistan where many Pushtun tribesmen would join the invaders. Pakistan and India are well aware of this, and still consider the Pushtuns a bunch of bloodthirsty savages from the mountains. Afghanistan has only been around for a few centuries and Pakistan was carved out of British India in 1947. Before that it was a collection of feudal states and tribal territories. When you get right down to it, Pakistan's big problem is that it contains two-thirds of the Pushtun people (who are 15 percent of Pakistan's population) while Afghanistan contains the other third (who are 40 percent of Afghanistan's population.) "Pushtunstan" is a nation of 30-40 million Pushtuns caught between Pakistan (still over 150 million people without the Pushtuns) and northern Afghanistan (with about 18 million non-Pushtuns) Without Pushtuns, Afghanistan would become yet another Central Asian country with a small population (neighboring Tajikistan has 7.7 million and Uzbekistan has 30 million). But Pushtunstan is never going to happen because the Pushtuns have long been divided by tribal politics and cultural differences. When the Pushtun aren't fighting outsiders, they fight each other. The violent and fractious Pushtuns are a core problem in the region, and have been for centuries. There is no easy solution to this and now more Pushtuns are openly calling for the establishment of a Pushtunstan and are making common cause with the Baluchis to the south (in Baluchistan) who have long fought to establish an independent Baluchistan. Both tribal separatist groups want to be rid of the Pakistani military and the Islamic terrorist organizations the military supports. January 31, 2017: The Pakistani military announced that it was not involved with any terrorism in Afghanistan. This assertion did not please or placate anyone in Afghanistan because the sanctuaries of the Afghan Taliban are still in use in southwestern Pakistan, just across the border from Helmand province, which is again largely controlled by the Taliban. This announcement was believed a response to the American threat to restrict movement of Pakistanis to the United States. The Pakistani military also said it agreed with the decision to put five leaders of Islamic terror group Jamaatud Dawa under house arrest and shut down its charities which actually collect cash for Islamic terrorist operations, frequently against India. This sort of crackdown has been used before and it was always temporary. India believes Pakistan is, as it did in 2001 (after Pakistani based terrorists attacked the Indian parliament building) and 2008 (after a major attack in Mumbai) going through the motions of cracking down on the terrorist organizations. In 2001, Lashkar e Toiba (which planned the recent Mumbai attacks) and Jamaatud Dawa (which provided money and other support) had its leaders put under house arrest and its offices closed temporarily. When the media heat was off Pakistan, the terrorist leaders were released, and the terrorist organizations reopened their offices under new names. Until 2008 India negotiated with Pakistan to reverse that decision. But Pakistan insists that the terrorists dedicated to seizing Kashmir from India are too popular, inside Pakistan, to really shut down. Since the 2008 Mumbai attack India has been pressuring Pakistan to really, really shut down operations like Lashkar e Toiba. Pakistan continues to resist in the expectation that it would get away with doing nothing. That has become more difficult as the international community, including the UN, has recognized Lashkar e Toiba and Jamaatud Dawa as terrorist organizations and threatened to declare Pakistan a "terrorist state." That would be interesting, as Pakistan has nuclear weapons and is keeps encountering evidence that Islamic terrorist groups are seeking an opportunity to seize one or more of these atomic bombs. January 29, 2017: In Pakistan, three days after pro-Islamic terrorist host Amir Liaqat was banned from appearing on TV, four of five online critics of the military who had mysteriously disappeared three weeks earlier reappeared and two of them promptly left the country. The kidnapping of these five men triggered nationwide demonstrations and unprecedented pressure on the the military to release them. Amir Liaqat is a self-described Islamic scholar and appears regularly on BOL TV, one of the many media outlets controlled by the military. Liaqat has been known to get people killed by accusing them of blasphemy. Like many Moslem majority nations Pakistan has laws that actually encourage religious violence. The most damaging instance of this are the blasphemy laws enacted in the 1970s. These allow for prosecution of anyone accused of speaking or acting against Islam. While no one had ever been officially executed because of these laws, many are accused and jailed each year, and often condemned to death (and later reprieved). But a growing number of those accused have been murdered by Islamic fanatics, who are a large, and violent, minority of the population. Accusations of blasphemy are mostly used by Moslems against innocent non-Moslems (usually Christians) but also against each other. Efforts to repeal these laws, or at least limit their misuse, are violently resisted by Islamic political parties and the military. It was the military that created these laws back when it decided to turn Islamic terrorism into a secret weapon for use against its enemies. The military still uses false blasphemy charges as an excuse to silence (often by death) media and political opponents. Liaqat accused five online critics of the military of heresy. These five had disappeared in early January and were believed to have been kidnapped by the military. This is often done to silence (via threats) or eliminate (via murder or public accusations of heresy) popular critics of the military. Since being banned the police has issued an arrest warrant for Liaqat because he already accused the missing five bloggers of heresy. It is rare for a civilian government to move against the heresy laws like this but the majority of Pakistanis want the heresy laws gone, no matter what the opposition the military or the Islamic political parties present. January 28, 2017: In northwest India (Kashmir) near the Pakistani border, another avalanche killed five soldiers on patrol in the same area where avalanches killed 15 soldiers on the 25th. All this took place near army camps that both nations maintain along the Kashmir border. Some of these camps are high up, at an altitude of 6,500 meters (20,000 feet) or higher. These are the highest military camps on the planet, the result of not precisely demarcating the 740 kilometer long border. One 75 kilometer portion is on the 6,500-7,000 kilometer high Siachen glacier. The reason for not precisely marking that part of the border was the inaccessibility of those 75 kilometers of ice and thin air. This bizarre situation developed in the late 1970s, when Pakistan began a campaign of Islamic terror attacks on Indian Kashmir. In response, India moved more police and troops to Kashmir and in 1984 moved troops onto the Siachen glacier to block Pakistan based Islamic terrorists from sneaking into Indian Kashmir. No terrorists appear to have ever used the glacier route into Indian territory but with the high levels of terrorist violence in Indian Kashmir, desperate measures seemed reasonable. Pakistan responded to the Indian action by moving troops up onto the glacier as well. Since then, over a thousand soldiers have died, and even more injured, while serving in those harsh conditions (thin air, intense cold, constant snow and ice plus frequent inaccessibility). After September 11, 2001, the two countries began negotiating a ceasefire, and one was signed in 2003. This ended the frequent gunfire on the glacier (usually initiated by the Pakistanis), but efforts to negotiate a withdrawal of troops from the glacier have so far failed. January 26, 2017: The Pakistani government, in a rare move, banned Amir Liaqat, a popular TV host from working on air because he regularly accusing Pakistanis or heresy if they are hostile to Islamic terrorism or the military. January 25, 2017: In northwest India (Kashmir) near the Pakistani border, two avalanches left 15 Indian soldiers dead. One avalanche hit a camp and the other one hit a patrol. January 24, 2017: For the first time Pakistan successfully tested its Ababeel missile. This is actually a new version of its Shaheen 3 IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile) with a range of 2,200 kilometers and MIRV (Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle) capabilities meaning it could carry two or more warheads each able to reach a different target. Shaheen 3 had the longest range (2,700 kilometers) of any Pakistani missile and could reach all of India. Shaheen 3 had its first launch of this missile in March 2015. India said its anti-missile missiles could deal with this and Pakistan is implying that a missile with MIRV would defeat the anti-missile defenses. India described the Ababeel MIRV claim as a fake. January 22, 2017: In northeast India (Assam) the first clash with the tribal rebels took place with two soldiers were killed and three wounded in an ambush. Two rebels were also killed and the rest fled. In Afghanistan the governor of Helmand province (where the Taliban are most active and where most of the world supply of opium and heroin are produced) said provincial security forces had collected lots of evidence that Iran and Pakistan were supporting and supplying the Taliban in Helmand. January 21, 2017: In northwest Pakistan (Kurram) a local market near the Afghan border was attacked with a bomb that killed 25 civilians and wounded at least twice as many. The Pakistani Taliban is suspected as that group maintains bases just across the border in Afghanistan. January 20, 2017: Among recently released (by the United States) Osama bin Laden documents was a letter from an Islamic terrorist group operating in Indian Kashmir (from a sanctuary in Pakistani Kashmir) asking for advice on how to destroy their patron (the Pakistani military) after India had been driven out of Kashmir. It is no secret that even Islamic terrorist groups that profess loyalty to the Pakistani military contain many members who see the Pakistani military as impure (many officers and troops do not believe in Islamic terrorism and do sinful things like watch movies and drink alcoholic beverages) and thus in line to be cleansed. These bin Laden documents revive concerns about the Pakistani military. Since mid-2013, when the Abbottabad Commission report was leaked, the Pakistani military leaders realized they had to face some unpleasant realities. The Abbottabad Commission report was commissioned by the Pakistani government in June 2011 to get to the truth of how Osama bin Laden could hide out in Pakistan for a decade and the United States could send in commandos in May 2011 to attack the bin Laden compound in Abbottabad (a military town near the capital) and then get away to Afghanistan without any interference from the Pakistan military. The Abbottabad Commission did a thorough job, so thorough that when the final report was delivered in January 2013 the government ordered it kept from the public. The reason for this was that the report admitted corruption and incompetence in the government and military were the main reasons bin Laden could hide in plain sight, and also why the Americans could fly in from Afghanistan, kill bin Laden, take large quantities of documents from the bin Laden compound and get out without any casualties. After the report became public in mid-2013 the Pakistani military responded by blaming the Pakistani police and domestic intelligence agencies for not noticing the bin Laden compound in Abbottabad and admitted that the military was more concerned with guarding the border with India than the one with Afghanistan. Few people inside or outside Pakistan believed the military on this issue, and much else besides. January 19, 2017: In central Pakistan (Punjab) police clashed with a group of Islamic terrorists and killed four while three escaped. One of the dead turned out to be Asif Chotu, a key leader of Lashkar i Jhangvi, a local Islamic terror group responsible for several major attacks inside Pakistan. There was a $30,000 reward for the death or capture of Chotu. In the southwest (Baluchistan) Pakistan Islamic terrorists tried to enter Afghanistan (Helmand) using an escort of Pakistani border guards. The Afghan border guards confronted the group and that kicked off a two hour gun battle before the intruders retreated back into Pakistan. That was followed by a mortar attack on the Afghan border guards involved, leaving one Afghan dead and two wounded. Afghanistan complained to Pakistan but was told no Pakistani security forces were involved. January 17, 2017: Iranian military commanders appeared on a video posted to a government news site to describe the number of Afghan and Pakistani Shia mercenaries fighting for Iran in Syria against rebels (most of them Sunni) trying to overthrow the Shia government there. The video commentary described there being 18,000 Afghan Shia currently fighting in Syria and far fewer (less than a thousand) Pakistani Shia. Some 20 percent of Pakistanis are Shia and that comes to ten times as many Shia as Afghanistan has. Most of the Pakistani Shia Iran recruited are Baluchis who are 3.5 percent of the population. The disparity here can be explained by the fact that Iran pays well for those who sign on to fight in Syria and most of these volunteers are from Afghan refugees living in Iran. Many of these Afghans are apparently not Shia but need a job. In Pakistan a major source of Islamic terrorist violence has long been Sunni Pakistani zealots killing Pakistani Shia. Sunni religious conservatives believe that Shia are heretics and must die for that. January 16, 2017: Indian officials revealed that in the last two years Pakistani rockets and shells fired into India across the LoC (Line of Control) that separates Indian from Pakistani Kashmir has killed 26 Indian civilians and wounded another 158 wounded. The Indian government currently pays the families of those killed $38,000 and lesser amounts (plus free medical care) to those wounded. The government also paid to repair the 216 structures damaged by the rocket and shell fire. In northwest Pakistan (North Waziristan) the first 2,000 locals who fled to Afghanistan 2014, returned home. These Pushtuns fled after the army offensive against Islamic terrorists in North Waziristan began in mid-2014. About 20,000 of these refugees will return by the end of the month. January 15, 2017: In Bangladesh the government has persuaded the Burmese government to begin (this month) high-level talks about their border control problems. Burma is the cause of this mess by not controlling ethnic violence up there that has sent over half a million Burmese fleeing, mostly to Bangladesh. In response Bangladesh has already reinforced border security to try and stem the illegal migration. Bangladesh wants Burma to take back some or all of the more than 400,000 Burmese Rohingya Moslems who have fled across the border, usually as illegal migrants, since 2011. The situation got worse in late 2016 and over 40,000 Burmese Moslems have fled to Bangladesh since then. Bangladesh borders Burmas Rakhine State which contains most of the Burmese Rohingya Burma insists the Rohingya are Bangladeshis who are in Burma illegally. Burma also fears the Rohingya will be a source of Islamic terrorists. While Bangladesh has arrested a few Pakistan trained Rohingya Islamic terrorists the Rohingya have largely avoided Islamic terrorism. But in Burma the Rohingya, who trace their origin to Bangladesh, have suffered increased persecution in Burma since the 1980s, and especially since the 2011 elections that restored democracy and got lot of anti-Moslem Buddhist nationalists elected. Most Rohingyas are Bengalis, or people from Bengal (now Bangladesh) who began migrating to Burma during the 19th century. At that time the British colonial government ran Bangladesh and Burma, and allowed this movement, even though the Buddhist Burmese opposed it. Britain recognized the problem too late, and the Bengali Moslems were still in Burma when Britain gave up its South Asian colonies after World War II (1939-45). Any kind of peace deal with the Rohingya is unlikely as far as most Burmese are concerned. There is growing popular anger among Burmese towards Moslems in general and the Rohingya in particular. This is fed by the continuing reports of Islamic terrorism word-wide and especially in the region (Thailand, India, Bangladesh and China). January 14, 2017: In southwest Pakistan (port of Gwadar) the navy put into service two 600 ton, Chinese built, patrol ships to help protect the newly expanded port. Two more patrol ships (each 1,500 tons) are being built in China for delivery later in 2017 at Gwadar. There were rumors that these ships were a gift from China but Pakistan and China both declared that Pakistan bought the ships but would not say for how much. A month earlier the navy officially established Task Force 88 in Gwadar, a city of 100,000 and site of one of the biggest construction projects in the country. The new naval task force will use warships, maritime patrol aircraft and UAVs to guard the coastal areas from any Islamic terrorist attack against ships, especially Chinese ones. Pakistan has assured China that there would be no terrorist violence against Chinese working on upgrading the port of Gwadar and land links north to China. This is a key part of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This project began in 2013 when China agreed to spend $18 billion to build a road from Gwadar into northwest China. This will require drilling long tunnels through the Himalayan Mountains on the border (in Pakistani controlled Kashmir.) The road and a natural gas pipeline are part of the larger CPEC project. This will make it much easier and cheaper to move people, data (via fiber optic cables) and goods between China and Pakistan. China also gets a 40 year lease on much of the port facilities at Gwadar, which India fears will serve as a base for Chinese warships. The thousands of Chinese coming into Pakistan for this project are prime targets for Islamic terrorists and tribal separatists in Baluchistan. The people in Gwadar will benefit greatly from the construction and the expanded port. Because of that Pakistan has formed a special security forces, currently 20,000 strong, dedicated to keeping the foreign (mainly Chinese) workforce safe. January 9, 2017: Pakistan declared that Babur 3, the submarine launched version of its stealthy Raad (Hatf 8) cruise missile was ready for service after a successful test. This version has a range of 450 kilometers and can carry a nuclear warhead. In January 2016 Babur 2, the air launched version, with a range of 750 kilometers, was successfully tested. Babur/Hatf 8 is three decade old technology, been in service since 2007 and not as complex as the many ballistic missiles Pakistan has also built. Cruise missiles are cheaper than ballistic missiles, and can be recalled (useful if they have nuclear warheads). Three Islamic terrorists from Pakistan crossed the border in Kashmir and launched a night attack on an army base two kilometers inside India. Three civilian workers were killed and the attackers fled. Soldiers believe they later found and killed one of the attackers nearby. Several days later an Islamic terrorist leader in one of the camps just across the border in Pakistan described the attack differently saying that 30 Indian soldiers were killed and the four Islamic terrorists get back to Pakistan safely. In fact the small base was a temporary work camp for civilian contractors doing repairs and maintenance in the area. If 30 soldiers had been killed it would have been big, and detailed news in India. But in Pakistan supporters of Islamic terrorism (over ten percent of the population) believe what they want to believe. Unlike India, the Pakistani media is subject to censorship (via threats and worse). Most Pakistanis want that changed but thats another issue. Has Phineas Fisher (HackBack) really been arrested by Spanish Police? Reports indicate that the Robinhood of hacking is still at large! Spains National Police Corps claim to have arrested one of the most popular hackers of our times, Phineas Fisher. Phineas Fisher who is also known as HackBack is famous for hacking the Gamma Group and Hacking Team, two companies that sold cyber-surveillance software to oppressive regimes. He is also the Robinhood hacker who famously stole $11,000 in bitcoins and donated it to an anti-capitalist Kurdish group in Rojava, Syria. He also published a video explaining how he hacked into the Hacking Team computers as a tutorial for wannabe hackers. According to Spanish (Catalan) newspaper ARA, Spanish police claimed they arrested Phineas Fisher in Salamanca, but they are also currently searching the Sants neighborhood in Barcelona for more suspects, which they suspect worked with Fisher. While the Associated Press did not name Phineas Fisher, in its report it stated that a spokesman for Catalonias regional police Mossos dEsquadra revealed that one woman and two men were arrested for hacking the servers of Sindicat De Mossos dEsquadra (SME) and leaking personal information around 5000 police officers. The suspects are from Barcelona and Salamanca. While the above two news reports indicate that the person arrested by Spanish police may indeed be Phineas Fisher. Motherboard Vice has a different opinion. Its report states that Phineas Fisher is still at large because they have been in conversation with Phineas Fisher. In an email conversation, the hacker told a Vice contact that he is aware of the arrests and claims that police has arrested wrong people. I think the Mossos just arrested some people that retweeted the link to their personal info, or maybe just arrested some activity/anarchisty people to pretend they are doing something, Phineas Fisher told Motherboard in an email conversation. Vice also reported that the conversation between them and Phineas Fisher took place on the same email address which was being used by the hacker for the past few months. It must be noted that Vice could not confirm if the person who wrote the email is Phineas Fisher or someone having access to the email previously used by Phineas Fisher. While both news reports look equally convincing, we would like to go with the Motherboards report. Phineas Fisher, who was much active in 2016 appears to have gone dark since the start of the year. He has deleted his Reddit profile where he was very active. He has also deleted all tweets from his Twitter account. All this indicates that perhaps he has sensed that the law authorities were getting too close to him for comfort. As this is a developing story, we will continue updating the developments in the case. A red fox went across our property earlier this month, before the warm weather came. There was snow on the ground, snow and ice covered our marsh. The fox came out of the woods across the road to the west, crossed a field of grass, the road in front of our house, crossed our marsh on the ice, then our hay field and continued out of sight to the east. I didnt see the fox. My older son did. He said it didnt stop to sniff or investigate anything as it went, just walked steadily on. A fox is much like a small-to-medium-sized dog. A red fox is a few inches over 2 feet long with a tail slightly longer than a foot. It weighs 10-15 pounds when grown. Its a pretty animal, reddish-yellow on the head, back and sides, white on the throat and belly and the tip of big, bushy tail. Its feet are black. Its ears are large, nearly pointed and held up straight, making foxes appear alert at all times. There are three different color phases of the red fox and each of them is known by a different name. One is black and a black red fox is called, of course, a black fox. A black fox with the longer hairs in its coat, the guard hairs, tipped with white appears silver and is called a silver fox. The third color phase has black across its shoulders and down its back and is called a cross fox. But back to the red fox that crossed our property earlier this month, where was it going? Why? What was driving it? This is the beginning of the mating season for it. Could that have anything to do with its travels? Was it just looking for new territory? The usual range of a red fox, or a pair of red foxes, is only one to two square miles. Within that range a fox or a pair will have one to several dens. These are usually holes in the ground, dug by the foxes or appropriated from woodchucks and enlarged. Foxes also sometimes make their dens in hollow logs. Mating is in winter and young are born in the spring, in Indiana usually in March or April. After the young are born, the male will bring food to his mate for a few days. Then male and female hustle to catch food for their hungry brood, usually four to six but not infrequently as many as nine. Food for foxes, it seems, is anything they can catch and subdue. Rabbits and mice are prime fare, but foxes also eat birds and eggs, grasshoppers and other insects. They eat berries and other fruit. They kill and eat chickens and young lambs which makes them unpopular with farmers. Foxes rate with coyotes and wolves in popularity. They have been hunted, trapped and poisoned. Many states of the U.S. have had bounties on foxes, as they have on coyotes and wolves. The range of the red fox is worldwide, nearly all of North America except the Rocky Mountains, the desert southwest and the extreme southeast. The red fox also lives in Europe and Asia. Riding horses, following hounds pursuing foxes has been a popular sport in England. I read of an American participating in a fox hunt in England who was admonished after he spotted a fox to yell Tally-ho, not There goes the S.O.B. The home range of a red fox is small, but individual foxes have been known to travel great distances. A few radio-tagged foxes have traveled over 100 miles. So how far did the fox my son saw cross our land go? And why? Thomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. 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It also engages in the provision of transmission services through electricity interconnectors and LNG importation at the Isle of Grain; sale of renewables projects; and leasing and sale of commercial property, as well as insurance activities in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. 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Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited. Read More INDIANAPOLIS -- Weve had two presidents of the television age who were serial liars. From 1972 through 1974, President Richard Nixon repeatedly lied about the Watergate scandal. In 1998 it was President Bill Clinton who told us I didnt have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. It didnt end particularly well for either of them. Clinton was impeached but acquitted and Nixon resigned just before impeachment. There is immense danger when presidents lie. America is now a week into its experiment with the populist President Donald Trump. It comes as the post-truth presidential race has morphed into an administration operating on, as senior advisor Kellyanne Conway termed it, alternative facts. Trump supporters frequently say he was telling it like it is, but that really means he is conveying perceptions as opposed to facts. Conway had advised prior to the inaugural that the media shouldnt seek the Trumpian truth through his words, but through his heart. So this will be a tough challenge if youre a reporter, a congressman, a governor or a citizen who needs to believe their president. Were already seeing the turmoil and chaos to hollow words conflict with perceptions. During their confirmation hearings, Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo seemed to part with Trump over the use of torture. On Wednesday, an executive order draft appeared, described by Politico as one that would require the CIA to reconsider using interrogation techniques that some consider torture. In an ABC News interview, Trump said he believes that waterboarding works. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on the record of the draft that he had no idea where it came from and said it was not a White House document. How serious is this? Media reports have Mattis and Pompeo feeling blindsided by the draft. This isnt the first time Mattis has found himself straddling the chasm between truth and consequences. Vice President Mike Pence had to talk him out of quitting after Trump hired Vincent Viola for a senior Defense Department position. Spicer tweeted on Jan. 5, Great transition at DoD. Reports to contrary completely false and come from sources who do not have any knowledge of our transition efforts. Who to believe? Trump spent his first weekend in a rage after multiple media outlets compared the crowd and online streaming of Trumps inaugural compared to President Obamas in 2009. Spicer made demonstrably false comments on Saturday despite an array of visual evidence. But the key question here is why would this or any president care about crowd size? Another whopper arose when Trump told congressional leaders there was massive vote fraud, something Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson, her colleagues in other states, and even Speaker Paul Ryan say there is no evidence of the claim. Washington Post reporter Karen Tumulty put it in this perspective: Donald Trump, having propelled his presidential campaign to victory while often disregarding the truth, now is testing the proposition that he can govern the country that way. In the first five days of his presidency, Trump has put the enormous power of the nations highest office behind spurious and easily disproved claims. And the implications? When something clearly untrue is spread by a commander in chief, and when the weight and resources of his administration are brought to bear in amplifying such information, thats a problem. So the post-truth election giving way to the alternative-fact presidency. Politifact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political fact checker, noted that during his 2016 campaign, it reported 14 percent of Trumps statements were half true, 19 percent mostly false, 33 percent false and 18 percent pants on fire lies. Why are facts and truth so disposable for this new president? Matt Yglesias, writing for Vox, notes that Trumps administration already stands out for the frequency of misleading statements, their baldfacedness, and the at times absurd content. He quotes George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen, who says this emerging culture of lies is two-pronged based on truth and loyalty. Yglesias continues, By having subordinates tell lies on his behalf, Trump accomplishes two things: One is that its a test if you want to ascertain if someone is truly loyal to you, ask them to do something outrageous or stupid. The other is that its a rite of passage by requiring subordinates to speak untruths, a leader can undercut their independent standing, including their standing with the public, with the media and with other members of the administration. Whew. In the first week of the Trump presidency, Amazon reported the highest selling book is George Orwells 1949 classic 1984. Its a dystopian story of a society where facts are distorted and suppressed in a cloud of newspeak. I led this column off suggesting the specter of impeachment. In this nations first two centuries, it happened once. But in a 15-year period between 1974 and 1999 it occurred twice. If these challenges to power become the norm as opposed to the exception, we will find ourselves on a destructive path. If we lose the concept of truth and reliable data, keeping the republic will become an arduous task. The columnist is publisher of Howey Politics Indiana at www.howeypolitics.com. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @hwypol. Toffee the corgi is only 2 years old - and has already had four different families. Toffee was was born and raised by a breeder and, when she was old enough, she went to live with her new family. They ended up returning her for being too "crazy, stubborn and out of control," according to her current parents. After that, Toffee had two more families, who both returned her for the same reasons. The Stumpy Brigade Somehow, the Cardigan Welsh corgi was returned three times by three different families, and everyone who knows her now has no idea why anyone would return such a sweet dog. Toffee ended up with Corgis & Critters Rescue in Kilgore, Texas, and that's how her fourth (and last) family finally found her. The Stumpy Brigade Xin and her husband live on the East Coast and flew all the way out to Texas to adopt Toffee and take her home. They already had two dogs when they adopted Toffee, and were shocked that anyone could ever think Toffee was "out of control." "We still don't know why she would have been returned ever, let alone three times," Xin told The Dodo. "She is by far the best behaved of all of our dogs." Dodo Shows Foster Diaries This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever The Stumpy Brigade Toffee immediately began to thrive in her new home, and her new parents couldn't have been more pleased with how calm and sweet she was. She plays the role of the beta among her rescue siblings, but secretly she's full of sass, and could totally lead the pack if she really wanted to. The Stumpy Brigade "We call her the Shadow Queen because we are pretty sure she would boss everyone around if she could," Xin said. "While our other dogs are scared of NYC because of the noise/smell, Toffee has no problem going to the city and is that dog that poops in the middle of the street while the traffic light is about to turn green. She's done it three times. It can't be all coincidence." The Stumpy Brigade Toffee has three dog siblings - Mocha, Chai and Peppermint - and two cat siblings - Chi and Miso. She gets along with everyone, but she's especially close with Peppermint, a husky/corgi mix who was adopted just two weeks after Toffee. "Toffee and Peppermint are pretty much glued together," Xin said. "We think it's because we adopted Toffee and Peppermint around the same time so there is a special bond between them." The Stumpy Brigade It still amazes everyone that Toffee was returned three times for being too much, because despite her confidence, she's still incredibly chill, and would much rather cuddle and relax than anything else. "Her favorite place in the house is on the couch surrounded with blankets and her head resting on the couch arm," Xin said. The Stumpy Brigade Due to her confident yet calm demeanor, Toffee's parents decided to have her trained as a therapy animal. Toffee now visits libraries, airports and nursing homes to comfort those who need support. The Stumpy Brigade She seems to adore her work as a therapy dog ... The Stumpy Brigade ... and is calm and sweet as people come up to pet and hug her. The Stumpy Brigade No one who meets Toffee while she's out and about performing her duties as a therapy dog would ever think that she was once considered too wild. She's the sweetest, calmest dog around, and her parents are so grateful that she found her way into their lives. When Dr. Tjarda Reints Bok finally reached the sick dog, she thought it was too late. It was September 2013, and Escot, a 4-year-old Lab mix, had been poisoned. He lay in front of his owner's grocery store on the island of Isabela in the Galapagos Islands, looking like he was ready to die. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions "Escot was already starting to shake," Reints Bok, a volunteer vet with Darwin Animal Doctors, a veterinary clinic and animal welfare organization, told The Dodo. "I was very worried. Normally when they start shaking, we can't get them back. It's sort of the point of no return." Escot had been poisoned with organophosphates, a kind of pesticide that attacks the nervous system, Reints Bok said. On Isabela, as well as other islands in the Galapagos, some people view dogs as pests, and some people will even put out poison to try and get rid of them, Tod Emko, cofounder of Darwin Animal Doctors, told The Dodo. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions "There's zero education on poison and other deadly substances widely available in the Galapagos, so people put them out to solve 'pest' problems of all kinds, not knowing how to safely distribute a deadly poison that would potentially poison the environment and kill any human or animal that eats it," Emko said. "People don't want any dogs there because they can pose a threat to the wildlife," Reints Bok said. "They just roam the beaches and don't walk on leads, which is a big problem there. Around Isabela, [local people] place poison around the edges of the national park, and around the edges of the outskirts of the village." Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Guy Falls In Love With His Little Meatball Of A Foster Dog Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions Reints Bok believes Escot roamed around that morning, ate some poisoned meat, then returned to the grocery store and collapsed. Escot's owner had rubbed olive oil all over the dog's body, hoping that would help. "In the Galapagos, they believe oil's a remedy for that kind of toxin, but it doesn't work," Reints Bok said. What the oil did do was make it nearly impossible for Reints Bok to get a catheter into Escot so she could start administering fluids. "In the end, I used duct tape to tape the IV catheter," she said. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions Once the IV was in, Reints Bok started flushing the poison out of Escot's body with a drug called atropine, as well as activated charcoal. To her amazement and great relief, Escot started to get better. But he wasn't out of the woods yet. Reints Bok wanted to get the dog to Darwin Animal Doctors' clinic, which was about a mile away. Getting a large, heavy dog there would be tricky. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions Escot's owner quickly found a solution. "He said, 'Oh, we can use the bike,'" Reints Bok said. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions The owner was referring to a three-wheeled bike used for delivering groceries. For Escot, the bike would be his ambulance. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions Reints Bok helped load Escot onto the bike, then hopped on herself so she could continue holding his IV. The owner pushed and steered the bike. One of the owner's sons had just gotten home from school, Reints Bok said. He was so worried about Escot that he hitched a ride on the bike, and constantly pet Escot's head to try and keep him calm. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions "It was very wobbly!" Reints Bok said. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions Maybe Escot knew he was getting the help he needed because he continued to perk up. "He became more alert on the bicycle," Reints Bok said. "He started sitting up." When Escot safely arrived at the clinic, Reints Bok gave him more charcoal, mixing it in food so he could eat it himself. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions By the end of the day, Escot had fully recovered, and he even got to go home. Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions "The same evening, I went to the store to see how he was doing, and he started barking and growling - his normal behavior," Reints Bok said. "And I thought, he's back and better, and back to his old self again." Darwin Animal Doctors/Lobo Marina Productions For centuries, in rural cultures across the globe, one animal has been an important part of the family, helping to keep farms and villages running. Not only do millions of people depend on donkeys for practical purposes - many donkeys are seen more and more as smart and loyal pets. Shutterstock But this friendship between people and donkeys is increasingly threatened by a growing trade in something you've probably never even heard of: "ejiao," (also known as "colla corii asini" or "donkey hide glue") a kind of gelatin made from donkey skin - and demand for ejiao is killing literally millions of donkeys per year. Warning: Graphic content below An ejiao production factory in Hong Kong | George Knowles A new report from The Donkey Sanctuary in the U.K. shows just how massive this emerging global trade really is. At least 1.8 million donkey skins are being traded each year - but it could be between 4 million and 10 million. The trade is difficult to track and until now hasn't been studied at such a large scale. Dodo Shows Soulmates Growling Little Kitten Becomes Her Mom's Best Friend Ejiao products being sold in Hong Kong | George Knowles "Our report reveals the shocking scale of this global trade and how it's causing a chain of welfare issues for the donkeys at every step, from sourcing to transport and finally to slaughter," Mike Baker, chief executive of The Donkey Sanctuary, told The Dodo in a statement. Donkeys packed tightly in a pen in Tanzania | The Donkey Sanctuary "Ejiao is a medicine with ancient roots and has been promoted as a product worthy of emperors," the report says, explaining that traditional herbalists in China claim that ejiao can increase libido, slow aging and prevent disease. But ejiao has not been recognized as having medicinal properties by western medicine. Donkey skins outside an ejiao factory in Hong Kong | George Knowles This belief means that donkeys are becoming more valuable for their skins, and therefore harder for rural families to afford. Even the loyal donkeys families already have are at risk. It is becoming more common for donkeys to be stolen right out of a family's yard and slaughtered for their skins. In a village in Tanzania, 24 donkeys were stolen and killed for their skins. | MAWO Tanzania While exports of donkey skins come from South America and Asia, the largest source is in Africa, where donkeys (many of them stolen) are rounded up in "donkey markets," where they are often packed together and left without shelter from the hot sun and without food or water, while they await slaughter. Often, after the skins are removed, the bodies of the donkeys are burned. Donkey carcasses burning outside a legal slaughterhouse in Tanzania | The Donkey Sanctuary "The market is far worse than I expected," said Alex Mayers, program manager at The Donkey Sanctuary, from a donkey market in Tanzania last week. "There are about 700 donkeys basically coming here to wait to die. There's no food or water. The donkeys are very stressed. There are lots of signs of dehydration and hunger." But there is hope. Alex Mayers of The Donkey Sanctuary pets a donkey in a holding pen in Tanzania. | The Donkey Sanctuary Some countries have already taken action and banned exports of donkey skins, making their donkeys much safer. This includes the African countries of Niger and Burkina Faso, and Pakistan, in Asia. The Donkey Sanctuary is calling for a stop to the trade of donkey skins worldwide, so that the damage already done to donkey populations and the people who depend on them can be assessed. A family and their donkey in Northern Tanzania | The Donkey Sanctuary "In particular, we urge other countries affected by this trade to follow the lead taken by Burkina Faso and Niger and ban the slaughter and export of donkeys for their skins," Suzi Cretney, public relations manager for The Donkey Sanctuary, told The Dodo. Cretney said that raising public awareness about where ejiao really comes from could help consumers make better choices. "We are asking countries to follow the lead by Burkina Faso and Niger to end the slaughter and export of donkeys for their skins because it could help thousands, if not millions of donkeys - their welfare, and their real value supporting people's livelihoods is at risk," Baker said. "This has to stop," Mayers said, standing by a pen packed with donkeys awaiting their fate. "This absolutely just has to stop." After an elephant family fell into a 14-foot deep construction pit in India, the 3-month-old calf couldn't understand why his mom wouldn't wake up, even though he kept nudging her with his little trunk. By the time rescuers arrived to take him away, his mother was unconscious. Even though they tried to revive her, she shortly died of her injuries. "This calf underwent a traumatic time before being brought to the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) Wildlife Rescue Center in the northeastern state of Assam, India," Kerry Branon, spokesperson for IFAW, told The Dodo. Dodo Shows Foster Diaries This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever Rescuers named the calf Ghoramara - and they are doing everything they can to make him feel safe, including introducing him to a new friend. Burhee, another rescued calf at the center, is about the same age as Ghoramara. The bond between the calves was almost instantaneous. Now they live in the same area together and are doted upon by Dr. Panjit Basumatary, their veterinarian, who dresses them in their customized socks to keep their legs warm and covers them with special blankets to keep them snug in the cooler night air. "They get along well together," Branon said. "Both have their formula feeds together and enjoy grazing." This browser does not support the video tag. International Fund for Animal Welfare And this pair of friends is about to meet even more young elephants - seven of them - who understand what it's like to have a hard time at such a young age. "The duo will be slowly be introduced to the other elephants who have already formed a small herd and go for their wild walks in the adjoining reserve forest," Branon said. To learn how you can help IFAW save more animals like Ghoramara and his friends, click here. Nash McCutchen has seen a lot of frightened dogs come into the shelter at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, but she'd never seen a dog more scared than Rosa. Humane Society of Tampa Bay "She wouldn't even look at us," McCutchen, who acts as the marketing coordinator for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, told The Dodo. "She's been with us for a week, and as of this weekend, she still wasn't really looking at us." Rosa, a 10-month-old Korean Jindo, had been rescued from a meat farm in Wonju, South Korea, where she would have eventually been slaughtered for her meat. Like most dog meat farms, the conditions there were abominable - the dogs lived in tiny, cramped cages that were filled with their own waste. Humane Society International When it came time for the dogs to be slaughtered, it's possible that they were skinned and boiled alive. Dodo Shows Adoption Day Hairless German Shepherd Puppies Find The Perfect Families Humane Society International Humane Society International (HSI) managed to rescue Rosa, as well as about 200 other dogs, and flew them to the United States. Then Rosa and the 13 other dogs went to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, which acts as an emergency partner for HSI. Rosa was placed in a kennel with a dog bed, comfortable blankets and food, but this did nothing to assuage her fear. When a person came up to her, Rosa shrunk into the wall, according to McCutchen. Humane Society of Tampa Bay "It's a fear reaction," McCutchen said. "She's trying to get as far away as possible." Since Rosa is so fearful, the shelter staffers have tried to give her space. But one person - the shelter's trainer, Glen Hatchell - has managed to get close to Rosa. About a week ago, Hatchell went into Rosa's kennel to give her some attention. When he was patting her, his fingers trailed across her belly - and he figured out that Rosa was keeping a secret. She was pregnant. Humane Society of Tampa Bay "We can tell that she's far along, but because we're not able to touch her, we can't do a thorough examination," McCutchen said on Monday. "That would just be way too intrusive for her. But we're probably thinking she'll have her babies in under a week." McCutchen explained that she felt a bit sad for Rosa, since she's still a puppy herself. "It's possible that her pregnancy was part of what's making her so fearful and standoffish," McCutchen said at the time. "I don't that once she has them, she's going to be totally fine. I think she's probably has a long way to go as far as socialization, but that could possibly be making it worse." The team would soon find out. On Tuesday morning, Rosa had her puppies - 5 males and 1 female - in the first safe home she'd ever known. "The babies are little chunks of puppy joy," McCutchen said. "They look just like Momma - creamy white from head to paw." McCutchen had initially worried that Rosa might not show much interested in her puppies because of how scared and traumatized she is. But Rosa is taking great care of her babies, according to McCutchen. Humane Society of Tampa Bay "She is still struggling to trust humans and now has an added source of stress, caring for her babies," McCutchen said. "Today was difficult for her as there was a lot of activity as we assessed the babies and made sure everyone was healthy. But now they are resting quietly and undisturbed." Humane Society of Tampa Bay Rosa may be facing a new kind of challenge, but shelter staffers will be there to help her be the best mom she can. To help dogs trapped in the dog meat trade in South Korea, you can sign this petition. You can also make a donation to HSI so the group can rescue more dogs like Harriet. Humane Society of Tampa Bay Im quitting my job to help Johnny Depp with his finances. What do I know about money? Not much, suggests my bank account. But based on a new lawsuit, not much is much more than Depp seems to know, or he wouldnt now be blowing $2 million amonth. His ex-managers made this wild allegation on Tuesday in a counterclaim filed inside Los Angeles Superior Court. The legal action comes in response to a lawsuit Depp filed last month, which seeks $25 million (all figures U.S.) from The Management Group (TMG) for alleged fraud and mismanagement. TMG, which represented the actor for 17 years, fired back this week and said they are the ones owed money. They called Depps allegations absurd, arguing they did nothing wrong and repeatedly warned about an extravagant and extreme lifestyle. None of the allegations in either claim have been proven in court. But TMG alleges Depps selfish, reckless and irresponsible spending included: In excess of $75 million to acquire, improve and furnish 14 residences, including a 45-acre chateau in the South of France, a chain of islands in the Bahamas, multiple houses in Hollywood, several penthouse lofts in downtown Los Angeles, and a fully functioning horse farm in Kentucky. Over $18 million to acquire and renovate a 150-foot luxury yacht. Millions more acquiring and/or maintaining at least 45 luxury vehicles. $30,000 per month on expensive wines that he had flown to him around the world for his personal consumption. Over $3 million to blast from a specially-made cannon the ashes of author Hunter Thompson over Aspen, Colorado. If this countersuit is ever turned into a Depp movie, it should be called Edward Spendthrifthands. The portrait that emerges is of a 53-year-old man who lives the way an impulsive teen might after winning millions in a Powerball draw. Depps monthly spending, according to the countersuit, included $300,000 for 40 full-time employees and $200,000 for air travel, since he refused to fly by any means other than private plane and required at least a Gulfstream GV or above. Its always mystifying when celebrities go from superrich to super-bankrupt. How did M.C. Hammer burn through $33 million? Why did Wayne Newton go from highest paid entertainer in the world in 1983 to $20 million in debt nine years later? What was Sinbad thinking? What was Meaf Loaf doing? This countersuit fills in some of the general blanks. In fact, Depps woes should serve as cautionary tale for every celebrity. They should all hire middle-class advisers to serve as financial consultants. You know, someone who lives in the real world, someone who understands the value of money and budgets. For example, in my new job as Mr. Depps wallet handler, all Id really have to do is pretend we were living his life with my money. Day 1: Mr. Depp, there is no way we are buying 70 collectible guitars. My wife will kill us. We also need to start downsizing the memorabilia in those 12 storage facilities. Do you have an eBay account? Day 2: Mr. Depp, we are selling the villa or the islands. You decide. Ill also list all of the penthouses on Airbnb to create a monthly income stream that can offset future earning losses. Dont blame me. Blame Mortdecai. Day 3: Mr. Depp, please hand over any jewelry you have not worn in the last 12 months. Ill take it to Russell Oliver. Whatever the Cashman gives us can be used to pay for wine that comes in a box. Youll get used to it. Trust me. Day 4: Mr. Depp, from now on were flying commercial. One of my daughters will accompany you on these trips. Youll be so busy trying to keep her occupied, you wont have time to realize youre in economy. Day 5: Mr. Depp, we are selling half of your hyper-cars and putting this income into an RRSP. We are also repurposing the human ashes cannon as an actual cannon that can fire watermelons at anyone who approaches with wacky investment ideas, such as starting a music label or a company that specializes in time travel. My wife will explain why these are bad ideas. As noted in the countersuit: TMG did not have the power or ability to control Depps spending or his numerous other vices, or to force Depp to make wiser financial decisions. But I could have that power if not with persuasion, then with demonstration. Day 6: Mr. Depp, youll be coming over for dinner to see what life will be like if you dont change your ways. Bring a box of wine, one that pairs nicely with Kraft Dinner. SHARE: It wasnt long after Trainspotting came out in 1996 that the movie began to epitomize an era. Directed by Danny Boyle and written by John Hodge (from a book by Irvine Welsh), the film captured the growing consumerism, heroin-chic and Cool Britannia of the time. There were numerous memorable scenes (upside-down babies, heinous bar bathrooms), kinetic edits, indelible monologues (Choose Life! Colonized by Wankers!) and that raw uptempo soundtrack. As it followed the exploits of Renton, Sick Boy and other on-the-margin types in Edinburgh, Trainspotting took on landmark status. The film, of course, also launched the careers of Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller not to mention Boyle, years ahead of Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours and his reputation for slick sizzle. So why, two decades later, are Boyle and Hodge returning with a sequel, T2: Trainspotting, out March 3? Isnt it like that awkward high school reunion, everyone looking a little different, no one truly wanting to be here? The Los Angeles Times talked with Hodge and Boyle to get answers. John Hodge You had a script years ago, based on Welshs 2002 sequel Porno. How did that become this? I did write a script about 10 years ago. It wasnt very good. See, there are two Trainspottings: theres Irvines book, and theres our movie. At first, they were just slightly different. But over the years, that difference expands. And the new script might have been too close to the novel. It didnt seem to flow from our Trainspotting. Some of it, I think, was the porn industry; in 2002, you could still make money from it. It felt like time had overtaken the novel. What made you decide to try again? I think the biggest reason was that Danny reached out to the four actors and said, in principle, If John writes a script, would you do it? And they all said yes; they all had to say yes. And then the pressure was on. How do you make that gang grow up when the whole point of the first movie is that they dont want to grow up? How did you deal with that? I dont want to give away too much, but I think that was the challenge and the appeal. What are these guys like 20 years on? Like all of us, we change a lot over 20 years, but bits of us remain the same. I think the fact that so much time had passed also liberates the movie. If it was just five years later, wed just expect more of the same: theyre just going to rob a casino in Monaco. Now people expect things to be different, for a lot of life to be lived. The world has changed a lot too that consumer culture at hyperspeed has gotten even faster. And, of course, technology has entered the picture. I think we saw an opportunity there, to show how consumer culture has been inflated and employment is less secure and corporations even more powerful. This movie has become more topical since 1996. Its become more topical since we started writing it. Danny Boyle Did you ever think youd be making any sequel, let alone to Trainspotting? I cant say I did. Even when we were talking about it. But one of the big reasons is Id just run into people and hear the way they talk about characters. They still remember their names. When does that happen? I cant remember Jennifer Lawrences characters name in Passengers and I saw that yesterday. That active filmmaking style you used then was so unique. Now its commonplace. How do you match that? Or do you not even try? Thats the tension. If the soundtrack and the style dont live up to what you had then, it will disappoint people. But its also 20 years later and the boys are not running around like they used to. John said this all began when you reached out to the four actors. Was that a tough call to make: Hey, remember this thing that made your careers? Come and try to top that. (Laughs) Actually, I think they were all fine in theory. In practice, I knew if the script didnt deal with them equally, like the first one, they wouldnt do it. So then we had to come up with a movie that did that and also wasnt . . . bad. Then theres the prism of aging, which is terrifying for a lot of us, but really terrifying for actors. You remember them frozen in time and suddenly theyre in the present. Which is also part of the appeal: we get to not only to imagine how characters turned out but also actually see that in front of us. When we first started making this film, I thought the subject was time. And that the reason we didnt make it 10 years ago is because the actors didnt look like theyd aged enough. Or I wasnt old enough. (Boyle recently turned 60.) And I realized after making this film it isnt about time; its about masculinity, about disappointed masculinity. When we made the first film, everyone said it was about drugs and I said it was about friendship. But I realize now it was really about boyhood. And this is about manhood. Its funny you use the word boyhood. I cant help feeling theres something Richard Linklater-ish about this. Like Boyhood or even the Before films, we get to check in to see how characters have or havent matured. Movies have this weird Hollywoodizing effect, this glamorizing effect, even gritty films like Trainspotting. It makes people desirable by freezing them. And if youre lucky, as we were, you get a chance to unfreeze them, sometimes literally, even, by dropping pieces of the first movie in. You get the past and present simultaneously. And thats a rare, powerful thing. SHARE: On Sunday night, only a few hours after the horrific mass murder of six Muslim men and the wounding of 19 others praying in a Quebec City mosque, controversial Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch tweeted the following: Heartbreaking news out of Quebec City tonight. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims. Normally this would be seen as a politicians genuine expression of sympathy. But in Leitchs case, there were swift angry replies on Twitter: Dont you dare, said one. Another called her a gross opportunist. Not another damn word saying whether or not they have Canadian values, said a third, blaming Leitch for fuelling hate. Even the satirical online magazine The Beaverton got in on the act, with a piece headlined Kellie Leitch heartbroken that people would act on hate shes incited. More details are emerging about Alexandre Bissonnette, the young white Quebecois man charged with the murders and attempted murders of the men praying in the mosque. He was quiet, he played chess, he had studied at Laval University, and his social media presence included antagonism toward refugees and feminists, and admiration for the views of far right French politician Marine Le Pen and U.S. President Donald Trump. There was no mention of Kellie Leitch. But she was there all the same, in the shadows of this horrific crime, a mainstream Canadian politician who wants to be our next Prime Minister. Leitch, a doctor and former cabinet minister in Stephen Harpers government, has called publicly for the in-person screening of immigrants, presumably like the men shot in the mosque, specifically for non-Canadian values. She has not explained how this could be accomplished. She has talked enthusiastically of Trumps victory and his exciting message. She regularly slams her countrys elites who want open borders. Leitch issued a second condemnatory statement about the Quebec City shooting, referring to the people who were murdered as they prayed in a house of worship. She never once used the word Muslim or mosque. By not naming their faith, she slighted them. Words or lack of them matter. Her campaign manager Nick Kouvalis, who was also Mayor John Torys chief strategist in 2014, has his own problem with words. He publicly used the word cuck, short for cuckold, but now part of the hateful new white supremacist and neo-Nazi vocabulary. The word is meant to emasculate people they see as too weak to accept hard right positions. Kouvalis used it on Twitter to berate a constitutional scholar critical of Leitch. Kouvalis also accused him of treason. Kouvalis has since unreservedly apologized, saying he used words he shouldnt have. But how is this word even in his head or vocabulary that in a moment of anger he can spew it out? This word connects him directly to a hate-filled group. We need to talk about this. We need to connect all the dots. Leitch has said, emboldened by surveys, that 70 per cent of Canadians agree with her proposal to screen for values, which while she never says it out loud, seem at every turn to be referencing Muslims. Dont get me wrong. There is certainly discomfort and fear out there about how our country can stay tolerant and safe and about who we let into our country and why. But if we ran a new survey in light of Sundays hate-filled tragedy, I dont believe that a majority of Canadians would ascribe to Leitchs specific views, which, to use a buzzword, are a dog whistle to whip up distrust and fear of certain immigrants, especially if they knew it could lead to a man in a mask opening fire on men in a mosque. I wont be convinced that Leitchs views have connected with enough Canadians until she wins not only the Conservative leadership but the country. In fact, as thousands of Canadians join Americans in taking to the streets to passionately protest Trumps nativist and openly bigoted policies, including his most recent fiat instituting an entry ban on Syrian refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim majority countries, the wind may not be at Leitchs back at all. I am not blaming Leitch directly for the mosque killings. I am simply stating that all her words and proposals matter, and those words can help incite fear, hatred and violence. At the same time, progressive politicians have to find better words too. They cant just talk of love and tolerance and assume these words will pull us all through a rough time. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Britains leader Theresa May, while quick to affirm how their own countries are more tolerant than Trumps America, need to also publicly talk about the clear sad history of what nativism and incitement of hatred toward a specific religious minority leads to. The rise of Nazi Germany and The Second World War is not such a distant memory. I also dont believe Trump should be invited to Ottawa, but I doubt there will be that hard a line. For the first time in the face of so much new global turmoil, I have begun to wonder whether my childrens generation may have to one day go to war. How and why, I cannot say, but certain gruesome scenes of them fleeing or fighting have flitted across my mental landscape, and Ive actually given my head a shake. This wont happen, this cant happen. Yet we didnt see the tragic, ugly act of terrorism that just took place coming. Maybe we should have. Leitch, however derivative she has been called Trump Lite and those like her should now be asked at every turn how their views differ from the ones that Alexandre Bissonnette admired. And the rest of us? We need to challenge ourselves, too on our own words and thoughts. We need to stand up not only to obvious demagogic bullies like Donald Trump thats kind of the easy part but to soft talking otherizers like Kellie Leitch. The lives of our fellow citizens and maybe even our own may depend on it. Judith Timsons column will move to Fridays Life section on Feb. 10. She writes weekly about cultural, social and political issues. You can reach her at judith.timson@sympatico.ca and follow her on Twitter @judithtimson Read more about: SHARE: Two of the 20th centurys most popular song writers hailed from Indiana, both so distinctive that the mention of their names brings to mind such familiar melodies as Night and Day, Its De-Lovely, Georgia on My Mind and Stardust. Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael grew up on different sides of the track, but followed similar paths to become celebrities. Porter, born in Peru in 1891, had a privileged childhood as the grandson of one of Indianas richest businessmen. With his familys encouragement, he studied violin and piano before he turned 8. By age 10, he had composed The Bobolink Waltz, which his mother liked so much, she paid to get it published. Porter received an elite education, attending Yale for his undergraduate years where he wrote musical comedies and sang solos for the glee club. At his grandfathers insistence, he enrolled in Harvards law school, but the dean suggested he transfer to the music program. By 1930, Porter was living in New York City writing hit songs and scores for Broadways most popular shows, such as Anything Goes and Jubilee. In 1937, Porter was seriously injured in a horse-riding accident that led to 30 operations and the eventual loss of his right leg. Although his physical disability ended his social life, it did not affect his genius. In 1948, he collaborated with writers Bella and Sam Spewack to create his Broadway masterpiece, Kiss Me Kate. Stardust was the masterpiece that defined Carmichael, who, like Porter, showed musical talent at an early age. Born in Bloomington in 1899, Carmichael vowed to have a more comfortable life than his parents. His father was an electrician who struggled to make ends meet. His mother supplemented their income by playing the piano at fraternity dances at Indiana University and at silent movies. Hoagy learned to play the piano at her knee. Carmichael attended I.U. for undergraduate and law school, and along the way organized a jazz band and wrote tunes. After graduating, he moved to Florida to fulfill his ambition of a law career, inking Stardust on the front pages of a book while waiting for business. When Carmichael unexpectedly heard a recording of one of his earlier pieces, Washboard Blues, by Red Nichols and His Five Pennies, he decided to give up law for music. Carmichael moved to New York City, where he met such greats as Louis Armstrong, the Dorsey Bothers and a would-be songwriter by the name of Johnny Mercer. Carmichael and Mercer enjoyed a fruitful partnership; one of their earliest collaborations was Lazy Bones, which became a sensation in 1933 at the height of the Depression. Although Carmichael had 50 hit songs, nothing compared to Stardust in popularity or royalties. Carmichael wrote the song for instruments only; it rose to the top of the charts after lyrics were added by Mitchell Parish and is believed to be the most recorded song of all time. Porter died in 1964 and was extolled in his Associated Press obituary for such an individuality of style that a genre known as the Cole Porter song became recognized. Carmichael died in 1981, remembered by biographer John E. Hasse for his strong and distinctive melodies and a singing voice as unmistakable as his nickname Hoagy. The Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis has a room dedicated to Porters legacy that is a must-visit for Cole Porter fans. An interpreter sings his biggest hits in the 1940s-style cabaret with a digital piano, photographs and videos about Porters life. The centers restaurant, in tribute to Carmichael, is called the Stardust Terrace Cafe. Note to readers: Andrea Neal is a history teacher at St. Richards Episcopal School in Indianapolis and adjunct scholar with the Indiana Policy Review Foundation. Contact her at aneal@inpolicy.org. Her bicentennial essays are available in book form from Indiana Historical Society Press. Road Trip A Pocket History of Indiana can be ordered online at shop.indianahistory.org. In an effort to combat the rising tide of childhood obesity and promote healthier eating, the Heart and Stroke Foundation is calling on the federal government to pass legislation restricting food and beverage marketing to children. Given experts prediction that todays children may be the first generation to have poorer health and shorter lifespans than their parents, we need to be bold, writes Diego Marchese, interim CEO and executive vice-president of Heart and Stroke, in the 2017 Report on the Health of Canadians released Wednesday. Obesity rates in Canadian children have tripled since 1979 one in three kids are now overweight or obese putting them at greater risk for developing health problems such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes, the report notes. It argues that restrictions on marketing to those under 16 would protect children, support parents and level the playing field for industry. Industrys efforts over the past decade to self-regulate, through the Canadian Childrens Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, have been a failure, says the report. As long as regulation is optional, the playing field is not even. Even if the criteria were strong, companies that comply and put childrens health first would be at a competitive disadvantage. Calls for regulations have been made before. Heart and Stroke is part of the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition started in 2014, which is made up of 11 non-governmental organizations, including Toronto Public Health. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his 2015 mandate letter to Minister of Health Jane Philpott, said he expects her to promote public health by introducing new restrictions on the commercial marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children, similar to those now in place in Quebec. The report also highlights Quebec, which has the highest vegetable and fruit intake among Canadian children and the lowest obesity rate among those aged 6 to 11. Legislation introduced there in 1980 banned commercial ads of goods and services to kids under age 13. For its report, the foundation commissioned Monique Potvin Kent, an expert in food and beverage marketing to children. She reviewed the digital ads shown over a year on the top 10 websites aimed at children between the ages 2 and 11, and youth aged 12 to 17. Her research shows that more than 90 per cent of online food and beverage ads seen by children and teens are for unhealthy items high in fat, sodium or sugar. And children between the ages of 2 and 11 see 25 million food and beverage ads, collectively, on their 10 favourite websites in a year. Children and teens are bombarded with ads for restaurants, cakes, cookies, ice cream, cereal and sugar-sweetened beverages. There are many ads on TV directed at kids and its even higher for teens, but there are only so many spots available, there is a limit, writes Potvin Kent, who is an assistant professor in the University of Ottawas School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine. On the Internet, there are absolutely no limits. Also included in the report was a survey of 2,401 Canadian adults interviewed online by Pollara Strategic Insights. It found that 70 per cent feel children are exposed to too many ads by the food and beverage industry, and 71 per cent think industry has an unfair advantage over parents when it comes to influencing what kids consume due to how much money it spends on ads. David Ma, an associate professor at the University of Guelphs department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, welcomes the initiative. But, he adds, Theres no magic bullet. He said two large meta-analyses published last year showed advertising has a small to moderate impact on children making unhealthier food choices. But, those studies were done in controlled laboratory settings, so its unclear how a ban would impact children in the real world. If (legislation) were implemented, obesity wouldnt go away overnight, Ma said. If enacted, this would be one part of an overall strategy that we need to implement. We need more exercise, a less sedentary lifestyle, less screen time, and improvements in food skills and nutritional literacy. Marketing is just one part of the puzzle. SHARE: OTTAWAJihadi-inspired extremism has dominated discussion of terrorism in Canada in recent years. But the shootings at Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec may well represent the flip-side of that coin: the hate-killing of Muslims. It is too early to know what prompted the crimes and, so far, accused shooter Alexandre Bissonnette has been charged with murder and attempted murder, but not terrorism. Read the latest news on the Quebec mosque shooting Still, Bissonnettes social-media history suggests he was a fan of far-right, anti-immigrant French politician Marine Le Pen. Canadas spy agency and academic researchers have been quietly probing the phenomenon of right-wing extremism, and the concerns will figure into federal plans for a national office of counter-radicalization. In a September 2014 briefing to federal officials, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warned of the threat posed by terrorist groups Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and the more radical Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL. But under the heading Domestic Extremism, the spy service also underscored the recent development of a Canadian online anti-Islam movement, similar to ones in Europe. CSIS characterized it as an ongoing risk, particularly as its proponents advocate violence. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the planned office of counter-radicalization will serve as a centre of excellence and help key players understand what draws the vulnerable down a dark path. The idea is to intervene with the right people at the right time to head off tragedies before they happen, Goodale said this week after the Quebec shooting. Jihadi-inspired violence has drawn most of the attention in recent years, noted Lorne Dawson, a University of Waterloo sociology professor and co-director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society. To be honest, we have to admit that the bulk of the problem is a jihadist radicalization and thats where the focus is, he said. But everyone acknowledges its not the only form of radicalization. Dawson pointed out that Norway, Sweden and Germany have long had programs aimed at steering young people away from neo-Nazism initiatives that served as templates for programs designed to prevent jihadist radicalization. They were all up and operating years and years before Europe really became concerned with an Islamist radicalization issue, he said. Its a lesser issue than jihadism, but its not something thats being ignored. Canada has many of the same basic ingredients that drive right-wing terrorism in both the United States and Europe, says a recent policy brief published by Dawsons research network. A large-scale attack by ISIL might spur a call for the kinds of attempted purges seen in Europe or targeted killings intended to scare communities by demonstrating they are no longer safe within Canada, said the brief by Richard Parent of Simon Fraser Universitys school of criminology and researcher James Ellis. While predicting the future can be challenging, Canadian security agencies should reconsider their public stances on the potential for violence from right-wing terrorists, the brief added. Given data on attacks in the United States and Canada on terrorism and extremism, right-wing organizations and lone wolves are capable of violence. Phil Gurski, a former CSIS analyst who specializes in counter-radicalization efforts, suggested its too early to tell how concerned Canada should be. Finite resources mean right-wing terrorism and single-issue violence such as eco-terrorism get short-shrift at a time when groups like ISIL dominate headlines, Gurski said. I do know that it doesnt get the attention it should, he said. Is this the next big wave? Well, I know the Europeans are worried about it. Im not sure we need to worry about it as much here in Canada. SHARE: SAINTE-FOY, QUE.Ahmed Ech-Chahedy was standing about 30 metres away when the gunfire started. The man carried an assault rifle, he said. He took his time. And his face was not covered - contrary to early reports, he said in an interview. Ech-Chahedy, a taekwando instructor, was with his son and one of the boys friends, when the shooter entered the mosque. If I think about it, it probably lasted five or six minutes, said Ech-Chahedy, who managed to flee the building and shelter in a nearby restaurant. It was planned because even the way he fired at peoplehe was calm. Read the latest news on the Quebec mosque shooting Police investigating the terror attack at a Quebec City mosque have received witness accounts that an individual matching the description of the shooter was seen outside the building several days prior to the shooting. Mohamed Labidi, the vice president of the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec, told the Star that, during a Monday night meeting, one member of the Muslim community claimed to have been approached a few days earlier by an individual who was asking for money. Labidi said they claimed that the person was in fact the alleged killer, 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette, who is charged with six counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder. It was two or three days before, Labidi said in an interview. He was in front of the mosque and he asked for money. Labidi said he is hopeful that surveillance camera footage from inside and outside the building will allow investigators to substantiate the claim, which is feeding the sentiment among the mosques congregation that Sunday nights mass shooting was planned with care. The consequences of the shooters actions are known now to all: Six men are dead while two more remain in hospital in critical but stable condition. But a Muslim community that is still struggling with shock and grief is also now being forced to cope with the administration of a murderous tragedy that has widowed and orphaned women and children and ripped apart families and friendships. These people who are deadthey have debt, they have mortgages, they have these things and who is going to pay for that? asked Hamid Guarrouma, who hosts a local community radio station. Will his wife have to deal with his affairs and his debts? Whos going to look out for his children? So far, the families of the dead are relying on charitable donations from organizations like Islamic Relief, which sent a team of people from Montreal and the Toronto area to assess the needs and coordinate delivery of the necessary support. Obviously theres a big shock now so were going to wait, but we just want to make sure they know were here--that they dont have to worry., said Mahmood Qasim, head of fund development for Islamic Relief Canada. But he added that this terrorist shooting targeting Muslims in Canada was a worrying development, even within an organization that deals in crisis support. This is the first time that the Muslim community here has faced anything like this. There is no precedent for it. We are all in shock, to be honest. In a six-storey apartment building a short drive from the mosque where Ibrahima Barry, 39, and Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, had gone together to pray, the halls of the fifth and sixth floors were strewn with boots and crowded with women bringing food and men making telephone calls and offering handshakes of condolence. Among them was Mamoudou Afia Barry, the older brother of Mamadou Tanou, who had just arrived in town from his home in Columbus, Ohio, and was being briefed on what help and arrangements the Guinean community in Quebec City had already offered and what else was available. The decision we have to make is whether to take his body back (to Guinea) or have the funeral here, since his mom is here and his wife and kids are here, he said. Thats what we are trying to figure out right now. But in the flurry of activity, Mamadou Afia was also still trying to process the senseless death of his brother, which leaves behind two young boys, aged two and three. My brother was telling me that you guys havent had a murder in this town in 18 months, he told a reporter. Did it have to happen now? Saramady Toure, Guineaus ambassador to Canada, expressed a similar sentiment after arriving at the apartments to express his condolences to the two expatriate families and to offer his governments assistance should the families of the two men wish the burials to take place in the land of their birth. Canada is a land of asylum and refuge, he said, surrounded by community leaders from Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City who had come to offer their support and sympathy to the grieving families. People also came together on the campus of Universite Laval to honour Khaled Belkacemi, a professor of soil and agri-food engineering who was among the dead. Immediately following the moment of silence, a group of his students walked silently together up to Belkacemis second-floor office, laid flowers against his door, then hugged each other and cried. Standing silently off to the side was Herve Nlandu, one of Belkacemis doctorate students. When he couldnt find a job in France after completing his studies, Nlandu reached out to Belkacemi, whose research interests matched his own. Belkacemi was immediately welcoming and helpful, and urged Nlandu to come to Laval, which he did in 2015. The two were supposed to run an experiment in the lab together on Monday. When Belkacemi didnt show, Nlandu started asking other students if they had seen him, becoming increasingly worried. Then, I saw an email saying he was gone, Nlandu said, his eyes filling with tears. I thought, this is not possible. Others in Quebec Citys Muslim community are already thinking about how best to honour those who diedincluding Azzeddine Soufiane, a well-liked butcher who reportedly confronted the gunman and died while trying to wrestle away his gun. Azzeddine was someone who defended his compatriots with his body. He died. Hes a hero. How will we honour him? Will it just be a funeral and some financial help for his family? the man asked at a community meeting held late Monday evening, a video of which was posted to the mosques Facebook page. These are people that we have to immortalize. I want my daughter to remember that there was a person called Azzeddine, that there was a person named Khaled, that there was a person named Ibrahima, said the man, listing the names of three of the six people killed. Correction - February 1, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Hamid Guarrouma's surname. SHARE: In the end, todays not that different from the day in 1995 when he moved to Ottawa. In the perilous hour, Stephane Dion is packing his book bag and marching into the fray. It sure took him long enough to make up his mind. Tuesday marked three weeks to the day since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had shuffled Dion out of his job as foreign minister. Trudeaus original goal was to offer what he hoped would seem a triple-barrelled response to a world grown briny with menace. Chrystia Freeland as foreign minister, with a mandate to tame the Trumpian beast if it can be done. John McCallum to Beijing. Dion as ambassador to Germany and to the European Union simultaneously, somehow in Berlin and Brussels at once, the worlds first quantum diplomat. McCallum leaped at the chance. Dion told Trudeau he needed a week. He took three. He comes from universities. He always did need an extension on assignments. Now at last there was a decision. McCallum rose first, thanked everyone, pointed to his wife, Nancy Lim, in the gallery. A standing ovation, one of several, ensued. The Chinese have been telling us, We want a David McNaughton of our own, one of Trudeaus helpers told me when McCallums new assignment was first made public. McNaughton is Trudeaus ambassador to Washington. Everyone knows he has the bosss confidence and his ear. McCallum, in theory, will, too. An academic economist before he entered politics, McCallum told the Commons he aims to improve trade relations. It being 2017, I know that a successful trading relationship must not only pass some economists test, he said. He leaned on the it being 2017. He meant its the year after 2016 swept Donald Trump into the White House, and Britain, perhaps, out of Europe. Thus, McCallum said, a trade deal must also be demonstrably job-creating and prosperity-creating for hardworking Canadians. And it is in that spirit that I will be offering my advice on trade with China to the government. Now it was Dions turn. Handy context for his assignment had been laid out that very morning in an open letter to European leaders from Donald Tusk, the formidable Pole who presides over the European Council. The challenges currently facing the European Union are more dangerous than ever before in the time since the signature of the Treaty of Rome, 60 years ago, Tusk wrote. He listed the threats. An assertive China, especially on the seas. Russias aggressive policy towards Ukraine and its neighbours. Wars, terror and anarchy in the Middle East and in Africa, with radical Islam playing a major role. And appearing for the first time on Tusks list of woes worrying declarations by the new American administration. In Ottawa, Dion was still in valedictory mode, savouring the memory of a political career that had lasted longer than anyone expected though not as long as he had hoped. His speech was a marvel, defiantly eccentric Id know it was Dion if you showed me only a transcript delivered in a French so literary it seemed at times to echo Moliere or Rostand. Translation wrecks it. Well do what we can. He started by evoking Sundays massacre. Mr. Speaker, a son of Quebec City, proud of the Muslim community in my riding, I denounce those two scythes of life that are ignorance and hate. I mourn the victims, express my sorrow to the families and loved ones, wish the injured a prompt recovery, and congratulate the police for arresting the presumed author of this senseless massacre. He continued in this vein. An ode to Canada: A country as vast as a continent, a land of grandiose and sublime beauty, enjoying one of the greatest qualities of life, with two international languages, strengthened by its indigenous peoples who understand the things that last. The kid always did swing for the fences. Canada represents for billions of human beings a universal idea of openness, tolerance and generosity that we must always strive to attain. There remain logistical challenges. Thats an understatement. Around Ottawa, old diplomatic hands are aghast. When the Chancellor (of Germany) wants to see him, hell be in Brussels, a former Canadian ambassador told me the other day. When the president of the European Council wants to see him, hell be in Berlin. A European diplomat was delicate. Its a very interesting assignment, he said. Somewhat special. Obviously the PMs goal was to emphasize the importance Canada puts in Europe, this source said. Its a hard job he will have. Did that sound harsh? Hastily: And an interesting one. Off he goes. On the doors of identical offices in Brussels and Berlin he can hang a line from Stephen Sondheim: Come see me soon in my hideaway/ If you can find me Im here. Paul Wells is a national affairs writer. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWAPolice are investigating a banner draped over Ontario MP Kellie Leitchs constituency office that invokes the Quebec City mosque shooting and urges the controversial Conservative leadership candidate to resign. The banner, stretching nearly the full height of the single-storey building, says, Hate puts us all at risk, and bears the names of the six people killed in Sundays mosque shooting in Quebec City, along with the hashtag #notmyMP. Police say the banner was removed Wednesday morning after they were called to Leitchs office in Collingwood, Ont. As a Conservative leadership candidate, Leitch has promised to screen newcomers to Canada for Canadian values a proposal that garnered fresh attention after the shooting, although theres nothing to suggest the alleged gunman would have been screened. When asked for her response, Leitch was brief. Freedom of speech is a Canadian value, she said in a statement. Read the latest news on the Quebec mosque shooting Leitch condemned the Quebec City attack, calling it an outrageous act of violence and an attack not just on those gathered in a house of worship but on the very fabric of Canadian society, on the values of freedom and tolerance. But those words have rung hollow for some Canadians, and Conservative politicians say that in todays political climate, they all need to be more mindful of what they say. Quebec MP Gerard Deltell, who does not support the screening idea, said there are two issues at play: the first, a leadership race where candidates are going to put forward policies to be debated and ultimately accepted or rejected by the party. The second is the responsibility they all have during the debate. I think that as a public personality, and especially as a political figure, we have to look and we have to think about what we have said, what we say today and what we will say on this very delicate issue, Deltell said. Andrew Scheer, who is also running for the leadership, said theres a danger the party itself could be hurt by even debating policies like Leitchs. There are many things leadership candidates do or say that would give them a headline maybe help them sell a few thousand memberships, Scheer said. If it ultimately hurts our partys brand or image, if people view the party as a whole as less open, less inclusive or less able to govern a country as diverse as Canada, then that leadership candidate ... does the party and the caucus a disservice. Michael Chong, who is also seeking the leadership, has suggested Leitchs position is downright dangerous. A day after the Quebec City shooting, he sent an email to supporters urging caution. Proposals to add an additional screen for immigrants based on anti-Canadian values is not a practical solution, and frankly, is playing to fears and prejudices, he wrote. Demagogues and wannabe demagogues, playing to fears and prejudices, have created the space for hate to grow. SHARE: OTTAWAThe Opposition Conservatives are criticizing the Prime Ministers Office for complaining to Fox News about a tweet identifying the suspect in the Quebec City mosque shooting as Moroccan. In an open letter to Fox News Channel co-president Bill Shine, PMO Communications Director Kate Purchase wrote that Canada is an open, welcoming country that stands by its citizens. She accused the tweet of perpetuating fear and division and dishonouring the memory of the victims of Sundays mass shooting, in which six people were killed. She asked that it be taken down. Fox News responded by deleting the tweet and saying it regretted the error. Conservative MP and party leadership candidate Lisa Raitt says while she understands frustrations over misinformation being reported, Justin Trudeau should be focused on more important matters. Weve got a serious issue in New Brunswick right now with respect to an ice storm, Raitt said, referring to a power outage that has affected thousands of people. Weve got jobs leaving the country, we have had a terrible tragedy in Quebec City, she added. So why do you pick fights with the American news media? But on his way into a Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday, Trudeau said that asking the news organization for a correction was the right thing to do. Its a question of getting the news right, Trudeau said. I think its important to emphasize what actually happened in Quebec City and think about lessons we need to learned from it. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, reports indicated that two people had been arrested and a number of Canadian news organizations also reported the incorrect information, but later retracted the reference to a Moroccan national. Police have only charged one suspect, 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette, in connection with the shooting spree. Officials said a second man who was arrested was not involved in the shooting but rather was a witness to the attack. Read more about: SHARE: In a major shift in tactics, the federal government said Wednesday that it wants to negotiate claims resulting from the so-called 60s Scoop in which thousands of aboriginal children were taken from their families and placed in non-native homes. The change, which comes as a judge gets set to rule on a years-old $1.3-billion class action in Ontario, aims to resolve a dark and painful chapter in Canadas history, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett told the House of Commons. I am very proud to say that we are adversaries no more and that negotiation rather than litigation is our governments preferred route to settle these differences and right historical wrongs, Bennett said. Resolving these cases is an important step in our journey of reconciliation with indigenous peoples. Bennetts statement, which was short on details or time frames, comes after a last-minute cancellation of a hearing the judge in the Ontario case had requested for Thursday. Two former aboriginal leaders were expected to tell the court about the advice they would have given the government had they been asked on helping on-reserve children retain their cultural identities after placement in non-indigenous homes. Instead, government lawyers this week informed Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba that they now had no plans to cross-examine the aging elders or any further evidence to tender, documents show. In response, Belobaba scrapped the hearing and instead asked for brief written submissions to be filed before the weekend. He also said he expected to announce a date for his ruling next week. Bennetts announcement would have no impact on Belobabas ruling, said Morris Cooper, one of the plaintiffs lawyers. Seven years of battling have come to the point where the federal government has changed its profound opposition to this claim that has been the hallmark of their attitude, Morris said. Initial claims have been filed on behalf of aboriginal children in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia, but none has been certified. The Ontario action filed in 2009 alleges about 16,000 at-risk indigenous children in Ontario suffered a devastating loss of identity when they were placed in non-aboriginal homes from 1965 to 1984 under terms of a federal-provincial agreement. The plaintiffs maintain the government violated the agreement by failing to consult with the various Indian bands about the child-welfare program an assertion Belobaba appeared to have accepted. The government does admit the children may have suffered harm but insists it is not liable because it had no duty of care toward them, and that it was acting with good intentions within the prevailing norms of the day. To the extent the public is led to believe that the Liberal government is embracing First Nations towards reconciliation, the life of this case suggests the contrary, said Jeffery Wilson, another of the plaintiffs lawyers. The Ontario plaintiffs want Belobaba to find in their favour without further ado, while Ottawa wants him to toss the action. If he sides with the plaintiffs, the next step would be to determine what damages they deserve. In December, Belobaba ordered Thursdays now cancelled mini-hearing on the narrow question of what bands might have told Ottawa. Wilmer Nadjiwon, 95, was chief of Chippewas Nawash Nation for 14 years starting in 1964, had planned to testify. What we would have done is tell the federal minister of Indian affairs that this is not the way to respect our people, not the way to preserve our identity and honour our special relationship with the Crown, Nadjiwon says in an affidavit. And if our children are forced to leave, we need to know they will return to the reserve because they have family here who love them ... that they have a special place in our community . . . but we did not have the opportunity to say these things. The plaintiffs received some high-profile support from philosopher-author and activist John Ralston Saul this week. In a statement obtained by The Canadian Press, Saul decried what he called the governments cynical argument that it could not have foreseen the cultural confusion the children suffered. The very idea that the Crown would argue a lack of foresight is itself a form of evil, Saul says. SHARE: OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau has formally shifted the emphasis in his governments foreign policy priorities to the United States. The change is contained in a letter to a key minister setting out her mandate. Trudeau instructed his new foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland that it is now America first. Number one on her list of top priorities is to maintain constructive relations with the United States, Canadas closest ally and most important economic and security partner, Trudeau wrote. First on the list of priorities for Stephane Dion, the departing foreign affairs minister, was to improve relations with the United States, our closest ally and most important economic and security partner, and strengthen trilateral North American cooperation with the United States and Mexico. Now Mexico and the trilateral relationship ranks a clear second. The shift is not subtle. Some items on Trudeaus to-do list for Dion in 2015 are now complete: a long-delayed North American leaders summit in Canada, and lifting a visa requirement for Mexicans coming to Canada. The letter to Freeland setting out her mandate goes into much more detail about Trudeaus expectations for the Canada-U.S. relationship, all with a view to maintain constructive relations, not to improve relations. The prime minister says he expects Freeland to step up and lead a whole-of-government approach and strategy to the Canada-U.S. relationship: ensuring border security and facilitating the movement of people, goods and services. He said Freelands efforts should engage provinces and territories on border and regulatory issues; continue to address global security threats; combat terrorism, and defend our continent, cooperating on energy security and energy infrastructure, and advancing shared action on environmental issues and climate change, including through collaboration on clean technology development and innovation. Then Trudeaus letter instructs Freeland to strengthen trilateral North American cooperation with the United States and Mexico. This will involve working with the relevant Ministers to enhance North Americas global competitiveness and facilitate trade and commerce within the continent, including with respect to the North American Free Trade Agreement. Dion was dumped from the key file early in the New Year as U.S. President Donald Trump was taking power with an avowedly protectionist trade agenda. Dion agreed Tuesday to accept the prime ministers offer to become ambassador to the EU and Germany. The Mexican government is clearly worried the Trudeau government will move to protect its own flanks in the face of Trumps pledge to renegotiate or tear-up the NAFTA agreement. When the Liberal cabinet met in Calgary, a Trump advisor tried to ease Canadian concerns it was in Trumps crosshairs. And Trudeaus ambassador to Washington David MacNaughton suggested Canada was trying to avoid being collateral damage. We will co-operate on trilateral matters, when its in our interest, and well be looking to do things that are in our interest bilaterally also. Some of them may be within NAFTA. Some may not be, said MacNaughton. On Tuesday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto called Trudeau to convey sympathy in the wake of the Quebec City mosque shooting as well as to talk trade. A brief, and unenlightening PMO readout of the meeting said the two leaders discussed trade, prosperity, job creation and competitiveness in North America, one of the most successful economic regions in the world. The two leaders looked forward to continuing their regular discussions in this regard. Read more about: SHARE: MONTREALA Montreal man was charged Wednesday with uttering threats online and inciting hatred as authorities said they were dealing with more hate-related complaints since Sundays mass killing at a mosque. Antonio Padula, 45, was arraigned after being arrested Tuesday night at his residence in Kirkland, a suburb on Montreals west island. Read the latest news on the Quebec mosque shooting The Crown opposed his release and he will return to court Thursday for a bail hearing. Padulas arrest came just days after a gunman killed six men and wounded several others as they attended prayer at a Quebec City mosque. The charges filed in court state the alleged comments and threats were made sometime on Tuesday. Padula, wearing a Juventus jersey, appeared by video and seemed shocked as the Crown opposed his release. Read more: Bloodied Quebec mosque reopens after shooting Funerals for three Quebec mosque shooting victims to be held in Thursday in Montreal PMO slams Fox News for inaccurate tweet about Quebec shooting suspect Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos stirs free speech debate over Berkeley talk The prosecution asked Padula to be seen by a psychosocial care worker before his bail hearing. We cant do that now?, Padula asked the court, clearly shaken. Im not going to handle a night over here, he told Quebec court Judge Denis Mondor. The judge replied, Well take care of you, sir, before asking jail guards to take care of him. The charge of public incitement of hatred carries a maximum of two years in prison, while uttering threats has a maximum five-year sentence. Montreal police said Quebec provincial police told them about the comments. The chief spokesman for the provincial force, which probes online threats, took to Twitter on Tuesday to remind users their posts can lead to criminal charges. Threatening or hate propaganda on social media, regardless of intention (humour), can be criminal, said Capt. Guy Lapointe. The inhibitions are less present behind a keyboard, he said. As of Wednesday afternoon, provincial police had received nearly 175 complaints brought to their attention since Sunday. In addition to stepping up patrols around places of worship, Montreal police Chief Philippe Pichet told reporters Tuesday the force has also seen a spike in the number of reports of hate crimes since the mosque attack. Last May, Montreal police created a hate-crimes unit to probe such complaints. On Wednesday, the head of Montreals anti-radicalization centre told the citys executive committee it had received 24 calls since Sunday, including 10 related to Islamophobia and four related to the extreme right. Herman Deparice-Okomba said four of those cases were transferred to police. It (24) is an enormous number in 72 hours, he said. SHARE: WASHINGTONNAFTA is out of date and needs to be brought into the 21st century, says one of the trade agreements original negotiators and most ardent champions, adding his voice to the explosion of commentary following the election of Donald Trump. Mickey Kantor was the negotiator brought in by Bill Clinton to finalize the deal in 1993, when the then-rookie president promised to add side agreements on labour and the environment and appointed Kantor as his first U.S. trade czar. He remains a huge booster of the pact he says it has promoted economic growth in all three signatory countries, in addition to encouraging more harmonious relations between neighbours. But dont count him among all the people hand-wringing about changes to NAFTA. He says it and other agreements he reached in the 1990s were tailored to an economy that no longer exists, and require modernization. There was no Internet. There was no cloud. There was no problem with data transfer. We had a whole different world, Kantor told a symposium organized this week by the libertarian Cato Institute. No agreement certain none I ever negotiated is perfect. They all need to be updated. Kantor said he would advise a Trump administration to make that among its top priorities. Indeed, Trump has promised to renegotiate or scrap the treaty, which has caused some anxiety among U.S. neighbours who send the overwhelming majority of their exports to the U.S. Both Canada and Mexico have responded to the election result by saying theyd be willing to sit down for a discussion, prompting more debate about whether theyve weakened their negotiating position with Trump. But another trade veteran at the symposium wholeheartedly agreed with Kantor. Susan Schwab was a U.S. trade representative with the Republican administration under George W. Bush. NAFTA is an ancient trade agreement. Its hopelessly out of date. Thats not to say its a bad agreement, Schwab said. She saluted the Canadian governments approach: I thought that was a very, very clever response. A third former U.S. trade representative, Robert Zoellick, has suggested inviting the United Kingdom into NAFTA especially as that country seeks new trade relationships in light of its vote to leave the European Union. There are pros and cons to talk of reopening NAFTA, said Canadian trade lawyer Mark Warner. A more modern trade deal could indeed produce better standards for labour, the environment, state-owned enterprises, fighting corruption and resolving disputes, as adjusted in more recent agreements, Warner said. It would also allow Canada to revisit the energy rule that forces it to sell a certain amount of oil to the U.S., potentially limiting its options with market diversification. In addition, he said Canada could seek more beneficial rules on government procurement and worker mobility. Frustration with current mobility rules has been repeatedly voiced by Canadian officials. They would love to add new, digital-economy jobs to the list of professions eligible for easy-access visas under NAFTA an out-of-date index almost completely devoid of references to computers. One official said in a recent interview that multinational companies are now bedevilled by red tape when sending employees to do work in a branch across the border. They cant cross the border without getting hassled. But theres also an obvious downside risk to opening this discussion, said Warner: the fear of opening up a Pandoras box of complications. The risk of opening NAFTA for negotiations is that the update cant get limited to minor tweaks but spreads to traditional bilateral Canada-U.S. irritants like supply management (of dairy), softwood lumber, country of origin labelling for beef, he said. If NAFTA talks failed, and President Trump terminated NAFTA, Canada might be able to rely on the 1988 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement but that would also likely need to be updated and many of the same sticky issues would arise. Read more about: SHARE: LIGONIER The citys proposed, and newly revised, Strawberry Valley Cultural Trail project is stepping forward for funding. Ligonier Redevelopment Commission approved funding not to exceed $480,000 to the first phase of the project Tuesday morning to complete the citys application for Regional Cities Initiative funding from the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority due Feb. 8. Originally named the Strawberry Valley Greenway, the project was estimated at a total cost of $4.65 million, but city leaders decided to break the project down into phases with the hope to better facilitate funding of the trail. The first phase, for which the RDC committed its funding, is projected to cost $1.4 million and will build on the current Elkhart Riverwalk with the paving of paths and construction of boardwalks connecting downtown murals, statues and historical landmarks to the citys parks. The trail will be utilized for more than just exercise and recreation as was first thought; the new layout makes it a destination for those wanting to learn the history of Ligonier as well, commissioners said. A preliminary design of the project shows the 5-mile path as a loop through the city beginning with the existing riverwalk along the north side of the Elkhart River. It will connect to the east with Richmond Street, where both a pathway and boardwalk will be constructed. The path will then turn south onto State Road 5/Cavin Street, where it will utilize existing sidewalks and new signs to point visitors in the direction of local landmarks and sites. An asphalt path around Pettit Park is also proposed. From there, the path will continue south down an existing alley west of Main Street after a jog on Fourth Street. This will lead people south to Sixth Street and Prescott Park. The trail will go west on Sixth Street, eventually leading into a new asphalt path, to connect to the Ligonier Sports & Recreation Center and Kenney Parks current gravel walking path. Coming off of the northeast loop of Kenney Parks trail, the new trail will use an existing alley to connect to Lincolnway West and lead west to Bridge Street where it will turn north on a new asphalt path to finish the loop at the existing riverwalk. Throughout the trail, new crosswalks, signage and mile markers with the Strawberry Valley logo will help visitors find their way around the loop. I think its an excellent use of the funds. I dont think a lot of people have any idea how its going to positively affect the city, Mayor Patty Fisel said. I think the design is going to impress them very much. The commissions funding will come out of a $2.2 million bond the RDC approved in 2015 for such projects and must be used by the end of its 3-year agreement in 2018. Clerk-Treasurer Barb Hawn told commissioners that as of the meeting, there was $1.12 million still available. The commissioners approval will allow the city to move forward with its grant application for Regional Cities money, for which its requesting $285,200. To apply for part of the $42 million designated to the region from Indiana Economic Development Corporation, projects are required to have 60 percent of the cost provided through private contributions, 20 percent in public funding and the remaining amount would be granted from the RDA. But Triad Associates Engineer Jonathan Moen and Mayor Patty Fisel said they were assured in recent meetings with both the RDA and Noble County Economic Development Corporation that these percentages contain some flexibility. The Strawberry Valley Cultural Trail project is currently funded with 46 percent from private donations and 34 percent from the Redevelopment Commission. In that, Noble County EDC has also committed up to 30 percent of construction costs over a 3-year period, totaling $347,843, contingent on the project receiving Regional Cities funding. Commissioner Bryan Shearer questioned what would be done with the $480,000 if the city doesnt receive the funding its requesting and cant tackle the cultural trail project as its laid out, but Moen contended an expansion of the trails on whatever scale possible would be beneficial to the city. We are not talking about small dollars here, but its an investment to the city, Moen said. As a city that would like to continue to grow and have opportunity, people look at recreational uses within the city. Thats not just residential, thats business that will look at these components whether to move into the city or not. This is something that has a lot of benefit from many aspects. The deadline for Regional Cities Initiative funding applications is Wednesday, Feb. 8, and the RDA is scheduled to meet soon after on Feb. 14 to review proposals. OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau abandoned his promise to reform Canadas electoral system on Wednesday, claiming no consensus has been found on an alternative system. Only two months after recommitting to electoral reform, Trudeau told newly appointed Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould that replacing the first-past-the-post system was no longer on the table. Trudeaus decision shelves months of work by a special House of Commons committee, two separate public engagement and consultation exercises, numerous MP town hall meetings and one cross-country ministerial tour. The move was called a betrayal by the opposition New Democrats, who accused Trudeau of lying to progressive voters when he made electoral reform a central promise in the 2015 election. Rather than keep his word to the millions of Canadians who voted for him and the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who engaged in good faith over this question of how to strengthen and broaden our democracy, Mr. Trudeau chose today instead to spit in their face, New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen told reporters. In the House of Commons, Trudeau said not only is there no clear consensus on a new voting system which citizens werent actually asked to weigh in on but the issue itself is not a priority for Canadians. There is no consensus among Canadians on how, or even whether, to reform our electoral system, Trudeau said during question period. We are moving forward in a way that will focus on the things that matter to Canadians. That is what Canadians elected us to do. But only two months ago, Trudeau told the Stars editorial board that he heard loudly and clearly that Canadians want a better system of governance, a better system of choosing our governments. Trudeau went on to say he wouldnt abandon his promise to replace first-past-the-post which gave the Liberals a majority government with less than 40 per cent of the popular vote simply because it was difficult to do. I make promises because I believe in them, Trudeau said on Dec. 2. Canadians elect governments to do hard things and dont expect us to throw up our hands when things are a little difficult No, Im sorry, thats not the way I was raised. Thats not the way Im going to move forward on a broad range of issues, regardless of how difficult they may seem at a given point. In June 2015 with the Liberals in third place in the polls, Trudeau held a press conference to promise that the 2015 election will be the last federal election using first-past-the-post. The winner-take-all system, critics have long argued, skews the will of voters by allowing parties to win a majority of the seats in the House of Commons without support from a majority of voters. Trudeau made the promise in the context of a package of reforms meant to fix Ottawa after years of accusations that the Conservatives were running roughshod over Parliament. While his promise to replace first-past-the-post was unambiguous, however, Trudeau failed to articulate exactly what the Liberals would replace it with. The government took months to set up a committee to study the issue after the election, under constant opposition questioning in the House of Commons. The Conservatives demanded that any new system be put to a nationwide referendum, while the NDP urged the government to get on with the committee study. Former democratic institutions minister Maryam Monsef weathered it all, but struggled to articulate the governments position beyond a commitment to consultations. Months of study and consultations later, Monsef blasted her colleagues on the Special Committee for Electoral Reform for failing to endorse an alternative to first-past-the-post which she hadnt actually asked them to do. Monsef apologized the next day. The Liberals also polled a large number of Canadians online although their survey, dubbed MyDemocracy.ca, was criticized for not asking participants what specific alternative voting system they supported. Shortly after reporting the results of the survey, the Liberals were ready to pull the plug on the whole initiative. Monsefs successor, Burlington MP Karina Gould, repeated the prime ministers claim that there was no consensus on Wednesday. If we were to change the electoral system, something as foundational as how we decide to govern ourselves, we need to do it with the support of Canadians, Gould said. It would not be responsible for us to move forward if we did not. Gould did not respond to repeated questions about why the government did not ask Canadians to come to a consensus on a new system. Trudeaus new mandate for Gould rules out electoral reform in the short term, but also jeopardizes the work of the last seven months by the all-party committee on electoral reform. That committee recommended that the government hold a nationwide referendum between the status quo, first-past-the-post and a new proportional system of the governments own design. The Liberals on that committee issued a separate report, which argued the public was not preoccupied with electoral reform issues, and recommended the government continue to engage and educate citizens about the issue before proposing an alternative. Its not clear if either suggestion could be taken up by the Liberals, or another government, in the future. Now that electoral reform is off her plate, Trudeau has asked Gould to lead an effort to ensure Canadian elections are secure from cyberattacks and foreign meddling. The Communications Security Establishment, Canadas cyber-defence and electronic espionage agency, and Public Safety Canada have been asked to assist her in that task. SHARE: A North York man has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the death of a Markham woman whose body wasnt found until nearly eight months after she was first reported missing. Jerry Tang, 21, who pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter, softly told court Wednesday that he was sorry about the death of Annie Li, whose remains were discovered in a suitcase at Earl Bales Park in North York. He treated Annie Li and her body like trash by throwing her out in a public park, Crown attorney Rob Scott said. Court was told that Tang hired Li, who worked occasionally as a sex worker, on June 12. The pair headed to his mothers condominium at Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. Tangs mother was in China visiting his father. According to Tang, he fell asleep after they had sex, only waking up when Li began slapping him and demanding money. Li, 36, claimed she was pregnant, and that she would tell his mother if he refused to pay. After the struggle escalated, he said he held her down with his elbow on her throat, the force of which caused her death. In a panic, Tang said he loaded Lis body into a suitcase and brought it to the park at Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. E., leaving it out near its popular walking trails. Lis brother Jet Hu played a big part in helping police track down Tang, locating his sisters cellphone by using the find my phone app. After an investigation, police charged Tang with manslaughter on Sept. 1 but she was still missing. On Jan. 6, Tang pleaded guilty in court and showed police where the body was. In his touching victim impact statement, Hu described the heart-wrenching emotions his family has gone through. When Annie was first captured, my father would get on his bicycle every morning and go out looking for her, he told court. My mother sat at home waiting and waiting for my father to come home to see if he had found her. This horror is always on my mind, which is always grinding, non-stop, trying to untangle this terrible mystery. He said that since her death, his mother has contemplated suicide and his father has been left a shell of the man he was. What cuts deepest is that, even though this man pleaded guilty, he has shown no sorrow, remorse or guilt for what he has done to Annie, he said. It is stinging salt to our already blistering wound, to witness the callous indifference he holds. The judge, Crown and defence agreed that Tang should serve seven years in prison, minus credit for time served, meaning six years and four months remain. He will be deported back to China, where his parents are living, when hes released. SHARE: About 250 people came together at Thorncliffe Public Library for a march against Islamophobia on Wednesday to remember those who lost their lives and show support to victims families of the Quebec mosque shooting. Mothers pushed strollers, fathers held their childrens hands and friends walked in groups as Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Councillor Jon Burnside marched to show solidarity with the community. As-salam alaykum, she said. What happened in Quebec happened to all of usIts our responsibility and its in our communitys and our country and our provinces best interest to come together and say we dont accept this hate, Wynne told the crowd. Wynne penned a heartfelt open letter in the wake of the Quebec mosque massacre, saying Ontarians have a responsibility to be united in the face of bigotry. Over the last several days, our hearts have been broken as we see the terrible results of hate and fear close to home and elsewhere in the world, Wynne wrote Wednesday. I am very sad this week. I think we all are. And its a reminder that we must, every day, make it clear what we in Ontario believe. That we value and respect and love each other and that is the way we will go forward, she wrote. Wynne encouraged the generous actions of those who came in to help people after the murders in Quebec and said the only thing that can combat hatred is love. Inshallah, we will not have to gather like this again, she finished. Rita Gallippi, principal of Gateway Public School in North York held a sign with the names of the victims who were killed in the attack. With the tragedies that have been happening around the world particularly in Quebec, she said she was at the rally to support her community. Its a senseless crime and I was very sad that all of those lives were lost, Gallipi said. I have a lot of hope of Canadians, she said. Believe in equity and diversity. Leaning heavily on their walking sticks, Father Noel Whelan and Parish Councilor Robert Rayner of St. Edith Stein Catholic Church, North York walked slowly at the tail end of the rally. Were representing our community Whelan said. Were expressing our solidarity with the rest of the community. Rozina Akhtar came with her 21-month-old son, Saihaan. The Quebec shootings left her shaken, she said. The rally shows that people want to live together peacefully, she said. The rally shows that the shootings dont define Canada, and that is not what we want Canada to be, said Rebeka Darylin, who moved to Thorncliffe about two years ago. Councillor Burnside said the rally was a beginning, and it needs to be built on. The march is a first step, he said. The best way to fight xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia is getting to know each other, he said Read more about: SHARE: Queens Park wants to ban hospitals from being renamed at the behest of rich donors, the Star has learned. Concerned about wealthy people and big corporations getting entire hospitals rechristened in exchange for philanthropic contributions, Health Minister Eric Hoskins is proposing that any such changes be cleared by him. Hoskins says the new name must not include the corporate or business name of a corporate donor, or the family name of an individual or family donor, (or) the family name of an individual. His decree would not apply to hospital wings, individual buildings on a campus, research centres, treatment facilities or health services programs. Thats according to a draft copy of a four-page directive sent to hospitals for their feedback last week. The purpose of this directive is to . . . ensure the names used by hospitals reflect their role as publicly supported organizations operating within a universal, publicly funded health care system, the internal memo states. Currently, hospitals have the discretion to choose their own names . . . (but) recent amendments to the Public Hospitals Act . . . will, once proclaimed, effectively require that hospitals seek prior approval of the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for corporate changes, including new corporate names, it continues. This directive governs new names (including business and corporate names) of hospital corporations, hospital sites, individual hospital buildings in cases where the building comprises all or substantially all of a hospital site, and alliances, partnerships, and other associations between or among hospital corporations. It would also affect names for new corporations, sites, or associations, as well as new names (i.e. name changes) for existing corporations, sites, or associations. Any new names must reflect the geographic location of the hospital, its mandate, history, local community or the culture or heritage of the persons served by the hospital. The catalyst for the edict appears to be the December 2015 renaming of Toronto East General Hospital. Myron and Berna Garron donated $50 million to East General, the main campus of which is now the Michael Garron Hospital. That was to honour their son who died in 1975 at age 13 of a rare cancer. The boys dying wish was that he would not be forgotten. Owners of a successful auto parts company, the Garrons also donated $30 million to the Hospital for Sick Children in 2010 for the Garron Family Cancer Centre. While Hoskins had no issue with the familys generosity, he is worried about publicly funded hospitals being renamed after corporations such as Coca-Cola or Molson Coors. The Ontario Hospital Association, which represents more than 150 hospitals in the province, warned this may inadvertently trigger a freeze on large-scale philanthropic efforts. Thats because donors may reconsider and/or decline to make major gifts because they fear arbitrary government intervention in a matter which they believe is really between them and their family, and their hospital, said the OHAs Samantha Grant. Given the relentless pressure to contain costs, the reliance of the hospital sector on fundraising and philanthropy has never been greater, said Grant. In particular, philanthropy plays a significant role in paying for the cost of major capital projects, particularly new construction and the renovation of existing hospital facilities, she said. Experience from other parts of Canada suggests that in general, people are reluctant to donate to a hospital if they dont have confidence that the donation will be used for the purpose for which it is intended. SHARE: The province is giving the all clear to as much as $8 million in proposed pay hikes for 80 executives at Ontario Power Generation by the end of the decade. This includes up to $3.8 million a year for its chief executive. Just days after the government sent community colleges back to the drawing board on their plans to raise presidents salaries as much as 50 per cent, Energy Minister Glen Thibeaults office said pay hikes at OPG can be justified. Its crucial to retain and attract top international talent to bring the $12.8-billion refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear power plant near Oshawa in on time and on budget. The safe operation of Ontarios large nuclear generating stations requires technical experts of the highest standard, Thibeaults office said in a statement Tuesday. Ontario Power Generation is the only public sector organization in Canada that requires the commercial and technical expertise necessary to safely operate nuclear power stations. Chief executive Jeffrey Lyash now makes $1.5 million a year, equally divided between salary and incentive pay, and there are no plans to change that pay package for the next three years, said OPG spokesman Neal Kelly. He will stay under his existing contract unless the board decides to make a change, said Kelly, noting its unlikely the chief executive would see pay rise to the maximum because the target is being set at a lower level. Otherwise, executives are now eligible for merit raises based on performance, he added. Thibeault has been tasked by Premier Kathleen Wynne with taking cost pressures out of the electricity system in the wake of soaring hydro prices. The possible raises at OPG and for another 344 employers in the broader public sector, including some at transit agency Metrolinx, the LCBO, hospitals and school boards, are being contemplated as government-ordered pay freezes for non-unionized staff come to an end. Under guidelines that took effect last fall, employers in the broader public sector must establish salary comparators at similar organizations and come up with executive compensation programs for public comment by September, and these must include minimums and maximums. Metrolinx, for example, has set a range of $375,300 to $479,500 for its chief executive in a draft proposal now on the agencys web site. CEO Bruce McCuaig now makes $361,114.66 a year. This means he could be in for a raise of up to $118,000. This isnt final, said spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins, noting the draft is subject to change after public comments are taken into account. Its up to the board of directors if any executives get raises. The NDP is crying foul on proposed raises after years of calling for firm caps on compensation for public-sector executives. When out-of-control hydro costs are crushing hard-working families, its a slap in the face to hear that the CEO of Ontario Power Generation could be eligible for a salary of up to $3.8 million, New Democrat MPP John Vanthof said in a statement. Most Ontarians havent seen a real increase in pay in years, despite soaring utility and housing costs. It just isnt fair for the executives of our public utilities and institutions to be raking in huge salaries, raises, and bonuses, while so many Ontarians are struggling to put food on the table. Last week, Deputy Premier Deb Matthews said plans by some of Ontarios colleges to boost presidential pay up to 50 per cent were unacceptable. Matthews added she needed to send a signal, because the government needs to keep spending under control as the government is expected to balance the budget in the coming fiscal year after many years of deficits. On Wednesday, the Progressive Conservatives said they would like to see a more open process when it comes to setting salaries. Kathleen Wynne has allowed egregious public sector pay hike discussions, showing exactly how out of touch she and her Liberal government have become, MPP Michael Harris (Kitchener-Conestoga) told reporters at Queens Park. If elected in 2018, Harris said his party would launch its own review on how decisions surrounding public sector executive compensation are made our review would allow for transparency and ensure Ontarians that this process is done in a more public and transparent way. With files from Kristin Rushowy Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWADefence Minister Harjit Sajjan says the federal government is concerned about a new outbreak of fighting in Ukraine and is looking at ways to improve Canadas military support to the country. Im looking at the options right now in terms of how we can improve our support, what changes that we need to make, Sajjan said Wednesday. But one thing is for sure, that Canada remains committed to Ukraine. Read more: Ukraine erupts with new violence between troops and pro-Russia rebels 7 Ukrainian troops killed in new clashes with Russia-backed rebels Government forces and Russian-backed rebels have traded heavy fire in eastern Ukraine over the last few days, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more. The surge in violence is threatening to overturn a ceasefire in the three-year-old civil war that has been repeatedly broken by both sides, but is still seen as the best chance for peace. It also comes amid uncertainty over U.S. intentions in the region, including whether it will continue to stand with Ukraine given President Donald Trumps comments about mending relations with Russia. Canada first deployed about 200 troops to Ukraine in the summer of 2015 to help train government forces after Russia annexed Crimea and began supporting separatist forces in Ukraines Donbass region. The mission, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toured during a visit to the country in July, has so far resulted in 2,600 Ukrainian troops being trained primarily in the basic soldiering. But the mission is set to expire at the end of March and the Liberal government had been noncommittal on an extension despite public appeals from the Ukrainian government. Sajjans comments, coming a few weeks after the British extended their own training mission, are the strongest indication yet that Canada will maintain, and may even expand, its military presence in Ukraine. Ive always said when we send troops, we want to make sure they have a meaningful impact, Sajjan said. And we are having a meaningful impact in Ukraine. Conservative defence critic James Bezan said he hopes the Liberal government not only extends the current training mission, but expands military support in other ways. That includes providing military equipment to the Ukrainians and satellite imagery, as the previous Conservative government did. At some point in time we have to make a decision that Ukraine needs our help, Bezan said. Theyre fighting a war against Russian imperialism and if they fail, then its right on NATOs doorstep. So they definitely need the support and training. They definitely need the support with satellite images. They should at the very least be supplying nonkinetic equipment. Canadas large and influential Ukrainian community has also made it clear that it wants the government continue to provide military assistance to the eastern European country. But there have been misgivings inside the Canadian Forces, with some grumbles the military is being stretched thin as it prepares to send troops to Latvia and Africa while also supporting the mission in Iraq. There are also concerns about ongoing problems with corruption among the Ukrainian military, particularly at the top levels. Sajjan said he was confident, based on defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vances assessment, that the Canadian Forces is not being overstretched. And while he acknowledged corruption remains an issue, Sajjan said Canada will continue to work with Ukrainian authorities to ensure the problem is addressed. We have to make sure we have the confidence of the population, he said. Im confident that well keep moving in that direction, and well also make sure that as we move forward, that well help them with any efficiencies that they need as well. Sajjan did not say when a decision would be made on whether to extend the mission, though officials say options have been drawn up by the military and will be presented to cabinet in the coming weeks. Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraines ambassador to Canada, expressed frustration in an interview last month with how long things were taking. Those people who sit in the Kremlin and plan their other terrible activities in Ukraine, the sooner they learn that the West and Canada is serious about future co-operation, the better it is, he said. Read more about: SHARE: The 7-year-old Syrian peace preacher who lit up the Internet last year took to Twitter on Wednesday to ask President Trump whether she is a terrorist. Bana Alabeds social media posts describing life in besieged Aleppo and calling out the West for failure to end the crisis drew worldwide acclaim. On Wednesday, Trump defended his controversial executive order implementing travel restrictions for Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! he tweeted. Bana retweeted the president with the comment Am I a terrorist? Bana has called out Trump in other tweets in recent days. After six Muslims were fatally shot Sunday at a Canadian mosque, Bana tweeted: I dont see Donald Trump tweeting about the terrorist attack in Quebec. What happened Mr @realdonaldtrump? Because affected are Muslims? During the siege of Aleppo, Bana tweeted photos and videos depicting a war-torn wasteland. Her Twitter profile I am 7 years old peace preacher drew worldwide acclaim and 366,000 followers. (Trump, for the record, has more than 23 million followers.) Syrian President Bashar Assad dismissed her Twitter account as a publicity stunt. Bana and her family were feared dead or captured by Syrian government forces when her Twitter account went offline in December. But it quickly returned, and on Dec. 13 rebels and government forces reached a truce. Within days Bana, her parents and younger brother and sister took an evacuation bus to freedom in Turkey, where Bana met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She thanked him for his efforts to end the suffering in Aleppo. Read more: Trumps travel ban has some students, researchers looking to Canada Donald Trump just gave a Black History Month speech about the persecution of Donald Trump Bushs daughter Jenna slams Trump travel ban: This is not the America I know I was very much afraid, Alabed said to Erdogan in Arabic. I was afraid for my family. I was afraid they could die. Because we were under bombardment every day. We were afraid of dying. Then, in English, she said she would like to thank you for supporting the children of Aleppo and help us to get out from the war. Read more about: SHARE: BERKELEY, CALIF.Fans and foes agree that Milo Yiannopoulos specializes in controversy. The polarizing editor from Breitbart News is a self-proclaimed internet troll who has been criticized as racist, misogynist and white supremacist. His scheduled visit Wednesday to the University of California at Berkeley has raised an issue facing campuses across America at the dawn of the Trump presidency: What is the line between free speech and hate speech? The visit is sponsored by the campus Republican club. The university has stressed it did not invite Yiannopoulos, a right-wing provocateur who is gay and calls his event The Dangerous Faggot Tour. The potential for physical danger in reaction to Yiannopoulos came into the spotlight this month after a man was shot and wounded at a protest outside his Jan. 21 University of Washington talk. Rowdy protests at UC Davis Jan. 13 prompted campus Republicans to cancel his appearance at the last minute. Read more: Roxane Gay parts with Simon & Schuster over Milo Yiannopoulos deal Milo Yiannopoulos book will be published despite wide criticism Montreal police see rise in hate speech complaints, arrest man for alleged social media posts On Tuesday night at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, his speech was met with dozens of angry protesters outside a campus theatre, but they were outnumbered by police who kept them far from the nearly 500 attendees and the event went on as planned. His last stop was supposed to be UCLA on Feb. 2, but that invitation was rescinded, making Berkeley the grand finale of his cross-country campus tour. Professors have joined hundreds of students calling for the events cancellation. But university officials say it will be allowed in the name of free speech as will protests that Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks expects could be substantial amid tight security. In our view, Mr. Yiannopoulos is a troll and provocateur who uses odious behaviour in part to entertain, but also to deflect any serious engagement with ideas, Dirks wrote last week to Berkeleys staff and 37,500 students. He has been widely and rightly condemned for engaging in hate speech. But as a public university, Berkeleys administrators are legally bound by the First Amendment to protect free speech, meaning even offensive and hate speech cannot be banned or censored, Dirks said. We are defending the right to free expression at a historic moment for our nation, when this right is once again of paramount importance, Dirks said. His letter did not name President Donald Trump, whom Yiannopoulos supports, but highlighted concerns at Berkeley and elsewhere since his election. The Berkeley Republican Club says it has no plans to cancel the event because that would send a message that intimidation and violence can win. We dont support everything hes said or done, said Pieter Sittler, 19, a sophomore who is the clubs vice-president. But we think its important to have a complete political discourse. Not just stay in an echo chamber and silence what you disagree with. Read more:Bushs daughter Jenna slams Trump travel ban: This is not the America I know The events 500 seats sold out about 48 hours after the event was announced last fall, Sittler said. Yiannopoulos gives a voice to repressed conservative thought on American college campuses, Sittler said, adding that he uses levity and humour that should not be taken literally. Administrators say the demands to stifle Yiannopoulos show that modern sensitivities are changing the debate about free speech on campus. What used to be a campaign to allow all voices risks becoming more restrictive. The number of attempts to keep speakers off college campuses because of their politics doubled last year, according to a report issued late last year by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. It logged a record 42 incidents of disinvitations, with 25 per cent aimed at Yiannopoulos. The increasing unwillingness to allow anyone on campus to hear ideas with which one disagrees poses a grave risk to students intellectual development, Ari Cohn, director of the foundations Individual Rights Defence Program, said in a statement. Administrators have received hundreds of letters and emails calling for the events cancellation. Theres a No Milo at Berkeley Facebook page with more than 3,500 people signed on, calling for a mass counter protest to shut down the event. Nearly 100 professors signed a letter to the chancellor urging him to cancel the event. It cited some of Yiannopoulos earlier comments. At the University of Delaware, Yiannopoulos referred to transgender people as mentally ill and encouraged his audience to mock them. He has called Black Lives Matter a form of black supremacism. Twitter banned him in July, as it cracked down on racist abuse targeting Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones. At Western Carolina University he called feminism, a mean, vindictive, spiteful, nasty, man-hating philosophy. The university should not provide a platform for such harassment, the letter from professors said. We support robust debate, but we cannot abide by harassment, slander, defamation and hate speech. Yiannopoulos rejects accusations he is racist or white supremacist, saying his boyfriend is black and his humour is taken too literally in todays politically correct culture. A group of veterans from Berkeleys 1960s Free Speech Movement praised administrators for allowing the event. Even the worst kind of bigot, including Yiannopoulos, must be allowed to speak on campus, they wrote in In an op-ed published by Berkeleys The Daily Californian. SHARE: PARISFor a small duck it packs one hell of a peck. One-time French presidential front-runner Francois Fillon is slowly finding his dream of winning the Elysee Palace under water. And its because of the revelations of one old-school, eight-page satirical newspaper with ink that comes off on your hands: Le Canard Enchaine, or The Chained Duck. The dirt-digging weeklys claims that Fillons political clout helped secure handsomely paid jobs for his wife, Penelope, and two of their children are the just the latest scoops from the 102-year-old newspaper which is showing that traditional gumshoe reporting and the ink-and-paper format still have value in the increasingly online world. Read more: French front-runner says hell drop out if judge investigates Penelope Affair Francois Fillon wins Frances first-ever conservative presidential primary With its old-school typography, puns on every page and thick, rough paper, Le Canard may seem like an unlikely source of hard-nosed political journalism. But the controversy has seriously hurt the conservative Fillon and has upended the race for Frances spring presidential election. It has pecked away at his popularity as his critics cry foul. Fillon, who was Frances prime minister from 2007 to 2012, has denied any wrongdoing. On Wednesday, he said he was the victim of an institutional coup and would fight to the end the newspapers accusations that he paid his wife for an allegedly fake job. Speaking on the sidelines of a Paris event, Fillon said he has always respected the law and vowed to remain a candidate in this presidential election. The paper first published the allegations against Fillon on Jan. 25, and then came out with a second report containing further accusations on Wednesday. Copies of the latest edition were hard to come by in Paris. Financial prosecutors are investigating whether Penelope Fillon actually worked, as he claims, as her husbands parliamentary aide or whether her job was fake, which would be an illegal use of public funds. Le Canard Enchaine, available in kiosks and proudly not online, is a modern anachronism that flies in the face of claims that old-school newspapers are relics of the past. The weekly, costing 1.20 euros ($1.29), continues to be an influential player in the French media landscape, and a go-to for whistle-blowers despite dwindling newspaper sales across the world. The paper, which has no advertisements, is mainly financed through newsstand sales and subscriptions. Editor Louis-Marie Horeau recently revealed his papers winning journalistic methods for exposing the so-called Penelope-gate scandal. Im going to tell you a secret that you can tell no one: All we did was do our work. There was a team of three journalists that worked on the contradictions that we noticed in Francois Fillons own declarations, Horeau said on BFM-TV. Founded as a satirical newspaper in 1915 to ease the horrors of World War I, the name Canard Enchaine was chosen to reference the censorship of the era. Canard or duck was taken from French slang for newspaper. The publication branched out into investigative journalism in the 1960s. It soon left its indelible mark on French politics and showed it could punch above its weight. Former President Charles de Gaulle was often the butt of stories leaked to the paper by its government sources. Frances president from 1959 to 1969 was reportedly known to ask each Wednesday: What does the fowl have to say? The paper is also known to end political careers. Many credit Le Canard Enchaine for single-handedly dashing the re-election bid of former French President Valery Giscard dEstaing in 1981. The paper caused a political scandal by revealing in 1979 that Giscard dEstaing had been offered two diamonds from controversial African dictator Bokassa I. The newspaper has often been compared to Britains Private Eye. The Canard revelations that former French Finance Minister Herve Gaymard maintained a huge, lavish apartment all funded with tax-payers money led to his resignation in 2005. French commentators have claimed that the newspapers reporting has landed an irreversible blow on Fillons image after winning the partys primary on a squeaky-clean image and pledges to cut public spending and to keep scandals out of politics. Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTONHappy Black History Month, everyone. Have you heard about the greatness and persecution of Donald J. Trump? The president of the United States held an African-American History Month listening session in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Wednesday. He began with a five-minute monologue that was more about himself his campaign, his popularity, his alleged mistreatment by the media than it was about African-Americans. It was similar in style to his speech a week and a half prior in front of the memorial wall at the Central Intelligence Agency: conventional scripted statements mixed with a distinctly Trumpian improvised stew of boasting, complaining and rambling. This one elicited the same kind of offence from the black community as that one did the intelligence community. OH. MY. EFFING. GAWD. Trumps Black History Month speech is an abomination, Sil Lai Abrams, author of the book Black Lotus, wrote in a representative post on Twitter. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump Trumps remarks bore no resemblance to the Black History Month speeches of Democrat Barack Obama, the first black president, or those of Republican George W. Bush. In 2008, for example, Bush spoke at length, from a prepared text, about the horrors of lynching. In 2007, he spoke of the evils of slavery, the triumphs of civil rights heroes and the character and achievement of the black community. Trump appeared more interested in the evils of the media and triumphs of his own. His third paragraph, for example, started with a lone sentence about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It was followed by 10 sentences of media criticism. Trump said Kings incredible example is unique in American history. Immediately, he pivoted to his oft-repeated gripe about a Time reporters erroneous claim which the reporter quickly corrected and apologized for that he had removed a King bust from the Oval Office after moving in. You read all about Dr. Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office. And it turned out that that was fake news, Trump said. The statue is cherished. Its one of the favourite things and we have some good ones. We have Lincoln, and we have Jefferson, and we have Dr. Martin Luther King. And we have other (sic). But they said the statue, the bust, of Dr. Martin Luther King was taken out of the office. And it was never even touched. So I think it was a disgrace, but thats the way the press is. Its very unfortunate. Trump did not spend any more time discussing the other black icons he mentioned. About Frederick Douglass, the 19th-century slavery abolitionist and writer, Trump said in full: Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody whos done an amazing job that is being recognized more and more, I notice. He did not show that he was aware of the nature of Douglasss work or life. Neither did press secretary Sean Spicer when asked for clarification of Trumps comment. I think he wants to highlight the contributions that he has made, and I think through a lot of the actions and statements that hes going to make, the contributions of Frederick Douglass will become more and more, Spicer said. Trump, who spent years promoting a racist lie about Obamas citizenship, is overwhelmingly unpopular in the black community. His latest comments were greeted with astonishment, alarm and anger among black Americans, among others, on Twitter. Even former first daughter Chelsea Clinton waded in, suggesting she was speechless: This is...this is... This defies comment, finished Susan Rice, Obamas United Nations ambassador. Attendees of the gathering which Trump opened by saying, This is Black History Month, so this is our little breakfast all appeared to be vocal Trump supporters. They included housing secretary nominee Ben Carson, former Apprentice reality villain Omarosa Manigault, pastor Darrell Scott and television commentator Paris Dennard. Trump managed to turn even his introductions into an attack on a media outlet he doesnt like. Paris has done an amazing job in a very hostile CNN community; hes all by himself. Seven people and Paris. Ill take Paris over the seven. But I dont watch CNN, so I dont get to see you as much. I dont like watching fake news. But Fox has treated me very nice, wherever Fox is, thank you. Were going to need better schools, and we need em soon. We need more jobs, we need better wages, a lot better wages, Trump said. Trump did offer some words of praise for black Americans, saying, Their story is one of unimaginable sacrifice, hard work, and faith in America. Returning to his association of black communities with crime, he also promised to work very hard on the inner city, calling black communities so unsafe it is terrible. And then he continued on his favourite subject: his own success. If you remember, I wasnt going to do well with the African-American community, and after they heard me speaking and talking about the inner city and lots of other things, we ended up getting, I wont go into details, but we ended up getting substantially more than other candidates who had run in the past years, he said. And now were going to take that to new levels. I want to thank my television star over here Omarosas actually a very nice person. Nobody knows that. Trumps 12-day-old administration has also managed to generate criticism with a Holocaust remembrance statement (which omitted any mention of Jewish people) and condolence remarks on the Quebec City mosque massacre (which his spokesman used to justify his travel ban targeting Muslims). Here is a full transcript of Trumps remarks: Well the election, it came out really well. Next time well triple the number (of black votes) or quadruple it. We want to get it over 51, right. At least 51. Well, this is Black History Month, so this is our little breakfast, our little get-together. And just a few notes. During this month, we honour the tremendous history of the African-Americans throughout our country. Throughout the world, if you really think about it, right. And their story is one of unimaginable sacrifice, hard work, and faith in America. Ive gotten a real glimpse during the campaign; Id go around with Ben to a lot of places that I wasnt so familiar with. Theyre incredible people. And I want to thank Ben Carson, whos going to be heading up HUD (Housing and Urban Development), and its a big job, and its a job thats not only housing, its mind and spirit, right? And you understand that. Nobodys going to be better than Ben. Last month we celebrated the life of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. whose incredible example is unique in American history. You read all about Dr. Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office. And it turned out that that was fake news. The statue is cherished. Its one of the favourite things and we have some good ones. We have Lincoln, and we have Jefferson, and we have Dr. Martin Luther King. And we have other. But they said the statue, the bust, of Dr. Martin Luther King was taken out of the office. And it was never even touched. So I think it was a disgrace, but thats the way the press is. Its very unfortunate. I am very proud now that we have a museum, National Mall, where people can learn about Reverend King, so many other things, Frederick Doug Douglass is an example of somebody whos done an amazing job that is being recognized more and more, I notice. Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and millions more black Americans who made America what it is today. Big impact. Im proud to honour this heritage and will be honouring it more and more. Folks at the table, in almost all cases, have been great friends and supporters. And Darrell, I met Darrell when he was defending me on television. And the people that were on the other side of the argument didnt have a chance, right. And Paris has done an amazing job in a very hostile CNN community; hes all by himself. Seven people and Paris. Ill take Paris over the seven. But I dont watch CNN, so I dont get to see you as much. I dont like watching fake news. But Fox has treated me very nice, wherever Fox is, thank you. Were going to need better schools, and we need em soon. We need more jobs, we need better wages, a lot better wages. Were going to work very hard on the inner city. Bens going to be doing that, big league, thats one of his big things that were going to be looking at. We need safer communities and were going to do that with law enforcement. Were going to make it safe. Were going to make it much better than it is right now. Right now its terrible. I saw you talking about it the other night, Paris, on something else that was really you did a fantastic job the other night on a very unrelated show. Im ready to do my part, and I will say this, were going to work together. This is a great group, this is a group thats been so special to me, you really helped me a lot. If you remember, I wasnt going to do well with the African-American community, and after they heard me speaking and talking about the inner city and lots of other things, we ended up getting, I wont go into details, but we ended up getting substantially more than other candidates who had run in the past years. And now were going to take that to new levels. I want to thank my television star over here Omarosas actually a very nice person. Nobody knows that. I dont want to destroy her reputation. She is a very good person and shes been helpful right from the beginning with the campaign and I appreciate it, I really do. Very special. So I want to thank everybody for being here. Read more about: SHARE: Israeli forces uprooted this West Bank outpost on Wednesday, removing residents and hundreds of their supporters in sometimes violent clashes as they dismantled a community that has become a symbol of Jewish settler defiance. The evacuation, which followed years of legal battles, came amid a flurry of bold new settlement moves by Israels government, which has been buoyed by the election of President Donald Trump. Thousands of police officers carried out the removal, squaring off against hundreds of protesters, many of them young religious activists who flocked to the wind-swept hilltop to show their solidarity with residents. Read more: In response to Trumps win, Israel approves huge settlement expansion in West Bank Planting themselves inside trailer homes and the communitys synagogue, the protesters defied police, who carried some away. Protesters chained themselves to heavy objects or linked arms to form a wall against police, chanting Jews dont expel Jews! Dozens of residents reluctantly left their homes without resistance, young children in tow. This is my home. I want to stay here. It is my right to stay here, resident Tamar Nizri told Channel 2 TV news. This is expulsion, destruction, an injustice and a crime. The most basic truth is that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, including the West Bank, she said. With some 250 residents, Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected in the West Bank without formal permission but generally with tacit support from the Israeli government. It was the scene of violent clashes between settlers and security forces during a partial demolition exactly 11 years ago, on Feb. 1, 2006. Those homes were found to be built on private Palestinian land. Israels Supreme Court later ruled in 2014 that the entire outpost was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished, setting Feb. 8 as the final deadline after repeated delays. In an apparent attempt to temper settler anger over the evacuation, Israel approved thousands of new settler homes a day before the outposts removal, signalling a ramping up of settlement construction under President Trump, who has indicated he will be more accepting of Israeli settlement policies. The settler movement is a potent political force in Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus nationalist coalition government is dominated by settlers and their allies. In contrast to his predecessors, Trump has voiced no objections to Israels latest settlement binge. Amona residents and their supporters had hoped Trump and his softer approach might open a door for the outpost to remain on the hilltop, to no avail. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said some 3,000 officers were deployed to carry out the evacuation. They were met by 1,500 protesters who erected makeshift barricades from smashed tiles, rusty metal bars and large rocks to slow the police advance. Police said some 20 officers were slightly injured by stones or an unidentified liquid hurled at them and a dozen protesters were arrested. Hundreds of protesters were removed from the hill and more than half of the outposts roughly 40 families had left their homes by nightfall. Protesters, who began arriving in the weeks ahead of the slated demolition, heckled officers and pleaded with them to refuse their orders. The evacuation was expected to drag into the night. As it proceeded, Israels Supreme Court rejected a government proposal to move Amonas residents to plots on the same hilltop, leaving them without a relocation plan. Many were headed temporarily to the nearby settlement of Ofra. The Palestinians and most of the international community consider both outposts and settlements illegal and see them as an obstacle to creating a Palestinian state. The Palestinians want the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war for their future state. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, and the territory was subsequently overrun by the Hamas militant group. Trump has said he wants to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, but has given no indication of how he plans to do this. His campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, the cornerstone of U.S. Mideast policy for decades, and he has surrounded himself with advisers with deep ties to the settlement movement. A day before the evacuation, Netanyahu approved 3,000 West Bank settler homes, in addition to earlier approvals of 2,500 homes in the West Bank and 560 in east Jerusalem. In a statement, Netanyahu said he has set up a team to look into establishing a new settlement to house the residents evacuated from Amona. Settlement supporters are banking on Trump to support or at least let slide an explosive bill that seeks to legalize several thousand additional homes built on land seized from Palestinian landowners. Instead, it would offer the Palestinians compensation. The evacuation marks the end of a yearslong legal battle by the Palestinians who own the land Amona was built on and witnessed repeated delays by the government to implement the court ruling. Our feeling is indescribable, said Abdel-Rahman Saleh, the mayor of the nearby Palestinian town of Silwad who assisted the landowners in building their case. This will open the way for other Palestinians to move ahead and retrieve their confiscated land. Ahmad Majdalani, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also welcomed the evacuation, but said the other settlement moves were meant to finally kill the two-state solution. Amonas evacuation drove a wedge through the hard-line coalition of Netanyahu, who has been caught between appeasing his pro-settler coalition allies and respecting the rulings issued by the Supreme Court. The pro-settler Jewish Home party had pushed Netanyahu to find a legal loophole that would keep the residents on the hill. Bilha Schwarts, 24, came with her husband and 9-month-old daughter to support Amonas residents. If they want it they can take it, we will not fight, she said. We will leave but we will come back. Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTONDonald Trumps nomination of Betsy DeVos as education secretary appears to be in trouble. Two Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced their opposition to DeVos in speeches on the Senate floor Wednesday. If she loses one more Republican and all Democrats vote against her the nomination dies. Both Collins and Murkowski said they appreciate DeVos commitment to children and learning, but that her lack of experience in the nations public schools is a deep concern. Mrs. DeVos is the product of her experience, Collins said. She appears to view education through the lens of her experience promoting alternatives to public education in Detroit and other cities. Read the latest news about U.S. President Donald Trump Murkowski said she believed DeVos, a billionaire Republican donor and school choice activist, has much to learn about public education. I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved on one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers that she may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools and also what is broken and how to fix them. If all other GOP senators support DeVos, and all Democrats oppose her, she would end up with a 50-50 vote in the Senate and Vice-President Mike Pence would have to break the tie to confirm her. But at least one other Republican wouldnt commit to supporting her. Well, Ill let you know when I vote, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska told the Associated Press. Sullivan said he hopes that DeVos will pay attention to remote rural schools like those in his home state, where there is no choice at all. Republicans rammed two of President Donald Trumps top Cabinet picks through the Senate Finance Committee with no Democrats in the room Wednesday after suspending a rule that would have otherwise barred them from taking the vote. The tactic seemed a warning shot that they might deploy brute political muscle in the upcoming fight over the Supreme Court vacancy. With a near-toxic vapour of divisiveness between the two parties across Capitol Hill, nasty showdowns broke out elsewhere as well. One Senate panel signed off on Trumps choice for attorney general only after senators exchanged heated words, and another committee postponed a vote on the would-be chief of the Environmental Protection Agency after Democrats refused to show up. Busting through a Democratic boycott of the Finance panel, all 14 Republicans took advantage of Democrats absence to temporarily disable a committee rule requiring at least one Democrat to be present for votes. They then used two 14-0 rollcalls to approve financier Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price to be health secretary, ignoring Democrats demands that the two nominees provide more information about their financial backgrounds. All the nominations will need full Senate approval. Underscoring Congress foul mood, Finance panel Chairman Orrin Hatch said Democrats should be ashamed for staying away from his committees meeting. I dont feel a bit sorry for them, he told reporters, adding later, I dont care what they want at this point. Read more: Democrats force delays in votes on Trumps health, treasury, attorney general picks Trump won one major victory, as the Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state. The mostly party-line 56-43 vote came with Democrats critical of Tillersons close ties to Russia as former Exxon Mobil CEO. Congress day was dominated by confrontation, even as lawmakers braced for an even more ferocious battle over Trumps nomination of conservative federal judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Democrats were already furious over Republicans refusal last year to even consider former president Barack Obamas pick for the slot, Judge Merrick Garland. Trump fuelled the fire by urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to go nuclear shorthand for a unilateral change in the chambers rules so Democrats cant block Gorsuch with a filibuster. Without a rules change, Republicans will need at least eight Democrats to reach the 60-votes necessary to halt filibusters, or endless procedural delays. Democrats boycotted Wednesdays abruptly called Finance Committee meeting, as theyd done for a session a day earlier. They say Price and Mnuchin have lied about their financial backgrounds and must answer more questions. Its deeply troubling to me that Republicans on the Finance Committee chose to break the rules in the face of strong evidence of two nominees serious ethical problems, said the panels top Democrat, Ron Wyden of Oregon. Democrats say Price had special access to low-priced shares in an Australian biomed firm, even though he testified the offer was available to all investors. They say Mnuchin ran a bank that processed home foreclosures with a process critics say invites fraud. The two men have denied wrongdoing and have solid Republican backing. The Senate Judiciary Committee used a party-line 11-9 vote to sign off on Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general. That came after Sen. Al Franken said Sen. Ted Cruz had misrepresented remarks hed made about Sessions weeks ago. Cruz wasnt present as Franken spoke. Republican Sen. John Cornyn interrupted Franken twice, calling it untoward and inappropriate to disparage the absent Cruz. Franken said Cruz personally went after me, he personally impugned my integrity. Angrily pointing at Cornyn, he asked, You didnt object then, did you? Cornyn said he wasnt sure he was there when Cruz spoke. At the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Democrats boycotted a planned vote on Scott Pruitt, Oklahomas state attorney general in line to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. The vote was postponed. Pruitt has questioned the scientific consensus that human activities are contributing to global warming and joined lawsuits against the agencys emission curbs. Another panel postponed a vote on Trumps pick to head the White House Budget Office, tea party Rep. Mick Mulvaney as Democrats asked for more time to read the nominees FBI file. With files from Maria Danilova. Read more about: SHARE: WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump urged the Senates Republican leader on Wednesday to resort to the nuclear option of scrapping long-standing chamber rules if needed to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, an aggressive opening to whats shaping up as a ferocious clash over the future of the high court. At the White House a day after nominating Gorsuch, Trump endorsed a scenario that would involve majority Republicans unilaterally changing Senate rules over the objections of the Democratic minority. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump It could come into play if Democrats try to block Gorsuchs confirmation with a filibuster, as the liberal base is demanding, and would allow the GOP to confirm Gorsuch with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes now needed. Addressing GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell from the White House, Trump said, If we end up with that gridlock I would say, If you can, Mitch, go nuclear. He said of Gorsuch that it would be a absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. Trump made his comments as Gorsuch traversed Capitol Hill, escorted by Vice-President Mike Pence and winning extravagant praise from Republican senators. Read more: Trumps Supreme Court pick announcement became a prime-time affair Donald Trump names conservative Neil Gorsuch to U.S. Supreme Court Democratic divisions were on display. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced intense opposition from base voters to Trumps nominee, while political risks confronted a half-dozen Democratic senators representing red states who are up for re-election next year and may feel pressure to support Gorsuch. The president made an outstanding appointment; were all thrilled and looking forward to getting the confirmation process started, McConnell said as he stood with a smiling Gorsuch in the senators ceremonial office in the Capitol. McConnell has not said whether he might invoke the nuclear option if minority Democrats block Gorsuchs confirmation, but the Senate leader has said repeatedly that, one way or another, Gorsuch will be confirmed. He reiterated that Wednesday evening in an interview on WHAS radio in Kentucky, saying: Well I appreciate the presidents advice. What I would say to him is what I would say to you: Were going to get this nominee confirmed and this is the beginning of a lengthy process. Democrats are still smarting over the treatment of Judge Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obamas nominee to the court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a year ago. McConnell never allowed even a hearing on Garland over 10 months, asserting that the decision was up to the next president. Now some on the left are demanding payback. This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court, said Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon. Schumer reiterated Wednesday that Democrats would insist on a 60-vote threshold for Gorsuch in the 100-member Senate, not because they did it to us or we did it to them, but because 60 votes produces a mainstream candidate. But as Schumer and other Democrats made clear, for many the fight was less about the mild-mannered 49-year-old appeals court judge than about Trump himself. Schumer said that this Supreme Court will be tried in ways that few courts have been tested since the earliest days of the Republic. Schumer had been invited to meet with Gorsuch on Wednesday but declined so he could learn more about the nominees record first. The rules change for Supreme Court nominees would be a momentous departure for the Senate, which traditionally operates day-to-day via deliberation and bipartisan consent. There is concern by some that it could begin to unravel Senate traditions at a hyperpartisan moment in politics and perhaps end up in the complete elimination of the filibuster resulting in an entirely different Senate from the one thats existed for decades Gorsuch is a Denver-based judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan administration official. His conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of Scalia. Gorsuch would restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench, but Trumps choice makes it very difficult for Democrats to contest this nomination because he is so qualified, said Melissa Murray, interim dean of the University of California at Berkeley law school. Republicans were quick to highlight the political risks to Democrats in conservative-leaning states. There are 23 Senate Democrats up for election next year, 10 in states Trump won. The minority needs to decide whether or not they want to go to states like North Dakota and Montana and Missouri and Indiana and West Virginia where Mr. Trump won by 17 points or more and talk to the real people there and say were going to stop what was clearly your will, said GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. One of those senators, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, met with Gorsuch late Wednesday, telling reporters with the judge at his side: What I look for in any jurist, especially a jurist at this level, is someone who follows the law. Manchin said character and quality should count, and politics shouldnt intervene with that. For Democrats, there was debate about whether Gorsuchs nomination to replace the like-minded Scalia was the right time to launch an all-out fight over the court. Or, would Democrats be better off waiting to wage that battle for another possible high court opening during Trumps presidency, one that could shift the court markedly to the right. SHARE: VANCOUVERWhen Aref Bolandnazar flew home to New York after visiting family in Iran, he didnt think to say a tearful goodbye to his wife after all, she was just supposed to stay an extra week before returning to the United States. But that was 10 days ago, and Bolandnazar hasnt seen his wife since. When Roya Arabloodariche tried to check in at an Iranian airport on Saturday, she was told she could not enter the U.S. due to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. Our future was destroyed immediately, said Bolandnazar. They are Iranian citizens who both hold advanced degrees from the University of British Columbia. The pair obtained visas to live in New York while Bolandnazar completes his finance and economics PhD at Columbia University. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump Arabloodariche, an electrical engineer, had hoped to get her green card and work in the United States. Now, Bolandnazar, 29, said he expects them both to pursue their academic and career goals elsewhere ideally in Canada. The husband and wife are just two members of the academic community in North America who have been hurt by the order signed by Trump to ban entry of citizens for 90 days from seven majority-Muslim countries. Universities Canada, which represents 97 universities across the country, said the immigration ban is already having a real, immediate and profound impact on research partnerships, international students, academic conference participation and field visits, as well as family relationships. The American Association of Universities has also called for the ban to end as quickly as possible. Amir Abdi, a PhD candidate in the electrical and computer engineering department at UBC and recipient of a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, was invited to present as an author at a medical imaging conference in Florida next month. Read more: Bushs daughter Jenna slams Trump travel ban: This is not the America I know Hundreds of diplomats defy Trump, say they will sign dissent memo Democratic lawyers having an awakening on Trump administration Abdi, an Iranian citizen who is in Canada on a temporary resident visa, will not be able to attend to help present his teams work. He said conferences exist for academics to make connections, exchange knowledge with others and contribute to research in their field. But because of Trumps unjust and inhumane executive order, scholars are being penalized, he said. I cannot believe that the U.S. president would believe that scholars could make America unsafe. We are actually the ones who are making every move to improve the human condition, he said. Abdi, 29, who is also Bolandnazars cousin, said he believes the reputation of the U.S. will be harmed. Members of his department are already reaching out to conference organizers south of the border to see if the events can be held in Canada instead, he said. The U.S. is known to attract the brightest minds from around the globe. But as a result of Trumps recent actions, I dont think that scholars are going to be that interested in continuing their education in the U.S. Young students, like 23-year-old Iranian-Canadian dual citizen Sina Marzoughi, have also been affected by the ban. Hes a medical student at the University of Calgary who had been planning to attend a conference for student-run clinics in Los Angeles next month. Despite the Canadian governments assurances that dual citizens will be able to cross the border, Marzoughi said the American government has yet to put that in writing, and hes been alarmed by reports of people being detained and having their phones searched. He said his uncle is a professor at UCLA who has a green card and now cant visit his family in Alberta because he fears he will not be allowed back into the U.S. Im just really worried, said Marzoughi. Ever since the law was signed on Friday, Ill be honest, its having a toll on my mental health. The University of British Columbia has launched a task force to assist about 80 faculty or staff and 350 students who are from the affected countries. The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, on behalf of Canadas 91,000 faculty and graduate students in these departments, has said the ban runs counter to its goals of building an inclusive, prosperous and democratic society. Read more about: SHARE: OAKLAND, CALIF.A federal judge in California declined Wednesday to release the widow of the man who killed dozens of people at a Florida nightclub after prosecutors said she accompanied her husband on scouting trips for potential targets that included a Disney shopping complex. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu in Oakland said she wanted a psychiatric evaluation done of Noor Salman before deciding whether to release her from jail pending a trial on charges of supporting her husbands attack and then lying to investigators about it. Salmon, 31, has pleaded not guilty. Read more: FBI arrests wife of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen Federal authorities arrested Salman last month at her mothers home in suburban San Francisco, where Salman moved with her 4-year-old son after her husband Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others on June 12 at the Pulse nightclub. Mateen pledged allegiance to several terror organizations during the attack before police shot and killed him. Federal prosecutor Sara Sweeney divulged some details of the allegations for the first time while arguing against the release of Salman. Sweeney said Mateen asked Salman whether attacking the Disney site would have a bigger impact than attacking a nightclub. In addition to accompanying her husband on scouting trips, Salman watched him leave their apartment with a gun and a backpack full of ammunition on the night of the shooting, Sweeney said. Authorities say Salman initially said she didnt know anything about the attack but later told investigators Mateen abused steroids, was pumped up on the night of the attack, and said this is the one day as he walked out the door, Sweeney said in court. I knew when he left he was going to commit the attack, Sweeney said Salman told investigators. Sweeney also said the couple ran up $25,000 in credit card debt and spent $5,000 in cash in the days before the shooting. Among the purchases was an $8,000 diamond ring for Salman. In addition, Mateen and Salman made her the death beneficiary of his bank account. Salmans attorney Charles Swift said outside court that Salman made those statements without a lawyer present during an 18-hour interrogation immediately after the attack. He said he hasnt yet received a transcript or recording of Salmans interrogation to determine the context of her statements and accuracy of the allegations. Swift also pointed out that Mateen was a security guard and left the couples home hundreds of times with a gun and ammunition. Swift argued that prosecutors were charging Salman with the crimes of her husband. Mateen physically abused Salman, he said, and never told her about his plans to carry out the killings. It was the first time Salmans legal team heard details of the allegations as well. We frankly expected more, attorney Linda Moreno said outside court. Salmans mother and uncle have pledged to put up their homes as collateral to secure her release from jail pending trial. Federal prosecutors are seeking to transfer Salman to Florida to face the charges SHARE: Denigrating the physical, mental or moral integrity of people on the basis of their race or ethnicity hate speech can lead to the utter devastation of a nation. Germany under the Nazis provides the most well-known historical example. The terrorist attack in Quebec City will, I fear, prove to provide us with a modern example of how it can lead to the slaughter of innocents and at least diminish the soul of our nation as well. At the very least, unrestrained hate speech by even a few malevolent voices with access to a wide audience can wreak such havoc as terrifying children and leaving them unable to sleep or function properly in school. The United States of America has provided a current example of this for over a year now. The freedom to assault ones fellow Canadians would surely jeopardize the very existence of Canadian society, so we do not allow it. We criminalize it. We jail people for it. The freedom to produce child pornography would surely traumatize Canadian children so we, of course, do not allow that, either. We hunt down its producers and even its consumers with understandable zeal and punish it severely. Police forces across the country have independent, highly trained, well-staffed units devoted to nothing else but detecting this crime and these criminals across the internet if necessary. The Toronto Police Service Child Exploitation Unit, for example, boasts 16 full-time officers as well as civilian researchers. They proactively search for offences and offenders. They do not wait for offences to be reported. There is no separate hate speech unit in the Toronto Police Service. In 2015, the most current year with reported records, the TPS made no arrests as a result of proactive police investigation and only a tiny few as a result of complaints involving hate crime graffiti or vandalism. Incredibly, the RCMP has no separate unit to go after hate purveyors, either. The OPP claims it does as part of an anti-terrorism unit, but does not appear to have made an arrest of a hate propagandist since 2010. This lack of police devotion of resources and effort seems at odds with the scope of racial- and ethnic-based hate purveyance in Canada, certainly in proportion to the threat it represents. The RCMP, for example while not actively pursuing the culprits documents nine different hate-spewing Canadian right-wing extremist groups operating on the internet. Many believe the views promoted by such groups could never lead to racist or bigoted governments here, but they forget our persistent history of anti-native racism, our past anti-Asian and anti-Semitic immigration policies, and our current politicians, such as Kellie Leitch, who are already experimenting with mimicking the worst of Donald Trumps hate-mongering. Moreover, we ignore what any people will stomach if an economy sufficiently sours. In his treatise, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William Shirer quotes a German industrial worker in 1935, deprived of his right to unionize by the Nazis, but working and with a full lunch pail: At least under Hitler there is no more freedom to starve. We are in a different time than most of us had hoped. History is proving not to be the inexorable progression to the constitutionally protected democratization of the world some of us imagined it had become. Signs of uglier moments in history repeating themselves abound. A clear message is needed right now: keep your racism and bigotry to yourself in the same way you have to keep your hands to yourself or you will be hunted down, apprehended, prosecuted and jailed. It is not a matter of free speech. The right to publicly deny the basic equality of other human beings as human beings is not something that needs to be protected to make Canada a better place. Proponents of rights and freedoms become justifiably accustomed to thinking of the criminal law as something that too often operates to unconstitutionally deny essential liberties. Sometimes, however, it is only criminal laws, vigorously policed and prosecuted, that can protect these rights and freedoms for everyone. Others argue education is the only real way to eradicate hate, but the enforcement of hate speech laws are not intended as a cure. They are to keep the disease from spreading until education can eradicate it. The Germans understand all of this too well. Germanys hate laws are far broader in scope and are policed with far greater vigour. German police, for example, recently raided 60 addresses across Germany of individuals suspected of posting racist or bigoted hate content on social media. Here in Canada no one should be more closely monitored by the police for this offence than politicians who would commit it for their own selfish political goals however subtly, however cleverly they imagine they are doing it. This is Canada. You simply are not entitled to promote yourself as a public leader here if you espouse hate against a race or ethnicity any more. If you are tempted to try, you must know you risk jail. Reid Rusonik is a Toronto criminal defence lawyer and managing partner of Rusonik, OConnor, Robbins, Ross, Gorham & Angelini, LLP. SHARE: How does the first hate killings since Donald Trumps election occur in a place touted for its multiculturalism and tolerance? Well, Islamophobia is for real. Trumps executive order banning Muslims from select countries and the terrorist attack on the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec in Quebec City killing six and wounding eight innocent worshippers should lay to rest any doubts. Right wing nationalists were quick to re-victimize the victims by falsely propagating that one of the alleged perpetrators was a Moroccan and that he had yelled Allahu akbar. The fact that even some supposedly respectable media outlets reported such alternative facts is telling. Police have now said the sole accused is Alexandre Bissonnette, a white French Canadian who by some accounts appears to be a rabid white nationalist. Very few are asking, how did he get radicalized? As someone spending equal time on both sides of the border, I hear Canadians always smugly speaking of how we are so different. Apparently not so much. The number of police-reported hate crimes against Muslim more than doubled over a three-year period (2012 to 2014), according to figures released by Statistics Canada last year. Meanwhile in the U.S., various groups, including the FBI, have documented an eightfold increase in hate crime since 2000. As alarming as these figures are, they dont tell the full story (and may be less accurate in Canada) because they are based on reports from local police, which in turn rely on victim reports. In fact, discrimination and crimes driven by hate are not being properly captured. Many go unreported because too many believe that nothing will come of it. Indeed, there is growing anecdotal evidence that reports are underplayed by some authorities or are classified as other than hate, such as flight safety issues or simply free expression. In the wake of the killings, mosque attendee Zebida Bendjeddou told Reuters: In June, theyd put a pigs head in front of the mosque. But we thought: Oh, theyre isolated events. Such isolated incidents are part of a pattern that is being ignored. Usually nobody is physically hurt, but the pattern reveals the underlying bigotry and provides evidence of how too many have been emboldened by rhetoric that has mainstreamed anti-Muslim hate. Demonization of Muslims has a long history in Western politics and popular culture but now we have reached the watershed moment. Initially fuelled by a well-funded network of professional merchants of hate on the fringe, it infected a small segment of the Republican party in the U.S. and Harperites in Canada, but has now reached heights never before imagined by most analysts. Trumps travel ban and anticipated Muslim registry did not rise out of thin air. They are rooted in the culture of fear and targeting of Muslims nurtured by too many in positions of power on both sides of the border since the early 1990s, but most aggressively since 9/11 and The War on Terror. Indeed, this legacy of othering and dehumanization prepped the populace enough for Trump to tap into. Canadian politicians and media are not blameless. The cabal of Islamophobes transcend the border and consult the same playbook. The War on Terror fear mongering reached its peak under Prime Minister Stephen Harper when the anti-niqab rhetoric, banning of Syrian refugees and calls to ban barbaric cultural practices (code for Muslim practices) were central election issues. Now playing into similar fears is Conservative-leadership contender Kellie Leitchs dog whistle problematic values test. Quebec also has a long history. More recently, the Parti Quebecois created anxiety in 2013 by proposing a Charter of Values aimed primarily at Muslims. Not to let an opportunity slip, Conservative Quebec politician Francois Legault fed the hate by resurrecting Muslim dress issue last fall. In 2013, an Angus Reid poll revealed that 69 per cent of Quebecois held an unfavourable opinion of Muslims. In the rest of Canada, this view rose from 46 per cent unfavourable in 2009 to 54 per cent unfavourable in 2013. A 2016 study by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation found only 24 per cent French-Canadians and 49 per cent of English-Canadians had a positive view of Muslims. Even Americans have a better view, according to a Washington Post article with four polls showing an increase from 53 per cent favourable view in November 2015 to 70 per cent in October 2016. An Ipsos poll in 2016 found that both Canadians and Americans thought Muslims made up 17 per cent of their populations. The reality is far lower, at 3 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. When Islamophobia becomes a socially acceptable form of bigotry as it has in some circles, we should not be surprised when it manifests in discrimination and even violence. While the shooting may be shrugged off by some as an isolated incident, hate impacts the lived realities of far too many Muslims. In fact, the situation is getting so serious that even psychologists have started to weigh in on the damaging impact of such an environment, especially on children. Its time to address Islamophobia with all the seriousness it deserves. Faisal Kutty is counsel to KSM Law, an associate professor at Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana and an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. @faisalkutty. Read more about: SHARE: Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates knew it was her job to say no to Trumps executive order on immigration, so she did her job, which she then quickly lost. White House spokesman Sean Spicer, on the other hand, obediently made himself look foolish and contemptible in order to stay employed. Are you a Sally or a Sean? In these times, you should ask yourself that. The question might well be sprung on you, and you might not want to react spontaneously and end up regretting it. Im thinking of those who voted for Trump, probably on the basis of Im all right, Jack and suddenly they werent. Im thinking of Sarmad and Ghassan Assali of Allentown, Penn., a Syrian-born couple who had lived in the U.S. for decades and whose six Syrian relatives, all with visas and green cards, were turned away after they landed in Philadelphia on Saturday. What shocked them was that they had voted for Trump. I understand he wants to make America safe, Sarmad Assali said. Were all [in] with this. I definitely want to be in a safe place. But people need us. And then Trump stayed true to his word on immigration. Im also thinking of Iranian-born Canadian Kasra Nejatian, once a senior adviser to former Conservative Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. Having renounced his Iranian citizenship, Nejatian is now a cross-border Canadian businessman stuck in the U.S., afraid he wont get back into the U.S. if he visits Canada. I am a conservative on immigration issues, he wrote for Macleans this week. I believe in strong immigration laws and protected borders. Those people on TV chanting death to America, death to the West; they arent kidding. They mean it. But for the life of me, I cant understand how not allowing me to enter the United States helps fight those people. I sympathize, always have. But essentially President Trump, who judges people by their appearance and where they were born, pre-asked voters like this what kind of people they were, morally. And they answered very conservative with the proviso as long as it doesnt damage us personally. Sally and Sean were asked quickly and responded at speed. The Assalis and Nejatian had years to consider. Do you see now why you should give your vote, your moral stance, a good hard think? As the great Russian-American writer and refugee Gary Shteyngart said Tuesday, Some people just love illiberalism, until it bites them in the ass. Living next door to the U.S. the worlds longest undefended border now has a sinister ring means that Canada is about to be bitten by a shaggy old beast, who looks like a muskox abandoned by the herd. His teeth are strangely bright and white. Will they pierce the ankle skin or open an artery? It depends on how well Prime Minister Trudeau is able to handle President Bannon/Trump, whoevers actually running the show, and it is a show. Those who demand Trudeau stand tall should advise him how that can be done. The Democratic Party can scarcely bring itself to raise a trembling hand in committee and make squeaking noises. Even the Angry Pajamas in the CBC comment sections, sad creatures, dont dare show their face or use their real name as they spew hate against immigrants. Sure, your name is really Anthony Montana. These people are secret Seans. As I write this, Spicer has just said there is no travel ban and that it is a misrepresentation to use that word. Told that Trump himself used the word in a tweet, Spicer said he was just using the word the media used. In other words, everything you say bounces off Trump and reflects back on you, rubber, glue, etc. Bannon may be vicious and Trump unwell but they couldnt function without an army of Seans. Is there any way for Canada to obstruct Americas dark path without paying a price? I hope so. I wish Canada to take a moral stand as little Britain did not. Are we Sally or are we Sean? If it were to cost Canadians their freedom, jobs, border access, digital privacy and growing diversity, we might wish to become Sean Sally or Sally Sean. But if you said you were a Sean and voted accordingly, dont suddenly turn into a Sally when the spotlight finds you and singles you out. Dont pretend. It convinces no one. SHARE: After the turbulent relationship between the Diefenbaker and Kennedy governments, the government of Canada asked two seasoned diplomats, Livingston Merchant of the U.S. and Arnold Heeney of Canada, to produce a report on how the two governments should relate to each other. The result was a report that reflected the close friendship between the two authors, as well as their professional view that political controversy was more often than not counterproductive. Fast forward 53 years, and we have many putting forward the view that close allies should not be airing their differences in public, and should make every effort to avoid the controversy that would only be hurtful to their common interests. Given the closeness of the relationship, the interdependence of trade, investment, and security, it seems, in this view, wisest to express our concerns in private. Ironically, when the Merchant-Heeney report was published, it was seen as politically difficult to sell in Canada, because it seemed to imply Canada would park its political sovereignty at the door of quiet diplomacy. Even more ironically, soon after the report was published, Prime Minister Pearson made a speech at Temple University before a visit to Texas, and the rest is history. Pearson called for a pause in the bombing of North Vietnam, after which President Johnson picked him up by the lapels and said dont you come to my country and piss on my carpet. That same year, Canada and the United States signed the AutoPact. It is very difficult for diplomacy between Canada and the U.S. to be quiet when the president conducts his politics and diplomacy on Twitter and the airwaves. Without waving the same fog horn, it would be strange if we were unable to express our opinions with a greater degree of candour than a phone call or a whisper in the air. And for a Canadian prime minister in the Trump era it would be suicidal if the diplomats, insiders and generals convinced him to stay muzzled. The new reality is that modern politics requires openness and honesty with our publics. We dont have to be rude, crude, or insulting. We do have to be honest, engaged, and constructive. And, on occasion, we have to find our own voice. If Canadians fail to see their leaders expressing their deeply held views, they will find other outlets. Bob Rae is a partner at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP and teaches at the University of Toronto. SHARE: When it comes to dealing with Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau is right to say actions speak louder than words. Now all the prime minister has to do is act. Up to now, Trudeau has avoided slagging the new U.S. president. There is no reason for him to change strategy. Attacking Trump for his decision to bar citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. might win Trudeau points at home. But it wont have any practical effect. As Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen has pointed out, sovereign nations are free to determine who may enter their territories. Whether Trump acted in accordance with U.S. law when he signed executive orders affecting refugees and certain foreign passport holders will be decided by U.S. courts not by us. But there are actions Ottawa could take in its own domain to counter the worst of Trumpism. On the refugee front, Canada could quietly accept more. The New Democrats are calling on the government to lift the cap on privately sponsored refugees. The Conservatives seem to agree. This is a relatively easy response to Trumps decision to impose a 120-day ban on refugees entering the U.S. And it can be accomplished without mentioning Trumps name. Similarly, Ottawa could suspend the so-called safe third-country agreement it has with Washington. This agreement limits the right of refugees already in the U.S. to seek asylum in Canada, the assumption being they are already in a safe place. If the Trudeau government truly believes the U.S under Trump has become anti-refugee, suspending this agreement and allowing more to apply for asylum at the border would be a practical way to help. Torture? Trump has talked of reinstating the practice, one which Canadas government officially decries. But instead of wringing their hands, why dont the Liberals revoke the ministerial directives issued under the previous Conservative government that allow Canadas security agencies to share information with countries that use torture? Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, who has called these directives troubling, says they are under review. But hes been saying that for more than a year. Its time for the review to end and the torture directives to be scrapped. Even before Trumps election victory, Trudeau adopted a position of careful neutrality towards the reality television star. This was both wise and fitting. Americans have the right to elect as president whomever they want no matter how ludicrous he or she might seem to the outside world. But the requirements of courtesy need not stop Canada from advancing its own interests. And if those interests include measures that run counter to Trumpian xenophobia, then so be it. Some advise that the Canadian government do nothing that might give Trump offence. They fear that if Canada comes under the presidents malign gaze, he might punish us by, for instance, driving an unusually hard bargain in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. This view, I suspect, does Trump an injustice. He will almost certainly drive an impossibly hard bargain on NAFTA no matter what. Sucking up wont help. Indeed, the Trudeau government would be well advised to quietly start preparing Plan B for a world without NAFTA in which tariff-free trade between Canada and the U.S. does not exist. None of this means the prime minister need abandon his sunny demeanour. He can and should continue to be as polite as possible towards the man our American friends chose to lead their country. But there are things the Canadian government can do to thwart the worst elements of the nativism associated with Trump. Indeed, some have nothing to do with the U.S. president. Trudeau could, for instance, wade into Quebecs cultural identity battle and take on the provincial governments Bill 62, which would ban those serving the public from wearing face coverings, such as niqabs, at work. In the wake of the Quebec City mosque massacre, that might be a useful thing for a Canadian prime minister worried about the spread of intolerance to talk about. More useful, certainly, than scoring cheap points by attacking Donald Trump. Thomas Walkoms column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Read more about: SHARE: Arsenic is an element that is naturally found all throughout our environment across the globe. It is most commonly found in certain soils and bedrock, in its inorganic forms. It can also be found in certain foods, in its organic forms. Other sources of inorganic arsenic historically included certain pesticides that were used in the 1950s, and in treated lumber until 2004. Fortunately, when arsenic is in its organic forms it likely doesnt pose a serious risk to human health. Unfortunately, when arsenic is in its inorganic forms, it is a carcinogen and it does pose a risk to human health. We most commonly encounter this hazard when arsenic in soil and bedrock is dissolved into groundwater, our main source of drinking water. In extremely high concentrations (70,000 to 180,000 micrograms), a one-time dose of inorganic arsenic is fatal. However, its nearly impossible for levels in groundwater to naturally reach this concentration. In much lower concentrations, over a period of many years, it can also be harmful. This type of exposure can lead to many health complications, including nervous system disorders, diabetes, circulatory system diseases, skin problems such as corns and darkening of the skin, and many types of cancer including lung, liver, and bladder cancer. To protect people from the harmful effects of inorganic arsenic in drinking water, the Environmental Protection Agency has set a Maximum Contaminant Level for arsenic at 10 parts per billion (or 10 micrograms per liter). This means that by law, public water systems have to keep their arsenic concentrations below this level, by treating their water to bring levels down if need be. For comparison, the MCL for nitrates in drinking water is 1,000 times higher, set at 10 parts per million. Private wells do not have to follow these MCL standards, but it is recommended that they do. When drinking water is in compliance with these MCL standards, a person should be able to drink it for a lifetime with minimal risk to their health. Now ideally, the MCL for arsenic would be set at zero, to eliminate this risk to our health. However, when the EPA sets an MCL it has to factor the cost it takes to treat the water to bring the levels down. This is not a cheap process, so they have to find a balance point of public health vs cost of treatment. As stated before, inorganic arsenic is naturally found in soil and rock all over the world. Certain types of soil and bedrock naturally contain higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic, however, creating arsenic hot spots throughout the world. In Minnesota, our arsenic hot spots appear to be located in the central, western and northwestern parts of the state. This is due to the effects of the last ice age, in which these parts of the state were flattened by a massive ice sheet called the Des Moines lobe. As this ice sheet melted and retreated, it left behind a jumbled mess of clay and rock called till. This particular till material contains relatively high levels of inorganic arsenic and is believed to be the source of these arsenic hotspots. As you may know, Houston County lies within the Driftless Area, which was not touched by these ice sheets in the last ice age. So fortunately for us, our area did not receive this arsenic-laden material, and is not considered an arsenic hotspot. However, our bedrock and soils do contain a small baseline amount of arsenic and it is entirely possible that there could be areas within the county that contain high and hazardous levels of this element. In a recent study (2008-2013) by the Minnesota Department of Health, thousands of private wells were tested for arsenic levels. Wells in the arsenic hotspots of Minnesota commonly had arsenic levels of more than 10 parts per billion, failing to meet the current MCL standard. In Houston County, no wells that were tested had levels over 10 parts per billion. However, there were three wells in Houston County that had arsenic levels between 2-10 parts per billion. The Minnesota Department of Health and the Root River SWCD encourage private well owners to test their water for contaminants. It is possible to have high arsenic levels and not know it because arsenic has no smell or taste. It is suggested that well owners test for arsenic at least once during the life of the well, and to test for nitrates and coliform bacteria every 1 to 2 years. Arsenic is not readily absorbed through the skin; the main danger is long-term consumption of water containing arsenic levels of over 10 parts per billion. If your well water tests positive for arsenic, some solutions are to drill a new well, buy bottled water, or install a treatment system in your home. Systems that are effective for treating arsenic include reverse osmosis, distillation, and specialty media systems. Well water tests kits are available to pick up, free of charge at the Root River SWCD office in Caledonia. However, the lab that you send your water sample to will charge a lab testing fee. To test for arsenic, this lab charges $23.00. Postage is free. Trace amounts of arsenic are everywhere. You should only be concerned if your drinking water levels of arsenic are over 10 parts per billion. It is unlikely that we would have any wells in Houston County containing over 10 parts per billion arsenic, but it is possible, and we suggest that everyone should test for it to be safe. The dead of winter is no time for the city to be taking chances with the lives of homeless people. But thats effectively what its doing by not providing enough shelter beds for the homeless and refusing a more than month-old request from advocates to open a new space where people could be safely housed over the winter. Now, in a letter to Mayor John Tory, more than 30 Toronto agencies are urging city council to immediately open the citys two military armouries, or another large facility, to protect homeless people from the cold. If the city doesnt act, the agencies say they fear people will die or become seriously ill on the streets. Its long past time Tory listened. The city has known for years that there are more homeless people in Toronto than there are shelter beds. A 2013 survey found there were 5,000 homeless in the city, but in the first week of January there were only 4,300 shelter beds. In short, the city is not keeping up with the need. On Sunday, for example, emergency shelters were at 94-per-cent capacity. Thats a rate at which people are at serious risk of being turned away when a shelter they choose is full. To be fair, the city opened a 60-bed womens facility on Kennedy Rd. in late December, and a 30-bed shelter for men was opened on Bloor St. W. in the second week of January. But both were filled in less than a week. Clearly, with the weather turning the way it is, we need to act, now, Social Planning Torontos Sean Meagher told the Stars Emily Mathieu. Sadly, its not the first time the city has been in this dire position. Former mayors Mel Lastman and David Miller opened the armouries four times during their terms in office, sheltering hundreds. But so far the city has resisted opening them again. City staff argue it isnt possible to house large numbers of people in those buildings in a safe, hygienic and dignified way. But theres nothing safe, hygienic or dignified about living on the streets in the freezing cold. It shouldnt be this way. The city should have enough affordable housing (rather than a wait list of 177,000) and adequate mental health facilities so that people dont end up on the street in the first place. At a bare minimum it should have enough shelter beds to fill the need. But until that is the case, the city should listen to the social agencies that know their clients needs and open the armouries or another building to keep the homeless warm and safe. Not acting isnt an option in the coldest weeks of winter. Read more about: SHARE: Countries around the world are grappling with the global migrant crisis. The Syrian civil war alone has forced some 5 million people to seek safety in neighbouring countries, and has displaced more than 6 million more. In Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and elsewhere in the region millions of Syrians live in desperate circumstances. Many decide their only chance is to take the treacherous trip across the Mediterranean Sea in search of a new life in Europe. Those who survive face yet more steep challenges. Considered in this context, Donald Trumps new immigration measures are particularly brutal. The exact implications of his recent executive order, which indefinitely suspends the resettlement of Syrian refugees and bans people from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S. for 90 days, are still in flux. But it seems certain that in the coming months many in desperate need of asylum will remain in limbo and in danger. In the face of American retrenchment, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rightly reasserted our commitment to openness and diversity. But if our government means what it says about those values, it will not be enough simply to tout them. There are several concrete steps Ottawa should take to reduce the harm of Trumps cruel order. The easiest would be for the government to offer temporary refuge to those affected by the executive order. Hundreds of families have been splintered, students stranded abroad, refugees detained on U.S. soil. Many of the bans victims have endured a years-long, rigorous vetting process. Many others have valid visas. Setting up a system for screening applicants should be relatively straightforward. Ottawa should also lift the cap on private refugee sponsorship and dedicate more resources to processing existing applications. Last December, Ottawa announced that, due to backlogs, it would take in no more than 1,000 privately sponsored Syrian and Iraqi refugees in 2017. That cap was reached by Jan. 25. Thats a shame. Canadians have the will and the means to bring in many more refugees, if only the government would let them. At least 50 groups in Toronto alone have prepared applications that wont be processed this year. Another 2,000 people have applied to be sponsors. Given the historic need, and especially in light of recent events, we should be expanding not constraining this world-renowned program, which eases the public financial burden of resettlement and ensures newcomers arrive into an established community. Better by far to invest more resources in processing applications than to limit our moral ambition and the hopes of families in profound stress. Finally, Ottawa should consider suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement. The bilateral pact effectively prevents most refugees arriving from the U.S. from seeking asylum in Canada. As the Star and a host of human rights agencies have argued in recent days, the agreement no longer appears tenable. It is explicitly contingent on the U.S. having a fair and functioning refugee system on the notion that those arriving from the U.S. are arriving from a safe place. In the face of Trumps immigration ban, that doesnt seem to be the case. By suspending the agreement, Ottawa would be sending a bold message that, at least for now, we no longer trust Americas refugee system. But if indeed we no longer trust it, what choice do we have? These are times when the character of a country is tested. The horrific attack at a Quebec City mosque reminds us that we are not immune from hate. Nor do we have to look beyond our borders to find the toxic political rhetoric that feeds and is nourished by fear and xenophobia. At the same time, we have seen thousands of Canadians gather at candlelight vigils across the country, mourning the six men murdered on Sunday and showing solidarity with a community under siege. As we grapple with these tensions, it is no doubt heartening to hear the prime minister appeal to our better selves, to our instincts for inclusion, openness and generosity. Now his government should realize those values in public policy. Lets ensure we are in fact the country we aspire to be. Read more about: SHARE: Re: Four myths about Ontarios cap-and-trade system, Jan. 24 Four myths about Ontarios cap-and-trade system, Jan. 24 One supposed myth is that only a small fraction of Ontarios economy is seriously exposed to the risks presented by Ontarios cap-and-trade system and that this policy will have minimal impact on jobs in Ontario. I represent that small fraction. We are small manufacturers across Ontario. We represent more than 5,000 employees, no small number when you consider the number of spin-off jobs, and the communities in which Ontarios small manufacturers operate. I agree we can all do more to ensure our environment and our economy remain strong. Industry has made great strides on its own. At my own company, weve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy efficiency, but our hydro bills stay high. Last year, we saw a $10,000 increase in our global adjustment fee in one month alone. Now cap-and-trade adds another cost to our operations, through our gas bills. Large manufacturers successfully lobbied Queens Park to get out of the program, so now the cost now falls on us. For our small company alone, the annual additional cost will be approximately $45,000. We are facing death by a thousand cuts. Jocelyn Bamford, Toronto SHARE: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is slated to meet President Donald Trump next week in Washington as the world's third largest economy finds itself the latest target of the administration's attack on global trade agreements. Abe will discuss both economics and security when he meets with Trump on Feb. 10., issues that could provide the Prime Minister with an unexpected edge in his relationship with a President determined to "hire American and buy American". At first glance, however, it could be a tough sell: exports to the U.S. -- the Japan's biggest trading partner -- account for around 3% of nominal GDP and a fifth of total overseas shipments, according to official data. Furthermore, Trump has accused Japan's central bank of currency manipulation and the country's auto industry of exploiting an unfair trade structure that prevents the GeneralMotors (GM) and the Fords (F) from enjoying accesss to its market. One of the charges has merit, but the other is up for debate. The yen has fallen more than 20% against the U.S. dollar since the Bank of Japan ramped-up its quantitative easing program in 2013 following the launch of so-called Abenomics that defined his early administration. Abe defended that policy in his country's parliament Wednesday, arguing that "bold monetary easing is a necessary policy to accelerate economic growth and the United States is doing the same thing. If Japan's economy improves, that's not a bad thing for the United States." Trump may not find that argument persuasive, but there are figures Abe could cite to back up his case. Toyota Motor (TM) has added between 1,500 and 2,000 staff to its North American business for each of the last five years and Securities and Exchange Commission filings show it had 45,475 on its payroll in the year ended March 2016, 34,000 of which are in the U.S. Trump has threatened the world's second-largest automaker with a 'a big border tax' if it goes ahead with plans to build a new Corolla manufacturing plant in Mexico, but its has made that model in Mississippi for the past six years and opened a Lexus production facility in Kentucky plant in 2015. And while the President has also accused Japan of keeping American companies out of its lucrative market, Abe can argue that there are no import auto tariffs, whereas the U.S. slaps a 2.5% charge on cars and 25% levy on trucks. The overall sales volume of non-Japanese automobiles has grown at a similar or faster pace than Japanese products since May, according to the country's auto dealers' association and nine of the top ten imported passenger cars registered in Japan last month were European, with Jeep the only U.S. brand to make it onto the list, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. While those figures may or may not allow Abe to argue Trump into a stalemate on trade, the fact that the two countries are bound by a bilateral security treaty spanning nearly six decades could prove decisive. China, a country that Trump has repeatedly singled out as its trade nemesis, has become an increasingly threatening presence for Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, with the territorial disputes surrounding the Senkaku Islands, orDiaoyu Islands, destabilizing relationships between the two countries. Repeated missile experiments by North Korea have also unsettled the region. While Trump might want to make less military contributions in the region, he might find it in his interest in establishing a constructive relationship with Japan in warding off China both through trade and security, particularly given his decision to abandon the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership. "I think President Trump also understands the importance of free and fair trade, and I want to steadfastly seek his understanding of the strategic and economic significance of the TPP agreement," Abe told lawmakers last week. A mutually beneficial trade agreement between the U.S. and Japan could prevent the need for bringing China into the TPP and keep it from extending its regional dominance. That's something both leaders will find easy to agree. As the first full month of Donald Trump's presidency begins, the coal industry is more optimistic about its prospects than it's been since before his predecessor took office, fueled by promises to bring back thousands of lost coal miner jobs and reboot the industry. Coal companies are looking forward to a combination of legislation in Congress and executive actions by Trump to undo damage inflicted by the Obama administration that led to lower production and employment, according to Luke Popovich, a vice president of the National Mining Association, a top coal lobbying group. "I think there is much the Trump administration and 115th Congress can do to revive the industry," Popovich said. Turnaround management consultants and coal industry analysts, however, are less hopeful, asserting that the industry is facing strong headwinds for more failure and its impending demise is approaching. Coal industry advocates claim Trump's presidency provides an opportunity to reverse Obama administration measures that they say were detrimental to the industry and led to lower coal production and more lost jobs. The top priorities of the coal industry, Popovich said, include lifting an Obama administration moratorium on new leases for coal mined from federal lands that was signed in January 2016, rolling back the new Stream Protection Rule meant to prevent and minimize impacts to surface and groundwater from coal and dismantle the Clean Power Plan that is being challenged in federal appellate court. "By spring, we'll see these actions played out, and we'll see the regulatory burden on the industry relieved," Popovich said. "Our hope is that we'll begin to see the job picture stabilize and production stabilize." Stabilizing the coal industry might be a tall order for Trump and Congress as overall coal production has suffered an eight-year decline through 2016 from its recent peak, according to statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. coal production declined by 158 short tons to 739 million tons in 2016, which is about 18% smaller than 2015 and its lowest level since 1978, according to EIA statistics. The EIA attributed the decline in production to lower gas prices that promoted more gas-fired electricity generation, warmer than normal temperatures in the 2015 to 2016 winter that reduced electricity demand, retirements of some coal-fired generators and lower international coal demand. Gas-fired electricity generation also surpassed coal-fired electricity generation in 2016 for the first time in the U.S., accounting for 35% of electricity generation to 30% for coal-fired generation, according to a Moody's Investor Service 2017 coal outlook. In 2015, coal and gas each generated 33% of U.S. electricity generation. Moody's expects the trend toward gas-fired generation to continue into 2017, projecting gas-fired generation to account for 34% of electricity and coal-fired to generate 31% of electricity. The employment situation is even bleaker for the coal industry. The industry has lost 60% of its workforce, or about 36,000 jobs in the past five years, as employment fell from 89,800 workers in January 2012 to 53,800 in December 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A combination of closed mines and coal-fired plants and automation of the industry have contributed to the job losses, industry experts say. This trend will continue unless the industry can reverse the years of distress. EIA projects some better news for the coal industry as an increase in natural gas prices in 2017 could in turn spur an increase in coal production by as much as 7% if electricity buyers turn to the less expensive coal-generated electricity. Moody's in its 2017 coal outlook changed its outlook on coal prices from negative to stable, with met coal prices remaining flat in 2017 and 2018 at $90 to $120 per ton and thermal at $90 to $100 per ton. Moody's, however, projected in the outlook that natural gas and renewable energy would capture longer-term growth in electric energy generation, port constraints would stymie potential growth in coal exports and regulatory pressures, and uncertainty with the Trump administration would limit coal investments. "I'm sure Trump will do much for the coal industry on the short-term basis, but not much for the long term," said William Brandt Jr., chairman of turnaround management firm Development Specialists Inc. Brandt said a proliferation of other energy sources, such as wind, solar, and other renewable energy, nuclear and natural gas will continue to derail the coal industry. "The price of solar panels and wind energy is coming down," said Brandt. "Renewables have kicked off and they are coming fast. China is building nuclear and gas plants to get away from coal. That tells you where the future is. "Most of the coal plants here are old and at the end of their useful lives. It would be too expensive to put them back online once they're shut down," Brandt said. "The coal industry was a mainstay of American industrial development for years. Unfortunately, the industry has jumped the shark," Brandt said. Peabody Energy Corp., the world's largest independent coal producer with about 19% of the market's production, is heading for a confirmation hearing on March 10 for its Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The St. Louis-based company, which filed for bankruptcy on April 13, 2016, reported a $133.7 million net loss on $1.2 billion in revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30, according to its Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Arch Coal Inc. (ARCH) , the second-largest coal company with about 14% of the market's production, emerged from Chapter 11 on Oct. 5, 2016. The St. Louis company, with $4.6 billion in assets and $6.3 billion in liabilities, reported a $51.4 million loss on $550.3 million in revenue for its quarter ending Sept. 30, according to its SEC 10-Q report filed on Nov. 9. The company's shares, traded on the NYSE, fell .11% to $73.65 on Jan. 27. Cloud Peak Energy Inc., undefined , the third-largest coal company with about 8% of the market's production, reported a $4.2 million loss on $217 million of revenue in its quarter ending Sept. 30. The Gillette, Wyo., company reported $1.7 billion in assets and $799.6 million in liabilities. The company's shares, traded on the NYSE, rose .86% to $5.89 in after-hours trading on Jan. 27. More information on TheStreet's guide to trading in the month of February can be found here: Siemens (SIEGY) shares hit a record high on Wednesday after the German engineering group posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and lifted its 2017 forecasts. Siemens said it expects a 2017 profit margin in the 11% to 12% range, a 50-basis-point improvement at the top end, and earnings per share for the full year in the range of 7.20 to 7.70, up from a previous forecast of 6.80 to 7.20. "With a strong first quarter and a considerably raised outlook for fiscal 2017, we are sending a clear signal," said CEO Joe Kaeser. "I am proud of my global Siemens team that has been working hard and has delivered convincing success. We will continue to rigorously execute our strategy program Vision 2020 to even further strengthen our innovation power and customer proximity." Siemens shares rose 4.4% in early Frankfurt trading to change hands at an all-time high of 121.60 each, extending the three-month gain to more than 17%. Siemens said profits at the industrial group level came in at 2.51 billion for the three months ending in December, its fiscal first quarter, well ahead of the Thomson Reuters forecast of 2.14 billion. The bottom line offset a 14% drop in orders, to 19.6 billion, as the group booked fewer larger contracts. Revenue grew 1% from the same period last year, the company said, to 19.1 billion "We anticipate increasing headwinds for macroeconomic growth and investment sentiment in our markets due to the complex geopolitical environment," the company said. "Therefore, we continue to expect modest growth in revenue, net of effects from currency translation and portfolio transactions. We further continue to anticipate that orders will exceed revenue for a book-to-bill ratio above 1.02." The reference to politics was fleshed out by Kaeser ahead of the company's AGM Wednesday in Munich in which the CEO said he was "worried" about developments in the United States. "The new American president has a style that's different from what we're accustomed to," Kaeser said. "It worries us, what we see. But it's a great country." "The country has a tradition of openness, freedom, integration," Kaeser added. "It would be a terrible shame if ... one would give this up only because one thinks one would guarantee security." Diageo (DEO) is betting that Americans will put down their pale beer and opt for the dark stuff as it plans to open a brewery in Maryland. London-based Diageo said late Tuesday that it will create a version of its Dublin-based Guinness brewery in Relay, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, with a mid-sized brewery with a packaging and warehouse operations and a visitor center. There will also be an innovation microbrewery and a taproom for sampling the experimental beers. Diageo stock was up 0.48% Wednesday to 2,214 pence in the first hour of trading and have gained 15.5% over the past 52 weeks as sales benefit from a weaker pound since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union in June. The FTSE 350 Food and Beverage Index has gained 1.82% since the start of 2017. Diageo will investment about $50 million in the site, which is will be an expansion of the company's Calvert Distillery, and are aiming for it to be open by fall 2017 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Guinness first being imported to the U.S. Diageo, which hasn't brewed Guinness in the U.S. for 63 years, will focus the Maryland base on products created for the American market. The company's benchmarks -- Guinness Draught, Guinness Foreign Extra and Guinness Extra stouts -- will still be brewed in the Ireland. The beer itself was first made in 1759 and is brewed in almost 50 countries. Its main brewery is in Dublin, which Arthur Guinness in 1759 famously signed a 9,000-year lease in 1759 for 45 ($56.57) a year. "Opening a Guinness brewery and visitor center in the U.S. will enable us to collaborate with fellow brewers and interact with the vibrant community of beer drinkers," said Tom Day, president, Diageo Beer Company, USA, in a statement. "Given the success of our Open Gate Brewery in Dublin and the popularity of beer tourism in the U.S., we are confident that Americans will welcome the opportunity to come experience Guinness brewing in Baltimore County." Diageo, the maker of Johnny Walker and Crown Royal, saw good growth in the U.S. in the second half of last year. The world's largest maker of spirits reported top-line sales rise 4.4% for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2016 on volume growth of 1.8% in its earnings released last week. North America saw growth of 3% on an organic basis, the majority of growth came from U.S. spirits, which saw new sales up 4%. North America represents a third of the company's earnings. "North American whiskey net sales grew 15% as Crown Royal and Bulleit continued to gain share in a vibrant category," the company said. Growth was driven by reserve variants, which were up by 11%. Uber has entered an agreement with Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler (DDAIF) that will see autonomous vehicles made by the German firm introduced in its global network over the coming years. Neither company said when the rollout will begin, although Daimler already has plans to launch its first autonomous vehicles for sale by 2020. Both companies have pitched autonomous driving as a safe alternative to cars driven by humans. "Auto manufacturers like Daimler are crucial to our strategy because Uber has no experience making cars-and in fact, making cars is really hard," said Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. "That's why instead of building them ourselves, we want to partner with the best auto manufacturers in the world." The partnership is not Uber's first foray into the realm of autonomous driving. Back in August it acquired Otto, a startup that is seeking to develop engine technology for self driving trucks, although the ride sharing firm later said it has no plans to actually build any autonomous vehicles itself. It also has a partnership with Swedish firm Volvo which saw it testing Volvo designed technology in some of its vehicles, although the pair's on-road pilot in San Francisco was cancelled in December at the behest of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. For Daimler the partnership will come as an acknowledgement of its leadership position in the field of autonomous driving. In September 2015, the German firm became the first auto manufacturer to receive official permission to test autonomous vehicles on public roads in California. It has since tested the Mercedes-Benz Actros truck, with its Highway Pilot function that enables drivers to benefit from assisted driving, which offers a partially automated form of driving experience. Daimler stock was trading 0.6% higher shortly after the opening bell on Wednesday, at around 69.95 each. Daimler and other automotive firms had a bumpy ride in January as the new administration in the White House repeatedly struck out at the industry, with threats of border tariffs, over its extensive investments in Mexico based production facilities that are used to service American customers. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are flying over 8% higher after the company beat on top- and bottom-line earnings estimates. This company reported fantastic sales growth, TheStreet's Jim Cramer, co-manager of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, said on CNBC's "Mad Dash" segment. Revenue climbed almost 16% during the quarter. This is not your old AMD, Cramer said. It has the right products for the current environment. "This company is back and it's bigger than ever," he said. AMD should be on companies' M&A radars, too. It's got great management, he said. Now that it's fixed the "balance sheet from hell," it looks like a "buy, buy, buy!" Cramer exulted. The shares are up more than 400% over the past year but that much-improved balance sheet makes AMD a far more attractive investment. Now the financials have improved and the business is doing well. Cramer also noted that some analysts are still hesitant to get behind the company, pointing out Citigroup reiterated its sell rating. This is not a second-rate company anymore, he said of AMD, adding that Marvell Technology (MRVL) is also doing much better. At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had no position in companies mentioned. On the day when most automakers were releasing their monthly sales numbers, an outside estimate on how Tesla (TSLA) performed in January would imply the company's operations are not running on a full charge. Well-regarded website Inside EVs on Wednesday estimated that Tesla sold 900 Model S sedans and 750 Model X SUVs in January in the U.S. for total sales of 1,650 units. That estimate, if accurate, would leave the company well off pace even to match last year's target of 80,000 deliveries and down considerably from the company's 9,725 unit December total. The estimate, even if correct, should come with some caveats. Unlike traditional automakers who book a sale as soon as a vehicle is headed to the dealer, Tesla only records a delivery when the vehicle is in a customer.'s hands. January is typically the slowest month for all automakers, and Tesla, in particular, tends to underperform early in the quarter and outperform towards the end. But the number is fodder for bears who question the company's ability to ramp up production and wonder whether demand for the S and X is as high as the company's claims. The January figures are of particular interest because Tesla said on January 3 that about 6,450 vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the quarter that will be counted as deliveries in the first quarter of 2017. It is unclear how many of those deliveries were headed outside of the U.S. Shares of Tesla, which also on Wednesday dropped the "Motors" from its name to reflect its broadening focus on batteries and solar panels in addition to automobiles, fell less than 1% midday Wednesday. The more important figure for both Tesla bulls and bears would be an update on Tesla's more affordable Model 3. The company has a massive reservation list for the vehicle and hopes to begin deliveries before year's end, but skeptics have questioned whether Tesla will be able to meet that goal. With General Motors (GM) selling 1,162 of its lower-cost Bolt electric vehicles in January despite availability in only two states, Tesla has sufficient motivation to get its competitor to market as soon as possible. Crucifixion Catholic Church, Peace of Prince Lutheran Church and La Crescent United Methodist Church have joined together to sponsor a La Crescent community bereavement program -- the first of its kind in La Crescent. The program will assist any community member who has lost a loved one in a format that has been proven to lessen the pain and suffering associated with grief. The goal is to give a sense of hope. The program gives an outlet to those in pain. An important part of healing is sharing feelings and experiences with others who are also experiencing a loss. This creates a universal understanding. The program includes a series of 10 meetings, and although attendance is not required it is highly recommended. The meetings will be the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 1:30 to 3 p.m. This started on Jan. 7. The first sessions will be held at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. For registration or more information, please contact Jane Welch at 507-894-4521 by Feb. 1. The following companies are subsidiares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft: ABFS I Incorporated, ABS MB Ltd., Alex. Brown Financial Services Incorporated, Alex. Brown Investments Incorporated, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft mbH, Ambidexter GmbH i.L., Argent Incorporated, BHW - Gesellschaft fur Wohnungswirtschaft mbH, BHW Bausparkasse Aktiengesellschaft, BHW Holding GmbH, BT Globenet Nominees Limited, Bainpro Nominees Pty Ltd, Baldur Mortgages Limited, Bankers Trust Investments Limited, Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc., Berkshire Mortgage Finance, Betriebs-Center fur Banken AG, Better Financial Services GmbH, Better Payment Germany GmbH, Borfield Sociedad Anonima, Breaking Wave DB Limited, Cardales UK Limited, Cardea Real Estate S.r.l., Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Asset Management Company Limited, Cathay Capital Company (No 2) Limited, Cedar (Luxembourg) S.a. r.l., Chapel Funding, China Recovery Fund LLC, Consumo Srl in Liquidazione, D B Investments (GB) Limited, D&M Turnaround Partners Godo Kaisha, DB (Barbados) SRL, DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Asing) Sdn. Bhd., DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Tempatan) Sendirian Berhad, DB Alex. Brown Holdings Incorporated, DB Aotearoa Investments Limited, DB Beteiligungs-Holding GmbH, DB Boracay LLC, DB Capital Markets (Deutschland) GmbH, DB Cartera de lnmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Chestnut Holdings Limited, DB Corporate Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., DB Delaware Holdings (Europe) Limited, DB Direkt GmbH, DB Elara LLC, DB Energy Trading LLC, DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equity Limited, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology SRL, DB Group Services (UK) Limited, DB HR Solutions GmbH, DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB IROC Leasing Corp., DB Impact Investment Fund I. LP., DB Industrial Holdings Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, DB Industrial Holdings GmbH, DB Intermezzo LLC, DB International (Asia) Limited, DB International Investments Limited, DB International Trust (Singapore) Limited, DB Investment Managers Inc., DB Investment Partners Inc., DB Investment Partners Limited, DB Investment Resources (US) Corporation, DB Investment Resources Holdings Corp., DB Investment Services GmbH, DB London (Investor Services) Nominees Limited, DB Management Support GmbH, DB Nominees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB Nominees (Jersey) Limited, DB Nominees (Singapore) Pte Ltd, DB Omega BTV S.C.S., DB Omega Holdings LLC, DB Omega Ltd., DB Omega S.C.S., DB Operaciones y Servicios lnteractivos Agrupacicm de lnteres Econemico, DB Overseas Finance Delaware Inc., DB Overseas Holdings Limited, DB Print GmbH, DB Private Clients Corp., DB Private Wealth Mortgage Ltd., DB Re S.A., DB Service Centre Limited, DB Service Uruguay S.A., DB Services (Jersey) Limited, DB Services Americas. Inc., DB Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., DB Strategic Advisors Inc., DB Structured Derivative Products LLC, DB Structured Products Inc., DB Trustee Services Limited, DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB UK Bank Limited, DB UK Holdings Limited, DB UK PCAM Holdings Limited, DB US Financial Markets Holding Corporation, DB USA Core Corporation, DB USA Corporation, DB Valoren S.a. r.l., DB Value S.a.r.l., DB VersicherungsManager GmbH, DB Vita SA., DB lmmobilienfonds 5 Wieland KG i.L., DB lo LP, DBAH Capital. LLC, DBCIBZ1, DBFIC Inc., DBNZ Overseas Investments (No.1) Limited, DBOI Global Services (UK) Limited, DBR Investments Co. Limited, DBRE Global Real Estate Management 18 Ltd., DBRMS4, DBRMSGP1, DBUK PCAM Limited, DBUSBZ1 LLC, DBUSBZ2 S.a. r.l., DBX Advisers LLC, DEBEKO lmmobilien GmbH & Co Grundbesitz OHG, DEE Deutsche Erneuerbare Energien GmbH, DEUKONA Versicherungs-Vermittlungs-GmbH, DEUTSCHE BANK AS., DI Deutsche lmmobilien Treuhandgesellschaft mbH, DISCA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DWS Alternatives France, DWS Alternatives Global Limited, DWS Alternatives GmbH, DWS Asset Management (Korea) Company Limited, DWS Beteiligungs GmbH, DWS CH AG, DWS Distributors Inc., DWS Far Eastern Investments Limited, DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA, DWS Group Services UK Limited, DWS Grundbesitz GmbH, DWS International GmbH, DWS Investment GmbH, DWS Investment Management Americas Inc., DWS Investment S.A., DWS Investments Australia Limited, DWS Investments Hong Kong Limited, DWS Investments Japan Limited, DWS Investments Shanghai Limited, DWS Investments Singapore Limited, DWS Investments UK Limited, DWS Management GmbH, DWS Real Estate GmbH, DWS Service Company, DWS Shanghai Private Equity Fund Management Limited, DWS Trust Company, DWS USA Corporation, Deposit Solutions, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Capital Holdings New Zealand, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Foreign Investments New Zealand, Deutsche (New Munster) Holdings New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Access Investments Limited, Deutsche Aeolia Power Production Societe Anonyme, Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (UK) Limited, Deutsche Asia Pacific Holdings Pte Ltd, Deutsche Asset Management (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Australia Limited, Deutsche Bank (Cayman) Limited, Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA, Deutsche Bank (Uruguay) Sociedad Anenima lnstitucien Financiera Externa, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp., Deutsche Bank Europe GmbH, Deutsche Bank Financial Company, Deutsche Bank Holdings Inc., Deutsche Bank Insurance Agency Incorporated, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A., Deutsche Bank Mutui S.p.A., Deutsche Bank Mexico. S.A., Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank Polska Spelka Akcyjna, Deutsche Bank Representative Office Nigeria Limited, Deutsche Bank S.A, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, Deutsche Bank Societe per Azioni, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Delaware, Deutsche Bank Trust Company National Association, Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation, Deutsche Bank. Sociedad Anenima Espanola, Deutsche CIB Centre Private Limited, Deutsche Capital Finance (2000) Limited, Deutsche Capital Hong Kong Limited, Deutsche Capital Markets Australia Limited, Deutsche Capital Partners China Limited, Deutsche Cayman Ltd., Deutsche Custody N.V., Deutsche Domus New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Equities India Private Limited, Deutsche Finance No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Foras New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur lmmobilien-Leasing mit beschrenkter Haftung, Deutsche Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Group Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Deutsche Group Services Pty Limited, Deutsche Grundbesitz Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Deutsche Grundbesitz-Anlagegesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Deutsche Holdings (BTI) Limited, Deutsche Holdings (Grand Duchy), Deutsche Holdings (Luxembourg) S.El r.l., Deutsche Holdings Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 3 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 4 Limited, Deutsche India Holdings Private Limited, Deutsche India Private Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services (Ireland) Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services Limited, Deutsche International Custodial Services Limited, Deutsche Investments (Netherlands) N.V., Deutsche Investments India Private Limited, Deutsche Investor Services Private Limited, Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd., Deutsche Leasing New York Corp., Deutsche Mexico Holdings S.a. r.|., Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Group Limited, Deutsche Mortgage & Asset Receiving Corporation, Deutsche Nederland N.V., Deutsche New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Nominees Limited, Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office AG, Deutsche Overseas Issuance New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Postbank, Deutsche Postbank Finance Center Objekt GmbH, Deutsche Private Asset Management Limited, Deutsche Securities (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Securities (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities (SA) (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities Asia Limited, Deutsche Securities Australia Limited, Deutsche Securities Inc., Deutsche Securities Israel Ltd., Deutsche Securities Korea Co., Deutsche Securities Mauritius Limited, Deutsche Securities SA. de C.V.. Casla de Bolsa, Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, Deutsche Services (Cl) Limited, Deutsche Services Polska Sp. z o.o., Deutsche StiftungsTrust GmbH, Deutsche Strategic Investment Holdings Yugen Kaisha, Deutsche Trustee Company Limited, Deutsche Trustee Services (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Trustees Malaysia Berhad, Deutsche Wealth Management S.G.I.I.C. SA., Deutsche lmmobilien Leasing GmbH, Deutsches lnstitut fur Altersvorsorge GmbH, Durian (Luxembourg) S.a. r.l., EC EUROPA IMMOBILIEN FONDS NR. 3 GmbH & CO. KG i.l., Elizabethan Holdings Limited, Elizabethan Management Limited, European Value Added I (Alternate GP.) LLP, Fiduciaria Sant Andrea S.r.l., Finanzberatungsgesellschaft mbH der Deutschen Bank, Funfte SAB Treuhand und Verwaltung GmbH & Co. Suhl "Rimbachzentrum" KG, G Finance Holding Corp., German American Capital Corporation, Grundstucksgesellschaft Frankfurt Bockenheimer LandstraBe GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Miesbaden LuisenstraBe/Kirchgasse GbR, Hollandsche Bank-Unie, ISTRON Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, IVAF l Manager S.a.r.l., Immobilienfonds Buro-Center Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben I GbR, J R Nominees (Pty) Ltd, Joint Stock Company Deutsche Bank DBU, Jyogashima Godo Kaisha, KEBA Gesellschaft fur interne Services mbH, Kidson Pte Ltd, Konsul lnkasso GmbH, LA Water Holdings Limited, LAWL Pte. Ltd., Leasing Verwaltungsgesellschaft Waltersdorf mbH, Leonardo lll Initial GP Limited, MEF I Manager. S. a r.|., MIT Holdings Inc., Maher Terminals Holdings (Toronto) Limited, Morgan Grenfell & Company, MortgageIT, MortgagelT Inc., MortgagelT Securities Corp., OOO "Deutsche Bank TechCentIe", OOO "Deutsche Bank", OPB Verwaltungs- und Treuhand GmbH, OPB-Oktava GmbH, OPB-Quarta GmbH, OPPENHEIM Capital Advisory GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Manager GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, PADUS Grundstcks-VermietungsgeseIlschaft mbH, PB Factoring GmbH, PB Spezial-lnvestmentaktiengesellschatt mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, PCC Services GmbH der Deutschen Bank, PT Deutsche Sekuritas Indonesia, Pan Australian Nominees Pty Ltd, Plantation Bay. Inc., Postbank Akademie und Service GmbH, Postbank Beteiligungen GmbH, Postbank Direkt GmbH, Postbank Filialvertrieb AG, Postbank Finanzberatung AG, Postbank Leasing GmbH, Postbank lmmobilien GmbH, Quantiguous, R.B.M. Nominees Pty Ltd, RREEF, RREEF America LLC., RREEF China REIT Management Limited, RREEF European Value Added I (G.P.) Limited, RREEF Fund Holding Co., RREEF India Advisers Private Limited, RREEF Management LLC., RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., Route 28 Receivables. LLC, SAB Real Estate Verwaltungs GmbH, SAGITA Grundstucks-Vermielungsgesellschaft mbH, SAPIO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, Sal. Oppenheim, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Beteiligungs GmbH, Sharps SP l LLC, Stelvio lmmobiliare S.r.l., Suddeutsche Vermeigensvewvaitung Gesellschaft mit beschrenkter Haftung, TELO Beleiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Tempurrite Leasing Limited, Thai Asset Enforcement and Recovery Asset Management Company Limited, Treuinvest Service GmbH, Triplereason Umited, VOB-ZVD Processing GmbH, WEPLA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Wealthspur Investment Ltd., World Trading (Delaware) Inc., lmmobilienfonds BuroCenter Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben II GbR, lmmobilienfonds Wohn- und Gescheftshaus Koln-Blumenberg V GbR, and norisbank GmbH. Read More There will be a land stewardship project workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the Good Times Restaurant in Caledonia, 118 Bissen St. The workshop will cover how to build soil health and integrate cover crops on area farming operations. The keynote speaker is Dr. Kristine Nichols, chief scientist at the Rodale Institute and internationally known soil microbiologist. The workshop is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (registration opens at 9:45), and the cost is $15 ($10 for additional family or farm members). A noon meal is covered by the fee. To reserve a meal, contact the projects Shona Snater by Monday, Feb. 13, at 507-523-3366 or ssnater@landstewardshipproject.org. Nichols will address key methods to improve soil biology, as well as the impact of cover crops, rotations, tillage and grazing on soil health. Nicholswho grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesotadoes research focusing on farming methods that improve soil aggregation, water infiltration and soil glomalin formation. Before joining Rodale, Nichols was a soil microbiologist with the USDA for 14 years in Maryland and North Dakota. The work she did with the Burleigh County Soil Health Team in North Dakota attracted the attention of farmers and scientists from around the world. Kris Nichols is one of those rare researchers whose work is grounded in real-life farming, with farming examples to draw from throughout the Midwest, Project Member Doug Nopar said. The workshop will also feature a local farm panel with Myron Sylling of Spring Grove and Dairy Farmer Olaf Haugen of Canton, Minn. During the farm panel, Sylling will share five-plus years of cover cropping experience and discuss no-till drilling of cover crops and cover crop mixes after corn and soybean harvest. Haugen will focus on his use of cover crops, alternative forages and grazing to build soil productivity and profitability. Local farmers attending the workshop interested in discussing their own experiences with cover crops and building soil health will be invited to do so. Audience members will also have the opportunity to provide input into the Land Stewardship Projects federal farm policy reform efforts leading up to the 2018 Farm Bill. WEX Inc. provides financial technology services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fleet Solutions, Travel and Corporate Solutions, and Health and Employee Benefit Solutions. The Fleet Solutions segment offers fleet vehicle payment processing services. Its services include customer, account activation, and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions with access to web-based data analytics platform that offers insights to fleet managers; and ancillary services and tools to fleets to manage expenses and capital requirements. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government vehicle fleet customers with small, medium, and large fleets, as well as with over-the-road and long haul fleets; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Travel and Corporate Solutions segment provides payment solutions, including embedded payments; and accounts payable automation and spend management solutions. Its products include virtual cards that are used for transactions where no card is presented. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government organizations. The Health and Employee Benefit Solutions segment offers healthcare payment products and software-as-a-service consumer directed platforms for healthcare market, as well as payroll related and employee benefit products in Brazil. This segment markets its products through health plans, third-party administrators, financial institutions, payroll companies benefits consultants, software providers, and individuals. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Portland, Maine. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand. The company also provides home decor products under the West Elm brand; kids accessories under the Pottery Barn Kids brand; and an organic bedding to multi-purpose furniture under the Pottery Barn Teen brand. In addition, it offers made-to-order lighting, hardware, furniture, and home decors inspired by history under the Rejuvenation brand; and women's and men's accessories, travel, entertaining and bar, home decor, and seasonal items under the Mark and Graham brand, as well as operates a 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings and decor industry. The company markets its products through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs, and retail stores. It operates 544 stores comprising 502 stores in 41states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; 20 stores in Canada; 19 stores in Australia; 3 stores in the United Kingdom; and 139 franchised stores, as well as e-commerce websites in various countries in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, and India. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Each week I set aside Monday morning to write this column a time when I avoid other business and focus with a topic in hand. But seldom in the many years Ive been writing the column have I been met on a Monday morning with such a chaotic barrage of contradictory information. The contradiction is evident when one juxtaposes a new, hastily announced federal government policy with what I supposed was an established national value prohibiting discrimination based on religion. Compare, for example, the newly announced anti-terrorism policy by President Donald Trump barring entry into the United States to all refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries with Canadas reaction to that policy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointedly tweeted to refugees, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength. And then, Discrimination based on national origin is a thinly veiled attempt to discriminate on the basis of religion, according to Richard W. Painter and Norman L. Eisen, who were chief White House ethics lawyers for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, respectively. They noted in a co-written op-ed that the Trump order does not require a similar ban for other Muslim nations in which Trump has business interests. They cite Trumps most recent financial disclosures, but acknowledge that the full story will depend on public disclosure of his tax returns, which he has refused to do. They also noted that Trump has said he will eventually give immigration policy exceptions to Christians in the Muslim-dominated countries. They concluded: After the election we often heard the phrase to the victor belong the spoils. But there are ethical and constitutional limits to that maxim. In this case, an already suspect immigration ban is subject to yet more doubt because President Trump may be looking to his business interests at the same time as he makes decisions about human beings who want to come to America to study, earn a living, avoid persecution and in some instances, to survive. Little wonder, then, that protests spread across the country and world. The administration made some quick adjustments to its policy and the situation probably will change by the time this column is printed. So my thoughts Monday moved on to another topic that received less attention amid the furor of the immigration restrictions. President Trump has elevated his chief strategist Stephen Bannon for a seat at the National Security Council Principals Committee meetings a position that adds to his influence in the administration. Bannon said recently in an interview with the New York Times that The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while. Would he, then, have the media gagged as it works to inform the public about the effects of the presidents recent action? Would he have the media shut up about the need for the public to see the presidents tax returns? One wonders if he is the source of the strategy being employed by his boss to question the honesty of journalists. Journalists will continue to provide us the information we need to make informed judgments about the actions of our governments, national, state and local. We need them now more than ever given the ability of government leaders to control the message with the tools of social media. We must not forget that, without journalists, after all, a president hostile to the press might have survived in office even though he was a liar and a conspirator. The medias exposure of President Richard Nixons lies and cover-up resulted in his resignation. - Democratic Republic of Congo's veteran opposition leader is dead - Etienne Tshisekedi died in Brussels, Belgium aged 84 - Tshisekedi fought three Congolese leaders in his pursuit for democracy The African continent has lost one of its most prolific politician and democracy activists. READ ALSO: Kikuyu community offer punishment to SK Macharia for betrayal and its SCARY Etienne Tshisekedi died in Brussels, Belgium aged 84 READ ALSO: IEBC quickly responds to Railas claims that more they are registering fake voters Etienne Tshisekedi one of the main opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo is dead. Tshisekedi died on Wednesday, February 1, in Brussels, Belgium. Tshisekedi is well known for his battles with the country's former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE READ ALSO: Anger after Raila 'unearths' another rigging scandal Tshisekedi is well known for his battles with the country's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. READ ALSO: Amina AUC chairperson candidature was President Uhuru Kenyattas personal investment - MP Tshisekedi served as a minister in Mobutu's government and was the architect in the formation of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress party (UDPS), the first organised opposition party in Zaire now known as DR Congo. Tshisekedi also stood up against the corrupt government of Laurent Kabila and later his son Joseph Kabila. Tshisekedi also stood up against the corrupt government of Laurent Kabila and later his son Joseph. The 84 year-old opposition leader was a powerful force in DR Congo with his political rallies attracting huge crowds. According to Reuters, UDPS said Tshisekedi went to Brussels last week for a medical check up before his condition worsened. Watch a video of Tshisekedi below. Have anything to add to this story? Let us know on news@tuko.co.ke Source: TUKO.co.ke President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has cut short his visit to Germany due to escalation in the ATO area in Donbas. Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kostiantyn Yeliseyev said this on the air of Channel 5 during a live broadcast from Berlin. "The situation in the town of Avdiyivka [Donetsk region] is very tough. We have been informed that critical infrastructure of the city was destroyed as a result of shelling and there is a threat of humanitarian disaster. President of Ukraine has decided to cut short his visit to Berlin and to return immediately to Kyiv in order to coordinate the government's measures and activities prevent humanitarian catastrophe and seek to respond to attacks occurring around Avdiyivka," Yeliseyev said. Earlier, Pavlo Zhebrivsky, the chairman of the government-controlled Donetsk Military and Civilian Administration wrote on his Facebook page that Russian-backed militants had damaged a power line of Avdiyivka. In addition, filtration station and a chemical plant's power generation unit, which provided Avdiyivka with heat, were de-energized. As a result, the town was left without water, electricity, heating. ol After the consideration of the deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine, the UN Security Council on Tuesday released a press statement, Press Officer of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations Oleg Nikolenko told Ukrinform. When considering the situation in eastern Ukraine, particularly in Avdiyivka, at the UN Security Council, the delegation of Ukraine submitted a draft press statement that was supported by all members of the Security Council, the Ukrainian diplomat said. In the press statement, the text of which is available to Ukrinform, it is noted that: The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population. The members of the Security Council condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements along the contact line in the Donetsk region that led to deaths and injuries, including among civilians. The members of the Security Council expressed their full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and underlined the need for strict compliance with resolution 2202 (2015), which endorsed the Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime. iy NATO is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Avdiivka and calls on Russia to stop the violence in Donbas. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced this on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent in Brussels reports. "We call on Russia to use its considerable influence on the separatists to stop the violence. All the parties must fulfill their obligations under the Minsk agreements," the head of the Alliance said. He mentioned the most recent aggravation of violence, especially in the area of Avdiivka, and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation. According to NATO, the OSCE informed of 5,600 ceasefire violations during the last week. Stoltenberg also called for the removal of heavy weaponry in the region, which is prohibited under the Minsk agreements. "OSCE monitors should have safe access throughout the region, including on Ukraine-Russia border," the NATO Secretary General said. ol Ukraine and Moldova will receive a grant worth EUR 3.3 million from the European Union under the Moldova - Ukraine Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Programme, according to the Regional Development and Construction Ministry of Moldova. The implementation of 16 awarded projects, which will be proportionally distributed among our countries, foresee improving living conditions of citizens living in frontier regions of the two countries, the development of education and culture, as well as joint respond to common cross-border challenges, the ministry stated, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. Ukraine in these projects will be represented by Chernivtsi, Odesa and Vinnytsia regions. The grant agreement signing ceremony for the awardees will take place in Chisinau, with the participation of representatives of the Regional Development and Construction Ministry of Moldova and the Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine, as well as EU Delegations. iy A growing number of Democrats in Congress are warning that a government hiring freeze will delay veterans access to health care and hurt their opportunities for employment. In a letter sent Thursday, 55 Democratic and independent lawmakers including Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota called on President Donald Trump to exempt the Veterans Administration and all vets seeking federal jobs from his executive order that put a halt to federal hiring. Trump, in one of his first official acts as president, signed an executive order Jan. 23 imposing the hiring freeze across federal agencies, including the VA system. A hiring freeze at the VA will delay veterans access to health care and resolution of their disability claims, which for many of our nations heroes provides a sole source of income to them and their families, the letter states. Our nations veterans should not be made to sacrifice any more than they already have while you review federal hiring. Baldwin noted the VA has more than 45,000 vacancies and that Trumps nominee to run the department has said he needs to fill every one of those openings in order to make sure that were doing the very best for our veterans. Its not clear whether the hiring freeze would affect the 22 vacancies currently posted for the Tomah VA. Those openings include nine physicians, one physicians assistant, two nurse practitioners and five other care providers. A clinic spokesman referred questions to VA headquarters, which did not respond Wednesday. I just dont have any information, said Tomah VA spokesman Matthew Gowan. Our job doesnt change. Were focused on providing the best care to our veterans. Acting VA Secretary Robert Snyder issued a statement Wednesday saying the department would exempt any jobs deemed necessary for public safety, though its not clear exactly what positions that would cover. The signers of the letter are urging Trump to exempt all VA positions, noting there are more than 450,000 pending appeals for disability compensation. They also call on the president to consider vets applying for federal jobs. An across-the-board freeze will hurt these veterans many of whom are transitioning from military service to civilian service, and many of whom are disabled, the letter states. U.S. Rep. Ron Kind criticized the blanket freeze Wednesday, saying it would hamper efforts to improve care at the Tomah VA Medical Center. They are in competition for the talent in the entire health care system, Kind said in an interview Wednesday. Just to have a hard hiring freeze right now is going to jeopardize service to the veterans. In the past two years the Tomah center has cut overnight and weekend hours at its urgent care clinic and temporarily shuttered mental health treatment facilities because of staffing shortages. Ukraine expects the Free Trade Agreement with Canada to be finally adopted in spring. Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko said this to an Ukrinform correspondent, commenting on the start of a new session of the Federal Parliament of Canada. "Completion of the Ukraine-Canada Free Trade Agreement ratification should become an important event of this session. This document has successfully passed two readings in the Lower House of the Parliament and is now being considered in the committees. We expect that the final vote in the Lower House will take place in spring," Shevchenko said. The Ambassador added that after the agreement was endorsed by the Lower House of the Parliament, it had yet to be ratified in the Senate and be signed by the Governor General. ol Morocco can be a very interesting trading partner for Ukraine in Africa despite its geographical location and a free trade agreement with the European Union and African countries. The press service of the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry has reported this after a meeting between Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Deputy Minister for European Integration Olga Trofimtseva and the Moroccan delegation headed by President of the Chamber of Artistic Crafts Hassan Choumais. Morocco is a high-priority African country for the development of bilateral agricultural trade, Trofimtseva said. In 2016, Ukraine's exports to Morocco came to $215.9 million, which is 58.6% higher than that recorded in 2015. The export deliveries consisted mainly of cereals ($143.9 million), food industry residues and waste ($43.6 million), vegetable oil ($19.6 million), butter ($3.7 million), eggs ($0.7 million). Ukraine's imports from Morocco amounted to $6.8 million and consisted mainly of fish and fish products ($5.5 million). Currently, agricultural trade between Ukraine and Morocco is at a rather high level. According to the statistical data, trade turnover was $221 million in 2016. Meanwhile, Ukraine's exports exceeded $215 million, mainly thanks to cereals, Trofimtseva noted, adding that there is more to come and both countries should work on commodity structure diversification. mk Pro-Russian politicians in Austria deliberately exaggerate negative impact of sanctions against Russia on the Austrian economy, and the statistics did not confirm this fact. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Austria Oleksandr Scherba said this during a skype conference on Wednesday answering the question whether Austria will continue to support sanctions against Russia, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. "I think yes [it will support sanctions]. The statistics did not confirm negative impact of sanctions on the Austrian economy. Yesterday the new statistics was published regarding the rate of growth of the national economy, and the GDP broke a record for the last five years. The growth was 1.5% in 2016, which is quite a lot," he said. According to him, the myth about negative impact of sanctions against Russia on the economy of Austria is actively spread by primarily pro-Russian politicians, in particular, the Freedom Party of Austria. ish The European Union has welcomed the progress of energy sector reform and the development of energy efficiency in Ukraine. This is said in the second report of the European Commission on the EU Energy Union, an Ukrinform correspondent in Brussels reports. "The European Union continues to assist in the promotion of energy reform in Ukraine. Tangible progress has been achieved in the gas market. In addition, important decisions were made in order to improve energy efficiency," the report reads. It is also noted the need to extend the reforms in Ukraine, especially in the energy sector. The European Commission also commended its efforts in meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian parties in order to ensure stable gas supply to Ukraine and gas transit to the EU. ol Attacks launched by Russian-backed separatists are leading to a humanitarian crisis in Avdiyivka. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada wrote this on Twitter. Russian-led separatist shelling causing humanitarian crisis in Avdiyivka. Canada calls on all sides to end fighting, reads a posting. As reported, on January 29, illegal military groups started shelling positions of the Ukrainian Army in the town of Avdiyivka. In violation of the Minsk agreements, Russian-backed proxies used 152mm and 122mm artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, small arms and tanks Over two days, eight Ukrainian servicepersons were killed, another 26 were wounded. Moreover, two civilians were killed as a result of attacks on residential areas. iy The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has issued a statement in which it calls on international community to increase efforts in order to ensure that Russia end its aggressive actions against Ukraine. International pressure on Russia must be increased in order to ensure that Russia end its invasion of Ukraine, reads the statement. To achieve this, the Ukrainian organization called on Canada together with allies to increase sanctions against the Russian Federation and provide Ukraine with needed weapons to defend its territory. The UCC calls on Canada to work with allies to significantly increase sanctions on the Russian Federation in response to Russias increasing aggression, including banning Russia from the SWIFT international payments system and provide Ukraine with the defensive equipment it needs to defend its territory, including anti-tank, anti-artillery and surveillance equipment, reads the statement. In addition, the UCC calls on Canada to issue a strong condemnation of this serious escalation by the Russian Federation and demand that Russia abide by the ceasefire it has signed. As reported, on January 29, illegal military groups started shelling positions of the Ukrainian Army in the town of Avdiyivka. In violation of the Minsk agreements, Russian-backed proxies used 152mm and 122mm artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, small arms and tanks Over two days, eight Ukrainian servicepersons were killed, another 26 were wounded. Moreover, two civilians were killed as a result of attacks on residential areas. iy Ukraine starts its one-month presidency in the UN Security Council. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has posted this on his Twitter page. "A new important stage of our work in the UN Security Council starts today as Ukraine launches its presidency in the Security Council in February," he said. Ukraine is one of ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2016-2017. February 2, a meeting on the situation in Donbas will be held. ol The German Federal Government strongly condemns a new escalation of tensions in eastern Ukraine and calls on both sides of the conflict to return immediately to the ceasefire. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said this at a press conference on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. "We are convinced that both sides must immediately return to the ceasefire and stop mutual provocation," Seibert said. According to him, the German government condemns the use of heavy weapons, which, according to the Minsk agreements, should not be even close to the contact line. Merkel's spokesman stressed that Berlin demands from both sides an "immediate humanitarian pause" to provide assistance to 20,000 people, especially residents of Avdiyivka, who were left without electricity, heating and water, and requires an immediate access for OSCE observers to Avdiyivka and Yasynuvata. ish In 2017, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) intends to provide assistance to 48 million children suffering from the consequences of conflicts or natural disaster, namely from such countries as Syria, Yemen, Iraq, South Sudan, Nigeria and Ukraine. The Fund launched a $3.3 billion appeal to provide emergency assistance worldwide, UN News Center reports. "UNICEF will need about $43.5 million to help the children, who are refugees and migrants in Europe. The Fund requests $31.2 million to provide assistance to Ukrainian children," the statement reads. With enough funding, UNICEF hopes to reach 81 million people, including 48 million children with access to safe water, nutrition, education, health and protection. ol 02/01/2017 By Katharine Webster Danielle Moriarty '11 works at a nonprofit community arts center in Concord, helping to organize classes and school workshops on everything from ceramics to Bollywood dancing. A visual artist who previously taught at a private therapeutic school, Moriarty also volunteers at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. She says UMass Lowells new Master of Public Administration degree, with its unique track in public humanities and the arts, is preparing her to work at a broad range of arts organizations. I had been looking at museum studies programs, but was worried that would be too narrow a niche, says Moriarty, who earned her undergraduate degree in liberal arts with concentrations in art history and psychology. This degree is more of an umbrella, bringing together management of cultural organizations with expertise in running nonprofits. A handful of private colleges in New England offer masters degrees in arts administration, museum studies or public humanities. But UMass Lowells M.P.A. in public humanities and the arts combines fundamentals of all three with an internationally recognized degree that will open more doors, says Michael Millner, associate professor of English and coordinator of the arts and humanities track. The M.P.A. program, which admitted its first cohort of students last fall in a soft launch, also includes two other concentrations that will meet growing job needs in the region: justice administration, for people who want to work in the courts, corrections, law enforcement and related nonprofits; and human services management, for people who want to work in government agencies and nonprofits, says Thomas Pineros-Shields, program director and full-time lecturer in sociology. The interdisciplinary program is expected to attract students with degrees in fields from music to criminal justice and history, as well as working professionals who want to advance their careers. Students can attend part-time or full-time, and undergraduates can take advantage of the bachelors-to-masters option, taking up to four graduate classes as undergraduates. Eventually, some classes will be offered online. Photo by Tory Germann Photo by Tory Germann Gary Wallace, executive director of the Lowell Housing Authority, chats with Thomas Pineros-Shields, director of the new MPA program. At a public launch event for regional leaders in all three areas, Gary Wallace, executive director of the Lowell Housing Authority and president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Society of Public Administration, said his agency is a perfect example of why the program is needed: A 2014 state law reforming public housing authorities, passed after several scandals, requires him to certify that key employees in his agency have advanced degrees. An MPA degree is becoming more and more valuable, Wallace said. In the universitys program, all students start off with core courses in policy analysis, funding and budgeting, organizational leadership and data research. They branch out in their second year, taking more courses in their areas of concentration. Incorporating all the electives for arts and cultural institutions is really going to give me a good foundation to go in a lot of different directions, says Moriarty, whos planning on taking an art history course on museums and a grant-writing class offered through the Psychology Department. Photo by Tory Germann Photo by Tory Germann Asst. Prof. Aaron Smith-Walter, the first faculty member hired for the new MPA program, talks to administrators from area arts and humanities organizations. Public humanities and arts students also can take advantage of the areas many cultural organizations from Boston-area museums to the Lowell National Historical Park and Lowell Folk Festival to complete their required practicum. Students in the justice administration track will take graduate classes in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies, ranging from Criminal Justice Research Design to Alternative Dispute Resolution. Those in human services administration can elect graduate classes in psychology and sociology. Dara Duong '16, who graduated last spring with a double-major in psychology and political science and a minor in Asian Studies, joined the M.P.A. program last fall. He works part-time, too, but his passion is volunteering at the SayDaNar Community Development Center in Lowell, which helps Burmese refugees; an immigrant himself, Duong runs the after-school program and coordinates volunteers. He says hes already putting the leadership skills hes learning into practice. One of the best skills Ive learned is how to motivate people to come together as a team, he says. This program has really helped me a lot, giving me hands-on experience in dealing with people. Im not in it to make money, but to help people, because thats what makes me happy. The Irvettes performed while ringing bells Dec. 16-17, 2016, at Melrose Express and the nearly $561 raised on Dec. 17 was matched with a $575 donation from Co-op Credit Union. CCU Young Professionals Group contributed to the match with a fundraiser where YP members made and sold holiday mugs at all the credit unions locations. It was the most successful fundraiser for the CCU YP Group since it began and continues its support of area organizations and causes. On Nov. 20, 2016, the New Lisbon Police Department informed the Jackson County Sheriffs Department that a young girl was beaten and possibly choked by her father while hunting in the Millston Township area. She was brought home to New Lisbon, Wis. by her father Keith Herritz, 57, where her guardian, Lori L. Krull lived. It was reported that the young girl and Herritz went to several bars in downtown Millston on Nov. 19 and when they returned to the cabin, she told her father she wanted to go home. She stated he then pulled her from the car by her neck choking her and kicked her in the stomach. The young girl was taken to Hess Memorial Hospital for her injuries. Herritz claimed that his daughter wanted to take his Jeep and that when he told her no, she threw a fit and stated that she was going to sleep outside or walk in the woods. Herritz then stated that he told her that he was taking her home and this made her mad. Herritz has been charged by the Jackson County District Attorneys Office with physical abuse of a child, intentionally causing bodily harm, which could land him a fine up to $10,000, not more than six years in prison, or both. His initial appearance in Jackson County Circuit Court is set for Feb. 20. The UW-Stevens Point and Minnesota State College Southeast recently released their lists for high-achieving students in the recent Fall 2016 semester, with Jackson County being well-represented. To be on the UW-Stevens Point honors list you need to earn a grade point average between 3.50 and 4.00. Those students from Minnesota State College Southeast must achieve a grade point average of 3.5 or higher to be on the Presidents List. The sympathetic nervous system is one component of the nervous regulatory system of the physiological function of the lower genitourinary tract. Our knowledge on the role of this sympathetic system has advanced during the last decade due to the characterization of b3-adrenoceptors (b3-ARs) in the urogenital system. This review focuses on the pharmacological and molecular evidence supporting the functional roles of 3-AR in male genitourinary tissues of various species. An electronic search in two different databases was performed including MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE from 2010 to 2016. b3-agonists may be a promising alternative to antimuscarinics in the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) based on available evidence. Although more recent studies have evaluated the involvement of b3-ARs in the physiological control and regulation of various tissues of the lower genitourinary tract mainly urinary bladder, penis, urethra, ureter, there are few innovations in the pipe-line. Among the 3-agonists, mirabegron is a unique drug licensed for the treatment of OAB who are unable to tolerate antimuscarinic agents. Many drugs classified as 3-agonists are still under investigations for the treatment of OAB, lower urinary tract symptoms, ureteral stones, benign prostate hyperplasia, prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction. This review discusses the potential roles of 3-AR as new therapeutic targets by evaluating the results of preclinical and clinical studies related to male lower genitourinary tract function. Looking to the future, the potential benefits of 3-AR agonists from experimental and clinical investigations may provide an attractive therapeutic option. Current drug targets. 2017 Jan 20 [Epub ahead of print] Ecem Kaya, Suresh C Sikka, Didem Yilmaz Oral, Isil Ozakca, Serap Gur Departments of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, Turkey., Department of Urology, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, United States., Tulane University, Health Sciences Center Department of Urology, 1430 Tulane Avenue, SL-42, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States. PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28117002 Brief background. Evidence from family-based studies as well as other study cohorts suggests a significant genetic component to prostate cancer. However, both the clinical and genetic heterogeneity of prostate cancer have contributed to difficulty in the discovery of genes associated with enhanced susceptibility. Only a handful of genes have been identified to date which have been consistently associated with moderate-to-strong increased risk and/or outcomes in prostate cancer.A mutation (G84E) in the homeobox transcription factorgene is associated with a 3- to 8-fold increase in prostate cancer risk overall. This particular mutation is almost exclusively observed among men of Northern European descent and is more common among men with early-onset disease and a family history of prostate cancer. The hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) susceptibility genes (and) have also been implicated in inherited prostate cancer. Mutations inin particular have been associated with more aggressive clinicopathologic characteristics in prostate cancer and worse outcomes (increased risk of recurrence and poorer survival). There is also increasing data of prostate cancer being a part of Lynch syndrome (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer syndrome) which can also be associated with increased risk of upper tract urothelial carcinoma. Mutations in the DNA mismatch repair genes (and) account for Lynch syndrome, and there is emerging data of increased risk for prostate cancer among male DNA mismatch repair mutation carriers as well as increased rates of prostate cancer in Lynch syndrome families. Finally, a number of more common gene variants of low penetrance have also been identified from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS); however, the purported function in prostate cancer and clinical significance for the majority of these common variants is unknown. Thus, a spectrum of genes are now emerging as contributors to inherited prostate cancer for which clinical genetic testing is available, which warrants awareness among urologic providers for appropriate referrals for genetic consultation.Implications for urologists to identify patients to refer for genetic evaluation. A positive family history of prostate cancer, particularly when diagnosed in a first-degree relative (brother, father), has been associated with an approximate two- to three-fold increase in the risk of prostate cancer; however, risk is also elevated when prostate cancer is diagnosed in second-degree (uncles, grandparents) or third-degree relatives (cousins). Risk generally increases with the number of affected relatives, relationship to the patient (prostate cancer is higher when brothers are affected as opposed to father or sons), and is inversely related to the age at diagnosis among affected relatives. Hereditary Prostate Cancer (HPC) has been used to characterize families with a particularly strong history of prostate cancer and includes those families with either: 1) three or more affected first-degree relatives, 2) prostate cancer diagnosed in three successive generations of the same lineage (paternal or maternal), or 3) two first-degree relatives both diagnosed with early-onset disease ( 55 years). It has been estimated that 5-10% of prostate cancer cases may meet HPC criteria. Furthermore, the presence of prostate cancer among along with a family history consistent with other hereditary cancer syndromes such as HBOC and Lynch syndrome expands the scope of consideration for genetic mutations common to other solid tumors. A number of studies have shown a positive family history of breast, colon and pancreatic cancer diagnosed among close relatives is associated with increased prostate cancer risk, even in the absence of prostate cancer diagnosed among family members. These observations reinforce the importance of capturing, even among those of the opposite sex, for appropriate referral of men to genetic consultation. Urologic providers should now develop strong relationships with genetic consultation practices for discussion of referrals of males for evaluation of inherited prostate cancer.Genetic consultation for prostate cancer. Genetic counseling is a cornerstone of genetic consultation. The purpose of genetic counseling is to provide individuals with personalized assessment of cancer risk based on their personal and/or family cancer history, provide education of cancer inheritance patterns, and discuss the options/benefits/risks/limitations of genetic testing in order to make an informed decision for genetic testing. Genetic counselors and Advanced Genetics Nurses have training and education in medical genetics and counseling to help educate patients and their families on the genetic component of disease and understand the implications of genetic testing.At the present time, genetic evaluation guidelines for prostate cancer primarily focus onandtesting. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guideline in genetic and familial risk for breast and ovarian cancers states that a male warrants genetic counseling and to consider genetic testing if he has prostate cancer of Gleason score >=7 and one of the following: (1) at least one close blood relative with ovarian cancer or breast cancer at age <=50, or (2) at least two relatives with breast, ovarian, or prostate cancer (Gleason >=7) at any age. The NCCN states that an unaffected male may also consider genetic evaluation if their family history meets the same criteria, though testing of an affected relative is preferred if possible. For malemutation carriers without prostate cancer, the NCCN recommends prostate cancer screening start at age 45 forcarriers and to consider screening forcarriers. Due to additional risk for male breast cancer formutation carriers, NCCN recommends breast self-exam training starting at age 35, and a yearly clinical breast exam also starting at age 35.mutation status in a male can provide useful information for male and female relatives, to consider their own genetic counseling and genetic testing including the known mutation in the family. Thus, female relatives can gain cancer risk information and personalized screening recommendations for breast and ovarian cancer, and both males and females can gain information regarding risks for pancreatic cancer and melanoma and discuss the current state and options for screening of these cancers. Therefore, genetic counseling for males concerned about inherited prostate cancer includes discussion of the role ofandin prostate cancer risk and screening, as well as additional cancers associated withmutations relevant to males and females.Additional larger prostate cancer risk-focused gene panels are also now available for genetic testing through a few commercial genetic testing laboratories. These panels includeand(in some of the panels)However, guidelines for prostate cancer screening currently only exist forand. Testing these additional genes could provide information on risks and management of additional cancers such as colon cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, or pancreatic cancer. Prostate cancer gene panels also include several other genes where there is early data in prostate cancer, or conflicting data for many genes regarding risk for prostate cancer. Therefore, genetic counseling includes discussion of genes available on these panels, cancer risks associated with these genes, potential findings and implications for men and their families. In particular, it is stressed that current guidelines for management of prostate cancer are only limited toand, though genetic test results could inform of additional cancer risks for which many have management guidelines.Also, discussion needs to include if the men would want to know this information. It can be difficult for some individuals to hear about future cancer risks while newly diagnosed or hear about cancer risks (i.e. pancreatic cancer) where screening guidelines are not available but screening modalities may exist.Additional considerations for genetic testing. Current insurance coverage for genetic testing is primarily limited totesting if a man meets NCCN criteria (Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast and Ovarian). There may still be an out-of-pocket cost depending on the mans insurance plan. Full payment out-of-pocket is also an option and can range from $249-$2436 depending on the laboratory. Thus, some men are opting to proceed with gene panel testing if the out-of-pocket cost can be afforded. Prior to testing, additional considerations to discuss in genetic counseling include genetic discrimination laws. The Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 provides protection from discrimination in health insurance and employment in most scenarios, but does not cover life insurance, long-term care, or disability insurance. Therefore, a male with no pre-existing conditions needs to understand these laws prior to proceeding with genetic testing in case he is found to carry a genetic mutation. Furthermore, genetic test results may have reproductive implications for offspring particularly for recessive conditions (such as Fanconi anemia related to two partners withmutations). Thus, this is also important to discuss prior to proceeding with genetic testingConclusion. Genetic evaluation for prostate cancer is now emerging to address the need to identify the basis of suspected inherited prostate cancer in families. Urologists need to develop strategies to capture comprehensive family cancer history to identify men to refer for genetic evaluation. Furthermore, referral of men with young onset prostate cancer, particularly diagnosed at age <=55, is important for men to undergo genetic counseling and make informed decisions for genetic testing. Strong partnership of urologic providers with the cancer genetics community will be needed for men to gain access to genetic consultation and to make progress in expanding our understanding of the genetic predisposition to prostate cancer. A national consensus conference is scheduled in Philadelphia in early 2017 to develop comprehensive genetic evaluation guidelines relevant to prostate cancer risk, which will have impact for men and their families regarding cancer risk and management.Written by:Veda N. Giri, MD,Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer, MPH, PhD,Colette Hyatt, MS, LCGC, andLeonard Gomella, MDCancer Risk Assessment and Clinical Cancer Genetics Program, Department of Medical Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PABarbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Department of Oncology, Detroit, MIDepartment of Urology, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson Universityee Nestle will soon take up 40 percent of 1812 N. Moore St., a building in Arlingtons Rosslyn area that has remained empty since its completion in 2013. (Jeffrey MacMillan for The Washington Post) Nestle USA, the maker of Haagen-Dazs, Baby Ruth, Lean Cuisine and dozens of other mass brands, is moving its U.S. headquarters to Arlingtons Rosslyn area, bringing roughly 750 jobs to a part of Virginia struggling with widespread office vacancies. The worlds largest packaged-food company which bills itself as a nutrition, health and wellness company will move in at 1812 N. Moore St., the regions tallest building, which has remained vacant since it was completed in late 2013. Nestle was lured to the area, executives say, by its proximity to lawmakers, regulators and lobbyists and more than $16 million in state and county subsidies. Frankly, this brings us closer to the heartbeat of our industry, said Paul Grimwood, chairman and chief executive of Nestle USA, which is part of the global giant Nestle SA, based in Vevey, Switzerland. It allows us to collaborate not just with consumers but also with other important stakeholders in Washington and on Capitol Hill. The companys current U.S. headquarters is in Glendale, Calif., where it has come under fire in recent years for bottling water during the states record multi-year drought. In 2015, Nestle which has nine brands of water, including Arrowhead removed 36 million gallons of water from a natural forest in California to bottle and sell, prompting public criticism and at least one lawsuit. Nestle, founded in 1866, has built itself into a global powerhouse with worldwide sales of around $90 billion in 2015. In addition to Nestle Crunch, Butterfinger and Toll House, the companys brands include Hot Pockets, DiGiorno, Nescafe, Boost, Gerber and Purina. The Switzerland-based packaged-foods giant is spending $39.8 million to build out the top nine floors of 1812 N. Moore St., the regions tallest building. (Jeffrey MacMillan for The Washington Post) With Nestles move, the Mid-Atlantic region will now boast three major candymakers. Mars, the privately held maker of Snickers, Milky Way and M&Ms, is based in McLean, Va., and Hershey is based in Pennsylvania. In recent years, Nestle has made a steady push to remove unnatural flavors and colors from its chocolate bars and reduce the sugar in its Nesquik drink powders. It has also invested in health-care firms and medical device companies, and earlier this year it brought in Ulf Mark Schneider, a former health-care executive, as chief executive of its global operations. [Baby Ruth, Butterfinger and Crunch are going natural] Virginia officials wooed Nestle for over a year, said Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D). The company considered 20 locations across the country but by October had narrowed its search to Rosslyn and Atlanta. Relocation of the Nestle USA headquarters was under consideration before the election cycle, said Lisa Gibby, a Nestle spokeswoman. We made the decision to come to Washington independent of the election of the president. Ultimately, Grimwood said, the states incentive package, combined with easy access to transportation and Arlingtons reputation for good public schools, helped seal the deal. The move brings Nestle closer to its customers and its productions facilities 80 percent of the companys U.S. products are sold east of the Mississippi River, where three-fourths of its 87 U.S. factories are based, Grimwood said. It also helps bring U.S. executives closer to the companys global headquarters and supports the companys government-related efforts. Nestle spent more than $16 million lobbying Congress between 2012 and 2016 on issues related to environmental regulations, trade and labor, according to public records. For Northern Virginia, the arrival of Nestle USA, which in 2015 had $9.7 billion in sales, serves as proof that it can look beyond defense contractors for growth. The state is now home to more than 70 corporate headquarters, including Volkswagen Group of America, Hilton Worldwide and Capital One Financial. For us, its perfect, McAuliffe said, adding that he and Nestle executives finalized the deal four weeks ago while drinking Virginia wine in California. We brought in a company that is not dependent on federal government spending. We realize we do have to diversify, which means we have to bring in different types of businesses. The commonwealth is offering $10 million in cash grants to Nestle: $6 million as a Commonwealth Opportunity Fund incentive and $4 million from a Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant. Arlington County is offering an additional $6 million in incentives $4 million from performance grants and $2 million in infrastructure updates as well as additional money for extensive relocation assistance to help cover expenses related to the companys move and training of new hires. Nestle will spend an estimated $39.8 million building out its share of the 35-story high-rise. The company will take over 40 percent of the building, or about 206,000 square feet, on the top nine floors. The move will begin this summer and is expected to be complete by late 2018. [Why N.Va.s tallest building is still empty and what it means for Arlington] Of the 750 positions in Rosslyn, about half will be new hires, Grimwood said. In addition to Nestles corporate operations, the Arlington office will house the companys confections and beverage businesses, as well as its online division. Nationally, Nestle has 51,000 employees. Monday Properties, a New York-based developer, began building 1812 N. Moore St. in 2010 as the country was slowly recovering from the global financial crisis. By the time the high-rise was completed three years later, Northern Virginia was reeling from widespread government budget cuts and consolidation among defense contractors. Boeing and Northrop Grumman had both moved out of Rosslyn, leaving behind empty buildings. One-quarter of the suburbs office buildings remain vacant, according to real estate services firm CBRE. The 580,000-square-foot building, which rises 390 feet, sat empty for years as its owners searched for a flagship tenant. The Advisory Board Co. considered the building for its new headquarters before deciding to remain in the District, where it received $60 million in tax incentives. So when Nestle came calling, Monday Properties was determined to make it work. The last six months have been very heated, said Anthony Westreich, chief executive of Monday Properties. Weve been working on 1812 North Moore Street for over a decade now, but once you have a tenant like Nestle coming in, thats going to help get more deals. Local business leaders said the Nestles arrival could help open the floodgates for other companies that might not typically look to the Washington area for their headquarters. Bringing in large companies such as Nestle from other parts of the country is particularly important, said Mary-Claire Burick, president of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District. A lot of the commercial deals weve seen so far have been one local market piping from another, Burick said. Whats so exciting about Nestle in particular is that its coming from another part of the country. This brings unprecedented momentum. CREDIT RushCard fined over accounts outage The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is fining MasterCard and the parent company of RushCard a total of $13 million for technical issues that left tens of thousands of customers without access to their prepaid card accounts for days. The federal watchdog said $10 million of the fine will be given to customers who faced fees and other hardships in 2015 as a result of a technical glitch. Consumers could not use their own money to pay for basic living expenses and necessities, said CFPB director Richard Cordray. Throughout this frustrating saga, UniRushs customer service efforts failed to address problems adequately. Customers will receive payments ranging from $25 to $250, depending on the issues they faced during the outage. RushCard, a prepaid card company founded by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, faced technical problems in October 2015 as it was switching to a new payment processing system with MasterCard. The problem caused some customers to grapple with incorrect account information, denied debit transactions and lack of access to deposits. Jonnelle Marte AUTO INDUSTRY Toyota leads drop in January auto sales Toyota led carmakers reporting declining U.S. sales in January, as an industry aiming for another record year maintains hefty spending on incentives to lure consumers to showrooms. Deliveries fell about 11 percent for Toyota and Fiat Chrysler. Sales also dropped for General Motors and Ford. Japans Nissan and Honda reported gains. Automakers spent about $645 more per vehicle on discounts, about $3,635 on average, in January, according to ALG, which projects car and truck resale values. The industry relied on rich incentive offers and deliveries to fleet customers including rental car companies last year on the way to a seventh straight year of expansion. Strong demand for pickups and sport utility vehicles should ensure that automakers will manage to keep profits rolling. Bloomberg News Also in Business From news services Coming Today From news services The Jackson County Sheriffs Office on Tuesday identified Donovan Scheurich Sr., 50, as the man killed by deputies Jan. 25 in the town of Millston. Deputies responded to repeated 911 calls from Scheurich, formerly of La Crosse, in a state forest. He was suicidal and making threats against police and shot at deputies before they returned fire, according to the department. Three deputies are on paid administrative leave pending the investigation led by the state Department of Justices Division of Criminal Investigation. The sheriffs department identified them as Sgt. Evan Mazur and deputies Michael Bartlett and Aaron Johnson. Mazar joined the agency in 2002, Bartlett in 2011 and Johnson in 2012. Between seven and 10 deputies and officers were present during the incident, Sheriff Duane Waldera said. He was confrontational with us to create a shootout, Waldera said. We havent had one [a shooting] in this situation where we had to engage a person like this and, unfortunately, it took its course. The states Department of Justices Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting. Jackson County deputies wear body cameras. It will be awhile before anything is released of that nature, and we will have to discuss that with the District Attorneys Office as well, Waldera said. The Division of Criminal Investigation will turn over its findings to the Jackson County district attorney. I have never had one [officer shooting] like this before, Waldera said. We have had a situation where the deputy was shot, but no return fire. President Trump signed an executive order on Friday temporarily barring entry to refugees and immigrants. In U.S. airports, customs officials detained and denied entry to individuals affected by the travel ban. Here is a look at what we know and what remains unclear. Who is affected? The order sparked mass confusion among politicians, law enforcement officials and foreign governments. The order states the visa process plays a crucial role in stopping terrorists from entering the country. It mentions the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as a key moment when the process failed. However, the hijackers were largely from Saudi Arabia a country that is not on the travel ban. In addition, the ban does not include countries where people behind some of the most recent attacks were born. And despite the State Department deeming some countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan as terrorist safe havens in 2015, those nations didnt make the list. Is this executive order a Muslim ban? The order doesnt explicitly mention Muslims, Christians or any other religion, but it does give priority to refugees who belong to a religious minority. Trumps later comments mentioned Christians in Syria as an example. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump said it is very tough for Christians living in Syria to be accepted into the United States, a claim that remains questionable. Trump has defended the executive order, saying that it is not a Muslim ban and played down concerns that the order has to do with religion. This is about terror and keeping our country safe, Trump said. National security experts have criticized the president for alienating U.S. allies such as Iraq, where Iraqi interpreters who worked with U.S. troops previously have been given special visa preferences in the past. The Pentagon launched an effort over the weekend to give them special consideration. On Tuesday, DHS clarified its stance and said special immigrant visa holders will be treated the same as green card holders. These individuals will now be allowed to board their flights to the U.S. Those who frequently travel back and forth to the United States such as business executives will face another restriction: the suspension of the Visa Interview Waiver Program. The program allowed individuals to skip the in-person interview process at a U.S. consulate or embassy if they renew their visa often. Now, repeat applicants who apply for a new visa must appear for an in-person interview. How will the order impact the seven banned countries? Visas from these seven countries, about 90,000 in total, were less than 1 percent of all U.S. visas given for permanent residence, as well as temporary travel, study and other reasons in 2015. This is the most current data available. Of all the countries, Iran should have the most potential travelers affected by the ban. About half of the visas given in these seven countries were given to Iranians last year. The Posts Fact Checker has more detail on this calculation. [The number of people affected by Trumps travel ban: About 90,000] What does it mean for refugees? The country will not accept any refugees for the next four months, according to the order, while vetting procedures are reviewed. While the seven countries singled out for visa restrictions account for a relatively small portion of all visas, they were some of the biggest contributors of refugees to the United States in 2016. On its way out of office, the Obama administration hoped the country would accept 110,000 refugees in fiscal 2017, which began in October. Admissions since then have kept pace to hit that ambitious goal, but Trumps executive order cut the target by more than half, limiting it to 50,000 refugees. This means that while only a quarter of the fiscal year has transpired, the United States has already accepted about half of all the refugees it plans to accept in that time. About 872 refugees who are considered to be in transit will be allowed to enter the country according to the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday. Brenda Shaughnessy wins praise from sophisticated critics, but she isnt interested in writing poems only for professors and other poets. People who dont read poetry we owe those people too, she once said, and her work reflects that refreshingly expansive vision of her audience. These are poems you can get on one level or many. Shaughnessy will be my next guest for the Life of a Poet series on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Hill Center. This series, in its fourth year, offers a chance to consider a writers entire career during an hour-long conversation. [To watch Tuesday night on Facebook Live, click here.] Poet Brenda Shaughnessy (Denise Applewhite/Princeton University Office of Communications) Shaughnessy, who was born in Japan and raised in Southern California, was poetry editor at large for Tin House and is now an associate professor at Rutgers University-Newark. So Much Synth (Copper Canyon), the most recent of her four books, was named one of the best poetry collections of 2016 by Publishers Weekly and the New York Times. So Much Synth begins with a painful adolescence. In Dress Form, she writes: Myself Im like a dress my mother made me, a fabric self split open with a sigh as I grew and bewildered or proud or full of rage patched with nicer material than wed had before. I got the sense it was all wasted on me. But a needles sharp to piece, is itself pieced so as to sew like I was taught. Like I learned: no dress could ever be Beautiful or best if it had me in it. That leads eventually to poems of passion and even violence, sometimes spiked with a kind of wincing wit. For instance, in Why I Stayed, 1997-2001, which recalls a troubled relationship, Shaughnessy asks, When a woman you love hits you/ on the head with a book/ you love, is that love? The collection concludes with the challenges of motherhood, such as this wry description of trying to balance the chores of domestic life with the demands of being an artist: I talk about poems for a living, and I bake muffins, bran with raisin puree instead of sugar and Im chapped when no one eats them. These details make it seem like real life, this one spent managing and wrangling as much as mothering, writing lists and e-mails instead of poems. The Life of a Poet series is underwritten by National Capital Bank and co-sponsored by the Library of Congress, the Hill Center and The Washington Post. In addition to talking with Shaughnessy about her life and inspirations, Ill invite her to read sections from her collections. Her books will be offered for sale in the lobby, where you can talk with her and get your copies signed. When: Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Where: Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE (two blocks from the Eastern Market Metro stop on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines). Come early and enjoy a light snack at the Bayou Bakery in the adjacent carriage house. Cost: Free, but you can register for a seat at hillcenterdc.org. Call 202-549-4172 or contact me for details. Ron Charles is the editor of Book World. You can follow him @RonCharles. The age of Caesar, writes classicist Mary Beard, was a world of political murder, street violence, constant warfare both inside and outside Rome. These chaotic times roughly the middle decades of the 1st century B.C. were deeply riven by fundamental disagreements about how the state should be run and how democracy and liberty might be preserved, while the demands of empire and security were met. In the end, the Roman Republic was destroyed, as the people worn out by civil war turned to the ruthless Augustus to bring them peace, even at the cost of despotism. The Age of Caesar: Five Roman Lives, by Plutarch (Norton) That story, at times striking in its contemporary relevance, is vividly retold in these newly translated short biographies of Pompey, Julius Caesar, Cicero, Brutus and Mark Antony, all five of them extracted from Plutarchs famous Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Written in the early years of the 2nd century, this biographical classic quickly became a school text as early as the 4th century and from the Renaissance to the early modern era served as both a popular introduction to antiquity and the preferred leisure reading of everyone from parsons to politicians. The list of Plutarchs most ardent admirers includes, for example, Montaigne, Shakespeare (who drew on Thomas Norths translation while writing Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra), Rousseau (who called the Lives his favorite book) and this countrys Founding Fathers, notably Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton. [The Year of Lear review: How politics shaped Shakespeares masterworks] For all these writers, Plutarch is essentially a moralist. As Arthur Hugh Clough noted in an essay introducing the standard 19th-century edition of the Lives, Plutarch emphasizes instances of duty performed and rewarded; arrogance chastised; hasty anger corrected along with examples of humanity, fair dealing, and generosity. His Greeks and Romans are, above all, exemplars, showing readers what it takes and costs to live a life of nobility and consequence. Throughout, Plutarch relies on anecdotes and striking idiosyncratic behavior to illuminate a man or womans inner self. As he wrote about Alexander the Great, a slight thing like a phrase or a jest often makes a greater revelation of a character than battles where thousands fall. The Age of Caesar opens with an account of the conquests of Pompey and his rivalry with Julius Caesar. One military maneuver succeeds another, and a casual reader may feel confused or daunted. Persist. The other four lives cover territory made familiar by Shakespeares Roman plays and largely revolve around Caesars assassination and its aftermath. Many of the same events are thus presented, Rashomon-like, from several slightly differing viewpoints. Famous moments abound: Caesar pauses at the Rubicon with his army, waffles a bit and finally says, Let the die be cast as he crosses the river and marches on Rome. In a particularly chilling set piece, Cicero struggles against, then finally accepts, his fated doom. Trying to escape the assassination ordered by Mark Antony, Romes great orator takes ship only to find himself pursued by an eerie flock of crows. When he reaches his villa, the crows perch on his windows and one even pecks at the covers when he tries to rest. In the meantime, the hit men arrive. They break down the bedroom door but learn that their target is being carried back down to the sea. One of the killers, named Herennius went on the run through the walks; and Cicero, catching sight of him, ordered his servants to set the litter down where they were. He himself, stroking his chin with his left hand, as he used to do, gazed steadily at his murderers, his body covered with dust. Then, Cicero stretched forth his neck from the litter and was slain, being then in his sixty-fourth year. Herennius cuts off the orators head and hands, which Antony brazenly displays in the capital. [The Story of Egypt: A look at a gender-bending society where women could rule] While Plutarch admires, more or less, Pompeys martial prowess, Caesars single-mindedness and Brutuss patriotism, he shows clear contempt for Mark Antony. Upright citizens, he writes, abhorred his drunkenness at all hours, his heavy expenditures, his wallowing in love affairs, his days in sleeping or walking about distracted and hung over, and his nights at revels, theaters, and the wedding festivities of mimes and buffoons. Of course, the crowning evil that befell him was his passion for Cleopatra. Plutarch then relates the cinematic scene of Egypts queen, arrayed like Aphrodite, floating down the river Cydnus on a golden barge, her fairest maids dressed as Nereids and Graces. (Shakespeare would turn this into some of his most gorgeous poetry.) Antony is waiting at Cilicia to meet her, when suddenly the forum is deserted. Everyone has run off to see Cleopatras arrival, leaving the Roman big shot sitting all alone on the rostrum. Plutarch adds that the serpent of old Nile wasnt incomparably beautiful, but that her presence cast an inescapable spell. . . . It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice. Did the stern biographer, despite himself, fall under that spell? His account of her love affair with Antony, which began with calculated seduction and ended in something close to tragedy, has moved readers to tears for almost 2,000 years. Cleopatras suicide by asp brings The Age of Caesar and all of Plutarchs Lives, for that matter to a close. Pamela Mensch, the translator, and James Romm, the editor and annotator, are highly regarded classicists, and the books introducer, Mary Beard, is an even more distinguished scholar. Still, I wouldnt give up my Dryden/Clough edition of the complete Lives. Throughout those spirited and stately volumes, Plutarch regularly shows that great leaders transcend their own purely material interests and petty, personal vanities. Noble ideals actually do matter, in government as in life. Michael Dirda reviews books on Thursday in Style. Viet Thanh Nguyens new collection of stories, The Refugees, is as impeccably written as it is timed. The book, a follow-up to Nguyens Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Sympathizer, is dedicated to all refugees, everywhere. This is an important and incisive book written by a major writer with firsthand knowledge of the human rights drama exploding on the international stage and the talent to give us inroads toward understanding it. Nguyens acknowledgments do not shy away from his relationship to the books title. Thanks to my father and mother, he writes. Refugees in 1954 and again in 1975, they are the most courageous people I know. They saved my life. He also thanks his partner, refugee writer Lan Duong, and his Harvard-educated older brother, Tung, whom he calls the original refugee success story. There is no effort to avoid the identity of refugee this book interrogates the term on political and spiritual levels, and the results are saturated with pain, memory and beauty. The protagonists of Nguyens stories are haunted by past lives and the dead. In the first story, Black-Eyed Women, the narrator and her mother are visited by her brothers unblinking adolescent ghost, who wears the mildewed shorts hed worn the day he died on an overcrowded boat. Looking back, the narrator thinks, I could see that we had passed our youth in a haunted country. She recalls stories from the ancient crones who chewed betel nut and spat its red juice while squatting on their haunches in the market, and who spun stories about the dead. She cries for the other girls who had vanished and never come back, including myself. In this collection, towns are altered by war, relatives by time. In some stories, decades pass between letters home to Vietnam, as in Fatherland. There is a thorny dissonance between past and present. The living protagonists are often forced to carry traumatic visions with them as they try to make their way in a new country. In Id Love You to Want Me, a wife wonders whether her aging husband remembered their escape from Vung Tau on a rickety fishing trawler. She recalled washing their faces with saltwater and spit, urging decorum. Among Nguyens characters, it seems painful to remember life as a refugee, but unwise to forget it. I had not forgotten our nameless blue boat, the narrator of the first story says, and it had not forgotten me. She could recall its scent, rancid with human sweat and excreta. Nguyen is skilled at making us feel the disorientation and alienation of these characters navigating displacement. The narrator in The Other Man is anxiously scanning the strange faces as he lands in San Francisco, weary, unsettled by the traffic and the plaintive sound of radio jingles. Hes even aware of a different quality of light, which differed from the tropical glare hed always known. He sorts through idioms and contractions, and impresses a dinner companion from Hong Kong by sucking the dimpled skin off a chickens foot, leaving only the twiggy bones. A feeling of homelessness often persists, and the characters are frequently outsiders, forced to ask: Who am I now? One narrator sees his reflection in a windowpane and fails to recognize himself. The book is fresh, too, in its portrayal of work, central to the refugee experience. One narrator feels lucky to have a job at a liquor store and compares his fate to that of his friends: The underage ones, like him, had become bar sweeps or houseboys for Americans, while the older, luckier ones dodged army service, becoming thieves or pimps or rich mens servants. Unlucky ones got drafted. Characters recall shining boots of American soldiers, and one works in his mothers grocery store in New Saigon, pricing cans on his knees. Others have forged ahead and become professors, hearing-aid salesmen, ghostwriters and high school counselors, but do so with the knowledge of what hardships came first: penniless months, janitorial jobs and harrowing journeys across the sea. The Refugees is a surprisingly sensual book, despite operating in difficult political and emotional terrain. Nguyen crafts sentences with an eye toward physicality and a keen awareness of bodies and their urges. A brother saves his sister by rendering her androgynous, slashing her long hair with a machete, binding her breasts with the fabric from a ripped T-shirt. One man recalls the pimpled cleavage of a shivering prostitute and the rustle of mosquito netting at night as men in a crowded boat masturbated before bed. In War Years, a mother charges a thief in her sheer nightgown, while her breasts swayed like anemones under shallow water. In an era where writers and readers debate who gets to write what, it is refreshing and essential to have this work from a writer who knows and feels the terrain on an intellectual, emotional and cellular level it shows. Nguyen offers stories of aftermath, but also of complexity. He gives us human beings weary of pity and tired of sharing rehearsed stories that make them seem like one more anonymous young refugee. In topic and in execution, The Refugees is an exquisite book. Megan Mayhew Bergman is the author of the collections Birds of a Lesser Paradise and Almost Famous Women and a forthcoming novel, The Exhibition. Jermaine Fowler and Judd Hirsch in Superior Donuts. (Michael Yarish/CBS) CBS deserves some of the flak it gets for loading up its prime-time schedule with sitcoms exclusively about white characters, with minority actors usually playing the good friend or a peripheral stereotype. Yet the network, if it wanted to, could make a solid case for its habits, starting with the three sitcoms it premiered last fall, all of which are centered on white men (Kevin Can Wait, Man With a Plan and The Great Indoors) and are on track, ratings-wise, to clear the biggest hurdle for any sitcom: a second-season renewal. This fact cant help but make Superior Donuts, premiering Thursday, seem like a flimsy attempt to diversify. After a lengthy period in development (acquiring seven executive producers alongside its star, D.C. comedian Jermaine Fowler), Superior Donuts has come out of the fryer flatter than a tortilla chip, no better or worse than any other CBS sitcom, which isnt saying much. Fowler plays Franco Wicks, a young Chicago man who bursts into an old doughnut shop owned by Arthur Przybyszewski (Judd Hirsch) and talks himself into a job by convincing Arthur that he can make the shop appeal to newer, younger residents of the quickly gentrifying neighborhood. Thus the first episode is a setup for a series built on cross-generational quips and punchlines think Chico and the Man, with a lot more carbs and jokes about Starbucks. Example: My parents did not smuggle me out of communist Poland in the hold of a cargo ship so that 65 years later I could sell you a damn Cronut, Arthur declares. The doughnut shop has its usual assembly of regulars (Katey Sagal as Chicago police officer Randy DeLuca and Darien Sills-Evans as her rookie partner, James; Maz Jobrani as Fawz, the Iraqi-immigrant owner of a neighboring dry cleaner; Anna Baryshnikov as a millennial graduate student; and David Koechner as the extra white dude someone determined was needed for balance). The story lines in the first three episodes demonstrate that theres not much to see here or talk about. Even the jokes about race are sanitized for your protection, though small hints of Fowlers comic touch seem to have survived the factory process without going stale. To wit: I can save you! Franco tells Arthur (and maybe all of CBS). Save me? Who are you, black Jesus? Arthur replies. First of all, Franco says, Thats redundant. Powerless Who can watch one of todays superhero blockbusters without thinking about the mountain of insurance claims generated during an average metropolitan battle? NBCs new workplace comedy Powerless (also premiering Thursday) begins with an exceptionally clever premise, rooted in the everyday world of DC Comics: Its about the employees of Wayne Security, an R&D firm tasked with creating products that consumers can use to protect themselves from flying rubble and other potential disasters that bystanders endure in a world full of superheroes and supervillains. Unfortunately, the pilot episode (the only one shown to critics) loses its spark after an entertaining opening theme sequence. Vanessa Hudgens is miscast as an eager new hire brought in to oversee a team of rogue engineers (a group that includes Communitys Danny Pudi and Undateables Ron Funches) who have run through several previous bosses already. Alan Tudyk (Rogue One) co-stars as a demanding but clueless chief executive. Most of the jokes miss their mark; the show is at its best when it portrays the casual indifference that the citizens of Charm City have developed to their daily doses of chaos. Further episodes might resolve the casts chemistry problem; theres nowhere for Powerless to go but up. (Or away.) Superior Donuts (30 minutes) premieres Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on CBS. Moves to its regular time slot on Monday, Feb. 6, at 9 p.m. Powerless (30 minutes) premieres Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on NBC. Like fashion, decorating trends come in waves. One day, everyone wants a sputnik light fixture in their foyer, and the next they want a Moroccan Beni Ourain-style rug on their living room floor. If my clients wishes are any indication of what the next trend will be, then Im predicting that light and bright dining rooms are the upcoming craving du jour. In the past few weeks, three clients have called wanting to lighten up their dining rooms. When asked why, they all said the same thing: They wanted these underutilized rooms to be happy, uplifting and airy. The dark wood furnishings they had installed 10 or so years ago the ones they used to think of as warm and cozy now feel too serious and boardroom-like. Their desire for change is partly driven by the fact that they all want to use their dining rooms more particularly during the day so a lighter, fresher design seems more attractive and inviting. I also attribute their change to todays ever-growing influence of Scandinavian design that favors lighter woods and paler colors. Although there are several ways of giving my clients what they want repainting the walls, changing the window treatments I have urged them to start by making the biggest piece in the room, the dining table, white. I like white tables because they are crisp and clean and because every kind of china, glass, flower and linen (not to mention food!) looks good on them. The clients also have dark wood floors, so a white table will immediately lighten a large horizontal swath of the room. And although white dining tables are plentifully available on the market, the clients, for various reasons, will be transforming their existing tables. One client had her walnut table custom-made she loves the shape of the table, just not the finish. So the best solution is to have it sanded, stripped, and white-lacquered. The process is not inexpensive; Harry C. Johnson & Son, a Maryland-based furniture restorer and refinisher, estimated that refinishing her table would cost about $2,800 and would take 10 to 15 days. Of course, pricing varies based on the size, condition and complexity of the table, such as whether it has leaves or not . Another clients dining table has a dark industrial concrete top that is so heavy visually and literally that the only way to get it out is to break it or have it craned out. The table is in an eighth-floor apartment, so there is no way of just carrying it out. To give the table a facelift, I enlisted the help of the clients architects, New York-based Moschella/Roberts Architects, who suggested making a quarter-inch to half-inch thick white Corian top that will be adhered to the concrete with a special epoxy. They also proposed adding a thicker knife edge that tapers to a sharp point around the perimeter of the table to reduce the visual weight of the tabletop and conceal the concrete below. In the last case, my client is not willing to commit to a white table. We settled on making a white tablecloth to the floor with an inverted pleat at each corner and then topping it with glass. As for the dining chairs, my clients are keeping their existing chairs, and one client plans to re-cover the seats in a lighter fabric. We all agree: Their chairs will look fresher when paired with a white table, the chairs shapes will stand out more , and the juxtaposition will make the rooms look more interesting. Want to buy a white dining table? Here are some of my favorites: Crate & Barrels Spotlight White Dining Table ($899, crateandbarrel.com). (Crate & Barrel) CB2s Aqua Virgo Dining Table ($499, cb2.com). (CB2) Bungalow 5s Malta Dining Table in white ($3,187, houzz.com). (Bungalow 5) Bungalow 5s Norwalk Dining Table in white ($3,650, houzz.com). (Bungalow 5) Design Within Reachs Saarinen Oval Dining Table Crate & Barrels Spotlight White Dining Table CB2s Aqua Virgo Dining Table West Elms Parsons Dining Table Bungalow 5s Malta Dining Table in white Bungalow 5s Norwalk Dining Table in white Pier 1 Imports Extension Antique White Dining Table Hive Moderns Paper Table Design Within Reachs Min Table Mayhew, a Today show style expert and former magazine editor, is the author of Flip! for Decorating. An artists reconstruction of one of humans earliest ancestors, which had a big mouth but was the size of a grain of sand. (Jian Han/Reuters) A tiny wrinkled sack with a big mouth may be the earliest-known human ancestor. Meet Saccorhytus coronarius, a 540 million-year-old critter the size of a grain of sand, whose fossil remains were discovered in China. This may represent the primitive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including ourselves, said Simon Conway Morris, who co-authored a study announcing the find in the scientific journal Nature. He and other scientists say Saccorhytus (sack-oh-reet-us) is the most primitive of the known deuterostomes, a group of organisms whose descendants include animals from humans to starfish. Measuring about 1 millimeter tall, Saccorhytus lived some 540 million years ago, probably between grains of sand on the bed of shallow seas. Scientists think it may have eaten other tiny animals, but surprisingly, they found no evidence that it had an opening on its body to release food waste. If that was the case, Conway Morris said in a statement, then any waste material would simply have been taken out back through the mouth, which from our perspective sounds rather unappealing. The following editorial was published in Sundays Wisconsin State Journal: A panel of judges ordered state leaders Friday to redraw the boundaries of Wisconsins legislative districts so that they no longer blatantly favor Republican candidates in key races. Thats good news for all state voters not just Democrats because current Assembly and Senate voting district maps protect many incumbents of both political parties. Wisconsin needs fair maps so the will of voters is respected in elections, and so citizens can hold their leaders accountable. Calling the maps an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Legislature to redraw legislative districts by November. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimels office, which has been defending the rigged maps, appears eager to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is disappointing. Its unclear when or how the high court might act. In the meantime, the best approach is to move forward with a fair, open and inexpensive process for redoing the maps. In other words, Wisconsin should adopt Iowas nonpartisan redistricting model. Many Democrats and a Republican Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville last week proposed Senate Bill 13, which mirrors Iowas highly successful process. Iowa assigns the task of redrawing districts after every major census to a nonpartisan state office. Strict guidelines require Iowas neutral map makers to draw districts as contiguous as possible while following municipal lines and ignoring the impact on incumbents. The independent agency holds public hearings on its maps around the state. Iowa Republicans and Democrats alike support and respect this process. They have approved the agencys maps by huge majorities. Voters benefit from more competitive races. Taxpayers hardly spend a dime. Compare that to Wisconsins map-making process in 2011: Top Republican lawmakers and their staffs working in secret at a private law firm plugged voting data from past elections into computers to figure out the most advantageous boundaries for GOP candidates. The goal was to give conservative candidates an edge in swing seats. The drafters also packed Democratic-leaning communities into districts the GOP figured it wouldnt win anyway. As a result, in 2012, the GOP won 60 of 99 seats in the state Assembly, even though Republicans captured only 48.6 percent of the vote statewide. In 2014, the Republicans collected 52 percent of the vote and won 63 Assembly seats. And in the last election, the GOP majority expanded to 64. Some of the disparity for Democrats results from the high concentration of Democratic-leaning voters living in Madison and Milwaukee. But that doesnt explain the highly unconstitutional effect of Wisconsins Republican-drawn maps, the court determined. The maps have helped the party control the statehouse for most of this decade. The court could have drawn new maps itself. Instead, it told state leaders to redo the maps in a more reasonable way. We understand the courts unwillingness to take over the process, given legal precedents and state constitutional language assigning the task to the Legislature. But nothing prevents state leaders from creating a nonpartisan process this spring. In Iowa, for example, the Legislature and governor still approve the maps as their constitution requires. But they assign the task of shaping districts to others. And if the politicians dont like the final result, they can ask for another version. Thats what Wisconsins Legislature should do by approving SB 13. We urge Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, to do the right thing. If they draw another set of maps themselves, further legal challenges are likely, with millions of tax dollars going to high-priced attorneys and consultants. Republican leaders already have spent more than $2 million of public money and six years of controversy on this issue. If they adopted the Iowa model instead, the process would enjoy bipartisan support at little expense or distraction. Please choose the noble path, Speaker Vos and Sen. Fitzgerald, rather than doubling down on dishonest and unfair maps. Dear Amy: My 94-year-old father just told me that, decades ago, a family friend raped my mother. My mom passed away last year. This friend died many years ago, so theres nothing I can do to address the allegation. I cannot even determine if its true. Nevertheless, this information is quite disturbing. I wonder if I can or should disclose this to my sister, my wife or my children or anybody other than, perhaps, my therapist or clergy (if I had either). Burdened Burdened: First, you should sit with your father and ask him to tell you everything he wants you to know. Ask him how he feels about what he is telling you. Give him lots of time to either respond or to sit quietly. Tell him you are very sorry he has been carrying this burden, and let him know that you will carry it, now. Yes, you should tell your wife, because you need comforting, and you need to talk about this. Yes, you should tell your sister, because you two are family, and she needs to know. Elderly people sometimes relive periods of trauma that they have more or less successfully buried for long periods of time. This is a phenomenon common to people who have fought in wars or whove been victims of crime or violence. Your father should be given plenty of opportunities to talk about this or anything else with you, friends or other family members, clergy and/or a therapist. The loss of your mother has no doubt brought on some extreme challenges for him including feelings of grief and guilt. Help him through this. Make sure your father is sleeping and eating well, and keep a close and loving eye on him. Keep in touch with his doctor, who can screen him for depression or other possible health issues. Dear Amy: I am a stay-at-home mother of two young preschool children. I babysit for my sisters 6-month-old boy while she is at work. Their older daughter goes to school. Recently, my nephew and his sister have been very sick with a nasty cough and fever that their pediatrician diagnosed as viral. My sister is a teacher and is reluctant to miss work to care for her children, so I agreed to babysit when my nephew was sick. Both of my kids, my husband and I caught the illness and were very sick for more than two weeks. Now that we are recovered, my niece and nephew are sick again. Should I refuse to babysit when my nephew is sick? Is that shirking responsibility? Is it irresponsible of me to expose my young children to illness? I am torn because while I want to care for my nephew, I want to protect my children/immediate family so we can function. What should I do? Torn Torn: I shared your question with Dipesh Navsaria, associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. He responds: Viral respiratory infections are usually spread through direct contact or droplets from a sneeze. Most infection occurs when we touch an infected surface and then touch our own eyes, nose, or mouth. Training yourself to wash your hands with soap/water or hand sanitizer before leaving or touching your own face will reduce your risk of becoming ill, and of bringing any illnesses home to your family. This is why health care professionals work with sick people all the time and arent constantly ill! Presumably pediatricians dont have their own children in the exam rooms while they are exposed to viral illnesses, but your kids are with you when you care for this baby. You should teach them healthy hand-washing, but you can also expect them to be exposed. You dont want to continue to pass this viral illness back and forth between households, so yes you should ask your sister for a break for a couple of days in order for everyone to recover. Dear Amy: Thank you for your response to Disgusted in the Bathroom, who is grossed out when co-workers brush their teeth in the restroom. I brush my teeth after every lunch. I wonder where Disgusted would like me to go to do this? Given what people do in the bathroom, I am the one who should be disgusted. Hygienic Hygienic: As I pointed out in my response, you are more at risk for contamination than Disgusted. In the District, where human development is not always as eye-catching as renovated property, there is one transformation that should not be overlooked. Some former members of Check It, a black gay street gang that used to wreak havoc in gentrified Chinatown and Gallery Place, have gone legit. Using proceeds from fashion shows, T-shirt sales and seed money from the Jack Kemp Foundation, they recently leased a storefront building in Southeast Washington and started a modest clothing business called Check It Enterprises Inc. For now, they are offering mostly T-shirts they design or embellish and a limited number of other hand-sewn items. That is a long way from the shoplifting, purse snatching and flash mob attacks that had become a way of life for some members. Making money the legal way, you dont have to prostitute or do petty crimes just to get something to eat, said Trayvon Warren, 25, one of the founders of the business who had also helped start the Check It gang. When you make something with your own hands and sell it, making money by the book, you dont have to worry about it being confiscated on the streets. You dont have to look over your shoulder all the time. You feel better about yourself. For Check It Enterprises to survive, however, theyll need what any start-up business would: money to upgrade equipment, purchase supplies and renovatetheir workspace to produce more clothing. Perhaps most of all, they need to purchase the building, near Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road in Southeast, and establish a toehold in that rapidly changing neighborhood. This is where a lot of people live who are like us, said David Frye, 24, one of founding members of the business. They know us. They trust us. We can help them and they can help us. [Gay black youths go from attacked to attackers] Helping the business get the financial support it needs should not be a problem. Not in a city where big-time developers get incentive packages that sometimes include thousands of dollars in tax cuts and debt forgiveness. Not when the city can afford to plow $200 million into a streetcar system thats barely two miles long. Or put forth legislation to spend more than $60 million to double police salaries when the most cost-effective way to cut crime would be to support these entrepreneurs and others like them. Liberals in the city who find the bigotry, cruelty and greed of others to be abhorrent would do well to promote tolerance, diversity and equal opportunity in their own back yard. Support a black LGBTQ-owned business in the nations capital. Conservatives who claim to revere the small-business owner but cater only to Wall Street ought to just shut up. The District boasts of having a grant program for small-business owners seeking to upgrade their establishments. There is also a D.C. Commission on Fashion Arts and Events set up to promote the fashion and beauty industry as a viable economic resource. The group is still exploring ways to get financial help from the city. So far, however, Check It has been relying on a GoFundMe page to raise $15,000 needed for renovation and extending their lease. That effort has netted only about $300. Its not as if these young adults have not paid their dues. Abused, neglected, ostracized and bullied as children, they found safety in groups of people just like them. On the streets, years of pent-up anger turned to rage. After becoming sick and tired of getting stabbed, shot, beaten up, arrested and sent to jail, they decided to try to become the mentors they never had and create for themselves the safe space they always wanted. And when they became willing to change, help began to appear. Ron Moten, co-founder of a gang conflict resolution organization, became a mentor and helped them get social services through Contemporary Family Services in the District. Philip Pannell, a community activist who is gay, got help through the D.C. Mayors Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The citys Career Connection program also helped the youngsters with workforce development skills. The Jack Kemp Foundation, named for the much-respected Republican congressman from New York, who died in 2009, has continued to support the group. The triumphs and tragedies of the Check It Gang during the past five years is the subject of a documentary, set to be released in late spring. The young business owners hope that the publicity will generate the funds to help them expand. If they can hold on that long. [Check It gang steps back to the limelight with a film premiere] We just want our business to grow and grow so we can give something back to our community, said Star Nysha Bennett, the 26-year-old chief executive of Check It Enterprises. We want to reach out to other LGBTQ youths who are still living in the shadows and suffering in secret. We want them to see us as role models and to know that if we can make it, so can they. To read previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/milloy. For information about Check It Enterprises Inc. or for those wanting to help, contact Philip Pannell at the Anacostia Coordinating Council, 2401 Shannon Pl. SE, Washington, DC 20020; or call 202-889-4900. Antwan Wilson greets students at the Brightwood Education Campus as he begins his first official day as chancellor of D.C. Public Schools. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) It was the middle of the academic year, but Wednesday marked the first day of school in the District of Columbia for Antwan Wilson. The new D.C. schools chancellor spent the morning high-fiving students as they entered school. He watched elementary students solve problems with fractions, and then he sat with high school students for a lunch of pulled chicken with rice and a pineapple parfait. Its an awesome day because its a great day for me to get out to see what is happening in our schools, meet with a lot of teachers, support our principals, talk to students and learn a lot about the work that has been happening in DCPS, Wilson said. He will have to catch up quickly. After years of steady improvement in the school system, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) chose Wilson, 44, to address some of its deep and persistent problems, especially achievement gaps. The former superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District in California is the first outsider to take the helm of D.C. Public Schools since Michelle Rhee in 2007. He will inherit a school system that has changed much in that decade, under the tenure of Rhee and then Kaya Henderson, who served as chancellor from 2010 to last year. More of the systems students are now mastering math and reading concepts on standardized exams. And after years of declining enrollment, more families are choosing the 48,000-student school system. [Will D.C.s new chancellor finally be able to close the achievement gap?] But deep divisions remain in the schools. Students of color lag far behind their white peers on almost every measure, including graduation rates and test scores. On the 2016 PARCC exam, a national test linked to the Common Core academic standards, 72 percent of white students reached or exceeded proficiency in math, compared with 13 percent of black students. The school system still loses students as they transition to middle grades, and it continues to compete for students and resources with public charter schools. We have more momentum than most places in the country, but unfortunately that doesnt mean that we have closed the achievement gap, said Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles. Very clearly, thats the most important thing that we have asked the chancellor to do. Wilsons first stop of the day was at Brightwood Education Campus, a school in Northwest for students in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Its enrollment rose from 573 students in 2012-2013 to more than 700 in the past school year. But the majority of its students are not meeting math and reading standards on national tests. Wilson and Principal Maurice Kennard stood outside the school as students made their way to class. Many parents and students were hesitant to walk in, staring at the television cameras that flanked Wilson. Its okay, you can come in, he said, flashing a smile and waving to a group of students. [New D.C. Public Schools chancellor leaves Oakland with budget shortfall] Between the good mornings and hellos, Wilson asked Kennard more about the school. Does it teach physical education? How is the school divided, since it has elementary and middle grades? Do children eat breakfast at the school? Kaylin Barber, 7, a first-grader, slowly made her way to the front door, staring at the ground, most of her face wrapped in a beige scarf. Kennard noticed something was wrong. You okay? Kennard asked. She was worried her teacher would be mad because she left her backpack at home. Her homework was in it. Kennard promised to call the teacher before Kaylin got to class. You noticed she cares about it, Wilson told Kennard. These are the sorts of things Wilson said he looks for in schools. He wants to see students who care about academics. He wants them engaged in class, talking to classmates and teachers. He wants them to like school because education experts say students who do so perform better academically. But he is also looking for ways that teachers are challenging students and encouraging them to collaborate. Wilson said he was pleased to see that in many classrooms, students were not sitting in straight rows but were instead seated in groups or circles to facilitate teamwork. [Nominee to lead D.C. schools says he is ready to tackle the systems biggest problems] In a fifth-grade math classroom, he bent down to talk to 11-year-old Jose Ventura, who was looking at homework with a group of students. What were they reviewing? Wilson asked in a whisper. Improper fractions. Wilson asked Jose what he does when he gets stuck. I ask my teacher, he said. But what if the teacher is not around? Jose said he turns to classmates for help. Thats what I want to hear, Wilson later said in an interview. And then I saw them building upon each others conversations and ideas and respectfully disagreeing. We have to teach that. I want to see that in action. The next few months will look a lot like this first day for Wilson, who spent Wednesday at campuses including Alice Deal Middle School. Wilson, Bowser and Niles surprised science teacher Jan Schuettpelz with news that she is the DCPS teacher of the year. Wilson has already visited 18 schools, counting others he previously saw. He plans to go to each of the systems 115 schools this year. He has not yet announced initiatives to close the achievement gaps. We will have the opportunity to visit with many teachers, parents, students and leaders to talk about the great things that are happening but also hear from them on how we can make it even better, Wilson said. FAIRFAX COUNTY No incidents were reported by the Animal Control Division of the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. FAIRFAX CITY The following incidents were reported by the animal control section of the Fairfax City Police Department. For information, call 703-385-7924 or go to fairfaxva.gov and click Animal Control on the departments main page. Biting a caring hand: Westmore Dr., 11000 block, Jan. 21. A Jack Russell terrier bit a woman on the wrist when she attempted to dry the dog with a towel. The dog was quarantined. Dog snaps: Tecumseh Lane, 10300 block, Jan. 25. A German shepherd jumped out of a fenced yard and clamped its teeth around the neck of a dog being walked by its owner. The attacking dogs owner ran out to separate the two dogs; both owners were bitten in the process. A dangerous dog petition was filed, and the German shepherd is being held at the shelter. Reunited: West Dr., 10600 block, Jan. 25. An officer picked up a Rottweiler that was found running loose. The officer took the dog to the shelter, where it was claimed by an owner. VIENNA The following incidents were reported by the Vienna Police Department. For information, call 703-255-6396. Long nails hurt: Branch Rd. SE, 200 block, 4:30 p.m. Jan. 20. A man reported that a friends dog jumped on his young son and caused several deep scratches on his back. Surprise attack: Sioux Ct. SE, 900 block, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23. A woman was walking her dog when a fox came out of a bush and got into a brief fight with the dog before running away. An officer will follow up on quarantine. Compiled by Ria Manglapus Fairfax County These were among incidents reported by the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. Fair Oaks District VEHICLE THEFT Wasser Terr., 2500 block, Jan. 27. A 2015 Audi A3. Franconia District THEFT/BREAK-IN Franconia Rd., 6500 block, Jan. 27. A wallet was stolen from a school. Mason District THEFTS/BREAK-INS Arlington Blvd., 9200 block, Jan. 27. A wallet was stolen from a business. Jefferson St. S., 3500 block, Jan. 27. Merchandise was stolen from a business. Little River Tpk., 6100 block, Jan. 27. Merchandise was stolen from a business. McLean District THEFTS/BREAK-INS Buckelew Dr., 2400 block, Jan. 27. A backpack was stolen from a vehicle. Georgetown Pike, 7700 block, Jan. 27. A wallet was stolen from a residence. Westwood Center Dr., 8600 block, Jan. 27. A cellphone was stolen from a business. Mount Vernon District THEFTS/BREAK-INS Belle View Blvd., 1600 block, Jan. 27. Merchandise was stolen from a business. Huntington Ave., 2300 block, Jan. 27. Beer was stolen from a business. North Kings Hwy., 6100 block, Jan. 27. Cash was stolen from a business. Parkers Lane, 2500 block, Jan. 27. Jewelry was stolen from a residence. Reston District THEFTS/BREAK-INS Business Center Dr., 1700 block, Jan. 27. Cash was stolen from a business. Centreville Rd., 2500 block, Jan. 27. Merchandise was stolen from a business. Library St., 1800 block, Jan. 27. A coat was stolen from a business. Sully District THEFT/BREAK-IN Stonecroft Blvd., 4600 block, Jan. 27. A cellphone was stolen from a business. West Springfield District THEFTS/BREAK-INS Candleberry Ct., 9400 block, Jan. 27. A bag was stolen from a residence. Glenbard Rd., 6300 block, Jan. 27. Property was stolen from a vehicle. Ox Rd., 8900 block, Jan. 27. Liquor was stolen from a business. Rolling Rd., 6100 block, Jan. 27. A bag was stolen from a business. Fairfax City These were among incidents reported by the Fairfax City Police Department. For information, call 703-273-2889. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Democracy Lane, 10300 block, 9:54 a.m. Jan. 25. An employee reported that someone entered and ransacked an office by breaking a window. Nothing was reported stolen. Main St., 9600 block, 5:14 p.m. Jan. 24. Shoplifting; arrest made. VANDALISM Cedar Ave., 10800 block, 8:05 a.m. Jan. 20. Falls Church These were among incidents reported by the Falls Church Police Department. For information, call 703-248-5056. ASSAULT Roosevelt Blvd., 500 block, Jan. 20. Simple assault. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Broad St. E., 1000 block, Jan. 18. From vehicle. Broad St. E., 1000 block, Jan. 22. From vehicle. Broad St. W., 300 block, Jan. 21. From building. Washington St. N., 300 block, Jan. 18. From building. VEHICLE THEFT Jefferson St. W., 100 block, Jan. 20. Vehicle recovered. VANDALISM Broad St. E., 1000 block, Jan. 19. Destruction of property. Herndon These were among incidents reported by the Herndon Police Department. For information, call 703-435-6846. ASSAULTS Bennett St., 700 block, 3:29 p.m. Jan. 18. Cordell Way, 700 block, 9:06 p.m. Jan. 17. Simple assault. Elden St., 1100 block, 1:37 p.m. Jan. 20. Simple assault. Elden St., 1200 block, 7:18 a.m. Jan. 21. Simple assault. Florida Ave., 500 block, 10:32 p.m. Jan. 17. Simple assault. Florida Ave., 500 block, 2:19 a.m. Jan. 22. Simple assault. Locust St., 700 block, 2:47 a.m. Jan. 16. ROBBERY Ferndale Ave., 800 block, 12:15 p.m. Jan. 17. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Benicia Lane, 1300 block, 11 a.m. Jan. 22. Tampering with a vehicle. Elden St., 400 block, 1:01 p.m. Jan. 18. Herndon Pkwy., 400 block, 6:59 p.m. Jan. 20. From building. Page Ct., 1000 block, 8:07 a.m. Jan. 22. From vehicle. FRAUD Huntsman Pl., 700 block, 10:23 a.m. Jan. 22. Impersonation. Locust St., 800 block, 7:45 p.m. Jan. 22. Credit card/ATM fraud. Vienna These were among incidents reported by the Vienna Police Department. For information, call 703-255-6396. ASSAULTS Cedar Lane SW, 100 block, 11:15 a.m. Jan. 17. A student and her mother reported that the student was assaulted by other students at her school earlier in the week. School administrators are investigating. Cedar Lane SW, 100 block, 9:02 a.m. Jan. 19. School officers responded to assist school authorities locate a student who assaulted another student and then left the school. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Maple Avenue E., 300 block, 1:53 p.m. Jan. 26. Petty theft. Pine St. SE, 400 block, 10 a.m. Jan. 20. An employee reported that someone forced entry into the office. Nothing was immediately noticed to be missing or disturbed other than damaged locks to the office. This case is being investigated. VANDALISM Cottage St. SW, 1200 block, 12:56 p.m. Jan. 26. Echols St. SE, 1000 block. Maple Avenue E., 100 block, 2 p.m. Jan. 22. Destruction of property. Maryland Democratic legislative leaders are launching an effort to wage legal war on what they called President Trumps attacks on immigration, health care and civil rights, vowing to protect state residents from potential negative impacts of policies enacted by a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. Democrats said they plan to introduce the Maryland Defense Act, providing $3 million in the budget for Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) to protect Marylanders from harmful federal efforts. Frosh did not give specifics but said his office would fight policies it felt would damage health care, civil rights, the environment or consumer protections. The bill was one of five unveiled by Democratic leaders on the 11th full day of the Trump administration. A spokeswoman for Gov. Larry Hogan (R) criticized the Democrats for taking aim at the federal government. The governor and our legislative agenda will remain focused on Maryland; they should do the same, spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said. Frosh said Trumps recent actions, including a travel ban on refugees and visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries, range from unsound and ill-advised to dangerous and unconstitutional. He told reporters that he is considering the states options regarding the travel ban. Were going to fight defense, said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), standing with House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and dozens of Democratic lawmakers during a news conference in Annapolis. Were going to protect ourselves from Washington, D.C. Under the state constitution, the attorney general must have permission from either the General Assembly or the governor to file certain cases. The legislation makes clear that Frosh has the General Assemblys authority to legally challenge the federal government. House Minority Leader Nicholaus R. Kipke (R-Anne Arundel) accused Democrats of grasping at straws to do anything they can to make this session about Donald Trump. He said any legal action to defend undocumented immigrants from federal action after they have committed other crimes would be on the wrong side of what Marylanders want. A second bill unveiled by the Democrats on Tuesday would withdraw all of Marylands past applications for a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution. Such conventions are allowed whenever two-thirds of state legislatures, or 34 of them, demand one. Democrats said they are concerned that Republicans would use a convention to mandate conservative policies or remove protections such as abortion rights, especially with the GOP controlling the White House, both chambers of Congress, 33 governorships and the majority of state legislative chambers including both chambers in 32 states. Maryland has applied for constitutional conventions seven times since 1939, including to require a balanced federal budget. Twenty-eight states have called for a convention to address the same topic. The legislative package includes a resolution calling on Marylands congressional delegation and Hogan to strongly oppose and resist a repeal of the federal Affordable Care Act, which the chair of the state Senates budget committee said could result in the loss of $3.5 billion in federal funds. Two other bills would form task forces and commissions to monitor federal actions on health care and determine the best way to respond. Kipke said Republican lawmakers are considering a bill to create a work group that would study the impact of a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. That makes sense and is certainly something we can work together on, he said. The legislative package put forward by the Democrats did not include the Trust Act, a bill drafted late last week and modeled after a California law that limits the states cooperation with deportation authorities. Legislative leaders said they have not taken a position on the bill, which is being sponsored by Del. Marice I. Morales (D-Montgomery) and Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince Georges). Also Tuesday, the House of Delegates voted 88 to 51 to override Hogans veto of a 2016 bill calling for stronger renewable-energy standards. The Senate, which passed the bill last year with a veto-proof majority, is expected to vote on an override Thursday. The legislation, sponsored by Del. C. William Frick (D-Montgomery), would require Maryland to buy 25 percent of its energy from renewable-energy sources, such as wind and solar, by 2020, accelerating existing standards that call for 20 percent renewable energy by 2022. House Democrats say the measure would help combat air pollution and climate change while creating green jobs and protecting public health. Republicans said they support those goals but oppose the bill because the new standards would increase energy rates. They also noted that Maryland already has higher clean-energy standards than neighboring states and must deal with air pollution from those states as well as from within its own borders. Hogan said in his veto letter last year that the new standards would amount to a tax increase that will be levied upon every single electricity ratepayer in Maryland. His office blasted House Democrats for Tuesdays override vote. Make no mistake, certain out-of-touch members of the House just voted to increase energy rates on their own neighbors, said Chasse, Hogans spokeswoman. For years, Marylanders have made it clear that they are sick and tired of these kinds of rate increases. Hopefully our good senators wont turn a deaf ear to their calls like their colleagues in the House just did. Legislative analysts estimated that the annual compliance costs for energy companies would average between $28 million and $111 million from 2017 through 2025. Those costs would be passed on to consumers, the governors office said. Frick defended his bill, saying during a debate on the House floor that the measure is a jobs bill, not a tax hike. Its a simple, meaningful, modest attempt at addressing the profoundly damaging effects of pollution on Marylands environment, he said. Only one Democrat, Del. Edward P. Ned Carey (Anne Arundel), voted against the override. The Senate, where Democrats control 33 out of 47 seats, needs 29 votes to overturn the veto. The House, where Democrats control 91 out of 141 seats, needed 85 votes. Two seats held by Democrats are currently vacant. After a 2 1/2- day fling in the outside world, Ollie the bobcat returned to the National Zoo late Wednesday afternoon. She had a cut on her left front paw and enough of life away from home, the zoo said. She showed up, as the day was waning, near the zoos Bird House, not far from where she vanished Monday morning. A zoo visitor spotted her running across a path about 4 p.m. and notified authorities, who hurried to the area and baited a capture trap. Within 15 minutes, she had strolled into the trap, said Craig Saffoe, curator of great cats at the zoo. She was taken to the zoo hospital, where she was 100 percent safe and sound, he said. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) The zoo said it planned to examine her thoroughly for any diseases she might have picked up during her stay in the wild. Saffoe said she probably hadnt gone far, and came right back home. I think she wanted to go out, have a little bit of fun, see what it was like on the outside, [then] I think Im ready to come back inside now, he said. Saffoe said he was over the moon, thrilled. When you find a member of your family, or you find somebody whos been missing, it just kind of fills you with joy, crazy joy, he said. Finding a bobcat in the woods of Rock Creek Park, where she had fled, was less of a chance than finding a needle in a haystack, Brandie Smith, the zoos associate director for animal care sciences, said Wednesday evening. Our first instinct was you know what, shes going to go out, and shes going to want to come back, Smith said. And thats exactly what she did. And we were ready for her the second that she came back. Ollie is seen in a cage Wednesday at the National Zoo. (Smithsonian National Zoo) The zoo had announced earlier Wednesday that it had suspended its search for the 25-pound female. For the past two days, a team of zookeepers, police officers at the zoo and rescue experts from the D.C. Humane Rescue Alliance had looked for her in vain. The zoo said it received several reports from people saying they had seen Ollie in the nearby Cleveland Park and Woodley Park areas. [Still missing: Ollie, the 25-pound bobcat from D.C.s National Zoo] Saffoe said the zoo received a report of the cat under a car about 10 p.m. Tuesday, and staff and zoo police went to the scene. They scoured the area for more than 45 minutes, he said, but no Ollie. I dont mean to be pessimistic at all but, were looking for a cat who could literally be sitting in a tree right next to us, Saffoe had said Wednesday morning. Bobcats are not aggressive with humans, and there was no danger to the public, experts said. Still, 13 nearby schools canceled their outdoor recess Tuesday, out of caution. D.C. school officials said they lifted that ban Wednesday after they heard from the zoo and were assured we are no longer in imminent danger. [D.C. kept schoolkids inside. But Ollies most likely shy, experts say.] Ollie was last seen in her enclosure at 7:30 a.m. Monday. But when keepers returned about 10:40 a.m. for her breakfast, she was gone. The zoo declared a code green for an escaped animal. It is believed that Ollie climbed out of her enclosure, which sits near Rock Creek Park, through a small opening in a mesh net around her area. In an inspection Monday, zookeepers noticed that one piece of the mesh was broken and that there was a hole that measured about 5-by-5 inches. It has since been repaired. Being an adept climber, Ollie would have been capable of climbing and crawling through the hole, experts said. [Missing red panda found in Adams Morgan] Bobcats eat mice, small deer, goats, chickens, rabbits and squirrels. They can run fast, climb well and leap into the air to grab low-flying birds. It wasnt the first time an animal has escaped from the zoo in recent years. In 2013, Rusty a red panda got out using overhanging tree branches. He was later found in a tree in the Adams Morgan neighborhood and nudged from his perch with a long pole. That same year, a nonflying vulture named Natalie used a wind gust to soar out of her enclosure. She was caught moments later in a nearby parking lot. Justin Wm. Moyer contributed to this report. A fatal fire at a home last week in Northeast Washingtons Trinidad neighborhood was intentionally set, according to the D.C. fire department. The body of Awlachew Ayele, 66, was found by firefighters after they extinguished Thursdays early morning blaze in the 1100 block of Queen Street NE. Doug Buchanan, the spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department, said the fire has been ruled incendiary. That means investigators believe the fire was intentionally set, but does not necessarily mean it was arson, which means set with criminal intent. Fire officials would not comment further on the cause. D.C. police said the case remains under investigation and the cause of death for Ayele is pending from the medical examiners office. Relatives of Ayele have not been reached. It was not clear whether Ayele lived at the house that burned. People protest and welcome arriving passengers at Dulles International Airport on Saturday. (Astrid Riecken/Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post) It didnt take long for federal courts to be brought in on challenges to President Trumps immigration order. The executive order signed Friday blocks citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States and halts refugee resettlement for 120 days. The action prompted a flurry of cases in federal courthouses across the country and judges blocking parts of the initiative. Here are six questions about the fast-moving cases that are the first steps in what looks to be a much longer legal process: How many orders are there? At least five federal judges across the nation have issued rulings that temporarily stop the government from deporting individuals already landed in the United States from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. What do the court orders do and not do? They essentially paused the implementation of the presidents policy pending further court review. The temporary orders do not answer the broader question of whether the executive order is constitutional and left open to interpretation how they will affect people overseas trying to board U.S.-bound planes. The judges orders were their initial findings that challengers to the executive order were likely to win their legal arguments if their cases were allowed to proceed. On Saturday night, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn barred the removal of all refugees previously approved to enter, visa holders and permanent U.S. residents who were detained or barred under the executive order. Her ruling came in response to an emergency petition on behalf of two men from Iraq detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport but applies nationwide. In Boston, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued a seven-day restraining order that prohibits federal officials from deporting and detaining immigrants and refugees from the seven countries who have valid visas. U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia also issued a seven-day restraining order that applies to legal permanent residents from those same nations who were being held at Dulles International Airport. The judge said they must have access to lawyers and cannot be deported. In Seattle, U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly barred removal of two people from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles directed homeland security officials to return Iranian native Ali Khoshbakhti Vayeghan to the United States after U.S. authorities had sent him back to Iran. What are the differences among the various judicial rulings? The protections in the Brooklyn order clearly apply nationally and prevent deportations. The Boston ruling is perhaps the most robust, preventing both deportations and detentions. The order requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to notify airlines with flights arriving at Bostons Logan International Airport that passengers from the seven countries will not be detained or deported. The Virginia order applies only to lawful permanent residents green-card holders. The Seattle and Los Angeles court orders over individuals are arguably the narrowest. Are government and airline officials complying with the court orders? Widespread confusion occurred immediately after the court rulings over how to interpret and implement what the federal judges had ordered. The court orders address how government officials treat people after they have landed in the United States. But the orders seem to have little practical benefit to someone waiting to board a U.S.-bound plane overseas. Major international and U.S. airlines, which said they did not receive advance notice of the new rules, are now working to enforce them before affected individuals board flights to the United States, including some airlines that have enhanced their screening of ticketing information. The State and Homeland Security departments announced Tuesday that most visas for travelers from the seven countries have been provisionally revoked subject to waiver on case-by-case basis and that holders will be denied boarding. Several airlines have posted travel advisories on their websites, explaining the ban and offering rebooking information. Immigrant rights attorneys are monitoring what happens when people who would be barred under the presidents order try to board planes overseas headed to the United States. Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, said her organization is in touch with more than two dozen people, including some students with visas to study in the United States, who say they have been removed from such flights in cities including Dubai and Doha. The government does not appear to be technically in violation of the federal court orders by advising airlines to turn people away before they have boarded planes heading to the United States, with the exception of people trying to fly into Boston, some attorneys said. If people could actually get here, then these orders would prevent them from being deported, said Justin Cox, a staff attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, who helped bring the case in Brooklyn. So instead, the federal government is trying to prevent them from getting here. Susan Church, one of the attorneys who brought the challenge in Boston, said the judges order specifically requires customs agents to tell the airlines that people traveling to Boston will not be deported or detained. The airlines, despite being notified, are claiming they dont know about this order, Church said Tuesday. Its really outrageous and its violating the court order. Our advice has been to fly direct to Logan, but its not universally working yet. What has the Trump administration said in response to the judges orders? Senior homeland security officials on Tuesday defended their handling of the executive order. We are and will remain in compliance with judicial orders, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said at a news conference. No member of the homeland security team ignored a court order. Kelly said that a relatively small number [of travelers] right now are being held up for a period of time until we can take a look at what the procedures are. Asked specifically whether officers were detaining or holding any travelers, acting CBP commissioner Kevin McAleenan said, No, were not holding anybody. Were processing and releasing. What are the next legal steps? The court battle is moving into a second, nonemergency phase, as immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups begin weighing challenges not just on behalf of those stopped at airport entry points, but also on behalf of different groups of individuals and businesses inside and outside the United States who could be affected longer term. Ellen Nakashima and Mark Berman contributed to this report. Buffalo County will use some of the money it received from the CapX2020 transmission line to help landowners repair flood-control structures damaged in August flooding and to test their well water. The county estimated there was about $300,000 worth of damage to about 2,000 of the dry dams, which are designed to capture sediment and fertilizer and slow water before it reaches gullies. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission approved a county request Wednesday to spend $150,000 of the $2.35 million environmental impact fees the county received in 2013 for hosting the 48-mile power line, which runs from Alma to Holmen as part of a larger connection between western Minnesota and Wisconsin. Buffalo County sustained about $2 million in damage to public infrastructure in the flood. Landowners will be responsible for picking up half the cost to repair the flood structures, which were damaged by washouts and filled with debris, diminishing their capacity. The dams and retaining ponds are credited with preventing worse damage. Theyre all just really full of rocks and sediment and trees, said Land Conservation Officer Carrie Olson. We know theres future floods coming. The county also received permission to spend $5,000 to provide reduced-rate water testing for about 165 residents with potentially contaminated wells. Completed in 2015, the $211 million high-voltage transmission line project included lump-sum and annual payments for counties and municipalities along the route to be used for parks, conservancy and other environmental projects. Buffalo County, which received the largest share of the environmental fees, has used some of the money to fund bluff prairie and trout stream restoration and to install energy efficient heating in its courthouse. Administrative coordinator Sonya Hansen said about $1.9 million of the funding remains. A pair of love letters from Freud and his fiance Martha Bernays, part of a selection of Sigmund Freud's personal artifactsi n the Library of Congress's online archiv, which launches on Jan. 31, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) In 1859, a Jewish wool and textile merchant from Moravia tried to immigrate to Leipzig, Saxony (now part of Germany), with his wife, toddler son and infant daughter. He carried with him a good conduct certificate, or personal reference, in ornate script, from the mayor of their official home village. But it was not enough: A restriction barred Jews from settling there. So the family moved to Vienna, the toddler grew up to be the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, and the rest is history. As of Wednesday, that history including the certificate, with its calligraphic flourishes and teal-colored stamps will for the first time be available to anyone in the world with an Internet connection. The Library of Congress has digitized much of its extensive Sigmund Freud Collection, 20,000 items in all, including letters, artifacts from his personal and professional life and hundreds of interviews with colleagues, family members, patients and even his housekeeper. Digitization took a year and a half and was funded by the Polonsky Foundation, a cultural heritage nonprofit in the United Kingdom. People will be able to browse the collection and stumble upon things they hadnt known about, much like wandering through library stacks. They will also be able to download images of the material. Freud experts welcomed the move, noting that online availability of the material could help kindle interest in Freud worldwide. A selection of Sigmund Freud's personal artifacts will highlight the Library of Congress's online archive. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) It will open doors to researchers whose travel funds are limited or for whose nationalities travel to the United States may become more difficult, said Louis Rose, a history professor at Otterbein University in Ohio and executive director of the Sigmund Freud Archives, a private organization of psychoanalysts in New York. Whether a person from Iran is going to be able to come and see the materials in D.C. is in doubt for a number of old and new reasons, he said. Now, theres the URL. With a few exceptions, scholars will no longer be allowed access to the original material, a measure taken to protect it against deterioration. That means no more fingers stroking the ultra-feminine stationery of Freuds fiancee, Martha Bernays, its pages edged with cherubs and pink hearts and gilt curlicues. The couple wrote to each other daily, and sometimes twice a day, starting from when they met in 1882 to when they married in 1886. In the voluminous cache of love letters, the young doctor already showed hints of where his interests lay. He started classifying her letters as either open or concealed . . . in which she opened herself to him or concealed herself, said Margaret McAleer, senior archives specialist at the Library of Congress. Which letters garnered which classifications is lost to time, but their correspondence reveals Freuds early interests, including his fascination with cocaine and its various uses its efficacy in managing pain, lifting depression and soothing his own anxiety in social situations. The next time you see me you will see a big, wild man with cocaine in his body, he wrote to Bernays in 1884. In fact, Freud believed that a much-anticipated visit to his sweetheart robbed him of an early cocaine-related triumph. Before setting off, he shared with some of his colleagues who were ophthalmologists the thought that cocaine might be able to be used successfully to numb eyes in an operation, McAleer said. A letter of recommendation written by the mayor of a Moravian village on behalf of the Freud family, which was unsuccessful in helping them settle in Germany. They ended up in Austria. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) While he was away, one of them, Carl Koller, tried it on animals and published his findings, catapulting him to fame and prompting a jab from Freud in a letter to his future sister-in-law: The cocaine business has indeed brought me much honor, but the lions share to others. However, he later wrote that he bore no grudge against his fiancee for the missed opportunity, and told her in one letter that he was sending her a vial of the drug. You really get a sense of him as this young, ambitious physician who wants to make a name for himself, and he had an idea of how to do it, McAleer said. That Freuds papers survived at all, let alone found a home at the Library of Congress, is kind of a miracle, McAleer said. It did not occur to him until well into his career that such artifacts as original book manuscripts might be of interest to others, so he didnt keep them. And unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not retain carbon copies of the letters he sent, so they had to be located and retrieved from around the world. At one point, while he was still casually tossing away notes and drafts, his apprentice and patient the Princess Marie Bonaparte, great-granddaughter of Napoleons brother, intervened by begging his housekeeper not to dispose of the contents of the wastepaper basket. The collection began at the library in 1952 after the Sigmund Freud Archives donated the first batch of material. Further large troves were donated by his daughter Anna, in 1970 and again at her death in 1982. It is now one of the most frequently visited of the manuscript divisions 11,900 collections, attracting scholars from around the world The online collection will include many interviews never before released as well as guest blogs from the still-active Sigmund Freud Archives. The collection includes photos and postcards from Freuds sole trip to the United States, taken in 1909. Traveling by oceanliner with protege Carl Jung, the two icons of psychoanalysis passed the time by interpreting each others dreams. It has prescriptions he wrote, his correspondence with Albert Einstein and letters to a fellow analyst and patient of his, Horace Frink, whose divorce and then marriage to Frinks patient Freud controversially egged on (the union quickly deteriorated). It includes palm-size notebooks with miniature pencils attached that Freud carried around, his gold pocket watch, an oil portrait of him by Wilhelm Victor Krausz and a small terra cotta bust from Ancient Greece, one of many ancient figurines that adorned his desk. The survival of so much material also takes on a miraculous sheen in light of the rise of Nazism toward the end of Freuds life. While he was aware of its dangers (he signed an antiwar petition in 1932), he did not seem to take seriously the menace to himself and his family until very late. In mid-March of 1938, he was still in Vienna and his journal entries were short but momentous: Austria finished; Annexed by Germany; Hitler in Vienna. Within days, the Gestapo raided his apartment. They wanted to burn his books, but they didnt consider his papers to be valuable, McAleer said. A week later, his daughter Anna was taken in for questioning by the Gestapo and narrowly escaped deportation (three of his elderly sisters subsequently died in concentration camps). By then, it was hard for Jews to leave Austria or find safe countries willing to accept them as refugees, even refugees who were 82, world-famous and seriously ill with cancer, as Freud was. Bonaparte sent telegrams to diplomats across Europe, who pressured the Nazi regime to let him and his family leave and persuaded the United Kingdom to accept them. Under the Gestapos eye, Bonaparte retrieved Freuds papers from a safe-deposit box and spirited them to the Danish Embassy in Paris, where they remained for the duration of the war. You belong to the history of human thought, Bonaparte told him in a letter. The border crossings that bookended Freuds life were a theme in his life work and are particularly relevant today, said Diane ODonoghue, a senior fellow for the humanities at Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University and a Freud scholar. I sense that there is a kind of return again to Freud in sort of new and interesting ways, so it feels to me that the moment of starting the online access is a very good one, she said. Noting that his childhood experience as a new immigrant and religious minority was marked by poverty and displacement, she added, Seeing Freud as a migratory subject under a very difficult regime, looking at his work as a cultural history and the issues of politics of Vienna, there is a way in which some aspects of Freuds work are quite timely. This post has been updated to reflect that Leipzig was part of Saxony in the 1850s. Correction: An earlier version of this crime listing incorrectly reported that two men were found in the La Plata area in a truck that had been reported stolen in Vermont and officers found seven pit pulls with severe injuries. They were women, not men. This version has been corrected. Calvert County These were among reports received by the Calvert County Sheriffs Office and the Maryland State Police. Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call the Criminal Investigation Division at 410-535-2800 or 301-855-1194, the Crime Solvers line at 410-535-2880 or the state police Prince Frederick Barrack at 410-535-1400. LUSBY AREA VANDALISM Rattlesnake Rd., Jan. 17. Tires on a vehicle were cut. PRINCE FREDERICK AREA ASSAULTS Mint Ct., 11:58 p.m. Jan. 20. A male assaulted an acquaintance and stole her vehicle. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Shores Acres Way, Jan. 21. Cash, a drill and ski goggles were stolen from a vehicle. Four tires were cut, two windows were cracked, and taillights were broken. VANDALISM Solomons Island Rd., Jan. 19. A vehicle was driven drown a hill at a business, causing damage to the grass and ground. Charles County These were among reports received by the Charles County Sheriffs Office and the Maryland State Police. For information, call 301-932-2222 or 301-870-3232. The website ccso.us has crime statistics and information on crime prevention programs. REWARDS FOR INFORMATION Crime Solvers will pay a reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment. The 24-hour hotline is 866-411-8477. Callers may remain anonymous. LA PLATA AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Drury Lane, 9:51 p.m. Jan. 25. Two women were found in a truck that had been reported stolen in Vermont. Authorities found seven pit bulls with severe injuries in the back of the truck. Two New Hampshire women, 19 and 51, were charged with theft and seven counts of animal cruelty. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Charles St., 3:38 p.m. Jan. 25. Two males were seen stealing vehicle batteries. A Newburg man, 18, and a male youth were charged with burglary and theft. WALDORF AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Adams Rd.,10 a.m. Jan. 24. Two masked males broke into a home, stole property and fled. Two male youths were charged with burglary. WELCOME AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Port Tobacco Rd., 8 a.m. Jan. 26. A window was broken at a home; nothing was reported stolen. St. Marys County These w ere among reports received by the St. Marys County Sheriffs Office and the Maryland State Police. For information, call 301-475-8008. To submit a tip, call Crime Solvers at 301-475-3333. The Leonardtown Barrack of the state police has an anonymous tip line at 301-475-2936. CALIFORNIA AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Three Notch Rd., Jan. 21. Deposits from a dollar store were stolen. GREAT MILLS AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Old Gravel Lane, Jan. 21. Property was stolen from a vehicle. HOLLYWOOD AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Hollywood Rd., Jan. 20 to Jan. 23. Property was stolen from a home. LEXINGTON PARK AREA WEAPONS Saratoga Dr., 12:22 p.m. Jan. 25. Multiple shell casings were found in an area where gunshots had been reported. MECHANICSVILLE AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Graves Rd., Jan. 21 to Jan. 23. A home was entered by force; nothing was reported stolen. Three Notch Rd., Jan. 21. Property was stolen from a business. - Compiled by Bonnie Smith THE REGION National Zoos bobcat remains on the lam Early Tuesday morning, zookeepers, police for the National Zoo and rescue experts continued to search for the 25-pound female bobcat named Ollie. Zoo officials have said they received calls from the public with consistent information that the animal may be in nearby Woodley Park or Cleveland Park. Officials warned that Ollie is not a house cat and no one should approach the bobcat if they see her. Instead, take note of the time and her exact location. Anyone with information should call the zoo at 202-633-7362, officials said. Michael Ruane THE DISTRICT Victim of house fire is identified as NE man A man found dead last week after a fire in a home in the Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast Washington has been identified as Awlachew Ayele, 66. Police said Ayele, who lived in Northeast, was pronounced dead at the fire that broke out early Thursday in the 1100 block of Queen Street NE. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Authorities are awaiting results of an autopsy to learn the cause of Ayeles death. It was not immediately clear whether Ayele lived at the house that caught fire. Peter Hermann VIRGINIA Arlington man is charged with murder A 28-year-old man has been charged in the death of another man, Arlington County police said. Heber Amaya-Gallo of Arlington was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Michael Wiggins, 55, also of Arlington. Police said the incident occurred about 2 p.m. Monday at a home in the 5100 block of Seventh Road South, where officers found Wiggins dead inside. Amaya-Gallo is being held without bond at the Arlington County jail. The initial investigation found that an argument between roommates became physical. An official cause of death for Wiggins has not been released and will be announced by the medical examiners office, police said. Dana Hedgpeth MARYLAND Police identify man slain at gas station Police have identified a man killed at a District Heights gas station Monday as Carrington Daye Jr. Officers called to the 3200 block of Walters Lane at about 4:40 p.m. Monday found Daye inside the gas station suffering from a gunshot wound, Prince Georges County police said. Daye, 20, of District Heights, died at the scene. Detectives said they do not think the shooting was random and are working to identify a suspect and determine a motive, police said. Lynh Bui Bowie double shooting is under investigation Bowie police were searching for a suspect in a double shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon, city officials said. Two people were shot at about 2:30 p.m. at Urbana Lane and Church Road, authorities said. They were sent to a hospital with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening, police said. Bowie Police Chief John Nesky said the shooting occurred in a residential area, part of which was cordoned off during the search. The shooting also placed the nearby Goddard School on Annapolis Road on lockdown, according Twitter messages from police. Lynh Bui Pedestrian struck and killed in Bladensburg A pedestrian was struck and killed early Tuesday in Prince Georges County. About 6:20 a.m., Prince Georges patrol officers were called to the 4200 block of Kenilworth Avenue in Bladensburg for a collision involving a pedestrian. After a preliminary investigation, police said in a statement that a dump truck was turning right onto southbound Kenilworth Avenue when it struck the victim. He was identified as Juan Gomez, 52, of Edmonston Road. Dana Hedgpeth Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, left, and Sen. Bryce E. Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, confer during the Virginia Senate session inside the State Capitol in Richmond, Va., on the the first day of the new legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. (Bob Brown/AP) A prominent defamation lawyer warned state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel on Wednesday to preserve computer, cellphone and other records that might be linked to an anonymous email accusing one of her Republican primary rivals of having an affair. Elizabeth M. Locke who represented a former University of Virginia associate dean who successfully sued Rolling Stone last year over a discredited gang-rape story also pressed Vogel (RFauquier) in a letter to submit her home computers and cellphones to a third-party forensics examination. [Jury finds reporter, Rolling Stone responsible for defaming U-Va. dean with gang rape story] Vogel is seeking her partys nomination for lieutenant governor. Also competing for the nod is state Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr. (Virginia Beach) and state Sen. Bryce E. Reeves (R-Spotsylvania). Late last year, anonymous messages targeting Reeves were linked through subpoenaed Internet records to Vogels home IP address and to her husbands cellphone. Vogel, who has strongly denied any involvement or knowledge of the messages, has suggested that hackers are to blame. Reeves has been pressing for a forensics analysis since late December, offering to help pay for it, but Vogel has not responded. His hiring of Locke, who also represents a Virginia gun rights group in a pending defamation suit against Katie Couric over a documentary on gun violence, could turn up the pressure. [Gun rights advocates file defamation suit against Katie Couric, Under the Gun documentary] Its been 32 days since Bryce offered to help pay for the Vogels to have their electronic devices forensically tested by an independent, third-party investigator, said Sam Azzarelli, Reevess campaign spokeswoman. All of this could have been resolved a month ago, allowing everyone to move on, but the Vogels still have not acknowledged or accepted his generous offer. Vogel declined to comment on Lockes letter. [The GOP race for lieutenant governor is getting ugly in Virginia] When Reeves first disclosed the connection between the emails and the Vogels electronics on Dec. 31, Vogels campaign issued this statement: Jill and Alex Vogel have not sent, have not authorized, have not approved, and were not aware of any anonymous communications concerning either of her competitors for the Republican nomination. They would never condone such tactics, nor would they permit a campaign employee or volunteer to do so on behalf of our campaign. . . . Regrettably, in this day and age, there are many ways a person can send an anonymous email and make it appear to have originated from another sender. An email sent to some Reeves supporters in the fall accused him falsely, he said of having an affair with a campaign aide. Reeves filed a lawsuit against Martha McDaniel the senders pseudonym and obtained subpoenas for Internet records associated with the email. According to records provided by Google and two service providers, the Gmail account used to send the message was set up with a certain cellphone number one belonging to Vogels husband, Alex Vogel. The account was accessed via two IP addresses, one associated with the Vogels Upperville estate and the other with their neighbors, who share a wireless, non-password-protected Internet system with the Vogels because of the lack of high-speed access in their rural area. Vogel, former chief counsel to the Republican National Committee, is managing partner of Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky, a firm with locations in Washington and Warrenton. She specializes in ethics, campaign finance and tax-exempt organizations. Alex Vogel, who has served as the RNCs deputy counsel, is managing partner of VogelHood Group, which bills itself as Washingtons premier policy research and consulting firm. Even though the record makes clear that the defamatory emails originated from your home and your husbands cellular phone, Senator Reeves is willing to help pay a mutually-agreed-upon independent forensic technology expert to conduct a thorough analysis of your electronic communications devices to determine once and for all whether you were involved with the defamatory emails, Locke wrote. The Senator has repeatedly made this offer to you most recently in a January 3, 2017 letter but thus far, you have failed to respond to his requests. Reeves has not filed a lawsuit against the Vogels nor amended his existing suit against McDaniel to name them as defendants. But Lockes letter seems to suggest that could be coming if they do not agree to the forensic testing. Absent immediate responsive and responsible conduct by you as required above, Senator Reeves and his family will take all appropriate steps available under the law to protect his reputation and set the record straight, Locke wrote. . Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington on Wednesday. Beside her are her biographers, Georgetown Law professors Wendy Williams, left, and Mary Hartnett. (H. Lockwood McLaughlin/Virginia Military Institute) Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg received a warm welcome Wednesday at Virginia Military Institute, a campus she helped revolutionize 20 years ago with an order to admit women. It was the first visit to VMI by Ginsburg, who in June 1996 wrote the majority opinion that the state-supported school must go co-ed or go private. It opted to admit women, with the first arriving in August 1997. Although Virginia serves the states sons, it makes no provision whatever for her daughters. That is not equal protection, Ginsburg wrote in United States v. Virginia. Ginsburg recalled that historic ruling at a forum marking the 20th year of co-education that was organized by VMI and neighboring Washington and Lee University School of Law. She read a poem that a critic sent to her soon after the decision, which painted a picture of female cadets fretting over their mascara and outfits. The women of VMI surely know they dont resemble any of the women described here, she said. My response to this was Wait and see. You will be proud of the women who become graduates of VMI. Ginsburg appeared the morning after President Trump nominated Colorado federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Ginsburg did not mention the news. Nor did she weigh in on any of the legal controversies surrounding the Trump administration, which days earlier fired its acting attorney general for ordering Justice Department lawyers not to defend a temporary immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees. [Trump picks Colo. appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch] Ginsburg drew criticism last summer for saying she feared for the country and the Supreme Court if Trump were elected. She later apologized and promised to be more circumspect, acknowledging that judges should keep some opinions to themselves. Her opinion in the VMI case was fair game, however, and hardly a subject of controversy on campus anymore, even though women still make up just 11 percent of the institutes 1,700 students. Back in 1996, VMIs then-superintendent, Josiah Bunting, called the ruling a savage disappointment. On Wednesday, Ginsburg was greeted like a rock star by a crowd of about 3,800, albeit an 83-year-old rock star who remained seated throughout her interview with her two biographers and relied on a uniformed cadet to help her unwrap a gift presented to her from VMI. The unwrapping had been complicated by Ginsburgs trademark fishnet gloves. (She began wearing gloves in 1999 when she was undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer, at the suggestion of then-Justice Sandra Day OConnor, as a way to ward off germs. Since then, theyve become a fashion statement, Ginsburg told The Washington Post a few years ago.) [Lets talk about Ruth Bader Ginsburgs fishnet gloves] For 45 minutes, Ginsburg answered questions from two biographers who are also Georgetown law professors, Mary Hartnett and Wendy Williams, and who kept the justice on largely biographical topics. They kicked things off by discussing how Ginsburg stays in shape with help from a personal trainer. There are push-ups and something called a plank, Ginsburg said to laughter. She does 20 push-ups, with one stretch in the middle, Hartnett said. And she does not do the so-called girl push-ups, Hartnett said. She does not use her knees. [Personal trainer Bryant Johnsons clients include two Supreme Court justices] When the discussion turned to the VMI case, Ginsburg said OConnor had paved the way years earlier with a decision that directed Mississippi University for Women to admit a man who wanted to study nursing. It was that precedent that paved the way for the VMI case some 15 years later, she said. Both cases made the same point, that government cant prefer men or cant prefer women for an opportunity, that all doors must be open to our sons and daughters. Ginsburg also tipped her hat to Scalia, the lone dissenter in the 7-to-1 VMI decision. (Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself because he had a son at VMI at the time.) Scalia had been Ginsburgs ideological opposite but also a dear friend and fellow opera fan. Ginsburg said Scalia came into her office, threw down a sheaf of paper and announced that it was the penultimate draft of his opinion in the case. He said that he was not quite ready to circulate it to the other justices but that he wanted to give her as much time as possible to respond to it in her opinion. She said the points he raised helped her strengthen her own argument. Thats the kind of colleague that he was, she said. He improved your product. I miss him very much, she added. I say without him, the court is a paler place, because he brought such zest to our discussions. Among those who came to see Ginsburg was Lara Tyler Chambers, a member of the class of 2003, the third co-ed class to matriculate. She changed my life, said Chambers, today a Richmond-area land developer. She changed the life of all the women who attended here. And shes changed the lives of women all over the world. Not that it was easy attending VMI as a woman in those days. It was like living in the boys locker room for four years, she said. It was like having 1,000 brothers. Some brothers give you wedgies. Some brothers are endearing. Some brothers dont talk to you. Some brothers kick you from here to next week. It was a lot of roughhousing. But it was fun. It was never boring. Today, Chambers serves on the schools board of visitors. Volunteer Jim Losey waits at Dulles International Airport to greet a family from Afghanistan that St. Columbas Episcopal Church in Washington worked nearly a year to sponsor. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) The kernel of the idea came to parishioners of St. Columbas Episcopal Church in late 2015. Stories about war-weary Middle Easterners flooding into Greece and other European countries were dominating the news. A photo of Alan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian refugee who was discovered drowned on a Turkish beach, struck the congregation in its moral core. We asked ourselves, What can we do about this terrible humanitarian disaster? said Lois Herrmann, a retired State Department officer. The answer for the Tenleytown church, whose more than 3,500 members include many government and ex-government employees, was to resettle a family seeking refuge from a war-torn corner of the world. They raised almost $40,000, enough to pay rent for a year and cover other essentials, and filled a storage facility with furniture, toys and bedding so many provisions, organizers said, that the church should apply to support another refugee family or two. Someone donated a new flat-screen television. Others provided new kitchenware, linens, towels and toiletries. Then came the Nov. 8 presidential election, and the inauguration, and the travel-ban order signed by President Trump on Friday, four days before a young Afghan couple and toddler designated for St. Columbas were supposed to arrive. Demonstrators at Dulles International Airport outside Washington opposing President Trumps travel ban. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) The situation remains in flux and is completely unpredictable, said an email from Sunday school teacher Joanne Lin that was sent to church families Thursday, after news organizations began reporting that travelers with refugee visas, as well as citizens from certain majority-Muslim countries, might not be let into the United States. Please pray for this specific Afghani family. . . . And please pray for the thousands of refugees worldwide who cant return home and are in search of protection in a world that is increasingly closing its doors. [Denied entry: Caught in the crosshairs of Trumps travel ban] The next several days were a blur of emails and phone calls, with church members parsing Trumps executive order to try to determine whether the family they sponsored would get through. The family benefited from a special refugee visa available to those who worked for the U.S. military or U.S. embassies in Iraq or Afghanistan, often as translators. Refugees from Afghanistan and elsewhere were detained at immigration stations or barred from boarding U.S.-bound flights starting Saturday, and lawyers and protesters flooded major U.S. airports, including Dulles International, where the family sponsored by St. Columbas was expected in just three days. Some at St. Columbas Episcopal Church who are on the Refugee Response Team received a special blessing on Sunday. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) On Sunday, in the main nave of the church during the 9 a.m. service, some of the 70 members of the Refugee Response Team received a special blessing. Two parishioners read scripture that seemed eerily appropriate: Beatitudes, from the Gospel of St. Matthew, and Micah 6: 1-8. And what does the Lord require of you? the Old Testament passage says. To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. In her sermon, the Rev. Amy Molina-Moore called the readings a love letter from Jesus. A wink from God. A full-body embrace from the Holy Spirit. I am heartsick, she said, speaking of refugees stranded abroad and at U.S. airports. This is not the America I recognize. This is not the dream that Martin [Luther King Jr.] spoke of. And this certainly is not the way of Jesus the Christ. The Rev. Amy Molina-Moore of St. Columbas Episcopal Church in the District. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) The mood brightened a few minutes later when Rector Ledlie I. Laughlin said that as far as church officials knew, the Afghan family was still headed their way. More than 100 congregants broke into smiles and applauded. At the back of the church, the refugee team huddled. They agreed to find a temporary home for the family, probably with a fellow parishioner. They had decided days earlier that the situation was too uncertain to sign their previously agreed-on apartment lease. Jim Losey, co-chair of the committee, repeated something hed been told by Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, which resettled 1,040 refugees in the area in 2016, and had connected this family with the church: Dont believe theyre here safely until theyve cleared customs and are in your car. Its never certain, even in the best of times, Losey warned. Were waiting. And praying, added Deacon Jean Ann Wright, the other co-chair. And preparing, Herrmann said. [Graphic: Who is affected by the ban?] Lutheran Social Services has paired at least five Washington-area congregations with refugee families that are supposed to arrive by late February, spokeswoman Autumn Orme said this week. At Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, more than 50 volunteers have gathered furniture, food and clothes for a family of eight Syrians. Kittamaqundi Community Church in Columbia, Md., and St. Johns Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Va., are eagerly awaiting families as well. It remains unclear whether the travel ban will affect their cases. On Monday night, a couple of volunteers went to a supermarket to stock the refrigerator of the grandparent suite of a parishioners home in Northwest Washington. Their refugee family was supposed to have left Kabul by now, en route to Germany, then on to Dulles. But no one knew for sure. On Tuesday morning, a parishioner dropped off a portable stroller and a car seat, to be installed in Loseys car, as well as disposable diapers, baby wipes and a couple of changes of toddler-size clothing. Then Losey and Wright headed for the airport, where they stood in the international arrivals hall with a luggage cart, a colorful stuffed toy and a welcome poster bearing the familys name. (McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post) Joined by St. Columbas parishioner LeRoy Walters, they waited among about 20 onlookers lawyers and advocates offering free assistance, and demonstrators eager to show they opposed Trumps order. Let them in, read a poster in blue block letters, held aloft by a child in glasses and decorated with a hand-drawn American flag. Our diversity is our strength, said another, this one in purple lettering. We welcome refugees. Hours passed. The flight, Lufthansa 9290, landed. Passengers streamed out of customs, past the signs and the free lawyers. But still, the churchs refugee family did not appear. Ali Raza, of Baltimore, anxiously awaits his wifes arrival at Dulles International Airport on Tuesday. She had gone to Pakistan to visit friends and family and was returning home. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) Two young Afghan men eventually approached Losey, Wright and Walters. One introduced himself as Wajid, the 24-year-old brother of the woman the St. Columbas group was expecting. Wajid had arrived in the United States on Jan. 5, on a similar refugee visa. Another brother was expected to arrive in February. They and their brother-in-law had worked as translators for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Wajid explained. He asked that their last name not be published, to protect family members still in Afghanistan from retaliation. Sarah Curtin from Vienna, Va., recently retired from teaching 7th grade holds signs at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va. She made the sign with the Statue of Liberty because she used to teach the poem to her students. The other sign, someone asked her to hold asks Have you seen anyone who has been detained? (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) Wajid, who said he was resettled by a Virginia chapter of Lutheran Social Services, had rented a house for the entire family in Springfield, Va., a 40-minute drive from St. Columbas. In Afghanistan, brothers, sisters, mothers, children it doesnt matter. Everyone lives together, he explained later in an interview. Family should be together. The delegation from St. Columbas looked stunned. This was the first time they had heard that their refugee family had relatives on American soil. After much discussion, they and Wajid agreed that if the new arrivals made it through immigration, it would be up to them to decide whether to go back to Washington with the church group or stay in Northern Virgina. It was after 7:30 p.m. when another cluster of passengers emerged from the secure area. A tall, dark-haired man wearily pushed a packed luggage cart, and a woman, wearing a paisley headscarf, carried a very tired-looking child. Wajid leapt to his feet and dashed forward, grabbing the mans hand, hugging the woman tightly and patting the babys cheek. Jim Losey, center, greets the family from Afghanistan that St. Columbas Episcopal Church worked nearly a year to sponsor. Also with him is church member LeRoy Walters, second from left. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) Then more discussion, aided by a translator, lasting about 30 minutes. In the end, the newly arrived couple decided to go with Wajid. They would reconnect with the church group later in the week to discuss where they would settle. With handshakes all around, they parted; the Afghans to Springfield and the church group back to Washington, an empty baby seat still in their car. If they change their minds tomorrow, theyre still welcome. If not, well immediately apply for another family, Losey said before leaving the airport. Were still committed to sponsoring a family, Wright agreed. At the end of the day, we are going to get who God sends us. Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report. Dr. Arthur Rosenfeld stands next to a gag poster given to him by staff members at the California Energy Commission on his 8oth birthday. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times) Arthur Rosenfeld, an experimental physicist who set aside his decades-long study of subatomic particles to help design energy-efficiency standards and technologies, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and saving everyday Americans billions of dollars each year, died Jan. 27 at his home in Berkeley, Calif. He was 90. The cause was complications from pneumonia, said a daughter, Anne Hansen. Dr. Rosenfeld was fueled by a passion to wring the most out of every kilowatt, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2010. As a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, he helped his adopted home state establish some of the countrys first, and most stringent, energy-efficiency standards. For three decades, however, his research was limited to the study and discovery of subatomic particles, for which he used a special device known as a hydrogen bubble chamber. It was only during the oil crisis of the mid-1970s that Dr. Rosenfeld turned to the field of energy efficiency, viewing it as a way for the United States to avoid future oil-embargo threats from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, presents the International Global Energy Award to Dr. Rosenfeld during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia on June 17, 2011. (Anatoly Maltsev/European Pressphoto Agency) While preparing to go home one Friday night in November 1973, dreading the seemingly inevitable half-hour wait at the gas pump, he turned off his office lights a habit he developed as a child during the Depression and began calculating the energy savings that his office would achieve if everyone else did the same. Hunting for light switches on his 20-office floor, searching behind filing cabinets and book cases, he decided his laboratory should do something about conservation, as he later put it. Dr. Rosenfeld began leading research efforts to calculate the savings of relatively simple acts such as turning off the lights 100 gallons of natural gas saved per weekend at his office alone, he calculated and getting rid of inefficient refrigerators and home appliances. At a meeting with California Gov. Jerry Brown a few years later, Dr. Rosenfeld explained that if the state prohibited the most inefficient refrigerators, it could avoid building a controversial power plant known as Sundesert. Energy conservation, as Dr. Rosenfeld saw it, was easier, cheaper and altogether smarter than building new power plants. Brown agreed, and in 1977, drawing from Dr. Rosenfelds research, he enacted what are considered to be the countrys first efficiency requirements for appliances. The standards, set initially only for refrigerators and freezers, were followed one year later by an energy-efficient building code that aimed to reduce residential energy usage by 80 percent. Federal regulations established similar standards for home appliances in 1987. At the same time, Dr. Rosenfeld and a team of researchers at Berkeleys Center for Building Science developed several quietly revolutionary technologies: electronic ballasts that helped popularize the compact fluorescent lamp, an energy-efficient lightbulb; a coating for window glass that allows homes to trap heat in the winter and keep it out in the summer; computer programs that analyze buildings energy usage; and, most recently, a reflective roof design that aids with cooling. In an autobiographical 1999 paper, Dr. Rosenfeld estimated that products developed at the center resulted in consumer saving of $30 billion each year. In terms of pollution control, he wrote, this is the equivalent to displacing approximately 100 million cars. The efficiency standards that resulted from his research had a similarly striking effect. In what efficiency advocates and some scientists hail as the Rosenfeld effect, per capita energy usage in California has hardly grown since the mid-1970s despite a seemingly endless proliferation of household gadgets, appliances and electricity-hogging televisions. In the United States as a whole, per capita energy usage has more than doubled. Dr. Rosenfeld faced early criticism from utility companies such as Pacific Gas & Electric, which suggested to Dr. Rosenfelds laboratory boss that the onetime nuclear physicist was unqualified to study energy-efficiency and ought to be fired. He was also sometimes blasted by appliance manufacturers and consumers, who were wary of products becoming more expensive. The first time we put standards on a product, we tend to get objections that this will be the ruin of civilization as we know it, he told the Times in 2010. But then people get used to it. In a statement, Brown hailed Dr. Rosenfeld for his work in shaping Californias modern-day energy habits. Art Rosenfeld helped make California the world leader in energy efficiency, said Brown, who is serving a second stint as governor. His pathbreaking ideas transformed our energy sector from one of massive waste to increasingly elegant efficiency. Arthur Hinton Rosenfeld Jr. was born in Birmingham, Ala., on June 22, 1926. He grew up in New Orleans until his father, an agronomist and sugar-cane expert, moved the family to Egypt when the future physicist was 6. While abroad, he was introduced to a more conservative style of energy consumption. Europeans only used half as much energy per dollar of gross domestic product, he told the Times, and it was clear that their lifestyle was as good as ours. In 1944, at age 18, Dr. Rosenfeld earned a bachelors degree in industrial physics from Virginia Tech. He taught radar operators in Chicago for two years during World War II before beginning graduate studies in physics at the University of Chicago, where he studied under Enrico Fermi who developed the worlds first nuclear reactor and earned a PhD in 1954. Dr. Rosenfeld joined UC Berkeley that year, working at what is now the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and collaborating with fellow physicist Luis Alvarez. When Alvarez won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1968, he invited Dr. Rosenfeld to the ceremony in Stockholm. In addition to his research, Dr. Rosenfeld co-founded a nonprofit organization, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and had several stints in government. During the presidency of Bill Clinton, he was a senior adviser on energy efficiency at the Energy Department, working on climate change and efficiency issues. He served on the California Energy Commission, the state energy policy and planning organization, from 2000 to 2010 and then was named a member of the federal Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. His wife of 53 years, the former Roselyn Bernheim, died in 2009. Survivors include two daughters, both doctors Margaret Rosenfeld of Seattle and Anne Hansen of Belmont, Mass. and six grandchildren. Dr. Rosenfeld received the Energy Departments Enrico Fermi Award in 2006 and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama in 2013. He was also honored by 54 of his colleagues, who in 2010 co-authored a paper that proposed a new unit of measurement equivalent to the amount of energy produced by a 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant each year. It would, the paper promised, be a convenient way to perform back-of-the-envelope calculations about the elimination of proposed power plants. The scientists proposed that it be called the Rosenfeld. Leaders for the health insurance industry, state insurance commissioners and brokers warned Wednesday that more health plans almost certainly will defect from Affordable Care Act marketplaces unless Congress and the Trump administration provide some concrete assurances within the next two months. Unless the government promises to continue subsidies and other features of the law for at least another year, some states probably will not have any insurers selling health plans to individuals buying coverage on their own for 2018, the witnesses warned at a Senate hearing. I think we would lose more insurance companies, said Marilyn Tavenner, president of Americas Health Insurance Plans, the industrys largest trade group. Insurers that remained, she predicted, would hike prices by perhaps 20 percent. The testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions came as lawmakers sought advice on what Congress and the new administration should do in the short term to prevent the individual insurance market from collapsing, even as they work to abolish the health-care law that has extended coverage to an estimated 20 million people. Yet the Republican majoritys uncertainty over how to proceed was on display Wednesday morning. While the committees chairman, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), was discussing how to preserve that market, the Finance Committees chairman, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), was espousing a different view. (Jayne Orenstein/The Washington Post) [Obamacare is the Affordable Care Act: So whats in it?] In a speech before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Hatch said Congress should eliminate immediately the taxes created by the 2010 law. Some of those taxes, however, cover the cost of the insurance subsidies that 85 percent of people with ACA health plans receive. All the Obamacare taxes need to go as part of the repeal process, said Hatch, who also reiterated his contention that Congress should rescind the law right away and then design a replacement plan. At the hearing, Alexander contradicted him. No one is talking about repealing anything until there is a concrete alternative in its place, he said. Alexander also signaled that he might be receptive to taking a smaller first step than President Trump and many Republicans favor. Is it possible to work just on the individual market? he asked, referring to the ACA marketplaces intended for people without access to affordable health benefits through a job. He suggested that Congress might leave for a separate discussion the idea of transforming Medicaid and Medicare so that they are no longer entitlement programs. The hearing came hours after a midnight deadline for consumers to get health plans through ACA marketplaces for 2017. It may have been the final such open-enrollment period, depending on what the president and Congress do from here. Tavenner and Janet Trautwein, chief executive of the trade group representing health insurance brokers and agents, emphasized that health plans must decide in the next few months whether they will participate in ACA marketplaces for 2018. After several major insurers dropped out of the program for 2017, both predicted that more might follow suit unless they have enough confidence in the governments policies to set realistic prices for next year. In particular, Tavenner said, insurers need for the premium subsidies to continue, although she suggested that they be reconfigured to give more money to healthy young adults as an incentive to sign up. She also said the government should continue a second form of subsidy, known as cost-sharing reductions, that now benefit nearly 6 million lower-income ACA customers. [Trump could quickly doom ACA cost-sharing subsidies for millions of Americans] The White House could bring a quick end to these cost-sharing subsidies if it were to halt the appeal of an unusual federal lawsuit over them that House Republicans brought. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) quizzed Tavenner on whether health insurers have learned any specifics about how the White House intends to carry out an executive order that Trump signed the night of his inauguration calling for ACA rules to be waived or deferred. To each question, Tavenner replied that the White House had conveyed no details. Insurers need predictability to keep selling individual policies and set realistic prices, she said. We need long-term predictability. An uptick in the number of people going to Gundersen Health System with influenza symptoms is prompting a Gundersen infection specialist to chide people who refuse to get a flu vaccination. Some people are selfish and think they wont get sick, but that doesnt mean you wont and give it to somebody else, Marilyn Michels said. Its not just about you, Michels said in a telephone interview Wednesday in which she also noted that its not too late to get shots. More people are calling in with symptoms and going to urgent care, said Michels, adding that hospitalizations also have increased, although numbers were not available. The vaccine used this year is proving to be more effective than last years, she said. However, an active strain of the virus can be particularly virulent to the very young and very old, she said. We need to protect them, Michels said. Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare is experiencing normal traffic for cases of flu symptoms and respiratory illnesses, similar to last year, a spokesman said. Tomah Memorial Hospital, which recorded its first hospitalized case of flu on Jan. 11, has logged a few more cases and is waiting reluctantly for the peak, a spokesman said. Flu activity normally peaks between December and February, although cases can linger into May, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The peak period last season occurred during the week ending on March 12, which was one of the later season peaks on record, according to the CDC. Health officials are hoping that this season remains mild, replicating last year and unlike the heavy load in the 2014-15 season. Flu cases are below the baseline in the southern fourth of Wisconsin, mostly in a straight east-west line from slightly north of La Crosse County, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Cases are registering high in the entire northwest half of the state and moderate in the northeast quadrant, according to state and federal officials. Minnesota is experiencing high incidences throughout the state. The La Crosse County Health Department is averaging about one case a week, prompting county public health nurse Julie Martine to say, For this time of year, that is pretty remarkable. On the upside, little flu activity is being reported in schools, after a bump around Christmas time. An outbreak of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is tailing off, she said. Gundersens Michels said cases probably are resulting from the fact that people are indoors more during this time of year, perhaps inhaling air contaminated with the virus. People who feel sick should not attend activities and events where they could contaminate others, she said, adding typical cautions about washing hands and covering your mouth and nose properly when sneezing or coughing. BRITAIN Thousands pardoned under Turings law Thousands of men convicted under now-abolished anti-homosexuality laws in Britain have been pardoned posthumously under a law passed Tuesday, and many more still alive can apply to have their convictions wiped out. Announcing the new law, the Justice Ministry said the pardons apply automatically to deceased men who were convicted for consensual same-sex relations before homosexuality was decriminalized several decades ago. Men living with convictions can apply to the government to have their names cleared. Calls for a general pardon have noted the 1954 suicide of World War II codebreaking hero Alan Turing after his conviction for gross indecency. After he received a posthumous royal pardon in 2013, pressure for pardons intensified. What is now known as Turings law is part of the Policing and Crime Bill that received royal approval on Tuesday. Associated Press UNITED NATIONS Envoy Haley warns Iran on missile testing Nikki Haley, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warned Iran on Tuesday that its testing this week of a long-range ballistic missile is unacceptable and an act the United States believes violates its nuclear accord with world powers. I will tell the people across the world that is something you should be alarmed about, Haley told reporters after the Security Councils consultations on Iran. The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out as we said we would, and you are also going to see us act accordingly. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif neither confirmed or denied the missile launching. Iran said Tuesday it would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country and defended its missile tests, saying they are neither part of a nuclear accord with world powers nor a Security Council resolution endorsing the pact. The Security Council recommended that the matter of the reported missile testing be studied on a committee level. Reuters Russian cybersecurity officers accused of working with CIA: Russian cybersecurity intelligence officers reportedly detained on treason charges are being accused of passing secrets to the CIA. Sergei Mikhailov and Dmitry Dokuchaev, who worked for the cyber wing of Russias FSB domestic intelligence service until their arrests in December, are accused of cooperating with the CIA, according to unnamed sources cited by the Interfax news agency. No Russian officials have publicly commented on the case. Israels president apologizes to Mexico about wall tweet: Israels president has apologized to Mexico for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to endorse President Trumps proposed border wall. Netanyahu tweeted Saturday that Israels barrier along its border with Egypt had stemmed a swell of African migrants. He wrote: President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israels southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea. A statement Tuesday from Israeli President Reuven Rivlins office said he told Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in a phone call that there had been a misunderstanding. Home of French presidential candidate searched: French police searched presidential candidate Francois Fillons office in Parliament as an inquiry into alleged fake work by his wife threatened his campaign and party leaders began to consider a Plan B without him. Fillon had been favored to win the presidency for the conservative Republicans party until a week ago, when it was reported that his wife, Penelope, had drawn hundreds of thousands of euros in pay from state funds without doing any work. Fillon has said his wife did real work for her pay as a parliamentary assistant. New evidence presented against Lech Walesa: A Polish state historical institute presented new evidence that Lech Walesa, the leader of a peaceful pro-democracy struggle that challenged the communist regime in the 1980s, acted as a paid informant to the communist secret police in the 1970s. The evidence, based on an analysis of handwriting in documents from secret police files, strengthens allegations that have been public for many years. While not shocking, the repeated allegations are having the effect of tarnishing the historical legacy of the former president and Nobel Peace laureate. Walesa, 73, insists that he is innocent and that the analyzed documents were forgeries. From news services William Barr was attorney general from 1991 to 1993. On Friday, President Trump issued an executiveorder temporarily suspending for 90 days the entry of nationals from seven countries into the United States pending the implementation of heightened vetting procedures to identify and exclude any radical Islamist terrorists attempting to infiltrate the country. Like many others, I thought part of that order the manner in which it was applied to permanent residents though not illegal, was unwise, but that aspect has been remedied. I see no plausible grounds for disputing the orders lawfulness. It falls squarely within both the presidents constitutional authority and his explicit statutory immigration powers. Nonetheless, over the past several days, the left, aided by an onslaught of tendentious media reporting, has engaged in a campaign of histrionics unjustified by the measured steps taken. On Monday, things reached their nadir when acting attorney general Sally Yates, an Obama holdover with a few days left in office, issued a directive that the Justice Department should not defend the presidents order in court. While an official is always free to resign if she does not agree with, or has doubts about, the legality of a presidential order, Yates had no authority and no conceivable justification for directing the departments lawyers not to advocate the presidents position in court. Her action was unprecedented and must go down as a serious abuse of office. In our system of government, the Supreme Court ultimately decides on the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress or ofpresidential actions. When their actions are challenged, both Congress and the president are entitled to have their positions forcefully advocated in court. It is the responsibility of the Justice Department to be that advocate. That is why the department has long recognized that, even if it doubts the legality of a statute, it is obliged to defend that law by advancing all colorable arguments that can mustered in support. And when the president determines an action is within his authority even if that conclusion is debatable (which I dont think it is here) the president is entitled to have his position presented to the courts. It is the duty of the department to present them. Yatessattempt to justify her action is incoherent and untenable. The crux of her position was not that the order was illegal but that its legality is open to dispute and she had yet to be convinced it was legal. Indeed, she acknowledged that the departments own Office of Legal Counsel had concluded that the order was legal. Instead, she vaguely suggested that the president could have hidden motives for the order that somehow affect its legality. She never explained what these are or how they could invalidate the order. She summarily justified her obstruction on the grounds that she was not yet convinced that the Executive Order is lawful and that she did not think it wise policy. While she was free to resign if she disagreed, neither her policy objection nor her legal skepticism can justify her attempt at overruling the president. Presidential powers are not exercised by a body or group. The Constitution vests all executive power in one and only one person the president. An attorney generals duty is to render her opinion and honest advice; she cannot set herself up as a judge overruling the presidents decision. The president need not convince his subordinate that his decision reflects the best view of the law. The absurdity of Yatess position is self-evident. If it is permissible for her, based on her own opinion, to direct the presidents subordinates not to carry out or defend a presidential directive, then it would be permissible for her own subordinates to do the same to her. If she, as acting attorney general, decided that a particular case should be brought, would it be permissible for any official down the chain to flout and sabotage her decision by directing their own subordinates to defy her? No government could function in that way. By her vague reference to the presidents possible hidden motivations, Yates was attempting to advance the narrative that the vetting order, though cast as a national security measure, is really a discriminatory Muslim ban. The very terms of the order expose this claim as baseless. First, of the 49 majority-Muslim countries in the world, the 90-day suspension applies only to seven, comprising about 12 percent of the worlds Muslim population. Second, it is clear that the criterion for selecting those seven countries was not that they were Muslim but that the risk of terrorist infiltration from these countries is especially high. Third, the order merely suspends entry while a vetting process is implemented. By definition, a vetting process means that exclusion will not be based on attributes such as religion, but on the attributes detected through vetting namely, the violent, hostile ideology that Islamist militants possess. Nor does the indefinite suspension of refugees from Syria suggest anti-Muslim animus. That measure makes perfect sense given the presidents plan to establish safe zones that will protect innocent civilians inside Syria. Trump could not allow Yatess obstruction to stand. To have allowed it would have set a dangerous precedent. COULD IT have been just a coincidence that Russian-backed forces in Ukraine launched their biggest offensive in months the day after Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with President Trump? Somehow, we doubt it. Rather, the volleys of Grad rockets and heavy artillery that have been raining down on Ukrainian army positions since Sunday look a lot like a test of whether the new president will yield to pressure from Moscow. Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin didnt speak much about Ukraine during their call; officials told us that Mr. Trump called it a tough issue before moving on. Nor did the White House issue a widely rumored executive order abruptly lifting U.S. sanctions on Moscow for its invasions of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. That may have been due to pushback Mr. Trump heard from British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday, as well as from senior congressional Republicans. Perhaps a disappointed Mr. Putin felt the need to do some pushing from the other side. Or maybe he wanted to wreck a meeting Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had scheduled for Monday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, his strongest Western supporter. In any case, Russian guns that had been quiescent for weeks suddenly erupted Sunday near the government-controlled town of Avdiivka, north of the separatist-held city of Donetsk. The shelling soon spread south to Mariupol, a key government-held city on the coast of the Sea of Azov. One sign the offensive was serious and Kremlin-directed: Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were swamped with threatening text messages characteristic of Russian electronic warfare units. Russia, predictably, blamed Ukraine for the fresh fighting, and Ukrainian commanders acknowledge that in recent weeks their forces had moved some positions forward in the no-mans land between the front lines. But Mr. Poroshenko, who was forced to break off his trip to Germany, has scant cause to seek another round of warfare in the east when the past two have led to crushing Ukrainian defeats. In Kiev, the Ukrainian economy is showing signs of revival; positive growth was reported for 2016, while Russia remained in recession. Slow progress is being made on economic and institutional reforms. The new fighting places those at risk. Thats likely one of Mr. Putins aims. Another is to speed Mr. Trump toward the concessions Moscow seeks: not just the lifting of sanctions, but also the acceptance of a Russian sphere of influence including Ukraine. In exchange for what? Mr. Putin offers cooperation in fighting the Islamic State in the Middle East, a possibility repeatedly touted by Mr. Trump. But that U.S.-Russian military cooperation has also been a prime objective of Mr. Putins. In other words, the deal hes offering is something he really wants in exchange for something else he really wants. If Mr. Trump goes along with this, Mr. Putin will achieve a third objective diminishing U.S. global influence to the gain of Russia. Thats what congressional leaders such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have been trying to point out to Mr. Trump, and what the past two presidents history with Mr. Putin vividly demonstrates. If the White House chooses to ignore all that, Ukraine will not be the only loser. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, represents Alaska in the Senate. As a candidate, Donald Trump said he would tear up the Iran nuclear deal once elected. Many of us in the Senate strongly opposed this deal on substance it provides the worlds largest state sponsor of terrorism a pathway toward nuclear weapons inside of a decade and also on process. The Obama administration sought the approval of the U.N. Security Council, but essentially ignored the constitutional role of the Senate in seeking to finalize the deal as an executive agreement, not a treaty. As a result, President Trump would be within his rights and authority to undo the deal through executive action, particularly as Iran continued to show that it has no intention of abiding by the deal by launching yet another ballistic missile on Sunday. But there is a potentially better alternative than unilaterally disavowing the deal: Let it fail on its own by vigorously enforcing it. Since the enactment in 2015 of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States, China, France, Russia, Britain and Germany, known as the P5+1, have, for their own political and economic reasons, studiously looked the other way as at least four key provisions of the deal have been violated. First, Annex 1 of the JCPOA limits Irans stock of heavy water a catalyst for nuclear weapons. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are at least two instances of Iran knowingly exceeding its heavy water limit in February and November of last year. Instead of holding Iran to account for the violations, the Obama administration bought up the illicit material for $8.6 million. Second, Annex B of U.N Security Council Resolution 2231 which serves as the implementing resolution for the JCPOA and its legal framework calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles for eight years. However, Iran has conducted five ballistic missile tests since the deal was finalized. Third, Annex B of the implementing resolution also bans certain individuals from travel to foreign countries. Yet nothing was done when it was discovered that Irans Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani, who is on that list, traveled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin after the deal was signed. As recently as December, Soleimani was seen visiting Aleppo. Finally, Annex B also states that the Security Council must approve services, advice, other services or assistance, related to the sale of conventional weapons. Its been widely reported that Russia is in talks to sell Iran $10 billion worth of conventional weapons, including advanced tanks, artillery systems, planes and helicopters. Iran has not asked for such approval. (Reuters) No member of the P5+1 has done anything about these violations. Russia is complicit in them; China needs Irans oil and gas; Europe wants business deals; and the Obama administration didnt want to undermine what it saw as a major foreign policy legacy. But Trumps interest is in protecting Americans and our allies in the Middle East. And that could be done by stating that the United States will abide by the terms of the deal, while also making clear that those terms are already being systematically violated. He could give all the parties to the agreement 60 days to remedy the situation. If they fail to do so, he should take the next step, pursuant to the agreement: reapply sanctions against Iran. The conventional wisdom, as spun by the Obama administration officials who negotiated this ill-advised deal, is that only a re-imposition of sanctions by the entire international community would be effective against Iran. But, as so often was the case in 2016, the conventional wisdom is wrong. Even unilateral U.S. sanctions could be significantly destabilizing to the Iranian regime and its economy. Ive seen this work first hand. As an assistant secretary of state in charge of economics, energy, terrorist finance and sanctions during President George W. Bushs second term, I served with other senior members of the State and Treasury departments to encourage allies and businesses around the world to quit doing business with Iran or risk secondary sanctions from the U.S. Congress. Working with Congress, both the Bush and Obama administrations were able to impose sanctions that targeted states and individuals who conduct business with Irans central bank. We also were able to ensure significant restriction of Iranian access to the U.S. financial system, including those that are conducted in dollars, which need to be cleared through a U.S. financial institution, even if the money isnt staying in the United States. We also encouraged countries and companies to divest from the Iranian oil and gas sector. Many of our allies only reluctantly agreed to economically isolate Iran, largely due to this pressure. Even acting unilaterally, we still have leverage to put pressure on Iran and the international community to yield results. Our power over the international financial system remains, and with regard to energy, U.S. leverage has increased dramatically. The United States is once again the worlds energy superpower. As such, we could give countries and companies a choice: Invest in Irans oil and gas sector or invest in Americas. I believe that most companies would choose the United States. With strong, principled U.S. leadership, others countries will follow. If they dont, the Trump administration will be able to say that the United States abided by the spirit and letter of the agreement, and it was the other members of the P5+1 who chose to turn a blind eye to Irans violations and walk away from the deal. Mitch McConnell, a Republican, represents Kentucky in the Senate and is majority leader. The president made an outstanding choice with his nomination Tuesday of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Justice Antonin Scalias passing was a significant loss for the court and for our country. Gorsuchs impressive background and long record of service, however, give me confidence he will carry forward Scalias legacy of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution. Like Scalia, Gorsuch understands the constitutional limits on his authority, and he knows that the duty of a judge is to apply the law evenhandedly rather than ruling with bias toward one party or another. When the Senate confirmed Gorsuch to his current judgeship, the bipartisan support was so overwhelming that he was approved without a single vote in opposition. I hope he can expect fair consideration again now. [Hugh Hewitt and Ronald Klain: How will Neil Gorsuch change the Supreme Court?] Recent actions by Senate Democrats, however, do not inspire confidence. Hear that sound? Its the far left hitting rewind on the Supreme Court attack eight-track theyve been playing for more than 40 years. When Gerald Ford nominated John Paul Stevens, they attacked Stevens as anti-woman. When Ronald Reagan chose Anthony M. Kennedy, they said Kennedy was unqualified. When George H.W. Bush put forward David Souter, they declared Souter a threat to minorities. The attacks seem ridiculous today, but theyre an important reminder that no matter who a Republican president nominates, the far left will say the same things. If you think youve heard moldy oldies like Extreme!, Scary Quotes! and Anti-[Fill in the blank]! before well, you have, and youre about to hear a lot more of the lefts apocalyptic rhetoric, on repeat and remastered in full digital surround. Lets focus on the facts instead. When our nation lost Scalia in the middle of a contentious presidential election, I looked to the precedent set forth by Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, who as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee declared that Supreme Court vacancies arising in the midst of a presidential election should not be considered until the campaign ended. It was, he said, what history supports [and what] common sense dictates and the only way to prevent the nomination process from being further racked by discord and bitterness. Its what we know today as the Biden Rule. [Gorsuchs judicial philosophy is like Scalias with one big difference] (The Washington Post) I decided to follow this precedent just as President Barack Obamas former legal counsel admitted she would have recommended to Senate Democrats had the shoe been on the other foot and was clear all along that the next president, whether Democrat or Republican, would name the next justice. I maintained that position even when it seemed inevitable to many that Hillary Clinton would be making that choice. The election is now behind us. The precedent for these circumstances is to respect that result and give the nominee of the new president due consideration followed by an up-or-down vote. Thats how Republican senators treated the nominees of newly elected Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton (Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer) and Obama (Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan), and thats how Democratic senators should treat the newly elected presidents outstanding nominee today. Gorsuch is respected on both sides of the aisle as a consistent, principled and fair jurist. He has a sense of fairness and impartiality that is a keystone of being a judge, as one Democratic senator and former Obama Cabinet official put it, and hes right. Gorsuch follows the law where it leads him, not where he wants it to, which is a true testament to the man hell succeed. Perhaps the great project of Justice Scalias career, Gorsuch said last year, was to remind us of the differences between judges and legislators. Indeed it is. Scalia will be a tough act to follow, but Gorsuch will continue his legacy of fair and impartial justice. Of course, as history teaches, we already know that the far left will throw hyperbolic attacks at this nominee regardless of his credentials. It actually started before he was even nominated. While it might be difficult for Democratic senators to resist this siren song, for the sake of our country they must. This is not the time for further division. This is not the time for political revenge. This is the time for bringing our country together after a difficult election. As Biden recently implored his fellow party members, they should give the nominee a hearing and a vote. Justice Antonin Scalias seat on the Supreme Court does not belong to one president or one political party. It belongs to the American people. We now have a new president who has nominated a superbly qualified candidate to fill that ninth seat. I invite Democrats, who spent months insisting we need nine justices, to join us in following through on that advice by giving the new presidents nominee fair consideration and an up-or-down vote just as we did for past presidents of both parties. If the 230-year American democratic experiment unravels no longer an unthinkable possibility the postmortem should focus on what happened in the Senate this week. The majority Republicans could have put the brakes on President Trump and forced the rewriting of his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. They chose not to. The sloppily executed travel ban, produced under the auspices of attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, has been blocked in part by federal judges, while the acting attorney general, doubting the orders legality, said she would not defend it. Trump aides reacted with conflicting signals of whether they would honor the court orders and by firing the acting attorney general Trumps own version of Richard Nixons Saturday Night Massacre, after just 10 days on the job. Many Republican lawmakers voiced their objections. But given a chance to do something about the offending order, they demurred. The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday morning to vote on the Sessions nomination a perfect leverage point to force Trump to revise or withdraw the order. Not one of the Republicans made a peep. (Alice Li,Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post) One of those on the panel, Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), had called the order unacceptable as written. But Flake said nothing of that Tuesday morning in his brief statement calling Sessions a good man. Another on the panel, Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), had said in a joint statement with John McCain (R-Ariz.) that the order was not properly vetted and that we should not turn our backs on blameless refugees, mostly women and children, who suffered unspeakable horrors. But on Tuesday, Graham enthusiastically saluted the man behind the order. Also on the committee: Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who called the order too broad and cautioned that it could help terrorist recruiters. Sasse didnt speak at Tuesdays meeting. Its commendable that many Republicans have spoken out against Trumps travel ban. But the disconnect between what they say and what they do was particularly pronounced Tuesday morning. (Adriana Usero,Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post) As The Posts Philip Rucker and Robert Costa reported, Sessions has been the intellectual godfather of Trumps policies, including the travel restrictions. Key Trump aides Stephen Miller, Rick Dearborn and Stephen K. Bannon have strong ties to Sessions, and Bannon called Sessions the clearinghouse for policy. Roger Stone, a Trump confidant, described Sessions as Trumps John Mitchell the Nixon attorney general who wound up in prison after an earlier constitutional crisis. Its not much of an exaggeration to describe the current situation as a constitutional crisis except in this instance, those in the legislative branch have quickly surrendered the Article I authorities given them in the Constitution. Theres a strong case that Trumps unilateral action violates federal law, and the cavalier treatment of court orders is worrisome regardless of the outcome. But Senate Republicans have twice blocked attempts by the Democrats to rescind the order swallowing their own misgivings along the way. Back in December 2015, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), asked about Trumps proposed Muslim ban, said, Were not going to follow that suggestion. He called the proposal completely and totally inconsistent with American values. Six months later, he was still arguing that a kind of broad ban is a bad idea. Now Trump is doing just such a ban in the affected countries, a Muslim ban in all but name, and McConnell is punting: Its going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far. Democrats delayed action on three of Trumps nominees Tuesday to protest the executives caprice, but ultimately only the majority GOP can stop Trump. And the Republicans will never have more bargaining power than they have now, with several of Trumps Cabinet nominees unconfirmed. Democrats forced a one-day delay in the vote on Sessions with long-winded speeches on the Judiciary Committee. This is an administration that needed only one week to find itself on the losing side of an argument in federal court, Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said. Never, ever seen anything like that. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) tied the Muslim ban to the internment of U.S. citizens and noncitizens of Japanese descent during World War II, and she praised Republicans such as Sasse, Flake, Graham and Orrin G. Hatch (Utah) for their critical statements. But what about actions? Hatch had previously encouraged Trump to move quickly to tailor its policy . . . as narrowly as possible. But he didnt press the point Tuesday, instead calling Sessionss qualifications unmatched in American history. Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) had cautioned about the need to remain a welcoming nation. But on Tuesday he concentrated on Sessionss integrity. Mike Lee (R-Utah), also on the panel, had previously raised questions about Trumps order. But he had no questions Tuesday. Lee praised Sessionss deep commitment to the notion that laws govern us rather than the will and whim of individual humans. That was the notion, anyway until 10 days ago. Twitter: @Milbank Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. President Trump is capable of many a miracle. On Wednesday, after just 12 days on the job, he raised the dead. Addressing a small group of African American aides and supporters to kick off Black History Month, the new president not only offered pro forma praise for the usual suspects Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr. but also singled out somebody who recently caught his attention. Frederick Douglass, Trump said, is an example of somebody whos done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice. Amazing job, Frederick! Great work! Its unlikely anybody could recognize Douglass today, because he died in 1895. And though Trump may not have noticed it previously, Douglass has long occupied a revered place in American history: escaped slave, iconic abolitionist, world-renowned author and publisher and counselor to presidents. [Trumps senseless war on Mexico] But Trumps awkwardness was not limited to placing Douglass in the present perfect tense. He also declared: During this month, we honor the tremendous history of the African Americans throughout our country throughout the world, if you really think about it, right? Well, if you really think about it, being African American is, by definition, limited to Americans. But no matter. He was on a roll. Trump said hed gotten a real glimpse of African Americans when Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon and lone black person named to Trumps Cabinet, took him to places that I wasnt so familiar with during the campaign. Trumps judgment: Theyre incredible people. The best! It brought to mind Trumps Cinco de Mayo tweet of a taco bowl and the words I love Hispanics! Neither Latinos nor African Americans are loving Trump back in large numbers. The Senate Judiciary Committee marked Black History Month by approving the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be attorney general; Sessions was once rejected for a federal judgeship for perceived racism. 1 of 83 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad See what President Trump has been doing since taking office View Photos The new president is expected to make his mark on an aggressive legislative agenda. Caption The beginning of the presidents term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the media. March 17, 2017 President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron, walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Trumps nascent presidency has also brought about a revival of bogus claims about widespread voting fraud, which has been used as an excuse to restrict voting rights. And Trumps new Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, is already opposed by some civil rights groups who fear a further clampdown on ballot access. Trump earned 8 percent of the black vote in November after a racially charged campaign in which there were sometimes violent clashes with black demonstrators at his events and he appealed to minority voters by saying: What the hell do you have to lose? In fairness, Trump has struggled so far to find the right tone regardless of his audience. When he fired acting attorney general Sally Yates this week for refusing to enforce the travel ban, the presidential statement was a campaign-style jab: Yates betrayed the Department of Justice and is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration. Even Trumps closest aides seem to be having difficulty knowing what their boss will say next. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, spent a chunk of Tuesdays briefing arguing that under no circumstances should Trumps travel ban be called a ban. Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted: Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want . . . Commemorating Black History Month, Trump had a tough act to follow. President Barack Obama delivered passionate remarks to adoring audiences at such events. From our earliest days, black history has been American history, he said last year, recalling the slaves who quarried the stone to build this White House. [Sorry, Trumps refugee order is probably legal] Obama went on at length, then added: Theres a gap there always will be between who we are and the perfect union, that ideal that we see. But what makes us exceptional, what makes us Americans is that we fight wars and pass laws, and we march, and we organize unions, and we stage protests, and that gap gets smaller over time. That gap seems larger now. Trumps Black History Month celebration was a carefully choreographed assembly of black administration officials and Trump supporters. It was billed as a listening session, but the press was brought in only for Trumps talking. He was seated between Carson and Omarosa Manigault, one of his former contestants on The Apprentice and now a White House official. Trump had papers in front of him, but he didnt rely on them. He did what came naturally. He attacked the press. He complained, again, about an erroneous report saying a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed from the Oval Office. Turning to pro-Trump CNN contributor Paris Dennard, he said: I dont watch CNN so I dont get to see you as much as I want to. I dont like watching fake news. But Fox has treated me very nice wherever Fox is, thank you. Amazing work, Fox! But why dont you invite Frederick Douglass on air more often? Twitter: @Milbank Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Mexico braces for a trade war with Washington headline in the Financial Times, Jan. 31 Lets hope not, because a trade war triggered by President Trump would be an act of pure economic aggression, unjustified either by the United States economic and political interests or by Mexicos behavior. It would be the economic equivalent of Russias seizure of Crimea, a raw exercise in bullying. Our interests here are plain. The basic need is to foster a prosperous Mexico that will provide expanding markets for our exports and, at the same time, create jobs and higher incomes that keep Mexicans from migrating to the United States. (Net illegal immigration from Mexico has already halted.) Although a border wall is a legitimate way of curbing illegal immigration, it would be ineffective against a collapsing Mexican economy. It is foolhardy and inconsistent to want Mexico to restrict its trade and weaken its economy, while also insisting that it limit immigration. Thats a formula for social and economic breakdown in Mexico, with potentially adverse side effects for the United States. Still, this seems to be Trumps agenda, which would revise and perhaps discard the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) covering Mexico, Canada and the United States. The main indictment against Mexico seems to be that it ran a $60.7 billion merchandise trade surplus with the United States in 2015. Mexicos surplus supposedly destroyed U.S. jobs. Undeniably, some plants have moved to Mexico. But thats not the whole story. You will note that Mexicos trade surplus involved merchandise exports goods such as cars, computer chips and machinery. What this omits is international services (tourism, financial services, patent royalties and the like). In 2015, the United States ran a $9.6 billion surplus in services with Mexico, according to figures compiled by Lucy Lu of the Peterson Institute. The service surplus with Canada was even larger, $27.4 billion. The surpluses in services reduced the overall U.S. trade deficit with its NAFTA partners to $39.2 billion in 2015, Lu reports. Thats only 6.5 percent of total U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada ($604.2 billion) and 3 percent of total U.S. trade imports and exports with its NAFTA partners ($1.248 trillion). The U.S. economy is roughly $18 trillion in size; these modest trade deficits do not represent a significant drag on American job creation or economic growth. What might represent a drag is a rejection of NAFTA that impedes routine trade flows. At various times, Trump or his advisers have threatened imposing duties or fees of 20 percent to 35 percent on Mexican exports to the United States. These penalties would presumably raise export prices and be passed along to U.S. consumers, who would reduce their purchases of Mexican goods. Another vulnerability is the existence of tightly interwoven supply chains between the United States and Mexico and Canada. Many components especially for vehicles and electronic products crisscross borders repeatedly before emerging as finished goods. A recent report from the Congressional Research Service cited evidence that 40 percent of U.S. imports from Mexico consisted of U.S. value-added content. If the tax or tariff applied only to Mexicos production, its shares would need to be separated. In practice, this could pose problems given the two-way trade common to many industries. In 2015, for example, the United States imported $58 billion worth of computers and electronic products from Mexico, while exporting $43 billion in similar goods to Mexico, according to data from the U.S. International Trade Administration. The whole logic of trade is to export so that you can import. Its true that a huge gap between exports and imports can cause political and economic problems. But that is not the case with NAFTA. The trade imbalances among Canada, Mexico and the United States are relatively modest and manageable. If Trump starts a trade war, all the NAFTA countries will be losers, even if he through his incendiary and distorted rhetoric is a political winner. Read more from Robert Samuelsons archive. Vince Hatt is hoping La Crosse residents will stand shoulder-to-shoulder on Friday. The retired director of the Franciscan Spirituality Center and the chair of the Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network said his organization is one of many sponsoring a rally at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Cameron Park. The rally is in response to President Donald Trump's recent actions on immigration and refugees, and will let community members affirm their commitment to the Muslim and immigrant communities. "The Muslim ban appeals to the worst demons of our broken nature," Hatt said. "Like racism, fear and a me-first attitude." Donald Trump signed an executive order during the weekend banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and putting a halt to the U.S. Refugee Relocation program, which led to chaos and confusion as Muslim passengers were detained at airports or barred from flights. That order caused frustration and fear for many La Crosse and Winona families as they worked to figure out what the new restrictions meant for them and loved ones. Hatt has met with several community members who wanted to do something to respond as well as bring the community together. Out of that conversation grew a grassroots desire to let the community demonstrate its commitment to the immigrants living here. Leaders in the Muslim community will speak and share their stories at the rally, Hatt said. The goal is to show La Crosse residents will stand by their neighbors no matter their religion or country of origin. "This whole thing has riled me up," he said. "I can't stand silent. A lot of people can't stand silent." Joella Striebel, one of the organizers with La Crosse Area Standing up for Racial Justice, said her organization was committed to resisting the executive order. She said her organization seeks to build relationships with the diverse populations that make the community vibrant. "We stand with the Muslim, immigrant and refugee members of our community and are committed to protecting their safety, well-being and rights to practice their religious and cultural beliefs," she said. "We are proud to take part in this event in hopes that these community members will feel seen, heard, valued and celebrated by the La Crosse area." Stephen K. Bannon walks in before a listening session with cybersecurity experts in the Roosevelt Room in the White House on Tuesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) In November 2015, Stephen K. Bannon then the executive chairman of Breitbart News was hosting a satellite radio show. His guest was Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who opposed President Obamas plan to resettle some Syrian refugees in the United States. We need to put a stop on refugees until we can vet, Zinke said. Bannon cut him off. Why even let em in? he asked. Bannon said that vetting refugees from Muslim-majority countries would cost money and time. Cant that money be used in the United States? he said. Should we just take a pause and a hiatus for a number of years on any influx from that area of the world? In the years before Bannon grabbed the worlds attention as President Trumps chief White House strategist, he was developing and articulating a fiery populist vision for remaking the United States and its role in the world. Bannons past statements, aired primarily on Breitbart and other conservative platforms, serve as a road map for the controversial agenda that has roiled Washington and shaken the global order during Trumps first two weeks in office. Now, at the center of power in the White House, Bannon is moving quickly to turn his ideas into policy, helping direct the biggest decisions of Trumps administration. The withdrawal from a major trade pact. A ban on all visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries. And in an echo of that conversation with Zinke, who is now Trumps nominee for interior secretary there was a temporary ban on all new refugees. The result has been intense fury from Democrats, discomfort among many Republicans, and a growing sense of unease in the world that Trump intends to undermine an America-centered world that has lasted 70 years. This sense of turmoil, welcomed by many Trump supporters as proof that the new president is following through on his vow to jolt Washington, reflects the sort of transformation that Bannon has long called for. That worldview, which Bannon laid out in interviews and speeches over the past several years, hinges largely on Bannons belief in American sovereignty. Bannon said that countries should protect their citizens and their essence by reducing immigration, legal and illegal, and pulling back from multinational agreements. At the same time, Bannon was concerned that the United States and the Judeo-Christian West were in a war against an expansionist Islamic ideology but that they were losing the war by not recognizing what it was. Bannon said this fight was so important, it was worth overlooking differences and rivalries with countries like Russia. It is not yet clear how far Bannon will be able to go to enact his agenda. His early policy moves have been marred by administrative chaos. But his worldview calls for bigger changes than those already made. In the past, Bannon had wondered aloud whether the country was ready to follow his lead. Now, he will find out. Is that grit still there, that tenacity, that weve seen on the battlefields . . . fighting for something greater than themselves? Bannon said in another radio interview last May, before he joined the Trump campaign. That, said Bannon, is one of the biggest open questions in this country. Bannon, 62, is a former Navy officer and Goldman Sachs banker who made a fortune after he acquired a share of the royalties from a fledgling TV show called Seinfeld. In the past 15 years, he shifted into entertainment and conservative media, making films about Ronald Reagan and Sarah Palin and then taking a lead role at Breitbart News. At Breitbart, Bannon cemented his role as a voice for the alt-right, the far-right movement that has attracted white supremacists and has found a home on the website. Bannon also forged a rapport with Trump, interviewing the businessman-candidate on his show and then, in August 2016, joining the campaign as chief executive. Now, Bannon has become one of the most powerful men in America. And hes not afraid to say so. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) In interviews with reporters since Trumps election, Bannon has eschewed the traditional its-all-about-the-boss humility of presidential staffers. Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. Thats power, he told the Hollywood Reporter in November, embracing the comparisons of him to those figures. In the same interview, Bannon compared himself to a powerful aide to Englands Henry VIII an aide who helped engineer a world-shaking move of his era, the split of the Church of England from the Catholic Church. I am Thomas Cromwell in the court of the Tudors, Bannon told the Hollywood Reporter. To explore Bannons worldview, The Washington Post reviewed hours of radio interviews that Bannon conducted while hosting a Breitbart radio talk show, as well as speeches and interviews he has given since 2014. Bannon did not respond to a request for comment made on Tuesday afternoon. In his public statements, Bannon espoused a basic idea that Trump would later seize as the centerpiece of his campaign. While others saw the world rebounding from the financial crisis of 2008, Bannon just saw it becoming more divided by class. The elites that had caused the crisis or, at least, failed to stop it were now rising higher. Everyone else was being left behind. The middle class, the working men and women in the world . . . are just tired of being dictated to by what we call the party of Davos, Bannon said in a 2014 speech to a conference at the Vatican in a recording obtained by BuzzFeed. Davos is a Swiss ski resort that hosts an annual conclave of wealthy and powerful people. Bannon blamed both major political parties for this system and set out to force his ideas on an unwilling Republican leadership. What he wanted, he said again and again, was sovereignty. Both in the United States and in its traditional allies in Western Europe. On one of the first Breitbart Radio shows, in early November 2015, Bannon praised the growing movement in Britain to exit the European Union. He said that the British had joined the E.U. merely as a trading federation but that it had grown into a force that had stripped Britons of sovereignty in every aspect important to their own life. Bannon has been supportive of similar movements in other European countries to pull out of the union. Trump has echoed those sentiments in his first few days as president. It is a remarkable shift in U.S. policy: After decades of building multinational alliances as a guarantee of peace, now the White House has indicated it may undermine them. Bannon, in his 2014 speech at the Vatican, cast this as a return to a better past. I think strong countries and strong nationalist movements in countries make strong neighbors, Bannon said. And that is really the building blocks that built Western Europe and the United States, and I think its what can see us forward. In the case of the United States, Bannon was skeptical of multinational trade pacts, saying that they ceded control. In a radio interview in November 2015, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) agreed with Bannon. We shouldnt be tying ourselves down like Gulliver in the land of Lilliputians with so many strings a guy cant move, said Sessions, who is now Trumps nominee to become attorney general. He was referring to a scene from the novel Gullivers Travels in which the hero is tied down by a race of tiny men. That is where we are heading, and its not necessary. One solution put forward by Bannon: the United States should pursue bilateral trade agreements one country at a time rather than multi-country agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership supported by Obama. He suggested as much to Trump himself, when the candidate appeared on his show in November 2015. Trump brings [a deal] back to the Senate and gets his bilateral trade deal with Taiwan or with Japan approved by two-thirds of the Senate, Bannon said. And you have to go argue, Hey, this is why its a good deal. And thats the way the Founders wanted it. On a March 2016 episode, Bannon said that restoring sovereignty meant reducing immigration. In his radio shows, he criticized the federal H-1B visa programs that permit U.S. companies to fill technical positions with workers from overseas. The progressive plutocrats in Silicon Valley, Bannon said, want unlimited ability to go around the world and bring people back to the United States. Engineering schools, Bannon said, are all full of people from South Asia, and East Asia. . . . Theyve come in here to take these jobs. Meanwhile, Bannon said, American students cant get engineering degrees; they cant get into these graduate schools because they are all foreign students. When they come out, they cant get a job. Dont we have a problem with legal immigration? asked Bannon repeatedly. Twenty percent of this country is immigrants. Is that not the beating heart of this problem? he said, meaning the problem of native-born Americans being unable to find jobs and rising wages. In another show, Bannon had complained to Trump that so many Silicon Valley chief executives were South Asian or Asian. This was a rare time when Trump normally receptive to Bannons ideas on-air pushed back. I still want people to come in, Trump said. But I want them to go through the process. So far, Trump has made no changes to the high-skilled visa program. This week, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that the Trump administration may reexamine the program. Even as Bannon was calling for a general retreat from multinational alliances, however, he was warning of the need for a new alliance involving only a subset of the worlds countries. The Judeo-Christian West was at war, he said, but didnt seem to understand it yet. There is a major war brewing, a war thats already global, Bannon said at the Vatican in 2014, at a time when the Islamic State was gaining territory. Every day that we refuse to look at this as what it is and the scale of it, and really the viciousness of it will be a day where you will rue that we didnt act. Bannon has given few details about the mechanics of the war he thinks the West should fight. But he has been clear that it is urgent enough to take priority over other rivalries and worries. In his talk at the Vatican, Bannon was asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bannons answer was two-sided. I think that Putin and his cronies are really a kleptocracy, that are really an imperialist power that want to expand, he said. But, Bannon said, there were bigger concerns than Russia and there was something to admire in Putins call for more traditional values. However, I really believe that in this current environment, where youre facing a potential new caliphate that is very aggressive that is really a situation Im not saying we can put [Russia] on a back burner but I think we have to deal with first things first, Bannon said. If Bannon succeeds, Bannons own comparison, to Englands Thomas Cromwell, might be apt to a point. The analogy if its going to work is that Bannon has his own agenda, which he will try to use Trump for, and will try to exploit the power that Trump has given him, without his master always noticing, said Diarmaid MacCulloch, a professor of history at Englands Oxford University. But Cromwell was later executed, after Henry VIII turned against him. For a man like that, MacCulloch said, power is always tenuous: Its very much dependent on the favor of the king. Read more: Questions multiply over Bannons role in Trump administration How Bannon flattered and coaxed Trump on policies key to the alt-right Trump agrees with Bannons assessment that the media is the opposition party Neil Gorsuch, currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver, would be the youngest Supreme Court justice since Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed in 1991. He is a proponent of originalism--meaning that judges should attempt to interpret the words of the Constitution as they were understood at the time they were written--and a textualist who considers only the words of the law being reviewed, not legislators intent or the consequences of the decision. Here are some of his key decisions: Hobby Lobby Stores v. Sebelius and Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell Both cases had to do with the Obamacare mandate that employee insurance coverage provide all approved contraceptives. Gorsuchs rulings seemed instructive; he noted that would require the objecting businesses to underwrite payments for drugs or devices that can have the effect of destroying a fertilized human egg. Gorsuchs opinions favoring the owners of Hobby Lobby craft stores and nonprofit religious group called Little Sisters of the Poor took the same sort of broad reading of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as the Supreme Courts conservative majority. In Gorsuchs words, the law doesnt just apply to protect popular religious beliefs: it does perhaps its most important work in protecting unpopular religious beliefs, vindicating this nations long-held aspiration to serve as a refuge of religious tolerance. Gutierrez-Brizuela v. Lynch In this case, Gorsuch called for reconsideration of a long-standing Supreme Court decision that is little known to the public but vitally important to the functioning of the federal government. So-called Chevron deference means that courts should grant wide leeway to executive branch agencies when they reasonably interpret acts of Congress that are ambiguous. Some conservatives have said that gives too much power to the executive branch. Liberals are alarmed that would be a way for courts to routinely rule against the party in power. In this immigration case, Gorsuch said the deference has gone too far. It allows executive bureaucracies to swallow huge amounts of core judicial and legislative power and concentrate federal power in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution of the framers design, Gorsuch wrote. Maybe the time has come to face the behemoth. Read the decisions and two speeches here. President Trump has chosen his first nominee, but it remains Justice Anthony M. Kennedys Supreme Court. The question is how much longer he wants it. Kennedy, 80 and celebrating his 29th year on the court this month, will remain the pivotal member of the court no matter how the warfare between Republicans and Democrats plays out. On almost every big social issue, neither the courts liberal, Democratic-appointed justices nor Kennedys fellow Republican-appointed conservative colleagues can prevail without him. [For conservatives, a year of letdown at the Supreme Court] That is why an undercurrent of Trumps first choice for the court was whether it would soothe Kennedy, making him feel secure enough to retire and let this president choose the person who would succeed him. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) Justice Kennedy tries not to play politics with these things, said one of Kennedys former clerks, who watches the court carefully. Like others, he would not talk for attribution about his old boss. But obviously he will feel more comfortable if the person who is picked is someone he likes and respects, just as the opposite would give him pause. Who better, then, to put Kennedy at ease than one of his former clerks? Kennedy trekked to Denver to swear in his protege Neil Gorsuch on the appeals court 10 years ago. If Gorsuch is confirmed to the Supreme Court, it would be the first time that a justice has served with a former clerk. Gorsuch on Tuesday evening praised the incredibly welcoming and gracious Kennedy, along with his other judicial mentors, the late justice Byron White and Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. These judges brought me up in the law, he said. Truly I would not be here without them. Trump campaigned for office expertly on the Supreme Court, which is especially important to conservatives and evangelicals. He went so far as to say that even if voters did not like him, they had no choice but to support him because of the potential to shape the court for a generation. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83, and Justice Stephen G. Breyer is 78. They are two of the courts four liberals and are not likely to leave the court voluntarily while Trump is in charge. Some say Kennedy would be reluctant to leave, too, if it meant a more conservative court that would reverse some of his landmark decisions, especially on gay rights. But others who know him suggest he is ready to go. I would put it at 50-50 that he leaves at the end of the term, said another former clerk. Kennedy recently hired clerks for the term that begins in October, but that is seen more as insurance than intent. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) The gentlemanly Kennedy could not be more different from the combative Trump, and so some involved in filling the current Supreme Court opening kept the justice in mind during the process. Pleasing Kennedy is wise but not dispositive, as lawyers at the court like to say. I suppose hes more focused on the Trump administration as a whole, said another former clerk. I think that will be more important to him than whether he likes this particular pick or not. All agree that it will not be Trumps first Supreme Court pick who will seal the courts ideological direction for a generation. It will be, if it happens, his second. Gorsuch, like almost anyone on Trumps list of 21 candidates to take Antonin Scalias spot, is likely to replicate the late justices voting pattern (if not his style). That would restore the courts long-held position as a generally conservative body capable of the occasional liberal surprise. Those surprises are almost always supplied by Kennedy, nominated to the court by fellow Californian Ronald Reagan. Overall, Kennedy most often votes with the courts conservatives: He is further to the right on law-and-order issues than Scalia was, he is comfortable with the courts protective view of business, and he shared the losing view that the entire Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. But when the court moves left, it is because Kennedy joins its liberals Ginsburg, Breyer, and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. So Gorsuchs appointment would return the court to the status quo that existed before Scalia died. After that, the courts next appointment could mean a definitive shift. The Supreme Court without Breyer, Ginsburg or Kennedy would be a different place, indeed. They have been part of the scant majority that forbade the death penalty for minors and the intellectually disabled, and established a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry. When environmentalists win, which is becoming increasingly rare, it is because this group has banded together. Just last term, Kennedy and the liberals struck down a Texas law that they said used protecting women as a pretext for making abortion unavailable, and they continued a limited endorsement of affirmative action. Many if not all of those holdings would be at risk in a court with five consistent conservatives, the oldest being 68-year-old Justice Clarence Thomas. Kennedys role was especially important this past term. Before writing his opinion in the University of Texas affirmative- action case, Kennedy had never approved of a race-conscious program, although he had not been as willing as his colleagues to outlaw the use of race in such instances. And prior to striking down the Texas abortion law, he had disapproved of only one statute on the issue requiring a woman to inform her husband of her decision to have the procedure among dozens the court had reviewed. As had happened so many times before, Kennedy had the biggest impact on the most important cases. How long that continues is bigger than the current opening. Russian President Vladimir Putin with Michael Flynn, center left, during an exhibition in Moscow celebrating the RT television network on Dec. 10, 2015. (Poll photo by Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik via AP) The ranking Democrats on six House congressional committees asked the Pentagon on Wednesday for information about President Trumps national security adviser, suggesting that he may have violated a constitutional restriction by accepting a fee for speaking at a 2015 Moscow event. [He was one of the most respected intel officers of his generation. Now hes leading Lock her up chants.] Michael Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the event, a celebration for the Kremlin-controlled RT television network. The lawmakers suggest that the fee he received may have violated the Constitutions emoluments clause, which prohibits top officials from receiving payments from foreign governments. [What is the emoluments clause? Does it apply to President Trump?] National security adviser Michael Flynn, center, listens to President Trump during a session with cybersecurity experts in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Jan. 31. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) It is extremely concerning that [Flynn] chose to accept payment for appearing at a gala hosted by the propaganda arm of the Russian government, which attacked the United States in an effort to undermine our election, the members wrote in the letter sent Wednesday. The letter, signed by the ranking Democrats on the House Intelligence, Oversight, Armed Services, Judiciary, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees, requested any information the Pentagon had about how much [Flynn] was paid for his dinner with Vladimir Putin, whether he received additional payments from Russian or other foreign sources, or whether he sought the approval of the Department of Defense or Congress to accept these payments. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said during a news briefing Wednesday that Flynn, like countless, if not hundreds, of retired flag officers joined a speakers bureau and have given speeches at various places. I think that is something that is kept in practice. Defense Department officials did not respond to requests for comment on the congressional letter. A former White House ethics counsel, Norman Eisen, said the questions are troubling and important. Concern about the alleged ties between the Trump administration and Russia, and its effect on our national security, is precisely the kind of worry that led the founders to include this prohibition in the Constitution, said Eisen, who served as ethics adviser to President Barack Obama and who has emerged as a sharp critic of Trump administration ethics policy. He filed a lawsuit with others accusing Trump of violating the emoluments clause. In the past, the Pentagon has advised retiring officers that because they can be recalled to military service, they may be subject to the Constitutions emoluments clause. If Lieutenant General Flynn is subject to recall [by the Defense Department] and accepted foreign government funds without congressional consent, then that is a foreign emolument and so a violation of the Constitution, Eisen said, adding, Nor would it be a merely technical one. The Defense Department has warned retired officers against accepting indirect payments, including from pass-through companies in the United States, in retirement, the congressional letter said. [Fear of Muslims is rational: What Michael Flynn has said online] Flynn has been among the more controversial of Trumps appointees not only for his trip to Russia but also because he has made inflammatory statements in previously published tweets. In November, for example, he tweeted, Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL: please forward this to others: the truth fears no questions. He was removed from his command of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 because of concerns over his leadership style. While he was working for the Trump campaign, his firm was also paid as a lobbyist for a consultancy founded by a Turkish businessman. Whether he received permission to receive the Russia payment from Congress or the Defense Department may be important, the representatives wrote, because the Constitution prohibits any person holding any Office of Profit or Trust from accepting gifts or payments from any foreign country. The Defense Department has made clear this restriction applies to retired military officers, who continue to hold offices of trust. The letter, signed by Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and others, quotes Defense Department instructions to retired officers that says that permission is required. Significantly, retired regular military officers are also subject to the Emoluments Clause because they are subject to recall, and, therefore, hold an Office of Profit or Trust under the Emoluments Clause, the letter notes. Greg Miller and Alice Crites contributed to this report. Senate and House Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), center, gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol last week to protest President Trumps executive order banning people traveling to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post) The early days of Donald Trumps presidency have been marked by an aggressive and unapologetic effort to banish dissent. Less than two weeks in, there are a growing number of examples of a give-no-quarter approach: Trumps blistering language in firing the acting attorney general who refused to defend his controversial immigration order; his press secretarys declaration that career diplomats either get with the program or they can go; his chief strategists labeling of news media as an opposition party that should keep its mouth shut. The pattern and particularly efforts to shut down discordant voices within the government is raising alarms. The whole thing is scary, said David Boaz, executive vice president of the libertarian Cato Institute. They have no appreciation for the Constitution, much less the unwritten norms of liberal democracy. To some degree, the posture reflects the management philosophy of Trump, who once described effective leadership as being a one-man army. . . . You must plan and execute your plan alone. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said U.S. diplomats who signed a dissent letter to President Trumps entry ban should consider resigning. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) White House press secretary Sean Spicer, however, said that is precisely what Trump was elected to do. The president was very clear during the campaign, whether its economic security or national security, that he has an agenda that he articulated very, very clearly to the American people, Spicer said during a press briefing Tuesday, adding that the job of top administration officials is to fulfill that, and if they dont like it, then they shouldnt take the job. [Resistance from within: Federal workers push back against Trump] The same view holds true for career government employees, whom many in Trumps circle see as potential impediments to his efforts. What you have is a government filled with left-wingers who are deeply opposed to Trump, who froth at the mouth, said former House speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal adviser to the president. This will be a real fight, because Trump is different. He was elected to be different, and if they dont want to be different, and if they dont want to serve in government with someone who is different, they should quit. If there is to be a fight, the other side is preparing as well. Faiz Shakir, national political director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group plans to dedicate significant new resources including much of the more than $24 million in online donations that poured in over the weekend after Trumps immigration order to protecting dissenters and whistleblowers. Hopefully people know that, so they can reach out to us, Shakir said. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) Recent decades have seen a raft of reforms designed to encourage freer and more open airing of nonconformist views. Many were implemented as an antidote to the kind of tunnel vision that led the nation into the Vietnam War or as a reaction to the abuses of executive power by President Richard M. Nixons administration. The State Department, for instance, established the dissent channel upon which officials have been airing their disagreement with Trumps executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. A memo signed by hundreds of diplomats argues that the order stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold. When the memo became public on Monday, Spicer said that those who signed it should consider resigning from their posts. [Canadian scientists were followed, threatened and censored. They warn Trump could do the same.] More decisive was the administrations response to acting attorney general Sally Q. Yates, an Obama administration holdover, after she questioned whether Trumps immigration order was wise or just and told Justice Department attorneys not to defend it against court challenges. In announcing Yatess firing, the White House issued a statement notable for its scathing language. It called her weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration and accused her of having betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States. People have a right to express their mind, but I think theres a difference between expressing dissent and concern and not implementing a lawful order as the acting attorney general did the other night, Spicer said Wednesday. Gary J. Schmitt, a former official in the Reagan administration who is a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, argued on the think tanks blog that Yates overstepped in her refusal to implement an order that Justices Office of Legal Counsel had deemed to be legal and properly drafted. But he also faulted the administration for issuing the order without consultation. One begins to wonder if there is anyone in the White House who has actually spent anytime reading Article II of the Constitution, outlining the presidents powers and duties, and thought through what it means for the president to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, Schmitt wrote. Conjuring up an executive order of this significance without seeking [as apparently was the case] the advice of any of the Cabinet members and departments they represent Homeland Security, Defense or State and whose job it would be to implement and deal with its manifestly complex implications is irresponsible behavior on the part of the chief executive. [Spicer: Diplomats opposed to immigration ban should either get with the program or they can go] Meanwhile, top White House officials have also begun escalating their ongoing war with the media challenging not only the coverage they have received, but calling for it to be stifled and reporters to be fired. The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while, chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon said in an interview last week with the New York Times. In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway said television networks should be cleaning house of these people who said things that just werent true. Not one network person has been let go. Not one silly political analyst and pundit who talked smack all day long about Donald Trump has been let go, Conway said. Im too polite to mention their names, but they know who they are, and they are all wondering who will be the first to go. The election was three months ago. None of them have been let go. Trump and his aides are far from the first presidential administration to fume about what they perceive as unfair media coverage. However, most of them learn to bite their tongue. They rant about it in private. This guy and the people around him dont seem to feel the need to stifle what they think, said Catos Boaz. Trump doesnt seem to have an impulse against projecting an image of authoritarianism, which is new, added Michael Macleod-Ball, chief of staff for the ACLUs Washington legislative office. He seems to want to appear to be authoritarian. John Wagner contributed to this report. The signs of popular dissent from President Trumps opening volley of actions have been plain to see on the nations streets, at airports in the aftermath of his refugee and visa ban, and in the blizzard of outrage on social media. But theres another level of resistance to the new president that is less visible and potentially more troublesome to the administration: a growing wave of opposition from the federal workers charged with implementing any new presidents agenda. Less than two weeks into Trumps administration, federal workers are in regular consultation with recently departed Obama-era political appointees about what they can do to push back against the new presidents initiatives. Some federal employees have set up social media accounts to anonymously leak word of changes that Trump appointees are trying to make. And a few government workers are pushing back more openly, incurring the wrath of a White House that, as press secretary Sean Spicer said this week about dissenters at the State Department, sends a clear message that they should either get with the program, or they can go. [From order to disorder: How Trumps immigration directive exposed GOP rifts] At a church in Columbia Heights last weekend, dozens of federal workers attended a support group for civil servants seeking a forum to discuss their opposition to the Trump administration. And 180 federal employees have signed up for a workshop next weekend, where experts will offer advice on workers rights and how they can express civil disobedience. Then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates at the Justice Department on May 15, 2015. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post) At the Justice Department, an employee in the division that administers grants to nonprofits fighting domestic violence and researching sex crimes said the office has been planning to slow its work and to file complaints with the inspector generals office if asked to shift grants away from their mission. Youre going to see the bureaucrats using time to their advantage, said the employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Through leaks to news organizations and internal complaints, he said, people here will resist and push back against orders they find unconscionable. The resistance is so early, so widespread and so deeply felt that it has officials worrying about paralysis and overt refusals by workers to do their jobs. Asked whether federal workers are dissenting in ways that go beyond previous party changes in the White House, Tom Malinowski, who was President Barack Obamas assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said, sarcastically: Is it unusual? . . . Theres nothing unusual about the entire national security bureaucracy of the United States feeling like their commander in chief is a threat to U.S. national security. That happens all the time. Its totally usual. Nothing to worry about. The permanent bureaucracy, the backbone of the federal government and the bulwark against many presidents activist intentions, is designed to be at least a step removed from the crosswinds of partisan politics. But for years, many conservatives have argued that the federal bureaucracy is stacked against them, making it harder for them to get things done even when they control the White House, Congress or both. [What exactly can Trump do? Find out on The Posts new podcast.] 1 of 83 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad See photos of White House senior staff being sworn-in at the White House View Photos President Donld Trump staff members, including advisor Kellyanne Conway and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, are sworn-in in the East Room. Caption The beginning of the presidents term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the media. March 17, 2017 President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron, walk to Marine One at the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), a Trump adviser and longtime critic of the bureaucracy, said the pushback against the new administration reveals how firmly entrenched liberals are and how threatened they feel by the new regime. He cited an analysis by the Hill newspaper that showed that 95 percent of campaign donations from employees at 14 federal agencies went to Hillary Clinton last fall. This is essentially the opposition in waiting, Gingrich said. He may have to clean out the Justice Department because there are so many left-wingers there. State is even worse. Gingrich said Trump might push for civil service revisions to make it easier to fire federal workers. He predicted that the public would back the president over federal employees. The signs of resistance in federal offices range from low-level grumbling and angry opposition posted online to anonymous promises of outright insubordination as new policies develop. The State Department has emerged as the nexus of opposition to Trumps refugee policy, in part because it has an official dissent channel where Foreign Service employees can register opposition without fear of reprisals. The channel, formed in 1971, has been used to raise policy objections to the Vietnam War and other conflicts. Several hundred employees signed the dissent cable objecting to Trumps refugee policy. Secretaries of state have taken the dissent channel so seriously that they have altered policies in response to complaints. In 2002, then-Secretary Colin Powell presided over the awarding of a prize for constructive dissent to an employee who had pushed back against a deputy secretary. But State Department employees are nervous enough now that the American Foreign Service Association on Tuesday sent out an advisory called What You Need To Know When You Disagree With U.S. Policy. The note spelled out employees legal protections but warned that walking out in protest of a U.S. government policy, even just temporarily, would be considered a strike and can result in being fired. Other agencies that lack that kind of tradition are in more turmoil. When the White House last week ordered an end to all advertising and other outreach activities encouraging Americans to sign up for health plans through Affordable Care Act marketplaces, employees at the Health and Human Services Department protested, pointing out that the ban on ads and robo-calls would probably result in less coverage of the most desirable customers young and healthy adults whose scant use of medical care can help lower prices for everyone else. The internal protest, combined with an outcry on social media and from the insurance industry, prompted the Trump administration to revise its directive in less than 24 hours. Leaders of government workers unions and other associations say their members will do their jobs professionally and energetically, even if they disagree with the presidents politics or methods. There is no evidence we are seeing of a widespread federal bureaucracy revolt, said Bill Valdez, president of the Senior Executives Association, a nonprofit that advocates for career federal managers. He said many managers are telling workers, Dont get involved in the drama happening elsewhere. The new administrations talk of swift changes in the role and scope of some departments has frustrated many workers, said Randy L. Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, but although federal workers are now extremely concerned . . . federal workers are used to seeing the political winds change direction. Workers at some agencies say they have seen no sign of opposition. At the Education Department, which Trump at one point suggested be dismantled, one official said the new administration has been surprisingly agreeable: no major changes in policy, no troubling directives. Weve been, I think, heartened by how things are going here, the official said. But the level of worry is particularly high at places such as the Environmental Protection Agency. The head of that agencys union got an email Tuesday from a local union leader asking for guidance on what to tell workers to do if they receive an illegal order from management. [ Canadian scientists were followed, threatened and censored. They warn that Trump could do the same. ] The union representing scientists and other EPA employees is exploring the formation of a fundraising arm to defend federal scientists we anticipate will be disciplined for speaking out or for defending scientific facts, particularly about climate change, said Nicole Cantello, vice president of Local 704 of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents EPA workers in the Chicago area. John OGrady, a career EPA employee who heads a national council of EPA unions, said Trumps firing of acting attorney general Sally Yates on Monday night after the Obama-era holdover had refused to implement Trumps refugees ban sends kind of a chilling effect through the agency. Im afraid at this point that many federal employees are just fearful for their jobs, and they want to keep their heads down. Two Twitter feeds, @altUSEPA and @ActualEPAFacts, have attracted more than 200,000 followers and call themselves part of the Resistance. They appear to be run by outside activists, rather than agency employees. Top EPA officials have tried to reassure anxious employees. In an email to employees, Don Benton a top Trump adviser to the EPA insisted that media reports of crackdowns on public speech and scientific autonomy were just not accurate. . . . Changes will likely come, and when they do, we will work together to implement them. In any administration, one mans principled resistance is anothers outrageous defiance. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trumps nominee for attorney general, said in 2015 that it is the obligation of a federal worker to stand up against improper orders. In a confirmation hearing for Yates, Sessions said: You have to watch out, because people will be asking you do to things you just need to say no about. . . . Like any CEO, with a law firm sometimes the lawyers have to tell the CEO: Mr. CEO, you cant do that. Dont do that. Presidents appoint the heads of agencies and a few officials at the top of each department, but the great majority of those who implement any administrations agenda are civil servants who enjoy legal protections meant to encourage them to blow the whistle on fraud and corruption. Short of formal whistleblowing, workers are finding small ways to express their opposition. At the Justice Department, some career civil servants asked their bosses whether they were allowed to protest their new president by marching or contacting a member of Congress. The answer was yes, if they did so on their own time and in their personal capacity. The day after the November election, the departments ethics office said workers could wear clothing that contained a political message. One lawyer who had worn a Hillary Clinton T-shirt beneath another layer of clothing said that once the advice was issued, I took the layer off. In the past few days, protest accounts have popped up on social media from employees at several agencies. An immunologist who formerly worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created what he called a resistance page,@viralCDC, for CDC employees to post vaccine and public health information that workers believe the Trump administration may seek to remove from public view. There has been no freeze on communications at the CDC, said spokeswoman Kathy Harben. Similarly, a Twitter account protesting Trumps policies has popped up in the Defense Department. Using the handle @Rogue_DoD, a service member has tweeted everything from Defense Department documents warning about the effects of climate change to an opinion piece accusing Trump of insufficient consultation with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Career staff members in at least five departments said they are staying in close contact with Obama administration officials to get advice on how to handle Trump initiatives they consider illegal or improper. Former labor secretary Thomas Perez, who also headed the Justice Departments civil rights division under Obama, said he has not been in contact with his former employees but is working to mobilize grass-roots opposition. Were mindful of our ethical responsibilities, said Perez, who is running for chair of the Democratic National Committee. Were also mindful that were in an existential crisis. While many federal workers have begun to consider avenues of dissent only since the inauguration, others had been preparing for weeks. In the last days of Obamas tenure, several departments catalogued data and reports and got them into the hands of allies outside the government. The use of social media as outlets for worried government workers has spread through much of the bureaucracy. After Trump complained about the National Park Service using Twitter to compare the crowd sizes at his inauguration with the far larger assembly at Obamas gathering in 2009, a gag order temporarily silenced the official social media account. In response, an ex-employee at Badlands National Park who still had access to its Twitter feed started posting facts about climate change. The rogue tweeter won more than 60,000 followers before park officials regained control of the account. Social media accounts have popped up to defend the Smithsonian Institution and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities. Employees at some Smithsonian units have been reminded that policies prohibit them from using their work devices to post political comments. We dont intend to change the way we do things, said Smithsonian Secretary David J. Skorton. Thats not out of a sense of defiance, its not out of a sense of not wanting to be accountable, its out of a sense of believing in the mission of the Smithsonian, which is to do research and share information with the public. Academics have debated for years whether bureaucracies inevitably grow to a point where they, as political scientist Michael Nelson of Rhodes College put it, ineluctably overpower their political masters. Time and time again, he wrote, major efforts to make administration more responsive to political control have had the opposite effect. It is enough to chasten even the boldest reformer if, like the sorcerers apprentice, his every assault on his tormentors doubles their strength. Emma Brown, Lalita Clozel, Brady Dennis, Karen DeYoung, Darryl Fears, Anne Gearan, Amy Goldstein, Joe Davidson, Dan Lamothe, Peggy McGlone, Carol Morello, Ellen Nakashima and Lena Sun contributed to this report. With Capitol Hill in the background, a massive crowd fills the streets on Jan. 21 during the Womens March on Washington. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post) Days into Donald Trumps presidency, a large number of liberals say they plan to step up their political activity, with Democratic women particularly motivated to take action, according to a new Washington Post poll. The results suggest that the womens marches immediately after Trumps inauguration, which brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators into the nations streets to protest his agenda, could reflect something more than a momentary burst in activism. The poll found that 40 percent of Democratic women say they will become more involved in political causes this year, compared with 25 percent of Americans more broadly and 27 percent of Democratic men. Nearly half of liberal Democrats also say they will become more politically active, as do 43 percent of Democrats younger than 50. Interest in boosting activism is far lower 21 percent among independents and Republicans alike. I have called my senators. I called my congressman. I am sending emails. . . . I just donated $100 to the ACLU, said Iris Dubois, 49, a lawyer and human relations manager in Atlanta, referring to the American Civil Liberties Union. She did not join her local womens march but has nevertheless become more politically engaged particularly in opposing Trumps cabinet picks. [Read the full poll results] For some, the activism has been more subtle. Brenda Tucker, 63, a school bus driver from Yorktown, Va., said she didnt march and hasnt written any letters. But she is speaking up more at church, where many of her fellow congregants back the president. I call them out on their Christianity, Tucker said, noting her dislike of Trump. Everybody should be doing something, like marching, on everything he does. . . . Obviously, the majority of people did not want him. The breadth of activist leanings from the left follows a deeply divisive election in which Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the first female nominee of a major party to vie for the presidency. His treatment of women became an issue for his campaign, particularly after the release of a videotaped conversation in which he boasted about grabbing women's genitals. Overall, female voters preferred Clinton by a 13 percentage-point margin, according to exit polls, with more than 7 in 10 of her female supporters saying a Trump presidency made them feel scared. The new survey results echo what took place after President Barack Obama took office in 2009. Conservative voters, stunned and outraged by the election results, immediately began organizing to remake the Republican Party platform and block Obamas agenda under a loosely affiliated movement called the tea party. The movement was effective, leading two years later to a sweep of state and congressional seats by conservative Republicans. But it remains to be seen whether the surge in liberal activism can coalesce into a similarly powerful force. In the Post poll, majorities say they have heard a lot about the womens marches and that they support the demonstrations representing wider awareness and support than the tea party movement held at the height of its power in 2010. Organizers of the womens marches are certainly trying to parlay the protests into something more sustained. Immediately after the Jan. 21 gatherings, they launched an effort dubbed 10 actions for the first 100 days, which included postcard-writing campaigns to members of Congress. Other liberal activists have launched major phone campaigns to protest Trumps agenda to lawmakers as well as to Trumps resorts and other businesses. A National Education Association campaign yielded more than 1 million emails to senators from people opposing Trumps education secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos. [More than 1 million email sent to senators, urging opposition to DeVos] On Tuesday, march organizers Bob Bland and Tamika Mallory gathered with other activists near the Capitol to call for senators to reject Trumps nominee for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). The womens march on Washington aims to send a message to all levels of government and the current administration that we can stand together in solidarity and expect elected leaders to protect the rights of women, their families and their communities, organizers said in a statement. But some women expressed skepticism that the marches could translate into political change. I like what the women are protesting for, but I am not sure that protesting will really do anything, said Angelica Rodriguez, 22, a college student and in-home health aide in San Antonio. I dont think anyone in office is going to take the womens marches seriously or take their concerns seriously when it comes to passing the laws. Rodriguez said she supported Clinton but did not vote. Now, she expects to feel the pain: She is worried she will lose access to free birth control, which she gets through the Affordable Care Act. Republicans, including Trump, have pledged to repeal the law. Some voters see Trumps actions speaking louder than his words and do not fear the effect on women. Magdalene Rose, 66, a retiree from Phoenix who voted for Clinton, noted that Trump has daughters and appointed a woman, pollster Kellyanne Conway, as his White House counselor. While she has misgivings about the rest of his agenda, thats one of the few things Im not worried about, she said. The survey was conducted Wednesday through Sunday among a random sample of 1,018 adults nationwide reached on cellular and landline phones and carries a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Asked about the recent womens marches, 60 percent say they support or lean toward supporting them while 29 percent oppose them or lean in opposition. One-third say they support the marches strongly, while 13 percent are strongly opposed. The Post poll finds a sharp gap in plans for activism depending on views of the womens marches. Roughly one-third of those who support the marches say they plan to become more politically active, rising to 46 percent among those who support them strongly. By comparison, 13 percent of those who oppose the march plan to increase their political activity, including 18 percent who strongly oppose the demonstrations. Americans are far more divided along partisan lines rather than gender lines toward the womens marches. Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats support the womens marches (87 percent), as do 58 percent of political independents. Republicans hold largely negative views of the marches, though they are not as unified as Democrats: 27 percent support the marches, while 59 percent are opposed. Women and men are about equally positive toward the womens marches, 61 percent and 60 percent in support, respectively, though women are 7 percentage points more likely to express strong support. Within partisan camps, women and men report similar views of the demonstrations. A 57 percent majority say they heard a lot about the womens march protests, suggesting that the single day of demonstrations garnered as much attention as the tea party movement attained through months of organization and protests. Pew Research Center polls in 2010 found the percentage of registered voters who heard a lot about the movement rising from 31 percent in March to a peak of 54 percent in late October, just before congressional elections. Groups gather for the Women's March on Washington on Jan. 21 in Washington. (Amanda Voisard/For The Washington Post) Emily Guskin contributed to this report. MADISON Politicians working there, school children visiting and even sign-carrying protesters were all remembered Tuesday for the parts theyve played in the 100-year life of the Wisconsin state Capitol. Current and former office holders, including four governors and eight speakers of the state Assembly, gathered in the Capitol rotunda at the kick-off event of the yearlong 100th birthday celebration. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson told stories he says have never been heard before, including one about Election Day 27 years ago when he defied his security guard and scaled the top of the Wisconsin statue outside the top of the dome. Gov. Scott Walker recalled his first visit to the Capitol as a fourth grade student on a tour and said he still enjoys hearing the buzz of school groups winding their ways through the hallways. And Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack recounted notable protests at the Capitol over the past century, including women marching for the right to vote and college students opposing the Vietnam War. She did not mention the largest protests in recent years a womens march the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated two weeks ago that attracted up to 100,000 people and rallies just that large in opposition to Walkers union changes six years ago. Walker and Thompson were joined by former governors Scott McCallum and Tony Earl. Dozens of current and past state lawmakers, members of the state Supreme Court, and government employees attended as well. Several speakers took good-natured jabs at state Sen. Fred Risser, 89, who has been serving in the state Legislature since 1956 and has long been a champion of the Capitol. I wont be around in 2117, said Senate President Roger Roth, in reference to what will be the Capitols 200th birthday. I think Fred Risser might be. Thompson, the states longest-serving governor who was in office 14 years, worked closely with Risser in the 1990s and presided over a $150 million renovation of the building. That work restored the Capitol to its original condition and removed, what Thompson called, off white and dirty green paint that covered the walls of the governors office. Its a temple of democracy, Thompson said of the Capitol. Its the center of democracy. Its the peoples house. That line drew cheers from three protesters who attended the ceremony and held signs that said We have the worst government money can buy and 94 years of open govt., 6 years under a dictator. President Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Tuesday as Gorsuch and his wife, Marie Louise, look on. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Judge Neil Gorsuchs nomination to the Supreme Court may hinge on his antagonists ability to turn the confirmation into a referendum on his patron, President Trump. After Trump unveiled Gorsuch in a reality-TV-style announcement Tuesday night, prominent Senate Democrats focused their questions on Trumps executive decisions in his first two weeks in office, giving the nominees 10-plus years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit almost secondary consideration. They highlighted federal courts blocking Trumps order last weekend banning travel for refugees from around the world and for foreign nationals from seven majority-Muslim nations, and they highlighted the new presidents firing Monday of the acting attorney general for refusing to defend the controversial action in the courts. I believe the independence of our judicial system, and especially the Supreme Court, is more critical now than at any time in recent history. That is the context in which I will review this nomination, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in leadership and a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), his partys vice-presidential nominee in the 2016 race against Trump, made a similar point: The actions of the Trump administration over the past week raise the stakes to an even higher level. Its a sign of how vulnerable Democrats hope Trump is as a result of his wobbly start, believing that his historically low approval ratings for a new president make him the richest target to shoot at in their battles against Gorsuch and his Cabinet nominees. After two months of questioning Sen. Jeff Sessionss record on civil rights, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee focused Tuesdays debate on the Alabama Republicans nomination to be attorney general on fears that Sessions is too close to the president to be the nations chief law enforcement officer. Again and again, Democrats read from a Washington Post profile highlighting Sessionss role as the godfather of Trumps ideology and his deep ties to the West Wing. [Trumps hard-line actions have an intellectual godfather: Jeff Sessions] Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a blanket decree that every Cabinet nominee would have to answer questions about the travel ban. This led to an extraordinary breach of decorum in which Schumer joined five other Democrats to vote against Elaine Chaos confirmation as transportation secretary while her husband Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stood a few feet away in the chamber. But the increasing focus on all things Trump also signals that Gorsuch is not going to be easy to defeat. Democrats have signaled that he will need to clear the 60-vote threshold to choke off a filibuster, but anywhere from 10 to 15 Democrats appear open to joining what is certain to be a unified bloc of 52 Republicans. Gorsuch, 49, comes straight from central casting of recent Supreme Court nominees: Harvard Law, Supreme Court clerk, more than 10 years on the appeals circuit. He would be the eighth member of the current Supreme Court to come from one of the 13 circuit courts, and he would be the fifth justice to graduate from Harvard Law; a sixth, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, began at Harvard but finished her law degree at Columbia. Statistically, that gives Gorsuch an edge. For starters, in the past 31 years, 11 appeals judges have been nominated to the Supreme Court; nine have been confirmed, eight of them with relative ease. The two that were not confirmed, both coming from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, had unusual circumstances. Robert Bork, a fiery conservative with a long paper trail, was rejected by the full Senate in 1987, and last year Merrick Garlands nomination after Justice Antonin Scalias death languished as McConnell refused to consider it until the election decided the next president. Since Borks defeat, rising stars on federal courts have taken an anodyne approach to their writings, almost as if they had begun preparing for potential Supreme Court hearings before finishing their third year of law school. This makes them difficult prey in the normally combative confirmation hearings. They make vague assurances to uphold the law and respect precedent but avoid firm commitments on hot-button issues. In his 2005 hearing, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. so frustrated Schumer that he was compelled to observe that, were he to ask the nominee about his favorite movie, Roberts probably would reply, I like movies with good acting. (Roberts broke the room into laughter and sealed his confirmation by interrupting to say, Doctor Zhivago and North by Northwest. ) Trump makes his pick, but its still Anthony Kennedys Supreme Court To be sure, a coalition of liberal groups have flagged several key legal rulings that will be highlighted in Gorsuchs hearings. Abortion rights groups cited his dissents in rulings about Planned Parenthood funding and contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care Act. Others cited rulings siding with corporations over their employees. But the two top Democrats, Schumer and Durbin, are veterans of the past four Supreme Court hearings, and theyre keenly aware how difficult it is to knock elite judges off balance over questions about legal philosophy. So thats why they want to inject Trump into the process. If they can make it all about Trump, they might forge enough unity to block Gorsuch and dare Republicans to change rules to pass him on a party-line vote. So Democrats new and old joined Schumer, who questioned whether Gorsuch can be a strong, independent Justice on the Court. The first week of the Trump administration underscored the need for a strong and independent judiciary that will serve as a check on the executive branch, said Sen. Margaret Wood Hassan (D-N.H.), who was sworn into the Senate last month. In light of the unconstitutional actions of our new President in just his first week, the Senate owes the American people a thorough and unsparing examination of this nomination, said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the most senior Democrat. Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Senate Republicans moved aggressively Wednesday to push through several of President Trumps Cabinet nominees, the latest round in an escalating showdown with Democrats trying to thwart President Trumps administration. Republicans lashed out angrily at Democrats trying to stall the presidents nominees at the committee level, suspending the rules to approve two nominees, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) for secretary of health and human services and Steve Mnuchin to lead the Treasury. Republicans also advanced the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for attorney general, and they finalized confirmation of former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson for secretary of state by a vote of 56 to 43. The day was not without its setbacks for Republicans, however. Two GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine), signaled they do not plan to support the presidents nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos leaving Democrats one vote shy of the number needed to doom her nomination. Both senators cited their uncertainty about whether DeVos, an avid supporter of charter schools and school vouchers, is sufficiently committed to helping public schools. The drama on Capitol Hill unfolded at a time when Democrats, under intense pressure from liberal activists, have become increasingly emboldened to block Trumps agenda and appointees. During a long and arduous hearing, Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), left, and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) listen as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) gives her statement on the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to the Cabinet position of attorney general on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) Democrats were enraged by the administrations executive order issued over the weekend to bar travel to the United States by those from seven majority-Muslim countries. They galvanized around the firing of acting attorney general Sally Yates, who was dismissed for refusing to enforce the ban. And some Democrats were also angered by the presidents nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Tuesday night, arguing that Republicans cannot expect them to swiftly approve the selection after their blockade of then-President Barack Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. Lawmakers began meeting with Gorsuch on Wednesday. Although several moderate Democrats said they remain open to the federal appeals judge, others, including Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), vowed to block him with a filibuster, which Republicans would need 60 votes to overcome. Meanwhile, Trump urged Senate Republican leaders Wednesday to be prepared to tear up the rules of the Senate and go nuclear if Democrats try to block Gorsuch that is, change long-standing Senate rules to permit the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee with a simple majority vote. I would say, If you can, Mitch, go nuclear, Trump said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect. I would say its up to Mitch, but I would say, Go for it. [Two GOP senators announce opposition to DeVos] Several Democrats did side with Republicans to approve Tillerson, including senators from states that Trump won during the election: Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Manchin III (W.Va.). Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) also supported Tillerson. There is little Democrats can do to prevent final confirmation of any of Trumps picks because the GOP needs only 51 votes to approve them in the full Senate and there are 52 Republican senators. With Tillerson, six high-ranking Trump nominees have been approved by the full Senate: Elaine Chao as transportation secretary; retired generals John F. Kelly and Jim Mattis at the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon; Mike Pompeo to lead the CIA; and Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Over in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republicans celebrated Sessionss approval on a party-line vote of 11 to 9, with Democrats present and opposing his nomination. Senator Sessions has devoted his life to public service, and his qualifications cannot be questioned, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said in a statement following the Sessions vote. He has a history of protecting and defending the Constitution and the rule of law for all people. But a committee hearing to approve Trumps pick for the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, was delayed after Democrats failed to show up. So was a hearing to vet Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) to lead the Office of Management and Budget, which was delayed Wednesday, although the delay happened before the panel convened. And on Tuesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the nominations of former Texas governor Rick Perry to be energy secretary and Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) to be interior secretary. Republicans came to the aid of Trumps nominees after Democrats dipped into their procedural arsenal to stall many of them at committee hearings on Monday, echoing growing liberal anger in the streets. Democrats are going to keep fighting back, said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). We are going to stand with people across the country. And we will keep pushing Republicans to put country above party and stand with us. That stance was met with praise from liberal activists, labor unions and constituents. Were seeing someone who came into office with a historic popular vote loss come in and push a radical, unconstitutional agenda, said Kurt Walters, the campaign director of the transparency group Demand Progress. Yes, radical and bold tactics are what senators should be using in response. At Senate Finance on Wednesday morning, Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) rammed through Mnuchin and Price after Democrats did not show up for that hearing. Their nominations head to the Senate floor for an up-or-down vote, although it is unclear when that will occur. Republicans on this committee showed up to do our jobs. Yesterday, rather than accept anything less than their desired outcome, our Democrat colleagues chose to cower in the hallway and hold a press conference, Hatch charged. Incensed by the Democratic boycott, GOP members spent Tuesday exploring how they could quickly approve Price and Mnuchin and punish Democrats for their surprise move. Committee staffers scoured the panels lengthy rule book and discovered it permits the majority party to temporarily suspend the rules and meet without Democrats. Hatch said he consulted the Senate parliamentarian, who serves as a referee on all disputes in committees and on the Senate floor, who said doing so was within bounds. After weeks of back-and-forth about Trumps nominees, the boycott was the last straw, explained Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who pushed staffers to explore their options. The ultimate result was not in doubt. Getting to the ultimate was in doubt, he added. For us, it was going to get done. Why not find a way to do it since they werent going to show up for a committee meeting? To them, slowing down the process just gave them the time to do that and try to make cases against us. Democrats were told Wednesday morning that Finance would reconvene. But they were not given any indication that Hatch would alter the rules, according to a spokesman for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the ranking Democrat on the committee. Democrats complained that Mnuchin misled the committee by initially misstating his personal wealth on a financial disclosure form and misrepresenting under oath how OneWest Bank, which he led, scrutinized mortgage documents. And Wyden pointed to discounted stock buys Price made in a health-care company, first reported by the Wall Street Journal. We felt it was important to say we need this information to do our job, Wyden said Wednesday after Hatch forced the party-line vote. Other Republicans dismissed accusations that the GOP is bending Senate procedure to quickly confirm Trumps picks. I think people expect senators to show up for work and be there. Its unfortunate, said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). Democrats defended their actions as a necessary step to register their frustration after a small group of Republicans refused to allow them to question the nominees once new information came to light. Over at the Environment and Public Works Committee, where Pruitt is being considered, Republicans vented their frustration at the lack of Democrats who came. A GOP aide displayed a chart designed to show how quickly past EPA nominees were confirmed. Notably missing, however, was Obamas second EPA administrator, Gina McCarthy. Nominated in March 2013, McCarthy was not confirmed until July of that year at one point, Republicans on the Environment Committee boycotted a meeting to demand that McCarthy answer more questions. That was not a new president, newly elected, said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), arguing that the GOP boycott differed because it happened during Obamas second term. A newly elected president, I believe, has a right to their Cabinet. Sean Sullivan and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report. Read more at PowerPost President Trump urged Senate Republican leaders Wednesday to be prepared to tear up the rules of the Senate and go nuclear if Democrats try to block his Supreme Court nominee from winning confirmation complicating the beginning of Judge Neil Gorsuchs delicate courtship of the lawmakers who will decide his fate. As Gorsuch began a series of meetings on Capitol Hill, Trump said at the White House that if the gridlock of recent years persists in the Senate, Republicans should move to change the rules of the chamber to permit the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee with a simple majority vote. I would say, If you can, Mitch, go nuclear, Trump said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect. I would say its up to Mitch, but I would say, Go for it. Some Democrats are indeed pushing to block Gorsuch, citing not only Republicans refusal last year to move ahead with then-President Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland, but also their concern about the constitutionality of Trumps travel ban for refugees and foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. But coming on a day when some key Democratic senators from conservative states signaled openness to voting for Gorsuch, Trumps words threw a divisive wrench into efforts to improve bipartisan relations, which have sunk to historically low levels in Congress. His comments echoed previous remarks nudging McConnell to abandon long-standing Senate rules that the Republican leader does not take lightly. (The Washington Post) Republican leaders are hopeful they can secure the eight crossover votes they would need to overcome Democratic resistance without changing Senate rules, which can require a 60-vote majority for Supreme Court confirmations. Many Republican senators sought to distance themselves from Trumps talk about going nuclear. I dont think its going to be necessary, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), McConnells top deputy. Itd be better to let it cool for a while, said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah). Cornyn and Hatch were among the senators Gorsuch met with on his whirlwind first day. The U.S. court of appeals judge arrived on the Senate side of the Capitol accompanied by Vice President Pence and a team of aides including former senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who recently served in the Senate. Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), a centrist Democrat who met with Gorsuch on Wednesday, said the nuclear option is wrong. It diminishes the true balance and effectiveness of the Senate, said Manchin, who remains open to voting for Gorsuch. Other Democrats were more hostile to the nominee. In a speech on the Senate floor, Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused Gorsuch of favoring corporate interests over regular people and injecting a conservative ideology into his legal decisions. I have very serious doubts that Judge Neil Gorsuch is up to the job, said Schumer, who has committed to forcing Gorsuch to clear a 60-vote procedural hurdle before getting to a final up-or-down vote. The White House asked that Gorsuch meet with Schumer, but aides said he declined in order to learn more first about the nominees record. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), a potential swing vote, said he is quite concerned about Gorsuchs views on voting rights and campaign finance laws. It remains unclear whether Senate Democrats will be able to band together to stop Gorsuch. Manchin and a handful of other centrist Democrats are up for reelection in states that Trump won easily. Voting for Trumps Supreme Court nominee could endear them to some of the many Republican voters in their states. Im not counting votes, and I cant give you any insight on that, said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who calls the spot on the court Gorsuch is trying to fill a stolen seat, a reference to Obamas failed Garland nomination. Gorsuchs first call after being nominated was to Garland, out of respect, his spokesman Ron Bonjean said Wednesday. Senate Republicans offered strong praise for Gorsuch, whom they have sought to label as mainstream, in an effort to counter Democratic criticism. This is a judge whos known for deciding cases based on how the law is actually written, not how he wishes it were written, even when it leads to results that conflict with his own political beliefs, McConnell argued in a Senate floor speech. By urging McConnell and his fellow Republicans to go nuclear, Trump was referring to the common name for a game plan to circumvent filibusters. The nuclear option calls for breaking the Senates long-standing tradition of requiring a two-thirds majority to change the chambers rules. The rule requiring a 60-vote majority to approve Gorsuch could be changed with a simple-majority vote and then Republicans would have the votes to approve his nomination. I think it would be a mistake to go to a simple majority, said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), one of the Democrats whom Republicans are targeting to break ranks and support Gorsuch. Im going to bring him in and interview him, Tester said of Gorsuch. Im going to look at his decisions, going to determine whether he understands the Constitution, rural America, womens rights and all that stuff. Ive read a few decisions the one decision on end of life distresses me, but I want to look at more than just that. Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) said he also will study Gorsuchs legal opinions and evaluate his temperament. Unlike Schumer and Merkley, Coons didnt endorse forcing Gorsuch to face a 60-vote threshold for advancement. But he acknowledged that it probably is the bar Gorsuch will have to clear. After his morning meeting with McConnell, Pence walked Gorsuch around the Capitol, stopping in the Rotunda, where he took a picture with high school students who work as Senate pages. Gorsuch, who grew up in Colorado and the District of Columbia , once served as a page, said an adult supervisor of the pages. On his way out of the Rotunda, a group of eighth-grade girls from the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda waved and said congratulations to him. He shook one of their hands and said: Thank you very much. Someday youll be doing this. Gorsuch is expected to hold many more meetings with senators over the next several weeks. He will have to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee in closely watched hearings where Democrats are expected to grill him over his record and his views on a range of hot-button issues. In the meantime, both Republican and Democratic senators seem to agree on at least one thing: No one can predict what the president is going to say or do to suddenly upend the debate over Gorsuch or other pressing matters. You think youre going to tell Mr. Trump hes wrong on something? The bottom line is, hes going to speak up what he believes, Manchin said. Read more at PowerPost How tough is it to get approved for a mortgage? How low can your FICO credit score go before your lender shows you the door? And how much monthly debt can you be shouldering credit cards, student loans, auto payments but still walk away with the mortgage youre seeking? You might be surprised. New data from technology company Ellie Mae, whose loan application and management software is widely used in the mortgage field, reveals that even if youve got what seems to be a deal-killing low FICO score or youre carrying a mountain of debt, you still may have a shot at qualifying for a mortgage to buy the house you want. [More Harney: Republicans may change tax code to make property swaps less attractive] Consider some of these findings from Ellie Maes latest sampling of recently closed loan applications nationwide: Scores on most successful applicants remain well above historical averages, but significant numbers of home buyers are squeaking through with subpar scores. (FICO scores run from 300 to 850, with the upper end of the scale indicating lower risk of default.) Although the vast majority of lenders shy away from or absolutely rule out applications with FICO scores below 620 or 640, applicants with scores that are sometimes 100 points below are being approved and funded. Roughly 5 percent of all Federal Housing Administration-insured loans that closed in December had FICO scores below 600; 3.4 percent had FICOs between 550 and 599, and 1.5 percent scored between 500 and 549. FHA, whose role is to provide a doorway to homeownership for applicants who might have difficulty being approved for conventional loans those eligible for sale to giant investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still pulls in plenty of applicants with solid scores: Thirty-seven percent of approved applicants had FICO scores of 700 to 799 in December. But the majority 56 percent had FICOs between 600 and 699. Meanwhile, even in the more exclusive conventional marketplace, there are big variations in acceptable scores. Thirteen percent of home buyers whose conventional loans closed in December had FICOs ranging from 650 to 699. Debt-to-income ratios have more wiggle room in them than you might assume. Although the typical buyers whose conventional loans were closed in December had back end debt ratios averaging 35 percent, at FHA the average was 42 percent. (The back-end DTI ratio measures a buyers total monthly debt obligations, including payments due on the new mortgage, against the borrowers monthly gross income.) Depending on other factors in the application, conventional lenders generally have flexibility to push the ratio to 45 percent, while FHA lenders can go considerably higher in some cases, even above 50 percent. Thats scary high for most people, but loans like these are getting done routinely. [More Harney: Realty agents average commission for home sales heads down toward 5 percent] Down payments can be much smaller than a lot of buyers sitting on the sidelines might think. The average down payment on Veterans Affairs mortgages in December was just 2 percent and thats higher than VAs bare-minimum requirement, which is zero down. FHAs minimum is 3.5 percent, and the typical approved applicant came close to that, at 4 percent down. The average conventional down payment on home-purchase mortgages was 20 percent, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both offer loans that require just 3 percent down. A few lenders most prominently Quicken Loans have cut that to as little as 1 percent down. So how do buyers with subpar FICOs, skimpy down payments and high DTIs manage to get a mortgage? The key is this: They dont have these negative factors rolled into their applications all at once. If they did, theyd be rejected. If theyve got a weak FICO, they need strong compensating factors to counterbalance the credit-score deficiency. Maybe its a larger down payment than typical, a lower-than-average DTI or higher bank reserves. Maybe youve got a co-borrower with solid financials to ease the lenders concerns. Maybe you are able to afford a slightly higher rate on the loan. Whatever the compensating factors are, you absolutely need them. John Walsh, president of Total Mortgage Services, a Connecticut-based lender active in 44 states, told me, Its all about the total picture, not just one glaring negative. The whole application has to make sense. So if you look terrible in one area of your application, dont give up. If you can bring other strengths to the table, youve got a chance even in a tough lending environment. Ken Harneys email address is kenharney@earthlink.net. A childs plastic sandal and a stack of dirty dishes are frozen fast in a muddy yard. Icicles drip from a torn tarpaulin that serves as a bedroom roof. Families huddle around a charcoal brazier that will die long before the night ends. A chained dog and a flock of mud-caked chickens tremble with cold. This is what life looks like in dozens of human encampments scattered across the Afghan capital this winter all of them precarious perches for tens of thousands of people displaced by conflict in one way or another. Some of the camps have formal names, signs and boundaries; others are invisible and unregulated warrens of mud-walled sheds, wedged among urban alleys or clustered in vacant lots. Some of the occupants have arrived in the past few months; others have been stuck in these temporary settlements for years. Those who have been officially designated as repatriated refugees or internally displaced persons are entitled to one-time cash payments and handouts of certain basic supplies. Others have never registered with any Afghan or international agency, leaving them to survive on their wits, odd jobs and the tenuous charity of destitute neighbors. Nobody comes to help us. We just live day-to-day, said Bai Mahmud, 38, whose family returned from a refugee camp in Pakistan 10 years ago. With no home or property to reclaim after 25 years away, they ended up living with 30 other families in a row of dark, frigid huts, hidden in an alley. None of the children are in school, and many are sick. None of the adults are literate. A few of the men work pulling carts, cleaning streets or making wooden birdcages, but none of them have a steady or skilled job. Three children from a family of former war refugees stand near the tents where they now live in Kabul. (Pam Constable/The Washington Post) We keep thinking we could be forced to leave anytime, but still we are stuck here, said Mahmud, standing in his open doorway as snow fell from the slate-gray sky. [These Afghans fled to Germany for a safer, better life. Now theyve been sent back.] In addition to this long-term, semi-nomadic populace, a massive surge of new returnees and domestic war refugees has descended on the capital, many ending up in similar circumstances. Last year alone, between 600,000 and 700,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan, pressured to leave by authorities there and promised assistance by Afghan officials. Many families arrived in rented cargo trucks heaped with their belongings. At the same time, an estimated 600,000 civilians displaced by fighting between Taliban insurgents and government forces in scattered parts of Afghanistan, especially Kunduz, Nangahar and Helmand provinces, also have sought the relative safety of the capital. When warm weather returns in April, U.N. and Afghan officials said, a surge of new arrivals will begin. We are talking about at least 1.2 million people on the move. They get some blankets and food, pots and pans, tent materials enough for the first few months. But what happens after that? said Dominic Parker, head of office for the U.N. humanitarian coordinating agency in Kabul. Last month, the agency issued an international appeal for $550 million to help an estimated 5.7 million vulnerable and marginalized Afghans in the coming months. U.N. officials said they expect that 9.3 million Afghans, or nearly a third of the countrys population, will need some form of humanitarian or emergency aid this year, a 13 percent increase over 2016. They said the rise reflects an unprecedented number of people fleeing domestic conflict and an unexpected influx of those returning from Pakistan, as well as a greater focus on people in protracted displacement who live in semi-permanent crisis. [Iconic Afghan girl returns home after 31 years, a symbol of her countrys tensions with Pakistan] Many Afghans who fled recent fighting are still in shock at their abrupt change in circumstances and are struggling to adjust to the indignities of camp life. Malalai, a widow of 55 who uses a single name, escaped Taliban-besieged Kunduz three months ago with her two sons and daughter-in-law. The family ended up surrounded by strangers in a colony of half-ruined mud huts. Recently, a freezing rain had turned the compound into shin-deep muck, but Malalais newlywed son Ahmed, 19, was still trying to keep his leather shoes clean. This was our safest haven, but there is nothing here, said Ahmed, who abandoned his plans to study English and has been cleaning a shop for $2 a day. The family patched up their new abode with donated sheets of plastic, and his mother and wife spend most of their time huddled under blankets around a brazier. If Kunduz was secure, we would leave for there in one hour, he said. In other informal settlements, such as a dense maze of mud houses in the impoverished Karte Naw district where many returnees from Pakistan rent tiny pieces of land for about $15 per month, a close-knit community spirit has developed. Families help each other in emergencies, keep an eye on the swarms of camp children and fashion doors from flattened tins of cooking oil to guard their mud-walled enclosures. Last month, one refugee couple in the Kote Sangi district took their infant son to a hospital, coughing and wheezing. He was treated and sent home. His mother said that she put him under a blanket near the coal brazier but that the heat lasted only a few hours. At 9 p.m., the child died. The neighbors, many of them distantly related, collected $150 for a coffin, and the men dug a small grave in a frozen piece of city ground. We dont have much, but we are like a village, said Shirin Naga, 35, a tailor and unofficial spokesman for one encampment. Naga can read and write, and his living room, brightened with colorful hand-sewn drapes, serves as a community parlor. Despite the hardships, he said, it is still better to be back in our homeland, where the police dont bother us and no one can make us leave. The major disappointment for returned Afghans is the governments failure to follow through on its promise to provide each family with a piece of land on which to build a new life. The land-distribution program created by former president Hamid Karzai became bogged down by corruption, disputes over land titles, resistance from local residents and other problems. According to a report by the nonprofit Afghanistan Analysts Network, only about 1,000 parcels have been allocated. [Afghan refugees have settled in Pakistan for decades. Now theyre being ordered to leave.] Last year, President Ashraf Ghani encouraged all refugees to return from Pakistan and renewed vows to help them. But Afghan officials are the first to admit that they are severely limited in their capacity to assist and keep track of the returnees, especially those who never registered in Pakistan. They also did not expect the separate flood of people displaced by conflict to keep pouring into the crowded capital, where there is no public housing and utilities are stretched thin. We are lucky that Pakistan stopped sending people for the winter, said Rohullah Hashimi, an official in the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations. Before, we were getting 6,000 to 7,000 undocumented people arriving every day. Now it is only about 300 to 400. The governments assistance budget for them is only about $165 million, he said. We are trying to do our best. They are not facing catastrophe, but they have many difficulties. And in the spring, it will all start again. Among the U.N. agencies and their local partners who provide the lions share of aid to both returnees and war-displaced Afghans, there is a growing realization that they cannot be arbitrarily distinguished from the long-term returnees who have remained at the desperate margins of the urban economy. Officials at the World Food Program, which provides most emergency food and supplies, said they are expanding their programs to include the earlier arrivals, too. Last month at a half-dozen informal settlements across the capital, residents provided evidence of this extra effort. Tucked in many corners, among the jumbles of damp bedding, battered tin trunks and piles of mud-caked shoes, was a single, carefully protected sack of imported flour a sign that somewhere, in an office whose name they did not know, someone at least knew they existed. Afghans hope and worry that Trump will shake things up In Afghanistan, Trump will inherit a costly stalemate and few solutions Finally, Afghanistan is trying to penetrate and purge high-level corruption Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Britains Parliament, with a statue of Winston Churchill in the foreground, voted Feb. 1 on a plan to leave the European Union. (Andy Rain/European Pressphoto Agency) Britains House of Commons voted decisively Wednesday to authorize Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the start of the countrys exit from the European Union. The outcome of the vote was never in doubt, even as lawmakers spent a second consecutive day arguing the merits of a departure that the bitterly divided country approved in a June referendum. The margin of Wednesday evenings roll call, 498 to 114, gives May a convincing mandate as she prepares to launch divorce talks with the E.U. by the end of next month. Once that is done, Britain will have two years to negotiate the terms of its departure. Wednesdays vote was necessitated by a British Supreme Court ruling last week that Parliament, not the prime minister, should have the final say on whether Britain leaves the E.U. Mays government had vigorously contested that notion, pursuing appeals in a bid to keep the departure, known as Brexit, from becoming entangled in parliamentary debate. Protestors demonstrate against Brexit in Parliament Square in London. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) Her reluctance stemmed from simple arithmetic: Although the British public voted 52 percent to 48 percent to quit the E.U., most members of Parliament had favored staying in. [Should Britain host Trump for a state visit? More than 1 million say no.] Even so, many pro-remain lawmakers calculated that the political cost of blocking Brexit would be high, and they chose to align themselves with the publics will. May had the resounding support of her ruling Conservative Party, which has been divided over Britains E.U. membership for decades. She also won backing from opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party, though a significant number of Labour members bucked their leadership by voting no on Wednesday. Those of us who campaigned for remain know that Brexit is to happen, said Stella Creasy, a lawmaker who was among the Labour rebels. Voting no, she said, was the only chance to send the prime minister back to the drawing board. The Scottish National Party the third-largest in the House of Commons and the Liberal Democrats also lined up against Wednesdays legislation. But they came nowhere near stopping the bill, and amendment proposals intended to influence Mays position in the exit talks also fell short. The bill was written as simply as possible to minimize debate and maximize Mays latitude for negotiation. In a mere two clauses, it gives May permission to trigger Article 50, the never-before-used mechanism for leaving the E.U. [Transcript: Theresa Mays speech on Brexit] The public voted leave because they wanted to leave, said Conservative lawmaker David Warburton, urging his colleagues to back the vote. The bill still needs approval from the upper chamber of Britains Parliament, the House of Lords, but that is considered a formality. Despite the lack of suspense in Wednesdays vote, lawmakers staged a passionate debate over some 16 hours, with more than 150 members weighing in. May has signaled she intends to push for a clean break from the E.U., with Britain leaving behind the common European market for goods and services as well as the customs union that regulates members trade within and outside the bloc. The prime minister has insisted that Britain intends to transform its ties to Europe, not sever them. But European leaders have taken a hard line, saying that Britain will not be able to cherry-pick the best parts of E.U. membership while shunning the responsibilities. May has also annoyed European allies by seeming to cozy up to President Trump. While other European leaders took a cautious approach to a leader seen by many on the continent as erratic and politically toxic, May flew to Washington within a week of Trumps inauguration and proclaimed her desire to strike a trade deal with the new administration. Read more Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Nadya Volkova, 24, is comforted by her mother-in-law, Galina Nikolaevna, as she grieves over the body of her mother, Katya Volkova, 60, who was killed by shelling at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday as she walked to the store in Avdiivka, Ukraine. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) Russian-backed separatists kept up a rocket and artillery attack on this frigid city Wednesday, in a surge in violence that could pose an early and difficult foreign policy challenge to the new Trump administration. A planned evacuation of Avdiivka, organized by the Ukrainian government, found few takers Wednesday. Only 145 residents chose to board buses that would take them away from the fighting; 88 were children. Sporadic shelling of Avdiivka, on the front line between separatists and regular Ukrainian forces, had intensified early this week, shortly after President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had their first phone conversation. The sudden eruption in the long-running conflict in eastern Ukraine threatens to put Trump, who has said he wants better relations with Moscow, on the spot. Analysts say both Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appear to be trying to exploit the intensification of the fighting as a means of influencing the new U.S. administration: Putin could be daring Washington to do something about it; Poroshenko can play up Ukraines image as the aggrieved nation. Small-arms fire and heavier detonations were audible Wednesday throughout the city center. The barrage was indiscriminate; on the outskirts of town, Katya Volkova, 60, was killed by shrapnel from a Grad rocket at 7:30 a.m. as she was out for a walk; her distraught daughter Nadya was kneeling over the body and weeping. Local residents queue to receive food and humanitarian aid in Avdiivka, Ukraine, Feb. 1, 2017. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) At the evacuation point, Ania Bohatysh, a 69-year-old pensioner, waved goodbye to her daughter and 17-month-old grandson. Its much stronger shelling than it was before, so thats why I wanted them to leave, she said. And now we dont even have water or heat. Its simply impossible to sleep anymore because of the shelling. But Bohatysh stayed. Avdiivka is her home, she said, and she would rather die here than try to start life over again elsewhere. Six Ukrainian soldiers have been killed here since Sunday, and 48 have been wounded, while unconfirmed reports indicated that the separatists suffered heavy losses. The number of civilian casualties is not clear. The 20,000 people who remain here, out of a prewar population of 35,000, are without heat and water after heavy shelling took out electricity lines and wreaked havoc on the citys Soviet-era coke plant. It is the largest coke producer in Europe and critical to Ukraines steel industry. The plant is working at 20 percent capacity now, according to plant director Musa Magomedov, who said that the town is on the precipice of a humanitarian disaster if the fighting continues. For the first time since last summer, videos on social media purported to show protracted use of MLRS Grad rockets. The Grad, an imprecise and indiscriminate weapon, was banned under the Minsk II peace agreement, signed nearly two years ago. That agreement also prohibits the use of tanks and heavy artillery. However, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and reports from soldiers, all of these weapons were back in action over the past few days. Alex Kokcharov, an analyst at IHS Janes, said he believes that the escalation could be a show of force by Russia. Tanks are seen in the government-held industrial town of Avdiyivka, Ukraine. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) Russia is willing to use the controlled escalation in Donbas to demonstrate its control of the conflict to the new U.S. administration, Kokcharov said. This is likely to be part of the wider Russian strategy of foreign and military assertiveness. However, the surge also seems to have some political benefit for the administration in Kiev, bringing attention back to a seemingly forgotten conflict. In an unusual step, the bodies of soldiers killed in the latest battles were included in a procession Monday morning in Kiev, on the site of the countrys 2014 revolution. Trumps election sent shock waves across Ukraine because of his stated willingness to cut a deal with Russia that could give Moscow a free hand in the region, spelling disaster for Kiev. The administration in Kiev is adamant that discussions of lifting sanctions are entirely premature. Both sides hope to capitalize on the fighting, said Alexander Clarkson, a lecturer in European studies at Kings College in London. My suspicion is that the Ukrainian army and government are not averse to playing up the impact of Russian shelling and general military activity. Poroshenko can now turn around and point to current developments to argue that any removal of sanctions is betrayal against an aggressor. At the same time, he said, Putins trap is to dare Trump to do anything about attacks in Donbas after Trump has made such a big deal over partnering with Russia. Read more: An outburst of violence in Ukraine may be Trumps first test with Putin Trump says it is very early to discuss lifting sanctions on Russia As Trump seeks warmer ties with Russia, U.S. sends troops to Eastern Europe Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Former U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that he would not run for president of South Korea, a surprise announcement after weeks of laying political groundwork but then watching his plans erode over what he dubbed fake news. His decision leaves South Koreas conservatives without an obvious successor to Park Geun-hye, the beleaguered incumbent, and gives progressives an unexpected boost. Upon his return last month, Ban, a 72-year-old career bureaucrat, quickly found himself being buffeted around in South Koreas famously tumultuous political sphere. He was mocked on the Internet for being out-of-touch with his home society after a decade in New York, and corruption allegations were leveled at members of his family, dimming much of his star power. Ban called the attacks part of a fake news campaign to discredit him and his family. For the past three weeks, I have devoted everything I had, but my genuine patriotism and passion were damaged by rumors and fake news, Ban said Wednesday at a hastily arranged news conference at the National Assembly after meeting with the leaders of three political parties. I, my family and the U.N. have been greatly hurt. . . . I will give up my pure aspiration to achieve a change in politics under my leadership and unify the country. [Ban was hurt by his closeness to Park] Ban joins other former U.N. chiefs who turned their backs on the world of elected politics. Boutros Boutros-Ghali did not heed calls from supporters to run in his native Egypt, and Ghanas Kofi Annan also decided against a bid for president in the West African country and opted to create a humanitarian foundation. Bans approval ratings had been steadily falling since his return to South Korea, and to a heros welcome, in early January. The latest polls showed him running at 13 percent, 20 points behind Moon Jae-in, the progressive front-runner. Moon, a former leader of the Democratic Party who favors engagement with North Korea and is skeptical about an American antimissile battery, said he was he was caught off guard by Bans decision. I was looking forward to a good competition, he told reporters. With Bans announcement, the progressive factions prospects just improved sharply, said Kim Yun-cheol of Kyung Hee University. Now it seems there is a higher possibility of a change in administration in the upcoming election with Ban dropping out of the race, he said. And all of this happened just one day before Jim Mattis, the new U.S. defense secretary, is due to arrive in Seoul, with the deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, at the top of the agenda. The announcement came as a shock to South Koreans because Ban had been going through all the motions of preparing to run. He had been visiting former presidents, kissing babies, bowing at graves and meeting political leaders. It was considered a matter of when, not if, he would announce his candidacy for the presidential election, whenever it is held. Elections were set to be held in December, at the end of Parks five-year term, but she is now facing impeachment over her role in a corruption and influence-peddling scandal. The Constitutional Court is weighing whether to uphold a National Assembly motion to impeach Park, with a decision possible later this month. If Park is impeached, the next presidential election must be held within 60 days of the courts decision. If she is exonerated, the election will be held in December as originally scheduled. Before the corruption scandal revolving around Park broke in October, Bans prospects for winning the presidency appeared good. But he has been hurt by his closeness to Park the two had repeated meetings last year, which were viewed here as a sign that they were hatching a handover plan and by allegations of corruption against those close to him. The United States has indicted Bans younger brother and his nephew on charges of bribery related to the sale of a high-rise building in Vietnam. The nephew has been indicted in New York, and the United States is asking South Korea to extradite the brother. Ban denies any knowledge of such a scheme. Separately, there have been rumors that Ban received bribes while he was foreign minister, which Ban vehemently denies. [South Korean court to begin considering presidents impeachment] But even the whiff of corruption at a time like this was fatal, said Kang Won-taek, a political scientist at Seoul National University. The country has been gripped by the corruption scandal centering on the president and her confidante, but it has also dragged in a slew of business and political leaders. There have been mass protests against the establishment, but Ban belongs to the conservative establishment, so he had inherent difficulties and failed to gain support, Kang said. That Ban had no political experience and no political support base was another handicap, he said. From the beginning, he had trouble adapting to this new environment, Kang said. Indeed, Ban seemed to attribute his decision to the mudslinging political scene. I have found political players very selfish and to be stuck in the past, he said at the news conference. I have come to the conclusion that it is meaningless for me to continue my path with them. A spokesman for the Bareun, or Righteous party, formed out of the presidents conservative party amid the scandal and had been actively trying to recruit Ban, expressed astonishment. Yoonjung Seo in Seoul contributed to this report. Read more: With talk of Ban running for South Korean presidency, his home town is abuzz South Koreas parliament votes to impeach president over corruption scandal Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Waves of police on Wednesday surrounded a Jewish settlement in the West Bank deemed illegal by the Israeli high court and began dragging angry residents, sputtering curses and prayers, out of their mobile homes. After years of delay, the evacuation of the hard-line Amona settlers commenced, as youths in skullcaps burned tires, hurled rocks, and pushed and shoved authorities, alternately taunting police and pleading with them to disobey their orders to empty the community. The days bitter clashes transfixed the nation, as Jews evicted Jews, with the democratic state fighting to uphold the rule of law as religious, messianic settlers claimed the rule of God. The scenes played out live on television and the Internet, as Israeli politicians promised this would not happen again. Even the settlers seemed to know that this may be a last eviction, saying that now President Trump would support them. They were zealous in their resistance, but there was more the feeling they had lost a battle even a skirmish and not a war. Israeli society and its leaders have struggled since the 1970s with the growth of settlements in the occupied territories. The state always protects, often abets but sometimes thwarts the pioneers. Many Israelis withhold full-throated support, in part from fear of angering the Americans, and the rest of the world, which condemn the building as illegal or worse. There is the sense that big changes are coming. 1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Israeli police move to demolish Jewish settlement in West Bank View Photos Security forces removed several families from their homes and arrested a handful of activists. Caption Security forces removed several families from their homes and arrested a few activists. Feb. 1, 2017 Israeli police clash with settlers in the West Bank outpost of Amona. Oded Balilty/AP Wait 1 second to continue. [Israel plans settlement expansion amid policy shifts in Washington] The Israeli Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the village of 40 families in 2014 because it was built on land privately owned by Palestinians from the neighboring villages. Many settlers and their supporters who climbed the rocky hill to defend Amona blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the communitys imminent destruction. As the thousands of police officers carried red-faced settlers and demonstrators from the homes, bulldozers idled down the hill, ready to knock down the cheap metal caravans, as well as playgrounds, vineyards, olive groves and a synagogue. The settlers said the government should have defied the court order or found a solution that would allow Jews to remain on biblical land that they believe was promised to them by God. Settlers also said they hoped Amona would be the last of hundreds of settlements and outposts built in part on private Palestinian land to be evacuated. We will be the last to be dragged from our homes, said Eli Greenberg, 43, a father of eight who was barricaded inside his familys trailer on the bitterly cold mountaintop. Why give this land to the Palestinians, who preach nothing but hate and violence, and want to destroy Israel? he asked, speaking by cellphone as police surrounded his home. We feel good vibrations from Trump. This is the end of this terrible time. The razing of Amona and the eviction of its families has been more than a decade in the making. The long timeline underscored the political challenges for Israeli leaders, who count on the support of 600,000 settlers now living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem but have feared U.S. condemnation under both Republican and Democratic leadership. [Trump picks a supporter of West Bank settlements for ambassador to Israel] By the early evening, Israeli security forces had removed 20 families from their homes and arrested a handful of activists who had turned out to support the residents. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said 15 police officers had been lightly injured in scuffles with settlers and their supporters. In an attempt to calm the settlers fury, Israeli leaders promised that the dismantling of Amona would bring renewed building in the West Bank. Last week, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that 2,500 new homes would be built in the West Bank. On Tuesday, in anticipation of the Amona clashes, they promised 3,000 more. An announcement of 5,500 new homes would have brought swift, harsh condemnation from the Obama administration, which for eight years branded such building illegitimate and an obstacle to peace between Jews and Arabs. The Trump administration has so far remained silent. This is a very difficult day, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, a member of the ultranationalist Jewish Home party, said in an interview with the Israeli news site Walla. We have tried and tried to prevent this from happening, but now we are watching 40 families being evicted from their homes. But we need to remember that this terrible day will eventually bring about new building in the West Bank, she said. Shaked highlighted her partys efforts to pass a bill now being debated in parliament that would retroactively legalize Jewish settlements, such as Amona, that were built on private Palestinian property. Israels attorney general said the bill violates Israeli and international law and would probably be reversed by the Supreme Court. Netanyahu and the government vowed to pass it anyway. Still, promises of new houses to come did little Wednesday to douse the anger of hundreds of young activists who had trudged up the hillside overnight to protect Amonas residents and slow down the demolition. Zvi Sukkot, a settler from the hard-line Yitzar community and an organizer with a bullhorn, said, We are here to show everybody our strong Jewish connection to the land as told in the Bible. He didnt blame former president Barack Obama for the evacuation; he blamed Netanyahu. But other settlers turned their eyes toward Trump as the new beginning. After eight years of Obama, who didnt let us build, now well say, We will build and build, said Shilo Adler, who heads the Yesha Council, which represents the Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Now is history-making time, Adler said. This is the moment. This is when we tell Netanyahu: This is what we want. This is why we elected you. Adler said the settlers were seeking 100,000 new homes which would at least double the Jewish population in the West Bank on land the Palestinians seek for a future nation under the two-state solution. Last month, after the Supreme Courts eviction order was postponed one last time, the government announced that it had reached an agreement with the Amona settlers a hefty payout and promises of another spot on the same hillside in exchange for a low-key, peaceful move. But as the days wore on, residents of Amona saw no new community being built for them, and Israeli human rights groups filed additional legal petitions on behalf of Palestinians who claim to own that land, too. The agreement broke down, and this week, the army gave the settlers 48 hours to leave peacefully. Most of the world considers the Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal, not just those built on Palestinian private property. Israel disputes this. Inside Amona, young Jewish men and women hunkered down in abandoned houses, barbed wire strung up around doors and windows. They climbed on top of the caravans, waving Israeli flags, and protesters screamed at the police, Shame on you, this is the land of Israel and Jews should not evict Jews. In the neighboring Palestinian village of Silwad, the Arabs clapped and shook hands. It feels great to see settlers being taken off my land and their caravans removed. The court has done a good thing, although it has taken a long time, said Ibrahim Yakoob, 56, a Palestinian farmer who is part owner of the land. The question now is whether I will be allowed to return to my land and farm it again, he said. I dont think so. The ultimate suffering as a farmer is to see your land but not be able to use it. Eglash reported from Jerusalem. Sufian Taha in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Read more: Even Israel says this Jewish settlement is illegal. Now comes the showdown. Right-wing Israeli leaders push forward assertive new legislation to preserve Jewish settlements Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news A Syrian refugee stands on top of a water tank at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border in Mafraq, Jordan. According to aid officials, the camp is nearly double its 60,000 maximum capacity. Jan. 9, 2013 A Syrian refugee stands on top of a water tank at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border in Mafraq, Jordan. According to aid officials, the camp is nearly double its 60,000 maximum capacity. Mohammad Hannon/AP U.N estimates say that within a week, there could be 1 million refugees in Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq as more people flee the Syrian civil war. U.N estimates say that within a week, there could be 1 million refugees in Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq as more people flee the Syrian civil war. U.N estimates say that within a week, there could be 1 million refugees in Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq as more people flee the Syrian civil war. After months of shrugging off glares, Abdullah Saad could no longer ignore the feeling that he was unwelcome in this country. The message was spray-painted in red across the side of his home for any passerby to see: Go back to Syria. They once received us as guests and brothers, the 45-year-old Syrian said of Jordanians last week as he ran his hand over the words marking his rented concrete house in this border city. Now they see us as a curse. More than 500,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan since the onset of the conflict in their country more than two years ago, according to the Amman government and the United Nations a figure equal to nearly one-tenth of Jordans population. While 160,000 are housed in refugee camps, Saad and the vast majority have been living in cities, where their presence is stoking tensions with an increasingly resentful host community and posing what Jordanian officials call one of the greatest crises the country has faced in decades. Jordanian government officials say the cost of hosting the rapidly growing refugee population is expected to reach $1 billion this year. Yet the true cost of hosting the refugees, who compete with Jordanians for jobs and limited housing, is far broader, economic experts say. The state-run Economic and Social Council says that due to electricity and water subsidies, each Syrian who crosses into Jordan directly costs the government about $3,000 annually. The Health Ministry says it spends half of its budget on medical care for Syrians alone and needs about $350 million in emergency funding to sustain the countrys public-health-care system past this month. View Graphic Expanding flight of Syrian refugees According to the Labor Ministry, about 160,000 Syrians are working illegally in Jordan, accepting lower pay to fill positions in bakeries, auto garages and cafes that were once held by Jordanians, about 20 percent of whom are unemployed. You walk into a bakery, there are Syrians; you walk into a factory, there are Syrians, said Mohammed Mashagbeh, 35, a Jordanian carpenter who said he left Mafraq after losing work to Syrians and now lives in the capital, Amman, where he earns half his previous wages. There is no longer room in Jordan for Jordanians. The kingdom has long served as an oasis for those displaced by the various wars that have wracked the region, and it is home to more than 1.8 million Palestinian and 500,000 Iraqi refugees. But unlike their Palestinian and Iraqi predecessors, the bulk of Syrians who have flooded Jordan hail from rural regions and are under-skilled and poorly educated, arriving with limited funds and placing an immediate burden on the governments social services, economic experts say. In many ways, while Iraqis came to Jordan with investments and were effectively job creators, Syrians are arriving as job- takers, says Jawad Anani, economist and president of the Economic and Social Council. Many Jordanian business owners dispute that, saying that Syrians take work that Jordanians do not want and that they work harder. Syrian refugees, most of whom are not authorized to work in Jordan, say they are often left at the mercy of employers, forced to perform long hours of labor sometimes back-breaking for low salaries. Khaled al-Awad, who fled the southern Syrian city of Daraa, and his brother said they lay bricks for up to 18 hours per day in Zarqa, in northern Jordan, for about one-third of what Jordanian workers make in similar jobs. In Jordan, Syrians are seen as little more than slaves, Awad said, grimacing as he popped his eighth aspirin tablet of the day into his mouth. But at the end of the day, we have to feed our families. The reception was not always like this. In the early days of the Syrian conflict, Jordanians launched fundraising drives, hosted makeshift refugee camps and opened their homes to their northern neighbors. But as the war drags on and Syrians increasingly put down roots in Jordan, the strain on resources has transformed the goodwill to hostility, said Ziyad al-Hamad, president of the Kitab al-Sunna Society, the largest Jordanian organization providing aid to Syrians. We have reached the point where nearly all of the countrys problems are being blamed on Syrians, Hamad said. Mounting hostility The major flash point for tension is the Syrian communitys effect on Jordans housing sector, with average rents soaring as high as 300 percent over the past six months. Modest dwellings go for more than $300 in rent per month. One reason for the rise in rents is the sharp increase in demand for housing, analysts say. Also, several Syrian families often rent houses together, pooling their resources, thereby being able to pay higher rents. In the border city of Ramtha, 12 Jordanians were huddled on a rainy day last week in one of several refugee camps for Jordanians that have sprouted across the country in recent months shantytowns erected by those who say they have been evicted in favor of Syrian tenants. At the Ramtha camp, residents reminisced about their former houses. Soon, talk turned to vigilante-style reprisals against Syrians, a community they blamed for the countrys economic woes. Syrians are taking our homes, our jobs and our livelihoods, Mohammed Theibat said as he stoked a coal grill in the center of the canvas tent he has called home for more than a week. If the government does not take action, we will take matters in our own hands. Such talk is sparking fears that Jordans social tensions may soon escalate. There is already talk of violence, and with time, we are afraid this is going to become a reality, Hamad said. Schoolyard scuffles Although the growing stresses have not led to widespread violence, public anger is palpable in Jordan, with regular protests in border cities such as Mafraq that call on Amman to deport Syrian refugees. Last month, members of parliament floated a proposal to establish buffer zones in Syria and relocate the refugees. Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour announced last month that the government is moving to declare the northern regions an emergency area to draw international attention to the plight facing Jordanian host communities. In the meantime, rising tensions between Jordanians and Syrians have even trickled down to the schoolyard. The influx of about 30,000 Syrian students has forced many of Jordans schools to switch to abbreviated two-shift systems, rotating students in half-day sessions to ease stress on overcrowded and understaffed classrooms. In a vacant lot behind a Mafraq school this month, three Syrian fourth-graders wrestled their Jordanian classmate to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, their bright blue backpacks waving wildly in the air. After shopkeeper Mohammed Hassan rushed to break up the latest in what locals say have become nearly-daily schoolyard scuffles, the students admitted to the source of the fight: They thought that their Jordanian classmate had chanted Long live Bashar, a reference to the Syrian president. If our children cannot live together, how can we ever hope to do so? Hassan asked, sighing as he wiped a smear of mud off the face of one of the children. by Taylor Luck MAFRAQ, JORDAN After months of shrugging off glares, Abdullah Saad could no longer ignore the feeling that he was unwelcome in this country. The message was spray-painted in red across the side of his home for any passerby to see: Go back to Syria. They once received us as guests and brothers, the 45-year-old Syrian said of Jordanians last week as he ran his hand over the words marking his rented concrete house in this border city. Now they see us as a curse. More than 500,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan since the onset of the conflict in their country more than two years ago, according to the Amman government and the United Nations a figure equal to nearly one-tenth of Jordans population. While 160,000 are housed in refugee camps, Saad and the vast majority have been living in cities, where their presence is stoking tensions with an increasingly resentful host community and posing what Jordanian officials call one of the greatest crises the country has faced in decades. Jordanian government officials say the cost of hosting the rapidly growing refugee population is expected to reach $1 billion this year. Yet the true cost of hosting the refugees, who compete with Jordanians for jobs and limited housing, is far broader, economic experts say. The state-run Economic and Social Council says that due to electricity and water subsidies, each Syrian who crosses into Jordan directly costs the government about $3,000 annually. The Health Ministry says it spends half of its budget on medical care for Syrians alone and needs about $350 million in emergency funding to sustain the countrys public-health-care system past this month. According to the Labor Ministry, about 160,000 Syrians are working illegally in Jordan, accepting lower pay to fill positions in bakeries, auto garages and cafes that were once held by Jordanians, about 20 percent of whom are unemployed. You walk into a bakery, there are Syrians; you walk into a factory, there are Syrians, said Mohammed Mashagbeh, 35, a Jordanian carpenter who said he left Mafraq after losing work to Syrians and now lives in the capital, Amman, where he earns half his previous wages. There is no longer room in Jordan for Jordanians. The kingdom has long served as an oasis for those displaced by the various wars that have wracked the region, and it is home to more than 1.8 million Palestinian and 500,000 Iraqi refugees. But unlike their Palestinian and Iraqi predecessors, the bulk of Syrians who have flooded Jordan hail from rural regions and are under-skilled and poorly educated, arriving with limited funds and placing an immediate burden on the governments social services, economic experts say. In many ways, while Iraqis came to Jordan with investments and were effectively job creators, Syrians are arriving as job- takers, says Jawad Anani, economist and president of the Economic and Social Council. Many Jordanian business owners dispute that, saying that Syrians take work that Jordanians do not want and that they work harder. Syrian refugees, most of whom are not authorized to work in Jordan, say they are often left at the mercy of employers, forced to perform long hours of labor sometimes back-breaking for low salaries. Khaled al-Awad, who fled the southern Syrian city of Daraa, and his brother said they lay bricks for up to 18 hours per day in Zarqa, in northern Jordan, for about one-third of what Jordanian workers make in similar jobs. In Jordan, Syrians are seen as little more than slaves, Awad said, grimacing as he popped his eighth aspirin tablet of the day into his mouth. But at the end of the day, we have to feed our families. The reception was not always like this. In the early days of the Syrian conflict, Jordanians launched fundraising drives, hosted makeshift refugee camps and opened their homes to their northern neighbors. But as the war drags on and Syrians increasingly put down roots in Jordan, the strain on resources has transformed the goodwill to hostility, said Ziyad al-Hamad, president of the Kitab al-Sunna Society, the largest Jordanian organization providing aid to Syrians. We have reached the point where nearly all of the countrys problems are being blamed on Syrians, Hamad said. Mounting hostility The major flash point for tension is the Syrian communitys effect on Jordans housing sector, with average rents soaring as high as 300 percent over the past six months. Modest dwellings go for more than $300 in rent per month. One reason for the rise in rents is the sharp increase in demand for housing, analysts say. Also, several Syrian families often rent houses together, pooling their resources, thereby being able to pay higher rents. In the border city of Ramtha, 12 Jordanians were huddled on a rainy day last week in one of several refugee camps for Jordanians that have sprouted across the country in recent months shantytowns erected by those who say they have been evicted in favor of Syrian tenants. At the Ramtha camp, residents reminisced about their former houses. Soon, talk turned to vigilante-style reprisals against Syrians, a community they blamed for the countrys economic woes. Syrians are taking our homes, our jobs and our livelihoods, Mohammed Theibat said as he stoked a coal grill in the center of the canvas tent he has called home for more than a week. If the government does not take action, we will take matters in our own hands. Such talk is sparking fears that Jordans social tensions may soon escalate. There is already talk of violence, and with time, we are afraid this is going to become a reality, Hamad said. Schoolyard scuffles Although the growing stresses have not led to widespread violence, public anger is palpable in Jordan, with regular protests in border cities such as Mafraq that call on Amman to deport Syrian refugees. Last month, members of parliament floated a proposal to establish buffer zones in Syria and relocate the refugees. Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour announced last month that the government is moving to declare the northern regions an emergency area to draw international attention to the plight facing Jordanian host communities. In the meantime, rising tensions between Jordanians and Syrians have even trickled down to the schoolyard. The influx of about 30,000 Syrian students has forced many of Jordans schools to switch to abbreviated two-shift systems, rotating students in half-day sessions to ease stress on overcrowded and understaffed classrooms. In a vacant lot behind a Mafraq school this month, three Syrian fourth-graders wrestled their Jordanian classmate to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, their bright blue backpacks waving wildly in the air. After shopkeeper Mohammed Hassan rushed to break up the latest in what locals say have become nearly-daily schoolyard scuffles, the students admitted to the source of the fight: They thought that their Jordanian classmate had chanted Long live Bashar, a reference to the Syrian president. If our children cannot live together, how can we ever hope to do so? Hassan asked, sighing as he wiped a smear of mud off the face of one of the children. The Trump administration said Wednesday that it would hold Iran accountable for its recent ballistic-missile launch, threatening an unspecified response to what it called a violation of U.N. restrictions. In a brief statement read during the regular White House press briefing, Michael Flynn, President Trumps national security adviser, said the administration was officially putting Iran on notice for the test launch and for what he called Irans threatening and destabilizing actions in support of Houthi rebels seeking to overthrow a U.S.-backed government in Yemen. The statement marked the new administrations first public foray into an issue on which Trump had promised to take a hard line. It followed U.S. military ground action Saturday against al-Qaedas affiliate in Yemen the first counterterrorism mission approved by Trump in which a U.S. service member was killed. Flynn said Iran had been emboldened by weak and effective U.N. and Obama administration policies, including agreements such as the 2015 deal designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. [Republicans cheer Flynn putting Iran on notice] In a background briefing after the statement, senior administration officials emphasized that what they called Iranian provocations, and the threat to do something about them, were unrelated to the nuclear agreement. These missile concerns are separate and apart from the nuclear deal, one official said. Were keeping a very big line between these issues. There should be no doubt about that. While a number of Republican lawmakers have called for the agreement to be torn apart, Trump avoided that language during his campaign, calling it a bad deal that he intended to review. Iran made no public statement in response but said the missile test was discussed during a high-level national-security meeting Wednesday. We discussed Irans missile tests and . . . reaffirmed that Iran would not wait for any countrys permission in defense issues, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Ravanchi said, according to Irans Mehr News Agency. He also repeated an earlier statement that Tehran plans to take reciprocal measures in response to Trumps new temporary ban on U.S. entry for individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. Irans launch Sunday of a medium-range Khorramshahr missile ended in failure, with the missile reportedly traveling about 600 miles before exploding in the air. The United States called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Following the Tuesday session, Nikki Haley, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the world should be alarmed by the test and called for unspecified U.N. action. Flynn and other officials said the launch violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which gave international blessing to the Iran nuclear deal. Part of the deal was the elimination of previous resolutions prohibiting all ballistic-missile activity. Instead, an annex to the deal calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology for the next eight years. Iran maintains that, because it does not have a nuclear weapons program, development and testing of non-nuclear-related ballistic missiles which it says are for conventional defense are not prohibited. A senior Trump administration official said that the nuclear capability of the missile was a factual and technical question that doesnt depend upon what procedural mechanism has or has not been used in the past to make decisions on what to do about it. These are things that are inherent in the physics, the official said. It is an objectively knowable thing, irrespective of what governments decide to do. Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, said that there is widespread international consensus, without the United States, that Irans missile test is not an explicit violation of the resolution, but that there is a wider consensus about the undesirability of Irans missile activities than there is about how to respond. Some U.S. lawmakers who have questioned the nuclear deal were quick to praise the administration for taking a tough line. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a written statement that Iran will no longer . . . be given a pass for its repeated ballistic missile violations, continued support of terrorism, human rights abuses and other hostile activities that threaten international peace and security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also congratulated the administration for its words about Iran, saying the missile test was a flagrant violation of the U.N. resolution. Iranian aggression must not go unanswered, he said. Flynn and other officials also held Iran responsible for destabilizing activity in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is defending a government under attack from what it says are Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The Obama administration had criticized Iran for helping to arm the rebels but did not consider the aid decisive in what has become a years-long war. On Monday, a Saudi warship patrolling off the Yemen coast was attacked by a rebel suicide boat that exploded after striking the ship. Two Saudi sailors were killed. The Trump administrations statements hewed closely to the views of the Saudi government, whose King Salman spoke with Trump on Sunday, in holding its archenemy Iran responsible for the Houthi rebellion. We assess Iran seeks to leverage this relationship with the Houthis to build a long-term presence in Yemen, said a Trump official, who like others at the briefing spoke on the condition of anonymity imposed by the administration. This support risks expanding and intensifying the conflict in Yemen, which is not good for the people of the area, creates further instability, risks greater violence and will lead to unending conflict. In response to repeated questioning, the officials declined to specify what actions were under consideration. There are a large range of options available . . . from financial and economic to pursuing other options related to support for those that are challenging and opposing Iranian malign activity in the region, one official said. We are in a deliberative process. The official said that the White House had received input from the State Department and other agencies before making the Iran announcement and that they would be included in ongoing deliberations about further steps. There are a large number of options available to the administration, he said. Were going to take appropriate action, and I will not provide any further information today. The important thing here is, we are communicating that Iranian behavior needs to be rethought by Tehran, he said, adding that the administration was considering these things in a different perspective. Carol Morello contributed to this report. Department of Homeland Security officials on Tuesday sought to defend their implementation of President Trumps immigration order, as civil liberties attorneys said they were still pressing for more-thorough compliance with court rulings on the measure. Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said at a news conference Tuesday that department officials are and will remain in compliance with judicial orders, though attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union said they were not fully convinced that was the case. [Trump travel ban sows chaos at airports, outrage at protests] As of 7 p.m., for example, the administration had not yet provided a list of those detained to ACLU lawyers, despite a New York federal judges order that it do so, an ACLU lawyer there said. An ACLU lawyer in Los Angeles said the organization also has fielded reports that Customs and Border Protection agents are coercing holders of valid visas or green cards to voluntarily relinquish their documents, and a lawsuit in Virginia alleges similar conduct. Senior Homeland Security officials on Tuesday sought to quell concerns about travelers being denied entry in violation of court orders, holding a news conference to discuss the details with reporters. Officials and civil rights lawyers said the situation on Tuesday was a far cry from over the weekend when people with green cards and visas were being detained for hours on end, some of them ultimately flown out to other countries even as courts ordered that they should not be. But civil liberties advocates said a lot of confusion remained over how the order which temporarily bans refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from coming to the United States should be legally implemented. Also with the presidents firing of his acting attorney general over her refusal to defend the ban, they said they worried that the president was trying to run over normal checks on his authority. In New York where a federal judge ordered authorities nationwide to stop deporting or taking into custody those with valid immigrant and nonimmigrant visas the ACLU said it was still pressing for a list of who had been detained. That list is important to confirm that people have not been sent back in defiance of the courts order, and whether people are still being detained or denied access to counsel, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project. In the absence of the list, we would be left to simply take the unilateral assurances of the administration, which we will not do, Gelernt said. In Los Angeles, ACLU lawyers said they were still fielding reports of people who were being forced to endure hours-long processing, and sometimes coerced into signing away their legal rights to be in the United States. Jennie Pasquarella, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California, said one visa holder from Syria who had permanent resident status in Saudi Arabia was pressured into giving up his rights to be here, though he left with documentation saying he could remain for 18 days. She said people were still being held up though not for nearly as long as when the order first took effect. Its definitely felt like, at least through Sunday, they were ignoring the order, but it does seem like they have changed what theyre doing and not holding people in this prolonged manner, Pasquarella said. In some cases, the damage appears to already be done. Yemeni brothers Tareq and Ammar Aqel Mohammed Aziz, 21 and 19, for example, got into Dulles International Airport on Saturday morning. Their lawyers say they were then handcuffed and coerced, with no legal counsel present, into giving up the immigrant visas they had worked for years to secure. They were put on a plane to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where they sat in the airport for three days without access to their passports, their lawyers said. On Tuesday, the brothers were sent to Djibouti, where for now they have been allowed to stay. Sara Yarjani, 35, a masters student at the California Institute for Human Science, said she was similarly pressured into signing away her visa at the Los Angeles airport when officials told her she could either do so and leave on her own, or be forcibly removed from the United States and face the prospect of a one-to-five-year ban. Yarjani, an Iranian national whose parents live in Austria, said she spent 23 hours in custody Friday into Saturday, learning just before she was put on a plane of a judges order declaring that those like her should not be deported. She said she told Customs and Border Protection officers as much, and one simply responded Wowzas before ultimately ushering her on board. It was so terrible and heartbreaking, Yajani said. Im still trying to find out what are the steps I can take. Attorneys general in four states have now moved to join the court battle over Trumps immigration order. The most immediate front appears to be what happens when people try to board U.S.-bound planes overseas. Immigrant rights advocates said this week that officials were preventing people from boarding those flights. Acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McAleenan said that in the past 72 hours, 721 people with visas from the seven countries listed on the executive order had been denied permission at foreign airports to board flights headed to the United States, and asserted, There were carriers that overinterpreted our guidance. The federal court orders constrain the actions of government officials after people have landed in the United States but seem to have little practical value to someone waiting to board a U.S.-bound plane overseas. Immigrant rights attorneys said the government does not appear to be technically in violation of the court orders by advising airlines to turn away people before they have boarded planes heading to the United States, with the possible exception of people trying to fly to Bostons Logan Airport. Susan Church, one of the attorneys who brought the challenge there, said the judges order specifically requires Customs and Border Protection officers to tell the airlines that people traveling to Boston will not be deported or detained. The airlines, despite being notified, are claiming they dont know about this order, Church said Tuesday. Its really outrageous, and its violating the court order. U.S. officials conceded at Tuesdays briefing that they had made mistakes and said that they would explore reports of people being coerced into signing away their documentation. Kelly said that a small number of travelers were being held up for extra processing but that none were detained. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday issued written guidance designed to give airlines and travelers a clearer understanding of new rules. McAleenan also said that officials would soon allow 872 refugees into the country and that officers processed 1,060 waivers for green-card holders. Officials struggled to explain why the rollout of the order over the weekend was so chaotic. One individual familiar with the process said that leaders from Customs and Border Protection and the other DHS agencies were briefed on the orders details on Friday afternoon in a pair of urgent conference calls, including one after Trump signed it. A second individual said career operational staff and lawyers at Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security headquarters were not given an opportunity to review and comment on the order before it was signed. Kelly disputed reports that he had not been aware of the order or consulted on it until the last minute. He said that he knew it was being written and saw at least two drafts before Friday, and that members of his legal team were involved. Lori Aratani, Rachel Weiner, Michael Laris and Mark Berman contributed to this report. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 11 to 9 to advance the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general. He is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate by the end of the week. Republicans, who need only a majority vote to approve him, control 52 of the Senates 100 seats, and Democrats have thus far failed to persuade anyone on the other side of the aisle to oppose Sessions. The committee vote, which passed along party lines, comes at a tumultuous time for the Department of Justice. On Monday, President Trump fired acting attorney general Sally Yates, an Obama administration holdover, after she refused to defend his controversial immigration order. [Senators debate Sessions amid storm over firing of acting attorney general] Senate Democrats lambasted the move as improper and said it called into question whether Sessions would enforce laws with which the president took issue. Republicans, meanwhile, asserted that Yates was the one to have acted wrongly in refusing to defend an order that the Justice Departments own Office of Legal Counsel had deemed lawful. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) could be confirmed as the next U.S. attorney general by the end of the week. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) The dispute led to a bitter Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, and the panel ultimately decided it would wait a day to vote on Sessionss nomination. On Wednesday, Democrats again launched bitter attacks against Sessions before the vote. The process, along with fights over other Cabinet nominees, has frustrated Trump, who took to Twitter on Tuesday to decry Democrats. When will the Democrats give us our Attorney General and rest of Cabinet! he wrote. They should be ashamed of themselves! No wonder D.C. doesnt work! Until Sessions can be confirmed, the Justice Department is being led by Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who was chosen to replace Yates. Boente, a longtime Justice Department lawyer nominated by President Barack Obama for his U.S. attorneys job, rescinded Yatess directive not to defend Trumps immigration order. Trump on Tuesday also announced three other picks for Justice Department leadership. Provided they are confirmed, Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. attorney from Maryland, will serve as the deputy attorney general, the No. 2 post in the department, and Rachel Brand, a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, will serve as the associate attorney general, the No. 3 post. The White House said Trump intends to nominate Steven Engel, a lawyer at the Dechert firm, as an assistant attorney general, with reports suggesting he will run the Office of Legal Counsel. As acting attorney general Sally Yates struggled to figure out how or whether to defend President Trumps immigration order last weekend while protests erupted at airports nationwide, immigrants were denied entry to the United States and civil rights lawyers rushed to court two events helped crystallize her decision. The first was a television appearance by Trump on the Christian Broadcasting Network. In an interview, he said that Christians in the Middle East who were persecuted should be given priority to move to the United States because they had been horribly treated. The second was late Saturday night when former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani appeared on Fox News. Giuliani said Trump wanted a Muslim ban and asked him to pull together a commission to show him the right way to do it legally. Those two things put the order in a very different light, said a senior Justice Department official familiar with her decision. Trumps executive order appeared to be designed to make distinctions among different classes of people based on their religion. Next, Yates had to decide what to do. She had three options, according to the official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. She could have done nothing and instructed her attorneys to defend a law that she was not convinced was legal. She could have resigned, but those close to her say she believed she would have just been passing the responsibility to defend a potentially unlawful order to a successor. Or she could do what she ultimately chose write a letter to Justice Department lawyers telling them to stop defending the order. View Graphic Who is affected by Trumps travel ban She was in an impossible situation, the senior official said. A one-sentence letter on White House stationery was delivered to her Justice Department office at 9.15 p.m. Monday with a curt message: Youre fired. Fifteen minutes earlier, the Trump administration had sworn in Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. [Trump firing Sally Yates isnt the big story. How he did it is.] Jonathan Turley, a constitutional-law scholar at the George Washington University Law School, called Yatess letter to the department a mistake and said that President Barack Obamas Justice Department argued last year that a federal court should not second-guess a president on immigration decisions and defended the presidents power to act unilaterally. Turley also said Yatess firing could not be compared to the Saturday Night Massacre when President Richard M. Nixon dismissed independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, prompting the resignations of the attorney general and deputy attorney general. Yatess firing is less a massacre than a suicide, Turley said. Jack Goldsmith, a professor at Harvard Law School and a former assistant attorney general who headed the Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush, said that Yates should have resigned if she could not defend the presidents order. He wrote on the blog Lawfare that the reasons Yates gave in her memo for not defending the order were extraordinarily weak and pointed out that she did not say she had concluded that the order was unlawful or that defending it in court would be unreasonable. But a number of former senior Justice Department officials praised Yates for what they characterized as a courageous and principled stand. She could have resigned, said Donald B. Verrilli Jr., who was solicitor general under Obama. But my sense is that Sally thought there was something more at stake than just her own integrity. It was the integrity of the Department of Justice. We probably would have been a lot better off as a country if the attorney general in the 1940s had said, Im not going to allow the department to defend the internment of the Japanese. I think Sally thought this was a comparable situation. And I think she was right to think that. Former Colorado U.S. attorney John Walsh, head of the national Attorney General Advisory Committee, called Yates one of the most principled people he had ever worked with. Im 100 percent certain she took what she believed was the only principled position she could take, Walsh said. Yates, 56, a longtime prosecutor from Atlanta and deputy attorney general under Obama, was taken by surprise when Trump issued his order Friday. She had been asked to remain as acting attorney general after Loretta E. Lynch left at the end of the Obama administration.Yates and other officials from the administration had been working with lawyers from Trumps landing team to help with their transition when the next attorney general, most likely Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), came on board. They had all agreed to press pause, as one official put it, on taking any high-profile actions until Trumps full team was in place. Sally wasnt looking for a fight, the official said. But on Friday, Yates heard a media report that Trump had signed an executive order temporarily barring entry into the United States for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from around the world. No one from the White House had consulted with Yates or any other senior leaders in the Justice Department. Yates had to decide whether her lawyers could defend Trumps action in court. She did not even have a copy of the order, and her aides had to go online to find it. It was chaos, said a senior Justice Department official. The Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel had been asked by the White House to review Trumps executive order. The OLC decided the order was lawful and properly drafted a point that White House spokesman Sean Spicer made at his Tuesday briefing. At the end of the day, if the acting attorney general has an office under [her] jurisdiction that says that something is legal and compliant, and then she gets out there and says, Im not going to enforce it, that doesnt sound like an attorney general that is upholding the duty that she swore to uphold, Spicer said. In her Monday memo, Yates said her role was broader than that of the OLC. She wrote that an OLC review does not address whether any policy choice embodied in an Executive Order is wise or just, nor does it take account of statements made by an administration or its surrogates close in time to the issuance of an Executive Order that may bear on the orders purpose. Ellen Nakashima, Matt Zapotosky and Phillip Rucker contributed to this report. A member of the Abuja Bring Back Our Girls group speaks at a sit-in demonstration the group organized at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, Nigeria. June 23, 2014 A member of the Abuja Bring Back Our Girls group speaks at a sit-in demonstration the group organized at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, Nigeria. Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters The United States has deployed 80 troops to Chad to augment efforts to find the Nigerian schoolgirls recently taken hostage, the White House announced Wednesday, a significant escalation of Washingtons contribution to a crisis that has created global consternation. The force, made up largely of Air Force personnel, will conduct surveillance flights and operate drone aircraft but will not participate in ground searches, according to U.S. military officials. These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area, the White House said in a statement formally notifying Congress of the deployment. The unit will remain in Chad until its support resolving the kidnapping is no longer required. This month, the Pentagon dispatched a team of eight experts to the Nigerian capital to help search for the more than 200 schoolgirls captured by Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group that holds sway over remote areas in northern Nigeria. They are working with roughly two dozen U.S. law enforcement and intelligence personnel advising the Nigerian government on the recovery effort. U.S. surveillance drones have been searching for the girls since May 11. Although officials have not said where those drones have been flying from, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that having the new unit in Chad, which borders the northeastern tip of Nigeria, will enable longer surveillance flights. Locating this force in Chad allows us to spend more time flying over the search area, said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Myles B. Caggins III. U.S. military officials have emphasized the difficult nature of the mission. On Tuesday, Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, called the search for the missing girls tantamount to finding a needle in a jungle. Were talking about an area roughly the size of West Virginia, and its dense forest jungle, he told reporters. The Nigerian girls were abducted in mid-April from a boarding school in the town of Chibok. U.S. officials have said the kidnappers may have broken up the hostages into smaller groups and dispersed into a wider area. Some officials have speculated that the girls could have been smuggled into neighboring countries. I dont think anybodys underestimating the level of difficulty in both finding them and then being able to launch some kind of recovery mission, Kirby said Tuesday. Its very difficult in terms of the geography, the actual size, just square miles, of what were trying to search. Officials at the Pentagon would not say precisely where the new unit is based, but the French military has an air base in the Chadian capital, NDjamena, near the Nigerian border. Washington and Paris have coordinated closely on security matters in Africa as the threat posed by militant groups there has prompted the United States to significantly expand its military footprint across the continent. Paul Lubeck, a sociology professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz who has done extensive research in Nigeria, said the countrys security forces are up against a formidable group in Boko Haram. These guys are better organized, more highly motivated and have better arms than the Nigerian military, he said. The Nigerian military is decayed. Additionally, because the Nigerian force has a history of brutality, U.S. military advisers face restrictions in the assistance they are able to provide. As part of an agreement reached this week, American military personnel are permitted to share some information such as aerial imagery but not all raw intelligence. As the United States steps up intelligence-gathering efforts there, Lubeck said, theres the possibility that Nigerian forces could mishandle it. Any time the Nigerian military attempts to intervene to release hostages, the hostages are killed, he said. You might get them the intel, but how to get them released safely is the real challenge. U.S. Special Operations forces in Africa are engaged in a similarly challenging hunt for Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, who leads a cult-like group in central Africa that has abducted children to use as sex slaves and soldiers. The abduction of the Nigerian girls went largely unnoticed outside Africa for weeks. But as Nigerians in the capital began protesting the deteriorating security in many parts of the country this month, the plight of the girls began making headlines in the United States and calls for their return gained significant traction on social media. Several U.S. lawmakers and first lady Michelle Obama have joined the cause, posting photos on Twitter using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement Wednesday calling the deployment a step in the right direction. He and others are urging the White House to do more. U.S. security personnel should be in Nigeria advising and assisting those engaged in the rescue efforts, Royce said. Anything less would be insufficient in responding to the pressing threat that Boko Haram poses to the region and U.S. interests. Police on Wednesday arrested an asylum seeker from Tunisia on suspicion of plotting an Islamic State-linked terrorist attack in Germany in a case that is drawing parallels with a deadly Christmas market attack. The 36-year-old suspect was also wanted by Tunisian authorities in connection with a 2015 attack on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, which killed more than 20 people, and an Islamic State attempt to take control of the Tunisian border town Ben Gardane last year. But Germanys attempts to extradite the suspect to Tunisia were hampered by a lack of cooperation from Tunisian authorities, Frankfurts general prosecutor said in a statement Wednesday. Details of the suspects alleged role in the Tunisian museum attack and the border clashes were not immediately disclosed. The arrest in the central state of Hesse again highlighted tensions between Germany and Tunisia over the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Germany has cited delays by Tunisia in issuing the necessary documents. The reported complications received widespread attention after another rejected asylum seeker from Tunisia, Anis Amri, plowed a truck into the Berlin Christmas market on Dec. 19 , killing 12 people. German authorities received Tunisian documents to clear the way for Amris deportation two days after the attack. [Analysis: Why are so many Tunisians joining the Islamic State?] The Tunisian arrested Wednesday arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker in August 2015 after having already lived in the country between 2003 and 2013. Just as in the case of Amri, German authorities detained the suspect and attempted to return him to Tunisia, where he was sought for alleged terrorism links. But he had to be released before German authorities were able to repatriate him. German law currently allows a maximum of 40 days for pre-extradition detention, and Tunisia failed to provide the necessary documents in time, the Frankfurt prosecutor said. We are calling on the Tunisians to act more cooperatively when it comes to the return of their nationals, which they are obliged to under international law, Hesses interior minister, Peter Beuth, told reporters. Beuth said the arrest was made as part of a series of widespread raids targeting 16 suspects between the ages of 16 and 46. The other suspects are being held for questioning, the interior minister said. While Beuth did not give further details, the Frankfurt prosecutors office said it was investigating a 17-year-old German Iraqi and a 16-year-old German Afghan suspected of joining or attempting to join Islamist militant groups in Syria and Iraq. Police raided more than 50 apartments, businesses and mosques in the region. Following the Berlin Christmas market attack, the German interior and justice ministers proposed extending pre-deportation detention for up to 18 months if a person is considered a potential danger to the public. On Wednesday, the German cabinet also agreed on a legislative change that, if approved by parliament, would allow police to use electronic ankle bracelets to monitor individuals deemed a terrorist threat, even if they have not been convicted of any crime. Read more: Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Lord Price, Minister of State at the Department for International Trade Anzeige The British government now accepts that the UK must leave the EU Customs Union just weeks after the Prime Minister Theresa May set out plans to negotiate a special deal within it. Anzeige In response to a question by Die Welt about the British position, Lord Price, Minister of State at the Department for International Trade, said he did not expect to find a compromise. During the last weeks, I have met with many of my EU counterparts, among them German State Secretary for Business, Matthias Machnig. Most of them were very clear. There will be no cherry-picking. We have understood this message. Price added: The aim must be now to agree on all questions through a free trade agreement with the EU 27. We hope to find a solution on that within the next two years. Anzeige In her Europe Speech on January 17 Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the UK was going to leave the European Single Market but let open the question about future membership of the EU Customs Union. Lesen Sie auch Advertorial Eurojackpot online Fur 1,60 mittippen und 118 Mio. Euro gewinnen May said: I do want us to have a customs agreement with the EU. Whether that means we must reach a completely new customs agreement, become an associate member of the Customs Union in some way, or remain a signatory to some elements of it, I hold no preconceived position. On Tuesday, protests continued for a fourth day against the Trump administrations cruel and extralegal executive order banning entry to the US for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries ravaged by the US military and barring refugees from around the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated in airports and city centers in the United States and around the world in opposition to this draconian measure and in defense of basic democratic and social rights. These protests are part of a political radicalization that is emerging in response to the coming to power of the most right-wing government in American history. After 16 years of the unending war on terror, waged under Democratic and Republican administrations alike, the protests demonstrate that masses of people have rejected the anti-Muslim chauvinism and militarism that have been promoted to justify imperialist aggression and war crimes. Millions are outraged by the brutality inflicted on men, women and children who suddenly find themselves forcibly barred from returning to their homes, families and jobs. Democratic politicians such as Barack Obama and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer are associating themselves with the protests in an effort to keep them within politically harmless channels. There is, however, a vast gulf separating the humane and democratic sentiments animating the protests and the fundamentally reactionary aims underlying the Democratic Partys response to the Trump administration. During the election campaign, the Democrats and their presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ran as the party of Wall Street and the military-intelligence complex, concentrating their criticism of Trump on his supposed softness toward Russia. They launched a neo-McCarthyite campaign claiming, without ever providing substantiation, that the government of President Vladimir Putin had manipulated the US election to support Trump. It was this reactionary theme, combined with the promotion of identity politics and indifference to the interests and concerns of the working class, which enabled Trump to demagogically pose as an opponent of the establishment. While the first 10 days of the Trump presidency have aroused popular anger and revulsion over the threat of a mass anti-immigrant dragnet, the Muslim ban, bellicose threats of war and Trumps open promotion of torture, the Democrats have by no means abandoned the reactionary themes of their election campaign. Thus Paul Krugman, the economist and New York Times columnist who unconditionally backed Clinton, begins his latest column: Were just over a week into the Trump-Putin regime, and its already getting hard to keep track of the disasters. The differences between the Democrats and Trump do not reflect divergent class interestsboth represent the same ruling oligarchynor are they about democratic principles. Rather, they center on the implementation of policies to advance the strategic interests of American imperialism. The overriding issue for them is how the Muslim ban and other policies pursued by Trump will affect the preparations for confrontation with Russia and China as well as the ongoing US military operations in the Middle East. This is exemplified by a piece published Tuesday in the New York Times by columnist David Leonhardt entitled Make China Great Again. The tone for the entire column is set by its opening sentence: Americas rivals and enemies have enjoyed a very good 10 days. Writing unabashedly as a partisan of US imperialism, Leonhardt goes on to warn that while ISIS will undoubtedly exploit the Muslim ban, it is not a serious rival to the United States. The ultimate beneficiary is instead likely to be Americas biggest global rival, China. Among those brought forward to challenge the Trump administrations executive order is the most unlikely champion for refugees and Muslim immigrants, Michael Morell, the former acting director of the CIA. A Clinton supporter, he was among the most vehement in denouncing alleged Russian interference in the US election and casting Trump as Putins agent. Morell, who has publicly defended the torture and drone assassinations he oversaw, played no small role in turning millions into refugees and taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of others through the CIA-orchestrated wars for regime change in Libya and Syria. Interviewed on CBS News early morning program on Monday, he denounced Trumps ban not for trampling on democratic rights, but for playing right into the ISIS narrative, i.e., disrupting US efforts to secure hegemony, by means of military violence, over the oil-rich Middle East. Among Morells principal concerns was the inclusion of Iraqis who collaborated with the US military in the travel ban, saying that this would create a disincentive for people to work closely with the US military. Morell also expressed sharp opposition to Trumps executive order naming his chief strategist, the former Breitbart News boss Stephen Bannon, to the Principals Committee of the National Security Council (NSC), while limiting the participation of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the director of national intelligence. In its Tuesday editorial, the Times sounds this same theme. Entitled President Bannon and published together with a sinister-looking graphic imposing half of Bannons face on top of Trumps, the editorial objects not so much to the fascistic politics of Trumps White House strategist as to the danger that his appointment to the NSC will politicize national security and diminish the power of the military and the intelligence apparatus. Imagine tomorrow, the editorial concludes, if Mr. Trump is faced with a crisis involving China in the South China Sea or Russia in Ukraine. Will he look to his chief political provocateur, Mr. Bannon, with his penchant for blowing things up, or will he turn at last for counsel to the few more thoughtful experienced hands in his administration, like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and General Dunford? The concern here is that the escalation of military threats to both Russia and China initiated under the Obama administration may be disrupted. These matters, the Times argues, must remain in the experienced hands of the Pentagon and the CIA. Among the most revealing statements along these lines is a commentary posted Tuesday by the Atlantic magazine under the headline Are Trumps Generals Mounting a Defense of Democratic Institutions? It states that when Trump nominated ex-military commanders as the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security as well as to the post of national security adviser, some progressives worried thatthe heavy presence of brass would undermine the cherished civilian control that is a hallmark of the United States government. Instead, the article suggests, the generals could serve to constrain Trump, adding that military officers are well-versed in the law and their own obligations and care deeply about following rules and procedures, and for instilling a sense of order. The article goes on to note approvingly that it is not unheard of for generals, usually active-duty ones, to play the role of a check on elected leaders, in various forms. In Turkey, the military has tended to view itself as the guardian of secular norms, and has repeatedly stepped in to topple civilian governments that generals feel have strayed from national principles. Apparently catching himself, the author adds, Even if one thinks Trump is acting lawlessly, a de facto coup is also lawless. Theres no good option. Such is the logic of the policies of the Democratic Party and the breakdown of American democracy, under the weight of decades of war and ever-widening social inequality, that the rule of the military is posed as an alternative to the rule of Trump. The crisis of US and global capitalism confronts the working class with grave dangers of war and dictatorship. It can defend its basic social and democratic rights solely by means of an irrevocable break with the Democratic Party and the mobilization of its independent strength in a political struggle to put an end to the capitalist system. Nanny Kiersten Miles and the child whose life she saved. (Photo Courtesy of Kiersten Miles) Yes, there are still incredibly giving people in the world. A few weeks ago, a 22-year-old college student and nanny voluntarily donated part of her liver to the 16-month-old child she was hired to babysit. The caretaker, Kiersten Miles, learned about the childs health crisis three weeks after she began working for the Rosko family last year. Baby Talia was suffering from a chronic disease that could be fatal without a liver transplant and Miles jumped at the opportunity to rescue the little girl. Photo courtesy of Kiersten Miles Doctors explained the severity of the situation to the young nanny. I can never donate again, so they had to tell me in the future if I have a child in a similar situation or a different one and they need a liver, even if Im a 100 percent match, I cant donate, she told Fox 29 News Philadelphia. Regardless of the future risk, she was determined to donate a portion of her organ to the toddler. Its such a small sacrifice when you compare it to saving a life, stated Miles. Some of her doctors said she possibly wouldnt have made it past 2 years old. All I had to do was be in the hospital for a week and a 5-inch scar. I dont know, it just seemed like such a small sacrifice to me. In order to meet the qualifications for being a liver donor, Miles needed to undergo a battery of tests by various specialists. Photo courtesy of Kiersten Miles Its a multistage evaluation process, Peter L. Abt, MD, an associate professor of transplant surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, who was Miless surgeon, tells Yahoo Beauty. We start with the patients history and make sure theyre healthy that theyre not overweight and dont have any systemic illness. We also do a variety of blood tests to make sure their liver is healthy, and then do some imaging to make sure the anatomy is appropriate to donate. Anastasia Darwish, executive director of the American Transplant Foundation, tells Yahoo Beauty that donors are typically under the age of 60. And while liver donors do not need to be blood relatives of liver recipients, they must have a compatible blood type. Story continues Abt further explains that surgery can take anywhere from four to eight hours. It depends on what portion of the liver youre donating, he says. A donation to a child is a smaller piece of liver, but if you donate to an adult, its often a larger piece of liver. Photo courtesy of Kiersten Miles And in most cases, liver donors can resume their regular activities once they have fully recovered from surgery. The goal is for the donor to return to the health they had prior to donation, says Abt. Rarely are there any long-term complications, and the only medication they may need to take for a couple of weeks is some pain medicine if they need it at all. Darwish adds that living liver donation is much riskier than living kidney donation. Theres about a 25 percent complication rate for living liver donors versus less than 1 percent for living kidney donors, she states. Patients and families should only make a decision about living donor transplantation after being fully informed of the risks and benefits of this procedure. That said, this is a lifesaving procedure and a much-needed option for those patients who are on the liver waiting list. Photo courtesy of Kiersten Miles Fox 29 News Philadelphia has also reported that both Miles and baby Talia are doing well. Click the following links to learn more information on the Penn Liver Transplant Program and the American Transplant Foundations 1+1=Life Mentorship Program. Related: It Doesnt Matter How a Woman Conceives Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Multiple guards were taken hostage by inmates Wednesday at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Delaware, a Correctional Officers Association of Delaware official tells PEOPLE. According to Delaware Online, five correctional officers were taken hostage at around 10:30am Wednesday morning. One of the officers was later released with non-life-threatening injuries. In a press release, the Department of Corrections said DOC response teams and the Delaware State Police are on the scene. Negotiations continue, a Delaware Online reporter tweeted Wednesday evening following a press conference. This occurred at 10:32 a.m. when a CO made a radio call asking for "immediate assistance." Shortly after, 5 guards were taken hostage Brittany Horn (@brittanyhorn) February 1, 2017 Authorities were first called to the facility for a smoke condition in the building, 6ABC reports. All state prisons are currently on lockdown, according to Fox News, though Department of Corrections spokeswoman Jayme Gravell said it is standard practice to lock down all state prisons during emergencies. Gravell told Fox News the situation is an isolated incident and that there is no threat to the public. The James T. Vaughn Correctional Center is the states largest correctional facility for men, housing 2,500 inmates, including maximum security inmates, according to the Delaware Department of Corrections website. The prison carries out executions and houses inmates on death row. In 2004, an inmate raped a counselor and took her hostage for close to seven hours, according to an Associated Press report at the time. Photo credit: Getty From Cosmopolitan Shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for an immediate immigration and refugee ban targeting Muslim-majority countries, an old tweet from Trump Hotels' Twitter account asking followers for their "favorite travel memory" went viral - for exactly the reason you might expect. Tell us your favorite travel memory - was it a picture, a souvenir, a sunset? We'd love to hear it! - Trump Hotels (@TrumpHotels) October 11, 2011 Over the weekend, thousands responded to the 2011 tweet with scathing, heartbreaking, and powerful stories which made it perfectly clear just how many people are against Trump's ban and what it represents. You can read a few of those responses below. 1. @TrumpHotels Visiting San Francisco the American city my grandparents settled in after leaving the Philippines after WWII. - Cate Sevilla (@CateSevilla) January 29, 2017 2. .@TrumpHotels hearing about my grandfather's perilous trip to America by boat as a child alone. I wonder if he would be let in today? - Noah Scalin (@NoahScalin) January 29, 2017 3. @TrumpHotels @nybooks It was to Syria. In 2010. A beautiful place. A country full of warm, welcoming people who greeted us everywhere like friends. - Sarah Ra (@hundredgrapes) January 28, 2017 4. .@TrumpHotels Being abroad when Obama was elected and seeing how happy everybody was for both America and the world. - jdh (@502eire) January 28, 2017 5. @TrumpHotels My grandfathers returning home after fighting in WW2. Glad they are not alive to see Nazis running our country now. - Laura Packard (@lpackard) January 29, 2017 6. @TrumpHotels I enjoyed the hospitality of @Airbnb; an experience made even more memorable in comparison with Trump's hideous #MuslimBan. pic.twitter.com/webVkEpbJp - kim (@kim) January 29, 2017 7. @TrumpHotels My grandmother's travel to England, after being freed from Auschwitz. - John Epler (@eplerjc) January 28, 2017 8. @TrumpHotels Traveling here with my family to start a life in a country that actually respected the Constitution and American dream. - Josh Sanchez (@jnsanchez) January 29, 2017 9. Chanting "Shame" outside your Washington D.C. hotel with a million people last weekend! @TrumpHotels - Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) January 29, 2017 10. 11. @TrumpHotels A photo of my father on the boat that brought him from the Philippines to his new home in California. #immigration #resist - Veronica Montes (@vmontes) January 28, 2017 12. @TrumpHotels Visiting a point on the Iron Curtain, which is now an open border - you don't get shot for trying to cross any more. pic.twitter.com/2mgUCdSdUi - Tim Ward (@TimWardCam) January 28, 2017 13. @TrumpHotels any trip where I'm actually allowed off the plane at the end and am not detained illegally like a criminal is pretty great!! - Charlotte Graham (@lightyouonfire) January 29, 2017 14. .@TrumpHotels When I saw JFK flooded with people who refuse to accept the #MuslimBan! I'll never forget that moment! - collazoprojects (@collazoprojects) January 29, 2017 15. Story continues @TrumpHotels my great grandmother fleeing antisemitic persecution in Russia. - Jordan Acker (@JordanAckerMI) January 28, 2017 16. @TrumpHotels That time my parents fled apartheid South Africa and immigrated to America where my father became an advocate for abused children. - Joshua Hale Fialkov (@JoshFialkov) January 29, 2017 17. @TrumpHotels 1922 when my grandma sailed the Haverford to flee violence - was welcomed in America openly by Republican president. pic.twitter.com/IRUFFpDtPj - Matt Grocoff (@mattgrocoff) January 30, 2017 Follow Gina on Twitter. You Might Also Like WASHINGTON Where, exactly, is the red line for Republicans in Congress right now? We have a president with pronounced authoritarian tendencies, who believes he alone can fix it; who signs sweeping executive orders reportedly without even briefing relevant Cabinet members on the logistical, humanitarian and national security consequences; who directs his staff and surrogates to lie about the tiniest and most ridiculous and easily fact-checkable of details; and whose staffers brought us to the brink of a constitutional crisis when they ignored federal court orders. Democrats have few tools at their disposal to obstruct President Trump, let alone force him to double back, given their minority status in both chambers of Congress. They could slow business to a crawl through procedural measures. But that comes with longer-term strategic risks, and more to the point, can only slow things down; they cannot reverse actions the executive branch is already taking. Which is why its ultimately up to Republicans to show leadership, whether through words or (preferably) actual legislative deeds. So when will they stand in Trumps way? Not, apparently, when he violates their stated commitment to fiscal conservatism by offering a tax plan that would add $7 trillion to deficits over a decade. Or when he pledges to spend tens of billions of dollars, paid for by neither Mexico nor any domestic offsets, on a border-wall boondoggle. Not when he withdraws the United States from a major trade pact among 12 Pacific Rim countries that would have weakened Chinas influence and that, more to the point, pro-trade Republican leaders had championed. Not when they learn he had boasted about sexually assaulting women, comments that at one point some Republican politicians said forced them to withdraw their political support. Right before they pledged it anew. Not when he practices parody-worthy levels of executive overreach, supposedly the greatest and most unforgivable sin of his Democratic predecessor, by violating immigration laws laid down by Congress. Not when he picks a needless fight with our peaceable neighbor and third-largest trading partner, Mexico. Not when he bullies and threatens private companies into making operational decisions according to his centrally planned liking, rather than letting free markets guide them, as Republicans have long advocated. Not when he refuses to disclose conflicts that might compromise the economic, security and political interests of this country. And most shockingly: not when he cruelly shuts our doors to refugees, Iraqi translators who helped safeguard American lives, students, dissidents, scientists, doctors and others in what appears to be indeed, what Trump surrogates have claimed is an immigration ban targeting Muslims. A mere year ago, Republican leaders condemned Trumps proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was not conservatism. Then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence called it offensive and unconstitutional. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it completely and totally inconsistent with American values. Then-presidential candidate Marco Rubio agreed, saying, It violates a lot of the things that we think about our country. There you have it: Then, Trumps proposed Muslim ban was decried as not conservative, not constitutional, not American. If there were ever a red line for Republicans, it seems to have been crossed Friday. When a version of the ban became reality, however, Ryan endorsed it. Now-Vice President Pence smiled and applauded as it was signed. McConnell said he doesnt want to criticize [the Trump administration] for improving vetting. And Rubio offered some cowardly pablum about needing clarity on unanswered questions about the ban. Three days after the order was signed, 80 congressional Republicans had explicitly endorsed this once un-conservative, unconstitutional, un-American ban, more than three times the number who publicly opposed it. The vast majority of congressional Republicans refused to choose a side or remained silent. Trump has repeatedly violated the principles and policy goals his co-partisans on the Hill claim to hold dear. Scratch that. Members of the legislative branch have ceded these powers and their duty to check and balance, along with most of their vertebrae quite willingly. And in exchange for what, exactly? Party unity, perhaps? Or maybe the promise of tax cuts for the wealthy, an agenda item apparently more important than safeguarding the Constitution. Or fleeting protection from the ire of Trumps fan base. Trump once bragged that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and voters would let it slide. Im starting to wonder if congressional Republicans would, too. Scott Disick is making the most of his time in paradise! The 33-year-old reality star was spotted getting close with a new girl in Miami just one day after cuddling up to model J Lynne. WATCH: Scott Disick Joins Ex Kourtney Kardashian on Family Vacay to Costa Rica Disick, who arrived in Miami on Monday after vacationing with his ex, Kourtney Kardashian, and her family in Costa Rica over the weekend, looked relaxed as he lounged with the mystery blonde on Tuesday, holding her close to his side. Splash News WATCH: Kris Jenner Opens Up About Kim Kardashian's Robbery, Talks Kourtney's Relationship With Scott Disick While the bikini-clad beauty's identity is unknown, she appears to be friends with Disick's Monday fling, J Lynne. Splash News EXCLUSIVE: Kourtney Kardashian Is Not Hooking Up With Justin Bieber or Dating Scott Disick, Source Says Disick and Kardashian have not been a couple since the summer of 2015, but a source told ET on Monday that the father of three still has hopes of getting back together. "Kourtney is happy being single, and Scott still hopes he has a chance to get her back one day -- but the chances of that happening are pretty slim," the source revealed, adding that Kourtney "could not care less" about Disick's recent hookups. "Kourtney could not care less that Scott hooks up with other girls. They are broken up," the source shared. "There has been no chance of reconciliation for quite some time now." See more in the video below. Related Articles One of the first tools used by authoritarian governments is the obstruction of culture to prevent citizens from understanding one another. Fared Shafinury knows this firsthand. The Iranian-American leader of the band Tehranosaurus recalls getting arrested for playing a show in a public park in Iran in 2006 during the rule of that country's strong-man president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. That's why the blowback he's witnessed so far from President Donald Trump's controversial order barring immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations feels uncomfortably familiar. "My band is composed of immigrants," Shafinury, 34, a second-generation Iranian-American who was born in Corpus Christi, TX, and now splits his time between Texas and California tells Billboard. "Two of the musicians in my band are from the Northeastern part of Iran and they fled for their freedom and to be able to live in America and be free." The brothers, Matin and Misaq Eshaghi, are classically trained musicians who are now afraid to return home to visit their families -- including an ailing grandmother -- because even with valid green cards they fear they won't be allowed to come back into the country due to Trump's order. The confusing presidential action rolled out on Jan. 27 blocks any refugees from entering the country for 120 days (including those from war-torn Syria, who are indefinitely barred) and imposes a 90-day ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The White House has sent out contradictory statements about how green card holders would be impacted by the order, with the administration initially indicating they would be barred and then reversing course on Sunday (Jan. 29) and saying "going forward" they would not be blocked from re-entering the country. "I also have two tall white men who are blue-eyed, blonde Texans that I was planning to take to Iran, but in reaction to Trump's stand Iran has banned them [from visiting]," says Shafinury, whose repertoire is a mix of traditional American and Persian folk music that sometimes finds him mixing Bruce Springsteen with revered 13th century Persian poet/philosopher Rumi. "This is an obstruction of the transfer of culture. My firm belief is that the main uniting factor in all of this mix of political strife is that governments who become tyrannical and authoritarian use the obstruction of culture to prevent people from understanding and getting along with one another." For Shafinury, there's never been a more important time in his life to make music. Which is why he's heartbroken that his biggest overseas tour to date -- a planned 11-gig trip to Australia, Europe and Canada -- has been scrapped due to the chaos surrounding Trump's order. In addition to creating a "huge financial burden" and blocking his attempt to further spread the name of the band he's fronted since 2008, Shafinury says this is the first time in his professional career where there's been "an actual blockade of my culture." The tour cancelation comes on the heels of a sold-out three-date swing that took his group from New York on Jan. 20 to San Francisco's African American Art & Culture Center on Jan. 28 and the American Jewish University the next night. The eclectic choice of venues is in keeping with Shafinury's drive to reach across cultures, and he says the timing ended up being both inspiring and head-spinning. "Our tour was happening just as these laws were being signed," he says, recalling how the presidential order was released the night before the San Francisco show, at which the band "performed their hearts out" in reaction to their emotions about the anxiety-producing news. "The next day we got on a plane and walked into LAX [Los Angeles International Airport] right into this mess [of protests and travelers being detained.] This band is exactly being affected by this. I'm an Iranian-American musician who is as Iranian as he is Texan. I'm extremely Persian and extremely Texan." He says those three shows had a much different vibe, as much about the music as they were about raising a fist in defiance. "My work has turned into a huge protest." That energized vibe feels like it's coming up onto the stage now as well, he says, sensing that his fans -- many more of whom are non-Iranian lately -- are openly making a statement of solidarity by supporting Tehranosaurus. "How could one prepare for this?" he wonders, alluding to the "state of fury and angst" that he feels emanating from his band during their passionate recent gigs. Asked what he would say to Trump if he had a chance to plead his case with the reality-star-turned-commander-in-chief, Shafinury doesn't even see the point. "To a man like Trump communication with the tools of logic becomes meaningless," he says. "To communicate any motive of unity or cultural exchange to a man like Trump is beyond his capability to understand. In Iran, the fear is people shouldn't come together and unite around culture -- that's what happens in a tyrannical police state. There's no difference between Trump and Ahmadinejad." Actually, there is one. "The only difference is Trump has access to the world's most powerful military." ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports The Packers ruled out linebacker De'Vondre Campbell (knee) after he missed practice all week. That leaves rookie Quay Walker to wear the communication helmet on defense against the Lions. The only game Campbell has missed the past six seasons was Week 18 last season when he was inactive to rest for the postseason, not for [more] Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday: 1. TRUMP TO SENATE: SCRAP RULES IF NEEDED TO CONFIRM GORSUCH It's an aggressive opening to what's shaping up as a ferocious clash over the future of the Supreme Court. 2. SENATOR TAKING HEAT FROM BOTH RIGHT, LEFT Leading Democrat Chuck Schumer has been ridiculed by Trump but also faces complaints he's not fighting hard enough against the president. 3. BRITAIN'S CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT GETS A WIN The country moves closer to leaving the European Union as lawmakers decisively back a bill authorizing divorce proceedings. 4. HOW ISLAMIC STATE GROUP IS ADAPTING Faced with a diminishing number of fighters, the militants are relying on retrofitted commercial drones to do things like guide suicide car bombers to their targets. 5. VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT DELAWARE PRISON Inmates at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center take corrections department workers as hostages, prompting a lockdown of all prisons in the state. 6. WHAT FACEBOOK IS FOCUSING ON The social network is furiously promoting its live video feature as it tries to get more users to shoot and watch such videos. 7. ISRAEL EVACUATES WEST BANK OUTPOST The removal of residents and their supporters from what Israel's Supreme Court has ruled is private Palestinian land provokes violent clashes. 8. WHO'S BEEN 'BLESSED TWO TIMES OVER' Beyonce and Jay Z announce on Instagram that the superstar singer is pregnant with twins. 9. ALABAMA REIGNS ON RECRUITING TRAIL The Crimson Tide's latest signees may be coach Nick Saban's best recruiting class yet. 10. NFL'S GOODELL SAYS HE HOLDS NO GRUDGE The commissioner at his pre-Super Bowl news conference insists there's no awkwardness between him and the Patriots in the wake of "Deflategate." Since November, President Trump has claimed, without evidence and against the findings of political scientists, that millions of non-citizens voted illegally in the 2016 electionwhich he blames for costing him the popular vote against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Even though Trumps own lawyers dismissed fraud claims in a legal filing, the President remains convinced: On Jan. 25, just five days after his inauguration, he announced an investigation into the matter. After his repeated accusations, 25% of voters now think the unfounded claims are true, too. A new Morning Consult/Politico survey has found that one in four voters believe there was voter fraud in the election, while 44% do not. To obtain those results, pollsters surveyed 1,991 registered voters from Jan. 26 through Jan. 28. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, according to Politico. Among Democrats polled, only 16% believed the voter fraud allegations, compared to the 36% of Republicans surveyed who did. Interestingly, more of those who were surveyed believed that Trump, not former Democratic nominee Clinton, was helped by voter fraud. According to the poll, 35% of voters thought that Trump benefited most from the alleged fraud, compared to 30% who believed Clinton was helped most. Photo credit: GM From Popular Mechanics Suspension systems don't tend to get much publicity, but they're probably the most crucial factor in the day-to-day enjoyment of your car. Automakers are always tweaking and refining their designs in search of that elusive ideal: a perfect ride coupled with race-worthy handling. We haven't quite gotten there yet, but the latest systems are better than ever at reconciling the competing goals of comfort and performance. Here are three recent innovations to tide us over until Bose reinvents suspension entirely. Magnetic Dampers If you enjoy the magnetic dampers on your Ferrari FF or Audi R8, you can thank General Motors for developing the technology. By varying electric current through a ferrous fluid, Magnetic Ride Control dampers can adjust their stiffness in response to driving conditions. And while the system is licensed to other companies, GM, as the originator, is still out front. Its third-generation Magnetic Ride Control (as seen in select performance cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, seen above) improves on prior designs by adding a second wire. Now the fluid can be actively switched from firm to compliant, whereas before there was a lag as the particles naturally returned to their relaxed state. The implication? At sixty miles per hour the Stingray can adjust for each inch of road. Active Curve Tilting Photo credit: Mercedes Motorcyclists can tell you that leaning into a corner feels natural-too bad cars can't do that. Well, now one can: the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG coupe. Using a lateral-acceleration sensor paired to a forward-looking camera, the S65 perceives corners and then uses its air suspension to tilt the body in toward the apex. The goal isn't higher performance but, rather, increased comfort as the passengers experience lower lateral loads at a given speed. Basically, if the road doesn't have a nicely banked corner, the car simulates one for its occupants. Proving, yet again, that it's nice to be rich. Story continues Hydraulic Roll Control Photo credit: Audi The 2015 Audi RS 7 is the latest car to gain a hydraulic cross-linked suspension, which Audi dubs Dynamic Ride Control. While conventional suspensions use steel antiroll bars to counteract body roll, hydraulic systems send fluid to the opposite side of the car. When you're not pulling major g's, the system stays out of the way, allowing unimpeded wheel travel and a smooth ride. It's like having huge antiroll bars and no antiroll bars at all, depending on the situation. The vehicles with the best compromise between performance and handling all use some version of this approach. Hydraulic cross-linking isn't perfect, but it's the closest thing right now to a full active suspension. What Happened to the Bose Suspension? Back in 2004 Bose revealed that it had been secretly working on an active suspension system since 1980. By using powerful electromagnetic struts, the Bose system could instantly extend or retract any one wheel, with all four corners working in concert to keep the car's body level. Bose demonstrated the system on a Lexus LS400 outside its headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts, speeding the car over all manner of obstacles while the body remained completely serene-as a finale, the Lexus gracefully leaped over a piece of lumber in its path. It seemed like the dawn of a new era, and the company predicted that within a few years the system would be available in production cars. More than a decade later, where's our active suspension? So far, only in big-rig truck seats, where the Bose Ride mounting system actively nulls shock and vibration before it reaches the driver. But cars are still the main prize, so we asked whether the system could be ready in five years if a car manufacturer committed today. A company spokesman replied, "Yes. Of course, we'd have to work with a car manufacturer on development and customization, but it's technically feasible. And when the right car customer is ready, we'll be ready." So there's your answer. Now who wants in on the suspension revolution? You Might Also Like For more news videos visit Yahoo View. The 8-year-old daughter of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was among roughly 30 civilians who died during a raid carried out by US commandos Sunday in Yemen. About 14 al Qaeda militants were killed during the operation, according to the Pentagon. Nawar Anwar al-Awlaki, known as Nora, was shot in the neck during the raid carried out by the Navy's SEAL Team 6 against an al Qaeda camp, according to NBC News. "She was hit with a bullet in her neck and suffered for two hours," her grandfather Nasser al-Awlaki told Reuters. "Why kill children? This is the new administration. It's very sad, a big crime." SEAL Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens was also killed during the hour-long gun battle, and three other American commandos were injured. An MV-22 helicopter that crash-landed had to be destroyed before the SEALs left. "Almost everything went wrong," a senior US military official told NBC News of the operation, which was the first clandestine strike approved by President Donald Trump. Born in New Mexico, the elder Awlaki spoke at the Capitol and the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks, but eventually left the United States in 2002. The process of his radicalization accelerated after being imprisoned in Yemen with US encouragement and he went on to become a top recruiter and mentor to a number of al Qaeda operatives, including Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Malik Hasan and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to bring down an American airliner with explosives hidden in his underwear. He was killed in a CIA Predator drone strike in 2011, the first time an American citizen was killed in such a way. Another US citizen, Samir Khan, who published the al Qaeda magazine Inspire, was also killed in the strike. Roughly two weeks later, a US drone strike killed Awlaki's 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman. US officials denied he was their target. Despite his death in 2011, Anwar al-Awlaki's fiery online video sermons have continued to inspire militants in the years since. Story continues The death of 8-year-old Nawar will likely be used in militant propaganda efforts, especially since she is the second of Awlaki's children killed by the US. It was not immediately clear where she was born, but having an American father would have given her automatic dual citizenship for the US and the country of her birth. "The perception will be that it's not enough to kill al-Awlaki," Karen Greenberg, director of Fordham University's Center on National Security, told NBC. "That the US had to kill the entire family." According to Middle East Monitor, the US is already being blamed on social media for "assassinating children." NOW WATCH: How Russia's most advanced military equipment stacks up against NATO hardware More From Business Insider A tearful 911 call placed by an 8-year-old boy led authorities in Wisconsin to a parking lot where police say his father had nearly overdosed after snorting medication last week. According to Waukesha County authorities, 33-year-old Christopher Koeberl's son called 911 because his dad became unresponsive while his car idled in a school district office parking lot. Read: DUI Driver Stopped With 15-Foot Tree Lodged in the Grill: Cops "My dads dead," the boy said in the heart-wrenching call. "Hes not waking up or anything." According to a criminal complaint, the Milwaukee man snorted three Xanax pills before getting behind the wheel with the 8-year-old as well as the boy's, 6- and 4-year-old brothers in the car. Police were directed to the scene by a passerby who witnessed the commotion and took the phone. When they arrived, authorities administered Narcan to Koeberl in order to reverse a possible overdose. Once roused, police say Koeberl told them he'd snorted the anxiety medication. Koeberl was charged Monday with operating while intoxicated (with a passenger younger than 16), three counts of child neglect and operating with a revoked license. He made his initial court appearance Monday and was ordered held on a $5,000 cash bond. Read: 7-Year-Old Finds Bag Full of Cash From Nearby Bank Robbery According to police records online, this was Koeberl's third time being charged with operating while intoxicated. A public defender representing Koeberl had no comment Wednesday afternoon. Koeberl is due in court later this month for a preliminary hearing. Watch: Suspected Drunk Driver Crashes Into Medical Helicopter Related Articles: The mystery over the reported abduction from Hong Kong of a Chinese billionaire deepened Wednesday after a newspaper advert appeared in his name pledging loyalty to China, in a case that has heightened fears over Beijing's meddling. The whereabouts of financier Xiao Jianhua -- one of China's richest men -- are unclear after reports in overseas Chinese-language media that he was taken from Hong Kong by mainland security agents last week. The reports suggested Xiao's disappearance was part of China's ongoing anti-corruption campaign, which some critics believe has been used to target President Xi Jinping's political opponents. Xiao had been staying at Hong Kong's Four Seasons hotel and was looked after by female bodyguards, local media reported. A front-page advert in Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao, attributed to Xiao, said he had "always loved the (ruling Communist) party and the country" and would soon meet with media. "I personally believe the Chinese government is civilised and has rule of law," the advert read. "I have not been kidnapped." Xiao, who said in the statement he was a Canadian citizen, insisted he was being treated for an illness overseas. The founder of Beijing-based Tomorrow Group, Xiao was previously reported to have denied allegations he fled to Hong Kong in 2014 to escape the corruption crackdown. He is said to have acted as a broker for the Chinese leadership, including for Xi's family. But overseas Chinese-language news site Bowen Press said Xiao could also have been connected to an "anti-Xi coalition". It is illegal for mainland agents to operate in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, but the disappearance of five booksellers known for publishing salacious titles about Beijing's leadership in 2015 prompted widespread criticism China had overstepped that line. One of the men, Lee Bo, vanished from Hong Kong, triggering international condemnation and local protests. Story continues Lee always insisted he had gone over the border voluntarily. Hong Kong's security bureau said the government "will not allow non-Hong Kong law enforcement officers to take law enforcement actions in Hong Kong". But James To of the Democratic Party said there was a "credible suspicion" Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" deal had been breached. "After the Lee Bo fiasco people are very concerned about whether Hong Kong residents or people lawfully staying in Hong Kong will be protected," To told AFP. - 'Credible suspicion' - The South China Morning Post reported Xiao was currently in mainland China, not receiving medical treatment, and was only in contact with his family. Xiao had wanted to move some of his businesses to Japan after feeling unsafe in Hong Kong, Initium news site said. His wife was now in Japan after reporting his case to Hong Kong police then withdrawing it, the report said. According to the Financial Times Xiao was led away by Chinese public security agents from an apartment at the Four Seasons. The hotel said there was an "active police investigation" when asked about the case. Hong Kong police said they had received a request for assistance over a "mainland citizen" Saturday, but a family member had later retracted it. They said the person it referred to had crossed a border control point between Hong Kong and China on Friday. The Canadian consulate said it was aware of the reports and its officials were "in contact" with authorities. Xiao said in the Ming Pao statement he was a permanent resident of Hong Kong, and held a diplomatic passport. In 2015, he was made "ambassador-at-large" for Antigua and Barbuda, according to news site Caribbean360, which pictured Xiao at the time with the country's prime minister Gaston Browne. Hong Kong-based analyst Willy Lam said Xiao may have been targeted because he knew "potentially embarrassing details" about financial actions involving major Chinese political clans. China's anti-corruption drive was launched after Xi took power in 2012 and has brought down government officials and corporate executives. Billionaire Guo Guangchang, chairman of one of the country's biggest private-sector conglomerates Fosun, vanished from public view in 2015 in connection with an investigation by authorities, and then re-emerged. In 2016 the chairman of one of China's most prominent fashion firms also disappeared, returning to work a week later amid speculation he had been caught up in the anti-corruption campaign. We have a rich hunting tradition in Wisconsin; hunting plays an important part in our economy and our conservation efforts. We have nearly 900,000 hunters which helps create more than 34,000 Wisconsin jobs and an overall $4 billion ripple effect to our states economy. That is why it was so maddening to hear that on the outgoing administrations final day, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe made one last attack on our nations hunters by ordering a ban on the use of traditional ammunition in national parks, wildlife refuges and all other lands administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There was no opportunity for public comments, no working with Congress, just one last political statement before Ashe could turn out the lights. This executive overreach will hopefully be repealed on day one of the new leadership taking their posts. I was even more dismayed by Ashes overreach because so many of us in the hunting community have been working to increase the number of hunters in the field. This ban on traditional ammunition will only force hunters to purchase more expensive ammo, effectively pricing some hunters out of the sport. Perhaps Ashe did not consider that hunter spending also contributes to conservation funding, that an 11 percent excise tax known as the Pittman-Robertson Act was specifically lobbied for by hunters and passed in 1937 to provide funds to manage and conserve our nations wildlife. Fewer hunters would mean fewer dollars for conservation. Nearly 4 million acres have been purchased with Pittman-Robertson Act funds since the program began nearly 80 years ago. In 2016, Wisconsin received nearly $21 million in funds back for conservation and hunter safety programming. This not only benefits wildlife both hunted and non-hunted but everyone who enjoys our outdoor pursuits, from hunting, bird watching to wildlife photography. These hunter-generated funds help with our quality of life even if you never touch a firearm or box of ammunition in your life, we all benefit. Moreover, there is little evidence to suggest that such a ban is needed. The outgoing director did not cite any data or scientific studies to support this ban. Its disappointing but it seems clear to me that this last-minute order was completely politically motivated and based more on opposition to the sport of hunting than sound science. Former Director Ashe had eight years to implement this order but waited until he was literally walking out the door. I can only assume he did that because he knew what a bad order it was, unsupported by real evidence and detrimental to the pastime that millions of Americans love. In the coming weeks I am hopeful the new administration will swiftly repeal this executive overreach on day one. By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday took the first step toward scaling back the controversial "conflict minerals" rule, which requires companies to trace whether their products contain minerals from a war-torn part of Africa. In his first major action since becoming acting SEC chair earlier this month, Michael Piwowar announced he has directed agency staff to reconsider how companies should comply with the rule and whether "additional relief" from its requirements is necessary. Piwowar's action comes just one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that aims to slash government regulations. The White House has said the order does not apply to independent agencies like the SEC. However, independent agencies often try to voluntarily follow the spirit of such orders. The conflict minerals rule requires manufacturers, from Apple Inc to General Electric Co, to tell investors if their products contain certain minerals from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is one of several SEC disclosure rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that Republicans and business groups have long sought to repeal, saying they force companies to furnish politically charged information that is irrelevant to making investment decisions. Another disclosure rule hated by many companies that was also in Dodd-Frank is the "resource extraction" rule, which forces oil and gas companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are slated to vote on a measure to repeal the resource extraction rule on Wednesday. In that case, Republicans are seeking to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to stop recently adopted regulations through a simple majority vote. The conflict minerals rule cannot be repealed through the Congressional Review Act because the law can only be applied to rules adopted since the end of May. Story continues However, SEC staff can issue interpretive guidance to scale back its requirements or, in a more aggressive move, staff can choose not to enforce it. Piwowar said the SEC will solicit comments from the public on whether SEC staff should update its guidance on compliance. The Dodd-Frank law also contains language which would let Trump order the SEC to temporarily suspend the conflict minerals rule for two years if it might harm national security. Piwowar did not ask the president to take such a step. However, he did raise some national security concerns posed by the rule, and said it has done nothing to help the humanitarian crisis in Africa. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker) NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aetna Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini said on Tuesday that he is optimistic about the next wave of healthcare reform being considered by lawmakers and regulators. Bertolini, speaking during a conference call, said that despite its best intentions, the Affordable Care Act did not meet its goals of being affordable. In the fourth-quarter, he said the company lost $100 million more than expected on its ACA compliant individual plans. (Reporting by Caroline Humer) By Josh Smith KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan government controls less than 60 percent of the country, a U.S. watchdog agency reported on Wednesday, after security forces retreated from many strongholds last year. Afghan soldiers and police, with the aid of thousands of foreign military advisers, are struggling to hold off a resurgent insurgency led by the Taliban, as well as other groups like Islamic State. As of November, the government could only claim to control or influence 57 percent of Afghanistan's 407 districts, according to U.S. military estimates released by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in a quarterly report to the U.S. Congress. That represents a 15 percent decrease in territory held compared with the same time in 2015, the agency said in a report. "SIGARs analysis of the most recent data provided by U.S. forces in Afghanistan suggests that the security situation in Afghanistan has not improved this quarter," it said. "The numbers of the Afghan security forces are decreasing, while both casualties and the number of districts under insurgent control or influence are increasing." More than 10 percent of districts are under insurgent control or influence, while 33 percent are contested, according to the report. Some of the most contested provinces include Uruzgan, with five of six districts under insurgent control or influence, and Helmand, with eight of its 14 districts under insurgent control or influence. U.S. military officials say much of the loss of territory reflects a change in strategy, with Afghan forces abandoning many checkpoints and bases in order to consolidate and focus on the most threatened areas. Insurgents tried at least eight times to capture provincial capitals, although each assault was eventually beaten off. According to U.S. military estimates, the number of Afghans living under insurgent control or influence decreased slightly in recent months to about 2.5 million people. But nearly a third of the country, or 9.2 million people, live in areas that are contested, according to SIGAR, leading to some of the highest civilian casualty rates the United Nations has ever recorded in Afghanistan. Afghan security forces also sustained heavy casualties, with at least 6,785 soldiers and police killed in the first 10 months of last year, with 11,777 wounded, SIGAR reported. Casualty figures are rarely released by the Afghan government, while difficulties in confirming and tracking troop numbers make any figures subject to wide variation. SIGAR reported some progress in combating corruption, which has plagued both Afghan military and political institutions. (Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Robert Birsel) (ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia) African leaders on Tuesday adopted a strategy calling for a collective withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. The non-binding decision came behind closed doors near the end of an African Union summit. It was the latest expression of impatience by African leaders with the court, which some say has focused too narrowly on Africa while pursuing cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Late last year, South Africa, Burundi and Gambia all announced plans to leave the court, leading to concerns that other states would follow. Desire Assogbavi, head of Oxfam Internationals liaison office to the AU, confirmed the adoption of the strategy. A source close to the continental bodys legal council also confirmed it, saying countries had been divided on whether to call for leaving the court individually or together. The source said the majority of countries also wanted the meaning of immunity and impunity amended in the Rome Statute, the treaty that set up the court in 2002. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Some African countries have been especially critical of the ICC for pursuing heads of state. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been wanted by the court since 2009 for allegedly orchestrating atrocities in Darfur. The ICC also caused an uproar among some African nations by indicting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on charges of crimes against humanity for 2007 post-election violence in which more than 1,000 died. The case collapsed because of what the ICC prosecutor called lack of cooperation by Kenyas government. Elise Keppler with Human Rights Watchs international justice program said the ICC withdrawal strategy has no timeline and few concrete recommendations for action. She pointed out that several African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal and Congo, have spoken up in support of the ICC in recent months. A draft of the strategy, obtained by The Associated Press, recommends that African countries strengthen their own judicial mechanisms and expand the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights in order to reduce the deference to the ICC. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes hit Syrian Red Crescent offices in the northwestern city of Idlib after midnight on Wednesday, injuring several staff and causing extensive damage, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. It was not clear which air force the jets belonged to or whether they had taken off from inside Syria or crossed its borders, the British-based Observatory said. Russian and Syrian warplanes have been carrying out raids against Syrian insurgents in Idlib province, a rebel stronghold, but since the new year U.S. air strikes have also targeted militants in Idlib formerly affiliated to al Qaeda. Among those wounded in Wednesday's raid was the director of the local Red Crescent branch, the Observatory said. (Reporting by John Davison, editing by Larry King) By Tim Hepher PARIS (Reuters) - After top-level restructuring at Airbus come the musical chairs and a new logo intended to convey unity as the European giant aims to refocus its management without a return to past infighting. In a symbolic move, the man in charge of making Airbus jets has reluctantly agreed to leave his office by the vast factories in Toulouse and move to a new corporate headquarters in the same southern French city, people familiar with the matter said. At first sight, it might seem an obvious move following the restructuring in which the planemaking division became the mainstay of the overall structure of a company that also manufactures space rockets, helicopters and military jets. But close watchers of the predominantly Franco-German firm, still bruised by decades of infighting, fear the decision to put planemaking chief Fabrice Bregier in the new HQ alongside his boss Tom Enders could test a fragile internal power balance. For Bregier, it may only be a move of about a kilometer on the ground, but it shifts him ever so slightly away from the company's economic nerve center that drives its share price, revenue and profits. And it comes at a critical time for the world's second largest planemaker as it strives to boost output. "(Bregier) isn't happy, but he is going to make it work," said one person close to the company, who asked not to be named. Airbus agreed last year to merge its jetliner division with its parent group to reflect the stronger bias toward civil manufacturing that started in 2013, after the failure of a planned merger with British defense firm BAE Systems . After the latest internal restructuring, Bregier gave up his title as chief executive of the Airbus commercial airliner business, but remained its president while also becoming chief operating officer and number two for the group as a whole. "Airbus is now an aircraft manufacturing company with two other divisions, so after the merger the focus on the core business is much tighter," an Airbus spokesman said. Enders, 58, is now drawing core people and functions around him at the new HQ to secure his vision of forging the integrated company he believes is necessary to remain on a par with arch-rival Boeing and fend off new competition. He has pledged to make Airbus a "normal company" after French and German political interference was curbed in 2014 by a change in its corporate governance following the failure of the BAE deal. CRITICAL TASK But plucking Bregier from a domain in which he is undisputed leader - having overseen record plane output and an improved industrial performance - and accentuating his other role as deputy to Enders is seen by some as a potential loss of focus. Airbus is confronted with the critical task of raising its jet output fast to fill thousands of orders on its books, and investors are especially sensitive to any risk its top managers become distracted by internal politics. "What is unusual is to have restructuring happening at a time when production is increasing sharply," one European aerospace analyst said. At the same time, a raft of top managers in the planemaking business involved in operations, sales, programs and engineering are nearing retirement age. Publicly, Airbus managers have closed ranks behind the CEO's plans. Many recall the industrial chaos and tensions between French and German government shareholders - and their proxies within the company - that hammered Airbus shares a decade ago. Enders, who is German, and Bregier, a 55-year-old Frenchman, have occasionally appeared uneasy partners. Both are major industry figures in their own right and aspire to the top job. But they also demonstrated a pragmatic ability to work together in 2007-12 at what was then the jet division of EADS, later renamed Airbus Group, again with Enders in the lead role. The latest overhaul cements Bregier's position as heir apparent as he is now operational chief of the whole group but it also means he may have to wait longer for the top job. Both men have pledged to make jet production their top priority and company insiders say Bregier had initially suggested he would keep a physical presence in each camp to ensure this. But his office move is just the latest example of a steady shift of key oversight functions toward the center, consolidating the power of Enders and prompting reports of fresh tension in one of the industry's key personal relationships. The Airbus spokesman dismissed such concerns. "They worked together well when both at Airbus and both their roles have significantly increased, so there is no overlap." The insistence on unity does not end there. Airbus has quietly axed separate brands for its divisions, including the ball-shaped Airbus logo used on its first flight in 1972. Brand experts say the design was worth less than the name, but the loss of a historic symbol underscores the jetmaker's reduced independence within the corporate structure. Witnesses say workers have put up a new "AIRBUS" sign - with the ball removed - above the commercial offices. The helicopter and defense divisions are now expected to undergo similar surgery. (Editing by David Clarke) JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska brothers James and Giono Barrett have a dream: that some of the scores of cruise ship passengers who crowd the state capital's streets each summer will one day use their shore excursions to kick back and light up a joint in a pot store lounge. The Barretts own Juneau's first marijuana retail shop and want to tap into the $260 million or so that tourists dropped in the small coastal city last year. Regulators could decide soon whether to make that happen. At a meeting Thursday in Juneau, they will consider allowing marijuana retail stores statewide to provide separate areas of their businesses for onsite consumption. It's the first time the matter has been addressed at the state level in the U.S., said Chris Lindsey, a senior legislative counsel with the Marijuana Policy Project. Recreational marijuana is legal in eight states and the District of Columbia. Denver is considering licenses for marijuana social clubs. Even if the Alaska board approves onsite consumption, don't expect to walk into a store Friday for a sit-and-smoke. Retail stores must file applications for such a lounge, including security plans and how it would be separated from the retail operation and ventilated. Many retail shops also would need waivers for local ordinances banning smoking. Critics fear an Amsterdam-like scene and pot use spilling from the retail stores onto streets and trails. They hope the state marijuana board puts in place restrictions to keep onsite consumption from happening. The Barrett brothers in December opened Rainforest Farms, where Gorilla Glue with a THC level of 23.8 percent is their best seller. They share concerns about cruise ship passengers smoking pot in alleys or on trails but say the easy solution is giving them a place to legally smoke their weed or eat their edibles before they head back to the ship. "We have a lot of tourists that come to Juneau over a million every year and a place for them to consume responsibly seems like a good thing to do," James Barrett said. Story continues Many of these tourists will continue on to Anchorage, where they could try more Alaska-grown weed before heading farther north. Leah Levinton envisions an Anchorage "green light district," where scores of tourists come on buses to try the offerings at four retail stores in the city's Spenard neighborhood. She owns Enlighten Alaska with her brother, Evan, and their mother, Jane Stinson. "Whether or not the state approves onsite consumption, the fact is we're going to have plenty of people coming from outside the state, and even (from) various countries that want to check out what Alaska has to offer in terms of cannabis," she said. About 100 miles north of Anchorage is the quirky tourist town of Talkeetna, long rumored to be the inspiration for the community featured in the 1990s television series "Northern Exposure." Talkeetna is the last stop for climbers hoping to make the ascent of nearby Denali, North America's tallest peak, and residents have carved out a cultural and historical tourism niche for tourists making their way to Denali National Park. Joe McAneney is planning The High Expedition Co., a marijuana retail shop, in a historic cabin on main street and hopes to tie in branding with the city's rich mountain climbing history. He anticipates the state will consider his retail license in April. Beyond the small cabin, once used by National Park Service rangers, he and his partner are working with designers to build a unique consumption lounge attached to the retail store. They plan to keep the store open year-round to serve locals, but that can't be the only aim, McAneney said. "I think anyone who really wants to succeed and set themselves apart in the Alaska market really needs to focus on tourism," he said. Geri McCann has been involved with tourism in Talkeetna since 1973, and she opposes having a marijuana retail store on the main drag. She markets Talkeetna as a cultural destination, where people can come to experience historic Alaska. "We cradle that and protect that," she said. Her worry is that High Expedition customers will take their joints to a nearby riverside park and light up, even though smoking pot in public is illegal. "It's going to change Talkeetna. Do we want that change?" McCann said. Alaska Marijuana Control Board member Loren Jones of Juneau believes operators expecting to make good money off tourists are being unrealistic. He said so many states have legal weed now, it's silly to think people would take a cruise to Alaska just to get pot. "When a Disney ship comes in with families, I don't think they're going to be running out to consume marijuana instead of whale watching or fishing," said Jones, adding he didn't know how he was going to vote on onsite consumption. Another member of the five-man regulatory board is Fairbanks resident Brandon Emmett, who has advocated for onsite consumption since voters approved marijuana in 2014. "If this gets voted down, I think we have done a disservice to the taxpayers in Alaska because we've taken so much time hashing out the issue," he said. Back in Juneau, the Barrett brothers will apply to add a pot lounge at their store if the board approves onsite consumption. They believe their customers and the people who travel on cruise ships mainly baby boomers are the same demographic. The brothers know what their patrons want: pot like Quantum Kush, which at 26.2 percent THC has the highest potency in Alaska, or no-potency weed for medicinal purposes. "They want to get really high, or they don't want to get high at all," James Barrett said. In the approximately two weeks that President Donald Trump has been President of the United States, the country has witnessed the passage of an executive order that radically altered U.S. immigration policy without any plan for its execution, the firing of a high government official for her betrayal of the administration, and a series of obvious Trump-generated falsehoods coupled with public, and almost daily, vilification of the press. In many ways, Trump has completely upended the usual course of events that accompanies the smooth transition of power in America. In some ways, its comforting to argue, as some have, that this all demonstrates Trumps ineptitude, and makes it increasingly likely he wont serve eight years as President, or perhaps even four. But Trumps goal appears different from any man who has inhabited the White House before him. He likely does not necessarily want to achieve a specific policy goal that fits into a cohesive framework. Instead, his goal appears to be the chaos that has resulted from his decisions so far. And he appears willing to resort to methods that are more authoritarian than they are democratic to achieve this disorder. To understand him, pundits would be better off comparing him to Mao Zedong, the founder of the Peoples Republic of China, than to any past U.S. President. While Trump has done nothing that matches the scale or cruelty of Maos policies, some historical parallels help illuminate the new Presidents objectives and behavior. Mao came to power as a revolutionary populist intent on overturning Chinas old order. Those tendencies help to explain why China was enveloped in chaos for most of his 27-year reign. These are some of the same impulses found in Trump, his campaign, and thus far his presidency, as China scholar Orville Schell noted at a Jan. 19 talk hosted by the non-profit Asia Society. Trumps preeminent goal is not necessarily to advance U.S. economic interests or even to advocate a coherent policy platform. Rather his motivating impulse is to upset the current world order: I think there is a bit of an outsider, troublemaker, turner-over of old orders, putting fingers in the eyes of the establishment in Donald Trump, Schell said. Story continues It is the disarray and the upending of society that appeals to the U.S. President. If you dont destroy, you cant construct was a favorite saying of Mao as he took China down the pointless and profoundly self-destructive path of a continuous revolution. Understanding that aspect of Trump is important in figuring out how to deal with his presidency. Appealing to economic logic when he calls for a 20 percent tariff on Mexican goods and calling on American values when he institutes a ban on Muslim immigration is not going to resonate with him. Ideological, not beneficial Part of an authoritarian regime is the dedication to ideological projects even at the expense of economic or social progress. For Mao, the Great Leap Forward, which lasted from 1958 to 1962, stands out. In order to prove that China had made the great leap to an industrialized, rich, communist society, Mao ordered the complete collectivization of farms, factories, and most of Chinese society. Harebrained ideas like digging crops deeper, smelting steel in backyard furnaces, and building useless irrigation projects resulted in one of the greatest man-made famines in history. Within a year, the leadership knew that the program was a failure. But the ruling Communist Party ignored this fact and continued its campaign, committed to the ideological line underneath it. Read more: Chinese Converted out West Are Losing Faith Back Home Thousands of Christian believers return to China every year. Why cant they find a place to worship? White House Echoes Beijing in Treatment of U.S. Press In its efforts to discredit and control the media, Sean Spicer and Donald Trump have sounded eerily similar to Communist Party officials. Chinas Outdated Foreign Service Needs Rebooting for the Age of Trump Glitz, glamor, beauty, charm China has all of that. It will need to use those assets better to manage the new U.S. President. In his first week in office, Trump has already called for an ideological project that looks set to hurt the United States more than it will help: completing the border wall between the United States and Mexico. Most undocumented immigrants in the United States are stateside because they overstayed their legally-obtained visas, not because they waltzed across the Mexican border. Trump ignores this fact and instead has proposed building a border wall that will cost between $10 billion (Trumps estimate) and $38 billion (MITs estimate). While he demands Mexico pay for the wall, the only proposal Trump has offered to make that happen is a 20 percent tariff on Mexican goods, a tariff that will likely be borne by the U.S. consumer. Yet the emphasis here is on ideology and not practicality. For this reason, its not particularly important that grand projects are well-thought out or properly executed. During the Great Leap Forward, Mao decided that China would double its steel production. To meet this goal, Mao instituted backyard furnaces: every item made of metal doorknobs, farm tools was smelted down. But as Mao would learn too late, smelted metal produces inferior quality steel that cannot be used, let alone sold abroad. Similarly, when Trump issued a January 27, 2017 executive order to ban immigration of Muslims from certain countries, at least for several months, he seemingly gave no thought to its legality or to its implementation. It was signed after 4 oclock on a Friday and took immediate effect, leaving the agencies tasked with implementing it unprepared. Immigration officials, who had no prior notice of the precise contents of the executive order, were left largely in the dark, and when refugees, green card holders, and visa holders arrived, chaos ensued. But decrying the disorder of it all is unlikely to cause Trump to change his mind. Expect Trump, like Mao, to double down when confronted with facts about the failure of a grand projects implementation. During the Great Leap Forward, Mao once remarked, When there is not enough to eat people starve to death. It is better to let half of the people die so that the other half can eat their fill. On Jan. 30, Trump lashed out on his twitter feed to the fallout of his now-infamous executive order. If he had given any time for the order to be properly implemented the bad would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad dudes out there! Of purges and sycophants From Mao to current Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese politics have been roiled with political purges. It has allowed the current leader to eliminate threats to his power, maintain his authoritarian control, and ensure that those remaining quickly fall in line. During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, Mao purged Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, two senior officials who had gained support among the Party for their economic reforms. Liu eventually died in prison but Deng was able to survive. Mao died in 1976, and in the early 1990s, Deng would begin to implement the proposed economic reforms that had cost Liu his life. Under Trumps rule, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was the first to go, booted from the transition team even before Trump officially took office. On Jan. 30, Trump carried out his first purge of his administration: the firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates who, like the courts, questioned the legality of his executive order and called on the Justice Department staff to decline to defend it. Reminiscent of Partys use of politically-charged rhetoric and questioning the persons loyalty to the Party, Trump issued a similar factional statement, slamming Yates betrayal of the Justice Department and Yates herself as weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration. But purges are not only about eliminating threats; they also ensure that those remaining toe the party line. Before the Great Leap Forward, Premier Zhou Enlai had fallen out of Maos favor. Desperate to get back in his graces, Zhou became an ardent supporter of Maos mad project even though Zhou quickly became aware that the program was a huge failure, with massive numbers starving to death. But fearful of a purge, Zhou never revealed the truth to Mao, afraid to challenge him. Instead, Zhou continued to order that Maos irrational demands be fulfilled. Most Republicans did not speak out against the Jan. 27 executive order that banned, for at least several months, Muslims from a select list of countries from legally entering the United States. Even Republicans who previously condemned Trumps call for a for a Muslim ban Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan, newly appointed Secretary of Defense James Mattis among them have fallen in line. After all, speaking up may mean falling out of Trumps favor. This is why Trumps cabinet appointees statements to the Senate during their confirmation hearings that climate change is real, that waterboarding is torture mean nothing. Once in office, its likely they will be like Pence and Mattis, willing to stand behind Trumps extreme views and carry out his orders. And now that Trump has appointed Steve Bannon chief strategist, confidant, and heretofore intelligence novice to the National Security Council, while simultaneously downgrading the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to a need to know basis, Trump is telling his cabinet that ideology takes precedent over expertise. Or as they say in China, in red versus expert, red wins. Attacks on the press Calling the press the opposition party, lecturing reporters on what they should be writing, and referring to journalists as the most dishonest human beings on earth are all a part of the Trump administrations strategy to crush the U.S. media. It eerily mirrors the Communist Partys efforts to ensure freedom of the press never takes hold in China. Discrediting genuine free press is core to this effort; as Party officials wrote in a leaked internal document, the ultimate goal of advocating the Wests view of the media is to hawk the principle of abstract and absolute freedom of the press, oppose the Partys leadership in the media, and gouge an opening through which to infiltrate our ideology. The question remains just how far the Trump administration will go in trying to clamp down on the U.S. press. The Communist Party, especially todays version, offers one possible template, which has been frighteningly effective even in a global, pervasive media environment. The Party arrests and prosecutes journalists on trumped up charges, randomly detains reporters critical of the government, and toys with the visa process for disfavored foreign journalists, which and in some cases has led to their expulsion. Despite the Trump administrations censure, the U.S. press continues to try to serve its role as a watchdog of the government. But if the Trump administration steps up its campaign against the press a la the Communist Party, its not entirely clear who will win. An alternate reality Throughout his campaign and now, in the first week of his administration, Trump has been accused of pushing his own version of the truth. But alternative realities are nothing new to an authoritarian regime. The Great Leap Forward itself and the 30 million who perished has largely been forgotten as a result of the Partys censorship. It is not much taught in Chinese schools; if it is mentioned, it is not described as the disaster that it was. A recent book, written by a Chinese journalist who used his access to Chinese government archives to find narrative details of the projects human toll, has been banned in China. But the Party has effectively erased even more recent events, like the Chinese governments censorship of its violent crackdown in 1989 on protests near Tiananmen Square in central Beijin According to the Party, it was not a mass movement calling for greater liberalization, but a small group of rioters and thugs, who incited others to misbehave. Even in the age of the Internet, few know the full truth of what happened; to the extent that Chinese younger than 35 know anything about Tiananmen, it is largely colored by the Partys alternative reality. In just the past week, the Trump administration has offered a bevy of alternate realities of its own. It has insisted that its inauguration crowd was larger than President Barak Obamas when pictures and data clearly show otherwise; stated an executive order is not a ban on Muslim immigration; and claimed with no evidence that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 Presidential election. And like the Chinese Communist Party, Trump also blames others for inciting protests against his rule. To be clear, the United States is not China. Americans are not inevitably destined to succumb to an authoritarian regime. But many those in the U.S. Congress, some in the media, and many U.S. voters have been too slow to grasp that Trumps government does not share the goals of Presidential administrations throughout history. Therefore, the ordinary give and take and horse-trading of politics are not going to suffice; bolder steps need to be taken for those concerned about a lurch toward authoritarianism. Constant and public pressure on the administration will surely be necessary. But scrambling in response to every provocation is not a strategy. As Mao showed, stopping a leader who actually prefers chaos is no easy task. This article originally appeared on China Law & Policy. It has been subsequently edited. Mark Ralston/Getty Images Subscribe to FP Premium for 20% off now! Amy Schumer defended her relative, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, against tweets from President Donald Trump targeting the democrat from New York on Tuesday. After blasting the senator for crying what Trump claimed to be "fake tears" over the controversial immigration ban, the president returned to Twitter to demean Chuck again. READ: James Corden Takes Fans for a Different Kind of Ride Along Following Immigration Ban "Nancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court and mic did not work (a mess) - just like Dem party!" Trump tweeted early Tuesday morning. Nancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court and mic did not work (a mess)-just like Dem party! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2017 Chuck and House Minority Leader Pelosi were speaking in opposition of the travel ban. "This is what he was thinking about at 621am," Amy wrote on Instagram along with a screenshot of Trump's message. "This was his tweet after his first soldier died. Also 8 Yemeni women and 7 children died and Trump called the raid 'successful.'" The first known military raid carried out by President Trump took place in Yemen on Sunday, and resulted in two American deaths. One was Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens, a member of SEAL Team 6, and the other was an 8-year-old girl. According to NBC News, one official said "almost everything went wrong" in the clandestine strike. "Also, I know Chuck Schumer, and HE CANNOT act," Amy continued. "Trust me. He can barely smile on cue. He can't help but be transparent and genuine. He was hurt for those people and all the people facing such unconstitutional injustice. Trump is about to bombard us with so many awful decisions. His Supreme Court pick will be terrifying and he will try and stop same sex adoption and all our other nightmares." Story continues On Tuesday, Trump announced right-wing conservative Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, 49, as his nominee to the Supreme Court. As the Supreme Court is currently divided evenly between conservative and liberal justices, adding Gorsuch as a ninth justice could tilt the balance of power on the Court to the conservative side. READ: Bruce Springsteen Speaks Out Against President Trump's 'Travel Ban,' Calls Executive Order 'Un-American' In her lengthy diatribe, Amy encourages Americans to continue "fighting for each other's rights." "A Muslim ban is so unconstitutional and cruel," she wrote. "They are good, hard-working people and a refugee from the countries he isn't letting people in from have never committed any acts of terrorism on U.S. soil. Never. We need to fight this now and together. Call congress. Call the senate. We need to wake up and rise up together. People need our help." Related Articles DICHATO, Chile (AP) Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. Firefighters and residents fought the fast-spreading blazes on the ground Tuesday, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules have dumped thousands of gallons of water on the area 290 miles (470 kilometers) southwest of the Chilean capital. A Boeing 747-400 supertanker from the United States also assisted local emergency crews Tuesday. The fires have consumed forests, livestock and entire towns, prompting President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help. In all, more than 20,000 people, including firefighters and experts from more than a dozen countries, have battled wildfires that Bachelet has called the worst forest disaster in Chile's history. At least 11 deaths have been blamed on the fires. The national forestry agency says the blazes have destroyed nearly 904,000 acres (366,000 hectares) since Jan. 15. PHOENIX (AP) Residents in Arizona cities who spot a rat or snake in their yard will be able to shoot the animals using a small-caliber gun loaded with tiny pellets under legislation that Republicans gave initial approval Tuesday. A group of scientists opposed to the proposal say it endangers people by encouraging firearm use in populated areas and puts them at risk as they approach venomous snakes. In Phoenix and other cities in Arizona, neighborhoods are commonly built on or near the desert. Democrats failed to persuade Republicans who control the state House that the measure would lead to more injuries and waste officers' time with additional gunfire calls. Wildlife advocates and residents worried about stray gunfire also oppose it. Rep. Jay Lawrence said his legislation isn't about shooting reptiles or rodents, despite the definitions in his bill referring to "rat or snake shot." "This is not a kill-animals bill, it has nothing to do with killing snakes, it has nothing to do with killing rats, cats or dogs," Lawrence said. "This is a firearms bill, strictly and totally." The National Conference of State Legislatures said it does not track such legislation, so it's unclear how many other states have similar laws. Gun-rights advocates support House Bill 2022, which changes a landmark 2000 law against celebratory gunfire enacted after a stray bullet struck and killed a Phoenix teen. The law made it a felony to fire a gun within city limits. It has an exemption allowing people to shoot nuisance wildlife but opponents have argued that the new measure will encourage more gunfire in cities and towns. "I'm concerned about relaxing the restrictions on use of firearms within city limits," said Democratic Rep. Kirsten Engel of Tucson. "Generally, I think those two do not mix too well and we could see an increase of injuries to people as a result of this bill." Engel also worries about people approaching snakes, noting statistics that show many snake bites happen when people try to kill or capture them. Plus, killing snakes isn't necessarily a good thing. Story continues "I'm concerned because snakes are a beneficial part of our ecosystem," she said. "They actually get rid of rats." For his part, Lawrence said a BB gun shoots farther and higher than the type of ammunition he's looking to legalize for use inside city limits. Republicans who routinely approve reductions to firearm restrictions backed the bill. Rep. Eddie Farnsworth said allowing the use of tiny shotgun shells is safer than a .22-caliber round. "Believe me, we aren't the Soviet Union yet, so we do have a legitimate use for firearms," he said. "By having this shot included in what we can use within a quarter-mile (of an occupied building), we actually are making people safer." The original 2000 law stipulates 1 mile, but another change awaiting House action narrows the distance someone must be from a building to shoot a gun. The chamber approved the rat shot measure on a voice vote, and it awaits a formal vote to determine if it advances to the Senate. NEW YORK (AP) A New York art dealer who scammed the art world for 15 years with fake paintings in the name of famous artists will not go back to prison for the $80 million fraud, a judge said Tuesday, crediting her for cooperating with the government. U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla told Glafira Rosales, who spend three months in prison after her 2013 arrest, that her cooperation and her solid relationship with her daughter helped earn her freedom, though she required Rosales to spend nine months in home detention. Rosales, 60, of Sands Point, New York, pleaded guilty in September 2013 to conspiracy, money laundering and tax charges. The charges could have resulted in a sentence of more than 12 years in prison. Prosecutors said the fraud from 1994 through 2009 duped art enthusiasts into buying counterfeits imitating famous artists like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning. The fake art was created by an artist who had studied at a New York art school and sold paintings on the streets of Manhattan in the 1980s. Rosales sold more than 60 never-before-exhibited and previously unknown works of art by some of the most famous artists of the 20th Century to two prominent Manhattan art galleries for $33.2 million, the government said. Prosecutors said the galleries then sold the art to customers for over $80 million. She cried as she apologized before her sentence was announced. "I wake up every day shamed of the crime that I have committed," she said. "I am truly, truly sorry for what I have done." Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Egan said Rosales' cooperation enabled the government to learn exactly how the fraud was carried out, including how the paintings were created. "She was in many respects the face of that fraud," he said. Egan said extradition efforts had failed to return two suspects in Spain and one in China. Defense attorney Bryan Skarlatos said Rosales' former boyfriend abused her and forced her to participate in the fraud, saying she would lose her daughter if she were arrested. Authorities say he fled to Spain. Skarlatos said his client had lost her home and all personal property and was working at a restaurant and renting a room from a friend. The judge said some of the court papers in the case remained under seal because they involved death threats. You'd think the prospect of bad acting, a terrible script and rock-bottom directing would put movie buffs off. But if Madrid's CutreCon trash film festival is anything to go by -- you'd be wrong. Lured by such films as the musical "Nudist Colony of the Dead" and Bollywood's "Action Jackson", some 3,500 people turned up at the five-day event. They also came to see one of the holy grails of the bad film world: "Troll 2" -- with its rating of just six percent on review site Rotten Tomatoes, is considered one of the worst movies ever. CutreCon, which ended Sunday, is one of several festivals in Europe dedicated to films so bad they're good, many of which have been pulled from oblivion by the internet, at times earning them and their protagonists cult status. Nostalgia for the era of low-quality, VHS films, dissatisfaction with mainstream cinema and a general desire to laugh and let off steam have contributed to the genre's rise in popularity. Also influential was Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's 2007 ode to trash cinema "Grindhouse." - Killer yoghurt, sharks - "The first time I came across a trash film... was when I was around 10 or 11, with a film by Larry Cohen called 'The Stuff', which is about killer yoghurt," says Carlos Palencia, a culture journalist and CutreCon's director. His interest in the genre eventually prompted him to create the festival, now in its sixth year, having evolved from a one-night-only film viewing to the current multi-location event. Keyvan Sarkhosh, senior research fellow at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics who co-authored a research paper on the subject, says there are two types of trash films -- the unintentionally bad and those deliberately made to be awful. The man who perhaps best represents the first category is Edward Wood, whose "Plan 9 from Outer Space" film about aliens has been dubbed the best worst movie ever made. Story continues Wood died in 1978 a poor alcoholic, but achieved posthumous fame thanks in part to Tim Burton's biopic "Ed Wood" starring Johnny Depp. Then come films intentionally made to be incoherent and clumsy for "ironic consumption," says Sarkhosh. Cue the recent "Sharknado" franchise -- films about freak storms that see sharks sucked up in water spouts and rained down on unsuspecting city dwellers. Bad taste? Not so, says Sarkhosh, whose research found that those who watched these movies were highly educated, cultural "omnivores" just as happy to watch arthouse films. "To enjoy bad cinema, you need to really like good cinema... you need good taste to appreciate bad taste and find the fun side (of a movie)," concurs Palencia. - Vegetarian goblins - For Angel-Luis Andres, a 40-year-old sales manager who turned up to see "Troll 2" at the festival, nostalgia is also part of the appeal. "My father would bring home a batch of videos at the weekend," he recalls. "He always brought back stuff that me and my brother liked -- monsters, dinosaurs... These are nostalgia films," he says, before sitting down for a lively screening. "Troll 2" is about a family that goes to a small, isolated village for a break, only to find it populated by evil goblins. The goblins are vegetarian but still want to eat humans, which means they have to surreptitiously feed people a green goo that turns them into green, vegan goo too. The laughter gets so loud at times during the screening that it becomes hard to hear the film itself. During a scene depicting a candle-lit seance to communicate with a dead grandfather, the audience spontaneously erupts into a rendition of "Happy Birthday". A 2009 documentary about the film's rise to cult status said one of the actors was a patient at a psychiatric hospital and auditioned while on leave. Though it initially went straight to video in 1990, the film's new-found popularity has meant that its Italian director Claudio Fragasso, who was present at the screening, will direct a sequel. - 'Oddly brilliant' - Others have also found belated fame from their initial embarrassment. Matt Hannon, a US actor who starred in the direct-to-video film "Samurai Cop" in 1991, dropped his career straight after. So desperate was he to be forgotten that when people started saying he was dead, based on the obit of another Matt Hannon, he did nothing to dispel the rumours. But with the rising popularity of his film some two decades after it was made, he finally came back into the limelight... and starred in the sequel "Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance." Another example is actor, director and screenwriter Tommy Wiseau, who's 2003 drama "The Room" bombed. "This film is like getting stabbed in the head," one user on movie site IMDb said. But sure enough, this too has achieved cult status, and Hollywood star James Franco has directed a comedy film about it called "The Masterpiece." In an interview, actor Seth Rogen who plays in Franco's film acknowledged there was something "oddly brilliant about it." "There is something you have to give credit to, because of all the shitty movies, he made one that people still watch." Bangladeshi security forces Wednesday arrested a computer engineer said to run the social media operations for a group accused of mounting a deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe. Ashfak-e-Azam and three other suspects were detained in a raid in the capital in which guns, explosives and ammunition were also seized, officials said. "Azam is the information technology chief of the Sarwar-Tamim group," said Mufti Mahmud Khan, a spokesman for the elite Rapid Action Battalion which carried out the raid. Sarwar-Tamim is a new faction of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the Islamist outfit blamed for a string of deadly attacks including a siege at an upscale Dhaka cafe last July in which 22 people -- mostly foreigners -- were killed. Azam, 25, had been involved with the group since 2011, running its website and social media accounts, a senior official at the anti-terrorism battalion said. Police say the four men arrested in Wednesday's raids were trained militants. Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country of 160 million, has been reeling from a wave of attacks by extremists on foreigners, rights activists and religious minorities. Many of these assaults have been claimed by the Islamic State group or the regional branch of Al-Qaeda. But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government has pinned the blame on local extremists, especially JMB, rejecting suggestions global jihad outfits had any foothold in the country. Since the cafe attack security forces have cracked down on extremist groups, killing around 50 suspected militants including the founders of the new JMB faction. By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh is determined to relocate Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar to a Bay of Bengal island that critics say is unliveable, a Bangladeshi minister said, adding that the move is temporary and Myanmar will ultimately have to take them back. Around 69,000 people have fled the Muslim-majority northern part of Rakhine State to Bangladesh since the Myanmar military launched a security operation in response to attacks on police border posts on Oct. 9. Scores of people have been killed. Bangladesh last month revived a much-criticized 2015 plan to move new and old refugees from Myanmar to the island of Thengar Char - which floods at high tide - surprising aid groups who were not consulted and consider the relocation impracticable. Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh's junior foreign affairs minister, said the refugees would be moved gradually after Thengar Char was developed with "shelters and other facilities". There was, however, no timeframe on when the move would start, he said. "After considering all aspects, we have taken a firm decision to shift them to the island. Still, this is a very early stage of our decision," he told Reuters by phone. "We also have plans to provide them poultry or livestock for their livelihood. But all these arrangements are temporary. Myanmar will have to take them back." The plight of the stateless Rohingya, of whom there are some 1.1 million living in apartheid-like conditions Rakhine, has long been a source of friction between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Many in mostly Buddhist Myanmar refer to them as "Bengalis" - denoting that they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh - and they are denied citizenship despite some tracing their lineage in the country back for generations. Officials in Bangladesh, where the Rohingya are also not accepted, refer to "Muslim nationals of Myanmar". DELUGED AT HIGH TIDE A government official at the Bangladesh municipality under which Thengar Char comes said the island was isolated and gets deluged at high tide, but the government could build embankments to make it liveable. He declined to be named. Alam said Bangladesh would also develop existing camps around Cox's Bazar, near the border, and expects financial support from outside. "They are living in inhumane conditions," he said. About 30,000 people live in official camps run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, while tens of thousands more, including the new arrivals, are settled in makeshift settlements built around the camps and in the Cox's Bazar area. Experts estimate there are between 200,000 and 500,000 undocumented Rohingya in Bangladesh. Dhaka said in a Jan. 26 notice that further mixing of the refugees with Bangladeshi citizens could lead to "law and order issues" and the spread of communicable diseases. Alam said Bangladesh was trying to improve the living conditions of the refugees, but that it was important for Myanmar to take them back soon because Cox's Bazar's "social condition was deteriorating from the influx". "Taking the Rohingya back and giving them citizenship is the only solution to the crisis," Alam said. "They are getting involved in drugs and other unlawful activities. If we could have confined them in the camp, it would not have happened." REPATRIATION TALKS Myanmar has said it has agreed to talk about repatriation, but only for those who have crossed the border since Oct. 9. "The people that Bangladesh is saying are on their side, we have to verify that they are from Myanmar. We can't just accept on face value if they say they are from Myanmar," Aye Aye Soe, deputy director of Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters on Wednesday. "If they are found to be from Myanmar, we will take them back and of course we will do that in due time," she said, adding that the situation in northern Rakhine had to return to "normalcy" before any repatriation could begin. On citizenship, Aye Aye Soe said the administration of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi had attempted to start a verification process in April, but had faced resistance from local community leaders who insist on being recognized as "Rohingya", a term Myanmar rejects. "We are going to push this process forward again," she said. (Reporting by Ruma Paul in DHAKA; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in YANGON and Antoni Slodkowski in COX'S BAZAR; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Alex Richardson) Cotonou (AFP) - Benin's former president Mathieu Kerekou, nicknamed "the chameleon" who ruled the tiny west African nation for a total of 30 years after a coup then democratic elections, died on Wednesday. He was 82. "I announce with regret and deep sadness the death on Wednesday October 14 of President-General Mathieu Kerekou at about 1:30 pm (1230 GMT)," President Thomas Boni Yayi said in a statement. The government said there would be one week of national mourning from Friday, with Benin's flags to be flown at half-mast across the country. Kerekou, who earned his peculiar nickname when he first came to power in 1972, famously said in a statement that he was planning on moving slowly and surely -- like a chameleon -- in the running of Benin. Contrary to first impressions, he was not called the chameleon because of his changing political affiliations. But the name stuck and later was used to describe his ability to adapt to the changing times in order to stay in power. Finally in 2006, he stepped down aged 72, having reached the constitutional age limit to serve as president. Born on September 2, 1933 in the then-Dahomey, he was one of the country's towering political figures and led as both as a Marxist-inspired military ruler and a democratically elected president. After military school in Mali and Senegal, he joined the French military, undergoing officer training in Paris before becoming the aide-de-camp of the then-Dahomey's first president, Hubert Maga. Kerekou was a commander when he seized power in 1972 after a period of instability marked by a succession of coups since Dahomey gained independence from France in 1960 and changed its name to Benin. He was fascinated by the "revolutionary struggle of oppressed people of the Third World", installed a Marxist-Leninist regime and declared the People's Republic of Benin in 1975. - From Marxist to mediator - Kerekou, who wore Mao-collared shirts, in December 1989 renounced Marxist ideology in the wake of a grave economic crisis and social unrest lasting more than a year. Story continues In February 1990, he called a "national conference" of opposition figures and civil society -- the first of its kind on the continent -- that paved the way for multi-party politics. He publicly recognised his errors, asked for forgiveness and agreed to install a transitional government with former World Bank official Nicephore Soglo as prime minister. Soglo won presidential elections in 1991, beating Kerekou in the second round of voting. Five years later, Kerekou emerged from retirement to win the presidency, backed by most of Soglo's opponents. His re-election in 2001 made him one of Africa's longest-serving leaders. As democratically elected president and without his Mao collars, Kerekou, with his white hair, acquired the image of an elder statesman among his African peers. He acted as mediator in a number of conflicts, notably in Ivory Coast, and as head of a body forging closer links between francophone Benin, Togo, Niger, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Boni Yayi, who succeeded him in 2006 after beating Adrien Houngbedji, steps down next year after reaching his maximum two-term limit as president. Berlin (AFP) - Germany's government on Wednesday approved the use of ankle bracelets to monitor extremists considered potentially dangerous as it moves to get tough on suspected jihadists after the Berlin truck attack. The proposed measure would allow the federal criminal police to electronically track the movements of a person deemed a security threat, even before they have been convicted of a crime. "Ankle bracelets are not a panacea but they are an important instrument to facilitate the surveillance of dangerous people," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said after the cabinet agreed to a change in the law to allow the measure. The proposal still has to be approved by parliament. It comes as part of a series of security reforms announced in response to the December 19 attack in which Tunisian national Anis Amri plough a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people. The attack was claimed by the extremist Islamic State group, with Amri shot dead by Italian police in Milan several days later. Public anger quickly erupted after it emerged that Amri was already on the radar of intelligence services and was known to have links to Islamist radicals. As a failed asylum seeker, he should have been deported months before the attack but Tunisia failed to send the necessary paperwork in time. The German government has since vowed to speed up deportations and mooted plans to place rejected asylum seekers who are considered a threat in detention ahead of their expulsion. German security services have a list of more than 550 Islamists considered "threats to public security" who have lived or currently reside in Germany. Interior ministry spokesman Johannes Dimroth declined to speculate how many suspects might now face electronic monitoring. "How many of them could in the future be affected by such a measure is a purely hypothetical question," he told reporters in Berlin. Sleeping longer and better could improve the sex lives of postmenopausal women, according to an American study published February 1, 2017. Sleep disturbances and insomnia occur frequently with age and are particularly prevalent during menopause. Such conditions have previously been linked to heart disease, hypertension and depression. A new study now suggests that poor sleep can also interfere with the sex lives of women over 50. Researchers from the North American Menopause Society analyzed data from 93,668 women aged 50 to 79. All the participants were enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative, a vast program dedicated to women's health. After adjusting for other possible causes of poor sleep, the analysis revealed that 56% of participants were somewhat or highly satisfied with their current sexual activity. Almost 52% of participants reported sexual relations with a partner during the last year, and 31% reported suffering from insomnia. The researchers also remarked that insomnia increased with age. The results established a link between sleep duration, sexual satisfaction and age of the women. In fact, women who slept for six hours a night were 9% less likely to be sexually active. For those who slept for five hours, this rose to 17%. Similarly, the study found that the oldest participants were less likely to be sexually active if they slept for less than seven to eight hours a night, compared with younger women. Women aged over 70 who slept for less than five hours were 30% less likely to enjoy regular sexual activity with a partner than those in the same age group sleeping for seven hours. The lead author of the study, published online, February 1, in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), encourages healthcare providers to recognize the link between menopause symptoms, insomnia and sexual satisfaction. "There are effective treatment options to help with sleep disruption and sexual satisfaction, including hormone therapy, which this study confirmed to be effective at menopause for symptomatic women," said Dr JoAnn Pinkerton, NAMS executive director. According to a study published in 2015 by researchers at Pennsylvania State University a third of premenopausal women suffer from insomnia, a figure that then increases with age. By Rob Goodier (Reuters Health) - White parents may be more likely than African American or Hispanic parents to allow their children to participate in a medical trial, a recent U.S. study suggests. The difference appears to stem in part from family circumstances, such as an inability to get time off from work to be with the child at the hospital, that more often affect non-white parents, according to findings presented January 22 at the Society of Critical Cares annual conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Disparities in research participation may compromise the generalizability and validity of study findings, lead author Dr. Joanne Natale, a pediatrics professor at the University of California, Davis told Reuters Health by email. A lack of information on this topic also compromises researchers ability to analyze and address the problem, Natale added. We strongly recommend implementation of standards that would make data regarding research consent and participation in racial and ethnic subgroups routinely available, she said. The researchers sought permission from parents for 2,933 children to participate in a critical care trial. It spanned 31 pediatric intensive care units across the country and examined an algorithm for nurses to use in managing sedation for children on mechanical ventilation. Of the nearly 3,000 children eligible for the trial, 2,278 (78 percent) received parental permission to participate. White parents consented at a rate of 82.2 percent, compared to 74.1 percent of Hispanic parents and 71.5 percent of black parents. Family circumstances made black families ineligible to be offered consent to participate in the trial more often than Hispanic or white families. For example, a parent or guardian could not be at the childs bedside because they were at work or lacked the resources to travel the sometimes-long distances to the hospital. Or the children were in foster care or wards of the state. And even among parents who were offered the choice to join, black parents were more than 50 percent less likely than white parents to let their children participate in the trial, and Hispanic parents were 28 percent less likely to participate. More parents agreed to join when they were allowed to participate in the control rather than the intervention arm, however, and that held true for all the parents in the study. One explanation for some of the difference in participation rates may be greater distrust of the medical community among people in black and Hispanic communities, said Dr. James Chamberlain, division chief of emergency medicine at Childrens National Health System in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the research. Future efforts to reduce these disparities should focus on coordinating with families' schedules to improve approach rates, and performing qualitative work with patient and family groups to determine optimal ways to communicate information about medical research, Chamberlain told Reuters Health. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2kNhnnk Society of Critical Care Medicine 2017. An 8-year-old Wisconsin boy is being called courageous by law enforcement after he dialed 911 and alerted authorities to his father who was unconscious at the steering wheel following an apparent drug overdose. The boy can be heard in police audio tearfully telling a dispatcher about his dads condition as he sat in a car with his two younger siblings. I think my dad is dead. Hes not waking up or anything, he said, according to CBS 6. The boy then did his best to describe his surroundings so officers could find their car. His 33-year-old father, Christopher Koeberl, faces charges of child neglect, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while revoked, the Washington Post reports. He allegedly admitted to taking snorting three Xanax pills before the incident, which took place last Wednesday, the newspaper said. Read More: Dad Records Sons Heartbreaking Reaction to Moms Drug Overdose Waukesha Police gave him credit for being brave enough to call 911 under pressure. Brad Pitt is positive that he will win the custody battle against his estranged wife, Angelina Jolie, for their children. According to the Daily Mail, the 53-year-old Oceans Eleven actor said that he is confident he will get joint custody of their six children. Jolie, on the other hand, filed for sole custody of Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and 8-year-old twins, Vivienne and Knox. At present, Pitt is allowed to visit his children as long as it is under the supervision of the familys therapist. While speaking with The Sun, an insider said that Pitt is already in high spirits because he is certain he will score a big win in court. This is a massive victory for Brad because all he ever wanted was joint custody. At no point did he ever want to take the kids away from Angelina, which she initially tried to do to him. Brad Pitts lawyers believe the court will look badly on Angelinas negative PR campaign against him, the source said. Last week, People reported that Pitt is looking happier and healthier when he was spotted walking around Santa Monica. The publication noted that the actor looked more relaxed and at peace because things are starting to look good for him again. Another source also told the publication that Pitt is open to working with Jolie to make their divorce easier for their children. Brad is willing to work with Angie so they can have peace for the kids. What is ultimately comes down to is that he just wants to be with the kids, the insider said. Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt on Sept. 15, 2016. Rumors previously surfaced that Pitt physically abused their eldest son, Maddox. Investigators later on confirmed that no such thing happened. Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt Photo: Reuters/Mario Anzouni Related Articles Manaus (Brazil) (AFP) - Brazil and Colombia are stepping up security along their border to stop drug gangs from recruiting renegade FARC rebels and their weapons as the guerrillas disarm, officials said Tuesday. The countries have agreed to send army and police reinforcements to the border as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) begins implementing a historic peace deal with the government, said Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas. As the peace process moves forward, ending a half-century conflict, there is concern that disaffected FARC fighters -- and their heavy weapons -- could fall into the hands of powerful drug gangs such as the First Capital Command (PCC) in Brazil or the Gulf Clan in Colombia. Colombian officials have already warned that the Gulf Clan is recruiting FARC renegades. Villegas and Brazilian Defense Minister Raul Jungmann met Tuesday in the city of Manaus, in Brazil's Amazon region, with top army, police and intelligence officials from both countries to discuss the threat. They agreed to share information and coordinate operations "to dismantle these organizations and prevent them from teaming up to turn themselves into transnational threats," said Villegas. "Peace in Colombia cannot be a cause for concern for the whole neighborhood." Under a Colombian peace deal signed in November, the FARC has agreed to disarm and relaunch itself as a political party. But the Colombian government estimates that five percent of the more than 6,000 FARC fighters will not adhere to the plan. (Reuters) - Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates LP, said he is increasingly concerned about the Trump administration's "populist" policies that could hurt the world economy. The detrimental effects of these policies could be more powerful than the beneficial effects of Trump's pro-business policies, Dalio and co-Chief Investment Officer Bob Prince said on Tuesday. "We are now in a period of time when how this balance tilts will be more important to the economy, markets, and our well-beings than normally dominant drivers such as central bank policies," Dalio and Prince said in a note. "While there is a lot of potential to improve fiscal policies and make beneficial structural reforms, there is also a significant risk that his populist policies could hurt the world economy (and worse)." In November, Dalio said Trump's policies would have a "broadly positive" effect on the U.S. economy and that bond prices likely made a "30-year top." Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. Bridgewater oversees about $150 billion in client assets. (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to take Britain out of the European Union easily cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, paving the way for the government to launch divorce talks by the end of March. May's government is seeking approval for a new law giving her the right to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty - the legal process for leaving the bloc - after the Supreme Court ruled she could not take that decision unilaterally. The bill could complete the legislative process by March 7. May wants to begin exit negotiations with the EU by March 31, starting two years of talks that will define Britain's economic and political future and test the unity of the EU's 27 remaining members. Lawmakers voted by 498 to 114 in favor of allowing the bill to progress to the next, more detailed legislative stage. Earlier they rejected an attempt to throw out the bill, proposed by pro-EU Scottish nationalists. The Scottish National Party's Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins described the vote in a statement as "a devastating act of sabotage on Scotland's economy". A majority of voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland in last summer's referendum backed remaining in the EU, while voters in England and Wales supported Brexit. Wednesday evening's votes came after two days of impassioned speeches in parliament, which have underlined the lingering sense of shock among the largely pro-European political establishment that 52 percent of their constituents voted to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum. Despite presiding over a Conservative Party divided over staying in the EU, May, who campaigned for a 'Remain' vote, secured almost unanimous support from her lawmakers for the legislation. The opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn had also pledged his party's support for the bill at this stage, but 47 of his lawmakers defied his order and voted against the bill. Labour and other opposition parties will try to amend the bill at the next stage - due to start next week - to give parliament greater scrutiny over the Brexit talks. For more on the amendment process see: (Reporting by William James, Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Gareth Jones) London (AFP) - British MPs on Wednesday approved the first stage of a bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union. MPs approved the bill, which would allow the government to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty and formally begin two years of exit negotiations, by a margin of 498 to 114. It was the first Brexit-related vote in the House of Commons, coming after more than 17 hours of debate, with a second and final vote in the lower house set for next week. The opposition Labour party ordered MPs not block the bill, but 47 rebelled against leader Jeremy Corbyn. He is yet to announce how he will respond to frontbenchers and other lawmakers who refused to tow the party line. MPs on Wednesday also voted on a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment seeking to derail the Brexit bill, defeating it by 336 votes to 100. May is under intense pressure to push the bill through quickly, having promised EU leaders she would trigger Article 50 by the end of March. She told MPs she would publish a long-awaited Brexit strategy paper on Thursday, opening it to parliamentary scrutiny while the Article 50 legislation makes its way through parliament. "It will reflect the government's plan for Brexit," May's spokeswoman told reporters. The government had sought to exclude parliament, insisting it had the power to trigger Article 50 on its own, but the Supreme Court last week ruled it must consult lawmakers. Most MPs campaigned to stay in the EU ahead of last June's referendum, but as debate on the bill began Tuesday, many said they would accept the result, however reluctantly. The bill could be delayed in the upper House of Lords, where May's Conservative Party does not have a majority -- and where the unelected peers have no fear of a public backlash. - 'Remainers' divided - A new survey revealed that MPs who campaigned to leave the EU are relatively united in what they want -- whereas those who were on the other side have more diverse views. Story continues Some 72 percent of Leavers favour controlling immigration or not paying into the EU budget over retaining access to Europe's single market. This reflects May's own position. She has said she wants to end the free movement into Britain of people from the EU, a demand she acknowledges is incompatible with maintaining membership of the single market. "Remainers are much more divided over what to prioritise -- which may well make them less able to shape the debate," said Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe research programme. The vast majority of Leavers (86 percent) also believe Britain will be able to make up for any loss in trade with the EU through other deals, whereas 71 percent of Remainers believe it cannot. But Britain's former ambassador to the EU on Wednesday warned that the bloc would likely take a "hard line", demanding an exit bill of 40-60 billion euros ($43-$64.5 billion) as part of drawn out negotiations. "This is a humongous negotiation and project," Ivan Rogers told MPs. "I think it will take years to get to the other side of it." In a speech on Tuesday, Ken Clarke, who was the only Conservative MP to vote against the Brexit bill, accused Leavers of pursuing a fantasy "wonderland". At just 143 words, the "European Union Notification of Withdrawal Bill" has been tightly drafted, making it difficult to amend either to delay the government's plans or to tie its hands in the talks. But May's opponents are still trying, and dozens of amendments are scheduled for debate over three days in the House of Commons which begins on Monday. The bill will then move to the Lords for debate from February 20, with the government hoping for their approval by March 7. London (AFP) - British MPs are expected Wednesday to approve the first stage of a bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union. Ahead of the vote, which was scheduled to take place at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT), MPs were debating the legislation which would allow the government to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, formally beginning two years of exit negotiations. It will be the first Brexit-related vote in the House of Commons. The opposition Labour party has said it will not block the bill and, although dozens of its MPs could rebel, it should easily pass the second debate stage scheduled for next week. May is under intense pressure to push the bill through quickly, having promised EU leaders she will trigger Article 50 by the end of March. She told MPs she would publish a long-awaited Brexit strategy paper on Thursday, opening it to parliamentary scrutiny while the Article 50 legislation makes its way through parliament. "It will reflect the government's plan for Brexit," May's spokeswoman told reporters. The government had sought to exclude parliament, insisting it had the power to trigger Article 50 on its own, but the Supreme Court last week ruled it must consult lawmakers. Most MPs campaigned to stay in the EU ahead of last June's referendum, but as debate on the bill began Tuesday, many said they would accept the result, however reluctantly. The bill could be delayed in the upper House of Lords, where May's Conservative party does not have a majority -- and where the unelected peers have no fear of a public backlash. - 'Remainers' divided - A new survey revealed that MPs who campaigned to leave the EU are relatively united in what they want -- whereas those who were on the other side have more diverse views. Some 72 percent of Leavers favour controlling immigration or not paying into the EU budget over retaining access to Europe's single market. Story continues This reflects May's own position. She has said she wants to end the free movement of people from the EU, a demand she acknowledges is incompatible with maintaining membership of the single market. "Remainers are much more divided over what to prioritise -- which may well make them less able to shape the debate," said Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe research programme. The vast majority of Leavers (86 percent) also believe Britain will be able to make up for any loss in trade with the EU through other deals, whereas 71 percent of Remainers believe it cannot. In a speech on Tuesday, Ken Clarke, who may be the only Conservative MP to vote against the Brexit bill, accused Leavers of pursuing a fantasy "wonderland". At just 143 words, the "European Union Notification of Withdrawal Bill" has been tightly drafted, making it difficult to amend either to delay the government's plans or to tie its hands in the talks. But May's opponents are still trying, and dozens of amendments are scheduled for debate over three days in the House of Commons which begins on Monday. The bill will then move to the Lords for debate from February 20, with the government hoping for their approval by March 7. London (AFP) - Voicing anguish over a painful choice, many of the British MPs voting Wednesday to start the Brexit process said they were bowing to popular will, but feared history would judge them harshly. More than two-thirds of the members of the House of Commons opposed Brexit, and in the weeks after June's shock referendum vote, many people outside parliament hoped that MPs could stop it from happening. But pro-Europeans in Prime Minister Theresa May's own Conservative party and among the Labour opposition were gradually forced to accept defeat, and said they would vote against deeply held beliefs. Their dilemma was laid bare in two days of debate this week on a bill empowering May to start the process, as MPs stood up one after another to explain why they would back her despite their fears for the future. "I lost the case. I made it with passion, I sacrificed my position in government for it," said former Conservative finance minister George Osborne, one of the strongest campaigners against Brexit. "In the end we have to now accept that in a democracy the majority has spoken." Fellow MP Anna Soubry, who like Osborne has warned of the risks of leaving Europe's single market, said it was a "great folly" but agreed to back the bill. "How on earth did we ever come to put to the people an alternative that we then said would make them worse off and less safe and would weaken our nation?" she said. She added: "History will not be kind to this parliament." - 'Potentially catastrophic' - Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ordered his MPs to support the bill in a preliminary vote on Wednesday, to reflect the fact that two-thirds of them represent constituencies that voted to leave the EU. But his spokesman, Keir Starmer, one of a majority of Labour lawmakers who opposed Brexit, struggled through his Commons speech endorsing the bill. Heckled by Tory MPs, he asked them to be "courteous" in accepting the deep divisions in his "fiercely internationalist" party over the policy. Story continues Former minister Margaret Beckett said she too would fall into line, but said "I fear that its consequences, both for our economy and our society, are potentially catastrophic". Dozens of Labour lawmakers rebelled, however, including Ian Murray, Labour's only MP in Scotland, who said he did so with a "heavy heart". "I will do so in the knowledge that I can walk down the streets of Edinburgh South and look at my constituents in the eye, and say to them I've done everything I possibly can to protect their jobs, livelihoods and the future for their family," he said. The bill was approved on Wednesday evening by a vote of 498 to 114, and will receive its final vote in the Commons next week, before heading to the upper House of Lords. - 'Crossing its fingers' - The MPs' turmoil was in stark contrast to the jubilation of those who have spent years in the political backwaters for their euroscepticism. "Tonight there will be an historic vote in this place, a vote that I never thought I would see in my political lifetime," Conservative MP Peter Bone said. His colleague Jacob Rees-Mogg had earlier hailed "that noble, brave, glorious decision the people made on that day of legend and song, June 23". But Conservative former minister Ken Clarke, a committed europhile, poured scorn on pro-Brexit campaigners and accused them of pursuing a fantasy "wonderland". Sarah Olney, of the pro-European Liberal Democrats, told parliament: "We are effectively being asked to jump out of an aeroplane, without knowing whether or not we are securely attached to a parachute". And Angus Brendan MacNeil of the Scottish National Party (SNP), which opposes Brexit, warned: "People assume the House of Commons knows what it's doing. It doesn't. "It's crossing its fingers and hoping for the best." NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India plans to form a giant national oil company by combining other state-owned firms, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday, as New Delhi wants to expand its foreign presence to meet growing domestic fuel demand. India, struggling to lift its local oil production, imports about 80 percent of its oil needs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 set the goal of cutting this import dependence to 67 percent by 2020. "We propose to create an integrated public sector oil major which will be able to match the performance of international and domestic private sector oil and gas companies," Jaitley said in his budget speech. India has about a dozen state-run oil and gas companies - including Indian Oil Corp, Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and others - but alone they do not have the financial power to rival global oil majors in bids for overseas exploration and production assets. Combining them "will give them capacity to bear higher risks, avail economies of scale, take higher investment decisions and create more value for shareholders," Jaitley said. It was not clear if Jaitley was talking of a plan to combine all of the state-run oil companies or just some of them. To lift the share of natural gas in India's overall energy mix, Jaitley also announced a cut to the import tax for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to 2.5 percent from 5 percent. The minister also proposed setting up strategic oil storage facilities at two new locations, one in the eastern state of Odisha and another in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. India is hedging against energy security risks by building emergency storage sites in underground caverns in southern India to hold 36.87 million barrels of crude or about 10 days of its average daily oil demand in 2016. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Tom Hogue) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f367939%2f3a4666c5-d61f-4056-92be-9d79c2de1318 Budweiser claims it didn't set out to make a moving political statement with its new Super Bowl commercial but fate evidently had other ideas. The ad follows Budweiser's immigrant founder, Adolphus Busch, along his quest from Germany to America in the late 1800s. Upon arriving, he isn't exactly greeted with open arms right away. "You're not wanted here," a man growls at him immediately after his immigration papers are stamped. Given the current political climate around immigration and refugees, it's not hard to see how one might take the message of the ad as a comment on the times. SEE ALSO: K-Cups for beer? Keuring and Anheuser Busch team up for a booze dispenser. But Budweiser's vice president of marketing, Ricardo Marques, told Adweek it's not intended that way. Theres really no correlation with anything else thats happening in the country, he told the magazine. We believe this is a universal story that is very relevant today because probably more than any other period in history today the world pulls you in different directions, and its never been harder to stick to your guns. Indeed, according to Adweek's behind-the-scenes look at the commercial's making, the idea was settled in October, when safe money still had Hillary Clinton winning the White House and Trump's Muslim ban was just a pipe dream. But months of hard work and millions of dollars later, the Anheuser-Busch-owned brand now finds itself airing a poignant story about the value of immigration before more than 100 million Americans as Trump's controversial travel ban dominates national headlines. That's a bold move for a company that spent its last Super Bowl slot grouching about craft beers. Ottawa (AFP) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government on Wednesday abandoned a campaign promise to reform how Canadians elect their representatives to parliament, officials announced. The decision was prompted by the lack of public support for electoral reform, Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould said. Repeating a pledge made throughout the 2015 campaign that brought the Liberal Party to power, Trudeau vowed in his government's first policy speech that that year's vote "will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system." Proposed alternatives had included a system of proportional representation and ranked ballots. Opposition parties on both sides of the issue have accused the Trudeau government of faltering on its commitment and of seeking to push through big changes without holding a referendum. In her announcement, Gould acknowledged that the issue had provoked "legitimate and passionate debate." However, "major reforms to the electoral system, changes of this magnitude, should not be made if they lack the broad support of Canadians," she told a news conference. Following public consultations, she said, "it has become evident that the broad support needed among Canadians for a change of this magnitude does not exist." Results of an online survey of 380,000 respondents released last week found that 67 percent of Canadians are "somewhat or very satisfied" with the current system. However, it showed that many also hold conflicting views -- wanting an "easy to understand" electoral system that also produces more collaborative parliaments. By Kevin Dougherty and Allison Lampert QUEBEC CITY (Reuters) - The French-Canadian student accused of killing six people during evening prayers in a Quebec City mosque had rented an apartment nearby, neighbors said on Tuesday, a sign he may have been targeting the house of worship. Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, was charged in court on Monday with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon after Sunday evening's massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec. Police said he acted alone but did not release specific details of the weapon. RDI, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's French-language arm, cited sources as saying the gunman had a 9 mm handgun and a long gun, but the report did not provide further details. The mass shooting, which was rare for Canada and which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned as terrorism, prompted an outpouring of support for the mosque and for Canada's 1 million Muslims in the country of about 35 million. Authorities in Quebec have called for a spirit of inclusivity, and police have tightened security at all religious institutions in the province, which had the second-highest rate of crimes motivated by religious prejudice among the provinces in 2014, second only to Ontario, according to police crime data collected by Statistics Canada. The data showed that reported crimes of prejudice against Muslims in Canada more than doubled between 2012 and 2014. Bissonnette, who said on his Facebook page that he was a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump and far-right French politician Marine Le Pen, had moved into an apartment in the beige block near the mosque in July and drove a Mitsubishi truck, said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified. The Facebook page has been taken down since the shooting. Another neighbor on the fourth floor never spoke to Bissonnette but frequently heard piano-playing from the apartment. A neighbor of his parents told the CBC that Bissonnette shared the apartment with his twin brother. Police declined to discuss a motive for the shooting, but friends and online acquaintances told Canadian media that Bissonnette had expressed anti-immigration sentiments, especially toward Muslim refugees. Both law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the United States believe the suspect was sympathetic to right-wing nationalist ideology, and that likely contributed to motive, U.S. officials said. On Tuesday, the prime minister's chief spokeswoman, Kate Purchase, demanded that Fox News channel in the United States either retract or update a tweet that the gunman was of Moroccan origin. She said the tweet dishonored the victims. The tweet was later taken down. Fox initially corrected the error with a tweet and an update to the story on Monday, said Refet Kaplan, managing director of Fox News.com. "The earlier tweets have now been deleted. We regret the error," Kaplan said in a statement. Purchase noted that Canada welcomed refugees and immigrants, effectively underscoring major differences between Trudeau and Trump, who on Friday temporarily banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, citing the risk of terrorism. 'TURNING POINT' FOR QUEBEC A large turnout at vigils in Quebec City, Montreal and other cities on Monday evening showed people rejected hate speech and wanted to be inclusive, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said. "I think it's a turning point for Quebec, to see people rallying around values like that," he told reporters in Quebec City, the provincial capital, on Tuesday. Bissonnette did not hide his hostility toward Muslims during his long interrogation by police, Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported, quoting a source close to the investigation. He was also interested in guns and practiced shooting at a club, La Presse reported. Bissonnette, a social science student at Universite Laval and a former cadet, made a brief appearance in court on Monday under tight security. Prosecutors said all of the evidence was not yet ready and Bissonnette was set to appear again on Feb. 21. No charges were read in court and Bissonnette did not enter a plea. His lawyer, Jean Petit, declined to comment at the courthouse on Monday. Quebec's public safety minister, Martin Coiteux, said security at all religious institutions across the province had been heightened, particularly at mosques. He told reporters that while police always treated reports of religious harassment and hate speech seriously, they had not always done a good job of letting communities know the results of their probes. (Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp and Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Andrea Hopkins, Frances Kerry, Grant McCool; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Alan Crosby) Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian uranium supplier Cameco's share price fell more than 12 percent in New York on Wednesday after the operator of the Fukushima plant in Japan canceled a Can$1.3 billion (US$1 billion) fuel supply contract. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Cameco said in a statement that it considers Tokyo Electric Power Co. to be in default after it rejected a delivery of uranium, and would sue. In its notice of termination, TEPCO cited government regulations arising from the Fukushima meltdown in March 2011 that prevented it from operating its nuclear generating plants over 18 months. A quake-triggered tsunami swamped the Fukushima plant in 2011, sending some reactors into meltdown and setting off the worst nuclear disaster in a generation. TEPCO has already received and paid for 2.2 million pounds of uranium since 2014. The termination would affect 9.3 million pounds of uranium deliveries through 2028. Cameco produces about 18 percent of the world's uranium from its mines in Canada, the United States and Kazakhstan. Its stock price fell more than 12 percent to US$11.19 on the New York Stock Exchange. Getty Image Carmelo Anthony to the Clippers makes a ton of sense, even if the rumored deal would make Lakers fans who wanted to see Chris Paul in gold and purple lose their minds. Anthony to the Celtics works for a superstar who wants to play for a contender, but not as much sense for a team that already has a superstar and simply needs another star role player to put Boston over-the-top. Anthony to the Cavs would be another stab wound for a franchise reportedly bleeding money, and even putting money aside, would LeBron James really be better off having his friend replace Kevin Love? And then theres the most likely move: Anthony simply stays put in New York, where he clearly wants to be. After all, the 32-year-old still has the final say in where he plays, so even if Phil Jackson wants to ship him out of the Big Apple, Anthony has all the power. Youd think hed be happy to walk away from a toxic situation, but as he told Newsdays Al Iannazzone, Anthonys own happiness isnt his top priority. Thats more what I care about, my family, Anthony said after Tuesdays shootaround. My son being comfortable in New York at an age now where hes really getting an opportunity to understand being in New York and having a home there and having friends there. My wife working there and having her opportunities there. I think about that more so than my decision for my career. At the end of the day, it will come down to my decision. But I think more about my decision and what theyre going to have to go through if anything would happen. (Via Newsday) Anthony is aware of the daily reports and rumors, and so he simply reminds us all that Melo hasnt said anything yet. Although, he has said something, even if it is just a subtweet. PAWHUSKA, Okla. (AP) Police in northern Oklahoma say they've arrested a substitute teacher on an indecent exposure complaint after she reportedly did a cartwheel in front of students while wearing a skirt but no undergarments. The Pawhuska Police Department says a student recorded the incident on a cellphone. Police Chief Scott Laird says the incident reportedly happened during a high school choir class in Pawhuska, about 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The substitute teacher, whose name has not been released, was arrested Tuesday afternoon. Pawhuska police say she remains jailed Wednesday morning. (In this Jan. 31 story, in 11th paragraph corrects to show two Iranian plaintiffs are a man and a woman, not two men) By Scott Malone and Dan Levine BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Legal challenges to President Donald Trump's first moves on immigration spread on Tuesday, with three states suing over his executive order banning travel into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington state joined the legal battle against the travel ban, which the White House deems necessary to improve national security. The challenges contend the order violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of religious freedom. San Francisco became the first U.S. city to sue to challenge a Trump directive to withhold federal money from U.S. cities that have adopted sanctuary policies toward undocumented immigrants, which local officials argue help local police by making those immigrants more willing to report crimes. The legal maneuvers were the latest acts of defiance against executive orders signed by Trump last week that sparked a wave of protests in major U.S. cities, where thousands of people decried the new president's actions as discriminatory. Both policies are in line with campaign promises by Republican businessman-turned-politician Trump, who vowed to build a wall on the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration and to take hard-line steps to prevent terrorist attacks in the United States. The restrictions on the seven Muslim-majority countries and new limits on refugees have won the support of many Americans, with 49 percent of respondents to a Reuters poll conducted Monday and Tuesday saying they agreed with the order, while 41 percent disagreed. Massachusetts contended the restrictions run afoul of the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits religious preference. "At bottom, what this is about is a violation of the Constitution," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said of the order halting travel by people with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. The order also barred resettlement of refugees for 120 days and indefinitely banned Syrian refugees. Story continues "It discriminates against people because of their religion, it discriminates against people because of their country of origin," Healey said at a Boston press conference, flanked by leaders from the tech, healthcare and education sectors who said that the order could limit their ability to attract and retain highly educated workers. Massachusetts will be backing a lawsuit filed over the weekend in Boston federal court by two Iranian men who teach at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. A federal judge blocked the government from expelling those men from the country and halted enforcement of the order for seven days, following similar but more limited moves in four other states. The attorneys general of New York and Virginia also said their states were joining similar lawsuits filed in their respective federal courts challenging the ban. "As we speak, there are students at our colleges and universities who are unable to return to Virginia," Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring told reporters. "This is not an action I take lightly, but it is one I take with confidence in our legal analysis." On Monday, liberal-leaning Washington state became the first U.S. state to have its attorney general initiate a lawsuit against Trump to challenge the travel ban. Multiple foreign nationals have also filed lawsuits challenging the ban. They included one filed in Colorado on Tuesday by a Libyan college student and two filed in Chicago, including one on behalf of an Iranian father of three children all living in Illinois. Protests against Trump's executive action continued on Tuesday in several cities. A crowd of several thousand demonstrators gathered at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis, chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho Muslim ban has got to go!" Dozens of protesters chanted the same slogan at Los Angeles International Airport, and more than 400 demonstrators gathered in downtown Miami to protest both the travel ban and Trump's crackdown on sanctuary cities. SANCTUARY CHALLENGE San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit over Trump's order threatening to cut funds to cities with sanctuary policies, a move that could stop the flow of billions of dollars to major U.S. population centers including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. "If allowed to be implemented, this executive order would make our communities less safe. It would make our residents less prosperous, and it would split families apart," Herrera said. Sanctuary cities adopt policies that limit cooperation, such as refusing to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests. Advocates of the policies say that, beyond helping police with crime reporting, they make undocumented immigrants more willing to serve as witnesses if they do not fear that contact with law enforcement will lead to their deportation. Both the San Francisco and Massachusetts actions contend that Trump's orders in question violate the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that powers not granted to the federal government should fall to the states. Michael Hethmon, senior counsel with the conservative Immigration Reform Law Institute in Washington, called the San Francisco lawsuit a "silly political gesture," noting that prior federal court decisions make clear that the U.S. government "can prohibit a policy that essentially impedes legitimate federal programs." (Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg, Curtis Skinner, Adam Bettcher, Olga Grigoryants, Zachary Fagenson, Alex Dobuzinskis, Timothy McLaughlin, Ian Simpson and Keith Coffman; Editing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman) By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) - Diego Costa's missed second-half penalty cost Premier League leaders Chelsea a victory at Liverpool on Tuesday but a 1-1 draw did little damage to their title prospects as closest rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur dropped points. Spain striker Costa was denied by Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet, who made amends for being caught off guard by a superb David Luiz free kick midway through the first half. Georginio Wijnaldum's close-range header levelled the scores in the 57th minute as Liverpool avoided a fourth consecutive home defeat in all competitions, although Juergen Klopp's side remain 10 points adrift in fourth place. "It's important to draw against a really good team and now we must focus on playing Arsenal next week," Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said ahead of Saturday's game at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal, who began the day second, must recover quickly from a shock 2-1 home loss to Watford who managed a first league win in eight games and celebrated their first top-flight victory over the Gunners since 1988. Watford scored twice inside the first 13 minutes through Younes Kaboul and Troy Deeney and hung on for the victory after Alex Iwobi pulled one back near the hour mark. "It was obvious we lost duels and were not sharp enough. It looked more mentally that we were not ready for the challenges," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who was serving a touchline ban and had to watch gloomily from the stands. Arsenal are nine points behind Chelsea, who have 56, along with Tottenham Hotspur who moved above their north London rivals on goal difference after a lacklustre 0-0 draw at basement club Sunderland. Spurs also lost defender Danny Rose to injury. Champions Leicester City's relegation worries are becoming acute after Claudio Ranieri's side went down 1-0 at Burnley for whom Sam Vokes grabbed a late winner. Leicester's third consecutive league defeat left them two points off the relegation zone in 16th place with the battle for survival hotting up after wins for Swansea City and Crystal Palace and Sunderland's battling point at home to Spurs. ALLARDYCE WIN Third-bottom Palace won in the league for the first time under new manager Sam Allardyce as Scott Dann and Christian Benteke scored the goals in a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth. Gylfi Sigurdsson's 70th minute effort earned Swansea a second consecutive win to keep them just above the trapdoor. Sliding Middlesbrough eeked out a point in a 1-1 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion but remain in trouble. On Wednesday, fifth-placed Manchester City, 13 points off the pace, visit West Ham United while Manchester United, a further two points back, host Hull City, who are now bottom. Chelsea have not lost a league game at Anfield since 2012, although they will probably feel a little short-changed after failing to capitalise on Liverpool's lack of form. Klopp's side will be glad to see the back of January having won just once in nine games -- an FA Cup replay against Plymouth Argyle -- and suffering three consecutive home defeats. After Liverpool made a bright start at Anfield it looked like another night of woe when the crafty Luiz noticed Mignolet arranging his wall and seized his chance to plant a superb free kick into the corner left vacated by the distracted keeper. There was plenty of spirit from Liverpool, though, and Wijnaldum levelled in the 57th minute after James Milner did well to head Jordan Henderson's cross back towards goal. When Costa went down after a challenge by Joel Matip 14 minutes from time it looked as though Chelsea would avenge their defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier this season but Mignolet spared the hosts with a fine stop. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris) Beijing (AFP) - Chinese factory activity expanded last month, data showed Wednesday, the latest indication that the world's second largest economy is stabilising but analysts warned of headwinds caused by emerging US protectionism. The crucial manufacturing sector has for years been struggling in the face of sagging world demand for Chinese products and excess industrial capacity left over from the country's recent infrastructure boom. But an upturn in the housing and construction markets thanks to cheap credit -- following a series of monetary easing measures -- has contributed to a rebound in manufacturing activity. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI), which gauges conditions at factories and mines, came in at 51.3 in January, down from 51.4 the previous month. A figure above 50 marks an expansion of manufacturing activity, and below 50 a contraction. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected an average of 51.2 for January. The marginal dip came as many businesses closed for Chinese New Year at the end of the month, with workers heading home to celebrate. But Raymond Yeung, chief greater China economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg News the numbers suggest the manufacturing sector was continuing to consolidate. "Looking ahead, the government will continue to juggle growth and capacity reduction. This headline PMI will still stay above the threshold of 50, but its hardly impressive," he said. While Beijing has said it wants to reorient the economy away from a reliance on exports and debt-fuelled investment, and towards a consumer-driven model, the transition has proven challenging. China is a vital driver of global growth, but its economy expanded just 6.7 percent in 2016 -- its weakest rate in a quarter of a century, though a slight uptick in the last three months fuelled hope the slowing trend could be coming to an end. However, China, along with most other economies, faces an uncertain future with US President Donald Trump threatening to review global trade deals and tariffs as part of a seemingly protectionist agenda. BMI Research, Fitch Group's research arm, said in a note that manufacturing will continue to "underperform" sectors like services. "Weaker domestic demand and an uncertain external environment due to rising US protectionism will weigh on the former, while services will benefit from continued investment by the government and the private sector," it said, according to Bloomberg News. PARIS (Reuters) - Container shipping group CMA CGM [CMACG.UL] has signed an agreement with Total under which the oil and gas major will supply lower emission fuels in line with stricter environmental regulations in the shipping sector. Under a three-year memorandum of understanding, Total will become a multi-fuel supplier to CMA CGM, providing fuel oil with 0.5 percent sulfur content and liquefied natural gas (LNG), the French companies said in a statement on Wednesday. The United Nations' shipping agency last year set global regulations to cut the amount of sulfur emissions from vessels to 0.5 percent of fuel content as of 2020 compared with 3.5 percent currently. Total would also supply fuel with 3.5 percent sulfur content to CMA CGM for ships equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems, or scrubbers, the companies said. Privately owned CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container line, also signed a MoU with French energy group Engie last year to develop LNG for ships. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Bate Felix) LOWER MATECUMBE KEY, Fla. (AP) The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the Atlantic off of the Florida Keys for a missing Canadian scuba diver. The agency said in a news release that the crew of The Pisces reported 37-year-old Rob Stewart missing about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday in the vicinity of Alligator Reef, which is off Lower Matecumbe Key. Stewart is from Toronto, Canada. Officials say the Navy, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office are assisting in the search. On November 13, 2015, terrorist attacks around the city of Paris claimed the lives of 130 people. 89 of those people were at the Eagles of Death Metal rock concert at the Bataclan Theatre. The new HBO documentary Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) chronicles the experiences of the American rock band before and after that tragic night. The films director, Colin Hanks, spoke to Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric about the emotional and intense documentary, which debuts on HBO February 13. By Kate Murphy On Nov. 13, 2015, terrorist attacks around the city of Paris claimed the lives of 130 people, 89 of them at the Eagles of Death Metal rock concert at the Bataclan Theatre. Just three months later, the band returned to the city to perform once again. The new HBO documentary Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) chronicles the experiences of the American rock band before and after that tragic night and examines the deep bond between the bands co-founders, Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme, who is also a member of Queens of the Stone Age. The films director, Colin Hanks, spoke to Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric about this emotional and intense documentary, which debuts on HBO on Feb. 13. Hanks, who was at work filming the CBS show Life in Pieces on the day of the attacks, recalled when he first learned about the tragic events in Paris. For whatever reason that day, I was in my trailer, and they werent calling my name yet. And normally we shoot pretty quick. He went on to say, All of a sudden, I saw a bunch of stuff on social media saying an attack had happened in Paris. Hanks knew that the Eagles of Death Metal, a band that he had met while filming his first documentary, All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records, was performing in Paris, and he reached out to the bands manager to find out what was going on. Its unfortunately become an all-too-common occurrence, hearing about attacks like this, but youre never prepared when its your friends that are directly involved, he told Couric. The film unfolds the events of that tragic night, weaving the intense accounts of band members with those of devoted fans who survived the attacks. The intimate look at these harrowing moments and the heartbreaking aftermath reveals a raw and challenging journey, particularly for the bands front man, Jesse Hughes. Upon returning to Paris to perform once again, Hughes sat down with the French news channel, iTELE, and said, I havent had any nightmares, and Ive slept fine, but when Im awake is when I see things that are nightmares. Story continues The attacks in Paris heightened fears that Muslim extremists could carry out similar attacks elsewhere, including in the United States. On Friday, Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order implementing a temporary immigration ban, sparking protests with many citizens and activists declaring the action to be, in effect, a Muslim ban. Asked about his reaction to Trumps executive order, Hanks said, America was built by immigrants. It was built by hard-working people trying to escape dire circumstances, and I would say that we already have rather extreme measures in place to make sure the people who are trying to hurt us cant get here. We didnt do this after 9-11, so I dont quite understand why were doing it now. The actress Meryl Streep recently spoke out against President Trumps character at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, specifically calling him out for making fun of a disabled reporter. Couric asked Hanks whether or not he believes Hollywood should speak out on the president. I would never tell someone that they cant express themselves or give their political opinion based on anything, he responded, So if an actor or whomever has an opportunity to say something, I think well, this is the United States of America, theyre allowed to do it. Related: Colin Hanks on speculation surrounding Season 3 of Fargo and on the cast of Life in Pieces: We love what we do The V&A will present 12 contemporary art installations and performance pieces that uniquely imagine what Europe might look like 2,000 years from now: in the year 4017. Given that the UK referendum on EU membership in June 2016 has undercut a sense of stability and rooted identity, these forums encourage timely debate as people differ with visions of future isolation versus pangea. Angela Kaya, Director of London's Goethe-Institut, a partner in the pop-up event, said: Beyond Brexit, migration and nationalization tendencies make this a critical moment for us to ask: What defines Europe and European identity today?" Tim Reeve, Acting Director of the V&A, affirmed: arts have a unique and important role to play in encouraging debate around the big questions of the day. Digital installations, sugar sculptures, tapestry, and music provocatively disrupt the rooms throughout the museum with works from Europe 1600-1815 or Medieval and Renaissance. The artists commissioned, from India to Italy, from the Netherlands to Taiwan, offer a range of viewpoints from within Europe and beyond its parameters. French-born Berlin-based critic Thibaut de Ruyter took the track "A Song for Europe" by Roxy Music as his starting point and curated a thematic soundtrack in the form of a poster. Finnish artist duoIC-98 collaborated with Finnish designer Kustaa Saksi, using an artisanal approach to storytelling through textile with a millefleurs tapestry (a pattern of thousands of flowers). Another collaborative endeavor, between design studio IF and innovation firm 00, wishes to alter how people think about data, privacy and security in the fields of architecture, policy, social science and technology across geographic borders. Jasleen Kaur's "Yoorop" presents a pseudo-documentary in which the history of the West is narrated by those in the East. Kaur's exploration of social histories is perfectly embodied by her own trajectory: brought up in a traditional Sikh household in Glasgow, today she is an artist based in London purposefully blurring cultural boundaries. Story continues Raqs Media Collective from India engages directly with one of the V&A's most popular objects: "The Return of Tipu's Tiger," an 18th-century automaton of a tiger devouring a European army officer. The piece is meaningfully reinvested as a stand-in for Europe's predatory global presence. The artworks are on display throughout the V&A from February 1 through 7. "Collecting Europe" is complemented by a range of discussions, live performances, and workshops. More here: vam.ac.uk/collectingeurope Bogota (AFP) - Colombia's last active rebel force, the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN), promises to release a hostage Thursday to clear the way for peace talks with the government. President Juan Manuel Santos wants the talks to seal a "complete" peace after 52 years of conflict, following an accord with the biggest rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). But deep differences remain with the ELN, as one of its western commanders, Danilo Hernandez, told AFP in an interview in the jungle this week. Here are five of the tough issues that will face the sides if they launch formal peace talks as planned on February 7: - Land - The communist ELN insists its demand of land rights for the rural poor remains as valid now as when it took up arms in 1964. "The government has said there will be no concessions on private property, which is what most impoverishes the poor," said Hernandez, commander of the Resistencia Cimarron guerrilla front. "The revolutionary armed struggle is still fully valid. As long as the necessities that were at the root of this insurgency exist, we will have to keep fighting." - Violence - Hernandez also complained that the government will not compromise on its "military doctrine," protecting state forces from prosecution over the violence. "A large percentage of the homicides in Colombia are committed by the armed forces and the police along with paramilitary groups which are an arm of the state." The right-wing paramilitaries were officially disbanded in 2006, but "they are still active and are growing in strength," Hernandez said. He said pressure from state forces against the ELN had intensified since the government made peace with the FARC. - Hostages - The ELN has promised to release it most prominent hostage, former lawmaker Odin Sanchez, as a condition for talks. But it has not yet promised a formal end to its hostage-taking. Story continues "The government established the conditions for the dialogue in the middle of a conflict," Hernandez said. "The question of whether being at war implies (that such) detentions (are necessary) will be discussed in the negotiations." - Money - Under their peace accord, the FARC and the government agreed to substitute legal crops for the coca leaves that have fueled the conflict and the drugs trade. As well as by taking hostages, Hernandez said the ELN finances itself by levying a "tax" on buyers of coca, the raw material used for making cocaine. He did not comment on how an end to coca crops might affect the ELN's finances. "The ELN has no direct link to the growing" of the coca, he said, however. "We have no other link to drug trafficking." - Good will - Decades of violence have yielded a mood of bitter ELN distrust of the government. However, the ELN has "always" had a desire for peace, said Hernandez. He declined to say whether he thought the peace process could be completed by the time Santos leaves office next year. "We are in no hurry to finish," he said. The FARC spent four years negotiating with the government before reaching an accord. "The government has laid down red lines on issues that are at the origin of the conflict," Hernandez warned. "If no solution is sought for those, it gets harder and harder to achieve." Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f35498%2f13aa17b6-2322-41c6-bd29-07c2306d330e Seeing former President Barack Obama out of office in street clothes is like seeing your elementary school teacher at the grocery store. You know they're just normal people, but sometimes, you forget. Obama is taking a much-deserved post-presidency vacation with his family on Richard Branson's Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. He's is finally allowed to let loose after serving as president for eight years, and let loose he did. SEE ALSO: President Obama's emotional tribute to his family will have you tearing up Pictures and video emerged on Wednesday of very cool dad Barack Obama wearing a backwards hat whilst heading to the beach, decked out in all black, wearing short shorts and flip flops. There's just something about seeing the former leader of the free world in a backwards hat and flip flops that brought joy to the void that is the internet recently. I am not an undercover cop pic.twitter.com/VBXBtVETHT Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) February 1, 2017 Obama really in the BVI in flip flops just chillin pic.twitter.com/k1zb1Z3bQ2 Amat Victoria Curam (@BR_Nation) February 1, 2017 "I would like one marijuana cigarette" https://t.co/0GgnfXEbLm The Coolest Pharaoh (@Your_Flyness) February 1, 2017 You guys are all over Obama wearing a backwards hat but you neglected to point out Michelle in hucking pigtails! pic.twitter.com/X6nGHYZBjo LeaveMeHereToDie (@mandyfogazza) February 1, 2017 my aesthetic is obama wearing his hat backwards just chillin on vacay Josie (@laflxr) February 1, 2017 Buried under the Antarctic ice, the IceCube experiment was designed primarily to capture particles called neutrinos that are produced by powerful cosmic events, but it is also helping scientists learn about the fundamental nature of these ghostly particles. At a meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) in Washington, D.C., this week, scientists with the IceCube collaboration presented new results that contribute to an ongoing mystery about the nature of neutrinos. These particles pour down on Earth from the sun, but they mostly pass unimpeded, like ghosts, through regular matter. The new results support evidence of a strange symmetry in measurements of one neutrino mass. In particle physics, symmetries often indicate underlying physics that scientists haven't yet unearthed. [Neutrinos from Beyond the Solar System Found (Images)] Mystery of the neutrino mass Neutrinos are fundamental particles of nature. They aren't one of the particles that make up atoms. (Those are electrons, protons and neutrons.) Neutrinos very, very rarely interact with regular matter, so they don't really influence human beings at all (unless, of course, you happen to be a particle physicist who studies them). The sun generates neutrinos in droves, but for the most part, those particles pour through the Earth, like phantoms. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a neutrino detector buried under 0.9 miles (1.45 kilometers) of ice in Antarctica. The ice provides a shield from other types of radiation and particles that would otherwise overwhelm the rare instances when neutrinos do interact with the detector and create a signal for scientists to study. Neutrinos come in three "flavors": the tau neutrino, the muon neutrino and the electron neutrino. For a long time, scientists debated whether neutrinos had mass or if they were similar to photons (particles of light), which are considered massless. Eventually, scientists showed that neutrinos do have mass, and the 2015 Nobel Prize was awarded for work on neutrinos, including investigations into neutrino masses. Story continues But saying that neutrinos have mass is not the same as saying that a rock or an apple has mass. Neutrinos are particles that exist in the quantum world, and the quantum world is weird light can be both a wave and a particle; cats can be both alive and dead. So it's not that each neutrino flavor has its own mass, but rather that the neutrino flavors combine into what are called "mass eigenstates," and those are what scientists measure. (For the purpose of simplicity, a Michigan State University statement describing the new findings calls the mass eigenstates "neutrino species.") "One of the outstanding questions is whether there is a pattern to the fractions that go into each neutrino species," Tyce DeYoung, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Michigan State University and one of the IceCube collaborators working on the new finding, told Space.com. One neutrino species appears to be made up of mostly electron neutrinos, with some muon and tau neutrinos; the second neutrino species seems to be an almost equal mix of all three; and the third is still a bit of a mystery, but one previous study suggested that it might be an even split between muon and tau, with just a few electron neutrinos thrown in. At the APS meeting, Joshua Hignight, a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University working with DeYoung, presented preliminary results from IceCube that support the equal split of muon and tau neutrinos in that third mass species. "This question of whether the third type is exactly equal parts muon and tau is called the maximal mixing question," he said. "Since we don't know any reason that this neutrino species should be exactly half and half, that would either be a really astonishing coincidence or possibly telling us about some physical principle that we haven't discovered yet." Generally speaking, any given feature of the universe can be explained either by a random process or by some rule that governs how things behave. If the number of muon and tau neutrinos in the third neutrino species were determined randomly, there would be much higher odds that those numbers would not be equal. "To me, this is very interesting, because it implies a fundamental symmetry," DeYoung said. To better understand why the equal number of muon and tau neutrinos in the mass species implies nonrandomness, DeYoung gave the example of scientists discovering that protons and neutrons (the two particles that make up the nucleus of an atom) have very similar masses. The scientists who first discovered those masses might have wondered if that similarity was a mere coincidence or the product of some underlying similarity. It turns out, it's the latter: Neutrons and protons are both made of three elementary particles called quarks (though a different combination of two quark varieties). In that case, a similarity on the surface indicated something hidden below, the scientists said. The new results from IceCube are "generally consistent" with recent results from the T2K neutrino experiment in Japan, which is dedicated to answering questions about the fundamental nature of neutrinos. But the Nova experiment, based at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory outside Chicago, did not "prefer the exact symmetry" between the muon and tau neutrinos in the third mass species, according to DeYoung. "That's a tension; that's not a direct contradiction at this point," he said. "It's the sort of not-quite-agreement that we're going to be looking into over the next couple of years." IceCube was designed to detect somewhat-high-energy neutrinos from distant cosmic sources, but most neutrino experiments on Earth detect lower-energy neutrinos from the sun or nuclear reactors on Earth. Both T2K and Nova detect neutrinos at about an order of magnitude lower energy than IceCube. The consistency between the measurements made by IceCube and T2K are a test of "the robustness of the measurement" and "a success for our standard theory" of neutrino physics, DeYoung said. Neutrinos don't affect most people's day-to-day lives, but physicists hope that by studying these particles, they can find clues about some of the biggest mysteries in the cosmos. One of those cosmic mysteries could include an explanation for dark matter, the mysterious stuff that is five times more common in the universe than the "regular" matter that makes up planets, stars and all of the visible objects in the cosmos. Dark matter has a gravitational pull on regular matter, and it has shaped the cosmic landscape throughout the history of the universe. Some theorists think dark matter could be a new type of neutrino. The IceCube results are still preliminary, according to DeYoung. The scientists plan to submit the final results for publication after they've finished running the complete statistical analysis of the data. Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Editor's Recommendations California is leading scores of cities and states fighting back against the Trump Administrations executive order seeking to punish them financially for providing safe havens for illegal immigrants threatened with deportation. Just yesterday, the city of San Francisco filed suit in U.S. District Court in Northern California challenging the legality of last weeks executive order. Related: Trump Cracks Down on Sanctuary Cities and It Could Cost Them Billions Trump has directed the federal government to withhold federal grants and assistance to sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agents in identifying and detaining illegal immigrants in their custody." The lawsuit represents the first legal action brought against the Trump administration by a city being targeted for the potential loss of billions of dollars in federal assistance because of their benign, protective treatment of millions of illegal immigrants living throughout the country. Cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco that offer strong protection to illegal immigrants have the most at stake. San Francisco, for example, receives more than $1.2 billion annually in federal funding, most of which goes to health care, nutrition, and other safety net programs, according to USA Today. The presidents executive order is not only unconstitutional, its un-American, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement. That is why we must stand up and oppose it. We are a nation of immigrants and a land of laws. We must be the guardians of our democracy that President Obama urged us all to be in his farewell address. Related: Trump Era Begins with Moves Against Regulations, Obamacare Trump is seeking to increase pressure on illegal immigrants and the cities and states protecting them as part of a larger strategy for tightening border security, building a 2,000-mile wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and rounding up undocumented workers with criminal records for deportation. Story continues Were going to strip federal grant money from the sanctuary states and cities that harbor illegal immigrants, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters last week. The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws. But California, with roughly 2.5 million illegal immigrants out of a total population of 39 million, is fighting back to defend the immigration population and protect the estimated $40 billion to $50 billion it receives annually in federal grants and aid. While the administration hasnt specified where the cuts will be made, community law enforcement, crime victims assistance and first-responder grants from the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security are likely targets. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the states Democratic-controlled General Assembly are mounting a sophisticated legal battle aimed at tying up Trumps Justice Department in a myriad of unending and draining court cases, according to the Los Angeles Times. Related: Some Sanctuary City Officials Will Stonewall Trump Over Criminal Deportations State officials believe they have legal precedent on their side. And the General Assembly recently retained Eric Holder, the former attorney general in the Obama administration to advise the state on legal tactics. Officials believe that Trump and his advisers would be on shaky legal ground attempting to cut off any federal funds allocated for anything other than law enforcement, and even then it would be politically risky to strip away funds from local police and crime victims, according to the newspaper. Others who are up in arms over Trumps assault on sanctuary cities are calling for retaliatory action against the new Republican administration that would hit the government in its pocketbook. Take for example former state Assembly speaker Willie L. Brown Jr., who recently called for a tax rebellion of sorts against the federal government to protest Trumps executive order. KPIX 5 TV in San Francisco reported that officials are looking for funds that flow from California to Washington that could be used to effectively offset the potential loss of billions of dollars worth of federal funds. California could very well become an organized non-payer, Brown said in an interview with the station aired last Sunday. They could recommend non-compliance with the federal tax code. Related: Is this How Trump Will Get Mexico to Pay for His Wall? Brown didnt provide specifics for what he has in mind, and state and federal tax experts say they are scratching their heads to figure out what that retaliatory action might entail. About $205 billion flows annually from California to the federal government, but that represents individual and business federal taxes paid to the U.S. Treasury. And billions more go for federal excise and gasoline taxes, but those too arent under the control of the state government. So except for a few miscellaneous payments that may go from Sacramento to DC, the state has little leverage over the federal government, experts say. I dont see much in the way of what the state government could stop in terms of going to Washington, D.C., Joe Henchman, vice president for state projects at the Tax Foundation, said in an interview. Certainly the biggest leverage California has is that they pay $205 billion a year in federal taxes. But the state government is not involved in that. Thats money paid directly by Californians to the federal government. Henchman and others see just one other alternative - a popular uprising by California residents who stage a major protest by withholding their federal tax payments. It would be a sagebrush revolution of sorts, akin to previous tax protests over the years to object to excess government spending or U.S. warfare in Vietnam and the Middle East. But that would be a risky venture that would run afoul of the U.S. tax code and the Internal Revenue Service and would almost certainly invite steep penalties and potential criminal action. Im not sure citizens would risk jail sentences for that, said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto. So you would be asking Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg not to pay their federal income taxes. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f368340%2fcbd48aa0-6e91-4c91-8a3b-24e71f3fd9b4 Baby steps, giant dreams. A crowdfunded short film from India is aspiring for a coveted premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year. SEE ALSO: 5 times when intolerant India had a problem with Bollywood Sisak, which claims to be the country's "first silent LGBTQ film," is a wordless love story that unfolds between two strangers aboard local trains in Mumbai. The film's trailer was unveiled by Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor, a Cannes regular herself, on social media. Sisak's writer-director Faraz Arif Ansari, who studied cinema in America, says he's exhausted all his savings to make the film that was turned down by many Indian studios for dealing with a "taboo subject." Indian law continues to criminalize gay sex. And local society, in turn, is infested with prejudices and biases against the queer community. Fortunately for Ansari, his crowdfunding call on Wishberry, the Indian equivalent of Kickstarter, met with an overwhelming response, garnering over $6,000 from 109 backers. The film was completed in nine month, at which point he could pay off his cast and crew. Image: WISHBERRY SCREENGRAB And now, festival plans are being firmed up. "Fingers crossed...After [Cannes], it travels to festivals across the world and India," Ansari tells Mashable India. A special 15-minute cut of the 20-minute film is being readied for the event. Paid previews in Indian theaters will be held after the festival rounds. Story continues Sisak was never going to be a smooth ride and Ansari knew that too well. Not only were actors unwilling to play gay, but shooting locations also posed a problem. Says Ansari, "I think while I was writing Sisak, I was aware what a massive challenge it was going to be at each and every level." The film was shot guerrilla-style in Mumbai sans permissions from civic authorities. And a tiny crew ensured that any unpleasant incidences were avoided. Sisak is probably India's first dedicated short feature on gay love. Most Indian films have thus far loosely touched upon the subject of homosexuality. It is rare when a gay man has been a protagonist, with the notable exception of 2016's Aligarh. BONUS: Her Story creators explain what their Emmy nomination means for LGBTQ community Curitiba (Brazil) (AFP) - The list of inmates' names looks like the members' directory at an exclusive club. But these former Brazilian ministers, congressmen and executives are not clinking glasses - they're cooling their heels in prison. The Penal Medical Complex in the southern city of Curitiba houses some of Brazil's most illustrious or infamous prisoners, men who until recently knew power and wealth but after being snared in a huge corruption probe now live three to a 12 meter square (129 square feet) cell. They include the once powerful Jose Dirceu, who was chief of staff for then president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. On the other side of the political divide there's Eduardo Cunha -- the seemingly untouchable speaker of the lower house who engineered the impeachment last year of Lula's chosen successor Dilma Rousseff. Men used to giving orders and speeches are submitted to long periods of enforced silence, with two hours a day outdoors and a shared television screen as their few creature comforts. The best known prisoners here are targets of Brazil's gigantic anti-corruption drive codenamed Operation Car Wash. Prosecutors have unravelled a network of bribes and embezzlement centered on state oil giant Petrobras and involving politicians, lobbyists and executives. In Curitiba, suspects and convicted men are spared the real horrors of many Brazilian prisons thanks to an odd law which sends people with university diplomas to better facilities. However, one big name brought down in unrelated bribery allegations -- Brazil's former richest man Eike Batista -- was jailed this week in a standard Rio de Janeiro institution. Unlike many other white collar crime suspects he dropped out of university, a decision he may now regret as he sits crammed in an overcrowded cell. Even for the luckier college graduates, prison must feel a very long way from their past lifestyles of chauffeurs, bodyguards, glitzy mansions and fancy cars. Story continues "They all need time to adapt and some can suffer a certain amount of depression," Luiz Moura, the prison chief for Parana state where Curitiba is the capital, told AFP. "If they need psychological treatment we give it so that they can accept their new reality and realize that the social conditions they had outside no longer matter." - Honest wages - Men accused of stealing millions can now earn more modest amounts with a bit of honest work. Dirceu was one of the country's biggest high-fliers, at one point touted as a possible successor to Lula before Rousseff took that slot. He was incarcerated in Curitiba after being convicted of receiving an illegal payment of $3.12 million, part of which was meant to pay for a Cessna airplane. One of currently eight Operation Car Wash prisoners in Curitiba, he is serving a 20 years, 10 month sentence. He gets paid 45 reais ($14) a month to deliver books to other inmates -- although he doesn't escape a 25 percent tax on his earnings. "It's not a librarian's job because he isn't qualified for this. It's just distributing books, bringing them to cells and taking them back, as well as cleaning and maintaining the books," Moura explained. There's a good reason why these prisoners might want to read: if they complete one book a month they knock four days off their sentence each time. Even in this though, the system makes sure no one cheats: inmates are tested on whether they really read the text. - Few options - Cunha, a deeply conservative politician often compared to the scheming, ruthless hero of "House of Cards" Frank Underwood, has yet to find a suitable job as he awaits trial on Car Wash-related corruption charges. "There are a limited number of posts and we give priority to those who have already been sentenced," Moura said. Former congressional deputies Andre Vargas, who was sentenced to 14 years and four months, and Joao Argolo, sentenced to 11 years and 11 months, and the former Workers' Party treasurer Joao Vaccari Neto, who got more than 30 years, all have cleaning jobs. Other Car Wash prisoners who passed through Curitiba include Marcelo Odebrecht, the one-time construction tycoon who played a central role in the pay-to-play scheme at Petrobras. He is currently looking for a reduction to his 19 years, four months sentence in return for having turned state's witness. But while in Curitiba, he didn't let the lack of things to do get him down. "He was extremely disciplined. He established a routine of exercises and carried them out. When everyone was enjoying the sun or chatting, he'd be running," Moura said. ATHENS (Reuters) - The leaders of ethnically-split Cyprus have asked the United Nations to prepare for a new peace conference in early March with guarantor powers Britain, Turkey and Greece, a U.N. envoy said on Wednesday. Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci also agreed at a meeting to reconvene weekly through the month of February to try to resolve outstanding issues, envoy Espen Barth Eide said. "The leaders requested the United Nations to prepare, in consultation with the guarantor powers, for the continuation of the Conference on Cyprus at political level in early March," Eide said in a statement. "They underscored their strong resolve and determination to maintain the current momentum," said Eide, a former Norwegian foreign minister who has been one of a long line of envoys trying to broker peace on the eastern Mediterranean island. Cyprus was a British colony until 1960 and its Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities have lived estranged on either side of a U.N.-monitored ceasefire line since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded the island in response to a brief coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece. The seeds of partition were planted years earlier when Turkish Cypriots withdrew from a power-sharing system after the outbreak of communal violence, which spurred the dispatch of what is now one of the oldest U.N. peacekeeping contingents. One of the 1960 treaties under which Cyprus was granted independence allows Greece, Turkey and Britain intervention rights in the event of a breakdown of constitutional order. The foreign ministers of guarantor powers Britain, Greece and Turkey met Cypriot leaders in Geneva in mid-January to weigh security guarantees, seen as crucial to a reunification deal. That meeting was inconclusive. Turkey and Turkish Cypriots insisted on continued guarantor status while Greece and the Greek Cypriots insisted the current system be dismantled, saying Turkey had abused it with its 1970s invasion and continued stationing of 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus. (Reporting by Michele Kambas; editing by Mark Heinrich) Psst. Over here. Yeah, you. I'm talking to you. Come closer ... there, much better now. Here's the scoop: If you've ever walked by someone's cubicle at work and they're whispering, let's just say that's a huge sign they're talking about something office-related. And it may just be confidential. It happens more often than not, whether you hear something you don't want to necessarily hear (and then, of course you simply can't unhear it!) or maybe you're so miserable that you confide in your office buddy because you simply can't tolerate your job anymore. [See: The 6 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance.] I encountered this firsthand several years ago when my boss's boss approached me and quizzically asked why I decided to stay with the company for a long time. I didn't expect the question and somehow tried to convince myself: "The abundance of personal time." Really? That's when sometimes a conversation can spark you to become introspective and ask yourself, OK, how do I react in this situation and then, what can I do with this to propel my own career? Let's take a look at several office talk scenarios and how you can handle them the next time they emerge at work. You confide in a colleague and tell them you're looking for a new job. OK, so you may have reached that breaking point, the point of no return, with that "if I have to tolerate any more of this, I'm seriously going to pull my hair out" look on your face. Sometimes it's really difficult to hide. But, you need to muster up strength to mask it. Do not confide in your co-worker, regardless of how close you are. It's not going to help you land a new job any faster and it may very well backfire, especially if you happen to get promoted or recognized for something you had no interest in pursuing anyway (yes, that's possible). [See: Relaxation Exercises for When You're About to Lose It at Work.] So, what happens if you've already confided in that person or simply cannot refrain? Limit information and emphasize it's confidential. Then, create coping strategies that don't involve that colleague. If your employer has an employee assistance program with a free counseling service, you can always call them on your cell phone to vent. Sometimes all you need is someone on the other end to listen. Above all, keep looking for that new job -- it will decrease angst because you'll know it's only a matter of time before you're out of there. Story continues Your boss or colleague confides in you. I must admit, I was taken aback when my boss approached me. He was passed over for a promotion -- I didn't know it at the time -- but the conversation made me think more closely about my answer. Here's the thing: When people confide in you, unless they ask you a question, just listen. Take it in and tell them they can trust you to not share it with anyone else. You would expect and want the same in return. But, then take a moment to ask yourself, OK, let's say they want to leave the company. Maybe they've been there five years longer than you have and got passed up for a promotion. Remove yourself from the situation -- go for a run, do yoga, meditate -- and then look at the situation objectively. Ask yourself if you want to get to that point of frustration where you're beyond upset with your employer or be proactive to look for a new job? At the time, I knew I was fooling myself with that answer: My top three reasons for staying were the ample personal time, an enjoyable commute and subsidized cafeteria. And I must say, if those are your top three as well, it's time to look for a new job! [See: 10 Reasons to Quit Your Job Already.] Someone's complaining. OK, so they may not confide in you telling you they're vying to move on, but instead they're moaning and grunting about their work. Who wants to hear that, right? Remain professional, but you may need to say to them, "We need to make the best of this situation. Turn that frown upside down!" Again, take a step back. Is there a valid reason why they're complaining? Maybe the department is overworked and your boss promised to hire two new people and as hard as the boss is trying to do so, they got pushback from leadership to freeze headcount. Whether or not it's totally out of their hands, the point is you're overworked. In any case, it's important that the team morale doesn't plummet, so try to stay positive and get your colleague back on track. Vicki Salemi is an author, public speaker, columnist and career expert for Monster, a global leader in successfully connecting people and job opportunities. Utilizing her more than 15 years of experience in corporate recruiting and human resources, Vicki empowers job seekers with insights and first-hand knowledge from the halls of HR. She is the author of "Big Career in the Big City" and a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, Forbes.com, The New York Post and SUCCESS.com. Vicki has also been quoted in many top business and consumer outlets worldwide, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, NBC News, Dateline Australia, Fast Company and Women's Health. As a recognized influencer in the recruitment industry, Vicki often interviews notable names, such as Gloria Steinem, Derek Jeter and Michael J. Fox, about their own careers. She is also the former creator/host/producer of mediabistroTV's "Score That Job," and was named one of the top 25 career bloggers in the U.S. by BlogHer in 2011. Vicki previously held recruiting and HR roles at major financial institutions including Deloitte and KPMG. Vicki graduated from Lafayette College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, and earned a management certificate from Cornell University. More information can be found at www.vickisalemi.com as well as on Twitter @vickisalemi. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of top U.S. House of Representatives Democrats sent a letter on Tuesday asking the Department of Defense to review a paid appearance at a Russian event by retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser. The letter said it was "extremely concerning" that Flynn was paid to appear at a gala for Russia's government-funded RT television. The anti-bribery "emoluments" clause of the U.S. constitution bars payments by foreign governments. "It remains unclear how much General Flynn was paid for his dinner with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, whether he received additional payments from Russian or other foreign sources on separate occasions, or whether he sought the approval of the Department of Defense or Congress to accept any of these payments," said the letter from the ranking Democrats on six House committees. Asked about the letter, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he thought the Department of Defense was an appropriate place for such a review. But he said it did not appear unusual. He noted that Flynn "like I think probably countless if not hundreds of retired flag officers, joined a speaking bureau and has given speeches at various places." Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has had warm relations with Putin's government, which has worried Russia hawks in Congress, who consider Moscow a U.S. opponent on issues ranging from the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine to the civil war in Syria and the hacking of last year's U.S. election. Some lawmakers also have questioned Flynn's relationship with the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was a paid lobbyist for a consulting firm led by the head of the Turkish-American Business Council, and after last November's election wrote an article urging the U.S. to cultivate better relations with Erdogan. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle Additional reporting by David Alexander; Editing by John Walcott and James Dalgleish) By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Senate Republicans to "go nuclear" and impose a rule change to force a simple majority vote on confirmation if Democrats block his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, as Democrats maneuvered for a hard fight. Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge from Colorado seen as a conservative intellectual, began holding private meetings with senators, starting with top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, to drum up support for his nomination a day after Trump picked the 49-year-old for a lifetime job on the country's top court. Trump's fellow Republicans control the Senate 52-48. Democrats signaled on Wednesday they would set up a procedural hurdle, known as a filibuster, requiring 60 votes, rather than a simple majority, to move toward confirmation of Gorsuch. The president urged McConnell to change long-standing Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, a move dubbed the "nuclear option," if Democrats block Gorsuch. "We want to have him (Gorsuch) go through an elegant process as opposed to a demeaning process, because they're very demeaning on the other side, and they want to make you look as bad as possible," Trump said, referring to Democrats. "If we end up with that gridlock, I would say: 'If you can, Mitch, go nuclear,'" Trump said at a White House meeting with conservative advocacy groups. Supreme Court nominations require Senate confirmation. If confirmed, Gorsuch would reinstate the Supreme Court's conservative majority, in place for decades until Justice Antonin Scalia's death last Feb. 13. The court's ideological shift could prove pivotal on a range of issues including presidential powers, abortion, the death penalty and transgender, gun and religious rights. Trump's comments came as Democrats plotted strategy on how to deal with Gorsuch's nomination. They remain furious over McConnell's refusal last year to let the Senate hold confirmation hearings or a vote on Democratic President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to succeed Scalia on the court. Some Democratic senators, arguing that Republicans stole a Supreme Court seat from Obama, announced their opposition to Gorsuch, while others said they were willing to hear him out. 'CHANGE THE NOMINEE' Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor that if Gorsuch could not meet the same standard Republicans insisted on for Obama's Supreme Court nominees, at least 60 votes for confirmation, "then the problem lies not with the Senate, but with the nominee." "The answer should not be to change the rules of the Senate, but to change the nominee to someone who can earn 60 votes. Sixty votes produces a mainstream candidate," Schumer added. To get those 60 votes, Republicans hope to lure eight Democrats up for re-election in 2018 in Republican-leaning states or states that voted for Trump last November. Those include Democrats from Indiana, North Dakota, West Virginia, Missouri, Michigan, Montana and Wisconsin as well as closely divided Maine. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Republican-leaning Ohio, already announced he would vote against Gorsuch. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said she would review Gorsuch's record but was "deeply troubled" over his stances against disabled students, workers and women's reproductive healthcare. Senator Jon Tester of Montana said in an interview he wanted to review Gorscuch's record on women's rights and other issues, adding the judge's stance on end-of-life issues "distresses me." Gorsuch is known for siding with the Christian owners of a company that challenged federal requirements that businesses provide insurance coverage for women's birth control and for writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide. The influential, deep-pocketed Americans for Prosperity is promising a vigorous effort to help Gorsuch get confirmed and is using its network of wealthy contributors to build support, especially in battleground states. The organization is led by multi-billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. It has been ramping up its political campaign donations in support of Republican candidates for the Senate and other offices. Schumer said that while Trump campaigned as someone who would "be for the working man and woman," he now had chosen a Supreme Court nominee who "sides with CEOs over citizens." "Unfortunately, Judge Gorsuch has proven to have a judicial philosophy outside of the mainstream and time and again has subjugated individual rights to those of corporations," said Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who came out in opposition to the nomination. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who met with the nominee on Wednesday, said a Supreme Court nominee should have to win the support of 60 senators but urged fellow Democrats to give Gorsuch a chance. Manchin, whose home state, West Virginia, voted overwhelmingly for Trump, is up for re-election in 2018. Senate aides said Republicans were hoping the Judiciary Committee could hold hearings and a vote on the nomination by late March, paving the way for confirmation by the full Senate in the first week of April. If that happens, Gorsuch could be on the high court in time to year a major transgender rights case. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Roberta Rampton and Lawrence Hurley; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney) ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A developer who wants to reopen the former Revel casino lost his bid Tuesday to be exempt from having to get a New Jersey casino license. Glenn Straub has to be licensed, even though he plans to have a different company run the Ten casino resort, the Casino Control Commission ruled. Straub said after the hearing that he will fight the issue in court and the he doesn't want to subject his company to regulations from the state board. "I recognize the social and economic benefits that reopening a casino hotel would have," board Chairman Matthew Levinson said. "But the environment in Atlantic City does not change the requirements of the Casino Control Act." Straub says he will open portions of the hotel and spas on the property on Feb. 20, but Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck said that the opening of a casino is "not even remotely imminent." Straub scooped up Revel in 2015 from bankruptcy court for $82 million. It cost $2.4 billion to build and closed after a little over two years, never having come close to turning a profit. Straub has complained repeatedly that government officials at all levels are preventing him from reopening the casino due to unnecessary regulations and that "abusive" red tape from state casino regulators is preventing people from investing in Atlantic City. NEW YORK (AP) -- New York's attorney general says DeVry University will pay $2.25 million following allegations that it exaggerated graduates' job and salary prospects. Eric Schneiderman (SHNEYE'-dur-muhn) said Tuesday that a settlement also requires the school which operates locally as DeVry College of New York to pay $500,000 in penalties and fees. Graduates eligible for the claims process will receive a form by mail. The Downers Grove, Illinois-based DeVry Education Group says it's pleased to resolve the matter. DeVry says it's committed to being publicly accountable and to students' success. In December, DeVry settled a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit. It agreed to pay $49 million to students allegedly harmed by advertising and to forgive $50 million in debt. Schneiderman's office said New York graduates could be eligible for both settlements. London (AFP) - West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has insisted Dimitri Payet has no need to apologise to the London club's supporters for his controversial return to Marseille. Payet rejoined the Ligue 1 side on a four-and-a-half-year deal after Marseille paid 30 million euros ($31.3 million, 25 million) to bring him back to the Stade Velodrome. The 29-year-old -- who starred for the Hammers last season scoring 12 goals -- had effectively gone on strike at the beginning of the month. He said he would not play for West Ham again and that his priority, and that of his his wife, was a return to France. As the deal was completed Sunday, West Ham co-owner David Sullivan expressed his "sincere disappointment that Dimitri Payet did not show the same commitment and respect to West Ham United that the club and fans showed him". But Bilic, speaking Tuesday, thanked Payet for his efforts on behalf of the Hammers. "Does he owe an apology? No. I wouldn't say that," said the West Ham manager. "Players are always moving and I'm not going that deep into what he should say or shouldn't. He is gone, he went home, that was his wish and I will not forget how good he was for us. "He was brilliant. I was so happy and proud, with my team, my staff, to help him achieve what he did. What he achieved with us was a great story for West Ham, for the Premier League and for France. "I want to thank him for everything he did for us - he was brilliant last year. We were brilliant for him also. Now that story's finished I wish him luck and all the best in Marseille." It seems every high-profile tech executive has openly condemned President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration, which blocks citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days and indefinitely bars Syrian refugees. Though Trump has yet to specify how he will change worker-visa programs for high-skilled immigrants, its a topic on the minds of leaders in the tech community. On Monday, Bloomberg obtained a copy of Trumps draft proposal that would upend the work-visa programs that many tech companies rely on for a bulk of their workforce. Our countrys immigration policies should be designed and implemented to serve, first and foremost, the U.S. national interest. Visa programs for foreign workersshould be administered in a manner that protects the civil rights of American workers and current lawful residents, and that prioritizes the protection of American workers our forgotten working people and the jobs they hold, according to the draft proposal reviewed by Bloomberg. We dont know when this measure will be made official, but the tentative plan should not come as a surprise given Trumps repeated rhetoric around the need to prioritize and protect American workers. Earlier this month, Trumps policy chief Stephen Miller suggested scrapping the current lottery process and instead soliciting visa petitions for jobs that pay the highest salaries. This plan is a nod to a bipartisan bill first introduced to Congress in 2007 by Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin, which prioritizes American workers and restores fairness in visa programs for skilled foreign workers. The legislation, reintroduced last week, would get rid of the lottery system and crack down on outsourcing companies. Vikram Desai & Donald Trump Vikram Desai the vice president of Immigration Voice, a non-partisan advocacy group working toward alleviating the problems faced by legal high-skilled future Americans in the United States told Yahoo Finance he is optimistic that Trumps administration will help fix structural problems with the H-1B system. Story continues We welcome the steps the administration would take to reform the abused H-1B system, and are hopeful that the administration would focus on the abuse in the system so the system works in the best interest of American workers, genuine companies/employers, and, tax-paying law abiding legal skilled immigrants that have done everything right, he said. In a seemingly counterintuitive stance, Desai, who himself is an H-1B visa holder, said the solution is not to give more employers H-1B visas, but to instead provide them with the tools and expediency to pursue lives in the US. The primary concern for H-1B visa holders is how to navigate the path to permanent residency and eventually US citizenship, which currently seems unattainable. In the meantime, employees on the H-1B visa often cant ask for a raise, change jobs or travel freely without feeling anxious. H-1Bs are sponsored by employers and cannot be transferred from one employer to another. There are 1.5 million folks stuck in the backlog of trying to obtain permanent residency (i.e. a green card), according to Desai. Currently, only 7% of the total number of green cards in the US can go to applications from a single nation. That means H-1B holders from countries with high demand like China, India and Mexico have to wait longer than other applicants for a green card. Employers see this loophole H-1B visa holders are stickier employees theyll stay with your company in fear of losing their jobs. We believe that the current H-1B system needs a lot of reform and enforcement so that American workers dont get displaced, and legal immigrants dont get exploited, he said. Desai said he and other leaders of Immigration Voice met with then-candidate Trump at an event in New Jersey last October. They urged him to raise awareness about how [high-skilled immigration] causes displacement of American workers and exploitation of legal immigrants. Trump said his administration would fix these issues, according to Desai, who found the response encouraging. Currently, the H-1B is a lottery with 65,000 open spots and 20,000 additional spots allocated to those with advanced degrees from US institutions. The visa lasts three years, though individuals can apply for an extension of an additional three years, for a total of six years. The visa allows US employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations like scientists, doctors, engineers and computer programmers. Holders cannot remain in the US permanently and can only get additional extensions if their employer applies for their permanent residency (i.e. a green card) on their behalf. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Last week, California congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat who represents Silicon Valley, introduced The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017, a new bill that to curbs H-1B visa outsourcing abuse. In light of companies like Disney (DIS), Southern California Edison and the University of California San Francisco being scrutinized for allegedly replacing American workers by outsourcing to companies with cheaper H-1B workers, she laid out guidelines on a market-based solution that gives priority to those companies willing to pay the most. Though many outspoken tech executives have emphasized that diversity is fundamental to the countrys innovation and in building the next crop of entrepreneurs, the current H-1B visa program actually doesnt provide immigrants with one notion of the American dream building a business. If we continue to bring these folks over, we have to give them rights. Simple rights like changing jobs or opening up a business, Desai said. Its been depressing and infuriating that all of a sudden, in the last 48 hours, executives are speaking out about this ban, he added. For years weve been trying to reach out to our CEOs. We have folks that get stuck every day at airports trying to return to the US. Organizations like Fwd.us, a group primarily founded and funded by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including Facebooks (FB) Mark Zuckerberg, LinkedIns (LNKD) Reid Hoffman, and Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates, among others, are pushing for immigration reform, particularly in regards to high-skilled workers. Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer is also listed as a contributor to the organization. Its an indictment of Congress, not being able to do anything for two decades. This visa program existed before the worldwide web and its wildly prohibitive, Fwd.us president Todd Schulte told Yahoo Finance last year. High-skilled immigration reform could be one area where there can be a bipartisan agreement. And an overhaul of the system could benefit H-1B visa holders in the long-term. Melody Hahm is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Read more from Melody here & follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm. President Donald Trumps state visit to Britain has put the Queen in a very difficult position, the former head of the U.K. Foreign Office claims. Lord Peter Ricketts says the visit, announced by British Prime Minister Theresa May while meeting President Trump in Washington on Friday, should be downgraded from a state visit to spare Her Majesty any controversy. As a UK petition to stop President Trumps planned visit to Britain reached more than 1.5 million signatures and thousands protested across Britain on Monday, Lord Ricketts, in a letter to the The Times of London, said the invitation so early in Trumps presidency was premature. He also added May must move fast to protect the Queen from more controversy. Lord Ricketts said that it is unprecedented for U.S. presidents to be given a state visit in their first year of office and said he questioned whether Trump is specially deserving of this exceptional honour. Adding, It would have been far wiser to wait to see what sort of president he would turn out to be before advising the Queen to invite him. Now the Queen is put in a very difficult position. Lord Ricketts spoke out following President Trumps ban of refugees and citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries from the United States signed in an executive order hours after Mays visit. The Times claimed that Buckingham Palace was privately unhappy about the perception the Queen was being dragged into a political event. Regardless of the protests, May has insisted that the state visit will go ahead. Lord Ricketts, 64, says that the decision to rush forward an invitation risks breaching the convention that while the Palace acts on ministers advice, the government stops the Queen from getting drawn into political controversy. Conservative Muslim lawmaker Sayeeda Warsi told BBC radio that Britain should question whether it should roll out the red carpet for a man who has no respect for women, disdain for minorities and whose policies are rooted in divisive rhetoric, according to the AFP. Story continues On Monday, May told a press conference in Dublin that the United States is a close ally of the U.K., we work together across many areas of mutual interest and we have that special relationship between us. Adding, I have issued that invitation for a state visit to President Trump to the UK and that invitation stands. Along with the Queen, Prince Charles, along with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will take a prominent place in the visit. He normally meets the visiting head of state and brings them to Horse Guards Parade where there is the formal welcome by his mother the queen. Then, a lunch at Buckingham Palace typically follows. The prince has made no secret of his belief that climate change is one of the key issues of our time. A royal source previously told PEOPLE that Charles will not be stopped from raising the issue with Trump, but he will do so when its entirely appropriate to the situation. There is mounting speculation that Senate Republicans will invoke the nuclear option and change the rules to prevent Democrats from filibustering President Trumps nomination of federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Even before Trump formally announced his choice of Gorsuch at a White House ceremony Tuesday night, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and his colleagues declared that Gorsuchs conservative judicial record was outside the legal mainstream and warned that their party may end up blocking the nomination, which will require at least 60 votes to pass in a chamber where the GOP currently holds a 52 to 48 seat majority. Related: Trumps SCOTUS Nomination: One Way or the Other, This Ends Badly If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) ultimately decides to pull the pin on the nuclear option by changing the Senate rules to require just a simple majority to approve a Supreme Court nomination, Democrats and their allies warn that all hell will break loose on the Senate floor. But while that possibility is weeks or even months away from fruition, were already seeing miniature versions of nuclear warfarea strategy implemented by then Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who bypassed the GOP House to approve Obamas judicial nominees. If eliminating the filibuster in the case of Supreme Court nominations is considered the ICBM of political options, there are already tactical nukes going off throughout the U.S. Capitol. In a major show of force, Senate Finance Committee Republicans led by chair Orrin Hatch of Utah rammed through the highly controversial nominations of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) as secretary of health and human services and Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary without a single Democratic member present. For the second day in a row, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and other Democrats boycotted the Finance Committee session to delay action on the two nominations, demanding further probing of allegations of ethical breaches and improper stock transactions. Story continues Related: Why Trumps Treasury Pick Wants to Increase the Power of the IRS Prices $300,000 worth of investments in health care-related companies has sparked Democratic criticism that he engaged in insider trading as a member of the Ways and Means health subcommittee and gave misleading testimony about his involvement in what amounted to a sweetheart stock deal with an Australian company, Innate Immunotherapeutics. Mnuchin, the wealthy businessman, meanwhile got into trouble by understating his personal wealth on a financial disclosure form and then gave misleading testimony before the committee on how a bank he once headed, OneWest Bank, scrutinized mortgage documents. By unanimous consent, the Republicans gathered in the Finance Committee hearing room this morning, agreed to change the committees standing rules, which require at least one member of each party to be in attendance for committee work to proceed. Its just another way of roughing up the presidents nominees, Hatch complained. They have been treated fairly. We have not been treated fairly. Wyden told reporters, We made it clear yesterday that when we got answers to these questions, were ready to move ahead, adding that Were going to keep pushing to get the facts. Related: Trumps Immigration and Obamacare Policies Could Trigger a GOP Backlash Those nominations now head to the Senate floor, which has become a cauldron of controversy over the qualifications of Trumps cabinet picks and his executive order last week imposing a travel ban to the United States for refugees and foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. It is time to get over the fact that they lost the election, McConnell scolded the Democrats. The president is entitled to have his cabinet appointments considered. None of this is going to lead to a different outcome. Schumer and the Democrats have no way of permanently blocking Trumps choices for Cabinet posts, and practically all should eventually make it through the process. So far, however, only three of Trumps 15 nominees have won confirmation by the Senate: Defense Secretary James Mattis, Homeland Security secretary John Kelly and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. That leaves some of Trumps most controversial nominees for clearance, including restaurant businessman Andy Puzder for labor secretary, billionaire Republican operative Betsy DeVos to head the Department of Education, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama to be the next Attorney General. By this time eight years ago, former President Barack Obama had won Senate confirmation of practically all 15 of his cabinet picks. Senate Republicans decision to play hardball in forcing through Trumps nominees comes at a time when partisan rancor on Capitol Hill is reaching a boiling point. Hatch, the Finance Committee chair, on Tuesday went after Democrats on the committee in unusually angry language on the first day of their boycott. Related: Trump Moves Quickly on Pledge to Contain Drug Prices but Can He Do It? Well, they are idiots, Hatch said. Its just complete breach of decorum, a complete breach of committee rules, a complete breach of just getting along around here. In an extraordinary showdown in the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken accused Sessions of misrepresenting his record on civil rights. He also accused fellow Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas of abetting the deception. This led to an intensely angry exchange between Franken and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Majority Whip, that came right before a final 11 to 9 party-line vote that sent Sessions nomination for attorney general to the full Senate. The hearing was also disrupted by protesters decrying Sessions civil rights record. The intrusion of protesters into the hearing gives a clue as Democrats motives for ramping up opposition to Trumps picks, from cabinet nominees to an expected filibuster of Gorsuch, the Federal Appeals Court judge who the president nominated to the Supreme Court on Tuesday night: Their voter base is furious. Already mad about an election in which Trump won the presidency despite a decisive popular vote loss, Democrats anger only surged as Trump rolled out cabinet picks that, at times, seemed intended to provoke them. He wants to place a climate change denier at the helm of the Environmental Protection Agency, and an advocate of abolishing the minimum wage at the Labor Department. His nominee to run the Department of Education has no background in public education aside from longstanding support of plans to privatize it. Hundreds of thousands of marchers advocating womens rights descended on the capital just 24 hours after Trump was sworn in. Seven days later, when the administration announced an executive order banning refugees from entering the country and restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim nations, mass protests erupted in the streets of major American cities. Prominent activists began delivering the message to Democrats in no uncertain terms: the only acceptable response to the Trump presidency is resistance. Ben Wikler, Washington director of the liberal group Moveon.org, told Real Clear Politics that Democrats who dont fight back against Trump will face a firestorm of criticism. The anti-Trump resistance is going to make the Tea Party seem like a tempest in a teapot, he added. There were plenty of high profile vows to mount primary challenges against any Democrats who offer support or cover to Trump on nominees like Sessions or Gorsuch. Senate Dems, let's be very clear: You will filibuster & block this SC nom or we will find a true progressive and primary u in next election. Michael Moore (@MMFlint) February 1, 2017 And the partisan warfare seems only likely to escalate. On Wednesday morning, Trump went before the television cameras and said that if Gorsuch faces Democratic resistance in the Senate he wants the Republican Majority to fire their biggest weapon of all: elimination of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Washington D.C. [USA], Feb. 1 (ANI): Ellen DeGeneres recently voiced out her opinion on the refugee ban imposed by President Donald Trump by talking about 'Finding Dory', the animated comedy-drama which was reportedly screened in the White House on Sunday. During the episode of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', the host said although she doesn't "get political," she would like to address recent events through her animated film. "Like I said, I don't get political, so I'm not going to talk about the travel ban. I'm just going to talk about the very non-political, family-friendly, People's Choice award-winning 'Finding Dory'." "Even though Dory gets into America, she gets separated from her family," DeGeneres said. "But, the other animals help Dory. Animals that don't even need her, animals that don't even have anything in common with her. They help her even though they're completely different colors because that's what you do when you see someone in need: you help them." "So that is what I hope everyone who's watching 'Finding Dory' has learned," the host concluded, then joking about another film she starred in. "Tune in next week when I explain women's rights talking about the movie, 'Mr. Wrong'." Following Trump's ban, a wave of criticism swept Hollywood with 'Stranger Things' actor David Harbour, 'Moonlight's Mahershala Ali and Ashton Kutcher addressing the ruling at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday night. (ANI) What Were Following Checks of Power: Last night, within hours of refusing to defend Trumps executive order on immigration, Sally Yates was fired from her post as acting attorney general. Critics of that swift retaliation saw it as a violation of the DoJs independent judgment. Two members of Trumps cabinet who might be in a better position to push back are retired generals James Mattis and John Kelly, whose military background gives them both credibility and a strong sense of law and orderthough Kelly defended the ban just today. The ultimate check on presidential power is the Constitution, interpreted by the Supreme Courtone new member of which Trump is now charged to choose. The nomination is coming soon: As Im writing, Trump is dialing up the suspense for his 8 p.m. announcement. Well post the latest updates on our Politics and Policy homepage. Meanwhile, Back at the Legislative Branch: Republicans are pushing back on the immigration order, which they say blindsided them as much as it did the officials charged with enforcing it. Still, House Speaker Paul Ryan defended the substance and goals of the ban, even as he offered mild criticism of its execution. For their part, Senate Democrats boycotted the votes on two of Trumps cabinet nomineeswould-be Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Health and Human Services head Tom Priceover news reports about past business dealings. Recommended: How to Build an Autocracy Speaking of Boycotts: Earlier this week, Twitter users called on others to delete their Uber app after the ride-sharing service appeared to break a strike organized in protest of Trumps immigration ban by New York taxi drivers, many of whom are Muslim or foreign-born. The boycott was an economic protest organized around a threat to identitythough ironically, it may have ignored some ongoing problems with how the sharing economy affects workers rights. Uber, for its part, tried to repair the damage by denouncing Trumps ban, and a wide range of other corporations also made statements of protestan unusually broad response that may speak to how immigrants contribute to U.S. innovation and industry. Story continues Snapshot A man stands near oil wells set on fire by ISIS militants in Qayyara, Iraq, on January 28, 2017. See more photos from the battle for Mosul here. (Muhammed Hamed / Reuters) Evening Read Sophie Gilbert on the World War II-era political cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel: As a collection, Geisels war cartoons target isolationism, anti-Semitism, and racism. They skewer Hitler, Mussolini, and a variety of American nationalists, including Charles Lindbergh and the Catholic priest and radio host Father Charles Coughlin, a fervent anti-Semite and conspiracy theorist. But they also deploy a fierce anti-authoritarianism and humanism that runs through all of Dr. Seusss books. Geisels political cartoons go a long way in demonstrating how the spirit of Seusszany, honest, brash, and bravewas born. They also have their own flaws, most notably their racist portrayal of both Japanese citizens and Japanese Americans. Geisels bigoted treatment of both only a few months before the forced internment of Japanese Americans was something many believe he tried to atone for in his later books. But the body of work he created during the war helped establish the foundations of what the writer Philip Nel has described as Americas first anti-Fascist childrens writer. And it helps explain why Dr. Seuss continues to resonate now, 15 years after Geisels death, and as American nationalism gains momentum once again. Keep reading here, as Sophie examines the complicated relevance of Seusss cartoons to Trumps controversial policies. Recommended: How to Respond to Donald Trump's Betrayal of American Values What Do You Know? 1. ____________ account for 52 percent of all internet traffic. Scroll down for the answer, or find it here. 2. Schools with high levels of poverty are ____________ times less likely to perform highly than low-poverty ones. Scroll down for the answer, or find it here. 3. In a 2014 study that covered 15 years of elections, researchers found 31 instances of voter impersonation out of ____________ total votes. Scroll down for the answer, or find it here. Urban Developments Our partner site CityLab explores the cities of the future and investigates the biggest ideas and issues facing city dwellers around the world. Adam Sneed shares three of todays top stories: If youre searching for an immigration program that Donald Trump might support, look no further than the EB-5. Also known as the cash-for-visas program, it was designed to lure foreign investment to distressed communities. But over the years, its become something very different: a tool for developers to subsidize luxury real estate across the U.S. Highway construction tore apart cities and neighborhoods in the 20th century, and its impact reverberates today. Now, as planners look to undo some of the damage, theres no shortage of communities that could be reconnected if the roads were removed. These are the Freeways Without Futures. Pro tip: If youre planning a fancy new project in a gentrifying neighborhood, maybe dont call your building The Gentry. For more updates from the urban world, subscribe to CityLabs daily newsletter. Recommended: Trump's Supreme Court Nominee: Neil Gorsuch America by Air Reader JoAnn Lowther shares her photo of a crossroads near Chicago: Looking south, Highway 12 is running off to the horizon with Kennedy Expressway intersecting right to left. An OHare runway is seen in the distant right, butting into the highway. See many more aerial photos here, and send us your own via hello@theatlantic.com (guidelines here). Reader Response An Iranian-American reader worries about how Trumps travel ban may affect her family: My father spent these last two weeks in Iran attending to his widowed mother, who is hard of hearing, hard of sight, and diabetic. She had missed her sisters and their families and so went back to Iran a few months ago, despite our wish for her to stay. This weekend, with the confusion over the ban and not understanding to whom it applied, I found myself asking if my father would be allowed back in the country on Sunday because of his dual nationality. Thankfully, he was. But my grandmother is still in Iran. I am worried about our ability to bring her back to the U.S. before tensions get worse between the two countries, despite her dual citizenship and the dual citizenship of my relatives who would need to escort her back. She adds, They call Trump the American Ahmadinejad in Iran; heres more on that comparison, and heres a dispatch from among refugee families in Jordan. If your family has been directly affected by the ban, wed like to hear from you: hello@theatlantic.com. Verbs Philosophers feud, films previewed, chocolates chewed, reality doctored. The Atlantic Daily is written by Rosa Inocencio Smith. To contact us, email hello@theatlantic.com. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. As President Donald Trump pushes for an expanded Navy, both China and Russia are building new ships in what may be an emerging arms race at sea. Related: China Just Gave Trump a 999-Foot-Long Middle Finger China is moving forward with construction of a second aircraft carrier, according to Reuters. Unlike its first, the Liaoning, which was bought from Ukraine and retrofitted, the new ship dubbed the Shandong, after a Chinese province will be built locally in the port of Dalian. Last month, in what was seen as a provocative gesture toward Taiwan and the U.S., the Liaoning and multiple escort warships cruised through the Taiwan Strait. Relations between China and the U.S. have been strained since the president of Taiwan called Donald Trump after he was elected to offer her congratulations; Beijing viewed the exchange as a violation of the One China policy in place since 1979. In separate news Wednesday, Reuters also reports that Russia is building three more nuclear icebreakers in a move to strengthen its presence in the Arctic as it vies for dominance there with the U.S., Canada, Norway and newcomer China. Reuters said Russia already has about 40 icebreakers, six of them nuclear-powered. Related: The US Navys $13 Billion Answer to China and Russia At stake in the Arctic are vast reserves of gas and oil. The oil alone is estimated at 412 billion barrels, Reuters said. Russias moves in the Arctic go far beyond building new icebreakers: They include six new military facilities, airstrips and missile systems the biggest build-up since the fall of the Soviet Union. Reuters quoted Mikhail Barabanov, editor-in-chief of Moscow Defense Brief, as saying: "Russia's military activity in the Arctic is a bit provocative. It could trigger an arms race." And just-installed U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly referred to Russias Arctic moves as aggressive steps in a written submission to senators considering his nomination. Story continues It is probably not a coincidence that the U.S. has sent about 300 Marines to Norway for a six-month deployment the first foreign troops on its soil since World War II. In addition, America already has a sea lane full of new ships on the way: The Navy recently announced that its latest supercarrier, the $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford, will be delivered this spring as the first in a new class of carriers. The Ford will be one of nine new vessels the Navy is adding in 2017. Related: The Navy Commissions Its Super Stealthy $4.4 Billion Destroyer During the presidential campaign, Trump called for a 350-ship fleet, but the Navy has gone even further. In a force assessment report last December, a summary of which was obtained by Bloomberg, the Navy called for 355 vessels. Bloomberg said that the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service estimates a 350-ship Navy would cost an average $4 billion extra annually over the current forecast of about $16.3 billion a year for new ship construction through 2021. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Brussels (AFP) - The European Parliament will shortly begin taking money from the salary of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen to recover funds paid to a party assistant, a parliamentary source said Wednesday. Le Pen, one of the front-runners in upcoming French presidential polls, had until midnight Tuesday to repay nearly 300,000 euros ($325,000) but she bluntly rejected the demand just before the deadline. The European Parliament says Le Pen, who is also an MEP as well as leader of France's National Front, incorrectly used the funds to pay an aide, Catherine Griset, who was based at the party's headquarters in Paris and not at the assembly, which meets in both Brussels and Strasbourg, eastern France. The parliamentary source in Brussels, who asked not to be named, said the aim was not to punish Le Pen but to recover the funds involved. Le Pen and her representatives had had "many occasions" to explain her position, the source said. MEP salaries are paid on the 15th of each month, so the procedure could begin shortly, the source said, adding that it could amount to 8,000 euros per month when other parliamentary payments are included. The source said parliament believes this is the normal procedure in such cases. Griset was employed by the National Front as an "accredited assistant" between 2010 and 2016. The European Parliament is also looking into more than 41,500 euros paid to Thierry Legier, who is Le Pen's bodyguard. Le Pen told AFP Tuesday she had never received the money and compared the case with allegations that her conservative challenger in the presidential election, Francois Fillon, paid his wife and children around 900,000 euros for "fake jobs" as parliamentary assistants. "To repay the money, I would have had to receive it in the first place, but I am not Francois Fillon," she said. "Furthermore, I formally contest this unilateral and illegal decision," Le Pen added. National Front treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just confirmed Tuesday that Le Pen had refused to repay the funds. Brussels (AFP) - European travellers will no longer have to pay roaming charges for using their mobile phones within the EU after the bloc reached a deal Wednesday that will take effect in June. The hard-won accord is the key element towards delivering the long-delayed "free roaming" promise first made by Brussels with great fanfare in early 2015. "This was the last piece of the puzzle. As of June 15, Europeans will be able to travel in the EU without roaming charges," said Andrus Ansip, the commission's vice-president for the Digital Single Market. The plan was initially delayed when angry telecoms operators in tourist magnets such as Italy and Spain complained of the deal's knock-on effects and threatened to hike domestic prices to pay for travellers from northern Europe using their networks. They complained that "free roaming" would in effect make poorer Europeans in the south pay for wealthy tourists phoning home or surfing for data while on holiday. Roaming charges have long been a lucrative source of extra income for telecoms companies. To solve the issue, negotiators for the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU's 28 member states agreed on a scale of wholesale charges telecom operators pay each other when customers use their mobile phones abroad. The overall deal still needs final approval by the European Parliament and member states but this is expected to be a formality. In a move that angered consumer advocates, the Commission had in December said "free roaming" would have some limits to ensure there was no abuse of the new system. Telecoms operators would be able to closely track usage and crack down on users unfairly taking advantage of cheaper phone deals available in other EU countries. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should "go nuclear" if necessary to approve his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch. What does that mean? It's a reference to the "nuclear option." That is the nickname for a potential move by Republicans to unilaterally change Senate rules so that Gorsuch's nomination could be approved with a simple majority in the 100-member Senate, instead of the 60 votes now required. IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE This procedural maneuver has recent precedent. In 2013, when Democrats were in the majority under the leadership of then-Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, they pushed through a rules change lowering the vote threshold on all nominees except for the Supreme Court from 60 to a simple majority. The Supreme Court was exempted at the time as part of a deal bringing along Democrats reluctant to change the rules. Some Democrats, including the current leader Chuck Schumer of New York, have voiced regret, since the changed rules are now allowing Trump to push his Cabinet picks through the Senate and Democrats can do little to stop him. WHY IT WOULD BE EXPLOSIVE Such a rules change on Supreme Court nominees would be a momentous change for the Senate, which traditionally operates via bipartisanship and consent from all senators. Some believe it could begin to unravel Senate traditions at a hyperpartisan moment in politics and perhaps end up in the complete elimination of the filibuster even for legislation, which would mean an entirely different Senate from the one that's existed for decades. Senate experts note that the filibuster is not enshrined in the Constitution and filibustering nominees is a relatively recent phenomenon. Cloture the procedural motion to end a filibuster was attempted for the first time on a nominee in 1968 as President Lyndon Johnson tapped Abe Fortas as chief justice of the Supreme Court, according to the Congressional Research Service. Story continues The cloture attempt failed and the nomination was withdrawn. McConnell is an institutionalist who has made clear he does not favor invoking the nuclear option, but has not ruled it out for Gorsuch. The Senate is currently split with 52 Republican seats and 48 controlled by the Democrats. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f369233%2f46cd66a4-a242-45be-b321-7db30521d845 Rex Tillerson, the longtime head of ExxonMobil, won Senate confirmation on Wednesday to be secretary of state. In this new role, Tillerson will be in charge of U.S. international climate negotiations as well as international aid efforts on climate-related disasters. Yes, you read that correctly: The former head of one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world will now spearhead America's approach to mitigating the effects of climate change. SEE ALSO: Elon Musk just endorsed Trumps secretary of state pick, and it makes no sense The final Senate vote was 56 to 43 in favor, with three Democrats and one independent joining Republicans in voting for him. No Republicans opposed Tillerson's nomination. Even though he easily won victory, the narrow margin meant he was the most hotly contested secretary of state nominee in recent years. For example, former Secretary of State John Kerry was confirmed on a vote of 94 to 3 in 2013. During his confirmation hearings, Tillerson played down the danger posed by global climate change, setting him apart from the scientific consensus on the issue as well as the view of the national security establishment. "The increase in the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are having an effect," Tillerson said during the hearing on Jan. 11. "Our ability to predict that effect is very limited." Tanker load unit near LNG plant, Aniva bay, Sakhalin, Russia. Image: Shutterstock / lastdjedai In response to written questions from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), Tillerson departed even further from the scientific consensus, saying that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning are "a factor in rising temperatures." However, he said: "I do not believe the scientific consensus supports their characterization as the key factor." In reality, there is virtually no debate in the scientific community about whether greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of global warming since the preindustrial era. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its most recent report in 2013, said as much, as have numerous other authoritative reports. Story continues Tillerson has not committed to keeping the U.S. within the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, which 196 countries agreed to in 2015 and entered into force in 2016. U.S. leadership was crucial to securing that agreement, which was the first global agreement to commit each country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tillerson told senators that he intended to keep a "seat at the table" at international climate talks, which could mean pulling out of Paris but remaining within the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was negotiated in 1992. If the U.S. does pull out of the Paris Agreement, it could bring a global diplomatic backlash and in turn allow China to take the lead on addressing global warming. Animation showing 2016 was the warmest year on record since at least 1880. Image: nasa giss In Tillerson, President Donald Trump is getting an experienced international dealmaker. However, his nomination faced considerable scrutiny due to his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he struck a major partnership to develop oil and gas in the Russian Arctic. That deal was scuttled due to U.S. sanctions imposed in the wake of the Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Environmental groups responded to Tillerson's confirmation with a fusillade of criticism, vowing to fight his agenda. "For years much of America's foreign policy was formulated to benefit the oil industry. Now it's being formulated by the oil industry," said 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben in a statement. "There's no disguising the influence any more, which should make it easier to understand and to resist." Exxon is currently under investigation by several state attorneys general and the Securities and Exchange Commission for researching climate science since the 1970s, and then paying millions to convince the public that the science linking fossil fuel burning to global warming was uncertain. In addition, Tillerson may soon be deposed in a climate change lawsuit brought by 21 young Americans who say that the fossil fuel industry and federal government failed to address global warming despite ample scientific evidence of the threat. LONDON (Reuters) - The British government needs to pass legislation before it can trigger the formal Article 50 process of leaving the European Union. Below is a summary of the legislative process and the points to look out for. OVERVIEW Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants to trigger Article 50 by the end of March. Britain's Supreme Court has ruled that parliamentary approval to do so is required. In response, the government has said it intends to seek approval by passing legislation. This means drawing up a bill and getting approval from both the elected lower house and unelected upper house of parliament to pass that bill into law. "I will do everything in my power to make sure that the measure goes through swiftly and that, while it is properly scrutinized, it is a simple and straightforward bill that delivers the triggering of Article 50 by March 31," Brexit minister David Davis told parliament. KEY POINTS - The bill was published on Jan. 26. The full text is here: - It will be subject to votes in both houses of parliament. - It is expected to pass both houses in time to trigger Article 50 by the end of March. - Lawmakers will try to amend the bill in both houses of parliament. This could slow the process but is not expected to cause significant delays or result in major changes to the bill. - The first debate in the House of Commons started on Jan. 31 and will finish on Feb. 1. This will culminate in a series of votes at 1900 GMT which the government is expected to win. - A further three days of debate will begin on Feb. 6 to discuss amendments to the bill. For more details see: - Parliament breaks for a recess from Feb. 9 until Feb. 20, which will interrupt the process. - The House of Lords is expected to begin debating the bill on Feb. 20 and could complete its scrutiny by March 7. - The Conservative government has a working majority of 16 in the 650-seat lower House of Commons. Votes are passed by a simple majority. - The government does not have a majority in the unelected House of Lords but Labour and Conservative Party sources have said there is a willingness to ensure the legislation can be passed in time to trigger Article 50 by March 31. PARTY POSITIONS CONSERVATIVE (329 seats): May's ruling Conservatives are expected to vote in favor of the legislation, though a small number may abstain or vote against. LABOUR (229 seats): Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will ask his lawmakers to vote in favor of passing the legislation. Corbyn is expected to try to amend the bill but says he will not frustrate the process. A number of Labour lawmakers could defy his wishes. SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY (54 seats): The SNP have said they will seek to amend the bill in parliament. Scotland's Brexit minister said SNP lawmakers would vote against the triggering of Article 50 as a majority of Scottish voters voted in last June's referendum to remain in the EU. LIBERAL DEMOCRATS (9 seats): The strongly pro-EU party has said it will try to amend the legislation to allow for a second referendum on the shape of Britain's final deal with the EU. If unsuccessful its lawmakers will vote against the legislation. STAGES OF A BILL: FIRST READING (Jan. 26) - A formality. SECOND READING (Jan. 31 to Feb. 1) - A debate is held to allow the house to agree to the principle of the legislation. Lawmakers must vote to approve the second reading for the bill to progress. Vote is due at around 1900 GMT on Feb. 1. PROGRAM MOTION (Feb. 1) - Immediately after the second reading, the government will then put forward a program motion, setting out the time it plans to allow for debate at each of the remaining stages. If lawmakers do not feel the government is allowing enough time for debate they could reject this motion. COMMITTEE STAGE (Feb. 6 to Feb. 8)- This will be the first opportunity for lawmakers to put forward amendments to the bill. They can either propose changes or add new clauses. The deputy speaker will select which amendments are going to be debated. The House of Commons will then debate the bill and the amendments. They will then be asked to vote on the bill and each of the amendments. REPORT STAGE - If any amendments are voted through by the house at committee stage, the bill will pass to report stage. This is a new opportunity to add amendments. The speaker of the house oversees this process. THIRD READING - This takes place immediately after report stage. It usually lasts an hour and is a general discussion of the bill. No amendments can be made. HOUSE OF LORDS - The bill then passes to the House of Lords. Lords can put forward amendments, each of which will be discussed and decided on in turn. The lords are not expected to want to be seen to be frustrating the will of the people by opposing the bill or slowing it down too much, but may seek to make some changes. If the lords agree amendments the bill passes back to the House of Commons for its approval. PING PONG - If the bill passes back to the commons, they debate and vote on the lords' amendments. No new amendments can be introduced. In theory the bill can continue passing back and forth between the lords and commons until the final bill is agreed upon. ROYAL ASSENT - Once the bill has been agreed by both houses of parliament, it is given royal assent, when the Queen formally agrees to make the bill into an Act of Parliament. (Compiled by William James and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Gareth Jones) The death rate among Afghan troops and police soared last year as the Kabul government's overall control of the country declined significantly, an official US watchdog said in a report Wednesday. The grim new statistics paint a picture of a beleaguered nation still in the grip of a security crisis, despite many years and billions of dollars spent building up Afghanistan's army and police. According to the US government's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), 6,785 Afghan soldiers and police officers were killed between January 1 and November 12, with another 11,777 wounded. That is an increase of about 35 percent from all of 2015, when some 5,000 security forces were killed. The Afghan forces have a total of nearly 316,000 men, according to SIGAR. "We are very concerned," said General Charles Cleveland, spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan. He blamed "poor leadership" for the casualties as well as corruption, though he noted many officials have been removed at all levels. "Afghan forces continue to be incredibly resilient and they made success in achieving their main goals, such as securing the populated areas," he added, saying there had been progress but it would take years. Afghan police and army units in 2015 took over from NATO the task of providing security for the country. Their first year was something of a disaster, the nadir coming when the regional capital Kunduz in northern Afghanistan was briefly captured by the Taliban. US and NATO officials had been hoping the Afghans would fare better in 2016, but clearly the security situation remains perilous. The Pentagon, however, insists the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are improving and points to successful efforts to repel Taliban attacks on regional capitals. - Losing their grip - Most of the fatalities among the ANDSF came from "direct-fire" assaults, meaning local troops were directly attacked by the Taliban and other insurgent groups, instead of dying in roadside bomb and mine blasts. Story continues In addition to the high death rate in the ANDSF, the report found that the number of Afghan districts under insurgent control or influence is increasing. US Forces Afghanistan reported that 57.2 percent of the country's 407 districts were under Afghan government control or influence as of November 15, the report states. That marks a drop from the 63.4 percent reported in late August, and a nearly 15-point decline since November 2015. A Western observer who has lived in Afghanistan for years told AFP that the provinces under Taliban control could ultimately split from those held by the Kabul government. "Everybody here thinks this country will collapse in a matter of two or three years," he said. The report also found civilian casualties remain high. According to a UN body, there were 8,397 conflict-related civilian casualties between January 1 and September 30, a slight drop compared to the same period in 2015. The report also cites an Asia Foundation survey last year that found only 29.3 percent of respondents nationwide felt their country was moving in the right direction, down from 36.7 percent in 2015. "This represents the lowest level of optimism recorded since the survey began in 2004," the SIGAR report notes. The Taliban have been especially active in Helmand province -- a global center for opium production, which is on the rise. And Afghanistan has long grappled with government corruption and embezzlement. By Richard Balmforth SABLE-SUR-SARTHE, France (Reuters) - On the main square of the northern provincial town where French presidential candidate Francois Fillon launched his political career, a branch of Credit Agricole, where he banks, stands next to a bar called Pub Elysee. The ironic imagery is hard to miss: Fillon's money nestled alongside the Elysee presidential palace that is now slipping from his grasp because of a scandal over taxpayer cash paid to his wife for work she may not have done. (Graphic - http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/FRANCE-ELECTION/010031D933E/index.html) Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine, which last week broke the story now dubbed "Penelopegate", was selling better than usual in Sable-sur-Sarthe on Wednesday. Its front page trumpeted that even larger sums - over 1 million euros - were siphoned her way than it had previously reported. Fillon, 62, has decried the reports as a slur on himself and his wife meant to torpedo his campaign. He has said his wife was paid for genuine work and that he will step down as the mainstream conservative candidate should preliminary judicial inquiries lead to a full-blown investigation. Sable-sur-Sarthe, a riverside farming community of 13,000 people, has been shaken to the core by the scandalous allegations about their most famous local family. Fillon has been Sable's pre-eminent figure since launching himself on a 30-year career in public life that led to a five-year spell as prime minister under President Nicolas Sarkozy until 2012. Solesmes is dominated by an 11th-century Benedictine abbey where the Fillons regularly attend Mass. Local newspaper reporters say the abbey's monks turned out to vote for Fillon at his Republicans party primaries in November. Now the scandal is on everyone's minds. "Francois Fillon was always someone who you could say hello to. If it's true, it's very troubling," said Michel Touchard, 74, a retired stonemason in the nearby village of Solesmes, close to the Fillons' 14th-century manor house. "It is going to give the Right a very hard knock if he pulls out (of the election race). I hope he can get out of this. We need him. We need someone who can run France properly." A woman called Agnes who would not give her surname said as she emerged from a Solesmes boulangerie with two baguette loaves that she had long been a staunch Fillon backer. "I don't know what to think now. At the beginning we were all for Fillon. Now we don't really know ... Maybe I'll abstain. I'm just a bit disgusted. I'm afraid for his campaign. I'm going to talk it all through with my husband." Fillon won the primary for the centre-right Republicans after campaigning as a rare honest politician who could coast to victory over a Left divided and deeply unpopular after five years in power, and against an anti-immigrant far right that most French voters would want to keep out of the Elysee. CAR RACING FAN, DEVOUT CATHOLIC The ex-premier, an amateur racing driver with a passion for the famed 24-hour race in nearby Le Mans that his brother runs, had been in pole position for the presidency since November. But opinion polls since the scandal exploded suggest he can no longer count on being the frontrunner. nP6N1E3000] A devout Catholic with five children from his marriage in 1980 to British-born Penelope, Fillon presented solid family values that won him powerful support from France's affluent bourgeoisie - a class much in evidence in Sarthe. "I have known them for 35 years," said Louise, a smartly-dressed Sable-sur-Sarthe woman in her 60s. "I don't know all the details but he wouldn't cheat and he wouldn't lie." As a parliamentary deputy, Fillon had stepped in and won a reduction in the period of military service her son had to serve, allowing him to go to the United States for his studies, she said. "It was a gesture that helped my son." Jean-Claude Ragaru, who worked as an aide to Fillon for 20 years in the local municipality, defended the couple's conduct. Whenever professionally he had to reach Fillon it was nearly always Penelope who took the call, he said. "I don't know how many hours she worked for him. But it is certain she worked for her husband," he said, describing them as an "irreproachable couple". But the scandal, he added, was certain to cost Fillon "several thousand votes". But Gerard Fretelliere, who as a left-wing local councillor actively opposed Fillon for 12 years, said Fillon's mistake had been not to explain the situation clearly from the start. "When Fillon launched his campaign, he said: 'I am someone who is honest, I am clean, I am pure. Then suddenly there is a doubt about his honesty and it's shocking, shocking." (Editing by Andrew Callus and Mark Heinrich) CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings on Wednesday dropped Illinois' credit rating by one notch to BBB, citing the state's "unprecedented failure" to enact complete budgets for fiscal years 2016 and 2017. It is the sixth downgrade by a major credit rating agency for Illinois, the lowest-rated U.S. state, since Governor Bruce Rauner took office in January 2015. The BBB rating for the state's $26 billion of outstanding general obligation bonds is just two notches above the junk level. Illinois is limping its way through a record-setting second-consecutive fiscal year without a complete budget due to an ongoing feud between the Republican governor and Democrats who control the legislature. A six-month fiscal 2017 budget expired on Dec. 31. Since then, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate unveiled a bill package aimed at ending Illinois' budget impasse and addressing the state's deep fiscal woes. But Fitch said the damage already has been done in terms of a growing pile of unpaid bills and reduced financial flexibility for the nation's fifth-biggest state. "Even if the current attempts at a resolution to the extended impasse prove successful, Fitch believes that the failure to act to date has fundamentally weakened the state's financial profile," the credit rating agency said in a report.Fitch kept the state on a ratings watch list for another six months, warning that if Illinois continues on its current path, a further downgrade would be warranted. Catherine Kelly, Rauner's spokeswoman, said in a statement that the latest downgrade "further demonstrates the importance of reaching bipartisan agreement on a truly balanced budget and changes that will grow our economy and bring new jobs to our state. The Senate legislation, which could be voted on by the chamber next week, would raise income taxes by a third, borrow $7 billion to winnow down a record-setting pile of unpaid bills and open Chicago for the first time to legalized casino gambling. Story continues It also includes items on Rauner's wish list, including a possible fix for the states $130 billion pension crisis, changes in how workers are compensated for on-the-job injuries and the imposition of term limits on legislative leaders. In order to put pressure on lawmakers, Illinois' attorney general this week asked a judge to stop the state from paying its workers due to the lack of appropriation for their salaries. (Reporting By Karen Pierog; editing by Diane Craft) Although Gypsy (Jessica Camacho) has to fight Team Flash for getting in the way of her mission to bring H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) back to Earth-19 for his crime of inter-dimensional travel in tonights episode of The Flash, Camacho suggested in a couple of interviews that her character may have some admiration for the team, particularly for the way they all stand up for the Earth-19 fugitive. Shes struck by how they all stand up for H.R. so quickly and how they refuse to kind of back down as a team, Camacho told Access Hollywood of how Gypsy thinks of Team Flash after meeting them. As for why Gypsy is a little taken aback by the way the team protects H.R., Camacho told Collider that her character seems to be longing for this kind of bond. Being a bounty hunter, and an undefeated bounty hunter, is probably a really lonely experience, so I feel like she is interested in people and the bonds that they have, the 34-year-old actress said. I think she wants that, and she doesnt have that. Shes always somebody whos thinking about the next criminal and bringing them to justice, and thats very much her life. Camacho revealed that Gypsy is most curious about Cisco (Carlos Valdes), who volunteers to fight her character to the death in an attempt to save H.R. from his crime. She feels this instant connection with him, and I think thats so important because she doesnt have that, Camacho said of Gypsys reaction to meeting Cisco for the first time. She doesnt have the ability to have that closeness with somebody. In addition to the fact that both of them can Vibe, Gypsy is also intrigued by Cisco because of his one of a kind personality. Cisco is so unique, the Sleepy Hollow alum said of Gypsys first impression of the S.T.A.R. Labs mechanical engineer. From the get-go, she recognizes that theres something different and really unique about this guy, and she wants to know what it is. She also just thinks hes cute. Story continues Tonights episode of The Flash airs at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Check out the trailer for Season 3, episode 11, titled Dead or Alive, below: Jessica Camacho Photo: Getty Images/Amanda Edwards Related Articles A Florida congressman is asking fellow lawmakers to support a bill hes working on that would abolish the Environmental Protection Agency. Freshman Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., sent a letter to colleagues outlining his plan, which was obtained by Huffington Post Tuesday. Our small businesses cannot afford to cover the costs associated with compliance, too often leading to closed doors and unemployed Americans, the letter says. It is time to take back our legislative power from the EPA and abolish it permanently. The move follows President Donald Trumps directive Monday requiring agencies to abolish two regulations for each proposed new rule. The EPA was established in 1970 and is responsible enforcing such things as the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, as well as the Superfund Act. If the agency is abolished, it is unclear what would take over in its place or whether the three laws would be repealed. Trump said during the campaign he would like to eliminate the EPA but has since said he supports some of its functions. The White House has sought to calm jitters at the agency. Don Benton, who is overseeing the transition at the EPA, sent a memo saying much of what has been reported about changes at the EPA is inaccurate and quotes people no longer involved in policy decisions. I cannot tell you today what the final decisions from the White House, from our new administrator, and from the Congress will be. I can tell you that despite what you read and see on TV, no final decisions have been made with regard to the EPA, the Wall Street Journal quoted the memo as saying, adding the agencys core mission to protect human health and the environment will be carried out. Scott Pruitt, Trumps nominee for EPA administrator, has said he supports the EPAs existence but said the agency has gone too far. He spent much of his career suing the EPA, saying the federal government doesnt have the authority to impose many of its rules on the states. Story continues A confirmation vote on Pruitt by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, but Democrats are mulling whether to boycott the session. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., the ranking Democrat on the panel, sent a letter to Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., seeking a postponement because Pruitt has yet to submit responses to a number of questions and provide requested documents. Barrasso denied the request. Related Articles LONDON (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister David Cameron attempted to have the editor of a national newspaper that strongly supported Brexit sacked during last year's European Union referendum campaign, the BBC has reported. Cameron, who led the campaign for Britain to stay in the EU, met the owner of the Daily Mail tabloid, the country's second-biggest selling paper with the largest online audience, to urge him to either rein in or sack its editor Paul Dacre, according to the report by BBC TV's "Newsnight" program. A spokesman for Cameron told the BBC he denied the report and had merely sought to persuade them of his pro-EU case. The Mail, which Dacre has edited for 25 years, has long been a fierce critic of the EU and, like the majority of Britain's national newspapers, was an outspoken supporter of the campaign to leave the bloc. Britons voted by 52-48 percent for Brexit on June 23 last year, prompting Cameron to resign the next day. According to the BBC report, Cameron tried to persuade Dacre to "cut him some slack" in a private meeting last February on the day European Council President Donald Tusk unveiled a deal the bloc had agreed with Britain which Cameron hoped would secure victory in the referendum. The next day the Mail, which sells about 1.5 papers a day and attracts 14 million global users to its website daily, accused Cameron of "delusion and selling the country short". Then in March, the BBC said Dacre learned that the then-prime minister had tried to press Jonathan Harmsworth, known as Lord Rothermere, to sack him leaving him "incandescent" and vowing to step up his anti-EU campaign. Cameron's relationship with the Mail's editor had deteriorated after he ordered a public inquiry in 2011 headed by a judge Brian Leveson to examine media ethics in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal at one of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers, the BBC reported. The Leveson inquiry revealed the cozy ties between politicians and editors, although both sides insisted neither was unduly influenced by the other. "It is wrong to suggest that David Cameron believed he could determine who edits the Daily Mail," his spokesman told the BBC, adding Cameron had privately made his case to Dacre and Rothermere for them not to back Brexit. A spokesman for Rothermere declined to confirm or deny the BBC report, but said the Mail's proprietor had been "leant on by more than one prime minister" to remove editors over the years. Dacre also declined to comment, saying he had been free to edit the paper without any interference from Rothermere. (Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) San Salvador (AFP) - Four Bengal tigers have been born in an El Salvador animal park that runs an endangered-species reproduction program, the facility announced Wednesday. The cubs arrived in December to the tiger pair Lily and Papo that are being kept in the 0.6-square-mile (1.6-square-kilometer) private Furesa wildlife refuge in the southeastern town of Jayaque, the center's veterinarian, Luis Martinez, told AFP. It was the second litter for the two adult tigers. Four cubs from a previous brood, born in March 2013, were distributed to other animal parks. The Furesa refuge has 125 animals from 31 species, including lions, leopards, jaguars, hippopotamuses and pumas. According to the environmental protection group World Wildlife Fund, there are more than 2,500 Bengal tigers left in the wild, mostly in India. Moscow (AFP) - Russia has arrested two senior FSB cybersecurity officials and a top anti-hacking expert on suspicion of committing treason linked to the United States, a lawyer involved with the case said Wednesday. Sergei Mikhailov, deputy head of the FSB's Centre for Information Security, and his deputy Dmitry Dokuchayev are currently in detention along with Ruslan Stoyanov, head of the investigation unit at Moscow-based cybersecurity giant Kaspersky, lawyer Ivan Pavlov told AFP. Pavlov confirmed the three were charged with treason and said "the case is connected to the United States". But he added that there was no mention of the CIA in the documents related to the case. News of the arrests followed a flurry of reports in the Russian media over a case which could prove to be one of the highest-profile treason cases to hit the Russian intelligence community in years. Russian authorities have not confirmed the arrests, but the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been informed about media reports on the matter. A CIA spokesman told AFP the agency has "no comment." Russian hacking is currently in the spotlight following accusations by the US intelligence community that Putin ordered cyberattacks on American organisations to help get Donald Trump elected president. Peskov insisted there could be no connection between the US allegations and the reported treason case because Moscow "categorically denies any claims on the possible Russian involvement" in any hacking. Pavlov -- who is representing one of the defendants -- said court proceedings would likely not to start for a long time. He said the case involved more than three suspects, without elaborating. Kaspersky confirmed Stoyanov's arrest last week but gave no details, saying the allegations against him pertained "to a period of time when he was not an employee of the company." Berlin (AFP) - German police said they arrested three people in Berlin on Tuesday suspected of trying to reach foreign "war zones" in order to train to carry out an attack. The suspects may be linked to the Islamic State group and had "planned to travel to war zones," likely Syria or Iraq, a Berlin police spokesman told AFP. Police also carried out searches, but there has been "no indication of concrete plans to carry out an attack in Germany", according to the Bild daily's website. The suspects, whose gender was not immediately given, were aged 21, 31 and 45, the spokesman said. He added that investigators suspect they were trying to reach a camp to train to launch an attack. At least two of the people arrested lived in Berlin, Bild reported. Those arrested frequented the same mosque attended by a Tunisian man suspected of ploughing a hijacked lorry into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12. The December 19 attack was claimed by IS. The mosque, which is being investigated by authorities, was also searched. Wiesbaden (Germany) (AFP) - A Tunisian man arrested in Germany on Wednesday on suspicion of recruiting for the Islamic State group is also accused of involvement in the deadly 2015 attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis, German prosecutors said. The 36-year-old is wanted by Tunisian authorities on suspicion of "participating in planning and carrying out" the attack, which killed more than 20 foreigners, the prosecutor's office in the western state of Hesse said in a statement. They also suspect him of involvement in a bloody jihadist assault on the border town of Ben Guerdane last March, it added. Tunisia issued a warrant for his arrest in June 2016 but he escaped extradition from Germany late last year because Tunisian authorities failed to provide the required documentation for his deportation, according to the prosecutors. The suspect was taken into custody in the early morning as police carried out sweeping anti-terror raids in Frankfurt and nearby towns. There was no immediate response from Tunis to the arrest. "At the moment we don't know the identity of this person, there are several suspects in the Bardo and Ben Guerdane cases currently on the run," Tunisian prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti told AFP. The case is likely to reignite debate about Tunisia's cooperation in taking back nationals due for deportation. - Raids - The issue has already caused tensions between the German government and Tunis after it emerged that the Tunisian national who ploughed a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in December, killing 12 people, was a failed asylum-seeker. Anis Amri should have been deported months earlier but Tunisia did not provide the necessary paperwork until after the attack. More than 1,000 officers were involved in Wednesday's dawn searches in the Frankfurt area, which targeted dozens of homes and offices as well as two mosques. Alexander Badle, a spokesman for the Frankfurt prosecutor's office, said the Tunisian national did not put up any resistance when he was taken into custody. Story continues - High alert - The suspect is accused of recruiting for the IS jihadist group and of trying to build a network of IS supporters with the goal of staging an attack in Germany. Prosecutors are also investigating 15 other people aged 16 to 46 over the alleged plot. Badle stressed the plans were still "at a very early stage". "There was no concrete danger of an attack," he told reporters in the western city of Wiesbaden. The suspect arrived in Germany as an asylum-seeker in August 2015, the prosecutors' statement said. He had already lived in the country for a decade some years earlier. He was arrested the following August on an outstanding 2008 conviction for causing bodily harm. After serving a 43-day sentence, he was kept in detention awaiting deportation to Tunisia before the authorities were forced to release him again. "As the Tunisian authorities, despite repeated reminders from the German authorities, failed to supply the necessary deportation documents within the 40-day period, the suspect was released on November 4, 2016," the statement said. He was kept under surveillance from the day of his release until his arrest on Wednesday, it added. Germany has been on high alert since the December 19 Christmas market assault, wich was claimed by the Islamic State group. The attack fuelled criticism of Germany's security services and of Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal asylum policy, with opponents saying not enough was done to stop Amri. Merkel, who is up for re-election this year, has since vowed to get tough on deportations and step up pressure on countries to take back nationals whose asylum claims have been rejected, particularly in the Maghreb region. Separately, police in Berlin on Tuesday arrested three suspected jihadists accused of planning to travel to foreign "war zones", likely to be either Iraq or Syria. IS claimed responsibility for the Bardo attack, in which two gunmen opened fire at the museum, killing 21 foreign tourists and a police officer. The Ben Guerdane attack saw dozens of heavily armed jihadists cross into the frontier town from Libya to launch coordinated attacks on police and army posts, killing seven civilians and 13 security personnel. BERLIN (Reuters) - The Tunisian man arrested in Germany on Wednesday on suspicion of recruiting for Islamic State and building up a network of supporters to carry out a terrorist attack was an asylum seeker, prosecutors said in a statement. The man had already been in Germany between 2003 and April 2013 and re-entered the country as an asylum seeker in August 2015, prosecutors said. (Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Joseph Nasr) Berlin (AFP) - German police on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of planting a bomb at a Duesseldorf train station 16 years ago that injured 10 emigres from the former Soviet Union. Seven of the 10 victims were Jewish, leading to the theory that the attack on July 27, 2000 had an anti-foreigner or anti-semitic motive. Among those wounded was a 26-year-old woman who lost her unborn baby. The 50-year-old suspect was arrested in the town of Ratingen, near the western city of Duesseldorf, police said. News weekly Der Spiegel said the man was a former soldier known as a notorious neo-Nazi who once ran a military surplus store. He had been detained shortly after the attack but released for lack of evidence, the magazine reported. Germany has long been plagued by far-right violence. In 2011, the country was shocked by revelations that a string of murders blamed on migrant crime gangs were in fact carried out by a neo-Nazi cell. Known as NSU, short for National Socialist Underground, the cell consisted of a trio of far-right militants who shot dead eight men with Turkish roots, a Greek migrant and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007. Violent attacks against migrants have been on the rise again since Chancellor Angela Merkel's controversial decision in 2015 to open the country's borders to those fleeing conflict and persecution. More than a million asylum seekers have since arrived in the country. The pipe bomb attack in 2000 sent shockwaves through Germany. The device was placed on a busy footbridge leading into the Wehrhahn station of Duesseldorf's S-Bahn urban rail system. The victims were on their way back from a German language class when they were hit by the blast. By Patricia Uhlig and Michelle Martin WIESBADEN, Germany/BERLIN (Reuters) - A Tunisian asylum-seeker arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of planning an attack in Germany was also wanted in Tunis in connection with a deadly assault on the Bardo Museum there, German officials said. The 36-year-old is suspected of recruiting for Islamic State in Germany since August 2015, and building up a network of supporters with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said in statement. The Tunisian had entered Germany as an asylum seeker that August, it said, five months after Islamist militant gunmen stormed the Bardo Museum and killed 21 foreign tourists. Tunisia suspects he was involved in that assault, it added. The attack was the first major militant attack against Tunisia in the wake of the country's 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising. Three months later, gunmen targeted a beachfront hotel, shooting dead 39 people, mostly British holidaymakers. The German newspaper Die Welt identified the Tunisian as Haikel S. and said he had been known to German security agencies as a radical Salafist for the past decade. "The main suspect is a 36-year-old Tunisian citizen strongly suspected of working for the foreign terrorist organisation that calls itself 'Islamic State' as a recruiter ... with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack in Germany," the statement said. Tunisia suspected him "of having been involved in planning and carrying out the attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis" and an attack last year on a border town, it added. According to Die Welt, investigators said he had been in contact with an Islamic State cell responsible for "external operations" and had planned attacks in Europe. Reuters could not immediately independently verify the report. Frankfurt's prosecutor general said the suspect, who was arrested in Germany's financial capital, had lived in Germany between 2003 and 2013 before leaving for two years. How a Tunisian known to the intelligence agencies could return to Germany undetected will raise further questions for Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of September's federal elections. Merkel, who is seeking re-election, has come under heavy fire from right-wing opponents for allowing more than a million asylum-seekers into the country over the past two years. A failed asylum-seeker ploughed his truck into a Berlin Christmas market in December, killing 12 people. On Wednesday, the German cabinet approved allowing federal police to fit suspected militants with electronic tags, a step that will need final consent from the Bundestag lower house. WANTED IN TUNISIA A Tunisian magistrate issued an arrest warrant for the suspect in June last year in connection with the attack on the Bardo Museum, a major tourist attraction, and an Islamic State attack in March on the border town of Ben Guerdan that killed at least 55 people. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere declined to say when authorities became aware that he was back in Germany. The arrest was part of a major operation in which more than 1,100 German police raided 54 premises including homes, businesses and mosques in Frankfurt and other towns in the western state of Hesse. It came after four months of investigations. Peter Beuth, interior minister of Hesse, said there had not been any immediate danger. "It was not about preventing an imminent attack - rather security forces in Hesse intervened early to protect citizens from the threat of harm," he said. Beuth said the raids had managed to "destroy an extensive Salafist network". Salafism is an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam. The Tunisian was seized in Germany in August last year in connection with a 2008 conviction for bodily harm, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said. He was held in custody for extradition to Tunisia, but the transfer fell through when Tunisian authorities failed to provide the necessary paperwork. He was released in November and had been under surveillance since then, the prosecutor said. Die Welt reported that he was arrested on suspicion of being an Islamist militant but was released due to insufficient evidence that he was a member of Islamic State. (Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr; Writing by Michelle Martin and Richard Lough; Editing by Tom Heneghan) BERLIN (Reuters) - Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday announced plans to visit Washington and shore up ties with Germany's closest ally outside Europe, days after a key aide to U.S. President Donald Trump launched fresh attacks on Berlin's policies. Gabriel said he looked forward to a "good, open and friendly" dialogue with Rex Tillerson, confirmed as Trump's secretary of State on Wednesday by the U.S. Senate, and said Germany was seeking answers about the new U.S. administration's foreign policies, its relationship to the NATO alliance and other key issues. "The world will not wait for us. There are urgent issues on the global agenda about which Germany and America, as well as Europe and America, should be closely coordinating," Gabriel said in a statement. "The friendship between two countries is far more than a beneficial cooperation between governments, but without good and trustworthy relations between those governments, it will not go well," said Gabriel, who also serves as vice chancellor. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the go-to European ally for former U.S. President Barack Obama, who praised her as "an outstanding partner" on a farewell visit to Berlin in November, but the relationship has deteriorated markedly under Trump. Last month, Trump said Merkel made a "catastrophic mistake" with her open-door refugee policy. This week, his top trade adviser said Germany was using a "grossly undervalued" euro to gain advantage over the United States and its European partners. Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert, asked about attacks from Washington, on Wednesday described the German-American relationship as a deep "historical friendship between two peoples." Pressed to comment about Trump's attacks on Germany's migrant and trade policies, and the euro, Seibert told a regular government news conference: "We are at the very beginning of the cooperation with a new American government." "DIFFERENCES" Ingo Kramer, president of the Federation of German Employers, told industry executives today that Trump's actions and words were unsettling, but he hoped that Washington would not continue with its "retreat from the rest of the world." Gero Neugebauer, a Berlin-based political expert, said a barrage of critiques from Trump had forced Merkel to abandon her plan to refrain from public remarks about Trump. "Merkel has no choice but to step into the breach and stand up for German interests regardless of how great her desire for cooperation," he said. Merkel's government has offered to visit the United States in the spring in her capacity as chairman of the G20 group of leading economies, government sources have said. Trump has accepted an invitation to come to a G20 summit that Merkel will host in Hamburg in early July, and on Saturday said he looked forward to welcoming Merkel to Washington soon. The pair issued a positive statement after speaking by telephone on Saturday about NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, their ties to Russia and the conflict in eastern Ukraine.. But Merkel later sharply criticized Trump's travel ban on refugees and people from Muslim-majority countries. Seibert told Wednesday's news conference there were clearly differences between the two leaders. "It was clear before this (telephone) conversation that there were differences between the new president and the chancellor, or the (German) government," he said. "And we will represent our beliefs to this American government." (Reporting by Paul Carrel, Andrea Shalal, Andreas Rinke and Holger Hansen; Editing by Larry King and Andrew Hay) BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's centre-left chancellor candidate Martin Schulz has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's policies as "un-American" and warned against lifting sanctions imposed against Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. In one of the sharpest remarks yet by a senior German politician since the new American leader took office, Schulz told the Funke media group in an interview published on Wednesday that Europe had to stand up to defend liberal values. "What Trump is doing is un-American," Schulz said, adding that the United States like no other country in the world stood for enlightenment, democracy and freedom. "If Trump is now driving a wrecking ball through this set of values, then I will tell him as chancellor: That's not the policy of Germany and Europe," Schulz added. Germany's Social Democrats last week nominated former European Parliament president Schulz to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel in a federal election in September, and the surprise move has boosted popular support for the centre-left party. Merkel said on Monday the global fight against terrorism does not warrant putting groups of people under suspicion, adding Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States violates the spirit of international cooperation. Turning to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine conflict, Schulz said that sanctions imposed against Russia could only be lifted after both sides had implemented the so-called Minsk peace plan. "As long as the Minsk peace agreement is not fully implemented, the sanctions cannot be lifted. We must tell Putin very clearly that Russia is obliged to respect and defend international law," Schulz said. Schulz' comments bring more clarity about his stance on Russia after some leading Social Democrats have voiced support for a partial lifting of sanctions as long as Russia is implementing some aspects of the plan. Merkel, one of the architects of the peace deal, has repeatedly said that sanctions against Russia can only be lifted once the Minsk agreement has been fully implemented. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by James Dalgleish) The Italian label has once again called on the famous fashion photography duo, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, to capture the spirit of its spring/summer 2017 collection, which channels an elegant and laid-back style. After the fall/winter 2016 and Resort 2017 collections, Mert & Marcus are back working with Giorgio Armani on a spring/summer 2017 campaign, capturing the collection's simple and effortlessly chic style. Shot in a studio, the campaign showcases the luxury label's new men's and women's collections through a series of portraits set against neutral black or white backdrops, with lighting effects subtly ensuring each ensemble stands out. A host of models have been photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, including Heather Kemesky, Lara Mullen, Maartje Verhoef, Charlee Fraser, Sophia Ahrens, Andrey Zakharov, Julian Schneyder and Aleksandar Rusic. While this is a first collaboration for some, most -- notably the male models -- have already worked with the Italian fashion house. Along with Mert & Marcus -- with whom the brand has worked several times -- Giorgio Armani regularly elists some of the biggest names in photography to shoot its advertising campaigns, including Peter Lindbergh, Slve Sundsb and Giampaolo Sgura. The spring/summer 2017 campaign will feature in March editions of various international publications. Avdiivka (Ukraine) (AFP) - The head of NATO warned on Wednesday that Ukraine faced its worst violence "in a long time" as global alarm rang out over a spike in bloodshed that has killed 19 people in the European Union's backyard. Government forces and Russian-backed separatists exchanged mortar and rocket fire for a fourth day around the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka that sits just north of the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk. The Ukrainian military said three of its soldiers had died overnight while the rebels said as many civilians had been killed. Hundreds of mourners laid flowers on Kiev's Independence (Maidan) Square as servicemen dressed in green camouflage fatigues carried the coffins of comrades killed in the east. The Avdiivka clashes have left more than 20,000 people without heat or water in freezing winter weather with no signs of relief in sight. The fighting comes at a potential watershed moment for Ukraine as fears mount in Kiev that staunch US support could wane with President Donald Trump looking to mend ties with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Moscow and Kiev have traded blame over who started the latest shelling attacks. Kiev's main fear is that Putin may be trying to stamp his authority on eastern Ukraine to give him leverage over Trump on other global issues. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg did not blame Russia directly but did say it had "considerable influence" over the militia forces now on the attack. "We call on Russia to use its considerable influence with the rebels to bring the violence to an end," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. "In Ukraine, we see the most serious spike in violence in a long time." An emergency UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday also called for an immediate end to fighting in a near three-year conflict that has plunged Moscow's relations with the West to a post-Cold War low. The council expressed "grave concern" about the resumption of serious battles in one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts since the 1990s Balkans wars. Story continues The fighting began shortly after pro-Western protests led to the ouster of Ukraine's Russian-backed president in February 2014. Moscow responded by seizing Crimea from Ukraine the following month. - 'Kids awoken by shelling' - The industrial hub of Avdiivka came under its first assault on Sunday by insurgents seeking to recapture territory along the front splitting the rival sides. Residents such as 62-year-old Larysa were packing up to find shelter from the cold and violence. "We slept very badly last night, the kids were awoken by shelling," she told AFP as she left town with her two granddaughters. "A shell landed under our window but thank God it did not explode." Pro-Kiev Donetsk regional administrator Pavlo Zhebrivskiy said Ukraine had received Russia's assurance that a truce would go into immediate effect. Yet there was no confirmation from Moscow or Kiev and Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said only that some repair work on damaged power lines had begun. The fighting has severely damaged a coke plant that provides heating for the blue-collar town of some 25,000 people. The Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) is responsible for monitoring ceasefire violations and organising peace talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine. In the latest round held in Minsk on Wednesday, OSCE envoy Martin Sajdik said both Kiev and Moscow had called for a "full and all-encompassing truce to be introduced across the entire war zone". Such pleas have generally been accepted by the rebels before being broken by both sides. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people -- more than half of them civilians -- since it erupted in April 2014. Russia gives political backing to the rebels but has denied accusations from the West and Kiev that it is directing the insurgency or has sent troops into the war zone. burs-zak/ach Photo credit: Guinness From Popular Mechanics Soon you won't need airfare to Dublin to visit the world's favorite Irish brewery. Guinness just announced plans to open a brewhouse outside Baltimore. Although its famous, creamy stout will still be brewed overseas, the new operation will have a U.S. version of Guinness' Open Gate Brewery-the brand's small-batch brewpub focused on innovation and experimental batches. Now, given the number people who make the pilgrimage to Guinness' home base in Dublin (and swear the Guinness tastes better there), fans may be disappointed to hear that the new brewery won't be making the classic stout stateside. But here's why this is an exciting development for beer fans. The Open Gate Brewery is essentially a craft brew operation under the big, international umbrella of Guinness. Bringing this operation to America will give the old Irish brand a chance to show off its technical chops that will likely surprise many craft fans. The Dublin branch has turned out an imperial German-style wheat beer, hoppy pilsners, and historical recreations of early Guinness recipes. [contentlinks align="left" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Beer!" customtitles="The%20Beer%20of%20the%20Month%20Club%20Isn't%20Dead%20Yet%7CAny%20Food%20Can%20Be%20Turned%20Into%20Beer%7CHow%20the%20Founding%20Fathers%20Made%20Their%20Beer" customimages="||" content="article.24450|article.24360|article.9066"] In fact, beers from the original Open Gate have already started trickling into the U.S. market, which makes for interesting drinking for those interested in a preview of what's to come. Currently you can pick up the Brewers Project Pack, a mixed case with three beers from the Open Gate. The highlight of the pack is the Milk Stout. It's just as dark as the classic, but sweeter and smoother. None of this will make Guinness a "craft beer" maker, if you want to get technical about it. A craft brewery, as defined by the trade group the Brewers Association, must be independent, small, and traditional. Guinness isn't owned by megabrewer AB InBev, but it is run by multi-national beverage company Diageo (also the world's largest whiskey producer), so scratch independence. It's also not small, which per the Brewers Association means making less that 6 million barrels (186 million gallons) annually-a mark Guinness easily exceeds. Story continues But really it's the last requirement that's the most important. Being "traditional" means a brewer makes quality beer devoid of cheap shortcuts. Guinness checks that box, and so whatever the brewmasters in Baltimore dream up, it's bound to be good. Guinness says the new Open Gate will open along with a "mid-size" (probably still very large) brewery and a Guinness visitor experience, essentially a history lesson with beer). The whole operation will be built on Diageo's existing bottling and production facility in Relay, Maryland, and the company hopes to begin construction this spring. You Might Also Like By Maayan Lubell BET EL, West Bank (Reuters) - For many in the Israeli settlement of Bet El, deep in the occupied West Bank, Donald Trump's choice of Jared Kushner as his senior adviser on the Middle East is a sign of politics shifting in their favor. They regard Kushner, whose family's charitable foundation has donated tens of thousands of dollars to their settlement, as part of a diplomatic rebalancing after what they view as eight years of anti-Israel bias under the U.S. administration of Barack Obama. "He will stand up for our interests. I suppose he will lean in our favor," said Avi Lavi, 46, who has lived in Bet El for more than 40 years. "He'll be fair, as opposed to Obama, whose policy leaned always towards the Arabs." New U.S. President Trump says his son-in-law Kushner, 36, is capable of brokering the "ultimate deal" to deliver peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Roi Margalit, manager of the Bet El Yeshiva, a seminary complex with around 400 students, said Kushner, an Orthodox Jewish father of three, understood the position of Israeli settlers better than previous envoys. "At least now we have someone who knows us," the 43-year-old added. "He will now have to study the other side (the Palestinians) and see if there is any common ground." Trump's pick for Israeli ambassador has sparked particular enthusiasm in the community: David Friedman, who chairs the American Friends of Bet El Institutions fundraising group. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Kushner and Friedman. Kushner, a businessman who built his career on real estate and publishing, has said little about his views about one of the world's most intractable conflicts, either during the campaign or since Trump took office. The big question for the Palestinians is whether he can be an impartial actor given his family foundation's past financial ties to Bet El. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been careful to say he looks forward to working with the Trump administration, but others are less optimistic. Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior official at the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the main Palestinian political umbrella body, said Kushner could not be a neutral envoy if he was supportive of Israeli settlements. Hani al-Masri, a political scientist and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies, said Kushner would be a representative of Israel rather than of the United States. "If he attempts to resume negotiations, he will seek to hold them at a lower level than previous negotiations. It will be more biased to the Israeli position in an era where Israel is more extreme." 'NATURAL DEALMAKER' Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israel has built about 120 settlements in the West Bank. About 350,000 settlers live there and a further 200,000 in East Jerusalem, among about 2.6 million Palestinians. Most countries consider the settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state. Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land and security interests. Bet El, a community of 1,300 families perched on a hillside where many believe God promised Jacob the land, has been financed in part by donations from American backers. Among its donors have been the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which gave $10,000 in 2003, and the foundation of Charles and Seryl Kushner, the parents of Jared, which gave $38,000 in 2013, U.S. tax records show. The New York-based American Friends of Bet El Institutions hosts dinners to raise funds for the settlement, which overlooks the Palestinian city Ramallah. Kushner has left it up to his father-in-law to comment on what role he might play. "Jared is such a good kid and he'll make a deal with Israel that no one else can," Trump told The Times of London newspaper last month. "He's a natural dealmaker - everyone likes him." Middle East analysts say the settlement donations by Kushner's family foundation are not necessarily deal-breakers. After decades of failed negotiations, the real test is whether he is prepared to rethink the way the Middle East peace process is conducted, said Hugh Lovatt, a fellow of the European Council on Foreign Relations. "If he reverts to pushing for a process for the sake of process and diplomatic prestige, then he will prove no more successful than his predecessors," Lovatt told Reuters. "If he acquiesces to Israeli territorial demands and gives a green light to more settlement activity, he could even do irreparable damage to the prospects of long-term peace." A key diplomatic factor will be whether the Trump administration commits itself to a two-state solution - Israel and an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side. This remains firmly the goal for the Palestinians and, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israelis. But some of Kushner's supporters in Bet El appear to be heading in a different direction - and the political voice of hardliners could prove a significant obstacle should peace talks resume. "The two-state solution is a scam," said Shai Alon, the head of the local council, who describes himself as optimistic about the "Trump era". "It's not going to happen." (Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Luke Baker in Jerusalem, Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Editing by Luke Baker and Pravin Char) LONDON (AP) British authorities have evicted a group of squatters who moved into a vacant mansion in one of London's priciest neighborhoods to draw attention to the problem of homelessness. Police and bailiffs descended on the five-story town house in posh Eaton Square at dawn on Wednesday after a court ruled that the squatters could be evicted. About a dozen people emerged from the house with bags of clothes and blankets and boxes of food. Activists calling themselves the Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians had occupied the property for about a week. Housing campaigners say thousands of London homes are unoccupied, many of them owned by wealthy overseas investors. British media have reported that the Eaton Square property is owned by Russian banker Andrey Goncharenko. President Donald Trumps decision to tap the president of Liberty University to lead a task force within the U.S. Department of Education reflects two trends: a backlash against liberal policies at American colleges and universities and a hot new brand in higher educationthe conspicuously conservative college. Liberty, founded in 1971 by the Baptist pastor and conservative political activist Jerry Falwell, boasts of being named the Most Conservative College in America. Taking up the conservative mantle of his father, Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed Trump and, although many conservatives and people associated with the evangelical institution are anti-Trump, promoted a campus environment that discouraged speaking out against the presidents campaign. Falwell even encouraged students to carry weapons in case of a terrorist attack. He will now help identify when the federal government is overreaching in its regulation of universities, he told The Chronicle of Higher Education. This backlash against liberal universities comes at a time of financial pressure for colleges and universities of all sizes. Between 2004 and 2014, four-year, nonprofit colleges closed at a rate of five per year. Worse, a Moodys study projected the closure rate will triple starting this year. And then theres the doomsday scenario: The Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen predicts that up to half of the nations 4,000 colleges and universities will fail in the next 15 years. How are university administrators and trustees dealing with this turbulent new reality? For one thing, many are realizing that individual schools can no longer be all things to all people. Consequently, some of them are attempting to market themselves better by playing to their strengths. Recommended: Will the Senate Block Betsy DeVos? In 2017, for some colleges, doing so might very well mean advertising their conservative atmosphere. Some research has shown that a higher percentage of Millennials identify as conservative than both Gen Xers and Boomers did at the same stage in their lives. And with the GOP now in control of the White House, both houses of Congress, 33 governors mansions, and 32 state legislatures, the country is seeing a pronounced cultural and political shift to the right. So, according to college-marketing experts, an increasing number of colleges, especially religious ones, may see an untapped but potentially lucrative path to long-term sustainability in being recognized as conservative. Story continues Small schools must develop and communicate a strong brand, said Bill Carter of Fuse Marketing, which has worked on branding for colleges, as well as for Starbucks, Doritos, and Mountain Dew. For institutions that have a history of political conservatism, there has probably never been a better climate for those schools to speak to those beliefs publicly. Not only will it provide or reaffirm their brand, but also there is clearly a marketplace for those institutions to draw from. These colleges clash with Americas conception of the prototypical university campus as a liberal enclave. One way to be conspicuously conservative is to forgo federal student loans and grants and publicize that decision so that prospective students are aware that its sacrificing whats likely hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to uphold its mission. The website of Hillsdale College, a 1,400-student school in Michigan, trumpets its rejection of these funds: To maintain our independence in every regard, Hillsdale does not accept one penny of state or federal taxpayer fundingeven indirectly in the form of student grants and loans. On the sites homepage, other signals of the schools target demographic include a prominent photo of Bible-reading students, a quote about science requiring a belief in God, and an article called A More American Conservatism. Recommended: How to Build an Autocracy Grove City College in Pennsylvania, whose motto is Because faith and freedom matter, also turns down federal student loans and grants to avoid entanglement with Department of Education rules. We value and safeguard our institutional autonomy as a blessing of Americas heritage of freedom, the colleges website says. Students expecting to entertain opposite-sex guests in their dorm room during their college experience need not apply to Grove City. As the FAQ page notes, No overnight guests of the opposite sex are permitted at any time. These colleges clash with Americas conception of the prototypical university campus as a liberal enclave where young people push boundaries, question long-held beliefs, and engage in progressive activism. Adding to this image is the fact that the professoriate increasingly identifies as liberal. But, according to some marketing experts, the growing struggle to recruit tuition-paying students has led certain colleges to pursue students looking for something different. Conspicuously conservative colleges, therefore, sometimes take highly public, politically conservative stances that might have been seen as too divisive a few years ago. And these stances expand well beyond religion. For example, in response to the ongoing debate about trigger warnings and safe spaces on college campuses, the president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Everett Piper, made headlines in 2015 by declaring that his institution is not a day care. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic! Piper wrote in an open letter to his campus community. Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims! Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them feel bad about themselves, is a hater, a bigot, an oppressor, and a victimizer. Recommended: Donald Trump's Favorite Topic for Black History Month: Himself Some observers saw Pipers letter as a risky statement for a college president to make. After all, Millennials are much more likely than older generations to support government restrictions on speech perceived as offensive to minorities. But theres a flipside to that today: According to some studies, there is a growing number of young conservatives to cater to. And many families appreciate a strong conservative campus, as demonstrated by the popularity of Fox Newss recurring feature Campus Craziness," which criticizes the perceived liberal excess of some universities. Most religious schools arent as overtly political as Liberty. Indeed, some prefer to keep a low profile. Others, when they seek media attention at all, seem most interested in being seen as equal to their secular peers. In the early 2000s, observers noticed an effort among evangelical colleges to increase academic rigor and send more students to graduate school. In 2003, The Los Angeles Times published an article with the headline Evangelical Colleges Make Marks in a Secular World, which noted that evangelical colleges and universities are gaining broader acceptance and moving closer to the academic mainstream. Still others, such as Eastern University outside Philadelphia, have gained reputations as liberal voices in their theologically conservative community. Easterns Campolo Center for Ministry is named after its professor emeritus, Tony Campolo, who has called for acceptance of same-sex couples in the church. But Easterns liberal voice makes it an outlier among evangelical colleges. According to branding experts, religious colleges are bolstering their conservative credentials, even if it means engaging in public clashes over culture-war issues. Colleges ... are going to enable students to self-select into organizations that share their political beliefs. The famed evangelist Billy Graham cultivated a reputation as an apolitical figure who would gladly pray with leaders of both parties. But last year, his alma mater, Wheaton College in Illinois, initiated proceedings to fire a tenured professor after she posted a message on Facebook saying, I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God. While some saw a school dedicated to its theological purity, others saw discriminatory treatment of the first black female tenured professor at a place where other professors with similar views face no such scrutiny. In other words, such a public statement might have been seen as safer coming from a white male professor, but too dangerous coming from a black female. After a burst of negative publicity, the professor, Larycia Hawkins, resigned from Wheaton and accepted a job at the University of Virginia. UVAs embrace of Hawkins, which played out in the media, symbolized the conservative/liberal divide of religious vs. public colleges in Americas collective imagination. By taking on such public battles, conspicuously conservative colleges are merely taking advantage of public and elite colleges' growing reputation as hotbeds of anti-Christian, liberal views and contrasting that image with their own campuses. For example, the evangelical magazine Christianity Today reported, with alarm, on the temporary de-recognition of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship by the California State University system, which was concerned that the ministry violated the schools discrimination policies. And last year, California lawmakers, concerned about LGBT rights, considered a bill that would have jeopardized funding at religious colleges with rules against same-sex relationships. While public universities are facing criticism from religious-liberty advocatesand while elite private colleges are having heated debates about offensive Halloween costumesbranding experts say other colleges sense a marketing opportunity. This marketing tactic makes sense, said Stuart Elliott, who wrote about advertising for The New York Times for 23 years. In the last 10 or 20 years, it's become quite common for brands to take political or social stands, sometimes as part of pro-social marketing or cause marketing, sometimes as part of efforts to reach younger consumers, he said. It doesn't surprise me that in the higher education world a similar strategy would be embraced. Indeed, in her study of underdog brands, Jill Avery, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, found that some brands can benefit from politicizing themselves. Colleges that are politicizing themselves are going to enable students to self-select into organizations that share their political beliefs, she said. If there is a group of prospective college students who feel disenfranchised by the mainstream college-admissions messaging, which, at most universities, leans liberal, then there may be an opportunity to attract them with more conservative messaging. But if college campuses become too politically and ideologically segregated, will evangelical groups vanish from public universities? Will College Democrats clubs vanish from religious campuses? In short, will college branding cause the nation to become even more politically divided? It wont happen, said Abu Noaman, the CEO of Elliance, a digital-marketing agency that has worked on branding for about 100 colleges and universities, including Pepperdine, a private university in Malibu, California, affiliated with the Churches of Christ thats known for its relatively conservative student body, and Duquesne, a Catholic university in Pittsburgh. Because modernity, a hunt for full-pay students, and a search for the best global talent have created an irreversible march toward diversity, the emphasis on unique branding of colleges will not preclude diversity of viewpoints on campuses, he said. Faculty will be obliged to serve, and help students make sense of, this emergent world. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Rep. Barbara Lee and the chairs of four Democratic caucuses in the House of Representatives are demanding President Trump remove his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, from the National Security Council, arguing that Bannons appointment to the group is dangerous. Lee, a Democrat from California, along with the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus will deliver the demand to Trump via a letter Wednesday. While we respect the traditional privilege of the presidency to shape the NSC to its unique needs, we strongly denounce Mr. Bannons inclusion in the Principals Committee and standing invitation to attend National Security Council meetings and demand you immediately undo the politicization of Americas national security, the lawmakers write. It is completely dangerous and morally reprehensible. In an interview with Yahoo News, Lee said she found it outrageous and disturbing that Trump placed Bannon on the National Security Council, a senior group of experts who advise the president on foreign and domestic crises and shape security policy. Principal members of the group, which now include Bannon, can meet without the president. In Saturdays memorandum, Trump also removed the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the meetings. Its unusual for the president to appoint a political adviser as a principal. President George W. Bush intentionally left his political strategist Karl Rove out of the NSC meetings to ensure that domestic political concerns were not driving national security policy. President Barack Obama allowed his strategist David Axelrod into a few of the meetings, but Axelrod was never a principal. The lawmakers argue that Bannons past as a chairman of the conservative site Breitbart News makes him unfit to advise the president on national security matters. Mr. Bannon has provided a platform for white nationalists and the alt right, and he has also espoused a false theory of a violent clash of civilizations between the West and Islam that only serves to fuel violent extremism, they write. Story continues Steve Bannon (Photo: Saul Loeb/Getty Images) Bannon was a Navy officer in the early 1980s and a Goldman Sachs executive before beginning his career in conservative media. Hes said Breitbart was a platform for the alt right but denies that his brand of nationalism is racist. Im not a white nationalist, Im a nationalist, he told the Hollywood Reporter in November. Im an economic nationalist. He seems to relish his role as a villain of the political left, joking in the same interview that darkness is good. He continued: Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. Thats power. It only helps us when they get it wrong. When theyre blind to who we are and what were doing. Democrats also object to Bannons lack of government experience in the letter, an argument to which the White House objects. Hes got a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape that we have now, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on ABCs This Week Sunday in defending the presidents appointment of Bannon. Lee said she found it terrifying when Trump appointed Bannon, who helped run his campaign, as his chief strategist a position equal in power to the chief of staff. To have someone in the White House with his background is to me unacceptable, Lee said. Its adding insult to injury to have him as a permanent member of the NSC. The congresswoman said she has a team of people looking into what Democrats can do to oppose Bannon if their demands to Trump fall on deaf ears, and it will continue to target him. Were still looking at our strategies and making some determinations in terms of what legal authority we have if in fact the president doesnt remove him, Lee said. Its dangerous, its scary, so were going to try to do everything we can do to communicate this very clearly to the president and to the American people. Read the full letter below. Barbara Lee by LizGoodwin on Scribd WASHINGTON (AP) Top House Democrats called Wednesday for an investigation of President Donald Trump's national security adviser over his ties to a Russian propaganda outlet. They want the Pentagon to investigate whether Michael Flynn violated the Constitution by accepting payments from a government-controlled TV station in Russia. Flynn is a retired Army lieutenant general and intelligence officer. Flynn traveled in 2015 to Moscow, where he joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials in a celebration of the RT network. Flynn later explained he had been paid for taking part in the event, but brushed aside concerns that he was aiding a Russian propaganda effort. The top Democrats from six House Committees sent a letter to the Pentagon Wednesday seeking the investigation. "It remains unclear how much Gen. Flynn was paid for his dinner with Vladimir Putin, whether he received additional payments from Russian or other foreign sources on separate occasions, or whether he sought the approval of the Department of Defense or Congress to accept any of these payments," the Democrats wrote. Laura Seal, a Pentagon spokeswoman, declined to comment to The Associated Press. She said the Pentagon would respond to the members of Congress. The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution prohibits federal officeholders from accepting gifts from foreign governments. The Defense Department warns that the prohibition applies to both active-duty and retired military. In his position as national security adviser, Flynn did not need to be confirmed by the Senate. That means he was not subjected to the same kind of public scrutiny as Trump's cabinet picks. The Democratic House members who sent the letter requesting the investigation were Reps. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Adam Smith of Washington, John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Adam Schiff of California and Eliot Engel of New York. ____ Story continues Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report. ___ Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephenatap True to form, President Trump presented his first Supreme Court nomination as primetime drama. And before the big reveal, it involved a circuitous drive over the backroads of Colorado, a secret military flight, a judge being chased through Pennsylvania. The media frenzy and secret missions came to an end Tuesday night when Trump announced his decision to nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch to the nations highest court. The new president tapped Gorsuch to fill the seat that was left vacant when Justice Antonin Scalia died last February. Members of Scalias family were in attendance when Trump introduced Gorsuch in the East Room of the White House, and the president repeatedly invoked the late justices legacy of staunch conservatism. When Justice Scalia passed away suddenly last February, I made a promise to the American people, Trump said. If I were elected president, I would find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court. That judge, Trump announced, was Gorsuch, a Coloradan who serves on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Gorsuch was on a list of 21 potential Supreme Court picks that Trump unveiled during his presidential campaign last year, a lineup that was largely assembled by the conservative Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation. Speaking to reporters in the East Room after the announcement, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the president also relied on input from his chief of staff, Reince Priebus; White House Counsel Don McGahn; and his chief strategist, Steve Bannon. Don McGahn obviously shepherded this process, Spicer said. His team, the vice president, Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon were all people that were really instrumental. Trumps advisers werent the only ones who helped him with the Supreme Court pick. He was able to nominate Gorsuch only because Senate Republicans blocked former President Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland, from having any confirmation hearings or vote on his nomination for nearly 300 days until Obama left office. Story continues Several Republican senators were in the room when Trump announced his choice, and one of them, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Yahoo News he believes they absolutely did the right thing. This election was a referendum on the Supreme Court, on the direction it would go, whether it would be filled by a judge who would honor the Constitution or filled by a liberal judicial activist, Cruz said. And no vacancy thats occurred in an election year has been filled in 80 years. I think the choice was given to we the people, and we the people spoke overwhelmingly that we want the Constitution honored. We want our fundamental liberties protected. Some Democrats have cited the obstruction of Garland as a reason to fight Gorsuchs confirmation. However, Trumps team is confident they will get the votes they need on Capitol Hill for Gorsuch to join the court, even if 60 votes are required to break a Democratic filibuster on the nomination. Hes got an amazing record, and hes an amazing person, Spicer said of Gorsuch. I think when members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, members of the United States Senate and the American people get to see what a fine jurist he is and what a fine individual he is, he will be resoundingly confirmed. In a phone call with reporters after the announcement, a White House official praised Gorsuchs past legal opinions, asserting that he follows the letter of the law rather than his personal beliefs. The official cited a handful of opinions as evidence of Gorsuchs legal perspective, including one where he ruled in favor of an undocumented immigrant who was seeking lawful status. In that case, Gorsuch questioned the so-called Chevron doctrine, a legal principle that judges should defer to executive agencies interpretations of the law. Along with this ruling, the official also pointed to a trio of Gorsuchs opinions on religious issues. In one, Gorsuch argued that a Native American prisoner needed access to a sweat lodge for religious observances, while in another he sided with an order of religious sisters who wanted to be exempted from providing insurance coverage for birth control to their employees. Judge Neil Gorsuch speaking Tuesday night in the East Room of the White House. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP) According to Spicer, Trump initially whittled his list of 21 potential Supreme Court justices down to six, and then four Gorsuch, Thomas Hardiman, William Pryor and Amul Thapar who were interviewed by Trump. On Tuesday, in the hours leading up to Trumps announcement, rumors about the Supreme Court pick flew around the capital. Multiple media outlets reported that Trump was deciding between Gorsuch and Hardiman, leading reporters to follow Hardiman as he drove through his home state of Pennsylvania. A CNN producer spotted Hardiman at a gas station more than 100 miles east of his home, driving speculation that he was en route to Washington, D.C. After the announcement, Spicer said he believed Hardiman was meeting with another Pennsylvania judge and hadnt ever left the Keystone State. During his first 10 days in office, Trump and his staff have feuded with the press, and Spicer used this opportunity to tweak the media. Because of the speculation, I checked on this. He was visiting with the chief justice of the Third District of Pennsylvania, Spicer said, adding, Ive heard several people report that he was sighted in D.C. Id be very interested in that, because to the best of my knowledge, theres a little bit of a buffer between Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, at least on the maps I use. So that may be one of those alternative facts. There were also reports fueled by Trumps reality show background that the president might borrow from his television show The Apprentice and have both Hardiman and Gorsuch present for the broadcast. In the end, the East Room announcement was a far more traditional political affair. When Yahoo News asked Spicer whether the presidents decision to have the event broadcast live in primetime reflected his love of showmanship, the press secretary argued the announcement was no different from previous nominations. Look, if you go back and look at previous nominations, we followed the tradition that existed, said Spicer. However, Spicer was incorrect. None of President Obamas Supreme Court nomination announcements were made in primetime. Obama introduced Garland, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan in daytime ceremonies. There were clearly some theatrics involved in the rollout of Gorsuch as Trumps nominee. Spicer described drastic measures taken to keep the identity of the nominee secret up until Trumps announcement. He said Trump called Gorsuch on Monday to inform him of the decision, and that after the call Gorsuch and his wife went to a neighbors home. White House staff then flew to Colorado to prepare Gorsuch and escort him to D.C. Spicer said the staffers drove Gorsuch via a back farm road and took him to a military jet bound for the capital, where he stayed at a private home on the evening of the announcement. You saw a very well planned out and executed strategy tonight, Spicer said, clearly relieved after what has been a rocky start for this White House. It was a great effort by the entire team. Another White House source underlined the fact that Trump wanted to execute the announcement with some panache. We couldnt just do the same old thing! the source said. NASA appears to be one step closer to sending humans to Mars. The space agency reportedly remains intent on sending humans to Mars in the 2030s and its likely that those astronauts may spend over a year in space. The plans to explore the Red Planet come amid fascinating new information about the impact of space travel. The results of a study last week revealed that outer space can change the fabric of human DNA. The experiment, which examined biological samples from twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, may provide insight on how human bodies are affected by prolonged time in space. Scott Kelly spent nearly a year on the International Space Station, while Mark Kelly stayed on earth. When Scott Kelly returned to Earth, NASA found that his chromosomes were altered in ways that were different from his brother's. Its not completely clear what any of this information really means, said Christopher Mason, a geneticist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. But it remains important if NASA wants to achieve its Mars mission goal. Currently, robotic missions take about eight months to go to Mars, but engineers are hoping that they create technology to speed up the process. Questions still surround the appropriate duration of a round-trip mission. NASA predicts that it could take one to three years. Although NASA has considered establishing a human colony on Mars, the agency does not have plans to do so. That decision might change after the first mission, though, depending on what NASA finds. One big challenge to sending humans to Mars is a safe landing. NASA does not yet have much information about the atmosphere on Mars, such as radiation levels, which might not be forgiving to humans. But questions about Mars will soon be answered by the Mars rover Curiosity, which is currently wandering the Red Planet, measuring radiation levels and testing Martian soil. Related Articles LONDON (Reuters) - Less than two weeks after Donald Trump's inauguration and amid anger over his immigration policy, hundreds of Britons are betting that the U.S. president will not last a year in office. Bookmaker Ladbrokes is offering odds of 4/1, or 4 pounds for every one pound wagered, on the real-estate tycoon being replaced as president of the United States in 2017. "It's incredible how many people are betting, taking the 4/1 about him being replaced this year, and even the 11/10 on him being impeached or even resigning in the first term," said Matthew Shaddick, head of political odds at Ladbrokes. He said several hundred punters had laid bets, typically worth about 25 pounds ($31) each. Among a blackboard of "Trump Specials" on offer at a Ladbrokes shop on London's Strand were a 4/1 wager on the former reality TV star serving a full two terms in office, as well as 5/2 odds on Trump's planned state visit to Britain being cancelled. British lawmakers will hold a debate on Feb. 20 on a petition signed by more than 1.6 million people calling for the state visit to be called off to avoid embarrassing Queen Elizabeth. [nS8N1E703O] "I think most UK bookmakers lost an awful lot of money when he [Trump] was elected in November, so perhaps some of us are going to get a little bit back on some of these markets," said Shaddick. ($1 = 0.7950 pounds) (Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Dominic Evans) LOS ANGELES (AP) A federal judge in Los Angeles has ordered the U.S. government to allow people holding immigrant visas from seven majority-Muslim nations into the United States despite President Trump's executive order banning them. In a temporary restraining order issued late Tuesday, Judge Andre Birotte Jr. ordered the government not to cancel any validly obtained immigrant visas or bar anyone from the seven nations holding them from entering the U.S. But it was unclear whether the order will have any effect. The State Department ordered all visas from the seven countries revoked on Friday, and the government has maintained that orders similar to Birotte's do not apply because the visas are no longer valid. The State Department declined comment Wednesday on Birotte's order, saying it does not comment on pending litigation. Stacey Gartland, a San Francisco attorney who represents a 12-year-old Yemeni girl whose parents and siblings are U.S. citizens living in California, acknowledged Wednesday that her client and hundreds of others with immigrant visas still may not be allowed in the U.S. under Birotte's order, but said she's optimistic. "This court order is a major victory and definitely gives us a path forward," Gartland said. "It's just a matter of getting it into the right hands of someone who'll obey the court order." Julie Goldberg, the Los Angeles-based immigration lawyer who filed the lawsuit that prompted Birotte's order, is trying to arrange flights for dozens of Yemeni citizens who have immigrant visas and are stranded in the tiny African nation of Djibouti, including the 12-year-old girl Gartland represents. Gartland said two major airlines have turned them down but they are trying to work with smaller airlines that will follow Birotte's order. "These are all children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens," Goldberg told The Associated Press from the Horn of Africa nation, emphasizing that those stranded are not refugees, though Yemen is engulfed in civil war. They received visas last week, she said. Story continues Mohamed Mosleh Jeran is one of the many waiting. After his family's home was blown up in Yemen's conflict, he and his wife and two young children spent two years in Djibouti. Last month, their younger son died during what should have been routine surgery. Last Thursday, the family received their U.S. visas and looked forward to joining Jeran's father, a U.S. citizen, in New York City. But Trump the next day announced his executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. On Saturday, Jeran's family was turned away at the Turkish Airlines check-in counter, Goldberg said. A spokesman for the airline did not respond to a call for comment. "Finally I am leaving Djibouti, but in my heart I was upset, I lost one of my kids," Jeran recalled to the AP. "But what can you do? This is life. I was happy my wife and son were leaving Djibouti, finally." But when they were turned away, "my wife, she was like a child, crying, my son, too.'" Jeran has been accepted to the University of Toledo to begin a masters' program in March, Goldberg said. "It's super frustrating," she said. "They're running out of money. Djibouti is very expensive. They can't go back to Yemen, they would be killed." Yemen has been gripped by conflict since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States, has been carrying out an air campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for nearly two years. Many Yemenis have fled on boats across the Bab al-Mandab strait to Djibouti or other Horn of Africa countries. In the United States, relatives of the stranded Yemenis are anguished. Esam Molhi and his wife, both green card holders from Yemen, now fear leaving for Djibouti to reunite with their 3-year-old daughter because Trump's order might keep them from returning home. The girl was born in Yemen, and the U.S. Embassy there refused to let her fly with her mother to join Molhi in the U.S., Goldberg said. The family has been pursuing a U.S. visa for the girl since then. The child is staying in a rented room in Djibouti with her Yemeni grandfather, Molhi told the AP from his home in San Francisco, where he works as an Uber driver. He has not yet seen her in person, and his wife has not seen her since she was a month and a half old. "This is unfair," Molhi said of Trump's order. "I want him to feel as I feel, you know?" The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti has posted an urgent notice online telling people, including those with dual nationalities, from the countries affected Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen not to schedule visa appointments or even attend existing visa appointments. ___ Associated Press writers Alicia Caldwell in Washington, D.C. and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report. The U.S. Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state on Wednesday. But he might not be the real man in charge of American diplomacy. Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly were supposed to be the grown-ups, the rational elders who would bring a note of caution and experience to the Trump administration. But after less than two weeks in office, doubts are growing among lawmakers and career government officials that those seasoned hands have much say in White House decision-making or much influence over the impulsive president and his inner circle, led by the anti-globalist, right-wing ideologue Stephen Bannon. Every president enters the White House with a close circle of advisors who enjoy greater access to the commander in chief than cabinet officials who technically outrank them. But the Trump administration may be entering unchartered territory as Bannon, the presidents chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, Trumps influential son-in-law, seek to solidify their informal power through a new national security architecture that could marginalize professionals and inject politics into security decisions. A flurry of hastily drafted presidential decisions and statements over the past 12 days has highlighted the role played by Trumps inner circle, especially Bannon, a self-described economic nationalist who masterminded Trumps America First campaign championing isolationism and protectionism. That is worrisome to many lawmakers, including Republicans, who had reservations about Trump but who were reassured by the inclusion of Mattis, in particular, in the administration. After Trump spent months as a candidate questioning the value of alliances in Europe and Asia, denigrating the U.S. intelligence community, and flippantly proposing war crimes, they saw Mattiss presence at the Pentagon as insurance against any potential excesses from the White House. But the Trump White House has blindsided the retired Marine general on several major issues. Before Trump even entered office, his aides announced the appointment of a U.S. Army secretary without consulting Mattis, current and former officials told Foreign Policy. Story continues Last week, reports of a draft order on reviewing torture tactics leaked, another unpleasant surprise for Mattis, who had publicly promised lawmakers that he opposed reviving outlawed interrogation methods and who seemed to have convinced Trump on his way of thinking. The president subsequently said he would defer to Mattis on the issue. And last Friday, Trump issued an executive order halting entry into the United States for all refugees and travelers from seven majority Muslim countries without input from Mattis. Last year, the former head of U.S. Central Command had sharply criticized the idea of barring Muslim immigrants or refugees as counterproductive for U.S. counterterrorism efforts. So far, its not reassuring, one Republican congressional staffer said of Mattiss treatment by the White House. And if this continues, you have to ask yourself, How long will he be willing to put up with this?' Lawmakers from both parties had similar expectations for the Homeland Security secretary, Kelly, another retired U.S. Marine general, who they hoped would bring a measure of common sense and pragmatism to border security. But Trumps travel ban has raised serious questions about Kellys real sway in the administration. The ban which many government officials say was drafted with only cursory input from government agencies has sparked global outrage, legal challenges, and an investigation by the Department of Homeland Securitys inspector general. Kelly denied reports that he had not been properly consulted or briefed in advance, and he vigorously defended the measure at a news conference Tuesday, saying it had caused minimal inconvenience to a small number of people. However, even some Republicans in Congress complained that the administration had bungled the order and accused the White House of steamrolling Kellys department. And it remained unclear to what degree Kelly had tried to argue against some provisions of the extraordinary measures such as barring legal U.S. residents from entering the country that caused chaotic scenes at airports. In his confirmation hearings, Kelly had told senators that he had not discussed with Trump nor committed to the notion of extreme vetting for potential refugees, a possible national registry to track Muslims, or a proposed ban on Muslim immigrants. He also assured lawmakers that Trump wasnt proposing new limits for Muslim travel and immigration to the United States. And he openly disagreed with Trump and his teams perception of Muslim refugees or immigrants as security risks. But the order, which reflects Trump and Bannons preoccupation with the dangers of radical Islam and the threat allegedly posed by immigration, has led some previous supporters to question whether their faith in Kelly as a check on Trumps more extreme instincts was misplaced. Trumps secretary of state, Tillerson, already found himself outside of the White House loop before he even came on board. His Republican supporters view the former corporate chief as a safe pair of hands able to navigate the international arena, despite a lack of any governmental or diplomatic experience. But Tillerson was not consulted about the executive order on immigration, and as he takes over at the State Department, he faces a growing internal rebellion by more than 1,000 employees who signed an internal dissent memo objecting to the travel ban because of its negative effects overseas. The isolation of Mattis, Kelly, and Tillerson is the mirror image of the central role carved out by Bannon. A presidential memo issued Saturday granted Bannon a permanent seat on the National Security Council principals committee, causing consternation across the government and military. Kushner and Bannon are also establishing a new subsection of the NSC called the Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG), an in-house office of advisors who report directly to the former Breitbart executive and Trump son-in-law. The SIG, first reported by the Daily Beast, has yet to be filled, according to a source familiar with the operation. They are actively recruiting for it, the individual told FP. They are leaning on this group hard [because] they dont have enough aides with clearances. Its a total shit show. The expertise in demand for the new group includes the Middle East and China, where Trump has shown an interest in overhauling previous U.S. policy. The top Trump aides running the unit are Assistant to the President Chris Liddell and Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism analyst and former Breitbart editor. Gorka and Bannon share a profound skepticism of Islam and the belief that the West and the Muslim world are on a violent collision course. Although the effect of the SIG could result in a further marginalization of Trumps cabinet, its main objective is reportedly to put a check on the national security advisor, Michael Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who installed former colleagues in military intelligence throughout the NSC, consolidating his power early on. The changes at the National Security Council could lead to a more chaotic policymaking process than the model favored by previous administrations, which sought to leverage expertise across government departments, said Paul Pillar, a 28-year CIA veteran who retired as the national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia. The political advisors in the White House, principally Mr. Bannon, will have a disproportionate influence, Pillar said. Pushing aside military and intelligence figures in favor of men like Bannon, he said, is representative of the low value this president and his entourage place on facts and on truth. The hasty way the White House handled the travel ban, with a small group of senior aides rushing it through without a full discussion among legal experts or a communications plan for how it would be explained to the public, shows the risks of relying on political operatives, former officials said. Politics has completely invaded policy, including national security policy, said a former senior intelligence official, citing the immigration executive order as an example. It wasnt put together by the traditional national security policy process but by a political process led by Bannon. The executive order sells politically among the base, and it sells really, really well, said the former intelligence official. But its horrible policy. FP reporters Molly OToole and Elias Groll contributed to this article. Photo credit: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/Getty Images India Wednesday set deadlines to eradicate a range of deadly diseases that afflict tens of millions of its poorest people, unveiling a major boost to health spending in the annual budget. The government announced a 23 percent increase in spending on its woefully underfunded public health system, including a pledge to eliminate killers like tuberculosis, leprosy and black fever. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said cash will flow particularly to poorer rural areas, where healthcare services are few and preventable illnesses are rife. "Poverty is usually associated with poor health. It is the poor who suffer the maximum from chronic diseases," Jaitley told parliament as he presented the budget. He said black fever and filariasis, both potentially fatal mosquito-born illnesses, would be stamped out by 2017, with leprosy following a year later. The target for measles eradication is 2020 and 2025 for tuberculosis -- a major killer with millions of new cases every year. Jaitley also outlined ambitious goals for reducing maternal and infant mortality, which is nearly double in rural areas compared to urban centres. Additional funding in the budget will also be used to transform 150,000 tiny rural clinics into properly-staffed treatment centres. India, home to one-seventh of the world's population, spends just over one percent of its gross domestic product on its healthcare system, far below the global average. It is not the first time the government has pledged to eradicate diseases, rolling out mass vaccination programs and awareness campaigns. India did stamp out the polio virus in 2014 but millions still suffer from infectious diseases and preventable illness, with poor sanitation and lack of treatment options exacerbating the problem. There were 2.5 million cases of TB reported in 2015, according to the World Health Organisation. An estimated 200,000 patients die every year from the infection. India reported another 200,000 cases of leprosy in 2015 despite an eradication programme being in place since 1955. Among the biggest threats are vector-borne diseases, with an estimated 265 million people at risk of contracting black fever -- or Kala-Azar -- and filariasis. Both are spread by mosquitos and infection can be fatal, with more than 20,000 deaths across India every year. BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian factory activity returned to modest growth in January, bouncing from a contraction in December triggered by the government's scrapping of high value banknotes, a business survey showed on Wednesday. Compiled by IHS Markit, the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.4 in January from 49.6. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. In a sign factories have started the year on a better footing, a sub-index measuring new orders also nudged back above the breakeven mark, with domestic demand driving the pace as export orders remained in contraction. "January saw only modest increases in order books, production and buying levels, but the quick rebound will be welcome news to policymakers," said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at IHS Markit. "Improving confidence among firms bodes well for the outlook, with the expansion in manufacturing output likely to pick up pace in coming months." Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation drive in November banned 500 and 1,000 rupee bills, removing 86 percent of cash in circulation, in a bid to fight corruption and tax evasion. The cash crunch is expected to hurt the economy in the October-December quarter of 2016, with economists predicting growth slowing to a near 3-year lows of 6.5 percent. In December, the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly left its key policy rate unchanged at 6.25 percent, opting to wait before judging the full effects of the currency ban. But India's central bank is expected to go through with a rate cut in its meeting next week, with 29 of 46 economists in a poll conducted over the last few days expecting a 25 basis points cut. India's government will unveil its budget on Wednesday and is expected to try and boost economic growth through reducing personal income and corporate tax as well as higher public investment. A suspected Indonesian people-smuggling kingpin went on trial Wednesday accused of organising an illegal migrant boat journey in a case that sparked a diplomatic row with Australia. Abraham Louhenapessy, commonly known as "Captain Bram", is allegedly a notorious figure in the illicit trade that involves sending boatloads of migrants from Indonesia, a staging post on long-established people-smuggling routes, typically to Australia. Australian officials say he has been involved in sending boatloads of migrants from Indonesia to the country as far back as 1999. He has been arrested several times in Indonesia but has only ever served one brief jail term. In the latest case, Louhenapessy appeared in court on the eastern island of Rote for allegedly buying a boat and helping to find a crew for a voyage intended to take 65 migrants to New Zealand in 2015. He faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of breaking laws designed to stop people-smuggling. However the boat, carrying Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and Myanmar migrants, was stopped by the Australian navy as it passed through Australian waters and the passengers and crew were sent back to Indonesia in rickety vessels. The crew claimed they were paid about $30,000 to turn back, angering Indonesian officials who worried that it could encourage an increase in people-smuggling attempts. Australia refused to comment on the claims. Australia turns migrant boats back to Indonesia when it is safe to do so. The tough policy was introduced to stem the flow of migrants arriving on the country's shores, but it has long angered Indonesian officials. It is thought the migrants involved in the latest case were seeking to reach New Zealand since the policies had closed off the route to Australia. Prosecutor Alexander Sele told the court that Louhenapessy provided the boat in exchange for a payment of 1.5 billion rupiah ($112,000) from the alleged mastermind of the scheme, a man called Vishvanathan Thineskumar. Story continues "Aside from finding and providing a fishing boat, the defendant also ordered (his subordinate) Mansyur to recruit a captain... to sail the boat and a crew," said Sele. Louhenapessy does not deny the charges, his lawyer said. The captain and crew from the boat were caught and jailed in Indonesia in January last year after being found guilty on people-smuggling charges. Israel government approves 3,000 new settler homes: JERUSALEM Israel on Tuesday announced plans to build 3,000 new homes in West Bank settlements, pressing forward with a construction binge in the wake of the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. The late-night announcement came as Israel was preparing to evacuate an illegally built settlement outpost. It appeared to be an attempt by Israels nationalist government to calm settler anger over the court-ordered removal of Amona, which was built two decades ago on private Palestinian land. African leaders OK strategy for mass withdrawal from ICC: ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia African leaders on Tuesday adopted a strategy calling for a collective withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. The non-binding decision came behind closed doors near the end of an African Union summit. It was the latest expression of impatience by African leaders with the court, which some say has focused too narrowly on Africa while pursuing cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Late last year, South Africa, Burundi and Gambia all announced plans to leave the court, leading to concerns that other states would follow. Romania government decriminalizes official misconduct: BUCHAREST, Romania Romanias government adopted an emergency ordinance late Tuesday to decriminalize official misconduct, dealing a blow to a yearslong drive to curb corruption in the eastern European country. Justice Minister Florin Iordache said the measure will decriminalize cases of official misconduct in which the financial damage is valued at less than $47,800. Tens of thousands of Romanians protested against the ordinance in recent weeks, saying it would weaken anti-graft efforts. US says world should be alarmed at Iran missile launch: UNITED NATIONS U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley says the world should be alarmed at the latest Iranian ballistic missile test and the U.N. Security Council should take action. Haley said Tuesday that Iran is being naive by thinking the U.S. and others accept its contention that it has no intention of attacking any country. Haley said the missile Iran launched Sunday can deliver a nuclear weapon. The council referred the matter to its committee on Iran and asked for an investigation. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's defense minister said Wednesday that his country recently carried out a missile test, days after the White House said it was looking into reports of an Iranian ballistic missile launch that may have contravened a U.N. resolution. Gen. Hossein Dehghan was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying "the recent missile test is in line with our plans and we will not let any foreigner meddle with our defense issues." He did not say when the test was carried out or specify the type of missile, but said the test was not in violation of U.N. resolutions or the 2015 nuclear accord. The nuclear deal reached with world powers does not include provisions against missile tests. When it came into effect in 2016, the Security Council lifted most U.N. sanctions against Tehran, including a 2010 ban on testing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The council nevertheless adopted a resolution in 2015 which "calls on" Iran not to carry out such tests. The United States has maintained and expanded its own sanctions related to Iran's missile program. At the request of the United States, the U.N. Security Council held an session on Tuesday to address allegations that Iran conducted a ballistic missile test. The council referred the matter to its committee on Iran and asked for an investigation. Iran has long boasted of having missiles that can travel 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, in range. Iran says its missiles, which could also strike U.S. bases in the region, are key to deterring a U.S. or Israeli attack. In March, Iran test-fired two ballistic missiles one emblazoned with the phrase "Israel must be wiped out" in Hebrew setting off an international outcry. Iranian parliamentary, diplomatic, intelligence and military officials held a joint meeting in Tehran on Wednesday in which they condemned foreign interference in the country's defense affairs, saying Iran's missile and defense programs are not negotiable, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Tehran (AFP) - Iran confirmed on Wednesday that it had tested a ballistic missile, but denied that was a breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The comments from Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan came after the UN Security Council met Tuesday to discuss the weekend test, which Washington described as "absolutely unacceptable". "The action was in line with boosting Iran's defence power and is not in contradiction with the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) or Resolution 2231," Dehghan said. He was referring to a UN Security Council resolution that bans Iran from developing missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. "This test was in line with our ongoing programmes," Iranian media quoted him as saying. "We have previously announced that we will execute the programmes we have planned in production of defence equipment meant for our national interests and objectives. Nobody can influence our decision. "We will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defence affairs." Iran's ballistic missile programme has been a bone of contention with the West since the nuclear deal took effect in January last year, triggering the lifting of international sanctions. Iran says its missiles do not breach United Nations resolutions because they are for defence purposes only and are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. It has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles), sufficient to reach Israel as well as US bases in the region. - 'Not naive' - US ambassador Nikki Haley told Tuesday's Security Council meeting that Washington would not stand idly by while Tehran pursued its missile programme. "The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out," she said. Tehran warned Washington against using the issue to fuel tensions. "We hope that Iran's defence programme is not used by the new US administration... as a pretext to create new tensions," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said ahead of the meeting. Story continues The row comes against a backdrop of already strained relations between Washington and Tehran over US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. Some 220 Iranian lawmakers signed a motion on Wednesday endorsing the boosting of Iran's defence capabilities, the Fars news agency reported. "The Islamic Republic of Iran's only way to deter the enemy's aggression is its missile power," the motion said, calling the programme "an unavoidable necessity" for protecting national security. The European Union, which helped broker the nuclear deal, had appealed to Tehran to refrain from activities such as the missile tests, "which deepen mistrust." Visiting French top diplomat Jean-Marc Ayrault said Tuesday he had made clear to Zarif his disquiet over the missile tests, calling them "contrary to the spirit" of the Security Council resolution. Britain also said the test was "inconsistent" with UN resolutions, but stopped short of calling it a violation. But Moscow, which is fighting alongside Tehran's forces in Syria, leapt to its ally's defence. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Iran's missile test did not breach Resolution 2231 and accused Washington of "heating up the situation." By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Wednesday it had test-fired a new ballistic missile, prompting a tough response from a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump. Iran's defense minister said the test did not breach the Islamic Republic's nuclear agreement with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact, Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but the latest test was the first since Trump entered the White House. Trump said during his election campaign that he would stop Iran's missile program. "The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defense affairs," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan told Tasnim news agency. "The test did not violate the nuclear deal or (U.N.) Resolution 2231." Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said the United States was putting Iran on notice over its "destabilizing activity" after it fired the missile. "As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice," Flynn said, without explaining exactly what that meant. Flynn said the missile launch defied the U.N. resolution that called on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. A U.S. official said Iran had test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday and it exploded after traveling 630 miles (1,010 km). The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and recommended the missile testing be studied at committee level. The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called the test "unacceptable". Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that Tehran would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country. Some 220 Iranian members of parliament reaffirmed support for Tehran's missile program, calling international condemnation of the tests "illogical." "The Islamic Republic of Iran is against weapons of mass destruction, so its missile capability is the only available deterrence against enemy hostility," the lawmakers said in a statement carried on state media on Wednesday. The state news agency IRNA quoted Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran's National Security Council, as saying Iran would not seek "permission from any country or international organization for development of our conventional defensive capability". The Security Council resolution was adopted to buttress the deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear activities to allay concerns they could be used to develop atomic bombs, in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The resolution urged Tehran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Critics say the resolution's language does not make this obligatory. Tehran says it has not carried out any work on missiles specifically designed to carry nuclear payloads. The test on Sunday, according to U.S. officials, was of a type of missile that had also been tested seven months ago. Iran has one of the Middle East's largest missile programs but it has been dogged by a poor record for accuracy. However, Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said on the day of the test that the country was now one of the few whose ballistic missiles were capable of hitting moving objects. This would enable Iran to hit enemy ships, drones or incoming ballistic missiles. Some of Iran's precision-guided missiles have the range to strike its regional enemy Israel. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Iran's new missile test a "flagrant violation" of the U.N. resolution. He said he would ask Trump in their meeting in mid- February for a renewal of sanctions against Iran. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Giles Elgood) (TEHRAN, Iran) Irans foreign minister on Tuesday refused to confirm whether his country recently conducted a missile test, saying the Iranian missile program is not part of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The U.N. Security Council met privately later at the Trump administrations request, and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said afterward that the world should be alarmed at the Iranian test and the council should take action. Haley called the medium-range ballistic missile test absolutely unacceptable and said Iran is being naive by thinking the U.S. and others accept its contention that it has no intention of attacking any country. I will tell the people across the world that is something we should be alarmed about, she said. The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out as we said we would, and youre also gonna see us act accordingly. During a joint news conference with visiting French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was asked if Iran had conducted a recent missile test. The missile issue is not part of the nuclear deal. As all signatories to the nuclear deal have announced, the missile issue is not a part of the deal, he said. Irans missiles, he added, are not designed for the capability of carrying a nuclear warhead Our ballistic missile was designed to carry a normal warhead in the field of legitimate defense. A U.S. defense official said Monday that the missile test ended with a failed re-entry into earths atmosphere. The official had no other details, including the type of missile. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was looking into whether the ballistic missile test violated a 2015 Security Council resolution. Zarif said he hopes the issue is not used as an excuse for some political games by the new U.S. administration. The Iranian people would never allow their defense to be subject to the permission of others. Story continues Iran has long boasted of having missiles that can travel 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, in range. Iran says its missiles are key to deterring a U.S. or Israeli attack. In a video posted on his Facebook page Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he planned to discuss Iran in his upcoming meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. I intend to raise with him the renewal of sanctions against Iran, sanctions against the ballistic missiles and additional sanctions against terror and also to take care of this failed nuclear agreement, Netanyahu said. In May 2016, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan issued a vague denial after a media outlet close to the Revolutionary Guard reported that the country had test-fired a ballistic missile with a 2,000-kilometer range. The powerful Revolutionary Guard is in charge of Irans ballistic missile program. Deghan said no missile had been tested with the range that was published in the media, but he did not deny that a ballistic missile had been tested. Earlier, last March, Iran test-fired two ballistic missiles one emblazoned with the phrase Israel must be wiped out in Hebrew setting off an international outcry. Haley, the U.S. envoy, said the missile tested Sunday had a range of 300 kilometers. Britains U.N. ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, said the Security Council decided to refer the test to its committee dealing with Iranian issues and asked for an investigation. This is the same procedure the council has carried out with previous Iranian missile tests. The 2015 Security Council resolution adopted after Iran reached its nuclear deal with world powers calls on Iran not to take any actions related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Zarif has said its ballistic missile launches are not banned under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 because the prohibition applies only to missiles specifically designed to carry nuclear warheads. Iran has long argued that general missile tests are not banned, nor are those applying to ones capable of carrying nuclear warheads so long as that was not their designated purpose. The U.S., which still maintains its own set of sanctions against Iran, has argued that previous ballistic missile launches are in defiance of the ban. The European Union called on Tehran to refrain from activities which deepen mistrust. EU foreign policy spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said a ballistic missile test would not violate the nuclear deal with world powers, but added that it was inconsistent with Resolution 2231. Whether it constitutes a violation is for the Security Council to determine, she said. ___ Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Raf Casert in Brussels and Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report. By Eli Berlzon AMONA, West Bank (Reuters) - Rightist protesters scuffled with Israeli police carrying out a court order to evict settlers from an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, hours after the government announced more construction in larger settlements. Around 330 Israeli settlers live in Amona, the largest of scores of outposts built in the West Bank without official authorization. The Supreme Court ruled in November, after a lengthy legal battle, that settlers had to leave Amona because their homes were built on privately owned Palestinian land. With no weapons visible but wearing backpacks, hundreds of police walked past burning tires and pushed back against scores of nationalist Israeli youths who flocked to Amona in support of the settlers. Working into the night the forces made slow progress, with three or four policemen at a time lifting each of the protesters out of dwellings in which they had holed up, and carrying them away onto buses. By dark police said only 22 of Amona's 40 families had left. Thirteen protesters were detained by police during the scuffles and there were a few instances of stone-throwing. A police spokesmen said at least 20 officers were injured slightly by rocks and caustic liquid thrown at them. "A Jew doesn't evict a Jew!" the youngsters chanted. The Amona settlers themselves stayed largely put inside their homes after erecting makeshift barriers in front of their doors and vowing passive resistance to eviction. "We won't leave our homes on our own. Pull us out, and we'll go," one settler told reporters. "It is a black day for Zionism." On a nearby hilltop, Issa Zayed, a Palestinian who said he was one of the owners of the land on which Amona was built, watched the scene through binoculars. "With God's help, it will be evacuated and our land will return to us," he said. Most countries consider all Israeli settlements to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land - which the Palestinians also assert - as well as security interests. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said later on Wednesday that he had ordered the formation of a committee that would include a settlement representative, to locate a site where the settlers could rebuild their homes. NEW SETTLER HOMES Earlier, Israel announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in 11 days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump, a Republican, has signaled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more dwellings in the West Bank, territory captured in a 1967 Middle East war and where Palestinians now seek statehood, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and the European Union. It followed approval a few days before of over 560 new homes in East Jerusalem, also taken by Israel in 1967. "The decision ... will place obstacles in the path of any effort to start a peace process that will lead to security and peace," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005. In 2006 Amona saw a violent partial eviction, with nine shacks torn down by authorities. Police were confronted by thousands of settlers and more than 200 people were injured. The Amona issue had caused tension within Netanyahu's coalition government. But it eased after he got behind a law proposed by the Jewish Home party, a far-right political ally, to retroactively legalize dozens of outposts. This would not apply to Amona because of the existing court decision. "We have lost the battle over Amona but we are winning the campaign for the Land of Israel," cabinet minister and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett tweeted after the evacuation began. Parliament is expected to pass the legislation next week. It is opposed, however, by Israel's attorney-general, and legal experts predict that it will eventually be overturned in court. (Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ori Lewis, writing by Jeffrey Heller,; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Gareth Jones) Rome (AFP) - Italy on Wednesday pledged 200 million euros ($215 million) in funds to several African countries as it seeks to slash the number of migrants risking their lives in the Mediterranean to reach Europe. Unlike previous European financing pledges, which have aimed to tackle the root causes of migration, the fund seeks to boost efforts by African security forces to stop people from leaving. The so-called Africa Fund will help bolster the "fight against human trafficking and illegal migration", Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said. The funds will go mainly to Niger, Libya and Tunisia -- the three key transit and departure points for the vast majority of African migrants trying to reach Italy's shores. They are intended to help train the nations' security forces and to pay for equipment to monitor the borders. "We don't build walls in the Mediterranean -- we can't and don't want to do that," Alfano said, in an allusion to US President Donald Trump's pledge to construct a wall on the Mexican border. "We give money to these countries, and in return they must use it to reduce the number of illegal migrants arriving here," Alfano added. A record 180,000 migrants reached Italy's shores in 2016, the government says. In a summit on migration in the Maltese capital Valletta in November 2015, EU leaders agreed with their African counterparts to set up a 1.8-billion-euro fund to help address the root causes of migration. But it remains unclear how much of those funds have actually been handed over, and what steps, if any, African nations have taken to limit migration flows. Another meeting in Valletta on Friday, this time an EU leaders' summit, is also set to discuss migration. But pressure is growing on the EU to act on what Germany has called "catastrophic" abuses of migrants' human rights in war-torn Libya, with reports of "concentration camp-like" conditions in smuggler-run camps. When confronted with change we tend to ask, Whats in it for me? Thats not to suggest that most of us are selfish. Its simply a fact that the first filter we use to assess change in our environment is personal. Its especially true when were asked to participate in some sort of change. In 2017, as a dairy industry we have been tasked with significant change, from the new version of the FARM program, consumer product demands, weather, new leadership in our CEO at WMMB and even milk price. The list is endless, but change is not what troubles most of us, because change is situational. Our challenge is not the change itself, but rather to validate the journey. When I first ran for the District 21 seat for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, I wanted to know what all dairy farmers what to know What are you doing with my checkoff? I wanted to know more about what was being done with my investment. And what better way to have my questions answered and help others understand than to be active on the board? At the first few meetings as a new board member, I was taken aback by how much our checkoff is accomplishing on not only a state level, but also on a national level. My aha moment and what really excites me to talk about is the work we are doing on a national level with Wisconsin cheese. We have seen a change in consumer trends. Our checkoff works to establish partnerships, influence the marketplace, and strives for a volume impact on our milk. This impact is really driven by our checkoff efforts in the both retail and foodservice markets. Did you know we have eight Regional Marketing Mangers across the country to ensure our Wisconsin cheese is available and identifiable in the deli or the dairy case in all 50 states? Or, that our checkoff efforts have expanded the experience of an all-time Wisconsin traditional dairy fare of cheese curds? Just this last year, Wisconsin fried cheese curds had surpassed french-fries sales at A&W restaurants nationwide. Even McDonalds offered Wisconsin fried curds on their menu for a limited time in their 300 locations in Wisconsin. There are countless stories of our checkoff efforts generating excitement, creating awareness, and ultimately educating consumers about our great Wisconsin dairy products. There is something to be said about branding Wisconsin dairy products with our Wisconsin cheese and Wisconsin Dairy logos. No matter the dairy product, WMMB is working to strengthen our industry and highlight not just our dairy products but the people, places and products that make Wisconsin Americas Dairyland. Wisconsin is the melting pot for all types of dairy operations, and my district of Vernon and Crawford counties is no different. As a dairy farmer we may differ in the number and types of cows we milk, even in how we farm, but we are all on this journey together. This journey will be filled with new challenges and questions, but above it all, remember our checkoff is a significant resource for helping us educate and communicate within our industry and with consumers. Its my hope as we look forward to 2017, each of us strive to be a champion for the Wisconsin dairy industry and be part of the change in some way. Rome (AFP) - Italy's Muslim community signed a pact with the government Wednesday pledging to "reject all forms of violence and terrorism", with prayers in mosques to be held in Italian. "It's a very important document which concerns the present and future of our country through inter-religious dialogue, starting from a basic principle: We may have different religions... but we are all Italian," said Interior Minister Marco Minniti. He added: "One of the essential points is that all the signatories have committed to reject all forms of violence and terrorism." Only a handful of Italian residents are known to have joined jihadist groups abroad and the country is not seen as having a significant problem with homegrown Islamist militancy. But the case of suspected Berlin truck bomber Anis Amri, believed to have radicalised in a Sicilian jail, focused attention on the issue in December. Under the deal, community groups representing around 70 percent of Italy's Muslims have pledged to hold Friday prayers in their mosques in Italian, or at least have them translated. The Italian Islamic Confederation, one of the signatories, hailed it as a "historic step for the formation of an Italian Islam", representing "a community that is open and integrated". It added the pact was important "at a difficult time marked by Islamophobic prejudice and the myth of... the incompatibility of Western culture with the Islamic faith". Italy is home to an estimated one to two million Muslims, mostly from immigrant communities. "I think the equation of immigration and terrorism is a grave mistake, but we cannot say there is no link between integration and terrorism -- we have seen this since Charlie Hebdo," Minniti said in reference to the 2015 jihadist attack on the French satirical magazine. In largely Catholic Italy, other religious groups often find it difficult to make their voices heard, but Muslims face a particularly complicated relationship with authorities as there is no single body representing the faith. Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese organisers of this month's Asian Winter Games are seeking alternative accommodation for Chinese and South Korean athletes after a blazing row over a hotelier's inflammatory war book, officials said Wednesday. The Tokyo-based APA hotel group, as well as Prince Hotels, will welcome some 2,300 athletes and supporters from more than 30 countries to Sapporo for the February 19-26 Games. But APA, one of Japan's largest hotel chains, has triggered an angry backlash from China for a book it places in guest rooms which claims the infamous 1937 Nanjing massacre committed by Japanese troops was a "fabrication." "We has received a request from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) that Chinese delegations not stay at the hotel," a Japanese official of the organising committee told AFP. "All the arrangements have to get the final approval from the OCA, so we will need to meet the request." The official, who asked not to be named, also said the South Korean delegations will likely stay at the Sapporo Prince Hotel, which can accommodate 500 people. "We have received a request from the South Korean side to find an alternative hotel, and we have informed the OCA of it," he said. Organisers and the OCA are hastily rearranging with a final decision on where the 230 Chinese and 230 South Koreans will stay to be made shortly, he added. The APA chain insisted it would not remove the controversial book, which also disputes Japan's wartime sex slavery in Korea, from its other hotels in Japan and abroad. But APA said Tuesday it would now "temporarily" remove all items from rooms in Sapporo, except those deemed acceptable by Games organisers, though it stressed the move was not due to external pressure. The Japanese official said that, regardless of the book row, team hotels were not supposed to keep "political and religious items" in guest rooms under the OCA rules. Story continues Toshio Motoya, chief executive of the APA hotel group, wrote the book under a pen name disputing Chinese claims that 300,000 people died in a six-week killing spree by the Japanese military. The Japanese invaded China in the 1930s and the two countries fought a full-scale war from 1937 until Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945. Some respected foreign academics estimate a lower number were killed in the Nanjing massacre, but there are few mainstream scholars who doubt that it took place. A bomb threat forced the evacuation Tuesday of a Jewish Community Center in Salt Lake City. Local police dispatched to the scene determined the threat was not credible after authorities and a bomb-sniffing dog scoured the building. Doug Hill, who works as a personal trainer at The I.J. & Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center, told local reporters that the employee who fielded the call containing the bomb threat at 9:24 a.m. local time told everyone to evacuate the building. The Jewish Community Center is open to people of all faiths. It also acts as a fitness center in addition to being a preschool and a kindergarten. After being alerted, roughly 300 people, including 220 students and 80 staff members hurried out of the I.J. & Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center and received accommodation at a nearby hospital where students connected with their parents. The center also received a bomb threat last week. The disturbance in Salt Lake City was among more than 35 other bomb threats made toward Jewish properties in at least 18 states in the past week, including a wave of threats Tuesday across the nation. A bomb threat prompted the evacuation Tuesday of the Boulder Jewish Community Center in Colorado. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla, California, was also evacuated Tuesday morning after receiving a bomb threat. And the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in White Fish Bay, Wisconsin, was forced to undergo "safe and calm, full evacuation of our facilities, after a bomb threat Tuesday, the president of the center, Mark Shapiro, told USA Today. Earlier this month, 27 centers in 17 states received threats on Jan. 18. On Jan. 9, 16 centers in nine states were hit. In response to recent bomb threats, the Anti-Defamation League issued a nationwide security advisory on Jan. 18 to Jewish institutions. Though none of the threats were considered credible by police, the social justice group implored Jewish authorities to take these threats seriously [and] to review ... security procedures and remain in close contact with law enforcement. Story continues The FBI has also launched an investigation into the threats against Jewish communities. "The FBI and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division are investigating possible civil rights violations in connection with threats to Jewish Community Centers across the country," The FBI said in a statement. There were 701 reported incidents of hate crimes in the week following President Donald Trumps election, according to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center that took data between Nov. 9 and Nov. 16, 2016. Roughly 53.3 percent of religiously motivated hate crimes were directed toward Jews in 2015, according to The Jerusalem Post on Nov. 15, 2016. The 664 hate crimes against Jewish people in 2015 was a 9 percent increase from the amount in 2014. Related Articles Following Trumps prime time announcement of his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, late night jokester Jimmy Kimmel spoofed the whole spectacle. Read: Report: Anthony Weiner May Face Child Porn Charges After Exchanging Lewd Messages With Girl, 15 I have been making a lot of jokes about this presidency becoming a reality show," the host said on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night. "I didnt know that this reality show would become a reality. Kimmel then said that Trump Ryan Seacrest-ed his choice for Supreme Court by describing how it came down to Gorsuch and Pennsylvania Judge Thomas Hardiman as his pick. Kimmel then crafted a skit where he spoofed the prime time announcement where he took an old clip of Celebrity Apprentice and fired the likes of Lil John, Meat Loaf, Gary Busey, and hired Gorsuch. Trump has been giving the late night comics material with his antics and policies. Jon Stewart made a surprise appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to poke fun at Trumps rhetoric, clothing, and his performance in his first days as president. Stewart came on to blast Trumps executive orders by mocking him. "I, Donald J. Trump, have instructed my staff to speak only in bulls***," Stewart gagged as he read from a pretend executive order. Bulls***, all the time. Immersion. Its the only way to be fluent." Read: Melania Trump Spotted for the First Time Since Inauguration, Avoids Manhattan Protests He then poked fun at Trumps pomposity, saying: I Donald J. Trump want no, deserve not just your respect but your adoration. Parades with the tanks and the synchronized dancing. And why cant they train 10,000 doves to spell out Trump in the clouds? How hard can it be? Theyre already flying!" On Stewarts old show, The Daily Show, host Trevor Noah said Trump "made the West Wing feel less like an office and more like Walmart on Black Friday. Story continues The South African comedian then blasted the presidents immigration travel ban and the firing of Attorney General Sally Yates. Watch: Ivanka Trump Slammed for Being 'Tone Deaf' After Tweeting 'Date Night' Photo Related Articles: A scrawny millennial with gaunt features and a studious frown, Joshua Wong looks like he'd struggle to take on a large steak, let alone the might of Communist China. Yet the bespectacled activist is the unlikely hero to a generation in Hong Kong, where he led a movement inspiring hundreds of thousands to join his cause for elections free from Beijing's interference. At the age of just 17, he spearheaded mass blockades that brought parts of the Asian financial center to a standstill in 2014, sparked by restrictions from Beijing on how Hong Kong's next leader will be chosen. Hailed as one of the world's most influential figures by Time, Fortune and Foreign Policy magazines, he is now the focus of an award-winning Netflix documentary due for release later this year. "We hope people around the world recognize that social movements can make things happen. They can make things change," Wong, now 20, told AFP by telephone from Hong Kong. "People may be depressed or downhearted with the political situation in their own country, but it's still optimistic to see hope and seek change by street activism." "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower" tells the story of how Wong became one of China's most notorious dissidents after the mainland Communist Party backtracked on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong. - 'David and Goliath' - Critics say the 79-minute documentary could not have picked a better moment, with political engagement piqued in the West as protesters take to the streets to decry the policies of new US leader Donald Trump. "You have a lone teenager taking on China and it's one of the things that attracted me to the story. The odds don't get much bigger. Talk about David and Goliath," Los Angeles-based director Joe Piscatella said in an interview. At the age of just 14, Wong campaigned successfully for Hong Kong to drop a pro-China "National Education" program, rallying a crowd of 120,000 to his cause. Story continues He was one of the 78 people arrested in September 2014 during another giant pro-democracy protest after China reneged on a pledge made during the handover to give Hong Kongers the right to choose their next leader. Umbrellas were used to shield activists from waves of police pepper spray, giving the nascent "Umbrella Movement" its banal yet iconic symbol of resistance. Galvanized by Wong's passion, the Umbrella Movement made headlines around the world, but was ultimately unable to shake up Hong Kong politics after weeks of protest. Wong continues to campaign under the banner of a new political party, Demosisto, for a referendum to determine who will rule Hong Kong after the "one party, two systems" principle codified in Chinese agreements with Britain expires in 30 years. "I'm still hopeful for the young generation here. In Hong Kong, more young people may be legislators in the future. I would say that this is just a starting point," Wong said. - 'That's my life' - Born to middle class Christian parents Grace and Roger Wong in 1996, Wong began his life of activism at age 13 with a protest against plans for a high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and the mainland. It was here that Piscatella's producer, documentary filmmaker Matthew Torne, first encountered Wong and, seeing something extraordinary in the youngster, started his camera rolling. "The first time I met Joshua, I was in awe... He's kind of a conundrum in that, when he walks into a room, he's not somebody you notice right away," Piscatella said. "You give him a microphone and a bullhorn and there's a change in him where suddenly he just becomes this other person where he's passionate and has this ability to connect with a large group of people." "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower" was picked up by Netflix and awarded the audience prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where Wong attended screenings, describing the support for the film as "unbelievable." Since the end of the Umbrella Movement, Wong has been denied entry into Malaysia and Thailand, attacked in the street and abused by pro-China protesters in Taiwan. But he takes it all in his stride. "That's my life," he shrugs, describing the drawbacks of his high profile, with a quiet insouciance, as "inconvenient" and vowing to fight on. "We didn't win in the last battle," he said, "but I'm still optimistic for winning in the final war." Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) - In the snowy foreground of a brand new steel and glass building in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, a dancer in national dress stands frozen in a dramatic flourish, her body arching towards the sky. The cast-iron abstract sculpture stands at the entrance of the second major ballet theatre to have opened in the new capital in the last few years. Together they point to the energy-rich country's ambition to stamp its own mark on an art form inherited from its Soviet past. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union 25 years ago, ballet has enjoyed mixed fortunes in the Muslim-majority Central Asian region's newly independent countries. Much of Kazakhstan's multi-million-dollar ballet boom has been funded by the government, but private sponsors and international partners have also stepped in. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 76, famously announced in 2013 that "a country that builds factories is thinking years ahead... a country that builds theatres is thinking in terms of centuries." At the Astana Ballet Theatre's opening last year, stars of its troupe wowed spectators in a production curated by Brazilian resident choreographer Ricardo Amarante. "The artistic level here is very strong: they can do Kazakh national dance, classical ballet and contemporary," the neo-classical specialist, who has been working with the troupe for the last year, told AFP. "The support from the government is there and now it is important local ballet keeps its mind open to new styles to add, to build on, its classical foundations," he added. Next door to the 800-seat auditorium is the first certified professional choreography academy recognised throughout Central Asia and unveiled in September. Three years earlier, the city's largest theatre, Astana Opera, also with its own ballet troupe, opened at a cost of $320 million (297 million euros). The building is considered one of the architectural showpieces of Astana, the capital since 1997. Story continues - 'Space exploration and ballet' - The money being poured into ballet and other arts, even as Kazakhstan suffers an oil-linked economic downturn, testifies to the enduring appeal of cultural tastes popular in the Soviet era. Russian dancer Galina Ulanova, widely considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time, has helped drive the development of Kazakh ballet. Ulanova taught and danced in the country's former capital, Almaty, during World War II after being evacuated from the Kirov ballet in Leningrad, the former name for Saint Petersburg. Under the USSR, ballet became particularly popular in major cities, where Russian-speaking elites helped buttress a cultural agenda driven by Moscow. Now ballet is "equally popular among Russian-speakers and Kazakh-speakers" in a country where over a fifth of the population is ethnic Russian, says Svetlana Dzhalmagambetova, a former senator who sat on the parliament's social and cultural development committee. "The Soviet Union did two things very well: space exploration and ballet," said Kazakh-speaking Zhanat Zhunusbekova, after watching Amarante's ballet "Diversity" at the Astana Ballet Theatre. "We used to have to go to Russia to see a ballet like that. Now we have it here," she added. - Pre-Soviet national culture - After the end of the Soviet era in 1991, state funding for the arts shrivelled up across the region, which suffered a protracted economic slump. In the resource-poor countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan it has never recovered to pre-Soviet levels, driving artists abroad in search of work. "They earn no more than $140 per month," Aigul Muratalieva, a teacher at Kyrgyzstan's main ballet school, told AFP referring to the country's ballet dancers. "They gain experience here then go abroad. Our repertoire has greatly diminished. We have no soloists to take on the leading roles in important productions." In other countries a new emphasis on pre-Soviet national culture has emerged at the expense of the classical arts. Turkmenistan's authoritarian first president Saparmurat Niyazov banned ballet along with opera, insisting both were out of synch with the country's "national mentality". - Keeping ballet at home - During early independence, Kazakh ballet artists would also leave for foreign countries where their classical training was appreciated and they were better paid. Now, increasingly, the best ones stay. The prima ballerina of Astana Opera, Aigerim Beketayeva, starred at the London Coliseum in 2014 in popular Russian choreographer Boris Eifman's production of Rodin. But like her international award-winning male counterpart Bakhtiyar Adamzhan, Beketayeva has remained attached to the Astana Opera troupe, which she joined after being offered a flat in the capital by the government. "Often when you watch ballet artists you can see the effort, their straining for perfection," Gulnara Zhumaseitova, a ballet expert at the Institute of Literature and Arts in Almaty, told AFP. "But Beketayeva is so effortless and natural," she said. Zhumaseitova said however that the government must use the new academy to further develop "national dance that represents our culture and traditions" as well as find its ballet niche on the world stage. "National productions based on our dances are something people might come from abroad to see. Currently, they can still watch a better version of Swan Lake in London or Paris," she said. Henin-Beaumont (France) (AFP) - France's National Front (FN) is promoting the depressed former coalmining town of Henin-Beaumont as a showcase for far-right rule ahead of this year's election, with residents praising Marine Le Pen's party for "keeping its promises". In 2014, the town of terraced houses in northern France was the first to elect an FN mayor in a single round of voting -- one of several local victories that Le Pen aims to convert into an upset in this year's presidential election. Much of the growth of her anti-immigrant, anti-EU party has been in towns like Henin-Beaumont, where corruption scandals and mass layoffs have turned voters against mainstream politics. Three years after they sent the scandal-hit Socialist Party packing here, residents of the town are still smitten with Mayor Steeve Briois, the grandson of a miner. "Like a lot of people here I used to be a leftist but I switched camp and I'm not ashamed to say it. We were betrayed, we were robbed. This mayor, he does what he says he will do," said Elisabeth Develter, a retired supermarket worker. Develter was among over 1,000 people who attended the mayor's New Year reception on Sunday, when Le Pen was guest of honour. In a speech, Briois reeled off his promises fulfilled, from repairing pavements to organising a Christmas market to try to revive business in a town where unemployment is running at 18 percent. Each action is loudly applauded. "Bravo!", some shouted. - 'The people's interest' - Le Pen is riding high in the polls for the first round of the election in April but is currently forecast to be soundly beaten in a May runoff by either centrist Emmanuel Macron or the conservative Republicans candidate Francois Fillon. The National Front leader has held up Britain's vote to quit the EU and Donald Trump's rise to the White House as proof that pollsters can get it wrong and that her nationalist ideas have gone mainstream. Story continues As proof that voters have nothing to fear from the FN, she points to the affable Briois. "Steeve is not at all intolerant, he doesn't politicise things or govern in an ideological way, he acts in the people's interest," she told AFP. Bastien, a 32-year-old forklift operator in Henin-Beaumont who did not wish to give his full name, said he was tempted by a Le Pen presidency, on the basis of the party's performance in the town. "If they keep their promises at the local level they will do so at the national level," he said. In the 2012 presidential election Le Pen topped the first-round vote in Henin-Beaumont with 35 percent. But the lingering stigma around the party bequeathed by her FN founder father Jean-Marie, a convicted anti-Semite, held her back nationally, leaving her trailing in third behind the Socialist Party's Francois Hollande and rightwing incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Since then Le Pen's campaign to undemonise the party has begun paying off, with the FN topping France's vote to the European Parliament in 2014 and winning control of a dozen French towns the same year. But a 2016 poll still showed a majority of voters rejecting her ideas, making it difficult for her to secure the 50-plus percent she needs to win a presidential runoff. - 'Jekyll and Hyde' - To win them over Le Pen has attempted to soften her image, adopting a pure red rose as her campaign symbol and posting pictures of herself with her cats on Instagram. But opposition members and NGOs in Henin-Beaumont say the party's manicured image masks a more disturbing reality. They point to a "Migrant-free Town" vote organised by Briois last year -- without the town having been asked to take in any of migrants pouring into Europe -- as proof of a hardline agenda. "Creating fear to garner support is textbook populism," Socialist councillor Stephane Filipovitch said. "Here the FN's speciality is charity, but only for French nationals." For Greens councillor Marine Tondelier, the FN is a "Jekyll and Hyde" party, all smiles with supporters while hounding NGOs, councillors and local journalists who are critical of it. "They isolate people who resist and they're quite good at it," she said. In Henin-Beaumont, the dissonant voices remain in the minority but Le Pen still faces a battle to win over many moderates, who see the FN as a threat to democracy. "I hope Marine will be president," said Michele Facon, a retired car plant worker, while admitting she held out little hope. "She will never get past the second round. The FN still scares people." United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Kenya has agreed to take part in a UN regional force for South Sudan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday, three months after Nairobi angrily withdrew its troops from the country. Kenya pulled its peacekeepers from South Sudan and announced it would not contribute to the planned regional force after Guterres' predecessor, Ban Ki-moon, fired the Kenyan commander of the peacekeeping force. The commander was sacked following a report that showed UN peacekeepers failed to protect civilians during heavy fighting in Juba in July. Guterres told reporters that he had "reached full agreement with Kenya in order for Kenya to participate in the regional protection force" to be deployed in Juba. The UN Security Council decided in August to deploy the 4,000-strong regional force to bolster its peacekeeping mission, but the plan has been bogged down in delays and bureaucratic hurdles. Guterres returned from a series of meetings with regional leaders on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, saying that peace efforts on South Sudan were back on track. The UN chief, who also met with President Salva Kiir, said the African Union's mediator for South Sudan, Mali's former president Alpha Oumar Konare, would led the new diplomatic push, backed by the United Nations. The IGAD regional bloc and the African Union have made little headway in efforts to end the three-year war in South Sudan, one of Africa's worst conflicts, that has killed tens of thousands of people. Guterres will deliver a report to the Security Council on Friday on his diplomatic efforts on South Sudan. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder is working to divest his assets from his fast food empire so he can be confirmed to the Cabinet post that enforces protections for American workers, a spokesman said Wednesday. Puzder is CEO of fast food empire CKE Restaurants Inc., and his spokesman George Thompson said divesting assets is a "complex process" since the company is privately held. It was the first time that Puzder has acknowledged he is trying to avoid conflicts of interest by fully separating himself from CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns such fast food chains as Hardee's and Carl's Jr. CKE has said that Puzder would step down as CEO once confirmed. "I am fully committed to becoming secretary of labor and I am looking forward to my hearing," Puzder said Wednesday in a statement to The Associated Press. Puzder's nomination has long been assailed by Democrats and their allies who question his fitness for the post. The nominee has not yet submitted the required ethics paperwork laying out how he intends to avoid conflicts of interest while in office. His confirmation hearing has been postponed indefinitely pending the receipt of that document. Thompson suggested the delay is due in part to the divestiture process. Under federal law, that process is overseen by the Office of Government Ethics, which typically requires Cabinet appointees to sell off assets that pose a "substantial" conflict of interest with their official duties. Appointees who divest can also set up a blind trust for those assets, a process which also requires the office's sign off. Democrats on the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee, which will vote on the nomination, have raised questions about CKE's worker protections on Puzder's watch, releasing complains by workers who say they were shabbily treated. Puzder's company also laid off about 20 employees in 2010 and hired a company in the Philippines to run its technology help desk. Outsourcing is a legal and not uncommon practice for American companies, but one Trump has railed against. Story continues ___ Associated Press writer Chad Day contributed to this report. ___ Follow Kellman at http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman The strikingly short Bill was met with protest from angry Labour MPs: Reuters The Labour Party is wrong to be supporting the bill to trigger Article 50 on both moral and political grounds. Most Labour MPs support continued membership of the EU. If they genuinely believe that the UK will be economically and politically worse off if we leave Europe, they should vote accordingly. Yes, the Labour Party will no doubt be attacked for failing to recognise the will of the people, but it should make the case that out of a hard Brexit and no Brexit, the only sensible choice is no Brexit. They should also explain that MPs are representatives, not delegates and that if they so wish their constituents can remove them at the next election, but in all conscience they, as Labour MPs, cannot support something they consider to be totally detrimental to the wellbeing of the whole nation. Politically the Labour Party should think in terms of the long game. At the next General Election, it is unlikely that the full impact of Brexit will have been felt. Voters swinging away from the Conservatives will either join UKIP as a protest against the too slow progress of Brexit or the Lib Dems, as a protest against the whole notion of leaving Europe. Even setting aside the issue of their leadership, why would anyone vote for Labour? In the longer term, if Brexit turns out to be a success, then the Tories will rightly claim the credit for their forthright strategy and approach. If it terms out to be a failure, the Conservatives will be able to argue that the Labour Party also supported Brexit, thus absolving themselves from a large portion of the guilt. Either way Labour does badly in the 2025 General Election. If they oppose the Article 50 trigger however, then in the former scenario it is unlikely that Brexit will have been such a success that the Labour Party wont be able to make ground by attacking the Tories over the funding for the NHS, education or social service provision. If Brexit proves a disaster, not only will it put clear water between them and the Tories, but also allow them to claim the moral high ground in that in 2017, they put country before party. Given the Conservative majority, Article 50 will be triggered anyway, but either way, by voting against it now, Labour has a chance of doing much better in the 2025 General Election, than it will if it just resignedly follows the Tory line. Story continues M Harris Grimsby No Brexit is better than a bad Brexit Theresa May is doing a wonderful job, striving to keep us in the EU by showing the dystopian vision of life after Brexit. An authoritarian executive bent on using the royal prerogative like Charles I on steroids, then seeking parliamentary approval when the courts intervene. Then, following the divorce from Europe we walk the streets looking for the comfort of a trade deal with someone and end up prostituting ourselves to Trump's America. I can hardly contain my excitement! No Brexit is better than a bad Brexit. Andy Wilson Winscombe Canada needs to be realistic not every Canadian is liberal I left the UK for Canada a few years ago and I am now a Canadian citizen. Though the risk is currently small, I am increasingly fearful of widespread politically motivated armed turmoil erupting south of the 49th parallel and severely disturbing peace in Canada. The US is polarised beyond recognition, its population angry and distrustful, and they are armed to the teeth with more guns than people. What means does Canada have to prevent an armed hatred of liberal values infiltrating North to supply and stir up such fringe sentiments that exist here? Such attitudes do exist in Canada as evidenced by the tragic events in Quebec City this week. This is somewhat ironic to consider when the topical conversations are about Mexican walls, refugees and Muslim travel bans to protect the USA from violent outsiders. But remote as it is, the risk to Canada cannot be dismissed. K Tolley Toronto In the aftermath of the deadly shooting at a Quebec City mosque, student colleagues at Laval University stated that the confessed gunman was a Quebec nationalist who supported the immigration policies of Marine Le Pen, the populist presidential candidate in upcoming French elections. Some media suggest that the immigration ban from seven predominantly Muslim countries, recently authorised by the new administration in Washington, may have played a part in the gunmans planning. I havent seen much comment on policies of successive Quebec provincial governments, but polls show that mistrust in Muslims in La Belle Province is about double that of the rest of Canada. In 2010 the Quebec Liberal Party government of Jean Charest tabled Bill 94 to have women remove face veils if working or doing business in government offices. When the Parti Quebecois won a minority government under Pauline Marois in 2012, they went a step further and tried to introduce the Quebec Charter of Values for removing so-called ostentatious" religious symbols; hijab scarves and niqab veils were the real bone of contention behind the proposed Charter. During the federal election in 2015, the Conservative Party of Canadas Stephen Harper used the niqab debate as a wedge issue to try and regain voters in Quebec, who had supported Jack Laytons NDP four years earlier. So, before pointing fingers at populist leaders in Europe and USA, maybe a little review of Canadian politicians closer to home would be in order. Look at lhomme dans le miroir, as they would say in Quebec City. Bernie Smith Canada America the UK an apology I believe the people of the UK deserve an apology for the actions of President Trump. The protests have spread to your shores and I fully understand why 1.5 million UK citizens petitioned your government to cancel his state visit. I am deeply embarrassed by the Trump White House's rude, hallucinatory omniscience and omnipotence in warning that the president will likely "erupt" if Prince Charles pushes him on green issues or lectures on climate change. Trump has wrapped himself in an impenetrable cocoon wherein facts and the laws of nature are irrelevant and subject to elimination by executive order. I have long admired Prince Charles for his crusade to protect the environment and address the causes of climate change. In stark contrast, the US President is embarking on an agenda that includes threats to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord and a climate future-destroying rampage of fossil-fuel production, transport, use and export. Please stand with the many millions in the US who are protesting and will continue to protest the assaults of our government on science, scientists, the environment, the climate, and the future of all of us. Carol Steinhar Madison, USA Hurrah for Ken Clarke, the only Tory MP with a backbone I always voted Conservative across all types of elections. During this epoch there have been a handful (only) of MPs who have impressed me most of the time. The one who stands out I must say for his integrity backbone and basic common sense is Ken Clarke! Now here we are in the second month of 2017 and I can state without fear of a U-turn I shall not be voting Conservative again but I hold Ken Clarke in even higher esteem than ever. Robert Boston Kingshill Many of the early settlers who came to Coon Prairie anticipated a land of milk and honey that offered a life free from trouble. The first settler, Evan Gullard, had led them to think so. Gullard had written a letter to his friends and relatives in Norway, urging them to come to America. In that letter he wrote, I am so completely at peace with my new native country that I would not return to Norway even if I had a large property there, debt free. Thus, when they stepped off the ship onto American soil, they assumed that most of their problems were behind them. Little did they realize that they were about to board another ship hardship. The Prairie wasted no time in extending its harsh welcome. We sometimes speak of three basic physical needs food, clothing, and shelter. Each is necessary for human security Providing food was a great hardship for those pioneers. When they stepped off the boat, they were already hungry, some of them having been at sea for almost three months with limited rations. Many of them arrived at Coon Prairie in the fall of the year so they were unable to raise any food until the next year. And they had little money to buy provisions because their funds had been spent on passage to America. So they had to find jobs. About the only winter employment available was in the timber forests at Black River Falls. Toward the end of October men would leave, each with a sack on his back holding the bare necessities. Then they trudged 100 miles through the wilderness to Black River Falls. Syvert Galstad, recently widowed, shouldered not only his sack, but also his 6-year-old daughter. He had no relatives to care for her at home, and the lumber camp had no day care, so the little girl stayed in the bunkhouse alone each day. Logging in the bitter winter was hard, but the income helped the settlers to eat until the next years crop. My great-grandfather, Torsten Unseth, who immigrated to Westby with his children after losing his wife, shared in those struggles for food. With little to eat other than potatoes, he decided to acquire some flour, but the nearest store was in Prairie du Chien, 60 miles away. He hitched his yoke of oxen to the wagon and drove the rough trail to Prairie du Chien. After several days, he happily returned. Envisioning pancakes for supper, his daughter ran to the wagon and eagerly climbed aboard to get the precious flour. When she opened the barrel the young woman broke into tears. Astonished, Torsten asked why she was crying. She wailed, If only you had bought some flour. He assured her that the large barrel in front of her was full of flour. Thats not flour, she replied. Its sugar. I cant make pancakes out of sugar. Food hardships came in many different ways. The second hardship for those early immigrants was that of providing clothing for the family. The settlers had little money for clothes. On Sundays, for church, the men wore clean work clothes, and the women wore whatever they deemed to be their best. Without nearby clothing stores, the only option for childrens garments was sewing them at home. As families usually had many children, sewing and mending would have been a major task. Securing shelter was a third hardship. Sometimes newcomers had to stay with friends until their own house could be erected. The John Bergum family, who came to Coon Prairie in 1850, stayed with the Hans Neperud family for a time. The Neperuds had many children, and their house was small, so there was no room for the Bergums to sleep inside. They improvised by parking their wagon beside the house and covering the wagon box to make sleeping quarters. When summer came the Bergums built a house of poplar logs, with unpeeled birch rafters laid a foot apart. The rafters were then covered with sod. The settlers furnished their cabin with tables and stools made of poplar and assembled with wooden pegs. Some homes were even more rustic. When Tjostol Oium, a bachelor, arrived in 1851, he chose a spot 2 miles west of Westby, then dug a cave in the hillside. He installed a door at the front and a chimney on the top. His simple house was cheap, fireproof, and warm in winter and cool in summer. Tjostol neglected to write home, so after a year his brother Iver sailed to America. Iver traveled to the Prairie and built a cabin in Timber Coulee. While hunting one day he saw smoke rising in the southwest, so he followed the smoke till he came to a door in the hillside. He knocked on the door, but no one answered, so he stepped inside. A man lay sleeping on a crude bed. It was his brother Tjostol. Tjostol awakened, stared in astonishment, and exclaimed, Iver, how in the world did you find your way here? Was this amazing reunion coincidence? Or, perhaps, a miracle? We cannot know for certain, but I lean toward miracle. We know that those first Prairie settlers were people of fortitude and people of faith. It seems reasonable to conclude that the grace of God helped them to survive and thrive in those harsh days. BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) The Latest on the Missouri execution of a man convicted of killing a woman and her two children in 1998 (all times local): 8:30 p.m. A Missouri inmate who was executed for killing two children and their mother mouthed "I love you" to his brother and sister-in-law as he was being put to death. A Department of Corrections spokesman says Mark Christeson was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST, eight minutes after the lethal injection. The February 1998 killings of 36-year-old Susan Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle, traumatized the rural area around the south-central Missouri town of Vichy. Harley Brouk, the half-sister of the two children who were killed, said, "There's not a day that goes by that I do not miss them, and I wish that they were here." She fought through tears to read a poem that Adrian had written not long before her death. "Our love will always be there even when fate is not fair," the poem reads in part. ___ 7:10 p.m. A Missouri man has been executed for killing a woman and her two children nearly 19 years ago. Mark Christeson was put to death Tuesday, Missouri's first execution since May. Christeson's fate was sealed when neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor Gov. Eric Greitens would intervene. Christeson was 18 when he and a 17-year-old cousin, Jesse Carter, broke into the rural Vichy, Missouri, home of Susan Brouk intending to steal her Ford Bronco in 1998. Christeson raped Brouk with her 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in the house. When one of the children recognized Carter, the teenagers drove the family to a pond and killed them. They fled to California where they were captured eight days later. Carter is serving life in prison after agreeing to testify against Christeson. ___ 6:20 p.m. Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has denied clemency for a man convicted of killing a woman and her two children in 1998. In a release Tuesday, the Republican said he "thoughtfully considered the facts" of Mark Christeson's case and chose not to go against what the jury and state and federal courts decided. Story continues The U.S. Supreme Court also on Tuesday refused to halt the scheduled execution of Christeson. He's set to die Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre for the killings of Susan Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle. Christeson was 18 when he and a 17-year-old cousin attacked Brouk at her rural home in the south-central Missouri town of Vichy, then killed Brouk and her two children. Christeson's cousin testified against him and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. ___ 5:50 p.m. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to halt the scheduled Missouri execution of a man convicted of killing a woman and her two children in 1998. The court issued its ruling without comment Tuesday. Mark Christeson is scheduled to die Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre for the killings of Susan Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle. The main issue raised in Christeson's appeal is that his trial lawyers were inept, noting they missed a 2005 deadline for a federal appeal, which is a standard procedure in death penalty cases. Christeson was 18 when he and a 17-year-old cousin attacked Brouk at her rural home in the south-central Missouri town of Vichy, then killed Brouk and her two children. Christeson's cousin testified against him and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. ___ 12 a.m. A Missouri man convicted of killing a woman and her two children in 1998 has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution. Mark Christeson is scheduled for lethal injection Tuesday evening. If carried out, it will be Missouri's first execution since May. The main issue raised in Christeson's appeal Monday is that his trial lawyers were inept, noting they missed a 2005 deadline for a federal appeal, which is a standard procedure in death penalty cases. Christeson was 18 when he and a 17-year-old cousin attacked Susan Brouk at her rural home in Vichy, then killed Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter and her 9-year-old son. The cousins were caught after fleeing to California. Christeson's cousin testified against him and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. By Aidan Lewis TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's U.N.-backed government has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary ban on its nationals and those of six other countries entering the United States, which put in question attendance at a high-profile conference on Libya planned in Washington for mid-February. The executive order by Trump comes at a time of uncertainty over U.S. policy in Libya, which remains mired in the chaos that followed the NATO-backed 2011 uprising against long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), was strongly supported by former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, but has struggled to assert its authority in Tripoli and beyond. Factions in eastern Libya aligned with a rival government and with powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar welcomed Trump's election, hoping for more support for their anti-Islamist stance. Trump's travel ban has angered some Libyans, including students studying or planning to study in the United States. GNA Foreign Minister Mohammed Siyala called it an "unjust decision" that should be reviewed. "These actions represent racial discrimination on the basis of religion and are incompatible with human rights," he told local TV station Libya's Channel. Authorities in eastern Libya have made no formal comment, though a member of the eastern parliament, Youssef al-Fakhri, said that despite Libya's political and security problems, the measure was "not appropriate". The order appeared to put in jeopardy the participation of Libyans invited to a Feb. 16 conference titled "Libya-U.S. Relations 2017: New Vision, Hope and Opportunities". The event, co-hosted by the National Council on U.S.-Libya Relations, lists Libyan speakers including two former prime ministers and the head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC). Several speakers are loyal to or connected with eastern-based factions. "We are clearly concerned with the risk of denial of entrance to some of our key speakers and participants from Libya," Hani Shennib, the council's president, said in an email. "However, we are working diligently with authorities here in the USA and we are hopeful that a resolution to facilitate entrance of our conference participants will present in the next 2-3 days." A GNA spokesman, Ashraf al-Tulti, told Reuters Libya's foreign ministry would request exceptions from the U.S. Department of State for Libyan attendees. Exceptions to the travel ban can be made on a case by case basis, and diplomatic visas are exempt. Tulti, who was invited to attend the Washington conference and holds a diplomatic passport, said he was still waiting for a visa. One Libyan speaker said she had a visa, but was still investigating whether she would be able to attend. Under the order released on Friday, travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are banned from entering the United States for at least 90 days. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said some countries "may not be taken off the list anytime soon, if they are countries that are in various states of collapse". (additional reporting by Hani Amara, Ahmed Elumami and Ayman al-Warfalli; Editing by Toby Chopra) BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is leading a delegation to France to promote international travel in a country with strong ties to Louisiana. Nungesser's office announced the trip Tuesday, two days after the delegation arrived in Paris. The visit ends Thursday. Besides Nungesser, the lieutenant governor's office says nearly two dozen tourism leaders and three state lawmakers are in the delegation. Nungesser spokesman Barry Landry says the trip cost nearly $23,000 for the lieutenant governor and his staff. The Louisiana group planned to meet with travel bloggers, tour operators, local media and mayors of Paris and Lyon. Nungesser's office says the trip is an opportunity to promote Baton Rouge's bicentennial this year and New Orleans' tricentennial next year. French visitors are among the largest group of international travelers to Louisiana. Abu Dhabi (AFP) - The Lufthansa chief on Wednesday reiterated the German carrier's opposition to state subsidies for airlines, as he signed a cooperation deal with Abu Dhabi's Etihad, one of the main Gulf carriers accused of receiving government support. "It is not a secret that Lufthansa has always been and remains an opponent of state subsidies," Carsten Spohr said at a joint press conference in Abu Dhabi with Etihad chief James Hogan. He said a partnership should be based on "openness and fairness", while adding that two successful groups could have their differences and still become "successful partners". The two carriers said Wednesday that a codeshare agreement had taken effect, and they also sealed a $100-million global catering accord and signed an engineering memorandum of understanding. Western legacy carriers have long accused the three fast-growing Gulf carriers, Etihad and Dubai's Emirates and Qatar Airways, of receiving state subsidies that give them an edge over competitors. Spohr told reporters he would like to see the rules of the World Trade Organisation applied in aviation, "as we see that for other global industries". However, relationships between governments and airlines appeared likely to grow as "we see a wave of protectionism around the world", he said. Spohr, who has in the past dismissed speculation that Etihad would buy a share in Lufthansa, said the airline industry needed "rationalisation" with a "healthy relationship between offer and demand". The German carrier agreed in December to lease 38 aircraft from struggling Air Berlin, in which Etihad has a 29-percent stake. Under the outgoing Hogan, Etihad pursued an ambitious expansion policy through equity partnerships in other airlines. It saw Etihad spend hundreds of millions on stakes in foreign airlines, including acquisitions of 49 percent of Alitalia, 19.9 percent of Virgin Australia and three percent of Irish carrier Aer Lingus that it offloaded in 2015. Story continues Some of the investments have been costly, however, with Etihad having had to keep Air Berlin alive with regular cash injections. Etihad, which announced last month that Hogan would step down in the second half of 2017 after more than a decade at the helm, has said the Abu Dhabi-based carrier will review its strategy. On Wednesday, Hogan defended his policies, saying Etihad and its shareholders continued to support an expansion strategy that the carrier would "fine-tune". "Partnerships are at the heart of our strategy," he said. The White House on Monday continued to defend its controversial executive order related to travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and downplayed concerns it will make the United States less safe. After a weekend of confusion at airports and protests across the country, White House spokesman Sean Spicer fielded numerous questions about President Donald Trump 's order, maintaining that Trump signed it to secure the country. He also downplayed the detention of travelers at U.S. airports, arguing that they were "temporarily inconvenienced for the safety of us all." "I think the president's No. 1 goal is the protection and safety of the United States and its people," Spicer said. The order indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the country. It also suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocks all citizens of the seven largely Muslim countries from entering for 90 days. Many Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have criticized the White House for the planning and application of the order, as some lawful visa holders were detained coming into the United States. Others have argued it will prove counterproductive in the fight against terrorism, saying it will send a message that the U.S. does not accept Muslims. Spicer did not directly answer a question about critics, including lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, arguing that the order would play into terrorist rhetoric and make the U.S. less safe. He contended that some people may not have "read exactly what the order said and are reading it through misguided media reports." Spicer said that 109 people out of the 325,000 travelers who entered the country on the first day of the order were detained. He did not say how many people were affected since. "I'm sorry that some folks may have had to wait a little while," Spicer said. Trump cited the same statistic in a tweet defending the travel order on Monday morning. He instead blamed a Delta Air Lines computer problem, protesters and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the problems at airports. Story continues A judge blocked part of Trump's order late Saturday, preventing the U.S. from deporting people with valid visas or who are legally authorized to enter the country. The White House and Department of Homeland Security, however, have said the order remains in full force. Some of the criticism of the order has focused on what appeared to be quick application of it. One report indicated that the DHS secretary only found out about it as Trump signed it. Spicer maintained that "all appropriate agencies and individuals that needed to be a part of the process were." More From CNBC Blizzards and ice storms and cold, oh my! Winter weather will be the theme of the February program at the museum. Come share your own stories about Vernon County winters, and listen to reminiscences written by local authors, including Ben Logan. Vintage photographs of Vernon Countys wild winter weather will also be on display. The program will begin at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the museum. Programs are free and open to the public. This will also be the occasion of the Vernon County Historical Societys annual business meeting, when VCHS members discuss and vote on the 2017 budget. Refreshments will be served. Winter is a good time to work on your family history, with the days being too short and cold to do much outside. If you need some assistance or inspiration with your genealogy projects, consider attending the museums monthly genealogy class. This class is starting up again in February after its holiday break. The next session will be held Thursday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. at the museum. The guest teacher for the day will be Blaine Hedberg, president of the Westby Area Historical Society and former director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center in Madison. Blaine will speak about the use of Norwegian census records in doing family history. He will also describe the work that Westbys historical society is doing to index its old church records and cemetery records. New students are welcome to join the genealogy class at any time. Vernon County Historical Society members may attend for free, and nonmembers are asked to pay $5 per class. All programs and classes are held in the museums wheelchair-accessible conference room. Gov. Scott Walkers 2017-19 state budget, "Wisconsin Works for Everyone" plan is expected to be released next week and includes a welfare reform package, which would affect thousands of people state wide as well as in Vernon County. Walkers proposal includes new welfare work requirement package where parents of children aged 6-18 years old, who work fewer than 80 hours a month could face food stamp benefit cuts. Walker's proposal, which met with immediate backlash from Democrats who don't have the votes to stop it, would also require adults with children between age 6 and 18 to attend job training and search for work five days a week. Details about the reform package are expected to be released on Feb. 8 and until then Pamela Eitland, the Vernon County Director of Human Services said everything is speculation and many steps have to fall into place before any of the proposed reforms can be implemented. Eitland said the devil is in the details and at this point the unknowns outweigh anything else. What we do know in regards to Vernon County is that there are currently 5,647 people who utilize public assistance and the Food/Share allotment per month totals $283,500. Under current state law, only childless adults utilizing the Food/Share program have to meet the work requirements and after three months of noncompliance they lose their Food/Share benefits. Since that law requiring childless adults to work at least 80 hours a month took effect in April 2015, about 21,000 able-bodied food stamp recipients have found work and another 64,000 lost their Food/Share benefits. Under the new proposal for adults with children ages 6-18, benefits would be cut, but not eliminated, for families where adults did not work at least 80 hours a month. Details on how much benefits could be reduced, and how long parents would have to comply, have not been released, but will be outlined in the 2017-19 governor's budget. In the state of Wisconsin the state sets all the guidelines for the Food/Share program including rules, income levels and asset limits. From there the county implements the state regulations, without any local input on the state set guidelines. Eitland said just because Walker is proposing changes at the state level, there is also a federal approval waiver that must be granted from the President Trump Administration first since state Food/Share dollars are federally matched. Currently Workforce Connections, based in La Crosse, provides the FSET (Food/Share Employment Training) for the Coulee Region, including Vernon County. Eitland said prior to 2008 people utilizing the Food/Share program were all required to seek out employment, whether they had children or were childless, so the proposed changes arent something completed foreign to the welfare program or Vernon County. Eitland said if the new welfare reform legislation is passed Vernon County will need to review the changes in responsibility and how to adequately handle the new legislation. Locally if the legislation is passed all county adults who receive Food/Share benefits will need a referral to Workforce Connections, the county FSET provider. The county would then need to verify any participants who are exempt from the new legislation due to documented disabilities or adults participating in an inpatient treatment program, which would not allow them to meet the work requirements. The county would also be responsible for imposing sanctions on participants who are receiving the Food/Share benefits, but are not following the work requirement rules. Eitland added that the state of Wisconsin would also need to make programming updates before local data could be entered. Theres a state impact, a regional impact and a local impact with Workforce Connections, Eitland said. Other concerns Eitland has is how the work requirements might impact childcare allotments, another unknown at this time. Currently if a family income is 200-percent under the federal poverty level they qualify for childcare assistance. The assistance is based on income levels and number of children so if the participants incomes rise they may be required to pay a portion of the childcare benefits, which is based on a step-by-step process. Eitland said she has fielded a number of calls from concerned families worried about losing their benefits. She said with so many unknowns and so much speculation in the air, the best thing anyone with concerns can do is to contact their legislators. UPDATE: 5:35 p.m. EST Virginias attorney general joined the list of litigants challenging President Donald Trumps immigration ban on seven Middle Eastern and African countries, calling it unconstitutional and unlawful. The Commonwealth has substantial interests justifying its intervention, and make no mistake, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and our people, are already being harmed by this Executive Order, Attorney General Mark R. Herring said in a statement. Mark R Herring Photo: Mike Theiler/Reuters Original story Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he backs a suit filed by his Democratic attorney general, challenging President Donald Trumps executive order banning immigration from seven countries. The recent executive orders will not improve our security and the lack of guidance associated with such an abrupt and overwhelming decision is problematic for all involved, Baker said in a statement. Trump signed an executive order Friday barring immigration from Syria indefinitely and for at least 90 days from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and suspending the U.S. refugee program for at least 120 days while extreme vetting procedures are developed. Some 900 U.S. State Department employees signed an internal dissent memo critical of the ban. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Tuesday her office planned to file a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union against the order, labeling it unconstitutional. It discriminates on the basis of religion and national origin, denies our residents access to due process and equal protection and violates federal immigration law, Healey said. She called the executive order harmful, discriminatory and unconstitutional. Story continues Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson also said he would file suit against the order, saying it is his duty to defend the rule of law, and invited other states to join the suit. This is a president who does not have respect for the rule of the law, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told the Associated Press. That's something that bothers a lot of people. Four federal judges in Virginia, Massachusetts, New York and Washington acted during the weekend to stay implementation of the executive order as tens of thousands of people demonstrated at airports across the country. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the rollout of the travel ban could have been smoother, but he said he still supports it. No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas like translators get caught up in all of this, so I think regrettably, the rollout was confusing but, on a go-forward basis, Im confident that [Homeland Security] Secretary [John] Kelly is going to make sure that this is done correctly, Ryan said Tuesday. Kelly told a news conference Tuesday some of the countries on the banned list may not be taken off anytime soon. Kelly said 721 travelers have been kept from boarding planes headed for the United States while 1,060 green card holders were granted waivers since the order was implemented. Related Articles A stunning new video has captured a huge fire hose of lava streaming into the ocean at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The stream of lava is currently pouring into the ocean from a sea cliff near Kamokuna on the Big Island of Hawaii, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). When this massive lava chute hits the cool seawater below, the result is explosive steam. Striking images show what looks like a giant bucket of red paint pouring into the ocean, surrounded by plumes of steam, ash, debris and gas. The ensuing steam explosions, which occurred Jan. 28 and Jan. 29, have tossed molten lava high up into the air, with some bits of molten rock catapulted to twice the height of the sea cliff. [See Amazing Video of Lava Fire Hose] Yesterday (Jan. 30), a crack opened in the sea cliff above the lava tube which feeds the new lava stream. Volcanologists flying over the site used a special thermal-imaging camera to reveal the crack, which is now a scorching 428 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius), according to the USGS. On Jan. 28, volcanologists gingerly stepped onto the unstable surface to measure the crack, and found that it is 11.8 inches (30 centimeters) wide and cuts deeply into the new solidified lava laid down on the older sea cliff. This hot crack could be a sign that the entire sea cliff could come tumbling down, according to the USGS. A firehose of lava spewed from the sea cliffs on the Big Island of Hawai'i on Jan. 28 and 29, 2017. USGS Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is home to Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes. The massive volcano has been erupting for 30 years, and the system has more than 200 structures, including the Pu'u O'O crater, a steaming caldera filled with a lava lake known as Halema'uma'u. The firehose of lava is part of Kilauea's long eruption. The continuous eruption is also growing the Big Island, with a constant stream of lava from Pu'u O'O crater laying down new rock on the island as well as streaming into the ocean. Originally published on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Wednesday fined Mastercard Inc and UniRush $13 million for a failure with prepaid cards that in 2015 left tens of thousands of people unable to pay bills and access cash. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered the companies to pay $10 million in restitution to customers, with payments of around $100 to $250 depending on the harm the cardholders had suffered. They will pay another $3 million in civil penalties and create a plan for preventing future failures. UniRush hired Mastercard to process its payments. Changing over to Mastercard was only supposed to make the systems for UniRush's Rushcards unavailable for a few hours, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said on a call with reporters. Instead problems emerged over the course of weeks, and users were unable to access direct deposits or benefit payments. "Consumers could not use their own money to pay for basic living expenses and necessities. Many racked up late fees and other penalties," he said, adding that "customer service efforts failed to address problems adequately." Altogether, UniRush delayed processing direct deposits for about 45,000 consumers and improperly returned other deposits, while also wrongly suspending 1,000 accounts for suspected fraud, according to the CFPB. Mastercard said it is pleased to bring the matter to a close and it will enhance its prepaid card practices. Privately held UniRush could not be reached for a comment. In May it agreed to pay around $20 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by customers affected by the outage. On Monday leading provider of prepaid cards Green Dot Corp announced it is acquiring UniRush. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker) By John Irish, Gabriela Baczynska and Andreas Rinke PARIS/BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May's embrace of Donald Trump has galled Britain's closest European Union allies, who fear London is tilting too heavily towards the new U.S. administration ahead of Brexit. May sought to use her Washington meeting last week with President Trump, the first such visit by a foreign leader, to show that Britain can still have a "special relationship" with the world's dominant superpower after it leaves the EU. But May's visit, which included a photograph of the two leaders briefly holding hands outside the White House, has irked EU allies who fear Britain could indulge Trump by changing its stance on Iran and Israel in the hope of a trade deal after Brexit with the world's biggest economy. "We have to ask Britain whether they are really willing to pay the price of their foreign policy to have a free trade deal with the United States," a senior western European diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Others cast the visit as a "pathetic" attempt to court favor with Trump by one of Europe's top two military powers. The unusually vociferous criticism was shared by diplomats from across Europe - the same countries that will decide the nature of the Brexit divorce agreement, which May will have two years to strike after triggering the EU exit talks next month. Asked about such concerns, May's spokeswoman told Reuters the prime minister was not afraid her overtures to Trump would unnecessarily annoy Britain's EU partners and reiterated her stance that Washington is a key ally. "QUITE INDECENT" The shift in British policy, while partly due to the Brexit vote, illustrates how Trump's first days in office have shaken up British and EU calculations. "Theresa May was caught by surprise by the momentum in Washington, which is now forcing her to move more quickly to adopt a post-Brexit position," said Almut Moeller, head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. "May's problem is that the more Trump drives Britain to express solidarity, the larger the negative reaction will be on the European continent," Moeller said. "Washington is driving the division of the EU." The German leader of the conservative bloc in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, compared the latest U.S.-UK special relationship unflatteringly with 20th-century predecessors. "Roosevelt and Churchill fought side by side for freedom," he told the chamber. "Reagan and Thatcher together tamed Communism. Donald Trump and Theresa May stand only for national self interest." EU leaders have said Britain cannot conclude any bilateral trade deals until it leaves the EU - likely on the current timetable to be in early 2019 - and that any deal it does with the EU will be on less favorable terms than membership. "We want a fair deal for the United Kingdom, but that deal necessarily needs to be inferior to membership," Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, holder of the EUs rotating presidency, told the European Parliament last month. EU diplomats said Trump's surprise decision to ban refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations - an order signed hours after he met May - had highlighted the risks facing Britain as it begins to disentangle itself from Europe. Trump's action prompted protests in British cities, while Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson angered some EU diplomats by seeking bilateral assurances from Washington that all U.K. passport holders could still visit the United States. "The Brits tried to negotiate something between themselves and the Americans and frankly didn't get much. It was quite indecent," the senior western European diplomat said. Some diplomats said May had shown unseemly haste in embracing a U.S. leader widely seen in Europe as unpredictable. "That photograph of May and Trump holding hands will never be forgotten," said one EU ambassador. "Why did May have to rush to Washington without knowing who she was dealing with? Her embrace with Trump has backfired in Europe and at home." "THE TRUMP EFFECT" Some EU officials said May had shown signs of shifting tack on the Middle East and Iran to suit Trump's stance. In December - after Trump's election win - Britain scolded then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for describing the Israeli government as the most right-wing in Israeli history. While Britain voted for a U.N. resolution that angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it refused to sign a communique at the Paris peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, expressing "particular reservations" about the absence of the two parties to the conflict. Of further worry to EU diplomats were recent comments from Johnson that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be allowed to run for re-election in the event of a Syria peace settlement. Britain had previously insisted that Assad must go. "Britain could pay in the long-term internationally ... if it continues to follow such a shift in policy," said one French diplomat. "The respect it garners, including on the U.N. Security Council, could diminish if it aligns itself with Trump." To be sure, May has kept support for EU sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis and has insisted that the NATO alliance is not "obsolete", as Trump has suggested in the past. For many EU capitals, though, Britain after its Brexit vote seems to be drifting inexorably away from the continent. "Britain always said that on foreign policy, its interests lie in working with the EU despite Brexit," one central European diplomat in Brussels said. "Now theres this Trump-effect, with Britain looking to play well in Washington even if that goes against its traditional positions." For full coverage click on the Brexit page http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=brexit&navid=15301 (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Conservation-minded people throughout Wisconsin are encouraged to enroll in the Deer Management Assistance Program to improve wildlife habitat on property they own or hunt. DMAP provides resources for wildlife habitat management, which complements land use activities like agriculture and timber management on properties of any size. The application deadline is March 1 for properties larger than 160 acres, which may be eligible for a site visit and management plan in 2017. While applications may be submitted at any time, landowners are encouraged to apply now to receive immediate access to informational resources, including: habitat and deer management information; communication with local DNR staff; annual DMAP reports and publications; volunteer opportunities; and invitations to DMAP workshops. DNR staff current work with more than 1,000 DMAP cooperators and two public land agencies on nearly 221,000 acres of land across the state to improve habitat for the wildlife resources we all enjoy, said Bob Nack, DMAP coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources. We continue to develop new ways for cooperators to get involved and expand their knowledge of habitat and wildlife management. Neighboring landowners with properties within one-half mile of each other are encouraged to enroll as a group cooperative. Landowners in a group cooperative with a combined acreage of 160 acres or more receive a site visit and management plan. Group cooperatives also provide an opportunity to monitor local wildlife populations and share costs and equipment on habitat projects to benefit deer and other wildlife over a greater area. Another benefit open to all DMAP cooperators is a series of annual DMAP workshops held regionally throughout Wisconsin. Six deer and habitat workshops were offered to DMAP cooperators in 2016, and additional workshops are slated for spring and summer 2017. Topics range from invasive species management and how to conduct a timber harvest to aging deer by tooth wear. DMAP workshops are a great opportunity to network with other conservation-minded people, said Nack. DMAP cooperators share a common goal of promoting the principles of land stewardship and sharing their experiences with others. For more information regarding DMAP and to apply, go to dnr.wi.gov and search keyword DMAP. To receive DMAP email updates and other information, visit dnr.wi.gov and click on the email icon near the bottom of the page for subscribe for updates for DNR topics. Follow the prompts and select the Deer Management Assistance Program option, found under Wildlife Management. By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - Symptoms that patients describe to doctors may not always be documented in electronic medical records, a small U.S. study suggests. To test out how well the records match reality, researchers compared symptoms that 162 patients checked off on paper-based questionnaires with the information entered in patients electronic charts at eye clinics. Roughly one-third of the time, data on blurry vision from the paper questionnaires didnt match the electronic records, researchers report in JAMA Ophthalmology. Symptom information also didnt match for glare 48 percent of the time and was discordant in 27 percent of cases for pain and 25 percent for redness. Because the electronic health record allows researchers, payers and administrators to extract information from the medical record in a way that has never been previously possible, the implications of capturing patient data in the most accurate way becomes much more imperative, said study co-author Dr. Paula Anne Newman-Casey, an ophthalmologist at the University of Michigans Kellogg Eye Center in Ann Arbor. The data captured in the electronic health record, if it is highly accurate, can be used to improve the quality of care that we deliver in a way that data captured on disparate paper charts never made possible, Newman-Casey added by email. In theory, the promise of electronic health records is that they can help improve the quality of care and lower costs in part by reducing room for errors. Most U.S. doctors and hospitals now use electronic records, though paper remains common for patient symptom questionnaires. For the study, researchers examined paper copies of eye symptom questionnaires completed by patients visiting eye clinics between October 2015 and January 2016. Patients rated the severity of common eye issues within the previous week. Blurry vision was the most common complaint, but when patients reported blurry vision on the questionnaires, the electronic health record correctly noted this in 60 cases but failed to include it in 25 cases. For patients who didnt report blurry vision, the electronic records accurately noted this in 26 cases but mistakenly identified this as a problem for 29 patients. Mismatches were also common for redness, pain, glare, itching, gritty sensation and sensitivity to light. More often than not, the error involved electronic records failing to capture symptoms patients noted on the paper questionnaires. The study is small and only included patients within a single clinic system, the authors note. Still, the results suggest that electronic health records may not always be reliable tools for clinicians treating patients or for researchers mining data, the authors conclude. When patient symptoms are missing from electronic records, it can also prompt clinicians to go in the wrong direction looking for a diagnosis and delay patients getting the care they actually need, Dr. Christina Weng of the Cullen Eye Institute and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston writes in an accompanying editorial. Data accuracy in patient medical records is absolutely critical, Weng said by email. Documented signs and symptoms play an important role in efficiently steering providers towards the correct diagnosis and treatment, and medical records also serve as a means of communication between members of a patients healthcare team, Weng added. Any inaccuracies in the record could potentially threaten or delay patient care. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2ktpZ4S and http://bit.ly/2kTwr2N JAMA Ophthalmology, online January 26, 2017. Mexico City (AFP) - Mexicans living abroad sent home a record of nearly $27 billion in 2016, the central bank said Wednesday, amid US President Donald Trump's threat to tap into their remittances to finance a border wall. The total sum rose 8.8 percent from $24.78 billion in 2015 to $26.97 billion last year, according to the bank. Cash sent by Mexicans living abroad, mostly from the United States, provides one of the country's main sources of foreign income along with automobile exports, oil and tourism. Trump has suggested that the US government could seize remittances to pay for the massive wall he has promised along the border to stop illegal immigration -- or halt the transfers to force Mexico to pay. Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo warned last week that the Mexican government could walk out of negotiations with the United States if remittances are touched. Although the central bank did not explain why Mexicans sent more money back home last year, remittances rose by 6.2 percent in December, the month after Trump was elected. Brussels (AFP) - The EU and Mexico on Wednesday said they would accelerate free trade talks amid a wave of protectionist threats by US President Donald Trump. Mexico has become a repeated target of Trump, who has vowed to put "America first" and renegotiate the NAFTA trade deal binding the two countries as well as build a border wall to stop migrants entering the US. The Trump administration has also bashed Germany, the EU's most powerful country, accusing Berlin on Tuesday of manipulating the euro to win advantage for its export-driven economy at the expense of the US. "Together, we are witnessing the worrying rise of protectionism around the world," the EU's top trade negotiator, Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said in a joint statement. "Side-by-side, as like-minded partners, we must now stand up for the idea of global, open cooperation," they said. Mexico and the EU have had a trade deal since 2000 but agreed in 2015 to modernise the accord to better reflect today's global economy. With a fresh deal, Mexico wants to show that "they can reach agreements with other partners," an EU official following Latin America told AFP on condition of anonymity. "In the last two weeks, we saw a change of the language and the change of the language is: We want to do it very quickly," the official added. The statement said two rounds of talks would take place in April and June. Negotiators will be focused on adapting the Mexican accord to a more ambitious deal linking the EU with Canada, Mexico's other partner in NAFTA. The rows between Trump and Mexico have been fierce since the real estate tycoon's arrival in office. Guajardo warned last week that Mexico was not afraid to dump NAFTA if discussions with the US should become bogged down. Meanwhile, Trump advisor Peter Navarro told the Financial Times Tuesday that a planned deal linking the EU and the US -- the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership -- was dead. By Timothy Mclaughlin (Reuters) - A man convicted of killing a woman and her two children after a break-in at their home in southern Missouri in 1998 was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday. Mark Christeson, 37, was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST (0105 GMT on Wednesday), according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. Christeson was sent to death row for the murders of Susan Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle. Christeson raped the mother after breaking into the family's home with his cousin, according to court documents. They drove the family to a pond where Christeson cut the throats of the mother and son and threw them into the water, court documents said. They suffocated the daughter and threw her into the pond, according to court documents. Christeson's cousin Jesse Carter, who at 17 was one year younger than him at the time of the slayings, testified against Christeson at trial and received a sentence of life in prison, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted Christeson's execution in 2014 after his legal team argued his previous attorneys failed to meet a key deadline for filing court papers in 2005 and had refused to cooperate when the mistake came to light. The failure to meet the deadline meant Christeson's conviction in state court was never reviewed by a federal judge, which is the usual practice. In January 2015, the Supreme Court threw out an appeals court ruling, denying Christeson another chance for his case to be heard. His current attorney, Jennifer Merrigan, petitioned the Supreme Court for another stay of execution on Monday. The request was denied on Tuesday. Christeson was also denied a clemency request by Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on Tuesday evening. "Mark was 18 at the time of his crime and has an IQ of 74," Merrigan said by email on Monday. "His execution may be unconstitutional, but the courts keep trying to rush him to the death chamber instead of giving him a fair opportunity in court." Story continues Greitens in a statement describing the victims said Adrian wanted to become a veterenarian or a teacher and Kyle wanted to be an Army officer. Christeson in a written statement before his execution said he loved his family and was "more than blessed" to have them. Following Christeson's execution, 24 men remain on death row in Missouri, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. (Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney and Lisa Shumaker) Paris (AFP) - French league leaders Monaco recovered from a dramatic second-half meltdown as they threw away a three-goal lead before beating third-tier Chambly 5-4 after extra time in the French Cup last 32 on Wednesday. Holders Paris Saint-Germain eased into the round of 16 with Julian Draxler scoring twice in a lopsided 4-0 win at Ligue 1 rivals Rennes. Monaco had cruised into a 3-0 lead early in the second half in northern France after goals from Guido Carrillo, Thomas Lemar and Kylian Mbappe, but the visitors were rocked as Chambly pulled two goals back before equalising in stoppage time. However, the five-time champions regained the lead in extra time when Kevin N'Doram bundled in from a corner, with Poland international Kamil Glik then making it 5-3 on 103 minutes. Chambly again threatened a miraculous comeback as they halved the deficit with nine minutes remaining, but this time Leonardo Jardim's Ligue 1 title chasers held firm. "We achieved our goal. It was a difficult match. We played well during the first half of extra time and that allowed us to go through," said Jardim. "We were scared but we got a goal and then a second one at the start of extra time and that put an end to the match." In Brittany, Draxler applied a deft chipped finish from Thiago Motta's long ball over the defence to hand Unai Emery's men a 27th-minute lead against Rennes. Lucas then tapped home a low cross from Hatem Ben Arfa shortly before the break while Draxler grabbed his second on 68 minutes with a crisp strike from the edge of the area. Ben Arfa rounded out a thumping victory late on with his first goal since August, with the draw for the next round to decided on Thursday. On Tuesday, Dimitri Payet made his Marseille debut, for the second time, after returning to the Stade Velodrome following his acrimonious departure from West Ham in a deal worth a club-record 30 million euros. Brazilian defender Doria struck the winning goal on the south coast in extra time as last year's finalists Marseille prevailed 2-1 to take their place in the last 16. Beirut (AFP) - Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have dealt another blow to the faltering Syrian rebel movement, regaining control of a strategic area near Damascus at the weekend. The capture of the Wadi Barada area is another setback for rebels after the loss of the second city of Aleppo in December, the biggest blow to the opposition since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Q. What happened in Wadi Barada? A: Syrian government forces took back Wadi Barada outside Damascus on Sunday after a deal that saw hundreds of rebels leave for opposition-held Idlib province in northern Syria. Wadi Barada is the main source of water for the capital, and the government accused rebels of deliberately cutting off supplies since December 22, leaving 5.5 million people without water. Rebels said government strikes had damaged pumping infrastructure. But they eventually agreed a deal that saw 700 rebels and 1,400 civilians leave Wadi Barada for Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The government has struck similar so-called reconciliation deals in at least six other areas around the capital in recent months. "The rebel movement has definitively lost Damascus," said Fabrice Balanche, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He told AFP that Syria's army and allied militia -- like Lebanese movement Hezbollah -- have methodically chipped away at rebel-held towns around the capital since 2013. "The most rational rebels are seeking a way to negotiate an amnesty with the Syrian government. For others, their only hope is to be moved to Idlib," Balanche said. Q: Where does this leave rebels? A: Nearly six years since Syria's uprising broke out, many of the opposition movement's most important gains have been rolled back. They have lost much of the territory they had captured around Damascus, and suffered their biggest defeat yet in December when government forces took full control of Aleppo. Story continues Rebels now hold just 13 percent of Syrian territory, according to Balanche, including the province of Idlib where former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front holds sway. Elsewhere, the armed opposition holds part of the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus and some territory in central and southern Syria. "In 2013, rebels' repeated attacks threatened central Damascus and the lines of communication towards the outside," Balanche told AFP. "But today, they are on the defensive, divided, encircled and without hope of victory," he said. Assad's regime had essentially won a war of attrition, Balanche said, "counting on being able to wear down communities bombarded, besieged, and at the mercy of rebel groups". "It took more than four years, but the regime can consider itself victorious, even if it faces pockets of resistance." Q: What is happening in Idlib? Northwest Idlib province, which borders Turkey, is the main remaining bastion for Syria's weakened opposition fighters. But the province has been rocked by opposition infighting for more than a week, as Fateh al-Sham Front battles former rebel allies. Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert in jihadist movements, has said the fighting could escalate to an existential war that Fateh al-Sham would not be willing to lose. Some rebels have sided with Fateh al-Sham, while others have supported the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, once a key ally of the former Al-Qaeda affiliate. With rebels divided, Syria's army and key backer Moscow could deem the moment right to launch an attack on the province, Balanche warned. "This is a war within the uprising," pitting hardliners against those seeking a political solution to the conflict, he said. "It corresponds with Russia's strategy to divide and conquer, ahead of backing a military offensive against Idlib province," Balanche told AFP. Montreal (AFP) - The Quebec City mosque shooting was a brutal blow to Canada's multicultural, open and tolerant society, revealing cracks in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says is the nation's biggest strength. Police are still piecing together motives for the attack, that resulted in the deaths of six worshippers. But according to Andre Gagne, a theologian at Concordia University in Montreal and expert on radicalization, the likely hate required to spur such violence did not sprout in isolation. The shooting occurred one day after Trudeau, a fervent advocate of multiculturalism, said Canada would welcome all refugees regardless of their faith. Those comments followed President Donald Trump's 90-day ban on entry into the United States to nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. The attack has cast a shadow over Canada's image as a safe and inclusive society. Last year it welcomed 40,000 Syrian refugees. Trudeau himself met the first arrivals with a smile and a gift of a parka. Muslims are a minority in Canada, totaling 1.1 million out of a total population of 36 million. Gagne told AFP: "There is increasing intolerance around the world, which is feeding both Islamist extremists and far right groups." He said the attack by a far right sympathizer raises questions about religion's place in society, "which nobody now wants to talk about." - 'Open our eyes' - "Many commentators have said the attack was a total surprise. But we must open our eyes. We knew well before that there were problems," commented Martin Papillon, a political science professor at the University of Montreal. "It is indicative of a wider problem than the simple question of social integration," he said, adding that there were before the rampage "plenty of signs of intolerance towards the Muslim community" in this country. Paradoxically, "the members of this mosque were well integrated into Canadian society," Gagne said, noting that they all spoke French, some had lived here more than 30 years, and one was even a respected professor at Laval University. Story continues "The societal fractures have always been there, and are growing wider in Quebec and in Canada, as elsewhere in the world," said Papillon. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has rejected suggestions the attack is proof that Muslims and others cannot live together in a liberal democracy -- a bedrock of Canada's multicultural mosaic. "Every society must live with demons" such as "Islamaphobia, racism and exclusion" and "if our society is not perfect it is because no society is perfect." Like the rest of Canada, Quebec welcomes migrants of different ethnicities from around the world, but arguably Canada's policy of pluralism is contested here, according to Papillon. The descendants of French colonists are still the majority in Quebec, but they constitute a minority within Canada. And some view multiculturalism as diluting their own francophone identity, which they fought to preserve over the past 400 years. The French tradition tends more to discourage, in the public arena at least, religious or other symbols that accentuate people belonging to a minority as opposed to being part of a larger nation. Trudeau proclaims the post-modern character of Canada as one that celebrates individual freedoms and universal values that unite its citizens. "Diversity is our strength and, as Canadians, religious tolerance is a value that is dear to us," the prime minister said Monday after the mosque shooting. The shooting highlights a disconnect between this non-Quebec Canada, where symbols of religion and ethnic identity are worn proudly in parliament, and Quebec, which broke with its Catholic past last century and embraced secularism akin to that which emerged in France. Over the past three years, for example, a debate has raged in Quebec over whether to legislate a ban on wearing ostentatious religious symbols in the public service, pitting nationalists against pluralists. "We must take off our rose-colored glasses and admit that we are still grappling with these difficult questions" and will continue to do so "as long as we fail to try to understand one another," Gagne concluded. Brussels (AFP) - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday urged Russia to use its influence with pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine to halt what he called the worst upsurge in fighting in a long time. "We call on Russia to use its considerable influence with the rebels to bring the violence to an end," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. "In Ukraine, we see the most serious spike in violence in a long time," he added, citing more than 5,600 ceasefire violations in the past week. There have been periodic surges in the fighting in eastern Ukraine but the latest clashes come just after US President Donald Trump took office promising to try to improve ties with Russia, including a possible relaxation of the sanctions. Trump talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the weekend in a call the White House described as a "significant start" to improving ties. The death toll rose to 19 on Wednesday as Ukraine government forces and the rebels exchanged mortar and rocket fire for a fourth day around the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka, just north of the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk. Kiev said three of its soldiers died overnight while the rebels said four civilians had been killed. The fighting in Avdiivka has left more than 20,000 people without heat or water in freezing winter weather, with no sign of relief in sight. Stoltenberg said the humanitarian situation in the town was "dire." "We call for an immediate return to the ceasefire and the withdrawal of all heavy weapons banned under the Minsk agreements," he said. France and Germany helped broker the Minsk accords with Moscow and Kiev in 2014, under which Russia committed to halting support for the rebels and using its influence to get them to observe a ceasefire. Both sides were also supposed to withdraw heavy weapons from the front line. European Union leaders later tied implementation of the Minsk agreement to a series of damaging economic restrictions against Russia. Johannesburg (AFP) - At least 94 mentally ill patients died after South African authorities moved them last year from hospital to unlicensed health facilities that were compared to "concentration camps", a government investigation revealed Wednesday. Many of the deaths were due to pneumonia, dehydration and diarrhoea, as the patients were hurriedly shifted to 27 "poorly-prepared" facilities in an apparent cost-cutting measure that showed evidence of neglect. The health ombudsman report, which sparked uproar in South Africa, detailed how some patients were collected from the Life Esidimeni hospital in the northern Gauteng province using open pick-up trucks. Patients were then selected in a process like an "auction cattle market", before being taken away and then often shuttled between several of the new care centres. As the scandal broke, provincial health minister Qedani Mahlangu resigned over the findings, which directly implicated her in the move. According to the report, relatives were left in the dark over where the patients were -- or even if they had died in the overcrowded, unheated centres that some witnesses said were like "concentration camps". The centres also failed to provide seriously ill patients with enough food and water, leaving them severely malnourished, underweight and in some cases dying from dehydration. - Dying of neglect - Gauteng's provincial health department had terminated its long-standing contract with the Life Esidimeni hospital and moved more than 1,300 patients to an "unstructured, unpredictable, sub-standard caring environment", the report said. "One person has died from a mental health-related illness. None of the 93 (others) have died from a mental illness," health ombudsman Malegapuru Makgoba told local media as the report was released. "The Gauteng Health Department took patients from a licensed institution and handed them over to unlicensed facilities," he added. Story continues Makgoba said the death toll was likely to rise as investigations continued into the fiasco. The report pointed towards the neglect that led to the deaths being caused by profit-seeking. The 27 health care centres "were mysteriously and poorly selected" and were "unable to distinguish between the highly specialised non-stop professional care requirements... and a business opportunity," it said. Gauteng Premier David Makhura vowed to hold accountable all the responsible officials. The opposition Democratic Alliance party expressed outrage over the findings, and accused the government of lying about the death toll when reports of the tragedy began to emerge. "Criminal charges should also be laid against all implicated parties," said the party's provincial shadow health minister. LONDON (Reuters) - Around half of Britons believe U.S. President Donald Trump's planned UK state visit should go ahead, even though a similar number would not like to see his controversial migrant ban implemented in Britain, according to a poll on Wednesday. Trump's executive order to temporarily ban refugees entering the United States and limit migration from seven Muslim-majority countries has drawn widespread protest in Britain, and nearly 1.8 million people have signed a petition to stop his state visit, planned for later this year. But the YouGov poll found 49 percent of Britons believe the state visit should go ahead and that only 36 percent want it to be canceled. A state visit would involve lavish displays of royal pageantry and a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth. The invitation was conveyed by Prime Minister Theresa May when she visited Washington last week, just hours before the travel ban was introduced. Britons would not like to see a similar migrant ban introduced in the UK, however, with 32 percent saying they would feel "appalled" by such a move and 17 percent "disappointed". Only 15 percent were "delighted" by the prospect of similar immigration restrictions in Britain, while 13 percent said they would be "pleased". The petition to stop the visit will be debated in the British parliament on Feb. 20, although such debates are usually symbolic. May has stood by the decision to invite Trump. The poll was conducted between Jan. 30-31. In all, 1,705 people were asked their views on the state visit and 6,926 were asked about any immigration ban in Britain. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison) "Maniac", Netflix's highly-anticipated series starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, is reportedly moving into production, almost a year after initial news broke about the project. According to Deadline, filming of the Paramount TV/Anonymous Content show is set to begin on August 15 in New York City, with principal photography expected to wrap just before Thanksgiving, and a potential 2018 premiere in sight. The dark comedy, which will consist of 10 episodes, is based on the 2014 Norwegian series and revolves around the fantasy worlds of Hill and Stone's characters, who in real life are confined to a mental institution. Cary Fukunaga is attached to direct the entire series with writer Patrick Somerville to adapt the script for the US. Stone and Hill will executive produce the Paramount TV project with Anonymous Content's Michael Sugar and Doug Wald. (HONG KONG) The uncertain fate of Xiao Jianhua, a China-born billionaire who was last seen at a luxury Hong Kong hotel a week ago, has raised fresh fears about the citys autonomy amid media reports he may have been abducted by Chinese agents. There are conflicting accounts of Xiaos whereabouts, but memories are fresh in Hong Kong of the abduction last year of five staff who worked for a local bookseller that published gossip on Chinas leaders. Three of the staff were detained while in China, but two with foreign passports were taken there against their will from Thailand and Hong Kong. Those disappearances provoked outrage that Beijing was flouting Hong Kongs constitution, which gives Chinese authorities no right to conduct law enforcement activities in the city, a largely self-governing territory since its return to China from British rule in 1997. A Hong Kong government source said key details on Xiaos case still needed to be clarified, but the initial signs were worrying. All we can do is investigate this. It puts the government in more of an awkward position, said the source, whose work includes security matters. The Financial Times reported that Xiao, who runs Tomorrow Holdings, a financial group headquartered in Beijing, was abducted from the Four Seasons hotel by Chinese public security agents and taken to the mainland. Xiao, who has close ties to senior Chinese officials and their relatives, was ranked 32nd on the 2016 Hurun China rich list, Chinas equivalent of the Forbes list, with a net worth of $5.97 billion. Calls to Xiaos company in Beijing went unanswered, but a full front-page advertisement published in Hong Kongs Ming Pao newspaper on Wednesday under Xiaos name said he was seeking medical treatment outside the country and had not been abducted. The ad also burnished Xiaos patriotic credentials. Story continues Ive always loved the (Chinese Communist) Party, the country, and have never done anything to harm the countrys interests, Xiao wrote. The Hong Kong police said in a statement to Reuters that Xiao had entered mainland China through a border checkpoint on Jan. 27 and that they were seeking more information on the case from Chinese authorities. A police source briefed on the investigation said the case was initially treated as a kidnapping following a complaint from someone connected to Xiao, but after a review of CCTV footage at the Four Seasons and at the border checkpoint, police concluded that Xiao had voluntarily left Hong Kong. Calls to the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing went unanswered with China in the middle of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Chinas Foreign Ministry also did not respond to a request for comment. China has previously insisted that it respects Hong Kongs autonomy and rule of law under the one country, two systems formula. Many Hong Kong residents, however, resent Beijings influence in the city, which erupted in nearly three months of street demonstrations in late 2014 protesting against Chinas failure to allow full democracy. Xiao claimed in the newspaper ad to be a Canadian passport holder. Canadian authorities have not yet confirmed this but say theyre aware of the case and looking into it. The Four Seasons hotel and its serviced apartments are popular with mainland Chinese business executives. One source who frequents the hotel told Reuters that Xiao had been a long-term guest for several years, and was often seen there with an entourage of eight to nine people, including bodyguards and assistants. Hes very low key, but with such a big group of people its hard not to notice him, said the source, who declined to be named. Oslo (AFP) - As activists seethe over Donald Trump's first days in the White House, some experts say this year's Nobel Peace Prize may prove to be an emphatic call on the president to respect human rights. As the final day to submit nominations for the award passed on Wednesday, some of the names believed to be on the secret list bore the hallmarks of Trump's opponents -- though the US president himself was also nominated. Kristian Berg Harpviken of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, who has followed the peace prize process closely for years, put the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at the top of his list of possible winners. The group, nearly a century old, made headlines this week after presenting a legal challenge to Trump's immigration decree that temporarily blocks nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. "A peace prize to the ACLU would certainly be understood as a criticism of President Trump," Harpviken wrote on his website. But "it would more importantly be a celebration of long-standing, tenacious legal craftsmanship and the fight for civil rights, in the USA primarily, but also as part of a global struggle." After sharp criticism from around the globe, Trump has made exemptions for all dual citizens. But in addition to the travel ban, the first days of Trump's presidency have been marked by repeated attacks on the media and a pledge to push ahead with a wall on the US border with Mexico -- moves that have worried civil liberties and rights advocates. Nobel Peace Prize predictions are notoriously difficult, especially since the Nobel Institute keeps the list of nominations secret for 50 years. Only those who are allowed to submit nominations are free to disclose their choices publicly. Lawmakers and cabinet ministers, former laureates, and some university professors are among the thousands of people around the world entitled to suggest candidates. Story continues The five members of the Norwegian Nobel committee can also make nominations at their first meeting on February 16. - Chirac, Trump, Putin? - Pope Francis has once again been nominated for his peace and reconciliation efforts. "He is one of the rare ones to stand up to Donald Trump," said Knut Arild Hareide, the head of a small Norwegian political party that put his name forward. In an interview with Spanish daily El Pais conducted as Trump was being sworn in as president on January 20, Francis warned against populism, saying it could lead to the election of "saviours" like Hitler. He also condemned the idea of using walls and barbed wire to keep out foreigners. According to Harpviken, Trump himself has been nominated -- as he was last year -- for the Nobel by an unidentified American who wants the US leader recognised for "his peace through strength ideology". In a sign of the geopolitics at stake, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also believed to be in the running, reportedly nominated by a French think tank, the Centre of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA). Norway's public broadcaster NRK reported last week that Russian authorities organised a disinformation campaign in 2015, including a fake letter, to torpedo the Nobel chances of Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko. Russia denied the report, attributing it to "paranoia". The prize that year went to a quartet of Tunisian rights' organisations. Former French president Jacques Chirac is also reportedly in the running this year, as are Syria's White Helmets volunteer rescue workers; the jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi; and Edward Snowden, who revealed the scope of America's NSA electronic surveillance programme. The date of this year's Nobel Peace Prize announcement has not been announced, but is expected to fall on October 6. Last year, it went to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Sebastien Van Malleghems photographs can tend to have a darkness to them. In recent years, the Belgium photojournalist has documented his countrys prisons and its police force. In Mexico City, he spent time following embalmers, as they juggled dozens of bodies each day. And in Northern France, he followed the work of a group of doctors and educators treating alcohol and drug addicts. My documentary projects often overlap, so Im always shooting something, he tells TIME. That something often has a dark undertone and, a few years back, that darkness started taking a toll on the photographer. My friends started telling me that I was becoming aggressive, so I took a break from everything and booked a ticket for Iceland. That was in 2013. One year earlier, Van Malleghem had been selected for the Halsny Kloster Artist Residency in Norway. I was on a small island where nothing happened and where there was nothing to photograph, he says. I just started photographing what I thought was beautiful. I just took photos and didnt think about what Id do with it. And that made me happy. In Iceland, Van Malleghem was looking to rekindle with that feeling. I just thought that it went against everything Ive done before, he says. Usually, I photograph in closed-off, tense places. In Iceland, I was going to be a wide-open place where nothing happens. Since then, Van Malleghem has visited Iceland eight times. Hes also visited Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Each time, hes let chance encounters drive him, seeing what happens when he works without a plan. The result is a series of images that invite viewers to travel and discover another side of the Scandinavian region, one that is heavily influenced by Van Malleghems own experience. The North became my own world, he says. The people I met remain shadows in my photographs. Theres a certain amount of mystery, of mysticism. Story continues While the moodiness that has defined his previous work remains, it feels different for Van Malleghem. This work is intimate, he says. When you stay too long doing the same thing, you start to suffocate and you have to find your own way to deal with it. And the North, as he calls it, is Van Malleghems way to escape that darkness. Sebastien Van Malleghem is a photojournalist based in Belgium. Follow him on Instagram @vanmalleghem. Nordic Noir will also be published as a book in March. Olivier Laurent is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @olivierclaurent Follow TIME LightBox on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Paris (AFP) - It is a utopian idea, literally, but is enjoying a renaissance as politicians and policy wonks grapple with technology-driven changes that could redefine our very understanding of work. If robots and machine intelligence threaten to render many white-collar jobs obsolete, then what will people do for money? Enter the concept of a "universal basic income", a flat sum paid to all regardless of your existing wealth or ability to work. It is one of the rare ideas that has support from both the libertarian right -- which favours tearing up the welfare state -- and the left wing. In France, Benoit Hamon has emerged as the surprise Socialist candidate for April's presidential election first round, on a radical programme that includes such an income -- to be funded in part by a new tax on industrial robots. National or local governments in other countries such as Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, Scotland and Brazil are already evaluating how such a revenue might work in practice. Finland is furthest down the road. On January 1 it started a two-year trial to give 2,000 unemployed Finns a monthly unconditional payment of 560 euros ($590). At the least, advocates argue, a basic income could replace the thicket of unemployment benefits currently on offer in many advanced economies. Those can, perversely, discourage people from retraining in new fields or taking on lower paid work that society needs, such as care for the elderly. For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. - Less is More - At its most ambitious, the proponents say, it would give everyone a safety net and encourage new modes of thinking: work might no longer define our lives and instead we might find productive existences in volunteering for the greater good, or in the creative arts. "There's a whole new suite of technologies coming on stream and people will need to adapt somehow," said Anthony Painter, director of the Action and Research Centre at the Royal Society of Arts in London, which in December released a research paper after a year-long study into the idea. Story continues "The basic income just gives them a fighting chance," he told AFP, stressing the more immediate benefits that would come from redrawing the existing tangle of support for the jobless. If mass unemployment and fears of technology are modern trends, the concept of a universal income goes back centuries. In his 1516 book "Utopia", English philosopher and statesman Thomas More imagined an ideal republic where private property is abolished and all receive a basic stipend. It is a pre-industrial society, of course, where agriculture is the foundation of the economy and people's needs are basic. Things are more complicated today. - Who pays? - A December study by OFCE, an economics think tank linked to the Sciences Po university in Paris, said that to ensure nobody loses out from the elimination of existing benefits, a universal income for French adults would need to start at 785 euros per month. That is a little over what Hamon is proposing -- although pollsters give him little chance in the election given the dismal standing of the Socialist party under the departing president, Francois Hollande. OFCE found that that level would translate into supplemental spending of 480 billion euros, or an extra 22 percentage points of French GDP -- "which is unrealistic in practice". There are also philosophical objections. In June, Swiss voters rejected a proposed universal income in a referendum after critics slammed the idea as rewarding the lazy and the feckless. "If a large number of people choose not to work, or to work less, where will the money come from to finance their income?" commented Charles Wyplosz, economics professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute. But evangelists argue there will be plenty of scope to innovate tax-gathering in the new economy, and say our current regimes for welfare are ridden with inefficiencies that could, with a radical overhaul, free up money for the proposed stipend. "As new technologies replace work, the question for the future is how best to provide economic security for all," economist and former US labor secretary Robert Reich wrote in a blog post. "A universal basic income will almost certainly be part of the answer." Photo credit: VanDerBrink Auctions From Road & Track This summer, in Norwalk, Ohio, VanDerBrink Auctions will sell off more than 700 cars in a massive weekend-long event. But unlike other large auctions that take place around the country, there will be only one seller, a man named Ron Hackenberger. Photo credit: VanDerBrink Auctions Since 1962, Hackenberger has been building his collection. Back then, he was a truck driver, which gave him plenty of opportunities to scout out old cars. When he started his own trucking company, it freed him up to bring a lot more cars back home with him. Eventually, he sold that company and became a rancher in Texas, but he didn't stop collecting cars. Now living in Ohio, he's amassed a collection of more than 700 cars. Photo credit: VanDerBrink Auctions With nearly 250 of them, Hackenberger admits he has a special affinity for Studebakers. But the rest of his collection is incredibly diverse. His only requirement through the years was that a car be "something that you won't see every day." He's got microcars, limousines, trucks, vintage motorcycles, and, of course, muscle cars. Photo credit: VanDerBrink Auctions Originally, Hackenberger's plan was to open a museum, but he eventually decided to liquidate his collection. Head here to check out the rest of the photos, or go check the cars out in person the weekend of July 14th. Who knows? You might even come home with a few of them. via Autoblog You Might Also Like By Chris Kahn NEW YORK (Reuters) - Imposing a temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim countries, President Donald Trump said the move would help protect the United States from terrorism. But less than one-third of Americans believe the move makes them "more safe," according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. The Jan. 30-31 poll found roughly one in two Americans backed the ban, which also suspends admission of all refugees for 120 days, although there were sharp divisions along party lines. Trump has pushed back against critics who say the travel ban targets Muslims. He says the "extreme vetting" is necessary to protect the country and its borders. "This is not about religion," Trump said in a statement after announcing the travel ban on Friday. "This is about terror and keeping our country safe." In the Reuters/Ipsos poll some 31 percent of people said the ban made them feel "more safe," while 26 percent said it made them feel "less safe." Another 33 percent said it would not make any difference and the rest said they don't know. Trump's executive order blocked citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Some Republican lawmakers criticized Trump's order and said it could backfire by giving terrorist organizations a new recruitment message. "This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country," senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a joint statement. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 49 percent of Americans agreed with the order and 41 percent disagreed. Some 53 percent of Democrats said they "strongly disagree" with Trump's action while 51 percent of Republicans said they "strongly agree." Democrats were more than three times as likely as Republicans to say that the "U.S. should continue to take in immigrants and refugees," and Republicans were more than three times as likely as Democrats to agree that "banning people from Muslim countries is necessary to prevent terrorism." Cheryl Hoffman, 46, of Sumerduck, Virginia said she was thrilled that Trump ordered the ban. "I understand that the country was founded on immigrants," said Hoffman, who participated in the poll. "Please, I get that. But Im worried that refugees are coming in and being supported by my tax dollars." Another poll respondent, Veronica Buetel, 57, of Green, Ohio felt just the opposite: "Yes, we do live in scary times, but there are other, better ways to root out terrorism." Westy Egmont, director of the Immigrant Integration Lab at Boston College, said Americans have grown increasingly hostile toward refugees and immigrants as the influx has shifted from Eastern Europeans to people from countries like Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. "The rise of those numbers, as relatively small as they are, have gathered just enough attention to set off a small reaction from people who are genuinely uncomfortable with the diversity around them," Egmont said. Most Americans, however, don't think the country should show a preference for Christian refugees, as Trump has suggested. Some 56 percent, including 72 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans, disagreed that the country should "welcome Christian refugees, but not Muslim ones." On Tuesday, the Trump administration sought to clarify that citizens of U.S. ally Israel who were born in Arab countries would be allowed into the United States. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. It gathered poll responses from 1,201 people including 453 Democrats and 478 Republicans. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points for the entire sample and 5 percentage points for the Democrats and the Republicans. (Reporting by Chris Kahn, editing by Ross Colvin) By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have developed a brain-computer interface that reads the brain's blood oxygen levels and enables communication by deciphering the thoughts of patients who are totally paralysed and unable to talk. In a trial of the system in four patients with complete locked-in syndrome - incapable of moving even their eyes to communicate - it helped them use their thought waves to respond yes or no to spoken questions. People who are paralysed except for up and down eye movements and blinking are classified as having locked-in syndrome. If all eye movements are lost, the condition is referred to as complete locked-in syndrome. Researchers leading this trial said the brain-computer interface (BCI), which is non-invasive, could transform the lives of such patients, allowing them to express feelings and opinion to their loved ones and carers. Counter to expectations, the researchers said, the patients reported being "happy" despite their condition. "The striking results overturn my own theory that people with complete locked-in syndrome are not capable of communication," said Niels Birbaumer, a neuroscientist at Switzerland's Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, who co-led the study. The trial, published in the journal PLOS Biology on Tuesday, involved four patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - a progressive motor neuron disease that destroys the part of the nervous system responsible for movement. The researchers asked personal questions with known answers, such as: "Your husband's name is Joachim?", and open questions that needed yes or no answers, such as "Are you happy?". The BCI technique used technologies called near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography (EEG) to measure blood oxygenation and electrical activity in the brain. "The machine records the blood flow... and calculates how (it) changes during "yes" and during "no", and the computer develops an idea, a pattern," Birbaumer told Reuters. "And after a while, we know what the patient is thinking, when he thinks "yes", or when he thinks "no", and from that we calculate the answer." The "known" questions elicited correct responses seven times out of 10, and the question "Are you happy?" resulted in a consistent yes response from the four people, repeated over weeks of questioning. John Donoghue, director of the Wyss Center, welcomed the work as "a crucial first step in the challenge to regain movement" for completely locked-in patients. He said his team now plans to build on these results to develop the technology further and eventually aim for it to be available to people with paralysis resulting from ALS, stroke, or spinal cord injury. (Additional reporting by Marina Depetris in Geneva; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) BENSON, N.C. (AP) Transportation workers say they've found six peepholes in the men's restrooms at two rest areas on Interstate 40 in North Carolina. The Johnston County Sheriff's Office told local news outlets that workers reported the peepholes at the rest areas near Benson on Monday. Capt. Jeff Caldwell said the holes were in the walls of the bathroom stalls. There were four holes at the rest area along the westbound lanes and two in the bathrooms at the rest area along the eastbound lanes. The damage was estimated at nearly $5,000 and has been repaired. Investigators think the holes were drilled sometime between Jan. 24 and Jan. 28. No peepholes were found in the women's bathrooms at those rest areas. Deputies are reviewing surveillance video from the area. No victims have come forward. Nancy Pelosi during a rally against President Trumps travel ban outside the Supreme Court earlier this week. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters) House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi torched President Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, as a very hostile appointment and someone who is well outside the mainstream of American legal thought in a televised town hall on Tuesday. During the live event on CNN, Pelosi painted Gorsuch as a judge who is hostile to womens reproductive rights, chooses to side with felons over gun safety and has handed down rulings that strip the rights of autistic children. Gorsuch, a conservative federal judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, was chosen by Trump to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February last year. After Scalias death, congressional Republicans blocked President Barack Obamas choice of Merrick Garland as his replacement. When Justice Scalia passed away suddenly last February, I made a promise to the American people, Trump said in announcing his choice inside the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night. If I were elected president, I would find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court. Pelosis event aired immediately after Trumps live announcement, and she was quick to attack his nominees record. Elections have ramifications, and here is a living, breathing example of it, Pelosi said. The president, in his first appointment to the court and hopefully his only appointment to the court, has appointed someone who has come down on the side of corporate America versus class-action suits on securities fraud; hes come down against employees rights, clean air, clean water, food safety, safety in medicine and the rest. If you care about that for your children, hes not your guy. What saddens me the most as a mom and a grandmother, though, is his hostility toward children in school, children with autism, Pelosi said. He has ruled that they dont have the same rights under the [Individuals With Disabilities Education Act] that they could reach their intellectual and social advancement under the law he has said that doesnt apply to them. Story continues Though House lawmakers do not have a say in the confirmation hearings, Pelosis clearly researched barbs against Gorsuchs record offer a potential preview of Democratic lines of attack as the Colorado federal jurist goes through Senate review. A handful of senators, including Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Ed Markey, D-Mass.; and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., have already announced their opposition to Gorsuch. Pelosi urged her fellow Democrats in the Senate to apply the strongest scrutiny to Trumps pick. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he has serious doubts about whether Gorsuch should be confirmed and suggested that hes willing to filibuster Trumps pick. Pelosi also lashed Trump over his controversial executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries calling it a decoy, decoy, decoy, decoy. Pelosi to Yemeni refugee: "Your family is suffering because our president is reckless" https://t.co/qzremhe9fS https://t.co/UMhQJr7Ua2 CNN (@CNN) February 1, 2017 Our president is reckless, reckless, and his administration is incompetent, she said. How and why they did this is because they are grand illusionists. Anytime they have a problem with something, they create another problem. Pelosi was also asked by CNNs Jake Tapper to weigh in on Trumps voter fraud claims. My response was, I feel sorry for you. Youre the president of the United States, and youre so insecure, she said. More from Yahoo News: Paris (AFP) - Francois Fillon, the rightwing Republicans party candidate for the French presidential election, is ensnared in a corruption scandal that has been dubbed "Penelopegate". Here is the furore explained in six key questions: - Who is Francois Fillon? - He was prime minister from 2007-2012 under rightwing president Nicolas Sarkozy, the high-point of a nearly 40-year career in politics. He emerged as the surprise presidential nominee for the Republicans party in November, promising to slash public spending, cut bureaucracy and adopt family-friendly policies. Since his victory in the primary, polls had consistently shown him as the most likely winner of the two-round election in April and May. - What is he accused of doing? - On January 25, the Canard Enchaine weekly, which mixes satire and investigative reporting, broke the news that Fillon had employed his Welsh-born wife Penelope as a parliamentary aide. Citing pay slips, it said she was employed from 1998 to 2007 either directly by Fillon, or by the man who stood in for him in parliament during Fillon's time in government. Penelope was also paid around 5,000 euros ($5,370) a month between May 2012 and December 2013 by the magazine Revue des Deux Mondes, owned by a friend of Fillon, the newspaper said. The Canard initially estimated Penelope's pre-tax income at around 500,000 euros, but in this week's edition said the family's overall pre-tax income from the contracts was around 1.0 million euros. Fillon also paid his two children Marie and Charles 84,000 euros as parliamentary assistants from 2005-2007, the paper said. - Is this illegal? - Employing a family member as a parliamentary aide is a widespread practice in France and not illegal, unlike in Germany or at the European parliament. Fillon admits to paying his wife and children. But there are suspicions that Penelope did no work for her parliamentary salary, which reached over 10,000 euros pre-tax a month in 2007, and that she contributed very little to the literary review. Story continues An investigation was launched last week into the possible misuse of public money, a criminal offence. Penelope had neither a parliamentary security pass nor a work email account. Moreover, she has been a low-key political wife known to prefer life at the couple's country chateau with their five children and horses than among the Parisian chattering classes. "Up until now, I was never involved in my husband's political life," she said last year. What she meant to say, Fillon claimed last week, was that she never played a frontline role. - Is that all? - No. Investigative website Mediapart and newspaper Journal du Dimanche reported that the 62-year-old candidate pocketed 25,000 euros in funds earmarked for parliamentary aides between 2005 and 2007. During that time he was a member of the upper house, or Senate. There is also renewed public interest in a consulting firm he set up in 2012 at the end of his five-year term as prime minister. The Canard Enchaine reported that the consultancy had paid Fillon an after-tax salary of 757,000 euros since 2012. Opponents are demanding he reveal the source of the money. - What does Fillon say? - In media interviews and in a defiant speech at the weekend flanked by his stony-faced wife, he accused his opponents of using Penelope to attack him. He has called the revelations a "plot," "mudslinging" and an "institutional coup" but has yet to present evidence publicly of his wife's work. He is cooperating with fraud investigators who interviewed him and Penelope for five hours on Monday. On Tuesday, the investigators seized documents from Fillon's parliamentary office. - How might this affect the election? - Fillon's approval ratings have fallen sharply and a new survey published on Wednesday suggested for the first time he would crash out in April's first round. In this scenario, the main beneficiary would be 39-year-old centrist Emmanuel Macron who would overtake Fillon to go through to the run-off against far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Le Pen might benefit too, but her party is embroiled in its own expenses scandal at the European parliament. Much will depend on the investigation into Fillon, which he said Wednesday would be completed in the next two weeks. If he were to withdraw -- a prospect being discussed among senior Republicans -- the party would have to nominate a new candidate. This process is still unknown and could lead to either a new primary, a vote by party members, or a nomination by the senior leadership. (WASHINGTON) By visiting Japan and South Korea on his first official overseas trip, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is seeking to reinforce key alliances after President Donald Trumps campaign-trail complaints that defense treaties disadvantaged the United States. The visits also reflect the urgency of concerns on both sides of the Pacific about North Koreas nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, inherited a North Korea problem that has grown more worrisome as the communist nations leader, Kim Jong Un, claims progress toward fielding a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the United States. Former Secretary of State John Kerry said in early January the U.S. may need more forceful ways of dealing with North Korea if it develops a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Mattis, who entered office hours after Trump on Jan. 20, is due to arrive Thursday in Seoul, where he will meet with his counterpart, Defense Minister Han Min Koo, amid a swirl of political turmoil. President Park Geun-hye was impeached in December and the constitutional court is reviewing whether to formally end her rule. Later in the week, Mattis is to hold talks in Tokyo with Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and other senior Japanese government officials. North Korea is expected to be at or near the top of Mattis agenda. Beyond its long-range missile aspirations, the North already has missiles capable of hitting South Korea as well as U.S. bases in Japan. Trump said during the campaign that while he supports the alliances with Japan and South Korea, he would not rule out abandoning them if they refuse to pay more for their own defense. It could be that Japan will have to defend itself against North Korea, he told a campaign rally in August. The first foreign leader he met as president-elect was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; theyll meet again in Washington on Feb. 10. Story continues Mattis has said little in public since taking office. But he has left no doubt that Americas security alliances, including those in Asia, are a top priority. He is the first recently retired military officer to serve as defense secretary since George C. Marshall in 1950-51 during the Korean War. Pentagon chiefs regularly visit South Korea and Japan, reflecting their status as U.S. treaty allies. Chuck Hagel, who visited the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea as defense secretary in September 2013, said in an interview that Mattis is making the right move. It was a smart decision to visit these allies early, Hagel said. He believes officials in Tokyo and Seoul are wondering: Can we rely on the U.S.? What is the future here? The U.S. has about 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea and about 50,000 in Japan. Hagel said Tokyo and other U.S. allies in Asia have been particularly upset by Trumps decision to pull the U.S. out of a Pacific Rim trade initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the centerpiece of former President Barack Obamas effort to strengthen U.S. economic ties in the region. Kent Calder, director of Asia programs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, said Mattis could bolster Japans confidence by explicitly reaffirming that disputed East China Sea islands are covered by the U.S.-Japan defense treaty. The islands are controlled by Japan, which calls them the Senkaku, but also claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyu. Chinas regional role and military modernization will also loom over Mattiss meetings in Seoul and Tokyo. All are hoping to persuade China to use its influence over North Korea to contain or curtail Pyongyangs nuclear and missile programs. Mattis said at his Senate confirmation hearing the U.S. should do whatever it takes to stop North Korea from acquiring a nuclear-capable missile of intercontinental range. Its a serious threat, he said. Anthony Ruggerio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a foreign policy think tank, said Mattis could advance U.S. security interests by encouraging Tokyo and Seoul to improve their bilateral relations, which are strained by disputes. While the two of them may have issues with each other, they need to be unified against North Korea, Ruggerio said. ___ Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this report. Washington (AFP) - New Pentagon chief James Mattis on Wednesday heads to South Korea and Japan, where he will seek to reassure the key US allies about American security commitments in the region. The defense secretary's visit marks the first overseas trip of any senior official in the government of President Donald Trump, who suggested while campaigning that America's longstanding role in Northeast Asia could change. "The trip will underscore the commitment of the United States to our enduring alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and further strengthen US-Japan-Republic of Korea security cooperation," the Pentagon said in a statement. On the campaign trail, Trump raised the possibility of Japan and South Korea arming themselves with nuclear weapons, and accused Seoul and Tokyo of not paying their fair share for US troops stationed in their countries. Some 28,500 US troops are based in South Korea and 47,000 in Japan. Mattis's visit comes amid heightened concerns over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and a simmering row between Tokyo and Seoul over the use of sex slaves during World War II. According to South Korea's defense ministry, defense chief Han Min-Koo and his new US counterpart vowed Tuesday to push ahead with a plan to deploy a US anti-missile system this year despite angry protests by China. The two allies last year announced the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system following a series of atomic and missile tests by nuclear-armed North Korea. The THAAD plan has infuriated China, which fears it will undermine its own ballistic capabilities and has slapped a series of measures seen by Seoul as economic retaliation. Mattis will begin his trip in South Korea, where he will meet Han and other senior officials. The two countries are due to hold annual joint military exercises starting in March. Trump's campaign rhetoric raised concerns in both Seoul and Tokyo, and in a statement South Korea's defence ministry said it hoped Mattis' trip would prove "an opportunity for the Trump administration to maintain and strengthen US commitment to defend the South and the unwavering US-South Korea alliance." Story continues On Friday Mattis travels on to Tokyo for meetings with Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and other officials, the Pentagon said. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- who is scheduled to meet Trump next week in Washington -- told lawmakers he intends to press Mattis about "the significance of the Japan-US alliance." Abe has repeatedly argued that Japan bears an appropriate share the costs of the alliance, which he stresses benefits the United States, Japan and the broader region. Anthony Ruggiero, a North Korea expert from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said: "It was comforting to see the first cabinet-level trip was to East Asia, and in particular focused on North Korea." - 'Mad Dog' - Aside from defense concerns, the two Asian countries are locked in a diplomatic row over the wartime use of "comfort women." Mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women -- mostly from the then-Japanese colony of Korea but also from other parts of Asia including China -- were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Mattis stressed the US strategic interest in its alliances with Japan and South Korea. "The United States is stronger when we uphold our treaty obligations," he said. However, he added, "we expect our allies and partners to uphold their obligations as well." Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, sailed through the confirmation process with overwhelming bipartisan support. Trump has said he will defer to his defense secretary on key issues, including the future use of torture on jihadist suspects, a move Mattis opposes. Mattis is well-liked by US troops and lawmakers. His reputation is one of a colorful former commander prone to swearing on the battlefield. Marines under his command delighted in his pugnacious aphorisms, and the media dubbed him "Mad Dog," a nickname he hates. He has been quoted as saying, "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet." Mattis also has a well-known cerebral side: he issued reading lists to Marines under his command, and instructed them that the most important territory on a battlefield is the space "between your ears." From Popular Mechanics A ballistic missile launched by Iran on Sunday was North Korean in construction or design, according to the Pentagon. The missile test, which ended in failure, was not a violation of 2015's Iranian nuclear deal, but arguably was in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. Either way, this latest test could set Iran on a collision course with the Trump Administration, which has promised to take a hard line on Iran. According to Reuters, the missile traveled 630 miles before it exploded, either by accident or by design. There are no official details regarding what kind of missile it was, although it was certainly a ballistic missile. An anonymous U.S. government official told Reuters the missile was launched from a test site near Senman, east of the Iranian capital of Tehran, and said it was the same type of missile last tested in April 2016. As pointed out by arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis on Twitter, the Pentagon identified the July 2016 missile as a locally produced version of the Musudan, a North Korean intermediate-range missile. Also known as the Hwasong-10, the missile is allegedly derived from an obsolete Soviet Cold War missile, the R-27 Zyb. The Musudan has been adapted from a submarine-launched missile to a road-mobile missile, and is launched from 12-wheeled heavy transporters. The missile has a payload of 2,000 to 2,500 pounds and a theoretical maximum range of 2,500 miles. The range of the missile is open to some debate because so far, despite Pyongyang's claims to the contrary, it hasn't been successfully tested. North Korea may have launched as many as eight Musudans in 2016 alone, and not a single launch was considered successful by outside observers. (Musudan by JamesMartinCNS on Sketchfab) Missile tests are not covered by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 multinational agreement that effectively ended Iran's nuclear weapons program. However, Iran is prohibited from testing ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead under U.N. Resolution 2331. The Resolution specifically calls on Iran not to test any ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, or using ballistic missile technology, for eight years after the signing of the JCPOA, or after the International Atomic Energy Commission has determined Iran has lived up to its end of the deal. Story continues The U.S., Britain, France, and Germany have all complained that three previous Iranian missile tests since the JCPOA was signed violated UN Resolution 2331. This latest test is the fifth since the agreement was signed. The missile test is also a test for the new Trump Administration, which took a hard line against Iran during the election. In 2015, then-candidate Donald Trump described the JCPOA as "horrible" without any specific objections. He then agreed to try to honor it, but later pledged to dismantle it. You Might Also Like Washington (AFP) - Leaders at the US military's Central Command did not falsify intelligence relating to the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, a Pentagon report said Wednesday. Intelligence analysts in 2015 had complained that senior military officials altered assessments so as to downplay the strength of IS, and an interim congressional report released last year found frequent attempts to distort or suppress intel. But a mammoth new report, compiled by the Pentagon's Office of the Inspector General, found it could not substantiate the most serious allegation -- that intelligence was falsified. "Only a few witnesses described intelligence assessments as false, and they did not provide specific examples that supported the allegation," the report states. Intelligence assessments have become a highly politicized issue in the United States, and Republican critics of the anti-IS campaign, formulated by the administration of Barack Obama, were keen to pounce on anything indicating problems with the operation. Obama's successor, President Donald Trump, has also weighed in on intelligence matters, pooh-poohing the assessment that Russia was behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee. The US Central Command, better known as CENTCOM, is responsible for running America's military involvement across the Middle East and in Afghanistan. However, the report also found management problems, and a "widespread perception" that intelligence leaders "were distorting intelligence to present a more positive view of the success of the (Iraqi Security Forces) and a more negative view of the success" of IS. The Inspector General was also "struck by the inadequate efforts" by CENTCOM to tackle the problem. Philippine Maoist rebels said Wednesday they would end a five-month ceasefire, accusing President Rodrigo Duterte's government of treachery and human rights abuses. The move comes after a third round of peace talks aimed at ending decades of bloodshed wrapped up in Italy last week with no deal on a permanent cessation of fighting. The Communist Party of the Philippines said it would continue to support the peace negotiations, but ordered its 4,000 fighters to resume "military campaigns and tactical offensives" against government forces from February 11. "The (government) has treacherously taken advantage of the (rebels') unilateral declaration of ceasefire to encroach on the territory of the people's democratic movement," the rebels said in a statement. Soldiers and police had used the truce as a licence to "engage in hostile actions" including "human rights violations" in rebel-influenced rural villages. Past experience had showed "it is possible to negotiate while fighting until the substantive agreements are forged to address the roots of the armed conflict". The Duterte government was "dismayed" by the announcement, Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser to the peace talks, said in a statement. But Dureza said he would urge Duterte to abide by the government's own ceasefire. A presidential spokesman said the peace talks, which are due to resume in Oslo on April 2, would go ahead. The communists have been waging an insurgency since 1968 that the military says has claimed 30,000 lives, to overthrow a capitalist system that has created one of Asia's biggest rich-poor divides. Duterte, a self-styled socialist who was swept to power in elections last year, restarted peace talks that had been on and off for 30 years. The two sides separately declared ceasefires as negotiators began talks in Norway in August, and the informal arrangement largely held as they continued discussions on the outskirts of Rome last week. But the rebels rejected government overtures to sign a formal ceasefire and peace settlement this year, warning such a pact was unlikely to be achieved before 2019. The rebels also criticised Duterte's failure to grant amnesty and free nearly 400 jailed guerrillas. The government released 18 jailed rebel leaders at the start of the talks last year. MANILA, Philippines (AP) Philippine communist rebels say they are terminating their unilateral cease-fire after accusing the government of failing to release all political prisoners and encroaching on rebel-held areas. The Communist Party of the Philippines said Wednesday the cease-fire, which took effect Aug. 28, will expire Feb. 10. The rebels and the government had separately declared a cease-fire as they resumed their peace talks. The rebels say they continue to support peace negotiations. Founded in 1968, the rural-based guerrillas have unsuccessfully tried to negotiate an end to their rebellion and their inclusion in government with six Philippine presidents, including Rodrigo Duterte. But even before the latest announcement, the military counted nine rebel attacks since Sunday, including an ambush that killed two soldiers and a raid on a resort. MANILA, Philippines (AP) Philippine communist rebels said Wednesday they will end their unilateral cease-fire next week because the government has not freed all political prisoners and has encroached on rebel-held areas, though they said they continue to support peace negotiations. The Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm, the New People's Army, said that the Aug. 28 cease-fire will expire Feb. 10. The rebels and the government had separately declared a cease-fire as they resumed their peace talks. Founded in 1968, the rural-based guerrillas have unsuccessfully tried to negotiate an end to their rebellion and sought inclusion in government with six Philippine presidents, including Rodrigo Duterte. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said troops will continue to enforce the government's cease-fire unless Duterte decides otherwise. Troops will not carry out operations against the rebels but will maintain peace and order. The military does not recognize any area under control of the New People's Army and will not allow guerrillas to move around with their weapons, he said. "The Armed Forces of the Philippines still believes in and would want to give peace a chance," military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said. Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza expressed dismay at the rebel decision, saying it comes after progress was made in peace talks last month in Rome, with both sides agreeing to discuss a bilateral cease-fire later this month. Dureza said he will recommend to Duterte that the government maintain its unilateral cease-fire. The rebel ceasefire eased fighting that enabled the Duterte administration to shift troops to fight Muslim extremist groups in at least three battlefronts in the south. If clashes with the communists resume, that would put new pressure on the military and serve as an adverse backdrop to the peace talks. Even before the latest announcement, the military counted nine rebel attacks since Sunday, including an ambush that killed two soldiers in northern Isabela and a raid on an upscale resort in Batangas province, southwest of the capital, where the guerrillas carted away security guards' firearms. Story continues The rebels said the government had not complied with its obligation to declare an amnesty for the insurgents and release about 200 rebel prisoners under an earlier agreement. Battle setbacks, surrenders and infighting have weakened the rebel group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States. Sporadic fighting has left about 40,000 combatants and civilians dead. By Manolo Serapio Jr MANILA (Reuters) - Some Philippine mines need to be shut given the environmental harm they have caused, the minister in charge of sector said on Wednesday, a day before the government announces the results of a months-long review of the country's mineral producers. "We'll be really, really strict," Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez told radio station DZMM. "There's some really that have to be closed," Lopez said, without identifying which mines she meant in the review to be published on Thursday. "That's what I see, because it's too much, it's extreme" Lopez said on the destruction some mines have caused. The Southeast Asian nation, the world's biggest nickel ore supplier, last year suspended operations at a group of 10 of its 41 mines - including gold and copper mines as well as nickel ore producers - for environmental infractions after launching an audit of the sector in July. Manila said in September that 20 more mines were at risk of suspension. The country's firebrand leader Rodrigo Duterte has backed Lopez's mining audit, warning shortly after taking office last June that the Philippines could survive without a mining industry. "The decisions that we're making are not political," the minister said. "I'm not looking at who owns the mines. What's important is the welfare of those people who live there." Some 22 of the 30 mines under review are nickel ore producers, and the threat to disruption of supply from the Philippines has helped fuel a 14 percent rally in global nickel prices since last year. On Wednesday, three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.5 percent at $10,000 a tonne by 0302 GMT, recovering from a seven-month low reached last week. (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) By Karen Lema and Martin Petty MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine defence ministry on Wednesday asked President Rodrigo Duterte to issue an order for the military to play a role in his war on drugs, including granting troops powers to arrest "scalawag" police. The ministry asked Duterte to formalise remarks he made in a speech to army generals on Tuesday, when he said he needed their help in his drugs war, and to detain members of a police force he described as "corrupt to the core". The ministry asked for "an official order regarding this presidential directive to serve as a legal basis for our troops to follow". "By the same token, the president's verbal directive to arrest 'scalawag cops' should also be covered by a formal order," the ministry said in a statement. Duterte's police chief ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday to suspend their anti-drugs operations after the killing of a South Korean businessman by rogue drug-squad police. Duterte is infuriated and embarrassed by the incident, which he said had "international implications". His suggestion that the military should fill the void left by police marks a stunning change of tack by the former city mayor, who had steadfastly backed the police amid allegations from human rights groups and some lawmakers they were operating with impunity. It was not clear why the ministry made public its request to Duterte. Any grant of powers of arrest to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would require an executive order, or a declaration of martial law. The volatile president has recently threatened to declare martial law to help the drugs crackdown, but has also ruled it out several times. The Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency, a body a fraction the size of the PNP, takes over the lead in fighting drugs and Duterte has said he needs the military's help. Agency spokesman Derrick Carreon said it was up to the challenge and had already consulted the armed forces. POLICE SCRUTINY The military has been thrust into the spotlight as the police force faces intense scrutiny of a kind not seen since Duterte took office with promises to protect officers fighting the drugs scourge. The rights group Amnesty International said in a report on Wednesday that police had behaved like the criminal underworld they were supposed to be suppressing, taking payments for killings and delivering bodies to funeral homes. Killings during Duterte's campaign appeared to be "systematic, planned and organised" by authorities, it said. The PNP rejected the report's findings, saying it upheld respect for human rights "as a fundamental principle in policing". In a statement, it said allegations of violations were inevitable "in cross-swords engagement or armed contact with criminal elements". More than 7,600 people have been killed during the seven-month crackdown, more than 2,500 in operations that police said had ended up in shootouts. Many of the remaining deaths are attributed to vigilantes and turf wars. It was not immediately clear what role the military might play in the anti-drugs campaign. Duterte told a dinner function late on Tuesday his plan would involve a small number of military. "It's only the armed forces selected few, and the PDEA can operate now against drugs," he said, according to a transcript his office provided on Wednesday. Asked if Duterte would issue an order as requested by the defence ministry, his spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said in a text message, "That is standard operating procedure," but did not elaborate. Senator Leila De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, said bringing in the military was a bad idea. "The solution is to stop the killings, and not call out the AFP to do the killings that the PNP has supposedly ceased," she said in a statement. (Editing by Clarence Fernandez) MANILA (Reuters) - Police prosecuting the war on drugs in the Philippines have behaved like the criminal underworld they are supposed to be suppressing, taking payments for killings and delivering bodies to funeral homes, according to a report released on Wednesday. Amnesty International's report said the wave of drugs-related killings since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power in mid-2016 appeared to be "systematic, planned and organised" by authorities and could constitute crimes against humanity. Responding to the findings, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella defended the Philippine National Police (PNP), saying no extra-judicial killings were state-sponsored and investigations by Senate committees had proved that. "There is no state-sponsored policy of extra-judicial deaths and that there is relentless effort on the part of the PNP to carry out the campaign properly and within legal processes," he said. In a series of reports last year, Reuters showed that the police had a 97-percent kill rate in their drug operations, the strongest proof yet that police were summarily shooting drug suspects. (http://reut.rs/2jPSgSn) The Reuters reports also found that low-level officials in poor neighbourhoods helped police assemble "watch lists" of alleged drug users and pushers that were effectively hit lists, with many of the people named ending up dead. Duterte used exaggerated and flawed data, including the number of drug users in the Philippines, to justify his anti-narcotics crackdown, according to a Reuters investigation. The release of Amnesty's investigation, which was based on 59 killings in 20 cities and towns, comes amid uncertainty over the crackdown after the government suspended all anti-drug operations by police on Monday due to rampant corruption. The Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has now been given the lead role in the campaign. Duterte made the decision after a security meeting on Sunday triggered by the kidnap and killing of a South Korean businessmen by drugs squad police. He said the incident, which took place at the national police headquarters, had embarrassed the country and tarnished the image of the police. 'RELENTLESS PRESSURE' Amnesty said the vast majority of the killings it investigated "appear to have been extra-judicial killings - unlawful and deliberate killings carried out by government order or with its complicity or acquiescence". "The Duterte administration's relentless pressure on the police to deliver results in anti-drug operations has helped encourage these abusive practices," the report said. A senior police officer told Amnesty that police are "paid by the encounter", receiving the equivalent of at least $160 per killing and received nothing for making arrests. Amnesty reported that some police are rewarded by undertakers for sending dead bodies their way, police steal from victims' homes, and paid killers are on the police payroll. "The police are behaving like the criminal underworld that they are supposed to be enforcing the law against, by carrying out extrajudicial executions disguised as unknown killers and 'contracting out' killings," it said. The government has denied sponsoring extra-judicial killings, or police collaboration with assassins. Amnesty's report included numerous references to the series of Reuters stories and investigations into the war on drugs in the Philippines. In the series, Reuters found that officers often gave remarkably similar accounts of drug operations each time a suspect was shot dead. Eyewitnesses also provided starkly different accounts of drug operations, with some saying suspects were shot dead as they pleaded for their lives. Amnesty reported similar findings. The report said that police accounts of shootouts and deaths during operations were "startlingly similar", and often far different to witness testimony and witness accounts of victims being shot dead despite having shouted that they would surrender. The investigation by Amnesty, a London-based advocacy group, was carried out mainly in November and December and was based on interviews with 110 people. Latest police data shows 7,669 people have been killed since Duterte unleashed his war on drugs seven months ago, 2,555 in police operations, which the police says were all in self-defence. The other deaths are classified as investigated, or under investigation. Human rights groups believe most of those are drugs-related, carried out by vigilantes or hit men. The PNP said in a statement it took "strong exception to the opinions raised" in the Amnesty report, adding the force had "always observed and upheld respect for human rights as a fundamental principle in policing". "The police cannot help being typecast as alleged violators of human rights partly because of the basic nature of its law enforcement function," it said. (Reporting by Martin Petty and John Chalmers; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) From Popular Mechanics The world's largest air tanker, dubbed the Global Supertanker, is finally living up to its name. After an arduous approval process, the massive Boeing 747 firefighting aircraft performed its first mission in Israel. Now, the water bomber has been called from its home base in Colorado to fight the out-of-control blaze currently ongoing in Chile, and you can witness what the pilots' see as they maneuver the beastly airplane over the raging inferno. As a chain of more than 100 deadly wildfires have swept over large swaths of central and southern Chile, many fires remain uncontrolled. With the blazes burning for nearly two weeks, the U.S. has now joined France, Russia, and Peru as an international response to the crisis. The Global Supertanker has been operating from Santiago and has relied on a team of local firefighters to fulfill the extraordinary logistics of loading nearly 20,000 gallons of retardant required to fill the eight large pressurized tanks. Each of the tanks hold 200 lbs. of compressed air and can disperse retardant with high pressure. [contentlinks align="left" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Fires%20and%20Flying" customtitles="How%20Drones%20Became%20Firefighting's%20Worst%20Enemy" customimages="" content="article.24109"] Since its arrival on Jan. 25, the tanker has performed multiple bombing missions every day while battling low visibility, rough turbulence, and harsh terrain all at very low altitudes. Along with its Russian counterpart, an Ilyushin IL-76, these two giants are a tag-team aerial effort to protect people and property from a fire that's already destroyed over 2,000 homes and claimed at least 11 lives. Ese momento que #Ilyushin se topa cara a cara con el #supertanker pic.twitter.com/AzCgkO3Yaq - Jose Miranda Guinez (@Jose_Mirandag) January 30, 2017 The Global Supertanker has yet to see action at home in the U.S., but with speeds of nearly 600 mph, the jumbo jet can be almost anywhere in the world within 20 hours, making it a truly global force for fighting the world's worst wildfires. You Might Also Like BOSTON (AP) Police say a 15-year-old boy is under arrest after one gunshot was fired during a fight between two teenagers inside a building that houses Boston Public Schools administrative offices. No one was hurt in the shooting at about 9:20 a.m. Wednesday. Officer Rachel McGuire says that during a physical altercation in a common area, one teen produced a gun that went off during the struggle. Commissioner William Evans said the .40 caliber handgun the suspect pulled from a backpack jammed and several bystanders jumped in to restrain the boys. Both were handcuffed, but one, who was with his mother to register for school, was not charged. Police also recovered a gun. Evans said it's unclear what sparked the confrontation. The building is also home to other city offices and shops. GRAHAM, Texas (AP) Investigators say a Texas sheriff's deputy fatally shot his son before killing himself at the home they shared northwest of Fort Worth. Graham police Chief Tony Widner said in a statement Tuesday that 61-year-old Joseph Parker killed his son, 27-year-old Kensy Parker. Their bodies were found Thursday in a bedroom at the home. Widner initially declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the deaths as investigators awaited forensic results. He says no note was found and that the motive for the shooting is not clear. The elder Parker was a deputy for the Young County sheriff's office and previously was an officer for the Graham police department. An Idaho family was startled awake in the middle of the night when a moose suddenly found itself stuck in their basement. Read: Moose Rescued by Firefighters After Falling Through Thin Ice on Half-Frozen Canadian River Julie Emerick, 50, of Hailey, told InsideEdition.com that she was suddenly woken up by the sound of her dog furiously barking at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning. "I opened up the blinds, and right outside the window was this huge moose's head," Emerick said. "Literally 2 feet from my face with just the glass between us." Moments later, she watched the moose slip, and fall into their 4-foot-deep window well. "The moose is in terrible distress because she didn't quite fit into this window well," she explained. "She's thrashing and crying and hitting the side of the house." She immediately woke her husband and dialed 911. By the time she went back downstairs to check on the moose, it was no longer stuck in the window. In fact, the animal had somehow fallen into her 17-year-old son's bedroom in the home's basement, and made itself comfortable. Luckily, her son was out for the night, Emerick said. Read: Rescue Goat Invades Personal Space of Competitive Horse BFF by Lounging on His Back "Moose can be very aggressive," she said. "They will trample you [but] you've never met a more polite moose ever. She was so docile." She added: "But the TV happened to be in my son's bedroom at the time. I'm like, 'Oh, great, the flat screen's in there with a hoof through it." Within 30 minutes, more than 10 responders from the Hailey Police Department, Blaine County Sheriff's Department and Idaho Department of Fish and Game arrived on the scene. "The moose was definitely scared, it's never been in a home," Lt. Steve England told InsideEdition.com. He said the team first tried to shoo the creature out by leading it up the stairs and out the front door, but she didn't quite take the hint. The moose also began charging at officers whenever they got too close. Story continues "We realized we couldn't get it out on our own, so we called the tranquilizer out of Twin Falls," England said. When the moose was finally sedated at about 5:30 a.m., eight members of the rescue team loaded the animal onto a tarp and were able to lift the moose up the stairs and out of the home within 20 minutes. Ten minutes later, Emerick watched as the moose ran away. Read: 2-Year-Old Builds Special Friendship With Newborn Calf That Lost Its Mom Although the animal somehow didn't leave any damage to the property, Emerick said "there was moose poop everywhere. "It looked like Milk Duds had comploded all over my house," she joked. She stayed home the following day to clean up the mess, even recruiting a friend to help her clean the carpets. "My son did not have a very clean room [so] it's actually cleaner now than it was before it happened," she said. Watch: Golfer Tries to Chase Away Curious Bear Cub Going Through His Cart: 'That's My Beer!' Related Articles: MADRID (AP) A Real Madrid fan had just the right gift to convince Sergio Ramos to hand over his shirt a package of pork. The fan went into Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for Sunday's game against Real Sociedad carrying a sign that said, "Sergio, if you give me your shirt, I'll give you a tray of pork in lard." After Madrid's 3-0 win, Ramos ran across the field and threw his shirt to the fan in the stands. Smiling, the defender asked for the meat and waited a few seconds as a steward picked up the package from the fan. A video of the exchange was posted on Twitter, and several photos showed Ramos returning to the changing rooms carrying the pack of meat. Local media identified the fan as Sergio Sanchez, who is from Vejer de la Frontera in southern Spain, which is known for its pork in lard, or "lomo en manteca," as it's called in Spanish. "He asked for it twice," Sanchez told channel CSN Cadiz. "He didn't want to leave without it." President Trump announced Tuesday that he has nominated to the Supreme Court Neil Gorsuch, a federal judge in Colorado with a similar writing style and outlook on the Constitution as the late Justice Antonin Scalia. I took the task of this nomination very seriously, Trump said in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday night. I have selected an individual whose qualities define, really and I mean closely define, what were looking for. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support. The announcement came in a prime-time news conference Tuesday in just Trumps second week in office. Trump first mentioned Gorsuchs name in September as part of his second list of potential Supreme Court nominees he released as a presidential candidate. Standing here in a house of history and acutely aware of my own imperfections, I pledge that if Im confirmed I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country, Gorsuch said. Currently a judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Gorsuch is one of the only Ivy Leagueeducated judges Trump floated as a potential pick, meaning the court will continue to be made up exclusively of Ivy League graduates. He went to Columbia University and received his law degree from Harvard, also earning a doctorate of legal philosophy from Oxford University. His academic credentials are as good as I have ever seen, Trump said. In both writing style and constitutional philosophy, Gorsuch, 49, is a natural replacement for Scalia, who he called a lion of the law when he spoke Tuesday night. At the core of Judge Gorsuchs jurisprudence is something that was at the core of Justice Scalias. And that is the idea that the preservation of liberty and the enforcement of constitutional structure are inextricably intertwined, explained Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society who advised Trump on the choice. Story continues Gorsuch gave a lecture in 2016 published in the Case Western Reserve Law Review that defended Scalias textualist approach to the Constitution using colorful language of which the late Justice himself would likely approve: Respectfully, it seems to me an assiduous focus on text, structure, and history is essential to the proper exercise of the judicial function. That, yes, judges should be in the business of declaring what the law is using the traditional tools of interpretation, rather than pronouncing the law as they might wish it to be in light of their own political views, always with an eye on the outcome, and engaged perhaps in some Benthamite calculation of pleasures and pains along the way. Though the critics are loud and the temptations to join them may be many, mark me down too as a believer that the traditional account of the judicial role Justice Scalia defended will endure. Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, put it simply when she praised Gorsuchs legal writing: He is fun to read. While some may hear echoes of Scalia in Gorsuchs decisions if he takes the bench, he also brings a more personal connection to the court. More than 20 years ago, he clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy, who still sits on the court today. (He also clerked for Justice Byron White, who retired from the court in 1993 and was replaced by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.) Michael Guzman, a partner at Kellogg Huber Hansen Todd Evans & Figel PLLC, who worked with Gorsuch at the firm and has known him since law school, said Gorsuchs presence would be an asset to the highest court in the land. I could see it being really helpful in that he cares a lot about collegiality, hes a very pleasant personality and a gracious person, Guzman said. Its always useful when people are trying to make hard decisions, and may even disagree, to have someone like Neil in the room. In two recent hot-button cases that made their way to the Supreme Court, Gorsuch upheld religious liberty in legal battles over the Affordable Care Act. In both Hobby Lobby Stores v. Sebelius and Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell, Gorsuch sided with the claimants seeking religious exemptions for paying for contraception as required under the Affordable Care Act. In Hobby Lobby, Gorsuch wrote that the government should not force people with sincerely held religious beliefs into conduct their religion teaches them to be gravely wrong. His positions in both of these cases were largely upheld when they reached the Supreme Court. Gorsuch is against euthanasia and assisted suicide, writing in a 2006 book on the topic, All human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong. This is similar to language used by critics of abortion, but hes never ruled on that subject. He also has strong opinions on administrative deference that put him to the right of Scalia. Hes skeptical of the Chevron doctrine, which says courts should defer to federal agencies in interpreting laws about their own power. Chevron seems no less than a judge-made doctrine for the abdication of the judicial duty, Gorsuch wrote in a 2016 case. While President Obamas Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland spent months languishing as Republicans in Congress refused to hold a hearing for him, Gorsuch will likely now be thrown headlong into a fight on the Hill. Some Democrats have indicated they would be willing to filibuster the nomination. Still, Gorsuch was confirmed easily by a voice vote in 2006 when President George W. Bush nominated him for the 10th Circuit, and hes well within the mainstream of the law, Leo says. Were hoping that there will be disagreement as opposed to Senators being disagreeable, he says of congressional Democrats putting up a fight. I dont think they want to overplay their hand, particularly since its Scalias seat. The President himself implored the Senate during his announcement: I only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together, for once, for the good of the country. The Trump administration is facing its first major test on the international stage as volleys of Russian artillery and rockets continue to pound Ukrainian forces in the countrys contested east, reigniting the frozen conflict and killing about a dozen Ukrainian soldiers since Sunday. The barrages, along with renewed pushes by Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces near the government-held industrial town of Avdiyivka, spiked dramatically on Sunday. The day before, Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held their first phone call, reportedly talking about forming a new alliance against the Islamic State and working together on a range of other issues. The international body tasked with monitoring violations of the Minsk agreement reported at least 2,300 explosions from artillery, mortars and rocket fire on Sunday alone, the day after the Trump-Putin call. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said this was a sharp increase from the intermittent shelling that marks an ordinary day long the front, but that the fighting was so intense it could not properly keep count. Ukrainian forces also appear to be advancing into the no-mans land separating government-controlled territory from rebel-held areas, in what seems a bid to strengthen their bargaining position if they have to go back to the negotiating table again with a weaker hand. Trumps affinity for Russia, and his phone call Saturday with Putin, has stoked fear in Kiev and among NATO allies that Trump could strike a deal with Moscow that would mean less U.S. support for the Ukrainian government, and potentially give Russia a freer hand in its destabilization efforts there. One U.S. defense official, speaking with Foreign Policy on the condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon has long been anticipating an uptick in Russian aggression in Ukraine as Moscow tries to gauge what they could accomplish under the Trump administration. Read more: U.N. Chief Rebukes Trump Over Travel Ban Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says U.S. travel restrictions will increase Americas terror risk. Story continues WikiLeaks Turns Its Attention to the French Elections The professional plot against Francois Fillon goes digital. Scathing Government Watchdog Report Details Bleak Outlook on Afghanistan A warning to President Trump not to mismanage Afghanistan. Greasy Palms Dept.: Congress To Repeal Oil and Mining Anti-Corruption Regulation The same week former Exxon chief Rex Tillerson is expected to become secretary of state. The new fighting, and reports Wednesday that a Ukrainian transport plane was struck by Russian ground fire, indicates that the Russians are not ready to make any peaceful gestures on the ground, said Alexander Vershbow, until late last year deputy secretary general of NATO. The Kremlin, he said, may be trying to test the new administration to see if they distance themselves from Kiev, and tell [Ukrainian president] Petro Poroshenko that he has to make the best deal with Russia, which of course would destroy him politically. Asked Wednesday if the administration views the renewed fighting as a direct challenge from Russia, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said, Were keeping an eye on the situation in Ukraine. Earlier, the State Department released a statement condemning the violation of the 2014 cease-fire in Ukraine that managed to avoid mentioning Russia at all. The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday expressed its grave concern over the dangerous deterioration in eastern Ukraine and called for a halt to the violence by both sides. The U.S. defense official said Moscow has little reason to implement the Minsk cease-fire agreement. This is all very calculated to have this open, bleeding sore on Ukraines body politic that will allow [Russia] to manipulate the situation and the politics of the country, and thereby keep Ukraine in this post-Soviet kleptocratic orbit, he said. The Ukraine-Russia conflict was hard enough for Europe and the United States to confront when Europe was more unified, and transatlantic ties were strong. Appearing before a House Armed Services panel Wednesday, former CIA Director David Petraeus testified that Putin understands very well that while conventional aggression may occasionally enable Russia to grab a bit of land on its periphery, the real center of gravity is the political will of the major democratic powers to defend Euro-Atlantic institutions like NATO and the EU. But resurgent nationalism and growing divisions between Brussels and Washington make a unified response harder. The fighting is a test of how well Washington and Europe will coordinate when faced with a crisis, said Franklin Holcomb from the Institute for the Study of War. A major point of contention are the sanctions that the United States and Europe slapped on Moscow for its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. If Washington were to end its participation in the sanctions as Trump has hinted European resolve will likely crumble, handing a major diplomatic and economic win to Putin. So far, some Trump administration officials are publicly presenting a business-as-usual line on Russia. On Monday, new U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley made her first round of calls and visits with U.N. colleagues, speaking with representatives from Israel, the U.K., France, and, notably, Ukraine. She reaffirmed U.S. support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, according to a release from her office. Its not just Ukrainians who wonder about U.S. resolve in the face of a Russian challenge. American and German tanks along with thousands of other NATO troops are taking up positions in NATOs Baltic countries to reassure locals nervous about the prospect of Russian aggression. The temporary deployments were planned during the Obama administration, but could now be cut back. During the campaign, Trump harshly criticized U.S. troop deployments in Europe, saying that the Europeans should pay for their own defense. The U.S. rotation of 4,000 troops and 90 tanks to Eastern Europe is funded out of the $3.4 billion European Reassurance Initiative, a fund that could find itself in the crosshairs of Trump and his incoming budget director Mick Mulvaney, who wants to save money by slashing the Pentagons spending on overseas deployments. If the fund there slashed, it would represent a major breach of solidarity with Europe, Vershbow said. The Russians would see that as a bonanza that they would try and exploit by convincing countries like Bulgaria and the Czech Republic that the U.S. couldnt be counted on. Photo Credit: ALEKSEY FILIPPOV/AFP/Getty Images WARSAW, Poland (AP) A visit by President Vladimir Putin to Hungary this week reveals the vastly different reactions to Putin's Russia in countries formerly under Moscow's yoke, and highlights the very different challenges those countries will face in working with the new U.S. administration. On one end of the spectrum is Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government is treating Putin's visit Thursday as a major event, and where a refurbished memorial to Soviet soldiers who died in World War II was unveiled ahead of his visit. On the other is Poland, which is fearful of Russia's resurgence and welcoming in troops from the NATO western military alliance. Officials there are tearing down memorials to the Soviet soldiers, adding to Moscow's anger. And the country's most powerful politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, accuses Putin of being behind the 2010 plane crash that killed his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski. But then add to the mix a new U.S. president, Donald Trump. His political ideology is much closer to the leaders of both Hungary and Poland than his predecessor, Barack Obama, but his position on Russia he has praised Putin and belittled NATO as "obsolete" is causing very different reactions in each country. For Hungary, a pro-Russian leader in the White House offers hope the Western world might end the sanctions imposed over Russia's annexation of Crimea and its role in eastern Ukraine. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said last week that Hungary has lost some $6.5 billion in export opportunities because of the sanctions. He said the "timing is perfect" for Putin's visit because for the first time, "as we try to further improve our relationship with Russia, there will be no American pressure not to do it." Many Poles, however, fear a U.S-Russian rapprochement under Trump could threaten their security interests. To them, NATO is anything but obsolete and still represents the best guarantee for an enduring independent state in a difficult geographical neighborhood. Story continues Trump's stance on Russia and NATO "bodes very badly" for Poland and some others in the region, including the Baltic states, with the biggest fear being that the region's interests could be traded as pawns in a bigger deal, said Lukasz Kulesa, the Warsaw-based research director for the European Leadership Network, a think tank focused on security and defense. It's not clear what the expected rapprochement will include, but two programs that Putin strongly opposes and wants scrapped are a U.S. armored brigade of 3,500 U.S. troops that was deployed to Poland recently and a U.S. ballistic missile defense site under construction which is due to become operational in 2018. "It's been our historical experience that whenever a deal was made above our heads by the bigger powers, we got a bad deal and sometimes a bloody deal," said Ryszard Schnepf, Polish ambassador to the United States from 2012-2016. "It looks like Trump wants to maintain dialogue with the biggest countries and dictate conditions to the smaller and weaker ones. From my perspective, and that of many Polish people, this is unacceptable." The approach to Russia in the two countries hasn't always been so different. In 1989, when communism crumbled, both Orban and Kaczynski opposed Soviet control of their nations. Orban rose to prominence with a fiery speech demanding the Soviet troops leave Hungary, while Kaczynski belonged to the anti-communist Solidarity movement. "'Russians go home' was Viktor Orban's ace card for reaching power and he expressed a strong right-wing opinion," said Maria Farkas, a resident of Esztergom, where the Hungarian memorial to the Soviet soldiers was recently refurbished and unveiled. "Times change and opinions change. With a politician, that's no surprise." Even today, Orban and Kaczynski have much in common. Both are imposing nationalistic and authoritarian systems on their people, undermining democratic norms and finding common ground in their condemnation of the European Union, with Orban even comparing it to the Soviet Union. Both leaders have cheered Trump, whose anti-migrant and nationalist views echo their own. Kaczynski recently voiced hope that Trump will end the U.S. "interference in Polish internal affairs" an apparent reference to the Obama administration's criticism of his party's violations of rule of law. Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has said he has been reassured by U.S. promises that better ties with Russia won't harm Poland. But while that may work for Hungary, it's hard to see how Trump can simultaneously benefit both Poland and Russia. "There is a fundamental conflict of interests," said Edward Lucas, author of "The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West" and a leading Western commentator on Russia. "Do we believe that Russia's former colonies have the right to be independent countries or not? It's a clash of interests which can't be reconciled just with diplomacy." Former Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said his definition of an "acceptable" deal on removing EU sanctions would include "a repeat referendum in the Crimea under international supervision, restoring the control of the international border between Ukraine and Russia to the rightful authorities of Ukraine and then normalization of relations including business opportunities with Russia." Dropping sanctions without anything substantial in return would give the impression Trump has been "taken advantage of," Sikorski said. Poland's precarious situation is made worse by strained ties with Germany, France, the EU and other Western partners. "To have bad relations with Russia and Europe simultaneously and an American president who is sympathetic to the Russian president is not a good position to be in," Sikorski said. Lucas said Trump's presidency should prompt Poland to cooperate much more on security with the Baltic states and particularly the Scandinavian countries. "It can no longer rely on America to be a one-size-fits-all solution to its security problems," Lucas said. _____ Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report. Lagos (AFP) - Nigeria's government and military have maintained the narrative for more than a year: Boko Haram, whose bloody insurgency has devastated the country's northeast, is a spent force. In December 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari said the Islamist militants were "technically defeated". Twelve months later, he said troops had run them out of their final enclave. Last month Major General Lucky Irabor, who heads the Nigerian counter-insurgency operation, told reporters the Islamic State group affiliate was "in disarray and... desperate". Throughout January, however, there were repeated attacks in Nigeria as well as in neighbouring Niger and Cameroon, raising questions about the extent of the claims of success. In the latest incident, rebel gunmen on Tuesday ambushed police vehicles on the main road between the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, and the town of Damboa, killing an officer. Last Saturday, as many as 24 people were feared dead when a convoy of civilian buses and trucks with a military escort was ambushed on the same road. There have been hit-and-run attacks against "hard" military targets such as bases while suicide bombers have struck at "soft" civilian targets such as mosques and camps for the displaced. - 'Still around' - Nigeria's government and its commanders on the ground have repeatedly attributed these recent attacks to the actions of a weakened rebel group lashing out. Last month, reporters were flown in a surveillance plane over the Sambisa forest in Borno state to be shown the military's apparent success in flushing Boko Haram out of its main base, "Camp Zairo". "Each time we are on surveillance mission, we used to see the activities of terrorists here with their vehicles parked under the trees," one air force officer explained on the flight. "But now you can't see such things. We have captured and taken over the place from them." Story continues Certainly, Boko Haram holds nothing like the territory it did in 2014, when its leader Abubakar Shekau declared a caliphate from the Borno town of Gwoza, threatening Nigeria's sovereignty. But there are fears that instead of defeat and capture, rebel fighters have merely been dispersed throughout the remote region around Lake Chad and are biding their time to regroup. That happened previously in 2013 when emergency rule was declared in three northeast states, including Borno, and Boko Haram was forced out of urban centres. Security analysts tracking the conflict have warned about complacency and underestimating the group's ability to adapt and revert to classic guerrilla tactics. One civilian vigilante leader in Rann, where last month a botched Nigerian air strike may have killed up to 236 civilians, said huge numbers of rebels may have moved in to the area recently. "One of those arrested confessed that around 6,000 fighters had moved into villages in the area," he told AFP after a Boko Haram attack on the same town, a day after the bombing. Another militia member in Biu, near the site of Tuesday's ambush, added: "Boko Haram are still around, although they have been badly weakened." Both attacks appear to back up Shekau's claim in a video message in December where he proclaimed: "We are safe. We have not been flushed out of anywhere." - Claims 'diluted' - Africa security analyst Ryan Cummings said the spate of attacks in January "at the very least dilutes any claims that Boko Haram may be a spent force and thus defeated". "It still comes down to the government erroneously conflating territorial capture with the defeat of Boko Haram, which is incorrect," he told AFP in an email exchange. "It is obvious the sect continues to possess the operational capacity to engage in armed incursions against a wide array of targets and is seemingly being more strategic in its employment of violence." Mass casualty attacks against civilians, using suicide bombers, may be designed to draw out security forces from counter-insurgency operations, he suggested. The group appears to be again targeting the military to restock weaponry -- as it did in 2013 and 2014 -- and camps for the displaced for much-needed supplies. The publisher of the sub-Saharan Africa defence and security forum Beegeagle's Blog said Boko Haram's capacity to launch large-scale hit-and-run attacks was clearly diminished. But they still posed a threat to the military, civilians and humanitarian aid convoys. "BH can only be factually described as being in disarray," he told AFP on condition of anonymity. "It would be hasty for anyone to proclaim their defeat at this stage," he said, adding that a response to the switch in tactics was needed. In a quiet room thick with the smell of incense, Buddhist monk Kaichi Watanabe chants sutras to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a woman's death. The 41-year-old may look like a traditional holy man in Japan -- but he wasn't dispatched by a temple. Instead, the family ordered him through a fast-growing rent-a-monk business that has angered traditionalists who warn it is commercialising the religion. Watanabe's employer, Tokyo-based firm Minrevi, said demand for its monk delivery service has spiked since it started in May 2013, as more and more Japanese lose their ties to local temples -- and lose faith in an opaque donation system. The monk later rings a small traditional bell and bows to relatives as the 30-minute ceremony winds down at the grieving family's home near Tokyo. "There are many temples in the neighbourhood, but I didn't know where to call," said the deceased woman's middle-aged son, who asked not to be named. "Also, I have no idea how much I should donate. But this has a clear pricing system." At the click of a mouse, customers can hire a monk from Minrevi from 35,000 yen($300) depending on the ceremony. Retailing giant Aeon sent shockwaves through Buddhist circles in 2010 when it started a service that had a price list for introducing customers to temples for funeral services. The open pricing flew in the face of longstanding system in which monks collect donations, known as ofuse, in return for performing ceremonies. But there has been growing unease about the murky system which leaves the amount up to families, who have to make several more donations after a funeral for more than a decade. - 'Commodified donations' - Japan's Buddhist temples count on donations to do renovations, which can cost several million dollars, but there has been criticism that they're more interested in raising revenue than offering spiritual guidance. Chiko Iwagami, an executive member of the Japan Buddhist Federation, acknowledged that some monks have improperly demanded specific amounts of money at memorial services, hurting public trust. Story continues "That ignores the spirit of donations," Iwagumi said, noting that monks are not supposed to expect financial rewards for performing their duties. Aeon's fledgling operation outraged the federation, which demanded it take down the price list. The company complied but still runs its service. Earlier this year, the federation also blasted online retailer Amazon for listing Minrevi's monk-renting service. "They have commodified donations. This is extremely unfortunate," Iwagami said. But Minrevi's vice-president Masashi Akita brushed off the criticism, saying the company is just offering a "platform" to connect customers with monks. The firm has a roster of about 700 monks nationwide with business on track to grow by 20 percent this year, he added. Akita, who grew up in rural community where his neighbours regularly visited a temple, said the business is just a sign of the times. "I was shocked when I first learned that some people didn't know how to contact a monk," he said. "So I wanted to be that bridge." - Community ties - The Japanese government does not keep track of the religious identification of citizens, but participation in rituals related to both Buddhism as well as native Shintoism -- the two major religions in the country -- is common across the nation. Some firms also offer Shinto priests' services. But attachment to religion has fallen into decline. As the population rapidly ages and small rural communities shrink, some 30 percent of Japan's 75,000 Buddhist temples are at risk of closing by 2040, said Kenji Ishii, a professor of religion at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. "Japanese have maintained ties with temples because of funerals and other types of commmunity-related events, not for religious reasons," he added. "Buddhist leaders now have to think how they're going to run their sects with shrinking revenues. But it seems like they don't want to look at the reality." Watanabe, who conducted the service near Tokyo, doesn't see a clash between the business and spiritual aspects of his job. "I want to spread the teachings of Buddhism," he said. "This service gives us more opportunity to visit homes. I think it's meaningless if we cannot be there to help." President Donald Trump was supposed to visit a Harley-Davidson Inc (ticker: HOG) factory in Milwaukee, but the the trip was canceled after the company grew uncomfortable with scheduled protests, an administration official told CNN. Protests popped up around the country following Trump's election, with more recent demonstrations challenging his executive order blocking immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Stephanie Grisham, a White House spokeswoman, confirmed to CNN that the administration is not anticipating Trump heading to Milwaukee Thursday. He was supposed to tour the factory there that day in addition to signing executive orders associated with American manufacturing, reports CNN. CNN's source said the potential protests -- not the executive orders -- were to blame for the company's "uncomfortable" feelings. Harley-Davidson has denied the visit was going to happen, saying Tuesday in a statement they "don't have, nor did we have, a scheduled visit from the President this week at any of our facilities." Maripat Blankenheim, director of Harley-Davidson's corporate communication, also mentioned that of the last five presidents, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton all went to Harley-Davidson facilities. "We look forward to hosting the president in the future," she said. Harley-Davidson also reported earnings Tuesday. Its global retail motorcycles sales for 2016 dipped 1.6 percent compared to 2015, according to a news release. The company expects its motorcycle shipments for 2017 to be lower modestly or the same compared to last year. Its long-term work will be focusing on increasing U.S. ridership and its influence across the world. How 8 CEOs Reacted to Donald Trump's Immigrant Ban 8 Ways President Donald Trump Will Affect Wall Street David Oliver is Associate Editor, Social Media at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email at doliver@usnews.com. Support for President Trumps nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, crumbled Wednesday, as two Republican senators announced that they would not vote to confirm her, citing thousands of angry calls from their constituents. The White House and Senate leadership insist that DeVos, a Republican megadonor who backs school vouchers, will be confirmed despite the defections. The surprising announcements from Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine came after both of their offices were flooded with phone calls and emails from constituents who opposed DeVos. Murkowski said she had heard from thousands of Alaskans. The confirmation vote is now split 50-50, which means that Vice President Mike Pence would have to come to the Senate floor to break the tie. If Pence is called in, it will be the first time in Senate history that a vice president has had to cast the tie-breaking vote for a presidents Cabinet nominee, a sign of the controversy that DeVos nomination has stirred up. President Trumps nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has declined to say that schools should be gun-free zones. (Photo: Getty/Chip Somodevilla) Democrats are hoping that angry constituents can persuade at least one more Republican senator to defect, killing DeVos nomination altogether. A Senate Democratic aide said that Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, both up for reelection in 2018, are the likeliest to change their minds on DeVos. (A majority of Nevadans voted for Hillary Clinton in the most recent election.) Flake and Heller said Wednesday that they plan to vote for DeVos, however. https://twitter.com/alanhe/status/826902589610541056 I believe Betsy DeVos is the right choice for this position, Heller said, according to Politico. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Buzzfeed on Wednesday that DeVos would be confirmed and that you can take that to the bank. And White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also projected certainty, telling reporters he was 100 percent confident she would be confirmed. The National Education Association, the nations largest teachers union, said that 1 million people had used its online tool to email senators to oppose DeVos, and that at least 50,000 people had made phone calls since her rocky confirmation hearing. DeVos demonstrated a shaky grasp of some education policy issues during her relatively brief hearing. Democratic senators criticized her for never having worked in a school, and for not sending her own children to public schools. DeVos cited her work as an advocate for education reform and as a mentor in schools. Mary Kusler, the unions director of government relations, said that much of the outpouring of opposition to DeVos was spontaneous, and that she hoped it would continue to be so, as advocates try to change the vote of one more senator. Obviously, were going to engage our members, just like weve been doing, but what we really see is that this has really touched a nerve in the hearts and minds of not just educators but parents, grandparents and community members, she said. ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche is looking to expand its $2 billion-per-year diabetes business, not sell it or spin it off. Diagnostics division head Roland Diggelmann on Wednesday dismissed reports the Swiss drugmaker was considering options for the diabetes business he oversees, calling them "false." Speculation may have been triggered by Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) announcement last week that it aims to divest a similar unit, he said. Instead, Diggelmann is hunting for technologies outside his company to potentially bolster a portfolio that now includes glucose monitoring products and insulin pumps as he seeks to arrest a revenue slump heading into its third year. "We basically have all of the technologies we need in-house in varying degrees of development, so we have to ask ourselves, 'How far are we along?'" Diggelmann said in an interview. "We're looking around: Are there new possibilities, are there alternatives?" Diggelmann's pledge to keep the diabetes business, which is the world's biggest ahead of J&J's, chimes with a similar commitment Roche made last year. Sales of Roche's diabetes products in 2016 slipped 4 percent to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2 billion), hurt by price pressure in the United States and extending a slide that began in 2015. CHINA DEMAND One bright spot for the business was Asia, where a 16 percent sales rise was primarily driven by China. Diggelmann estimates 100 million people in China may be diabetics, with only a small proportion diagnosed. Regulators would block attempts by Roche to snap up J&J diabetes assets, he acknowledged, adding those were not interesting anyway, as they overlap with Roche's existing portfolio. Acquisitions for the diabetes franchise will likely instead fit the mould of Roche's recent buying: Smaller, targeted purchases aimed at adding novel technologies, said Chief Financial Officer Alan Hippe, describing the company's M&A philosophy. Roche has the financial clout both to make acquisitions and reduce its 22 billion francs of debt during 2017, Hippe said. "The capital markets are open to us," Hippe said. "From a financial perspective, we've got room to navigate." (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields and Mark Potter) Bucharest (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets across Romania to protest against the government's decriminalising of a string of corruption offences, the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989. Between 200,000 and 300,000 protesters, according to media estimates, braved sub-zero temperatures to demonstrate, with some shouting "Thieves!" and "Resign!" a day after the government passed an emergency decree. In the capital Bucharest some demonstrators hurled bottles, firecrackers and stones at security forces, who responded by firing tear gas. A few police and protesters were lightly injured. For the second straight night crowds also hit the streets in other cities across the country -- including in Timisoara, cradle of the 1989 revolution. Over a matter of days that uprising nearly 30 years ago forced dictator Nicolae Ceausescu from power, ending with he and his wife being summarily executed on December 25, 1989. In the emergency decree issued late Tuesday, the government decriminalised certain corruption offences and made abuse of power punishable by jail only if it results in a monetary loss of more than 44,000 euros ($47,500). Romania's left-wing government under the Social Democrats (PSD) has only been in office a few weeks after bouncing back in elections on December 11, barely a year since mass protests forced them from office. The government had remained silent since Tuesday evening, but on Wednesday Justice Minister Florin Iordache wrote on his Facebook page that there was "nothing secret, illegal or immoral" about the emergency decree. Bucharest said it is putting legislation in line with the constitution. But critics say the main beneficiary will be PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, currently on trial for alleged abuse of power, as well as other left-wing politicians. Dragnea, 54, is already barred from office because of a two-year suspended jail sentence for voter fraud handed down last year. His abuse-of-power trial, which began on Tuesday, concerns 24,000 euros. Story continues Another initiative, which Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu will submit to parliament, will see around 2,500 people serving sentences of less than five years for non-violent crimes released from prison. The government said that this will reduce overcrowding in jails but critics say that, again, the main beneficiaries will be the many officials and politicians ensnared in a major anti-corruption drive of recent years. - 'Scandalous' - The anti-corruption push saw Romania make history in 2015 when then-prime minister Victor Ponta went on trial over alleged tax evasion and money laundering, charges he denies. Only last week the European Commission commended the efforts of ex-communist Romania, which joined the European Union together with neighbouring Bulgaria in 2007 as the bloc's two poorest members. But this week's latest move set off alarm bells in Brussels, with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and his deputy Frans Timmermans issuing a joint statement expressing "deep concern" on Wednesday. "The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone," they said. "The Commission warns against backtracking and will look thoroughly at the emergency ordinance... in this light." Centre-right President Klaus Iohannis, elected in 2014 on an anti-graft platform and a sharp critic of Dragnea, on Wednesday called the decree "scandalous" and moved to invoke the constitutional court. Both decrees were published earlier this month, sparking protests last Sunday that drew 40,000 people including 20,000 in the capital, and more than 15,000 a week earlier. The laws have been heavily criticised by several Romanian officials and institutions, including the attorney general, the anti-corruption chief prosecutor and the president of the high court. "I am outraged. The PSD won the elections but that doesn't mean they can sneakily change the penal code in the middle of the night," said protester Gabriela State, 46. On Wednesday some 20,000 demonstrators gathered in the western city of Cluj, an AFP correspondent said, while there were 15,000 in Timisoara and 10,000 in Sibiu in central Romania. New York (AFP) - Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, one of the world's most notorious criminals, will appear in person and not by video link at his next US court hearing, a judge agreed Wednesday. It was a swift, if small, victory for public defenders representing the 59-year-old two-time Mexican prison escapee whom US authorities insist will not be able to tunnel himself to freedom in America. Judge Brian Cogan initially agreed with prosecutors that Guzman should appear by video link at a procedural hearing on Friday to "minimize disruption from physical transportation." But he left the door open for the defense to object -- and object they did. In a five-page letter, they said Guzman wants to "be physically present" on Friday and at future hearings. "His absence from the courtroom would necessarily lead to the public impression that Mr Guzman is too dangerous to be brought to the courtroom," they advised. On Wednesday, Cogan ruled that the defendant will attend Friday's conference in person at the US federal court in Brooklyn. Guzman, accused of running one of the world's biggest drug empires, was extradited to the United States on January 19 and appeared without handcuffs and without incident to plead not guilty to a raft of firearms, drug trafficking and conspiracy charges during a brief hearing on January 20. Since then, he has been held in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, unable to make telephone calls or communicate directly with his family or lawyers in Mexico, his lawyers said. If found guilty at trial, he stands to spend the rest of his life in a maximum security US prison. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump should be more specific about his proposal to set up safe zones in Syria and said attempts to implement a similar policy in Libya had been tragic. Speaking at a news conference in Abu Dhabi with United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Lavrov said he hoped Russia could discuss the issue with the U.S. State Department once it had drawn up more detailed plans for the safe zones. Lavrov said he did not think, from what he knew so far, that Trump was proposing to roll out safe zones in the same way as it had been done in Libya in 2011. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Peter Hobson; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Abu Dhabi (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Wednesday for Syria's return to the Arab League, saying its membership would allow the organisation to help find a political solution to the country's conflict. "The League could play a more important, more effective role if the Syrian government was part of the organisation," Lavrov, whose country is a key ally of the Damascus regime and also a broker in peace efforts, told a press conference in the Emirati capital. He said Syria was a "legitimate" member of the United Nations and yet "cannot take part in discussions inside the Arab League". "This does not help our joint (peace) efforts," said Lavrov. But Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, speaking at the same press conference, ruled out an early return of Syria to the Cairo-based organisation. Any decision was up to the League's 21 other members, he said, adding that the issue was not on the current agenda and would only be raised when "a political settlement" was in sight for Syria's almost six-year-old civil war. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership at the end of 2011 following months of brutal repression of anti-regime demonstrations and an opposition movement supported by Gulf monarchies. Turning to new US President Donald Trump's proposal of establishing safe zones for refugees in Syria and Yemen, another war-torn Arab nation, Lavrov expressed scepticism. "The Trump administration still has to work out a concrete approach. The idea of safe zones was studied at the onset of the Syrian crisis, something that would reproduce the sad experience of Libya," he said. "Everyone understood this when Libya was destroyed," the Russian foreign minister said. But Lavrov said he remained convinced that Russia could "re-establish a complete and regular dialogue with the United States to lead to pragmatic results towards settling the situation in Syria, Libya and Yemen". He said such cooperation would "not be dictated by the ideology of democratisation for example", referring to the role of past US administrations in the overthrow of dictators such as Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Moamer Kadhafi in Libya. Los Angeles (AFP) - San Francisco filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit Tuesday against President Donald Trump over his decision to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities. "The president's executive order is not only unconstitutional, it's un-American," said city attorney Dennis Herrera in announcing the suit filed in federal court. "That is why we must stand up and oppose it. "We are a nation of immigrants, and a land of laws. We must be the 'guardians of our democracy' that President Obama urged us all to be in his farewell address." The lawsuit, the first such challenge to Trump's executive order issued last week, urges an injunction against the president and his administration to prevent them withholding federal funds from American cities that protect undocumented immigrants. These so-called sanctuary cities refuse to assist or cooperate with federal officials in enforcing immigration laws. There are some 300 such cities across the United States and many have vowed to stand up to Trump's order aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. Trump's administration argues that these sanctuary cities harbor criminals but advocates say they offer needed protection to undocumented residents who contribute to the community. Herrera said San Francisco, which has about 30,000 undocumented residents, receives more than $1.2 billion a year in federal funding, most of which goes to health care and other programs. "This lawsuit is not a step I take lightly," he said. "But it is one that is necessary to defend the people of this city, this state and this country from the wild overreach of a president whose words and actions have thus far shown little respect for our Constitution or the rule of law." The government barely controls half its country, hundreds of thousands have fled their homes due to conflict and opium production is at a historic high in Afghanistan. Thats just a glimpse of Afghanistans spiral of dysfunction, compiled by the U.S. government watchdog that oversees the billions of dollars the United States pours into Afghanistan each year. In a new quarterly report to Congress released Wednesday, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) office, John Sopko, outlined a stark backslide in progress in Afghanistan a country the United States has sunk over $117 billion in since 2002. Just over a week into his new administration, President Donald Trump hasnt solidified his foreign policy priorities outside of boosting military spending and defeating ISIS. But in Afghanistan, Trump is inheriting a costly and messy conflict from his two predecessors, as the SIGAR report shows. Among the most damning aspects of the SIGAR report: The Afghan government had 57.2 percent of the country under its control by the end of 2016 a 6.3 percent decrease from 2015. That doesnt bode well, given the number of Afghan security forces is decreasing while its casualties are increasing. 583,000 people fled their homes due to conflict in 2016. SIGAR added that that is the highest number of displacements since record keeping started in 2008. Some 23 percent of the 8,397 conflict-related casualties in Afghanistan were attributed to Afghan security forces and the U.S.-led coalition. Afghan opium production rose 43 percent from 2015 levels. Afghan opium bankrolls the Taliban and other insurgent groups. And its the countrys largest export; 90 percent of the worlds opium came from Afghanistan in 2014 alone. There were 3 million fewer students actually attending classes in Afghanistan than previously thought. The Afghan Ministry of Education had to strikes the number of students attending classes down to 6 million; some students simply dont show up, others cannot because of conflict or school closures. Security concerns closed more than 1,000 schools down around the country. Story continues SIGAR suspended and disbarred U.S. funded projects due to corruption, fraud, or poor management, valued at over $137 million in 2016 alone. U.S.-funded projects have a sordid history of mismanagement; the U.S. government squandered nearly half a billion dollars on Afghan mining projects through 2016. Nearly every trend line is going in the wrong direction with one notable exception: procurement reform. The Afghan governments efforts to fight corruption and reform its procurement processes saved $200 million that may have otherwise been lost to corruption, the SIGAR report said. Sopko added a personal warning in the report to the new Trump administration. Unfortunately in the nearly five years Ive been traveling to Afghanistan, I first witnessed the United States put in way too much, way too fast, he said. More recently, Ive watched the U.S. remove way too much, way too fast. Policy makers both in Congress and the new Trump Administration should take note of this, he said. Photo credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he has serious doubts about whether Donald Trumps Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, should be confirmed. Schumer, the leader of the Senate Democrats, made the statement shortly after the announcement Tuesday night and suggested that hes willing to filibuster Trumps choice for the high court. Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward womens rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent Justice on the Court, Schumer said in a statement. The Senate minority leader also emphasized that the Senate should keep its 60-vote standard the amount necessary to defeat a filibuster to approve Supreme Court nominees, calling it a bar that was met by each of President Obamas nominees. Schumer said it is up to Gorsuch to prove he is in the mainstream and willing to defend the Constitution from abuses of the executive branch. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Judge Neil Gorsuch. (Photos: Alex Wong/Getty Images, Carolyn Kaster/AP) Several other Democratic senators released statements Tuesday night saying they have concerns that Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge in Denver, favors the rights of corporations over individual rights. It is imperative that a new justice be prepared to defend the rights of all Americans, not just the wealthy and large corporations, said Sen. Bernie Sanders. A handful of senators, including Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Ed Markey, D-Mass.; and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced that they were already opposed to Gorsuch. I cannot support any #SCOTUSnominee who does not recognize that corporations are not people. Read my full statement. SB pic.twitter.com/jUdCtj70fH Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) February 1, 2017 Americans deserve to know where Trump's SCOTUS nominee Judge Gorsuch stands on the special interest politics that has stricken the Court. pic.twitter.com/jimcSifn6P Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) February 1, 2017 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has hinted that hed be willing to change the institutions rules to lower the 60-vote bar to 50 votes, which would likely result in Gorsuch sailing through the nomination process. Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate. Story continues Schumer suggested earlier this month that Justice Antonin Scalias vacant seat was stolen from Democrats, since Republicans refused to hold a hearing for Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obamas nominee to replace Scalia, who died last February. Schumer said he would hold the vacancy open for as long as he could if the nominee did not meet Democrats standards. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid eliminated the 60-vote bar for Cabinet nominees, but the standard remains for the Supreme Court. It was meant to require some bipartisan support for confirming the presidents appointments to the high court. The Trump administration will have help pushing Democrats to back their pick, however. Carrie Severino, chief counsel for the Judicial Crisis Network, is launching an advertising campaign to target Senate Democrats who are up for reelection in 2018 in states that voted for Trump. We will ultimately force vulnerable Senators to choose between obstructing and keeping their Senate seats, she said in a statement. Scientists and critics of President Donald Trumps approach to science will march in Washington D.C. on Earth Day, organizers said Wednesday. The protest, inspired by the widely-attended Womens March held the day after Trumps inauguration, follows a string actions by the new administration scientists say undermines scientific integrity and threatens the practice of science. A Facebook page for the April 22 march has more than 300,000 followers. It is time for scientists, science enthusiasts, and concerned citizens to come together to make ourselves heard! organizers wrote on the page. Among other things, the Trump administration has prohibited scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from speaking to the media and temporarily halted grant funding from that agency. Almost all mentions of climate change have been removed from the White House website. He has not appointed a science advisor and has made no indication if and when he might do so. Trump has drawn large crowds in protest both at the Womens March and in opposition to his executive order barring people from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the U.S. Colombo (AFP) - Sri Lankan police have arrested an astrologer after his prediction that President Maithripala Sirisena would die last week proved to be wide of the mark. Vijithamuni Rohana de Silva, a 52-year-old former sailor in the Sri Lankan navy, was hauled before magistrates in Colombo on Wednesday where he was granted bail on a bond of two million rupees ($13,300). "He was arrested following an investigation into a complaint from the media ministry that his false predictions had caused unrest in society," a official who asked not to be named told AFP. Prosecutors said de Silva wrote a series of blogs over the past six months that foretold Sirisena's death last Thursday, January 26, but the day passed off peacefully for the president. De Silva is no stranger to the law courts and once served a prison term for being part of an attempt to assassinate the then-Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi while he was visiting the island in 1987. Sri Lankan politicians place great faith in astrology. Many have their own seers whose predictions are sometimes treated with more deference than the advice of senior aides. By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. senators on Wednesday delayed a committee vote on President Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency after the panel's Democrats boycotted the meeting, saying that nominee Scott Pruitt doubts the science of climate change. The boycott in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee delayed the transition to a new administrator for the agency. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, said he could not support Pruitt, a Republican and the attorney general of Oklahoma, for a public health position because he "denies the sum of empirical science and the urgency to act on climate change." At a committee confirmation hearing last month Pruitt, who has sued the agency he intends to run more than a dozen times on behalf of the oil-drilling state Oklahoma, expressed doubt about climate change science. But Pruitt said he would be would be obliged for now to uphold the agency's 2009 "endangerment finding" that carbon dioxide emissions harm public health. The finding is the agency's basis for regulations on those emissions. Senator Tom Carper, the panel's top Democrat, said Pruitt had provided "woefully inadequate" answers to written questions and had not named one agency regulation that he supported. "If Mr. Pruitt is serious about leading this important agency, he should be more than willing to provide straightforward answers to our fundamental questions," Carper said. Republicans decried the move by the Democrats. "This is simply a senatorial temper tantrum," said Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, another oil state. Trump, like Republican Senator Jim Inhofe on the panel, has called climate change a hoax. Trump has promised to make changes at the agency including doing away with previous President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan that cracks down on emissions from coal-fired electricity generators. The plan was suspended by the Supreme Court last year. John Konkus, a spokesman for Pruitt's confirmation team, said Democrats and the EPA under Obama had "put politics and rhetoric ahead of their core work and ahead of the welfare of the American public." In 2013, Republican senators on the panel boycotted then- Obama's second term pick for the agency, Gina McCarthy, saying they were "completely unsatisfied" by her answers to more than 1,000 written questions they had asked her. She was eventually confirmed. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; editing by Bill Trott and Grant McCool) Washington (AFP) - Republican leaders suspended the rules of a key US Senate panel Wednesday to allow it to approve President Donald Trump's nominees for Treasury and Health secretaries without any Democrats present. The controversial move came a day after Democrats boycotted the Senate Finance Committee hearing to consider the nominations of Wall Street banker Steven Mnuchin to head the US Treasury and congressman Tom Price to run the Department of Health and Human Services. The committee's chairman, veteran Senator Orrin Hatch, suspended the panel's rules on forming a quorum, then held votes to approve Mnuchin and Price and send their nominations to the Senate floor for a full confirmation vote. "We took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues," Hatch said. "For the record, I'll note that the Senate Parliamentarian Office has confirmed that this course of action is consistent with both the committee and Senate rules," he added. Hearing footage showed all Republicans in attendance, while seats for the Democrats were empty. "The only thing missing was a member from the minority side. But, as I noted, they, on their own accord, refused to participate in this exercise," Hatch said. Mnuchin and Price are among the most controversial of Trump's cabinet nominees. Democrats have vowed to slow-walk the confirmation process, infuriating Republicans who stress that an incoming commander in chief ought to have his inner circle in place quickly. Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who is not on the committee, expressed concern about the rules suspension. "Today Republicans just ran right over them, and voted them out on the floor," Coons told reporters. "These are not normal times; this is not a typical president." The Senate holds a confirmation vote for Trump's secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson, the former chief executive of ExxonMobil, later Tuesday. He is expected to win confirmation along a party-line vote. By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. Senate Republican on tax policy raised questions on Wednesday about a border adjustment tax backed by Republicans in the House of Representatives, and suggested it could have difficulty passing the Senate as a part of a U.S. tax reform. Border adjustment, which is a mainstay of the House Republican tax reform blueprint, would bring sweeping change to the U.S. corporate tax system. But it faces opposition from retailers, oil refiners and automakers who say it could raise prices for American consumers. In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch did not reject the border adjustment tax proposed by House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he said there are questions about whether it would unduly burden U.S. consumers and businesses or pass muster under international trade rules. "We don't have definitive answers to any of those questions at this particular point. And without them, I don't think I can give definitive positions," Hatch said. The Utah Republican did not say whether he thinks border adjustment could clear the Senate. But he said a handful of senators have "serious reservations" and noted that Republicans can ill afford to lose votes from their 52-seat Senate majority, even if they use a procedure known as reconciliation to avoid a Democratic filibuster. "A major concern on tax reform is producing a bill that can get through the Senate," Hatch said. "We'll basically need universal Republican support to pass anything through reconciliation. That's difficult to accomplish under any circumstances, let alone on something as complicated as tax reform." Billed as a way to boost U.S. manufacturing and pay for corporate tax cuts, border adjustment would essentially tax imports but not exports. It is expected to be part of House tax reform legislation that could emerge in March or April. "I'm optimistic we can find a common path," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, Hatch's congressional counterpart, said in a statement after the senator's speech. It is unclear whether the border adjustment proposal has President Donald Trump's support. The president has called the proposal "too complicated," but the White House says it is an option for paying for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Hatch said the Senate would not "simply take up and pass a House tax reform bill" but that his committee would produce its own proposal in the near future. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown) WASHINGTON (AP) Partisan tensions flared in the usually decorous Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, evidence of the simmering anger as Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to block President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks. The sparring pitted Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota against Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas just before the panel voted to approve Sen. Jeff Sessions' nomination to be attorney general. Franken gave a lengthy speech in which he accused Cornyn's Texas colleague, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, of misrepresenting remarks he'd made in Sessions' hearing several weeks earlier. Cruz wasn't present for Franken's speech, and Cornyn interrupted him twice to object and say it was unfair to disparage Cruz when he wasn't there. He said Franken was acting "untoward and inappropriate." Franken shot back that he wasn't at the earlier hearing when Cruz "personally went after me, he personally impugned my integrity." Angrily pointing at Cornyn, he asked him, "You didn't object then, did you?" Cornyn said he wasn't sure he was there when Cruz spoke. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, tried to referee, asking Franken to "leave personalities out of it," and "let it go." But he said he'd prefer not to rule him out of order. Franken didn't back down, and continued his speech. Cruz arrived at the meeting after Franken had moved on to a different subject, and the two didn't appear to exchange words. At issue was Franken's line of questioning at Sessions' confirmation hearing in early January. Franken questioned the Alabama senator, a longtime member of the panel, over whether he'd exaggerated his role in several civil rights cases that Sessions had listed in a nominee questionnaire. Franken quoted attorneys who had challenged the depth of Sessions' involvement. Later in the day, Cruz criticized Franken for the line of questioning and suggested it was inappropriate and incorrect, calling into question the veracity of one of the lawyers. "It is unfortunate to see members of this body impugn the integrity of a fellow senator with whom we have served for years," Cruz said then. Shortly after the dustup, the panel approved Sessions' nomination along party lines, 11-9. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Senior Turkish and Israeli officials are meeting for the first time in nearly seven years, seeking to find ways to further improve ties and to discuss regional developments. Turkey and Israel formerly close allies reconciled last year and restored ambassadorial-level diplomatic ties, mending a deep rift caused by the deaths of 10 Turkish activists during an Israeli commando raid on an aid vessel that tried to breach the blockade on Gaza in 2010. Turkish Foreign Undersecretary Umit Yalcin and his Israeli counterpart, Yuval Rotem, were meeting in Ankara on Wednesday for their two countries' first political consultations session since 2010. Rotem was also scheduled to meet with members of Turkey's Jewish community during his stay. Does it ever feel like Seth Rollins cant catch a break? After a freak knee injury in November of 2015, Rollins sat out last years WrestleMania before finally returning in May to a heros welcome except he was still positioned as a heel for several months for no discernible reason. On Mondays Raw, he and Triple H finally began sowing the actual real seeds for a match between the two of them at WrestleMania 33, and Samoa Joe arrived to beat down Rollins. But whoops! Everything may be ruined now! Again. On Wednesday, WWE.com reported that Rollins has re-injured his knee in the attack, and posted the above video of Rollins leaving Raw on crutches to their website and YouTube pages. While this certainly seems like it could be part of a storyline injury to further play up the danger of Samoa Joe and add even more bad blood to his feud against Triple H, it sadly appears to be a very real injury. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported that the injury is legit, and PWInsider reported that Rollins is already in Birmingham, Alabama, to consult with Dr. James Andrews about the severity of the injury, and to evaluate whether this aggravation of his surgically repaired knee will cause him to miss yet another WrestleMania. Wish I could say it was just a bad dream. pic.twitter.com/mr5vu1MEVp Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) February 1, 2017 Keep your fingers crossed for Seth Rollins, because were hoping this doesnt turn into the biggest bummer ever. Bannons world. For someone who ran a media company and hosted a radio show before become President Trumps top advisor, theres been an air of mystery surrounding Steve Bannon. The USA Today went back and listened to dozens of recordings of the show he hosted for the conspiracy-minded, ultra-right wing Breitbart media company, and found that much of what he said in 2015 and early 2016 has since been parroted by POTUS. Earlier this week, Trump made Bannon a member of his National Security Council, taking the highly unusual step of installing a political adviser in the middle of his national security team. In one episode, Bannon said, you have an expansionist Islam and you have an expansionist China. Right? They are motivated. Theyre arrogant. Theyre on the march. And they think the Judeo-Christian West is on the retreat He went on to predict a war between the U.S. and China within the next decade. He also predicted a major shooting war in the Middle East in the coming years. To be brutally frank, I mean Christianity is dying in Europe, and Islam is on the rise, he said in January 2016. Some of these situations may get a little unpleasant, Bannon said. But you know what, were in a war. Keep an eye on Yemen. Some Pentagon officials are looking at Yemen as a place where the Trump administration might allow the military more room for action than the Obama administration, according to the Washington Posts Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Missy Ryan. After the weekends Navy SEAL raid on an al Qaeda camp that killed over a dozen fighters along with the 8 year-old daughter of deceased American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in 2011 in a U.S. drone strike along with Chief Petty Officer William Ryan Owens, defense officials see more action coming. We expect an easier approval cycle [for operations] under this administration, one defense official told the Post. Another former officials with experience in Yemen said that more U.S. troops on the ground in Yemen was overdue. Story continues Military clears itself of wrongdoing. Remember back to late 2015, when a group of civilian intelligence analysts at the U.S. Central Command charged that their bosses were tweaking their work to make it look like the war against ISIS in Iraq was going better than facts on the ground warranted? This might surprise you, but a Pentagon investigation due out Wednesday finds little evidence to support those charges. Buzzfeeds Nancy Youssef first reported the results of the investigation, saying one of the analysts called the report a whitewash. Asking too much of Mattis? Expectations for new Defense Secretary James Mattis are high with allies and domestic observers expecting him to act as a bulwark against an inexperienced White Houses desire to move fast. Mattis is the canary in the coal mine, signaling the mood of the Trump administration, one foreign official told the Wall Street Journals Gordon Lubold and Julian Barnes. Thats a lot to ask of any cabinet member, and lets not forget that Mattis has bosses: national security advisor Michael Flynn and President Trump, to whom hes accountable, and whose policies hes tasked with carrying out. But the SecDef is wheels up for Asia on Wednesday, stopping off in Japan and South Korea on the first overseas trip of any member of the Trump administration. While there, Mattis will address the North Korean threat, Chinas moves in the South China Sea, and calm jittery allies unsure over Trumps campaign pledges to pull U.S. troops out of overseas bases in the region. Later this month, Mattis will head to an international summit in Germany, where hell again be asked to be the leading face for the future of U.S. foreign policy. Tell us how you really feel. A senior career diplomat delivered a soaring and thinly-veiled critique of President Donald Trumps foreign policy in a farewell address Tuesday that pleaded with colleagues to stay in their positions and uphold Americas longstanding policies of openness and liberty,: FPs John Hudson reports from Foggy Bottom. We still owe something to America, said Tom Countryman, the outgoing under secretary of state for arms control, at a private goodbye party at the State Department. A policy without professionals is by definition an amateur policy. You have to help make the choices that bring this country forward. You down with FSB? A top cybersecurity specialist and his deputy in Russias intelligence service, the FSB, are reportedly being accused by the Kremlin of breaking their oath by working with Americas Central Intelligence Agency, FPs Emily Tamkin tells us. Sergei Mikhailov, allegedly detained at a board meeting last December, and his deputy, Dmitry Dokuchaev, were arrested by the Kremlin on Jan. 27 for treason and illegal hacking. Then, on Tuesday, Russian news agency Interfax, after hearing from unidentified sources, reported that they, along with Ruslan Stoyanov, the head of cybercrime investigations at Kaspersky Labs, and a fourth, as yet unnamed person, are suspected of passing along secret information to the CIA or of passing it to someone who passed it to the CIA. The more you know. Russian defense ministry has just launched a Arabic language version, and is unveiling a Chinese site next month, according to Kremlin-funded Sputnik. Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley. Philippines Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is making good on his promises to warm relations with China in contrast to the recent tensions between the two countries over disputed territory in the South China Sea. Reuters reports that Duterte said hes asking China to pitch in to help with the Philippiness piracy problem in the Sulu Sea. Duterte says hed be glad if Chinese coast guard vessels patrolled the waters, where Islamist militants have kidnapped sailors and held them for ransom. Duterte has argued for a pivot to Russia and China and away from the U.S. following criticism from American officials over his policy of encouraging the vigilante murders of drug addicts. Ukraine Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine are increasing their use of heavy artillery, shelling population centers in territory held by the Ukrainian government and raising the question of what, if anything, President Trump intends to do about it. The Washington Post reports that ten people have died in the fighting already, but all eyes are on the Trump administration to see what its policy will be towards the conflict. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump expressed support for Russias annexation of Crimea and skepticism that the Russian troops involved in the operation were actually Russian. The UN Security Council expressed grave concern on Tuesday over the fighting. The members of the Security Council expressed their full support of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the Security Council which includes Russia, and Ukraine on a rotating basis said in statement. The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime. Syria President Trumps policy towards Syria and the anti-Islamic State fight is becoming somewhat clearer following claims from U.S.-backed rebels that they had been provided armored vehicles by Washington. The predominantly Kurdish SDF has been among the most effective American allies against the Islamic State but U.S. support for it has come at the cost of mounting irritation from Turkey, which considers the Kurdish groups that compose the SDF to be terrorists. SDF spokesman Talal Sello called the shipment of the vehicles the marker of a new phase in the U.S.-SDF relationship, noting that the Obama administration had been less willing to supply the group with more than light weapons. Drones The New York Times got a hold of some of the Islamic States internal documents on its drone program. The terrorist group has been using commercial and purpose-built drones to drop small explosive like grenades on Iraqi forces trying to clear out the city of Mosul. According to the documents, the Islamic State has standardized checklists for drone missions as well as documentation showing the various commercial components used to build and equip the devices. A spokesman for the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition told the times that the terrorist groups drones have killed about a dozen people and injured 50 so far. Psyop One of the Defense Departments flagship counter-messaging programs against the Islamic State is bogged down by incompetence and dubious impact, according to an AP investigation. The program, called WebOps, is supposed to use Arabic-speaking personnel to dissuade potential recruits to the Islamic State and counter their message. But the wire service found allegations that WebOps personnel often have weak grasps of Islam and the Arabic language, have awarded contracts based on nepotism, and provided their own misleading assessments about the impact of WebOps on Islamist militants online. Business of defense When the Obama administration greenlit the sale of fighter jets to Gulf countries, it let Kuwait and Qatars purchases move forward but held back the sale of F-16s to Bahrain until it improved its human rights record. Now, Defense News reports, it looks like the fine print about human rights is no more and the sale will go through unimpeded. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) says he thinks the Trump administration will approve the $2.8 billion sale without any restrictions. Book deals In a move that will surprise few, a Navy SEAL is writing a book. Robert ONeill, a member of the Navys elite SEAL Team 6 and the man that, by some accounts, pulled the trigger on the shot that killed Osama Bin Laden, will be publishing a memoir in April about his life with the special operations unit. Matt Bissonnette, a fellow Team 6 alumni and participant in the Bin Laden raid, also published a memoir that touched on the famous raid only to find himself in legal trouble failing to clear it through pre-publication review. ONeills book, by contrast, has been vetted through the pre-publication review process already. By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - Older women who sleep well at night are more likely to have satisfying sex lives, a recent study suggests. Postmenopausal women reported less sexual activity and less sexual satisfaction if they also had trouble sleeping through the night, researchers found. Based on the findings, doctors may want to consider an older woman's overall health if she brings up issues like sexual satisfaction, said lead author Dr. Juliana Kling, a womens health internist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. "When a patient is asking me about a sexual health concern, it's important for me to look at other aspects of her health and ask about sleep," she told Reuters Health. For the new study, Kling and colleagues analyzed data collected from nearly 94,000 women, ages 50 to 79, who were enrolled in the Womens Health Initiative Observational Study. The women had answered questions about their sexual function in the previous year and their sleep in the previous month. Overall, 56 percent of the women reported being at least somewhat satisfied with their current sexual activity. Additionally, 52 percent reported sexual activity with a partner during the previous year. Nearly one third of women had insomnia, as determined by a tool that takes into account their ability to fall asleep, how often they wake during the night and overall sleep quality. After accounting for variables that may influence the results, like hot flashes and vaginal dryness, the researchers found that women who scored high on the insomnia tool were about 8 percent less likely to report being satisfied with their sex lives. The researchers also report in the journal Menopause that sexual activity and satisfaction decreased with shorter sleep duration. Women who slept six hours per night were about 6 percent less likely to be sexually active and 6 percent less likely to be sexually satisfied, compared to women who slept seven to eight hours per night. Likewise, women who slept only about five hours per night were about 12 percent less likely to be sexually active and 12 percent less likely to be sexually satisfied than those who slept seven to eight hours per night. "The study suggests high-quality and sufficient sleep is important for sexual function," said Kling. The results don't prove poor sleep causes less sexual activity and satisfaction, however. The study also can't say whether increasing sleep duration would improve the women's sex lives. "It certainly suggests that, but its an observational study we cant show the directionality of that relationship," Kling said. Women and their doctors should recognize how symptoms of menopause and sleep affect women's lives, including their health, work, home and relationships, said Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, who is executive director of the North American Menopause Society. "We know that seven hours of sleep have been determined by the national sleep foundation as best for your cognitive functioning and prevention of Alzheimer's," said Pinkerton, who is also affiliated with the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville. For women having trouble with sleep, there are a number of interventions that may help, including short-term hormone therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and good sleep hygiene, Pinkerton told Reuters Health. "Paying attention to getting seven hours of sleep per night is one of the most important things you can do for your family, your relationship your work and your health," said Pinkerton, who was not involved with the new study. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2jZqFhw Menopause, online January 30, 2017. BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico unveiled a special police unit to fight extremism on Wednesday, warning about the rise of fascism in Europe and Slovakia. The 125-strong unit will investigate crimes related to support and funding of terrorism and extremism, hate crimes and hate speech, both online and offline, the police said. In an electoral shock, the far-right People's Party-Our Slovakia entered the Slovak parliament for the first time last year after winning 8 percent of the vote in March's election. The party openly admires Jozef Tiso, leader of the 1939-1945 Nazi puppet state who allowed tens of thousands of Slovak Jews to be deported to Nazi death camps and was tried for treason after the war. It is also hostile to Slovakia's Roma minority. "A new wave of fascism has been on the rise not only in Europe but also in Slovakia. We have neglected the history because nobody expected it could return," Fico, head of the centre-left but socially conservative Smer party, said. "Today we see people in the parliament and regional government using the fascist salute (...) we see statements challenging the results of the World War Two and the Holocaust on a daily basis." Right-wing and anti-immigrant parties have been on the rise across Europe after years of slow economic growth and the arrival of more than a million migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Fico himself has been criticized by human rights groups and socialist colleagues in the European Parliament for refusing to accept the EU quotas on accepting refugees and for saying in a May 2016 interview "there is no space for Islam in Slovakia". He has also repeatedly blamed high unemployment in some Slovak regions on the Roma, who make up around 300,000 of the country's 5.4 million population. Also on Wednesday, General Prosecutor Jaroslav Ciznar called on lawmakers to scrap their immunity on statements made in parliament, saying it prevents authorities from prosecuting hate speech. People's Party-Our Slovakia lawmaker Stanislav Mizik is facing a 1,000 euro fine for breaching parliamentary standards by calling Islam "satanic". He also criticized President Andrej Kiska last month for giving state honors to what he called "people of Jewish origin". Another of the party's lawmakers, Milan Mazurek, has said on social media that the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust had been "distorted". (Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Catherine Evans) An alleged burglar found himself in a tight situation over the weekend after trying to squeeze into a California home through the chimney. Authorities arrived to a home in response to not one, but two calls Sunday in the town of Ridgecrest, police said in a statement. Read: Naked Man Stuck in Chimney for 11 Hours Says He Was Playing Hide-And-Seek "RPD dispatch received a call from an unknown female, who wanted to report that her friend was stuck in a chimney and needing help. Coincidently, the burglary alarm and request for aid were at the same location," the statement reads. But police don't believe it was really a coincidence. When RPD officers arrived on-scene, they located Keith Schultz, 28, stuck inside of the chimney. Officers said they also found signs of forced entry at the residence and an open back door. "It is believed at the time of this report that Schultz attempted to break into the residence by climbing down the chimney, getting himself stuck. We believe that his accomplice(s) forced entry into the residence attempting to free him but triggered the home alarm instead," police said. Meanwhile, the cops believe whoever was with Schultz fled, and no alleged accomplices have been located. After they extracted the sooty suspect from the chimney, Schultz was transported to an area hospital and treated before he was booked into the Bakersfield jail, where cops snapped his memorable mugshot. Read: One Hot Date: Jilted Woman Gets Stuck in Chimney Schultz was charged with burglary in the first degree. According to police records available online, he remains held without bail in a Kern County jail and is due back in court next month. Watch: Firefighters Rescue Cat After Being Stuck in Chimney for 5 Days Related Articles: On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump said that Neil Gorsuch will be his nominee to the Supreme Court to replace the late Antonin Scalia. What are the next steps in the confirmation process? Under Article II, Clause 2, of the Constitution, the nomination process started with the public announcement by Trump. The President then will officially notify the Senate of the nomination in a written statement. This is required under the Constitutions Appointments Clause in Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, which reads that the President shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Judges of the supreme Court. Under Senate standing rules going back to 1868, the nomination is sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, unless the nominee is a current or former Senate member. (In the most-recent incident of a former Senator as the nominee, the matter was referred back to the Judiciary Committee and not directly considered by the full Senate.) The Senate Judiciary chair, Charles Grassley, will authorize a pre-hearing investigative stage about the nominee, followed by public hearings at the Judiciary Committee and a decision on a recommendation to the full Senate. The nominee first undergoes the extensive investigation process. The nominee fills out a long questionnaire, and the FBI also conducts an investigation. The American Bar Association will issue a rating for the nominee based on professional qualifications. And traditionally, the nominee will meet with Senators who are part of the approval process. Next, the nominee appears at a public hearing at the Senate, facing a variety of questions from the Judiciary Committee. According to the Congressional Research Service, in recent years it has taken an average of 39 days from a candidates nomination for the first public hearing to occur. On average, hearings last four to five days, but Robert Borks hearing was 11 days long. By a majority vote, the Judiciary Committee can report the nomination favorably, report it unfavorably, or report it without making any recommendation at all. It is also possible for the committee to take no action of any type to send a report to the full Senate. Story continues Once a recommendation vote is taken by the Judiciary Committee, and the nomination is sent to the entire Senate for a floor vote, a simple majority is needed to confirm the nominee. However, 60 votes are needed under cloture rules for the nomination vote to make it to the floor if a filibuster is requested. When the nomination is reported to the full Senate for consideration, it is placed on its Executive Calendar. The Senate Majority Leader decides how to approach the voting process. The Leader can ask for unanimous consent for the nomination to head directly to the floor for debate, or put in place measures to limit a filibuster by asking for a cloture vote. The nomination is then debated by the full Senate in Executive Session, where a filibuster is possible, if not limited by prior rules. The cloture vote, requiring 60 votes, would end a filibuster after an additional 30 hours of debate. The Republicans have 52 seats in the current Senate, meaning they would need eight votes from Democrats or Independents to avoid a filibuster blocking the nomination vote. The Republicans also have the dramatic option of eliminating the filibuster for a Court nominee using parliamentary moves like those employed by then-Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid in 2013, to end other Senate filibusters. In recent years, the average Supreme Court nomination and confirmation process has taken between two and three months. The new Justice, if confirmed, could be available for arguments heard at the Court in late April, missing the late March part of the Court calendar unless the process is greatly expedited. In 2010, there was a six-week period between Elena Kagans nomination and the start of her in-person Senate testimony, which lasted for two days. Kagans approval by the Judiciary Committee came three weeks later, with full Senate approval about two weeks after that. Scott Bomboy is editor in chief of the National Constitution Center. Recent Stories on Constitution Daily Could California really become its own country? Executive Orders 101: What are they and how do Presidents use them? Who can be excluded as an immigrant to the United States? DENVER (AP) Neil Gorsuch, named Tuesday as President Donald Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, has a solidly conservative pedigree that has earned him comparison to the combative justice he would replace, Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch clerked for two Supreme Court justices and worked in President George W. Bush's Justice Department before being appointed to the federal bench and authoring a series of sharply written, conservative opinions. His mother, Anne, ran President Ronald Reagan's Environmental Protection Agency. But Gorsuch has also won praise among liberals and others in the Colorado legal community for his fair-mindedness and defense of the underdog. "He is a very, very smart man. His leanings are very conservative, but he's qualified to be on the Supreme Court," said Denver plaintiff's attorney David Lane. "I don't know that Judge Gorsuch has a political agenda and he is sincere and honest and believes what he writes." A judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Gorsuch lives in the hyper-liberal college town of Boulder and teaches at the University of Colorado's law school there, also a progressive bastion. "I think this should be Merrick Garland's seat," said Jordan Henry, one of Gorsuch's students there and a self-described liberal, referring to President Obama's nominee for the vacancy last year who was never considered by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. But she described Gorsuch as an eager mentor, always solicitous of students' opinions and with a brilliant mind. "He's dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the justice system," said Henry, 29. "I do take some comfort that he can be a Trump choice." Gorsuch is a Colorado native who earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then earned a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington, D.C., law firm. Story continues He served for two years in Bush's Justice Department before Bush appointed him to a seat on the 10th Circuit in 2006. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, served as administrator of the EPA, but she was forced to resign 1983 amid a scandal involving the mismanagement of a $1.6 billion program to clean up hazardous waste dumps. Burford was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over Superfund records, which she claimed were protected by executive privilege. Neil Gorsuch has contended that courts give too much deference to government agencies' interpretations of statutes, a deference that stems from a Supreme Court ruling in a 1984 case. More recently, he sided with two groups that successfully challenged the Obama administration's requirements that employers provide health insurance that includes contraception. Gorsuch summed up his minimalist judicial philosophy and focus on impartial judgment Tuesday evening. "A judge who reaches every outcome he wishes is likely a very bad judge," he said after Trump introduced him from the East Room of the White House in a primetime televised address. Lane, who frequently clashes with law enforcement, praised Gorsuch as fair and open-minded. Lane won a $1.8 million jury verdict against the Denver Police Department in a brutality and wrongful arrest case. The city appealed and the case ended up before Gorsuch. Lane said Gorsuch tore into the city's lawyers and urged them to go to mediation rather than drag out appeals for years to deny the plaintiffs their reward. The mediation led the case to be settled for $1.6 million. Gorsuch has also drawn attention for siding with religious employers against the Obama administration's requirement that they provide health insurance that covers contraception. He also wrote a book arguing against assisted suicide. Marcy Glenn, a Denver attorney and Democrat, recalls two cases before Gorsuch in which she represented underdogs. In one, a college student faced criminal libel charges for mocking a professor; the court upheld the student's right to file a claim against the prosecutor. In the second, homeowners sued over illnesses stemming from an old nuclear weapons facility outside Denver. Gorsuch revived their class-action lawsuit in a novelistic, 38-page ruling that began, "Harnessing nuclear energy is a delicate business." "He issued a decision that most certainly focused on the little guy," Glenn said. Rebecca Love Kourlis, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice, said Gorsuch has written 175 majority opinions and 65 concurrences or dissents in his decade on the 10th Circuit. "He's really earned his stripes," she said. Kourlis said Gorsuch is also a notable advocate for simplifying the justice system to make it more accessible. "Legal services in this country are so expensive that the United States ranks near the bottom of developed nations when it comes to access to counsel in civil cases," Gorsuch wrote in a journal article last year. "The real question is what to do about it." The article is written in Gorsuch's characteristic, straightforward style. "He thinks it's really important for people other than lawyers to understand what he's writing," Kourlis said. Gorsuch is also an avid skier, fly fisherman and horseback rider, Kourlis said. He teaches at the University of Colorado's law school in Boulder. "He is humble, he is extremely articulate and he is extraordinarily hard-working," Kourlis said. In his financial disclosure report for 2015, he reported assets ranging from $3.1 million to $7.25 million. He earned $26,000 for his law school duties and another $5,300 in book royalties that year. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's main opposition body said on Wednesday it would be "unacceptable" for the United Nations to choose opposition delegates to the next round of peace talks in Geneva planned for this month. The armed opposition separately stated that no outsiders could choose Syrian representatives to talks, and that it would not accept invitations to negotiations which did not lead to "transition of power to a transitional governing body." The next round of UN-based peace talks on Syria have been scheduled for Feb. 20, diplomats said on Tuesday. The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has said the UN would choose the opposition's representatives if they cannot agree on their delegation, "in order to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible." "Mr. de Mistura's talk of his intentions to form the opposition delegation himself is unacceptable," the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee, the main opposition umbrella group, said on Twitter, citing its spokesman Salim al-Muslit. "Would de Mistura be able to intervene in forming the regime's delegation?" asked the HNC, which includes political and armed groups and represented the opposition in peace talks last year. HNC chief coordinator Riad Hijab said on Twitter: "Selecting the Syrian opposition delegation is not de Mistura's business." The armed opposition echoed the sentiment, saying that it was "no one's right ... to appoint people to negotiate in the name of the Syrians", and demanded an apology from de Mistura. It said there could be no steps towards a political solution to the civil war without full enforcement of a ceasefire. The Syrian government and rebel groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad began a nationwide ceasefire in late December, brokered by Moscow and Ankara. The UN-sponsored talks had been planned to begin in Geneva on Feb. 8 but Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week they had been postponed. Invitations to the talks are due to go out on that day. De Mistura said on Tuesday he delayed the talks to take advantage of last week's indirect talks between the Syrian government and opposition in the Kazakh capital of Astana. They ended with Moscow, Ankara and Tehran agreeing to monitor government and rebel compliance with the shaky ceasefire. (Reporting by Ellen Francis, John Davison and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Dominic Evans) Tech leaders will meet up to discuss supporting a lawsuit against President Donald Trumps immigration executive order, Reuters reported Tuesday. Software service GitHub called the meeting and invited Google, Airbnb, Mozilla and Netflix, among other tech giants, a source told Reuters. The companies will discuss supporting a lawsuit against Trumps immigration ban from seven countries, predominantly Muslim. The companies would discuss filing an amicus brief, which are filed by parties who are not litigants in a case but want to provide arguments or information to the judge. Michal Rosenn, general counsel for Kickstarter, which will be involved in a filing, said the effort began Monday. "We're all very shaken. We're shaken to see our neighbors and our families and our friends targeted in this way," Rosenn told Reuters. "All of us are trying to think about what we can do." Tech Industry Against Travel Ban The tech industry has been strongly vocal against Trumps travel ban announced Friday. Google reportedly created a $4 million immigration emergency fund to donate to organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also denounced the ban. The planned meeting comes after Amazon and Expedia filed declarations in court Monday supporting a suit filed by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson against Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and high-ranking Trump Administration officials. Companies Invited To The Meeting Other companies invited to the meeting called by GitHub include: Adobe Systems Inc., AdRoll, Automattic Inc., Box Inc., Cloudera Inc., Cloudflare Inc., Docusign, Dropbox, Etsy Inc., Evernote Corp., Glu Mobile Inc., Lithium, Medium, Mozilla, Pinterest, Reddit, Salesforce.com Inc., SpaceX, Stripe, Yelp Inc. and Zynga Inc., according to Reuters. Internet communications company Twilio said it will be involved in filing an amicus brief, while internet security company Cloudflare Chief Executive Matthew said it is willing to consider and sign an amicus brief. Meanwhile, Mozilla Chief Legal and Business Officer Denelle Dixon told Reuters the immigration executive order was "misplaced and damaging, to Mozilla, to the technology industry and to the country." Related Articles The Hague (AFP) - A technical problem hit air traffic control at Amsterdam's airport Wednesday causing delays and flight re-routings at one of Europe's busiest travel hubs, an official said. "We don't know the cause of the problem and we don't know how long it will last," airport spokesman Paul Weber told AFP, saying the trouble had started at 8:15 am (0715 GMT). Delays were lasting about 30 minutes to an hour, he said, adding it was difficult to estimate how many flights had been affected. "Some flights" had also been re-routed to other airports including Munich, in southern Germany, and the Dutch port of Rotterdam. Schiphol airport, just outside Amsterdam, is one of the largest in Europe and last year welcomed some 63 million passengers. Air traffic control was "working hard to resolve the problem," said Magritt Raalte, a spokeswoman for air traffic control adding "we are working on a back-up system but it can't handle as many flights at the same time." The glitch comes after computer problems temporarily hit first Delta Air Lines and then United Airlines in the past weeks, temporarily grounding scores of US domestic flights. Aden (AFP) - Fighting between Yemeni government forces and rebels has trapped tens of thousands of civilians in and around the port town of Mokha, where over 30 fighters were killed Wednesday, residents and the UN said. "We fear the (Shiite) Huthi (rebel) snipers who have taken up positions on rooftops but also the firing from the other (government) side," said Majed Mukaibar, a 32-year-old fisherman and father in the Red Sea town of southwest Yemen. Ibrahim Saleh, a tradesman who works in southern Yemen's main city of Aden, told AFP that he has been trying since last week to evacuate his family from Mokha but has been thwarted by incessant gunfire. The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said in a statement released Tuesday that he was "extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of civilians" in Mokha and nearby Dhubab. "Information from the field indicates that military operations in the coastal region have forced most residents of Dhubab to flee the area," he said. McGoldrick said "an estimated 20,000-30,000 people, almost one third of the population, are trapped in the town (of Mokha) and require immediate protection and relief assistance". Constant air strikes, shelling and sniper fire around the town had "killed and injured scores of civilians and have ground most services to a halt", including water supplies. The UN official appealed for a halt to fighting "to facilitate the delivery of assistance to Mokha and enable the free movement of civilians". Military and medical sources said 25 rebels and six soldiers on the government side, which is being supported by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, were killed in the latest clashes on Wednesday for control of Mokha. Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have been battling on three fronts but so far failed to penetrate the centre of Mokha, according to residents and military sources. Story continues Before government forces launched a major offensive on January 7, Huthi rebels controlled virtually all of Yemen's 450-kilometre (280-mile) Red Sea coastline. Soldiers have since thrust north from the Bab al-Mandab strait where the Red Sea joins the Indian Ocean, overrunning Dhubab district and entering the historic port of Mokha in their biggest advance in months. Conflict in Yemen escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched air raids against the Huthi rebels, who had taken over the capital and seized swathes of the country's centre and north. The war has cost more than 7,400 lives in the past two years, according to the UN's World Health Organisation. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked state lawmakers to pass legislation banning "sanctuary cities" during his State of the State speech to the Texas legislature Tuesday, intensifying his battle over immigration enforcement with Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez. "Elected officials do not to pick and choose which laws to enforce," Abbott said, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday. Abbott said officials "must protect Texas" from deadly criminals. Abbott's comment about "elected officials" was a dig at Hernandez, who was recently elected sheriff of Travis County, home of Austin, a city that has long been a liberal oasis in red Texas. By Jan. 20, Hernandez said her office would stop cooperating with federal immigration authorities starting Wednesday. In a two-page memo Tuesday, Hernandez said that while the sheriff's office would coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when warrants were issued, or the individual wanted by ICE was charged with serious felonies, her office wouldn't conduct immigration status investigations or expand resources communicating with ICE. Hernandez said the policy would "promote public safety" and "ensure the continued participation of victims and witnesses regardless of their immigration status." Last week, Abbott said Hernandez's policy was "completely outrageous" and threatened to withhold $1.8 million in grant money from Travis County. Abbott requested that state agencies tally all funds Thursday, including federal funds, given to Travis County in fiscal year 2016, the Texas Tribune reported. Abbott made the banning of sanctuary cities municipalities that decline to enforce federal immigration lawan emergency item. Under state law, the legislature cannot pass bills in the first 60 days of a legislative session unless they pertain to an emergency item. Abbot also made reforms to the state's child protection system an emergency item. Related Articles Romanians have taken to the streets in what could be Bucharests largest protest since the 1989 fall of communism. On Tuesday night, the Romanian government passed an emergency ordinance to decriminalize certain offenses including official misconduct where damage is less than $48,000 (or 200,000 Romanian lei). Government officials claimed the move would solve overcrowding in prisons. Romanians, however, saw something else: an attempt to help dirty politicians get off scot-free. And so, just hours after news of the ordinance broke (at 10 pm local time), over 10,000 residents took to the streets of Bucharest, shouting, You wont get away with it. The outcry wasnt just from ordinary citizens. On Facebook, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said, Today is a day of mourning for the rule of law. (As president, however, he does not oversee the legislative body, a role that falls to the prime minister.) Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, and his deputy, Frans Timmermans, expressed concern in a joint statement. The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone, they said. Such censure shouldnt be taken lightly: Romania is to due to receive 30.84 billion euro in European structural and investment funds from 2014 to 2020. Romania is currently ranked 57 out of 176 in Transparency Internationals corruption rankings. The higher the number, the higher the corruption. As points of comparison, Denmark is first, and the United States is ranked 18. Romanias judicial watchdog announced they would challenge the ordinance in court. But, so far, the government is unmoved. On Wednesday, government officials defended their move. Justice Minister Florin Iordache said the changes were necessary to have the law reflect decisions made by the constitutional court. But Romanians arent buying it. After all, Liviu Dragnea, leader of Romanias ruling party, is charged with defrauding the state of roughly $25,800 under the new ordinance, not a criminal act at all. Photo credit: DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images I am an Iraqi Muslim who is about to become an American citizen. In July 2011, I boarded a flight to New York City, seated next to an old Iraqi couple. When we landed at JFK, the scene was quite different from what it is today. As soon I got off the plane, an Asian-American employee at the International Organization for Migration asked me to wait with the same Iraqi couple I traveled with from Amman, Jordan. Several minutes passed, and then she took me inside the terminal avoiding the long entry lines where hundreds of Americans and foreigners were waiting to be processed by customs. Related: Trumps Nixonian Loyalty Test With Travel Ban: Another Display of Incompetence Refugee! she screamed at anyone who tried to stop us. Finally, after passing through several side doors without question, I was handled by one official for a few minutes and then admitted to the United States without even being searched or having my bag searched. The whole thing took 20 minutes or maybe a bit more. Nevertheless, these 20 minutes ended a lengthy and thorough three-year vetting process during which I nearly lost hope in the American dream. I applied for resettlement in the U.S. as part of the so-called Kennedy bill. In 2007, after many Iraqi and Afghan nationals who worked with the American military in Iraq and Afghanistan as interpreters were killed, the late Senator Edward Kennedy stepped in to help. He sponsored a bill that assigned a section in the defense budget to resettle in the U.S. those of us who worked for U.S. entities in Iraq and Afghanistan for a year or more, along with our families, to protect us from retaliation and to show gratitude. By the end of December 2016, the Mideast interpreters who were resettled in the U.S. numbered 155,000 Iraqis and 38,000 Afghans. Every one of us passed through multiple screening processes that included at least two personal interviews, a medical check, and a thorough security background check. The process takes no less than a year and could stretch to several years. Story continues Related: Trumps Immigration and Obamacare Policies Could Trigger a GOP Backlash I applied for resettlement after working as a journalist for The New York Times in Iraq. My focus as a journalist was corruption, and for that, I was sued, threatened and harassed by the Iraqi government and its insurgent affiliates. I also lost my father when he was killed by al-Qaeda in Iraq (now ISIS) in western Baghdad as part of the terror groups effort to wipe out members of the Shiite majority in Iraq. My family and I were also displaced from our home. Nevertheless, my vetting process took three years, and it only ended after my former colleague, the late journalist Anthony Shadid, who twice won the Pulitzer Prize for covering Iraq, and the late senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, personally intervened on my behalf. Also, several press protection non-profits like the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters without Borders and the International Press Institute vouched for me. My family members had waited another four years before they were admitted in late 2015. Once in the U.S., I worked like many other refugees in several subsistence jobs in New York. Once, I worked at Dish Network answering phones as a customer service agent. It was a horrible job where I was constantly yelled at. But I made some friends, and I paid my bills. The friends I made there eased the loneliness that I felt in the America. After more than a year in that job, I quit and started writing again. Then, I eventually found my way to journalism again. I married an American woman, and we had a son. I lived in New York and in Kansas, and I was able to know both the lifestyles of the East coast and of the Midwest and the political preferences associated with each. The very liberal environment in New York, where minorities -- including devout Muslims -- are welcomed and encouraged to participate in all forms of social life is in contrast to Kansas where minorities are just a small portion of the white Christian-dominated population. I was shocked to see how popular Halal food is in New York City. I had to explain many times to Americans that Halal food is not a cuisine, but a religious imprimatur like kosher. I was also surprised to see those religious South Asian Muslims who dress like Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban walking freely in New Yorks streets after attending services in local mosques. Related: Extreme Muslim Immigration Ban Suggests Bannon Is Running the White House Later on, I knew that while most of these Muslims were never harassed by law enforcement authorities or the FBI, the New York police department spied on some of them and the FBI engaged in sting operations luring them to join al-Qaeda or ISIS in response to recruitment calls by agents posing as terrorists. What I experienced when I entered the land of the free has changed now with the election of President Donald Trump. Even before the new administration took office, the flood of millions of refugees from the Middle East to Europe, followed by a series of ISIS orchestrated attacks in Paris, and other European cities have somehow branded all refugees as potential terrorists in the eyes of some Americans. Then came the attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando, which were inspired by ISIS. The stage was set for a new era of Islamophobia, similar to the one following 9/11. Trump seized the moment. Many Americans conflated the European migration crisis and the terror attacks which took place afterward in Europe with refugees admitted to the U.S. The refugees who went to Europe were mainly people without papers who illegally landed on Europes shores by boats. There was no vetting process in Europe. That is not the case with the refugees admitted to the U.S. who have already passed the most extreme vetting process. What happened in Europe also revealed incompetence within the ranks of the French and Belgium security and intelligence services that allowed ISIS operatives to travel back and forth, conspire and conduct the attacks without detection. This is not the case in the U.S. where the FBI is much more alert to terror plots. Lastly, there is a demographic factor involved. In Europe, Muslims are the second largest religion in several countries. In France for instance, Muslims make up to 10 percent of the population. Related: Trump Pratfalls Onto the World Stage Targeting Muslims, Mexico, and Iraqs Oil While it is the right and indeed the duty of every government to defend its people, the temporary travel ban imposed by Trump on citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries will most likely be ineffective and counterproductive. Take Iraq, for example. Few Iraqis who were admitted to the U.S. have been involved in acts of terrorism because all had to go through the same intensive security background check that I went through. In fact, all refugees admitted to the U.S. go through these procedures. The other important point is that almost all the Iraqi refugees are actually people who risked their lives while helping the United States in Iraq. Many of them lost relatives in acts of revenge against them by anti-American insurgent groups. Arresting them in the airports after their tragic and lengthy journey to the safety of the U.S. is a blow to American patriotism and will send the wrong message to the world that the U.S. punishes its friends instead of helping them. Perhaps more important, at least 80 percent of Iraqis are actually natural enemies of ISIS and al-Qaeda because they are either Shiites who are considered heretics by ISIS, Kurds who admire and appreciate the U.S. policy in the Middle East, or minorities like Christians and Yazidis. Among those Iraqis who cant enter the U.S. now are a group of Iraqi Air Force pilots who should be trained on flying the F-16, the U.S. trained chief of the counter-terrorism service in Iraq whose soldiers defeated ISIS in every battle since 2014, and my good friend Lukman Faily, the former Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. While the U.S. has an obligation to admit the Iraqis and Afghans who helped the country during two conflicts, the Syrian case is different. Nevertheless, the U.S. has a moral responsibility to aid the Syrian refugees because of the horror and suffering they have experienced. America also has a legal responsibility because the U.S. is a signatory of the 1951 convention that states, A refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. These so-called extreme vetting delays may not last long because of the legal battles they have generated. Nevertheless, they may have damaged Americas national security for years to come. After I received advice from some American friends asking me not to use any airport or airplane until further notice, I suddenly started to identify with what Jews felt in the early days of Nazi Germany. Note: Riyadh Mohammed is in Wichita, Kansas today for his final American citizenship interview. All of us at The Fiscal Times wish him the best of luck. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Washington (AFP) - Former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson was sworn in to take charge of a US State Department simmering with opposition to President Donald Trump's refugee ban. After the 64-year-old oilman's nomination was confirmed by the Senate, he headed to the White House, where Trump formally named the political newcomer Washington's next top diplomat. "This is a man that is respected all over the world before he even begins," Trump said, thanking Tillerson. "He left a very good job for this, I want to tell you." Also in the Oval Office as Tillerson was sworn in was Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon, the nationalist former boss of right-wing news platform Breitbart. Bannon is emerging as a key foreign policy figure and was reportedly involved in drafting the visa and refugee ban that triggered global protests. Tillerson thanked the president and vowed to serve him and the American people at all times. He is due to meet State Department staff at his new headquarters on Thursday. He takes over an agency already rattled by top-level resignations and by Trump's order suspending refugee arrivals and visas for citizens from some Muslim countries. On Tuesday, around 1,000 officials from US missions across the globe signed and submitted a protest memo, decrying Trump's ban as an affront to American values. The State Department "dissent channel" has existed since the Vietnam War to allow diplomats to question official policy, but the scale of the protest was unprecedented. One official, speaking to AFP condition of anonymity, warned a bureaucratic "insurgency" against Trump is under way. Others spoke of colleagues bursting into tears. Tillerson has not made his views known on Trump's executive order, but the White House's response was uncompromising. Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer said the travel restrictions would help weed out extremists and keep America safe. Story continues The dissident diplomats, Spicer declared, "should either get with the program or they can go." His threat outraged many at the State Department, who argue that their in-house experts should have been consulted before the order was signed. - Amateur policy - Thomas Countryman, a 35-year career diplomat who retired on Monday as assistant secretary of state, urged Tillerson to protect his new employees from retribution. "If you don't trust professional public servants to help you on foreign policy then by definition you end up with an amateur foreign policy," he told MSNBC. Tillerson comes into office after a decade as Exxon's CEO and trails an impressive reputation as a manager of a large international organization. ExxonMobil's global empire has been compared to a quasi-state with its own policy. It is the world's largest publicly-traded energy firm -- a $350 billion corporation with revenue last year of $226 billion and more than 70,000 employees. The US State Department has an annual budget of only $65 billion and employs 13,000 diplomats, 11,000 civil servants and 45,000 local staff at 270 missions worldwide. At Exxon, Tillerson was the ultimate insider. He joined the firm in 1975 as a young engineer straight out of college and worked his way up the ranks to the top. At the State Department, by contrast, he will come in as an outsider with no political or diplomatic experience. - Many deals - ExxonMobil has operations in dozens of countries, under multi-year contracts with a variety of governments, and Tillerson was at the heart of many of the deals. As the director of Exxon Neftegas, a Bahamas-registered consortium set up to exploit offshore oil and gas in the Russian far east, he built close ties to the Kremlin. So close was he to President Vladimir Putin that in 2013, Tillerson received Russia's "Order of Friendship." This has raised eyebrows in Washington, where lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have questioned why, under Tillerson, Exxon lobbied against sanctions on Russia. Trump has said he too hopes to form a friendship with Russia, and US allies are concerned that he and Tillerson might halt measures taken to punish the Kremlin's intervention in Ukraine. This led to some combative moments in Tillerson's confirmation hearing, but the Senate voted by 56 votes to 43 to approve him. By Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rex Tillerson's job as chief U.S. diplomat became harder before it even began because of White House moves that have antagonized Muslim nations, European allies, Mexico and U.S. bureaucrats, current and former U.S. officials said. The Senate confirmed Tillerson as the 69th secretary of state on Wednesday by a 56-43 vote, making the former Exxon Mobil Corp CEO the chief foreign affairs adviser to Republican President Donald Trump. The vote was largely on party lines, with all 52 Republicans voting in favor, along with three Democrats and one independent. It was not immediately clear when Tillerson would be sworn in and formally take over at the State Department.Under any circumstance, Tillerson would have inherited a messy globe with a civil war in Syria, nuclear-armed North Korea threatening to test an intercontinental ballistic missile and challenges from a rising China and an assertive Russia. In the 12 days since Trump's inauguration, however, the White House has taken steps that foreign policy professionals view as self-inflicted wounds. "We've done a series of own goals," said a senior U.S. official on condition of anonymity. "There are always mess-ups and friction with new administrations. That's not new. This is worse than usual." On Thursday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto took the rare step of cancelling a Washington trip to meet Trump, who has repeatedly demanded Mexico pay for a wall on the U.S. border. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order imposing a four-month hold on refugees entering the United States and a temporary bar on most travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order has not only caused consternation for the nations involved but among other Muslim-majority countries, allies such as Germany and Britain and career State Department officials. "GET WITH THE PROGRAM" About 900 department officials signed a memo dissenting from the policy, a source familiar with the document said, an unusual rebellion against a new president's policies. As reports of the internal dissent spread on Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said career officials who disagreed should "get with the program or they can go." The result has been that two constituencies Tillerson has to manage - foreign nations and the U.S. diplomatic corps - have already got their noses out of joint before his swearing-in. "He will start at a disadvantage and will have to play catch-up to build trust with his foreign counterparts and with State Department employees," said John Bellinger, a State Department legal adviser under Republican President George W. Bush. "Tillerson walks into a situation where he has got an unhappy and suspicious White House and he has an unhappy and suspicious workforce," said another former State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It would have been difficult enough given the chaos." Several current and former U.S. officials said they were dismayed by the process that led to the executive order, with little evidence that there was broad consultation within the government, let alone with Congress or foreign allies. The secretary of homeland security, John Kelly, was reported to have been largely blindsided by the order. According to the New York Times, he was on a White House conference call getting his first full briefing on it when Trump signed the order. Loren DeJonge Schulman, a former national security council and Pentagon official, said the belief that Trump did not bring his top advisers into the discussion of the matter would itself handicap the new secretary of state. "The secretary of states power and his influence primarily derive from the idea that he speaks for the president," said Schulman, now at the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, saying it was an open secret the White House may not be consulting cabinet officials on such matters. "The fact that foreign audiences will realize that on day one is going to definitely weaken his hand," she said. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Nick Macfie and James Dalgleish) Two days before the presidential inauguration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it had filed a lawsuit against student loan servicing giant Navient. The announcement made headlines and caused a lot of concern among student loan borrowers, especially those with loans that Navient services. The Student Loan Ranger has received quite a few questions from consumers wanting to know how this lawsuit will affect them and, in a few cases, from those so concerned they are considering stopping future payments to Navient. If you are one of the latter, don't stop paying. This will only hurt you and your credit. [Get tips on understanding the pieces of your student loan payment.] In light of these concerns, we will review and explain two of the suit's allegations and give borrowers tips on ensuring their loans are being serviced correctly. Failure to Correctly Apply or Allocate Borrower Payments CFPB alleges that Navient didn't correctly apply or allocate borrowers' payments to their accounts. This may be true of Navient as with most, if not all, student loan servicers. In this situation, two aspects are likely at play -- consumers misunderstanding how federal regulations define payment application and automation. Borrowers, especially those working to pay off their loans sooner, need to understand how payment application works when they send in extra funds. Federal regulation requires that all payments be applied first to any outstanding fees, such as late fees, and then to the interest that has accrued to date. Only after these two will the loan servicer apply any remaining funds to the principal. [Understand how increased monthly student loan payments save on interest.] If a borrower sends in extra money , the regulations also require that the loan holder apply th at extra to future payments due unless the borrower explicitly advises the servicer not to. To be clear, the payment is applied to principal and interest the exact same way regardless of whether the due date has been pushed forward. Story continues Regarding automation, most student loan payments are sent to a lockbox -- a system through which a bank receives and processes customer payments for a business. Many of these systems are automated, which improves efficiency, but they can hit some speed bumps if customers include special instructions with their payments. These notes may get separated from the payment and overlooked. Some student loan servicers now include options for extra payment allocation in their online payment protocols, and we suspect more will do so going forward. But to avoid issues when sending excess funds, make sure you include written instructions with your account number and call your servicer to ensure they have correctly applied the funds. Remember, you cannot allocate the money that goes to principal and interest, but you can adjust which loan the additional funds go to and whether your due date is moved up. Pushing Struggling Borrowers Toward Forbearance CFPB also alleges that Navient steered struggling borrowers toward forbearance, which puts borrowers' loans on hold but also capitalizes unpaid interest that accrues during the forbearance period, increasing the balance. Forbearances can be an easy solution for both the borrower and the loan holder -- they are simple to explain, apply for and process. But they are rarely the best solution. [Ask these four questions before requesting a student loan forbearance.] Income-driven repayment plans, which can help keep payments affordable and sometimes even subsidize unpaid interest, are a much better, longer-term solution for struggling borrowers. The problem is that these plans can be difficult and time - consuming to explain and apply for, which is why many borrowers end up asking for or loan servicer associates end up offering forbearance first. While CFPB's allegations regarding forbearance seem to indicate that this issue no longer exists, borrowers can be sure they choose the best option by educating themselves on what's available and ensuring the loan servicer associate they work with has a full picture of their financial challenges and goals. Borrowers should also educate themselves about available options before calling their servicer. If offered an option that doesn't seem to be a good fit, borrowers should ask what else is available. Regardless of the lawsuit's outcome, the Student Loan Ranger believes these situations are almost always beneficial to consumers because they start the conversation on improving loan payment processes. However, regardless of improvements, consumers are responsib l e for read ing, understand ing and comply ing with all the terms of their student and other consumer loans. Betsy Mayotte, director of consumer outreach and compliance for American Student Assistance, regularly advises consumers on planning and paying for college. Mayotte, who received a B.S. in business communications from Bentley College, responds to public inquiries via the advice resource "Just Ask" and is frequently quoted in traditional and social media on the topics of student loans and financial aid. London (AFP) - Hailed last week as an ace up the sleeve for Britain in the upcoming Brexit negotiations, relations with US President Donald Trump are turning into a diplomatic headache for Prime Minister Theresa May. Trump's rejection of the European Union and his enthusiasm for a swift post-Brexit trade deal with Britain appeared to boost May, demonstrating that she had other options if EU leaders offered an unattractive deal. "Trump has come along like the tooth fairy, this is one massive, magnificent gift," one Brexit-supporting MP told the Spectator magazine last week. The bond between the two leaders was reinforced on Friday when Trump hosted May in the White House, and pictures of them holding hands were splashed over the front pages of Britain's newspapers. But instead of arriving home to plaudits, she flew into a firestorm as Trump announced a temporary measure preventing refugees and travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country, sparking global protests. May initially refused to condemn the move, but then issued a statement saying she did "not agree", highlighting the peril of pinning her fortunes on the US president in the eyes of some commentators. "The election of Mr Trump has transformed Brexit from a risky decision into a straightforward disaster," wrote Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman. "The emperor Nero has now taken power in Washington -- and the British are having to smile and clap as he sets fire and reaches for his fiddle." - Queen dragged into row - The diplomatic tangle is further complicated by May inviting Trump for a state visit later in the year, when he will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. More than 1.7 million people have signed a parliamentary petition demanding that the trip be downgraded over concerns that he will damage the reputation of the highly popular queen. The petition is to be debated in parliament on February 20. Story continues "Anything that embarrasses the queen plays badly in British politics," said London School of Economics (LSE) professor Iain Begg. Scaling down the visit would also likely go down badly with the US leader, who has spoken of his admiration for the British monarch. May "doesn't want to upset Trump... and he will be watching how she behaves very carefully," LSE fellow Brian Klaas told AFP. "She will have to be very careful." Teaming up with Trump was therefore a "political risk," said Begg, drawing a comparison with former prime minister Tony Blair, who was branded George W. Bush's "poodle" during the 2003 Iraq invasion. "She's not tied to him yet but she has started tying the knot," Klaas said. "She can untie it, but right now, the picture of them holding hands is one that's not easy to distance yourself from." - Anti-establishment rage - There is also no guarantee that any eventual trade deal with the United States will boost Britain's economy, particularly given Trump's "America First" policy against free trade agreements. "May is caught in a dilemma: she wants something quickly because it will look impressive to those worried about her negotiation strategy but she needs to get something good so she doesn't get criticised for being soft," said Begg. May will ultimately be judged by the British people, and has plenty of breathing space with the next general election not due until 2020. Ties with Trump may also play well with many voters in a country where immigration and anti-establishment anger were key issues in the decision to leave the EU. A YouGov poll published Wednesday found 49 percent of Britons thought the state visit should go ahead, compared to 36 percent who wanted it cancelled. Meanwhile 50 percent thought Trump's refugee ban was a bad idea, but 29 percent approved. Trump has credited Brexit with paving the way for a popular revolt against the establishment, which could also give May leeway in their relationship, Klaas added. "He wants to repay Britain... as a way to say 'well done, good job'," he said. The relationship will therefore boil down to one calculation: "The question that Brits have to ask themselves is values versus their wallets." OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AP) In his first public remarks abroad as U.S. defense secretary, Jim Mattis is criticizing North Korea for provocative acts that require new consultations with Japan and South Korea. Mattis spoke to reporters aboard his military plane Thursday en route to Seoul from Washington. Mattis says he needs to speak with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts during this trip about what new defensive steps might be needed to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The new Pentagon chief says his Seoul meetings will include discussion of deploying the U.S. missile defense system known as THAAD. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australia's prime minister said his country's relationship with the United States remained "very strong" but refused to comment on a newspaper report on Thursday that an angry President Donald Trump cut short their first telephone call as national leaders. At the heart of the weekend conversation between Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was a deal struck with the Obama administration that would allow mostly Muslim refugees rejected by Australia to be resettled in the United States. Turnbull declined to comment on reports in The Washington Post that Trump had described the agreement as "the worst deal ever" and accused Turnbull of seeking to export the "next Boston bombers." The Boston Bombers refer to Tamerlan and Dhozkar Tsarnaev, U.S. WASHINGTON (AP) Other than a tweet, President Donald Trump hasn't said how he'll stop North Korea from threatening America with a nuclear weapon. And as his Pentagon chief visits key allies in Asia, neither Trump nor his GOP allies in Congress seem settled on any plan. The fight against the Islamic State group is the new administration's top national security priority, but Defense Secretary Jim Mattis chose South Korea and Japan for his first official overseas trip. Departing Wednesday, Mattis will look to reassure the nations on the front line against North Korea. Americans are seeking reassurance, too. Concern has surged on both sides of the Pacific about the North's weapons programs, after leader Kim Jong Un warned in his annual New Year's address that the country is in the final stages of readiness to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile that could potentially threaten the continental United States. Story continues MANILA, Philippines (AP) A Philippine governor says more than 100 workers, including three Japanese, have been injured and at least three are missing in a fire that hit a huge factory south of Manila and sent thousands of employees scampering to safety. Governor Jesus Crispin Remulla said Thursday the fire at the House Technology Industries is under control but has not been fully extinguished nearly 18 hours after it started in General Trias town in Cavite province. Remulla says about 10 of the injured are in critical condition, adding some employees jumped from windows to escape the fire at the three-story building where pre-fabricated house parts are manufactured for export to Japan. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that he won't run for South Korea's presidency, a surprise announcement that removes a key figure from the scramble to replace impeached President Park Geun-hye and further stirs the country's already tumultuous politics. The withdrawal of Ban, who had been considered the only major conservative contender, boosts liberal Moon Jae-in, who has enjoyed a comfortable lead in opinion surveys since Park was impeached in December. Ban told a hastily arranged news conference that he had wanted to use his 10 years of experience as U.N. chief to resolve a national crisis and achieve unity. PUNCAK, Indonesia (AP) After getting death threats from Al-Shabab militants, Mohamed Dahir Saeed and his wife fled their native Somalia with plans to seek safety in Australia. They arrived in nearby Indonesia, only to be told "the sea is closed" for anyone attempting to make the perilous boat journey south. That was two years ago. Now another chance may be disappearing for Saeed and thousands of other asylum seekers who have made it to this Southeast Asian country with dreams of finding better lives elsewhere. "The majority of people here, the U.S. takes them," Saeed said. "Now the U.S. they say no Somalian, no Iraq, no Syrian, no Iran, no Sudan. PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) Salespeople at Pyongyang's premier car dealership wait patiently beside racks of glossy brochures in a showroom filled with that unmistakable new car smell from a couple dozen Whistle sedans and Cuckoo SUVs all bearing the distinctive, double-pigeon logo of Pyonghwa Motors, North Korea's only passenger car company. The streets of Pyongyang are more crowded than ever, but Pyonghwa, whose sole factory just south of the capital was designed to produce as many as 10,000 cars a year, appears to be stuck in neutral. Experts say just about everything its pigeon hood ornaments are attached to these days comes straight from China. LUCKNOW, India (AP) A six-story tannery building under construction in northern India collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least five workers, injuring 17 and possibly trapping up to 30 others. District administrator Kaushal Raj Sharma said the army and the National Disaster Response Force was clearing the massive rubble and searching for the missing workers. Sharma said the rescuers removed five people alive from the rubble and have also recovered five bodies. He said the operation was continuing through the night. Twelve others were injured while working at the site. Three of injured have been hospitalized, he said. The building came crashing down in Kanpur, a city in Uttar Pradesh state. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) In his first report to the new Trump administration, a U.S. watchdog that monitors billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan issued a bleak progress report, saying the Afghan government controls barely half the country, its security forces numbers are on the decline and drug production is on the rise, while eradication is down. The one bright spot, says the report, is a noticeable drop in corruption when procuring goods and services. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has launched a country wide anti-corruption campaign since taking power in 2014 elections, which ended in controversy and the formation of a so-called Unity Government. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) While Afghanistan's Buddhists were carving the giant sandstone statues in Bamiyan in 500 A.D., Buddhists in China were creating martial arts in the Shaolin temple in Henan Province. Fifteen hundred years later, 10 ethnic Hazara women and girls practice the martial arts of Shaolin on a hilltop in the west of Kabul. They are preparing for the day that Afghanistan can send its women's team to the Shaolin world championship in China. Sima Azimi, 20, who is originally from Jaghuri, in central Afghanistan, trains nine students in the martial arts to prepare for Olympic competition, but also to protect themselves on the streets of Kabul, where women are routinely harassed. Miami (AFP) - The Canadian documentary filmmaker and conservationist Rob Stewart disappeared while diving off Florida's southern coast during the filming of a movie about sharks, the US Coast Guard reported Wednesday. Stewart, 37, vanished Tuesday afternoon during a dive with three of his crew members at the Alligator Reef coral reef, some 4 nautical miles (seven kilometers) off the island of Islamorada. Islamorada belongs to the Florida Keys, an archipelago extending from the state's southern tip and ending at Key West. The US Coast Guard issued a statement saying it had received a report of a missing diver shortly after 5 pm (2200 GMT). "Coast Guard watch standers issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast, launched a Station Islamorada 33-foot Law Enforcement Special Purpose Craft boat crew, launched an Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton," it said. The Navy, police and Florida wildlife conservation commission are assisting the search, it added. The reason for Stewart's disappearance remains unknown. Resurfacing at the end of his dive, he went underwater again before the crew's boat was able to pick him up. The other three divers emerged safely. The particularly deep and difficult dive was his third of the day, his sister Alexandra Stewart told the state broadcaster CBC, adding that another crew member appears to have temporarily lost consciousness when he resurfaced. A biologist and underwater photographer, Stewart was filming a sequel to his best-known 2006 documentary "Sharkwater," about shark hunting and its impact on the marine ecosystem. The film won the Directors Guild of Canada award and a dozen others the following year. "So happy to be shooting #sharkwater2 with the best cameras and equipment in the world," he wrote in his latest Instagram post three days ago. "For the first time I can show you sharks through my eyes." Story continues The filmmaker was capturing "the personality in #shark faces that people that spend their lives with sharks truly understand," he added. The accompanying picture shows a diver from behind, presumably Stewart, holding a camera on his shoulder. "The search and rescue continues in the Keys this morning," Stewart's film team wrote in a post on the director's Instagram account on Wednesday morning. By Howard Goller NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the midst of a furious Middle East war nearly 70 years ago, a group of Israeli and Egyptian officers put down their guns, ate lunch together and discussed the prospects for peace in the region, according to a documentary film that premiered in New York last month. The group included two men who would become leaders of their respective countries and fierce rivals Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. But on that day, the young officers interacted warmly and forged at least a modicum of trust. The details emerge in a 1994 interview with Rabin, then prime minister, that is the centerpiece of Shalom Rabin, director Amos Gitais new film about Rabins bid for peace with the Palestinians. In the film Rabin says that based on the chance encounter with Nasser months after Israels founding in 1948, he had high hopes Nassers overthrow of Egypts monarchy in 1952 would lead to Arab-Israeli peace. Rabin says Israeli officers invited their Egyptian counterparts after surrounding their brigade at the Faluja enclave. Rabin was a leader of the elite Palmach fighting force. "He (Nasser) was a major. I was a lieutenant-colonel, Rabin says. We offered them to come and have lunch at (Israels) Kibbutz Gat and they came. The Israelis gave their word the Egyptians would return to their brigade safely. Nasser was sitting next to me. He looked at the emblem of the Palmach and asked me what it meant and I explained. Then he told me the war we are fighting is the wrong war against the wrong enemy at the wrong time. And I remembered that, because he didn't say it in private. And I believe at that time that we were very close to peace, Rabin says. And what happened happened, and he went the opposite direction. I guess the road is much longer than we would have wished, Rabin says. As army chief in the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Rabin defeated Israels neighbors including Egypt, led by Nasser, who had amassed tens of thousands of soldiers in Sinai near Israel's border. Nasser, who died in 1970, acknowledged in his war diaries that an Israeli officer approached Faluja in an armored vehicle with a white flag and it was agreed the two sides would meet the next day, Nov. 11, 1948, at Gat. In diaries his daughter Huda compiled into a book called 60 Years Since the July 23rd Revolution, Nasser wrote: We were well-received. We met with the Jewish commander who said that he wishes to stop the bloodshed and that our situation is desperate. He asked for us to surrender. The Egyptian commander objected and he asked to pull out to Gaza or Rafah but the Jews refused and said they would agree on one condition: that the Egyptian army withdraw from all of Palestine. "We asked for the evacuation of the wounded to Gaza but they rejected that and said, Were willing to give you the medicine you need, and finally we left. They offered us orange juice, oranges, sandwiches, chocolate, candy and biscuits. The diaries do not mention the commander or Rabin by name, and Nassers daughter could not be reached this week for comment. Israels southern commander at the time was the late General Yigal Allon. Nassers successor Anwar Sadat signed a 1979 treaty with Israel. He was assassinated during a 1981 military parade by an Islamist army officer opposed to the treaty, which remains in effect. A Jewish gunman opposed to peace moves with Palestinians assassinated Rabin in November 1995. Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking has been gridlocked since 2014. (Additional reporting by Mahmoud Mourad in Cairo; Editing by Toni Reinhold) Washington (AFP) - Seven of the top hospitals in the United States lashed out at President Donald Trump's refugee and travel ban on Wednesday, saying it would harm medicine and take the nation backward. The lead author of the commentary article in the New England Journal of Medicine was Katrina Armstrong, physician in chief at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). "Immigration policy that blocks the best from coming to train and work in the United States and blocks our trainees and faculty from safely traveling to other countries is a step backward, one that will harm our patients, colleagues, and America's position as a world leader in health care and innovation," it said. "The consequences of this approach for US health care, and our field of internal medicine, are far reaching and damaging." The restrictions target people from seven Muslim-majority countries, temporarily banning nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. The letter was signed by doctors at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, University of Michigan Health System, Brigham and Women's Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The US doctors said the foreign-born physicians and scientists were vital to US hospitals and academic medical centers, as well as to US-based global health and disaster relief efforts. "Over the past 50 years, the US biomedical research enterprise has benefited greatly from the ideas, creativity, ingenuity and drive of international medical graduates and other non-US nationals engaged in biomedical research," said the article, describing those affected as "low-risk." Trump's executive order, which was issued Friday, directly affected more than 100 personnel at Boston-based Partners HealthCare, which includes MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital, said the article. About 24 percent of doctors practicing in the United States are international medical graduates. TripAdvisor has launched a new 'Hall of Fame' for the hotels that have won a Travelers' Choice award 10 years in a row -- a list that includes hotels for as little as $74 a night. It's no small feat, says TripAdvisor, with only 16 inductees of the 1.1 million hotels listed inaugurating the group. The odds of winning a Travelers' Choice Award are already slim, with less than one percent of hotels in the network to receive an award. Winners are determined based on the reviews and opinions collected from TripAdvisor travelers around the world within a single year. Europe and Asia tied for having the greatest number of inductees with four properties each, followed by South America (3), North America and the Caribbean (2), and Central America (1). Inductees have won an award for 10 years from 2008 to 2017. And not all are luxury properties out of the average traveler's reach. The average room rate at The Tegal Sari in Bali, Indonesia clocks in at $74. Guests fall asleep to the lullaby sounds of rice stalks rustling in the wind in a Bali setting characterized by palm trees and lush greenery. Likewise, the average room rate at the Hotel Torre Dorada in Cusco, Peru, gateway to Machu Picchu, is $87. Guests praised the cheerful rooms and family-style welcome and the value for price. Here are the 16 inductees that have consistently drawn top reviews over the last 10 years: Anastasis Apartments - Santorini, Greece - Average rate of $461 per night. Arcadia Residence - Prague, Czech Republic - Average rate of $119 per night. Auberge Saint-Antoine - Quebec City, Canada - Average rate of $256 per night East Winds - Gros Islet, St. Lucia - Bookable on TripAdvisor for an average rate of $712 per night. Tegal Sari - Bali, Indonesia - Average rate of $74 per night. Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Average rate of $539 per night. Golden Well Hotel - Prague, Czech Republic - Average rate of $285 per night. Hotel Casa do Amarelindo - Salvador, Brazil - Average rate of $161 per night. Hotel Torre Dorada - Cusco, Peru - Average rate of $87 per night. IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Paraiso - Playa del Carmen, Mexico - Average rate of $617 per night. Jamaica Inn - Ocho Ricos, Jamaica - Average rate of $379 per night. Layana Resort and Spa - Ko Lanta, Thailand - Average rate of $249 per night. Los Altos de Eros - Tamarindo, Costa Rica - Average rate of $370 per night. Nukubati Private Island - Vanua Levu, Fiji - Average rate of $783 per night. The Oberoi Amarvilas - Agra, India -Average rate of $715 per night. Rudding Park Hotel - Follifoot, United Kingdom - Average rate of $235 per night. Ottawa (AFP) - A senior official in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government blasted US television network Fox News for a "false" tweet claiming a Moroccan was the suspect in the Quebec mosque mass shooting. Kate Purchase, Trudeau's communications director, demanded that Fox News retract or fix the Twitter message, noting that police had released that suspect Monday after they determined he had not been an accomplice in Sunday's attack. The Fox News tweet posted at midday Monday on Twitter "contains false and misleading language relating to the identity of the suspect in the Quebec mosque terror attack," Purchase said in a letter to Fox News co-president Bill Shine obtained by AFP. "Over the course of the day, this proved to be false information. In fact, the suspect was identified as a 27-year-old French Canadian -- not someone of Moroccan origin," she wrote. "Sadly, this misleading information has been left to stand on the Fox News Channel's twitter account and continued to circulate online even now." Amid the uproar, Fox News later deleted the tweet. Six people were killed in the attack at the Sainte-Foy mosque during evening prayers and eight were wounded. The suspect in the shooting spree, Alexandre Bissonnette, was arrested after surrendering to authorities. He was charged Monday with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder. "These tweets by Fox News dishonor the memory of the six victims and their families by spreading misinformation, playing identity politics, and perpetuating fear and division within our communities," Purchase said in the letter. The Canadian government spokeswoman also appeared to criticize US President Donald Trump, who issued a controversial executive order temporarily halting refugee arrivals and blocking immigrants from seven Muslim nations as part of an effort to stop "radical Islamic terrorism." Story continues "We need to remain focused on keeping our communities safe and united instead of trying to build walls and scapegoat communities," Purchase said, noting that Muslims are the group most victimized by terrorist acts around the world. "To paint terrorists with a broad brush that extends to all Muslims is not just ignorant -- it is irresponsible," she said. "For all of these reasons, we ask that Fox News either retract or update the tweet to reflect the suspect's actual identity." By 0030 GMT, the network had deleted the tweet, saying: "we regret the error." "Thank You," Purchase tweeted. "We appreciate it." Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday made an unannounced visit by helicopter to Delaware to honor the Navy SEAL killed in a daring raid in Yemen, the first American combat death since he became commander-in-chief. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens of Illinois, who reportedly was a member of the famed SEAL Team 6, was killed Sunday in a rare ground assault in conflict-torn Yemen. Trump flew from the White House aboard the Marine One presidential helicopter to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the repatriation of Owens's remains. Trump was accompanied by his daughter Ivanka and was due to meet with the Owens family. Owens, 36, was killed during a firefight. Three commandos were wounded in the raid and three more were injured when a V-22 Osprey military aircraft made a hard landing, according to Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood. US special operations forces had mounted the raid in the Yakla region of Baida province against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington views as the global terror network's most dangerous branch. On the AQAP side, 14 fighters, including women, were killed, according to the Pentagon. Officials said the commando raid was aimed at gathering intelligence and seizing computers and other electronic equipment being used by AQAP. The raid snagged "an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on American soil," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. But "you never want to call something a success 100 percent when someone's hurt or killed," he told reporters. SEAL Team 6 is known for its involvement in a number of dangerous raids, including the 2011 killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. President Donald Trump was expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday pertaining to cyber security. The White House canceled the signing and postponed it until later this week, but a draft of the order has circulated that may reveal some of what the prospective executive order will include. According to a version of the order obtained by the Washington Post, the document will call for a review of cyber capabilities and vulnerabilities throughout the federal government. Titled Strengthening U.S. Cyber Security and Capabilities, the order calls for several assessments as to the state of U.S. cybersecurity systems. The reviews are set to take place in 60- and 100-day periods and will aim to identify of areas of improvement. An initial 60-day review will seek initial recommendations for the securing of national security systems and critical infrastructure, while also calling for a review of malicious actors and the creation of a list of principal cyber adversaries. The order also seeks an assessment on of threats and vulnerabilities of new systems required by the government, as well as recommendations on how to incentivize private sector adoption of effective cyber security measures within 100 days of the orders signing. In a press briefing held on Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer described the intent of the orders intent to secure the federal networks we operate on behalf of the American people, work with industry to protect critical infrastructure and maintain our way of life, and advance the cause of internet freedom, though no other details were provided. President Trump met with a number of what the White House called cybersecurity expertsa group that included former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The draft of the order, which mirrors the 60-day review issued by President Barack Obama shortly after assuming office, has garnered supportor at least not generated criticismfrom former members of the Obama administration. Story continues According to a report from CyberScoop, former senior director for cybersecurity in the White Houses National Security Council Ari Schwartz said the draft showed the Trump administration is taking cybersecurity seriously and making it a priority. Its worth noting the 60-day evaluation ordered by President Obama did not go as expected. His issued cybersecurity review ended up taking twice as long, requiring 120 days to complete. The committee in charge of Trumps review will be headed up by Defense Secretary James Mattis. He will be joined by Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly, the yet-to-be confirmed Director of National Intelligence, national security advisor Michael Flynn, and homeland security and terrorism advisor Thomas Bossert. There is no mention of the FBI in the order, marking a break from the Obama era cybersecurity efforts that regularly included the bureau in such matters. A policy directive issued by President Obama in 2016 explicitly made the FBI an integral part of cyber incident coordination. The role of the FBI, as well as other parts of the order, are subject to change between the draft and the final document signed by President Trump. Given the delay from the expected signing on Tuesday, changes may be coming. It was already noted another version of the executive order does not create the 60-day review on cyber adversaries. Related Articles By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After days of chaos at airports and confusion over details of President Donald Trump's immigration executive order, some of his fellow Republicans joined Democrats in saying Congress might need to consider legislation to address his new policies. Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it was too early to know all the implications of Trump's order banning travel into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations, but lawmakers might eventually need to step in to modify it. "Seriously, we still don't know all the implications of what happened. I don't think they (the Trump administration) know all the implications of what happened," he told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. "There may well need to be a legislative fix." Under the executive order Trump released on Friday, travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen may not enter the United States for at least 90 days while Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and others determine whether there is enough information available to screen them. Democrats in both the Senate and House of Representatives have introduced bills to rescind Trump's order, but those measures are not expected to go anywhere in the Republican-led Congress. Senator John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has criticized the order, saying it could weaken U.S. counterterrorism efforts. He blasted barring Iraqis who risked their lives to work as interpreters for U.S. forces, who have already undergone extensive screening. McCain and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen led a push to pass legislation last year to provide visas to those Iraqis. McCain said he thought Iraq should not be on Trump's list. He said it could invite retaliation by Baghdad and said that Iraq should not be lumped in with frequent U.S. nemesis Iran. "There's no comparison. There's thousands of Americans fighting in Iraq as we speak. And what if the Iraqis decided, OK, we're not going to let all these contractors (working with U.S. forces) ... have visas to come into our country?" McCain asked. Iraq's prime minister on Tuesday said the country would not retaliate to Trump's travel ban against Iraqi nationals because it did not want to lose Washington's cooperation in the war on Islamic State. McCain said whether legislation was needed would depend on how the executive order was implemented over time. "Let's see what they do," McCain said. "General Kelly today made some very significant changes to what was initially publicized. So let's see what they do." (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Andrew Hay) An Iraqi child sent to the U.S. for treatment after suffering serious burns at a refugee camp has reportedly been separated from his family by President Trumps executive order barring travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations. One-year-old Dilbreen is due to undergo surgery this later this week, reports CBS Boston. His parents had obtained visas to travel to the U.S. to be with him, but were told the permits were suddenly revoked. Attorneys are now trying to help the family get a special waiver so they might arrive in time for their childs operation, scheduled Feb. 5. So they are stranded in Iraq, said Carrie Schuchardt, from the Massachusetts social-services organization House of Peace, where the family were supposed to be staying. The child is here. The need for surgery is pressing. The boy had suffered severe burns last year when a heater exploded in the refugee camp his family were sheltering in. He was rushed by an aid group to Shriners Hospital in Boston for urgent treatment, accompanied by his father, according to the report. While he stayed in the U.S. with a family in Michigan following the initial surgery, Dilbreens father returned to Iraq for the birth of the boys little brother, according to CBS. On Tuesday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit against the President challenging his immigration order, saying the ban was harmful, discriminatory, and unconstitutional. The executive order, which was signed last Friday, has since sparked other litigation, as well as furious protests across the country and overseas. [CBS Boston] By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will likely face questions on his executive order restricting some travel to the United States when he meets chief executives of major U.S. companies on Friday at the White House. Companies whose CEO's are expected to attend the meeting of the president's business advisory panel include JPMorgan Chase & Co, General Motors Co, Blackstone Group LP , IBM Corp, Uber Technologies Inc and Walt Disney Co, two officials briefed on the meeting said on Wednesday. Trump's executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and putting a three-month ban on visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries has prompted protests and legal challenges in the United States, and has drawn criticism from several leading U.S. companies. Among those critics, Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick wrote in an email to employees Saturday that "the ban will impact many innocent people - an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trump's first business advisory group meeting." It was not clear if all 19 members of the President's Strategic and Policy Forum would attend Friday's meeting. Other members include the chief executives of Tesla Motors Inc , Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Boeing Co. Tesla founder Elon Musk said this week that the travel order should be modified and he would seek a consensus among members of the advisory council. Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields have also criticized the travel measure.. GM has declined to take a position. Trump ordered the restrictions on Jan. 27, saying they were aimed at protecting Americans from the threat of terrorist attacks. The business forum is chaired by Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive of Blackstone. Trump is a wealthy New York real estate developer and his transition team announced the group in December, saying "some of America's most highly respected and successful business leaders, will be called upon to meet with the president frequently to share their specific experience and knowledge as the President implements his economic agenda." Story continues The White House did not immediately comment Wednesday on the meeting. Trump has held numerous meeting with chief executives since taking office on Jan. 20, including leaders of major automakers, manufacturers, aerospace and pharmaceutical companies. Among the companies that have been most critical of the immigration orders are Netflix Inc, Apple Inc, and Amazon.com Inc, but none of these are represented in the business forum. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal the company is considering a legal challenge to the immigration order. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Frances Kerry) WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop "bad hombres down there" unless the Mexican military does more to control them, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press. The excerpt of the call did not detail who exactly Trump considered "bad hombres," nor did it make clear the tone and context of the remark, made in a Friday morning phone call between the leaders. It also did not contain Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's response. Still, the excerpt offers a rare and striking look at how the new president is conducting diplomacy behind closed doors. Trump's remarks suggest he is using the same tough and blunt talk with world leaders that he used to rally crowds on the campaign trail. A White House spokesman did not respond to requests for comment. The Mexican government said the account was not accurate. The phone call between the leaders was intended to patch things up between the new president and his ally. The two have had a series of public spats over Trump's determination to have Mexico pay for the planned border wall, something Mexico steadfastly refuses to agree to. "You have a bunch of bad hombres down there," Trump told Pena Nieto, according to the excerpt given to AP. "You aren't doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn't, so I just might send them down to take care of it." A person with access to the official transcript of the phone call provided only that portion of the conversation to The Associated Press. The person gave it on condition of anonymity because the administration did not make the details of the call public. The Mexican website, Aristegui Noticias, on Tuesday published a similar account of phone call, based on the reporting of journalist Dolia Estevez. The report described Trump as humiliating Pena Nieto in a confrontational conversation. Story continues Mexico's foreign relations department denied that account, saying it "is based on absolute falsehoods," and later said the statement also applied to the excerpt provided to AP. "The assertions that you make about said conversation do not correspond to the reality of it," the statement said. "The tone was constructive and it was agreed by the presidents to continue working and that the teams will continue to meet frequently to construct an agreement that is positive for Mexico and for the United States." Trump has used the phrase "bad hombres" before. In an October presidential debate, he vowed to get rid the U.S. of "drug lords" and "bad people." For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. "We have some bad hombres here, and we're going to get them out," he said. The phrase ricocheted on social media with Trump opponents saying he was denigrating immigrants. Trump's comment was in line with the new administration's bullish stance on foreign policy matters in general, and the president's willingness to break long-standing norms around the globe. Before his inauguration, Trump spoke to the president of Taiwan, breaking long-standing U.S. policy and irritating China. His temporary ban on refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, aimed at reviewing screening procedures to lessen the threat of extremist attacks, has caused consternation around the world. But nothing has created the level of bickering as the border wall, a centerpiece of his campaign. Mexico has consistently said it would not pay for the wall and opposes it. Before the phone call, Pena Nieto canceled a planned visit to the United States. The fresh fight with Mexico last week arose over trade as the White House proposed a 20 percent tax on imports from the key U.S. ally to finance the wall after Pena Nieto abruptly scrapped his Jan. 31 trip to Washington. The U.S. and Mexico conduct some $1.6 billion a day in cross-border trade, and cooperate on everything from migration to anti-drug enforcement to major environmental issues. Trump tasked his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner a real estate executive with no foreign policy experience with managing the ongoing dispute, according to an administration official with knowledge of the call. At a press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May last week, Trump described his call with Pena Nieto as "friendly." In a statement, the White House said the two leaders acknowledged their "clear and very public differences" and agreed to work through the immigration disagreement as part of broader discussions on the relationship between their countries. ___ Associated Press writer Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report. Updated at 8:50 p.m. ET President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the 11-month-old vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday night, fulfilling his campaign promise to appoint a staunch conservative justice to replace Antonin Scalia. In a primetime ceremony at the White House, Trump praised Gorsuch as among the finest jurists in the country and a worthy successor to the conservative icon he would replace. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support, Trump said. When he was nominated to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, he was confirmed by the Senate unanimously. Gorsuch, a 49-year-old federal appellate judge based in Colorado, currently sits on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Born in Denver, Colorado, he would be one of the few justices hailing from west of the Mississippi, adding some geographic diversity to a court where most of the justices hail from the Northeast. Gorsuch spent his teenage years living in Washington, D.C., when President Ronald Reagan appointed his mother, Anne Gorsuch Buford, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. His legal career reflects a rapid ascent to the upper echelons of the American judicial system. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1991, Gorsuch clerked first for Judge David Sentelle, a longtime member of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals conservative wing, followed by Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. He then spent 10 years in private practice at a high-profile Washington law firm, followed by a year serving as a principal assistant to the deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice. President George W. Bush appointed Gorsuch to the Tenth Circuit in 2006. Speaking briefly after Trumps announcement, with his wife at his side, Gorsuch expressed gratitude for the nomination and extolled those who held his seat before him, including his immediate predecessor. Story continues Recommended: How to Build an Autocracy The towering judges that have served in this particular seat of the Supreme Court, including Antonin Scalia and Robert Jackson, are much in my mind at this moment, he said. Justice Scalia was a lion of the law. Agree or disagree with him, all of his colleagues on the bench share his wisdom and his humor, and like them, I miss him. Trumps choice of Gorsuch in particular will likely hearten conservative activists and Republican members of Congress alike. With this nomination, Trump has met his campaign pledge to nominate a conservative jurist in the mold of Scalia, who died in February. Scalias death propelled the Courts future to the forefront of the American political arena during the 2016 presidential election, especially on the right. A justice nominated either by then-President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would have likely given the Courts liberal wing its first five-justice majority since the Warren Court of the 1960s. To prevent such an ideological shift, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, vowed to keep Scalias seat vacant until after the presidential election. Senate Republicans accordingly refused to hold hearings for D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland, Obamas nominee for the vacancy. Trumps choice of Gorsuch in particular will likely hearten conservative activists and Republican members of Congress alike. He was among the 11 judges named on the second of two lists Trump released to assuage fears among the conservative legal community about his commitment to appoint a Supreme Court justice in their ideological mold. As my colleague David Graham noted earlier this week, nominating a reliably conservative jurist like Gorsuch could also shore up Trumps support among conservatives after a rocky opening week to his presidency. Recommended: How to Respond to Donald Trump's Betrayal of American Values Gorsuchs history on the bench is unlikely to disappoint them. On the Tenth Circuit, he carved out a reputation for relying upon an originalist interpretation of the Constitutionthat it should be read from the perspective of those who first wrote itwhen deciding cases. In the Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor cases, which challenged the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive mandate on religious-liberty grounds and were eventually heard by the Supreme Court, Gorsuch sided strongly with the plaintiffs. The opinion of the panel majority is clearly and gravely wrongon an issue that has little to do with contraception and a great deal to do with religious liberty, he wrote in a dissent in the Little Sisters of the Poor case. When a law demands that a person do something the person considers sinful, and the penalty for refusal is a large financial penalty, then the law imposes a substantial burden on that persons free exercise of religion. Unlike Scalia, Gorsuch is also a critic of Chevron deference, a legal principle under which judges generally defer to administrative agencies when interpreting federal statutes. And while he has never decided a case on abortion, he wrote in a book considering the morality of euthanasia and assisted suicide that human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable, and that the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong. Recommended: Are Trump's Generals Mounting a Defense of Democratic Institutions? Many Democrats, still smarting over Senate Republicans unprecedented stonewalling against Garland last year, are expected to put up a strong resistance to Gorsuchs nomination. Their most potent weapon to resist will be the filibuster. Senate Democrats eliminated it for all executive branch and judicial nominees when they controlled the Senate in 2013, but left it intact for Supreme Court nominations. In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said he had very serious doubts about whether Gorsuch fell within the legal mainstream and could protect the Constitution from potential abuses of power by the executive branch. Make no mistake, Senate Democrats will not simply allow but require an exhaustive, robust, and comprehensive debate on Judge Gorsuchs fitness to be a Supreme Court Justice, Schumer said. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. President Trump announced Tuesday night that Neil Gorsuch, a conservative federal judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, is his pick to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia died last February, and congressional Republicans blocked President Barack Obamas choice of Merrick Garland as Scalias replacement. When Justice Scalia passed away suddenly last February, I made a promise to the American people, Trump said in announcing his choice inside the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. If I were elected president, I would find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court. I took the task of this nomination very seriously. I have selected an individual whose qualities define, really and I mean closely define, what were looking for, Trump continued. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support. This has been the most transparent and most important Supreme Court selection process in the history of our country, and I wanted the American people to have a voice in this nomination, Trump added. Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text. He will make an incredible justice as soon as the Senate confirms him. As this process now moves to the Senate, I look forward to speaking with members from both sides of the aisle, from answering their questions to hearing their concerns, Gorsuch said. I consider the United States Senate the greatest deliberative body in the world. It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work for the peoples representatives. Gorsuch, a Colorado native with an Ivy League pedigree, is seen as a relatively safe pick by legal observers, primarily because his originalist views on the Constitution are very much in line with those of Scalia. Both his pre-judicial resume and his body of work as a judge make him a natural fit for an appointment to the Supreme Court by a Republican president, SCOTUSblog notes. He is relatively young, and his background is filled with sterling legal and academic credentials. Story continues The 49-year-old Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in about 25 years. Gorsuch studied as an undergraduate at Columbia University, earned his law degree at Harvard as a classmate of Obama and obtained a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar. He clerked for two U.S. Supreme Court justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy before spending a decade as a partner at the law firm of Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel in Washington, D.C., where his specialties ranged from antitrust to securities fraud, fiduciary duty to telecommunications, according to his official bio. In 2006, Gorsuch was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate in a unanimous voice vote. Gorsuch is the son of Anne Burford, who was the head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan the first time the Republicans tried to dismantle it. Burford, the first female head of the EPA, was forced to quit after she refused to turn over Superfund records to Congress. President Trump introduces Judge Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) He lives with his wife and two daughters in Boulder, Colo., where he is a visiting professor at the University of Colorados law school. He is also a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian group that promotes an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Gorsuch was on the long list of potential Supreme Court nominees Trump released before the election. According to the Washington Post, Gorsuch was a natural choice given his family connection to Republican establishment politics, his glittery Ivy League resume and his Supreme Court clerkship. Related: A law school reviews guide to some of Gorsuchs key opinions In an interview with the Denver Post, University of Denver law professor Justin Marceau called Gorsuch a predictably socially conservative judge who tends to favor state power over federal power. Gorsuch wrote a 2006 book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, arguing against assisted-suicide laws. Perhaps most importantly, Gorsuch is like Scalia in many ways. He is celebrated as a keen legal thinker and a particularly incisive legal writer, with a flair that matches or at least evokes that of the justice whose seat he would be nominated to fill, SCOTUSblog commented. In fact, some of the parallels can be downright eerie. Gorsuchs opinions are exceptionally clear and routinely entertaining; he is an unusual pleasure to read, and it is always plain exactly what he thinks and why. Like Scalia, Gorsuch also seems to have a set of judicial/ideological commitments apart from his personal policy preferences that drive his decision-making. He is an ardent textualist (like Scalia); he believes criminal laws should be clear and interpreted in favor of defendants even if that hurts government prosecutions (like Scalia); he is skeptical of efforts to purge religious expression from public spaces (like Scalia); he is highly dubious of legislative history (like Scalia); and he is less than enamored of the dormant commerce clause (like Scalia). If confirmed, Marceau said, we would see in Gorsuch a judge who, while perhaps not as combative in personal style as Justice Scalia, is perhaps his intellectual equal. Two months after Scalias death, Gorsuch gave a speech at Case Western Reserve University School of Law honoring his legacy. Sometimes people are described as lions of their profession, and I have difficulty understanding exactly what thats supposed to mean, Gorsuch said. Not so with Justice Scalia. He really was a lion of the law: docile in private life but a ferocious fighter when at work, with a roar that could echo for miles. Justice Scalia and Judge Gorsuch photo obtained by @Arianedevogue pic.twitter.com/Tw1ydGczhq Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 31, 2017 Gorsuch reiterated his view of Scalia as a lion in his speech at the White House on Tuesday. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands, Gorsuch said. I am so thankful tonight for my family, my friends and my faith. These are the things that keep me grounded at lifes peaks, and it sustains me in its valleys. More from Yahoo News: By Lawrence Hurley and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed "very serious doubts" about the nominee. Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Gorsuch while conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like "outstanding," "impressive" and a "home run." Gorsuch, the son of a former Reagan administration official, is the youngest nominee to the nation's highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. He is a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W. Bush in 2006. Announcing the selection to a nighttime crowd in the White House East Room flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuch's resume is "as good as it gets." Trump, who took office on Jan. 20 and has sparked numerous controversies, said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Trump told an audience that included Scalia's widow. "Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent," Trump added. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights and writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. "I respect ... the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws," Gorsuch said, as Trump looked on. "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official said a screening committee helped in the selection process that included Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Don McGahn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and top strategist Steve Bannon. Gorsuch became the youngest U.S. Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. Gorsuch was in the same 1991 graduating class from Harvard Law School as Obama. The selection of Gorsuch, who was on a list of about 20 judges suggested by conservative legal activists, unified Republicans in a way not seen since Trump's Nov. 8 election victory, with even critics within the party such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham singing the nominee's praises. Trump made his choice between two U.S. appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. Democrats signaled it may not be easy this time. "Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court," Schumer said. Trump got the opportunity to name Scalia's replacement only because the Republican-led Senate, in an action with little precedent in U.S. history, refused to consider Obama's nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. "This is the first time in American history that one party has blockaded a nominee for almost a year in order to deliver a seat to a president of their own party. If this tactic is rewarded rather than resisted, it will set a dangerous new precedent in American governance," Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said. McConnell said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate would show Gorsuch "fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of (Democratic) Presidents (Bill) Clinton and Obama." A rally outside the Supreme Court building staged by liberal groups drew hundreds of demonstrators against Gorsuch. Michael Keegan, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, described Gorsuch as an "ideological warrior who puts his own right-wing politics above the Constitution." MOTHER SERVED IN REAGAN ADMINISTRATION Gorsuch is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan's administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA's use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trump's selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on Feb. 13, 2016. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick under current rules. Trump said last week he would favor Senate Republicans eliminating the procedural move that Democrats have promised, called a filibuster, for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. Such a change has been dubbed the "nuclear option." Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the Nov. 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasizing the importance of the pick during the campaign. If confirmed, Gorsuch would expand the court's conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy Samuel Alito and Thomas. Kennedy long has been considered the court's pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court's restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia's replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch boasts Ivy League credentials: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bush's Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many U.S. conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the court's longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon's presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the U.S. Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Trump may get to make additional appointments. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him "a faker," is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. (Corrects disciple to discipline in paragraph 6) (Additional reporting by Ian Simpson, Eric Beech, Susan Cornwell, Andrew Chung, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey, Ayesha Rascoe and Doina Chiacu; Writing Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney) President Trump participated in what was supposed to be an African-American History Month listening session at the White House on Wednesday. But at least initially Trump did most of the talking. First, Trump rehashed his complaint over a reporter who had apparently made a mistake reporting that the bust of Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed from the Oval Office on the day of his inauguration. You all read about Dr. Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office, and it turned out that it was fake news, Trump said at the top of the meeting, which was attended by roughly 20 civil rights and religious leaders and black members of the Trump administration. Fake news. The statue is cherished. Its one of the favorite things in the and we have some good ones. We have Lincoln. And we have Jefferson. And we have Dr. Martin Luther King. But they said the statue, the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, was taken out of the office. And it was never even touched. Time magazines Zeke Miller reported on Twitter that the bust of King was missing from the Oval Office, but he sent out a correction minutes later, explaining the bust had apparently been obscured by a Secret Service agent. Miller then apologized both to his colleagues and directly to White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who accepted it. But later, while railing against the media, Spicer suggested that the reporter ought to apologize to Trump too. I think it was a disgrace, but thats the way the press is, Trump continued. Very unfortunate. President Trump attends an African-American History Month listening session with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson in the White House on Wednesday. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) The president then said he was proud of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where visitors can learn about King and other historical black figures. Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody whos done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice, Trump said. Douglass was a 19th-century African-American abolitionist, writer and orator who died in 1895. Story continues Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and millions more black Americans who made America what it is today, the president continued. Big impact. Trump thanked CNN contributor Paris Dennard, who was at the meeting, for defending him on cable television. Paris has done an amazing job in a very hostile CNN community, Trump said. Hes all by himself. Seven people and Paris. Ill take Paris over the seven. But I dont watch CNN, so I dont get to see you as much. I dont like watching fake news. A lot of the media is actually the opposition party, Trump added. Theyre so, uh, biased. Its a disgrace. Some of the media is fantastic and fair. So much of the media is opposition party, knowingly saying incorrect things. Its a very sad situation. But we seem to be doing well. We won, so maybe they dont have the influence they think. During a media briefing later in the day, Yahoo News asked White House spokesman Sean Spicer for clarity about what Trump meant about Douglass contributions becoming more recognized. I think he wants to highlight the contributions that he has made, Spicer replied. And I think through a lot of the actions and statements that hes going to make, I think the contributions of Frederick Douglass will become more and more. More from Yahoo News: With President Trumps announcement that he has chosen Judge Neil Gorsuch, a judicial conservative from Colorado, to fill the empty seat on the Supreme Court, the stage is set for a confirmation drama that will play out over the next weeks and months in the Senate and in the media. Like any good drama, it will be packed with soaring soliloquies and moments of low humor. But whether Gorsuch is ultimately confirmed or not, the story will end with one of the two major parties claiming that they have been grossly mistreated, insisting that permanent damage has been done to the structure of American democracy. Related: Why Trumps Treasury Pick Wants to Increase the Power of the IRS Gorsuch, a widely respected jurist who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver, is pro-life and pro-religious liberty. He is seen at least as conservative as the late Justice Antonin Scalia, whose seat he will fill. His confirmation will bring the court back to the same right-of-center balance that existed prior to Scalias death. But Democrats have long signaled that they view the seat as stolen because of the extraordinary refusal of Senate Republicans to even consider former president Barack Obamas nominee for the court, Judge Merrick Garland, a moderate who was viewed by partisans on both sides of the aisle as an exceptionally well-qualified candidate. For almost a year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other senior Republicans in the chamber refused to move forward on Garlands nomination, claiming that because the primary campaigns had already started, the next president should choose the next chief justice. But now they are calling on Democrats to quickly approve Gorsuch who had been approved unanimously by the Senate when he was appointed to the 10th Circuit. McConnell, who tortured precedent and fact to construct an argument that Obama was not entitled to name a Supreme Court justice in his final year in office, is now arguing that because Trump is in his first term, he deserves more deference than Republicans offered Obama in his last. Story continues I hope members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama, McConnell said. Related: Trumps Immigration and Obamacare Policies Could Trigger a GOP Backlash But senior Senate Democrats are not in a forgiving mood, a fact they signaled by refusing Trumps invitation to attend the announcement of Gorsuchs nomination at the White House last night. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York promised exhaustive inquiries into his record of legal decisions. Now more than ever, we need a Supreme Court Justice who is independent, eschews ideology, who will preserve our democracy, protect fundamental rights, and will stand up to a President who has already shown a willingness to bend the Constitution, he said in a statement. He added, Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuchs ability to meet this standard. Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated hostility toward womens rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent Justice on the Court. Some Democrats and liberal advocacy groups arent even waiting for hearings. In fact, they didnt wait for a name before demanding that the party goes to war over the nomination and block Gorsuch with a filibuster. Related: Trump Moves Quickly on Pledge to Contain Drug Prices but Can He Do It? On the right, from Trump on down, Republicans are calling on McConnell to use the nuclear option -- changing the Senates rules to allow debate on a Supreme Court nominee to be shut down by a simple majority rather than the 60-vote threshold. His predecessor, Democrat Harry Reid, used the nuclear option to confirm Obama judicial nominees obstructed by Republicans, but would not go so far as eliminating the filibuster for Supreme Court picks. Both parties in the Senate face some tricky decisions. To successfully filibuster Gorsuch, the Democrats would need 41 of the 48 members of their caucus to agree to block a vote on him. However, some are going to be hesitant or outright unwilling to go along. Between actual Democrats and the two Independents who caucus with them, the minority will have a combined 25 seats to defend in the 2018 election, representing more than half of their strength in the Senate. Many of those seats are in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, and Indiana, which Trump carried in the 2016 election. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, whose state also went for Trump, has already signaled that he will not support a filibuster. Related: The Top Threat to the US Economy? A Trump Trade War If faced with Democratic obstruction, Republicans will feel pressure to do away with the filibuster for Supreme Court judges entirely. That will be its own kind of struggle because the party was unanimous in its cries of rage and betrayal when Reid nuked it over lower court judges in 2013. McConnell, in need of a 51-vote majority (and with Vice President Mike Pence able to weigh in and break a tie in the Republicans favor), cannot afford to lose more than two members of his caucus if he opts to try to force through a rule change. Its possible, though by no means certain, that some members of the body with long memories of being in the minority, will be unwilling to strip Democrats of one of the few levers of power they control, knowing that the pendulum always swings back eventually. Either way, this will end badly. If Gorsuch is strong-armed onto the court, a very large segment of the Democratic base will view him as illegitimate -- the occupant of a stolen chair -- and will question any conservative rulings from the court that relied on his vote. If Gorsuch has his nomination blocked, Republicans will howl about Democrats intransigence, and many will seek ways to further limit the power of the minority in the future, increasing pressure on any holdouts to take the more extreme position on the nuclear option in the future. Its very hard to see an ending to this play in which both sides emerge satisfied that their rights have been respected. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: President Donald Trump has chosen 49-year-old Colorado Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch of the 10th court of appeals to fill the vacant U.S. Supreme Court seat of late Justice Antonin Scalia. The pick is expected to appease traditional conservatives, as Gorsuch mostly fits Scalias mold in his education, opinion, and apparently lyrical writing style. And it is expected to mollify some liberals, who will find very little to fault, according to Mark Hansen, a former partner of Gorsuch at Kellogg Huber Hansen, an elite D.C.-based litigation boutique. Certainly, he was considered appealing to both parties in 2006, when he was confirmed by a unanimous voice vote in the Senate. But what might it mean for Americas foreign policy and for citizens around the world? Its difficult to read the tea leaves on the international impact Gorsuchs seat on the bench will have, given that his experience has been so domestically focused. But what seems likely is that Gorsuch, who is a strict supporter of delivering verdicts based on the constitution as it was written, is also wary of executive overreach. In a 2016 decision regarding immigration law, Gorsuch argued that while it is currently judicial precedent to defer to federal agencies to interpret laws, and change their interpretations as they see fit, this left citizens not beholden to the laws under which they live, but under the agencies ever-changing interpretations of them. Who can even attempt all that, at least without an army of perfumed lawyers and lobbyists? Gorsuch writes. That could spell trouble for Obamas legacy of environmental regulations, which stretched legislation to the extreme at times, but which enjoyed judicial deference to agency interpretations. Europe and China may now really rue American participation in the fight against climate change. But this wariness of federal interpretation of the law may prove troubling for the executive-power-happy modus operandi of the Trump administration as well. Story continues Gorsuch, to a greater degree than Scalia, is known to be skeptical of deference to governmental agencies, and so might actually be troublesome for immigration reforms pushed by the administration, said Columbia Law School Professor Philip Bobbitt, who specializes in constitutional law and international security, told Foreign Policy. In his 11 days in office, Trump has issued numerous executive actions, some of which amount to little more than press releases, but some of which namely, a ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries have wide-reaching implications and are currently being contested in court. It is possible that one such contestation could make it to the Supreme Court, where the question would be whether Gorsuch stays true to his small government roots or rules in favor of the administration that put him on the bench. Or not: Immigration statutes give the president plenty of leeway in setting standards for entry, rather than deferring to legislation alone. Some are already flagging that, sterling academic and legal credentials aside, Gorsuch takes his cues from Christianity as much as the constitution. A statement from the Center for Inquiry noted that, in Summum v. Pleasant Grove City (10th Cir. 2007), Gorsuchs dissent implied the government should be allowed to place a Ten Commandments monument in a public park, and that he wrote of Roe v. Wade, no constitutional basis exists for preferring the mothers liberty interests over the childs life. Bobbitt, for his part, believes that because Gorsuch is not so prudential, he poses a real threat to Roe V. Wade. President Trump has chosen to staff his administration with individuals who are openly antagonistic to Americas secular principles, and he has issued draconian executive orders targeting abortion rights overseas, barring Muslims from entry into the country, and prioritized Christians over non-Christians, Robyn Blumner, President and CEO of Center for Inquiry, said in the same statement. Others are more enthusiastic. On Tuesday, Ramesh Ponnuru wrote in the conservative outlet National Review that Gorsuch was recommended for his reputation for legal excellence and his relative lack of controversy. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lauded the presidents outstanding decision and Gorsuchs long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution. It is now for the rest of the Senate to decide, with Democrats knowing that pushing a filibuster on this vote could prompt Republicans to nuke the minority partys one hole card. They might be tempted to save that weapon for Trumps next Supreme. Robbie Gramer contributed to this article. Photo credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images By Andrew Chung (Reuters) - Federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch, the U.S. Supreme Court pick of President Donald Trump, is a conservative intellectual known for backing religious rights and seen as very much in the mold of Antonin Scalia, the justice he was chosen to replace. Gorsuch, who has not shied away from needling liberals on occasion, is 49 and could influence the high court for decades to come in the lifetime post, if confirmed by the Republican-led Senate. He is the youngest Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 picked Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. He currently serves as a judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, the city where he was born. He was appointed to that post in 2006 by Republican President George W. Bush. Gorsuch, who is white, adds little diversity to the court compared with the justices appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, both of whom were women, one becoming the first Latina justice. But he offers geographical diversity to a court dominated by justices from the east and west coasts. As an Episcopalian, he would be the only Protestant on the court, which has three Jewish justices and five Catholics. Gorsuch is seen by analysts as a jurist similar to Scalia, who died on Feb. 13, 2016. Scalia, praised by Gorsuch as "a lion of the law," was known not only for his hard-line conservatism but for interpreting the U.S. Constitution based on what he considered its original meaning, and laws as written by legislators. Like Scalia, Gorsuch is known for sharp writing skills. "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the peoples representatives," Gorsuch said on Tuesday at the White House event announcing the nomination in remarks that echoed Scalia's views. Trump, a Republican, had the chance to nominate Gorsuch because the Republican-led U.S. Senate last year refused to consider Obama's nominee, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Democrats, angered by the treatment of Garland, and opposing Gorsuch's conservative views, may seek to block his nomination. Trump may have favored Gorsuch for the job in hopes of a smoother confirmation process than for other potential candidates such as appeals court judge William Pryor, who has called the 1973 Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion "the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history." FAMILIAR GROUND The federal government is familiar territory for Gorsuch, who is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served as Republican President Ronald Reagan's top environmental official but resigned in 1983, just 22 months into the job, amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA's use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. She was criticized by environmentalists for cutting the agency's enforcement efforts against polluters and slowing payments for cleaning up toxic waste. The high court is also familiar ground for Gorsuch, who served as a clerk for two justices including a current member of the court, Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who often casts a deciding vote in close decisions. If confirmed, he would become the first clerk to join a former boss on the Supreme Court. Gorsuch also served as a clerk for Justice Byron White, a John F. Kennedy appointee, who retired from the court in 1993. Gorsuch has strong, Ivy League academic qualifications: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School, graduating the same year as Obama. He completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bush's Justice Department. CRITIC OF LIBERALS In a 2005 article in the conservative National Review magazine, Gorsuch criticized American liberals' "overweening addiction to the courtroom" to implement a social agenda "on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide." In his Senate confirmation hearing for his appellate court judgeship, he said the point of the article could be applied to groups across the political spectrum. In 2013, Gorsuch played a role in a high-profile ruling involving arts-and-crafts retailer Hobby Lobby, allowing owners of private companies to object on religious grounds to an Obamacare provision requiring employers to provide health insurance covering birth control for women. The decision, later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, said the provision violated a federal law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In a concurrence, Gorsuch expressed sympathy for the choice faced by the evangelical Christian owners of the company "between exercising their faith or saving their business." Gorsuch also criticized an important legal doctrine that directs courts to defer to federal agencies' interpretation of statutes. Last August, in a case over immigration rules, Gorsuch called the doctrine the "elephant in the room" that concentrates federal power "in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution." He has written extensively on the topic of assisted suicide and euthanasia, arguing against legalization. In written questions related to his Senate confirmation hearings, he was asked whether his writings would make him biased in any case on the matter before him. He said his personal views would play no role in his decisions as a judge. Gorsuch is married with two teenage daughters, and lives outside of Boulder, Colorado. Friends and former clerks said he was a lover of the outdoors, describing him as an excellent skier, a fly fisherman and a runner. "We used to joke that he should be the face of Colorado tourism, former Gorsuch clerk Jane Nitze said. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney) In his first week in office, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, thereby dealing a massive blow to U.S. trade relations with allies and partners in Asia. For week two, Team Trump has set its sights on wrecking U.S. trade with Europe. In an interview with the Financial Times, Trumps top trade adviser Peter Navarro accused Germany of using a grossly undervalued euro, which he called an implicit Deutsche Mark, to steal an advantage on the United States in trade. On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back against Navarros claims during a press conference. We wont exercise any influence over the European Central Bank, so I cant and I dont want to change the situation as it is now, Merkel said, speaking during her visit to Stockholm. Beyond that, we strive to trade on the global market with competitive products in fair trade with all others. But Trump echoed Navarros claims on Tuesday. Other countries take advantage of ours [pharmaceutical industry] with their money and their money supply and devaluation, he said, referring after a meeting with pharmaceutical executives. He did not reference Germany in his accusation, but rather another important U.S. trading partner, Japan. You look at Japan. They play the money market, they play the devaluation market, while we sit here like a bunch of dummies, Trump said. To be fair, Navarros currency claims are usually a good few years out of date. His beef with China that Beijing keeps the yuan cheap hasnt been true since about 2011. And the Bundesbank, whatever its influence in the past, isnt running the European Central Bank now. Anyone claiming that the euro is an implicit Deutsche Mark has missed 5 years of ECB policies shaped against the will of the Bundesbank, Maxime Sbaihi, a Europe economist for Bloomberg, said, referring to the German Federal Bank. Brexit helped kill the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) a massive proposed free trade deal between the EU and United States even before Trump was elected, Navarro said. But he said Trump would kill it dead, in favor of bilateral deals, which take as long or longer to negotiate, but which deliver fewer benefits. This is a multilateral deal in bilateral dress, Navarro said. Story continues Trump and Navarros America First approach to business (except for all the textiles Trump companies make overseas with cheap foreign labor) also apparently means repatriating global supply chains for U.S. companies, an effort to reverse decades-long economic trends that have helped create the modern global economy and dramatically boosted manufacturing output. It does the American economy no long-term good to only keep the big box factories where we are now assembling American products that are composed primarily of foreign components, Navarro said. (The competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers depends, in fact, in large part on the efficiencies within the supply chain that Navarro wants to erase.) With the U.S. turning its trade policy inwards, experts are left wondering if China will the drivers seat of global trade. If the EU and the United States fail to clinch an accord on TTIP, Carnegie Europes Judy Dempsey wrote, then the chances are that they will have ceded to China the responsibility for setting trading rules, as Beijing seeks to replace the United States as the worlds biggest and most important economy. Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images London (AFP) - Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban was "divisive and wrong", five days after she initially refused to condemn the move. "On the policy that president Trump has introduced, this government is clear that that policy is wrong," May told parliament after being pressed by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. "We believe it is divisive and wrong," she said, speaking to MPs for the first time since the travel ban came into force on Friday -- the same day she met Trump at the White House. Trump's executive order bars refugee arrivals for at least 120 days and suspends visas from seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- for 90 days. May said she had no advance notice of Trump's plans. "If he (Corbyn) is asking me whether I had advance notice of the ban on refugees, the answer is no. If he is asking me if I had advance notice that the executive order could affect British citizens, the answer is no. "If he is asking if I had advance notice of the travel restrictions, the answer is we all did, because president Trump said he was going to do this in his election campaign." The ban sparked global mass protests and was swiftly condemned by the United Nations and countries including Germany and France. But May initially failed to condemn the measure, saying the US was responsible for its own refugee policy. She then issued a statement saying she did "not agree" with it. A petition demanding that Britain withdraw an invitation for Trump to make a state visit has garnered 1.8 million signatures. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, on a visit to Lisbon on Wednesday, described the US ban as "arbitrary and brutal". European leaders are also concerned about Trump's virulent criticism of NATO -- he has dubbed the transatlantic military alliance "obsolete" -- at a time when it stands as the main defence against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Story continues "We should organise as soon as possible a NATO summit in Brussels with new US President Donald Trump so European leaders can have contact with him," said Reynders. The United States provides significant funding to NATO, and Trump has urged other member nations to step up their contributions. "Europe has an increased responsibility to preserve transatlantic ties. The international order depends greatly on the alliance between Atlantic democracies," Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva added. Madrid (AFP) - President Donald Trump's executive order blocking immigrants from seven majority Muslim nations will hit tourism to the US, the UN's World Tourism Organization warned Wednesday. The ban on nationals from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen has triggered a domestic and international uproar, but supporters argue it is a temporary measure aimed at boosting national security. In a statement, the Madrid-based UNWTO voiced "deep concern and strong condemnation" over the immigration clampdown. The move is "contrary to the principles of freedom of travel" and will "hinder the immense benefits the tourism sector brings in terms of economic growth and job creation," added the agency. Rather than increased security, the travel ban will lead to "growing tensions and threats," said UNWTO chief Taleb Rifai. He added that "the image of a country which imposes travel bans in such a hostile way" would affect potential visitors the world over and "risk dumping travel demand to the USA." Trump's executive order, which has also temporarily halted refugee arrivals, has seen immigrants and even legal permanent US residents detained in several airports. Some were turned away and put on departing flights, but many were released into the US, often with the help of US attorneys, after a delay. (Reuters) - U.N. human rights experts warned that asylum seekers could face torture if not given safe harbor and the Vatican called for openness to other cultures on Wednesday, adding to a drumbeat of international criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump's travel curbs. Trump's executive order last Friday put a 120-day halt on the U.S. refugee program, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and imposed a 90-day suspension on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The move, which his administration says is aimed at protecting the United States from terrorist attacks, has been condemned by many countries and has sparked protests and court challenges in the United States. A panel of U.N. human rights experts urged the Trump administration on Wednesday to protect people fleeing war and persecution, and said the measure contravened international humanitarian and human rights laws. It "risks people being returned, without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, to places in which they risk being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," the experts said in a statement. The experts, including the U.N. special rapporteurs on migrants, racism, human rights and counter-terrorism, torture, and freedom of religion, also said the measure could lead to "increased stigmatization of Muslim communities." The Vatican, in its first comment on the order, said it was concerned. "Certainly there is worry because we are messengers of another culture, that of openness," the Vatican's deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, told an Italian Catholic television station. "Pope Francis, in fact, insists on the ability to integrate those who arrive in our societies and cultures," he said, also commenting on Trump's plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. IRAN AND LIBYA In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani stepped up his criticism of Trump's immigration policies, including the travel ban, dismissing the U.S. businessman-turned-president as a political novice. Tehran has already vowed to respond with legal, political and reciprocal measures. "It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world," Rouhani said in an address on state television. Libya's U.N.-backed government also criticized Trump's ban on its nationals. The order has put in question participation of Libyans invited to a conference on Libya planned in Washington this month. The measure was one of a flurry of executive orders signed by Trump, a Republican, since he took office on Jan. 20. "Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!" Trump said on Twitter early Wednesday. Reaction to the travel curbs from some Muslim majority countries not on the list of seven designated countries has been more muted. The United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, said on Wednesday the ban was an internal affair not directed at any faith, and noted that most Muslims and Muslim countries were not included. The UAE, a major oil exporter, is a close ally of the United States and a member of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamist militants in Syria. In the United States, four U.S. states - Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington - have sued to overturn the order on the grounds it flouts constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. (Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley in Washington, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Philip Pullella in Vatican City, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in Dubai, Aidan Lewis in Tripoli; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Frances Kerry) Feb. 1, 2017: This story has been clarified. Now that Donald Trump is president, the banking industry is well on its way to accomplishing what has been its top priority goal for years: upending Dodd-Frank, the massive regulatory law that emerged from the financial crisis. Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, two years after the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression vaporized about $14 trillion in wealth, according to the Federal Reserve. Taxpayers spent more than $300 billion to bail out the banks and investment firms behind the collapse, and they recovered sufficiently to repay almost all of that. Dodd-Frank instituted safeguards designed to protect consumers and the economy from future crises. To that end, the law created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and fundamentally changed the way regulators watch over Wall Street by designating certain large institutions for regular scrutiny so that watchdogs werent caught off guard by bank failures. The banking lobby and its friends on Capitol Hill have complicated implementation by watering down some Dodd-Frank rules and delaying others, but the law survived mostly intact during President Barack Obamas tenure. Thats likely about to change. The Trump transition team website said it will be working to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act and replace it with new policies to encourage growth and job creation. President Trump, while signing an executive order Monday to limit new regulations, told reporters he planned to do a big number on Dodd-Frank. Members on the Republican-controlled House and Senate banking committees, many of whom received some of the heftiest sums of campaign donations from banks, have readied bills that would weaken many of the laws protections; they argue the changes are necessary to reduce costly regulations and give consumers more choice in the financial services market. With that kind of influence, Wall Street will probably get much of what it wants. Story continues This story is part of Finance. The latest investigations about U.S. financial reform, corporate accountability and consumer finance. Click here to read more stories in this investigation. Don't miss another Business investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. Even one of the laws namesakes, former House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said there is room to improve Dodd-Frank. Were always changing something this big, Frank said in an interview. Some reforms, like changes to the CFPB, seem a certainty, mostly because they can be accomplished without legislation. Others will probably meet resistance, and a full repeal is unlikely, according to Frank. Dodd-Frank is a popular law, he said, and very skillful people such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, will strongly defend the legislation. In addition, Frank said, I think Republicans who are up [for re-election] in 2018 are going to be reluctant to dramatically weaken the law. Even so, critics of altering Dodd-Frank believe the signs point to a regrettable return to a pre-recession era when large banks operated without significant regulatory oversight, said Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of civil rights, consumer and business groups that formed after the 2008 crisis. We had experience with Wall Street self-regulation prior to the financial crisis, and it did not work out well, Stanley said. When you let industry determine its own rules, its going to create more risks. The downside of those risks is going to be pushed to taxpayers and working families. Creating hope The Trump administration has a ready blueprint for dismantling Dodd-Frank. Its called the Financial Choice Act. While the bill was introduced just last year, the ideas behind it arent new. The Choice Act includes language from 40 previous bills that made it to the House floor but stopped short of becoming law. One bill would have exempted manufactured-home retailers from the law, exposing borrowers to costly loans, the Obama administration argued. Another expanded what kinds of up-front costs (called points and fees) could be considered a so-called qualified mortgage, which are eligible to be insured by the federal government. That change would have eroded consumer protections, the Obama White House said. The Choice Act wouldnt completely repeal Dodd-Frank, but rather change those provisions the banking industry particularly dislikes: Regulators orderly liquidation authority for winding down failing banks, a stress test system banks consider opaque and burdensome, and the governments discretion in deciding what institutions warrant heightened scrutiny, among others. Doing away with Dodd-Frank completely would be impossible without convincing Senate moderates. And scrapping it would be costly for industry in its own way, because institutions have already adapted to many of the laws changes. Some of those changes have actually improved business, according to a study by the consulting firm Accenture. Almost three-quarters of the 132 business executives surveyed by the firm in 2012 said Dodd-Frank will increase their companys profitability over the lifetime of the program. Still, the Choice Act which stands for Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs puts major components of Dodd-Frank on the chopping block. The most notable Choice Act provision is a so-called regulatory off ramp, which would free an institution from regulatory scrutiny if it holds 10 percent of its assets in reserve to cover potential losses regardless of the banks size or the complexity of its business. As it stands, Dodd-Frank creates tiered regulation for financial institutions and oversees large non-banking financial institutions such as giant insurance firms. The largest banks must complete stress tests to ensure they can withstand an economic downturn and have a plan for liquidation in the event of a major failure. The new one-size-fits-all regulation would make compliance simpler and be less costly for banks to comply with, supporters say. But Dodd-Frank backers and regulators doubt whether the 10-percent-reserve cushion would be large enough to prevent another crisis should some of the largest U.S. banks fail. Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo said at a Wall Street Journal event in July that the 10 percent number would have to be substantially higher to have regulators comfortable that there were not substantial safety and soundness considerations. Reviews of Dodd-Frank have found it has had a positive effect on bank safety and the economy, with few significant downsides. A 2015 Government Accountability Office study found an increase in compliance burden for smaller banks and credit unions but also concluded that the act has had little effect on the funding costs of these companies and may be associated with improvements in some measures of their safety and soundness. Another GAO report issued late last year that the regulatory structure that Dodd-Frank builds upon has contributed to the overall growth and stability in the U.S. economy. Auditors did find inefficiencies in regulatory processes due to overlap and fragmentation that predated Dodd-Frank and are still persistent in the regulatory structure. Don't miss another Business investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. The banking caucus Economic stability and improved bank safety havent stopped supporters of the Choice Act from moving forward with tearing down Dodd-Frank. The bill was introduced in September by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican who is a deregulation crusader and friend of Vice President Mike Pence; Pence represented Indiana in the House from 2001 to 2013 and was a critic of Dodd-Frank when the law passed in 2010. This so-called financial reform bill will kill jobs, Pence said in a statement days after Dodd-Frank passed. Hensarling managed Pences unsuccessful campaign for House minority leader in 2006. When Pence left Congress to become governor of Indiana, Hensarling invoked scripture in a farewell speech from the House floor. Mike Pence is my friend that sticketh closer than a brother, Hensarling said. In November, Hensarling told members of the Exchequer Club in Washington, a group of professionals from trade associations, regulatory agencies and the financial industry, that there has been a fairly constant dialogue with the Trump transition team about the Choice Act. Hensarling is a member of the so-called banking caucus, a group of lawmakers the Center for Public Integrity identified in 2014 as having close ties to the financial industry and having received some of the largest campaign contributions from banks. Along with Hensarling, three of the five Republican cosponsors of the Choice Act also were members of the banking caucus: Sean Duffy from Wisconsin, Blaine Luetkemeyer from Missouri and Scott Garrett from New Jersey, who lost his 2016 re-election bid. Two other sponsors of the bill were Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., and now-retired Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas. As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Hensarling is the ringleader. For years, he has tried to unwind Dodd-Frank and end what he calls the regulatory waterboarding of the financial sector. I will not rest until Dodd-Frank is ripped out by its roots and tossed on the trash heap of history, Hensarling told American Bankers Association members last year. Over the course of their careers, Hensarling and the three cosponsors who are included in the banking caucus have raised more than $2.8 million from commercial banks, $4 million from securities and investment firms, and $3 million from insurance companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The financial sector is Hensarlings top campaign donor. Since first coming to Congress in 2002, commercial banks have given Hensarling more than $1.35 million in contributions, just behind the insurance industry ($1.4 million) and the securities and investment industry ($1.41 million), according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Hensarlings take from the financial industry dwarfs his colleagues. On average, active House members have received about $162,000 from the financial sector. Among Hensarlings top donors are the nations two-largest banks JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. and the fourth largest, Wells Fargo & Co. Commercial banks gave $390,150 to Hensarlings campaign committee and leadership PAC for his 2016 re-election campaign, behind only the insurance industry ($430,850) and securities and investment firms ($414,945). Hensarlings office confirmed he plans to re-introduce the Choice Act in this Congress. Financial institutions gave similar amounts to the other banking caucus members who sponsored the Choice Act. In 2016, insurance, commercial banks, and securities and investment firms combined to contribute $658,754 to Duffy, $899,077 to Luetkemeyer and $571,755 to Garrett. Huizenga, another sponsor of the bill, has received over $1 million from the financial industry since he was first elected in 2009, and sponsor Neugebauer, who retired from Congress last year, collected over $1.8 million since 2001. Waiting in the Senate is Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Utah, who took over the Senate Banking Committee this session. He has collected over $3 million from the financial industry since first coming to Congress in 1991, including top donor JPMorgan Chase. One of the trade groups that has given mightily to the banking caucus is the Consumer Bankers Association, which counts Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Chase as members. The group gave more than $400,000 to political campaigns in 2016 according to data collected from the Center for Responsive Politics. The Choice Act presents a chance to look at [Dodd-Frank] to ensure it will be good for banks and consumers, said Richard Hunt, president and chief executive officer of the association. Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is less enthused. This bill is so bad that it simply cannot be fixed, she said during a committee session discussing the bill. Its clear that this is a rushed, partisan messaging tool. Sea change at the CFPB The Choice Act also targets the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Dodd-Frank established to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive practices of the financial sector, according to the law. But Hensarling believes the agency is an example of government run amok, claiming the CFPB has infringed on the economic freedoms of consumers. That sentiment, along with Trumps election win, will result in a sea change at the CFPB, said Alan Kaplinsky, who leads the Consumer Financial Services Group at the law firm Ballard Spahr. Theres a lot of discontent among the companies that are regulated and supervised and who have become the target of the CFPB. The most likely change would replace the CFPBs individual director, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, with a five-member commission that would have three Republicans during the Trump administration. The panel would be subject to congressional oversight and appropriations. Bank executives and their allies in Congress say the agencys current director former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, a controversial Obama appointment initially made during a congressional recess and confirmed by the Senate only 18 months later has too much power and is unaccountable to Congress. CFPB crackdowns on practices the agency deems abusive have led some Republicans to charge that the agency is straying from enforcement into advocacy. When the CFPB announced new rules regarding the payday-loan industry, which has been charged with targeting low-income individuals with high-interest loans that can trap them in long-term debt, Hensarling fired back at Cordray. Accountable to no one, he alone decides for all Americans whether they can take out a small-dollar loan to meet emergency needs, Hensarling said in a press release. The proposed changes to the CFPB, which include repealing the CFPBs authority to ban products and services that regulators deem abusive, are aimed at reducing what some Congress members believe are controversial actions, like the payday-lending rules. But the agency still should enforce the law under a Republican-led CFPB, Kaplinsky said. There are plenty of clear cut violations of law that [the CFPB] can target without taking extreme positions where the industry is caught off guard and surprised, he said. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ben Sasse, R-Neb., wrote a letter to Pence this month urging the administration to fire Cordray. Neugebauer, one of the sponsors of the Choice Act, is said to be Trumps choice to head the agency. Proponents of reform also say a five-person commission would allow for more industry input in CFPB decision making. Changing the CFPBs funding source from the Federal Reserve to congressional appropriations also would make the agency more accountable by placing it under the supervision of elected officials in Congress. Or, the change could inject politics into the agency, say CFPB supporters. What we know about commissions is they tend to be gridlocked, said Yana Miles, policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit research organization that advocates for fair lending practices. A divided commission may prevent the agency from quickly responding to abusive practices by financial institutions, critics of the proposed structure argue. It wasnt that long ago that we saw the waves of predatory lending that nearly destroyed our economy, Miles said. The CFPB is the one thing out there standing between consumers and the wild wild west of the days leading up to the crisis. CFPB critics, nevertheless, have the courts on their side, so far. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled last year that the agencys single-director structure is unconstitutional. The CFPB has asked the full D.C. Circuit to rehear the case. Supporters say the CFPB is accountable to consumers, as illustrated by a record of punishing banks wrongdoing. Since opening its doors in 2010, CFPB actions have resulted in more than $11 billion in compensation or debt reduction to consumers. Among its major cases: One of its most high-profile decisions came last year, when the CFPB fined Wells Fargo $100 million for opening accounts without customers consent, with another $35 million going to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and $50 million to the City and County of Los Angeles. The CFPB brought complaints in 2014 against Corinthian College s , a for-profit college accused of overselling the employability of its graduates, and ITT Educational Services, a for-profit institution accused of predatory student lending. On Jan. 18, the CFPB announced a lawsuit against Navient Corp., the nations largest student-loan servicer, for systematically and illegally failing borrowers at every stage of repayment. The CFPB relied partly on its mandate to prevent abusive practices to pursue the Wells Fargo case, Miles said. Under changes in the Choice Act, a Wells Fargo situation could pop up again and it would either not be addressed or would take a much longer time to get to it, Miles said. Related: Banking caucus' total take from the financial sector Not so fast Changing the CFPB may not be so easy, despite Republicans control of Congress and a new White House occupant they see as an ally. Sen. Warren, who spearheaded the creation of the agency, warned Hensarling and his colleagues about the CFPBs importance during a November conference of the Wall Street Journals CEO council, a group of influential business leaders. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is doing the peoples business. And it has its own fan club out there: Its got the people its working for, Warren said. You try to take the legs out from underneath the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau I think thats not only a problem for Donald Trump and for the Republicans. I think this is something that the American people will say enough. Indeed, 56 percent of Trump voters want the CFPB either left alone (41 percent) or expanded (15 percent), according to a Morning Consult poll conducted in December. Likewise, 71 percent of Republican and Democratic voters said they supported the CFPB, according to a 2016 poll by Lake Research Partners. In addition, Trump, himself a highly-paid business mogul, made Wall Street excess one of the boogeymen of his campaign. He told CBS in a 2015 interview that CEO pay on Wall Street was a total and complete joke. Dodd-Frank instituted a policy known as clawback, which allows regulators to penalize executives who take home bonuses based on accounting fraud, and implemented say-on-pay rules designed to allow employees to have more input in the compensation of their bosses on Wall Street. Trump said hedge-fund managers were getting away with murder on taxes and talked of closing the carried interest loophole that allows income from hedge-fund profits to be taxed at a lower rate than most forms of income. He and the Republican platform called for a new Glass-Steagall Act to separate banks risky investments from customers deposits, something Warren and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., proposed in 2015. Trumps nominee for Treasury Department secretary, Steven Mnuchin, offered tentative support for a 21st-century version of Glass-Steagall during his confirmation hearing. Still, Trumps position, like on so many others, can change. A look at who has run his transition teams and his appointments may signal where policy is really headed. And by that measure, the future doesnt look promising for Dodd-Frank. Trumps transition team on financial regulation has been led by Paul Atkins, CEO of the financial services consulting firm Patomak Global Partners. Atkins is a former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a deregulation advocate who called Dodd-Frank a calamity in 2011 when testifying before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. A Trump administration also will include financiers. Mnuchin, senior adviser Steve Bannon and director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn all currently or previously worked for Goldman Sachs. Commerce Department Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross is a billionaire investor who in 2010 called government intervention one of the biggest problem for investors. In May, Trump told Reuters he would release a plan to overhaul Dodd-Frank. Dodd-Frank has made it impossible for bankers to function, Trump said at the time, even as banks have reported increasing profits year over year since the passage of Dodd-Frank. Trumps plan has not yet been released. Clarification, 2:20 p.m., Feb., 1 2017: An earlier version of this story attributed the "growth and stability in the U.S. economy" to Dodd-Frank, but the GAO report concluded the overall financial regulatory structure that Dodd-Frank built on contributed to the growth and stability. Related: Dodd-Frank on the chopping block This story is part of Finance. The latest investigations about U.S. financial reform, corporate accountability and consumer finance. Click here to read more stories in this investigation. Related stories Copyright 2017 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C. By Warren Strobel and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At the U.S. State Department, the dissent began building soon after President Donald Trump signed an executive order late on Friday to limit immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Opposition mounted through the weekend as a draft memo criticizing Trump's policy was written up in Washington and circulated by email to U.S. diplomatic posts around the world, according to multiple officials involved in the effort. By Monday, two of the officials said they considered withdrawing their names from the document, fearing a backlash. On Tuesday, just 12 days into Trump's presidency, the memo with some 900 signatures was delivered to the State Department policy planning office and from there to other top officials, said one source familiar with the document. Sources said this was an unprecedented number of names on a memo sent through the department's formal "dissent channel." The memo is just one example of the alarm and, in some cases, resistance spreading within the federal bureaucracy as Trump's administration makes sharp policy turns while ignoring some of the agencies charged with implementation, according to interviews with more than 20 current and former U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity and in some cases asked that their departments not be identified. Still fearful of recriminations, one official said some diplomats discussed whether they could qualify for professional liability insurance, which would cover legal costs in the case of disciplinary action, through the American Foreign Service Association union. The White House did not respond to an email requesting comment. Earlier, when the existence of the memo surfaced, White House spokesman Sean Spicer warned that anyone at the State Department who questioned Trump's immigration policies "should either get with the program, or they can go." ROGUE TWEETS Elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy, officials have hastily saved scientific research and public information on climate change and other issues, fearing the new administration would strip it from their websites. Officials have also set up alternative Twitter accounts to criticize the administration. Reuters could not verify the owners of the roughly 50 "rogue" accounts. Other officials have begun debating whether to quit.Most of those whom Reuters interviewed said that, while the administration's policies concerned them, they are more worried that Trump might try to ignore legal and legislative restraints on presidential power. Trump upset many by signing his controversial executive order on immigration without consulting key agencies and members of Congress. "When they try to ram through things that have foreign policy and national security implications, it demands consultation," said a career official who worked in a part of the government charged with implementing the immigration order. "But there was no meaningful consultation, despite what they said." A career civil servant at the Federal Communications Commission said he was considering quitting, citing a fear widespread at the agency "of being cut out of the decision-making processes." Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Republican like Trump, said he learned about the immigration order only after the president had signed it. Corker said he talked with White House representatives on Sunday and believed they had gotten the message on the need for inter-agency coordination. "I would find it hard to believe that they on Tuesday don't understand that what they did on Friday could have been done in a much better way," he said. TUSSLES Most new presidents, particularly Republicans, who favor limited government, have tussles with the federal bureaucracy. President Ronald Reagan fired 11,000 air traffic controllers, all federal employees, in 1981, early in his tenure, after they ignored his order to return to work. But Philip Wallach, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, said Trump's apparent hostility to those who must implement his policies was in a different league. "There certainly is something about Trump's chip-on-the-shoulder attitude that makes it seem like he's itching for a potential long-term fight with the bureaucracy, rather than something he works to develop a smooth relationship with," he said. To succeed with his economic reform agenda, Trump will need federal agencies, Wallach said. "That's going to require a lot of affirmative government work, not just smashing things up." Several government managers said they have advised their employees not to react so early in Trump's presidency. "Some of the things Trump is doing are foolish and make no sense from a management perspective," said a career State Department official who supervises scores of civil servants. "But I've told my folks to be professional and stay calm don't panic," the official said. "What else can I tell them? Someone needs to be an adult. Otherwise, we'd have chaos." In a farewell speech to about 100 State Department officials on Tuesday, Thomas Countryman, the acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, called on colleagues to stay despite their concerns. "We still have a duty - you have a duty - to stay and give your best professional guidance, with loyalty, to the new administration," he said. "Because a foreign policy without professionals is - by definition - an amateur foreign policy. You will help to frame and make the choices." (Additional reporting by John Walcott, Jonathan Landay, Matt Spetalnick, David Rohde, John Shiffman, Roberta Rampton, Valerie Volcovici, Arshad Mohammad, Patricia Zengerle, Mark Hosenball, Emily Stephenson and Daniel Weissner; Editing by John Walcott, Kieran Murray and Lisa Von Ahn) By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos, already known as one of the most controversial nominees for education secretary in U.S. history, now risks a rare congressional rejection. The deeply divided U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday agreed to send her nomination to the full chamber for a vote, the final step in the confirmation process. But the committee's executive session showed DeVos faces choppy waters ahead for a post for which there is typically little congressional debate or public attention. The chairman, Republican Lamar Alexander, acted as tie-breaker after all 11 Republicans voted for Republican President Donald Trump's pick and all 11 Democrats voted against. Two Republicans - Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski - expressed grave misgivings about the charter school advocate's limited experience with public schools. They said they voted yes only so the entire Senate can debate whether DeVos is the right fit. Murkowski said she may not support DeVos in the Senate vote. Democrats said the nomination was rushed, with DeVos providing answers they described as vague and noncommittal to hundreds of written questions only 24 hours before the vote. After many of Trump's nominees sailed through their confirmations in recent weeks, the names currently before the Senate were meeting resistance. The Senate's 48 Democrats only need to pull three Republicans to their side to reject DeVos' nomination. Just nine nominees have ever been turned down by the Senate. Public opposition to DeVos is unusually fierce, said Mary Kusler, lobbyist for the National Education Association, a large union that said constituents sent 1 million emails and placed 40,000 calls to senators decrying the nomination. It was the biggest public outcry over an education secretary that Kusler has seen in her career of more than 20 years, she added. NEA and the American Federation of Teachers, another major union, say they will keep up their anti-DeVos fight during the Senate vote and expect voters will also maintain pressure. Public opinion of DeVos wobbled after her Jan. 17 hearing, where she suggested allowing guns at rural schools to fend off bear attacks. At two rallies on Tuesday in Chicago, several hundred protesters gathered to demonstrate against DeVos' nomination. I have one child in school, and my son will be (in school) in a little over a year, said Chicago resident Mara Tierney, who attended a rally with her 3-year-old boy. I want to do what I can to ensure DeVos is not confirmed. Old-guard Republicans like former first lady Barbara Bush defended DeVos as a lifelong champion of low-income children, literacy and giving parents more choice in education. Democrats, meanwhile, blasted the nominee for supporting privatization in ways they said hurt poor students, not understanding basic education laws and issues, and courting potential conflicts of interest through her investments. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; additional reporting by Bob Chiarito in Chicago.; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis) Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily halting refugee arrivals and blocking immigrants from seven majority Muslim nations marked perhaps the most contentious moment of his provocative new tenure. The declaration triggered an international uproar as more than 100 immigrants, refugees, and even legal permanent US residents were ensnared in a web of detention in several airports. Some were turned away and put on departing flights, but many were released into the United States, often with the help of US attorneys, after a delay. Critics savaged Trump's order as haphazardly written, un-American, even unconstitutional. Supporters argue it is merely a temporary measure similar to restrictions put in place by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama in 2011, and aimed at boosting national security at a time of heightened global concern over terrorism. But is it legal? We take a look at both sides. - 'Not a ban' on Muslims - The US Constitution's First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion, speech and the press, a section now known as "the establishment clause." Supporters insist Trump's "Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" abides by such a rule. "This is not -- I repeat, not -- a ban on Muslims," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday, adding that religious liberty is a "fundamental treasured value." The order indeed does not explicitly ban Muslims, something Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, noted in defense of the order. "The law favors Trump on the constitutionality," he told MSNBC. "On the statutory side, there's an argument under a 1965 law," he added, referring to the Immigration and Nationality Act that prohibits discrimination based on religion or national origin. But experts also say that law focused on removing the skewing of immigration quotas, not national security priorities. Story continues "There's compelling arguments... supporting the president," Turley said. Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of Lawfare, said on his national security blog that despite the "malevolent" nature of the order for its potential to adversely impact so many innocent lives, it passes legal muster. "The president's power over refugee admissions is vast," Wittes wrote. "His power to restrict visa issuances and entry of aliens to the United States is almost as wide." - 'Violating' provisions - But round one of the constitutional fight nonetheless has gone to the order's opponents. Following immediate legal challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union, judges barred any deportations of legal refugees already in the country, including at airports, or of immigrants from the seven nations listed in the order with legal visas. District Judge Ann Donnelly, in issuing a stay, wrote that the order "violates (petitioners') rights to due process and equal protection guaranteed by the US Constitution." Michael Price, counsel of the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that many of the arguments about a president's plenary power over immigration are "misplaced." He said there are two related questions -- whether the president has statutory authority and whether he has constitutional authority -- and that Trump is wrong on both counts. Congress has repeatedly enacted laws to prevent the president from excluding people based on ideology, he said, and Section 212 of the current immigration law code places clear prohibitions excluding immigrants based on their beliefs. "The president is violating that provision," Price told AFP in an interview. On the broader issue of constitutionality, courts have warranted that the president has broad powers, but that if he was acting "based on religious animus or discriminatory intent, then that constitutional analysis would change." Several Republican lawmakers have argued that Trump is merely taking steps to keep Americans safe, but Price called that a "fig leaf" on a larger problem. Trump's comments on the campaign trail calling for a ban on Muslims, and statements by his supporters including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani saying Trump sought a Muslim ban and wanted to do it legally, "give lie to that argument," Price said. While the order makes no mention of Islam or Muslims, it prioritizes "minority religion" refugee claims when immigration resumes from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Such an appearance of prioritizing Christian immigrants adds to the argument that Trump is discriminating, Price said. "You are going to see a lot of additional legal challenges to this executive order in the coming days," he said. Donald Trumps 90-day travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen struck a chord with academic America. The order is stranding students who have been approved to study here and are trying to get back to campus, and threatens to disrupt the education and research of many others, the nonprofit Association of American Universities stated on Saturday evening. That group represents 60 US research institutions, including Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Northwestern, Stanford, the University of California system, UChicago, UPenn, Yale, and the University of Michigan, among other prestigious universities. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel was among the first college presidents to refuse to release students immigration status, reiterating the institutions nondiscrimination policy. Once students are admitted, the university is committed to fostering an environment in which each student can flourish, his statement read. RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ (Photo by Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) Beyond a humanitarian perspective, some people outside academia argue the loss of these international students will hurt universities bottom lines. David Kotok, the chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors, a portfolio management firm, expressed his concerns around the move, specifically from an investing standpoint, in a note to his clients. [Trump] impairs knowledge transfers. For example, one of the large exports of America is education. Our universities sell courses and academic degrees, and foreigners come here and buy them and mostly pay cash in US dollars, he said. Billions are transferred each year. University education for Americans is subsidized by foreigners who occupy seats in classrooms and do so as paying customers. Look at any of our schools for evidence. Ask any dean or provost what his schools financial structure would look like if there were no foreign students enrolled. Trump has dealt a blow to higher education with an executive order. The pain will be felt by Americans, he added. Story continues Kotok brings up a valid argument. International students contributed an estimated $35 billion to the US economy in 2015, according to the US Department of Commerce, up from $31 billion in 2014. International students in the US topped 1 million for the first time in 2016, according to a new report from the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit that collaborates with governments and education foundations around the world. Though foreign students only make up 5% of students in the US higher education system, they represent strong growth among students in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Among the countries listed on the temporary ban, Iranian students, in particular, make up a bulk of foreign students studying in the US. Students from Iran increased by 8.2% between 2015 and 2016 hitting 12,269 students, the highest US enrollment by Iranians in 29 years, according to IIE. Vahideh Rasekhi, an Iranian doctoral student at Stony Brook University, greets friends and family as she is released from detention at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) The ban has affected students like Vahideh Rasekhi, an Iranian who was returning from a trip to visit her family just after Trump issued his order. Rasekhi was initially told that she would not be allowed to enter the US. But with the aid of volunteer lawyers from the International Refugee Assistance Project and the Legal Aid Society, Rasekhi was released over 16 hours later. Rasekhi, a sixth year doctoral student in linguistics, serves as the president of Stony Brook Universitys graduate student organization. She came to the US as a Fulbright Scholar at UC Santa Barbara and subsequently received her masters degree in linguistics. In a statement to Yahoo Finance, she says she had recently traveled to Iran to visit her family and it was such a blessing to be able to visit with them again. She is thankful to have the opportunity to return to her dissertation research. Blocking out immigrants from countries like Iran would not only disrupt the lives of people like Rasekhi, but it could also do lasting damage to the US economy. Melody Hahm is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Read more from Melody here & follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans jammed two of President Donald Trump's top Cabinet picks through the Senate Finance Committee with no Democrats in the room Wednesday after suspending a rule that would have otherwise barred them from taking the vote. The tactic seemed a warning shot that they might deploy brute political muscle in the upcoming fight over the Supreme Court vacancy. With a near-toxic vapor of divisiveness between the two parties across Capitol Hill, nasty showdowns broke out elsewhere as well. One Senate panel signed off on Trump's choice for attorney general only after senators exchanged heated words, and another committee postponed a vote on the would-be chief of the Environmental Protection Agency after Democrats refused to show up. Busting through a Democratic boycott of the Finance panel, all 14 Republicans took advantage of Democrats' absence to temporarily disable a committee rule requiring at least one Democrat to be present for votes. They then used two 14-0 roll calls to approve financier Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to be health secretary, ignoring Democrats' demands that the two nominees provide more information about their financial backgrounds. All the nominations will need full Senate approval. Underscoring Congress' foul mood, Finance panel Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Democrats should be "ashamed" for staying away from his committee's meeting. "I don't feel a bit sorry for them," he told reporters, adding later, "I don't care what they want at this point." Trump won one major victory, as the Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state. The mostly party-line 56-43 vote came with Democrats critical of Tillerson's close ties to Russia as former Exxon Mobil CEO. Tillerson was sworn in later Wednesday at the White House. But the prospects that GOP donor Betsy DeVos would win approval as education secretary were jarred when two GOP senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, said they opposed her. Both challenged her support for public education, and their defections meant Vice President Mike Pence might need to break a tie in a Senate that Republicans control 52-48. Story continues Congress' day was dominated by confrontation, even as lawmakers braced for an even more ferocious battle over Trump's nomination of conservative federal judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Democrats were already furious over Republicans' refusal to even consider last year President Barack Obama's pick for the slot, Judge Merrick Garland. Trump fueled the fire by urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to "go nuclear" shorthand for a unilateral change in the chamber's rules so Democrats can't block Gorsuch with a filibuster. Without a rules change, Republicans will need at least eight Democrats to reach the 60-votes necessary to halt filibusters, or endless procedural delays. Democrats boycotted Wednesday's abruptly called Finance Committee meeting, as they'd done for a session a day earlier. They say Price and Mnuchin have lied about their financial backgrounds and must answer more questions. "It's deeply troubling to me that Republicans on the Finance Committee chose to break the rules in the face of strong evidence of two nominees' serious ethical problems," said the panel's top Democrat, Ron Wyden of Oregon. Democrats say Price had special access to low-priced shares in an Australian biomed firm, even though he testified the offer was available to all investors. They say Mnuchin ran a bank that processed home foreclosures with a process critics say invites fraud. The two men have denied wrongdoing and have solid Republican backing. The Senate Judiciary Committee used a party-line 11-9 vote to sign off on Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., for attorney general. That came after Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had misrepresented remarks he'd made about Sessions weeks ago. Cruz wasn't present as Franken spoke. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, interrupted Franken twice, calling it "untoward and inappropriate" to disparage the absent Cruz. Franken said Cruz "personally went after me, he personally impugned my integrity." Angrily pointing at Cornyn, he asked, "You didn't object then, did you?" Cornyn said he wasn't sure he was there when Cruz spoke. At the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Democrats boycotted a planned vote on Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma's state attorney general in line to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. The vote was postponed. Pruitt has questioned the scientific consensus that human activities are contributing to global warming and joined lawsuits against the agency's emission curbs. Another panel postponed a vote on Trump's pick to head the White House Budget Office, tea party Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., as Democrats asked for more time to read the nominee's FBI file. ___ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Michael Biesecker contributed to this report. Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump sought to seize back political momentum Tuesday by unveiling his pick for the Supreme Court, as he weathered new challenges to his controversial immigration order and saw the confirmation of several key cabinet nominees stall in Congress. Here are five takeaways from the day's events in Washington: - Supreme Court - Trump introduced conservative federal appellate judge Neil Gorsuch as his choice to fill the Supreme Court seat that has been vacant for nearly a year, since the death of conservative Antonin Scalia. The announcement played out in prime time, complete with teasers delivered in the runup to the 8:00 pm announcement by Trump himself on Twitter. Gorsuch, 49, is considered to be an "originalist" -- guided in his legal reasoning by what he believes to be the constitution's original intent and meaning. He is the youngest nominee in a generation. The nine-seat court has been at eight since Scalia died in February 2016, as Republicans refused to set up a confirmation hearing for Barack Obama's pick, Merrick Garland. - Diplo dissent - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharpened his criticism of Trump's ban on travelers from seven mainly-Muslim nations, calling it a "blind" measure more likely to fan extremist propaganda than combat the threat of terrorism. Guterres warned that countries seeking to strengthen control of their borders cannot do so "based on any form of discrimination related to religion, ethnicity or nationality." Echoing his stance, a large group of US diplomats from around the world formally opposed the executive order, despite the White House warning that they should get behind his agenda or resign. "We are better than this ban," they declared, according to leaked drafts of the "dissent memo," scorning Trump's plan to introduce "extreme vetting" for visa applicants as a "high, vague and nebulous bar" for travelers from the seven countries to meet. Story continues - Ban or no ban? - The debate over Trump's executive order on immigration veered from questions about its merits and effectiveness to pure semantics: when is a ban a ban? "This is not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban/ It's a vetting system to keep America safe. That's it. Plain and simple," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters, complaining that the word "ban" is inappropriate. One problem: Trump used the very word in a tweet on Monday. "He is using the word that the media is using," explained an uneasy Spicer. - None shall pass - Trump kicked off the day with a combative tweet aimed at Democrats he accuses of obstructing the approval of Jeff Sessions, his nominee for attorney general, and other members of his cabinet. "They should be ashamed of themselves! No wonder D.C. doesn't work!" Trump wrote. Senate Democrats gave him little reason to relent as the day went on, blocking committee votes on two key nominations: Treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin and health secretary-designate Tom Price. The White House rebuke was swift, with Spicer calling the boycott "truly outrageous." Democrats have dug in over the nominations, alarmed by what they see as extreme picks for a raft of key posts and angered by Trump's aggressive first week in office. Despite the partisan tensions, one cabinet member managed to win confirmation: Elaine Chao, the next transportation secretary -- and the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. - Target: Germany - Another day, another brash foray into foreign policy. Top Trump economic advisor Peter Navarro bashed Germany for exploiting an undervalued euro to take advantage of its European neighbors, in a rare public rebuke of a major US trading partner. Navarro's comments, made in a Financial Times interview, were the latest example of the new US administration's abrasive tactics, with Trump himself using public attacks and Twitter to criticize businesses and allies. Navarro, who heads the White House's new National Trade Council, told the FT that Germany "continues to exploit other countries in the EU as well as the US with an 'implicit Deutsche mark' that is grossly undervalued." A hardliner on trade and especially China's rise, Navarro also said the planned trade deal between the United States and European Union -- the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership -- was dead. He repeated Trump's statements that the administration will pursue bilateral agreements that favor the United States. By Ceyda Caglayan and Ercan Gurses ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will guarantee the purchase of some medical products that international firms produce domestically, the health minister told Reuters this week, a strategy aimed at cutting reliance on imports and bringing in some $1.3 billion in new investment. The drive to source more drugs locally comes as the lira currency has hit a series of record lows, driving up the cost of imports. Turkey, expects that state spending on medicine will reach 24 billion lira ($6.4 billion) this year, with 60 percent of that on imports. "We want production to be done locally," Recep Akdag said in an interview on Monday. "We want generic medications to be produced in Turkey and bought by the state." "With domestic production of medicine and medical instruments, we expect 5 billion lira ($1.3 billion) in investment," he said, adding the program will prioritize the production of higher technology products. By producing 650 imported medical products domestically, Turkey could keep 2.69 billion lira at home, the Turkish Medication and Medical Instrument Institution estimates. Some firms are already paying heed. Iran's CinnaGen recently said it would invest in production for biotech medicine. France-based Servier has said it would localise the production for the Turkish market. Italian pharmaceutical firm Menarini has announced it would increase local capacity with a 15 million euro investment in its Turkish affiliate, Ibrahim Etem. The government also aims to increase the number of hospital beds in the national system to 150,000 from 120,000 now, Akdag said. (Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan) NEW YORK (AP) The Oxygen television network is looking behind bars for inspiration. The NBC Universal-owned network said Wednesday that starting this summer, it will focus its programming on crime stories that appeal to women, joining an already crowded television genre. Its other programming, such as "Bad Girls Club" and "Battle of the Ex-Besties," will be phased out. Oxygen's saga speaks to the survival pressures faced by many cable networks. NBC Universal recently decided to shutter its Esquire network and make it digital-only. When Oxygen's launch was announced in 1998 with prominent backers that included Oprah Winfrey, the goal was to make it a general interest network for women to compete with Lifetime, only hipper. The change won't be completely abrupt. Oxygen has seen success during the past year with a prime-time block of crime-oriented programming on three nights, recently increasing it to four. That helped Oxygen to a 42 percent increase in viewers during the last three months of 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier, the Nielsen company said. Crime stories are easily found onscreen now, from the dramas on CBS' prime-time lineup to Investigation Discovery, probably the most successful cable network launch in some time. Frances Berwick, president of lifestyle networks for NBC Universal Cable, said Oxygen will take cues from the successful podcast "Serial" and Netflix's "Making a Murderer" in finding stories that viewers can follow to guess the outcome of true crime stories. "We felt like we could do that in a different way than there is currently out there, one that appeals to a younger demographic," Berwick said. In March, Oxygen will premiere a new series, "Three Days to Live," focusing on the stories of women who have been abducted. Veteran producer Dick Wolf is behind the upcoming series, "Cold Justice," which features former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and a team of detectives as they try to solve real-life crime cases across the country. Story continues Wolf's series will start this fall, along with "The Jury Speaks," which examines noted criminal cases as seen through the eyes of the jury that decided them. Oxygen is also launching its own podcast, "Martinis and Murder," that delves into the details surrounding murder cases. "This is definitely a moment where people are interested in solving crimes themselves," Berwick said. She said Oxygen believes it is a genre with enough different stories and ways to tell them that interest won't be soon exhausted. By Jan Wolfe (Reuters) - A U.S. jury in Texas on Wednesday ordered Facebook Inc, its virtual reality unit Oculus, and other defendants to pay a combined $500 million to ZeniMax Media Inc, a video game publisher that says Oculus stole its technology. The jury in federal court in Dallas found Oculus, which Facebook acquired for about $2 billion in 2014, used ZeniMaxs computer code to launch the Rift virtual-reality headset. ZeniMax alleges that video game designer John Carmack developed core parts of the Rifts technology while working at a ZeniMax subsidiary. Oculus hired Carmack in 2013. Facebook's stock was not impacted by the verdict. The company's shares were up 3 percent in after-hours trading following the release of a fourth-quarter earnings report that beat expectations. ZeniMax Chief Executive Robert Altman hailed the verdict and said in a statement the company was considering seeking an order blocking Oculus and Facebook from using its code. It is unclear what impact that would have on the Rift's market availability. Though the jury ruled that none of the defendants misappropriated ZeniMax's trade secrets, it found Oculus' use of computer code directly infringed on ZeniMax's copyright. The jurors held Carmack and different Oculus co-founders Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe liable for forms of infringement. The jury also found Oculus liable for breaching a non-disclosure agreement Luckey signed with ZeniMax in 2012, when he began corresponding about virtual reality with Carmack. The two met on an online forum. Well-known for helping to conceive games such as "Quake" and "Doom," Carmack worked for id Software LLC before that company was acquired by ZeniMax. He is now the chief technology officer at Oculus. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg testified last month during the three-week trial that none of ZeniMaxs proprietary code was incorporated into the Rift. Though the jury did not find Facebook directly liable, it would likely be on the hook for damages owed by its subsidiary, absent an agreement stating otherwise. In a statement, Oculus spokeswoman Emily Bauer noted the jury's finding on trade secrets theft and said the company would appeal. "We're obviously disappointed by a few other aspects of today's verdict, but we are undeterred," she said. "Oculus products are built with Oculus technology." (Editing by Chris Reese and Bill Rigby) DAKAR (Reuters) - An armed group attacked a U.N. technical team working along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, killing five people and wounding several, the United Nations Office for West Africa said on Wednesday. The attack occurred on Tuesday at around 1400 local time near the Cameroonian border town of Kontcha, the statement said. "The victims were one U.N. independent contractor, three Nigerian nationals and one Cameroonian national," it added. (Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by John Stonestreet) UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The UN Security Council expressed its "grave concern" on Tuesday over the "dangerous deterioration" in eastern Ukraine and called for a halt to the violence. "The members of the Security Council expressed their full support of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," the Security Council said in statement. "The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime." The Security Council includes both Russia and the Ukraine, which is a rotating member of the council. Both nations had agreed to the Security Council statement, which noted the unrest's "severe impact on the local civilian population". Earlier in the day, Ukraine and Russia had blamed each other for a surge in fighting in recent days that has led to the highest casualty toll in weeks and cut off power and water to thousands of civilians on the front line. The Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatists accuse each other of launching offensives in the government-held industrial town of Avdiyivka and firing heavy artillery in defiance of the two-year-old Minsk ceasefire deal. Eight Ukrainian troops have been killed and 26 wounded since fighting intensified on Sunday - the heaviest losses for the military since mid-December, according to government figures. (Reporting By Ned Parker; Editing by David Gregorio) Abu Dhabi (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations is not anti-Islam, the United Arab Emirates foreign minister said on Wednesday. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, whose country like neighbouring Saudi Arabia is a close ally of Washington, said it was "wrong to say" that the decision by the new US administration was "directed against a particular religion". "The United States has made... a sovereign decision," he said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, pointing out that it was "provisional" and did not apply to "the large majority" of the world's Muslims. In his defence of the ban which has stirred widespread protests across the globe, Sheikh Abdullah also said that some of the countries on the blacklist had "structural challenges" on the security front that they still had to overcome. Trump's controversial executive order on Friday singled out citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to prevent "radical Islamic terrorists" from entering the United States. But the 90-day ban, which could still extend to other states, has exempted Muslim-majority nations associated with major attacks in the West. Out of the 19 hijackers of planes used in the September 11, 2011 attacks on the Unites States, 15 came from Saudi Arabia, also the birthplace of Al-Qaeda founder and attack mastermind Osama bin Laden. The other four included the Egyptian plot leader, two Emiratis and a Lebanese. U.K.s Home Secretary Amber Rudd has branded the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a potential propaganda opportunity for the Islamic State group (ISIS). Her comments came as Trump faced worldwide criticism over his decision to place a temporary ban on citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Rudd slammed Trump saying that his move was "divisive" and "wrong." Appearing before the Home Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Rudd agreed that most attacks in the U.S., Britain and Europe had been carried out by domestic terrorists in recent years, but the latest move could be used by ISIS to radicalize people. ISIS would "use any opportunity they can to make difficulties, to create the environment they want to radicalize people, to bring them over to their side. So it is a propaganda opportunity for them, potentially," Rudd reportedly said. "I think the important thing is for this government to state that we disagree with the ban and we have said that it is divisive, it is wrong. I will continue to say that." At the committee, Rudd also questioned the basis on which these countries were subjected to the three-month travel ban. She said that the sources of terrorism were not to be found in the places where the president was said to be looking for them. After Rudd was criticized for not voicing out her concerns sooner, she defended herself saying that she had made clear in a phone call to the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly, that she disagreed with the travel ban. Rudd said that she informed Kelly about the "difficulties and the response that was taking place in London and across the country." On Monday, several protests against Trump were carried out in the U.K. after Prime Minister Theresa May invited the U.S. president for a state visit to Britain. A petition calling for the invitation to be revoked has gained more than 1.7 million signatures. Story continues However, Rudd declined to voice her opinion to the criticism of the state visit invitation. I think we can hold two things in our head, which is to say to the president of the US, We find this policy divisive and wrong, and still to respect the president of the United States and want to engage with him in the way we would engage with world leaders to try to promote UKs interests, Rudd reportedly said, when Labor MP Chuka Umunna challenged her saying: What message do you think it gives this countrys three million Muslims when you invite a known Islamophobe and honor him in the way you intend to? After thousands of protesters raged across the U.K. on Friday upon hearing news of Trumps travel ban, Lord Peter Ricketts said that he would prefer Trumps scheduled meeting with English lawmakers and diplomats to be downgraded from an official state visit so that Queen Elizabeth II could avoid the controversy of meeting with him amid the backlash in Britain. Related Articles LONDON (Reuters) - The British government will publish a "White Paper" document on Thursday, setting out its plan for leaving the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament. White papers are policy documents produced by the government that set out their proposals for future legislation. Last week, May promised a Brexit white paper and lawmakers had called for the government to publish it before a vote on triggering Brexit is held in parliament. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Writing by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Stephen Addison) MOSCOW (AP) Russia and Ukraine traded accusations Wednesday over an incident involving a Ukrainian military aircraft flying over a Russian-operated gas rig in the Black Sea. Ukrainian presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko said the aircraft was fired upon while flying near two offshore gas rigs Wednesday. He posted a picture on Facebook showing a hole in the plane but added that the crew was not hurt. Russia's Black Sea Fleet rejected the claim. It said the Ukrainian plane made two "provocatively" low runs over the Russian rigs, and a security officer fired a flare gun four times to drive it away and prevent a crash. It said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the flares posed no danger to the plane. The Russian Defense Ministry later summoned Ukraine's military attache in Moscow to lodge a formal protest against what it called the plane's dangerous maneuvers. The incident reflects the high tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and support for a pro-Russia separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. It comes amid the worst fighting in months this week around Avdiivka, just north of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk. The rigs, which previously had belonged to Ukraine, have caused tensions for a long time. Ukraine has accused Russia of illegally seizing them and said it would demand compensation. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday backed his peace envoy's plan to pick representatives from the Syria opposition to the Geneva talks if the groups fail to agree on their delegates. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura came under sharp criticism from the Syria opposition after giving opposition groups until February 8 to agree on their delegation to the talks, scheduled to open on February 20. "It is clear this is a possibility that might be used," Guterres told reporters about the ultimatum. "What we want is the success of the Geneva conference, and the success of the Geneva conference implies that there is a meaningful representation of the Syrian opposition in Geneva," he said. "We will do everything to make sure that that happens." De Mistura told the Security Council on Tuesday that he was delaying the peace talks, initially scheduled to begin on February 8, to allow both sides to better prepare. He warned that if the opposition fails to agree, he would "select the delegation in order to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible." Guterres noted that UN resolutions on Syria give De Mistura the prerogative to pick the delegation to the peace talks. "What is important is to have, this time, substantive discussions on the central issues, and I hope that this will be possible," he said. Previous UN-led talks have broken down over disagreements on ensuring a transition in Damascus that would lead to President Bashar al-Assad's exit from power. The opposition rejected the envoy's comments as "unacceptable." "Selecting the Syrian opposition delegation is not the business... of de Mistura," Riad Hijab, head of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, wrote on his Twitter account. More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict erupted with anti-government protests in March 2011. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for lifting a US ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying the measures would not prevent terrorists from entering the United States. "I think that these measures should be removed sooner rather than later," Guterres told reporters. "Those measures indeed violate our basic principles and I think that they are not effective if the objective is to, really, avoid terrorists to enter the United States," he said. The appeal to end the travel ban came amid a mounting international outcry over the 90-day US entry restrictions on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday enacting the immediate ban and also suspending the arrival of all refugees for a minimum of 120 days while Syrian refugees were barred indefinitely. Addressing the US suspension of refugee resettlement and the ban on Syrians, Guterres again appealed to the US administration to reverse course. "Resettlement is the must from the point of view of refugee protection," said Guterres, who served as UN refugee chief for 10 years before his election as secretary-general. "I strongly hope that the US will be able to re-establish its very solid refugee protection in resettlement and I hope that the Syrians will not be excluded in that process." Trump's decision triggered protests and chaos at airports while UN human rights chief Zeid bin Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein declared it illegal and "mean-spirited." Guterres, who took over from South Korea's Ban Ki-moon on January 1, argued that banning citizens from Muslim countries would not prevent terrorist organizations from mounting an attack on the United States. "We are dealing with very sophisticated terrorist organizations," he said. "If a global terrorist organization will try to attack any country like the United States, they will probably not come with people with passports from those countries that are hotspots of conflicts today." Story continues "They might come with the passports from the most -- I would say -- developed and credible countries in the world or they might use people who are already in the country." - US hostility - Guterres had been criticized by human rights groups for failing to quickly condemn the travel ban and make a pressing appeal to Trump to scrap it. His first formal statement on the issue came on Tuesday, four days after the ban was enacted. The UN chief met with new US ambassador Nikki Haley on Friday for what he described as a "very constructive" conversation about the relationship between the new administration and the United Nations. Asked about the US threat of a major funding cut, Guterres declined to comment, saying he did not want to speculate on what possible decision lay in store. The United States is by far the UN's biggest financial contributor, providing 22 percent of its operating budget and funding 28 percent of peacekeeping missions, which currently cost $7.8 billion annually. "It's no surprise that the UN has to treat the refugee ban very delicately," said Martin Edwards, director of Seton Hall University's Center for United Nations and Global Governance Studies. "The UN faces hostility from both the legislature as well as the White House," he said. Guterres said he was hoping to visit Washington to meet with Trump, but that no date had been set for the talks. Nicknamed the "slippery eel" in South Korea for his ability to dodge uncomfortable questions and controversy, former UN chief Ban Ki-moon was a seasoned diplomatic player for decades, but his short-lived presidential ambitions leave a rough end to his career. Born in 1944 in the small rural village of Eumseong in Japanese-occupied Korea, Ban grew up in the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War that devastated the nation and his middle-class family. It was during the conflict that Ban first saw the flag of the organisation he would one day lead -- on the uniforms of American soldiers handing out aid parcels to his family -- and he later described himself as a "child of the UN". He was a bookish teenager who loved learning English -- a passion that helped him win a month-long scholarship programme to visit the US and eventually meet then-President John F. Kennedy. Ban's first overseas trip -- extremely rare for any South Korean at the time -- deeply inspired the 17-year-old and prompted him to seek a diplomatic career, he said later. "I remember that President Kennedy told us: 'Although governments are not getting along well, you young people can be good friends -- there are no national boundaries'," Ban told the Financial Times in 2015. He became a diplomat about a decade later and swiftly climbed the ladder, handling issues from nuclear negotiations with North Korea to the 1997 defection of Hwang Jang-Yop, the highest-ranking northerner ever to change sides, who was once ideology tutor for then-leader Kim Jong-Il. Ban became South Korea's foreign minister in 2004, playing a key role in the six-nation denuclearisation talks with the North and embracing Seoul's reconciliation policy with Pyongyang, dubbed "Sunshine Diplomacy". He won the job of UN secretary general in 2006 after a low-profile but effective campaign gingerly backed by the South's government and then-President Roh Moo-Hyun. Story continues - 'B grade' - Ban's signature quiet demeanour drew a stark contrast to his charismatic, outspoken predecessor Kofi Annan, who won the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts over global human rights. Critics often took issue with his weak communication skills and the New York Times even described Ban's tenure as "largely invisible and underwhelming". But he is credited with pushing several key initiatives on issues including climate change and equal rights, repeatedly urging conservative governments around the world not to discriminate over sexual orientation. "I grew up long ago in a deeply conservative Korea... so this advocacy did not come naturally to me," he said in a speech last year. "But when I saw that lives were at stake, I had to speak up." Richard Gowan, a UN expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Foreign Policy magazine: "He would probably have been written off as a C-grade secretary general. Because of climate change, he will be remembered as a B-grade secretary general." Ban became more outspoken after winning a second term in 2011, seeking negotiations over human rights crises in countries including Syria. But his final year in office was also marred by controversy over the removal of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a UN blacklist of child rights violators, with activist groups slamming the move as a "moral failure" and "blatant pandering". Back home in South Korea, his short-lived presidential ambitions fizzled out in almost embarrassing fashion. The country is mired in a corruption scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-Hye, who is accused of letting her secret confidante meddle in a wide range of state affairs including senior officials' nominations. Hearts swelled in the country when Ban became the first South Korean to lead the UN, with his supporters often praising him as the "president of the world". But in 2017 he was identified as a conservative linked with Park, and many young South Koreans dismissed the 72-year-old as an inert, indecisive figure lacking the passion and vigour needed to lead. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council unanimously called Tuesday for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Ukraine after three days of fighting left at least 13 dead. The council endorsed a Ukrainian-drafted statement that did not raise objections from Russia, after meeting behind closed doors to discuss the violence in east Ukraine. Council members "expressed grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population." They "condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements along the contact line in Donetsk region that lead to deaths and injuries, including among civilians." The Minsk agreements, backed by France and Germany, lay out a series of measures to end the conflict in east Ukraine, but its implementation has been faltering. The latest bout of fighting has focused on the town of Avdiivka, which is in government-controlled territory. About 20,000 residents have been left without electricity. "The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime," said the statement. Russia has in the past routinely blocked draft statements submitted by Ukraine, a non-permanent council member. Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko told journalists following the council meeting that the violence in east Ukraine could be considered war crimes. "We think that these actions by Russia and Russian proxies may qualify as a war crime, a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions," Yelchenko said. The Ukrainian ambassador met Monday with new US Ambassador Nikki Haley who reaffirmed "the United States support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," the US mission said in a statement. There had been speculation that President Donald Trump's drive for friendlier ties with Russia would be at the expense of Ukraine, which accuses Moscow of backing separatist fighters in the east. The situation in east Ukraine will be discussed again on Thursday when the UN's top political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman and UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien report to the council on the latest developments. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people since 2014 -- more than half of them civilians. Milan (AFP) - Italian banking giant UniCredit said Wednesday that it would launch a 13 billion euro ($14 billion) rights issue on February 6, a major part of its efforts to shore up its capital base. The bank, which plans to cut 14,000 jobs by the end of 2019, is offering a steep discount of about 38 percent for the new shares, based on their theoretical value after the rights issue. UniCredit's shares closed at 26.6 euros in Milan on Wednesday, a gain of 5.7 percent. On Monday, the bank warned that it expected a loss of 11.8 billion euros for 2016, after a nightmare year for Italy's banking sector, which is buckling under bad debts and weak economic growth. UniCredit's chief executive, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Mustier, has been selling assets and cutting costs as part of a strategic restructuring called "Transform 2019". "The successful completion of the rights issue will enable the group's capital requirements to be maintained" following the measures implemented as part of Transform 2019, the bank said. The sale is being led by a consortium of banks -- including Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- which has agreed to purchase "any newly issued shares that remain unsubscribed at the end of the auction period", UniCredit said. It hopes to complete the new share sale before March 10. WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration on Wednesday maintained a low-key approach to the latest flare-up of violence in eastern Ukraine, where the government accuses Russian-backed forces of stepping up attacks. The restrained tone may reflect the start of a new U.S. approach to dealing with Russia's cross-border activity, even as top U.S. officials are pledging to support Ukraine's sovereignty. White House spokesman Sean Spicer had little to say on Wednesday when asked for the administration's position on the renewed fighting that began over the weekend and persisted into early Wednesday. At least 10 people have been killed and dozens wounded. President Donald Trump has been "kept aware of developments" in Ukraine, Spicer said, and the White House will "have further updates as we go on." It was not immediately clear when those updates would come. The new rhetoric comes amid significant concern in Europe about Trump's overtures to Russia. The new president has called NATO "obsolete" and challenged America's allies to take on greater responsibility for defending themselves, while raising the possibility of a new era of U.S.-Russian cooperation. On Tuesday, the State Department responded to the violence in Ukraine but omitted any mention of Russia in a six-sentence statement that called for an immediate cease-fire and full implementation of the agreements meant to outline a political resolution to the crisis. Trump's U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, met with her Ukrainian counterpart "to reaffirm the United States' support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," according to a statement. Ukraine's U.N. envoy, Volodymyr Yelchenko, said Wednesday that Haley told him the U.S. is "completely against the way Russia is dealing with the eastern part of Ukraine." The omission of Russia from the responses contrasted sharply with statements by the Obama administration, which sharply criticized Moscow for supporting and even directing attacks by the separatists, and not fulfilling its obligations under the 2015 truce plan signed in Minsk, Belarus. Story continues The State Department statement reaffirmed U.S. backing for the Minsk plans, but that reference only came about after internal interagency discussions in Washington. According to an American official with knowledge of the discussions, White House officials questioned why the Minsk agreements needed to be mentioned at all even though the U.S. has insisted for almost two years on the deal's full implementation. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. "The United States is deeply concerned with the recent spike in violence in eastern Ukraine," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in the statement. "To avert a larger humanitarian crisis, we call for an immediate, sustained cease-fire and full and unfettered access for OSCE monitors. We also reaffirm U.S. support for full implementation of the Minsk agreements." During the last surge in violence in December, former State Department spokesman John Kirby had gone far further, accusing Moscow of backing "a Russian separatist attempt to seize additional Ukrainian territory." In his Dec. 20 statement, Kirby said Russia was violating its commitments and urged Moscow to use its influence over the separatists to stop the violence. And in the Obama administration's last days, then-White House spokesman Josh Earnest specifically criticized Russia for misrepresenting its activities in Ukraine, saying its public pronouncements "routinely fly in the face of the facts on the ground" there and in Syria. At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Trump's incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took a similarly stern line despite his close business ties with Russia stemming from his days as Exxon Mobil CEO. He said Russia posed a "danger" and had "invaded" Ukraine, and that he would have recommended a far more robust response than Obama mounted after Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. New Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA chief Mike Pompeo also had tough words for Moscow. Obama era officials as well as many in Europe are concerned about a possible shift in U.S. policy toward Russia, particularly as it relates to Ukraine and the potential for a lifting of sanctions on Moscow before the situation is resolved. On Tuesday, European Union President Donald Tusk mentioned Russia's "aggressive policy towards Ukraine" along with "worrying declarations by the new American administration." He accused the Trump administration of "seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy." __ Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. Tegucigalpa (AFP) - The United States on Tuesday gave Honduras the first $125 million from a regional scheme aimed at curbing emigration from Central America to its borders, according to officials. The aid transfer was signed by the US ambassador, James Nealon, and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, with the latter saying: "Our goal is to attack the root of the problem of irregular migration" to the United States. The money comes from a $750 million Alliance for Prosperity Plan authorized by former US president Barack Obama. The money is meant to improve living conditions, economic prospects and security in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The three countries are together known as the Northern Triangle of Central America: an area wracked by gang violence and poverty, and which is the biggest source of illegal migrants to the US. Every year, between 80,000 and 100,000 Hondurans trek north in an attempt to get into the United States, according to estimates by humanitarian groups. About a million of their compatriots live in the US, most of them without legal residency papers. The new US president, Donald Trump, has promised to reduce the number of undocumented migrants in the United States and to deport many of them back to their home countries. He has also signed an order to start looking at construction of a 2000-mile (3,000-kilometer) wall along the US border with Mexico to stop illegal border crossings. Rome (AFP) - The Vatican on Wednesday voiced "concern" over President Donald Trump's executive orders to build a wall on the US-Mexican border and impose a travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries. "Naturally, there is concern," the Holy See's number three, Monsignor Angelo Becciu, said on the Catholic TV channel TV2000, in response to a question. "We are builders of bridges, far less of walls, and all Christians should emphatically reaffirm this message." Becciu noted that Pope Francis had repeatedly stressed the need "to integrate those who arrive, who come into our society, into our culture." Trump has run into a storm of criticism since signing orders to build an anti-migrant frontier wall with Mexico and temporarily ban nationals from seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- for 90 days. VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Wednesday it was worried about U.S. President Donald Trump's moves on immigration, in the Holy See's first comment since his executive order banning travel into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. "Certainly there is worry because we are messengers of another culture, that of openness," the Vatican's deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, told an Italian Catholic television station in answer to a question about Trump's order. Becciu, who ranks third in the Vatican hierarchy, was asked about the executive order as well as Trump's promise to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. "Pope Francis, in fact, insists on the ability to integrate those who arrive in our societies and cultures," he told TV2000. Some Roman Catholic leaders in the United States have criticized Trump's executive order. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said on Sunday it was "a dark moment in U.S. history" and that it was "contrary to both Catholic and American values". Last February, while returning from a trip to Mexico, Pope Francis said then-candidate Trump's view about building walls was "not Christian". (Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Angus MacSwan) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f368270%2fada00183-7180-4afa-a941-5207a291dc36 There's no doubt we're living in troubling times, but U.S. veteran's story has been warming hearts all over the internet. Dylan Park-Pettiford shared a story on Twitter, Saturday, about an Iraqi boy named Brahim, who he met during his first deployment to the war-torn nation. The moving thread has been retweeted well over 58,000 times. SEE ALSO: 6 ways to push your online activism into the real world in the Trump era Since then, Park-Pettiford told Mashable via Messenger he shared the story to help speak up against Trump's immigration ban. I told this story about #refugees a couple years ago on Veterans Day with a humorous slant. I'm going to tell it again today, unfiltered. odp (@dyllyp) January 28, 2017 "The response was totally unexpected. If I wouldve known it would go viral I probably would have proofread my threads before tweeting it," he said. As the son of a Korean orphan and the grandson of a man murdered in an extreme act of racism, Park-Pettiford thinks "We've gone 50 years back in time in less than two weeks." He continued: "I'm absolutely disgusted in the direction this country is heading in. F*k Donald Trump. I'm going to use every opportunity I can to speak out against him." In terms of speaking out (and melting hearts), his story takes the cake. Long story short, Brahim was a kid volunteered to be Park-Pettiford's interpreter in Iraq. Years ago, on my first deployment to Iraq, I befriended a local boy, Brahim, who would quickly become one of our interpreters. odp (@dyllyp) January 28, 2017 He was able to do so, bc the turnover rate for local nationals work with us was enormous. And not bc they quit, bc they were killed. odp (@dyllyp) January 28, 2017 For Brahim, volunteering would guarantee refugee status in the U.S., and it was one of the sole sources of income for him and the seven people he lived with in a one-bedroom house. A gift of soap was enough to make Brahim cry on one occassion. Story continues Brahim would be Park-Pettiford's liaison for the next year, providing intel which helped save their lives twice. All at the age of 16. But their partnership came to an abrupt end. "At the end of my tour in Iraq, I knew I was leaving him to die. I knew I'd never see him again. Was just kinda like 'take care kid,'" Park-Pettiford wrote on Twitter. Five years later, Park-Pettiford flew home to Phoenix to bury his brother. He had been murdered in a carjacking. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I cried my eyes out all the way from Hawaii to Arizona. Fucking brutal. odp (@dyllyp) January 28, 2017 Spend 6 years fighting wars and you don't expect to get a phone call that your kid brother was randomly murdered in a carjacking. odp (@dyllyp) January 28, 2017 Park-Pettiford left the airport and got in a taxi, sparking a conversation with the driver. It was the usual chit-chat about what he does for a living. "I tell him I just got out of the military and blah blah. He says 'oh great. I love the military. You ever travel anywhere," Park-Pettiford wrote on Twitter. "Tell him, 'Sure. Been to every corner of the globe. Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.' He says 'Oh! I'm from Iraq! What part?" "I say 'Kirkuk, mostly.' And he says 'I'm from Kirkuk.' And then gets really f**king quiet. Like awkwardly quiet. Making me nervous quiet." The driver pulls the car over. "He stops, turns around and says, "Dylan, you remember me? It's me, Brahim,'" he wrote. It really is a small world after all. Incredible. Viber, a communication app, is joining the numerous companies speaking up against Trump and his recent executive order regarding immigration. Starbucks has promised to hire 10,000 refugees within the next five years, Lyft is donating $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union and AirBnB is offering free housing to refugees for the time being. Viber is removing the fee for calls between the United States and mobile phones/landlines in the seven countries (Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen) impacted by the order. We connect people. No matter who they are or where theyre from, said Viber executives in a recent tweet. Any local call or message between Viber users is always free, but international calls require a fee. Trumps executive order does not allow any visa holders within the seven abovementioned countries to leave or enter the United States within the next 90 days in an effort to do an extreme vetting of the entire immigration system. At any point within the 90 days, the Secretary of Homeland Security may inform President Trump of any other countries that should be included in the list. Major corporations are realizing the power they possess within the United States and are choosing to try and make a difference. Countless companies are using their social media followings, business strategies, and funds to encourage Americans to use their voice for things they are passionate about. Executives within The Ford Motor Company, Tesla, Amazon, and Apple have either expressed their frustrations or promised to help change the executive order. Companies are even beginning to criticize each other due to their stances on Trumps order. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance decided to strike in an effort to show their support for immigrants, but Uber drivers did not. #DeleteUber almost immediately began trending on social media because their drivers continued to offer services at JFK International Airport, where the strike had the largest influence. Since then, Lyft, another transportation service has seen an increase in business as well as app downloads. Related Articles Violence erupts during eviction of Israeli settlers Protesters stand next to fire at the entrance to the Israeli settler outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank, Feb. 1, 2017. (Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters) Rightist protesters scuffled with Israeli police carrying out a court order to evict settlers from an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, hours after the government announced more construction in larger settlements. Around 330 Israeli settlers live in Amona, the largest of scores of outposts built in the West Bank without official authorization. The Israeli Supreme Court ruled in November, after a lengthy legal battle, that settlers had to leave Amona because their homes were built on privately owned Palestinian land. With no weapons visible, but wearing backpacks, hundreds of police walked past burning tires and pushed back against dozens of nationalist Israeli youths who flocked to Amona in support of the settlers. (Reuters) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr. Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - German carmaker Volkswagen and auto parts supplier Bosch on Wednesday announced payouts to US buyers of vehicles affected by the "dieselgate" scandal, in a bid to put the American chapter of the tale behind them. Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to building so-called "defeat devices" designed to hoodwink regulatory emissions tests into around 11 million cars worldwide, including 600,000 in the US, and has been clocking up fines and compensation payments ever since. VW said in a statement it will pay $1.2 billion (1.1 billion euros) to compensate around 78,000 US buyers of 3.0-litre diesel cars as well as buying back or refitting their vehicles. Owners of 3.0-litre VW, Audi, and Porsche diesel models dating from 2009-16 are the last group of customers to be compensated by VW over dieselgate. The amount brings the total in fines and compensation the Wolfsburg-based group has agreed in the US to more than $23 billion. Meanwhile, Bosch said in its own statement that it will settle "the most substantial part of criminal law proceedings pending" in relation to the emissions cheating scandal with a $327.5 million payout to car owners and dealers. Stuttgart-based Bosch is the world's largest car parts supplier and a household appliance giant, reporting 2016 revenues of 73.1 billion euros last week. The family-owned group is accused of helping Volkswagen conceal the existence of the software, elements of which Bosch itself supplied. Bosch's deal will see it compensate buyers of 2.0-litre diesel cars from Volkswagen and subsidiary Audi between 2009 and 2015, as well as 3.0-litre VW, Audi, and Porsche diesels bought between 2009 and 2016. But the company said it "neither acknowledges the facts as alleged by the plaintiffs nor does Bosch accept any liability." Bosch has "neither admitted anything nor covered anything up," a spokesman told AFP. By contrast, VW admitted earlier in January to conspiring to deceive its customers and US authorities and to obstructing justice by destroying documents, adding $4.3 billion in fines to the dieselgate tally. Story continues - Moving on? - Both Bosch and VW are keen to leave the diesel scandal behind them, with the carmaker especially keen to restore its image after sales plummeted in the Americas last year. VW plans to slim down, shedding some 30,000 jobs by 2020, as well as making a turn towards new technologies including self-driving cars and introducing a slew of electric models. As a major supplier to the entire German car industry, Bosch too wants "to devote our attention and our resources to the transition in mobility and in other areas of activity," chief executive Volkmar Denner said in its statement. Presenting provisional results for 2016 last week, the family-owned firm said it was investing billions in electric cars and connected objects. But with the proposed agreement affecting only civil law claims, Bosch added that it "will continue to defend its interests in all other civil and criminal law proceedings and to cooperate comprehensively with the investigating authorities in Germany and other countries." Meanwhile, it remains under investigation in both Germany and the United States and is running its own internal investigation "prioritising thoroughness over speed," the spokesman said. Neither does VW's deal bring it out of the woods. The auto giant has always maintained that its top executives first found out about dieselgate in September 2015. But German prosecutors on Friday opened an investigation into former CEO Martin Winterkorn on suspicion of fraud, saying he may have known earlier than he has so far admitted about the cheating. If it is proved that Winterkorn knew about the cheating earlier and colluded in covering it up, VW's legal bills could skyrocket. The firm faces claims from investors in Germany saying it withheld relevant information from them, causing them to lose out as the shares plunged when the emissions cheating was revealed. Along with Winterkorn, investigators are looking into former finance director Hans Dieter Poetsch -- now supervisory board chairman -- and VW brand chief Herbert Diess on suspicion of holding back information from shareholders. In a sign that dieselgate continues to make waves at the carmaker, compliance chief Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, a former judge, stepped down last week -- just a year after she was brought to help clean up VW's image. Volkswagen shares were up 1.49 percent at 146.05 euros at 1240 GMT Wednesday, slightly outperforming the Dax index of leading German shares. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay at least $1.22 billion to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting U.S. 3.0 liter diesel-engine vehicles to settle claims it fitted illegal emissions-cheating software to the cars, court documents showed. German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH also agreed to pay $327.5 million to U.S. diesel VW owners, according to the documents filed late Tuesday. Volkswagen could be forced to pay up to $4.04 billion if regulators don't approve fixes for all vehicles. In December, VW said it had agreed to buy back 20,000 vehicles and expected to win approval to fix another 60,000. The settlement is the last major hurdle to Volkswagen moving beyond the scandal over its installation of secret software in hundreds of thousands of U.S. diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests, although it still faces suits from some U.S. states and investors. Volkswagen has already announced 18.2 billion euros ($19.63 billion) of provisions to cover the costs of "Dieselgate" and a source familiar with the matter said last month that its total bill was likely to remain below 20 billion euros. Volkswagen's luxury car unit Audi said on Wednesday it was reviewing whether it needed to put aside more provisions to cover the costs of a U.S. settlement of the scandal, on top of the 980 million euros it already set aside. "We are using the court documents to review what we still need to set aside for the annual accounts," an Audi spokesman said in Germany. Under the VW settlement that must be approved by a U.S. judge, owners of 3.0 liter vehicles who opt for fixes will get compensation of between $7,000 and $16,000 from Volkswagen if emissions fixes are approved in a timely fashion -- and the automaker will pay another $500 if the fix affects a vehicle's performance. Owners who opt for a buyback will get $7,500 on top of the value of the vehicle. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which had sued VW, voted unanimously to back the deal. Volkswagen Group of America chief executive Hinrich Woebcken said, with the agreement, all owners of polluting diesels "will have a resolution available to them. We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders." VW has been barred from selling diesel vehicles in the United States since late 2015. VW has agreed to repurchase the 2009-2012 Volkswagen and Audi 3.0 liter vehicles, but believes it will be able to fix the 2013-2016 Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche 3.0 liter vehicles. BOSCH AGREEMENT VW previously agreed to spend up to $10.03 billion to buy back up to 475,000 polluting 2.0 liter vehicles after it admitted it installed secret software to evade emissions controls. The settlement marked the largest ever automotive buyback offer in U.S. history and costliest auto industry scandal. Diesel car owners sued Bosch in 2015 claiming the company helped design secret "defeat device" software that allowed VW to evade emissions rules and alleged Bosch was a "knowing and active participant" in Volkswagen's decade-long scheme. Under its settlement, Bosch will pay $163.3 million to address 2.0 liter VW vehicle claims, with most owners getting $350 each, while 3.0 liter owners will split $113.3 million. Most 3.0 liter owners will receive $1,500 from Bosch. Bosch said in a statement it didn't admit wrongdoing or accept liability but had decided to settle so it could focus on an extensive "transformation process" the company has embarked on. A federal judge in San Francisco will hold a Feb. 14 hearing on whether to grant preliminary approval for the settlements. The lead lawyer for the vehicle owners, Elizabeth Cabraser, said in statement the settlement provides "substantial benefits to both consumers and the environment." VW earlier agreed to pay $225 million to offset the excess pollution from the 3.0 liter vehicles, on top of $2.7 billion it agreed to pay to offset 2.0 liter pollution. The automaker is set to plead guilty on Feb. 24 in Detroit to three felony counts as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve charges it installed secret software in U.S. vehicles to allow them to emit up to 40 times the amount of legally permitted pollution. As part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. regulators, the German automaker has agreed to sweeping reforms, new audits and oversight by an independent monitor for three years to resolve diesel emissions-cheating investigations. The United States has also charged seven current and former VW executives with wrongdoing. In total, VW has now agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, U.S. states and dealers, and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting vehicles. This week, Volkswagen topped Toyota Motor Corp as the world's largest automaker by sales. ($1 = 0.9273 euros) (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jason Neely and Adrian Croft) By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - The failure of Warren Buffett's favored candidate to capture the White House has not dimmed the billionaire's appetite for stocks. Buffett revealed that he has bought $12 billion of stock for his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc since the Republican Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. In an interview with talk show host Charlie Rose that aired on Friday night, Buffett suggested that Berkshire's post-election stock purchases overall were even higher, reflecting stocks that his deputies Todd Combs and Ted Weschler bought. "We've, net, bought $12 billion of common stocks since the election," Buffett said. "The guys that work with me, the two fellows, they probably bought a little bit or sold a little bit too." The speed with which Berkshire is buying stocks is unusual. It has spent in fewer than three months roughly half what it spent on equities in the three years ending Sept. 30, 2016. Buffett demurred on whether Berkshire has added to its stakes in the four largest U.S. airlines: American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Southwest Airlines Co and United Continental Holdings Inc. Berkshire revealed those stakes in mid-November, surprising many given Buffett's long aversion to the sector. Asked why Berkshire dove in, Buffett said: "It was in large part my decision." Berkshire will likely by Feb. 14 disclose some of the stocks it has bought, in a regulatory filing listing most of its U.S. holdings as of year end. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate owned $102.5 billion of equities as of Sept. 30, excluding its stake in Kraft Heinz Co. U.S. stocks rose after Trump was elected, reflecting investor optimism that his policies might boost economic growth, aided by a Congress also under Republican control. Buffett said Trump is unlikely to reach his goal of 4 percent annual growth, but that growth at half that level would over a generation add $19,000 per person to real gross domestic product. Story continues "Two percent will produce miracles," Buffett said. The U.S. economy grew by 1.6 percent last year, the lowest since 2011. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jennifer Ablan, Bernard Orr) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f35447%2f8e18b962-9230-45c3-a492-62607ec7497c India's tryst with wild animals roaming freely on streets continues. SEE ALSO: Indian town gets a midnight visit from a group of Asiatic lions In a popular biological park in the southern state of Karnataka, two lions last week attacked a safari vehicle. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. A phone video made the rounds on local television stations. It shows one of the lions trying to climb onto the car and bite its rear glass. The video was reportedly shot by a safari bus driver behind the targeted vehicle. The park authorities have accused the driver of carelessness. "He should never have stopped the car, which he probably did to please the visitors. We've removed him from safari duty," the executive director of Bannerghatta Biological Park told the Times of India. BBP is among the chief tourist attractions of the state and is located 13 miles south of Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley. Britons protested in an anti-Trump demonstration with a most unique rally cry Jon Stewart returns with a few executive orders of his own Colberts Hobbit takedown of the Trump administration is the stuff of legends Ricky Gervais says he's packing on the pounds and gives zero f*cks about it President Donald Trump was scheduled to announce Tuesday night his Supreme Court pick. It's expected the president will announce either Thomas Hardiman or Neil Gorsuch as the replacement of the late Antonin Scalia. Hardiman is a judge in the Third Circuit of Pennsylvania, Gorsuch the 10th Circuit of Colorado. Trump said in a tweet Monday he had settled on a choice. He tweeted: "I have made my decision on who I will nominate for The United States Supreme Court. It will be announced live on Tuesday at 8:00 P.M." Gorsuch is seen as a more typical selection: a Harvard graduate, he has Ivy League pedigree and his father worked for President Ronald Reagan. Hardiman is seen as a more blue collar choice. "If it's Hardiman, the story will be 'here's a guy of modest means, from Western Pennsylvania [where he currently lives], typical Irish-Catholic family and here he is reaching the pinnacle of the legal profession,'" Leonard Leo, a top adviser for Trump in the Supreme Court search, told Politico. If it's Gorsuch, Leo said to Politico "the story will be 'Neil Gorsuch is an exceptional jurist whose work substantially reflects the jurisprudence, quality and style of Justice Scalia.'" During the third presidential debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump talked about the sort of judge he would nominate for the Supreme Court. "The justices that I'm going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent," Trump said. "They will be protecting the Second Amendment. They are great scholars in all cases, and they're people of tremendous respect. They will interpret the Constitution the way the founders wanted it interpreted. And I believe that's very, very important." Whoever the nominee, Republicans might not face as staunch a confirmation process in the Senate as perhaps expected. Democrats are considering not putting up a huge fight in order to keep the GOP from dismantling the filibuster, CNN reported Monday. Republicans last year blocked former President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland. Story continues You can watch Trump name his selection online at the White House YouTube page here, or simply watch the video feed embedded below. Related Articles It was on this day in 1790 that the United States Supreme Court opened for business. The court back then bared little resemblance to the current one, but it certainly had some interesting characters. JusticeJamesWilson500 James Wilson The original six, and not nine justices, included a Chief Justice who became the most-hated man in America for a time; a justice who didnt want to the serve despite the Senates confirmation; and another justice who literally jumped into Charleston Bay when he lost his seat on the bench. The first business of the First Congress was to establish a law setting up the Supreme Court. The framers had made provisions for the court in Article III, Section 1, of the Constitution, but it took the Judiciary Act of 1789 to make the court a reality. Lawmakers passed the Judiciary Act on September 24, 1789, which established the framework for the Supreme Court, as well as circuit and district courts and the attorney generals office. President George Washington named six Supreme Court justices who were approved within two days by Congress. The date of February 1, 1790 was set for the Courts first meeting. John Jay, who Washingtons choice for Chief Justice, had to wait a day to start a full session, after travel issues delayed some of the jurists. The first meetings included four of the six original justices: John Rutledge was in New York, but decided not to attend the session, while Robert Harrison was too ill to travel to the session, and he had indicated he would resign from the Court. (President Washington confirmed Harrisons resignation about a week later.). In addition to Jay, James Wilson, William Cushing, and John Blair Jr. were in attendance. Each had interesting stories and backgrounds, but had little to do at the Courts first two sessions in February and August 1790 The Judiciary Act has created the inferior courts that had just started their operations, so there were no appeals to be heard by the Supreme Court. The justices spent their time approving bar appointments and organizing the court system. The Supreme Court didnt get its first case for a year, and it took two years for the first argument to be heard by the justices. Story continues The Supreme Court justices were also required to ride circuit, and hold hearings twice a year in one of three judicial districts. Circuit duties werent popular with the first justices and they took up most of their time. Not until 1794 did the Court meet in extended sessions. Here is brief look at each of the six original Supreme Court justices. John Jay. The first Chief Justice had written part of The Federalist essays, but his role as the first Chief Justice included two campaigns for governor in New York (while he was still a justice) and the controversial Jay Treaty with Great Britain. The treaty Jay negotiated, while he was still on the Supreme Court, was highly unpopular. The chief justice later said he could find his way across the country by the light of his burning effigies. Jay left the court in 1795 after finally winning a gubernatorial election. James Wilson. Wilson was a key figure at the Constitutional Convention who had a troubled career after joining the high court. Wilson was a leading legal theorist, but he was also troubled by bad debts after getting involved in some land deals. Wilson was imprisoned twice for bad debts while he served on the Supreme Court, and he missed several court sessions as he avoided bill collectors. Wilson died in 1798 while still on the bench. He was staying at the house of a friend in North Carolina, out of the reach of creditors, and riding the Southern District court circuit. John Rutledge. Rutledge also was at the Constitutional Convention and an important figure in South Carolina when he was first named to the Supreme Court. He served two years on the bench and quit in 1791, without hearing a case. President Washington then asked Rutledge to return as chief justice to replace Jay in 1795 while the Senate was in recess, and Rutledge heard two cases during that time. However, the Senate rejected Rutledges permanent nomination after he publicly criticized the Jay Treaty with some inflammatory language (he compared it to prostitution). Rutledge jumped off a wharf in Charleston in a failed suicide attempt after he heard about the Senate vote (he was rescued by two slaves who saw the incident). His public career was over. William Cushing. The longest-serving justice appointed by Washington, he remained on the court until 1810. But Cushing rejected the job of chief justice in 1796 even though Washington nominated him and the Senate had unanimously approved the nomination. (Perhaps he saw what happened to Jay and Rutledge.) John Blair Jr. He was a highly regarded jurist from Virginia who served on the court until 1795. Blair came from a distinguished family and he attended the 1787 Constitutional Convention in in Philadelphia. He said little at the convention, but was strongly allied with James Madison. Robert Hanson Harrison. Harrison was one of Washingtons aides-de-camp during the Revolutionary War and later became his military secretary. After serving as the chief justice for Marylands court system, Washington nominated Harrison to the Supreme Court. Sickness kept Harrison from accepting the position and he died in April 1790. Recent Historical Stories on Constitution Daily Gouverneur Morris: The man who wrote the words We The People 10 fascinating facts about young Franklin D. Roosevelt The most powerful son-in-law in presidential history President Donald Trump named his pick for the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday night, tapping Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gorsuch would fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Like Trump, hes an Ivy Leaguer: He attended Columbia University, Harvard Law School and also the University of Oxford in England. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, served as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan. And just like the majority of his potential colleagues already on the nations highest court, his holdings indicate hes a millionaire with an investment portfolio worth at least $3.1 million. (Judges report their investments in ranges so it could have been worth as much as $7.2 million.) The Center for Public Integrity reviewed the judges recent annual financial disclosures, including the most recent covering 2015. To be sure, his financial situations could have changed since then. As of 2015, he did not own direct stock in any companies but had a diverse portfolio including mutual funds, municipal bonds and 529 college tuition savings accounts. The 49-year-old also has owned what he lists as a mountain property he estimated is worth up to $500,000 that is held as a limited liability corporation called Walden Group LLC. He has supplemented his judicial salary, which is currently $217,600, by teaching. In 2015, he earned $26,000 from the University of Colorado Law School. And he received $5,300 in book royalties that year, in part for his book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. The Colorado native was nominated to the federal bench in 2006 by George W. Bush. Gorsuch had donated $250 to Bushs presidential campaign in 2000, and another $2,000 to Bushs re-election campaign in 2004. Federal campaign finance records also show that Gorsuch once donated to one senator who will vote on his confirmation: He donated $250 in 2000 to the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Story continues Explore the judge's disclosure below: This story is part of Politics. Campaign donations, lobbying and influence in government and reports on the special interests that are funding elections and buying power. Click here to read more stories in this topic. Don't miss another Politics investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. Reporter Michael Beckel contributed. Related: Gorsuch financials This story is part of Politics. Campaign donations, lobbying and influence in government and reports on the special interests that are funding elections and buying power. Click here to read more stories in this topic. Related stories Copyright 2017 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C. President Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, is a native of Colorado, the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. So where does Gorsuch stand on the pot issue? Its not entirely clear. Gorsuch, a conservative federal judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, has not voiced his views on legal weed at least not publicly. But the 49-year-old, who lives with his family in the cannabis-friendly college town of Boulder and teaches at the University of Colorado Law School, has offered a written opinion in several marijuana-related cases. In 2010 (U.S. v. Daniel and Mary Quaintance), Gorsuch ruled against a couple who tried to argue that federal marijuana distribution offenses should be dismissed on religious grounds because he found the defendants to be insincere: Daniel and Mary Quaintance responded to their indictment for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana with a motion to dismiss. They didnt deny their involvement with the drug, but countered that they are the founding members of the Church of Cognizance, which teaches that marijuana is a deity and sacrament. As a result, they submitted, any prosecution of them is precluded by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which forbids the federal government from substantially burdening sincere religious exercises absent a countervailing compelling governmental interest. After taking extensive evidence, the district court denied the motion to dismiss. It held, as a matter of law, that the Quaintances professed beliefs are not religious but secular. In addition and in any event, the district court found, as a matter of fact, that the Quaintances dont sincerely hold the religious beliefs they claim to hold, but instead seek to use the cover of religion to pursue secular drug trafficking activities. In 2013 (Family of Ryan Wilson v. City of Lafayette and Taser International), Gorsuch held that a Colorado police officers fatal Taser use on a man who was fleeing a marijuana arrest was justified: Story continues Illegal processing and manufacturing of marijuana may not be inherently violent crimes but they were felonies under Colorado law at the time of the incident. And Officer Harris testified, without rebuttal, that he had been trained that people who grow marijuana illegally tend to be armed and ready to use force to protect themselves and their unlawful investments. And in 2015 (Feinberg et al. v. IRS), Gorsuch ruled against the owners of a Colorado dispensary who had refused to turn over data to the Internal Revenue Service because they feared they would be incriminating themselves, since marijuana remains illegal under federal law: This case owes its genesis to the mixed messages the federal government is sending these days about the distribution of marijuana. The Feinbergs and Ms. McDonald run Total Health Concepts, or THC, a not-so-subtly-named Colorado marijuana dispensary. They run the business with the blessing of state authorities but in defiance of federal criminal law. Even so, officials at the Department of Justice have now twice instructed field prosecutors that they should generally decline to enforce Congresss statutory command when states like Colorado license operations like THC. At the same time and just across 10th Street in Washington, D.C., officials at the IRS refuse to recognize business expense deductions claimed by companies like THC on the ground that their conduct violates federal criminal drug laws. So it is that today prosecutors will almost always overlook federal marijuana distribution crimes in Colorado but the tax man never will. Yes, the Fifth Amendment normally shields individuals from having to admit to criminal activity, Gorsuch explained. But, the IRS argued, because DOJs memoranda generally instruct federal prosecutors not to prosecute cases like this one, the petitioners should be forced to divulge the requested information anyway. So it is the government simultaneously urged the court to take seriously its claim that the petitioners are violating federal criminal law and to discount the possibility that it would enforce federal criminal law. Outside of those cases, there isnt much on Gorsuchs pot stance to go on. However, one of Gorsuchs former students told a website called the Joint Blog that he once asked the Colorado jurist whether he supports legalization of marijuana. Gorsuch reportedly responded by saying that he at the very least supports states rights in regulating marijuana. Cannabis, like heroin and LSD, is currently a Schedule I drug under federal policy, defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The cannabis industry remains cautiously optimistic that Neil Gorsuch, if he is confirmed as a Supreme Court justice, will allow states to continue their march toward marijuana legalization. (Yahoo News photo illustration; photos: AP) If the account is true, that would put Gorsuch more or less in line with the man who nominated him. At a campaign event in October 2015, Trump said he thinks legalization of pot should be a state issue, state-by-state. In an interview with Fox News that year, Trump said he supports medical marijuana 100 percent. Which is why marijuana industry leaders are cautiously optimistic about the prospects of cannabusiness growth in the Trump era. For the most part, experts all think we will see a continuation of some form of the status quo, Chris Walsh, editor of Marijuana Business Daily, told Yahoo Finance last month. Maybe there will be some efforts to crack down here and there, but the consensus is that a widespread crackdown will be difficult. If Trumps going to attack the marijuana industry like the recreational side, or the new states that legalized its going to be very difficult for him to do that, Walsh added. Hes going to have a very hard time unwinding all the time and money and effort that states have put into these programs. The same goes for Gorsuch. We believe that a conservative legal philosophy should be consistent with respect for federalism and state sovereignty, Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, wrote in an email to Yahoo News. Voters in 28 states have chosen to establish legal, regulated cannabis programs in their states, and state lawmakers and regulators have implemented those programs. Trampling on those state initiatives would be the kind of federal overreach that conservative judicial leaders typically speak out against. More from Yahoo News: Last week, Frances Les Republicains had an American Republican moment namely, they relived Richard Nixons televised 1952 Checkers speech. Just as the U.S. vice presidential candidate responded to charges that he and his family had dipped into a political campaign fund, so too did Francois Fillon, the French Republicains presidential candidate, appear on television to defend himself against similar charges. Nixons gamble paid off. His remark that his wife, Pat, wore a respectable Republican cloth coat instead of mink won over enough Republican voters to salvage his place on Dwight Eisenhowers ticket. Whether Fillons will do the same remains to be seen. He faces greater odds. As the satirical and investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine revealed last Wednesday, Fillon had funneled enough money about $540,000 from his taxpayer-funded parliamentary account into his wifes private bank account for her to buy plenty of fur, should she so choose. One week later, the news got worse: turns out, according to Canard, the figure was closer to $900,000. No one in France disputes Fillons right to have paid his wife as an assistant over the course of eight years. While nepotism laws in America prohibit such practices unless you are president not so in France. More than one-fifth of French parliamentary representatives 115 of 577 employ one or more family members as assistants. Yet, while it is not illegal for political officeholders in France to hire family members, it is illegal to create so-called emplois fictifs, or make-believe jobs where you pay relatives for work they have not, are not, and never intend to do. Herein lies the rub with the Fillons. Until the Canards scoop, there was no reason to believe that the Welsh-born Penelope Fillon devoted her life to anything other than her family of five (unless you count the five horses stabled near the familys 12th-century chateau). Mme Fillon has previously conceded that she had extra time on her hands. In 2007, she told an interviewer with The Telegraph that she had just enrolled in a Shakespeare class: I realized that my children have only known me as just a mother but I did a French degree, I qualified as a lawyer and I thought Look here, Im not that stupid. This will get me working and thinking again. Story continues During his televised interview, Fillon insisted that his wifes work was real: Penelope Fillon reviewed his speeches, met with associates, gathered and collated news stories, and the like. And yet not only was she never seen in the halls of the National Assembly, even the residents of Sable-sur-Sarthe (the village that is home to chateau Fillon ) were astonished to learn she was her husbands assistant. As one local official told a journalist, The separation was always clear: He took care of politics, she took care of the family. And if the goal of appearing on television was to contain the damage, it does not appear to have worked: Fillon did not help his cause by revealing in the same interview that, while a senator, he had also paid two of his children to handle specific cases for him because of their particular competence as lawyers. (The problem, as several newspapers quickly pointed out, is that neither child was a lawyer yet; the latest Canard story reports that they were paid approximately $90,000 for their work.) Over the weekend, fresh news broke out that between 2005 and 2007, Fillon had written himself seven checks totaling about $28,000 from an account earmarked for paying assistants; then came the new revelations that his wifes pay had been even more than first thought. Penelope-gate as the affair is now inevitably called threatens to tarnish, even torpedo, Fillons chances of reaching the Elysee. The two pillars of Fillons candidacy have been the economic imperative of scaling back the states social protections, and the political imperative of being untouched by scandal. The two are interconnected; the former relies on the latter. That Penelope Fillon drew an exorbitant salary for reading her husbands speeches before saddling up for a morning canter will not go down well with an electorate being asked to make financial sacrifices. At the same time, Fillon has always emphasized that his hands, unlike those of his fellow Gaullist contenders, were clean. During his primary debate with Alain Juppe, who was found guilty in 2004 of creating phony jobs while serving under Jacques Chirac, Fillon announced: One cannot lead France if one is not irreproachable. Fillon also blasted his rival Nicolas Sarkozys many entanglements over alleged campaign finance shenanigans by evoking the moral rectitude of the national conservative patriarch Charles de Gaulle: Who could imagine the General ever being taken in for a police questioning? Now that finance inspectors have begun a preliminary investigation into Fillons case, the General seems more alone than ever. France is not a particularly corrupt country, in global terms, but in the West it is something of an outlier. According to Transparency Internationals 2016 corruption perception index, France ranked 23rd among 176 nations, just behind Estonia and just ahead of the Bahamas. It is not, of course, Somalia or Syria. But neither is it Denmark, New Zealand, Canada, or even the United States. In Western Europe, it outranks only Portugal, Italy, and Spain. What may make matters worse is that French corruption is particularly high-profile: It doesnt come in the form of cops asking for petty bribes, or companies buying off bureaucrats. Rather, thanks to the peculiarly French principle of a republican monarchy, French corruption involves vast sums and takes place at the highest levels of government. Created by De Gaulle in 1958, the Fifth Republic hands vast power and prestige to the presidency. The president, in principle, is not answerable to Parliament; the president, in essence, reigns and his ministers merely rule. While De Gaulle also endowed the office with his personal imperiousness and incorruptibility, his descendants have held tight to the former while mostly trashing the latter. From the late 1970s, when Central African Republic Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa showered Valery Giscard dEstaing with diamonds, through the 1980s, when Chirac, while mayor of Paris, embezzled public funds for his presidential campaign, to Sarkozy and the kaleidoscope of court cases confronting him, ranging from influence peddling to accepting $54 million in campaign financing from former Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi, the French presidency has been consistently mired in scandals worthy of the Bourbons. (Francois Hollande, for all his fecklessness, has to give credit where its due kept his hands relatively clean during his time in office; his scandals have been of the personal sort.) This relentless drip of scandals both dampens public attitudes toward the mainstream parties a Transparency International poll taken late last year revealed that three-quarters of the French believe that parliamentary deputies and government ministers are corrupt and continues to raise the boat of the far-right National Front (FN). Marine Le Pens party has its own instances of financial misbehavior: The European Union had determined that the FN defrauded the European Parliament budget of more than $324,000, which it used to illicitly pay FN staffers. Perhaps because the victim was Brussels, however, and because Le Pen was not enriching herself personally, the scandal has had little traction in France; this week, while Fillon was busy battling for his political life, Le Pen was scoffing at the notion that she might return the funds. More to the point, it hasnt stopped Le Pen from positioning herself as the only candidate able to drain the French swamp. Given the steady 25 to 26 percent support her party attracts in polls, a sizable group, it seems, believes her. The reluctance of French governments to address the problem of corruption is well known. In 2014, a European Union report rapped Frances knuckles for its faulty firewalls in campaign financing, its judiciarys relative lack of independence, and the absence of political willpower to tackle a culture of corruption. Until recently, moreover, the foot-dragging of politicians over these issues has not unduly bothered French voters. As Jean-Francois Picard of the watchdog group Anticor notes, through the 1980s and 1990s the public mostly tolerated such wheeling and dealing. In France, there is the idea that defrauding and wasting public money is not too serious a problem as long as there are no direct victims, he said in a recent interview with the weekly French magazine LObs. There have been some recent attempts to remedy the problem: Last year, the country enacted the Sapin II Law, which, for the first time, creates an anti-corruption agency, requires members of Parliament to render public the names of everyone listed on their official payrolls, and affords fuller legal protection to lanceurs dalerte, the rather awkward French term for whistleblowers. The law has been hailed as an important step by transparency advocacy groups, but much of the law is aimed at targets lower down than the Elysee. It is still too early to tell if the recent revelations will bar Fillon from the presidency, but it is looking increasingly likely. He has already vowed that he will end his campaign if formal charges are brought against him; on Tuesday, police were spotted at his parliamentary office looking for evidence. Even if the courts do not act before this springs election, Fillons reputation has already taken a serious hit. In an Odoxa poll taken after the Canards scoop, 61 percent of respondents had a bad opinion of Fillon, while just 38 percent thought favorably of him a 4 percent drop since Jan. 8. An even more recent poll, conducted by Elabe, shows that Fillon is now in danger of not even making it past the first round of Frances two-stage election process. One of the beneficiaries of his decline will be Le Pen, who even before Penelope-gate had overtaken Fillon in a Le Monde poll; another may be Emmanuel Macron, the center-left independent whose campaign continues to gain momentum. French politics is looking more unpredictable than ever, and much can still happen between now and the first round of the election, which is slated for late April. But one thing does seem clear: With Penelope-gate, a long French tradition looks set to continue. Photo credit: THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images JAKARTA, Indonesia As crowds and leaders worldwide fiercely protested U.S. President Donald Trumps executive order blocking all immigration from seven Muslim states, the head of the worlds largest Muslim country shook off the ban. We are not affected by the policy. Why fret? Indonesian President Joko Widodo said at a business launch in Boyolali on Monday. Widodo has made sure that the policy of the American president does not have an impact on Indonesian citizens, said Johan Budi, Widodos spokesman. Therefore, people are asked to remain quiet. Across the border in Muslim-majority Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Razak, like many other Islamic leaders, was doing just that staying silent on a ban widely seen as targeting faith. It was a marked contrast with his vocal condemnation of Buddhist Myanmar in recent months for its treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority. In Malaysias capital, however, others felt the blow more sharply. After quitting her cleaning job, giving away the few larger items she owned, and packing up her other belongings, Cawo Ali was ready to say goodbye to nine years of limbo on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. But two days before her long-dreamed-of flight to the United States, the Somali refugee, who asked that her real name not be used, was told her departure had been canceled. Everything has fallen apart, said the 27-year-old single mother, resting her head on her hand. I dont know where to start again. Despite the silence or complicity of their leaders, ordinary Malaysians and Indonesians alike were angry and fearful about the implications of the unprecedented U.S. move. Unlike Indonesia, where 88 percent of the population is Muslim, slightly less than two-thirds of Malaysians belong to the faith. But opposition has crossed communal borders. In Malaysia, a multicultural collection of NGOs, faith groups, and political parties is planning a protest rally outside the U.S. Embassy on Friday. Activists in Jakarta are alarmed by the ban but do not have formal plans for a protest event, according to Alissa Wahid, national coordinator of the GUSDURian Network for social activism. Their bandwidth is largely exhausted by the sensational blasphemy trial of Jakartas governor, which has become an all-consuming domestic issue. Story continues Ong Kian-Ming, a member of parliament from the opposition Democratic Action Party, said it was vital for Malaysians to take a stand in solidarity with refugees and because of the possibility the ban may be extended to include its nationals. Students have been particularly concerned about the travel ban, with tens of thousands flocking to the United States for further studies each year. One fresh Malaysian graduate, who works for a consulting firm in New York City, has decided not to leave the country for at least a year in case the order is expanded and she is denied re-entry. I was advised by several people not to leave, said Joanna Ghazali, 28. I think most Americans believe in diversity, that they will stand up for what is right, but we do know that there will be a new normal at the end of these four years [the presidential term]. We dont know what it will look like for women or Muslims or minorities, and thats dangerous. Read more: Steve Bannon Is Making Sure Theres No White House Paper Trail, Says Intel Source The Trump administrations chief strategist has already taken control of both policy and process on national security. So You Want to Move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem? Heres How. A blueprint for fulfilling the Trump administrations promise without wrecking hopes for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Why Is France So Corrupt? Frances lax ethical standards are catching up with Francois Fillon and boosting Marine Le Pens campaign for president. Its quite an unsettling time, said Dyah Ramadhani, an Indonesian graduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School. I do not want to be scared of practicing my beliefs, she said, adding that she is monitoring how the situation unfolds. Im concerned that my parents wont be able to see me on my graduation. Consulate hotlines for Indonesians in America have been ringing nonstop since the ban was announced. We deeply regret Trumps executive order, Mukti Setianto, a representative of the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, told Foreign Policy. Its likely to have a negative impact on its stated goal: curbing terrorism. Its a slippery slope to blame a single religion for terror. With both Indonesia and Malaysia facing active jihadi movements, activists such as Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim, president of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, are concerned about the wider fallout of the ban. He thinks the move could stoke anti-American sentiment, carrying a high risk and possibility of creating new radicals. So far, though, the reaction among radicals has been relatively limited. Reportedly, supporters of the Islamic State took to social media in recent days to celebrate Trumps action as evidence that the United States is at war with Islam. But for now, that seems to be contained to groups stationed in and focused on the Middle East, not jihadis in Southeast Asia. Its just the usual stuff, like Trump is the prophesied Antichrist, said Nava Nuraniyah, a terrorism expert at Indonesias Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict. But the so-called Muslim ban really hasnt got much attention on Indonesian jihadist channels; theyre more preoccupied with IS losses in Syria and the dozens of Indonesian IS sympathizers recently deported from Turkey. I think they are not really interested in Trumps immigration policies that do not affect them personally, said Muh Taufiqurrohman, a researcher at the Center for Radicalism and Deradicalization Studies. National leaders Najib and Widowo seem equally indifferent. Chandra Muzaffar, a political analyst in Kuala Lumpur, thinks this could come down to the benefits that Trump and Najib stand to gain for maintaining good ties. Trump will be looking for allies in this part of the world against China, he told Foreign Policy, adding that this made it unlikely Malaysia would become part of any future expanded ban list. Muzaffar said Najib may reconsider some of his bonds with the Asian giant for a closer relationship with the world superpower. Indonesia, meanwhile, may be shielded by its business ties to Trumps commercial empire. Muslim-majority nations where Trump has done business like Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are so far exempt from his executive order, which ethics lawyers have characterized as arbitrary and discriminatory. Trump is developing branded luxury resorts in Java and Bali with the Indonesian billionaire Hary Tanoesoedibjo. If Southeast Asian leaders officially protest Trumps policy, the consequences could be significant for the United States. Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, a political science professor at the Universiti Sains Malaysia, told CNBC, If Widodo or Najib interpret the order as a broader act against Muslims, instead of one focused on U.S. national security, then all kinds of repercussions could happen, including a marked decline in travel stateside and a diminished view of America as a great power. I think Jokowi [Joko Widodo] is spot-on not to overreact as if the U.S. is targeting Islam and Muslims as a whole, rather than a segment of Muslim populations from countries whose peoples pose potential risks to U.S. national security, Hamid told Foreign Policy. But whilst Jokowis stance is reasonable, and his rational response is important diplomatically in view of his position as head of state, will he be able to control the Muslim masses? I doubt it. At the same time, Trumps disregard for civil liberties and refugee rights may provide the Malaysian and Indonesian governments with a shield for fresh authoritarianism at home. Under Barack Obamas presidency, several Malaysian rights champions decried at home were lauded for their work, including the transgender rights advocate Nisha Ayub, who won the U.S. International Women of Courage Award last year. But Trumps words and actions so far suggest a radically different approach to civil liberties both in the United States and globally. A me-first approach without regard to international obligations to human rights, to the rights of refugees, will give justification to countries like Malaysia which have not had a stellar record, said Andrew Khoo, a human rights lawyer in Malaysia, referring to the travel ban. It will give credence to our own governments efforts to try to exclude people from our country. If America can do this, so can we. For Malaysias sizable refugee population more than 150,000 refugees and asylum-seekers are registered with the U.N.s refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur the reverberations are already in motion. At an evening English-language class for refugees in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, several students said they have been anxiously watching the chaotic airport scenes unfolding at U.S. airports. Donald Trump does not respect all religions, one male student said. A 27-year-old woman, who recently applied for resettlement to the United States to join her husband, a truck driver with residency, said the images evoke fear. Im scared about what I heard, but I still have hope to join him even if it takes a bit longer. Shafie Sharif, a Somali community leader who has spent nearly a decade in Malaysia waiting for resettlement to a third country, says the U.S. rules are simply unjust. We were victims of extremists in Somalia. We cannot go back to our home country. Now we are being labeled as terrorists. Why is the worlds biggest power acting against the poorest countries in the world? It damages the dignity of America. Neither country is a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and refugees and asylum-seekers within their borders are not allowed to work or attend school. In Indonesia, Middle Eastern refugees frequently arrive by boat and wait up to 10 years until the UNHCR, the U.N.s refugee agency, is able to resettle them. Many of Indonesias 14,000 refugees and asylum-seekers were on track to be resettled in the United States. But the majority hail from Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Somalia; nearly all are Muslim, and even those who arent on the banned list are deeply worried. The ban is certainly very influential, Febi Yonesta, chairman of SUAKA, the Indonesian Civil Society Network for Refugee Rights Protection, told Foreign Policy. Americas quota for resettling refugees [once hosted by] Indonesia has historically been the largest in the world, greater than those of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and any European country. Now thats in jeopardy, since most of our refugees originate from Muslim countries. Mohamed Rasool Bagherian, an Iranian refugee who has been stuck in Jakarta for six years, said his family of three was told they would be granted refuge in America this year, but now they are extremely doubtful. They were previously assigned to resettlement to Australia, only to be stymied by that countrys 2013 ban on maritime asylum-seekers. The ban was shocking news, Bagherian said near his home in the North Jakarta suburb of Kelapa Gading. We have absolutely no hope now. Ironically, he said, he, his wife, and his 8-year-old son are Christians. So this Muslim ban isnt even accomplishing what it set out to do. The Bagherians came to Indonesia by boat in 2010, when their son was 2 years old. We were arrested and persecuted in Iran for our religion, have no basic rights in Indonesia, and now the doors of the whole world have slammed shut. I dont see any way forward. The ban is crafted to allow exceptions for religious minorities, such as the Bagherians, but the path to prove that status is opaque and hundreds have already had the door slammed in their faces. Several other refugees, primarily Afghan Hazaras, told Foreign Policy that they also doubted their transit to America would ever transpire. We are stuck here, I think, said Masoma Faqihi, a 19-year-old Hazara refugee whose family of five was assigned by the UNHCR to America this year, despite Afghanistan not being on the list of banned nations. But in Kuala Lumpur, the Somalian refugee Ali is desperately clinging to the hope that she and her young daughter will be allowed in. There is freedom in the United States. You can study and get a job. And there is no torture. Whether youre black or white, everyone is the same, she said in the three-bedroom apartment she shares with 11 other refugees from her devastated country. The United States has always been open to everyone. Im still hopeful. Photo credit: MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images Subscribe to FP Premium for 20% off now! By Hilary Russ NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City and its largest police union settled on a tentative five-year labor contract on Tuesday that includes salary increases while also agreeing that all patrol officers will wear body cameras by the end of 2019. The agreement "is a big step forward for a vision of safety in which police and the community are true partners," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference with union and police officials. The New York Police Department, the nation's largest, already has a pilot program with cameras for 1,000 officers. But further rollout was stymied by a lawsuit, which the union agreed to drop as part of the deal. New York will join other cities requiring their police forces to wear body cameras amid nationwide concerns over use of excessive force by police. Chicago aims to have the devices on all officers by the end of this year. The contract agreement also removes a potentially expensive uncertainty that was a hold-over from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who left office at the end of 2013 with every public-sector labor contract long-expired. Since taking office, Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration has chipped away at negotiations with teachers and other unions, but the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association contract was still a major sticking point. Reached at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday, the agreement will cost the city $530.4 million altogether, most of which will be covered by a labor reserve fund. Including healthcare savings, the net cost to the city is $336.7 million. The deal, covering nearly 24,000 police officers, includes a 2.25 percent bump in base salary for patrol officers as they shift to a new method of neighborhood policing which focuses more on beat patrols and community interaction. The increase that patrol officers get will be offset in part by lower starting salaries for new hires, although their maximum salaries will rise. Upon approval by union members, the new contract would go into effect March 15. The city will also support the union's efforts to get state lawmakers to provide disability benefits at three-quarters of salary, while the union agreed to drop other lawsuits against the city. (Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Daniel Bases and Andrew Hay) WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand's recently appointed Prime Minister Bill English announced Wednesday that the country will hold a national election in September in what will be a test of his popularity following the surprise resignation of former leader John Key. English said his conservative National Party will campaign on its strong record with the economy. He said that budget surpluses would allow the government to spend more on infrastructure as well as pay down debt and enact tax cuts. "We're in a fantastic position of having an economy generating, in the last 12 months, well over 100,000 jobs," English said. He said few countries in the developed world were enjoying the same level of economic success. Figures released Wednesday showed the job participation rate was at an all-time high but that unemployment had risen slightly to just over 5 percent, as more people looked for work. Opposition leader Andrew Little said the country was suffering from a housing crisis that needs fixing and that he would also improve health care and education. "Bring it on," Little said in a statement. "We're ready and raring to go so we can change the government and build a better New Zealand." Little's Labour Party has formed an opposition alliance with the liberal Green Party. Under New Zealand law, the prime minister gets to choose the date of the national election, which is held every three years. English said the vote would be held on Sept. 23. Politicians won't begin intense campaigning for the election until August when parliament finishes. The campaign will last just five weeks. Former prime minister Key had been expected to contest his fourth election after leading his party to victory three times but he resigned in December, saying he wanted to go out on top and spend more time with his family. As schools (and the Department of Education) encourage children to pursue in science, technology, engineering and math, the toy industry has been looking for ways to both assist and capitalize on STEMs popularity. And theyre finding that theres a lot of fun to be had in teaching kids that science and math are more than just memorizing tables and formulas. The hiccup is, if youre looking for a STEM toy for your son or daughter, it can be overwhelming. One option is Amazons just-announced subscription program called STEM Club, which delivers hand-picked, age-appropriate toys that encourage kids to learn as they play. At just under $20 per month, it guarantees a steady flow of items, but early customer reviews have been mixed. If youre more of a take-charge parent who would rather pick and choose STEM toys yourself, weve got a few suggestions that will not only engage your kids, but could keep you up late playing with the toys yourself. Jimu Robot Kit Robots havent quite lived up to the standard Hollywood has set for them, but youd be hard pressed to find a kid who doesnt still think theyre cool. Jimu is a build-it-yourself robot that features six servo motors, which act as joints, and about 200 snap-together parts. (Jimu means building blocks in Mandarin.) Once its built kids and parents can control the robot from an iPhone or iPad, making it walk, dance and shimmy. If they want to dig deeper, kids can dig into the code section, creating a preset series of movements for Jimu using a drag-and-drop interface. Its worth noting that Jimus Robot can be a challenging build. Thats deliberate, as the company wants this to be an experience kids and parents share. Buy now: Amazon, $198 Boolean Box Aimed primarily at girls aged eight and up, this self-contained kit features all the components needed for kids to easily build their own Raspberry Pi computer. Story continues Its also preloaded with software that makes it easy to learn to code. Within minutes of building the PC, your curious child will be working on digital animation projects and more. The kit comes with its own keyboard and mouse, but you will need a monitor (or TV) with an HDMI input to serve as the systems screen. Buy now: Boolean Girl, $143 Circuit Cubes While many STEM toys revolve around a screen of some sort, these transparent blocks are much more hands-on, letting kids transform everything from their LEGO sets to household objects. Created by startup Tenka Labs, the modules, currently available for pre-order, are a collection of components battery blocks, switches, relays and tools. Kids can use those parts to motorize their toy cars, create a small flashlight or invent a noise-maker. Lines on the back of the blocks represent flow of current, so kids will also learn some basics about circuitry as they engineer their imagination. And if they need some inspiration, the company plans to offer instructional videos, showing them how to build objects like a swimming whale. Buy now: Tenka Labs, Price TBD Wonder Workshops Dot and Dash robots Unlike other STEM toy robots, which often require assembly, Dash and Dot come in ready-to-play condition, making them a bit more approachable for younger kids. Children can immediately begin coding commands for the pair on a smartphone or tablet, making them sing, dance and wander around the house. Dot, the orb-like robot, is a more basic toy that can be programmed to imitate a Magic-8 Ball or used in a high-tech game of hot potato. Dash, which comes with wheels, is capable of more advanced maneuvers. They can be bought separately (Dot is $50, with Dash running $150) and there are several accessories available (including LEGO-compatible building brick connectors and a ball launcher) that expand their functionality. The pair won Good Housekeepings Toy of the Year award in 2015. Buy now: Amazon, $279.99 Cubelets Blocks have been a basic childhood toy for centuries. Cubelets just advances the concept. Each of the 12 cubes in this collection serves a unique purpose, whether as a motor or sensor or battery. Together, they can be paired to build dozens of mini-robotic combinations. Kids will learn the importance of component placement as they create. Putting a drive block (which propels creations) in the middle of a combination, for instance, might make it go straight, while putting it in another location could cause it to spin in circles. One of the Cubelets also adds Bluletooth functionality, meaning kids can get some coding experience via a phone or tablet in a drag and drop interface. Buy now: Amazon, $159.89 Vex Robots Robotic Arm Got a kid whos fascinated by assembly lines? This functional, build-it-yourself robotic arm can give them insight into the industrial world without the safety headaches major corporations have to worry about. The arm can lift objects up to 14 inches into the air and turn 360 degrees. And its claws can rotate objects left and right. Buy now: Amazon, $44.54 Think & Learn Code-a-pillar STEM toys arent just for big kids. This Fisher-Price creation for preschoolers lets little ones rearrange the pieces of the Code-a-pillars thorax and abdomen to alter its course as it scoots around the house and play different music and sound effects. Its big and bright and easy for kids as young as three years of age to manipulate, but it still fosters critical thinking and problem solving skills. Its not coding in the traditional sense, yet it gives kids the building blocks to begin thinking in a programmers mindset. Buy now: Amazon, $38.99 Ozobot Teach critical thinking skills to kids with this tiny robot that follows black, red, green and blue paths, which kids can create by drawing lines on paper. The ping-pong sized orbs use an optical sensor to determine the color and then execute one of 29 different actions. The toy also comes with a programming system letting kids set Ozobots actions. There are four levels of complexity, letting them progress at their own pace, but ensuring that they constantly keep learning. Buy now: Amazon, $54.99 (Read TIMEs affiliate link policy.) After telling employees a few days ago that Apple did not support Donald Trumps stance against immigration, Apples CEO Tim Cook said hes considering legal options against Trump. Don't Miss: The Galaxy S8, iPhone 8, and Google Pixel 2 will all share one key component Cook told The Wall Street Journal that hundreds of Apple employees have been affected by the order and that he continues to contact very, very senior people in the White House to tell them why repealing the executive order benefits Apple and the country. Cook also said that he receives plenty of emails from concerned Apple staff detailing heart-wrenching stories related to the Muslim ban. These are people that have friends and family. Theyre co-workers. Theyre taxpayers. Theyre key parts of the community, Mr. Cook said, detailing a case of an employee whos about to have a child and the future grandparents have Canadian and Iranian citizenship and wont be able to meet the baby. More than any country in the world, this country is strong because of our immigrant background and our capacity and ability as people to welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds. Thats what makes us special, Cook said. We ought to pause and really think deeply through that. Cook did not say what legal options Apple is pursuing, but he did say that we want to be constructive and productive. Its unclear who Cook is talking to in the White House, but the CEO already met Trump following his election. Furthermore, a few days ago, Cook had dinner with Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner in Washington D.C. Amazon on Monday submitted a declaration of support for a lawsuit filed against Trumps order by the Washington state attorney general. Reuters reported on Monday that Microsoft was also working with Washington state on a suit against Trump Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Comcast Roku app. Comcast is letting you ditch your cable box for a Roku.You can finally dump your cable box thanks to a surprising source: your cable company. The assist comes from Comcast (CMCSA), which on Tuesday launched an app for Roku streaming-media players and Roku-enabled TVs that duplicates just about all of the functions normally found on the companys cable boxes ranging from on-demand video to its cloud DVR service. The news is both overdue the underlying streaming-to-apps technology has been in tests by cable operators since at least 2012 and timely, since Tuesday also formally ends the Federal Communications Commissions attempt to require subscription-TV providers to ship apps that would allow fee-free viewing of their channel bundles. Unfortunately, other TV providers dont seem interested in following its example and although the app is free, the actual savings look like theyll turn out to be less than youd hope. Comcasts new app deal: warning, math required The new, free-to-download Xfinity Beta app isnt Comcasts only offering that allows you to stream cable. It is, however, the first that lets you stream your service on an actual TV instead of forcing you to use a smartphone or tablet. The Philadelphia companys iPad app, though, still blocks AirPlay output to an Apple TV. Like the cable providers others apps, the Xfinity offering doesnt rely on Comcasts traditional TV cable lines. Instead, it streams channels over a separate portion of your broadband internet connection to ensure buffering-free viewing. The Roku app will work on all Roku TVs and devices shipped in the last couple of years including the Roku Express, Roku Express+, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Premiere, Roku Premiere+, Roku Ultra, Roku 2, Roku 3 and Roku 4. You get the same interactive programming grid found on Comcasts X1 cable boxes, including access to on-demand video and the ability to record and watch shows using its cloud DVR service. All you give up in terms of your TV-watching experience, according to Comcast, is the voice control capabilities available through the X1 remote. Story continues But while the app is free, you wont save as much as youd think. Comcast normally refunds $2.50 a month if you use your own cable box, but it wont offer that during the beta-test period. Its usual $10 monthly fee for cloud DVR service will still apply too. Comcasts Roku app will let you watch your on-demand video. After the beta trial, though, you will start collecting that $2.50 monthly credit. What if you have a second screen? Youll get a second $2.50 credit for using the app instead of a box, and Comcasts FAQ says youll dodge the providers $9.95 monthly fee for a second outlet. Thats not the case with another fee, the $9.95 a month you pay for HD service for that second outlet (even though its free on the first). The FAQ also reports that youll have to pay that second-line charge post-beta, leaving your savings over time just $2.50 a month per Roku app used to replace a Comcast box. A Roku Streaming Stick, our current favorite among streaming-media playback options, costs only $50, so those $2.50 credits will help recoup its cost somewhat quickly. But this Kafka-esque pricing Comcasts site doesnt provide a simple list of these fees does help explain why Comcast hasnt exactly been Americas most-loved TV service. Whos left out: most other subscribers Comcast announced its app initiative last year at a cable-industry convention in Boston, when it showed off an early but mostly-decorative version of the Xfinity app running on a Samsung smart TV. The company says it plans to ship a beta for Samsung sets later this year. The rest of the industry, however, is not proceeding at the same speed even after lining up behind a Ditch the Box initiative last year that would have them ship similar apps. Subscribers to Charter (CHTR), the second-biggest cable operator in the country, can use a Roku app to replace a secondary box, but other pay-TV operators like AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) either fail to offer a full section of channels with their TV-linked apps or have stopped experiments in box-free viewing. Comcasts Roku app will save you money, but not as much as you might think. Under President Obama, the FCC had set out to force action. Then-chairman Tom Wheeler had initially proposed requiring both cable and satellite providers to allow third parties to develop apps and boxes compatible with their services and their security systems, then amended that to require only that TV providers ship apps for major software platforms like Roku, iOS, Android, Windows and the Mac. Wheelers proposal ran out of time and with Wheeler now replaced by his fellow commissioner Ajit Pai, a longtime opponent of that plan, promoted by President Trump to run the agency last week, its officially dead. If you have Comcast as an option in an area, the new app arrival should rate as an upgrade. Otherwise, youre stuck with the same radical option as before: If you cant bargain your way to a lower bill by threatening to cancel service entirely, youre better off dropping your service in favor of streaming media over the Internet and, if you have sufficient reception, over-the-air programming from local stations. And if you do that on every TV, youll be in line to save a lot more money than this Comcast initiative ever could deliver. More from Rob: Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro. FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German carmaker Daimler plans to build its new electric vehicles in existing Mercedes plants by integrating them with serial production of cars with combustion engines, the group said. "In this way, we are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by electric mobility and are significantly limiting the required investment," Mercedes-Benz Cars production chief Markus Schaefer said on Wednesday. Daimler has said its Mercedes-Benz and Smart brands planned to launch more than 10 electric cars by 2025, with zero-emission vehicles accounting for 15 to 25 percent of Mercedes sales. It has already said that it would build the first model under its new EQ electric vehicle brand in the northern German city of Bremen, and on Wednesday it made Sindelfingen the second plant designated to join the electric cars push. Daimler plans to invest up to 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) in the development of electric vehicles, and labor representatives have been pushing for a large part of that investment to be made in the carmaker's home country. The group said on Wednesday its factories in Germany's Bremen, Rastatt and Sindelfingen as well as its Smart model plant in Hambach, France, would be competence centers for its electric vehicle production. Labor representatives welcomed the move as it gives existing German plants a stake in the shift to electric vehicles. "It must be clear that the jobs are safe despite all the challenges," works council chief Michael Brecht said. Daimler has agreed to keep on 125 temporary workers at its Sindelfingen plant, its biggest German factory with 25,000 workers, for another year and make it a center for car electronics. In return, workers' representatives have agreed to discuss more flexible working hours. (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Louise Heavens) In this photo dated Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, journalist Julia Breen works on a story in the newsroom of The Northern Echo newspaper in Darlington, England. The newspaper's journalists are among scores of reporters who have been spied on by British police over the past 5 years, according to court documents, although Cleveland Police issued a statement to deny allegations. (AP Photo/Raphael Satter) DARLINGTON, England (AP) British journalist Julia Breen's scoop about racism at her local police force didn't just get her on the front page, it got her put under surveillance. In the months that followed Breen's exclusive, investigators logged her calls, those of her colleague Graeme Hetherington and even their modest-sized newspaper's busy switchboard in an effort to unmask their sources. The two were stunned when they eventually discovered the scale of the spying. "It just never even crossed our minds," Breen said in a recent interview in the newsroom of The Northern Echo, in the English market town of Darlington. "I don't know if I was quite naive, but on a regional newspaper you don't expect your local police force to do this." The Echo's editor, Andy Richardson, said his paper's brush with police spying carries a warning as surveillance laws stiffen up and down the continent . "This case might be about a relatively obscure newspaper in the northeast of England, but it asks much bigger questions about where we're headed as democratic societies all across Europe," Richardson said. Breen and Hetherington make for unlikely targets of state surveillance. On a wintry day earlier this month, Breen was looking into reports of flooding. Hetherington was writing a story about an attack on a cat. Above them, a flat screen television kept a running tally of the day's most-clicked stories. "Traffic 'back to normal' on A19 northbound," was No. 1. "Weather pictures: Snow leads to accidents" was a close second. Nevertheless the Echo has often provided painful reading for Cleveland Police , a department responsible for a Chicago-sized patch of England's industrial northeast. The small force has weathered a series of scandals. A minority officer, Sultan Alam, was awarded 800,000 pounds in 2012 (then worth $1.26 million) after allegedly being framed by colleagues in retaliation for a discrimination lawsuit. When the judgment made national headlines on April 16 of that year, Cleveland Police issued a statement insisting the force wasn't racist. Story continues The next day, an anonymous caller told Breen an internal police report suggested otherwise. Working the phones, Breen confirmed the story. The following morning her byline was across the front page beneath the words: "Institutional racism uncovered within Cleveland Police ." It caused a stir, but news cycles change. Breen, who had just returned from maternity leave, eventually forgot the episode. Cleveland Police didn't. Officer Mark Dias confessed to being Breen's anonymous tipster the day the Echo's story ran, but higher-ups wanted to get to the bottom of other leaks. The force secretly began logging calls to and from Breen, Hetherington and a third journalist from another newspaper. Dias was put under surveillance, as was a police union leader and a lawyer associated with the pair. The next month, police seized three days' worth of calls made to The Northern Echo's switchboard. Although none of the seized records included the content of the individuals' conversations, collectively the length, timing and nature of hundreds of phone calls can be extraordinarily revealing. It was later calculated that the surveillance covered over 1 million minutes of calling time. The Echo isn't unique. Britain's wiretapping watchdog the Interception of Communications Commissioner's Office revealed in 2015 that 82 journalists' communications records had been seized as part of leak investigations across the country over a three-year period. The watchdog said those figures were "artificially inflated" by the investigation into Britain's tabloid bribery scandal, which centered on industrial-scale abuses by journalists working for London-based titles. But it also said that 19 reporters caught up in leak investigations worked for local or regional papers, publications far from the center of the scandal. A law passed in the wake of the findings required police to seek judicial authorization before monitoring reporters' calls, but old habits die hard. Last March, a senior Scottish police official resigned after it was revealed that his force failed to seek proper approval for a media leak investigation. The commissioner's office said it could not immediately provide further information on media surveillance, including up-to-date figures. Journalists are targeted by law enforcement in other countries. While Cleveland Police were combing through Breen's calls, for example, the U.S. Department of Justice was rifling through the telephone records of Associated Press journalists in an attempt to learn who leaked them details of a botched al-Qaida bomb plot. When news of the Justice Department's leak investigation broke the following year, the scandal lit up Washington. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus now U.S. President Donald Trump's chief of staff accused then-Attorney General Eric Holder of having "trampled on the First Amendment." The reaction to the seizure of the Echo's call records, news of which emerged late last year, has been far more muted. Neil Macfarlane, who teaches journalism at the University of Sunderland and has followed the Echo case closely, said "it takes a lot" for the U.K.'s London-centric press corps to take an interest in what happens outside the capital. Then again, there could just be greater tolerance in Britain for police prying into journalists' affairs. "There has been a culture of surveillance when it comes to journalists for a while now," he said. Cleveland Police has apologized to the reporters, as well as to Dias, its now-former officer, and to Steve Matthews, the police union boss. In a ruling issued Tuesday, Britain's surveillance court, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, ruled that the spying was unjustified. Cleveland Police, which declined interview requests ahead of the judgment, did not immediately return messages seeking comment, but in a statement posted to its Facebook page it noted the force was reviewing its internal affairs department as well as the past six years' worth of police surveillance work. "When we get things wrong, as we did here, we will say sorry and work to make things right," Chief Constable Iain Spittal said in the statement. Speaking ahead of the judgment, Matthews said he was pleased lawyers and journalists now enjoy judicial oversight of police requests for their call records, protection they didn't have in 2012. But he wondered where that left ordinary people. "If you can do it to us," Matthews said, "You can do it anyone." ___ Online: Satter can be reached at: http://raphaelsatter.com ___ An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Julia Breen was about to go on maternity leave when she got an anonymous tip-off. In fact, she had just returned. Shutterstock The only thing keeping Time Warner Cable from being the most hated company in America is Comcast, and it tried to merge with them once. So word that the company is getting dragged into court by New Yorks attorney general is likely going to be greeted with cheers, especially when people discover its over Time Warner Cables slow internet speeds. New York AG Eric Schneiderman is alleging that Time Warner Cable inflated its internet speeds in advertising while simultaneously leasing routers and modems to their customers that couldnt possibly meet those speeds. And this is just the latest step in a long argument: Charter, the owner of Time Warner Cable, was contacted last year about the issue. The big problem for the company is that even if they can prove the gear is up to snuff, theyve still got the problem of oversubscription. If youve ever wondered how wires from an era when the internet was how you caught fish can carry so much data, they cant! Instead your internet provider is gambling that at any given time, there wont be enough people using the internet at the same time to cause a slowing in traffic. This is not a great gamble to make when part of your market is one of the largest metropolitan areas on the face of the planet. The AG can almost certainly argue Time Warner knew that it was oversubscribed and reaching advertised speeds was impossible. This is just the preliminary round, as this case could take years. But were betting that right about now, the executive suit is hoping nobody remembers that time the company called one of their customers the c-word on her bill. (Via Gizmodo) President Donald Trump held a White House event honoring Black History Month Wednesday and pointed out that African-American CNN commentator and GOP strategist Paris Dennard has done an amazing job at a very hostile CNN community. Hes all by himself, seven people and Paris. Ill take Paris over the seven, Trump said. But I dont watch CNN so I dont get to see you as much. The room full of press and supporters seemed to laugh at every comment made by Trump until he said, I dont like watching fake news, which didnt draw much of a reaction. Also Read: President Trumps Echoes Steve Bannon, Refers to Media as 'Opposition Party' Trump went on to say, Fox has treated me very nice, and once again called the media the opposition party. Some of the media is fantastic and fair but so much of the media is opposition party, he said. Its a very sad situation. Trump has had an issue with CNN for quite some time, but everything erupted when he blasted reporter Jim Acosta during his first press conference after winning the election. Trump wouldnt allow Acosta to ask a question and famously called him fake news. Politico recently reported that the White House is attempting to ice out CNN by not sending Trump surrogates on the network. Administration officials have stayed off Jake Tappers State of the Union Sunday show the past two weeks, but that hasnt stopped CNN from beating Fox and MSNBC among the key news demo of adults age 25-54 at noon ET during episodes that didnt feature the likes of Kellyanne Conway or Sean Spicer. Trump also took a moment to praise former reality TV star Omarosa Manigault, who Trump hired as the White Houses director of African American outreach, saying shes actually a really nice person. Nobody knows that. Check out the video above. Related stories from TheWrap: 1 Dead, 4 Injured in Stabbing Attack and Police Shooting Near CNN's Hollywood Building John Berman, Poppy Harlow Pair Up for New CNN Dayside Lineup Fox Business: AT&T-Time Warner Deal Should Go Through, CNN Might Be Sacrificed As of last week, Morocco was the only African country that was not a member of the African Union, or AU. That situation has changed. On Monday, African leaders decided to admit Morocco to the union. The decision came as part of the leaders' meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Thirty-nine of 54 AU countries voted to support Moroccan membership with the group. The King of Morocco, Mohammad VI, praised the decision. "It is a beautiful day when one returns home after too long of an absence, he said. Africa is my continent and my home." Why was Morocco not a member of the AU? In July, Morocco announced its desire to rejoin the AU. The country formerly belonged to the organization's predecessor, the Organization for African Unity, or OAU. But Morocco left the organization in 1984 because of its move to recognize the disputed territory of Western Sahara as independent. It also was protesting the OAUs decision to admit the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member. The Sahrawi Republic is a government in exile. It wants the Western Sahara to be independent. The United States does not recognize the Sahrawi Republic. It is considered the government arm of the group known as the Polisario Front. Morocco claims the Western Sahara and considers it an important part of its territory. The dispute over the area has lasted over 30 years. It has created tense relationships, notably between Morocco and Algeria, according to a 2014 report from Congressional Research Services. The service investigates legal and policy issues for the U.S. Congress. Some people living in the Western Sahara -- and supporters of the Polisario Front -- dispute Morocco's claim to the territory. The Western Sahara's delegation accuses Morocco of "colonizing" the large seaside territory. Sidi Omar is the delegations ambassador-at-large. He says the leaders decision to admit Morocco without settling the Western Sahara question violates the AU's position against colonialism. He told VOA the Saharan Republic will not leave the AU. The delegation wants Morocco to stop claiming the territory. Omar thinks the AU decision has wider consequences. "It does not only concern Western Sahara or the Sahara Republic, he said. It does concern Africa as a whole. If this principle of borders is not respected, Africa will be doomed to chaos." Common interests, common spirit Delegates and diplomats told reporters in Addis Ababa that the idea of Africa "sticking together" is important. Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Mohammed Edrees, said that the general belief among AU leaders was that "at the end, we have to have the African house together." He explained that it was important "to find a way forward, not a divisive way forward, but to move toward our common African interest, common African spirit." Concerns about possible changes to U.S. Policy A number of delegates at the conference publicly and privately shared concerns about recent, sudden changes in U.S. policies. These include changes or possible changes - to immigration, dealings with other countries and environmental policies. Judi Wakhungu is Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for the Environment. She told VOA that talks about the Paris Agreement on climate change were overshadowed by the arrival of the new U.S. administration. She said China is prepared to reduce its pollution by showing leadership in solar energy. In her view, the U.S. position is not as clear: "We are then seeing pronunciations that the new U.S. administration is going to actually roll back on the commitments that have been made. As I said, it's only January, and we hope that reason will prevail. Because we're all in the same boat." African unity was the goal of the African Unions predecessor, the Organization for African Unity. It seems todays AU is getting closer to it, but in a more complex world. Im John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story predecessor n. something that comes before something else ambassador-at-large n. an ambassador with special duties, not appointed to one country doom v. to make (someone or something) sure to fail, suffer or die sticking together phrasal verb to continue to support each other overshadow v. to be more important that something else. absence n. a period of time when someone is not present at a place, job, etc. according to prepositional phrase as stated, reported, or recorded by (someone or something) President Donald Trump named federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday. Gorsuch is the youngest nominee for the Supreme Court in 25 years. He is 49 years old. If confirmed by the Senate, he could influence important legal issues for many years to come. But Gorsuch faces strong opposition from Democrats, who say the post should have gone to former President Barack Obamas nominee. Trump said he made the right choice. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said. It was Trumps first televised address from the White House. As a candidate for president, Trump released the names of 21 judges supported by The Federalist Society, a conservative judicial group. He said that, if elected, he would choose his Supreme Court nominees from the list. Trump also promised to appoint judges ready to overturn a 1973 Supreme Court ruling that gave women the right to abortions. Supreme Court will likely rule on important issues The U.S. Supreme Court has the final say on many important legal cases. It has and likely will rule again on issues such as abortion rights, the right to own guns, environmental regulations and religious freedoms. The nomination of Gorsuch will not change the narrow Supreme Court majority that protect a womans right to end her pregnancy. But if another vacancy opens up, the high court could end up with a majority willing to overturn the decision. Another opening would not be unexpected, given that three current Supreme Court justices who have supported abortion rights are over 78-years old. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83, Anthony Kennedy is 80 and Stephen Breyer is 78. Gorsuch is a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. He was approved by a voice vote in the Senate to the court in 2006. The voice vote signaled that his appointment by President George W. Bush was not considered controversial. In one high-profile case, Gorsuch ruled against the Obama administration. The ruling said that employers cannot be required to provide birth control as part of health insurance policies. The case was brought by businesses that said they opposed birth control on religious reasons. Speaking at the White House Tuesday night, Gorsuch said that a judge should base rulings on the law and the U.S. Constitution -- not his or her own opinions. Democrats to oppose the nomination The usual nine-member U.S. Supreme Court has had only eight members since February 2016, when Justice Antonin Scalia died. Republican lawmakers refused to hold hearings for Obamas choice to replace Scalia, Judge Merrick Garland. They said the court choice should go to the winner of the 2016 presidential election. Republicans control 52 seats in the 100-member U.S. Senate. Senate Democrats control 48. Some Democrats are promising strong opposition to Trumps court nominee. But under current rules, Republicans would need 60 votes to stop a Democratic filibuster. Senator Jeff Merkley is a Democrat from Oregon. He said the nomination was stolen from President Obama. Think about what is at stake: legal abortion, marriage equality, voting rights, the dark money corruption of our We the People government, and so much more, Merkley said. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a Republican, praised Gorsuch as universally respected. Grassley chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on the nomination. By all accounts, he has a record of deciding cases based on the text of the Constitution and the law, Grassley said. Thats important because in our system of government, Congress, not judges, make the laws. Trump said on Tuesday his promise to appoint a conservative to the Supreme Court was the major reason millions of voters chose him over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Laurence Baum, an Ohio State political science professor, said that may well be the case. Baum said some conservative religious voters might have had concerns about Trumps qualifications and his character. But they voted for him in large numbers because they believed he gave them their best chance in decades to, if not outlaw, to put big limits on abortions. Im Christopher Jones-Cruise. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story address - n. speech regulations - n. rules or laws outstanding adj. extremely good brilliant adj. very smart tremendous adj. very good discipline n. a way of behaving that shows a willingness to obey rules or orders bipartisan adj. supported by members of both political parties, Democrat and Republican abortion n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus vacancy n. an opening filibuster n. to delay a vote, often by speaking for a long time at stake expression at risk controversial - adj. of or related to a dispute or debate insurance - adj. a way of guarantee protection or safety American officials have expressed deep concern about new fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and government troops. More than 10 people have been killed since Monday in and near the town of Avdiika. Many others are wounded. On Tuesday, the State Department called for an immediate ceasefire. It said the fighting has left 17,000 civilians without water, heat and electricity. It is extremely cold in the area right now with temperatures as low as -18 degrees Celsius. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also expressed concern about the situation in Ukraine. He urged Russia to use its influence with rebels in eastern Ukraine to stop the fighting. The European Union has called the fighting a blatant violation of the agreement known as the Minsk Protocols. That agreement, reached in Belaruss capital in 2014, calls for a ceasefire and for the withdrawal of heavy weapons from battle areas. The conflict in Ukraine began in 2014. That year, popular protests forced Ukraines pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, out of office. Russia then claimed lawful control of Ukraines Crimea Peninsula. After tensions increased, fighting started between pro-Russia, separatist rebels and Ukrainian government forces. Western countries and the United Nations sharply criticized Russias move to take Crimea. The United States and European Union ordered international economic restrictions against Russia that have hurt its economy for more than two years. More than half of the almost 10,000 people killed in the conflict have been civilians. Americas new president Donald Trump has called for warmer relations between the U.S. and Russia. Im Mario Ritter. Richard Green reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story blatant adj. not hidden, very clear One man is in custody after witnesses say he fled the scene of a two-car crash at the intersection of Ferry Street and Fifth Avenue S.W. in Al scholarship, news and new ideas in legal history Particularly during my sojourns in South Africa, it may not be possible for me to perform the moderation function speedily. I regret the necessity of moderation but it has been rendered inevitable by the behaviour of a particular commentator whose contributions will always and without exception be rejected. No correspondence will be entered into regarding moderation decisions. Readers are invited to comment on blog posts. All comments require to be pre-moderated by me, and I shall reject all (a) that are not related to the Lockerbie disaster or (b) that fail to meet my -- perhaps idiosyncratic -- standards of courtesy towards other contributors. Comments will not be rejected simply because I disagree with them or because I, or other contributors, find them irritating. But comments will be rejected if they distort or misrepresent the evidence; are defamatory; or if they risk embroiling me, as publisher, in defamation proceedings. I am perfectly relaxed about being sued in respect of material which I personally have posted -- but not in respect of material that others wish to post as comments and which, in any case, I often strongly disagree with. President Trump picked Judge Neil Gorsuch to be his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Federal Judge Neil Gorsuch is Supreme Court nominee Considered a Justice Scalia style judge Supports strict reading of the Constitution The president made the announcement in a primetime address Tuesday night. He is filling the eighth seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. In Gorsuch, Trump said he had a candidate worry of Scalia's legacy on the bench. "Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text," Trump said. "He will make an incredible Justice as soon as the Senate confirms him. In his remarks, Gorsuch praised the other justices on the bench, including Justice Anthony Kennedy, who he clerked for. But he also said putting on the robes of a judge don't make them any smarter, but serves as a reminder of what is expected of them. "I respect the fact that in our legal order, it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws," Gorsuch said. "It is the role of judges to apply, and not alter the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp; Who is Neil Gorsuch? Grosuch is emerging as the likely frontrunner on the shortlist. The 49-year-old serves on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. He's a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He also served as a law clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy. He was a high-ranking official in the Bush administration's Justice Dept. when he was appointed in 2006. Gorush has written in favor of courts' second-guessing government regulation and supporting religious freedom. He perhaps best known for siding with two groups, one of them being craft company Hobby Lobby, against the Obama administration's requirements that employers provide health insurance that includes birth control. Gorsuch's lower court opinions have for the most part been held up by the U.S. Supreme Court. He is considered to be very similar in style to Justice Scalia in most areas of government. SCOTUSBlog has an in-depth profile of Gorsuch's opinions. &amp;amp;nbsp; What happens next? President Trump now will refer Judge Gorsuch to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee will spend time running background checks, gathering information and reviewing the record of the candidate. The committee will hold a full hearing for the nominee, which can include witnesses for or against the nomination and an interview with the nominee himself. The Senate Judiciary Committee then votes on whether to send the nominee to the full Senate. The committee can submit the nomination with a favorable recommendation, an unfavorable recommendation, or no recommendation at all. Next the full Senate will debate and then vote on the nomination. The final vote only requires 51 votes to pass. At any time the process can be blocked. There are procedures available thate those opposing the nomination can use to block the nomination. One way is to filibuster the vote in the full Senate, which would require 60 votes to stop. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York, has already said he will fight for requiring Republicans to get those 60 votes to move forward. SCOTUS justice must stand up to a Pres willing to bend the Constitution. Serious doubts on Judge Gorsuchs ability to meet this standard. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 1, 2017 Information from the Associated Press and SCOTUSBlog contributed to this report. Live Blog President Trump's SCOTUS nominee: LIVE reaction GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. The United States is not building any weapons depot anywhere in the Philippines, the U.S. ambassador said yesterday, denying the basis on which President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to abrogate a 2014 defense pact that allows U.S. forces to temporarily base in local camps. Ambassador Sung Kim said that nothing is being planned now that even closely resembles a weapons depot. I think perhaps some misinformation was given to the president and that is why he made the statement expressing concerns about a possible weapons depot, Kim told a forum of business leaders. The fact is, we are not building a weapons depot anywhere in the Philippines. Projects being pursued under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement have to do with disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, he added. Kim also pointed out that the agreement provides for us to build facilities and structures in 5 Filipino bases and it is hard to imagine that we would be able to do anything on Filipino bases that are not acceptable to the Filipino people, Filipino leadership. Duterte on Sunday identified three areas where U.S. forces were supposedly bringing in armaments, including the western province of Palawan, which faces the disputed South China Sea. He said he would not allow the Americans to store weapons in local camps under the two countries defense pact because the Philippines may get entangled if fighting erupts between China and the U.S. Im serving notice to the armed forces of the United States, do not do it, I will not allow it, Duterte said in the televised news conference after meeting top military and police officials. He said if the U.S. builds a depot I will consider a review and maybe ultimately abrogate the pact all together. Duterte has moved to rebuild once-frosty relations with China and has vowed to make Philippine foreign policy less dependent on the U.S. He has repeatedly threatened to scale back military exercises with American troops and stop agreements that allow U.S. forces to visit. AP A chimpanzee sent into space in a rocket by the United States has been recovered alive and well about 420 miles (676 km) from the launching site in Cape Canaveral. The test was one of many planned to ensure that a human being could survive space flight, think clearly and perform useful functions outside the Earths atmosphere. The chimp, named Ham, was trained to pull levers in response to flashing lights during flight. He carried out several such operations successfully as he travelled at 5,000 mph (8,000 km/h) at a height of 155 miles (250 km) above the Earth. Ham, named after the Holloman Aerospace Medical Centre, and originally from Cameroon in Africa, was chosen from six astrochimps four female and two male who underwent intensive training in New Mexico and Cape Canaveral in Florida. Chimpanzees were chosen in preference to dogs which the Russians have sent into space on several occasions because they are more similar to humans. At 1655 GMT, the Mercury capsule with Ham on board blasted off. Almost immediately there was a hitch: the flight path was a degree higher than it should have been, and rising. As computers reported a drop in the oxygen supply, the mission was aborted. However, partly because of the high flight angle, it had already reached 157 miles (253 km) above the Earth, higher than the planned target of 115 miles (185 km). Ham was safe in his spacesuit throughout, and suffered no ill effects from his venture into space. In all, he travelled 155 miles (250 km) in 16.5 minutes. For a little over six and a half minutes of the flight he experienced weightlessness, and his response times were reported to be as good in space as they were on Earth. There was more trouble when he landed. Because of his steeper-than-expected climb, the capsule overshot its landing site in the Atlantic off Florida by some way. Ham had an uncomfortable three-hour wait before he was found. Then when rescue helicopters finally arrived, they found the capsule on its side and sinking. It had landed with such force that the heat shield had punched two holes in the capsule. Ham, however, took it all in his stride and when the spacecraft was opened accepted an apple and half an orange in reward. Courtesy BBC News In context Just two and a half months later, the Soviet Union became the first nation to put a man into space when Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth for nearly two hours on 12 April 1961. Shortly afterwards, Alan Shepard became the first American in space with a sub-orbital flight lasting 15 minutes. To correct some of the defects exposed during Hams space flight, a second Mercury space mission manned by a chimpanzee was sent up later in 1961. Enos the chimpanzee travelled twice round the Earth and returned safely. John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit Earth on 20 February 1962. Three more one-man Mercury orbital flights went into space, the last being a 22-orbit mission in May 1963. Ham the chimpanzee went to the National Zoo in Washington DC after his brief career as an astronaut, where he lived for 17 years. In 1981 he was moved to a chimpanzee colony in North Carolina where he died in 1983 at the age of 25. He is buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in New Mexico. Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim nation, says President Donald Trumps ban on citizens of seven Muslim countries from entering the U.S. could hurt the global fight against terrorism. Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said that the policy is the sovereign right of the U.S. but Indonesia, which is not one of the directly affected countries, deeply regrets it and believes it will have a negative impact on global efforts to fight terrorism and the handling of refugees. It is wrong to associate radicalism and terrorism with a particular religion, Nasir said in a statement. Efforts to combat terrorism must be carried out by promoting international cooperation, including in addressing the root causes of terrorism. Trump signed an executive order placing a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. Syrians are indefinitely blocked from entry. Some governments including U.S. allies have criticized the policy, which caused chaos at U.S. airports on the weekend as travelers were detained and sparked protests. The Indonesian government has advised its citizens in the United States to be familiar with their rights and respect local laws. It said its missions are monitoring any developments that could affect Indonesians in the U.S. AP Malaysian authorities expanded the search for four Chinese tourists and a crew member still missing at sea days after their boat sank off Borneo island. Police detained the boats owner and the surviving captain and crew member to assist the investigation. Three Chinese died but 22 people were rescued, most of them after huddling together in the rough waters, wearing life vests and forming human chains, finally being saved by fishermen after more than 10 hours adrift. Malaysias Maritime Enforcement Agency said in a statement that the search area has been expanded by about four times to 1,500 square nautical miles of the South China Sea off Sabah state. It said Brunei has also deployed a plane to search in its waters. Government minister Shahidan Kassim was reported by the national Bernama news agency as saying that the 20 Chinese tourists rescued were weak, shivering and sunburnt but had sustained no serious injuries. The survivors were brought ashore late Sunday and hospitalized. Shahidan said rescuers were running out of time as one of the survivors had told authorities that one of the missing had died. Their catamaran left Sabahs capital, Kota Kinabalu, Saturday morning to Pulau Mengalum, an island 60 kilometers west, and was reported missing about 12 hours later. Sabah police chief Ramli Din tweeted late Monday that 27 Chinese tourists were on the vessel, rather than 28 as disclosed earlier. It had three crew members. The captain and one crew member were rescued by another tourist boat Sunday afternoon, and fishermen found the 20 other survivors along with the three dead, two men and a woman, a few hours later. Authorities said the survivors had been adrift for 10 hours but didnt say when the boat sank or give other details. The police chief said the boat owner has been detained, along with the captain and surviving crew member, to assist the investigation. He didnt elaborate. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang in a statement Sunday expressed profound condolences to the affected families. Geng called on Malaysia to continue to make all-out efforts in its search and rescue work, as well as to carry out an impartial and objective investigation into the accident. Malaysias Sabah and Sarawak states share Borneo island with Brunei and Indonesias Kalimantan province. Many Chinese travel abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday, which began Saturday. AP A case of an incorrect dosage of medicine being prescribed to a child in the public hospital (CHCSJ) has been acknowledged by the hospitals administration. The hospital has started an internal inquiry in order to discover how the incident came about, according to a CHCSJ press statement. In the same statement, the hospital explained that the incident occurred on January 26 around 7.30 p.m., when a 6-year-old boy went to the pediatric emergency room and received a prescription for a dosage of medication that was later found to be a mistake. The hospital administration also noted that after the report from the mother on social media, the medicine has been returned to the hospital and exchanged for the proper dosage. The case has been reported by CHCSJ as a near- accident. An internal inquiry has been initiated in order to address prescription procedures, as well as safety, prevention and control measures. The statement noted that the hospitals drug safety team will strengthen the enforcement of the electronic drug prescription system, which includes an alert system for situations where there might be an exaggerated medication prescription and a system to help identify mistaken prescriptions. RM President Donald Trumps order barring U.S. entry to people from seven majority Muslim nations is divisive, discriminatory and wrong, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said. But he rebuffed calls for the government to cancel Trumps planned state visit to the U.K. because of the temporary ban. Johnson said he had told American officials that its wrong to promulgate policies that stigmatize people on the basis of their nationality. He told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the Trump administration had assured him that all British passport holders remain welcome to travel to the U.S., even if they are also citizens of one of the seven countries. Confusion has reigned about whether dual nationals are affected by the 90-day ban on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya. Britains three biggest opposition parties have all called on the government to revoke Trumps state visit, planned for later this year, and an online petition opposing the trip has more than 1.3 million signatures. Any petition with more than 100,000 signatures must be considered for a debate in Parliament, though not a binding vote. State visits involve lavish pomp and ceremony, generally with a stay at Buckingham Palace as the guest of Queen Elizabeth II. Johnson echoed Prime Minister Theresa Mays Downing St. office in saying that the visit should go ahead. He is the elected head of state of our closest and most important ally and there is absolutely no reason why he should not be accorded a state visit, and every reason why he should, Johnson said. Labour lawmaker Yvette Cooper was one of several legislators to accuse the government of a weak response. Noting that Trumps order had been signed on Holocaust Memorial Day, she told Johnson: For the sake of history, for heavens sake have the guts to speak out. Furor over the travel ban has tarnished what British officials had considered a highly successful trip to Washington by May, who met Trump at the White House over the weekend the first foreign leader to visit the president since his inauguration. Criticism of Mays wooing of Trump erupted when only hours after the prime minister had left the White House the president signed an executive order imposing a 90-day entry ban for citizens of the seven countries. The order also bars all refugees entering the country for 120 days. Trumps travel ban sparked protests at airports across the U.S., and drew condemnation and concern from around the world. The website of the U.S. Embassy in London on Monday advised nationals of the seven countries including dual nationals not to book visa appointments, saying their applications would not be processed. The advice was removed from the site before Johnsons statement to Parliament. Jacob Parakilas, assistant head of the U.S. and the Americas program at the Chatham House think tank, said details of the ban were still unclear. He said there was a great deal of diplomatic work to be done to soothe tensions with a lot of countries that are allied with the United States. The British exemption didnt end the storm of opposition, with prominent members of Mays Conservative Party joining in calls for Trumps visit to be scrapped. Sayeeda Warsi, a former government minister and Conservative member of the House of Lords, said that it was sending out a wrong signal to invite Trump, a leaders whose values are not the same as British values. But former Conservative Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said Britain had welcomed other leaders on state visits despite human rights concerns, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. He told the BBC that, whatever we think of him, (Trump) is well-disposed to the United Kingdom, and it would be pretty silly, from everybodys point of view, simply to throw away that opportunity to develop that relationship. Jill Lawless, London, AP U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo and U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador were quick Tuesday evening to praise President Donald Trumps pick of Judge Neil Gorsuch to be the next U.S. Supreme Court justice, while U.S. Sen. Jim Risch was at the White House for the announcement. Judge Gorsuch has a strong background of legal experience and knowledge, Crapo, who is on the Senate Judiciary Committee which will hold his confirmation hearing, said in an email minutes after Trump announced his pick. I congratulate him on this high honor. I take seriously my constitutional responsibility to thoroughly review this nomination. As that review is conducted, I have long said that our next justice must look first and foremost to the Constitution for guidance in all legal matters. I look forward to meeting with Judge Gorsuch during the confirmation process and learning more about his judicial philosophy. I am pleased with President Trumps nomination of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, Labrador said. I hope that Judge Gorsuch will uphold conservative principles and honor the Constitution, continuing in the legacy of Justice Scalia. I am gratified that the President kept his promise to choose from the list he provided before the election and congratulate him on a stellar pick. I was honored to be invited to the White House to attend the Presidents introduction and nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, Risch said. It was certainly an historic moment and I was happy to be there in person. Gorsuchs impressive track record of defending our U.S. Constitution has rightfully earned him the reputation as an originalist. I am confident he is the right nominee and will follow closely in the footsteps of his predecessor, the late Antonin Scalia. U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson did not immediately release a statement Tuesday evening. All four of Idahos delegation are Republicans. Gorsuch, if appointed, would fill the vacancy created in February 2016 when former Justice Scalia, a conservative with whose views Gorsuch seems to be aligned, died. Former President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to the seat but the Republicans who control the Senate refused to hold a hearing on him, saying they wanted to wait until after the election. With many Democrats angry at Trump in general and angry about this issue in particular due to the way the Republicans refused to hold a hearing for Garland, there has been talk that they may try to filibuster Trumps appointment, and also talk that the Republicans could seek to get around this by changing Senate rules. : , , , , - 28 . TWIN FALLS What makes the Magic Valley so successful? Thats what other places in Idaho want to know, said Megan Ronk, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce. Whats in the Magic Valleys secret sauce? Ronk was the keynote speaker at the Times-News inaugural Making it in the Magic Valley luncheon, where 14 businesses were honored for making a difference in their communities. These are the true heroes of Idahos economy, she said. Ronk is the cheerleader for the state of Idaho, Idaho Power Co. CEO Darrel Anderson said as he introduced her to the room. Idaho Power partnered with the Times-News to honor the businesses. The banquet and award ceremony was sponsored by the College of Southern Idaho, Fishers Technology and First Federal Bank. The chosen businesses were nominated by city officials; new businesses and old, large and small, were recognized for their contributions. Barclay Mechanical supports 4-H in Burley, the YMCA in Rupert, and Boy Scouts in Declo and Burley. First Ascent Fish Farm supports the Boys and Girls Club of Magic Valley and Valley House. Fabri-Kals primary charity is the United Way. Moss Greenhouses and Glanbia Foods have raised thousands of dollars for local charities. Ag and food drive the Magic Valleys economy and the Magic Valley leads the state in economic growth, Ronk said. And Idaho ranks high in the nation in manufacturing productivity. We have a workforce that still makes things and few places make it any better than in the Magic Valley. RUPERT The Minidoka County Coroner has identified the remains of a body found in a Rupert house fire as the owner of the home, Dale Mounce, 46. The Rupert Police Department ruled the manner of death a suicide. Minidoka County Coroner Lucky Bourn said in a press release that identification was made from dental records that were supplied by the family to the coroners office. Bourn said following an autopsy the cause of death was concluded to be thermal injuries due to the fire. The body was found Jan. 25 in the burned rubble at 314 First St. According to a press release issued by the Rupert Police Department, police had received information that Mounce was preparing for a confrontation with police prior to the fire. Officers had not made contact with Mounce when the incident occurred, the release said. Last week, McEwen said that police officers and firefighters were at the home when the fire started. Rupert Police Chief James Wardle was speaking with a female in front of the home when it caught fire, the release said. The female had come from American Falls to talk with Mounce about not showing up for court. HEYBURN The owner of a bail bonds company was arrested and charged with felony attempting to flee an officer and misdemeanor driving under the influence after she led police on a chase. Sonia Duffin, 29, was arrested about 10:15 p.m., Saturday after a Heyburn police officer spotted her driving a Black SUV with Sonias Bail Bonds written on the back traveling over the speed limit on U.S. 30 near Centennial Drive. Police radar recorded her speed at 57 mph in a 45 mph zone. The officer tried to stop Duffins SUV, but she sped up, reaching speeds of 93 mph in a 35 mph zone and crossing the yellow line several times, police said. When Duffin slowed and turned onto Idaho 81, the officer reported hearing heard grinding noises coming from the SUV and it slowed to a stop, police said. Duffin got out of the SUV and was arrested. She told the officer that she did not stop because she did not see him, police said. Police reported smelling alcohol on Duffin; she told officers she hadnt been drinking, but ate oysters at the Drift Inn. Later, police said, she admitted to also drinking alcohol. Police took Duffin to jail where she failed field sobriety test. Police said Duffin appeared to attempt to cheat a blood alcohol breathalyzer test. The officer said he could tell that she was giving quick short breaths and would then suck on the tube, which did not provide sufficient breath samples. He got two samples with readings of .162 and .160, about twice the legal limit to drive in Idaho. A preliminary hearing is set in the case at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday in Minidoka County Magistrate Court. BURLEY After arriving more than an hour late for her sentencing hearing Tuesday, a Murtaugh woman was given a suspended sentence on a charge of fraudulently obtaining welfare benefits and she was placed in the states retained jurisdiction program. Olivia Mercado Munoz, 38, was the second out of three sisters convicted in a welfare scheme, and the second sister to be placed in the state program. Cassia County District Judge Michael Crabtree sentenced Munoz to two to 10 years in prison and suspended the sentence. She was also ordered to pay $28,612.44 in restitution to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Under a plea agreement, the Cassia County Prosecutors Office dismissed three other charges. Munozs aunt Donna Munoz took the witness stand to describe Munozs abusive childhood home, where she worked in the fields and was molested by her step-father. Munoz left home by the age of 16 and is a hard worker, she said. She encountered financial hardships and has been homeless, Munoz said. I dont think she abused the system for a long time, she said. Im really sorry, and I wish Id known what I was doing was wrong, Olivia Mercado Munoz, told the judge. Crabtree said the fraud was for a significant amount of money, but Munoz did not have previous felony convictions and it would cost a substantial amount of taxpayer money to keep her in prison. And there would be no chance of getting the states money back, Crabtree said. Crabtree said the retained jurisdiction program will allow Munoz to receive counseling and treatment. Cassia County Deputy Prosecutor McCord Larsen said there has been more public outcry regarding these three welfare fraud cases than the prosecutors office receives on many homicide cases. All three of these sisters knew exactly what they were doing, Larsen said. Larsen said each time they reapplied for benefits they filled out paperwork and signed their name stating that their statements were true. Larsen said in essence that she stole the money not only from the taxpayers but took it from other people who qualified for the assistance. Larsen said Munoz was also on the run when she was arrested in Washington. Munozs public defender Tim Schneider said he did not want to do anything to make light of the offense. Clearly, there were significant benefits paid to Ms. Munoz and her sisters that were not owed to them, Schneider said. The retained jurisdiction program, he said, would allow her to come out with a financial plan to provide for herself and her son. Munozs sister, Teresa Martinez, 36, also made an appearance in court Tuesday after completion of the retained jurisdiction program. She received a probation recommendation from the Idaho Department of Correction, and her sentence was suspended and she was placed on probation by Crabtree, Tara Gunderson, Crabtrees clerk said. Martinez was ordered at her sentencing hearing to pay $54,659 in restitution to Health and Welfare. Three other charges against her were dismissed. Munozs other sister, Conception Mercado Lopez, 34, was sentenced to serve a prison term of one to 10 years and ordered to pay $92,499 in restitution to Health and Welfare. BURLEY A Burley woman accused of breaking her 5-month-old babys leg and wrist has taken a plea deal. Taylor Rae Bruce, 20, entered an Alford plea on a charge of felony injury to a child. Using an Alford plea means a person doesnt admit to all the elements of a charge but admits prosecutors may have enough evidence to prove them guilty. Bruce was charged in January 2016 along with Juan Antonio Rebollozo. Charges against Rebollozo were dismissed in October. A sentencing hearing in Bruces case is set at 10 a.m. March 28 in Cassia County District Court. Under the plea agreement, a felony charge of aggravated battery will be dismissed along with new charges against Bruce of possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia. The state will recommend that Bruce be placed in the states retained jurisdiction program also known as a rider. After the rider, a judge would decide if shell go on probation, or to two to seven years in prison. Under the agreement, Bruce is free to argue for a lesser sentence and she agrees to pay reasonable restitution costs in both cases. She also waives the right to appeal the sentence, judgement or motions or withdraw her guilty plea. If I plead guilty to injury to a child they would drop the aggravated battery and the new drug charges, Bruce wrote in the plea agreement. The baby was taken to the hospital on Jan. 14, 2016 after Bruce told hospital staff she dropped him on the kitchen floor. The baby was later taken to a Salt Lake City hospital where hospital officials requested a meeting with detectives to discuss the childs injuries. To a reasonable degree of medical certainty the injuries/findings described cannot plausibly be explained by accidental injury, pre-existing medical illness or reasonable discipline or benign-events, Dr. Antoinette Laskey, medical director for the Center for Safe and Healthy Families wrote about the babys injuries. The injuries, she said, should be considered consistent with inflicted trauma or child abuse. Bruce said she and the baby were asleep at Rebollozos home when the baby began fussing and crying. She got out of bed and attempted to find the baby a bottle, and when she could not find one, she tried to give him his pacifier but it slipped from her hand. When she reached for it, she said, the baby shifted and she dropped him. BOISE For a second year, United Dairymen of Idaho is partnering with Girl Scouts of Silver Sage to provide money for milk to the Idaho Foodbank. For every box of Girl Scout cookies donated through the Cookies from the Heart program in-person or online, United Dairymen of Idaho will donate $1 to the food bank to buy milk. Girl Scouts are taking orders for cookies and will be selling at local retailers including many Albertsons locations from Feb. 26-March 13. Customers also can buy moo bucks at Albertsons stores, helping the Idaho Foodbank provide milk and other dairy foods for families in need. Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Council has more than 4,000 members in southern Idaho, parts of northern Nevada and eastern Oregon. The council and 2,300 local volunteers deliver leadership programs to help girls build courage, confidence and character. TWIN FALLS Magic Valley school leaders have mixed opinions about President Donald Trumps pick for U.S. education secretary. Betsy DeVos married to Dick DeVos, heir to the Amway marketing fortune has spent more than two decades advocating for charter schools in her home state of Michigan, as well as promoting conservative religious values. After a heated debate Tuesday, senators on the Health, Education, Pensions and Labor Committee voted 12-11 along partisan lines to support DeVos nomination, sending it to the full Senate for action. DeVos has been one of the more controversial cabinet picks in Trumps administration. Four local school leaders told the Times-News theyre in favor of school choice, but some worry about DeVos qualifications. Im sure her lack of political experience will hinder her in some regard, said Wiley Dobbs, superintendent of the Twin Falls School District. I can only imagine what a meat grinder that position is. What impact will the job position have on Magic Valley schools? I dont know it will make that big of a difference to us here in our neck of the woods, he said. But Greg Lowe, superintendent of the Wendell School District, said the pick for U.S. education secretary is very important even in regards to our local districts here in Idaho. School districts receive federal money for services like Title 1 (providing extra academic help for students who live in poverty), special education and the national school lunch program. In the Twin Falls School District, 11 percent of the budget is from the federal government, Dobbs said, and there are significant strings attached. Here in Twin Falls, weve always kind of viewed the federal money as the tail wagging the dog. Lowe said he wants the next education secretary of have an understanding of how public schools work. He also pointed to the impact of previous federal education decisions. For example, the unpopular No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 championed by President George W. Bush was a pass-fail system based on standardized test scores and required 100 percent of students to reach proficiency. Rob Waite, superintendent of the Shoshone School District, said he tries to look for the positive. But we will have to deal with whatever comes out of the secretary of education, whether we like it or not. He said he likes what hes heard about a push to minimize some federal education regulations and paperwork, and to put control back into the hands of local communities. I would certainly would be in favor of that. Voicing opinions Last week, Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, was the only Idahoan among 140 Republic leaders across the country to sign a letter supporting DeVos, Idaho Education News reported. In a statement Tuesday, Idaho public schools chief Sherri Ybarra wrote: Given that Betsy DeVos has not been confirmed, it is too early to speculate; however, I am hopeful that she will surround herself with educators, and we can get back to the ground up approach and increased flexibility for states. This would allow state and local leaders the ability to make decisions which most positively impact student learning. School choice School choice would be front and center for (DeVos), Dobbs said. The Magic Valley already has school choice, Dobbs said, with a handful of charter schools. I believe strongly in parents choice. We dont fear the competition. We invite it. Deby Infanger, founder of North Valley Academy charter school in Gooding, said it sounds like DeVos is a supporter of good schooling, regardless of where it happens, and has put her own money and time into that mission. Whether everyone would agree with DeVos actions remains to be seen, Infanger said. Im willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Student achievement Earlier this month, DeVos made headlines when she struggled to explain the difference between student academic growth and proficiency. Lowe said he watched a video of the hearing and believes its important for the next U.S. education secretary to understand the difference. But Infanger said theres a lot of education jargon and not unlike new Idaho public school chiefs, theres a big learning curve. I dont think we can expect them to know everything. She said shes looking more for an attitude about what kinds of rights parents have to educate their children. Theyll get up to speed on the rest of it. TWIN FALLS The Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorneys Office announced Tuesday its accepting applications for a scholarship contest. Its open to Twin Falls County graduating high school seniors. The application includes an essay on this topic: What can be done to reduce the use and sale of illegal drugs in Twin Falls County? I am very excited to be able to help further the education of a deserving Twin Falls County student, and, at the same time, give them a forum to educate their fellow students and the community about the dangers of illegal drugs, Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs wrote in a statement. The winner will receive a full tuition scholarship to the College of Southern Idaho for the 2017-18 school year. Second and third-place winners will receive a one semester tuition scholarship to CSI. A decision will be made based on an oral presentation, and essays and applications of the finalists. Applications are available at any Twin Falls County high school and Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorneys Office. The deadline for applications is March 1. For more information, call 208-736-4020. BOISE The Wellness Tree in Twin Falls and nine other free medical clinics in the state could soon be exempt from paying sales tax if a bill introduced Tuesday passes. My assumption was a free clinic wouldnt even pay sales tax, but thats not the case, they do, bill sponsor Rep. Clark Kauffman, R-Filer, told the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. There are 10 such clinics in the state, Kauffman said. The Wellness Tree Community Clinic is the only one in the Magic Valley; five are in the Boise area, three in northern Idaho and one in Pocatello. The tax exemption would cost the state about $10,700 a year. The Wellness Tree is funded by donations and grants, staffed by volunteers and provides medical, dental and chiropractic services to poor people who dont have insurance. Kauffman said he got the idea for the bill after talking to the clinics Executive Director Arne Walker. Many health-related entities are exempt from sales tax already; Kauffmans bill would add free clinics to the list. These free medical clinics bring a huge return on investment to the counties and the state, and people being treated without cost instead of going to the emergency room or other high cost to the state, Kauffman said. The committee voted unanimously to introduce the bill. A full hearing can now be set for a later date. BOISE A bill to cut Idahos income taxes by $51 million a year passed committee Tuesday and heads to the full House. Sponsored by Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, it would reduce the states top individual and corporate income tax rate, which applies to income over $7,500, from 7.4 percent to 7.2 percent, and also exempt the first $750 of taxable income from any income tax. Moyle told the House Revenue and Taxation Committee that while his bill may not be perfect, it is a good start and sends the right signal to businesses looking to locate in Idaho. Some will say its not enough, some will say its too much, therell be a lot of different excuses, Moyle said. Some will say its only for the rich. Some will say its only for the poor. The bill passed committee on a party-line vote, with all the Republicans in favor and the two Democrats, Reps. Mat Erpelding and John Gannon of Boise, opposed. But Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, made it clear he thinks Idaho should be cutting taxes far deeper than this bill does. To borrow a phrase from my 15-year-old daughter, this tax bill is weak sauce compared to what we can be doing, Nate said. Moyle replied he would like to see more tax cuts, and is planning to introduce a bill to cut capital gains taxes. Moyle has sponsored legislation to stop taxing groceries in the past, but he told Nate some senators have made it clear they have no intention of going there. There is also another bill pending in House Rev and Tax, sponsored by Rep. Janet Trujillo, R-Idaho Falls, to raise the exemption for the personal property tax businesses pay on their equipment from $100,000 to $250,000, costing the state an estimated $8 million a year. Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, one of two Magic Valley lawmakers on the committee (the other is Filer Republican Clark Kauffman), agreed that the bill isnt perfect but is a step in the right direction. When the economy is doing as relatively well as it in Idaho, he said, its time the government should cut taxes. Overall, other states look at us with envy, Hartgen said. Weve got a growing economy. Worker participation is rising. Pay is rising, partly due to demand. Anyone who wants a job in the Magic Valley can find one. According to an analysis by the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, whose studies are usually critical of tax-cut proposals, most of the benefits of the individual income tax cut would go to the rich and 81 percent of the corporate income tax cut would go to companies outside of Idaho. Also, 31 percent of Idahoans either dont file state income taxes or already get back the maximum credit and thus would see no benefits. Rather than fulfilling our constitutional mandate to fully fund our schools and our infrastructure, Rep. Moyles bill will give the top 1 percent a tax cut of $1,562 a nice vacation, the House Democrats said in a statement after the vote. Middle-class families will see almost no relief but will be guaranteed an additional tax increase at the local level to fund their schools. The state Tax Commissions analyses generally finds Idaho to be one of the lowest-taxed states in the country in terms of overall tax burden. Its most recent report, released in December and using 2014 numbers, found the states tax burden to be 48 out of 51 in terms of taxes paid per person and 41st when adjusted for income, for both 11th out of the 11 Western states. Since Idahos per-capita income is lower than average, factoring this in results in a higher tax burden proportionally. House Democrats said the money would be better spent on schools and roads and accused the Republicans of raising taxes on many families over the past five years by forcing higher increases in local property taxes. While the Idaho Democratic Caucus continues to pursue legislation that will help improve the quality of life of all Idahoans, the Democrats said, the majority party chases an agenda that benefits the powerful. BOISE Rep. Heather Scott has been restored her committee assignments. Scott, R-Blanchard, who is one of the most conservative members of the House and has clashed with leadership before, had been on three committees but was stripped of her committee assignments by House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, at the beginning of the session as punishment for saying, during the organizational session on Dec. 1, that women advance to leadership roles by providing sexual favors. Her removal from her committees led to outrage on the far right, and five lawmakers asked to be removed from their committees as well in solidarity. Scott accused House leadership of removing her as an attempt to silence her from expressing her views. She is on the Commerce and Human Resources, State Affairs, and Environment, Energy and Technology committees. The clerk read her appointments without comment on the House floor today, which is the same way she was removed. Scott said Tuesday that she had agreed to one final apology to a specific group within the House at the request of leadership and expected to be restored to her committee appointments as a result. Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane, R-Nampa, said Scott had already apologized to the caucus as a whole and leadership had asked her to talk privately to six women in the House, which she did. Crane said he views the issue as taken care of. We outlined some things we wanted Rep. Scott to address, he said. Those issues were addressed as of Monday afternoon. Scott said in her newsletter Wednesday afternoon she believes her punishment may have been used as a political distraction from bigger political issues and said Bedke hasnt told her why she was removed from her committees and allowed the situation to escalate for unknown reasons. Considering the fact that punitive actions to this extent have never been taken against a legislator in the State of Idaho, I believe this situation has highlighted the overreaching authority of the Speaker of the House, she said. The unprofessional manner in which this entire situation was handled reveals that there is room for improvement in communication, mutual respect and leadership inside the Idaho House of Representatives. Donald Claire Anderson March 14, 1928 - January 28, 2017 TWIN FALLS - Donald Claire Anderson passed away 28 January 2017 at Valley Vista Care Center surrounded by his family. He was the second child born to Jens Madsen and Leona Andrea Damgaard Anderson on March 14, 1928 in Upland, Nebraska. Don joined his older sister Arlene Doneta and the family was complete with the addition of two younger brothers, Wayne Lemoyne and Chester Eric Anderson. He had vivid memories of the dust storms in Nebraska and remembered well the family's move to Twin Falls, Idaho in 1941. As a teenager, one of his jobs was delivering telegrams for Western Union. He remembered riding his bike and delivering telegrams to the families of soldiers who had been wounded, missing in action, or killed in WWII. He attended Twin Falls High School. Don joined the U.S. Navy in August 1945 and was honorably discharged in March 1949. Upon his return, he worked at various places before starting his long-time job at McVey's International Harvester. He began in the mechanic's shop and eventually moved to the parts department. Don enjoyed working for Merton McVey, and his wife Emma. When McVey's sold the truck line to Tom Kalange Don was asked to be the Parts Manager for Magic Valley International. Working in parts was his career until he retired at the age of 80. He knew just about everything there was to know about trucks. He knew the name of the part, where to find it, and how you broke it! Don loved working parts and visiting with the customers. Shortly after returning from the Navy Don met the love of his life, Marian Lois Hall. Don and Marian were married on December 17, 1949, on his parents 25th Wedding Anniversary. They are the parents of 4 children: Janice, Jack, Scott and Nancy. Don joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1961. The family was sealed for time and all eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple in June of 1962. He was a devoted church member for the rest of his life. Don served in the Scouting program for over 50 years, teaching young men about life. He was a devoted Boy Scout leader and fully understood the good that came into the lives of boys through the Scout program. He recognized the importance of serving and helped the young men appreciate the value of the Scout slogan: Do a good turn daily. He was awarded the Silver Beaver award in 1970 and in March 2016 received the Sentinel Award from the Snake River Council for his years of service and for the impact he had in many young men's lives. As much as Don loved working at the parts counter and with the Boy Scouts, he loved his wife and family most. Nothing brought him greater joy then being with his family. Don was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Three years ago, Don and Marian relocated to Orem, Utah. Due to health problems, Don came to live with his son Scott and daughter-in-law Susan in November 2015. He was preceded in death by his parents, both brothers, daughter-in-law Marilyn and twin great-grandsons Bridger Terry and Weston Donald Heinz. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Marian, daughter Janice (Jan) Heinz, Pocatello, son Jack (D.Ann) Anderson of Oceanside, CA., son Scott (Susan) Anderson of Rupert and daughter Nancy (David) Draper of Orem, Utah, 17 grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Arlene Miller, Lancaster CA., two sisters-in-law, Margrett Anderson, Twin Falls, Cordella Anderson, Meridian, and many nieces and nephews. Friends may call on Thursday, February 2, 2017 from 5 7 P.M. at Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home, 2551 Kimberly Rd in Twin Falls. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Friday, February 3, 2017 at 10:00 A. M. Military Rites will be provided by the Pocatello Veterans Honor Guard and internment will be at Sunset Memorial Cemetery. Don's family is so grateful for the tender care given by Minidoka Home Health & Hospice and Valley Vista Care Centerboth the staff and residents. Words cannot express our gratitude for all you did for him. Those who wish may share memories and condolences on his memorial page at www.magicvalleyfuneralhome.com Erma Lesta Wall March 1, 1914 - January 29, 2017 JEROME - Erma Lesta Wall passed away peacefully at 102 years of age on January 29, 2017 at St Luke's Hospital, Jerome, Idaho after a short illness. Erma was born March 1, 1914 in Penrose, Colorado. She was the fourth daughter of William Bernard Arnold and Effie Mae Coffman Arnold. When Erma was three years old they all moved to Idaho. She met a very handsome young man at a church service, who mischievously sneaked up behind her and untied the sash on her dress. Eventually Erma and that handsome man, Ollis K. Wall, tied the knot on the steps of the Jerome County Courthouse on July 22, 1933. Together they had four children, Betty L. Blake (Gerald), Orville K. Wall (Rose Marie), Norm J. Wall (Lowayne), Shirlene M. Miller (Gary), 37 grandchildren, 32 great grandchildren and 2 great, great grandchildren. At the age of three she began playing the piano by ear, and by the time she was seven years old she was playing for dances with other members of her family. Many of you have heard the songs she played even a few months before her death, such as Turkey In The Straw and Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey. Years later she learned to play a piece for the Grange and it became widely known in the Magic Valley as Sadie Belle playing, Pistol Packin' Mama in several different rhythms: waltz, jitterbug, a march, a wedding, a funeral and Classical. Erma was also very happy to be the Rodeo Queen of the 100 year anniversary Twin Falls Rodeo in 2016. A very talented lady, Erma was adept at painting pictures, creating floral arrangements and sewing. She made her children dresses and shirts from flour sack material when they were young. At the age of sixteen Erma gave her heart to the Lord under the ministry of Reverend Kathryn Kulman. She loved the Lord and his Word and was an amazing teacher and prayer warrior. She joined her daughter's family as missionaries to Thailand at age 65, ministering to Cambodian Refugees and a school for Missionary and Ambassador children. She was often the highlight of an afternoon of fun, pulling out her false teeth and making some of the funniest faces. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ollis Karl Wall; father, William Bernard Arnold; mother, Effie Mae Arnold; and three sisters, Lela Dorthea Whiteker, Edith Marie Sullivan, Bernice Mae Davis; and brother, Marvin Lawrence Arnold. All her friends and family will join in her Life Celebration on Friday, February 3, 2017, 11:00 am at Life Church, 425 E. Nez Perce, Jerome, Idaho with viewing one hour prior to the service. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on Erma's memorial webpage at www.farnsworthmortuary.com. Viva Mary (Peterson) Jones November 20, 1919 - January 27, 2017 TWIN FALLS - Our dear mother, grandmother and loving friend went to her heavenly home on January 27, 2017, surrounded by her loving children. She passed peacefully to join her beloved husband, parents, four sisters and two brothers. Viva was born on November 20, 1919 in Pleasant Grove, Utah to Christian Waldrum and Mary Pearl Ostler Peterson. She was the sixth of seven children. She married Arthur Raymond Jones on October 26, 1938 in Provo, Utah. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple. During their 57 years of marriage they were blessed with four children: daughter, Carolyn (Hyrum) Moon, sons Richard (Darlene), Phillip (Gwen), and Jeffery (Wendy) Jones. Her posterity includes 30 grandchildren and spouses, 93 great grandchildren and spouses, and 27 great-great grandchildren. In her 97 years of mortal life she loved and cared for everyone she met along the way. Whether it was raising her children and grandchildren, working in the primary, or serving in the Relief Society, her life was one of service to all she came in contact with. As a child, she and her family lived in Northern Utah. Most of her married life was spent in Oakley and Kamas, Utah. With the passing of her beloved husband, she moved to Twin Falls, Idaho to live with her son, Phillip, wife, Gwen Jones and family where she spent the last 21 years of her life. There will be a viewing Friday evening February 3rd from 6 to 8 PM at White Mortuary, 136 4th Ave. East, Twin Falls. A memorial service will be held in Twin Falls on Saturday, February 4th in the 9th Ward LDS Church building, 2680 Elizabeth Blvd. at 11 AM with a viewing one hour prior to service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the LDS missionary fund. Interment will be at a later date in Oakley, Utah. TWIN FALLS Connie Stopher plans to take a multi-pronged approach to economic development when she takes the helm at the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization in March. Stopher, 32, of Bandon, Ore., has been named the next executive director of SIEDO following Jeff Houghs resignation in September. Having worked in economic development organizations in Idaho and Oregon, Stopher brings experience she believes will guide her work as businesses face low unemployment in the Magic Valley. Aside from recruiting businesses and a work force, she plans to focus on encouraging entrepreneurs. Those are great ways to create homegrown growth in your community, she said during a phone interview with the Times-News. Im really excited to work with all the folks there. Hough, who succeeded former longtime director Jan Rogers, had directed SIEDO for about six months in 2016 before he resigned, citing personal reasons. Twin Falls builder Brad Wills became the interim director shortly after Houghs resignation. The search for a new director began in late October, with more than 30 applicants responding even from outside the country, Wills said. The whole selection committee was really excited, he said. Shes really bright, has a good background and theyre confident shes going to be able to carry on the success of SIEDO. Stopher joined the South Coast Development Council in Coos Bay, Ore., in 2014 as the executive director. Prior to that, she worked for Bannock Development Corp. in Pocatello. She has a bachelors degree in political science and a masters degree in public administration from Idaho State University. Stopher took control of the South Coast Development Council, a failing organization, and built it up mostly on her own steam, Wills said. Its a hard position to be in because theres really no playbook, he said. Youve gotta be really a self-starter. In Coos Bay, Stopher launched a business retention and expansion program and added hundreds of new jobs. Its probably equally or more important that you take care of the companies that are already in the area, Wills said. To encourage more local startup businesses, Stopher said SIEDO can connect people with resources. The Hispanic community has shown an entrepreneurial spirit in the Magic Valley, but may not be aware of resources, she said. While Stopher enjoyed her successes in Oregon, she and her husband, Patrick, wanted to return to Idaho. We missed Idaho, she said. All of our family live in that general area. And the move will come in time for her to start her own family here: Stopher is expecting her first child in August. I actually applied for the job before I knew I was expecting, she said. Stopher will begin March 15, and Wills said he will continue working with SIEDO until he is no longer needed for the transition. We are excited to add Connie Stopher to SIEDO in support of our many communities, regional and state partners, said Dan Olmstead, SIEDO chair, said in a statement. She brings extensive skills in all areas of economic development having run a successful like organization in Oregon. She offers the ability to develop a vision for the region to move the organization and economic successes in Southern Idaho forward. This appeared in Tuesdays Washington Post: On Sunday, a White House official told reporters that President Donald Trumps order for temporary travel bans on visitors from seven countries and on refugees, as well as an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees,was a massive success story in terms of implementation on every single level. What really happened was a train wreck of decision-making. More worrisome even than the rookie procedural mistakes are the grave potential consequences of an order thats wrong ethically and strategically. Mr. Trumps executive order was not vetted in advance by key Cabinet departments, including Homeland Security, State, Defense and Justice, according to multiple reports. Rather, it appears the order was drafted by a White House coterie. The New York Times reports that Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was on a Coast Guard plane, in the middle of listening to an internal briefing about it, when Trump signed the order. Confusion erupted as thousands of green-card holders who are permanent legal U.S. residents found themselves stranded abroad. At first, the administration said that green-card holders were included in the travel ban; Kelly later said they should be admitted. Those who were hurt were not terrorists but residents of the United States who had already gone through extensive checking. The temporary inconvenience and insult are unfortunate but not the worst of this debacle. Trumps order for a 90-day halt to entry and four-month pause in refugees included Iraq, the United States main ally in the battle that Trump claims to prioritize, against the Islamic State. As Trump insults their nation, Iraqi troops are engaged in a grinding struggle, supported by more than 5,000 U.S. troops, to reclaim Mosul. Where is the wisdom in undermining the credibility and standing of their fragile government in Baghdad, which is so essential to the strategic goal of defeating the Islamic State? If the point of Trumps action was to improve security, why deepen the dangerous power vacuum in Iraq? In the future, the United States may need battlefield allies such as translators, but Trumps order has endangered hundreds of them in Iraq who helped U.S. troops, had been waiting for special visas to the United States and now find themselves in limbo. Who will risk helping Americans if this is the thanks they get? Yet another counterproductive outcome will be to give terrorist groups such as the Islamic State fresh recruiting material for the calumny that the United States is at war with the Muslim world. A self- inflicted wound, said Sens. John McCain, Ariz., and Lindsay Graham, S.C., among the small number of Republicans with the gumption to speak out against Trumps misguided action. It was an inspiration to see the spontaneous outpouring of public support for refugees and immigrants at airports and in cities across the country, including from lawyers who rushed to help those being denied entry. As Trump stained the nations reputation by barring the doors to deserving refugees, those demonstrators showed the world that thousands of Americans remain committed to the values that have made this nation a beacon for so long. Weve all heard the success stories about the regions biggest or newest employers: Glanbia, Chobani, Clif Bar and Fabri-Kal. Theyre part of a larger economic development narrative the governor likes to call the Magic Valley Miracle. But there are scores of other businesses with deep heritage, the smaller companies and lesser-known businesses that have been producing and innovating here in the Magic Valley for generations. On Tuesday, the Times-News in partnership with Idaho Power hosted the Making it in the Magic Valley awards, the first of what we hope to be an annual effort to recognize businesses new and old, large and small, who produce or process goods here at home. Most of the companies also give back to our communities in ways that dont always grab headlines: scholarship programs, volunteer efforts and charitable donations that make our valley such a great place to live. As Idaho Commerce Director Megan Ronk, the ceremonys speaker, pointed out, these are the companies putting Idaho on the map. Nominated by local governments and city leaders, these 14 companies will be featured in a special publication inserted in your Sunday newspaper and available to read online at Magicvalley.com the same day. We promise youll learn something new about every one of these businesses. We certainly did. Did you know Herrett Stocks in Twin Falls is one of the worlds premiere producers of gun stocks and has been for the past 56 years? Or that Moss Greenhouse in Jerome delivers to six different states? Or that the Sprinkler Shop in Paul has the only hot-dip galvanizing facility in Idaho? The publication also features stunning photography that will take you inside these businesses to see Magic Valley workers in action. At a time when good news may seem hard to come by, producing Making it in the Magic Valley was a reminder for us that theres no shortage of great stories to tell and that sharing these stories is just as important as chronicling the crisis of the day. We hope youll agree that these businesses are truly Making it in the Magic Valley. Malnutrition in children remains a major concern in the Philippines, particularly during their first 1,000 days from birth when irreversible health risks occur. To combat the menace and apply nutrition-specific interventions to mothers and their infants in marginalized communities, medical and private health organizations recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the local government of Quezon City. The agreement is for the First 1,000 Days Program, a joint project of the QC government, the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecological Society, the Philippine Pediatric Society, and Kabisig ng Kalahi Inc. The pilot program will run in Quezon City for three years until Sept. 30, 2019, with the intention of improving the program for all the city health units and its constituents. It will run interventions to address the lack of adequate nutrients received by Filipino children during their first 1,000 days of their lives, which also cause gaps in their physical and mental development. ADVERTISEMENT The program will feature micronutrient supplementation, exclusive breastfeeding, immunization, and proper nutrition. Signing the agreement for the First 1,000 Days Program are (seated from left) Dr. Mila Bautista, past president, Philippine Pediatric Society; Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista; Vicky Wieneke, president, Kabisig ng Kalahi Inc.; Dr. Mayumi Bismark, vice president, Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecological Society. Standing from left are QC Councilors Gian Sotto, Alexander Herrera, Godofredo Liban, Elizabeth Delarmente, Eric Medina, Allan Francisco, and Lala Sotto, with Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and Dr. Verdades Pena Linga, QC health officer III. We are glad to participate in this public-private initiative to address maternal and child health concerns of our constituents, particularly since it is among the key priorities of our city government, said Quezon City Councilor Lala Sotto-Antonio, who will file a resolution to back the program. Mayor Herbert Bautista, who signed the MoA, reiterated what he said in his 7th State of the City Address that public health service is a necessity in poverty alleviation. Our objective has been to improve the survival rate of our newborns and reduce maternal mortality. The Batang 1000 program that our City Health Department operationalizes in partnership with various groups seeks to provide the health protection and nutrition needed to ensure the normal development of a child from the time he is born to two years of age, Bautista said. The mayor urged all mothers in Quezon City to register in their barangays to receive comprehensive care packages from their pregnancy to their birthing time, and for their children as well. According to program manager Dr. Maria Christine Joy B. Tanteo, participation and compliance is very crucial to the success of the program. The mothers really have to avail of the interventions that we are offering and to comply with the entire program. That is the key in getting all the health and nutritional benefits for themselves and their child. There are no shortcuts. They have to go through the entire program, Tanteo said. We are hoping with this kind of program, we can increase the awareness of mothers, help them adopt the right attitude towards motherhood, take active participation in their pregnancy, and care for their children, said Dr. Luz Ma. Theresa Garcia, medical director of SafeBirth Lying-In Clinic. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. BRUSSELSFears that US President Donald Trumps policies pose an existential threat to Europe are set to overshadow EU leaders talks on multiple crises at a summit in Malta this week. Curbing migration from Libya and dealing with the aftermath of Britains vote to leave the European Union were meant to be the dominant themes of Fridays summit in Valletta. But at their first meeting since the new US president took office, the national leaders will now also discuss the need for unity amid worries about Trumps commitment to the decades-old transatlantic alliance. In an extraordinary sign of concern, EU President Donald Tusk on Tuesday ranked Trump along with Russia, China, Islamic extremism and domestic populism as the biggest threats to the bloc in its 60-year history. From his controversial ban on migration from seven mainly Muslim countries, to backing a break-up of the EU and dismissing NATO as obsolete, Trump is barely able to open his mouth without ringing alarm bells in Europe. ADVERTISEMENT Worrying declarations by the new American administration make our future highly unpredictable, former Polish premier Tusk wrote in an almost apocalyptic letter to the EU leaders. One EU diplomat told AFP: This is a new way of governing is each tweet a political act, or just the expression of a particular mood? The letter sets out European Council chief Tusks thoughts in relation to a debate on the future of the EU that 27 of the leaders minus British Prime Minister Theresa Maywill have in Malta. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, whose country is one of the EUs founding members, also confirmed that transatlantic relations including Trumps migration ban would be on the agenda. I have spoken to several of my European partners and we share the same position: we do not approve of any order that also concerns Europeans with dual nationality, he said. Yet one question facing the EU leaders will be how strongly they can condemn Trumps migration policies, when they are themselves discussing how to put up their own barriers. The EU slashed migrant numbers coming through Greece through a controversial deal with Turkey, and the Malta summit will discuss how to stop those making the dangerous crossing from north Africa, especially from Libya. The EU leaders are expected to issue a declaration with steps including increasing support for the Libyan coastguard and pushing on with migration deals with other African countries. Summit host Maltas calls for a Turkey-style deal with Libya are however unlikely to bear fruit, since the chaos following the 2011 fall of Moamer Kadhafi makes it hard for the EU to know who to even deal with there. But pressure is growing on the EU to act on what Germany called the catastrophic human rights system for migrants in Libya, amid reports of concentration camp-like conditions in smuggler-run camps. Tusk said in his invitation letter that EU leaders must protect our external border while helping the Libyan authorities provide decent reception facilities on their territory. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Tuesday for the EU to make more efforts to stabilize Libya. We cant just talk, we must also do something, she said. After the migration discussion in Maltas Grandmasters Palace, the leaders will move to a new venue across the bay to have lunch to discuss the international situation, Tusks letter says. Britains May will then leave as the other 27 discuss preparations for a major summit in Italy in March to celebrate the 60th anniversary this year of the Treaty of Rome which founded the EU. The Rome summit will set out a road map for the EU after Britain leaves expected in 2019 but Tusk made it clear that the bloc must unite in the face of a host of problems including Trumps unpredictability. The change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation, Tusk wrote in his letter, urging EU leaders in his letter to take spectacular steps to boost European integration. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. On his first official foreign trip, Secretary of Defense James Mattis is going to the continent that presents the White House with one of its most immediate and one of its most long-term challenges. North Korea is racing to develop a working nuclear-tipped ICBM, while China is growing as a regional hegemon and global rival. Both issues will require close cooperation with the USs longstanding allies in Japan and South Korea, where Mattis will be visiting. President Donald Trumps main response, however, has been to vaguely threaten China and promise to invest additional billions to expand the US military. Neither is an adequate response. No matter how much Trump tweets, China isnt going to press sanctions that might fatally undermine the regime in Pyongyang and result in a unified, US-allied Korea on its doorstep. Nor are Chinese leaders going to cave in to trade threats or negotiate over Taiwan. Meanwhile, itll take years to build all the new submarines and battleships Trump is promising. And in any case, while US allies favor a stout American presence in the region, they have no appetite for military action. The most effective way to strengthen the US position in Asia is by doing exactly what Mattis is doing: cultivating and reassuring allies. Its encouraging that he reportedly doesnt plan to question the contributions that South Korea and Japan make to support US troops in their countries, as Trump has done repeatedly. Collaboration among all three allies is key: Any effort to contain North Korea will be much more effective if they can coordinate their missile-defense networks and present a unified front to Pyongyang. Mattiss trip should be only the first of many. It will be critical for diplomats, Cabinet members and Trump himself to reassure Asian allies and rally them to a coherent policy. The US will need to work harder to encourage greater military cooperation in the region. And Trump can (somewhat) mitigate his ill-considered decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership by pressing bilateral trade deals, in particular with Japan. ADVERTISEMENT Trump claims to have the same priorities abroad as he does at home: to make the US stronger and safer. But he wont succeedespecially not in Asia if America First means, as it once did, America alone. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Remember the Truth Commission of 2010 for graft and corruption cases formed by the previous government (but later declared unconstitutional)? Did you know that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) once made a call for the formation of a similar body to deal with environmental crimes? And the 'numero uno' concern of the good bishop was precisely to deal with the 'Marcopper mining disaster' of Marinduque? That was in July 2010. That move, of course, implied that we, patient Marinduquenos, have been consistently injected or vaccinated with lies and deception all along - throughout the period of two decades as many earlier posts in this blog have clearly shown. So the question that may still be asked is: Will the PLAIN AND SIMPLE TRUTH behind the Marinduque environmental disasters ever be revealed? Answers to the questions could only be ferreted out probably in a point-blank manner that only such a commission, indeed, might be capable of doing. We are not pinning our hopes that such an idea should be proposed again. This is to drive home the point that this Marinduque saga engulfing our lives reached a point when such calls, if only to ferret out the Truth, were implored and prayed for by the CBCP. Apparently, the many Oratio Imperata invoked all those long and difficult years of struggle had the devil, whose hand may indeed be found in the details, still having the last laugh. On the Truth Commission for environmental crimes "Catholic bishops made the call as they lamented that many environmental crimes lack closure and many affected communities continue to suffer. "San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David noted that for one, no mining company has been prosecuted so far when it comes to mining disasters. We are also seeking environmental justice," David said in an article on the website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). "One of the disasters that the prelates hope the government would look into is the "Marcopper mining disaster" in Marinduque, the countrys largest mining disaster so far. "The incident involves the Marcopper Mining Corporation which has been carrying out an open-pit copper mining operation in Mt. Tapian, Marinduque since the 1970s.. "Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the mining industry in the country has been a curse" to many people." = GMA News Incidentally, today's relevant headline is about shutting down some mines. Your turn to ferret out some simple truth! Gina Lopez says some mines need to be shut "We'll be really, really strict. There's some [mining operations] really that have to be closed," she told dzMM. Around 30 mining firms were issued show cause orders to explain why their operations shouldn't be suspended or shut down, she added. "The decisions that we're making are not political. I'm not looking at who owns the mines. What's important is the welfare of those people who live there," Lopez said. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources earlier suspended operations of gold, copper, and nickle ore mines for failing the audit. - ANS-CBN News Heartrending recent photo of residents of Brgy. Binunga (Boac), crossing the acid mine contaminated river just to receive Typhoon Nina relief goods. River impassable to vehicles. Screenshot from John Pelaez video Gina Lopez to bare fate of 30 mining firms Environment Secretary Gina Lopez will announce on Thursday her final decision whether to close down 30 mining operations that failed their initial audit a few months ago. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reviewed the audit results made known on Sept. 27, which ordered suspended 10 mining operations and recommended for suspension the operations of 20 others. The audit team reportedly found that the mining operations violated the terms and conditions of their environmental compliance certificate (ECC), the DENR rules on mine safety and health standards, and implementing rules of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. DENR said out of the 41 operating metallic mines in the country, only 11 complied with environmental standards. DENR gave the erring mining companies the opportunity to explain why their operation should not be suspended. Ordered suspended The 10 mines that were ordered suspended belong to Benguet Corp. Nickel Mines Inc.; Berong Nickel Corp.; Citinickel Mines and Development Corp.; Claver Mineral Development Corp.; Emir Mineral Resources Corp.; Eramen Minerals Inc.; LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc.; Mt. Sinai Mining Exploration & Development Corp.; Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp.; and Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. The 20 mines that face suspension belong to AAMPHIL Natural Resources Exploration and Development Corp. (Parcels 1 and 2B); Adnama Mining Resources Inc.; Agata Mining Ventures Inc.; Benguet Corp.; Carrascal Nickel Corp.; Century Peak Corp. (Casiguran Nickel and Rapid City Nickel projects); CTP Construction and Mining Corp.; Hinatuan Mining Corp.; Krominco Inc.; Filminera Resources Corp./Philippine Gold Processing and Refining Corp.; Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co.; Libjo Mining Corp.; Marcventures Mining and Development Corp.; OceanaGold Phils. Inc.; Oriental Synergy Mining Corp.; Oriental Vision Mining Philippines Corp.; Sinosteel Philippines H.Y. Mining Corp.; Strongbuilt Mining Development Corp.; Wellex Mining Corp.; and SR Metals Inc. Tunnel in Maguila-guila Siltation Dam (Mogpog) today. The audit team was composed of representatives from the DENR central and regional offices, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Environmental Management Bureau, Biodiversity Management Bureau, Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, the Department of Health, the Department of Agriculture and civil society organizations. Lopez earlier said the DENR would not hesitate to shut down mining operations found to have violated environmental, health and safety regulations and standards. A week after assuming office on July 1, she created an audit team to look into possible violations of environmental safeguards of all 41 operating metallic mines. The mining audit focused on issues of safety and health, environmental management, social development, mining tenement and standards under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and laws on hazardous and solid waste management. We will not just look at the technical side but also the social practiceswhat are the effects of these firms on the residents, on the water supply, among others, Lopez had said before the audit began. Source: Inquirer King Mohammed VI of Morocco has underlined his countrys unflinching commitment to Africas peace and security under whatever circumstances. In a moving speech he delivered Tuesday before the heads of state attending the 28th summit of the African Union that massively endorsed Moroccos return within the continental organization the day before, King Mohammed VI pointed out that Moroccos ties with Africa have remained strong as far as security and peace are concerned. Do we need to point out that we have always been present when the stability of the Continent is at stake? he wondered, recalling that since its independence, Morocco has contributed to six UN peace-keeping missions in Africa, engaging thousands of troops in various theaters of operation and that Moroccan forces are still present today in CAR and DRC. Morocco has also conducted a number of mediations, which helped achieve substantial progress towards peace, namely in Libya and the Mano River region, he said. The king also expounded his clear and constant vision of South-South cooperation, saying that his country shares what it has, without ostentation. Within the framework of a clear-sighted collaboration, Morocco which is a major economic player in Africa will become a catalyst for shared expansion. Insisting that Africa is indispensable to Morocco and that Morocco is indispensable to Africa, the Monarch underlined that although Morocco withdrew from the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the African Union, in 1984, relations with the continent remained strong and even significantly developed. Since 2000, Morocco has signed nearly a thousand agreements with African countries, in various fields of cooperation, compared to only 515 agreements between 1956 and 1999, the Sovereign said as an instance, recalling that during this period he, personally, was keen to give fresh impetus to this action, by making more visits to various African sub-regions. On each of the 46 visits I paid to 25 African countries, numerous agreements were signed involving the public as well as the private sector. My action has been particularly geared towards the field of training, which is at the heart of my countrys cooperation with sister nations. This has enabled a number of African students to continue their higher education in Morocco, thanks to the thousands of scholarships given to them. Furthermore, major strategic projects were set up during the Kings visits to these countries. He mentioned in this vein the Africa Atlantic Gas Pipeline project he launched with President Muhammadu Buhari, during his visit to Nigeria early last December. This project will of course allow natural gas to be transported from gas-producing countries to Europe. But more than that, it will benefit the whole of West Africa. It will, indeed, contribute to creating a regional electricity market and be a substantial source of energy, which will help develop industry, improve economic competitiveness and speed up social development, King Mohammed VI said, adding, the project will thus create wealth for neighboring countries and populations, generating crucial momentum that will stimulate the emergence and the development of parallel projects. Moreover, it will help build more peaceful bilateral and multilateral relations and thus create an environment conducive to development and growth. Part of the projects aimed at improving agricultural productivity and promoting food security and rural development in the continent, the King mentioned the fertilizer production plants that have been set up with both Ethiopia and Nigeria, as well as the initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture, or Triple A Initiative, which was promoted during the COP22 held in Marrakesh. He explained that this innovative and extremely concrete response to the common challenges posed by climate change is aimed at providing more significant funding for the Adaptation of small-scale African Agriculture; it will also support the structuring and acceleration of agricultural projects in Africa. These projects will benefit the continent as a whole, he said, as he explained that Moroccos vision of south-south cooperation in the continent falls in line with an approach underpinned by solidarity and humanism. In this regards, the King recalled Moroccos migration policy in favor of Sub-Saharan citizens, which enabled more than 25000 people to benefit from the first phase of a large-scale regularization campaign and thus integrate in the Moroccan society. Several leading international papers, including the Financial Time and the Wall Street Journal, commented on Moroccos historic readmission to the African Union, describing the event as a landmark diplomatic victory that reflects the Kingdoms growing economic and political clout in the continent, where it has become a genuine player. Morocco has championed a substantive south-south cooperation approach in the continent, says the FT, while the WSJ considers the readmission of Morocco as a decision that adds powerful economy to the African Union. The United Nations Development Program is funding the installation of solar power panels on the roofs of hospitals in several cities across Libya to ensure a steady supply of electricity. Power outages are a frequent occurrence in the North African nations towns and hospitals always bear the brunt of these recurring blackouts. Solar panels have already been installed in 10 hospitals, according to Reuters. A solar panel installed at Abu Salems emergency hospital by the UNDP can produce about 37.5 KW, and store about 130 KW. Daytime consumption amounts to 37 KW and nighttime consumption to 5 KW. The installations for the Tripoli hospitals are funded by The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which supports rapid humanitarian response. The Libyan plan includes increasing installed electrical generation capacity to 20 gigawatts by 2020 from about 6.2 GW at present. Besides supplying the domestic market, Libya is aiming to export power to Europe. Tripoli has also set a target of supplying 10 per cent of its energy consumption from renewable sources, especially solar thermal and wind energy. The Tunisian parliament Tuesday greenlighted the creation of a commission tasked to probe into the networks sending Tunisians to terrorist groups in hotbed conflict zones. A heated debate on the return of Tunisian foreign fighters from Libya, Syria and Iraq is going on in the North African country, with many voices rising against their homecoming. Over 5,000 Tunisians according a UN report have been fighting in the ranks of terrorist groups in Syria, Libya and Iraq. The Tunisian state puts the number at 3,000. The commission to be composed of 22 lawmakers received 132 votes in favor, one against and one abstention. No date for the formation has been released yet. The commission, notes Leila Chettaoui, a lawmaker of ruling Nidaa Tounes, will work with the ministries of justice, interior and defense. For the lawmaker who is also Vice-President of the parliament defense committee, the new commission will attempt to disclose internal and external parties involved in the indoctrination and enrolment of Tunisian citizens in terror groups. Speaking to French AFP, Chettaoui, who is behind the commission proposal, indicated that she meant by parties States, Organizations, NGOs, Tunisian or foreign religious figures. The move could stir political tension, analysts say. The Parliament largest party, the Islamist Ennahdha, which was part of the Troika that ruled the country between 2011 and 2014, has been under fire for condoning the exodus of Tunisians to hotbed conflict zones. King Mohammed VI of Morocco started on Wednesday an official visit to Juba, his first to South Sudan, since the creation of this young republic in 2011. According to the South Sudanese media, shortly after his arrival, King Mohammed VI had a first meeting with President Kiir in the presidential office. The two leaders then presided over the signing ceremony of nine cooperation agreements covering among others the sectors of trade, tourism, mining and investments. All these agreements are part of a prospective vision that seeks to encourage and promote investments and trade between the two countries. During his stay in Juba, the sovereign will visit the Moroccan field hospital deployed in the South Sudanese capital since January. He will also donate a local hospital center medical equipment, medicines and food products. The Moroccan sovereign arrived in Juba coming from Addis Ababa, where he delivered on Tuesday on the second day of the 28th summit of the African Union (AU), a historic speech before his African peers, following the official readmission of Morocco within the AU as a full-fledged member, with the endorsement of 39 countries, including South Sudan. In this speech, King Mohammed VI underlined his countrys commitment to the development of the continent and prosperity of African citizens, and its resolve to continue sharing and transferring its know-how, in a bid to build a safe, solidarity-based future. We enthusiastically invite African nations to join our countrys dynamism and to give new impetus to the whole of our continent, King Mohammed VI pointed out in his speech, expressing his confidence that building more peaceful bilateral and multilateral relations helps create an environment conducive to development and growth. Part of Moroccos strategy to enhance south-south cooperation in the continent, King Mohammed VI has seen to it that each of the 46 visits he paid to 25 African countries, since coming to power in 1999, highlights by the signing of cooperation agreements and the launch of social development projects. After South Sudan, the King is expected to visit Ghana and Zambia. Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank. African leaders have adopted a strategy calling for a collective withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. Desire Assogbavi, head of Oxfam Internationals AU liaison office, confirmed the adoption of the strategy to Associated Press. A source close to the continental bodys legal council also confirmed it, saying countries had been divided on whether to call for leaving the court individually or together. The declaration of the continental bloc came late on Tuesday after Gambia, South Africa and Burundi have announced plans to abandon the troubled institution, set up to try the worlds worst crimes. The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States, which has signed the courts treaty but never ratified it. The ICC has repeatedly refuted accusations of bias, inviting academics and other experts to weigh in, and saying that the number of African cases has more to do with its jurisdiction being limited to signatories of the Rome Statute, and over crimes committed after 2002. Georgia to spend about 40 million GEL on Municipal Elections 2017 Georgias Central Election Commission (CEC) will be given almost 40 million GEL to organise and hold the Municipal Elections 2017.The sums have already been allocated from the state budget.A corresponding resolution was published at the Legislative Herald of Georgia on January 20.The document contains a detailed scheme of the distribution of the money. CEC will have 39,011,899 GEL at its disposal and these sums must be spent as the following: Voting-related costs 28,120,049 GEL Election subjects funding 7,610,000 GEL TV advertisement for election subjects 2,242,850 GEL Training for election staff 1,030,000 GELThe Municipal Elections in Georgia are scheduled to be held in autumn 2017. Caspian Sea legal status to be discussed in Baku The agenda of the working group includes continuation of discussions on the still uncoordinated issues regarding the draft convention, Khalafov said.The ad hoc working group, tasked to develop a convention on the Caspian Seas legal status, will hold its next meeting in Baku in late January, Azerbaijans Deputy Foreign Minister KhalafKhalafov told reporters in Baku Jan. 20, APA reported.Khalafov noted that preparation for the next session of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states will also be discussed during the meeting, along with the legal status of the Caspian Sea.The agenda of the working group includes continuation of discussions on the still uncoordinated issues regarding the draft convention, Khalafov said.Preparations for the next session of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states and the 2017 Caspian summit will also be discussed, he added. UNM leader thinks Merabishvili would change his mind By Messenger Staff One of the leaders of the United National Movement opposition party, which has recently split into two, claims the imprisoned leader of the party, ex-Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, will not follow the path of ex-Mayor Gigi Ugulava and will stay in the UNM.Nika Melia, who was elected as the head of the UNM political council several days ago, plans to meet Merabishvili in prison."I am sure Vano Merabishvili will behave totally differently from Gigi Ugulava [ex- Mayor of Tbilisi]. Ugulava left prison not as a member of the National Movement. He left prison as a member of another opposition party.I personally believe that Vano Merabishvili stands at an absolutely different level and his decision will be absolutely different. However, of course, everything will be known after my meeting with him," said Melia, who announced the meeting this week.Shortly after leaving prison earlier this month, Ugulava and about 60 members of the UNM, the main opposition party which ran Georgia in 2003-2012, left the party and united within another party, European Georgia.The controversy within the UNM was mainly about the party leadership, with one group saying the ex-President, Mikheil Saakashvili, must be the party leader, while another group sided with Ugulava and others in opposing the notion.The UNM party congress on January 20, which elected Melia as the party political council head, also stated Merabishvili remains the General Secretary of the party.However, Merabishvili wrote on his Facebook page that he did not give his consent in remaining on the position.Merabishvili was detained in May 2013 and was soon charged with faking documents, misspending budgetary funds and vote-buying. He was also charged with exceeding official power in connection with three different notorious cases. However, he denied all charges, saying they were politically motivated.From the former key figures of the UNM, only several were and still are in prison, Merabishvili among them.It is very possible Merabishvili will indeed take the same path as Ugulava did, as he has a reason to be angry about Saakashvili, who left the country as soon as his presidential term expired in 2013, and then received the citizenship of another country and to become involved in Ukraines politics. The News in Brief More than 2000 people addressed banks for credits larization More than 2000 people have already addressed banks for their credits to be converted into the national currency, and more than 100 people have already larisized their loans, the President of the Georgian Banks Association, Zurab Gvasalia has told IPN. According to Gvasalia, up to 8% of the potential beneficiaries applied to banks on the very first day of the larization program. According to him, any person believing they can be involved in the larization program can visit the banks. The credits larization program was launched on January 17 and will last for two months. (IPN) Defense Minister to Visit Finland, Sweden, Estonia Georgian Defense Minister LevanIzoria will visit Finland, Sweden and Estonia on January 23-28, the Ministry of Defense reported. During his visit in Finland, Minister Izoria will meet his Finnish counterpart, Jussi Niinisto, Finnish Chief of Defense Jarmo Lindberg and Foreign Minister Timo Soini. The Georgian delegation will also attend the briefing on the reserve and mobilization system in Finland, according to the Georgian Ministry of Defense. From Finland, the Defense Minister will leave for Sweden, where he will attend the official welcoming ceremony at the Karlberg Military Academy and meet his Swedish colleague, Peter Hultqvist. Following the bilateral meeting on January 24, Minister Izoria and Minister Hultqvist will address the seminar at the Society and Defense, Swedish think tank specializing on security and defense issues. The seminar, titled Sweden and Georgia Defense Cooperation in a Turbulent World will explore a number of Georgia-related questions, including the countrys foreign and security priorities, its NATO and EU membership process and the counter-measures to Russian steps in the region. In Sweden, Minister Izoria will also meet the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces Micael Byden and representatives of Swedish Parliaments Committee on Defense. From Sweden, the Defense Minister will travel to Tartu, Estonia, where he will visit the Baltic Defense College and talk to the Georgian students of the Academys Joint Command and General Staff Course. In Estonia, meetings will be held with Defense Minister Margus Tsahkna and Deputy Commander of the Defense Forces Indrek Sirel, according to the Georgian Ministry of Defense. (Civil.ge) Tbilisi joins global Womens March against Trump Like many other cities around the world, Tbilisi also held a womens march on Saturday, following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the new US President. The march was aimed at raising awareness about womens rights and other civil rights issues, and started at Tbilisi Concert Hall and went down Rustaveli Avenue to the old parliament building. Internationally the main event was held in Washington DC, where Trump was sworn in the day before as the 45th President of the United States. Trump has been accused of making racist and sexist statements as well as giving hate-filled speeches. The idea for the Womens March started with a Facebook post by Hawaiian Teresa Shook after Trump won the election. Many organisations and individuals joined this provocative campaign from around the globe. Organisers described the people who joined the rally as people who care about human rights on the first day of the new US administration. We are an informal non-partisan grassroots gathering of people who believe in equality, diversity, inclusion and justice for everyone. We come together in order to support womens rights everywhere and to stand against the politics of fear, division, and misogyny, Maggie Osdoby, one of the organizers of the event, said. People marching in the streets of Tbilisi were chanting and holding posters saying Men of quality dont fear equality, Womens right matters, Lead with love. DodieKharkheli, another organiser of the protest march, said she believes local communities should be interested in events in other places, because everything that happens around the world also concerns Georgia. The deteriorating conditions in favour of protecting womens and minority rights around the globe further complicates the already unfavourable situation in Georgia, Kharkheli said. She estimates the number of participants in Tbilisi to be 300. There were similar protest marches in 370 locations around the globe on Saturday. (DF watch) US to remain strong ties with Georgia By Messenger Staff Ambassador Ian Kelly is confident that the US Georgia relationship will remain strong under the Donald Trump administration.We dont have a Secretary of State yet but I hope the appointment will happen within the next days or so. I can say very comfortably that the US -Georgia relationship will remain strong, he said.He claimed the Trump administration has expressed the desire to negotiate bilateral trade agreements.I hope to be the strong advocate for that with the new administration, Kelly said.The US and Georgia are strategic partners and the strong relations between the two countries is of the utmost importance, especially when 20% of Georgian territory remains occupied by Russia, which is still threatening Southern neighbours integrity.So far the US new administration has not clarified the US-Georgia relations.In his previous statements, Trump was quite positive towards Russias President, Vladimir Putin, and vowed to renew and improve US-Russia relations.However, until the open declaration of US position towards Russia, Georgia and other similar issues there are many question marks.The US policy to Russia constitutes a risk to Georgia think local analyst. Trump might advocate for removing sanctions from Russia or withdrawing the United States from NATO.This might even encourage Russia to become more aggressive; previously, Moscow was careful not to allow its provocations to go too far, but under the circumstances when there is a new man in the White House with eccentric opinions, former Soviet republics now aligned with the West might truly be in danger. The News in Brief 30 citizens of Georgia not allowed to enter Israel 30 citizens of Georgia were refused to enter Israel. According to Shota Kartsivadze, a relative of one of the citizens, the motive of the decision was not explained to the Georgian citizens. "They have not committed any crime. There are all types of people in jail. I do not have any other information. Last night, we called the Ambassador of Georgia to Israel and briefed him on the situation. He said that sometimes there are such cases, but no arrests have been reported. I asked the ambassador for help; I provided him with my contact information. However, nobody has contacted me so far. We ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get involved in this case," Shota Kartsivadze said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that according to the information received from the Israeli Border Service, the citizens, who were denied entry to Israel, were taken to a deportation center and they will be sent back to Georgia on January 26. (ipn) One More GDDG Parliamentary Faction Established One more parliamentary faction has been established within the Georgian Dream Democratic Georgia (GDDG) parliamentary majority, increasing the total number of GDDG factions to six, according to the parliamentary bureaus decision on January 23. The newly-established Georgian Dream Greens faction unites one GDDG lawmaker from the Greens Party Giorgi Gachechiladze, plus five members from the Georgian Dream Democratic Georgia party, Zaza Gabunia, Irakli Abuseridze, Dimitri Mkheidze, Giorgi Begadze and Samvel Manukyan. The new faction will be chaired by MP Giorgi Gachechiladze. Lawmakers in the new faction had to quit the Georgian Dreams 92-member faction before joining the Georgian Dream Greens faction. The GDDG parliamentary majority, which consists of 116 lawmakers, united five factions until now; the Georgian Dream and Georgian Dream Industrialists factions were established on November 18 at the new parliaments inaugural session. Georgian Dream Conservatives, Georgian Dream Social-Democrats and Georgian Dream for Regional Development were established later, on December 26. The UNM parliamentary minority united 27 lawmakers in two factions before the partys split. On January 13, the group of 20 lawmakers who parted ways with UNM, renamed the partys two factions to European Georgia and European Georgia for Better Future. The group also retained the status of the parliamentary minority. Six UNM lawmakers who opted for staying in the party registered a new parliamentary faction under the name of the National Movement on January 23. The Alliance of Patriots, the third party to enter the parliament at the 2016 elections, forms one faction as well. Both factions work outside of parliamentary majority and minority groups. A parliamentary faction is a group of at least six MPs, which gives certain privileges to its members, involving a seat and right to vote in the parliaments bureau (the body which determines the parliamentary sessions agenda), guaranteed seats in committees, investigative and other ad hoc commissions and parliamentary delegations, as well as allocation of more time during debates and discussions in the Parliament. (civil.ge) Republican Party appoints woman to key position The Republican Party in the former Soviet republic of Georgia on Saturday appointed a femalr former lawmaker as new political secretary. The appointment of 39-year-old lawyer Tamar Kordzaia is seen as a move to promote gender equality in politics. She will be replacing Davit Berdzenishvili, a veteran member of the party and a former Soviet dissident, who joined the Republicans in 2015 after abandoning the Georgian Dream faction in parliament. In 2015-2016, he served as a chairperson for the cross-faction group in parliament. The political secretary is the second most senior position in the party, after the chair, following a change in party regulations in the wake of the disastrous election result in the October, 2016, when the party failed to surpass the five percent threshold and was left without representatives in the national assembly. The Republicans, a party formed by Soviet dissenters in the 1970s, are known for their firm support for maintaining gender equality in Georgian politics. The party nominated nine women candidates for the parliament under the single-seat majoritarian system for the October 8 election. Levan Berdzenishvili, a veteran Republican, called the nine women muses and said more women in politics means more solidity. Berdzenishvili is a specialist in Ancient Greek philology and the elder brother of Davit Berdzenishvili. Both served about three years in Soviet prisons in the early 1980s for dissident activities. Currently, 23 of 150 members, or 23 percent, of the Georgian parliament are women. (df watch) THE TRUE COST OF ALL THAT 'CHEAP' LAOR THAT DESTROYED AMERICA THE BIG SECRET DEMOCRATS DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW: Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has testified before a Congressional committee that in 2004, 95% of all outstanding warrants for murder in Los Angeles were for illegal aliens; in 2000, 23% of all Los Angeles County jail inmates were illegal aliens and that in 1995, 60% of Los Angeless largest street gang, the 18th Street gang, were illegal aliens. @ByKristenMClark State Sen. Greg Steube is following through on plans he announced last week to break up a controversial and sweeping gun measure he had initially proposed (SB 140) into as many as 10 individual bills. Six such bills had surfaced by 4 p.m. Wednesday. For instance, SB 618 lifts the ban on concealed weapons in airport passenger terminals, mirroring a measure already filed in the Florida House. Other individual measures from Steube would allow concealed weapons also at legislative meetings (SB 620) and other government meetings (SB 626), in career centers (SB 640), on public college and university campuses (SB 622) and in courthouses so they can be temporarily surrendered at security (SB 616). For more, here is our running list of gun-related bills filed for the 2017 session. Michael-in-Norfolk disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material displayed on this site and does not claim credit for any images or articles featured on this site, unless otherwise noted. All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies, and Michael-in-Norfolk does not make warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the site's content. If you own rights to any of the images or articles, and do not wish them to appear on this site, please contact Michael-in-Norfolk via e-mail and they will be promptly removed. Michael-in-Norfolk contains links to other Internet sites. These links are provided solely as a convenience and are not endorsements of any products or services in such sites, and no information or content in such site has been endorsed or approved by this blog. A Community Newsblog written by Community Members Middletown's a big place, with a lot going on. We need your help to keep your neighbors informed. Come write or just give us a tip on your news, sports, arts, politics or events at - middletowneye@gmail.com Help us to make the Middletown Eye the third eye people open every morning! Say, hypothetically, you find yourself hosting some Syrian or Mexican folk. No big deal, just a typical, impromptu mid-winter brunch in some sunny American kitchen. But suppose the pantry is running on empty, and all you have to cook are eggs, and some kind of tomato sauce. Just suppose. Now the gang must decide, should we have our tomatoes and eggs Mexican-, Syrian- or American-style? Eggs cooked with tomato sauce, or served with tomato sauce, is universal. The Portuguese version is called baked eggs on tomato sauce. Southern Italians call it Uova al Purgatorio, which literally means Purgatory eggs, and consists of eggs poached in marinera. If the guests are especially hungry, the host wont have time for complicated ethnic dishes. Scrambled eggs with ketchup will have to do, and some home fries with which to mop it up if one can scrounge up a potato. Some Tabasco sauce, ideally, and perhaps some cheese or mayo. You got this. Make sure there is plenty of hot grease in the pan I like half-XVOO (aka extra-virgin olive oil) and half-butter. Dont over-stir; dont overcook. As I cook it, I hum that old John Prine song about the girl who likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs. She dont like her eggs all runny/she thinks crossing her legs is funny ... She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs/swears like a sailor when she shaves her legs ... shes my baby, Im her honey, never gonna let her go. The Mexicans, of course, have their huevos rancheros, which consist of fried eggs upon tortilla, with salsa. This dish is only a little more complicated to make than scrambled eggs with ketchup. Especially if you employ my gringo-tastic rancheros method technique. First, fry an egg, preferably with a runny yolk and crispy bottom. Remove the egg from the pan, and set aside on a plate. In a mixture of butter and olive oil, fry some minced garlic and onion. As soon as that becomes fragrant, throw in a few hands full of corn chips, and stir them around in the hot grease. Dump in some salsa, and stir it around some more. (You can use flat corn tortillas if you want to be more authentic. But dont stir those. Lay them flat). When the salsa has heated up and is simmering, replace the egg(s) atop the chips, sprinkle the entire business with cheese, and put a lid on the pan, so the steam from the simmering salsa melts the cheese. Dont overcook the egg, though. The corn chips will soak up the salsa, cheese, runny yolk, and whatever else you added; its a total pan-scraper of a dish. But if you do an internet search for, say, eggs tomato sauce, about half the returns will be for shakshuka, a North African and Middle Eastern version of the tomato-egg combo that is popular across North Africa, from Morocco to Israel, Egypt to Iraq. My friend, chef Abe Risho, comes from a long line of distinguished Syrian cooks, and he served shakshuka for years to an adoring audience at Silk Road, his former restaurant (Risho and family run a mail-order spice and sauce business). Risho was kind enough to give me the shakshuka recipe that rocked Missoula. The crushed Aleppo pepper he calls for can be purchased online. This is only slightly at odds with the fact that shakshuka is, at heart, a recipe you should be able to create from whatever sparse provisions are on hand, providing they include eggs and some form of tomato. So, order some Aleppo pepper. But while you wait for it to arrive you can work on your shakshuka game by standing on Abes shoulders. Shakshuka a la Abe Risho 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 onion, julienned 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin 1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1/4 cup white wine 3 cup whole peeled (San Marzano) tomatoes, crushed in hand 2 each red bell pepper; roasted, peeled, seeded, julienned 2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoon paprika, smoked (I have also used baharat, a Turkish pepper blend) 6 eggs flat-leaf parsley *** Make an oven sauce, ideally in a shallow cast-iron skillet by heating the pan in a hot oven 475 degrees. Add oil, onion, garlic and Aleppo pepper and cook until starting to caramelize. Add tomato paste and try to emulsify, cook until starting to brown. Add wine and cook to reduce to a thick sauce. Add crushed tomatoes, peppers, and spices and simmer until thick and aromatic. By this time the oil should be starting to separate on top of the sauce. Make six wells in the sauce with the back of a spoon or ladle. Drop an egg into each well and return to the oven. Cook until egg white is cooked but the yolk is still runny (sunny-side up). Remove from oven, sprinkle on a good feta or farm cheese if using, and top with torn parsley In the Arabic of the North African region, shakshouka means a mixture. This is an appropriate name for a dish that moves freely across borders, hybridizing with the local flavors wherever it arrives. Tunisian Jews brought the dish to Israel. It makes you wonder how many other cultures a pan of shakshuka could bind together, through the universal combination of tomatoes and eggs. A local family is asking city officials for permission to open a new tavern, restaurant and brewery on the Hip Strip on Higgins Avenue in downtown Missoula. Erin McEwen, who owns the Bridge Pizza with her husband Dmitri Murfin-Simmons and her parents David McEwen and Shirley Juhl, wrote the application for a conditional use permit that will be reviewed by the citys Land Use and Planning Committee on Wednesday. The family plans on opening the brewery in another building they own at 515 S. Higgins, which used to house the Silk Road restaurant and the Crystal Theater. McEwen wrote in her application that the building will house three stories of customer space, with seating and a bar on the main floor, a space for fundraisers, meetings and live music on the upper floor, and a basement with vintage and new arcade and pinball games. She said they want to create a sought-after destination for locally made beer and food. It will be called Gild Brewing. Our menu will focus on locally sourced ingredients at prices comfortable to all Missoulians, she said. Our intent is to update the buildings well-used infrastructure so that it will remain a centerpiece of the Missoula community for years to come. In total, the building will provide a comfortable space for Missoulians to meet and spend more of their time in the downtown area. The building housed the Silk Road for seven years until the owners closed it down last October to pursue other business interests. Before that, the building saw many other uses, including clothing retail and a bakery. The Crystal Theater was used for everything from live improv comedy shows to Big Sky Film Festival screenings. McEwen said they are planning an extensive remodel that will bring the basement up to code, remove asbestos, install a lift for ADA access and update the plumbing and electrical systems. The remodel will include much-needed refinishings, highlighting the beauty of the original building, she wrote. The tavern will be the front half of the building on all three levels, while the brewery will be separated from the tavern by interior walls and will operate in the back half of the building only. The main floor will operate as the center space for Missoulians to gather and enjoy locally made food and drinks. Varied seating, including communal tables and individual booths, make this a perfect space to meet friends and family, attend work meetings and study. The citys planning staff has recommended that the City Council approve the application, saying the use fits with the 2009 Downtown Master Plan. It would be the 11th beer brewing facility within Missoula County if you count all three separate Kettlehouse locations. McEwen said that although their beer and wine license allows them to have gaming machines, they have no intention of ever becoming a gambling establishment. While most breweries in Montana are limited to serving just 48 ounces of beer per customer and must be closed by 8 p.m., Gild Brewing is in possession of a beer and wine license that allows them to serve over that limit and stay open until 2 a.m. if they choose. A bar that can stay open until 2 a.m. that only serves beer and wine, Flipper's Casino, is located one block west. The building now intended for Gild Brewing was built in 1910 and has never provided off-street parking, so the owners won't be required to now. However, they will be required to provide ample bicycle parking. The city's historic preservation officer wrote that remodel won't affect the historic character since there are "very few, if any, original features remaining." "We strongly believe that our business will help support additional use of our neighboring businesses, ultimately strengthening the Hip Strip community, McEwen wrote. A new poll of voters in Rocky Mountain states found significant bipartisan support for conserving public lands rather than developing their natural resources. We saw stronger support than expected among (President Donald) Trump voters in terms of proactive conservation efforts, said Lori Weigel, one of the survey analysts for Colorado Colleges annual Conservation in the West poll. We did see more support for oil and gas leasing, and coal mining on public lands among trump voters than Democratic opponent or third-party voters, and thats to be expected. But it was more striking how often we saw agreement than where we saw big differences. For example, 68 percent of those polled in the seven states along the Continental Divide wanted the Trump administration to protect clean water, air quality, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, compared to 22 percent who wanted emphasis on domestic energy development, responsible oil and gas drilling and coal mining. Fellow poll analyst David Metz said there was at least a plurality in every state favoring public lands protection over resource extractions. In Montana, the split was 63 percent in favor of conservation while 24 percent wanted energy development. Metz and Weigel represented Democratic- and Republican-affiliated polling firms, and designed the questions to reflect a bipartisan approach. Public lands drive our economy and define our way of life in Montana and in surrounding states, said Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who participated in the poll news conference by phone. We have too much to lose if we allow these national treasures to be put at risk. Bullock noted that 82 percent of respondents supported improving access to public lands for anglers and hunters. He also highlighted the finding that 94 percent of respondents supported improving and repairing infrastructure in national parks and outdoor destinations. Montanas outdoor recreation economy support 64,000 jobs and nearly $6 billion of economic activity in the state, Bullock said. About 11 million people a year visit the states public lands. After being told that Trump had pledged to manage public lands in the footsteps of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was credited with creating national parks and monuments, 63 percent of the respondents said they approved of that approach. Weigel said when looked at by party, 67 percent of the Republicans agreed with Trumps Teddy Roosevelt approach while 57 percent of Democrats did so. Trump also pledged to undo former President Barack Obamas moratorium on federal coal leasing, which was imposed last January. The poll found 63 percent opposed more coal mining on public lands, while 33 percent spoke in favor. An average 81 percent among the seven states favored continuing Obamas restrictions on methane gas flaring and leaking, including 84 percent in Montana. The Trump administration is expected to attempt rolling back the methane rules. The results of the new Colorado College poll showing broad, bipartisan support among Western voters for keeping public lands public and responsible energy development certainly reflect the wide support we see among hunters, anglers, rafters and wildlife watchers, regardless of political party, National Wildlife Federation western sportsmens campaign manager Aaron Kindle wrote in an email. Sportsmen in the West and across the country are united in our passion for our American outdoor heritage and proponents of selling it off, carving it up or giving it away should take heed. The annual poll found 70 percent of the residents in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico considered themselves conservationists. That was up from 63 percent in 2016. In Montana, the share jumped from 71 percent last year to 78 percent in the current sample. Pollsters called 2,800 people by cell phone and landline in December and January, reaching 400 registered voters in each state. The final results had a 2.74 percent margin of error region-wide, and a 4.9 percent margin for individual state results. Rep. Ryan Zinke is flirting with a piece of Montana history after receiving approval Tuesday from a U.S. Senate committee to become Donald Trumps Secretary of Interior. If Zinke, a Republican from Whitefish, receives full Senate approval as expected, hell become the first Montanan to serve in a presidential Cabinet since George Washington started the practice in 1789. Marc Racicot came close in 2000. After terming out as governor, the Libby Republican was George W. Bushs first choice for Attorney General before hard-line GOP conservatives put a stop to it. Racicot withdrew from consideration, and two days later Bush tabbed Sen. John Ashcroft. Thomas Walsh came even closer in 1933. That he didnt make it remains a matter of intrigue among some historians and family members. Walsh, a Helena attorney and a U.S. senator since 1912, is best remembered as the investigator and prosecutor in the Teapot Dome Scandal, a Wyoming oilfield bribery case in the 1920s. He was 73 years old on March 2, 1933, when he died on a train traveling through North Carolina. Walsh was en route from Florida to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for whom hed campaigned and who had nominated him for Attorney General. Walsh accepted with reservations, resigning his seat in the U.S. Senate after FDR sweetened the pot by promising him a Supreme Court seat when one came open. Walsh was traveling with his wife of five days, Mina Perez Chaumont de Truffin, the Cuban widow of a wealthy French sugar grower and banker with plenty of political pop of her own. Also along was Minas Spanish-speaking maid, Rosalie. The certificate signed by a doctor in Wilson, North Carolina, listed the cause of death as unknown, possibly coronary thrombosis i.e., a heart attack. Lapses in his health in previous days on his honeymoon in Florida seemed to back it up, though a doctor in Daytona Beach attributed them to indigestion and a mild angina pectoris. The new Mrs. Walsh gave permission for an autopsy, but officials deemed it unnecessary. Walshs body was taken from the train and embalmed at Rocky Mount, 20 miles north of Wilson. And so the whodunit began. *** Its a narrative that ranges from the de Truffins villa in Havana, where the two were married on Feb. 25, to a senatorial office on Capitol Hill, to the head of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. The Mysterious Death of Thomas Walsh is the title of a story in Ellen Baumlers 2005 book Beyond Spirit Tailings: Montanas Mysteries, Ghosts, and Haunted Places. There is some interesting speculation from several directions, Baumler said last week. Was it the maid? Was it the opposition of (Cuban president Gerardo) Machado? Was it the wife? Was it someone connected to the Teapot Dome Scandal? Was it someone from the aluminum industry? Was it just a heart attack? Baumler is an interpretive historian and award-winning author for the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Former state senator Bob Brown of Whitefish is president of the same societys board of trustees. Both point to an unpublished article written in 1970 by Judge Lester Loble of Helena thats found in the Historical Society archives. Loble was a friend of Walsh and a pallbearer at his funeral in Helena, and all those years later he floated the possibility that Walsh was murdered. It's what Navy Capt. Charles Gudger, Walshs son-in-law, emphatically believed. Captain Gudger ... told me after Senator Walshs death that he had been murdered on his honeymoon from Florida to Washington, by poison; that his murder was accomplished by a woman attendant of Mrs. Walsh who accompanied the Senator and his bride, Loble wrote. Gudgers theory, according to Loble, is that Walsh was done in by toxic political environment in Cuba. With the help of Helena attorney Julio Morales, who had fled Cuba during Castro's takeover, Loble examined the environment. By 1933 Machado, Cuba's Liberal Party president since 1925, was challenged by a number of factions. Mina de Truffins 29-year-old son, Regino, was influential in the Machado party and her niece was married to a powerful senator and Liberal Party leader who was assassinated in 1932. Complicating matters was the fact that Roosevelt was no friend of Machado, who was overthrown in August 1933. Rumors were started by both sides, alleging that Senator Walsh had been poisoned by the opposite party, Loble wrote. There were also domestic theories. America was in the throes of the Great Depression and, as Genevieve Walsh Gudger pointed out to Loble in 1970, feelings were running high and suspicions were rampant. An attempt on FDRs life in Miami on Feb. 14 failed, but four people were wounded in a shooting by a deranged, unemployed brick layer named Giuseppe Zangar. Among them was Chicago mayor Anton Cerma, who died four days after Walsh passed away. As with Baumler, Browns interest in the Walsh legacy led him to an interview with Walshs granddaughter, Elin Parks. Parks was 90 years old when Brown sat down with her in September 2010. The setting was the historic Lamonti Lodge on the north shore of Lake McDonald, a summer home for the Walsh family since 1910. The 13-year-old daughter of Charles and Genevieve Walsh Gudger in 1933, Parks recalled the days of her grandfathers death clearly. The family was living at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. We got word, in the middle of the night, that he had died on the train in North Carolina, Parks told Brown. And so immediately my mother took my sister and myself and my father, and we drove to Washington, D.C. They got there before the train carrying Walshs body arrived. Mother went to the Senate office building for his files or to see if everything was all right, she said. Genevieve Gudger found the place in shambles. Somebody had just looted the office completely, Parks remembered. Nothing was left. Whatever he was investigating at the moment ... . Turns out, Walsh was looking into the U.S. aluminum industry. He left potentially incriminating files in his office, with orders they be transported to the Department of Justice. They never made it. *** Walsh had been the man of the moment in the 1920s. As senator, he relentlessly pursued and prosecuted the Teapot Dome scandal, which was to the first half of the 20th century what Watergate was to the second. It resulted in 1929 in the conviction and imprisonment of Albert Fall, Secretary of Interior in the early 1920s under President Warren Harding. Fall spent nine months in a New Mexico prison and was released a few months before Walshs death. Baumler wrote that, in eulogizing Walsh, the Baltimore Sun noted that Walsh had been inviting personal and perhaps even physical, as well as political destruction when he began digging into Teapot Dome. The national eulogies were profuse. Walsh was widely viewed as a man of high integrity and tremendous legal acuity. It is said of Senator Walsh that he and Elihu Root were the two greatest legal minds ever in the United States Senate, Loble wrote in 1970. Two days after his inauguration, Roosevelt and other high officials were in attendance at a service in the Senate chamber, where Walsh lay in state. His body was then transported to Helena for a funeral at St. Helena Cathedral and burial in Resurrection Cemetery. On Thursday, March 9, as the funeral train sped across Montana from Billings to Helena, farmers in the fields paused and crowds shivering in the early morning cold stood quietly in tribute at every station platform along the way, Baumler wrote. Another thing bothers Baumler about the Walsh story. Mina de Truffin was said to have suffered a mild heart attack herself at the Washington service and was reportedly advised not to make the final trip to Helena. Elin (Parks) claims that when they divided up the property, her mother got the apartment in Washington and the wife got a Charles Russell painting that she took back to Cuba with her, Baumler said. Elin told me she thought she remembered it had something to do with a treaty. Shes made inquiries into the painting, or paintings, as have others. In 1999 a South Carolina attorney wrote the Montana Historical Society asking for information with no success, but he did shine some light on their fate. Brown has Benjamin L. Sadler's letter in his Walsh file that he plans to give to the Historical Society. The paintings in question were presented to the Honorable Thomas James Walsh by Mr. Russell," Sadler wrote. "Upon information and belief, Senator Walsh transported said paintings to Havana, Cuba, where they remained in the possession of his widow, Senora Mina Walsh, until the Castro Revolution seized power in 1959. As members of the 2017 Montana Legislature continue their progress on big-ticket items, there are some very important issues that may not get a lot of media attention. One such piece of legislation is the Montana Anesthesiology Services Healthcare Team Act of 2017, House Bill 235, a bill that will allow certified anesthesiologist assistants to practice in Montanas operating rooms under the guidance of a board-certified anesthesiologist. Certified anesthesiologist assistants are highly skilled and trained professionals who, under the direction of a Montana licensed anesthesiologist, may: Elicit a pre-anesthesia health history and perform a physical examination; Establish patient monitoring devices and intravenous access; Assist in the application and interpretation of advanced monitoring techniques such as pulmonary artery catheterization or echocardiography; Assist in the induction, maintenance and emergence of a patient's anesthetic; Secure the patient's airway through mask, endotracheal tube or laryngeal mask airway; Interpret and record the patient's physiological and pharmacological status; and, Provide continuity of care into and during the post-operative period. This legislation, introduced by Montana Rep. Don Jones of House District 46 in Billings and co-sponsored by Montana Sen. Al Olszewski of Senate District 6 in Kalispell, promises to bring Montana into alignment with other states that have raised the standard of quality and care by allowing the services of anesthesiologist assistants. Empowering Montanas anesthesiologists to work as a team with certified anesthesiologist assistants, an emerging gap in care will be addressed and it furthers an important team approach to patient care that is proven to be more effective and safe. At the Montana Society of Anesthesiologists, we call upon the elected members of the 2017 Montana Legislature to have the foresight and initiative to pass HB 235. This bill deserves bipartisan support. It is common-sense legislation, supported by the Montana Society of Anesthesiologists, many other healthcare providers and citizens others who are dedicated to the long-term high quality, safe and accessible practices of anesthesiology in the state of Montana. While this bill is among several bills that may not earn a high profile, HB235 is important enough for our citizens to contact our legislators and encourage them to support the bill that allows for more advanced, modern and team-oriented approach to the practices of anesthesiology in the state of Montana. Please do so. It was too much to hope that Montanas legislators would refrain from introducing any irrelevant, hopelessly partisan, purely ideologically driven legislative proposals of the sort sometimes dismissively called silly bills. From a bill to ban bicycles along with pedestrians and wheelchairs from all two-lane highways in the state to a bill prohibiting the use of food stamps to buy energy drinks, the Legislature is once again being forced to waste precious time and energy on utterly ridiculous and unnecessary measures. But none take as much of the cake as Senate Bill 97, a proposal to stop foreign law from usurping our state courts. Not only is this bill trying to resolve a problem that doesnt exist, it fosters a dangerous misunderstanding of the legal system in the United States, and is nothing more than thinly veiled bigotry toward people of the Islamic faith. Because thats really what this bill is about: encouraging Montanans to view Muslims as a threat. The people pushing this action are not worried about Russian or Chinese or Mexican laws taking precedence over the Montana Constitution. They are concerned solely with an Islamic religious code known as sharia law. This was confirmed by those who spoke in support of the bill at the Senate Judiciary hearing last week; more than two dozen speakers reportedly shared worries that new immigrants and refugees would push for the acceptance of sharia law in Montana, in defiance of the state and U.S. constitutions. Sharia is, in a nutshell, a set of guidelines for living in conformance with Islam. These rules are derived from several difference sources, including religious texts, and are applied in widely different ways by different individuals and nations. In some countries, they are interpreted strictly and carry the force of supreme law; in other Muslim-majority counties, they are afforded no official consideration at all; in many others, it is a mixture of the two. In the United States, a good comparison might be to the golden rule, which isnt in itself a legally enforcement rule but rather a moral code. Nowhere in America is sharia or any other foreign law the law of the land. Obviously, individual state constitutions and, of course, the United States Constitution are held supreme. However, certain religion-based contracts, such as marriage agreements, are sometimes taken into consideration in various courts of law. This does not mean such agreements supersede established secular law. Kalispell Republican Sen. Keith Regier said he introduced the bill at the urging of constituents. Presumably, at least a portion of those who contacted Regier were motivated by Missoulas recently re-activated role in welcoming refugees, some of whom are Muslim. Regier missed an opportunity to reassure these concerned western Montanans that our new neighbors pose no credible threat to state statute. It would have been a much more productive use of his time to explain the facts of the matter to those who contacted him than to have legislation drafted and a hearing held on an issue that has no basis in reality. If the Legislature does approve his proposed bill, Montana would be the 10th state to allow religious bigotry to override common sense. We are betting that the majority of legislators have more sense than that. Certainly Gov. Steve Bullock does, and would swiftly veto the measure. Everyone in the U.S., regardless of religion, must abide by U.S. laws. Those who fear the erosion of fundamental rights should dedicate themselves to protecting them from real threats, not imagined ones. Legislators should not ride the waves of unfounded fear, but rather use every opportunity to educate their constituents. As a mother and small-business owner, I am deeply concerned about Sen. Steve Daines' apparent opposition to expanded Medicaid and CHIP, the Childrens Health Insurance Program which provides insurance for thousands of Montana children, including my daughter. On Jan. 12, Daines voted "yes" on a budget resolution that will cut federal funding for the CHIP program. Now the senator has another opportunity to stand up for Montana families by opposing the nomination of Tom Price for director of Health and Human Services. In his senate hearings, Tom Price refused to commit to ensuring that Montana families who depend on Medicaid for health care will not lose their coverage. However, Daines has stated that he plans to vote in favor of Prices nomination, a decision that will have grave consequences for Montana families like mine. In addition to being parents of a 1.5-year-old daughter, my husband and I own Tandem Bakery in Missoula. We are entrepreneurs, building a business for ourselves, providing jobs and contributing to the local economy. But this is a new venture and we are trying to grow without taking on debt, so we reinvest all of our profit back into the bakery. This means that, in addition to raising our daughter and running the business, my husband also works a day job which does not offer health insurance. Medicaid and CHIP have allowed us to take the risk of starting a new business. Without these programs my family would not be able to afford health insurance, and because we cannot allow our young daughter to go without coverage, we would have to close our business and fire our employees. If Daines is truly pro-family and pro-small-business, he will support CHIP and expanded Medicaid, and he will vote no on Tom Price. Beth Gherlein, Missoula Absentee ballots received by election offices as of Tuesday represented less than half of those that were sent to voters last month. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer's flair, to the Supreme Court on Tuesday night, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. He's known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump declared, announcing the nomination in his first televised prime-time address from the White House. Gorsuch's nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trump's own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the right's most powerful voice on the high court. With Scalia's wife, Maureen, sitting in the audience, Trump took care to praise the late justice. Gorsuch followed, calling Scalia a "lion of the law." Gorsuch thanked Trump for entrusting him with "a most solemn assignment." Outlining his legal philosophy, he said: "It is the rule of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." *** Some Democrats, still smarting over Trump's unexpected victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's "stolen seat." President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy after Scalia's death, but Senate Republicans refused to consider the pick, saying the seat should be filled only after the November election. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said he has "serious doubts" that Gorsuch is within what Democrats consider the legal mainstream, saying he "hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court." Trump's choice of Gorsuch marks perhaps the most significant decision of his young presidency, one with ramifications that could last long after he leaves office. After a reality television buildup to Tuesday's announcement including a senior Trump adviser saying more than one court candidate was heading to Washington ahead of the event the actual reveal was traditional and drama-free. For some Republicans, the prospect of filling one or more Supreme Court seats over the next four years has helped ease their concerns about Trump's experience and temperament. Three justices are in their late 70s and early 80s, and a retirement would offer Trump the opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for many years. Gorsuch would restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench. But he is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on abortion, gay marriage and other issues in which the court has been divided 5-4 in recent years. If confirmed, Gorsuch would join the court that is often the final arbiter for presidential policy. Justices upheld Obama's signature health care law in 2012 and could eventually hear arguments over Trump's controversial refugee and immigration executive order. *** Gorsuch's writings outside the court offer insight into his conservative leanings. He lashed out at liberals in a 2005 opinion piece for National Review, written before he became a federal judge. "American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means for effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education," he wrote. Gorsuch has won praise from conservatives for his defense of religious freedom, including in a case involving the Hobby Lobby craft stores. He voted in favor of privately held for-profit secular corporations, and individuals who owned or controlled them, who raised religious objections to paying for contraception for women covered under their health plans. The judge also has written opinions that question 30 years of Supreme Court rulings that allow federal agencies to interpret laws and regulations. Gorsuch has said that federal bureaucrats have been allowed to accumulate too much power at the expense of Congress and the courts. Like Scalia, Gorsuch identifies himself as a judge who tries to decide cases by interpreting the Constitution and laws as they were understood when written. He also has raised questions about criminal laws in a way that resembles Scalia's approach to criminal law. University of Michigan law professor Richard Primus said Gorsuch "may be the closest thing the new generation of conservative judges has to Antonin Scalia." Gorsuch, like the other eight justices on the court, has an Ivy League law degree. The Colorado native earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington law firm. He served for two years in George W. Bush's Department of Justice before Bush nominated him to the appeals court. His mother was Anne Gorsuch Burford, who was head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Reagan administration. Gorsuch was among the 21 possible choices for the court Trump released during the campaign. Other finalists also came from that list, including Thomas Hardiman, who serves alongside Trump's sister on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Pryor, a federal appeals court judge and Alabama's attorney general from 1997 to 2004. If Democrats decide to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination, his fate could rest in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump has encouraged McConnell to change the rules of the Senate and make it impossible to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee a change known in the Senate as the "nuclear option." A conservative group already has announced plans to begin airing $2 million worth of ads in support of the nominee in Montana, Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota, four states that Trump won and in which Democrats will be defending their Senate seats in 2018. LIBBY The death of a Libby woman more than three months ago has been ruled a homicide. The Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, in a news release, said circumstances at the Montana State Crime Lab caused the results of the autopsy to be significantly delayed. The crime lab, however, said the autopsy was performed two days after the woman's body was found, and the sheriff's office was told that same day the initial findings were that 53-year-old Tami Sunell's death was a homicide. "The final report was released 69 days after the autopsy was conducted, which is not unusual considering the complexity of this autopsy," Phil Kinsey, administrator with the Forensic Science Division and State Medical Examiner's Office, told the Missoulian. The Lincoln County coroner had been unable to determine the cause of death for Sunell, and ordered the autopsy. Deputies and the Libby Volunteer Ambulance had responded to a report of an unresponsive female at Libby-area residence on the morning of Oct. 18, 2016, and found Sunells body. Undersheriff Brandon Huff said when the autopsy results finally came in, the medical examiner had determined that Sunell had been strangled to death, and ruled it a homicide. The cause of death was listed as manual strangulation. Kinsey said both the coroner and sheriff's office "were made aware the day the autopsy was performed, Oct. 20, that the crime lab initially determined the death to be a homicide." Huff said Lincoln County Sheriffs Detective Nate Scofield is continuing his investigation into Sunells death. Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Scofield at 406-293-4112. The incoming judge appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock to serve the 5th Judicial District in southwest Montana said he isn't planning any big shakeups when he takes over Monday for retiring Judge Loren Tucker. Luke Berger is still tying up loose ends in Helena this week where he has prosecuted criminal cases as Lewis and Clark County deputy county attorney since 2012. Bullock chose Berger, a Dillon native, over two other candidates nominated out of an original 12 applicants whittled down by the Judicial Nomination Commission. When a district judge retires outside an election year, the governor appoints a replacement who must then run for reelection. Berger's first race is next year. Berger said Wednesday he and his family will relocate from Helena to the Twin Bridges area, where his wifes family has a ranch. Berger and his wife, Alexis Sandru, a lawyer, have two children, Ambrose, who is about to turn 3, and Alexander, who will turn 1 in May. He said they are looking forward to living near both sets of grandparents. The 5th Judicial District is the largest in western Montana, and Berger said he plans to continue Tucker's circuit to serve the tri-county area: Mondays in Virginia City, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Dillon, Wednesdays in Boulder and wherever necessary on Fridays. Virginia City and Dillon are about 30 miles from Twin Bridges, while Boulder is about a 60-mile drive. Some of that may change, Berger said, depending on the input he receives from the clerks of court and attorneys who work in each county. Caseloads fluctuate regionally, and he said a new judge is a good opportunity to reassess where resources should be redistributed if necessary. Small procedural changes are certainly coming, but Berger said the district's traditional routine shouldn't be affected that much in the short term. Of important notice to Berger are cases involving Child and Family Services, which he said have seen an uptick and are more time sensitive than other cases. At 35, Berger said he's the youngest district judge currently serving, though not the youngest in the state's history. He said some sitting judges were first elected to the bench while even younger than he is. Berger said his work as a prosecutor for the city of Helena and for Lewis and Clark County gave him a wealth of experience in the diversity of criminal law in a relatively short period, but that as a district judge he'll also have to hold sway over civil law cases, with which he is less familiar since clerking for the Montana Supreme Court seven years ago. Berger said some of the simplest logistical details still need to be worked out. He doesn't have access to his official judge's email account yet, much less the keys to the three main courthouses he will now work out of. "Hopefully I won't be sitting outside the courthouse in my car Monday morning waiting for the maintenance workers," Berger said. HELENA Two bills that would expand gun rights have cleared the Montana House and will now be taken up by the Senate. A measure from Kalispell Republican Rep. Randy Brodehl that would eliminate enforcement of a federal law barring guns from U.S. Post Office property passed Tuesday on a 60-39 vote. Also approved on a 60-39 vote was a concealed weapons measure from Helena Republican Rep. Bill Harris. That bill would allow people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit as long as they are eligible to possess a handgun under state or federal law. A similar measure was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2015. Law enforcement organizations, teachers' union representatives and gun safety advocates have opposed the bills. HELENA Several Montana organizations held a phone conference Wednesday to explain their opposition to President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, who has been lauded by Republican leaders in the state and nationwide. The Montana Human Rights Network, Forward Montana and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana said they disapprove of Gorsuchs record siding with employers of Hobby Lobby, who religiously objected to providing some forms of contraception to employees. We need a Supreme Court nominee who is going to stand up for the rights of all of us, not just some of us, Rachel Huff Doria, executive director of Forward Montana, said. The organizations are worried the rights of women, LGBTQ equality and civil liberties will be in jeopardy if Gorsuch takes the bench. Gorsuch hasnt ruled on an abortion rights case, but Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana is worried his past decisions, like with Hobby Lobby, could mean hes in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. Opposing Roe v. Wade is a disqualifier, Laura Terrill, VP of External Affairs for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana PAC, said. Its part of the fabric of this country. She said 70 percent of the country supports Roe v. Wade, the highest percentage since the decision was made in 1973. Rachel Carroll Rivas, co-director of Montana Human Rights Network, said more than 10,000 people came to the Capitol for the Montana Womens March to voice their support for protecting reproductive rights. All three organizations said they were organizing to call U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines and ask them to vote against Gorsuch. A spokesman for Tester, a Democrat, said the senator does not plan to play politics, and will give Gorsuch a fair shake. Tester requested a meeting with Gorsuch and plans to ask tough questions, but wont oppose him unless he sees a valid reason to do so. Its critically important that he has an understanding of the Constitution and is willing to defend it, Tester said in a statement. I look forward to sitting down with Judge Gorsuch, looking him in the eye, asking him tough questions, and finding out if he shares our Montana values. In a statement, Daines, a Republican, voiced his support for Gorsuch and said he wont legislate from the bench. I know that Judge Gorsuch will interpret the rule of law in accordance to the original intent of our founding document, the Constitution, he said. Jeff Essmann, Montana GOP state chair, issued a statement supporting Gorsuch, and called on Tester to respect the will of the American people and treat Gorsuch with the same respect the Senate has shown nominees of other newly elected presidents. Over the past year, some Republicans refused to hold confirmation hearings for former President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, whose record was praised by Democrats. Some Republicans are calling Gorsuch a near-perfect nominee deserving a quick green light, but some Democrats are calling his nomination a stolen seat and are expected to challenge him on principle. President Donald Trump will nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, Trump announced Tuesday night at the White House. The nomination of Gorsuch, a 49-year-old federal appellate judge from Colorado, gives Trump and Republicans the opportunity to confirm someone who could cement the conservative direction of the court for decades. His selection also sets up an intense fight with Senate Democrats, still angry over the Republicans' decision to essentially ignore former President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland for the empty Supreme Court seat last year. Introducing Gorsuch, Trump said he had committed as a candidate to "find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court." "Millions of voters said this was he single most important issue for them when they voted for me for president," Trump said. "I am a man of my word." "Today I am keeping another promise to the American people by nominating Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court." Trump made the announcement after an unusual day in which both top candidates for the nomination -- Gorsuch and Judge Thomas Hardiman -- were brought to Washington as the suspense built. The court has been operating with eight justices since the sudden death last February of Justice Antonin Scalia. If confirmed, Gorsuch would continue the ideological balance that existed before Scalia's death, with four conservatives, four liberals and Justice Anthony Kennedy as a swing vote between the blocs. Trump selected Gorsuch -- who sits on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals -- from a list of 20 potential justices compiled during the presidential campaign in a direct appeal to conservative and evangelical voters skeptical about his commitment to their values. Gorsuch's opinions on religious liberty, where he sided with the challengers to the so-called Obamacare contraceptive mandate, and on the separation of powers, where he said too much deference was given by the courts to administrative agencies, are key to his appeal to Republicans. As is his age. At 49, he could carry on Trump's legacy long after the President leaves office. Gorsuch's legal philosophy Unlike others on Trump's list, Gorsuch has an Ivy League pedigree, having attended Columbia and Harvard, and also studied at Oxford, where he earned a doctorate in legal philosophy. Gorsuch is a fourth generation Coloradan and a former clerk to both Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy. "It is an extraordinary resume. As good as it gets," Trump said. "The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute," Trump said. "I only hope that Democrats and Republicans can come together for one, for the good of the country." On the bench he joined an opinion siding with closely held corporations who believed that the so called contraceptive mandate of Obamacare violated their religious beliefs. The ruling was later upheld by the Supreme Court. Gorsuch wrote separately holding that the mandate infringed upon the owners' religious beliefs "requiring them to lend what their religion teaches to be an impermissible degree of assistance to the commission of what their religion teaches to be a moral wrong." He also wrote a majority opinion in a separation of powers case holding that too much deference was given to administrative agencies. This issue is a favorite of conservatives and Gorsuch's beliefs align with those of Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas. Gorsuch, in a speech last year at Case Western Reserve University School of law, aligned himself with Scalia's judicial philosophy. "The great project of Justice Scalia's career was to remind us of the differences between judges and legislators. To remind us that legislators may appeal to their own moral convictions and to claims about social utility to reshape the law as they think it should be in the future, " he said. "But that judges should do none of these things in a democratic society." At the White House Gorsuch he would faithfully commit to upholding the laws of the nation, saying he would act as a "servant of the Constitution and laws of this country." Like Trump, he cited Scalia as a model. "Justice Scalia was a lion of the law," he said. Democratic opposition When Obama nominated Garland to take Scalia's seat last year, liberals hoped that they would get a liberal majority that would swing the court left on key issues such as abortion, campaign finance and voting rights. But Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings, citing the impending election which was still eight months away. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Trump "outsourced this process to far-right interest groups." "President Trump said he would appoint justices who would overturn 40 years of jurisprudence established in Roe v. Wade," Leahy said. "Judge Gorsuch has shown a willingness to limit women's access to health care that suggests the President is making good on that promise." Democrats have said they would fight the new nominee "tooth and nail" putting not only his or her credentials to the test, but holding Republicans responsible for what liberals say is a "stolen seat." After Trump's unexpected win, conservatives rejoiced, expecting the new president to nominate someone to the bench in the mold of Scalia. They also hope that with three justices on the Supreme Court in their late 70s and early 80s, Trump might have at least one more vacancy to fill. If, for example, Justice Anthony Kennedy were to step down, the conservatives might be able to chip away at Roe v. Wade, the landmark opinion that legalized abortion. Mother was EPA administrator Gorsuch's confirmation would mean a return to Washington. He spent part of his youth in Washington when his mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, served in the Reagan administration as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. She resigned in 1983 under controversy after refusing to turn over toxic waste records to Congress. He served as a partner at a prestigious Washington Law firm, Kellogg, Huber as well as Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General. Gorsuch and his wife Louise have two daughters. They live in Boulder, Colorado. CNN's George Phillips contributed to this report. When I served in Iraq with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in 2003, I served alongside an Iraqi translator named Mustafa. Despite all he did to further our cause and protect me and my fellow troops, Mustafa is now the kind of person banned from the United States by President Trumps executive order on immigration. Rather than write an op-ed, I wanted to share the below letter I wrote to Mustafa as a way of making clear how I feel about this executive order and, more importantly, the Iraqis that I lived and worked with during my time in the military. Dear Mustafa, I wanted you to know that I have not forgotten your courageous service alongside American forces nearly fourteen years ago in northern Iraq. I haven't forgotten the times that you rode along with us in our unarmored Humvee as we drove down dangerous highways and into hostile villages, in search of insurgents on early morning raids. The endurance you showed while translating for us on multi-day missions was remarkable. I'll never forget the death threats you and your family received the warnings that if you continued to work with American forces, you and your family members would be killed. And I'll always admire the courage you showed in the face of those threats to continue to do what you believed was right. I have often told my family about the generosity you showed to us American soldiers. I still have pictures of the iftar dinner you invited us to join with you to build on our friendship and learn about your culture. It is so painful to reflect on how optimistic we were in the spring of 2003! Do you remember the letter exchange we organized between Iraqi and American students? It nearly brought me to tears reading your translation of the letters from the Iraqi students. They were so eager to get to know American students and put the war behind them. I was so impressed by how interested and excited students in my hometown of Helena were to learn about Iraqi students as well. My dream was that we were at the beginning of a lasting friendship between our two nations. It felt so close that it was nearly inevitable, but what a never ending nightmare it has been since those early "post-war" days. The grinding insurgency, followed by the barbaric and sadistic rise of ISIS. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you and your family as you all took up arms again to fight for your besieged country and your imperiled lives. And now, just as it appeared that Iraqi forces were on the verge of a hard fought victory over ISIS in Mosul, our President has issued an executive order barring the entry of all Iraqis from the United States. As a proud Iraqi, I can only imagine what a deep insult this order must be for you. I want you to know that as an American I consider the order a profound insult as well. It is foolish and dishonorable. It does not reflect the America I know and love. And of course, it does nothing to keep us safe and everything to put you at risk. It has always been widely recognized by American leaders that radical extremists purporting to speak for Islam did not speak for you, your family or your community. For years, American veterans have been working to expand the number of special visas available to protect interpreters like you from violent reprisals. I know so many other American veterans who now are working not only on that issue, but to overturn the entire order and help those impacted by it. We have not forgotten your service and hope that the friendship between our nations will somehow recover. Thank you for having the courage to work with us many years ago. I pray that it all has not been in vain. How times have changed over a few years. Remember, we were not supposed to vote for John F. Kennedy because he was Catholic. We were not supposed to vote for Ronald Reagan because he was divorced and remarried. But now we have a President who has been married three times and has a lot of baggage. Mr. Trump says he is a billionaire and as far as we know has not paid any taxes in a number of years. Mr. Trump has no political experience and has not been a good financial manager with his business filing bankruptcy four times. The whole focal point of Mr. Trump has been saying outrageous, harmful statements about women, minorities, immigrants, other politicians, the United States and anybody who does not agree with him. Mr. Trump has had over 3,500 lawsuits against him. Many sexual harassment suits have been filed against him. Over 100 employment-related lawsuits against him. Some 169 lawsuits of business disputes, antitrust suits, union and personal assistants lawsuits. Mr. Trump just had to settle a $25 million lawsuit for fraud of his so-called Trump University. Mr. Trump is having a difficult time with his choice of advisers and Cabinet members. He said he would drain the swamp but things are really mucky with his picks. Mr. Trump says he wants to "make America great again," but has not said what that means. He says he wants to help the middle class, but also says American wages are too high. Mr. Trump has criticized and made derogatory statements about John McCain, John Lewis, George Bush, Meryl Streep, The Pope, Barack Obama, he criticized all of the Republicans that ran against him in the primaries but he has never criticized Vladimir Putin. Very odd. Mr. Trump has a difficult time with truth and a disregard for facts. Oh well, Mr. Trump is not Catholic and has not been married twice. LaVon Brillhart, Dillon MOIESE If youre looking for work, the National Bison Range has several jobs it needs done, but be advised: The pay is low. Non-existent, to be precise. The Bison Range has long depended on volunteers, especially during its annual bison roundup. But with several full-time positions now having gone unfilled for anywhere from one to almost five years, the national wildlife refuge is stepping up efforts to recruit members of the public to help out. The refuge will host an open house next week, and invites anyone interested in learning more about the projects for which volunteers are being sought to stop into the Visitor Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The list of things that need doing range from staffing the Visitor Center, to mowing public use areas, to clerical duties, to assisting on biological projects. Weve had some degree (of volunteerism) over the years, but probably not this degree, said Laura King, acting visitor services manager. We dont see having any staff added, so we need volunteers to keep programs moving forward and help keep the gates open. Hiring at the Bison Range appears to have largely been in limbo for some time. The refuges fate has been up in the air since a federal judge in 2010 pulled the plug on an annual funding agreement that split refuge jobs between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. A year ago, FWS said if it were introduced in Congress, the agency would back a bill to transfer the Bison Range to the tribes. That would remove the range from the National Wildlife Refuge system, and FWS control. In the meantime, a growing list of FWS positions at the Bison Range has not been filled. *** The Bison Range has been without a law enforcement officer for one year, a permanent visitor services manager for 1 years, a deputy project leader for three years, a lead biologist for four years and another biologist position has been vacant for almost five years. Project leader Jeff King said FWS is moving forward to hire a law enforcement officer by May, but the other jobs remain vacant. Currently, the nearly 19,000-acre refuge that is visited by more than 200,000 people a year has four maintenance workers, one biologist and the project leader on staff. He referred all other questions about Bison Range staffing to the FWS Mountain-Prairie Regional offices in Denver. There, multiple phone messages left this week with Will Meeks, the assistant regional director for refuges, and Anna Munoz, the assistant regional director for external affairs, were not returned. We want to do the best job we can, and our volunteer workforce is important," Laura King said. One of my objectives is to build a more solid volunteer base here. The few we have now are indispensable. Laura King is Jeff Kings wife. She in on detail to the Bison Range from FWS, meaning its a temporary assignment. Rules bar her from being supervised by her husband, and she is supervised by the regional office. *** While there is no pay involved, there are potential perks. There are two RV pads with water, electric and septic hookups available for volunteers to use, one at the Bison Range and one at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, part of the complex overseen by Bison Range staff. There is also limited housing available for out-of-town volunteers. Some people volunteer for specific events such as the bison roundup each fall or projects, while others donate many hours over several months assisting in the Visitor Center or keeping day-use areas mowed. A press release announcing the open house listed several chores the staff is seeking help doing. Theyre looking for volunteers for trail maintenance, minor construction projects, answering phones, cleaning and maintaining restrooms, and interacting with the public in the Visitor Center and on the refuge. There are several ongoing biological projects that volunteers can assist with, and office tasks such as filing and the organization of historical records. Weve always utilized volunteers, Jeff King said, including approximately 25 during last years roundup. This is nothing new the biggest difference is, with Laura acting as visitor services manager, were taking it a step further and reaching out. The press release said the National Bison Range will continue to recruit volunteers until all our needs are met. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Dear President Donald Trump, I've heard some rumors in the British media that you're considering a trip over to the United Kingdom. I'm writing to tell you that you should definitely come, particularly if you want to get a nice little ego boost -- something I'm guessing you could use these days given all those so-called polls that show you're the least popular first-year president in polling history back home. But here in Britain, it'll be different. I swear. If you come, there will be "yuge" crowds -- perhaps the largest in the history of the country. From Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square and from Whitehall to Westminster, they will all come out to greet you. Throngs of chanting Brits, all there for you! (OK, maybe don't look at the signs held by the people in the crowds. Or listen to the slogans they're chanting. And keep in mind that if some really enthusiastic supporters extend their middle finger toward your motorcade or flash you the peace sign, here in Britain, those are all warm symbols of welcome. I know, I know -- the cultural differences are so interesting. It took a while for me to get used to it when I moved to the UK from the US, too.) Brits haven't always been on your side, I'll admit. Before the election last year -- the one that you have called a "landslide" victory despite the fact that about 3 million more people voted for your opponent -- one fake poll over here suggested that only 15% of the British public would vote for you if they had the chance, compared with 64% for Hillary Clinton. Of course, 21% said they were undecided because they didn't know enough. Boy, have you won them over since then. In June, three cowardly terrorists killed eight people in the London Bridge attack. But thankfully, you showed how much you cared. So as President of the United States, you weighed in with your thoughts right away. As paramedics were working to save lives and first responders were still at the scene, you bravely brushed aside political correctness and facts, using the terror attack to tweet out a renewed call for your (definitely not a Muslim) travel ban -- despite the fact the attackers were believed to be British, Moroccan and Italian and therefore may not have been subject to the proposed ban anyway. And then, of course, it was great how seven minutes later, you realized that it was probably a good idea to say something nice, so you added as a Twitter afterthought: "WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!" That was a really nice touch. I know everyone in Britain appreciated it. But for the doubters or haters who still thought you were being a political opportunist with your tweets, you sure showed them. London Mayor Sadiq Khan had the gall to tell people the following day that "Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days -- no reason to be alarmed." As Khan, mayor of the largest city in America's most important ally, was trying to reassure the public, you put him in his place by tweeting: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!" Context is for losers. Courtesy to allies shows weakness. Right? Brits -- and especially Londoners -- remember that moment, and they'll make sure they show you how much it meant to them if you come visit. But perhaps the best reason of all for you to come visit is an opportunity to see your new favorite Brit, Jayda Fransen. If you've forgotten, she's the leader of the neo-fascist hate group Britain First that you retweeted three times a little over a week and a half ago. Of all the people in the world, you picked her and gave her a platform, bringing her into the political mainstream. Sure, some of her videos were fake, and sure, she's been arrested for inciting religious hatred. But on the other hand, she loves you so I'm sure you'd love her. You should definitely come visit so you can have a photo-op together. OK, I'll admit those tweets sort of incited a diplomatic incident in which Prime Minister Theresa May had to call you "wrong" for spreading hateful messages that are antithetical to British values. But again, you showed her. First, you tweeted @theresamay, a British woman named Theresa Scrivener who had six followers. But nobody can get one past The Donald, so you quickly tweeted at the Prime Minister: "Don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!" Anyway, when people try to cite "surveys" that show 79% of Brits had confidence in Barack Obama's global leadership, compared with just 22% who have confidence in yours, don't believe the haters. Just come to Britain. You'll love it. And it'll be great for your ego. A settlement to end disputes between Butte-Silver Bow and the owner of an Uptown building that collapsed in 2014 might be scrapped because of a last-minute move made before the pact was signed. The county says an hour before Neil Joe Lynch agreed to deed over land where the building once stood in return for $283,000 in demolition claims against him being dropped, he filed encumbrances that restrict the countys use or sale of the property. Lynch filed a party wall agreement and a construction and maintenance easement involving adjoining properties without the countys knowledge, the county said in motion filed late Monday asking a judge to void the settlement. In essence, the county claims Lynchs moves last month were underhanded, were done only an hour before the settlement was signed and the encumbrances remain on the books despite repeated requests they be removed. Lynchs actions violate the parties settlement agreement, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and the implied covenants regarding the transfer of real property, and warrant good cause for the court to issue an order reopening this matter and allowing the case to proceed, says the motion filed before Butte District Judge Brad Newman. It was filed by Cynthia Walker, an attorney who has represented the county in the case. The Montana Standard left phone messages Tuesday with Lynch and a new attorney representing him, Robert G. McCarthy of Butte, seeking comments. The latest developments jeopardize a settlement to end 30 months of legal disputes between the county and Lynch that ensued in June 2014 when a long-vacant, four-story warehouse at 750 S. Wyoming St. partially collapsed. In a late-December move commissioners characterized as cutting the countys losses, Butte-Silver Bow dropped efforts to recoup $283,000 in taxpayer-funded demolition and cleanup costs from Lynch. In exchange for Butte-Silver Bow getting two lots where the building once stood, the county and Lynch agreed to drop legal claims for who was at fault for the collapse and who is liable for abatement costs. Commissioners said they agreed to the settlement because chances of ever collecting money from Lynch were slim to none. Lynch has owed back taxes for years and has other claims against him, commissioners noted, and the land at least might fetch $25,000 to $50,000 on the market. Lynch also did not return messages seeking comment on the settlement when The Standard first wrote about it in early January. According to Walkers court filing, Lynch filed the two encumbrances about an hour before transferring ownership of the land to the county. Both involve the empty lots and a building just behind them now owned by Neil Button of Butte, records show. Although county crews demolished the collapsed building in April 2015 after its rubble caught fire, a dividing wall between it and an adjoining building was left intact. Lynch filed an agreement with Button saying the wall will be maintained and nothing can be done to depreciate the others property, such as changes in designs, colors or roofing. The easement, among other things, gives Button 10 feet of access to the lots to do construction and maintenance work. The easement document says the grantor Lynchs company is the sole owner of his property and there are no lienholders, mortgages or trustees that have an ownership interest. The county, of course, got ownership an hour later. The county contends that with any transfer of property, there is an implied pledge that its free of encumbrances and no interests have been given to someone else. The county has repeatedly asked Lynch and McCarthy to remove the encumbrances but they have not, the Monday court filing says. Before the settlement, Judge Newman had set an April 10, 2017 trial to determine who was at fault for the building collapsing in the first place. The trial date had been postponed at least twice. The county says Lynch didnt take care of the building and should pay back $283,000 it spent to demolish it. Lynch says the collapse was due to flood damage that occurred when a water main broke during a fire at Whalen Tire in 2009. Commissioner Brendan McDonough, who represents the district where the building once stood, said Tuesday he was not surprised about the latest development but is confident the county will prevail on behalf of taxpayers. I guess its unfortunate that Joe still thinks its a good idea to negotiate or manipulate the situation even further, he said. DES MOINES After an emotional and at times tense day, the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee moved forward legislation that would cut funding from Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. Senate File 2 would discontinue a federal Medicaid waiver that provides millions of dollars in funding to family planning providers across the state. It instead would create a new state-funded program that would exclude facilities that provide abortions from receiving the funds. In fiscal year 2016, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland received about $1 million in funding through the waiver. To cover the new program, the state would shift money from a federal block grant that pays for child and family services. Last year, more than 12,000 Iowans received services through the waiver, including Pap smears, birth control and cancer screenings. No state or federal dollars are used to fund abortions. Before the committee meeting even took place, supporters and opponents of the legislation packed the statehouse. Anti-abortion advocates, dressed in black, sang hymns and prayed outside the committee room. Meanwhile, pro-abortion rights supporters, wearing pink, stood in the room holding up signs that read, I stand with Planned Parenthood. Ive received many comments and Ive read them, said Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, co-sponsor of the bill. Many Iowans have brought questions to me and concerns, and I have considered them all. Even the ones that called me names, shamed me and told me I have a special place in hell. Sinclair argues that the state-funded program would increase access for women, especially those in rural areas not served by a Planned Parenthood clinic, by spreading out dollars more evenly. She said the state-run program, which would begin on July 1, will fund the same services, including Pap smears and sexually transmitted infection testing. There are zero Planned Parenthood clinics in my senate district, she said. And I would suggest that is true for many other rural Senate districts as well. So anyone in my district would have to drive to one of those clinics, all located in urban areas, to access care for their needs under the current system. Echoing Sinclairs argument, Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, worked to poke holes in that argument, asking several senators all co-sponsors of the legislations to name the new providers in their districts that would offer the same level of care as Planned Parenthood. They were unable to. I have not availed myself to family planning services, Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, replied. Petersen argued that the program has been proven to work. Citing a May 2016 University of Iowa Public Policy Center study, she said, the Iowa Family Planning Network waiver has provided health care to 80,000 women since its inception in 2006; reduced Medicaid costs for deliveries, birth and first year of life by nearly $345 million; and saved the state about $3.40 for every dollar spent. Whats more, she said, politicians are putting themselves between women and their doctors, jeopardizing the care that thousands of low-income women receive through Planned Parenthood. Twenty-eight men (who co-sponsored the legislation) who have never had to get undressed, put on a gown and put their feet in stirrups for a Pap smear are telling women whats best for them, Petersen said. The bill, which was approved 8 to 5, now will move forward to debate on the Senate floor. MUSCATINE, Iowa With budget sessions underway for the city, the Muscatine City Council and staff have been reviewing budgets and looking toward the year ahead. At the third budget meeting in the past week on Tuesday night, the council heard from the Muscatine Public Works Department. Brian Stineman, the director of Public Works, said although this will be his first year in Muscatine going through the process, with everything he has been learning about the city he has been looking ahead. I do have a lot of goals that I would like to work on for next year, he said. One of those plans may mean an increase of $207,100 in the 2016/17 revised estimate from the original budget for the Roadway Maintenance Department, due to a request of $140,00 for an Asphalt Zipper, a machine that grinds old asphalt off of streets in need of repair. The ground asphalt could then be re-laid on the streets, improving the road. Stinemen said the purchase, either of a new or used machine, would save the department money and make road repair more efficient. "What I envisioned it to do is to speed up the process of repairing the roadway," he said. "We would have control over when we mill, where we mill, wed like to have the flexibility to do our own road work." Some departments will be looking at lower numbers for their revised estimates, like snow and ice control where the revised estimate for 2016/17 is less than the budget, due to a mild winter. The budget overview on the city's website states the city is expected to maintain the overall city tax rate at the amount it has for the past eight years, about $15.67 per $1,000 of taxable property valuation. It also states the proposed expenditures and revenue for the 2017/18 budget are expected to be approximately the same. The proposed 2017/18 budget can be found on the city's website at www.muscatineiowa.gov. MUSCATINE, Iowa New art hangs in the First Light Corridor of the Sunrise River Gallery, the first of many the owner hopes to display in a section of the gallery dedicated to featuring young up-and-coming area artists. Sunrise River Gallery opened in November with owner and artist Jim Elias saying he hopes the positive reception of the works of artists from the Muscatine community will continue. "This whole journey with this gallery has been an amazing ride, it's just been a blast," he said. Lee White, an MFA candidate at the University of Iowa, grew up in Buffalo Prairie, Illinois. White said he has long been familiar with Muscatine with family in the city, and is looking forward to having a home for some of his work over the next month. "It's almost like when you go revisit your childhood home," he said. "It feels like there's a sense of I always drifted around the area. But now I found a place that feels like I belong rather than being on the outside looking in." White's show, Early Works: Letting the Brushstroke Show, is composed largely of oil paintings, a medium White said allows him to connect with the physicality of the paint to express emotion. "I think the paint has a kind of substance or a matter and I try to use that matter as a method of expression," he said. His paintings include images of people surrounded by rich colors, which White said is almost a reflection of how he felt when he first got to graduate school and was surrounded by "chatter" from Facebook, media, and other people. "The figures are sort of stuck in this turgid brew of opposing sensations, it's kind of overwhelming," he said. Whites show at the Sunrise River Gallery will run through Feb. 26. "I'm thrilled to have him, because not only is it brilliant work but it's an opportunity to help a young artist get started," Elias said. The next young artists to have their work displayed in the First Light Corridor section of the gallery will be students from the Muscatine High School Art Club. "The mission of Sunrise River Gallery is to showcase local artists," Elias said in a press release. "We cant think of a better way to do that, than by supporting up-and-coming young artists." The Sunrise River Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, and by appointment. The gallery at 215 E. Second St., also features other area artists and their works. Fore more information call 563-607-5385 or visit www.sunriserivergallery.com. WAPELLO, Iowa - The countys housing resources must be a focus if Louisa County is to grow, Louisa Development Group (LDG) Interim Director Paula Buckman told the board of supervisors Tuesday. Buckman, a former county supervisor, updated the board on LDGs 2016 activities and looked ahead to what the economic and community development group was anticipating for 2017. Two key efforts should be to coordinate with other regional development groups and conduct a housing survey in the county, she told the supervisors. We need to build up relationships with area economic development people and get feedback on what kind of programs they are doing, Buckman said. She said that point was consistently raised during several recent meetings she had with development officials and leaders in Louisa and the surrounding counties. Buckman said coordination with other area economic development officials will help Louisa County appear more attractive to potential developers. She pointed out one example is the relatively small workforce available in Louisa County. However, if a prospective developer was shown a larger regional workforce, a perspective development site in Louisa County might appear more inviting. Buckman also said that would mean Louisa County would need to develop more sites zoned for industry or other commercial development. She said a regional map that identified those sites in several neighboring counties had excluded Louisa County. Why werent we asked to participate? supervisor Brad Quigley asked. I think they decided we didnt have these things, Buckman replied, explaining Louisa County only has one large area in the north part of the county that is zoned for industrial development. One piece of property wont get us as a member of that group, she said. Until we get more people we wont (get into the group), Quigley said. Buckman agreed and said that was one reason for seeking a housing survey in the county. I think LDGs main focus has to be housing, she said, explaining a survey would help identify existing residential housing and potential development opportunities. However, the estimated cost of $20,000 could be an issue. Buckman said she was hoping to get a firmer idea on the cost and begin meeting with local city governments and others to raise the necessary funding. The survey would help with grant funding for housing rehabilitation and a wide range of housing activities and develop. If we could get this done for less than $20,000, (we could) leverage it into $250,000, she predicted. Quigley indicated he saw a benefit in promoting housing. I think housing is more important right now instead of industry, he said. Buckman said she would need to meet with the LDG directors and get their opinions on potential projects before pursuing anything. Meanwhile, she also presented a proposed $41,000 LDG budget to the supervisors. That would be about $4,750 above this years projected spending. Buckman asked the board to increase the current $12,000 in funding it currently provides. In other action, the board: Approved the one-lot Dutton Acres Subdivision east of Grandview; Approved several right-of-way contracts for upgrading 160th Street from dirt to gravel as part of the U.S. Highway 61 relocation project near Grandview; Approved transferring $62,888 from Flood Mitigation to General Basic; Learned the Iowa Department of Transportation planned to hold a Feb. 21 public meeting on the proposed County Highway 99 bridge at Wapello. COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding a Columbus Junction man who has been reported missing from his residence. Aaron Joseph Goff, 34, is believed to have been missing from his Locust Street residence since the early morning hours of Monday, according to a news release from the Columbus Junction Police Department. Goff has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and is believed to be wearing tan Carhart overalls and round-toed work boots. No foul play is suspected. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the Columbus Junction Police Department at 319-728-2421 or the Louisa County Sheriff's Office at 319-523-4371. Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal LETTS, Iowa Alex Walgren always knew she wanted to be a teacher. On career day in elementary school, a lot of my classmates would show up with really awesome career choices, ones that seemed out of the ordinary, you know, I had a friend who would show up in an astronaut costume, someone would show up as president, and, you know, I probably wore my moms teacher badge with my picture taped on, she said. Walgren, who graduated from University of Iowa last December, is entering her third week of teaching eighth grade at Louisa-Muscatine Junior High, but her connection to the school and the district runs deeper. My mom graduated from L-M, [and] both my moms parents graduated from L-M, she said. Walgren herself grew up in Muscatine and attended the Muscatine Community School District, where her mother and her sister teach today. I feel like Im someone whos very much tied to community, which is why I fit very well at L-M, cause I know people really think highly of this community and I do as well, she said. But her personal experiences with the Louisa-Muscatine School District started earlier, when she student-taught with Stacy Peterson at the high school last fall. And that exposure helps her in her current job. I had a huge advantage because some of the smaller things that I was supposed to know, I knew by virtue of being here, she said. Walgren is an eighth grade resource teachershe tutors students who need extra help. Its just giving more opportunities for students to receive re-teaching or pre-teaching, she said. So in math, if were learning slope, were going to learn in the general education classroom and then theres extra time in their day to allow for me to maybe extend that learning. In her homeroom at the Junior High, she created an inviting atmosphere for the students she tutors, including a corner which she calls her living room complete with a couch, lamps, and two directors chairs, which she scavenged from family members. I think people are more able to read in a comfortable environment, and I think by providing areas where its a little more cozy, a little more homey, its easier to get lost in a book, she said. On the wall above the couch hang a souvenir from her student-teaching days: a quilt her former students decorated. On it are messages like youre a teacher! and once a Falcon, always a Falcon and we will miss you. The students created the quilt as a surprise, and Walgren still smiles when she looks at it. When she isnt working one-on-one with students, she co-teaches classes, working other teachers on lesson plans and teaching with them. Since her background is in English, she co-teaches with English teacher Rafael Benitez. And co-teaching, she said, has its rewards. Its cool too, cause we can throw kids off-guard. We are on the same page, because we can take the time to plan [our lesson] so we kind of jump in and out of each others sentences, so it kinds of keeps students on their toes, she said. Since she holds two roles in the school, her day changes depending on what she does: tutoring or co-teaching. These frequent changes, she said, are reminiscent of being a student. I feel like a student again, because, you know, Im having to adjust in that 4-minute period for the next class period, she said. But it is all worth it. I work in a profession where I have the opportunity to positively impact a young persons life, she said. And its not just one person that I have the opportunity to, its a hundred opportunities five days a week, so to me education is the most powerful thing there is and the fact that I can possibly play a role in helping someone else find a joy in education is really motivating. MUSCATINE Evelyn M. Petersen, 87, of Muscatine, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, at Lutheran Homes, Muscatine, where she had resided for nine years after having a stroke in 2008. A private family gathering will be held to celebrate her life in February in Chicago. The Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be made to Grace Lutheran Church Choir/Music Program or to the Museum of Danish America, PO Box 249, Elk Horn, Iowa 51531. Online condolences: wittichfuneralhome.com. Evelyn was born June 25, 1929, in Plentywood, Montana, the daughter of Arthur and Emma (Jacobso) Frost. She attended Grandview College, a Danish college in Des Moines, studying for a nursing degree. While attending Grandview College, she met a Danish exchange student, I.H. "Pete" Petersen. Upon graduation, she went with Pete to Copenhagen, Denmark, so that he could receive his immigration visa for a return to America. They were married June 3, 1949, in Denmark. When they returned from Denmark, they lived in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Charlotte, North Carolina, before moving to Muscatine in 1962 when Pete became general manager at Battersons Department Store, where Evelyn worked beside him always. They also owned and operated Town and Country Fabric Shop for many years before retiring. She has been a member of Grace Lutheran Church since 1962, and for decades served as the church organist. Her faith in her Lord carried her through these final years and she understood the message of the eternal trip she was about to go on. Her absolute passion and giftedness were music having both perfect pitch and the ability to play the piano and organ from the age of 4. Evelyn will be remembered by her family as a kind and happy person even in her failing health, never wanting to be a bother to others and always appreciative of all those who cared for and about her. She had an inner toughness that no matter what the world might throw at her, she would get through it and be stronger because of it. She has traveled across the Atlantic in excess of 22 times to visit family and friends in Denmark and will make one more trip across with her sons to be buried with her husband in Copenhagen. Those left to honor her memory include two sons, Paul A. Petersen and wife, Jeannie, and David A. Petersen and wife, Diane, all living in the Chicago area; three grandchildren, Steven, Denee and Drake; and three great-grandchildren, Ava, Ingrid and Linnea. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Pete, on Dec. 24, 2003. EDITOR, Muscatine Journal, Examination of our prison system shows great social and financial expense to society in terms of impact on humanity. As we as a nation change and combat racial injustices, we should take this opportunity to examine mandatory minimums, care of the mentally ill in prisons, and the demographics of those incarcerated. To explore these issues the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Muscatine County invites the public to participate in a community read of Michelle Alexanders book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The Musser Public Library has ten books for checkout to anyone interested. The LWV of Muscatine County and the Alexander G. Clark Cultural Series at Muscatine Community College are pleased to have Adrien Wing present and lead discussion about The New Jim Crow. Adrien Wing is the Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law Programs and the Bessie Dutton Murray Professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, where she has taught since 1987. Additionally, she serves as the Director of the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights. Discussion on this topic will take place on February 28, at the Student Center, Muscatine Community College, at 7:00 pm. You will be informed about mass incarceration and its connections to the greater society. We invite you to check out this book, The New Jim Crow, from the library and attend an evening of learning that promises to be inspiring on February 28 at 7 pm. Sue Johannsen, LWV Muscatine County Naomi DeWinter, Alexander G. Clark Foundation EDITOR, Muscatine Journal: On Thursday, Jan. 19, a state senator wanted to lift restrictions on possessing a machine gun, a short barreled rifle or a short barreled shot gun in Iowa. Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, introduced a bill that seeks to eliminate the states prohibition on possessing weapons that are regulated under federal law. What the H is he thinking? We have enough guns in the h ands of the wrong people. Give them machine guns so they can up their kill at mass shootings? (We have been lucky here in Iowa). People are scared so they buy guns to protect themselves. And it just keeps going. Men are shooting their wives, women shooting their husbands, people shooting their whole families. Guns are high tech and laws have changed. Guns are everywhere. How many people were killed in Chicago last year? Do you think you are safer now than 10 years ago? I wish we could have gun control but I think it may be too late. Mary Clester Muscatine, Iowa President Trumps send in the Feds warning to Chicago is history repeating itself when over 100 years ago the New York state militia was used against the Manhattan gangs. He unwittingly sounded for Constitutional Law in his ultimatum to cities in the unregistered citizen situation since the U.S. Constitution, not including the state militias, are not allowed to fund the states, their enacted counties, parishes, and municipalities. In his first week as president of the United States, Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders on a number of subjects. Some of those orders, such as his withdrawal of presidential recommendation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty (presidents propose treaties, the Senate ratifies them) and a hiring freeze in the executive branch, seem to fall squarely within his powers as laid out by Article II of the US Constitution. Others, such as his conditioning of federal funding for "sanctuary cities" on their willingness to start doing the federal government's work for it, his order to begin building a wall along the US border with Mexico, and his ban on entrance into the United States by nationals of seven predominantly Muslim countries, not so much. Trump's early actions as president have given rise to substantial protest, not to mention litigation. Will he get away with ruling by decree? The Constitution says no. History says yes. The Trump presidency is far from sui generis . Rather it is the inevitable culmination of America's long slide into a nearly worshipful attitude toward executive power -- what Cato Institute vice-president Gene Healy dubbed, in his 2008 book of that name, The Cult of the Presidency. The theory of American government is that the president is the chief executive. Words mean things. The president's job is to implement -- to execute -- the will of Congress as expressed in legislation. He's not the homeowner. He's the housekeeper. That's the theory. In practice, presidents have, over time, carved out considerable personal power for themselves. Especially since World War Two and especially in the area of foreign policy (for example, Truman's decision to go to war in Korea first and ask Congress for approval second), they've tended to treat Congress as a rubber stamp. Instead of following Congress's lead, they expect Congress to follow theirs. And it's worked. Americans have become accustomed to regard the president as what George W. Bush called himself: "The Decider." Or, as Barack Obama put it, "[w]e're not just going to be waiting for legislation .... I've got a pen and I've got a phone." The "strong executive/weak executive" debate goes back to the founding of the United States. For the last half century and more, the "strong executive" side has been winning out. The result: President Donald Trump and, for all intents and purposes, the finale of our national transformation from republic to banana republic. Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida. Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] Churchill Live comedian Sleepy David has penned a moving post in honor of veteran comedian and Churchill Show host Daniel Ndambuki aka Churchil. As part of the shows Patriot Edition in which they celebrate patriotic individuals this week, Sleepy David is celebrating the man who gave him an opportunity that completely changed his life. In his long open letter, Sleepy David narrated how he used to watch Churchill from a black and white television set while in high school. His desire to be on TV saw him travel to Nairobi and as they say the rest is history. Read his full tribute below: MY OPEN LETTER TO CHURCHILL. Many years ago while in high school I watched Churchill Live on our black and white TV huko ushago..after the show i imitated the former president MOI The entire family laughed at my jokes and my mum would always summaries with wewe uko na vituko unasomanga saa ngapi. My main desire was to one day be on TV and my brother who was already in Nairobi promised to hook me with his friend who had connection at Tahidi High. They connector went mteja as soon as I arrived.My Bro promised to take me to watch you at the carnivore I was excited. We went back home he bought me Chris Rocks CD Kill the messenger I dint understand any joke but I knew deep down this is what I want. I had officially joined him at Luthuli to sell phones. FOR days I requested him to take me to the National Theatre because I couldnt go by myself for reasons we all know ? ? ? one day he created time because I had insisted for so long and that is where the journey to the birth of Sleepy David took off.i joined Alliwahs Theatrix Arts Ensemble did set books meet new friends we did comedy nights in clubs. finally got an opportunity to join Churchill Show. We meet at your backstage,you asked me so I call you sleepy? Yes. What do you do? Im a student at KU okay.how are you feeling? Im nervous. Itakua poa. From that day my life changed, God had planned this for a long time I couldnt believe it. Like other Comics I had found home. Churchill show became home,still is and forever will be. You gave me an opportunity to explore my crazy thoughts, to make mistakes, to discover myself.to perform alongside Africas finest like Basket mouth and many more, I hope that one day I will be able to open doors for others like you did to me, to give opportunities to others,to unite the country through laughter and to inspire a generation. This week as we celebrate the patriot Edition I celebrate you as the real Patriot.You are the greatest of our time, Soon I will be able to appreciate you in a big way but for now allow me to say a Big THANK YOU, to you and to all the Kenyans for building me. May the almighty God Bless you all abundantly. Torrential January rains left Napa County government with 36 cases of road-and-infrastructure damage and a repair bill that could top $34 million. Napa County is hoping to recoup some of this money from the state and federal governments, given Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a storm disaster declaration. But how much money and when it might come is uncertain, a county report said. The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved taking the short-term step of spending $500,000 to $1 million in county funds to do design and engineering work for the needed road repairs. This is seed money, Public Works Director Steven Lederer said. This is the early stages of a project. Perhaps the most visible storm damage came when a slide closed heavily traveled Silverado Trail north of St. Helena for several days, until the county built a temporary retaining wall. Now the county must find a permanent solution. A county report estimates repairs could top $5 million. But thats not necessarily the big-ticket item. Repairing a slide along upper Redwood Road in the Mayacamas Mountain west of Napa could cost more than $7 million. For now, the road remains passable with one lane. This is the case where the hillside below the road slipped out, roughly 200 feet long and roughly 200 feet to 300 feet down the side of the hill, Lederer said. The list of roads suffering some degree of storm damage at 23 sites extends across the county. Included are sections of Howell Mountain Road northeast of St. Helena, Pope Canyon Road in Pope Valley and Berryessa Knoxville Road near Lake Berryessa. In addition, the storm damaged wastewater ponds and other infrastructure associated with sewage treatment facilities for Lake Berryessa communities. The Board will address those 13 repairs at another time. County staff proposed taking that $1 million for road repair design work from $1 million targeted for 12 specific road projects this summer. That would put projects such as Silverado Trail and Mount Veeder Road pavement repairs at risk. Supervisors didnt want the storm damage to delay these other, planned projects, creating an even bigger backlog in future years. Supervisor Ryan Gregory said Mount Veeder Road is falling apart. Some of us were on the campaign trail and we were loud and clear that we need to start moving forward on road maintenance, not backward or pausing, Gregory said. Napa County keeps 3 percent$5.8 millionof its general fund set aside for unexpected expenses, such as repairing a broken elevator. The Board decided to use up to $1 million from this source for the storm-damage road repair design work. The Board of Supervisors will have to make more spending decisions related to January road storm damage at some point. Once the $1 million in design work is done, there will still be that $34 million or so in repairs that must be made. Lederer said he will come back to the Board project-by-project and perhaps with repair alternatives. He used lightly traveled, dead-end Redwood Road east of The Hess Collection winery and that estimated $7 million slide repair as an example. I may also come to you with an option that says, Maybe for $3 million, I can get one-and-a-half lanes back, Lederer said. It wont be as it was, but it will be serviceable. California Office of Emergency Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials last week inspected some of the countys storm-damaged sites, Lederer said. Ultimately, what that means in terms of reimbursement is still unknown, Lederer said. There are still a lot of pieces in the process at the state level and perhaps at the federal level. Theres a little keypad-secured room in Pacific Union Colleges Chan Shun Hall where you have to raise your voice to be heard over the sci-fi-ish hum of a vacuum-sealed ion beam chamber. The experiment is similar to the cutting-edge research being conducted at prestigious labs like Lawrence Livermore in the Bay Area and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. The fact that its happening at a small liberal arts college in the Napa Valley is a sign of professor Vola Andrianarijaonas determination to prove that PUC can play in the big leagues of experimental particle physics. Its incredible to go to a lab or a conference, see someone from MIT or Yale, and be able to talk to them as peers, not as students from some small school in the Napa Valley, said biophysics major Charles De Guzman, who said Andrianarijaonas research was one of the things that drew him to PUC. The departments experimental equipment was paid for by a $170,000 grant Andrianarijaona known as Dr. Vola received from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Competing with large, research-focused universities, PUCs grant application was one of only five out of about 800 to receive full funding. Vola believes there are a few reasons the college received the grant: the racial and gender diversity of the students who would be doing the research, the apparatus portability, which allows it to be used at other labs, and the experiments multidisciplinary appeal to non-physics students who are studying medicine at the molecular level. Although Vola was too modest to say so, his department chair, Steve Waters, said Volas reputation was also a factor in PUCs tiny physics program punching above its weight class. We have some really prestigious professors here, Waters said, pointing to Vola, who has also worked at the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. There are other departments (at PUC) that are doing research, but not with the same kind of funding and not on the world stage like this, Waters said. The NSF grants this is the second one obtained by Vola have enabled PUC to collaborate with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where PUC physics major Dmytro Panchenko spends a lot of his time. At those labs, PUC students have access to experiments and scientists that most liberal-arts college undergrads could only dream of working with. Dr. Vola is very active in engaging students in the department, Panchenko said. He could have done all of this by himself much quicker and much better, but he wants to give us experience thats otherwise unavailable. Even in bigger schools its often difficult to find research because undergraduates are really not wanted. Like a lot of modern physics experiments, this one involves smashing tiny particles together and seeing what happens. As physics major Aaron Watson explained, vaporized sodium is shot into a beam of H2+ hydrogen ions, which consist of two protons and one electron. The goal of the experiment, which has major implications for everything from fighting cancer to understanding comets, is to measure the energy level of the hydrogen beam. When the vaporized sodium hits the hydrogen ions, the sodium gives off electrons and one of two things happens to the ions: They either stay together in one molecule of H2, which isnt very interesting, or separate into two neutral H particles, which is what the researchers are really after. Neutral H particles are plentiful in space but very rare on Earth, where hydrogen atoms are usually combined with another type of atom such as oxygen (H2O). When neutral H particles are formed during the collision, they shoot off in different directions and hit a pair of offset sensors. The time lag between particle #1 hitting sensor #1 and particle #2 hitting the slightly-further-away sensor #2 reveals the vibrational state (and therefore the temperature) of the original ions. Thanks to the weird fluctuations of quantum mechanics, the energy reading isnt the same for every collision, so the experiment is repeated many thousands of times. Students plot each energy reading on a graph and use statistical analysis to study the results. Building what amounts to a high-tech, amazingly expensive thermometer is fun, but the data that comes out of the experiment has practical implications. De Guzman is interested in the experiments data because the breakdown of the hydrogen ions is remarkably similar to the way cancer breaks down strands of DNA. Figuring out exactly how that process works might eventually help doctors interfere with it. Were understanding biological phenomena through a physics lens, said De Guzman, whos bound for medical school next year. The experiment also mimics the way solar wind ions emanated by the sun and other stars interact with passing comets to form the comets colorful tails, a subject that fascinates astronomers and astrophysicists. Astronomers cant go out and touch those objects, but studying similar interactions in the lab can reveal what happens in space, Panchenko said. The NSF grant funds the equipment and enables PUCs physics program to work with major research labs, but Vola wants to raise another $15,000 or so to cover some minor renovations in the little room that houses the equipment, as well as allow his students to attend physics conferences where they can share their work and see what other physicists are doing. At these conferences there will often be one or two Nobel Prize recipients, Vola said. Nobody wants to miss that. Rep. Mike Thompson visited Napa Valley Care Center on Friday morning to answer questions from seniors and medical professionals about the future of healthcare coverage under the Trump Administration. The first question came quietly from 70-year-old Gwyn Bissell. She hasnt heard any specifics to what the replacement for the Affordable Care Act would be, Thompson said. Theres a reason why she hasnt. Theres no replacement. Despite criticism of the Affordable Care Act, which is often referred to as Obamacare, Thompson said that there are parts of the legislation that are popular with an overwhelming majority of the country, including the provisions protecting those with pre-existing conditions and allowing young adults to stay on their parents healthcare plans until age 26. Everybody wants to save those components, he said. You cant save them by themselves because it becomes costly to do that, thats why the rest of the act is important. I had a question about the Medi-Cal block grants, said Julie DeSoto, a long-term care field ombudsman for Napa County. So from what I understand the money is going to go each state. Does it have to be spent on Medi-Cal or is it going to go into a slush fund? How are we gonna know where the funds are going? Thompson said that most states would probably have some sort of protection in place to ensure that the money goes to Medicaid coverage, which in California would be Medi-Cal. Some states youre right some states will try and play fast and loose with that, he told DeSoto. On the Medicare side, the idea is to give everybody a voucher, Thompson said. Individuals with vouchers would take those vouchers into the community and find their own healthcare, he said. And you know what would happen. Automatically that would become the floor and it would go up from there, so insurance companies would say OK, thank you for your whatever it is $1,000 voucher, you owe me $1,000 more. Thompson said that there are, of course, things that need to be changed about the Affordable Care Act, but there has never been any piece of legislation that was written perfectly. The minute the ink is dry, he said, things start changing and you need to constantly address those unintended consequences and changes that happen in the world. The thing that is offensive to a lot of people is this mandate that you have to buy insurance, Thompson said. Maybe I just dont understand that way of thinking, but I dont see that as being un-American or a problem. You gotta have health coverage, either that or you just gotta not go to the doctor or get sick. We cant have it both ways, he said. It would affect a lot of us here, said Jeff Jamieson, administrator at Napa Valley Care Center. About 85 percent of the people at the skilled care facility are covered by either Medicare or Medi-Cal, he said. What do you see five years from now, he asked Thompson, how this really playing out? I dont know, Thompson said. Im worried about the next two years and Im worried about making sure that we can preserve Medicare and that we can preserve access to quality, affordable healthcare. Although there have been people who complained that their copayments and other costs increased when the Affordable Care Act was enacted, Thompson said that the data doesnt support that. Sure, some copays went up. Sure, some healthcare costs went up but overall the increase in healthcare is the lowest now than its been in the last 20 years, he said. Without the Affordable Care Act, healthcare costs were going to increase anyway, he said. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, he said, people with preexisting conditions will become financially strapped since the provision protecting them will also be gone. If you have a kid who is 8 years old or 15 years old and diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, this is gonna follow them for the rest of their life, Thompson said. Jamieson said costs that arent covered, like particular medicines, add up quickly. When his son was diagnosed with cancer nine years ago, he said he had to sell his home and move in with in-laws in order pay for his sons medical coverage. Its a long-term problem, he said, and it affects more than just seniors. Cancer doesnt strike just liberals or just conservatives, cancer strikes everybody, Thompson said. Were all susceptible to these medical tragedies. Thompson said that people need to tell their stories and make sure that people know that this issue is important to them share them with their representatives and their communities. Write letters to the editor and speak at public meetings, he said. I was very concerned about what would happen to our Medicare and he answered all the questions that I had, said Delores Sisler, 87. I feel a lot better. Just hours after Thompons visit to Napa Valley Care Center, his office sent out a press release in response to the White House ending its outreach on open enrollment for Obamacare. Although open enrollment through HealthCare.gov lasts until Jan. 31, the White House said that it will not be going through with an advertising campaign aimed at getting younger adults to enroll in healthcare before deadline, according to Thompsons office. Thompson said that the move is irresponsible. Despite the fact that President Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, it is still in place and that Americans have a right to know when open enrollment ends, he said. In California, outreach and marketing is coordinated through Covered California, and will continue as planned, Thompsons office said. California residents can sign up for health insurance at coveredca.com. In reply to Messrs. Day and Kampton (Letters: Jan. 20 and 17, respectively), I am one of millions of citizens disturbed by the election of Donald Trump, but we are neither vituperative nor whining. We are patriots concerned about the future of our country. I have lived through the administrations of 14 presidents, and this is the first time that I have felt this concerned about where the president will lead the country. I have voted in every election since 1964 and disagreed with some candidates policies or qualifications, but I never before doubted a presidential candidates patriotism. I cannot say that today. Trumps rise as a candidate emerged in early 2011, after he publicly questioned President Obamas citizenship. He was not the first; more than a dozen Republican politicians have done so. The others said (falsely) that the president had not provided proof of his U.S. birth, but Trump claimed to have hired private investigators and said, you wouldnt believe the things they are finding. In fact, President Obama had already posted on his website both his standard Hawaii Certificate of Live Birth and the original certificate signed by his mother and her attending physician. The Republican Governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, had publicly confirmed the authenticity of President Obamas birth documents. Yet, Trump continued his lies about the presidents legitimacy throughout the next 5 years, admitting the truth only last September without explaining his lies or apologizing for them. Trump treats others similarly. He insulted or bullied every one of his opponents in the Republican presidential primaries, including insinuating that Sen. Cruzs father had helped Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate President Kennedy. In the fall campaign, Trump received the assistance of Russia and an international fugitive in defaming his opponent. He claimed without proof that Hillary Clinton was corrupt and a criminal. He stated that he would throw her in jail if he were elected. Most of the damaging information he used came from emails stolen by the Russian government, which had hacked email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and its chairman, John Podesta and released by them through WikiLeaks. Trump publicly asked the Russians to hack Clintons own email server to steal private emails that she had legally destroyed. This was a U.S. presidential candidate soliciting a foreign government to commit a criminal act on his behalf. There was more to Russias assistance to Trumps campaign than pure coincidence. The FBI and government counter-intelligence agencies are currently investigating possible contacts between the Russian government and the Trump campaign organization going back several years. Those contacts are described in a dossier, published recently by BuzzFeed. It is a compilation of raw intelligence reports on Trumps contacts with Russia, prepared by a former British MI6 agent for one of Trumps Republican opponents and later passed on to U.S. authorities and others. If all this sounds too outlandish to be true, bear this in mind: it has happened before. We now know that in 1968, President Johnson had halted bombing to pursue peace talks with North Vietnam. Richard Nixon secretly contacted South Vietnamese leaders, asking them to boycott the talks to help him win the election, and promising them better terms if they did so. The war lasted five more years, costing 28,000 more American soldiers lives; after which Nixon ended the war on much the same terms as President Johnson was seeking in 1968. The American people have been betrayed before by men lusting after power, and it looks like we have been betrayed again. Donald Trumps life path is littered with the shards of broken promises he made to people who trusted him: the Polish workers (illegal immigrants, by the way) who dismantled New Yorks Bonwit Teller Building to make room for Trump Tower and whom Donald Trump refused to pay after they finished; the citizens who bought stock in Trumps three Atlantic City casinos before he filed for bankruptcy after pillaging the casinos assets as executive compensation for himself; the thousands who signed up to learn secrets to gaining wealth in real estate at Trumps phony university. The point is clear: Trumps dishonesty and self-dealing are life-long practices, not one-time mistakes. Some believe that Trump will grow into the presidency. What I see is our President spending New Years Eve partying with a guy with the Mafia nickname Joey No Socks, using a speech at the CIA Memorial Wall to excoriate the American press, having his new press secretary make a blatantly false claim that his inaugural crowd was the largest in history. I hope that patriotic Republicans in Congress will soon lose tolerance for this. When they do, I will be happy to support the Congress doing its duty via impeachment. Thomas G. Gans Napa The St. Helena City Council has committed another $200,000 to an 8-unit affordable housing project at 1105 Pope St. At a special meeting on Tuesday, the council unanimously agreed to the latest increase in the amount of the loan, which brings the total contribution from the citys affordable housing trust fund to $700,000. Mayor Alan Galbraith said hed be willing to consider adding another $35,000 at a future meeting to cover the cost of a performance bond ensuring that the project gets built. Calistoga Affordable Housing (CAH) is developing the project on a site where multiple illegal units were red-tagged by the city in 2011 due to unsafe conditions. The new proposal is known as Turley Flats in honor of vintner Larry Turley, who bought the property and donated it to Calistoga Affordable Housing. The council had already loaned $500,000 to the project from the citys affordable housing trust fund. Last October the council balked at increasing the loan to $640,000, which CAH had requested in order to secure a matching loan of the same amount from the county. The county shared the same concerns about the projects financing, particularly whether CAH would be able to cover unforeseen costs that would arise during construction. According to a city staff report, the countys decision on whether to loan CAH another $640,000 will partially be based on the citys decision regarding this additional funding, as they have identified that without the citys contribution the overall budget for the project could not be met. City staff proposed increasing St. Helenas loan from $500,000 to $700,000 $60,000 more than CAH had originally requested to provide contingency funds for unforeseen construction costs. The $700,000 loan would leave about $410,000 in St. Helenas affordable housing trust fund. Infinite oodles of news and a very finite word limit in which to report it. Lets start with some not-quite-ancient history *** Local historian Jay Greene is taking on the colorful duo of Andrew Jackson and Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, with Old Hickory & the Iron Duke, a two-part lecture series at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7 and 21, at the St. Helena Public Library. Each won a major military battle in 1815: the Battle of New Orleans for Jackson and the Battle of Waterloo for Wellington. They came from decidedly different backgrounds: the Tennessee frontier for Jackson and the ballrooms of Europe and colonial India for Wellington. They never met, but Jay will explain why they both made a profound impact on their respective countries. The talks are graciously sponsored by the Friends & Foundation, St. Helena Public Library. *** The First Presbyterian Church in Napa celebrated its 162nd anniversary on Jan. 22, and at least two of the participants will be familiar to St. Helenans: Beclee Wilson, Napa Valley Poet Laureate, and Nancy Levenberg, executive director of the Napa County Historical Society and former president/CEO of the St. Helena Chamber of Commerce. The church sent out a photo of them with the message, We extend many heartfelt thanks to these two wonderful women who participated in our worship service and added tremendously to our joyous celebration. Well done, Beclee and Nancy. *** Soroptimist of St. Helena Sunrise is hosting a bingo night to benefit Rianda House at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, at the Native Sons Hall. Cash prizes, hot dogs, chili, snacks, wine, beer sounds like a grand time. A $25 donation gets you nine games. *** I occasionally pass on news about which local students have made the honor roll at faraway colleges, but Shannon Nolans achievement is even more distinguished. The St. Helena High School grad (Class of 2010) and University of Washington alum was one of four Middlebury Institute MBA students on a team that won the Business for a Better World Case Competition, which took place Jan. 19 in Davos, Switzerland, in tandem with the World Economic Forum. Shannons team brought home $6,000 and a crystal trophy. Their proposal A Purposeful Tilt used the tilting strategy of a well-diversified portfolio to generate impact, according to a statement from Middlebury, which adds, The team gave added weight to firms based on their proprietary financial and impact evaluation, and created a dynamic model that can be adapted to meet the specific needs of a target market. To which I can add only my throatiest huzzahs for Shannons hard work and prestigious recognition. *** Whichever side of the political aisle you hail from, Dear Readers, theres no denying that changes are afoot. The Internet, confirmation bias and those suddenly famous alternative facts will be among the ideas explored in Jeff Schechtmans upcoming Napa Valley College class Local Politics & Local Media in the Digital Age. The class will explore how digital media and new technologies are shaping our local elections and our local debates, with guests including local journalists, local elected officials, political consultants and community activists. The class takes places over four Tuesdays, Feb. 7-28, at the main campus in Napa. Register at NapaValley.edu. I recently re-read a talk given by Elder J. Devn Cornish, a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titled, Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It? It reminded me that far too often we consider the Saviors encouragement that we become perfect, even as Our Father in Heaven is perfect (Matt: 5:48) to be an absolute earthy expectation. Since life is a journey and not necessarily a destination, we should be grateful for the incremental, albeit seemingly slow progress we make in becoming better people. The Saviors gift of repentance should always be interpreted as a positive opportunity, as opposed to a dark and negative reminder of our imperfections. His atoning sacrifice (the Atonement) enables us all to become each day more like Him. To the question Am I good enough? we should be reminded that there is truly no such thing as being good enough. As Elder Cornish indicated, none of us could ever earn or deserve our salvation, for it is only through the Atonement that we receive forgiveness for our shortcomings. Since mercy cannot rob justice, the Saviors sacrifice for us makes it possible for all of his children to have the possibility of being with Him again. He carries our more serious burdens. In the Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ), the Savior said the following in reference to the sinner, and that would be all of us: If he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also. Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. (Mosiah 26:29-30) Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reviewed that same principle with the following words: However many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light that Christs Atonement shines. We also should be reminded that clearly our sins/mistakes have consequences for us and far too often for those against whom we have sinned. Nonetheless, if our focus is on repentance and improving the quality of our lives through service to others, and not on rationalizing our weaknesses, the Lord has promised that we can be forgiven. In Isaiah 1:18 we read: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. We are so blessed to be his sons and daughters with a path back to his presence that is clear and so filled with his mercy. Indeed, we at the very least have both the potential and the opportunity to be good enough! MILWAUKEE (AP) A Wisconsin man who doctors say came perilously close to death after accidentally shooting a nail into his heart while working on his house calmly drove himself to the hospital and even parked his pickup truck in the lot before walking into the emergency room. The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will pay a visit to Sarajevo on Thursday 2 February 2017. During his visit, he will meet with the Chairman of the Tri-Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Mr. Mladen Ivanic and other members of the Presidency, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, H.E. Mr Denis Zvizdic, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Igor Crnadak, the Minister of Defence, H. E. Ms. Marina Pendes, H.E. Mr. Dragan Mektic and with Parliamentarians. The Secretary General will also have meetings with representatives of the international community and will deliver a speech at the Army Hall in Sarajevo. Media Advisory 11:15 Joint press conference with the Chairman of the Tri-Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Mladen Ivanic Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Building The press point will be webstreamed live on the NATO website: www.nato.int Still and video images will be available on the NATO website after the visit. Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg) MELBOURNE, Florida A 25-year-old United Arab Emirates national was arrested in Brevard County, Florida and charged with possession of ammunition by an unlawful or illegal alien. According to United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, A. Lee Bentley, III, Hamid Mohamed Ahmed Ali Rehaif was admitted into the United States in 2013 under a student visa. He had been enrolled at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, but was terminated as a student in the fall of 2014. When Rehaif failed to leave the country within 30 days of his termination as a student, he became an unlawful alien. Following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, law enforcement agents made contact with Rehaif at a hotel in Melbourne on Wednesday, where federal officials say he had been living for the last two months, paying more than $11,000 in cash for room fees. Rehaif allegedly admitted to possessing several firearms, but said that he had recently sold or disposed of them. He also admitted to firing those weapons at two local gun ranges, according to the federal complaint. Agents located rounds of handgun and rifle ammunition in his hotel room and in a storage unit that he had rented, but they did not locate any firearms. If convicted, Rehaif faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. SIMILAR STORIES: MELBOURNE, Florida The Florida Institute of Technology has issued an advisory warning students to not fly internationally following an Executive Order signed by President Donald J. Trump on Friday titled Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States which temporarily bans entry of foreign nationals from seven countries that are linked to terrorism. I am aware that there are questions and concerns related to President Trumps recent executive order concerning immigration, wrote FIT President, T. Dwayne McCay. Indeed, the university administration is monitoring this unfolding situation very closely, and will communicate with and support any affected members of our campus community as needed. At the moment, we all have more questions than answers. We are a university that embraces diversity and strives to prepare students for global citizenship. This has been fundamental to our mission dating to the earliest days of this school, McCay continued. We have only enhanced and strengthened this commitment since then, rising now to be recognized as the most internationally diverse undergraduate population of any university in the United States. The travel ban affects foreign nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2017 Just last year, a former international student who attended FIT was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by an unlawful alien. However, that student, Hamid Mohamed Ahmed Ali Rehaif, was a United Arab Emirates national a country that is not on the travel ban list. According to evidence presented at trial, Rehaif was admitted into the United States in 2013 under a student visa in order to attend FIT. After completing three semesters, he was academically dismissed in December 2014. As a result, Rehaif became an unlawful alien when he failed to immediately depart the United States. Following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, law enforcement agents made contact with Rehaif at a hotel in Melbourne where federal officials say he had been living for two months, paying more than $11,000 in cash for room fees. During that time, Rehaif possessed firearms and ammunition at a local shooting range in Melbourne, Florida. In addition, he provided ammunition to two hotel employees as gifts. At the sentencing hearing, the Court found that Rehaif had illegally purchased three other firearms. Photo credit: FIT Issues of immigration and refugee resettlement will take center stage at the third annual symposium hosted by the Leadership and Multifaith Program, a collaborative endeavor between Candler School of Theology and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Institute of Technology. Asylum, Refuge, and Relocation: Multifaith and Community Responses to Global Migration will take place on Monday, Feb. 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Georgia Techs Historic Academy of Medicine. Derreck Kayongo, CEO of the Center for Civil and Human Rights, will present the keynote address, How the Legal Power of Protecting Rights Expands the Marketplace. The keynote respondent will be Silas Allard 11T, associate director of Emorys Center for the Study of Law and Religion and Howard J. Berman Senior Fellow in Law and Religion. Deanna F. Womack, assistant professor of history of religions and multifaith relations at Candler, notes that this years symposium examines a central issue of concern for Atlantas religious congregations and community leaders. How can we best respond to the needs of immigrants and refugees in our own society, and assist displaced people around the world? Our team of speakers will address this question from a variety of local and global perspectives, she says. The symposium will begin with a film screening and discussion with Ellen Martinez and Stephanie Ching, the directors of "After Spring," a documentary on the Syrian refugee crisis executively produced by Jon Stewart. Two afternoon sessions will each offer four workshop options on a variety of issues surrounding migrants and refugees. Topics range from educating immigrant and refugee students to working with detained asylum seekers. The latter will be led by Candlers Scholar-in-Residence Marie Marquardt, while a workshop on spiritual care with migrants and refugees will be co-led by Emmanuel Y. Lartey, L. Bevel Jones III Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling at Candler. Womack says the symposium will not only raise public awareness of the issues refugees face, but outline how concerned people can help address these issues. This event will provide participants with tools to face contemporary challenges with hope as they take action on behalf of the immigrants and refugees who call America home," she explains. Learn more about the symposium. Student Isa Patane, under the mentorship of Joshua Smith, CSUF associate professor of physics, is contributing to "Gravity Spy," where citizen volunteers can help scientists detect gravitational waves. Physics major Isa Patane had no idea what it meant to be a gravitational-wave researcher a year ago. But after helping to launch a citizen science project at Cal State Fullerton to advance the search for gravitational waves, Patane is inspired by the work that promises to open an even bigger window into the mysteries of the universe. Working on this project has helped me connect with others working in gravitational-wave physics and opened up so many more possibilities than I ever thought I would have, said the sophomore. Patane and faculty mentor, Joshua Smith, associate professor of physics and Dan Black Director of Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy, are part of an interdisciplinary team of gravitational-wave physicists and computer machine- learning scientists that developed the Gravity Spy citizen-science project. The Gravity Spy team also involves physicists and machine-learning experts in engineering and computer science at Northwestern University, information and social scientists from Syracuse University, as well as members of Zooniverse an online platform where the public can contribute to science projects from Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Through this National Science Foundation-funded effort, thousands of worldwide users, known as gravity spies, are helping the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in its ongoing exploration of the universe to detect more gravitational waves. LIGO announced the first detection of gravitational waves on Feb. 11, 2016, following the discovery in September 2015, with the help of CSUF scientists and a century after Einstein predicted their existence. Smith is a co-author of a paper about the project published in Classical and Quantum Gravity. Read the full article here. The paper is an end-to-end description of the Gravity Spy project, including visualizing the LIGO data, using decisions made by both citizen-scientist volunteers and computer machine-learning algorithms to classify the data, and combining those decisions using methods from information science, as well as providing feedback to LIGO, he said. It is the one place to understand in detail all of the methods we use. Gravity Spy combines human intuition citizen scientists with the power of computers to process large amounts of data systematically. For this project, machine learning involves using computer programs to learn how to correctly categorize images by comparing them to similar categorizations done by humans, Smith explained. CSUF is expected to receive a total of $68,000 to support Patane and Smiths role in the three-year project. Their work involves focusing on classifying features in LIGOs data to extend the distance to which LIGO can see gravitational waves, said Smith. The researchers comb through the data for instrumental and environmental sources of noises, called glitches, which can affect LIGOs ability to detect cosmic gravitational waves. It is similar to removing the haystack to help find the needles, said Smith. This work will help to identify noise and artifacts in the data stream to separate out legitimate astrophysical events. To date, over 4,800 citizen scientist volunteers are involved with the project to discover new glitches, and in turn, their work will help LIGO scientists detect even more gravitational waves. The Gravity Spy project not only allows for research with other scientists, but with the public as well, added Patane, a scholar in CSUFs NSF-funded gravitational-wave research program. The pair also engages with citizen scientists on the Zooniverse discussion forum, where they provide blog and social media updates about the project. I have been greatly impressed by the combined power of citizen scientists and machine learning to solve the massive and complex problem of classifying the hundreds of thousands of glitches in gravitational-wave data, Smith said. Identifying and removing sources of glitches is one of the best ways for us to extend our gravitational-wave view of the universe. To become a citizen scientist, visit Zooniverse. 18:16 You can always count on Donald Trump to make unsavory news. The US president and the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had their first phone call and it didn't go too well. The White House tweeted a photo of Trump during the call, and people have pointed out that it appears the President is giving the middle finger. The White House @WhiteHouse.@POTUS @realDonaldTrump- speaking with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull from the Oval Office. The US President went public to describe an Obama-era agreement with Australia to accept over 1,200 refugees a "dumb deal." The Washington Post reported that Trump called the conversation with Turnbull "the worst by far" of his calls with world leaders that day, and cut it short after 25 minutes. During Trump's call with Turnbull last Saturday, the US President objected to an agreement over America receiving refugees, the CNN reported. The disagreement came as the two leaders discussed an agreement, reached under the Obama administration, for the US to accept over 1,200 refugees from Australia who are living on islands in detention centers off the mainland due to strict government policies. Many of them are from the seven countries affected by Trump's recent travel ban. Trump on Friday also suspended the entry of all refugees for 120 days, along with indefinitely suspending the entry of Syrian refugees. US media reports say Trump insisted it was a very bad deal for the US to take 2,000 refugees and that one of them was going to be the "next Boston bomber". Turnbull told Trump several times the agreement was for 1,250 refugees, not 2,000. Trump expressed concern as to how this agreement from President Barack Obama's administration would go forward given his executive order the day before temporarily suspending the US refugee programme. Trump abruptly ended the call because he was unhappy, a the network quoted a source as saying. Later, Trump tweeted, "Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!" In Canberra, Turnbull attempted to keep some semblance of diplomacy, declining to elaborate on details of the call. "Look, I'm not going to comment on a conversation between myself and the President of the United States other than what we have said publicly, and you can surely understand the reasons for that," he said. "I'm sure you can understand that. It's better these conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately. If you'll see reports of them, I'm not going to add to them." When asked about the tweet labeling the agreement brokered with Obama's administration a "dumb deal," Turnball said, while the deal may not have been one Trump would've done or considered a "good deal," the President and his administration have committed to honour it. Noted author, speaker to discuss famous 20th century trials Without question, the 20th century produced some of the most intense and highly publicized court battles the U.S. has ever seen, from the McMartin preschool sexual abuse case to the courtroom drama involving O.J. Simpson. On Friday, the University of Florida Office of the President, the Bob Graham Center for Public Service and the Levin College of Law will present two talks by Cornell University Dean and American Studies Professor Glenn Altschuler, who will draw on his discussion of these and other trials in a just-published book, Ten Great American Trials: Lessons in Advocacy. The book is co-authored by Faust Rossi, a law professor at Cornell. Altschuler, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies and dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions at Cornell, is a prolific writer who has authored 11 books as well as thousands of essays, columns and reviews for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR and other outlets. He is also a noted speaker and a respected mentor and teacher at Cornell, where he was named a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Cornells most prestigious award for undergraduate teaching. His survey course about U.S. popular culture is a perennial favorite among undergraduates on the Cornell campus. Glenn is a highly knowledgeable and entertaining speaker whose natural eloquence and skills as a storyteller never fail to delight and enthrall audiences, said UF President Kent Fuchs, who was Altschulers colleague during the 12 years Fuchs spent at Cornell. Im thrilled he will speak at UF, and I know everyone who attends his talks will find them both engrossing and highly informative. At noon Friday, in the College of Laws Holland Room 180, Altschuler will examine the McMartin sexual abuse casethe longest and most expensive criminal trial in American history. At 6 p.m. in the Pugh Hall Ocora, Altschuler will present a talk entitled The Future Belongs to Those Who Tell the Best Stories: Lessons in Trial Advocacy." The talk will draw on four of the 10 trials discussed in the book representing the most highly publicized, intriguing and legendary court battles of the 20th century, according to the American Bar Association, the books publisher. Opening remarks for both talks will be made by Fuchs, who will also moderate audience question-and-answer sessions after Altschulers formal presentations. Both talks are free and open to the public and parking is available. The 6 p.m. talk will be streamed live on the Bob Graham Center website at bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu. The King of Morocco Mohammed VI delivers a speech in the main plenary of the African Union in Addis Ababa on January, 31, 2017. (AFP/Xinhua) RABAT, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Morocco on Tuesday hailed its return to the African Union (AU) after a 33-year absence from the pan-African organization. "It is so good to be back home, after having been away for too long!" Moroccan King Mohammed VI said in a speech at the 28th AU summit in Addis Ababa. Rabat's return bid won support from 39 of the 54 leaders attending a closed-door meeting of AU heads of state and government on Monday, Moroccan media reported. Local media outlets hailed the readmission of Morocco to the AU as a "victory" for the country and a "demonstration of the overwhelming support the country enjoys on the (African) continent." Morocco left the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the AU, in 1984. "The massive, outspoken support Morocco has received is proof of the solid bonds that unite us," the Moroccan king said. Last September, the North African country made an official request to rejoin the organization, and the Moroccan king toured many African countries to seek support. During its absence from the AU, Morocco maintained strong ties with many countries in the continent, particularly in French-speaking states in west and central Africa. Morocco is the top investor in west Africa and the second largest African investor in the continent. In addition, Moroccan firms have a strong presence in many African markets, especially in banking, insurance, air transport, telecommunications, and housing sectors. The Moroccan king, in his speech, said since 2000, Morocco has signed nearly a thousand agreements with African countries on cooperation in various fields. In addition to economic ties, Morocco has also maintained strong cooperation with many African countries, particularly in the fields of security, peacekeeping, and managing religious affairs. After its return to the AU as the 55th member, the king said, Morocco looks to expand its influence in the continent and join hands with other member states to meet the countless challenges facing the continent. Morocco is committed to building a "safe, solidarity-based future," the king said. "We, peoples of Africa, have the means and the genius; together, we can fulfill the aspirations of our peoples." ARUSHA, Tanzania, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- More than 100,000 Tanzanians are in need of food aid after prolonged drought hit the east African nation, the minister of agriculture said on Tuesday. Charles Tizeba, Tanzania's Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries said that delay and inadequacy of rains in many parts of the country has affected production and forecast show that the country faces a shortage of food. Briefing on Tanzania's food and nutrition situation for 2016/2017, in capital Dodoma, the minister said inadequate and uneven rainfall will also negatively impact production and availability of seeds, noting that the situation will lead to the high price of food in the east African nation. According to the minister, about 118,603 people have no food at all that will need 3,549 tonnes of emergency food. He also said that the government's assessment has identified 1,186,028 people with a shortage of food in 55 district councils across Tanzania. "We, therefore, need 35,491 tonnes of food to counter the foreseen shortage from February to April this year." Tizeba said in the councils with the shortage, the government has already responded with the sale of food from its reserve at the normal process in a bid to contain price from going through the roof. The step is meant to shield low-income families from hunger if the price inhibits their purchasing power. People especially the poor who cannot afford high-priced food are not only the victims, the minister said, adding the government was also a big loser in the rain situation and consequent sorry harvest will have an impact in its coffers. A substantial amount of cash collected in levies by municipal authorities and from traders who export cereals outside the country will be lost this year, he said. To be expected this year, due to the situation, are increased levels of malnutrition and conflict between farmers and pastoralists over grazing and water resources. To contain the situation, the minister said the government's assessment found that 55 district councils need 1,969 tonnes of drought-resistance, short-term seeds that do not take long to harvest including maize, millet, and tubers. "The seeds should reach the identified councils within February this year so that they are planted as soon as it rains," he said. In the Tanzanian government's broader plan to avert hunger, the focus will be the distribution of drought-resistance, short-term seeds of millet, sorghum, cassava and sweet potatoes, Tizeba told the house. The country's food situation assessment was completed in January this year and was conducted by the government in collaboration with other food and nutrition stakeholders. ANKARA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesperson Numan Kurtulmus on Tuesday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on the nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, calling on Washington to correct the "discriminative decision." "This decision is unacceptable," Kurtulmus said in an interview with local daily Haberturk, urging the U.S. to "review" the executive order. He noted that rising Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-immigrant feelings have a great weight on this decision. "It is wrong to categorically label citizens of specific countries as 'bad,' the deputy prime minister said, "there could be good and evil from all countries." Kurtulmus stressed that the only way for democratic countries and the international community to fight terrorism was to establish a well-functioning network and strengthen the anti-terror coalition. He warned the West to be aware of the fact that Islamophobia and terrorist organizations such as Islamic State both serve the same purpose and make the lives of 1.7 billion Muslims miserable. Under the executive order Trump signed Friday, nationals from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, and Libya will be banned to the U.S. for 90 days and refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days. The decision sparked nation-wide protests in the U.S. and has been rejected by traditional allies as well as the UN and human rights organizations. Children sit at the door in the Harjelah refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sept. 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Yang Zhen) UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday launched an appeal of 3.3 billion U.S. dollars to provide emergency assistance in 48 countries around the globe, against the backdrop of ever increasing number of children driven from their homes due to conflict, disasters and climate change. A total of 48 million children living through some of the world's worst conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies will benefit from UNICEF's 2017 appeal, which was launched on Jan. 31, the UN agency said in a press release. "From Syria to Yemen and Iraq, from South Sudan to Nigeria, children are under direct attack, their homes, schools and communities in ruins, their hopes and futures hanging in the balance," the press release noted. "In total, almost one in four of the world's children lives in a country affected by conflict or disaster," it added. The UN agency fears that an estimated 7.5 million children will face severe acute malnutrition across the majority of appeal countries, including almost half a million each in north east Nigeria and Yemen. The situation is further complicated due to unavailability of accurate information in parts of the Lake Chad basin due to lack of access because of continuing activities of Boko Haram militants. In Yemen, the worst affected areas include the capital, Sanaa, where 78 percent of children are chronically malnourished. Furthermore, many other areas have also seen growing deprivation, from Hodeida in the west to Taiz and now Aden to the south. UNICEF's Humanitarian Action for Children sets out the agency's 2017 appeal and its goals to provide children with access to safe water, nutrition, education, health and protection in some of the world's worst conflicts and humanitarian emergencies. "In country after country, war, natural disaster and climate change are driving ever more children from their homes, exposing them to violence, disease and exploitation," said UNICEF director of emergency programmes, Manuel Fontaine. The largest single component of the appeal, or 1.4 billion U.S. dollars, is for children and families caught up in the conflict in Syria, which will soon enter its seventh year. This also includes Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, such as Jordan where, according to estimates, almost half of all refugee families have a child who is a breadwinner. With enough funding, UNICEF hopes to reach 81 million people, including 48 million children with access to safe water, nutrition, education, health and protection. UNICEF is particularly concerned about another slow-burning threat -- malnutrition. "Malnutrition is a silent threat to millions of children," Fontaine said. "The damage it does can be irreversible, robbing children of their mental and physical potential. In its worst form, severe malnutrition can be deadly." For his part, UNICEF's Yemen representative, Meritzell Relano, said that children in Yemen were locked in a "catastrophic" situation, with at least 10 million in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. "Children are dying of malnutrition, that is for sure ... under-five mortality rate has increased to the point that we estimate that at least in 2016, 10,000 more children died of preventable diseases," she said. The UN agency believes that as great as these challenges are, they're not insurmountable. Thanks to donors, UNICEF saved lives every day in 2016, providing water to 13.6 million people, protection from measles to more than nine million children, education to over six million, and treatment for severe acute malnutrition to 2.2 million, in the first ten months of the year. by Grandesso Federico BRUSSELS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Britain doesn't have the people and resources to deal with a "hard Brexit", a leading challenger to the British government's exit plan from the European Union (EU) told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview. "There are forty complex years of legislation that we will have to consider while establishing a new relation with the EU," said Gina Miller, an investment fund manager. "Even if we are going to have a transitional arrangement, the complexity of the challenge is enormous, everybody have the experience of joining the EU while what is lacking is the 'leaving' process," she said, adding, "there are a lot of unknown questions." "I don't see how the exit process would take less than five to ten years and certainly not only two years," Miller stressed. Asked about what Europe can learn from Brexit, Miller underlined that many EU countries will have elections this year, saying, "we need to be mindful that it is not true that the majority of Brexit voters were the very marginalized at bottom of the community." For Miller, the data on Brexit suggest there was a significant percentage of middle class people who voted to leave the EU. "I think we haven't got to the bottom as why that happened. Therefore the messaging in the different elections in EU member states is not coming only from the marginalized; it is a cross society movement of people feeling angry and unsatisfactory," she explained. Miller is against any form of negotiation strategy based of "threat". "The fact that Britain could become a tax haven to attract more foreign investments is a threat and it is a very unrealistic one," she said. "While you threat EU member, how could you be possibly replace the EU in our economy?" she asked. On the other side, she said that the EU should be careful not to make the same mistake. "With or without Britain, the EU must be a community of peoples and nations that freely decided to adhere to it, EU membership should be a choice not a coercion through fear," Miller said. According to Miller, it's not only "childish and shortsighted" for the EU to seek to cut a bad deal with Britain, so as to deter other potential quitters. "It is also contrary to all the ideals on which the European Union has been built and fought for till now," she said. Recalling "the wrong attitude" of the British government before the referendum, she said, "UK authorities successfully blamed the EU for many of things they got wrong and the EU could do much about that." "The truth is that former Prime Minister David Cameron wasn't particularly demanding. There were a number of member states having the same concerns on immigration, bureaucracy, trade. Mr. Cameron could have asked for more to the EU but simply he didn't," she added. Disappointed by the British political class, Miller said, "on the contrary, we see now that UK politicians don't appear to have the courage of their convictions. Then we see the leader of the labour party saying they will vote in favour of the 'Brexit' bill, this is nonsense." "My whole fight was to put politicians back in control. They are not taking the lead, unless they do, there won't be a chance for a soft Brexit. Mrs May seems determined to make a jump off a cliff," She continued. Asked about possible surprise in the Brexit path, Miller said, "The only chance we have is that if the bill will pass in the House of Commons it could be then blocked in the House of Lords which is more attentive in questioning on these issues." There is then still a case that is going to be heard next Friday in Northern Ireland and then possibly be referred to the Supreme Court. "The key issue is the revocability of article 50 and there is still the question if it can be undone or not. Then we will have to wait the answer from the European Court of Justice (ECJ)," Miller said. She said another option would be to leave the EU and then come back, but "I believe that if we do leave and then join again, we will have to accept a full membership and this means possibly to join the euro." SANTIAGO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chilean government on Tuesday expressed its support for Mexico after the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would build a border wall between the two countries and have Mexico pay for it. "All with Mexico in these difficult times. Against protectionism, more integration, against walls, bridges," wrote Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz on social network. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 ordering a wall to be built along the southern border of the U.S. This generated a wave of concern and indignation in Mexico, with President Enrique Pena Nieto cancelling a meeting with Trump in Washington. On Monday, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray thanked countries of Latin America and the world for the solidarity they had shown Mexico. He explained that nations from Latin America, the Caribbean, as well as "governments from Europe and other latitudes" had offered their help to Mexico. "We appreciate them all at this moment and it motivates us greatly to receive the backing of the world," said Videgaray. Finally, Videgaray added that Mexico had received a lot of support from the U.S., including local governments, the media and civil society in general, "which has been encouraging and must be a motivation for us all." Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven (R) and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a joint news conference in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, on Jan. 31, 2017. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision to ban entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries as anti-Muslim bias. (Xinhua/Rob Schoenbaum) STOCKHOLM, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision to ban entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries as anti-Muslim bias. "It is deeply regrettable that the United States has suspended all travels from citizens of seven countries. That's anything but good." said Lofven. "Fighting terrorism does not justify going against an entire group of people from a specific faith," Merkel emphasized, reiterating her comments earlier this week. Under an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended from entering the United States for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The total population from these countries exceeds 130 million. Aside from the travel ban, the two leaders also exchanged ideas on topics of the refugee crisis, Brexit, etc. "We need a more harmonized legislation and for all EU countries to share the responsibility on taking in refugees," Lofven said. More work needed to be done to ensure people do not need to flee in the first place, Lofven said. Merkel also said that international cooperation was a "must" to tackle the current refugee challenges faced by the EU. WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on American pharmaceutical companies to lower prices and to manufacture more products in U.S. "The U.S. drug companies have produced extraordinary results for our country but the pricing has been astronomical for our country," Trump told a group of executives of the American pharmaceutical companies. "We have to get the prices way down," Trump said. Trump promised the pharmaceutical companies that the administration will cut regulations to encourage drug companies to "bring back operations and jobs to U.S.," and will appoint a leader to streamline the Food and Drug Administration to reduce prices and get new products on the market faster. Local media reported that drug companies attending the meeting were encouraged by Trump's focus on innovation, tax policies and regulatory reform. The meeting between Trump and the drug companies is one of the series of gatherings Trump has held with business leaders during his first two weeks in office. Trump has already met a group of manufacturers on Jan. 23 and said such gathering will be held on a quarterly basis with focus on "bring back American jobs." After taking office for less than two weeks, Trump has signed several executive orders and presidential memorandum to state his intent to cut regulations. He has asked federal agencies to repeal two prior regulations when introducing a new one, and to control the regulatory costs. BRUSSELS, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The lawmakers in charge of Development and Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) voted for a joint resolution on Tuesday, expressing deep concerns over the U.S. decision to ban entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. The U.S. administration's ban could "seriously undermine current global efforts towards a fair international sharing of responsibilities for refugees", said the resolution. The U.S. decision "fuels anti-immigration and xenophobic discourses", and could "seriously undermine current global efforts towards a fair international sharing of responsibilities for refugees", it said. The lawmakers called on the EU to speak with one voice to defend the international protection system and the legal security of all affected population. In the resolution approved by 43 votes to 16, with 9 abstentions, EU lawmakers also criticized the new deals that the EU are negotiating with third countries to help them manage migration flows. The deals, called Partnership Framework or migration compact, lack transparency and have not been debated before adoption, the lawmakers denounced. Therefore, the lawmakers want to be fully involved in developing migration compacts as well as in their implementing process. After the resolution, the European Parliament will debate the U.S. administration's decision on migration restrictions on Wednesday. Under an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump last Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended from entering the United States for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The total population from these countries exceeds 130 million. U.S. President Donald Trump attends a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May(not in the picture) at the White House in Washington D.C.,the United States, Jan. 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) By Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Not even a month into his term, U.S. President Donald Trump has already been the subject of much controversy. The billionaire New Yorker will not enjoy the "honeymoon" period - the first 100 days in which both the press and the president take it easy - that many other U.S. presidents have historically enjoyed. Trump shocked the world in November when he clinched the presidency from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, as polls and experts expected Clinton to be the winner. But the new commander-in-chief, ever controversial, is already seeing demonstrations against his presidency and much criticism in the U.S. press. "Trump is starting as the least popular new president in recent memory," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua. "He has high negatives and Democrats are united in fighting his changes...There are likely to be major protests at every step of the way as Trump makes various policy changes," West said. Indeed, the weekend and Monday saw protests in several cities nationwide over Trump's temporary ban on visas from seven predominately Muslim nations that have serious problems with terrorism. Critics said the ban is unfair to those not involved in terrorism, and some have called it anti-Muslim. The Trump administration says the ban is a bid to make the nation safer from violent attacks from radicals, and supporters insist the ban is not anti-Muslim as it does not cover people in Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and many other Muslim nations. Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that for Trump, the lack of a honeymoon comes from the press, as well as growing rifts between the president and Congressional Republican Party (GOP) leadership on issues such as trade and infrastructure spending. Some of the pressure the Trump administration faces is from its promises to shake up the Washington establishment and the need to keep highly unorthodox, populist campaign promises, Mahaffee said. West said Trump could have had a honeymoon if he had reached out to those who didn' t support him, right after the election. "He could have been gracious and said he wanted to represent all of America. Instead, he handled his transition period in a partisan manner and did nothing to assuage the concerns of opponents," West said. Demonstrators participate in a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring all refugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens from entry into the U.S. in front of the White House in Washington D.C., the Unite States, on Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) Some experts said that due to the increasingly partisan nature of U.S. politics, along with the media environment, a "presidential honeymoon" may become a thing of the past. Mahaffee said a honeymoon period is increasingly unlikely for future presidents, as the media cycle now analyzes their agenda before they even enter office. Other presidents have also had short honeymoon periods. Mahaffee noted that former President Bill Clinton's honeymoon was quickly derailed by a push for healthcare legislation early in his administration. That not only ended the honeymoon, but also allowed the then-minority GOP to focus on the 1994 midterm elections. Similarly, for former President George W. Bush, the honeymoon period was under the shadow of the controversy over who actually won the election, as the results of the 2000 election were contested. RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Former Brazil international midfielder Jadson has agreed to return to his former club Corinthians after parting ways with China's Tianjin Quanjian. The 33-year-old ended two weeks of negotiations by agreeing to a monthly salary of around 125,000 US dollars over two years, Corinthians officials said on Tuesday. Jadson helped Tianjin Quanjian earn promotion to the Chinese Super League this year after joining the club from Corinthians in December 2015. He left Tianjin Quanjian by mutual consent on January 16 after expressing a desire to return to his homeland. Capped eight times for Brazil, Jadson's club career has also included spells at Sao Paulo, Shakhtar Donetsk and Atletico Paranaense. BERLIN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Midfielder Franck Ribery will be sidelined for two weeks due to a thigh injury, the German Bundesliga front-runners announced in an official statement on Tuesday. The Frenchman, who provided two goals in 13 outings in Germany's top flight so far, sustained a strain in his right thigh, which forced him to stop training on Tuesday. The 33-year-old offensive midfielder will hence miss the upcoming Bundesliga games against Schalke and Ingolstadt as well as the German Cup last 16 encounter against Wolfsburg. Bayern Munich sit currently atop the Bundesliga standings with a three-point advantage to runners-up Leipzig. Enditem NEW DELHI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 15 others wounded some of them critically Tuesday evening in a blast near an election campaign rally in northern Indian state of Punjab, officials said. The blast took place during a rally of Congress party candidate in Bathinda, 141 km southwest of Ludhiana, the main city of Punjab. "On Tuesday evening three people including a nine-year-old boy were killed and 15 others wounded after a blast went off in Bathinda's Maur Mandi area during a road show," a police official posted in Bathinda said. Following the blast, the wounded were immediately removed to the nearest medical facility, where conditions of some of them were stated to be critical. The Congress party candidate Harminder Jassi campaigning in the locality however, was left unhurt. The bomb blast triggered panic in the area. Locals said deafening sound of blast was heard in the entire area. Police officials said the bomb was kept inside a car parked near the venue. The damaged car, according to police, was found charred to a large extent due to the impact of blast. Local elections in Punjab are scheduled to be held on Saturday. So far it is the first incident of poll related violence in the state. Punjab witnessed an armed insurgency against Indian rule from 1980 until mid 1990s. During this period, Indian troops faced a bloody uprising from Sikh separatists demanding separate homeland. Several thousand people mostly Sikhs, a minority community in India, were killed in more than a decade long militancy in the state. However, since 1993, the state has been relatively peaceful. SYDNEY, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Australian ore miners are expecting an export boon, as China continues with its efforts to shut down outdated and inefficient steel mills throughout the nation, with some predicting on Wednesday, demand will soar by at least 40 million tons per year. In 2016, China began to shut down steel plants with a total capacity of over 90 million tons, with plans to shut down additional plants, reducing capacity by a further 100 to 150 million tons by 2020. "A proportion of China's steel mills do not meet environmental standards and should be shut down," Ma Guoqiang, chairman of Wuhan Iron and Steel, told Xinhua in 2016. The strategy has been welcomed by Australian mining companies, with the new, efficient furnaces set to be built in China, relying on iron ore and coal to operate, with Australia looking to meet the demand. David Liu, director of Sales and Marketing at Fortescue Metals, told the Australian Financial Review that the shutting of the older Chinese steel mills were an "enormous bonus" to iron ore producers in Australia, and is hopeful that the Australian market can meet the expected "40 to 60 million tons" of demand to be satisfied. "So we will see a lot of replacement done by the integrated steel mills, which will use mostly imported ores to produce steel," Liu said. Not all agree however, with J-Capital managing partner Tim Murray saying in a note, that Chinese demand for iron ore will fall by 30 to 40 million tons per year. If correct, this would severely impact Australia as the world's largest iron ore exporter, and in particular, the Western Australian economy, which holds 90 percent of Australia's iron ore resources. China's National Development and Reform Commission said in November that the steel industry in China had completed its annual target of reducing production capacity. The benchmark iron ore price is currently sitting at 82.43 U.S. dollars per ton at 9:31 local time. SYDNEY, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Changes to Australia's Queensland state smoking laws went into effect Wednesday, putting restrictions on anyone lighting up in National Parks and public spaces. The tough new legislation is not an outright ban on smoking in public, but heavy regulations will restrict people smoking near pubic areas like picnic tables, toilet blocks, barbecue areas and campsites. Anyone seen smoking within 10 meters of these visitor facilities will receive 243 Australian dollars (185 U.S. dollars) on the spot fine. Sporting fields, schools, outdoor pedestrian malls, hospitals, jetties, boat ramps, public transport stops and entrances to public buildings will also see the same restrictions enforced. "These restrictions will protect the health and wellbeing of park visitors, and we hope smokers will consider their own health and the health of others and observe the new restrictions," Queensland National Parks Minister Steven Miles said. In Australian, smoking indoors in any public area has been banned since 2004, in 2015 it was made illegal to smoke in any public dining areas. Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has lent his support to the new laws and backed the state government's push to discourage the rate of smoking. "Experience shows that strong smoking bans increase people's enjoyment of smoke-free public places and provide smokers with a clear understanding of where they should not smoke," she said. SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports rose 11.2 percent in January from a year earlier, posting a double-digit growth for the first time in four years, a government report showed on Wednesday. Exports, which account for about half of the export-driven economy, reached 40.3 billion U.S. dollars in January, up 11.2 percent from the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was the first double-digit monthly increase since January 2013, maintaining an upward momentum for the third consecutive month. The export expansion was led by semiconductor exports, which reached the country's monthly high of 6.4 billion dollars. Petrochemical product shipments amounted to 3.5 billion dollars, the biggest since December 2014. Exports to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, jumped 13.5 percent in January, logging the first double-digit growth in almost three and a half years. Imports advanced 18.6 percent from a year earlier to 37.1 billion dollars in January, sending the trade surplus to 3.2 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for 60 months in a row. New Zealand's Prime Minister Bill English speaks at a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand, Feb. 1, 2017. New Zealand's next general election will be held on Sept. 23, 2017, Prime Minister Bill English said here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Su Liang) WELLINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's next general election will be held on Sept. 23, Prime Minister Bill English said Wednesday, outlining his hope of maintaining the current partnership of governing parties. "As we have done in previous election years I am announcing the election date early as I believe it's important to provide the country with some certainty and that it's in everyone's best interest to have plenty of notice," English said in a statement. His center-right National Party, which currently holds 59 seats in the 121-seat parliament, would campaign on its "strong record" in government and go into the election with "a positive and ambitious program that will back New Zealanders to succeed," he said. "New Zealand is well placed compared to many other countries. That's down to the hard work of households and businesses across the country, backed by the National-led government's clear and successful plan for our future," said English. "The challenge for our country now is to sustain that growth and build on it to deliver more again for all New Zealanders." The government's intention was that parliament would rise on Aug. 17 and be dissolved on Aug. 22. Under New Zealand's mixed member proportional representation system, each voter has two votes: one for a constituency Member of Parliament and the other for their preferred political party. The system rarely results in an outright majority for any single party, leaving the biggest party to form partnerships with smaller parties to obtain a parliamentary majority. English said his preference after the election would be to continue working with the National Party's current partners: the libertarian-leaning ACT party; the Maori Party; and the centrist United Future party. "Together our parties have provided a stable and successful government at a time of great uncertainty in many parts of the world," said English. He ruled out working with the center-left bloc of the Labour and Green parties. The seventh party represented in the current parliament, New Zealand First, was "an unlikely partner," but he was "prepared to have discussions with them post-election depending on the makeup of parliament." The National Party has led the government since 2008 -- being re-elected in 2011 and 2014 -- mostly under the leadership of John Key, who resigned as prime minister unexpectedly in December last year. English, 55, was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister before succeeding Key. English was previously elected National Party leader in 2001, but led the party to its worst ever general election defeat in 2002. While the National Party maintains a comfortable lead in most polls over the Labor-Greens grouping, its main rivals, the country is struggling with a growing housing crisis and increasing dissatisfaction in services such as health and education, which have endured funding squeezes in recent years. by Matt Walsh CANBERRA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Australia should continue to embrace free trade in the face of growing global protectionism, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday. Turnbull, who outlined his government's plans for the new year ahead of federal parliament's resumption next week, said recent trends towards protectionism and away from free trade were bad for businesses and the economy, and said Australia would continue to push forward with its plans to sign free trade deals and "aggressively" export vital services and produce. "We cannot retreat into the bleak dead end of protectionism," Turnbull said on Wednesday. "We must compete aggressively to export our services in education, health, engineering, tourism and more, and we must pursue even greater access for our agriculture sector and our manufacturers. "We must pursue even greater global access to the global economy because it is good for jobs, good for investment and good for Australia. It puts our interest, our national interests first, because it creates more jobs and opportunities for Australians." He said while it was important for Australians to support local business as well, governments, businesses and exporters must take advantage of the huge overseas markets with a taste for Australian goods. "Of course we want 24 million Australians buying Australian, but we also want 7.4 billion people around the world buying Australian. Why would we want to limit opportunities at a time when demand for 'Made in Australia' has never been stronger?" Turnbull said. "Beef from the Darling Downs is being served in the restaurants of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Barossa Valley wine is being purchased in bars in Tokyo and macadamia nuts from the Northern Rivers are on supermarket shelves in Seoul. "Australians in communities across our nation are benefiting from these opportunities." The Prime Minister took the opportunity to promise to cut the company tax rate from the current 30 percent to 27.5 percent for "small and medium" businesses with a turnover of less than 7.56 million U.S. dollars, in order to increase their competitiveness on a global scale. "This means more Australian businesses will be able to invest more, hire more and increase wages," Turnbull said. "Years of research has revealed a very important fact, company tax is overwhelmingly a tax on workers and their salaries. If we had a 25-percent business tax rate today, full-time workers on average weekly earnings would have an extra 565 U.S. dollars in their pockets each and every year. "We want to make it easier for Australian businesses to invest, to hire and to grow." Treasurer Scott Morrison agreed, telling Sky News following Turnbull's speech that it was important to cut the company tax rate to remain in line with other leading Western nations or risk "stranding" Australian businesses. "We're at risk of being stranded. I've just come back from the UK (Britain) and we're already sitting at a position where their company tax rates are lower than ours. The United States is planning to cut theirs even further," Morrison said on Wednesday. "If the company tax rate is lower somewhere else, and (prospective clients) get a bigger and better return on the same outlay, (they'll) put (their) money there." The prime minister also used his speech to press ahead with his government's proposed changes to child care laws, while he also said keeping citizens' power bills down would be achieved by shunning renewable energies and embracing newer and cleaner coal-fired technology. KATHMANDU, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Himalaya Airlines, a China-Nepal joint venture airline, has took delivery of its second brand new Airbus 320-214 into fleet. The aircraft, made in Germany with the registration number 9N-ALV, flew from Hamburg to Kathmandu on Tuesday and was welcomed by a ceremonial water cannon salute at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) after it landed at 11:04 a.m. local time. With the arrival of new aircraft, the company plans to add two destinations, Kuala Lumpur and Yangon, in its scheduled flights. Currently, the Airlines conduct scheduled flights operations to Doha and Colombo from Kathmandu since last year with its one aircraft. Vijay Shrestha, Himalaya Airlines vice president, said the new aircraft will enable the airline to connect Nepal directly with new destinations and contribute to the economic development of the Nepal. The Himalaya is a joint venture company between China's Tibet Airlines and Nepalese private-sector companies. Besides state-owned Nepal Airline Corporation, Himalaya is the only other company currently conducting international flight in Nepal. SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Military chiefs of South Korea and the United States reaffirmed the two allies' defense posture against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile threats, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea said Wednesday. The JCS said in a press release that Gen. Lee Sun-jin, the chairman of the JCS, had a telephone dialogue earlier in the morning with his U.S. counterpart Joseph Dunford. It was the first phone talk among military chiefs of the two allies since the Trump administration was launched in January. During the dialogue, Lee and Dunford agreed on further efforts to strengthen the "deep-rooted alliance" and the mutual trust, which the two countries have built up. They assessed the currently urgent security situations, including the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs, vowing to further build up a joint defense posture against Pyongyang. The phone talks came a day after the defense ministers of the two countries had a telephone dialogue ahead of new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis' scheduled visit to South Korea on Thursday and Friday. South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo is set to hold the bilateral talks with Mattis on Friday. The Pentagon head is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Thursday to Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is serving as South Korea's serving president. During the talks, Gen. Lee reportedly stressed the importance of implementing the U.S. extended deterrence. The JCS was quoted as saying that Lee and Dunford discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets as part of measures to enhance the implementation of the U.S. extended deterrence. South Korea and the United States held their first joint defense cooperation talks, called the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) meeting, in Washington in December. During the meeting, Seoul allegedly urged Washington to deploy U.S. strategic assets on a regular rotational basis, but Washington has yet to determine on it. The U.S. military temporarily sent its strategic assets, including nuclear-capable B-52 and B-1B bombers, to South Korea last year following the DPRK's fourth and fifth nuclear tests in January and September respectively. KATHMANDU, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Nepalese parliamentarians has urged the government to implement bilateral agreements signed in March last year. The ruling and opposition parties' lawmakers made such remarks during a meeting with Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat convened by the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday. "The incumbent government should work toward implementation of the historical deals reached with the Chinese government in March last year. What we have seen is that the government is just expressing commitments to implement the China-Nepal bilateral deals but not going into their implementation," said Shyam Shrestha, a parliament member from ruling CPN (Maoist Center). Nepal and China had signed landmark agreements in the field of commerce, transit, connectivity and trade in March last year taking their bilateral ties to a new height. Minister Mahat expressed commitments to implement the bilateral deals reached between China and Nepal in March last year. "We honor and implement these bilateral agreements with China," he said. KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia officials said on Wednesday that the search area was further expanded for the missing people in a boat accident off its Sabah state on North Borneo. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said search area would expand to 3,900 square nautical miles to cover waters off Sabah, neighboring Brunei, and for the first time near the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Some 20 aircraft and ships would join the search. MMEA District Deputy Operation Officer Aidil Adzhar bin Saleh said the search efforts were strengthened despite more than 72 hours had passed. "We hope they are still alive," he said. Malaysian police said on Tuesday that six remained missing, including five Chinese tourists and one crew member. 20 Chinese tourists had been rescued as well as two crewmen. Three Chinese tourists were dead. Their boat went missing on Saturday off Sabah on the way from the state capital Kota Kinabalu to an island some 60 km to the west. MEXICO CITY, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday apologized to Mexico for its prime minister's controversial tweet, which favored the erection of a border wall between the United States and Mexico. In a conversation with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, "President Rivlin apologized for damaging Mexico and vowed to restore the ties of cooperation and friendship," the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Mexico said in a statement. Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to erect a wall along the border to keep out illegal migrants and drug traffickers. "President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea," Netanyahu tweeted Saturday. The tweet sparked anger in Mexico, with the foreign ministry expressing "profound astonishment, rejection and disappointment over Prime Minister Netanyahu's message." "Mexico is a friend of Israel and should be treated as such by its prime minister," the ministry said in a statement. On Tuesday, at a public event, Netanyahu addressed the diplomatic kerfuffle, though he did not offer an apology. "I did point out the remarkable success of Israel's security fence, but I did not comment about U.S.-Mexico relations. We've had and will continue to have good relations with Mexico, and I believe our ties are much stronger than any passing disagreement or misunderstanding," Netanyahu said. MUMBAI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Indian market opened flat Wednesday ahead of the budget session kickoff. Traders are suggested to keep less leveraged positions. The benchmark SP BSE Sensex opened at 27,672.87, 16.91 points or 0.06 percent up compared to its previous close at 27,655.96. QUITO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The outgoing Secretary-General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Ernesto Samper on Tuesday called on the bloc to develop a joint strategy to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies. "The Latin American countries, faced with the government of President Trump, cannot fall into a strategy of appeasement. We need a reaction strategy ... we need it now as tomorrow might be too late," said Samper during a meeting of UNASUR foreign ministers in Ecuador's capital. The ministers from the 12 member countries had gathered for an extraordinary meeting. The member countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. Samper, who is leaving the post he has held since September 2014, called for Latin American unity against Trump's immigration policies, which he called "xenophobic and racist." This was just part of the agenda discussed by the foreign ministers, who also debated regional integration and the selection of Samper's successor. Samper said that the region is very different today from when he took on the role. "Two and a half years ago, the region was growing. It showed important successes in the reduction of poverty and in exports. Today, this is a region with economic problems ... and with a cloud on the horizon, the highly aggressive presence of a new administration in the United States," he said. BUCHAREST, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Romania's government on Tuesday unexpectedly adopted an emergency ordinance on amending Criminal Codes, redefining and partially decriminalizing the abuse of office offenses. Justice Minister Florin Iordache said after the adoption that abuse of office is to be considered as a crime only if the damages exceed 200,000 lei (47,537 U.S. dollars). "What is below 200,000 lei is not criminally sanctioned, and the prejudice must be recovered instead. We consider it's a reasonable quantum," Iordache said. The ordinance went into effect immediately, even for ongoing cases, as Romanian criminal law stipulates that the most favorable dispositions always apply in judging criminal cases. Iordache said the approved ordinance included some of the observations received in the last two weeks. For example, investigating a public official for abuse of power will not be conditioned by the existence of a complaint from the damaged side, as the initial draft provided. However, the opposition complained the changes to the criminal law will likely help some criminally charged politicians from being punished. Yet, the justice minister said that the ordinance and the drafts were not adopted for politicians or for certain people, but because the Constitutional Court ruled that some provisions of the criminal law were unconstitutional. President Klaus Iohannis, the most powerful de facto opposition of the ruling coalition, said that it was a day of mourning for the rule of law, referring to the decisions of the government. Soon after the approval of the ordinance, thousands of Bucharesters gathered in front of the government headquarters. Protests have also been seen in other big cities throughout the country. At the same meeting late Tuesday, the cabinet also adopted the draft on pardon, which will go to Parliament in an emergency procedure. According to authorities, the bill on pardon would ease overcrowding in prisons, as the number of complaints from Romania that reached the European Court of Human Rights has doubled last year, many of which were caused by the prison conditions. CANBERRA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Australia and Indonesia's financial intelligence agencies have signed an agreement which will result in a joint approach to stopping terrorism financing and money laundering, Australia's Justice Minister said on Wednesday. According to the minister Michael Keenan, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center of Indonesia (PPATK) have joined forces on a new "six pronged" attack on terror funding and money laundering, in an agreement worth around 380 million U.S dollars. The six projects include the deployment of Australian IT specialists to Indonesia to bolster the PPATK's analysis systems, workshops on counterterror and financial crime and exchange programs to bring AUSTRAC knowledge to the PPTAK. The Justice Minister said counterterror efforts were not just limited to finding and stopping terrorists. He said money laundering and terrorism funding were two of the biggest issues facing counterintelligence agencies in 2017. "Whether it is a lone-actor, a coordinated attack, or a foreign fighter -- none of these deplorable acts would be possible without money," Keenan said in a statement. "Our ability to combat terrorism financing is only as strong as our weakest link. It is crucial we work with our regional partners to enforce strong prevention measures and enhance financial intelligence collaboration as a priority," he said. "It is critical that Australia works closely with our international partners to ensure our region doesn't become a haven for cybercrime. This initiative will enhance cyber cooperation between our two countries to help track laundered proceeds of crime and online terrorism financing," he added. AUSTRAC's CEO Paul Jevtovic said the new agreement would help the Indonesian government strengthen its anti-money laundering and terror financing capabilities. "Australia and Indonesia have forged a close and collaborative relationship to combat terrorism financing, and this new Partnership Program will only strengthen this," Jevtovic said. In a statement, the Justice Department said Indonesia was "one of Australia's most important strategic partners, particularly on national security." "The Australian government remains committed to continuing our close and effective partnership," it said. Enditem by Gui Tao, Larry Neild LONDON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A British think tank involved in Japan-funded propaganda against China was "notoriously partisan" and "extremely keen to attack," a leading British expert on Chinese affairs said late Tuesday. The comment came after the Sunday Times newspaper released a detailed report on Jan. 29, accusing the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) of being paid by the Japanese Embassy in London to hype up the China threat in Britain and spread propaganda that might damage China-Britain relations. The society was "notoriously partisan, very right wing, and extremely keen to attack," said Kerry Brown, a professor of Chinese studies and director of the Lau China Institute at King's College London. "It is not really very reassuring that any government would be giving funds in this way. But for Japan to be spending money on an organization like this which has such a clear, antagonistic posture, is very surprising. I suspect the only people who will be reached by this are those who are already decided in their minds," he said. The Sunday Times reported that the Japanese Embassy in London had paid the think tank 10,000 pounds (12,570 U.S. dollars) per month to spread anti-Chinese propaganda, including through public figures like former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, a former Conservative MP in the British House of Commons who also served as chairman of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee. An official with the Japanese Embassy in London acknowledged on Monday morning that it had received an inquiry letter from Xinhua seeking confirmation and comments on the Sunday Times report, but failed to reply so far. A spokesman from HJS told Xinhua on the same day that "We can never reveal specific details." The British media said that the paid deal to smear China was reached to counter growing cooperation between China and Britain. Last March, the HJS hosted a meeting at the Houses of Parliament to discuss "Maritime Security in Asia: Chinese Sea Power and the East China Sea, a Japanese Perspective." The meeting was chaired by Julian Knight, a Conservative MP for Solihull in the west Midlands, who had earlier visited Japan at the expense of its foreign ministry. The Japanese ministry paid a total of 10,867 pounds (13,660 dollars) for the MP's flight, accommodation and subsistence from Feb. 13 to Feb. 20, 2016, according to official records at the Westminster. Knight claimed the purpose of his visit was to gain an insight into Japanese affairs, including defense. LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Up to two dozen Taliban militants have been killed and 25 others injured in Sangin district of the southern Helmand province in Afghanistan, according to a statement of 215 Miwand Corps released here Wednesday. According to the statement, 19 Taliban fighters have been killed in the ground and airstrikes; while five more militants were killed in a mine blast over the past couple of days. The statement also confirmed that an army soldier had been killed and two others sustained injuries in a clash for the control of Sangin district. Meantime, Afghan government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah visited the restive Helmand province on Tuesday to review the security situation there. Taliban militants who have been fighting government forces in Helmand over the past several years and are in control of pasts of the province, haven't commented. Judge Neil Gorsuch (L) speaks after U.S. President Donald Trump nominated him for the Supreme Court, at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 31, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night he picked judge Neil Gorsuch as the new justice for the Supreme Court, which has been evenly divided between Democratic appointees and Republican ones since Justice Antonin Scalia died last February. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night he has nominated judge Neil Gorsuch as the new justice for the Supreme Court, a move expected to meet with resistance from Democrats. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," said Trump in his first televised address from the White House. In a quick response, House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi blasted Trump's choice as "a very hostile appointment" and "a very bad decision, well outside the mainstream of American legal thought." Gorsuch, a 49-year-old judge sitting on the 10th Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, is the youngest nominee in 25 years to the lifetime position. However, nasty partisan fights are expected ahead over Gorsuch's confirmation in the Senate, where Supreme Court nominees can be filibustered. Pelosi said Senate Democrats, holding 48 seats in the Senate, should apply the "strongest scrutiny" during Gorsuch's confirmation, but didn't mention if Democrats would filibuster Gorsuch. "I only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once, for the good of the country," Trump said. "Elections have ramifications, and here is a living, breathing example of it," Pelosi said on CNN, citing Gorsuch's rulings on health care, gun safety and environmental issues. The U.S. Supreme Court has been evenly divided between Democratic appointees and Republican ones since Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly died last February. Earlier this month, several Senate Democrats vowed to block any nominee picked by Trump other than Judge Merrick Garland, nominated by former president Barack Obama but refused by Senate Republicans last year. However, so long as Justice Anthony Kennedy continues to support the broad outlines of the constitutional right to abortion set up in 1973, the addition of a new justice is not likely to make a difference, said a New York Times report, noting that the race-conscious admission programs, the so-called Affirmative Action plan, seems safe too. But environmental regulations aimed to combat global warming, as well as contraception and transgender cases, may fizzle before the future right-leaning Supreme Court, said the report. A Colorado native, Gorsuch holds degrees from Columbia, Harvard and Oxford. He served as a law clerk for the late Justice Byron White and Justice Anthony Kennedy in the 1990s. He was appointed to the appeals court by President George W. Bush in 2006. FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants have executed a woman on charge of adultery in Yamgan district of Badakhshan province with Faizabad as its capita, head of Women Affairs department in the province Zofenon Nateq said. "The ill-fated lady Amir Begum went to the house of her relative in Yamgan district but the Taliban rebels on Monday night stormed the house and brutally murdered Begum in front of her relatives on baseless charge of adultery," Nateq told Xinhua. Meantime, Hayatullah Amiri the head of Human Rights Commission in the northeastern region, has condemned the extra-judicial killing of the lady committed by Taliban and called upon the government to bring to justice all those involved in the heinous crime. Taliban militants who are infamous for conducting extra-judicial killing and field trial of their oppositions, are yet to make comment on the subject. by Chenchen Shen, Huang Heng LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Public Safety Committee of the U.S. California State Senate approved a bill Tuesday which would make the state a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Introduced by State Senate President pro tempore Kevin de Leon, this bill would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources or spending money to enforce federal immigration laws, including to investigate, interrogate, detain or arrest anyone due to their immigration status. After the Senate Public Safety Committee approved the bill with a 5-2 vote, it has now moved to the State Senate floor, where the majority is Democrats. Fox News described the bill as an important step for California to become the first "sanctuary state" in the United States, and was "in defiance of President Trump's stated plans to deport millions of people." Many of California's largest cities -- including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento -- already have sanctuary policies that prohibit police from cooperating with immigration authorities. Just days after Trump's election, California Democrats, who control the State Senate and Governor position, began establishing themselves as a bulwark against the new president's pledge to deport some undocumented immigrants. About one in 10 people in California's work force has no legal documents, de Leon's office estimated. "We will not stand by and let the federal government use our state and local agencies to separate mothers from their children," de Leon said in December, when he introduced the bill. The step was accelerated after Trump signed an executive order last Friday, which was widely described as a "Muslim ban," barring citizens from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days and implementing a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. As the "Muslim ban" has triggered nationwide protest, local politicians lined up to take a shot at Trump, who was sworn into the Oval Office on Jan. 20. "The actions of the president are in fact anti-Muslim," "and if they're anti-Muslim, they are un-American," the Washington Times quoted de Leon as saying. "In California, immigrants are an integral part of who we are and what we've become," Governor Jerry Brown said last week. "They have helped create the wealth and dynamism of this state from the very beginning." Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Sunday that his department will not comply with Trump's orders to help the federal government detain undocumented immigrants for deportation. "This is not our job, nor will I make it our job," Beck said. Moreover, according to the political website The Hill, de Leon's measure was just one in a series of bills the Democratic-controlled Californian legislature would consider this year to deal with the state's handling of federal immigration laws. Two other measures would provide legal counsel to undocumented immigrants. However, State Senator Joel Anderson of East San Diego County, who voted against the bill, expressed his concern Tuesday that it would "hamper efforts by the police to remove immigrants convicted of violent crimes from California." Trump's supporters also showed up at the protests last weekend at the Los Angeles International Airport and pointed out the travel ban is "temporary," saying they just wanted to protect the United States against terror attacks, and they thought Trump's travel ban was a good first step. In the fight over sanctuary status, California could also put billions of dollars in federal funding for California programs at risk. Trump signed an executive order threatening to withdraw some federal grants from jurisdictions that bar officials from communicating with federal authorities about someone's immigration status. Some local legal scholars questioned whether such an executive order was constitutional, based on the 10th Amendment and previous court precedents. If Trump's Homeland Security department goes ahead with plans to block federal funding, the attorney general of California was ready, on behalf of the state, to file a suit against it, The Hill reported. San Francisco sued Trump on Tuesday, claiming the executive order that cuts funding from sanctuary cities is unconstitutional and a "severe invasion of San Francisco's sovereignty." Enditem ABC/Randy Holmes50 Cent is seeking $32 million from his former lawyers after losing a lawsuit filed against him by Lastonia Leviston in 2015. The "21 Questions" rapper, born Curtis Jackson III, filed a claim in U.S. bankruptcy court in Connecticut this past Friday, says The Wrap. Jackson believes that ex-attorney Peter Raymond and law firm Reed Smith are to blame for the loss that he now wants them to pay. In 2015, Jackson was sued for $7 million in damages for posting a sex tape featuring Leviston and an ex on his personal website in 2009. Leviston is also known for having a child with ex Rick Ross, who remains in a longstanding feud with Jackson. Curtis filed for bankruptcy protection after losing the Leviston case and being ordered to pay $5 million, which he blames on Raymond and Reed Smith. In a statement to The Wrap, 50's new legal rep, Arthur L. Aidala says, "Unfortunately, this is not the first time Mr. Jackson has been required to commence litigation in connection with the past administration of his legal matters. While it would have been preferable to resolve this dispute privately and amicably, he felt it necessary to pursue this matter further. Mr. Jackson is fully confident that all claims will be resolved in his favor in the near future." Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Tuesday reiterated their support for the UN efforts to facilitate a lasting political settlement of the Syria crisis, according to a statement. The members on Tuesday heard a briefing by the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and pledged to facilitate the lasting political settlement of the Syria crisis through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, read the statement. They reaffirmed their "strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic," and reiterated that the only sustainable solution to the current crisis in Syria is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process based on the Geneva Communique of June 30, 2012 and relevant statements of the International Syria Support Group. The Security Council members welcomed the International Meeting on Syria held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 23-24, as anticipated in the Security Council resolution 2336 (2016). They welcomed the talks between the Syrian government and armed opposition groups with de Mistura's involvement, expressed their appreciation to the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan for hosting the meeting, and took note of the joint statement by Iran, Russia and Turkey adopted on the outcome of the talks. The members recognized the International Meeting on Syria in Astana as an important step toward the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations. They look forward to the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations, encouraged in this context de Mistura to re-convene negotiations as soon as possible in Geneva, and urged the Syrian parties to participate in the negotiations in good faith and without preconditions. LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and two others sustained injuries as three rockets fired by militants hit Helmand provincial Lashkar Gah city 555 km south of Kabul on Wednesday, spokesman for provincial government Omar Zawak said. "Three rockets fired by enemies today morning. One of them slammed next to Traffic Police department, martyring a school student and injuring two more civilians," Zawak told Xinhua. Two more rockets slammed onto first precinct of Lashkar Gah city and next to the Lashkar Gah airport causing no casualties, the official asserted. The official also blamed Taliban militants for firing the rockets. However, the armed outfit which has been fighting the government over the past several years has yet to claim responsibility. Workers work in a factory of Jinglong Industry and Commerce Group in Xingtai, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 25, 2017. China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 51.3 in January, 0.1 percentage points lower than that recorded in December, according to data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). (Xinhua/Mu Yu) BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing sector has expanded for the sixth month in a row, a sign the economy is stabilizing amid an uncertain global outlook. The country's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 51.3 in January, 0.1 lower than in December, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Wednesday. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below 50 reflects contraction. NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said the readings in January had remained at a high level since 2012, which pointed to steady expansion of the manufacturing sector. The sub-index for production was 53.1, 0.2 lower than in December, while the sub-index for new orders was down 0.4 to 52.8. Zhao attributed the deceleration of production and new orders to the Lunar New Year holiday, which reduces work days. China reported 6.7 percent GDP growth in 2016, lower than in recent years but within the government's target range. Zhao noted that the sub-index for the high-tech manufacturing sector had increased by 1.9 to 55.7, remarkably higher than other sectors The indices for exports and imports edged up to 50.3 and 50.7 respectively, staying above the 50 demarcation line for three straight months. The NBS also said that prices of raw materials had posted a decline after several months of increases, creating bigger room for manufacturers to earn profits. In addition, large companies continued to fare better than smaller ones, as large firms' PMI stood at 52.7, with that for small companies at 46.4. Zhao said that the steady growth of manufacturing could not conceal the fact that more than 40 percent of business owners had reported cash and labor shortages and weak market demand. "It is key for policy makers to lower borrowing costs and boost demand to stabilize the economy," he said. Meanwhile, a separate survey of the service sector showed steady growth, with non-manufacturing PMI up 0.1 to 54.6. Financial, insurance and Internet and software information technology were among the fastest growing service sectors, while transportation, catering and property sectors reported contractions, NBS data showed. The service sector accounted for more than half of China's economy last year and for the majority of growth, as rising income made catering, hotels and travel services more affordable for Chinese consumers. Analysts said that although the NBS data pointed to a good start for the economy in 2017, the country faces a string of uncertainties as the global environment becomes less predictable. Blaming Chinese goods for less competitive U.S. exports, the U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to levy heavy duties on Chinese products, during his election campaign. Although a full-fledged trade war is thought by many to be impossible, more trade friction between the world's two largest economies is unavoidable in 2017, which could deal a blow to China's manufacturing industry. Analysts said that as the country moved to reduce excess industrial capacity and contain property bubbles, the manufacturing sector could maintain moderate expansion without sharp rises in 2017. Related: China's economy gradually stabilizing: economist BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Supported by supply-side structural reform and positive changes in economic dynamics, China's economy is heading toward stabilization, a Chinese economist said Tuesday. LA PAZ, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A Bolivian official on Tuesday called for Latin American integration to counteract the effects of the protectionist policies adopted by U.S. President Donald Trump. "Before the closing of borders, the protectionism happening in the United States, Latin American integration agreements are a fundamental tool to fight these blows to the Latin American market," Bolivian Economy Minister Luis Arce told a press conference. The minister warned there would be an indirect effect if Latin American countries could not pursue free trade policies. "We could feel an indirect effect. The policies of the United States can affect the neighborhood, which could in turn affect the national economy. The ministry is very attentive to what the U.S. is doing, but also to Europe and the neighborhood," said Arce. Also on Tuesday, Bolivian President Evo Morales questioned Trump's decision to build a border wall with Mexico. He called on Mexico to rejoin the Group of 77 plus China, and help strengthen the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). "I invite Mexico to return to the G77, and together we can strengthen CELAC. United we will be the power that in its diversity builds global solidarity," Morales wrote online. MANILA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government expressed disappointment on Wednesday that the rebels have decided to terminate its unilateral ceasefire by February 10. "We are dismayed with the announcement (but) we respect their decision," said presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza in a statement. The Communist Party of the Philippines announced on Wednesday that it has decided to end the truce, saying President Rodrigo Duterte did not keep his promise to release some 200 political prisoners. Moreover, the party also accused the Philippine military of taking advantage of the truce situation to encroach on areas controlled by the rebels. The rebels declared a ceasefire in August last year to pave the way for the revival of the stalled peace talks with government. "This cancellation came just after some progress we made in the third round of peace talks in Rome where negotiating panels from both sides agree to further discuss a bilateral ceasefire in the Netherlands sometimes by end of this month," Dureza said. Dureza said that he would recommend to Duterte to "maintain and uphold the unilateral ceasefire to sustain the peace in the communities." "This will provide an enabling and conducive environment to the ongoing peace talks," he said. "What is important is that we all stay the course." He added he would also recommend to Duterte that government troops "continue to be relentless in their campaign to protect the civilians from harm and terrorism." Meantime, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the government will continue to enforces the government unilateral ceasefire. "Our troops will not actively operate against the (New People's Army) while our ceasefire is in effect," he said. However, he stressed that the military would continue to pursue lawless elements who would attempt to undermine the country's peace and order. Lorenzana also accused the rebels of having not stopped "extorting under the guise of their so-called revolutionary taxation, going on recruiting, burning buses and equipment, ambushing and kidnapping soldiers." SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who returned to his home country three weeks ago, on Wednesday dropped his presidential bid in South Korea as support scores for him sharply fell following the lunar New Year's holiday. Ban held an unscheduled press conference in the National Assembly, saying he will give up his "pure will" to lead South Korea's political change and the national unity as his intention was distorted by media reports and slanders. During the press conference, which was held without any prior notice, Ban said his pure patriotism and ambition were damaged by slanders and fake news reports that were almost equivalent to "killing" his personality. The career diplomat said he was extremely disappointed at the narrow-minded, egoistic behaviors shown in the political arena, noting that it would be meaningless for him to go together with them. He expressed his deep apology to supporters, advisors and those working with him. Ban, however, said he will devote himself to resolving his country's crisis and bringing a bright future based on his experience as former UN secretary general. Since he came back to his homeland on Jan. 12, Ban has been put in the local media spotlight. The former South Korean foreign minister finished his second, five-year term in the top UN post at the end of last year. Ban has long been viewed as the most powerful presidential contender in the conservative bloc in the absence of any proper candidate from the ruling Saenuri Party following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Supports for Park and her party sank in tandem after the influence-peddling scandal emerged in October. The bill to impeach the president was passed on Dec. 9 in the parliament with an overwhelming majority. Since his comeback, Ban had made the so-called "people-friendly" trip across the country to directly meet people in regions. He also proposed to amend the country's constitution for decentralized presidential power. His actions and words in the past three weeks, however, pulled down his approval ratings for his mistakes in the nationwide campaign and growing media speculations about his involvement in a bribery case surrounding his younger brother and nephew. According to local newspaper Segyo Ilbo's poll released Tuesday, approval rating for Ban tumbled to 13.1 percent. It was far lower than 32.8 percent garnered by Moon Jae-in, former head of the biggest opposition Minjoo Party. Following the presidential scandal, Ban's support scores declined as he is allegedly close to the impeached leader and her party, but Moon gradually increased his support scores and kept the position of frontrunner. Support for Ban was slightly higher than 10.5 percent gained by Lee Jae-myung, mayor of Seongnam city to the southeast of Seoul who is affiliated with the Minjoo Party and has maintained the third place in recent months. Ban's emotional response to aggressive local media reports is also believed to have disappointed not a few voters in the conservative bloc. By Abu Hanifah JAKARTA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- In a bid to attract more foreign visitors, Indonesian government planned to intensify promotion on the nation's culinary and shopping experiences as the nation has abundance of potentialities from the two tourism elements. With myriad of ethnic groups inhabiting dozen thousands of islands across its territory with their unique foods and cultural products that can be shopped on, Indonesian government realizes great potentialities that can be tapped on from their existence to accomplish targets in tourism sector. Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that culinary and shopping experiences are apparently lucrative elements and essentially contribute to the success of tourism sector in a country. The minister added that traditional culinary and shopping accounted for 45 percent from cultural attractions, the largest business portfolio that contributes 60 percent to overall businesses in tourism sector. "Visitors' spending for culinary and shopping is significantly huge, very lucrative to be worked on," he said in a statement recently, cited to Thailand's success to grab huge number of visitors with its Thai Kitchen tagline featured in its tourism program. Addressing government's aim to further promote national culinary and shopping experiences in tourism sector, Indonesian tourism ministry is actively taking part in recent travel and tourism expos abroad. Taking the opportunity from the recent annual meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Madrid, Spain, Indonesian mission in the event showcased an attraction with a theme of "One Night in Makassar" that highlighted particular Indonesian culinary and cultural products from around Makassar, an Indonesian eastern region's major city. Head of the ministry's task force to accelerate culinary and shopping tourism Vita Datau said in the event that promotion in Madrid is effective as the Spanish city is a benchmark for world's culinary and shopping tourism. Deputy Minister Tourism Promotion for Europe, Middle East and Africa regions Nia Niscaya said in the same occasion that Indonesia has abundance of potentialities to open new market in culinary and shopping experiences so as to cope with the nation's tourism targets. Indonesia won 12 from 16 categories contended in 2016 World Halal Tourism Award (WHTA), among them was an award for West Sumatra province's delicacy of Rendang. Indonesia's Rendang and Nasi Goreng (fried rice) ranked first and second in CNN's world 50 best foods pooling in 2011. For the same purpose, the ministry also sent a mission in 2017 New York Travel Times Travel Show (NYTTS), highlighted Indonesian coffee in the United States' largest trade show event. "We were glad to see many people were willing to stand in lines just to taste Indonesian Arabica coffee provided in our exhibit. We know that price of global Arabica coffee is determined in New York," Nia Niscaya said in a statement. The 2017 NYTTS event that took place last week was attended by 29,000 visitors comprised of travellers and tourism experts who shared their views in global tourism industry. Some 500 exhibitors from various countries showcased the best of tour destinations and attractions in their respective nations in the 3-day event that lasted on Sunday. Minister Arief Yahya said earlier that the United States is among 10 largest visitor contributor nations to Indonesia. Through the coordinated efforts to grab more visitors from the United Sates, Indonesia expects to see some 380,000 visitors from that country this year, or higher than 251,221 ones recorded in 2015. Indonesia is now in herculean efforts to attract foreign visitors coming into the archipelago country as tourism sector has been declared as the nation's core business, replacing oil and gas, coal and palm oil sectors which drove the country's economy in the past years. Due to that, Southeast Asia's largest economy is now developing ten new ultimate tour destinations across the country, designed to par with its resort island of Bali in attracting visitors. Indonesia expects to welcome 15 million foreign visitors this year, earn some 200 trillion rupiah (about 14.9 billion U.S. Dollars) in tourism sector. By 2019, the nation has set targets to welcome 20 million visitors, raises more than 24 billion U.S. Dollars generated from the sector. SINGAPORE, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Singapore lowers filing fees for intellectual property protection, said the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) in a statement on Wednesday. The promulgation, which will take effect from April 1, aims to drive innovation in Singapore and allows businesses and entrepreneurs to enjoy substantial cost savings when they file for patent and trade mark protection with the IPOS. IPOS said brand owners applying for trade marks using a pre-approved list of goods and services will be able to enjoy a substantial 30 percent discount. Patent owners who are willing to offer their patents for licensing will also continue to enjoy a 50 percent discount in patent renewal fees, according to the statement. Chief Executive of IPOS Daren Tang said that the fee revisions make it easier and cheaper for companies to protect their brands and technology. "We hope that more of our creative enterprises and inventors will be encouraged by these changes to have a strong foundation for taking their ideas to the world," Tang added. NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The New York Philharmonic on Tuesday enchanted an audience accustomed to European symphonic tradition by performing selections of famed Chinese folk music in its annual Chinese New Year Concert. The concert, held at Lincoln Center, started with the cheerful "Spring Festival Overture," a widely known piece in China. The concert also featured Grammy Award-winning South Korean soprano Sumi Jo, who performed Chinese folk songs such as "A Little Path," "Three Rose Wishes" and "I Live Beside the Yangtze River." "Eternal Joy," a concerto for trumpet composed by Chinese artist Chen Qigang and played by Alison Balsom, made its debut in the United States during the concert. "The Chinese are coming up so quickly in the classic music world," Philharmonic Principal Flute Robert Langevin told Xinhua before the concert. "Music is such an international language, it is one way for different countries and peoples to get together and help create world peace," Langevin said. Victoria Li, who came all the way up from North Carolina, said she enjoyed the music so much that she felt so proud of the culture of her mother country. Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The city of Lashkar Gah in Afghanistan southern region witnessed firing of three rockets that claimed at least one life and injuring two others on Wednesday. The attacks, which claimed the life of a school student and injured two more civilians, took place amid the visit of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to Lashkar Gah, causing panic among the locals. Lashkar Gah is the capital of Helmand province, 555 km south of Kabul, and it is the main target of Taliban militants over the past couple of years. Abdullah traveled to Lashkar Gah on Tuesday to inspect the security situation in the poppy growing Helmand province, where Taliban militants have been fighting over the past several years to re-establish their rule in the strategically important province along the border with Pakistan. Abdullah was in the major city in southern region on Wednesday morning when the rocket attacks happened. In a meeting with security officials in Lashkar Gah on Tuesday, Abdullah directed the security apparatus to defeat militants before the arrival of spring in the troubled province. According to local observers, Taliban by firing rockets on Lashkar Gah, demonstrated their ability and wanted to give the message that the armed outfit can target any place whenever they want to. The rocket attacks have added to the concerns of Lashkar Gah residents, as many shops remained closed and the bazaar seems deserted on Wednesday. Meanwhile, spokesman for Helmand's provincial government Omar Zawak has blamed Taliban militants for firing the rockets, saying the militants by organizing such attacks want to terrorize the people. Taliban militants who are in control of parts of Helmand province and have been fighting to overrun Lashkar Gah city has yet to claim responsibility for firing rockets and harming civilians. DAVAO CITY, Philippines, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Fighting erupted between government troops and rebels in southern Philippines on Wednesday, leaving a soldier dead, hours after rebel officials announced the cancellation of a self-imposed ceasefire started last August, authorities said. The fire fight in a village in Manay town, in Mindanao's Davao Oriental province killed a junior officer and wounded another as soldiers were engaging New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas in a running gun battle past 1 p.m, said Captain Rhyan Batchar, a provincial army spokesperson. Batchar said troops under the army's 67th Infantry Battalion were responding to reports about the presence of armed men at Lambog village when they were fired upon by suspected guerrillas, sparking a firefight. The incident was the latest escalation of violence between security forces and the leftist NPA, after weeks of incidents that led to Wednesday's lifting of the rebel-imposed ceasefire declared last August, as a confidence-building measure following the resumption of talks with the government aimed at ending one of Asia's longest insurgencies. NAIROBI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank's private sector arm said on Wednesday that it will help Eastern Africa's private sector to enhance the level of its corporate governance. International Finance Corporation (IFC) Africa Corporate Governance Program, Corporate Governance Officer Rose Lumumba told a media briefing in Nairobi that corporate governance is a serious issue in the region. "In the recent past, we have witnessed the collapse of a number of private firms due to bad governance. That is why we are rolling out corporate governance initiatives to the private sector," Lumumba said during an Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya and IFC Governance forum. IFC will provide technical support to the private sector which is the engine of economic growth as well as the driver of job creation. IFC's Eastern Africa Governance program covers Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. IFC hopes to build the capacity of those who work in private firms and enable them to include corporate governance into their decision making. "The employees should be aware of the consequences of unethical business practices," she said. Lumumba said they have developed tools to enable company officials to make good decisions. She noted that companies that have good governance will be able to attract investors as well as cheaper sources of finance. The Corporate Governance officer noted that family owned business should prioritize corporate governance. "This will ensure firms survive even after the death of the founders," Lumumba said. IFC is also working with professional bodies so that they train their members on global best practice of corporate governance. RAMALLAH, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah announced on Wednesday that urgent consultations have begun in response to renewed Israeli settlement activities in Palestinian territories. "We have started urgent consultations in order to take the necessary measures to confront settlement activities," said Abu Rudeinah. The spokesperson called on the new U.S. administration "to rein in this Israeli government policy, which will destroy the peace process." Israeli public radio reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman approved on Tuesday the construction of over 3,000 settlement units in the West Bank, 2,000 of which have already been constructed. Palestine Liberation Organizations (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi condemned the new Israeli decision, saying "such a frenzied escalation of Israel's illegal activity signals the final demise of the two state solution." "The silence of the new American government, including those who actively support settlements in the White House and the administration as a whole, has emboldened Netanyahu to persist with his settlement activities," said Ashrawi in a emailed press statement. "All settlements are a war crime as per the the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Rome Statute and constitute a direct violation of international laws and conventions, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334." PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat called on the ICC to open an immediate investigation into Israeli settlement activity. "Israel continues to systematically violate Palestinian rights, giving a green light for settlers to occupy more Palestinian territories," Erekat said. "This illegal situation must not be tolerated by the international community." Israel's decision came a week after Netanyahu and Lieberman approved the construction of 2,500 new settler units in the West Bank in addition to 550 others in east Jerusalem. King Mohammed VI (2nd R) of Morocco attends the closing ceremony of the 28th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, on Jan. 31, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Baishun) ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- After leaving the pan African organization three decades, Morocco rejoined the African Union (AU) on Tuesday during the 28th African summit. For over three decades since its withdrawal from the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which later became the African Union (AU), Morocco had not been part of the organization, but recently, the country has changed its stance towards the Union, making the readmission to the AU on the top of its agenda. "It is a beautiful day when one returns home after too long an absence. Africa is my continent and my home. I am finally home and I am happy to see you. I missed you all," King Mohammed VI of Morocco told African leaders at the closing ceremony of the 28th AU summit in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. According to King Mohammed VI, Morocco has developed stronger ties with many African countries in the continent, despite the country's 33 years of nonattendance at the African Union. "We have never broken up the ties. We have always been there and you could rely on us," said King Mohammed VI. "Morocco has concluded many cooperation agreements with African countries over the past years," the King added. King Mohammed VI of Morocco has also vowed to work in partnership with the rest of African Union member countries so as to realize that African resources utilized by African people. "We want to give a new impetus to our continent... We have to deal with the problems of Africa," he said. The outgoing African Union Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has also congratulated Morocco on its membership. "This summit took a historic decision to reunite the African community of states, with its decision on the membership of the Kingdom of Morocco," she said. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening ceremony of the 28th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, on Jan. 30, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Baishun) ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has commended the "extraordinary" unity and leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the peaceful transition of Gambia. In his address to the 28th African Union Summit on Monday, the UN secretary-general said the unity in ECOWAS and the restraint of the Gambian people in the face of possible conflict was commendable. "The extraordinary union showed by ECOWAS is even a lesson to the world," he said. "When we see so many conflicts multiplying, the only way to allow the international community to be able to address those conflicts, the only way to allow the international community to act boldly, is with unity of the countries of the region, able to serve together and in the same universal principles," he said. "Our world needs to move from managing crises to preventing them in the first place. Too often the world responds too late and too little. I look forward to exploring with you how to break that cycle." Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh departed Gambia peacefully following ECOWAS' intervention after he had refused to hand over power to President Adama Barrow who beat him in elections held in December 2016, recalled a UN statement on Tuesday. Guterres outlined several areas, including peace and security, where the UN and Africa could work together to improve the lives of the ordinary people. The United Nations will step up its support to further promote good governance and reinforce the nexus between peace, security and development, said Guterres, adding the UN will support African efforts to realize its initiative to "Silence the Guns by 2020", or even before, including by strengthening support for the African Peace and Security Architecture. "It is also very important that we are able to promote long-term thinking and commitment to building and maintaining peace after conflict ends to prevent backsliding," said Guterres. The Secretary General has pledged his full commitment to working with AU in solidarity and respect to advance peace and security on the continent and realize the vision of Agenda 2063. He said he intended to work with AU to present a set of concrete proposals to the Security Council on predictable, reliable and sustainable financing for AU peace operations. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the outgoing Chairperson of the AU Commission, led the assembled leaders in honoring ECOWAS for ensuring a peaceful transition in the Gambia. Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf received a present on behalf of ECOWAS from the pan-African bloc. "You made us proud as you stood by the people of Gambia and defended the values of our union," said Dlamini-Zuma. File photo shows Somali refugees queue for screening before boarding a plane at the Dadaab airstrip, northeastern Kenya, Nov. 2, 2015. More Somali refugee families at the Dadaab refugee camps in northeast Kenya are trickling back to their motherland because of relative peace in the war torn Somalia. (Xinhua/Stephen Ingati) NAIROBI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- About 26,000 Somali refugees, who fled to Kenya from fighting in their country and had planned to resettle in the United States, are now stranded because of travel ban by Washington, the UN refugee agency said on Wednesday. Yvonne Ndege, an officer at the UNHCR Kenya office said the affected refugees, who have all been screened by both U.S. and UN officials, have waited for more than two years for their resettlement to be approved and organized. Ndege said 13,000 of the refugees had been interviewed by U.S. officials and have not departed after President Donald Trump suspended the U.S. asylum program. "We very much hope these issues will be resolved and the U.S. will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution," Ndege told Xinhua. She said 26,000 refugees in Kenya were in the process of resettlement to America and are affected by the travel ban, 14,500 of them are from Dadaab refugee camp in northeast Kenya. Ndege said an additional 13,000 Somali refugees have applied to be resettled in the United States. The resettlement comes after Kenya announced the closure of the Dadaab camp in May 2016. Nairobi however, suspended the deadline by six months. The resettlement fears follow President Donald Trump's signing on Jan. 27 of an Executive Order that, among things, suspends the U.S. refugee programme for 120 days and also bars entry of refugees from several mostly Muslim countries, including Syria, until further notice. UNHCR has stressed that the refugees should receive equal treatment for protection and assistance, and opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their religion, nationality or race. UNHCR estimates, based on average monthly figures for the last 15 years, that 20,000 refugees in precarious circumstances might have been resettled to the United States during the 120 days covered by the Order. Ndege said resettlement is a meticulous process and can take up to two years to the U.S, noting that UNHCR and its partners continue to offer assistance to refugees while they are undergoing various stages of the resettlement process. She expressed the hope that Washington will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution. "UNHCR continues to engage constructively with the U.S. Government, as we have done for decades, to protect those who need it most through a safe and secure resettlement programme," she said. TEHRAN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan on Wednesday confirmed the recent ballistic missile test by his country, Tasnim news agency reported. "The recent (missile) test was in line with our programs, and we will not allow any outsider to interfere in our defense affairs," Dehqan was quoted as saying. Iran's missile test is by no means contradict the Iranian nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, nor United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, the minister said. Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015, to endorse a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. The defense minister said that the country's missile tests are part of Iran's defense plans aimed at fulfilling its national interests, and no one or country could affect the country's plans and decisions. He reiterated that Iran's missile program is for deterrence purposes. Details of the recent missile test by the Islamic republic has not been publicized, but it was the first test by Iran after new U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20. On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned Washington against fomenting new tension over the missile program of the Islamic republic. Zarif expressed the hope that Iran's missile program would not be used as an excuse by the new U.S. administration to create new tension for his country. Iran's tests of missiles fall outside United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, Zarif said in a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart. The resolution only points to the ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, he said. "We have announced that none of our ballistic missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads," Zarif said. "Iran would not allow others to decide on its defense program." by Xinhua writers Liu Chen, Gui Tao BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ten thousand pounds per month. That's the money the Japanese Embassy in London has been paying to a British think tank for its work to hype up China threat and propagate against China-UK relations, said a Sunday Times report. As an official representative of a sovereign country in Britain, the Japanese Embassy's act, if proved to be true, is surprising and despicable. In this alleged diplomatic scandal, the embassy has hired the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), a right-wing think tank, to encourage high-level British politicians and journalists to "voice opposition to Chinese foreign policy." A recent example is an article published in August 2016 questioning China's involvement in Britain's Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. Former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has confirmed that he had been approached by the HJS to put his name to the article. Fear over China's rapid development and its sound relations with Britain has been seen as a major motive behind the Japanese Embassy's indecent campaign against its neighbor. But such a trick will neither help Japan, whose economy is struggling,nor deter China's growing ties with Western countries. It only reveals a serious deficiency in Tokyo's self-confidence. Meanwhile, one cannot help wondering if there are other Japanese embassies that are working on similar projects to tarnish the image of China. Since the disclosure of the allegations, the Japanese government and media as well as the embassy in London have chosen to remain silent. Silence is by no means gold in this case. It probably means embarrassment. The trick carried out by the HJS did not work. The British government gave the green light to the Hinkley Point C project. It is a sign of bilateral confidence in and mutual commitment to a "golden era" of Britain's post-Brexit relations with China. For the HJS, which poses as "a policy shaping force fighting for the principles of free society," its involvement in this money-driven trick is a slap on its own face. Related: Interview: British think tank involved in Japan-funded anti-China propaganda "keen to attack," says sinologist LONDON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A British think tank involved in Japan-funded propaganda against China was "notoriously partisan" and "extremely keen to attack," a leading British expert on Chinese affairs said late Tuesday. Full story Japan Embassy falls silent on alleged "paid propaganda" against China MOSCOW, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese language exam is likely to be introduced in Russian schools from 2018, according to a national-level education body in Russia. "There is a plan to introduce the Chinese language test to the Basic State Exam in 2018 and to the Unified State Exam in 2020," Oxana Reshetnikova, Director of the Russian Federal Institute for Pedagogical Measurements, was quoted as saying by the local Moskva news agency on Tuesday. Russia's Basic State Exam is a series of obligatory examinations for ninth grade students and the Unified State Exam for 11th grade students necessary to qualify for university education. Takers of the two exams currently have a choice of English, German, French and Spanish as part of the exam's foreign language component. The Chinese language is now taught in 123 educational institutions in 34 regions in Russia, with the total number of student learners exceeding 17,000, of which around 5,000 are in eighth to 11th grades, according to Russia's education watchdog. JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were injured as a sticky bomb went off in a police van in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, on Wednesday, a official said. "A sticky bomb placed on a vehicle of Border Police Force exploded in Jalalabad city this afternoon, injuring seven people, including policemen and some passers-by," spokesman for provincial government Attaullah Khogiani said. The financial in-charge of Border Police Force was also among the injured, the official added. Khogiani also noted that an investigation had been launched into the blast. VALLETTA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Wednesday that there was no need for a heavy-handed approach when it came to tackling migration in the central Mediterranean. Malta has made migration one of its main priorities during its six-month tenure of the European Union Presidency. Speaking after a bilateral meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Soldberg, Muscat said migration was both a security and humane issue. Muscat spoke of the need to take a rational approach when seeking solutions to the migration problem. Tackling the security issues linked to migration could be done in a rational and sensible manner, he said. Muscat again spoke of the need to engage with Libya on the migration crisis. He said Libya needed help in managing its own borders, and the current "weak administration", and there was no excuse not to enter into discussions with the country. Muscat said that it was not an issue of pushing migrants back to their country of departure. Malta was heavily criticized in 2013 for threatening to push back African migrants to Libya. Muscat said work was being done on putting together a declaration on the migration issue during the upcoming informal EU summit scheduled for Friday in Malta. PARIS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- French conservative party contender Francois Fillon, the favorite candidate to win the presidential election until last week, is now predicted to be eliminated in the first round after allegations over his wife's fake job hurt his bid, according to a survey released on Wednesday. An Elabe poll for Les Echos business daily showed Fillon trailing in voting intentions behind the far-right leader Marine Le Pen and independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, both expected to meet in the contest on May 7. For the first round of the presidential election scheduled for April 23, the former prime minister is set to collect up to 20 percent of the vote, down by six points from a previous score. Anti-immigrant campaigner Le Pen is seen winning the first round by between 26 to 27 percent of voting intentions, up by three percent, against Macron's 23 percent. In an election run-off, the centrist former economy minister would beat Le Pen by 65 percent against 35 percent, according to the survey. In one scenario, Elabe said Fillon would pass the first round and would also beat Le Pen by 59 to 41 percent. The poll was conducted on Jan. 30 and 31 after a satirical weekly claimed Fillon had paid his wife and two of his five children about one million euros (1.08 million U.S. dollars) for their jobs as parliamentary assistants for jobs they didn't do. On Tuesday, investigators searched French parliament as part of an inquiry into possible "misuse of public funds" and "misappropriation of assets" relating to Fillon's wife's "fictitious" job. According to media reports, no material evidence including an access badge and specific emails when she was a parliamentary assistant were found during the raid. Under French law, it's legal for lawmakers to hire family members as their assistants but it's illegal to pay them for a fictitious job. (1 euro=1.08 U.S. dollars) DUBAI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said on Wednesday it has reached a 100 million U.S. dollar global catering agreement with German carrier Lufthansa. Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) , also signed a memorandum of understanding with Lufthansa Technik for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, also known as MRO. Etihad Aviation Group and Lufthansa German Airlines, part of Europe's largest aviation group, on Wednesday unveiled details of a new commercial partnership which began on Dec. 16, 2016, with the signing of a codeshare agreement. To facilitate both connectivity and customer experience associated with this codeshare, Etihad Airways will move its operations from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 in Frankfurt, and from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 in Munich. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the chief executive officers of both aviation groups pledged to broaden their commercial partnership. Etihad (Arabic for unity) is owned by the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Lufthansa Aviation Group is a private entity whose shares are traded on Frankfurt's Stock Exchange. The four-year contract will see Lufthansa's LSG Sky Chefs provide catering services to Etihad Airways in 16 cities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. ABUJA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A police inspector in Nigeria was killed in an ambush suspected to have been carried out by terror group Boko Haram in the country's northeastern state of Borno, police authorities said on Wednesday. One other policeman sustained a gunshot wound in the early Wednesday attack, the police spokesman in Borno, Victor Isuku, told Xinhua in Maiduguri, the state capital. The police team on an investigative mission was attacked at a village in Damboa district of the restive Nigerian state, according to the spokesman. The team fought gallantly and was able to repel the attackers who ran into the bush with some of them sustaining injuries, he said. Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million people in Nigeria since the current insurgency started in 2009. The Boko Haram is suspected to be regrouping in Maiduguri after the Nigerian military dislodged them from the Sambisa Forest, their last enclave in the West African country, last month. FRANKFURT, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A terror suspect was arrested on Wednesday in Frankfurt amid a massive operation of raids, Germany's Hessen State Criminal Police Office announced. The 36-year-old Tunisian man has been playing role as a recruiter and trafficker for the Islamic State (IS) since August 2015, and has expanded his network with supporters with an aim to launch a terrorist attack in Germany, according to the police office. The police office added that the arrested man with criminal record had lived in Germany from 2003 to 2013. Two years later, the man entered Germany again in August 2015, claiming a refugee status. With no concrete target locked so far, the man's attack plan against Germany remained at early stage, showed the investigation by police. The local police of Hessen State searched a total of 54 locations on Wednesday morning, including housing, business premises and mosques in Frankfurt, Offenbach, Darmstadt, Limburg, and Wiesbaden, targeting 16 suspects aged between 16 to 46. MOGADISHU, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke on Wednesday accused neighboring countries of interference in the forthcoming presidential elections which has attracted 24 candidates. Sharmarke told a news conference in Mogadishu that there is a political agenda in which troop contributing countries are involved to push for a particular candidate in the elections which will be held on Feb. 8 "We are in a very sensitive situation at the moment, we are in election, there is a heavy pressure and interference from foreign countries, in particular, in some neighboring countries, we need them to respect and avoid interference to enable us decide our future," he said. However, the outgoing Somalia premier did not name the particular countries but only said are countries which provide security assistance to Somalia. "Such countries provide security assistance to our country, but they must not be involved in our elections. They should let our members of parliament a free hand to vote. We are a sovereign state," Sharmarke said. Some 24 candidates will be contesting for the presidency in the Feb. 8 after several delays that were occasioned by clan differences and elections of members of both houses. The incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, his Prime Minister Sharmarke and former President Shariff Sheikh Ahmed are among some of the leading candidates duly cleared for the race. ISLAMABAD, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday pressed India to provide concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed, a man India claims masterminded the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. Pakistani authorities put Saeed and four other people under house arrest in the city of Lahore on Monday in the wake of UN sanctions on Saeed's Jamaat ud Dawa organization. India said it was not impressed by Saeed's detention, insisting that only a "credible crackdown" on terror outfits, including Saeed's, will prove Pakistan's sincerity, the PTI news agency reported. Regarding the detention of Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan's Interior Ministry said that the country does not need any certification or endorsement from India over the recent actions it has taken in relation to Hafiz Saeed. "If indeed India is serious about its allegations, it should come up with concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed... Mere casting aspersions and leveling allegations without any corroborating evidence would not help the cause of peace in the region," a spokesman of the Interior Ministry said in a statement. "The international community should take note and understand that Pakistan is a democratic society where judiciary takes free, independent and transparent decisions," said the spokesman. He said Pakistan is still looking for justification and explanation from India as to how all the accused involved in 2007 Samjhota Express bombing where 68 Pakistani nationals lost their lives have gone scot-free. Terrorist attacked the Pakistan-bound passenger train in February 2007 near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 km north of New Delhi. "The involvement of Indian army officer Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Hindu extremist leaders like Swami Aseemanand of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the Samjhota Express terrorist incident is a matter of record and has been widely reported in the international press without any positive response from India," the spokesman added. BUJUMBURA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has handed over 128 suspected rebels to Burundian authorities, the Burundian justice minister said. The handover of those Burundian young people took place on Tuesday evening at Gatumba border post, 18 km west of the Burundian capital Bujumbura, between DR Congo's South Kivu Province Governor Marcellin Cishambo and Burundian Justice Minister Aimee Laurentine Kanyana. "We are informed that young people were recruited by some groups in order to come and intimidate the Burundian government. These people could be rebels, but we will need to identify them," Kanyana said. Those young people were detained in custodies and prisons in South Kivu Province in the DR Congo. Kanyana said, "We thank the Congolese government for this cooperation initiative and we pledge to do the same if there are Congolese nationals that should be extradited." She indicated that those people will in return show other Burundian people still "stranded" in exile that Burundi is peaceful. Kanyana added those people will receive civic education before integrating their families. DR Congo's South Kivu Province Governor Marcellin Cishambo said that all those people were people "irregularly" living on the Congolese territory, adding that they had been detained in prisons. "People always feel better in their home. They were here (in the DR Congo) for some 14 months. The repatriation is voluntary," Cishambo said. According to him, 37 Burundian nationals have refused to return to their home country "fearing for their security" while 18 Rwandan nationals said they wanted to be extradited to their home country (Rwanda) instead of being taken to Burundi. The east African nation plunged in a crisis since April 2015 when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run his controversial third term in violation of the national constitution and the 2000 Arusha Agreement that ended a decade-long civil war. More than 500 people in Burundi have been killed and about 300,000 people fled to neighboring countries mostly Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda since the outbreak of the crisis. DUBAI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Wednesday the temporary visa ban ordered by U.S. President Donald Tump on visitors and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries is America's sovereign right, local media reported. The ban was not against a specific religion per se, as the majority of the Muslim countries were not in the list of countries whose citizens were affected, said UAE Minister of Foreign and International Affairs Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Gulf News reported. At a joint press conference in Abu Dhabi with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ahmed Abu Al Ghait, secretary-general of the Arab League, the top UAE diplomat said all nations have the right to make their sovereign decisions. Al-Nahyan was responding to a question regarding Trump's decision on Friday to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the U.S. and temporarily ban visitors from Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan. Trump said the travel restrictions will help protect Americans from terrorist attacks. On Sunday, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince and the UAE's Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, had a telephone conversation with Trump. The UAE politician said during the phone call that "extremism and terrorism have no religion nor identity." "The UAE is looking forward to overcoming this regional chaotic and unstable stage through joint cooperation and efforts serving mutual interests, achieving peace, stability and restoring security," the UAE's state news agency WAM quoted Sheikh Mohammed as saying. CAPE TOWN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Africa accepts the outcomes of the 28th African Union (AU) summit on the readmission of Morocco into the organization, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday. South Africa did this in order to promote unity and coherence within the continent, Zuma said upon return from the just-concluded AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "However, there were strong views from member states that by virtue of acceding to the Constitutive Act, Morocco should abide by all provisions of the Act and immediately resolve its relations with the Western Sahara to ensure territorial integrity between the two nations," Zuma said in remarks distributed by his office. At the summit, the 54-member AU voted overwhelmingly to readmit Morocco following a lengthy debate. Thirty-nine of the 54 states approved Morocco's return to the AU. South Africa, along with Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Algeria, opposed the decision. All of these countries have been active supporters of the rights of the Sahrawi people and their right to an independent homeland. But the summit agreed on the view that the AU should prioritize the impasse between Morocco and the Western Sahara to change the status quo. Failing to do so, African countries would risk undermining the principles on which the AU was constituted, as articulated in the Constitutive Act, Zuma noted. The Western Sahara, one of Africa's last remaining colonial outposts, is a former Spanish colony under dispute since 1975 between Morocco and the Polisario Front which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) with a government-in-exile in Tindouf, southwestern Algeria. The Western Sahara has been on the UN list of non-self-governing territories since 1963. A UN-led process of negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front is lagging behind. Morocco says it is ready to grant autonomy rule to Sahrawi people, while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front demands holding a self-determination referendum. Souoth Africa keeps longstanding fraternal ties with the Polisario Front and the SADR. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday expressed regret over the readmission of Morocco to the African Union (AU). South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) said on Tuesday that Morocco's readmission into the AU is "regrettable". "This decision represents a significant setback to the cause of the Sahrawi people and their quest for self-determination and independence in the Western Sahara," the party said. AMMAN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Jordan and the United States signed an agreement on Wednesday under which the U.S. will provide Jordan with 100,000 metric tons of wheat as a grant, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said. The grant will be sent to Jordan in 2017, the minister Imad Fakhoury said after signing the agreement. Fakhoury said this is the fourth time the U.S. provides wheat grants to Jordan, adding that the grant comes at a crucial time Jordan is going through due to hosting a large number of Syrian refugees that reached about 1.4 million Syrians. He said the projects are vital to Jordan, which is one of the poorest countries in terms of water. LHASA, Feb.1 (Xinhua) -- Tseyang wants a bank loan to open a new restaurant in the center of Xigaze as her current restaurant in the city outskirts does not receive as many customers as she hoped. The Tibetan woman, 51, previously lived in Zham, a border town in Tibet Autonomous Region, neighboring Nepal, but was relocated to a new community in Xigaze after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, 2015. The quake severely damaged Zham port, once a major trade hub between the region and Nepal. Like other quake-hit residents, Tseyang's family now lives in a government-funded apartment in Xigaze, Tibet's second largest city. One month after moving, Tseyang partnered with three housewives and opened a Nepalese restaurant near Zham Mall, which was built with local government help for quake-hit border trade merchants. "I encouraged them to start up a business together. And opening a special restaurant with Nepalese food is a good choice," Tseyang said. Luckily, they received aid worth 30,000 yuan (4,374 U.S.dollars) from a local hospital to outfit the restaurant. The government exempted the rental fees and tax, and they made a profit, even in the first month of operation. The restaurant was temporarily closed as the nearby shopping center was shut down during Spring Festival. It will reopen on Feb. 9. With her husband in poor health, Tseyang has to earn income to support their son Dradul who will graduate from a university in central China's Hubei Province this year. "We cannot just wait for aid," she said, stressing that employment was important to improving their lives. At the new Zham community, displaced residents each receive a government resettlement fee of 15 yuan per day, and other subsidies such as a minimum living allowance and ecological compensation. More than 200 people have found jobs in the new community. Tseyang, also head of the community's women federation, aims to help more displaced people find jobs. The community has more than 100 women in their 40s. After conducting a survey in the city center, she found there was potential for Nepalese restaurants. "The current site is a bit far from the town center and the flow of people is not so big, but opening restaurants in the city center means high rental fees. So we need bank loans," she said. "It would be much better if we could have funding support for startups." BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts across Iraq killed a total of 382 civilians and wounded 908 others in January, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Wednesday. A UNAMI statement said that figures of casualties do not include the security members, as the Iraqi military authorities in early December criticized the figures announced by UNAMI about the deaths of the security forces for the previous month of November. The UNAMI's early December report said that 1,959 security members were killed in November, but the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said the UNAMI figures were "inaccurate and much exaggerated." The UNAMI responded and said the "the military figures were largely unverified." January's civilian record also exclude the casualties in Iraq's western province of Anbar, as the casualty figures there for the month were unavailable due to the volatility of the situation on the ground and the disruption of services, the statement said. "The Daesh (Islamic State group) terrorists have focused their bombing attacks on markets and residential neighborhoods. They have cowardly targeted civilians - women, children and the elderly who were going about their business or shopping," the statement quoted the UN envoy to Iraq and the UNAMI chief Jan Kubis as saying. However, Kubis said, "Daesh's goal of breaking the will of the people has collapsed in the face of the Iraqi people's resilience, despite of the difficulties and hardship, and the steady advances of the Iraqi security forces in the operation to liberate Mosul from the terrorists." The UNAMI statement came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. Earlier, the UNAMI said that a total of 6,878 civilians were killed and 12,388 wounded in 2016, adding that the figures do not include the civilian casualty figures for Anbar province for the months of May, July, August and December. Iraq has witnessed intensifying violence since the IS extremist group took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014. Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S. that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003, under the pretext of seeking to destroy weapons of mass destruction in the country. The war led to the ouster and eventual execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but no such weapons have been found. An Iraqi soldier inspects the debris on January 22, 2017 at St. George's Monastery (Mar Gurguis), a historical Chaldean Catholic church on the northern outskirt of Mosul, which was destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group in 2015. (AFP/Xinhua) BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts across Iraq killed a total of 382 civilians and wounded 908 others in January, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Wednesday. A UNAMI statement said that figures of casualties do not include the security members, as the Iraqi military authorities in early December criticized the figures announced by UNAMI about the deaths of the security forces for the previous month of November. The UNAMI's early December report said that 1,959 security members were killed in November, but the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said the UNAMI figures were "inaccurate and much exaggerated." The UNAMI responded and said the "the military figures were largely unverified." January's civilian record also exclude the casualties in Iraq's western province of Anbar, as the casualty figures there for the month were unavailable due to the volatility of the situation on the ground and the disruption of services, the statement said. "The Daesh (Islamic State group) terrorists have focused their bombing attacks on markets and residential neighborhoods. They have cowardly targeted civilians - women, children and the elderly who were going about their business or shopping," the statement quoted the UN envoy to Iraq and the UNAMI chief Jan Kubis as saying. However, Kubis said, "Daesh's goal of breaking the will of the people has collapsed in the face of the Iraqi people's resilience, despite of the difficulties and hardship, and the steady advances of the Iraqi security forces in the operation to liberate Mosul from the terrorists." The UNAMI statement came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. Earlier, the UNAMI said that a total of 6,878 civilians were killed and 12,388 wounded in 2016, adding that the figures do not include the civilian casualty figures for Anbar province for the months of May, July, August and December. Iraq has witnessed intensifying violence since the IS extremist group took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014. Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S. that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003, under the pretext of seeking to destroy weapons of mass destruction in the country. The war led to the ouster and eventual execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but no such weapons have been found. MOSCOW, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Japan have agreed to hold the first round of bilateral consultations on joint economic activities on a series of disputed islands in Tokyo in March, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The agreement was reached when Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov met with his Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba earlier in the day in Moscow. "The parties exchanged views on the development of bilateral political dialogue, economic cooperation, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges," said a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry after the meeting. The two diplomats also discussed Russian-Japanese cooperation in the international arena, according to the statement. During a December visit to Japan, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the need to start consultations on joint economic activities on the disputed Pacific islands. Russia and Japan have yet to sign a peace treaty formalizing the end of World War II due to a territorial row over the four small islands called the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan. The decades-old spat has hindered diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Wednesday expressed its concern over recent announcements by the Israeli government to advance over 5,000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General Antonio Gurerress, said in a statement that "we once again warn against any unilateral actions that can be an obstacle to a negotiated two-state solution and call on both parties to return to meaningful negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and in accordance with international law, in order to address all final status issues." "The United Nations stands ready to support this process," he said KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang on Wednesday urged Malaysian authorities to continue search for the missing persons of the tourist boat which capsized in the waters off the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Saturday. Huang made the remarks after he visited some injured Chinese tourists who had been warded in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital since they were rescued. Currently they are being treated for dehydration and severe sunburn. "We will not give up any gleam of hope and will try our best to urge the Malaysian side to continue their search efforts and thoroughly investigate the incident so that tourists' safety in Sabah can be ensured," said Huang. He also noted that he was promised by Musa Aman, chief minister of Sabah when meeting him earlier that authorities in Sabah will do everything they can to rectify tourism environment and order. Chinese tourists flooded in Sabah during the Chinese New Year holiday, making local hotels and many tourism services fully booked, which caused some concerns that whether the incident is a reflection of Sabah's capacity to receive some many tourists. Meanwhile, as the search and rescue operation for the victims enters its sixth day, the possibility of survival for the six missing passengers is wearing thin, said First Admiral Adam Aziz, Kota Kinabalu director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency at a regular briefing on the same day. He said the possibility of their survival are "only miracles" because "life jackets cannot stand up to six days, and they are having dehydration." But Aziz ruled out having a timetable of ending the operation, saying that "we will do our best and we will continue the search." He cited the miraculous rescue of a Spanish woman, who survived ten days after a shipwreck in sea. "They continued their search until ten days and found her, so our search is continuing. If they are somewhere, then we still hope we can find them and some of the survivors," he said. In addition, Aziz said MMEA also informed local shipping associations and up to some 180 fisher trawlers as well as ships plying through to notice any signs of floating persons or bodies. The search and rescue operation expanded to 3,900 square nautical miles on Wednesday, up from Tuesday's 3,000 square nautical miles, involving 350 personnel and 22 assets from the Malaysian navy, maritime authorities and the police as well neighboring Brunei. The search area for the first time covered waters off the state of Sarawak. A body was found in waters near Kota Kinabalu on the day but was later identified as not one of the missing Chinese tourists, said Aziz, adding the ships continued searching in the designated area though the weather turned bad in the afternoon. The catamaran, carrying over two dozen Chinese tourists and three crew, went down in turbulent waters while en route to the popular island of Mengalum on Saturday. Twenty-two people have been rescued but three Chinese tourists have been confirmed dead. Another five Chinese tourists and a crew member are still missing. GAZA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A senior Islamic Hamas official said earlier this week that his movement won't participate in the municipal elections in the Palestinian territories until the end of a decade-long internal split between Hamas and Fatah. Salah al-Bardawil, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, in response to the Palestinian government's declaration of its decision to hold municipal elections in the Palestinian territories in May. "The movement won't let any municipal elections be held in the Gaza Strip and will boycott it in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," said al-Bardawil. Hamas had agreed to join the municipal elections sheduled to be held in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in October last year. However, a Palestinian court decided to postpone the elections because Hamas courts in Gaza deprived dozens of Fatah's candidates of their right to run for the elections. On Tuesday, the Palestinian National Authority consensus government decided to hold the municipal elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on May 13. Al-Bardawil said all these decisions were made "without coordination with Hamas movement and other factions." The government's decisions "are violating the Palestinian law, and therefore, Hamas rejects these illegal measures," he said. "The priority is for ending the internal division which began in 2007, and any elections held amid division won't succeed," the official noted. Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, after weeks of fighting with the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Since then, an internal Palestinian political and geographical division remains between the two sides despite a series of mediations from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. The last municipal elections held in the West Bank without the Gaza Strip were in 2011, while the last elections held in both enclaves were in 2005. VIENTIANE, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced Wednesday it will launch a regional project to enhance the resilience of wetlands in Lower Mekong countries on the occasion of World Wetlands Day which falls on Feb. 2. The Mekong WET project will be implemented through 2020, according to Lao state-run news agency KPL. Mekong WET will help Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to address their commitments to the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, and to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. There are a total of 28 Ramsar sites or wetlands of international importance in the four Mekong WET countries. The project will develop management plans with its focus on climate change adaptation and resilience building in 10 selected Ramsar sites and improve regional collaboration on trans-boundary wetlands management. The project also aims to share lessons and approaches with a further 18 Ramsar sites, as well as a number of potential or proposed new sites in the four Mekong WET countries. Wetlands, like marshes, rivers, mangroves, coral reefs, and other coastal and inland habitats, have many important functions, including the regulation of water flows, the provision of clean water and carbon storage. In the Lower Mekong region, millions of people rely on wetlands for their survival. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said here Wednesday that the U.S. travel ban imposed on refugees and immigrants from seven Middle East and North African countries "is not the best way to protect the United States and other countries," voicing his hope that this measure "will be removed as soon as possible." Maestro Yu Long (front) conducts Spring Festival Overture during the sixth Chinese New Year concert by New YorkPhilharmonic Orchestra at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, Jan. 31, 2017. The Chinese New Year concert by New York Philharmonic Orchestra was held here on Tuesday to celebrate the Year of Rooster. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The New York Philharmonic on Tuesday enchanted an audience accustomed to European symphonic tradition by performing selections of famed Chinese folk music in its annual Chinese New Year Concert. The concert, held at Lincoln Center, started with the cheerful "Spring Festival Overture," a widely known piece in China. The concert also featured Grammy Award-winning South Korean soprano Sumi Jo, who performed Chinese folk songs such as "A Little Path," "Three Rose Wishes" and "I Live Beside the Yangtze River." Soprano Sumi Jo (front) performs during the sixth Chinese New Year concert by New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, Jan. 31, 2017. The Chinese New Year concert by New York Philharmonic Orchestra was held here on Tuesday to celebrate the Year of Rooster. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) "Eternal Joy," a concerto for trumpet composed by Chinese artist Chen Qigang and played by Alison Balsom, made its debut in the United States during the concert. "The Chinese are coming up so quickly in the classic music world," Philharmonic Principal Flute Robert Langevin told Xinhua before the concert. Alison Balsom (L, front) performs during the sixth Chinese New Year concert by New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, Jan. 31, 2017. The Chinese New Year concert by New York Philharmonic Orchestra was held here on Tuesday to celebrate the Year of Rooster. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) "Music is such an international language, it is one way for different countries and peoples to get together and help create world peace," Langevin said. Victoria Li, who came all the way up from North Carolina, said she enjoyed the music so much that she felt so proud of the culture of her mother country. Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. OSLO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Norway's foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Russia's ambassador to the Nordic country to protest that some Norwegian Members of Parliament (MPs) had been denied visas to visit Russia. "It is deeply regrettable that some members of the parliamentary foreign affairs and defense committee were not given the opportunity to visit Russia, despite an invitation from the head of the (Russian) Council of the Federation committee on foreign affairs," Norway's foreign affairs minister Borge Brende said in a statement. The Norwegian foreign ministry protested to Russia through diplomatic channels immediately after the information about the visa rejections was received, according to the statement. "The ministry of foreign affairs called in the Russian ambassador today to reiterate our protest," he said. The Norwegian foreign minister said meetings of parliamentarians between the two countries formed an important part of political dialogue and the planned visit "would have brought this dialogue further." According to the statement, the reason given by the Russian authorities was that Norway had implemented the EU's restrictive measures against Russia. The restrictive measures were justified by the Norwegian side as a consequence of Russian actions in Ukraine. NEW DELHI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed and 17 others injured Wednesday after an under-construction building collapsed in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said. According to officials, rescuers were trying hard to locate 30 people trapped underneath the debris of the six-storey building. The building collapsed in the afternoon at Jajmau of Kanpur city, about 83 km southwest of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. "Today afternoon an under-construction building collapsed here trapping 50 people mostly labourers working there," District administrator, Kaushal Raj Sharma told Xinhua. "Following the collapse, we dispatched police and other teams to rescue people trapped under debris of the building. The rescuers pulled out 21 people in injured condition, out of which four succumbed and 17 were hospitalized." Five teams of National Disaster Response Force, state police, fire services and officials from local administration, besides locals are making efforts to rescue the trapped workers. Authorities have also rushed in four columns of Indian army to the spot to reinforce rescue work. The rescue operation according to Sharma was going on and would take several hours. "The rescue teams have pressed in earth movers, gas cutters and other equipment to trace the trapped ones," Sharma said. Local media reports said the building belongs to Mehtab Alab, a politician affiliated with ruling Samajwadi Party in the state. Police officials have registered a case and ordered an investigation into the building collapse. "It is too early to predict the exact cause but it is quite apparent there was some fault in the planning," Sharma said. Deadly accidents due to failing infrastructure (either new or old) are common in India. Construction experts blame the lax administration and corruption in India for flouting building rules that often results in using poor quality materials, inadequate supervision, poor safety standards for workers. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with Bangladeshi opposition leader in Parliament Raushan Ershad in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, Feb. 3, 2017. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived here Wednesday on his first-ever state visit to Bangladesh. (Xinhua) DHAKA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived here Wednesday on his first-ever state visit to Bangladesh. Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid received him at the Hazarat Shahjalal International Airport shortly after a special flight carrying Abbas and his entourage landed here at about 5 p.m. local time. The Palestinian leader was given a 21-gun salute followed by a guard of honor at the VVIP terminal. In February last year, Abbas made a brief stopover in Dhaka on his way to Japan from Jordan. According to diplomatic sources, the visit is aimed at further bolstering bilateral relations through more engagements in various fields, particularly in the field of trade and commerce. Abbas is scheduled to meet President Hamid and opposition leader in Parliament Raushan Ershad. He will also hold official talks with the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Diplomatic sources said both sides will discuss bilateral, regional and international issues. They are also expected to discuss relations on agriculture, energy and power, and on future intelligence cooperation. According to sources, both sides are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the formation of a joint commission at the foreign ministry level. Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis (L), Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas (C) and Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis pose for photos before signing an agreement in Tallinn, Estonia, on Jan. 31, 2017. (Xinhua/Janis) TALLINN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The prime ministers of the three Baltic states during a meeting in Tallinn on Tuesday inked an agreement outlining the general technical parameters, route and construction schedule of Rail Baltica European-gauge railroad line, local media reported. The agreement also regulates the ownership of and access to the planned railway infrastructure, sets out terms for the project's funding and provides guidelines for choosing the infrastructure operator. The EU's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is expected to cover up to 85 percent of the railway project's total costs, which are expected to reach an estimated 5 billion euros (5.39 billion U.S. dollars), with the national governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania planning to provide the rest of the necessary funding. The conclusion of the Rail Baltica agreement was essential in order not to lose the EU funding for the project as the three Baltic states are preparing to apply for the next portion of CEF money. At a joint news conference that followed the signing of the agreement in the Estonian capital, the three Baltic premiers stressed the deal's significance as a signal demonstrating the Baltic states' ability for cooperation. Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas described Rail Baltica as an extremely important project that will be driving the Baltics' economic growth in the future. The transport corridor that will be created to connect the Baltic states and the rest of Europe will be a sustainable and important, he said. Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis pointed out that now the railroad project has been launched already and that "there is no turning back on it." Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis indicated that the signing of the agreement was proof of the Baltic countries' political strength and ability to "implement strategic projects of this scope." Rail Baltica is intended to reestablish a direct railway connection between the Baltic states and the European railway network. The project is expected to facilitate regional integration by means of a railway link from Helsinki to Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas, Warsaw and Berlin and might potentially be extended to Venice. Participants take part in the annual Pride Parade in London, Britain, on June 29, 2013. (Xinhua/Bimal Gautam) LONDON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Almost 50,000 British men convicted of offences under former anti-gay laws were granted posthumous pardons on Tuesday. Queen Elizabeth II gave Royal Assent to a new bill which pardons any men of any sexual acts that are no longer crimes in England and Wales. The pardons only apply to men who are no longer living, but men still alive who have criminal convictions can apply on an individual basis to have their names cleared. Government Justice minister Sam Gyimah described the outcome as a "truly momentous day". Gyimah said: "We can never undo the hurt caused, but we have apologized and taken action to right these wrongs." The London Gay rights charity Stonewall described the pardons as another important milestone in equality. The measure, under the Policing and Crime Bill, is known as the Turing Law and follows the granting of a pardon to the World War II hero in 2013. Turing worked as a wartime code breaker at top-secret Bletchley Park, famed for breaking the German war machine's enigma code. He is credited with saving thousands of lives because of the ability of the British military to read coded messages. After the war Turing was convicted of an offence known as gross indecency because of a relationship with another man. Rather than live with chemical castration as part of a punishment, he killed himself in 1954. In a society with changing attitudes towards gay, bi-sexual and transgender people, former Labor prime minister Gordon Brown issued a formal public apology in 2009 to Turing for the way he had been treated. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said here Wednesday that the U.S. travel ban imposed on refugees and immigrants from seven countries "is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country," voicing his hope that "this measure should be removed sooner, rather than later." The secretary-general made the remarks in response to a press question as he was briefing reporters here on his travel to Ethiopia, where he attended an African Union summit. In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Monday, Guterres commended African countries for opening their borders to refugees and people fleeing violence while other parts of the world, including the developed West, close boundaries and build walls. "In my opinion, this is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country in relation to the serious concerns that existed about the possibility of terrorist infiltration," he said. "I don't think this is the effective way to do so." "What was lacking was a capacity to have a comprehensive approach to the problem," he said of the U.S. ban, adding that it is very important to review "the very dramatic situations the refugees are facing when they have no chance to reach protection." "And I think this measure should be removed sooner, rather than later," the UN chief said. On Tuesday, the secretary-general issued a statement via his spokesman, saying that refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are entitled to protection, and he expressed concern at decisions around the world that have undermined the integrity of the international refugee protection regime. "Refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are finding more and more borders closed and increasingly restricted access to the protection they need and are entitled to receive, according to international refugee law," the statement said. While acknowledging that "countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations," the UN chief said in the statement because the ban "is gainst the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based." Thousands of protesters rallied in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Sunday while demonstrations continued across more than 30 American airports after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily barring all refugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens from entry into the United States. Under the order, refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said here Wednesday that the U.S. travel ban imposed on refugees and immigrants from seven Middle East and North African countries "is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country," voicing his hope that "this measure should be removed sooner rather than later." The secretary-general made the remarks in response to a press question as he was briefing reporters here on his travel to Ethiopia, where he attended an African Union summit. In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Monday, Guterres commended African countries for opening their borders to refugees and people fleeing violence while other parts of the world, including the developed West, close boundaries and build walls. "In my opinion, this is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country in relation to the serious concerns that existed about the possibility of terrorist infiltration," he said. "I don't think this is the effective way to do so." "What was lacking was a capacity to have a comprehensive approach to the problem," he said of the U.S. ban, adding that it is very important to review "the very dramatic situations the refugees are facing when they have no chance to reach protection." "And I think this measure should be removed sooner, rather than later," the UN chief said. On Tuesday, the secretary-general issued a statement via his spokesman, saying that refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are entitled to protection, and he expressed concern at decisions around the world that have undermined the integrity of the international refugee protection regime. "Refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are finding more and more borders closed and increasingly restricted access to the protection they need and are entitled to receive, according to international refugee law," the statement said. While acknowledging that "countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations," the UN chief said in the statement because the ban "is against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based." Under the executive order signed by President Donald Trump last Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Thousands of protesters rallied in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Sunday while demonstrations continued across more than 30 American airports after Trump signed the executive order. JUBA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan King Mohammed VI arrived in South Sudan on Wednesday for a two-day state visit to the East African nation. King Mohammed VI and his host, President Salva Kiir are expected to ink several bilateral and corporation agreements. South Sudan Foreign Affairs Minister Deng Alor Kuol told reporters that the visit is intended to deepen bilateral relations between the two countries. He revealed that the two African countries seek to enhance cooperation in the fields of agriculture, mining, trade, infrastructure development and international relations. The Moroccan leader is heading a high-level delegation ministers and advisors. A team of Moroccan health experts have also arrived in the war-torn country with medical supplies and mobile clinics to offer free medical services in the capital, Juba. "His majesty (King Mohammed VI) is coming to support the government of South Sudan in the areas of education, health and so forth. So this is a very important visit," government Spokesman Michael Makuei said. It is the first time a Moroccan leader is visiting the oil-rich country since it gained independence from Sudan in July 2011. RAMALLAH, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made instructions to senior Palestinian diplomats, including his foreign affairs minister and the ambassador to the United Nations, to start lobbying against the Israeli settlement in the Palestinian territories, a senior official said on Wednesday. Nabil Abu Rdineh, an aide to Abbas, said in a press statement that Palestinian diplomats will move soon and hold immediate consultations with the international community as a response to the Israeli escalation of building up settlements in the Palestinian territories. He also said the diplomats will condemn the U.S. silence. "President Abbas gave clear instructions to Foreign Minister Reyad al-Malki and the Palestinian ambassador to the UN to find the proper ways to halt this Israeli aggression and put an end to this unprecedented settlement construction," said Abu Rdineh, adding that "consultations are made with European and Arab states." The aid to President Abbas also said that several letters are to be sent to both Europe and the U.S. and will be clearly explaining the significant growth of the Israeli settlement that undermined all the hopes for security and stability in the region. "Israel is playing with fire and it will be responsible," he said. He also noted that the current Trump administration's silence and avoiding to condemn the Israeli settlement "is in fact encouraging the current Israeli government to carry out more settlement activities." He said all former U.S. administrations considered the settlements "an obstacle for peace." Israel Public Radio has earlier reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman approved on Tuesday a plan to build 3,000 new housing units in the settlements in the West Bank. Last week, 3,100 more units were approved for the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel's decision to increase settlement building came a few days after U.S. President Donald Trump took office in the White House. No official statements had yet been made by Trump on whether he supports settlements or not. Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a press statement that the Israeli government "is burying the two-state solution," adding "apparently, the Israeli government has received undeclared support from the Trump administration, which is silent until now." "The only remaining option for us is to head to the International Criminal Court in The Hague and then there will be no justification for the judges of this court not to investigate the Israeli settlement measures and sue them for committing war crimes against the Palestinians." Meanwhile, Hanana Ashrawi, a member in the PLO executive committee, said in an emailed press statement that the silence of the American government, and those who were recently appointed in the White House, is politically and financially supporting the Israeli settlement. "This silence and support had urged Netanyahu to interpret it as the U.S. acceptance to this escalation and also an encouragement to carry on with it," she said, adding that "Israel had completely undermined any possibility for establishing a vital Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967." The Israeli settlement is one of the thorny questions that keep the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians flaring. The settlement issue was the major reason which blew up the U.S.-sponsored bilateral peace talks held for nine months between Israel and the Palestinians that stopped in April 2014. In January, the United Nations Security Council issued its 2334 resolution that condemned the Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories and called on Israel to stop it and resolve all the conflict questions through out direct peace negotiations. Ahmad Awwad, the political analyst from the West Bank, told Xinhua that the Israeli settlement building and expansion "is practically burying the idea of establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the territories Israel occupied in 1967. "The current Israeli policies are clearly showing that Israel is departing Oslo peace accords which was signed with the Palestinians in 1993 and is burying the principle of the two-state solution and is going towards one bi-nationality state," said Awwad. PARIS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Embattled conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon on Wednesday accused the left-wing party of being behind his wife's fake job scandal, which he described "an institutional coup d'etat." "We are facing an institutional coup d'etat. This affair does not come from us, it comes from the left," he was quoted as saying by local media. The former prime minister asked conservative lawmakers to show "solidarity" and "hold on for 15 days," until financial investigators unveiled the outcome of the preliminary inquiry into allegations that Penelope Fillon had been paid more than 900,000 euros (969,750 U.S. dollars) for work as a parliamentary assistant and for a culture magazine she hadn't done, according to press claims. The satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported last week that the Republican presidential candidate hired two of his five children as parliamentary assistants when he was a senator. Both had earned 84,000 euros. Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Stephane Le Foll said Fillon's remarks were "unacceptable." "Everyone must assume his responsibilities. The French are simply waiting for truth and transparency," Le Foll said. "Justice is investigating...in complete independence. It will do so til the end." A week ago, financial prosecutors had opened a preliminary inquiry into the possible "misuse of public funds" and "misappropriation of assets" relating to Fillon's wife's "fictitious" job. As the investigation gathers momentum, investigators searched French parliament on Tuesday. However, no material evidence, including an access badge and specific emails when she was a parliamentary assistant, were found during the raid, according to local reports. Earlier this week, the Fillon couple was questioned. Last week, investigators searched the headquarters of the cultural journal that employed Penelope Fillon. They also seized files on the ex-prime minister held by France's official anti-corruption watchdog. Under French law, it's legal for lawmakers to hire family members as their assistants, but it's illegal to pay them for a fictitious job. (1 euro=about 1.08 U.S. dollar) RAMALLAH, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will hold talks with his French counterpart Francois Hollande in Paris next week. "The two presidents, Abbas and Hollande, are to discuss the outcomes of Paris peace conference that was held in Paris last month besides the political developments in the Palestinian territories and in the region," Saeb Erekat, the secretary general of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told official Voice of Palestine radio. There are no arrangements for a three-way meeting including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he added. On Jan. 15, a peace conference on the Middle East conflict was held in Paris, where leaders of 70 countries and representatives of five international agencies and organizations attended. The conference called for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that began in 1967 and stressed the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state and live side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel. BRUSSELS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini here on Wednesday decried the Israeli government's announcement to build an additional 3,000 housing units in the West Bank, warning the move marked "a very worrying trend." "The announcement by the Israeli government ...marks a very worrying trend, posing a direct challenge to the prospects of a viable two-state solution, which is increasingly difficult," Mogherini said in a statement. "The European Union is strongly opposed to this policy and deeply regrets that Israel is proceeding with this, despite the continuous serious international concern and objections, which have been constantly raised at all levels," she continued. Slamming Israel's continued settlement expansion, Mogherini stressed that a negotiated two-state solution was the only way to "fulfil the legitimate aspirations of both parties and to achieve enduring peace." Israel on Tuesday approved the construction of 3,000 housing units in West Bank settlements, amidst a series of settlement expansions in the wake of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. According to a statement from Israeli Defense minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the approval is "part of returning to normal life" in the West Bank, after some construction projects were put on hold during Barack Obama's administration. Their statement was released hours before the expected eviction of the illegal Jewish outpost of Amona, east of Ramallah, and was widely viewed by local media as a mean to appease hardline settlers. Last Tuesday, days after Trump was sworn into office, Lieberman and Netanyahu gave the green light to 2,500 other housing units. The settlements are illegal under international law because they are built on lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to form their future state. JUBA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Wednesday pledged to foster peace and security in the world's youngest nation where fighting has left millions in need of lifesaving humanitarian aid. David Shearer, the newly arrived head of the UNMISS, stressed that the mission is "committed to helping the South Sudanese create the conditions of peace and security," that internally displaced people need in order to feel confident about returning home. "The internally displaced people in Wau urgently need to return to their land ahead of the planting season in April and May," Shearer said during his first field trip in the town of Wau, where some 41,000 people are sheltering after fleeing their homes due to insecurity. "If they do not there will be no harvest and they will be further dependent on aid," he said, noting that the mission can support the country's peace process, but that "ultimately peace and stability is something that the South Sudanese need to create." Shearer on Tuesday visited Rumbek town in Western Lakes State, where insecurity has been heightened by longstanding patterns of cattle raiding. In both Rumbek and Wau, Shearer held meetings with the respective state governors and members of the legislature. He also listened to the concerns of internally displaced people. "The supply of humanitarian aid as well as business and trade all depends on having a good road infrastructure, but the key is to first bring peace to the country," Shearer said. In Rumbek, he also met UN peacekeepers who have rehabilitated over 250 kilometers of roads, noting how important transport infrastructure is for the development of South Sudan. The world's youngest nation has faced ongoing challenges since a political face-off between President Salva Kiir and his then former Vice-President Riek Machar erupted into full blown conflict between forces loyal to each in December 2013. The crisis has produced one of the world's worst displacement situations with immense suffering for civilians. Despite the August 2015 peace agreement that formally ended the war, conflict and instability have also spread to previously unaffected areas of the country, sparking a humanitarian crisis. BRATISLAVA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia established a new police unit to fight the new wave of terrorism and extremism, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced Wednesday. The unit, which has started operating as of Wednesday, comes under the National Crime Agency (NAKA) and includes more than 100 police representatives. Interior Minister Robert Kalinak described the newly established group as an elite unit of the Slovak Police Corps. KHARTOUM, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Wednesday welcomed a renewed order by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) prohibiting recruitment of children as its fighters. "The UNAMID welcomes the renewed Command Order issued by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on Jan. 25, 2017, prohibiting the recruitment and use of children in its ranks, along with other violations against children," said the mission in a statement Wednesday. "The order instructs all members of JEM to continue to fully adhere to the international and local laws governing the protection of children in armed conflict and not to recruit or use child soldiers, not to associate with children, or allow children to voluntarily join," it added. Meanwhile, the UNAMID Acting Joint Special Representative Jeremiah Mamabolo said in the statement that "it is encouraging to see this latest commitment to the protection of children." "The UNAMID will continue to engage with all parties to the conflict in Darfur about their responsibility to protect children and for an end to all forms of violations against children," he said. On March 27, 2016, the Sudanese government and the UN signed a joint work plan for protection of children against violations at conflict zones. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), there are around 10,000 children associated with the Sudanese armed forces and armed groups, most of them in Darfur. Sudan has been fighting the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector at South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since 2011. It has also been fighting armed groups in Darfur since 2003. SKOPJE, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The level of public debt has become a bone of contention between Macedonia's ruling party VMRO-DPMNE and the main opposition party SDSM, local media reported Wednesday. SDSM, led by Zoran Zaev, accused the ruling party of sending the level of public debt over 50 percent by the end of 2016. VMRO-DPMNE responded by saying that debt in Macedonia has been following a downward trend. In January 2016, the Macedonian government took out two loans amounting to 31.7 million euros (34.1 million U.S. dollars) and 6.5 million euros, while the total amount of old debts for January this year was 38.54 million euros. According to official figures, Macedonia's public debt amounts to 4.67 billion euros or 50.6 percent of GDP. Finance Minister Kiril Minsoki said part of the new loan will be used to settle old debts. However, such moves have been received with skepticism by both the opposition here as well as economy experts who have raised the alarm on the high level of debt. Macedonia is still without a government as the VMRO-DPMNE led by Nikola Gruevski, has failed to enter a coalition with the party of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI)headed by Ali Ahmeti. (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollars) KIEV, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The AN-26 cargo plane of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was shot from small arms while flying over the Black Sea, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said on Wednesday. "The plane has sustained damage as a result of the shooting. The crew was not affected," Poltorak wrote on Facebook, noting that the aircraft made a safe landing. The plane came under attack around midday local time while performing a training flight in Ukraine's maritime economic zone near the southern port city of Odessa, Poltorak said, adding that the fire came from the Black Sea gas rig, which is controlled by Russia. Later in the day, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has denied the accusation of shooting the plane. An unnamed official from the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, who was cited by TASS Russian News Agency, said that the AN-26 carried out two low-altitude approaches to the Russian drilling platforms, which forced a security guard to fire four signal flares to prevent collision of the plane with one of the platforms. LAGOS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 41 Nigerians deported from the United Kingdom arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Wednesday aboard a chartered aircraft. Muhammad Sidi, Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who disclosed this to reporters in Lagos, said 33 adult males and eight female deportees arrived the country at about 8: 00 a.m, local time. The Nigerians were deported because they committed various immigration offences, he said. He stressed that Nigeria had moved ahead since the deportees left the country, adding that everybody has equal opportunities under the present government. Sidi told reporters that some stipends would be given to the deportees, to facilitate their transportation to their various destinations. LAGOS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria on Wednesday reiterated its commitment to address the humanitarian challenges in the northeast region and support any initiative by the international community in that direction. Udoma Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, gave the assurance in Abuja, the nation's capital city when the ambassadors of Norway and Germany, Jens-Petter Kjemprud and Bernhard Schlagheck respectively, briefed him on the forthcoming International Donor Conference. The conference is scheduled for Feb. 24 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. The conference seeks to draw attention of the international community to the fallout inflicted by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad region. It also aims to gain more international support for the resultant humanitarian challenges and to secure greater political commitment from governments of the region to improve the situation. Udoma expressed the country's appreciation for the strong support received from Norway and Germany in the past. On her part, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, also said that the government was willing to tackle the challenges of the region. Ahmed emphasized that government had constituted a Presidential Committee to monitor effective implementation of the various initiatives. According to her, the challenges have rendered youths of the region susceptible to easy drafting into insurgency. Earlier, Kjemprud said it became necessary to engage the international community to support and fund the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the region. Norway is organizing the conference, jointly with Nigeria and Germany, in collaboration with the UN. Foreign ministers from the region, representatives of the African Union and the European Union, representatives of donor countries and the heads of UN organizations are expected at the conference. The conference is expected to discuss food security; humanitarian protection and access to aid as well as education in situations of crisis and conflict. TEHRAN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic republic on Wednesday confirmed the recent ballistic missile test and the officials unanimously called the test "inalienable right" of the country to boost deterrent power. Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said "the recent (missile) test was in line with our programs, and we will not allow any outsider to interfere in our defense affairs," Tasnim news agency reported. Iran's missile test by no means contradicts the Iranian nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, nor United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, the minister said. Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015 to endorse a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. The defense minister said that the country's missile tests are part of Iran's defense plans aimed at fulfilling its national interests, and no one or country could affect the country's plans and decisions. He reiterated that Iran's missile program is for deterrence purposes. Details of the recent missile test by the Islamic republic has not been publicized, but it was the first test by Iran after new U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20. In a statement issued on Wednesday, a total of 220 lawmakers voiced their "full-fledged support" for Iran's armed forces, saying "the reinforcement of the defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in line with deterrence strategy" is an absolute necessity to ensure the country's security, Press TV reported. Iran, "unlike other major world powers, has not defined its power based on (the possession of) weapons of mass destruction," the Iranian legislators said. The sole way to ward off any act of aggression against Iran is to boost the country's missile might, the lawmakers said. On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned Washington against fomenting new tension over the missile program of the Islamic republic. Zarif expressed the hope that Iran's missile program would not be used as an excuse by the new U.S. administration to create new tension for his country. Iran's tests of missiles fall outside United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, Zarif said in a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart. The resolution only points to the ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, he said. "We have announced that none of our ballistic missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads," Zarif said. "Iran would not allow others to decide on its defense program." Also, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Tuesday reasserted the country's right to carry out missile tests as part of its defense plans for national security. Bahram Qasemi highlighted that testing missiles is part of Iran's "inalienable right" to ensure its security and national interests, stressing that making comments on Iran's missile tests falls outside the purview of any foreign country or international organization. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not ask for permission from anyone to defend itself," the spokesman stressed, giving an assurance that all ballistic missile tests by Iran are in conformity with the country's international commitments. Qasemi described the U.S. attempts to accuse Iran of provocative actions, including the missile tests, as hue and cry with political purposes. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said here Wednesday that the U.S. travel ban imposed on refugees and immigrants from seven countries "is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country," voicing his hope that "this measure should be removed sooner, rather than later." The secretary-general made the remarks in response to a press question as he was briefing reporters here on his travel to Ethiopia, where he attended an African Union summit. In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Monday, Guterres commended African countries for opening their borders to refugees and people fleeing violence while other parts of the world, including the developed West, close boundaries and build walls. "In my opinion, this is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country in relation to the serious concerns that existed about the possibility of terrorist infiltration," he said. "I don't think this is the effective way to do so." "What was lacking was a capacity to have a comprehensive approach to the problem," he said of the U.S. ban, adding that it is very important to review "the very dramatic situations the refugees are facing when they have no chance to reach protection." "And I think this measure should be removed sooner, rather than later," the UN chief said. Demonstrators participate in a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring all refugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens from entry into the U.S. in front of the White House in Washington D.C., the Unite States, on Jan. 29, 2017.(Xinhua/Yin Bogu) On Tuesday, the secretary-general issued a statement via his spokesman, saying that refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are entitled to protection, and he expressed concern at decisions around the world that have undermined the integrity of the international refugee protection regime. "Refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are finding more and more borders closed and increasingly restricted access to the protection they need and are entitled to receive, according to international refugee law," the statement said. While acknowledging that "countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations," the UN chief said in the statement because the ban "is gainst the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based." Demonstrators participating in a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring all refugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens from entry into the U.S. march towards Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the Unite States, on Jan. 29, 2017.(Xinhua/Yin Bogu) Thousands of protesters rallied in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Sunday while demonstrations continued across more than 30 American airports after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily barring all refugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens from entry into the United States. Under the order, refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. SANTIAGO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chilean Finance Minister, Rodrigo Valdes, said Wednesday that the largest forest fires in the history of the country would not have a significant economic impact on the country. "It will not be so significant. It will probably be seen in the GDP but it will not be a macroeconomic catastrophe," Valdes told a press conference. The largest forest fires ever seen in Chile have caused at least 11 deaths, driven nearly 3,200 people from their homes. The fire in Chile's seven regions have caused as of yet uncalculated losses for the forestry and cellulose industries, as well as smaller agricultural losses, especially wineries. "We must be careful with employment in certain places, but we have tools to help companies and people. I feel we can contain this well, we should not be alarmed," said Valdes. However, Valdes admitted that the full scale of the economic impact was not measured yet since some forest fires continue to burn. "Chile has very strong fiscal institutions. This gives flexibility to the government and the Finance Ministry to make use of the resources needed," he added. The government has been overwhelmed by the range of the disaster and called for international aid in January. That response came swiftly as Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, France, the U.S., Russia, Portugal, Spain and Mexico have all sent expert teams to help fight the blazes. JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- African representatives attending the ongoing T20 Africa conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday called on the G20 to allow them to present their own problems rather than having them put forward by others. The meeting was organized by South African Institute of International Affairs, German Development Institute and Institute for the World Economy. Germany is the current chairman of G20 having taken over from China in December 2016. The first T20 African conference was attended by diplomatic corps, think tanks from Africa and G20 countries, policy makers from South Africa, Germany, international and African regional organizations. The conference aims to find a way how the future cooperation between Africa and G20 should look like. The former director of the UN office of the Special Adviser in Africa, Patrick Hayford said there should be a synergy of partnerships between multilateral organizations like BRICS and G7/8 and Africa, among others. "Africa must take charge of its own destiny about itself. Africa must believe in itself and push forward the agenda set by itself and implement it. The continent should also get over the idea of Sub-Saharan Africa. G20 should engage Africa as a whole continent," Hayford said. He said that Africa is still divided according to who was the former colonial masters, French speaking and the English and this will disrupt their engagement with the G20. He also lamented that 70 to 80 percent of the African Union (AU) funding is from abroad and Africa must be prepared to fund their projects. The Head of Governance in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Francis Ikome said, the G20 should help Africa's industrialization and transformation. The G20 should help Africa promote regional integration which is also a key to unlock economic growth. Ikome said that there is a decline in external funding and the G20 needs to assist in the domestic mobilization of resources. The G20 should help the continent harness the youth properly and make sure they participate in the political and economic development of their countries. He also said the Africa G20 engagement could be disrupted by the new leadership in the United States who are also part of the group. The policy pronouncements by the U.S. leadership of protectionism and Brexit present challenges to the cooperation between G20 and Africa. Ikome said, "China articulated the African position during her tenure as the G20 chair we would like to see more of that. We are not an observer but an active participant in the G20." Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development said his country is prepared to engage Africa about its position in the G20. He said, "We have no hidden agenda but mutual benefit. We want to establish partnerships based on shared values, fair trade and rules." Professor Alan Firsch , Director Graduate school of Development Policy and Practice in the University of Cape Town, said the G20 and Africa should cooperate to stop the illicit financial outflow. Africa is losing over 50 billion U.S. dollars through illicit financial outflows. Hirsch said, "There are financial illicit outflows by multinational Corporations by mispricing of goods and services and insurance. Some understate production to shift money to regimes where they will not be taxed much. We want G20 to help us to repatriate such illicit money from EU to Africa." He said the G20 Summit in China in September 2016 came up strong against money laundering, financial outflows, profit shifting and he expected China and Germany and other G20 members to ensure that the resolution is implemented. Dr. John Anyanwu, leading research economist at African Development Bank said events taking place in Europe should not disrupt the G20 Africa engagement. He said elections in Germany, France and other EU countries who are G20 members may divert intention and engagement to focus on their elections. Stanley Subramoney, Chair of NEPAD Business Foundation said G20 should help Africa in their 4th industrial revolution. He said the engagement should also focus on how to help Africa's innovation technical improvement and infrastructural development. He said, "Africa is rich while Africans are poor because we export primary (unprocessed) goods and import the processed one. We export wealth and import poverty." Dr. Zhu Ming from the Institute for Global Governance Studies Center for West-Asian and African Studies at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies told Xinhua that some EU members in the G20 still focus on their colonial countries. He said AU should represent Africa in the G20, and emerging markets like China, Brazil and India share similar history, challenges and aspirations and have been doing a good job in advancing the African problems in the global stage and multilateral organizations. The three-day conference will end on Friday, and is expected to come up with a communique about how G20 should engage Africa, on what issues and who should represent the continent in the G20. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote "Brexit speech" in Lancaster House in London, Britain on Jan. 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Han Yan) LONDON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Politicians in House of Commons gave overwhelming backing on Wednesday night to a parliamentary bill, paving the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the Article 50 mechanism for Britain to leave the European Union. The vote 498 against 114 gave the government a clear and comfortable majority of 384. It came after two days of intensive debating when around 180 members of parliament (MPs) spoke for and against the measure. The vote was the most critical in a process that will lead to more detailed discussions before peers in the House of Lords vote, ahead of Queen Elizabeth II giving the bill her Royal assent. Passionate speeches by a number of big-name politicians dominated the debate in the historic chamber of the Commons before Speaker John Bercow ordered votes. The debate was called after the Supreme Court ruled last month that parliament, rather than May's government, had to vote on triggering Article 50, the mechanism for any country wanting to leave the EU. An amendment put forward by the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) that would have paved the way for Britain to remain in the European single market was defeated. The final speaker in the debate, government minister David Jones, urging MPs to "trust the people" and saying the government was clear that the referendum outcome would apply to the whole of Britain. He said the British government insists it will work with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And in a message to the people of Europe, he said: "You will still be welcome in our country, as we trust our citizens will still be welcome in yours." Earlier, former Labor leader Ed Miliband described the event as "clearly a fateful moment in the country's history". He said in the debate: "I did not want the referendum. I believed that, with the many other problems the country faced, the referendum would become as much about the state of the country as about Britain's place in Europe. Indeed, I believe that that is, in part, what happened. However, that is water under the bridge." Miliband described as a terrible irony that with the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, Britain's European co-operation is clearly needed more than ever. He added: "History will judge us not just on the decisions we make on this bill tonight, but on the decisions beyond. The government have a heavy responsibility, and we expect them to exercise it on behalf of the whole nation, not just the 52 percent (who voted leave in the June referendum). For that we will hold them to account in the months and years ahead." Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne warned MPs that to vote against the majority verdict of the largest democratic exercise in British history would risk putting parliament against people, provoking a deep constitutional crisis. He said although he campaigned for remain, he would vote for the Article 50 bill. Osborne said the government had chosen not to make the economy the priority, but had prioritized immigration control, which was a clear message from the referendum campaign. Related: British PM says Brexit White Paper to be published Thursday LONDON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The British government is to publish a "White Paper" on Thursday detailing its strategy for leaving the European Union (EU), Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament on Wednesday. The document is a summary of the Government's plans, usually published for information and for a prompt discussion before a formal parliamentary bill is introduced. Full story British PM vows to publish Brexit plan in White Paper amid pressure LONDON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday pledged to set out the government's Brexit plans in a formal policy document, a White Paper, responding to members of Parliaments (MPs) who have been calling for greater Brexit transparency. The latest promise came during the prime minister's Question Time, one day after the British Supreme Court ruled against the government regarding whether it needs the parliamentary approval before officially starting Brexit. Full story British Supreme Court rules Parliament must be given vote on Brexit LONDON, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The British Prime Minister Theresa May can't trigger Britain's exit from the European Union without first getting the approval of the British Parliament, according to a Supreme Court ruling on Monday. People hold banners and candles protesting against President Donald Trump's executive orders on immigration in Los Angeles, the United States, Jan. 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong) by Chenchen Shen, Huang Heng LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Public Safety Committee of the U.S. California State Senate approved a bill Tuesday which would make the state a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Introduced by State Senate President pro tempore Kevin de Leon, this bill would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources or spending money to enforce federal immigration laws, including to investigate, interrogate, detain or arrest anyone due to their immigration status. After the Senate Public Safety Committee approved the bill with a 5-2 vote, it has now moved to the State Senate floor, where the majority is Democrats. Fox News described the bill as an important step for California to become the first "sanctuary state" in the United States, and was "in defiance of President Trump's stated plans to deport millions of people." People gather to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), California, U.S. January 31, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS) Many of California's largest cities -- including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento -- already have sanctuary policies that prohibit police from cooperating with immigration authorities. Just days after Trump's election, California Democrats, who control the State Senate and Governor position, began establishing themselves as a bulwark against the new president's pledge to deport some undocumented immigrants. About one in 10 people in California's work force has no legal documents, de Leon's office estimated. "We will not stand by and let the federal government use our state and local agencies to separate mothers from their children," de Leon said in December, when he introduced the bill. People attend the Women's March to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump in Los Angeles, the United States, Jan. 21, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong) The step was accelerated after Trump signed an executive order last Friday, which was widely described as a "Muslim ban," barring citizens from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days and implementing a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. As the "Muslim ban" has triggered nationwide protest, local politicians lined up to take a shot at Trump, who was sworn into the Oval Office on Jan. 20. "The actions of the president are in fact anti-Muslim," "and if they're anti-Muslim, they are un-American," the Washington Times quoted de Leon as saying. "In California, immigrants are an integral part of who we are and what we've become," Governor Jerry Brown said last week. "They have helped create the wealth and dynamism of this state from the very beginning." Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Sunday that his department will not comply with Trump's orders to help the federal government detain undocumented immigrants for deportation. "This is not our job, nor will I make it our job," Beck said. Moreover, according to the political website The Hill, de Leon's measure was just one in a series of bills the Democratic-controlled Californian legislature would consider this year to deal with the state's handling of federal immigration laws. People attend the Women's March to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump in Los Angeles, the United States, Jan. 21, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong) Two other measures would provide legal counsel to undocumented immigrants. However, State Senator Joel Anderson of East San Diego County, who voted against the bill, expressed his concern Tuesday that it would "hamper efforts by the police to remove immigrants convicted of violent crimes from California." Trump's supporters also showed up at the protests last weekend at the Los Angeles International Airport and pointed out the travel ban is "temporary," saying they just wanted to protect the United States against terror attacks, and they thought Trump's travel ban was a good first step. In the fight over sanctuary status, California could also put billions of dollars in federal funding for California programs at risk. Trump signed an executive order threatening to withdraw some federal grants from jurisdictions that bar officials from communicating with federal authorities about someone's immigration status. Some local legal scholars questioned whether such an executive order was constitutional, based on the 10th Amendment and previous court precedents. If Trump's Homeland Security department goes ahead with plans to block federal funding, the attorney general of California was ready, on behalf of the state, to file a suit against it, The Hill reported. San Francisco sued Trump on Tuesday, claiming the executive order that cuts funding from sanctuary cities is unconstitutional and a "severe invasion of San Francisco's sovereignty." BUDAPEST, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia is Hungary's most reliable partner in guaranteeing energy security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told media here on Wednesday on the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin's scheduled visit to Hungary. Hungary's energy security is endangered by more steps, he said, adding that South Stream pipeline project has been abandoned, and Croatia and Romania fail to meet European Union obligations to ensure reverse gas flows. Szijjarto said that the expansion of Hungary's lone nuclear power plant, which Russia has been contracted to complete, would be ready to move forward shortly, as soon as the final European Union permit was received. He briefed the media on the topics Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban would be discussing, citing energy, education, heavy industry, the pharmaceutical industry and agriculture among other things. Szijjarto also noted that EU sanctions against Russia had cost the Hungarian economy 6.7 billion dollars in exports and had been a failure both politically and economically. He underlined the need for pragmatic cooperation with Russia but reiterated Hungary's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The prolongation of sanctions needed to be debated on the highest level of the EU, he said. Szijjarto termed the international political situation as better than it had been for many years regarding the Hungarian-Russian ties. He acknowledged that Hungary had been criticized by "the Western world" for its pragmatic relationship with Russia but noted that the time had come when other forces in the Western world also wanted more pragmatism. Putin is scheduled to arrive in Budapest at noon on Thursday. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, fresh from his first trip to Africa since taking up his new post on Jan. 1, said on Wednesday that "enormous progress" had been reached for cooperation leading to a brighter future in sustainable development and peace and security on the continent. But he feared the threat of genocide in South Sudan as he was speaking to reporters here on his Africa tour. The former prime minister of Portugal and a former head of the UN Refugee Agency also addressed crises in the Middle East and problems facing refugees in general, including South Sudan and the U.S. travel ban, which he denounced. He also praised regional cooperation on the recent Gambia presidential crisis. "I think we fully made our objectives" at the summit, he said. "We made an enormous progress in creating the conditions for a much more effective cooperation with the different African entities and the UN in addressing some of the more complex crises that we face," also mentioning problems discussed involving Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gambia, Mali and Syria. During his first full encounter with members of the media at UN Headquarters in New York since becoming UN chief, Guterres voiced optimism and pessimism. "Our narrative of Africa must not be based on the crises that exist in Africa," he said. "There are crises everywhere. There are crises in Europe; crises in the Middle East; crises in Asia. There are crises everywhere. What is important is to understand the enormous potential that Africa represents." "Africa is a continent that has grown more economically in the last decade and has remarkable success stories, that we need also have to take profit of the momentum created by these facts in order to make sure that Africa is able to win the battle for sustainable development in the next few years knowing that this is the best way to prevent the conflicts that have created so much suffering," he said. Meanwhile, Guterres also recalled he "lived the South Sudan crisis in my previous capacity" as head of the refugee agency for 10 years ending in 2015 and how difficult it was to see it again in internal conflict. "You can see how tragic it is in South Sudan in a dramatic situation with a real perspective of things getting even worse," he said. "You have seen reports of the special representative on genocide and at the same time you have seen how difficult it has been to create the conditions to get the South Sudan situation to be put on track for a peaceful resolution." He praised Kenya's support for dealing with the massive refugee flow. The UN chief praised regional cooperation for pressuring long-time Gambia President Yahyah Jammeh to step down peacefully last month in face of military pressure after losing the December 2016 election to make way for Adama Barrow, who had been sworn into office in neighboring Senegal. Guterres said he left Friday and returned Monday to UN headquarters in New York after an intense round of discussions in Addis Abba at the African Union (AU) summit which included talks with members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a Northeast Africa trade bloc encompassing the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes and Nile Valley. While citing several statements in recent days in opposition to the ban on travel to the United States from seven Middle Eastern and north African, predominantly Muslim, nations, Guterres said it was no way to deal with the terrorist threat. "It is obvious this is not the best way to protect the west and other countries from terrorism," he told reporters outside the UN Security Council chambers. "I don't think this is the way. I think these measures should be removed." Guterres said he didn't think terrorists would try to come in legally from the banned countries. He thought they would come in using passports from other nations or even come up from sleeper cells already in the United States if they wanted to terrorize. Addressing the recent Syria ceasefire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, he said it was necessary for the world organization to be involved in the talks sponsored by Iran, Turkey and Russia as a precursor to UN-led political talk in Geneva later this month. The two-day talks in Astana were the first time that the Syrian opposition participated in the discussions alongside representatives of the Syrian government. Guterres said transition of the government of Syria would be the "core" of the UN-led talks in Switzerland, which is expected to begin on Feb. 20. He expressed hope he would be visiting the Middle East region in the next few weeks to months. Asked about "safe-zones" in Syria for civilians he did not sound to keen on such action, pointing out there had been safe-zones in other conflicts that didn't work as planned and cited the 1995 Srebrenica massacre where thousands of Muslim men and boys were slain, while under inadequate UN protection. Guterres was asked about reform demands from U.S. President Donald Trump who is threatening to defund the United Nations. "Sometimes we talk too much about things that have not happened and when we talk too much about things that have not happened you trigger the happening of those things," he said. "So one thing you can be absolutely sure is that I will not be making comments on possibilities to enhance the possibilities to possibly be real." "What I am doing is to do everything I can to prove the added-value of the UN," he said. "To recognize the UN needs reforms, to be totally committed to those reforms and to believe that those reforms will be the best way to get the support of all member states, including the United States of America and the new administration." UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) Mohamed Ibn Chambas on Wednesday strongly condemned the deadly attack on a UN team along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, which killed five people and injured several others. The attack took place as the United Nations Technical Monitoring Team was conducting a field mission along the border of Nigeria and Cameroon in the vicinity of Hosere Jongbi, near Kontcha, Cameroon, as part of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC) mandate, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. According to preliminary reports, at about 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, an unknown armed group attacked the UN team and killed five persons and injured several others, Dujarric said. "The victims were one UN independent contractor, three Nigerians nationals and one Cameroonian national." Chambas presented his sincere condolences to the families of the fallen persons, and wished a prompt recovery for those injured, the spokesman said. "He calls upon the authorities of Cameroon and Nigeria for swift action to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice. The special representative reiterated the vital role of the CNMC in accomplishing the border demarcation, in compliance with a judgment of the International Court of Justice, and in contributing to stability and security in the region, the spokesman added. BRUSSELS, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Etienne Tshisekedi, the leader of the opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), died at the age of 84 in Brussels, media here reported Wednesday. Tshisekedi was the chairman of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the oldest Congolese opposition political party. He left Kinshasa on Jan. 24 for Brussels, while his party negotiates with the majority supporting President Joseph Kabila power sharing until the next presidential election in the country. His entourage asserted that he returned to Belgium for medical treatment. In December, Tshisekedi called for "peaceful resistance" against President Kabila, whose term expired on Dec. 19. But the election of a new president was postponed until April 2018 due to "logistical and financial difficulties." The opposition parties and the ruling party of President Kabila reached an agreement on Dec. 31 in Kinshasa. The deal requires President Kabila to step down after elections that must take place before the end of 2017. HARARE, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe will for the first time participate in the International Fashion Show scheduled for February 17-21 in London. The International Fashion Show (IFS) is an exhibition of emerging designers organized by the British Council during the London Fashion Week. It is coordinated in collaboration with cultural institutions to showcase their countries' most promising designers in a way that reflects contemporary culture. State-run news agency New Ziana on Wednesday quoted Kidd Hunta fashion label founder and designer Tafadzwa Moyo as saying that he was grateful to represent Zimbabwe at one of the biggest event in Europe. "I am very happy to represent Zimbabwe at one of the biggest event in the world and representing my country is great for me," he said. "This is an opportunity to showcase our country's culture through fashion and I hope I will find interested partners who will collaborate in our Zimbabwean brand. British Council Zimbabwe director Sam Harvey said they nominated seven exceptional Zimbabwean fashion designers following an open call for expression of interest and Tafadzwa Moyo from Kidd Hunta menswear emerged the winner to represent Zimbabwe at the IFS. "Tafadzwa will be exhibiting in the Next In Line category curated by Shonagh Marshall, Fashion Curator at Somerset House, together with 10 to 12 other designers from other countries as part of a group installation within the IFS," he said. He added that Tafadzwa's participation in the IFS 2017 serves as an opportunity to create and promote a new generation of collaborations between artists and creative entrepreneurs. Established in 2012, the IFS is now an annual event that engages and invites a range of people interested in fashion from journalists, bloggers and retailers to the general public. Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil, smiles during his testimony before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be U.S. secretary of state in Washington, U.S. January 11, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS) WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as U.S. Secretary of State. Tillerson was approved to be the top U.S. diplomat in a 56-43 vote, with three democratic and an independent lawmakers joining all Republicans to back him. Democratic Senator Chris Coons skipped the vote. The confirmation came despite some lawmakers' skepticism over Tillerson's stance towards Russia, given his previous business ties with Russia and relationship with the country's leadership. Senator Marco Rubio, who had a testy exchange with Tillerson during his confirmation hearing last month, noted that Secretary of State "is the most important cabinet position that the president has to nominate." "There is so much uncertainty and debate about our role in the world these days," he said, according to news website The Hill. "A lot of our allies have questions. Our adversaries are obviously watching very closely." At the confirmation hearing, Tillerson, calling Russia a "danger" to the United States, said he favored maintaining U.S. sanctions against Moscow. "Russia today poses a danger, but it is not unpredictable in advancing its own interests," said Tillerson. "Our NATO allies are right to be alarmed at a resurgent Russia." He also recommended a "full review" of the nuclear deal with Iran, but he did not call for an outright rejection of the accord. On the South China Sea issue, Tillerson told the hearing that China should stop island building in the South China Sea and be denied access to these islands, which China regards as an integral part of its territory. Following Tillerson's remark, Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., urged "some people" in the United States to be more careful and act in a more responsible way when talking about possible disputes in other people's waters. Tillerson was widely known for opposing sanctions against Russia in his ExxonMobil corporate life. But he refused to label Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal as he had known him since the 1990s and was awarded Order of Friendship in 2013 by Putin. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb. 1, 2017. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said here Wednesday that the U.S. travel ban imposed on refugees and immigrants from seven countries "is not the way to best protect the U.S. or any other country," voicing his hope that "this measure should be removed sooner, rather than later." (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, fresh from his first trip to Africa since taking up his new post on Jan. 1, said on Wednesday that "enormous progress" had been reached for cooperation leading to a brighter future in sustainable development and peace and security on the continent. But he feared the threat of genocide in South Sudan as he was speaking to reporters here on his Africa tour. The former prime minister of Portugal and a former head of the UN Refugee Agency also addressed crises in the Middle East and problems facing refugees in general, including South Sudan and the U.S. travel ban, which he denounced. He also praised regional cooperation on the recent Gambia presidential crisis. "I think we fully made our objectives" at the summit, he said. "We made an enormous progress in creating the conditions for a much more effective cooperation with the different African entities and the UN in addressing some of the more complex crises that we face," also mentioning problems discussed involving Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gambia, Mali and Syria. During his first full encounter with members of the media at UN Headquarters in New York since becoming UN chief, Guterres voiced optimism and pessimism. "Our narrative of Africa must not be based on the crises that exist in Africa," he said. "There are crises everywhere. There are crises in Europe; crises in the Middle East; crises in Asia. There are crises everywhere. What is important is to understand the enormous potential that Africa represents." "Africa is a continent that has grown more economically in the last decade and has remarkable success stories, that we need also have to take profit of the momentum created by these facts in order to make sure that Africa is able to win the battle for sustainable development in the next few years knowing that this is the best way to prevent the conflicts that have created so much suffering," he said. Meanwhile, Guterres also recalled he "lived the South Sudan crisis in my previous capacity" as head of the refugee agency for 10 years ending in 2015 and how difficult it was to see it again in internal conflict. "You can see how tragic it is in South Sudan in a dramatic situation with a real perspective of things getting even worse," he said. "You have seen reports of the special representative on genocide and at the same time you have seen how difficult it has been to create the conditions to get the South Sudan situation to be put on track for a peaceful resolution." He praised Kenya's support for dealing with the massive refugee flow. The UN chief praised regional cooperation for pressuring long-time Gambia President Yahyah Jammeh to step down peacefully last month in face of military pressure after losing the December 2016 election to make way for Adama Barrow, who had been sworn into office in neighboring Senegal. Guterres said he left Friday and returned Monday to UN headquarters in New York after an intense round of discussions in Addis Abba at the African Union (AU) summit which included talks with members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a Northeast Africa trade bloc encompassing the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes and Nile Valley. While citing several statements in recent days in opposition to the ban on travel to the United States from seven Middle Eastern and north African, predominantly Muslim, nations, Guterres said it was no way to deal with the terrorist threat. "It is obvious this is not the best way to protect the west and other countries from terrorism," he told reporters outside the UN Security Council chambers. "I don't think this is the way. I think these measures should be removed." Guterres said he didn't think terrorists would try to come in legally from the banned countries. He thought they would come in using passports from other nations or even come up from sleeper cells already in the United States if they wanted to terrorize. Addressing the recent Syria ceasefire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, he said it was necessary for the world organization to be involved in the talks sponsored by Iran, Turkey and Russia as a precursor to UN-led political talk in Geneva later this month. The two-day talks in Astana were the first time that the Syrian opposition participated in the discussions alongside representatives of the Syrian government. Guterres said transition of the government of Syria would be the "core" of the UN-led talks in Switzerland, which is expected to begin on Feb. 20. He expressed hope he would be visiting the Middle East region in the next few weeks to months. Asked about "safe-zones" in Syria for civilians he did not sound to keen on such action, pointing out there had been safe-zones in other conflicts that didn't work as planned and cited the 1995 Srebrenica massacre where thousands of Muslim men and boys were slain, while under inadequate UN protection. Guterres was asked about reform demands from U.S. President Donald Trump who is threatening to defund the United Nations. "Sometimes we talk too much about things that have not happened and when we talk too much about things that have not happened you trigger the happening of those things," he said. "So one thing you can be absolutely sure is that I will not be making comments on possibilities to enhance the possibilities to possibly be real." "What I am doing is to do everything I can to prove the added-value of the UN," he said. "To recognize the UN needs reforms, to be totally committed to those reforms and to believe that those reforms will be the best way to get the support of all member states, including the United States of America and the new administration." Several Egyptian women pose for a photo during a march in Cairo University to mark the Arab Women's Day in Giza, Egypt on Feb. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Arab Women's Organization (AWO) held on Wednesday a march in Cairo to show solidarity with refugee women in the Arab world. The march, which was held at Cairo University, was organized on the occasion of the Arab Women's Days which falls on Feb. 1. The event was attended by a large number of artists, wives of foreign ambassadors in Cairo, media and cultural personalities as well as representatives of Arab countries in the Cairo-based Arab League. Speaking to the marchers, AWO Director General Mervat Tallway appreciated the steadfastness of Arab women amid the current crises in the Middle East. For his part, head of the Cairo University Gaber Nassar said Arab women should enjoy their full rights, stressing that societies cannot develop or improve without the help of women. Meanwhile, head of Egypt's National Women's Council Maya Morsi hailed the role the AWO plays in supporting Arab women and helping them get their rights. On the sidelines of the event, AWO also organized a photo exhibition showing Arab refugee women and screened a documentary about the AWO. AWO is an Arab organization that works to empower Arab women and help build their capacities to promote progress of Arab societies. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with leaders of conservative groups to discuss the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO) By Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary visa ban on seven majority Muslim countries has sparked controversy, as critics condemn it as poorly planned and executed while supporters say he is only fulfilling a campaign promise. The weekend saw much controversy over a temporary ban on immigration from seven nations that have a serious problem with terrorism. The ban comes as terror groups such as the Islamic State have conducted deadly attacks worldwide, and as Trump continues to promise he will take action. Critics said the ban was poorly implemented, as it has left in limbo some of those who have worked for the U.S. military, and media reported that one parent of an active U.S. marine was detained upon arrival in the United States. The ban also targets some green card holders from those countries, who were already vetted and approved for permanent legal residence. The White House later clarified that the ban does not affect those green card holders. Even some officials in the Justice Department and State Department, as well as Democratic lawmakers, expressed opposition to the ban, citing the U.S. as an immigration country should welcome anyone who escape suffering and persecution. Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday after she advised Justice Department lawyers not to defend the travel ban because it is inconsistent with the agency's obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right. "Trump's visa ban was poorly-planned and terribly executed," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua. The security personnel responsible for implementing the policy were completely confused on what the policy required and who was affected by it, West said. "The result was an overly draconian execution that (impacted) innocent people who posed no security risks to the United States," he said. People hold posters during a protest against President Donald Trump's executive order banning entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, outside the Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the United States, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Republican Strategist Ford O' Connell told Xinhua that Trump is merely doing what his supporters elected him to do, and following through with policies he outlined for over a year on the campaign trail. "Trump is fulfilling a campaign promise. He said he was going to get tough on terror and put America's national security first, and he's following through," O' Connell said. Democrats are going to kick and scream no matter what Trump does "as a way to gin up support among voters," he said. "You saw them try to call it a Muslim ban at first, and then you realize that 90 percent of Muslims around the world are exempt from the ban," he said. That includes Indonesia, which has the world's largest population of Muslims, O' Connell noted. A woman holds a poster during a protest against President Donald Trump's executive order banning entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, outside the Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the United States, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua the implementation of the ban reflects a challenge in the Trump administration in coordinating and communicating among the agencies in the executive branch, notably Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, on the implementation of this policy and dealing with the public, political, and legal pushback. While the Trump administration was trying to justify quickly rolling out the policy in order to prevent a rush to travel in advance of the policy, the implementation plan was lacking, he argued. Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College in the state of New Hampshire, told Xinhua that if the policy had gone through legal vetting through the Office of Legal Counsel, and had the State department, Defense department, and other relevant agencies and departments been consulted, implementation would have gone much more smoothly and probably provoked less public outcry. "But that's not what happened...the executive order was put together haphazardly and incompetently, and came as a surprise to most of the agencies implementing it," he said. TALLINN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Public support for the European Union (EU) remains strong in Estonia with more than 75 percent of the population backing the country's membership in the bloc, a new poll commissioned by the Estonian government shows. According to the survey, 77 percent of respondents generally support Estonia's membership in the EU, which is a slightly more than in 2015 when public support for the EU had decreased. Authors of the survey said sudden and worrisome events in the world last year might have caused Estonians appreciate their country's membership in the bloc. "Brexit and Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election caused concerns about potential threats to Estonia's security. In this situation, former euros-skeptics probably started doubting the need to leave the EU," said Turu-Uuringute research manager Vaike Vainu. The percentage of respondents firmly supporting Estonia's membership in the EU grew from 43 percent in 2015 to 48 percent in 2016, while the percentage of respondents opposing membership in the bloc fell from 19 percent to 14 percent. The poll also revealed that 49 percent of the population is aware of Estonia's upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2017. By Christopher Guly OTTAWA, Feb. 1 (Ottawa) -- Canada is not among the seven countries identified in U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban, but opposition politicians and human-rights groups here want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government to either speak out forcefully against Trump's executive order or react to it with concrete actions. On Tuesday night, Members of Parliament held an emergency debate on the implications of Trump's travel-and-immigration ban, which Hong Kong-born Jenny Kwan, who represents the federal riding of Vancouver East for the left-of-center New Democratic Party (NDP) in the House of Commons and called for the debate, characterized as "a deeply distressing reincarnation of race-based immigration policies not seen since the Second World War." Her leader, Thomas Mulcair, said the Trudeau government to "call a spade a spade" and reject Trump's "appalling" and "racist" presidential directive that bans refugees from resettling in the United States for 120 days, and nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. The NDP, along with Canadian Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Amnesty International's Canadian and U.S. sections, want the Canadian government to remove the U.S. as the only "safe third country" for refugee determination identified under Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Under that provision, refugees traveling through the U.S. to Canada must make a claim for protection in the U.S. The NDP and May, the only Green representative in the Commons, also want the Canadian government to lift the cap on 1,000 applications for privately sponsored refugees - already reached this year - and fast-track refugee applications in the U.S. approved or nearly completed before the Trump's ban. However, Ahmed Hussen, a Somali-born lawyer who was appointed Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister last month, has rejected both requests and ruled out increasing the Canadian quota to accommodate 40,000 privately and government-sponsored refugees for 2017. He added that Canada is monitoring the effects of the ban in the U.S., which has agreed to allow 872 pre-screened refugees from the Middle East into the country. Hussen told the House Tuesday that under his ministerial watch, Canada would extend temporary residency to anyone stranded here because of the U.S. travel restrictions. But it remains unclear as to whether Canadians are fully excluded from the measures, despite verbal assurances from the White House. Thus far, there has been no written confirmation regarding admissibility of Canadian dual citizens and permanent residents holding passports from the seven Muslim-majority countries on Trump's travel-ban edict. Trudeau has been careful not to push back too hard against the U.S. President's policy. As he reminded the House on Tuesday, his government has the dual role of "protecting Canadian jobs and growing the economy," while "standing up for Canadian values and principles," which the prime minister highlighted in a widely circulated Twitter post last Saturday. "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war," Trudeau tweeted, "Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength." However, Mulcair told reporters here on Wednesday that the prime minister needs to move beyond his "platitudes and tweets" and denounce Trump's "anti-immigrant and "anti-Muslim" travel ban. "History teaches us that if we don't stand up to people who have that sort of fascist behavior," the NDP leader said, it gets "much worse." Enditem ZAGREB, Feb.1 (Xinhua)-- Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday the country had appealed against an arbitration ruling, which dismissed Croatia's claims against the Hungarian energy firm MOL, the main holder of Croatian oil company INA. In December, the Geneva-based United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitral Tribunal said the evidence presented by Croatia in a lawsuit against MOL was insufficient to prove that the management of INA by MOL was in relation to corruption. Croatia has appealed to the Swiss federal court, Plenkovic said. "We hope that during the court procedure, in the next several months, our arguments will be adequately valued," he said. Croatia, which holds 44.8 percent of INA, has disagreements with MOL over the management rights and investment policy at INA for years. Croatia accused of MOL gaining a dominant role in INA through bribing its former Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, in 2009. The case is still on court and both MOL and Sanader deny any wrongdoing. The Croatian government decided to regain ownership of INA by buying the entire stake held by the MOL, 49.08 percent, after the arbitration ruling. An eight-member council, led by Plenkovic and several ministers, was founded in mid of this month for preparing guidelines for the negotiation with MOL. MOL's stake in INA is worth around 1.9 billion euros (20.5 billion U.S. dollars) according to the market price. CHICAGO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close higher on Wednesday with soybean futures rising on commodity fund buying at the start of a new month along with fresh export demand. March delivery rose 8.5 cents, or 2.36 percent, to 3.6825 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery added 13 cents, or 3.09 percent, to 4.3375 dollars per bushel. March soybeans rose 12.25 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 10.3675 dollars per bushel. Soybeans rallied as trade resumed after the daily 45-minute pause, supported by confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that private exporters sold 236,700 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations in the last day. CBOT soybean futures had been in retreat for the last week as improving weather bolstered soy crop prospects in South America, after mid-January floods in Argentina lifted futures to a six-month high. Speculators also appeared to be investing in grains on the first day of February. Corn got a boost when the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported production of corn-based ethanol in the latest week rose to a record-high 1.06 million barrels per day, surpassing a peak struck earlier in January. However, ethanol futures fell after the EIA data showed that stocks of the corn-based biofuel rose to 21.87million barrels, the most since May. CBOT wheat posted the biggest advance in the grains complex on a percentage basis, but traders said the move was primarily technical. Commodity funds hold a large net short position in CBOT wheat futures, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering. Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar (Front), director general of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, briefs media on the rescue mission of the boat accident in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on Jan. 30, 2017. No new survivors of a boat carrying Chinese tourists sank off Malaysia's Sabah state were found Monday, while authorities have launched investigation into the accident, arresting the boat owner and two crew members. (Xinhua) A villager prepares to attend a lantern parade held in Longyan, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 31, 2017, to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. (Xinhua/Liu Yanhui) Credit: Jimmy HubbardAnthrax is releasing a vinyl box set version of its latest album, For All Kings. The collection, which includes 20 tracks spread over 10 seven-inch vinyl singles, will arrive on March 24. "Doing a box set edition of For All Kings was something that we've always wanted to do," says drummer Charlie Benante in a statement. "We wanted to do something special, something that was so much more than the original release, and have it be fun for our audience when they open it up, just be floored by the different colored vinyl, the artwork, everything that's inside. And we think we've done that." The For All Kings box set includes the original album's 11 tracks, as well as six demos. It also features covers of The White Stripes' "Black Math" and the Kansas classic "Carry On Wayward Son," plus a bonus track called "Vice of the People," which was previously released only in Japan. Anthrax will hit the road this spring in support of For All Kings alongside Killswitch Engage on the KillThrax tour, which kicks off March 29 in Montclair, New Jersey. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Khan slams CJs take on jury trials Khan referred to a newspaper article earlier this year in which the writer said Archie identified the jury system as the cause of delays in the criminal justice system and called for its abolition. He said the article cited Archie as saying a criminal case took two years of the courts time and ended with no conviction. Khan said the CJ was referring to the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder, a case in which he (Khan) was lead prosecutor. He said the article quoted him (Khan) as saying, only a dictator or a fool would support the abolition of trial by jury in this country. He said the article further quoted him as saying, This is a multi-racial and multi-religious society and we cannot have a single judge determining whether an accused person should be convicted and sentenced to death or a long term of imprisonment. Khan reiterated that trial by jury is the right of all citizens. It must be emphasised that trial by jury is more than a mere instrument of justice in that it affords our ordinary, God-fearing citizens of good character an opportunity to participate in the criminal justice system in the delivery of justice. Indeed the jury as an institution is the cornerstone of the criminal justice system in this country and as such it is indispensable to our participatory democracy. He added that, Massa Day is not done in this country. He has reincarnated, metaphorically speaking, in jacket and tie/knife and fork, Afro and Indo-Saxon who are of the view that the descendants of field slaves should not participate in the delivery of justice in this country. They rule this country in the interests of the parasitic oligarchy who continue to suck the blood and sweat of our people! Khan made the comments while delivering opening remarks at a three-day Advanced Criminal Trial Advocacy Programme organised last week by the LAAA at the Hilton Trinidad, St Anns. The programme was carried out by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy in the United States which has brought a team of senior and highly accomplished attorneys to conduct the training. He cried shame on a nation unable to protect its citizens from criminals and recommended that murder should be categorised as first; second and third degree. He said there should be a workable plea bargaining system; recommended the implementation of the parole system; the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council in favour of the Caribbean Court of Justice and called for an end to the system of police prosecutors in the magistrates courts. Local Muslims hit Trumps ban Ummah TT president Imam Rasheed Karim slammed US President Donald Trumps actions as unjust and discriminatory, contrary to established American values and likely to do irreparable harm to that countrys image around the world. In a statement, Karim said the Muslim ban would help ISIS terrorists to recruit misguided youths and so imperil the US Governments efforts to provide safety and security for its citizens. The ban on Muslims entering the US will prove to be counter- productive in the long run, Karim said, noting that refugees were fleeing wars and seeking a better life for themselves. Karim urged Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to denounce Trumps actions. Dr Rowley must show some humanity and speak on behalf of all those who find the ban on Muslims entering the US to be repugnant and against international law as it discriminates against a group of people on religious grounds. Karim called for a local campaign and coalition of Muslims, to take lawful action to register our displeasure and objection to this unrighteous ban. We want the prime minister to represent us at the highest levels in registering our disapproval of the Muslim ban through the requisite diplomatic channels and we stand ready to provide advice and guidance to right this terrible wrong Martinez to put cameras on wreckers Martinez spoke to the media after the launch of the Deed of Covenant Initiative of the St Josephs Convent Port-of-Spain Past Pupils Association at the Abercrombie Tea Shop, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain. He said while the wreckers were working to eliminate the congestion, there were some odd situations where, in their enthusiasm, they picked up vehicles indiscriminately. I am trying to put things in place to see that it is minimised. If I add cameras to the wreckers and someone feels that they were wrecked indiscriminately, they can come to the police station and lodge a report. When we look back on the footage, and if it is they are correct, we will reimburse them. I think it will be the proper thing to do, he said. Martinez said during the Carnival season the corporation would be meeting with bandleaders to look at the assigned routes to ensure there is no indiscriminate parking. We have a lot of bands that are going to be passing through the city. I have already ensured the NCC (National Carnival Commission) that we will wreck any vehicles along the route to allow the bands to pass very easily. However, the bands must tell us the routes they are taking and, in turn, we will make sure that parking is not done along those routes. Citizens will be able to park on the side streets. In some instances we may allow double parking depending on the amount of parking that is available. He said he hopes every citizen would be happy and enjoy the Carnival season. Martinez also said a task force has been set up to address the issue of street dwellers. These (homeless) people are vulnerable... but we have to implement rules and make sure they are taken off the streets. We have to take care of all of them. Yesterday, I met with the Social Development Ministry, Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Health. We have invited the business community to guide us, because they are the ones who are affected by the street dwellers. We want to be able to bring people back into the city, and be comfortable. He said once all the stakeholders were involved, they could come up with an appropriate solution for the problem. Martinez said if they could rehabilitate one person back into society, citizens would feel they have started to make some inroads into the real growth and development of the nations human capital. TT seen as wajang society Sookhai, in a media release, said his chamber is extremely concerned about the licks TTs international image is receiving as a place to do business, the birthplace of steelpan and the home of Carnival. Instead, we have recently found our country labelled by a US counter-terrorism expert as having more terrorists than the seven predominantly Muslim countries whose citizens have been banned by US President Donald Trump from entering the United States, the release stated. He said while TT is grappling with the negative stigma of terrorism, the behaviour of citizens is not helping TTs image. Referring to videos of women fighting like wild animals at Piarco International Airport and at the Boardwalk in Chaguaramas, Sookhai said, At a time when we look towards tourism as an avenue for diversification of the economy, with such displays, foreigners would think twice about visiting our shores as a leisure destination. Sookhai also lamented the tardy response by the Airports security personnel saying this fight could have been a precursor to testing the readiness of the security forces. A fight in an airport or in high-traffic and high-tourist areas should never be taken lightly. In these times of terrorist activities there are too many ways to distract from plots afoot or to test the capabilities of our security forces, he stated, adding the response was, seemingly slow and lacking in commitment to ending the fight. This does not auger well for either local or foreign investment in our country, the release stated, nor for the tourist dollars that we keep hoping will flow into the country and help diversify the country away from its dependency on oil and gas. Are we setting ourselves up for being the laughing stock of the world, he asked rhetorically in the release. (These videos) sends the message that this is a country where so-called wajang behaviour reigns supreme and where safety and security are not of the highest priority. Sookhai observed that while those persons involved in the airport fight have been given community service to greet tourists at the airport, he pointed out they should be sent for anger management counselling and proper protocol training before being unleashed on poor, unsuspecting incoming tourists. He also suggested the Police Service set up a confidential video and audio data bank where anonymous persons can send their videos showing criminals in the act. Official: No pile-up at at Forensics A statement issued by Marcia Hope, manager of the Corporate Communications Unit at the Ministry of National Security contradicts information given from one pathologist. Hope said the FSC received nine bodies on Monday and, although the scheduled pathologist called in sick at about 10 am, had performed all nine autopsies and released the bodies to their respective families by 4 pm. Hope said arrangements were made within minutes for the scheduled alternate pathologist, who was in Tobago at the time, to conduct autopsies and that management informed police officers present that autopsies will begin at midday. While they awaited the pathologists arrival, interviews were conducted and paperwork was completed. However, pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov contradicted the details given in the release yesterday and blamed a senior official at the FSC for the distress endured by the families awaiting the results of autopsies on Monday. This could have been avoided if the administration would have some vision, Alexandrov said. We pathologists come in every day and do our jobs as best as we can. Alexandrov told Newsday that a total of 15 bodies were received at the FSC on Monday. These included the several murders committed over the weekend. When the pathologist on duty called in sick, persons requested that he take her place but they were told that he was out of the country. Up to midday on Monday, no pathologist was available. However, Dr Hughvon Des Vignes, who was in Tobago at the time, was called to Trinidad to conduct the autopsies. Alexandrov said the autopsies commenced at 2 pm. He said that of the 15 bodies received, nine were examined. Children of murdered US citizen arrive in country The woman, who is employed by the US Department of Defense, along with her sister and two brothers, arrived in the country on Monday evening and went to a funeral home yesterday to view their mothers body and to make funeral arrangements. The four broke down and sobbed uncontrollably during the viewing. Contacted yesterday, former director of the National Operations Centre (NOC) Garvin Heerah, a close relative of Matthews, confirmed that his aunts children were contacted by officials of the Embassy but he said he did not wish to disclose what was discussed. The funeral is expected to take place at 3 pm on Friday at the Faith Assembly in Arouca. The Arima house where Matthews was found dead on Saturday afternoon still remains a crime scene and the house is yet to be handed over to relatives. Newsday understands that Matthews, a former factory worker, used her savings to build the house, had told her children that she never wanted the house sold and asked that on her death that the house remain with the family. An autopsy at the Forensic Science Center on Monday revealed that Matthews was stabbed eight times in the chest and neck. All Trinidad union supports call to bear arms In a media statement yesterday, Maharaj, who is also political leader of the National Solidarity Assembly (NSA), also declared support for the implementation of the death penalty and for citizens to bear arms. He observed that an aura of abject fear and terror is stalking the land and called on both parties to rise above the pettiness of scoring cheap political points against each other and immediately come together across the table of brotherhood and, in the national interest, find a way to deal with the savagery and brutality of a crime scourge never before experienced in this country. Maharaj noted the time has come for Parliament to consider a reform of the Constitution to allow after proper checks and balances, for the right of our citizens to bear arms. It cannot be that we are going to allow innocent law abiding citizens to be sheep and fodder for criminals to whom the ownership of illegal firearms is a norm without fear of the law. Citizens must be given a fighting chance to defend themselves, since there cannot be a police officer in every home. The law cannot continue to operate to the detriment of our law-abiding citizens by stripping them of the means of defending themselves, he stated I also agree with the Leader of the Opposition that our women, or sisters and daughters and wives and nieces and our mothers be allowed to protect themselves with pepper spray and tasers. They must be given the chance to at least have a chance to escape from the human predators that seek to hunt them, Maharaj stated. We cannot continue to sacrifice the safety of our people on misused theoretical concepts of human rights for criminals who violate the rights of others without remorse, otherwise we may very well lose our nation and the safety of our people on the altar of misguided liberalism and humanist thought. The victims of crime and the families of those murdered are the ones who know the difference between theory and the practical reality of a criminal animal, he stated. Union raises health and safety issues at Santa Flora kindergarten Sydney explained that for more than a year, the 36 students and three teachers of the school have have been subjected to serious health and safety issues. He identified the major issue as an open sewer which emits methane gas and forced the closure of the school three weeks ago. Coupled with that, there is an electrical problem and lack of toilet facilities to accommodate the existing school population. However, the union learnt that an administrator with two teachers from another school reopened classes on Monday and yesterday despite the unbearable stench. There must be no school in this building where there is an open sewer and where a little child can fall in. There should be no school in this building where there is a failed fire and electrical certificate and one toilet working for 36 students, Sydney said. ECTTU was told that eight students showed up for classes on Monday, and 15 children yesterday, some of whom were seen eating cake in the building. We cannot tell the parents, who neglect their children and bring them to school, what to do. But what I can say is our members, the teachers, stayed away from the compound ensuring that OSH personnel and the Ministry of Education officials fix and secure the building, Sydney said. Speaking with reporters outside the school, the president charged that the decision to reopen classes is a breach of the Childrens Act, Chapter 46:01 (Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Young Person. We expected that charges be laid but for some strange reason the officer was given directives to stand down on that and take further directives. We are very upset at this time. We would like to see this sorted out and the union is going to take action through legal means to ensure that no one escapes judgement based on these horrible and rogue practices, Sydney said. Following the report yesterday, a police officer was seen leaving the schools compound Police sources confirmed that an investigation was launched to determine if the administrator in question is culpable of the alleged offence. PC Lara of the Santa Flora Police Station is continuing investigations. PAVI wants meeting with Minister She said the group is yet to receive renewal of the subvention, which was last given in 2015. It was our expectation that it would be renewed for the next three years, but that did not happen. We have been trying to meet with the minister to find out if Government is interested in funding our work, which we think is very important, because blind lives matter. But we have not been able to secure that meeting, Campbell said. We thought we would go to the media, make a fuss and hopefully get the meeting so we would know exactly if Government is prepared to fund us and to what extent so that we could continue with our work. PAVI had been receiving $520,000 a year. However, Campbell said it submitted a new figure of about $1.5 million, as the group is in the process of training new officers. The funding was previously used for PAVIs major initiative - the Adjustment to Blindness Programme. People who lose their sight are disoriented, miserable, hopeless, lose independence, are dependent on family and generally have difficulty in coping. We bring them through it and help them to use the cane, use the stove again, look after their personal hygiene and so on. We do other things with corporate sponsorship that would expand from that, Campbell said. She said the group tried to force the ministers hand last December when a group showed up unannounced at her office. While they did not meet with the minister, Campbell said the ministers personal advisor assured them a meeting would be arranged in January. So far we have not gotten that meeting and we are not getting any assurance as to when we would. We always planned that if we dont get the meeting we would go public, Campbell said. PAVI has a membership of about 150- 200 members, but there are also support groups in Couva, Siparia, Port-of-Spain and Curepe where people who have lost their sight can get together to support each other. Contacted for comment, Minister Crichlow- Cockburn said she is quite willing to meet with Campbell. I tried contacting her over the weekend because one of my colleagues indicated to me that they were trying to meet with me. I was given a number, but it seemed that it was not her personal number, but the organisations number, so that is why I wasnt able to touch base with her, Crichlow-Cockburn explained. Citizens must play role in crime-fighting For many of us this growing concern about the rising spate of violence, especially murder, translates to fear, a fear that when we kiss and say goodbye to our loved ones, our children each morning, we or they, may not return home at the end of the day, said director of the CORE Foundation Angelo Scope. Added to the fear, Scope said, that a primary concern is the issue of public confidence in the States capacity to protect citizens and ensure justice. Criminologist Dr Dianne Williams, who called for citizens to take responsibility for their security and work with the police to take back their communities from criminals, addressed the opening on Monday of COREs Citizens Safety and Security Conference at the Ministry of Legal Affairs auditorium in Port-of-Spain. Williams said citizens blame the police for inefficiencies in the security service. But are we doing the right thing? Or are we so fixated on blaming somebody else because we do not want to accept our role in the problem, she asked. If we are not a part of the solution, she said, we are a part of the problem. Noting a general lack of trust in the police, Williams said, We badtalk police officers without realising they are us. A lot of the applicants fail the polygraphs. That is an indictment on us and the children we are raising. If a police officer is corrupt, she said, that officer is either someones husband, son or grandson and it is their responsibility to pull him up, instead of craving benefits from corrupt activity. We have the responsibility and the power to police each other, which we do not do, she said. At the funerals of youths who engage in certain types of behaviour, Williams said, grandmothers in particular, would say, He was such a good boy, because he would, put food on the table at the risk of another grandmothers grandchild. It is our responsibility to police our children, she insisted. Noting the many negative influences that children are subjected to in the home by errant parents, Williams said, When these children become corrupt police officers, we complain. But the corrupt police officers who we feel we cannot trust to work with us to solve crime (are) a reflection of us. Dillon: 130 Trinis in terrorism overseas Responding to questions from Independent Senator Paul Richards on TT nationals leaving for other countries to engage in terrorist activities, during yesterdays sitting of the Senate, Dillon said, In terms of intelligence and information gathering, people would leave (TT) sometimes on a destination not mentioned. For example, he said, they would leave TT for England and end up in Syria. So their intended destination is not known to us. Therefore, we rely on international partners to give us the kind of information and intelligence that they (Trinis) are in a terrorist country, he said. Asked whether the statement by US terrorism expert Malcolm Nance, aired on American cable station MSNBC that Trinidad has more terrorists than seven countries temporarily banned from entering by US President Donald Trump, Dillon said he was unable to speak on the correctness of Nances statement, for the mere reason that we do not have information on the seven countries he has compared (TT) with. Nevertheless, he said, Government works close with international partners especially the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in strategic areas such as intelligence and information sharing concerning nationals found to be associated with any terrorist group whether locally or internationally. PM holds national conversations The first will take place on February 7 at the amphitheatre in the Arouca/Maloney constituency from 7.30 pm. Throughout 2017, the Prime Minister is prioritising these conversations and looks forward to engaging the people of Trinidad and Tobago as we work together to navigate our challenging circumstances towards a brighter future, said the statement Mahabir: Amend MPs pension plan to include senators Let us amend this retirement act, not because it is the right and just thing to do, he said, but because of the need to conform with international treaty obligations. All senators not being part of the plan as legislators, he said, violates article C11 of the International Labour Organisation to which Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory. Mahabir, the mover of the motion - which stated that the principle of the elimination of all forms of discrimination in the workplace was an established policy position of Government - called on Government to present the required legislative amendment to the Parliament before the end of the 2016-2017 session. Speaking to the motion in the Senate yesterday, Mahabir noted that all senators are not contributors to the MPs retirement fund. While he has been told that he was not an MP, Mahabir argued that according to the Constitution, he was one even though he was not elected like MPs in the House of Representatives. Senators are appointed. While the basic salary of a Cabinet minister is $41,030 a month, and the salary of a minister without Cabinet rank is $33,940, he said, the salary of a senator other than a minister and parliamentary secretary, was $13,060 a month. Whether fair or unfair, just or unjust, he said that the Salaries Review Commission has determined a $28,000 difference between senators and a Cabinet ranked minister who has other functions apart from legislating. While the $28,000 difference was not the issue, and while all MPs earn a salary, he said, what we find is that all MPs do not have the right to participate in the pension plan for officers who are legislators. The plan is a contributory one similar to the National Insurance Scheme. Members contribute on a monthly basis. At present, some 24 members, who are not holding executive positions with Government are excluded. This includes all Opposition and Independent senators. Based on the ILO convention, he said, exempting local legislators in the plan nullifies or impairs equality of opportunity or treatment in employment. Once it is accepted that legislators are entitled to a salary, there is no justification for exclusion from the pension plan, he said. Among those in the Senate contributing to the plan are the President of the Senate, ministers and a parliamentary secretary. The Speaker of the House, and the Deputy Speaker, who were not elected are also included. Mahabir said, he was aggrieved that the Vice President of the Senate was not included in the MPs pension plan. If you have to discriminate, discriminate with style, class, panache and finesse. Do not discriminate sloppily, he said. If there is one person to be included, he said, it must be the office of the vice president. Jennifer: No pensions for Senators She shot down arguments that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 111 against discrimination means that non-portfolio Senators must be treated equally to other legislators. Being a Senator you are not employed and it is not an occupation, asserted Baptiste-Primus. She also doubted that Parliament can be defined as a Senators workplace She also said Convention 111 is given effect in TT by the Equal Opportunities Act (EOA), which states who must not be discriminated against and how. Saying the EOA bans discrimination on grounds such as sex, race and disability, she said there is no evidence that any Senator is discriminated against on any of these grounds. Secondly, saying the EOA bans discrimination in job, accommodation, education or the provision of goods and services, she said, Senators do not have full time positions and are not stopped from having substantive jobs. Baptiste-Primus declared, It is also an unreasonable expectation that a part-time office should have equal retirement benefits as a fulltime office. Earlier, Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen noted that Senators were not seeking free money but simply a chance to contribute to a retirement scheme. Independent Senator David Small lamented the case of a former senator reduced to a state of mendicancy after years of service, empathising, It is with a sense of shame that I stand here. Saying he spends more than 40 hours per week in research and attendance at Parliament (including 20 hours each weekend), Small said the nation will benefit if such contributions are valued. This debate resumes next month, while the Senate will mull Government business on February 7 at 1.30 pm. Credit: David DobsonWith 2017 marking the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut album, George Thorogood and the Destroyers are preparing to hit the road soon for a U.S. trek dubbed the Rock Party Tour. So far, 17 dates have been confirmed, stretching from a February 28 show in Tucson, Arizona, through a March 30 concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma. All of the announced gigs will take place in the Midwest and Western U.S. More dates will be added to the itinerary soon. "We play for a different audience every night, and that keeps it fresh," says Thorogood. "There are people who've never seen us before, and we have to impress them. There are fans that keep coming back, and we want to surprise them." One dollar from each ticket sold for Thorogood's upcoming concert will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which works toward finding a cure for blood cancers and helps ensure that cancer patients have access to treatment. In other news, Thorogood is working on a new studio that's due out later in 2017. The most recent Thorogood and the Destroyers album was 2011's 2120 South Michigan Ave., which paid homage to the artists who recorded for the Chess Records label. Here are all of the band's confirmed Rock Party Tour dates: 2/28 -- Tucson, AZ, Fox Theatre 3/2 -- Santa Ynez, CA, Chumash Casino Resort 3/3 -- Cabazon, CA, Morongo Casino Resort 3/4 -- Scottsdale, AZ, Talking Stick Resort & Casino 3/5 -- Lancaster, CA, Lancaster Performing Arts Center 3/7 -- Bakersfield, CA, Fox Theater 3/8 -- Anaheim, CA, House of Blues 3/10 -- Reno, NV, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino 3/11 -- Las Vegas, NV, Pearl Concert Theater at The Palms 3/21 -- Saint Charles, IL, The Arcada Theatre 3/22 -- Saint Charles, IL, The Arcada Theatre 3/24 -- Wisconsin Dells, WI, Crystal Grand Music Theatre 3/25 -- Davenport, IA, Rhythm City Casino Resort 3/26 -- Minneapolis, MN, State Theatre 3/28 -- Des Moines, IA, Hoyt Sherman Place 3/29 -- Kansas City, MO, Uptown Theater 3/30 -- Tulsa, OK, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The disgusting embrace of witch-hunting McCarthyism by Liberals So-called liberals and progressives, who once derided those on the political right who accused their ideological forbearers of kowtowing to the Reds and Soviets during the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy, have dusted off McCarthys playbook and are using the very same tactics against Donald Trump and his supporters. The modern-day McCarthyites, mostly neo-conservative Republicans and Hillary Clinton Democrats, are hitting the airwaves, print media, and the Internet hard with accusations of Russian links by Trump and his advisers while haphazardly throwing around lists of alleged Russian agents. (Article by Wayne Madsen from Strategic-culture.org) There is very little difference between what McCarthy told the Ohio County Republican Womens Club in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1950: I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department. In November 2016, a shadowy and anonymous group of self-described nonpartisan public policy wonks, computer scientists, and national security specialists calling themselves PropOrNot (Propaganda or Not) published a list of 200 websites cited as peddlers of Russian propaganda during the election season, with combined audiences of at least 15 million Americans. The Washington Post, Associated Press, and other corporate-controlled media outlets dutifully reported this diatribe as news. At least during the witch-hunting days of McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), those accused of being Communist agents knew who their accusers were and could face them down publicly. Rather than condemn the modern-day witch-hunting by faux liberals and progressives, the American media has provided the accusers with maximum support. When CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow called out McCarthy for his bullying tactics on nationwide television, he received support from Americas major newspapers: The conservative Washington Evening Star wrote: everyone resents and detests the bully boy tactics which Senator McCarthy so often employs. The New York World Telegram: [describing McCarthys tactics] Bamboozling, bludgeoning, distorting way. The New York Times: [Condemned] the unwarranted interference of a demagogue. Today, The New York Times has been leading the charge against Trump and his transition team, citing an unfounded U.S. Intelligence Community report calling out the news network RT and Sputnik News for interfering in the U.S. election by pushing fake news. The Times is engaged in a sort of demagoguery that Murrow, if he were alive today, would assuredly condemn. After exposing McCarthy before the nation as a dangerous demagogue, Murrow summed up his broadcast by issuing a stark warning the American public: We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The list of 200 pro-Russian websites produced by an anonymous entity and endorsed by the corporate media also crept into the U.S. intelligence report on alleged Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee computers and private email of Clinton campaign officials. The U.S. Intelligence Community, which is well-known for marketing false intelligence on the former USSR, North Vietnam, Saddam Husseins Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Muammar Qaddafis Libya, and Bashar al-Assads Syria, added its own opinionated chapeau on the intelligence reports screed about RT and Sputnik: the election interference was all personally directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin! Just as the Central Intelligence Agencys dirty hands were all over the Prop or Not list, as they were on McCarthys phony list of 205 State Department Red employees, they were also on the personal attack on Putin. Just as a number leading progressives were wedded to CIA propaganda efforts during the McCarthy era, they also surfaced to defend the CIAs Russia witch-hunt against Trump. Bill Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich was among the CIA sycophants. Acting like a left-wing version of old Joe McCarthy, Reich wrote on his blog: [A] CIA assessment found that Russian operatives covertly interfered in the election campaign in an attempt to ensure the Republican candidates victory. Several of Trumps key campaign aides have close ties to Putin including his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Trump has picked for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, who is also close to Putin. After becoming CEO, Exxon bet billions on Russias vast oil resources through a partnership with Russian oil giant Rosneft, owned partly by the Kremlin. Putin himself attended the 2011 signing ceremony for the deal. Reichs list is no different than the one Joe McCarthy waved in his hand while speaking to the old GOP biddies in Wheeling in 1950. Reich, in one fell swoop, netted all of his perceived Russian agents-of-influence: Trump, Putin, Manafort, Tillerson, ExxonMobil, and Rosneft. Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid added another name to the neo-McCarthyite list: Trump adviser Carter Page, who had, before the election, committed the egregious infraction of visiting Moscow. Two of Reids Senate Democratic colleagues, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, called for a full investigation of Trumps national security adviser-designate, retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, during his time as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Blumenthal and Shaheen, mustering up their best signature Joe McCarthy tactics, all-but-accused Flynn of passing U.S. secrets to foreign actors. The senators did not limit their witch hunt to Flynns time leading DIA but widened it to include his entire Army career. Without a shred of evidence, Blumenthal and Shaheen charged that Flynn provided highly sensitive compartmented information and code word classified information about the Haqqani terrorist network to Pakistan. This was classic McCarthyism: toss out a charge without proof and await the damage to the political opposition. For the record, in 2010 Blumenthal lied about serving in the military in Vietnam. After receiving more than five draft deferments between 1965 and 1970, Blumenthal received a commission in the Marine Corps Reserve in Washington, DC, where he organized a Marine Toys for Tots campaign. Senator Shaheens husband, New Hampshire Lebanese-American Democratic political operative Bill Shaheen, may have more than passing acquaintances with Lebanese-American supporters of the Saudi-supported Future Movement party run by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. During the McCarthy era, several leading lights of the progressive literati and glitterati class condemned the witch-hunting tactics of the right wing. Playwright Arthur Miller brought to the stage The Crucible, a dramatic rendition of the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials in colonial Massachusetts. Millers intent was to show the American people that the anti-Communist hysteria of the late 1940s and early 1950s was no different than that displayed by the public during the Salem trials of the 17th century. The familiar Are you now or were you ever a Communist? refrain posed to Hollywood performers and directors by congressional committees was roundly condemned by such well-known actors as Humphrey Bogart, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, Danny Kaye, and Edward G. Robinson. It is beyond shameful that many of their not-as-talented Hollywood successors, individuals such as Rob Reiner, Jessica Chastain, Andy Richter, Whoopi Goldberg, and Albert Brooks, are now leading the neo-McCarthyite Russian agent charges against Trump and his incoming administration from the altar of Twitter. In her famous 1950 Declaration of Conscience speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Maine Republican Margaret Chase Smith hit out at the McCarthyites of her day. She said the scourge of McCarthyism spread like cancerous tentacles of know nothing, suspect everything attitudes. Today, it is not the right that is spreading its cancerous tentacles of suspicion, but the fake progressive left. Read more at: Strategic-culture.org Submit a correction >> Crazy: Local town government hosts white privilege essay contest The small, affluent town of Westport, located in Connecticut, recently hosted a controversial essay contest for the towns students: they wanted kids to write about how their white privilege had affected their lives. The notion of white privilege is largely a Leftist construct; its actually surprising that this kind of thing hasnt taken place sooner in a town where Clinton garnered votes at a ratio of 2-to-1. The contests organizers claim that they were quite surprised by the negative responses their idea had garnered from the community. (RELATED: See Twisted.news for more examples of bizarre but true news from our twisted world.) Some say that the question wrongly suggests that race is a determining factor in whether or not one can live in Westport. As 72-year-old resident Bari Reiner commented, Its an open town. There are no barricades here. Nobody says if youre black or whatever, you cant move here. The implication is not just on the town, however. The concept of white privilege also assumes that the people in the town of Westport (or elsewhere) got to where they are in life purely because of the color of their skin; this is a myth. White privilege promotes the idea that because of the color of your skin, you couldnt possibly have earned what you have, or that your parents havent earned what they have provided for you. The chairman of the diversity council, Harold Bailey Jr., claims that the controversy their little contest caused was entirely unexpected, and maintains that the idea behind it was not to promote white guilt but rather to encourage discussion. Bailey, a retired IBM vice president who is black, said, Just the fact it says white and privilege, for some people thats all they need to see, and all of a sudden were race-baiting or trying to get people to feel guilty. Thats not at all what its about. Surely he would be singing a different tune had the words black and privilege been used. One might question what the desired end-goal of such a discussion even looks like to these people. Outside of trying to convince children that they dont deserve the lives their parents worked hard to give them what else is there? Acknowledging your so-called privilege is simply a pacifistic way for the Left to say that, yes, they want you to feel guilty for being a white person in America. There are far too many variables that influence personal success in this country for anyone, of any color, to ascribe race as the sole determining factor in the outcome of a persons life. Bailey himself is a perfect picture of that: a successful black man who chose to move into an affluent, predominantly white town. If he had simply sat back and said, Well Im black, so Im not going to succeed in life thanks to white privilege, do you think hed have become a vice president of IBM? The Left likes to perpetuate this myth of privilege as a political tool to advance their own beliefs and keep their political party afloat. Without the minority vote, the Left has nothing. White privilege is merely their latest term to ensure that racism continues to be alive and well in America. If nothing else, the thought police can declare you irrelevant thanks to your white privilege. Sources: CTPost.com NationalReview.com Submit a correction >> I used to be one of those parents who took a second look at their kids bags of candy theyd gotten Halloween night and think, Wait a minute. Is that a full-size Butterfingers bar? Why would a kid need that much candy in one serving? Id either then ask if they really wanted that item or I We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. The newly elected Chairman of the African Union, Guineas President Alpha Conde welcomed the comeback of Morocco to the African organization and lauded Moroccos speech, which, he said, stems from the heart. The King spoke with his heart and will spare no effort to foster the continents independence, said Alpha Conde in an address before the 28th African Union Summit in Addis Abeba, held on January 30-31. Commenting on Moroccos readmission to the pan-African organization with landslide support from 39 countries out of 54 member states, Conde said that the Organization of African Unity found itself again. The capacities and excellence of Morocco are assets for the African Union, stressed President Conde. In his address, Conde paid a moving tribute to the founding fathers of the African joint action, recalling in this regards the initiative of late King Mohammed V in 1960 who brought together African leaders including Haile Selassie, Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, and others to form what came to be called the Casablanca group. The Casablanca group will later give birth to the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the African Union. Morocco was readmitted in the African Union on the first day of the AU summit, following the broad consensus among an overwhelming majority of member states on the North African countrys application to join the continental organization. Morocco has thus won the support of 39 member states out of 54, a figure that exceeds by far the minimum 28 number needed to secure membership within the AU. Morocco withdrew from the Organization of African Unity, in 1984, to protest the biased decision to admit the separatist SADR entity as a member state within the Organization in total violation of neutrality in the Sahara conflict. Standing Rock protesters in December. Photo: Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images The Dakota Access Pipeline is one step closer to being completed, after the acting secretary of the Army asked the Army Corps of Engineers to issue an easement that would allow the last part of construction to proceed. The easement essentially, the permission to build doesnt appear to have been officially been granted yet, but is reportedly imminent. The news comes one week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that reversed Obama-administration blocks to the controversial Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and environmental activists have sought to block the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, which they say passes through sacred tribal lands and threatens drinking water. Tense demonstrations raged last year, and though numbers have dwindled and cleanup of the protest site has begun, a few stragglers still remain camped out. Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the Standing Rock tribe, told the Guardian that he expects the easement to come, which would allow part of the pipeline to be built under Lake Oahe in North Dakota the contested piece of real estate. Hasselman indicated that the fight will continue in the courts. North Dakota Republican Senator John Hoeven said in a statement that the easement would enable the completion of the project, which would be built with the necessary safety features to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others downstream. The Army Corps of Engineers, under the Obama administration, halted the project so that the agency could investigate alternative routes and conduct more environmental-impact assessments. That move significantly delayed but did not permanently terminate the pipeline construction, as those studies were expected to take years to complete. According to the Guardian, the Army Corps of Engineers had filed a notice of intent to complete those studies on the very last days of the Obama administration. Even if the easement is coming soon, the timeline isnt clear on exactly when and that goes for the resumption of the pipeline construction as well. This will likely shape up to be a legal battle among the pipeline company, the government, and the Standing Rock tribe. The next court date is scheduled for February 6. Nailed it. Photo: Jack Taylor/Getty Images, The United Kingdoms highest court ruled last week that the British government had to get approval from Parliament before it could officially begin its Brexit. Well, it did not take long. By a strong majority, members of Parliament voted Wednesday in favor of a bill that would allow Prime Minister Theresa Mays government the power to trigger Article 50, the clause in the Lisbon Treaty that dictates the process for countries to formally withdraw from the European Union. May had picked a March 2017 deadline to activate Article 50, which will set off two years of negotiations meaning the U.K.-E.U. divorce shouldnt officially be finalized until 2019. The bill still needs to get the okay from the House of Lords, but it was Wednesdays 498 to 114 vote in the lower chamber that really mattered. The results arent a tremendous shock, either. Members of Parliament contentiously debated the bill, but even those squarely in the Stay camp during the referendum debate last June said they would respect the results of the vote. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn supported the bill, though a fair chunk of party members rebelled. After the vote, Corbyn said in a statement, Now the battle of the week ahead is to shape Brexit negotiations to put jobs, living standards, and accountability centre stage. Labours amendments are the real agenda. Betsy DeVos. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Betsy DeVos is clinging to the Education Department with a single finger. Or, more precisely, a single Republican vote. No Senate Democrats are expected to support the billionaire Amway heiresss bid to build Gods kingdom at the DOE. Even Joe all I am saying is give Trump a chance Manchin doesnt want a school voucher activist who has never attended nor sent her children to a public school overseeing American education. And on Wednesday, Maines favorite moderate conservative said the same. Sen Collins on the floor -- announcing NO VOTE ON DEVOS Erica Werner (@ericawerner) February 1, 2017 Minutes later, Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski hopped on the bandwagon. Until Wednesday, every Republican senator had voted for every Trump cabinet nominee thatd come up for a vote (as did Blue Americas favorite math teacher, Tim Kaine). The fact that Collins is comfortable backing Jeff Sessions, but not DeVos, illustrates why Republicans are so eager to decimate public-sector unions. GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski announces she is a NO on education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos; GOP Sen. Susan Collins also NO. DeVos may go down. Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 1, 2017 So, there appear to be at least 50 DeVos naysayers in the Senate. But with Mike Pence holding the tie-breaking vote, liberals need one more defection to send Betsy packing or, for Senate Republicans to give their favorite racist a promotion, post-haste. So McConnell has to wait to confirm Sessions until after Senate votes on Devos to allow him to vote on her and Pence to be the tiebreaker Sam Stein (@samstein) February 1, 2017 Seeing as Mitch McConnell knows how to count, the latter probably isnt going to happen. But Nevada Republican Dean Heller will be running for reelection in a Clinton state in 2018. And Jeff Flake knows that Arizona isnt as red as it used to be. Surely, they would both appreciate the advice of their constituents on this matter perhaps via a phone call. Grand Army Plaza. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev Chuck Schumers Brooklyn apartment along Prospect Park West has turned into a regular spot for anti-Trump protesters, but Tuesday night saw thousands descend on the senators home to pressure him to oppose President Donald Trumps agenda and his cabinet picks. The What the fuck, Chuck? rally, as some demonstrators called it, started in Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza, near Prospect Park. Grand Army Plaza. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev Facing Schumers House. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev The crowd, chanting and waving signs, marched from Grand Army to Schumers luxury building on Prospect Park West. So large was the crowd, not all the demonstrators could fit on the sidewalk outside the Minority Leaders windows, but those that did manage to get close unfurled a huge banner that read, Resist Trump Tuesdays. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev Schumer said Monday citing the presidents executive order that temporarily suspended travel from majority Muslim countries and halted the refugee program that he would oppose most of the rest of Trumps cabinet picks, and seek to delay the remaining confirmations. Still, Schumer did vote in favor of three of Trumps choices, among them Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev On Tuesday night, Schumer, along with other Democrats, did criticize Trumps Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch. The senator also put out a statement that hinted Democrats might filibuster Trumps nominee. Maybe all those signs and spines are getting through. Judge Neil Gorsuch speaks following his nomination. Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images Democratic lawmakers have been trying to keep up with the surge of progressive activism following Donald Trumps inauguration, and on Tuesday they let the base know theyve heard their calls for more obstructionism. After boycotting votes on two of President Trumps cabinet nominees earlier in the day, a handful of Democratic senators announced immediately after Trump revealed his Supreme Court pick that they have no intention of voting for Neil Gorsuch. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon said on Monday that he would filibuster anyone who is not Merrick Garland, who was nominated by President Obama but never even given a hearing. Following Trumps reveal, Merkley vowed to do everything in his power to stop the stolen seat from being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, though he did not mention Gorsuch by name. Not only is this a stolen seat, but @realDonaldTrump has nominated a far right extremist. Unacceptable. https://t.co/9bkw4QODXD pic.twitter.com/iVHDdb2Pn9 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) February 1, 2017 Ohio senator Sherrod Brown said hed already reviewed Gorsuchs record, and wont support a nominee who does not recognize that corporations are not people. I cannot support any #SCOTUSnominee who does not recognize that corporations are not people. Read my full statement. - SB pic.twitter.com/jUdCtj70fH Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) February 1, 2017 Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts pointed to issues with Gorsuchs record as well, saying, We dont need another justice who spends his time looking out for those with money and influence. President Trump had the chance to select a consensus nominee to the Supreme Court. To the surprise of absolutely nobody,... Posted by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 Her fellow Massachusetts senator Ed Markey said Gorsuch is outside the judicial mainstream, and hell vote against him because his opinions have demonstrated hostility to womens reproductive rights, commonsense environmental regulations, and the rights of workers, consumers, and the disabled. I will not support the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. #SCOTUSnominee https://t.co/47lntikDtM pic.twitter.com/AwjMEhlxwn Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) February 1, 2017 Oregon senator Ron Wyden announced his opposition in a series of tweets, saying none of his colleagues should back Gorsuch if they believe individual rights are reserved to the people, not the government. Gorsuch harkens back to the days when politicians restricted a peoples rights on a whim. That is a very dangerous view to our liberty. Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 1, 2017 No senator who believes individual rights are reserved to the people, not the government, can support Gorsuchs nomination. Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 1, 2017 At least a dozen other Democratic senators released statements criticizing Gorsuch, though they stopped short of a commitment to vote against him. Judge Gorsuch must explain his hostility to women's rights, support of corporations over workers and opposition to campaign finance reform. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 1, 2017 Long before his election, President Trump promised to appoint a Supreme Court justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia, who... Posted by Former U.S. Senator Al Franken on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 I am troubled by the nomination of Judge Gorsuch and will fight to ensure the voice of the American people is heard in this process. Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 1, 2017 Serious concerns moving forward w/ a #SCOTUSnominee & will be joining those pushing back against jamming this nominee through. Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) February 1, 2017 Now more than ever, we need a Justice who is independent, eschews ideology, who will preserve our democracy & protect fundamental rights. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 1, 2017 We also need a SCOTUS justice who will stand up to a President who has already shown a willingness to bend the Constitution. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 1, 2017 Gorsuch put corps over workers, been hostile toward womens rights & been an ideolog. Skeptical that he can be a strong, independent Justice Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 1, 2017 SCOTUS justice must stand up to a Pres willing to bend the Constitution. Serious doubts on Judge Gorsuchs ability to meet this standard. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 1, 2017 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also issued a statement on Tuesday night suggesting that Democrats will filibuster a Supreme Court nominee for only the second time in modern history. The Senate must insist upon 60 votes for any Supreme Court nominee, a bar that was met by each of President Obamas nominees, he said. The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the executive branch. Assuming all 52 Republicans support Gorsuch, they would need eight Democratic votes to break the filibuster. According to The Hill, seven Senate Democrats have publicly expressed reservations about their colleagues plan to block his confirmation, suggesting that they shouldnt force Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to nuke the filibuster. Gorsuch will almost certainly wind up on the Supreme Court, but if Democrats dont put up a fight, they could face a backlash from their base. Several liberal groups, including MoveOn.org and Democracy for America, are promising to oppose any senator who doesnt do everything they can to block Trumps nominee. If any of them vote for Trumps Supreme Court nominee, were going to mark them down as collaborators, Murshed Zaheed, head of the progressive group CREDO, told Vox. If Chuck Schumer wants to maintain any credibility as a progressive leader, he needs to shut the Supreme Court seat down. And if he doesnt do it, there will be a massive revolt. A Trump rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on September 28, 2016. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images So far, massive protests have been a regular feature of Donald Trumps presidency, but Harley-Davidson was reportedly uninterested in being the site of the presidents first out-of-state encounter with the demonstrators. An administration official told CNN that President Trump was set to visit a Harley-Davidson factory in Milwaukee on Thursday, but the trip was called off after the company decided it didnt want to deal with a planned protest. The White House announced the visit to Milwaukee on Monday, but did not give a specific location. Technical Sergeant Meghan Skrepenski, with the 128th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard in Milwaukee, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday that the trip was canceled. Trump was expected to sign executive orders related to manufacturing during the trip. The group Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump said it organized a call-in protest to Harley-Davidson after learning that Trump would tour the companys plant in Menomonee Falls. By Tuesday afternoon, 1,200 people said on the groups Facebook page that they were planning to protest outside the plant on Thursday. PRESS STATEMEMT - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Today, Milwaukee let the world know that Trump is not welcome here. The... Posted by Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 Harley-Davidson issued a statement on Tuesday saying they dont have, nor did we have, a scheduled visit from the president this week at any of our facilities. The statement noted that the company has hosted three of the last five presidents, and said, We look forward to hosting the president in the future. A White House spokesperson denied that the visit was called off because of the planned demonstration. Due to scheduling, the leadership he was potentially traveling to meet with is now coming here, said Deputy Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham. Members of the Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump, who were marching against the immigration ban on Tuesday, cheered when they heard the news. Hes not welcome in this state, Maricela Aguilar Monroy told Fox 6 Now. Van Mobley, president of the Village of Thiensville, Wisconsin, laughed at the suggestion that a demonstration could keep the president away. I think he would get a warm welcome in Wisconsin, he said. I dont think hes scared of coming to Wisconsin. I think hes busy. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox, Sundance Institute, The Weinstein Company A series investigating the effects of gravity on the female form. Its a truism as old as celluloid itself: As women get older, their opportunities in Hollywood decline. A recent study showed that over 80 percent of leading roles for actors over 40 go to men, while middle-aged women in Hollywood pass their Last Fuckable Day and transition from being cast as love interests (of much older actors) to being cast as mothers (of actors around their age). When youre in your teens or 20s, there is an abundance of ingenue parts which are exciting to play, Liv Tyler told More magazine two years ago, at age 38. But at [my age], youre usually the wife or the girlfriend a sort of second-class citizen. Thankfully, there are a few filmmakers, largely in the independent-film world, who are committed to depicting the lives of women outside those categories. In honor of the Cuts aging package, I have put together a (totally subjective) selection of good films that prioritize the inner lives of women who arent just ingenues. I kept it to the last few years and tried to pick stories that had a woman over 40 as the evident protagonist. These arent just films with a female lead, but films that emphasize female interiority, and explore various facets of womens lives work, art, family, love, sex, identity, health, and the search for self without reducing their characters to maternal stereotypes. Carol (2015), an evocative queer love story from another era. Todd Hayness male-gaze-shirking period piece about the romance between two women sophisticated, enigmatic Carol (Cate Blanchett) and peculiar, vulnerable Therese (Rooney Mara) was one of last years most glaring Oscars snubs. The stories of queer women have so often been elided, but Haynes beautifully captures the tragedy of not being able to love who you love, while viscerally depicting in image and gesture, color and sound, just how completely desire can reshape the world around us. Available to stream with Showtime subscription. Available to buy on Amazon and Google Play. Hidden Figures (2017), the story of the black women who helped win the space race. As this list demonstrates, there are still very few leading roles for women of color in Hollywood but hopefully the critical and box-office success of Hidden Figures will help change that (plus, its already boosting girls into science and technology fields). This historical biopic about the black women of NASA stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, a mathematician whose calculations helped put the first American astronaut into space, while Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae play her equally trailblazing colleagues. Watching them banter about civil rights and Euclidean geometry while cruising Virginia in a sea-green convertible, youll never want to see another film that fails the Bechdel test again. Showing in theaters. Bridget Joness Baby (2016), a pregnancy comedy thats actually funny. The long-awaited follow-up to Bridget Joness Diary (ignoring the forgettable 2004 sequel), Bridget Joness Baby was an unexpected treat when it hit theaters last summer. After unexpectedly getting pregnant (no longer the last barren husk in London), Bridget finds herself torn between two men, old flame Mark Darcy (Colin Firth, who will make you cry) and shiny new American Jack Quant (Patrick Dempsey), either of whom could be the father of her child. Its refreshing to see a sequel that deals with not just dating, but the totality of a middle-aged womans life friendship, work, motherhood, getting super turnt at Glastonbury while still making us feel warm and fuzzy in all the ways a good rom-com should. Available to rent or buy on Amazon, iTunes, and Vudu. Equity (2016), the first female-driven Wall Street movie. Another film about three women in a male-dominated industry, Equity stars Breaking Bads Anna Gunn as Naomi, a steely investment banker working on a major tech IPO, with Sarah Megan Thomas as her ambitious assistant and Alysia Reiner as an attorney investigating Naomis firm for securities fraud (Thomas and Reiner also served as producers). Equity makes no apologies for its heroines path, and refuses to turn her life decisions into a morality play or to have her find enlightenment through marriage and kids. Made and funded by women, the film is an unusually realistic depiction of Wall Street and the women who work there, which manages to explore the industrys fraught gender politics without ever feeling didactic or preachy. Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, and Vudu. Available to buy on iTunes. 45 Years (2015), a relationship drama with no easy answers. Charlotte Rampling is an actress who can do a whole lot of emotional heavy-lifting with the smallest of gestures, and she is at the height of her gifts in 45 Years, a harrowing domestic drama about a married woman whose life is overturned when she is confronted with the depth of her husbands (Tom Courtenays) feelings for a past lover. Set over six days in the couples lives, Andrew Haigh delivers one of cinemas best excavations of the shifting dynamics of a long-term marriage, revealing how an emotional revelation can be as destructive as an avalanche within the world two people have built together. Available to stream with Showtime subscription. Available to rent or buy on Vudu. Available to buy on Amazon and Google Play Elle (2016), an unpredictable revenge narrative. Paul Verhoevens Elle, about a woman taking revenge on her rapist, has been the subject of much debate over its feminist credentials. Is it, to quote A.O. Scott: a feminist tale of rape and revenge, or an exercise in chic, cynical misogyny? Regardless of what you take away from Verhoevens subversive satire, you will certainly be talking about Isabelle Hupperts performance as Michele, whose enigmatic antiheroine defies expectations up to the very last frame. Showing in theaters. Welcome to Me (2014), a timely exploration of mental illness and reality television. Kristen Wiig is at her best when she inhabits the weird register somewhere between hilarious and heartbreaking, and she hits the sweet spot in 2015s delightfully original indie Welcome to Me. As Alice Klieg, a bipolar Oprah buff who wins the lottery and decides to spend her winnings on a vanity talk show where she rides in in a swan boat, neuters dogs onscreen, and reenacts fundamental traumas from her adolescence (Someones Been Tampering With My Makeup Bag) is at once an incisive portrait of mental illness and one of the best satires of reality-TV culture since The Truman Show. Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes. Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), a portrait of an actress. This evocative All About Eve-esque drama from French auteur Olivier Assayas is better experienced than described, but Ill give it a go. Juliette Binoche stars as Maria Enders, a revered French movie star who made her career in a film called Majola Snake, where she played a young starlet seducing and manipulating an older actress. With much consternation, she agrees to reprise the play in the role of the older woman, with up-and-coming American tabloid darling Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloe Grace Moretz) as her antagonist. She retreats to the Alps to rehearse with her assistant Valentine (a great Kristen Stewart, whose own Hollywood trajectory has many parallels with Jo-Anns) a brutal, intensely personal process where art begins to imitate life in strange and compelling ways. The result is a gorgeous meditation on aging, art, performance, storytelling, female friendship, and desire, set in the swirling clouds of the French alps. Available to stream with Showtime subscription. Available to buy on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu. Still Alice (2015), a devastating depiction of a debilitating illness. Julianne Moore won a well-deserved Academy Award for her performance as Alice Howland, a linguistics professor gradually losing her mind to a fast-progressing case of early-onset Alzheimers disease. Based on a true story, the film is a fascinating psychological and philosophical exploration of illness and identity at what point is she no longer still Alice? depicting how the disease gradually eats away at her memory, her linguistic faculties, her intellect and sense of self, as she fights fruitlessly to cling on to the person she once was. Kristen Stewart a consistently invaluable scene partner these past few years plays her youngest daughter. Available to stream with Starz subscription. Available to buy on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play. Grandma (2015), a story about a grandmother who prefers tattoo needles to knitting needles. One of 2015s most unconventional quest narratives, Paul Weitzs Grandma stars Lily Tomlin as Elle Reid an ornery, broke, hard-living lesbian poet reeling from the loss of her partner who embarks on a journey to raise $600 for her granddaughters (Julia Garners) abortion. Tomlins tattooed, denim-jacket-clad iconoclast is a welcome reminder that age and personality arent mutually exclusive. More leading roles for Lily Tomlin, please. Available to stream with Starz subscription. Available to rent or buy on Vudu. Available to buy on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes. Katharine Zarrella, Tavi Gevinson, Leandra Medine, and Susie Lau. Photo: Getty Images; BFA A series investigating the effects of gravity on the female form. Iris Apfel was involved in even more fashion collaborations this past year than her fellow ubiquitous fashion-spokesperson Alexa Chung. Linkups with Happy Socks (socks and underwear), Macys INC line (ready-to-wear), WiseWear (wearable tech), Tane (jewelry), and even her own line of emoji were added to her existing lines with HSN (more jewelry) and Eyebobs (oversize glasses). Shes also a friend of the brand for Swarovski, making public appearances on its behalf, and a brand ambassador for the Citroen DS yes, the car. Apfel has been canny about taking what she calls her geriatric starlet persona multiplatinum while still preserving the appearance of being an outlier. A couple of weeks ago, I was in a vintage store in a Texas strip mall trying on a pair of oversize sunglasses. The shop clerk said, accurately, Those are sooo Iris Apfel, and then launched into a monologue about her love for the fashion icon, recommending Albert Maysless documentary on her. She loved, she said, that Apfel didnt care what anyone else thought. Wouldnt that be nice? Apfel isnt the only geriatric starlet to gain a beachhead with millennials, just the most famous. Advanced Style, the blog-to-book-to-documentary juggernaut helmed by Ari Seth Cohen, highlights rare birds of fashion dun certain age, including Apfel herself, who leave no fascinator unturned. Its of a piece with the Instagram accounts celebrating the 80s-grandma lunacy of Angela Lansburys outfits on Murder She Wrote or listicle tributes to the Golden Girls. But there seems to be a kind of wistfulness in the veneration of elderly style by young people a couple of years ago, several women in my office were talking about how they wish they could dress that way. One pointed out that we could, if we simply lower the legal age of not giving a f. Our enshrinement of these women is part jealousy: wishing that we could be free of the need to be attractive to potential partners, to not scare away new friends or employers, to draw attention away from ourselves. What is todays athleisure-bot uniform but a kind of camouflage, telegraphing an overwhelming sameness the fashion segment of the bland global-minimalism design ethos that writer Kyle Chayka called Airspace? The acceptable years for eccentric dressing shouldnt fall only during tutu-sporting childhood and blue-haired senescence. Luckily, there are some women in my age cohort who arent waiting until they qualify for Social Security to stunt Apfel style. Susie Bubble has been doing girlie maximalism long before Alessandro Michele was a name on anyones lips; Leandra Medine built an empire on the transgressive appeal of man-repelling fashion. (When a woman dressing for herself constitutes a rebellion, you know were dealing with some screwed societal norms.) Katharine Zarrella, the founder of Fashion Unfiltered, has a style outlook as unfiltered as her criticism: wacky hats and turbans, and lots of Comme des Garcons. Zarrella says that she really eased into the eccentric thing when she moved to London in 2010, inspired by the citys embrace of weirdness. Since then, I havent gone out in about six years without some form of cranial accoutrement I feel naked without something on my head. Another watershed moment was CDGs 2-D collection for fall 2012. I loved how powerful I felt when I wore it, and I thought to myself, why save this for special occasions? Why shouldnt I feel like this every day? That was it. Lifes too short to be boring, and I think people should find happiness and excitement in whatever ways they can, she adds. For me, it just happens to be through fashion my understanding of my aesthetic has helped me develop a further understanding of myself of who I am and, in my opinion, its better to have a grasp on that by the time you hit 30 instead of waiting until youre 60. My friend Piper Gray is another one of those women she basically treats leopard print as a neutral. I spent a lot of time as a kid in Tennessee drawing future-me in clothes Id wear when Id fully control my wardrobe, she recalls. It was outlandish stuff Id see on Miss America contestants and Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame. (Those caftans!) I still go for the slightly outlandish, I guess, something a little bit bonkers. I recently took a personality test that said my defining trait was cowardice (rude), but I rarely second-guess what I wear. Arent we all striving for self-possession? Give me animal print and something shiny thats the closest I get. If anything, its the perfect uniform for unfettered youth. I dont have to worry about baby spit-up or kid crumbs, she says, so I can afford to be a little not-precious. Protesters gather at the Los Angeles International Airports Tom Bradley terminal to demonstrate against President Trumps executive order effectively banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. Photo: AFP/AFP/Getty Images Mike Hager, a Michigan business owner who fled Iraq during the Gulf War, claimed he was traveling with his niece, two nephews, and his 75-year-old mother, Naimma, over the weekend when Donald Trump signed an executive action barring citizens and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Theyd been in Iraq visiting family but planned to return to the U.S. when Naimma, a U.S. green-card holder, fell ill and passed away. Hager originally told Fox 2 Detroit that his mother died a day after the travel ban started, when she was kept from boarding a plane back to the U.S, and said he blamed Trump for her death. But a new story from Fox 2 Detroit found that Hager lied about the timing of her passing. Imam Husham Al-Hussainy, who leads the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center in Dearborn, Michigan, told Fox 2 Detroit that Hager lied. Al-Hussainy said she died of kidney disease in Iraq five days before the ban was put in place, and Fox 2 confirmed his report. The station has reached out to Hager for comment. This post has been updated throughout. Neil Gorsuch. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images President Donald Trump campaigned on an anti-abortion platform, while vowing to appoint pro-life Supreme Court justices who could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade. So its no surprise that his nominee for the Supreme Court seat that has been vacant since Justice Antonin Scalias death nearly a year ago 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado could pose a severe risk to womens reproductive rights. Gorsuch never actually ruled on the issue of abortion while serving on the 10th Circuit, so theres no official record of his stance on Roe v. Wade; however, when you consider that fact alongside Gorsuchs conservative views on the topics of birth control and assisted suicide, it seems likely that the judge may have more anti-choice leanings, Vox notes. As the Atlantic reports, in his 2006 book The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, Gorsuch wrote, All human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong. He went on to say: Once we open the door to excusing or justifying the intentional taking of life as necessary, we introduce the real possibility that the lives of some persons (very possibly the weakest and most vulnerable among us) may be deemed less valuable, and receive less protection from the law, than others. Additionally, Gorsuchs track record of putting the religious beliefs of corporations ahead of womens health raises alarms. While sitting on the 10th Circuit, he ruled in favor of craft chain Hobby Lobby in a suit over the contraception mandate of the Affordable Care Act. The retailer argued that it shouldnt be forced to provide insurance to cover the costs of all forms of birth control, since it went against the religious beliefs of its shareholders. In his opinion, Gorsuch wrote: No one before us disputes that the mandate compels Hobby Lobby and Mardel to underwrite payments for drugs or devices that can have the effect of destroying a fertilized human egg. Furthermore, as Slate points out, Gorsuch recently wanted to rehear (and potentially reverse) a 10th Circuit decision that stopped Utah from defunding Planned Parenthood. In his opinion, Gorsuch seemed to give credibility to Utah governor Gary Herberts claims that Planned Parenthood trafficked fetal tissue, while the majority of other justices on the panel dismissed the claims as political. Therefore the nomination of Gorsuch to the Supreme Court may be deeply concerning for the future of womens health in the United States. As Jodi Magee, president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, put it in a statement, He has a record of undermining health care access for women and is not someone who will reject medically unnecessary restrictions that endanger women. Trump made his SCOTUS pick. Dude is 49. If Dems don't fight, we'll be stuck with him for decades. Reply Thread Link Better hope Ruth doesn't die in the next four years. Reply Parent Thread Link Don't call the ban a ban. Reply Thread Link We only call it a ban because the media calls it a ban! Duh! Reply Parent Thread Link This SCOTUS nominee is atrocious. It's also fucking embarrassing that Trump turned this into a reality show. The Supreme Court will be tarnished because of this (which is what he wants and why he continues to fuck with it). Reply Thread Link It was always going to be an atrocious pick. He basically picked Mini-Scalia. Let's see how he views this EO. Reply Parent Thread Link he handled this like a the apprentice episode smh Reply Parent Thread Link bae Reply Parent Thread Link but what a cute gif Reply Parent Thread Link anyone could be doing a better job than sean sphincter Reply Parent Thread Link Has anyone ever sucked at their job more than spicer? Reply Parent Thread Link the entire series is already on youtube Reply Parent Thread Link Just so you know, the Degrassi TGN seasons are hella cheap on Amazon (or should be still?). I started getting them when I was 15 or so and they were cheap then (11 years ago) and got season 12 back in 2014 or 2015 one of those when it came out. I don't think I paid more than 100 dollars for them combined (new). I wish they would release seasons 13 and 14, but I think they are having trouble with getting rights to put them on DVD. Side Note: If you also like Instant Star, I got all 4 seasons for less than 40 bucks on Amazon. Reply Parent Thread Link IS Season 2 is obscenely expensive now, my collection will never be complete :'( Reply Parent Thread Link i know we can make it through Reply Thread Link Sweet that they released a statement like this, very well-said. Reply Thread Link YAS Reply Parent Thread Link http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/232856168-story This is brutal Reply Thread Link This whole thing just makes me wanna cry. My condolences to that family Reply Parent Thread Link Ugh!!!! What do chump supporters say about this tho? Reply Parent Thread Link Linda Schuyler's old house is my dream house. Reply Thread Link i'd rather see degrassi tackle the mosque shooting.. Reply Thread Link is it a family? i only see the girl wearing hijab in the photo. but that's great! Reply Parent Thread Link This past season was was so good. The best they've done in a few years. There was a bomb threat at my local JCC today. There were at least 4 others around the country in addition to some weeks prior :( Reply Thread Link where is your local jcc? you know what i realized? a shooting at a synagogue in canada and america would be very unlikely. at least ever since i was a kid, every synagogue i've been to here has security 24/7 and cops during holidays. people don't realize that we've always been under constant threat of attacks and hate crimes. it's a shame that mosques will now have to do the same. Reply Parent Thread Link Albany, NY. It was a third wave of bomb threats. 16 threats on January 9 and 28 on January 18. Reply Parent Thread Link remember when hazel did the presentation revealing that she's muslim? Reply Thread Link That was legit the only storyline they gave that poor girl. At least they are doing better with Shay. She gets storylines and still seem like a likable character. Unlike Maya whose actress probably still hates playing her. lol Reply Parent Thread Link lmao i didn't refresh before posting my comment else i would have seen this. Reply Parent Thread Link that was like the only storyline they ever gave that poor girl. Reply Parent Thread Link yes! that is like the only episode of degrassi i've ever seen, but i think about it all the time. lol Reply Parent Thread Link Ive been discussing the return of big oil and gas M&A the last several weeks. And yesterday we got more confirmation its money on right now in the global petroleum sector with one of the biggest single deals in years coming down in an unexpected place. From a virtually unknown acquirer which has instantly become the largest independent producer in the neighborhood. Thats a London-based firm called Chrysaor Holdings. Which yesterday unveiled a $3.8 billion purchase of North Sea assets from Shell. Under the deal, Chrysaor is buying Shells working interest in seven North Sea projects. Coming with a current 115,000 b/d of oil equivalent production plus another 13,000 b/d production in the Shetland Islands, which is expected to be onstream soon. In total, Chrysaor will acquire 350 million barrels of proven and probable reserves making the firm the largest U.K. independent producer focused on the North Sea. In fact, one of the largest producers overall in this area. Heres the most interesting part: the deal appears to have been orchestrated by private equity backers. With Chrysaor paying for the assets partly through a $1 billion investment from PE outfit EIG Global Energy Partners. Thats a very telling move, given that EIG is a Washington, D.C.-based fund that has to-date focused on U.S. oil and gas projects with some stepouts to Australia and South America. Related: Why Is Everyone So Bullish On Oil? But now this big buyer want to take a run at the North Sea. Suggesting management sees potential in this mature basin, even as majors like Shell exit in favor of higher-impact plays. This is much like what happened in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico shelf the last few years. Where majors like Chevron sold big asset packages to private equity-backed E&Ps. It will be critical to see what happens next. If new kids like Chrysaor can indeed grow production and reserves, it could encourage further PE purchases of mature assets. Watch for operational updates from the North Seas new leading producer. Heres to doing the shuffle. By Dave Forest More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: show me a pipe and I will show you a leak . Common Sense Its no secret that the Keystone XL (KXL) and Dakota Access Pipelines were resurrected last week from the trash heap of controversial O&G projects. Trump fulfilled his campaign promise and signed executive orders to move these projects forward by renegotiating the terms of the programs. Its fair to say, neither project is necessarily a pipedream or nightmare and possibly even beneficial from a short-term job creation and infrastructure perspective. Yet, there remains a myriad of unanswered questions with regards to the needs, safety and environmental impact of these projects. The first question relates to priorities. What improvements to the underpinnings of USs vast infrastructure of structures and facilities that effectively operate our society are imminently needed - roads, bridges, power plants, drinking water, schools, public parks & recreation, transit, rail, ports, inland waterways, aviation, wastewater, solid waste, levees, and hazardous waste? The answer to next questions of benefit and impact on the environment depends on how you look at it. The story of fossil vs clean energy has been discussed ad nauseum and debating it in this posting is counterproductive. Let it be said that one day, society will find it economically beneficial to transition a vast proportion of their energy mix to resources that generate less CO2 and are less harmful to the environment. In Pick Your Poison for Crude -- Pipeline, Rail, Truck or Boat, James Conca states Crude oil is a harmful chemical, very destructive when it spills into the environment, and very toxic when it contacts humans or animals. Its not even useful for energy, or anything else, until its refined into useable products. Furthermore, tar sands oil is thicker, more acidic and more corrosive than conventional crude. When transported under high pressure, it poses a far greater risk of leaks along the pipeline route. In actual practice, tar sands oil is diluted with natural gas condensate or light hydrocarbons to meet pipeline product quality specifications, which allows the crude oil to flow through the pipeline. Though transportation of diluted tar sands oils is purported to pose no increased risk to the pipeline infrastructure or the environment, ThinkProgress reports oil leaks from keystone pipeline is 89 times worse than originally thought. Conca goes on to say the safest way to move crude oil depends upon what your definition is for worse. Is it death and destruction? Is it amount of oil released? Is it land area or water volume contaminated? Is it habitat destroyed? Is it CO2 emitted? In this context, he poeticizes: "truck worse than train, worse than pipeline, worse than boat. But thats only for human death and property destruction. For the normalized amount of oil spilled, its truck worse than pipeline, worse than rail, worse than boat (Congressional Research Service). Different yet again is for environmental impact (dominated by impact to aquatic habitat), where its boat worse than pipeline, worse than truck, worse than rail. Related: Refiners Stand To Lose From Trumps Border Tax Plan KXL, an $8 billion privately funded 36-inch-diameter pipeline designed to transport up to 830,000 barrels per day of crude oil, is the fourth phase of the Keystone pipeline system and includes the addition of a 1,179-mile oil conduit from Alberta in West Canada to Nebraska. KXLs primary purpose is to divert Canadian, not US, tar sands oil from refineries in the Midwest to the Gulf Coast in order to make the oil available for export. With the exception of Baker, Montana where domestic-produced light crude oil from Bakken formation is produced, KXL replicates the other operational phases of the Keystone System. It just shortens the run and adds larger diameter pipe, thus increasing the flow of oil from Canada, Figure 1. In terms of environmental impact, PSR reported: Transported under high pressure, Canadian tar sands oil poses a far greater risk of leaks along the pipeline route. Tar sands oil pipelines are already leaking and causing serious contamination. Over the past five years, pipelines in Midwestern states with the longest history of moving Canadian Oil Sands have spilled three times as much crude per pipeline mile as the national average. The Keystone (Phase) I tar sands pipeline was predicted to spill 1.4 times per decade, yet it spilled fourteen times in its first year of operation. In 2010, an older pipeline system spilled more than 800,000 gallons of tar sands oil into Michigans Kalamazoo River, causing health effects in a majority of Calhoun County residents living adjacent to the river. At a cost of over $725 million, this spill was the most expensive U.S. pipeline accident on record. The Dakota Access Pipeline, a $3.78 billion privately funded project, is about 90% completed, and therefore, presents a different set of circumstances. However, the pipeline has also been contentious regarding its need, and impact on the environment and Native American territory, Figure 2. According to Dakota Access Pipeline Facts This project crosses almost entirely private land, often already in use for other utility easements. The Dakota Access Pipeline does not cross the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, even at the portion of the pipeline that is the subject of dispute at Lake Oahe. In developing the route, the United States Army Corps of Engineers alone held 389 meetings with 55 tribes regarding the Dakota Access project. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps reached out to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe nearly a dozen times to discuss archaeological and other surveys conducted before finalizing the Dakota Access route. Pipeline Facts further states It (the pipeline) will be among the safest, most technologically advanced pipelines in the world. This seems to contrast Trumps statement after signing the executive order .. we will build our own pipelines, like we used to in the old days. When amalgamated with a truncated approval process, building pipelines the old way opens the door to significant safety and environmental problems. Does this mean construction crews can revert to 1871 standards and use wrought iron rather than steel pipe and reduce integrity testing of new and operating pipelines? Related: Fundamentals Be Damned Oil Price Correction Likely According to the Center for Effective Government, from 2010 to mid-2015, over 3,300 incidents of crude oil and liquefied natural gas leaks or ruptures have occurred on U.S. pipelines. These incidents have killed 80 people, injured 389 more, and cost $2.8 billion in damages. They also released toxic, polluting chemicals in local soil, waterways, and air. On the other hand, Pipeline 101 reports Pipelines are an extremely safe way to transport energy across the country. A barrel of crude oil or petroleum product shipped by pipeline reaches its destination safely more than 99.999% of the time. The number of releases greater than 500 barrels is down 32% since 2011. In addition, most incidents do not impact the public or the environment, with 71% of incidents in 2015 occurring and contained wholly within an operator's facility. In closing, one apparent failure of the Obama administration was allocating only 3 percent of the $787 billion economic recovery plan towards improving Americas aging roads and bridges. In this respect, Trump has the right idea, just the wrong application. Another questionable change introduced by Trump is expediting the permitting process by slashing environmental regulations. Its generally known that the permitting process on the federal and even state levels sufficiently impedes if not kills projects by driving up time and cost. Whether this degree of scrutiny is necessary is highly debatable. When future generations and our planet are at stake, we need bold leadership and a compelling vision at the national level not knee jerk reactions and false perceptions that benefit only a few. By Barry Stevens for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: According to a provision of the recent OPEC production deal, the Islamic Republic of Iran is mandated to keep production below a threshold of 3.797 million bpd. Yet this figure is below the regimes desired long-term goal of 4 million bpd, the level Iran once produced at before sanctions were imposed in 2012. That goal now looks within reach, as Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told the press after an Iranian cabinet meeting that crude production had reached 3.9 million bpd. The increase came as Iran restores links with energy markets in Asia and Europe, and is the culmination of a year-long effort to boost production since sanctions on the countrys energy industry ended last January. Does this mean Iran plans to break the rules of the OPEC cut and push to 4 million bpd all year long? Its possible that the countrys bullish oil administration, led by Zanganeh, sees the OPEC deal as a temporary measure, one which Iran can use to its advantage. It has already used the cuts from other countries to boost market share: early in January, it was reported that Iran had sold 13 million barrels held in tankers, part of its floating storage which now amounts to about 16 million barrels. News that Iran was close to 4 million bpd came along with reports that two crude carriers were en route to Rotterdam, carrying the first cargo of Iranian crude to that port in five years. The tankers are scheduled to arrive February 7 and 11. Deliveries from these two tankers will bring Iranian exports to Europe to over 600,000 bpd, an indication that Iran is regaining market share in the continent. Iran in 2011 exported nearly 1 million bpd to Europe, before sanctions imposed the following year cut Iran off completely from the European market. Related: Experts See Higher Oil Prices But Surging Shale Is A Concern There are signs that output will continue to rise in February, as Iran schedules its first shipment to Indonesia since sanctions were lifted. Given the current market climate, with the OPEC cuts being offset by resurgent American production and a rising rig count, its possible that Iran may face problems holding its current level, roughly equal to the countrys production threshold before sanctions went into effect in 2012. Despite rising production, total Iranian oil exports have been slipping since a high was reached in September 2016. Exports of crude excluding condensate hit a five-month low in December according to Reuters, falling to 1.88 million bpd from 2.04 million in November. Exports of crude plus condensate in January, according to Reuters, topped out at 2.16 million bpd, with February expected to average 2.2 million bpd. The good news for Iran is in shipments to Asia, by far Irans biggest customer, which are set to increase in February. Crude imports by Asian countries were way up in 2016, having fallen precipitously since 2012, and Irans deputy oil minister Abbas Kazemi expects them to go up even more. Theyre expected to reach a three-month high of 1.5 million bpd, crude and condensate, in February. Related: Good OPEC Compliance Pushes Oil Prices Higher There are signs that Iran is having trouble finding enough customers, as its export level hasnt quite reached the high of September 2016. Its also not entirely clear if the country intends to continue boosting production past the threshold agreed upon in November, where Iran won a considerable victory: while most OPEC members were forced to cut production, Iran was free to continue increasing production as a means of regaining market share lost in 2012. From the Iranian point of view, reaching 4 million bpd in February doesnt exactly break the OPEC deal. The Iranian year 1395 ends on 20 March, and the regimes goal is to reach 4 million bpd before that date, largely for political reasons. If the OPEC deal looks likely to hold this spring, its entirely possible that Iran will abide by the compact reached in November and bring its crude production down below 3.8 million bpd, in order to strike a year average at that level, in accordance with OPECs agreement. Then again, with the long-term viability of the OPEC deal uncertain, its also possible that Iran will start cheating, or may even discard the agreement entirely in a bid to keep clawing back market share lost in previous years. By Gregory Brew for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Ever since OPEC announced their production cuts the markets have hit irrational exuberance without examining the factors for why oil isnt rising anywhere near pre-crash levels. Moreover, there are eleven different causes for why oil is stuck in the 50-60 dollar range. Maybe it will rise into the high 60s and 70s, but for that to happen powerful market forces have to be overcome. Yes, OPEC compliance is still important along with currency movements, but U.S output, according to weekly surveys is nearing 9 million barrels per day. That figure hasnt been hit since March 2016. Here are the distressing factors holding oil prices in the 50s. In 2016, Chinas economy reported its lowest rate of growth in over a quarter of a century, because of restricting issues with looming debt and possible protectionist actions from the U.S. Though it seems Chinas economic fortunes have rebounded from 2016. Analysts at UBS point out: Chinas debt-to-GDP ratio had risen to 277% at the end of 2016 up from 254% the previous year. New credit is now being used to pay debt servicing cost ratios. What this means for economic growth, and demand for oil imports in China is tough to quantify, since debt continues spiraling upwards. Another mid-term threat comes from pipeline builders. Keystone XL pipeline builder TransCanada is primed to move forward and has already filed a new application. The Dakota Access pipeline will also be built as the political landscape changed for pipeline construction in the U.S. Keystone XL could transport as much as 830,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), and the Dakota Access pipeline will supply 500,000 bpd. More importantly, with the installation of the Trump administration, the business environment has changed for good, allowing for both abovementioned pipelines, and others to be build in the near future. Iranian sanctions being lifted have allowed the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to recover, and begin shipping crude to Europe. Whether or not they comply with OPEC production cuts will be difficult to quantify. What isnt complicated to understand is one of the worlds former oil and gas leaders has the ability to bring vast amounts of new fossil fuels to an already oversaturated market. A recent report also stated: Global ship insurers were about to resume near full coverage for Iranian oil exports from next month without involving US-domiciled reinsures. Related: OPEC Cuts Close To 1 Million Bpd This Month The Iranian resurgence is a big reason why oil will have a tough time rising significantly in the coming months. Baker Hughes has been chosen by Saudi Aramco to audit their oil reserves for their upcoming 2018 initial public offering. It is believed the Saudis hold roughly 15% of the worlds known oil reserves, which translates into 261-265 billion barrels of oil at this time. Gaffney, Cline & Associates, a unit of Baker Hughes, will carry out the review. A $2 trillion dollar valuation has so far been placed on Saudi Aramco, and an influx of funds from the IPO allows the Saudis to invest more in fossil fuel exploration. In a symbolic move to help pay for strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) infrastructure upgrades, the U.S. is selling $375 million worth of oil from the SPR. Selling off this oil could shake markets. U.S. shale continues to defy expectations by bringing new crude supplies online faster than OPEC or analysts predicted. On top of that, exploration on Federal lands, which are believed to hold up to 1/5 of the U.S. known oil and gas reserves could soon start. The Trump administrations native-American policies during the transition period and into his Presidency are led by Markwayne Mullin, a U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma and Cherokee tribe member who chairs President Trumps Native American Affairs Coalition. Recently Congressman Mullin said: As long as we can do it (drill for oil, gas and coal) without unintended consequences, I think we will have broad support around Indian country. Now with red tape for drilling looking to be cleared, and possible privatization of their lands, this opens the door for more oil and gas drilling. Related: Good OPEC Compliance Pushes Oil Prices Higher Libya and Nigeria two conflict plagued countries which are currently exempt from the OPEC deal are bringing new supplies back to the market. Ole Hansen, a commodities analyst with Danish investment banking firm, Saxo Bank, said: The speed at which the oil market rebalances depends on two volatile producers, Libya and Nigeria. Both are producing well below capacity, and as long as they see consistent improvement they will be able to increase production further. Each country will pose a major challenge for OPEC and oil gaining price momentum unless more cuts come from OPEC or non-OPEC countries, which at this point in time isnt likely to occur. By Todd Royal for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: So President Donald Trump is involved in another dust up regarding his insistence on building a wall on our southern border to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs AND his insistence that one way or another Mexico will pay for the wall. The President of Mexico, Enrique Pena-Nieto, has insisted that Mexico will not pay for the wall. The OMG crowd in the mainstream media went nuts when it was disclosed that an upcoming meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Pena-Nieto was cancelled due to the conflicting positions of the two national leaders. In the aftermath, Mr. Trump indicated that he wanted to go a different way and his Press Secretary Sean Spicer floated the idea of twenty percent tax on imports from Mexico as a way to pay for the wall. And that drove the OMG crowd even nuttier as they claimed that such a proposal would require Americans to pay for the wall through higher prices on Mexican goods. There are two profoundly dismaying things about the media responses. First, the acknowledgment by the mainstream media that increased taxes have an effect on prices. What makes that stunning is that the overwhelming majority of the mainstream press has never once noted that increased taxes on businesses are actually paid by consumers through high prices. In fact, quite the opposite. Tax increases after tax increases are proposed year after year by Democrats and the mainstream media parrots their liberal partners by regurgitating the same old saw that businesses dont pay their fair share. But that is the mainstream media they begin with a preconceived narrative (open borders) and then seize upon incomplete or isolated factoids to embellish that narrative. Second, how much do you know about the economic relationship between the United State and Mexico? No matter how little you know it is substantially more than the vast majority of the mainstream media reporting on it. Lets remember that those low information members of the media are neither very bright nor very well educated. (A review of a variety of studies relating to intelligence (as measured by IQ and Graduate Record Examination) reflects journalisms relatively low standing. A report authored by Rita Neumann in September of 2016 for Magoosh GRE Blog placed Journalism in the lowest category with a score of 150 in Verbal Reasoning, 149 in Quantative Reasoning and 3.7 in Analytical Writing.) It is that lack of understanding that causes the mainstream media to deal with proposals such as the tax on Mexican imports in such a mono-dimensional way. (Yes, all things being equal, higher tariffs will result in higher prices which will be paid by American citizens.) But all things are not equal. There are a significant number of factors none of which are discussed by the mainstream media that will effect this and all of which effect the variety of options available to Mr. Trump in wresting payment for the wall from Mexico.) Following are just a few: Economic Size. The United States has the largest economy in the world as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at $18.6 Trillion compared to Mexico at$1.06 Trillion. Exports from the United States to Mexico are measured at $239 Billion while imports from Mexico are measured at $295 Billion resulting in a trade deficit of $56 Billion. (Imports from Mexico to the United States constitute almost three-quarters of Mexicos exports to all countries.) In relative size to GDP imports from Mexico represent 1.6% while imports from the United States represent over 22%. Were a trade war to develop between the United States and Mexico, Mexico would lose it overnight. Impact of a twenty percent tariff on goods from Mexico. Applying simple mathematics to the current import levels would produce $60 Billion that is four times the amount estimated to build the wall. However, only a simpleton will assume that simple math would provide a reasonable answer. But that is precisely how the simple minded in the mainstream media and the Congress evaluate such actions. The effect of any price increase on the sale of goods needs to be measured by regression analysis. A regression analysis includes elasticity of demand basically will a price change effect the demand for the product. It includes other variables such alternative sources, substitute or alternative products, etc. Most Mexican goods imported are fully elastic there would be a significant reduction in demand to any given price increase because most of the goods imported from Mexico are readily available from other nations, a twenty percent tariff on Mexican goods would result in a transfer to other source nations and virtually no impact on the price that United States consumers would pay for substitutes. In other words, United States consumers would simply find another source and demand for Mexican products would virtually dry up. Since a tariff in this instance is designed to extract action on the part of Mexico, you would want the tariff to be high enough that it had an immediate and dramatic effect on the Mexican economy with as little impact on the American economy and consumers as possible. Twenty percent sounds like a good number that should extract concession before too much damage is done to the Mexican economy. Alternatives. There are alternatives available to Mr. Trump. The United States provides hundreds of millions in foreign aid, grants, programs and other payments to Mexico. Mexico provides none to America. All or portions of those payments could be redirected to pay for the wall. There are approximately one million legal border crossings each day between the United States and Mexico about an even number going each way. A head tax for each crossing in the amount of $2.00 would produce $2 Million per day or $730 Million annually and would provide a fair portion of the cost of building the wall. Add to that a $10 fee for vehicle crossing at 400,000 per day and the figure would rise by $1.46 Billion per year to $2.19 Billion per year. Oil production is a significant part of the Mexican economy and it is controlled by the government through Petroleos Mexicanos. The annual amount of oil imports to the United States exceeds 760,000 barrels per day or 277,400,000 per year. A $1.00 per barrel reduction would produce over $275 Million per year. There are any number of means for extracting payment for the wall based on the disparity of economic effect between the United States and Mexico. The spread of cost recovery over a five year period would suggest that Mexico should a method that preserves its politicians egos but remedies a problem for which they are primarily responsible. However, negotiating is not for the faint of heart, the cloying politicians nor the low information media. Negotiating is for the experienced and the knowledgeable. My money is on Mr. Trump. Decision to put Hafiz Saeed under house arrest is a policy decision: ISPR Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Tuesday stated that the decision to put Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed under house arrest "is a policy decision". When questioned about the move during a media briefing, the DG ISPR said, "This is a policy decision that the state took in [the] national interest. Lots of institutions will have to do their jobs." Ghafoor denied that any foreign pressure was behind the arrest of the JuD chief. Answering another question about the possibility of the military's involvement in recent disappearances of five social media activists, the DG ISPR denied the idea that the army had a hand in the abductions. Speaking about the ongoing situation with India, Ghafoor said, "We don't want war with anyone. War is not a solution to anything." "We want the Kashmir issue to be resolve via United Nations resolutions and dialogue, but this desire for peace should not be misconstrued as a weakness." "There have been 945 ceasefire violations across the Line of Control and the Working Boundary over the past three years," he said. "In the last four months alone, there have been 314 violations, due to which 46 Pakistan citizens and 40 Indian soldiers have been killed," Ghafoor said. When asked how the army was aware of Indian casualties, he said that although India doesn't often reveal their army's casualties, "the communication intercepts we receive tell us how many casualties took place on their side." "Normalcy at the border has only come through providing a befitting response [to ceasefire violations]," he stated. He claimed that India is "doing all this according to a preempted plan. It is trying to divert the world's attention away from atrocities in India-held Kashmir." "India's 'surgical strike' was one episode of this drama," he added. "The Indian army chief recently also made a statement about the cold-start doctrine... Pakistan had apprehensions it is working on developing these capabilities. The Indian army chief has acknowledged this capability and has made their intent to intensify their actions clear." "We want peaceful resolution of issues, but will not compromise on our dignity and respect," he said. "Pakistan will take steps to strengthen its defence." The DG ISPR said Pakistan has come a long way since 2008-09. "Peace doesn't come overnight," he noted. "We have sacrificed the blood of 70,000 in this war [against terrorism]." The DG ISPR clarified that 21,839 of the 70,920 people who made sacrifices in the war had been killed. "Wherever there is a need for an operation, the armed forces with respect to security advise the state and then the state will decide where they will be carried out," he said. "Where necessary, the armed forces and intelligence agencies have conducted Intelligence Based Operations and combing operations even in Punjab." "All terrorist hideouts in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas have been eliminated. [Terrorists] were either killed, or they fled towards the Afghan border, where the absence of the military allowed them to hideout," Ghafoor said. "When Zarb-i-Azb began, our tribal brothers left their homes. 84 per cent have returned, and the rest will be repatriated soon." There have been a total of 26,000 IBOs [intelligence-based operations] and combing operations in Pakistan, he said. Of these, 3,000 took place in Balochistan in 2016, and 9,000 took place in Karachi. Terrorism, extortion and target killing dropped 90pc in Karachi over the last two years due to the Rangers operation, he said. The army will help the civil establishment conduct the census starting March 15. "The army chief has granted permission for the support plan. 200,000 soldiers will take part in the census. We will continue our regular operational responsibilities alongside the census," he said. Discussion about wargaming and military history, primarily WWII in North Africa. Also discussion about AFV's and artillery. From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As... The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher, Six kindergarten pupils died on Tuesday after a classroom block at the Breman Gyambra Methodist School in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District of the Central Region collapsed on them. Graphic Onlines Central Regional reporter, Shirley Asiedu Addo reported that a seventh child who was also seriously injured is said to be battling for his life while others who sustained injuries are also receiving treatment at the Our Lady of Grace Hospital at Breman-Asikuma. The pupils, said to be between the ages of four and six were playing behind the classroom block at the time of the incident. The District Director of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Samuel Donkor, who witnessed the incident, told Accra based radio, Citi FM that the classroom block had developed some cracks. According to him, the headmaster of the school had proposed to levy the pupils at the last Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) meeting to renovate the block. Shirley Addo reported that the incident has since thrown the community into a state of sadness and that members of the community have expressed their anger and blamed the school authorities for failing to identify the risk the structure posed to the lives of the pupils. The Central Regional Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Sandy Amartey on his part told Graphic Online that information gathered indicated that the structure which housed the pupils was an old dilapidated abandoned Junior High School block. "The building had serious visible cracks and it was not safe to be used as a classroom," he stated. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Central Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Allotey Jacobs has asked Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia to stop making excuses and rather concentrate on helping President Nana Akufo-Addo reshape the economy. Lamenting on the previous administration's blatant abuse of the Public Procurement Act and proclivity for sole-sourcing of projects, Vice President Dr. Bawumia disclosed that a whopping $13.9 million is to be used to construct a new mansion to house Ghana's Vice President. Delivering a speech at the Launch of the "Good Corporate Governance Initiative" at Kempinski Hotel in Accra on Tuesday, Dr. Bawumia stressed that he believes the bidding process for the establishment of the house did not "go through competitive tender". The Vice President wondered what manner of house that was going to be constructed at a cost of 13.9 million dollars. There was this whole brouhaha about this Vice Presidents residence, I am sure you heard about it, so in the context of discussing this issue, there is supposed be a vice presidents residence under construction . . . so I asked the question why this project has not been finished, why has it delayed and they said well the contractor is owed a lot of money and I said how much is this money and am told well it is a lot of money. So [I asked] how much is this house actually costing and I was shocked when I was told, can you believe in Ghana we are building a house to house our Vice President and this house is supposed to cost 13.9 million dollars. I mean what sort of house is it supposed to be, is the gate made of gold, pavement made of gold, blocks of gold, a house in Ghana for 13.9 million dollars . . . I couldnt believe it . . . and I am hundred percent sure it didnt go through competitive tender . . . and there it stands uncompleted, Dr. Bawumia said. But Allotey Jacobs believes Dr. Bawumia is dabbling in propaganda. According to him, Dr. Bawumia thinks he's still on the campaign trail and claimed that the information he disclosed is misleading. Having been bruised for so many years which today, weve character-assassinated till hes become President, there should be something new. I believe sincerely....What the Vice President said, it should have been said by the Minister For Works and Housing, and not the Vice President . . . He, as a Vice President, needs to help Nana Akufo-Addo to come out with a different style of administration entirely," he stated on PeaceFM. Allotey Jacobs hoped President Nana Akufo-Addo's government does not succeed to pave way for the opposition NDC. As a politician belonging to the NDC, I will wish and pray that they are not able to do all that they promised," he asserted on Peace FMs 'Kokrokoo'. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. 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Colombia Hoy Para nunca olvidar 'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England Sin palabras La UE le apunta a la paz Cada vez mas solo LULA y su Pueblo Bye Bye Homenaje al genial Quino Fueron ellos Una imagen que resume Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero? Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante) Ladrones al poder Asi mira el perrito a su amo Crazy Clamor popular La nueva inquisicion Bolivia Chile Hoy Eso es todo amigos! Piensalo! Pinerachet No More Trump Adios Macri, hasta nunca La Marioneta se desinfla Asi o mas cinico Almugre Mexico en 1794 Mas arrastrado imposible Hasta cuando! La pura verdad Solidaridad con Palestina Serie Capitalismo Espejismos de la clase trabajadora Asi es! Comerciantes o delincuentes No pasaran! Asi es la vida USA HOY 01/01/1959 La avaricia no tiene limites AYUDA HUMANITARIA? Chile Hoy Asi son las cosas Mapa Electoral de Venezuela Patagonia argentina? Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad Retrato del franquismo en Espana Visca Catalunya! El Chulo de Madrid Cuando la policia se roba la democracia Una imagen dice mas que mil palabras La purita verdad Asi gobierna la maldita burguesia Mi pobre clase media Como Chavez nadie Comparte La Colmena via twitter Twittear Programa de la MUD Asi o mas clarito Por que Trump no ataco Corea del Norte? Hace 15 anos Por que la OEA no se pronuncio? Una verguenza nacional La luz que nos guia La Union Europea Premio Nobel de la Paz? Feudalismo ayer y hoy Obama, el mentiroso Curiosa coincidencia Un mundo de cerdos No es extrano? La Marioneta Los ricos protestan, los pobres celebran MARICORI Y OBAMA Cuantas muertes este ano? 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Por culpa de Chavez Cerveza Polar Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar Translate LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares? Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano... Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos: Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias. Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera. No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje. En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio. Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida. Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella. Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal. Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista. Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen. Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che? Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio. Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora. Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo. Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo. Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania. No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar. Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga. Alguna duda? Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia. OZ1 OZ2 OZ3 OZ4 Homenaje a Jason Galarraga La Victoria de Samotracia Odalisca Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008 La Sierra Nevada de Merida Nuestro precioso Churum Meru Homenaje a Picasso Autoretrato Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola? La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar. Mi profesion? Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos. Sal en la Coca Cola? A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar. De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla: Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido) azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa) Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas Mucha Cafeina Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja. Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos. Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja. En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero). Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma. La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate. Bebidas Light? Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal. Publicado por loretahur En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina: 1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias. 2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina. 3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard. 4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos. 5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla. 6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos. Ahora... sobre la margarina: 1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) . 2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias. 3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno). 4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer. 5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna. 6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo. 7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina. Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas: * No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo). * No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!! No a la guerra, Si a la Paz Misterios de la ciencia... Los costos de la guerra medicos y capitalismo... Capitalismo... medicos (2) Quien educa a nuestros hijos? Los Medios... Sin Palabras... Chistes feministas - Cual es el problema, Eva? - Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas. - Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas... - Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti. - Que es un hombre? - Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente. - Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente. - Cual es el truco?. - Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion. - Cual? - Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer. Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Ellas... Ellas (2)... Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1 Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije: -Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro. Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria. Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre? -Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa! VENGANZA NUMERO 2 Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris. A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita: - Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!! Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta. La mujer paso quince dias en Francia. El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla. Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es: - Y amor me trajiste mi francesita?? - Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina. VENGANZA NUMERO 3 El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion. - No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo. - Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz. Te quiero confesar algo. - Esta bien, esta bien. Habla! - He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga. - Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!! machismo y cibernetica Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston. -Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide. -Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!. .Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos. Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco. Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas Gol !!!! Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso! Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy! Jan-Henrik Forster of Bloomberg reports the clock is ticking for private equity to spend through tough times: Time is ticking away for private equity firms to get ready for their next wave of deals. Rising interest rates, inflation and recession risks have eroded consumer confidence and left buyout firms facing a new reality of higher financing costs and potentially lower returns. None of which changes the fact theres more than $1 trillion sitting in their funds that needs to be spent. People say theres no financing available but then our clients are telling us we have a big fund that we have to deploy, said Umberto Giacometti, co-head of financial sponsors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Nomura Holdings Inc. If you need to deploy, say, $10 billion in four years, and dont do anything for sixth months, you are under pressure. The shift is profound for an asset class that for more than a decade was flooded with cash from investors hunting yield in a low-i RUTLAND, Vt. After two long days of travel and little sleep, two Syrian families landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City at the eleventh hour for immigrants hoping to find a new life in the United States. Vermont-bound, the first family arrived two days before President Donald Trumps inauguration; the second, less than 24 hours before he took office. The remaining 25 to 30 families supposed to arrive in Rutland this year may never get there. Their plans stalled when the president penned an executive order on Friday that banned Syrian refugees from resettling in the U.S. They were the last out, said Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras about the two families who resettled in his city of just under 16,000 less than two weeks ago. I feel desperate disappointment and sadness, and while I feel sadness for our community, the disappointment pales in comparison to the scale of the tragedy, Louras said Tuesday in an interview at Rutland City Hall. Unless there are substantive changes to the presidents order, they were the last to come to us. This is a national tragedy and people will die. Trumps Jan. 27 order bans all refugees for 120 days; suspends the Syrian refugee plan indefinitely; and bans entry to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. We are still understanding the executive order ... we are hopeful that when time has passed there will be a greater understanding of refugees, said Stacie Blake, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Washington. Blakes organization helped bring the Syrians to Rutland. The need for peace and safety for Syrian refugees is no different this week than it was last week, and we hope the administration will see its way to offering Syrian refugees safety, she said. Trumps ban has led to chaos and legal challenges at U.S. airports and has spurred growing protests at airports and American embassies around the world. A Post-Star interview was paused momentarily on Tuesday so Louras could take a 10-minute call from a Canadian news outlet in Ottawa. Thousands have been protesting the presidents refugee ban outside our embassy there, he said, adding that his recent media calls have come from CNN and media outlets in Sweden and Denmark. There has been international attention to this. I think the reason is, Rutland is a microcosm of the national dialogue. In the summer of 2016 we were dealing with the same issues as around the country. On Saturday, more than 400 protesters joined the mayor on Rutlands Main Street to express their disappointment with and opposition to Trumps executive order. It was heartbreaking to think 91 people are not going to come here, said Hunter Berryhill, a spokesman for the Rutland Welcomes group, formed in support of refugees. Louras said little fanfare accompanied the two families arrival in Rutland. Community leaders wanted to keep it simple. What stands out for me the father in the first family to arrive was trying to communicate in English and refused to use the interpreter, Louras said. He kept saying, Exhausted, two days no sleep. Trumps ban will not affect the two Syrian families who got into the country just before the ban, Louras said. They are here legally and they have formal refugee status. There is no indication their lives will be disrupted, he said. When things settle down, I would like to ask them if they realize how close they came to not being here. Berryhill said the two families moved into their own apartments this week. Rutland was approved as a resettlement city by the Department of State in September 2016. But a community rift over Louras decision to apply for resettlement status preceded the governments decision to send refugees to Rutland. Louras announced his application to bring Syrian and Iraqi refugees to Rutland in April 2016. In the months afterward, residents packed public meetings, organizers from the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants received threats and a vocal divide opened on the citys Board of Aldermen. Rutland went through a lot of soul-searching we were one vote shy of making refugee resettlement a question on the ballot, said Board of Aldermen President William Notte on Tuesday in an interview at Phoenix Books in downtown Rutland. We should not have to vote on who gets to live here. Those opposed to resettlement said the city, beleaguered by a dwindling population, a crippling heroin epidemic and a struggling economy, could not support new residents. White nationalist leaders came to Rutland last spring and early summer to highlight what they believed were the perils of having refugees move in. At the time, Trumps adviser and recently appointed National Security Council member, Steve Bannon, was editor of Breitbart News, which regularly fanned Rutlands fears by publishing stories about the evils of the mayor and his secret refugee plan. Louras said other resettlement cities, like Buffalo and Burlington, Vermont, had experienced success with the program. He believed it would add diversity to the nearly all white community and help the economy improve. In time, the community rallied for the refugees. Once the Department of State approved Rutland, the level of discourse all but evaporated and they recognized it was going to happen, Louras said. Supporters and skeptics understood it was for the good of the refugees and the good of the community for the refugees to succeed. According to Berryhill of Rutland Welcomes, the community filled storage sheds with essentials for the 100 refugees who were expected. Talk is cheap and it is easy to get on a soapbox, but when it came time, Rutland people showed up and donated goods like furniture, clothing, kitchen supplies, food and thousands of dollars, he said. A community is judged by what it does. Berryhill said they will wait to see what happens next. If the remaining refugees do not come to Rutland as planned, they will make sure the donations given in the spirit of helping people in desperate situations will go to people who need them. Notte, like Louras, was disappointed by the turn of events. All the hard work and planning that the community put into this, it is unbelievable that one signature could stop what was incredibly positive for this community, Notte said. Rutland, like many cities of our size, is in the process of reinventing itself and I thought that resettlement would really evolve this community into the next stage. The technology company that built two alternative energy projects for Warren County owes the county money, according to the new chairman of the countys Board of Supervisors, and he would like to settle this year whether the county will collect on that debt. Speaking to The Post-Star editorial board, Bolton Supervisor Ronald Conover said the countys ongoing dispute with Siemens Building Technologies has become a distraction for supervisors and county employees that he would like to see settled this year. The county and its counsel have been negotiating a possible settlement with Siemens for more than two years as the county weighs litigation. While he said he believes Siemens owes the county money for the sub-par performance of the natural gas cogeneration and geothermal energy projects it brought to the county, it is unclear what options the county has at this point. What recourse we have, were trying to figure out now, he said. The contracts to which the county agreed may limit the countys options. People in Siemens are pointing out the flaws in our arrangements, Conover said. Im hopeful were going to get some resolution on this this year, Conover said. If were going to get anywhere with Siemens, we need to know, we need to know soon. The contracts pre-date the tenure of nearly all of the supervisors who sit on the board now. Conover said he believes the supervisors who agreed to the contracts acted with good intentions to try to save money. Siemens has maintained its projects have worked as designed and its staff did nothing wrong despite criminal investigations that have questioned the veracity of energy savings reports. No charges have been filed. Conover also told the editorial board that the countys fund balance could swell to $26 million this year, more than tripling the total the county had on hand during the financial crisis seven or so years ago. He also said he believes the airport runway extension will continue moving forward despite the opposition of some on the county board. There continues to be consensus on the board to move forward, he said. He supports the countys effort to fight a lawsuit brought by a group that contends the Board of Supervisors system of government is unconstitutionally apportioned, Conover said. This boards position is the board of supervisors is the appropriate form of government for this county, and I agree with that, he said. Conover, a Republican, was chosen Jan. 5 by fellow supervisors to replace Warrensburg Supervisor Kevin Geraghty as board chairman. Geraghty served four years and chose not to seek another year as chairman. CORINTH Corinth Free Library will host a "Take Your Child to the Library Day" from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the library at 89 Main St. There will be crafting, make your own bookmark, fun with games and puzzles, and prizes and giveaways throughout the day. "Take Your Child to the Library Day" is a free, fun, family-friendly event endorsed by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, Reach Out and Read and Read to Grow. For more information, visit www.takeyourchildtothelibrary.org. Monique Reyes feared something bad had happened as soon as she heard her fathers employer on the other end of the phone. He hadnt gone to work on July 6, and hadnt answered her calls or text messages that day. A no-call, no-show to work, I knew something drastic had to be wrong, Reyes said. She loaded her twin 4-year-olds into her minivan and headed to her fathers Glens Falls home. Seconds after she walked in, she could see her father, Kevin Jenks, lying lifelessly on a bed in his Dix Avenue duplex. Before it became clear he was dead, she hoped her father was joking. I was like, Come on Daddy, this isnt funny, Reyes recalled. Within seconds, she realized it was no joke. Her father was dead, and Reyes noticed things were amiss at his home in the seconds before police arrived. His prized 2006 Cadillac sedan was gone, and an interior door was off the hinges. Reyes, Jenks lone surviving child, was the first witness called to testify Wednesday in the trial of Ilion resident Robert M. Divine Henry, one of the two men who police said killed Jenks last July 5-6. She tearfully recalled how she discovered her fathers body, but also explained to the jury who he was. Jenks worked 60 to 80 hours a week in the complaints department at C.R. Bard Co.s medical device plant in Queensbury, so it was very unlike him to fail to notify his employer when he wasnt going to be there, Reyes testified. The 58-year-old was a hard worker who had also run a bar in Glens Falls known as Club 22, a South Street establishment that catered to homosexuals. Reyes said she had learned years earlier that her father was gay. Jenks had embraced a gay lifestyle and had lost six friends in the shooting at the Pulse nightclub last year in Orlando, Florida. He had just returned from Florida days before his death, having attended two funerals for victims, his daughter testified. It really scared him. I hadnt seen him that upset since my brother died, Reyes said. Jenks only other child, a son named Derrick, died at the age of 18 in 2003. Jenks was a collector of Tiffany lamps and wine who was meticulously organized and was known for wearing colorful Hawaiian shirts, his daughter testified. He was famous for his Hawaiian shirts, she said. Reyes said she knew her father met people online, but didnt realize he was having sexual relationships with some of them. Warren County Assistant District Attorney Matt Burin said Tuesday that Henry responded to an online classified posting for a sexual encounter that Jenks put on Craigslist in the hours before he died. But Henry set up a plan to rob Jenks, Burin said. Henry, who used to live in the Glens Falls area and knew Jenks, is accused with his co-defendant, Kevin S. Chapman, of choking Jenks to death as they stole his Cadillac and thousands of dollars worth of electronics and valuables from his home, then went on a spending spree with his debit and credit cards. Chapman, 45, of Herkimer, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is scheduled to testify against Henry either later this week or next week. He told police Henry killed Jenks, although Henry has blamed Chapman. Henry is not charged with intentionally killing Jenks, but is charged with causing his death while committing a felony. On cross-examination of Reyes on Wednesday, defense lawyer Tucker Stanclift focused on Jenks lifestyle and pointed out that he had previously allowed a local parolee to stay in his home. That line of questioning came as he sought to show that Henry was welcomed into Jenks home and was not an intruder. Stanclift told the jury Tuesday that Chapman killed Jenks, and Henry did not know Chapman planned to hurt or kill him. Henry, 49, faces nine charges, including second-degree murder and lesser counts of robbery, burglary, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Testimony is to resume at 9:30 a.m. Thursday before Warren County Judge John Hall. Henry faces up to 25 years to life if convicted of murder. TICONDEROGA The First United Methodist Church in Ticonderoga will hold a free community fellowship dinner from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the church at 1045 Wicker St. Everyone is welcome. Reservations are not necessary, but a freewill donation is appreciated, church officials said in a news release. High chairs, booster seats, takeouts and a child-friendly menu are also available. The menu will be vegetarian and meat chili, corn bread and salad. An array of desserts and beverages will be available. The free monthly dinner program is an outreach project of the church and is self-supporting. Everyone is welcome to attend the worship services that are held at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. The Rev. Scott Tyler, the pastor, leads the worship services and celebrates communion each week at the 8:30 service and the first Sunday of each month at the 10:30 service. Sunday School for children is held during the 10:30 service. For more information about the free dinners or the church, contact the church office at 585-7995 or visit the church website: www.tifumc.com. In light of the chaos created by President Trumps order restricting immigration and banning refugees, Congresswoman Elise Stefaniks mild criticism of the order could be seen as morally insufficient. But in the context of the silence from many of her fellow Republicans in Congress, and defense of the order from people like Paul Ryan, Stefaniks statement is a gleam of conscience in a panorama of cruelty. On Sunday, in a statement on Facebook, Stefanik called the order rushed and overly broad. Trumps order has several aspects, all of them misguided. It suspends entry of all refugees to the U.S. for 120 days. But refugees already undergo an extensive vetting process that includes FBI review and in-person interviews with the Department of Homeland Security. Refugees havent killed anyone in terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 1980. Before 1980, three people were killed by Cuban refugees. Last year, a Somalian refugee injured 13 people in an attack at Ohio State University. The order bars Syrian refugees indefinitely. Again, refugees are already extensively vetted. Most terrorist attacks in the U.S. have been carried out by people who have lived here for many years and are permanent legal residents or citizens. Those who were foreign nationals, like the Sept. 11 hijackers, came from countries primarily Saudi Arabia on which Trump has not placed restrictions. The Sept. 11 hijackers were not refugees. The order bars entry into the U.S. for 90 days for citizens of seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also cuts the maximum number of refugees the U.S. will allow to enter this year from 110,000 to 50,000. Last year, the U.S. took in 85,000 refugees. The refugees, who already (to say it a third time) undergo a years-long vetting process, are fleeing great hardship war, famine and persecution. If we restrict their number by tens of thousands, that is tens of thousands of people, many of them children, we are leaving to suffer. Trumps order has been tearing families apart. Take Abubaker Hassan and Sara Amad, both citizens of Sudan in the U.S. on visas. Hassan, a doctor who works in an inner-city hospital in Detroit, has a work and study visa, while his wife Sara has a visa as his dependent. Their baby Alma is 4 months old, was born in the U.S. and is a U.S. citizen. Three months ago, Sara and the baby flew to Qatar to visit relatives, since its traditional in Sudanese culture for a new mother to spend time with her own mother and family. Hassan stayed in Detroit to work. Sara tried to return on Sunday, but was stopped in Qatar because Sudan is on Trumps list. She has a valid visa and her baby is a U.S. citizen, but she is not allowed back. This order has led to real suffering for hundreds of people, while experts in the field of international security say it does not make the country safer. By alienating Muslims and angering allies who are crucial in our fight against ISIS, such as Iraq, Trumps order makes us less safe. A blistering dissent cable, objecting to the order, has been circulating through the worldwide offices of the U.S. State Department and has been signed by more than 1,000 U.S. Foreign Service officers. Dissent cables are part of the culture of the State Department, but no dissent cable in recent memory has attracted anywhere near the support of this one. This ban will have little practical effect in improving public safety, the cable reads. But the ban will have other consequences, according to the cable: It will immediately sour relations with these six countries, as well as much of the Muslim world; It will increase anti-American sentiment; It will have an immediate and clear humanitarian impact (the cable cites the cases of children brought to the U.S. for lifesaving medical treatment, among other examples); It will have a negative impact on the U.S. economy. (Foreign travelers injected $250 billion into the U.S. economy in 2015, with foreign students contributing $30 billion.) The president of Clarkson University in Potsdam, in Stefaniks congressional district, has spoken out about the disruption to the lives of some of the universitys international students and to university programs. Students from Iran are in limbo, not knowing when, if ever, they will be able to return home for visits while retaining the ability to come back and finish their studies. Stefaniks statement was slipped onto her Facebook page on Sunday. She then refused to comment further. Were glad, as a Republican, she said something. But this order is more than rushed and overly broad. Its cruel. Its ineffective. It violates the spirit of fairness and generosity the U.S. has been known for. It deserves criticism that is far more outspoken. VIDEO REPORTS What would the West get from a grand bargain with Russia? Fire spread quickly through a shopping center in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, destroying some businesses. At least seven people have been killed as heavy snowfall triggered a series of avalanches in Tajikistan. Most respondents to an informal street poll in Moscow said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be prevented from ruling forever by law, and because no ones immortal, and because power should change hands, but one person said effectiveness is all that matters, and another said she would love for him to remain in power, and would support tweaking the constitution to allow it. (Russian Service) OTHER NEWS New York and British authorities announced on January 30 that they have fined banking giant Deutsche Bank $625 million over an alleged money- laundering scheme in Russia. Russian bailiffs are seeking to enforce an order requiring Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny to attend a hearing in his trial in the provincial city of Kirov. The International Paralympic Committee has moved to bar Russian athletes from participating in qualifiers for the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Eight European Union member states are calling for more cooperation between the United States and the EU in pushing for reforms in Ukraine. The way Ukrainian commander Vyacheslav "Eagle-Owl" Vlasenko described it, his troops snuck into this rustic town of 4,000 people in broad daylight and took it -- and a pig farm -- without firing a shot. Tensions are high in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatists has flared over the past three days. Russias Federal Security Service has filed extremism charges against the deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatar mejlis, the indigenous minority communitys top executive body. Members of Ukrainian nationalist groups National Corps and Azov gathered near a branch of Russian Sberbank in Kyiv holding balalaikas, bath lotion, and signs reading welcome to Russia, while spilling red paint on the ground and calling on passers-by to withdraw their deposits. (in Russian, Current Time TV) Ukrainian lawmaker Nikolay Knyazhitsky said a new law banning books from Russia is limited to propaganda, applying to authors who promote the killing and humiliation of Ukrainians. Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbalyuk added that Russia uses the language to justify its aggression. (Russian Service) A Sarajevo court has indicted Visnja Acimovic, a Bosnian-Serb woman, on charges of participating in the killings of 37 Bosniak prisoners of war in 1992. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has issued a "special statement" outlining his strategic plan for the Central Asian nation's economic development. In advance of the 2017 Asia Games planned for September in Turkmenistan, Human Rights Watch has called on the presidents of the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia, and the Association of National Olympic Committees to address the countrys human rights situation. (in Russian, Turkmen Service) Freedom Houses 2017 Freedom in the World report finds that civil liberties came increasingly under threat in 2016 as authoritarian powers gained strength in many parts of the world and "populist and nationalist forces" rose in democratic states. In two months, Armenians will vote in parliamentary elections which, despite a deteriorating economy and lingering doubts over its 2012 victory, the Republican Party of Armenia is likely to win. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East The SpaceX and Tesla CEO was selected to join President Donald Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative, CNBC reported Friday. This is the second committee Musk has joined under Trump he is also part of the president's economic advisory board. On Monday, Musk attended a meeting in the White House about Trump's manufacturing agenda along with executives like Ford CEO Mark Fields. Trump said at that meeting that he would cut taxes and cut regulations by 75% to encourage businesses to manufacture their products in the US. He also reiterated a threat to impose a significant border tax for companies that build manufacturing facilities outside the country. Musk is relatively aligned with Trump when it comes to manufacturing. Musk is building a massive battery plant, the Gigafactory, in Sparks, Nevada, that is expected to employ 6,500 people when it is completed in 2020. He's also interested in building a second Gigafactory in Europe, the location of which has not yet been determined. Still, it's becoming clear that Musk is edging closer to Trump. Earlier this week, Musk surprisingly endorsed Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil, for secretary of state. "It was not only cruel and unnecessary," Meyers said of the ban, "it was very poorly thought out." The executive order - which is being challenged as unconstitutional and called racist and a "Muslim ban" by critics - temporarily blocks travelers from entering the US from seven predominately Muslim countries and bans all refugees from entering for the next 120 days. While Meyers doesn't approve of the extreme travel measure, he does appreciate the resulting organized protests. Tens of thousands of protesters over the weekend spoke out about Trump's immigration ban at airports and major US landmarks all over the country. "People are willing to go to s--- places to protest," the host said. "Last week, it was parks. This week, it was airports. Next week, people are going to march for gay rights at the DMV. "The tone of the protests made clear that these are not fleeting, spontaneous gatherings but organized resistance that won't go away any time soon." Of course, a main driver of the protests is the belief that the ban is a thinly veiled act of discrimination against Muslims. Meyers pointed out one protester's sign that read: "First they came for the Muslims and we said not today motherf---er!" "A sign I should note was clearly purchased at Samuel L. Jackson's Sign Emporium," Meyers joked. The scenes at US airports got ugly as thousands of travelers were affected and hundreds were detained upon entering the country, a result of Trump's late Friday timing on the executive order and the lack of communication with the intelligence and travel agencies that would have to carry it out. One New York judge issued an injunction on the ban, stating, "The government hasnt had a full chance to think about this. "Trump is the first president that legally has to count to 100 before taking action," Meyers joked. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! In doing so, Cuban has taken a more active stance than any prominent business or tech leader against the president's executive order temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority nations and all refugees from entering the US. "I've been crushing POTUS," Cuban said on Twitter on Monday. "He has earned it. "Lots of bad decisions," the billionaire business mogul added. "BUT, it is still just 10 days in." Cuban, the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," was a prominent surrogate for Democrat Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign. He spent the weekend taking aim on Twitter at Trump's executive order, which Cuban felt was "rushed." The order was met with backlash by many business leaders and politicians, and it led to chaos at airports and protests nationwide. Cuban spoke with CNBC early Monday morning, reiterating some of his points from Twitter and expanding on others. While he had been a persistent adversary of Trump's during the general election campaign, Cuban largely refrained from criticizing Trump during the transitional period. "I hope he adapts, but whether he does or not there is no question that all of us, whether we agree with him or not, will be active & heard," Cuban posted on Monday evening. "This isn't about giving him chances. It's about speaking up and connecting peacefully, but forcefully with our representatives. "The one thing we all must convince our representatives of is that we will make our voting choices independent of what POTUS says or does," he continued. "We will vote in elections based on what our reps do. They want to be re-elected and we learned in Nov just how important every vote is." Cuban said he's "still optimistic" that Trump's "overwhelming drive to be liked will force him to change," but he said the president would need plenty of help to make what Cuban believes to be a necessary adjustment. "Sometimes it feels like if you spot our president A and B, he wouldn't be able to find C," Cuban tweeted. "The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out as we said we would and you are also going to see us act accordingly." According to Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iran's missile program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran's latest missile tests "definitely violates the spirit, if not the letter" of the UN resolution on Iran's nuclear program. The UN attempt to curb Iran's nuclear program forbids Iran from developing nuclear warheads and buying or transferring missile technology from foreign countries, but "the missile testing language has been watered down," and now Iran has a clear path towards developing nuclear-capable missiles, Taleblu said in an interview with Business Insider. Furthermore, no clear line exists between conventional missiles and nuclear missiles, something which Iran has used to its advantage. A conventional ballistic missile, like the kind the White House confirmed Iran tested on Sunday, could easily be repurposed to fit a nuclear warhead. Taleblu says that the lack of precision in language in the Iran deal owes to a failure of the Obama administration in negotiating. Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif neither confirmed or denied the launching of the missile, but swore that his country would never use ballistic missiles against another nation. But according to Taleblu, Iran doesn't need to use their ballistic missiles to achieve their intended military goal. "Lots of analysts tend to believe that Irans military strategy is deterrent in nature" said Taleblu, who pointed out that Iran's military is "conventionally weak and asymmetrically strong," meaning that while its formal forces are low in numbers and not advanced, Tehran's strength lies in backing regional non-state allies like Hezbollah and Hamas. Iran has the biggest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, and "parades them around, develops them, refines them, just so the whole world knows do not attack Iran," said Taleblu. "There's a clear strategic use for these missiles, maybe not to commence a war, but to threaten a war... Even if they dont plan on using them offensively, by reaping the deterrent dividend from these missiles, theyre already getting their moneys worth," said Taleblu. "I dont think anyone takes Zarifs statement seriously here." A US official said on Monday that Iran had test-launched on Sunday a medium-range ballistic missile that exploded after 630 miles. The UN Security Council recommended the matter be studied by a committee. In a letter addressed to GLICO LIFE, announcing the judges selection, Mr. Boakye was cited for his in-depth knowledge and strength in business analysis, proficiency in implementing new business models and his supervision of the financial growth and wealth of GLICO LIFE, which has earned the company a good reputation for claim payment. Instrumentally, Mr. Boakye joined GLICO LIFE from May 1995 to September 1998 as the Information Technology (IT) Manager where he managed the companys IT Systems and as well as in-house software development. In 1998, he left for the United Kingdom to pursue further qualifications in ACCA and a Masters in Business Administration. He returned to Ghana in 2003 to work with Deloitte as a Senior Auditor where he marshaled experience in statutory audits and IT audit for medium and large sized organizations. In 2005, Victor joined The Trust Bank as an Audit Officer and within the span of two years; he rose to become the Chief Auditor of the bank. In 2009, Victor re-joined GLICO LIFE as a General Manager in charge of Finance and Administration and was instrumental in the set up of the IT software for technical operations for GLICO LIFE. He is currently the Chief Finance Officer of GLICO LIFE. Congratulating Mr. Boakye on his highly regarded award, the Managing Director of GLICO LIFE, Mr. Forkuo Kyei had this to say. Mr. Boakye has been a valuable asset to the growth of GLICO LIFE. His prudent financial management and strategic investment decisions have boasted a strong financial pillar for GLICO LIFE. This award is indeed well-deserved and board members, management and staff of GLICO are all very proud of him. When she appeared before the Appointments Committee, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful explained that she worked for Zain Mobile Communications now Airtel until 2009 when her appointment was terminated. READ ALSO: Bawumia storms parliament after rainstorm She mentioned that it was terminated because my public appearance in the media was becoming an embarrassment to the company. She then dragged the company to the Human Rights Court for infringing on her rights of free expression and association. She was answering a question by the Member of Parliament of North Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. He asked whether she would not use her role, if approved as substantive minister, to hound Airtel Ghana for terminating her appointment when she was the staff of that company a few years ago. There have been moves to settle that matter for some few months now and I believe we are close to conclusion on that matter. Zain is no more working in Ghana, the company is now Airtel and they have nothing to fear from me, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful responded. READ ALSO: NPP government will work to reduce internet cost When she was asked by the Minority Leader in Parliament Haruna Iddrisu if she will withdraw the case from parliament because of her appointment, she said that the case is almost at the concluding stage. She said that the government will work tirelessly with internet service providers to ensure that the cost of data in the country is reduced to a minimum. It (the telecommunications sector) is a private sector-led industry and so for us to derive maximum benefits from it, we need to have a good working relationship with them. Thankfully, I have been in the industry before and so the operators know that I understand the dynamics of the industry and will work very hard to ensure that the citizens derive maximum benefits from them, government also gets its tax revenues as and when needed and they also have a conducive environment within which to work. The more they prosper, the more taxes they pay, and the better services they provide and everybody will be happy." READ ALSO: Registrar General to sanction businesses that failed to file annual returns I am not sure if the data is more expensive than it is in the sub region but we need to do whatever we can to reduce the cost assessing the service. And so we will work with the sector operators, the data broadband wireless operators, and mobile network operators themselves to see what we can do where we can derive the synergies which will help drive the cost down. According to him, an independent body [CHRAJ] should be employed to look into the bribery allegation. "This time around an independent body should investigate Parliament; we shouldnt leave this matter with the Speaker to settle. Once Parliament is investigating itself, we might not get the full brief; an independent body like CHRAJ must come in and do the investigations. Weve had enough allegations of bribery about Parliament, lets have another body go into the matter and bring finality to the issue," he said. Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga who first made the allegation claimed that then-Energy Minister-designate Boakye Agyarko had offered cash through Appointments Committee chairman Joe Osei-Owusu, to be shared among Minority MPs on the committee. According to Mr. Ayariga, GHC3000 was paid to each of the NDC MPs by Minority Chief Whip Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, an amount they thought was sitting allowance for MPs on the committee, but returned the monies when they heard a rumour that the amount had actually come from Mr. Agyarko to influence them to endorse his nomination as minister. The chairman of the committee, Mr Osei-Owusu and Mr Muntaka have both denied the allegation. The Speaker of Parliament Mike Ocquaye has constituted a five-member committee chaired by Joe Ghartey to look into the corruption allegation. Read more: Boakye Agyarko considers legal action against Mahama Ayariga Reacting to the alleged bribery case on Accra-based Kasapa FM, he said Parliament would not be able to adequately investigate the bribery scandal. READ ALSO: Dr Ben Asante is caretaker CEO of Ghana Gas He is expected to act as the CEO of Ghana Gas until a substantive one is approved. He is, however, not permitted to take decisions that have policy implications. READ ALSO: Top management staff of COCOBOD asked to proceed on leave His appointment follows the exit of the former CEO of the company, Dr. George Sipa-Adjah Yankey. But the youth have argued that Dr. Asante was part of what they described as some corrupt practices during the NDC era, when he served as a Deputy Director in charge of Technical services and also a consultant. We dont want him because for every mess that has been created in the company, he is also part of it. If Ghana gas didnt go well, he is part of the problem since he was part of the top hierarchy of the company and as a consultant, he gave all the consultancy advice, the spokesperson for the Ellembelle youth group, Felix Dickson, told Accra-based Starr FM. Dr Asante was the technical Director of Ghanas first Gas Infrastructure project and also developed the gas infrastructure master plan for Ghana in 2008. He has also served as a consultant to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and provided engineering services, project management and technical support for various projects across the world including UAE, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico, Russia, Thailand and USA. Dr Bawumia after touring the chamber said: we heard what happened last night and had to rush here this morning to actually see it. Thankfully, the damage has not been too much and some measures have been taken to try to contain the situation before permanent roofing is put in place. So, I am happy to see the consultant and the contractors are still around and they are going to repair the damage. The legislative body is key for this whole country and I think it is very important that the activities of parliament are not interrupted." He promised to brief President Nana Akufo-Addo when he returns from the AU summit and I am sure we will look at this issue of another chamber very seriously. It is very important that the work of parliament continues. The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, said all is be we are told that all relevant persons are in the process of restoring the damage and even applying some interim plastic sheets to make us work and you can see our members from both sides are ready to work. We need a new chamber and we trust that at the appropriate time, we shall have the ears of the executive. She made this revelation during her vetting by the Appointments Committee on Wednesday (February 1, 2017). READ ALSO: Registrar General to sanction businesses that failed to file annual returns She was questioned by the Member of Parliament for Hohoe Constituency Bernice Adiku Heloo, on the specific benefits women could derive from quality communication services. She then responded saying "that is a tough one and at the risk of being accused of bias, improved access to telecommunications makes everyones life easier, particularly for the woman and so things that would have put us at risk previously to can now sit in the comfort of your home and do it if you have better data. READ ALSO: NPP government will work to reduce internet cost She added that technology improves long distance relationships and was a vital factor in her marriage. "It helps improves relationships too, I keep using this example that i probably wont be married today if it hadn't been for Skype. Because my husband doesn't live here and I live here but thanks to the wonders of technology we were able to sustain a long distance relationship relatively painlessly," she added. He said the expenditure which runs through year 2014, 2015 and 2016 was detected as the new government was interrogating the data on public finances. Speaking at a forum in Accra, he said "Where have they been hiding all these years and how are you supposed to manage an economy with faulty data. Getting the data right is really very key because it throws the entire budget into disarray. "Because you are going into 2017 and suddenly you are told that by the way there is Ghc7billion that you have to pay next year that you didnt anticipate, this is the reality," he said. Appearing before the Appointments Committee of parliament on Tuesday, Baffour Awuah said some of the CEOs were asked to leave because they engaged in partisan politics during the John Mahama-led administration; a situation he believes will affect their work in the current administration. "If you would go all the way to support that particular party, then perhaps you would have missed the point. So much as we would advise the appointees to be apolitical as possible, then we would also have to advise whoever is appointed there not to meddle in partisan politics," Mr Awuah said. READ ALSO: Top management staff of COCOBOD asked to proceed on leave The Nana Addo-led government recently asked 11 top management staff of COCOBOD to proceed on leave with effect from Monday 30th January 2017. They included the Deputy Chief Executive Agronomy and Quality Control, Deputy Chief Executive Finance and Administration, Deputy Chief Executive -Operations, Director Human Resource, Director Civil Works, Deputy Director Civil Works, Procurement Manager, Director of Estates and the Deputy Director Finance. READ ALSO: Bawumia pays surprise visit to GPHA Some top staff members of Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC); a subsidiary of COCOBOD, were also asked to proceed on leave. They include CMCs Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director and Deputy Director Finance. President Nana Akufo-Addo dismissed the Chief Executive of Cocobod Dr Stephen Opuni barely 3 weeks ago. Some Ghanaians have since raised concerns with the manner in which the appointments of some public officials were terminated by the new government. The rains started on the evening of Tuesday, January 31, 2017, when most people had closed from work or other daily activities and were returning home. READ ALSO: Amewu apologises to Rawlings The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM said the house was about rising when the storm started we all rushed out when the storm began last night. The on the lawns, it's a terrible sight at the moment. If there's another storm, it will affect the furniture and gadgets in the House, he added. READ ALSO: Joe Ghartey chairs parliamentary committee to probe bribery allegations The house sat on Tuesday night to consider an amendment to the Local Government Bill brought before it under a certificate of urgency. Other parts of Accra were also affected. The lights went off in most areas in the national capital and billboards and trees were uprooted onto the streets making driving dangerous. READ ALSO: Otiko Djaba to sanitise media Meanwhile, the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has expressed shock at the intensity of rain on Tuesday (January 31, 2017). The lawyer expressed heartbreak at the accident and said nothing could replace the lives that had been lost but the government must do the honorable thing to ease the pain of the affected families. READ ALSO: Six pupils reported dead after classroom block collapses Six kindergarten pupils were reported dead after a classroom block of the Gyambra Methodist School in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District of the Central Region collapsed on them. The pupils were said to be playing behind the classroom block when the dilapidated building collapsed. Three pupils of the school who suffered severe injuries are in critical conditions and have been admitted at the Our Lady of Grace Hospital at Breman-Asikuma. Mr. Sosu, speaking to ClassFMs on Wednesday, 1 February, said: The school as a facility owes a duty to the children and clearly that duty was negligently breached not only by the school but the state as an entity to protect these children in that facility. The state has the ultimate duty to compensate for the loss of lives of these children, Mr. Sosu said, adding that it was the duty of the District Assembly to ensure the building was safe for use." A statement by COPECGH said "World market indexes have seen some drops by over $2 /barrel to currently trade at around $53/barrel from the previous levels of around $56/barrel." "The Cedi which has been the main challenge over the past three windows seem to have made some gains to stabilize over the past two weeks to currently close trading at an exchange of 4.2798 / $ 1". It added that, levels of taxes which have been one major concern for most Ghanaian petroleum users continue to remain at same levels though some aspects of the levies continue to rise anytime ex-refinery prices go up. "From the above, it is our expectation and that of Ghanaians that the coming window will see the various bulk distribution companies (BDCs) and Oil Marketing Companies ( OMCS) reduce fuel prices by between 1-4% to ease the current pressures on the pockets of Ghanaian petroleum consumers. "It is our expectation that fairness under price deregulation which dictates prices should reflect current trends and market dynamics will prevail same way it does at the periods when prices have had to go up, the statement added. It added "Most pumps as at this day and time are dispensing at between 4.080-4.160/litre for Pms and diesel or AGO is trading at between 4.060-4.120/litre from previous levels of 3.930-3.961 for PMS and 3.930-3.960/litre for diesel. There is a general consensus for us in the Minority not to support Otiko because of her posturing before the committee and her response to some questions that were asked her during vetting yesterday. Off-course her approval will be by the majority when it comes to the floor for consideration, Mr. Ahi told Accra-based Kasapa FM. Mr Ahi said the Minority will soon register their position and give specifics as to why the nominee was rejected. Gender Minister-designate Otiko Afisa Djaba who appeared before the Appointments Committee of parliament for vetting on Monday has been in the news recently over what many described as her unfortunate posture towards some issues raised. Her refusal to apologise to the former president John Mahama for some unsavoury comments prior to the 2016 elections seems to have baffled some Ghanaians. Ahead of the 2016 general election, Otiko Afisa Djaba is reported to have described the former president as "evil," "wicked" and "an embarrassment" to the people of northern extraction. But Ms Djaba said she only criticised the former president but did not insult him. The Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga last Friday said on Accra-based Radio Gold that the Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko sent money to the minority side in an attempt to influence their decision on his approval after he was vetted for the position. READ ALSO: Mahama Ayariga dares critics to go to court The NDC Member of Parliament said they (the minority) received the money thinking it was sitting allowance for being part of the Appointments Committee only to be told it was coming from the minister designate. He said they rejected the money and asked that the money be returned to him. The Appointments Committee Chairman, Joe Osei Owusu and the Energy Minister have since denied the claims, but Mr Ayariga has insisted that money did exchange hands. READ ALSO: Parliament denies Mahama Ayariga bribery allegation When Pulse.com.gh hit the streets of Accra to find out the views of the general public, many felt the issue was a serious one which needed thorough investigation. Others, however, felt the case is not surprising, as corruption is already known to be Ghanas major headache. If its true that Boakye Agyarko has given a bribe, then Im not surprised. Ghana has already been engulfed in corruption from all sectors; now it is parliament. So Nana Addo, my plea is that you should kindly look onto the issue. If you have to ask him to step aside, please do, Asante, a taxi driver at East Legon, Accra told Pulse.com.gh in his native Twi language. His colleague at the taxi rank expressed similar sentiments. The bribery issue is really dicey. How can our leaders take bribes, when we the younger ones are supposed to learn from them. We are pleading with the president to intervene because the issue of corruption has become so unbearable for this country. It dents the image of the country, Yaw said in a sad tone. For Kwesi, Boakye Agyarko should be made to step aside until investigations were over. Since Nana Addo is known for being against corruption, it would have been ideal for him if he had held on to Mr Agyarkos appointment pending further investigation, he said in his native language. READ ALSO: Speaker warns MPs to remain silent on bribery allegation case Cynthia, an attendant at one of the shops in East Legon, American House, however, feels Agyarko is only being framed. I know Agyarko and I know Agyarko will never do that. Agyarko will never bribe anyone to get a post or something. Maybe it will be a frame that they are framing him. You know when someone wants your downfall, he will say everything possible just to get what they want, she stressed. READ ALSO: Joe Ghartey chairs parliamentary committee to probe bribery allegations Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament Mike Ocquaye has constituted a five-member committee to investigate the corruption allegation. The committee will be chaired by former attorney general and MP for Essikado-Ketan, Joe Ghartey, and has 30 days within which to present its report. The four other members are MPs Ben Abdallah Banda (Offinso South), Ama Pomaah Boateng (Juabeng), Magnus Kofi Amoateng (Yilo Krobo) and Benson Tongo Baba (Talensi). Thanks for signing up for our daily insight on the African economy. We bring you daily editor picks from the best Business Insider news content so you can stay updated on the latest topics and conversations on the African market, leaders, careers and lifestyle. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Those who opposed Starbucks' plan which the company announced in a letter opposing President Donald Trump's executive order barring people from seven majority-Muslim countries and all refugees from entering the US claimed that the company failed to provide similar support for veterans. "Instead of hiring 10,000 AMERICAN VETERANS, #Starbucks has decided to hire 10,000 'refugees,'" a Twitter user wrote. "Calling on all Americans to #BoycottStarbucks!" In fact, Starbucks pledged four years ago to do exactly that. In 2013, the coffee giant announced a commitment to hire 10,000 veterans by the end of 2018 in essence, the same commitment that CEO Howard Schultz made on Sunday to refugees. The company says it has hired more than 8,000 veterans and military spouses since 2014. This program gave Starbucks the ideal response in several Twitter exchanges on Monday. Scott Baio, an actor and outspoken Trump supporter, asked the chain why it wasn't focusing on hiring "unemployed Blacks, Hispanics, & Veterans." The coffee giant responded with links to a press release on its recent work to open stores in lower-income communities and a website on its veteran outreach. While Starbucks was flooded on Monday with threats of a boycott, many people said they supported Schultz's opposition to the executive order and his support for refugees. Schultz has long been vocal about his political beliefs. He endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for president in September and reportedly would have been Clinton's pick for secretary of labor had she won the election. Its 1966. Nigeria, barely 6 years old, is swimming in the confusion of its first and second coups and preparing for the general lack of direction that will plague it for the next 50 years and counting. Meanwhile, in far-away Chile, a young writer, director and musician by the name, Victor Jara Martinez is using music to drive the government out of office, play by play, concert by concert. That movement was called Nuevo Cancion, literally a new song, and while it was established by another musician, Violeta Parra, it was in Jaras music that dominated the public consciousness. Jara was a rebel in the same mould as the guerillas that waged wars around South America but where they used bullets and mass murder, he sang passionately about the issues that mattered poverty, imperialism, religion and human rights. His music was deeply rooted in the culture of his people and the stories he told were their own he made songs with titles like Plegaria a un Labrador" (meaning Prayer for the Worker) and Angelita Hueneman, a story about the hands of a poor blanket-maker he met while travelling with his wife. Sometimes, oppression will seize a peoples voice so hard that what they need the most will be someone who can say the things they are thinking about, loudly and without fear. Jara sang of their thoughts and their experiences, their pain and their suffering, their desire to get rid of a government that had long overstayed its welcome. In 1970, when Chile went to the polls, they voted out the incumbent president, Eduardo Frei Montalva, by a landslide. Nobody really understands why music has the power that it does. The people who study it will tell you that it has been a part of humanity since the stone age, that it is part of human nature to enjoy anything that sounds good, that music has evolved with humans, from folk songs by the fire to classical compositions where 50 musicians command beauty from metal and wood. In truth, music is a big part of what makes us human. It is a medium of expression that has never failed its creators and has helped thousands and millions connect in a shared sense of identity and purpose. Since the beginning of time, there has been a form of music for every circumstance. In the days at the beginning of recorded history, the men had violent, heavy chants to lift their spirits as they rode into war; later in the Americas, slaves had work songs to ease the burden of hours spent picking cotton in the sun. Now, in the age of fascist democracies and life presidents, we have the music of protest, of dissatisfaction and anger, the music of Jara, Marley and Fela. When musicians have risen to challenge the status quo and genuinely demand change, the powers in control take notice not because secular music is bad for kids, but because with the influence that they command, one musicians message can very quickly become everyones message. READ ALSO: We need more musicians to speak our minds while protesting Fela Kutis classic "Zombie" was made at a time when the military ruled Nigeria with the butts of guns and leather whips. Playing it in public was a life-threatening risk, but the people still listened to him belittle soldiers because they recognised him and his music as the face of their struggle. They identified with that disgust, the constant suffering that these armed men caused on a daily basis the hate that Fela was singing about was their own. Fela might never have led a nationwide protest in his time but when he died, a crowd that ran in the hundreds of thousands reportedly followed his body through the streets of Lagos before he was laid to rest. Last week, Innocent Idibia aka 2face called on Nigerians to stage a nationwide protest against the leadership of President Buhari (who was ironically one of the very people Fela sang against) and the failing economy. There is a lot that is wrong with our country as things stand; the naira is at its lowest rate, officially and unofficially in the history of Nigeria, more than half of the population is unemployed and we continue to plunge further into darkness while the ruling elite tell us the same stories of subsidies and anti-corruption crusades that weve been hearing since Sani Abacha ate an apple. Nigerians need to get on the streets, set fire to tires, block roads and let the government wake up to our grievances; whoever brings us together, whether 2face or Small Doctor, matters very little at this point. And therein lies a problem; in our pain, our anger at the state of things, we are ignoring the possibility that our message may be contaminated by the same people who claim to be helping us deliver it. Many have claimed that 2face does not have the moral capacity to lead a protest because he has 7 children from 3 women. Arguments like that need no response; their lack of substance can fight itself. The only real question is where 2faces loyalties lie with the people he is mobilising to flood the streets on February 6 or with a political class that has repeatedly enriched him. 2face has had many opportunities to stand with the common man at many times when the focus was not on their suffering at his Dubai wedding where state governments and elected officials literally flexed muscles with the peoples money or on the several occasions when those officials greased his palms and neck with money and jewelry and he chose not to, every single time. You cannot take from the people who have put us in this position and summon us to march against them when you think our elastic limit has broken. But this does not change the fact that we need to stand up and take action. There is an argument for why 2face should not be at the front of any protest against the government but we cannot wait for a perfect messiah to lead us into the change we need. We can only ask that whoever is the face of the protest does not come back to tell Nigerians that "they have entered into negotiations" - we do not want another "Occupy Nigeria". The jester who revealed he had to catch a flight from South Africa, where he just finished shooting his movie "10 Days in Sun City", also disclosed he watched her come out of an operation alive ten days ago. He shared the photo above writing, "I had to catch a flight yesterday to make sure I am home for your special day my darling. Heaven knows that i am one of those parents that are busy in their everyday lives and forget to share with those they love how much they mean to them. But today is a wonderful day to come home and celebrate what you mean to daddy. This is very important for me as i watched you come out of an operation alive only a few weeks ago. Besides buying you gifts or throwing a big birthday party for you, this is also a day of Thanksgiving. This a day to remind you how much you are loved by daddy. Just before you came into this world 9 years ago, i remember how broke i was as a proposed father who could not even take care of himself, not to talk of your mum who followed me into the journey with hopes and aspirations for a better tomorrow. Today, you have brought us goodluck. you have been a well behaved and God fearing child. there is absolutely nothing in comparison to your brilliance. At your age you have resolved issues between daddy and mummy, you have also captured the culture of caring and giving to others who don't have. you make me walk with my shoulders high everytime i see your results or attend any of your school functions. You have proven to me that a local Warri boy can also be the father of an 'Ajebutter'. Michelle Folashade Adeola Makun, You have brightened my world, you are like the sunlight that reflects on the raindrops of me and your mum's lives to make beautiful rainbows. you have been a blessing to us. According to Dominic who was celebrating reaching the two million followers mark on her Instagram, the gesture was an attempt to empower some of her followers. "#2millionkisses to you and you.., she wrote. "I was meant to do this weeks ago but I was on set. Thanks for hanging in there with me, I appreciate it greatly. "Times are rough now my people but I would like to sow a small seed in the lives of two of my followers.. "The first two people to answer both questions correctly will get 50,000 Naira each transferred to their Nigerian bank account. 1. What is the name of the film I played two characters a man and a woman? 2. I am in a film that is opening in cinemas this Friday 3rd, what is the name of the film?" Though the actress does not often make the news round like most of her colleagues, but she has shown on a few occasions how passionate she is about helping those in need. One deed that comes to mind was her role during the recuperation of actor, Leo Mezie who recently won the battle against a kidney disease. Dominic, along with some colleagues were instrumental in ensuring that the actor got the needed financial support for his treatment. ALSO READ: Actress talks about having kids According to the rapper's post on Instagram which he shared on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, he returned from a gig over the weekend only to find his cleaner on the verge of being lynched by an angry mob, for stealing. Sharing a photo of the suspect who was pictured with sticks and a tire around his neck, ready to be set on fire in the proper jungle justice way, Yung6ix wrote: "Apparently, before I got back from my gig over the weekend my cleaner took off with some of my properties including cash of a million plus. "Area boys who where aware caught him and was beating him before I intervened and handed him over to Police after he agreed to take us to his accomplice to recover the money and other valuables. "Sad shiii people do to those tryna help them." Of course, the post only raises many other questions, but we will focus on the fact that Yungsix may as well have saved this young man's life. Earlier this month, the "Respeck on my name" rapper lost his 24karat gold necklace to an overzealous fan during his performance at the third edition of Jos Rocks. According to him, the chain was stolen by an overzealous fan while trying to leave the concert which was put together by Ice Prince and even offered N500,000 cash to anyone who would help him recover it. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! In a statement released by the service, the officers, Abdullahi I, with service number 44483 ASC, and Odiba Haruna Inah, with service number 133386, reportedly fled after the weapons were uncovered inside a container loaded with steel doors by the operatives of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Ikeja. The missing officers were said to be the ones who connived with the smugglers to clear the container at the port and immediately the guns were uncovered, they went into hiding. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.), said the agency arrested three suspects, Oscar Okafor (importer), Mahmud Hassan (clearing agent) and Sadique Mustapha (escort), in connection with the arms smuggling. Explaining further, Col. Ali said that other customs officers were arrested, adding that investigations were ongoing. The spokesperson for the FOU, Jerry Attah, also said that the arrested suspects fingered Abdullahi and Inah in the cover up and they have been in hiding since the discovery. Immediately the weapons were uncovered, they (Customs officers) took to their heels and that is why we are declaring them wanted. They were the ones that examined and checked the container at the Apapa port. The other suspects, including three other officers, are still in our custody pending the conclusion of investigations. There will be no half measures. We will get to the root of the case. A document signed by the DCG Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Dan Ugo, declaring the two men wanted, displayed their pictures and force numbers with the words: The above customs officers are wanted in connection with the clearance of a one-by-40-foot container no PONU/825914/3 found to contain 661 pump-action rifles. A Lagos State High Court sitting at Igbosere on the island which gave the ruling, also granted Ifeorah two sureties in like sum as part of the bail condition. Justice A. M. Nicol-Clay said the sureties should produce evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government. Ifeorah was arraigned on January 18 alongside his company Wigmore Trading Ltd by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a two-count charge of stealing and fraud to which he pleaded not guilty. The prosecution counsel, Mr Muritala Usman, told the court that the accused committed the offences sometime in 2015 at Kelloggs Company in South Africa. He alleged that the accused obtained some goods on credit from Kelloggs and promised to pay back within three months. He became elusive after receiving the items until he was tracked down by the EFCC. Usman had urged the court to remand the accused in custody pending the determination of the case. But counsel to the accused, Mr B. Osakwe, urged the court to grant the accused bail on liberal terms. He said the accuseds mother was willing to stand as surety and would also produce the accused in court throughout the trial. The applicant has no criminal record and will be available to stand trial. We are from the same village. I offer to produce my call-to-bar certificate or the Certificate of Occupancy of my own house in Okota, Lagos. His mother, Amaka Ifeorah; is a Grade 15 officer in the civil service and has offered to stand as one of his guarantors. This is a purely civil matter but the defendant has been in custody in Ikoyi Prison since Dec. 22, 2016, he said. Fani-Kayode who is never one to shy away from controversies came up with a two-part piece on the comments made by the Sultan of Sokoto, Saadu Abubakar who said that men of God who preached on hate and inciting words that could lead to a religious war should be arrested by the security operatives in the country. "The travails of Apostle Johnson Suleiman and the inciting words of the Sultan of Sokoto (Part 2) summed it up rather well when he said, in reference to the Islamist terrorists and those that derive joy from , that "they are sneaky dirty rats. They blow up people in shopping centres and they blow up people in a church". He went on to say "we are fighting sneaky rats right now that are sick and demented. And we are going to win. Finally, he said, "the execution of Christians is no longer acceptable". How right President Trump is. I thank God for his life every day. With him as leader of the free world, win we shall. Yet sadly our Vice President, , who is undoubtedly a fine gentleman and who is a practicing Pentecostal Christian, appears to be helpless and has done absolutely nothing to help and protect his own from the "sneaky dirty rats". Clearly, he has no power and he does not have the disposition or the political will and clout to take a stand against this great evil. The best he could do was to issue a tepid statement telling Nigerian religious and political leaders not to allow religion to drive us apart. He did not condemn the genocide that was being perpetrated by the Fulani militias and neither did he commiserate with the families of those that were butchered or express regret about the inability of the Federal Government to prevent the carnage. The persecution and killings of Christians appear to just go on and on even when we have a man that is a Christian as our Acting President. Yet consider what happens when Christian leaders complain and speak out against the mass murder, the genocide and the insidious attempt to wipe away our faith from the face of the earth. When our Christian clerics and political leaders rise up and call on Christians to defend themselves and their families where and when the state refuses or is unable to defend them against the practitioners of radical Islamic terror and the barbaric and cruel Fulani Janjaweed militias, our government starts storming their homes, locking them up and inviting them for questioning. President Buhari and his government are arresting, questioning, detaining and harassing those that are being subjected to ethnic cleansing and genocide on a daily basis and they are turning a blind eye to those that are inciting and doing the killing!!! I say shame on them. And let this be made abundantly clear: no-one is intimidated or scared of arrest or even death because eventually, death must come to us all. There are at least 100 million Christians in Nigeria today and Buhari cannot kill us all or lock us all up. To the last man and woman we will continue to call on our people and our brothers and sisters in Christ to defend themselves, their homes and their loved ones wherever and whenever they are attacked by those that hate and seek to wipe out our faith where the government of the day refuses or fails in its constitutional duty to defend and protect us. The Christians of Nigeria will no longer behave like lambs that are silently being led to the slaughter. We will no longer be killed without a fight. Our God and our constitution require us to protect our own and fight back when we are attacked and that is precisely what we will do. The great American patriot and one of the principal players in the war of independence against British colonial rule, said, "When injustice becomes a law, resistance becomes a duty." The leaders and the people of Nigeria need to learn from these profound words and take a cue from them. Nobody likes violence and no-one wants a religious war. Peace and peaceful co-existence has always been our preference and has always been the Christian way. However, it must be clearly understood that if the radical Muslims in our midst insist on waging a bloody Jihad against us, we will not sit by idly and we will defend ourselves. Everyone must be clear on this. It would be a case of mutually assured destruction. That is why the violence and the genocide that the Fulani militants are indulging in and perpetrating all over the north against Christians must stop. That is why they must be arrested, prosecuted and hanged for their crimes against humanity. His grace of the Methodist Church got it right when he said, "Suleiman should be law-abiding, let him go and face the DSS. Let us see if they will detain him and they will detain so many religious leaders in Abuja. Nigeria is greater than any religion and Nigeria is greater than anybody. The DSS should watch it. If they like, let me be the next victim. What is annoying them is that Suleiman converted from Islam to Christianity. Self-defence is permissible; they slapped our first cheek. They slapped the second cheek and we have no other cheek to turn for them. We may, therefore, resort to self-defence because this thing is becoming intolerable. The Prelate has spoken the mind of every right-thinking Christian in the country. Whatever happens to us as individuals do not matter. The only thing that matters is the defence of our people and our Church and the survival of our faith. The tells us in the Holy Bible that "to live is Christ and to die is gain". Consequently, we do not fear what any man, any government or any cruel despot and tyrant can do to us. Rather we count it all as joy. When we are absent in the body, we are present with the Lord. As they say, Christians don't die: they only change address. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was spread by the blood of the martyrs and the suffering and sacrifice of the saints. The history of the Christian faith and the Church over the last 2000 years since the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is replete with examples of such suffering and sacrifice. The matter is simple and clear: the more Christians you torment, persecute, lock up and kill, the more the glorious gospel of our Lord and master will flourish and grow. It is a deep and inexplicable mystery but it is very real. You cannot kill Christianity. You cannot shake our faith. You cannot stop the spreading of the gospel. You cannot deny us our rights. You cannot overwhelm us. You cannot intimidate us and you cannot defeat the God that we serve. And, like Pharaoh, some may ask "who is this God?" The answer is as follows: He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Blood of the Sprinkling, the Holy One of Israel and the I Am, That I Am. He is the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, the Lamb of God, the Lord of Life, the El Shaddai, the Elohim, the Adonai and the Ancient of Days. He is the God of , , and and the God of , , and . He is the God of , , and and the God of , , and . He is the solid Rock on which we stand and the holy foundation on which Peter built the Church. He is the husband of the widow and the father of the fatherless. He is the defender of the weak, the healer of the sick and the provider for the poor. He is the Comforter whose Holy Spirit hovers like a small white dove and who roars and burns like a conquering lion and an all-consuming fire. He is the Seven-fold Spirit of the Heavenly Hosts and the source and power of the four great winds of the earth. He is the Man of War, the Prince of Peace, the Creator of the Universe and the Lord of Hosts. He is the God of the Armies of Israel, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and the giver and taker of life. He is the God of all flesh who holds the universe together by the power of His word. He is the slayer of Pharaoh and Herod: none can stand against Him and creation bows before Him. That is who He is and not even one hundred million inciting words from the Sultan of Sokoto or anyone else can change that. For the Christians of Nigeria, despite all that we see, we must always remember that He is with us and, in the end, He will make all things beautiful. We must shed our fears and, if nothing else, we must always remember that "to live is Christ and to die is gain!!!" "May the Lord deliver His people from the rising tide of evil in our country and may He strike down those that delight in shedding the blood of His children and in crushing the bones of His servants. Kazeem, a resident of Adeje Street, Off Moricas, Agege, in Lagos, pleaded not guilty to the charge of assault levelled against him. The Prosecutor, Insp. Eruada Victor, told the court that the accused assaulted one Mr Muhammed Rabiu on Jan. 24, at Moricas Street, Dopemu, Agege, in Lagos. Victor said that the incident happened after the complainant gave the accused a loan and requested for repayment. According to the prosecutor, the accused shouted at Rabiu and asked him why he should ask for the money with the economic situation in Nigeria. He said that an argument followed and the accused used a broken bottle to stab the complainant, injuring him on the neck. The prosecutor said that the case was subsequently reported to the police and the accused was apprehended. He said that the offence contravened Section 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 171 prescribes a three-year jail term for assault and harm. Following the plea of the accused, Magistrate G.O. Anifowoshe granted him bail in the sum of N20,000, with two sureties in like sum. Anifowoshe said that the sureties must be gainfully employed and must show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government. Justice Joyce Abdulmaleek gave the order while ruling on an oral application for bail made by Mrs R. Adelakin, counsel to the accused. The judge rejected the oral application, and held that the accused should be kept in prison custody until his counsel would file a written bail application before the court. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Egbedayo on a 15-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretences, impersonation and money laundering. Egbedayo, however, pleaded not guilty. EFCC counsel, Mr Ben Ube, had told the court that the accused fraudulently obtained money from three American women who he promised to marry. According to Ube, the accused defrauded Para Lee-Johnson, Doris Cabana and Trenda Clegg, promising that he would marry them. Ube said that the accused committed the fraud on different occasions through the Internet. He submitted that the accused used the name, Philip Fisher, to commit the crime from 2014 to 2016 in Ibadan. He added that the accused used the same name to obtain a drivers licence and some other documents. Ube told the court that Egbedayo separately asked Lee-Johnson, Cabana and Clegg to send the money to prepare for their marriage to him. Punch reports that the riot policeman, Idiahgbe Iyobosa, who has been arrested and in custody, attacked Oluchukwu Ezemaduka, at her home in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State, where she shares the same room with his girlfriend, Maryjane Anyagwa, when he went to visit and discovered his lover was not around. Ezemaduka who is currently battling with a damaged jaw at a private hospital in Akowonjo area said that Iyobosa, who is attached to a bank in the FESTAC Town area of the state, repeatedly hit her in the jaw with his service boots until blood gushed out. It was gathered that Iyobosa had visited Anyagwa on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at about 9 pm, with the intention of spending the night there but met only the victim at home. When he enquired from Ezemaduka where Anyagwa was, she allegedly told him she did not know and he got angry and resorted to the assaulting her. Narrating her ordeal, the victim said: He asked me where his girlfriend was and I told him that I didnt know her whereabouts. He kicked me several times with his boots, breaking my jaw. He brought out a dagger and chased me outside. It was people, who saved me. The pain is too much for me. The doctor said I would undergo surgeries this week. Meanwhile, Anyagwa stated that her relationship with Iyobosa was marred with threats and harassment, adding she was no longer interested in the relationship. He usually assaults me too. Most times, he would not notify me that he would pass the night in my place. He would threaten to deal with me if I report him to the authorities or quit the relationship. I was afraid. We started dating each other about a year ago. I later knew that he is married with two kids. The wife had warned me to stay away from her husband. The commissioner, who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lafia, also stressed the need to keep the environment clean. NAN recalls that on Jan. 16, Iya confirmed four people dead out of 16 cases of Lassa fever reported in the state. The commissioner said that avoiding rats and keeping the environment clean were sure ways of checking the spread of Lassa fever. had done well and is still doing his best in improving on the health and living condition of the people of the state, that is why he built many hospitals with modern facilities across the state." Since the state government is spending huge amount of money in the health sector, I want to advise our citizens to keep their environment clean." Lassa fever can be transmitted through contact with infected persons or through infected rat excreta or urine on floors, food, water and where rats are caught and consumed as food." The group told backers and sponsors of the Boko Haram terrorist sect to sheath their sword so peace can fully return to the northeast. The group's national coordinator, kuanum Terrence said this at the opening of a peace rally held at the Ramat Square, Maiduguri on Wednesday, February 1, 2017. Terrence stated that the rally was to sensitise the residents and hand over the responsibility for winning the war in the region to them. "Maiduguri is not just the capital of Borno state or the economic hub of the northeast geopolitical zone, it was also the epicenter of the activities of terrorists," Terrence said. ALSO READ: Soldiers arrest 5 sponsors of terrorist group "That this rally is holding here today is a testimony to the progress made in taking back our land from the grip of evil that had threatened to consume us but which has now been thankfully averted. "We thank for this feat of being among the few locations on earth where the evil of terrorism has been halted within such a short time. "It is in recognition of these notable contributions that we have organized this rally in the aftermath of the defeat of Boko Haram in with the capture of the terror group's Camp Zero. We were all personally in Sambisa to see for ourselves. We realize that Boko Haram fighters are fleeing after their loss in Sambisa Forest. "We also know that instead of accepting their defeat they are attempting lone attacks that they intend would be misconstrued for their group still being potent. This is why we believe that it is time to activate the citizens' component in the war on terrorism and this is because we believe that the population should step in now that the military has done the larger part of the work. "We realised that after being blocked from buying vital military equipment for fighting the anti-terror war, our military was able to adapt homegrown solutions and still went on to have the upper hand over Boko Haram. Other countries are now studying the Nigerian approach in their quest to defeat terrorists," he stated. The Spokesman of the command, Mr Victor Isuku, made the confirmation in a statement in Maiduguri. A police patrol vehicle from Biu Area Command on investigation activity to Maiduguri, was ambushed and attacked by persons reasonably believed to be Boko Haram terrorists at Kubuwa village in Damboa Local Government Area. The team fought gallantly, and were able to repel the attackers who ran into the bush with some of them sustaining injuries, Isuku said. However, we lost a policeman, while another sustained gunshot wounds." The group, Citizens Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN), had accused Senate President Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, House Speaker Yakubu Dogara, and his deputy, Lasun Yusuf of N630 million fraud. It said the lawmakers stole the said sum by using the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to pay rent and renovation and furnishing fees to themselves for phony official residences. But Saraki had on Tuesday, January 31, described the allegations as false. "There is no truth to the claim by this group. In fact, during the preparation of the budget, the Senate President and Speaker directed the FCDA to remove the N10 billion voted for the construction of their official residences to save cost. The current leadership of the National Assembly will not be part of any illegal payment to anybody," Saraki's spokesman had said. Dogara, through his media aide, Turaki Hassan, also denied the allegations. "Presiding officers of the National Assembly are entitled to official accommodation, which is provided for by the FCDA as the host of the National Assembly. The same is applicable to the President, Vice President and the Chief Justice of Nigeria because their offices were not covered by the monetization policy. Consequently, no National Assembly presiding officer receives any money from any other source for accommodation or rent. The FCDA is solely responsible for providing official accommodation for presiding officers of the National Assembly and how it goes about it is entirely its business and not that of any presiding officer. Its callous, wicked and evil for any news medium to seek to perpetuate the mendacity that National Assembly Presiding Officers collected money from FCDA without any form of evidence whatsoever," Hassan said. According to SaharaReporters, CATBAN described Saraki and Dogara as "pathological liars." "What we have at the helm of affairs of our legislature are nothing but pathological liars and individuals who have no moral responsibility whatsoever in being at the helm of affairs of our legislature," the group said in a statement issued on Wednesday, February 1 and obtained by the online news portal. The group argued that the monetization policy, as stipulated by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Act, does not exempt the principal Officers of the National Assembly. This, said CATBAN, explains why former Senate President David Mark and former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal were allowed to own their residences provided by the National Assembly. "What the accused persons have put forward through their aides are sad, unfortunate lies, which demand utmost condemnation from Nigerians," CATBAN insisted. It said the current National Assembly, since its inception, has received N150 billion and N120 billion respectively as its annual budgets through first-line charge. The group further argued that monetized provision of accommodation for principal officers are stipulated and specified in the national legislative budget, adding that only the Senate President and the Speaker have access to the contents of that budget and have refused to disclose such to members of both chambers. It said: "The reason is simple. As long as it remains shrouded in secrecy, these individuals can continually perpetrate their criminal activities. The principal officers of the National Assembly, therefore, have no excuse whatsoever to go asking for money from FCDA in the name of accommodation. What they have done is false representation and extortion, in connivance with individuals in the agency." CATBAN alleged that the reason the principal officers refused to allow the N10 billion meant for the completion of the construction of their residences in the budget is the wish to criminally exploit the situation. "That contract being handled by Julius Berger Plc was, as a courtesy by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, intended to provide official residence for any sitting officer of the legislature. "Instead, they cut the allocation to N1 billion in the budget even when they know very well that it cannot in anyway advance the construction work. This is because they have seen the chance to continue to use the accommodation demand to FCDA as a conduit pipe to loot the treasury. The National Assembly has continued to spend millions of naira on the rent accommodation and guest houses (too numerous to mention, both in Abuja & Lagos) for the Principal Officers from the budget of the National Assembly, and still go to the FCDA to collect money for the same exercise," CATBAN said. According to the group, its investigation revealed that the four principal officers received a total sum of N630,125,499.90 from the FCDA through proxies and fronts presented as agents and property owners. CATBAN gave details of the accounts through which each of the lawmakers received the alleged illegal payments. The Senate President was said to have received a total of N199,999,999.90 for the property located at 48 Lake Chad Crescent, Maitama, Abuja. Breaking it down - Saraki was allegedly paid N113,095,238.00 plus N11,904,761.90 as Value Added Tax (VAT) as rent and N67,857,142.86 plus N7,142,857.14 VAT for furnishing. Dogara, using a property at 9 Persian Gulf Close, off Euphrates Street, Wuse 2, Abuja, (recently built for him by A. A. Oil), allegedly got N150,293,500.00. the details was given as; N72,833,333.32 plus N7,666,666. 68 (VAT) as rent and N63,146,500.00 plus N6,647,000.00 (VAT) for furnishing. Ekweremadu allegedly received a total sum of N149,832,000.00 - broken down as N90,476,190.76 plus N9,525,809.24 (VAT) as rent and N45,084,285.72 plus N4,745,714.28 (VAT) for furnishing. The Deputy Speaker allegedly got N62,428,571.42 plus N6,571,428.58 (VAT) in rent and N55, 190,476.18 plus N5,809,523.82 (VAT) for furnishing. The monies were said to have been paid through three companies - Gogetit Investment Limited, Legendark Consult Limited, Pitch Global Services. The group's investigation revealed that Gogetit received the fraudulent lodgment via Zenith Bank account 1013452206, which has as signatory Orkuma Hembe, brother to Herman Hembe, Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Committee of the House of Representatives. Legendark received via Guaranty Trust accounts 0212119991, 0216710224, which has Akpoti Felix Otaru as signatory. Akpoti is said to be a brother to Natasha Akpoti, with whom he owns the company, Builders Hub. Pitch Global Services' accounts at First Bank and Skye Bank were used for the 'illicit' transaction. Both have Harrison Onyekachi Ogu as signatory. The Governor's media aide, Lere Olayinka, is being sued for alleged libel. A member of the Ekiti House of Assembly, Dr. Samuel Omotoso, was also said to be joined with Olayinka in the suit. According to Punch, in the suit filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Fayemi is seeking payment of N3 billion for "aggravated damages" caused him by the defendants. Fayemi, who is also a former governor of Ekiti, said the defendants brought disrepute to his name through statements allegedly made by them on July 6, 2016, during a live programme tagged Ejiire on Ekiti State Television, which also aired on cable network, Startimes. Fayemi alleged that the defendants, during the programme, said he (Fayemi) illegally took N1.5bn from Ekiti treasury and gave it to the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari, to win the 2015 presidential election. The Minister also accused Olayinka of saying he (Fayemi) illegally collected N5 billion from Ecobank in the name of Fountain Holdings for a sham road construction. He said Fayose's spokesman also claimed he spent state's funds to build a private university for himself in Ghana. Fayemi's lawyer, Rafiu Balogun, said through these alleged statements, the defendants portrayed his client as a "very corrupt public office-holder and fraudulent person who siphoned public funds at the detriment of Ekiti citizens while serving as governor." He said this exposed his client to "public ridicule, odium, opprobrium, embarrassment and unprecedented disrepute," adding that Olayinka and Omotoso have done "incalculable and tremendous injury to our clients image and personality as an international figure." ALSO READ: Fayemi says Fayose's negative prophecies are for himself According to Fayemi, he decided to sue the defendants after they refused to retract the said statement and publicly apologise as demanded by his lawyer in a letter dated November 19, 2016. The minister urges the court to compel the defendants to retract the statement and to tender a public apology to him, to be published and aired on Ekiti State Television and Channels Television as well as on the social media. He also wants a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further publishing or making statements or utterances similar or further libelous publications or statements or utterances against the plaintiff. Justice Taiwo Taiwo on December 13, 2016, had ordered that the Zenith bank account of Fayose be unfrozen, describing it as a violation of the Governors rights. The same Justice Taiwo rejected the application filed by the EFCC on Tuesday, January 31, 2017. According to Punch, the Judge said once a judgment is being executed, you cannot stay the execution again. He also said that the Governor enjoys immunity, adding that the identity of the person whose account is to be frozen was concealed. Justice Taiwo said A court of law does not embark on conjecture or guesswork as same can hardly produce a just and equitable decision. It is the duty of the applicant to provide materials upon which the court will grant the application. The matter was not instituted as a criminal suit, a court cannot go on a voyage of discovery to fish for facts to grant equitable remedy when the respondent averred that he had defendants and was ready to return the money if found liable at trial after his tenure. ALSO READ: Fayose accuses DSS of supporting APC The court cannot stay a judgment already executed and the whole exercise in freezing the governors accounts amounts to a breach of the provisions of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For the reasons earlier stated and the constitutional provisions referred to, I cannot but conclude that I find no merit in the application. The order being sought is hereby refused and the application is dismissed. Spokesman of the corps, Mr Bisi Kazeem, told newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja that sector and field commands of the agency had been fully mobilised for the exercise. Kazeem said that the army, police, civil defence, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies were on standby to provide security support. Adding that the Enforcement of the speed limiting device commences tomorrow (Wednesday) and there is no going back. In readiness, the field commands have been fully mobilised to commence full blast enforcement nationwide. To facilitate enforcement, a portal of speed limiting device (SLD) was created and is operational and a short code to confirm the installation of SLD is active. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been dispatched with a directive that copies of those SOPs be shared to security agencies within the commands areas of jurisdiction. A template for daily report has also be designed and forwarded to commands. Booking sheets with Failure to Install Speed Limiting Device (FSLD) have been distributed to field commands. To ensure seriousness of purpose, sector commanders have been advised to start with joint patrols with unit commands to have more personnel and create impact for the whole of February. Also, commands are to hold mobile court sittings at the onset and where mobile courts are likely to slow down enforcement, such commands should go ahead without them. We have created a situation room to monitor and collate report on daily basis and test-run for the clampdown. What we are trying to do is to register that it has started. It is not necessarily impounding all vehicles in Nigeria in one swoop thereby making life difficult for road users, no. It is a gradual thing that we are starting all over Nigeria and that is to say it is no longer advisory. You either pay fines or be taken to (a) mobile court to be charged or, in extreme situation, you are asked to come and install before your vehicle is released to you after impoundment. Kazeem said defaulters would either pay a fine of N3,000 or have their vehicles impounded. He explained that the decision to begin with commercial vehicles was informed by the high rate of their involvement in road accidents across the country. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that enforcement of the SLD installation has been postponed three time since Sept. 1, 2015 following appeal by stakeholders. Kazeem said that the need to begin with commercial vehicles could not be over-emphasised owing to the high rate of their involvement in road accidents. ALSO READ: FRSC says 223 lives have been lost to accidents in 2016 Citing FRSC statistics, he said commercial vehicles accounted for over 50 per cent of the total number of vehicles involved in road crashes in the country. He explained that vendors of the device had been selected through a screening process by an inter-agency technical committee. Ibori spoke of his return to Nigeria via a statement released by spokesman, Tony Eluemunor on Tuesday, January 31. The statement reads in part: The British government had attempted to withdraw the case from court five, before Justice Garnham to either the Queens Bench Division or the Crown Court. Iboris lawyers argued that this was a delay tactic by the Crown and the judge refused to grant the transfer, insisting that the case will remain in his Royal court of justice. This time, the case before the court on Tuesday (yesterday) was to determine the amount of money Britain will pay Ibori as compensation for the illegal detention he was subjected to when the British prisons did not allow him to leave on the exact day his prison sentence ended in December last year, but detained him unlawfully by a day, while even seeking for ways to further deny him his freedom by locking him up illegally. After all the speculations over when Chief James Onanefe Ibori will return to Nigeria, Ibori himself has now confirmed that he would be homeward bound very soon. Dotting the is and crossing the ts in briefing his lawyers may be the only thing standing between Ibori now and his journey to Nigeria. For instance, there will be mention of the Ibori London case this week Friday at the Southwark London court, for the judge to be fully informed on what is happening with the disclosure process, and to ascertain if everybody convicted in the Ibori and related cases will be appealing." Meanwhile, according to Eluemunor, Ibori himself told the BBCs Mark Eastman that he was planning to appeal against his conviction and return to Nigeria as soon as possible, may be in a matter of days. Ibori was jailed on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 by the UK's Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to ten counts of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud. He was arrested in Dubai on May 13, 2010, on an international warrant after being declared wanted by the UK Metropolitan Police. Ibori was subsequently extradited to the UK in April 2011, and tried on 23 counts of money laundering, forgery, and fraud. He was accused of laundering more than $200 million but he only admitted to taking $50 million. A statement signed by the former governor in Enugu on Wednesday, described the alleged murder as despicable and unwarranted. Orji urged the Police to do all within its powers to fish out the perpetrators and prosecute them. On behalf of my family, I send my heartfelt condolence to the family of , my former media adviser, who was gruesomely murdered on Sunday in Owerri, Imo State." You cannot imagine how broken-hearted the sad news of his demise has left me, especially the manner in which his promising life was exterminated. It is despicable and unimaginable, he said. Orji described the deceased as a quintessential gentleman, a thorough bred professional with heart of gold, adding that, those qualities endeared the deceased to him. I still cannot understand why someone will take such precious life in such manner." Even though the lives of the assailants cannot atone for his death, I urge the Inspector-General of Police and Imo State Police Commissioner to investigate and ensure that they are brought to book, he added. NAN reports that Onyechere also worked as an aide to former Vice President, Chief Alex Ekwueme. The deceased was said to have been kidnapped on Sunday at about 8pm at Maris Junction in Ikenegbu area of Owerri, where he had gone with his driver for shopping. A general court martial (GCM) of the Nigerian Army, found Adamu guilty of the death of Umar Alka following a disagreement at the Monday market in Maiduguri, Borno State. Alka was said to have been killed on December 23, 2015. Brigadier General Olusegun Adeniyi announced the sentence at a sitting in Maiduguri on Wednesday, February 1. According to witnesses in the proceedings, the deceased died on the spot after Adamu shot him. Adeniyi held that: "Having found you guilty of the offence of manslaughter and having listened to the plea by the defence counsel, looking at the punishment provided by sections 105 and 119 of the armed forces Act cap A20, laws of the federation, the court, hereby, sentences you to seven years imprisonment. "The sentence is, however, subject to confirmation by the confirmation authority as provided by Section 152 sub-paragraph 1A of the Armed Forces Act." ALSO READ: 2 remanded in prison for raping 3 under-aged girls Recounting the ordeal, the deceased's father, Abubakar Abacha, told the tribunal that he received a distress call that a soldier killed his son on the said date. The governor told the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Southern Kaduna Crisis that the government would not hedge in prosecuting those involved. There is a lot of fake news on the crisis. They take pictures of the crisis in Rwanda and Boko Haram and post it as happening in southern Kaduna. This is done every day because there are no consequences. But there will be, because we are tracking these people, we are going to frame charges and we are going to bring these people to Kaduna and they will face a judge. If the judge says they have done nothing wrong, that is fine, but they will go before a judge. He charged the Senate committee to see the reality of what is happening in southern Kaduna as against the fiction. The governor also advised the committee not to believe anyone based on his credibility or apparent credibility, including the statement credited to the Catholic Church in Kafanchan, which he described as totally false. He further told the committee that there were several irresponsible comments on the crisis by people who should know better. According to him, even the figures released by the National Emergency Management Agency on the crisis were those of six local governments and involves Christians, Muslims and traditionalists trapped in the crisis. I feel it is very important to appreciate the many dimensions of this problem, and part of what has contributed to it also is the disposition of security agencies. I have already mentioned the instance in which a police sergeant, who is supposed to impose curfew, was the one organising women to come out and throw stones at us. What we now found is that about 90 per cent of all the policemen in southern Kaduna are from southern Kaduna and they have taken side. They have been persuaded by the narrative there that when certain crimes happens dont even report it. When we went to Kafanchan for the special security council meeting, it was policemen from the Government House that were calling to say we have arrived, let the women now come out. He also accused some traditional rulers in the area of perpetuating the crisis for selfish reasons, but said the government would also prosecute them. ALSO READ: Group accuses El-Rufai of planning to eliminate people of Southern Kaduna Most of the traditional rulers, community leaders, religious leaders are accomplices and are part of this problem, they dont want a solution. But as i said, everyday we are getting wiser, we are learning we are going to approach this problem in three steps. One, is law enforcement. We are going to apply the law, whoever is suspected will be arrested and prosecuted. We are also going to ensure that the state government along with security agencies have a monopoly of violence, its the only way. All those talking about self help, preaching hate, we are documenting them and we are going to frame charges against them, wherever they are. We have one Nigeria Police, you may be in Lagos writing nonsense, you will be arrested and brought to Kaduna and we will put you before a judge to prove that you have not done this. We will charge them for been accessories to murder, charge them for plethora of offences. The governor said the administration would embark on peace building with those not involved in the crisis. The third is to maintain and sustain enhanced security presence in southern Kaduna, he said, adding that the government would handover a facility for the quick take off of the military garrison in Kafanchan. Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Sen. Kabir Gaya had told the governor that their target was to investigate and find solution to the crisis. Our mission is to interact, discuss with government, stakeholders, community leaders, security agencies on the remote causes of continuous crisis in the southern part of the state. Information received so far is commendable on government effort on addressing the crisis, he said. Gaya advised the governor to continue engaging the people through constant interaction to bring about lasting peace. The chairman, however, expressed concern on the misuse of the social media to propagate falsehood, indicating that the Senate would revisit the bill to regulate the use of social media in the country. Afenifere also described the failure of the President to send Onnoghens name to the National Assembly for confirmation, as an assault on the Nigerias constitution. According to Vanguard, the group also condemned the killings of innocent people in Southern kaduna by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Speaking after its monthly meeting, Afeniferes spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, issued a statement saying Afenifere was worried that almost few days to the expiration of the three months tenure in acting capacity allowed by our constitution, the President has refused to forward the recommendations of NJC to the National Assembly for confirmation. ALSO READ:CJN tells Court of Appeal justices to shun corruption We see this as an assault on the constitution if the three months expire and he is not confirmed as CJN of Nigeria. It will be an assault on our constitution and an attempt to crudely end a carrier of a worthy Nigerian. Therefore we call on Mr President to within the few days left to the expiration of the acting tenure of Justice Onnoghen send his name to the Senate for confirmation as Nigeria CJN as he is the man in line because that is what the constitution says. Faleke, who was answering questions from newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday after a closed door meeting with the acting President Yemi Osinbajo, noted that the state party structure under which Bello rode to power was crumbling. According to him, an attempt by the governor to fish out ghost workers has pitched him against those opposing his administration in the state. We came to the Presidency to let the Federal Government know what is happening in Kogi state as regards the fortunes of the party, the way it is dwindling day by day as regards the civil servants, the welfare of the people and their relationship with the state government. We specifically came to let the Presidency know so that when elections come and the party loses, no one should be blamed. We want an intervention from the Federal Government to find a way forward in this situation. The Governor of the state should recognise those who worked for the party and made the party to be successful. It is one thing to be victorious at the court level and another thing to carry the people along. I want to use this opportunity to urge the Governor to carry the people along. This is the fifth time he is setting up a committee to review staff strength with so many screening every day, people are dying, he said. He said something needed to be done to salvage the situation, especially at a time when the pangs of recession were being felt by the people. He allegedly accused the governor of implementing anti-people policies, some of which were having negative effects on the people of the state. According to Faleke, the setting up of numerous staff screening committees whose reports he has not deemed fit to implement was unnecessary and diversionary. ALSO READ:Kogi APC set for war with Governor Yahaya Bello Faleke, who lost in an appeal case against Bello, urged him to carry the people along in articulating his policies, especially those that built the party structure in the State. The nationwide protest has been slated to hold on February 5 and is being championed by popular musician, 2face Idibia. Akpabio made the denial via a statement released by his spokesman, Anietie Ekong. The statement reads in part: Is it not idiotic and senseless for anyone to imagine that Senator Akpabio will sponsor a protest against the same arm of government that he is serving as a leader. As the Minority Leader, Senator Akpabio has consistently maintained that Nigerians should put aside their differences and support every effort that will pull the country out of the present recession. Much as he believes in the right of every Nigerian to express himself, he does not think that mass protest is the solution. The mischievous attempt to drag the name of Senator Akpabio into the planned protest should be discountenanced as the handiwork of political jobbers. Meanwhile, Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has expressed his support for the planned protest and also promised to participate. ALSO READ: Music star 2Face to lead nationwide protest against Nigerian government Sometimes, doing business in school doesn't just earn you extra cash, it also instills a sense of responsibility in you. So no matter your motive, where it is to earn extra cash and fend for yourself, or it is for sport, or it is just your own training for post-school life, here are a few businesses you can start with little capital and scale up on: 1. Hairdressing: If your hair making skills are tight, and you can convince 5 friends to tell everyone to come make hair with you, you're in business. 2. Graphics Design: This is probably one of the most sought after freelance job at the moment. Whether it is a simple poster, to designing for a big project, it's possible to juggle it on the side. 3. Programming: Everyone is building something. Many small Internet companies are always looking for developers to help them build everything from a website to software. 4. Writing and Research: If you know how to dig, research and get the work done, then there'll always be someone willing to pay you to help them with their project work or essay, or research paper. Your win. 5. MC'ing: This is AY. He started off MC'ing in Delta State University, his school. If you're funny enough, can speak in front of a crowd, and genuinely believe you're not as boring as your Vice Chancellor, with some practice, you can earn money MC'ing at events. People do it for a living. 6. Event Planning: Makeup: Start with your friends, the people they know will see it, and if you're really good at it, someone will be willing to pay. 7. Artist: How are your painting, or doodling, or drawing skills? There's a growing movement of young, middle class people who are beginning to appreciate art more. You might want to find them, and make them pay for your art. 8. Modelling: Linda Ikeji, for example, started out modelling at the University of Lagos. Ah. You know the drill. Start with small gigs. Small gigs will eventually lead to big ones. 9. Social Media management: Small businesses are always looking for people to help them manage their social media presence, so if you seem to have Social Media in your palms, you can also find a way to get that money in your palms too. No course in school can teach you this. 10. Promoter: Are you popular, resourceful, and convincing? People will be willing to pay you money to bring students in your school to an event. 11. Voice over: You know that famous "Gulder The Ultimate" voice in the ad or the "We know it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it" in that Fidelity bank ad? That's Femi Sowoolu, and he makes a good living doing voice overs, amongst other things of course. Besides your boyfriend or girlfriend of course, do people generally think you have a great voice with even greater diction? If you do, then you might want to research people on how to be a narrator and voice-over person. 12. Barbing: Dude, if you can barb, and your friends aren't willing to pay you to barb their heads, are they really your friends? 13. Baking: Mama taught you how to bake. You better learn how to make money with it. Like, someone is celebrating something every week in school. You can be the person they come to for all your cake problems. 14. Photography: You know this guy? His name is Bayo Omoboriowo. He's the President's personal photographer. He started off while he was in University. When do you intend to start? 15. Trading: Think of all the things students need but can't get around your school. Think of how much you can make providing those things. Yep. Yep. Get started. I know I said 15, but because there are so many ways, here's an extra one: 16. Tailoring: Everyone needs dresses for the next Owambe, they need a tailor, you have the skills. What are you waiting for? Remember, there's nothing shameful about trying to make money legally. If your friends laugh at you, then maybe you need new friends. There's no dishonour in making money, as long as it's legal. The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Ego Oduka, gave the advice at a meeting with officials of the council in her office in Owerri on Wednesday. Oduka said this is to ensure that only qualified teachers are employed in the schools, so that students can receive qualitatve education." Teaching is a noble profession and it is necessary that those in the profession should be qualified." Without quality teachers there will be no quality education, hence the need for training and retraining of teachers, she said. She advocated the qualifications of teachers in Private secondary schools to be scrutinized before registering their students for external examinations. She commended the TRCN for working in synergy with the ministry and for their efforts in sanitising the teaching profession. Oduka promised to support the efforts of the Council and other stakeholders in the education sector. Earlier, the Registrar of the TRCN, Prof Josiah Ajiboye, thanked the commissioner for recognising the role of teachers and the support of the minsitry. As the final day to submit nominations for the award passed on Wednesday, some of the names believed to be on the secret list bore the hallmarks of Trump's opponents -- though the US president himself was also nominated. Kristian Berg Harpviken of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, who has followed the peace prize process closely for years, put the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at the top of his list of possible winners. The group, nearly a century old, made headlines this week after presenting a legal challenge to Trump's immigration decree that temporarily blocks nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. "A peace prize to the ACLU would certainly be understood as a criticism of President Trump," Harpviken wrote on his website. But "it would more importantly be a celebration of long-standing, tenacious legal craftsmanship and the fight for civil rights, in the USA primarily, but also as part of a global struggle." After sharp criticism from around the globe, Trump has made exemptions for all dual citizens. But in addition to the travel ban, the first days of Trump's presidency have been marked by repeated attacks on the media and a pledge to push ahead with a wall on the US border with Mexico -- moves that have worried civil liberties and rights advocates. Nobel Peace Prize predictions are notoriously difficult, especially since the Nobel Institute keeps the list of nominations secret for 50 years. Only those who are allowed to submit nominations are free to disclose their choices publicly. Lawmakers and cabinet ministers, former laureates, and some university professors are among the thousands of people around the world entitled to suggest candidates. The five members of the Norwegian Nobel committee can also make nominations at their first meeting on February 16. Chirac, Trump, Putin? Pope Francis has once again been nominated for his peace and reconciliation efforts. "He is one of the rare ones to stand up to Donald Trump," said Knut Arild Hareide, the head of a small Norwegian political party that put his name forward. In an interview with Spanish daily El Pais conducted as Trump was being sworn in as president on January 20, Francis warned against populism, saying it could lead to the election of "saviours" like Hitler. He also condemned the idea of using walls and barbed wire to keep out foreigners. According to Harpviken, Trump himself has been nominated -- as he was last year -- for the Nobel by an unidentified American who wants the US leader recognised for "his peace through strength ideology". In a sign of the geopolitics at stake, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also believed to be in the running, reportedly nominated by a French think tank, the Centre of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA). Norway's public broadcaster NRK reported last week that Russian authorities organised a disinformation campaign in 2015, including a fake letter, to torpedo the Nobel chances of Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko. Russia denied the report, attributing it to "paranoia". The prize that year went to a quartet of Tunisian rights' organisations. Former French president Jacques Chirac is also reportedly in the running this year, as are Syria's White Helmets volunteer rescue workers; the jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi; and Edward Snowden, who revealed the scope of America's NSA electronic surveillance programme. "Naturally, there is concern," the Holy See's number three, Monsignor Angelo Becciu, said on the Catholic TV channel TV2000, in response to a question. "We are builders of bridges, far less of walls, and all Christians should emphatically reaffirm this message." Becciu noted that Pope Francis had repeatedly stressed the need "to integrate those who arrive, who come into our society, into our culture." He signed the deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and pushed it through the legislature in December, defying criticism from conservative rivals. In the weeks following, reports emerged of killings by local civil campaigners by unidentified groups in conflict areas. On Monday the Victims' Unit, a state conflict resolution body, said in a statement that "17 civil leaders have been murdered since December 1, after Congress ratified the peace accord." The last known victim was Porfirio Jaramillo, leader of a group demanding rural land restitution. He was killed on Saturday in Antioquia department, in the northwest, it said. Land rights were at the heart of the conflict that pitted the Marxist FARC against Colombian state forces since 1964. The peace agreement reconciles the two main rival forces in the war, but there are fears of score-settling between renegade players in the multi-sided conflict. As well as leftist rebels and state forces, the conflict drew in right-wing paramilitaries backed by landowners. They were supposedly disbanded in the 2000s but the FARC and other groups say former members of them are still active. The Victims' Unit said Jaramillo was taken away from his home by four armed men. Police found his dead body on Sunday morning. "We are extremely worried by these events, because the truth is they are massacring social leaders," the unit's director, Alan Jara, said in a statement. The capture of the Wadi Barada area is another setback for rebels after the loss of the second city of Aleppo in December, the biggest blow to the opposition since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Q. What happened in Wadi Barada? A: Syrian government forces took back Wadi Barada outside Damascus on Sunday after a deal that saw hundreds of rebels leave for opposition-held Idlib province in northern Syria. Wadi Barada is the main source of water for the capital, and the government accused rebels of deliberately cutting off supplies since December 22, leaving 5.5 million people without water. Rebels said government strikes had damaged pumping infrastructure. But they eventually agreed a deal that saw 700 rebels and 1,400 civilians leave Wadi Barada for Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The government has struck similar so-called reconciliation deals in at least six other areas around the capital in recent months. "The rebel movement has definitively lost Damascus," said Fabrice Balanche, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He told AFP that Syria's army and allied militia -- like Lebanese movement Hezbollah -- have methodically chipped away at rebel-held towns around the capital since 2013. "The most rational rebels are seeking a way to negotiate an amnesty with the Syrian government. For others, their only hope is to be moved to Idlib," Balanche said. Q: Where does this leave rebels? A: Nearly six years since Syria's uprising broke out, many of the opposition movement's most important gains have been rolled back. They have lost much of the territory they had captured around Damascus, and suffered their biggest defeat yet in December when government forces took full control of Aleppo. Rebels now hold just 13 percent of Syrian territory, according to Balanche, including the province of Idlib where former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front holds sway. Elsewhere, the armed opposition holds part of the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus and some territory in central and southern Syria. "In 2013, rebels' repeated attacks threatened central Damascus and the lines of communication towards the outside," Balanche told AFP. "But today, they are on the defensive, divided, encircled and without hope of victory," he said. Assad's regime had essentially won a war of attrition, Balanche said, "counting on being able to wear down communities bombarded, besieged, and at the mercy of rebel groups". "It took more than four years, but the regime can consider itself victorious, even if it faces pockets of resistance." Q: What is happening in Idlib? Northwest Idlib province, which borders Turkey, is the main remaining bastion for Syria's weakened opposition fighters. But the province has been rocked by opposition infighting for more than a week, as Fateh al-Sham Front battles former rebel allies. Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert in jihadist movements, has said the fighting could escalate to an existential war that Fateh al-Sham would not be willing to lose. Some rebels have sided with Fateh al-Sham, while others have supported the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, once a key ally of the former Al-Qaeda affiliate. With rebels divided, Syria's army and key backer Moscow could deem the moment right to launch an attack on the province, Balanche warned. "This is a war within the uprising," pitting hardliners against those seeking a political solution to the conflict," he said. Okafor, a student who is based in Los Angeles, California, U.S., spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos on the award. She said that her feat had offered her a unique opportunity to mount the UN podium to talk about her commitment to the success of the world bodys 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on Feb. 2. After a rigorous selection process involving over 800 delegates globally, I was among the top 15 outstanding delegates and later, we were pruned to three." The second round of interview was conducted, vetting and selecting the top six by the committee." A third and final round of interview was conducted to select the best three individual recipients of the award, the Anambra-born 25-year-old told NAN. NAN learnt that the Youth Assembly takes places at the UN Headquarters in New York twice a year and gathers the brightest and most active youth to tackle the worlds greatest challenges. This year is the 19th session of the conference which aims at highlighting the interdependence and universality of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by exploring multifaceted global issues such as poverty and education among others. Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg The former corporate headquarters of BITCO Insurance Cos. in downtown Rock Island will be sold in an online auction next week, the building's current owner said Tuesday. The Davenport-based Russell Construction is selling the office building at 320 18th St. during an online absolute auction, said Caitlin Russell, a company director. In this type of auction, she said the building sells to the highest bidder no matter what the bid. There is no minimum bid required. The building was most recently appraised at $1 million. The national auction company Tranzon will conduct the auction. To pre-register and for property information, visit tranzon.com. The online auction will open at 7 a.m. Feb. 6 and close at 2 p.m. Feb. 9. A pre-inspection tour for prospective buyers will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the building. Russell Construction acquired the building Dec. 5 as part of a larger real estate transaction, Russell said. The 64,743-square-foot office building housed BITCO, formerly Bituminous Insurance Cos., until last spring when the company relocated to its new headquarters along Interstate 74 in Davenport. Located at 3700 Market Square Circle, the new building was developed and is owned by Russell Construction. Russell said BITCO had listed the site for sale since construction began on the new headquarters, and had sparked a lot of interest. The listing was pulled 30 days prior to the auction. "We've had inquiries all the way to Thailand," Russell said, adding that there has been interest from prospects in Kentucky, Texas, California, Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Virginia as well as 10-plus inquires in the Quad-Cities. "It's a great location in downtown Rock Island with 50 parking spaces on site and it's right next to the city parking garage if someone needs more parking," she said. Asked why Russell chose not to redevelop it, she said "We've been focused on some other areas, specifically The Lodge (former Jumer's Castle Lodge). We think there is someone else out there that can make something happen." A nice star turn for Matthew McConaughey may not be Oscar or box-office Gold, but its an interesting story about greed and determination. Its based on the true story of the Bre-X Minerals scandal that happened in the early 1990s. McConaughey plays Kenny Wells, who has a business he inherited from his grandfather. Wells is a dreamer and a prospector who always seeks his next big break. He decides to take a chance on a mining venture in Indonesia, and enlists the help of a well-respected geologist, Michael Acosta (Edgar Ramirez, The Girl on the Train) to reach the right spot in the rain forest. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Kay, Kennys longtime girlfriend who sticks with him through thick and thin. Kennys fortunes come and go. He looks for investors, at one point, and visits Clive Coleman (Stacy Keach) an old friend of his fathers or at least, he tries to visit him. Watch how unceremoniously Kenny is escorted to two of Colemans underlings, and then compare what happens when Kenny hits the big-time. Kenny is approached by Mark Hancock (Bruce Greenwood) to form a partnership, but Kenny refuses because his name will not be on it. In the meantime, Kenny draws the attention of the FBI. You can tell that McConaughey had a good time with this role. Just as he did for his role as the ailing lead character in The Dallas Buyers Club, he becomes a paunchy, balding, ordinary-looking guy with lots of gusto and guts. Its interesting that The Founder, starring Michael Keaton as a sort of weasel-ly achiever, hit theaters about the same time. Of the two, McConaugheys character is more of a likeable sort. Hes a glad-hander, a chatterbox, a hard drinker and a celebration just waiting to happen the life of the party and then some. Look at his stringy hair and listen to the enthusiasm in his delivery hes every guy that ever tried to sell you something over a beer. His conversation is as lively as his imagination and his drive. Additionally, this is a wonderful role for Howard. She gives Kay a terrific wide-eyed wonder, particularly during her first years with Kenny. Watch the light dim in her eyes as Kenny takes greater and greater risks. 1. Bacon and beer festival Before you gorge on Super Bowl cuisine, start snacking at the annual Bacon and Beer Festival, slated for 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at the RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport. Along with bacon dishes served up from are eateries such as Front Street Brewery and The Starting Line, you'll find the best brews from Great River Brewery, Backpocket Brewing, Green Tree Brewery and more. The fest, which started in Fargo, North Dakota, arrived in Davenport three years ago. For tickets, $25, and more information, visit baconandbeerfestivals.com. 2. Tapping party The Jilted Kilt, a Scottish ale, is ready to pour, so it's time for a tapping party at Great River Brewery. Drink free samples of the new brew to the tune of bagpipers playing traditional Scottish music. The tap starts flowing at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Great River Brewery, 332 E. 2nd St., Davenport. 3. Rajun Cajun Mark Rajun Cajun on your Fat Tuesday to-do list. Cajun Cuisine from area chefs, live music, a silent auction and signature Mardi Gras cocktails, are on tap from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Thunder Bay Grille, 6511 N Brady St., Davenport. Don't forget to dress the part there will be prizes for the most festive outfit. All proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross. Tickets, $20, are available at Eventbrite.com. 4. Red dinner Sacred Heart Cathedral is hosting its annual Red Dinner, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at St. Ambrose University's Rogalski Center, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport. To purchase tickets, $65 per person, visit shcdavenport.org/red-dinner-reservations. 5. Valentine's on the Arsenal Kick off your Valentine's Day festivities at the Arsenal Island Clubhouse, 1838 Gillespie St., Rock Island. The seven-course meal begins with a Boursin cheese roasted vegetable crostini paired with JR Ewing bourbom and ends with chocolate-covered strawberries served with champagne. Cost is $65 per person. Reserve your seat by Feb. 9 by calling 309-782-4372. The event, which is open to the public, starts at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. 6. Cooking class Want to learn some secrets behind the Johnny's Italian Steakhouse menu? Chef Marc Pilichowski promises to show off easy-to-master techniques in the kitchen. The class is slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Johnny's Italian Steakhouse, 1300 River Drive, Moline. Cost is $45 and includes two glasses of wine. Call 309-736-0100 to sign up. For more info, visit johnnysitaliansteakhouse.com. Many Quad-Citians likely haven't heard The Night People perform since the 1960s, but they certainly didn't forget about the band. Thanks to a drove of fan letters nominating the rock band over the last 15 years, The Night People is set to be inducted into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Music Association Hall of Fame this year. After forming in 1964, The Night People played consistently for a decade, including weekends at the Col Ballroom and about five nights per week as the house band at the Draught House. In 1968, they opened for Jimi Hendrix. Over the years, The Night People reunions drew thousands of people, including one at LeClaire Park that drew more than 12,000 people. And Sonny Ashcraft, who served as the groups manager, best friend and roadie, remembers it all well. He was the first to nominate the group back in 2003. I know a million funny stories about The Night People, he said. To watch them play, it gave you goosebumps. They bounce off each other in a way that becomes magic. Gary Pearson, a bassist and vocalist in the band, said that magic comes from longtime respect and friendship, a rare quality with rock n rollers. Weve always been connected, Pearson, who joined the group when he was 15, said. All we did was sit around and play music and had fun with it. And people responded. And for Ashcraft, its simple: Theyre the best that came out of the Quad-Cities from that time. Thats why Ashcraft nominated the group, known for covering songs from The Beatles, The Birds and The Rolling Stones, several times over the years and told other fans to do the same. A lot of us are in our 60s and 70s and dont know how to use computers, he said. So, I just started telling people who were fans to write in and nominate The Night People and say what the band meant to you. The buzz reached the desk of Nick Stika, who joined the Iowa Rock n Roll Music Association as a board member two years ago. Its taken more than 10 years of people nominating them and thats far too long, Stika, an Iowa City-based musician, said. Any band thats been around for 50 years and are still gigging is deserving. About 25 entities, from radio stations to venues to promoters, are inducted each year based on their impact on rock n roll in Iowa. Stika said he interviewed other musicians in the Quad-City community to check out The Night Peoples chops. To have a loyal fan base for that amount of time isnt easy to do, Stika said. It takes a lot of effort to keep a band going; theres a lot of egos, personalities and all that they got through all of that. Along with longevity members of The Night People still play weekly at venues around the Quad-Cities Pearson said something else sets the group apart. Music is just in our blood, he said. Youve got to be a survivor in life and thats how our band is. If theres something you want to do for your life, you go for it. Each of the members had early ties to music. Mike Stroehle, the keyboardist, started playing piano when he was around 6. His cousin, Robert Dahms, can hear a song once and play it on the guitar. And after Rich Collignon was ruining windowsills by beating on them with sticks, his parents finally bought him a drum set. And, most importantly, Pearson said, the group learned to engage with audiences of all sizes, from a reunion show of thousands to a recent small gig at Rivertown Grille & Bar in Davenport. Wherever we play and whoever is there, were playing for them, he said. We want you to have a good time thats what music is about. When they formed the band, there were only about three other musical groups performing around the area, Pearson said. Back then, fans paid $1.50 for a ticket to a sophock-style show at the YMCA. Its at one of those shows where Ashcraft met his wife. For people who grew up with them, they really are the soundtrack of our lives, he said. When people met their spouses or friends or broke up with their guy or girl, The Night People were playing in the background. It's a piece of our history. Now, thats official. Pearson and other members of the band plan to attend the 2017 Hall of Fame induction, set for Sept.1-3 in Arnolds Park, in northwest Iowa. Playing music is a God-given thing; not everyone can do it, Pearson said. Well keep playing as long as we possibly can. A man facing sex abuse and kidnapping charges in Davenport has been taken into custody near Las Cruces, New Mexico, police said. Alan Ray Cassias, also known as Allan Ray Cassias in court records, 54, is charged in Scott County with one count of first-degree kidnapping, a Class A felony that carries an automatic sentence of life in prison upon conviction. He also is charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a Class B felony that carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years. According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport Police Detective Bill Thomas, about noon Jan. 18, Cassias saw his victim walking in the area of Lombard and Harrison streets in Davenport. Cassias asked the victim if she wanted a ride, and she agreed to get into his vehicle. Cassias told the victim he would give her a ride to work, but first he had to stop at his apartment at 1819 W. 3rd St., Apt. 1. Once inside the apartment, Cassias choked the victim until she passed out, according to Thomas arrest affidavit. Cassias then tied the victims hands together with zip ties. When the victim woke up, Cassias threatened her with a knife and told her several times he was going to kill her, according to the affidavit. He then removed one of the zip ties and told the woman to take off her clothes. He then forced the woman into several sex acts. The woman pleaded for her life, and Cassias continued to threaten to kill her. She begged Cassias to let her go, promising she would not tell anyone, according to the affidavit. Cassias took the woman to her job and let her out of his vehicle. The victim then called the police and was taken to a hospital, according to the affidavit. A nationwide detainer was issued for Cassias. Cassias was taken into custody Jan. 23 by U.S. Border Patrol agents and turned over to New Mexico State Police. According to a news release issued Jan. 25 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agents assigned to the Interstate 10 checkpoint west of Las Cruces were conducting immigration inspections when an alert was received on Cassias, who had just passed through in his vehicle. Agents located the vehicle and made a stop without incident, according to the news release. Cassias also was wanted on a federal probation violation. Cassias was being held Tuesday night without bond in the Dona Ana County Jail in Las Cruces. Shots were fired Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of NorthPark Mall, Davenport, as what may have been two groups began firing at one another, police said. The incident took place about 4:20 p.m. in the parking lot near the entrance to the food court on the south side of the mall. Patrons were taken by surprise. Michelle Carson Turner, of Davenport, said she had gone to the mall to return a few items and as she was walking out the door near the food court she heard the shots ring out. "I heard the tires squeal after the shots," Turner said. "To be honest, it all happened so fast and the shots startled me. All I thought was, 'Get down.'" At least two vehicles were struck by bullets, and shell casings were scattered along part of the parking lot. Glass from a car that had been struck littered a spot in the parking lot. There have been no reports of injuries, police said. The mall was not shut down while police combed the food court and other areas for witnesses and looked at video footage. Davenport police are investigating a shooting incident Tuesday afternoon at NorthPark Mall in Davenport. Bullet casings littered the mall parking lot after two groups fired at each other at 4:21 p.m. At least one car was struck, but no injuries have been reported. This is a free breaking news update. Details to come. DES MOINES Gov. Terry Branstad on Wednesday signed a GOP-passed measure designed to head off a projected state budget shortfall by making $117.8 million in mid-year spending adjustments slated to take place by June 30. Senate File 130, which passed the Senate 28-19 and the House 58-38 on party-line votes, included $88.2 million in targeted cuts and $25 million in fund transfers to balance the fiscal 2017 ledger. The current-year budget adjustments were precipitated by lackluster revenue growth blamed on a sagging farm economy that threw out of balance the $7.2 billion spending plans passed by last years split-control Legislature and signed by Gov. Terry Branstad. Among the cuts are $18 million to the regent universities $8 million each at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University and $2 million for the University of Northern Iowa, $3 million for community colleges, $5.5 million for correctional facilities, $4.5 million for the state Department of Education, $3 million for the court system, $1 million for public safety and $11.5 million in executive branch operations. Branstad did not use his item-veto power to change any of the provisions. Lt. Gov. (Kim) Reynolds and I appreciate that the first bill passed by the Iowa legislature, responsibly balances the budget for fiscal year 2017, Branstad said in a statement. As I said in my Condition of the State address, these adjustments are required by law, the governor said. Im pleased that the Legislature made the tough decisions early in the session exempting K-12 education funding, Medicaid payments and property tax backfill for local governments from reduction, providing stability for Iowa schools, businesses, and families. Minority Democrats argued the cuts would hit hard on college students and programs intended to address the states skilled worker shortage, quality of life and public safety when there were other options available to address the unexpected shortfall. Last week, officials in the Iowa Judicial Branch announced that 1,446 employees in the states court system would take an unpaid furlough day on May 26, saving an estimated $364,573 as part of the courts $3 million reduction in spending through June 30. Money also was transferred from several economic development accounts, and $6.1 million was scooped from the states cultural trust fund to erase the projected shortfall. President Donald Trump may be urging Senate Republicans to "go nuclear" on his Supreme Court's nomination, but U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, isn't so eager to have the topic up for discussion. Grassley declined to say Wednesday whether he would support a move to eliminate the ability for minority Democrats to filibuster the president's pick for the court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. "We on the majority side are not going to get involved with any discussion whatsoever of changing the rules ...," he said, noting that Republicans did not obstruct two court nominees from President Bill Clinton and two from President Barack Obama, and he didn't expect Democrats to do it. Asked whether that meant the option was still on the table, Grassley replied: "It shouldn't be interpreted in any way except we aren't going to talk about it or encourage you to write about it." The president announced Gorsuch as his choice Tuesday night for the court, but Democrats still are chafing at the refusal of Senate Republicans to take up Obama's nomination last March of Judge Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia. Democrats also have expressed doubts about Gorsuch's views. Republicans argued that, in an election year, the person voters chose to be president should make the choice fill the Scalia vacancy. Democrats called it obstructionism, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday night that 60 votes ought to be required to confirm Gorsuch. It takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, but eliminating it would mean only 51 votes would be required to confirm Gorsuch. On Wednesday, Trump said he would encourage Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell get tough if Gorsuch is blocked. If we end up with that gridlock I would say, If you can, Mitch, go nuclear, Trump said. Going nuclear has been taken as shorthand for eliminating the filibuster. In 2013, after several Republican filibusters and over their objections, Democrats led by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid changed the filibuster rule to allow majority votes to confirm presidential appointees, but not for the Supreme Court. Scott County Supervisors rolled up their sleeves Tuesday to start weeks of work sessions toward approval of next fiscal years budget. The countys budget must be submitted to the state of Iowa by March 15. County Administrator Mahesh Sharma and David Farmer, budget and administrative services director, presented an overview of the $78,466,726 annual budget for fiscal year 2018 that begins July 1, 2017. The proposed budget, nearly $1 million less than the current $79.5 million budget, provides a revenue and expense plan through June 30, 2018. Public safety and legal services make up 38.9 percent of the budget, followed by administration at 14.6 percent, capital projects 9 percent, roads and transportation 8.7 percent, physical health and social services 7.9 percent and county environment and education at 6.3 percent. Funding mental health services, an area of future financing concern, debt service and government services to residents make up the remaining 13.6 percent. Farmer reported personnel costs, including cost-of-living wage increases and health benefits, will affect the general fund bottom line the most. All of the $1.7 million increase is employee wages and benefits, Farmer said. However, the increase will be offset by re-estimated revenues, including a projected $275,000 increase in local option sales tax, reduced spending and an anticipated overall 3 percent increase in property taxes collected. Annual property taxes collected from agricultural land and structures will increase. But industrial and multi-residential levy rates have declined. We grew, Farmer said. But most of that growth attributed to new taxable property and the assessed valuation of existing property are residential and commercial. Residential is almost two-thirds of the pie. About four-fifths of the tax base is residential and commercial combined. What happens with residential and commercial property is what happens in Scott County, Farmer said. While levy rates could raise residential property taxes by 2.4 percent, or $11.47 for a home valued at $150,000, property tax rates remain as stable as the conservative budget proposed. Revenue drives the budget, Sharma said, and property taxes are by far the countys primary revenue source at 61.9 percent of the projected $76,142,362 in total FY18 revenue. Government grants, road use tax and other taxes also support county departments, programs and functions. Farmer said $7 million in fund balance transfers from capital reserves to the operating budget will cover the costs for planned capital projects as well as balance the FY18 budget. Budget talks focus on operations at the next meeting on Feb. 7 following the regular 8 a.m. committee of the whole meeting. The Eastern Iowa Mental Health Fund managed by a regional fiscal agent for services provided in Scott, Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar and Jackson counties could dominate the discussion. Farmer told supervisors the $4.6 million in state equalization dollars passed to the region in 2015 will sustain services through FY18. To date, Scott County has not withdrawn any money from the other counties to pay for mental health care programs. FY19 funding will be challenging, Farmer said. After a year in which Sen. Chuck Grassley was at the center of controversy over the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Antonin Scalia, Iowas senior senator Tuesday night praised President Donald Trumps selection to fill the vacancy: Judge Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch was described in several quarters Tuesday night as a conservative jurist with lengthy credentials, and Grassley said he was ready to move on his nomination. I think he comes with good credentials, but most importantly hes the sort of a judge that we should have on the Supreme Court because he believes (in) interpreting law and interpreting the Constitution according to original intent, Grassley said in a videotaped statement. Gorsuch now faces Senate confirmation and it will be Grassley, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, who will play a key role in that. Grassleys Iowa Republican colleague, Sen. Joni Ernst, also praised Gorsuch after his nomination was announced, calling him eminently qualified. The people spoke last November and our new president has tonight put forward a well-respected nominee who the Senate has previously confirmed with unanimous support, she said. She added it is time for Washington to work together and fill the vacancy. Democrats, though, werent ready to forgive Republicans for failing to hold a vote on President Barack Obamas nomination last March of Merrick Garland to fill Scalias spot. And they said they would be looking for a judge who would be able to exercise independence. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, the chambers second highest ranking Democrat, said that he will support a hearing and a vote on Gorsuch, but he pointedly noted that both of which were denied to an eminently qualified nominee presented by President Obama. He added the independence of the court "is more critical now than at any time in recent history." Meanwhile, the Iowa group Why Courts Matter, which criticized Grassley for not holding hearings on Garland, also was critical of Gorsuch on Tuesday night. The group, which is a coalition of progressive organizations, said the shocking events of the past few days have underscored why we need a justice who will serve as a check on the politicians in the other branches of government, including President Trump. The group said it did not believe Gorsuch would be independent. Six years ago, I made the decision to move back to my home state of Iowa after teaching for Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) for nine years. The respect and appreciation for my profession as a teacher here caught me off guard during my first back-to-school shopping trip for materials for my classroom. I hadnt experienced this for my profession from the general public since I began my teaching career in Milwaukee. It felt great to experience Iowa nice as an educator. You see, legislators in Wisconsin blamed us and our public schools for the budget problems the state faced, especially in Milwaukee. For more than 20 years, Milwaukee was the focal point for the education war among voucher schools, charter schools, and public schools. To the general public, I was a greedy teacher who didnt care about my students simply because I was a public school teacher. However, the data showed that MPS outperformed voucher and charter schools when even very limited accountability was put in place. During my nine years in Milwaukee, 20 voucher schools closed mid-year, often giving parents less than a week notice to find a new school. Every year, whether it was after the date for the official student count to determine funding from the state, called the 3rd Friday State Attendance Day, or mid-year, MPS was there to greet all of the displaced students and parents. Children with disabilities and behavior concerns were always the first students we welcomed into our schools. Unfortunately, the money the voucher or charter schools received from the state did not follow the child to their new public school. The voucher and charter schools kept it. During the 2009-10 school year, there were more students with IEPs in one high school than all the voucher and non-MPS charter schools combined. For the rest of the state, public school educators were relatively still respected by the general public. That all ended with Gov. Scott Walker and Act 10, the infamous collective bargaining law that led to the Wisconsin Uprising in 2011. Since then, Wisconsin has developed an educational crisis. A free market system has pitted the more affluent districts in an uneven battle for hiring educators against rural and impoverished urban districts, as teachers try to increase their salaries to make up the $2,000-$4,000 cut in take home pay under Act 10. This has led to a high turnover rate of staff which is bad for students. Wisconsin schools have seen a drastic drop in the number of applicants they receive for open positions. Based on the Wisconsin Budget Project for the 2015-16 school year, 54 percent of school districts reported an extreme shortage in hiring qualified teachers in the area of math, 50 percent reported extreme shortage in the area of science. Only 6 percent of school districts reported no shortage in the area of math and 7 percent of schools districts reported no shortage in the area of science. In addition to the passage of Act 10, Wisconsin expanded their voucher program to Green Bay and Racine, and eventually state-wide. This has led to property tax increases at the local level to maintain programs and staffing for the local community public schools. I worry about the divisive damage Iowa will face in years to come if the Legislature votes to create Education Savings Accounts and repeals collective bargaining law. I hope our elected officials at the state capitol will do whats best for Iowas students and their families by supporting our tradition of having strong public schools at the heart and soul of our communities. I also hope they will continue the tradition of Iowa nice and respect and appreciate all of our public employees at the local, county, and state level. Not even one week into his presidency, Mr. Donald Trump has shown his true environmental colors and they're not pretty. He has nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate change denier to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Never mind Pruitt has sued the EPA in the past. Trump has signed an executive order restoring work on the Dakota Access Pipeline through Iowa farmland just days before 140,000 gallons of diesel leaked from a pipeline in northern Iowa. And Trump has signaled his intention to defund climate research and censor climate data before it is released to the public. If we Iowans can all agree on just one thing, it must be the importance of preserving the land entrusted to us and protecting the environment necessary to sustain life. Whether our leaders in Washington agree, may depend on us. Write, speak and act. Charles Collins Bettendorf DES MOINES After an emotional and at times tense day, the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee moved forward legislation that would cut funding from Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. Senate File 2 would discontinue a federal Medicaid waiver that provides millions of dollars in funding to family planning providers across the state. It instead would create a new state-funded program that would exclude facilities that provide abortions from receiving the funds. In fiscal year 2016, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland received $1 million in funding through the waiver. To cover the new program, the state would shift money from a federal block grant that pays for child and family services. Last year, more than 12,000 Iowans received services through the waiver, including Pap smears, birth control and cancer screenings. No state or federal dollars are used to fund abortions. Before the committee meeting even took place, supporters and opponents of the legislation packed the Statehouse. Anti-abortion advocates, dressed in black, sang hymns and prayed outside the committee room. Meanwhile, pro-abortion rights supporters, wearing pink, stood in the room holding up signs that read, I stand with Planned Parenthood. Ive received many comments, and Ive read them, said Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, co-sponsor of the bill. Many Iowans have brought questions to me and concerns, and I have considered them all. Even the ones that called me names, shamed me and told me I have a special place in hell. Sinclair argues that the state-funded program would increase access for women, especially those in rural areas not served by a Planned Parenthood clinic, by spreading dollars more evenly. She said the state-run program, which would begin on July 1, will fund the same services, including Pap smears and sexually transmitted infection testing. There are zero Planned Parenthood clinics in my Senate district, she said. And I would suggest that is true for many other rural Senate districts as well. So anyone in my district would have to drive to one of those clinics, all located in urban areas, to access care for their needs under the current system. Echoing Sinclairs argument, Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, worked to poke holes in that argument, asking several senators all co-sponsors of the legislation to name the new providers in their districts that would offer the same level of care as Planned Parenthood. They were unable to. I have not availed myself to family planning services, Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, replied. Petersen argued that the program has been proven to work. Citing a May 2016 University of Iowa Public Policy Center study, she said, the Iowa Family Planning Network waiver has provided health care to 80,000 women since its inception in 2006; reduced Medicaid costs for deliveries, birth and first year of life by $345 million; and saved the state about $3.40 for every dollar spent. Whats more, she said, politicians are putting themselves between women and their doctors, jeopardizing the care that thousands of low-income women receive through Planned Parenthood. Twenty-eight men (who co-sponsored the legislation) who have never had to get undressed, put on a gown and put their feet in stirrups for a Pap smear are telling women whats best for them, Petersen said. The bill, which was approved 8-5, now will move forward to debate on the Senate floor. A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items for Tuesday: JOB IMPACT: Members of the Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to approve legislation to require that every administrative rule proposed by a state agency or department be accompanied by a jobs impact statement. The information is to outline the rules purpose and statutory authority and to detail the effect on state agencies, local governments, the public and the regulated entities, businesses and self-employed individuals. Backers of Senate File 1 say the measure codifies an executive order that was put in place by Gov. Terry Branstad in March 2011 to build a job-friendly environment for new government rules and regulations. Under the bill that goes to the Senate debate calendar, each impact statement must determine whether a proposed rule would have a positive or negative impact on private-sector jobs and employment opportunities. SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION: HSB 15 would change definition of incarceration so adults in residential correctional facilities would have to register as sex offenders. Under current law, they can go out in the community for at least part of the day without being registered as a sex offender. That, Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, said, presents a danger to the community. HSB 15 was approved by the House Public Safety Committee and sent to the full House for consideration. PIERCING BAN: Discussion has been suspended indefinitely on HF 33 that would make it a misdemeanor for a minor to receive a body piercing or for anyone to provide a piercing other than in the ear lobe without the consent of the minors parent or guardian. A Judiciary subcommittee of Rep. Ashley Hinson, Liz Bennet and Megan Jones agreed there were too many questions about the bill to proceed. The ACLU opposed the prohibition of minors freedom of expression, while the Family Leader said the bill would complement similar regulation of minors receiving tattoos. MONEY SWAP: HF 9 would allow the Iowa Department of Transportation and local governments to swap federal funds in a way that Rep. Gary Worthan, R-Storm Lake, said would make more money available for local projects. Local governments would give their federal funds to the DOT, which would replace the money from the Primary Road Fund. By using local funds, he said, cities and counties would not have to meet Davis-Bacon wage requirements and environmental regulations that might increase the cost of the project. The DOT would have to meet those requirements, but Worthan said the agency has the expertise on staff to meet those requirements more efficiently than a local government that might do a project a year. Committee Democrats were concerned with the attempt to circumvent the wage requirements and the elimination of the buy American provisions attached to federal money used on local projects. When you vote for this bill, you are voting against having to use American-made products, Rep. Abbey Finkenauer, D-Dubuque, said. Taxpayers might appreciate the savings, but not at the expense of American manufacturers and American jobs, she said. The committee approved the bill 12-7. GPS TRACKING: It would be a serious misdemeanor to place a global positioning device on a vehicle without the consent of the person who owns or leases the vehicle under legislation approved by the House Public Safety Committee Tuesday. Exemptions to HF 2 would include parents tracking a minors vehicle, a business owner tracking fleet vehicles and police with warrants, according to Rep. David Kerr, R-Morning Sun. There was no consensus on whether the bill would apply to someone turning on an on-board GPS device purchased with the vehicle. Kerr said amendments will be offered on the floor to address Iowa Department of Transportation concerns about inhibiting the development of driverless vehicles and to expand the prohibition to on or in someone elses vehicle. QUOTE OF THE DAY: I want to say to the people that are concerned the young people, immigrants, families, you are welcome in Iowa. We are welcoming people. You are valued, your voice is valued, and I want you to stay strong because at least some of us here have your back. Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, during an Iowa Senate floor speech discussing President Donald Trumps immigration policy executive order. Compiled by the Des Moines Bureau DES MOINES Legislation seeking state authority to set regulations for roadside solicitations of passing motorists for charitable donations ran into problems Wednesday over concerns it would pre-empt local control and possibly open cities to legal challenges on free speech issues. Members of a House Local Government subcommittee said more work was needed on a bill being pushed by representatives of Iowa firefighters that would establish a state law permitting public safety officials to solicit contributions from passing motorists while standing on a road or street if they were seeking donations for charitable purposes on behalf of a charitable organization. House Study Bill 58 set out requirements and deadlines for local permitting and liability insurance coverage and included a provision that all local ordinances, regulations and rules not consistent with the proposed state statute would become void on July 1. The local pre-emption would not apply to proceedings or punishments in process prior to July 1. Lon Anderson, a lobbyist representing Iowa Professional Firefighters, said the legislation was needed because some cities he named Burlington, Davenport and Des Moines have created or are enforcing ordinances that have reduced their charitable fundraising activities. Its our understanding that this was done to prevent panhandling that can occur that the cities want to get a handle on, he said. Anderson said the firefighter associations in Iowa were seeking state intervention because efforts to find some workable accommodation with local jurisdictions have not been successful. Lindsey McCune, government affairs manager for the Iowa League of Cities, said her members in no way want to negatively impact our public safety officers and their ability to generate revenue, but the language in HSB 58 creates a statewide prohibition against certain types of speech by certain people that is problematic. Its not a content neutral regulation and, therefore, we do believe that it might not pass a constitutional challenge, and it places local governments at risk of being sued, McCune told subcommittee members. Also, she said, cities think they should be able to regulate where people stand along roadways in their localities. This is a safety concern at its core and one that we feel is most appropriately left in the hands of the cities, not the state, McCune said. Doug Struyk, a former legislator representing the city of Des Moines, said he thinks the bill would run afoul of a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an Arizona case that held local ordinances must be content neutral. He said basing an ordinance on nonprofit status and then tying that to law enforcement would not meet the content neutral standard. We are up against the United States Supreme Court and, as strong as the Iowa House and the Senate are and after the governor signs it, we cant trump that, Struyk said, and were putting our cities in a position where theyre going to spend a lot of money trying to defend the situation. The three subcommittee members asked interested groups to meet to address their differences and the constitutional issues in question so they could reconvene in a week or 10 days to consider revisions that would improve the measure. I think this needs a lot more work, subcommittee member Rep. Andy McKean, R-Anamosa, said. The above organizations are recognized by Queens Crap as being beneficial to the city as a whole, by fighting to preserve the history and character of our neighborhoods. They are not connected to this website and the opinions presented here do not necessarily represent the positions of these organizations.The comments left by posters to this site do not necessarily represent the views of the blogger or webmaster.Street or satellite shots used here are from Google Maps or Windows Live Local Needy people hungry for venison will soon have it now that Rapid City's Deer Management Program has finished its annual harvest, the city said. One hundred deer were killed in the week ending Sunday after the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department recommended they be harvested in the city limits, a release said. The deer were killed by certified shooters, and the meat will be donated to Sportsmen Against Hunger and provided to people in need through coordination with Feeding South Dakota. Sportsmen Against Hunger and Black Hills Sportsmen donated $1,000 each toward the cost of the meat processing. The program, which manages the white-tailed and mule deer population within the city limits, has been running since 1995. PIERRE | The South Dakota Board of Regents wants at least 65 percent of state residents between the ages of 25 and 34 to have some type of postsecondary degree by 2025. That total has been discussed before, but Randy Schaefer, president of the South Dakota Board of Regents, said its now a system goal. He spoke to the Joint Appropriations Committee on Tuesday morning. The new threshold is driven by demand from the business marketplace, Schaefer said. By 2020, 65 percent of jobs in South Dakota will require some type of postsecondary education, he said, citing information from Georgetown University. That means theres plenty of work ahead. Now, only 45 percent of state residents between 25 and 34 have postsecondary degrees or certificates, he said. Schaefer, other regent-level officials and the heads of the states six universities plus the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the South Dakota School for the Deaf were visiting with state appropriators Tuesday and today. Theyre highlighting campus goals, successes and challenges as well as discussing the economic benefits the schools provide to the state. If South Dakota can hit the 65 percent mark, the state will realize $107.6 million in new revenue, Schaefer said. Mike Rush, executive director of the regents, said the economic impact of the states six universities amounts to $2.66 billion a year. That compares with a state investment of $197 million in fiscal year 2016. The regents would like to see the split of college tuition be even 50 percent covered by the state and the other half by students. While tuition freezes in fiscal years 2015 and 2017 have helped move the ratio in the right direction, students are still paying 54 percent, Schaefer said. Rush said the number of high school graduates in South Dakota is expected to increase by 14.9 percent in the years ahead. Given that, he said, efficiencies alone wont help the state get to 50-50. The regents, though, arent asking for a tuition freeze this legislative session. When university programs arent used, they are either scrapped, retooled or saved for a specific purpose, Rush said. Between 2014 and 1016, he said, 23 associate and bachelors degrees have been eliminated and 23 others started. Another 23 undergraduate minors were added, and six were scrapped. Fourteen graduate degrees have been added and three dropped. Reducing the number of credit hours required to graduate from college from 128 to 120 trimmed the cost of a degree by 6 percent, Rush said. South Dakota is the only state in the region that doesnt use state general fund dollars to help pay for construction of campus buildings. That, Rush said, puts more of the burden on tuition. And keeping tuition affordable for students is the regents top priority, he said. PIERRE | The university appropriations bill allows each of the public schools to give the Joint Appropriations Committee its wish list for the coming fiscal year. On Tuesday, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology President Heather Wilson said the school needs $250,000 to continue a summer math program for incoming freshmen. Wilson told the committee Mines does not offer any remedial math classes, so students have to be ready for, at minimum, college algebra. She equated the program to WD-40 for the minds of students in that it helps them shake off the rust. It was important to Wilson because Gov. Dennis Daugaard has not included the $250,000 in his budget proposal. The first year, the money was provided by a private donor, she said. Last year, the Legislature approved $250,000 to keep the program going as a pilot project. Wilson argued the program has already proved beneficial. Since it began, there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of Mines students earning As and Bs in math classes, she said. Rep. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, asked why taxpayer money should be used for a program that reinforces information that should have been learned by students in high school. But Sen. Jeff Partridge, R-Rapid City, noted the programs good work. Wilson said Mines has a 98 percent placement rate for graduates and that the average starting salary of its graduates is $63,000 higher than that of students from any Ivy League school. Mines hopes to grow its incoming freshman classes to 650 students, which would give it an enrollment of roughly 3,000, or about all the campus can handle, Wilson said. Another need at Mines is laboratory space, but she said that will have to be addressed in the future. Wilson was congratulated several times on her recent appointment as secretary of the Air Force by President Trump. Black Hills State University in Spearfish also made its presentation, with provost Chris Crawford saying the GEAR UP program has been a great asset to the school. Black Hills State took over control of GEAR UP after a scandal surfaced in 2015. Ultimately, six people died in a murder-suicide, and criminal charges have been filed against three people who used to be involved with the program. GEAR UP is aimed at helping prepare students from low-income families for college. Crawford said a goal is to provide more science and math offerings to middle and high school students. No specific dollar amount was requested. According to information from Black Hills State, 69 high school students participated in a GEAR UP summer program last year, with 53 finishing. Sixty-six middle school students participated, with 39 finishing all five days. So far this school year, 4,955 students in grades 6-12 have been served by GEAR UP. Kathy Johnson, vice president for finance and administration, said its possible to get an undergraduate degree from Black Hills State for less than $11,000, but to do so, students have to start taking dual-credit classes early in high school. The students most likely to get through for less than $11,000 are high achievers who qualify for scholarships, she said. Other schools making presentations to the committee were Northern State University, South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and South Dakota School for the Deaf. Teachers at the latter two did not receive raises last year, so Marjorie Kaiser, the superintendent at both schools, said base salaries for teachers at the two specialized schools have to go up between $6,000 and $8,000 a year. That money is included in the regents proposed budget. There is $86,985 more allotted for salaries and benefits at the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Aberdeen and $59,508 to cover higher salaries and benefits for teachers at the School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls. Northern State University needs legislative approval for a $25 million regional science center. The money has already been raised through donations, but the final approval is needed before construction can begin. Today, officials from South Dakota State University in Brookings, the University of South Dakota and Vermillion and Dakota State will appear before the Appropriations Committee. Montana legislators have steered away from two bills that sought to take away common-sense rules on our public roads. Bipartisan majorities defeated an effort to legalize driving with open containers of alcohol and a bid to ban local governments from restricting drivers use of cellphones. The fact that these two measures got any traction in the 2017 Legislature indicates that some lawmakers still dont understand the dynamics of Montanas tragic traffic records. Alcohol was suspected to be a factor in 94 of 190 Montana traffic deaths in 2016, according to preliminary information from the Montana Highway Patrol. Other drugs were suspected in 72 crash deaths. Montana was one of the last couple of states to ban open containers of alcohol in vehicles on public roads. Yet Rep. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, sought to bring back open containers, and then proposed reducing the penalty to $10. Fortunately, a majority of House Judiciary Committee members understood whats at stake, rejected the road beer bill 13-6 and then tabled it. Among those voting for drinking while driving bill were Reps. Barry Usher and Dale Mortensen of Billings. Voting against the return of open containers were Billings Reps. Virginia Court, committee vice chair, and Kathy Kelker. Rep. Bill Harris, R-Winnett, also voted against drinking while driving, telling the committee: As I grew up, I watched kids die year after year. I believe this is a huge step backwards. Its a terrible message to send to young people. Rep. Jennifer Eck, D-Helena, agreed, saying that legalizing open containers creates a culture where its acceptable to be drinking and driving. Billings and several other Montana cities have enacted ordinances generally restricting the use of cellphones while driving. National research shows that cellphone use, including texting, are factors in a growing number of crashes. Those local ordinances were enacted by locally elected city representatives to reduce the distracted driving risk. Yet Rep. Jeremy Trebas, R-Great Falls, sought to impose a statewide ban on local government bans. His bill proposed that state government usurp local decision making. Trebas convinced the House Judiciary Committee to pass his ban on local bans on a 10-9 vote. But the full House stood up for local control on Tuesday, rejecting HB194 on a vote of 37-63. Thanks to the Billings area Republicans and Democrats who supported our city and others who recognized that holding a phone or texting is dangerous while driving: Virginia Court, Geraldine Custer, Jeff Essmann, Donald Jones, Jessica Karjala, Kathy Kelker, Kelly McCarthy, Jimmy Patelis and Sharon Stewart-Peregoy. Several local Republicans voted to take away local decision making for public safety: Dennis Lenz, Dale Mortensen, Vince Ricci, Adam Rosendale, Barry Usher, Peggy Webb and Daniel Zolnikov voted for HB194. The work of the Legislature is to pass good laws and to defend them from bad ideas. Thanks to the lawmakers who voted to keep Montana on a path to safer, sober, less distracted travel. This year's legislative session in South Dakota, dominated overwhelmingly, as usual, by my fellow Republicans, is surely going out of its way to get us locals to do their centrally controlled bidding, at least when it comes to our schools. I mean, some of the coercive bills that a few of these Republicans are advancing in their determination to have all of South Dakota's localities dance to their ideological tunes makes a laughingstock out of our GOP's historic commitment to letting people run their own lives and institutions on a local level. That particularly sacrosanct principle applies to education. The 2016 GOP national platform specifically says that as Republicans, "we reject a one-size-fits-all approach to education and support a broad range of choices for parents and children at the state and local level." Get that, South Dakota Republican legislators? The GOP supports a broad range of choices. Taking choices away from our local school districts and the boards that run them is the stuff of a party that wants to hypocritically insert itself into people's local affairs. A couple of irritating examples of this come quickly to mind. The first is Senate Bill 55, which will require schools in the state to let teachers teach anything they deem "scientific" to their students in an "objective scientific manner." The unlimited potential for academic mayhem inherent to the nebulous language of this bill (you could make a case for witchcraft being taught as science, for example) is one thing, but that the bill brings the heavy-handed mandate of the state into classroom content decisions goes against every principle of local control that Republicans cherish. Why have school boards when the powers in Pierre want to impose decisions like this? Another effort to mandate the operations of our schools has to do with firearms. This one, Senate Bill 89, lumps our schools in with every "public entity" in the state, and would make schools liable for civil damages if "a person who is unable to carry a firearm due to prohibition" on their premises were injured by a crime of violence. If this bill passes, your local school board would be pressured by the state into making a decision about allowing teachers, staff, students, visitors, everybody, to carry firearms on campus. Given the craziness that's been abounding on campuses all over the country in recent years, this is a decision that merits some consideration, my personal feelings notwithstanding. School boards should indeed be thinking about this but they should be making the decision without the burden of civil liability law imposed on them by the State of South Dakota. If the state wants to make the law apply to state-owned facilities, fine. But our local public schools? No way this Republican can accept that kind of coercion from the State of South Dakota, where GOP dominators have abandoned the self-limiting principles that used to define their party. RAPID CITY | Harvey K. Malon, 93, died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Harvey Kenneth Malon was born Nov. 22, 1923, on the family farm near St. Paul, MN, to George W. and Freida E. (Dordell) Malon. He graduated from South St. Paul High School in 1941. He served in the United States Army from 1943-45, and attended the University of Minnesota and South Dakota State University, majoring in Engineering and Business Administration. On Jan. 8, 1951, he was married to Loretta Katherine Hall in Omaha, NE. Following their marriage, they returned to Minnesota where he went to work as an engineer for Northern States Power Company. In 1952, they moved to Miller, SD, where he worked for the Rural Electric Co-op as manager until 1964. They moved to Wall, SD, where Harvey worked as the manager of West River Electric until 1966. He then went to work for Rushmore Electric Power Co-op in Rapid City until retiring in 1991. In 1989, he purchased a 2,000-acre ranch near White Owl, SD. During the 22+ years he owned and managed this ranch, he did numerous activities to promote wildlife and soil conservation. He was honored for this dedicated work in 2008, when he was given the South Dakota Wildlife Conservationist of the Year award, as sponsored by the Black Hills Sportsmens Club. The ranch was a larger part of Harveys life and passion for him until he could no longer manage the day-to-day responsibilities and he sold it to a neighboring rancher. He has been active in many civic, professional, and community organizations throughout his lifetime. He was a fisherman and hunter, belonging to several sportsman organizations including the Mule Deer Foundation, Black Hills Sportsman Club, and the SD Wildlife Federation serving as a board member and various officer positions for many years. He was very active in the Morning Optimist Club and the Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee. Harvey also served on four different South Dakota state boards with appointments by four different governors. They were Trails Commission, State Electrical Board, Advisory Council on Outdoor Recreation, and Certified Public Accounting. He was also appointed by the United States Secretary of the Interior to the Bureau of Reclamation Advisory Council for South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. Harvey was instrumental in the Rails to Trails program which is now part of Mickelson Trail. Harvey is survived by three sons, Craig A. Malon of Highlands Ranch, CO, Kevin H. Malon of Rapid City, and Scott L. (Laney) Malon of Riggins, ID; two daughters, Diane R. (David) Sieh of Rapid City and Karen L. Gordon of Highlands Ranch, CO; and four grandchildren, Alexandra, Jacob, Emma, and Hannah. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Loretta on March 17, 2010; two brothers, Arthur and Donald; and a sister, Helen. Memorial visitation begins at 6 p.m., with 7 p.m. vigil services Thursday, Feb. 2, at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home. Memorial Funeral Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Interment, with full military honors will be at 1 p.m. at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. A memorial will be established in his memory at Club for Boys Cabin and South Dakota Wildlife Federation Youth Camp. Online condolences may be left at the funeral home website. Ex- Russian MP Ponomaryov seeks to drop embezzlement charges against him MOSCOW, February 1 (RAPSI) Former State Duma lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov has filed a request with the Investigative Committee demanding to drop charges brought against him in the Skolkovo Foundation embezzlement case, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday citing his lawyer Maria Bast. Ponomaryov has passed a lie-detector test which revealed that he is innocent, the agency quoted the attorney as having said. Ponomaryov fled Russia in 2015. Reportedly, he left for Ukraine and received temporary residence permit there. In June 2016, he was stripped of the State Duma lawmakers seat because of systematic failure to execute his MP duties. According to investigators, Ponomaryov assisted former Skolkovo Vice President Alexey Beltyukov in embezzling the foundations funds. Beltyukov allegedly paid Ponomaryov $750,000 of the foundation's money, without management approval, for lectures and research projects between February 2011 and February 2012. An investigation was launched into Beltyukov's actions to analyze the subject, the content and the academic value of the lectures that Ponomaryov was contracted to provide. In August 2013, Moscow's Gagarinsky District Court ruled that Ponomaryov must repay 2.7 million rubles to the Skolkovo Foundation, Russia's high-tech development center, for an unreasonably overpriced service. The Moscow City Court has upheld the ruling. Ponomaryov pleaded guilty and insisted that the case against him is politically motivated. Due to weather concerns, the Montana Department of Veterans Affairs has postponed a town hall meeting that was scheduled for Missoula on Thursday. The event will be rescheduled in the coming months as weather allows, according to VA Montana spokesperson Mike Garcia. The meeting was scheduled to take place at the Missoula Public Library at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday. It was to be hosted by the VA Montana Health Care System and the Fort Harrison Regional Benefit Office to give members of the public an opportunity to ask questions about provider agreements, billing and other topics. Because of widespread snowstorms around Montana, driving conditions have been deemed too unsafe to have people driving from long distances. Before you begin looking for an answer, you have to know the question. Thats where the 16 members of the Bitterroot River Recreation Advisory Committee began their journey this week in considering potential alternatives to managing fishing pressure on the upper reaches of the popular trout river. Facilitator Mike Mitchell challenged the diverse group of anglers, outfitters and conservationists to create a statement that defined the specific issues they would be looking to address over several day-long sessions. Before that debate began, the committee was provided with background information on trout populations, angling pressure estimates and a primer in how the Bitterroot National Forest manages fishing access sites on the West Fork of the Bitterroot. Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bitterroot-based biologist Chris Clancy told the committee the cutthroat fishery in the West Fork of the Bitterroot is doing well despite increases in fishing pressure. To me, its a social issue, Clancy said. The fishery is holding up surprisingly well despite all the fishing pressure. Much of that can be credited to changes in both restrictions for harvesting trout and the growing number of avid catch-and-release fishermen who seldom take a fish home for dinner. Since 1990, fishermen have been required to release any cutthroat trout they catch on the main stem of the river and both the east and west forks. Back then, there were so few cutthroats that if everyone took one fish home, they were being overfished, Clancy said. The catch and release regulations made a big difference. The issue of crowding is a little more challenging to define. What one person considers crowded may be anothers idea of solitude. FWP Fishing Access Site Program Manager Christine Oschell told the committee that the data the state has collected over the last few years does tell a really clear story on how fishing pressure on the West Fork and upper reaches of the Bitterroot River has increased over the last few years. Much of that increase has come from out-of-state anglers, many of whom are on guided trips. That increase in the number of boats on the river is enough to send some local fishermen looking to cast a line elsewhere. Last May, FWP sent out 3,000 surveys to Ravalli County fishermen to learn how those local fishermen were using the West Fork of the Bitterroot. Oschelle said 952 replied. In November, the state sent out an additional 3,000 surveys to local anglers asking about the upper reaches of the main stem of the river. Once again, they had a good return after 722 people took the time to fill out the surveys. The response rate was unbelievable, Oschell said. Ive never seen a response rate that high. What it tells me is that people care about this issue and want to talk about it. More than a third said they hadnt fished the West Fork in the last three years. Another 69 percent said they have spent significantly less time fishing there over the same time period. That same 69 percent said there were too many outfitters and float anglers on the popular reach of river for their tastes. So instead, they focused their angling efforts of the lower Bitterroot, the East Fork, Rock Creek, Missouri and the Big Hole. When the advisory committee was asked to detail what the trigger was to begin the process, most said it was the perception that overcrowding was displacing local anglers from the popular fishery. But some on the committee said there could be a lot of different reasons that fishermen are focused on the upper river. For instance, during a portion of the year, waters in the lower river warm faster than the upper river, which is fed by the dam at Painted Rocks reservoir. In years past, the state has instituted hoot owl regulations on the lower reaches, which can force anglers to move upstream. Some of the committee members also suggested that FWP should consider including the entire river if regulations are necessary to reduce crowding on the upper reaches to help spread anglers out over a larger area. The hope is the committee can develop recommendations it will offer to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks sometime later this month after it completes another two-day session. The process wont be easy. The river is a victim of its own popularity, said committee member Mark Stermitz. Managing fish is easier than managing people, he said. Committee member Dave Campbell traced the problem back to Brad Pitt and Norman Maclean. If they had focused on walleye fishing at Fort Peck, we probably wouldnt be here, Campbell said. KALISPELL Roger Wayne Stevens of Kalispell passed away peacefully on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in the comfort of his home at the age of 80. He was born Mar. 30, 1936 in Lemmon, South Dakota to Lloyd and Marlys Stevens. In 1936, the family moved to Kalispell. They then relocated to Martinez, California as his dad worked in the shipyards during WWII. In 1946 the family moved to Corvallis and he graduated from Corvallis High School in 1956. Roger married Barbara Hupfer in 1959 and they were married 58 years. They were blessed with three children, Debbie, John and Polly. Rogers career with the Montana National Guard spanned over 38 years with positions held in Missoula and Kalispell. He transferred to Kalispell in 1981 as the Shop Chief, retiring in 1993. Roger also had a second career as a Montana Public Servant with over 40 years as a volunteer fireman. He served as the Chief of the Corvallis Volunteer Fire Department and after relocating to Kalispell, he joined the South Kalispell Volunteer Fire Department. Within a short period of time, he became the Fire Chief. He retired from that position in 2008, but remained an active board member. He was a member of the Corvallis Community Church and after moving to Kalispell, attended Central Bible Church. Between the two communities, he spent over 40 years working with children in the AWANA and other youth programs. He loved watching them grow up and was most proud when they came back to visit and shared their life experiences with him. Roger is survived by his wife, Barbara of 58 years; his children, Debbie Cognata of Placerville, California, John Stevens, residing in Polson, and Polly Caudill from Coeur dAlene, Idaho; Brother Lowell from Richland, Washington, sister Myrna Doerr of Placerville, California, and sister-in-law, Kathy Garrod, of Hamilton; nine grandchildren and 13 great-grand children with the 14th due in June. Numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins also survive him. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Ronald. A Celebration of Life service will be held at Central Bible Church in Kalispell on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m., with food and fellowship following in the church gym. Graveside services will be held at the Corvallis Cemetery on Monday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m., with food and fellowship following at the Corvallis Community Church. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the South Kalispell Fire Department or the Central Bible Church AWANA program. The family also would like to thank everyone that loved and supported him and especially the Home Options Hospice organization and Comfort Keeper caregivers who helped care for him. Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com. BATTLE MOUNTAIN, NV. After flying through a long and adventurous life, Cynthia (Cindy) Black Massey passed away on Tuesday morning, Jan. 24, 2017, following a fierce, brief bout with ovarian cancer. Cindy was a 20-plus-year resident of Missoula and Hamilton, and a current resident of Battle Mountain, Nevada, where her husband, John Gant Massey, works for the BLM. Cindy was born on Mar. 5, 1957 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and as an Army brat was raised in California, Germany and Ohio. Cindy graduated in 1994 with a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, and worked until her passing in research and development on internet database security for Ellucian, a worldwide developer of higher education software. Cindy was an avid hang glider pilot, softball player, whitewater rafter and outdoors enthusiast. In 1992, on her first backpacking trip ever, she hiked the Appalachian Train, walking from Georgia to Maine with her husband, Gant, with whom she remained married for over 27 years. In addition to Gant, she also is survived by her mother, Louise Vinson Black of Gulfport, Mississippi, her two brothers, George Glen (Buck) Black, also of Gulfport, and Robert Lee (Bob) Black of Jefferson City, Missouri, plus multiple, beloved nieces and nephews. She was proceeded in death by her father, Gordon Charles Black (Col., Army Medical Corps). In addition to her other virtues, Cindy had a soft heart for small, helpless, furry animals; a donation in her memory to the Humane Society, SPCA or a local animal shelter therefore is requested in lieu of cards or flowers. A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m., on Feb. 17, at the United Methodist Church, Battle Mountain. CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Buckeye State's tallest building is back in local hands. Tuesday, the Millennia Companies of Valley View bought the 57-story Key Tower office building and an attached hotel and parking garage. The $267.5 million acquisition was a colossal commercial real estate deal for Greater Cleveland. And the purchase was a coup for Millennia, a privately held family of companies focused on the apartment business. "That's a mammoth transaction," said Alec Pacella, managing partner at the NAI Daus brokerage in Beachwood. "To think a local buyer's behind that, pulling the strings - especially a local buyer who's not on the radar screen, when you think about office buyers - that's pretty amazing. Pretty amazing. That's real estate, right? Never a dull moment. Always a surprise." Now Millennia controls a 1.3-million-square-foot office complex, a 400-room Marriott hotel and nearly 1,000 parking spaces in an underground garage. And the new owner plans to make significant investments, to upgrade public spaces and ready office floors for new tenants. Millennia expects to move its headquarters and hundreds of employees from Rockside Road to Key Tower this year. And all signs point to Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., a publicly traded real estate company now based in Terminal Tower, following suit in 2018. Those leases - totaling 193,000 square feet - will tip occupancy at the office tower over 95 percent. Forest City hasn't publicly announced its moving plans. Millennia alluded to the increased occupancy in a news release late Tuesday but didn't provide details about incoming tenants. "I am honored to be a part of such an iconic asset and one with such a rich history of excellence," Frank Sinito, Millennia's chief executive officer, said in the news release. Sinito bought Key Center from Columbia Property Trust, Inc., a publicly traded company that put the complex on the market in late 2015. "Key Center is the most recognizable icon on the Cleveland skyline, and we were determined to take a patient approach in order to identify the right buyer for this significant asset," Nelson Mills, president and chief executive of Atlanta-based Columbia, said in a news release after markets closed Tuesday. "Our diligence has now been rewarded, allowing us to exit the Cleveland market at a price within our expectations and accelerate our focus on high-barrier markets." Other potential buyers, including former Willis Tower owner American Landmark Properties and an investor group led by real estate developer Scott Wolstein, kicked the tires, but ultimately didn't proceed. Now it seems as though the collapse of other deals and a long closing timeline accrued to Sinito's benefit. He paid less than prior suitors offered and, meanwhile, improved the upside of the deal by aggressively courting office tenants to fill empty space. As of Dec. 31, Key Tower was 82 percent occupied, Columbia said Tuesday. Cleveland-based KeyCorp, with 13.5 years left on a lease, is the largest tenant even after downsizing its offices, which bleed into the 1880s Society for Savings building that's linked to the tower's lower floors. Other large tenants include law firms BakerHostetler, Squire Patton Boggs and Thompson Hine. In an October investor document, Columbia put the value of Key Center - the company's largest single property, by square footage - at $342.6 million. The $267.5 million sale price seems like a good deal for the buyer, Pacella said. And it's still a striking figure for the region, where Pacella tallied $805 million worth of investment sales spanning 124 properties for all of 2016. "I'm sure it's going to be one of the biggest sales, certainly in the second tier [of cities], this year," he said. "I can't think of the last time we've had a sale that big." A three-member bank group, led by Citigroup, provided first-mortgage financing for the purchase and renovations. Bank of America and Deutsche Bank were the other participants. Apollo Global Management, a publicly traded private equity firm based in New York, is the mezzanine lender, bridging the gap between the bank loan and equity Millennia raised. Mark Vogel and Dan Geuther of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, which assembled the financing, said Key was a challenging undertaking because of its size, location and complexity. The blend of office and hotel - a turn-off for some out-of-town buyers and institutional investors - made the property tougher to market and understand. Worries about overbuilding of hotels, including the taxpayer-financed, 600-room Hilton Cleveland Downtown that opened in mid-2016 next to the convention center, also were a hurdle. Lenders had to get to know Cleveland while also becoming comfortable with Millennia, which owns more than 20,000 apartments - a very different product than a trophy office tower and a Marriott. "The asset shows so well," Vogel said of Key Center. "These lenders we were trying to convince, when we brought them to the asset, it alleviated their concerns." Sinito initially approached Key Tower as a potential tenant, not a buyer. Millennia began looking for downtown office space in 2014, with a preference for being an owner-occupant. The company bought the empty Garfield Building on East Sixth Street for an apartment conversion and later purchased the 75 Public Square office building for another redevelopment project. But Sinito missed out on other, larger historic buildings that might have accommodated Millennia's growing workforce. Meanwhile, Key Center hit the market, and investors eyeing the property started approaching Millennia about moving in. Ultimately, Sinito decided to wear both hats: Buyer and tenant. "It took a collaborative effort to complete this transaction," he said in a news release, mentioning Columbia and the BakerHostetler and Benesch law firms. "My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone involved on both sides of this deal." Completed in 1991, Key Tower was the brainchild of developer brothers Dave and Dick Jacobs, who also owned the Cleveland Indians until 1999. The brothers died in 1992 and 2009, respectively. Jacobs Real Estate Services, an affiliate of the Richard E. Jacobs Group of Westlake, still manages and leases the tower and will continue to oversee daily operations for Millennia. In 2005, Columbia bought a 50 percent stake in Key Center from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, a pension fund. Jacobs sold Columbia the remainder in 2008. Now, nine years later, an iconic building with Northeast Ohio roots has come full circle - in an outcome nobody predicted when Columbia signaled its intentions to sell in 2015. "It's something," Pacella said of Sinito's acquisition. "Normally, you wade into office - up to the knees, see if [you] like it. He's jumping in with both feet. And then some." CLEVELAND, Ohio - Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., plans to move its headquarters to Key Tower in spring 2018, taking seven floors at a skyline-defining building that changed hands Tuesday. The $267.5 million sale of Key Center to the Millennia Companies, a local buyer, locked up a lease deal to bring Forest City to the 57-story office tower at the heart of the complex. The relocation follows extensive restructuring at Forest City. The publicly traded real estate business is a much different creature than it was in 1997, when Forest City took up residence in Terminal Tower, its current home. Moving to modern offices at Key Tower will allow the company to shrink its footprint by 40 percent, to 147,795 square feet. And the company's hop north, across Public Square, will open up its longtime offices for an apartment conversion - a project already being planned by the K&D Group of Willoughby. Millennia announced the Forest City lease Wednesday morning, in a news release that also outlined the new office landlord's plans for tens of millions of dollars in improvements. Those investments include overhauling the Key Center fitness and banquet facilities, part of a private club that recently closed; enlivening the tower's austere lobby with new seating, artwork, lighting and an eatery called Marble Room Sushi; renovating the restaurant, lobby and other public spaces at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown hotel; sprucing up the plaza outside; and prepping office space for Forest City and Millennia, which will move its own headquarters downtown from Valley View. "Forest City and the Millennia Companies share the same vision for what Key Center will become," Frank Sinito, Millennia's chief executive officer, said in the news release. "I believe that Millennia employees and the employees of Forest City and the other tenants of the building want a workplace that is modern and exciting, as well as comfortable and welcoming." Millennia will fill just over 40,000 square feet at the tower. Forest City employs approximately 500 people at its downtown offices, on the broader, lower floors of Terminal Tower. At Key Tower, the company will occupy floors 23 to 27, 31 and 32, with options to expand down the road. It's unclear how many headquarters workers Forest City will have a year from now, since the company still is selling off properties. David LaRue, the company's president and chief executive officer, wouldn't talk about lease terms during a phone interview this week. But he said Key Tower emerged as the winning location after a search that spanned 20 existing buildings and prospects for new construction. "It would be nice to build our own building, because we're developers at heart," LaRue said. "But we're also very focused on how we allocate capital. ... One of our strategic drivers has been operational excellence, and that is keeping the cost of running your business as low as possible while creating an environment where people want to be. And the opportunity at Key Tower was much more cost-effective by any measure, current or long-term." At a newly constructed office building, Forest City would have been looking at rents of $40 per square foot or more. The average asking rent in downtown Cleveland for class A space - the newest, best buildings, including Key - was $24.69 per square foot at the end of last year, according to a fourth-quarter report from the JLL real estate brokerage. Forest City likely is paying more than the average, but much less than the cost of renting something built from scratch. "The Key Center deal was an excellent value for them," said Chandler Converse of the CBRE Group, Inc., brokerage, which represented Forest City in the site search and lease deal. "It's right on Public Square, which they love. That's an important part of their organization. It keeps them in the neighborhood." The runner-up option, LaRue said, was buying land and developing a building in-house. He wouldn't identify the site that the company seriously considered. Leaving Terminal Tower, which the company sold to K&D last year after a 33-year run of ownership, is bittersweet. Forest City developed a mall, new offices and the Ritz-Carlton hotel behind and beneath Terminal Tower in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over the past few years, the company has sold off most of Tower City, along with properties in other markets that don't fit Forest City's focus on office buildings, apartments and mixed-use projects in major cities. LaRue said Terminal Tower remains a great, iconic building. But the company's offices were too spread out, too chopped up and too inefficient. "I'm really looking forward to seeing more people," he said. "I could go a whole year without seeing somebody in the Terminal Tower, and then go another year and see them at the holiday party." Forest City wouldn't talk about possible public incentives earmarked for the company's headquarters relocation. A city of Cleveland spokesman didn't provide any details in response to a request for comment about potential financial assistance. JobsOhio, a quasi-public statewide economic-development organization, has talked to Forest City but doesn't have an executed agreement with the company. LaRue said any responsible company, public or private, tries to get the best deal possible for its shareholders or investors. "What I would say we didn't do: We never threatened to leave town," he said. "If we did anything, we made it very clear, with the relationship we have with the mayor and the administration, that our choice was primarily to be downtown. But we needed to make sure we looked at different options." 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In the Name of HumanityWe REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America! This slogan stretches its arms wide to the people of the world, correctly captures the stakes for the future in all its dimensions, and puts before people clearly what must be fiercely opposed. Go to RefuseFascism.org for posters and stickers to take to protests and programs, to post up in shop windows and lawns, and to spread in many other ways. What IS Fascism? Fascism is the exercise of blatant dictatorship by the bourgeois (capitalist-imperialist) class, ruling through reliance on open terror and violence, trampling on what are supposed to be civil and legal rights, wielding the power of the state, and mobilizing organized groups of fanatical thugs, to commit atrocities against masses of people, particularly groups of people identified as enemies, undesirables, or dangers to society. At the same timeand this can be seen through studying the examples of Nazi Germany and Italy under Mussoliniwhile it will likely move quickly to enforce certain repressive measures in consolidating its rule, a fascist regime is also likely to implement its program overall through a series of stages and even attempt at different points to reassure the people, or certain groups among the people, that they will escape the horrorsif they quietly go along and do not protest or resist while others are being terrorized and targeted for repression, deportation, conversion, prison, or execution. On January 27, Donald Trump issued a vicious ban on immigrants from seven majority Muslim countries and a ban on all refugees. With the stroke of a pen, the lives of thousands were destroyed and shockwaves of terror and fear were sent into entire countries and communities. By that evening, thousands amassed at airports in protestchanting, forming emergency legal clinics, blocking traffic and completely upending business as usual. These protests have continued in different forms for days, clogging major cities and towns all across the country and in other parts of the world. Yet, the Trump-Pence regime barreled ahead. When federal judges in four jurisdictions quickly blocked the implementation of aspects of Trumps order, the White House pushed back and reports indicate that some Customs and Border Protection agents repeatedly resorted to coercion and deception to deny entry to people who legally should have been admitted to the U.S. When more than 100 members of the State Department indicated deep alarm at Trumps orderutilizing a customary means through which members are encouraged to offer dissent without retaliationWhite House press secretary Sean Spicer ominously threatened them: Get with the program or... Go. (Since then, more than 1,000 have signed a letter opposing Trumps order.) Then, on Monday night, acting Attorney General Sally Yates, the highest law enforcement official in the land, announced that the Department of Justice would not defend Trumps ban in court because she questioned its legality. The Trump-Pence regime struck back fast and with vengeance. They fired and excoriated Attorney General Yates, even accusing her of betrayal. Note well: the role of the Attorney General is not to do the bidding of the President, but to enforce the laws and the Constitution of the U.S. This Muslim travel ban from Trump is not only cruel, immoral and illegalit is FASCIST. In its content and in how it is being carried out, the Trump-Pence fascist regime has not only escalated its extreme xenophobia and nationalism, demonizing and unleashing terror against those it deems as enemies, undesirables, or dangers to society. It has also gone further in shredding what have up till now been the supposed civil and legal rights of the people and the checks and balances which have long been considered foundational to U.S. society. Meanwhile, Kellyanne Conway escalated the regimes assault on the media and the truth by demanding that journalists who had talked smack about Trump be fired. Christian fascist and white supremacist ideologue Steve Bannon was added as a core member of the National Security Council. All on top of a dizzying week in which Trump green-lighted environmentally devastating pipelines, moved ahead with his vicious border wall, lied about basic facts, and then threatened people who challenged his LIES, muzzled government agencies, assaulted science itself, escalated the war on women and abortion rights worldwide, and pushed forward with his cabinet of Christian fascists and war criminals, and more. This regime is fascist. It is illegitimate. It must be driven from power. One of the great strengths of the outpourings against Trumps Muslim banin addition to the immediacy of peoples actions and the depth of their anger and determinationwas the degree to which they linked this assault to the other elements of the Trump-Pence program. Pink pussy hats from the Womens Marches dotted every outpouring. Hundreds grabbed up signs from RefuseFascism.org, No! In the Name of HumanityWe REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America. Many invoked the lessons of Nazi Germany, including homemade signs that read, First they came for the Muslims, and we said Not This Time Motherfuckers! Even the hashtag that took off, #NoBanNoWall, linked the ban on Muslims to the vicious assault on Mexicans and other Latinos. All this must be built uponbut it also must go further. Resisting every attack by Trump-Pence is essential, but it alone will not be sufficient. The regime as a whole must be driven from power. This is what we must set our sights on. Unless and until we succeed in this, the Trump-Pence fascist regime will continue to barrel ahead with its fascist agenda, to trample the objections of the masses of people, to cut down any within the ruling structures who oppose them, to shred even the limited previously existing checks and balances, and to hammer into place a radically new world order and fascist form of governance in this country. It is clear that there are peoplemillions and tens of millionswho can potentially be mobilized to fight against it and who must be led to step outside the confines of politics-as-usual (including protest-as-usual) to actually OUST this horrendous monstrosity. This, and only this, is what can avert the brewing catastrophe for the planet and its people. Sunsara Taylor is a writer for revcom.us and a co-initiator of RefuseFascism.org. Follow her on Twitter: @SunsaraTaylor Find out more about the revolution Find out about BA, the leader of the revolution For full coverage and the current issue of REVOLUTION click here Kathmandu, Nepal: Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture airlines company, has added a second brand Airbus 320-214 aircraft in its fleet. The aircraft was made in Germany. The aircraft, with call-sign 9N-ALV, which was landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the only international airport of Nepal on Tuesday has operated its service in new destinations. With the adding of the new aircraft, the company has added two destinations-- Kuala Lumpur and Yangon-- as its scheduled flights. Earlier, the airlines had been conducting its scheduled flights at Doha and Colombo from Kathmandu since last year. The Himalaya is the joint venture company between Nepalese investors and the China's Tibet Airlines and Nepalese private-sector companies. Guwahati, February 1 : Nagaland turned more violent after two people were killed and 11 others injured on Tuesday night, while police fired at agitators who protests in the wake of the state government's decision to hold the Urban Local Body (ULB) polls on February 1. The incident took place at Dimapur, one of the hub town of the north eastern Indian state on Tuesday night, when the mass agitation against the state government, claimed the life of two youth in police firing in Dimapur and injuring 11 others. On the other hand, seven others were also injured in police firing in Longleng town, but the Nagaland police denied the report. According to the reports, a youth who was critically injured in police firing was taken to the hospital, where he succumbed to injury. The deceased youth was the agitators, who gathered near the private residence of Chief Minister TR Zeliang at 3rd Mile at around 9-30 pm. Police reportedly fired at the agitators, who were attempted to gate crash inside the residence. A driver said that, police stopped his car and asked him to take a dead body to hospital. The body was yet to be identified. The protest came more violent, when the state government decided to hold the ULB poll on February 1. (Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism meeting has agreed to expedite and implement India-funded projects in Nepal in a time-bound manner. The agreement was made during the second meeting of the Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism held in Kathmandu on Monday. It is said that the meeting has made a comprehensive review of the progress made in economic and development corporation projects between Nepal and India since the first meeting was held on 29 November 2016. Responding to the widespread criticism for not carrying out the commitments made from the Indian side, the Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism was agreed to set up during the visit to India by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in September last year. The Mechanism was envisaged in order to take measures to ensure that all ongoing bilateral economic and development projects are implemented within the defined timeline. The press release issues after the meeting has termed successfully ending of the meeting as it had made a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in economic and development corporation projects between Nepal and India since the first meeting. Third meeting of the mechanism is scheduled in the last of week of March in Kathmandu. According to the press release, discussions were also held on ranges of bilateral issues cross-border rail projects, Integrated Check Posts, cross-border transmission lines, Arun III and Upper Karnali hydropower projects, Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, Postal roads, Line of Credit projects and reconstruction projects. Kathmandu, Nepal: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Program Committee's 53rd meeting kicks off in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, from Wednesday. Nepal has hosted the meeting in the capacity of the SAARC Chair. The meeting is held under the leadership of Foreign Ministry's Regional Organization Division Chief Mani Prasad Bhattarai. It is said that ranges of issues related to the SAARC's activities since mid April 2016, operation of the SAARC Secretariat, the budget for the next year and many others are fixed as the agendas of the meeting. The meeting is held in the mean time when Pakistan has expressed its interest to host the 19th summit in its capital city Islamabad. Kathmandu, Nepal: Saraswati Puja, which is also known as Shree Panchasmi or Basanta Panchami is being celebrated across the country by worshipping Goddess Saraswati on Wednesday. Goddess Saraswati is regarded as the symbol of knowledge, wisdom, learning, art, music and culture in the Hindu religion. The festival used to celebrate every year on the fifth day of the bright half of the Nepali month of Magh. The festival is also taken as the symbol of an advent of the spring season as plants start sprouting. KAVRE, Feb 1: It takes half an hour for Shubhdra Giri of Kattike Deurali-7 of Kavre to reach her school - Prabha Higher Secondary School at Kattike Deurali-2. But the ninth grader Giri is faced with a big problem when nature calls during school hours as the school toilet has no water. If she needs to go toilet during school hours, she has to wait until she reaches home in the evening after school. "We have a very hard time when we have diarrhea or loose motion during school time as the school has no water at all," Giri shared the predicament she and other students at her school are facing. Now such a difficult situation has become normal for us as we are accustomed to tolerating this, she added. Though there is a water tank placed on the top of the school toilet, toilet taps always run dry, said tenth grader Asmita Gautam. According to her, there are two toilets in her school. One is rarely opened for us while the second that is said to be for the use of students always lacks water. People from the locality come to fetch water from a small tap remaining on the school premises. There is always a crowd of local villagers on the premises to collect water from the school tap and due to this school students can't use even drinking water in need, Gautam added. Asked about the problem of water crisis in the school, teacher Chuda Koirala said the school has a girl-friendly toilet, but students are unable to use it due to the shortage of water. The school has no alternative source of water and a single tap inside the school premises is being used by the locals. The entire village is reeling under the water crisis. As the villagers, the school is also waiting for the completion of the Churikhola Lifting Water Project as it hopes that there would be sufficient water supply in the school and in the entire village once the project gets completion. It is noted that the Kattike Deurali VDC was declared the open defecation free zone last year and but the shortage of water has posed a challenge in the continuity of such announcement, VDC Secretary Kusm Sirmal said. RSS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TO ADVERTISE ON OUR BLOG The above are paid ads. To place yours for just $25/month, call Jim Keyworth at (928) 517-1103 or e-mail peoplesgazette@gmail.com. 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Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. IMNATURE/iStock/Thinkstock(ALAMOGORDO, N.M.) -- One ground personnel was killed and another was injured Tuesday evening during a training exercise on an active weapons range at the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The accident is under investigation. The incident happened at approximately 7:30 p.m. local time on the Red Rio Range when an F-16 Fighting Falcon dropped ordnance while personnel were on the ground coordinating with the aircraft. The injured were medically evacuated to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center; one was pronounced dead shortly after. The other individual was released upon treatment. The training involved two F-16 Fighting Falcons that are assigned to the 54th Fighter Group, a geographically-separated unit under the 56th Fighter Wing located in Arizona. Both pilots were uninjured in the incident. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. With the world premiere of Agnieszka Holland's Spoor just around the corner at the Berlin Film Festival the first trailer for what promises to be a fabulously dank thriller has just arrived. Janina Duszejko, an elderly woman, lives alone in the Klodzko Valley where a series of mysterious crimes are committed. Duszejko is convinced that she knows who or what is the murderer, but nobody believes her. A back country crime story, this one looks to be loaded with fantastic atmosphere and visuals. This first trailer is for the Polish release and does not include subtitles, unfortunately, but the imagery is so strong that it's immediately engaging regardless. Take a look below! If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). Exactly who should (or are) sentencing fans rooting for as Prez Trump is about to announce his SCOTUS pick? | Main | Missouri completes fourth execution in US in 2017 January 31, 2017 Prez Trump notes Judge Gorsuch's law school work on behalf of prisoners and defendants during SCOTUS nomination President Trump lived up to his promise to appoint a judge from his not-so-short lists, and tonight the pick he announced was Tenth Circuit judge Neil Gorsuch. Though I would like to see some more diversity on the High Court, I can never be too disappointed when another graduate from my law school alma mater gets tapped to be a Justice. And, I found really interesting that Prez Trump noted this bit of Judge Gorsuch's history while in law school (with my links added): While in law school, he demonstrated a commitment to helping the less fortunate. He worked in both Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Projects and Harvard Defenders Program. This law school history is certainly not evidence that Judge Gorsuch would be likely to vote one way or the other in criminal cases, but I still think it quite notable that the judge has this history and than Prez Trump would stress this history. In the days ahead, I hope to identify any interesting and notable criminal justice opinions of Judge Gorsuch from his time on the Tenth Circuit over the last decade. January 31, 2017 at 08:45 PM | Permalink Comments I've skimmed some of his opinions and I generally like him, legally speaking, in fact legally speaking I probably feel better about him than Garland. Politically, however, the Dems /must/ filibuster him until he goes away. They can't let McConnell and crew get away with stealing the nomination. If that forces the Reps to go nuclear--so be it. Better to get that out of the way now than later. Posted by: Daniel | Jan 31, 2017 9:07:33 PM "legally speaking I probably feel better about him than Garland" Since Garland was a Breyer-like vote on a range of issues, while the Federalist Society et. al. are loving some of this guy, I probably feel better for Garland myself. Posted by: Joe | Jan 31, 2017 9:42:42 PM As a defense attorney, I think he's better for my professional interests than Garland would be. There's a lot to dive through before certainty, but when viewed from the baseline of Justice Scalia, this pick may not be bad. Posted by: Erik M | Jan 31, 2017 9:53:27 PM It's likely that if you ignore the range of issues SCOTUS rules upon & focus merely on criminal issues that this blog tends to care about, he looks a lot better. Posted by: Joe | Jan 31, 2017 10:23:40 PM There is nothing to review. Harvard Law School, that means, big government asshole. There is something deeply wrong with that school, and it should be closed, even by force. Confirmed without controversy for his appellate court position. That means he is a good lawyer rent seeker, confirmed by the same in the Senate. Never held a regular job, that means he has no idea about nor compassion for anyone who has. This choice is a failure of imagination by Trump. He should have appointed a devout Muslim, and open adherent to Sharia law. Posted by: David Behar | Jan 31, 2017 10:48:43 PM I urge the Democratic Party Senators to block this nomination to the utmost. He is not qualified to serve on the Court, as a Harvard Law asshole. They owe one to the Republicans, after the way they Garlanded Garland, to deter. An even number of Justices should be made permanent by a Judiciary Act. An even number ends 5-4 decisions, and limits activist decisions. A 4-4 decision allows the lower court decision to stand, but not to become national policy, outside the lower court jurisdiction. Often, the lower court is complying with a prior Supreme Court decision in vertical stare decisis. With an evenly split court, as we have today, super-precedent is supported. The less change this Court can impose, the better off is the nation. The Justices are clueless and ridiculous buffoons, but all are big government little tyrants. We know the direction of all changes these buffoons will make, based on their "feelings," and nothing else. Posted by: David Behar | Jan 31, 2017 11:05:46 PM Enjoy yourself, DAB. Posted by: Ted | Feb 1, 2017 8:54:37 AM Oh, yay, Doug, for your school...Who cares what carnage your fellow alum plans to do to your daughters' reproductive freedoms.. or their ability to marry a woman if that's who they are. You can't be too disappointed so long as you get to suck up to him as a fellow white guy from whatever school you graduated from, that hankering for "more diversity" can always wait. YAY! Posted by: gross | Feb 2, 2017 4:16:28 PM Daniel, the judicial wars were started by Democrats, escalated by Democrats and are completely their fault. After Carter lost the election, he got judges. Then the 'rats started blocking Reagan judges and we saw what happened to Bork. They stiffed Bush 41, and the GOP retaliated against Clinton, who served up some truly awful judges (e.g., Paez and Frederica Massiah-Jackson). Bush 43 offered an olive branch. Obama tried to filibuster. And now you try to blame the GOP? Wow. Posted by: federalist | Feb 3, 2017 9:57:27 AM For the record, gross, I care a lot about a lot of SCOTUS jurisprudence for a lot of reasons. But this blog is a place to discussion sentencing law and policy and some broader criminal justice issues, ergo my focus on Judge Gorsuch's law school history. That said, I am disappointed Prez Trump did not pick a more diverse candidate, though arguably Judge Gorsuch's mountain west background makes him slightly more diverse that was Prez Obama's last (failed) pick. And, in case you have not previously noticed, I really try to suck up to everyone no matter what their race, gender or school history --- in other words, I really try to be nice and civil and complimentary to everyone. Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 3, 2017 11:54:46 AM Post a comment Prez Trump notes Judge Gorsuch's law school work on behalf of prisoners and defendants during SCOTUS nomination | Main | "Constitutional Liberty and the Progression of Punishment" February 1, 2017 Missouri completes fourth execution in US in 2017 As reported here by the AP, "nearly 19 years to the day that Susan Brouk and her two children were taken to a Missouri pond and killed, one of the men responsible for the crime was put to death Tuesday." Here is more: Mark Christeson was given a lethal injection -- Missouris first execution since May. Christeson, 37, was hours away from execution in 2014 when the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay. This time, though, the court allowed the execution to proceed, and Gov. Eric Greitens declined a clemency request for Christeson, the first inmate to be put to death since the Republican took office. As the execution drug was administered, Christeson appeared to mouth I love you a couple times to people who were gathered to watch the lethal injection on his behalf. Soon, the inmates eyes closed. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST, eight minutes after the lethal injection, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. The killings of Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle, traumatized the rural area around the south-central Missouri town of Vichy. It was a heinous crime. Im just happy to see justice finally served, said Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman, who witnessed Christesons execution. I have regrets for the family that it took so long, but I hope it provides closure to them. ... The U.S. Supreme Court intervened in 2014 amid concerns about the ineptitude of Christesons earlier lawyers, who missed a 2005 deadline to file a federal appeal of his death sentence -- standard procedure in death penalty cases. Attorneys for Christeson again argued that he deserved a federal court review, and raised concerns about his mental competence, claiming he had an IQ of 74. But this time, the courts declined to step in. Missouri executed 16 men from 2014 to 2015, second only to the 23 executions in Texas over the same two years. Last year, Missouri had just one execution, largely because most of the 25 men on the states death row have appeals remaining or are unlikely to be executed due to medical or mental health concerns. I have flagged that this execution was the fourth in the US in January 2017 because that is the most in a single month since last January. February 1, 2017 at 01:04 AM | Permalink Comments Good. Glad to see that states are finally figuring out how to properly administer 1 2 and 3 drug cocktails. Time for trump to make FDA provide states the drugs to guarantee availability from US or foreign sources. While he is at it Trump needs to start denying federal justice dept funds to any state NOT having a death penalty law on the books. EQUAL protection NOW! #KILLtheKILLERS Posted by: DeanO | Feb 1, 2017 8:26:23 AM Post a comment "Constitutional Liberty and the Progression of Punishment" | Main | Highlighting the basis for hoping Judge Gorsuch will prove to be like Justice Scalia on some criminal justice issues February 1, 2017 "Say no to restorative justice for sex offenders" The title of this post is the headline of this notable commentary published in The Hill authored by Michael Dolce. Here are some of the details: The debate around the Senates possible confirmation of Betsy DeVos, President-elect Trumps nominee for Education Secretary, should kick start a national discussion on how colleges and universities handle sexual assault. Recently, much of that conversation has revolved around restorative justice, programs that aim to respond to misconduct or crime by redressing the harm inflicted on victims and the community, rather than simply punishing offenders. As a victim of childhood sexual abuse myself and an attorney who now represents sexual assault survivors every day, I can say without doubt that restorative justice is not only horribly insufficient for handling sexual abuse but, in many cases, actually serves to leave an offender free to offend again. Whether as an alternative or a supplement to traditional discipline, restorative justice programs require offenders to make amends with victims often with apologies and mediation and participate in reformative programs like anger management or cultural sensitivity training, measures rarely imposed by the criminal justice system. In an education setting, employing these programs for offenses like racial harassment and alcohol misuse have had some success, leading to understandable calls from some criminal justice reform advocates and college administrators to expand their use to college sexual misconduct cases. Its true that our colleges and universities routinely fail victims of sexual assault, as last years abhorrent handling of the Brock Turner case at Stanford University reminded us. Its also true, as the Chicago Tribune reported late last month, that the future of campus sex assault investigations under President Trump are uncertain, particularly since GOP convention platform calls for a reduced federal government role in investigations of campus sexual assault. But, for several important reasons, restorative justice is not the answer for handling sex offenders. First, this method only works if offenders feel empathy when confronted with the impact of their misconduct. According to prominent forensic psychology researchers Drs. Daryl Kroner and Adelle Forth, about half of convicted sex offenders exhibit psychopathology, meaning they are incapable of feeling remorse or empathizing with their victims. Sex offenders are often skilled at manipulating others into believing they are safe, which helps them gain their victims trust before attacking.... Second, advocates for restorative justice programs in this context often make the flawed assumption that sex offenders are similar to repeat offenders of other habitual offenses like drunk driving. But while underage drinking and alcohol abuse are certainly a common problem on university campuses, alcohol does not turn a college student into a sex offender. In fact, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, some offenders actually drink alcohol before committing sexual assault specifically to later justify their behavior. Relying on restorative justice to treat this group would be a dangerous validation of their criminal deceit. The third common argument that schools might be safe relying on restorative justice methods in cases of sexual harassment that dont involve physical assault is risky at best. Those who sexually harass others are objectifying and dehumanizing their victims, behavior that is often a prelude to assaults.... The reality is that I believe the majority of sex offenders are largely incapable of empathy. Two-thirds of male sex offenders will re-offend if they are not treated and restrained as criminals. The consensus among mental health and criminal justice professionals is that most sex criminals cannot be reformed; they can only be monitored, controlled and contained. These are people who look at the tears and agony on victims faces, show no mercy and then quickly move on to their next victim. Restorative justice can be a wonderful tool for certain types of offenses, but lets not ask victims of sexual assault to suffer an even greater burden by making them take part in their attackers so-called reformation. February 1, 2017 at 10:10 AM | Permalink Comments I have to commend this post. It discusses an important topic from a crime victim perspective. Posted by: David Behar | Feb 1, 2017 10:47:05 AM He is a proponent of tough on crime and saying "no" is short sighted and counterintuitive. Restorative justice should play a role in sex offender cases. The case of Brock Turner in California demonstrates that victims often seek restorative justice from the criminal justice system, yet the criminal justice system as it is presently structured is simply a binary system of "guilty" or "not guilty." I use the victim in the Turner case because her victim impact statement was littered with "feelings" and how she wanted the perpetrator to make amends and understand what she went through. A trial, a guilty verdict and sentencing leaves little room for the victim and can often victimize them twice. Moreover, in the process, the offender is written off, marked as an outcast, and unable to reintegrate into society for life. Both sides lose. With restorative justice, so long as it is the victim's choice and it is with both parties consent, it can play a powerful and important role to fill the void that the current system presents. Posted by: Farenheit451 | Feb 1, 2017 11:50:12 AM "sex offenders exhibit psychopathology, meaning they are incapable of feeling remorse or empathizing with their victims. " So, if you expierence psychopathology - anxiety, depression - you are incapable of empathy? Never mind the fact that research has shown that empathy has little to do with recidivism. "The consensus among mental health and criminal justice professionals is that most sex criminals cannot be reformed; they can only be monitored, controlled and contained." No, that's not the consensus. The evidence is that sex offenders have very low recidivism rates. Posted by: justme | Feb 1, 2017 12:16:49 PM I started to write a more lengthy reply but I realized I don't have the energy for it. Suffice it to say there is so much sheer nonsense in that article that it represents the raving on an mentally ill person. I'll touch on one point. "The consensus among mental health and criminal justice professionals is that most sex criminals cannot be reformed; they can only be monitored, controlled and contained." But if criminals cannot be reformed the only justification for punishment is incapacitation. Even retribution-based justifications fail because they are predicated on notions of human free will. And if the only possible justification is incapacitation the author fails to explain how monitoring and controlling criminals absent containment incapacitates them. That is to say the author oppose restorative justice because it does not incapacitate the offender but then supports other policies that don't incapacitate the offender either. Incoherent raving. That's all the man is doing is raving. Posted by: Daniel | Feb 1, 2017 12:35:17 PM I agree with Daniel, the article is sheer nonsense and actually offensive to sex offenders who have paid for their crimes and are trying to reintegrate back into society.. Every sex offense is different, every offender is different. Is the author of the article really so clueless as to believe that a a high school senior having sex with their high school junior girlfriend, is the same as a violent pedophile? They both get labeled "sex offender. Is someone who's caught skinny dipping or urinating in public the same as a violent child molester? Again, they are both labeled "sex offender" by the courts. Non-violent, non-contact sex offenders are not psychopaths incapable of empathy. They are people who made a mistake and served their time. I feel kind of sorry for the author of the article, sorry that they were abused by someone in their past, but also sorry that they have such little regard for those who have made mistakes in their lives and are now just trying to move on and do the right thing. Posted by: kat | Feb 1, 2017 2:34:55 PM The rapist of a succulent 14 year old girl, with big breasts, would love to see her again, and to get a chance to make friends with her. He just has to boohoo a little, and the $1000 paid psychologist will mediate. The data supporting this quackery is so flawed as to make this practice, quackery. Posted by: David Behar | Feb 1, 2017 3:18:52 PM Maybe the rapist and the big breasted 14 year old girl can hug each other at the end of each session. Posted by: David Behar | Feb 1, 2017 3:20:22 PM @David Maybe my memory isn't what it used to be but my memory is that once upon a time you insisted that 14 years should be the age of consent. Now you are claiming they are being raped. So for clarification, which is it? Posted by: Daniel | Feb 1, 2017 5:19:43 PM By rape, I mean common law rape, where the person is punched in the face and a knife is held to her throat. I do not mean statutory rape, which is more lawyer denial of reality. Now, for the benefit of the rapist, this girl is being made to sit in 3 hour sessions while he boohoos with phony tears to get out of jail, and to victimize hundreds of other people in his path. Posted by: David Behar | Feb 1, 2017 6:11:34 PM If an 11 year old commits murder, they can be tried as an adult. But if someone touches the same 11 year old inappropriately, they are a child. So - which is it? Adult, or child? If the 11 year old is molested, and then murders someone, is the 11 year old a child or adult? I am advocating no particular argument, just giving food for thought. Posted by: Oswaldo | Feb 1, 2017 7:53:58 PM Oswaldo, welcome to the denier world of the lawyer. The answer is, whichever will generate more fees for the lawyer. Posted by: David Behar | Feb 1, 2017 7:57:53 PM One of the biggest problem with how our society addresses sex crimes is painting all defendants with the same brush. It is probably the single biggest problem, since it consistently results in minor offenders who do not represent a danger, and who did not harm anyone (such as people who agree to sex acts with a consenting girl age 16 or 17) being thrown to the wolves along with sociopathic pedophiles. 1. Michael Dolce is correct that many diagnosed pedophiles in the prison population are also sociopaths. There have been studies showing this. He says it is about half. Okay, then exclude that half from restorative justice, or exclude everyone convicted of the more serious/aggravated crimes. Problem solved. 2. His claim that "Two-thirds of male sex offenders will re-offend if they are not treated and restrained as criminals." is pulled out of his behind. It has nothing to do with reality. In the real world, recidivism rates are extraordinarily low, and there is no basis to claim that diversion will change that. 3. Criminals who fit under this: "tears and agony on victims faces, show no mercy and then quickly move on to their next victim", are a tiny minority of sex offenders. Under current laws, they would receive a life sentence, or at least decades of imprisonment. Even once they serve their time, they are very likely going to face SVP commitment for life anyway. No one would ever suggest that such people be eligible for "restorative justice". Posted by: lawguy | Feb 2, 2017 7:13:53 AM Take the best selected offenders, 80 year old people with low T, needing walkers, who cannot catch their prey. Find me a study with any scientific acceptability that shows any benefit from this method, except to make psychologists $1000 a case. This approach is just more lawyer rent seeking quackery. I support allowing victims to beat their predators to death with baseball bats. I can prove that approach reduces the recidivism rate. Posted by: David Behar | Feb 2, 2017 8:23:24 AM Ostensibly, he's looking to drum up business for his plaintiff's work. It would be nice if he didn't have to resort to so much distortion of social sciences in order to try to make his (as Daniel pointed out) incoherent points. For instance, he (like many others) treats sex offenders as a homogeneous group of people when, as most anyone who knows anything about the subject readily apprehend, there is an extremely wide variation of offenders due largely to the rapid expansion of offenses which are registrable. He makes the point that half of all sex offenders are incapable of empathy, but the original research which he stakes that claim does not come to that conclusion and, furthermore, utilizes participants who are incarcerated for sexual and violent offenses -- making generalization problematic. Posted by: Guy | Feb 2, 2017 9:20:46 AM Just say NO to this lunatic. In every single study done everywhere over the past 40 years, recidivsm rates for those convicted of sex offenses are the lowest of any crime, except for homicide. Whatever it is that happened to this person when they were young can never justify the hatred, prejudice and out right lies he employs to marginalize and demonize a group of people. His attitudes don't just harm the group he can't think rationally about: they harm the society itself. Restorative justices works: retributive much less so, and at a high cost to society. But this demon doesn't even want retributive justice. He wants a mark on the person for life just like was done to another demonized group in the 1930s. This is American insanity on a basic level, but it has spread to Canada and the other English-speaking nations. It is the canary in the coal mine of a society's ability to survive. Posted by: Stephen Douglas | Feb 2, 2017 1:14:08 PM That is a really terrible article. Factually and logically infirm. No idea why the hill would publish such tripe. Especially obnoxious is his use of the term "sex offender" when he appears to mean rapist. Posted by: Fat Bastard | Feb 2, 2017 3:33:11 PM And then you have the rejected woman with vengeance in her heart, or the pretend grown-up that wants to play but not pay. There is also the child from broken relations that lies to get their way and courts with hysterical jury members that convict without evidence. Posted by: LC in Texas | Feb 2, 2017 6:43:50 PM I am fine with harsh punishment for sex offenders as long as it includes adulterous, skanky females. Put them in the stocks. Posted by: citizen | Feb 3, 2017 10:36:41 PM LC. Lying to a government official is a crime. The people you described should be prosecuted. Of course, government officials lying to citizens is not a crime. The lawyers have dealt themselves yet another immunity. Posted by: David Behar | Feb 4, 2017 1:32:32 PM Post a comment As we learned in November, Portland's celebrated Salt & Straw ice cream is set to open two locations in San Francisco this spring, its first in the Bay Area following an expansion to Southern California over the last year. Now today we learn the address of the Hayes Valley location via Inside Scoop: 580 Hayes, i.e. in the new condo building where the former Hayes & Kebab was, at Laguna. You can expect to get your Pear & Blue Cheese, and Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons cones there starting in May, after the building is completed, but first to open will be their upper Fillmore Pac Heights location, at 2201 Fillmore Street, set to open in March. Salt & Straw only opened about five years ago in Portland and now has three popular locations there, with four more that have popped up around Los Angeles. Each location gets some site-specific flavors, and here in SF they expect to find inspiration from local produce and such. A series of December preview pop-ups via their ice cream truck offered dollar scoops of Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Chocolate Gooey Brownie, Peppermint Cocoa, Gingerbread Cookie Dough, and Silencio Black Tea & Coconut Stracciatella. To check out their full menu of quirky offerings, look here. Previously: Portland's Salt & Straw Ice Cream Arrives In SF For Pop-Ups Next Week, Opening Two SF Shops In 2017 Rains are back, the world has gone to hell in an orange handbasket, and life has considerably less luster and promise than it did a few short months ago. So if you're a drinking man or woman, now's about the time to curl up with something warming and try to ignore the news for a few hours, because we need you to make it through these dark days. This too shall pass, as my mom likes to say, and below are some bars you might consider sidling up to where you can find a steaming hot beverage with booze in it to ease your weary soul. Jay Barmann The Hot Castle Dip at Bar Agricole Owner and barman Thad Vogler created this take on a hot toddy last year for SoMa's Bar Agricole, and it was then featured in Bon Appetit (where they also published the recipe. It's an apple-mint tisane, as Vogler describes, "secret ingredients: Calvados and absinthe." The bar gets some special Calvados imported from Normandy (note also their sister bar, where Calvados is highlighted, Trou Normand), and this is as good a way as any to chase away a chill south of Market. Jay Barmann 355 11th Street between Folsom and Harrison Blackbird In the winter months, Blackbird offers a toddy fit for teatime: It's Earl Grey tea with a generous slosh of Evan Williams Single Barrel bourbon, vanilla bean paste, molasses, and brown sugar. This is the drink for when you go out even though you feel a cold coming on. Will it cure your illness? Of course not, don't be stupid, but it'll make you feel better that night, and sometimes that's all we got. Eve Batey 2124 Market Street between Church and Sanchez The Buena Vista's Irish Coffee. Photo: j]"a href="https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/buena-vista-cafe-san-francisco?select=qy72RiRP6QmbdqTo0YwfjA">Jeanie L/Yelp The Buena Vista Cafe Caleb went deep on the Buena Vista's Irish Coffee a few years ago, allegedly the originator of the fabled drink. It's nothing crazy: just coffee, whiskey, cream, and sugar, but at the Buena Vista the tale's the thing, and you're drinking there for the history and ambiance as much as the steamy booze. Don't wait until you have guests in town to go, it's worth the trip to tourist-trapville even for locals. Eve Batey 2765 Hyde Street between North Point and Beach Photo: Michael U./Yelp Frances' Old Tarley Among the many comforting things available at Frances on winter's night is the Old Tarley, a cup of warm, spiced red wine. It's a perfect, soothing way to open a meal or a pre-dinner snack with some bacon beignets, or to accompany some Lumberjack Cake or Chocolate Monkey Bread at dessert. Jay Barmann 3870 17th Street at Noe Holy Water via Facebook Holy Water's Hot Toddy Holy Water, inviting on Cortland Avenue, is another warm up and hunker down spot, dark but also light in that lovely chiaroscuro way. The cocktails change frequently, but classics are always available and a hot toddy is always a good choice. Holy Water is one of just a few neighborhood drinking establishments that gathers a consistent, happy crowd, and you might keep in mind their happy hour, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., as well as their 11 p.m. "11th Hour," where nightly their bartenders mix up new concoctions. "Some things will be amazing, others not so much," they write by way of a disclaimer. "Customers wont be obligated to pay for what they dont enjoy." Tell them that you hate your drink and would like two more? Caleb Pershan 309 Cortland Avenue between Bocana and Bennington Streets Kristin D. via Yelp The Homestead's Toddy A good place to hole up and nurse a drink for a century and a half, the Homestead is especially warming to the body and spirit on colder days, and its antique decor transports drinkers back to simpler times. Linger over a hot toddy here, grab a $1 basket of peanuts, and go ahead, throw your shells on the floor, what do they care? Also, if you can help it, perhaps just never leave. Caleb Pershan 2301 Folsom Street at 19th Street Photo: The Morris/Instagram The Morris Hot Toddy A mixture of Calvados, bourbon, lemon, and ginger, this hot cup of deliciousness is the perfect start to a warming winter meal at the much buzzed about new Potrero Flats restaurant which also happened to land on SFist's Best New Restaurants list. Beverage director and owner Paul Einbund knows his way around a bar, and he created this concoction just for midwinter nights like tonight when all of us scramble to huddle indoors and shield ourselves from the wind and wet. Jay Barmann 2501 Mariposa Street at Hampshire James F. via Flickr Presidio Social Club's PSC House Coffee The Presidio can get chilly, so for a morale boost, this charming dining and drinking destination fixes an entire menu of hot cocktails from their PSC House Coffee, a play on the famous Tosca House Cap, to standards like Hot Buttered Rum. A favorite is the Drunken Earl, made with Wild Turkey Rye, Drambuie, and earl grey tea. As tea time arrives before cocktail hour, go ahead, have at it Caleb Pershan 563 Ruger Street in the Presidio Photo courtesy of Tosca Cafe The House Cappuccino at Tosca Cafe A product of the sneaky boozing Prohibition Era, Tosca's "House Cappuccino" is notable for containing no cappuccino at all. A revamp of the longstanding North Beach icon in 2013 updated the drink (while leaving the the red booths and the jukebox intact) to contain piping hot Dandelion chocolate ganache, organic milk, bourbon, and Marie Duffau Bas Armagnac. It's just like what you got your first time here, but better. Eve Batey 242 Columbus Avenue between Jack Kerouac and Saroyan Photo: Jackie T./Yelp Irish Coffee or Hot Buttered Rum at Twin Peaks Tavern The Castro's beloved "Glass Coffin," the oldest continually operating bar in the neighborhood and one of the first gay bars in the country to have big glass windows facing the street, is well known for its hot drinks on cold SF nights. They do a traditional Hot Buttered Rum, with their own house spice mixture in with the butter and sugar, as well as a classic hot toddy and an Irish Coffee, with multiple glasses of Irish whiskey lined up on the bar waiting for coffee and steamed milk, just like at the Buena Vista across town. Jay Barmann Castro at 17th Street Related: The Best Fireplace Bars In San Francisco And The East Bay Expand Photo Credit: Ross Zenter I love it when stories are told in unusual ways David Cecsarini said when I asked how he chooses his Next Act Theatre seasons. Plays that step outside a little bit. Because thats when you get to talk about things. Next Acts upcoming production of Sharr Whites The Other Place is a perfect example. Its a play youll want to talk about after youve seen itit traffics in immensely emotional mattersbut its very hard to talk about in advance without spoiling its surprises. Let me quote actress Deborah Staples who plays the lead role of Juliana, a 52-year-old scientist at a pharmaceutical company described by the playwright as sharply charismatic, a woman of fierce intelligence. Shes essentially faced with brain cancer, Staples said. Shes convinced that she has very little time to live. She can feel really great about a lot of what shes done with her life. Shes developed a drug thats very successful and now shes about to reconcile with her missing daughter. What a gift to have when youre facing the end! I would imagine that if your child was missing for 10 years and you had the chance to work toward reconciliationId trade 35 years of life for that for sure. Of course, there are problems: an unfaithful husband, a divorce process and a sullen girl in a yellow string bikini who gets under Julianas skin at a neurological convention. Staples is, of course, a leading Milwaukee actress, an associate artist at Milwaukee Repertory Theater and, before that, a member of its longstanding resident company. She and Cecsarini have been married for nearly two decades and are parents to a teenager and a younger child. Cecsarini is, of course, the co-founder and artistic director of Next Act Theatre. As director of The Other Place, hes also directing his wife for the first time. Stay on top of the news of the day Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays. SIGN UP The scripts unusual structure and high drama inspired him to ask her to consider playing Juliana. At first she wasnt sure. Sometimes I have trouble taking on things that are too painful, she explained. Having a teenaged daughter, I became so invested in the play while reading it. The writing is so good and so true and so easy for me to imagine. Then it was like the playwright pushed me off a cliff. But after cooling off and reading it again, I felt confident that I could fulfill the requirements without going over the edge. You can liken it to The Diary of Anne Frank, absolutely devastating in the end but for most of the play its manageable. She continued, One way of thinking about the play for me is, we all experience the loss of something that was meaningful to us in our life. And that can be difficult to recover from. If something thats been so much a part of my life is gone, then who am I? Whats left? And in the play, whats left is an incredibly beautiful, loving relationship between a husband and wife. Its why we have partners, I think. We cant do this alone. Staples grew up in the Los Angeles area and attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, Calif. Rep actors Ken Albers and Jim and Rose Pickering spent their summers acting with the conservatorys professional summer theater. After Albers performed a Shylock monologue and, together with the Pickerings, described a life in art in Milwaukee to her class, Staples applied for an internship and was accepted. In that internship year, she understudied a role in a show directed by Joe Hanreddy. Five years later, as the Reps artistic director, Hanreddy cast her in a Rep production. It was 1996 and shed just played Lady Macbeth to her future husbands Macbeth in the summer Platteville Shakespeare Festival. So it was like I met David and then moved to his city, she said, and never left. I wondered how their actor-director partnership was going. I always want to tell the cast, he likes us more than hes letting on, Staples joked; then seriously, Its not a mutual admiration society although I know that he believes in me and loves my work. He also believes in me and loves my work enough to not react blindly. David has an extraordinary ability to look at a script and see its best potential. The Other Place premiered in New York in 2011. Actress Laurie Metcalf won an OBIE in the role of Juliana and was nominated for a Tony for her performance the plays 2013 Broadway run. At the moment, its the hardest thing Ive ever done, Staples said, mid-rehearsal process. Its more challenging than I thought it was going to be and for very different reasons. Feb. 2-26 at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St. For tickets call 414-278-0765 or visit nextact.org. Nobody paid much attention amonth ago when WisconsinGov. Scott Walker visited the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba,which President Donald Trump has sick, twisted dreams of restoring as a blacksite of torture and abuse. Walker already is responsiblefor two of the nations most horrific prisons, where inmates are regularlysexually assaulted, suffer broken bones and amputations from violent guardattacks, spend months in torturous solitary confinement for minor infractionsand repeatedly get drenched in blistering pepper spray intended for wildanimals. If that sounds like anoverstatement, its not. Its even more cruel because the prisons arent foradults. Theyre Wisconsins prisons for children, Lincoln Hills School for Boysand Copper Lake School for Girls. Walker created the facilitiesin 2011 out of sight and out of mind in a remote Northwoods location, afterclosing Ethan Allen School for Boys and Southern Oaks Girls School in Waukeshaand Racine counties, respectively. The primary motive was to cutspending. The disadvantage, perhaps intentional, was moving mostly minority urbanyouth three and a half hours away from any family support or oversight. The isolated location alsoassured a mostly white staff with very little training or real-life experiencewith black and brown kids from Milwaukees poorest neighborhoods. For two years, we had somehope of federal action against Walker and the state for failing to correcthorrific abuses first reported in 2012 to the governors office by a RacineCounty judge who refused to send any more children there. In 2015, state and federalagents raided the prisons to seize records and the FBI and Civil RightsDivision of the U.S. Justice Department started a criminal investigation intoallegations of physical and sexual abuse of children, negligence by officialsand destruction of public records. But, of course, all bets areoff now that those agencies are under the control of a president who openlyadvocates torturing prisoners and violating constitutional rights. Walker traveled 90 miles offthe coast of Florida to visit a prison where U.S. waterboarding and othertorture are now outlawed, but hesnever bothered to visit his own youth prisons, where reports are rampant ofsimilar violent, inhumane and illegal treatment endangering the lives ofWisconsin children. Suicide Attempts, Solitary Confinement,Pepper Spray When citizens cant dependupon their state or federal governments to protect children from assault, theyturn to the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, just as concernedcitizens nationally are hoping the ACLU can stop Trumps unconstitutional banon Muslims entering the country. The state ACLU and theJuvenile Law Center of Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit in Madison onbehalf of juvenile inmates seeking to protect children from excessive force andviolations of constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishmentand due process. The way we, Wisconsin, aretreating these children is not just illegal, is not just wrong, it is immoral,saidLarry Dupuis, state ACLU legal director. It inflicts terrible damage onthe youth, it inflicts terrible damage on the guards and it inflicts terribledamage on our society. The ACLU found solitaryconfinement, defined as torture by the United Nations, was routinely used on upto 20% of the juvenile inmates at a time, often lasting for months. President Barack Obama bannedthe use of solitary from federal youth prisons, citing lasting psychologicalconsequences Prisoners in solitary are more likely to commit suicide,especially juveniles and people with mental illnesses. Over eight months in 2016, a14-year-old was kept in solitary confinement for all but two weeks. After theboy tried to commit suicide with an electrical cord, he was transferred toMendota Juvenile Treatment Center. Replaying the grisly civilrights protest song Strange Fruit, suicide attempts at both juvenile prisonshave become so common guards call the knife they use to cut down hangingchildren the 911 knife. There were 135 attempts ofself-harm in the first 10 months of last year by girls at Copper Lake, aboutone every other day in a facility that only holds 20 to 35 inmates. Children are let out ofbarren 7- by 10-foot solitary cells for an hour or at most two when theyrechained to classroom desks. When children are not in solitary, the routinemethod of control is burning pepper spray. In the first 10 months of 2016,pepper spray was used 198 times, often for minor infractions such as failing tofollow an order. The spray used sayseverything anyone needs to know about the attitude of thestate toward children in its custody. Commonly called bear spray,reviews describe it as blisteringly irritating with a chemical base thatactually opens the pores to increase the stopping power. Warning to ineptguards, If not used properly, it can disable the user rather than theattacker. A state that views itschildren as savage animals rather than human beings cant be expected to treatthem with human decency. Expand Photo Credit: Megan McCormick / via Wikimedia Commons In another victory for fair elections, a three-judge panel ordered Gov. Scott Walker and legislative Republicans to draw a new, balanced map of state legislative districts by Nov. 1, so that the new map will be in place for the 2018 elections. The Wisconsin Legislature has continuously demonstrated a disregard for the rights of the voters and an inability to craft a fair, legal redistricting plan, said Gary Hebert of The Campaign Legal Center, which represented the Democratic plaintiffs in the case, in a statement released Friday. In drawing a new plan, the Legislature must put voters first, not partisan politics. Last November, two of the three judges ruled that the current Republican-drawn map, which has been in place since 2011, was unconstitutional because it sliced and diced the state map into districts that would preserve the Republicans lock on power, even when they win fewer votes than their Democratic counterparts. That happened in 2012 and 2014, when Democrats won more votes than Republicans but were deep in the minority in the Legislature, raising questions about the legitimacy of one branch of state government. Now that map will be scrapped. This is a huge win for democracy, and a huge win for the plaintiffs, emailed Sachin Chheda, director of the Fair Elections Project, which helped to organize the suit. Once we won the verdict, the only real question was whether or not the court would demand that the redrawing process start immediately, and on a hard deadline. They have. Two of the three judges, one appointed by a Republican and the other by a Democratic president, found that the Republicans map was so pro-Republican that it was unconstitutionalthe first time a legislative map was struck down for partisan gerrymandering. They also accepted the defendants use of the efficiency gap to measure partisan gerrymandering, the first time a court has affirmed a standard for excessive partisanship. This decision is likely to be a landmark case, with the federal court accepting a bench-line formula for determining unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders, said state Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) in a statement Friday. Kessler is a nationally recognized expert on redistricting and helped to organize the opposition to the Republican map. Will the Next Map Be Fair? In their November decision, the judges ordered the plaintiffs12 Democratic voters who argued their civil rights were violated because their votes were wasted in the Republicans mapand the defendants, the state, to come up with possible remedies for the dispute. Friends of the Shepherd Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly newspaper. LEARN MORE On Friday, the judges decided that Republicans should redraw the maps by November 2017, so that they can be in place for the 2018 elections, and that they must meet the standard the judges accepted in their original decision. That means the Legislature must draw and pass the new maps and Walker must sign it by Nov. 1. Chheda said the plaintiffs will be allowed to weigh in on the map the state submits to the judges. In short, the Republicans need to draw a map thats constitutional and fairly represents the interests of both Democrats and Republicans. That means they have to squeeze out some of their own members to craft more balanced districts. Those likely on the chopping block are Republicans in suburban areas, where theres a healthy mix of Republican and Democratic voters. That said, the spokesman for state Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Republican, said the state expects to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans had wanted the federal judges to put their November decision on hold until the Republicans could send their case to the Supreme Court, but Fridays decision denied that request and will allow the Republicans to draw the map and also appeal the decision at the same time. If the Supreme Court accepts the November decision, the new map will be in place in 2018. If the high court overturns the November decision, the old, unconstitutional map will remain in place. Whatever the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately decides, Fridays decision allows the current Legislature, elected under an unconstitutional map, to remain in place, instead of calling for new elections quickly. That means the representation of Democrats is low. This Legislature will be making major decisions about the state budget, education, transportation funding and health care through January 2019, when the next Legislature is sworn in. But Democrats will lack fair representation for the next two years. Leading Democrats are calling for the public to be involved in the drawing of the next map. The current, unconstitutional map was drawn in secret by Michael, Best and Friedrich attorneys and top Republicans in an office on the Capitol Square. They attorneys were paid $431,000 by the taxpayers for their clandestine project. Republican legislators were allowed to see their districts in the new gerrymandered map, but had to sign a secrecy oath to do so. Democrats didnt get to see the Republicans unconstitutional map while it was being drawn. In a statement Friday, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said a new map should be subject to public hearings in different parts of the state to ensure that voters are choosing their representatives, not the other way around. There are also calls for taking the redistricting process out of the hands of politicians. State Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) has proposed a nonpartisan redistricting process so that elected officials are no longer in charge of drawing legislative districts and selecting their constituents. The teams of President Donald Trumps temporary appointees laying the groundwork for taking over and remaking federal agencies refer to themselves as beachheads or beachhead teams, a military term for the point of invasion. Politico reports there were approximately 520 members of such teams when Trump took the oath of office. In any presidential transition, there will be tensions between career civil servants and political appointees pushing a new presidents agenda, but according to experts on the matter, this administrations use of the term may exacerbate those relations. The term was offhandedly used in 2000 by George W. Bushs incoming press secretary, Ari Fleischer. It was central to the language of Romneys 2012 transition plan, which was provided to the Trump team. But its use here seems systematic, making many within various federal agencies feel they are being conquered. The language of war being used suggests that cooperation is not the primary philosophy dictating this transition period, says Professor Heath Brown, who studies presidential transitions at CUNYs John Jay College of Criminal Justice. If the operating philosophy is one of combat rather than cooperation, then were in for some trouble with how these agencies are going to function on a day-to-day basis. Because the Trump team threw out New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies transition plans and started from scratch on election day, Brown says, there is a larger level of chaos in the past for an already chaotic process. Given the fact that Trump was a reality TV star, it is not surprising that communications is the main focus of these beachhead teams. [Trumps people] want to control message in a lot of different ways, and for that reason I think they have made that a priority, Brown says. The Trump transition team devoted a lot more staff resources to communications than transition teams in the past In the past, communications just hasnt been a first priority. In 2009, Obama only had two communications people on his 13-member senior transition staff. In contrast, at least 10 of 23 staffers in Trumps transition team served some communications function, Brown says. In the process, they may well be changing what communications meansfrom informing the public, or even spinning the message, to something more like outright propaganda. Democracy in Crisis uncovered a 1996 Cornell Daily Sun article about then-CNN analyst Kellyanne Conway that shows she has been thinking about media and manipulation for at least 20 years. The story paraphrases Conway (nee Fitzpatrick) speaking to student groups about manipulative media and political jargon. In the talk, she also criticized people for following what is decided by a few elite. A section of article subtitled Questions of Reality notes: In a generation where television and Internet images bombard our senses, it is essential, according to Fitzpatrick, to realize that the soundbytes or visuals prepared by the evening news editors do not represent reality. Conway, the article reads, applauded [Bill Clintons] ability to use the media to his advantage. Spicer Lied in First Press Conference While this shows that Conways obsession with controlling the media narrative is not new, it also underlines how she and her boss are pushing the standard spin of 90s-era Washington into the full-blown denial of reality in the age of Trump. During the Trump campaign, Politifact found that only 4% of his claims could be considered entirely truthful. Some, including President Obama, naively thought the power of the presidency would curb, rather than increase, Trumps tendency to lie. But thus far truths remain merely occasional, almost accidental. After the inauguration on Jan. 20, in the first unofficial press conference of the new administration, press secretary Sean Spicer stood in front of reporters and repeatedly lied to the press about things that didnt matter. It was pointless from any standard political means-ends perspective. (Baltimore City Paper did a great job putting together the actual numbers.) Later, in his first official press conference, Spicer said sometimes we can disagree with the facts. Between Spicers two statements, on the Sunday talk shows, Conway baptized Trump-speak with a succinct name: alternative facts. She also threatened to rethink our relationship with NBC if Meet the Press host Chuck Todd persisted in saying Spicer had lied. A couple days later, Trump advisor and Lenin wannabe Stephen Bannon called the press the opposition party, which, he said, should keep its mouth shut. Almost immediately after this, Trump gave Bannon a spot on the National Security Council. The attacks on the press, however, are only part of a larger attack on facts themselvesattacks beginning, appropriately, with the communications-obsessed beachheads now inside federal agencies. Trump ordered the EPA to freeze all of its grants, to take down the climate change section of its website (although the administration later backed down on plans to remove content) and to cease all communications with the press. Then, according to an email obtained by BuzzFeed News, the U.S. Department of Agricultures research division prohibited employees, including scientists, from communicating or sharing information with the public. The USDA later lifted the gag order, saying that it was released without Departmental direction and was not sent at the request of the Trump administration. But information about climate change is not the only thing at riskdata, science and research are being suppressed. And Trumps congressional allies are all too happy to play along. Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar introduced bills this week that say no federal funds may be used to design, build, maintain, utilize or provide access to a federal database of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing. This racist bill, which would help maintain the kind of segregation affecting cities like Milwaukee, Baltimore and St. Louis, could still die in committee, but it is of a piece with Trumps all-out war on facts. Deprived of access to facts, citizens are incapable of making decisions. This is an essential feature of tyranny. As an air of war prevails in Washington, using the term beachhead may in fact be among the small minority of things the Trump team is honest about. Despite being Americas Beer Capital, in Milwaukee, wine is catching up to suds as a favorite libation. Corvina Wine Company (6038 W. Lincoln Ave.), a wine bar and retail store tucked in a classy, inviting corner storefront in West Allis, is helping to fill that demand with unique varietals from around the world. Brothers Frank II and Joe LaSusa, owners of Corvina Wine Company, fondly recall their familys Sunday dinners where their great-grandfathers homemade wine was always on the table. Both Joe and Frank had worked as pharmaceutical sales reps and often entertained physicians who loved food and wine. While working in Chicago, Frank met sommeliers and got involved with trade tastings. He completed the Level 1 course of the Court of Master Sommeliers. In January 2016, he earned a diploma through the Wine and Spirit Education Trust in London (WSET). Hes pursuing a master of wine designation. Joe is a long-time wine enthusiast and has traveled extensively to wine regions around the world, visiting vineyards and meeting producers. Joe and Frank take annual trips to wine regions. For us, its more than just a wine trip, but also being able to see where the wine comes from and meeting the producers that make it, Joe said. They try to bring in wines from smaller, family-owned vineyards and land the occasional rare varietals that make it to the Midwest from both coasts. Joe and Frank opened Corvina Wine Company in 2012 in a space with a family history: their great-grandfather operated an Italian grocery store there from the 1930s through the 1970s. Their grandfather then operated Snappy Print, a print shop. As Corvina, the space boasts racks of bottles of approachable and unusual varietals for purchase, table seating, and a small bar. Decor includes old wine presses from their great-grandfathers store. A wall-sized blackboard displays neatly chalked maps of wine regions of the world, which Joe and Frank use to educate customers. Its an exciting time for wines right now, and we have wines on our list from regions you dont necessarily think of as wine regions, Frank said. Corvina, the companys namesake, is an Italian wine grape and the principal grape in Scaia, a drier blend from Veneto, Italy. Scaia is light to medium bodied with red berry and fruit notes. Other wines on the menu include Travaglini, a nebbiolo varietal with notes of cherry and violet; and Mt. Beautiful Sauvignon Blancout of New Zealandan unusual medium acidic blend with hints of grapefruit and gooseberries. Fortified wines include The Rare Wine Co.s Boston Bual Madeira. Thomas Jefferson was known to enjoy Madeira, and the beverage was used to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A selection of spirits and beers are available, and patrons can join Corvinas wine club with personalized offerings tracked from previous purchases. The menu offers small bites pairings of Wisconsin cheeses, charcuterie and chocolate. Patrons can also customize a flight of three different wines. Retail bottles average $15 to $20. They also sell wine accessories such as Reidel glassware and the Coravin, a device that taps wine bottles without completely removing the cork, thus preserving higher end wines from oxidation, as if the bottle was never opened. Corvina Wine Company is a provider for Festa Italiana, and they participate in Forks & Corks and other food and beverage events. For more information, visit corvinawinecompany.com. DANBURY, Iowa | Two juveniles and a 19-year-old man were arrested after they allegedly stole an undisclosed amount of money from a Danbury convenience store before it opened Tuesday morning. A press release from the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office said deputies were notified at 5 a.m. when an employee of the store was arriving for work and an employee of a garbage service company spotted the three inside the C Shop on Highway 175 in Danbury. The three fled with a bank bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash, checks and receipts, the release said. "Descriptions of the subjects and their vehicle were broadcast and shortly thereafter, they were located in Ida Grove, Iowa, and taken into custody," the release said. Trenton Mathews, 19, of Danbury, is being held in the Ida County Jail, and the two other suspects are juveniles so their identities are not being released at this time. Major Todd Wieck with the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday afternoon investigators are still in the process of determining what charges will be pressed against the three. A search warrant was executed by deputies from Ida and Woodbury counties in Ida Grove Tuesday and the items stolen from the Danbury store were recovered and seized by the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office. According to the Ida County Sheriff's Office, Mathews was additionally charged with attempted burglary for an undated incident that occurred at a Battle Creek gas station, and third-degree criminal mischief and trespassing for an incident that occurred at the Catholic Church in Ida Grove. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may still be filed, Ida County said. SIOUX CITY | The East High Multicultural Club will host the Oxfam Hunger Banquet Saturday in the East High Commons. The event features a hunger and poverty simulation to show what people around the world and in the community face on a daily basis. Diners will be given a bio of someone from around the world. The event also includes a food packaging line, speeches by community leaders and more to help change the way people look at their food. The event runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $6 at https://www.facebook.com/SCEASThunger/. SIOUX CITY | Conditions will cool off during the second half of this week before returning to normal by the weekend. A chance for light snow will also move in Thursday night into Friday. According to the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, today will be cloudy with a high of 30 degrees. Tim Masters, a technician with the NWS in Sioux Falls, said a chance of flurries could move in to northwest Iowa late this morning, but no accumulation is expected. "Most of that will be north of Sioux City," Masters said. The low will drop to 11 overnight. Thursday will be mostly cloudy, with a high of 24. Clouds will increase Thursday night, bringing a 50 percent chance of snow. Thursday night's low will be 13 degrees. Chances of snow will continue into Friday morning, with conditions clearing as the day goes on. Masters said accumulation would be light, possibly around an inch. Friday's high will be 26 degrees, with a low of 16. Saturday and Sunday will be warmer, with highs in the mid-to-upper 30s, which Masters said is about normal this year. ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- An Orange City manufacturer of carbon fiber composites for the aerospace and medical industries has been acquired by a New York-based private equity firm. Liberty Hall Capital Partners on Wednesday announced its acquisition of Quatro Composites, whose rapid growth in recent years was fueled by aerospace clients that included Boeing and the U.S. Defense Department. Terms were not disclosed. The private equity firm plans to integrate Quatro into AIM Aerospace Corporation, an independent supplier of composite ducting, substructural and interiors parts for the commercial aerospace industry that Liberty Hall acquired last year. It is unknown at this time if Quatro will retain its name or be rebranded under the AIM name. Quatro has had a presence in Orange City since 2004. It also operates a Business Innovation Center in Poway, California. Quatros Orange City facility employs more than 240 people in the Sioux County seat, according to its website. The news release did not specify if there would be any staff changes as Quatro is folded into AIM, and a spokesperson for Liberty Hall could not comment on the matter. Steve Roesner, president of Quatro Composites, will retain his position while also joining the senior management team of AIM. "We are very excited for Quatro and AIM to join forces," Roesner said in the release. "We believe the combined company will have the resources to continue to invest in technology, capabilities and capital to continue to support our customers." With 113,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space on the south end of Orange City, Quatro has emerged as a key supplier of composite materials for aircraft. By replacing aluminum and other metal alloys with the lighter fiber composites, the aircraft weight is reduced, cutting fuel and maintenance costs. In addition to Boeing and the military, its largest customers also included Gulfstream Aerospace, Insitu and United Technologies. In the news release, Rowan Hall, founding partner of Liberty Hall, called the acquisition of Quatro a crucial step in executing our strategic plan for AIM." "Composites represent one of the fastest growing, and evolving, segments within the aerospace industry, and we have been seeking to identify and acquire businesses that serve emerging segments of the composites landscape, he said. Quatro not only provides AIM further customer, platform and geographic diversification but also extends AIM's capabilities into structural composites and thermoplastics, two of the fastest growing areas within composites. Hall later noted that combining the strengths of AIM and Quatro will allow the expanded company to enter new composite market segments and deliver a new generation of complex products to meet ever increasing customer demand." SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for using an ex-roommate's identification and racking up more than $14,000 in charges. Ryan Reedy, 46, pleaded guilty in Woodbury County District Court to first-degree theft with a habitual offender enhancement because of his prior felony convictions. He must serve at least three years of his sentence before he's eligible for parole. Charges of forgery and identity theft will be dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Reedy admitted in court that from Nov. 10 through Jan. 10 he and his girlfriend, Melissa Keene, 48, of Sioux City, obtained cash advances from the victim's credit card to Wells Fargo bank, then transferred the money onto prepaid debit cards and used it to order packages online and ship them to their address under the victim's name. Reedy was ordered to pay $14,361 in restitution to Wells Fargo jointly with Keene, who has pleaded not guilty to forgery, identity theft, first-degree theft and possession of a controlled substance. SIOUX CITY | President Donald Trump took a highly watched step Tuesday by unveiling his pick of federal appeals judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Gorsuch is now tapped to fill the vacancy that was created a year ago by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Trump drew praise from federal lawmakers in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska. All of the Siouxland federal lawmakers are Republicans and the Republican president is in his second week of office. The court had worked with only eight of nine justices in the months after Scalia died. Gorsuch, 49, serves on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. A conservative with a polished legal pedigree, Gorsuch would be the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. Trump said Gorsuch is well versed to work on the court, noting during a televised announcement that he "has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support." U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will oversee hearings on the nomination of the new justice. Grassley over the majority of 2016 refused to take up the nomination of Merrick Garland by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, saying the opening should be filled once a new president took office in 2017. GRASSLEY: "Judge Gorsuch is universally respected across the ideological spectrum as a mainstream judge who applies the law without regard to person or his own preferences," Grassley said in an emailed statement Tuesday night. "By all accounts, he has a record of deciding cases based on the text of the Constitution and the law. Thats important because in our system of government, Congress, not judges, make the laws." SEN. JONI ERNST, R-IOWA: From what I have learned thus far, Judge Neil Gorsuch will demonstrate an unwavering commitment to interpret the law as written, rather than legislating from the bench," Ernst said in a statement. "The people spoke last November, and our new president has tonight put forward a well-respected nominee who the Senate has previously confirmed with unanimous support. U.S. REP. STEVE KING, R-IOWA: "After review of Judge Gorsuch's resume & record & had a very engaging discussion with his peers & a childhood friend: Verdict = Great pick," King tweeted. SEN. BEN SASSE, R-NEB.: "Neil Gorsuch is a highly regarded jurist with a record of distinguished service, rooted in respect for the law," Sasse said in a statement. SEN. DEB FISCHER, R-NEB: I am encouraged to see President Trump select a Supreme Court nominee with a sharp intellect, steady judicial temperament, and long history of upholding the rule of law," Fischer said in an email. "These are exactly the characteristics a Supreme Court justice should possess... I look forward to reviewing Judge Gorsuchs record in great detail as part of this vigorous advice and consent process. SEN. JOHN THUNE, R-S.D.: "President Trump has made an outstanding choice. Neil Gorsuch is an exceptionally well-qualified mainstream jurist and I believe his long record, thoughtful jurisprudence will make him an asset to the Court," Thune said on a video on Twitter. SEN. MIKE ROUNDS, R-S.D.: "We believe Judge Gorsuch espouses the same approach as Justice Scalia and has a strong understanding of federalism upon which our country is built," Rounds said in a statement. "The American people made their voices heard in the recent elections, and President Trump has made an excellent choice in nominating Judge Gorsuch." REP. ADRIAN SMITH, R-NEB.: President Trump made clear his intention to nominate a judge who could follow in the footsteps of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, and I am optimistic his selection of Judge Neil Gorsuch will fulfill this promise, Smith said in a statement. Justice Scalia commanded the respect of jurists across the political spectrum due to his intellectual approach and commitment to the rule of law. Judge Gorsuchs record on the bench appears to reflect these important qualities." US. REP. KRISTI NOEM, R-S.D.: I am very encouraged by the nomination of Judge Gorsuch, who not only has exceptional qualifications but has shown a commitment to the Constitution and the liberties contained within it," Noem said in a statement. "While the House does not vote on Supreme Court nominations, I look forward to watching the upcoming Senate hearings, which will further clarify the perspective he'll bring to the bench. The Journal's Alex Boisjolie contributed to this report. SIOUX CITY | Seeking to reduce property taxes, the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a moratorium on the replacement of non-essential equipment used by county departments. In other budget-setting action in the board meeting, the supervisors said they would support giving raises of 2.75 percent to non-union county employees. Any such raises would be put in place when the final fiscal year 2017-18 budget is adopted in March. The supervisors on a 5-0 vote approved the proposal aired by Supervisor Jeremy Taylor, who contended the county could hold off replacing routine equipment, as board members work in a challenging time toward setting the FY 2018 county budget. "Given the steep financial cliff that the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors is systematically working to overcome, this year needs to see a moratorium, except for those items which can be specifically petitioned as a true need/emergency," Taylor wrote in a memo. The supervisors are in the process of setting a 2017-18 budget that will be roughly $53 million, county Finance Director Dennis Butler said. The current budget is $55.3 million, for a spending plan that runs through June 30. The supervisors have been working over five weekly meetings toward setting the FY 2018 budget, which all Iowa counties must achieve by March 15. The supervisors have the goal of reaching a third consecutive budget with a lessened property tax rate. Taylor said tough action was needed to keep property taxes down, since the supervisors entered budget talks looking to close a gap of $2.3 million between expenses and revenues. He recommended the halt on non-essential equipment, which is typically paid out of the county's take of gambling revenues. The county gets one-half of 1 percent of adjusted gross revenues of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City. Taylor recommended a shift in revenues -- by holding off on using $300,000 of gambling revenues, that money could be steered to use for other county expenses, thereby reducing property taxes. He explained it as a need for "offsetting the asking of property taxes by instead using gaming revenues." There is currently about $489,000 in the countys gambling revenues pot. Conservation Board Director Rick Schneider, who heads the county entity that governs parks spending, said he could get through the year without an expected $100,000 in new equipment, such as mowers. Taylor said department heads who feel strongly about equipment replacement needs could air those in a Feb. 14 meeting. Those equipment requests would be considered on a case-by-case lifting of the equipment moratorium, which Board Chairman Matthew Ung said might be better called a pending moratorium. Supervisor Marty Pottebaum agreed with Taylor's moratorium proposal, voting with the majority. However, Pottebaum said he would likely in two weeks vote to approve money to fund patrol cars for the Sheriffs Office. The sheriff was anticipating buying six new cars for about $180,000 from the gambling proceeds. Through changes made to proposed department budgets last week, the projected property tax levy for city residents is $7.61 of assessed valuation and $10.83 for rural residents. The current budget has tax rates of $7.45 per $1000 for city residents and $10.50 for rural residents. So far, the supervisors have taken the budget gap down from $2.3 million to about $860,000, Butler said. Turning to the discussion of wages for FY 2018, most of the 400-plus county employees work under union contracts setting their benefits and wages. The county has settled all ongoing union negotiations for the year ahead, with raises coming from 2.5 percent to 3 percent. The supervisors in many years have also given non-union county employees similar raises to the amounts going to union workers, and on Tuesday discussed a range just below 3 percent for FY 2018. Woodbury County Human Resources Department Director Ed Gilliland said comparably sized Iowa counties have been paying 2.75 percent to 3 percent. Ultimately, a raise of 2.75 percent was pinpointed for the year ahead, on a 4-1 vote. Supervisor Keith Radig voted against that raise, saying county employees have a plump package of wages and benefits. The non-union county employees got a raise of 3 percent in this year's budget. A year ago, the supervisors were pointing toward a budget of about $52 million, but added in the largest amount of substantial infrastructure projects in a Capital Improvement Plan in county history. That CIP of $5.7 million was done to make improvements in several county buildings, such as the Woodbury County Courthouse, for long-delayed fixes. SIOUX CITY | Jailers in the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office will get higher raises running from 3 to 4 percent over four years in a union contract that begins July 1. Members of the Communications Workers of America Local 7177, which represents 64 jailers, ratified the four-year agreement, which has also been approved by the county board of supervisors. The union and county publicly presented their opening offers in October and had negotiated in private since then. The union originally asked for a 5 percent wage increase and the county initially countered with a 1.5 percent pay hike. With the agreement, the union members will receive a 4 percent raise effective July 1, then 3 percent raises will follow over the next three years. Woodbury County Human Resources Department Director Ed Gilliland released details Monday of the CWA contract, which runs through June 30, 2021, since union members ratified the accord and the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors affirmed it. Gilliland said the agreement is fair. He said the county looks at similar-sized counties in Iowa, and the Woodbury County pay is slightly below comparable counties. The current four-year contract set in 2013 expires June 30. In that contract, the union members got from 1.75 percent to 3 percent raises in 2013, from 1.75 percent to 2.5 percent raises in 2014, 2 percent in 2015 and 3 percent this year. The action with the CWA group means that all union contracts with county employee groups have been set for the year, and none will come up for negotiation again until 2019. Gilliland said that is a pleasing accomplishment, as the county can focus on providing services with employees. "It is nice to have everything in place, so we are not going back and forth on wages," Gilliland said. Several other contracts were negotiated over the last year. * Fifteen attorneys in the county attorney's office who belong to a local unit of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, agreed to a four-year deal from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2020. The raises in that accord were 3 percent for the first year, 2.5 percent for the second and third years and 2.25 percent for the final year. * Sixty-nine administrative employees in the county courthouse who also are represented by AFSCME agreed to a four-year contract with raises of 2.5 percent for each year through June 2020. * Twenty-five workers in the county Juvenile Detention Department, also represented by an AFSCME unit, agreed to a four-year deal through June 2020. They will receive raises of 2.5 percent for the first three years and 2.25 percent for the final year. * There are other Communications Workers of America chapters representing county employees. The Secondary Roads Department unionized employees, with 37 members, agreed to a four-year contract through June 2020. They will receive raises of 2.75 percent for the first two years and 2.5 percent for the third and fourth years. * There are 34 sheriff's office deputies in another CWA group. They settled on a three-year contract through June 2019, which calls for raises of 3 percent for the first two years and 2.75 percent for the final year. That hysterical reaction to the travel ban announced Friday is a portent of what is to come if President Donald Trump carries out the mandate given to him by those who elected him. The travel ban bars refugees for 120 days. From Syria, refugees are banned indefinitely. And a 90-day ban has been imposed on travel here from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. Was that weekend-long primal scream really justified? As of Monday, no one was being detained at a U.S. airport. Yet the shrieking had not stopped. All five stories on page one of Monday's Washington Post were about the abomination. The New York Times' editorial, "Trashing American Ideals and Security," called it bigoted, cowardly, xenophobic, Islamophobic, un-American, unrighteous. This ban, went the weekend wail, is the "Muslim ban" of the Trump campaign. But how so, when not one of the six largest Muslim countries -- Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey -- was on the list? Missing also were three-dozen other Muslim countries. Of the seven countries facing a 90-day ban, three are U.S.-designated state sponsors of terror, and the other four are war zones. Clearly, this is about homeland security, not religious discrimination. The criterion for being included in the travel ban appears to be that these places are the more likely breeding grounds for terrorists. Yet there are lessons for the Trump White House in the media-stoked panic and outrage at the end of his first week in office. First, Steve Bannon's observation that the media are "the opposition party," is obviously on target. While Sen. Chuck Schumer was crying on camera that the ban was "un-American," the media were into the more serious business of stampeding and driving the protesters. A second lesson is one every White House learns. Before a major decision is announced, if possible, get everyone's input and everyone on board to provide what Pat Moynihan called the "second and third echelons of advocacy." Those left out tend to leak. A third lesson Trump should learn is that the establishment he routed and the city he humiliated are out to break him as they broke LBJ on Vietnam, Nixon on Watergate, and almost broke Reagan on the Iran-Contra affair. While the establishment may no longer be capable of inspiring and leading the nation, so detested is it, it has not lost its appetite or its ability to break and bring down presidents. And Trump is vulnerable, not only because he is an envied outsider who seized the highest prize politics has on offer, but because his agenda would cancel out that of the elites. They believe in open borders, free trade, globalization. Trump believes in securing the Southern border, bringing U.S. industry home, economic nationalism, "America First." They want endless immigration from the Third World to remake America into the polyglot "universal nation" of Ben Wattenberg's utopian vision. Trump's followers want back the America they knew. Our foreign policy elites see democratization as a vocation and an autocratic Russia as an implacable enemy. Trump instead sees Moscow as a potential ally against real enemies like al-Qaida and ISIS. There is another reason for the reflexive howl at Trump's travel ban. The establishment views it, probably correctly, as the first move toward a new immigration policy, built on pre-1965 foundations, and rooted in a preference for Western-Christian immigrants first. When the Times rages that "American ideals" or "traditional American values" are under attack by Trump, what they really mean is that their ideology and agenda are threatened by Trump. We are headed for a series of collisions and crises, and what has happened in Europe will likely happen here. As the Third World invasion and growing Islamization of the Old Continent -- which the EU has proven unable to stop -- has discredited centrist parties and continuously fed a populist-nationalist uprising there, so may it here also. And Trump not only appears to have no desire to yield to his enemies in politics and the media, he has no choice, as he is now the personification of a surging Middle American counterrevolution. Undeniably, there are great numbers of Americans who agree with the libels the Times showered on Trump and, by extension, his backers whom Hillary Clinton designated "the racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic ... deplorables." But by whatever slurs they are called, Middle Americans seem prepared to fight. And history shows that such people do not calmly accept the loss of what is most precious to them -- the country they grew up in, the country they love. They have turned to Trump to lead them. Why should he not, having been raised up by them, and knowing in his own heart what the establishment and the media think of him and would do to him? Ten days in, and already it is "Game On!" Somewhat lost amid the uproar resulting from President Trump's executive order on travel last weekend were changes he made within the National Security Council. Each president is, of course, entitled to organize the White House, including the NSC, in any way he wishes, but one Trump change in particular - the promotion of political strategist Steve Bannon to a prominent place within the NSC process - gives us pause. First formed in 1947 during the administration of President Harry Truman, the NSC is described as the principal forum used by the president for consideration of national security and foreign policies. Trump's reorganization of the NSC for the first time invites a president's political strategist to attend any meeting of the NSC and gives him or her regular membership on the influential, most-senior NSC Principals Committee. (By contrast, the director of national intelligence and chairman of the Joint Chiefs will not be regular members.) "Now, politics finding its way into a president's national security decision-making is nothing new. But it rarely (if ever) gets a seat in the White House Situation Room - for good reason," Kelly Magsamen, who served on the NSC staff for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, wrote for The Atlantic. "To place a purely political operative on the NSC - alongside Cabinet members with national-security responsibilities or expertise - is an unprecedented move with profound implications for how national-security policies are developed and executed. "To be clear, that concern is not confined to Steve Bannon," Magsamen continued. "This would be the case no matter who it was." Or, who the president was. The last place you want to put somebody who worries about politics is in a room where theyre talking about national security, Leon Panetta, a former White House chief of staff, defense secretary, and C.I.A. director, said to The New York Times. Because he possesses no experience in national security or foreign policy, we don't see how the addition of Bannon contributes anything to the NSC process other than the disturbing potential for introduction of political considerations into discussions where they don't belong. Bottom line: Bannon shouldn't have a seat at the table. It was good to see the Sioux City Board of Education, the Sioux City Education Association and state representatives meet recently to discuss funding for our public schools. As Dr. Paul Gausman, our superintendent, was quoted as saying at the meeting: "The amount of funding each year increased to schools has been in the range of about two percent. The amount of cost increase to schools, in that same period of time each year, is about three and a half percent." Who makes up the difference? We the property taxpayers, of course. What have we in Sioux City received for our ever-increasing taxes? According to the Iowa Board of Education's annual Iowa School Report Card, three schools on the "Priority" list, which is as low as the report goes, and three schools on the "Needs Improvement" list. (One step up from "Priority") One school was "High-Performing" and one was "Commendable." The rest were "Acceptable" or "Unable to Rate." There were no "Exceptional" local schools. I think the teachers are doing the best they can with what they are given. My concerns are with the allocations of the monies that our school district receives. For example, while the Board of Education has really pushed to get senior teachers to retire, has any serious reductions taken place in the administration departments? What about payrolls? These are questions that should be openly discussed with the public in attendance. Not behind closed doors, as some of these issues currently are. I believe we do have a say in this matter. - Scott Bowman, Sioux City After reading the article regarding raises for judges across Iowa, my thoughts went to the shortcomings in local, state, and federal budgets, and I question why they feel they should not be a part of the solution rather than the problem. I am sure judges have a hefty expense account on top of what looks to be a generous wage. So, when our Social Security checks go up again, come talk to me about a raise. We have waited three years for one and likely won't see one again any time soon because the feds say my cost of living has not gone up. So, logically, neither has the judges' cost of living. - Diane Baker, Sioux City DES MOINES | Gov. Terry Branstad on Wednesday signed a GOP-passed measure designed to head off a projected state budget shortfall by making $117.8 million in mid-year spending adjustments slated to take place by June 30. Senate File 130, which passed the Senate 28-19 and the House 58-38 on party-line votes, included $88.2 million in targeted cuts and $25 million in fund transfers to balance the fiscal 2017 ledger. The current-year budget adjustments were precipitated by lackluster revenue growth blamed on a sagging farm economy that threw out of balance the $7.2 billion spending plans passed by last years split-control Legislature and signed by Gov. Terry Branstad. Among the cuts are $18 million to the regent universities -- $8 million each at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University and $2 million for the University of Northern Iowa -- $3 million for community colleges, $5.5 million for correctional facilities, $4.5 million for the state Department of Education, $3 million for the court system, $1 million for public safety, and $11.5 million in reduce executive branch operations. Branstad did not use his item-veto power to change any of the provisions in Senate File 130. Lt. Gov. Reynolds and I appreciate that the first bill passed by the Iowa legislature, responsibly balances the budget for fiscal year 2017, Branstad said in a statement. As I said in my Condition of the State address, these adjustments are required by law, the governor added. Im pleased that the Legislature made the tough decisions early in the session exempting K-12 education funding, Medicaid payments and property tax backfill for local governments from reduction, providing stability for Iowa schools, businesses, and families. Minority Democrats argued the cuts would hit hard on college students and programs intended to address the states skilled worker shortage, quality of life and public safety when there were other options available to address the unexpected shortfall. Last week, officials in the Iowa Judicial Branch announced that 1,446 employees in the states court system would be taking an unpaid furlough day on May 26 which would save an estimated $364,573 as part of the courts $3 million reduction in spending through June 30. Money also was transferred from several economic development accounts and $6.1 million was scooped from the states cultural trust fund to erase the projected shortfall. DES MOINES | Legislation seeking state authority to set regulations for roadside solicitations of passing motorists for charitable donations ran into problems Wednesday over concerns it would preempt local control and possibly open cities to legal challenges on free speech issues. Members of a House Local Government subcommittee said more work was needed on a bill being pushed by representatives of Iowa firefighters that would establish a state law permitting public safety officials to solicit contributions from passing motorists while standing on a road or street if they were seeking donations for charitable purposes on behalf of a charitable organization. House Study Bill 58 set out requirements and deadlines for local permitting and liability insurance coverage and included a provision that all local ordinances, regulations and rules not consistent with the proposed state statute would become void on July 1. The local preemption would not apply to proceedings or punishments in process prior to July 1. Lon Anderson, a lobbyist representing Iowa Professional Firefighters, said the legislation was needed because some cities he named Burlington, Davenport and Des Moines -- have created or are enforcing ordinances that have reduced their charitable fundraising activities. Its our understanding that this was done to prevent panhandling that can occur that the cities want to get a handle on, he added. Anderson said the firefighter associations in Iowa were seeking state intervention because efforts to find some workable accommodation with local jurisdictions have not been successful. Lindsey McCune, government affairs manager for the Iowa League of Cities, said her members in no way want to negatively impact our public safety officers and their ability to generate revenue, but the language in HSB 58 creates a statewide prohibition against certain types of speech by certain people that is problematic. Its not a content neutral regulation and, therefore, we do believe that it might not pass a constitutional challenge and it places local governments at risk of being sued, McCune told subcommittee members. Also, she said, cities believe they should be able to regulate where people stand along roadways in their localities. This is a safety concern at its core and one that we feel is most appropriately left in the hands of the cities, not the state, McCune noted. Doug Struyk, a former legislator representing the city of Des Moines, said he believes the bill would run afoul of a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an Arizona case that held local ordinances must be content neutral. He said basing an ordinance on nonprofit status and then tying that to law enforcement would not meet the content neutral standard. We are up against the United States Supreme Court and, as strong as the Iowa House and the Senate are and after the governor signs it, we cant trump that, Struyk said, and were putting our cities in a position where theyre going to spend a lot of money trying to defend the situation. The three subcommittee members asked interested groups to meet to address their differences and the constitutional issues in question so they could reconvene in a week or 10 days to consider revisions that would improve the measure. I think this needs a lot more work, said subcommittee member Rep. Andy McKean, R-Anamosa. iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) In an effort to clarify how dual nationals are impacted by Trumps immigration executive order, government officials on Tuesday issued updated guidance. As long as the individual holds a passport from an unrestricted country, possesses a valid U.S. visa, and uses the passport from the unrestricted country, they will be allowed to travel to the U.S., according to State Department and DHS officials. There was widespread confusion over the weekend at airports in the U.S and around the world after Trump signed the order last Friday. The directive prohibits citizens from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. It also temporarily suspends admission for refugees for 120 days and indefinitely bars refugees from Syria. The dual national clarification refers to people who hold a passport from one of the seven restricted countries and a non-restricted country. For example, someone who is a dual national of the U.K. and Somalia or India and Yemen. It does not impact U.S. citizens that have dual citizenship. "Another question that has come up is whether dual nationals are treated differently. Travelers will be assessed at our border based on the passport they present, not any dual-national status. So if you're a citizen of the United Kingdom, you present your United Kingdom passport and the executive order does not apply to you upon arrival," said Acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference Tuesday. According to a State Department official, the dual nationals, who hold the passport of an unrestricted country and possess a valid U.S. visa may resume travel to the United States. Embassies and consulates around the world will process visa applications and issue nonimmigrant and immigrant visas to otherwise eligible visa applicants who apply with a passport from an unrestricted country, even if they hold dual nationality from one of the seven restricted countries, said the official. Trumps executive order sparked protests across the country and federal lawsuits were filed in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington, prompting district court judges to issue emergency stays, causing CBP to change course in some cases. Lawsuits continue to be filed throughout the week in opposition of the order. On Saturday the State Department issued guidance that said, beginning January 27, 2017, travelers who have nationality or dual nationality of one of these countries will not be permitted for 90 days to enter the United States or be issued an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa. Officials scrambled over the weekend to tell people with dual-national status how to interpret the president's order. For example, the U.S. consulate in Erbil posted a message to its Facebook page Saturday advising all Iraqi nationals, including dual nationals not to schedule travel to the United States "at this time." And after seeking clarity, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement earlier this week that he had been assured that "holders of Canadian passports, including dual citizens, will not be affected by the ban." Despite, reversing course and issuing alternate guidance, officials said this was not backtracking, but rather a clarification of order. During a Department of Homeland Security press conference today, officials acknowledged that communications surrounding the initial rollout of the executive order "haven't been the best." "It's fair to acknowledge that communications, publicly and interagency, haven't been the best in the initial roll-out of this process," said McAleenan. However, he said that CBP has now communicated with the State Department and government employees are working with airlines to make sure the rules are implemented correctly. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. MAPLETON, Iowa | On April 9, 2011, Brent and Laurie Streck and their children huddled in their basement in Danbury, Iowa, seconds after seeing transformers pop, the first signs of a storm's fury. They listened as wind and rain pelted their home, causing damage. Little did they know that the community immediately to their south had lost much, much more. A tornado ravaged Mapleton shortly after 7 that night, destroying 50 homes and damaging another 92 business and residential dwellings. Mapleton residents rebuilt and recovered. They applied for 278 building permits within two years of the twister, embarking on construction projects that totaled in excess of $10.4 million. The Strecks moved to Mapleton during this recovery phase. They bought two lots in the town's newest development, Water Tower Place, a 1999 city-owned parcel named for its proximity to the water tower serving this Monona County community. The Strecks built a home, one of seven erected in this post-tornado boom. The City of Mapleton offered $2,000 discounts on the $8,000 residential lots on Tower Street. A second $2,000 rebate went to homeowners like the Strecks who built a home within 12 months of their lot purchase. Additionally, a five-year property tax abatement played a role, incentives all. "We bought the two lots and got the property tax abatement on each," Brent Streck said. "We ended up building in the middle of our two lots." The timing was right for the Strecks, parents of three children, who had outgrown their home in Danbury and could find no homes in that community. The family, which had resided in the Omaha area for 15 years, had returned to the area for the solid education that would be offered to their children, Ethan, Wyatt and Natalie, in the Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto Community School District. Laurie, the former Laurie Jensen, a native of Castana, Iowa, graduated from Maple Valley High School in 1993. Brent is a native of nearby Schleswig, Iowa, and graduate of Schleswig High. Brent, who works for a building controls division of a national company, could reside anywhere within his trade territory. They had moved to Danbury in 2010 after Laurie's position with AmeriStar Casino in Omaha had been downsized. She was seven months pregnant with their third child at the time. "We found that the Maple Valley school was strong, so we moved back," Brent said. The incentives offered after the tornado helped make the decision to relocate to Mapleton after the birth of Natalie, in 2011. The Strecks, who had built a two-story home in Gretna, Nebraska, a few years earlier, decided on an Amwood panel house from L&L Builders, of Marcus, Iowa. This home represents the fifth community in which the couple has lived since marrying 20 years ago. "They build the home in a warehouse and then enclose it here," Brent said. "That way, you don't have exposure to the elements while the home is under construction." The couple picked a ranch layout in their attempt to save wear and tear on Laurie's ankles. She suffered fractures to both in falls on stairs in their previous homes. "I was carrying our son, Wyatt, in 2006," Laurie recalled. "He was just over a year old and I was getting a bottle for him at 2 o'clock in the morning when I turned and fell." "She broke the same bone in two places," Brent said. The other fall took place in 2003 when son Ethan was 9 months old. The couple resided in Millard, Nebraska, at the time. She wasn't carrying the baby during that fall, however. "She broke the other ankle and tore ligaments in that fall," Brent said. "My family says I'm clumsy," Laurie said with a smile and a shrug. So, the couple opted for a spacious ranch, a five-bedroom, three-bathroom plan with a three-car garage that soon expanded with a second garage unit. "We added a four-car garage to the south," said Brent, who added how much the family enjoys being on a quiet street whose residents are a mix of retirees, empty-nesters and those raising children. The home features nearly 2,000 square feet on the main floor and 1,700 square feet downstairs. Bedrooms for the boys downstairs have intercoms for quick communication as Mom and Dad prepare meals in the kitchen upstairs. All the rooms have Internet availability as well. "When we moved here all the kids could have their own room," said Laurie, who notes how the kids' walk-in closets surpass in space the one she uses. "I like cooking on a gas stove," Brent said while standing in an open kitchen that gives way to a dining area (one of two) and then the living room. "We're pretty good about having supper together as a family each night." Walls throughout the home are decorated with painted sayings such as, "Family: Today's little moments become tomorrow's precious memories." The ceilings in the home have been raised, including the tray ceiling in the master bedroom that tops out at 11 feet. The master bath features a shower and a Jacuzzi. "The kids use the Jacuzzi most," Laurie said. As Brent walks downstairs, he points out the 3-D television for family movie nights. Just below the stairs is a space guarded by 2x6 studs on both sides. Said Brent, "That is solid. It's our storm shelter." AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom. CRH plc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes building materials. It operates in three segments: Americas Materials, Europe Materials, and Building Products. The company manufactures and supplies cement, lime, aggregates, precast, ready mixed concrete, and asphalt products; concrete masonry and hardscape products comprising pavers, blocks and kerbs, retaining walls, and related patio products; and glass and glazing products, including architectural glass, custom-engineered curtain and window walls, architectural windows, storefront systems, doors, skylights, and architectural hardware. It also offers precast concrete and polymer-based products, such as underground vaults, drainage pipes and structures, utility enclosures, and modular precast structures to the water, energy, communication, transportation, and building structures markets; and construction accessories, such as anchoring, fixing, and connection solutions, as well as lifting systems, formwork accessories, and other accessories used in construction applications. In addition, the company offers network access products, which include composite access chambers, covers, passive safety systems, retention sockets, sealants, and meter boxes; and paving and construction services. Further, it provides building and civil engineering contracting, contract surfacing, operates logistics and owned railway infrastructure; sells and distributes cement; and supplies access chambers and ducting products. It serves governments, contractors, homebuilders, homeowners, and sub-contractors. The company operates primarily in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. CRH plc was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc., an offshore energy services company, provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry primarily in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, the Asia Pacific, and West Africa regions. The company operates through three segments: Well Intervention, Robotics, and Production Facilities. It engages in the installation of flowlines, control umbilicals, and manifold assemblies and risers; trenching and burial of pipelines; installation and tie-in of riser and manifold assembly; commissioning, testing, and inspection activities; and provision of cable and umbilical lay, and connection services. The company also provides well intervention, intervention engineering, and production enhancement services; inspection, repair, and maintenance of production structures, trees, jumpers, risers, pipelines, and subsea equipment; and related support services. In addition, it offers reclamation and remediation services; well plug and abandonment services; pipeline abandonment services; and site inspections. Additionally, the company offers oil and natural gas processing facilities and services; and fast response system, as well as site clearance and subsea support services. It serves independent oil and gas producers and suppliers, pipeline transmission companies, renewable energy companies, and offshore engineering and construction firms. The company was formerly known as Cal Dive International, Inc. and changed its name to Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. in March 2006. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. BlackRock, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks. It also provides global risk management and advisory services. The firm manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. It also launches and manages open-end and closed-end mutual funds, offshore funds, unit trusts, and alternative investment vehicles including structured funds. The firm launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and real estate mutual funds. It also launches equity, fixed income, balanced, currency, commodity, and multi-asset exchange traded funds. The firm also launches and manages hedge funds. It invests in the public equity, fixed income, real estate, currency, commodity, and alternative markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, SMID-cap, large-cap, and multi-cap companies. It also invests in dividend-paying equity securities. The firm invests in investment grade municipal securities, government securities including securities issued or guaranteed by a government or a government agency or instrumentality, corporate bonds, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. It employs fundamental and quantitative analysis with a focus on bottom-up and top-down approach to make its investments. The firm employs liquidity, asset allocation, balanced, real estate, and alternative strategies to make its investments. In real estate sector, it seeks to invest in Poland and Germany. The firm benchmarks the performance of its portfolios against various S&P, Russell, Barclays, MSCI, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch indices. BlackRock, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in New York City with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts; London, United Kingdom; Gurgaon, India; Hong Kong; Greenwich, Connecticut; Princeton, New Jersey; Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, District of Columbia; Toronto, Canada; Wilmington, Delaware; and San Francisco, California. Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. operates as a seaborne shipping and logistics company in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, South America, and internationally. It focuses on the transportation and transshipment of dry bulk commodities, including iron ores, coal, and grains. The company operates in two segments, Dry Bulk Vessel Operations and Logistics Business. The Dry Bulk Vessel Operations segment engages in the transportation and handling of bulk cargoes through the ownership, operation, and trading of vessels and freight. This segment charters its vessels to trading houses, producers, and government-owned entities. The Logistics Business segment operates ports and transfer station terminals, as well as upriver transport facilities in the Hidrovia region; and handles vessels, barges, push boats, and cabotage business. This segment provides its integrated transportation, storage, and related services through its port facilities, cargo barges, and product tankers to mineral and grain commodity providers, as well as to users of refined petroleum products. As of December 31, 2021, the company's fleet consisted of 36 vessels totaling 3.9 million deadweight tons. Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1954 and is headquartered in Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands. The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Mining China LLC, Bucyrus UK Limited, Cat Rental Kyushu LLC, Caterpillar (Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar (China) Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Machinery Components Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (HK) Limited, Caterpillar (Huainan) Machinery Service Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Langfang) Mining Equipment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Luxembourg) Investment Co. S.a r.l., Caterpillar (NI) Limited, Caterpillar (Newberry) LLC, Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Logistics Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar (U.K.) Limited, Caterpillar (Wujiang) Ltd., Caterpillar (Xuzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Zhengzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar Acquisition Holding Corp., Caterpillar Americas C.V., Caterpillar Americas Co., Caterpillar Americas Funding Inc., Caterpillar Americas Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Asia Limited, Caterpillar Asia Pacific L.P., Caterpillar Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Asset Intelligence LLC, Caterpillar Belgium S.A., Caterpillar Brasil Comercio de Maquinas e Pecas Ltda., Caterpillar Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Brazil LLC, Caterpillar Castings Kiel GmbH, Caterpillar Centro de Formacion S.L., Caterpillar China Limited, Caterpillar Commercial Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Commercial LLC, Caterpillar Commercial Northern Europe Limited, Caterpillar Commercial S.A., Caterpillar Commercial S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Commercial Services S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Communications LLC, Caterpillar Corporativo Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Cote DIvoire, Caterpillar Credito S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., Caterpillar DC Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Digital Services & Solutions SARL, Caterpillar Distribution International LLC, Caterpillar Distribution Services Europe B.V.B.A., Caterpillar East Real Estate Holding Ltd., Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, Caterpillar Energy Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions S.A., Caterpillar Energy System Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Engine Systems Inc., Caterpillar Equipos Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Eurasia LLC, Caterpillar FS (QFC) LLC, Caterpillar Finance France S.A., Caterpillar Finance Kabushiki Kaisha, Caterpillar Financial Acquisition Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Aftermarket Solutions Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Australia Leasing Pty Limited, Caterpillar Financial Australia Limited, Caterpillar Financial Commercial Account Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Corporacion Financiera S.A. E.F.C., Caterpillar Financial Dealer Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Funding Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Caterpillar Financial Leasing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial New Zealand Limited, Caterpillar Financial Nordic Services AB, Caterpillar Financial Nova Scotia Corporation, Caterpillar Financial OOO, Caterpillar Financial Receivables Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Renting S.A., Caterpillar Financial SARL, Caterpillar Financial Services (Dubai) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services (Ireland) plc, Caterpillar Financial Services (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Argentina S.A., Caterpillar Financial Services Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Financial Services CR s.r.o., Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Services GmbH, Caterpillar Financial Services India Private Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Leasing ULC, Caterpillar Financial Services Limited Les Services Financiers Caterpillar Limitee, Caterpillar Financial Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Caterpillar Financial Services Netherlands B.V., Caterpillar Financial Services Norway AS, Caterpillar Financial Services Philippines Inc., Caterpillar Financial Services Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, Caterpillar Financial UK Acquisition Funding Partners, Caterpillar Financial Ukraine LLC, Caterpillar Fluid Systems S.r.l., Caterpillar Fomento Comercial Ltda., Caterpillar Forest Products Inc., Caterpillar France S.A.S., Caterpillar GB L.L.C., Caterpillar Global Investments S.a r.l., Caterpillar Global Mining America LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Equipamentos De Mineracao do Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Expanded Products Pty Ltd, Caterpillar Global Mining Germany Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining HMS GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong AFC Manufacturing Holding Co. Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Global Mining SARL, Caterpillar Global Mining U.S. Parts LLC, Caterpillar Global Services LLC, Caterpillar Group Services S.A., Caterpillar Holding (France) S.A.S., Caterpillar Holding Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Holdings Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Hungary Components Manufacturing Ltd., Caterpillar Hydraulics Italia S.r.l., Caterpillar IPX LLC, Caterpillar IRB LLC, Caterpillar Impact Products Limited, Caterpillar India Private Limited, Caterpillar Industrial Inc., Caterpillar Industrias Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Industries (Pty) Ltd, Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Insurance Company, Caterpillar Insurance Holdings Inc., Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Finance Designated Activity Company, Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg I S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg II S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Product SARL, Caterpillar International Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Services del Peru S.A., Caterpillar Investment Limited, Caterpillar Investment One SARL, Caterpillar Investment Two SARL, Caterpillar Investments, Caterpillar Japan LLC, Caterpillar Latin America Services S.R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Panama S. de R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Servicios de Chile Limitada, Caterpillar Latin America Support Services S. DE R.L., Caterpillar Leasing (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar Leasing Chile S.A., Caterpillar Leasing GmbH (Leipzig), Caterpillar Leasing Operativo Limitada, Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, Caterpillar Logistics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Logistics (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Logistics Inc., Caterpillar Logistics ML Services France S.A.S., Caterpillar Logistics Services China Limited, Caterpillar Luxembourg Group S.ar.l., Caterpillar Luxembourg LLC, Caterpillar Luxembourg S.a r.l., Caterpillar Machinery Nantong Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asset Intelligence, Caterpillar Marine Power UK Limited, Caterpillar Marine Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Maroc SARL, Caterpillar Materiels Routiers SAS, Caterpillar Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Mining Canada ULC, Caterpillar Mining Chile Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Motoren (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, Caterpillar Motoren Henstedt-Ulzburg GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Rostock GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Verwaltungs-GmbH, Caterpillar Netherlands Holding B.V., Caterpillar North America C.V., Caterpillar Operator Training Ltd., Caterpillar Overseas Credit Corporation SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Investment Holding SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Limited, Caterpillar Overseas SARL, Caterpillar Panama Services S.A., Caterpillar Paving Products Inc., Caterpillar Paving Products Xuzhou Ltd., Caterpillar Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Power Generation Systems (Bangladesh) Limited, Caterpillar Power Generation Systems L.L.C., Caterpillar Power Systems Inc., Caterpillar Power Ventures International Ltd., Caterpillar Precision Seals Korea, Caterpillar Prodotti Stradali S.r.l., Caterpillar Product Services Corporation, Caterpillar Propulsion AB, Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Italy S.R.L., Caterpillar Propulsion Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Singapore Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar R&D Center (China) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe LLC, Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe Servicios S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Reman Powertrain Indiana LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Drivetrain LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Renting France S.A.S., Caterpillar Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar SARL, Caterpillar Services Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Servizi Italia Srl, Caterpillar Shrewsbury Limited, Caterpillar Skinningrove Limited, Caterpillar Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd., Caterpillar Special Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Switchgear Americas LLC, Caterpillar Switchgear Holding Inc., Caterpillar Tianjin Ltd., Caterpillar Torreon S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Tosno L.L.C., Caterpillar Transmissions France S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Holdings Ltd., Caterpillar Tunnelling Canada Corporation, Caterpillar Tunnelling Europe Limited, Caterpillar UK Employee Trust Limited, Caterpillar UK Engines Company Limited, Caterpillar UK Group Limited, Caterpillar UK Holdings Limited, Caterpillar Undercarriage (Xuzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Underground Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Used Equipment Services Inc., Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., Caterpillar Work Tools B.V., Caterpillar Work Tools Inc., Caterpillar World Trading Corporation, Caterpillar Xuzhou, Caterpillar of Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar of Canada Corporation, Caterpillar of Delaware Inc., Centre de Distribution de Wallonie SPRL, CleanAir Systems, Downer Freight Rail, ECM Railway Evolution Romania s.r.l., ECM S.p.A., EDC European Excavator Design Center GmbH, EMC Holding Corp., EMD International Holdings Inc., ERA Information & Entertainment (BVI) Limited, ERA Mining Machinery Limited, Electro-Motive Diesel Limited, Electro-Motive Locomotive Technologies LLC, Electro-Motive Technical Consulting Co. (Beijing) Ltd., Energy Services International Limited, Equipos de Acuna S.A. de C.V., Eurenov S.A.S., F. G. Wilson (Proprietary) Limited, F. Perkins Limited, FG Wilson (Engineering) Limited, GB Holdco (China) Inc., GFCM Comercial Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., GFCM Servicios S.A. de C.V., Gremada Industries - Assets, Hong Kong Siwei Holdings Limited, Inmobiliaria Conek S.A. de C.V., JCS Co., Kemper Valve & Fittings Corp., Leo Inc., Locomotive Demand Power Pty Ltd., Locomotoras Progress Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Lovat, M2M Data Corporation, MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios, MWM, MWM Austria GmbH, MWM Benelux B.V., MWM Energy Australia Pty Ltd, MWM France S.A.S, MWM Real Estate GmbH, MaK Americas Inc., MaK Americas Inc. (Canada), Magnum Power Products LLC, Marble, Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH, Mec-Track S.r.l., Metalmark Financial Services Limited, Motoren Steffens GmbH, Nippon Caterpillar LLC, P. T. Solar Services Indonesia, PT Caterpillar Finance Indonesia, PT. Bucyrus Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia Batam, PT. Caterpillar Remanufacturing Indonesia, Perkins Engines, Perkins Engines (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Perkins Engines Group Limited, Perkins Engines Inc., Perkins Group Limited, Perkins Holdings Limited LLC, Perkins India Private Limited, Perkins International Inc., Perkins Japan LLC, Perkins Limited, Perkins Machinery (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Perkins Motores do Brasil Ltda., Perkins Power Systems Technology (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines LLC, Perkins Small Engines Limited, Perkins Technology Inc., Progress Metal Reclamation Company, Progress Rail Arabia Limited Company, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd, Progress Rail Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios do Brasil Ltda., Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Holdings Inc., Progress Rail Innovations Private Limited, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems GmbH, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems S.r.l., Progress Rail International Corp., Progress Rail Leasing Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Progress Rail Locomotivas (do Brasil) Ltda., Progress Rail Locomotive Canada Co., Progress Rail Locomotive Chile SpA, Progress Rail Locomotive Inc., Progress Rail Maintenance de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Progress Rail Manufacturing Corporation, Progress Rail Raceland Corporation, Progress Rail Rocklin Corporation, Progress Rail SA Proprietary Limited, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Progress Rail Services Holdings Corp., Progress Rail Services LLC, Progress Rail Services UK Limited, Progress Rail Switching Services LLC, Progress Rail Transcanada Corporation, Progress Rail Welding Corporation, Progress Rail Wildwood LLC, Progress Rail de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pyroban Group, Pyroban Group, Pyrrha Investments B.V., Pyrrha Investments Limited, S&L Railroad LLC, SCM Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., SPL Software Alliance LLC, Sabre Engines, Servicios de Turbinas Solar S. de R.L. de C.V., Shandong SEM Machinery Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines (Beijing) Trading Services Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines (Thailand) Ltd., Solar Turbines CIS Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Canada Ltd./Ltee., Solar Turbines Central Asia Limited Liability Partnership, Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o., Solar Turbines Egypt Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Europe S.A., Solar Turbines India Private Limited, Solar Turbines International Company, Solar Turbines Italy S.R.L., Solar Turbines Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Solar Turbines Middle East Limited, Solar Turbines New Zealand Limited, Solar Turbines Saudi Arabia Limited, Solar Turbines Services Company, Solar Turbines Services Nigeria Limited, Solar Turbines Services of Argentina S.R.L., Solar Turbines Switzerland Sagl, Solar Turbines Trinidad & Tobago Limited, Solar Turbines West-Africa SARL, Tangshan DBT Machinery Co. Ltd., Tecnologia Modificada S.A. de C.V., Towmotor Corporation, Traction & Mining Motor Repairs Pty Ltd, Turbinas Solar S.A. de C.V., Turbinas Solar de Colombia S.A., Turbinas Solar de Venezuela C.A., Turbo Tecnologia de Reparaciones S.A. de C.V., Turbomach, Turbomach Endustriyel Gaz Turbinleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited, Turbomach France SARL, Turbomach GmbH, Turbomach Netherlands B.V., Turbomach Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbomach S.A. Unipersonal, Turbomach Sp. Z o.o., Turner Powertrain Systems Limited, UK Hose Assembly Limited, Underground Imaging Technologies Inc, United Industries LLC, VALA Inc., Vasky Energy Ltd., Wealdstone Engineering, Weir - Oil & Gas Division, West Virginia Auto Shredding Inc., Western Gear Machinery LLC, Wetland Sustainability Fund I LLC, Williams Technologies, Yard Club, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Sales Co. Ltd., and okyo Rental Ltd.. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Pearson: AEL (S) PTE Limited, ATI Professional Development LLC, Addison Wesley Longman Inc., Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., Aldwych Finance Limited, Americas Choice Inc., Atkey Finance Limited, Author Solutions, Axis Finance Inc., CAMSAWUSA Inc., CTI Education Group (Pty) Limited, Camsaw Inc., Casapsi Livraria e Editora Ltda, Centro Cultural Americano Franquias e Comercio Ltda., Century Consultants Ltd., Certiport, Certiport China Co Ltd, Certiport China Holding LLC, Certiport Inc., Cogmed Systems AB, Connections Academy of Arkansas LLC, Connections Academy of Florida LLC, Connections Academy of Iowa LLC, Connections Academy of Maine LLC, Connections Academy of Maryland LLC, Connections Academy of Minnesota LLC, Connections Academy of Missouri LLC, Connections Academy of Nevada LLC, Connections Academy of New Jersey LLC, Connections Academy of New Mexico LLC, Connections Academy of New York LLC, Connections Academy of Oregon LLC, Connections Academy of Pennsylvania LLC, Connections Academy of Tennessee LLC, Connections Academy of Texas LLC, Connections Education Inc., Connections Education LLC, Connections Education of Florida LLC, Dominie Press Inc., Dorian Finance Limited, Dorling Kindersley Australasia Pty Limited, EBNT Canada Holdings ULC, EBNT Holdings Limited, EBNT USA Holdings Inc., Edexcel Limited, Edexcel South Africa Pty Ltd, Education Development International plc, Education Resources (Cyprus) Limited, Educational Management Group Inc., Educational Publishers LLP, Embanet ULC, Embanet-Compass Knowledge Group Inc., EmbanetCompass, Embankment Finance Limited, English Language Learning and Instruction System Inc., Escape Studios Limited, FBH Inc., Falstaff Holdco Inc., Falstaff Inc., GED Domains LLC, GED Testing Service LLC, George (Shanghai) Commercial Information Consulting Co. Ltd, Global Education, Global George I Limited, Global George II Limited, GlobalEnglish, Globe Fearon Inc., Guangzhou Crescent Software Co. Ltd, Heinemann Education Botswana (Publishers) (Proprietary) Limited, Heinemann Publishers (Pty) Ltd, INTELLIPRO INC., Icodeon Limited, IndiaCan Education Private Limited, Integral 7 Inc., Integrated Analytics LLC, J M Solucoes Exportacao e Importacao Ltda, K12 Learning Services LLC, Kagiso Education Pty Ltd, Knowledge Analysis Technologies LLC, LCCI International Qualifications (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., LCCIEB Training Consultancy. Ltd, Learning Catalytics, LessonLab Inc., Lignum Oil Company, Linx Brasil Distribuidora Ltda., Longman (Malawi) Limited, Longman Australasia Pty Ltd, Longman Group(Overseas Holdings)Limited, Longman Indochina Acquisition L.L.C., Longman Kenya Limited, Longman Mocambique Ltda, Longman Romania S.R.L., Longman Swaziland (Pty) Limited, Longman Tanzania Limited, Longman Zambia Educational Publishers Pty Ltd, Longman Zambia Limited, Longman Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, Longmaned Ecuador S.A., Major123 Limited, Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Limited, MeasureUp LLC, Modern Curriculum Inc., Multi Holding, Multi Treinamento e Editora Ltda, NCS Information Technology Services (Beijing) Co Ltd, NCS Pearson Inc., NCS Pearson Pty Ltd, NCS Pearson Puerto Rico Inc., National Computer Systems Japan Co. Ltd, Ordinate Corporation, PN Holdings Inc., PT Efficient English Services, Pearson (Beijing) Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Pearson (Guizhou) Education Technology Co. Ltd., Pearson Affordable Learning Fund Limited, Pearson America LLC, Pearson Amsterdam B.V., Pearson Australia Finance Unlimited, Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd, Pearson Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Pearson Australia Pty Ltd, Pearson Benelux B.V., Pearson Books Limited, Pearson Brazil Finance Limited, Pearson Business Services Inc., Pearson Canada Assessment Inc., Pearson Canada Finance Unlimited, Pearson Canada Holdings Inc, Pearson Canada Inc., Pearson Central Europe Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Pearson College Limited, Pearson DBC Holdings Inc., Pearson Desarrollo y Capacitacion Profesional Chile Limitada, Pearson Deutschland GmbH, Pearson Digital Learning Puerto Rico Inc., Pearson Dollar Finance Two Limited, Pearson Dollar Finance plc, Pearson Educacion SA, Pearson Educacion de Chile Limitada, Pearson Educacion de Colombia S A S, Pearson Educacion de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pearson Educacion de Panama SA, Pearson Educacion de Peru S.A., Pearson Education (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Pearson Education Achievement Solutions (RF) (Pty) Limited, Pearson Education Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Education Asia Limited, Pearson Education Botswana (Proprietary) Limited, Pearson Education Hellas SA, Pearson Education Holdings Limited, Pearson Education Inc., Pearson Education Indochina Limited, Pearson Education Investments Limited, Pearson Education Korea Limited, Pearson Education Limited, Pearson Education Namibia (Pty) Limited, Pearson Education Publishing Limited, Pearson Education S.A., Pearson Education SA, Pearson Education South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Education South Asia Pte. Ltd., Pearson Education Taiwan Ltd, Pearson Education do Brasil S.A, Pearson Educational Measurement Canada Inc., Pearson Educational Publishers LLC, Pearson Egitim Cozumleri Tikaret Limited Sirketi, Pearson Falstaff (Holdings) Inc., Pearson Falstaff Holdco LLC, Pearson France, Pearson Funding Five plc, Pearson Funding Four plc, Pearson Funding Two Limited, Pearson Holdings Inc., Pearson Holdings Southern Africa (Pty) Limited, Pearson IOKI Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Pearson India Education Services Private Limited, Pearson India Support Services Private Limited, Pearson Institute of Higher Education, Pearson International Finance Limited, Pearson Investment Holdings Inc., Pearson Italia S.p.A, Pearson Japan KK, Pearson Lanka (Private) Limited, Pearson Learning China (HK) Limited, Pearson Lesotho (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Loan Finance No. 3 Limited, Pearson Loan Finance No. 4 Limited, Pearson Loan Finance No.2 Unlimited, Pearson Loan Finance Unlimited, Pearson Longman Uganda Limited, Pearson Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Pearson Management Services Limited, Pearson Management Services Philippines Inc., Pearson Maryland Inc., Pearson Netherlands B.V., Pearson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Pearson Nominees Limited, Pearson Online Tutoring LLC, Pearson Overseas Holdings Limited, Pearson PEM P.R. Inc., Pearson PRH Holdings Limited, Pearson Pension Nominees Limited, Pearson Pension Property Fund Limited, Pearson Pension Trustee Limited, Pearson Pension Trustee Services Limited, Pearson Professional Assessments Limited, Pearson Real Estate Holdings Inc., Pearson Real Estate Holdings Limited, Pearson Schweiz AG, Pearson Services Limited, Pearson Shared Services Limited, Pearson South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Strand Finance Limited, Pearson Sweden AB, Pearson VUE Philippines Inc., Pearson in Practice Holdings Limited, Pearson in Practice Skills Based Learning Limited, Pearson in Practice Technology Limited, Penguin Capital LLC, Phumelela Publishers (Pty) Ltd, ProctorCam Inc., Reading Property Holdings LLC, Rebus Planning Associates Inc., Reston Publishing Company Inc., Rycade Capital Corporation, Shanghai AWL Education Software Ltd, Silver Burdett Ginn Inc., Skylight Training and Publishing Inc., Smarthinking Inc., Sound Holdings Inc., Spear Insurance Company Limited, Stark Verlag GmbH, Sunnykey International Holdings Limited (BVI), TQ Catalis Limited, TQ Clapham Limited, TQ Education and Training Limited, TQ Global Limited, TQ Group Limited, TQ Holdings Limited, The Financial Times (I) Pvt Ltd, The Learning Edge International pty Ltd, The Waite Group Inc, Trio Parent Holdings LLC, US Learning Services LLC, USLS Holdings LLC, Virtual Nerd, Vue Testing Services Israel Ltd, Vue Testing Services Korea Limited, Wall Street Institute Kft., Williams Education GmbH, eCollege.com, and Editions Du Renouveau Pedagogique Inc.. Read More The executive order by which President Trump aims to temporarily stop the issuance of visas to immigrants and non-immigrants from seven hotbeds of Islamic terrorism in the Middle East and Africa says, in the plainest of English, that in order to protect Americans, it is vital to ensure that those admitted to this country clearly support the Constitution, do not bear hostile attitudes toward [the U.S.] and its founding principles, do not place violent ideologies over American law, do not engage in acts of bigotry or hatred, and do not seek to oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.If Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton were to have uttered these same words, the Left would be lauding their sober eloquence. But with things being as they are, the Left is instead apoplectic with both rage and torment. The normally cold-blooded political assassin, Senator Charles Schumer of New York, was reduced by what he called Trump's mean-spirited and un-American action to sniveling like a little girl who'd just dropped her favorite doll into a muddy puddle. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said there were tears in the eyes of the Statue of Liberty.But the Left's reaction has consisted of much more than tears. As Aaron Klein reports, immigration lawyers from four leftist organizations have banded together to file a lawsuit aimed at blocking President Trump's executive order. The first is the Immigration Legal Services clinic at Yale Law School, which represents refugees from more than twenty countries around the world. The second is the ACLU, which denounces the destructive and discriminatory intent of Trump's Muslim ban wrapped in a paper-thin national security rationale. The third is the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), whose executive director has characterized Trump's order as a heartless and discriminatory policy that turns its back on some of the worlds most vulnerable populations. And the fourth is the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), which boasts that its own efforts in 2013 helped bring about a twelve-fold increase in the number of visas issued to newcomers from Iraq and Afghanistan.The mindset of IRAP a typical blame-America-first operation is emblematic of the worldview that animates each of the four organizations involved in the suit. After having initially emphasized the clear obligations of the United States in particular to provide relief to those who were unintended victims of the Iraq War, IRAP has since expanded its list of beneficiaries to include also refugees from Afghanistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.Would an influx of migrants or refugees from those particular countries be a positive development for America? The good news is that we have plenty of information about the types of people we'd be bringing in. The bad news is that the Left couldn't care less.We know , for instance, from voluminous data provided by the Pew Research Center, that in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Palestine, 84 to 99 percent of adults fervently believe that divinely ordained Sharia as opposed to any man-made legal construct like the U.S. Constitution should serve as the official law of the land. In other words, importing newcomers from these places means that we would be receiving people who embrace Sharia principles like the call to jihadism, the quest for Islamic supremacy across the globe, the rejection of free speech and conscience in matters related to religion, institutionalized discrimination against non-Muslim infidels, and brutal punishments such as beatings, amputations, and death-by-stoning for sins like theft, adultery, the consumption of alcohol, and converting to another faith.Sharia likewise entails the denial of many civil rights and liberties to women. Thus in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt, the percentage of Muslims who completely or mostly agree with the notion that a wife should always obey her husband ranges between 85 and 94 percent. How would that reality play among the pussy hat brigade that swarmed Washington a few days ago?In those same five countries, 52 to 78 percent of Muslims believe that honor killings can be a justifiable means of punishing someone for engaging in pre- or extra-marital sex. In some Muslim countries, substantial proportions of the population (i.e., 40 to 50 percent) consider polygamy and suicide bombings to be morally acceptable, while scarcely half hold an unfavorable view of the monstrous, bloodthirsty savages of Al-Qaeda. Would there be something noble or beneficial about importing into our country a large number of people who hold these opinions and values?There are also very significant economic issues to consider. What happens, for instance, when refugees to a given country instantly become dependent upon taxpayer support, perhaps for the rest of their lives? Has the Left learned nothing from the experience of Europe? Of the 163,000 Middle Eastern migrants who came to Sweden as asylees in 2015, fewer than 500 or about three people per thousand ever found a job. And of the 1 million Middle Eastern refugees who entered Germany in 2015, fewer than 100 or about one person per ten-thousand ever made it into the work force. Are numbers like these acceptable to a nation with a $20 trillion fiscal operating debt and $220 trillion in unfunded liabilities already casting a dark, menacing shadow over future generations?The Left is incapable of factoring such realities into its thinking. It only understands American oppression and exploitation on the one hand, and Muslim victimization on the other. Thus we see the pathetic spectacle of NILC executive director Marielena Hincapie comparing the Muslim populations of present-day terrorist breeding grounds, to the helpless Jews who tried to flee genocide in Europe during World War II. It would serve the president well to remember that our countrys past indifference and inaction led to the senseless killings of thousands of Jews who sought unsuccessfully to flee persecution in Nazi Germany, she says , complaining that Trump's executive order attempts to punish people based purely on where theyre from and what they believe.And that, in a nut shell, is the leftist worldview on full display: We're not supposed to notice or even care what people actually believe about life, death, law, violence, and civility when they arrive in the United States. We're supposed to simply roll the proverbial dice and have faith that the magic of diversity and multiculturalism will somehow resolve things happily for everyone involved, and that the lion shall inevitably lie down with the lamb. Our immigration policy should not be a hostage crisis. Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam Trump's executive order is "going to get Americans killed," Senator Murphy declared. The Connecticut Democrat was joining a chorus of the clueless warning us that if we dont let Muslims into America, theyll join ISIS and kill us. Singing their brains out in the same stupid chorus were Senator McCain and Senator Graham (a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism), Senator Ben Sasse (the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims) and Senator Heitkamp (confirms the lie terrorists tell their recruits: that America is waging a war on Islam.) Senator Cardin went one better by whining that keeping potential Islamic terrorists out, promises to make the U.S. less safe and places our courageous servicemen and women in even greater danger as they fight against terrorism. Just tell it to the Marines shot and killed by a Muslim immigrant at a Chattanooga recruiting station and Naval reserve center. Theres only one problem with this hostage crisis theory of immigration. Its insane. If theyll go off and join ISIS if we dont let them in, what happens when we do let them in? Why would we want to take in people who express their disagreement with our politics by shooting up a gay nightclub or a social service center that helps the developmentally disabled? When normal people dont like a policy, they protest or write a letter to the editor. They dont plant a pressure cooker bomb next to a little boy or stab college students with a butcher knife. Let us in or well kill you is the least compelling immigration argument ever. We have our current wave of terror despite legalizing some 100,000 Muslims a year. If we dont manage 100,000 this year, they are saying that maybe more of the 100,000 from a few years ago will join ISIS and start killing us. And if we dont legalize 100,000 five years from now, the 100,000 coming into the country this year will become the terrorists of tomorrow. Thats not an immigration policy. Its a hostage crisis. But lets take one big step back. ISIS recruitment has nothing to do with our immigration policy. Unless the worlds greatest ISIS recruiter was Obama. ISIS had zero recruitment problems under Obama. There was no shortage of Muslims lining up to run over, rape, behead, bomb and mutilate non-Muslims even when his refugee policies bent over backward to favor Muslims. Instead thats when lone wolf terrorism by ISIS supporters, some of whom had come here as first or generation refugees, took off. At the height of Obamas pro-Islamist policy, ISIS was picking up 2,000 new recruits a month. Even as he rolled out a plan to fight ISIS with aggressive tweeting, the Islamic State gained tens of thousands of recruits. There were investigations of ISIS sympathizers in every state and hundreds of Muslim settlers in America had traveled to join ISIS. Others carried out terror attacks here. Since none of this could be Obamas fault, the media took to blaming random people who might make Muslims hate us. A guy who posted a YouTube video was blamed for a Muslim terror assault on our diplomatic compound in Benghazi. Hillary Clinton saw to it that he went to jail. A pastor who planned to burn the Koran got a phone call from the commander of United States Central Command. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer suggested that burning the Koran might not be protected by the Constitution. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez refused to rule out blasphemy laws. None of this shameless unconstitutional pandering to terrorists stopped or even slowed down the tide of Muslim terror attacks. No ISIS recruit lifted a sword and then refused to behead a crying Kurdish teenager because Obama offered Muslims an incredibly generous refugee policy. Instead Islamic terror got worse. The same was true in Europe. ISIS had no difficulty finding recruits despite the generous migration policies of the European Union. Germany opened the doors to Muslims and suffered a series of devastating Islamic terrorist attacks. After a million refugees, ISIS still had no trouble finding recruits. Some of these recruits were the very refugees Germany had taken in. Islamic migration didnt make Germany any safer. It didnt prevent ISIS from finding recruits. Instead opening the borders filled Germany with potential ISIS recruits. Just as taking in large numbers of Muslims filled our country with potential ISIS recruits. ISIS recruitment numbers fell for reasons having nothing to do with our immigration policy. Muslims stopped joining the Islamic State because it was losing. Islam only cares about winning. Either youre killing non-Muslims. Or youre a loser. Muslim martyrs dont die for their beliefs. They die while killing others for their beliefs. If we really want to cut down on ISIS recruitment, the best way to do that is by beating Islamic terrorists. Leftists argued that our presence in Iraq was feeding Al Qaeda recruitment. So Obama pulled out. And Al Qaeda in Iraq turned into the Islamic State and became its own country. It went from a small group of terrorists to fielding an entire army. Obamas pullout from Iraq allowed ISIS recruiters to build a country and an army. Appeasing Islamic terrorists doesnt work. It has never worked. And it will never work. Closing the door on Muslim terrorists doesnt endanger us. Opening the door does. Closing the door on terrorists wont get Americans killed. Opening the door has gotten Americans killed. When we are told that limiting Islamic immigration will make Muslims more likely to kill us, we are letting Islamic terrorists take our immigration policy hostage. Islamic immigration is the gun held to our heads and the demand enforced by that gun. The more migrants we let in, the bigger and deadlier the gun becomes. Its time to end this immigration hostage crisis. If keeping Muslim migrants out of America will make them kill us, why would we let them in? Sandwiched between an immigration order and a Supreme Court justice nomination, U.S. President Donald J. Trump continued an executive directive to protect LGBT federal contractors. On Tuesday, Trump announced he would preserve protections for LGBT people who contract with the federal government. Former President Barack Obama first issued the order in 2014. President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including LGBTQ Americans, read a partial statement from the White House. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. Conservative LGBT organizations were the first to rally to Trumps side. American Unity Fund applauds President Trump for his bold statement affirming his support for LGBTQ Americans, said Tyler Deaton, American Unity Fund Senior Advisor, in a news release. A Republican President has never spoken so clearly or so forcefully to the unique needs of the LGBTQ community. American Unity Fund is a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit dedicated to advancing the cause of freedom for LGBTQ Americans by making the conservative case that freedom truly means freedom for everyone. Likewise, the leader of the national Log Cabin Republicans chapter praised the decision as well. Donald Trump campaigned promising to be a real friend to the LGBT community, and now he is delivering on that commitment, said LCR president Gregory T. Angelo, in a news release. Meanwhile, religious groups are not throwing in the towel just yet. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said a religious liberty exemption is coming. I think this is going to be addressed, Perkins told CNBC. Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. NGC 6334 and NGC 6357 ESO/NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI NGC 6334 is located about 5500 light-years away from Earth, while NGC 6357 is more remote, at a distance of 8000 light-years. Both are in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), near the tip of its stinging tail. The British scientist John Herschel first saw traces of the two objects, on consecutive nights in June 1837, during his three-year expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. At the time, the limited telescopic power available to Herschel, who was observing visually, only allowed him to document the brightest toepad of the Cats Paw Nebula. It was to be many decades before the true shapes of the nebulae became apparent in photographs and their popular names coined. The three toepads visible to modern telescopes, as well as the claw-like regions in the nearby Lobster Nebula, are actually regions of gas predominantly hydrogen energised by the light of brilliant newborn stars. With masses around 10 times that of the Sun, these hot stars radiate intense ultraviolet light. When this light encounters hydrogen atoms still lingering in the stellar nursery that produced the stars, the atoms become ionised. Accordingly, the vast, cloud-like objects that glow with this light from hydrogen (and other) atoms are known as emission nebulae. Thanks to the power of the 256-megapixel OmegaCAM camera, this new Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope (VST) image reveals tendrils of light-obscuring dust rippling throughout the two nebulae. At 49511 x 39136 pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. OmegaCAM is a successor to ESOs celebrated Wide Field Imager (WFI), currently installed at the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope on La Silla. The WFI was used to photograph the Cats Paw Nebula in 2010, also in visible light but with a filter that allowed the glow of hydrogen to shine through more clearly (eso1003). Meanwhile, ESOs Very Large Telescope has taken a deep look into the Lobster Nebula, capturing the many hot, bright stars that influence the objects colour and shape (eso1226). Despite the cutting-edge instruments used to observe these phenomena, the dust in these nebulae is so thick that much of their content remains hidden to us. The Cats Paw Nebula is one of the most active stellar nurseries in the night sky, nurturing thousands of young, hot stars whose visible light is unable to reach us. However, by observing at infrared wavelengths, telescopes such as ESOs VISTA can peer through the dust and reveal the star formation activity within. Viewing nebulae in different wavelengths (colours) of light gives rise to different visual comparisons on the part of human observers. When seen in longer wavelength infrared light, for example, one portion of NGC 6357 resembles a dove, and the other a skull; it has therefore acquired the additional name of the War and Peace Nebula. More information ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the worlds most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the worlds most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the worlds largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become the worlds biggest eye on the sky. Links * Zoomable version https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1705a/zoomable/ of the giant image. * Photos of the VST http://www.eso.org/public/usa/teles-instr/surveytelescopes/vst/ The departure of the Russian Progress 64 cargo craft leaves two Soyuz spaceships docked at the International Space Station. Credit: NASA. NASA The Russian 64 Progress cargo vehicle undocked from the Pirs docking compartment at 9:25 a.m. EST. The Russian Progress 64 arrived at the space station July 18, after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan July 17. After more than six months at the station, the spacecraft is scheduled to deorbit at 12:34 p.m. where it will burn up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean. On-Orbit Status Report 64 Progress (64P) Undock: 64P successfully undocked from the Docking Compartment 1 (DC-1) port this morning at 8:25 AM CST. Deorbit burn was at 11:34 AM CST today followed by atmospheric entry and destruction. Crew Autonomous Scheduling Test (CAST): The third of five sessions was completed today. The objective of this session was to allow the crew to self-schedule and execute a flexible afternoon using the Playbook tool. This is the final step before the crewmember will schedule a full crew day. Space missions beyond low-Earth orbit require new approaches to daily operations between ground and crew to account for significant communication delays. One approach is increased autonomy for crews, or Autonomous Mission Operations. The CAST investigation analyzes whether crews can develop plans in a reasonable period of time with appropriate input, whether proximity of planners to the planned operations increases efficiency, and if crew members are more satisfied when given a role in plan development. Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) and Small Fine Arm Attachment Mechanism (SAM) Removal: The crew extended the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) slide table into the cabin and removed the MPEP and SAM facilities. On Thursday, the JEMAL will be depressed and the empty Slide Table will be extended. Ground controllers will be removing an Exposed Facility Unit (EFU) from the JEM External Facility (EF) and installing it on the Slide Table to make space on the EF for the High Definition Television Camera -Exposed Facility 2 (HDTV-EF2) experiment. HDTV-EF2 is a high-definition television camera system, which is used for earth observation from the ISS. Story Time From Space Pendulous Demonstration: The crew configured and performed the pendulous experiment to demonstrate pendulous motion in a microgravity environment. The crew aligned the support stand (fulcrum) on the wall such that the beam points in the direction of the ISSs velocity vector and is able to freely rotate and point towards Earth. Story Time From Space combines science literacy outreach with simple demonstrations recorded aboard the ISS. Crew members read five science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related childrens books in orbit, and complete simple science concept experiments. Crew members videotape themselves reading the books and completing demonstrations. Video and data collected during the demonstrations are downlinked to the ground and posted in a video library with accompanying educational materials. This is a videotaped narrated demonstration based on the childrens (K-8) book Max Goes to the Moon. Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Slosh Tank Maneuvers: The crew, with ground support, performed manual maneuvers using the two partially filled tanks from the SPHERES Slosh experiment. Following ground instructions for the maneuvers, the crew observed the bubble formation in tanks of different fill quantities using single and double tank combinations and motions. The maneuvers that the crew will perform will provide valuable data for potential future in-space propellant storage required for deep space exploration. Several concepts include a configuration where two partially filled tanks are spinning in tandem. The SPHERES-Slosh investigation uses small robotic satellites to examine how liquids move around inside containers in microgravity. Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Modal Test Preparation: In preparation for Thursdays BEAM modal test, the crew gathered and configured the necessary equipment including Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) sensors and video cameras. BEAM is an experimental expandable capsule attached to the Node 3 aft Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) port. The BEAM investigation will run approximately 2 years. BEAM is not an occupied module, and not used for stowage. During this time, BEAM is constantly monitored for temperature, pressure, and radiation. Periodically, four times per year, the ISS crew enters the module to collect data and check on its structural condition. Following the BEAM investigation, the module will be released from the ISS and burn up on reentry into the atmosphere. Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutron (RaDI-N): After retrieving the RaDI-N hardware from the Russian crewmembers, a USOS crewmember deployed eight Space Bubble Detectors in Node 3 for the Radi-N2 experiment. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) RaDI-N investigation will be conducted by measuring neutron radiation levels while onboard the ISS. RaDI-N uses bubble detectors as neutron monitors which have been designed to only detect neutrons and ignore all other radiation. Haptics-2: The crew completed two Haptics-2 protocols in coordination with ground support teams. The first protocol attempted to quantify the performance characteristics of the communication channel between the ISS and ground teams via software connections and data measurements. The aim of the second protocol was to demonstrate bilateral teleoperation with force-feedback between ISS and ground facilities. During the protocol the crew was asked to move a master one Degree of Freedom (1DOF) Setup joystick inside the Columbus module, in order to control in real-time the slave robotic joint located on Earth at European Space Technology Center (ESTEC). The crew was able to successfully complete the 15 trials, and due to crew efficiency repeated trials 1-11 a second time. The crew also executed a remote hand-shake with the members of the science team at the slave work-site. Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL) Sample Cartridge Assembly (SCA) Exchange: The crew performed an exchange of the SCAs, replacing the used cartridge with the next in the series, Solidification along an Eutectic Path in Ternary Alloys (SETA)2-#9. The SETA investigation looks at how two phases that form together organize into lamellar, or fiber, structures when cooling Aluminum (Copper-Silver Alloys). Both, the SETA and Metastable Solidification of Composites (METCOMP) projects provide benchmark samples that will enable numerical model tests that aim to predict these structures. Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Valve Power Cable Installation: Due to the intermittent Remote Power Controller (RPC) trip on the Lab CDRA, the CDRA Valve Power Cable was installed in order to isolate this trip. The six valves within CDRA are currently all powered from a single RPC. This new cable will initially power half of the six valves via a different RPC. Based on the results of the troubleshooting, the cable will be reconfigured to further isolate the trip source. Todays Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Lighting Effects Sleep Log Entry Subject KORREKTSIYA. Logging Liquid and Food (Medicine) Intake Virus Definition File Update on Auxiliary Computer System (???) Laptops Crew Autonomous Scheduling Test Task List Session #3 Columbus Payload Power Switching Box (PPSB) Switch reconfiguration Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Combustion Chamber (CC) Valve Operation part 3 in Leak Permissible experiment Acoustic Dosimeter Setup Day 2 Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) Cable R&R Part2 XF305 Camcorder Setup JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side KORREKTSIYA. Logging Liquid and Food (Medicine) Intake Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) Removal from Small Fine Arm (SFA) Airlock Attachment Mechanism (SAM) Part 1 SPHERES Battery Setup ELECTRONIC NOSE. Experiment Ops Part 1. JEM Airlock Capture Mechanism Release Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) Removal from Small Fine Arm (SFA) Airlock Attachment Mechanism (SAM) Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Combustion Chamber (CC) GN2 Exhaust part 1 in Leak Permissible experiment Story Time from Space Pendulous Motion Setup Small Fine Arm (SFA) Airlock Attachment Mechanism (SAM) removal from JEM Airlock (AL) Slide Table Life On The Station Photo and Video Story Time From Space Historical Photo USOS Window Shutter Close ISS HAM Radio and Video Power Down Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Combustion Chamber (CC) GN2 Exhaust part 2 in Leak Permissible experiment. Haptics-2 Setup for Operations Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) Cable R&R Part3 SPLANKH. Terminate EGEG Recording. Closeout Ops. SPHERES Battery Swap Haptics-2 Protocol B Operations JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification MPEG2 Multicast Test via Ku-band (Activation/Deactivation of TV data and MPEG2 Multicast controls) Treadmill 2 (T2) Exercise Video Equipment Stow Story Time From Space Effects CF Card Insertion KORREKTSIYA. Logging Liquid and Food (Medicine) Intake Photography of Progress 433 Docking Assembly from SM Window No. 7 while undocking from DC1 Activation of TV Data and MPEG2 Multicast Monitoring Equipment SPHERES Battery Swap Activation of mpeg2 multicast video recording mode Haptics-2 Operations Conclude Story Time from Space Pendulous Motion Data Transfer and Stow MATRYOSHKA-R. Prep and Initialization of Bubble-Dosimeter Detectors Material Science Laboratory SCA Exchange2B #7 ELECTRONIC NOSE. Experiment Ops Part 2. Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons Hardware Handover MATRYOSHKA-R. Handover of BUBBLE-dosimeter detectors to USOS Radiation Dosimetry Inside ISS-Neutrons MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE-dosimeter initialization and deployment for exposure Robotic Workstation (RWS) Teardown SPHERES SLOSH Tank Manuever Crew Medical Officer (CMO) Proficiency Training Closing Applications and Downlink MPEG2 Multicast Video via OCA SPHERES Battery Swap Lab Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Valve Power Cable Initial Installation On-orbit hearing assessment using EARQ Video Footage for Russia Today TV Channel Multi Omics FOS Stow Multi Omics FOS Preparation CONTENT. Experiment Ops Meteor Shutter Open SPHERES Battery Swap KORREKTSIYA. Logging Liquid and Food (Medicine) Intake Completed Task List Items New Food Evaluation Leak Kit Audit Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. 64P Undock support Three-Day Look Ahead: Wednesday, 02/01: ROBONAUT Troubleshooting, SPHERES Tether, CAST Session #3, PBRE Exchange, MSG Front Window Thursday, 02/02: Body Measures, SPHERES HALO, EML, BEAM Modal test Friday, 02/03: SPHERES HALO, EFU Adapter Install QUICK ISS Status Environmental Control Group: Component Status Elektron Off Vozdukh Manual [???] 1 SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1) On [???] 2 SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2) Off Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Standby Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Startup Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Standby Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Process Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Standby Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab Off Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Full Up Wed, 26.10.22 - 12:09 Another blast of heat at the end of the month is likely to break the record in Spain With only a few days left in... Addis Ababa, January 31, 2017 (SPS) -The African Union (AU) urged Tuesday in Addis Ababa the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities and restore the "full operation" of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The conference of AU Heads of state and government, which held its 28th ordinary session, urged in its decision on the situation in Western Sahara the Security Council "to assume its responsibilities and restore the "full operation" of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which is essential for the supervision of the ceasefire and the organization of a self-determination referendum." African leaders also called on the UN Security Council to "find solutions to the issues of human rights and illegal exploration and exploitation of natural resources on its territory, following the decision taken by the EU on 21 December 2016 on the agreements signed in 2012 between the EU and Morocco on the mutual liberalization of trade in agricultural products and fisheries." The conference noted with "deep concern" the "persistent" deadlock in the search for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict, and highlighted the need for "further international efforts to facilitate a "rapid" resolution of this conflict." In this regard, the Conference reiterated its appeal to the UN General Assembly "to set a date for the self-determination referendum of the Sahrawi people and ensure the preservation of Western Sahara's integrity as a non-autonomous territory against any action that may undermine it." Besides, the Conference reiterated the Statement adopted in its 24th and 26th ordinary session on the organization by the Crans Montana Forum, an organization under Swiss law, of a meeting on the occupied territory of Western Sahara, calling Crans Montana to stop this activity. It also urged the member states, African civil society organizations and others sectors involved in this issue to boycott such an event. SPS 125/090/700 "He won the Triple Crown of Trotting, which is very prestigious, he's Trotter of the Year in the U.S., and I think he gave a little faith back to a lot of people that a small stable can still come up with one of these kinds of horses." Trot Insider caught up with trainer Mike Keeling for his reaction on Marion Marauder being named Canadas Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year and an update on the Triple Crown champion at the 2016 O'Brien Awards Black Tie Gala on Saturday, Jan. 28 in Mississauga, Ont. Marion Marauder was a winner of 10 of 15 starts and became the ninth Trotting Triple Crown winner by sweeping the Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity. The son of Muscle Hill also won the Goodtimes Stakes and a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial en route to a season in which he amassed more than $1.5 million in purses, topping the North American earnings charts for all trotters. To view the full list of 2016 O'Brien Awards winners, click here. Attorney Howard Taylor told harnessracing.com by cell phone as he was leaving the Monmouth County courthouse in New Jersey late Tuesday afternoon (January 31) that he has filed an order to show cause as a result of the Meadowlands Racetrack and the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey's decision to cancel this year's New Jersey Classic and Miss New Jersey. Taylor, in partnership with Abe Basen, Ed Gold and Thomas Lazzaro, purchased the now three-year-old pacer Every Way Out last July after the colt won the pair of preliminaries of the New Jersey Sire Stakes. Every Way Out then won the $100,000 final for his new connections. Taylor's actions on Tuesday came after a series of exchanges with Meadowlands chairman Jeff Gural offered no resolution. "I feel bad about it but I have no choice," said Taylor "I have partners who have spent a lot of money and I need to stand up for them as well. "People who buy yearlings have to have confidence that the stakes they pay into are going to be held and not cancelled at the whim of a racetrack owner. I bought more than 30 yearlings and I have to second-guess when I'm making choices for staking. I don't think that's fair for anybody and it should be a primary concern for everyone who buys yearlings." In last week's HarnessRacing Weekend Preview, Gural said he told Taylor that if he filed a court action and then won, Gural would then cancel the Lady Liberty and Golden Girls, a pair of races for older pacing mares in which Lady Shadow, who Taylor co-owns, would be cancelled. "I have consulted with our attorneys and they think we have the right to cancel (the New Jersey Classic and Miss New Jersey)," Gural said last week. Taylor said he expects the case to go before a judge sometime next week. (Harnessracing.com) Student homelessness is on the rise across Washington and steady in Cowlitz County, where 830 students had no homes last year, though thats double the number from five years earlier. Most of that increase has occurred in Longview. According to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, there are now more than 39,000 students documented as homeless in Washington, an 11.7 percent increase from the 2014-15 school year. Data released from the office also shows an increase in student homelessness almost everywhere in Cowlitz County. Homeless students made up 7 percent of total enrolled students in the Longview School District last year, an increase from 5.2 percent in the 2013-14 school year and 3.5 percent in the 2010-11 school year. The number of homeless students in Longview hit 498 last year, up from 246 in 2010-11. As of 2015-16, 4 percent of Kelsos student body was considered homeless, or about 176 students. Homelessness in the other Cowlitz County school districts has been holding steady for several years. Student homelessness numbers are collected annually as part of the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which requires that homeless students have equal access to education. Under the act, students are considered homeless if they are living in a hotel, shelter or unsheltered in a car, park or campground. Students are also considered homeless if they are doubled up, or if they are sharing housing with others. Homelessness among students also increasedin other parts of the region, though Winlock was an exception. Its number dropped to 46 last year, down from a peak 67 students two years ago (one out of every 10 enrolled). But student homelessness increased in the Wahkiakum School District. Out of the districts 457 students last year, 50 were homeless. Thats almost 11 percent of the student population. Our job is to help every child reach his and her fullest potential. Its incredibly difficult for a child to succeed if basic needs are not being met, said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal in a press release. Homeless students have a much lower graduation rate than their counterparts: 55 percent versus the statewide average of 80 percent, according to OSPI. Homeless students are also more likely to be chronically absent: 33 percent of homeless students are likely to miss more than 18 days of school, versus 18 percent statewide. Homeless students are also almost twice as likely to get in trouble: 7.4 percent were suspended or expelled, versus 4 percent of the rest of students statewide. The number of homeless students is difficult to track, because students can move into and out of a district within any given point during the year. According to Wahkiakum School Superintendent Bob Garrett, right now there are only 30 homeless students recorded in Wahkiakums system, or 20 fewer than the state reported for last year. Theres been a greater effort to try to track the number of students that are truly homeless, said Garrett, who is also the districts homeless liaison. We now at registration ask families to fill out documents, and several questions are related to whether or not theyre homeless. Homeless student populations have only been recorded in Washington since 2001, when the McKinney-Vento Act began requiring all school districts to annually report homeless student enrollment. Homeless student numbers have increased in Washington every year since 2001, and they almost doubled since 2008-09. Tthe McKinney-Vento Act has defined methods to reach out and identify homeless students, said Kelsos Director of Assessment Don Iverson. It was not always as solid as they were in the last five years. Theyve really upped responsibilities, and I think there are better processes in place (for identifying homeless students). NASAs Twins Study, which involves the experiment on doppelganger astronaut brothers for understanding the long-term effects of stressful space tour on the human body and genetic orders, has finally arrived at its concluding stage and the final reports truly unexpected. According to the recently published report of NASA, long-term space tours might cause genetic differences among twin astronauts. NASA, for understanding the genetic orders and differences in astronauts body and protecting future space crews, conducted a first-of-its-kind study, involving twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly. The research was wholly intended to get clear perceptive about the consequences of continuing spaceflight on the human body and genetic configuration formats. Recently, the aftermaths of the study published in Nature, indicating that living in space causes drastic changes in the biology of a person as well as on genetic expression. As per the reports of Nature, Mark and Scott Kelly are indistinguishable twin brothers and hence they practically have the same genetic expressions. But the samples NASAs researchers collected from them for the experiment are pointing out that, the bodies of Scott and Mark have moved away, including the separate gene expression. During the study, the scientists of NASA studied Scientists the genetic differences between NASAs present astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent almost a year in space, and his matching twin Mark. Between 2015 and 2016, Scott Kelly spent 340 uninterrupted days as an onboard crew of the International Space Station (ISS), while his identical twin brother Mark, who is a retired astronaut of NASA, spent same amount of days on Earth. The goal of the experiment was to contrast and evaluate the differences in regards to the physics and genetic expressions of both brothers. The scientists also monitored the changes that Scotts body experience after living a long-term period in microgravity zone. By evaluating multiple biological samples before, during, and after Scotts stay on the ISS and Marks stay on earth, the scientists of NASA confirmed the effects of space travel on human body and gene formats. As motioned in the study, After Scotts return to Earth, scientists discovered that the defensive caps on the end of DNA strands called telomeres have unpredictably lengthened in comparison to the telomeres of his earth-based twin brother Mark. However to 100% confirm, if only space travel is the primary cause behind the lengthening of telomeres of Scott or not, NASAs researchers are experimenting on the telomeres of other astronauts. In addition, the study report also highlights that, Scott, during the living period in space, also experienced less DNA methylation the process when perticular types of molecules called methyl groups integrated to DNA molecules, while, his brother experienced an amplified DNA methylation during his stay on Earth. Commenting on this matter, Christopher Mason, a geneticist at Weill Cornell Medicine, said at the 2017 NASA Human Research Program Investigators Workshop in Galveston, Texas, It is quite surprising that, the long-term stays in space are triggering genetic and physical differences between twins. tech2 News Staff Tech companies in the US are contemplating taking legal action against US President Donald Trumps executive order banning the entry of refugees from the several Muslim-majority countries. Joining these companies is Apple. Amazon and Microsoft have already expressed support for a lawsuit against the order in Washington. Apple is reportedly weighing legal action in this regard. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that Apple is still actively pursuing other options, including getting in touch with White House officials and attempting to convince the Trump administration of the problems with the order. Silicon Valleys CEO have expressed strong condemnation for the order. Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration both to our company and to our nations future. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do. Despite the intense backlash from Americans as well as the world, the Trump administration is still trying to defend the order, arguing that it is necessary to keep America safe from terrorists. Before taking over from Barack Obama, Trump had called for a meeting with Silicon Valley executives where he reassured them of his continuing support for the work these companies did and that he would be understanding of their needs. Elon Musk and Tim Cook both seem to believe that a constructive and productive approach to the issue would be best, but Apple is clearly unsure of the approach if it is contemplating legal action. WSJ reports that Tim Cook declined to elaborate on Apples plans. tech2 News Staff Chrome for iOS has been open sourced, just like the rest of the Chromium project. The code is available at the Chromium open source repository. Developers and enthusiasts can compile the iOS version of Chrome on their own. The development on Chrome for iOS is expected to be sped up now as the wider Chromium community has access to the code. All the tests for Chrome on iOS are available and the code can be run as soon as it is checked in. The iOS platform required some additional code that introduced complexity, which was why the Chrome for iOS was kept separately from the Chromium project for all these years. All browsers built for iOS are required to use the WebKit rendering engine. Chrome uses the Blink rendering engine on all other platforms. The requirements by Apple meant that Chrome for iOS had to include support for both WebKit as well as Blink. Google engineers did not want to introduce the additional complexities required because of Apple constraints, in the main Chromium codebase. However, engineers have been working for years to prepare Chrome for iOS to be upstreamed to the main codebase. The changes required for consolidating the code is now complete, and the required upstreaming is now complete. Chromium is now available as an open source project for Windows, Linux, BSD, Android and iOS. There are a number of browsers based on Chromium, including Vivaldi, Opera, Torch, Comodo Dragon and Google's own Chrome. hidden In line with Maharashtra government's vision to spread digitisation and to bring in transparency, Cidco has launched two major digitisation initiatives. The development authority launched official email service for its employees. This service will enable Cidco officials to communicate on email from anywhere on the internet, an official release from Cidco said today. Additionally, as part of integrated business solution, Cidco launched it's SAP HCM (Human Capital Management Module). The HCM module shall cater to the Personnel Department's activities and shall bring in employee records under central administration, said the release. The system shall allow online application for leave, LTA and medical reimbursement for its employees. Cidco will also switch over to its SAP based payroll system from February 2017, replacing the age-old FoxPro based payroll management system, said the release. A Disaster Recovery Centre at Bengaluru has also been launched. After this launch Cidco shall rollout other SAP components like procurement, engineering, finance and estate management which will enable citizens to avail various online services from the development authority's portal without visiting Cidco offices, said the release. Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Bhushan Gagrani, speaking on the occasion, emphasized the need to have a common communication platform and the email service will help Cidco officials work efficiently. He said the launch of common employee database, automation of various orders will save a lot of time of the department and increase efficiency. Gagrani added that SAP implementation will help Cidco to seamlessly integrate its various business processes and provide improved visibility across the enterprise and hence asked his departmental heads to gear up for the entire solution roll out quickly. PTI tech2 News Staff Mere words can wreak havoc, especially if those words are uttered by Donald Trump and youre a Silicon Valley tech company. When Trump signed the executive order barring the entry of citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, the five biggest tech companies lost over $32 billion in market cap, reports Fortune. The report claims that investors were worried that Trumps immigration policies would cut into the workforces of these companies. The top 5 companies are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft and their shares fell by about 1 percent on average. Alphabet apparently accounts for almost half of this loss in market cap. CEOs from these top 5 companies have already condemned Trumps order both officially and on social media. The companies are also contemplating legal action against the US Presidents order. Amazon and Microsoft have already pledged support for litigation against the order. Alphabet has also set up a find to educate refugees. Apple is considering legal action. Facebook, however, is mostly mum on the issue. Related to the order is the restructuring of the H1B visa program proposed by Trump. Alphabet was the worst hit, with shares falling 2.6 percent. Facebook and Microsoft took a hit of around 1.3 percent hit. tech2 News Staff Since its launch in 2010, Google has handed out over $9 million in rewards to bug hunters participating in the Google Vulnerability Reward Program. $3 million of that amount was handed out just last year. The program pays out rewards to researchers who find bugs and vulnerabilities in Google software, including Chrome and Android. In fact, of the $3 million given out last year, $1 million each was handed out for bugs found in Android and Chrome. The amounts we award vary, but our message to researchers does not; each one represents a sincere thank you, said Google in a blog post. Last year, Chrome opened up the Chrome Fuzzers Program to the public, allowing anyone to fuzz test Chrome at scale across thousands of cores of Google hardware. Fuzz testing is a technique for testing software for coding errors and bugs by feeding it a huge amount of random data. The goal is to make the system crash and then figure out what caused the crash. Google also claims to have increased its presence at hacking events around the world like pwn2own and Pwnfest, which helped Google fix a number of bugs. In its blog post, Google also mentions the story of Jasminder Pal Singh, who uses the money from rewards program to fund his startup. Another story mentions Jon Sawyer, who donated all his reward money to his local Special Olympics Team. tech2 News Staff Google wants to work with the Karnataka government to help streamline the states public health sector. The search giant is currently in talks with authorities to help streamline the workings of the Accredited Social Health Activists (Asha) program in Delhi and Karnataka. The Economic Times reports that Google Indias Vice President of Product Management Anjala Joshi met with authorities in Bengaluru to discuss the same. The report says that Asha workers spend two hours a day and two days a month writing reports and analysing data respectively. The software used by various departments doesnt share data either. Google has volunteered to streamline this process as well as design software that will help make data analysis easier across departments. Dr B Manjunath, joint director of the department told ET that a pilot project will be set up in Yadgir district in Karnataka. Google is also interested in providing free Wi-Fi services at health centres in the state. Its been reported that the Health Department has worked on various such health-based initiatives in the past. Theyve partnered with HP to provide remote diagnostic facilities and with Samsung to provide handheld devices to workers for the collection of health-related data. About me I'm Avi Green From Jerusalem, Israel I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best. My profile Archives - Archives - July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 This Page has moved to a new address: Sorry for the inconvenience Redirection provided by Blogger to WordPress Migration Service Only a third of Americans think Trump`s travel ban will make them safer Anti-Trump demonstrators yell slogans during protest against the travel ban imposed by US President Donald Trump\'s executive order, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, US. Reuters, New York : Imposing a temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim countries, President Donald Trump said the move would help protect the United States from terrorism. But less than one-third of Americans believe the move makes them "more safe," according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. The Jan. 30-31 poll found roughly one in two Americans backed the ban, which also suspends admission of all refugees for 120 days, although there were sharp divisions along party lines. Trump has pushed back against critics who say the travel ban targets Muslims. He says the "extreme vetting" is necessary to protect the country and its borders. "This is not about religion," Trump said in a statement after announcing the travel ban on Friday. "This is about terror and keeping our country safe." In the Reuters/Ipsos poll some 31 percent of people said the ban made them feel "more safe," while 26 percent said it made them feel "less safe." Another 33 percent said it would not make any difference and the rest said they don't know. Trump's executive order blocked citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Some Republican lawmakers criticized Trump's order and said it could backfire by giving terrorist organizations a new recruitment message. "This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country," senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a joint statement. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 49 percent of Americans agreed with the order and 41 percent disagreed. Some 53 percent of Democrats said they "strongly disagree" with Trump's action while 51 percent of Republicans said they "strongly agree." Democrats were more than three times as likely as Republicans to say that the "U.S. should continue to take in immigrants and refugees," and Republicans were more than three times as likely as Democrats to agree that "banning people from Muslim countries is necessary to prevent terrorism." Cheryl Hoffman, 46, of Sumerduck, Virginia said she was thrilled that Trump ordered the ban. "I understand that the country was founded on immigrants," said Hoffman, who participated in the poll. "Please, I get that. But I'm worried that refugees are coming in and being supported by my tax dollars." CUB seminar on insurance in economic development Campus Report : Canadian University of Bangladesh (CUB) hosted a seminar on 'Role of Insurance in Economic Development of Bangladesh' on Saturday at the University Auditorium. M Shefaque Ahmed, Actuary; Chairman, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Bangladesh (IDRA) was the chief at the seminar. Dr Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, Founder and Chairman, Canadian University of Bangladesh conferred the vote of thanks at the event. Renowned Academicians Prof Emeritus Dr AK Azad Chowdhury, Former Chairman, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) and Honorary Advisor of Canadian Universities of Bangladesh was present on the occasion. Shoeb Chowdhury, Chairman, The Daily Asian Age and Honorary Consul, The Republic of Malta in Dhaka, Bangladesh attended the program as the Guest of Honor. Prof Dr William H Derrenger, Vice Chancellor, Canadian University of Bangladesh inaugurated the Seminar. BAU researchers find avian influenza in 80pc poultry A view of a symposium of 23rd Annual Scientific Conference of Bangladesh Society for Veterinary Education and Research (BSVER) organized by FAO held in Bangladesh Agricultural University on Saturday. Mahdi Hasan, BAU : The occurrence of avian influenza in the live poultry bird market has reached as high as 80 percent during the last year. The presence of avian influenza in the live poultry markets has been being investigated jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Department of Livestock Services (DLS) of Bangladesh Government and Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI). The scientist and expert on Saturday revealed the data in a symposium, organized by FAO, of 23rd annual scientific conference of Bangladesh Society for Veterinary Education and Research (BSVER) in Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU). They also said that new vaccine should be prepared from the locally isolated avian influenza virus to prevent the occurrence of the disease in our country. Earlier, at BAU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ali Akbar inaugurated the conference as chief guest with president of BSVER Prof Dr Mahbub Mostafa in the chair. FAO representative in Bangladesh Susan Lorraine Lautze, director of DLS Dr Md Abul Kalam head of animal health division of Renata limited attended the inaugural ceremony as special guests. About 400 veterinary academicians, researchers and practitioners are attending the conference. A total 106 scientific papers and posters will be presented in the two day-long conference. Lawmakers for building poverty free country Lawmakers today urged all to work together to build a hunger and poverty-free "Sonar Bangla" as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and giving democracy an institutional shape facing ill-campaign against the ongoing democratic process. They said Bangabandhu had dreamt for building a happy and prosperous Bangladesh and his worthy daughter and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was working to turn the dream into reality by upgrading Bangladesh to a middle income country by implementing various development programmes. Taking part in the general discussion on the thanksgiving motion on President's speech in the Jatiya Sangsad, they also highlighted various success stories of the present Awami League government in the country's socio-economic sector as a result of bold and prudent leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The lawmakers thanked President Md. Abdul Hamid for delivering a complete and pragmatic speech in the House in which he focused on three year's success stories of the government and future programmes to carry forward the country towards development. "The real picture of year's success stories of the government and future plan were reflected in the President's speech that he delivered in the House on January 22," said Nurunnabi Shaon, a lawmaker from Bhola (3) constituency. Terming the President's speech as a complete one, treasury bench member Dr. Md Shamsul Huq Bhuiyan said the President in his speech highlighted all development programs of the government and gave guidelines for building a happy and prosperous nation. The lawmakers gave a comparative statistics of economic progress of the government with the past BNP government saying that Bangladesh witnessed a spectacular success in all sectors during the Awami League tenure when foreign currency reserve has surpassed all previous record. Besides, they said tremendous development was also witnessed in economic, agriculture, IT, health, education, power and infrastructure development sectors. At the beginning of their speeches, they paid rich tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four national leaders and all freedom fighters who embraced martyrdom during the War of Liberation. Begum Rifat Amin, Enamul Huq, Abu Zahir and Begum Ruksana Akter Sweety also take part in the discussion. Bangladesh calls for preferential EU trade deal Philip Jennings, Sharan Burrow, Valter Sanchez: Nearly four years ago, in April 2013, the world watched in horror as the Rana Plaza building collapsed, killing more than 1,100 garment workers and injuring many more. This tragedy should have been a turning point for the garment industry in Bangladesh, but the government has done disturbingly little to guarantee respect for the rule of law, including national labour law and international labour standards. The ready-made garment industry accounts for more than 80% of Bangladesh's exports. The minimum wage of US$67 per month has not been increased since 2013 and wages in the garment industry are among the lowest in the world. Meanwhile, the cost of housing, basic commodities and medical care is spiralling. Now Bangladesh has taken an alarming step backwards. When workers went on strike for higher wages in December, at least eleven union leaders and workers' rights advocates were detained under the Special Powers Act 1974, a wartime emergency law which authorises detention without charge for up to six months. Employers responded to the strike by closing 59 factories and filing charges against hundreds of workers. As many as 1,500 workers were dismissed, and many of them have been blacklisted from getting other jobs in the industry. Speaking in Davos in January, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought to assure the world that Bangladesh is "highly committed to ensuring compliance with regard to the ready-made garment industry". Meanwhile, her government and the country's powerful garment factory owners are using the wage strike as a pretext to crack down even further on the labour movement. It is still extremely difficult for workers to exercise their fundamental labour rights in Bangladesh. For many garment workers, it is near impossible to organise and form unions without retaliation. The Registrar of Trade Unions arbitrarily rejects registration applications from the most active and independent trade union federations and a severe climate of anti-union violence prevails, coupled with near total impunity for the perpetrators. The Sustainability Compact, agreed between Bangladesh and the EU to improve labour rights in the garment industry, is essentially dead. It is clear that the government has no intention to comply with its terms and is in breach of the labour conditionality of the EU GSP 'Everything but Arms' scheme. But despite Bangladesh's obvious failure to comply with its international obligations, the European Commission is not taking sufficient action to hold the government to account. It will take more than dialogue. The EU must immediately launch an investigation under the GSP. Only the potential loss of market access will demonstrate to the government of Bangladesh that Europe is serious about workers' rights. Garment workers in Bangladesh have the unequivocal right to organise. Until the government stops suppressing trade unions and can guarantee a climate in which workers are free to join unions and demand better wages and working conditions, it should not benefit from special trade privileges reserved for those countries that properly respect fundamental labour rights. (Sharan Burrow is General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. Valter Sanchez is General Secretary of the IndustriALL Global Union. And Philip Jennings is General Secretary of the UNI Global Union). CJ`s birthday observed Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was greeted by the well-wishers, friends and relatives with bouquet on the occasion of his 67th birthday at the Supreme Court office on Wednesday. Court Correspondent : The 66th birth anniversary of Chief Justice Surenda Kumar Sinha, was observed on Wednesday. On the occasion, he cut his birthday cake at his Supreme Court office on Wednesday noon with the members of his family. He was made the 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh in 2015. He took over the charge on January 18 of the same year. On Wednesday he passed his 66 years and still a man of strong energy. On the occasion, Supreme Court Registrar General Aminul Islam, High Court Division's Registrar Syed D. Hossain and Additional Registrar (Administration and Trial) Sabbir Fayez were present there. Earlier, the media persons present, wished him happy birthday. The Chief Justice thanked them and said, 'His granddaughter told him happy birthday in the morning, immediately after getting up, and now you are reminding me of my birthday'. Later, he thanked the journalists from the core of heart. Ekushey Boi Mela kicks off DU Correspondent : Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2017 began on the Bangla Academy premises and at Suhrawardy Udyan on Wednesday with organizers failing in management as dust was drifting in the air. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fair along with a four-day International Literature Conference 2017 attended by prominent litterateurs from Austria, Germany, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, Russia, China and India. The premier also distributed prizes among the winners of 'Bangla Academy Sahitya Puroshkar 2016'. Ocean of Sorrow', translation of noted Bengali novelist Mir Mosharraf Hossain's famous novel 'Bishad Sindhu' and 'Hundred poems from Bangladesh', published from Germany were handed to the premier at the function. As soon as the Prime Minister left the academy premises, visitors were seen entering the book fair venues without going through security checking. A fair security control room official said that they were yet to deploy enough forces as the first day's security was ensured by the special security force deployed for the prime minister. Many of the stalls were found closed or their decoration was not completed on the opening day with decoration materials piled up in front, hindering movement of visitors- a violation of the fair committee guidelines. The people working at the stalls said they got the allotment only a few days ago, so they could not complete the construction work. Publishers put down the delay in stall decoration to the academy authorities who failed to allot the stalls in time. We need more time to ready our stalls,' said Sanhati Prokash chief executive Dipok Roy as 'Security arrangement for the inauguration ceremony also hampered our job. At least 100 publishing houses including government and autonomous institutions such as National Museum, Bangladesh Shishu Academy and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy did not open their stalls till 5:30pm. The fair organizers failed to provide any list of the day's arrivals as the information centre was yet to be set up. A fair committee official said, 'there remain some violations of the fair guidelines on the first day and things will be alright in the coming days.' This year, a total of 663 units of stalls have been allocated to 409 publishing houses and organizations to sell and exhibit their books and publications. The stalls for the mainstream publishing houses have been placed inside the Suhrawardy Udyan while those of government organizations and Bangla Academy will be in the academy compound like previous years. The fair time has been increased by half an hour from previous year. It will now open at 3:00pm and continue till 8:30pm. On holidays, the fair will run between 11:00am and 8:30pm. On February 21, however, the fair will open at 8:00am and continue till 8:30pm. Holding of the fair on the Bangla Academy premises began informally in 1972, but it became institutionalized in 1978. The fair was then named Amar Ekushey Granthamela and a guideline for it was formulated in 1984. In face of Trump`s order, some Muslim nations are conspicuously silent CAIRO: The Germans criticized it. The British voiced their discomfort. The French, the Canadians and even some Republican senators in Washington stood in open opposition. But in Cairo and Riyadh, in the heart of the Muslim world, President Trump's decision to bar millions of refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from the United States was met with a conspicuous silence. King Salman of Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's holiest sites, spoke to Mr. Trump by telephone on Sunday but made no public comment. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, whose capital, Cairo, is a traditional seat of Islamic scholarship, said nothing. Even the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a group of 57 nations that considers itself the collective voice of the Muslim world, kept quiet. Leaders in Iran and Iraq, two of the countries targeted by Mr. Trump's order, issued furious denunciations on Sunday and vowed to take retaliatory measures. But the silence in the capitals of Muslim-majority countries unaffected by the order reflected a lack of solidarity and an enduring uncertainty about the direction that Mr. Trump's foreign policy might take in some of the world's most volatile corners. Will he move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? Designate Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization? Fall in line with Russia in dealing with the conflict in Syria? "Trump has promised to do all kinds of things, but it's not clear what he will move on immediately," said Nathan J. Brown, a Middle East expert at George Washington University. "Nobody seems to know. It's not even clear if Trump knows." The lack of unity stems from an old problem: Muslim leaders pay lip service to the "ummah," or global community of Muslims, but are more often driven by narrow national interests - even when faced with grave actions seen as an affront to their own people. "They don't have a strong basis of legitimacy at home," said Rami G. Khouri, a senior fellow at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut. "They are delicately perched between the anger of their own people and the anger they might generate from the American president." Still, Mr. Trump's executive order - which froze all refugee arrivals in the United States and barred the entry of citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days - has sent a whirlwind of confusion, anxiety and fury across the Middle East and Africa. Refugees have been turned back at airports, families separated indefinitely and long-planned trips upended. "I thought in America, there were institutions and democracy," said Fuad Sharef, 51, an Iraqi Kurd bound for New York who was turned away from the Cairo airport with his wife and three children on Saturday morning. "This looks like a decision from a dictator. It's like Saddam Hussein." On Sunday, Trump administration officials backtracked on one aspect of the order, saying green-card holders would be allowed to return to the United States. In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, Mr. Trump insisted that his policy was not a "Muslim ban" and accused the news media of inaccurate reporting. Hours earlier, he had characterized the conflict with the Islamic State in starkly sectarian terms, asserting on Twitter: "Christians in the Middle East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" In fact, a majority of the Islamic State's victims have been Muslims, many of them shot, burned or beheaded. Among the Muslims who managed to escape Islamic State territory are the refugees Mr. Trump has now excluded. In a phone conversation with Mr. Trump on Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany cited the 1951 Refugee Convention, which calls on signatories to take in people fleeing war, according to Steffen Seibert, Ms. Merkel's spokesman. Yet in much of the Middle East, Mr. Trump is less likely to get such a scolding. He has drawn close to Mr. Sisi of Egypt, whom he called a "fantastic guy," and is considering designating the Muslim Brotherhood, Mr. Sisi's sworn enemy, a terrorist organization. In a call last week, the two leaders discussed a possible visit to the White House by Mr. Sisi, whose administration faces accusations of human rights abuses - an unthinkable prospect during the Obama administration. In his order on Friday, whose stated aim is to keep extremists out of the United States, Mr. Trump invoked the Sept. 11 attacks three times. Yet Saudi Arabia, which was home to 15 of the 19 attackers, was not included on the list of countries whose citizens would be shut out. That reflects the deep economic and security ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Trump also has a personal financial link: In August 2015, just as his campaign was gathering steam, the Trump Organization registered eight companies in Saudi Arabia that were linked to a hotel development in the city of Jidda. Pakistan, another country whose citizens have carried out attacks in the United States, also ducked Mr. Trump's list. Although Mr. Trump had a chummy phone call with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif shortly after the election in November, Pakistanis are nervously waiting to see if Mr. Trump will pull American troops from neighbouring Afghanistan. "There's a lot of concern," said Zahid Hussain, a political analyst in Islamabad, Pakistan. "For now, they want to keep quiet and see how things go." On Monday, King Abdullah II of Jordan is scheduled to meet in Washington with members of the Trump administration and Congress, the first Arab leader to do so since the executive order was issued. Muslim solidarity once existed. As recently as the early 2000s, most Muslim-majority countries agreed on issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and sanctions against Iraq. Now, after several regional wars and a surge in sectarian strife, that consensus has been shattered. Multinational organizations that represent Muslims are viewed as toothless entities. The head of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, which has headquarters in Saudi Arabia, was forced to quit last fall after he made a joke at the expense of Mr. Sisi of Egypt. In the early days of Mr. Trump's campaign, the Islamic scholars at Al Azhar, the ancient seat of Islamic learning in Cairo, spoke out against the "smear campaigns being launched against Muslims in America." But the scholars have yet to weigh in on Mr. Trump's executive order, and even if they do, few observers expect them to stray from official Egyptian government policy. For many citizens of those countries, the docility of their leaders is frustrating. Samer S. Shehata, of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar, said that many of his students had already canceled their plans to study in the United States. "I don't think anyone is under any illusion that if you are a Muslim or an Arab, you're going to be treated different in this Trump presidency," he said. Mr. Khouri, of the American University of Beirut, said the disconnect between rulers and civilians in some countries spoke to the underlying anger that fueled the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. "Even when this American move is insulting Muslims and Islam, they do nothing about it," he said. "That's going to create more anger, and more pressure, in the Arab world. It's terrible." Trump picks conservative judge Gorsuch for US Supreme Court Participants hold placards during a demonstration organized by French rights groups in front of La Madeleine church in central Paris against US President Donald Trump and his administration\'s ban of travelers from seven countries by Executive Order. Inte Reuters, Washington : President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed "very serious doubts" about the nominee. Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Gorsuch while conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like "outstanding," "impressive" and a "home run." Gorsuch, the son of a former Reagan administration official, is the youngest nominee to the nation's highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. He is a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W. Bush in 2006. Announcing the selection to a nighttime crowd in the White House East Room flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuch's resume is "as good as it gets." Trump, who took office on Jan. 20 and has sparked numerous controversies, said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous disciple, and has earned bipartisan support," Trump told an audience that included Scalia's widow. "Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent," Trump added. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights and writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. "I respect ... the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws," Gorsuch said, as Trump looked on. "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official said a screening committee helped in the selection process that included Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Don McGahn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and top strategist Steve Bannon. Gorsuch became the youngest U.S. Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. Gorsuch was in the same 1991 graduating class from Harvard Law School as Obama. The selection of Gorsuch, who was on a list of about 20 judges suggested by conservative legal activists, unified Republicans in a way not seen since Trump's Nov. 8 election victory, with even critics within the party such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham singing the nominee's praises. Trump made his choice between two U.S. appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. Democrats signaled it may not be easy this time. "Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court," Schumer said. Trump got the opportunity to name Scalia's replacement only because the Republican-led Senate, in an action with little precedent in U.S. history, refused to consider Obama's nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. "This is the first time in American history that one party has blockaded a nominee for almost a year in order to deliver a seat to a president of their own party. If this tactic is rewarded rather than resisted, it will set a dangerous new precedent in American governance," Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said. McConnell said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate would show Gorsuch "fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of (Democratic) Presidents (Bill) Clinton and Obama." A rally outside the Supreme Court building staged by liberal groups drew hundreds of demonstrators against Gorsuch. Michael Keegan, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, described Gorsuch as an "ideological warrior who puts his own right-wing politics above the Constitution." Gorsuch is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan's administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA's use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trump's selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on Feb. 13, 2016. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick under current rules. Trump said last week he would favor Senate Republicans eliminating the procedural move that Democrats have promised, called a filibuster, for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. Such a change has been dubbed the "nuclear option." Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the Nov. 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasizing the importance of the pick during the campaign. If confirmed, Gorsuch would expand the court's conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy Samuel Alito and Thomas. Kennedy long has been considered the court's pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court's restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia's replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch boasts Ivy League credentials: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bush's Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many U.S. conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the court's longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon's presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the U.S. Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Trump may get to make additional appointments. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him "a faker," is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. What Bangla Academy will do if police have to decide which books are to be in Book Fair Ekushey Book Fair opened yesterday at Bangla Academy premises to continue till the end of the month. It is part of our annual celebration of 'Language Day' since 1952. It teaches Bangalees how to think free and use freedom of pen and speeches. Book Publishers have however expressed concern over the polices' announced priority to scrutinise books to be released in this year's Ekushey Book Fair. News report on Wednesday said they have the instruction to keep watch on new books and verify if any of the newly released books contain provocative religious inputs and anything that hurt 'religious sentiments'. The questions, however, is that police's foremost duty is to give security to visitors, but with the limited knowledge and ability whether they are capable to inspect radical or sacrilegious elements of our books is the big question. Many believe it must be left to a committee of learned people if so needed. Don't the police already have enough professional duties to execute? Or will the police from now on judge and impose rules on what to write and not? For our writers, poets and publishers this newly created police censorship is a major impediment to freedom of writing and expression. We can clearly smell the government's political agenda of policing books and written materials. Anything written in Arabic in a book is now branded as a fundamentalist publication. It is not so easy to give opinion about a book. On the other hand two of our popular writers were knifed during Ekushey Book Fair and it goes without saying that the threat to safety of many others is high and real. Women visiting the fair face undue crowd and sexual harassment of unruly elements and in our view their security must come first. There must be check posts at every corner equipped with high-resolution camera. The repeat of the Pahela Baisakh must be avoided also when women were sexually assaulted at Suhrawardy Uddayan. According to an executive of a renowned publisher they have many problems now. Just last December, Bangla Academy had banned five publishing houses from participating in the fair for the next two years while prohibiting stalls for fifteen more for selling books purportedly critical of religion. However, the question in this regard is - critical of which religion? If the books were critical of the major religions practiced in the land then there is a valid point, but if they were only critical of Islam then their banning is markedly biased and a clear sign of bias against Islam. This must not happen for peace and stability. We don't want to enter into a debate while focusing on police priority for duty during the Ekushy Book Fair. We don't exclude anything from their purview to make the occasion free from threats, indiscipline and violence. If police want to keep themselves busy examining books to be allowed and not allowed such activity will not be helpful for the safety of the place. We must say the highest priority for police should be to ensure security to the visitors. The basic question is if police have to do everything including the assigned role of Bangla Academy then what other authorities will do? There should be a convincing answer. One thing is clear is that the government cannot ensure anything and its dependence on police is not a sign of strength. The Undead Archives I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world. ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to suspend some immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries -- Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya -- for 90 days, halt the refugee program for 120 days and suspend the admission of Syrian refugees indefinitely. Since the order was signed last Friday, at least 13 lawsuits have been filed around the country, including one from the state of Washington. Attorneys general in Virginia, Massachusetts and New York have announced their intentions to intervene in existing federal suits filed over the past weekend in their states. Here are the lawsuits filed so far that challenge Trumps executive order as of Tuesday, naming the president, the Department of Homeland Security, the border patrol and others as defendants. The Trump administration denies that the order targets Muslims and that it is a "ban" at all. Lawsuits Filed Tuesday Chicago Dr. Amer al Homssi, 24, a medical resident at the University of Illinois-Chicago/Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, has been stuck in Dubai since trying to board a Chicago-bound flight on Sunday, according to his complaint. A Syrian citizen who also holds legal residency in the United Arab Emirates, he was taken by U.S. pre-clearance security officers to secondary screening at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where officers cancelled his valid J-1 U.S. visa, citing the executive order. According to the complaint, the officers told Al Homssi there was nothing that could be done except to wait 90 days and then follow up with the U.S. embassy. Al Homssi risks losing his residency status in the UAE if he is not able to return to the U.S. to complete his medical residency. In that case, the complaint says, he may be forced to return to war-torn Syria, where he has never lived and where he hasnt been since visiting when he was 17-years-old. Philadelphia Two Christian brothers, Basam Asali and Hassan Asali, and their families say they were detained at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday by Customs and Border Protection agents while trying to enter U.S. from Syria on lawful permanent resident visas (their brother, Ghassan Asali, is an American citizen). They claim they were given two options: Return to Syria immediately or go to prison, their lawyer, Joseph Hohenstein said. The lawyer also said they were not given interpreters and there was no investigation into their case; they were simply asked if they were from Syria. They were returned to Syria and are now in Damascus, Hohenstein told ABC News. Denver Zakaria Hagig -- a Libyan Muslim student at the Community College of Denver who says in court papers he is a lawful resident and U.S. taxpayer -- filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Denver claiming that the order violates his religious and due process rights. In court papers, he says he has a constitutional right to travel to Libya in the event of a family emergency, or other need, and return to the United States to continue his studies and work, and not be banned from reentry without justification and due process protections. Dallas A writ of habeas corpus was filed on behalf of Labeeb Ibrahim Issa, who was allegedly "held against his willin extreme pain in his wheelchair by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, according to court documents. Issa was reportedly released after a 15-hour detention. The lawsuit claims that Issa worked for the U.S. Army in Iraq as a driver and performed general maintenance. In 2016, he was badly injured in a car accident in Iraq, after being targeted because of his work for the U.S. Army, the lawsuit claims. He was granted a Special Immigrant Visa after demonstrating that he had experienced or was experiencing an ongoing serious threat due to his employment with the U.S. Government, according to court papers. "Mr. Issa landed in Dallas hoping to find safety and freedom -- perhaps only a small token of thanks from our country in exchange for his extreme sacrifice for our country in its war efforts in his home country, but was instead put through a terrible ordeal. Lawsuits Filed Monday State of Washington Washington is the only state to file a lawsuit against Trump's executive order so far. The state's attorney general, Robert Ferguson, brought a case on behalf of the entire state against President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), DHS Secretary John Kelly, Acting Secretary of State Tom Shannon and the U.S. to protect the State -- including its residents, its employers, and its educational institutions -- against illegal actions of the President and the federal government. The complaint alleges that the executive order is separating Washington families, harming thousands of Washington residents, damaging Washington's economy, hurting Washington-based companies, and undermining Washington's sovereign interest in remaining a welcoming place for immigrants and refugees. They claim if successful, the executive order will be deemed unconstitutional nationwide and ask for a restraining order to immediately stop all action pursuant to it. Amazon and Expedia filed declarations in the lawsuit describing the detrimental impact on their operations and employees. Ferguson asked the court to schedule a hearing within 14 days. Chicago Unnamed John Doe, an Iranian citizen and legal permanent resident of the U.S., who lives in Chicago with his family, claims he went home to Iran earlier this month to be with his ailing mother and was planning on returning to the U.S. in early February. He wasnt, however, permitted to purchase a plane ticket for his return, he claims. According to the Chicago Tribune, the judge assigned to this case, U.S. District Judge Samuel DerYeghiayan, is an Armenian, born in Aleppo, Syria and the first Armenian immigrant to become a federal judge in the U.S. Virginia Under the Council On American Islamic Relations' banner, Muslim-Americans from around the country filed a constitutional challenge to Trumps executive order, which they said implements an impermissible religious gerrymander that divides foreign nationals, even those lawfully present inside the United States, into favored and disfavored groups based on their faith. The suit accused the president of enacting a policy that overtly discriminates against Muslims and officially broadcasts a message that the federal government disfavors the religion of Islam. Some of the plaintiffs said the order would force them to return to their home countries where the lawsuit said they will likely face persecution, torture and even execution simply because they are Muslim. The lawsuit quotes Trumps campaign rhetoric and calls the executive order the legal manifestation of those bigoted views. Seattle The American Immigration Council, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild filed a nationwide, class-action lawsuit in the District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have filed visa petitions for their immediate family members who are nationals of the seven countries. The applicants have all gone through a lengthy and rigorous application and screening process and are seeking to be reunited with their families in the U.S., the lawsuit claims. Since issuance of the executive order, immigrants have been unjustly blocked from entering the United States at airports all across the country. Now, federal government officials are blocking more family members before they even board their planes, and suspending or revoking all other visa applications, according to the filing. Plaintiffs include Reema Dahman, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, who had filed a petition to bring her 16-year-old son, stranded in war-torn Syria, to the United States. The two have not seen each other since 2012. They are now at the last stage of processing, waiting only for an immigrant visa interview to be scheduled. But the presidents executive order has suspended immigrant visa interviews, putting safety and security further out of the boys reach and further delaying the boys reunification with his mother, according to the plaintiffs press release. Plaintiff Juweiya Alis 6-year-old Somali son is also in limbo. Ms. Ali, a U.S. citizen, began the process to bring him to the United States from Somalia in August 2016. But they too now are left to worry that the visa process will remain suspended indefinitely, according to the plaintiffs press release. Lawsuits Filed over the Weekend The court ordered emergency stays in all the following cases. These are temporary orders that prevented the Customs and Border Protection, a division of DHS, from sending back those in detention who had made it to the U.S. or were en-route to the U.S. when the executive order was signed. These judges did not rule on the underlying legality or constitutionality of Trumps executive order. Brooklyn, New York Two men from Iraq, Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, were detained overnight Saturday at JFK Airport. New York Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler and Nydia Velazquez appeared at the airport on Saturday to try to get the two men released, revealing that there were actually 12 people detained, including the two men from Iraq. New York District Court Judge Ann Donnelly issued a nationwide emergency stay that prevents detainees from being sent back. Boston Two Iranian nationals who are associate professors at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, lawful permanent residents of the U.S., and Muslims, were allegedly detained at Boston Logan Airport on Saturday after returning home from an academic conference. Judge Allison Burroughs granted a seven-day temporary restraining order and ordered the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint. Unlike the New York order, this does not apply nationally. Dulles Airport, Virginia Fifty to 60 lawful permanent residents of the United States allegedly were detained at Dulles International Airport on Saturday, and their lawyers claimed they were denied access to counsel. Judge Leonie Brinkema granted the plaintiffs' motion and issued a seven-day temporary restraining order granting detainees at Dulles International Airport access to counsel and prohibiting deportation of detainees. The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on Monday, clarifying the class. The plaintiffs defined the class as "individuals with legal permanent resident status or who are traveling on valid U.S. immigrant visas who have been or will be either detained and/or coerced into signing a Form I-407." Seattle On Saturday, two plaintiffs arrived at Sea-Tac Airport and were scheduled to be flown to Dubai. They were represented by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which filed an Emergency Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, and a motion for a temporary restraining order. The same day, Judge Thomas Zilly granted stay of removal (deportation) and enjoined the defendants from deporting the plaintiffs prior to further court orders. California A federal judge in California on Sunday granted a temporary restraining order preventing the U.S. government from deporting Ali Khoshbakhti Vayeghan, an Iranian man with a valid U.S. visa, who filed a lawsuit Saturday. But before the court had issued the ruling, Vayeghan had already been put back on a plane to Dubai to be removed to Iran. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ordered that US authorities bring Vayeghan back to the U.S. and to not stand in the way of admitting him to the country under the terms of his previously approved visa. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Paul Ayo at E's Kitchen shuts 'er down, citing a slumping economy and legal issues for the sudden closure. Ayo at a recent E's Kitchen event for Eat Lafayette Robin May After five years of operation, Es Kitchen has closed its doors. Owner Paul Ayo announced in a tearful video posted to Facebook on Monday that the kitchen shop had succumbed to declining revenue associated with Lafayettes down economy, officially ceasing operations over the weekend. Ayo said that Augusts historic floods gave way to a weak Christmas shopping season, ultimately spelling the end. We knew if we didnt have a very good Christmas, it was going to be very hard for us to continue, Ayo tells ABiz. Ayos video noted some legal issues surrounding Es closure, although he declined to comment further in an interview with ABiz. Ayo attributes at least some of the dip in sales to policies and practices of Parc Lafayettes property manager, GRS Properties. Late last year, Ayo publicly chastised GRS for banning the faddish geocaching game Pokemon Go from the grounds of its flagship luxury shopping center, saying the move discouraged shoppers from visiting Parc Lafayettes fleet of stores. In its gripe with Niantic, the company behind Pokemon Go, GRS claimed that players littered, damaged monuments and landscaping and clogged up limited parking availability. A representative of GRS properties told The Daily Advertiser that they were unaware of any legal issues surrounding E's closing, and only heard of the shut down when Ayo posted the video Monday. Es Kitchen had operated in Parc Lafayette since 2012. After a year of success, Ayo says GRS courted Es to a larger space, building out the new suite to accommodate an on-site show kitchen where Ayos hosted events and cooking classes. Es Kitchen operated in that location from 2013 until its closing over the weekend. The shop reflected Ayos eclectic passion for cooking, selling an array of useful kitchen oddities that paired with a slate of cooking classes and special events. This is the best job Ive ever had in my life, Ayo says. Several small shops like Es have suffered Lafayettes down economy, tagged to a collapse in the price of oil that has cost thousands of jobs after several years of boom. Just last week, the Louisiana Workforce Commission reported that Lafayette shed 6,500 jobs over the last year, a more than 3 percent decline seen mostly in the oil and gas sector. Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lake Charles all posted job gains over 2015. Ayo says that his shops luxury wares were difficult purchases to make for people trying to make ends meet. When youre out of work, you dont buy the extras like we had, Ayo said. Despite the lingering retail slump, fellow Parc Lafayette specialty boutiques Shoe La La and Kiddeauxs both report an uptick in sales in recent months. Both also report having a good relationship with Parc Lafayette, and no problems with complex policies. Ayo told The Daily Advertiser that hes currently working on a location to host the last few cooking classes the shop had scheduled. Source close to the longtime broadcaster says her plans wont be disclosed until the first week in March. Blue Rolfes For many of us, local TV news just wont be the same. On Monday, KLFY TV-10 anchor Blue Rolfes announced on the air and via Facebook video that she is leaving the station in March after almost four decades. The Lake Charles native attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., for two years, then transferred to Loyola University in New Orleans, according to her station bio. While in college, she served as a congressional intern for then-U.S. Rep. John Breaux in Washington, D.C., and interned at WDSU-TV in New Orleans. After earning a bachelors degree in communication from Loyola, she remained at WDSU as an associate producer. In 1978, she moved to Lafayette and worked in communications for the Diocese of Lafayette. A year later, she began working for KLFY-TV as a general assignments reporter, then as legislative reporter and later as city editor. She was later promoted to anchor and currently co-anchors the 5 p.m. newscast. In the video (expect more tributes and many more hairstyles throughout the month of February), Rolfes says she will begin a new chapter in her life, and a source close to her tells ABiz the new position is outside of TV broadcasting. The source says shell disclose more information about the post in early March. Rolfes is married to former Lafayette Consolidated Government CAO Dee Stanley, now vice president of Sides & Associates. View the announcement here. Free public schools are the quintessential American institution. They are our promise of a free and fair chance extended to all comers to succeed, regardless of differences in origin, ability or other personal characteristics. They give expression to the foundational values of our society, the most important of which is that in America all are equal and must be treated so by their government. Schools are often credited with creating and sustaining the great American middle class, with providing a ladder out of poverty, and with preparing citizens who understand their duties in a democratic society. School ratings are perhaps the single most sought-after measure for people thinking about relocating. Within a community they exercise a tidal influence on the housing choices of parents, who make sacrifices to ensure their children live in an area with good schools. Photo by Robin May Public schools are one measure of a communitys investment in itself. A community that fails to invest in its public schools is anticipating its decline. Based on its continued failure to adequately fund its public schools, Lafayette is that community. Currently the 30,500 public school students in Lafayette attend classrooms that are, to put it bluntly, falling apart. Classrooms are bursting at the seams all over the parish. Lafayette High School, originally designed for 1,481 students, now has more than 2,300. Further damning, approximately 20 percent of Lafayette students attend school in temporary classrooms noisy, decaying aluminum huts. A consulting firm hired to study the infrastructure needs of the school system in 2009 recommended a $1.1 billion fix. Yet nothing has happened, except for the stunning defeat (69 to 31 percent) of the school boards 2011 property tax initiative to raise $561 million toward this end. This reality was on everyones mind in the 2014 school board election, which, after a heated election cycle, saw an almost entirely new board replace the old board that was riven by strife and strikingly ineffective. Shortly after the Nov. 4 election, Superintendent Pat Cooper was dismissed in a 7-2 vote by the old board, clearing the way for the hiring of Don Aguillard from St. Mary Parish. The results Aguillard and his team have produced were evident in the 2016 District Performance Scores, which saw Lafayette rise a full 7 points from its 2015 score, (89.2 to a 96.3). This is clear evidence that with new leadership on the board and perhaps in the superintendents office, although it is still early in Aguillards tenure the district is rising and poised to do even better. But the school board still cannot find the courage to even propose that Lafayette public schools be adequately funded and supported. The latest evidence of this failure was the decision by the Lafayette Parish School Board to sideline a proposed increase in property taxes and instead turn to a sales tax dedicated to schools. Why the change from a property tax to a sales tax? According to school board members who were quoted on the subject, their constituents were far more supportive of a sales tax over a property tax. According to The Advocate, board member Britt Latiolais noted that a sales tax is a tax they feel everyone pays a share of. While sales taxes are more popular than property or income taxes, they are problematic in several important respects. For one, sales taxes are regressive, costing lower-income residents more, proportionally, than their better-heeled neighbors. They are also more volatile than property taxes, fluctuating with the ebb and flow of the economy. In Louisiana, parishes that fund their schools through reasonable property taxes boast of better performing schools, and, as lagniappe, more money back under the states Minimum Foundation Program formula. Lafayette residents currently pay 85.02 mills for property owners within municipalities, 86.55 mills without. Of that contribution, 33.56 mills go to public schools (about 39 percent). In St. Tammany by comparison, property owners are taxed between 105.59-165.48 mills, 68.18 mills going to support schools. By this measure, St. Tammany residents support their schools at over twice the level of Lafayette residents. The performance of St. Tammany schools is nearly always at the top of the Louisiana public school rating system. Finally, Lafayette is 1 cent from its constitutional sales tax cap, while south Lafayette communities like Youngsville and Broussard are only one-half cent from theirs, not to mention that a half-cent tax with a 10-year duration of the type suggested would raise roughly $194 million, only enough to replace about half of the temporary classrooms. Despite an unloving public and crumbling infrastructure, Lafayette schools are performing and getting better. Now is the time to show that we believe in our schools, our students, our teachers and our superintendent by giving them the resources they need to make our public schools as good as they can be. Its betting on ourselves and our future together. Pearson Cross is an associate professor in the Political Science Department at UL Lafayette. Cross interviews local politicians and newsmakers on his radio show, Bayou to the Beltway, which airs on KRVS 88.7 FM at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Contact him at [email protected] The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. By AM Tuesday, January 31, 2017 Share Tweet Share Share Email Trevor Ringland -Wrong to attribute all of Ireland's problems to the English - January 11, 2017 A chara,Trevor Ringland blames Irish conflicts on some endemic character flaw, denying Ireland's population "the common sense to live in peace with one another and with their neighbors." (January 11th) How dare I advocate what Theresa Villiers termed a 'pernicious counter narrative', blaming benevolent Britain for anything?Mr. Ringland says the 1920 Government of Ireland Act put "constitutional matters on this island...in the hands of the Irish". Why not begin with how Ireland's inability to live in peace with their neighbors, necessitated an English invasion approved by an English Pope, to help the Irish practice religion? Irish character flaws made Britain follow up with Penal Laws, Cromwell etc., teaching the Irish how to live in peace with their neighbors.The British 'put matters in Irish hands' by executing patriots who proclaimed national independence in 1916,answering an overwhelming all-Ireland vote ratifying all-Ireland independence with Black and Tan terror, and carving out the largest area they could hold, based on sectarian hegemony. Those voting British rule got a veto. The democratic majority got threatened with 'immediate and terrible war.'Westminster, prohibited religious discrimination. Why fault Britain for condemning nationalists to a half-century as victims of discrimination in Britain's Orange State?Mr. Ringland claims that "those problems were addressed after the Civil Rights campaign." They certainly were 'addressed' by DUP founder Ian Paisley, or the RUC, at places like Burntollet Bridge or Duke Street. However, Internment, the Ballymurphy Massacre, and shooting down civil rights marchers on Bloody Sunday 'addressed' such problems in a way that convinced many British rule would not heed moral appeals.British collusion with loyalist criminals in sectarian murders, says Mr. Ringland, "is not supported by the facts". Panorama's 'Britain's Secret Terror Deals', books like 'Lethal Allies', studies by Relatives for Justice, da Silva review, and accounts in this newspaper, support the facts of collusion. Why entertain facts which indict Britain?I would not trouble readers with such inconvenient facts, except this mindset is at the heart of the breakdown at Stormont today. Mr. Ringland is correct that I believe Westminster serves English interests. Brexit, austerity, the denial of legacy funding etc. were not designed to help in Ireland.My aspiration is a united Ireland governed in Irish interests, which gives equal rights to Mr. Ringland and all of its people, and is not subordinate to British interests, partition or an institutionalized sectarian hegemony.The flaw in Ireland is not any endemic Irish defect, but the myopia of those who blame Ireland for problems caused by British rule.Slan,Martin Galvin The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. A growing number or organizations now offer tax deferred annuity (TDA) accounts instead of traditional pension plans for their employees. These organizations save money this way, but employees are not guaranteed income for life when they retire. The same is true when individuals invest in IRA accounts for all or part of their retirement income. Because of this state of affairs, it makes sense to take a careful look at how these accounts are constructed and managed. Employers rarely provide advice because they could be criticized or even sued. When an organization sets up a TDA for its employees as the main way of providing retirement income, it usually makes contributions that must be matched by employees by payroll deduction. With arrangements like this, employees should try to take maximum advantage of their plan. Who knows, with skill and/or luck, the resulting retirement income might even by higher than from a traditional pension plan. Lets take a look at how several local organizations have set up their accounts. There is an interesting history behind Krogers TDA, which is called a 401(k) by most organizations. I spoke to two working-level employees at the Carbondale store, who did not have a clear understanding of their plan, and the store manager was tied up at the time. So I went to Google, which amazingly seems to know everything about everybody. I learned that Kroger had a traditional pension plan at one time, but several years ago converted it to a 401(k). Merrill Lynch manages the plan. Not long ago, when Merrill Lynch ran into financial difficulty, it was bought by Bank of America. Soon thereafter, the mutual fund options available to employees were changed significantly. One employee complained that good funds with low fees were replaced with actively managed funds which would provide more income to Merrill Lynch. The fees charged by TDAs will be discussed at length later. I also obtained information on Wal-Marts TDA plan on Google. It is managed by a small company, BrightScope, Inc., and Merrill Lynch provides administrative support. The plan has profit sharing built-in; currently each account has 17 percent of assets in Wal-Mart common stock. Southern Illinois Healthcare and the SIU Credit Union both have 401(k) plans. The former is managed by Wells Fargo, but I wasnt told who manages the latter. The organization I know most about is Southern Illinois University Carbondale because I worked there for a dozen years and retired from there. As Illinois state employees, they receive pensions from a defined benefit plan. They can also add to their pensions by enrolling in TDAs (called 403bs by educational institutions). SIUC does not contribute money to the accounts, but provides payroll deduction. Currently, employees can select from six providers, of which three have local agents. One with a local agent is Massachusetts Mutual, which has been a provider for many years. Some employees like having a local agent to deal with because advice is readily available. Others prefer a provider like TIAA-CREF because of its good track record and low fees. Although not one of the choices available at SIUC, T. Rowe Price has the same advantages as TIAA-CREF. I have friends who have accounts with Northwestern Mutual and agent, Dennis Burd. They were and probably still are very happy with their accounts, but unfortunately Northwestern opted out of the program for new people. Burd now has ties to TIAA-CREF. In the discussion above, I alluded to an issue with fees charged to account owners. Analysts have been telling people for several years that these fees are unreasonably high. There may be sales fees, management fees, insurance fees, and brokerage fees totaling something like two percent per year. Sometimes or even often, fees of two percent per year amount to a third of the income from funds in the accounts. All the insurance fees do is guarantee the owner will get back at least as much as he or she has paid in. There is almost no chance of this situation arising for accounts held several years, so the insurance fee amounts to more income for the provider. Because of adverse publicity, at least some providers have reduced the fees they charge. There is probably no immediate solution to this problem but, as will be discussed later, options can be explored eventually to preserve savings without paying such high fees. Occasionally our federal government takes action regarding personal finances that are helpful. It sued Edward Jones for not revealing profit sharing arrangements with mutual fund companies. It came down hard on lenders when there was an epidemic of mortgage foreclosures. It jumped on Wells Fargo after learning that agents were opening accounts for customers without permission. In a recent action, it issued regulations which require providers of retirement accounts to place higher priority on the owners interests than their own. It is not clear to me how the new regulations should be interpreted and how they can be enforced. Never-the-less, brokerage firms seem to be nervous, and some are changing their policies. For example, Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan Chase are dropping commissions in retirement accounts in favor of fee-based advice. Others like Fidelity, USAA, and Vanguard are lowering fees for mutual funds not doing well and raising fees if the reverse is true. There are a few things account owners should keep in mind in managing accounts. One is they should complain to employers if unhappy with their plans. Another is favor mutual funds in their portfolios that have low fees. Providers publish this information in the form of expense ratios. Ratios higher than one percent should be avoided. In doing this, investments should conform to a sensible asset allocation plan. Shown below is an example I like taken from an old issue of USAA Magazine. The only additional category that might have been included is preferred stock, which should be considered by conservative investors. While employed at SIUC, I had a 403b account with an insurance company. It took me about ten years to realize how much I was losing in earnings because of high fees. What I did, and what others can do, is transfer assets to an IRA account. IRA accounts have a few advantages over TDAs. One is they offer more investment options, such as individual stocks and bonds. Another is that there are no insurance fees. When transferring, no income taxes are due if the transfer is made company to company, and the owner does not take possession of assets. However, deferred sales commissions might be charged on contributions that are not vested. In such cases, step-wise transfers should be made. I transferred to a brokerage firm that allows on-line purchases and sales. For individuals who have the time and interest in studying investments, a lot of money can be saved on commissions this way. Stock purchases cost less than $10. CARTERVILLE Southern Illinois University Professor Tomasz Wiltowski walks with a bounce in his step through the Advanced Coal and Energy Research Center in Carterville. He speaks excitedly about the centers promising student researchers and breakthrough projects. He marvels at his treasured thermogravimetric analyzer and other sophisticated research equipment within the facilitys many laboratories. Ask him about the current state of clean, safe energy production in Southern Illinois and his tone turns from optimism to frustration. There is so much opportunity here but we are behind other places in how we produce and consume energy, said Wiltowski, who moved to the United States from Europe more than three decades ago. Wiltowski, like others who are invested and highly knowledgeable about the local energy industry, sees a sagging economy for coal and under-funded research programs. While these challenges are facing many areas of Illinois, Wiltowski is doing his part to impart change. The Illinois Clean Coal Review Board approved a $4.6 million grant for which Wiltowski authored the proposal and served as principal investigator. The Energy Boost grant was awarded to SIU in 2015 to create an interdisciplinary academic unit charged with finding advanced coal and energy technologies while increasing university enrollment and improving job placement. The grant also pays for additional faculty, staff and graduate assistant positions, along with funding scholarships, capital improvements and research efforts. This grant has meant a lot to our program and students, Wiltowski said. It is a big step forward in our research goals and were excited about making advancements in the field. Wiltowski, who received his masters in chemical engineering from Technical University in Cracow, Poland, points to current wind projects in Germany as an example of a country using its available resources to harness and optimize energy. He points to coal as the main industry catalyst in Southern Illinois and urges local companies to do more to utilize their employees and available technologies. Wiltowskis research specialties include coal gasification and chemical looping both of which he says may hold the key to cleaner, safer and more cost-effective energy production in our area. He has led projects exploring advanced mining technologies such as fine coal cleaning, coal industrial park demonstrations and novel coal combustion by-product utilization. If we are willing to take risks and innovate, we can find new solutions to our problems, he said. A hidden gem SIUs energy development park (formerly Coal Development Park) is an impressive research and development center tucked away in the woods off Old Illinois 13 in Carterville. The complex consists of laboratory and administrative space as well as a 20,000-square-foot, high-bay building large enough for pilot projects to demonstrate the commercial application of new technologies. The park provides ample and quiet office space Only three people know where I am right now, Wiltowski quipped while providing a tour with a variety of office sizes and configurations. The park has housed numerous clean coal technology projects focused on coal cleaning plant testing, coal combustion demonstration, mine safety and scrubber pilot development. It has also spring-boarded the careers of many aspiring researchers in the fields of coal mining and utilization. These areas of research should be of interest to the Southern Illinois community as a whole. Especially if the local coal industry sees a boost of support from the new presidential administration one of President Trumps major campaign stances advanced coal can have tremendous impact on improving miner safety and causing lessened environmental impact. Studies on advanced coal innovations already at work have shown that usage of the technology could lead to the deep de-carbonization levels the planet requires. The environment, efficiency and cost those are the three main factors we are trying to influence here, Wiltowski said. One of Wiltowskis areas of research focus is chemical looping, which involves an innovative approach to deliver only oxygen to the coal combustion process. This excludes other gases from the process and enables a nearly pure carbon dioxide gas to be produced, captured and stored. Low-carbon technologies like this are key for the fossil fuel industry. Many carbon looping pilot plant trials are ongoing in the United States. Wiltowski would like to see more of these innovations introduced to Southern Illinois energy outfits. Our research is showing that this is a competitive technology, he said. It is important for this industry to develop ways to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon looping could be a critical tool for coal-based power stations in particular. Local supply & demand Knight Hawk Coal has been one of the areas steadiest sources of coal-based jobs since it launched in 1998 near Ava with 15 employees. It has since expanded into a second Perry County location with a total of 400 workers, as well as another 250 or so over-the-road contract truckers. Joshua Carter, the vice president and chief operating officer for Knight Hawk, has confidence in his company and industry as a whole to implement the necessary tools and innovations that will be instrumental to producing more jobs, revenue and clean energy. Still, he and other coal executives are facing challenges in todays touchy economy and politicalized environment. We oversupplied the market place as an industry, Carter recently told The Southerns editorial board. Supply and demand are well out of balance. The export market is non-existent. Theres no outlet valve there. Phillip Gonet, president of the Illinois Coal Association, also told The Southern that the many regulatory and political pressures facing the coal mining industry can make it difficult for companies to compete. According to statistics provided by Gonet, 1,630 coal-mining jobs were lost in Illinois in 2015 and the first half of 2016. This reduction dropped the number of coal-mining jobs left in Illinois to a shade under 3,000, putting the state below 2003 employment levels when output dropped to its lowest point in recent history. National employment trends point toward renewables While coal mining jobs may be on the decline, the U.S. Department of Energy in 2016 released the agencys first annual analysis on how changes in Americas energy profile are affecting national energy industry employment trends. The report examined four sectors of the economy: Electric power generation and fuels; transmission, wholesale distribution, and storage; energy efficiency; and motor vehicles. Here are some key findings: 3.64 million Americans work in traditional energy industries, including production, transmission, distribution and storage. Of these, 600,000 employees contribute to the production of low-carbon electricity, including renewable energy, nuclear energy and low emission natural gas. An additional 1.9 million Americans are employed, in whole or in part, in energy efficiency. Roughly 30 percent of the 6.8 million employees in the U.S. construction industry work on energy or building energy efficiency projects. These numbers back up Wiltowskis claim that the future of energy is positive. We have had a lot of very intelligent students come through the program and have found todays younger generation to be passionate about clean, sustainable energy, he said. A shortage of younger professionals is not something I am concerned about. Aur Beck, owner of Advanced Energy Solutions, has built a reputation as a go-to local expert in solar installations and technology. He recently returned from a trip to Grand Cayman, where he taught a two-week solar course at the University College of the Cayman Islands. The idea of equipping your home or business with solar panels, generators and other technology has indeed gone global, he says. And as solar energy becomes a more affordable part of the energy mix, home and business owners are inquiring more often about the process of equipping their properties with solar-enabled systems. Beck took the time to answer a few questions from Southern Business Journal on the present state of the solar industry in the region, as well as the exciting innovations set to take solar to the next level. Question: Compared to say 10 years ago, do people and businesses in Southern Illinois know more about solar energy today or do you still find yourself educating potential consumers on the benefits? Aur Beck: Definitely more knowledgeable now. Also in the last year instead of me going out a trying to get information from people for me to make them an estimate, almost any public event I go to someone asked for a card so they can get an estimate from me. People are starting to understand that solar is now cheaper than regular electricity. Q: I know the global and even national market has led to some reductions in price in terms of solar equipment and components, are you seeing the same type of reductions in the cost of local solar installations? A: In the past five years the equipment has come down in price almost 70 percent, mostly due to China exporting to the United States. Q: What are most homeowners and business owners most surprised to learn about when it comes to the benefits of solar installations on their property? A: How It is not as expensive as they thought. That you dont need batteries unless you want a backup power system or will have a completely off-the-grid system. How with a modern grid tied system they can put in as little or as much as they have space and budget for. Some people put in a 60-percent utility bill offset system and than add more later. Q: News about high-efficiency solar generators, breakthrough batteries and the concepts of solar sharing with neighbors is becoming more common. What are some of the emerging innovations in solar that get you excited? A: Community solar projects will be multiple people (no one entity can own more than 40 percent) building a solar farm together. This has to be local and the system offsets your energy bill just like it was on your roof. The economy of scale would bring costs down and this would make it possible for everyone to go solar, even the ones with small or shaded roofs. Watching people get excited about putting in backup power systems and going off grid is also great to see. Q: What is your personal outlook on the solar industry as the energy "crisis" gets more and more attention from government officials, the media and advocacy groups? A: This industry is the fastest-growing industry in the world in spite of very little cohesive government support, although Illinois just signed the Future Energy Jobs bill. Renewable energy is now cheaper to install in 60 countries than any fossil fuel power. More people are living in zero-energy home or learning about living off the grid. The grand opening of Advanced Energy Solutions Solar HQ (1804 Supply Road, Carterville) will be the first day of spring, March 20 with an all-day open-house and a chamber of commerce ribbon cutting at 12:20. Im the son of a coal miner. Its an undeniable part of my identity. Its the reason why Ive lived a more financially stable life. Coal provided for much of Southern Illinoiss development and is an undeniable part of our regions identity. Future generations will know this. Those future generations will know this not because Southern Illinois will be afforded a chapter in history books, but because we are afforded our own digital space where our history will be accessible. Local digital media producers such as newspapers or television stations will provide a clear picture of individual stories through their archives. Major digital media producers, including governments, educational institutions, and large media outlets, will provide a clear picture of systemic changes that influence these individual stories. I believe it is important to tell your story early and often, utilizing as many digital media platforms as reasonably possible. For businesses in the coal industry, this means writing editorials about what changes in industry mean for you and your workforce, standing in front of a camera for a news segment about the latest growth or decline in the coal industry, and using your own digital media to sound off about and document your reality. You should also be paying attention to major digital media as it relates to coal. We are poised to see major shifts in energy production over next several decades, and if youre consuming accurate digital media, youll agree. For example, China just announced plans to divest from 85 coal-fired power plants and instead invest in renewable energy projects like the Asia Super Grid. These systemic changes will affect the individual story your business writes because a majority of Southern Illinoiss bituminous coal finds its way to China. For a clearer understanding of how your coal-centric business can use digital media to communicate your story and document your history, I offer an example from the other side of the energy industry. Aur Beck, owner of Advanced Energy Solutions, has been cementing his individual story alongside the solar industry in which he operates. Beck has made it a point to call news organizations with even the slightest bit of newsworthy information. Not only does Beck provide a local opinion regarding major shifts in industry, he shares his personal advances, and he reaches out to digital media producers because he understands the value in his documenting his reality. Additionally, Beck documents the work he does through writing and producing content for his social media platforms. This content represents the reality of the work that he does. What Beck does may not be an exact model for your business needs. However, it is a good start. Begin by telling your individual story, connect your individual story to the greater industry you work within, and do not give the world an excuse to forget the value of what you produce. COLP It started with a vision. Since 2014, the Colp City Council has been working to establish a playground for children in their community. After receiving a $16,819 grant from the Julia Bruce Foundation in Herrin and pairing up with Auffenberg of Carbondale for a raffle in August of last year, the committee is one step closer to seeing that vision become a reality. On Tuesday, Jason McKinnes, a senior pastor at the Southern Illinois Worship Center in Herrin, joined by Heather Morrow, an executive pastor at the Worship Center, presented members of the committee with a $5,000 check for their playground. Mary Ann Duncan, a member of the small town committee and member of Southern Illinois Church Center, joined by Marcella Clark, committee chair and trustee, and Rex Duncan, executive director of Champion Community Investments, were present to accept the donation on the committee's behalf. McKinnes said it was a significant part of the ministry at the Worship Center to extend their services to those inside and outside of their community. The ministry's outreach includes monthly visits to feed children in Cairo. "I didn't understand all the needs that were in Colp just like when I went to Cairo, I didn't understand the needs that were there," he said, "and I really would like to change the entire environment of Southern Illinois. "One of our core values is to raise up a generation of youth to believe and hope again and if we can get them to dream again and hope again and just give them that opportunity to do that, then their hopes and dream could come true." With the $5,000 donation, the committee has now raised an estimated $48,000 of its $75,000 goal for the project. Duncan said the contribution is appreciated. "I'm very optimistic about what we have to do but I feel it is going to get done and it feels great," she said. Clark, who spearheaded the project in 2014, said she expects, with grants into the project in its early stages, to have it completed by this summer. "Right now it is just great and I know that the vision that we both have, and also the community, that it is going to get done," she said. "I believe in God and I do believe that he will help." This story has been updated to correct the name of the senior pastor at the Southern Illinois Worship Center. CARBONDALE In an effort to hang on to the momentum of the Womens March, scores of people gathered in the back rooms of Pagliais Pizza on Tuesday night to pen postcards to lawmakers. Organizers of Jan. 21s worldwide march had recommended the postcard-writing campaign as part of a 10 actions, 100 days initiative, providing printable cards on their website. Jackson County Board Member Liz Hunter, who organized the local party after attending the march in Washington, D.C., said the turnout far exceeded her expectations. I put it out to friends, you know? I expected maybe 40 people, and my friends shared it with their friends, and it just blossomed, Hunter said. I had to go out and get more postcards, and when I came back, there were 70 different people from when I left, said Annette Jaymes, who also helped organize the event. According to organizers, 560 cards were filled out. As the stacks of handwritten postcards grew, attendees ate pizza and discussed politics. Some guests opted to gather in Hangar 9, which had been designated an overflow location. Lucia Amorelli said she had been writing letters to legislators for the past week. Some of her key concerns centered on the suspension of immigration from Muslim-minority countries, the global gag rule on abortion and the wall along the Mexican border. I always end whatever letter, to whoever it is, with the environment whatever decisions they make above all they should be making good environmental practices, Amorelli said. Shelley Rawlins, who attended the march in Washington, D.C., said she found political activism therapeutic in the face of uncertainty. Were getting so much noise from (Republican State Representative) Terri Bryant in the mail on how concerned she is with battered women. So I wrote to her about how I appreciated her concern with battered women, but that I need to remind her about our reproductive freedom, and that Im really concerned with Mike Pence being in the White House, she said. Grad student Ashley Beard was also writing Bryant. I just said, Hey, Im a lesbian grad student at SIU and I need your help. I need you to stand up for women, LGBTQ, immigrants and marginalized peoples rights. Be brave and fight against this new regime, she said. Hunter, who has been involved in politics her entire life, said the event drew a mix of familiar faces and newcomers to activism. There are people that I see at every Democratic function or even every city or philanthropic function I go to, and then Im seeing faces Ive never, ever seen before people who feel the need to get involved now after the election, Hunter said. The Carbondale Police Department is searching for a 15-year-old runaway. Police said Damari R.S. Cross was last seen in the 400 block of East Oak Street on Jan. 20 at about 4:30 p.m. He is described as a black male with brown eyes and black hair. He weighs about 125 pounds and is about 5 feet 6 inches tall, and he was last seen wearing a Nike hooded sweatshirt with a black swoosh on the front, black jogging pants with zippers on the front pockets, and red and maroon Nike Air Force One shoes. Police said Cross may be traveling using the name Tyrone. He is believed to be attempting to reach family members in Chicago, Illinois; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; or Hiram, Georgia. Anyone with information on Crosss whereabouts is encouraged to call the Carbondale Police Department at 618-457-3200. You can also call the Carbondale/SIU Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 618-549-2677 or the Murphysboro/Jackson County anonymous tip line at 618-687-2677. The investigation is continuing. The Southern This story is part of a collaborative series between The Southern and its sister papers throughout Illinois, the State of the Standoff, which looks at those most affected by the failure of state leaders and lawmakers to make tough budget decisions. DECATUR The state of Illinois owes the Decatur school district $1.5 million from fiscal year 2016, and $2 million, so far, for 2017. Most of that money was targeted for reimbursements for special education, transportation and early childhood programs. They're pretty good about paying the general state aid on time, said Todd Covault, chief operational officer for Decatur schools. But it's all of the other required programs, like transportation, that they're slow about. The list of vouchers owed to Decatur, on the state comptroller's desk but as yet unpaid, is three pages long. And that's just one district out of 859 in the state. Covault's concern is that if the legislators ever get a budget pulled together, the state can't afford to fund education at the promised levels. In April, when the state is due to settle up, he said, he's afraid officials will scale back the amounts, after districts have already spent the funds. It's an indication of a bigger problem that just hasn't burst yet, Covault said. Pinckneyvilles school chief, Keith Hagene, said that as schools across the state start to plan for the new school year, 2017-2018, they are facing creating student schedules and trying to determine how much staff they can afford without knowing how much money they will receive. The budget stalemate has severely restricted the legislature from getting around to seriously addressing the school funding issues that we have been enduring for way to long, Hagene shared in an email. Schools are struggling and our children are suffering for it in the vast majority of rural schools in Illinois. This problem almost certainly insures that a large number of our graduates will be saddled with academic and vocational disadvantages as they enter the next stage of their lives when compared to more financially stable communities. Presently we are not a tax capped county, Hagene said of Perry County. If the proposed property tax freeze bill becomes law we will not be able to capture revenue at a level that helps offset the shortfall in State revenue streams. If the state is not able to agree on an adequate and appropriate school funding model, and generate revenue needed to support such a model schools will continue the steep downward slide in necessary finances. Decatur schools began the fiscal year with surplus of $2 million, Covault said, which kept the district from having to consider budget cuts for the first time in 10 years. If state funds come through as promised, that money would replenish the reserve fund. Currently, it behooves school districts to build up cash reserves when feasible in order to have a rainy day fund, he said. Unfortunately, it seems to rain a lot in Illinois. During the bleak years, districts tend to spend down these cash reserves. Funding of public education in Illinois is inherently inequitable, said Sen. Andy Manar on Wednesday, during a conference call about the governor's school funding reform commission. The commission just concluded its work and is issuing a report on its findings. Among those, Manar said, is that the current school funding formula doesn't account for different needs in different districts. "The commission recommended that we have to account for the unique needs of every district, and account for the fact that it takes more to educate a child living in poverty to get the same outcome as a child that doesn't live in poverty," Manar said. "That change alone, if we can accomplish it, will take a tremendous bite out of the inequities." The commission's report must now be turned into a bill and passed, Manar said, and the hope is that it will be passed this spring, in time to affect funding for education in the 2017-18 school year. Because of the way schools are funded in Illinois, districts with higher property values, or equalized assessed valuation, depend less on state money. If the state doesn't come through as promised, or if funding is cut, a property-tax rich district doesn't feel the pinch and services to students aren't affected. Districts such as Bloomington, with its $832 million in equalized assessed valuation, are better situated to weather a shortfall than poorer districts such as Decatur, with its $704 million in equalized assessed valuation as of 2014. The Illinois State Board of Education says the minimum amount required to educate each child in the state is $6,119 per year, an amount known as the foundation level. Illinois law requires the state to provide school districts with the difference between that amount and the district's own wealth as calculated by an equalization formula. The state also provides a Supplemental Low-Income Grant, or poverty grant, that is based on the district's population of low-income students. Bloomington's poverty grant was $4.1 million for the 2016-17 school year, while Decatur's was $21.1 million. Small districts like Mattoon struggle even more. Mattoon's equalized assessed valuation for the 2016-17 school year was calculated at $310 million, with $1.4 million subtracted for enterprise zones, and the district's poverty grant was $2.7 million. However, for 11 of the last 15 years, the state has not fully funded schools, sending districts as much as 10 percent less than the full amount. In a wealthy district with little poverty, that could be a fraction of the overall revenue, yet it might cut significantly into a less wealthy district's budget. At Central A&M, for example, the $704,000 payments for special education and transportation that have yet to be paid amount to 10 percent of the district budget, said Superintendent DeAnn Heck. The less wealthy districts that rely more on state funding are the ones more at risk, Covault said. If a wealthy district, come March (doesn't get the money), they can say, 'Well, I wasn't expecting $3.5 million anyway. I was expecting a minimal amount.' It's not as dramatic to a wealthy district. The Education Funding Advisory Board has submitted recommendations to the General Assembly and governor to increase the foundation level to $9,204, beginning with fiscal year 2018 on July 1. This recommended increase would require $4.6 billion in additional funds for education for fiscal year 2018, almost double the current appropriation. The last time the state adopted the Education Funding Advisory Board's recommendation was 2002. The current foundation level of $6,119 has remained the same since 2010. Increasing funding for basic education in Illinois will be a challenge, but it is a challenge we ask every policymaker and citizen to embrace, said the board's chairwoman, Sylvia Puente. The children of Illinois deserve no less. We ask our policymakers to note that in each of the years that the state has failed to meet its obligations, school districts must continue to meet all of the statutory requirements imposed upon them. This situation should not be allowed to continue. Murphysboro Superintendent Chris Grode said schools need more than a quick fix. Update: Feb. 1, 2017, 5:14 p.m.: The 65-year-old man who died Tuesday after in a single-vehicle crash has been identified by Williamson County Coroner Junior Burke. Daniel Mark Metzger, 65, of Obion, Tennessee, was pronounced dead at 6:26 p.m. after his semi-trailer left the Interstate 57 roadway at mile marker 51.5 and went into an embankment, striking the tree line. Burke said the autopsy was being conducted Wednesday. The incident is under investigation by the Williamson County Coroner's Office and Illinois State Police. Previous story, published Jan. 31, 2017, 10:45 p.m.: A Tennessee man died Tuesday after a single vehicle crash Tuesday on Interstate 57 in Williamson County, according to Illinois State Police. A 65-year-old man from Obion, Tennessee, whose name was withheld pending family notification, was driving a semi-trailer south near milepost 51 at about 5:29 p.m. when his vehicle left the right side of the roadway for unknown reasons. The vehicle traveled down a steep embankment and struck several trees before coming to a rest. The Illinois State Police was assisted by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Williamson County Sheriff's Office, Lake of Egypt Fire and Ambulance, Williamson County Coroner's Office and Vernell's Towing. The investigation continues. Previous story: The right lane of southbound Interstate 57 has been closed because of a traffic crash involving a truck tractor semi-trailer in Williamson County, according to Illinois State Police. Police and first responders are on the scene of the crash that occurred at about 5:29 p.m. around milepost 51. The lane is expected to be closed for several hours and motorists are encouraged to seek alternative routes. NEW YORK Caterpillar Inc. is moving its headquarters to the Chicago area and won't build a new complex in its current Peoria, Illinois location. The move comes as the company faces a weak equipment market that has been cutting into its bottom line. Last week, the farming and construction equipment maker reported a wider fourth-quarter loss on charges and higher restructuring costs. It has been cutting jobs and facilities over the last several years. "As a result of continuing challenging market conditions and the need to prioritize resources to focus on growth, Caterpillar will not build the previously announced headquarters complex in Peoria," the company said. The company said it will locate a limited group of senior executives and support functions in the Chicago area later this year, saying it is a more strategic location. It expects about 300 people to be based at the new location. "Locating our headquarters closer to a global transportation hub, such as Chicago, means we can meet with our global customers, dealers and employees more easily and frequently," said CEO Jim Umpleby. Caterpillar said the vast majority of our people will remain in central Illinois. The current Caterpillar building in Peoria, Illinois will continue to be used. Caterpillar joins several other agriculture-focused businesses in the Midwest that have relocated to Chicago over the years. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. moved from its central Illinois base, in Decatur, in 2014. ConAgra moved to Chicago in 2016 after nearly a century in Omaha, Nebraska. Boeing famously left its base in Seattle to move its corporate headquarters to Chicago nearly two decades ago. EDWARDSVILLE A former Edwardsville police officer has pleaded guilty to six felony counts more than two years after he was charged with a long string of burglaries. Brian Barker, 43, pleaded guilty to four burglary charges and one charge each of official misconduct and aggravated possession of stolen firearms. Barker was arrested in December 2014 and charged in multiple burglaries of businesses and homes over a period of 15 years, some of which he committed while on duty and in uniform. Madison County prosecutors say video footage showed him cleaning out the cash register of a local hair salon. Evidence found in his home linked him to a number of other burglaries. Barker's attorney said an additional 16 charges will be dropped and that Barker will negotiate with the state's attorney's office for restitution to the victims. At least a dozen police officers attended the plea hearing Monday to watch Barker, who resigned from the Edwardsville Police Department shortly after his indictment. Police Chief Jay Keeven said he was satisfied with the outcome of the case. "We are happy to see justice served," Keeven said. "We were comfortable from the beginning that (Madison County Sheriff John Lakin) would do a fair investigation. ... We are naturally heartbroken that it occurred, but happy with this outcome, and that it saves the taxpayers the cost of the numerous trials it would have required." Keeven said that no matter where a person works, all are subject to the same laws. "When it's a public official, it's even more egregious because we are entrusted with enforcing the law," he said. Barker faces up to 40 years in prison. Alee Quick Local news editor Alee Quick is the local news editor for The Southern. Follow Alee Quick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today From 1938 to 1940, England accepted about 10,000 child refugees from Germany and other German-annexed territories, under a program called the Kindertransport, during which thousands of Jewish children were sent to safety outside of their homelands after Hitler came to power. Meanwhile, in the United States, a congressional bill to accept 20,000 child refugees under a similar program died in committee, because one of the arguments against the bill was that accepting children without their parents was contrary to the laws of God. Thats according to an Oscar-winning 2000 documentary, Into the Arms of Strangers, about the Kindertransport. I was raised in a country that was ashamed of this contrast. While World War II isolationists proclaimed America first, children got on trains, and boats, and planes, and went to live with strangers in England. Many of their parents and family members, and children who could not get out, would perish in concentration camps. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that banned indefinitely entry into the U.S. of Syrians, for 120 days banned all refugees, and for 90 days banned travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Libya. Travelers from some of those countries, including an Iraqi who worked for the U.S. government as an interpreter, were famously held at airports as they returned home from abroad in the hours after the executive order was signed. As I have watched the continuing drama play out this week, I have been thinking about two things. One, on Saturday night, as protests erupted in international airports where travelers affected by the order were being held, a fleeting memory of a poem Id heard somewhere in my childhood that is inscribed inside the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty stands. Its called The New Colossus. Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries she With silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! It was written in 1838 by Emma Lazarus, who was inspired by her work with Jewish immigrants and refugees to write the poem for a fundraiser for the statues pedestal and base (Lady Liberty herself was a gift from France; the U.S. had to pay for what she stands on). A plaque containing Lazarus infamous words was placed at the Statue of Liberty in 1903. Second, Ive been thinking about the late Hedy Epstein, a friend of my familys Ive written about here more than once. She left Germany on a Kindertransport in 1939. When her parents told her she would leave them, after she had seen her father arrested during Kristallnacht, after a Nazi teacher had pointed a gun at her during class, she thought her parents had disowned her. It wasnt until she was on the train to leave and she saw how hard it was for them to let her go, that she knew they had done the hardest thing a parent can do, after they could not find a way out of the country as a family: They sent her to live with strangers in a strange land, because they loved her more than they loved themselves. Hedy corresponded with her mother from England for a few years, while her mother was deported to various Nazi camps in France. The last postcard she received was written in a shaky hand: I am traveling to the East. I am saying a final goodbye. After the war, Hedy avoided returning to her hometown of Kippenheim. She knew her parents wouldnt be there. But if she didnt go and see for herself, there was a chance they could be. She got a letter from the French government in 1956 informing her that her parents had been deported to Auschwitz. When she visited the camp in the late 1990s, she finally accepted her parents had died there. In 1948, Hedy immigrated to the United States, on a ship called the Queen Elizabeth. She passed through Ellis Island. She was a young woman of 23 without a home, a survivor of genocide, a refugee of war, an orphan. But she had survived. And when she got here to start a new life, she undoubtedly saw the Statue of Liberty, the New Colossus, holding her lamp beside the golden door. Perhaps we had gotten too comfortable. Perhaps the political leaders of the last generation were better than some Americans were willing to admit. Or, perhaps we had just gotten tired of chanting, carrying signs and making our voices heard. But, its a fact of American life that political dissent has been relegated to the level of novelty since the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. Oh, there have been a few notable local exceptions the environmental protests of the 1980s come to mind but generally speaking it has been a quiet time in the United States. Certainly the 1960s and '70s marked the pinnacle of grass roots political dissent in the last century. Since then, Americans have voiced their opinions in letters to the editor, radio call-in shows, and more recently through memes and posts on Facebook and Twitter. But, a spark of political activism seems to have been ignited in the past few months. As always, dissent is viewed favorably by much of the population. But, dissent is uniquely American. Speaking out should be part of the DNA of every American citizen. Thats not just our opinion. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty, said Edward R. Murrow. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it. One would expect a newsperson of Murrows abilities to use the perfect term the soul of America. It seems the angry rhetoric of the last general election has stirred the souls of Americans from coast to coast. And, that stirring has manifested itself in vocal protests. Dozens of Southern Illinoisans traveled to Washington, D.C., to take part in the Womens March on Washington. They were joined by thousands more women across the United States, including a sizable demonstration in Carbondale. And, perhaps the most encouraging part of the protests of recent days whether it is the Womens March on Washington or the more spontaneous gatherings at airports throughout the country in the last weekend, the protests have been mostly peaceful. This grassroots political fervor feels like a shot of B-12 for a populace that has gotten complacent about their freedoms, about how lucky we all are to live in the land of the free. It is shocking, not to mention disappointing, that only about 60 percent of eligible voters take the time to cast a ballot in a presidential election. That number falls to just 40 percent in off-year elections. In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith, said J. William Fulbright, the former Senator from Arkansas. We couldnt agree more. Being quiet in the face of the political malfeasance or malaise at any time, not necessarily at this moment, is a sign of decay and despair. When people care enough to take to the streets, to donate money to causes they believe in it means they believe their voice can make a difference. The peaceful nature of recent protests also conveys a sense of hope. People normally turn to violence in destruction when theyve exhausted their supply of hope. Of course, not everyone will share our opinion. Some see any protest as stabbing at the heart of Lady Liberty. Those who spoke out against the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan complain they were called traitors by supporters of the war. Those who spoke out against the Barack Obama administration say they were accused of being racists. The fact is, people who have the political conviction and courage to speak out should be called just one thing American. May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion, said former general and president Dwight D. Eisenhower. When words like that come from someone who served as Supreme Allied Commander during World War II and a two-term president of the United States, they carry some weight. State lawmakers praised South Carolina State Universitys leaders for their work on Tuesday. Everybody uses S.C. State as the poster child for failure. I think you all are going to make it the poster child for how to redeem yourself and make it successful, said Rep. Mike Sottile, R-Charleston. S.C. State officials appeared before the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. The university is seeking $18.6 million from the state in the upcoming budget year. The university previously requested $26.6 million, but President James Clark said officials realized there were federal funds that can be used. A top priority for the university will be improvements to information technology on the campus. The university has requested $5 million in non-recurring money for information technology changes and $450,000 in recurring funds. Thats critical for the fundamental operation of the entity no matter what else we do, Clark said. S.C. State Board Chairman Charlie Way added that the university needs funding in the area of information technology. We had a night about 10 days ago that emails would not work, he said. The request for non-recurring funds includes: $2.5 million for a passive optical network for academic and research buildings $250,000 for student access, security and a card system $200,000 for a network security firewall $750,000 for reliable Wi-Fi coverage and capability $1 million to purchase 270 units of network switches $300,000 to purchase two units for secure data storage Recurring funds would include: $183,930 to upgrade the internet bandwidth from 1GB to 10GB $140,000 for network activity monitoring $17,000 for secure internet browsing $16,650 for antivirus software $75,920 for a firewall $16,500 for network appliance and storage device monitoring Another priority for S.C. State will be its student success, enrollment and retention efforts. The university is requesting $5.3 million in non-recurring funds for the effort. The money is to be used for student activity center renovations, enhancing the public perception of the university through public relations and marketing plans, public broadcast advertisements, a redesigned university website and the Presidential Promise. The Presidential Promise is a program designed to assist students who have passed the debt ceiling and are unable to re-enroll at the university. The requested $1.4 million for 400 students would pay off enough of the students debt to allow them to enroll in the school with the stipulation that they perform campus community service. We said, If we move you down, you have to promise to me that you are going to give back to the university, Clark said. So we have campus service hours that we will put on the student to engage them. The university is asking for $978,300 in recurring funds for a tutorial center to provide tutoring, advisement services, workshops and seminars on study skills and academic counseling; to enhance the universitys brand through public relations; and to increase diversity through an initiative called SC State Online. The universitys largest recurring request is $1 million for positions for public relations and marketing. It includes full-time positions for chief operations officer; two development officers; two procurement staff members; three marketing, communication and public relations staff members; and four new staff members in finance. Sottile agreed that information technology looks to be the institutions top necessity. It seems to me that everythings going to revolve around IT. Your retention, your branding, trying to get enrollment up, he said. I certainly hope that we can help you with that. The university is requesting $3 million to expand its masters of science in transportation program to include a concentration in infrastructure engineering. In addition, a bachelors degree in transportation infrastructure will also be introduced at S.C. State. The programs will require three faculty members at a cost of $413,000 and five graduate assistants for $100,000 to support faculty research. The university is also seeking money to repair buildings. Theres a massive amount of maintenance that unfortunately did not get done, Clark said. Over $40 million of work that needs to be done. The university made a capital request for $1.4 million for roof replacements at five buildings on the universitys campus. The buildings are: Turner Hall ($775,000), Staley Hall ($300,000), Crawford Zimmerman ($90,000), Mays II ($90,000) and Williams Hall ($190,000). Clark said the university will begin implementing a new system to ensure maintenance is done on a regular basis by having a rolling update, a refresh, whether its for technology or maintenance. In the business world, you do that, you know your expenditures, you never get behind, he added. The university is seeking $500,000 in non-recurring appropriations for the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium to promote outreach programs that strengthen the relationship between the university and the community. The university expects its 2016-2017 year revenues to outweigh its expenditures by $19.3 million, but that remainder will go toward paying the universitys debt. The projected balance after expenditures for the 2017-2018 year would be roughly $726,171. Clark said a majority of that will go toward a rainy day fund for the future. We have done, I feel, a very, very tremendous job of getting this ox out of the ditch but weve got a long way to go, Way said. This board is dedicated to making South Carolina State not only survive but thrive. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, noted the work of Management Controller Teare Brewington and Budget Director Donna Hanton saying, Thank you for what you two have done for South Carolina State University to get us moving in the right direction. You, the legislature, you put in a board that is dedicated to the success of South Carolina State, Way said. This board has brought in people who we feel can make South Carolina State a better place. It just really is very refreshing, Cobb-Hunter added. WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's refugee ban and travel restrictions are a disgraceful exercise in cruelty. They do nothing to make us safer -- and may, in fact, make us less safe -- but they punish Muslims, and that is his whole point. Fear and loathing of Islam was one of Trump's campaign themes. He appealed to those who wrongly see the fight against terrorism as a clash of civilizations between Christian and Muslim worlds -- and see Muslim immigrants as a kind of fifth column intent on destroying America from within. During the campaign, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." He later modified this position into a call for "extreme vetting" of Muslim immigrants, including Syrian refugees. But he continued to cite a discredited survey, conducted by a stridently anti-Muslim group, purporting to show that many Muslims in this country support "global jihad" and the replacement of our legal system with Islamic Sharia law. Is Trump just playing politics or is he truly an anti-Muslim bigot who believes this rubbish? At this point, it hardly matters. He has fulfilled his campaign promise by striking a gratuitous blow against would-be immigrants and visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries -- Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. Even more shamefully, Trump has barred entry by refugees from all nations worldwide. Perhaps he will have the Statue of Liberty toppled and sold for scrap. "This is not a Muslim ban," the president claimed in a statement. But unquestionably it is. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an early Trump supporter, said Saturday on Fox News that "when [Trump] first announced it, he said, 'Muslim ban.' He called me up. He said, 'Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.'" Giuliani said the ban is not based on religion, but rather "on places where there [is] substantial evidence that people are sending terrorists into our country." The countries covered by Trump's executive order were indeed singled out by the Obama administration for extra scrutiny. But if "sending terrorists" were the major criterion, surely Trump would have included Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks came from. And as for the supposed goal of "extreme vetting" for refugees, former President Obama already put such a system in place. In 2011, Obama paused the refugee flow so that authorities could reinvestigate tens of thousands of refugees who had already come to the United States. Homeland Security officials instituted rigorous vetting procedures for new refugees that require multiple interviews, and many months of waiting, before an applicant is cleared for entry. What, then, is the point of Trump's executive orders? To kick around some Muslims who are too weak to kick back -- and to further the pernicious narrative of global conflict between Muslim and Christian worlds. Trump's orders carve out an exemption for religious minorities, which in this context clearly means Christians in majority-Muslim countries. By all means, I believe, the United States should be a haven for Christians or any other religious group that is persecuted. But the vast majority of those who have suffered at the hands of the Islamic State, the Syrian regime, al-Shabab and other evil forces in the affected countries are Muslims. If you prick them, do they not bleed? Trump's action was abominable; the reaction, however, has been heartening. Thousands of people spontaneously gathered at airports around the country in protest. Immigration lawyers set up shop in busy terminals and worked to gain entry for passengers who were detained. Federal judges intervened to keep travelers from being sent home. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his nation would welcome any refugees the United States turned away. Other world leaders criticized the move, as did -- cautiously -- a few Republican senators. Iran and Iraq announced they would reciprocate and close their borders to Americans. Trump's orders were not circulated through the normal interagency process before being issued, and it showed; key questions were left open, such as the status of green card holders from the affected countries. But while the administration's incompetence might have blurred the orders' impact, it did not soften their intent. This wasn't about making America safe. It was about nationalism, xenophobia and punishing innocent Muslims for the vile acts committed by terrorists. It was a betrayal of our most fundamental American values. And he's been president for barely a week. Democracy is at risk when we fail to fulfill basic citizenship responsibilities. Consider the evidence. Approximately 40 percent of eligible voters didnt vote. Even fewer voted in the last round of congressional elections. Only immigrants receive formal citizenship training and are required to pass a test that the majority of our citizens would fail. The vast majority of citizens dont communicate with their congressional representatives. Most cannot even name their representative. Engaged and informed citizens are a necessary condition for effective democracy. Its time for a Bill of Responsibilities to re-establish the requirements of citizenship. During his first 100 days, Trump should form a non-partisan panel of citizens (who would be compensated for their work) to develop a citizen Bill of Responsibilities before the end of 2017. This panel should, at a minimum, provide four sets of recommendations to the President, Congress, and all citizens: Require eligible voters to vote in presidential and congressional elections. Other countries do this. We should too. Develop common voter rules that will simplify voter registration and voting, provide adequate anti-fraud protections, and unify disparate state by state approaches Identify primary and secondary school curricula additions that ensure all high school graduates understand citizen responsibilities, engage early on in policy debates, and develop the critical thinking skills to make informed voting choices Provide a system of rewards and penalties to encourage citizens to fulfill their responsibilities. Citizenship should be earned. This type of citizen-driven project has immense importance. It can be a foundation for increased public trust in the Trump administration (perhaps turning protesters into focused reformers) and serve notice to Congress that we the people demand a more representative, inclusive, and accountable democracy. Congressional representatives would oppose these recommendations at their own peril. However, in a representative democracy, citizens are only half of the equation. Elected representatives also need to do their jobs. Congressional approval levels are at their lowest levels in memory. Most agree its time to drain the swamp. Trump must demand six game-changing reforms: Get special interest money out of elections and re-elections. In the first 100 days, form a non-partisan citizen task force to develop options to eliminate campaign contributions from businesses, unions, super PACs or any other organization while limiting contributions by individuals. Canada puts strict limits on campaign contributions while providing generous public funding for candidates. We can do the same. Reduce partisan gerrymandering. Establish state-by-state non-partisan reviews of voting districts and restore fair representation and competitive congressional elections Redefine the mission of political parties. Parties need to stand for something other than winning elections at any cost. They will better serve our democracy if they develop and articulate realistic, affordable and clearly differentiated platforms. Establish congressional term limits. Ensure congressional accountability. Establish national goals with two-way citizen input. Enact a congressional compensation system to attract talented representatives. Provide market-based compensation to reduce the incentive to take outside money. Trump has had a rocky start. However, as someone who has bucked convention throughout his campaign, he is in a unique position to reform a system that is badly out of step with the needs of its citizens. Empowering citizen-driven, non-partisan reviews of the responsibilities of citizens and elected representatives will be the most viewed reality television of our time. These debates and ensuing reforms are necessary to the successful evolution of Americas system of constitutional values, democracy and capitalism. There is much at stake. This is Trumps (and Americas) opportunity. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijans Ambassador to Lithuania Hasan Mammadzadeh has met the country's Minister of Economy Mindaugas Sinkevicius to discuss the expansion of economic relations between the two countries. The officials discussed prospects for the development of tourism cooperation between Azerbaijan and Lithuania, Azertac reported. On behalf of Azerbaijan`s Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev, Hasan Mammadzadeh invited Lithuanian companies to attend the 16th Azerbaijan International Travel and Tourism Fair to be held in Baku on April 6-8. The ambassador hailed the development of political and economic relations between the two counties. He highlighted the activities of Azerbaijan-Lithuania Intergovernmental Commission on bilateral cooperation, as well as interparliamentary friendship groups at the parliaments of both countries. Minister Sinkevicius expressed interest in developing cooperation between business circles of Lithuania and Azerbaijan, and vowed to do his utmost to further expand economic relations between the two countries. Lithuania recognized Azerbaijan's independence on December 21, 1991. Diplomatic relations between two countries were established in November, 1992. The Lithuanian embassy was opened in Azerbaijan on April 3, 2007. The Azerbaijani embassy was opened in Lithuania in September 2007. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 21 times violated the ceasefire in various directions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend on February 1. The Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns. The Azerbaijani army positions located in Qizilhajili village and on the nameless heights of Azerbaijans Gazakh district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in Berkaber village and on the nameless heights of the Ijevan district of Armenia. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani army positions located in Aghdam, Alibayli, Kokhanabi villages of Azerbaijans Tovuz district were shelled from the Armenian army positions located in Chinari, Mosesqekh villages of Armenias Berd district. Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Chilaburt village of the Tartar district, Shikhlar village of the Aghdam district, Horadiz, Ashagi Seyidahmadli villages of the Fuzuli district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as on nameless heights of the Fuzuli district. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, seeks to directly participate in the process of resettlement of the liberated Jojug Marjanli village, and wants to share its experience in this field. Vincent Cochetel, the Director of the UNHCR European Bureau, announced about this at a meeting with Azerbaijans Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov in Baku. Cochetel said that UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi wants to pay a visit to Azerbaijan. He added that the Commissioner also wants to participate in the census due to be held in 2019. In late January 24, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore Jojug Marjanli village in Jabrayil region of Azerbaijan, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016 as a result of a successful counter-attack of the Azerbaijani Army. Under the order, 4 million manats ($2.05 million) were allocated from the President`s 2017 Contingency Fund to the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage. More than 190 families out of 400 families, who once lived in the village, have already expressed desire to return to their homeland. Hasanov, in turn, informed Cochetel about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the history of its origin. He noted that the requirements of the resolutions and decisions by the UN Security Council, OSCE, PACE, Organization of Islamic Cooperation are not implemented, and no pressure is put on the aggressor country in this regard. This is a great injustice and violation of international law. One gets the impression that the international law doesnt work and is used only by states capable to affect international relations," said Hasanov. "Powerful states want to get new territories, natural resources and wage war for geopolitical re-division of the world, and other people suffer from it. On the one hand, international rostrums every day call for protection of human rights, but on the other hand, thousands of people die every day," Hasanov continued. Speaking of the president's decree to restore the liberated village, Hasanov emphasized that this is a historical event. In the first phase, it is planned to build 50 private houses and a school building. Currently, demining works are underway there. I am sure that we will restore the village soon," said Hasanov. He noted that the number of families wishing to return to the liberated village is about 200 and it will continue to grow. "Therefore, the execution of the Great Return program begins with Jojug Marjanli," Hasanov said. Hasanov further mentioned that visits of ambassadors and representatives of all international organizations accredited in Azerbaijan to the village will be organized in a few days, and they will once again get acquainted with the atrocities of the Armenians. By Azernews By Amina Nazarli The Azerbaijani Parliament has today opened the first plenary meeting of its spring session. The agenda of the February 1 meeting covers 27 issues, including reorganization of the Parliaments Disciplinary and Accounts Commissions, as well as consideration of draft amendments to the Criminal Code, Administrative Offences Code, Customs Code, laws "On access to information", "On insolvency and bankruptcy", "On accounting", "On grants", "On social insurance", "On state duty", "On aviation", "On customs tariff", "On securities market", "On protection of historical and cultural monuments". Firstly, the parliamentarians approved the composition of Disciplinary and Accounting commissions of the Parliament, which remained unchanged. The Parliament also approved two agreements "On air communication between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Kuwait" and "On economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Portugal". By signing of the intergovernmental agreement on air communication on November 16, 2016, Azerbaijan and Kuwait removed obstacles to the opening of air links between the two countries, which will contribute to the further development of bilateral economic and cultural ties between the two sides. The agreement "On economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Portugal" was also signed on November 16 during the visit of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov to Portugal at the meeting with his counterpart Santos Silva. During the session, MP Yagub Mahmudov proposed to adopt a document on the right to inherit the area of 9,000 square meters, including Yerevan (formerly Irevan), which had been given to Armenia during the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic. These territories were given to Armenia on certain conditions, Mahmudov, who is also the director of the Institute of History, said noting that the Institute has managed to acquire those documents from abroad. In those lands, Azerbaijanis were supposed to be allowed to live in peace, Shaumyan-led acts of genocide had to be ended, and Armenia had had to give up its claims on Zangazur and Garabagh. But all of these conditions were breached, the MP added, APA reported. Therefore, we must raise the issue of inheritance to these lands and take necessary steps for it. Were ready to submit all of those documents to the Parliament. The Parliament's spring session will end on May 31. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are working to organize next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard Hoagland told Trend on February 1. My fellow co-chairs and I are currently discussing in principle when the ministers might next meet in the future and the most appropriate time for our next co-chair trip to the region, he said. Hoagland added that he looks forward to the opportunity to make visits to Azerbaijan and Armenia. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has earlier said there is a plan to hold a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs at the Munich Security Conference to be held on February 17-19. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day. While the OSCE Minsk Group acts as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, it failed to make any move to achieve a breakthrough in the peace process so far. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov Armenias population continues decreasing in number thus deepening the demographic crisis in the country caused by economic crisis and migration. The permanent population of this poor South Caucasian country as of January 1 2017, according to current register based on the census of 2011, is 2,986,500 people, reads a report by the National Statistical Service of the republic. The countrys population decreased by 12,100 people or 0.4 percent compared to January 1, 2016. A total of 1,901,700 people live in cities, while the number of rural population is 1,084,800 people. The natural increase, which amounted to 12,509 people in 2015, decreased by 9.9 percent in 2016. The number of births also decreased: 40,638 children were born in 2016, which is by 2.7 percent less than the same indicator of 2015. The fertility rate has decreased in all the other provinces of the country. Moreover, Armenia is considered an aging country as there are increasingly more citizens of retirement age among its population. The United Nations says a country is aging if the number of elderly people exceeds 7% of the population; while in Armenia the elderly make up 10.9% of the overall populace. Worsening economy and political tension affect the life standards in Armenia. Armenian youth mainly prefer the life abroad as they cannot find appropriate jobs in their homeland. The volume of unemployment exceeds 18 percent of able-to-work population in the country, which is the highest indicator among the CIS. Almost 150,000 people have emigrated from Armenia over the past 3 years, the newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak states. This makes up 5 percent of the total population of Armenia. The data provided by the National Statistical Service of Armenia shows that more than 54,000 people permanently left Armenia last year. For comparison, this figure was equal to 47,676 people in 2015, and 47,074 in 2014. The newspaper states that the high emigration rate may be associated with the four-day fighting in April as well as the summer events when an armed group seized a police station in Yerevan. By Azernews By Nigar Eyvazova Tehran has once again criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. President Hassan Rouhani described Trump and his administration as newcomers who don't understand politics, saying, "A man had been living in another world and now has entered the world of politics." "It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world," added Rouhani. Trump's order bars citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days. The bans, though temporary, took effect immediately, causing havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from these countries. The seven Muslim-majority countries targeted in President Trump's executive order on immigration were initially identified as "countries of concern" under the Obama administration. Rouhani continued to say that today is not a time for separating nations by walls, as he referred to Trump's promise to build a barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. Cancelling visas of other nations is a political newbies job he also mentioned. Rouhani called the American administration dishonest for claiming to be on the side of the Iranian people, but then banning them. The U.S. has revealed their sense of discrimination and lack of regard for all international norms, he added. Tehran has already announced it will take legal, political and reciprocal measures in response to Trump's order suspending the entry of people from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. On January 29, the Islamic Republic summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests, to protest the measure. Meanwhile, France vowed on Monday to defend Iran's nuclear deal, strengthen trade ties with Tehran, and double the number of visas available to Iranians. By Azernews By Kamila Aliyeva The UN Security Council acknowledged the importance of Astana talks on Syria and is looking forward to their resumption in Geneva, urging the Syrian sides to participate without preconditions, according to a Security Council statement, Sputnik reported. "The members of the UN Security Council look forward to the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations, encouraged in the context the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Staffan de Mistura to reconvene the negotiations as soon as possible in Geneva and urged the Syrian parties to participate in the negotiations in good faith and without preconditions," the statement said. The Astana talks on Syrian settlement were brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran and took place in the Kazakh capital on January 23- 24. They marked the first time since the beginning of Syrian civil war in 2011 when the government of Syria and the armed opposition sat together at the negotiations table. In a joint statement of Russia, Iran and Turkey issued following the Astana talks, the countries agreed to create a trilateral group on monitoring the Syrian ceasefire. Meanwhile, Staffan de Mistura said that he asked the Security Council to postpone the intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva until February 20. Initially the talks were slated for February 8. De Mistura stressed that the Syrian government will have an opportunity to engage in serious discussions on the issue and opposition groups, in their turn, will be given a chance to come to the Geneva talks as one unified group. Armed conflict continues in Syria since March 2011. Government troops are confronted by militants of different armed rebel groups. Russia has begun airstrikes on terrorist facilities in Syria since 30 September 2015. The Russian military involvement follows an official request from President Bashar Assad to President Vladimir Putin. The U.N. has repeatedly tried and failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed 300,000 and displaced 11 million since it began five years ago. Many experts assessed the agreement between Russia, Turkey and Iran on the establishment of a tripartite mechanism aimed at monitoring the cease-fire as a step to a political solution which might end the six-year war. Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) chief executive Khalid Al Rumaihi will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming 13th Annual Middle East Insurance Forum (MEIF 2017), the regions largest and longest running industry event. The forum being held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) on February 20 and 21. Al Rumaihi, who will address participants at MEIFs opening session, is taking part in the event as part of the EDBs efforts to support sectors with the biggest contributions to the growth of Bahrains economy such as financial services, said a statement. The EDB has identified a number of key sectors where Bahrain provides particular competitive advantages to investors. Included is the financial services industry, where Bahrains history as a financial hub with a mature single regulator means that investors are able to benefit from the over 40 years of experience accumulated in the kingdom. The financial services sector is now the second largest contributor to the GDP of Bahrain and the kingdom plays host to a number of leading institutions in the field. Al Rumaihi said: Bahrain is proud to host the Middle East Insurance Forum, an event which further highlights Bahrains position as a regional hub for knowledge sharing and thought leadership in the financial services sector. I am looking forward to speaking at the event and exchanging ideas with other industry leaders. The forum is expected to attract participation from more than 400 global and regional insurance and takaful leaders and experts. This includes high level dignitaries, central bank representatives, economists, thought leaders, researchers and academics. Over the course of the two-day event, expert industry speakers and panelists will also discuss a range of topics including: * Industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions; * The role of insurance companies in current Health Services reforms * Financial technology development in the insurance industry * Challenges facing the Takaful industry * The implication of the introduction of VAT in the regional markets Other highlights of MEIF 2017 will be a ceremony honouring the Best Insurance Company in the Mena Region. In partnership with the CBB, the forum will recognise extraordinary achievements in the industry by awarding the prestigious prize to the most outstanding regional insurer for the past year. Nominations are now open to all insurance players servicing the GCC, Mena and Levant regions and with minimum banking assets of $15 million. Submissions will be accepted until February 5. - TradeArabia News Service Emirati entrepreneur and prominent businessman Adil Al Oteiba has been appointed as the first chairman of Arab Investment and Development Authority. The appointment has been made by the General Secretariat of the International Parliament for Scientists of Human Development (IPSHD). At the recently held mini session of the parliament it was declared that Aloteiba would be the right choice to lead the authority in a changing world, said a statement. The secretariat has asked Oteiba to determine the composition of the board of directors and draft the vision and direction, the activities and objectives of the Arab body. Oteiba has established a network of global relationships over the years and has implemented successfully a number of pioneering economic and developmental projects in the Arab world, said a statement. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) will be co-host the 11th Annual Mena Regulatory Summit with Thomson Reuters at the JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai, UAE on February 5 and 6. The summit will be held under the patronage of Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, and is the regions leading forum for the regulatory and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) communities. Formerly known as the GCC Regulators' Summit, this years event has been renamed to reflect the interest from the GRC community across the Mena region, and to create a dialogue with neighbouring countries that share the same risks, challenges and regulatory outlook. Delegates will hear from a distinguished panel of experts, who will discuss the latest developments in global compliance and regulation, as well as the implications of the changing political landscape; economic sanctions; terrorist financing and emergent financial crime risk; withdrawal of corresponding banking; supply chain management; and the threat to cyber security. Ian Johnston, chief executive of DFSA said: It is encouraging to see the strong momentum behind the regions regulators and compliance community to ensure that the financial services sector is developing sustainably, and in line with international best practice. By co-hosting this years event, which now includes attendees from across the Mena region, we hope to be able to share our own insights of developing the regulatory framework for the regions leading financial centre with the new entrants in the market. Johnston will participate in a panel discussion with chief executives at financial institutions and corporate entities who will discuss the importance of corporate culture in shaping financial conduct. He will provide an overview of the structural changes that shaped a culture of risky short-termism, and the need for a partnership approach between the industry and regulators, to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. Bryan Stirewalt, managing director, Supervision, at the DFSA, will share his view on the implications of recent political developments, and the emerging compliance and conduct risks arising from the digital revolution in financial services. He will address the supervisory challenges being presented by these significant structural shifts at both a global and local level. Peter Smith, managing director, Policy and Strategy, at DFSA, will delve further into innovations in financial technology and its applications including Reg Tech and Big Data. Smith will also discuss the risks and opportunities of digitalisation and the DFSAs approach to regulating FinTech. The 2016 summit attracted over 500 registered delegates from the GRC community in addition to regional and international regulators and industry practitioners. This years Summit has some 1,000 registered participants. TradeArabia News Service Iraqi businessmen are in talks with Turkish companies to develop a $200-million real estate project at the high-security Green Zone in Baghdad, said a report. Following a visit by the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yldrm to Iraq last week, an Iraqi business delegation is now in Istanbul to boost bilateral trade ties and also discuss key business proposals, reported Iraq Business News, citing a senior official. The visit is vital for Iraq and comes at a time when Turkeys exports to the country have plunged 50 per cent from $14 billion to $7 billion, stated Tevfik Oz, a member of the board of the Turkish-Iraqi Business Council. Another Turkish delegation may visit Iraq in the coming days to take the Green Zone project discussion forward, he added. Top ministers, government entities and business leaders will discuss bilateral trade and investment prospects between UAE and India at the third edition of the UAE-India Economic Forum (UIEF), to be held later this year, in Dubai, UAE. The event, organised by UMS Conferences, will take place on November 8 and 9. The forum will place special focus on critical sectors such as infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy and banking, said a statement from the organisers. With UAE-India bilateral relations at an all-time high following the three-day visit of HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India, the primary objective of the forum is to discuss and evaluate business opportunities in both countries, it said. The event is being supported by Invest India and has UAE International Investor Council as strategic partners. HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was the chief guest at Indias Republic Day celebrations this year. The crown prince, who was accompanied by a contingent of high-level government officials and industry leaders, held a series of meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss bilateral, regional and global concerns. UAE is one of the largest investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments. UIEF will bring together government officials and key decision makers from UAE and India to discuss the policy frameworks and guidelines required to attract investors, sovereign wealth funds, large corporations and industries. The event is an effective platform for Indian businesses aiming to explore the Middle Eastern market, as well as UAE-based businesses seeking to enter the Indian market. Past editions of UIEF have met with considerable success. UIEF 2015 was inaugurated by Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, India; while the 2016 edition featured keynote addresses by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, India; Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, UAE and MJ Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs, India. The forum will feature a government panel on bilateral trade, a special session focused on start-ups, specially designed booths for one-on-one networking sessions and a showcase for investment opportunities, said a statement. Key areas the forum will focus on include defence and security, tourism, banking and finance, utilities and space technology, it said. UIEF 2017 will also host the Qadat Al Tagheer Awards, which will honour the businessmen who have contributed to the growth of their countrys economies and recognise the efforts of government leaders who have worked towards fostering UAE-India trade relations. Bloomberg Businessweek ME will be the Promotional Partner of the event, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Dubai-based Emirates Modern Poultry Co, also known as Al Rawdah, has posted 8-10 per cent growth through 2016 despite economic headwinds. The firm continued expanding its mandate of delivering food security for the UAE through local production, exceptional rearing standards, and state of the art machinery, said a statement from the company. The year saw Al Rawdah kick off a Dh20 million ($5.45 million) expansion of its food processing plant (FPP) to introduce cutting edge technologies that cut costs and improve quality, it said. The brand also invested in state of the art X-ray machinery to detect, not only metal and bones in its processed food, but also small cartilages that otherwise go undetected, to ensure premium food quality, it added. Al Rawdah also invested in solar panels to reduce grid consumption and minimise its environmental footprint. 2016 saw Al the company become the first UAE poultry company to harness solar energy an initiative that has also resulted in a sharp operational cost drop, said a statement. Dr El Rashid Dafalla Mohamed, CEO, Al Rawdah, said: 2016 has been a successful year for our company, where we have cemented our market reputation as a leading local poultry producer. We posted healthy growth during the year, despite uncertain macro-level market conditions. We also used the year to strengthen our technological and operating foundation, he said. Al Rawdah is committed to growing as a world-class local producer of high-quality poultry that contributes to the nations food supply, he added. Moreover, in 2017 the brands new Liwa Farm will finish equipment installation by mid-2017 and will be hatching its first batch of chicks by year-end. The first batch of broiler chickens will be nurtured and raised for four weeks before being introduced to the market, said a statement. The company is also set to continue its implementation of world-class standard operating procedures (SOPs) and speed up its transformation into a modern concern operating to exceptional standards, it said. Mohamed added: We are looking forward to another positive year in 2017. Our investments in our new Liwa Farm are paying off, and the property will come online before the end of the year. This will help us meet future market demand. We are also working diligently to upgrade processes, machinery and methods so we can keep pace with the best poultry operations around the world, he said. Our company is seen as a local UAE success story that consumers, regulators and stakeholders value as providing essential products to the community, he concluded. TradeArabia News Service Delta Group, a leader in the GCC printing industry, has announced the inauguration of a new multi-service facility which will host several of its subsidiaries. Located in Dubais National Industries Park (NIP), the 250,000-sq-ft facility will offer a comprehensive range of end-to-end solutions under one roof. This includes the Groups flagship Delta Printing Press as well as Brandscape Advertising, Magic Screen, Pulp, Delta Labels and Delta Interiors. Equipped with the latest technology, the fully integrated facility is the first of its kind to be set up in NIP, a statement said. As a home-grown business, we are very proud to be based in the UAE. The country serves as a regional print hub, not just attracting business from within the region, but also from Europe. Not only are we very pleased to offer our clients this new facility, but it also allows us to significantly expand our production capacity and operational capabilities into newer segments and markets, said Kabeer Jalaluddin, chairman and managing director of Delta Group. Housing several of the Groups subsidiaries under one roof will offer unparalleled convenience to clients and enable cost optimization. This will especially benefit projects and campaigns which span different media. From advertising and marketing, to printing, labelling and interiors, Delta Groups new facility expects to redefine industry standards for integrated workflows. Innovation and quality are the key principals by which we operate and 2017 will be an important year for us. We plan to continue scaling our operations with further expansion and also venture into new verticals. This will allow us to offer more allied services across the Mena and European markets. The print industry is continually evolving, and with increasing digitization, traditional printing has progressed immensely. We have constantly evolved to keep pace with rapid industry advancements, and by investing in the finest technology and infrastructure we are able to offer robust efficiency and fast turnaround times, Jalaluddin added. To further augment its service capabilities, Delta Group has also announced it will shortly launch a new subsidiary for the manufacture of corrugated cartons. Delta Packaging Industries will also be based in the NIP where it will occupy a 20,000-sq-m site. TradeArabia News Service Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) New Defense Secretary James Mattis is set to arrive later Wednesday in South Korea as he begins his first overseas trip that will also take him to Japan, highlighting the Pacific region's importance to U.S. security interests. "The trip will underscore the commitment of the United States to our enduring alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea, and further strengthen U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea security cooperation," Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said last week when the trip was announced. Mattis' visit is intended to reassure U.S. allies in the region that it will maintain its security commitments, especially at a time when North Korea has grown increasingly provocative in the development of its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. President Trump's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has unsettled some of America's allies in the region. Tensions have also been heightened in the South China Sea, where China's territorial claims and its construction on disputed islands have raised alarms in neighboring countries. ABC News takes a look at some of the security issues in the region. North Korean Provocations Mattis' first overseas stop will be in South Korea, where the United States has 28,500 troops to deter North Korean aggression. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced earlier this month that his military would soon begin preparations to conduct a test of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) that could potentially reach the mainland United States. U.S. officials have said that no test appears imminent, but the announcement culminated a year's worth of provocative behavior by North Korea that included two nuclear test explosions and a slew of long-range missile launches. Some of the missile tests were spectacular failures, but the pace of the testing raised concerns that North Korea was determined to make fast advancements. North Korea's goal is to develop a nuclear weapon small enough to be placed atop a long-range missile. Late last year, a senior U.S. military official said it appeared that North Korea has still not mastered the re-entry technology that would make an ICBM with a miniaturized warhead a viable threat. To address South Korean concerns, the United States will soon deploy a missile intercept system, known as Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD), which would protect Seoul and other parts of South Korea from a missile attack. The United States has maintained that the system is defensive, but China opposes it out of concerns it is designed to contain its missile programs. South China Sea Over the past few years, China has built up man-made islands around seven reefs in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea that it claims are Chinese territory. To bolster its long-term claims, the artificial islands have been equipped with ports, runways and radar facilities. Despite assertions that it does not intend to militarize the islands, commercial satellite images released late last year indicated that large anti-aircraft guns and weapons systems had been installed on the islands. The United States did not take sides in South China Sea territorial disputes under the Obama administration. But to ensure the right of passage through what it considers international waters and airspace, U.S. Navy warships have transited within the 12 nautical mile limits of some of the disputed islands in what are called "freedom of navigation operations." China reacted negatively to comments this week from White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who said that if the disputed islands are in international waters "and not part of China proper, then yes, we're gonna make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country." A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson responded that the United States was not a party to the South China Sea issue and said: "Our position is clear. Our actions have been lawful." Trans-Pacific Partnership Earlier this week, President Trump kept a campaign promise and withdrew the United States from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Trump had said leading up to the election that it was not beneficial to American workers. Prospects for U.S. participation in the agreement were already in doubt under the Obama administration because it did not have the votes in the Senate needed to win approval. News of America's withdrawal from the TPP drew concern from partners in the region who had seen the trade pact as a check on China's economic and geopolitical influence. Without U.S. participation in the deal, China is free to work its own trade pacts or push an alternative regional treaty that does not include the United States. The Obama administration emphasized the pivot to Asia as a key feature of future American security concerns. The Trump administration is expected to continue to focus on security in the region. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Algerias state energy firm Sonatrach has called on international engineering firms to bid on four major petrochemical plants worth a total of up to $6 billion, a report said. The firms selected will carry out construction work on the four refineries, Oman Observer reported, citing a source at Sonatrach. The plants are located in Tiaret, Hassi Messaoud and two in Skikda, including a fuel oil cracking plant, and another Nafta processing plant. The plants in Tiaret and Hassi Messaoud will have 5 million tonnes capacity each, the report quoted the source. Omans Ministry of Oil & Gas has signed an Exploration & Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) with Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP) for Block 48, a report said. Covering an area of 2,995 sq km, Block 48 straddles the Dhahirah and Wusta governorates of the Sultanate, the Oman Observer report said. Isam al Zadjali, CEO of Oman Oil Company, who signed the pact, said: Block 48 represents a (promising) opportunity as it adjoins Block 60, which OOCEP operates, and we believe there is potential there based on the discoveries we found in Block 60. We are planning to drill a few wells and shoot some seismic, and once we do that, we will review our next steps. State-run Oman Oil Company (OOC) is planning a capital investment in excess of $1 billion across its subsidiaries this year, a report said. Capital investments are being weighed by the Group across the four verticals into which its diverse subsidiaries have been grouped, OOCs chief executive officer, Isam Saud al Zadjali was quoted as saying in the Oman Observer report. Among the first ventures to advance will be the LPG Extraction Project of Salalah LPG (SLPG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Oman Oil Facilities Development Company LLC (OOFDC), one of the four verticals of the Group, the report said. UK-based international oil services contractor Petrofac has been awarded a contract to construct the 327,000 tonnes per year capacity plant at the Salalah Free Zone at a cost of around $600 million. The Salalah LPG project has been approved by the Board, and we are negotiating with the banks right now on a financial close in the next few weeks, Al Zadjali said. Next off the blocks is a 1,000 metric tonnes per day capacity ammonia plant, also planned in the free zone alongside the Groups wholly owned subsidiary Salalah Methanol Company. Besides being used as an ingredient in the production of fertilisers, ammonia is also an important intermediate chemical in the manufacture of synthetic resins (urea based), synthetic fibres (acrylics and nylons, and polyurethanes, among other applications. We are going to make a recommendation to our Board on the implementation of the ammonia project, which is an expansion of Salalah Methanol, Al Zadjali noted. Several gas infrastructure projects are expected to progress during the course of 2017, according to the official. Most notable is the much-anticipated gas pipeline supplying natural gas from Saih Nihayda in central Oman to Duqm Special Economic Zone. Also in the works, said Al Zadjali, is a Northern Pipeline linking Sohar with Wadi Jizzi. A world-scale crude oil storage park planned at Ras Markaz, just south of the Duqm SEZ, is also planned to make headway this year, according to the CEO. The facility will also double as a second crude export terminal for the Sultanate, after Mina Al Fahal in Muscat, the report said. UAE-based Yellow Door Energy (YDE), a major investor and operator of distributed solar and energy efficiency assets, has signed an agreement with Jordan Hospital to build, develop and operate a 4.7 MWp (mega watt peak) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Amman. The move comes as part of Jordan Hospital's efforts to reduce its CO2 footprint by moving to electricity generated from renewable energy sources, said Dr Abdullah Al Bashir, the general manager of Jordan Hospital after signing the deal with Jeremy Crane, CEO of Yellow Door Energy. "As part of the hospitals energy diversification strategy, we are looking at, meeting our electricity needs through power generated by natural resources and, in doing so, reducing our carbon footprint and greenhouse emissions, said Ahmad Khattab, the managing director of Jordan Hospital. The project will contribute towards meeting the hospitals medium and long-term electricity needs, as it is scheduled to be connected to the grid by 2017. The highly-anticipated project is expected to encourage other public and private sector companies to generate renewable energy and rely on it in the future," he stated. On the deal, Crane said: "Jordan has always been at the forefront of countries seeking to make the most of natural resources, and through its investments in this area, the kingdom has made remarkable progress." "Yellow Door Energy is committed to enabling companies to save energy and reduce their electricity cost and is proud to be part of the further development of this approach in Jordan. In addition to helping reduce operating costs, the project will enable the hospital to serve as a successful model for promoting renewable energy projects in Jordan and abroad," he noted. Meroun Green Solutions Company, a leader in providing smart and innovative green solutions in the area of clean development projects, will oversee the construction of the project and its implementation, leveraging the advanced global innovations in the fields of renewable energy and energy management. Sameeh Abushanab, CEO of Meroun Green Solutions Company, said: "This project covering over 67 dunams comes in response to the growing demand for electricity locally. The project will provide the hospital with a capacity of 4.7 MWp and is expected to be fully operational by 2017." Yellow Door Energy said its operations are fully compliant with the net metering and wheeling regulations in Jordan and Dubai. The legislation allows companies to generate energy and make use of solar power, it added.-TradeArabia News Service Two other Airbus planes will join Irans air fleet in four weeks, said Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development, Abbas Akhundi. Akhundi made the remarks at the Mehrabad Airport on the sidelines of ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of arrival of the late Imam Khomeini in Tehran,Iran, reported Irna. We have good news for people in four fields of air, railway, maritime and housing, he said. We succeeded to bring new equipment with modern technology into Chabahar Port. Akhundi talked about development of railway network and connection of five provincial capitals to the nationwide railway network. DEAL ALERT! Get up to 20% off selected hotels! The Dominican Republic has been on Nikki's wish-list for the longest while. The Municipality of Punta Cana, in particular, is her destination of choice, so when she saw that our cruise was making two stops in the Dominican Republic, she was thrilled, even though it did not include a visit to Punta Cana. We visited Santo Domingo and then Catalina Island (Isla Catalina), a small island about one and a half miles from the Dominican Republic's mainland. The other Islands we visited on this trip included Antigua and Barbuda, Martinique, Guadeloupe and St Maarten. We arrived at the capital Santo Domingo, on Sunday, December 18th, and we thought there would not be a lot of stuff to do. We thought the city would probably be quiet, but we were wrong. The cruise complex was buzzing with activities as fellow cruisers disembarked the ship. The Dominican Republic was our first stop on this cruise, and we awoke already docked in the capital city of Santo Domingo. We were amazed at the first look we got at Santo Domingo because the sun was now rising, and its golden rays kissed the city and presented it majestically. This is the first look we had of Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic. Another view of Santo Domingo from the ship.. Caribbean Proud Apparel And Home Decor Our "Caribbean Proud" design is available on clothing and home decor products including, t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, sweatshirts, sleeveless tops, laptop skin, laptop sleeve, iPad skins, coffee mugs, kitchen aprons, and much more. Pleasantly surprised and Antonio de Montesino Statue of Antonio de Montesino watching towards the city of Santo Domingo. What are we to do in Santo Domingo? Santo Domingo Tours We did not know what to expect in Santo Domingo, but we were pleasantly surprised. It's beautiful colonial architecture mixed with the modern structures added to the quaintness of the place.We could see the statue of Antonio de Montesino watching over the city. Antonio is said to have spoken out about the oppressive treatment of the indigenous Taino Indians and this led to the passing of Law of Burgos in 1512, which changed how indigenous people were treated.We looked at so many activities to do in Dominican Republic, but we found a lot of them to be a bit boring. Nikks came up with the suggestions that we visit The Three Eyes National Park (Los Tres Ojos). I did not know what it was and what to expect.When you think about a park this is not what you would expect. It is amazing and we have not seen anything like it since we started traveling. It is located in the municipality of Santo Domingo Este and consists of underground limestone caves, clear water lagoons, wildlife and a lot of tropical flora and fauna, but more about that in a bit.After a delightful breakfast, we gathered ourselves and headed to explore the city. We did not have much of a plan, except we knew we wanted to visit Los Tres Ojos. We found a taxi outside the cruise complex quite easily. The driver spoke enough English so that we could explain where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do.While we were being driven to Los Tres Ojos we thought about taking a trip to Punta Cana, but when we found out the time it would take, about four hours, and the cost, between US$135 to $200 return, we dismissed the idea immediately. It costs us US$16 for both of us to get to Three Eyes National Park. We later found out that the cheapest way to get to Punta Cana is by using the Bavaro Express bus. It costs US$10 one way. There are many exciting tours you can do in Santo Domingo. Check out some of these tours. Let us explore Los Tres Ojos (Three Eyes Park) Nikks You see these sculptures as you enter the park. This is the entrance tunnel. You can miss it if you are not observant. Lago de Azufre took our breath away Stairs to Lago de Azufre. Lago de Azufre. Another look at Lago de Azufre. An opening letting the sun into Lago de Azufre. Lago de las Damas. Zaramagullones blew us away as well We arrived at the park and were greeted by a gentleman offering to be our guide. He said he would do it for US$35. Whilewas entertaining the offer, I did not. I told her we should explore on our own, which we eventually did.Now if you prefer to get detailed information and the history of the park it might be a good idea to get a tour guide if you don't mind spending the money. You should definitely negotiate with these guys. While we were outside one guy offered the tour for US$35, when we got inside the park another offered it for US$25. So don't rush to choose a guide if that is the route you want to take.The entrance fee to the park is a little over US two dollars. When you enter the park the first thing you notice is a collection of interesting sculptures and if you are not very observant you will definitely miss the entrance tunnel to access all four lakes. Yes, four.The main three are Lago de Azufre, Lago La Nevera, and El Lago de las Damas, which make up Los Tres Ojos. You have a take a box boat from Lago La Nevera to get to the fourth lake, which is named Zaramagullones.As we walked down the dark, winding stairs with heightened curiosity we saw a light, which was provided by a huge opening above the lake at Lago de Azufre. It is really a sight to behold. The rays of the shining sun on the blue waters of the lake literally and collectively took our breath away. You just have to be there to witness its splendor to understand.After spending some time, you know, taking photos and selfies and such, we headed to the next lake, which was Lago de las Damas. This one in my opinion, while its pool was beautiful, it was not as breathtaking as the Lago de Azufre. Now don't get me wrong, it is indeed worth a visit. We headed to the third lake, Lago La Nevera. The first thing we noticed was how beautiful it was. While it is a bit dark, when you get closer you can see its full beauty. This lake is the one where you take the pulley box boat to get across to a fourth lake, which is not considered part of Los Tres Ojos. There is a small fee of US one dollar and it is definitely worth it. Zaramagullones blew us away. I thought it was more amazing than Lago de Azufre. It has everything from tropical trees and fish, beautiful turquoise waters and amazing limestone caves. You just have to see it for yourself to believe it. So after spending the most time in Zaramagullones we made the trek back to the top. Lago La Nevera. The box pulley boat takes you across to a fourth lake called Zaramagullones. Looking at Zaramagullones from inside the cave.. Nikks mystified by the lake in Zaramagullones . Maybe you can't see it, but I was overly excited to be there. Amazing, especially Zaramagullones . Right: Nikks having fun. Left: Great vantage .She actually climbd up onto those stones. refreshments, Merengue and relaxing After we arrived back to the top level of the park, we decided we would take a little break and have some refreshments. There is a cafe on the compound that serves alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks as well as snacks. There are also other cafes that sell local food. We decided we would try some of the local rum. We were relaxed, enjoying the atmosphere and the Merengue and Bachata music blasting from the cafe we purchased our beverages. We contemplated taking a tour downtown Santo Domingo, but when we looked at the time we realized it was not feasible. We had a wonderful time in Santo Domingo even though we did not get the see as much of the city as we would of liked, but visiting Los Tres Ojos, relaxing, and enjoying the Dominican Republic atmosphere made up for that. See you again Dom Republic. If you are visiting Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic remember: Their currency is the Dominican Peso. They speak Spanish, but English-speaking locals are not difficult to find. They accept US dollars, but ATM's only dispense Dominican Pesos. There is a limit of 10000 pesos per day, which is about US$ 200. Also, walk with your sunscreen lotion because the sun is hot. Have you ever visited Santo Domingo? Let us know what you thought about the city. Wyomings first proposed coal mine in decades is facing a new hurdle this week: Local landowners. The Sheridan County mine has had a rocky start in Wyoming. And despite winning legal battles to move the mine forward, the companys plan for a mine between the Tongue River and Goose Creek is now raising additional concerns. The Powder River Basin Resource Council filed an objection with state regulators Friday arguing that the Lexington, Kentucky-based company had filed a vague and contradictory plan in its application for a permit. The mine plan is based on a plan that will never occur, the council wrote in its objection Friday. The council requested an informal conference with state regulators to address what they felt were discrepancies in the companys plans for production, coal storage and air and land quality issues. The companys proposed bond of $371,957 for cleanup costs also falls short, the council wrote. Wyoming regulators denied the informal conference and referred the conflict to the Environmental Quality Council for a hearing, according to Keith Guille, spokesman for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. What we felt, knowing what their objections were, those werent going to be resolved through an informal conference, Guille said. We are having it moved to the EQC where all parties can be heard. In addition to the DEQ and the council, Big Horn Coal has objected to Brook Mine and will be represented at the hearing. Not all public comments about the new mine have been negative. The city of Sheridan voiced support for Brook and Ramaco, as did the local fire district, Tongue River of Ranchester. Those that objected feared the noise, dust and impact to ground water. John Barbula, a landowner in Ranchester, said his property has suffered water depletion from the coal-bed methane boom, and he fears Brook will make the situation worse. The proposed mining activity would decrease my familys quality of life, he wrote to the DEQ in a public comment Jan. 8. Especially if the water tables decrease to the point that my home has no running water at all. The date for a hearing has not yet been set. Representatives from Ramaco could not be reached by press time. CHEYENNE Two Wyoming lawmakers want to allow dams across the state to release accumulated sediment each year, leaving sportsmens organizations worried the bill could cause more fish kills like the one that occurred in the Shoshone River this fall. The bill would allow irrigation district regulators to open dams each year and potentially exceed the amount of mud and silt allowed by the Department of Environmental Quality. When the Willwood Diversion Dam was lowered for repairs in October, the resulting mud flow killed large numbers of rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout along a 20-mile section of the Shoshone River. One of the bills co-sponsors, Rep. David Northrup, said that irrigation districts need guidelines from the state for how to release water when there is a buildup of silt behind dams. (House Bill 261) started out to be an effort for DEQ to complete their job and they came back with their language and their language is in the bill, the Powell Republican said. So that is DEQ telling themselves to complete the study on the additional release of sediment behind irrigation diversion dams. The DEQ was in the process of studying how Willwood can release sediment from the dam. The bill is just ensuring that they do their job, holds their feet to the water, so to speak, Northrup said. Northrup was on the board of the Willwood Irrigation District from 2000 to 2012. The Powell Republican is a farmer, and he said he needs irrigation water to grow crops. Northrups description of last falls release of sediment differed from Trout Unlimiteds. One Trout Unlimited member decried the release in the fall, telling the Billings Gazette it was truly an environmental disaster as well as an infringement on private property rights along the river. Northrup said the irrigation district was authorized to open the dam. He said the damn is 41 feet tall. Since 1957, the DEQ had prohibited the district from flushing the sentiment downriver. There was the accumulation of 60-some years behind the dam, he said. This year they got a waiver to release the water. Northrup said the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has details on how many died in the flush. Game and Fish is not stocking at the level they were before, he said. And they did not see the number of fish killed that they thought they would. Instead of producing more regulations, Wyoming DEQ should work with others to create a collaborative pragmatic approach, said Trout Unlimited Cody member Dave Sweet. An irrigation district should not be allowed to impact other rightful users of a water system by degrading fisheries or other natural resources or impacting downstream landowners and water users, Sweet said in a news release. The bill, as written, allows reparable harm to these users. This is an undefined term and opens the door for harm without specifying who is responsible for repairing the harm. If the bill passes, DEQ would gather public comments and proceed through the study. It would be 18 to 20 months before the study is completed, Northrup said. A Wyoming man charged with stealing an unmarked patrol vehicle that was parked in front a Laramie County deputy's home has been sentenced to three to five years in prison. Senio Nuu was sentenced after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of theft. The 33-year-old had initially been charged with aggravated burglary because firearms were inside the vehicle, which was stolen in Cheyenne, taken to a McDonald's restaurant and then abandoned. Defense attorney David Hopkinson says his client just "saw a car and decided to take it" and didn't intend to steal law enforcement equipment. Nuu's co-defendant, 26-year-old Tevin Taylor, is awaiting sentencing for receiving and/or concealing stolen property. Taylor says Nuu gave him a shotgun and a tactical vest found in the vehicle. CHEYENNE A committee of Wyoming lawmakers on Monday voted down a bill creating a presidential primary election, instead opting to study the issue during the interim. The vote in the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee came after concerns were raised by county clerks as to the specifics of how such an election would work, as well as a need by the state Republican Party to change its bylaws to allow for a primary. As proposed, House Bill 201 would have set a separate presidential primary election in April, in addition to the regular primary in August and the general election in November. Although its not written into the bill itself, Rep. David Northrup, R-Powell, said the intent is for the political parties to foot the cost of the presidential primary. Currently, both the Republican and Democratic parties in Wyoming hold caucuses to choose delegates to send to the parties respective national conventions. Those delegates are usually bound to vote for a particular candidate to become the partys nominee. Caucuses are set up by the political parties themselves, and those parties control the rules. Some states have more complicated caucus systems, while others are simpler. Thats compared to a presidential primary, which uses vote totals to determine the number of delegates for each candidate that will go to a partys national convention. Unprecedented interest in the 2016 primaries led to dissatisfaction among first-time caucus-goers, not only in Wyoming but also in other states that conduct caucuses. In fact, because of the ire over caucuses, Colorado voters decided to switch to a presidential primary system through a ballot measure during the November general election. Each partys contest for president still was not over by the Wyoming Republican county caucus in March and the states Democratic county caucus in April, which encouraged greater turnout. However, many of the first-time voters were under the impression they would be able to cast a ballot for a candidate, leading to frustration in both parties. Adding to the frustration on the Republican side was what some voters saw as a confusing multi-step caucus process, leaving those voters wondering if their voices were heard. For the Democrats, the added controversy came about after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won the caucus but ended up with fewer delegates than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in part due to the states four superdelegates, who can commit to any candidate. If lawmakers ultimately decide to switch to a presidential primary, they would have to decide whether the political parties or the government would pay for the primary, as well as whether the primary would be closed or open. A closed primary limits voters to the ballot of their political party but is seen as leaving out independent voters, whose taxes may be helping pay for the primary. An open primary allows any voter to select their preferred party ballot but is seen as hurting the party selection process by allowing nonparty members to help select delegates for a partys nominee. Neither issue appeared settled Monday. Matt Micheli, the chairman of the state Republican Party, said the state party would need to change its bylaws in order to accommodate an election-style primary. Not doing so could thwart the delegate-selection process. Micheli also said requiring the party to pay for the primary may be difficult. No leaders from the state Democratic Party were at the meeting. County clerks said they werent opposed to a presidential primary, but they had issues they wanted to see addressed. Albany County Clerk Jackie Gonzales said there could be problems trying to find election judges to serve for three elections and said the bill needs to be clear who is paying for the primary. She also said it would be easier to move the entire primary election to April instead of holding the presidential vote and the regular primary separately. Gonzales said her office usually gets calls from people who dont understand Wyomings caucus and primary process. We get more phone calls in April wondering, When is our election?, she said. Niobrara County Clerk Becky Freeman echoed Gonzales concerns and said some people lose out by not getting to vote. Its not a bad idea, it just needs further study, she said. The House Corporations Committee rejected the bill on a 6-3 vote, with Reps. Jim Blackburn, R-Cheyenne; Pat Sweeney, R-Casper; and Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, voting in favor. Reps. James Byrd, D-Cheyenne; Roy Edwards, R-Gillette; Danny Eyre, R-Lyman; Dan Furphy, R-Laramie; Tyler Lindholm, R-Sundance; and Lars Lone, R-Cheyenne, voted against. Legislative leadership will begin deciding interim study topics near the end of February. Donald Trumps wise and humanitarian move to reinstate the Reagan-era Mexico City policy, which prohibits U.S. foreign-aid dollars from going to non-government organizations that perform or provide referrals for abortions, has incited a torrent of liberal outrage. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire seethed that the edict (favors) ideological politics over women and families. Yet she favors a policy that requires Americans to fund activities they find morally offensive. So much for pro-choice. The restoration of the Mexico City policy is a great start, but Trump should take a much bolder step: Stop all non-emergency foreign aid now. Virtually every poll of the last two decades shows that voters hate foreign aid, for good reason. The programs dont work to bring development to Nigeria or Mexico City anymore than domestic-aid programs have revived inner-city Detroit or Milwaukee. Why are American taxpayers funding birth control or, for that matter, any overseas family-planning programs in foreign countries? We cant even afford our own government health programs, yet we are supposed to fund condom-distribution programs in Asia and Africa? Foreign aid, when including military aid, costs up to $50 billion a year. Liberals say this is a trivial amount given that the entire federal budget exceeds $4 trillion. How is $500 billion over a decade trivial? One of the worlds experts on foreign aid is William Easterly, an economist at New York University. He has noted that the developed countries could save as many as 5 million deaths from malaria and other preventable infectious diseases at a cost of less than $5 per life saved. This would simply require bed netting and cheap medicines. But it doesnt happen. Meanwhile, Easterly notes, the Western world spent almost 25 times this amount over $2 trillion from 1950 to 2000 on foreign aid. And what did it buy for all this spending? As Easterly puts it: The West spent $2.3 trillion and still had not managed to get $4 bed nets to poor families. This is almost an inhumanely irresponsible misallocation of taxpayer dollars. Or think about this: According to the Cato Institute, Since the 1960s, sub-Saharan Africa has received nearly $500 billion in aid, yet the region has become poorer in the past several decades. The Cato Institutes analysis found that aid spending in Africa is negatively correlated with development. Why do these programs so tragically fail? One reason is that the money flows through organizations and advocacy groups that are often hostile to free enterprise. Government bureaucrats are the problem, not the solution, in poor nations. They are corrupt and intercept money and spend it on themselves. The West put tens of billions of dollars behind Millennium Development Grants to try to bring economic development to the former Soviet Union nations, but the aid had almost no effect in bringing prosperity. Just as the welfare state here at home has created cycles of poverty in families, aid abroad fosters dependency, not self-sufficiency. Local initiatives dont take shape, because the attitude is that the foreigners will take care of the busted pipe or the downed power lines. How did India and China and other Asian Tiger nations develop so quickly? As the Heritage Foundations Index of Economic Freedom points out, they moved to free-market economics at a rapid pace and shed governmental controls. To paraphrase Heritage Foundation economist Anthony Kim: These nations privatized state-owned enterprises, encouraged entrepreneurship and cut taxes and red tape. America should be exporting sound economic ideas free-market capitalism not taxpayer dollars. Its time to stop funding the vast foreign-aid empire that has gotten rich off of other peoples misery. If the returns for certain aid programs are as positive for women across the globe as Sen. Shaheen and others think they are, then surely there are millionaire donors who will pick up the tab for groups such as Planned Parenthood. But lets see if any of these programs can pass a market test and persuade charitable donors to fund their activities. The left would rather lobby Congress. Maybe that is because there is no real value and these programs do more harm than good. The best way to promote prosperity abroad is to fix Americas problems first. Then we can serve as a beacon of freedom and opportunity for nations around the globe. If we lead, the rest of the world will follow. Where, exactly, is the red line for Republicans in Congress right now? We have a president with pronounced authoritarian tendencies, who believes he alone can fix it; who signs sweeping executive orders reportedly without even briefing relevant Cabinet members on the logistical, humanitarian and national security consequences; who directs his staff and surrogates to lie about the tiniest and most ridiculous and easily fact-checkable of details; and whose staffers brought us to the brink of a constitutional crisis when they ignored federal court orders. Democrats have few tools at their disposal to obstruct President Donald Trump, let alone force him to double back, given their minority status in both chambers of Congress. They could slow business to a crawl through procedural measures. But that comes with longer-term strategic risks, and more to the point, can only slow things down; they cannot reverse actions the executive branch is already taking. Which is why its ultimately up to Republicans to show leadership, whether through words or (preferably) actual legislative deeds. So when will they stand in Trumps way? Not, apparently, when he violates their stated commitment to fiscal conservatism by offering a tax plan that would add $7 trillion to deficits over a decade. Or when he pledges to spend tens of billions of dollars, paid for by neither Mexico nor any domestic offsets, on a border-wall boondoggle. Not when he withdraws the United States from a major trade pact among 12 Pacific Rim countries that would have weakened Chinas influence and that, more to the point, pro-trade Republican leaders had championed. Not when they learn he had boasted about sexually assaulting women, comments that at one point some Republican politicians said forced them to withdraw their political support. Right before they pledged it anew. Not when he practices parody-worthy levels of executive overreach, supposedly the greatest and most unforgivable sin of his Democratic predecessor, by violating immigration laws laid down by Congress. Not when he picks a needless fight with our peaceable neighbor and third-largest trading partner, Mexico. Not when he bullies and threatens private companies into making operational decisions according to his centrally planned liking, rather than letting free markets guide them, as Republicans have long advocated. Not when he refuses to disclose conflicts that might compromise the economic, security and political interests of this country. And most shockingly: not when he cruelly shuts our doors to refugees, Iraqi translators who helped safeguard American lives, students, dissidents, scientists, doctors and others in what appears to be indeed, what Trump surrogates have claimed is an immigration ban targeting Muslims. A mere year ago, Republican leaders condemned Trumps proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was not conservatism. Then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence called it offensive and unconstitutional. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it completely and totally inconsistent with American values. Then-presidential candidate Marco Rubio agreed, saying, It violates a lot of the things that we think about our country. There you have it: Then, Trumps proposed Muslim ban was decried as not conservative, not constitutional, not American. If there were ever a red line for Republicans, it seems to have been crossed Friday. When a version of the ban became reality, however, Ryan endorsed it. Now-Vice President Pence smiled and applauded as it was signed. McConnell said he doesnt want to criticize [the Trump administration] for improving vetting. And Rubio offered some cowardly pablum about needing clarity on unanswered questions about the ban. Three days after the order was signed, 80 congressional Republicans had explicitly endorsed this once un-conservative, unconstitutional, un-American ban, more than three times the number who publicly opposed it. The vast majority of congressional Republicans refused to choose a side or remained silent. Trump has repeatedly violated the principles and policy goals his co-partisans on the Hill claim to hold dear. Scratch that. Members of the legislative branch have ceded these powers and their duty to check and balance, along with most of their vertebrae quite willingly. And in exchange for what, exactly? Party unity, perhaps? Or maybe the promise of tax cuts for the wealthy, an agenda item apparently more important than safeguarding the Constitution. Or fleeting protection from the ire of Trumps fan base. Trump once bragged that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and voters would let it slide. Im starting to wonder if congressional Republicans would, too. State lawmakers agreed Tuesday to crack down on moving companies that refuse to deliver a homeowners goods until they get paid. HB 2145, approved unanimously by the House Commerce Committee, would expand Arizonas consumer fraud laws to encompass a practice by some firms to retain property to coerce a customer into paying what the moving company says it is owed. And that, in turn, empowers the attorney general to investigate and take appropriate action. Assistant Attorney General Amanda Rusing said it also gives state and local police a specific statute to cite so they can investigate and ask prosecutors to charge offending companies and their owners with the crime of theft. Rep. Jeff Weninger, R-Chandler, said he agreed to sponsor the legislation after hearing stories about the activities of a few bad actors in the business. You contract, you agree upon a price, he said. When you get there, its double or triple what the original price, the original estimate was, Weninger explained. And they literally hold your goods hostage until you pay it. Rusing said federal law already protects those moving from state to state. So a moving company cannot legally hold on to the household items of someone who is moving into Arizona from California or anywhere else until a bill is paid. But intrastate moves are governed only by Arizona law or as is the case today the lack thereof. Rusing said this legislation would fill that gap. Not a single moving company testified against the measure. Rusing said thats not surprising. Theres a lot of really wonderful and ethical moving companies out there that are very supportive of this measure, she said. Its impossible for them to compete with moving companies that are luring customers in with these low-ball offers only to turn around and defraud them later on. Lawmakers got a first-person account of the problem from Tucsonan Amy Garelick who told them she hired a moving company she did not name names to move her family two miles away. Two miles away, you dont think its going to be much of anything, she told lawmakers. We contracted out with a company, Garelick said. Then, after loading some of the goods the firm brought in a second truck, something she said her family never authorized. The owner of the company then threatened to hold our goods and told us we now needed to pay for two trucks, the additional truck and the additional movers, she continued, leaving her standing in front of her new house with four men refusing to even open the doors to the truck. The result, Garelick said, is that the original contract price of $700 became nearly $2,000. Aside from the provisions barring movers from holding household goods while demanding payment, HB 2145 spells out that movers must accurately disclose all fees, charges and rates. And it mandates that they accurately describe ahead of time what insurance will and will not cover if items are lost or broken. Acknowledging it will mean higher costs for some, a Senate panel voted Tuesday to increase the amount of liability insurance motorists will have to purchase to drive on Arizona roads. The 6-1 vote by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure came despite opposition from the insurance industry. Lobbyists said anything that increases costs will mean more people choosing to drive without insurance despite laws making that illegal. But Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, who chairs the panel, said he believes the change would add only about $7 to $8 a month more to the average bill of those affected, a number he said should not make a big difference in the states current 12 percent rate of uninsured motorists. And he also suggested its time to revisit the statute, noting that the amount of coverage now required under Arizona law has not changed in more than 40 years. That law requires purchase of so-called 15/30/10 liability: $15,000 for injury to any one person, $30,000 for all injuries in a single accident, and $10,000 for damage to property, including someone elses vehicle. SB 1111 would increase those limits to $25,000, $50,000 and $25,000 respectively. Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, said theres a very practical problem with the current statutory minimum. We send a signal or a message to Arizona consumers that this is enough, that if I buy this, itll be OK, she said. More and more consumers are finding out, in fact, the hard way, that its not. But David Childers who lobbies for the Property and Casualty Insurance Association, questioned whether there really is a need to force motorists to buy more protection. He cited a study which said about 85 percent of all insurance claims for bodily injury are settled for $7,200 or less. And Childers said property damage claims generally fall into the $3,000 to $4,000 range. Childers said there will always be some claims above that and above the state minimum coverage requirement. But he said that will always be the case, no matter how much insurance lawmakers mandate that motorists purchase. By doing it, what youll accomplish is you will have increased premiums for the group thats least able to buy more insurance, Childers said, estimating that about one out of every five vehicle owners buys as little as legally required. Youre essentially putting the price of the increase in premiums on the back of the people who can least afford it. Several lawmakers, however, said that does not address the other side of the equation: The damages sustained by those hit by motorists. A 2015 study done by legislative budget staffers said forcing motorists to buy more insurance would reduce the costs to the states Medicaid program. Thats because when those who are injured cannot get compensated by the at-fault party, they can wind up eligible for government-provided health care. That same study also said the state would gain because motorists who take out signs, guardrails and other property along highways would have the coverage to pay the full costs. A task force which looked at the issue this past year said that of $16 million in such damage in the last three years, about $6 million was unrecoverable, mostly because the drivers did not have sufficient insurance. Kelsey Lundy, lobbyist for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said her clients problems with SB 1111 is the belief that higher premiums will lead to more motorists driving without insurance. And what that means, she said, is higher costs when her companys cars are damaged by uninsured drivers. Rate increases for Tucson Electric Power and Trico Electric Cooperative customers will be considered by the Arizona Corporation Commission at an open meeting Wednesday morning in Tucson. The commission is expected to decide how much revenue TEP and Trico can collect, including general monthly charges and basic rates. Reimbursements for solar customers will be addressed after hearings tentatively scheduled for this summer. Among the changes it is seeking, TEP wants to add optional demand rates, which are based partly on a customers period of peak usage, and it wants to raise basic monthly charges, including an increase to $15 from $10 for residential customers on the standard rate. Wednesday's hearing is at 10 a.m. in room 128 of the state building at 400 W. Congress. Some consumer advocates vehemently oppose demand rates, which are common for business-class rates but rarely used in residential rates. They contend demand rates are confusing and could cause bills to skyrocket because of one surge of unusually high demand. TEPs proposal would boost the average home customers bill by $8.41 per month in the winter and $7.79 in the summer, according to commission filings. TEP also has proposed new time-of-use rates, with a basic monthly charge of $12 and including optional, three-part rates that include a demand charge based on a period of peak monthly usage. The state Residential Utility Consumer Office and a commission hearing judge has recommended the basic monthly rate be set at $13 for the standard home rate plan and $10 for those on time-of-use rates. For business customers, TEP is proposing a new medium general service rate class, between its current small and large general-service rates, which include demand charges. The new rate would include a $40 basic monthly charge, compared with the current $15.50 for small general service, but TEP says some high-load customers could save money on the new medium-service rate. In Tricos rate case, a proposed settlement would boost basic monthly charges 60 percent for home customers to $24 from $15, but with lower usage-based energy charges it would add an estimated $2 to the average monthly bill. Trico also has proposed instituting a new three-part demand rate, with a demand charge of zero, to educate people about demand rates. A commission hearing judge has recommended against adopting the educational demand rate but has endorsed other terms of the settlement. Trico serves about 38,000 customers in northwest Tucson, Marana, Corona de Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Three Points and Arivaca. Southern Arizona multifaith religious leaders statement SOUTHERN ARIZONA MULTIFAITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS STATEMENT JANUARY 31, 2017 Southern Arizona prides itself in being an immigrant, refugee friendly region. We, the multi-faith religious leaders of Southern Arizona, express our wholehearted affirmation and support of those in our community who have fled violence and turmoil in their home countries and who have found their new home in Southern Arizona. We welcome them and cherish the gifts refugees and immigrants bring to our country. As people from many faith traditions, many of whom have experienced persecution and prejudice in their histories, we affirm our solidarity with our Muslim neighbors and friends. We stand with them now in the face of religious discrimination and hate crimes directed toward individuals or communities, and we defend their civil liberties. While we fully understand the need for security protocols and proper vetting procedures of immigrants and refugees, we repudiate the current administrations executive orders regarding asylum seekers, the border wall, the ban on the admission of any refugee for a period of time, as well as the ban on admitting all immigrants and non-immigrants from seven countries. This order applies to Syrian refugees, perhaps the most vulnerable. These orders are not in keeping with the values and moral fabric of our nation. We call upon the President to rescind these orders and to take the lead in introducing a comprehensive immigration policy reform that would better meet the needs of our nation. We also call for the continued reception of properly vetted refugees as is our responsibility as a nation of compassion that has benefited significantly from the contributions of refugees and immigrants. In a climate of heightened anxiety, we call upon our neighbors and friends to reach beyond our fear and division to find common ground in welcoming the stranger and in fostering peace with love. We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Feb. 1 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages. Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake offered high praise for President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch. Trump made the announcement on Tuesday night shortly after 6 p.m., but Senate Democrats almost immediately vowed a serious fight over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the right's most powerful voice on the high court. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. He's known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump declared, announcing the nomination in his first televised prime-time address from the White House. McCain praised the conservative judge, saying he was the right choice to fill the open seat on the nation's highest court. "Judge Gorsuchs impressive legal background and judicial career demonstrate he has the right experience and judgment needed to serve on our nations highest court," McCain said in a prepared statement. "Moreover, his record of upholding the Constitution and respecting the limited role of the judiciary makes him a fitting choice to fill the seat held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia." Flake agreed, saying he will work to make sure Gorsuch gets a vote on the floor of the senate. "Fillng Justice Scalias seat with a principled conservative who will interpret the Constitution rather than legislate from the bench should be our top priority. I am confident that Judge Neil Gorsuch fits the bill, and I'll do whatever I can to see that he receives an up or down vote on the floor of the Senate," Flake said in a prepared statement. Gorsuch thanked Trump for entrusting him with "a most solemn assignment." Outlining his legal philosophy, he said: "It is the rule of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." Some Democrats, still smarting over Trump's unexpected victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's "stolen seat." Linwood Barclay, an American-born Canadian author, has dropped out of the Tucson Festival of Books because of President Trumps executive order that bans entry to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries. I really wanted to come (to Tucson). I love it there, said Barclay, but he said he couldnt cross a border that millions of innocent people could not. I cannot cross a border that an Iranian Oscar nominee cannot cross to attend the Academy Awards, said Barclay, speaking of Asghar Farhadi, director of Oscar-nominated The Salesman. Barclay said he did not feel any personal danger. He was scheduled to speak at the festival, which is March 11-12, and to present to the Brandeis National Committees Phoenix Chapter in the following days. He then planned to vacation in Arizona and see Frank Lloyd Wrights Taliesin West. The festival committee encouraged Barclay to reconsider coming to Tucson as it would be an opportunity for Barclay to share his thoughts and perspectives, said Brenda Viner, a festival founder and the festival steering committee chair. However, I respect his opinion and personal decision, she said. Other authors will be filling Barclays spot at the festival, said Viner. As of Wednesday afternoon, no other authors had dropped out because of the border restrictions, she said. Barclay, a former editor and columnist for the Toronto Star, is an internationally best-selling author of 13 novels. He recently completed the Promise Falls trilogy with The Twenty-Three, which wraps up the story in Broken Promise and Far From True. He was born in Connecticut and moved to Canada before he was 4. The Tucson Festival of Books expects about 350 authors during the two-day event on the University of Arizona campus. PHOENIX State lawmakers took the first steps Wednesday to potentially eliminating exemptions from sales taxes that cost the state more than $12 billion a year. The exemptions include such things as the sale of food for home consumption, hospital services, auto repair, legal and doctors services, the sale of lottery tickets and prescription drugs. SB 1144 does not cut any of the hundreds of tax breaks that have been shepherded through the Legislature, many decades ago, often at the behest of special interest lobbyists. Instead it requires each of these exemptions be regularly reviewed to see which still make sense. If you dont look at these things in the first place, you cant get rid of the bad stuff in the tax code, said Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, who crafted the legislation approved unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee. But thats how these lobbyists have made a mint for decades: They stash this stuff deep in the thicket of the tax code so no one ever sees it, he explained. So no one ever thinks its there except for its hemorrhaging $12 billion a year from our revenues. Those exemptions dwarf the $4.3 billion the state collected last year in sales taxes to support a $9.6 billion spending plan. Equity aside, Farley said he is promoting SB 1144 for a more practical reason. He estimates at least $2 billion of those exemptions are low-hanging fruit that, once reviewed, will not withstand scrutiny. Farley figures half of that would provide needed dollars for education while still giving relief to Arizona residents by lowering the overall sales-tax rate from 5.6 percent. SB 1144 drew bipartisan support, with Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, signing on as a co-sponsor. But Farnsworth conceded his motives are different than Farleys desire to fund education. He figures the more money Arizona can generate from sales taxes means the less the state would depend on individual income taxes. I see personal income tax as something I would love to eliminate, he said. Income tax discourages people from greater effort. But Farley and Farnsworth said thats for a future Legislature to debate assuming any of the exemptions go away. Both lawmakers conceded the chances of eliminating all the exemptions are slim, with some likely to remain, albeit for different reasons. For example, Arizona taxes only a final purchase. That compares with a European system of value-added taxes, where every transaction is taxed each time a product or service changes hands. That exemption for wholesale trade equals $4 billion. The state could collect more than $356 million if grocery store purchases of food for home consumption were subject to the levy. Eliminating that exemption could prove politically unpalatable, though Farnsworth said it would be healthy to at least look at the issue. There also is likely to be little support for requiring people to pay sales taxes on prescriptions even though that would generate another $604 million annually. But Farley said there are those that make little sense, like the $746,000 the state does not collect on the sale of 4-inch pipe used to transport oil, natural gas, water or coal slurry. He pointed out there is no similar exemption for pipes of other sizes. The reason: Farley said lobbyists from Southwest Gas said the company should not have to pay a sales tax to buy pipes to deliver its product. Farley disagreed. The guy that installs carpet for a living has to buy a truck to deliver his product to market, he said. So why the difference? He cant afford a lobbyist to come down here and get him out of paying sales tax on his truck, Farley said. There also is the separate question of whether services, now exempt, should be taxed. That covers not just medical and legal services but the cost of installing new brakes on a vehicle, with the parts subject to the levy but not the part of the bill attributable to labor. Broadening the sales-tax base to include services would generate more than $5.1 billion. Nothing in Farleys bill, which now needs Senate approval, would actually guarantee that a single exemption would be eliminated. It simply requires regular review of each by a special legislative panel. But lets look at them all, he said, saying that putting credits on autopilot once theyre enacted results in lawmakers driving blind in setting state fiscal policy. With a simple flight delay, Ibrahim, Rohash and their two children would not be here, living in a sunlit midtown apartment, starting a new life together. They were the last Syrian refugees to make it into Tucson before President Trumps executive order banning them went into effect Friday afternoon. Trump signed the order at 2:42 p.m. our time, and they arrived in Tucson about 5 p.m. But they had arrived in Los Angeles earlier in the day, while officials were still admitting refugees from Syria and the other six countries from which Trump suspended new entries, before even green-card holders were being detained, and before other international travelers from those countries were being sent back home across oceans. It was a stroke of luck. Back in Turkey, Ibrahim, 38, and Rohash, 33, had learned they were headed to Tucson, in care of Lutheran Social Services Refugee Focus program, but they didnt know when. They got notice last week in Istanbul, spent Wednesday night in an airport hotel, then boarded the long flight Thursday afternoon for Los Angeles. Fourteen hours later, they slipped through Americas door just before it slammed shut. In Tucson, the arrival was emotional. A group called Arizona Welcomes Refugees had gathered at the airport, as theyve been doing for months when new families come in from the Middle East and Africa. They were the 60th family since Syrians began arriving here last year. About 200 total families have come to Arizona. Rania Kanawati, a previous Syrian immigrant who volunteers with refugees, translated for me as I spoke with the newcomers in their nicely furnished little place. We are not using their last names, out of concern for their security. Kanawati said Ibrahim was overwhelmed by the generosity of the airport volunteers. When I arrived Tuesday afternoon, Ibrahim and Rohashs family was receiving visitors another refugee family from Syria had stopped by. Both families are Kurds from the north of the country and now live in the same small complex. Despite the warm welcome, the timing of the trip was painful for the family, a fact that underscores the arbitrariness of Trumps order. Ibrahims two brothers and their families also are refugees living in Turkey. They also were scheduled to be resettled in Tucson, making this place a more comfortable new home for the whole clan. But Ibrahim, Rohash, and their daughter Rooha, 13, and son Abdurahman, 9, were the only ones to make it out before their kind was deemed an acute security risk. Ibrahim has no idea what will happen to his brothers families, and neither does the Refugee Focus agency. Since Trumps order bans Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely, there is little hope now they will be resettled here. Rohashs siblings families are already scattered across Europe, in Germany, Denmark and Sweden, with one brother still left in Turkey, she said. Trumps order can be justified in some of its details, but its implementation was sweeping and arbitrary. It left innocent families, cherished U.S. residents and valued travelers in the lurch. It would not have been hard to impose increased vetting of refugees and travelers without hurting innocents among them 721 people whom U.S. officials prevented from boarding flights overseas over the weekend. But it would have taken time and study, and it would have robbed the measure of its shock value, which was probably part of the intended effect. It was not the first experience of shock for Ibrahim and Rohashs family. Their journey here started when they left their hometown, Afrin, in northern Syria, for Aleppo, the nearest big city, looking for better opportunities, a couple of years before the Syrian civil war started in 2011. In 2013, the civil war came to Aleppo with fury, Ibrahim said. Where they were living, they could see the missiles and bombs hitting the neighbors, Kanawati said. Hell never forget the noise that was around him bombs and children screaming. They fled back home to Afrin, spent a couple of months there, then took off into nearby Turkey and signed up with the United Nations as refugees. They ended up in Istanbul and lived there for more than three years, answering question after question about where they are from, who their relatives are, where their relatives are buried a long, repetitive inquest that preceded approval by the United States. That all led to the exciting word of their departure last week and the disappointing word of their unexpected separation from their extended family. Now, though, their focus is simple: school. Thanks to the war, Rooha has been out of school for six years, and Abdurahman has never attended. They both have a lot of learning to do in another new country, to boot. The parents, too, are excited to be taking English classes soon, part of the agenda set out for them by the resettlement agency. Theyre a burden weve long accepted in the United States, with faith that over a generation or two, these strangers become Americans. But that faith has been undermined by ginned-up fear of foreigners, emanating from the White House, disrupting lives here and around the world. Before being submerged in scalding water, allegedly by the woman who recently adopted her, a Tucson 5-year-old lived with a foster father now imprisoned for sex crimes against children. The girl, who is in critical condition, had been shuttled from one troubled home life to another before 911 responders found her severely burned on Dec. 29. State authorities had removed her from her biological parents and placed her, as a toddler, in the Sierra Vista home of David Frodsham, where she lived with other foster children from 2013 until January 2015. Frodsham was arrested in 2016 after federal authorities accused him of sexual misconduct with children and of providing at least one child to an alleged child pornographer, Randall Bischak, for sexual contact. The foster father eventually pleaded guilty to counts involving a child over age 15, in return for prosecutors dropping other charges. The names of child sex victims are not public record and would not be published by the Arizona Daily Star. Previous reports on his case quote a federal criminal complaint as saying Bischak and Frodsham allegedly met for consensual sex with children present. The biological mother of the Tucson child says she raised concerns with state workers that while living in Frodshams home, her toddler daughter had repeated urinary-tract infections, which can be a sign of sexual abuse in children, but says those concerns went unanswered. From Frodshams home, the little girl had to commute nearly 90 minutes each way to see her biological parents in Tucson. She initially would cry until she fell asleep after she left her parents, said Beth Breen, a former taxi driver for children in state custody. Breen took the child back and forth for nearly a year, ending in March 2014. The little girl would scream in fear around strange men, Breen said, making it nearly impossible for male drivers to take her, and so Breen said she became her regular driver. Breen would sing to her and the girl would watch movies on a DVD player Breen bought for the drive. Breen has had trouble sleeping since she realized, about a week ago, that the little girl in the news was the toddler shed transported. After the recent news reports, Breen looked up the childs adoptive parents on social media and saw family photographs that confirmed her fears: This was the same girl she had known. We spent a lot of time together. We would sing songs and play I spy, Breen said. I would know that child anywhere. I have always had a special place in my heart for her. Arizona Department of Child Safety records show that the girls biological mother, Michelle Tremor-Calderon, was nearly reunified with the child before her parental rights were terminated in 2015. What Calderon desperately wants now and she has asked Tucson attorney Lynne Cadigan to help her is to see her hospitalized daughter and, if the little girl is not going to survive, to say goodbye. The child was adopted last summer by Samantha and Justin Osteraas and given a new name, law enforcement records and accounts on social media show. Samantha Osteraas, 28, was arrested Jan. 5 after the girl suffered third-degree burns over 80 percent of her body, from the upper chest down, sheriffs records show. Osteraas might have waited up to six hours to seek medical treatment, court records say. She told 911 dispatchers she didnt realize she was bathing her daughter in scalding water. Deputies also noted bruises to the childs neck and left arm, and saw blood and signs of trauma on her upper lip. Hours after the incident, the 5-year-old was reported to be in respiratory and organ failure. She remains at Banner-University Medical Center in a medically induced coma. DCS spokesman Darren DaRonco said Samantha Osteraas did not have a history as a perpetrator with the child-welfare agency before this case. After the arrest, the DCS removed the Osteraas three young biological children from the familys home near North Shannon Road and West Lambert Lane. It is unclear whether they have been reunified with their father. Samantha Osteraas, charged with two counts of child abuse, was released Thursday from the Pima County jail on a bond of $25,000. Calderon learned a little more than a week ago that the hospitalized girl was the child shed lost. Calderon has not seen her daughter since July 2015, but, like Breen, looked up the adoptive parents on social media and saw her daughter in their family photos. The girl was taken from her in April 2013 following a domestic fight between Calderon and the childs father, Jonathan Hileman. She remained in foster care while her parents, who struggled with cocaine addiction, worked toward reunification. The girls father, who is a registered sex offender from a 1999 crime involving an adult victim, had failed to notify police about his new address, and that was another factor in their case, at least initially. Throughout the dependency case, Hileman continued to relapse while Calderon began to sustain her sobriety, reports show. As of May 2014, Calderon was moving toward reunification with her daughter when she violated a court order by letting the father, who was not allowed unsupervised visitation, to be at home with them. The couple tried to remedy that significant error by later separating, records show. In February 2015, Hileman relinquished his parental rights. Calderon said he did this primarily to help her regain custody of their daughter. A couple of months later, in April 2015, court records showed Calderon to be in full compliance with her case plan. But the behavior of their then-3-year-old child was deteriorating around this time, DCS records show. She had prolonged temper tantrums, urinated on herself and cried for prolonged periods after her visits. The childs caseworker and a DCS-appointed family therapist testified this was because the child was having difficulty relating to her mother, that the mother had inappropriate conversations in front of the child and didnt know how to meet her daughters emotional needs. In the end, a judge severed Calderons parental rights based on her violating the courts orders related to Hileman, the length of time the child had been in out-of-home care without successful reunification well beyond the nine months required by law and the serious negative behaviors the child would exhibit around her mother but reportedly would not display when away from her. Calderon tried to appeal the termination, but was not successful. They took her away, she said last week, and look what theyve done to her. Calderon repeatedly told Breen, the driver, that she thought something was wrong while her daughter lived in Sierra Vista. Calderon said she was always on the watch, fearful her daughter was being mistreated so much so that it was brought up as a problem in her trial to sever her parental rights. At one point, Calderon called Sierra Vista police to have a welfare check done at the house, and this was not well-received by the DCS, according to both the mother and DCS records. I did address my concerns to the case manager and she had no concerns, Calderon said. She told me the (Frodsham) home was a good home and nothing like that was going on there. The repeated urinary-tract infections, which records show were treated following medical visits, were blamed mostly on the child consuming too many sugary drinks. Records show the caseworker thought it was Calderon who was teaching her daughter to fear men and told her to stop more than once. Breen, who also thought the Frodsham home seemed like a safe placement, said she feels guilty she didnt take Calderons fears more seriously. When I was transporting her, her mom kept saying, Somethings not right, somethings not right, Breen said. I kept reassuring her that it seemed like a good home. Frodsham was licensed to have up to five foster children at a time, male and female, with the ages ranging from birth to 11, the DCS reported. DCS officials said they could not comment further on the case. Breen said several foster children of various ages were living in the home when Calderons child was there, including one other toddler. Frodsham was licensed as a foster parent in Arizona from 2002 until January 2015, when he was arrested on charges of aggravated drunk driving. His license was then suspended due to suspension of his fingerprint clearance card. Frodsham was later charged with sex crimes after federal authorities, in 2016, alerted Sierra Vista police about his alleged involvement with Bischak, a former U.S. Army specialist. The Department of Homeland Security was investigating Bischak for allegedly producing and distributing child pornography. Frodsham, who was indicted on seven counts related to sex crimes against children, pleaded guilty in June 2016 to three counts, including two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and attempted sexual conduct with a minor, said Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre. Frodsham is now serving a 17-year prison sentence with the Arizona Department of Corrections and will be required to register as a sex offender for life. There is an investigation pending on Bischak in Cochise County, but thats on hold until his federal case is done. Bischak was indicted on multiple counts of child pornography in a case pending in U.S. District Court in Tucson. Calderon has a small collection of photographs from her visits with her daughter, along with photos she collected of bruises and scratched feet she feared indicated her daughter was being mistreated in foster care. Months after her rights to her daughter had been severed, she learned about Frodshams arrest. She agonized over that, thinking until now it was the worst news she could ever hear. A pedestrian was struck Wednesday afternoon in a hit-and-run on East Valencia and South Swan roads, authorities said. The man is in serious condition and was treated by Rural/Metro Fire Department paramedics and taken to a hospital, said Deputy Cody Gress, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokesman, at 3:30 p.m. Investigators said the vehicle is described as a mid-2000s tan Toyota sedan, possibly a Corolla. The crash happened south of Valencia, Gress said. He said Valencia Road is not restricted to motorists. Swan is shut down and motorists are asked to avoid the area. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME, an anonymous tipster hotline. A trial date has been set for the case against former Arizona Wildcats running back Orlando Bradford, who was arrested in September on multiple domestic-violence related felonies, court records show. Bradford's jury trial is set to begin in Pima County Superior Court on Aug. 1, where he's is facing 10 felonies and five misdemeanor charges in connection, court records show. On Sept. 14, Bradford was arrested after a woman said that he struck her multiple times during the previous two nights, when the pair argued first about a scratch on his car and later over her reluctance to eat a Frosty that he'd bought her, according to a Tucson Police Department's incident report. The victim in the first case, a fellow UA student, called her mother after the second incident, who urged her to call police. Bradford was taken into custody in connection with seven felony counts of domestic violence. On Sept. 15, after hearing about Bradford's arrest, a second woman came forward, telling police that she had also been abused by Bradford while involved in a previous relationship with him, police reports show. The woman told police that she dated Bradford between January and early September, during which he strangled her several times. The woman had taken photographs of the injuries, and police re-booked Bradford on four additional domestic violence charges, according to the police report. Bradford is facing seven felony charges of aggravated assault, three felony charges of domestic violence-related kidnapping and five misdemeanor assault charges, according to superior court records. The Wildcats dismissed Bradford the day of his arrest. After he posted bail in October, Bradford filed a motion with the court to allow him to move back to Texas and stay with his aunt while awaiting trial, where he's been for the past several months. Last week, Bradford petitioned the court for permission to live in Shreveport, Louisiana, with his mother, as well as Costa Mesa, California, so that he can start attending a junior college, according to court records. In your genome, you carry many genetic changes that you inherited from your ancestors. Those variants represent your own genetic history. By studying patterns of genetic variation in many people, our research reveals humanitys journeys across the globe and identifies the genetic changes that enabled migration into new environments. Recently, our research has focused on Central African Pygmies. Humanity evolved in the savannas of East Africa; yet, Pygmy peoples live in the rain forest of Central Africa as hunter-gatherers. This dramatic lifestyle change likely required many adaptations. Central African Pygmies are among the most genetically distinct of all human populations, and understanding their journey into the rain forest helps reveal the bounds of human adaptation. To identify the evolutionary history of Central African Pygmies, we sequenced the genomes of several Pygmies and compared them with the genomes of several neighboring farmers. Our graduate student PingHsun Hsieh then developed complex computer simulations that could predict the patterns of genetic variation caused by many different evolutionary processes. Comparing his simulations with the genome data enabled us to identify the best models of Pygmy evolutionary history. We first studied the population demographic history of Pygmies and African farmers. When did these peoples separate from each other, and how much have they mixed since? To answer these questions, we searched for the historical scenario that best predicts todays patterns of genetic variation. We found that the ancestors of modern Pygmies and farmers split roughly 100,000 years ago, which is among the earliest splits in human history. We also found that genetic exchange after the split began roughly 50,000 years ago, reflecting intermarriage practices that continue to this day. This historical model informs our study of the ancient past, and it serves as a baseline for detecting other evolutionary events. The rain forest that Pygmies inhabit poses distinct challenges compared with the savanna where humanity evolved. What genetic variants enable Pygmies to thrive in the rain forest? To identify those variants, we searched the genomes of Pygmies for genes with patterns of variation that are consistent with genetic adaptation and our historical model. We found 42 such genes. Many of them function in the immune system, and variants in those genes likely help Pygmies fight off diseases that are particular to the rain forest. We also found many genes involved in bone synthesis and muscle development. Variants in those genes probably explain why Pygmies are generally short. That short stature may enable Pygmies to better move through the forest or regulate their body temperature. Until a few tens of thousands of years ago, humans lived alongside closely related hominid species that are extinct. Did the ancestors of modern people interbreed with other hominids? The most well known extinct hominid is the Neanderthal, and sequencing Neanderthal genomes has revealed that the ancestors of European and Asian peoples did indeed interbreed with Neanderthals. Detecting such interbeeding within Africa is harder, because DNA from extinct hominids cannot survive the African climate. Instead, we used our computer simulations to identify regions in the Pygmy genomes with patterns of variation that cannot be explained without interbreeding. We found many such regions, showing that interbreeding occurred not only once, but multiple times. Our research shows that African peoples have been splitting, mixing, adapting and interbreeding for tens of thousands of years. Ongoing genome sequencing and analysis by our research teams and others will no doubt reveal even more details about humanitys complex evolutionary history. A Tucson group foster home worker has been arrested on federal charges of distributing child pornography, records show. Taylor Ray Freeman, 27, was booked into the Pima County jail on Jan. 10 and spent less than 24 hours in custody before being extradited by federal authorities to an undisclosed location, said Deputy Cody Gress, a Pima County Sheriffs Department spokesman. In a Dec. 27 online chat, Freeman, using the screen name AMERICANPSYCHO06, told an undercover police officer in Australia that he had a sexual interest in children, and said he had naughty pictures to trade, according to a complaint filed in federal court here. Freeman emailed the officer a photo of an underage girl on a bed with her genitalia exposed, and made obscene comments about what hed like to do to her, the complaint shows. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations tracked the email to his computer and on Jan. 10 a federal warrant was served at his home. Agents seized a smart phone, an internal hard drive, revealing photos and videos depicting child pornography, according to the complaint. It said Freeman told investigators he used his email address to send and receive pornography. Freeman was arrested by the sheriffs department that day and held in jail until he could be transferred to federal custody, Gress said. On Jan. 11, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernardo P. Velasco signed a detention order, saying Freeman would remain in federal detention until his trial. Velasco accepted the recommendation of Pretrial Services, which said there was a serious risk Freeman wouldnt appear at trial, the order shows. Arizona Department of Child Safety records show Freeman was hired in 2013 by local nonprofit TMM Family Services, which provides social services outreach. TMMs executive director, Donald Strauch, did not immediately respond to the Stars inquiry as to whether Freeman had contact with children. TMM provides shelter services for up to 38 children ages 3 to 17, according to an Arizona Department of Economic Security license issued in 2011. A federal hiring freeze imposed by President Trump last week has exemptions for seasonal employees and public safety, which would enable the countrys land managers to hire their annual firefighting force. The freeze had initially concerned the agencies and their representatives in Congress. On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., wrote Michael Young, acting director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asking him to clarify that the firefighters would be exempt from the hiring ban under public safety provisions in Trumps executive order starting the freeze on Jan. 23. Catastrophic wildfires in Arizona pose a significant risk to our states reliable water supply, rural communities, the tourist economy, and wildlife, the letter said. Any action that could have a negative impact on the ability to reduce the fire risk and fight wildfire in Arizona is simply unacceptable. A memo sent to federal agencies Tuesday noted two exemptions to the rule for public safety and for seasonal employees and short-term temporary employees necessary to meet traditionally recurring seasonal workloads. Babete Anderson, national press officer for the U.S. Forest Service, said it annually hires 10,000 to 15,000 workers for the field season to handle both firefighting and an increase in forest visitors. About 70 percent of those hires support and fight fires, she said. Anderson said the Forest Service is waiting for additional instruction on the process for establishing that exemption. LAS VEGAS (AP) A former Nevada municipal animal control supervisor was handcuffed Tuesday and taken to jail for 90 days, as part of her sentence in a case that alleged she illegally killed dogs at the shelter she ran. Mary Jo Frazier apologized before Clark County District Court Judge Susan Johnson sentenced her to four years of probation for pleading guilty in October to one felony animal cruelty charge. "You were in a position of trust," the judge said. The plea by the 62-year-old former Boulder City Animal Shelter chief avoided trial on two felony cruelty charges. It acknowledged only that she improperly euthanized her own dog, an 8-year-old Dachshund named Oscar, rather than give the animal to a shelter or to her husband during a bitter divorce. "I chose the wrong option," Frazier said after describing the dog as incontinent, "untrainable" and aggressive toward others. "I thought it would be easier to put him down rather than take him to a stranger," she said. The case erupted into a small town scandal in the quiet suburban city near Hoover Dam, where Frazier retired and moved away and a police chief was ousted in January 2016 for his decision to close the investigation despite finding that more than 90 animals had been improperly put to death. The former police chief, Bill Conger, later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failure to perform a duty and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine. Frazier moved to Grants Pass, Oregon, where she has since remarried. She was addressed in court by her married last name, Norby. Her attorneys, Michael Becker and Adam Solinger, said outside court they hadn't expected a jail term as part of their client's probation. Solinger said he believed the judge responded to community pressure in a case that drew intense interest among animal rights activists. Frazier also was ordered to have no contact with animals, not to use alcohol or marijuana, and to attend counseling classes on substance abuse and animal cruelty. Concerns that not all of the unions will agree to ratify their labor agreements have caused rail shippers and other transportation industry stakeholders to push President Joe Biden to act. On art, music, books, movies, politics, life - sometimes with astrology thrown in. Help India! By Shafeeq Hudawi, TwoCircles.net Kozhikode: As an exemplary leader, parliamentarian for seven consecutive terms and the lone Union Minister his party had in six decades, Edappakath Ahamed (1938-2017) was always accorded special privilege by the Indian Union Muslim League. Be it politics or diplomacy or international relations Ahamed did justice to his country, his party and his community. Support TwoCircles Ahamed breathed his last in the early hours of February 1 at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital in Delhi, where he was admitted yesterday following an unfortunate turn of events. The 78-year-old IUML leader was taken with cardiac arrest during President Pranab Mukherjees address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. He was born in Thana, Kannur city of north Kerala to Late Abdul Khader Haji and Late Nafeesa Beevi on April 29, 1938. Ahamed completed his education from Government Brennen College in Thalassery and Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram. Ahamed attained a big stature after starting a political career through Muslim Student Federation (MSF), the students outfit of IUML. Unlike most of the leaders, he emerged as a leader after starting at the ground level, and he became the first state general secretary of MSF followed by the appointment as the president of the federation. He was elected to Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1967 from Kannur, his own constituency. The 29-year-old leader, who scripted a record by being the youngest MLA, drew the attention by his speeches in the assembly. Ahamed was the first leader who emerged from students politics in the state. He was a shining star much before the emergence of prominent leaders like A K Antony, reminisces author M C Vadakara. He was a legislator for five consecutive times between 1967 and 1991 from IUML bastions like Koduvally, Tanur, and Kannur. He was the Chairman of Municipal Council, Kannur between 1981 and 1982. He was appointed as the Minister for Industries in 1982 and continued to hold the post till 1987. In 1991, the party opened doors of national politics before him. He was elected to 10th Lok Sabha from Manjeri in Malappuram district. Ahamed brought a new era of parliamentary politics within IUML by breaking the stereotypes. Leaders from other states like G M Banatwala, Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait, and Quaid- e- Millath Muhammad Ismail Sahib were cast by the party from its Lok Sabha constituencies Manjeri, Malappuram, and Ponnani. This tradition was kept intact in order to ensure the representation of Muslims throughout the country through IUML, M I Thangal says. Ahamed, a leader from the state, shouldered this duty of representing Indian Muslims in the House. Though the extent of its benefits is debatable, Ahamed started a transformation in IUML. Later, candidates from outside Kerala were also replaced by E T Mohammed Basheer and KPA Majeed. According to IUML leader and University of Calicut syndicate member PnA Rasheed, an array of abilities made the potential leader standing out. Skilled in English and Urdu, he could win the hearts of his colleagues in Parliament. His speeches proved that he was a right choice. The party committed no mistake, Rasheed said. He was elected for seven times in IUMLs ticket. His seventh successive victory to Lok Sabha was from Malappuram in 2014. After holding high profile posts during his tenure in Parliament, he was made Union Minister of State for Railways in 2009. And in 2011, the Parliamentary Leader of IUML was given the portfolio of Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development in second UPA Government. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) owes much to this leader as he was the only front candidate got elected in 2004 from Kerala. Congress lost all its seats while IUML surprisingly lost its strong bastion Manjeri to CPIM. Ahamed sailed to an easy win in Ponnani and he was the only one UDF member in Loksabha, Rasheed says. Also a familiar face at international Muslim venues, Ahamed was a channel between the Arab world and India. During his tenure as Union Minister of State for External Affairs, he helped the country strengthen its ties with Muslim countries and the Arab world. He led the Hajj pilgrims from the country to Saudi for several times and was invited by the Saudi royal family many times to participate the Holy Kaba washing ceremony ahead of Hajj season. Amidst the achievements and contributions, he will be remembered for his adamant stand during 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party leadership was criticised for casting Ahamed in Malappuram despite serious ailments. After much dilly-dallying and several rounds of discussion, Ahamed was announced as the party candidate. He drew strong criticism from the leaders within the party and UDF as he was not ready to give way to youngsters. Social media trolls rained on the leader, who was not physically fit to attend the election rallies and campaigns. He underwent strong media attack. But he had the last laugh after he won the elections. The only negative publicity he faced was corruption allegations from opponents for his alleged involvement in Hajj seat scam. He got married on 14 May 1961 to (Late) Zuhara Ahamed. He has two sons Raees Ahamed and Naseer Ahamed and a daughter Fousiya Ahamed. Apart from representing the country in various international forums, Ahamed played a prominent role in establishing institutions for the promotion of industry and education in Kerala. He was the Founder and Chairman of Kerala State Rural Development Board and Executive Chairman of Kerala State Small Scale Industries Development Corporation. He was president, Muslim Educational Foundation, Pannur, Kannur, Kerala, Member, Board of the Medical College, Pariyaram, Kerala, Managing Committee, MEA Engineering College, Malappuram, a member of Executive Council of Aligarh Muslim University and a member of Central Haj Committee. Help India! By TCN News Members of the Students Islamic Organisation of India(SIO) organized a protest gathering on Monday in front of Delhi police headquarters at ITO in New Delhi against the police brutality and mishandling of Najeebs family. A large number of students and activists attended the protest demanding suspension of police officials involved in brutality and immediate release of the investigation report regarding Najeeb Ahmad. Support TwoCircles Najeebs Mother Fatima Nafees Ahmad attended the programme with his family members. Nadeem Khan (Media Secretary, Jamat e Islami Hind) presided the event and Sadath Hussain(Member, Central Advisory Committee, SIO), Rahul Sonpimble (BAPSA), Mohit K Pandey(President, JNUSU), Birendra (United OBC Forum), Shehla Rashid (AISA), Dawa Sherpa (Suspended student, JNU) delivered speeches seeking justice for Najeeb Ahmad. A memorandum to the President of India was released in the demonstration. Almost three months after Najeeb Ahmad went missing from campus, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration and the Delhi Police have been inactive and biased on finding and ensuring justice to Najeeb and punishing ABVP culprits. The Delhi police continue the investigation at a snails pace by raising reward amount for anyone providing information about Najeeb. In response to a habeas corpus plea filed by Najeebs mother Fatima Nafees on 29th November 2016, the Delhi High Court asked Delhi Police and the university to cut across all political barriers and look for him. The Delhi police has raided Najeeb Ahmeds house in the wee hours of last Saturday suspecting the presence of Najeeb Ahmed at his house as his email address was accessed by someone. Later it was found that Najeebs maternal uncle was the one who logged in with Najeebs account. The alacrity with which police responded to this matter and the negligence with which police has been avoiding the interrogation on main perpetrators behind the kidnapping of Najeeb i.e ABVP members have clear indications that police is opinionated in this case. The protest gathering started at 3 pm and agitators pushed the barricades to enter the gateway of Delhi police headquarters. The protest call given by JNUSU on the same issue had stood canceled, while the leaders participated in the same programme. SIO leaders met with the police officers after the culmination of protest at 5 pm . Help India! By TCN News Indian Muslim Relief and Charities (IMRC), a US-based relief organization organised four-day free health check-up cum awareness camps for poor and needy in Hyderabad under its 8th annual India Health Initiative (IHI) which concluded on Tuesday, January 31, During this period, about 2,474 people were treated for various ailments. Support TwoCircles Day one of the medical camp in Hyderabad saw 443 patients treated for different ailments at Indo-US public school, Hafiz Baba Nagar. The patients were provided with free medicines after free check-up of vital health signs. On Sunday, Day 2 of medical camp at Indo-US public school, Shaheen Nagar 559 patients were treated for different ailments. On Monday, 659 patients were treated at Indo-US Public School, Kishanbagh, while close to 813 patients were treated on January 31 at Bright Future High School, Hassan Nagar in Hyderabad on the last day of the camp. The eighth annual initiative sees doctors from the USA: Dr. Irfan Moin (Geriatrics), Dr. Jerome Stefenko (General Surgeon), Dr. John Rosenberg (ER Physician), Dr. Farida Ghogawala (Gynaecologist), Dr. MK Ahmed (Paediatrician), Dr MY Ahmed (Surgeon), Dr Sana Ahmed (Paediatrician), Dr Mohammad Haq (Internal Medicine), Dr Noureen M Haroon (Ophthalmologist) and one Clinical Pharmacist, Tenzin Jangchup render their services at four camps in Hyderabad, four camps in Barabanki (UP) along with three more camps in line at Dehradun (Uttarakhand). From February 3-6, free medical camps will be held in Jahangirabad Institute of Technology (JIT) Barabanki and from February 9-11 at Dehradun. The India Health Initiative was started by IMRC in 2010. Since its inception, IMRC has successfully conducted seven India Health Initiatives comprising of medical camps across different rural areas, poor localities and slums in India. This annual program is unique because it provides basic education in healthcare with an emphasis on preventive health care to the community and provides technical training to the local doctors and medical students. Johnny Depp 'Spends $2m A Month' Johnny Depp's Ex-Business Managers Just Revealed His Spending Habits And ...Wow Long Story Short Johnny Depp is suing his former business managers for mishandling his money but they say his financial troubles are down to ludicrously extravagent spending. Long Story After blockbuster Hollywood hits such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, and, erm, Mortdecai, youd think hed be more Johnny Cash than Johnny Strapped-For-Cash, but 53-year-old star Johnny Depp is reportedly facing some pretty serious money troubles. Last month he filed a complaint against his ex-business managers The Management Group, suing them for mishandling his finances. Depp says the company owes him $25million (approx 20million) and failed to file his taxes on time, costing him a further $5.7m (4.5m). But TMG is now counter-suing, claiming that it warned him repeatedly about his excessive spending over a 17-year period, and that his problems are due to an ultra-extravagant lifestyle that often knowingly cost in excess of $2 million per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford. RELATED: Old Hollywood Scandals Among the actors more lavish spends were again, reportedly $75million (59.6m) on 14 residences around the world (including a 45 acre chateau in the South of France nice to have a holiday getaway, we suppose), $18million (14.2m) on a 150ft yacht, and $3million (2.4m) on blasting Hunter S. Thompsons ashes from a canon over Aspen, Colorado. Other costs detailed in the legal action include: $4m (3.2m) blown on his childhood friends failed record label $30,000 (23,700) per month on expensive wines flown to him around the world $300,000 (237,400) per month on 40 full-time employees $150,000 (118,700) per month on security guards to protect his family 24/7, 365 days a year $200,000 (158,300) a month on private plane travel Plus, further millions of dollars on art, collectible guitars, and Hollywood memorabilia which fills 12 storage facilities and costs over $1million to archive The actor says that he was unaware of his financial problems until he terminated TMG and hired a new financial advisor last year. But TMF disagrees, saying that, Depp, and Depp alone, is fully responsible for any financial turmoil he finds himself in today. He has refused to live within his means, despite the best efforts of TMG and the repeated warnings about his financial condition. Depp will next appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazars Revenge. Sounds like he could do with the work. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question How much could you spend in a month? Drop This Fact Nicolas Cage famously spent $95,000 on a comic book, $3.45 million on a haunted house, and a T-Rex skull for $270,000 By now, you mustve heard about the vandal who altered the famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles to read Hollyweed. As it turns out, the vandal had a political message behind his silly prank, and it has to do with a recent vote to change California legislature. Security footage captured on the night shows a man dressed in all black clothes sneaking around and scaling the sign at three in the morning on New Years Day (when he knew there would be no one around to catch him in the act because theyd all be busy with the festivities) where he had giant, Hollywood-sign-letter-sized heavy-duty tarpaulins, which he attached to each O. Each O got a black tarpaulin down the side to create the illusion of a gap and a white tarpaulin in the middle, so that the Os now resemble lower-case Es. The Hollyweed tarpaulins bore the images of peace signs and heart symbols. LAPD sergeant explains how he did it Sergeant Robert Payan of the LAPD explains that the man hopped over a protective fence that is erected (stop giggling) around the Hollywood sign, as the public are banned from coming near the iconic Hollywood Hills landmark, expressly for the purpose of preventing acts of vandalism like this one. According to Sgt. Payan, the vandal scaled each O to change the lettering to Hollyweed after hopping the fence. The police are saying that the vandal could face a misdemeanour charge for trespassing on the grounds of the Hollywood sign if he is caught, which is unlikely, but even if he is, misdemeanours are not serious charges. Its not like its a crime. The prank has a political statement about a recent vote The political message behind the prank is to do with the weed culture in California, as a vote has just passed in the state that will allow recreational use of marijuana following the start of 2018. Ergo, Hollywood becomes Hollyweed. According to the LA Times, in a report that brings into question whos working at the LA Times and what their connection is to this Hollywood prankster, the prank was part of an assignment for the vandals art class, in which he was tasked with working with scale. He received an A grade for the project apparently. This exact same prank has been done before 41 years ago, the Hollywood sign was changed to say Hollyweed, and it was even on New Years Day. In that case, the perpetrator was Cal State Northridge student Daniel Finegood, who bought himself $50 worth of curtains and scaled Mount Lee, on which the 50-foot sign is perched. The Hollywood sign was originally put up in 1923 and it originally read Hollywoodland. Its initial purpose was promotion of housing development, but it has since become a staple of the glitzy film industry. In the 1940s, the land part was so worn down that they just lopped it off and went with Hollywood instead. Donald Trump has perhaps surprised many with his nominee for the U.S. Supreme court. After a deeply disturbing start to his presidency, his choice Neil Gorsuch is a surprising nomination because even though he has a solid conservative background that has earned him comparisons with the man he would replace, the late Antonin Scalia He has previously been praised by liberals and others in the Colorado legal community, previously was appointed to the federal branch after working for George W. Bush in the justice department. A worthy choice? Gorsuch is a Colorado native, who earned his bachelors degree from Columbia University in three years, eventually went on to Harvard where he earned a law degree. He worked under Supreme Court justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy as a clerk before taking a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working at a prominent Washington D.C. law firm. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was the first woman to head the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) during Ronald Reagans administration. Recently he sided with two religious groups who successfully challenged Obamas administrations requirements that employers provide contraception within health insurance. Gorsuch has previously argued that courts give too much deference to government agencies interpretations of statutes, this originally stemmed from a Supreme Court ruling in a 1984 case. He has penned a book expressing is views against assisted suicides, and he also went against the Obama administration many times. David Lane, Denvers plaintiff attorney said that he is a very smart man and despite his conservative leanings, he is absolutely the right choice for the Supreme Court. Gorsuch has won praise from liberals and conservatives alike for his fair-mindedness and defence of the underdog, and he has also authored a series of sharply written, conservative opinions. Open-minded and fair Lane praised Gorsuch as being open-minded and fair. A case against Denver Police Department of police brutality and wrongful arrest, was appealed by city lawyers, it was placed in front of Gorsuch and he tore into the lawyers. Stating that they should go into mediation rather than drag it out for years to avoid paying the just rewards, eventually it led to a pay-out of $1.6 million. He is also a keen advocate to make the judicial system more open and accessible by simplifying it and he stated in article that the courts in America are too expensive and rank amongst the lowest for access for civil cases in the developed world. Gorsuch is also the youngest justice to join Americas highest court since William Rehnquist in 1971, at 49 years of age. The surprise nomination comes after a controversial start to Trumps first term as president, but this nomination is surprising but could also work against him. After Trump introduced Gorsuch from the East Room of the White House, Gorsuch summed up his minimalistic judicial philosophy by saying A judge who reaches every outcome he wishes is likely a very bad judge. Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens. The foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, condemned President Donald Trump's Immigration plans in a speech at the House of Commons. Previously, Boris Johnson, who has drawn the ire of Conservative back benchers in recent weeks for his comments about Brexit, described the new president as "a liberal guy from New York City". Trump's plans are 'divisive and wrong' In his speech, Boris Johnson declared that Trump's strict immigration plans are not something that the United Kingdom would ever consider following Brexit. In staunch terms, Boris Johnson said: 'Measures introduced to discriminate against people on the grounds of nationality is both divisive and wrong. Trump should reconsider his plans otherwise he risks alienating the United States from the rest of the world'. Johnson declared that both he and Amber Rudd, the home secretary who was reported to the police due to one of her speeches, have both spoken with the Trump administration. Johnson said that all British passport holders remain free to visit the US. Freedom to criticise The foreign secretary continued, stating that: 'This countrys close relationship with the United States is extremely important. The US and the UK will be working very closely together over the next couple of years. The prime minister's visit to the United States was incredibly successful. If we have difference with the United States, our special relationship with them allows us to comment freely'. 'We have been given detailed assurances from the United States embassy that Trump's executive order will make no difference to any British passport holder living in America irrespective of their country of birth,' Johnson said. The Labour chair of the home affairs committee, Yvette Cooper, said that Boris Johnson did not go far enough in his criticism of the new United States government. Cooper urged the US government to stop stigmatising Muslims through vitriolic hate speech. Cooper continued, stating: 'The fact that Trump announced these plans on Holocaust Memorial Day makes it worse'. In a mid-December interview after the election, MIT professor emeritus Noam chomsky who has written many volumes of geopolitical analysis exposing hidden US actions against emerging democracies in South America and warning that seeking hegemony is a sure path to destruction, Dr. Chomsky took a calm look at his concerns about a trump Presidency. Background In 2010 Noam Chomsky, who has told truth to power in more than 100 books deflating and debunking the lies of the rich and powerful, voiced his concerns for where he saw the country going in an interview with TruthDig. The United States is extremely lucky that no honest, charismatic figure has arisen [so far each was] such an obvious crook that he destroys himself, like McCarthy or Nixon or the evangelist preachers. If somebody comes along who is charismatic and honest this country is in real trouble because of the frustration, disillusionment, the justified anger and the absence of any coherent response .. [this time it will be] illegal immigrants and the blacks [not jews]. We will be told that white males are a persecuted minority. Military force will be exalted. New comments Not only were domestic hate groups energised, looking to Europe, every far-right, ultra-nationalist, neo-nazi group was greatly encouraged [by Trumps victory]. Chomsky is not popular in political circles or commercial press because, among other things, he has exposed America's many war crimes, saying "if the Nuremberg Laws were enforced every president since WWII would have been hanged," but he cites nothing except proven historical facts which are in the record for anyone to see. The problem, of course, is that most people are afraid of facts and the truth, especially in the current Administration's truth-free environment, they dont want to know about inconvenient historical facts. But his comments on President Trump himself, as opposed to his supporters, are mostly moderate, viewing as a positive that he keeps talking about improving relations with Russia which is probably the world's most dangerous flashpoint. Chomsky says, The parallels with late Weimar Germany are striking, but downplays any reference to Trump as a new Hitler, saying he has no ideology which makes him less dangerous. But he also said that the most predictable part of Trump is his unpredictability which is very dangerous for a president who has control of the worlds most powerful military. The Doomsday Clock The Union of Concerned Scientists, which was organised after WWII because of the danger of nuclear war, has maintained what they call the doomsday clock which measures how close the scientists think the world is to a nuclear disaster which can end all human civilisation. At its worst point, the clock was set at two minutes to midnight in 1953 after the United States and the Soviet Union tested their first thermonuclear weapons within six months of one another. The clock has just been advanced to 2:30 before midnight, meaning the world is very close to nuclear war. In an Op Ed for the New York times, Lawrence Krauss (theoretical physicist and David Titley (retired US Navy admiral) emphasizing that for the first time the clock has been advanced almost entirely due to the statements of a single person - President Trump. Their concerns are the lack of movement on climate change and nuclear disarmament combined with the Presidents views on those topics. That is similar to Noam Chomsky's concerns over the state of the world and the building anger of citizens of many countries. At the World Jewish Reliefs annual dinner in the Guildhall last night, heir to the throne Prince Charles spoke out about how his grandmother took in a Jewish family during the Holocaust in the Second World War. He told the crowd of hundreds at the dinner that his grandmother's legacy influenced his philanthropic work and tolerance of people of all religions. During his speech, Charles cautioned that the lessons we learned from the Holocaust are in increasing danger of being forgotten. He compared the Holocaust to a number of problematic goings-on in the world today. Prince Charles impassioned speech inspired the guests Prince Charles said in his speech that the work being done by his hosts the World Jewish Relief is creating conditions for people from all walks of life to rally together" in order to work towards supporting people "practically, emotionally, and spiritually." This speech was spurred on by his fears that the "horrific lessons" that should have been learned from World War II are "in increasing danger" of losing the memory of it, as the impact diminishes more and more as it becomes ever more distant in the past. Many guests in the room saw this is a veiled critique of President Donald Trump, whom many are comparing to genocidal war criminal Adolf Hitler. Other topics Prince Charles covered in his speech were the Jews living in poverty in Ukraine, the Syrian refugee crisis, and the situation in Rwanda. He uses these as modern-day comparisons to the Holocaust to tell us that were forgetting the lessons we shouldve learned. He says that "reaching beyond your own community" is one of the most important things you can do in order to strive towards "true compassion and friendship" worldwide. Charles wants to be a defender of faith Prince Charles argued that Religion empowers us as a society, rather than limits us, its just that were currently looking at it the wrong way and its leading to conflict. He told the story of his familys relationship with the Jewish community, as his grandmother Princess Alice sheltered a Jewish family during the Second World War. This came as a touching and refreshing personal note. The resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers from his position as the U.K's ambassador to the European Union is an indictment of Theresa May and her government's Brexit proposals. Sir Rogers was held in esteem by many of his colleagues as someone that possessed the required experience for the tumultuous negotiations to help navigate Britain's exit from the European Union over the next couple of years. Theresa May In resigning, Sir Rogers has dealt a further blow to Theresa May's hitherto unsubstantial Brexit plans. Rogers, who had intended to leave his post in November 2017,is a crucial loss ahead of important general elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Having worked closely with both the political behemoths of Westminster and Brussels, Rogers was scheduled to be an integral part of negotiations. Ken Clarke, whom Rogers worked with in the Treasury, characterised his former colleague as an "excellent British diplomat that will be missed in Brexit negotiations". However, the Ambassador faced mounting pressure from staunch Brexiteers for his cautious approach. Although Theresa May consulted Rogers, their relationship has reportedly deteriorated over the past couple of months due to his claims that it could potentially take Britain over ten years to ratify a trade deal with the European Union. Last month, the Daily Mail reported that "the knives were out for Rogers". Hard Brexit? The surprise departure of Rogers is an indication that Britain is heading for what has been described as a "hard Brexit" by various politicians. Further, the departure of Rogers-a politician considered to be on good terms with Brussels- burns yet more bridges with Europe. A former Treasury chief tweeted that Rogers departure is a "wilful destruction of EU expertise". Ivan Rogers huge loss. Can't understand wilful&total destruction of EU expertise, with Cunliffe,Ellam&Scholar also out of loop.#amateurism nick macpherson (@nickmacpherson2) 3 January 2017 Rogers departure has inspired an outpouring of accusations from remain supporters, who have argued that his resignation is suggestive pro remain politicians are being pressured out of their jobs for not agreeing with hard Brexiteers. Nigel Farage, a spearhead of the Brexit campaign, said: "More politicians should follow in Rogers footsteps. This is a crucial moment in British history and it is of paramount importance that we have pro-Brexit politicians in positions of power". Prime Minister Theresa May has defended her decision to invite the new President of the United States, Donald Trump, to the United Kingdom, despite thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets of London last night. Further, over 1.5 million people signed an online petition to attempt to stop the state visit. 'Taking a different approach to Trump' Last night, Theresa May responded to growing activism across the United Kingdom. In a brief response, May stated that the U.K. will be taking a different approach when it comes to the United States. Mays response comes after news broke of Trumps attempts to block travellers from several different Muslim countries from entering the U.S. The United Kingdom and the United States are close allies. We work together across multiple areas of mutual interest. We have a special relationship. I have issued the invite to President Trump and that invite stands, said Theresa May. The Prime Minister refused to condemn Donald Trump: a sign of British political weakness post-Brexit. Downing Street did not deny Trump informed the Prime Minister of his plans to block citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for ninety days. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Glasgow, chanting: Shame on May. Corbyn demands May stands up against Trump The leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, penned a letter to May, urging her to listen to the million Britons that asked for the state visit to be cancelled. Corbyn said: This world has already defeated segregation and apartheid. This policy is designed to spread hate and division across the globe. Trumps invite should be revoked until Trump backs down on this policy. Foreign secretary Boris Johnson urged MPs not to demonise Trump in a statement to the House of Commons. Johnson said: The President has given us assurances that this order will make no difference to any British passport holder living in the U.S. regardless of their country of birth. Once again President trump has repeated his complaint that the only reason he lost the popular vote by about 3 million votes is that millions of fraudulent votes cost him the popular vote. White House spokesperson Sean Spicer was asked multiple times about this and didnt give any substantive answer. Press briefing In Tuesday's press briefing a clearly exasperated White House Press Secretary was repeatedly asked about the Presidents often stated belief that millions of illegal votes were cast in the recent election. He also told the press corps that President Trump was going forward with the Canadian-owned Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota pipelines bringing many new jobs to the region and aiding in improving American energy independence. When completed the pipeline will mostly carry synthetic oil made from Canadian oil-tar sands to the US and also to Gulf Ports where it can be exported. A small percentage of the capacity will also carry US produced light crude oil to refineries. Spicer also announced that President Trump would require that US made steel be used in construction of the rest of the pipeline. Republicans voted down that same requirement a few years ago when Democrats tried to include it in the plan. Voter fraud A 2008 Pew study was the only source cited by Sean Spicer today as evidence of large-scale voter fraud. The actual study was a 12-page 2012 Pew study titled "Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient: Evidence That Americas Voter Registration System Needs an Upgrade." It does discuss the inaccurate registrations of deceased voters who passed between election cycles and people who were registered in more than one state. What it did not say was that any of those people actually voted illegally. In the case of the deceased none of them have ever been reported as actually going to a polling place and casting a fraudulent vote because they are dead. People are registered in more than one state because Americans tend to move a lot, but there was nothing in the Pew report indicating anyone voted in one state then rushed to the other state where they were registered. The study said 1.8 million deceased were still registered to vote because there is no mechanism to remove them from the voter roles other than by them not showing up to vote. State voter officials A problem with the claim widespread fraud is that most states have Republican Governors and therefore official in charge of voting in the state is also a Republican. That is specifically true in the key States of Ohio, Nevada, and Colorado where the top election officials are all Republicans. There are in excess of 8,000 voting districts and poll workers from both major parties are overseeing every election. Party leaders and studies Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called President Trumps claims of voter fraud "inappropriate" and said he should "knock this off." Reporters repeatedly ask Spicer if this vital threat to the voting system was going to be investigated by the Administration. He declined to say. A 2007 study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School examined cases where voter fraud had been alleged and found it had occurred between 0.00004% and 0.0009% times out of the total vote. A Loyola professor who used this as a class project was able to find 31 cases of in-person voter fraud between 2000 and 2014. That is 31 out of a bit more than 1 billion ballots. President Trumps often repeated claims during the election campaign were made because he said the election was being stolen from him. Although the voter fraud claims are entirely baseless a survey during the campaign found that about 40% of Trump supporters believed the claims that the election could be stolen. So it was a very effective campaign strategy to claim the high numbers of voter fraud. The question of why he is still harping on this completely baseless claim now that he has won and been sworn in is something which The White House has not addressed yet. Donald Trump's recent executive order concerning those who can come into the United States has caused outrage and fury throughout the world. But the main question to ask is, is it a Muslim ban? The facts Before we proceed lets establish the facts. According to The Telegraph newspaper, an executive order is "an official statement from the President which tells government agencies how to use their resources". In the case of Trump's order, citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations have been barred from entering the US for a period of ninety days. These countries include Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq. In addition, the order also suspends the United States' refugee system for a period of 120 days. The reaction However, the problem with the order is that it has caused such anger and condemnation throughout the world, particularly from some of the Muslim-majority nations. Whereas the Iranian Foreign minister Javad Zarif stated, as reported on the Guardian newspaper, that the ban was "a great gift to extremists", the Sudanese called the decision by Trump to be "very unfortunate". Furthermore, civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed "to fight the order" as reported on Reuters. There has also been "chaos and protests" in several airports around the US, with Demonstrations also held around the world. Is the order in itself a 'Muslim ban'? There are many who believe that it is, in particular the former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. As stated on the Slate website, Yates claimed that the order is "religious discrimination" because the intent behind it is to exclude Muslims. However, Trump and his team have denied such accusations. The fact that the executive order does not use the world 'Muslim' and it does not apply to all Muslim countries, it is therefore "not a Muslim ban". I think in deciding whether it is a 'Muslim ban' is very difficult. But what does not help Trump's course is that the ban was not against certain individuals with prior terror involvement but instead everyone from a certain country. It seems that all individuals have been tainted with the same brush. I do believe that the order discriminates against Muslim people in general. There are unable to travel simply because of where they are from. It is not doubt going to cause further fury as the order continues to take effect. It seems that the rationale behind the order was to keep radical Islamists out of the country. The problem with the order is that it will give extra ammunition to those seeking to carry out an attack on American soil. There is immense irony here: in trying to keep the US safe, his actions may well make America more susceptible to attack as a result. Nigel Farage, the former leader of UK independence party, UKIP, and political commentator Katie Hopkins have expressed support for Donald Trump's immigration ban on citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for ninety days. Theresa May has yet to condemn Trump's policy. In the United Kingdom, the news of Trump's executive order sparked widespread protests in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Moreover, a further one and a half million people signed an online petition in order to attempt to prevent Trump being invited to the United Kingdom on a state visit. Farage in favour of 'extreme vetting' However, Farage and Hopkins, two of the most notorious right-wing commentators in Great Britain, approve of Trump's 'extreme vetting of Muslims". Hopkins and Farage both urged Prime Minister Theresa May to undertake the same measures. Appearing on the 'BBC Politics Show', Farage stated: 'Trump was elected because the American people wanted to get tough on extremism. He was elected to do everything in his power to extinguish ISIS terrorists and, after a week in the job, he has already made a strong start,' Farage said. Farage continued: 'Trump has the remit to do this. We are all concerned about ISIS and I would like to see extreme vetting implemented in the United Kingdom. Farage perceives that the immigration ban will help prevent Muslim extremists from entering the United States. Despite once suggesting that Syrian refugees should be allowed in the UK, Farage declared that he now supports Trump's executive order. Katie Hopkins in favour of the ban Fellow Trump apostle Katie Hopkins, on her radio show on the LBC Network, was fast to defend the immigration ban during a diatribe against Muslim refugees. Hopkins said: 'I'm hand in hand with the President on this policy. It's all well and good to take the moral high ground in Europe but what good is moral high ground when people are continuing to be blown up?' Hopkins rhetorically asked. Neil McGill Gorsuch is the son of Anne, who broke the glass ceiling as the first female head of the EPA, as part of the Reagan administration, but she was forced to resign under a cloud surrounding mishandling of Superfund monies. While in office she cut the EPA's budget by 22% and effectively tried to close the department. Whats his background? Neil attended the Jesuit-run Georgetown Prep School, took a BA from Columbia University where he wrote for the student newspaper, graduated Harvard Law School in 1991 and holds a PhD in Philosophy in Law from University College, Oxford. If he is confirmed, all nine of the Supreme courts Justices will have attended either Yale or Harvard Law Schools, keeping the Supreme Court strictly an Ivy League club. As the youngest person on the Court he would, at age 49, be the first Justice to have grown up in the computer age and would probably remain on the Court for decades. What he believes. Working at a DC law firm Gorsuch wrote a brief saying that class action lawsuits by shareholders are wrong, and damaging to the economy in general. Ironically, in 2002 Gorsuch also wrote an op-ed taking the US Senate to task for delaying the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Court of Appeals. His post today is open only because the Republican controlled Senate delayed the same Merrick Garlands nomination to the Supreme Court by President Obama by nearly a year. Judge Gorsuch has written that giving money to politicians is a fundamental right, so he wont support attempts to overturn the massive imbalance in todays election system where corporations are treated as citizens and can spend any amount of money on an election. (Note: due to some quirks of the US election laws and the ethics rules established by the same people who are accepting large campaign contributions, these are not considered bribes. Foreigners seldom understand this, nor do most Americans. Precisely when a campaign contribution becomes a bribe is a very vague area in the law. That, along with rulings about Presidential conflicts of interest are two legal questions which many are hoping will be settled by The Supreme Court.) Neil Gorsuch is pro death penalty, anti-abortion, and is against assisted suicide. (Some liberals have restated that standard conservative line as "anti-life, anti-choice, and pro prolonged suffering.) Although personally anti-abortion, Judge Gorsuch has also written that he respects and supports court traditions, which some interpret as meaning he considers rulings such as Roe vs. Wade as settled law. Personal life Neil Gorsuch would be described as an outdoorsman and his hobby is fly fishing, but he also skies, and raises horses, chickens, and goats. In another bit of irony, Boulder, Colorado owns a 100+ acre site, Valmont Butte, which is still contaminated with radioactive waste - failure to clean it up was part of the scandal which Judge Gorsuch's mother was involved in at the EPA so it may serve as a daily reminder to him, but of just what isn't clear. He and his wife Louise live in Boulder, Colorado with their two teenage daughters, Emma and Belinda. The conservative National Review magazine called him a worthy successor to Justice Scalia. If he takes a seat at the bench Judge Gorsuch's conservative leanings would not alter the basic nature of the court since he is replacing another strong conservative voice, the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Judge Gorsuch is currently on the 10th Federal US Circuit Court of Appeals based in Boulder, Colorado. Grey Sloan Memorial is all prepared to bid adieu to one of its doctors before the end of Season 13. How will the writers write off the character from "Greys Anatomy", the popular prime time medical drama aired on Thursdays on ABC which broke records and went on to become a huge success,is still being hindered upon, without clue? As reported by TV Line on Tuesday, the character that we would finally say goodbye to from the hospital soap opera would be none other than Dr. Stephanie Edwards played by Jerrika Hinton (35) who has been a part of the Grey Sloan since Season 9 (2012). Shonda Rhimes the culprit behind Dr. Stephanies exit Even though Shonda Rhimes is infamous for cutting off main characters from her series this time in spite of being the third character in row to exit the scene of "Greys Anatomy", its not Shondas doing. Jerrika Hinton is all set to walk out the doors of Grey Sloan for she has landed up a meaty role rather main lead role in an upcoming HBO Series from Alan Ball also starring Holly Hunter. Season 11 saw the death and departure of Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Season 12 farewell of Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and now Season 13 will become witness to exit of Dr. Stephanie Edwards. It is still being speculated though whether her exit would be maneuvered in a way that would leave a possibility of her re-entry or would she be leaving the show for good. Jerrika bags the star role in HBO New Series of Alan Ball Though Hinton was well-liked for her warmth in the drama and her fans would be disappointed yet they are already wishing her for her new endeavor where she plays an adopted child who is fighting with her cultural identity trying to emerge as a winner in the untitled HBO series revolving around a multi generational and multi racial family. Though "Greys Anatomy" has not yet been renewed for the 14th season, but with the kind of appraisal and reviews Shondas serials get, million fans that watch serials written by her should not worry much, its bound to hit the TV screens with a fresh season. The show it seems would only go off air or suffer a setback with something impromptu happening to Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). What happens further in Greys Anatomy is in the dark and the only feasible persons who know it are its writers. The Afghan government controls less than 60 percent of the country, a U.S. watchdog agency reported on Wednesday, after security forces retreated from many strongholds last year. Afghan soldiers and police, with the aid of thousands of foreign military advisers, are struggling to hold off a resurgent insurgency led by the Taliban, as well as other groups like Islamic State. As of November, the government could only claim to control or influence 57 percent of Afghanistan's 407 districts, according to U.S. military estimates released by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in a quarterly report to the U.S. Congress. That represents a 15 percent decrease in territory held compared with the same time in 2015, the agency said in a report. "SIGARs analysis of the most recent data provided by U.S. forces in Afghanistan suggests that the security situation in Afghanistan has not improved this quarter," it said. - Read More, Reuters Answers Africa is one of a kind platform created for Africans both locally and in the diaspora and those seeking for more in-depth information about Africa. We have always focused on creating the highest quality informational contents right from the beginning. We share the most relevant information on the latest and trending news, events, people, and places in Africa. 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Her Husband and Family Facts There has been a gradual paradigm shift in the world of sports which has today produced the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other female athletes that are pulling great feats in different sporting fields. Their achievements have also been followed by the emergence of female sports journalists such as Jillian Mele, Eboni Williams, ... Is Brittany Wagner Married, Who Is The Husband, How Old Is She? Brittany Wagner has been an inspiration to a lot of sports youngster. She has won the hearts of many athletic students with her role as a life coach and an academic counselor. She is well groomed in her career and has worked over a decade for The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and The National ... 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After the United States Attorney General refused to defend the so-called "Muslim ban," the new president was quick to lash out. Trump on Twitter Donald Trump signed the aforementioned executive order last Friday, limiting travel for Muslims in select countries. Within minutes of the news, backlash followed, resulting in multiple protests taking place, and a federal judge ordering a temporary stay on the order. On Monday night, Sally Yates, the recently Obama-appointed Attorney General, came out strong against Trump's travel ban. Yates released a statement where she said her job was to "seek justice and stand for what is right," while also noting, "At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities." In response, the billionaire real estate mogul voiced his anger, as seen on his Twitter account on January 30. The Democrats are delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons. They have nothing going but to obstruct. Now have an Obama A.G. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2017 "The Democrats are delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons. They have nothing going but to obstruct," Donald Trump wrote on his Twitter account on Monday night, before adding, "Now have an Obama A.G." Trump's tweet was also in reference to the Democrats in the Senate who have refused to confirm, or at times even vote, for Trump's cabinet nominations. With Sally Yates now coming forward, it only highlights the wide political divide between the two parties. JUST IN: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates issues letter saying Justice Dept. will not present arguments in defense of immigration order pic.twitter.com/FhKl1hs6qm ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 30, 2017 Obama speaks While many have spoken out in recent days over the Muslim ban, President Obama has been relatively quiet since leaving office. However, that all changed on Monday morning when the former president released a statement in support of the growing protests. "President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country," the statement opened. "Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake," the statement also noted. Obama rejects Trump immigration orders and praises protests https://t.co/XQg9ZohQ4Z NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 31, 2017 Next up While the future of the Muslim ban is unknown, it appears that there will be a fight over the issue that won't be ending anytime soon. With just a week of his presidency in the books, Donald Trump and his critics have a long four years ahead of them. It's been just over one week since Donald Trump took the oath of office and became the 45th President of the United States, but controversy has already taken place. After being pressed on a variety of issues by members of the media, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was not happy about it. Spicer implodes Not long after Donald Trump pulled off the upset and defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to become the new commander in chief, all eyes quickly shifted to who would be surrounding him in the White House. Within weeks, Trump named Sean Spicer, former Communications Director of the Republican National Committee, as his new press secretary. In the week and change that Spicer has officially been the mouthpiece for the White House, he's clashed with the media ad nauseam. On Monday, Spicer once again got into a heated exchange with the media during a press conference, as reported on January 30. Sean Spicer stepped up to the podium on Monday afternoon, and for nearly his entire time taking questions, engaged in a controversial stand off with the press. Topics ranged from the executive order that banned travel from select Muslim countries, the promotion of Steve Bannon, and the White House omitting the mention of "Jews" during their recent Holocaust message. On the Muslim ban, Spicer attempted to write off the backlash, stated that people being inconvenienced for a few hours is a small price to pay for the bigger picture. "It's a shame that people were inconvenienced, obviously. But at the end of the day we're talking about a couple hours," he noted. Spicer on the Holocaust When the issue of the aforementioned Holocaust statement was brought up, Sean Spicer grew visibly frustrated. "To suggest that remembering the Holocaust and acknowledging all of the people, Jews, Gypsy, Priests, disabled, gays, and lesbians, it is pathetic that people are picking on his statement," Spicer said. He then went on to attack the media for allegedly taking too many statements out of context in an attempt to smear Donald Trump. Spicer on Bannon The next topic to be brought up was over Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, formally of Breitbart News, being elevated in his role in the White House by becoming part of Trump's National Security Counsel. Sean Spicer attempted to make the case that former President Obama and President Bush had done similar actions in the past, while calling it "utter nonsense" to suggest otherwise. In clarification, Spicer went on to later confirm that Steve Bannon would not be apart of every meeting. As the Trump administration continues to battle with the press, it doesn't appear that both sides will be on the same page anytime soon. It has been reported by several sources that President Donald Trump's planned visit to Britain puts Queen Elizabeth in an awkward position. First of all, the 90-year-old ruler normally does not meet with heads of state so soon into their tenure. Trump allegedly has accepted an invitation for a state visit as early as June. Secondly, the invitation came just before Trump announced his ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries which has prompted international backlash. Trump's state visit allegedly will be an embarrassment to Queen Elizabeth -- who is expected to be the host for the formal visit with all the pomp and circumstance. Many people are concluding that he definitely should not have been invited so soon, if at all. After two years It is acceptable for United States Presidents to visit the United Kingdom within a few months of entering office, but state visits that come with meeting the royal family should come much later. Usually presidents meet the royal family after they have been in office for at least two years. Former President Obama was in office 28 months before he went on a state visit. Former President George W. Bush had been in office 32 months before he visited the royals. Based on that protocol, it is too soon for President Trump to go on a state visit five months from now. How Trump was invited Prime Minister Theresa May said in a press conference on Tuesday that she invited President Trump to visit when she was at the White House last week. Prime Minister May is sticking by her invitation and thinks it should stand. Lord Ricketts, a former secretary at the Foreign Office, questioned the timing of the visit. He didn't think the newly elected president deserved the honor so soon. He added that it would have been better to wait to see what kind of president Trump would be. He concluded that the Queen has been put in a very difficult position. Petition to stop Trump's state visit More than 1.6 million signatures are on a petition for Parliament to stop Trump's state visit. Only 10,000 signatures were required for this to be considered in Parliament. However, a counter-petition to allow Trump's state visit has 120,000 signatures. Therefore, people are divided about the early state visit. Azerbaijan made more than 15 ceasefire violations in the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact, the defense ministry of Nagorno Karabakh reported. STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 1, ARTSAKHPRESS: The ministry issued a statement, saying: On January 31 and overnight February 1 Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime more than 15 times mainly using various firearms, firing around 165 shots at NKR posts. In the eastern direction of the line of contact, Azerbaijan fired one shell from an 82mm mortar. Donald Trump did the unthinkable as he sat in the president's chair. What was thought off as mere rhetoric for the election has turned out to be a reality? In one of his first acts, the president signed an executive order barring Muslims from 7 nations from traveling to the USA. It's a bewildering order and looks like an attempt to please his constituency. Many Americans are happy as they are not aware that this ban in real terms is meaningless. There is a lot of opposition as well. Donald says the ban on travel and entry to the USA is to save the American people from the ravages of radical Islamists. Unfortunately, reading between the lines shows this order is just a sop to his voters. None of the 7 nations named have had any connection with any terror activity in the USA. This is the harsh fact. Another point to mull over is that the nationals of nations that were involved in terror activity against the USA like Saudi Arabia and Egypt don't figure in the ban. The ban There is international outrage at the travel ban. Russia and China are the only 2 nations who have not commented on the ban. The Muslim allies of the USA fighting shoulder to shoulder against the ISIS like in Iraq must be wondering how they are singled out. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers are fighting the ISIS and including them and leaving out nations that have a link to nationals who committed terror acts against the USA must be bewildering to them. Why did Donald for all the macho image he wants to project not include these countries? Business interests The sad part is that Donald has a substantial business interest in these countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE and as he has business interests he has omitted these nations. Saudi Arabia is an enigma as it is an ally of the USA and perhaps Donald did not want to touch it as it would have ruffled the feathers and with all the oil coming in from there he thought it better to leave out the foremost sponsor of Islamic fundamentalism. Last word Donald's executive order is just an attempt to show his supporters that he means business. He has forgotten there is palpable anger against America in the Muslim world and just for this reasons has made it unsafe for Americans to travel to many parts of the world. Donald must remember that men who ride the tiger have the chance of being eaten by the beast. Even before Donald Trump became a candidate for president, he was involved in a public feud with actress and former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell. While Trump is typically the one to hit back on Twitter, it was O'Donnell who decided to offer her thoughts on the social media platform. Rosie speaks The war of words between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell made its way into the political arena last year during the first Republican primary debate. After moderator Megyn Kelly accused Trump of referring to many women as "fat pigs" and "dogs," the former host of "The Apprentice" replied, "only Rosie O'Donnell." The feud gained more steam when O'Donnell came under fire following the election when she questioned whether or not Trump's son, Baron Trump, had autism. As seen on her official Twitter account on January 2, the former co-host of "The View" is still voicing her opinion. DONALD TRUMP IS MENTALLY UNSTABLE - https://t.co/6AvhoPq1du LESS THAN 3 WEEKS TO STOP HIM AMERICA ROSIE (@Rosie) January 1, 2017 "DONALD TRUMP IS MENTALLY UNSTABLE," Rosie O'Donnell tweeted out in all caps, before adding, "LESS THAN 3 WEEKS TO STOP HIM AMERICA." After several retweets that were also critical of the billionare real estate mogul, O'Donnell posted an article from Buzzfeed that highlighted Trump's controversial comments about women in the past, while adding her own comment, "DT IS MENTALLY ILL." Rosie O'Donnell didn't stop, concluding her anti-Trump tweets, as of press time, with a final message. In a third and final message on Twitter, O'Donnell posted another article about the president-elect, this time from the Huffington Post, while captioning it with her comment reading, "THE IS THE WORLDS WORST HUMAN." Moving forward While it's unknown what Rosie O'Donnell meant by stopping Donald Trump over the next three weeks, it's clear that the feud between the two is alive and well. Trump is now just three weeks away from becoming the 45th President of the United States, which will occur on Inauguration Day on January 20. While Trump and his supporters will be enjoying the move into the White House, O'Donnell and many others are expected to continue their opposition, with as many as 100,000 protesters showing up to take to the streets. The reboot of the 1983 movie "Scarface" is happening. According to Latina magazine on January 27, 2017, Sofia Vergara is all set to "go Cuban" when she plays the role of Gina Montana in the "Scarface" reboot movie. The original "Scarface" tells the story of a Cuban refugee and his plight to success as the biggest drug lord in Miami. Sofia Vergara and her role of a lifetime Universal Studios has announced that, finally, 32 years after its release, the 1983 "Scarface" will finally get its reboot, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sofia Vergara. Vergara is most known for her Columbian character, Gloria Pritchett, on the television series, "Modern Family." Others may know her as the wife of "True Blood" and "Magic Mike: XXL" favorite, Joe Manganiello. With the remake of "Scarface," Sofia will take on the role, last played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Leonardo DiCaprio with one more hit under his belt Leonard DiCaprio will take on the role of Cuban refugee, Tony Montana. In the Universal Studio's press release, it was stated that the studio had been planning a remake since 2002, but they were having a hard time finding a leading role. The person they wanted was going to have to live up to the stellar, iconic performance given by Al Pacino. We know that the 1983 "Scarface" was a huge hit and Al Pacino became much more of a household name. Al Pacino has gone on to make 56 movies, including the "Godfather" series. Pacino shows no signs of slowing down in his movie career. The most notable line in "Scarface," is "Say hello to my little friend," giving Pacino one of the most iconic and memorable lines of his lifetime. Casting the reboot was hard, according to the original movie director, Brian DePalma. "This project has been on the drawing board for almost 15 years," he stated. There was also a point when DePalma was ready to scratch the project and walk away until he saw DiCaprio in "The Wolf on Wall Street." DePalma changed his mind and knew then he had to get Leonardo to play Tony Montana. New setting for the film The reboot's latest director to take on the project, Pablo Larrain, was in agreeance. The new "Scarface" will not be set in the 1930s or the 1980s, but instead in the 2000s. There are going to be other differences like the use of cell phones, computers, and other technology since that was not available in the 80's like it is now. While he feels the fans of the original will love what the directors are doing, they hope new fans will feel the same. Other notable changes include an interesting twist; the story will take place in Los Angeles instead of Miami, following the life of a Mexican immigrant and his rise in the criminal underworld as he fulfills his goals of living the American Dream. Two-time Oscar nominee, Paul Attanasio, wrote the current draft of the screenplay. Attanasio is best known for the movie "Donnie Brasco." As if the technological differences and city differences weren't enough, the lead character may not actually be titled Montana like the 1983 movie and it sure won't be Camonte from the 1932 version. Instead, the screenwriter and directors are checking the popularity rank for different last names. What do you think about the "Scarface" reboot? The Kardashians recently took a family trip to Costa Rica and naturally, cameras were rolling. The "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" crew were having a great time until Scott Disick got caught with another woman. It turns out that Kourtney's ex was trying to mix a little party time with family time and got busted flying another woman down to Central America so he could have a little fun on the side. Scott brought another woman on a 'KUWTK' vacation It was first reported by TMZ that Disick got his mystery woman a room at the same hotel where the E! camera crews were staying. The father of three even went to great lengths to keep his lady friend a secret, knowing good and well that Kris Jenner and her crew would not be cool with Scott's other woman hanging around while they were trying to tape the show. Scott Disick's big mistake was to have the woman staying in the hotel with the camera crew. It didn't take long for someone to snitch on Disick, telling Kris Jenner all about the other woman he had been sneaking off to party with. Naturally, Kris was really upset and ended up confronting Scott along with Kim and Kourtney. The thing is, Kourtney wasn't even mad about Scott having another woman because they have been split up for a long time now. Instead, the Kardashian sisters and their mom were reportedly mad because Scott was sneaking around behind their backs and they really didn't want this other woman hanging around. Disick ditched Costa Rica and partied in Miami after huge blowout fight Scott Disick's "cheating" turned into a huge blowout where Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian reportedly went off, telling Scott all about himself and how disrespectful he was acting. Considering that he's a grown man and he's not with Kourtney Kardashian anymore, Disick didn't appreciate them ganging up on him and telling him what to do so he didn't stick around. Instead, Lord Disick made a beeline for the United States. Scott decided to spend the rest of his vacation in Miami where he was seen hugged up on another woman, model J Lynne. It's unknown if she was the woman in Costa Rica or if there was a completely different woman who sparked the argument that caused him mto escape the Costa Rica vacation and come home. Then, Scott was seen hugged up at a Miami hotel with yet another different woman, whose identity is not known the day after he was seen with J Lynne. When Scott gets home, he'll certainly have a lot of explaining to do. It doesn't seem to matter if he's actively in a relationship or not, Scott Disick gets accused of cheating on Kourtney Kardashian any time he is seen out with another woman. The family certainly doesn't want Scott's "cheating" to end up playing out after the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" camera crew catches it all on film. Hundreds if not thousands of underage South African girls are lured into human trafficking by refugees in South Africa who have fled their war-torn African countries. Blasting News accompanied the Vice Squad in Cape Town, South Africa and discovered the root or source of human trafficking -- African syndicates operating throughout South Africa. According to the most recent human population statistics of South Africa's 55 million inhabitants, there are more than 15 million African refugees in the country. These refugees are from war-torn African countries like Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, Somalia, Cameroon and Nigeria. Not all these countries are embroiled in conflict but some are so impoverished that they come to South Africa for a better life. But a better life they indeed get by selling drugs, pimping young girls, and involvement with human trafficking. Vice Squad Nayhan Lategouri (the deputy chief of Cape Town's Vice Squad) said the refugees know the South African law and legal practice. They are fully aware South Africa is extremely lenient on prostitution and even on drugs. The South African government seems to turn a blind eye. The death penalty for drugs and murder has been scrapped since 1994 when the country turned democratic. The foreigners in South Africa have carved a niche market by luring youngsters from Cape Town to other parts of the country and from other parts of the country to Cape Town. They operate like this: They have "nice" people, men and women, working for them and turning the girls to prostitution. These nice people frequent nightclubs where they pick up drunk or drugged young girls and kidnap them and keep them drugged. When the person comes to her senses they will drug her again. She will continually be kept drugged. Then when the youngster is being transported to another part of South Africa she will be made worthless by being raped while under the influence of drugs. She will be raped by several men, and in most cases, infected with HIV. They are forced into the sex trade. Professionals Lategouri said these refugees are professionals and know what they are doing. The youngster will go through a process of de-humanizing. Blasting News witnessed a young girl of 16 when she noticed the Vice Squad late on a Saturday evening. She started crying and said she wants to go home to Durban, some 700 Kms from Cape Town. The Vice Squad then called her mother who turned out to be a medical doctor at a local hospital. The girl was taken to a safe house and her Nigerian pimp was arrested. But a member of the Vice Squad said the pimp will be released as soon as his lawyer turns up. In another case, a Congolese pimp used a 15-year-old coloured girl from Worcester (which is 100 Km from Cape Town). He keeps her drunk and drugged. And he would stand next to her on the streets until a willing customer comes along to pay for her "service." This pimp makes so much money from one single youngster that he could pay the rent of his posh dwelling, pay for groceries, buy clothes, and even pay his vehicle's instalments. The Vice Squad rescued this youngster as well. But the situation is getting worse, as more customers from foreign countries are seeking "colored" youngsters for the black market. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 It's been said that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle invented Western science by having his students collect sea shells on the beach and then sort them by their features, looking for connections. If that's true, his helpers would surely be scratching their heads over the remains of some critters just unearthed in China. Researchers have identified traces of what could be the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of not just humans, but of all bilaterally symmetrical creatures with a backbone. And you'd never know it to look at it. Named Saccorhytus, the microscopic, bag-like sea creature lived about 540 million years ago. Shaped like a tiny grape, it had a huge mouth relative to the rest of its body and probably ate by engulfing its food or other creatures. Its skin (like a human's) was thin and flexible and it lived in the sand bed of a shallow sea, wiggling to get around. Its features were spectacularly well preserved in the fossils, including cone-shaped "vents" along its sides that may be precursors of gills. Intriguingly, the researchers were unable to find any evidence that the animal had an anus and suggest it discarded its waste back out through its mouth. The species is all new to science and is thought to be the most primitive example of the broad biological category called deuterostome, according to the paper just published in Nature. The study was carried out by an international team of academics, including researchers from Northwest University in Xi'an and the University of Cambridge in the UK, with support from other institutions in China and Germany. "We think that as an early deuterostome this may represent the primitive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including ourselves," said Simon Conway Morris, professor of evolutionary palaeobiology at Cambridge. "To the naked eye, the fossils we studied look like tiny black grains, but under the microscope the level of detail is jaw-dropping. All deuterostomes had a common ancestor, and we think that is what we are looking at here." Degan Shu, from Xi'an's Northwest University, added: "Our team has notched up some important discoveries in the past, including the earliest fish and a remarkable variety of other early deuterostomes. Saccorhytus now gives us remarkable insights into the very first stages of the evolution of a group that led to the fish, and ultimately, to us." Not just to fish but creatures as diverse as starfish and sea urchins, so this little creature's reach embraces a level of diversity scientists had previously found extremely difficult to connect the dots on. The Saccorhytus microfossils were found in Central China's Shaanxi province in an area that during the Cambrian Period would have been a shallow sea. Scientists isolated the fossils from surrounding rock and then studied them under both electron microscopes and CT scans. "We had to process enormous volumes of limestone - about three tons - to get to the fossils," said Dr Jian Han, of Northwest University. "But a steady stream of new finds allowed us to tackle some key questions: was this a very early echinoderm (starfish, sea urchin or sea cucumber), or something even more primitive? The latter now seems to be the correct answer." The new findings also throw light on one of the most esoteric discrepancies in modern science - the mismatch between fossil evidence and the so-called "molecular clock" provided by modern genetic analysis. Scientists believe that two species diverging from a common ancestor leave a time trail in their DNA and many of these "tracks" suggest how far back life went. The problem has been, most forms of life back half a billion years were too small to leave fossils. This remarkable find could help bridge the gap between the two methods of sleuthing for answers. Aristotle would give it an A plus. Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com. Boston, like many US cities, is trying to increase Chinese tourism. It has the added benefit of being a major college hub, which it is using to entice Chinese students, and the city hopes, visits by their friends and families. Visitors who go to Boston for education-related reasons make up the majority of Chinese tourists in the area, and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GBCVB) is trying to ramp up efforts to keep increasing that market, said Patrick Moscaritolo, the bureau's president and CEO. "When you drill down into the number, it's more than just Chinese students at our colleges and universities in Boston and Cambridge," he said. "It's also now turning out to be Chinese students at secondary schools, Chinese visitors that are coming for summer camps." Besides the students, Boston wants to attract their parents as well. Parents who drop off their children at summer camps, for example, might spend the week exploring Boston and the rest of Massachusetts, or travel around New England and other parts of the Northeast, before returning to pick up their children and heading back to China. "Education is such a major part of what Boston and Cambridge offer. Another way to put it, to look at it from a marketing perspective, it is really the underpinning of the Boston and Cambridge brand, as it relates to Chinese visitors," he said. About a quarter of Chinese visitors going to Boston go for educational purposes, according to 2015 figures published by the US Department of Commerce. More recent figures are not available yet, but Moscaritolo estimates that the number has grown to approximately 28 percent for 2017. The education category that visitors check off on their surveys can mean attending college in the Boston area, attending secondary schools and academies, short summer education programs or corporate training programs, he said. There are roughly 20,000 Chinese students attending school in Boston, a number that has seen double-digit growth in the last decade. Boston gets roughly 209,000 Chinese visitors, just below the 215,000 who visit from the United Kingdom. It set a goal to get 500,000 visitors by 2021, which Moscaritolo said he expects the city can accomplish. Boston held China-friendly seminars for participating member organizations and retailers in December and is working to partner with colleges and other education institutions to strengthen its Chinese programs. "Colleges and universities are such drivers of Chinese visitors, [so] part of our plan is to build programs with the colleges and universities, and within the colleges and universities with the Chinese student associations, to better serve them, to better serve incoming freshman classes," he said. "Because obviously not only the student comes, and she or he spends money while they're at our colleges, but many times their family members, their parents come, or maybe their parents and their grandparents - that's all potential new opportunities for business," he said. Boston also has a regular stream of direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai: It currently has daily flights to Beijing and Hong Kong, and a four-times-a-week flight to Shanghai. Moscaritolo said if the city were able to expand the Shanghai service to daily flights, it could be a "very successful service", but the current US-China bilateral treaty on aviation and transportation caps the number of direct flights between Tier 1 Chinese cities and American cities. "I understand why the treaty has the limits - because there's a priority to open nonstop service between secondary cities to the US," he said. If the treaty is amended, Moscaritolo said the 500,000 figure could be reached before 2021. amyhe@chinadailyusa.com In his first 10 days in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump has already begun delivering on his top campaign promises, from ditching the trans-Pacific trade deal and building a wall on the Mexican border, to slapping a temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. As the president's actions have stirred up a firestorm of criticism, observers of Sino-US relations are cautioning Beijing to remain "prudent" and "prepared" for a head-to-head with Washington in negotiations. They also suggest the economic powers avoid a trade war for the good of both countries. "This past week has been shocking," Gordon H. Chang, former director of Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford University, told China Daily in a written interview. Chang said he believed the chances for a tough, dangerous period ahead in US-China relations have increased as Trump seems to be pushing his agenda aggressively without thought or deliberation. Asked about the likelihood of Trump fulfilling every one of his China-related campaign promises, the professor of history said, "He won't forget about China; he also plays to the public, and China bashing is popular in the US." Chang said China should be "careful but firm" and "prudent" and see what Trump will do. Nicholas Hope, former director of the China program at the Stanford Center for International Development, said that although he had no grounds to conclude that Trump intends to follow through on all of his campaign promises, actions to date suggest that he intends to, no matter how inappropriate the actions may seem to the US' long-term interests. "As the two largest trading powers, at all costs the two countries must avoid being drawn into a punishing trade war that could send the world back to the 1930s," Hope said. At a "US-China Relations in Transition" discussion at the Brookings Institution last Tuesday, Barbara Franklin, former US secretary of Commerce, also weighed in on the issue. "A trade war, as some are predicting, harms both countries," she said. "I think it will be averted." She suggested the top leaders of the two countries meet and talk regularly. "They should, and, I hope, will start the kind of communication and negotiation process that will be a win for both countries and the global economy," Franklin said. Zhang Zhixin, head of American political studies at the Institute of American Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the US under Trump's watch is ready to defend its economic and security interests, even at the risk of taking on other countries, be they friend or foe. Trump's determination to discourage US companies from investing overseas to expand employment, in fact, has been welcomed by many underprivileged Americans, said Zhang. Keeping "illegal immigrants" at bay in the name of combating terrorism, although highly controversial, is arguably an effective way of securing jobs for local blue-collar workers, he added. "That does not bode well for Beijing, which may have to prepare for a head-to-head with Washington on trade, diplomatic and security negotiations," said Zhang. Under Trump's tougher vetting of immigrants, which he said is needed to protect America from terror attacks, he has ordered a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the US, an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees, plus a 90-day bar on citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. "How far Trump will push the envelope on immigration and what he might do to bypass institutional barriers remains unpredictable," said Wang Dong, an associate professor of international studies at Peking University and secretary general of the Beijing-based think tank Pangoal Institution. "But one thing is clear: 'Make America Great Again' will be coupled with continued bitter confrontations between him and his opponents and the chaos that may follow," he added. Reports said the H1-B work-visa that allows US employers, particularly Silicon Valley giants, to hire top foreign professionals, also faces a revamp as "part of a larger immigration effort", he said. Tech sector stocks were down 1 percent on Monday and Asian markets also retreated the next day. It is possible that Trump could muscle through the new order, dampening applications for the annual quota of 65,000 set aside for "specialty positions", said Wang. "A renegotiation is also likely, but the pain will soon be felt by US companies and work-visa applicants, a lot of whom are Chinese" he said. Contact the writers at huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com San Francisco is the first of the so-called sanctuary cities to sue US President Donald Trump over his executive order to withhold federal funding to those cities. The city of San Francisco on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Trump in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, requesting an injunction on the president's order to strip funding to the cities preventing local law enforcement from assuming immigration-related duties. San Francisco's city attorney, Dennis Herrera, said the president's order is not only "unconstitutional" but also "un-American". The constitution gives local and state enforcement powers to make decisions in the best interest of residents, but the order seeks to interfere with those powers, Herrera said at a press conference on Tuesday. "San Francisco is safer when all people, including undocumented immigrants, feel safe reporting crimes. Using city and county resources for federal immigration enforcement breeds distrust of local government and officials who have no power to change federal laws, and can also wrench apart family and community structures that support residents and thus conserve resources," reads the complaint. Trump said the order is to "protect the lives of the American people". His supporters say it is in the best interest of public safety. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday embraced Trump's attempted crackdown on sanctuary cities, saying that "to protect Texas from deadly danger, we must insist that laws be followed", according to WISN 12 News. However, a Stanford professor said there's no evidence that undocumented migrants commit a disproportionate share of crime in the United States. "The best proof, maybe, is the relatively low rates of violent crime and property offenses in border cities like San Diego, Laredo, El Paso, and Brownsville. Those are places with very high concentrations of noncitizens, including undocumented migrants, and they are strikingly safe," said David Alan Sklansk, the Stanley Morrison Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, in an article posted at the university's website on Monday. "San Diego, El Paso, and Brownsville have lower homicide rates than Des Moines. The rate in Laredo is only slightly higher." Sklansk said "the police need the cooperation of immigrant communities in order to fight crime. Effective policing depends on the trust and cooperation of the people served by the police department-rich and poor, native-born and immigrant" San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city in 1989, a time when thousands of Central American refugees fled countries in the midst of violent civil wars to seek legal protection in the United States in the 1980s. More than 400 jurisdictions across the country have some sort of sanctuary policy, offering political support or protections to people who are in the country illegally. liazhu@chinadailyusa.com TYRE There were "del Lago" chants. The line waiting to get in wrapped around the building. Vehicles attempting to enter the parking lot were backed up on Route 414. More than three years after Rochester-area developer Tom Wilmot proposed building a destination gaming resort in Seneca County, del Lago Resort & Casino opened for business in Tyre Wednesday. "It's very exciting," said Wilmot, the casino's co-chair and chairman of Wilmorite, the development firm owned by his family. A long line of people waited out in the cold before the casino opened its doors at 10:30 a.m. As of 11 a.m., the line extended from the casino's front door past the entrance to the resort's hotel, which is still under construction. Inside, elected officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and del Lago officials celebrated the milestone a day that was more than three years in the making. Jeff Babinski, del Lago's executive vice president and general manager, was the emcee for an event held in the casino's food court prior to the opening. He told the crowd that he had goosebumps Wednesday morning as he prepared for the casino's premiere. He referred to del Lago as the "gateway to the Finger Lakes." "Today is a major victory for Seneca County," he said. Cuomo proposed allowing non-Indian casinos to operate in New York in 2012. The state Legislature passed a constitutional amendment in 2012 and 2013. Voters approved the amendment in 2013. With the constitutional amendment in place, it cleared the way for four casinos to operate in upstate New York. After the vote in November 2013, Wilmorite released its proposal to build a casino in Tyre. The proposed casino received the state Gaming Facility Location Board's endorsement in 2014 and, one year later, the state Gaming Commission awarded a casino license to Wilmorite and Peninsula Pacific, an investment firm that owns 50 percent of del Lago and has five other casinos in the U.S. There were legal challenges. A group of Tyre residents joined forces with the Oneida Indian Nation, which owns Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona and Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango, to file lawsuits against the project. While one of the challenges was successful it voided the initial site plan's approval most of the lawsuits were dismissed. The casino was built in 12 months. Crews began working on the facility's steel structure in January 2016. The project employed 1,800 construction workers, officials said. As of Wednesday morning, del Lago had 1,504 employees who were hired to work as dealers, food servers and a variety of other positions within the facility. An additional 300 employees will be hired when the resort's 205-room hotel opens this summer. "That was the initiative," said M. Brent Stevens, del Lago's co-chair. "When (Cuomo) wanted this to occur, he wanted economic development in the upstate region of New York. Fifteen hundred jobs permanent employment that didn't exist a year ago and exists today is very powerful into a local economy." Cuomo touted the opening of the casino as the latest positive development for upstate New York's economy, which he believes is on the upswing. "Today is about seeing dreams come true," he said. "It's about seeing visions turn into reality." After Cuomo's remarks, the casino opened and patrons streamed in. Many took a seat at one of the 2,001 slot machines in the facility, which also has nearly 90 table games blackjack, craps, poker and roulette. Del Lago is the latest casino to open in New York, and won't be the last. Rivers Casino in Schenectady is scheduled to open Wednesday, Feb. 8. Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier opened its expanded casino late last year. The casinos add to the existing facilities in the state, many of which are owned and operated by Indian tribes. Del Lago officials are confident they have a casino that is better than the rest. They acknowledged there might be some growing pains early on, but they're eager to prove that this is the best casino in the state. "It's a question that customers will answer, and they'll answer with their feet," Stevens said. "We are very proud of what we've been able to build here." Art for Auburn the group behind downtown installations like the painted crow murals on Exchange Street and the Big Store mosaic on the Edward T. Boyle Center has announced its next project. The team will create a painted mural of Harriet Tubman, with a mosaic background, on the rear wall of Genesee Center. The installation will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday, June 23 through 25. The wall, along Lincoln Street, faces Memorial City Hall and Route 34, which leads to the Harriet Tubman Home and forthcoming Harriet Tubman National Historical Park. The project's creative team consists of Project Manager Jesse Kline, fine artist Tony Clubine and ceramic artist Jen Gandee. The mural will feature a portrait of Tubman painted by Clubine, surrounded by a glass and tile mosaic. Clubine's public art portfolio includes the exterior of the Liberty Store and the mural next to Colonial Laundromat, both on Genesee Street. "I am happy to be doing portrait of Harriet Tubman," Clubine said in a news release. "I admire her for her contributions to the human race. By doing this mural, I hope to inspire more people to contribute positive, uplifting, helpful and caring acts toward humankind." Volunteers are sought to help with the project. No artistic experience is necessary, and volunteers can assist for any amount of time. All materials will be provided. The project is supported by a Finger Lakes Community Arts Grant, part of the New York State Council on the Arts' decentralization program. It is also supported by the Harriet Tubman Downtown Memorial Committee, Harriet Tubman Boosters, the Harriet Tubman Center for Justice and Peace and the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District. Communicating with landlords has been an issue historically for many municipalities. Auburn is no exception. In Auburn's case, solutions have been approached over the years with varying levels of progress. In 2007, for example, then-Mayor Tim Lattimore suggested a registry documenting contact information for landlords or their local representatives. The program was never instated, while the city later established a vacant building registry in around 2014 to help emergency responders identify a parcel's hazard level. Now, Auburn officials are again considering a rental property registry after meeting with members of the Cayuga County Landlords Association last week. Around a dozen association members discussed the concept last Tuesday during a meeting with Auburn City Manager Jeff Dygert and Senior Code Enforcement Officer Brian Hicks, said Tim Kerstetter, the association's treasurer. The general idea of the registry is to establish a list of contacts for the city's use in case of a property emergency, such as a codes issue or a damaging condition. The Cayuga County Landlords Association currently has a membership of around 40 property owners. The majority of them at Tuesday's meeting appeared to support the concept, Kerstetter said. Auburn among 76 municipalities awarded state funds to address 'zombie homes' Auburn has been awarded funding from the state attorney general's office to help the city ad One of their concerns regarded any involved costs. Kerstetter said the association hopes the program could be implemented free of charge. "That's what the goal is: better communication," he said. The city of Syracuse has a rental property registry in place. Owners of one- or two-family non-owner occupied Syracuse properties that are rented or leased are required to apply for a rental registry certificate. Syracuse's application requires a $150 processing fee. Dygert has said previously that the registry would not be designed to create revenue or implement a fee. Like Syracuse's, Auburn's registry, ideally, would only concern properties that are not owner-occupied. Other details have not yet been worked out. For instance, it has not been determined whether the list would be mandatory and, if that were the case, what sort of penalty there would be for those who do not comply. Dygert, Auburn's former fire chief, said there have been situations in the past where the city has had issues reaching landlords following property emergencies severe enough to displace families from their homes. During those situations, the city cannot reach out to plumbers, electricians and similar companies on another person's behalf, he said. If a registry is made, contacting residents in case of those situations would be the purpose of the list, according to the city manager. Dygert said the city would not share that contact information publicly or commercially. "It's all about trying to improve communications, keep people in their homes when we can and reduce everybody's cost," he said. The suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program and travel visas from some Muslim-majority countries have Flagstaff talking. Following are some reactions: * * * Ash Patel, president of Southwest Hospitality Management, which owns several hotels in the Flagstaff area, had a different take on the travel ban. He wrote in an email that the ban is likely to affect tourism traffic to the U.S. However, I do feel that the negative publicity with the protests across the country would surely hurt peoples perception of us being a friendly country and open to tourism, he said. Most people hear from the media as if we have closed our borders and may feel uncomfortable coming here, not knowing what kind of welcome they will get. Added Patel: I think the administration should be better at communicating this message. It is too early to see the repercussions of this executive order. But I am nervous as it affects my business directly. * * * Coconino County Republican Party First vice Chair Joy Staveley said she supports the action, which she said is not a ban, but a temporary slowdown. The seven countries included in the action were named by Congress in 2015 as places that may have a significant terrorist organization presence, both Staveley and Coconino County Republican Party Chair Jeff Oravits pointed out. The order is an attempt to further vet people coming in from countries that have been named as a concern, Staveley said. Im in favor of it, she said. There are always problems that happen when doing anything, whether its in business or government. Staveley said she believes the administration is working hard to see that all people who should be allowed to enter the country will be, and said The snafu with the green card holder was unfortunate, but was corrected quickly. As for the refugee admission freeze that was included in Trumps executive order, Staveley said she is very sympathetic to the plight of refugees, but we cannot solve all the worlds problems. Staveley said she would like to see refugees able to stay securely in their home countries, and said many people come from very different cultures, which can make it difficult to adapt to life in the United States. Weve got problems of our own here, Staveley said. We need to take care of our veterans. Thats more important, at least, I think it is. Despite the inconveniences that have arisen, Staveley said she believes the action was taken with good intentions. I believe the intent is good and honorable, she said. If there were problems created, Im confident they will be solved. Oravits said border and immigration security is one of the pillars of the Republican Party, and said if the action is temporary and is used in a way to make people in the U.S. safer, he supports it. Its unfortunate any time you inconvenience people coming in, Oravits said. You dont want to see children held up or the elderly held up, or anyone to be held up. Oravits said he would like to see the issues created, including people detained in airports and people with valid visas and green cards stranded in foreign countries to be resolved as soon as possible. In a perfect world, this could have been rolled out better, he said. Oravits said he feels for anyone in a refugee situation, and said he is not sure how many people the U.S. should take in, but wants to find solutions for them. I hope we can take more people in and help them over time, he said. * * * Avi Henn, who is from Israel, said he and his family are not concerned about being able to travel back and forth between the U.S. and Israel, even though they just got their green cards. I feel really bad for those who are affected, he said. He is concerned that one of his students, who is Muslim and from Saudi Arabia, will have problems returning to the U.S. Even though Saudi Arabia is not one of the seven countries on the travel ban list. Henn is also concerned about what the travel ban signifies for democracy in the U.S. I think this administration is pandering to a nationalistic intent and its unaware of the historic consequences of doing so, Henn said. I think its attempting to see how far the bounds of democracy and decency can be stretched. Both ideas disturb him because of the history of what has happened to his people, those of the Jewish faith, during World War II. Henn pointed out that past administrations, including former President Barack Obamas administration, have had similar bans or made getting a visa from certain countries difficult. Hes also worried that the ban and the flap surrounding it is distracting more important issues that are being created by the Trump administration, such as climate change, Trumps Supreme Court pick and the elimination of regulations that protect the health and safety of the public and environment. The media and the public have to be smart and rational and base less of their decisions and reactions on emotion, Henn said. The media especially needs to step up and take on the administration This is a test for American democracy, he said. I hope it plays out to the benefit of democracy in the U.S. * * * Lori Poloni-Staudinger, professor and chair of the politics and international affairs department at Northern Arizona University, blasted the Trump administrations logic that the travel and refugee bans would improve national security. Instances of refugees attacking Americans are incredibly low, Poloni-Staudinger said. Americans are more likely to be killed by the wind, more likely to be strangled by sheets in your bed, things we never give a second thought to, and definitely more likely to be killed by another American than a refugee, she said. Instead, Trumps actions provide further fodder for recruiting efforts by extremist organizations like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State that initially gained a foothold as a result of the U.S.-initiated war in Iraq, she said. The actions also knock down the United States standing in the world and directly oppose the country's founding principles. We argue we're a moral compass in the world and we've now lost our ability to say that, Poloni-Staudinger said. The U.S. has always said we're a country of immigrants and we're not doing that anymore. Considering the travel bans inclusion of only Muslim majority countries and the fact that exceptions for only Christian asylum speakers are being discussed, I don't know how you can see this as anything but a Muslim ban, she said. * * * Dana Cihelkova, a researcher and program evaluation coordinator at NAU who is from the Czech Republic, said Trumps actions make her feel vulnerable. Cihelkova is in the United States on a work visa and fears the president could begin reviewing visas from other countries as well, putting her livelihood in jeopardy, she said. People in Europe are concerned Trumps actions could trigger a third world war, she said. The world is a very sensitive place and to escalate conflicts it would be a tragedy, Cihelkova said. The Trump administrations actions are only serving to isolate our country further from the rest of the world, she said. Regarding refugees, European countries that are taking in tens of thousands of people see the U.S. as ignoring a massive humanitarian crisis and blatantly shirking a global duty to take care of those fleeing their countries, Cihelkova said. craigslist: thailand jobs, apartments, for sale, services, community, and events craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, services, local community, and events Biz Stone, the co-founder of micro blogging site Twitter, has offered a business advice to social networking Website Facebookstart a premium subscription option. He thinks that this advice could help the Facebook generate up to $1 billion in additional monthly revenue. That is if the social network would start offering an optional $10 monthly service where ads would be eliminated. Stone added that if at least 10% of all Facebook users would subscribe to the service, the company would easily earn a billion each month. A Facebook Premium service that is spared from ads would be a good proposition to many users who dislike the interruptions and disruptions brought about by those ads. How did he know about the dynamics of Facebook when in fact Twitter is its direct competitor? Stone revealed that he has joined Facebook years ago. However, he disclosed that he decided to take a hiatus when he started getting annoyed by the continuously streaming incoming requests. His experience was quite common: his Facebook account soon got too busy with all those requests until he would not keep up anymore. Competitor as Facebook user But just recently, he had to start using Facebook again. When he started his new endeavor called Jelly, he strategically hired several Facebook employees. He has also recently discovered the usefulness of adjusting settings to make his social media experience less stressful. This is when he realized how ads somehow spoil the Facebook experience. Although most users may not tolerate those because they know those help make the site continue, Stone is sure that a premium service without those hassles would entice more Facebook users. Surprising advice This may not be a welcomed idea to most users but Stone insists that it could be a viable option, which willing subscribers could easily obtain. He thinks that not all Facebook users would sign up for the premium service but even if only a small fraction does so, it would translate to a substantial amount of additional income for the company, which has been struggling to generate income. The unsolicited advice is quite surprising as it comes from one of the brains behind Twitter. For many years now, Facebook and Twitter have been sharing the same stand about the inclusion of ads on their Web pages. While the two sites may have differences, they logically share the stance to favor ads because those certainly help keep their sites free of charge to users. A family from Detroit became the latest victim of United States President Donald Trumps ban on immigration and travel from seven predominately Muslim nations as the mother of a local business owner died as she could not return to the US for treatment. According to a report by Fox 2, the businessman, Mike Hager, flew to Iraq to bring his mother back home to the US for medical treatment. But he was forced to leave his family behind under President Trumps ban. His mother died just a day after being told that she couldnt return to the United States. Hager was born in Iraq and fled during the Gulf War. He lived in a refugee camp with his family for four years before settling in the United States. In the 2000s, he returned to Iraq where he worked as a contractor for the US Special Forces between 2003 and 2008 as an interpreter and cultural advisor. Hager, who now owns a business in Metro Detroit, said that his mom would still be alive if Trump had not instituted his travel ban on Muslim countries. Hager, along with his family, was returning to the United States where his mother has lived since 1995. As they were waiting in line at the airport in Iraq on Friday, he was told that he could pass through because he was a US citizen. But his family members - including his mom -- werent allowed, despite holding green cards. -- TRUMP ERA BEGINS They destroyed us. I went with my family, I came back by myself. They destroyed our family, Hager said. The immigration told us that the President of the United States put an order right now -- you guys cannot go, he said. Hager said he didnt expect it to be a problem for the family to travel since they all had green cards and had lived in the United States for 20 years. Last Friday, Trump signed an executive order that indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the country, suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, refugees or otherwise, from entering the United States for 90 days: Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The ban has been met with protests and condemnation worldwide. Image: Hundreds of people attend a rally at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn against the US President's travel ban. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. HA NOI The export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in January is estimated to witness a year-on-year decrease of 1.4 per cent to US$2.54 billion. This was stated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Major farming products saw a year-on-year reduction of 1.7 per cent to $1.2 billion and seafood export value reached $518 million, down five per cent against the same period last year. Meanwhile, the local forestry industry saw a year-on-year increase of 2.1 per cent in export value to $652 million in January. Also in January, Viet Nam saw a strong reduction in both rice export volume and value. Exports dropped by 32 per cent in volume to 325 tonnes of rice and by 35.1 per cent in value to $136 million compared with the same period last year, the ministry said. Huynh The Nang, chairman of the Viet Nam Food Association, said the rice industry would face more difficulties this year. The association said in 2016, China was the largest rice importer of Viet Nam, purchasing 1.74 million tonnes of rice worth $782.3 million, representing a yearly decline of 17.5 per cent and 8.6 per cent in volume and value, respectively.Other major rice importers in ASEAN such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia also witnessed strong reduction of 64.1 per cent, 45.5 per cent and 51.8 per cent, respectively.The local coffee industry did not maintain its growth of last year in the first month of this year, with the industry witnessing a fall in export volume and value in January. Exports dropped by 25.5 per cent in volume to 127,000 tonnes and 3.6 per cent in value to $287 million against the same period last year.Strong declines were also recorded in the export value of other farm products, such as tea, cashew nut, pepper and cassava.The country earned $16 million from exporting 11,000 tonnes of tea in the period, reducing by 3.6 per cent in volume and 8.6 per cent in value compared with January last year. The export of cashew nut saw a sharp decrease of 20 per cent in volume but just a slight drop of 4.4 per cent in value due to the high level of export price. Viet Nam witnessed strong reduction in pepper exports by 18.3 per cent in volume to 8,000 tonnes and 37 per cent in value to $56 million year-on-year.Rubber was the only product which maintained stable export growth, with $193 million earned from shipments of 102,000 tonnes, 84.8 per cent in value and 10.5 per cent in volume from the same period last year. VNS HA NOI A group of dance therpay artists from the Stephen Petronio Company will perform at the Ha Noi Opera House and host workshops for disabled children in the famework of DanceMotion USA on February 12 and 14. The show is reserved for US alumni, members of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) and partners of the US Embassy. Another show will take place on February 16 at Hai Phongs Opera House. The company will host two workshops with Vietnamese children with autism and deaf-mute students on February 14. The first workshop will be held at Kinergie Studio, 101A Nguyen Khuyen while the latter takes place at Xa an Junior High School. The Stephen Petronio Company founded in 1984 has performed in 26 countries at various events, including the Dance Umbrella Festival (London), Hebbel Theater (Berlin) and Scene Nationale de Sceaux, Festival dAutomne (Paris). DanceMotion USA is a programme run by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, produced by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, to facilitate cultural exchange while showcasing the best in contemporary American dance. VNS NEW YORK Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his rock poetry, but he is returning to classics with his new album which marks his latest collection of Frank Sinatra standards. "Triplicate," which will come out on March 31, will be Dylans first three-disc album and his third successive album consisting of covers of tunes performed by Sinatra. Dylan released a first track from "Triplicate" -- a take on "I Could Have Told You," originally released by Sinatra in 1954, with the rock legends grainy voice over a melancholy slide guitar. Other songs Dylan covers on "Triplicate" include "The Best Is Yet To Come," one of Sinatras most famous songs whose title is inscribed on his tombstone; "As Time Goes By," best known for the piano scene in classic film "Casablanca"; and "Stardust," a perennial American favorite since Hoagy Carmichaels 1927 original. While Sinatra is the common thread on "Triplicate," Dylans 38th studio album, the 30 songs come from a range of songwriters. Dylan picked the selection and recorded them with his touring band at Capitol studios in Hollywood, his label said. At 75, Dylan has shown no sign of slowing down. He plans a tour of Europe in April and May and was recently announced as a headliner of the Firefly festival to take place in June in the eastern US state of Delaware. But Dylan was characteristically reticent in October when he was the surprise winner of literatures most celebrated prize, with the Nobel Committee hailing his unique rock voice. He did not show up to the prize ceremony in Stockholm in December, although he sent a speech read by the US ambassador in which he said he was "honored" to receive the award. It was unclear when Dylan recorded "Triplicate," although he cited pre-existing commitments for his failure to attend the Nobel ceremony. Dylan released a first album of Sinatra covers in 2015, "Shadows in the Night," and a second one last year, "Fallen Angels." His last album with newly written songs, "Tempest," came out in 2012 and was tinged with dark lyricism and Irish roots music. The critically acclaimed work had initially triggered speculation it would be Dylans last owing to the title, as Shakespeares final play was "The Tempest." AFP HA NOI A celebration was held this morning on the occasion of the 228th anniversary of King Quang Trungs decisive victory against Chinese-Quing dynastys force in Viet Nam in 18th century. Quang Trungs Tet campaign went down in the nations history as one of the most brilliant and successful military campaigns in which he used the element of surprise to overwhelm a much larger force. An estimation of a quarter million Chinese soldiers were eliminated with the rest of their force allowed to leave the country in an orderly retreat. Quang Trung, whose capital was set up in Phu Xuan, Hue, later went on to unify the country under his rule until he died in 1792 at the age of 40. Vietnamese people would often refer to him as The Cloth-robe Hero for his humble upbringing in a farmer family. Dubbed - ong a hill festival - by locals, the event is among the capitals most popular and oldest Tet events with the citys residents gathering en mass at the ong a Culture Park, one of many historical sites where the battle for the capital took place in 1788. It is traditionally held on 5th day after the New Year, making it an inseparable part of the capitals Tet. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was among the honoured guests attending the ceremony this year. VNS Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, an expert on female workers, speaks to Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper about the proposed revision of the 2012 Labour Code. Will you tell us about labour policies on female workers written in recent Labour Codes? One of the principles that all law makers must pay attention to when compiling any law is protecting people in disadvantageous situations, particularly women. In labour relations, employers often put female workers in a disadvantaged position against male workers, particularly pregnant workers or those with young babies. When the first Labour Code came into force in 1994, the law had an article regulating that breast feeding mothers would have 60 minutes a day to breast feed their baby. Meanwhile, during menstruation, a woman will have 30 minutes a day for sanitation. The 2012 Labour Code devoted Chapter 10 to female workers and ensuring better conditions for them. Do you think legal provisions on female workers have been implemented by employers? Up to 90 per cent of enterprises have upheld the rule that during the first year after giving birth, women are allowed 60 minutes for breastfeeding. But the law on 30 minutes a day for sanitation is not strictly upheld. Employers have argued that for females who work in a supply chain, it is very difficult to arrange other workers to replace them. Also, many female workers dont want to tell their boss to give them 30 minutes for sanitation. The Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour has worked with labour unions in factories to ensure that Article 155 of the Labour Code on breast feeding mothers and female workers in general are strictly followed by employers. Many employers have complained about the Article 155 of the Labour Code and urged for the article to be erased. How do you respond to their proposal? In my opinion, in the context of global integration while the countrys economy faces many difficulties, employees should share difficulties with their employers. However, sharing difficulties doesnt mean they have to give up on progress. The 60 minutes a day for breast feed baby and 30 minutes a day for sanitation has been observed in many countries. Such time arrangements have not seriously affected factorys production. The only issue is female workers should inform their employers before hand so they can arrange a replacement. What can be done to help enterprises arrange replacements so that it wont disrupt production? Article 7 in the Government Decree 85 gives detailed instruction on how to implement the Labour Code, particularly the article on breast feeding mothers and womens menses days. So, it is up to employers and mothers to arrange breast feeding at their most convenient hours either 60 minutes at once or two breaks of 30 minutes. Besides the time slots for breastfeeding babies and sanitation, do you think the Labour Code should cover other issues? Under Clause 2, in Article 155 of the Labour Code, in certain cases, employers can tell pregnant women to stop working. In my opinion, Clause 2 will become a challenge for both the employer and the employee as the two parties have to spend time and money to prove that the female employee is pregnant. In addition, the revision of the 2015 Labour Code eliminates Article 123 on disciplining pregnant women. I object to such a decision. I dont think that pregnant women would take advantage of the Article to violate labour disciplinary rules. A proposed revision of the 2015 Labour Code would increase overtime working hours. I object to this as female workers will not have sufficient time to look after their families. This will, no doubt, affect the Vietnamese race and their families. Will you please talk about the treatment of women written in the Criminal Code and the Labour Code? Under the Criminal Code, a pregnant woman or one raising small children can enjoy amnesty or delay the courts sentence. Compared with female prisoners, working women who may have broken labour disciplinary rules, their violations are much lighter than crimes committed by their peers. Please, just put yourself in the shoes of a pregnant woman, what do you want then? Be disciplined, dismissed and have no money to bring up your children? VNS THUA THIEN- HUE Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday paid a Tet (Lunar New Year) visit to central Thua Thien-Hue Province, where he extended New Year greetings to the local party organisation, administration and people. He expressed hope that in the Year of the Rooster, Thua Thien-Hue would reap successes in all fields. While congratulating Thua Thien-Hue on its socio-economic and security-defence achievements in 2016, the prime minister lauded the localitys efforts in overcoming the aftermath of the maritime environment incident to recover its sea-based economy. The PM highlighted Thua Thien-Hues abundant tourism potential and asked the province to undertake stronger economic reform, while mobilising resources for tourism growth and fostering ties with central localities, such as a Nang and Quang Nam, to boost tourism. Thua Thien-Hue should work harder to turn its traditional agriculture into smart agriculture with high quality to increase locals income in rural areas, he said.PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc also requested the locality to speed up the improvement of its investment environment, thus making full use of the fourth industrial revolution, and build a strong and stable political system to better serve locals. Leaders of the province reported that nearly 170,000 Tet gifts were presented to social welfare beneficiaries. During the seven-day holiday, Thua Thien-Hue has, so far, welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors. Yesterday, President Tran ai Quang visited former party general secretary o Muoi on his 100th birthday. The former party general secretary was informed about the countrys economic achievements in the last year. The president expressed his appreciation of the former party general secretary in supporting the party and nations causes, especially during the oi Moi (Renovation) Process. President Quang affirmed to follow and develop the partys glorious achievements and further enhance national consolidation and unity to overcome the challenges this year. Quang offered his best wishes to the former party general secretary and thanked him for his valuable contribution to the party and countrys development. VNS HCM CITY HCM City Party Secretary inh La Thang on Tuesday paid a Tet (Lunar New Year) visit to Intel Products Viet Nam at the Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park in District 9. Speaking with the company management, he hailed the contributions made by Intel to the citys economic development. Its exports account for more than 12.4 per cent of the citys total exports, he said. Its labour productivity is around 100 times the average of that of foreign companies at the Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park, he said. He also praised Intel for its assistance to the Ministry of Education and Training and universities in train high-quality human resources. Sherry Boger, general director of the company, said Intel is using the newest technologies and manufacturing three fourths of Intel Groups all major products. In the past it only produced chips for desk computers but now produces and creates various technology products for tablets, mobile phones, wireless networks and others, she said. It has 1,332 employees and 39 per cent of them are female, she said. After 10 years in Viet Nam Intel exported products worth US$4.56 billion last year, up nearly 100 times from the $56 million in its first year. Thang said the company should review its first investment phase to begin the second phase soon. He suggested it should set up a research centre, help develop HCM City into a smart city and set up an innovation fund to train high-quality human resources for itself and the city. He also asked the firm to help Vietnamese firms participate in its and its parents supply chain. The city will create all the conditions required for IPV to develop its second phase as well as apply new technologies in production. VNS Ha Noi health authority to tighten measures to manage private clinics According to estimates of the Ha Noi Health Department, the city has nearly 3,000 private health clinics, receiving some one million patients per year. While many private clinics offer good services and help reduce the pressure on public hospitals, there were some private clinics that violate regulations. The newspaper Suc Khoe oi Song (Health and Life) talks to Tran Nhi Ha, deputy director of the Ha Noi Health Department, on the matter. Non-public health clinics have offered alternatives in health services. Yet they also present challenges to health authorities. What are the most common violations by these clinics? The establishment of non-public clinics in Ha Noi has given the public more options while choosing suitable health services, thus reducing the pressure on public health facilities. Thats the most important advantage we need to highlight. Regarding the violations, our examinations showed that the most common violations include running inaccurate advertisements, offering health services that have not been approved by relevant authorities, offering health services with no licence, charging customers more that the listed price and offering health services in the absence of professional health individuals who are in charge. Many non-public clinics are located in small rented houses, with the facilitys structure not suitable to run a health clinic, although it still meets the requirements to operate. The awareness and the sense to follow legal regulations are also sometimes limited. There are still many people who buy and take medicines without the doctors advice. Human resources at private clinics are limited; most full time doctors and pharmacists at private clinics are retired. Further, there is a shortage of high quality staff, with many employees working part-time. Apart from that, to maximise profits, many clinics intentionally ignore legal regulations. Moreover, inspection work is not carried out regularly. The inspection force is also limited and measures to tackle violations are not strong enough. In your experience, what measures should the Ha Noi Health Department implement to prevent wrongdoing and to make sure private clinics follow regulations? To strengthen state management in private health facilities, close collaboration between health and other relevant authorities of the city is required. Health inspection forces should strengthen and undertake inspection without prior notice at clinics which have a foreign element involved and those near established public hospitals. Its necessary to instruct private clinics to list the hotline phone number of the Hanoi Health Department, so that the public can file complaints. Besides this, there is a shortage of health inspection staff, so inspections are not carried out regularly. Health authorities at lower levels need to timely detect health clinics operating without licences. Strict measures to address the situation must be taken once violations are discovered. In distant suburbs, such as Ba Vi and Soc Son, there should be close monitoring of health professionals practicing traditional medicine without licence. As you mentioned, the role of health authorities at lower levels is very important in timely detection of violations and to strictly handle any wrongdoing. So what is the role of the Ha Noi Health Department? We do not dodge our responsibility in state management in Ha Noi. Actually in our monthly meetings with district authorities, leaders of health authorities made it clear and send official letters to district authorities requesting reinforcement of the responsibilities of local authorities. The Ha Noi Health Department always requires the public listing of certificates of health practitioners. For example, a list of medical staff working at a particular private clinic and the phone number of the hotline to reach the Ha Noi Health Department (043.998.5765) must be stated publicly, so that the public and health authorities can monitor and file complaints. The Ha Noi Health Authority has given the responsibility to medical units to monitor the operation of private clinics. Welfare of people is the most important. Therefore, people should fully practice their rights to monitor and participate in the management of private clinics along with the authorities through specific actions. Patients should ask private health clinics to present their operating licence and should inform relevant authorities when they detect violations at private clinics. VNS If all goes according to plan, there could be a new assisted living facility in Beatrice by the end of the year. Thats what Auburn developer Bryan Mellage told the Beatrice Community Redevelopment Authority this week, when he applied for tax increment financing from the city. If approved, the TIF funding for the projects infrastructure would total around a million dollars. That money would be used to bring electricity, roads, water, sewage and drainage to the property on Dorsey Street near Ninth Street in Beatrice. Its an assisted living facility, Mellage said in an interview. Itll be a 32 room facility. Mellages company, Birchwood Estates Retirement Village LLC estimates total cost of the facility at $3.84 million. Mellage was approved for a $35,000 loan by the City Council and CRA from LB840 economic development funds in 2015, when the company was called Nu Nebraska LLC. Part of that loan was granting him the money for him to do some of the legwork to find out if this project was even viable, Beatrice City Administrator Tobias Tempelmeyer said. So he has taken some of that money and paid for a few of those studies and taken that care of. Mellage hopes to start construction this spring and have the facility open by late fall, which sounds like an ambitious timeframe, but you might be surprised, Tempelmeyer said. Amazingly enough, those things dont take that long to do, Tempelmeyer said. Weve looked at the project, we kind of know generally what it would take to complete. Construction may be a quick process, but what might take a while are approval and the preparation for construction. The project still needs to be reviewed and approved by City Council, Planning and Zoning and then taking it back to the CRA. He has to plat the property, Tempelmeyer said. Hell have to rezone the property, because I believe part of the property is zoned residential and part is zoned ag today, so hell want it rezoned, so that has to go through planning and zoning and city council, then if theres TIF hell have to go through all those steps. The Beatrice Planning and Zoning Commission are scheduled to take a look at the project at their meeting next Tuesday at 7 p.m. UNITED NATIONS UN-led peace talks on Syria have been postponed until February 20 to allow a ceasefire to take hold and to give the opposition time to present a united front, the UN envoy has said. The talks in Geneva had been scheduled to begin on February 8 but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week announced they would be delayed, without providing reasons. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura told a closed meeting of the Security Council that the postponement would help bolster preparations for the talks aimed at ending the nearly six-year war. "We want to give a chance both to the government to become seriously engaged in discussions and the opposition (...) to actually be able to be given a chance to come with one unified opposition," De Mistura told reporters after the meeting. Russia, Iran and Turkey last week led talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana on shoring up a ceasefire in Syria, where more than 310,000 people have died. "If the ceasefire becomes as solid as we hope that will only help the Syria talks," said the envoy. The Syrian opposition has been divided over representation to the talks. De Mistura warned that if the opposition failed to agree on the composition of the delegation by February 8, he will select the representatives from the various groups who will come to the peace table. "If by the 8th of February, the opposition will not be ready to come up with a unified group, I will have to ....actually select the delegation in order to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible," he said. - Fears of sidelining UN - The council heard a report from De Mistura amid concerns that the Astana discussions could open up a new track of negotiations. During the Astana talks, Russia, Syrias main ally, presented opposition rebels with a draft constitution that was immediately rejected by the groups. The unilateral move by Russia raised concern in Western capitals. "We have been concerned that the Geneva talks have been delayed and we would be concerned if there were any watering down of the basis of those talks," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters. "Its very important that there is confirmation that the UN will lead the next round of talks," said Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog, this months council president. "The UN has to be front and center in the political process," said French Ambassador Francois Delattre. He cited the need to respect the Geneva communique agreed with Russia that calls for a transition in Syria. "We start with a transition, then the constitution, and then the elections," said Delattre. "I think if we can all stay on this line, then we can move." Previous UN-led talks have broken down over disagreements on ensuring a transition in Damascus that would lead to President Bashar al-Assads exit from power. Western powers have for weeks questioned the purpose of the Astana talks and raised concern that they could sideline the Geneva talks. Turkey, which backs rebel forces, has for the first time conceded that a peace deal that excludes Assad from power might not be possible. The new date was announced after US Ambassador Nikki Haley meet with De Mistura on Monday to discuss the way forward in Syria. AFP The King of Morocco Mohammed VI delivers a speech in Addis Ababa on January, 31, 2017. AFP Photo ADDIS ABABA "I am finally home," King Mohammed VI said as the African Union readmitted Morocco after a 33-year absence, deferring the issue of Western Sahara for another day. Moroccos return came a day after 39 of the AUs 54 member states agreed to allow it back in the fold, despite stiff resistance from countries such as South Africa and Algeria over the status of the disputed former Spanish colony. Faced with the AUs decision, Western Sahara officials appeared to accept the new reality, saying AU membership might help speed up efforts to end a protracted conflict. "It is a beautiful day when one returns home after too long an absence," Mohammed VI told the closing ceremony of the AU summit in Ethiopia. His speech came after a long day of feverish speculation in the halls of the AU headquarters over whether he would indeed show up. No conditions Morocco quit the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1984 after the bloc admitted the former Western Sahara as a separate member. Morocco maintains that the territory under its control -- which is home to large reserves of phosphate, a key ingredient in fertilisers, as well as rich fish stocks off its coast -- is an integral part of the kingdom. But the Polisario Front, which campaigns for independence, demands a referendum on self-determination for the territory of half a million residents. Some had feared Morocco would seek the expulsion of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as a precondition for its return to the AU, but the country agreed to return without conditions. "From the moment that Morocco did not impose conditions ... we take their word for it and accept that Morocco be admitted to the African Union," said Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, foreign minister of the SADR, which claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara. Salek said on Monday that having Morocco in the same room would allow the SADR to pressure them into fulfilling their obligations and hold a long-sought referendum. The European Union has welcomed the move, saying: "Cooperation and regional integration are essential for prosperity, stability and peace." 'Common economic growth' King Mohammed did not raise the issue of Western Sahara in his speech, choosing instead to highlight how Morocco, "one of the most developed African nations", could be a boon to the continent. "We do not ignore the fact that we do not have unanimity in this noble assembly. We do not want to create divisions as some have insinuated," he said. Morocco will be "a motor for common economic growth", he vowed. "It is time that Africas riches benefit Africa. For too long we have looked elsewhere to make decisions, commitments." Pan-African splendour The busy summit also saw Chadian foreign minister Moussa Faki Mahamat take over from South Africas Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as AU commission chief after a fierce election battle that eliminated four other candidates. Guineas Alpha Conde took over the rotating presidency of the bloc, and called for the continent to express solidarity with Somalia, Libya and Sudan, which have been targeted US President Donald Trumps travel ban. The decision to re-admit Morocco, and election of a new chairman, took place despite regional divisions that observers feared could lead to delay or deadlock on both issues. Moroccos press on Tuesday hailed the kingdoms return to the bloc, with headlines including "Victorious return" and "Thank you your Majesty". "The country will now revert to its role as a political and economic leader and correct its previous errors," Mohamed Alaoui, a pensioner in Rabat, said. UN peacekeeper scrutiny A combative Conde also called for more urgency in reforming the United Nations so that Africa could get a permanent seat on the Security Council a long-running demand from the continent. He appointed South African President Jacob Zuma to lead negotiations with the UN, and also look into the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations on the continent. "What is the role of the blue helmets? What purpose does this army serve?" Conde asked, pointing to violence in places like South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. He also appointed Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to negotiate on behalf of the continent with the European Union on the issue of migrants. "On the migration problem we need to speak with one voice," Conde said. AFP LONDON - British MPs debated until midnight on Tuesday over the merits of a bill giving Prime Minister Theresa May the power to start the countrys departure from the European Union. The government is hoping to rush through the legislation in time to trigger Article 50 of the EUs Lisbon Treaty, which opens two years of divorce negotiations, by the end of March. While the two-clause bill is expected to swiftly pass the lower House of Commons, it could be delayed in the upper House of Lords, where Mays Conservative Party does not have a majority. Its ultimate adoption is in little doubt, however. "It is not a bill about whether or not the UK should leave the EU, or how it should do so," Brexit minister David Davis said as he opened the first, two-day debate on the legislation. "It is simply about implementing a decision already made, a point of no return already passed." The government had originally sought to bypass parliament, insisting it had the power to trigger Article 50 on its own, but the Supreme Court last week ruled it must consult lawmakers. A majority of both houses of parliament opposed Brexit, but May has urged them to respect last years historic referendum, when 52 percent of Britons voted to leave the EU. Political implosion At just 143 words, the "European Union Notification of Withdrawal Bill" has been tightly drafted, making it difficult to amend either to delay the governments plans or to tie its hands in the talks. Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has promised not to block the bill, although his party -- like the wider country -- is deeply divided and dozens of his MPs are expected to rebel. "I am not failing to trust the people, I just disagree with some of them and I agree with the 48 percent who chose to remain," Labour MP Paul Farrelly said during the debate on Tuesday. But fellow Labour lawmaker Emma Reynolds urged MPs to back the Article 50 bill: "Those of us on the remain side might not like the (referendum) result, but we have to accept it." The Liberal Democrats Sarah Olney, elected in December on an anti-Brexit platform, said parliament had been presented with no evidence the country would benefit from immediately triggering Article 50. "We are effectively being asked to jump out of an aeroplane, without knowing whether or not we are securely attached to a parachute," she said. Dozens of Mays Conservative MPs are also opposed to her plan to pull Britain out of Europes single market, but most of her partys lawmakers have promised to back the government as long as ministers keep parliament updated and involved in the process. May has already promised MPs a vote on the final divorce deal. Pro-Brexit Conservative MP Steve Baker warned fellow lawmakers they would "suffer the kind of political implosion in this country which we can scarcely imagine" if they refused to pass the bill. After the preliminary debate, a vote on Wednesday allowing the bill to move to its next stage is viewed as largely procedural. Over three days next week, however, the Commons will consider substantive amendments on issues such as access to Europes single market. There are also demands for greater involvement from the devolved parliaments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the latter two voting in June for Britain to remain in the EU. The bill will then move to the Lords for debate from February 20, with the government hoping for their approval by March 7. The Times newspaper said this could mean that Britain -- the first country to vote to leave the EU -- would trigger Article 50 at an EU summit on March 9-10, although Downing Street dismissed this. -- AFP WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump has crushed the most defiant display yet of official opposition to his immigration and refugee restrictions -- but resistance continued to spread on Tuesday, inside and outside the government. Trumps swift dismissal of acting attorney general Sally Yates for refusing to defend his executive order capped a night of high drama, Washington-style, that drew comparisons with a flurry of urgent housekeeping by Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal. Trump came out fighting on Tuesday, hitting out at Democrats for stalling on the approval of his nominee for attorney general and the rest of his cabinet. "They should be ashamed of themselves! No wonder D.C. doesnt work!" Trump wrote on Twitter. But as the president defended his move to bar entry for people from seven mainly Muslim countries and halt the US refugee resettlement programme, challenges were mounting on all sides -- from the United Nations to lawmakers in his Republican Party. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharpened his criticism of the ban, calling it a "blind" measure that was more likely to fan extremist propaganda than combat the threat of terrorism. And as former national security officials warned that the order sends exactly the wrong message to Muslims -- that America is at war with them over their faith -- even US diplomats jumped into the fray in a rare display of dissent in an administration just a week old. Keeping bad people out Trumps order bars US entry for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. It also suspends the arrival of all refugees for at least 120 days, and Syrian refugees indefinitely. It has led to the detention of more than 100 people at US airports and mass protests in many cities, and raised howls of protests abroad. White House spokesman Sean Spicer pushed back once more on Tuesday against the tide of criticism. "This is not a Muslim ban. Its not a travel ban," he told reporters. "Its a vetting system to keep America safe. Thats it. Plain and simple." Trump received a vote of support Tuesday from House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan, who defended the restrictions as a legitimate way to keep out potential terrorists. "There is nothing wrong with taking a pause and making sure we had the proper vetting standards in place so that we do not have a problem like France had with Paris," Ryan said, alluding to November 2015 suicide bombings and shootings that left 130 people dead in the French capital. The measure also appears popular with Trumps base: around 48 percent of Americans support a freeze on immigration from "terror prone" regions, even if it means turning refugees away, according to a Quinnipiac poll. One of them is Don Krepps, a retired construction worker in rural Ohio, 66, who voted for Trump. "He tries to keep the bad people from coming in that dont belong here," he said. Krepps gives short shrift to the arguments of the opposition: "If they would leave him alone, I think he would do okay, but Democrats complain about everything he does." To the Supreme Court? The challenges have been coming from all sides. Critics including in Trumps own camp complain that the order is too broad and was rolled out hastily, reportedly without consultation with key officials who would be tasked with overseeing it. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly insisted Trumps top advisors were not caught unawares by the unveiling of the order, saying "high-level folks in the government, attorneys as well" were consulted on the draft. Possibly the most dramatic gesture of protest to date came from Yates, who instructed Department of Justice attorneys Monday not to defend Trumps order in court, expressing doubts about its legality and morality. Trump wasted no time in crushing the rebellion. Yates -- an Obama appointee held over pending confirmation of Trumps nominee Jeff Sessions -- was sacked within hours and replaced by federal prosecutor Dana Boente, who vowed to defend Trumps directive. Legal challenges to the ban look set to loom large during confirmation hearings for Trumps Supreme Court nominee, whose name will be revealed Tuesday night. Several federal judges have already filed temporary stays against the decrees implementation and attorneys general from 16 US states, including California and New York, have vowed to fight it as "unconstitutional." - Unnecessary - At the State Department, meanwhile, diplomats declared their opposition in a "dissent memo" delivered through an official channel. According to leaked drafts of the memo, they argued the move is a betrayal of American values. "We are better than this ban," they declare. The rumblings drew a scathing riposte from Spicer, who said of the diplomats, "I think they should either get with the program or they can go." Senior national security officials from the Barack Obama and George W. Bush administrations warned in a letter to top Trump cabinet members that the order will do long-term damage to US national security, calling it a tragically "unnecessary" move that will fuel violent extremist propaganda. And according to industry sources, a broad coalition of US technology firms -- including Google parent Alphabet, Netflix, Airbnb and Twitter -- is planning a joint legal strategy challenging Trumps order, which is expected to have a large impact on a sector that employs thousands of immigrants. AFP Waterloo Fire Alarms Jan. 17 Ambulance runs: 26 7:41 a.m., Broadway and Donald streets, automobile accident. 1:47 p.m., West Sixth and Washington streets, automobile accident. Fire Alarms Jan. 18 Ambulance runs: 29 2:19 a.m., 1321 Minnesota St., natural gas leak. 11 a.m., 3229 Darlene Court, assist resident. 3:48 p.m., 1304 W. Fifth St., automobile accident. Fire Alarms Jan. 19 Ambulance runs: 30 12:24 a.m., 2315 W. Fourth St., automobile accident. 10:40 a.m., 1637 Butler Ave., assist resident. 11:59 a.m., Flammang and East San Marnan drives, automobile accident. 3:10 p.m., West Fourth and Allen streets, automobile accident. 3:46 p.m., 304 Lamont St., natural gas leak. 9:53 p.m., 210 E. Tower Park Drive, smoke alarm. Fire Alarms Jan. 20 Ambulance runs: 25 2:48 a.m., 1340 Sycamore St., automobile accident. 7:47 a.m., 1350 Katoski Drive, Central Middle School, smoke alarm. 9:40 a.m., 3470 W. Airline Highway, false alarm. 1:55 p.m., 1952 W. Sixth St., water leak. 3:29 p.m., 603 Baltimore St., garage fire. 4:35 p.m., Esther Street and Logan Avenue, automobile accident. 6:51 p.m., 1237 Franklin St., malicious false alarm. Fire Alarms Jan. 21 Ambulance runs: 17 3:14 a.m., 1406 Washington St., vehicle fire. 1:38 p.m., 425 Devonshire Drive, trash fire. 10:16 p.m., 512 N. Barclay St., trash fire. Fire Alarms Jan. 22 Ambulance runs: 18 9:08 a.m., 310 E. Sixth St., false alarm. 11:17 a.m., 180 W. Fifth St., rescue from elevator. 1:46 p.m., 37 Franklin St., unauthorized burning. Fire Alarms Jan. 23 Ambulance runs: 21 8:38 a.m., 106 E. Third St., trash fire. 12:32 p.m., 730 Sherman Ave., assist resident. 1:41 p.m., 1926 Country View St., unauthorized burning. 4:17 p.m., 800 W. Parker St., false alarm. Fire Alarms Jan. 24 Ambulance runs: 20 8:44 a.m., 2815 WCF&N Drive, Hydrite, false alarm. 10:59 a.m., 205 W. Fourth St., Ramada Inn, false alarm. 1:15 p.m., Home Park Boulevard and Kimball Avenue, automobile accident. 4:27 p.m., Sheerer and University avenues, automobile accident. 5:22 p.m., 2060 Sovia Drive, false alarm. 7:35 p.m., 815 E. Ridgeway Ave., fatal house fire, cause under investigation. 10:04 p.m., 501 Sycamore St., Blacks Building, false alarm. 10:52 p.m., 1303 W. Second St., cooking fire. Fire Alarms Jan. 25 Ambulance runs: 25 8:01 a.m., West Third Street and Western Avenue, automobile accident. 9:24 a.m., 205 W. Fourth St., Ramada Inn, smoke alarm. 1 p.m., 114 Argyle St., unauthorized burning. 1:24 p.m., 828 Kern St., carbon monoxide investigation. 1:26 p.m., 805 W. Fourth St., false alarm. 4:02 p.m., 1133 Littlefield Road, dryer fire. Fire Alarms Jan. 26 Ambulance runs: 30 5:22 a.m., 214 Washington St., assist resident. 10:13 a.m., Hope Avenue and Louise Street, automobile accident. 4:25 p.m., 917 Lorraine Ave., smoke alarm. 8:09 a.m., 1509 Bertch Ave., false alarm. Police Log Cody James Murray, 24, of Waverly, was arrested Jan. 30 on Pleasant Street for second-offense operating while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an injury accident and driving without a license following a traffic accident at Bayard Street and Williston Avenue. Peggy Lee Hartmann, 50, of 2707 Randolph St., was arrested Jan. 29 at 1976 Franklin St. for second-offense operating while intoxicated. Charles James Kacher, 29, of Traer, was arrested Jan. 23 on West Third Street for simple domestic assault. He allegedly assaulted Jodi Sherman, 27. Chloe Renee Fleshner, 19, of 520 Dawson St., was arrested Jan. 22 at the police station for first-degree burglary. She allegedly entered a vehicle and assaulted a person inside. Aaliyah Jane Nakea Pearson, 21, of 2535 Edgemont Ave., was arrested Jan. 22 at the police station for obstructing prosecution. She allegedly gave false information about a traffic accident. Colin Andrew Tompkins, 30, of 822 Lorraine Ave., was arrested Jan. 22 at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital for second-degree criminal mischief. He allegedly damaged a vehicle and a phone. Devan Kristine Loew, 24, of 1809 Plymouth Ave., was arrested Jan. 21 at West 11th and Washington streets for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic accident. Jamie Antonio Guizar, 18, of Waterloo, was arrested Jan. 20 at West 11th Street and Williston Avenue for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. Police found marijuana and a scale during a traffic stop Jan. 19. Nizam Rascic, 26, of Utica, N.Y., was arrested Jan. 20 in the 1300 block of Sycamore Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a crash with a tree. Dennis William Washington, 26, of 522 Ricker St., was arrested Jan. 20 at 319 Jefferson St. for third-degree burglary, third-degree theft and fifth-degree criminal mischief. He allegedly broke into 3719 W. Ninth St. on Jan. 14, 2014. Samantha Almeda Stacey, 41, of 1540 W. Ridgeway Ave., was arrested Jan. 16 at 2060 Crossroads for three counts of third-degree theft. She allegedly took items from Stuff Em Toys, Spencers Gifts and Rue 21. Benjamin Lee Ungs, 26, of 1110 Kent Circle, was arrested Dec. 30 at the police station for first-offense operating while intoxicated in connection with an accident in the 500 block of Washington Street on Dec. 22. WATERLOO A former Waterloo man has been returned to Iowa to face charges in a 2015 gun robbery. Police said Julius Jewel Jones Jr. had arranged to have another person rob his friend at gunpoint and take her gun when she came to give Jones a ride June 17, 2015. Then Jones allegedly fled to Oklahoma City where he was arrested on weapons charges a short time later. On Monday, Jones, now 28, was arrested on the Waterloo warrant charging him with first-degree robbery in the 2015 holdup. He was booked at the Black Hawk County Jail, and bond was set at $200,000. The June 2015 robbery happened in the 300 block of State Street about 11:30 p.m. after Jones had requested a ride. When the victim arrived to pick him up, the masked gunman displayed his weapon, demanded her .45-caliber Hi-Point pistol and ran off. Jones exited a nearby house and allegedly pretended to chase the robber, returning a short time later to tell the victim he ended the chase when the gunman threatened to shoot him, court records state. The victim then gave Jones a ride to 702 Fowler St. and notified police. The woman later noticed a Facebook photo of Jones and a man clad in the same clothing the gunman had worn during the robbery. Investigators determined the picture was taken on Fowler Street about an hour after the robbery. Oklahoma City police detained Jones two days later when they raided a house. He was arrested on Oklahoma charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm after he was found with the stolen Hi-Point. He pleaded guilty in August 2015 and was released from prison Jan. 20 and waived extradition to Iowa. House targeted in shooting WATERLOO Police are investigating an overnight shooting that damaged a Waterloo home. According to police, a neighbor called 911 about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday after hearing gunshots. Bullets shattered a front picture window of 115 Western Ave. and entered the home where Corvelous Caston, 26, and Shavonna Dufachard, 28, were located. No injuries were reported. Officers recovered several bullets from the house and found spent shell casings outside, said Capt. David Mohlis with the Waterloo Police Department. No arrests have been made. This is the second time the house has been the target of gunfire. On Jan. 2, residents were leaving the home about 5:20 p.m. when someone fired from a passing car. No one was injured, but a bullet struck a vehicle parked at the address. Man faces new federal charges WATERLOO A Waterloo man who had been convicted of allegedly luring teens into a street gang is facing new charges. Last week, a federal grand jury handed up an indictment charging 44-year-old Vernon Spunky Montrell Webster, also known as Alfred Connell Gage Jr., with possession of a firearm as a felon. The case was unsealed Monday when Webster made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. He was held pending a further hearing. Authorities allege Webster was in possession of a .44-caliber Taurus Raging Bull revolver July 13, 2015. Webster is prohibited from possessing firearms because of a conviction in 2011 for gang recruitment and first-degree harassment. In that case, authorities allege he persuaded one teenager to join his gang, attempted to recruit three others and threatened a 16-year-old who wanted to leave the gang, according to Courier archives. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and later paroled. WATERLOO A Waterloo man who had been convicted of allegedly luring teens into a street gang is facing new charges. Last week, a federal grand jury handed up an indictment charging 44-year-old Vernon Spunky Montrell Webster, also known as Alfred Connell Gage Jr., with possession of a firearm as a felon. The case was unsealed Monday when Webster made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. He was held pending a further hearing. Authorities allege Webster was in possession of a .44-caliber Taurus Raging Bull revolver on July 13, 2015. Webster is prohibited from possessing firearms because of conviction in 2011 for gang recruitment and first-degree harassment. In that case, authorities allege he persuaded one teenager to join his gang, attempted to recruit three others and threatened a 16 year old who wanted to leave the gang, according to Courier archives. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and later paroled. CEDAR FALLS Mark Nook will begin serving as the University of Northern Iowas 11th president today. That doesnt mean, however, his work is just beginning. After being named the next UNI president Dec. 6, Nook immediately got to work on the transition. He has met with area lawmakers, among others, and been seen in and around campus occasionally since that time. Nooks first week officially serving as president, in many ways, will be a continuation of what he had been doing since being named to the position. But hes still got plenty on his agenda. The thing that I want to make sure I do early, early, early that first week is get an opportunity to sit down with the faculty groups, a couple of the departments, sit down with the students in particular and say, Where do you need this university to go? What are the challenges youre facing? Nook said in an interview immediately following his announcement as president. His schedule for his first week in his role as president includes exactly those items. Nook, 58, has plans to meet with Northern Iowa Student Government, student organizations, faculty leadership and attend university events during his first week. He also will begin to make further forays into the community. Nook included community outreach in his early plans for being on campus, and several people throughout the community said they had gotten the impression during the interview process Nook would be involved off campus as well. Nook is planning to meet with the mayors of both Cedar Falls and Waterloo in his first week, as well as meet with donors and the alumni association. He also will be at a reception with the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber. Nook also plans to begin outreach into Des Moines, which is likely to further include speaking to area lawmakers about recent planned cuts. The Legislature just approved $117.8 million in a de-appropriations bill this session that included $2 million in cuts to UNI this fiscal year. Nook, who is from Holstein, had been serving as the chancellor at Montana State University-Billings since 2014. He also has held positions as senior vice president of the University of Wisconsin system, as interim chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and in a variety of roles at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Iowa Board of Regents approved Nook for a three-year, $357,110 contract in December. He will receive additional benefits that include housing and transportation. DAVENPORT -- Monica Kurth, a retired educator and counselor who said she would make education a priority, won a special election Tuesday night to fill the vacant District 89 seat in the Iowa House, defeating Republican Mike Gonzales by a big margin. Kurth, a Democrat who has been active in local politics for years, was making her first bid for public office and her victory was the second for local Democrats in about a month. In December, Sen. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, won a special election to fill the seat left vacant when Sen. Joe Seng died last September. At a victory celebration Tuesday night at the Circle Tap in Davenport, Kurth was celebrating with a group of volunteers and supporters. "We worked hard, and a lot of people put in a lot of hours and Im thrilled. Im thrilled, she said. Its not clear what day Kurth will be sworn in. The election results must be certified first by the Scott County Board of Supervisors and then in Des Moines. Kurth's win in the Democrat-leaning district was convincing. She got 2,081 votes, or 72 percent, with Gonzales receiving 784 votes, or 27 percent, according to unofficial results from the Scott County Auditor's office. Gonzales, a police sergeant with the LeClaire Police Department, also was the Republican nominee against Lykam in the special election for the Senate seat. Kurth will take office in the midst of a controversial legislative session in which Republicans, now in control of both the House and Senate, are moving on a number of fronts to enact their agenda. Those include cutting state funding for Planned Parenthood. In addition, lawmakers are moving on $118 million in cuts to the 2017 budget and setting K-12 education spending levels. Kurth campaigned on making greater investments in education, warning that previous increases in basic state aid have been too stingy and are undermining classroom instruction. She also said she opposes cutting state funding for Planned Parenthood and would stand against moves to curtail collective bargaining rights for public employees. Gonzales pushed for more education and mental health funding. He favored cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood. The campaign for the House seat was relatively low key. Turnout amounted to about 13 percent of registered voters in the district, which includes much of west Davenport. Absentee voting made up about 40 percent of the final vote total, and Democrats were far more aggressive courting those early voters, building up a 12-1 advantage. Kurth also won in Election Day turnout. The Iowa Democratic Party put nearly $30,000 into the race in in-kind contributions, according to campaign finance filings. Kurth raised about $24,000, with $10,000 coming from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 431. But she had spent only $946 going into the last five days of the campaign. Gonzales raised about $1,500 for the race and had spent $961 going into the last five days. The Iowa GOP had not made any contributions to Gonzales' campaign, according to the reports, which were filed last week. The Scott County GOP gave his campaign $750. NEW YORK It had been a few years since attorney Roman Zelichenko left immigration law for a career in finance, and longer still since he pulled an all-nighter. But after President Donald Trump issued his immigration order, Zelichenko spent 21 straight hours at what swiftly became one of the nation's most closely watched immigration law centers a diner at John F. Kennedy Airport where volunteer lawyers, translators and others tried to find and free people detained under the new rules. Alerted by law school friends, Zelichenko joined the effort because it resonated personally: He emigrated from Ukraine as a child. "We all have different personal connections," he said Monday as he worked on the project's social media postings. But "we're here as professionals, and our agenda is to uphold the rule of law." As Friday's presidential order reverberated around the world, dozens of attorneys descended on JFK to advocate for people suddenly stuck in a legal limbo that the lawyers argue is unjust and unlawful. Trump temporarily banned refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the U.S. Throughout the weekend that followed, travelers were held for questioning, confusion spread across the air-travel system and protesters marched against the measure. Mobilized by email and word of mouth, the legal effort known on Twitter as "NoBanJFK" is one of several at major U.S. airports. Lawyers filed roughly two dozen lawsuits on behalf of detainees in several states and won several federal court rulings that, at least temporarily, blocked the government from removing people who arrived with valid visas. At JFK, where lawyers helped win the first of the rulings Saturday night, the round-the-clock work began with attorneys typing on laptops on the airport floor. Now they sit at a cluster of cafeteria tables, and law students have toiled alongside seasoned litigators. The volunteers take hotline calls on cellphones. Signs in multiple languages offer help. More than 650 attorneys have volunteered for the project, which participants feel has done their profession proud. "I think lawyers get a bad rap, and sometimes it's deserved. But most of us went to law school to help people," said Melissa Trent, a civil rights lawyer who left a training session to spend over 24 hours at the airport over the weekend. "We believe in this country, its laws and the Constitution ... and when we see those values challenged, we show up." The lawyers say Trump's order violates constitutional protections against religious discrimination, among other principles and federal laws. Trump casts the measure as a safeguard against violent Islamic extremism. The order temporarily blocks immigrants and visitors from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It does not include all countries with ties to terrorism affecting the U.S., nor does it address the threat of homegrown militants. Legal experts are divided as to how federal courts will ultimately view Trump's action. Whatever the final outcome, the airport attorneys and groups working with them have demonstrated a spontaneous form of legal rapid response to the new administration's policies. Meanwhile, Democratic state attorneys general are mounting broader challenges. Roughly 400 attorneys have signed up to volunteer at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, taking six-hour shifts from 6 a.m. to midnight. On Tuesday, some held signs "Do you need an attorney?" ''Was anyone on your flight detained?" in arrival areas. Supporters donated office supplies, coffee and doughnuts. At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, reports of detained travelers were still coming in Tuesday to volunteer lawyers who organized an airport hotel "war room" and set up tables outside the customs area, attorneys Peter Schulte and Paul Wingo said. A legal team also set up in the international arrival area at San Francisco's main airport. And at Washington Dulles Airport, about 100 attorneys gathered on Sunday alone. "I was born here in order to help people who can't help themselves," said Mariam Masumi, who is Muslim, an immigration lawyer and the daughter of Afghan immigrants. She skipped a funeral to lend her skills at the airport. With no information coming from the government on who is being held, legal volunteers glean what they can from arriving passengers and from detainees' relatives or friends. CEDAR FALLS Red Herring Theatre will present readings of Between Riverside and Crazy, which won playwright Stephen Adley Guirgis a Pulitzer Prize in 2015. The first reading is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hearst Center for the Arts, 304 W. Seerley Blvd., Cedar Falls. It is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served. At 7 p.m. Saturday, a second free reading will take place in the Law Court Theatre at the Waterloo Center for the Arts, 224 Commercial St. This show contains some very raw language and deals with issues of race in a very innovative and dramatic way, which is a large part of why it won the Pulitzer Prize, said Director Greg Holt. The story is about Pops Washington, a retired cop who recently lost his wife and whose son, Junior, has been paroled from prison. He lives in a rent-controlled apartment on Riverside Drive where the landlord wants him out, sketchy people are always coming and going and hes embroiled in a discrimination suit against NYPD because he was accidentally shot by another cop. The Rev. Abraham L. Funchess headlines the predominantly black cast, joined by William Frost as Junior, Eileen Tucker as Lulu, Nnamdi Nwaneri as Oswaldo, Nicole Cook as Detective OConnor, Karmelle S. McGee as the Church Lady and Kenton Engles as Lt. Caro. The Pulitzer committee described the play as a nuanced, beautifully-written play about a retired police officer faced with eviction that uses dark comedy to confront questions of life and death. Holt described the Guirgis script as having a very New York attitude that is as much demographic as it is racial, and it is one of few major works to feature a mostly black cast. He gave a copy of the play to Funchess while they were working on WCPs fall 2016 production of To Kill A Mockingbird. Funchess played the Rev. Sykes in the show. I enjoyed the opportunity to work with Greg, and I hoped it would lead to something else. Greg, bless his heart, already had something in mind and handed me the script to read, Funchess recalled. The script resonates with Funchess, who finds Pops to be a responsible, strong father figure who has become embittered after losing his wife and getting shot on the job. Pops reminds me of the injustices and micro-aggressions Ive experienced in my life. Frankly, I think he articulates the anger, and sometimes the bitterness, that people like me experience on a daily basis, Funchess explained. He found the dialogue appealing. Its saucy, its flavorful the language, I have to admit, I like that aspect of the script. Its cutting edge for the Cedar Valley. Weve also been dealing with community-police relations, so it seems like perfect timing. Holt agreed. Its really important to offer alternative works such as this which open up ways to discuss issues that are difficult to talk about. Audiences should be impressed by the strong showing of black characters, said Funchess, who hopes the WCP will eventually perform a stage production based on the award-winning script. Readings require no props, makeup, costumes or set designs. They also require considerably less rehearsal time for beginning or experienced actors who are unable to make the time commitment required for a full-scale production. This is an important element in WCPs community outreach, Holt added. People tend to think theater is a fully mounted production where you sit in the dark and watch. But theater can be so many different things, and there are so many things we can offer the public. The Jones Law Firm in Cedar Falls has underwritten royalties for Red Herring Theatre, which allows the readings to be free of charge. CEDAR FALLS Cedar Valley Patriots for Christ has announced it will hold a rally in support of President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration at 2:30 p.m. Sunday outside Congressman Rod Blums office at 515 Main St. on the Parkade downtown. The event will be a counter-demonstration to a concurrent rally by opponents to the presidents executive order, according to Judd Saul, founder of Cedar Valley Patriots for Christ. We want to make sure the true side of the story is told, Saul said in announcing his rally. We are a sovereign nation with laws in which its number one priority is to protect its citizens from enemies both foreign and domestic. Saul noted his group, like those organizing the rally in opposition to the presidents order, have notified Cedar Falls police of their planned presence. The rally protesting the presidents order is supported by Americans for Democratic Action-Iowa, Waterloos Masjid al-Noor Islamic Center and others. Meanwhile, some organizers of that protest rally also have finalized speakers for a panel discussion by community activists and faith-based leaders from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at room 102 of Tama Hall at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo. That event, Welcome the Stranger: Stand Against Hate is free and open to the public. Participants include: Miriam Amer of Cedar Rapids, executive director of the Iowa branch of the Council of American-Islamic Relations; immigration attorney Gunda Brost; Ruth Ratliff of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Cedar Falls; and former Cedar Falls City Council member Kamyar Enshayan. That event is sponsored by Masjid al-Noor Islamic Community Center and the Cedar Valley Interfaith Council. The presidents executive order bans refugees from entering the country over the next 120 days, and bans citizens of seven countries Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for at least 90 days. Broken pledges DENNIS HARBAUGH WATERLOO -- While on the campaign trail, local Republican candidates promised to protect taxpayers. Republicans now completely control the Iowa Legislature for the first time in 18 years, and less than three weeks into the new legislative session theyve already broken their campaign pledge. Due to a childish obsession with Planned Parenthood which by law is already prohibited from using state or federal dollars to provide abortions GOP legislators are poised to not allow PP clinics to receive any state or federal funding. The result is Iowa will forfeit nearly $3 million in federal funding to prevent unwanted pregnancies through contraception and pregnancy prevention. Republicans will instead rob state taxpayer dollars from other social service accounts to create a new statewide bureaucracy in an attempt to recreate the pregnancy prevention services PP already provides. These shenanigans are occurring at a time when every dollar is precious, and legislators are planning to cut $2 million from the University of Northern Iowa's current year budget. Local GOP Rep. Walt Rogers plans to support this nonsense, which is not only fiscally irresponsible but also is likely to create the need for more abortions due to a reduction in pregnancy prevention services. Trump and Putin JANICE NOLTING CEDAR FALLS -- Some time ago the owner of Exxon arranged a business deal with Putin that Exxon could drill for oil on several acres of land owned by Russia. The two oil companies would make millions, with Putin keeping his profits. However, the president of our country put sanctions on Russia a few years ago which prevented them from making the merger. President-elect Donald Trump has recently selected Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon to be secretary of state. The position would give him easy access to overturn all sanctions our country has made against Russia. The relationship Trump has for Russia is not one of respect or a desire to create peace between our two countries. It is a business venture connected to Rex Tillerson and the dictator of Russia, a man who has slaughtered hundreds of his own people. And a relationship that would create millions for Exxon if Tillerson were the next secretary of state, and coincidentally the sanctions were suddenly lifted. No name calling RON WHEELER CEDAR FALLS -- As we begin a new year and a change in Washington, it would be a good time for all of us throughout the country to mend fences." We all should try to find common ground. The name calling and false narratives have gone on too long. It will not produce a stronger economy or provide employment to restore America. During the election, the name calling of deplorables was used in describing supporters of one candidate; sorry, I am your deplorable neighbor. A recent letter to The Courier opined any reasonable person would find President-elect Donald Trump a mentally sick human being, reminiscent of Hitler. Where is the proof? Do people just throw out statements and expect not to provide evidence Trump is Hitler or acts like Hitler? Per the Constitution and the Electoral College, he legitimately won. Critics and most media used bias to attack Trump. They called him racist and defended Lewis. Is that all the opponents of Trump can do is call names? When we eliminate the name calling and prejudicial coverage, only then can we move forward. You must enable javascript in your browser in order to use this site. 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(17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) "The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is a wonderful partner for our symphonic film productions and we are thrilled about this multi-year collaboration." - Steven Linder, producer at IMG Artists KALAMAZOO, MI, February 01, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce that, in addition to its existing multiyear alliance with Disney (signed in 2015), it has just signed a three-year agreement with the Los Angeles based Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency and New York based IMG Artists (through their joint venture Film Concerts Live!) to be the exclusive presenter in Southwest Michigan of live symphonic performances of three Steven Spielberg movies featuring scores by John Williams. These [email protected] Movies! performances are scheduled as follows: Jaws will appear in the 2018-2019 concert season, E.T. in the 2019-2020 concert season and Jurassic Park will be a part of the KSO's 100th Season in 2020-2021. "We are extremely thrilled to have landed this exclusive agreement," said Peter H. Gistelinck, President & CEO of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. "Our three-year agreement with The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency and IMG Artists means a lot and it will be a real treat for our audiences in the Kalamazoo community." Jamie Richardson producer at The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, said, "We truly look forward to this new relationship with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, which we expect will carry on for many years to come." Steven Linder, producer at IMG Artists, said, "The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is a wonderful partner for our symphonic film productions and we are thrilled about this multi-year collaboration." Daniel Brier, Resident Conductor of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, said, "This is an amazing artistic opportunity and our orchestra can't wait to start the rehearsals for what promises to be unique, multidimensional concert experiences." Visit www.kalamazoosymphony.com for up-to-date information, details and schedules. Prices, artists, dates, time and program are subject to change without notice. The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra receives major support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra also receives generous support from other local, state and national foundations, as well as private and corporate support. For more information, visit www.kalamazoosymphony.com. Founded in 1921, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is Southwest Michigan's premier musical organization, providing musical enrichment to over 80,000 adults and youth per year. The third-largest professional orchestra in the state, the KSO has won numerous awards and grants, including the Met Life Award for Arts Access in Underserved Communities, the National Endowment for the Arts for its extensive education programs, and a major Ford Foundation grant to found its innovative Artist-in-Residence program. # # # ST. LOUIS, MO, February 01, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Stange Law Firm, PC is proud to announce that they have now been named at the 34st Largest Law Firm in St. Louis, by the St. Louis Business Journal. Every year, the St. Louis Business Journal sends out a list of the largest law firms in the St. Louis area. The list of the law firms is based off of the total number of licensed attorneys. Stange Law Firm, PC is a family law firm with offices throughout Missouri, Illinois and most recently, Kansas. The firm has expanded each and every year, with 33 attorneys in 15 different office locations throughout the Midwest. On February 1, 2017 Stange Law Firm, PC will officially open their first law firm in Kansas, located in the Overland Park area. If you're in need of a family law attorney in Overland Park, Kansas, Stange Law Firm, PC is here to help. We are pleased to announce this opening, as we are now able to help our clients more closely throughout the Kansas City area. At Stange Law Firm, PC we pride ourselves on being the firm that has all of the necessary resources available to assist. We fully understand that our job and number one priority is to keep you informed and aware of every step we will be taking together throughout your case. One of our firm's best website features is called "Your Case Tracker", which is also one of the many things that make us the successful firm we are today. "Your Case Tracker" is where every client of Stange Law Firm, PC receives access to a personalized, confidential online database called "Your Case Tracker" which is where you can find every document related to your case. Kirk Stange is a St. Louis Divorce attorney and founding partner of Stange Law Firm. Stange Law Firm, PC is solely a divorce and family law firm, with locations throughout the Midwest in multiple counties located in the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas. Through his dedication to his clients, he has received several prominent awards. Kirk Stange has been named a Super Lawyer from 2015-2016. The attorneys at Stange Law Firm, PC strictly practice family law matters, including divorce, child custody, child support, paternity, guardianship, adoption, juvenile matters and other domestic relation matters. Note: The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. Kirk Stange is responsible for the content. Principal place of business 120 South Central Ave, Suite 450, Clayton, MO 63105. Stange Law Firm, PC is a divorce and family law firm with offices throughout Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. The firm can be seen throughout areas such as St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield and elsewhere. Since the firm's first office opening in 2007, it has continuously flourished into the firm it is today. The firm solely practices family law. # # # House members gather as the General Assembly reconvened on Wednesday. (CJ photo by Barry Smith) RALEIGH Senate leader Phil Berger on Thursday said senators are "close" to finalizing the procedure for confirmation of Gov. Roy Cooper's Cabinet officers.Lawmakers may announce the process next week.Berger said after Thursday's brief session in the Senate chamber.When the Senate adopted its rules two weeks ago, Sen. Bill Rabon , R-Brunswick, and chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, said senators would probably have a select committee review a nominee's credentials. The nomination would be referred to the Senate policy committee, which most closely aligns with the nominee's duties.Previous governors have not had to seek confirmation of their Cabinet appointees from the Senate. But in December 2016, the General Assembly approved a bill invoking a state constitutional provision that provides for Senate consent of such officials.Cooper is challenging the new law in court.Meanwhile, both chambers of the General Assembly met briefly Thursday before adjourning for the weekend. No action was taken in either chamber, as is typical during the early days of a new legislative session.Both the House and the Senate plan to reconvene at 4 p.m. Monday. Berger said no votes would be taken in the Senate on Monday.Lawmakers did file a handful of bills Thursday. They include: Feb 1, 2017 | By Tess UK-based metal 3D printing company Renishaw has announced it will be moving its North American headquarters to a new office and warehouse facility in West Dundee, Illinois, a mere 40 miles from Chicago. According to the company, the change of headquarters to a larger, multipurpose facility signals the companys intentions to grow within the North American market. The new space, a two-story building than spans 133,000 square feet, will contain a new office space for the headquarters, as well as a warehouse and distribution facility. The new premises will also be equipped to design, develop, and test 3D printed products. Finally, the new West Dundee location will also be the site of Renishaws new U.S. Additive Manufacturing Solutions Center, geared towards the advancement of additive manufacturing. The new center, which will be a part of Renishaws growing global network of Solutions Centers, is expected to open next year. The Solutions Centre, which will provide businesses with the space and resources necessary for exploring the adoption and integration of 3D printing technologies, is one of Renishaws biggest focuses. As Sir David McMurtry, Chairman and CEO of Renishaw explained, We can give companies cost-effective, hands-on experience of metal additive manufacturing, combined with application engineering support to optimize their design, and post-processing capabilities to ensure that it performs as it should. The opening of the new headquarters will be celebrated this March with a ribbon-cutting event. According to a press release, Renishaw is expecting to be completely moved in and have the new location fully operational by October 2017. For logistics purposes, the new address is listed as 1001 Wesemann Drive, West Dundee, IL 60118, though all other contact info will remain the same as it was. The new office marks a step towards further expanding within the U.S. market. Other locations, such as regional technical and sales offices throughout the country are also in the works, says the company. The goal? To get closer to customers and potential clients, making their 3D printing services and expertise as reachable as possible. With the popularity and adoption of Industry 4.0 and Smart Factory philosophies, our products and services are relevant to a larger and more diverse group of manufacturing operations, commented Howard Salt, President of Renishaw, Inc. These new facilities makes it more feasible, logistically, for us to work cooperatively with customers and potential customers in North America, and develop solutions specific to them. Renishaw also opened a 3D printing Solutions Center in Pune, India last year, in the hopes of proliferating metal additive manufacturing. Renishaw is currently one of the UKs leading suppliers of metal additive manufacturing systems. Posted in 3D Printer Company Maybe you also like: San Francisco made history on Tuesday with the unveiling of the Compton's Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (TLGB) Districtthe first legally recognized transgender district in the world. Named after the historic Compton's Cafeteria riots in 1966 (the first known incident of collective LGBT resistance to police harassment in U.S. history), The Compton's TLGB District will encompass six blocks in the southeastern Tenderloin and will cross over Market Street to include two blocks of 6th Street. The intersection of Compton's Cafeteria Way and Vikki Mar Lane (previously portions of Turk and Taylor Streets) will be a hub of services and economic opportunities for trans and gender-nonconforming communities, as well as a place to honor the community's history. "The lower Tenderloin is one of the most important neighborhood in America for transgender history, culture, and civil rights," said Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents the Tenderloin. "By creating the Compton's TLGB District we are honoring this vibrant community built by transgender people, and are sending a message to the world that trans people are welcome here." Although activists have discussed ways to recognize the unique history of the neighborhood for years, a recent report by the Obama Administration's National Parks Service outlining the national significance of the area spurred local activists to quickly form the Compton's District Coalition and fight to make the district a reality. Supervisor Kim will be introducing legislation this Tuesday that will provide support and create protections for the official Compton's TLGB District. "In the last few weeks our federal government has made it clear that minority communities have never been more at risk in America," Kim said. San Francisco needs to do everything it can to stand our ground and be a place of sanctuary, for transgender people, and specifically trans women of color. Hopefully the Compton's TLGB District will be the start of a national movement to protect these communities and their history." Elizabeth Knox; Carolina Bertran; Shaqkwela Joyner, RMH intern; Hannah Caton, RMH development; and Richard English. Contact: Attila Nemecz Attila Nemecz Attila.Nemecz@beaufortccc.edu WASHINGTON, NC The Ronald McDonald House has helped families with children in the hospital for 30 years in Greenville and, now, the Beaufort County Association of Nursing Students will help them by collecting donations. Beaufort County Community College employees, students and community members are encouraged to drop off donations in Building 12 on BCCC's campus.Hannah Caton, who works in development for Ronald McDonald House, presented the mission of her organization to BCANS members on January 23. RMH has two locations in Greenville, a 21-bedroom facility on Moye Blvd. and a 6-bedroom facility at Vidant Medical Center. The purpose of these facilities is to provide children and their families a place to stay while they are receiving medical treatment. These facilities are modeled to look like comfortable home environments so they can help families take refuge from the stressful hospital environment. Of the facility inside Vidant Medical Center, Caton said they want families toCaton told the group that there are only a few requirements for families to stay at a RMH facility. People staying must be immediate family members of the child seeking medical attention. They must live over 30 miles from the hospital and are asked for a $10 donation per night, but no one is turned away. Families are directed to the organization by social workers at the hospital.By far the most prominent reason why families stay is neonatal issues, such as premature births. The average stay at a Ronald McDonald House is 11 days. The two Greenville facilities are responsible for all of all of eastern North Carolina. Within BCCC's service area, RMH provide Beaufort County with 29 nights, Hyde County with 14 nights, Tyrrell County with 68 nights and Washington County with 178 nights.Over the years, children have returned to the Ronald McDonald House to thank the organization and to update them on their progress. One child showed up at the door and announced himself as "Ruler Boy," referring to a picture on their wall of him as an underweight newborn next to a ruler. He has kept checking in with RMH as has he has matured.Ronald McDonald House only receives about 18% of its funding from McDonald's. It relies on community monetary and in-kind donations for much of its operational costs. BCANS will be collecting items such as trash bags, bleach, umbrellas, cleaning products, and condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and coffee creamer.BCANS president Richard English said he hopes that members can replicate the success they had with their Ruth's House donation drive.said English.BCANS hosts speakers to provide future nurses with insight on public health issues. The group exposes students to volunteer opportunities in the community that relate to public health and social services. BCANS will collect donations through February 28. With win over Harding County-Bison, Warner returns to 9A title game Hunter Cramer ran for 2 touchdowns, passed for 1 and returned a kick for 82 yards as the Monarchs won 63-20 in the Class 9A football semifinals U.S. HHS backs Berger and Moore in motion convincing judge to halt Medicaid expansion actions for at least 60 days House Speaker Tim Moore, at left, and Senate leader Phil Berger. (CJ file photo) The Cooper administration may have lost a key ally in its attempt to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Cabinet agency that controls Medicaid.HHS officials joined Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, in a motion in the federal lawsuit trying to block Gov. Roy Cooper's unilateral efforts to expand enrollment in the government health insurance program primarily serving the poor, aged, and disabled.Outgoing Obama administration HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell was named as a defendant along with Dempsey Benton, the state's interim secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, in the original court filing Now, the federal government may have changed sides.U.S. District Court Judge Louise Flanagan signed an order Friday granting the request by the plaintiffs and HHS in the form of a 60-day halt of further litigation. The dispute had been scheduled for a hearing Friday morning before Flanagan.Berger, Moore, and HHS asked the court for the stay WednesdayBoth the plaintiffs and state Department of Health and Human Services officials noted the Trump administration might decide to reject Cooper's request.Because President Trump's incoming administration has 60 days to review, approve, alter, or reject any new or proposed federal agency rules and regulations, some lawmakers and Medicaid experts believe Cooper's proposal is doomed.That's due, in large part, to Trump's opposition to Obamacare, under which Medicaid expansion occurs. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., Trump's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, opposes Medicaid expansion, and Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have begun the process of repealing Obamacare.Flanagan issued a temporary restraining order Jan. 14 blocking Cooper's attempt to expand Medicaid enrollment without legislative approval.Flanagan canceled the Friday hearing and said that a 60-day stay would be in effect while the courtState defendants were required by the judge to file their position on the ruling today.At the end of the 60-day stay, a joint notice from both sides in the dispute must be filed,State DHHS officials filed a motion Wednesday opposing the preliminary injunction, citing a variety of constitutional claims. Those included an argument that Medicaid expansion is a matter to be decided at the state level and that Berger and Moore cannot sue on behalf of the General Assembly.they said in their brief.In their filing DHHS officials noted that the case is not "ripe" for federal action because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to which Cooper's expansion proposal was submitted, "might decline to approve" the request. They also said "a dramatic change of circumstances has occurred ... with the inauguration of a new president and the appointment of a new acting secretary" at HHS in Washington. First, the General Assembly should draw the districts required by the Voting Rights Act. Second, it should take all the counties with just the right population to be single-member districts and make them one-county single-member districts. Third, it should take all the counties that have just the right populations for one or more districts and divide those counties into compact single-member districts. Fourth, for the remaining counties it should group them into clusters of counties and divide the clusters into compact single-member districts, crossing county lines within the cluster as little as possible. Legislative redistricting reform proponents on the Left have become more vocal since Republicans took control of the legislature in 2010. Since 2010, proponents on the left have floated "independent" redistricting committees in various forms, primarily bipartisan commissions staffed by bureaucrats and others appointed by elected or other political officials.The fact is, redistricting is and always had been an inherently partisan process. The best way to deal with that fact is to ensure the process is transparently implemented by the elected officials charged with the responsibility by our state's Constitution. They are the ones who the voters can hold accountable at the ballot box - not nameless, faceless bureaucrats.On January 11, the first day of the 2017 legislative session, a cluster of organizations ( almost all of them liberal or leftist ) held a press conference at the State Legislative Building to renew their push for a non-partisan redistricting committee. Their real goal? Take the responsibility of drawing North Carolina's congressional and legislative districts away from state's legislators and hand the process over to the "nonpartisan" legislative bureaucracy. This is what progressives do: remove power from the people and give it to unelected "professionals" - because they supposedly know better.At this press conference, the redistricting reform groups offered a new suggestion by way of the Iowa model for so-called nonpartisan district drawing. The Iowa model includes "nonpartisan" legislative staff assisted by an "independent" commission appointed by the legislature. The staff and commission work on the maps with no input from legislators. The staff working with the commission has three chances to draw a map that the legislature will implement, if they fail the legislature then draws their own map.In the end, it appears, the Iowa model is a partisan committee that merely adds a new layer of bureaucratic meddling to the redistricting process.Through litigation in the 1980s and 1990s, North Carolina's redistricting process has been honed to the point that legislators must follow specific guidelines to produce maps that will withstand litigation. Case in point: In Stephenson v. Bartlett (2002) the Court required a step-by-step method to encompass the Whole County Provision with the other laws. Based on the law, legislators followed these guidelines The Republican-led legislature in 2011 followed that court's directives as well as the rules set forth by the National Voter Act of 1965 to produce maps that were approved quickly by the Obama Justice Department. They even survived several lawsuits filed by liberal organizations - until the Left finally found sympathetic judges.Another example of litigation sharpening the process came in early 2016, when a panel of federal judges ruled the legislature relied too heavily on race when it drew the 1st and 12th districts in 2011. The court gave the state two weeks to draw new districts. The Republican-led legislature unveiled the new congressional map two days before the deadline, revealing a map that seemed to surprise everyone. While the political outcome seemed to remain the same (10 Republican and three Democratic districts), the districts appeared markedly more compact. Interesting to note, that map was redrawn even though the previous districts were approved by the U.S. Justice Department and the North Carolina Supreme Court and used in the 2012 and 2014 elections.According to Ballotpedia , there are now 13 states that use either advisory commissions, independent commissions or politician commissions to draw congressional and legislative districts. Advisory commissions make recommendations to the legislatures, but the legislatures are not bound to accept the commission's recommendations. Independent commissions generally do not allow elected officials to participate on the commission, while politician commissions appoint elected officials. In other words, most of these commissions have members who are elected officials or who are appointed by elected officials, including governors, legislative leaders or leaders of the two biggest parties.There is no evidence that nonpartisan redistricting committees eliminate partisanship or political gerrymandering, increase the number of "competitive" districts or even lessen the number of lawsuits. It is impossible to take politics out of the redistricting process. Instead we should continue to insist on a transparent redistricting process. This will allow voters to determine whether the elected officials in charge followed all the rules and laws pertaining to the process.It is encouraging to know that passage of a bill requiring a "nonpartisan" committee to draw the next round of maps in 2020 is unlikely. State Rep. David Lewis stopped by that recent press conference and was quoted as saying:Lewis said.Anyone involved in politics knows that there really is nothing that is non-partisan. So the suggestion of a nonpartisan redistricting committee, a committee made up of people who consider themselves "nonpartisan," is a fantasy. It could be construed as an attempt to hide the partisan workings of what would undoubtedly be an elitist committee that would determine who controls North Carolina and would take power away from voters. Up left: Mr. Bernard Maddoff; Up right: Mr. Rodrigo Rato. Bottom left: Mr. James Crosby; Bottom middle: Mr. Werner Schmidt, and Bottom right: Mr. Alexander Lebedev Bad reputation of bankers would be a big problem for traditional banks, and a big opportunity for startups with young, trustable CEOs with no reputation issues Once considered heroes, some bankers finally turned to be cynical businessmen, by leveraging their power, money and influence to take bad decisions that affect millions and even using their financial knowledge and contacts to break the law in dubious manners. Octavio Rojas, international communication expert, published author and PhD candidate, while preparing his next book Fintech Disruption, recently conducted a worldwide poll of the Worlds Worst Bankers in which close to 12000 people participated. From my study, I realised that the bad reputation of bankers would be a big problem for traditional banks, and a big opportunity for startups with young, trustable CEOs with no reputation issues. I have to point out that just a few of the traditional bankers have ended in jail or even being prosecuted, while common people have been incarcerated for demonstrating against them or have to face difficult times due to the economic crisis, says Mr. Rojas. The result of the polls indicate that bad bankers are perceived as people who used their privileges to even break the law. Bernard Madoff Voted as Worst Banker in America (and with more votes to nominate him as the Worst Banker in the World). Mr. Madoff admitted he had never made any legitimate investments with his clients money. Instead, he simply deposited the money into his personal business account at Chase Manhattan Bank (turned JPMorgan Chase). He may have earned as much as $483 million by using the money in his bank account. He finally has been given the maximum prison sentence of 150 years for masterminding a massive fraud that robbed investors of $65bn. (Source) Rodrigo Rato Voted as the Worst Banker in Spain Mr. Ratos was chairman of Bankia, a giant Spanish bank, which collapsed under his stewardship in 2012, aggravating Spains financial crisis and pushing the country to seek a bailout for its ailing banks. In 2015, he was detained by the tax authorities and the police in Madrid as part of an investigation into fraud and money laundering. (Source) Alexander Lebedev Voted as the Worst Banker in Russia Mr. Lebedev, KGBs ex-officer and chairman of board of russian National Reserve Corporation, has acted as a fierce opponent of the offshore companies and seemingly fought against corruption, but he recently appeared in the Panama Papers related to Barzia Holdings, Inc., and he is also linked to Immortales International Inc., both under the jurisdiction of British Virgin Islands. There is an open investigation in Russia to clarify if he and his bank have attempted to circumvent the tax requirements by using offshore financial models. (Source) Werner Schmidt former chief executive of the German bank BayernLB A German court handed former BayernLB Chief Executive Werner Schmidt a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for bribing an Austrian politician when acquiring Hypo Alpe Adria (HGAA). The sentence is one of only a few cases where a German bank manager has faced punishment for actions that led to the near-failure of a business during the financial crisis. Schmidt, who stepped down in 2008, has admitted to bribing the now-deceased head of government of Austrias Carinthia state, Joerg Haider, during negotiations to buy the bank. (Source) James Crosby, former CEO Halifax Mr. Crosby had escaped criticism over his role in HBOSs collapse that triggered a 20bn taxpayer-funded bailout, but questions mounted in 2009 when a whistleblower told the parliament he had warned Crosby about the banks dangerous lending. A subsequent parliamentary inquiry labeled Crosby as the architect of HBOSs destruction, prompting calls that he should be barred from working in the City. (Source) The author and the study Some of these results can be striking for some, because they may miss many other bankers who have been involved recently in scandals throughout the world. For instance, the massive fraud perpetrated by Wells Fargo in the US or the statements from Kweku Adoboli, a former USB employee in the UK, indicating that the culture of financial institutions is to compel their employees to give results at any price, said Mr. Rojas, author of several books published in Spain and distributed in Latin America and the United States, as well as researcher and university / business school professor in International Communication, Marketing and Business School and speaker in Spain, Mexico and Ecuador during more than 20 years. Mr. Rojas indicates that studies on white-collar crimes are not abundant, even after the current global economic crisis, but recently Eugene Soltes, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, wrote Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal, in which he provides insights into why some of these criminals see the immediate effects of misconduct as positive, why executives often dont feel the emotions most people would expect, and how acceptable norms in the business community can differ from those of the broader society. In a similar way, University College London professors, Neil Garrett, Stephanie C Lazzaro, Dan Ariely and Tali Sharot, indicated in the article The brain adapts to dishonesty, published recently in Nature, that many dishonest acts are speculatively traced back to a sequence of smaller transgressions that gradually escalated. From financial fraud to plagiarism, online scams and scientific misconduct, deceivers retrospectively describe how minor dishonest decisions snowballed into significant ones over time. These analyses could explain why bankers act the way they do, but it is not enough to explain why some do wrong and others do right. Most of them are perfectly aware of what is wrong or even what is a criminal behavior while doing their jobs, and not only keep doing what they are doing, but they also refuse to admit their mistakes and felonies, explain Mr. Rojas. What is odd is that there are so few bankers in prison after having committed some of the worst mismanagements in their positions, reaching some of these criminal activities, and causing a lot of pain and economic hardship for millions of people around the world, says Rojas and concludes It seems that not only are banks too big to fall, but bankers too powerful to go to the prison. The study The study was conducted during July and August 2016 through the online application Easypromos published in the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/WorstbankersintheWorld/ in 4 different languages: English, Spanish, Russian and German. The voting mechanism allowed to identify the IPs from where the vote was aired to have greater control. To promote the vote, a Facebook Ads campaign was launched in the 4 languages and with geographical segments for each country. Also, to foster voting, participants were offered to enter a draw of Xbox and iTunes cards. Bankers nominated by country: USA: Bernie Madoff, Hank Paulson, Jimmy Cayne, Sandy Weill, Stan ONeal, Marion and Herb Sandler, Dick Fuld, Kathleen Corbet, Frank Raines, Joe Cassano, Alan Greenspan and Angelo Mozilo. Spain: Manuel Escribano, Jose Luis Mendez, Lucas Hernandez, Francisco Fernandez, Roberto Lopez Abad, Josep Maria Loza, Maria Dolores Amoros, Ricard Pages, Domingo Parra, Jose Luis Pego, Juan Salido, Manuel Troyano, Rodrigo Rato, Isidro Faine, Angel Ron, Francisco Gonzalez, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri and Ana Patricia Botin United Kingdom: Tracy Garrad, Nathan Bostock, Joe Garner, James Crosby, Niall Booker, Paul Pester, Stephen Hester, Stuart Gulliver, Antonio Horta-Osorio, Ross McEwan, David Duffy and Jes Staley. Russian Federation: Mikail Shishkhanov, Alexander Lebedev, Mikhail Fridman, Dmitryi Ananjev, Oleg Tinkov, Roman Avdeev, Aleksey Ananjev, Rustam Tariko, Mikhail Prochorov, Igor Kim and Arkadyi Rotenberg Germany: Werner Schmidt, Martin Blessing, Michael Kemmer, Constantin von Oesterreich, Gunter Dunkel, Herbert Hans Gruntker, Dr Ulrich Schroder, Hans-Jorg Vetter, Thomas Burkle, John Cryan, Theodor Weimer and Wolfgang Kirsch Media Contact Company Name: ICMB School Contact Person: Octavio Rojas Email: info@icmbschool.com Phone: 911123481 Country: Spain Website: http://icmbschool.com/ I was thrilled to get Refresh Networks on board to help up grow our existing presence in South Africa. Lepide are very pleased to announce the appointment of Refresh Networks as their main distributer in South Africa to help them grow their existing presence in the region. Today Lepide are delighted to announce the appointment of Refresh Networks specialists in providing auditing and monitoring solutions to enterprises to help grow our channel in South Africa. Senior Vice President for Lepide, Aidan Simister, notes I was thrilled to get Refresh Networks on board to help up grow our existing presence in South Africa. I knew they understood our mission and shared the same values as us when it came to providing quality solutions that help organisations overcome real problems. Were committed to helping organisations improve security, streamline systems management and meet regulatory compliance and know that Refresh Networks will help us achieve this goal. Gowri Shankar Prem Kumar, Founder & Managing Director of Refresh Networks, had the following to add: Refresh Networks is proud to be associated with Lepide, as our large client and reseller base will benefit from this comprehensive and scalable solution. Lepides simple and cost-effective centralised management console will help reinforce corporate security policies in a world where security threats are continuously evolving. About Lepide: Lepide Software provides auditing solutions engineered to help organisations with all their security, systems management and compliance challenges. Their flagship solution, LepideAuditor Suite, enables organisations to audit, monitor and alert on changes being made to their critical IT systems, track current permissions and permission changes and alert on all aspects of file/folder level activity. About Refresh Networks: Refresh Networks is a niche player in the IT Infrastructure Distribution & Services industry providing Value Added Distribution in Information Security, Networking, IT Auditing, Infrastructure Software and Services. Realizing that businesses face significant challenges and need reliable solutions to manage diverse tasks in different processes, we assist our customers in not just gauging their exact requirements, but also in recommending and implementing complete, robust and reliable solutions. Media Contact Company Name: Lepide Software Contact Person: Satyendra Tiwari Email: sales@lepide.com Phone: 91-120-4282353 Address:B 57, Sector 57 City: Noida State: UP Country: India Website: www.lepide.com Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of The Boulder Group represented both parties in the transaction The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased FedEx Office property located at 226 E Capitol Street in Jackson, Mississippi for $490,000. The 1,869 square foot FedEx Office property is a relocation of a store in the downtown Jackson business district. The business district hosts one-third of the Jackson MSA office market and most of the areas government facilities. The property is located on Capitol Street, the primary east-west thoroughfare downtown that was recently reconstructed to provide for 2-way traffic. The building was completely renovated in 2016 to accommodate the new FedEx Office. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of The Boulder Group represented both parties in the transaction. The seller was a Southern real estate investment company. The purchaser was a Southern private real estate investor. FedEx recently executed a 10 year lease that features a 10% rental escalation in the sixth lease year and three 5-year renewal option periods. FedEx is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (FDX), with a market capitalization of $52.5 Billion. FedEx is an investment grade company with a Standard & Poors rating of BBB. Properties featuring long term leases to national tenants remain at the forefront of investor demand. said Randy Blankstein, President of The Boulder Group. Jimmy Goodman, Partner of The Boulder Group, added, This ten year lease generated an abundance of activity due to the fact it was a relocation property with a national tenant in a downtown market priced below $500,000. About The Boulder Group The Boulder Group is a boutique investment real estate service firm specializing in single tenant net lease properties. The firm provides a full range of brokerage, advisory, and financing services nationwide to a substantial and diversified client base, which includes high net worth individuals, developers, REITs, partnerships and institutional investment funds. Founded in 1997, the firm has arranged the acquisition and disposition of over $3 billion of single tenant net lease real estate transactions. From 2010-2015, the firm was ranked in the top 10 companies in the nation for single tenant retail transactions by both Real Capital Analytics and CoStar. The Boulder Group is headquartered in suburban Chicago. www.bouldergroup.com Media Contact Company Name: The Boulder Group Contact Person: Randy Blankstein Email: blankstein@gmail.com Phone: 8478816388 Address:666 Dundee Road, Suite 1801 City: Northbrook State: Illinois Country: United States Website: http://www.bouldergroup.com/NNN-Properties-For-Sale.html Quarterly Activities and Cashflow Report Melbourne, Feb 1, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Xped Limited ( ASX:XPE ) ("Xped" or "the Company"), the Internet of Things ("IoT") Technology Company has today released its Quarterly Appendix 4C filing for the quarter. QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS - License Agreement with Lenze Technology - Porting complete to Chipset Manufacturers - Intel Smart Home Platform Integration - $10m Convertible note secured and SPP offer - MOU Signed with Arcadyan - Deployment of Customer Registration cloud service - JCT Channel Partners appointed - Functionality added to iCharger device with Xped App - Further patents granted - KS Orka Completes Sokoria Acquisition LICENSE AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH LENZE On the 24th January, Xped announced it had signed its first end customer licensing agreement with Shenzen Lenze Technology Co LTD ("Lenze") and their subsidiary Complex Semiconductor (HK) Co. LTD ("Complex"). The Company has licensed its Auto Discovery Remote Control ("ADRC") technologies to Lenze in return for a fee payable per active download of the Xped App. Lenze will pay Xped a fee based on a per active download of Lenze or OEM branded versions of the Xped App from either Google Play or Apple app stores. Under the terms of the agreement, Lenze and Complex have obtained a non-exclusive license to utilise Xped technologies in any of their products. MOU SIGNED WITH ARCAYDAN On the 12th January, the Company advised it had entered a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with Arcadyan Technology Corporation ( TPE:3596 ) ("Arcadyan"). The MoU would result in both companies working together for the purpose of entering a binding agreement for the licensing of several Xped Technologies and to develop a complete end to end IoT solution for Arcadyan and for their customer base. Following the execution of the MoU both parties will enter detailed exchange to verify Xped technologies integrate successfully with Arcadyan products ahead of official launch. Xped hopes to reach a binding agreement with Arcadyan in Q2 2017. INTEL SMART HOME PLATFORM INTEGRATION On the 22nd December, the Company announced it had completed porting of ADRC on Intel's Smart Home Gateway. This followed the MOU entered with Intel ( NASDAQ:INTC ) in April allowing ADRC technology integration to Intel Smart Home Platforms. The Integration of ADRC components into Intel's Smart Home Development Acceleration Platform allows more complete Smart Gateway solution, taking advantage of Intel's efforts with OCF's Iotivity solution, rules engine, and security components. PORTING COMPLETE TO CHIPSET MANUFACTURERS On the 18th November, the Company announced it had completed porting of ADRC technologies to chipsets from both US listed chipset manufacturers who had previously entered MoUs with the Company. Xped would seek to identify the named parties at the appropriate time. The Company also confirmed it was working to near completion of the porting of ADRC to Telink's 8269 SOC. Following the successful porting the Company would enter discussions with clients of the chipset manufacturers, with the aim to reach licensing agreements. COMPLEX SEMICONDUCTOR ICHARGER On the 15th December, the Company announced it had developed new functionality for the Xped App that provides control over Complex Semiconductor's iCharger device and supports iPhone and Android with language support for English and Chinese. Complex Semiconductor designed the electronics and plastic housing for the product and the Company developed the custom plugin for the Xped App. The plugin enables the playback of music stored on a smartphone to be streamed over Bluetooth to the device which then broadcasts on an FM radio frequency. The device is very popular in mainland China, with the legacy version selling in many millions per month. ST MICRO On the 12th December, the Company announced it had begun building samples of the first production ready ADRC and DiscoverBus enabled products ready for delivery to Vital Xense using ST Micro microprocessors. On the 16th December, the Company announced it had ported its ADRC technology on the STM32 Microcontrollers using the STM32Cube development ecosystem. Given the robustness and feature set capabilities of the STM32 series, Xped will look to utilise these chipsets in a number of industrial applications for customers and partners. XPED APP UPDATE On the 16th November 2016, the Company released an update regarding the Xped App confirming it was now available in both the Google Play Store for Android devices and the Apple App store for iOS devices. The Company also indicated a Chinese language translation of the Xped App had been completed for both iOS and Android. The Chinese language interface is critical to the adoption of the technology within the Chinese market. $10M CONVERTIBLE NOTE SECURED AND SPP On the 9th November, the Company entered voluntary suspension following an initial trading halt in regards to a proposed capital raising. On the 16th November 2016, the Company announced it had secured $10m premium to market convertible 3 year, 8.35% note along with a Share Purchase Plan ("SPP") up to $7.5m priced at 3.3c with a 1:1 attaching option exercisable at 5c and expiring December 2018. The Company sought to have the option listed post regulatory and shareholder approval. OPEN CONNECTIVITY FOUNDATION On 12th October, Xped announced it had been accepted as a Platinum member of the Open Connectivity Foundation ("OCF"). Xped attended the OCF Fall Members Meeting held in Taiwan during November and provided the opportunity for the Company to gain exposure following an upgrade to Platinum Member. Chris Wood will lead the opportunity for Xped with the focus on Health Care and Smart Home after joining respective working groups for representation. Chris also recently attended CES 2017 in Las Vegas and exhibited alongside fellow OCF peers engaging with the audience. INVESTOR ROADSHOW PRESENTATION On the 31st October 2016, the Company released an Investor Presentation to market. The presentation was released ahead of a North American roadshow and outlined the strategy and expected timelines the Company was working towards over the next 12 months. CUSTOMER REGISTRATIONS CLOUD SERVICE During the quarter the team deployed the Customer Registration cloud service on Microsoft Azure which integrates with the Xped App. Progress continued to be made on the manufacturer Product Registration cloud service. This would allow product manufacturers to leverage the ADRC technology platform to enhance their consumer's experience, and capture valuable data. VITAL XENSE PRODUCTION SAMPLES On the 12th December, Xped announced it had begun building production samples of ADRC and Discoverbus technologies for delivery to Vital Xense Pte Ltd ("Vital Xense"). The products were being built with the latest generation ST Micro microprocessors, allowing for ultra-low power battery based sensor systems that will run for several years without the need for battery replacement. The products being delivered to Vital Xense will enable the monitoring of temperature, humidity, and door open/close, which are key aspects to in data centre efficiency. JCT HEALTHCARE UPDATE On the 20th December, Xped announced its wholly owned subsidiary JCT will be expanding the supply of their innovative healthcare equipment and services into aged care. JCT continues to expand its national presence and recently appointed 5 new channel partners. These partners will be responsible for promoting and distributing the latest Nurse Call range of products and solutions as JCT gears up for expansion. JCT's revenue reported for the quarter ending 30 December was $287,628. JCT TRANSACTION SATISFIED During the quarter, the Company announced the two conditions related to secondary cash payment to the shareholder of JCT were met. Following the condition being satisfied and under the terms of the Sales and Purchase Agreement ("SPA"), Xped agreed to make the secondary cash payment of $750,000. FURTHER PATENTS GRANTED On 16th November, Xped announced its Arrangement for Managing Wireless Communication Between Devices (ADRC) patent had been granted in Chile along with Arrangement for Remote Control Arrangement (XERTS). PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF CODIUM ENDS On the 14th October, the Company entered a Term Sheet with the shareholders of Codium Pty Ltd ("Codium") to acquire 70% of the issued capital in Codium. Following completion of due diligence, Xped sought to amend terms of the transaction to allow it to proceed. The shareholders of Codium were unable to agree to these proposed amended terms and chose to withdraw from the transaction. Both parties were released from the obligation sunder the Term Sheet. CORPORATE WEBSITE On 4th October, the Company launched its new corporate website. The new website provides an improved platform and user experience for visitors to navigate and keep up to date on Company developments. Visit the new website at http://www.xped.com ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Xped held its Annual General Meeting on 30th November 2016 in Adelaide and was well received by the audience. The Company appreciated the opportunity to engage further with its shareholders during question time and post the meeting. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING On the 19th January, the Company held an Extraordinary General meeting ("EGM") to seek shareholders' approval on several resolutions regarding the convertible note and SPP. All resolutions were passed in favour allowing the Company to accept the funding arrangements proposed. SPP UPDATE On the 27th January, the Company announced it had received total funds of $3,118,800 under the Share Purchase Plan offer. The Company will now look to place the shortfall amount. MEDIA COVERAGE On the 30th January, Xped's Managing Director Martin Despain appeared on SkyNews Business Channel. Martin spoke about our Internet of Things platform and the key advantages of Xped's technology offering. A copy of the video can be seen here: http://vimeo.com/201764873 LEGACY PROJECTS SOKORIA GEOTHERMAL PROJECT The Company continued to work with KS Orka under the terms of the Conditional Sale and Purchase Agreement ("CPSA") for divesting Xped's interest in PT Sokoria Geothermal Indonesia. The project continues to progress well with KS Orka having provided over. USD$1.5m to date and KS Orka confirming in January 2017 they will acquire the project following conditions of the CSPA having been satisfied. Updates will be provided further to market once the drilling work is complete and Orka indicates its notice of intent to develop the full project at which time Xped will receive due payment up to USD$947,368 via payment commitment agreement between the parties. AUSTRALIAN GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS The Company is planning to restore and rehabilitate GEL223 and GEL611 tenements in South Australia in 2017. Meetings are underway with contractors to engage in the work and the Company is liaising with the Department of State Development for scheduling activities. To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/8PS268P3 About XPED Ltd XPED Ltd (ASX:XPE) is an Australian Internet of Things (IoT) technology business. Xped has developed revolutionary and patent-protected technology that allows any consumer, regardless of their technical capability, to connect, monitor and control devices and appliances found in our everyday environment. Xped provides technology solutions for Smart Home, Smart Building, and Healthcare. At Xped, were Making Technology Easy Again(TM) Quarterly Activities and Cashflow Report 31 December 2016 Adelaide, Feb 1, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Board of Core Exploration Ltd ( ASX:CXO ) ("Core" or "Company") is pleased to present its Quarterly activities report for the Period ended 31 December 2016. High grade spodumene intersections in Core's RC and diamond drilling programs during the reporting period at the Finniss Lithium Project ("Finniss") in the Northern Territory have confirmed Finniss, as a major new discovery of high grade lithium. With the granting and acquisition of 3 ELs at Finniss and 5 ELs at Barrow Creek, Core holds the largest lithium tenure position in the NT. Finniss includes the highest grade lithium drill intersections, the largest historic pegmatite mine and at least another 25 recorded pegmatite mines in the Northern Territory. The discovery of high grade lithium at Finniss is very significant for Core given that the scale of some of the new pegmatites identified by Core are directly comparable to the scale of pegmatites hosting large lithium resources in Western Australia. Core has commenced metallurgical test work to determine potential to produce commercial grade spodumene concentrates and is assessing potential for early development of mining at Finniss. Core has a current cash position of approximately $8.3 million to further its project objectives. Lithium Projects in the NT Core has continued to expand and advance major discoveries on its strategic lithium projects in pegmatite provinces in the NT during the reporting period. The Company has a strong diversity of lithium projects with a range of exploration maturities. The focus of Core's activity during the reporting period has been drilling at the Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin where high grade spodumene intersections in Core's maiden lithium drilling program have confirmed Finniss, as a major new discovery of high-grade lithium. The highest lithium grade intersections ever drilled in the NT were made at the Grants Prospect drilled in Core's maiden drilling program during the quarter at Finniss. The Finniss Lithium Project has substantial infrastructure advantages; being close to grid power, gas and rail and within easy trucking distance by sealed road to Darwin Port - Australia's nearest port to Asia. Proposed Activities Next Quarter Finniss Lithium Project, NT Core completed its expanded Phase 2 RC drilling program in the days before Christmas 2016. A large number of the assays from this 6,900m drilling program are yet to be received and will be reported over the coming weeks. Core currently has a diamond rig actively drilling at Finniss. First assay results from this diamond drilling program are expected in March after the core is cut and submitted to the laboratory. The first results from metallurgical test work on a bulk sample of from Grants are expected in February. Work is currently underway on 400kg of large diameter HQ core at the Nagrom metallurgical facilities in Perth, W.A to determine potential to produce commercial grade spodumene concentrate. Core is also currently conducting a detailed airborne geophysical survey over the Finniss Lithium Project with data expected to become available in March. As noted above, once all drill assays are received from the Grants Prospect, Core will consider a Mining Study on the Grants Pegmatite to assess the potential for early development of a DSO spodumene mining project at Grant. Core will be assessing the incoming results during February and March to prioritise aggressive drilling programs in 2017, including the maiden RC drill testing of large pegmatite targets identified by Core within the Finniss project at Zola and Ringwood. Core's drilling and field programs will ramp up as the dry season approaches in Q2 2017. Anningie and Barrow Creek Lithium Project, NT Once the current focus on is completed at Finniss, Core has the opportunity for active fieldwork at Barrow Creek Project in early 2017 until recommencement of drilling at Finniss in Q2 2017. To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/VK13RE22 About Core Lithium Ltd Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) is an emerging lithium producer focused on development of its Finniss Project near Darwin in the Northern Territory. Core owns 100% of Finniss, a major developing project that lies close to existing infrastructure such as the Darwin Port, grid power, gas and rail infrastructure. The Finniss Project covers a 500km2 tenement holding and 25 historic pegmatite mines. The project area is about 80km from Darwin Port. Exploration work has generated a near term development timeline, with feasibility studies to be completed over the course of 2018 ahead of receipt of approvals in early 2019 and planned first production during 2019. An aggressive exploration program is under way, which has confirmed the high quality prospectivity across much of the Finniss Project area. Core's stated ambition is to upgrade Finniss' resource base to fast-track commercialisation options. Quarterly Activities Report Brisbane, Feb 1, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Sayona Mining Limited ( ASX:SYA ) ( DMNXF:OTCMKTS ) ("Sayona" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the activities report for the quarter, including completion of the Authier Phase 1 drilling program, JORC Resource update, commencement of a metallurgical testing program and Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Authier lithium project, Canada. In Australia, the Company completed an Option-to-Purchase contract to acquire projects from Great Sandy Pty Ltd, which includes newly discovered spodumene pegmatite and 871 km2 of exploration ground prospective for spodumene mineralisation. Highlights - Authier Phase 1 drilling expands high-grade zones of spodumene mineralisation throughout the deposit including a drill intersection of, 23 metres @ 1.77% Li2O - Significant expansion of the Authier JORC Resource - Metallurgical testing and Pre-Feasibility Study commenced at Authier - Enhanced portfolio in Pilgangoora lithium district with Option to acquire Great Sandy Pty Ltd tenure with newly discovered spodumene-bearing pegmatites at Mallina, grades up to 2.13% Li20 - WA lithium tenement coverage increases to 1,987 km2 Authier, Canada During the quarter, the Company's primary focus was on the development of the Authier project. The Company's activities included, a diamond drilling program, expanding the JORC Resource base, and commencement of a PFS. Authier Work Programs The Company's primary strategy is to focus on completing the studies required to commence the development of the project. Authier is a near-term development project and cash-flow generation opportunity. The Company believes it will create significant share value-uplift potential for shareholders as the project is advanced towards development. Authier Pre-Feasibility Study During the quarter, the Company commenced a PFS to assess the development potential of a simple, low strip ratio, open-cut mining operation and processing facility producing spodumene concentrate. The PFS will be prepared by SGS Canada and Bumigeme who together have significant experience and expertise in all aspects of lithium resource definition, mining, processing and infrastructure requirements in Quebec. The PFS will assess the technical and economic viability of developing the Authier project, and expands on the Authier NI43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, completed in 2013. The PFS is due for completion in early 2017. Authier Metallurgical Testing Program Metallurgical testing using 410 kilograms of drill core from a previous diamond drilling program commenced at SGS Lakefield in Canada. SGS Lakefield have over 70-years' experience in metallurgical testing and design, and considerable experience in the lithium industry. Authier has been the subject of several metallurgical test work programs that have successfully demonstrated the ability to produce high grade concentrates using conventional flotation technology. The primary focus of this metallurgical program is to demonstrate whether Authier spodumene ore is amenable to concentration using Dense Media Separation. In addition to the DMS testing program, the metallurgical testing program will include mineralogical analysis using QEMSCAN, further grindability testing, and batch and locked cycle flotation testing. Following completion of the metallurgical testing program, Bumigeme Inc will prepare an updated flow sheet, and capital and operating cost estimates for incorporation into the PFS. To view full Quarterly Report, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/E6FNSGM9 About Sayona Mining Limited Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:SYAXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia. Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au North Carolina's labor market ended 2016 on a strong note. Total employment in the state hit 4,360,200 jobs in December, up two percent from the December 2015 figure. That exceeds the average national rate of job creation (1.5 percent) and the average for the 12-state Southeastern region (1.7 percent).If you measure the labor market from the other direction, emphasizing joblessness rather than jobs gained, North Carolina's so-called "headline" unemployment rate went up slightly during the last few months of 2016, from 4.6 percent in August to 5.1 percent in December. But given the small size of the survey involved, this is not a meaningful trend. In fact, given the margin of sampling error, North Carolina's rate in December was not statistically significant from the national headline rate of 4.7 percent.More importantly, North Carolina's uptick in that headline number, called the U-3 rate, mostly reflects previously sidelined workers now returning to a healthier labor market. The U-3 rate only counts people who are actively looking for jobs but can't find one. It leaves out discouraged workers who've given up looking, those who suspend their job search for other reasons (such as relocating to another state or going back to school), and part-time workers who would rather be working full-time but can't find a full-time job (often called the "underemployed").Fortunately, the federal government counts all those who aren't captured in the headline rate. Its broadest measure, called the U-6 rate, is available in 12-month averages, updated every quarter. When it comes to gauging the health of the labor market, it's arguably the best tool for the job.North Carolina's U-6 rate for 2016 was 9.4 percent. That's a dramatic drop from the 2015 rate of 11.3 percent - the fourth-largest drop in the nation, in fact, and the largest in the Southeast. During the Great Recession and its immediate aftermath, North Carolina greatly exceeded the national and regional averages in U-6 unemployment and underemployment. Now, we don't. The national rate is 9.6 percent. Since 2012, North Carolina's U-6 rate fell by 6.9 points - also the largest labor-market improvement in the Southeast, and the country's fifth-largest.As longtime readers of this column know, I don't think economic performance is entirely or even mostly determined by public policy. Geography matters, for example. In recent years, states on or near the Pacific Rim and the South Atlantic Coast (from the Carolinas to Florida) have often dominated national lists of top economic performers. Both are regions that have benefitted from major trade flows of goods and people.But if you adjust for other factors, public policies do influence state economies. Hundreds of peer-reviewed academic studies demonstrate the effects, which are largely consistent with what fiscal conservatives would predict. States with lower taxes, lower regulatory burdens, higher educational performance, and higher-quality infrastructure tend to post higher rates of growth in jobs, incomes, and gross domestic product.What doesn't correlate with state economic growth? Most government expenditures, with two interesting exceptions: spending on welfare and other public assistance programs, which is usually associated with lower subsequent economic performance, and spending on courts and public safety, which is usually associated with higher subsequent performance.Using the last 12 months of data for each, North Carolina is outperforming the national and regional averages in job creation, overall labor-market gains, growth in per-capita income, and growth in GDP. In some cases, the differences are large. In others, the differences are modest. And on one measure, median household income, the comparison isn't so favorable.On balance, then, Republican lawmakers and others who have helped to craft North Carolina's economic policies over the past few years have good reasons to believe their decisions were wise. They'll want to build on that momentum, not to halt or reverse the state's progress on regulatory relief, tax reduction, unemployment-insurance reform, and other fronts.Progressives do want to halt and reverse that progress. I know it's confusing, but don't blame me. I didn't invent the political labels currently in vogue. Acting Attorney General Boente Issues Guidance to Department on Executive Order And, this is a good thing: Another bad bureaucratic lawyer bites the dust; one less corrupt lawyer walking the halls of the DOJ, consumed by their imaginary self-importance. Democrat Lawyer Yates elected to follow her Liberal lawless heart rather than enforce the Executive Order that was her charge to do so. In a memo, she instructed the other lawyers to not obey the executive law to close our borders to 7 nations, by geography, whereby these nations either harbor Islamist Terrorists, or are overrun by them.If Sally Yates could not work for the new president, who made certain promises to his constituents, she should have resigned weeks ago. She would not have been missed.Donald J. Trump will make mistakes, but he will do some good things too, and in rapid fashion, like firing this corrupt, partisan Democrat lawyer. After firing the partisan Democrat, left in charge until the obstructionist Democrats will allow the President's choice for attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions, to be voted on, President Trump appointed as interim director, Acting Attorney General Boente, who delivered this cogent message below:Department of Justice Office of Public AffairsDemocrat Lawyer Yates elected to follow her Liberal lawless heart rather than enforce the Executive Order that was her charge to do so. In a memo, she instructed the other lawyers to not obey the executive law to close the borders to 7 certain geographic nations that either harbor Islamist Terrorists, or are overrun by them.The upside to this partisan tale is that another self-absorbed, self-important, corrupt lawyer is sent packing; one less left sucking on the public teat: How many more to go?It was Democrat politics plain and simple. Two groups of Citizen Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing deployed to two overseas locations to provide personnel recovery support to ongoing operations. A group of fixed-wing aviator, maintenance and support personnel landed in Africa for four months as part of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa and will remain in place for personnel-recovery operations and humanitarian efforts as needed throughout east Africa. Another group of helicopter aviators, maintenance and support personnel landed in Afghanistan to replace a group of 920th Airmen who have been in place at Bagram Air Base since October providing air rescue. In both locations, Rescue wing Airmen are tasked with saving lives by using their skills and equipment to perform combat rescue operations speeding to pick up isolated personnel and the injured and return them safely. The skill of our professional Airman allows us to live up to our air rescue creed, to be prepared at all times, to go into harms way, to save life, and to aid the injured, said Colonel Kurt Matthews, 920th Rescue Wing commander. The Wing has a 50-year history of saving lives, and the Airmen here have rescued nearly 4,000 personnel in peacetime and in combat. They live by the motto, these things we do that others may live. The 920th RQW owns and operates nine HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and six HC-130P/N King fixed-wing air refueling aircraft. The Defense Department will implement the new Blended Retirement System in less than a year. While no one needs to make a decision until Jan. 1, 2018, all Airmen should take advantage of training and informational resources to research their options during 2017.Airmen eligible for the new BRS will begin receiving email notifications in February from myPers to ensure they receive correct information regarding their benefits to make the decision best suited for their individual needs.The Opt-In course is designed to provide sufficient information for eligible Airmen to make an educated decision about their retirement system. However, Airmen are highly encouraged to discuss their personal situations with a personal financial counselor at the Airman and Family Readiness Center. The training (course number J3OP-US1332) is now available via Joint Knowledge Online and takes approximately two hours to complete.Only those active Airmen who, as of Dec. 31, 2017, have served fewer than 12 years, or Reserve Airmen who have accrued fewer than 4,320 retirement points, will have the option of electing BRS or remaining in the legacy retirement system. These Airmen will be required to take the Opt-In training and should provide a copy of the JKO training certificate to their unit training manager upon completion.The Air Force recommends BRS training for all Airmen and encourages them to take either the Opt-In course or the BRS Leader Training on JKO (course number J3OP-US1330). Many leaders may not be eligible to opt-in to BRS themselves, but still need to be knowledgeable about the new system to understand what their junior Airmen should know as they prepare to make their decisions in 2018. The leader training course is also available to those without a Common Access Card -- to include family members -- via an alternate website BRS information is continuously updated on myPers . Click "Retirement" from any military landing page. In addition, a live chat feature on BRS is available for Airmen. To chat live with a Total Force Service Center representative, go to the page and allow about 30 to 60 seconds to enable a representative to come online.For more information about Air Force personnel programs, go to myPers . Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by following the instructions on the Air Force Retiree Service website -- On this look around the Air Force, a $2.1 billion contract is approved for the third Low Rate Initial Production lot of KC-46A Pegasus tankers, the military deputy of the assistant secretary of Air Force acquisition talks tech, and a repair network enhancement program has saved over $5 million. Hosted by Staff Sgt. Jevon Smith.For previous episodes, clickRelated Stories: [dropcap]F[/dropcap]inally, ahead of elections in five major states Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is acquitted along with seven others by a Diwas local court in the murder case of RSS Pracharak Sunil Joshi for lack of evidence. She is pride figure for saffron and right wing organisations. UPA government was under attacked and was brutally criticised after her arrest. However, when BJP came to power in centre and after three years her case was not moved, saffron brigade was disappointed with NDA government. Now looking at the seriousness and survival in state elections perhaps Sadhvis release can help in communalising the issue to garner some Hindu votes. Since her arrest, the term Saffron terror was coined to address the other side of extremism. This buzzword is used to describe acts of violence motivated by Hindu nationalism. The acts are allegedly perpetrated by members, or alleged members of Hindu nationalist organizations close to some or the other right wing organisation. However, in some cases the motivation for the acts has not been clearly determined, and in others it has been determined to be unrelated to Hindu nationalism. Hindu extremist organisations have allegedly carried out terrorist attacks like 2006 Malegaon blasts, Mecca Masjid bombing (Hyderabad), Samjhauta Express bombings and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah blast. The 2007 murder case of former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak Sunil Joshi was planned a fortnight before by Lokesh Sharma and Rajendra Chaudhary in connivance with Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, states the supplementary chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Elaborating the role of Pragya, the chargesheet says that on the day of the murder, Pragya was present at Koti Chandi Yagya Dussehra ground at Indore. She stayed at Indore from December 25, 2007 to January 5, 2008. It has also been alleged by NIA in the chargesheet that she had held captive Anandraj Kataria, an associate of Joshi, in a flat in Indore for 10 days, after the murder. Kataria was charged by MP police for the murder of Joshi but NIA did not name him. A day after the murder, on Dec 30, 2007, Pragya called Kataria to a flat and later took him to the residence of late Laxman Singh Gaur. He was held captive since Pragya apprehended that Kataria was immature and if questioned by police he may reveal the facts about the earlier criminal act carried out by late Sunil Joshi and herself, as Kataria was closely associated with Joshi and her as well, the chargesheet filed before a court in August this year states. The primary motive behind the murder of Joshi according to chargesheet appears to be sexual advances made by Joshi against Pragya, which did not go down well with Lokesh and Rajender who treated Pragya as sister. Joshi, an accused in Samjhauta and Malegaon blasts was also considered close to RSS leader Indresh but so far the agency have not found any direct link of RSS leader with the blast cases. Initially, the probe had hit a dead-end, but later arrest of a person in Rajasthan led the district police to name Pragya and others as accused in the case. The trial from the district court was shifted to the Special NIA Court in Bhopal a few years ago. However, the matter was shifted back to the district court on the ground that it was a murder case and doesnt come under the ambit of NIA, which is an anti-terror agency. During the arrest of Sadhvi, NIA claimed her involvement and now the same agency did not find any evidence to book the accused under sections they were being investigated. The case was again handed over to the Dewas Police in September 2014. NIA informed the Bombay High Court that it had no objection to the court granting bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. NIA investigations ruled out the applicability of MCOCA as the accused were not part of a syndicate who carried out blasts in two other places prior to Malegaon, as claimed by the ATS. Some of the witnesses had complained that they were forced to make statements by the ATS officials and many retracted earlier statements that they had made to the ATS. Considering all this, we (NIA) have no objection to the court granting bail to the applicant. After the NIA took over the investigations from the ATS, it had examined 149 additional witnesses and re-examined 17 witnesses. The ATS told the court that since the NIA had taken over the case, it had no role to play and, therefore, no submissions to make. Pragya Singh Thakur is a Hindu activist hailing from a small town of Bhind, MP. She is the daughter of an Aryuvedic doctor and is well educated holding a Masters Degree in History. She became an activist of Durga Vahini, the womens wing of RSS and then an ABVP activist from 1993 to 2002. She had fiery temperament and is known for her inflammatory speeches. She believes that Destruction leads to Construction. She quoted Lord Krishna to justify violent means to overcome injustice. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) Two children injured in the explosion in a car at Maur Mandi in the district succumbed to injuries, taking the death toll to five, even as a forensic team reached the blast site today to probe the incident. Three persons were killed yesterday in the explosion near the venue of the poll campaign of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi at Maur Mandi. Police said ten persons had sustained injuries in the explosion, which is suspected to be an act of terrorism and comes ahead of the February 4 polls. Two children identified as Ripandeep and Japanpreet in the age group of 14-15 succumbed to burn injuries sustained in the car explosion, a police official posted in Bathinda said. Three passers-by who were killed in the blast have been identified as Harpal Singh (55), Barkha (7) and Ashok (35), police said. The blast had occurred around 8:30 PM last night shortly after the jan sabha of Congress candidate Jassi, who is contesting from Maur Assembly seat. Jassi, who is a relative of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, escaped unhurt in the incident. As per preliminary probe, the blast had occurred in a car which was found to be stolen and was bearing the registration number of a two-wheeler. The chassis and engine number of the vehicle was also removed, police officials said. The blast was so powerful that it ripped apart the vehicle. Initially, it was suspected that the blast was caused by a LPG cylinder in the car. But later it was found that the car was not running on gas. A burnt pressure cooker was also found near the blast site. A forensic team of police, based at Chandigarh, has reached Bathinda to investigate the cause of the blast. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had a role in a blast near Bathinda. To ensure peaceful elections, Sukhbir Badal should be immediately arrested. His role in blast be probed. Hell cause more violence, Kejriwal said in a tweet. Sukhbir Badal is a hardened criminal who will go to any extent to ruin Punjab and its peace. Election Commission must arrest him to ensure peaceful elections, Kejriwal added. Contact: Daniel Keylin Daniel Keylin daniel_keylin@tillis.senate.gov WASHINGTON, D.C. Yesterday, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis following President Trump's executive order suspending immigration from seven countries for 90 days and the refugee assistance program for 120 days to express concern about the harmful impact that this policy has on Iraqis who provided essential support to the U.S. mission in Iraq.the senators wrote.the senators wrote.The senators mention Sec. Mattis' support of the special immigrant visa (SIV) program, which came up in his confirmation hearings earlier this month, and Mattis' pledge tothe senators wrote. Thanks to Levi Quackenboss for another kickass post. Read the full post here. Hello, is this thing on? Ive been on something of a little brain break. Yes, I got your 1,000 messages telling me to write about RFK Jr. and Trump, but I dont have any more information about that situation than all of you, and the only interview Ive seen about it is here. I was scrolling through my buddy Forrests Facebook page (if you dont follow him, youre missing out) last night and came across his post about the 44-page World Health Organizations best practice guide How to respond to vocal vaccine deniers in public. I didnt get past the first page before I needed to look up the authors of this masterpiece and read up on Erfurt Universitys Mr. Philipp Schmid. Nothing says esteemed professor like Mr. Schmid from Erfurt, right? Surely he must be 70 years old; an expert in his field. I bet he has 16 grandchildren and we can trust him to tell us whats best for our kids. But no, it turns out that Mr. Schmid is a research assistant. Like, at his university. And he wrote the 44-page vaccine pusher e-book for the WHO when he was an intern at their regional office. What medical doctor wants the Doogie Howser of pro-vax messaging to advise them on their professional conduct? I dont care that hes the president of the debate club at Erfurt. I cant even say that sentence out loud without laughing. My daughter has made a significant recovery, as have I, and even writing those words brings me back to a place of anxiety, fear, and despair that I will never fully be able to shake. But a large part of the reason why I have been able to move forward and make meaning out of what happened is because of Dan's work. It is beyond what any child or parent should ever, ever, ever have to experience. Traumatic really doesn't even seem to be the right word to describe it. It's not intense enough. It's like watching someone kidnap your child right in front of your face, only there's nothing you can do about it to stop it. And it's not their body that gets taken. It's their personality. Their energy. Their laughter. Their voice. Their words. The light in their eyes. And eventually you realize, their life's potential. All the while their body is left in pain, suffering from seizures, rashes, allergies, autoimmunity, gastrointestinal distress, and more. Having a healthy child regress into autism is nothing short of traumatic in the truest sense of the word. In spite of the mainstream's effort to normalize it over the last two decades, there is nothing normal about it. I don't know how you thank someone for that, and I most certainly don't know how you express what that means. I guess this is my attempt. For those of you outside of the autism world, it's hard to put into words what he meant to so many of us. In short, but in unimaginable depth, Dan legitimized our concerns. He legitimized our stories. He legitimized our lives. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that Dan Olmsted has passed. I haven't seen him in person for some time, so I keep imagining this is a mistake and at the next big advocacy event, he will be there, sitting at a table talking quietly with other advocates, wearing his normal casual attire, his full beard, and his glasses. Note: This post originally ran on my Facebook page the day after learning about Dans passing. It currently has over 41 shares and hundreds of collective comments, so I wanted to immortalize it here. As the days passed, however, I realized I missed some funny and important points about Dan I wanted to include, so this is a slightly edited version. Thanks. For those of you who didn't know Dan, and perhaps only saw the posts of his that I would share every weekend, let me explain who he was. Dan was an investigative journalist in the truest sense of the word. Frankly, he was more like a detective, willing to follow the evidence wherever it lead. He was also a brilliant man and writer. He grew up near the city of my alma mater and went on to get a degree in journalism from Yale. He was a founding member of USA Today, and right before he began writing about autism in 2005 for UPI (his first story The Amish Anomaly ran on my birthdayan incredible present at an otherwise terrible time), he broke a story about an anti-malaria medication used by the military called Lariam. He reported the dangerous psychotic effects it was having on some soldiers, and as a result, it largely pulled from use and slapped with a warning. He remained deeply interested in and concerned about the medications being given to soldiers thereon, especially as so many of them began to commit suicide and violent acts against their families and the public. Perhaps it wasn't the service in the Middle East that was making some of them snap, he speculated. Perhaps it was their meds. And perhaps we have a very serious problem on our hands. In his own words to me, he explained how that reporting made him realize the profound influence of pharmaceutical medications on our lives and minds, as well as the government when they are intricately involved in why we're using them in the first place. Half kidding, half serious, he asked his editor for the next big medical controversy involving both that he could write about. "Vaccines," his editor friend afterwards. "You should write about vaccines." And so he did. Dan had no stake in this issue personally. He did not have a child or relative affected by autism, and in spite of that, he dedicated the last 12 years of his life to challenging medical orthodoxy and the government about it. He even put the historical pieces together with Mark F. Blaxill about how it really happened. Autism, it turned out, is a man-made, medically caused, medical disorder, they discovered. It's preventable, treatable, and reversible. They could prove it. I am absolutely confident their work will go down in history when this reality is no longer deniable simply because it's uncomfortable and expensive to admit it. Dan was the first to find Donald Triplett, the first person ever diagnosed with autism in the world (who is still alive and well in Mississippi), not the other journalists who seemingly stole the story for The Atlantic and later, a different book. He and Mark Blaxill were the first to track down 8 of the original 11 children in Leo Kanner's case study, with the help of Teresa Conrick, and they were the first to put ethyl mercury fungicides at the scene of the crime. More important, they were the first to theorize about a new model of disease in the modern world. It seems it is no longer appropriate to assume one microbe equals one disease. Today's plagues appear to be a lethal combination of one microbe and one toxin gaining access to the brain in a way that was not possible before the industrial revolution. Their work on polio, for example, which was a commonly occurring benign virus for centuries prior to lead arsenate being used as a pesticide, certainly seemed to support that idea. The same was true with autism. Toxins appear to be allowing viruses and bacteria access to the brain for the first time, as well as altering the immune system. Today's epidemics are real, and it's because of this. Their work is nothing short of revolutionary. But it was so much more than that. Dan was a calm, rational, thoughtful voice in a controversy plagued by anger, name-calling, and worse. He never lowered himself to that level even when he knew that giving an interview to Buzzfeed, for example, would inevitably get him labeled "an anti-vaccine crackpot". He simply didn't care, knowing that label is always used to marginalize people and distract from the real issues we are dealing with: denial, corruption, over-medicating, government over-reach, biased and inaccurate science for sale, and more. I admired him deeply for that. And really, when I think about it, it wasnt even that he didnt care what his critics said. He actually used their attacks as a measurement of success. Ill never forget an email he sent me a few years ago after I wrote an article about what I would have asked Dr. Ann Schuchat about vaccine safety under oath if I were in Elizabeths Warrens place. hey, just wanted to let you know your piece really has them riled up on the daily kos. congratulations! (Dan rarely capitalized in emails. Thats actually how it was written.) But Dan was funny like that. He always made me laugh, especially when we met up in Los Angeles for a private fundraiser for Age of Autism and Generation Rescue in 2013 being put on by none other than rock legend and drummer Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. Dan was very nonchalant that night, utterly calm and cool about an experience that I could hardly wrap my brain around in excitement. Taylor Hawkins is rock gold. To my generation, he is one step away from rock royalty Dave Grohl, originally of Nirvana. Nirvana, to many of us my age, is the like the Beatles to my parents generation. We walked the red carpet that night before anyone arrived, pretending anyone cared we were there, snapping pictures of one another and laughing. To my relief, as the night went on, he eventually pulled me aside and said, Ok, I admit it, Julie. This is pretty damn cool. And of course, Dan was the first person I wanted to read my book when I finished. He helped me tremendously during the process with specific details I included about his work. His approval meant the world to me, and the fact that he thought anything I had to say had merit and was worthwhile of sharing on his blog or elsewhere was humbling beyond measure. I'm a different person and my life took a different path in large part due to Dan. I'll end by including how that happened in 2007 with an excerpt from my book. "On one of the conference days, I found myself in the giant ballroom almost alone. I sat down to wait for the next speaker and look through my notes when, behind me, Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill appeared. Dan was the journalist who had written the series Age of Autism for UPI. Mark was the father of an affected child, and was one of the original parents instrumental in bringing CDC corruption to light, a Harvard and Princeton educated man, and one of the smartest people I had ever met. Together, they told me, they were starting a new blog...It would be the first daily web newspaper about the autism epidemic. I was thrilled. In the year prior, I had come to know Dan and Mark and their work well. I admired them immensely, and I was excited for what they could do with this new platform. Rumor had it that all of the organizations that viewed autism medically...were organizing during the conference to discuss becoming one... Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to me, the merger never took place. I often wonder what would have happened if it had. But on that day, in that ballroom, it was still a real possibility. And on that day, in that ballroom, Dan and Mark asked me to join their blog as a Contributing Editor. I gladly and humbly accepted." Rest in peace, Dan. We are all eternally grateful, especially me. xoxo Julie Obradovic is Contributing Editor to Age of Autism. Web Toolbar by Wibiya Kashmir, yet again, routinely celebrated Indian Republic Day within the precincts of Bakshi stadium and as reported all went peacefully while keeping the entire Kashmiri populace confined behind closed doors. Indian army, a million strong, successfully maintained security, law and order to deserve accolades and some gallantry awards. Your army jawans who killed Burhan Wani were rightly honoured with such awards to add salt to the injury inflicted on people of Kashmir. For how many more years will this exercise continue remains to be seen? Towards the beginning of May 1960, Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru tried his best to reconcile and make amends for the wrongs done to the Lion of Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. Pandit Nehru putting all his eggs in one basket removed Sheikh from power as Kashmirs Prime Minster on August 09, 1953 unceremoniously culminating into his eleven year prison terms in Kud, KodaiKanal and Kotla Lane of Delhi and the signatory to purport accession document Maharaja Hari Singh to rot in Bombay to die there in oblivion. Nehrus sudden death in mysterious circumstances dashed Abdullahs hopes leaving him utterly dejected as the only soul, after his return from Pakistan, was seen crying at Nehrus deathbed. Sheikh cried because Nehru, he thought, had offered him the golden opportunity to free Kashmir from occupation. Kashmir missed second opportunity at Tashkent when another Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri intriguingly died leaving Shastri family in agony fighting till date to know Shastris inexplicable abrupt expiry. Prime Minister, your rise to the top position emboldened some quarters in the guise of alliances to freely promote religious bigotry, and fascism. It is very unfortunate that a stalwart like Subramanian Swamy, harping on for Kashmiris to crossover to Pakistan or even branding Dalit population as the progeny of evil king Ravana and his wife Mandodari, is classified as an intellectual and a learned scholar. Swamy must be reminded of the large percentage of Dalits 33% and over 20% of Muslim population that cannot be ethnically cleansed. Sikhs, Christians and other minorities have their own grievances living in perpetual fear. Swamy has to be at least 30 times bigger evil than the Fuhrer of Germany to reach to the cherished illogical conclusion. People of Kashmir getting killed, maimed, many consumed in torture chambers and blinded through pellets go unnoticed but Indian army jawans also get killed either in combats, encounters or due to fratricidal tendencies. The killings of resistance fighting for a cause or Indian people in uniform doing a job to earn a wage are two different situations having the same gruesome end. Dipankar Gupta, a journalist, writes in Times of India that "The prevailing Kashmiri culture of militancy is neither up for sale, nor sweet talk. Neither can security personnel calmly load coffins, weighted by one of their own, and call it a well spent day. Clearly, it is time to change the roof and bring other people in." Meghnad Desai, a columnist from Bengal wrote in Indian Express that If India is to make Kashmir love India, referendum is the only way. The Congress failed in the 50 years after Independence to win over the minds and hearts of the people of the Valley. The reconciliation process began with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Reported in The Hindu, the Vice president of civil rights group, Association for Protection of Democratic Rights [APDR], Ranjit Sur demanded a referendum."The people of Kashmir are fighting for their autonomy. They have the right to decide their own fate. Despite promising to hold referendum in Kashmir, regarding the demand of autonomy, the Government of India has not done so, over decades". Another political biggie Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia called for a plebiscite in Kashmir during a Lok Sabha session denouncing the violence by blaming the government for using weapons against the people rather than supporting them. Prime Minister, India is home to multicultural, multi-religious and multilingual one billion souls believing in live and let live policy. A majority of this population comprises of humanists, do-gooders and altruists. To name a few AB Vajpayee, Arvind Kejriwal, Radha Kumar, Arundhati Roy, P Chidambaram, Shanti Bhushan, Barkha Dutt or late Justice Tarkunde who on February 19, 1990 said "A grant of plebiscite to the people of Kashmir is the obvious solution. If, as a third alternative Kashmir becomes an Independent Democratic and Secular State, its territorial integrity should be guaranteed by India, Pakistan and the UN. That would end the hostility between India and Pakistan and Kashmir will acquire the Status of the Switzerland of Asia. A Humanist cannot wish for anything better". Since 1990 34 new countries were created as the dissolution of USSR and Yugoslavia resulted in the creation of most of the newly independent states. East Timor, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and South Sudan were among the new countries formed without occupying countries using their armies to pounce on local populations to commit genocide. The would-be independent countries like Catalonia, Corsica and Scotland are in the offing and no violence compared to Kashmir has so far been witnessed. Unfortunately, Kashmirs graveyards are full to the brim. Prime Minister, it needs one person to take a bold initiative and make history. We know a referendum in Kashmir touches the sensitivities of a small but powerful percentage of India but a referendum in India from Punjab to Kanya Kumari could be a good start with a simple question "SHOULD INDIA LEAVE KASHMIR?" with two option YES or NO. Please give it a try. Web Toolbar by Wibiya When it comes to culture, America and Canada are not that far apart. We both enjoy the same sports, have similar governments, and watch many of the same movies and television shows. An American can easily travel up to Canada and fit right in, and the same goes for Canadians traveling south. While there are many similarities between the two cultures, there is one aspect in which they are rather far apart guns. Americans and Canadians have very different approaches to firearms, and this has been the case for many years. The American Approach Simply put, Americans as a whole love guns. There are more guns in America than anywhere else in the world, and there are now more guns than there are people. Gun related industries are huge in America, including the making of guns, ammo remanufacturing, and the selling of firearms. It seems that each year the number of Americans who own a gun continues to rise, and the number of guns produced climbs as well. This fondness for guns has been apparent for several decades, but the history of it goes back to the inception of this country. When the country began, it was decided that every American had the right to own a gun in order to fight for militias and provide for the common defence. At the time, there was not a large standing army, and militias were the primary source of defence for most states. As time has gone on, the part about common defence has transformed into self-defense, allowing almost every American to own a gun in their home, with the sole purpose of keeping their family safe. Guns are a large part of American culture from hunting and recreation to video games and movies. If a politician proposes a law that suggests tighter restrictions on who can purchase a gun, you can be sure they will receive some phone calls from gun owners trying to defend their right to own a gun. The Canadian Approach Canada tends to view guns differently, and this is also rooted in their history. Canada did not rebel against England like America did, so there was never a reason for an armed rebellion. On top of that, Canada has never had a civil war, meaning there was no reason for every citizen to own a gun at any point in their history. In fact, up until the 1990s. even Canada's Border and Customs agents were unarmed. Because of their different history, Canada does not view guns the same way as Americans. There are tight restrictions on who can purchase a gun up in Canada, but they still recognize the fact that some people will want to own one whether for hunting, recreation or self-defense. It is harder to get a gun in Canada, but they are still available. How The Differences Impact Each Country The differences in gun culture have led to different outcomes. One such difference is in the number of gun-related deaths. In 2011, the United States experienced gun-related deaths for every 1 in 28,000 people, while the number for Canada was only 1 in 215,000. However, there is debate at least in the United States as to whether more guns are the cause of these deaths. Some argue that in situations like mass shootings, having more firearms around would stop the threat before things escalate. While there are gun related deaths almost every day in America including suicides, homicides, the killing of police offers and the killings by police officers no consensus has been reached on how to deal with the issue. What The Future Holds Based on recent elections, the trends for each country is unlikely to change. The United States just elected Donald Trump, a man that is against more restrictions on buying guns. On the other hand, Canada recently elected Justin Trudeau, who promised more gun control laws. While there is already a large divide in how these two nations handle firearms, there are not any signs that this will change in the upcoming years. While there are many similarities between the United States and Canada, the issue of guns is not one of them. Both countries may have access to guns, and use them for similar reasons, but they are far more common in the United States than in Canada. Based on the history of these two countries, and recent events, this divide is likely to remain in place. "Democrats remain furious over Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's refusal last year to allow the Senate to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nomination of appeals court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacant seat, an action with little precedent in U.S. history." (Reuters) "Some of these nominees waiting for a simple up or down vote would fill court vacancies that have been designated 'judicial emergencies.' While these vacancies remain unfulfilled - unfilled - legal disputes are left unresolved, the backlog of cases grows larger, and the rule of law is delayed for millions of Americans." (President Bush's speech from the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, October 2008) "Trump's appointee to the lifetime post could face stiff opposition from Democrats in the Republican-led U.S. Senate, which must confirm nominees to the high court. Some liberal groups have urged Democrats to do everything possible to block Trump's nominee." (Reuters) "This is the seat that Mitch McConnell and team have stolen from President Obama. I won't be complicit in this theft ... We need to fight this Constitution-shredding gambit with everything we've got." In reality, however, using the Senate to block Supreme Court nominees is common throughout our history as a nation. In recent memory, for instance, the Senate blocked President George W. Bush's nominee Miguel Estrada, an immigrant from Latin America who barely understood English upon arrival, but who worked his way up to serving under President Bill Clinton. Oh the irony: an immigrant from Latin America who even served under Democratic President Bill Clinton was blocked by Democrats in the Senate.As President Bush came into power, dozens of nominees, including district and circuit courts nominees, were held up, blocked by the inaction of the Democratic-majority Senate.Even today, President Trump is up againstfrom Democrats in the Senate:Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) issued a statement accusing Republicans of stealing the seat from President Obama. Senator Merkley is referring to Senator Mitch McConnell's decision last year to block President Obama and fellow Democrats from appointing a Liberal before President Trump came into office. Senator Merkley said:Politics is clearly a dirty game. It was immediately apparent to me what was taking place when Democrats suggested Obama's recess appointment to fill the seat once held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia be pushed through before the Senate recess. Although Senator Merkley insists that the decision to block President Obama's appointment was a "Constitution-shredding gambit," in reality, the Recess Appointments Clause of Article II of the U.S. Constitution was addressed during the NLRB v. Canning case of 2014. The Supreme Court then ruled, from an unanimous 9-0 vote, that President Obama's recess appointments were wholly unconstitutional. At the time, however, the court did not fully agree on a reason why.Justice Scalia cleared up the matter when he wrote that the president only has the power of recess appointments during the year-end recess. Moreover, Justice Scalia said that the power only applies to vacancies that occur during that specific year-end recess.Fortunately for us, President Obama was never allowed to make a decision one way or the other. Instead, Senate-majority leader and Kentucky Senator McConnell skipped recess, taking the option off the table for President Obama, then blocked the former President's nominee altogether.Although the nuclear option, wherein Senate Republicans would eliminate the possibility of a filibuster, is a viable option, Senate Majority-leader Mitch McConnell addressed both parties on the Senate floor, imploring Democrats to accept the validity of President Trump's win and give each nominee "careful consideration followed by an up or down vote" as opposed to a filibuster.President Trump is expected to make another big announcement soon. It really doesn't matter who he appoints to different positions, Liberals will buck back regardless. President Trump has left little doubt that he'll stand his ground and stand up for the United States as well as the values that Americans have traditionally held tight. The Armenian genocide, which occurred from 1915 to 1917, has left a gulf of mistrust between Armenia and Turkey a gulf that photographer John Stanmeyer saw for himself when he worked on a story about the history the genocide for National Geographic. Stanmeyer and Armenian photographer Anush Babajanyan Aiken, SC (29801) Today Cloudy skies with a few showers this afternoon. High near 80F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 62F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 62F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Trump's Immigration Order and Christianity Debate has raged since President Donald Trump announced his executive order temporarily banning entry to the United States of residents from seven Muslim-majority countries. This involves a temporary halt in the United States refugee program. When it resumes, Christian and other non-Muslim minority groups stand to gain significantly. This represents a stark turnaround from the Obama administration's increasingly liberal approach to the refugee intake which in practical terms ended up favouring Muslim refugees. There have been mass protests across the United States and around the world against the Trump executive order. Among the protesters have been many Christian individuals and groups, who argue passionately that refugee policy should not discriminate on the basis of religious affiliation. The arguments offered by such Christian critics of the Trump executive order basically address two themes. First, the Christian call to love our neighbors does not discriminate according to religion, so we should not select those whom we will assist according to religion. Second, the argument is offered that privileging Christian refugees to the United States may well produce a negative backlash against Christian minorities in the Muslim world. The first argument has a superficial appeal on a biblical basis. The message of the Gospels is indeed one of care and compassion for all, not just for those who share our faith. Nevertheless, the message of the Gospels is also about wisely seeking ways to shape a better world and central to that is the concept of proclamation of the Gospels. That is very difficult to do in areas densely populated by Muslims, whether in Muslim-majority countries or in the West. One does not need to look very far in the West to find the poisonous fruit of overly-liberal immigration and refugee policies. Muslim communities have grown in northern England, southern Sweden, Denmark, across France, in areas of Germany, Holland and so forth. Where this has happened stories rapidly emerge of ghettos hostile to outsiders (including Christian missionaries), where oppressive cultural practices flourish -- of which women are the most common victims -- which become scenes of intra-Muslim communal rivalry and conflict, sometimes according to ethnicity, other times according to particular Islamic ideological leaning. Simply put, the arrival of Islamic minority communities in the West has not been a happy story. Muslim minority communities have not settled well in western locations, with a key reason being that there is usually an assumption among these communities that the majority should adapt to them, rather than a reverse process of integration. Indeed, the very word "integration" has come to represent something undesirable. It might be different if Western governments were willing to engage in a process of social engineering, where integration of newly-arriving Muslim minority communities was achieved, through deliberate policies of dispersal and government-induced interaction with majority society at all levels. But such policies are unlikely to be adopted in our multicultural times. That being the case, then importation of large numbers of Muslim immigrants into Western societies is an unwise move -- Germany will pay a heavy price in terms of social fragmentation in years to come. In short, Christians should show care and compassion for Muslims, but that does not mean that non-Islamic majority countries should become increasingly Islamic in the process. The second argument is based on the age-old tactic of scaremongering. If we privilege Christians in our immigration program in the West, then Muslims might take it out on Christian minorities in the Muslim world. The problem with this argument is that some Muslims have been doing this to their Christian minorities for the last 1400 years. There have been periods of relative stability and harmony between Christian and Muslim communities in the Middle East. However, history shows that when Muslim-majority societies have fallen on hard times, religious minorities have borne the brunt of Muslim discomfort both through legislated discrimination and community-level intimidation. Put another way, one should not refuse to assist a relative who is suffering on our doorstep for fear that somebody down the road might be angry if we do provide such assistance. The fact is that Christians from the Middle East are the co-religionists of the majority of most western countries. Christians in the West should not apologize about helping out their religious brothers and sisters who are in need. President Trump will attract a lot more flak over his executive order in months to come. Perhaps there are ways that it can be more tidily designed and implemented. But he has got the fundamental principles right. Majority Christian nations should adopt immigration policies which preserve and protect their own harmony and social cohesion and they should help out their Christian brothers and sisters. The best way to do this is to prioritize Christians in refugee policy. Yellowstone Countys economic growth slowed last year, largely because of slumps in energy, farming and retail trade, but 2017 should be better, state economists said Tuesday in Billings. For the long-term, Billings and other Montana cities need to attract more high-wage jobs to sustain growth in an increasingly automated world, said Bryce Ward, a University of Montana economist, in front of more than 100 people at the downtown DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. Those jobs will likely emerge in knowledge fields information systems, human resources, technology that appeal to college-educated workers, Ward said. Often, they require little more than an Internet connection, but developing a hub for those jobs is more complicated, he said. Knowledge workers tend to concentrate in larger cities, Ward said, although there is potential to build it anywhere. Ward and other experts from the UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research were in Billings for their fourth stop in a nine-city tour. The theme this year is the High-Wage Job Puzzle, which Ward tackled in his keynote talk. Income statewide has grown relatively fast in recent years, but its failed to keep up with other costs, including housing, Ward said. This has pushed Montana graduates to look for work out of state, often while pining to find something closer to home, he said. Part of it is they want to live in the big city. Part of it is there are job opportunities (out of state) that they dont think they can get in Montana, Ward said. Patrick Barkey, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said non-farm wages in Yellowstone County are projected to grow 2.2 percent this year. In 2016, a preliminary estimate shows they grew 1.5 percent, or less than half the growth of the previous year, he said. Statewide, jobless claims leveled off last year, and drops in energy and ag prices hampered growth, particularly in Eastern Montana, Barkey said. Supply chain firm OIA Global has swooped on freight forwarder American Cargo Express (ACE) as it looks to expand its footprint into Canada. Terms of the acquisition of the New Jersey-based forwarder were not disclosed, but OIA said that the companys Toronto office would add another country to its network. OIA Global chief executive Charlie Hornecker said: "We value ACEs nearly 30-year commitment to providing quality freight forwarding, warehousing, fulfillment, as well as its inventory and trade management services to its customers. Joining forces with ACE expands OIAs footprint into the highly competitive Canadian market of Toronto, and adds to our global network of locations which includes countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. Canada will mark the 27th country in which OIA Global operates and we will continue to explore these types of acquisitions in the future, provided they are strategic to our business, help grow our brand, expand our network and create value for our customers." Share this story Freight forwarder the Rhenus group has opened another office in Busan today following the launch of services in South Korea in November. The company said it would provide air and seafreight services from the new office, which will also handle project business for the oil and gas industry, provide third-party logistics services and operate domestic services. We now have our own branch in the south of the country in addition to the capital Seoul. We can offer our logistics services from here and continue to broaden them. The new business site therefore matches the ongoing expansion of our Asian network, said Tobias Bartz, the Rhenus Board Member responsible for Asia. The company said that in addition to trade with Europe, Busan is also an important hub for traffic to Japan and Greater China. It is famous for its ship building industry. "The Asia-Pacific region is a huge driving force for growth. Rhenus has been investing in the expansion of its activities there by opening new business sites for several years," the forwarder said. Share this story Every US President who has had to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin began the relationship with high hopes. Successive American leaders were slow to catch on to what Putin really sought, however. He wants to be feared, unchallenged, able to lord over his neighbors. Putin only seeks cooperation with the US when it can help him. Bill Clinton was fresh off a jovial relationship with Boris Yeltsin in 2000 when ever-closer US-Russian cooperation seemingly loomed. But Putin viewed the 1990s as a period of humiliation and soon told his military its mission included restoring Russias honor and dignity. George W. Bush met Putin shortly after taking office in 2001. I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy, Bush declared. I was able to get a sense of his soul. Putin later launched cyberattacks on Estonia and defeated Georgia in a small war. Barack Obama came to power determined to reset relations with Russia. Putin illegally seized Crimea, launched a shadowy war in Ukraine, attempted to delegitimize the US election, and used Russian airpower to brutally defend Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Now it is Donald Trumps turn. As President-elect, he often spoke glowingly of Putin while questioning the value of NATO. Make no mistake: Putin will try to manipulate Trump. Like Bush and Obama, Trump may be initially fooled by the scheming former KGB officer. Trump has a demonstrated fondness for strong personalities and is seemingly receptive to flattery. But he has other personality traits that could serve the US very well. Trump prides himself on his deal-making talents and will not stand for being made to look weak. Putins idea of a reset would be a blatantly bad deal of the sort Trump despisesPutin wishes for Russia not to be punished for its aggressions and to keep what it has stolen. Clearly, Russia needs a fresh start with the US far more than the US needs another reset with Russia, so Trump begins his presidency from a bargaining position of power. As he wrote in his 2015 book, Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America, Remember the principle strategy of negotiation: The side that needs the deal the most is the one that should walk away with the least. What does Putin want? Well, he recently demanded a reduction in the US military presence in NATOs eastern nations, an end to sanctions, and quite comically, called for the US to compensate Russia for the economic losses that came from those sanctions. Putin also craves endorsement over Crimea. What will Putin offer? Not much of lasting value. He can promise cooperation fighting terrorists, but in Syria Putin rarely attacked ISIS while working to create a puppet state in Damascus. He could offer to negotiate a new Iran nuclear deal, but Russia itself has recently violated or abrogated several international agreements. And Putin will surely turn on Trump if he needs the US as a scapegoat to shore up his popularity at home. If Trump is conned into a bad deal with Putin, the US will have damaged NATO, upended the international order by bargaining away Ukrainian territory, and damaged the US by weakening some of its staunchest allies and trading partners. Instead, Trump should demand that Russia honor the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, cease its unpredictable and threatening military actions near Americas allies, end cyberattacks on the US, and get out of Ukraine. If Russia will not comply, Trump should reinforce the allies in Eastern Europe and ratchet up sanctions against Russia. Putin understands strength and will only respect the US when forced to do so. Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, Thucydides wrote in his History of the Peloponnesian War, because the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must. The US has worked for 75 years to alter this brutal dynamic by defending freedom, security, and economic growth in Europe. Russia has shown a desire to bully, intimidate, overwhelm, and kill the weak. Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Finland have much to fear from Russia, as they lack NATO protection. Without American leadership, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland will also have much to fear. Putin plays nice with US presidents while it works to his advantage, but will push until he is stopped. It is up to NATO, the USand President Trumpto stop him. Learning lessons from combat is an essential part of the military art. Militaries anxious to avoid the old cliche of fighting the last war study carefully the conduct of previous armed conflicts, looking for new knowledge they can apply to the future. In 1946, an officer teaching at the Armys General Staff School wrote an article for the services flagship journal, Military Review. In it, Lt. Col. John H. Swenson looked at the 1944 Normandy campaign and concluded that while airpower had solved the problem of strategic maneuver, it hadnt been applied at the level of tactical maneuver. Swensons prescription was a Horse Cavalry Glider Squadron, comprising three rifle troops equipped with machine guns and recoilless rifles, a weapons troop, and 800 horses. Some 100 gliders would transport this squadron. It would be flown/towed and then landed behind enemy lines. The troops would then mount up, draw sabers, and charge. Swenson believed that the appearance of such an unorthodox unit would cause panic among the enemy high command. The moral of the story: Not all lessons learned are correct lessons learned. Lessons learned became an institutionalized effort in the US following the 1991 Gulf War. The Joint Staffs J-7 directorate was given responsibility for analyzing operations, devising solutions to thorny problems, codifying new ideas, and then disseminating them to the services. The joint lessons learned primer lists the four phases in this process: discovery, validation, integration, and evaluation. A seemingly simple process, but if a lessonwas not properly learned during the evaluation phase, the manual directed the unit to return to the integration phase and try again. In other words, lessons identified during the validation and integration phases were assumed to be correct. But what if you are codifying the wrong lessons The classic case of learning questionable lessons came after World War I. The French and German armies had faced each other across a stagnated front for four years. Despite massive casualties, neither side was able to break the trench stalemate until the very end. Arguably, the breakthrough and eventual Allied victory were as much the result of hundreds of thousands of American reinforcements and the cumulative effects of starvation and war weariness on the German side, as it was due to new ideas or tactics. Maginot and Blitzkrieg In the aftermath, both countries formed cadres of top combat veterans to study the war and propose ideas to ensure such a stalemated blood bath didnt reoccur. About 500 German officersabout a quarter of them airmenexamined the issue for a year and came up with a proposed solution: lightning war, later termed blitzkrieg, that would employ tactical airpower, combined with motorized/mechanized infantry and tanks. The Germans believed the last war demonstrated that mobility must be restored to the battlefield, and blitzkrieg was the way to do it. The French, the melancholy victors, conducted a similar exercise but came up with a different answerone that emphasized defense rather than offense. France aimed to avoid losing another generation of young men in the next war by creating an impenetrable barrier: what became the Maginot Line. This massive trench and fortress system, consisting of heavily fortified, fixed defensive bastionsin some sectors connected by underground rail lineswould force the Germans to bleed themselves white attempting to breach it. Both sides had faced the identical tactical situation, but after due consideration, came to diametrically opposed solutions. In 1940 it was clear the French had learned the wrong lessons. Airmen also studied the war closely, hoping to glimpse the future. In some cases, they proved prescient, in other instances, they guessed wrong. In his first book, Our Air Force: The Key to National Defense, published in 1921, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell argued that pursuit aircraft (todays fighter and attack aircraft) should make up the bulk of an air force because they had the most vital mission. Within a decade, hed changed his mind, emphasizing instead the role of bombing. Mitchells intellectual descendents in the Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) at Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Ala., tended to agree. These bomber advocates, echoing the views of those like Giulio Douhet in Italy and Royal Flying Corps Maj. Gen. Hugh M. Trenchard in Britain, believed bombers were unstoppable, able to penetrate deep into enemy territory and destroy vital centers. They gave short shrift to the need for protective escort for bombers. In the era before radar this was not a silly notion. Even so, some pursuit advocates at ACTS disputed the ability of the bombers to defend themselves, arguing the bomber would not always get through. Consequences of Myopia Regrettably, pursuit experts who taught at the tactical schoolmen like Capt. Claire Lee Chennault (later of Flying Tigers fame) and 1st Lt. Hoyt S. Vandenberg (later USAF Chief of Staff)rejected the notion of fighter escort for bombers. Both argued that the defining aspect of pursuit was its aggressive, offensive nature. It would be inappropriate and indeed counterproductive, they argued, to assign pursuit a defensive missionthe passive role of bomber escort. The consequences of this myopia played out early in World War II. British bombers retreated to the safety of night to avoid decimation during unescorted daylight raids. Meanwhile, the daytime bombers of Eighth Air Force suffered severe losses over Germany through 1943, when the P-47 and P-51 arrived with drop tanks, extending the fighters range to equal that of the bombers. Coupling this development with a new offensive doctrineemploying escorts to seek out and destroy the Luftwaffeprovided air superiority and eventual victory. Combat experience had proved the need for escort fighters, and that was a valuable lesson learned. Then-1st Lt. Haywood S. Hansell Jr., a member of the faculty at the tactical school in 1934, earned a reputation in the Bombardment Section there and began, along with several others, to articulate the doctrine of high-altitude, daylight, precision, formation bombing. Hansell was selected in 1941along with others whod also taught bombardment at the tactical schoolto devise an air war plan for the defeat of Germany. Their effort, AWPD-1, was a milestone in the development of airpowera blueprint for a huge strategic bomber campaign to achieve victory. Not just a thinker and planner, Hansell also commanded a bomb wing in Eighth Air Force, putting his ideas into practice in the skies over Germany. Hansells success prompted Gen. Henry H. Hap Arnold to name him commander of the new XXI Bomber Command in the Mariana Islands, home of the formidable new B-29s. Hansell launched into planning and conducting a strategic air campaign against Japan. Different and Different But this was a different war, in a different theater, against a different enemy, employing different aircraft. The ideas and tactics Hansell had pioneered and used so successfully against Germany simply didnt work in the Pacific. In January 1945, Arnold relieved Hansell and replaced him with the pragmatic Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay. He, too, had been an innovator and commanded bombers over Europe, but was not married to past doctrines and tactics. LeMay stripped the B-29s of their guns and sent the bombers in without escort at night, using incendiaries to bomb Japan into submission. LeMays new tactics worked. Ten years of doctrine, seemingly confirmed in the skies of Europe, were dropped at one sweep. During the Cold War against the Soviet Union, bomber tactics were discussed anew. The intercontinental distances involved seemed to rule out the use of fighter escort. After much thought and experimentation, LeMays Strategic Air Command would come to rely on low-level penetration, speed, decoys, and electronic warfare to survive Soviet air defenses. Fighter escort fell by the wayside. During the Korean War, hard experience showed once again that unescorted bombersB-29s at leastcouldnt survive against Soviet-built jet fighters like the MiG-15. After suffering heavy losses, the bombers resorted to night operations unless heavy jet fighter escort was provided. By the onset of the Vietnam War a decade later, the revolutionary aspect of aerial refueling converted tactical fighters like the F-105 and F-4 into strategic bombers. These aircraft would strike North Vietnam using in-flight refueling on their way to and from the targets. Other fighters, not carrying heavy air-to-ground ordnance, would serve as escorts. During the 1950s and 60s when SAC was ascendant, the fighters of Tactical Air Command were focused on dropping nuclear weapons. The organization feared losing resources or being marginalized, and so developed large fighters like the F-105, incorporating an internal bomb bay for carrying a nuclear weapon. By 1965, USAF fighter pilots spent as much time practicing how to drop nuclear weapons as they did employing conventional munitions for interdiction or close air support. More ominously, their air-to-air combat skills were allowed to atrophy, and USAF fighters over North Vietnam could barely hold their own against the enemys nimble MiGs. It would take new programs and emphasis, especially Red Flag (and for the Navy, Top Gun) to refocus fighter pilots on air-to-air combat. By the end of the Vietnam War the transformation had taken place. Success Stories Since the 1970s, new aircraft such as the F-15 and- F-16, combined with new weapons and sensors and realistic training, have made USAF overwhelmingly dominant in air combat. The US hasnt suffered a single loss in air-to-air combat since 1973. This success stemmed from learning the right lessons over Southeast Asia. Precision guided munitions (PGMs) are another success story. It is difficult to exaggerate the revolutionary effect of having munitions that routinely land mere feet from their aim points. Although tested in World War II, PGMs werent used extensively in combat until the later stages of the Vietnam War. The iconic example of this was the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. Hundreds of unsuccessful strikes were flown against this vital railway bridge near Hanoi, at the loss of 11 aircraft. Then, in April, 1972, a single flight of F-4s carrying laser guided bombs dropped the bridge while sustaining no losses. Even so, the 1991 Gulf War was the first conflict in which precision weapons played a major role. Although the US used several types of PGMselectro-optical, infrared, laser guided, and cruise missiles using ground tracking radarit was laser guided bombs that caught the publics attention. The world saw memorable cockpit display footage of bombs flying down air shafts and through bunker doors. Nonetheless, of the more than 200,000 bombs dropped during Operation Desert Storm, only seven percent were PGMs, and only a small percentage of US aircraft were equipped to drop them. The lesson learned was that precision weapons sharply reduce the number of aircraft needed to destroy targets. The calculus changed from aircraft per target to targets destroyed per aircraft. The Air Force and Navy thus embarked on an aggressive program to design and develop a wide variety of PGMs and expand the number of aircraft that could employ them. During Operation Allied Force over Serbia in 1999, PGM use increased to 32 percent of all air weapons used, and in Afghanistan the number jumped to 55 percent. In Iraq, the percentage climbed to 70 percent, and nearly all US strike aircraft are now equipped to deliver PGMs, which have only gotten better with time. Accuracy is now usually within a couple of yards, and new weapons can see through clouds, smoke, and sandstorms and can even track and strike moving targets. Some weapons can be loaded with their targets before takeoff, while others, such as the new Small Diameter Bomb II, can have its target changed during a glide of up to 46 miles from the release point. Parallel Warfare This new capabilitythe capacity to strike many targets simultaneously with precision and at range, across an entire theateris called parallel warfare and is one of the enduring lessons from the 1991 Gulf War. More individual targets were hit in the first 24 hours of Desert Storm than Eighth Air Force had struck in all of Germany during 1942 and 1943. The development and use of PGMs during the Vietnam War, but especially in the decades thereafter, is one of the great lessons-learned success stories. The US has enjoyed mixed results in wars since 1945. Korea was a tieat considerable costand the Vietnam War, despite more than a decade of effort, over 58,000 Americans dead, and billions of dollars spent, failed to prevent that country from falling to communism. Desert Storm, as well as operations over the Balkans in the 1990s, Libya, and the initial takedowns of the Afghan and Iraqi regimes in 2001 and 2003, can all be counted as successful, but the long-term results of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan remain to be seen. American victories have broadly been marked by the judicious use of air and space power teamed with special operations forces (SOF), augmented by indigenous ground troops (such as the Kosovar Liberation Army in the Balkans, the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, the Kurds in northern Iraq, and forces opposed to Muammar Qaddafi in Libya). Another critical element was the large and networked US system of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets. In Afghanistan, SOF troops, teamed with the indigenous Northern Alliance and backed by ubiquitous ISR and American airpower, resulted in a rapid and lopsided victory. While the Northern Alliance, even abetted by SOF troops, were outnumbered by the Taliban 5,000 to 2,000 at Mazar-e-Sharif, for example, they had airpower behind them, with targets called in and directed by SOF. Airpower proved the great equalizer. Rendered Ineffective The same proved true in Iraq. Airpower reduced the Iraqi Al Nida Republican Guard Divisionoriginally numbering 13,000 men and 500 vehiclesto 2,000 troops and 50 vehicles by the time US marines engaged it. Similarly, air strikes cut the Hammurabi Division to 44 percent effectiveness and the Medina Division to only 18 percent before they were engaged by coalition ground troops. One US Army brigade commander, Col. William F. Grimsley, later said: We never really found any cohesive unit of any brigade of any Republican Guard division. As in Desert Storm, the bulk of the Iraqi army was rendered combat ineffective by airpower. One report states that up to 90 percent of the Iraqi army in some units deserted in 2003, driven away by the air strikes devastating their units. The Air Forces post-Desert Storm lessons learned reportthe Gulf War Airpower Surveyrendered all these statistics and many more for future commanders to consider, creating a template for future analysis of how the US fights. Desert Storm showed the value of stealth, for example, an attribute of modern airpower that has been applied in every major conflict since, with great success. Lessons learned studies in the last 20 years have homed in on a few consistent points. In conflicts of choice, the US must maintain popular support both at home and abroad. Things tend to go badly when intervention costs a great deal of money or lives or produces widespread destruction in countries the US is trying to help. In short, to best achieve its goals, the US must limit cost and risk, not only to itself, but also to its adversariesand especially to the indigenous populations. The insertion of large numbers of ground troops greatly increases US risk while simultaneously incurring huge cost andparadoxicallymay lower the odds of success. US military experience since World War II has made these facts available. It is time to reorient US military policy away from the use of conventional ground forces and toward more reliance on airpower (land- and sea-based) SOF, indigenous ground troops, and robust ISR. The old and traditional methods of war have not worked. Its time to change. This is the lesson that should be learned from modern conflict. On the night of Nov. 11, 1940, most of the capital ships of the Italian navyincluding all six of its battleshipslay at anchor in the harbor at Taranto, which the Italian admirals believed to be secure. They were not overly concerned about the risk from concentrating the fleet. Taranto, located inside the heel of the Italian boot, had strong defenses that included sound-detection devices to pick up airplanes 30 miles away, submerged breakwaters, jetties, anti-torpedo nets, barrage balloons, and hundreds of anti-aircraft guns. The admirals recognized the theoretical danger of air attack. Taranto was within operational range for British carriers in the Mediterranean, but never in history had carrier-launched aircraft been used to strike a heavily defended naval base. Previous assumptions about such an attack were about to be blown away. Just before midnight, the first of two waves of open-cockpit Fairey Swordfish biplanes, launched from the British carrier HMS Illustrious, swept down on the anchorage at Taranto. The first two aircraft dropped flares to illuminate and backlight the Italian ships in the harbor. Close behind them came more Swordfish dropping torpedoes and bombs. In 65 minutes, the attackers sank or severely damaged three of the battleships, two cruisers, two destroyers, and assorted other targets. Two of the Swordfish were shot down by anti-aircraft fire. In the House of Commons, Prime Minister Winston Churchill proclaimed that the loss to Italy of half its battleships affects decisively the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean. Some nations were paying closer attention than others. Japan was especially interested and dispatched its naval attache from Berlin to investigate. A group of Japanese naval officers visited Taranto for a further look, bringing a long list of questions and interviewing as many eyewitnesses as they could. Taranto is often described as the precursor or blueprint for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 13 months later, but that is something of an exaggeration. Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto was already thinking about a strike on Pearl Harbor, possibly with aerial torpedoes. There is little doubt, though, that Taranto confirmed the feasibility of Yamamotos idea. Serious planning of the attack and experiments to modify aerial torpedoes for use in the shallow waters of Pearl Harborabout the same depth as at Tarantobegan in early 1941. Challenge in the Med Adm. Andrew B. Cunningham, commanding the British Mediterranean Fleet, was caught short-handed when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain June 10, 1940. Some of Cunninghams assets had been transferred to the Home Fleet for the impending Battle of Britain. Other British forces were tied down in North Africa, where an Italian army was massed on the frontier between Egypt and Libya. Cunningham had to keep the sea lanes open to the Suez Canal, the critical passage to India, Australia, and British possessions in Asia, but he had only a squadron of surface combatants and the aging carrier HMS Eagle, a converted battleship with an improvised flight deck. The day after Mussolini declared war, Italian bombers from Sicily pounded British bases on Malta. Several clashes at sea ensued in July and August. The Italians held a substantial numerical advantage in both ships and aircraft and a position of strategic advantage from their base at Taranto. Nevertheless, they had several weaknesses. The fighting potential of the Regia Marina, the Italian navy, depended on its battleships. There were no aircraft carriers, Mussolini having decided that the entire peninsula of Italy functioned as a carrier. The defense of Taranto included Italian air force interceptors, but their bases were some distance away. None of the aircraft in southern Italy had a night-fighting capability. Italys resources were strung out and strained by Mussolinis military adventures from the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and participation in the Spanish civil war to the invasions of Albania in 1939 and Greece in 1940 and the current challenge to the British in North Africa. Mussolinis advisors warned him that the Italian industrial base could not readily replace ships lost in war and the admirals were reluctant to take risks. After Cunningham received reinforcementsincluding the newly commissioned carrier Illustriousin September, he believed he could beat the Italians in an all-out naval battle. String Bags and Torpedoes If the Italians, following their cautious strategy, would not come out to fight a major engagement, Cunningham would go into Taranto to get them. The notion of a carrier-launched attack on Taranto dated back to the Ethiopian invasion. The plan was updated in 1939 and the man who had updated it, Lumley Lyster, arrived in September aboard Illustrious as the new rear admiral for carriers of the Mediterranean Fleet. He presented a plan for attack to Cunningham, who laid it on with the designation of Operation Judgment. The strike was set for Oct. 21, the anniversary of Lord Nelsons celebrated victory at Trafalgar in 1805. The two carriers, Eagle and Illustrious, were to launch a total of 30 Fairey Swordfish aircraft, carrying a combination of torpedoes and bombs. The Swordfish entered service in 1936 and was outmoded even then. Its biplane configuration was old-fashioned and it was painfully slow. The top speed was officially rated at 143 mph when carrying weapons, but according to fleet air arm crews, it seldom went faster than 100. The aircrews in the open cockpits wore heavy insulated flying suits for protection against the cold. For all of that, the Swordfish was sturdy and reliable. It was popular with the crews who affectionately called it the String bag, named supposedly for the knotted string bags used by shoppers in England and referring to the Swordfishs versatility in carrying things. By an alternate explanation, String bag derived from the web of rods and struts between the upper and lower wings. The Swordfish normally had a crew of three: a pilot, an observer, and a gunner. The observer, more important than suggested by his title, handled navigation, reconnaissance, and target recognition. The pilot sat in the front cockpit and the gunner and the observer shared the larger second cockpit. The Taranto mission required supplementary long-range fuel tanks, which were usually slung under the Swordfish fuselage. That was not possible when carrying torpedoes, which had to be mounted centerline between the wheels. Thus the fuel tank was put into the observers space. The observer moved to the smaller seat previously occupied by the gunner, who was scrubbed from the crew. The base at Taranto was divided into inner and outer harbors, connected by a small canal. The battleships were in the larger outer harbor, protected by a breakwater and anti-torpedo nets. Several of the cruisers and some of the destroyers were in the inner harbor. The battleships with their heavy armor plating were too tough to knock out with bombs so half the Swordfish carried torpedoes. The other half would use bombs against the cruisers and destroyers. The conventional wisdom was that air-dropped torpedoes could not be used in water less than 75 feet deep. If the water was too shallow, the torpedo would not be able to recover from its steep plunge and begin tracking toward the target. Taranto harbor was 40 feet deep. What the Italians did not know was that the British had found a solution. The nose of the torpedo was hooked to a wire wound on a drum beneath the aircraft. Upon launch, the wire pulled the nose of the torpedo up so that after falling from low level, it hit the water in a belly flop instead of a dive. Attack was possible in water as shallow as 22 feet. Bad Luck and Good Luck Both the makeup of the air strike and the timing were changed by intervening surprise events. On Oct. 18, three days before the scheduled mission, a mechanic fitting an auxiliary fuel tank on one of the Swordfish dropped a tool, setting off a spark and causing a fire that destroyed two airplanes and badly damaged three others. The attack had to be postponed. The moon would not be full again until the middle of November, which would give the aircrews greater visibility over Taranto and when returning to the carriers in the dark. The operation was rescheduled for Nov. 11, with fewer aircraft. The next glitch came in early November with the discovery that Eagle needed emergency repairs. The hull had been shaken by near misses during the summer battles, damaging the pipes that carried aviation fuel within the ship. The danger of fire or explosion was so great that Eagle was withdrawn from action. Illustrious would be the lone carrier for the strike. Several more aircraft were lost in accidents Nov. 9-10, leaving 21 Swordfish as the attack force aboard Illustrious. These misfortunes were offset by several pieces of good luck for the British. Initially, the Taranto harbor was protected by 90 barrage balloons, tethered on steel cables that could tear the wings off low-flying airplanes. Sixty balloons were lost in a storm Nov. 6 and had not yet been replaced. With only 30 balloons remaining, the cables were 900 feet apartthree times the previous spacingallowing the Swordfish plenty of room to maneuver between them. On Nov. 11, the day of the attack, the Italians had scheduled a gunnery exercise at sea and spent much of the morning in the extensive task of removing the torpedo nets around the ships. The exercise was canceled but the torpedo nets had not been rerigged. The movements of Illustrious were concealed within the broader context of Operation MB8, an elaborate series of British actions in early November timed to provide additional cover for the air strike. Among other distractions, a group of cruisers and destroyers would run slightly ahead of Illustrious, between the carrier and Taranto. The delay from the fire had put the attack on Taranto after Italys invasion of Greece Oct. 28, which further obscured the activity of the British fleet. The Swordfish Launch A few hours before the attack on Nov. 11, an RAF reconnaissance airplane from Malta overflew Taranto and confirmed that the Italian fleet was still in place. Packed into the inner and outer harbors were six battleships, nine cruisers, 28 destroyers, and other vessels. The Swordfish were divided into two waves because Illustrious could launch only 12 of them at a time. The first wave, led by Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Williamson, was off at 8:30 p.m. Six of the airplanes had torpedoes; four had bombs, and two had flares and bombs. En route, they encountered thick fog. Most of the squadron, following standing orders, climbed to higher altitude to get above it, but Lt. Ian Swayne did not. Separated from the others, he assumed he had fallen behind and proceeded to Taranto at lower altitude to make up time. In fact, he was well ahead, arriving 15 minutes before his colleagues, alerting the air defenses and setting off flak from the shore batteries. The sound-detection equipment had picked up Swaynes approach some distance out but the Italian air force had no night-fighter interceptors nearby. The Italians would not put up a single fighter that night, which was critical to the survival and success of the slow-moving Swordfish. As soon as the last of Williamsons airplanes were away, the ships crew brought the nine aircraft for the second wave up to the deckfive with torpedoes, two with bombs, and two with flares and bombs. Launch began at 9:20 p.m., with Lt. Cmdr. J. W. Hale leading. The last two Swordfish bumped wings on the deck. Lt. W. D. Morford was able to take off, but Lt. Edward W. Clifford was held back until the repair crews fixed the damage to his aircraft, which took about 15 minutes. He launched anyway, hoping to catch up. Meanwhile, Morford was having problems. The bump had caused more damage than was apparent. The straps holding the extra fuel tank gave way and the tank fell into the sea. He had to abort and return to the carrier. The mission was now down to 20 Swordfish, one of them arriving early at Taranto and another one getting there late. Over Taranto The first wave reached Taranto at 11:12 p.m. The first two airplanes circled around at high altitude and dropped a string of flares along the eastern rim of the harbor, backlighting the targets for the strike aircraft approaching from the west. The ground gunners banged away at the flare droppers, but it did no good. The flares fell 1,000 feet before igniting and the airplanes had moved on. Close on the heels of the flare droppers came flight leader Williamson with Lt. Norman Scarlett as his observer. They swept in very low, between the barrage balloons, and released their torpedo 20 or 30 feet above the water. It tracked unerringly to the battleship Conte di Cavour and blew a 40-foot hole in the hull. Moments later, Williamson and Scarlett were shot down. Their airplane crashed into the harbor but the Italians fished them out. They spent the rest of the war as POWs. Other Swordfish were scoring hits, too, but it was difficult to tell which weapons were causing what damage. The attackers were flying so low the Italians could not shoot at them effectively at depressed trajectory for fear of hitting their own ships. Nor could they make good use of their searchlights, which would mostly have blinded their own gunners. The first wave completed its strike at 11:35 p.m. and there was a lull before the second wave attacked at 12:11 a.m. Again, the flare droppers came first and the strikers continued the toll on the Italian fleet. A second Swordfish was lost to a direct hit by the anti-aircraft guns. Neither of the airmen, pilot Lt. G. W. Bayley or observer Lt. H. J. Slaughter, survived as their airplane burst into flames and fell into the water. About 12:30 a.m., shortly after the last of his colleagues had departed, Clifford reached Taranto, his wing repairs holding up just fine. He attacked a cruiser in the inner harbor, but his bomb was defective. It punched a hole in the deck but failed to explode. Clifford was clear of the harbor defenses by 12:35 a.m. and the air raid was over. The last surviving Swordfish returned to Illustrious at 2:50 a.m. RAF reconnaissance photos showed three battleships with their decks awash. The worst hit was Conte di Cavour, sunk with only its superstructure remaining above water and never to return to service. The bows of the battleship Littorio, hit by three torpedoes, were under water and oil was streaming into the harbor. A third battleship, Caio Duilio, was beached in shallow water to prevent its sinking completely. The torpedo had blown a hole between two magazines. Had it struck a few yards either way, Caio Duilio would have been done for. The raid had also sunk or damaged two cruisers and two destroyers as well as causing fires and losses to other ships, the oil storage depot, and the dockyard. Two of the battleships were refloated, repaired, and eventually returned to service. In the Wake of Taranto The Italians tried to minimize the bad news, announcing that one ship was gravely damaged and that they had shot down six British airplanes, but the actual losses could not be concealed. In The New York Times, Hanson W. Baldwin noted that the British achieved their greatest results with the torpedo rather than the bomb and that the raid marked an increasing accuracy of attacks from the air against ships on the sea. Cunningham was jubilant, declaring, In a total flying time of six and a half hourscarrier to carriertwenty aircraft had inflicted more damage upon the Italian fleet than was inflicted upon the German High Seas Fleet in the daylight action at the Battle of Jutland. The Italians, rattled by the attack, pulled their major warships out of Taranto for a safer harbor at Naples, far to the north and no threat to the British convoys. They never again used Taranto as a major base for their battle fleet. The strategic gain in the Mediterranean was diminished somewhat in 1941 when the Germans, no longer trusting the Italians, moved Luftwaffe bombers and fighters into the area in large numbers to block and harry the British. Seldom in the history of warfare had a handful of old airplanes inflicted so much damage on an enemy, but Taranto never received the acclaim of other noteworthy battles. Little more was said after Churchills statement to the House of Commons about the balance of power in the Mediterranean. Later, ruminating on the war on the southern flank and the 1942 Battle of El Alamein, Churchill said, Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat. The Swordfish remained in service until 1945 and figured in one more major engagement. In May 1941, it was Swordfish torpedo bombers flying from the carrier Ark Royal that disabled the German battleship Bismarck, enabling British battleships and destroyers to finish the job and sink it. Cunningham returned to Britain in 1943 as First Sea Lord, holding that position until his retirement in 1946 in the five-star grade of admiral of the fleet. Vice Adm. Inigo Campioni, commander of the Italian battle fleet, was relieved of duty and became governor of the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean. Illustrious, attacked by more than 70 German bombers and fighters in the Mediterranean in January 1942, sustained major damage, was repaired in the United States, and returned to duty. After the war, Illustrious served as a training carrier and troop transport until decommissioning in 1955. The United States was slow to catch on to the significance of Taranto. In a letter in February 1941 to Adm. Husband E. Kimmel, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Harold R. Stark, expressed the opinion that a minimum depth of water of 75 feet may be assumed necessary to successfully drop torpedoes from planes. Pearl Harbor, where Kimmels fleet was anchored, was 40 feet deep, about the same as Taranto. That assessment was modified by a round-robin message dispatched in June 1941 by Rear Adm. Royal E. Ingersoll, assistant CNO, who said that in view of recent developmentsspecifically citing Tarantothe Navy could no longer assume a requirement of depth of 75 feet for aerial torpedo operations. Incredibly, he added erroneously that the torpedoes at Taranto had been at depths between 11 and 15 fathoms, meaning 66 to 90 feet. Preview of Pearl Harbor The Japanese naval attache discussed what he had learned at Taranto with Cmdr. Minoru Genda, who planned the Pearl Harbor operation, and with Cmdr. Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the attack. The report from the Japanese navy officers who visited Taranto was studied carefully. Early on, Yamamotos proposal for an attack on Pearl Harbor met with great resistance in military and naval circles in Japan, but Taranto lent strong support to his case. His decision to strike Pearl Harbor was made in December 1940. In January 1941, he assigned serious planning for the use of aerial torpedoes. The Japanese did not use the spooled wire technique developed by the British for delivery of aerial torpedoes in shallow water. Their own experiments produced a torpedo with wooden fins which worked in 36 feet of water in tests between January and September 1941. Forty of the Nakajima B5N bombers that Fuchida led over Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, carried aerial torpedoes. They were very effective along Battleship Row. Since August 2014, the US has been at war with ISIS forces in Syria and Iraq, bombing fixed targets and providing close air support for Iraqi army troops and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. But while Congress has provided funds to carry out this air campaign, it hasso farnot explicitly authorized this particular action as a war, and will probably never get around to it. In fact, though the US has been involved in many armed conflicts over the last seven decades, the last time Congress actually declared war was some 75 years ago, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Since then, the US has gone to war largely at the behest of the President, with Congress supplying some covering legislation after the fact, such as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that underpinned the Vietnam War. The authorizing history for the current fight goes back 15 years. On Sept. 14, 2001, Congress passed a joint resolution to authorize the use of military force against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States. This was a response to the 9/11 attacks. President George W. Bush signed the legislation on Sept. 18, 2001, and the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, became law. Less than three weeks later, on Oct. 7, the US launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In October 2002, another AUMFauthorizing the use of force in Iraqwas approved by Congress and became law; Operation Iraqi Freedom began about five months later, in March 2003. On Aug. 7, 2014, President Barack Obama authorized the first air strikes against ISIS, beginning the campaign now known as Operation Inherent Resolve. The Scope of an AUMF Instead of pushing for a new AUMF, though, the Obama administration argued in September 2014 that the actions against ISIS are covered by the 2001 legislation. I have the authority to address the threat from ISIS, Obama said Sept. 10, 2014, announcing the creation of a broad coalition against the terrorist group. But I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort. More than two years since that speech, the fight against ISIS has only intensified. Yet despite support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, there is still no AUMF specifically for OIRand there may never be. The 2001 AUMF states that the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations, or persons. Stephen W. Preston, general counsel for the Department of Defense, has argued that ISIS is covered by the authorization because it is associated with al Qaeda. In a 2015 address to the American Society of International Law, he said that while the name may have changed, the group now known as ISIS or ISIL has been an enemy of the United States within the scope of the 2001 AUMF since at least 2004. He explained, A power struggle may have broken out within [Osama] bin Ladens jihadist movement, but this same enemy of the United States continues to plot and carry out violent attacks against us to this day. Preston noted that while the 2002 AUMF allowed the use of force in Iraq based on the threat of Saddam Husseins regime, it has always been understood to authorize the use of force for the related purposes of helping to establish a stable, democratic Iraq and addressing the terrorist threats emanating from Iraq and therefore authorizes military operations against ISIS in Iraq. Michael E. OHanlon, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, told Air Force Magazine he believes using the 2001 war powers authorization for the current fight is legal because, while its name and leadership have changed multiple timesand while ISIS is now in fact in direct competition with another al Qaeda derivative in Syriaboth those groups have common origins, ideology, and to some extent, membership with the original al Qaeda organization that carried out the 9/11 attacks. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president, disagreed. At an April 28, 2016, Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Kaine said he is in a minority in this body in Congress in believing that the 2001 authorization does not provide a legal justification for this war. And I think that there isnt a domestic legal justification unless and until we so vote. Then-Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter responded that while he agrees with Kaine that a new AUMF would signify to the troops that the country is behind them, he believes the 2001 law for OIR is, in fact, legal. I am told by the lawyers, and I believe this, that the legal basis exists in both domestic law and international law for everything were doing, he said, adding that hes not a lawyer and couldnt explain the particulars. The issue has been raised by Army Capt. Nathan Michael Smith, who in May sued Obama. In the lawsuit, Smith wrote that he brought the legal action to ask the court to tell the President that he must get proper authority from Congress, under the War Powers Resolution, to wage the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal district court judge in November, however. This case raises questions that are committed to the political branches of government, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote, according to a copy of the decision obtained by The New York Times. The court is not well-equipped to resolve these questions, and the political branches [that] are so equipped do not appear to be in dispute as to their answers. The debate about how much power the President has over the use of military forces goes all the way back to the constitutional convention in 1787, explained retired Army Maj. Gen. John D. Altenburg, who served as deputy judge advocate general of the Army and is now a principal with the D.C. office of the Greenberg Traurig law firm. Altenburg is also a law lecturer at the George Washington University Law School. The clause originally read ?make war, and they specifically edited it and changed it to declare war, the implication being, its the executive that actually makes war and conducts tactics and strategy and the like, but Congress is the only one that can declare war, Altenburg told Air Force Magazine. Since that time, there have been just 11 declarations of war for five wars from the War of 1812 through World War II (when the US declared war on Germany, Japan, and Italy). However, since the 1790s, Congress has passed statutory provisions authorizing the President to use military force in locations around the world. The Vietnam War and the Korean War were never declared, for instance. Room for Debate In 1973, Congress overruled a presidential veto to pass the War Powers Resolution, in hopes of ensuring that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United States armed forces into hostilities. Beyond explicit congressional authorization, there is an argument that if Congress has appropriated funds for a military operation, that provides enough authority for the President to continue using military force, Altenburg said. Congress can, in one vote, stop the funding, he said. As for the question of whether a new AUMF is necessary, Altenburg said there is room to debate on both sides, but there is room to say that the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for the use of force are adequate for conducting operations against al Qaeda, ISIS, and similar organizations. Even though Obama and administration officials said they didnt need a new AUMF to pursue the fight against ISIS, Obama nevertheless sought one. He called on Congress to pass a new AUMF in his January 2015 State of the Union speech, and in February of that year, he submitted a draft AUMF that he said would authorize the continued use of military force to degrade and defeat ISIL. In a letter to Congress about the proposal, he stated that it would not authorize long-term, large-scale ground combat operations like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, it would provide the flexibility to conduct ground operations in other, more limited circumstances, such as rescue operations involving US or coalition personnel. The draft included a suggested endpointthree years after the date of enactmentand would repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force against Iraq. However, it did not address the 2001 authorization, though Obama in the letter to Congress said he was committed to refining it. Enacting an AUMF that is specific to the threat posed by ISIL could serve as a model for how we can work together to tailor the authorities granted by the 2001 AUMF, he wrote. The proposal stalled in Congress, as Republican lawmakers argued for a less limited AUMF. Then-House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement that any authorization for the use of military force must give our military commanders the flexibility and authorities they need to succeed and protect our people. I have concerns that the Presidents request does not meet this standard. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was pleased that Obama had proposed an AUMF, but McCain confessed to deep concerns about aspects of the proposal, including limitations placed on the constitutional authority of the Commander in Chief, the failure to articulate an objective for the use of military force, and a narrow definition of strategy. Other initiatives for a new AUMFincluding versions sponsored by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Adam D. Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and Kainehave also failed to advance. OHanlon said the problem is that everyone wants to use the new legislation for their own, often conflicting, purposes. Hawks want to revalidate the war effort, doves want to curtail it in time or place or means. Thus, a new majority fails to emerge on any specific proposal. Altenburg agreed. The difficulty in drafting another AUMF is, will there be an even bigger argument about how it would be restricted? Altenburg asked. Well be in a debate that never ends about what it should look like, he asserted. So why pursue a new AUMF in the first place Preston, in his speech to the international-law society, said the most obvious reason the President would seek a new AUMF is that the world needs to know we are united behind the effort against ISIL, and the men and women of our military deserve clear and unified support. Heres to a New AUMF Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. told the House Armed Services Committee in December 2015 that he absolutely believes that a clear and unequivocal statement of support for the men and women [who] are prosecuting the campaign and our allies from their elected officials would be helpful. OHanlon said a new AUMF could offer greater precision and specificity. It could clarify that, for example, we shouldnt be using substantial numbers of US forces to attack Boko Haram, or a Salafist organization besides ISIS and al Nusra/Conquest Front in Syria, or another offshoot of the original movement that is too far away in location or too different in membership [or] leadership for the same single AUMF to cover that, too. Retired Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, the former head of US Central Command and nominee for Defense Secretary, in April 2016 told a group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that an AUMF for the fight against ISIS would again demonstrate American stability and focus on the region. Referencing Congress apparent inability to pass a new AUMF, he said: If they dont like the one that the President has sent them, theres nothing wrong with that; they can turn around and pass an AUMF that they believe in their heart is the right sort of thing to do and show the unity of the Congress. Instead, he said, they appear to be more willing to sit outside and criticize the President than to put themselves on the line and say, Heres where we stand.? Still, Obama seemed undeterred by the congressional inaction. In his January 2016 State of the Union address, he urged Congress to take a vote if members were serious about winning this war. By late November, the administration was planning to expand the reach of the 2001 AUMF to include al Shabab in Somalia, according to The New York Times. Lisa O. Monaco, Obamas top counterterrorism advisor, said in a statement that the terrorist threat is constantly evolving and requires an adaptable response, the Times reported. Rocky Mountain Colleges Ryniker-Morrison Gallery will host the Red Lodge Clay Center exhibit in Tech Hall on the RMC campus from Feb. 9 through March 2. An opening reception honoring the centers long-term residents is set for Thursday, Feb. 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. The exhibit is free and the public is invited to attend. The mission statement of the Red Lodge Clay Center reads, It is our mission to support artists, the creative process and to provide a place for professionally-minded ceramic artists to create new work." The Red Lodge Clay Center hosts visiting artist workshops, lectures, demonstrations, gallery exhibits and educational programming to share with resident artists and the public. The 2016-17 long-term residents at the Red Lodge Clay Center include Allison Cochran, Matt Fiske, Raven Halfmoon, Joyce St. Clair Voltz and Lars Voltz. Cochran studied clay at Ohio University. As an undergraduate, she traveled to Germany where she studied at the Burg Giebeichenstein School of Art and Design. She has been a resident at the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary, and was also part of the first Advanced Student Project Network at the Red Lodge Clay Center. Fiske spent time studying Chinese porcelain in China, worked in a clay studio in Seoul, South Korea, and was a resident at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. He received his master's degree in ceramics from Utah State University. Halfmoon earned a bachelor's degree in ceramics, painting, and cultural anthropology at the University of Arkansas in 2014. She recently finished a yearlong post-bachelor's program at the University of Oklahoma. She has exhibited her work in Arkansas, Kansas, Texas and Montana. St. Clair Voltz received her bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary art and design studies and a bachelor's degree in ceramics from the University of North Texas in 2011. She studied contemporary art in Japan, Australia, Cuba, Mexico and New Zealand while earning her master's degree from Wichita State University. Voltz earned his master's degree from Wichita State University in 2014, where programs allowed him to travel and study in Japan, Cuba, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. In 2015, he traveled to Hangzhou, China, to build wood kilns for the China Academy of Arts. Ryniker-Morrison Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for school holidays. For more information, contact Sally McIntosh at sally.mcintosh@rocky.edu. January 30, 2017 The families of 10 young men killed recently in the governorate of north Sinai are demanding an investigation into the deaths, rejecting the government's claim that the 10 were members of a terrorist group who died in a shootout with security forces. The el-Arish families say many of the dead had actually been abducted by the government in some cases months ago and the government is trying to cover up the Interior Ministry's complicity in their forced disappearances and deaths. The Interior Ministry announced the deaths Jan. 13, claiming the young men were with Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (Wilayat Sinai), a terrorist group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS). The ministrys statement said the men had opened fire on security forces as they neared the mens hideout in a house in el-Arish. The ministry said the group previously had killed eight policemen in two attacks on security checkpoints in el-Arish. The families met Jan. 14 and released a statement saying they refused to meet with the interior minister and demanding that northern Sinai parliament members resign. They also demanded the immediate release of people who have been detained or forcibly disappeared, saying the government can't be trusted. The families also want to know "the fate of the bodies of our children" and threatened to escalate the situation by calling for civil disobedience. The Interior Ministry did not respond to the allegations against it. Security forces have been clashing with armed extremists in the Sinai Peninsula, who increased their attacks following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated former Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, in the wake of massive protests against his regime in July 2013. The el-Arish families are calling for daily meetings to be held to resolve their issues and address the longstanding crisis. Yehya Hussein Ayoub, a lawyer and spokesmann for the Arish Tribes Committee, said the public prosecutor and the National Council for Human Rights have been presented with documents regarding the men whom the Interior Ministry said were killed in the shootout. Ayoub said the documents prove instead that some of the men were forcibly disappeared. In a Jan. 22 press interview, Ayoub called for an investigation into the incident to expose the responsible security leaders. Such an investigation has yet to be launched. Sinai activist and journalist Mona al-Zamlout said the el-Arish families wouldn't resort to civil disobedience, as they had threatened. Rather, she said, they hope the threat will pressure the police to acknowledge the rights of the men who died. On Jan. 23, she posted on her Facebook page, This was a fit of anger, but it is almost over. On Jan. 18, following a meeting in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, about 25 miles from el-Arish, 10 tribal sheikhs and several north Sinai governorate families rejected the el-Arish families statement. They said they object to any measures or calls that serve armed groups and harm the public interest. Ibrahim al-Arajani, the sheikh of al-Tarabin tribe one of the tribes that rejected the el-Arish families' statements called for reuniting and supporting the army and police in the war on terrorism. He said in a press statement, The families' feud with the state will only strengthen terrorists and harm Sinai and its citizens. However, a number of locals from Sheikh Zuweid told Mada Masr they rejected the statement made by the tribal sheikhs. "Some individuals with connections to the state are responsible for releasing the statement, which does not represent our towns people, Mada Masr quoted locals as saying. Hussam Rifai, a parliament member representing el-Arish, said it is dangerous for security forces to overlook the murder of Sinai civilians. He told Al-Monitor he submitted an urgent report to parliament two days after the clashes, asking parliament to form a fact-finding committee to examine the issue and verify the el-Arish families accusations against the Interior Ministry. But plans for the committee remain vague, as parliament hasnt officially announced its formation. Rifai said he is staying in contact with the el-Arish families to keep the situation calm until the investigations are over. He voiced his solidarity with the families. Salah Salam, a member of the National Council for Human Rights in North Sinai, said, The Arish mens case is confusing. There are two stories, one from the Ministry of Interior about their affiliation with a terrorist group, and another one from their families, who deny any such affiliation. He told Al-Monitor, Several families submitted a request to the public prosecutor to investigate the issue, and he himself received 650 requests from Sinai families to present to the Presidential Pardon Commission, which was formed in November. The requests call for the release of prisoners facing charges that have not been proved. Rifai noted the need to revisit security forces behavior toward Sinai families, as security forces need the support of each Sinai citizen to face the terrorist threat there. We appreciate the efforts of all loyal policemen, but we must take new measures to facilitate crossing from and to Sinai and to expedite the investigations in the cases of the forcibly disappeared, he said. Rifai said there are no specific statistics on the forcibly disappeared in northern Sinai. We support any security measure to fight terrorism, even if it is too strict," he said. "But we ask for civilians needs to be taken into consideration. January 31, 2017 Much has been said about the political legacy of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani following his death Jan. 8 at the age of 82 from a heart attack, but his most lasting legacy will be in higher education. Ayatollah Rafsanjani was among the founders of Islamic Azad University (IAU) and served as head of its Founders' Committee, equivalent to chairman of the board, for three decades. Iran's student population today exceeds 4.5 million, more than 5% of the population. In other words, one in every 20 Iranians is enrolled in some sort of post-secondary school diploma program. Researchers estimate that half of Iranians aged 18 to 24 are students, with 85% paying for their studies. This has created a steady revenue stream for IAU. In addition to being an education facility, IAU, with 400 campuses, is also a major property owner. When helping to establish IAU in the 1980s as parliament speaker and Friday prayer leader in Tehran, Rafsanjani took inspiration from Iran's age-old seminaries. In one of his Friday prayer sermons, he reminded the devout, Seminary students do not enjoy free education. They return to their towns and villages to work. When they are back in the seminary, they use their earnings to pay their tuition. Thus, he provided the rationale tuition fees at a time when the government was unable to provide free higher education to the increasing number of students. IAU became the solution, using tuition fees to also rapidly expand. Today, IAU dwarf's Irans public universities. For the fall 2016 semester, IAU enrolled 1.62 million students. It offers a wide range of majors at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, thus attracting many students but also much criticism. It has fulfilled Rafsanjani's vision of bringing higher education to every city across the country, but at the same time, many charge that its degree programs do not train professionals, but rather degree holders, who cannot be employed because they graduate without the necessary skills. Indeed, IAUs rapid expansion and degree offerings have promoted many to argue that its focus is on quantity rather than quality. One common criticism is the lack of connectivity between its programs and the Iranian job market. College graduates have the highest unemployment rate in the country. In 2014, it was estimated that close to 1.2 million college graduates were unemployed. This has led some to conclude that the university's programs lack the standards needed in higher education. IAU is not a truly private institution. It was founded by a decree from the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and among its founders were some members of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, the authority overseeing higher education. The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sat on the Founders' Committee, as did Ahmad Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeinis son, and Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili, then head of the judiciary. IAU owns an estimated 10 million square meters of property across Iran. Its steady cash flow from tuition fees has made it a major developer. Several construction companies are contracted to work on IAU properties, with its main office overseeing millions of dollars in expansion and maintenance. One could say that IAU, with assets valued at $200 billion, has a business model based on higher education rather than the other way around. Thus, it is perhaps of no surprise that its critics have accused it of land grabbing and profit seeking. In 2009, the first phase of a power struggle between Rafsanjani and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad concerned accusations of corruption involving control over IAU and its campuses. Rafsanjani and his allies agreed to a compromise allowing them to retain some control over IAU, keeping some committee seats and crafting new regulations for university management. During the settlement, Ali Akbar Velayati, the head of the Expediency Councils Center for Strategic Research, was floated as a possible candidate to lead IAU as president. Rafsanjani is the third member among IAU's founders to die in recent years. As the head of the Founders' Committee, he played an influential and dominant role, and his importance to the organization means that his death has left a significant vacuum. Following Rafsanjani's funeral, some observers suggested that Hassan Khomeini, a grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini with ties to the Reformist camp, would succeed him, while others speculated about Hamid Mirzadeh, a former vice president, close associate of Rafsanjani and a member of the IAU Founders' Committee. Khamenei resolved the growing issue of succession with an edict appointing Velayati, also the supreme leaders foreign policy adviser, to head the Founders' Committee. Some have criticized the process because they believe that electing a new leader of the Founders Committee is within the committees prerogative. Conservative media reported that some committee members apparently believed that the founding articles were not clear in this regard. These members therefore reportedly asked the supreme leader to step in and resolve the matter. Given the nature of IAU, its network of campuses and the size of its student body, one wonders whether a decision by any other authority in Iran would have been acceptable to those coveting the chairmanship of such a vast organization. As Velayati assumes the mantle of leadership, there are questions about IAU's future. There is speculation about whether the organization will move toward decentralization with an agenda of playing an active role in economic regeneration or whether it will continue to function as a centralized institution. Others wonder if IAU will adopt new approaches to the social sciences and restructure the curriculum to more strongly reflect Islamic teachings. Regardless of the answers to these questions, for now, the only thing clear is that IAU is perhaps Rafsanjanis most significant legacy to Iran and Iranians. January 31, 2017 BAGHDAD Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi instructed security services to prevent the abuse of teaching and educational staff, who he said have taken upon themselves the educational mission of raising generations for the future of Iraq. He also called for pursuing whomever tries to insult either educational bodies or students. Abadis brief statement on Jan. 17 came in response to a series of attacks within Iraqi educational institutions. Iraq is already facing an educational crisis with a lack of school facilities and faculty. Increasing numbers of students are dropping out of school, and 18% of the population is illiterate. On Jan. 16, the teachers union in the southern Iraqi province of Basra announced that the assistant director of a high school was found dead after being kidnapped on Jan. 14. The union posted to Facebook that he was killed at the barbaric hands of the enemies of humanity and education, without directly accusing anyone. On Jan. 10, the director of the Basra night school al-Nussour was taken to the hospital after being bludgeoned by a group of students. The Basra police arrested two attackers, but the rest remain at large. On Jan. 8, teaching staff of Al-Taakhi school in Muthanna province, southern Iraq, were assaulted by a student and members of his clan. Some teachers were injured as a result. The media director for Muthannas educational directorate, Abbas Zaidi, told Al-Mada Press that the attack came in response to a teacher asking the student to leave class after being late. The student gathered his clan to take revenge. The Ministry of Education does not keep statistics on attacks against teaching staff, but the latest three incidents suggest that clans and tribes in Iraq are beginning to intimidate and impose their norms on government institutions, in particular the educational system. Iraqi Education Minister Mohammed Iqbal al-Saidaly said in a statement, The attacks against teaching staff affect the states stature, because these are assaults against those who are raising the next generations. Everyone, without exception, is responsible for protecting our schools. Khadija al-Jabri, a member of the parliamentary education committee, told Al-Monitor he believes the increasing assaults on teachers poses a clear threat to the level of education in the country as well as security, calling on security institutions to do more to protect teaching staff. Asked about measures that could help, Jabri said, The education committee is in the process of passing a law to protect teachers from attacks. The new law would grant schoolteachers the same protections granted to college professors. Whoever assaults a teacher should be punished accordingly and could be sent to prison or forced to pay the teacher financial compensation. However, the law that the parliament intends to pass does not seem like it would be much of a deterrent to attackers, since Iraqs penal code issued in 1969 essentially punishes whomever insults or threatens any person entrusted with a public service or a council or an official body or a court of law or an administrative court while performing their duties or because of them. Jabari also noted that the penal code currently applies to all those who attacked the teachers. Ministry of Education spokesman Ibrahim al-Sabti revealed that a group of soldiers in the Iraqi army attacked teachers and staff in a girls' school in Anbar province in western Iraq. The attackers were later arrested, he told Al-Monitor. Sabti said, Two lawsuits are filed after each assault on teachers. The victim files the first lawsuit and the Ministry of Education files a second lawsuit to restore the schools stature. He added, If the victim waives their right [to follow through] after being pressured by a certain tribe, the ministry will not give up. However, Sabti believes these procedures are not enough, noting, The Ministry of Education appealed to the Iraqi parliament to approve a law to protect teachers, similar to the laws protecting doctors and journalists." He added, The Ministry of Education also called on the Ministry of Interior to tighten security measures to protect schools. The enactment of a law to protect teachers may seem like a good idea, but it can never truly put an end to assaults. It is very common for patients' relatives to attack doctors in Iraq. Last year in June, a doctor was attacked and very badly injured after an operation on a patient was unsuccessful. The state has got to find a way to constrain the tribes and clans and present itself as a powerful, reliable institution by enforcing the laws instead of keeping them tucked away in the drawers of the executive and legislative authorities. January 31, 2017 The brilliant newspeak term alternative facts that Kellyanne Conway coined in a Jan. 22 interview on NBCs Meet the Press rocketed George Orwells classic dystopian novel 1984 to the top of Amazons best-seller list. What, after all, did US President Donald Trumps counselor say? She found her own way, albeit strangely, to explain the gap between what White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said regarding the number of people who attended her boss inauguration and the facts and photos of the event reported by the media. In Israel, contradictions between media reports and versions of events told by those in power are routine stories: The same person says one thing and within a second says the exact opposite. That person is none other than the honorable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the premier himself, not a spokesman or an adviser. Netanyahu not only lets loose alternative facts using mere words, he creates them even before the ink has dried on press releases issued by his office. Take, for example, his emotional Dec. 16 appeal to the squatters of the illegal Amona outpost in the West Bank. My heart is with you. We are living in a difficult time, for you, your families and the entire people of Israel, the prime minister said, trying to ingratiate himself with the group of land thieves who constructed their outpost on private Palestinian land. To compensate the Jewish lords of the land for their distress, the prime minister promised them a handsome bonus, telling them that he had instructed that the demolition of all illegal housing be expedited in all parts of Israel. I am not willing for there to be discrimination in the enforcement of building laws between Israeli citizens, between Jews and Arabs, one person and another, he said. I will fight for there to be one law for all, and the same enforcement for all, something that has not been the case until now for decades. A declaration is one thing, and a deed is another. The alternative facts soon followed. Netanyahu proved determined to exchange his one law for all pledge with one law for Jews and another for Arabs. After brief consideration, the prime minister decided to bring the so-called Regularization law, legalizing unauthorized settlements, to the Knesset for final approval. That same law is designed to enable the expropriation of private Palestinian land and hand it over to Jews. The law paves the way for retroactively legalizing illegal construction of more than 2,000 housing units in Jewish settlements on Palestinian land in the part of the West Bank designated Area C, under full Israeli military and administrative control. One law for all? Here is the alternative fact, or more simply the truth reported Dec. 27 by Haaretz: Based on data from the civil administration the Israeli military unit charged with running civilian affairs in the occupied territories only 53 of the 1,253 building permit requests in Area C submitted by Palestinians over the past three years were approved by Israel. These are not requests to build on private, stolen lands, but on state lands. Another fact: The number of Palestinian structures razed by Israel over that same period in Area C is 18 times greater than the number it granted permission to build. What about the same enforcement for all? Here as well, the alternative fact was quick to follow: On Jan. 10, Israel demolished 11 illegally built homes in the Israeli Arab town of Qalansuwa. I am not deterred by the criticism, and as I instructed, we are continuing to implement equal enforcement in Israel, the prime minister boasted on his Facebook page. On Jan. 18, bulldozers were sent to destroy the homes of Bedouins in the Negev Desert village of Umm al-Hiran in southern Israel to make way for a Jewish neighborhood. During the operation, a local resident, Yakoub Moussa Abu al-Qian, drove his car into a group of police, killing one named Erez Levi. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan was quick to announce the fact that Qian and his family were supporters of the Islamic States ideology. How can one talk about one law for all when the state admits that the Amona settlers invaded other people's land, and remain there, whereas the residents of Qalansuwa built their homes on their own land, and the Bedouins settled on state lands decades ago? The same enforcement for all? In the case of Amona, lengthy negotiations were required to appease the squatters and to reach a compromise to their satisfaction. On the other hand, the Netanyahu government did not offer the Qalansuwa and Umm al-Hiran evacuees an iota of the compensation it offered the Jewish settlers. How about a bit of my heart is with you for the evacuees of Qalansuwa and Umm al-Hiran? According to the alternative facts espoused by Netanyahu and his friends on the racist right, at best, Arabs fuel violence; at worst, they fuel fires. To them, the wave of wildfires that swept through Israel in November was pyro-terrorism. How did Netanyahu explain that police found no evidence that the suspect arsonists had been motivated by nationalist sentiment? The fact that you cant prove it, doesnt mean that it wasnt so, the prime minister declared at a Knesset plenary. Its still under investigation. So from now on, it can be said that a person is guilty until proven innocent. Netanyahu ignores that such verdicts can be applied to him as well. For instance, we could say that even if the police fail to prove that Netanyahu is guilty of criminal offenses, it does not mean he never committed such offenses. That is still under investigation. Netanyahu does not spare the public his alternative facts even on issues related to the Holocaust. On Jan. 17, he wrote on his Facebook page that Polish President Andrzej Duda, who visited Israel in mid January, had laid a stone from the Warsaw Ghetto on the tombstone of his brother, Yoni Netanyahu, who was killed in the 1976 Israeli raid to free hostages from Palestinian hijackers in Entebbe, Uganda. Several days later, Haaretz columnist Michael Handelzalts revealed that there are no stones available from the Warsaw Ghetto and that Duda had placed a stone from the Polish capital on the grave. As the late Ezer Weizman, Israels seventh president, told me years ago when he left the Likud Party to join the Israeli peace camp, Our problem is that we left the ghetto, but the ghetto hasnt left us. Iraqi Christian Leader Visiting Mosul Sees Little Future for Assyrians Father Emanuel Youkhana, an archimandrite of the Assyrian Church of the East, walks through the rubble of a demolished church in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 27. ( CNS/Paul Jeffrey) MOSUL, Iraq -- As some residents of the city of Mosul celebrate their new freedom from the Islamic State group, an Iraqi Christian leader who visited the war-torn city said Christian residents are unlikely to return. "I don't see a future for Christians in Mosul," said Father Emanuel Youkhana, a priest, or archimandrite, of the Assyrian Church of the East. Father Youkhana, who runs Christian Aid Program Northern Iraq, a Christian program for displaced Iraqis around the city of Dohuk, entered Mosul in a military convoy Jan. 27, the day Iraqi officials raised the national flag over the eastern part of the city. Islamic State seized the city in 2014, causing Christians and other minorities to flee. Once inside Mosul, Father Youkhana moved about freely, talking to residents and soldiers. He visited two churches, both heavily damaged. "The churches were used as warehouses by Daesh," he said, referring to the terrorist group by its common Arabic name. "They used the churches to store what they looted from Christian and Yezidi villages, but as the end neared they sold the buildings to local contractors, who started tearing down the walls to reuse the steel inside. If the army hadn't entered for another couple of weeks, the buildings might have been completely destroyed." One building, belonging to the Syriac Orthodox Church, had not been completely swept for explosives, according to Iraqi soldiers in the area. The front of the building was painted with an Islamist slogan by the Islamic State, and a military commander told Father Youkhana his troops would gladly paint over it. Father Youkhana replied that it was not his church, so he had no authority to authorize the troops. "And leaving it as is preserves the evidence of what Daesh did here," he told Catholic News Service. At another church, owned by the Assyrian Church of the East, the body of an Islamic State fighter poked out of a pile of garbage in front of the sanctuary. Father Youkhana, who went to high school in Mosul, also photographed several houses that belonged to Christians, but had been given or sold to Muslim families by the Islamic State. While he doubts Christians will return, he believes they will be able to recover the value of their properties, notwithstanding attempts by the Islamic State to destroy local government records. "Christians aren't going to come back to stay. The churches I saw were not destroyed with bombs, but by the everyday business operations of the community. How can Christians return to that environment? It's unfortunate, because Mosul needs their skills. Most Christians were part of the intellectual and professional class here, they were doctors and lawyers and engineers and university professors. But I don't see how they can return," he said. Father Youkhana would make no predictions how long peace will last once the Islamic State is driven completely out of Mosul, a predominantly Sunni Muslim city. The Iraqi army units that expelled the Islamic State are largely Shiite Muslim. Several of the military's armored vehicles sported flags of the Popular Mobilization Units, a Shiite militia, and Father Youkhana said he saw several examples of graffiti written by Shiite soldiers calling for violence against the Sunnis. "Why do they do that?" he asked. "They are undermining their achievement. People are thanking them for liberating them, and in return they try to provoke them. Just because they have the upper hand now. "They should think about sustainability," he added. "The residents are welcoming you as a savior, so don't wear out your welcome by provoking them." Father Youkhana also visited Qaraqosh, a Christian town 20 miles southeast of Mosul that he described as "a ghost town." While Mosul was bustling with busy markets and people digging out from the rubble of war, the streets of Qaraqosh were eerily silent, with most houses blackened by fire but still standing. He explored the remains of the Syriac Catholic cathedral, reportedly the largest church in Iraq. Blackened by fire, its courtyard was filled with the ashes of what had been the church's library, as well as shell casings and bullet-ridden mannequins that the Islamic State apparently used for target practice. Some Christian leaders are pushing for a quick return to Qaraqosh. One Christian member of the Kurdistan parliament said he is looking for $200,000 that would finance the return of 50 families, buying them the basic furniture and household items they need to re-establish themselves in their houses. But Karim Sinjari, Kurdistan's interior minister, told a visiting ecumenical delegation that neither the necessary security nor appropriate infrastructure are in place. "I won't stop them, but I would advise them not to go," he said. "The conditions aren't ready yet." Iraqi Christian leaders echoed his concern. "Security is the most critical need we have," said Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Irbil. "Rebuilding our churches is the last thing we should think about. We want to first build houses for our people so they can live with dignity, and we need infrastructure in the villages. But all this is only possible if we can have security." "Unless there is security, whatever we build will be for Daesh, not for us," said Syriac Orthodox Bishop Nicodemos of Mosul. Some residents of Qaraqosh have returned, carrying weapons and wearing uniforms of the Ninevah Plain Protection Units, or NPU, a militia formed by the Assyrian Democratic Movement, an Iraqi political party allied with the Shiites. It operates in coordination with the Iraqi military, which has assigned it primary responsibility for protecting Qaraqosh and a nearby village. Father Youkhana said he is troubled by the NPU's role. "They are trying to play politics as a big actor, when in reality they don't have that power," he said. "What little role they have is exaggerated in the Christian diaspora, where it starts to sound like a Hollywood movie. If you're sitting in Phoenix, Arizona, or Sydney, Australia, you're not aware of this." The NPU and other smaller groups "can offer a Christian cover to the Shia militias," Father Youkhana said, "allowing them to say, 'Look, we have the Christians on board with us. We are all the same.' I'm sorry, but we are not all the same." Fadi Raad is tired of running from the Islamic State, so the 25-year-old Qaraqosh native joined the NPU and today patrols the streets of the town on the lookout for lingering terrorists. "I'm here to defend my village, and because I want to save the Christians in Iraq. It's difficult here now, but when the government and the NGOs repair all the houses, then the Christians will come back. The NPU is here to stay. It's different now. If Daesh comes back, we will kill them all," he said. Canadian soft rockers Nickelback is returning to Montana for an Aug. 27 show at MetraPark's Rimrock Auto Arena with Daughtry and Shaman's Harvest. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6. Tickets start at $30 and go on sale at 10 a.m. on Feb. 11. For details, go to metrapark.com. Nickelback last performed in Billings in 2007, and earlier in 2002. That 2007 show filled MetraPark's Rimrock Auto Arena with 10,372 fans. Formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Canada, Nickelback remains one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. The four-piece band is perhaps equally notable for having such a huge commercial success while also being the target of widespread mockery in pop culture. Nickelback consists of frontman Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair. The sound is ostensibly rock music, led by Chad Kroeger's growly vocals. The machismo-satire in songs like "Rockstar" and emotional themes in mainstream-friendly hits like "Photograph" cause fans to endear them and others to actively malign them, depending on who is asked. Either way, Nickelback has a high profile, even a decade after its last big hit. It sometimes makes for a bumpy touring circuit. The band played one song during a halftime show at a Detroit Lions game in 2011 amid a sea of "boos." A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was moved to respond in 2012 after a sign was spotted claiming the politician liked Nickelback. The spokesperson clarified the issue with a resounding "no." Rolling Stone magazine included the band in a readers' poll for the 10 worst bands of the 1990s. Opinions are so strong that a Finnish researcher in 2014 released a study on the public's distaste for the group. Billboard ranks them the most successful rock group of the decade beginning in 2000; their song "How You Remind Me" was listed as the best-selling rock song of the decade and the fourth best-selling of the decade. They were listed No. 7 on the Billboard top artist of the decade, with four albums listed on the Billboard top albums of the decade. The band signed with Roadrunner Records in 1999 and re-released their once-independent album "The State." The band achieved mainstream success with the release of their 2001 album "Silver Side Up." Following that LP, their biggest and most well-known hit today, "How You Remind Me," peaked No. 1 on the American and Canadian charts at the same time. The band's fourth album "The Long Road" in 2003 spawned five singles and continued the band's mainstream success with their hit single "Someday." Nickelback's biggest album to date, "All The Right Reasons" in 2005 produced three Top 10 singles with "Photograph," "Far Away," and "Rockstar." January 31, 2017 For almost a decade now, successive prime ministers have warned Jordanians that their country faced difficult economic conditions and that they should be patient as the government adopted stringent measures such as lifting subsidies on essential goods, raising utility rates and increasing the cost of public services in attempts to reform the economy. Despite more than two decades of submitting to International Monetary Fund (IMF) dictates and numerous economic reform programs, the Jordanian economy continues to underperform, especially in the past five years, forcing the government to rely on local and foreign borrowing and on financial aid packages, primarily from the United States, the Gulf states and European countries. In July 2016, Jordan signed on to a 36-month IMF program providing it access to $700 million in loans. Despite adopting unpopular economic measures, state budgets continue to produce endemic deficits $1.2 billion, or 2.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), for 2017 while the total debt-to-GDP ratio has surpassed the 90% mark, with debt at more than $35 billion. Although on Jan. 23 the parliament's House of Deputies approved the controversial 2017 budget, which seeks to raise $643 million in additional taxes and tariffs, it is unclear how these measures will be received by Jordanians at a time when many economic sectors continue to suffer and unemployment and poverty rates continue to climb. The latest unemployment statistics show an increase in 2016 to 15.8%, from 14% the previous year, while the poverty rate stands at 14%. While the IMF has cheered Jordans adherence to the unpopular reform plan, it has also acknowledged that economic growth has been stagnant, around 3% annually in the past four years, way below the average of 6.5% achieved between 2000 and 2009 and less than the goal of 4.5% projected for 2015-16. Making things worse is the spike in the kingdoms population, estimated at 9.5 million of which only 6.6 million are Jordanians according to the 2015 national census. The increase is mainly due to the influx of 1.2 million Syrian migrants, including 600,000 registered refugees, since 2011. The annual cost of hosting more than 630,000 registered refugees was estimated by the World Bank to be more than $2.5 billion for 2016. What could make 2017 an exceptionally challenging year for Jordans economy is fear of a major decline in the flow of international aid, especially from the oil-rich Gulf states. Despite repeated pleas from Jordanian officials, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has failed to renew a five-year, $5 billion aid package to Jordan adopted during the Arab Spring, in 2011. The grant expired at the end of 2016, and there are no signs that the GCC is planning to extend it. Furthermore, Jordanians have been waiting for implementation of a multibillion-dollar investment fund from Saudi Arabia agreed to in August 2016. No projects supposedly in the energy, tourism and infrastructure sectors have yet been announced. Amid this gloomy outlook, it was a shock to Jordanians to see the kingdoms highest-ranking Islamic cleric, Ahmad Hilayel, pleading for urgently needed assistance from the Gulf states in a televised sermon Jan. 20 during Friday prayers. Things have reached a boiling point with us, Hilayel, Jordan's chief Islamic jurist, known for his close ties to the royal palace, said in addressing Gulf leaders. Your brothers in Jordan are facing danger all around them; where is your help? Where is your money and where are your riches? Hilayel's speech was widely criticized, especially on social media, for demeaning Jordanians and for chastising the Gulf states, some of which employ hundreds of thousands of Jordanians and have huge investments in the kingdom. As the uproar over the speech percolated, it raised questions about whether Hilayel could have delivered such a strong message without the consent of state authorities. Two days after Hilayel's sermon, he was replaced. Governments spokesman Mohammad Momani was quick to underline in a Jan. 23 television interview that Hilayel had been a public servant but that his sermon had been an expression of his opinion. A day earlier, on Jan. 22, Al-Rai had reported that Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud would meet with King Abdullah in Amman two days prior to the convening of the annual Arab summit in the Jordanian capital March 29. The meeting is to focus on, among other things, Jordans urgent financial needs and the launch of projects under the Saudi-Jordanian investment fund, the paper said. Following the Hilayel affair, Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki appeared on state television, on Jan. 27, to assure Jordanians that the national economy was sufficiently robust and that the current crisis would be managed through continued reform, cancellation of all subsidies and tax breaks in addition to austerity measures. He also said that the government was continuing to negotiate with the GCC in an effort to renew its grant package to Jordan. The government's economic measures have come under scrutiny by deputies and commentators for relying almost entirely on the levying of taxes on citizens. The government was also accused of failing to tackle corruption and reduce government spending. Economic columnist Khaled al-Zubaidi criticized reliance on the IMF, whose measures, he said, have deepened the current crisis and failed to deal with unemployment and poverty. He told Al-Monitor that the problem involved successive governments having been unable to address the core trouble spots in the Jordanian economy, including cutting the size of the foreign labor force, providing real incentives to economic sectors, downsizing the public sector and investing in infrastructure. Economic expert and former banker Mifleh Akel blamed regional conditions for exacerbating the current crisis. Discussing the cause of stagnant growth rates, he told Al-Monitor, Our borders with Syria and Iraq are closed, and we had to receive hundreds of thousands of refugees, and we remain in the center of regional turmoil. Akel also noted that Jordan has been affected by the decline in oil revenues, which has reduced the flow of aid from the Gulf countries. He added, Jordan cannot carry out needed economic reforms without the help of the IMF. We need them to control our total debt burden and bring it down to acceptable limits. Political columnist Fahd al-Khitan told Al-Monitor that Jordanians are under pressure as a result of the bad economic conditions and stated, Trust in government policy is at a low point. He also said, however, that he does not foresee a situation where Jordanians will take to the streets in protest. Jordan will not be left alone to face these conditions. It has the support of the United States, Europe and Saudi Arabia, Khitan asserted. With the economic woes facing donor countries in the Gulf and Europe, and with a new administration in Washington that has a strident view of how the United States should spend its taxpayers' money abroad Jordan was the fifth-largest recipient of US aid in 2016 at around $1 billion 2017 will prove to be a particularly challenging year for the kingdom. How Jordanians will react once the government begins implementing tough measures remains an unknown but obviously important issue. January 31, 2017 Moscow recently hosted its second intra-Palestinian meeting, where high-ranking members of numerous Palestinian political organizations, including Fatah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, directly engaged in conversation. In contrast to the first negotiations of the kind, which were held six years ago, the dialogue has become more inclusive, involving a dozen groups. Although the Jan. 15-16 talks brought together Russian Foreign Ministry officials and enabled the parties to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia emphasized the unofficial and purely intra-Palestinian status of the meeting, noting Russia was only involved as the host. The event was organized by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Foundation for the Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education. The venue and date for the talks raised some questions. Foreign observers wondered why Palestinians would hold talks among their own factions in Moscow, especially when another meeting had just been held in Paris a few days before. Other factors in this process include the Beirut intra-Palestinian meeting that also took place a few days before the Moscow event; UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which addresses the illegality of Israeli settlements; and, naturally, US President Donald Trumps statements about moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Obviously, Trumps rise to presidency and the subsequent changes expected in US Middle East policy acted as catalysts for this diplomatic flurry, which will have little true influence on the peace settlement. Trumps Islamophobia and his seemingly pro-Israeli stance do not augur well for Palestine, but then, theyre not a safe bet for the Jews, either. Palestinians feel the need to demonstrate their ability to constructively interact with the international community and their genuine desire to resume negotiations. At the same time, they appear to be seeking more active support from other powerful extra-regional players above all, Moscow, which has been playing a greater role in the region. Moreover, Russia has close ties with various factions within the Palestinian leadership. Moscow, in turn, seeks to extend its role as a mediator in the Middle East beyond the Syrian agenda. Testifying to this were the first intra-Palestinian meeting, the 2015 intra-Syrian consultations and Syria-related cooperation with Turkey and Iran. Thus, the Kremlins courtesy is developing into a clear alternative to Americas straightforward approach, which is typified by irksome lecturing. The Moscow talks produced a Jan. 17 joint statement that Palestine should soon see the formation of a national unity government. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas consultations with the parties officials would determine the particular structure of this government. Russias leading Orientalist, Vitaly Naumkin, who moderated the meeting, believes that under a positive scenario the government could be established by this summer, followed by elections for the Palestinian National Council. Palestinian diasporas worldwide, as well as residents of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem, would be able to cast their ballots. The participants think these steps could help overcome disunity among Palestines political establishment and society. The moves could also help resolve the conflict, because the Israelis would be deprived of their argument concerning the absence of a Palestinian representative to talk with, which they perennially use to justify their reluctance to conduct bilateral talks. Hamas inclusion in a new government is a very sensitive issue, an Achilles heel of the plan. Paradoxically, many countries still regard Hamas, the party that won the democratic elections held at the Wests insistence, as a terrorist group. The political process is very likely to reach a deadlock if, as projected, Tel Aviv and several members of the world political community insist on politically isolating a government that includes Hamas members, even though Hamas has significantly softened its stance over the past decade. The ball, however, is now in Israels court. Admittedly, the Palestinians may be counting on the mediation of Moscow, given its growing influence in the region. The Palestinians are counting on Moscows assistance in several other matters as well. One issue is Israels continued settlement building and the Judaization of East Jerusalem. Second, Palestinians are concerned with Trumps inflammatory promise to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Both Russian and Palestinian experts see that proposal as inflicting catastrophic damage to the entire peace process. Finally, the talks also focused on the Middle East Quartet, which the Palestinian attendees unanimously considered discredited. The issues discussed, as well as the assessments made, were predictable. As for the final communique, Moscow regarded it as the best possible. Such moderation makes one think again about the best strategy for the Palestinians in the current international situation, on the one hand, and about how to modify the international communitys approach to a settlement, on the other. Today, the Quartets inefficiency, as well as the gradually declining interest of the world community in the endless and hopeless Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are apparent. Some actors will probably keep paying tribute to the Quartets symbolic role in the region from time to time and will be full of good intentions. But now, the more marked right-wing bias in the West presupposes the diminishing involvement of Europe and the United States in the Middle East. In the medium and short term, Israel will benefit from and be fully content with the current situation. Nevertheless, Russian experts say that in general this approach is disastrous for Israel as it will end up in a stalemate. Until now, nothing has prevented Tel Aviv from relishing the situation. The growing role of regional powers, whose attitude toward the seemingly unchangeable conflict has become ever-more ambivalent, does not seem to affect the Israeli stance, either. Though support for the Palestinians remains sine qua non for any Arab politician at the emotional level, many of them are faced with much more acute issues at the pragmatic level. Moreover, Arab and Israeli leaders share some similar concerns, such as security issues and religious radicalization. In this case, it is vital to back up the Palestinians. To address the matter, Palestinian political elites should restore public trust, which they lost after their failed attempts in the past to reconcile with each other. The unity government will be the first step to reach this objective. If Israel impedes its progress, it will be necessary to start all over again. If global and regional political actors even if some opt out manage to sacrifice short-term self-interest for the sake of enhancing a strategy that will allow for a new regional balance of power, it will be possible to come to grips with the problem. However, the developments in the Middle East over recent years demonstrate that, increasingly, tactics beat strategy. January 31, 2017 RAMALLAH, West Bank At the Palestinian Cabinets weekly session Jan. 31, the government decided to postpone the ratification of a bill on human organ transplants, since many other pressing issues were on the table, a government source told Al-Monitor. The source also said the ministers needed more time to respond to the bill, which was presented to them Jan. 3. Once the bill is passed, it will be presented to President Mahmoud Abbas to be signed into law. The law, prepared by the Health Ministry, would establish a supreme committee on human organ transplants headed by the health minister and including members from Palestines Dar al-Ifta religious council and the Justice Ministry. Its job would be to organize and administer transplant operations and organ donations and to monitor them according to the law. The organ transplant law comes under the Palestinian Basic Law effectively Palestines constitution which allows for organ donations providing a law is set to manage them. Article 16 of the Basic Law says, No medical experiment or operation may be carried out on someone without prior legal consent, and nobody may be subjected to a medical examination, treatment or operation except under law. The law shall regulate the provisions of organ transplants and other scientific advances for legitimate humanitarian purposes. The new law will allow any citizen to donate permitted organs to any person. Currently, the Health Ministry does not allow people to donate organs to anyone except relatives, primarily because no law exists to allow for it. The new law could allow for the creation of an organ bank. Palestinians reacted in varying ways to the proposal. Aref Mohammad, a civil servant, supported the law in light of the growing need for organ transplants and donations and the possibility the law could save or improve the lives of hundreds of patients. Abu Mohammad, a taxi driver in Ramallah, said he was not familiar with the bill but was not against it providing it doesnt violate Islamic law. Muna Ismael, a college student at Birzeit University, said that while she supports the law, she fears that organ donations could create a market for organ trading, meaning close monitoring was essential. Arwa al-Tamimi, the head of the Health Ministrys legal affairs unit, told Al-Monitor that Palestine urgently needs a law on organ donations to keep up with scientific and medical developments and allow for organ transplants for those who need them, whose numbers are growing day by day. The law provides for a committee to be set up to oversee organ donations once it has been signed into law by Abbas and placed in the statute books. The committees role will be to license centers, hospitals and medical facilities able to remove and implant organs, to prepare lists of patients in need of new organ transplants and lists of organ donors, and to oversee and monitor health facilities, Tamimi said. She said the law is based on standards for managing organ transplants, such as outlawing the donation of reproductive organs or those that pass on hereditary characteristics, as that is contrary to Sharia. The committee would need to approve the extraction of organs from donors, approval that would be conditional on the donor being of sound mind and medically fit to donate without it posing present or future risks to his or her health. The donor would need to give written agreement to the transplant of his or her free will and without any social or economic pressure. Both donor and recipient would have to agree to the operations, and no material or financial reward would be given, as that would be tantamount to organ trading and thus subject to severe penalties. The law has raised fears of the rise of a black market organ trade, whereby rich patients buy organs from the poor under secret deals made to appear as donations. Tamimi ruled that out. There is no organ trading in Palestine and there will be no possibility of that, she said. The aim of the law is to prevent any future attempt to trade organs by introducing standards, such as specifying which health facilities can carry out transplants, clear rules and intense oversight, and deterrent sanctions, including up to five years of prison, a large fine and being banned from the medical profession, she said. Implementing the law will require medical capacity and facilities capable of executing it. The Health Ministry has qualified medical staff able to do their jobs, and the High Committee will test the health facilities to find out if they are capable of carrying out transplant operations, Tamimi said. The law will have positive financial effects for the Health Ministry, she added. The law will reduce the number of medical transfers overseas and the costs of buying organs and implanting them, which currently cost millions of dollars a year, she said. The bill is consistent with Islamic law on organ donations, in accordance with Article 4 of the Basic Law, which states that the principles of Islamic law are a primary source of legislation. Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, told Al-Monitor, The Supreme Ifta Council [a body that rules on issues of religious law] had examined regulations for organ cultivation and transplant, specified which organs could be transplanted and those that may not. The council will be a member of the committee to be set up once the law is passed. Hussein said its role will be to give a Sharia ruling on every transplant of every organ, monitor its being carried out and oversee all the legal controls on the operations. He said the council is permanently in session and is open to the views of international associations for Islamic jurisprudence [to deal with] any issues of disagreement that may arise. January 30, 2017 BAGHDAD After the liberation of Sunni areas from the clutches of the Islamic State (IS), Shiite parties and their affiliated armed factions have established offices in those areas, despite not having a popular base there. The Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) opened a bureau in the city of Fallujah on Jan. 16. Sunni journalists have expressed concern about this development, commenting that the PMU is trying to a get a foothold in the liberated Sunni areas. Some media commentators are highly alarmed, warning that this step is a prelude to annihilating the Sunni identity. Jamila al-Obaidi, a parliament member for the National Iraqi Alliance, told Al-Monitor, The PMU offices in the Sunni areas are politically motivated. It is an attempt to gain popularity in such areas in order to draw a new policy in the country in line with the aspirations of the [Shiite] parties in the liberated areas. In the Fallujah district, which was liberated a few months ago from IS, the PMU-affiliated armed factions are interfering in the work of the security forces stationed there, sometimes contravening the policies and efforts of the local police. Mohammed al-Alwani, a citizen of Fallujah in Anbar governorate, was surprised to see the picture of a Shiite cleric hung on a wall near the office of an armed Shiite faction. I dont have any problem with Shiites as a community. They are my brethren. However, I do have a problem with their politics. I dont know what the motives are behind these bureaus, which dont have any supporters or followers in our city, Alwani told Al-Monitor. Some believe that Iran is seeking to expand its influence from the Shiite areas to Sunni ones through the PMU, gaining a foothold in more Iraqi cities as part of the rise of the political Shiite tide. PMU spokesman Youssef al-Kilabi told Al-Monitor, The opening of the resistance factions bureaus in the Sunni areas has nothing to do with the concept of political Shiism. The PMU is an official, lawful institution that represents all Iraqis. It is also a military institution as legitimate as the army, whose vision is not different from that of the government. The PMU was established to fight terrorism. He added, The majority of the PMU factions had a political presence before the establishment of the institution. They have the right to engage in political activity, but apart from the PMU and according to the law regulating political parties. We will not allow the establishment of militia bureaus in the Sunni areas, and we are working on distributing tasks according to the appropriate powers. On Dec. 21, 2016, some local police sources revealed to reporters on condition of anonymity that some PMU factions, including Hezbollah, the Badr Organization and the Ali al-Akbar Brigade, planned to open three official bureaus in the liberated districts of Ramadi and Fallujah, affiliated with Anbar governorate. Salem al-Issawi, a member of parliament for Anbar, told Al-Monitor, The existence of armed factions bureaus in the Sunni areas is a provocation and a politically motivated step that would benefit no one. He added, I do not know what the purpose is of opening bureaus for political parties that do not have wide popular bases in the Sunni areas. All this could aggravate the security and social situation in the Sunni areas. Despite the Sunni residents dissatisfaction with these bureaus, some local residents revealed to Fath News that they are being established according to the wishes of some tribal leaders and dignitaries who requested a PMU presence in the Sunni areas to help maintain security. The PMU has already established at least 10 offices in the past few months in Ramadi, Fallujah, Saqlawiyah, Ratba and Haditha. In the cities of Tarmiyah and Taji, north of Baghdad, the PMU factions opened bureaus ostensibly to maintain security in the areas that were liberated by these forces. The moves suggest that more bureaus will open in other areas where the PMU took part in the liberation operations. According to Issawi, all this could further escalate tension in these areas, though some believe that the PMU is a lawful official institution that has the right to be present where it deems appropriate. It could be a risky venture for armed factions that were once accused of committing human rights violations and of being affiliated with Iran to build a presence in Sunni areas. However, their presence may be justified by local forces' inability to protect the lands and maintain security. Preserving security in the liberated Sunni areas will not be easy. While the locals are demanding that their own forces take care of security, the PMU is insisting on extending its influence and taking control of the situation. These new offices could themselves be attacked or boycotted by Sunni locals, destabilizing the areas rather than securing them. January 31, 2017 WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump raised the prospect of Syria safe zones in a call with the Saudi king Jan. 29, after having removed a provision calling for his secretaries of state and defense to produce a proposal for Syria safe zones from a controversial executive order issued Jan. 27 that bans Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely. The deletion of the provision and the subsequent discussion of safe zones with the king have raised questions about what Trump may be envisioning for his policies on Syria, for countering the so-called Islamic State (IS) and for his engagements with foreign counterparts, from Russia to the Middle East. The arrangements that the new Trump administration would like to pursue with Russia to try to achieve a Syria political settlement and combat IS are likely to be a central topic of conversation when Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Feb. 15, former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said. While much remains unknown about the new administrations approach to Syria, they made references to safe zones, to protect civilian populations, Shapiro told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview from Israel on Jan. 31. It seems clear to me that if President Trump is intent on a significantly more cooperative framework to our relationship with Russia, that the Russians may have [questions] or demands about how that can play itself out in Syria, said Shapiro, who served as President Barack Obamas envoy to Israel from 2011 until Trump took office Jan. 20. Shapiro indicated that this may be part of what Trump will seek to discuss with Netanyahu, while adding, Again, much remains unknown. An earlier draft of the executive order banning Syrian refugees, published by the Huffington Post on Jan. 25, included a section titled Establishment of Syria Safe Zones to Protect Vulnerable Syrian Populations. The one-paragraph section directed the secretaries of state and defense to within 90 days produce a plan to provide safe areas within Syria and in the surrounding region in which displaced Syrians can await firm settlement, such as repatriation or potential third-country resettlement. But that safe zones section was removed from the executive order that Trump ultimately signed at the Pentagon on Jan. 27. The final document, proclaiming that the "entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States, banned Syrian refugees from entering the United States indefinitely, banned the citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) from entering the United States for 90 days and capped the number of refugees the United States accepts annually at 50,000, down by half from current levels. The order set off confusion, distress and protests at airports around the country and the globe, led to the detention of over 100 people who had been in transit at the time it was issued upon their arrival at US airports and blocked over 700 travelers from being permitted to board their flights to the United States from abroad, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Many Republican lawmakers said they had been blindsided by the White House on the order and expressed dismay at the chaotic way it was rolled out, with no advance consultation. Despite the removal of the Syria safe zones section from the refugee ban, it does seem to be an idea that the new president is seriously considering, Syria expert Nicholas Heras said. I do think the concept of a safe zone is something that this administration is seriously considering, Heras, a fellow at the Center for New American Security, told Al-Monitor in an interview. Under the Obama administration, the Pentagon did draw up plans for how to do this, Heras said. I think you have Trump himself consistently since the election and since he became president mentioning the concept of safe zones in Syria. I think it was removed from the refugee executive order because they were trying to distinguish between homeland security from a military foreign policy decision. They didnt want to have it codified in an executive order, where it is more prudent to do it over the course of conversations with regional partners. And in some respects, that is actually better, Heras said. It keeps it as a foreign policy option in the realm of engaging by, with and through regional partners to achieve that objective. There has been a consistent theme during [Trumps] campaign a straight line from having a safe zone, reducing the flow of refugees to Europe, moving refugees back from Europe to Syria and reducing the pressure on the United States and Europe to admit refugees, Heras added. Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, in their Jan. 29 phone call, agreed on the importance of strengthening joint efforts to fight the spread of radical Islamic terrorism and also on the importance of working jointly to address challenges to regional peace and security, including the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, according to a White House readout. The president requested and the king agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, as well as supporting other ideas to help the many refugees who are displaced by the ongoing conflicts. The Trump administration is going to have to strike a balance between the desire of many of its close regional allies such as Saudi Arabia not to see Iran and Hezbollah increase their foothold in Syria, with its interest in working with Russia there, Shapiro said. Considering that many of our allies in the region, from Jordan to the Gulf states to Israel to Turkey, also have interests in Syria, and many of them include trying not to ensure the perpetuation of [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assads role and not strengthening Iran or Hezbollahs foothold in Syria, the former US ambassador to Israel said. It will be a balance that the [US] administration may have to try to strike a cooperative approach in Syria [with Russia], and upholding the interests of various allies in Syria. Asked how much continuity he saw between Trump's potentially seeking to pursue counterterrorism cooperation and stabilization with Russia in Syria considering the efforts the Obama administration attempted with Moscow over the past year to achieve a cessation of hostilities Shapiro said that while there is some continuity, there are important differences as well. To the extent that I assume there is a desire to bring to an end the violence in Syria and that requires some participation of the various sides and their sponsors I assume some continuity, [but there were some] lines the Obama administration was not prepared to cross, he said. We were not prepared to engage in joint targeting or strikes [with Russia] against [IS], even as we attacked IS very strongly ourselves, Shapiro said. We were not willing to give any endorsement to the perpetuation of Assads rule, even while acknowledging that a political solution would have to include some negotiation with the regime to effect his departure and a political solution. Shapiro said, Those are areas where it is not yet known whether there is true continuity to the new one [Trump administration policy]. I honestly cant assess it. They dont have most of their staff and Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials in place to even analyze, much less make decisions on these questions. I suspect we are going to be in for a somewhat prolonged period of policy review, internal examination and will be left with some public statements, head of state phone calls and a few other signals as to a general direction, Shapiro said. But real decisions on this will take some time. A European diplomat echoed the sentiment that much is still unclear about the new administration's policies and even its organizational chart. "What matters is what will be the policies of this administration, a European diplomat, speaking not for attribution, said. On a lot of foreign issues, we still don't know." Routine information sharing has been as hard to come by for allied diplomats as for journalists, given the still unclear Trump National Security Council organizational chart, seemingly competing power centers and key US diplomatic staff not yet being in place. "The problem we are facing is [that] the sources we could have are limited. The secretary of state is not confirmed, the diplomat said. Simply, the system does not [yet] work. January 31, 2017 International peace talks have been taking place for several years now in an effort to come to a political solution for the ongoing war in Syria. Yet the recent Astana talks, much like the previous Geneva talks, have demonstrated that they have little impact on the ground, as both the Syrian government and regional actors continue to push their own agendas. From the get-go, the Syrian government has made it clear that its agenda is to take back all of Syria, and the talks in Astana brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran, between the Syrian government and certain Syrian opposition factions did little to deter the Syrian government as it worked diligently on its own plan, irrespective of what was being discussed at the talks. Rather, it continued to pursue its policy of local reconciliations truces and agreements conducted with local opposition factions in opposition-held towns and areas in Syria, an initiative it has been following since 2014 that does not fall within the realms of any of the peace talks and just prior to the talks, it launched its own offensive toward al-Bab, putting its ally Russia in a difficult position with Turkey. As far as the government is concerned, the only tolerable end to the Syrian war is to regain all of Syria without much compromise whether with the opposition or with its external enemies. This is indeed the solution that the regime is attempting to achieve through its own actions on the ground either through local truces, whose terms the government dictates, or the recent string of military successes that have enabled it to recapture previously lost territory. And in this endeavor to regain all of Syria, Damascus is keen not to lose to either its opponents and its allies. This is further evidenced by what appears to be a government plan to launch an offensive toward west Aleppo, treating it in the same way as the regime treated the area of Wadi Barada, which the government does not consider part of the nationwide cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey. The government claims al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (previously Jabhat al-Nusra) is present in these areas. With regard to the talks themselves, the governments delegation, as noted by a government insider, further proved how little interest it actually had in the talks and its outcome. The government delegation to Astana was the usual Geneva delegation, plus a retired army officer, Maj. Gen. Salim Harba, and another low-ranking officer, the insider told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, adding that no one of high significance attended. This is proof of the governments disregard of the talks, the government source said. Also, opposition sources both inside and outside Syria have voiced frustrations over the lack of impact that international conferences and the unofficial Track II initiatives promoted by foreign governments and think tanks have had on bringing the war in Syria to a political solution. One opposition source requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter told Al-Monitor, These talks and initiatives are largely useless. It Is clear that some initiatives are just interested in promoting their own goals for Syria rather than what is best for the Syrians, and focus on impractical solutions around transition and transfer of authority. He added, Each player, each country is working for his own interest only. Moreover, the opposition is so fractured between those who have military might on the ground and those who play politics in hotels in Turkey, London, Paris and Washington and ideologically separated again between those who are pushing for the implementation of a Sharia state and those who are willing to work on a more secular notion of state that such talks have largely been ineffective in implementing anything sustainable. This is further complicated by the fluid alliances between opposition groups and terrorist organizations such as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, making any talks, in particular regarding the implementation of cease-fires, especially difficult, and something the government does not hesitate to capitalize on. The actions of various opposition groups on the ground have signaled to Damascus that adhering to the cease-fire is also not a priority for the groups. According to one source in Damascus, recent attacks on government checkpoints by the opposition in Harasta, for instance, is evidence that the opposition will, within its limited capacity, still act according to its own agenda. They attack the checkpoints, and when there is retaliation from the army on those attacks, they cry that the government has broken the cease-fire, he said. However, the Astana talks did serve a purpose for some; the regional players used the opportunity to re-establish their respective roles in the Syrian war. According to Syrian political and military analyst Mohammed Saleh al-Ftayeh, the purpose of such talks is precisely to gather all the influential regional and international powers, as well as the Syrian government, in one place. Even though no one acknowledges this, these meetings in essence aim at convincing external players to pursue their politics in means other than continuing the war, he explained. The road to these meetings and the meetings themselves are an opportunity for influential players to negotiate their own demands. And today the balance of power has shifted between the regional players. The United States did not have a role at all in these talks (apart from the presence of its ambassador as an observer only), while Turkey played a very significant role, largely as a result of its cooperation with Russia over the recent Aleppo deal. In fact, according to multiple sources present in Astana, the talks were successful in that the major players used the opportunity to redefine their roles. Russia came across as a more neutral partner, and is now seen as willing to compromise to achieve a political solution. The Russian presentation of the draft constitutional amendments, plus the follow-up meeting in Moscow, left the opposition with the impression that Russia is the most reasonable actor in the governments axis. Meanwhile, the role of Turkey and Iran in the war were recognized and taken more seriously by both the Syrian government and the opposition. The fact that Iran was included as one of the guarantors of the cease-fire forces the opposition to recognize it as a legitimate party, while also forcing on Iran the responsibility to rein in its allies and maintain the cease-fire. Ftayeh told Al-Monitor, The role of Turkey as one of the most important players in Syria has been acknowledged by Russia, but not by all other players who may feel threatened by this Russian-Turkish rapprochement, and by the notion of a political solution in general. Eastern Aleppo would not have fallen without Turkeys cooperation with Russia, especially when it pressured armed opposition factions to negotiate surrendering the city. He added, Turkey gained much from this cooperation; its national security fears were taken into consideration and Russia is now supporting Turkey in its offensive to take al-Bab. If Turkey can capture al-Bab, with the help of Russian airstrikes, it can prevent the Democratic Union Party (the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party) from connecting its three cantons and eventually create a Kurdish state along Turkeys border. The success or lack thereof of the Astana talks will become clear over the coming months, and in the meantime all players involved will continue working on their agendas to ensure they can obtain as much as possible before the next round of negotiations, when the cycle will start over again. January 31, 2017 The Turkish press reacted harshly to US President Donald Trumps Jan. 27 executive order halting the entry of Syrian refugees to the United States and temporarily barring entry to the citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Although federal courts ordered a stay on certain parts of the executive order, opponents of the US administration called the new policy a Muslim ban, an accusation Trump denies. The Turks are not impressed. Turkeys pro-government daily Yeni Safak ran on its Jan. 30 front page a damning headline: Trumps racist wall. Yeni Safaks story read, The world met Trump-style racism. After barring entry to the citizens of [seven Muslim countries], thousands of people in Europe, Turkey and Arab countries could not board their flights. The world is reacting harshly to the unthinkable event. Karar, another daily that supports President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (though not necessarily Erdogans political ambitions), was equally blunt. Karar ran pictures of the chaotic scenes at US airports with images from the Jan. 29 massacre of six people at a mosque in Canadas Quebec City under the headline Trump hell. While questioning why the Muslim world has remained mostly silent on Trumps Muslim ban, Karar blamed the Quebec attack on the new American presidents anti-Muslim policies and rhetoric. The Muslim ban has had a small but tangible impact on Turkey. The semi-official Anadolu news agency reported Jan. 31 that in the four days since the US presidential order, 58 individuals have been unable to board their US flights from Istanbuls Ataturk International Airport, the countrys main international hub. The episode shows that Turks finally may be waking up to the reality of Trump. Like other Middle Easterners who were at first excited about the election of the celebrity New York businessman as US president, Turkey is getting wary of the new resident of the White House. Ankara had originally welcomed the Trump administrations call for establishing a safe zone in Syria, but the possibility that the US-backed safe zone could cover Syrian Kurdish groups, many of which the Turkish government considers terrorists, could further upset US relations with Turkey. To be sure, its not just the Turks who are shocked by Trumps policies. As Al-Monitors Julian Pecquet reported Jan. 30, Israeli and Saudi Arabian leaders who were hopeful about turning a new page in their relations with Washington once President Barack Obama stepped down are concerned that maintaining close relations with the new US president could complicate their domestic and regional policies. The good news for Turkey is that, although its Trump honeymoon may already be over, a complete breakdown of US-Turkish relations is unlikely precisely because of Trumps business interests in Turkey. As Al-Monitors Pinar Tremblay reported in December 2015, after Trump had first floated his idea for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States, many attacked Trumps Turkish business partners. And yet, neither the Turkish government nor Trumps Turkish partners asked him to abandon his Turkish interests. For many Turks, according to Tremblay, Trumps anti-Muslim views reflect broader Islamophobic biases in the United States, so there was some appreciation of the honesty. Perhaps most Turks now feel that US-Turkish relations could not get any worse. January 31, 2017 This week's revival, after two decades, of the Kardak rivalry between Turkey and Greece is less about those countries' relationship and more about Turkey thumbing its nose at the European Union. Turkish citizens younger than 20 or even 30 years of age don't have a clue what Kardak is. But middle-aged and older Turks know that Kardak was the last serious crisis that almost brought Turkey and Greece to the brink of war. That was at the end of January 1996. Kardak is the Turkish word for a pair of tiny islets in the Aegean Sea. In Greece, they are known as Imia. Except for a few goats, in 1996 no life had been detected on the islets, which lie between the Greek island Kalymnos and Turkeys Bodrum Peninsula on one of the most beautiful parts of the Aegean. To Greece, the islets are Greek territory; for Turkey, they are in gray zones meaning undetermined sovereignty by Turkey and therefore Greece cannot claim them. The Turkish population believes Kardak is part of Turkish territory and thus has to be under Turkish sovereignty. Having a total of only 10 acres of surface, the Kardak islets naturally have no strategic value at all. Nonetheless, due to a variety of reasons not necessarily rational ones back then, Kardak became the venue of a dangerous confrontation between the two NATO allies. The standoff was defused and war was averted. On the 21st anniversary of the Kardak standoff this week, tension over those two small islets was renewed. A Turkish navy missile boat, accompanied by two special forces speedboats, was seen around the islets Jan. 29. On board was Turkish Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar. Greek coast guard vessels deployed immediately and, according to the Greek Defense Ministry, the Turkish top commander left within seven minutes. The Turkish version did not mention that Akar was forced to withdraw, but rather implied that, following Greek harassment, he returned to Bodrum. The incident created an uproar in Greece. The Greek dailies carried it in their headlines Jan. 31. The most inflammatory headline came from the right-wing Dimokratia: The Enemy is at the Threshold of Our Door. Mass-circulation Ethnos asked Where do Turks Want to Lead Us? For Eleftheros Typos, the incident was a Provocation Theater in the Aegean. Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos interpreted Turkey's act as a violation of Greek territorial waters, European borders and even the Lausanne Treaty. European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas emphasized the need for moderation. Regardless of how Greek and EU circles viewed the event, Turkey was displaying its discontent with Greece's decision Jan. 26 not to extradite eight Turkish military officials that had sought political asylum in Greece after the failed coup in Turkey in July. Greece's rejection greatly angered Turkey, which then raised the Kardak issue. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said all of Turkey's treaties and agreements with Greece would be scrutinized, and the Turkish chief of staff visited Kardak. Turkish leaders fear that Greece's refusal to turn over the officials could serve as a precedent in Germany, where more than three dozen high-ranked Turkish military officials are seeking asylum after being recalled from their NATO posts following the July 15 failed coup. According to The Times daily in Britain, the Turkish purges appear to have extended far beyond the small group of Gulenists within the military to include secularists and any other officers not loyal" to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and some of those caught up in the crackdown have warned that vacant NATO positions are being filled by Turkish officers who harbor anti-Western, pro-Russian sentiments. The Times had published an EU intelligence report, which was leaked in January, that contested Erdogan's allegations that the failed coup was masterminded by cleric Fethullah Gulen, public enemy No. 1 for the Turkish government. All these signals indicate to Erdogan and his followers that Turkeys prospects of joining the EU remain extremely dim. The EU member countries not only resisted Turkey's extradition demands, but also went the extra mile of delegitimizing Turkish claims, which Turkey sees as rubbing salt in the wounds. Greece is the weakest link of the EU in the eyes of Turkish decision-makers. Turkey checks the refugee flow through the Aegean, thanks to a deal with the EU. Therefore, Turkey's move is more of a warning to the EU rather than a military threat to Greece. Turkey is in no position to take military action on multiple fronts. It could not even capture the small Syrian town of al-Bab from the Islamic State. The military picture at al-Bab led to speculation that Turkeys saga in Syria is nearing its end because of a deal Russia reached with the Syrian regime. Erdogan fueled such speculation with his remarks last week: It is necessary to finish the job in al-Bab and not go deeper down. The work done is in this direction." The same Erdogan had said in November that Turkey, after capturing al-Bab, would march over to Manbij and then to Raqqa. What happened at Kardak a few days ago has more political significance than military. It was aimed at the EU, via Greece. It should be noted that Turkey's negativity toward the EU is emboldened by the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU (Brexit) and US President Donald Trumps election. It was no coincidence that British Prime Minister Theresa May was Trumps first guest at the White House, She then flew from Washington to Ankara to be hosted by Erdogan at his palace. The result was a 100 million pound ($126 million) defense contract to help develop fighter jets for the Turkish air force. May said the agreement "underlines once again that Britain is a great, global, trading nation." She said the United Kingdom will enhance trade relations with Turkey, and Erdogan said his country will increase trade with the United Kingdom to $20 billion a year from $15.6 billion. He added, "It marks the start of a new and deeper trading relationship with Turkey and will potentially secure British and Turkish jobs and prosperity for decades to come." The development is strikingly important in terms of the new geopolitics of Erdogans Turkey. Having onboard Great Britain, which was Brexited from the EU, and perhaps the United States of Trump in the near future, and with the good graces of Russias Putin, in the eyes of the Turkish leadership, "Who cares about Europe! January 31, 2017 The executive order by US President Donald Trump, banning the citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United States, has sparked major protests all across America. Most Muslims, naturally, were happy to see this solidarity offered to them by Jews, Christians, atheists and many others who do not share their faith. However, the same solidarity did not come from some of the Middle Eastern governments that often claim to be the defenders of the faith. These include, as noted in a recent article in The New York Times, key Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which seem to have political expectations from Trump that they do not want to spoil. Notably, they also include Turkey, which not only has political expectations from Trump but also has a political elite that has a curious adoration for the new American president. In fact, to say that the Turkish government said nothing about the Muslim ban would be wrong. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim made a critical remark on the ban Jan. 28, noting, Regional issues cannot be solved by closing the doors on people. Yet he said this only when he was asked about it, and only in a tone that was conspicuously indirect and mild. Then, three days later, Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus criticized the ban more openly, calling it a discriminative decision, which he hoped would be corrected. Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the ultimate authority, has so far said nothing about the Muslim ban. Moreover, his propaganda machine, consisting of at least 10 national newspapers, several TV channels and thousands of social media trolls, has also been unusually silent about the issue. Daily Sabah, the flagship of the pro-media empire, has been absolutely silent on the ban. Daily Star, another key newspaper in the pro-Erdogan media, published only a small and neutral report. Daily Aksam did run a headline on the ban, but only with a subtitle: He [Trump] must be given a chance. With the possible exception of daily Yeni Safak, which has been criticized lately for not being Erdoganist enough, the pro-Erdogan medias stance on the Muslim ban has been unmistakably cautious. In fact, despite the ban, the pro-Erdogan media ran opinion pieces that kept praising Trump. According to one of them, Trump was a revolutionary who ended the military coup era in America, defeated global capitalism by the national will and formed a Cabinet of the most intellectual generals in history. According to another writer, Trump has been unfairly turned into a boogeyman by the conspiratorial forces of the CIA, George Soros, Hollywood and the music industry. No pro-Trump opinion piece was as notable, however, as the one penned by Hilal Kaplan, a key pundit in the pro-Erdogan media. In her column in daily Sabah, Kaplan took great pains to explain why the Muslim ban did not matter much, why Trump is still a promising leader and why his liberal opponents are the real bad people. Accordingly, the American president who is responsible for destabilizing the seven banned Muslim nations was none other than former President Barack Obama. It was of course bad that American Muslims were in trouble, but what really mattered were Muslims in our region. (And Trump, somehow, would be better for them.) Ultimately, Kaplan explained, what really matters is Turkeys interests: Turkey is strong, she argued. The umma will also be strong. (And Trump, somehow, would be better for Turkey.) I have seen this pro-Trump spirit among Erdoganists on social media as well, when I tweeted about the irony at hand: American liberals are defending the rights of Muslims. But our supposedly 'Islamist' media is applauding Trump against those liberals. In return, the usual pro-Erdogan arguments in favor of Trump poured in: American liberals were protesting Trump not because they loved Islam, but because Trump threatened their dirty interests. In fact, all Americans were anti-Islam and Trump deserved respect because he was at least honest about it. One wonders why all this persistent sympathy for Trump exists in Turkeys pro-Erdogan universe. Erdogan, after all, often presents himself as the defender of all Muslims, and this should have normally required a clearer stance against the Western narratives and policies that offend Muslims. Why does Trump get so much leniency from a usually pro-Islamic political line? There are two answers to this question. The first answer is pragmatic. Erdogan and his team have some important expectations from Trump. One is that he may help extradite Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey sees as the mastermind of the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The other one is that Trump may stop the Obama administrations policy of supporting the Syrian Kurdish forces, who Turkey considers to be terrorists. It is in fact not clear whether the Trump administration would take such steps, but Ankara wants to see what it can get from Trump and does not want to offend him before any possible progress. The second answer is ideological. Trumps populism resonates with the populism of Erdogan, creating an affinity of worldviews. When Trump condemns the mainstream media, or his strategist Stephen Bannon says the media should keep its mouth shut, Erdoganists see a very familiar style of strongman politics that they admire. When Trump condemns the conspiracies of internal bankers, he says something that confirms the conspiracy theories of Turkeys new ruling class. Basically, both Erdogan and Trump represent a nationalist, nativist, populist battle cry against the global liberal order, and this creates common ground between the two sides. The fact that Trump dislikes Islam while Erdogan champions it, apparently, is not important enough to disrupt this new transatlantic connection. February 1, 2017 Russia's return to the Middle East as a powerful actor has alienated some in the region and made others suspicious of its intentions. But all regional powers see merit in maintaining a careful balance in their ties with Moscow by compartmentalizing the relationship and separating the most controversial issues, such as Syria and the Iran nuclear program, into separate policy tracks. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has mastered this and reaped enormous benefits as a result. Despite significant disagreements on ways to settle the Syrian crisis and occasional criticism of each other, Russia and Jordan engage in multibillion dollar deals in the energy sector and conclude arms contracts, with Moscow not fearing that its RPGs sold to Amman may end up in the hands of rebels in Syria. Since his coronation in 1999, King Abdullah has visited Russia 16 times, which signifies one of the most stable relationships that the Kremlin managed to establish in the Middle East. His most recent trip to Russia on Jan. 25 was an element of the trend and was quite different at the same time. The trip came just days after talks between the Syrian government and armed opposition groups had concluded in Astana, Kazakhstan. Abdullah expressed his full support for the Astana initiative and lauded Russias role in this process. In response, President Vladimir Putin thanked his counterpart for Jordan's constructive position on peace talks. Looking beyond these purely diplomatic courtesies, Jordans support for a Russian-initiated diplomatic initiative is something the Kremlin desperately looks to secure. The Astana process in its present form is co-sponsored by Turkey, and a deal between Moscow and Ankara over Aleppo and the Turkish-Syrian border are the main founding blocks of this process; hence the cease-fire brokered in December is heavily focused on northern Syria. The truce has significantly decreased the level of violence in Aleppo but failed to produce similar results near Damascus and farther south in Daraa province. While it appears that the Syrian government was able to withdraw some of its forces from the south for the Aleppo operation thanks to a temporary de-escalation that was likely negotiated with Jordan by Russia, Moscow is looking for a more lasting solution there. It is not clear whether Putin would like to invite Abdullah to become the fourth co-sponsor of the Astana process and the underlying cease-fire, but it would be the logical next step. Thus, the kings visit could be interpreted in the context of the Kremlins efforts to shore up support for the process among powers that have significant military and logistical leverage in the conflict. Russias hopes arent entirely groundless given that the December cease-fire is so far the only international effort backed by powers that are directly involved in the conflict. Jordans value, however, is not based on its military support to the opposition, which is minimal, but in the fact that it harbors rebel groups and allows their supply routes to operate. Russia may be envisioning a wider role for Amman in the Astana process in exchange for its sealing the border with Syria and putting a cap on rebel ambitions to expand their area of influence in the south. Control over the Jordanian border is crucial for the United States and Saudi Arabia, who train rebel groups on Jordanian soil as well as send batches of weapons to Syria through the border. Ever since the launch of the Russian military operation, Moscow and Amman have been inching closer to cooperation on Syria. In October 2015, the two established a joint center in Amman that serves as an effective intelligence-sharing channel and helps coordinate actions in southern Syria. Moreover, when the Russian Su-24 was shot down by a Turkish warplane in November 2015, Putin chose his meeting with Abdullah to deliver an emotional speech slamming Ankara for the attack where he pronounced his now famous stab in the back metaphor. There is no doubt that Abdullah gave prior consent to a discussion of the incident in front of the cameras and, to much surprise, he played along by referring to the shoot-down as an act of terrorism. Deep understanding between Israel and Jordan on Syria, as well as nonformalized cooperation between Israel and Russia to shield the former from Hezbollah, make a trilateral alliance in the south between these states all the more needed and practical. This week, Abdullah is visiting the United States to meet top US officials. The Jordanian king, who is expected to greet Trump Thursday at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, will become the first Arab leader to meet this controversial politician in his new capacity. Terrorism will undoubtedly become the main topic of the discussion, and as Americas new anti-terrorism policy is still in the works, Abdullah could also act as a messenger for Putin, who has not given up on the idea of a global anti-terrorism coalition spearheaded by Russia and the United States. It is probably not a coincidence that Trump signed the memorandum instructing the US militarys Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a plan to defeat the Islamic State on the same day he had his first phone call with Putin. Jordan does seem to be the power best positioned to act as a mediator between the United States and Russia in developing the contours of a hypothetical joint policy against terrorism in the Middle East. Apart from coordinating the actions of its air force in southern Syria with Russia, Amman also hosts the Military Operations Center that operates under the supervision of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Jordan; the center supports rebels of the Southern Front. Jordan, one of the few remaining stable states in the region, is seen as a crucial ally for any efforts against terrorists both by Russia and the United States and could in fact facilitate their communication through existing Amman-based mechanisms. Beginning in late February the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold open houses in Montana to solicit public input for the development of a Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Charles M. Russell Wetland Management District and associated national wildlife refuges. Meeting dates, times, and locations are: Feb. 28, Winnett, 5-7 p.m., Petroleum County Courthouse in the conference room/senior center, 302 East Main St. March 1, Roundup, 5-7 p.m., Montana State University Extension offices conference room, 204 8th Ave. E. March 2, Laurel, 5-7 p.m., Laurel Public Library, 720 West 3rd St. The meetings will follow an informal open-house format. A brief presentation will be conducted at 6 p.m. The planning area for this plan covers the Charles M. Russell Wetland Management District, which is composed of Golden Valley, Musselshell, Petroleum, Stillwater and Yellowstone counties. This WMD includes Clarks Fork, Spidel and Tew waterfowl productions areas and various conservation easements. Grass Lake, Hailstone, Lake Mason, and War Horse national wildlife refuges are also a part of this effort. Written comments should be submitted by March 31 to Charles M. Russell WMD CCP, P.O. Box 110, Lewistown, MT 59457. Email can be submitted to cmr@fws.gov. For more information about the plan call 406-538-8706. February 1, 2017 Developments in Syria may once again be slipping through Turkeys fingers. The new Donald Trump administration in Washington has already disappointed Ankara. Rather than being welcomed, Trumps advocacy of safe zones in Syria an idea first proposed by Turkey has ruffled official Turkish feathers. Ankara now fears that such zones will be a step toward granting Syrian Kurds autonomy. Turkish officials have been noticeably mute on the matter, saying they need to see a full proposal before commenting. Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is still awaiting his call from Trump to discuss Syria and other regional issues. Trump has already held conversations with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, not to mention Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a host of European leaders. He is due to meet Jordanian King Abdullah II on Feb. 2 at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. Veteran political analyst Murat Yetkin underscored the anomaly of Trump's calling King Salman for endorsement of his safe zones idea, rather than Erdogan, who has been pushing for a Syrian safe zone for years. Fighting terrorism is one of Trumps major priorities, Yetkin wrote in his Hurriyet Daily News column. That is why it is particularly confusing when you read that he agrees on the need to create safe zones in Syria without consulting the Turkish leadership. Trumps plans for Syria are not the only source of Turkeys concerns. Russias political plans for the future of Syria are also distressing, despite much-touted improved ties between Ankara and Moscow. Turkish officials are smarting over the draft constitution for Syria that Moscow produced at the recent Astana meetings, sponsored by Turkey, Russia and Iran in an effort to open a new peace track on Syria. Russias offer of autonomy to the Kurds in a unified Syria raised the specter in Ankara of a self-administering Kurdish region along Turkeys border held by groups linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Moscow's hosting Kurds from the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in late January did not go down well in Ankara either. Turkey did not, however, lodge a formal protest due to its current reliance on relations with Russia to counterbalance its deteriorating ties with the West. Turkey claims that the PYD and its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), are a terrorist organization linked to the outlawed PKK, but it has thus far failed to convince any other country of this. Washington supports the YPG in its fight against the Islamic State (IS), and the Trump administration has given no indication that this policy will change. Ankara also worries about the possibility of a Moscow-Washington joint effort in Syria that conflicts with its interests. Mehmet Ocaktan, a former deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who currently writes for the daily Karar, believes Putin revealed his true intentions in Syria by promising the PYD autonomy. Maintaining that Trump has great admiration for the armed Kurdish groups in Syria, Ocaktan contended, Considering Trumps admiration for Putin, it wont be a surprise to see them form an alliance in Syria. Washington has also suggested that the Kurds should participate in talks aimed at ending the Syrian crisis. This puts Turkey at odds with two global powers that are promoting more or less the same line on an issue Ankara has turned into an existential matter. Russias support for a secular constitution for Syria, which the Assad regime reportedly wants, is also a potential source of discomfort for Erdogan and the AKP, given their Islamist orientation. Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari claimed after the Astana talks that Turkey had blocked a reference to secularism in Syria from the final communique. Ankara has made no official comment on the claim. At the start of the Syrian crisis, Turkey expected Assad to fall quickly and to be replaced by an elected government that, given Syrias demography, would have elevated a Sunni majority to power more than likely led by Muslim Brotherhood-related groups. Ankara clearly hoped to regain some initiative by moving away from that position and aligning itself with Moscow to try to steer developments according to its interests. Events, however, appear to be moving in the opposite direction. Turkish officials are aware that the United States is also likely to support a secular Syrian constitution that provides a degree of autonomy to the Kurds. Turkeys problem, however, is that it represents the weak link in this equation and has only limited capacity to promote its position on the Kurds or to put its stamp on Syria's political future. Russia expert Kerim Has from the International Strategic Research Organization / Centre for Eurasian Studies in Ankara underlined this point. Turkeys hand is not strong in its relations with Russia. It has to go along with Moscows line on Syria out of necessity, Has told Al-Monitor. It is not possible for Russia to please Turkey under these circumstances, but Ankara cant raise its voice too much against Russia or the United States. Some Syrian opposition members have also expressed disappointment in Turkeys performance in Astana. One opposition member told Reuters that Turkey had been weak in Astana and unable to assert the oppositions line. Given this unfolding backdrop, Ankara now fears that Trumps safe zones and Russias draft constitution are designed, among other things, to provide the Kurds an autonomous region. This is leading to angry comments in the pro-government media in Turkey. It is noteworthy, however, that the target of this anger is the United States more so than Russia. Yeni Safak Editor-in-Chief Ibrahim Karagul put it starkly. The fact that Trump issued this order [sic] as soon as he came to power could have something to do with a plan to establish a Corridor of Terror, Karagul argued, underlining Washingtons support for the PYD and YPG. It is also clear to Ankara that any safe zone where the PYD is lodged will be under US protection and prevent Turkey from mounting operations against the YPG. It was nevertheless noteworthy that Erdogan has said that the Turkish military will not go beyond the Syrian town of al-Bab, near the Turkish border, after it is liberated from IS. Fearing clashes between Turkey and the YPG, Washington has insisted that the Turkish military not venture farther than 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of its border with Syria. Henceforth we must make speedy headway and finish the job there without going farther south, Erdogan told reporters en route from a visit to Tanzania on Jan. 27. Turkey and its Free Syrian Army allies have been trying to liberate al-Bab for weeks, amid mounting casualties, with occasional air support from Russia and the United States. Despite the headway reported by the military, the town has not yet been captured. Previously, Erdogan had defiantly challenged the United States by saying the Turkish military would move on to Manbij, after capturing al-Bab, to expel the YPG from there. Erdogans latest remark provides another instance of Ankara backpedaling in Syria after raising the ante to a point beyond Turkeys capacities. Taking on two superpowers at the same time is proving to be difficult. A North Alabama nonprofit is the recipient of a $77,680 federal grant to study strategies to develop an advanced energy economy with an emphasis on coal-impacted communities. Energy Alabama, founded in 2014 by CEO Daniel Tait, will use the technical assistance grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to identify the advanced energy industry of the coal-impacted areas and jobs within that industry. The organization will also seek workforce training resources from local community colleges and career placement to assist unemployed workers in the advanced energy sector. "The project will also support stakeholder engagement to explore and harness additional careers in sectors such as aerospace, advanced manufacturing, entrepreneurship, healthcare and information technology," the nonprofit said in a statement. Energy Alabama, formerly known as the Alabama Center for Sustainable Energy, works with policy makers, public and civic organizations, governments, educational institutions, utility companies and businesses to achieve 100-percent clean, sustainable energy throughout the state. The nonprofit is a partner on West Alabama Works' $1.5 million ARC grant, which is being used to develop plans to speed the adoption of sustainable energy in the state's automotive industry. Energy Alabama will host a free Energy Benchmarking event Feb. 7 at Avion Solutions on Research Drive in Huntsville to help local religious organizations save money on their utility bills. Businesses will also be able to identify potential projects that are eligible for Energy Star certification. To reserve a space or learn more about the event, visit Bishop Stephen Davis and Darlene.jpg Bishop Stephen A. Davis of New Birth Birmingham, shown with his wife, Darlene, has been named pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., succeeding Bishop Eddie L. Long. (Photo/New Birth) Pastor Stephen A. Davis preaches in Birmingham. A longtime Birmingham pastor has been named to take over for Bishop Eddie L. Long, the controversial Atlanta megachurch pastor who died this month. Long, 63, was pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga. He died on Jan. 15. The Rev. Stephen A. Davis, pastor of the affiliated New Birth Church in Birmingham, will succeed him, the church has announced. In 2013, New Birth and Long devised a succession plan, with Davis named as his eventual successor. "My wife, Darlene and I, are blessed beyond measure and thoroughly thrilled to serve New Birth Lithonia, building on the foundation that Bishop Long established for this amazing ministry," Davis said in a statement released by the church. The 2,300-member New Birth Church in Birmingham was formerly known as the Refiner's House. Davis started the Refiner's House in a former auto parts store in Center Point in 2001, after he left as pastor of Pinson Valley Worship Center, where he had been since 1997. The church left the auto parts store and bought the former First Christian Church building in Center Point after that congregation moved to Argo in 2004. ''Within a few months after moving here, it rapidly started to grow,'' Davis said in a 2007 interview with The Birmingham News. He said that in 2006, he asked Bishop Long to become his spiritual mentor. ''As a church, we submit to spiritual oversight,'' Davis said. ''Everybody should be subject to someone.'' In 2011, the Refiner's House changed its name to New Birth and affiliated with Long's church. Bishop Long ordained Davis as a bishop in 2015 for the Global Apostolic Council. Davis, 49, grew up in Pinson and started preaching at 15. He graduated from Pinson Valley High School in 1985. He received his ministerial training and ordination through the Pentecostal Holiness Association in 1996. He received a master's degree and doctorate in theology through the New Birth Bible Institute. ''I'm very bold, very loud from the platform,'' Davis said. ''They will receive a straightforward message that they are loved first.'' Pastor Stephen A. Davis fires up a crowd preaching in Birmingham. Davis moved his church to the 2,200-seat former Ridgecrest Baptist Church building in Huffman, where it continued to grow. The Refiner's House prospered in areas that were in transition from white to black neighborhoods. ''I don't think it's so much about a race issue,'' Davis said. ''Many people come based on a certain need. What type of people do you have in your church? What type of situation are they facing? Some worship services won't work for some people. I study the need. I study the people. They leave impacted and go back to the secular world, to their jobs, feeling they can win.'' The people who worship at Refiner's House required a ministry tailored to them, he said. ''The top issues are marital, family issues, blended homes with stepfathers,'' Davis said. ''You've got to cater to that need and bring unity to that home, to help them with finances, how to work together. Many husbands and wives have separate bank accounts; that's a losing situation. I teach them to trust one another. Many have nice homes but difficulty paying the mortgage. Most people are suffering financially because they haven't been taught finances correctly. Many have given up on marriage, life, job or in general. I'm motivating them. I make sure people don't quit before they get their break. It would be hard to give up in this church.'' It's not a matter of competing against other churches, he said. ''I reach the people that God called me to reach,'' Davis said. Davis and his wife, Darlene, have been married more than 27 years and have three daughters and two grandchildren. The Henry County town of Abbeville, whose population hovers at about 2,700, is not on the way to anywhere. Located in a far southeastern corner of the state, within spittin' distance of the Georgia line, it's a little town mostly known to those who live there or who happen upon it. But that's changing. Civic leaders and Abbeville's most prominent resident, Jimmy Rane, are preserving the town's historic buildings, encouraging new businesses and adding fun and quirky touches to make Abbeville a destination city. Here's how. Jimmy Rane may be listed by Forbes as Alabama's wealthiest person but, like his advertising persona Yella Fella, he's just a regular guy. In fact, Rane, a lifelong resident of Abbeville, spends a lot of his time saving historic buildings and helping revitalize the tiny town. "I've lived here all my life and my mother's family has been here more than 200 years," Rane said during an interview at his offices in Abbeville. "It's a very important place. Not just because it's home but because of the history of the town. Some of its people have made significant contributions to the country and to the world." Abbeville is the oldest remaining colonial settlement in east Alabama, located in one of the five original counties in the state. The headquarters of Rane's business, Great Southern Wood Preserving, makers of YellaWood, is located on the outskirts of town in a beautiful building constructed, of course, of his company's wood. Rane also preserved a historic Standard Oil gas station in town as additional office space for his employees. For many years, Rane portrayed a cowboy dressed in sunshine yellow for television commercials to promote his YellaWood product. In downtown Abbeville, Rane opened a family style restaurant filled with collectibles that is a lure for residents and tourists, and he spearheaded the construction of a convention center. Rane said his future plans for the downtown area include a boutique hotel. One unusual feature of the downtown area is a series of neon advertising signs hung on buildings along Kirkland Street. The working signs were collected by Rane and attached to buildings for a fun, vintage feel. They include signs for Buster Brown Shoes, Rexall Drugs, Philco, Mother Penn Motor Oil, Ford and many more. "Walking around downtown is like a walk back in time," Rane said. Visitors can see more vintage advertising signs, as well as movie memorabilia and antique mercantile displays inside Rane's restaurant, Huggin' Molly's. The restaurant is named for a witch in a local legend. Rane, who also serves on the board of trustees for Auburn University, said he believes in a quote about the importance of the dash between the birth and death dates on a tombstone. The "dash" is how we live our lives, he said. "Nobody really owns anything," Rane said. "We are just stewards while we are here. Your dash is how you find your stewardship. I'm trying to be a good steward." In the years since he achieved the means, he has used his wealth to be a good steward in Abbeville. An article about Rane on Forbes.com says: "Rane first got into the lumber business by accident. As a law school student in 1970, he stepped in to mediate a family dispute over his father-in-law's estate and ended up taking over a small business that manufactured fence posts. He tried to sell off the machinery but couldn't get rid of it all. So instead he put the equipment back to work as part of a side business, while he served as lawyer in town." It eventually became a company with $700 million in revenue annually. Inspired by his parents Rane's parents, Tony and Libba, were good stewards during their lifetimes, helping build Abbeville to a prosperous town after World War II. Tony Rane was Abbeville's first Chamber of Commerce president, his son said. During this boom-time, the town had several drug stores and "four or five dry goods stores," he said. "If you came to town on a Saturday, the sidewalks would be so crowded you could hardly walk." Rane's father would give him 15 cents for a movie - 10 cents for the ticket and 5 for snacks - and little Jimmy would have to step from the sidewalks into the streets to make his way to the Archie Theatre. When Rane went off to law school in 1971, the town was thriving. But in the mid- to late-1980s, it began to decline. Then, in the wake of NAFTA's passing, the West Point Pepperell textile mill closed, taking 1,400 jobs with it. By the late 1990s, many of the downtown businesses were "burned out and caved in," Rane said. "As they aged, my parents grew melancholy that all the work to build the community was lost," he said. "I thought, 'I don't know what we can do but we're going to do something.'" The Archie Rane loves to tell the story behind the name of the town's 1948 theatre, The Archie. He had a plaque installed on the building, which has been refurbished but is not yet open for events, that tells the story. It says, in part: "Mrs. Bessie Walker owned the Archie and named the theater after her son, Archie Mansfield Walker Jr., who died in June 1944 as a result of injuries suffered in Normandy during the D-Day invasion during World War II.... Archie's boat was among the first wave of boats to land on Utah Beach during the famous Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy in France on D-Day at 6 a.m. June 6, 1944. He was critically wounded on the beach that day and died on June 13, 1944 at age 25. By an ironic twist of fate, Archie was taken to the first medical aid station established on Utah Beach where he was attended by friend and Abbeville native, Captain Thomas J. Floyd, Jr., a surgeon in the Medical Corps." Henry County history and the Rosa Parks home Each year, the town hosts a Yatta Abba Day festival, named for the Creek Indian word for "Grove of Dogwoods," for which the town is also named. The May event celebrates the town's origins and features music, crafts, food, and vintage cars. Abbeville is the first city alphabetically, both by city and state, listed in the Rand McNally Road Atlas. It was settled in 1822 and was home to William Calvin Oates, who lost his arm at Gettysburg during the Civil War. He served several terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected governor of Alabama in 1894. The centerpiece of downtown, the Henry County Courthouse, is a contemporary building because the original was demolished. One of the county's treasures, a home where Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks lived as a child, is endangered but Rane understands its value to history and its potential tourism impact. "People have put a lot of effort into protecting it. We organized an effort to move it downtown but that didn't work out," he said. Organizers hoped to move the Parks home from a rural part of the county to downtown Abbeville where people could visit it. However, the property they planned to use was instead zoned for a Family Dollar store. Rane said he hasn't given up hope of moving the home to Abbeville. On a Wednesday night in mid-January, Bill Armbrecht was at home, alone in the dark with a lot on his mind. He was deeply troubled, worried sick that the restaurant he opened nearly 24 years ago was going to have to close. He didn't know how he was going to pay the bills to keep it open. He didn't how he was going to tell his employees - especially the loyal, longtime ones, like pitmaster Jerry Edwards, who has worked there for 21 years - that they no longer had a place to work. The Brick Pit, it seemed, was going under. It didn't seem possible, really. His hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint had won awards, fed celebrities and was featured on national television. Adam Richman visited in 2011, taping a segment of his popular "Man v. Food Nation" show on The Travel Channel. The restaurant was so well known that Nicolas Cage sought it out, bringing his wife and son with him for lunch one day when he was in town filming a movie. He gave Armbrecht his signature intense stare and said, "I've seen you on TV so many times." Apparently, Cage is "a barbecue fanatic," Armbrecht said. "We talked for 30 minutes. He's a gracious guy." The Brick Pit is one of those places that defines Mobile. A smoker stands outside next to Old Shell Road, beckoning customers with the scent of barbecue. Pork butts, ribs and chicken spend hours cooking to perfection in "Big Red," the smoker that fascinated the "Man v. Food" host. Thousands of autographs have been signed in marker over the years, covering the walls, doors and ceiling. Even in a city with some darn good barbecue, it has remained one of the city's most popular eateries. "We're a tradition here," said Armbrecht. "If you lose the Dew Drop Inns, the Brick Pits, you lose the culinary flavor of this town. They cannot survive without your support." Just a couple of weeks ago, Armbrecht wasn't feeling the community support. He had seen business dwindle - a fact he blames on the recession, and a seemingly never-ending paving project along Old Shell Road - and he was on the verge of calling it quits. "We were going out of business. It's as simple as that." And then, that night in the dark, Armbrecht put the fate of The Brick Pit in God's hands. "It's up to you," he prayed. "Literally an hour and a half later," he said, "a benefactor called who's a great friend. He said, 'We can take care of it.'" The next morning, Armbrecht deposited a check for $5,000 from his friend, paid the immediate bills and served customers during the busiest day he's had in years. "It's really an incredible turnaround," he said. 'Brink of extinction' Before he became a restaurant owner, Armbrecht, a Mobile native, worked as a yacht captain - a job that took him to Fort Lauderdale for 12 years. As a hobby, he'd always loved smoking meats. "Frankly, I didn't feel anyone was doing old-school, slow-smoked barbecue," he said. "The vast majority were grilling on an open pit over a fire." He started looking for "a joint" and found, first, the house next door. "I didn't even see the tiny 'for rent' sign here," he said. But then he spotted the humble building at 5456 Old Shell Road, across the street from the apartments he lived in as a student at the University of South Alabama. It had most recently been a Thai restaurant, and the interior was all purple and pink. With a new coat of white and crimson paint, reflecting Armbrecht's love for the Crimson Tide, the building "finally found what it wanted to be," said Armbrecht, a huge Alabama fan. Since the day it opened, diners have signed their names on every surface. "The place has got character, if nothing else," Armbrecht said. The name "Brick Pit" reflects his high school and college nickname, Brick - a play on the pronunciation of "Armbrecht." Six months after The Brick Pit opened in 1994, Dreamland BBQ, a legend in Tuscaloosa, opened a Mobile location, just a few miles east on Old Shell Road. Armbrecht put up a sign that said, "This ain't no dream, this is the real thing." But by January, the customers seemed to have stopped coming. Armbrecht couldn't figure it out. After talking it over with his evening manager, Mike Bailey of "Sip and Chew with Mike and Stu," a weekly call-in radio show on 106.5FM - he finally decided to let the world know about his dilemma, via social media. He had to be careful; he didn't want to scare his vendors away. Still, he really needed to get the word out that The Brick Pit was in big trouble. Mike wrote the following post on The Brick Pit's Facebook page: One of Mobile's, and Alabama's as well as the Gulf Coast's more Iconic and colorful BBQ Joints is on the brink of extinction. In just a matter of days we could lose this treasure that sits up on Old Shell Rd in the Spring Hill area of west Mobile. The Brick Pit has been a staple in the BBQ arena for 23 years. It has been featured on The Cooking Channel, Food Network, Travel Channel, TBS and countless magazines and publications. It has won many awards for it Smoked BBQ and Sauce. It has a rating of Excellence from Trip Advisor. It is locally owned and buys nearly every bit of its supplies from local vendors. The Brick Pit has employees that have been dedicated to the daily operations of the restaurant by turning out a high quality product. You can help by coming by and supporting the Brick Pit again. Bring a friend, a co-worker, your family. Let the Brick Pit cater your next function, event, office party. Help keep this Funky, Iconic, full of Character BBQ Dive Joint in business by stopping by soon...before its gone. Thank You... The post was shared more than 2,000 times that day, with many customers expressing their shock. Those who hadn't been there in a while and vowed to go back. Loyal fans tagged others to let them know the news. Some people offered constructive criticism. A few even speculated that the post was just a ploy to drive business. But Armbrecht insists it wasn't a ploy; the situation was dire. "So many people were going to get hurt if something didn't happen," he said. 'The best day we've seen' The Facebook post, and Armbrecht's private prayer, saved The Brick Pit. Like Jimmy Stewart's character, George Bailey, in "It's A Wonderful Life," he gratefully accepted the outpouring of help, encouragement and support of the customers who filled the seats over the next few days. "People started flooding in here like they haven't in a while," Armbrecht said. "The next day was the best day we've seen in six months." The restaurant was packed over the weekend, too. "All this came together because of that prayer," said Armbrecht, a born-again Christian who counts Franklin Graham among his heroes - and who boasts that the evangelist is among the famous folks who have eaten barbecue at The Brick Pit. Graham's photo hangs right there in "Amen Corner," the front corner of the restaurant, where Armbrecht has told the story of his religious conversion in 2001 to many customers who came in "to see what had happened to me." Recently, Armbrecht sat in Amen Corner, talking to a reporter about barbecue, his late-in-life daughter, Allie Grace (she's 8 years old, and her dad is 60) and his faith. After growing up in the Episcopal church, he had all but given up on organized religion until one Sunday when he went to church with a neighbor. He loved the music and the uplifting message he heard. He sought out Gerald Franklin, who had preached the sermon that day. Sitting in Armbrecht's truck, Franklin said a powerful prayer. "He asked for Jesus to come into my heart," Armbrecht remembers. "I physically felt all my worry lift off of me. I do not remember driving home. It really did change me a lot." As he talks, a customer walks in who had read about The Brick Pit's situation. He asks Armbrecht how things are going. "It was do or die," Armbrecht tells him, looking around the restaurant that is nearly full on a Tuesday at noon. "It looks like God said, 'Do.'" New Era Baptist Church put up this message in January: "Undercover racist elected Trump." The Rev. Michael R. Jordan, pastor of New Era Baptist Church in Birmingham for 25 years, made headlines in 2004 when he posted a message on the church's sign that said, "AIDS is God's curse on a homosexual life." Since Jan. 1, before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, he's been trolling Trump supporters with the latest messages on his church sign. "Trump deceived poor white folks," says one side of the latest sign at New Era Baptist. "Undercover racist elected Donald Trump," it says on the other side. In an interview with AL.com, Jordan explained his thinking on the latest sign. "There's a covert expectation by even poor whites of white privilege," Jordan said. "They feel like even if they're illiterate, skin color should give them privilege. Even if they are an illiterate, they feel superior to a black president with a Harvard degree. What interrupted that was a black president and immigrants. Trump plugged in on that. He's talking basically about let's get white males in charge. That was the covert message of this campaign." Voting for Trump was a way for whites to restore power they felt was usurped by President Obama, Jordan said. "Everything to poor whites was Obama's fault," Jordan said. "They feel that because they're white they should get privileges." Jordan says Trump's poor white supporters have been hoodwinked by billionaires acting in their own interests, not in the interest of the working class. "Once he got in power, he put people worth $11 billion on his cabinet," Jordan said. As for undercover racists electing Trump, Jordan said Trump appealed to racism for support. "We have been taught to fear these immigrants," Jordan said. "Everybody over here is an immigrant except Native Americans. There is a feeling immigrants are taking our jobs. That is the code issue of the election. He's using that fear factor: too many immigrants, and a fear factor on terrorists." In the past, Jordan has posted messages intended to stir discussion. The church is at 5 Cotton Ave. Southwest, just west of downtown off First Avenue North. He once posted the message "God's Word forbids two men getting married." He also weighed in on the Trayvon Martin case and on drug sales, with a sign that said, "Warning: Crack cocaine sold on this street." Donald Trump,Steve Bannon White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on cyber security in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci/AP Photo) President Donald Trump's executive order giving White House chief strategist Steve Bannon a permanent role on the National Security Council has raised a lot of questions. The order also demoted the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from their positions as principal members of the council. Why the outrage? Here's a brief overview of the National Security Council and the controversy surrounding Bannon's appointment. Q: What is the U.S. National Security Council? A: It's a panel composed of top national security advisers and Cabinet members who guide the president on national and foreign affairs. Q: When was the National Security Council created, and why? A: It was founded in 1947 under President Harry Truman with the aim of strengthening lines of conversation among branches of the military, intelligence agencies and certain members of the presidential Cabinet in the face of growing tension with the Soviet Union. Members of the council are there to help the president make sound decisions in the arenas of national security and foreign policy. Q: What decision-making power does the National Security Council hold today? A: While the NSC does not issue policy changes itself, it serves as a way to coordinate policy shifts throughout various agencies, said Loren Schulman, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank. It also informs -- and potentially sways -- the decisions of the president. "Members of the National Security Council ... will sometimes make policy decisions or policy calls based on their own authority," Schulman said. "Not everything has to go through the president, but if you run a good process, you know generally what the president's views are." The council has been growing in power with each successive administration. This includes the Obama administration, which Schulman said faced complaints that "many issues had to go to senior levels for decisions that should have been delegated out." With this in mind, she said it was not unlikely that the Trump administration would consolidate more power in the White House, even if the executive order signaled the opposite intention. Q: Why is Trump's appointment of Bannon to the National Security Council through an executive order so controversial? A: It's the first time that a White House chief strategist is a member of the council's "principals committee," which involves top officials dealing with issues of national security. This move has troubled many because Bannon serves as a political adviser to the president, focused on an entirely different realm. The former executive chairman of the far-right Breitbart website also is known for his hard-line opposition to globalism and ties to the white nationalist movement. Schulman said this appointment was troubling for many because it placed Bannon, who was helping Trump push a domestic political agenda, alongside national security professionals on a council meant to be apolitical. If Bannon is "creating Trump's worldview, I can understand why Trump would want him in the room," Schulman said. "But I can understand why other people would not want him in the room for the same reason." Q: Is that the only reason for the controversy? A: No. Bannon's ascension coincided with the removal of the director of national intelligence, who oversees the 16 member agencies of the U.S. intelligence community, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking military officer in the U.S. armed forces, from permanent status on the principals committee. This means they will attend meetings only when, according to the presidential memorandum released Saturday, "issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed." But the day after the executive order was released to a backlash, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were welcome -- but not required -- to attend any meeting they wished. Q: Does the executive order do anything else? A: It also allows Vice President Mike Pence to chair a National Security Council meeting if Trump can't attend. This is something that's unheard of, Schulman said. "That is very new," she said. "If the president is not there, it's not considered a conclusive National Security Council meeting." Although not originally part of the executive order, CIA Director Mike Pompeo also will be added to the National Security Council, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday. The chief of the CIA hasn't had a seat at the council since 2005, according to Spicer. Q: Is there any precedent for Trump's appointment of Bannon to the National Security Council? A: Schulman said no. "Everyone I have seen talk about (Bannon's promotion) said it's within its own territory," she said. "Bannon's role is to advocate for a domestic political agenda -- not to be there as a national security professional -- which everyone else around the table, that's their role." Karl Rove, the chief strategist for President George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign, was not allowed to attend National Security Council meetings, even though he was a senior adviser to the president at the time, according to Josh Bolten, Bush's chief of staff, in a 2016 White House Transition Project document. Likewise, President Barack Obama did not offer David Plouffe or David Axelrod, top advisers in his presidential campaigns, positions on the principals committee. Axelrod was known, however, to attend NSC meetings occasionally at the invitation of Obama. Tribune News Service distributed this article by McClatchy Washington Bureau reporter Josh Magness. A former president of the Communications Workers of America, Local 3901, in Oxford pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to a scheme to embezzle more than $69,000 from the local chapter, federal authorities said. Michael Lackey, 44, of Bremen, Ga., entered his guilty plea to five counts of bank fraud and one count of embezzlement and theft of union funds before U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins, according to a joint statement from Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey and U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Investigator Hollis Lindley Jr. Lackey was indicted in November. As part of his plea, Lackey has agreed to repay $69,193 to the union and forfeit that same amount to the government as proceeds of illegal activity. Lackey is to be sentenced April 25. Local 3901 members elected Lackey president in October 2008 and he remained in that position until October 2014, according to the statement. As president, Lackey exercised control over the local's finances, including its accounts at Wells Fargo and Regions banks. Lackey executed a scheme to defraud the banks and Local 3901 between February 2010 and October 2014 by using his position as Local 3901 president, and acting treasurer, to conduct unauthorized transactions to take money from the CWA local's bank accounts and use it for his personal benefit, according to the statement and his plea agreement. Those transactions included writing checks to himself from Local 3901 accounts for unauthorized or nonexistent travel expenses, using debit cards he obtained on accounts for the local at both Regions and Wells Fargo for personal expenses, and making cash withdrawals from Local 3901 accounts at both banks for his personal use. The checks he wrote to himself from union funds totaled about $26,519; the cash withdrawals and personal expenditures he made with the union's debit cards totaled about $14,095; counter cash withdrawals totaled about $16,032; personal power bill payments totaled about $3,092; personal loan payments totaled about $7,201; and accumulated bank fees totaled about $2,251, for a total embezzlement of $69,193, according to the statement. Lackey attempted to conceal his theft by failing to maintain records of his unauthorized transactions and by failing to seek approval for expenditures, as required by federal law and the Local 3901 constitution and bylaws, according to the statement. Local 3901 members began to suspect in summer 2014 that Lackey had stolen money from the union when a union check bounced, according to the statement. About the same time, Lackey told a national CWA AFL-CIO representative that he had taken out a personal loan using the union's bank accounts and assets as collateral, and had failed to make the loan payments, leading the bank to collect from the union's finances, according to the plea agreement. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier O. Carter Sr. is prosecuting. Gov. Robert Bentley on Tuesday released a statement saying Alabama would not support sanctuary cities, a statement that came in response to a resolution passed by the Birmingham City Council. "President Trump has already taken decisive and necessary action to enforce our nation's immigration laws," Bentley said. "Alabama will not support sanctuary cities or institutions that harbor or shelter illegal immigrants, and are in clear violation of the laws of the nation." The Birmingham City Council approved a resolution today expressing support for undocumented immigrants but not officially declaring the city a sanctuary. City Council President Johnathan Austin said the resolution was symbolic.. The resolution states, in part, that Birmingham is "Sanctuary City that strives to a community free of hostilities and aggressions and uphold the commitment to be a community free of prejudice, bigotry and hate." A man died Tuesday afternoon when he walked into the crossfire of two men shooting at each other in Birmingham's Gate City community. Birmingham police found the unidentified victim with a gunshot wound in the 7500 block of 64th Court South at 5:15 p.m. Birmingham Fire and Rescue responded to the scene and pronounced the victim dead at the scene. Authorities learned the victim didn't know the shooters. The men got into an altercation earlier before the shooting happened. Both suspects fled the scene before police arrival. If anyone has information about the case, please call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. This was Birmingham's second fatal shooting on Tuesday. A 17-year-old Wenonah High School student died after he was shot while walking home from school at 4 p.m. today. A man was charged Tuesday with hitting a Montana Highway trooper's patrol car after a short chase. Alan-Michael Richard Amundson, 26, appeared in Yellowstone County Justice Court on five felony charges, including criminal endangerment, driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, criminal possession of dangerous drugs and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Amundson was also charged with four misdemeanors, including driving with a suspended or revoked license. Justice of the Peace David Carter ordered Amundson be held in place of a $40,000 bond and placed on alcohol monitoring prior to his release from jail. Amundson was arrested Monday after he fled from a Montana Highway Patrol trooper who attempted to pull him over for a traffic violation, according to court documents. Amundson was driving a tan pickup west on Old Hardin Road when Amundson attempted to pull him over, according to charging documents. Amundson did not stop, and drove over a curb in order to turn onto Johnson Lane. He continued to try to evade the trooper, reaching speeds of 55 MPH. The trooper saw things being thrown out the window of the truck as it drove north down Johnson Lane. The pickup stopped when it reached the closed gates of Warren Transport, 2348 N Frontage Road. The trooper pulled up behind the truck, which then attempted to turn, ramming the trooper's patrol vehicle on the passenger side, according to charging documents. The truck then drove through the gates of Warren Transport. Another trooper was able to end the chase after setting up a spike strip, according to charging documents. A passenger in the truck, who was not charged in the chase, said when the trooper tried to pull the truck over, Amundson said he needed to get rid of his "dope." Amundson's blood was taken and sent to the Montana State Crime Lab for testing. He has four previous DUI convictions dating back to 2009. A Park County Sheriff's Office vehicle was totaled Tuesday afternoon near Livingston when a semitrailer lost control, hit the car and then left the scene of the crash, according to the Montana Highway Patrol. It was one of three crashes that blocked eastbound lanes of I-90. The interstate was closed while crews worked to remove vehicles and debris from the road before it was reopened around 8 p.m., according to the Montana Department of Transportation. At around 3:35 p.m., the deputy was out of his vehicle on I-90 eastbound near mile marker 345 and directing traffic around a crash involving two semitrailers when the driver of a third semitrailer lost control of their truck and hit the deputy's car, said MHP Sgt. Patrick McLaughlin. "It sounds like the trucker stopped momentarily, got back into his rig and left," McLaughlin said. One semitrailer had rear-ended another as they attempted to slow down while approaching a vehicle that had gone off the road. Almost immediately after the two semitrailers crashed, there was a separate hit-and-run three-vehicle crash that sent cars into the median of the roadway, McLaughlin said. "Basically we have three crashes within 150 feet of each other. Two of them are hit-and-run crashes." McLaughlin said. "We're very fortunate there's no injuries in any of them." McLaughlin described the semitrailer that struck the deputy's vehicle as white and pulling a refrigerated trailer. It was last seen eastbound on I-90. McLaughlin guessed the deputy had been out of his vehicle for five minutes before it was hit. "Based on the damage to the patrol car, it's going to have a lot of damage to the passenger side of the trailer," McLaughlin said. The other hit-and-run crash involved a passenger car, a full-size van and a pickup pulling a trailer, McLaughlin said. Law enforcement officers are looking for a pickup pulling a snowmobile trailer with a "side-by-side" UTV or utility task vehicle that left the scene, McLaughlin said. The crash left the van "completely in the median" and the passenger car on the shoulder facing the wrong direction, McLaughlin said. McLaughlin said the road conditions "are icy with snow cover" and that there was a "pretty thick layer of ice on top and covered with snow." Semitrailers were being held in Livingston out of caution and traffic was being redirected down the frontage road nearby, McLaughlin said. McLaughlin urged drivers to "drive to the conditions of the road," and "slow down." "The people going in the ditch or that are crashing are going way too fast to react to what's going on in front of them with the conditions on the road," McLaughlin said. Billings higher education officials are reaffirming their support for international students this week following President Donald Trump's travel ban. Trump's executive order barred visitors from seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen where residents predominantly follow Islam. The order restricted all entry from those countries for 90 days and suspended refugee admissions for 120 days. The international students at Rocky Mountain College and Montana State University Billings, who arrived through a vetting process for student visas, will likely attend school as usual over the length of the ban. It's still unclear how the order will affect international recruiting and, more importantly, the likelihood for foreign students to attend American colleges in the future. "In the short term, it's not a big hassle for our students," said Paul Foster, executive director of the Office of International Studies at MSUB. "It's just maybe portending something in the works for the future." There are 18 students attending MSUB and three faculty or staff members who came from the seven countries under Trump's order, Foster said. There are around two students from those countries at Rocky Mountain College, said Amber West Martin, director of international programs. They're among about 1,600 international students in the Montana University System who arrived with student visas after applying through the U.S. Department of State. There have been smaller issues here and there. Foster said there were students who were advised against going to Canada on spring break, because they wouldn't have been able to re-enter the United States. West Martin said that even without Trump's order, she generally counsels students to avoid lots of international travel to avoid customs snafus that could jeopardize their education. My usual advice to them is dont try to travel out of the United States on a regular basis when you're in school, she said. Larger incidents, like family emergencies, that would be further complicated by the travel order haven't yet come up at MSUB or Rocky. Campus support That's not to say that the campuses are free of anxieties. Foster said that while there haven't been incidents of open hostility toward Muslim students, he described the mood as "spooked" after their fellow countrymen and women were deemed too risky to enter the United States. Some of them are thinking of leaving," Foster said. "Some of them are thinking, 'This isnt good. I need to get home.' Both schools offered extra support for international students this week. The MSUB Office of International Studies held an informal meeting with students on Monday and announced flexible office hours to lend any help. A bulletin released on Monday by interim MSUB Chancellor Ron Larsen advised students from those seven countries not to travel outside of the country. With a smaller group of students at Rocky, West Martin said she's in contact with those students nearly daily, and things have been fairly normal. College President Robert Wilmouth's office reaffirmed its support to the larger campus community. "Weve reached out from the presidents office to make sure that we support everyone here on campus, West Martin said. It remains to be seen what effect Trump's order will have in the future. Foster said that there were as many as five international students from those seven countries who had planned to apply for visas and come to school in May. Those students might be reconsidering. It does affect the way we recruit internationally, he said. Alternatively, it may affect American students' ability to study abroad. Many student visa agreements are reciprocal, West Martin said. But now, less than a week out from the travel order, students are just trying to make grades. Monday's bulletin from interim Chancellor Larsen said that the university's support for international students, staff and faculty "will not waver." Despite improved power supply, Palestinians in besieged strip say durable solutions must be implemented. Despite a temporary improvement in power supply, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip say the lack of consistent access to electricity has made their lives unbearable and are demanding more durable solutions. Our lives are at a halt due to the power cuts, Shukri Abu Oan, a Gaza-based activist, told Al Jazeera. Frustrations amplified earlier this month when rampant power cuts left Gazan homes without electricity for up to 21 hours a day. Thousands of residents took to the streets to voice their discontent in the first mass protests the besieged enclave has seen in nearly a decade. Since the protests, Gaza has been receiving electricity based on a new but temporarily implemented schedule, offering eight hours of power at a time. But residents say the inconsistency in power supply has disrupted daily life. READ MORE: Gaza headed for environmental catastrophe I see my mother suffering. I have eight siblings. They can never focus while studying and without sufficient power. There has been a deterioration in the standard of education in the strip, said Abu Oan, one of the protest organisers. Gaza has been under a decade-long siege imposed by Israel following Hamas election victory and subsequent takeover of the Strip in 2007. With severe restrictions on food entry and access to basic services, Gaza has been dubbed the worlds largest open-air prison, and its economy has struggled to stay afloat. Gazas population, numbering about two million, has become accustomed to periodic food and medical shortages. The blackouts that began on January 3 proved arduous for even Gazas battle-weary citizens. The protests have yielded some results, with residents reporting that the number of hours electricity has been available increased just three days after protests erupted. Mohammed al-Tlouly, a Gaza-based activist, said the strip had turned into blotch of darkness. Were demanding a basic human right. All of the protesters who participated not affiliated with any political groups want to end to this nightmare, al-Tlouly told Al Jazeera. An estimated 11 protesters were temporarily detained for their involvement in the demonstrations as clashes erupted between protesters and the police in an attempt to block the march, according to Abu Oan. We broke the silence barrier and rallied the people of Gaza to say no peacefully, he said. Though Gaza once received its electricity from Israel, Egypt, and its only power station, recent developments have severely affected access to power. In 2013, Egypt, which has largely shut off its border crossing with Gaza, blocked tunnels connecting Gaza with Egypts al-Arish, stemming the flow of goods, including fuel used to generate power Gazas power plant, built in 2002, in Nuseirat City, has also been repeatedly damaged by Israeli air strikes and currently operates at half of its original capacity. This, coupled with the prolonged blockade that restricts the entry of construction material, has made Israel the sole fuel supplier to the strip. Owing to Gazas shrunken and devastated economy as a result of a series of Israeli military operations over the past decade, Palestinians have found it challenging to meet the costs required to buy Israeli fuel. The last military raid in 2014 particularly deepened the humanitarian crisis on the ground. At least 18,000 housing units were destroyed, leaving more than 100,000 people homeless. OPINION: In Israel, racism is the law Currently, 80 percent of Gaza households are living under the poverty line and rely on some form of external aid to put food on the table. In addition, unemployment rates in Gaza stand at more than 40 percent. Waleed Al-Modallal, associate professor of political science at Gazas Islamic University, said that the wrecked infrastructure is simply unable to service a growing population. The electricity crisis has worsened over the years. Every member of the Gazan society has been affected. People have resorted to dangerous solutions due to the chronic disruptions of power, Al-Modallal said, speaking to Al Jazeera. The anger and dissent among Gazas citizens is also being channeled towards what some in the Strip see as the inability of Palestinian leadership to move towards a lasting solution to the crisis. Both the Hamas movement and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank continue to trade blame for the issue. [Through the protests] we wanted to return to our people a sense of national sentiment, something we have been stripped of in the midst of this political split. We wanted our demands to be heard as mere citizens, not as political affiliates, said Abu Oan. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem deferred blame for the cuts. We are a movement, and not a government [but] it is a neglect on everyones part, especially the Palestinian Authority, he told Al Jazeera. Fatah placed blame squarely on Hamas. READ MORE: Factions trade blame after Gaza children burn to death Hamas is directly responsible for the power company in Gaza. It is the entity that hires its employees, it is the entity that is directly tasked with improving the plants condition, and it has been receiving monthly funds from the Palestinian Authority, Osamah Qawasmeh, a spokesperson for Fatah, said from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Qawasmeh told Al Jazeera that Hamas financial contribution to fuel purchases had been minimal. Given that all parties were to blame for the current predicament, said al-Modallal, a peoples protest was inevitable. Whether it is Hamas, the PA, or Israel, the electricity crisis was the outcome of a set of complexities, including internal political rivalries and, ultimately, the Israeli occupation, he said. The people of Gaza are always adapting to harsh living conditions, and are not expecting to receive power 24 hours a day. People are realistic, and are only hoping to receive electricity for more than a few hours a day, he said. Farah worked with the US military in Iraq. Her husband was killed and her father kidnapped because of it. Washington, DC, United States One night in December 2006, Farah Marcollas life changed forever. She was living in Baghdad and had just returned home from her work at Camp Victory, a US military base in the Iraqi capital. She was sitting with her family when armed men dressed in Iraqi military uniforms banged on her front door and stormed into her house. They were screaming and called me a traitor for supporting the Americans, which I denied to protect my family, she recalls. They dragged her husband and father outside, blindfolded Farah and tied her to the staircase. A few seconds later, she heard the shots. The men had killed her husband, bodyguard and driver and kidnapped her father. Her father was released four days later, after Farahs mother paid the ransom. It was the hardest and most terrifying moment of my life, Farah says. I became a target In 2003, shortly after the US invasion of Iraq, Farah had started working as an engineering consultant for the US military. Then 21, she oversaw building projects like the construction of helipads and markets and managed deliveries of heavy equipment and baby incubators for hospitals. Im proud of my work in Iraq, but I got punished for it, she reflects. I became a target. After the attack, Farah knew she had to get out of Iraq as quickly as she could. She applied for the SIV, the Special Immigrant Visa, in 2008. After four years of being stuck in bureaucratic limbo, the NGO International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) took on her case. Within five months, Farah was approved and had boarded a plane to Washington, DC with her two teenage sons. But she had to leave her parents and siblings behind. Farahs entire family applied for the SIV years ago, but they have been waiting for an answer ever since. My chances of seeing my family again are slim, but I wont give up hope, she says. READ MORE: The lives interrupted by Trumps immigration ban The most vetted group Because of the grave dangers that tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans who worked as interpreters, engineers, drivers or cultural consultants for American forces in their country face, many seek asylum in the US. But last Friday, President Donald Trump upended countless lives with the stroke of a pen when he signed an executive order suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries including Iraq for 90 days, blocking refugees for 120 days and halting the arrival of Syrian refugees indefinitely. Although Afghan SIV holders arent affected by the ban, there have been holdups at airports. To Iraqis, however, the ban comes as a blow. Shortly after the announcement, chaos ensued. Mass protests erupted across the US, world leaders like Angela Merkel criticised the order and Trump fired the acting attorney general Sally Yates after she refused to defend his ban. In light of the global backlash, the president defended the order. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting, he said in a statement. This is not about religion this is about terror and keeping our country safe. Trump said the US would start issuing visas to all countries again after the most secure policies were implemented. In fact, refugees are already the most vetted group to enter the US. Iraqis and Afghans applying for the SIV undergo stringent background checks, interviews, medical exams and screenings by multiple security agencies, including the CIA and the FBI. This process often takes years and there is now a huge backlog. As of last year, 58,000 Iraqis had applications pending, according to IRAP. The Direct Access programme has replaced the SIV for Iraqis with US affiliations, whether they worked for the military or US-based media organisations and NGOs. That means tens of thousands are still in limbo. The SIV programme used to receive vast bipartisan support and was championed by veterans such as the Republican Senator John McCain. I dont understand why they are closing the door in our faces now. The history of the United States is to help people, not to separate families, Farah says. Yes, I am a Muslim, but I want to live in peace, she explains when asked about the current anti-Muslim and anti-refugee sentiment in the country. We helped to protect the Americans and suffered from the same enemy. Terrorists are savages, they have nothing in common with Islam. READ MORE: Six other times the US has banned immigrants A death sentence for wartime allies Matt Zeller, a retired US army captain, reiterates that view. He founded the non-profit No One Left Behind that helps Iraqis and Afghans obtain SIVs and get resettled in the US. Since Friday, he says his organisation has been inundated with requests for help. My life was saved by my Afghan Muslim translator, Matt says. Theyre peaceful people who want to live in safety. But now, Muslims are being scapegoated. To single them out because of their religion is atrocious. He says that at least 20,000 Iraqis have been admitted to the US since the SIV programme was implemented in 2008. The executive order could be a death sentence for the wartime allies that served us in Iraq and Afghanistan. This could seriously harm US national security, Matt warns. Were hearing rumours that there might be an exemption for Iraqi SIV holders, but nothing is confirmed yet, he adds, addressing the current chaos and confusion surrounding the immigration ban. There might be a sliver of hope for some Iraqis the new US defence secretary, James Mattis, is said to be working on a list of Iraqis who helped the US military to be exempted from the ban. Farah now lives in suburban Virginia with her sons and her new husband, a Lieutenant Commander in the US navy. Although she is safe, she spends her days worrying about her family in Iraq. Her 67-year-old fathers health is deteriorating and he urgently needs medication. My first thought when I wake up in the morning is my family being in danger. I have my phone on me all the time to make sure theyre okay, she says. Im grateful for my life here, but I wish my family was here with me. Japanese Americans remember discrimination they endured during WWII and say they will defend Muslim Americans. Los Angeles, United States For Japanese and Muslim Americans embracing a growing relationship in the movement to resist what many consider to be President Donald Trumps discriminatory policymaking, history isnt going to repeat itself; its going to help inform the present. The Japanese American community is commemorating a series of anniversaries this year: January 14 was the day, 75 years ago, when then President Franklin D Roosevelt, for whom Trump has reportedly expressed his admiration, issued a proclamation forcing Japanese as well as Germans and Italians to register with the Department of Justice. February 19 marks the 75th anniversary of the USs detention of its Japanese community during the Second World War. The history behind these dates is preserved with scientific precision in Little Tokyo. At the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, there is a barracks from the Heart Mountain camp in the western state of Wyoming, where many of the 120,000 people of Japanese origin interned during the war were resettled. Unvarnished wood thrown together to form a shack seems to have offered little shelter from the elements. It was disassembled and moved across two states and 1,751 kilometres, so that people might remember what happened. READ MORE: Six other times the US has banned immigrants Across from the museum is Koyasan Buddhist Temple. There, many Japanese Americans left their belongings before lining up outside, wearing tickets noting their destinations, waiting to be shipped off, first to a temporary holding space and then to camps across the US, museum staff explained. Signs calling for their evacuation were posted down the block on businesses like Fugetsu-Do, a more than 100-year-old bakery that still stands. In Los Angeles Little Tokyo, much of what happened during the Second World War is maintained with great care, so that people might remember what happened. Theres a political power in memory, many here say; they hope it will prevent another such incident after a member of Trumps pre-inaugural team, Kansas state secretary Kris Kobach, told the media that the proto-administration had been mulling a registry for immigrants from Muslim countries. READ MORE: World leaders condemn Donald Trumps Muslim ban T hey were too afraid to speak up. I am not afraid Trump, on Friday, signed an executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority nations six Arab League states and Iran. The ban provoked outrage that continues to manifest at airport protests across the US, but reports of detentions persist. For years since post-9/11, hate crimes against Americans of Muslim faith, Japanese and Muslim Americans have commemorated these events and also organised for social justice together. And then in December 2015, following Trumps campaign pledge of a so-called Muslim ban, members of both communities created a coalition called #VigilantLove. The coalition continues to organise a series of demonstrations for social justice. On Thursday, they organised a vigil in anticipation of Trumps executive order on the seven Muslim-majority nations that brought out hundreds of participants. When this happened to our community, we always talk about people who stood up for us. Its our duty to do the same, said Kristin Fukushima, 29, managing director for the Little Tokyo Community Council, whose grandparents were interned. Fukushima referred to the very singular help of the US Quaker community, which was famously among strikingly few non-Japanese Americans who were vocal in its opposition to detention. Remembering the past is of particular importance to some in the Japanese American community. I think the difference this year is: Weve lost most of the people who remember the camps, said Kyoko Nakamaru, 36, an activist who participates in #VigilantLove. Nakamarus grandmother, who had been interned at Poston War Relocation Center in the southwestern state of Arizona, recently passed away. They are no longer here to speak for themselves. During their lives they were too afraid to speak up. I am not afraid, Nakamaru said. READ MORE: A Chinese American lesson for Trump #VigilantLove At the Day of Remembrance next month, Muslim Americans will be there to help non-Muslim Japanese Americans like Nakamaru remember an infamous time in US history the memory of which, they hope, will have teeth. There will be at least one Muslim American speaker on the roster, according to Japanese American community leaders organising the event. With a cross-faith, interethnic team at the helm, one thing alone ties all the #VigilantLove organisers, Sahar Pirzada, 27, one of #VigilantLoves co-chairs notes. Pirzada is an American whose parents are from Pakistan. Theyre all women, she said. Its almost as a retort to prevalent narratives of Asian and Muslim American women in US society. It says that were here and we will lead the resistance, she added. READ MORE: Stranded Nowhere to go after Trumps Muslim ban Her co-chair, Traci Ishigo, 25, a non-Muslim Japanese American agreed. Women from a lot of communities of colour have different, but also shared experiences, she said. There are so many experiences to talk about it makes it hard to break it down. We need to consider all experiences and not just those that fit into cookie-cutter narratives. Ishigo noted, for example, that Islamophobia is often misinterpreted as being synonymous with anti-Arab or anti-Middle Eastern-ness in the US. We need to be mindful of how people are experiencing Islamophobia. Black Muslims make up a third of Muslims in this area, she said. #VigilantLove started with the Muslim and Japanese American communities, Pirzada and Ishigo say, but it aims to be much broader than those two communities in scope, particularly as they and other social justice activists combat what they call unprecedented social injustice in the time of Trump. The nexus of the two communities is resounding with people, if Twitter is any metric for success. And it may well be an appropriate metric, since the organisers are careful to note the hashtag in their organisations name. The following tweet and its image went viral during the Womens March on January 21 that drew protesters of all ethnic and faith backgrounds around the world. ACLU lawyer Mitra Ebadolahi tweeted: Womens March organiser Linda Sarsour tweeted: The sight of one in the USs future generations expressing solidarity between Japanese and Muslim Americans recalled for many a dark time in US history and a community experiencing a lot of similar fears in the present. At Los Angeles airport, lawyers and protesters complain of little information on the status of people detained inside. Los Angeles, United States Lawyers and protesters fanned across Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) terminal on Tuesday, distributing questionnaires to travellers from the Middle East and Africa. Were you asked to sign something? asks one of the questions on the form. The answers are meant to offer the public some insight into what happens in airport holding facilities, where travellers who have been detained are barred from outside contact a practice that critics say reflects the lack of transparency about US immigration. Detainees phones are reportedly confiscated when they are taken into custody, preventing them from reaching relatives or legal representatives, and documenting their experience inside. Since US President Donald Trump issued on Friday an executive order suspending the resettlement programme for Syrian refugees, and banning entry of travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, reports of immigration misconduct have surged. US immigration authorities have a long-standing practice of coercing people from Muslim and Latin countries to sign away their rights, said Ameena Mirza Qazi, a civil rights lawyer, activist and executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles chapter. People are essentially revoking their applications to come to the United States and consenting to be sent back, she told Al Jazeera. READ MORE: Trumps immigration ban US is the only home we know Qazi is one of countless lawyers at LAX and airports across the nation leading the charge against Trumps executive order. They have been offering free legal counsel to travellers who say they have experienced heightened problems with immigration authorities following the immigration ban. Were hearing reports this is going on but in a discriminatory and concentrated fashion with people from Muslim-majority countries, Qazi said. Like Qazi, Talia Inlender, an immigration lawyer with Public Counsel, was also at the airport premises offering free legal advice to new arrivals. Inlender said that on Saturday her law firm helped a family whose brother entered the country with an immigrant visa but was held overnight and later put back on a plane. We havent seen the documents. But it appears he signed documents that waived those rights and landed him on a plane back. We worked with the [American Civil Liberties Union advocacy group] to file a court action. The District Court here in California ordered that he be permitted to return to the United States. Signing away green cards Irlender told Al Jazeera that it is crucial to verify the reports circulating around alleged misconduct. But she said that with the passage of the post-9/11 Patriot Act and the USA Freedom Act of 2015, transparency in US security measures has been rare. If true, then there will need to be legal action taken to stop the government from coercing people to waive their rights. These people are scared, coming in after long travel not fluent in English, not understanding what they are signing, she added. Al Jazeera was not immediately able to independently verify reports of travellers being coerced into signing away their immigration status. At the time of publication, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had not yet responded to a request for comment on this, and other allegations of mistreatment of detained travellers. But two Yemeni brothers filed a lawsuit on Saturday against Trump, the CBP and others, alleging that authorities forced them to sign away their green cards before they were sent back to their point of origin in Ethiopia. Qazi and Inlenders fight is not just for detainees from the seven countries named in Trumps ban. It is for all Americans. On Saturday, a federal court issued an order staying the ban. Trump and the executive branch are completely ignoring the judicial branch which under our constitution is supposed to stop the explosive overreach of power by the executive branch, Qazi said. Shock and awe without bombs Tuesdays demonstration at LAX started in mid-afternoon, as Emirates and Air France flights from the Middle East were just arriving in Los Angeles. A group of chauffeurs stood with placards with Arabic and Persian-language names, patiently waiting for their travelers to arrive. A Palestinian American named Sami said he was confident his mother would make it through customs, despite reports that people of Middle Eastern and Muslim origin from countries not mentioned in the ban have faced extra scrutiny. Instead, Sami, a Christian, said he feared for his wife, a green-card holder. What if she goes and [Trump] adds more countries [to the ban] suddenly, and she cant come back? he asked. Nancy, an Egyptian American woman in her late 20s, was also waiting for a relative. I think its interesting they call it a Muslim ban, and its not a Muslim ban, she said, noting that it has frightened many Christians like her. On Friday, a Yemeni man of Jewish faith was also detained, following the immigration ban, according to a widely circulated social media post later reported by the website Forward. One lawyer, who asked not to be named, told Al Jazeera that authorities had also held a green card-holder of Arab origin travelling from the Gulf, even though that person was not from one of the seven countries included in Trumps ban. The person was reportedly held for more than 30 hours in a room with 10 other people before being released. Al Jazeera has withheld personal details of the detainee so as not to jeopardise the persons immigration status. Authorities reportedly gave the person water and a cup of noodles, but confiscated the persons phone, watch and shoelaces. There have been reports that some detainees have tried to commit suicide while in custody, prompting authorities to remove the detainees shoelaces, the source told Al Jazeera. Outside LAX terminal, demonstrators wait to be the first thing the released detainees see. Sara Gorsky, 32, is a facilitator connecting newcomers who have been detained with translators and aid. I just showed up with a thing of coffee for the lawyers I didnt know how to help, she said. Ian Lobell, 49, is a social justice advocate who wanted to show his solidarity to immigrants arriving in the US. Americans are confused. Its a military strategy from our wars Shock and Awe. Go into Baghdad hit them so hard the public cant make sense of it, he said. Now were doing it to our public without bombs. Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh Ambia Khatun grabbed her two children and dashed out of her burning house on the early morning of November 23 last year. A teary-eyed Khatun said her husband could not make out of the house as the army started firing. Thirty-seven-year-old Khatun is from Kearipara village in western Myanmars Maungdaw town. She says she fled along with other Rohingya families, leaving behind her husbands body, as rows of houses were set on fire by the army. Along with 2,500 Rohingya families, she has taken refuge at a makeshift camp in Leda at eastern Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar near the border with Myanmar. I grabbed my children and ran towards the forest and waited there with several hundred people, she told Al Jazeera at her camp in Leda village. World Food Programme and other local NGOs have come forward to provide food and emergency medical aid, as Bangladesh has refused to register Rohingya Muslims as refugees. Nearly 65,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since October when the army launched a crackdown against the Muslim minority after a deadly attack on a military post. Myanmar says it is acting against perpetrators of the attack, but rights group say the military has been running a systematic campaign of violence against Rohingya in western Rakhine state. A traumatised Khatun says she never imagined that her family could be ruined in this way. The camp at Leda looks cramped. The facility is squalid and lacks basic amenities. Children roam around the narrow rows of tin and bamboo huts. They lack access to education, medical care and sanitation. Ziaur Rahman, a Rohingya rickshaw puller, said many people living in the camps have no money to spend. Rahman, who has been living in the area for the last 15 years, told Al Jazeera he chipped in with some money to help them survive. Some Rohingya Muslims, who have money, rent space in nearby houses and some are building new houses, he said. It is all too easy for ones eyes to glaze over at the headlines of yet another murder in Honduras, the country that earned the dubious moniker of the worlds murder capital. Forty-nine year-old Tomas Garcia was shot dead on July 15, just one of thousands of victims. Violence marches on unabated as observers become desensitised to the mounting human toll, comforted by the illusion that the carnage is associated with, and perhaps even justified by anti-social behaviour, a convenient misconception that provides a buffer between us and the grief for the fallen. Yet Garcias murder is not the result of unrestrained gang or narcotrafficking violence, corruption or random crime, and its inclusion as a statistic obscures his murders political motivation and the tragedy it leaves in its wake. The unarmed Lenca indigenous community leader was shot at close range in front of a crowd of witnesses. Garcias 17-year-old son Allan was seriously injured. The act was not random but was instead part of a pattern of systematic and calculated repression by Honduran authorities. Garcia was killed because he stood at the front of a peaceful protest against the Agua Zarca hydro-electric dam, which is largely financed by foreign investors and threatens the cultural heritage and livelihood of his community. Well aware of the danger he faced but unable to turn away from his communitys struggle, Garcias courageous stand leaves his widow to care for their seven children. The international community must stand in solidarity with the Honduran popular movement and its courageous leaders and demand that the countrys future be determined by the free, democratic and fair election His assassination was preceded by escalating intimidation threats and harassment, and menacing security personnel. Garcias community is resisting the hydro-electric project that was enticed by Hondurass open for business slogan engineered in the wake of the coup that deposed democratically-elected president Mel Zelaya. Indigenous communities have been objecting to the illegal sale of their territory to transnational companies who seek to extract profits by harnessing and privatising communally-owned water. Yet in September 2010, the Honduran National Congress awarded 41 hydroelectric dam concessions, during a time when the government of Porfirio Pepe Lobos legitimacy was still questioned by the majority of Latin American governments. A month later, a coalition of indigenous groups, including members of the Tulupanes, Pech, Miskito, Maya-Chortis, Lenca and Garifuna peoples, convened a meeting to organise in resistance to the illegal concessions, many of which were granted on indigenous territory without proper consultation and consent of the groups. These omissions violate International Labor Organization Convention 169, which requires that Consultation with indigenous peoples should be undertaken through appropriate procedures, in good faith, and through the representative institutions of these peoples and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous groups have also noted that various international mechanisms designed to address climate change have contributed to the exploitation and degradation of the land for which they have served as rightful and responsible stewards for generations. These include the UNs Clean Development Mechanism and the Program of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD). The rights of indigenous communities to prior informed consultation and consent are being bulldozed, just like their ancestral land. The Agua Zarca Dam project in Garcias community is one of the disputed concessions, part of four interconnected dams along the Gualcarque River. The project is coordinated by a partnership between the Honduran company Desarrollos Energeticos S.A. (DESA), which owns the concession, and the Sinohydro Corporation of China, which seeks to develop the hydro-electric power. The web of investor friendly legislation and support from the Lobo administration empowers the companies to violate human rights with impunity. According to Berta Caceres, General Coordinator of the indigenous coalition COPINH (Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations) that seeks to defend indigenous territories, the companies are supported and protected by the Honduran security forces. Lenca residents of Rio Blanco claim that the dam threatens to degrade the surrounding environment, deplete the local water supply, diminish their livelihood and destroy the spiritual connection to the land that is foundational to the communitys history and survival. The Lenca communities are engaging in peaceful resistance to the construction by blocking the access road, action that has drawn a swift and brutal response from the government, along with a campaign to vilify the protestors. The conflict escalated on May 23, when police ended 50 days of peaceful community resistance by forcibly removing protestors. A day later, the repression took an ominous turn when Caceres was arrested on the spurious charge of illegally possessing a weapon, shortly after she criticised the police eviction action. Although the charge was provisionally dropped following an international outcry, the local prosecutor is appealing the dismissal, and the case is far from over. Business friendly, taken to an extreme The Lobo administration signaled its embrace of a neoliberal development model when it convened an economic conference in May 2011, entitled Honduras is Open for Business. The government sought to reassure investors that risks would be minimised and profits maximised, promising unprecedented access to the countrys exploitable resources, many of which are located within indigenous territory that is subject to the protection of various international protection schemes. The intervening years have witnessed an ambitious and far-reaching legislative agenda that gives primacy to corporate rights. Human rights observers fear that the recently passed Law for the Promotion of Development and Reconversion of the Public Debt will only intensify the exploitation of resources for the benefit of foreign investors and the countrys own economic elites and exacerbate the illegal dispossession of indigenous and campesino communities. The law authorises the Lobo administration to employ the nations natural territory and the idle resources it contains as collateral to investors who can then exploit concessions for future profits. Critics of the law note that it was pushed through with little debate and even less transparency, as the details of implementation remain shrouded in secrecy. Observers contextualise the rush to pass the law in advance of Novembers national presidential election as a bold effort to entrench protections for business interests, fearing that Xiomara Castro, wife of deposed president Mel Zelaya, and head of the newly formed Libre party will implement democratic reforms. President Lobo has tacitly acknowledged as much in recent days, opining that a Libre party victory would be a disaster that would not be well received by the business community. The Rio Blano conflict is emblematic of broader struggle Similar struggles are percolating across Honduras as the dispossessed seek to protect their livelihoods and their lands from the agro and business oligarchs who partner with the military and police in meting out repression for acts of resistance to their absolute power. In the Bajo Aguan, over a hundred campesinos have been killed resisting eviction by agro-oligarchs led by Dinant Corporations Miguel Facusse. The Afro-Indigenous Garifuna people along the Caribbean coast are struggling to protect their land from ecotourism and model cities that will strip local control and displace ancestral communities. Human rights defenders are criminalised throughout a country with a notoriously corrupt judicial system that consistently fails to vindicate their rights. This repression reinforces centuries of historical exploitation and suffering, but occurs in the context of a surprisingly vibrant and resilient popular movement struggling for a more inclusive, participatory and egalitarian future for Honduras. As with the rest of Latin America, foreign influence is ubiquitous, and should be held to account. International financial institutions, including multilateral development banks, provide development aid and impose structural adjustment policies that advance the neoliberal agenda. Governments provide aid to military and police who have supported the economic and political status quo and have been complicit in the repression. Counter-narcotics efforts are increasingly militarised, and private foreign investors demand obscenely favourable conditions and returns, irrespective of the human costs. Hondurans deserve a brighter future, free from unfettered repression, intractable corruption, stark inequality and pervasive poverty. The international community must stand in solidarity with the Honduran popular movement and its courageous leaders and demand that the countrys future be determined by the free, democratic and fair election of a government that advances the interests and rights of all Hondurans, not just its economic and political elites. Lauren Carasik is Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law. Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina was recently named The Latin Trades Leader of the Year for 2013 in recognition for reshaping Guatemalas foreign trade and investment outlook, effectively implementing changes to position the country as an attractive destination for investment in Latin America. The World Banks annual Doing Business report also recognised Guatemala as one of the worlds top business regulation reformers for 2012-13 because of its success in reducing obstacles to start a business, improving the way construction permits are distributed, and simplifying its tax system. It is unfortunate that the international community chose to celebrate Molina and Guatemala with such recognition during a year in which there have been so many setbacks for democracy. I do hope that Molina and the Guatemalan government and business community will one day earn these rewards, but 2013 was not their year. What freedom of press? Guatemala has been among the worlds most violent countries in which to practise journalism for quite some time and 2013 was no different. Public officials, business leaders, drug traffickers, and members of organised crime frequently threaten journalists. Four journalists have been killed this year. El Periodicos website was targeted by several cyber-attacks and its president, Jose Ruben Zamora Marroquin and his reporters were threatened [Sp] following investigations into government corruption. One investigation questioned Vice President Roxana Baldettis purchases of multi-million dollar homes and other luxury goods with unexplained wealth. The attacks recently escalated when Baldetti lodged a legal complaint alleging that Zamora had committed violence against women [Sp] because of his newspapers coverage of her. A judge attacked the entire press when she ordered Zamora not to disturb or intimidate [Sp] the vice president. Guatemala, according to the UN, is among the worst five countries in the world when it comes to crimes committed against journalists over the past 20 years. Even more troubling is that 2013 has been the worst [Sp] year for freedom of the press in Guatemala, according to a recent report from CERIGUA. The increasing attacks upon media freedom make it an odd moment to recognise Molina and an improved business climate, unless one does not care about freedom of speech. The criminalisation of social protest has worsened with government officials and businessmen characterising campaigns on behalf of human rights, land reform, labour rights, indigenous rights, and other struggles against injustice, as terrorism. The Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit in Guatemala recorded 568 attacks against human rights defenders during the first eight months of 2013, compared to 305 in 2012. Twenty-two human rights defenders have been killed so far this year. The Guatemalan military has a long history of corruption when it comes to the countrys ports and borders. To now officially put the military is charge of the customs should be troubling for the Guatemalan people and for international investors. The offices of the Association for the Advancement of Social Sciences (AVANSCO) were burglarised in January 2013, shortly before it was scheduled to publish a report related to its work on the dark history of the countrys police. The Central American Institute for Social Democracy Studies and the private office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Frank La Rue, were burglarised in July during which documents and computers were stolen. Increasing violence According to IFEX [Sp], the number of violations of freedom of expression in Guatemala increased from 19 in 2010 to nearly 50 through September. Guatemala is generally considered among the most dangerous countries in the world to be a trade unionist, with at least 58 killed in the last five years. The violence has threatened to derail Guatemalas trade relations with Europe and the United States. The US Trade Representative Michael Froman recently warned that should Guatemala not implement certain reforms within the next six months, the US government might consider reactivating an arbitration panel to force the Guatemalan government to protect workers rights. Freedoms of assembly, expression, and association have come under attack while the current government has done little to investigate and to prosecute these crimes. While Guatemalas criminal justice system has improved since the arrival of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in 2007, and the appointment of Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz in 2010, it remains one of the weakest in the Western Hemisphere. Authorities estimate that impunity has fallen from over 90 percent to approximately 70 percent in the last six years. Even so, most crimes still go unpunished and police, lawyers [Sp] and court officers are frequently among the victims. Much of the justice systems improvement, however, was overshadowed by the Constitutional Courts questionable decision to annul the guilty verdict of the countrys former dictator. Efrain Rios Montt was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity before the Constitutional Court threw out the verdict and sent the trial and the legal system into chaos. An international delegation of lawyers voiced concerns that the courts ruling had made more uncertain the role of the judiciary which is not good for investors. Legal certainty is something that investors seek and the tortured decision by the Constitutional Court provided the opposite. It does not look like the trial will resume until January 2015 and even that is uncertain. During the Montt trial, one witness accused Molina of participating in genocide and crimes against humanity when he served as a major in Nebaj at the height of the violence. However, the former soldiers testimony does not appear to have weighed heavily on the minds of those who awarded the president the honour of leader of the year. In July, Molina announced a two-year moratorium on mining concessions. The decision angered the business community as the announcement came just one month after a relatively successful Guatemala Investment Summit. Grassroots activists were also unsatisfied as they were sceptical of the presidents motivations and frustrated with the physical and environmental violence surrounding ongoing mining operations in the country. The never-ending story of corruption? The international recognition also came after the president had to send in the army to secure five of the countrys customs houses because of corruption and fraud. The militarisation of the customs houses followed a state of siege in communities surrounding the El Escobal mining project, in May. While tackling corruption and resolving land and natural resource conflicts should be priorities for Molina, his reliance on the military, once again, to be at the forefront of the struggle only serves to further undermine democracy and the rule of law. While the war is over and todays military is not the one of yesterday, there is little evidence that it is an institution [Sp] committed to democracy, respectful of human rights, and willing to submit itself to civilian oversight. The Guatemalan military has a long history of corruption when it comes to the countrys ports and borders. To now officially put the military in charge of the customs should be troubling for the Guatemalan people and for international investors. Finally, the president of the Bank of Guatemala recently warned that the Confidence Index of Guatemala had plummeted [Sp] from 80 to 36 percent in 2013 due to fears surrounding insecurity, social unrest and the lack of legal certainty for investors. What does the international community see that Guatemalans do not? Mike Allison is associate professor in the Political Science department at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. When questioned last year about a vote to rezone a piece of land near the airport for Billings Flying Service, Yellowstone County Commissioner John Ostlund referred those with ethical concerns to an opinion written by the county attorney's office which said that he didn't have to recuse himself in the vote. In other words, Ostlund was legal. But we said it then: What was legal was not necessarily what was right. The issue centered on Ostlund having ownership interest in a plane with the Billings Flying Service owners. We suggested that having any close business interests with those who would clearly benefit from the zoning change was a conflict of interest. The only problem, though, was that Ostlund's vote was needed in order to get the zoning through. So, ethics were damned and the re-zoning went through, even though the matter eventually was litigated in court. Just last week, the Yellowstone County Commission decided on tax breaks for the new Billings Flying Service development. For a second time, Ostlund decided to vote, not recusing himself from the decision that would clearly favor his friends' financial interest. Again. It should be noted The Gazette stood in favor of the rezoning, adamantly arguing that Billings Flying Service needed to be close to the airport and that residents nearby shouldn't be surprised by the sound of aircraft near the airport, which has been there for nearly a century. We also agree that Billings Flying Service likely qualifies and should be given the tax incentives for its investment. The program exists for these cases and it seemed to be a reasonable request. What is even more surprising, though, is that Ostlund voted when he didn't need to. The other two county commissioners, Robyn Driscoll and Denis Pitman, also voted for the breaks. The two votes necessary were already secured. Had Ostlund recused himself, the motion would have still succeeded, and he could have walked the above the ethical line. Instead, Ostlund once again chose to stick to the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of it. He has clearly voted his friends and associates favors twice. And if that isn't the definition of "Good Old Boy," what is? That this project by the Billings Flying Service is a good project should not be the issue. That's using an ends-justifies-the-means mentality. We must have faith in our local leaders that they're willing to rise above their own interests. And, we must also understand that even in Montana's largest county, it's going to be impossible not to know folks who come before local government bodies like the city council or the county commission. And that's why it's even more essential that those elected to local government take an extra step at declaring and abiding by conflicts of interest. Ostlund took the ethical low road by his decision, even when he had the opportunity to take a higher road. That tells us something about the leadership of the county. This is a good example although by no means the only case of why expanding the county commission to at least five commissioners may make sense. Documentation of violations and crimes in Syria is the first step in the pursuit of justice. As enticing as it is to imagine Bashar al-Assad and his cronies on trial for heinous crimes against the Syrian people, a reality check is in order. The Syrian conflict has all the attributes that make the prospects for fair criminal prosecutions unlikely, even at the international level. The ongoing documentation of violations, however, provides a critical foundation for a delicate healing process that will take decades to unfold. Desperate calls by both international and Syrian actors for justice understandably abound in discussions on the Syrian conflict. Scholar Radwan Ziadeh, for instance, states: The responsibility falls on the post-Assad government and Syrian civil society to prosecute those responsible for human rights violations. Many such calls have mostly centred on justice in the courtroom, especially one that is administered by international actors. Such prosecutions will always fall short. They cannot take into account a large number of individuals who form part of an entrenched and elaborate system of state oppression. An international courts limited resources would not allow for each and every torturer in Syria to be prosecuted. This is one of the reasons international courts, such as the International Criminal Court, solely target perpetrators at the highest level ones who orchestrated and authorised policies resulting in massive human rights violations. The domestic prosecution of crimes committed abroad, on the other hand, allows for the prosecution of both high and low-level perpetrators. Germany, for instance, has investigated and prosecuted German nationals who committed crimes in Syria. These prosecutions, however, tend to target lower-level individuals, leaving the prosecution of high-ranking state officials an unresolved issue. Without an independent judiciary, accountable government institutions, and a strong civil society, prosecutions will always fail and derail any transitional justice process that was started with victims in mind. by Truth commissions, reparations, and other reconciliation initiatives could help to address such shortcomings of prosecutorial justice. However, in a protracted conflict with a continuous and devastating toll on human lives, such efforts remain a distant possibility. At best, both national and international criminal prosecutions are likely to result in a severed justice that satisfies a select group of victims and the international human rights institutions that advocated for them. At worst, they will result in a murky kind of justice used to settle scores without regard for the more complex justice expectations and desires of Syrian victims and their families. Worse still, hasty prosecutions could result in a transitional justice process viewed with suspicion. An international push for justice Three so-called international justice initiatives have emerged since the start of the Syrian conflict in March 2011: the International Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, established by the United Nations Human Rights Council on August 22, 2011; the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons and United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism in 2015; and the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Syria. All of the said mechanisms, however, have a limited scope. They investigate crimes committed since March 2011, leaving decades of atrocities committed by Syrias authoritarian regime before the 2011 uprising unaddressed. OPINION: Russias knockout game in Syria Prosecutions in both Egypt and Tunisia also mostly focused on human rights violations committed during the uprisings of 2010 and 2011. Calls for justice throughout the Arab Spring (with the exception, perhaps, of Tunisias Truth and Dignity Commission) have not addressed the grievances that triggered the uprisings to begin with. Although the euphoric UN General Assembly resolution that established the IIIM in December 2016 refers to the eventual possibility of criminal proceedings in national courts, this is highly unlikely in raging conflicts such as in Syria. Even in certain so-called post-conflict Arab Spring contexts, such as Egypt and Tunisia, national prosecutions failed to deliver a justice accepted by the victims, lawyers, and civil society actors who pushed for them. They were hijacked by judiciaries and government elites loyal to the ancien regime and left a large segment of society downtrodden by a politicised justice that rendered them twice a victim. OPINION: Inside Assads mind Moreover, in a memorandum to the UN secretary-general earlier this month, 21 Syrian human rights organisations condemned the UNs failure to consult Syrian civil society actors on the formation of the mechanism. Importantly, they also note that the UN has approached Syrian civil society organisations merely as sources and not as partners in achieving justice. Without an independent judiciary, accountable government institutions, and a strong civil society, such prosecutions will always fail and derail any transitional justice process that was started with victims in mind. Ways forward The takeaway from this is not, however, all doom and gloom. Syrian civil society actors and Syrian victims have been extremely active in documenting first-hand accounts of all kinds of violations. Even in a volatile and highly insecure environment, Syrians have built databases detailing violations and accounts of unlawful attacks. Still others, such as the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, have been preparing legal files that trace the planned perpetration of atrocities to high-level officials in Syria through on-the-ground documentation of evidence. Managed both inside and outside Syria, these documentation efforts are not merely depositories, collecting dust in the hope that they will be used as evidence in a courtroom one day. They hold great value in that they provide a crucial foundation for healing, reconciliation, and the pursuit of justice both now and in the future. The dissemination of such documentation and the ability of Syrian victims to share their grievances and to detail the horrors they have faced is, in and of itself, a healing process. Documentation simultaneously preserves the multiple and contested narratives of the conflict, the memory of violations and the various claims to truth. As a result, the co-existence of these narratives, accounts and truths will, it is hoped, translate into tolerance in a deeply polarised Syria. Victims of all sides of the conflict can directly participate in the preservation of stories of their victimisation without having to wait for the conflict to end first. Whether documentation efforts also translate into prosecutorial justice is something that should be left to the Syrian people to decide. But first, recognition of the diverse accounts of Syrian victims and victimisers alike will be necessary to help to bring Syria closer to a justice shaped from within rather than one helicoptered in by international mechanisms that have been severely myopic in their scope. Noha Aboueldahab is a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. She specialises in transitional justice in the Arab region and holds a PhD from Durham Law School (UK). The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Facts and science might be in danger but judging by the Canadian experience, there will be many who will resist. Facts are fast becoming an endangered species. As anyone with functioning synapses knows, facts and, more particularly, the literate people that produce them, are considered public enemy No 1 by an illiterate president who watches TV obsessively and boasts of not reading books, including, presumably, the turgid, self-aggrandising tomes he paid others to pen for him. Donald Trump confirmed long ago that he prefers to inhabit an agreeable alternate universe where alternative facts that defy logic, rationality and, in many cases, the immutable laws of nature, are perpetually manufactured by his courtiers to comfort and calm the combustible psyche of the President of the United States. And so it was after Trumps sparsely attended inauguration where the National Mall and nearby viewing stands resembled an abandoned suburban shopping mall early on a Monday morning, he had yet another tantrum. Alternative facts Reportedly, an apoplectic Trump ordered his marionette turned press secretary, Sean Spicer, to gather up his alternative facts and humiliate himself by raging at his blessedly brief maiden press conference that the inauguration was the most-watched in alternate universe history. Everyone laughed, while The New York Times rightly dismissed Spicers angry, sputtering performance as a pack of lies. Infuriated, Trump devoted much of his first official day as the leader of the free world, pressuring the acting head of the National Park Service to produce alternate photographs that didnt exist to prove a lie. Of course, since that was impossible, Trump did the next best thing; his regime retaliated and temporarily closed the National Park Services Twitter account when it posted two photographs one of Obamas densely populated inauguration adjacent to Trumps relatively vacant one. In reply to Trumps diktat, a brave, subversive soul posted a series of tweets on the Services account which pointed out, in effect, that the Earth is well on the way to committing climate suicide. The tweets were, no doubt, crafted as a factual rebuke of the climate-change dodos now running the US government. Alas, they soon evaporated into the electronic ether. Still, the point was made, widely noted and applauded. Like every other pestilence, however, this one will, in time, pass. Then, munificent Americans must set to work, together, to repair and rebuild after the storm as best they can. by As we know, Trumps media ban on an innocuous government agency would be the first of many. Next on the hit list were those theoretically-speaking fact-friendly scientists and bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Their intellectual crime was not only to search for, verify and share facts with the public, but also to underwrite other local scientists to search for, verify and share facts with the public about how, among other things, to clean up toxic spills and test for nasty, dangerous stuff lurking in groundwater. Since searching for and sharing facts with Americans is anathema to the Trump administrations rule-by-fiat modus operandi, the career scientists and bureaucrats at the EPA were ordered to stop talking to the opposition party no, not the Democrats, but those other supposedly fact-friendly degenerates in the press. Canadas science gag order Watching these surreal events unfold in the US, I was reminded of the ultimately futile, destructive actions of a slightly more polished, but equally paranoid leader of another western democracy who shared Trumps preference for alternative facts over the objective truth former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Like Trump, Harper was crippled by insecurity and an irrational conviction that beyond a handful of loyal consiglieri, he was besieged by his mortal, political enemies visible and invisible, burrowed well inside the bureaucracy. Turns out, Harper wasnt scared of his shadow, but rather scientists and their science. Long before Trump appeared on the political horizon, Harper was not only banning government scientists from having any contact with the media, but, driven by a crass, petulant ideology, he and his compliant cabinet also set out to purge systematically the unfriendlies or, at the minimum, stifle their ability to share their work with anyone outside government. This translated into a government-wide edict requiring scientists to endure a vetting process with more hurdles than a steeplechase simply to respond to even a routine query from the press that would inevitably, more often than not, go unanswered. OPINION: America was a stan long before Trump The intent of this sorry, cynical pantomime was clear: scientists dont serve the public, but the petty, parochial interests of a majority government that had little faith in or time for their science. At first, the attendant chill had the desired effect. With neither access to the scientists, nor their science, reporters were increasingly unable to report on serious matters in the public interest, including government-produced studies charting the projected warming of the globe through to 2100. But scientists are, by and large, a bright, inventive and independent-minded lot, not prone to saluting when politicians bark orders like drill sergeants. One by one, Canadian scientists stepped out of anonymity into the unwelcomed spotlight to tell the truth about what was happening to them and the fate of their work at the behest a politician who thought he could imprison their brains and muzzle their mouths. Harper miscalculated badly. Eventually, government scientists, supported by their international brethren, mobilised and demonstrated against a myopic politician and his corrosive, anti-democratic impulses. OPINION: Donald Trump, false claims are still lies Last October, millions of other Canadians finally and emphatically joined these courageous scientists to resist and reject an opaquely sinister authoritarian masquerading as a democrat who has quickly and happily disappeared into irrelevance. Today, the US is confronting a similar, although, arguably, more pronounced and vile menace. If there is an overarching lesson to be learned from the Canadian experience, it may be this: an ignorant regime, led by a singularly ignorant man will use the blunt cudgel of retribution to cause deep harm and grievous damage to Americas social, political, scientific and environmental fabric. Like every other pestilence, however, this one will, in time, pass. Then, munificent Americans must set to work, together, to repair and rebuild after the storm as best they can. In this endeavour, truth and knowledge must be their north star and citizens who subscribe to the transformative necessity and value of facts must be the shepherds out of darkness into enlightenment. Andrew Mitrovica is an award-winning investigative reporter and journalism instructor. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. The United Arab Emirates foreign minister has said that US President Donald Trumps travel ban on citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries, which has triggered global outrage, is not Islamophobic and does not target any one religion. Trumps order affecting nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has sparked protests across the United States and beyond. Four US states have filed legal cases against the travel ban for alleged religious discrimination. US judge blocks Trumps order to ban Muslim travellers But Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, foreign minister of the UAE a Muslim country defended the ban on Wednesday. He said that most Muslims and Muslim countries were not included in the ban. The affected countries, he added, faced challenges that they needed to address. The United States has taken a decision that is within the American sovereign decision, he said at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the capital, Abu Dhabi. There are attempts to give the impression that this decision is directed against a particular religion, but what proves this talk to be incorrect first is what the US administration itself says that this decision is not directed at a certain religion. Trump on Friday signed the executive order that will curb immigration and the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it was a necessary measure to improve national security. He separately said he wanted the US to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the conflict there. READ MORE: Nowhere to go after Trumps Muslim ban The travel ban has disrupted many peoples lives by dividing families and left travellers stranded. Dozens were detained at airports, including green card holders. Gulf Arab countries have been largely absent from the condemnation of the ban. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have traditionally been close US allies, and all were left off the travel ban. Of the five countries, the only one to express mild disapproval in public was Qatar, whose foreign minister was quoted during a visit to Serbia as saying he hoped Washington would reassess the ban. When it comes to be addressed in a Muslim framework, I think this is something we will stand against, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said. Some Gulf officials even backed it openly. Dhahi Khalfan, a senior Dubai police official, tweeted on Monday complete support for Trumps ban. Every country has the right to protect its security Trump, what youre doing is right. Meanwhile, European leaders, the United Nations and international groups have condemned Trumps measures, as passport holders from Arab countries affected by the ban were blocked from passing through customs at US airports and others were prevented from boarding US-bound planes. READ MORE: Trumps Muslim ban: Its shock and awe without bombs US sanctuary cities oppose Trumps immigration policy The United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration called on the Trump administration to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, saying its resettlement programme was vital. The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater and the US resettlement programme is one of the most important in the world, the two Geneva-based agencies said in a joint statement on Saturday. Amid growing protests, legal challenges to Trumps anti-immigration moves have spread. The US states of Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington have filed legal cases, contending that the order violates the US Constitutions guarantees of religious freedom. Taliban attack on an army post led to intense fighting with Afghan forces in Helmand, causing deaths on both sides. US air raids hit Taliban positions in the contested Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan after the fighters used tunnels to attack government checkpoints , Afghan officials said. Both sides reported that fighting started on Monday and carried on for two days in Sangin district, an area where the armed group has made major gains over the past two years. The Taliban used a new tactic to attack government positions to take over the district. However, with the help of US air strikes, the militants were pushed back, Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the governor of the southern province, told Al Jazeera. We dont have a death toll yet, but there were casualties on both sides. Officials said the Taliban dug the tunnels to the checkpoints from nearby houses. READ MORE: US forces admit killing 33 civilians in Taliban clash Charles Cleveland, a spokesman for the US military in Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that the US carried out 15 air raids in the last 48 hours. He said reinforcements and commando units were also sent to the area. A regional Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said Taliban fighters had captured at least 25 government checkpoints and killed more than 100 soldiers and police, a number played down by Afghan security officials. The Taliban always give a high death toll of our security forces in such fights, but in reality, they were repelled fiercely and many of them were killed, Abdul Jabar Qahraman, the presidents special representative for security in Helmand, told Al Jazeera. He said at least 20 Taliban were killed and more than 40 wounded. Afghanistans Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah flew to the provincial capital for an emergency meeting with security officials on Tuesday, as some analysts said Helmand was in danger of falling completely into Taliban hands. IN PICTURES: The Afghans on the frontlines fighting the Taliban Of Helmands 14 districts, six are known to be controlled by the Taliban and another seven, including Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, are heavily contested. Nationwide, US forces in the country said in a report on Wednesday that about 57.2 percent of 407 districts were under Afghan government control or influence as of November 15. Afghan police and army units took over from NATO the task of providing security for the country in 2015. Their first year coincided with the Taliban capturing the regional capital of Kunduz in the north. According to the US governments Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), 6,785 Afghan soldiers and police were killed between January 1 and November 12. Another 11,777 were wounded. That was an increase of about 35 percent from all of 2015, when 5,000 members of the security forces were killed. More than 100,000 people have taken to the streets in the Romanian capital to protest against an emergency government decree decriminalising a string of corruption offences. Protesters on Wednesday evening in Bucharest shouted Rats and carried banners that read The morning shift, sending a message that the protests will continue until the government resigns. The marches against the governments move followed similar protests a day earlier. Some 130,000 people marched in Bucharest, while another 100,000-150,000 were estimated by riot police to have joined similar rallies in 55 other towns and cities, including Timisoara, Cluj, Iasi and Sibiu. OPINION: Keep the corrupt in jail, where they belong Romanias top judicial watchdog announced a court challenge on Wednesday against the government decree decriminalising a number of corruption offences in what critics say is the biggest retreat on reforms since the country joined the European Union a decade ago. The decree, unveiled by the Social Democrat-led government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu after it took power earlier this month, has drawn sharp criticism and triggered the biggest street protests since the fall of communism in Romania in 1989. If enforced, the decree would, among other things, decriminalise abuse-of-power offences in which the sums involved were less than 200,000 lei ($48,000). That would put an end to an ongoing trial of Social Democrat party leader Liviu Dragnea, who is accused of using his political influence to secure state salaries for two people working at his party headquarters between 2006 and 2013. Dozens of MPs and mayors across all parties stand to benefit from the decree. I dont understand what protesters are upset about, Dragnea told reporters on Tuesday. Two opposition parties, the opposition Liberals and the Save Romania Union (USR), announced they would file a no-confidence motion on Wednesday against the government, which enjoys a comfortable majority in parliament. As parliament opened for its first regular session of the year, USR politicians paraded banners that read Shame while other opposition deputies shouted Resignation and Thieves. Entrenched corruption President Klaus Iohannis took part in an emergency meeting of Romanias top magistrates body, the Superior Magistrates Council (CSM), telling reporters afterwards: The problem is that one cannot act the way the government did in a country with the rule of law, which Romania is and wants to remain. CSM president Mariana Ghena said she would file a challenge with the constitutional court by the end of the day. The European Commission, which has Romanias justice system under special monitoring, warned against backtracking. The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone, Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, and his deputy, Frans Timmermans, said in a joint statement. We are following the latest developments in Romania with great concern. The embassies of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States expressed deep concerns in a joint statement over the governments actions which have undermined Romanias progress over the last ten years with the rule of law and the fight against corruption. This decree can only undermine Romanias reputation in the international community and risks affecting partnerships based on common values, inherent to the guiding principles of the EU and NATO, the statement said. Romanias Social Democrats won back power in a December 2016 election a year after protesters drove them from office in an outpouring of anger over a deadly fire at a nightclub that lacked emergency exits and safety permits. Many saw the fire as emblematic of widespread corruption and impunity, but after 12 months of technocrat government, the Social Democrats returned on a promise to hike wages and pensions and cut taxes. Anti-corruption prosecutors are currently investigating more than 2,000 abuse-of-power cases. They indicted more than 1,000 over the past three years with damages worth up to 1bn euros. The decree would apply to ongoing investigations and trials as well as new cases and it specifies it will come into effect within ten days. Criminal negligence is also no longer an offence and the definition of conflict of interest has narrowed. The government on Tuesday also approved a draft bill granting prison pardons that requires parliamentary approval. These provisions aim to exonerate all top and medium-ranking officials parliament clerks, government members, all those able to approve laws, decrees, local decisions, chief anti-corruption prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi told television station DIGI24. Since last night, every day has become a major risk for the judicial system. Bloc decries Israeli plans for thousands of new settler homes on occupied Palestinian land. Israels recent stream of announcements that it will build thousands of new settler homes in the occupied West Bank marks a very worrying trend and risks making a two-state solution impossible, according to the European Union. Federica Mogherini, the blocs foreign policy chief, released on Wednesday a strongly worded statement decrying continued settlement expansion, which she noted is illegal under international law. The EU deeply regrets that Israel is proceeding with this, despite the continuous serious international concern and objections, which have been constantly raised at all levels, she said. On Tuesday, Israel announced the construction of 3,000 settlement homes in the West Bank, the fourth such announcement in less than two weeks since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. Since Trump came to power, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of occupied East Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank. On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in East Jerusalem. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria, the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using the term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967. READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israels settlement bill Expansion plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution. Trump, however, has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahus government has moved quickly to take advantage. We are building and we will continue building, Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals. The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering significant opportunities after facing huge pressures from Obama on Iran and settlements. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state. More than half a million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group BTselem. Since the start of 2017, the Israeli authorities have made clear that they plan to accelerate the construction of illegal settlement homes and seize further Palestinian territory in flagrant violation of international law, said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty Internationals deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. The flurry of recent announcements signals that the Israeli government, emboldened by the Trump administration, feels no need to hide its brazen violations of the rights of the occupied Palestinian population. US civil liberties groups have slammed plans by members of Congress to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the legislation, tabled by Republican senators Ted Cruz and Mario Diaz-Balart and supported by the Trump administration, could lead to a witch hunt. The bill, titled the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, was submitted in January shortly before President Donald Trump took power. It accuses the group of plotting a grand jihad to destroy Western civilisation from within. This potent threat to our civilisation has intensified under the Obama administration due to the wilful blindness of politically correct policies that hamper our safety and security, Cruz said in statement accompanying the bill. He further accused the former US president of overseeing a detente with the group, which has renounced violence. OPINION: Fuelling Islamophobia in the US The bill has been submitted to the State Department, headed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, which will decide on whether or not to designate the group. Tillerson compared the Muslim Brotherhood to al-Qaeda in his confirmation hearing. Al Jazeera approached members of the Brotherhood for comment on the move but they did not respond. CAIR spokesperson Corey Saylor told Al Jazeera the ban was highly probable given the number of Islamophobes who are directly advising Trump. He said CAIR, which Cruz accuses of being affiliated to the Brotherhood, had no connection to the group but that he feared Muslim civil society groups could be targeted regardless if such measures passed. You have radical Republicans and extreme Islamophobes deciding US policy right now and I think that every minority is in for a very rough ride over the next few years, Saylor told Al Jazeera. Every Muslim organisation in the US has been subjected to extreme vetting at this point under both Bush and Obama. If they start coming after us, then the public should know that its a witch hunt and nothing else. It has been investigated before. OPINION: Trumps Muslim ban is a dangerous distraction Hugh Handeyside of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the move was part of a long articulated plan by extreme Islamophobes to target and stigmatise American Muslims. Those laws sweep up innocent individuals and organisations, and lack due process safeguards....it could have a tremendous effect on freedom of speech. by Hugh Handeyside, ACLU Fringe anti-Muslim groups had not succeeded in passing such measures under the Bush or Obama administrations but had found a willing ear in Trump, he added, further warning that ordinary Muslims may fall foul of the designation. Any move to designate the Muslim Brotherhood could enable the Trump administration to attack American Muslim civil society because that designation would open the door to using overbroad and unfair laws related to designated entities. Those laws sweep up innocent individuals and organisations, and lack due process safeguards it could have a tremendous effect on freedom of speech. Conspiracy theories The Muslim Brotherhood has long featured in the far-right discourse in the US that places it at the centre of a conspiracy to infiltrate government institutions. Prominent Trump supporters, including members of Congress, have accused Hillary Clintons close confidante Huma Abedin of secretly belonging to the Brotherhood. Another adviser to Trump, Frank Gaffney, claims the Brotherhood has infiltrated the US federal government and that senior members of the Obama administration, including former CIA chief John Brennan, were complicit in helping to spread Shariah. The move against the Muslim Brotherhood comes amid a Trump-initiated crackdown on Muslims entering the US. Nationals of seven Muslim-majority states have been banned from entering the country even if they possess valid residency permits and visas. US national security adviser signals toughening stance on Tehran after Iran insists tests did not breach nuclear accord. US President Donald Trumps national security adviser has signalled a toughening US stance on Iran, condemning a recent missile test and declaring Washington was officially putting Iran on notice. In his first public remarks since taking office, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn accused former president Barack Obamas administration on Wednesday of having failed to respond adequately to Tehrans malign actions. Citing a recent missile test and the actions of Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, Flynn said on Wednesday that Iran is now feeling emboldened. READ MORE: Report warns Trump against scrapping Iran nuclear deal As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice, he said without elaborating. Both Trump and Flynn have been vocal opponents of an international deal that saw Iran curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. Earlier on Wednesday, Iran confirmed that it carried out a new missile test, but insisted that it did not breach Tehrans nuclear accord with world powers or a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the agreement. Hossein Dehghan, Irans defence minister, on Wednesday defended Sundays test after the US called an urgent UN Security meeting to discuss the issue. The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defence affairs, Dehghan said, according to the Tasnim news agency. The test did not violate the nuclear deal or the [UN] resolution 2231, he said. On Tuesday, Javad Zarif, foreign minister, affirmed that Irans missile tests do not involve rockets with nuclear warheads and are not part of the historic deal signed two years ago by world powers, but stopped short of confirming the test. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Trita Parsi, of the National Iranian American Council, said that even though the Iranians are not violating both the deal and the UN resolution, doing the test was clearly provocative. It was meant to test the new Trump administration, he said. I dont think that is particularly a good idea. Because this is an administration that seems to be ideologically opposed to the very concept of de-escalation. But Parsi also said that the White House statement is very dangerous. What started off as bluster may very quickly turn into a real war. Deterrence against hostile enemies A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said a ballistic missile test was carried out on Sunday from a site near Semnan, east of Tehran, according to the Reuters news agency. The medium-range ballistic missile reportedly exploded after 1,010km, the official said, adding that the last time this type of device was test-launched was in July 2016. The new US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called the test unacceptable, after Tuesdays emergency session. The test drew wide condemnation as many feared it could be in violation of the UN resolution which was part of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. Meanwhile, some 220 Iranian members of parliament reaffirmed support for Tehrans missile programme, calling international condemnation of the tests illogical. The Islamic Republic of Iran is against weapons of mass destruction, so its missile capability is the only available deterrence against enemy hostility, MPs said in a statement carried on state media on Wednesday. The state news agency IRNA quoted Ali Shamkhani, head of Irans National Security Council, as saying Iran would not seek permission from any country or international organisation for development of our conventional defensive capability. During the US election campaign, President Donald Trump branded the nuclear agreement the worst deal ever negotiated, telling voters that he would either rip it up or seek a better deal. Israel has announced the construction of 3,000 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the fourth such announcement in the less than two weeks since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units in Judea-Samaria, the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, using the term Israel uses for the West Bank, a Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967. Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement areas of occupied East Jerusalem and announced the building of 2,502 more in the West Bank. On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in East Jerusalem. The plans had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of President Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution. Trump, however, has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahus government has moved quickly to take advantage. We are building and we will continue building, Netanyahu said last week, referring to settlement approvals. The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering significant opportunities after facing huge pressures from Obama on Iran and settlements. The announcements have deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The international community views them as a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state. More than a half million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group BTselem. READ MORE: Palestinians decry Israels settlement bill In a telling break with the Obama administration, Trumps White House has not condemned Israels settlement expansion. Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army issued an eviction notice to residents of Amona as it prepared to demolish their homes. The order posted at the site on Tuesday gave the residents some 40 families, including more than 200 children 48 hours to leave their homes, according to media reports. Al Jazeeras Imran Khan, reporting from the Palestinian village of Taibeh which overlooks the Amona, said the settlement outpost was built illegally on privately owned Palestinian land. There are only about 40 houses there, so this is very small outpost but it means a lot to the Jewish community. They say that if that settlement is evacuated and demolished, it sets a precedent for other settlements to also be removed. And while the announcement Tuesday that an additional 3,000 settler homes would be built in the occupied West Bank is likely to alleviate some of the concerns of the settlers, Khan said, the settlement movement in Israel feels it has been given a green light from the incoming Trump administration in the US and that it shouldnt be getting rid of any settlements. Israels top court had ruled in 2014 that Amona, built on land belonging to Palestinians from surrounding West Bank towns, must be vacated by February 8. Although all settlements are considered illegal under international law, there are more than 100 outposts that were built without authorisation and are considered illegal by even the Israeli government. In practice, Israel has confiscated Palestinian land since its military occupation of the West Bank including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip started as a result of the 1967 Middle East war. Israeli police move to clear West Bank settlement as construction of 3,000 new settler homes announced elsewhere. Israeli border police have clashed with Jewish settlers resisting the eviction of a hardline Jewish settlement outpost in the occupied West Bank after a court ruled the homes were built on private Palestinian land. Police said on Wednesday they were attacked by anarchists with materials that made their eyes burn, adding that more than a dozen officers were lightly wounded by stones and the liquids thrown at them. Youths confronted the forces with chants such as How will you feel tomorrow after you evacuate a Jew from his home? and Today its me, tomorrow it will be you, as police began evacuating them from the area. At least four protesters were arrested. Hundreds of officers marched into the Amona outpost near Ramallah on Wednesday, just hours after the Israeli government announced that another 3,000 more illegal homes would be built in occupied Palestinian territory. The officers evacuation of Amona marked the end of months of attempts by government hardliners to legalise the outpost, and the approval over the past two weeks of nearly 5,000 new settler homes elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territories was widely seen as a move to win their support. There had been fears of violence after hundreds of hardline sympathisers of the settlers slipped past army roadblocks on foot and lit tyres around the outpost. Some threw stones at the media, as residents started packing their belongings, an AFP correspondent reported. Al Jazeeras Imran Khan, reporting from the village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, which overlooks Amona, described fires being lit and smoke rolling down the hills. RELATED: Palestinians decry Israels settlement bill There are a number of people from surrounding settlements coming to support the settlers of Amona, he said. [Amona] is quite small. There are only about 40 houses there, but it really has become a symbol for the settler movement. As border police were inside Amona negotiating with the settlers to leave, Khan said that the settlers were threatening to return and build on this land legally. There will likely be a court challenge from the settlers, Khan said. The Israeli Supreme Court ruled three years ago that the Amona outpost was, by its standard, illegally built on stolen Palestinian land, and ordered it to be demolished. Dozens of other unauthorised outposts distinguished from Israeli government-sanctioned settlements that are also considered illegal by the international community have been constructed throughout the occupied West Bank by settlers. The Israeli government has generally tolerated them. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has announced, in just the last two weeks, a string of new projects that will add more than 6,000 illegal homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. According to the defence ministry, 2,000 of the latest new homes are ready to be put on the market, while the rest are in various stages of planning. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said that such a frenzied escalation of Israels illegal enterprise signals the final demise of the two-state solution. Were in a new era where life in Judaea and Samaria [the West Bank] is returning to its natural course, said Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has himself long lived in an illegal West Bank settlement. Since the January 20 inauguration of US President Donald Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement neighbourhoods of occupied East Jerusalem and 5,502 more elsewhere in the West Bank. On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in East Jerusalem. They had been frozen under pressure from the previous US administration of Barack Obama, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution. Trump has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahus government has moved quickly to take advantage. We are building and we will continue building, Netanyahu said last week. The international community considers all Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land illegal and regards their construction as the biggest obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Montana does not allow online voter registration, while 32 other states, including Colorado, Utah, Washington and Arizona provide this convenient service for their citizens. Montana needs to ditch the traditional paper-based system used to register voters to improve voter security, save time and money, and protect our fundamental right to partake in democracy. Online voter registration follows the same process as paper based registration; instead, the new voter fills out a form online. This paperless form is submitted to the county election administrator for approval and the new registration is added to the states voter list. Etienne Tshisekedi was set to take top post in transitional council to pave way for President Kabilas exit. Etienne Tshisekedi, the main opposition leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has died in Brussels aged 84, according to diplomatic sources. Tshisekedi was set to take the top post in a transitional council agreed in December under a deal that would pave the way for President Joseph Kabila to leave power in 2017 and refrain from running for a third term. His death deprives the opposition of its principal figurehead as talks over implementation of the December accord falter. His son, Felix, is tipped to be named prime minister in a forthcoming power-sharing government. The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party said he went to Brussels last week for a medical check-up. Tshisekedi stood up to Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the country then known as Zaire, for decades before being overthrown by Rwanda, Uganda and other forces. A pivotal figure He was also the most prominent civilian opponent of Laurent Kabila, who took power in 1997, and his son, President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since 2001. As such, he was a pivotal figure in DRC, a country whose history has been marked by foreign intervention, civil war, coups and authoritarian rule. Tshisekedi served as a minister under Mobutu before helping to found the Union for Democracy and Social Progress party (UDPS), the first organised opposition platform in Zaire, in 1982. He was named prime minister four times in the 1990s as Mobutu contended with pro-democratic currents in the country, but Tshisekedi never lasted more than a few months as he repeatedly clashed with the autocrat. He finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2011 presidential election. International observers said the vote was marred by fraud and Tshisekedis supporters have referred to him ever since as the elected president. The defence ministry has asked the president to formally request the military to participate in the wide crackdown. The Philippine defence ministry has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to issue an order for the military to play a role in his war on drugs, including granting troops powers to arrest scalawag police. The ministry on Wednesday asked Duterte to formalise remarks he made in a speech to army generals the day before, when he said he wanted their help in the wide crackdown on drug-users and drug dealers alike, as well as to detain members of a police force Duterte said was corrupt to the core. The ministry asked for an official order regarding this presidential directive to serve as a legal basis for our troops to follow. By the same token, the presidents verbal directive to arrest scalawag cops should also be covered by a formal order, the ministry said in a statement. Dutertes police chief instructed the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday to suspend their anti-drugs operations after the killing of a South Korean businessman by rogue drug-squad police. Duterte was infuriated and embarrassed by the incident, which he said had international implications. Dutertes suggestion that the military should step in to fill the void left by police marks a stunning change of tack by the former city mayor, who had steadfastly supported the police amid allegations from human rights groups and some politicians of widespread abuses of power. READ MORE: Rodrigo Duterte The Presidents Report Card The Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency, a body a fraction of the size of the PNP, took over the lead in the crackdown, but Duterte suggested he may need the militarys help. Rights group Amnesty International said in a report on Wednesday that police prosecuting the war on drugs had behaved like the criminal underworld they are supposed to be suppressing, taking payments for killings and delivering bodies to funeral homes. It said the wave of thousands of drugs-related killings in a matter of months as part of Dutertes campaign appeared to be systematic, planned and organised by authorities, and could constitute crimes against humanity. The presidents office has yet to comment on the report. More than 7,600 people have been killed since Duterte launched his war, with at least 2,500 killings by police forces and many of the remaining deaths attributed to vigilantes and turf wars. It is not immediately clear what role the military might play in the campaign. The volatile president has threatened several times to declare martial law to help the crackdown, but has thus far ruled it out. He has made no suggestion in the past week of invoking military rule. Dutertes spokesman on Tuesday said the president was fully aware of police corruption when he gave police the lead in the crackdown, but the scale of the narcotics problem was so big that he had no other choice. The Drugs Enforcement Agency said leading the crackdown without the police would be a challenge, but it could handle it. We can enlist the help of other agencies and other stakeholders and in fact our director general has been in several meetings with the AFP already, said the agencys spokesman, Derrick Carreon, referring to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). We will be deploying teams in key areas where it would be easier for them to respond. It will be more challenging that is why we are engaging other stakeholders. Senator Leila De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, denounced the idea of involving the military. The solution is to stop the killings, and not call out the AFP to do the killings that the PNP has supposedly ceased to perform, she said in a statement. Two security officers and an employee of a cyber security firm are accused of cooperating with US intelligence services. Russian authorities have charged two former officers in the Federal Security Service and an employee of cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab with committing treason in the interests of the United States, according to a lawyer representing one of the three. Ivan Pavlov identified the three on Wednesday as Kaspersky employee Ruslan Stoyanov and FSB officers who specialised in cyber security, Sergei Mikhailov and Dmitry Dokuchayev. My client, along with the others, has been charged with state treason and cooperating with US intelligence services, Pavlov told Reuters news agency in a telephone interview. He declined to say which of the three he was representing, saying only that Stoyanov was not his client. The Kaspersky team headed by Stoyanov has been cooperating with the FSB since 2013 in analysing cybercrime cases and offering expertise in criminal cases concerning cybersecurity, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. Kaspersky Lab confirmed Stoyanovs arrest but said the charges related to a period before he joined the company in 2012. Al Jazeeras Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow, said that the trio were arrested late last year, adding that the charges were likely to carry between 12 and 20 years of prison terms. The news of the arrest didnt come out until mid-January. Now weve had some charges announced. The big question is and it is unanswered at the moment what were they doing? he said. There are a couple of not necessarily mutually exclusive theories about this. One is that when the CIA said that it had high confidence that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic Party National Congress emails in the run-up to the US presidential elections, it was information from these guys that gave the CIA that high confidence, Challands said. Another theory is that these people were running a kind of shadow hacking group motivated primarily by profit selling information on important people to anyone who would buy it, private buyers or foreign intelligence services. Absurd insinuations According to the Russian news agency TASS, the Kremlin rejected speculation that the arrested FSB officers were complicit in hacking attacks during the US presidential election. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin was aware of media reports about the arrests but that the Kremlin could not confirm anything about them. Former Exxon Mobil chief with little diplomatic experience is now responsible for Americas foreign policy. The US Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trumps secretary of state, filling a key spot on the Republicans national security team despite concerns about the former Exxon Mobil Corp CEOs ties to Russia. In the vote on Wednesday, 56 senators backed Tillerson, and 43 voted no. The tally was largely along party lines, with every Republican favouring Tillerson, along with four members of the Democratic caucus: Senators Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin and Mark Warner as well as Angus King, an independent. Democratic Senator Chris Coons did not vote. INTERACTIVE: Trumps cabinet picks Whos who? Senate Democrats had tried, but failed, to delay the vote because of Trumps executive order banning immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries and temporarily halting the entry of refugees. They said they wanted to ask Tillerson more questions about the issue after Trump signed the order on Friday. Senators had also expressed concerns over Tillersons ties to Russia after the executive spent years there working for the oil company. Some faulted him for failing to promise to recuse himself from matters related to Exxon Mobil businesses for his entire term as secretary of state rather than only the one year required by law. Republicans said they thought Tillerson would be a strong leader as the countrys top diplomat. They also said it was important to fill key slots on Trumps national security team quickly. President seizes unusually early opportunity to put conservatives back in the majority on the US top court. US President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old to restore the courts conservative majority and shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the US Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obamas nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. The Senates top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed very serious doubts about the nominee. Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Gorsuch, a staunch conservative who is likely to vote to limit gay rights, uphold restrictions on abortion and invalidate affirmative action programmes, according to a study that analyses the ideologies of potential Supreme Court nominees. Conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like outstanding, impressive and home run. Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the nations highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades as its members are elected for life-long terms. Announcing the selection to a night-time crowd in the White House East Room, flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuchs resume is as good as it gets. Trump, who took office on January 20, said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support, Trump told an audience that included Scalias widow. Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent, Trump added. READ MORE: Travel ban on Muslims to include social media vetting Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights, and is seen as very much in the mould of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. I respect the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws, Gorsuch said, as Trump looked on. It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the peoples representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers, rather than those the law demands. Profile: Who is Neil Gorsuch? A senior administration official told Reuters news agency that a screening committee helped in the selection process that included Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Don McGahn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and top strategist Steve Bannon. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said it was up to Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the Executive branch. Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuchs ability to meet this standard, he added. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic minority leader, called Gorsuch hostile to womens rights and said the consequences of confirming him could not be more serious or far-reaching. Judge Gorsuchs record reveals he holds radical views, far outside the mainstream of American legal thought, she said. US President Donald Trumps party, which controls the White House and Congress, is nominating a Supreme Court justice. US President Donald Trump has announced his nominee for the countrys highest court, a man described as a solid conservative. If confirmed, Neil Gorsuch, 49, will be the youngest appointment to the Court in 25 years. Its an influential job and one for life. Trump says Gorsuchs decisions could last a century or more. The question many are asking is how he will deal with controversial legal issues in America such as abortion, gun control, and religious rights. The White House and Congress are already in the hands of the Republicans. The Supreme Court is the judicial branch of government, and Gorsuchs appointment would put Trumps administration in control of all three. Presenter: Martine Dennis Guests: Jonathan Morris professor at George Washington University Lynne Rambo professor of law at Texas A&M University Avis Jones-DeWeever race and diversity expert Five days after President Donald Trumps controversial travel ban, UF students refused to eat Tuesday, a show of solidarity with their Muslim peers. And at 7 p.m., after fasting from sunrise, about 500 UF students and faculty members gathered and shared a much-needed meal. During Islam On Campus 14th annual Fast-A-Thon, held at the OConnell Center. UF President Kent Fuchs addressed the crowd, some of whom felt angry at Trumps executive order restricting the travel of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. I know that many of you, like me, have felt the effects of President Trumps executive order, Fuchs said. He called for students of all religions to come together in light of Trumps ban. The Islamic tradition of fasting involves abstinence from food, water, smoking, sex and cursing between sunrise and sunset. Fast-A-Thon participants could donate to Helping Hands Water for Life charity and local nonprofit Radiant Hands Inc. Visma Masudi, a member of Islam On Campus, said Fast-A-Thon brought people together after Trumps divisive ban. See from our perspective, see what we believe in and what we love about the religion, the UF biology sophomore said. Masudi, 20, said she wants to believe her generation is progressive, but at times feels disrespected because shes Muslim. Americas ignorance astounds me at times, Masudi said. A lot of progress is happening in the country, but a lot of people still have their hidebound views. After spending four years as the only Muslim at her 1,700-person high school, Maryam Akinyode, a 21-year-old UF international studies and political science senior, came to Gainesville and joined Islam On Campus. She could finally be herself. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Akinyode, Islam on Campus vice president of external communications, said the organization received almost 50 Facebook messages over the weekend expressing support after Trumps executive order. The best way to show support right now is to come out and just talk to us, because were here, Akinyode said. Weve always been here, and were not going anywhere. About 500 attended Islam On Campus 14th annual Fast-A-Thon at OConnell Center. Online students will soon be able to mingle with their classmates, despite being hundreds of miles away. UF Plaza, a new program by UF Online, will officially launch in Fall 2017, said Evie Cummings, UF Onlines director. The service will be like a virtual campus, by connecting students with others by automatically sorting them into groups based on their major, classes and geographical area. Cummings said the department created the forum for online students after realizing most of their communication occurred on social media. We see a lot of activity from the students on Facebook, she said. But we also felt that we could be doing a better job here at the university in serving our online students. About 1,000 UF Online students have been invited to test the program. Of those students, about 400 have logged on so far. The soft-launch of the program included students majoring in business administration, health education and behavior, sport management, public relations, telecommunication and criminology and law, but all majors will have access in Fall. Online students will also have access to in-person lecture viewings in Gainesville for them to gather, she said. Sam Penta, an 18-year-old UF sport management freshman in UFs Pathway to Campus Enrollment program, or PaCE, said he looks forward to meeting his classmates in person. Youre more able to form study groups and connect with people, he said. @romyellenbogen rellenbogen@alligator.org Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now A social activist reminded students on Tuesday to fight against injustice on the last day of UFs Martin Luther King Day celebrations. Marc Lamont Hill, a social justice activist and CNN political commentator, spoke to a crowd of about 300 on Kings legacy and how it influences people today. The event, held at the University Auditorium, marked the end of this years UF Martin Luther King Day celebrations. If we want justice and freedom and peace, we cant be prisoners to a moment, to a statistic, to an election, Hill said, referring to Donald Trump, who he described as a racist, winning the U.S. election. He encouraged the audience to dare to dream as well, and not give up just because Trump was elected. Kings success was rooted in his ability to dream, he said. All we fought for is up for grabs again, every conception we have of freedom is being compromised, Hill said. MLK is misremembered, he said. People talk a lot about him but not many know who he really was. King was brave, ambitious and a reader. King grew intellectually from 1964 to 1968 because he read and talked to all types of activists, not only from the civil rights movement, he said. Hill encouraged students to use their time in college like King used those four years. Etson Dorivan, a 21-year-old UF computer engineering junior, said he went to the event because hes of Haitian descent and wanted to learn how to help the African-American community. He said he enjoyed Hills proposal to fight injustice. It was amazing, Dorivan said. His views of how we can progress are perfect. @taveljimena jtavel@alligator.org Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now As Gainesvilles population has swelled, the citys fire rescue is grasping for resources to meet demands. In the past five years, Gainesville Fire Rescues total emergency responses have increased 20 percent, Fire Chief Jeffrey Lane said. The number of staff, however, has stayed mostly the same, with only 23 new employees added since 1991. Not many businesses can see that kind of growth without making some kind of adjustment, Lane said. The increasing number of calls has put three fire units at or near their maximum capacity of 3,030 responses a year, he said. When units reach capacity, they are too busy responding to calls to do proper maintenance and training. When staff goes on more calls, it makes it difficult to get back in time to address new emergencies, he said. The missing resources are not a crisis, Lane said. However, the situation cannot be ignored. At some point you do have to add stations, add units, add firefighters, Lane said. In 2014, GFR responded to more than 1,000 calls at UF. For free. But because the school doesnt contribute to city taxes, it has left GFR without a portion of potential funding. A 2016 assessment determined responses to UF amount to anywhere from about $800,000 to $2.5 million money GFR must spend without compensation. So much of the citys area is off the tax roll, i.e., the University of Florida, Lane said. Normally if you take a city that has a 62-square-mile footprint like we have, they generate a lot more taxes. But we provide the same level of service as the pseudo-city, but only half pay taxes. So it creates a very restricted revenue stream. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Lane said he cannot tell the university what to do, but hopes for some partnership. UF spokesperson Steve Orlando said the university is committed to helping GFR achieve its objectives, but state funding restricts them. Orlando said its not a matter of choice. Were just not funded to do that, he said. Recommendations for GFRs future have also been sent to the city manager, Lane said. Assistant City Manager Paul Folkers said his department looks at the needs of GFR each year. After assessing resources, a third-party consultant recommended putting a station by Southwest Archer Road and Interstate 75 to better serve the population. The current focus is servicing the southwest area of Gainesville, especially because GFR will take full jurisdiction over the area in October 2017, Folkers said. In 2008, the area was annexed into the city limits. GFR and Alachua County Fire Rescue have since negotiated over Station 19, located at 2000 SW 43th St. AFR decided not to sell to GFR because they operate ambulances out of the station, said AFR Chief Bill Northcutt. With the offer to buy the station off the table, Lane said GFR will use a temporary station during the summer and look into building a station in the southwest area a process that could take years. In the meantime, a squad has been operating out of an apartment on Southwest 20th Avenue, Lane said. Building a new station is a big investment but necessary. Its in the city and we need to provide that service, Lane said. To firefighter Nick Gonzalez, limited resources are as dangerous as any other threat the department may face. As a union representative for the Gainesville Professional Firefighters, Gonzalez said he worries about what could happen if the lack of resources remains unaddressed. He fears lives lost. I mean, the thinner we are and the less people we have to respond to the calls, youre going to see increased time to get to people needing help, Gonzalez said. Some of the recent city planning, which focuses on street-front buildings, creates a hazard for firefighters, he said. Firefighters cannot see around the buildings, forcing them to slow as they drive. He mentioned The Standard at Gainesville, on the corner of West University Avenue and Southwest 13th Street, and the new McDonalds on West University Avenue as an example of this risk. Unfortunately, we havent done a very good job at the city planning for these large developments, and we havent added to resources and stuff we need, Gonzalez said. Traditional urban cities, with high-rises and buildings along the road, can be an obstacle, he said. Firefighters have nowhere to go but in the middle of traffic during a rescue. Its always a balance between what the fire chief would like to build and what actually gets built, Lane said. So were always having to accommodate to our built environment. Lane is scheduled to retire from GFR in 2020. As he prepares to step down, his goal is to set the department on track to handle the increasing demand and continue to provide high-quality service. Fortunately were still holding our own, we still meet our benchmarks, Lane said. Its just at some point we have to address the growth and increase in demand, some way. @romyellenbogen rellenbogen@alligator.org Snow-packed and icy roadways caused multiple crashes on Interstate 90 Wednesday morning. At about 9:20 a.m., a semi crashed into a guardrail near mile marker 369, between the west and east Big Timber exits. The wreck blocked at least one eastbound lane of traffic, according to a Montana Department of Transportation news release. Farther to the east and about 30 minutes earlier, another wreck involving a commercial truck blocked both lanes of traffic. At about 8:50 a.m. a semi jackknifed about a mile west of Columbus on an icy section of the eastbound lanes of I-90. Traffic was detoured onto the frontage road beginning at Exit 400 and into Columbus. Eastbound traffic was allowed back onto I-90 at Exit 408. By 11 a.m. the semi near Columbus had been removed and traffic restored in both eastbound lanes of of the interstate. While Nate Quinn grew up selling Girl Scout cookies, he dreamed of being a Boy Scout instead. I didnt feel exactly the same as all the girls in the group, obviously because that was not my gender, the 18-year-old UF psychology freshman said. On Monday, Boy Scouts of America announced that transgender boys will now get to join the group. The national organization will now refer to the gender listed on the childrens applications, instead of the one on their birth certificates, according to a statement released by Jack Sears, the Boy Scouts of America North Florida Council CEO. Quinn said he was in first grade when his parents made him wear dresses and signed him up to be a Girl Scout. He never fully fit in with the girls and knew he wanted to be a Boy Scout instead. He didnt hear the word transgender until he was 15 years old. He came out as a boy about a year later. We dont actually give kids enough credit for what they know, Quinn said. We shove every kid into a box of girl or boy and dont really ask them how they feel. Drew Baker, an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts, said hes in favor of the new policy, because its not the organizations place to dictate childrens genders. Baker, who graduated from UF in Spring 2016 with a degree in economics, said if this policy was enacted when he was a Boy Scout, it would have led to discussions and acceptance between his troops members. It wouldve just further led to dialogue and conversation about how we could be a very inclusive organization, he said. Moving forward, Baker said he would like to see the Boy Scouts get involved in more social justice advocacy. There are a lot of benefits to scouting that I wouldnt want to rob of anybody, the 22-year-old said. Terry Fleming, the co-president of Pride Community Center in North Central Florida, said the new policy will help children affirm their genders. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now We are excited that the Boy Scouts have made this great step forward, Fleming said. Its incredibly important for the folks here in question. When Quinn first heard of policy change, he was excited to see how troops grow to take in transgender members. I think its a great move on their part, Quinn said. Being inclusive should be the goal of every organization because leaving people out doesnt really help you in any way. @taveljimena jtavel@alligator.org Proponents of the regime claim that Fidel Castros revolution won Cuba freedom, a word choice that is bewildering to hear considering the individual liberties repressed by the totalitarian government. Predictably, a Havana bookstore we visited lacked works containing ideas incompatible with communism. Next to Trotsky and Marx, there was a title that argued there was in fact democracy in Cuba because the island has a democratic economy, contrasting it to the economy of the U.S. My impression of the island was that it has less of a communist ideology and more of a belief in the revolution and a cult of personality of its leaders. This brand of nationalism is reinforced in every facet of Cuban life. Government-sponsored graffiti art stands ominous guard on the walls of dilapidated barrios. As you drive through the country you will see government propaganda on billboards and on the sides of buildings instead of corporate logos and advertisements. The daily newspaper, state TV and schools reinforce this uniform ideological message. I was startled to hear the high-pitched voice of a 6-year-old reciting different militant chants about defending the revolution and aspiring to be like Marxist guerilla fighter Che Guevara. Alternative opinions are oppressed in the single-party state, and many Cubans who were most dissatisfied with the politics of the regime fled the country long ago, learned to stay quiet or encountered worse fates. I only talked with one local who disclosed actual opposition to the regime, although I commonly heard complaints against inadequate or inefficient conditions. Dumbfounded by the inflexibility of a government worker, I heard another islander bemoan This is what is wrong with Cuba. When the government shut off power in a whole residential section of town to conserve energy, a local smirked, turned to me and quipped, Welcome to the real Cuba. Yet, it seemed to me the general population was not ideological at all, but a practical people busily going about their lives, making the absolute most out of their situation. Cuban resourcefulness is demonstrated not just in the ability to keep old cars running, but in how well islanders have taken to Raul Castros liberal economic reforms, which have permitted an increase in privately-owned businesses. This knack for entrepreneurship should be no surprise given the elaborate black market locals created long ago to help meet their needs. However, neither the black market, the small opening of enterprise nor increased American travel is enough to wash away the near post-apocalyptic conditions plaguing Cuba. The time has come for a shift in policy between our nations to reflect what Cuban poet Jose Marti once called the white rose, which he would offer up to both a true friend and those who had wronged him. The last 56 years should tell us that isolating ourselves and our values from Cuba will not end the dictatorship. Rather, continuing the embargo only hurts the Cuban people and gives the hardliners of the regime a scapegoat for all of the problems on the island. Perhaps, in extending our hand to Cuba, the ties forged between our two peoples could prove to be an important step on the path to a free Cuba. Above all, my travels confirmed to me just how much Cuba and the U.S. have to offer each other. With all the troubles Cuba faces, it retains a beauty and character unlike anywhere else on Earth. Yet, its greatest resource is its people, resilient and teeming with untapped potential. As we enter uncertain diplomatic times, I can only hope that this newfound chance for progress does not flutter away in the Caribbean breeze. Ford Dwyer is a third-year student at the Levin College of Law. This is part three of a three-part series. As celebrities make bold statements about social movements and activism, sometimes we wonder: What good does it all do? There have been calls to use art to spread a message, as a call to action, but what good is a story or a picture in the long run? Though actors, artists, musicians and writers will join together, making art for change, trying to rally a movement, theres the very stark reality that an evocative photograph or a compelling song will not end a war or stop a corrupt government. Were not speccally referring to our current contentious political climate. This is a discussion for all of history, for all social movements and rebellions ranging from protests to wars. With each stirring of resistance and protest, there is a call to make art. And with each movement, theres the grim reality that you cannot win a war with a painting. Theres a quote by Kurt Vonnegut in which he discusses the Vietnam War perhaps the most contentious time in recent history, until now and how every respectable artist was against the war. They were all aimed in the same direction, Vonnegut said, like a laser beam. But the impact of that weapon, he said, was equivalent to that of a custard pie dropped from a stepladder six feet high. Vonnegut is not known for his idealism, but his words strike clearly in the hearts of artists everywhere who fear their work is not going to make an impact, who know deep down that a poem is not going to stop a dictator. And yet they try to keep creating anyway, but are finding it harder to do so. But think about it. When you think of the 1970s, the Vietnam War protests, the social climate of the time, chances are, youre also thinking of the art that went along with this movement. Youre thinking of iconic songs such as Bob Dylans Blowin in the Wind. Youre thinking of photographs, probably the one where a protester holds up a flower to a group of heavily armed soldiers. Youre thinking of the Broadway musical Hair. Youre thinking of a specific aesthetic, of bright colors and oral patterns, of a group of people trying to reclaim their America, trying to promote love and peace in the face of war. When you think of a 1970s Vietnam War protest, you have a specific image in mind. And this image comes from the art that was created for it, the words that were written for it the songs, the fashion, the icons, the photographs. This is not exclusive to the Vietnam War. Whether were talking about the block prints of the American Revolution, the books and poems by the lost generation of post-World War I writers, or the folk lyrics of Sixto Rodriguez during the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, were talking about waves of people coming together to create a social movement. And with it, theres a specific aesthetic and art that comes to mind. Art may not be the ultimate weapon of a social movement, but it is the part we remember. It is the part that spurs inspiration, fuels the hearts of protestors and revolutionaries. It is the part we turn back to when we need motivation to carry on. It is the part that lingers, reminding future generations and giving them hope. But it is also a warning. So to the artists of today, keep on creating. The aesthetic of a social movement has power for the current generation and for the future ones to come. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now The Atlanta, Ga.-based parcel giant and logistics provider reported a net loss of $239 million for the quarter compared with a $1.33 billion net profit in the same 2015 period due primarily to a non-cash, after-tax, mark-to-market pension charge. Source: Ricochet64/Shutterstock UPS posted a $239 million loss in Q4 2016 compared with a $1.33 billion profit the previous year. UPS Inc. reported a net loss of $239 million ($0.27 per share) for the quarter compared with a $1.33 billion net profit ($1.48 per share) in the same 2015 period, according to the companys most recent financial statements. The company attributed the quarterly loss primarily to a non-cash, after-tax, mark-to-market pension charge of $1.90 per share. Under UPSs defined benefit pension programs for employees, the company reserves additional funds to cover any shortfall in its long-term pension obligations. Excluding the non-cash, after-tax pension charge, earnings per share for the quarter totaled $1.63, still short of analysts expectations of $1.69 per share, according to Reuters. The Atlanta, Ga.-based parcel giants revenues for the quarter rose 5.5 percent to $16.9 billion, as average daily shipment volumes in the companys U.S. domestic segment were up 5 percent to 19.6 million, while daily international exports jumped 8.4 percent from the prior-year period. For the full year in 2016, UPS saw net income tumble 29.2 percent year-over-year to $3.4 billion on revenues that grew 4.4 percent to $60.9 billion. EPS stood at $3.87, compared with $5.35 per share the previous year. Revenue and volume growth accelerated for UPS during the holiday season and we provided high service levels for our customers, UPS Chairman and CEO David Abney said of the results. The International segment delivered another extraordinary performance, while the U.S. managed through considerable changes in product mix. Our strategies and initiatives are creating long-term value for both UPS customers and shareowners. The investments in ORION and automation provided benefits during the quarter, added Richard Peretz, UPS chief financial officer. However, bottom-line results were challenged by a shift in product mix and the continued softness in industrial production. Strong growth, combined with our network investments, provide UPS with great opportunities for many years to come. Looking ahead to 2017, UPS is expecting adjusted diluted EPS between $5.80 per share and $6.10 per share, including $400 million in pre-tax currency headwinds. Analysts are projecting EPS of $6.17 in 2017, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Abney told analysts on the companys earnings conference call he is looking forward to working with President Donald Trumps new administration, but stressed that UPS believes strongly in free trade. We believe a key to continued global economic growth is the expansion of free trade, he said, according to a transcript of the call, noting that bilateral agreements between the United States and its trade partners have led to a real increase in both inbound and outbound parcel volumes. Abney said he believes President Trump is really not against trade agreements, but is focused on negotiating deals that are fair from the U.S. perspective. In the immediate wake of Trumps inauguration, violence erupted. Leftists angered that Trump was president took to the streets, hurling rocks and employing David Harbours method of catharsis. From New York to California, to a Screen Actors Guild ceremony, Democrats are stepping up their calls to defy President Trumps executive actions to close the nations porous borders and make America safer from terrorists. Making America safer is exactly what theyre opposing, blubbery words about compassion and inclusion aside. Actor David Harbour has even called for assault . Will a call to arms be next? For Democrats and the left (one in the same), peace and love have gone the way of tie-dyed shirts and bellbottoms. On the heels of the protest violence, came the Million Gals March. Intimations of violence were elevated as celebs -- Madonna and Ashley Judd, notably -- spewed vitriol to a national audience. Madonnas dream about blowing up the White House (with the president in it, doubtless) was swept away by the MSM as hyperbole. Yet a worldly 58-year-old diva shouldnt be lightly dismissed as a complete idiot. Madonna knows plenty about audiences and followings. Her words act as cues. Then Ashley Judd, in a lewd and hate-filled rant that, one imagines, was supposed to be some sort of ode for the ages, proclaimed her nastiness. In sum, her vehemence and language are easily construed as incitements to violence. Understand the escalation. It should trouble civilized Americans. Harbour, Madonna, and Judd arent anonymous lefty shlubs looking for a little street action to brighten their otherwise gray existences. Theyre known widely, and however much Madonnas and Judds stars have faded, theyre listened to seriously by impressionable and likewise hate-filled minds. Cold-cocking Nazis or blowing up something even marginally related to President Trump, might just scratch some lefties itches. Calls or suggestions of violence havent bubbled up among Democratic leaders. Lets hope they never do. All Chuck Schumer could muster the other day at a presser about Trumps executive order was to sob. (Perhaps Chuck needs his estrogen level checked?) But defiance among Democrats is on the rise. Its becoming strident. California Democrats are mulling withholding taxes from Uncle Sam in retaliation for the presidents intention to stop federal funds going to sanctuary cities, San Francisco for one. While the president is doing his constitutional duty to enforce immigration laws, California Democrats are weighing whether or not to continue breaking those laws. Grant Stern at the leftist Occupy Democrats (arent they already?) seems to think that California has the upper hand in a showdown with Washington. Stern wrote: Californias government has plenty of avenues to explore cutting funds to federal programs which get state funding because a non-partisan ranking says that the state is 46th most dependent on the federal government already. In fact, a 2014 study by The Atlantic found that California is one of the few states to get a negative return on investment by actually paying more federal taxes than receiving benefits in return. The naively cheerful Stern continues: If California succeeds in legislating a reversal of Trumps federal funding mandates, it will mirror Mexicos legislative efforts to fight Washington, DCs Trump driven, suddenly bottomless desire to enact harmful policies. The difference is that taking money away from Washington will further limit the Trump regimes capacity to spend money in order to harm America as federal coffers suffer, and the red states who depend on help from blue states will see funds dry up. If California chose to rebel, why wouldnt the president act to impose a range of sanctions on the state? They could be more than financial. Uncle Sams tentacles reach deeply into the once Golden State. Also, California is running a $450 billion dollar debt. Thanks to erstwhile Democratic governor Gray Davis, Californias state pension obligations have exploded. This from a September 2016 Los Angeles Times analysis: This year, state employee pensions will cost taxpayers $5.4 billion, according to the Department of Finance. Thats more than the state will spend on environmental protection, fighting wildfires and the emergency response to the drought combined. California cant print money -- yet -- to inflate away its obligations. Some Democrats there have talked about secession. Otherwise, the financial leverage that Stern believes California enjoys in a confrontation with DC might be fantasy. Across the continent, Andrew Cuomo, governor of the once Empire State, had this to say about Trumps executive order: "I never thought I'd see the day when refugees, who have fled war-torn countries in search of a better life, would be turned away at our doorstep," Cuomo said. "We are a nation of bridges, not walls, and a great many of us still believe in the words 'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses...' Yet in early 2014, Cuomo sought to exclude conservatives from his state, branding them extreme because they are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay. Translated: theyre for the unborn, believe in the 2nd Amendment, and advocate for traditional marriage. All beyond the pale for a smug progressive who wants a nation of bridges, not walls. Just make sure you vote the right way. Wearing a hijab gets bonus points. If among the huddled masses from Somalia, for instance, are some Jew-hating, gay-killing jihadists -- well, small sacrifices need to be paid for broadmindedness. When Texas governor Greg Abbott sent National Guard troops to the Mexican border to better secure it in 2015, he was roundly criticized by Democrats. Then President Barack Obama wasnt -- shall we say -- very vigorously enforcing border security. Its not a globalist box to be checked. All those illegal Mexican kids flooding across the Texas border were future Democrat voters, need we remind? And mucho cheap labor someday. And welfare state justifications now. Yet Abbotts actions were right. A governors top duty, like a presidents, is to safeguard citizens. Add tending to the general welfare, in that millions of illegals are drains on taxpayers, police, and social services. Abbott didnt defy President Obama; he upheld his constitutional obligation to Texans -- and not incidentally, his actions protected his fellow Americans. For Democrats like Jerry Brown and Andrew Cuomo -- throw in Rahm Emanuel, who rules Chicagos sanctuary -- safeguarding citizens mustnt stand in the way of opening their states to illegals. Defying the president in his constitutional obligation to protect and defend the country from all threats, foreign and domestic, appears to be their duty. The prime objective of the presidents executive orders is to make the nation safer. But if Trump can successfully secure U.S. borders, oust truckloads of illegals, and keep terrorists at bay, its a big political setback for Democrats. Americans feeling safer because they are safer doesnt translate into votes for the Party of Barack. On these results alone, Trump could feasibly change the nations political trajectory for years to come. Democrats are alarmed, therefore. Their leftist minions are reacting violently. Their fellow-traveling celebs seek to instigate violence. Democrat pols are increasingly defiant, seemingly ready to break more laws to preserve policies that are politically self-serving. Will Democrats actions lead to widening civil unrest? Will they do damage to the compact among our states that make our nation a nation? Only time will tell. I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Breitbart just weeks before he died. He was at a conservative conference where he gave a fiery speech. Most people came to see Michelle Malkin, the other conservative firebrand at the conference -- Andrew was not well known yet. I had come to hear multiple speakers, but the one I wanted to hear the most was Andrew. He was top billing for me, one of the most important people in the conservative movement. The short line at his book signing was surprising. I waited patiently as he signed books and chatted. There was no one behind me. He shook my hand, and began to talk. I discovered he had four kids, an enthusiasm for people, and a passion for what he was doing. He confirmed my expectations -- those ten minutes were impressive. After signing his book, he went downtown to see if he could find Michael Moore. He wanted to congratulate him on camera for being such a good capitalist. Perfect Breitbart. Breitbart paved the road for Trumps win and understood the stakes. He saw the battle clearly, knew intimately the left was an enemy to be defeated, knew up close and personal what needed to be done to defeat their BS Alinsky tactics. He was making alliances, stirring the pot, encouraging us all to join the fight. Fighting the left was an imperative for our time. That day, he spoke of the right needing a rock star. He spoke glowingly about Sarah Palin, how she would go to a town of ten thousand and a hundred thousand would come there to see her. He admired her and wished she had run. He derided those in the GOP who piled on to her as she was savaged, calling them animals with no souls. He scorned the left, yet disdained the castrated GOP, hating how they let her be taken down by the leftist wolves. He despised how they sat on their hands as the left seized power. He implied that an establishment incapable of seeing its opponents clearly, incapable of fighting them, needed to be replaced. He told us the importance of uniting during the 2012 race. He challenged us all to fall behind the candidate who won, no matter who it was. He wasnt pushing a particular candidate. He simply wanted us to see the horror of the current left, perhaps the nastiest group to gain power here. He knew this wasnt politics as usual, imploring us to see the left clearly, impressing upon us the consequences of being ruled by their power brokers another four years. He had an instinct for finding the leftist media narrative of the day. He said you could locate the talking points each morning just scouring the news sites. He thought the GOP nominee had to understand this media method of collusion in order to expose the narrative, and to form better one. Years later, it was clear the Trump team used this idea. Because he knew the power of the left, he knew you had to fight its methods. He was, first and foremost, a warrior who wasnt going to give up. He never saw his plan come to fruition. He never saw the road he paved go on to victory. It took five years, and miraculously, its here. He had a vision for what was needed, but it took others to fulfill it. He never knew that Donald Trump would be his candidate, his rock star, the scourge of the left, the one who could form the narrative, the one who could defeat the media, the one who could bring America back. There is no perfect candidate, but for this time, Trump embodies everything that Andrew foresaw. Trump: a candidate who was not shackled by his party, his conservatism, or the media. Andrews candidate won. This new administration will be working hard to correct the destruction the left has wrought. They are talented, and have great vision. I have soaring hopes, weve seen tremendous strides in barely a week. But far from being done, its just beginning. The left has been beaten back, but its not yet done. It still owns our culture, it still owns the education system, Hollywood, and the media. The democrat/media complex is wounded, thrashing around, and its looking for ways to destroy its enemies. Andrew would never stop at one political win. The win is good, but resting is not an option. Breitbarts maxim: politics is downstream from the culture. The left lost this time because (apart from Hillary fumbling an almost sure thing, the same as she did in 2008) Trump woke America up. But Hillary came closer than she should have. She and her backers convinced a lot of voters that Trump was the most horrible human to walk the planet since Hitler. The good news: that narrative will not stick if its countered. The Trump team will fight back. But we need to fight with them. The lefts effort to delegitimize Trump has been ongoing since he won the nomination. Its now over the top, every day another accusation, every day more hyperbole. Having noted before how stale the leftist narrative has become (Trump is Hitler), and how they are failing, lets recall what happened to George W. Bush. The methodology of daily accusing W of being stupid, incompetent, and an evil right-winger worked. It took years but it worked. W did not fight back -- he gave the left the sword that would kill him. Because he did not fight back, in our confusion, we on the right did not come to his defense. The lefts narrative won, bringing the most destructive administration ever into power. The Trump administration does fight back, and its smart. The leftist narrative machine may be old, stale, worn, and pathetically crazy, but its still embedded in the culture. It still has power. More than ever, we need to be Breitbart. Yes, we are the culture. We cant sit back and watch the Trump people fight by themselves. We need to engage. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. We need to fight the narratives of the left however we can, with whatever influence we have. We do this by destroying the false, silly narratives of the left at every opportunity. Politics is downstream from the culture. Whats most important now is not to be timid, nor to be intimidated by the left. They want you to be ashamed of your support for Trump. They want you to not respond when they call him a racist, a hater of immigrants, gays and women. They are setting the cultural marker with their claim that Trump is illegitimate. He is a racist Hitlerian, hater of gays, women; deplorable, incompetent, and rightfully hated. They are saying you are the same. If you do not respond, if you do not fight, if you do not insert yourself into the culture, they will succeed. Trump said a remarkable thing in his inaugural address: We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people. Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come. Today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another -- but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People. What a wonderful view -- the world can be right again. This promise can only hold if we join the fight for the culture, doing our part the best we can. I didnt notice how Andrew Breitbart signed his book to me until a year later. It said: Fight the Man. Andrew, wherever you are, I am. Montana regulators say rates for NorthWestern Energy customers are set to rise as the company passes on to consumers a portion of its increased property taxes. The Public Service Commission on Tuesday declined to take action on the proposed rate increase, allowing it to take effect. It allows NorthWestern to collect an additional $19.3 million from customers. Rates will increase 5.8 percent for electric service and 3.7 percent for gas service. PSC members criticized a state law that allows utilities to automatically pass through property tax increases to customers. They say the law acts as a de facto sales tax on energy that customers purchase. A proposal from Billings Republican Rep. Daniel Zolnikov to change the law is pending before the House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee. There is no right to immigrate to America, and there is no duty America owes the world to accept refugees. The pathos of leftism on this phony moral obligation invariably reverts back to the tragic efforts of German Jews to leave a Nazi world in which they were horribly mistreated. The connection to the Holocaust, however, is utterly phony. The overwhelming majority of German Jews did successfully leave Germany and find new homes in other lands. Almost all the victims of the Holocaust were East European Jews Polish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, and Lithuanian and the most open borders imaginable to these wretched victims would hardly have made a dent in the six million murdered by the Nazis and their allies. The only help for these people was to conquer and occupy the lands they lived in as quickly as possible and then to impose relentlessly the superior values of America and Britain in these conquered lands. That is, of course, always the only true answer to problems of refugees. The first mass immigration to America was from persecuted German Catholics and Jews. The "No Knowing Party" was formed to stop this influx, but what actually did the trick was the unification of Germany into a confederation (misnamed an "empire") that granted completed social policy to the individual states. Those German Catholics and Jews whose fathers thought about fleeing instead became patriotic and loyal Germans. Irish immigration stopped when Ireland gained independence, and Italian immigration stopped when Italy was finally united. Indeed, in both cases, as their homelands became safe, free, and relatively prosperous, there was a reverse migration of the children and grandchildren of immigrants who wanted to go home. During the Cold War, America accepted political refugees from Eastern Europe, but since the defeat of Communism and the liberation of those nations, that influx has stopped. America has no duty to protect people in other nations from the failures of their own regimes. Indeed, providing a sort of steam release valve means that bad actors running these lands know that their unhappiest subjects leave and come to America, creating problems within America and also limiting the dangers of popular revolution against them. Worse, of course, these enemies of America can insinuate among masses of refugees those who would do us grave harm. In this regard, the sappy argument of refugees from Nazi Germany reaches its most absurd contradiction. Some of the refugees were Jews, but some were political opponents of the Nazi regime. Would anybody now object if our government insisted on making sure that no secret Nazi agents were allowed into America? Would not "extreme vetting" have been the most appropriate attitude if suddenly several hundred thousand refugees from Nazi Germany demanded entry into America? In fact, during the Cold War, America and the free nations of the West did recognize the duty and the right to make sure that those who wanted to come here from evil communist regimes were not clandestine agents. Refugees from these lands, by the way, accepted this as necessary and understood the danger to America if we allowed in anyone who claimed to have been persecuted. That is a fundamental problem with Moslem refugees from Islamic nations seeking to come to America. Islam is portrayed as a religion, but it is actually a political system: separation of mosque and state is anathema to Islam. If we can agree that America had no obligation to admit Nazi Party members to America in the 1930s or Communist Party members from Eastern Europe during the Cold War, then we ought to be able to see that refugees from Islamic countries ought to be welcomed in America only if they are also refugees from Islam itself. Likewise, if leftists in America profess not to see the difference between admitting persecuted Christians from lands overrun with violent Islamists from other refugees, then let these folks not talk about our failure to admit Jews from Nazi Germany, because that is precisely what Christians in these lands are today. Someone who eighty years ago said that if we were going to let Jews in from Germany, then we ought to let everyone who wants to come to America, or someone who seventy years ago said that if we thought Britain should allow Jews into Palestine, then Britain ought to allow everyone into Palestine, would be called a fool or a fraud or worse. Rush gets the Yates firing wrong I normally agree with most of what Rush Limbaugh says, but on his Tuesday radio show, he appeared to chide President Donald Trump for not getting rid of all of Obama's political appointees. The particular incident that fostered this discussion was acting Attorney General Sally Yates' failure to abide by President Trump's executive order regarding refugees. Yates transmitted a memo stating that the attorney general's office would not defend Trump's order in court -- this despite being advised by internal staff attorneys that the order was legal. Acting with dispatch, the Trump administration relieved Yates of her duties -- fired her, to the immediate and vocal consternation of the left. Senator Charles Schumer referred to this action as a "Monday night massacre," harkening back to Nixon's request for the resignation of his own attorney general and his deputy. Mr. Limbaugh appeared to state that this storm could have been prevented, had President Trump accepted all of the resignations of all Obama appointees, keeping none of them on to serve him. I agree, but that wasn't Trump's strategy here. This "storm" will turn out to be a huge win for President Trump, and here is why. For the most part, Limbaugh is correct -- clean out the stable and start anew. As you may remember, when the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) conducted an illegal strike in 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired them and decertified the union. This gave him a lot of credibility, both domestically and as later revealed by unclassified Soviet Intelligence documents, internationally. People believed that when Reagan said something, he meant it. In short, keeping this particular Obama appointee around enabled Trump to have his own PATCO moment, at a far earlier time in his administration and with far less disruption to America. President Trump needed to be able to publicly fire someone -- show that he is "draining the swamp" and to do so in such a circumstance that the firing was clearly warranted. Yates' insubordinate actions enabled President Trump to immediately take action and publicly fire an agency head for open and notorious defiance of a lawful order. This swift response to liberal defiance, put audiences, both domestic and foreign on notice -- There is a new sheriff in town and he doesn't play games. Mike Ford is a sometime contributor to American Thinker, frequently edited by his lovely bride, a retired High School Principal. The news media are promoting the odd belief that if we can only behave ourselves by Islamic terrorist standards or by Islam's standards generally, then we won't be attacked anymore. "It [Trump's immigration policy] can play into their propaganda, to make it clear for anyone who could be in doubt, that it's a war on Islam and all Muslims," Abdullah told CNN over a messaging service. The names of the now-defected foreign fighters in this story have been changed to protect their identities. Then John McCain and Lindsay Graham issued a joint statement: ... "This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security. Admittedly, some of the details in McCain's and Graham's statement make sense, and I don't wish to critique the details of Trump's policy here (others have explained that it is not unreasonable in most of its parts). But Osama bin Laden said he attacked us on 9/11 because we had a military base in Saudi Arabia. Then al-Qaeda said we should dismantle Gitmo because the base motivates the terrorists and improves their recruitment. Now ISIS tells us what our immigration policy should be. The short answer to all of their "concerns": so what? The deeper truth is that this brand of Muslim -- the terrorists -- hate us because their holy writ says they must defeat all non-Muslims, even if by qital (military war) or the milder term jihad (struggle). This video titled "Stop Lying about Jihad!" put out by an Islamic leader says that many Muslims are ignorant of the real Islam. Here's the gist: Islam's most trusted sources call for the violent subjugation of the entire world. Nevertheless, many Muslims don't know what Islam teaches about jihad, and they are convinced that Islam promotes peace. Some Muslims, however, know what Islam teaches about jihad, but they lie about it to make Islam seem more palatable to a Western audience. In this video (compiled by Anthony Rogers), Muslim scholar Abu Mussab Wajdi Akkari advises Muslims to stop lying about jihad, since unbelievers will eventually expose the lies and realize that Muslim speakers are lying. According to Akkari, misrepresenting jihad will hurt the dawah [outreach] efforts of Muslims. Here's what the Islamic scholar means. Islam must dominate all other religions, which includes Christianity and Judaism and others. Islam does not separate religion from the state, so Israel and America and Europe qualify to be defeated. This verse is key: 61:9 He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islamic monotheism) to make it victorious over all (other) religions even though the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad) hate (it). (see also 48:28 and 9:33; Hilali and Khan, parenthetical notes are theirs) Its this verse that is the most troubling because it appears in Chapter 9, the last chapter to be revealed, so it sets the genetic code for Islam today: 9:29 Fight [q-t-l] against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) until they pay the Jizyah [submission tax] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. (Hilali and Khan, parenthetical notes are theirs, except mine are in brackets) Even if some Muslims don't like this or that policy doesn't mean the policy is wrong. It is just plain weak to listen to evil liars as they seek to influence the most powerful nation on earth. It's disheartening to see conservatives worry about their opinion. It is weakness, not complicated policies, that invite more attacks. Stop letting them throw a monkey wrench into our calculations. The safety of our nation depends on it. James Arlandson's website is Live as Free People, where he has posted Understanding Why Jihadists Fight, Qital (Warfare) Verses in the Quran, and All the Jihad Verses in the Quran. Depending on how the order is interpreted by the departments and agencies, the order could considerably reduce the paperwork burden on American business as well as make it easier for companies to be created and expand their operations. President Trump signed an executive order on Monday that directs all executive branch departments to find two regulations to repeal for every one regulation they impose. Politico: This will be the biggest such act that our country has ever seen, Trump declared moments before signing it in the Oval Office. There will be regulation, there will be control, but it will be a normalized control where you can open your business and expand your business very easily. And that's what our country has been all about. The executive order signing, which fulfills a campaign pledge, comes after the president held a listening session with small-business leaders. If you have a regulation you want, No. 1, were not gonna approve it because its already been approved probably in 17 different forms, Trump said. But if we do, the only way you have a chance is we have to knock out two regulations for every new regulation. So if theres a new regulation, they have to knock out two. The president added that it goes far beyond that. Were cutting regulations massively for small business and for large business, he said. But they're different. But for small business, and thats what this is about today. The executive order calls for agencies to pinpoint at least two current regulations to be repealed for each new proposed regulation. And it says the net incremental cost for fiscal 2017 should be no greater than zero, meaning the cost of new regulations should be offset by existing rules that will be rescinded. House Speaker Paul Ryan applauded the order in a statement Monday afternoon, noting that it builds on House Republicans Better Way agenda and comes as the lower chamber is set to repeal a number of Obama era regulations this week. The explosion of federal regulations has hamstrung small business growth and crippled our economy, he said. President Trumps executive order helps bring the nations regulatory regime into the 21st century by putting regulators on a budget, and addressing the costs agencies can impose each year. Both Democratic and Republican administrations, conservative or liberal, have presided over the massive growth of the federal bureaucracy. Even in Republican administrations, the growth of regulation has only slowed, not stopped. Trump's order will seek to actually bring the bureaucracy to heel for the first time. But the process might be more difficult to implement than it appears: The order has an exception for national security regulations, whose boundaries are not clear. But if, for example, the Army Corps of Engineers wants to take actions to make pipeline construction easier (in keeping with the spirit of the Jan. 24 presidential memorandum on the Dakota Access Pipeline or the Jan 24 presidential memorandum on the Keystone XL pipeline), under the terms of todays executive order it cant do so unless it is able to identify two existing regulations to repeal for every regulation it wants to promulgate. And it doesnt matter if it can show that its new regulation has benefits that greatly exceed its costs. Furthermore, it doesnt matter if the two regulations for repeal have benefits that greatly exceed their costs. So a cost-justified regulation would be delayed until the agency found two other regulations for repeal despite their being cost justified. And a delay in a cost-justified regulation is itself an additional cost (an opportunity cost). The costs are everywhere. Beyond the delay, the executive order prohibits adding net new regulations. If you want more regulations from any department (other than those involving national security), this is not the order for you. The executive order does allow the OMB director to make exceptions, and to tell agencies what costs actually means (strikingly, the order nowhere defines the key term regulatory costs). So the OMB director will have discretion to reduce the hassles that this executive order creates. The key here is to avoid cutting regulations simply to cut regulation. There is an advantage to the cost/benefit approach to regulation that agencies in the past have eschewed. Forcing the departments to change the very culture of regulation will be just as beneficial as eliminating some red tape. There will be howls of protest from interest groups when one regulation or another is eliminated. No doubt we will be told that some regulatory regime is being "gutted" by the repeal of certain rules. But I have a feeling cabinet secretaries are going to be able to identify burdensom and unnecessary regulations fairly easily - at first. It may get more difficult as the process unfolds, but any cut in the rules and more intelligent rule making is a revolutionary concept whose time has come. Steve Feinsteins recent article, Why American Jews Are Overwhelmingly Liberal, omitted a crucial part of the story: its conclusion. While I do not take issue with the articles facts, the truth is that a wave of conservatism, based on religious values, has been deeply cultivated and is robustly emerging on a major scale in the most vibrant and enduring segments of American Jewry. Studies have demonstrated that Americas secular and mostly liberal Jewish population is shrinking and disappearing, as a result of intermarriage and abandonment of Jewish identity and tradition. Liberal Jewish congregations are dwindling and shutting down, and even seeking non-Jews to join, as there are no longer enough Jews to fill these emptying houses of worship. The same is true with liberal Jewish schools and organizations. In contrast, the American Orthodox Jewish population is growing, and it is projected that this population, which is politically conservative and which strives to live by biblical values, has strong family units, and adheres to a traditional way of life, will replace the liberal Jewish communities. The most notable impact on American society of this seismic change will be in the political arena, as Orthodox Jews predominantly vote Republican. Other changes will be seen as well, especially in the areas of support for traditional family values, as Orthodox Jews are pro-life, oppose gay marriage, and support school choice. And on a more recent note, much of the greatest Jewish support for the appointment of Steve Bannon came from the Orthodox Jewish media. The ascendancy of Orthodox Jewry and the decline of liberal Jewry are largely unknown to those outside Jewish institutional life. Equally unknown to most is the fact that a sizeable amount of the current Orthodox population consists of former liberal, non-Orthodox Jews who renounced their heterodox religious allegiances and embraced the Judaism of tradition, transforming their lives to center on God and the authentic Law of Moses. These Jews most of whom are exceptionally talented and highly articulate, creative individuals sensed the emptiness of a shallow religious experience, in which feel-good mantras and political correctness came to replace genuine belief and divinely ordained commandments. Orthodox outreach organizations such as the National Council of Synagogue Youth, Chabad, and Aish, among many others, exposed secular-liberal Jews to the beauty of their tradition and inspired many of them to return to it. Jews are typically idealists, searching for purpose and higher meaning, whether they realize it or not. Liberal Judaism, which came about as an accommodation to radically changing social and political trends in 19th-century Western Europe, marketed a life philosophy of veritable purpose and higher meaning, but instead sold its constituency an empty bag, stuffed with promises and platitudes but little substance and zero long-term endurance. (Think of the Obama Greek Columns speech.) Such purchases are inevitably returned or disposed of. Those liberal Jews who recognized what the real article is rejected the religious identity of their upbringing and proceeded to align themselves with their bona fide tradition, while the rest of their brethren are sadly and silently disappearing, unbeknownst to general society. The Orthodox Jewish spectrum is broad, and it is rich in vibrant ideas that connect contemporary life to religious tradition and biblical values. This old-new conservatism is the emerging and future face of American Jewry. Get ready for major change. Avrohom Gordimer serves on the editorial board of Jewish Action magazine, is a staff writer for the Cross-Currents website, and is a frequent contributor to Israel National News. By day, he works as an account executive at a large Jewish organization based in Manhattan. The views expressed in the above article are solely those of the writer. People from California can sign the Calexit petition, but what about the rest of us in the other 49 states? From my point of view, we would benefit the most from California leaving the Union. Think of it. Fifty-five Democrat votes in the Electoral College, gone. Two Democrat senators and a raft of Democrat representatives, gone. Wacko news stories coming out of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and California colleges would trouble us less if it were a different country. Hollywood, and all its knee-jerk, liberals would be in a different country. They could rant and rave about California politics, but who would listen to their criticisms of American politics? Please, someone who knows how to do these things, start a Calkickout petition. This would be a petition to our legislative, judicial, and executive branches not only to accede to California's desire to leave the union, but to actively encourage it and do everything possible to facilitate and speed it up and, yes, kick them out even if they don't want to go. Can we do that? Calling Judge Napolitano. Yes, I know it might be inconvenient to have a new Venezuela on our western border, but hey, maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Maybe if they were on their own, they would come to their senses before toilet paper disappears from the store shelves and food supplies have to be protected by the military. I know this would be cruel to those Californians who are not snowflake liberals, but I suspect that most of them would be smart enough to head east before we slam the border shut. If not, well, that's what survival of the fittest is all about. America is in the midst of an ideological civil war. The division is deep and wide, and the refugee problem is the latest iteration of the chasm. Emotional arguments can generate justifications that are extremely hypocritical. The hypocrisy in this particular debate is that those who want an open-door refugee policy are appealing to Christian morality, calling it unchristian not to let them all in. When the left starts appealing to Christian morality, it is worth taking note. These are the people who want to banish Christianity from every aspect of American culture. Their leader and former president, Barack Obama, famously said, "We are not a Christian nation." Suddenly, his liberal cohorts are asserting Christianity to buttress their position. Nice try, but there is no biblical case for opening the floodgates to refugees infiltrated by Islamic terrorists. Some Americans are making the dangerous mistake of applying biblical principles of personal morality to matters of national security. This is one of the passages being quoted in support of an open door refugee policy: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (Hebrews 13:2). That verse imposes a moral obligation on individuals to be hospitable. Governmental policies are quite another matter. When these texts were written, cities were surrounded by walls and secured behind gates. The highest moral obligation of the president of the United States is to protect our citizens. You cannot apply the personal ethic of turning the other cheek to national security any more than you can to the security of your spouse or child. No sane human being would say to a loved one under attack, "Turn the other cheek so that you may be attacked again." Just as it is your moral duty to protect and defend your loved ones, the president is under a sacred oath to protect and defend America. If terrorists bomb a city, do we offer them another? The moral response, in defense of our people, would be to wage war against the perpetrators until they are captured or killed. The ethical imperative is to destroy their ability to do further harm. This is a Christian principle you will not hear liberal elites citing: "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Providing for the safety, security, and care of your own is a higher Christian responsibility than charity toward strangers. Another argument we are hearing offered by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson is that "Jesus was a refugee." They reject what the Bible says about abortion, marriage, Israel, and the Jewish people, but they are suddenly biblical adherents. Presumably, they are referring to when the holy family took refuge in Egypt during Herod's mass infanticide. It's an ironic argument, since it is the left that is trying to kick Jesus out of America. If the word "refugee" applies to Jesus at all, it is in reference to the secularists who will not allow Him a home in their hearts. That aside, it is a favorite tactic of the left to create red herrings and respond to arguments that no one has made. No one has said all refugees are bad or that all refugees should be banned for all time. President Trump has said, and most Americans agree, that our government has a duty to protect its citizens from harm. Therefore, we should be careful about who is allowed into our country, particularly from places where Islamic terrorism is widespread. That is not Hitlerian, unchristian, or anti-Jesus the refugee. It is a commonsense response to the threat of Islamic terror. Finally, the emotion surrounding this issue is driven in part by the specter of America turning away Jews escaping Nazi Germany. That was horrible and a source of national regret. We turned away Jews primarily because we did not want to get involved with Europe's conflicts. In the end, we defeated the Nazis and took in the Jews. Today's refugee problem is different. There are Muslims from the Middle East who want to kill Americans and destroy our country. Since we cannot easily identify them among those who are legitimately escaping persecution, we must be extremely cautious. One or two terrorists can do enormous damage. Acknowledging this reality is neither Islamophobia nor religious bigotry. It is doing our Christian duty to protect innocent Americans from those who wish to do us harm. By appealing to biblical principle, liberals are unwittingly admitting that America is indeed a nation of Christian values. Instead of vilifying the president and smearing Christians, the left needs to work toward compassionate solutions that also keep our citizens safe. The ideological civil war in our country is really a spiritual divide. It is time for America's spiritual refugees to return to the faith and stand for the vision of "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Ever have a left-leaning relative attack you for being a racist, nativist, xenophobe, Islamophobe? If you havent, just give it time. Our national polarization is only in the second inning. Concerning the current cause celebre of the left President Trumps temporary ban on immigration from terrorism hotbeds I thought Id provide a useful talking point. It has to do with the lefts maniacal hatred of truth, akin only to vampires disdain of sunlight and garlic. The left loves to play the Christianity/morality card back on us. In essence, leftists like to use our Good Samaritan tendencies to our own detriment. We are told by pundits, Democrat politicians, Hollywood, media, etc. that we are unkind, unchristian, and unfeeling if we turn our backs on refugees coming from these Middle Eastern hellholes. Leftists have always had a strong tendency to be very charitable with your money, but now theyd like to be charitable with your life and the lives of your family. It is estimated by the left that less than 1% of refugees coming into the U.S. would have direct terrorist involvement. That seems so small that one is supposed to feel safe and overreacting. But lets do some math. Hillary wanted to increase said immigration by 500,000. That translates to 5,000 terrorists coming into the U.S. under the radar. The World Trade Center atrocity was carried out by only seven terrorists. Ponder what 5,000 would be capable of. And ponder that one tenth of 1% is 500 terrorists. Are we supposed to be good with that? Since the left likes cloaking the argument in Christian moral trappings, lets address some Moral Philosophy 101 here. Ask your relative this: is it moral to carry out a good act while in the process committing an immoral act? Is it moral to be kind to strangers while simultaneously putting ones neighbors at risk? One doesnt do a kindness at the expense of someone else's safety or life. If they feel that a temporary immigration ban is still immoral, tell them to tell it to the families of the dead in San Bernardino and Orlando. If they are saying that it is extremely unlikely that a refugee would be a terrorist, tell them to tell that to the family members of the dead in Berlin. If they feel that we all must take some risk to be charitable, tell that to the family of the English soldier who was macheted to death on the streets of London in broad daylight for the crime of being English. If you are being beaten up with an argument that the U.S. has always welcomed immigrants, then ask: when in U.S. history has there ever been an immigrant group with a significant yet invisible subgroup that would actively work to cause mayhem and death in the U.S.? Was this true of Poles, Italians, Jews, Irish, Vietnamese, or Chinese? The answer is definitively no. Should we feel terrible for the innocent who are seeking to flee this horror? Yes, undoubtedly. But that does not justify throwing ones neighbors under the bus. The left will take great pains to make sure that the resettlements are done in your neighborhood, not theirs. Dont look for refugee resettlement in Beverly Hills; Chicagos Arlington Heights; Greenwich, Connecticut; Philadelphias Main Line; or good old Georgetown. The left delights in muddled thinking, especially muddling your thinking. Dont let this occur. Furthermore, dont let it occur for your elected officials, either. Email your congressman. Email both of your senators. Write your local newspaper. Let them know clearly how you stand. Otherwise, the suicide bombings that are everyday news in Baghdad, Aleppo, Mosul, and Mogadishu will one day be the nightly news in Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Tampa. You may not reap that harvest, but your children surely will. Seriously ill refugees with diseases like cancer and heart disease are being denied access to America and free medical care (free for them, that is), and the WaPo says Donald Trump is to blame. One is a 9-year-old Somali child in Ethiopia with a congenital heart disease that cannot be treated in a refugee camp. Another is a 1-year-old Sudanese boy with cancer. A third is a Somali boy with a severe intestinal disorder living in a camp that doesn't even have the colostomy bags he needs. After President Trump's executive order last week, their resettlement in America was put on hold. Now, the organization responsible for processing refugees in sub-Saharan Africa, Church World Service, says that order could be their death sentence. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Monday that 20,000 people in precarious conditions would be banned from traveling to the United States under the 120-day suspension on refugee admissions that was announced Friday. They aren't the only ones. There are thousands of people in Bangladesh who could really use free American health care. There are thousands of people with heart problems in China who could really benefit from it, too not to mention all the Iranians who don't have colostomy bags but could use them. How can we pass a single day without letting all these people into America and giving them access to taxpayer-funded health care? By not admitting every sick person in every other country, and giving all of them free treatment, the liberal line is that Donald Trump is killing all of them, as surely as if he gunned them down on Fifth Avenue himself. And it's not just medical care. One 38-year-old Somali woman that Church World Service added to its list is waiting at a small refugee transit center in Nairobi. Her name is Momina Hassan Aden. She had recently had a blood transfusion and was raising seven children alone. Not only does Momina need medical care, but Mom's seven children need American taxpayer money to be raised for the next 10-15 years. All large families in the Third World need to be brought to America and need to be fed, clothed, and housed with your taxpayer money. No other country in the world is responsible for this only America. President Trump seems to be in the odd position of prioritizing the needs of Americans over the needs of people in other countries, as if he felt more responsible for American citizens than for people in the Sudan. Writers like this one in the WaPo can't understand this. Can you understand their lack of understanding? Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. Two of President Trumps national security initiatives have far greater strategic import than many realize. If I am reading the tea leaves correctly, the U.S. may again ride to the rescue of Europe, although in an indirect fashion. Heres why. First, the CinCs order to the Pentagon to develop a plan within 30 days to defeat ISIS is a dose of common sense we havent seen in over a decade. Obama had placed ISIS headquarters and logistics off limits to U.S. raids, leading me to believe he was an ally of the terrorists rather than their enemy. ISIS will quickly go into the dustbin of history once the full power of the U.S. military is unleashed. So, step one, get rid of the threat. Step two, stop the refugee flow. Trumps plan to establish safe zones in Syria and Yemen with the support of Egyptian president Fattah Abdel El-Sisi and Saudi Arabias King Salman will not only benefit the Syrian and Yemeni people by keeping them in a safe environment in their own country, but provide the obvious boost to U.S. security by reducing or eliminating refugee flow to our country. But the unexamined aspect is the plan also provides an out to tone-deaf European leaders unable or unwilling to acknowledge and act on the violent crime and terrorism perpetrated against their own citizens. (Establishment of the safe zone will not be a simple task, as was the no-fly zone over Kurdish territory after the Persian Gulf War. The Kurds had a functioning, dedicated military force to stop incursions onto their lands with the help of coalition air power. Undoubtedly, U.S. and allied ground troops are the key for maintaining wide area security for the zone in the Syrian milieu.) For example, Norway (very different from Sweden in that it is more nationalistic and has a fraction of the refugees that Sweden does) has struggled with the U.N. and world opinion on deporting refugees. Over two years ago, Somalia refused to accept its own countrymen deported from Norway because they were forced deportations. Most recently, Norway began deporting so-called biking refugees coming from Russia on their shared Arctic Circle border. More than 5,000 have made their way across, including Syrians and Iraqis. The U.N. has criticized Norway because in its view, Russia does not provide a safe environment for these refugees (no doubt), and they have nowhere else to go. So, U.N. officials, where exactly do these people go when a nation exercises its right to deny entry or to deport those denied asylum? Trump has the answer: send them to safe zones in their own country. The Norway example aside, the elephant in the room is the horrendous situation in both France and Germany having huge refugee populations from Muslim states with a significant number of embedded terrorists and criminals. If Trumps plan succeeds, German and French leaders will no longer have the excuse to oppose their own constituent citizens objecting to keeping them in their countries to cause ever more death and mayhem. And perhaps in a few years, Trump can call up Hollande and Merkel and say, Youre welcome. John Smith is the pen name of a former U.S. intelligence officer. January 30, 2017 When former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died Jan. 8, it was thought that his death might be another nail in the coffin of Saudi-Iranian dialogue, and thus usher an era of additional tension between Tehran and its Arab neighbors. Yet a personal condolence letter from Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud to the family of Rafsanjani, followed by a visit of Kuwaits foreign minister to the Iranian capital Jan. 25, give a different indication. Indeed, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah al-Khaled al-Ahmad al-Sabah came to Tehran with a letter from the emir of Kuwait, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, on behalf of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), about the necessity of improving relations. On Jan. 26, Kuwaits Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah told reporters that the Iranian side showed understanding and readiness to react positively to the letter, saying, The message and its content focused on laying the foundations for a joint dialogue based on the abstention from interfering in Gulf affairs and respecting the sovereignty of the GCC states and all the UN [Security] Council articles. It will be a breakthrough in the bilateral relations between the Gulf and Iran. An official Iranian source in Tehran told Al-Monitor without elaborating on the details, The letter proposed an Iran-GCC dialogue based on three principles as a basis for dialogue." The source hinted that the language used in the letter was very respectful, which is noteworthy given the many acrimonious exchanges between Saudi and Iranian officials in the past year. An official Kuwaiti source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the letter is based on the final statement of the GCC summit that was held in Bahrain on Dec. 7, 2016. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry started contacts with Tehran directly after the summit. It is probably a long track, but regional peace and stability require all involved parties to cooperate, the source said, adding that this does not mean embassies are going to open again immediately, nor that Iran is necessarily going to send pilgrims to hajj this year. He concluded, Though we hope this will happen." Mahdi Ahouie, a Tehran University professor and an Iranian foreign policy expert, told Al-Monitor, The Iranian government is determined to avoid an open confrontation with any of the present actors in the Persian Gulf, including its Arab neighbors. Our approach to Persian Gulf security is based on the simple fact that we are all sitting in the same boat here. If our neighbors are damaged, we may also not remain safe from the consequences. He added, The rise of [US President Donald] Trump might provide further encouragement for rapprochement between Iran and the Gulf states. Trump is an unpredictable person, and his excessive and severe positions may take everybody by surprise. The US allies in the region are also no exception [as potential targets] for this [behavior]. What we are a little skeptical about in Tehran is whether the GCCs current gesture of conciliation is merely tactical, buying time to examine how Trump will treat Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or whether they are seeking a real, lasting relationship with Iran. Ahouie said the first step is for Saudi Arabia to stop the rhetorical war and media propagation against Iran, and stop portraying Iran as the cause of all evil in the region. Only then we can have a healthy conversation, he said. Though Iran and its Arab neighbors deviate on almost everything, they agree on skepticism toward each others intentions. Ankara-based analyst Ali Bakeer told Al-Monitor what the Arabs want from Iran, saying, The Arab neighbors are keen on having good relations with Iran, but this cant be without Tehran ceasing to interfere in the internal issues of the Arab countries, ending the sectarian policies and stopping the use of terrorist tools in achieving its national objectives. Bakeer, a staunch critic of Iran who writes for Qatari daily Al-Arab, added, Building trust needs an appropriate environment that is not mature yet. We need initiatives that exceed seizing media exchanges; that is a typical Iranian step. He added, Iran is everywhere in the Arab world. If Iran really wants to build trust, then it should show a change in its approach in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Bahrain. Then it will not be difficult to see whether it is serious. Relations between Iran and its southern neighbors chiefly Saudi Arabia deteriorated severely in 2016, mainly after Riyadh executed Saudi Shiite opposition figure Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. In response, angry Iranian protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic compounds. Diplomatic ties with Iran were immediately severed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, while other GCC countries either downgraded relations, as in the case of the United Arab Emirates, or summoned Tehrans ambassador. Yet this is not the only problem hindering better relations between the two sides. The wars in Yemen and Syria, unrest in Bahrain, the war on the Islamic State in Iraq, along with power sharing in Lebanon are all areas where the interests of Iran and the Gulf countries, and especially Saudi Arabia, are confronted. Yet even these rather recent crises arent the genuine cause of tension at least between Islamic Iran and its neighbors. Indeed, there are other causes that go back in history to 1979, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini succeeded in toppling Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran. Any rapprochement that doesnt take into consideration the roots of the conflict will only act as a circumstantial truce that might collapse whenever another storm hits. The main Gulf monarchy, Saudi Arabia, is concerned about what it calls the Islamic Republics export of its revolution, while Iran cant forget the role the Gulf monarchies played in supporting Saddam Husseins Iraq in his 1980-88 war with Iran to defend the Eastern Gate of the Arab world, according to the rhetoric used back then. These arent issues that can be solved in a meeting or two; they werent solved when Rafsanjani and late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia normalized ties in the 1990s, and they will not be solved today as long as both sides arent willing to go directly to the core of the conflict, meaning their deep mutual mistrust, and stop exchanging phobias. Casper police say a woman used a 89-year-old family friends money to buy hundreds of dollars worth of e-books, thousands of dollars of jewelry and pay her own utility and car bills. Tamara Voelker pleaded not guilty to one felony count of theft and one count of exploiting a vulnerable adult at her arraignment Tuesday morning in Natrona County District Court. In total, police say she used at least $48,000 of the elderly mans money for her own purchases. The mans daughter-in-law first reported her suspicions that Voelker, a family friend who was helping care for the man, was using his money in March, court documents show. The man had recently told his family he was having financial trouble and needed help paying his bills. The daughter-in-law told police that Voelker had been handling paying the mans rent, was charging purchases to the mans credit card without him knowing and was possibly stealing the mans medications. When a police officer and a Department of Family Services employee spoke with the man, he said he was aware of every charge Voelker made to his accounts. The DFS agent tested the mans mental abilities and found he might have dementia, though a doctor had never diagnosed him with the disease. The daughter-in-law contacted police again in June after looking through the mans finances and learned much more money was missing than previously estimated, documents show. The man told police he wasnt aware of many of the charges and didnt recognize many of the companies to which his money was sent, like Amazon. A detective reviewed the mans financial records and found more than 600 transactions since 2015 totaling more than $48,000 believed to have been made by Voelker for her own benefit. The charges included: About $1,031 in charges for e-books; More than $7,700 in jewelry purchases from Jewelry TV; 18 checks written to Voelker totaling $14,771; More than $5,000 in payments for utilities, television services, internet, phone contracts and car insurance that the man did not use; Almost $1,000 in payments to nonprofits or charitable organizations. Court documents also present a detailed outline of Voelkers history with prescription pain medication since May 2013. The police departments record management system showed Voelker had reported the mans medicines lost or stolen at least four times. She also pleaded guilty in 2014 to charges related to stealing prescription morphine from a patient while she worked at Drug Testing Lab. A detective attempted to talk to Voelker in September, but she refused to speak without her attorney, according to court documents. Fort Zverev, located on the shores of the Baltic Sea in northern Kronstadt, lies in complete ruins today. One of the several forts of Kronstadt, Fort Zverev was built in the 1860s by the engineer Konstantin Zverev, after which the fort is named, in order to strengthen the northern fairway of Gulf of Finland. The fort had a mushroom shape with curved ceiling, a new design different from all Konstantin Zverev had built before. In fact, it was Zverev who for the first time in Russia had successfully applied asphalt as a building material, covering the floors with natural asphalt solution. At the beginning of the 20th century the fort was converted into a warehouse of sea mines and ammunition dump, and continued to remain on duty long after World War II ended, as a site for military training and practical shooting. Photo credit In 1970, a devastating fire broke out on Fort Zverev that raged for several weeks. When the fire finally subsided and the fort cooled down enough to enter, the basement was completely unrecognizable. The inferno was so hot that it literally melted the bricks above which dripped down like stalactites. Its not known what kind of material fueled the fire but from the nature of the damage, it was evident that it was something that burned intensely hot. In any normal household fire, even a very strong brick does not melt. This requires a long enough temperature not less than 1,800 degrees centigrade. For comparison, a large gasoline fire will produce temperature of about 1,100 degrees. Some speculate that the Russians were testing a new kind of weapon possibly a high phosphorus containing compound similar to napalm that burned at temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees centigrade. According to another version, the fort was a cesspool of lubricants and decommissioned ammunition, bilge water and waste from ships that was accidently set fire by careless tourists. The truth will never be known. Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit At places the melted layer fell off, exposing the dead burned brick. Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Photo credit Sources: boat.ucoz.ru / Dmitrij badyaev / Atlasobscura / Oddity Central After Google announced that they would be rolling out the beta for Android 7.1.2 in the next few days, the rollout has now started. After seeing the factory images appear on Googles developer website, the search giant has begun pushing out the OTA to compatible devices that are enrolled in the Android Beta Program. These compatible devices include the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel C, Pixel and Pixel XL devices. The download weighs in at a pretty hefty 827.9MB. So youll definitely want to be on WiFi before downloading this update and installing it on your device. Those that do download and start using this beta version of Android, keep in mind that this is indeed a beta version and that it will be filled with a few bugs and other issues. So it may not be a good idea to use this version of Android on your daily driver. This is the first beta for Googles promised quarterly updates. It is going to bring some changes to your device, but not as many as Nougat did when it first arrived on your smartphone a few months ago. This is part of Google looking to keep everyone happy with new features and changes to their device, instead of just updating Android once a year. Although many believe that this will make fragmentation an even bigger deal. Now the update to the Pixel and Pixel XL will be slightly different than those with the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player and the Pixel C, and thats largely due to the fact that the Pixel and Pixel XL both have features that are exclusive to those devices, like the Google Assistant, which is still very much in beta form right now. Its unclear when the Google Assistant will make its way to other devices right now, but it likely wont be with this update. Google will be pushing out a few more betas of Android 7.1.2 before the final version rolls out to devices in the next month or two. Its unclear which devices will get updated, but we do know that the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 wont be seeing Android 7.1.2. T-Mobile started testing Android 7.0 Nougat for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge. According to T-Mobiles support website, the Un-carrier is currently conducting in-house testing of Samsungs Nougat update for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge. T-Mobile has not announced when the update will drop yet, but when a software update hits this stage of development, users can usually expect to wait for a few weeks before they get to use the new software, meaning that Samsungs duo of 2016 flagships will likely get updated by T-Mobile sooner rather than later. The update has officially been on the ground for owners of the unlocked variants of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge for a while now, but carrier devices always require a little bit of extra testing since carriers also have their own, pre-installed apps that must be updated to support the new software. T-Mobiles software update process consists of only three steps, making it hard to accurately estimate when the Nougat update will actually start rolling out. In the first step, T-Mobile and the device manufacturer agree that an update is in order and begin developing it. In the second step, T-Mobile tests the firmware internally, and eventually certifies it. The third step, obviously, is releasing the update to their users. As things stand right now, T-Mobile is already in the second phase of that plan and will hopefully be releasing the update in the coming weeks. Samsungs pair of flagship devices wont exactly see an entirely new operating system thanks to the update, but Nougat ships with a large number of tweaks and new features that make things feel quite fresh. Cosmetic refinements are everywhere, and the update boasts new camera features and new ways to customize the device. Owners of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge can, of course, expect all of the regular Nougat goodies like the native Multi-window mode and performance tweaks designed to make operations faster and more battery-friendly. T-Mobile will likely start rolling out the Nougat update for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge this month. The Huawei P10 Lite has just surfaced yet again, this time around, it popped up on Geekbench. The companys upcoming mid-ranger paid a visit to Geekbench, and as part of the process, it revealed some spec info, and also its benchmarking results. According to this listing, the Huawei P10 Lite will be fueled by one of Huaweis Kirin SoCs clocked at 1.71GHz, which we presume is a mid-range processor (probably Kirin 655), and the phone will ship with 4GB of RAM. Android 7.0 Nougat will come pre-installed on the device, and on top of it, youll get Huaweis Emotion UI (EMUI) 5.0 Android skin. The Huawei P10 Lite managed to score 779 points in the single-core benchmark, while it hit 3.023 points in the multi-core test. This listing dates back to January 29th, which was only a couple of days ago. Now, this is not the first time were seeing the Huawei P10 Lite, the device got certified by TENAA (Chinas equivalent to the FCC) over a week ago, well, the alleged Huawei P10 Lite got certified by TENAA. TENAA actually shared quite a bit of info when it comes to this smartphone, though it reported that the devices SoC will be clocked at 2.1GHz, not 1.71GHz as Geekbench reported. In any case, you can expect this smartphone to sport a 5.2-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) display, a 2,900mAh battery and a 12-megapixel shooter on its back. An 8-megapixel camera will be included on the front side of this smartphone, while Huawei plans to include 64GB of storage into their upcoming mid-ranger. The Huawei P10 Lite is said to measure 146.5 x 72 x 7.2mm, while it will weigh 146 grams. Huawei still did not release the Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Plus, those two flagship handsets will arrive in the coming weeks, maybe even during the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. In any case, the Huawei P10 Lite will probably land soon after the Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Lite, though it is also possible that Huawei might opt to release all three Huawei P10 devices at the same time, even though thats not that exactly likely to happen. Advertisement Buy the Huawei P9 Huawei has recruited a well-known American actor to promote their brand in the US, Justin Long. The first video starring Mr. Long had been available on Huaweis YouTube channel for a while now, and is actually quite funny, which is the whole point. This ad is actually supposed to promote Huaweis current flagship, the Huawei Mate 9, which was originally introduced last year in China, but Huawei re-launched it during CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 for the US market. That being said, lets see whats this ad all about. The name of the add is Mate 9 The Interview and it was shared by Huawei Device USA YouTube channel, which is, as most of you know, Huaweis official YouTube channel for the US market. In this ad, Mr. Long is being interviewed by the Huawei Mate 9, which sounds odd, but it actually translates in a rather nice ad. In this interview, the Huawei Mate 9 is using its display to communicate with the actor, while Mr. Long is doing the talking, and while doing that, hes more or less listing Huawei Mate 9s features and what not. This advertisement was actually aired during the Huawei Mate 9s CES US announcement last month, which is why Amazons Alexa is also included here, as the US Huawei Mate 9 comes equipped with Amazons virtual assistant. For those of you who dont know, Justin Long actually used to be Apples spokesperson, as he made a ton of advertisements with Apple. Well, hes now in Huaweis camp it seems, and we can expect to see quite a few new ads starring Mr. Long in the future, so get ready for that. The Huawei Mate 9 is the companys most powerful smartphone, their flagship device. The Huawei Mate 9 is a phablet made out of metal which comes with a dual camera setup on its back, and those cameras ship with Leicas lenses. The Huawei Mate 9 features a 5.9-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) display, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable internal storage. The device is fueled by the Kirin 960 64-bit octa-core processor, and a 4,000mAh battery is also included in this package. Android 7.0 Nougat comes pre-installed on the Huawei Mate 9, and on top of it, youre getting Huaweis Emotion UI (EMUI) 5.0 skin. That is more or less it, you can also check out the Huawei Mate 9 review if youd like. Advertisement Buy the Huawei P9 Lenovos Moto G5 Plus has made a stop at the FCC today following an FCC appearance of the Moto G5, which reportedly hit the FCC back on January 27th, while a more recent leak of the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Play specs surfaced again just yesterday. While the Moto G5 Plus specs have already leaked out in some capacity there is no official confirmation on the hardware, but the FCC filing does seem to suggest that the device will come with a 5.5-inch display which does match up with the current rumor about the phones display size. The Moto G5 Plus is likely to be 74mm wide and 150mm tall, with a corner to corner measurement of 158mm based on the FCC documentation. Judging by the image below the camera for the Moto G5 Plus will be directly in the middle of the device and towards the top edge which is the same spot it can be found on last years Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus. The Moto G5 Plus is also said to come powered by a 3,000mAh battery while featuring the TurboCharging functionality, the same as past devices in the Moto lineup. Lenovo and the Moto team are already suspected to be showing off the Moto G5 Plus and the Moto G5 at mobile World Congress at the end of this month as they have already sent out press invites and have basically teased a new phone announcement, and with both phones now having seemingly passed through the FCC, there probably isnt much else left for Lenovo to do but announce the phones with the regulatory stuff out of the way. As with the Moto G4 series of devices the Moto G5 series will be 4G LTE compatible in all of the regions where it launches. Right now there is no information on where Lenovo plans to launch the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus first or if they plan to do a global rollout of the phone when the time comes. Chances are that more of those details will be made available through leaks once it gets closer to the actual announcement, and Lenovo may share those details officially on the day of the event. A recent tweet has possibly revealed some good news for Nokia fans in Europe, claiming that Nokia recently established a partnership with a German service provider Mobilcom-Debitel and will soon be bringing its Android devices to the country. The tweet was published on Monday by Roland Quandt, a relatively reliable industry insider. Roughly translated, the posting suggests that Nokia 150 was only the beginning of the companys plans in Germany. It also claims that Nokia and Mobilcom-Debitel agreed to a long-term partnership with plans to launch future Nokia smartphones and sell them through the carriers retail network. This information should, of course, be taken with some measure of skepticism as it is not an official announcement from either the carrier or Nokia itself, though such a partnership is certainly not impossible. If the two firms established a partnership, there are several prospective devices that Mobilcom-Debitel may bring to Germany. The recently released Nokia 6 is not likely to be among those since Nokia previously confirmed that the extremely popular device is going to be a Chinese exclusive. The device is reported to have netted around 2.4 million sales split between two ordering periods. However, Nokia is also expected to launch its flagship Nokia P1 in the coming months and several concepts and rumors related to the device have already been circulating the industry for some time now. If Nokia struck a deal with Mobilcom-Debitel, then its possible that the Nokia P1 will eventually find its way to Germany. It may also be far more likely that Nokia will launch an entirely new device designed specifically for the German market. While this rumor prompted a lot of speculation in the industry, no other information has yet been revealed. Similar partnerships between manufacturers and service providers are not at all uncommon. However, it is a bit unusual for neither company to make an official announcement about such a partnership. With the Nokia brand having only recently been relaunched, Nokia would likely want to build publicity for its devices despite the fact that its brand still enjoys a loyal following. More information will hopefully follow soon. SoundHound wants to offer voice A.I. tools to manufacturers and they seem intent on competing with the likes of Google and Amazon. While SoundHound is mostly known for their music search software that can be found in an app by the same name, theyve recently raised about $75 million for research and development in voice-based artificial intelligence technology. Their plan is to create something that they can offer to third-parties which are looking into building products that are integrated with something similar to Google Assistant and Amazons Alexa. Instead of manufacturers developing their own technology, SoundHound wants manufacturers to use whatever they come up with. A big part of how SoundHound aims to convince companies to use their technology instead of competing services from companies like Google and Amazon is with data. SoundHounds CEO Keyvan Mohajer notes that companies will be able to keep the data thats collected from users interacting with their products if they use SoundHounds A.I. software, whereas going with an option like Amazons Alexa software requires an Amazon account login and all of that collected data goes back to Amazons servers. The company already has a speech recognition engine called Houndify that it uses to power its music search app as well as Hound, their digital assistant app, and now with fresh capital at their disposal they plan to build out and expand on the technology to make it smarter and more capable for use in connected IoT devices. While SoundHound may not be as large of a company as its competitors who are already offering technology of the same kind, they do have investments from large brands. Samsung and NVIDIA are both reportedly part of the most recent round of funding that SoundHound received, and they have worked with both Samsung and NVIDIA before to incorporate their software into hardware from both companies. Aside from large company investments and the promise of letting companies keep the data collected from users, the speech software itself aims to offer fast results to users. This is all made possible by interpreting the words from users as they speak them in real-time instead of waiting for the user to finish what theyre saying before kicking back a response. With SoundHounds unique approach to voice A.I. and IoT devices gaining in popularity with more and more consumers, the company just might be a worthy competitor to larger offerings. The European Union has reached a compromise deal to cap roaming costs for citizens of its member states. Brussels has been working for over a decade to remove the EU-wide roaming costs and this new solution will be implemented on June 15, 2017. However, the EU had one final significant obstacle to overcome, which is to cap the roaming costs that individual operators may charge between themselves. The third set of talks happened on Tuesday and was seen as the last chance for an agreement to be reached before roaming is abolished in June. The European Union has reached a preliminary deal which is now pending ratification. The deal requires that all wholesale data roaming charges are capped at 7.70 per gigabyte from this June and are then dropped to 2.50 per gigabyte in 2022. Call charges will drop from the current five cents per minute to 3.2 cents per minute, and text message costs will be reduced in half and amount to a single cent per message as of this June. However, the European Commission will review these wholesale caps every other year and recommend changes if it considers them necessary. Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, the European Union lawmaker in charge of the project on behalf of the European Parliament, is thrilled with these latest developments, as she revealed on Twitter. The European Commission Vice President, Andrus Ansip previously explained that he did not wish for the EU to show weakness and an inability to serve its citizens. Therefore, he rallied all parties involved in the talks and pushed them to work hard and reach a decision before June. The issue of setting wholesale prices across the entire EU territory was difficult to resolve due to different conditions within individual member states. Those countries in the north and east typically offer lower prices to customers and favor lower wholesale caps, but countries in the south which benefit from an influx of tourists favor higher wholesale prices. This is to avoid roaming partners gaining inexpensive access to local carrier networks, which could reduce the profitability of southern carriers and in turn, result in fewer investments into these networks and a poorer user experience. Alternatively, carriers in the south might raise their prices for local customers in order to cover the extra costs associated with tourist traffic. A new and unknown Sony Xperia handset has received its Bluetooth SIG certification. Unfortunately, comparatively little is known about the new Sony device other than it is a smartphone, it has Bluetooth 4.1 and it has a design name and model number of PRO20161112. Other rumors point to Sony releasing, or at least unveiling, a total of five new smartphones at the Mobile World Congress, being held in Barcelona towards the end of the month. These devices, which are said to come with a colorful codename each, range from a 5.0-inch, 720p model through a 5.5-inch, 1440p device. However, the new flagship Sony Xperia, under the model name of Yoshino, will come with a 5.5-inch, 4K or 2160p resolution display according to the rumors. The Sony Yoshino may use a similar resolution-managing technology as weve seen with the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, that is, the device will ordinarily reduce the screen resolution in order to save battery life when there is no benefit to the user. The other new Sony Xperia models have code names of BlancBright, Hinoki, Keyaki and Mineo. Given that the Sony Xperia PRO20161112 model has Bluetooth 4.1 rather than the new Bluetooth 5 standard, this particular device does not appear to be one based around the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, as this System-on-Chip supports the new Bluetooth 5 standard. Sony would be unlikely to release a 2017 flagship smartphone using the new Snapdragon flagship chip without adopting the very latest Bluetooth 5 standard. Indeed, Bluetooth 4.1 is not even the penultimate version of the networking technology, as some of todays smartphones offer support for Bluetooth 4.2. As such, it seems logical that the Sony Xperia PRO20161112 is a lower to mid-range device, based around a lower to mid-range chipset. Sony have used both MediaTek and Qualcomm chipsets in their recent Xperia devices, but there is no indication what flavor of chipset the model will use. It is possible that the Bluetooth SIG will be testing and certifying a number of other Sony Xperia smartphones, and if this is the case other supported versions of Bluetooth could be revealed perhaps along with additional information about these devices. However, until more details of Sonys up and coming Xperia family of devices is unveiled, the world will need to wait until the MWC in Barcelona. CANNON BALL -- Clearing the anti-Dakota Access protest camp - the largest protest camp ever occupied in the country - is starting with baby steps this week. Tuesday, loaders, dump trucks, an excavator and skid-steers and workers moved around the Oceti Sakowin camp near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation where as many as 10,000 protesters had been living since August to protect the Missouri River water and the tribes sacred sites from a 570,000-barrel crude oil pipeline a half mile away. News had not yet reached the camp that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been directed by Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer to issue the final easement so Dakota Access can drill its pipeline under the Missouri River/Lake Oahe. Oblivious to political undercurrents but hoping to clear the land for potential flooding, people and big machines tore out camps and structures, concentrating on abandoned sites or where people say they want help. Materials for salvage were set to the side, while loaders scraped up bucket loads of abandoned tents, sleeping bags, cooking utensils, food goods, and personal items mixed into slushy snow and ice. It all got poured into piles and dumpsters arranged around the camp perimeters and trucked to the landfill. Hans Bradley, the brownfield coordinator for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, is overseeing this initial phase of the cleanup that will last through Friday, when the teams will regroup and assess. Were trying to identify what should be cleaned up by asking people and getting their perspective on where we should start, Bradley said. He said the idea is to move carefully and thoughtfully through the camp, where some 300 are still living, cooking and going about their days. He estimates that by the end of February, the area will be 95 percent cleared off. With that in mind, he said the tribe asked the the corps, which owns the land, and state agencies that offered help, to stand down while the tribe works its way through a difficult process. Bradley was not immune to the emotion of the day. In a certain aspect, I do feel sad, but there is always an end and there is always a beginning. This was about dreaming and building off of that; the reality is the world can be beautiful, he said. Cleanup this week is being coordinated through the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. of Pine Ridge, S.D. and its Standing Rock counterpart, though the tribe itself will take the lead going forward. Nick Tilsen, Thunder Valley executive director, said hed been involved with the NoDAPL movement since day one. We had a stake in this from the first, supporting the water. Now were putting our values into action to be good stewards, Tilsen said. The two groups each had about 25 workers, some volunteers, some part of the community service corps, and are using donations and other funds to hire the contractors and the equipment. I dont think the narrative is that this ended up in a trash dump. This was like a stone cast in the pond with a ripple effect all throughout the world. The reality is we inspired the world that together we could stand up to a powerful corporation, Tilsen said. He said the camp will eventually be commemorated and the unity and historic gathering of hundreds of tribal nations remembered in a prayerful ceremony. Water and ice is already starting to collect in the lowest areas of the camp and navigating around is tricky by vehicle and treacherous by foot. The conditions are making it difficult to get to the camp goods stuck under hardened snow drifts of snow and ice. Shelbie Dodt, of Detroit, was working to clear a camp shed set up earlier, methodically shoveling snow to get to the ground tarps that had once kept ground moisture out of a light summer tent. She said its been hard, thinking of a disposable society, of all that had been left behind, when not long ago resources donated from all around the world were being allocated so people could survive winter. Now were left with all these things that people wanted to contribute. Now we clean it up, trying to salvage what we can. I left and now Ive come back twice. Im not sure why I keep coming back - its breaking my heart, she said. Joe Britt, who was in charge of camp construction, now finds himself in charge of camp deconstruction, taking buildings apart for salvage or for moving to another camp location. Snow is being cleared off a site just up the hill to the south of the main camp, where the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is leasing some privately owned land for an alternate camp site on Standing Rock. Standing Rock called off its own plans to start up an official winter camp, but Britt says it appears several locations are in the mix if people choose to stay on. Were doing all this in preparation for the move, he said, gesturing to neat piles of sheeting, wall frames and building sections on skids stored near the camps main construction building. There are properties becoming available, four different sites. Its crazy right now, he said. I dont think (the movement) will be all over. He said it is hard to see so much donated material and camp goods become fodder for the landfill. I came here to fight for the environment. A lot of this stuff was donated and used once and now its garbage. Its like the aftermath of a hurricane, he said, looking around. Parts of the camp do look like that, partly because people in flimsy shelter fled in panic after the Thanksgiving blizzard. Other areas are neat and tidy, while an area close to the Cannonball River where cleanup is underway is regaining a natural open look. The camps population was always diverse in its opinions and one is Matthew Borke, also of Detroit. Hes salvaging and reconstructing dock pieces, formerly set out on the Cannonball River, and plans to ride out any flood water on a floating camp. Im building a raft so I dont have to leave. Ive got 11 of these (docks) for one big ark, he said. Im not really in fear of a flood. Catka Winyan, an Ogalala Sioux, said she will move to higher ground, but she won't give up the fight. "America was built on stolen lands. DAPL is the squatters. I love it here. We have title to this continent, what we're standing on." Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II and the tribal council want the camp cleared out ahead of potential spring flooding, a concern thats been building over the course of a hard, snowy winter. While the National Weather Service sees only a minor threat now, it warns that conditions can worsen before melt. Command Sgt. Maj. Harley Schwind, of Mandan, was honored during a retirement ceremony Jan. 8 in front of family, friends and fellow guard members at the Raymond J. Bohn armory in Bismarck. A native of LaMoure, Schwind has served in the North Dakota National Guard for 36 years. Enlisting in 1981, Schwind initially served as a combat engineer with Company D, 141st Engineer Combat Battalion. He served with the unit for 12 years in several key leadership roles, including the position of squad leader, before transferring to the North Dakota Military Academy and Engineer School at Camp Grafton in Devils Lake in 1993. While there, he served as an instructor, course manager and branch chief. Schwind then transferred to Company A, 164th Engineer Battalion, where he served as first sergeant in 1997, but returned to the North Dakota Military Academy in 2000 as the senior instructor and assistant commandant. In 2001, Schwind was assigned as the operations sergeant for the Engineer Brigade, 34th Infantry Division. Three years later, he assumed duties as the command sergeant major for the 164th Engineer Battalion. Schwind served overseas in Iraq with the unit from 2007 to 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon his return, he was assigned to the 68th Troop Command as the operations sergeant and later as the command sergeant major. Schwind became the top noncommissioned officer for the North Dakota Army National Guard in March 2012 when he assumed duties as the state command sergeant major. In this role, he reported to the adjutant general on soldier issues affecting the organization, including the enforcement of policies and standards of performance; training; appearance; conduct; health, morale and welfare. Schwind's most recent and final assignment was served during an overseas mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2015 to 2016. While there, Schwind was the NATO Headquarters Sarajevo command sergeant major. During his retirement ceremony, Schwind was joined by his children and his wife, Sgt. Maj. Darcy Schwind, who also serves in the North Dakota Army National Guard. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to grant Dakota Access Pipeline its final easement to cross the Missouri River within "days not weeks," according to the office of Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. Hoeven said Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer has directed the corps to proceed with an easement for the completion of the 1,172-mile crude oil pipeline. An environmental impact statement, which opponents of the pipeline had argued in favor of, is not likely to take place, said Don Canton, a spokesman for the senator. "They're just making sure they've got their ducks in row, and then they will likely approve the easement," Canton said. This will enable the company to complete the project, which can and will be built with the necessary safety features to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others downstream," Hoeven said in a statement. The pipeline project has been stalled for months over opposition from Standing Rock, which has expressed fears that a leak in the pipeline where it crosses the river would contaminate the water supply. This is the last approval needed to complete construction of the project and follows an executive order by President Donald Trump directing that reviews and approvals for the project be expedited, said Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. President Trump is legally required to honor our treaty rights and provide a fair and reasonable pipeline process, Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II said in a previous statement. We are not opposed to energy independence. We are opposed to reckless and politically motivated development projects, like DAPL, that ignore our treaty rights and risk our water." Lawyers for the tribe have previously said they would challenge the action in court should the easement be issued without a full environmental impact statement being conducted. This change in course is arbitrary and without justification; the law requires that changes in agency positions be backed by new circumstances or new evidence, not simply by the presidents whim, Archambault wrote in a letter to the president last week. Your memorandum issues these directives with the condition that these actions are carried out to the extent permitted by law. I would like to point out that the law now requires an environmental impact statement." Hoeven said action is being taken "to secure additional federal law enforcement resources to support state and local law enforcement. On Sunday, 20 additional Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers arrived at Standing Rock to assist local authorities. Imagine a topic. Now imagine a law covering some aspect of the topic. Thats pretty much how it works at the Legislature. The range of topics addressed in the nearly 800 bills facing lawmakers is well, comprehensive. Take farm drainage, for example. One of the largest hearings of the session so far occurred in the Senate Agriculture Committee last week when a bill was heard that would standardize permits, fees and requirements for field tiling. These vary by county and by water management district. Some concern arose about environmental impacts of drainage, including incidental flooding, salt and fertilizer run-off accumulations and increased flows in streams and rivers. On the same day at the same time the Transportation Committee was hearing a bill that would end the statewide ban on parking meters on public streets. This dates from an initiated measure passed in 1948, when a prominent politician from rural northwestern North Dakota was ticketed for parking overtime on a Minot street. The ban has survived other tests. Both bills could emerge from committees and face floor action this week. Perhaps the most far-reaching bill heard last week would change the way county social services are funded. Todays system uses property taxes. The proposal is to pay, instead, from the state general fund, which is built largely on sales and income taxes. This continues a trend established when the Legislature made funding for public schools a state responsibility. In this case, the state funding would replace whats known as a property tax buy-down for social services. The state currently pays 12 percent of local property taxes. This shows as a deduction on taxpayer statements each January. Under the new scheme, the state would pay for social services on a caseload basis, just as public schools are funded on a per-student basis. The idea came out of a task force appointed by former Gov. Jack Dalrymple and is part of a package of reforms in social service laws making its way through the session. Gov. Doug Burgum was critical of the buy-down in his state-of-the-state address; he has included funding for it in his draft budget. Asked if such a procedure is sustainable, Senate Tax Committee Chair Dwight Cook, of Mandan, said: If I didnt think it was sustainable, I wouldnt have sponsored it. Guns who can carry them and where have drawn a lot of attention, as well. In general, the trend is to loosen restrictions on gun laws, citing the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Last week, the Senate passed a bill that would establish a 10-day grace period for someone stopped carrying a gun to prove he or she had a permit. Other gun laws would expand rights to carry concealed weapons, including allowing them in schools and other public buildings. On two health-related issues, theres sharp disagreement. One is the medical marijuana law passed as an initiated measure in the last general election. Lawmakers are working to push back the effective date of the legislation in order to clarify it. That will take a two-thirds vote in both houses. The BreatheND program, established by an initiated measure in 2008, is past the seven-year super-majority requirement for amendments, and lawmakers have taken aim at the program, which is funded from North Dakotas share of the federal tobacco settlement. The plan is to fold the program into the state Health Department. Anti-smoking activists have mounted a spirited defense of the program. Social issues are notably few in this session, despite early clashes about removing gender-specific language in marriage laws. That was defeated. A bill to regulate pornography on computers was withdrawn. No abortion bills were introduced by the deadline. Nor were any bills regulating bathroom use offered. Abortion has been a hot topic in past sessions and restricting public bathrooms to so-called birth-gender status have been controversial in other states. A bill extending equal rights for housing and employment to gay, lesbian and transgendered people will be heard in a House committee today. That bill failed in the 2015 session. Lawmakers questioned the specifics Wednesday of a bill that would allow officers to fine people $5,000 for refusing to leave an environmentally sensitive area. Drafted in response to Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the bill's supporters cited the need for public safety during demonstrations that have cost state taxpayers millions of dollars for law enforcement to contain. The lone opponents testimony centered on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 2246, saying it doesnt provide for the ability to contest such a fine in court. Its a due process violation, Jackson Lofgren, president of the North Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told the Senate Judiciary Committee. If approved, the bill would allow officers to order people to leave private or public property as well as areas deemed dangerous due to being environmentally sensitive. An area thats deemed environmentally sensitive includes an area that might be prone to flooding, a blizzard or other severe weather hazard. Prime bill sponsor Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, said the exact amount of the fine is negotiable since its higher than any other misdemeanor in state statute. Dever said it wasnt a specific statement on the protests in southern Morton County but would apply to them effective March 1. This is very serious business, Dever said of the public safety risk of flooding this spring. Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, asked Dever about unintended consequences. She referred to 2011 flooding in south Bismarck, where, after having to evacuate her home, she and her husband returned daily to put chemicals in the home to prevent mold. Dever said SB2246 applies to things such as mandatory evacuations in which law enforcement would be put in danger responding to someone in need of rescue. He told Larson his guess was that, in her case, she wasnt fighting law enforcement going into a flood zone. The area where a majority of protesters against the $3.8 billion pipeline are camping, near the Missouri River near the Standing Rock reservation border, is located on federal land prone to flooding. National Weather Service projections for this spring indicate a possibility of flooding in the area. Bismarck resident Gaylynn Becker, whos testified in favor of several recent bills that are in response to protest activities, said SB2246 was needed in order to make protesters consider their actions. I am beyond being appalled, said Becker of protest activities aimed at making "North Dakotans look stupid by some. Becker, who questioned whether demonstrations were in any way peaceful, said the costly response by law enforcement is pulling away funds from important programs in the state during a time of budget constraints. Efforts are being made to clear away structures, belongings and waste left at the camp area in advance of spring. A specific count of how many protesters remain is unknown but is estimated to be a few hundred. Meanwhile, a call for action from the Sacred Stone Camp went out Tuesday, according to LaDonna Bravebull Allard, director of the camp who indicated that more than 41 #NoDAPL actions across the globe were planned over the next week. Lofgren expressed concern how such a fine would be applied to a homeless person being told to leave a shopping mall on a cold winter day or to college kids being told to leave a nuisance party and not leaving quick enough to law enforcements liking. Its very vague. They can give you a ticket for a $5,000 fine, Lofgren said. No action was taken Wednesday on SB2246. Madeleine McCaan: Amaral wins, Maddie Missing and Kate doesnt sing on BGT Madeleine McCann: a look at reporting on the missing child. Today Madeleine McCann is on the front pages of the Mirror and Express. As ever we are looking at the missing childs parents in the papers, Kate and Gerry McCann. Theyve lost their libel case against former detective Goncarlo Amaral, who in a book and documentary implicated them in their daughters disappearance. In 2015, a Lisbon court sided with the McCanns, ordering Amaral to pay 500,000 (429,000) in compensation to the parents. Last year that ruling was overturned. The McCanns took the case to Portugals supreme court. And lost. The McCanns have issued a statement: What we have been told by our lawyers is obviously extremely disappointing. It is eight years since we brought the action and in that time the landscape has dramatically changed, namely there is now a joint Metropolitan police-Policia Judiciaria investigation which is what weve always wanted. The police in both countries continue to work on the basis that there is no evidence that Madeleine has come to physical harm. We will, of course, be discussing the implications of the supreme court ruling with our lawyers in due course. The Express tells of the McCanns new agony. The Mirror tells of the McCanns devastating defeat. The Daily Record sums up in a headline: Kate and Gerry McCann facing financial ruin after losing libel case against cop who said they faked daughters abduction. Adding: Kate and Gerry McCann could be left penniless Kate and Gerry will also have to pay his legal fees believed to be a six-figure sum as well as their own lawyers bills. What about the fighting fund to find the child? Martin Fricker writes: The result could empty Madeleines Fund a company set up days after Madeleine vanished and leave the McCanns broke. Madeleines Fund has about 700,000 in the coffers. But accounts filed last month say nearly 500,000 of that was invested last year in an unknown venture. So around 200,000 remains? More than 4.2million has been donated to the fund since three-year-old Madeleine vanished from the apartment in Praia da Luz. The Sun has a slightly different figure: If they are ordered to pay Mr Amarals legal costs, the money may have to come from the Find Madeleine fund which has dwindled to around 480,000. The Telegraph wonders what will happen next: Madeleine McCanns parents could be sued by police chief who falsely accused them of covering up death Could is not news. Over in the Mail there is news of a sort: Madeleine McCanns mother Kate and her choir made up of families of missing people hope to win Britains Got Talent after reducing judges to tears with a heartbreaking performance in secret auditions Reducing the BGT judges to tears is a task akin to differentiating between your arse and your elbow. But the Mails story is weaker than Amanda Holdens tear ducts . Madeleine McCanns mother Kate, 48, is an ambassador for the The Missing Peoples Choir, which is expected to appear on the talent show in May, ten years after her daughters disappearance from Praia Da Luz in Portugal. Although she has not been singing in the choir during the auditions, Mrs McCann may become more involved if they progress to the televised stages. The Mail has used Kate McCann to flog a story that doesnt feature her. There is no word on the investigation into what happned to Madeleine McCann. Such are the facts. Anorak Posted: 1st, February 2017 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink The biased Guardian says Trump approves of child killing (Obama droned them to sleep) Is the media biased against President Trump? He says it is. And get this heres evidence that hes right. The Guardian leads with the picture of the Anwar al-Awlakis daughter, Nawar al-Awlaki, who may have been fatally shot in intelligence operation on al-Qaida that left at least 14 people, including a US commando, dead. The headline declares: Eight-year-old American girl killed in Yemen raid approved by Trump A childs death was approved by Trump. Is that biased? Or is it a little too subtle for you? Did the Guardian lead with pictures of children killed in attacks approved by Barack Obama? No. Did we see faces on the Guardians cover of people including pregnant women and children offed when Obama-approved bombs killed 131 people at a wedding and 140 civilians at a funeral in Yemen? No. Maybe Obama bombed them to sleep? Maybe he blessed them with his ordinance? Maybe being killed on Obamas approval is more desirable than being killed on Trumps? Did we see any faces on the Guardians front page of the children deported some of the 2.5 million people sent packing on Obamas instructions? No. Is the media biased? Yes. Is Trump out of step with previous American leaders? No. Paul Sorene Posted: 1st, February 2017 | In: Broadsheets, Key Posts, Politicians Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Rome, February 1 - The Italian Treasury on Wednesday must send its response to the European Commission's request that it do more to bring down its structural deficit. Premier Paolo Gentiloni is set to meet European Council President Donald Tusk in Rome later on Wednesday. On Tuesday Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano ruled out the possibility of Rome passing measures that could threaten growth. "It's an important moment because we are returning to the path of growth and so we can't let them put sandbags on the path of growth," Alfano said on the fringes on a conference for industrial employers association Confindustria. "Our response can only be negative... we cannot accept a budget that depresses the glimmers of growth". The European Commission has asked Italy for an extra budget cut equivalent to 0.2% of GDP, or about 3.4 billion euros, or risk an infringement procedure. The government has stressed the need for the EU to take into full consideration the extra costs Italy has had to bear for recent earthquakes in central Italy. (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 1 - ''Boosting the external border to avoid the departure of illegal migrants'' is the ''strategic'' objective of the Fund for Africa - 200 million euros allocated by Italy to start a cooperation on this front, mainly with Libya, Tunisia and Niger, according to a project presented Wednesday by Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. Alfano said that with this decree specific resources are allocated for the first time to border management, in addition to the 430 million already available for Cooperation. Italy will provide ''equipment, technical instruments, training of local security forces'' based on the requests of its North African partners and the effective implementation of the project will be verified. The principle is that ''Italy saves human lives and puts money on the table and therefore it is loyal and demands the same loyalty from partners'', stressed Alfano. (ANSAmed). Italian FM announces 200-mn Africa fund to stop migrants Cooperation project with Libya, Tunisia and Niger (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 1 - ''Boosting the external border to avoid the departure of illegal migrants'' is the ''strategic'' objective of the Fund for Africa - 200 million euros allocated by Italy to start a cooperation on this front, mainly with Libya, Tunisia and Niger, according to a project presented Wednesday by Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. Alfano said that with this decree specific resources are allocated for the first time to border management, in addition to the 430 million already available for Cooperation. Italy will provide ''equipment, technical instruments, training of local security forces'' based on the requests of its North African partners and the effective implementation of the project will be verified. The principle is that ''Italy saves human lives and puts money on the table and therefore it is loyal and demands the same loyalty from partners'', stressed Alfano. (ANSAmed). ROME - For the first time a camera is being admitted into a prison for minors where 'returning fighters' are jailed for a documentary on the fight against the Islamic State, starting with teenagers. The documentary, 'Bare-handed', talks about the very young 'returning fighters' in the German prison and the experiment to rescue them and prevent attacks. The project is based on the Koran and theater and is explained in the documentary for which a crowdfunding campaign has just started. The prison in Wiesbaden, capital of Hessen, hosts teens aged 16 to 21, mainly former fighters who were recruited by the so-called Islamic State terror organization. The experimental project is managed by Martin Meyer Husamuddin, a German who converted to Islam and became an imam, and a theater director, Arne Dechow. The documentary is produced by Tfilm and directed by Stefano Obino (Author of Vinicio Capossela - Nel Paese dei coppoloni' and 'Il Vangelo Second il Precario'). The title 'Bare-handed' refers to the fact that the only solution to the problem is rehabilitation and prevention, according to the project's creators. Theater and faith within the prison seek to funnel rage and a sense of exclusion felt by second and third-generation immigrant teens. The crowdfunding campaign, which has kicked off on the Indiegogo platform, will fund the official presentation at the East European Forum, an important appointment for producers and investors scheduled on March 6-12 in Prague: the documentary here will find the necessary funding to be completed. (https://igg.me/at/barehanded). - BERLIN - Germany on Wednesday began a program to offer incentives of up to 1,200 euros to every asylum seeker who voluntarily goes back to their home country, reported DPA. Berlin will this year allocate 40 million euros for the project, called ''Starthilfe Plus''. Any asylum seeker over 12 years of age without financial means of sustenance who withdraws his or her application during the process will receive 1,200 euros under the scheme; failed asylum seekers who decide not to appeal a rejection within the allowed time limit will receive 800 euros. The funds will be halved for those under 12. Families with more than four members who intend to be repatriated will receive an additional 500 euros per family. To prevent misuse, the ministry noted that not all migrants will be eligible and that those from the Western Balkans and Syria will not be included. Syria is still classified as a war zone and aid cannot be given to facilitate repatriation, the ministry said. The Evangelical Church has criticized the move, saying that the incentives put pressure on migrants when there are no real programs to facilitate their re-settlement in their countries of origin. Money incentives for repatriation are already active in Germany, but currently stand at between 300 and 500 euro. Last year, some 55,000 migrants returned voluntarily to their home countries after having their asylum requests rejected. Isis: Tunisian arrested in anti-terror operation in Germany Wanted for Bardo Museum attack, 15 other suspects (ANSAmed) - BERLIN, FEBRUARY 1 - German police in Hessen on Wednesday conducted an anti-terror operation to find 16 people suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. The main suspect, a 36-year-old wanted in connection with the Bardo Museum attack on March 18, 2015, has been arrested. Some 1,100 police officers were deployed in the operation, which focused on the Main area. In Frankfurt alone, 33 buildings were searched, including apartments, mosques and workplaces. Six buildings were also searched in Offenbach, three in Darmstadt and two in Wiesbaden and Limburg. The Tunisian arrested, who had pledged allegiance to ISIS in August 2015, was active as a migrant smuggler and tried to recruit new members for the terror organization, investigators said. Investigators also said in a statement that the man had built a network in Germany and was planning an attack. ''Plans were at an initial phase and there was no concrete objective yet'', they said. The 36-year-old was arrested at 4 am by special anti-terror forces and did not resist arrest. The investigations that led to the operation, conducted together with the public prosecutor general, lasted four months and involved 150 police officers ''deployed in the investigation around the clock, seven days a week''. (ANSAmed). TEL AVIV - The Israeli army, residents and young Jews - who have travelled from across the country - are clashing in Amona, the illegal Jewish outpost in the West Bank that must be evacuated by tonight, based on a decision by the Supreme Court in Jerusalem. The army has warned demonstrators that they will be removed by force if they don't leave peacefully. However, according to media reports, demonstrators - who burned tires and are presiding the area - have no intention of leaving. Meanwhile last night, Premier Benyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced the construction of some 3,000 new homes in the West Bank, in what some commentators have seen as a move to lighten up the situation in Amona. TEL AVIV - The Israeli army has started clearing the illegal Jewish outpost of Amona in the West Bank, military radio reported on Wednesday. Young demonstrations are at the location, along with residents, and have vowed 'passive resistance' against the evacuation decided by the supreme Court in Jerusalem. The army is assisted by some border agents. The army yesterday gave an ultimatum to residents to leave Amona, which has been declared a closed military zone. Hundreds of youths have been arriving since last night to help residents in Amona (some 40 families) resist the evacuation order. According to local media, protesters started hurling stones against security forces deployed in the evacuation. Amona is near the settlement of Ofra, not far from Jerusalem. The Supreme Court, after a lengthy legal battle, decided to clear the outpost built on private Palestinian land. The government then reached an agreement to reallocate the families in another place but the land still needs to be selected and the court now has to rule on the validity of the accord with the outpost's residents. Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel of the Jewish Home party near the settlers' movement is in Amona. A lawmaker for the same party, Bezalel Smotrich was quoted by the media as defining the evacuation as a ''brutal rape'' against residence in statements criticized by the opposition. - MADRID - The Madrid town council under Mayor Manuela Carmena, who ran on a Podemos ticket, has voted to ban circus performances that make use of wild animals. The measure was backed by a broad majority of the town council and by the lists of the mayor, Ahora Madrid, Socialists and Ciudadanos for the ''defense of the historic rights of animals''. The town council of the Spanish capital received a mandate to adopt a binding ordinance from 2001 regulations aiming to ''defend animals from many hours of suffering'' and the stress that they are subjected to during training and performances. Other cities led by mayors from Podemos, such as Barcelona and Cadiz, have adopted similar measures. The move has sparked protest from the Partido Popular (PP) under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, the main party in the town council opposition in Madrid. The association of Madrid circus workers, which represents 2,000 people, has announced that it will make an appeal, saying that weekly police checks already ensure that no mistreatment occurs. The association has said that it will report the town council for ''abuse of power''. ''The animals are born in captivity and have large, fenced-in area to run around,'' said elephant trainer Joy Gardner, heir to five generations of circus performers. In recent days the workers of the Gottani circus, which performs in the suburb of Vallecas, have reported to the police numerous insults and threats from animal rights activists. ROME - ''Boosting the external border to avoid the departure of illegal migrants'' is the ''strategic'' objective of the Fund for Africa - 200 million euros allocated by Italy to start a cooperation on this front, mainly with Libya, Tunisia and Niger, according to a project presented Wednesday by Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. Alfano said that with this decree specific resources are allocated for the first time to border management, in addition to the 430 million already available for Cooperation. Italy will provide ''equipment, technical instruments, training of local security forces'' based on the requests of its North African partners and the effective implementation of the project will be verified. The principle is that ''Italy saves human lives and puts money on the table and therefore it is loyal and demands the same loyalty from partners'', stressed Alfano. ROME - Asylum applications have boomed in the first month of 2017 in Italy, up 41% from January last year. Meanwhile, the requests examined by commissions have dropped 11%, according to prefect Angelo Trovato, who said the system is ''suffering''. Trovato is the president of the national commission for asylum rights, and he spoke about the situation during an audition at the parliamentary investigative commission on the reception of migrants The significant inflow is confirmed by data on landings. In January, 4,504 people arrived by sea, including 395 unaccompanied minors. Many applied to become refugees, an increasing number which the system set up by the interior ministry is struggling to manage. The 26,000 requests in 2013 rose to become 64,000 in 2014, 83,000 in 2015 and 123,000 in 2016. Data on January 2017 registered a further increase by 41%. Out of the 123,000 asylum requests registered in 2016 (up 47% on 2015), 11,656 were presented by minors. The great majority of applications (105,000) came from men. Nigeria was the most represented country with 27,000 requests. Some 20 territorial commissions on asylum process the applications, in addition to 28 sections, six of which have a full-time president. Each Commission costs 314,000 euros a year. Talking about the processing of applications, Trovato said that ''problems are getting more significant, mainly due to the necessary presence of police who are very busy with other issues. So instead of carrying out four to five auditions a day, their number has gone down to three. In 2017, a 10% drop was registered in the applications examined and this is cause for concern''. At the end of the process, the refugee status was granted to 5% of the requests that have been presented; 14% were granted subsidiary protection, 21% humanitarian aid while 56% of applications were rejected. The average timeframe for applications in the 2014-2016 period was 257 days, with a progressive improvement from the 347 days required in 2014 to the 261 in 2015 to the 163 in 2016. A reported 110,000 requests are currently pending. ''We are the second European country after Germany for the number of applications examined'', said the prefect. Appeals against the denial of the refugee status were 53,000 from 2014 to 2016, of which 18% were defined (70% were accepted) and 81% are still pending. Peace Now 'alarmed' by 3,000 more settler homes in West Bank 'Netanyahu is compromising the future of Israel' (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, FEBRUARY 1 - The Peace Now NGO, an activist group in Israel with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, spoke out on Wednesday against the Israeli prime minister's latest moves. Benyamin ''Netanyahu must not let the two state solution be the causality of his fight for political survival,'' it wrote in a statement published on its website. ''Yesterday's announcement include the promotion of housing units deep in the West Bank and in highly problematic areas for a future agreement. In order to satisfy his settler constituency and divert public attention away from his investigations Netanyahu is compromising the future of Israel.'' In January, investigators from the national police anti-fraud unit questioned Netanyahu twice over his alleged acceptance of tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from wealthy businessmen. The statement came after Netanyahu approved the building of 3,000 more housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Peace Now found especially significant the fact that 1,380 housing units are ''in areas that are not likely to be a part of Israel in a future agreement''. Over the past few days, Netanyahu had already approved the building of 2,500 more settler housing units in the West Bank as well as 68 homes in the Ofra settlement. (ANSAmed). Syria: UN, de Mistura, Geneva talks postponed till Feb. 20 To enable the opposition to participate with united front (ANSAmed) - NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 1 - UN special envoy, Staffan de Mistura, has said that ''the next round of talks on Syria in Geneva have been postponed until February 20''. At the end of a closed-door meeting of the Security Council, de Mistura said that invites will be sent on February 8. The postponement has been decided to enable the opposition to present itself with a united front. ''If this will not happen - he added - I will select a representation among different oppositions, a possibility I am granted by the Council's resolution''. (ANSAmed). If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both Everyone wants their children to be in a safe environment when they go to school. The goal of House Bill 1310 is to ensure that students have an added layer of protection while in school. The bill would allow a member of a school's staff with a Class 1 concealed carry firearms license to carry a weapon on school grounds with the permission of the school's board. The staffer would be required to take a 40-hour law enforcement training course to learn basic tactics and topics, such as firearms proficiency and how to respond to an event. Those approved to carry a weapon also would have to agree to coordinate with law enforcement if an incident occurs. A 10-hour annual refresher course also would be required. The bill is intended to fill a gap for schools that cant afford a school resource officer, mostly smaller or rural schools. Good intentions, however, dont always result in good legislation. The Tribune doesnt believe that HB1310 provides a safe alternative for schools. The flaws in the bill were pointed out during committee hearing testimony. Questions were raised over whether a 40-hour training course was enough to prepare a school staffer to respond to someone with a gun. Law enforcement is concerned about the liability involved with providing training. Theres also no way to know, argue the bills opponents, how a school staffer will respond when confronted by a potential gunman. Will the staffer act in the right way or will he or she freeze? "What happens if some of the good guys get shot?" asked Jon Martinson, executive director of the North Dakota School Boards Association, before the committee hearing. While money is tight this legislative session, it would make more sense to find a way to provide funds to schools that want to hire a school resource officer. It would be more of a deterrent to have a trained officer on duty than to rely on a teacher or administrator. Its commendable they are willing to put themselves at risk to protect their students, but its not the safest answer to the problem. Its fortunate that North Dakota hasnt had a major shooting incident at a school. Sadly, its also true that it can happen anywhere. Again, the best solution is a trained officer. There are other gun-related bills before the Legislature. House Bill 1169 would make it legal for people who are 21 years old or older to carry a concealed firearm without a permit in the state. House Bill 1273 would change laws surrounding guns in churches. In both cases the sponsors have good intentions. Any bills dealing with firearms in society need a close look. Overall, North Dakotans are very responsible when handling guns. Accidents can and do occur and when dealing with firearm legislation safety should be our primary concern. The two airline groups have concluded a US $100 million global catering agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul. Addressing a press conference in Abu Dhabi, the chief executives of both airline groups spelled out plans to broaden their commercial partnership. James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group President and chief executive officer, said: Partnerships are at the heart of our strategy and remain fundamental for us to compete effectively and efficiently in a complex and competitive global market. Our collaboration with one of the aviation industrys most established and recognised brands is undoubtedly the most significant non-equity partnership with an airline we have ever announced. This partnership is the platform for a much wider strategic collaboration between our two organisations. It demonstrates the commitment of the Etihad Aviation Group Board and Abu Dhabi to our European growth strategy. Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Group Chairman and chief executive officer, said: We welcome the opportunity to strengthen our cooperation with the Etihad Aviation Group. Together we can create added value for our customers and shareholders. Partnering with the Etihad Aviation Group fits perfectly the Lufthansa Groups global strategy for our passenger airlines and service companies. The four-year catering contract will see Lufthansas LSG Sky Chefs provide catering services to Etihad Airways in 16 cities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. This makes LSG the largest provider of catering services to the UAEs national airline, outside its Abu Dhabi home base. Etihad Aviation Group and Lufthansa Technik (LHT) also signed an MoU to explore cooperation in maintenance, repair and overhaul services across Etihad Airways and its airline equity partners, and opportunities for synergies with Etihad Airways Engineering. Etihad Airways and Lufthansa are also exploring further cooperation in a number of areas, including freight operations, procurement and passenger services to improve their competitive offering globally and in the European market. The previously announced codeshare between the two airline groups goes on sale today, 1 February, for flights between Abu Dhabi and Germany. Lufthansa will place its LH code on Etihad Airways twice daily flights between its Abu Dhabi hub and both Frankfurt and Munich. Etihad will put its EY code on Lufthansas long-haul, non-stop intercontinental services between its home base of Frankfurt, the business and commercial capital of Germany, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and the Colombian capital, Bogota as soon as government approval is obtained. The codeshare agreement will grow both carriers global networks, giving Lufthansa increased access to important feeder markets throughout the Indian Subcontinent via Abu Dhabi, while Etihad will gain access into South America through Germany. To facilitate both connectivity and the customer experience associated with this codeshare, the Abu Dhabi-based airline will also move its operations at Lufthansas hubs, from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 in Frankfurt, and Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 in Munich. The Lufthansa Group signed an agreement in December 2016 with airberlin, in which Etihad Aviation Group holds a 29 per cent stake, for the wet-lease of 38 aircraft. Lufthansas point-to-point carrier Eurowings will wet lease 33 aircraft, and Austrian Airlines, a Lufthansa Group airline, will take on five aircraft. The agreement between Eurowings and Air Berlin, signed on 16 December 2016, will last for six years and is slated to begin on 10 February 2017 when the first aircraft starts operating for Eurowings. It has reported total revenue of AED 5 billion (USD 1.37 billion) an increase of 2.4% compared to the same period last year. The stronger second half, driven by increased passenger numbers, was impacted by downward pressure on yield leading to lower overall revenue growth reflecting a continuation of the same adverse factors reported in the first half. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Flydubai, said: These results see flydubai report its fifth consecutive full-year of profitability. In 2012, our third year of operation, we carried 5.1 million passengers. This year, we have carried 10.4 million passengers demonstrating that flydubai continues to help change the way both business and leisure passengers travel around the region. An established tourism destination and global centre for business together with the UAEs geographic location has supported the need for increased connectivity. Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of Flydubai, reviewing the annual results for 2016, commented: Over the last two years we have seen passenger traffic grow cumulatively by 52% in terms of RPKM. We continue to demonstrate that we gain loyal customers across our network that recognise the benefits of direct air links and enjoy our on-board offering. The continuation of mainly lower fuel prices and on-going cost management efforts are reflected in the 16% improvement in terms of ASKM over the last two years. We have however seen a difficult pricing and operating environment. Cost and revenue performance The closing cash and cash equivalents position, including pre-delivery payments for future aircraft deliveries, remained strong at AED 2.3 billion. Fuel costs were 25% of operating costs compared to 30.6% in the previous year, against a backdrop of lower fuel prices for the year, with legacy fuel hedges impacting only 21% of the volume for full year 2016. Ancillary revenue comprising of baggage, cargo and inflight sales contributed 13.8% of revenue; dropping from 15.1% from the previous year. Operational performance Aircraft deliveries: 8 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft joined the fleet in 2016 in support of network expansion. The average age of the fleet was 3 years 8.5 months. Business Class: The growth in the number of Flydubais Business Class passengers continued and saw the airline carry 2.4 times the number of passengers as in 2014. The Subcontinent saw the strongest demand for Business Class carrying more than double the number of passengers. This was followed by the Caucasus which grew by 88%, as a result of a liberalisation of the visa rules, creating an increased demand from both inbound and outbound traffic flows. In addition, Business Class passengers grew by 38% in Europe and 24% in the GCC and Middle East. Network expansion: During the course of the year, increased flight frequency on existing routes and a maturing in the performance of the 41 new routes launched in 2014 and 2015 saw ASKM grow by 9%. The launch, on 29 November, of flights to the popular destination of Bangkok was the first route outside of the GCC to start operations with a double daily service. Across the network, Flydubai reported the following passenger flows: GCC & Middle East: Flydubai carried 28% of all traffic between Dubai and the GCC and Middle East. Europe: passenger numbers in Europe grew by 19%. Russia: with 21 flights per week across 7 destinations passenger numbers increased by 3%. Ukraine: overall flydubai passenger numbers on flights between Ukraine and Dubai increased by 26%. Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan): its 5 points across the region saw flydubai contribute 23% of the total growth at Dubai airports. Subcontinent: passenger numbers on the Flydubai network grew by 22%. Africa: passenger numbers from its 11 points grew by 3% and contributed 12% of the total growth at Dubai airports. Al Maktoum International (DWC): Flydubai has been operating from DWC since October 2015. With its two gateways, Flydubai will continue to gradually increase its operations at DWC based on the further expansion of the airport. Staff numbers: Flydubai continued to grow its experienced team with a total of 3,773 staff including 746 pilots, 1,618 cabin crew and 282 engineers. Key Operating Figures FZ981: following the tragic loss of FZ981 on 19 March 2016, Flydubai remains focused on supporting the families who lost their loved ones. In addition to providing initial financial assistance payments and interim financial assistance payments, our Long Term Care Team continues to be available to the bereaved families who are our primary concern. Plans are being put in place for a memorial to mark the first year anniversary. Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of Flydubai, said: Flydubai continues, through its accredited representative, to support the investigation into the tragic accident. Our long term family assistance team continues to be available for all the families. Outlook During 2017, Flydubai will be the first airline in the Middle East to receive the new model Boeing 737 MAX 8 and the first of these aircraft will enter into service in the second half of the year. The overall capacity will not grow during 2017, as short-term capacity needs are adjusted, due to the ongoing challenging operating environment. Since launch, one of the principles of Flydubais fleet planning strategy was to maintain a young fleet. Under these plans, the airline will see the eight-year lease term expire for 4 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 and during the year these aircraft will be retired from the fleet. Al Ghaith added: We will remain prudent throughout 2017 as we will continue to operate in a challenging socioeconomic environment. Yields will remain under pressure and we expect to report flat growth in the year ahead. We are looking forward to receiving the first Boeing 737 MAX 8 in the region, which will bring further fuel and operating efficiency to our young modern fleet. We are focused on our strategy to lead in innovation, to provide an unrivalled experience on board and on the ground, as we continue to meet the travel demands of our passengers. Analyst Saj Ahmad said: Flydubai's impressive turnaround in the second half of the year, despite the pressure from competition and falling yields means that the carrier is in great shape as it looks forward to its move later this year to Dubai World Central. Since 2012, Flydubai has more than doubled it's passenger base to over 10m, while recording a sharp 14.4% rise in traffic over the same period a year ago. Coupled with one of the industries highest utilisation rate for the 737-800 at over 13.5 hours a day has helped the airline expand organically while economies of scale from the 57-strong airplane feelt has pushed fuel costs lower to just 25%, down 5% over the last reporting period. Ahmad added: The rise in revenue to 5bn AED and profits to 31m AED underscores Flydubai's vibrancy with its unique hybrid model that employs a dedicated business class product that none of its GCC rivals have or can match. This has helped offset some of the pricing and yield erosion seen in lower cabin fares and has allowed Flydubai to be less beholden to one passenger type as it diversifies it's network and services. Given the sharp rise in traffic seen at Dubai World Central for 2016, led almost entirely by Flydubai, its inevitable that the new airport will gather more traffic momentum next year once Flydubai has shifted there completely. Not only will it have a pick of the prime slots, but it'll generate and build upon its customer base that has come to benefit from Flydubai's efficient operations that save passengers time and provide excellent connections. Nobody ever said running an airline was easy. Facing a Saudi economy feeling the effects of two years of low prices, a dominant national carrier that has built-in advantages from the state, and with new competitors about to appear, Paul Byrne, CEO of Flynas, knows that better than most. Flag-carrier Saudia, which already has by far the largest share of the domestic market, is now bringing in larger long-haul aircraft, such as Boeing 787s and Airbus A330s, to operate domestic sectors. This increased marketplace capacity is depressing yields. Effectively its below-cost selling, said Byrne. We have a concern over it. Its not a level playing field as far as were concerned. That situation is not improving. In August, Saudia took delivery of its first A330-300 Regional, a lower-weight version of the European twin-jet optimised for shorter-range services, and is believed to want to use them to increase capacity on its most popular routes. Saudia has 20 on order. The national carrier also plans to launch a new low-cost carrier (LCC), Flyadeal, in 2017. Flynas also faces new competition from Saudi Gulf Airlines, which should have begun operations around the time that this issue of Arabian Aerospace appears, together with Egyptian-Saudi carrier Nesma Airlines. However, further competition in the shape of Qatar Airways planned subsidiary, Al Maha Airways, is unlikely to materialise. Qatar Airways has declined to comment on progress on obtaining an air operators certificate (AOC) for Al Maha from Saudi Arabias General Authority for Civil Aviation for more than a year now and it is understood that the project has been abandoned. Dammam-based Saudi Gulf has said it intends to offer a premium product that differs from that offered by Flynas, but Byrne believes some overlap is inevitable: Im sure they have no choice but to compete with us, even though they believe they wont. Nesma, meanwhile, intends to start services with ATR turboprops. But arent turboprops supposed to be unpopular with Gulf passengers? That would have been my impression, too, said Byrne. The airline has been granted a series of public service obligation (PSO) routes. These are focused on Hail, in the north of the country, radiating out to nine outlying regional airports, said Byrne, although he believed that the airline would also take delivery of some A320s, with the aim of flying the Hail-Riyadh-Jeddah triangle. Flynas has been given permission to launch a similar series of PSO routes, based on Abha in the far southwest of Saudi Arabia and covering such secondary cities as Bishah, Jazan and Al Bahah. Well go in a couple of times a week. The idea is to open up all the airports of the kingdom to regular flights. From Abha, we can take them around the kingdom or link up to international flights from major cities where we have codeshare partners. Weve had a longstanding [codeshare] arrangement with Etihad, but weve broadened it out and its been a great success for both of us. We also have a new codeshare with Pegasus Airlines [of Turkey] and thats going great guns for us. The latter enables Flynas passengers to book journeys through Pegasus home hub, Istanbuls Sabiha Gokcen airport, to five Turkish cities. A further Pegasus connection comes in the form of two Boeing 737-800s from the Turkish low-cost carrier that are currently wet-leased to Flynas to provide extra capacity. Meanwhile, the Saudi airline continues to search for its next generation of equipment. It operates 27 A320s (24 leased by the airline itself, plus three wet-leased two from Freebird of Turkey and one from Etihad) but is looking at either the A320neo or Boeing 737 MAX as future equipment. Were in the request for proposals process with Boeing and Airbus. That process has taken longer than we thought it would, but were still confident we can make a decision by the end of the year. Despite the problems of over-capacity and depressed yields, Flynas is still profitable, said Byrne. With its combination of new routes, codeshare and new equipment, it hopes to stay that way. Following the successful launch of flights from Cairo to Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada this summer, the airline will continue this expansion by launching year-round services connecting the capital city of Cairo to the ancient cities of Luxor & Aswan from 30th December 2016. The new services will play an important role in developing tourism to Upper Egypt by offering Egyptians living in Cairo and international visitors, quick and conveniently scheduled flights to the historical cities. Nile Air chief executive officer, Ahmed Aly, said: As we continue to grow apace in Egypt, we have seen a clear need to increase our existence in the domestic market. We are delighted to introduce our two newest destinations of Luxor & Aswan in support of the revitalization of the Egyptian tourism market to the ancient & spectacular treasures of Upper Egypt. Services between Cairo and Luxor will be operated three times a week (Monday, Thursday & Friday), whilst Cairo and Aswan will be connected twice per week (Monday and Friday). February 1, 2017 After days of silence, Irans Defense Minister Gen. Hossein Dehghan has confirmed the reports about a new Iranian ballistic missile test. On Jan. 29, citing an unnamed US official, Fox News reported that a launch had taken place outside Semnan, about 140 miles east of Tehran. The missile reportedly flew for 600 miles before exploding. Dehghan said Feb. 1, The recent [missile] test is in line with our plans, and we will not allow any foreigner to interfere in our defense affairs. Whatever has been said about the missile tests, [they] arent in violation of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and [UN Security Council] Resolution 2231, he added, referring to the Jan. 31 emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over the Jan. 29 launch. Dehghan said, We have always stated that we will never ever ignore [our program] for developing and strengthening our defense capability to defend our interests. The UN Security Council met behind closed doors at the request of the United States to discuss the Iranian missile launch. Afterward, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the council should take action over the alarming" test. Moreover, at a briefing Feb. 1, US national security adviser Michael Flynn said the missile test was "in defiance" of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adding, "We are officially putting Iran on notice." In a joint press conference with visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Tehran the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, The new administration in the United States, presently facing an unfortunate international situation following the imposition of the visa ban, may capitalize on the [missile] issue to provoke new tensions. He added, Iran will never use missiles produced in Iran to attack any other country. No Iranian missiles have been produced to carry nuclear warheads. The nuclear deal does not address Irans missile program, while Resolution 2231 which endorses the JCPOA notes that Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. While the language of the resolution is nonbinding, Tehran has on repeated occasions stated that it has no plans to design missiles capable of delivering atomic weapons. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has once again criticized his US counterpart, Donald Trump, over his Jan. 27 executive order to ban the entry of citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries including Iran. Speaking at a ceremony marking National Day of Space Technology on Feb. 1, Rouhani said, The president of a country assumes that if he bans the [issuance of] visas for the people of a few countries, he can distance humans from each other, but this is wrong. However, this is to be expected from those who are novices in the world of politics. Rouhani added, They [the US administration] chanted slogans for years that we are against the Iranian government but support the Iranian people, but since this person [Trump] is a special person, he revealed this hypocrisy and displayed what is in their hearts. He took measures that merely target a number of our dear citizens or Muslims and people in other countries. Noting the Trump administrations stated intention to build a wall along the Mexico-US border, Rouhani said, The era of erecting walls to separate peoples is over. Today is the era of communication. Meanwhile, in an interview with Tasnim News Agency on Feb. 1, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the Iranian judiciary's Human Rights Council, implied criticism of Irans reciprocal ban on the issuing of visas to US citizens. He said, Banning Americans from entering Iran is a symmetrical response, but it is not a very attractive [idea], emphasizing that while Irans reaction to the US visa ban should be clear and decisive, it should be asymmetrical. Saying that Trumps three main qualities include money worship," vulgarism and racism, Larijani argued, We should provide special funding for the scientific and research centers [in Iran] to [be able to] accept and welcome the Iranian scientists who are working in the United States but cant go to the United States anymore due to the visa ban. He added, American scientists are vehemently opposed to Trumps decision; they are very interested in coming to Iran and speaking with our scientists. Larijani continued, We should also offer special funding to the scientists and students of other Islamic countries that have been sanctioned [under] Trumps new decision. Larijani said boycotting American products is among other appropriate responses to the visa ban. One case against a pipeline protester was dismissed and eight more will move to a second day of trial in a joined case arising from anti-pipeline demonstrations in mid-August. During the first day of the case reset from December, seven attorneys and one self-represented defendant cross-examined four police officers about what happened and whether it amounted to acting disorderly. The misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges arise from Aug. 11, the first day protesters were arrested demonstrating against the Dakota Access Pipeline. On that day, pipeline opponents congregated in the ditch along Highway 1806 near where the company was trying to build an access road onto private property. Police set up snow fence to mark protest zones away from the construction, but some demonstrators crossed that line or walked onto the access road, which law enforcement contended was harassing or created a hazard to police monitoring a 100-person protest and any construction workers trying to enter or exit the site. One of the pipeline protesters, Malia Hulleman, of Hawaii, is accused of sitting on the access road, where Morton County Sheriff's Department Capt. Jay Gruebele said she was arrested. "With her conduct, and not listening and being arrested, her act caused a hazard to law enforcement," Gruebele said of her. "If a construction worker would have wanted to get a vehicle in or out of there, then she would have been in the way." But her defense attorney, Alex Reichert, questioned whether her action was hazardous or harassing. "I don't think I'd want to run somebody over," Gruebele said. "Well, who would? Unless this new law passes," Reichert answered, referencing a bill before the legislature to remove liability for a driver who strikes someone blocking the road. Gruebele also testified that one man pushed him at the police line. And a highway patrolman said he chased a protester through the private property. But the evidence against the defendants was often limited and differed from what was given in charging documents. That may have been because there weren't reports ever written for some of the defendants and the affidavit was not written until three months later. Lead witness Gruebele, who wrote the affidavit, testified that the defendants were issued citations at the jail, which are much like traffic tickets. "I thought there would be more police reports on other defendants," he said. In an affidavit filed with the complaint, defendant Sara Jumping Eagle is accused of pushing through the law enforcement line to get to the access road. But in court, Mandan Police Deputy Chief Jason Boer said she was standing in front of a construction company pickup on the highway then yelled toward the crowd to rile them up while she was being arrested. One man, Isaac Weston, had his case dropped after the prosecutor conceded that an officer seeing him get arrested outside the protest zone across the public ditch was not enough evidence. "I'm just happy," Weston said after court. "The power of prayer." The case is being prosecuted by Ladd Erickson, the McLean County State's Attorney, who is assisting Morton County with the pipeline-related trials. "I guess it's called civil disobedience. I'm going to go lay in the road in front of those trucks," Erickson said. The trial is being presided over by South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland. Seven jurors were selected from a pool of 42 on Tuesday morning after questioning about their connections to the pipeline, law enforcement and protesters. Two of the defendants were not present for the trial, and their lawyers represented them in their stead. One other protester had her trial continued after her attorney showed the judge proof she was in the emergency room. The trial is expected to continue at least through Tuesday morning, with some defendants testifying on their own behalves. As one of the main European capitals, Helsinki is a land full of islands, activities and rich history. Over 300 islands around this city make it an ideal place for tourists. Whether it is a summer adventure or winter vacation, the largest city in Finland offers a memorable time. Helsinki has the most beautiful design, so genius its awarded the City of Design by UNESCO. That shows how much creativity and elegance it has. More of its alluring qualities include magnificent views of the sea, a lot of space for walking, hiking or biking, great food and interesting culture. Its not uncommon for people to come back for a longer stay after their initial visit, and since even more modest vacation apartments in Helsinki offer some breathtaking views, you don't have to be a social butterfly and overly energetic person to get a taste of its amazing architecture. Besides the amazing cafes where you can get stuck for hours without noticing, there are more hidden beauties that await you. Helsinki Central Railway Station Since opened in 1919, this is the most visited building of Finland. Over 200,000 passengers walk through this landmark every day. Its located in the center of the city with a clock tower and two huge statues of men holding spherical lamps in front of the door. Heres a little known fact, the station has a waiting lounge for the president of Finland, 540 square feet long. Near the station are exclusive restaurants, but they might be slightly expensive. Museums Museums in Finland turn the haters into inspired people who end up buying a Museum Card for access to museums all around the country. The good thing is that you dont have to pay for entrance right away, some museums offer a free pass on the first week of the month. The top four museums to check out are: 1. Kiasma - Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma is one of the leading museums of contemporary art and a huge architectural landmark. With domestic and international exhibitions, it tends to make art closer to the people and thereby offers new perspectives on life. The dominant material is the light, so the texture of the building shapes and changes according to the natural light. It has a glass ceiling, staircases that wind in a different direction, curving corridors, and ramps for all five floors. 2. Ateneum - National Museum of Art Containing everything from modern to art dating back to the 19th century, Ateneum is considered the home of Finnish art. Since the Finnish care about perspective, the goal of this museum is to open the views of the past and into the future. Tours, workshops, and speeches from experts are available, and on the regular themed days, free ingress is provided to the new audience. 3. Kansallismuseo - Finnish National Museum This museum contains art that represents the history from medieval times to the 19th century. In the main entrance hall, the ceiling is covered with marvelous paintings and throughout the tour visitors can see what life was like in the Middle Ages, sea voyages, romanticism and 70s nostalgia as well as interactive workshops for studying the history and culture of Finland. 4. Designmuseo Design Museum There is no history and no future without art. This beautiful building from 1894 is the home of the Design Museum and its interesting exhibitions. Beside the development of design exhibitions, the Design Museum holds handicraft dating to the second half of the 19th century. Visitors can see the progress of industrial and art design as well as some Finish classics. For a long time, there was a lot of talk about building the Guggenheim museum, but the Helsinki city council rejected the plan. Churches Temppeliaukio Church is called the Rock Church because of the rocks used to create the walls. Its natural-looking with great acoustics. In fact, due to its great acoustics, concerts are often held there. Although Rock Church is one of the most popular places, Helsinki also has the Kamppi Chapel of Silence at the entrance of a shopping center. In the middle of the rushed and crowded area, there is a place to calm your thoughts, see interesting exhibitions and even talk with the priest or a social worker. In addition, tourists of Helsinki can see Western Europes largest church. Red brick exterior and golden cupolas show the Russian influence in the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, but nothing can beat the beauty of the Helsinki symbol, an Evangelic Lutheran church, the Helsinki Cathedral. Helsinki is a preserved blended culture of the Russian and European influence. Starting with the taste, this town has it all; the sea and nature with majestic sites, parks, amazing architecture, reliable public transportation, inspiring coffee shops and people who talk only when they have something of value to say. A place where one can relax and be surrounded by art. Feeling adventurous? You can choose the firsthand experience from the locals, but as they tend to mind their own business and keep quiet for the most par, its better to go with someone. Solo or with loved ones, this trip is life changing. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll some 31 percent of people said US President Donald Trumps travel ban made them feel "more safe," while 26 percent said it made them feel "less safe." Another 33 percent said it would not make any difference and the rest said they don't know, Reuters reports. Trump's executive order blocked citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 49 percent of Americans agreed with the order and 41 percent disagreed. Some 53 percent of Democrats said they "strongly disagree" with Trump's action while 51 percent of Republicans said they "strongly agree." Imposing a temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim countries, President Donald Trump said the move would help protect the United States from terrorism. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The General Department of Civil Aviation denies media reports that the UTair Boeing 737 aircraft operating the Moscow-Yerevan flight from Moscows Sheremetyevo airport was unable to operate the flight due to damaged valves in the rear of the plane. The General Department of Civil Aviation told ARMENPRESS UTair airlines doesnt operate Moscow-Yerevan flights from Sheremetyevo airport, instead it uses the Vnukovo airport. On February 1, the UT 873 aircraft of UTair airlines operated the Moscow-Yerevan flight from Vnukovo airport at 11:36 instead of 11:10 and landed in Yerevan at 13:58 instead of 14:00. No incidents occurred during the flight, Satenik Hovhannisyan, spokeswoman of the General Department of Civil Aviation said. Earlier it was reported that a UTair Boeing 737 which was scheduled to operate the Moscow-Yerevan flight on February 1 cancelled the flight due to technical issues. According to life.ru, while preparing for take-off, the pilot said there are problems with the valves in the rear of the aircraft. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The introductory visit of Armenias tour operators and media outlets to Iran passed rather productively, Mekhak Apresyan, head of the tourism department of the ministry of economic development and investments and head of the delegation told ARMENPRESS. The visited lasted January 22-29 and was organized at the invitation of the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran. During the visit, meetings in both official and private formats were held. The meetings were held in Tehran, Tabriz, Urmia and Isfahan. The meetings were held with the participation of representatives of tourism companies, hotel services, media, including Armenpress news agency. Issues related to activating tourism visits in both directions, holding joint events, forming an Armenian-Iranian tourism result and presenting it in the international market were discussed during the meetings, Apresyan said. According to him, Armenian and Iranian tourism opportunities were presented at the meetings. In his words, the results are satisfying, the Armenian and Iranian tourism companies are already negotiating on forming a common tourism package. By the way, the possibility of launching Isfahan-Gyumri flights and twinning the cities was discussed in Isfahan. It is planned to organize a visit of Iranian media to Armenia in assistance of airlines, and a visit in the opposite direction, Apresyan said. We would like to thank Mahan Air airlines for assisting to provide air ticket to journalist. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan, whose official visit to Iran is underway, visited publishing house of Alik newspaper on February 1. Vigen Sargsyan talked about Armenian-Iranian relations, the works done and to be done in the Armed Forces of Armenia, introduced the achievements of the Armed Forces, and answered the questions of the present in a meeting with the editorial staff. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the MoD Armenia, the Defense Minister of Armenia highlighted the role of the Armenian Church and Armenian organizations of Diaspora in the mission of preserving the Armenian identity, as well as reinforcing Armenian-Iranian relations. On February 1 Vigen Sargsyan also held meetings with the Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani. During the meeting with Mohammad Javad Zarif the expansion of cooperation in the sphere of security between the two states was highlighted. A broad scope of issues, including deepening the relations between the two friendly peoples, fostering Armenian-Iranian partnership, as well as regional issues were addressed at the meeting. Highly assessing the cooperation between the two states in different spheres and stressing the importance to further develop the relations, the sides emphasized the importance of ensuring regional peace and stability as a key condition for sustainable development of the regional states. Vigen Sargsyan briefed on the situation on the contact line of the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan and the efforts made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs for the conflict settlement. Stressing the necessity for a peaceful and negotiated settlement, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to contribute to the establishment of regional security and stability. During the meeting with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, the sides discussed issues of developing Armenian-Iranian relations, fostering cooperation in various spheres and ensuring regional security and stability. The sides referred to the priorities of the Armenian-Iranian cooperation and stressed the necessity to deepen bilateral cooperation. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenian and German Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandian and Frank-Walter Steinmeier have exchanged messages on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of MFA Armenia, Edward Nalbandian was satisfied to record in his letter that high-level political dialogue goes on smoothly. Edward Nalbandian mentioned that the 25 years is just an instant considering the centuries-old history of the two peoples, but it is perceived as a separate era and an essential phase for establishing diplomatic relations for Armenia with restored independence and unified Germany. The Armenian Foreign Minister expressed conviction that based on this, Armenian-German multidimensional relations will further develop. Frank-Walter Steinmeier noted in his letter that quite intensive relations have developed during the quarter century. The German FM mentioned that the two countries cooperate closely based on mutual trust. He stated that Germany supports Armenias desire to create new foundations for relations with the EU and expanding those relations, adding that Germany, as an OSCE Minsk Group member, continues making efforts for a peaceful resolution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict and assisting the Co-chairs. Frank-Walter Steinmeier hoped that the cooperation between the two states will continue developing based on mutual trust. Former Congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes was among 76 people arrested Wednesday after Dakota Access Pipeline protesters tried to establish a new camp on private property located on the west side of N.D. Highway 1806 in southern Morton County. After failed negotiations with leaders of this new camp, law enforcement moved in around 3:30 p.m. and arrested people who refused to leave, according to the Morton County Sheriff's Department. The confrontation continued until about 4 p.m. The short-lived encampment, known as the "Last Child Camp," was composed of several teepees atop a hill across from the main Oceti Sakowin camp. According to a post from Dallas Goldtooth, a campaign organizer of the Indigenous Environmental Network, police told Oceti Sakowin camp security they would not be raiding that encampment on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land. To access the protest site, law enforcement briefly removed part of the barricade on the Backwater Bridge, but they replaced it after the standoff. Police said representatives of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe collected teepees left after the raid. Bureau of Indian Affairs officers also set up a roadblock at Cannon Ball to keep people from driving north during the raid. Joye Braun, a longtime protest organizer affiliated with IEN, said she was not sure exactly of the intentions of the camp. Unlike the "front line" or "treaty camp" from October, this was not atop the pipeline route. She suggested that since many there view the whole area as treaty land, they may have moved atop the hill across the road in the spirit of leaving the flood plain and setting up on higher ground. Braun, who was not atop the hill, said she believed people had been mostly prayerful there. Police are characterizing the group on the hill as a rogue faction, but Braun contends that's unlikely, given the number of arrests. "How can 76 people getting arrested be a faction?" she asked. Arrestees have been transported to jail across the state, including Morton County, Mercer County, Cass County, Stutsman County and Barnes County. As recently as Sunday, ongoing dialogue between all parties, including camp leaders from the various protester camps, resulted in agreements to start cleaning up the camps, to have protesters leave the area and for steps by law enforcement to help de-escalate the situation. Public safety, including that of residents and protesters alike, is our No. 1 priority, said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier. What law enforcement calls an illegal action follows news that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to grant the final easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross the Missouri River within the next few days, according to Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. In spite of the actions of this rogue group, we will strive to continue efforts on both sides to move forward and find common ground as steps are taken to ensure public safety and begin healing the relationships that are so important to the region and our state, Gov. Doug Burgum said. Meanwhile, activists from Camp of the Sacred Stones, Honor the Earth, the Indigenous Environmental Network and the International Indigenous Youth Council are maintaining that granting the easement would illegally circumvent the environmental impact statement process and allow the company to begin drilling immediately. The EIS was ordered by Jo-Ellen Darcy, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Army, on Dec. 4. On Jan. 14, the corps filed a notice of intent in the Federal Register to begin the scoping process for the study, for which a public comment period is currently open. "By attempting to approve this easement, the administration's actions reveal a blatant disregard for the rule of law and a clear interest in lining the pockets of Big Oil," Goldtooth said. "Now he (Trump) is working even harder to attack sovereign tribal nations and historic treaties. Come what may, we have drawn our line in the dirt. We are here to defend Mother Earth and our inherent rights as the first people of the land," he said. Bismarck Tribune reporter Caroline Grueskin contributed to this report. The biannual Exercise Cerberus is taking place in Germany this year. It is the largest British Army Field exercise of the year and the largest to take place in central Europe for more than a decade. Some North Dakota lawmakers are working to help close the wage gap in the state, proposing bills during the last two legislative sessions to promote equal pay. North Dakota has the fifth largest wage gap in the country with women making an average of 71 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to the National Womens Law Center. Women make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes in the U.S., and women of color make even less, according to the center. The states current equal-pay law prohibits employer discrimination between employees in the same workplace on the basis of gender by paying wages at a rate less than the rate the employer pays any employee of the opposite gender for comparable work. In 2015, former Rep. Kylie Oversen, D-Grand Forks, and current chairwoman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, sponsored three bills related to equal pay. Together the bills would have helped clarify the process of filing for an equal-pay claim, create a system to ensure companies doing business with the state are complying with equal-pay laws and allow employees to discuss their pay without fear of punishment. One of the three bills was passed in 2015. House Bill 1257 clarified what unlawful employment practices are, explained how an employee can bring action to district court or through the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights, changed the statute of limitations for court action on an unlawful pay practice, and gave a time limit for how long employers have to keep records on employees. Oversen said the three bills she introduced were part of her broader focus on womens economic security. She said she looked at laws in other states for ways to improve North Dakotas policies. After introduction and a committee hearing, there was a lot of interest in the bills, Oversen said. She began hearing from women across the state who had experienced wage discrimination or were grateful the topic had been raised, she said. We were bringing the conversation to the table and realizing there was still a problem and finding ways to address it, she said. After Oversens first legislative session in 2013, she helped found the Democratic-NPL Womens Caucus. The group encourages women to run for and serve on the North Dakota Legislature as well as backing bills that support women and families in the state, Oversen said. Oversen said when she decided to look at equal-pay policies, she sat down with an attorney and looked at the existing law. It had not been changed since it was put into place in 1965, she said. There were a few things we wanted to clean up to make it easier to understand, Oversen said. So people who want to make a claim were able to understand they can bring it through the court or the Department of Labor. Equal-pay certificates One of the bills that didnt pass in 2015 was House Bill 1293, which would have required businesses of a certain size that wanted to contract with the state to get an equal-pay certificate. The idea was based on a program used in other states, Oversen said. The bill said the state could not have a contract or agreement in excess of $500,000 with a business with 40 or more full-time employees unless the business had an equal-pay certificate. The bill was a way of affirming the states policy by saying that any business the state does business with is upholding and valuing the equal-pay law, Oversen said. The argument against the bill in 2015 was that state contracts already required businesses to comply with equal pay laws. However, there wasnt any followup to make sure the businesses are really following the laws, Oversen said. Both Oversens bill and the equal-pay certificate bill proposed this session require businesses to pay a $150 fee with their equal-pay compliance statement. Oversen said the money would have been used to fund the administration of the program. Rep. Mary Schneider, D-Fargo, introduced House Bill 1400 this session to require equal-pay certificates. Co-sponsor Rep. Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, said if state funds are being used for a project, it is critical to show the business is following the law. The certificates are also a way of raising awareness and promoting accountability and education about unequal pay, Hogan said. The fiscal note from the Department of Labor for HB 1400 estimates $112,500 in revenue for the biennium from the $150 filing fee each business will pay when applying for an equal-pay certificate. The department estimates $253,000 in expenditures from the bill, including costs of creating the forms and computer system, operating expenses and a full-time equivalent staff person to implement the process. The bill was sent to the Industry, Business and Labor Committee after it was introduced, and was reported back with a do not pass recommendation Jan. 25. The bill failed in a unanimous House vote on Tuesday. Rep. Emily OBrien, R-Grand Forks, is a member of the committee and said Schneider asked for a do-not-pass recommendation on the bill. OBrien said Schneider worked with the Office of Attorney General, labor commissioner and the Office of Management and Budget, which suggested there were better ways to go about verifying equal pay. Restarting the Commission on the Status of Women The other House bill up for consideration this session would amend and re-enact the Commission on the Status of Women. House Bill 1405, also introduced by Schneider and co-sponsored by Hogan, had a hearing in the Industry, Business and Labor Committee on Jan. 24. The commission was first established in 1963, according to the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The group was active in the first few years it operated, looking at day care, senior care, wage equity and other issues, Hogan said. The group would raise the issue, such as the law limiting womens labor and denying them overtime, provide data, gather key people and make the case, she said. The commission is made up of five members appointed by the governor, and works to coordinate activities and serve as an advisory group for information relating to economic development programs focusing on career development for women, according to the North Dakota Century Code. Hogan said the commission hasnt met in years, and she is excited about it starting up again. We thought it was time to say, someone needs to be looking at this, Hogan said. We can introduce bills every couple of years but we need an umbrella group to look at the whole status and the commission is a very effective tool. The bill states the commission will provide an annual report to the director of the Department of Commerce Division of Economic Development and Finance and the governor on the findings and recommendations of the commission and any proposed legislation. Renee Stromme, executive director of the North Dakota Womens Network, testified in favor of the bill to the committee on Tuesday. The report requirement is about transparency of the commission, and would allow the average citizen to access its work, Stromme said. The commission will also be a tool to come up with ways to engage all citizens, so everyone can benefit, she said. Here is a transcript of the "news" report MALCOLM BRABANT: Physicist Petros Zografos spent 30 years trying to work out how, using minimal energy, he could break down the water molecule, H20, into its component parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Now he thinks he`s cracked it, with this, his mini power station, which he hopes will help reverse global pollution. PETROS ZOGRAFOS, Physicist (through translator): Since I have children and grandchildren my son has just made me a grandfather I cannot go on watching this planet being so violently abused. MALCOLM BRABANT: George Schoell, from Southern Germany, whose company makes solar panels, is interested in helping develop and market the invention. He headed out of Athens for a nearby Greek island to inspect it for the first time. GEORGE SCHOELL, Businessman: For the people, this would be exactly what they want, exactly what they can use at home. But for the big energy suppliers, this will be a problem, because if anyone takes his own energy, no one will need the grid anymore. MALCOLM BRABANT: In the inventor`s modest home, there was a last-minute technical briefing beneath a bust of Zeus, the ancient Greek god who dispensed power through thunderbolts. Then colleague Pantelis Kotsianis gave a demonstration. PANTELIS KOTSIANIS, Scientist: We have no wires, no external wires from the grid connected to the system, stand-alone, and reconnect later on to the mains, get off the grid, and then we will put the water from the glass into this tube, and within 40 seconds, we will have the power to power the whole house. Right now, we`re off the grid. We have turned off the switch. We will prove that this connector has no power at all. Look, there`s no power on this connector. So I`m putting some water slowly right now, and we just connect the mains right now to the machine. And, basically, you can just well, basically can run the whole house and can turn on the TV and anything else you want right now. MAN: How much power do you have? How much power do you have? PANTELIS KOTSIANIS: We`re producing right now? It`s about 800 watts. MALCOLM BRABANT: Which was enough to enable the inventor`s wife to prepare lunch. The average American house needs about 30,000 watts per hour. PANTELIS KOTSIANIS: It`s a very brand-new technology, never existed before. We`re using frequencies. And with frequencies, you don`t have to use high power. You don`t need to use excessive energy, or really any energy at all, in order to get the fuel that you need, hydrogen. Every rock or every bridge has a very specific resonance. When you vibrate a system at the specific frequency, which is the system`s frequency, that system would break. So, you don`t need force to do that. MALCOLM BRABANT: It`s similar to the biblical story of trumpets destroying the walls of Jericho. This is the Acropolis in Athens, not Jericho, but the temples date from the same era. It wasn`t a religious miracle that brought down Jericho`s walls, but sound waves from the trumpets. The inventor claims water can be unlocked in the same way. There are three stages to this machine. The first is motion. The act of pouring of the water generates energy to start the resonance process. The second is oscillation. A new compound created by the inventor helps produce the hydrogen. The third is the exhaust system, where the only byproduct is room-temperature water vapor. Despite having rich potential for renewal energy, Greece is heavily dependent upon fossil fuel. Much of its electricity comes from lignite, a peat-like substance, transported along conveyor belts from vast open cast mines. Lignite is one of the world`s most polluting fuels, and, according to environmentalists, these plants are responsible for ailments, such as cancer, that cost the Greek health service up to $4 billion a year. PETROS ZOGRAFOS (through translator): The sea used to provide us with all the fish we needed, but now I can see that life is diminishing on the planet, and it`s human beings are responsible for this. So I would really like this invention to be made available worldwide, so that it may halt further destruction of the planet as much as possible. MALCOLM BRABANT: The science employed by Zografos has been validated by a committee of Greek physicists. Independent engineer Lampis Tomasis was a skeptic, but is now a believer. LAMPIS TOMASIS, Engineer: I used spectrum analyzers. I used analyzers for the exhaust fumes. I used oscilloscopes and the other instruments as well. And I am convinced now that the instrument is working perfectly, doesn`t produce any dirt to the environment, and the only product produced is hydrogen, which is very clean for the environment. MALCOLM BRABANT: Two hours after the machine was started, it needed topping up. PANTELIS KOTSIANIS: We added some fuel to our system, so we depleted it with running everything in the house. MALCOLM BRABANT: The team behind this project has rejected several multimillion-dollar offers to the rights to the invention, because they want to control what happens to it. But they are fairly optimistic, and they are talking in terms of this possibly being the start of a new age. But there has to be a word of caution, because there have been several great Greek innovations in the past that have died at birth. They have been strangled by red tape and vested interests. To obtain an independent assessment, we went to the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, named after one of the most important contributors to modern physics and the atomic age. JACOB TRIER FREDERIKSEN, Niels Bohr Institute: I`m extremely skeptical of the way that it allegedly is functioning. I seriously doubt that there is excess energy from this device. MALCOLM BRABANT: Jacob Frederiksen says the invention would be fantastic, if true. But first, he says, the science must be subjected to peer review, and that other experts need to be able to reproduce the results. He believes that using frequencies to split hydrogen and oxygen is valid, but doubts the process can yield sufficient extra power. JACOB TRIER FREDERIKSEN: Let`s assume we have this huge molecule of water, right, oxygen and hydrogen bound together in the water molecule. In order to split this, you really need to pull it apart, I mean, split these atoms apart. Now you have spent quite a lot of energy to split them. You can regain part of that energy by combining them by combustion processes. You already spent the energy to split it, and you only get part of that energy back when you recombine it by burning the hydrogen. And that difference will not be a positive one. MALCOLM BRABANT: In response, the Greeks say they will happily agree to a peer review once they have obtained a worldwide patent. They also insist their system doesn`t conform to the standard rules of electrolysis, or separating of hydrogen and oxygen. George Schoell, the German businessman, headed towards home, satisfied with the Greeks` claims that their process uses minimal energy and is highly efficient. He predicted that, if all went well, mini home power stations could go into production within a year. GEORGE SCHOELL: I was really kind of about this invention, and it was 100 or over 100 percent fulfilled. And I`m really satisfied that I did this trip, because I didn`t expect that the machine runs as we have seen as it runs. PETROS ZOGRAFOS (through translator): I want this invention to spread as far as possible, to the last village in Africa, where the children don`t have electric light to read and study by. MALCOLM BRABANT: The next test for Petros Zografos and his team will be to build a 200-kilowatt machine, about the size of two fridges, to light up a small Greek island fueled by the surrounding water. He hopes to stage a trial within the next six months. For the PBS NewsHour, I`m Malcolm Brabant in Greece. Philippines: Central bank tightens rules on money lending In a move to fight money laundering, the Philippines central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) tightened rules on money service businesses (MSBs). MSBs include remittance and transfer companies (RTCs), money changers, and foreign exchange dealers. As per the new rules, large payouts of more than US$10,036 (PHP 500,000) or its foreign currency equivalent in any single transaction with customers will only be allowed via check or direct credit to deposit accounts. Money changers and foreign exchange dealers will be allowed to sell foreign currency in an amount not exceeding US$10,000 and not exceeding US$50,000 per month per customer. Exemption will only be given once an application is made to the BSP depending on the nature of the business. RTCs and MSBs will also need to notify the BSP when they commence operations as well as for new accreditation of remittance of sub-agents. The new rules will limit MSBs ability to transact in cash while also placing a cap on the amount of foreign currency that can be sold to money changers. The development comes after anti-money laundering investigators said that around US$81 million stolen from a Bangladesh central bank was transferred by a Philippines remittance company. RELATED: Tax Compliance Services from Dezan Shira & Associates Malaysia raises palm oil export tax Malaysia, the second largest palm oil producer after Indonesia, will raise crude palm oil (CPO) export tax to 7.5 percent in February, up from seven percent in January. It had earlier raised the CPO export tax to seven percent from the previous six percent in December. The development comes amid rising concern over CPO supplies despite weak global demand. Analysts say that the higher tax may reduce the export quantity by a small amount but planters will enjoy good prices. CPO prices are reviewed every month. Malaysias biggest markets include China and India, as well as Korea and Japan. Indonesia: Government to review visa free policy Indonesias government plans to review its free 30 day visa policy and plans to revoke the benefits from some countries. Government officials stated that they were evaluating the policy based on how much it was helping tourism versus violations by foreigners from certain countries. Over the past few years the visa free program was expanded to several countries. In March, President Joko Widodo signed a decree making the visa free program available to 169 countries. This was done to increase revenue from tourism activities. Nevertheless, the growing concerns over foreigners staying illegally has prompted the government to take action. Officials stated that some countries have not even made use of the visa policy, with no tourists arriving from those countries. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Human Resources in ASEAN In this issue of ASEAN Briefing, we discuss the prevailing structure of ASEANs labor markets and outline key considerations regarding wages and compliance at all levels of the value chain. We highlight comparative sentiment on labor markets within the region, showcase differences in cost and compliance between markets, and provide insight on the state of statutory social insurance obligations throughout the bloc. The 2016/17 ASEAN Tax Comparator In this issue of ASEAN Briefing, we examine regional taxation in ASEAN through a comparison of corporate, indirect, and withholdings taxation. We further present an overview of the compliance environments found across the region and analyze ASEANs tax environment in the context of the time and documentation required in each country. The Guide to Manufacturing in Indonesia Choosing if, where, and how to establish foreign manufacturing operations in Indonesia can be a significant challenge. While the archipelagos vast diversity may initially seem daunting, a number of options are available which will allow entry and operations to be conducted in a seamless manner. In this issue of ASEAN Briefing, we discuss Indonesia as a hub for manufacturing within Southeast Asia, and provide guidance on how to select and establish operations within the country. In 2016-17, the government had estimated revenue of Rs 98,994.93 crore from telecom sector. The Department of Telecom had placed for auction airwaves worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore in October 2016, which fetched total bids worth about just Rs 65,789 crore. New Delhi: Following muted response to spectrum auction, government has slashed revenue expectation from the telecom sector by 55 per cent to Rs 44,342.2 crore for 2017-18, indicating no sale of airwaves for mobile services next fiscal. In the receipt estimates, the government has pegged revenue from communications at Rs 44,342.2 crore, which includes "licence fees from Telecom Services Providers" and "one time entry fees from new operators". In 2016-17, the government had estimated revenue of Rs 98,994.93 crore from telecom sector, which included about Rs 64,000 crore from spectrum auction and the rest from licence fees and other charges. The Department of Telecom had placed for auction airwaves worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore in October 2016, which fetched total bids worth about just Rs 65,789 crore. "The recent spectrum auctions have removed spectrum scarcity in the country. This will give a major fillip to mobile broadband and Digital India for the benefit of people living in rural and remote areas," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech. Telecom sector fetched revenue of Rs 78,715.01 crore for government in 2016-17. Government received around Rs 32,400 crore as partial payment from successful bidders in spectrum auction and rest from non-tax charges. "The government may not be looking at further auctions in next fiscal. With consolidation happening in the market there seems no need for incremental spectrum, though the government will get amount that is due for earlier auctions," EY Global Telecommunications Leader Prashant Singhal told PTI. COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said, "The telecom industry has said that it has adequate spectrum for another two years. So this year we are not looking for any spectrum. The industry has not asked for it, nor has the government proposed auctions for this year. So it is reasonable that they did not budget anything from auction proceeds." Mathews said that while Budget 2017-18 is good for the economy, it came as a "disappointment" for the telecom industry. "We are disappointed that there are no big ticket benefits for the industry, especially given the dominant role the industry will play in the digital economy, where collection of taxes depend on the robustness of networks," he said. Citing the high cost structures and high leverage of telecom companies that has led to "difficult financial condition" for the industry, Mathews said, "We were hoping that additional benefits would be announced for the sector including withdrawal of the 15 per cent service tax on acquisition of spectrum." He said that budget's thrust on rural population will have a spin off effect on the sector as it would increase rural spending power. The focus on electrification of rural areas will give a push to installation of cell towers. "Another positive is that MAT credit will be allowed to be carried forward for 15 years, as against 10 years at present," he said. Sources said the death toll is most likely to rise further as many of the jawans have suffered serious injuries. At least four jawans of Odisha State Armed Police were on Wednesday evening killed in an IED blast in Odishas Koraput district. (Photo: PTI/Representational) Koraput: At least five jawans of Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) were on Wednesday evening reportedly killed and 20 others were seriously injured when suspected Maoists detonated a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Mogarguma village under Sunki police limits on Sunki-Salur highway in Odishas Koraput district. There was no official confirmation from the Odisha government either on the reported blast or the number of casualties till this report was filed. Sources said the death toll is most likely to rise further as many of the jawans have suffered serious injuries. Preliminary reports said, at around 5.25 pm, - the rebels triggered the blast when a mini-bus carrying 70 OASP jawans was on its way to Angul Police Training College for further training. The intensity of the blast was so intense that the bus was severely damaged and fell down 70 feet off the road. Unconfirmed sources said the rebels after detonating the IED surrounded the injured jawans and slit throats of some of them. After the blast, vehicular movement on Sunki-Salur highway that connects Koraput with Visakhapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh has come to a grinding halt with hundreds of vehicles getting stranded on both sides of the road. Senior police officials have rushed to the spot. Observers point out the visit will provide India a chance to convey its concerns on Moscow inching closer to both Beijing and Islamabad. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia this year in the beginning of June, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Wednesday. Observers point out that the three-day visit from June 1 to 3 will provide India an opportunity at the highest levels to convey to Russian President Vladimir Putin, New Delhis concerns on Moscow inching closer to both Beijing and Islamabad despite the decades-long strategic partnership and close friendship that New Delhi and Moscow have shared. In a statement, the MEA said, This is to confirm that India has been invited as a Guest Country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that will be held in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia from June 1 to 3, 2017. As a part of this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Forum as Guest of Honour. Other details of the Prime Ministers visit are being worked out, and we will announce them as and when they are finalised". National Security Advisor Ajit Doval too has just concluded a two-day visit to Russia. On Dovals just-concluded visit, the MEA said, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Russia from January 30-31, 2017 at the invitation of Mr. Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia. The talks were part of regular high level consultations between India and Russia. The two sides discussed issues of mutual bilateral, regional and global interest, with a special focus on security and defence cooperation between both sides, the MEA said. They noted with satisfaction the ongoing cooperation between them in meeting threats to their national security, particularly those emanating from terrorism in their respective regions, and unequivocally reaffirmed their intention to continue to work together to confront these challenges, it added. The NSA and the Secretary of the Russian Security Council noted that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia was a great asset for both the peoples, and a factor of peace and stability in the region and the world. They agreed to further strengthen this partnership in all areas. The two sides also highly evaluated the plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia in 2017, and pledged to make 2017 a special year in the history of their relations, the external affairs ministry said. Nazeer Ahamed further stated that his family is appalled at the way they were kept on the sidelines at such a critical juncture. Ahamed had served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the previous UPA government. (Photo: Video grab) New Delhi: The family of former union minister E Ahamed, who passed away in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest in the Parliament on Tuesday, lashed out at the administration of the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital in Delhi where he was admitted, saying that they were neither allowed to meet Ahamed nor consulted regarding his medical procedures. Speaking to ANI in Delhi, Nazeer Ahamed, son of the deceased said that he and his other family members were barred from meeting his father and were not kept in loop in regard to any medical developments. "My simple request was that I be allowed to see my father and I'm told that I cannot see him. I've been told that everybody has been allowed to see him all morning without any problem, so I think as a son, I have the right to see my father and get an explanation as to what is going on," he said. Nazeer Ahamed further stated that his family is appalled at the way they were kept on the sidelines at such a critical juncture. "If they are doing any new treatment, there is nothing being discussed with us. I think the decision seems to be made by the junior doctors on call, instead of at least consulting with the family. That has not happened even once," he added, before his father passed away. The senior politician's daughter, who was also keeping vigil in the premises of RML, expressed her shock and dismay at the "unprofessional" and "unethical" behaviour by the hospital administration. Nazeer's brother-in-law Babu Shehzad, who is a nephrologist, asserted that the hospital had no protocol for visitors, which was disturbing and stressed on how the family had begged and pleaded with the administration to visit Ahamed, but to no avail. "This is our basic right and we were not allowed. When I asked to see the protocol for visitors there was no such thing. They wanted to do the ECMO procedures so that he can be sustained on artificial means, and that was not even discussed with the family. How can they do it? It's assault," he stated. Earlier, the Congress top brass including party president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi visited the now-deceased politician in the hospital. Congress General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad was also part of the visiting delegation at the RML hospital here. 78-year-old Ahamed fell unconscious soon after he took a seat in the rear rows of the Central Hall of Parliament during President Pranab Mukherjee's speech to open the Budget session. At around 2.15 pm, he was shifted to the RML trauma centre's ICU where he was put on ventilator. However, he passed away in the wee hours on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also inquired about his health. Ahamed had served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the previous UPA government. The move comes following an order of CIC R K Mathur who refused to disclose the travel expenses incurred on the PMs visits abroad. New Delhi: Bills worth Rs. 119 crore pending towards cash-strapped Air India, generated for some foreign visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been cleared. RTI applicant Commodore (retired) Lokesh Batra said that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on January 30 uploaded on its website the details of bills worth about Rs. 119.70 crore cleared for eight trips, which were shown pending or under process since last year. "I sincerely hope that all the public authorities concerned - PMO, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India - will institute suitable norms and guidelines to facilitate expeditious clearance of chartered flights bills as the issue is directly concerned with the 'Tax-Payers' money," Mr Batra said. The move comes following an order of Chief Information Commissioner R K Mathur who had refused to disclose the file notings related to the travel expenses incurred on the Prime Minister's visits abroad, but took note of Mr Batra's quest for timely payment of bills by the government to the public sector units. "During the hearing, the Commission observed that the appellant's motive is to improve the governance and transparency in settling the bills of the PM's foreign or domestic visits, as public money was involved. The loss of public money can add to the burden of tax payers," Mr Mathur said. It is observed that the appellant has repeatedly stressed on timely payment of bills and institution of suitable internal guidelines to facilitate payments, he had said. "He has stated that this is in public interest. The respondents have taken note of this," Mathur said. The PMO has claimed on its website that bills for trips - Japan, Laos, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya and Uzbekistan - have not been received while it shows that bills are under process for the four visits. The Congress has been critical of the government on economic issues, especially after demonetisation. New Delhi: The Congress is sharpening its knives to take on the government in the current Budget Session. The partys top leadership led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi met on Tuesday to chart out the future course of action. Like the Winter Session of Parliament this time also the thrust is on Opposition unity. Major issues on which the Congress is planning to corner the government are adverse impact of demonetisation, attack on institutions like the Reserve Bank of India, NIA, CBI by the government, ceasefire violations and increased terror activities. Since the economic survey has already mentioned that the GDP growth will decline in the next two fiscals it will also be used by the Congress to target the Modi government. Soon after the Presidents address on the first day of the Budget Session listed out the Modi governments achievements, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the Centre alleging that it has been a complete failure on job creation front. The main question in India today is creation of jobs for young people. It is a big issue today to provide jobs for youth in India, he said. The Congress has been critical of the government on economic issues, especially after demonetisation. Taking a dig at Rahul, several Union ministers said that the Congress leaders remarks were due to his disappointment and frustration at not having a job and even suggested to join one of the skill development centres. Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the Congress is not in a position to stand on its own feet and therefore, has to sit on the carrier of a cycle in Uttar Pradesh, referring to the Congress-SP alliance in the poll-bound state. Cycle is the election symbol of ruling SP. He did not get employment what can we do? His party is failing at every stage. He is not in a position to stand on his own feet. Such an old party and it had to sit on the carrier of a cycle in UP. That is why due to his disappointmentand frustration, he might have interpreted it like this, Mr Naidu told reporters outside Parliament. He said Modi government gave highest ever allocation to rural job scheme MNREGA other than the 70-odd initiatives implemented by the government for employment generation. Reacting to Mr Gandhi remarks, skill development and entrepreneurship minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, If he (Rahul) wants to understand employment and where to get it, it would have been better that the Prime Minister Kaushal Kendras that we are establishing, he can come and get admitted in that Kendra. He would be able to see then, how and where employment is generated and he himself will be benefited. As per the alliance, the Congress will be contesting 105 seats out of the total of 403 seats. Lucknow: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will address their first joint election rally on February 3 in Agra to cement the alliance between the two parties. The two leaders, sources, said, will send out a clear message to party cadres and urge them to work together to ensure the success of the alliance and also the defeat of communal forces. Earlier on January 29, the two leaders had addressed a joint press conference in Lucknow and had participated in a roadshow later. Mr Rahul Gandhi had compared the alliance with the Samajwdai Party to the confluence between Ganga and Yamuna river while Mr Akhilesh Yadav has said that the cycle (SP symbol) would move faster with the help of the hand (Congress symbol). Mr Gandhi said that he shared a personal and political relationship with Mr Akhilesh Yadav while the latter said that they were two wheels of the cycle. As per the alliance, the Congress will be contesting 105 seats out of the total of 403 seats while the Samajwadi Party will field its candidates in the remaining 298 seats. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval too has just concluded a two-day visit to Russia. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia in the beginning of June this year, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) announced on Wednesday. Observers point out that the three-day visit from June 1 to 3 will provide India an opportunity at the highest levels to convey New Delhis concerns to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Moscow inching closer to both Beijing and Islamabad despite the decades-long strategic partnership and close friendship that New Delhi and Moscow have shared. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval too has just concluded a two-day visit to Russia. In a statement, the MEA said, This is to confirm that India has been invited as a guest country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum which will be held in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia from June 1 to 3, 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the forum as Guest of Honour. Other details of the Prime Ministers visit are being worked out, and we will announce them as and when they are finalised. On Mr Dovals just-concluded visit, the MEA said, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Russia from January 30-31, 2017 at the invitation of Mr. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the security council of Russia. The talks were part of regular high level consultations between India and Russia. The two sides discussed issues of mutual bilateral, regional and global interest, with a special focus on security and defence cooperation between both sides. They noted with satisfaction the ongoing cooperation between them in meeting threats to their national security, particularly those emanating from terrorism in their respective regions, and unequivocally reaffirmed their intention to continue to work together to confront these challenges. The MEA added, The NSA and the secretary of the Russian security council noted that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia was a great asset for both the peoples, and a factor of peace and stability in the region and the world. They agreed to further strengthen this partnership in all areas. The two sides also highly evaluated the plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia in 2017, and pledged to make 2017 a special year in the history of their relations. On Tuesday, Patnaik formally took charge as commissioner of the force, which has a strength of close to 80,000 personnel. Delhi's new Commissioner of Police, Amulya Patnaik taking charge from his predecessor Alok Kumar Verma in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI/File) New Delhi: Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Kumar Patnaik on Wednesday assured people that the force will be "more responsive and service-oriented" in his first tweet from the top cop's official handle. On Tuesday, Patnaik formally took charge as commissioner of the force, which has a strength of close to 80,000 personnel. "On taking over as CP Delhi it shall be my endeavour to make @DelhiPolice more responsive and service oriented. Jai Hind," he tweeted for the first time from the official handle @CPDelhi. Patnaik (57) had superseded two officers to succeed Alok Kumar Verma who was appointed the CBI director earlier this month. When B S Bassi was the police commissioner, the twitter handle was quite active and news about big cases being solved and clarifications were retweeted and tweeted quite frequently. However, during Verma's tenure as the commissioner, the official handle was mainly reserved for tweeting greetings on festivals and retweeting important messages posted by Delhi Police's twitter handle. The woman used to regularly consult the doctor for a follow-up treatment of her leg which was operated by him two years ago. During the trial, she deposed that the physical relations between her and the accused were consensual. (Representational image) New Delhi: A 47-year-old orthopaedic surgeon of a civil hospital in Gurugram, who was accused of raping a patient, has been acquitted by a Delhi court which said from her testimony it became clear that she was never raped by him. Additional sessions judge Praveen Kumar acquitted the surgeon Arvind Jindal, who was arrested in October last year, saying nothing incriminating has come out in evidence against him. The doctor was held after the 44-year-old woman patient had alleged that he took her to a friends place in Dwarka on the pretext of getting her a job in an NGO, but raped her. However, during the trial, she deposed that the physical relations between her and the accused were consensual, it noted. From the testimony of the woman, it is clear that she was never raped by the accused and had consensual sexual intercourse with him, it said. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, I am of the opinion that the prosecution has failed to prove its case. Hence, the accused in the present case is acquitted, the judge said. According to the prosecution, the woman used to regularly consult the doctor for a follow-up treatment of her leg which was operated by him two years ago. It was alleged that on October 7, 2016, the doctor took her to a flat in Dwaraka and raped her. The doctor had denied the allegations at the time of framing of charges. However, his statement was not recorded under Section 313 of the CrPC during the trial with the court saying there was no incriminating evidence against him. Police intercepted a Leyland tempo that was carrying 300 cartons of Haryana-made illicit liquor Delhi Police on Wednesday confirmed the seizure of 15,000 liquor bottles in Sector 2 of Dwarka. (Photo: PTI/Representational) New Delhi: Delhi Police on Wednesday confirmed the seizure of 15,000 liquor bottles in Sector 2 of Dwarka. Receiving a tip-off, Superintendent Ram Pratap, Assistant Superintendent Chittar Singh and three other constables intercepted the Leyland tempo that was carrying 300 cartons of Haryana-made illicit liquor. Naresh, the son of Kishan Lal, was arrested. He is said to have been involved in three other cases of bootlegging. Naresh said, he brought the liquor from Haryana to supply in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the ensuing assembly election. A case has been registered under the Delhi Excise Act. Further details are awaited. The Budget will be presented on February 10 and two important bills are likely to be tabled. Kolkata: The Opposition parties on Tuesday boycotted the all-party meeting chaired by Speaker Biman Banerjee ahead of the Budget session of the state Assembly, which commences on February 3. The Budget will be presented on February 10 and two important bills are likely to be tabled. We are never given the dignity of an Opposition party. Whatever proposal we present for discussion in the House, it is turned down. So we boycotted the all-party meeting, Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan told reporters. Left legislative Assembly leader Sujan Chakraborty also shared the same view that the Opposition parties are not heard during the all-party meeting. The TMC has not been able to come out from its politics of taking control of things through their power even inside the Assembly. The way their leaders act we often are in doubt about who is the custodian of the House, Mr Chakraborty said. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the government has been hatching conspiracy to arrest BJP leaders. Even I am fearing arrest. The Opposition is not allowed to raise issues. So what was the need of attending the all-party meeting? he said. Mr Ghosh also demanded adequate time to discuss inside the House important issues like the Bhangar land agitation. Parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee rubbished allegations and said that the Opposition was trying to tarnish the glory of the House by behaving in such a manner for the sake of politics. Their presence at the meeting was necessary as this would have helped the Speaker to run the Session smoothly, he said. The state government plans to bring amendment in the West Bengal Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1976, and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Building Rules 2009 Act, which will ensure that dangerous structures are razed immediately for the safety and security of the citizens. Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said this sector has 'failed miserably' in the present government's tenure. Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Wednesday said though the government has provided relief to the salaried class, it has completely forgotten the farmers, youths and senior citizens, and also took a dim view of the decision to give infrastructure status to affordable housing sector. "While the Budget has given relief to salary earners, it completely forgot farmers, youth, senior citizens and women with no substantial provisions for them," Sawant told PTI. Even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the skill training sector will continue to remain high on priority, with rural areas set to getting more attention, Sawant said this sector has "failed miserably" in the present government's tenure. Questioning Jaitley's assertion that affordable housing will get infrastructure status, Sawant asked the government should reveal how many affordable houses have been created till now. "There are announcements on the housing sector for the poor. But how many houses have actually been created in the last 2.5 years? In many places houses have been created but people are yet to get possession. At many places, it is also seen that the area of house grossly differs from the area promised," he said. Sawant further said that making budgetary allocations for construction of toilets will do no good unless problems of water are sorted out. "Even today I see men, women and children defecating in the open. Places where there are toilets, nobody can use them because there is no water. How will constructing new toilets help unless problem of water is sorted out," he asked. On the Railway Budget, Sawant said, "We are yet to understand what has been announced in the budget." The Karjat-Panvel-Diva route, worth Rs 2,618 crore, which has been sanctioned under the MUTP III, may now go up to Virar. Officials said they hope by the addition of Virar, network of this particular line will get better. Mumbai: It is expected that it will be announced in the Budget that Karjat, one of the ends of Central line will be connected to Virar, another end of Western line. The Karjat-Panvel-Diva route, worth Rs 2,618 crore, which has been sanctioned under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) III, may now go up to Virar. Officials said they hope that by the addition of Virar, network of this particular line will get better, as a result of which those travel via either Dadar or Vadala will benefit. An official said, Virar was a part of the original plan but there were some technical difficulties but now the railway board as well the ministry have asked us to push ahead with this plan. Those who have been associated with the railway from the consumer end have come out and said that though it might seem like a small development, it will be a big help in decongesting the over-saturated Churchgate-Virar corridor. Ex-Divisional Railway User Consultative Committee (DRUCC) member Nirmal Jain said, Any new improvement or widening of the Mumbai network is a welcome step for commuters. He further added, It will remain a fact that no one can compete with the sheer volume of people transported by the commuters. BJP MP Kirit Somaiya said, We will see good things for Mumbaikars this budget, there has been a special focus on issues being resolved in time. He further said, We will be seeing safety measures like the raising of the platform height and escalators taking centre stage as well. In a new article for the Lakeland Ledger, Rev. Robert Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, explains why ordered liberty depends on virtue: What I have learned in these intervening decades is that its not enough simply to be a free society. Its equally important to strive toward being a virtuous society as well. The Irish statesman Edmund Burke summed this idea up in the phrase ordered liberty, a concept incorporated in that patriotic hymn that calls for America to control thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law. Freedom is necessary for virtue to be practiced. We dont become virtuous by accident; we become virtuous by a free act of the will. The entrepreneur wants to change the restaurant and dining experience John Beernaerts where an underwater meal costs 99 euros ($106) per person, took more than a year to build and multiple attempts were needed to perfect the design, mechanics and food delivery system. (Photo: AFP) Pulling on their scuba gear and flippers at a swimming pool in Brussels, Nicolas Mouchart and his wife Florence are not just going diving - they're going out for dinner. Lowering themselves to the floor of the pool, an especially deep one built to train scuba divers, they swim to one end where their restaurant awaits, five metres (16 feet) below the surface."The Pearl" is a two-metre wide white sphere tethered close to the pool's floor. The diners jettison their weighted belts before swimming underneath and up into the pod that looks like a cross between a lunar landing craft and a giant spaceman's helmet. Food is served by expert scuba divers who deliver foie gras, lobster salad and champagne in waterproof cases before leaving the diners peering out of the portholes, enjoying the strange tranquillity of eating in an air pocket, completely submerged."We are launching a new era of restaurants," said John Beernaerts, who founded the NEMO33 pool in the Belgian capital a decade ago. The restaurant, where an underwater meal costs 99 euros ($106) per person, took more than a year to build and multiple attempts were needed to perfect the design, mechanics and food delivery system."It was a wonderful experience," said Mouchart, 41, his hair still wet after the return swim through the warm - 33 degrees Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) - water to the pool side. "It was the first time in our life that we ate underwater, which was really fun. It's a unique dinner and we will remember this all our life." Page Not Found! It seems that the page you are looking for does not exist or has been removed. Budgets are also weighed down by a major constant in that prior commitments take away the most. The presentation of the Budget is a much-awaited annual ritual. It was very important in the days of licence raj when the government exercised its discretion or didnt show it to favour some and punish others. For instance, it was in one such Budget that the rates for purified terephthalic acid (PTA), was reduced and dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) increased to determine the outcome of the most fiercely fought corporate war in Indias history between two top manufacturers of polyester filament yarn. The rest is history. One became a colossus and the other is now a dwarf. The era of economic liberalisation ushered in by P.V. Narasimha Rao has put paid to that often-lucrative discretion. There is a predictability of rates and their continuity. This is a predictability of ideological direction. With discretion reduced and direction assured there can be a few real surprises in a Budget. This Budget has no surprises. What little scope there might have been was removed by the utterly reckless and foolish act of demonetisation. To heal the wound would require bitter medicine. Bitter medicine needs an externally forced crisis or a change of regime to precede it. Budgets are also weighed down by a major constant in that prior commitments take away the most. These are interest payments, salaries and pensions. These take away more than 60 per cent of the allocations. Subsidies range from 8-15 per cent of the Budget and now depend a great deal on international oil prices. When this was touching $100 a few years ago the oil subsidy was almost Rs 130,000 crores. Last year it was Rs 27,500 crores. Similarly defence expenditure, despite growing salary and pension burdens, are flexible because capital acquisitions wax and wane. But they are invariably between 12-15 per cent of the Budget. In this way fixed commitments take up over 85 per cent of the Budget. The annual Budget ritual can only be described as fixing how the rest of the 15 per cent is going to be used. Even here, there is not much flexibility, as most schemes started have to be continued and supported. So all that the finance minister can do is tinker around the margins and outline a set of dreams to be realised at a later date. What made people anxious or more interested in this Budget is that it came under the overhang of the demonetisation, which seriously hit the economy. Even the government now admits that there will be a substantial shortfall in growth. Last year at Budget time, a GDP growth of 7.6-7.8 per cent was being spoken about. The chief economic adviser in his report on January 31 estimated this to be between 6.5-6.75 per cent. The government and even the IMF are admitting a one per cent drop in growth, or about Rs 1.5 lakh crores. The highly regarded Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), however, estimates a fall of two per cent and the aftereffects to last as long as five years. The political consequences of this fall could be severe, given that five states including the biggest, Uttar Pradesh, that gave the BJP 72 seats in the Lok Sabha, will go to the polls. So the possibility of a major act of populism to mitigate the aftereffects of demonetisation was very big and real. Mercifully it didnt happen. We must thank the Narendra Modi government for this. This Budget had two firsts. First, of course, was the date. The other is the incorporation of the Railway Budget into it. This has allowed the government to obfuscate certain allocations. For instance, Mr Jaitley spoke of capital expenditure of Rs 128,500 crores on transport, a good Rs 21,000 crores over last years. But does this years allocation also include the Railways, which was suggested in his speech? In that case, the allocation is actually about Rs 30,000 less than last year. The Budget document also indicates a capital expenditure ratio of 14.43 per cent. If this includes the Railways capital expenditure of Rs 131,000 crores, then it is clearly a reduction. The government needs to come clean on this. Likewise, the finance minister mentioned a huge increase in MNREGA allocation, but an examination reveals that this huge increase is just Rs 501 crores over the expenditure of Rs 47,499 crores last year. This tendency to exaggerate is persistent and worrying. Since Budgets are mostly preordained, the administrative actions proposed are where the real action is. This Budget has a few, and some of these can have lasting benefits. First and foremost is the tightening up of the law on bouncing of cheques. This has been the biggest reason why large cash transactions are preferred. If the process to realise funds and punish perpetrators is shortened and tightened it will have a hugely beneficial effect on how we deal with each other and pay the government what is due to it. Another positive measure is to dissolve the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which had actually become a huge hindrance to foreign investment and a rent collection stop. The government has also linked MNREGA to physical targets such as increasing water storage capacities by building as many as 20 million water ponds. The government also plans to monitor the building of these using satellites, to preclude false claims. This was long overdue. Much will no doubt be made about the limit of Rs 2,000 on anonymous political donations. This is a non-serious measure and I will expand on it some time later. All in all, this is a Budget as expected. It avoids political populism, but it also avoids major economic reforms. It is not going to change the direction in which the nation is moving. As the man on the street would say, its a kaam chalao Budget. It could have been better or it could have been worse. White House chief of staff Priebus had said the visa ban might be extended to Pakistan. Washington: Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned the Trump administration against including his country in the list of nations facing a travel ban, saying such a move would create a host of hostilities between the two countries. Bilawals remarks came as the White House is seeking to expand the list of seven Muslim-majority countries whose citizens have been barred from entering the US. As far as the ban is concerned, I believe it only has detrimental effects on the countries it has included and if that is extended to Pakistan it will create a whole host of hostilities, Bilawal told a Washington audience on Tuesday. He was responding to a question on whether Pakistan could be included in a list of seven nations as per an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump last week. Bilawal said including Pakistan in such a list would also be a very negative indicator that the United States is turning away from those very ideals that it stood for, adding, I hope that this is not the new normal. Mr Zardari said there was a lot of uncertainty about what the future policies of the US were going to be and he would like to hold on to the wait and see approach. The top Pakistani leader said the alleged Muslim ban seems to be extremely controversial decision of the Trump administration. For my generation, as a progressive Muslim in the world, it is really discouraging to see countries responding to the fear of the other in such a way. We have learned through history that this is not the way to deal with such issues, he said. I know by interaction, by finding common ground, studying in other peoples universities, learning about a shared culture, history we find the common ground. A few criminals should not be allowed to spoil the situation for everyone, he said. It is very discouraging for those out there in the Muslim world fighting radical extremism because people (put) their lives on the line on a daily basis to do so, to fight for what they believe in, not Americans ideals or freedom, he said. Bilawal said he was extremely encouraged to see in what he described as another side to America. The outpouring of support for the people affected by this ban is a very positive message sending to the world. I do hope that this issue will be shorted out very soon. Because this is sending a wrong message and is shrinking the space for those of us out there fighting Islamic extremism on the front lines, he said. Attack by Bissonnette sent terrified worshippers fleeing barefoot in the snow. Quebec city: A Canadian political science student known to have nationalist sympathies was on Monday charged with six counts of murder over a shooting spree at a Quebec mosque one of the worst attacks ever to target Muslims in a western country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned as a terrorist attack Sunday nights assault on the Islamic Cultural Center in a busy district of Quebec City, which sent terrified worshippers fleeing barefoot in the snow. Eight people were wounded in the crossfire, and five of them remained in a critical condition in a hospital on Monday. Alexandre Bissonnette, who made a brief court appearance after surrendering to authorities, was charged with six counts of premeditated murder and five of attempted murder, police said. More indictments are expected later, police added. There are search warrants underway, a spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. We hope to obtain the evidence to reach the point where we will be able to lay terrorism and national security charges, she said. So far, authorities have shed no light on what may have prompted the attack. Local media said Bissonnette is a Quebec nationalist and anti-feminist who recently liked US President Donald Trumps page on Facebook. He also has reportedly expressed support for French far-right politician Marine Le Pen. Both police and witnesses had initially described two masked men opening fire inside the mosque, where worshippers were gathered for evening prayer. But authorities said on Monday that a second person detained had only been questioned as a witness. Explaining how one suspect was eventually let go, the RCMP said: This morning and last evening we had reason to believe that two individuals should be arrested, that two people had participated. After investigating, they said: We reached the conclusion that we should focus on one single suspect. And there was no reason to believe that the other individual had participated. Some 50 people were in the mosque at the time of the attack. The dead are all dual Canadian nationals: one Moroccan, two Algerians, one Tunisian and two Guineans. Quebec has traditionally attracted Muslim immigrants from North Africa. Bissonnette, a student at Laval University, surrendered 20 km outside the city. It is a domestic investigation at this time, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Martin Plante said. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the nations security threat level remained at medium requiring security forces to be on guard but having no specific information about an imminent threat. It was raised to this level in October 2014 after a lone gunman attacked parliament. The police are continuing to collect evidence in a bid to identify exactly who is involved and what was their motivation, Mr Goodale said. Authorities, he added, dont have sufficient, facts yet to be able to draw conclusions. The Quebec mosque had already been the target of hate: a pigs head was left on the doorstep last June during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan Other mosques in Canada have been targeted with anti-Muslim graffiti in recent months. Police stationed near the mosque said they had feared this type of attack because its happening all over the world. The shooting came as Canada vowed to open its arms to Muslim refugees after Mr Trumps controversial immigration ban prompted travel chaos and outrage around the world. Last nights horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians, Mr Trudeau said. Canadians will not be intimidated, he added. We will not meet violence with more violence. We will meet fear and hatred with love and compassion. The document did not give the nationalities of the refugees who will be admitted into the US. Washington: The US government has granted waivers to let 872 refugees into the country this week despite President Donald Trumps executive order on Friday temporarily banning entry of refugees from any country, according to an internal department of homeland security document. A homeland security official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the waivers, noting that the refugees were considered in transit and had already been cleared for resettlement before the ban took effect. Refugees preparing for resettlement typically have severed personal ties and relinquished their possessions, leaving them particularly vulnerable if their plans to depart are suddenly cancelled. The waivers, granted by the state department and the department of homeland security (DHS), came amid international protests against Mr Trumps rushed executive order. Critics said the order in some cases was not clearly communicated to the agencies responsible for implementing it. It was not known if additional waivers would be granted, the official said. The document did not give the nationalities of the refugees who will be admitted into the US. Over the weekend, non-refugee visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries also targeted in Mr Trumps executive order were detained, deported and in some cases blocked from boarding flights to the US. The internal DHS document said that between late Friday and early Monday, 348 visa holders were prevented from boarding US-bound flights. In addition, more than 200 people landed in the US but were denied entry, the document showed. More than 735 people were pulled aside for questioning by the customs and border protection officers in airports, including 394 legal permanent US residents holding green cards, over the same time period. The 872 refugees to be admitted this week, under the waivers, were screened using Obama administration procedures, which take around two years and include interviews and a background check. At the click of a mouse, customers can hire a monk from Minrevi from 35,000 yen($300) depending on the ceremony. Watanabe's employer, Tokyo-based firm Minrevi, said demand for its monk delivery service has spiked since it started in May 2013, as more and more Japanese lose their ties to local temples -- and lose faith in an opaque donation system. (Representational Image) Funabashi, Japan: In a quiet room thick with the smell of incense, Buddhist monk Kaichi Watanabe chants sutras to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a woman's death. The 41-year-old may look like a traditional holy man in Japan -- but he wasn't dispatched by a temple. Instead, the family ordered him through a fast-growing rent-a-monk business that has angered traditionalists who warn it is commercialising the religion. Watanabe's employer, Tokyo-based firm Minrevi, said demand for its monk delivery service has spiked since it started in May 2013, as more and more Japanese lose their ties to local temples -- and lose faith in an opaque donation system. The monk later rings a small traditional bell and bows to relatives as the 30-minute ceremony winds down at the grieving family's home near Tokyo. "There are many temples in the neighbourhood, but I didn't know where to call," said the deceased woman's middle-aged son, who asked not to be named. "Also, I have no idea how much I should donate. But this has a clear pricing system." At the click of a mouse, customers can hire a monk from Minrevi from 35,000 yen($300) depending on the ceremony. Retailing giant Aeon sent shockwaves through Buddhist circles in 2010 when it started a service that had a price list for introducing customers to temples for funeral services. The open pricing flew in the face of longstanding system in which monks collect donations, known as ofuse, in return for performing ceremonies. But there has been growing unease about the murky system which leaves the amount up to families, who have to make several more donations after a funeral for more than a decade. 'Commodified donations' Japan's Buddhist temples count on donations to do renovations, which can cost several million dollars, but there has been criticism that they're more interested in raising revenue than offering spiritual guidance. Chiko Iwagami, an executive member of the Japan Buddhist Federation, acknowledged that some monks have improperly demanded specific amounts of money at memorial services, hurting public trust. "That ignores the spirit of donations," Iwagumi said, noting that monks are not supposed to expect financial rewards for performing their duties. Aeon's fledgling operation outraged the federation, which demanded it take down the price list. The company complied but still runs its service. Earlier this year, the federation also blasted online retailer Amazon for listing Minrevi's monk-renting service. "They have commodified donations. This is extremely unfortunate," Iwagami said. But Minrevi's vice-president Masashi Akita brushed off the criticism, saying the company is just offering a "platform" to connect customers with monks. The firm has a roster of about 700 monks nationwide with business on track to grow by 20 percent this year, he added. Akita, who grew up in rural community where his neighbours regularly visited a temple, said the business is just a sign of the times. "I was shocked when I first learned that some people didn't know how to contact a monk," he said. "So I wanted to be that bridge." Community ties The Japanese government does not keep track of the religious identification of citizens, but participation in rituals related to both Buddhism as well as native Shintoism -- the two major religions in the country -- is common across the nation. Some firms also offer Shinto priests' services. But attachment to religion has fallen into decline. As the population rapidly ages and small rural communities shrink, some 30 percent of Japan's 75,000 Buddhist temples are at risk of closing by 2040, said Kenji Ishii, a professor of religion at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. "Japanese have maintained ties with temples because of funerals and other types of commmunity-related events, not for religious reasons," he added. "Buddhist leaders now have to think how they're going to run their sects with shrinking revenues. But it seems like they don't want to look at the reality." Watanabe, who conducted the service near Tokyo, doesn't see a clash between the business and spiritual aspects of his job. "I want to spread the teachings of Buddhism," he said. "This service gives us more opportunity to visit homes. I think it's meaningless if we cannot be there to help." The decision comes two days after Saeed was put under house arrest, presumably following pressure from the United States. Islamabad: Pakistan Interior Ministry has included the names of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and 37 others, who are affiliated with JuD or Lashkar-e-Taiba, on the Exit Control List, two days after he was placed under house arrest. The Ministry has sent letters to all the provincial governments and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The move, which bars the 38 individuals from leaving Pakistan, comes two days after authorities placed Saeed under house arrest along with four other individuals, namely Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz. "Placed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) on the Watch List as per UNSC 1267 Sanctions and have listed these organisations in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 (as amended)," Geo TV quoted a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior. "Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organisations within the meaning of Section 11EEE(1) of the ATA 1997 (as amended). As such, they must be placed under preventive detention," said the ministry. The detention order surfaced hours after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar hinted that a crackdown was imminent. He told reporters in Islamabad on Monday that, given the group had been under observation for years and was blacklisted internationally, Pakistan was "under obligation to take some action". Saeed, however, told reporters that he would challenge his detention in court. "My detention orders are unlawful and we will challenge them in the court," Saeed told reporters before he was led away by the police. However, India reacted to this cautiously stating that only a ' credible crackdown' on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and other terrorist organisations will prove the 'sincerity' of the Asian neighbours. External Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the government has seen the reports on Pakistan Interior Ministry order, placing the JuD and the Falah-e-Insaniyet Foundation under the watch-list and also the notification under which the foundation has been included in the second schedule of their anti-terror legislation under UN Security Council Resolution number 1267. "We have also noted that Hafiz Saeed and four others have been placed under preventive detention. Exercises such as yesterday's orders against Hafiz Saeed and others have been carried out by Pakistan in the past also," Swarup said. (ANI) Pakistani authorities, facing mounting pressure from the Trump administration, placed Saeed and four others under detention, on Monday night. Initially, the ban covered only Tonpheung and Huayxai provinces, but the authorities eventually extended it. Banana plantations have disrupted local farming practices and polluted ground water. Last year, one worker died from exposure to toxic chemicals. Vientiane (AsiaNews/Agencies) The authorities in the northern Lao province of Bokeo have suspended the operations of 18 Chinese-backed banana plantations after they discovered widespread violations of the regulations governing the use of agricultural chemicals, government officials told Radio Free Asia's Lao Service. The use of chemicals is not the only problem. Chinese investors also plant outside of the areas where they have approval from the government, the official explained. Therefore, the planting is [now] banned. Instead of growing the native kuay nam banana, Chinese plantations generally produce the world's top banana, the Cavendish. However, growing it in Laoss northern provinces requires the use of a cornucopia of pesticides, herbicides, pesticides, rodenticides, and fertilisers to boost production and ward off the 28 diseases and 19 insects that attack banana plants. The use of the chemicals has increased production, but has also polluted ground water, whilst the thousands of plastic packages that the chemicals were packed in have been strewn across the countryside. A government official in the Pha Oudom district, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that one worker had died from exposure to the chemicals. The banana plantation owner gave the victim 500,000 kip (US$ 62.50) when he was treated in the hospital, but his family wasnt compensated when he died. Conditions for banana workers are so bad that plantation owners allow them to work on a plantation for only three years because they fear they will die there. Chinese investors only think of their benefits. They invest lots of money, and they take advantage of the villagers, the official said. "The plantations in Tonpheung and Bokeo have now been banned, and they are slowly leaving. Earlier this year, the ban on growing bananas covered only the most affected provinces (Tonpheung and Huayxai) but was eventually extended to all areas. Over the next two years, Bokeo provincial officials hope to switch agricultural production from bananas to other crops such as watermelons and palms. by Sajan K George Mumbai (AsiaNews) - "Those shocked by Trumps executive order prohibiting entry to refugees and citizens from seven countries with an Islamic majority, should look to similar laws in India, says Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). Commenting on the decision of the newly elected American president that has shocked world public opinion, the Christian leader also reports that the Indian government is launching similar policies. An amendment of the Citizenship Act provides that it can only be accorded to minority Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Therefore Muslims are excluded altogether. Even those who are suffering "horrific forms of persecution" such as the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Buddhist Tibetans and Uighurs in China. Below his comment. President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the country's refugee entry programme for 120 days, and banning the entry of citizens from seven primarily Muslim countries Yemen, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Sudan for 90 days was passed with the apparent objective of protecting US national security. . While many in India have recoiled at the manner in which the Trump administration has made its refugee and immigration policy, Indians should also turn to look at similar legislative provisions being proposed in our own country. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill of 2016 is a short, three-page document that seeks to amend Section 2(b) of the Citizenship Act. The Citizenship Act deals with the acquisition and termination of Indian citizenship. Section 2(b) of the Citizenship Act defines the term "illegal immigrant". The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill proposes to amend the definition of this term by adding this proviso: "Provided that persons belonging to minority communities, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who have been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrants for the purposes of this Act.". Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to qualify for naturalisation as a citizen of India if they are resident in India The Preamble to the Bill, which seeks to explain the aims and objectives of the act, states: The phrase "Many persons of India origin including persons belonging to the aforesaid minority communities..." is telling. It is clear that that this proposed amendment is not aimed at all persons of Indian origin but only some, namely non-Muslim ones. What is even more interesting is that the bill is not aimed at all religious minorities in all neighbouring countries, and it clearly excludes many communities that may be experiencing horrific forms of persecution, such as the Muslim Rohingyas in Buddhist-majority Myanmar or Buddhist Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs in China. legislation on refugees, or be a signatory to the 1951 Convention, treating the decision to grant refugee status as a matter of political expediency. Even if it does not want to sign the 1951 convention, nothing prevents it from enacting a domestic law that incorporates its principal features. The fact that the government is not interested in doing so means granting protection to victims of persecution is not its primary objective. What does that leave us with, then? The Bharatiya Janata Party's 2014 election manifesto gives us the answer. Page 37 of the manifesto states that "India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here". Why should India be a natural home for persecuted Hindus, as opposed to persecuted Muslims or Christians? Invoking the image of the "persecuted Hindu" is a masterful way of pushing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's notion of India as a 'Hindu nation', and an embattled one at that. Just as the claim of a threat to national security , If the Narendra Modi government wants to provide protection to religious minorities in neighbouring countries from persecution a laudable objective then it need not have looked further than the existing international frameworks of refugee law. Central to the definition of a refugee in the 1951 Refugee Convention is a well-founded fear of being persecuted on the grounds of religion, race, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion by the country of one's nationality. Till now, India has consistently refused to promulgate a central order Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Three thousand new homes for Israeli settlers will be built in Judea-Samaria (the term Israel uses for the Palestinian Occupied Territories). The announcement was made last night with a statement issued by the defense ministry. This is the fourth announcement of new settlements in the West Bank in less than two weeks by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The projects were launched after the inauguration of the US president Donald Trump. Immediately after the inauguration and the promise of a meeting between Netanyahu and Trump, Israel started the construction of 566 houses in East Jerusalem and announced plans for 2,500 homes in the Occupied Territories. Strengthened by Trumps support, who has even promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem which now is located in Tel Aviv, Israel is rushing to build settlements in the territories, a gesture considered illegal by the international community. The program of colonization also grew under the presidency of Barack Obama. To date at least 570 thousand Israelis live in over 130 settlements built by Israel since 1967, when the occupation began. In 2015 - when Obama was president - at least 15 thousand new settlers moved into the West Bank. According to the organization Peace Now, in 2016 the Israeli administration gave the green light for 2,623 new settlements. These include 756 illegal houses and those later "legalized". Israel's plan seems to be to destroy a territorial continuity in areas inhabited by Palestinians and render the creation of a state for them impossible. Some members of the congregation were locked in a room as masked officials tore down part of the building. Protestant churches are targets. Fear grows of a nation-wide crackdown. Dali (AsiaNews/Agencies) A Protestant church was destroyed last Friday morning, 27 January, in Henan province. A bulldozer tore down half of the four-storey building pulverising many facilities whilst Christians were remained locked in an office space inside. Intruders hired by the authorities forcibly entered the Dali Christian Church, a government-recognised Three-Self (Protestant) congregation, carrying clubs. They locked a church elder, named Ding, the church's temporary director, and several other Christians in the reception office, confiscated their cell phones, and threw away their SIM cards. No one was allowed to enter the church, and the authorities forbade pictures. The intruders then smashed and looted church property, and a front loader tore down about half of the building, destroying many facilities. This event has sparked fears that the church and cross demolitions, which were part of a "beautification" campaign led by the authorities in Zhejiang province and targeted many Three-Self churches, will soon erupt into a nationwide endemic of abuse against government churches. With Chinese New Year slowing down imports from China, North Korea mobilises people to collect manure by reducing markets operating hours. This controversially pushes up food prices. Pyongyang (AsiaNews) North Korean authorities have imposed limits on the operating hours of local markets nationwide to encourage people to go into the fields to collect manure to use as fertiliser at a time of shortages in chemical fertiliser. To do this, operating hours were cut from the regular 8 am-9 pm to 4pm-9 pm. Such mandatory mass mobilisation campaigns, or battles as the regime calls them, are frequent in North Korea, where authorities use them to mobilise manpower for various projects and measure citizens loyalty to the state and the Korean Workers Party. North Korean authorities have changed the operating hours of local markets to the same operating hours as they did last year during the 200-day battle period starting on Jan. 9, which is the day after [leader] Kim Jong Uns birthday, a source from Jagang province told Agence France-Presse. The 200-day battle refers to restrictions imposed during a five-year plan, which had the controversial effect of pushing up the prices of groceries, including eggs, tofu, and bean sprouts. North Korea made a large purchase of crude oil at low prices from Russia last year, so the country was able to produce a considerable amount of fertiliser on its own. However, importing fertiliser from China is difficult this year. There is now a slowdown in trade with China as many private Chinese traders who operate in North Korea return home to celebrate the Lunar New Year, sources said. Hope and despair fill those who seek justice. Repression includes arrests, beatings and hospitalisation in mental institutions Human rights activists complain of abuses, disappearances, and suspicious deaths in government black jails. Beijing (AsiaNews/RFA) The authorities in Beijing have detained thousands of people who converged in the capital to voice grievances against government officials in their hometowns. Whilst most Chinese got together with family to mark the Chinese New Year, crowds have continued to gather outside central government offices since the first day of the new year on Saturday, some in the hope of meeting President Xi Jinping. Many petitioners complain about forced evictions, illegal detentions or corruption related to land deals and want higher authorities to intervene. Wu Jixin, a petitioner from the eastern province of Jiangsu, said he had been detained after staging a mini-protest during which he raised a banner with around a dozen fellow petitioners. He said local government "interceptors" had been hard at work in Beijing detaining anyone from their region who complained about the government there. "The local governments are detaining people left, right, and centre in Beijing because petitioning puts these governments under more political pressure," Wu explained. "The petitioners just want their grievances to be dealt with." Large numbers of people are now being held in huge detention centres on the outskirts of Beijing for "registration," before being sent home under the escort of interceptors. "There are several thousand people in Majialou [detention center]," Wu said. Zhongnanhai, headquarters of the Communist Party in the heart of Beijing, is off-limits. A thousand police officers are deployed in and around Tiananmen Square to check identity papers and prevent people from entering. The same goes for tourists and protesters alike. Many petitioners who came to Zhongnanhai are now sleeping rough in sub-zero temperatures because they cannot afford a hotel. Meanwhile, the Weiquanwang rights website reported that Beijing rights activists Wu Yufen, Wu Jixin, Tang Shuxiu, Yang Jinzhi, and several others were detained after unfurling a banner wishing all jailed petitioners a Happy New Year. The petitioners' greetings were aimed at Liu Feiyue, who founded the Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch website, and Huang Qi, who founded the Tianwang rights website, among others. Interceptors frequently use violence against petitioners on the journey home, activists say. On 22 January, a pregnant petitioner from the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang said she was beaten, kicked, and bound and gagged on the long road trip home from Beijing. Earlier this month, petitioners Wang Shetao and Li Xiaocui, of Luoyang's Liangzhai village, reportedly burnt to death in murky circumstances in a fire at a police station where they were detained. Petitioners also frequently complain of beatings from police back home, harassment by landlords and employers, and incarceration in psychiatric hospitals when they have no mental illness. Deaths and "disappearances" in unofficial detention centres, also known as black jails, are not uncommon, but evidence of police wrongdoing is hard to come by when authorities typically refuse to allow independent autopsies. by Bernardo Cervellera The freezing of visas for travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Sudan justified by the fact that "many Christians have died in the Middle East". Sako: Christians viewed with prejudice, as "protected" by the Western powers. Fomenting a war between the West and the Islamic world it is a constant for Bush, Obama and Trump. Rome (AsiaNews) - The decree signed by President Donald Trump to block entry to the US travelers to seven countries with an Islamic majority is not in favor of Christians. On the contrary, it further incites the idea of a "Western war on Islam" and threatens to unleash vengeance on Christians in the Middle East. Trump motivated the freezing of visas for 90 days to those coming from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Sudan, as an operation to "protect" the United States from Islamic terrorists and somehow also to prtect "Christians" . To find support in his constituency, justifying his choice, he tweeted that "many Christians have died in the Middle East. We cannot allow this terror to continue. " It must be said that Trumps order, in sec. 5) admits that one can make exceptions for "individuals" of "religious minorities" who "suffer religious persecution in their country", without specifying the type of religion. But in general the popular version is that there is a closure of US borders only to "Muslims." It would appear that the Christians of the seven countries "banned" are permitted to reach the United States, although some Christian families of Syrian refugees have been unable to enter. The first to lash out at the US measures was Louis Sako, the Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad. He pointed out that discrimination of refugees on the basis of religion shames the Christians in the Middle East and could provoke further violence against them, as they are already regarded as a minority "protected" by the Western powers. Fr. Georges Massouh, of the Islamic-Christian Center at Balamand University, points out that facilities for Christians "do not help" the community of the faithful of the Middle East. "The decision - he told the Orient-Le Jour has a very racist thread that will exacerbate hatred and extremism. And it is the people of the region, including Christians, who will pay the price ... We must stop exploiting the minority dossier. " The reference is to the powers of France, Britain, Russia, etc .. who have led their plans for domination in the Middle East against the Ottoman Empire with the excuse of defending Christian minorities, Druze, Orthodox, Jewish, etc ... From this point of view, Donald Trump seems to pursue the same policy of his predecessors. In 2001, after the attack on the Twin Towers, George W. Bush decided to attack Afghanistan (although the majority of the kamikazes who flew the planes against Towers were Saudis) and called this operation a "crusade". The immediate result was a series of attacks against Christians in the Middle East and Pakistan. Even Barack Obama, with his strange defense of democracy in the Middle East, after the Arab spring lent his support to the Muslim Brothers in Egypt who felt free to attack churches and Christians throughout the country (in addition to the multiple attacks in Iraq ). The continuity between the Republican and Democratic presidents is in fomenting and supporting a war between the West (American) and the Islamic world, without any care for the extremist terrorism that then takes vengeance on Christians. From this point of view, the wisest voice seems to be that of the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who pointed out that Trumps decision "is a great gift to the extremists". By Mata Press Service A Canadian-based global humanitarian organization is calling on the international community to indict Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity. Saying Duterte, whose deadly war on drugs has claimed over 7,000 victims, mostly in extra-judicial executions, the RINJ Foundation said the president must resign immediately. Rodrigo Duterte, claims a justification for the Republic of the Philippines killing the weak, the poor and the sick because they use drugs, RINJ said on its website. His willingness for state-sponsored murder is why he must resign Immediately, said the group which fights for the safety of women and children. RINJ said that it believes it will be only a matter of time before Duterte will be indicted by the International Criminal Court. Early last fall International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said perpetrators of alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines could face prosecution. Let me be clear, the ICC prosecutor wrote in a deliberately worded written statement, Any person in the Philippines who incites or engages in acts of mass violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing, in any other manner, to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC is potentially liable to prosecution before the Court. Duterte is going to be indicted and he is on the evidence likely to be convicted if he doesnt die of old age and illness in the meantime. These prosecutions take time. Meanwhile, Duterte must resign, said RINJ. Can you imagine in Canada for example, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling Canadians that if you have a gun, kill your neighbours who smoke a joint? Duterte has done that repeatedly and Filipinos are dropping like flies. Hundreds of killers now roam The Philippines looking for preythey know they vave impunity from their President DuterteThe rule of law is gone. Everyone is terrified. Nobody is safe RINJs demands come in the wake of the New York-based Human Rights Watch slamming Duterte for his war on drugs and calling the Filipino leader out in its report for unleashing a rights calamity. Since taking office on June 30, 2016, Duterte and senior government officials have praised the killing spree of suspected drug dealers and drug users and resisted holding those responsible to account, HRW said in World Report 2017: Demagogues Threaten Human Rights. HRW executive director Kenneth Roth also called out Duterte after he "openly called for summary executions of suspected drug dealers and usersand even of human rights activists who defend them." Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of HRW, said Duterte has shown no regard for human rights in waging his campaign against drugs. In the name of wiping out drug crime, President Duterte has steamrolled human rights protections and elevated unlawful killings of criminal suspects to a cornerstone of government policy, Kine said. More than 7,000 people have been killed since Duterte took office seven months ago, about 2,250 in anti-drugs operations and the rest still being investigated. Police say many of those deaths are gangs members killing each other though critics blame many deaths on vigilantes in cahoots with police. Duterte continues to enjoy high popularity ratings despite his bloody campaign that has earned him condemnation from the United States, United Nations, and the European Union. He also has launched torrents of verbal abuse at anyone who has spoken against the campaign, from rights groups and senators to Catholic priests and Western governments. Meanwhile, families of alleged drugs suspects killed by Philippine police petitioned the Supreme Court last week to force police to disclose evidence linking them to narcotics, in the first legal challenge to President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs. Lawyers representing families of four men killed in a run-down Manila neighbourhood in August, and one survivor, urged the top court to allow scrutiny of police operations because the official accounts were sheer incongruity and read like film plots from bygone days of Filipino cinema. The petition asks the top court to compel police to suspend drugs operations in parts of the Quezon City area of Manila, where the four were killed, and make available the surveillance material and intelligence reports that had initially identified the victims as being drugs dealers. The families deny their kin were involved in drugs. The government vehemently denies sponsoring extrajudicial killings, or police collaboration with assassins. Asked about the lawsuit, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said authorities had no involvement in extrajudicial killings and Duterte would allow the legal process to take its course. with agencies Commentary By Phil Gurski New Canadian Media Just how sophisticated are most terrorists anyway? Sometimes, I think most of us get terrorism very, very wrong. I am not sure whether this is due to the Hollywood effect where terrorists seem to be popping up in more and more films each year. Can anyone point to a movie from the 1960s where violent extremists played a major role? Aside, of course, from the cartoonish Bond villains. In many of these cinematographic offerings, the terrorists come across as cold, calculating, evil monsters who carefully plan their acts of terror and can only be defeated by the equally calculating good guys Jack Reacher, Jack Bauer (why are all the counter terrorism heroes called Jack?), etc. Sometimes our guys resort to unsavoury methods to stop the heinous plotters of death. Oh well, that is how it goes in the name of keeping us safe. It is beyond obvious that film is not always a mirror for reality. I maybe a voice in the wilderness if I were to call for more accurate portrayals of terrorism and intelligence, but it may be that our image of terrorism as it is shown to us on the silver screen does us a disservice. I am referring here to the belief that all terrorists are high-level operatives who plan their death and destruction with the utmost secrecy, meaning that it is next to impossible for security and law enforcement agencies to detect and neutralize them before it is too late (unless they have a guy named Jack on staff!). The reality is that this is not always accurate. The way it really works came to light in Turkey when the terrorist accused of carrying out the attack on an Istanbul night club on New Year's Eve chose his venue randomly after he was scared off his first preference by heightened security. The terrorist who killed 39 people did not engage in careful pre-attack surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking of the place to bear the brunt of his ideological hatred. And he is not alone. Many terrorists, at least in my experience in Canada, are not the most sophisticated, and are frankly, incapable of carrying out meticulous planning. They have next to zero counter-surveillance skills, often choose their targets almost accidentally and rarely do dry runs to test security. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the terrorist who attacked the War Memorial and Parliament in Ottawa in October 2014, may have been an uncommon exception as there are indications he toured Centre Block several weeks before his ill-fated assault. Given this, an immediate question arises: who is more dangerous the terrorist who dots all his i's and crosses all his t's or the one who shows up one day and kills? My money is on the latter. Those who take the time to ensure success expose themselves to scrutiny, monitoring, eavesdropping, human source penetration, intelligence sharing, and, perhaps most importantly, time time for state agencies to figure out what they are bent on doing. The one who does no pre-planning is hard to identify and stop since his plot is shorter in the preparatory stages and involves fewer steps that can screw up. Truth be told, both types can succeed and both can be foiled, but prior warning and longer planning cycles are the enemy of the terrorist and the friend of our spies. I think we need to challenge our view of terrorism and terrorists. They are not all supermen (and women) with other worldly powers that are next to impossible to match. Most are just average joes with little foresight and low intellect who decide to act rashly on whatever grievance motivates them. That does not mean we should dismiss the "B-team" they can still do a lot of damage but it does imply we should not give the terrorists more credit than they deserve. They get enough free publicity already that feeds their egos and inflates their importance. Let us not add to that. See http://newcanadianmedia.ca/component/k2/40084-most-terrorists-are-average-joes What hides behind the bright red walls and sunny yellow awning of El Rincon Del Sabor in Atlantic City is every bit as vibrant as its exterior. Inside, the restaurant is tiny takeout only. There are less than 10 seats for customers waiting to pick up their food. The seating is divided between a few floral draped tables set against the clean tiled floor and wainscoting. Lining the seating area is a small open-air kitchen, which allows you the privilege to watch Head Chef Gladys Salazar work her magic. Tasty tango While behind the kitchen, Salazar, dressed in her bright white, pressed, double-breasted chefs jacket with her hair pulled in a tight bun, seemingly moves in a dance with her assistant. Their chopping, grilling, dicing and sauteing are done in perfect unison to a silent beat only they hear. The aromatic notes of sizzling onions and melting cheese infused with a multitude of chili peppers easily carry over to the rest of the room, preparing your taste buds for the tango they will soon perform. I wanted to open this restaurant to bring Gladyss cooking to the world, says Owner Victor Uriel Hernandez. Salazar and Hernandez are both originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, but have lived in Atlantic City working in local restaurants for decades. We met when we were working in a kitchen, and Gladys cooked a different meal for me everyday for months, Hernandez says, adding that she knows thousands of recipes by heart. CSIRO has graphene breakthrough with soybeans CSIRO scientists have had a breakthrough which will allow for the worlds strongest material to become more commercially viable thanks to soybeans. The worlds strongest material, graphene, is a thin carbon material with high conductivity, so it can be used in small electronics, computers, solar panels and many other devices. Until now, using graphene has been hard for manufacturers because of its high cost. Traditionally it is grown in a highly-controlled environment with explosive compressed grasses, requiring long hours of operation at high temperatures and extensive vacuum processing. CSIRO scientists have however now developed GraphAir, technology which eliminates the need for such a highly controlled environment. GraphAir transforms soybean oil, into graphene films in a single step. Our GraphAir technology results in good and transformable graphene properties, comparable to graphene made by conventional methods, said CSIRO scientist and co-author of the study behind GraphAir, Dr Dong Han Seo. With heat, soybean oil breaks into a range of carbon building units that are essential for creating graphene. Other oils can be used too The study also included testing other types of oil, including those left from cooking and barbecues. We can now recycle waste oils that would have otherwise been discarded and transform them into something useful, Dr Seo said. The CSIRO says it is now looking for an industry partner to help find new uses for its graphene. Researchers from The University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney and The Queensland University of Technology contributed to the work involved in developing the new graphene. Related articles Leadership change at Fonterra A leadership change has been announced for New Zealand dairy giant, Fonterra. Director Michael Spaans will be stepping down effective immediately due to ill health. He has been replaced by Ian Farrely who is coming back out of retirement to re-join Fonterra. Farrely spent nine years as a Fonterra Director before retiring in December 2016. Fonterra Chairman, John Wilson, said Spaans has contributed tirelessly to the New Zealand dairy industry. Michael, a dairy farmer, came up through the ranks, spending time on the New Zealand Dairy Group Shareholder Council and then the Fonterra Shareholders Council before building his governance experience outside the industry, Wilson said. As a result, his insights and experience are invaluable, particularly on Fonterras Milk Price Panel, Audit and Finance Committee and the Co-operative Relations Committee, Wilson stated. Fonterra said that it has agreed with Michael that, when he is given a clean bill of health, he should consider standing again for the Fonterra Board. Related articles New strategy to increase Australian vegetable exports Horticulture Innovation Australia has released a new industry strategy which aims to increase the value of vegetable exports to $315 million by 2020. This would be a 40 per cent increase on what is currently being exported out of Australia. Horticulture Innovation Australia is a national research, development and marketing organisation for the Australian horticulture industry. The industry strategy has also been written in conjunction with vegetable industry representative group, AUSVEG. Chief Executive of Horticulture Innovation Australia, John Llyod, said the Australian vegetable industry has a huge appetite for export growth and there is a lot of untapped potential. Horticulture Innovation Australia is working with growers and AUSVEG to do everything it can to drive this growth and develop a financially sustainable vegetable export sector, he said. Vegetables make up approximately five per cent of national export production for horticulture. With all the necessary mechanisms in place, the Australian vegetable industry could increase its exports by 40 per cent within four years, and close to double exports within the next decade, Llyod said. According to data from the Global Trade Atlas and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia exported approximately 210, 000 tonnes of vegetables valued at AUD $227 million in the 2016 financial year. The strategy hopes to increase the vegetables exported to 310, 000 tonnes by 2020. AUSVEG National Manager of Export Development, Michael Coote, said the Australian vegetable industry has already invested significantly in export development. The development of these markets is critical to the long-term viability of the industry, Coote said. The strategy will ensure vegetable exports are treated as a long-term channel to market by delivering industry-specific export training programs for growers, increasing the range of opportunities for growers to connect directly with overseas buyers and exploring product development and collaboration opportunities to determine the best products or business models for export success, he said. Related articles Dan Creevey, principal of Creevey Russell Lawyers, will be on a road trip of rural Queensland later this month to reach out to community members who may be having a hard time with legal matters. The two-week regional road trip will see Creevey holding community meetings from 27 February to 13 March in many Central West and Central Highlands communities. The trip will run through communities including Roma, Charleville, Augathella, Tambo, Blackall, Longreach, Winton, Barcaldine, Emerald, Rolleston, Moura and Taroom. Creevey, who noted that the firm is proud of its rural and regional identity, said that many of the states regional communities have had a tough time of it for many years due to a wide range of economic and environmental factors. The purpose of our regional road trip is to connect with the people in these communities and listen to their concerns about any legal issues they are experiencing and to help them and their businesses, he said. The law firm said it is prepared to advise on its focus areas, including rural property sales and purchases, land clearing, farm succession, resumptions, boundary disputes, representation in disputes with council, mining agreements, partnership disputes, defective agricultural machinery or chemicals, spray drift claims, water licences, and workplace health and safety issues. The combination of Eversheds and Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan has gone live as global law firm Eversheds Sutherland The enlarged firm has 2,300 lawyers in 61 offices across 29 countries and includes China, Hong Kong, Japan, India and Singapore among its locations. It is a top 10 UK firm and top 40 US and global firm.Announced in December, the merger realises the vision of Eversheds to become a truly global law firm by adding strong capability in the US.The global firm will be led by joint-CEOs, Lee Ransom and Mark Wasserman, with Ransom also the managing partner of the international LLP and Wasserman serving as managing partner of the US LLP.The pair will lead a management team of six and the firm will be overseen by a global board of ten.No significant changes to the structure of either side of the firm are expected and practice areas will mostly be co-led.Bird & Bird has appointed Anan Sivananthan as a partner in its IP practice in Singapore.He joins from one of the law firms long-term clients, Creative Technology Ltd where he led the global legal team and was associate vice president. Previously he was with city-state law firm Drew & Napier as a partner but originally trained in the UK as a barrister.Ince & Co has hired Ton van den Bosch as counsel in its Singapore office to advise on projects and maritime infrastructure.The former general counsel for an international FPSO company and a major terminal developer and operator, advises at all stages of the economic life-cycle of infrastructure projects in the energy and maritime sector.The killing of Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni in Myanmar on Sunday has been condemned by the International Bar Associations Human Rights Institute.The lawyer was killed as he prepared to leave Yangon International Airport following a government-organized visit to Indonesia and in a statement IBAHRI co-chair Hans Correll said:The killing of U Ko Ni is not only a tragic loss for Myanmar, but also a very dark day for its legal profession and the rule of law. The IBAHRI wholeheartedly denounces what appears to be a calculated act of murder.He called for a thorough and impartial investigation:Myanmars authorities must ensure that the rule of law prevails by carrying out an investigation into his killing and holding a fair and public trial in an independent court, which guarantees that whoever is responsible for this crime is brought to justice. Greetings from Istanbul, Turkey. I'm Emre. 34 years old. I'm here to have support from experienced people of this forum. Best Regards. Confusion regarding visa application field "Previous countries of residence" Hi, I am in the process of filing my 189 visa application. I have a question regarding the field "Previous countries of residence" I have been to Finland 3 times on work permit ( in the same fiscal) - each time stayed at a different place. Cumulatively, the stay was for less than a year. But I do not remember any of the addresses and I do not have a record of it too. I have the following questions 1. What do I need to fill in the fields for address. 2. Would this require a PCC? You will get a passenger declaration card on the plane that you have to complete. It's mostly for Customs and includes information about what you are bringing into Australia (food, animal matter, currency etc) but also covers things like reason for visit etc. You should know in your head all the information required but you might also need to include the address you will stay at so have that handy. Skybluebrewer said: And submitting a marriage date close to the date of applying does not have any effect on how quickly the app is processed. Click to expand... This is definitely true.Your application goes to the back of the line, and they process it once they have gone through everyone's before you (or so I have read).If you keep the date as the 14th February, they will then have to message you and tell you to change the date and resubmit your NOIM (Notice of Intended Marriage), which will just mean you will have to wait longer to have your visa granted.The date you pick for your NOIM won't matter at all, and will end up being changed anyway.Once Dave's visa was granted, we ended up changing the date to whatever we wanted (within the 9 month timeframe). They don't match up what you had on your NOIM to when you got married. In the end, all they care about is that you got married once the PMV was granted. What they are looking for is that you have plans in place to get married, and that was the NOIM is all about. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com. While safety might be the No. 1 priority fleet managers advocate to their drivers on a daily basis, worker productivity also plays a significant role in a fleets operation. And whether its adding more stops on a route or taking on additional tasks, a schedule that is aimed to make a driver more productive is going to look appealing to upper management. But if drivers are making sacrifices in the safety department as a way to boost the results for the bottom line, the end might not justify the means. Finding Balance As with other elements in life, a balance between safety and productivity in a fleet operation is important, according to Art Liggio, president and CEO of Driving Dynamics. A solid foundation designed to achieve balance will help keep both fleet managers and drivers accountable. While fleet managers understand this equation, many times job descriptions and performance requirements are created in a vacuum. In other words, the drivers management team has little to no perspective on how operational demands can affect safety performance. Nor do they understand the high cost that both employers and employees are burdened with when safety is undermined by this imbalance, said Liggio. For example, an imbalance could mean an emphasis on drivers packing too much into their work schedule. If a driver were to do this, Liggio said then he or she could begin to exhibit unsafe driving behaviors as a means to complete tasks. There is a correlation between inadequately planned or overburdened work schedules and aggressive driving. Drivers will take on additional risk in order to meet their employers work assignments, he said. Liggio referenced an example in which management at a pharmaceutical fleet increased the workload of its drivers. The company required that its representatives make two additional calls a day. The fleet department ended up with an 8% increase in the number of crashes over the next 12 months after years of relatively stable accident rates. This ultimately affected the companys bottom line negatively, as the net earnings related to the increased number of calls did not offset the costs due to the increased accident rate. Proper Scheduling Adding to the idea of inadequately planned schedules, Liggio said that while employers might set unrealistic goals for their drivers, the fleet drivers themselves must also factor in their day-to-day schedules. Employees are often culpable because they fail to plan their work day to maximize the use of their time as well as building some time cushions into their schedule. It is not uncommon during the workday that an unplanned situation (e.g. a traffic delay, customer needs require more time to resolve a problem, etc.) may eat into a planned schedule. Liggio said that properly structured scheduling, which can be done by way of route planning, should help eliminate these issues. Liggio said that a gradual utilization of telematics data in fleets might also help with this. For many years the companies that are operating the light trucks and passenger vehicles didnt want telematics at all. Now as its starting to be incorporated, there might a change in the way they are structuring routes so it could be very promising there, he said It was 50 years ago, in 1967, that NASA scheduled the first Apollo mission, with the aim to land on the Moon, and EAA will celebrate that era of exploration this summer at AirVenture, with a reunion of Apollo astronauts and a slate of special events. The reunion is expected to be the largest gathering of Apollo astronauts at Oshkosh since 1994, when the Salute to Apollo program brought together 15 of them. Many of the activities will be centered on AirVentures Apollo Day, on Friday, July 28, which will be highlighted by a major evening program at the Theater in the Woods. Among the astronauts who will attend are Frank Borman (Apollo 8), Walt Cunningham (Apollo 7), Fred Haise (Apollo 13), Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and Apollo 13), and Al Worden (Apollo 15). A number of Apollo astronauts have already committed to the event, as have other people closely involved with Americas space program during that era, said EAAs Rick Larsen. This will be a rare, unforgettable gathering of the people who met the challenge of flying to the moon and safely returning, representing hundreds of thousands of individuals who contributed to its success. You may never get another opportunity to see these people in person, up close, as you will at Oshkosh this summer. Additional astronauts are expected to confirm their attendance in the coming weeks. Further details on events and schedules will be announced as they are finalized. The Apollo 1 mission, in 1967, was destroyed in a launch-pad fire, in which three astronauts died. Apollo 11 was the first mission to reach the Moon, in 1969, and in 1972, Apollo 17 visited the Moon for the last time. Remembering the Innocent and the Valiant PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) Industry veteran Robert H. Wells has joined Quest Aircraft as CEO, the company announced recently. Wells has more than 40 years of aviation experience, previously holding management positions with Tag Aviation, Beech Aircraft Corp. and Landmark Aviation. He also worked as a flight instructor and air-taxi pilot early in his career. I look forward to being part of the team at Quest, said Wells. The Kodiak is a remarkably successful aircraft and the company has come a long way in the last few years. I am excited to be part of Quests next chapter. Wells takes the job formerly held by Sam Hill, who retired in December. Quest manufactures the Kodiak, a 10-place single-engine turboprop, designed for STOL use and operations on floats. Headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho, the company was established in 2001 and began deliveries of the Kodiak in December 2007. The company now is aiming for global growth. Since 2012, the Kodiak has received 23 certifications covering 33 countries. In June, an expansion at the companys Sandpoint headquarters was completed, adding 27,000 square feet and bringing the current building to 110,000 square feet. A 5,000-square-foot R&D hangar facility was finished, and includes new office space and hangar work space. Quest said plans for further expansion are underway. Airline crew members are not exempt from the new U.S. travel ban that restricts the entry into the U.S. of non-citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somali, Sudan, and Yemen, according to the Air Line Pilots Association. We recommend that green-card holders from the above countries not accept assignments outside the U.S. until the government has confirmed that they will be permitted to return to the U.S. without challenge, ALPA wrote on Monday. As of this moment, statements from the U.S. government have not provided assurance on this point. On Tuesday afternoon, ALPA told AVweb that advice has not changed. No new updates, ALPA wrote. Our guidance from the weekend remains the same. The International Air Transport Association also asked for more clarity from the U.S. government regarding the new requirements. Entry requirements for the United States were changed significantly and immediately by an Executive Order (EO) issued 27 January 2017, IATA wrote at their website. The EO was issued without prior coordination or warning, causing confusion among both airlines and travelers. It also placed additional burdens on airlines to comply with unclear requirements, to bear implementation costs and to face potential penalties for non-compliance. We ask for early clarity from the U.S. administration on the current situation. On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly issued a statement that unless the government had information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, residency would be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determination, which appears to mean that holders of green cards will be allowed to re-enter the U.S. Green card is slang for an official permit that allows a foreign-born person to reside and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis. On Wednesday, ALPA said John Kelly, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, had issued a statement saying that absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations of the right of lawful residents to enter the country. ALPA said, Our understanding of Secretary Kellys statement is that green-card holders will be allowed entry into the country under the terms of the Executive Order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States, but each pilot should confirm with his or her company that they have the same understanding and that they will be able to enter the United States without challenge. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills on Wednesday called on the Armenian authorities to demonstrate the political will to hold democratic elections and combat government corruption in earnest. Mills also implied that the U.S. government has blacklisted individuals who it thinks committed serious irregularities during a disputed constitutional referendum held in Armenia in December 2015. Shortly after that referendum, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said that it will decide whether individuals involved in reported fraud can participate in Embassy programs or activities. It did not specify whether they could be banned from entering the United States or face other sanctions. Mills referred to that warning when he delivered an extensive speech at the American Chamber of Commerce of Armenia in Yerevan. Although I cannot share information about the individuals who have been affected by this decision out of respect for their privacy, I can assure you that we have followed through on our pledge, he said. Mills went on to stress the importance of the Armenian parliamentary elections slated for April 2. I agree with the [Armenian] presidents characterization that the upcoming elections will shape the future of Armenia and it is crucial they be free and fair, and that the Armenian people have confidence in the results, he declared. The authorities in Yerevan enacted late last year a set of opposition-backed legal amendments aimed at preventing serious fraud, notably multiple voting, in the forthcoming elections. In particular, they agreed to introduce electronic verification of voters identity and live online broadcasts of voting across the country. The U.S. and the European Union have allocated up to $10 million for the purchase of relevant equipment. While welcoming these anti-fraud measures, Mills stressed they alone cannot guarantee the freedom and fairness of the vote. The elections will be free and fair only if the government demonstrates the political will to make them so, and if the political opposition and civil society act responsibly to safeguard the process, he said. The burden is on the government and its constituent institutions -- the Central Election Commission, law enforcement bodies, and the judiciary -- to take the appropriate actions and foster a climate in which the Armenian people are able to freely express their will at the voting booth, added the diplomat. Mills said political will is also essential for tackling endemic corruption in the Armenia. He was encouraged by tougher anti-corruption action promised by the recently appointed Prime Minister Karen Karapetian. But, the envoy stressed, the government should send a clear message from on high that corruption will not be tolerated and that no one is above the law. Absent this message, no truly transformative change can occur, he said. In that regard, Mills suggested that the government set up a fully independent anti-corruption body that can both investigate and prosecute cases. This seems a good time for the government to consider this suggestion, as we understand the prime minister is currently deciding how to restructure the existing Anti-Corruption Council, he said. The council was previously overseen by Karapetians predecessor, Hovik Abrahamian. It approved in 2015 a three-year plan of actions against various corrupt practices. Despite skepticism voiced by many Armenian civil society members, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) pledged in February 2016 to support the programs implementation with a $750,000 grant. Mills revealed that the USAID has since allocated less than 2.5 percent of that money because of a lack of concrete progress in the work of the anti-graft body. Based on the outcome of our discussions with the prime minister, we will decide on our next steps, including whether to continue our support to the Council or redirect those funds to a different anti-corruption mechanism, he said. Armenia ranked, together with Bolivia and Vietnam, 113th out of 176 countries evaluated in Transparency Internationals most recent Corruption Perceptions Index released last week. In its policy program approved by parliament in October, Karapetians cabinet described corruption as the biggest obstacle to the development of the state. 1 February 2017 10:42 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijans State Customs Committee signed documents with the State Customs Committee of Belarus and the Directorate of Customs and Excise of Namibias Finance Ministry. Aydin Aliyev, head of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, and Yuri Senko, chairman of the State Customs Committee of Belarus, signed a joint statement on cooperation in personnel training. An agreement on mutual assistance in strengthening of potential of customs cooperation was signed between Aydin Aliyev and Susanna Cornelia Berkes, acting head of the Directorate of Customs and Excise of Namibias Finance Ministry. The Azerbaijani customs chief also signed an agreement with Gosman Amrin, deputy chairman of the State Revenue Committee at the Kazakh Finance Ministry, on organization of primary exchange of information about transported goods and vehicles between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Another action plan was signed between Aliyev and Vladimir Shamakhov, head of the North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. The State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan created in 1992 is a governmental agency in charge of customs clearance for imports and exports, and regulation of all customs activities within Azerbaijan. Establishment of the Committee helped accelerate the commodity turnover in the country and eased the import-export procedures. The forecast on transfers on customs duties and taxes has been set at 2.2 billion manats ($ 1.35 billion) for 2017, which is 21.5 percent more than the forecast for 2016. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 17:11 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Export promotion portal azexport.az, which made Azerbaijani production available to potential buyers from anywhere in the world, enjoys high popularity. The portal received export offers worth some $4.63 million in January 2017. The Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications reported that bulk of the orders came from Russia, Turkey, Iraq, Bulgaria, Libya, Moldova and other countries. An order for some 4,000 tons of red lentil and 10 tons of hazelnut came from Bulgaria. Total worth of the order is estimated at $4.08 million. An order worth $180,000 for supplies of 300 tons of macaroni came from Iraq and Libya. Besides, orders for supplies of poultry came from Turkey, Iraq, Libya, Ghana and Nigeria, the Center reported. Customers have already received necessary information about prices, as well as specimens of products. Integrating with the most popular electronic trading networks azexport.az, provides information about local Azerbaijani products, being a beneficial platform for sales in foreign and domestic markets. The portal offers fast and secure payment to VISA, Master Card and American Express cards owners. The portal is currently available in the Azerbaijani, Russian and English. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 16:54 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev has proposed to sell some of state objects put up for privatization for a nominal fee. Hasanguliyev, addressing the first meeting of the spring session of the Azerbaijani Parliament on February 1, noted that not all state objects that are put up for privatization find a buyer. Sometimes entrepreneurs do not have enough funds to purchase state property, but in international practice there are cases when such objects are sold for a nominal fee, Hasanguliyev said. The MP offered to authorize the State Committee on Property Issues to establish a symbolic cost to several state objects. In this case, the committee may set requirements, for example, the buyer will have to invest in the company a certain amount of funds later or to expand the staff of workers to a certain level, the MP added. So far, the Committee held 15 auctions and more than 700 state enterprises and objects have been put for sale. The third stage of privatization in Azerbaijan started in the framework of the presidential decree dated May 19, 2016. Under the decree, the acceleration of the state property privatization process has been defined as an important direction of the economic policy. Over 300 new state-owned enterprises and facilities declared open for privatization in Azerbaijan in 2016. The portal for privatization privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in two languages - Azerbaijani and English. Why Azerbaijan is special section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country. Portal users now exceed 400,000. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 16:22 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Berlin-based designer Leonie Mergen has introduced her unique Karabakh-Collection at the annual brand event of LOreal Professionnel in Berlin. The fashion collection was presented to a private audience of over two hundred representatives of LOreal - which is the world's largest cosmetics company with a 22 billion revenue and about 77, 000 employees. The collection features the theme and the culture of Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region in the center of the South Caucasus. The ensembles featured patterns reminiscent of the countrys famous tapestries, with signature necklines and sleeved capes making an appearance in both men's and women's clothing. After her Karabakh Collection had been highly acclaimed following its presentation to the public during this years Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin, Leonie was very honored to have been selected by LOreal Professionnel for their annual brand event. The Karabakh Collection is a very interesting project for TEAS, and we are very happy to see that it has created a lot of interest in Azerbaijani culture and that it has been picked up by a wide audience range, starting from media representatives all the way to industry professionals, said Taleh Heydarov, Chairman and Founder of TEAS A fashion collection with this degree of international coverage and attention helps a great deal to show to a wider public, that there is an occupied Azerbaijani region called Nagorno-Karabakh and that steps have to be undertaken to protect our national heritage in all areas of culture and civil society, he added. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 11:43 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The presidential order on the restoration of the Jojug Marjanli village of the Jabrayil region means that the country will liberate all its lands from the occupation, said Samad Seyidov, the chairman of the international and interparliamentary relations committee at Azerbaijans Parliament. This is already a serious message to Armenia, Seyidov told Trend. Armenia itself realizes that it wont be able to continue occupying Azerbaijani lands. During the April fighting, the Armenians saw the power of the Azerbaijani army, so they are well aware that if such fights take place again, Armenia will be doomed. Thats why the sooner the Armenians leave the territories of Azerbaijan, the better for them. President Ilham Aliyev signed an order January 24 on measures to restore the Jabrayil districts Jojug Marjanli village, liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016. Under the order, 4 million manats ($2.12 million) was allocated from the President`s 2017 Contingency Fund to the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage. The Jojug Marjanli village in Jabrayil region was liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016 as a result of a successful counter-attack of the Azerbaijani Army. Now, people can safely live in the village. The situation on the frontline aggravated on April 2, 2016, after the Armenian military units in the occupied lands began shelling Azerbaijans positions. To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Lele Tepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region. Azerbaijan and Armenia declared a truce brokered by Russia on April 5, 2016. However, Armenia continued to breach the ceasefire. The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway territory of Azerbaijan, has continued for about 30 years, following the Armenias territorial claims against Azerbaijan in 1988. The military conflict, characterized by violence against civilians and ethnic cleansing, resulted in the injury, death, and disappearance of thousands of people, ended with occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 12:24 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov No significant progress is seen in the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, the chairman of the Committee of the UN Security Council and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN. Yelchenko, talking to the UN press service, said that Ukraine, within the chairmanship in the UN Security Council, intends to hold a ministerial meeting on conflicts in Europe on February 21. He noted that, surprisingly, the topic of conflicts and security in Europe and the role and involvement of the UN in resolving them have not been considered for many years. Last time such a discussion was connected with the situation in the Balkans after the Yugoslav crisis in the early 90s, Yelchenko said. He added that there are a number of frozen conflicts in Europe. If to look to Europe as a whole, there are number of frozen conflicts. In 90th years UN representations and missions attended part of them - Georgia and separately Abkhazia; but they dont work now; currently OSCE or none at all is engaged in them. There is frozen conflict Transnistria, where no progress is made, nothing is happening for a long time. OSCE Minsk group is engaged in settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But there isnt any noticeable progress as well. And finally, we have Donbass, Yelchenko stated. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 15:34 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, seeks to directly participate in the process of resettlement of the liberated Jojug Marjanli village, and wants to share its experience in this field. Vincent Cochetel, the Director of the UNHCR European Bureau, announced about this at a meeting with Azerbaijans Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov in Baku. Cochetel said that UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi wants to pay a visit to Azerbaijan. He added that the Commissioner also wants to participate in the census due to be held in 2019. In late January 24, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore Jojug Marjanli village in Jabrayil region of Azerbaijan, which was liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016 as a result of a successful counter-attack of the Azerbaijani Army. Under the order, 4 million manats ($2.05 million) were allocated from the President`s 2017 Contingency Fund to the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and IDPs for the construction of 50 private houses, a school building and relevant infrastructure at the first stage. More than 190 families out of 400 families, who once lived in the village, have already expressed desire to return to their homeland. Hasanov, in turn, informed Cochetel about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the history of its origin. He noted that the requirements of the resolutions and decisions by the UN Security Council, OSCE, PACE, Organization of Islamic Cooperation are not implemented, and no pressure is put on the aggressor country in this regard. This is a great injustice and violation of international law. One gets the impression that the international law doesnt work and is used only by states capable to affect international relations," said Hasanov. "Powerful states want to get new territories, natural resources and wage war for geopolitical re-division of the world, and other people suffer from it. On the one hand, international rostrums every day call for protection of human rights, but on the other hand, thousands of people die every day," Hasanov continued. Speaking of the president's decree to restore the liberated village, Hasanov emphasized that this is a historical event. In the first phase, it is planned to build 50 private houses and a school building. Currently, demining works are underway there. I am sure that we will restore the village soon," said Hasanov. He noted that the number of families wishing to return to the liberated village is about 200 and it will continue to grow. "Therefore, the execution of the Great Return program begins with Jojug Marjanli," Hasanov said. Hasanov further mentioned that visits of ambassadors and representatives of all international organizations accredited in Azerbaijan to the village will be organized in a few days, and they will once again get acquainted with the atrocities of the Armenians. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- The first of what is expected to be multiple suspects in a rash of car burglaries this week in the Gulf Park Estates subdivision has been arrested, according to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell. Since Monday night, 25 vehicles -- nearly all of them left unlocked -- have been burglarized in the subdivision, located just outside the Ocean Springs eastern city limits. Ezell said suspects are going through neighborhoods looking for unlocked vehicles. Harrison Wenzel, 19, of Ocean Springs has been arrested and charged with two counts of commercial burglary of a vehicle and is a suspect in several other incidents. Deputies recovered some of the stolen items, including cell phones and handguns. Ezell said his department is "aggressively" working to prevent the break-ins with additional manpower and patrols. Residents are advised to lock their vehicles and to not leave valuables in plain sight inside vehicles. Anyone with information on these crimes or seeing suspicious activity is asked to call the Jackson County Sheriff's Department at 228-769-3063 or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898. 1 February 2017 16:31 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are working to organize next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard Hoagland told Trend on February 1. My fellow co-chairs and I are currently discussing in principle when the ministers might next meet in the future and the most appropriate time for our next co-chair trip to the region, he said. Hoagland added that he looks forward to the opportunity to make visits to Azerbaijan and Armenia. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has earlier said there is a plan to hold a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs at the Munich Security Conference to be held on February 17-19. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day. While the OSCE Minsk Group acts as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, it failed to make any move to achieve a breakthrough in the peace process so far. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 17:32 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli The establishment of British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus (www.bfsac.org.uk) embarks a new milestone in development of the scientific-humanitarian, as well as cultural interaction between Azerbaijan and the UK. This Foundation was established to provide transparent and fair support in an effort to ensure sustainability, success, viability and international academic level of the entire work carried out in the UK in the fields of culture and science in relation to Azerbaijan and the Caucasus. The British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus held its solemn presentation ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, founded in 1852, to announce about the scope of its activities to the British and Azerbaijani public. This important event dedicated to Azerbaijan was for the first time held in the prestigious temple of art as the Victoria and Albert Museum with the support of local British scientific and cultural circles. The solemn evening, which will go down in history of Azerbaijani science and culture, welcomed many honored guests, prominent figures of science and culture, political and public figures, who warmly interacted with each other and talked about the joint activities to further the implementation of the Foundations goals. The event was also attended by influential members of the scientific academic community of the UK, and people representing the Government and the Parliament of Great Britain, such as Baroness Nicholson, who serves as the Prime Ministers Trade Envoy to Iraq, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, Members of the House of Lords of the British Parliament, Lord Malcolm Bruce and Lord Michael German. Special guests attending the event from Azerbaijan included President of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Professor Akif Alizade, Academician of ANAS, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Professor Vasim Mammadaliyev, Chairman of Azerbaijan Writers Union, People's Writer Anar Rzayev, Director of the National Museum of History, academician Naila Velikhanli, Director of Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Society, People's Artist Murad Adigozalzade, as well as businessmen and Azerbaijanis living in the UK. The chairman of the British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, head of the Baku branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University, corresponding member of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, head of Nizami Ganjavi Center at the Oxford University, co-chairman of the England-Azerbaijan Society, Professor Nargiz Pashayeva, addressed the opening ceremony and welcomed the guests. Dear guests, I am happy to see you all here. Today we celebrate the launch of our Foundation. We have come a long way. Our foundation, our work, our initiative is not just short-term formal work. We have been part of Oxford University for almost four years. The Nizami Ganjavi Programme represents Azerbaijan at Oxford University. This Programme is not just an exchange project between two universities. We have created a new academic structure, which is a full part of Oxford University. We are part of the universitys full academic process. Our work at Oxford University is the first stable and serious contact between the university and Azerbaijan. Our main goal is to become part of Oxford University forever. We want to be part of world intellectual community. We understand that it is not an easy path. We understand our challenges. But thanks to the support of our colleagues at Oxford University we have already made important first steps. Nargiz Pashayeva noted the special role of Azerbaijan in the formation of democratic values in the East and its contribution to the world cultural heritage. The United Kingdom is a great country with strong traditions and great history. My country, Azerbaijan, also has many things to be proud of. In the Muslim world, the first parliamentary democratic republic was created in Azerbaijan in 1918. All citizens of independent Azerbaijan were equal in 1918. No nationality or religion mattered. The first university was created. The Parliament had many parties. Men and women had same rights in it. In November 1919 the press was freed from censure. Sixty newspapers and magazines were published. Satirical magazines with caricatures mocked religious fanaticism. First professional mugham opera in the East, first secular girls school, new genres of Azerbaijani literature, performance art and theater were created. The ancient eastern city became home to European architecture. This way Baku became the city that united East and West. In December of 1918 the tricolored flag of Azerbaijan was permanently raised on top of the parliament building in Baku. This was the order of British general Thomson - governor of Baku then. Yes, Azerbaijan is my motherland. I love her and can speak about her much longer. Today, independence is Azerbaijans biggest gain. Azerbaijani culture is important for the world culture in general. It includes Turkish and Persian worlds with many European and Russian elements. Great poets like Nasimi, Fizuli and famous Shakh Ismayil Khatai wrote in Azeri. The legendary hero Dede Gorgud also sang his ballads in Azeri dialect of Turkic languages. It is a great honor that the first event of our foundation is in Victoria and Albert museum. The British crown has collected and valued all world cultures; past and present. The Shaykh Safi carpet from south Azerbaijan and other unique pieces of Islamic world are open to the world here. They are also kept safe for the future generations. The golden ages of Islam gave the world great heritage. Sadly, today, we dont always see the great and beautiful traditions of the East. It is important that Islam gets its great image back. I think that openness between universities and honesty of real scholars will prevent many humanitarian catastrophes. This is how people were saved during the Great Terror, and the Cold War. Imagine that the dance of twist and love for jazz were dangerous then in Soviet Union. The ideological stamp had blocked information of Soviet and Azerbaijani scholars and they had to use fake methodology. Nevertheless, real scholars were at work. They say it is better late than never. Our work today is for future generations. I hope this British foundation will succeed in this mission. What have we done until today? With Oxford University we have finished two archaeological seasons. We have five students: Masters and Doctors, two conferences and very important work English translation of famous Russian orientalist Yevgeniy Bertelss book: The Great Azerbaijani Poet, Nizami. We will soon have the presentation of this book. The name of our foundation includes the Caucasus region. Caucasus is a multicultural and multiethnic region. We want to bring together all we know about the Caucasus and expand its study at Oxford University together with our colleagues. I hope one day the study of the history of all Azeris, south and north, 40 million Azeris of the world, will be based on real and objective academic work. All of this will be possible thanks to most people present here. Concluding her speech, the chairman of the British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, Professor Nargiz Pashayeva said: First of all I would like to thank our trustees: Lord Malcolm Bruce, Professor Robert Hoyland, Professor Robert Gleave and Professor Andrew Peacock. All my colleagues at Oxford University, especially, director of Nizami Ganjavi Centre at Oxford, Professor Edmund Herzig. I would like to thank Mr Iskandar Khalilov for his first financial support of the Oxford Nizami Ganjavi Centre. This year we will celebrate 20th anniversary of Anglo-Azerbaijan society in UK. My colleague, the co-chairman of the society Lord Mike German is here thank you for coming. I would like to thank our guests from Baku, Naila khanim, Anar muellim, Akif muellim, Vasim muellim, Mr. Gordon Birrell and business groups from Azerbaijan. Also, everyone who helped in the organization of this event. I got letters from British Ambassador in Azerbaijan Dr. Crofts, director of British Council Azerbaijan Ms White and head of BP Mr. Dudley thank you for your attention. I would like to thank the colleagues from the Moscow State University and Baku State University, my students who always support me. I would also like to thank all Azeris who dont know us personally, but still support us. Nothing is possible without you all. University is my second home since 1978. For me nothing is better. On this happy day, please let me thank two very precious people in my life: my grandmother Govher khanum and my grandfather famous journalist Nasir Imanguliyev. I learned from her: power of a song is not loudness. My grandfather was my best support. He gave me confidence and faith in others. Thank you so much for your attention and enjoy the evening! Taking the floor, Professor of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University, Head of Nizami Ganjavi Center at Oxford University from the British side, Edmund Herzig in his speech stressed the importance of an in-depth study of Azerbaijan and Caucasus in the academic circles of Britain. He voiced his biggest regret over scanty research into the internally diverse and rich region, as well as the country like Azerbaijan and its culture, which is closely linked with neighboring countries. Topics on Azerbaijan were usually developed in summary and in scanty format in the UK academic community, he said. In the study of this part of the world a lot of attention should be paid to relations with various countries. For example, while studying Great Silk Road project it can be seen that the Silk Road passes through Azerbaijan. These researches, an in-depth study in the broader context of relations of different countries with each other, have extremely great importance in an increasingly globalizing world. In turn, Founder of the British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus from the British side, Lord Malcolm Bruce, stressed that the tolerance in Azerbaijan can be an example for many countries. One of the most attractive features of Azerbaijan is that for centuries this country exists as a noble and secular society. At the same time, religious tolerance and tolerance are among the factors that characterize this country. In the current troubled war, Azerbaijan's experience deserves significant approval and I hope that the academic work carried out in this area will play an important role in the promotion of global experience in this country, he said. Head of Nizami Ganjavi Center at Oxford University from the British side, a professor of Oxford and New York Universities Robert Hoyland also noted the importance of the event. First of all, I would like to express my special appreciation to Professor Nargiz Pashayeva. Our first meeting with her took place in 2013, he said. Providing comprehensive aid to young students with both financial and intellectual point of view is one of goals and ideas unifying us. This first initiative gradually led us to wider horizons, and resulted at opening of the Research Center named after Nizami Ganjavi at Oxford University. Various scientific works were translated from Azerbaijani and Russian languages into English, which allowed to create greater opportunities for students. In turn, eminent quests to the event shared their impressions about the solemn presentation of British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, voicing their confidence in its success. Lord Michael Herman noted that the magic of Azerbaijan lies in the fact that many do not know this country, adding that this is a wonderful region, which combines East and West, North and South, and made a unique contribution to the development of humanity, its culture and heritage. Azerbaijan absorbed all the best historical path of human development. Therefore it is very important to know about this country, and to learn its history, culture and contribution to the development of world civilization. The creation of the British Foundation is a cultural and historical necessity to inform the world community about the true value of Azerbaijan for all mankind, he said. Naila Velikhanli, for her part, noted the importance of the establishment of cultural bridge between Azerbaijan and the Great Britain, the expansion of scientific activity between the museums of the two countries. "The participation of world-renowned scientists in this event shows how much attention is focused on this truly momentous historical event, arouses great interest among the workers of culture and science, and will surely make its significant contribution to the development of our relations," she said. - Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 14:41 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the Chairman of the Board of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Fredrik Reinfeldt in Baku on February 1, Azertac reported. The head of state noted that the visit of Reinfeldt to the country paves the way for broad discussion of the Azerbaijan-EITI cooperation issues. He said that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join this initiative. President Aliyev recalled with pleasure his participation in the first EITI meeting which was held in London. The head of state pointed to the fact that Azerbaijan had made a decision to join this process years before the country achieved significant financial resources from the oil sector. The head of state noted that in order to study the experience, the Azerbaijani delegations were sent to the countries which have sovereign funds at that time. President Ilham Aliyev noted with satisfaction that the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan received the 2007 UN Public Service Award in the category of "Improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the Public Service". Reinfeldt emphasized that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. He hailed the country's long-term cooperation with this organization and its great achievements in this sphere. The Chair of the EITI Board noted that reports announced by the country meet the requirements of the organization. Azerbaijan's commitment to the continuation of the cooperation with Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was once again hailed. They exchanged views on implementation of all the necessary measures to restore Azerbaijan's status of a full-fledged member of this organization in the coming years. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 11:30 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova A scientific conference on Genocide of Turkic-Muslim peoples in the 20th century will be held in Azerbaijan`s Lankaran region on April 22-27. The organizers of the event are Institute of History of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Ataturk Research Centre of the Republic of Turkey and Lankaran District Executive Authority, Azertac reported. The conference will see discussions of following topics: Genocide of the Azerbaijani people in the 20th century, Genocide of Turkic-Muslim population of Eastern Anatolia and the Urmia, Salmas and Khoy regions in 1914-1920 years, Genocide and deportation of the peoples of the Caucasus, the Volga region and Central Asia in the 20th century. Conference proceedings will be published and distributed to the participants. Articles should be sent to the Organizing Committee not later than March 1. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 14:47 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The capital assets of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Assistance Fund have exceeded 79,544 million manats ($40.77 million) as of February 1, 2017. Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported that the Funds dollar account has accumulated over $212,673, the euro account reached 6,235 euros, while the ruble account made up 5,000 rubles. The Armed Forces Assistance Fund , established in 2002, targets to ensure development of the Armed Forces in accordance with the contemporary requirements, strengthening the material and technical base and financing the necessary social measures. The Armed Forces Assistance Fund is formed on the basis of voluntary donations of individuals and legal entities and at the expense of the other donations not prohibited by the national legislation. The Azerbaijani Army, which today is considered the most modern army in the Caucasus, consists of Air Force and Air Defense Forces, the Navy, and the Land Forces. Today, Azerbaijani Army is one of the most powerful, highly disciplined armies in the world and the leading in the region, which is equipped with modern military machinery. Azerbaijan leaves behind many CIS and regional countries to take its place among the first 70 strongest militaries of the world, according to the U.S.-based Global Firepower survey center. Azerbaijan provides the national Army with sufficient military budget every year. Defense spending of Azerbaijan determined in the state budget for 2017 made up 2.64 billion manats ($1.47 billion), which exceeds the spending for 2016. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 15:15 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli The Azerbaijani Parliament has today opened the first plenary meeting of its spring session. The agenda of the February 1 meeting covers 27 issues, including reorganization of the Parliaments Disciplinary and Accounts Commissions, as well as consideration of draft amendments to the Criminal Code, Administrative Offences Code, Customs Code, laws "On access to information", "On insolvency and bankruptcy", "On accounting", "On grants", "On social insurance", "On state duty", "On aviation", "On customs tariff", "On securities market", "On protection of historical and cultural monuments". Firstly, the parliamentarians approved the composition of Disciplinary and Accounting commissions of the Parliament, which remained unchanged. The Parliament also approved two agreements "On air communication between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Kuwait" and "On economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Portugal". By signing of the intergovernmental agreement on air communication on November 16, 2016, Azerbaijan and Kuwait removed obstacles to the opening of air links between the two countries, which will contribute to the further development of bilateral economic and cultural ties between the two sides. The agreement "On economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Portugal" was also signed on November 16 during the visit of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov to Portugal at the meeting with his counterpart Santos Silva. During the session, MP Yagub Mahmudov proposed to adopt a document on the right to inherit the area of 9,000 square meters, including Yerevan (formerly Irevan), which had been given to Armenia during the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic. These territories were given to Armenia on certain conditions, Mahmudov, who is also the director of the Institute of History, said noting that the Institute has managed to acquire those documents from abroad. In those lands, Azerbaijanis were supposed to be allowed to live in peace, Shaumyan-led acts of genocide had to be ended, and Armenia had had to give up its claims on Zangazur and Garabagh. But all of these conditions were breached, the MP added, APA reported. Therefore, we must raise the issue of inheritance to these lands and take necessary steps for it. Were ready to submit all of those documents to the Parliament. The Parliament's spring session will end on May 31. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 11:35 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Traders in the energy market are still keeping eye on two contradictory tendencies that put both upward and downward pressures on prices. Majority of producers are following the supply-cut deal being a catalyst for prices, while U.S. shale is responding to fifty-plus-dollar oil with swelling drilling activity. The cartels decision to abandon its strategy of pursuing market share is currently benefiting U.S. shale, which increases the rig count. These two factors are largely neutralizing each other, and keep the price range between $50 and $60. Oil edged down on February 1, with gains being discouraged by ongoing high supplies despite OPEC-led efforts to prop up the market. January price range extended to the second month of the year with Brent crude futures trading at $55.44 per barrel, 14 cents down, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) standing at $52.74 a barrel, 7 cents down, Reuters reported. Both futures have traded within narrow ranges over the last two months. Main deterrent came from the American Petroleum Institute's crude inventories data, which revealed a higher than expected increase of 5.8 million barrels, putting reserves to 488 million barrels. The market watchdogs forecast on oil prices also differ, with U.S. governments top forecaster Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicting prices to remain below $60 per barrel even through 2018. The EIA sees oil inventories continuing to rise until the middle of 2018, at an average rate of 0.3 million barrels per day in 2017, and extending to 2018 with a slight growth of 0.1 mbd. Other major forecasters, in contrast, say the market would already be in a supply deficit in the first or second quarter of 2017. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects oil inventories to fall by 0.7 mbd in the first half of 2017, provided that OPEC complies with its production cuts. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 12:40 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) received request for pumping of 10.4 million tons of Kashagan oil in 2017, the consortium reported. Currently Kashagan oil is pumped to export through the CPC pipeline system to Russian Novorosiysk port on the Black Sea and by Atyrau-Samara pipeline to Russian Ust Luga port in the Gulf of Finland. From these ports oil is exported to European countries via tankers. With increasing output volumes, the project shareholders consider possibility of oil export by Atyrau Alashankou pipeline to China and by Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System to Baku and further by pipelines connecting Baku and Black sea ports. Currently, the production rate is estimated at 180,000 bpd. Kashagan, first discovered in 2000, is considered to be the world's largest discovery in the last 30 years, combined with the Tengiz Field. Oil extraction at Kashagan, a large oil and gas field located in the north of the Caspian Sea was re launched in autumn 2016. The volume of production and export from the field has already exceeded 1 million crude oil and condensate. LS website reported that the figure of 1 million in export was reached on January 8, 2017. The project participants are KMG Kashagan BV (16.88 percent), AGIP Caspian Sea BV (nearly 16.81 percent), CNPC Kazakhstan BV (8.33 percent), Exxon Mobil Kazakhstan Inc. (nearly 16.81 percent), INPEX North Caspian Sea Ltd. (nearly 16.81 percent), Shell Kazakhstan Development BV (nearly 16.81 percent), and Total E&P Kazakhstan (nearly 16.81 percent). The field is operated by North Caspian Operating Company BV (NCOC). --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 17:51 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova The Shah Deniz Stage 2, one of the largest gas development projects in the world, bears huge importance for Georgia. Georgian Deputy Energy Minister Mariam Valishvili told Business Time that the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline (a part of the Shah Deniz Full Field Development project), as well as the construction of an underground gas storage are priority issues for the development of the Georgian energy market. The construction of the gas storage is necessary, as it will allow to oust daytime and seasonal disbalance observed in the country. Gas storages are able to regulate volumes of supplies by accumulating them in the summer season [when consumption is low] and using during peak seasons. Under a contract, inked with the Shah Deniz Consortium, Georgia will lose supplies should it is not able to draw the volumes. Besides, we do not have a right for re-export, she clarified. The South Caucasus Pipeline was built to export Shah Deniz gas from Azerbaijan to Georgia and Turkey. The pipeline starts from the Sangachal terminal near Baku and follows the route of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) crude oil pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey, where it is linked to the Turkish gas distribution system. The expansion project involves the laying of new pipeline across Azerbaijan and the construction of two new compressor stations in Georgia. The project will triple the gas volumes exported through the pipeline to over 20 bcm per year. Being one of the main components of the large-scale Southern Gas Corridor project, Shah Deniz 2 is expected to add a further 16 bcm per year of gas production to the approximately 9 bcm per year produced by Shah Deniz Stage 1. "The development of the second stage is a matter of principle, and it is gratifying to know that the process is moving in a scheduled manner. Major portion of the work in our territory has already been completed, and there will be no delay. Production at the field will be launched at the scheduled time and by 2020 we will get additional reserves, she said. The total cost of the Shah Deniz 2 project, being developed by a consortium of companies, is expected to hit $25 billion. . -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 12:27 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva The UN Security Council acknowledged the importance of Astana talks on Syria and is looking forward to their resumption in Geneva, urging the Syrian sides to participate without preconditions, according to a Security Council statement, Sputnik reported. "The members of the UN Security Council look forward to the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations, encouraged in the context the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Staffan de Mistura to reconvene the negotiations as soon as possible in Geneva and urged the Syrian parties to participate in the negotiations in good faith and without preconditions," the statement said. The Astana talks on Syrian settlement were brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran and took place in the Kazakh capital on January 23- 24. They marked the first time since the beginning of Syrian civil war in 2011 when the government of Syria and the armed opposition sat together at the negotiations table. In a joint statement of Russia, Iran and Turkey issued following the Astana talks, the countries agreed to create a trilateral group on monitoring the Syrian ceasefire. Meanwhile, Staffan de Mistura said that he asked the Security Council to postpone the intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva until February 20. Initially the talks were slated for February 8. De Mistura stressed that the Syrian government will have an opportunity to engage in serious discussions on the issue and opposition groups, in their turn, will be given a chance to come to the Geneva talks as one unified group. Armed conflict continues in Syria since March 2011. Government troops are confronted by militants of different armed rebel groups. Russia has begun airstrikes on terrorist facilities in Syria since 30 September 2015. The Russian military involvement follows an official request from President Bashar Assad to President Vladimir Putin. The U.N. has repeatedly tried and failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed 300,000 and displaced 11 million since it began five years ago. Many experts assessed the agreement between Russia, Turkey and Iran on the establishment of a tripartite mechanism aimed at monitoring the cease-fire as a step to a political solution which might end the six-year war. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz At the SCI convention, trophy hunters connect with 2,500 vendors who offer up hunts, particularly in the African nations that possess some of the worlds most remarkable mammals. Photo by The HSUS 1.4K shares Safari Club International members have assembled in Las Vegas for the groups annual gathering, which attracts individuals whove made a macabre hobby of traveling to the far reaches of the world to kill many of the worlds rarest animals for their heads and hides. What happens in Vegas doesnt stay in Vegas, in this case, given that the trophy hunters connect with some 2,500 vendors who offer up hunts all over the world, particularly in the African nations that possess some of the worlds most remarkable mammals. Walter Palmer, the man who lured Cecil from a national park in Zimbabwe and killed him with an arrow, was an SCI member, and the group rose in defense of trophy hunting after Palmer killed the worlds most studied and famous lion. SCI could raise as much as $5.3 million from the mammal auctions, and millions more from vendor fees. At this years convention, the top three most expensive items on offer are a New Zealand red stag and tahr hunt for four people (valued at US$92,000), a Zambian leopard, sable, roan, and plains game hunt (valued at US$81,400), and a Canadian polar bear trophy hunt (valued at US$72,000). The rarer the animal, the more coveted the trophy. Some of the killing will occur within fenced areas canned hunting facilities where the animals are victims of staged hunts. Its not just foreign species who are under threat from this assembly of the pitiless. SCIs auctions include hunts for 137 mammals in the United States, valued at nearly $1 million. SCI bills itself as a conservation group that contributes to the economies of poor African countries through hunting. But this is a convenient and overcooked rationalization. To coincide with SCIs Las Vegas convention, Humane Society International is releasing today a study carried out by Economists at Large that finds that trophy hunters have vastly overstated their contribution to eight African nations, and confirms what we have said all along that non-lethal forms of wildlife tourism in Africa dwarf trophy hunting as a source of commerce and profit. The report found that in Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, trophy hunting brings in just 0.78 percent or less of the overall tourism spending and has only a marginal impact on employment, providing approximately 0.76 percent or less of overall tourism jobs. Foreign trophy hunters make up less than 0.1 percent of tourists in these countries, and their economic contribution is at best an estimated 0.03 percent of these nations gross domestic product. In fact, the segment of the tourism industry that does not rely on hunting has a much brighter future in Africa, growing much faster and employing 132 times more people than the trophy hunting industry. The vendors at SCIs auctions this year will advertise hunting achievement awards like the Africa Big Five (requiring a hunter to shoot a lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and Cape Buffalo), Bears of the World, Cats of the World, and dozens of other killing combinations that allow for recognition within this fraternity. Last year, SCI made $14.4 million from the convention. It uses these funds to aggressively oppose any efforts at conservation and to open up trophy-hunting seasons on wolves, fight efforts to restrict the hunting of African elephants and lions, and lobby Congress to enable its hunters to import endangered polar bear trophies into the United States. Just earlier this year, the group filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in defense of aerial hunting and other inhumane predator-killing practices on refuges in Alaska, challenging regulations from USFWS for which we have long advocated. Make no mistake, this is a large gathering of wealthy people who as a group may spread more pain and loss to wildlife than just about any other collective on earth. But lets also remember that they hold minority views among the American population. Even in the host state for the convention, Nevada, there is a deep dislike for trophy hunting. A recent statewide poll from Remington Research Group showed that an overwhelming 77 percent of Nevada residents are opposed to canned hunting of lions, 66 percent are opposed to trophy hunting of their native species (bears, bobcats, and mountain lions), and 61 percent oppose the trophy hunting of elephants, lions, leopards, and rhinos. Its one thing to kill animals for food. Its another matter to go on head-hunting gambits and pursue many of the rarest animals in the world, in competitive hunts driven by awards programs. Well continue to make the case that Safari Club International is far out of the American mainstream, and that its activities are destructive to animals who deserve our protection, rather than our persecution. 1 February 2017 17:18 (UTC+04:00) The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey saw a 76.2 percent decline in 2016, plummeting to 866,256, reads a report revealed by Turkeys Statistics Institute (TUIK). Russia has been the second largest source of foreign tourists visiting Turkey, but the number of Russian tourists began to decline after a diplomatic crisis between the two countries in late 2015. However, there has been a notable increase in arrivals from Russia since the normalization bilateral ties between the two countries in mid 2016. This year, Turkish tourism sector expects to receive from three to five million Russian tourists. Necet Kockar, chairman of Anex Tour, one of the leading tour operators in Russia, recently told Daily Sabah that they expect the number of tourists coming to Turkey to reach 5 million as relations go back to normal and Russians have not been satisfied with the service quality in the alternative countries they have chosen last year. He noted that Anex Tour plans to bring 1 million of that number to Turkey. "We are receiving early reservations, five times higher than 2015, proving that our guests missed Turkey," Kockar said. Meanwhile, Russian Sberbank and Turkish Denizbank intend to implement the ruble payment system in the tourism sector. CEO of Denizbank, Hakan Ates said the relations between Russian and Turkish banks contribute to the development of partnership between the two countries. We offer Russian tourists different kinds of the tourist services. We are grateful to Sberbank for that it does not charge any fees, he said. Atesh said that currently some tour operators are ready to provide their services to Russian tourists, who will pay not in the lira, but in the Russian rubles. Overall, the number of foreigners visiting Turkey dropped to 25.3 million in 2016. That is a 30 percent drop compared to 2015. Turkeys tourism revenue dropped to $22.1 billion in 2016, a 29.7 percent decrease compared to 2015, as the number of foreign arrivals to the country witnessed a dramatic plunge, the official data showed. Turkeys Tourism Ministry confirmed that the drop is correlated to a number of terrorist attacks and to the failed military coup on July 15, 2016. TUIK said that the countrys tourism revenue has dropped to $22.1 billion in 2016; a 29.7 percent decrease compared to 2015. While some 72.8 percent of the revenue was obtained from foreign visitors, the remaining 27.2 percent was obtained from Turkish citizens who reside abroad. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 14:10 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Turkmenistan along with offering the resumption of negotiations with Iran over gas exports, has recently proposed a 10-million-cubic-meters rise in its gas swap through Iran, Fars reported Turkmenistan proposed to increase its current level of gas swap through Iran to 15 mcm; Azerbaijan and Armenia are the destination for new volumes, Saied Momeni an official in National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), told Fars on January 31. The dispute between Iran and Turkmenistan over outstanding debts for previous natural gas sales has reached its peak when Tehran announced intention to sue Ashgabat. But later the country refused the step. Expert Rovshan Ashirov believes that the Iranian side made the right choice by suspending the judicial proceedings with the Turkmen side, Trend reported. As of January 1, Turkmenistan cut gas supply to the Islamic Republic for the delayed payment. The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) claimed that Turkmengaz, the Turkmen state gas company, had cut gas supplies to Iran violating a 20-year-old gas deal. The company said that Iran has fully settled its debts to the Turkmen side and that talks had begun on settling of delayed debts. The Iranians also claimed there have been quality and quantity loses in the deal. Later, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry issued statement noting that NIGC had stopped paying its arrears for gas deliveries since 2013. As a result, Irans debts accumulated substantially, creating problems in the routine operations of Turkmen gas transportation infrastructure required to deliver gas to Iran in accordance with the long-term contract, the statement said. Tehran said in December that Turkmenistan had threatened to stop gas exports because of arrears, which amounted to about $1.8 billion and dated back more than a decade. Iran has major natural gas fields in the south but has imported gas from Turkmenistan since 1997 for distribution in its northern provinces, especially during the winter. Among the Central Asian countries, Turkmenistan has the largest natural gas reserves and the worlds sixth largest reserves that amount 13.7 tcm. Besides Iran, Turkmenistan also annually exports about 30-35 billion cubic meters of gas per year to China. The country earlier also exported gas to Russia, but the latter ceased supplies back in January 2016 . --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 13:27 (UTC+04:00) Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has defended the nation's right to use ballistic missiles. The minister refused to confirm that the country conducted a missile test, saying Irans missile program is not part of a nuke deal signed with the world powers back in 2015. The nuclear deal between Iran and six countries (UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany), including the U.S., was reached in July 2015 and required Iran to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Zarif, addressing a joint news conference on January 31with visiting French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, said that the missile issue is not part of the nuclear deal. "The missile issue is not part of the nuclear deal. As all signatories to the nuclear deal have announced, the missile issue is not a part of the JCPOA, he said. Iran's missiles, he added, are "not designed for the capability of carrying a nuclear warhead. Our ballistic missile was designed to carry a normal warhead in the field of legitimate defense." The Iranian diplomat also urged the United States not to "create new hotbeds of tension" with Tehran on this issue. U.S. officials claim that Tehran has carried out a test launch of ballistic medium-range missiles on January 29. Reportedly, Iran tested a missile on Sunday that flew 550 nautical miles and then exploded. The White House reported that it is studying the details of an Iranian ballistic missile test. Iranians foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi also stated that the missile tests are an essential right of Iran to protect the national interests and security. "I emphasize the Islamic Republic of Irans principled stance that conducting any ballistic missile test by the Islamic Republic of Iran is in full compliance with its absolute rights and international obligations, Ghasemi said. He reaffirmed the defensive nature of Irans missile programs and said none of the countrys ballistic missiles had been designed to carry a nuclear warhead and they were, therefore, not banned under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 16:00 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Gas consumption in Turkey, the second country in the world in terms of natural gas demand growth, is projected to hit 46.03 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2017. Turkeys energy market regulator EMRA provided the forecast basing on the index of specific heat combustion standing at 9,155 kilocalories per cubic meter. The previous index stood at 49.56 bcm. Turkey does not possess indigenous fuel resources and imports crucial fossil fuel sources, namely oil and natural gas. Being a dominant fuel in the Turkish energy mix, natural gas stands at the forefront of Ankaras energy policy and is mainly used in power generation, residential and industrial sectors. Russia is by far Turkeys largest gas supplier, while other major gas exporters are Azerbaijan and Iran. Azerbaijan increased the volume of supplied blue fuel in January-October 2016. The country delivered some 5.31 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas in the reported period, as compared to 5 bcm in the same period of 2015. Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and has a contract for purchasing 6.6 bcm of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field annually. Iran exported 5.56 bcm of gas to Turkey in January-September 2016, as compared to 5.53 bcm in the same period of 2015. Some 16.86 percent of Turkeys total gas import accounted for Iran in the reported period. Iranian gas is delivered to Turkey via the Tabriz-Ankara gas pipeline with the capacity of 14 bcm of gas per year. Iran is Turkeys second supplier of gas after Russia, providing one-fifth of the countrys consumption. Russia sells 28-30 billion cubic meters of gas (some 60 percent of the total demand) to Turkey each year. Turkey is also expected to receive additional volumes from Russia via the Turkish Stream project, which envisages supplies of the Russian gas under the Black Sea (bypassing Ukraine) to Turkey and further to Europe. Turkeys desire to diversify its gas source routes is also linked to the desire of the country to take advantage of its favorable geographic location and become a regional energy hub. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 15:48 (UTC+04:00) Tehran has once again criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. President Hassan Rouhani described Trump and his administration as newcomers who don't understand politics, saying, "A man had been living in another world and now has entered the world of politics." "It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world," added Rouhani. Trump's order bars citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days. The bans, though temporary, took effect immediately, causing havoc and confusion for would-be travellers with passports from these countries. The seven Muslim-majority countries targeted in President Trump's executive order on immigration were initially identified as "countries of concern" under the Obama administration. Rouhani continued to say that today is not a time for separating nations by walls, as he referred to Trump's promise to build a barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. Cancelling visas of other nations is a political newbies job he also mentioned. Rouhani called the American administration dishonest for claiming to be on the side of the Iranian people, but then banning them. The U.S. has revealed their sense of discrimination and lack of regard for all international norms, he added. Tehran has already announced it will take legal, political and reciprocal measures in response to Trump's order suspending the entry of people from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. On January 29, the Islamic Republic summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests, to protest the measure. Meanwhile, France vowed on Monday to defend Iran's nuclear deal, strengthen trade ties with Tehran, and double the number of visas available to Iranians. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 17:57 (UTC+04:00) Turkey's export increased by 15 percent in January 2017, which is the highest growth rate over the past 49 months. Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) Chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi announced about this while addressing a conference on February 1. The increase is the greatest change since November 2012," said Buyukeksi. The countrys exports totaled $10.5 billion last month and the country's total exports over the last 12 months stood at $143.6 billion, up by 1.8 percent compared to the previous 12 months. "We announced 2017 as a leaping point for exports. We expect an increase in petroleum and commodity prices, a decrease in export losses in Russia due to the normalization of relations, and an increase in petroleum exporting countries' imports," he added. Buyukeksi said that the losses of exporters due to falling prices of export products was $126 million and losses due to the decreasing value of the Turkish lira were $302 million in January. If they had not occurred, the increase rate in January would have reached 19.6 percent. The EU's share in Turkish national exports reached 49.9 percent. Middle Eastern countries account for 18.2 percent and African countries 8.3 percent of Turkish exports. Exports to Russia increased by 57 percent, the highest level since the 2015 crisis between the two countries. The highest export growth rates are fixed for products such as olive oil (146 percent), ships and yachts (57 percent) and fresh fruit and vegetables (46 percent). Last year, Turkey exported goods to $142.6 billion, while imports amounted to $198.6 billion The country's economic heart, Istanbul, remains the highest-exporting city in Turkey followed by Bursa, Kocaeli, Izmir and Gaziantep. The volume of Turkeys foreign trade amounted to $341.2 billion in 2016, which is 2.8 percent less than in 2015, said the report of the Turkish Statistical Institute. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 17:59 (UTC+04:00) Moscow expects Washington to specify its approaches toward establishing safe zones in Syria, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "We understand that Donald Trump's administration is yet to specify its approach. The idea of safe zones was discussed in the beginning of the Syrian crisis. Then they wanted to repeat "the Libyan scenario," announcing the creation of a safe zone, where the anti-government forces were located. I do not see that Washington attempts to follow the same path now," Lavrov said at a press conference on February 1. Earlier, Trump said in an interview with ABC News that he plans to create safe zones for civilians in Syria. Trump emphasized the option was preferable to letting millions of refugees into Europe or the United States, having previously characterized the EU approach of accepting millions of refugees a "disaster." The Russian minister said Moscow was ready to discuss establishing safe zones in Syria with the new US administration. "As soon as the State Department's leadership completely formed, I am convinced that we will enter into contact and establish a full-fledged regular dialogue, Lavrov said. The Trump administrations idea of setting up safe zones for civilians in Syria was also greeted with caution by Turkey, which together with Russia has intensified efforts to end the six-year war in Syria. Armed conflict continues in Syria since March 2011. Government troops are confronted by militants of different armed groups. Russia has begun airstrikes on terrorist facilities in Syria since 30 September 2015. The Russian military involvement follows an official request from President Bashar Assad to President Vladimir Putin. A nationwide ceasefire began in Syria on December 30, 2016, to pave the way for new peace talks on Syria. Russia and Turkey serve as guarantors of the ceasefire deal, paving the way for negotiations between the Syrian regime and rebels. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 February 2017 18:17 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli As the clock ticks towards Valentine's Day a day to celebrate love, all love birds look for interesting and romantic nests to spend quality time. Being a place of passion, art and music, Baku is an excellent city to visit this love month. The city already took the fifth place in the ranking of the cities popular for romantic trips on Valentines Day. The hotel search service RoomGuru.ru determined most sought-after towns for Russian tourists for this Day. The ranking was compiled in accordance with the booking of hotels from February 13 to 15. Paris, Rome, Minsk, Tbilisi, Baku, Tallinn, Budapest, Barcelona and Vienna are in the top 10 cities for traveling together on Valentine's Day. The service said that Minsk will provide the cheapest accommodation (on average, $50 per day), and the most expensive will be in Paris (over $110). In Baku accommodation will cost an average of $60 per day. According to forecasts TurStat Agency, in 2017 the number of foreign trips of Russian tourists will increase by 10 percent. Baku is so rich in attractions that one can easily spend three days walking around the city and might find it not enough to enjoy its all beauties. It usually takes two more days to see the landmarks in the surroundings of the capital. Baku is a wonderful city on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Centuries-long history is reflected in its medieval landmarks, where the special place is given to the Old city called Icherisheher. On the other hand, it is a fast-growing megapolis with glittering skyscrapers and unusual architectural monuments of the 21st century. Oriental past and hi tech future is entwined in the way that it gives an impression of taking a journey through time. The biggest attraction of Baku is Boulevard that stretches many kilometers along the shores of the Caspian Sea. There are different kinds of attractions in the surroundings of Baku as well. The most ancient one is the Gobustan Museum of Petroglyphs not far from another landmark mud volcanoes. Another interesting touristy spots are fire monuments, flaming hill of Yanardag, temple of fire worshippers Ateshgah and the historical-ethnographic museum of Gala. In 2016 the number of tourists visiting the Land of Fire amounted to 2.242 million people and this is 11.7 percent more than in 2015. More than 300 hotels have been built in Azerbaijan since 2004 and the capital hosts the worlds leading hotel chain. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The City of Bakersfield, which won the lawsuit challenging the 24th Street widening project in Superior Court, will ask a judge Friday to let Legal notices 1) The material on this blog has been created by W. Blake Gray, is protected under US copyright law and cannot be used without his permission. 2) To the FTC: In the course of my work, I accept free samples, meals and other considerations. I do not trade positive reviews or coverage for money or any financial considerations, unlike certain famous print publications which have for-profit wine clubs but, because they are not classified as "bloggers," are not required by the FTC to post a notice like this. How many multiple points on the S&P 500 are at risk if the populace gets to a place where they no longer believe we are a country of laws laws that apply to everyone, including the politicians who happen to be in control at a given a moment? I dont know the answer, but I guarantee you its not zero. Its a number for sure. Matt Levine on this weekends chaos with respect to the latest executive order from the Trump administration: If the president can, without consulting the courts or Congress, banish U.S. lawful permanent residents, then he can do anything. If there is no rule of law for some people, there is no rule of law for anyone. The reason the U.S. is a good place to do business is that, for the last 228 years, it has built a firm foundation on the rule of law. It almost undid that in a weekend. Thats bad for business. When you hear an investor compare US, UK, German and Japanese stock market valuations with the countries that make up the Emerging Markets index, try to keep in mind the fact that the discounts of the latter are nearly always warranted. We can debate about the degree of cheapness in emerging Latin American or Asian stock markets this is subjective. What is not up for debate is whether or not there ought to be a discount. Of course there needs to be. And the reason why, very simply, is the presence of a rule of law that applies to everyone or, at least, the perception of a rule of law. Shares of stocks are contracts; agreements between the owners of a business and those who manage it on behalf of those owners. And these contracted agreements regarding the payment and allocation of cash flows, safeguarding of intellectual property, continuance of competitive business practices, respect for minority shareholders, etc are sacrosanct. The same could be said of the governance environment in which the companies operate. Investors need to feel that there is fairness and a set of rules that everyone must adhere to. No one would build a house on quicksand and no one would exchange currency for pieces of paper in an environment where legal protections no longer mattered. In 2002, an early research conference looking at the challenges of valuing emerging market stocks, was convened at the University of Virginia. The panelists concluded the following (emphasis mine): The valuation of firms in any market also depends on the degree to which investors rights are protected. Because a firms share price reflects the cash flow per share that non-controlling shareholders expect to receive, this share price should fall if non-controlling shareholders expect expropriation by either corrupt officials or controlling shareholders. To the extent that official corruption and poor corporate governance distort the decision-making of the firms management, they also destroy shareholder value. Because emerging markets in general have a more corrupt environment and weaker corporate governance institutions, financial markets tend to price assets in emerging markets at a discount with respect to comparable assets in developed markets. Fifteen years later, and this conclusion remains correct. The stock market valuations in emerging markets continue to earn this corruption discount, despite the fact that, for the most part, the economies to which these stock markets belong are growing at a significantly rapid rate compared to the developed world. Investors dont pay up for faster growth if it is accompanied by concerns about governance and the potential for political interference. Lets take a quick look at some current earnings multiples to give you a sense of how important investors perception of lawfulness can be. The United States stock market currently sells at a price-to-earnings (PE) multiple of 21.8 times (trailing 12 months) and a cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings (CAPE) multiple of 26.4 times. In comparison, the Russian stock market sells at a PE of 9.1 times and a CAPE of 5.9. It is the cheapest large stock market in the world. The reason for this discount is that these are shares of stock that trade in a dictatorship, wholly controlled by the whims of the Kremlin. CEOs can be jailed for operating or even speaking against those in power. Assets can be confiscated or reassigned at will. State control of corporate entities does not encourage investors to pay up for minority stakes in these businesses. UPDATED Two Republican lawmakers on the Senate education committee announced Wednesday that they will oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trumps pick to be secretary of education. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said they would vote against DeVos over concerns about her track record with and knowledge of public schools. Both of those senators discussed those concerns during a Senate education committee vote Tuesday, when lawmakers voted 12-11 to advance DeVos nomination to the full Senate. However, Republican leaders appear not to be worried. Senator Alexander is not concerned about her nomination. He is confident she will get confirmed, an aide to Alexander said after the senators announced their opposition. UPDATE: Ed Patru, a spokesman for DeVos, said Wednesday that she will not drop out. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday he was 100 percent confident that DeVos would still be confirmed . Collins and Murkowski both represent relatively rural states without big school choice programs. DeVos is a big-time advocate for vouchers and other forms of choice. Until recently, she led the American Federation for Children. Without those two senators on board, and assuming all Democrats vote against DeVos (which seems like a distinct possibility), there are now 50 votes in the Senate against DeVos. So is there another Republican who could defect, vote against DeVos, and end her nomination? We explored that question earlier . The upshot: There are a few Senate Republicans who appear not to be big fans of vouchers, at least at the federal level. One possibility: Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who has a tough re-election bid in 2018, and once voted against a sweeping federally funded voucher program. Other possibilities include Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., both of whom also voted against that voucher proposal. Some Democrats had hoped that Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., another senator from a rural state who opposed federally funded vouchers in the past, would vote against DeVos. But Capitos spokeswoman told us Wednesday that that the West Virginia senator plans to vote for Trumps education secretary nominee. UPDATE: Heller announced in a statement Wednesday that he would vote in favor of DeVos , saying that she understands the need to bring back education control to state and local boards. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said before Tuesdays committee vote that no Democrat will support DeVos . So far, that seems true. Since Frankens remarks, a few prominent red-state Democrats, specifically Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, have said they will oppose DeVos. Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . The prospect of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education has some school choice supporters riding high, while many educators, members of the civil rights community, and disability advocates are taking to the streets in anger, literally. But what if her nomination is approved? (That looks more likely than not for now , even though a couple of GOP lawmakers said Tuesday theyre not sure about the nominee heading into the full Senate vote.) How much could DeVos really do at the U.S. Department of Education without the help of Congress or state policymakers? The short answer: Maybe not quite as much as you might think. The new Every Student Succeeds Act seeks to rein in the education secretary significantly a fact that Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the committee, alluded to at the start of DeVos confirmation hearing. In fact, some civil rights advocates are far more worried about what DeVos wouldnt do, especially when it comes to enforcing civil rights laws and the so-called guardrails in ESSA, or the parts aimed at improving low-performing schools and boosting the performance of historically overlooked groups of students. (More on that below.) DeVos would have some tools at her disposal to champion her school choice agenda, including competitive grants, although money for any big new program will likely be scarce. But it wouldnt be easy for her to push states and districts in significant new directions that local leaders wouldnt want to go in. Expanding the [secretarys role] would fly directly in the face of the most recent legislation, said Elizabeth Mann, a fellow at the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. And if DeVos does overreach, lawmakers who complained bitterly about that Obama education secretaries overstepped their bounds will have to call her on her actions, or risk looking like blatant hypocrites, she added. DeVos, though, would likely have a tough time making use of one of the few tools left to the secretary in the ESSA era: the bully pulpit. Many educators and advocacy groups feel that she doesnt have a strong grasp of policy or an understanding of what goes on in public schools , particularly after her bruising confirmation hearing, and wouldnt be eager to take policy suggestions from her, some experts say. Its possible shed have more luck with GOP state lawmakers, though. (Read on for more information about that.) Now for some more detailed answers: We took a look at some of the things that folks worryor eagerly anticipateDeVos could do, and asked experts how much authority she really has on each of them. Could DeVos privatize public education? No, certainly not single-handedly. But, with help from Congress, she could expand private school choice to a lot more students. Here are some more details: It would be virtually impossible for DeVos to completely privatize public education. Congress would need to pass legislation allowing all federal funding to flow to both public and private schools. That doesnt seem likely, given that the U.S. Senate already rejected a similar measure in 2015, when Republicans had a bigger majority in the chamber. Whats more, federal funding makes up less than 10 percent of all K-12 funding. So DeVos and her allies would not only have to convince the feds to allow money to go to private schools, theyd have to convince states to go along with it. The 20-odd states that have some kind of school choice program already on the books might be game. But its hard to imagine deep-blue states, like California and Massachusetts, allowing their own money to go to private schools. And sending public funds to private schools would involve big changes to state constitutions, many of which have so-called Blaine amendments restricting public money from being used for religious purposes. DeVos couldnt suddenly use executive action to allow states and districts to start funneling their roughly $15 billion in Title I money for disadvantaged kids to private schools, either. Its far more likely that Congresswith encouragement from DeVoswould decide to push private school choice through changes to the tax code, experts say, such as allowing parents to put more money into Coverdell accounts, which can cover private school tuition. Or it could give folks a tax break for donating to nonprofits that give low-income kids scholarships to attend private schools. (More from Andrew and from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute .) How might DeVos approach ESSA enforcement? Would there be any recourse if advocates, educators or parents think shes not following the law? State flexibility will likely be the watchword. For her part, DeVos said during her confirmation hearing that she would approach ESSA enforcement as Congress intended, with local communities freed from burdensome regulations from Washington. That approach to implementation has serious implications for the laws future, in part because portions of ESSA are pretty vague, including on test participation and performance of historically overlooked groups of students. The Trump administration has already put the Obama administrations ESSA accountability regulations on pause, for at least 60 days . DeVos signals on ESSA have some civil rights advocates worried. The deference to states is our biggest concern at the moment, said Kati Haycock, the president of the Education Trust, which advocates for poor and minority kids. The kids we work on behalf of cant afford a secretary who doesnt have their back. That can be a problem Haycock said, in both red and blue states. She noted for example, that California didnt provide student achievement data for years. If advocates were to decide DeVos isnt properly enforcing ESSA and other civil rights laws, Congress perhaps would not be the right referee for concerned civil rights groups, Mann said. Thats because Republican lawmakers might not want to call out a GOP administration for weak enforcement of civil rights laws. But courts could help. Congress isnt really going to be your fallback here, Mann said. The courts, the judiciary system is going to be your fallback. I think the courts are going to be where they are going to be looking. Could DeVos offer states flexibilitylike not requiring standardized testingin exchange for adopting school choice? No, ESSA experts say. The new law prohibits the education secretary from offering conditional waivers the way that former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan did. That means the department cant let states get out of one of requirement in exchange for doing something else. The law puts specific restrictions on the areas that Duncan chose to prioritize when he gave nearly all states leeway from the No Child Left Behind Act through waivers, such as standards. But placing other conditions on flexibility would be tough, given the overall tenor of the restrictions, said Reg Leichty, a founding partner at Foresight Law+Policy, a law firm. Could DeVos use competitive grants to push for vouchers, the same way the Obama administration used Race to the Top funds to encourage states to adopt teacher evaluation through student outcomes and rigorous standards? Yes, but in order for the program to be large enough to really be meaningful, Congress would have to provide new funding, Leichty said. Any program DeVos sought to create on her own, using some of the departments discretionary funding, would be pretty tiny. Again, most experts say Congress is far more likely to push expanded private school choice through the tax code than to create a competitive-grant program for it, at least initially. Thats partly because it would be easier to pass a tax credit without Democratic votes, and partly because it doesnt look like the Trump administration is eager to pour money into K-12 education. (The president said in his inaugural address that American schools are flush with cash, but deprive our young and beautiful students of all knowledge. ) DeVos could, however, put a school choice stamp on some existing grant programs. For instance, she could give school districts, nonprofits, and even for-profits seeking grants under the Education Innovation and Research program a leg up if they propose a school-choice based program. Could DeVos get rid of the Common Core State Standards or tell states which tests to use? No. In fact, ESSA specifically prohibits DeVos from doing that, even though it was one of President Donald Trumps explicit campaign promises. DeVos herself admitted to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., that this was a no-go . That doesnt mean DeVosand Trumpcant say mean things about the common core. And their opposition could sour some GOP governors on the standards. Could DeVos stop enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? Only if she were looking to get hit with a lawsuit. But laws, including IDEA, have gray areas. She might give the benefit of the doubt to a state or district, Leichty said. For her part, DeVos wrote a letter last month saying that she intends to protect the hard won rights of students with disabilities . She came under fire for her comments on special education after she appeared confused on the law during her confirmation hearing. Would DeVos be able to get school districts and states to do what she wants? In the ESSA era, the bully pulpit became one of the education secretarys most important tools. (Witness former Secretary John B. King Jr.'s barnstorming on the importance of giving all students access to an equitable education, in the wake of the ESSAs passage .) DeVos passion is obviously choice. And there are plenty of instances where she can use ESSA to encourage states to expand educational options for students . But, particularly after a rough confirmation process, DeVos may not have much political capital to champion her agenda, said Maria Ferguson, the president of the Center on Education Policy, who worked in the Education Department during President Bill Clintons administration. In order to effectively use the bully pulpit granted to the secretary of education, she will need to both inspire and lead disparate parties with competing agendas. From where I sit, most billionaires dont operate that manner, she said. But Mike Petrilli, who served in the department under President George W. Bush and is now the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, noted that DeVos, a GOP mega-donor, already has a line of access to a pretty important group of people: Republican state lawmakers who hold the reins of power in most states. She may not have educators, he said. But shes got Republican legislatures and Republican governors. And many of them have faced the same criticisms DeVos is facing now, and may be sympathetic. And on school choice? They can do a lot, he said. Photo: Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos testifies at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in January, 2017. --Carolyn Kaster/AP-File Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . President Donald Trumps pick for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, continues to face strong opposition from Democrats over her education policy priorities in particular, school choice. Prior to the Senate education committee voting to approve DeVos nomination on Tuesday morning, DeVos responded to hundreds of follow-up questions from Democrats to clarify her views on education. The ranking committee member, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., alone asked DeVos around 140 questions and made the answers public, as reported by Education Weeks Politics K-12 blog . Several of those questions focused on school choice. Before being catapulted into the public consciousness after Trump nominated her, DeVos had mostly worked behind the scenes as an influential philanthropic backer of school choice. The DeVos family, made billionaires by the family patriarch, Richard DeVos who founded the Amway Corporation, are also major donors to the Republican party. Although DeVos answered questions on a range of issues, below is what the Politics K-12 blog reports DeVos wrote in response to Murrays questions on charter schools, virtual schools, and vouchers. Charter schools: DeVos has been criticized for her role in creating Michigan's charter sector. Some education advocates, including some school choice proponents, say the state doesn't allow for sufficient oversight of underperforming charter schools. DeVos told Murray it should be up to states and districts to craft their own charter laws. At the same time, she said, "I support high quality, accountability, autonomy, and transparency." DeVos did not commit to continuing to collect federal data that links charter schools to their management organizations. She said she would review that data collection. Virtual charters and distance learning: DeVos was asked for her views on virtual charters. Murray cited an Education Week investigation that uncovered big problems in the sector. DeVos reiterated her support for the schools, saying they are a good option for kids in rural areas. Another Education Week series found that rural schools often lack the broadband capability to offer virtual courses. On vouchers: Murray noted vouchers often don't cover full tuition at a private school ... DeVos said she realized this, but noted that Pell Grants for low-income studentsa bipartisan priorityalso don't often cover the full cost of college tuition. (DeVos did not mention that college students can take out federally subsidized loans to make up the difference.) Other tidbits: DeVos said she has not had a financial interest in K12, Inc., a [company that operates virtual charter schools] whose questionable lobbying practices were part of Education Week's investigation, in over a decade. (To read what DeVos had to say on other issues, from immigration to early-childhood education, check out this story from the Politics K-12 blog .) DeVos nomination was approved Tuesday along party lines by the Senate education committee. Her confirmation now moves to the full Senate. Prior to Tuesdays meeting, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the committee chairman, said that opposing DeVos nomination on the basis of her support for vouchers and school choice was a pretty awful reason. However, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said during the committees meeting that Democratic opposition to DeVos was not about charter schools or school choice, but rather concerns over DeVos support of for-profit charter school operators and virtual schools. Related stories: Photo: Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos arrived with former Sen. Joe Lieberman, right, before testifying at her Jan. 17 confirmation hearing before the Senate education committee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Donald Trumps nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court said in a dissenting opinion last year that it was inappropriate for a school police officer to arrest a student for behavior that would have previously led to a trip to the principals office. Trump announced Tuesday night his nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver, to fill the spot vacated when Justice Antonin Scalia died last year. As Mark Walsh writes on his School Law Blog , Gorsuch has weighed in on a number of education-related issues from the bench. But for those concerned with school discipline and law enforcement in schools, his dissent last year is particularly relevant, including language that sounds like it came straight from a discussion of the so-called school-to-prison pipeline. In that case, judges from the 10th Circuit upheld 2-1 a school resource officers decision to arrest and handcuff a 7th-grade student for disrupting his class with fake burps. As Mark wrote in his post: The 2-1 panel majority in A.M. v. Holmes ruled that the officer was immune from liability because it was not clearly established that the student's classroom disruptions were not in violation of a New Mexico law that prohibits interference with the "educational process" at any public or private school... Writing in dissent, Gorsuch said that a student's classroom disruption that would have once resulted in a trip to the principal's office and detention was now leading to the involvement of the police. "And maybe today the officer decides that, instead of just escorting the now-compliant 13-year-old to the principal's office, an arrest would be a better idea," Gorsuch said. "So out come the handcuffs and off goes the child to juvenile detention. My colleagues suggest the law permits exactly this option. ... Respectfully, I remain unpersuaded." Such discussions about the role of law enforcement in schools have been a topic of much debate in recent years. To learn more about the issue, read Education Weeks Policing Americas Schools series . The first part of the package, released last week, includes an analysis of the school police issue as education civil rights enter a new era under the Trump administration; an interactive data tool that explores school arrests, referrals to law enforcement, and racial disparities at every school in the country; a Q and A with a student who was arrested for protesting an officers violent treatment of her classmate; and a look at research on school policing. And we will soon release two more stories that explore how individual districts are handling the issue. As the School Law Blog notes, Gorsuch made another decision thats notable in the school discipline world when he was among a 2013 panel that unanimously ruled a school did not violate the constitutional rights of a student with disabilities when it placed him in a timeout room. Read more about Gorsuch and education here . Follow @evieblad on Twitter or subscribe to Rules for Engagement to get blog posts delivered directly to your inbox. Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge in Switzerland has broken the record for the worlds longest pedestrian suspension bridge, according to Zermatt Tourism. i. Spanning an awesome 1621 feet and rising as high as 279 feet, the newly openedhas broken the record for the worlds longest pedestrian suspension bridge, according to Zermatt Tourism. ii. The bridge, which has replaced an older bridge that was damaged by falling rocks, was named after its chief sponsor, a psychologist and co-owner of a Swiss winery. Important Takeaways from Above News- The Currency of Switzerland is Swiss franc. The Capital of Switzerland is Bern. i. An Army medic from Michigan who risked his life multiple times to rescue Vietnam War comrades is the first person to receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump in Washington. ii. Trump presented Americas highest military honor to James McCloughan at a White House ceremony. Important Takeaways from Above News- Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States. i. The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) was recently declared as the worlds first green metro after it added a green certification for all its major buildings and installations. DMRC was also awarded the platinum rating for its 10 residential colonies for adherence to green building norms by the Indian Green Building Council ( IGBC). ii. The declaration was made during National Conference on Green Metro Systems by the IGBC. Important Takeaways from Above News- The Managing Director of DMRC is Mangu Singh. Prem C. Jain is the Chairman of IGBC. i. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into nine Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers in the month of July 2017. The APA Scheme endeavors to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the Arms Length Price of international transactions in advance for a maximum period of five future years. ii. CBDT has signed its first APA with a taxpayer engaged in supplying rigs used in Oil & Gas exploration. The international transactions covered in these nine APAs include provision of software development services, engineering design services, distribution, contract manufacturing, etc. Important Takeaways from Above News- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is a statutory authority functioning under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. Sushil Chandra is the Chairman of CBDT. i. Tech giant Cisco has named former Philips Healthcare executive, Sameer Garde as president for its India and SAARC operations. He has succeeded Dinesh Malkani. ii. Malkani will remain associated with Cisco as the strategic advisor till the end of September 2017. Important Takeaways from Above News- Cisco Systems is a Networking hardware company based in the USA. i. Arvind Panagariya, the first vice-chairman of Niti Aayog who was considered to be Prime Minister Narendra Modis personal pick for economic reforms, announced his resignation. ii. The 62-year-old Panagariya is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. Important Takeaways from Above News- Chairman of NITI Aayog is Narendra Modi. i. Central Government launched the third cleanliness survey Swachh Survekshan-2018 to rank all the 4,041 cities and towns of the country based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services and their sustainability, outcomes, citizen connect and visible impact on ground. ii. Under the survey, launched by Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, 500 cities with more than 1 lakh population and state and UT capitals will have all-India ranking. Also, 3,541 cities with less than 1 lakh population will have state and zonal rankings. Important Takeaways from Above News- Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs is Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. i. Mukesh Ambani has elbowed past Li Ka-shing to become Asias second-richest man as investors rallied behind his efforts to arm Indias poor with cheap data-loaded phones. The chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has added $12.1 billion to his wealth in 2017, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. ii. He passed Li Ka- shing , whose empire spans telecommunications, retail, and ports . Jio took just nine months after launching with a free introductory offer to rope in 117.3 million users and become Indias fourth-largest operator, according to government data. Important Takeaways from Above News- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was established in 1966 in Maharashtra. The owner of Alibaba, Jack Ma is the Richest Person in Asia. i. Indian shuttler C Rahul Yadav and mens doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy clinched the mens singles and mens doubles title respectively at Lagos International challenge in Nigeria. ii. Rahul surpassed another Indian player Karan Rajan Rajarajan in the final clash to the title at the MoladeOkoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium. In the doubles pair, Manu and Sumeeth, who played at the Rio Olympics, defeated local pair of Godwin Olofua and Anouluwapo Ju won Opeyori. Important Takeaways from Above News- Abuja is the Capital of Nigeria. The Currency of Nigeria is Nigerian naira. i. Los Angeles reached an agreement with the leaders of the International Olympic Committee on plans to host the 2028 Summer Games. Los Angeles formally announced its bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics after agreeing on a deal that paves the way for Paris to host in 2024. ii. The Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic bid committee in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced it recently. The LA bid committee stated that Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2028. Important Takeaways from Above News- The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. Study Daily Current Affairs from Daily GK Update onand stay updated as well as prepare forsection of bank exams. Its time to gear up your preparations forand with the daily dose of current affairs, you can easily prepare G.A and score well. Washington [UPDATED 10 p.m.] President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday announced Neil M. Gorsuch, a conservative with a polished, Ivy League resume who has confronted a wide range of education issues as a federal appeals court judge, as his choice to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the death of Antonin Scalia last year. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support, Trump said Tuesday evening at an event in the East Room of the White House. And his academic credentials, something very important to me, in that education has always been a priority, are as good as I have ever seen, the president said. Gorsuch, 49, was born in Denver but moved to the Washington suburbs and attended the elite Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Md., when his mother, Ann Gorsuch Burford was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. She resigned that post in 1982. Gorsuch graduated from Columbia University in 1988 and from Harvard Law School in 1991. He studied at Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. He was a law clerk to retired Justice Byron R. White, also a Colorado native, and also served Justice Anthony M. Kennedy during the 1993-94 term of the court. If confirmed, he would become the first law clerk to join the court and serve alongside a justice for whom he had clerked. Gorsuch was a senior U.S. Department of Justice official when he was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, by President George W. Bush in 2006. Gorsuch, appearing with his wife, Louise, on a dais with Trump, said the work of the Supreme Court is vital to the protection of the peoples liberties under law and to the continuity of our Constitution, the greatest charter of human liberty the world has ever known. Gorsuch said that when we judges don our robes, it doesnt make us any smarter, but it does serve as a reminder of whats expected of us: Impartiality and independence, collegiality and courage. When it comes to education, Gorsuch has written or joined opinions in cases involving school discipline, education finance, special education, and religion in the public square, among others. Here is a look at some of his key education rulings: Student Discipline Last year, Gorsuch notably dissented from a 10th Circuit panel ruling that upheld a school resource officers arrest and handcuffing of a New Mexico 7th grader for disrupting his class with fake burps. The 2-1 panel majority in A.M. v. Holmes ruled that the officer was immune from liability because it was not clearly established that the students classroom disruptions would not be in violation of a New Mexico law that prohibits interference with the educational process at any public or private school. The majority also upheld qualified immunity for the officer regarding his use of handcuffs when he took the 13-year-old to a juvenile detention center. In his dissent, Gorsuch wrote with a sense of dismay that a students classroom disruption that would have once resulted in a trip to the principals office and detention was now leading to the involvement of the police. And maybe today the officer decides that, instead of just escorting the now-compliant 13-year-old to the principals office, an arrest would be a better idea, Gorsuch said. So out come the handcuffs and off goes the child to juvenile detention. My colleagues suggest the law permits exactly this option. ... Respectfully, I remain unpersuaded. Gorsuch added that the New Mexico courts had long ago alerted law enforcement that the statutory language on which the officer relied for the arrest in this case does not criminalize noises or diversions that merely disturb the peace or good order of individual classes. Respectfully, I would have thought this authority sufficient to alert any reasonable officer in this case that arresting a now compliant class clown for burping was going a step too far, Gorsuch wrote. In a 2014 case, Hawker v. Sandy City Corp. , Gorsuch joined an unsigned 10th Circuit panel decision holding that a city police officers twist-lock restraint of the arms of a 9-year-old student suspected of stealing an iPad at school did not constitute excessive force. The panel agreed with a federal district court that the officer, who was called to the school after the student was caught by the principal with the stolen iPad, used the twist-lock only after the student had grabbed her arm. The facts in this case are unfortunate in all respects, the unsigned 10th Circuit panel opinion said. It is regrettable that a police officer feels a need to resort to physical force, handcuffs, and arrest in order to gain control of and reason with a 9-year-old child. Equally regrettable is the disrespectful, obdurate, and combative behavior of that 9-year-old child. In any event, given [the students] resistance, [the officers] actions in this case simply do not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. In yet another case about constraining a student, Gorsuch joined a unanimous panel decision in 2013 that held a school districts use of a timeout room to briefly restrain an elementary school student with developmental disabilities did not shock the conscience and thus did not violate the students constitutional rights. The case of Muskrat v. Deer Creek Public Schools involved an Oklahoma familys claims about the use of the timeout room for their child, who was between ages 5 and 10 when it was used. School Finance In an education-finance case, Gorsuch joined a 2012 panel decision that a group of Kansas parents in the Shawnee Mission district could proceed with a lawsuit seeking to declare a federal constitutional right to spend more on education than the states school-finance plan permitted. The 10th Circuit held in Petrella v. Brownback that the parents group had standing to sue because their alleged injuryunequal treatment by the statecould be redressed by a favorable decision. (The suit was later rejected on the merits, including by a separate 10th Circuit panel that did not include Gorsuch.) School Employee Speech In a 2007 case, Casey v. West Las Vegas Independent School District , Gorsuch wrote the opinion for a 10th Circuit panel that upheld the dismissal of most First Amendment free speech retaliation claims brought by a district superintendent. The superintendent had been demoted and later her contract was not renewed by the school board after she raised issues about improper spending in the districts Head Start program and that the board was violating the states open meetings act and other concerns about board actions. Gorsuch wrote that most of the superintendents retaliation claims were barred under the then recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Garcetti v. Ceballos , a 2006 decision that held when public employees speak pursuant to their jobs, they are not immune from discipline as they might be when speaking out as citizens on a matter of public concern. We do not mean to suggest [the superintendents] speech regarding the Head Start program did not relate to a matter of public concern, Gorsuch wrote. Far from it. As we have held many times, speech reporting the illicit or improper activities of a government entity or its agents is obviously a matter of great public import. We simply hold that [the superintendents] speech, such as it was, is more akin to that of a senior executive acting pursuant to official duties than to that of an ordinary citizen speaking on his or her own time. Accordingly, Gorsuch said, the superintendent could not meet her burden here and avoid the heavy barrier erected by the Supreme Court in Garcetti. The court did allow a claim to proceed based on the superintendents reporting to the state attorney general about possible violations by the school board of the open-meetings law. Those statements, Gorsuch wrote, are another kettle of fish. Religion in Public Education Finally, a dissent written by Gorsuch gives some clues about his views on religious displays on government property, including in public schools. In 2009, the full 10th Circuit declined to reconsider a panel decision that ruled against the public display of the Ten Commandments outside a county courthouse in Oklahoma. In Green v. Haskell County Board of Commissioners , Gorsuch wrote a dissent joined by several of his colleagues that suggested one of the Supreme Courts key tests for evaluating potential government establishment of religion, in the 1971 case of Lemon v. Kurtzman , had been altered by a pair of 2005 decisions about Ten Commandments displays. The Supreme Courts central message in McCreary [County v. ACLU of Kentucky] and Van Orden [v. Perry] was that public displays focusing on the ideals and history of a locality do not run afoul of the Establishment Clause just because they include the Ten Commandments, Gorsuch wrote. In inclusive displays on places like courthouse lawns, the Ten Commandments can convey a secular moral message about the primacy and authority of law, as well as the history and moral ideals of our society and legal tradition. And in taking note of a 1980 per curiam Supreme Court opinion, in Stone v. Graham , which struck down a Kentucky statute that required the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, Gorsuch said the court in that opinion " took pains to emphasize that [the Ten Commandments] may be integrated into . . . the school curriculum . . . in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like. Photos: Top, Neil M. Gorsuch kisses his wife, Louise, as President Donald J. Trump announces that the federal appeals court judge is his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. - Carolyn Kaster/AP Middle: Judge Neil M. Gorsuch speaks in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 31, after President Donald J. Trump announced Gorsuch as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. - Carolyn Kaster/AP The Tampa branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of President Trumps executive order on immigration, while at the same time releasing details about the first Floridians affected by it. Floridians are being impacted by President Trumps new policy The president released his executive order on immigration Friday RELATED: President Trump's four month ban CAIR Chief Executive Director Hasan Shibly said a Syrian couple who traveled to Canada on visas cannot get back to Florida to run their medical practice. They went there a week before the executive order was signed to help their mother-in-law who was having surgery, Shibly said. Now they find themselves unable to come back and even treat their patients. Shibly said the couple did not want to be publicly identified yet because theyre still fighting to re-enter the United States. They tried to come back. They got hung up, he said. Theyre in touch with lawyers right now trying to see what we can do to bring them back home. * CAIR Chief Executive Director Hasan Shibly addressing the press on Tuesday. (Josh Rojas, staff) Shibly said the other Florida case also involves a Syrian woman. She reportedly travelled on a green card to see her husband in Syria and her son in Amsterdam and was detained for nearly nine hours in Chicago on Saturday. It was the day after Trump signed that executive order, he said. The womans brother, Dr. Ammar Hemaidan, is an American citizen who practices medicine at a large hospital in Daytona Beach. Hemaidan said his sister, Abir Hemaidan, 46, is an attorney who owns a medical business in Port Orange. She was on a flight from Amsterdam to Chicago, and then to Orlando, he said. When she landed in OHare, basically they said, OK we have to send you for a secondary interview. Hemaidan said his sister went through the 'extreme vetting' process while sitting on a wooden bench at the airport. An officer saw her and start questioning her about every single detail in her life," said Hemaidan. "Where she lives, where she grew up, how much money she had on her, what does her husband do, (what do) her sons do, when was the last time she was there (Syria), how often she goes there, and what does she do for a living. Hemaidan said the customs agents also asked his sister about her political views on the executive order on immigration. He asked her, 'What do you think of whats going on here?' And she told him, Im not a politician, I dont pay attention to politics. I only care about my family and my job,' Hemaidan said. And he said, OK, have a seat and well see. Abir told her brother the agents were nice, but seemed confused about how to handle the situation. Shes definitely worried about future travel, said Hemaidan. Theyre worried about the pending (green card) application for her husband and her son whos in Amsterdam. Shibly said CAIR believes the executive order on immigration is unconstitutional because it targets people from Muslim countries who practice the Islamic faith. So far, 20 plaintiffs are named in CAIRs federal lawsuit. About half are green card holders, he said. Then half are American Muslim citizens who are troubled by whats happening. That second half of plaintiffs includes Shibly. According to a press release, CAIR-Florida is asking Muslim community members who believe their rights have been violated to contact local police and CAIR - Florida's Civil Rights Department at (813) 514-1414. Originally reported: Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2017, 7:25 p.m. The U.S. Senate has now confirmed Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, a controversial pick by President Donald Trump because of his ties to Russia. The former ExxonMobil CEO was confirmed on a vote of 56 to 43, with support from all Republicans, three Democrats and one independent. President Donald Trump congratulated Tillerson. "Secretary Tillerson. I first want to congratulate you, Brenda, and your entire family on this incredible honor. And it is that, an incredible honor. You bring the unique skills and deep, deep insights, and I've gotten seen it firsthand, into foreign diplomacy," the president said. Tillerson had a shaky confirmation last month after he dodged a series of questions during his hearings, specifically about Russia, and also about human rights violations in other countries. It is my tremendous honor to join @POTUS to administer Oath of Office to our new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. pic.twitter.com/teKslOorCw Vice President Pence (@VP) February 2, 2017 Tillerson has a personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who awarded Tillerson the country's highest honor for his work as an oil man. ExxonMobil had a deal with Russia on oil drilling in the Russian arctic which was stopped when the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine. It's widely believed Trump will end those sanctions. Sen. Bill Nelson spoke out against Tillerson's confirmation Tuesday night during debates, citing specifically his ties to Putin. "Now isn't the time to cozy up to Russia," Nelson said. "Now is the time to stand up to Russian aggression in Crimea, in eastern Ukraine and Syria." &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp; Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio was possibly a no vote on Tillerson. He said he had reservations before voting on Tillerson's nomination in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said he was specifically concerned about Tillerson's evasion of questions on human rights violations. In the end, Rubio voted for Tillerson in committee and in the full Senate. &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp; Cabinet nominee updates Approved The nominees for Health and Human Services Secretary and Treasury Secretary will go before the full U.S. Senate after an unprecedented move by Republicans in the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday. On Tuesday, Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote, demanding another hearing for Rep. Tom Price after reports that an Australian biomedical company gave Price a special deal on stock. He reportedly got that deal even though he worked on legislation that could affect their value while on the House Ways and Means health subcommittee. Democrats also wants to ask Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary nominee, more questions about his time with OneWest Bank after reports came out about his actions for foreclosures. Democrats say both nominees were not completely honest in their testimonies. The boycott delayed the vote on Mnuchin and Price because at least one Democrat has to be present. Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the boycott "one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen." On Wednesday the Republican committee members decided to suspend the committee rule, allowing them to vote in a surprise meeting without Democrats present. Ranking Democrat on the Finance Panel, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, responded: "It's deeply troubling to me that Republicans on the Finance Committee chose to break the rules in the face of strong evidence of two nominees' serious ethical problems." Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on a party-line 11-9 to send Sen. Jeff Sessions' nomination as U.S. Attorney General to the full Senate. &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp; Hearing President Trump's Veterans' Affairs Secretary nominee David Shulkin went before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Wednesday. The physician and top VA health official broke with Trump when he suggested more modest changes to reform the VA. He was against privatizing the agency and said wide-scale firings would not solve problems at the agency. Shulkin did not rule out closing underused VA facilities in prepared testimony. He also said he would consider public-private partnerships to avoid building new medical centers. Shulkin defended Obama administration efforts to combat high rates of suicide by hiring more psychologists and psychiatrists. Trump wants to fire and discipline VA employees, have a commission investigate wrongdoing and create a 24-hour White House hotline to register complaints about the agency. Blocked Democrats in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee were not present Wednesday at the meeting to approve Scott Pruitt's nomination as EPA head. Democrats once again used a Senate rule to boycott the vote that would send Pruitt's nomination to the full Senate. The rules say that two must be present for the vote to go forward. Committee Chairman John Barasso, R-Wyoming, said he would do what is necessary to advance Pruitt's nomination. Delayed The Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee delayed its vote to move the nomination of Mick Mulvaney for director of Office of Management and Budget forward. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, announced more time was needed to examine the results of a routine FBI investigation before a vote can happen. Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder's confirmation hearing will remain delayed as he works to divest his assets. A spokesman for Puzder says doing so is complicated because his fast food empire, which includes Hardee's and Carl's Jr., is a private company. Puzder still has not turned in the required paperwork on his plan to avoid conflicts of interest. In question The nomination of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary is now up in the air. Two Republican Senators said they will not vote for DeVos, likely making the vote for her 50-50. The vice president would be the tie-breaker, so Democrats are hoping to get the vote on their side. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they cannot support DeVos in statements on the Senate floor Wednesday. They question DeVos' committment to public schools because of her long-held support for vouchers and charter schools. Betsy DeVos, the former chairman of the American Federation for Children and the Trump administrations pick for U.S. Secretary of Education, cleared her first hurdle Jan. 31 when the Senate education committee voted to send her nomination to the full Senate (but not without some drama! ). The night before the committees vote, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., released DeVos responses to 139 questions relating to various aspects of educational policy . There was one question that offered DeVos most substantive views on special education policy to date. But, as is common with special education, the topic is complex. During DeVos nomination hearing earlier this month, she was pressed on whether students with disabilities enrolled in private schools should enjoy the same rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as students enrolled in public schools. Murray asked a similar question (question number 104, if youre reading along at home.) DeVos response: No educational program, public or private, is ideal for all students, especially students with disabilities. Even today, there are public school districts that do not have the services to meet the needs of all students with disabilities and suggest to those parents that they should enroll their children in nearby charter schools or the district arranges to have those students to go to another district to have their needs met. So, let's be honest. No individual public school provides the full range of high-quality services for every student with a disability; this is truefor private schools as well. Public school systems have the right to establish specialized programs at certain schools for students with specific disabilities and, through the IEP process, to assign students with specific disabilities to these schools in order to meet their needs more effectively. When this occurs, the public schools that do not offer these services within the system are not "discriminating" against the students with these disabilities. In far too many cases, the parents of students with disabilities in the public schools are currently not satisfied with the services their children are receiving. In fact, public schools contract out educational services for almost 2 percent of students with special needs to ensure they receive their education in private schools where the student's educational needs are better met. But too often the only way that parents can obtain what is best for their child is through legal recourse. This can take months and sometimes years. Children don't have years to wait for courts to decide. I believe they should not have to wait. Offering parents of students with disabilities the opportunity to choose between a private school, a different public school, or a non-public school setting empowers the parents to receive what works best for their child. Just like in the public schools, not every private school will offer every service for every student with a disability. It would be misguided to seek to impose on individual private schools a standard that is also not imposed on every individual public school. If parents are not satisfied with the private options available, they maintain all of their current options and rights within their local public school system. What Public Schools and Districts Must Offer Students With Disabilities Unsurprisingly, DeVos, a strong advocate of educational options such as vouchers and charter schools, used this question as an opportunity to advocate for school choice. But is she right about public school policy here? Answer: it depends on how you look at it. First, a few stats: the vast majority of students covered under the IDEA are educated in public schools. About 1.5 percent were placed by their parents in private schools, according to 2015-16 data from the U.S. Department of Education. In comparison, 63 percent are educated in regular classrooms for 80 percent or more of the school day. Under IDEA, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities in public school are to be educated with children who do not have disabilitiesunless the nature of the disability is such that education in a regular classroom, even with supports, will not provide them an equal education. Those separate placements must provide similar services and facilities to other facilities and services in the school district. Districts are required to offer a continuum of services to students, including full inclusion, special classes and schools, and homebound instruction. But, importantly, a student with a disability cant legally be assigned to a special program just because they have a disability. The decision has to be made on an individual basis. (See guidance on least restrictive environment from the Education Department in 1994 and in 2010 .) Courts have found that districts that offer centralized programs are complying with the IDEA. That was the situation in the 1989 case Barnett v. Fairfax County School Board , where the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va., found that Fairfax County, Va., was not violating the IDEA by offering a cued-speech program at only one high school instead of a particular students neighborhood school. So, it is correct that individual public schools are not required to offer every type of program for every disability that may be present among their student body. However, public school districtsgenerally made up of more than one school cannot require that a child leave the public district and seek services elsewhere. The students home district is still responsible for educating that child, whether it be through that childs neighborhood school, a centralized program, some other part of the continuum of services, or in another school at public expense. In contrast, a private school bears no responsibility for finding an appropriate educational option for a student whose needs dont fit what that particular school has to offer. In that case, that child just doesnt get to attend that schoolor if the parents still choose to enroll their child, they have to understand that certain services may not be provided. DeVos is correct that parents sometimes have to navigate an expensive and lengthy legal process if they want a different placement or set of services for their child. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing a dispute between a family and a Colorado school district, Endrew F. v Douglas County School District . The student at the center of the case was in 5th grade when the dispute began; now he is a high school junior. But the IDEA offers a path, even though it may be arduous, for parents to receive a free, appropriate education for their child at public expense. Parents who look for private schools for their students potentially have more freedomif reasonable options exist for them. But that freedom currently comes with far fewer protections. Photo: Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos testifies at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Jan. 17.Carolyn Kaster/AP New Jerseys Supreme Court rejected Tuesday a motion from Republican Gov. Chris Christie to upend the states funding formula, according to www.nj.com . In September, Gov. Christie made a motion to the court to loosen the funding restrictions around the landmark Abbott v. Burke case that tightly controls the amount of money the state provides 31 mostly urban and low-income school districts. Christie has been peddling a proposal to flatten the states funding formula so that suburban, urban and rural districts all get the same amount of money from the state, a proposal that would result in urban districts losing millions of dollars in state funding and suburban districts gaining millions of dollars. Christie says that since the Abbott ruling, increased funding has failed to result in increased test scores (opponents say thats an oversimplistic assessment of school funding and school improvement). In his motion, Christie asked to reopen the court case so that the state could change its teacher tenure law and allow the state to freeze the amount of money it contributes to the funding formula while it decides a new funding formula. The court ruled that because the original case did not address teacher tenure laws, the case would have to first be heard in trial court. Christie has had an infamously combative relationship with the states teachers union. The ruling is likely to impact Christies budget which hes expected to release in the coming weeks and indicates the court is not likely to take kindly to any major changes to the states funding formula. Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics. New Orleans schools have increased spending on administrators and reduced spending for teachers in the years since charter schools took over nearly every public school after Hurricane Katrina hit the city in 2005. Thats according to a study done by the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans , based at Tulane University. The institute has previously found that charter schools have improved academic outcomes, but this new report undercuts the idea that the charterization of New Orleans schools reduced bureaucratic costs and sent more money directly into classrooms. The researchers found that not only are there now more administrators but those administrators are also paid more. Earlier this year, The Times-Picayune found that at least five dozen New Orleans charter administrators were paid more than $100,000 during the 2013-14 school year. At the same time, the researchers found a $706 per pupil drop in instructional spending, largely driven by lower salaries and smaller benefit packages for educators. Doug Harris, the director of the Education Research Alliance and one of the studys authors, was surprised by that finding. I dont think I anticipated that thered actually be a decline in instructional spending, Harris told The Lens, a local news website . Lower teacher pay can be attributed to the fact that nearly 7,000 educators were fired after Katrina and replaced by a much younger teaching force, nearly all of whom work in non-unionized charters. Administrators have largely relied on alternative certification programs like Teach for America since the storm to staff classrooms. Teachers are earning less because they have less experience. Those with the same experience now earn more than teachers before the reforms, said Christian Buerger, a postdoctoral fellow who worked with Harris on the report . Additionally, the researchers found that New Orleans teachers were getting paid more than their peers with similar experience in the rest of Louisiana. But lower salaries just explain a third of the drop in instructional spending; retirement benefits account for an additional half of the difference. Instead of ulitizing the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana, most New Orleans charter schools rely on 401(k)-style retirement plans, which has been proposed in other states as a cost-cutting measure . Meeting the Little Mermaid at Disney World was more than a photo opportunity for an overweight woman it gave her the motivation to shed half her weight. Jennifer Ginley, a 26-year-old caseworker in Liverpool, England, told People she had inhibitions about getting engaged to her longtime boyfriend because she didn't want to "be shopping for a size 26 dress." RELATED: Hottest San Antonio trainers to guide your 2017 fitness resolutions She said her breaking point came during a family vacation to Disney World in January 2015. The trip was marked with signs of her obesity from requesting seat belt extenders on the plane ride to riding on adjusted seats on the attractions but she was reduced to tears when she saw a picture she took with the Little Mermaid, according to People. "I saw myself in a whole new light I looked so unhealthy that I cried, wondering how and why I had done that to myself." Ginley enrolled in a weight loss program, Slimming World, in May 2015 and began planning her meals and becoming active. Just over a year later, Ginley weighed in at 135 pounds and got engaged. RELATED: Photos: Woman loses 193 pounds, shares 'ugly' 'reality of extreme weight-loss' She told People her fiance, Luke, proposed just before Christmas. "It was such an incredible feeling to be able to say 'Yes!' without even a second thought about my weight, and I can't wait to go dress shopping," she said in the interview. Ginley is currently gracing the cover of the Slimming World magazine and has amassed more than 100,000 followers on Instagram where she keeps her fans up to date with the healthy meals she's filling up on. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye Miami, FL February 1, 2017, Gastro Health, LLC ("Gastro Health") today announced the acquisition of Douglas M. Weissman, M.D., P.A., one of the leading gastroenterology practices in Coral Springs, FL. Established in 1992, the private gastroenterology practice is led by Dr. Douglas M. Weissman who will continue providing the excellent care that his patients have come to expect. This partnership will make additional resources available to the practice, allowing them to continue offering their patients with the safe and affordable gastrointestinal care they need. All of Gastro Health's care centers are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology to ensure the best outcomes possible for each individual patient. "I am thrilled to become a part of Gastro Health, which is one of the most recognized provider groups of gastrointestinal care in the United States," said Dr. Weissman. "This will allow me to spend more of my time and energy on my patients and their care. I am very excited to start this new chapter." "Dr. Weissman is a highly skilled doctor who has built an excellent practice along with a staff that truly takes pride in providing their patients with the best care possible," said Gastro Health CEO Alejandro Fernandez. "We couldn't be happier to have Dr. Weissman join our team, and we look forward to helping the Coral Springs community with all of their gastroenterology needs." Transworld Business Advisors acted as the intermediary on behalf of Douglas M Weissman, MD, P.A. About Gastro Health Gastro Health, founded in 2006, is a gastroenterology physician practice management company headquartered in Miami, FL that includes some of the nation's premier adult and pediatric gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, and allied health professionals. In addition to delivering gastrointestinal care, the medical group offers a wide range of additional services including: anesthesia, infusion, imaging, pathology, specialty pharmacy and in-office RX dispensing. Gastro Health takes pride in providing outstanding medical care and an exceptional healthcare experience for the patients. GASTRO HEALTH, LLC 9500 So. Dadeland Blvd, Suite 200 Miami FL 33156 Contact: Nadine Herrera 786-456-8677 nadineh@gastrohealth.com The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker's Hospital Review/Becker's Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. Is It Illegal to Jam Someone's Phone? Jamming someone's communications sounds like something straight out of science fiction. But with advancements in cellular and Wi-Fi technology, it's quickly becoming science fact. Before you go out trying to shut down your neighbor's cell service, though, you should understand that, according to the Federal Communications Commission, jamming cell phones and GPS equipment is against the law. So what are the legal restrictions and how are they enforced? Kick Out the Jams Under the Communications Act of 1934, FCC rules, and the federal criminal code, "the operation, marketing, or sale of any type of jamming equipment" is illegal. According to the FCC's site on jammer enforcement: The use of 'cell jammers' or similar devices designed to intentionally block, jam, or interfere with authorized radio communications (signal blockers, GPS jammers, or text stoppers, etc.) is a violation of federal law. Also, it is unlawful to advertise, sell, distribute, or otherwise market these devices to consumers in the United States. These devices pose serious risks to critical public safety communications, and can prevent you and others from making 9-1-1 and other emergency calls. Jammers can also interfere with law enforcement communications. Operation of a jammer in the United States may subject you to substantial monetary penalties, seizure of the unlawful equipment, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment. "Jamming devices create serious safety risks," said Michele Ellison, Chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. "In the coming weeks and months, we'll be intensifying our efforts through partnerships with law enforcement agencies to crack down on those who continue to violate the law." Get Off My (Digital) Lawn It doesn't matter if you're a teacher who's fed up with students using their cell phones in your classroom, or a train passenger annoyed at people talking on their cell phones, you can get arrested for suing a cell phone jammer. (Though we can totally relate to that train rider's enjoyment of a six-pack of Old Style beer on his evening commute.) And unlawful interference with a public utility, i.e. telephone service, is a felony offense. So think twice before becoming an amateur telecommunications hacker, and contact an attorney if you've been charged with jamming someone else's phone. Related Resources: The healthcare industry has long been an economic stronghold in the U.S., providing job growth and stability in many communities with hospital care being a central component. Here are four ways hospitals contribute to the economy, according to a report from the American Hospital Association. Data is from 2015, the latest year for which such information is available, according to the report. 1. In 2015, hospitals employed more than 5.7 million people directly. 2. When accounting for "ripple effects," or the goods and services hospitals purchase from other businesses, each hospital job supported about two additional jobs, for a total of 16 million jobs, or one of nine jobs in the U.S. 3. Hospitals purchase nearly $852 billion in goods and services from other businesses each year. 4. Every dollar of hospital expenditures supports roughly $2.30 of additional business activity. Overall, hospital jobs support more than $2.8 trillion in economic activity. Note: These figures represent community hospitals in the U.S. The AHA defines community hospitals as "all nonfederal, short-term general, and other special hospitals." Connecticut officials extended the deadline for home medical providers to implement a new telephonic and computer-based in-home scheduling, tracking and billing system, according to a report on CTNewsjunkie.com. The 60-day extension moves the start date for implementation of the new Electronic Visit Verification system from Feb. 1 to April 1, according to the article. Connecticut officials granted the extension after a number of home medical providers made a plea to the Connecticut Department of Social Services, as well as state lawmakers, to delay the implementation. In a nine-page letter to Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy, they complained about the new system, which more than 300 non-medical homecare providers have been struggling to use since Jan. 1, according to the report. Primarily, home medical providers contend the system created by Sandata Technologies fails to interface with the current systems, according to the report. Home medical providers said the system is also not flexible enough to allow services to be rendered to individuals outside of the home, the report states. Connecticut Rep. Cathy Abercrombie, D-Meriden, said Tuesday DSS officials did not know about some of the challenges providers were facing and appeared willing to have a more open discussion, according to the report. The report notes that the 60-day extension will allow the DSS to view a full month of claims data. Hospital costs associated with the treatment of gun violence victims are shouldered by different groups depending on in which state the care is delivered, according to an Urban Institute report. Study authors Embry Howell, PhD, and Anuj Gangopadhyaya, PhD, compared differences in coverage for the hospital costs of firearm assaults in Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina and Wisconsin between 2010 and 2014. The researchers used data from the State Inpatient Databases and State Emergency Department Databases for their analysis. Here are seven findings from the study. 1. Between 2010 and 2014, the number of firearm assault victims seeking inpatient hospital care and emergency department care remained the same in Florida, New Jersey and North Carolina, but increased in Kentucky and Wisconsin and declined in Arizona. 2. Per patient hospital costs for firearm assault victims ranged from $9,000 (for patients in North Carolina) to $18,000 (for patients in New Jersey) in 2014. 3. A previous Urban Institute brief showed that a majority of hospital costs for armed assault victims are absorbed by the public, either as uncompensated care for the uninsured or through Medicaid. Researchers said Medicaid expansions should shift the insurance mix. 4. According to the study, burden of costs shifted from uninsured patients and/or hospital uncompensated care to public coverage in Kentucky and New Jersey which expanded Medicaid under the ACA for childless adults and Wisconsin, which expanded coverage with state-only funding. 5. The payer mix remained the same from 2010 to 2014 in three states: Florida and North Carolina, which did not expand Medicaid under the ACA, and Arizona, which had a previous Medicaid waiver to cover low-income, childless adults. 6. Researchers concluded "expanding coverage through Medicaid or state funds reduced uninsurance rates among victims of armed assault. This in turn likely led to reductions in medical bills for the victims and their families. It may have also had an impact on uncompensated care for hospitals treating such patients. Thus, hospitals treating armed assault victims likely benefited from the Medicaid expansion (and, in Wisconsin, from the state-funded expansion) for childless adults during this period." 7. The authors noted more research was needed to determine if patient care for the newly insured or treatment patterns and costs for assault victims after hospital discharge changed during the study period. Davis Regional Medical Center in Statesville, N.C., announced CEO Chad French has resigned, making him the fourth person to leave the post in four years, according to a Statesville Record & Landmark report. Here are four notes: 1. Hospital officials have not made clear the reasons for Mr. French's departure. 2. Mr. French has led the hospital since August 2014. 3. The hospital's CEO role has changed hands often since former CEO Vince Cherry retired in 2013. Following Mr. Cherry, Cindi Butcher served as CEO and then resigned in 2014. Travis Sisson took over from Ms. Butcher as interim CEO. 4. Now, Matthew Banks, COO of Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville N.C., will step in as interim CEO. Amid the potential ACA repeal and replacement, the American Hospital Association and 71 states, regional and metropolitan hospital associations wrote a joint letter to President Donald Trump and Congress to bring attention to hospital's top priorities. "We understand the ACA needs change and hospitals and health systems have offered solutions to fix it, and we are committed to working with you on legislation that maintains coverage and improves America's healthcare system through patient-centered care," the hospital associations wrote. Here are the six priorities for Congress and President Trump listed by the hospital associations. 1. Repealing and replacing the ACA should occur at the same time, while preserving adequate coverage for the 22 million Americans currently receiving coverage. 2. Payment reductions to hospitals and health systems included in the ACA should be restored if the ACA is not repealed and replaced simultaneously. 3. No further payment reductions should be imposed on hospitals and health systems. 4. Medicaid should continue through a federal-state partnership to ensure access, coverage and funding for all states. 5. Regulatory reform needs to address the burden faced by hospitals and health systems. 6. Efforts to move to value-based, clinically integrated care should receive continued support. More articles on leadership and management: Senate Democrats boycott vote on HHS nominee Rep. Tom Price Cut 2 regulations for every new 1: How Trump's latest executive order may affect healthcare At closed meeting, GOP lawmakers discuss ACA repeal: 4 takeaways Protests erupted on medical school campuses around the country Monday to defend the ACA, Stanford blog postreported from Northwestern University's school of medicine in Chicago. Reuters estimates about 600 people were present at the protest at Northwestern University's school of medicine in Chicago. Demonstrations were part of the "White Coats for Coverage" initiative and took place the day before the deadline to enroll in ACA healthcare plans, according to the report. Students at Stanford (Calif.) Medicine laid white coats on ground at a protest of about 100 students and faculty, according to a Stanford blog post. "We are covering our medical center with our coats to symbolically represent the need for coverage for our patients," said Stanford medical student Julie Barzilay, according to the blog. Another 100-plus students, residents and faculty rallied at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. "We're are sending a key message that physicians support the ACA and support healthcare for our patients," one protestor said in a video shared on Yale School of Medicine's Facebook page. In New York City, students from several universities joined protests, including Columbia University's medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Columbia med students held #protectourpatients #DoNoHarm teach-ins tonight to advocate against ACA repeal. pic.twitter.com/tl79yGCpNG Columbia Med School (@ColumbiaPS) January 30, 2017 Events were organized by students. More articles on integration and physician issues: Dr. Mary Klotman named dean of Duke University School of Medicine Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic grapple with aiding international patients barred from US entry under Trump's travel ban Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital first in NJ to open LGBT health center Partners HealthCare's Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in Boston and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East reached an agreement allowing for a union election at the hospital, reports The Boston Globe. "We have developed an agreement with Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital that outlines a free and fair elections process and offers service workers in specific units of the hospital's workforce the opportunity to vote for or against joining our union," Tyrek Lee Sr., executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, said in a statement. "This agreement is another important step in our ongoing advocacy to ensure all workers including those not yet unionized have good jobs, fair wages and respect, dignity and a voice in the workplace," he added. Faulkner Hospital's president, Michael Gustafson, MD, said in a memo to staff that the hospital respects the right of employees to decide whether they want to unionize, according to the report. "However," he said, "we do not believe that having a union is in the best interests of the hospital and do not believe that employees need a union to represent them with respect to their terms and conditions of employment." 1199SEIU represents more than 56,000 healthcare workers across Massachusetts. The union said it hopes to add approximately 500 Faulkner Hospital service workers as members. More articles on human capital and risk: Unions ratify Yale labor deals Vermont LNAs demonstrate over staffing issues amid attempts to unionize 6 healthcare organizations adding jobs Eleven diabetes patients are suing several drug companies for alleged collusion on insulin pricing, reports The Washington Post. The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk. The suit claims the companies systematically increased insulin list prices for years in an alleged fraudulent-pricing scheme that left patients with "crushing out-of-pocket expenses," according to the article. The companies, the lawsuit says, increased the insulin list prices to expand their discounts without lowering the overall price tag, according to the report. By doing so, the lawsuit alleges the companies violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and state consumer protection laws. "I think that publishing a price that you know is artificially inflated and is not a real price other than to one group of people is a fraud," Steve Berman, a partner in the with Hagens Berman law firm who represents the plaintiffs, said, according to The Washington Post. With a growing number of consumers on high-deductible health plans, more patients are encountering drug list prices. Because diabetes is a chronic condition that requires drug treatment for life, these patients are more vulnerable to drug list pricing due to the likelihood of encountering gaps in health insurance over the course of a lifetime. Insulin companies recognize the increases in list prices but argue net prices have stayed the same, according to the report. Drug companies involved in the lawsuit spoke out against the allegations and vowed to defend themselves. A former executive of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has been charged with paying kickbacks for patient referrals and misleading federal authorities, according to the Department of Justice. John Holland, 60, who previously served as senior vice president of operations for Tenet's Southern States Region and as CEO of North Fulton Medical Center in Roswell, Ga., pleaded not guilty Wednesday. In an indictment filed Jan. 24, Mr. Holland is charged with one count of healthcare fraud and two counts of major fraud against the United States, according to the DOJ. He's specifically accused of causing kickbacks and bribes to be paid to a clinic that referred undocumented pregnant patients to Tenet hospitals for Medicaid-covered deliveries. Undocumented patients are not eligible for regular Medicaid coverage. However, they typically qualify for emergency medical assistance when they deliver their babies. According to the DOJ, Mr. Holland and his co-conspirators circumvented Tenet's internal accounting controls to pay illegal kickbacks and bribes to the clinic. The illegal scheme helped Tenet bill the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid program for more than $400 million. In October 2016, Tenet agreed to pay approximately $514 million to resolve criminal and civil allegations in the kickback case. The criminal investigation, which dates back to 2012, arose out of a civil lawsuit filed under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act. Mr. Holland is also accused of providing HHS with false compliance reports in violation of a corporate integrity agreement Tenet entered into as part of a $900 million settlement it inked in 2006 to resolve allegations it bilked Medicare and other federal healthcare programs. Mr. Holland left Tenet in 2013 and began serving as CEO of Plano, Texas-based LHP Hospital Group in October of that year. In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Holland's attorney, Richard H. Deane, said, "We don't believe there is any case here and the company's resolution should have ended the matter. The allegations relate to contracts from more than 10 years ago that were openly reviewed and approved at multiple levels of the company, including by their lawyers, under circumstances in which there was no personal benefit or gain to Mr. Holland. In light of this, we are disappointed that the government has chosen to go forward with these charges. Mr. Holland is not guilty and we now look forward to presenting this case to a jury." Tenet declined to comment on the case against Mr. Holland. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: 13 latest lawsuits involving hospitals Feds accuse Texas health system of engaging in $20M kickback scheme Ex-UPMC Health Plan executive pleads guilty in $846k embezzlement case Anthony Moschetto, MD, a cardiologist from Long Island, N.Y., was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison and five years of supervision post-release for conspiring to kill a competitor among other charges, according to a report from NBC New York. The 56-year-old physician faced a 77-count indictment, according to the report. He pleaded guilty in October in a murder-for-hire scheme that involved illegal prescription sales, attempted arson and medieval weaponry. Dr. Moschetto was arrested in April after offering an undercover police officer $5,000 to have a rival physician assaulted and $20,000 to have him killed. He gave the officer $500 and unwritten prescriptions as a retainer for the hit job. Police began investigating the cardiologist after the Drug Enforcement Agency received a tip that high numbers of oxycodone prescriptions were coming from his office. Dr. Moschetto was also linked to an attempt to burn down his rival's office, according to the report. When investigators searched his home, they found a collection of Medieval-style weapons and firearms behind a revolving bookcase. Dr. Moschetto's medical license will also be suspended as part of his sentence, according to the report. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: Texas federal judge blocks fetal remains burial bill 13 latest lawsuits involving hospitals Hawaii senator calls for state funds to treat homelessness: 4 things to know Trump's Executive Order on Immigration: What Does It Mean When a Judge Issues a 'Stay'? At the tail end of an already busy first week in office, President Trump on Friday issued an executive order banning the entry of all foreign refugees into the country along with nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including those with immigrant visas and possibly green card holders as well. The response -- from protestors and civil rights attorneys -- was immediate, and by Saturday night a federal judge in New York issued a "stay," prohibiting the government from enforcing certain parts of the order. Federal judges in Virginia, Seattle, and Boston did the same, but many are still left in legal limbo while the constitutional crisis sorts itself out. So what are these stays, whom do they cover, and how long will they remain in effect? Order and Disorder Specifically, Trump's executive orders bars admission to the U.S. of all nationals of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, even those with nonimmigrant or immigrant visas. It also bars all refugees from anywhere in the world for 120 days with an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. The order may also impose a religious test for entry, as officials will "prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality." All seven countries on the list are majority Muslim. When the executive order was first issued, stories circulated that officials in the Department of Homeland Security had not been briefed on its specifics, sowing confusion about its enforcement. For instance, many aren't sure whether the order applies to green card holders who are permanent residents, or to some dual nationals of non-U.S. countries. And after the stays were granted, there are stories of immigration officials refusing to abide by the order or allow detained travelers access to legal counsel. And when acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday asserted the Justice Department would not defend the order against court challenges, she was promptly fired. Should I Stay or Should I Go? So where does all this confusion leave us right now? Judges in Boston, Brooklyn, Seattle, and Virginia all ruled in favor of plaintiffs suing the government over the order, but to varying degrees. The judges' orders are referred to as "stays": a kind of preliminary injunction which only last about a week or two, and will expire if not extended. They also only apply to travelers who actually made it to U.S. soil, and don't apply to those still overseas. While all the stays prohibit Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from removing anyone who has arrived in or was en route to the U.S., they are not all identical: The judge in Washington barred the deportation of two men; The judge in Virginia ordered that lawyers be granted access to clients who had lawful permanent resident status; and The judge in Massachusetts ordered CBP to apply pre-existing law, which may indicate the need to release lawful permanent residents or detainees with valid visas. The New York stay is the only one that applies nationwide, but does not allow detainees to enter the country and does not address the constitutionality of the executive order itself. "This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil," according the ACLU's Lee Gelernt. Additionally, head of the Department of Homeland Security John Kelly attempted to clarify parts of the immigration order, saying that green card holders would not be barred from re-entry to the U.S. "absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare." Stay Today, Gone Tomorrow? More cases are likely to be filed regarding the travel and immigration ban, and the existing cases are yet to be fully litigated. And while the president generally has broad legal authority when it comes to immigration matters, that authority does have its limits: an Obama executive order on immigration was defeated in federal courts in 2015, a ruling left in place by a deadlocked Supreme Court last year. So the legal battle will rage on, while the lives of refugees, immigrants, and lawful residents hang in the balance. Related Resources: Becker's Hospital Review is pleased to name the "100 hospital and health system CMOs to know | 2017," a list featuring national physician leaders dedicated to strengthening their hospitals and health systems' patient safety and quality initiatives. The following 100 executives have proven they are leaders in their respective organizations, continuing to push the envelope and establish high standards for their facilities. Becker's editorial team accepted nominations for this list and selected the following CMOs and other equivalent titles through an editorial review process. Note: This list is not an endorsement of included hospitals, health systems or associated healthcare providers, and leaders cannot pay for inclusion on this list. Hospital and health system CMOs are presented in alphabetical order. James Adams, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare (Chicago). Dr. Adams oversees the health system's clinical practices and heads up academic affairs and the medical staff office for Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. [READ MORE] Mark Adams, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of PeaceHealth (Vancouver, Wash.). Dr. Adams became the CMO of PeaceHealth in January 2016 after spending around four years as CMO of CHI Franciscan Health System in Tacoma, Wash. [READ MORE] Mohammed Shafeeq Ahmed, MD. Vice President of Medical Affairs and CMO of Howard County General Hospital (Columbia, Md.) Dr. Ahmed's responsibilities as CMO include providing administrative oversight and service support for professional staff activities and integrating HCGH's services and quality care standards with those of the hospital's parent organization, Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. [READ MORE] Todd J. Albert, MD. Surgeon-in-Chief and Medical Director of Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City). Dr. Albert leads HSS' medical staff and works to enhance the hospital's overall direction of musculoskeletal medicine. [READ MORE] Stanley W. Ashley, MD. Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs and CMO of Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston). Dr. Ashley joined Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1997 and rose up the ranks to become CMO in June 2011. [READ MORE] Thomas Balcezak, MD. CMO of Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Dr. Balcezak served as senior vice president and chief quality officer for Yale-NewHavenHospital before being appointed CMO in September 2016. [READ MORE] David L. Battinelli, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of Northwell Health (Great Neck, N.Y.) Dr. Battinelli is charged with managing clinical, education, research and operational issues pertaining to medical and clinical affairs. [READ MORE] Sunny Bhatia, MD. CMO of Prime Healthcare Division I (Ontario Calif.). Dr. Bhatia is responsible for Prime Healthcare's 17 hospitals throughout California and Nevada as CMO of Division I. [READ MORE] Jeremy Boal, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Mount Sinai Health System (New York City). As executive vice president and CMO, Dr. Boal is responsible for making sure Mount Sinai Health System safely provides quality care. [READ MORE] John Bonamo, MD. CMO of RWJBarnabas Health (New Brunswick, N.J). Dr. Bonamo served as president and CEO of Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., prior to his appointment as CMO of RWJBarnabas Health in December 2014. [READ MORE] William A. Bornstein, MD, PhD. Chief Quality Officer and CMO of Emory Healthcare (Atlanta). Dr. Bornstein was appointed chief quality officer in 2003 and CMO of the health system in 2006. [READ MORE] Bernard Boulanger, MD. Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of MetroHealth System (Cleveland). Dr. Boulanger assumed the positions of executive vice president and chief clinical officer in March 2016. [READ MORE] Tom Buchholz, MD. Executive Vice President and Physician-in-Chief of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston). Dr. Buchholz is responsible for the clinical faculty and operating of MD Anderson's Houston hospital and ambulatory clinics. [READ MORE] Christian H. Caicedo, MD. Interim CMO of PinnacleHealth (Harrisburg, Pa.). Dr. Caicedo served as the executive director of emergency services for PinnacleHealth before being named interim CMO in November 2016. [READ MORE] Judie Charlton, MD. CMO of WVU Medicine (Morgantown, W.Va.). Dr. Charlton became the primary physician executive in WVU Healthcare when she took on the CMO role in 2011. [READ MORE] Robert Cherry, MD. Chief Medical and Quality Officer of UCLA Health (Los Angeles). UCLA Health System named Dr. Cherry chief medical and quality officer in 2014. [READ MORE] Amy Compton-Phillips, MD. Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of Providence Health & Services (Renton, Wash.). Dr. Compton-Phillips is responsible for directing patient care programs at Providence Health & Services and improving the organization's daily operations. [READ MORE] Joe Corcoran, DO. CMO of Brandon Regional Hospital (Tampa Bay, Fla.). Before joining BrandonRegionalHospital as CMO, Dr. Corcoran was an OB-GYN in private practice for nearly 20 years. [READ MORE] Glen Couchman, MD. CMO of Baylor Scott and White Health (Dallas). Dr. Couchman was appointed CMO of the health system in 2012 after practicing family medicine for more than 30 years. [READ MORE] Patrick Courneya, MD. Executive Vice President of Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence and CMO of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan (Oakland, Calif.). Dr. Courneya joined the Kaiser Foundation in 2014 after serving as medical director for HealthPartners Health Plan in Bloomington, Minn., for nearly 10 years. [READ MORE] Jack Cox, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of St. Joseph Health (Irvine, Calif.) and Senior Vice President/Chief Quality Officer for Providence St. Joseph Health (Irvine). Dr. Cox collaborates with St. Joseph Health System's vice presidents and physician leadership to guide the health system on its various clinical and population health initiatives in his roles as senior vice president and CMO. [READ MORE] Ravin Davidoff, MB, BCh. Senior Vice President and CMO of Boston Medical Center. Dr. Davidoff became vice president of medical affairs and CMO of Boston Medical Center in 2008. [READ MORE] Octavio Diaz, MD. CMO of Tenet Healthcare Corp. (Dallas). Dr. Diaz became Tenet's CMO in December 2016. Dr. Diaz oversees the company's commitment to improving safety and quality at Tenet's 79 hospitals and affiliated facilities. [READ MORE] Anne Boland Docimo, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Jefferson Health System and President of Jefferson University Physicians (Philadelphia). In her role as CMO, Dr. Docimo oversees daily operations at the health system. [READ MORE] Steven G. Docimo, MD. President of Children's Community Pediatrics and CMO of Children's Subspecialty Services at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Dr. Docimo spent seven years as a professor of urology and director of pediatric oncology at the JohnsHopkinsHospital in Baltimore before joining Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2000. [READ MORE] Tony Farah, MD. CMO of Allegheny Health Network (Pittsburgh). Dr. Farah is responsible for ensuring Allegheny Health Network maintains the highest standards of patient care, quality, safety and service excellence. [READ MORE] Loring Flint, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Inova Health System (Falls Church, Va.). Dr. Flint is responsible for the strategic direction and clinical quality, safety, effectiveness and performance of the five-hospital system. [READ MORE] Fritz Francois, MD. CMO and Patient Safety Officer of NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Francoisserves as an associate professor in the department of medicine at New YorkUniversity in New York City in addition to his CMO and patient safety officer duties at NYULangoneMedicalCenter. [READ MORE] Harris Frankel, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of Nebraska Medicine (Omaha). In addition to his role as senior vice president and CMO of Nebraska Medicine, Dr. Frankel serves as president of the Nebraska Medical Association and medical director for the University of Nebraska Medical Center Physicians Clinical Neurosciences Center. [READ MORE] Michael Glenn, MD. CMO of Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle). Dr. Glenn was appointed CMO of Virginia Mason Medical Center in 2013 after having served as physician-in-chief and medical director since 2007. [READ MORE] Jonathan E. Gottlieb, MD. Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Executive of IU Health (Indianapolis). Dr. Gottlieb served as CMO of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and CMO of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis before taking on the executive vice president and chief medical executive role at IU Health in October 2014. [READ MORE] Rohit Gulati, MD. Vice President of University Healthcare (Martinsburg, W.Va.). Dr. Gulati was appointed vice president and CMO of University Healthcare in May 2016. [READ MORE] Lee W. Hammerling, MD. Chief Physician Executive and CMO of ProMedica (Toledo, Ohio). Dr. Hammerling provides executive oversight for the development and growth of ProMedica's service lines, as well as the organization's academic programs and affiliations. [READ MORE] Diana Han, MD. CMO of KentuckyOne Health. Dr. Han specializes in internal medicine and is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. [READ MORE] Loran D. Hauck, MD. Chief Clinical Officer of Adventist Health System (Winter Park, Fla.). Dr. Hauck serves as Adventist Health System's chief clinical officer and senior vice president of clinical effectiveness. [READ MORE] Michael Henderson, MD. CMO of University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson). Dr. Henderson was appointed CMO of University of Mississippi Medical Center in April 2015. [READ MORE] John Hensing, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Banner Health (Phoenix). Dr. Hensing has served as executive vice president and CMO since 2009. [READ MORE] Tallulah Holmstrom, MD. CMO of Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center (Hartsville, S.C.) and KershawHealth (Camden, S.C.). Dr. Holmstrom juggles the CMO role at CarolinaPinesRegionalMedicalCenter and KershawHealth while maintaining her internal medicine practice. [READ MORE] Michael Jablonover, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of the University of Maryland Medical Center (Baltimore). Dr. Jablonover has served as senior vice president and CMO of the University of Maryland Medical Center since 2015. [READ MORE] Timothy Jahn, MD. CMO of Baptist Health (Louisville, Ky.). Dr. Jahn has served as chief clinical officer for Baptist Health since 2013. [READ MORE] Ghassan Jamaleddine, MD. CMO of Alameda Health System (Oakland, Calif.). Dr. Jamaleddine oversees the health system's clinical operations and is integral in strengthening the clinical leadership at Alameda Health Partners, the health system's physician organization. [READ MORE] Neil Jasani, MD. Chief Academic Officer, Chief Learning Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs for Christiana Care (Wilmington, Del.). Dr. Jasani joined Christiana Care Health System in 1990 and became the emergency medicine residency program director in 2007. [READ MORE] Kevin Johnson, MD. Regional Vice President of Medical Affairs and CMO of SSM Health (St. Louis). Dr. Johnson oversees clinical quality performance, patient safety and clinical resource management in addition to other areas within the network. [READ MORE] Despina G. Kayichian, MD. Vice President of Medical Affairs and Quality and CMO of Glendale Adventist Medical Center (Burbank, Calif.). Dr. Kayichian was appointed GlendaleAdventistMedicalCenter's vice president of medical affairs and quality and CMO in 2016. [READ MORE] Michael D. Kelleher, MD. CMO of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Kelleher served as chief medical information officer at Lurie Children's Hospital and associate chair of the pediatrics department at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago before taking on the CMO role at Lurie's. [READ MORE] Jeffry I. Komins, MD. CMO of Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.). Dr. Komins is CMO of Trinity Health, one of the nation's largest multi-institutional Catholic healthcare delivery systems. [READ MORE] James E. LaBelle, MD. Corporate Senior Vice President and CMO of Scripps Health (San Diego). Dr. LaBelle was named CMO of Scripps in 2013 after serving as corporate vice president of quality, physician co-management and medical management for the health system. [READ MORE] Michael Langberg, MD. Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and CMO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). In addition to his duties as CMO,Dr. Langberg serves as an adjunct professor of medicine at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. [READ MORE] Omar Lateef, DO. Senior Vice President of Hospital Affairs and CMO of Rush University Medical Center (Chicago). Dr. Lateef, a pulmonary and critical care medicine specialist, was appointed CMO of Rush University Medical Center in 2015 after serving as associate CMO for four years. [READ MORE] Richard S. Liebowitz, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of NewYork-Presbyterian. Dr. Liebowitz is responsible for NewYork-Presbyterian's service lines, clinical program development and physician recruitment and graduate medical education, in addition to other responsibilities. [READ MORE] John Lynch, MD. Vice President and CMO of Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis). Dr. Lynch has served in the CMO role at Barnes-JewishHospital since 2009. In addition to this role, he is a faculty member of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. [READ MORE] Susan Melvin, DO. CMO of Long Beach (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Melvin has served as Long Beach Memorial's CMO since 2012, after serving as associate CMO for a year. [READ MORE] Thomas Miller, MD. Executive Director for Ambulatory Clinics and CMO of University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics (Salt Lake City). Dr. Miller oversees executive and clinical medical affairs at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics. [READ MORE] David Moorhead, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of Florida Hospital (Orlando). Prior to joining Florida Hospital in 2006, Dr. Moorhead was CEO of Loma Linda (Calif.) University Medical Center and helped establish the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. [READ MORE] William Neff, MD. CMO of UCHealth (Aurora, Colo.). Dr. Neff became CMO of UCHealth in June 2012 and held the interim president and CEO role for just over a year while the system conducted a search for the permanent CEO, who was hired in 2014. [READ MORE] Scott Nygaard, MD. CMO of Lee Memorial Health System (Fort Myers, Fla.). Dr. Nygaard was promoted to his current role last year after spending more than five years as CMO of physician services and network development for Lee Memorial. [READ MORE] Patrick M. O'Shaughnessy, DO. Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and System CMO of Catholic Health Services (Rockville Centre, N.Y.). Dr. O'Shaughnessy was appointed senior vice president for medical affairs and CMO of Catholic Health Services in 2013. [READ MORE] Thomas Owens, MD. Vice President for Medical Affairs and CMO of Duke University Health System (Durham, N.C.). Dr. Owens oversees medical affairs throughout Duke's network. In addition to his CMO role, he serves as an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Duke University School of Medicine. [READ MORE] Paryus Patel, MD. CMO of Prime Healthcare Division II (Ontario, Calif.). Dr. Patel is CMO of Prime Healthcare Division II, which includes Prime Healthcare's hospitals located east of Nevada. [READ MORE] Maria D. Padin, MD. CMO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, N.H.). Dr. Padin has served as CMO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center since November 2015. [READ MORE] Carlos Pellegrini, MD. CMO of UW Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs of the University of Washington (Seattle). Dr. Pellegrini became UW Medicine's first CMO in December 2015 after serving as UW's Henry N. Harkins Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery for nearly 10 years. [READ MORE] Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD. President of Clinical Services and CMO of Hospital Corporation of America (Nashville, Tenn.). Dr. Perlin provides leadership for clinical services and works to improve performance at HCA's numerous hospitals, outpatient centers and physician practices. [READ MORE] Robert Phillips, MD, PhD. Executive Vice President, CMO and Specialty Physician Group President and CEO of Houston Methodist. Dr. Phillips is a professor of cardiology at the Houston Methodist Institute for Academic Medicine in addition to his various leadership roles at Houston Methodist. [READ MORE] Irving Pike, MD. CMO of John Muir Health (Walnut Creek, Calif.). Dr. Pike became CMO of John Muir Health in 2012. [READ MORE] John Popovich Jr., MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Henry Ford Health System and President and CEO of Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit). Dr. Popovich oversees the clinical and financial operations of the 805-bed HenryFordHospital in addition to his executive vice president and CMO role at Henry Ford Health System. [READ MORE] Irving Prengler, MD. CMO of Baylor Scott & White Health-North Texas (Dallas). Dr. Prengler has been CMO of Baylor Scott & White Health-North Texas since 2013. [READ MORE] Marlon Priest, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Bon Secours Health System (Marriottsville, Md.). Dr. Priest is market leader for senior services for Bon Secours Health System in addition to his CMO role. [READ MORE] Robert Probe, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas). Dr. Probe, an orthopedic trauma surgeon, serves as CMO of Baylor Scott & White Health. [READ MORE] David Pryor, MD. Executive Vice President of Ascension and President and CEO of Ascension Clinical Holdings (St. Louis). Dr. Pryor served as Ascension Health's CMO from 2001 to 2011 before taking on his current roles as executive vice president of Ascension and president and CEO of Ascension Clinical Holdings. [READ MORE] Roger A. Ray, MD. Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive of Carolinas HealthCare System (Charlotte, N.C.). Dr. Ray is charged with managing and directing the Carolinas Healthcare System Medical Group, which includes more than 2,500 physicians and providers in more than 500 locations. [READ MORE] Norman Rizk, MD. CMO of Stanford (Calif.) Health Care. Dr. Rizk has served as CMO of Stanford Health Care since 2011. [READ MORE] Craig D. Rhyne, MD. Regional CMO of Covenant Health (Lubbock, Texas). Dr. Rhyne began his practice in Lubbock in 1991 and became regional CMO of Covenant Health in 2011. [READ MORE] Lee Sacks, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Advocate Health Care (Downers Grove, Ill.). Dr. Sacks became Advocate Physician Partners' CEO in 1995 and added the role of executive vice president and CMO of Advocate Health Care in 1997. [READ MORE] Saria Saccocio, MD. Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and CMO of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System (Greenville, S.C.). Dr. Saccocio has served as CMO of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System since 2014. [READ MORE] Brian D. Schroeder, MD. CMO of Covenant Health (Lubbock, Texas). Covenant Health named Dr. Schroeder as CMO in December 2016. [READ MORE] Angela Scioscia, MD. CMO of UC San Diego Health System (San Diego). Dr. Scioscia joined UC San Diego in 1989 and has served as the health system's CMO since 2004. [READ MORE] Morris Seligman, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Mountain States Health Alliance (Johnson City, Tenn.) Dr. Seligman joined Mountain States Health Alliance in January 2010 as senior vice president and CMO and has since been promoted to executive vice president and CMO. [READ MORE] M. Michael Shabot, MD. CMO of Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston). Dr. Shabot is the board chairman of the Memorial Hermann Accountable Care Organization in addition to CMO of Memorial Hermann Health System. [READ MORE] Steven Shapiro, MD. Executive Vice President and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of UPMC (Pittsburgh). Dr. Shapiro is the president of UPMC's health services division in addition to his executive vice president and chief medical and science officer roles. His was previously chair of the medicine department at UPMC. [READ MORE] Adhi Sharma, MD. Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and CMO of South Nassau Communities Hospital (Oceanside, N.Y.). Prior to joining SouthNassauCommunitiesHospital as senior vice president of medical affairs and CMO, Dr. Sharma was the vice president and COO of Uniondale, N.Y.-based Progressive Emergency Physicians and chair of the departments of emergency medicine at West Islip, N.Y.-based GoodSamaritanHospital and Brooklyn, N.Y.-based VictoryMemorialHospital. [READ MORE] Gulshan Sharma, MD. Vice President and Chief Medical and Clinical Innovation Officer of University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston). Dr. Sharma is vice president, chief medical and clinical innovation officer, associate CMO and director of the pulmonary critical care and sleep division at UTMB. [READ MORE] Robyn Strosaker, MD. Vice President and CMO of University Hospitals Case Medical Center (Cleveland). UH CaseMedicalCenter named Dr. Strosaker vice president and CMO in May 2016. [READ MORE] Gregory Thompson, MD. CMO and Director of Medical Education of Gundersen Health System (La Crosse, Wis.). Gundersen Health System named Dr. Thompson CMO in 2013. [READ MORE] Douglas Towriss, MD. Vice President and CMO of Schneck Medical Center (Seymour, Ind.). Dr. Towriss joined SchneckMedicalCenter in 2002 and became the vice president and CMO in April 2015. [READ MORE] Thomas Tracy Jr., MD. CMO of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center.PennStateHealthMiltonS.HersheyMedicalCenter named Dr. Tracy CMO in June 2016. [READ MORE] Thomas Trinchetto, MD. CMO of Doctors Hospital of Sarasota (Fla.). Dr. Trinchetto served as chief of staff as well as chief of medicine at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota before assuming the CMO role in September 2014. [READ MORE] Robert Underwood, MD. CMO of St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center (Pueblo, Colo.). Dr. Underwood joined St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in 2015 as CMO. He is charged with providing leadership, strategic direction and operation management in quality, physician services and medical staff administration. [READ MORE] Bruce Vanderhoff, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of OhioHealth (Columbus). Dr. Vanderhoff has joined OhioHealth in 1996 and was named senior vice president and CMO in December 2008. [READ MORE] Brent E. Wallace, MD. CMO of Intermountain Healthcare (Salt Lake City). Dr. Wallace is CMO and co-chair of Intermountain Healthcare's Continuing Medical Education committee. [READ MORE] Stephen Weber, MD. Vice President for Clinical Effectiveness and CMO of University of Chicago Medicine.University of Chicago Medicine named Dr. Weber CMO in 2014. [READ MORE] Robert J. Weil, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of Catholic Health Initiatives (Englewood, Colo.). Catholic Health Initiatives named Dr. Weil CMO and senior vice president in August 2016. [READ MORE] Joseph Weinstein, MD. CMO of Steward Health Care System (Boston). Dr. Weinstein was the vice president of medical affairs at CarneyHospital in Dorchester, Mass., from 2015 to 2016 before joining Steward Health Care System as CMO in January 2017. [READ MORE] Patrice Weiss, MD. CMO of Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.). Dr. Weiss joined Carilion Clinic in 2007 and is the chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department in addition to her CMO role. [READ MORE] Thomas Whalen, MD. CMO of Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Health Network. Lehigh Valley Health Network named Dr. Whalen CMO in May 2011 after he served as Valley Health Network's department of surgery chair and associate chief medical officer of the network. [READ MORE] Chad Whelan, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of Loyola University Health System (Maywood, Ill.). Dr. Whelan is a professor of hospital medicine at Loyola Medicine in addition to his senior vice president and CMO roles. [READ MORE] Suzanne White, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Detroit Medical Center. Before joining DetroitMedicalCenter's team, Dr. White was the Dayanandan Endowed Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics and emergency medicine chair at WayneStateUniversity in Detroit. [READ MORE] Robert Wiebe, MD. Senior Vice President and CMO of Dignity Health (San Francisco). Dr. Wiebe has served as Dignity Health's senior vice president and CMO since 2008. [READ MORE] Patricia Wilkerson-Uddyback, MD. Vice President of Medical Affairs of Harper University Hospital and Hutzel Women's Hospital (Detroit).HarperUniversityHospital and Hutzel Women's Hospital named Dr. Wilkerson-Uddyback vice president of medical affairs in 2010, a promotion from her role as chief of emergency medicine. [READ MORE] David Wood Jr., MD. CMO of Beaumont Health (Royal Oak, Mich.). Dr. Wood is the president of Beaumont Physician Partners as well as CMO of Beaumont Health, a nonprofit formed by Beaumont Health System, Botsford Health Care and Oakwood Healthcare. [READ MORE] Robert Wyllie, MD. Chief Medical Operations Officer of Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic named Dr. Wyllie chief medical operations officer in 2011. [READ MORE] Thomas N. Zweng, MD. Executive Vice President and CMO of Novant Health (Winston-Salem, N.C.). Prior to his role as executive president and CMO, Dr. Zweng was the senior vice president of medical affairs for Novant Health's five Charlotte, N.C.-based hospitals and Novant Health Gaffney (S.C.) Medical Center. [READ MORE] Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna has engaged in discussions with the Massachusetts' governor's office for the past six months about transferring its headquarters to Boston, sources close to the discussions told the Hartford Courant. Here are four things to know. 1. The insurer has been looking for as much as 400,000 square feet of space, though it is unclear how much of the company would remain in Hartford if the company is serious about transitioning, according to the report. 2. The company employs roughly 6,000 individuals in Connecticut, with the largest portion of its employees housed in Hartford. Should Aetna move to the 400,000-square-foot location in Boston, about 1,600 employees could occupy the area. 3. Aetna's discussions with Gov. Charlie Baker's (Mass.-R) office follows General Electric's decision last year to shift its headquarters from Fairfield, Conn., to Boston. GE and Aetna had previously criticized Connecticut's tax environment, after which Boston and other cities reached out to the payer to discuss a possible change of its headquarters. 4. Spokespeople from the city of Boston, the governor's office and Aetna did not issue specific comments on the speculated move to the Hartford Courant as of Monday. Aetna spokesperson T.J. Crawford said, "We remain headquartered in Hartford, and we're committed to our employees here, who continue to be an important part of our future," according to the report. President Donald Trump met with pharmaceutical executives earlier this week, according to U.S. News and World Report. In previous speeches, President Trump attacked pharmaceutical companies for their high prices, saying they are "getting away with murder" and insisting that prices must come down. Here are five things to know about the meeting: 1. U.S. News reported President Trump told the pharma executives their prices were "astronomical" in the closed door meeting, which also included Vice President Mike Pence and Rep. Greg Walden, Ore.-R, who is chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. 2. President Trump spoke about accelerating the FDA approval process. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America President Steve Ubl said the meeting was "positive and productive." 3. Patient advocates expressed concerns that accelerated approvals could put patients at risk, but President Trump said although he plans to cut regulations, "we're going to have tremendous protection for the people, maybe more protection." 4. Chairman and CEO of Merck Kenneth Frazier, who was also at the meeting, told reporters the discussion focused on tax policies and the push to continue innovation. 5. President Trump's Press Secretary Sean Spicer discussed lowering drug prices to bring down medical costs and encourage innovation as well as moving companies back into the United States with lower taxes and removing "unnecessary" regulations. To continue following the latest news and information for Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, simply enter your full postcode below Visitors enjoy an aquarium experience at the Sunshine Aquarium in Tokyo on February 10, 2015. An aquarium company has confirmed it is in talks to build an attraction in Belfast with the potential to create up to 150 jobs, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. At present Northern Ireland has just one such attraction, Exploris in Portaferry, Co Down. It was closed for two years due to financial problems before reopening last August, and is now operated by Crumlin Road Gaol Ltd. Lee Jennings, chief business development officer at aquatic attraction developer and operator Tolliday Group International (TGI), told the Belfast Telegraph that talks were taking place with a view to opening an aquarium in the city. However, he would not give details of who the company was in discussions with. Tolliday Group International is registered in Portaferry but does not have active operations here. Mr Jennings said the family of marine biologist and company founder Adrian Tolliday was from Northern Ireland, and that Mr Tolliday had lived here for some time before working overseas in the Gulf. Mr Jennings explained: "This is part of the reason for locating the business in Northern Ireland, but also it reflects our intention to develop a major project there as well in the near future." He added that the company could employ up to 150 people in operating the attraction. His comments came as the firm announced a deal to work on an aquarium in Muscat, Oman. Mr Jennings said: "We have conducted a feasibility study for Belfast and are currently in talks with several investors and potential partners." However, he said non-disclosure agreements meant that no further information could be revealed. Mr Jennings added: "What I can say is, the initial feasibility study looks healthy and is very promising. "It has identified several potential sites, one of which could be the Titanic Quarter, but not exclusively. It is still too early to say." He explained the company would be considering its next steps, with meetings due to take place this month. A spokesman for Titanic Quarter said it had no plans for an aquarium. Mr Jennings said its projects were usually between 8,000 and 20,000 square metres in size. "Based on figures for Oman, we would expect to employ between 100 to 150 staff, once it is open," he explained. "There is, of course, a tangible effect on the supply chain for products, equipment and services, many of which we would expect to source locally." He said TGI did not carry out the building, but worked in partnership with civil contractors. "In Oman we have a local partner who supplies personnel and labour, but works to our specifications and designs. "We would expect to work in the same way in Belfast and other locations around the world." This week Al Jarwani Group in Oman announced it had appointed TGI to supervise and operate its new aquarium in Muscat, which is due to open next year. Adrian Tolliday has been involved in a number of aquarium projects in the Middle East, and was vice-president at Atlantis, the Palm Aquarium in Dubai, and head curator at Dubai Aquarium in the Dubai Mall. In a statement about the Muscat project, Mr Tolliday said: "This is a super-exciting time for us as a company. We are very proud to be involved in this project." Exploris shut for two years after Ards Borough Council decided to stop funding the attraction, which was costing around 600,000 per year. But in February last year around 0.9m was secured from the then Department of the Environment, with around 0.6m secured from the council and Crumlin Road Gaol Ltd. Exploris then reopened in August with new enclosures for the wide range of fish and aquatic species. It also includes a seal sanctuary and living environments for otters. It has a fully-licensed restaurant too, and is due to host events next month as part of the Northern Ireland Science Festival. No decision on whether businessman Sir Philip Green will be stripped of his knighthood will be made until investigations into the collapse of BHS are completed, honours watchdogs have said. Sir Jonathan Stephens, chairman of the Honours Forfeiture Committee, said what happened at the retail giant was being taken "very seriously", but consideration of the tycoon's title must wait. He wrote to Labour MP Frank Field, who co-chaired a parliamentary probe into the BHS affair, saying: " The Government is taking the circumstances surrounding the collapse of BHS very seriously, including investigations by the Insolvency Service and the Independent Pensions Regulator. "I believe it will be important to ensure any consideration of Sir Philip's case by the Forfeiture Committee should have the benefit of the findings of the independent inquiries into BHS by the relevant regulators." Sir Jonathan noted in the letter to Mr Field the Commons vote calling for Sir Philip to be stripped of his knighthood. Labour MP David Winnick (Walsall North) raised the issue in PMQs, and said many will be aghast that the "disgraced" businessman will keep his knighthood for years. He said: "How will the thousands of people who lost their jobs at British Homes Stores feel that it may take years before the case of Philip Green, the totally discredited and disgraced businessperson, will have his knighthood possibly withdrawn - taken away or otherwise. "Isn't it remarkable? People lose their jobs, they suffer all the consequences and this man keeps his billions and his knighthood?" Theresa May said the decision over whether Sir Philip is stripped of his title is one for the independent committee. She said: "You have raised an important issue and it has been raised by many members of this House in terms of their concern about what happened at BHS and the attitude and approach that Philip Green took. "The issue of whether a knighthood should be taken away from somebody is matter for the relevant committee that deals with it." Drinks giant Diageo is to launch a new Irish whiskey as it looks to tap into the booming popularity of the tipple. The owner of Guinness, Captain Morgan rum and Johnnie Walker Scotch said that it will pump 25m (18.6m) into a start-up premium blend. It will be dubbed Roe & Co, after 19th-century whiskey maker George Roe, with the investment to be made in the former Power Station at St James's Gate in Dublin - formerly a Guinness factory - in The Liberties. Just over two years ago Diageo off-loaded Bushmills Whiskey - made in the Co Antrim village - to Casa Cuervo in Mexico in return for the tequila, Don Julio. A spokesman for Diageo at the time denied the company was admitting defeat in the Irish whiskey market. The popularity of Irish whiskey has soared, making it the fastest growing spirit drink in the world, according to the Irish Whiskey Association. The Republic's Agriculture Minister Michael Creed welcomed the investment, adding that Irish whiskey sales have increased by more than 300% in the past 10 years, with record exports of over 400m (344m). He added: "Irish whiskey is experiencing a renaissance and is truly an Irish success story." Production in Dublin will begin in the first half of 2019. Earlier this month Diageo cheered rising profits thanks to a triple tonic from the Brexit-hit pound, robust Scotch sales and a strong US performance. Colin O'Brien, operations director at Diageo, said: The planned distillery will provide employment in the coming years - both at construction and operation stages. "It will complement what is already the country's most popular tourism offering, The Guinness Storehouse. "This investment further demonstrates Diageo's commitment to the growing vibrancy of The Liberties, one of the City's most dynamic districts and the home of Irish Whiskey during the original golden age of Irish distilling." Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland will be set back by plans for a levy to be paid on the training programmes, trade union Unite has said. The apprenticeship levy is to be introduced in April and will be payable on all companies with a wage bill of over 3m. But Unite regional deputy secretary Jackie Pollock warned that extending the levy to Northern Ireland would undermine the quality of apprenticeships. He said their effectiveness had already been undermined by the introduction of further education college-led programmes, instead of employer-led training. "We fear that employers who currently provide apprenticeships will end this provision in order to avoid being forced to pay twice through the apprenticeship levy." And he said there was no guarantee that money raised would be channeled back into skills. Meanwhile, a conference held by Unite heard a call for a fast settlement to political instability from the province's biggest manufacturer, Bombardier. The aerospace company, which is cutting around 20% of its 5,000-strong workforce over the next two years, said political stability was essential to the health of the manufacturing sector. Michael Ryan, vice-president and general manager for Bombardier, said: "In Northern Ireland, obviously we have had a few, very high-profile disappointments in recent years, with the closures of some companies. "The rest of us, including Bombardier, have been challenged as well. We all do our risk planning at a macro-global level, at a national level and at a local level in Northern Ireland. "We can't foresee all the risks, but we can try to mitigate what happens and look to the long term." Gerard Coyne in Belfast. He is in the running to become new general secretary of the Unite union Tariffs and restrictions on cross-border trade post-EU withdrawal will hit jobs here, a leading trade unionist has warned. Gerard Coyne, who is vying to become leader of Unite, insisted Northern Ireland's economy could not be "expendable or an acceptable casualty" in the Government's push to deliver Brexit. Mr Coyne was in Belfast at the start of his 'five capitals' tour of the UK and Ireland as he ramps up his campaign to replace Len McCluskey as Unite's general secretary. "On Brexit the stakes for Northern Ireland could not be higher," said Mr Coyne. "It is the only part of the UK to share a border with another EU state. That border is at the heart of a civil and political conflict that so many have worked so hard at placing very firmly in the past over the last 20 and more years. "No one with any sense wants to see a return to frontier posts or military checkpoints, or to unneeded restrictions on travel or commerce within the island of Ireland. "As a trade union with members north and south of the border, Unite must be a leading voice in arguing for a Brexit deal that maintains a common travel area and which avoids jobs-killing restrictions on trade, such as tariffs. "Such a deal must also respect the Good Friday Agreement and maintain cross-border political and economic co-operation. "Northern Ireland has been through some very tough economic times in the last four decades. Long-term unemployment and low paying jobs were the norm for far too many people. "No one can doubt the progress that has been made in the last 20 years - even though there are still so many problems here. "This region's economy cannot be seen as expendable or an acceptable casualty of the need to deliver Brexit - instead it needs to be a top concern of the UK's negotiating team. "As general secretary of Unite I will make the case for our members at all times. There is no difference in that, north or south, in Belfast or Ballina, Coleraine or Carlow, working people need strong and tariff-free trade to deliver good, skilled jobs, decent wages and a better standard of life. I will be on their side." Unite has 44,000 members in Northern Ireland and 30,000 in the Republic. Voting for the post of general secretary takes place between March 27 and April 19. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said this week following talks in Dublin with Prime Minister Theresa May that helping agree a deal to keep UK-EU trade as close as possible would be an "absolute priority" for Ireland ahead of Brexit negotiations. Mr Kenny said: "Our two governments are agreed that a close and friction-free economic and trading relationship between the UK and the EU, including Northern Ireland, is in our very best interests." Stephen Kelly, the head of Manufacturing NI, has said one way of making up for any damage to trade with the EU following Brexit could be for Northern Ireland to encourage firms in the Republic to set up here. "Yes, we try and attract firms from Silicon Valley in California, but what about setting up clusters of Irish firms to effectively build Liffey Valley or Shannon Valley?" Mr Kelly said. Last week Craigavon-based pharmaceutical firm Almac announced it was setting up premises in Dundalk in order to maintain single market access following Brexit. 7th Circuit Snuffs Out Indiana's Vaping Law To say that Indiana's vaping law was overreaching would be an understatement. In snuffing out portions of the state's law, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said that it could not find a single case in 200 years of precedent to support Indiana's legislation as it affected business in the state and beyond. The court said the law basically put everybody out of business except one company. "These circumstances raise obvious concerns about protectionist purposes and what looks very much like a legislative grant of monopoly," Judge David Hamilton wrote for the unanimous court. The Indiana legislature enacted the law in 2015, requiring vaping businesses that manufacture e-liquids to contract with a security company in order to obtain a state permit. The law was so restrictive, a dozen Indiana vaping companies soon closed their shops. Only one company -- Mulhaupt's Inc., located in Lafayette -- survived. It's Bad The impact was so dramatic, one of the bills sponsors called it "a mistake." Sen. Ron Alting apologized and said the legislature will revisit the law this year. It was not much help for the vaping companies that closed, however. Even out-of-state businesses had a problem with law, and sued on the grounds that it violated their rights under the federal Commerce Clause. A trial judge upheld the legislation but the appeals court reversed. "The Act is written so as to have extraterritorial reach that is unprecedented, imposing detailed requirements of Indiana law on out-of-state manufacturing operations," the judges said. "The Act regulates the design and operation of out-of-state production facilities, including requirements for sinks, cleaning products, and even the details of contracts with outside security firms and the qualifications of those firms' personnel." The court said the Act violates the Commerce Clause as extraterritorial regulation because it dictates how out-of-state manufacturers run their operations. The judges said it would be like Ohio telling Indiana business how to operate. Not All Bad However, the court said the law fairly regulates in-state sales of e-liquids with requirements such as tamper-evident and child-proof packaging, as well as labels designating active ingredients, nicotine content, and expiration dates. The court said the Act properly prohibits sales to minors and states its purpose to protect public health and safety "in the absence of federal regulations," since the federal government has not adopted comparable regulations for safety and purity of e-cigarette products. Related Resources: Frances de la Tour is best known for playing Madame Olympe Maxime in the Harry Potter films and Ruth in Rising Damp Peter Capaldi has tipped Frances de la Tour to be the next Doctor Who star. After four years as the Time Lord, the Thick Of It actor announced this week he is stepping down from the role this year, and would like to see a woman take his place. In an interview with BBC Radio 2's Jo Whiley, he said: "The time felt right to bow out, to let somebody else play this wonderful role and I would like Frances de la Tour to be the first female doctor." De la Tour, 72, has a 50-year acting career behind her and is best known for playing half-giantess headmistress Madame Olympe Maxime in the Harry Potter films and landlord Rigsby's tenant Ruth in 1970s comedy series Rising Damp. Former Doctor Who star Billie Piper has already ruled herself out of becoming the first female doctor, saying the responsibility would be "too enormous". Agreeing that she would also like to see a woman in the role, she said her vote would be for Captain America star Hayley Atwell. Describing her as a "sassy" option, Piper told the Press Association: "She would be amazing and she's a friend of mine so I will call her and see what she's saying." Capaldi, 58, will return for the 10th series of the relaunched show, with 12 episodes starting in April, followed by the Christmas special. His final series will also end with the departure of writer and executive producer Steven Moffat. Capaldi told BBC Radio 2: "One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best. "From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead. "I can't thank everyone enough. It's been cosmic." It's King Billy - but as you have never seen him before. A programme exploring the life and drama of King William III has cast doubt on some of the events surrounding the Glorious Revolution. Historian Lucy Worsley fronts a myth-busting BBC show that reveals how some of Britain's founding events are actually carefully crafted narratives. She travelled to William's palace in Holland for British History's Biggest Fibs, and took a black taxi tour around east Belfast to see the tributes to King Billy. The show investigates how major turning points in Britain's history, including the Glorious Revolution of 1688, have been "manipulated and mythologised" to become cornerstones of a national story. Ms Worsley claims that the Dutch invasion was spun into a triumphant liberation which is still celebrated today. In the show, Ms Worsley details how stories and news have been re-invented over the years until they are accepted as fact. "Very often in history, the line between fact and fiction gets blurred," she said. Part of her story reveals another version of how King Billy planned to invade England and how he prepared to "restore the liberties" of the people of Britain. The BBC presenter explained that William, armed with a printing press, printed 60,000 copies of his declaration which criticised Catholic King James II and tried to convince the English he was a friend rather than an invader. Ms Worsley describes this an early example of "printed propaganda". "William was carpet-bombing England with his manifesto, his declaration was everywhere listing his reasons inducing him to appear in arms in the Kingdom of England," she added. "He entered Exeter in spectacular fashion, not as an invader but as a nation's saviour." The myth is that William, who was dressed in gleaming armour, was riding a white horse while his banner bore the words 'God and the Protestant religion'. "A white horse heralded the arrival of a divine conqueror or even Christ himself," Lucy explained. "William had come to seize the crown, but by presenting himself in a theatrical get-up, he didn't look like an invader, he looked like a Christian saviour." On a visit to Belfast, Lucy says that King Billy remains part of the fabric of the city and tributes to William are often seen on gable walls. During a tour around the city with guide Peter Hughes, she visits the first King Billy mural, which was painted in east Belfast in 1904. "His horse was never white, it was brown. A white horse would have made him a very easy target, the horse is white because it look glorious," he claims. "You can always see it's like he is walking on water, so that portrays him as a God-like figure." "Where I grew up, King Billy was just a hate figure because his army defeated the Catholic army. The Twelfth celebrations, the Orangemen, the bonfires, are seen by most Irish Catholics as rubbing their nose in Orange dog poop. "For one side he is history, culture and identity and the other side he is seen as a villain." The historian also refers to the Good Friday Agreement and how it began to ease tensions in Northern Ireland, but added that the events of 1688 still have a powerful place here. "In 2007 a Jacobite musket used during the Battle of the Boyne made a rare public appearance," she continues. "On a joint visit to the battle site, former Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern shared a photo opportunity with it. It became an unlikely prop in the peace process. The musket then came up for auction in Belfast in 2016 which was bought for 20,000 by the Museum of Orange Heritage. "The story of the Glorious Revolution is still being written - a pivotal chapter in our very British history." British History's Biggest Fibs is on BBC4 tomorrow at 9pm Thatchers version of events In 1988, Margaret Thatcher told MPs the Glorious Revolution 300 years earlier had been a "peaceful transfer of power which gave rise to the title of the bloodless revolution in England". However, William had to brutally enforce regime change in Ireland and Scotland, the effects of which are still felt today. Brexit will be a crunch issue in the negotiations to restore Stormont following next month's Assembly election, it has emerged. Sinn Fein has made clear it intends to use the talks to ensure the British and Irish Governments agree to seek 'special designated status' for Northern Ireland when the UK leaves the European Union. But the party refused to say whether it would be one of its red lines before agreeing to restore the Executive. DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds warned: "Nationalists see special status as an opportunity to separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, with a border in the Irish Sea. "This proposal has also been launched by a party which has just cut off its ability to influence government. "They have brought down the Assembly at a crucial juncture, denying the Executive a proper role, whilst also abstaining from Westminster." New Sinn Fein leader here Michelle O'Neill said it was "not a day for red lines". But she said that it was obvious Brexit will be included in the post-March 2 discussions, which will be chaired by London and Dublin. Mrs O'Neill explained she believed the percentage of people in the province opposed to leaving the EU was now "a lot higher" than the 56% who voted in last June's referendum. She said last year's poll was only the second time - following the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 - that unionists and nationalists had voted in "common cause". But unionists had realised that membership of the single market and the customs union were vital to future trade and economic stability across the island of Ireland, she added. The day after meeting Prime Minister Theresa May in Dublin, Mrs O'Neill said London's plans would mean a European frontier across Ireland. "The British Government is on a collision course with the EU in which the future rights and interests of people here are regarded as collateral damage," she said. Mrs O'Neill stated she had raised her arguments with Mrs May, but added: "Was she listening? I am not sure if she was or not." She added the phrase that had emerged from Mrs May's talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny of a "friction-free Brexit" did not mean anything in practical terms. Dublin would be at the Brexit negotiations table and should use its position of influence as a veto to act "in the national interest", Mrs O'Neill said. Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald, who travelled to the launch in Belfast today of her party's campaign for special status for Northern Ireland, said it would be foolish to think the best interests of farmers, business and universities would not remain an ongoing issue following the election - but it should not be just a red line issue for republicans. Former Education Minister John O'Dowd said Sinn Fein would be seeking to ensure there was a will in the British and Irish Governments to seek special status within the EU. Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir travelled to Brussels yesterday for a series of meetings with key officials as part of what Mr O'Dowd called a "diplomatic offensive". The EU over the years had come up with imaginative solutions to various problems "and where there is a will, there is a way", he added. Mrs O'Neill said the DUP's description of the majority who had voted to stay as "remoaners" had been heard loud and clear in Brussels, and had not gone down well. "It is regrettable, to say the least, that the DUP is continuing to stand with the Tories against the majority of people here and calling people 'remoaners' is an insult to those who voted to remain. The Tories and DUP cannot be allowed to drag the North out of the EU," she said. SF MEP Martina Anderson accused her unionist counterparts Diane Dodds and Jim Nicholson, of "sabotage" in failing to take part in joint meetings and initiatives to discuss the impact of Brexit here. They were also among the few, she said, who had voted against an amendment calling on the EU to continue to support the peace process, which 540 other MEPs had supported. "What is that all about?" she asked. Mr Nicholson said the "sabotage" charge was "beyond parody" and that he found Sinn Fein support for special status for Northern Ireland hard to believe because the party "cannot even recognise NI as a legitimate entity and integral part of the UK". "Since the referendum result in June I have been making the case that Northern Ireland's voice must be heard, and that if the Government does not get the Brexit negotiations right, Northern Ireland will have the most to lose," he said. TUV candidate Richard Cairns said: "Those who refuse to accept the outcome of the referendum are rejecting UK sovereignty. The idea Sinn Fein believes in some sort of special status for Northern Ireland as a result of the referendum is nonsense." SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell has urged the Government to recognise that Brexit is already damaging Northern Ireland. And he urged Brexit Secretary David Davis to accept that a majority of people in the province (56%) voted to remain in the European Union. "Do you accept that we don't have a devolved administration at the moment and do you have any plans to recognise the Northern Ireland situation and the damage that's been done already to the Northern Ireland economy, particularly our agricultural economy?"he asked. His comment came as he and colleagues Margaret Ritchie and Mark Durkan joined with SNP MPs in an attempt to prevent a Commons vote reaching the next stage, because they said the Government had failed to properly consult the devolved assemblies. Mr Davis replied to Mr McDonnell by saying: "Although there is no Executive, individual ministers do stay in place and I wrote to the Executive a week or so ago, asking them to send a representative to each of the joint ministerial committee meetings. "We are taking very seriously the analysis they provided of industries in Northern Ireland. "So, you may take it as absolute read that we take the issue of Northern Ireland and protecting Northern Ireland incredibly seriously." His attempt to ease concerns over the impact of Brexit came as the DUP confirmed it will vote today to trigger the talks to take the UK out of the EU. Sammy Wilson said that for any region of the country to tell the UK what to do would be "detrimental to the Union". Speaking as MPs debated legislation to kick-start Article 50, the East Antrim MP said his own constituents had voted 55% to 45% to leave. But independent North Down MP Lady Hermon asked how the DUP intended to "respect the fact" that a majority in Northern Ireland as a whole voted to remain. Mr Wilson said he had campaigned "as a member of the UK Parliament", which represents the whole UK, and "not on some narrow regional basis". Northern Ireland-born Labour MP Kate Hoey said: "In my view, it is all about taking back control of our own country." Described by a judge as a "career burglar", Kevin Brady, from Marsden Terrace in Belfast, was jailed for 18 months after targeting two homes in Newtownabbey last summer A man who was recorded breaking into a house in broad daylight has been sentenced for his 40th burglary charge. Described by a judge as a "career burglar", Kevin Brady, from Marsden Terrace in Belfast, was jailed for 18 months after targeting two homes in Newtownabbey last summer. Prosecutor Simon Jenkins told Belfast Crown Court that on June 24 last year, police were called to the Serpentine Road by a resident who had recorded a man breaking into a house. When police arrived a short time later, they were shown the recording. Mr Jenkins said officers at the scene then saw Brady walking along the road carrying two white plastic bags. He dropped the bags and tried to flee, but ended up in a struggle with a police sergeant. A number of stolen items were recovered. The 34 year-old will also serve two years on licence after his release. According to the parliamentarians, U San Kyaw Hla, the house-speaker of the Rakhine state parliament, and U Phoe Min, the deputy house-speaker of the Rakhine state parliament, have been handed over the subsidized money at the state house-speakers office on 31 January. It is impossible to launch local development by using such small amount of money. Just like a grain of sesame cannot make oil. I think its a funny, U Tun Aung Thein, state parliamentarian of Boo-thi-daung township constituency, told Narinjara News. The moneys were residual cash from the Rakhine state parliament budget delivered by the Union Parliament. The cash distributions were made by the Rakhine state parliament to respective townships as those moneys were left over from its budget. Kyat 50-Lakh alone cannot launch even a development project. The case is that there are two constituencies in one township and then there will be two state parliamentarians. So, one parliamentarian has to receive only kyat 25 lakhs. "Anyhow, were looking for an essential area in our constituency where weve to use the money in a supportive way," said U Kyaw Lwin, state parliamentarian of the Kyauk-phru constituency, to Narinjara News. Currently, some Rakhine state parliamentarians are not able to accept the respective money as they were occupied by their trips. Translated by Zin Linn A cousin of three young boys who died in one of the most horrific acts of the Troubles has escaped death by inches after a gun attack on his house. The resident was "lucky to be alive" according to neighbours who said the violent incident in Rasharkin on Monday night brought back terrible memories of the 1998 firebombing in nearby Ballymoney, when the three Quinn children died in a UVF arson attack at the height of the Drumcree parade crisis. Named locally as Michael Patton, a wheelchair-user believed to be in his late 30s, he cheated death by inches in the gun attack on his home at Moneyleck Park at 10.20pm on Monday, neighbours said. One source commented: "He had a miracle escape and is lucky to be alive. Michael is a cousin of the Quinn boys who died so tragically all those years ago." The Quinn brothers' home in Ballymoney was attacked with a petrol bomb on July 12, 1998. Richard (11), Mark (10) and nine-year-old Jason died in the fireball which engulfed their home. Nineteen years ago their wake was held at the home of their gran, Irene, at Moneyleck Park where she still lives, just across the road from Monday night's shooting. The source said: "We are fortunate that we do not have a double tragedy here in Rasharkin today, as Michael was in the house with his daughter Demi, who is aged about 12. Thankfully she was not hurt but she was badly shaken up." At the scene yesterday, a neighbour added: "Two shots were fired into the house on Monday night and there were huge bangs. A neighbour rang for an ambulance, which came and took Michael to the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine." The neighbour said Mr Patton was not seriously injured and was able to sign himself out of hospital. Another resident said the incident had stunned the local area, and explained that Mr Patton had lived in the bungalow at the entrance to Moneyleck Park for around a year. Police have not commented on a motive but North Antrim DUP candidate Mervyn Storey said the PSNI did not believe it was terrorist-related or sectarian. Condemning those responsible for the shooting, Mr Storey said: "It is extremely worrying that there are those in our society who are prepared to use firearms and force to impose their form of justice. Anthony O'Neil was being held over theft of designer clothes and perfume from shops in Belfast's Victoria Square centre A thief who attacked a policeman in Northern Ireland after being taken to hospital has been jailed for five months. Anthony O'Neil lashed out while being held over the theft of designer clothes and perfume from shops in Belfast's Victoria Square centre, prosecutors said. The 21-year-old, of Saul Street in Downpatrick, also punched another officer in a separate incident a month later. His lawyer told Belfast Magistrates' Court he remembers nothing about either episode. O'Neil was arrested after stealing 182 worth of clothes from the Cruise store on September 15 last year. Searches carried out on him led to the recovery of an 87 bottle of perfume from another nearby shop and a small quantity of cannabis. A prosecution lawyer said he was taken to the Ulster Hospital where he was swearing, shouting and kicking out, striking a PSNI constable a number of times. Police were also called to deal with him during a row with his grandfather at an address in Belfast on October 28. O'Neil shouted obscenities before pushing and punching an officer to the side of the face. The constable had to attend an accident and emergency department due to swelling from the blow. O'Neil was convicted of theft, disorderly behaviour, possession of Class B drugs, two assaults on police and resisting arrest. Defence counsel John O'Connor described his client has having borderline learning difficulties and an IO just high enough to understand court proceedings. "He has no memory of either of these incidents," Mr O'Connor said. District Judge Fiona Bagnall rejected a suggestion that the defendant would be suitable for community service. With O'Neil in breach of several previous suspended sentences, she said: "I'm afraid he has to now face immediate custody." Mrs Bagnall ordered him to serve a total of five months behind bars for all the offences. ends A Northern Ireland man accused of terrorism charges linked to the Syrian civil war told police he went there to help the people. Eamon Bradley, 28, from Londonderry denied firing a bullet during three battles against Islamic State and the Syrian government but admitted signing up as a soldier in one of the rebel groups in 2014. He said scenes of devastation on television and the killing of babies brought him to the conflict zone where he was given the name of Abu Dejannah and became a trained assault rifle-toting junior infantryman or mujahid fighter. Bradley told detectives: "I did not think negotiations could help so maybe fighting was the best way." The second day of his trial at Londonderry Crown Court heard his police interview notes on why he got involved. He said: "I was fed up with life ... my life was going nowhere." He used a Facebook page to research the fighting, convert to Islam and make contact with people who told him how to get there. They pinpointed a village on the Turkey/Syria border and he was given a WhatsApp mobile messaging number to make contact with the rebels once there. He flew from Dublin to Turkey in February 2014 then was smuggled across the border with Syria, crossing a river in a makeshift raft, a tractor wheel. During police interviews, he said: "I went to help the people. I wanted to be among those who were being bombed. "I just wanted to be there and then I could say to Allah at least I was there to do something." Bradley had travelled to Istanbul then got a second internal flight to Adana, in southern Turkey. He said he stayed with a man in a village near the frontier who he believed had links with the Free Syrian Army. Once he reached Syria he signed a letter in Arabic which he understood to mean that he was a "mujahid" fighter, the court was told. After months of training as the only western European at a camp run by the Army of Islam rebel group he was involved in battles in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama. He never fired because he was still getting used to the surroundings. Bradley became disillusioned and asked his commanders to go home . He said sitting around doing nothing was the worst part of it, adding: "You could hear the bullets overhead." Bradley, from the Benview Estate, denies six charges, including attending a terrorist training camp and receiving training in the use of a grenade. The alleged offences are said to have been committed between March and October 2014. The hearing continues. David Gantley, Diocesan Property Administrator at Saint Patricks Church in Belfast shows the curtain damaged in the attack More than 100 parishioners attended a lunchtime mass at St Patrick's Church in Belfast yesterday, less than 24 hours after it suffered an arson attack. Turning up to support their local priests, people ran from their offices to make it to the church for the 1pm service. Father Dominic McGrattan revealed yesterday that a 92-year-old priest, who is partially-sighted, was in the church when it was targeted on Monday. "Father Brendan, who has been in the parish since 2000, goes to pray every afternoon and he was there when someone came in and set a pair of curtains alight," he said. "He's made of strong stuff, but like all of us he was shaken up by what happened. The curtains could have been on fire for as long as 20 minutes before the alarm went off, and the church was filled with smoke." Father Dominic was in the parish office when the fire alarm went off. "The curtains, which the parish upcycled from old stage curtains, were coated in flame retardant so luckily they didn't go up very quickly," he said. "The Fire Service responded very quickly which was very helpful. But for something like this to happen is, of course, very shocking. It's dreadful to think that something like this could be so near at hand and it makes me think of other religions being persecuted around the world." One parishioner said he was shocked by what had happened, but that the church would carry on as usual. "This is a very active church with people coming to services right throughout the week," he said. "We were shocked by what happened, but thankfully no one was hurt, and people will carry on coming here to pray as they always do." Alliance councillor Nuala McAllister condemned those behind the attack on the Donegall Street church. She said: "It is difficult to understand the thinking behind this attack on St Patrick's. It makes no sense to attack a church that offers comfort to many and is a threat to no-one. "A sacred place should be respected not desecrated. It is fortunate that there were no injuries to people in the church at the time of the attack and the emergency services are to be thanked for their prompt response." St Patrick's, which is undergoing extensive outside repair work at the moment, has been in the headlines before. It was at the centre of a parades dispute in 2015 after a flute band was accused of playing an antagonistic, sectarian song outside. Police are treating the incident as arson and are appealing for witnesses. Charges were brought over an incident at the venue early on March 12, 2015. A nightclub boss accused of assaulting two customers had been grabbed by the throat and punched in the face, a court heard today. Counsel for Mark McCourt insisted he was subjected to aggression before any attempt to push away one of the men outside Thompsons Garage in central Belfast. Mr McCourt, of Pattersons Place in the city, denies charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. The 35-year-old part-owner of one of Northern Ireland's most high-profile nightclubs was among three men due to go on trial at Belfast Magistrates' Court. But a co-accused, Joseph Doyle, 28, from Cliftonville Road in the city, entered a guilty plea to a single charge of common assault before the hearing began. The third defendant, 50-year-old Seamus Deeds of Horn Drive in Belfast, is contesting one count of common assault. Charges were brought over an incident at the venue early on March 12, 2015. Deputy District Judge Chris Holmes was told alleged victims Aaron Quinn and Jonathan Russell had been drinking in another bar before arriving at the club. They were said to have met with Mr McCourt and received free drinks following a complaint about not getting served. Mr Quinn claimed he became involved in a brief scuffle with the owner which he described as "friendly banter". He and his friend Mr Russell then left the premises along with Mr McCourt and a number of bouncers. The alleged assaults took place in an outside alleyway. With CCTV footage of both incidents shown during the hearing, the two friends claimed door staff forced them to the ground and either punched or kicked them. But Martin Morgan, representing Mr McCourt, put it to Mr Quinn that he had grabbed his client by the throat and slapped him on the head during their encounter inside the club. He argued that the complainant then lunged again towards the defendant outside the venue. The barrister contended that Mr McCourt pushed Mr Quinn away due to his aggression. "Your response to him pushing you, and that is the common assault allegation, is to grab him and punch him in the face," Mr Morgan said. At one point Judge Holmes, who studied the CCTV footage, commented that he was in no doubt the defendant's alleged push came after "clearly offensive" actions by Mr Quinn. Mr Russell gave an account of getting kicked and punched about the face and body, claiming up to ten men were involved. He descried being put in a head lock, struggling to breathe, and being told they were going to "fix" him. "I was lying straight down, flat on the ground on my stomach and guys were sitting on top of my legs and back," he told the court. Under cross-examination he was unable to remember some of the movements depicted in the CCTV footage and photographic stills. Mr Morgan described his lack of recall as "frightening". The barrister continued: "The reason you can't remember is you were just absolutely plastered." Counsel for Mr Deeds put it to Mr Russell that the CCTV recordings showed him punching one of the doormen approximately five times. The witness again confirmed he could not recall those alleged actions. With evidence still to come from a third alleged victim, Judge Holmes adjourned the contest to a later stage. He cautioned that it could be months before another suitable date is available. Kirsty presenting a bouquet to the Queen at Enniskillen hospital Kirsty Clarke, who lost her battle for life seven years after a heart transplant Tributes have been paid to a Co Fermanagh teenager who has lost her battle for life almost seven years after receiving a heart transplant. Kirsty Clarke (18), who died suddenly on Monday morning, had undergone the transplant procedure in March 2010 after a virus diminished her own heart's function by almost 75%. A local councillor and family friend, Victor Warrington, told the Belfast Telegraph last night that the family had been left devastated. "Speaking not just as a councillor, but as someone who knows the family quite well, I would like to say that my thoughts and prayers are with them at this very difficult time," he said. "Everyone I have spoken to is in absolute shock. "We are a small close-knit rural community. "Everybody knows everybody and, because Kirsty had the transplant at such a young age, everyone knew who she was. "We knew she has faced hurdles and had been unwell recently, but no-one was expecting this." The former Lisnakea High School pupil complained of feeling unwell at around 7.30am on Monday. After going back to bed, Kirsty's health quickly deteriorated and she died within hours. The family have endured much heartache over the years following the murder of Kirsty's grandfather Jimmy Graham and his two brothers in the 1980s. The UDR men were murdered in three separate incidents over four years. Jimmy was targeted on February 1, 1985 by the Provisional IRA, four years after his two brothers were killed by the same terror group. Kirsty's mother later became a member of a victim and survivors support group, the South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF). SEFF Director Kenny Donaldson also paid tribute to young Kirsty, saying she was held in high regard. "There has just been an absolute avalanche of emails and calls, she was extremely well respected," he said. "A lot of people admired her courage and confidence. Despite her struggles, she lived a full life and served others. "Volunteering was important to her. "Even last week she was in here wanting to volunteer at our upcoming conference." Kirsty became an active member of the support group and represented SEFF at Project Common Bond (PCB) meetings in the USA on two occasions. The PCB was established after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. It brings together young people who have been affected by conflict from 20 different countries. "She was always aware of her roots and wanted to honour the memory of her grandfather and his brothers, but she wanted to help build a better future," said Mr Donaldson. Riot police stand next to a burning car in Belfast as protests over the loyalist flag ruling turned violent in 2013 Loyalist flag protesters at Belfast City Hall for the fourth anniversery of the removal of the Union Flag. Pic Colm O'Reilly Loyalist flag protesters at Belfast City Hall for the fourth anniversery of the removal of the Union Flag. Pic Colm O'Reilly Flag Protesters outside Belfast City on St Patrick's day after the Parade in Belfast City Centre on Thursday. Photo Pacemaker Press Loyalist flag protesters at Belfast City Hall for the fourth anniversery of the removal of the Union Flag. Pic Colm O'Reilly Loyalists react after being attacked by nationalists throwing stones from the nationalist Short Strand area of Belfast Loyalists react after being attacked by nationalists throwing stones from the nationalist Short Strand area of Belfast Police chiefs were wrong to allow illegal and violent protest marches, the High Court has ruled Police chiefs were wrong to allow illegal and violent protest marches, the High Court has ruled Police lines herd marchers along the Lower Newtownards Road after they passed the Short Strand in January 2013 The Police Federation, which represents the rank and file of the PSNI, has said the force had no option but to act the way it did over the Union flag protests four years ago, given officer numbers. The PFNI was reacting after a Belfast resident won a case at the UK's highest court over the failure of Northern Ireland police to prevent the protests between December 2012 and February 2013. Five Supreme Court justices in London ruled unanimously in favour of the unnamed resident, announcing that the police did have the legal power to stop the parades. More: Read More Mass loyalist demonstrations, some of which descended into serious violence, were staged across Northern Ireland in opposition to Belfast City Council's decision to limit the number of days the Union flag flew over city hall. The PFNI said the PSNI had no option but to police protest parades in the manner with which it did. Chairman Mark Lindsay said: Given the fact that the PSNI was hundreds of officers short of the peacetime minimum, it would have been impossible to deal with widespread trouble if orders were given to prevent illegal parades. As it was, we had more than 100 Officers injured in serious street disorder. A below-strength service would not have had sufficient resilience to robustly deal with un-notified parades. Today is no different. In fact, we have fewer Officers on the payroll now than we did in 2012. The interpretation of the law is one thing, but having sufficient numbers present to uphold the law is quite another matter. We must not delude ourselves that being 700 short of a peacetime figure is sufficient. Our numbers are dangerously eroded and the sooner that fact is acknowledged by the Chief Constable and our political paymasters, the better. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Chief Constable George Hamilton insisted he had enough officers to do the job - despite confirming that numbers were 700 below what was recommended in the Patten Report on policing. President Michael D Higgins has warned about the growth of racism and xenophobia and its threat to democracy. At a ceremony for the diplomatic corps in Dublin, Mr Higgins also raised concerns about the negative impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland. "In Europe and the United States deepening inequalities have betrayed the commitment to cohesion upon which so many hopes have been placed," he said. "Racism and xenophobia are gaining ground, exploiting fears and ignorance in ways that could destroy democracy itself." He also used his address at the annual new year welcome ceremony in Aras an Uachtarain to raise awareness of the migrant crisis and warn that the United Nations was inadequately funded and disconnected from citizens who rely on its moral authority. "More worryingly still, it is attacked on occasion by the most powerful, and frustrated in its moral purpose by the blatant pursuit of interests," he said. Mr Higgins said Northern Ireland was a living example of the positive impact of EU membership. "Recent political developments have resulted in an election in Northern Ireland and there is a risk that old divisions may come to the forefront in the upcoming campaign. "This combines with concerns about the impact of Brexit on a region which, while transformed over the past two decades, is not yet fully reconciled or healed and should remind us again, as if we needed it, of the relative fragility of peace." Mr Higgins said the people of Northern Ireland expect their politicians to work together effectively to fulfil the promise of the Good Friday Agreement. "That democratic endorsement is a powerful one which reminds us that - even in times of difficulty - we have a duty of hope," he said. From Leadnow.ca: "The most important thing you can do right now is take 5 minutes to call your MP demanding that the Canadian government: Make an immediate, public condemnation of the executive orders by President Trump that bans Muslims and refugees from entering the US, and; Rescind the Safe Third Country Agreement which bars most refugee claimants entering from the United States over land to claim asylum in Canada." They've got a one-click tool to call your MP. Here's the email I sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed D. Hussen (minister@cic.gc.ca): Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Hussen, Please suspend the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement of 2004. I am a Canadian national who lives in the USA, and I previously served inaugural Canada-US Fulbright Chair in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California (2006/7). I am also a US Green Card holder. Like millions of Green Card holders many Canadian who live in the USA, I was alarmed to learn that the Trump administration had inaugurated a cruel, racist ban on Muslims entering the USA, a ban that has included the illegal denial of America's international obligations against refoulment of asylum-seekers. Worse still: due to the 2004 Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, the asylum-seekers who are so shabbily and dangerously treated on arrival to the USA cannot turn to Canada for sanctuary. My father arrived in Canada in 1951 on a Displaced Persons boat from Hamburg. His mother, a former child soldier, and his father, a draftee, both deserted from the Red Army and crossed from a DP camp in Azerbaijan (where my father was born) to another DP camp in Germany, braving a pogrom in Poland where my infant father was nearly immolated in an anti-Semitic arson attack. I find myself, 65 years later, living as an immigrant and the father of an immigrant in an America where people facing the same dangers as my father and grandparents are being returned to torture, punitive rape, and murder. I also find myself with the uneasy knowledge that the Canadian government is complicit in this grotesque cruelty. For these reasons, I ask you to take immediate action to suspend the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement until the USA comes into compliance with its international, longstanding obligations to refugees and asylum-seekers. Thank you, Ask Your MP to Welcome Refugees (Image: Human Chain Demonstration/Protest surrounding the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. [@OmarHousany/Twitter]) A Northern Ireland woman has died following a road crash in Kilkeel, Co Down, on Tuesday evening. Police are appealing for information on the collision that occurred on the Newcastle Road near the junction of Carrigenagh Road just after 6.30pm. The elderly woman, who was a pedestrian, died as a result of her injuries. Part of the Newcastle Road was closed for most of the evening, reopening after midnight. Inspector Philip Quinn said: "I would ask anyone who may have seen the elderly female or the car in the area in the run up to the incident to contact Ardmore Police Station or the Collision Investigation Unit on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 960 of 31/01/17." It's understood the woman, who is thought to be in her 90s, lived close to where the incident happened. Local UUP politician Harold McKee expressed his sympathy to the family and friends of the woman. He said: I was shocked when I came across the accident on Tuesday evening. Those who were there were already making enormous efforts to resuscitate the lady, as did the emergency services who arrived very soon after, but sadly it was not to happen. The lady involved was a lovely, friendly woman who, despite her great age, still valued her visit to the local shop where she chatted to staff and customers. She will be greatly missed by a wide family circle and by many friends and neighbours. They will be in my thoughts and prayers in coming days." Donald Trump had planned to head to Milwaukee to tour a Harley-Davidson factory and sign some executive orders there. But the company said it wasn't comfortable hosting him and called it off. CNN's Jeremy Diamond: Large protests have been in the works in recent days, particularly in light of Trump's executive order issuing an immigration ban. It was the threat of protests, and not Trump's planned signing of executive orders, that made Harley-Davidson uncomfortable, the official said. When people tell you protests accomplish nothing, they're inviting you to be lazy, to put up with it, to give up. You don't have to make the same choices they do. The execution was the first in the US state of Missouri since May (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) A man has been executed in Missouri for the murder of a woman and her two children nearly two decades ago. Mark Christeson, 37, was given a lethal injection in Missouri's first execution since May. The murders of Susan Brouk, 36, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and nine-year-old son, Kyle, traumatised the rural area around the town of Vichy in 1998. Christeson was hours away from execution in 2014 when the US Supreme Court granted a temporary stay. This time, though, the court allowed the execution to proceed, and Governor Eric Greitens declined a clemency request for Christeson, the first inmate to be put to death since the Republican took office. As the lethal drug was administered, Christeson mouthed "I love you" to his brother and sister-in-law who attended the execution. He was pronounced dead eight minutes after the lethal injection, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. "It was a heinous crime. I'm just happy to see justice finally served," said Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman after Christeson's execution, which he witnessed. "I have regrets for the family that it took so long, but I hope it provides closure to them." Harley Brouk, the half-sister of the two children who were killed, said: "There's not a day that goes by that I do not miss them, and I wish that they were here." On February 1, 1998, Christeson, then 18, and his 17-year-old cousin, Jesse Carter, decided to run away from the home outside Vichy where they lived with a relative. They took shotguns and went to a rural home about half a mile away where Ms Brouk and the children lived. The cousins planned to steal Ms Brouk's Ford Bronco, said Terry Daley Schwartze, Maries County's prosecutor at the time of the killing and now. When they arrived at the home, Christeson and Carter tied the children's hands with shoelaces. Investigators said Christeson forced Ms Brouk into a bedroom and raped her. When they went back into the living room, Adrian recognised Carter and said his name. "We've got to get rid of 'em," Christeson told Carter, according to court records. The family was forced into the Bronco. Christeson and Carter loaded it with electronics and other items and drove to a pond. Christeson kicked Ms Brouk in the ribs and cut her throat, and then cut Kyle's throat and held the boy under water until he drowned. Carter held Adrian while Christeson pressed on her throat until she suffocated, and then Carter pushed the girl's body into the pond. As Ms Brouk struggled to stay alive, the cousins tossed her into the pond, where she drowned. Her sister alerted authorities a few days later that the family was missing. A Missouri State Highway Patrol helicopter spotted one of the bodies in the pond, leading to a search that found all three bodies. Christeson and Carter drove to California, selling Ms Brouk's household items along the way. A detective in California's Riverside County recognised the cousins from photos police had circulated. They were arrested eight days after the killings. Carter agreed to testify against Christeson and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Supreme Court intervened in 2014 amid concerns about the ineptitude of Christeson's earlier lawyers. They missed a 2005 deadline to file an appeal against his death sentence - standard procedure in death penalty cases. Lawyers for Christeson again argued that he deserved a federal court review, and raised concerns about his mental competence, claiming he had an IQ of 74. But this time, the courts declined to step in. AP It was only by good fortune that the arson attack on St Patrick's Catholic Church near the centre of Belfast did not result in greater damage to the historic building or even in injury to a 92-year-old partially-sighted priest praying there. St Patrick's is a church which has found itself unwittingly in the front line of inflamed sectarian passions in recent years because of protests against loyal order marches which pass the building and which have seen some bands play deliberately inflammatory tunes outside it, in defiance of a Parades' Commission ruling. Perhaps it was this background which played on the warped minds of those behind this most recent attack. However, whatever the motivation, it is imperative that all sections of the community speak out with one voice against this deliberate act of vandalism. For this was not merely an attack on a sacred building, but also on all those who practice their faith there. That was why more than 100 parishioners turned up for mass yesterday at lunchtime, signalling their refusal to be cowed by sectarian forces. It is evident that in spite of all the advances made in creating a more peaceful society in Northern Ireland over the last two decades, sectarianism lies not far below the surface in far too many minds. St Patrick's is not unique in being the focus of such hatred. Over the years there have been incidents of defilement on churches of all faiths. Even the Jewish synagogue and graves in the City Cemetery have been daubed with paint or been smashed. This religious intolerance - exemplified also by hate crimes against individuals because of their creed - is a blot on the reputation of a province where people still profess piety in large numbers. We can add attacks on Orange halls into this litany of hatred, for the Orange Order, in spite of its political overtones, is essentially a religious organisation. It seems that some people on all sides of the community cannot see the paradox in professing their faith through attacks on others - in most instances different Christian denominations - with whom they have only the slightest theological differences. We cannot claim to want religious liberty, while denying it to others. As we fully enter election campaigning, our politicians need to make it clear that whatever their differences they are united in condemning sectarianism and its corrosive influence on our lives. It is hard to understand why there is so much agonising over the future of border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Republic when the UK eventually leaves the EU. The future is clearly predictable. It is certain that the Republic of Ireland will, or should, vote to leave the EU soon after the United Kingdom and within the negotiated transitional period. The reasons are: 1. The Republic only joined the EU because they had no real choice when the United Kingdom joined; 2. They initially voted against the Maastricht Treaty, and were forced to accept it by the bullies of Europe; 3. More than 83% of the Republics trade is with the UK and the remainder is shared with the EU and the rest of the world; 4. Since 2012, the Republic has been a net contributor to EU coffers. This sum will continue to increase and is most likely to greatly leap upwards following the withdrawal of UK funds and the entry of the new poorer countries. The boom for Ireland post-1973 is at an end; 5. The banking crisis in the Republic was in part overcome by the UKs contribution when the EU didnt step up to the plate. Fair weather friends are no friends, and; 6 If the Republic insists on staying with the EU, it is not only the border posts that will be installed. The traditional free movement of Irish workers to the UK will also be greatly controlled in line with the future arrangements for other EU citizens. With President Trump promising to close (or curtail) US borders to foreign workers, life will become very difficult for the Republics excess of workers. It seems to me that the Republic has no logical choice but to follow the UK out of the EU and the sooner the better. M LYNN Belfast There are people who live and breathe the paramilitary life. You think they are only really republicans, or loyalists, when they are among their associates in the pub, when they are marching in a parade, or commemoration, when they are drilled in prison, or standing at the open grave of a former comrade. That may be true of some, of most, for all I know. In recent years, I have interviewed several retired IRA men, most about the same age as myself. Some of them live in houses that are bedecked with paraphernalia. They will have a Celtic cross made out of matchsticks by a former prisoner. They will have pencilled portraits of some of the dead on the walls. Some have framed the gloves and flag that were set on the coffin of a forebear for an IRA funeral. And some have none of that. Twice, in recent times, when I called men who held senior positions in the IRA in Belfast and Londonderry and asked for an interview, I got the same answer: "You'll have to be finished by two for I'm picking up the grandchildren from school." So, some of those who did the killing, or spent years and years in jail, live out relatively normal lives now, despite what they have been through, and some are so wholly immersed in their cause, have so much of its history imprinted in their nerves, flowing in their blood, that they do not actually have another life, or another self who is not that old militant. That person's living-room will be garnished with IRA memorabilia. It will be a shrine to the dead. He may even wear a little medallion around his neck with the engraved image of Bobby Sands, or Mairead Farrell, on it, like the holy medals we wore as children when the icon was the Virgin Mary, or St Christopher. This level of adornment is not as bad as it used to be. A few years ago these people lived with conspicuous security. I was in the home of a republican family in Cullyhanna once and saw the wrought-iron grill at the foot of the stairs, the shuttering that secured the front door. In another home, in Belfast, I saw cast-iron shutters on the windows and the bullet strikes in them. They stood open to let the sunlight in and two little girls in school uniform sat on the sofa doing their homework together. And yet that family seems not to be involved in republican politics now. Victor Notarantonio, who died of cancer this week at the age of 67, had republican culture embedded in him. Its history, down the generations, was his own family history. And there are many others like him. Victor Notarantonio's father, Francisco, died at the centre of one of the most complex and revealing dramas of the Troubles period. He was 66 years old, in bed with his wife, Edith, when gunmen stormed into the house, crashed through the bedroom door and shot him as he rose with his hands up, hoping to surrender. Immediately, there were allegations of collusion. The attack had been abrupt and thorough, right in the heart of Ballymurphy, not ground on which the UDA was normally comfortable operating. And the family said that intense Army activity beforehand had cleared away, as if the killers were being given free access to their target. Now, it is widely accepted that Francisco was killed as a substitute for Freddie Scappaticci, the Army agent 'Stakeknife'. Another agent, Brian Nelson, had directed the killers towards him. Scappaticci was an indispensable asset to the Security Service. He was the head of the IRA's "internal security unit", which interrogated and executed suspected informers and he had virtually encyclopaedic information on the IRA to share with his handlers. He was also well-placed to protect other agents and kill off surrogates for them. Victor Notarantonio - Francisco's son - was an active member of the Provisionals. It is said now that he was the one to kneecap Gerry Adams's brother, Liam, in the late-1970s in an act of internal IRA discipline. After the peace deal and the Good Friday Agreement, the Notarantonios were thought disinclined to follow the agenda of Gerry Adams and those around him. The Provisionals broke their own ceasefire and jeopardised the peace process to deal with one member of that family, Joseph O'Connor. O'Connor was Francisco Notarantonio's grandson and a leading member of the Real IRA. The Provisionals shot him dead in Ballymurphy in 2000. And, in later years, members of the family claimed that the Provisionals were trying to drive all the Notarantonios out of Ballymurphy. Many of them were involved in a feud which they said originated in a fight with a senior republican and for which some of them had agreed to leave the area for a time. That connection to dissident republicans made Victor Notarantonio a suspect when his fingerprints were found on a mirror in the home of Denis Donaldson, after his murder in Donegal. This family name features in some of the most notorious incidents of the Troubles - and after. Donaldson, we know, was a police informer while working in administration for Sinn Fein. He had outed himself after being warned by the police that he was about to be exposed, but he trusted IRA assurances of safety and retreated to a cottage near Glenties, where dissidents tracked him down and shot him. Victor Notarantonio wasn't charged and he denied responsibility. He said he had visited Donaldson some weeks before; that explained his fingerprints. But it is hard to imagine that visit would have been a friendly one. Notarantonio's father had been killed to spare a tout and here was another spared tout living in Donegal. Who knows? Perhaps they were both oblivious to the symmetry. The question for the rest of us is whether a family that has been through so much ever gets over it. It was people with that degree of acculturation into the cause who carried it across periods of peace, like the 1960s, into new waves of activism. That's a difference, for instance, between Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams: McGuinness discovered his republicanism on the street when he was 20; Adams took it in with the milk on his mother's lap. When we talk about the legacy of the Troubles, we talk about the need for justice for the victims. We need also to ask how some paramilitaries who were through the worst were able to put it behind them and others have names that rebound down the years from drama to drama. He gave us the gentle John Merrick in The Elephant Man. He brought us the endearing wand merchant, Mr. Ollivander, in Harry Potter. He introduced the terrifying Xenomorph to the world in Alien. And after an acclaimed career in film and theater that spanned more than six decades, bringing the world some of its most iconic fictional characters, Sir John Hurt has succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 77. Born in January of 1940, Hurt was the son of an Anglican minister and an engineer, and had a deeply conservative upbringingso conservative, in fact, that he was not allowed to go to the movies. His parents did, however, take him to see theatrical productions. Hurt soon found that he loved performing, acting in school plays from an early age. But because his parents worried over the financially risky nature of acting as a profession, they pushed him to study art. Hurt attended Grimsby Art School, but his passion for acting continued to burn within him. But his heart wasnt in it, and he soon dropped out, his story reaching a low point as he fell into impoverishment, living in a dank basement apartment. So after finding the courage to apply for a scholarship, Hurt successfully auditioned for Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, despite being so hungry that he could barely think on that fateful day. He went on to graduate from the school in 1962. I was effused with a feeling of complete and total enjoyment, and I felt that thats where I should be, said Hurt, speaking about acting in a 2000 interview with The Guardian, I dont know what psychological terms I could use, but I felt absolutely in the right place. The year he graduated, Hurt made his acting debut in The Wild and the Willing, a British romantic drama, and appeared on the stage in the theatrical production of Infanticide in the House of Fred Ginger. But it was his portrayal of British gay icon Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant in 1975 that put the name of John Hurt on the list of truly great actors. International fame came two years later upon his role in Midnight Express. His performance as a heroin addict in a Turkish prison earned him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. In 1979, he took on the role of Kane, the first victim of the Xenomorph in the 1979 movie, Alien, in which Hurt made movie history when the now-familiar Alien burst forth from his chest and into popular culture. Hurt would also go on to appear in Spaceballs, a Mel Brooks directed spoof of Alien, where his character suffered the same fate after eating some bad diner food. 1980 saw Hurt bring us the achingly deformed John Merrick in The Elephant Man, which brought the actor another Academy Award nomination, but this time for best actor. John Hurt continued on in what became a highly prolific acting career, appearing in 1984, Rob Roy, Contact, V for Vendetta, and many, many others, even occupying the role of Mr. Ollivander, the wand merchant, in several of the Harry Potter films. Im very much of the opinion that to work is better than not to work, Hurt says of his work ethic. There are others whod say, No, wait around for the right thingand they will finish up a purer animal than me. Of course, I dont do everything by any means: I do turn lots of stuff down, because its absolute crap. But I usually find something interesting enough to do. Hurt was known for his portrayal of tormented characters, for his penchant for the misunderstood that he seemed capable of instinctively becoming as he stepped into each of his most famous roles. This trait is a large part of what endeared Sir John Hurt to the worldmany of us can see the most painful parts of ourselves within the glittering pain of Hurts eyes, in the gravelly crack of his voice. Hurts upbringing, which included sexual abuse by his schools headmaster, social isolation imposed by his parents for fear of the influence of common children, and utter poverty and hunger when he dropped out of art school, forged a man who knew pain, who knew how to portray it. Shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on June 16th 2015one of the most dangerous forms of cancerHurt was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to drama. Hurt has also been honored with two Academy Award nominations, a Golden Globe, and four BAFTA Award, including a Lifetime Achievement recognition for his contributions to British Cinema. Hurt brought the experience of his deadly diagnosis into one of his final roles, John Hurt portrayed an aging screenwriter with a terminal illness in The Good Night, telling the Radio Times in a subsequent interview that I cant say I worry about mortality, but its impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it. John Hurt is survived by his wife of 12 years, Anwen, and his two sons, Alexander and Nicolas Hurt. Hurts life, in the end, was one drawn along by his passion and callinghe never had much of a plan, only a love for what he did. Ive just been whipped along by the waves Im sitting in, he wrote on his IMDB profile page. I dont make plans at all. Plans are what make God laugh. You can make plans, you can make so many plans, but they never go right, do they? Last night, Lan Diep held Captain America's shield during his swearing in as a San Jose, California city councilman. From NBC Bay Area: Diep, a Republican legal aid attorney, received cheers after he said "I do solemnly swear" when the clerk asked if he would defend his oath of office. His final vote of his first meeting? Joining the council in unanimously banning the communist Vietnamese flag from flying in San Jose. In an interview after the meeting, the proud comic book geek and Houston-born son of Vietnamese refugees said that Captain America stands for the "kinds of things I strive for: equal justice, fair play and democracy." A Free Syrian Army fighter plays with a dog at a checkpoint captured from the Islamic State (IS) extremist group near the town of Qabasin, Syria, Jan. 8, 2017. Updated at 6:58 a.m. ET on 2017-02-02 Security forces in Bangladesh are on alert for citizens suspected of having joined Islamic State (IS) or other extremist groups abroad and who are trying to re-enter the country, senior police officials told BenarNews. The authorities have ordered security personnel at the nations airports, ports and other entry points to increase vigilance for and arrest any suspects coming home particularly as IS loses territory to military offensives against its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, officials said. They said the potential threat stemmed from dual passport holders using Bangladesh to transit to IS-controlled areas in the Middle East, and from suspected militants known to have left the country. In September 2016, Bangladesh police had announced that of 60 people who had gone missing, 30 were known to have left the country. Police believe that at least 20 of these missing Bangladeshis joined IS, including some who took their families with them to Syria or Iraq. We hope they would not be able to go into hiding after returning [home]. Those who already returned have been in jail, Monirul Islam, the national polices counter-terrorism chief, told BenarNews. At least three returnees have been taken into custody since September on suspicion of having joined IS abroad, police said. Bangladeshi government officials have denied that Islamic State has any presence in the country. They instead have blamed home-grown militant groups for deadly attacks against secular writers and religious minorities as well as an attack on a cafe in Dhaka last year. It was the countrys deadliest ever terrorist act but was claimed by IS. The governments move to keep vigil on return of the Bangladeshi IS members was timely and right decision, Ashiqur Rahman, a fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), told BenarNews. He likened the situation to when Bangladeshi veterans of past wars in Afghanistan came home and sowed the seeds of domestic militancy. The [Bangladeshis] involved with IS can be a new threat, so their movements and activities must be monitored, he said. Missing Police said they were compiling information about supporters of IS, who are of Bangladeshi origin and hold more than one passport. We are collecting the list of the foreign fighters in the IS and updating the same. The IS has been weakened and they have been fleeing, Md. Moniruzzaman, Bangladeshs assistant inspector-general of police, told BenarNews, referring to IS strongholds under siege in Syria and Iraq. Of the citizens who allegedly travelled overseas to join militant groups, two men, Siful Haque Sujan and Ashiqur Rahman, have been killed, police said. Sujan, an engineer educated in Britain and who worked as an operations planner for Islamic State, died in a U.S. airstrike in Syria in December 2015, according to the American military. Sujans wife, his sister and his brother-in-law are still believed to be living in IS-held areas in the Middle East, Bangladeshi police said. Rahman, a senior operative of al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS), died in a drone strike in Pakistan, according the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. The other citizens believed to be abroad include a family of 12 who held dual British and Bangladeshi citizenship and who transited through Bangladesh in May 2015 while on their way to Syria via Turkey, police said. Among the rest, Saifullah Ozaki, a Hindu converted to Islam while studying in Japan, has been missing since last year. He came to Dhaka before he vanished from Japan, where he taught at a university, police said. A police official who spoke to BenarNews on condition of anonymity said Ozaki had helped two Bangladeshis go to Syria. Police are trying to find the two. The missing also include a pediatrician from Dhaka, Md Rokonuddin, who is suspected of having joined IS in Syria, and taken his wife, two daughters, son-in-law and other relatives along with him, according to police. Halima Begum, Rokonuddins sister-in-law, said she had not received any information about whether he and his family planned to return to Bangladesh. I had talks with my sister in August-September last year; she used to call us. I asked her where they were. She did not give any clear-cut answer. Nowadays, they do not contact; we have not confirmed whether they are alive at all, Begum told BenarNews. Among those who have been caught on suspicion of traveling abroad to join Islamic State is Gazi Quamrus Salam Shohan. The electrical engineer and former employee of a state-run utility was deported from Turkey after trying to cross over Syria. He was arrested in Dhaka on Nov. 17, 2016, by Bangladeshs Rapid Action Battalion. This screen shot from a YouTube video shows Dian Yulia Novi, a suspected Indonesian suicide bomber, during her interview with a local TV station in Jakarta, Dec. 13, 2016. An Indonesian leader of the Islamic State (IS) sought to recruit women as suicide bombers, according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta think-tank. The report focuses on efforts by two Indonesian women to blow themselves up in December 2016, and details efforts by Bahrun Naim alleged to be a leading Indonesian IS recruiter and propagandist based in Syria to recruit a woman named Dian Yulia Novi to fulfill his new strategy of using females suicide bombers. The report includes a blog response from Bahrun when asked if it was permissible for women to be involved in operations by Islamic militants. In the Islamic State, there are still many men to fight. It becomes an obligation for women when men no longer want to fight, as in Indonesia, Bahrun wrote, according to the 27-page report, Mothers to Bombers: The Evolution of Indonesian Women Extremists, which IPAC published on Tuesday. According IPAC analyst Nava Nuraniyah, a combination of IS and communications technology has dramatically changed how women extremists see themselves. ISIS has given them a more universal mission, while various forms of social media have enabled them to share information and reinforce their own aspirations, Nava said in a statement accompanying the reports release, referring to IS by another acronym. While leaders of most violent jihadi organizations continue to see the ideal role of women as lionesses staying home and producing cubs, Nava added, it is clear that some Indonesian women are eager to emulate the lethal practices of their sisters in other parts of the world. Arif Darmawan, senior official at the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), said that it was unusual for Indonesian women to be recruited for suicide missions. Radical groups using women occur a lot in India, Pakistan and other countries, but in Indonesia there has never been a terror act using a woman. It has always been prevented, Arif told BenarNews. Recruitment Bahrun Naim and other IS leaders in Syria have turned to recruiting women because they are less likely to attract suspicion, the report suggested. It delved into how Bahrun ordered Indonesian citizen Nur Solihin to find a female-bomber candidate. After his first choice joined a different cell, Nur Solihin took on Dian as his second wife because a fatwa issued by IS required women to have permission of their fathers or husbands to carry out any activities outside their home even for worshipping, including by becoming a martyr, the report said. One of Dians motives was to save her father, who was seriously ill and had sought help from a witch doctor. She thought that the only way to save him from divine punishment was to sacrifice herself as a martyr, because she had read that a martyr could save herself and her extended family from the wrath of God, the report said. Dian had planned to detonate a rice cooker packed with explosives during a changing-of-the-guard ceremony outside the presidential palace on Dec. 11, police said. The couple was arrested when their plot failed and both gave TV interviews discussing their marriage and efforts to carry out the attack. The couples testimony led to the arrests of other terror suspects, including a woman named Ika Puspitasari, alias Tasnima Salsabila, who was allegedly preparing to carry out a separate operation in Bali, IPAC said. Ika, who had been working as a maid in Hong Kong before returning to Indonesia in November 2016, contributed 8 million rupiah (U.S. $596) to fund a planned attack, IPAC reported. Nusron Wahid, who heads the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers, said his agency communicates with BNPT and others to counteract the recruitment of female migrants by radical groups, through disseminating information in destination countries. It is a priority and our concern to protect migrant workers, as well as to prevent them to be recruited by IS, he told BenarNews. Mexico was situated mostly in St. Stephens Parish & extended into the Parish of Middle St. Johns (containing 1450 acres more or less). This land had been purchased by Peter Porcher II from Blake Leay White. In 1796, Mexico became the home of Samuel Porcher (1768-1851), son of Peter Por Read moreHistorical account of the Mexico Plantation GlobalXplorer is the latest crowdsourced science project, this time in the service of preserving archaeological sites that are being looted. Participants scan satellite images for signs of looting, and mark sites off a map. Once you sign in and pass a tutorial, you're ready to start. Telltale signs include pockmarks indicating two- to three-meter holes dug by looters. Here's some more background on the project by the founder, Sarah Parcak: From the GlobalXplorer site: So far, Dr. Parcak's techniques have helped locate 17 potential pyramids, in addition to 3,100 potential forgotten settlements and 1,000 potential lost tombs in Egypt and she's also made significant discoveries in the Viking world and Roman Empire. With the help of citizen scientists across the globe, she hopes to uncover much, much more. This is just the beginning. With additional funding, Dr. Parcak aims to revolutionize how modern archaeology is done altogether, by creating a global network of citizen explorers, opening field schools to guide archaeological preservation on the ground, developing an archaeological institute, and even launching a satellite designed with archaeology in mind. GlobalXplorer (via National Geographic) A bid from Pulte Homes to rezone and add 465 residences and possibly a school near Sandy Run Creek on Jedburg Road wasn't met with open arms at a Oct. 26 community meeting on the part of local homeowners seeking to preserve the area's rural characteristics. Read moreJedburg Road residents tell Pulte Homes: 'Keep it rural' We could all use a laugh right now. If you're in Los Angeles on February 18, come to Trepany House and the Steve Allen Theater. The legendary Mr. Tellis Wondersweet, portrayed by comedy troupe 2 Headed Dog's Jim Turner, will lead a legendarily tasteless and absurd Girly Magazine Party. Showtime is 8pm. Jim and 2 Headed Dog have appeared at Boing Boing events in the past, and you may have also seen Jim on television in his day job, taking his pet pig out for a stroll. Wondersweet is sort of Hugh Hefner meets Mister Magoo, and he invites you into his mansion for a hilariously off-kilter variety show and a behind-the-scenes look at his comically tasteless publishing empire. The show is presented in the spirit of a seventies TV special, but most assuredly placed today. Girly Magazine Party will have you alternately laughing your ass off and shaking your head. For this performance, Turner is joined by his regular 2 Headed Dog co-conspirators Mark Fite, Craig Anton and Dave "Gruber" Allen; a veritable quartet of Dadaist comedy. Their guests are all highly talented comedians, actors, magicians, musiciansand occasionally, a mime, who is fucking hilarious. Please join me, some of my fellow Boingers, and our friends, for what is certain to be a strong dose of much-needed comic relief during these weird as heck times. Buy Tickets here. Ross Compton, a 59-year-old homeowner in Middletown, Ohio called 911 in September 2016 to say that his house was on fire; there were many irregularities to the blaze that investigators found suspicious, such as contradictory statements from Compton and the way that the fire had started. In the ensuing investigation, the police secured a warrant for the logs from his pacemaker, specifically, "Compton's heart rate, pacer demand and cardiac rhythms before, during and after the fire." They subsequently filed charges of felony aggravated arson and insurance fraud. Middletown Police said this was the first time it had used data from a heart device to make an arrest, but the pacemaker data proved to be an "excellent investigative tool;" the data from the pacemaker didn't correspond with Compton's version of what happened. The retrieved data help to indict Compton. Lt. Jimmy Cunningham told WLWT5, "It was one of the key pieces of evidence that allowed us to charge him." Cops use pacemaker data to charge homeowner with arson, insurance fraud [Ms Smith/Network World] (Image: Wound left after Pacemaker Implant, KVDP, PD) Reposted from MWRO Blog Having family and friends in prison teaches you a lot about what things are like from "the inside." MWR... O.J. Simpson's "murder knife" has been found, Barack Obama plans to "steal back" the White House, and James Dean "didn't die" in his 1955 car crash but went into hiding. It's yet another embarrassment of factually-challenged riches brought to us by this week's tabloids. "O.J. Murder Knife Found!" scrams the 'National Enquirer,' which enterprisingly searched the grounds of Simpson's former Florida home with a metal detector, and claims to have dug up a blade "nearly 4 inches long" buried under two feet of earth near the perimeter of the two-acre property. The 'Enquirer' shouldn't need reminding that Los Angeles County chief medical examiner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran told the trial jury that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were killed in 1994 with a weapon believed to be "about six inches long." Not what the 'Enquirer' dug up. End of story. Put it back in the ground. Is Obama engaged in a "Secret Plot to Steal Back White House," as the grammatically-challenged 'Enquirer' claims? An "in-depth National Enquirer investigation" has found that Obama "is working with Dems to undermine Trump." Wow, that must have taken a lot of digging. Who would have thought it? "Obama is grooming Michelle to run for the Democratic Party nomination in 2020," claims the report. How does the 'Enquirer' know that's his aim? "The first step in Obama's plan was moving into a mansion just TWO MILES from the White House so he'd remain close to the D.C. political scene." Brilliant investigative work by the 'Enquirer.' What more proof is needed that Michelle Obama is running in 2020? Buying a home in D.C. is typically considered as good as forming an exploratory committee to run for president. Did James Dean survive his car crash and fake his own death because his face was horribly disfigured, as the 'National Examiner' claims? No, for two simple reasons: Its photo of the crash scene, showing a victim sprawled on his stomach beside the wreckage, is not of Dean as the 'Examiner' claims, but is clearly his friend Rolf Wutherich, who was a passenger in the Porsche 550 Spyder when it hit another vehicle. And the face in the photo is not "mangled" but looks perfectly intact, making nonsense of the 'Examiner' story even if it had been Dean which it isn't. Among this week's dubious tabloid exclusives: "Brad Pitt forced into rehab," according to the 'Enquirer,' though five days at the Casa Del Mar resort in Santa Monica, California, doesn't count as rehab in anyone's book; Melissa McCarthy "regains 93 lbs!" claims the 'Enquirer,' which puts the stars on imaginary scales, while simultaneously declaring that celebrity chef Rachel Ray is "Too Fat For TV" at a reported 277 lbs. Meanwhile the 'Globe' alleges that Prince William's wife Kate at a reported 89 lb is being treated for an "eating disorder," because the British Royal Family religiously gives the tabloids daily updates on its members' fluctuating weights. "Tom Jones and Priscilla Presley In Love!" screams a 'Globe' headline. Well, that's what happens to celebrities if they're careless enough to sit down for dinner together in Los Angeles. Dinner means romance, if you're a tabloid editor. "Cocaine Bust Rocks Obama Farewell Bash!" reports the 'Enquirer.' Who was arrested in this bust? Nobody. Evidence of "rampant drug use" was allegedly found by 'Enquirer' reporters at Obama's recent soiree held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. Not that they saw a single person popping a pill or snorting a line. No, they swabbed public bathroom surfaces with drug-detecting wipes, which tested positive just as traces have been found in drinking water in major U.S. cities, and even in the air. Traces are just that traces and they're ubiquitous. Test the grubby dollar bills in the pockets of the grubby 'Enquirer' reporters and they'd most likely test positive for drugs too, since traces of drugs have been found on 90 per cent of US paper money. Traces of cocaine have even been found on toilets in Britain's Houses of Parliament. There's no evidence that anyone at the Obama party was indulging, and there was no "bust" as the 'Enquirer' claims. 'Us' magazine devotes its cover to Melania & Donald Trump's "Separate Lives," promising to explain "why she may never move into the White House." But after delineating their emotionally and geographically distanced relationship, 'Us' fails to deliver on any explanation, other than Melania's statement that son "Barron is the priority for us now."' People' mag gives its cover and seven pages inside to celebrating the life of Mary Tyler Moore, "her triumphs and tragedies." At least Moore looks a darn sight happier on the cover than Melania, who always seems to have a pang of regret laying just beneath her flawless mask of a face. Fortunately we have the crack investigative team at 'Us' magazine to tell us that Jamie Chung (Who she, Ed?) wore it best, Reba McEntire carries a Sharpie for giving autographs, vitamins and an inspirational Bible verse in her Baggu backpack, and that the stars are just like us: they do yoga, bowl, paint, carry umbrellas, text, surf, and enjoy playground slides. My, haven't the stars been busy this week. "Vampire skeletons" have been unearthed in Poland, reports the 'Examiner,' which concludes that corpses buried wrapped in chains, some with their heads cut off "to make sure they stayed dead," could only have been because they were the fabled blood-suckers. The bodies, believed buried in the 16th or 17th centuries, "suggest vampires once menaced terrified towns." Sure. What other explanation could possibly make sense? Or maybe their heads were cut off with O.J.'s knife? Onwards and downwards . . . For Immediate Release, January 31, 2017 Trump Announces Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch Would Cement Conservative Majority on Court for Years WASHINGTON President Trump today nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat left by Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. Gorsuch's track record on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals suggests that he will consistently rule in favor of wealthy corporate interests at the expense of environmental safeguards, civil rights and social justice. The nomination of Judge Gorsuch is yet another distressing sign that Trump is taking America to a dark place where right-wing ideology and profiteering politics reign supreme, said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity. Gorsuch will make it dangerously difficult to implement key environmental laws that protect our climate, keep our air and water free of pollution and prevent our most endangered species from going extinct. Trump's pick for the Supreme Court was made possible only by the extraordinary, unprecedented, year-long blockade by Senate Republicans of President Obama's pick of D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland. Never before has a sitting president had his Supreme Court pick completely ignored due to purely political and ideological opposition. We should never forget that this was a stolen seat, Suckling said. Gorsuch should be filibustered, and every Democrat of conscience should vote against his confirmation. Putting him onto our highest court could inflict incredible, irreversible damage upon our nation's natural heritage. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.2 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. It can be tough to be a vegetarian. You have to work harder than everyone else to make sure youre getting all the nutrients your body needs. So, when its time to take a The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria has described the invasion of the premises of Premium Times in Abuja and the subsequent arrest of its publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi and the judiciary correspondent, Evelyn Okakwu, by armed police men on the night of January 19, 2017, as an unacceptable assault on freedom of the press. Evelyn Okakwu and Dapo Olorunyomi The director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade, said in a statement, that the attack on Premium Times as well as the harassment of other journalists in recent times is completely antithetical to democratic values and norms at the core of which are the rights to free speech and media freedom. Any government that makes the press its enemy will invariably turn to be the enemy of the people, as was recently the case in The Gambia where Yaya Jammeh was rejected by the people due to his constant attacks on the press, among other human rights violations, the IPC director warned. According to Arogundade, the police should not allow itself to be used to settle scores by vested interests in this case the army authorities who have already made public their disagreement with Premium Times over certain publications by the media outlet pertaining to the office of the Chief of Army Staff. The police should, however, make public its reasons for the raid of Premium Times and the arrest of Olorunyomi and Okakwu if they believe that it is not connected with the dispute with the army authorities, he said further. Arogundade advised the army authorities to seek legal redress or make use of the instrumentality of the media regulatory agencies, should they be convinced that there had been professional misconduct on the part of Premium Times and its editors. The IPC director said, however, that the organisation welcomes the fact that the police authorities promptly released the arrested publisher and reporter following public outcry. The IPC director also said that recent developments have made it imperative to have a national stakeholders' dialogue involving media institutions, the security and law enforcement agencies, the media regulatory agencies, etc., to discuss measures for safeguarding press freedom and the sustenance of democratic values. Source: This statement was originally published on ipcng.org on 20 January 2017. This isn't scientific. Just a hunch. A feeling. Remember those? Illustration Minky Stapleton. It is a new year, so I decided to do a new little experiment. In a single day, I would observe what all the articles and blogs on my various feeds where about with regards to advertising. Was there an overall narrative? What are we talking about as an industry and, more importantly, what are we not talking about? I had done this because I had begun to have an uneasy feeling that had begun to grow. To explain, let me go back a bit. Advertising has always been about using creativity to create an unfair advantage for your client. In essence, creativity was how you broke the rules. You tried to find a new way, a more memorable way of communicating or getting noticed. You did not do what everybody else was doing. You looked for an angle or a spark. You broke the rules and created new possibilities. This has always been the magic of advertising. Advertising has a kind of alchemy at its heart and when practiced well it can create the impossible out of nothing. You would think something that precious would be important as a cornerstone of what we do. You would think as an industry we would protect it all costs. But lately, it feels like the end product, ideas and even creativity have been lost in the noise. Back to my very unscientific experiment. In a single day, I counted about 40 articles on my various feeds. They were about many topics but often they were about rules. Rules about optimisation, speed, efficiency, big data, cost and structures for the new models of advertising. Five were about diversity and only two were about the importance of creativity. Two. The first piece was about the lack of creativity in our industry today and in this particular blog the writer argued that advertising was getting worse. Awesome. The second piece was from a planner called Craig McLeod who was arguing that art trumps numbers. Here is a paragraph I really liked: The decision to use a subservient chicken to sell burgers aint easy. Nor using hatred to sell diesel cars. Van Damme doing the splits to sell trucks. These ideas owe far more to immeasurable and inspired serendipity than [to] numerical logic. In short, creativity gets you what money cant buy. So, 33 out of 40 articles were about the rules and direction of advertising. Almost none of the thinking was about ideas, the end product or creativity. What we actually make. What we do to create value. Rules, however, were everywhere. Now, you could argue this is happening because we are changing rapidly as an industry. We need direction and parameters. Yes, we do. However, we also need inspiration and creativity. We need to remember we have always broken the rules. We still need magic and new ways of doing things. Now more than ever. If you dont have these things, you create an imbalance in our industry that moves us away from magic to mediocrity. Perhaps, as an industry we have had creativity for so long we have begun to take it for granted. I would argue if the prevailing narrative in our industry is predominantly about rules we could begin to stop loving ideas and begin to care far more about other things. We might start to think the process is as important as the outcome. I tried to think of an analogy to explain my uneasy feeling. I will try and be topical. Its a bit like advertising is a country that is obsessed with the theory, structures and processes of democracy, but often is not really bothered about who ends up becoming president. In short, we are talking about everything except the end product. The danger going forward is we will value only what is certain, measured, proven and has been done before. We will begin to forget that ideas can get you what money cant buy. Ideas and creativity are beyond definition. They dont fit into boxes or processes because they are a magnificent leap. That is their purpose. And that is why they are so valuable. There was nothing and then there was something. We should hold onto doing impossible things with both hands. Advertising should not give up on uncertainty so easily because that is how ideas are created. That is how ideas work. And, advertising having lots of rules but no ideas, well, I am not even sure what that is. It may well be that creativity is the last unfair advantage were legally allowed to take over our competitors. Bill Bernbach Lesegokelame Modise assumes the role of managing partner of the Johannesburg team at J. Walter Thompson South Africa, with immediate effect. Modise, also known as "Lame", will work in close partnership with the teams executive creative director, Nick Liatos, to grow clients brands and businesses. Lesegokelame Modise Modise brings more than 15 years' industry experience across sectors to his new role. During that time, he worked with the J. Walter Thompson company for five years, initially leading on the Telkom account, and then subsequently as business unit director on Global Team Blue. Leading teams in other industry sectors, Modises portfolio of expertise includes Financial Services, FMCG, Alcohol, Telco, Tourism, Automotive and B2B, working with brands such as ABSA, Ford, SAT, SABMiller, Coca-Cola, Dulux, Nandos, Unisa, GCIS and Standard Bank. Commenting on the appointment, Jim Faulds, CEO, J. Walter Thompson South Africa said, Lames passion for technology and social progress, overlaid with an obsession for brand communication, are values he lives both inside the work place and away from it. An aspiring regenerative farmer and permaculture scholar outside his day job, Lames strategic thinking and decisive leadership are augmented by the inclusiveness culture he lives and practices externally. I sincerely look forward to seeing the Johannesburg team continue to grow and flourish under the collaborative Lame/Liatos partnership. I believe South Africa, and Gauteng in particular, are hotbeds of innovation, development and growth, added Modise. Cultures around the world are becoming increasingly urbanised, so we are in the most exciting of places to be, right here right now. And we need to leverage that, for our talent and for our clients - mentoring not only the leaders of the future, but finding the right brand solutions for a better and brighter tomorrow. A family man, Modise is married with two daughters and describes himself as old-school, managing work and the process of delivery in a way that delivers on excellence. This week, we find out what's really going on behind the selfie with technophile Tashalie Vorster, now a third-year IIE BA graphic design student at the Design School of South Africa, who last year took home a student gold pack award and was announced as the second overall winner in the IPSA Gold Pack Awards. The Gold Pack Awards, issued by the Institute of Packaging South Africa (IPSA) since 1973, showcase the SA packaging industry. Vorster selected the Whole Earth Farms brand from the US to improve and redesign by reflecting that its grain-free product line includes six dry dog foods. Click here for more on her winning work, which features a dog wearing a farm cap, linking the two themes of pets and farms. Tashalie behind the selfie. 1. Where do you live, work and play? Vorster: Pretoria. 2. Whats your claim to fame? Vorster: Definitely receiving a student Gold Pack silver for overall graphic design packaging design for a redesigned package project, as well as student Gold Pack first place for the best in project two category, redesigning a branded package, while in my second year of studies. 3. Describe your career so far. Vorster: I completed the first and second year of my degree successfully with distinction in many of my subjects and an overall average of above 70%. In addition, every year my best work forms part of Design School SAs exhibition to showcase projects we have completed throughout the year. 4. Tell us a few of your favourite things. Vorster: I love dance and music. They are the rhythm of my soul. Purple! Its my favourite colour. Anything fluffy or cute catches my attention. 5. What do you love about your industry? Vorster: There is never a dull moment. It is always colourful. You get to be creative every day. It is filled with challenges. 6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists. Vorster: I attend my classes and then go home to work on my projects. Sleep, eat and repeat. 7. What are the tools of your trade? Vorster: Photography Adobe software Drawing and painting Being creative 8. Who is getting it right in your industry? Vorster: I think Nike and Coca-Cola are definitely brands to watch. 9. List a few pain points the industry can improve on. Vorster: The advertising designs struggle is real, to get to the point where the viewer is not only getting what they need out of the advert but also grasping your message as intended. Billboards also have too much information for someone thats driving by. 10. What are you working on right now? Vorster: Im busy with an internship at Zero Plus, an awesome design and printing company. 11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself. Vorster: Design thinking design isn't a solitary, isolated discipline. Deep empathy design can be used to engage with a customer and connect with them at a meaningful level. Design with a big D it is about the overall process, concept or idea that underpins everything about it, not just the visual aspect. Localisation it is the process of adapting a design to meet the specific, unique requirements of a particular territory or market. One of my catchphrases is authenticity which means that design adopts a believable, grounded and relevant approach to representing ideas, products or services. 12. Where and when do you have your best ideas? Vorster: When I am taking a relaxing bubble bath, when I go out with friends or when brainstorming with my family. 13. Whats your secret talent/party trick? Vorster: I can hula hoop non-stop. I can also sing and harmonise. 14. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone? Vorster: Photos of my friends, family and anything cute or fluffy. 15. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry? Vorster: You need to know where the industry has been before you understand where the industry is going. Never be afraid to ask questions or for help. When you dont know how, use Google or YouTube! Simple as that. Contact Vorster on Facebook or LinkedIn for more. *Interviewed by Leigh Andrews. Garth Napier has been appointed managing director of retail chain Pepkor Africa, reporting to the Pepkor Africa Group MD, Leon Lourens. Garth Napier Napier officially takes over from Charl Cronje who has moved within the group to become MD of Ackermans. Napier joins Pepkor Africa in February 2017 having been CEO of the Edcon Speciality Division; before that he was CEO of Jet Stores. Lourens says that the group is delighted to welcome Garth to the Pepkor group: Garth is a dynamic leader and one who has great vision for and commitment to growing our business in Africa. Napier sees his new role with Pepkor Africa as one of opportunity: Everyone knows that Africa is a continent of opportunity and I am very proud to be working with a company that knows the retail landscape and how to best harness that opportunity. Pepkor Africa through the PEP store brand (and Power Sales in Zimbabwe) will be in charge of a growing store network of 300 stores and a staff of 3,300. RCL Foods, one of SA's biggest chicken producers, says it faces a bleak future as it lays off 1,355 workers - or half the workforce - at its large Hammarsdale operations in KwaZulu-Natal. It says the South African chicken industry faces "severe challenges" from dumped imports and high chicken-feed input costs due to drought. This will see headline earnings per share plunge between 54.1% and 36.9% in the six months ended December compared to the same period in 2015. "The chicken business unit has initiated a programme to reduce its Hammarsdale operations to a single shift... eliminating a portion of unprofitable IQF [individually quick-frozen] product," the group said in a trading update on Tuesday. The update included three abnormal items: R37.4m aftertax provision for restructuring costs linked to the reduction in chicken volumes; an after-tax impairment of R102.7m for redundant plant and equipment related to this, and a foreign exchange loss of R27.9m. Scott Pitman, MD of the group's consumer division, said on Tuesday it was selling farms in the Hammarsdale area. He said the government was in talks with the domestic poultry industry to try to resolve its problems. "This looks promising [but] until then the industry is in dire straits," he said. However, the group said that excluding the unprofitable chicken business, its other operations, including sugar, baking and groceries, had seen a growth in profit for the period. "We continue to make progress in moving towards a more balanced portfolio, which is positioning us as a stronger, more diversified business that is geared for growth," CEO Miles Dally said on Tuesday. On Monday, RCL Foods said chicken industry bosses and workers would mark "a day of misery" and march to the EU Delegation headquarters in Pretoria on Wednesday to protest against alleged dumping. Meanwhile, the EU Delegation said on Tuesday the crisis in SA's industry was not its fault. The EU's ambassador to SA, Marcus Cornaro, said the media "were barking up the wrong tree" over a "complex phenomenon" which included the industry being untransformed and uncompetitive. "Regarding SA and economic transformation, growth remains sluggish at best and unemployment is persistently high," Cornaro said. He talked up the benefits of free trade with the EU, even as new US President Donald Trump sets about imposing trade barriers. "There is a temptation to succumb to protectionism," Cornaro said. He said the EU remained the dominant source of foreign direct investment into SA, accounting for 350,000 jobs. To this end, he said the Economic Partnership Agreement SA ratified with the EU in late 2016 was a strong endorsement by the country of additional avenues for trade and jobs. Source: Business Day The new District Six Community Health Centre is expected to be completed in April 2017. It is intended to replace and improve two long-standing Cape Town public clinics: the Robbie Nurock Community Day Centre as well as the Woodstock Community Health Centre. The City of Cape Town has committed to turning the Woodstock clinic into social housing. The clinic will be relocated to District Six. Photo: Christine Hogg Asked what would happen to the grounds in Woodstock after the centre relocates, Byron la Hoe, a spokesperson for the provincial Department of Public Works, which currently owns the site, said: An application has been received from the City of Cape Town, with the support of the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements, for the utilisation of the site for social housing, with the former Nurse Home section of the site earmarked for the accommodation of the Head Office of Cape Nature. He also said that the City of Cape Town was doing a feasibility study, and the proposed development which includes parts of the site that were left vacant when staff relocated to Khayelitsha in 2014 still needed to be subjected to a public participation process. Social housing is rental units typically aimed at households with incomes of between R1,500 to R7,500 a month. Social housing projects are normally owned by independent social housing institutions (SHIs), that receive state-subsidies to build the units. Brett Herron, mayoral committee member of transport and urban development, said social housing developments were planned for Salt River and Woodstock at six different locations. The city will make announcements about the specific sites and projects as the project planning matures. He couldnt say when construction might start or exactly how many units would be provided, but estimated around 3,000 units for all six locations in total. He said potential residents could apply once the planning process had been completed. Jared Rossouw, co-director of Ndifuna Ukwazi, said Herron should tell residents exactly where the social housing sites will be and when we can expect delivery. He said: The Woodstock Hospital site is perfect for social housing and everyone should welcome a feasibility study which moves this forward. Ndifuna Ukwazi and the Reclaim The City campaign have called for social housing in the inner city, where long-term residents are being evicted to make way for new housing developments. A News24 article by Sarita Pillay stated that its hard to say exactly how many people have been evicted in Woodstock, but the number of high-profile evictions runs into the hundreds. GroundUp has reported on the Bromwell Street case, and another case in Salt River. Evicted Woodstock residents usually have to relocate to the Cape Flats, or developments far from work opportunities, schools and medical care, such as Blikkiesdorp and Wolwerivier. The former is called a temporary relocation area and the latter an incremental development area. Recently, court papers in the Bromwell Street case revealed that the city has plans for ten more temporary relocation areas on the outskirts of Cape Town. Rossouw said that commitments by the city to social housing at several inner sites over the past decade had not moved beyond the planning stages. What we need right now is for the city to break ground on any project Until then Herron is serving residents mutton dressed as lamb. Speaking at the recently held World Sustainability Forum in Cape Town, Professor Mark New discussed the current outlook for global temperature rise, as well as the mitigation and adaptation challenges Africa faces. Prof New is the pro-vice-chancellor and director of the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) at the University of Cape Town. Professor Mark New, pro-vice-chancellor and director of the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), UCT. Image source: www.research.uct.ac.za The mitigation challenge The Paris Agreement, under the UNFCCC, aims to limit global warming well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, but if we look at current policies implemented thus far, he explained, "these give us a best estimate of 3.6C global warming by the end of the century, with a 95% chance virtually certain of keeping below 4.9C, and virtually certain of being above 2.6C." When accounting for policies still to be implemented, "that gives us a 50/50 chance of keeping below 2.8C ... with an uncertainty range of about 2.3-3.5C." "What that really tells us is that the ambition, in terms of those pledges, has to really increase quite substantially over the next 5-10 years," said Prof New, who noted that the longer reducing global emissions is delayed, the more difficult it becomes to reach the Paris Agreement targets because of the continued accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For Africa, where much development still needs to take place, in order to avoid contributing to its own vulnerability, the continent will have to invest in climate compatible development by taking low carbon energy pathways, emphasised Prof New. In doing so, the continent will need to leapfrog traditional industrialisation methods which have previously followed high carbon energy pathways - for many countries in Africa, this will require North-South collaboration, investment, and technical support. The adaptation challenge Adaptation lies on the other end of the climate change challenge and it remains an area in which Africa is lacking in terms of implementation, said Prof New: "Across most of Africa, they're at the first few stages of [the adaptation process] - understanding risks. National risk assessments have been undertaken, there have been sectoral risk assessments... but very little in terms of actually then taking the next step." The other issue to note in the implementation stage for Africa, noted Prof New, is that focus remains on current climate risks. "What has been missing is integrating this immediate risk against how that risk is going to evolve over time ... there's quite a big gap in a lot of instances at the moment linking action now to thinking what that action means in the longer term and maybe changing some of the actions now to take into account how the risks might change in the future." Focus required on the fundamentals For Africa, many of the causes of vulnerability and exposure to climate risks lie in how development is thought about on the continent, with focus strongly on the growth-orientated economic model of development, he explained: "If we're going to really enable climate compatible development, eventually we have to fundamentally work on a development planning process essentially informing and shifting regional and national development planning so that it is climate compatible." There's large technical and socio-political research focused around this area, noted Prof New, in defining climate compatible development pathways and developing the necessary tools and methods, and building capacity to support policymakers in enabling this shift to climate compatible development planning. However, rather than doing new research, the focus needs to be on "bringing together existing knowledge, knowledge transfer between different parts of the world and within Africa, and translational work of taking existing evidence and knowledge and making it fit for purpose in the development planning space," he said. Researchers tackling climate compatible development should have technical expertise, along with the ability to operate in an interdisciplinary complex setting, skills, and competencies around systems thinking, anticipatory skills, integrative skills, and interpersonal skills, explained Prof New. Africa-based training programmes in the climate change space remain, however, largely technically orientated, he noted. "Although there's a big science around how to instill these other competencies in both undergraduate and graduates, it isn't really being implemented..." explained Prof New. "We really need to be thinking about the types of researchers that we produce and how our curricula and graduate training programmes can actually start to deliver graduates who are able to hit the ground running in terms of dealing with these problems." The sixth World Sustainability Forum took place 27-28 January 2017 at the Southern Sun Cape Sun in Cape Town. For more info, click here. Smallholder farmers, lack of equipment and meager harvests: Africa's agricultural sector is widely seen as not being ready to face the future. Modernisation can help increase production but that is easier said than done. John Wollwerth via 123RF If Africa is to be able to feed its growing population, it must increase food production by 60 percent in the next 15 years. Estimates say that the African population will double by 2050, from the present 1.2 to 2.4 billion people. Africa's agricultural sector is not yet ready for this challenge. Productivity even fell in the last ten years, says Elsie Kanza. Her grandfather used to grow coffee on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Kanza herself chairs the Africa section at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Many highly qualified young Africans are like Kanza, they don't want to work in agriculture and prefer the city to country life. The average age of smallholders in Africa is 65. "We have an industry dominated by aging, traditionally oriented, poor smallholder farmers and the outlook for future farmers is bleak," Kanza said at the AGCO-Africa Summit in Berlin. This was the sixth such meeting organised on the margins of the German "Green Week" industrial fair, by AGCO, a US builder of agricultural equipment. Low yield due to lack of equipment What can be done? German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt said at the opening of the conference that Africa's agribusiness potential was "very big." The conservative politician added that the continent's agrarian sector needs ecological and sustainable development. Agriculture, he said "is still one of the biggest employers and also a main area of innovation and schooling." The German government, which this year holds the G20 presidency, intends to promote the increase of investments in Africa, including in the agricultural sector. Investments are sorely needed: around 60 percent of the total African population work in agriculture. But they fail to thrive. Most are smallholder farmers. 80 percent work the land with their bare hands. Yields are accordingly very low. Gary Collar, vice president of AGCO, said that adequate products have to be developed for these farmers. "A 600 PS tractor will not transform Africa. They need 70 to 100 PS tractors," Collar said. According to non-governmental organisations, AGCO and two other enterprises dominate half the global market for agricultural equipment. AGCO wants to specialise in the production of equipment that suits African needs. It sees here lucrative opportunities on the continent. No modernisation at any cost South African agricultural expert Lungisile Ntsebeza warns that the continent's agrarian sector should not be modernised at any cost. It is important to prevent a concentration of a handful of corporations in the African market, he says. "We must use technology, we must use research to boost farming. But the vision of building and promoting small-scale farming should be the guide, not large-scale farming," said Ntsebeza, a teacher at the University of Cape Town. Smallholders need money to acquire new technologies. But many farmers have a hard time accessing credits."They do not own the land they till. And we have not developed a financing model to replace land as collateral," said Theo de Jager of the Pan-African Farmers Organization. That is why many experts are calling for smallholders to join cooperatives. This would give them more purchasing power to buy equipment. They would also be in a better position to negotiate, enabling them to sell their produce at a fair price and defend their interests. Kushal Dutta, MD of Jumia Travel Nigeria stated that the Nigerian hospitality report 2017 shows that 97% of the country's tourism revenue was generated from domestic travel in 2016, while foreign travel accounted for 3%. Dutta mentioned that despite the security challenges in the country and the fall in dollar exchange rate, a lot of Nigerians preferred to travel within the country to spend their holidays at exciting tourist destinations. This is a good sign that we need to encourage a lot more travels within the country by designing attractive holiday packages that will be exciting enough for Nigerians to want to spend money on tourism within the country. As a company, we are interested in collaborating to encourage more Nigerians to enjoy their holidays within Nigeria, he added. Impact of technology on Nigeria's travel industry The 2016 report, which is the second edition, captured the development, impediments, and impact of technology on the countrys travel industry between January and December 2016. We have captured relevant data on the percentage of online booking over offline, most used tool for hotel searches, most preferred payment method, average price of hotels from highest to lowest demand in cities, percentage of hotel bookings by star ratings, as well as percentage of hotel bookings by amenities, Dutta said. Hotel price wars Similarly, Bruce Prins, a renowned hospitality consultant in Nigeria who was featured in the published report stated that the hospitality industry in 2016 suffered extreme pressure as a result of a reduction in foreign visitors and local corporate expenditure. The price war between many hotels undermined the hospitality industrys perceived value, and also created a lot of degradation as far as the quality on offer is concerned. Reduced services and ill-maintained facilities contributed to the latter due to the price wars. Looking ahead In 2017, there will be more recreational facilities, and services will be required; better reservation systems that are 24 hour, and easy to action will be the deal-breaker. Ease or disease of air travel will affect everything; renovation and maintenance will make a hotel, and the lack thereof will break a hotel and social media is, and will be even more so the most powerful marketing tool, Prins added. The definition of a usufruct is a legal right given by an owner to someone who is not the owner, to use the owner's property for a certain period, usually for the remainder of that person's life. The person who holds the usufruct, also known as the usufructuary, has the right to make use of the property and enjoy its profits and benefits provided the property is not damaged or altered in any way. At the end of the stipulated period, the usufructuary must hand the property back over to the rightful owner or heirs. By Ollem lins Wikimedia Commons A usufruct would come into play where a husband passes away leaving his home to his children but stipulates that his wife has use of the property and contents in it for the rest of her life or until she remarries. While the property is transferred into the name of the children, the usufruct is registered against the new title deed in favour of the surviving spouse. A usufruct is often created because it reduces the amount of estate duty payable. However, it is important to be aware of the possible tax implications for the parties involved. Property may be let During the prescribed period, the usufructuary has the right to enjoy the property and all the benefits that come with it, but they are not obliged to live in the house. They are within their rights to let the property out to someone else and gain a rental income from it, provided the rental term doesnt exceed that of the usufruct. While the usufructuary can rent the property out, they are not allowed to sell or leave the home to another party. Although the children are ultimately the heirs to the property, while the usufruct is in effect, they will have no right or authority with regard to how the property is used or enjoyed. The children must refrain from interfering with the use of the property. However, they do have the right to protect their interests should they feel that the usufructuary is using the property inappropriately. Obligations apply While the usufructuarys rights to the use of the home are protected, there are certain obligations that need to be fulfilled. For example, the usufruct must be used for its intended purposes, and the usufructuary is legally bound to act as a diligent owner that may not misuse the property. The usufructuary is also responsible for paying the assessment rates and general day-to-day costs of maintaining the home. He or she is not obliged to do any large-scale repairs that result from normal wear and tear or daily use. While there is no obligation for the usufructuary to insure the home against storm, fire or other such damage, it is advisable. The heirs to the property are responsible for keeping it in a habitable state at all times, as well as paying for the repairs. Depending on the age of the children or their financial status, this could be a massive burden to carry. Ideally, provision should be made for the husband to leave enough money to their surviving spouse and children to ensure that the usufruct property is maintained and the monthly expenses such as rates and taxes are paid. A life policy could provide the financial means to ensure that this is done. Consult a professional If the heirs pass away before the infructuary, their portion of the usufruct assets is transferred to their heirs - however, the conditions remain subject to the existing usufruct which is in place. A usufruct is a way to ensure a surviving spouse has a roof over their head and is looked after for the remainder of their life. That said, those who are looking at adding a usufruct to their will should consult with a professional tax consultant or financial adviser to fully understand its implications and how it can impact those involved. Mbada Diamonds could have deprived the Zimbabwean government of millions of dollars by under-declaring its diamond sales over the years after it emerged that its average price per carat was about three times lower than that of other firms extracting gems from Chiadzwa. Seven mining companies, including Mbada, started mining diamonds at Chiadzwa from 2007 to March last year when government ordered them to cease operations. Mbada was among firms that resisted a forensic audit of Chiadzwa diamond mining operations initiated by the government, forcing the state to invoke the auditor-general's powers to proceed. The underpricing scandal emerged during a tour of Marange diamond fields by the parliamentary portfolio committee on mines and energy chaired by Zanu-PF MP for Masvingo Urban, Daniel Shumba last Friday. Officials indicated that Mbada's average price was $23 per carat although the company was awarded claims with the best gems, while Jinan sold diamonds for an average of $89 per carat. Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) acting chief executive officer, Dr Ridge Nyashanu told the committee that it was important to consolidate diamond mining to curb under-declaring of sales. "Anjin, when they sold, their average price per carat was $44, DMC (Diamond Mining Company) $46,66, DTZ (OZGEO) was at $49,42 and Jinan had the highest which is almost $89 per carat followed by Marange at $67,60 and the worst performer was Mbada at $23," said Dr Nyashanu. "When you look at Mbada, it had the highest gem and concentration but what leaves a lot to be desired is what happened, which resulted in them having an average price of $23," he said. "To me, probably it's good reason for consolidation. You need transparency and you need to monitor what happens to your diamonds. It's the best concession (Mbada's) yet with the worst result." The committee recently clashed with the secretary for mines and energy, Professor Francis Gudyanga and the new management at ZCDC when they appeared before Parliament. Shumba said the committee's oversight function was not a witch-hunt, but sought to enhance opportunities for the country to benefit from its God-given resources. "We have listened to the audits that you are carrying out. What we didn't hear is, are the audits by yourselves only or by the other parties that were in occupation prior to consolidation?," said Shumba. "In our oversight, our objective is not to witch-hunt but to further unlock value for Zimbabwe. Let's embrace each other as partners," he said. "Our aim as parliament is not to operate like a headmaster at a school but as a partner to help the facilitation of those processes. We are also worried at what losses or gains we are getting as Zimbabwe from the deep washing of the minerals given the plummeting values that we are getting from the valuations and ultimate auctions and private sales that you are getting. "This is not to say someone is stealing but why are the prices low? Why don't we up that for the benefit of our country?" said Shumba. He said they had been taken aback by revelations that equipment worth more than $20 million at DTZ-Ozgeo was not being utilised. Gudyanga said court challenges by Mbada Diamonds, Jinan and Anjin Investments after they ceased operations made it difficult for ZCDC to move in and carry out operations. He said Mbada equipment had since been auctioned following a court order for the firm to pay its creditors, while Jinan had agreed to take its equipment away. Gudyanga justified the government's consolidation of diamond mining saying it was meant to curb leakages. "As you recall, the president mentioned that Zimbabwe had been losing its diamonds and Cabinet ordered that there be a forensic audit," said Gudyanga. "As we wanted to do this audit, somehow the same three companies (Mbada Diamonds, Jinan and Anjin Investments) contested the forensic audit. We had to invoke the powers of the auditor-general who is empowered to audit any entity where government interests are. Therefore this is what is going on. And the results of that audit is something that will be made available to the government." Since November 2016, some 40 countries have reported avian flu, also know as bird flu, outbreaks in wild birds and domestic poultry. A total of 120 people has been infected in China since September 2016, a third of which died as a result of the infection. Witthawat Sidawong via 123RF Travellers to China should be vigilant According to Dr Pete Vincent of Netcare Travel Clinics and Tokai Medicross, these avian flu figures were recently reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) in the United States. South Africans, particularly those who are travelling, should be vigilant and avoid contact with birds, bird droppings, poultry farms, and markets, as well as eating undercooked poultry and soft eggs, advises Dr Vincent. Certain strains of bird flu, such as the influenza A H7N9 that is being reported from China, are highly contagious and could pose a serious threat to ones health. Netcare Travel Clinics would advise travellers to China to be on the alert, although there is no cause for undue alarm, he adds. The CDC has issued a travel alert for China recommending that visitors avoid all contact with birds as far as possible when travelling to the country. However, the CDC has not recommended against travel to China. Local clinicians who see patients who present with respiratory illness within 10 days of returning from China, should have them screened for H7N9 avian flu, notes Dr Vincent. The CDCsays that travellers should take the following measures to protect themselves when visiting China: Avoid touching birds no matter whether they are alive or dead. Avoid live bird or poultry markets, and particularly places where birds are being slaughtered. Avoid places that might be contaminated with bird faeces. Only eat food that is fully cooked. Avoid eating dishes or drinks that include blood from any animal. As a general precaution, do not eat food from street vendors. Practice good hand hygiene and cleanliness. If you feel sick after visiting China, talk to your doctor particularly if you have a fever, cough, or shortness of breath. Reported outbreaks in wild birds and domestic poultry in Europea, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East Meanwhile, the WHO has also recently reported outbreaks in wild birds and domestic poultry of the influenza A H5N8 bird flu strain in 24 countries on the European continent as well various countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. WHO says that this strain carries a relatively low risk for transmission from birds to humans, but points out that there is nevertheless still a risk of cross infection. Dr Vincent added that bird flu is occasionally reported in bird populations in South Africa but it has not been known to have been transmitted to humans here. A H7N2 strain was reported in an ostrich flock on a farm in the Western Cape in October last year. This outbreak was quickly and effectively isolated by authorities. Vaccines The local National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reports in its January 2017 Communicable Diseases Communique that the most common type of influenza currently found in the northern hemisphere is Influenza A (H3N2). This is not related to avian flu and a vaccine is available for travellers. The 2016 southern hemisphere influenza vaccine is identical to the 2016/7 northern hemisphere vaccine, therefore, South African travellers to the northern hemisphere may use a locally acquired vaccine prior to travel, says the NCID. Jagveld will be embarking on a nationwide tour from 11 February ahead of the film's cinema release on 17 March 2017. The master of the thriller genre, Deon Meyer, wrote the new Afrikaans action/thriller film, which is in Afrikaans, with English subtitles. This local cinema release delivers suspenseful elements of the genre with the support of atmospheric cinematography, eerily quiet locations in the Karoo and a top-notch local cast in standout roles (which are a distinct departure from the characters they have played onscreen up to now). Cast Leandie du Randt: Emma le Roux Neels van Jaarsveld: Bosman Tim Theron: Baz Bouwer Bosch: Jay Edwin van der Walt: Boela Luan Jacobs: Piet Danie Putter: AJ Tertius Meintjies: Jacques Synopsis Emma le Roux is on her way home to the family farm in the Great Karoo; pretty, soft little Emma, the pacifist primary school teacher. She has made the trip a thousand times without incident, but not today Today she will cross paths with Bosman, Baz, Jay, Boela, AJ and Piet. Bosman is the mastermind of the drug syndicate; a psychopath, he is savage and violent. Baz and Jay are his henchmen - murderers, monsters. AJ and Boela, spoiled brats looking for validation, are on board to make a quick buck in the criminal underworld. Then there is Piet, the weakling, who is willing to do just about anything for his cousin Bosman. Emma witnesses them committing a murder and they see her seeing them. Now they are hunting her down like an animal. However, they do not know whom they are hunting and nothing is going according to plan; everything is falling apart, and fast. At first, they were driven by hate and revenge. Suddenly, it is survival Tour details The film will be premiered at each of the tour stops, along with the cast attending each screening to introduce the movie to fans. 22-Feb Stellenbosch Wynfees 24-Feb Ster-Kinekor Tygervalley, Cape Town 25-Feb Eden Gemeente / Eden Place (Ou Radermachers), George 02-Mar The Snowflake, Potchefstroom 03-Mar Mimosa Mall, Bloemfontein 04-Mar Nu Metro, Welkom 09-Mar Nu Metro Parkview, Pretoria 10-Mar Hoerskool Pietersburg, Polokwane 11-Mar Marken Boeresaal 15-Mar Woordfees, Stellenbosch 17-Mar Super Kunstegrot, Thabazimbi 18-Mar Wanderers, Johannesburg Watch the trailer below: A democratic Federation of Myanmar was designed in a constitutional agreement in the late 1940s prior to Burma gaining its independence from the British in 1948. Myanmars political leaders have been searching for common ground in terms of winning political legitimacy, for over half of the century. After six decades of armed conflict, political resistance and clashes of principles in social and political ideologies, a search for peace and unity in diversity has been articulated among political elites in the country. Ethnic states: Karen and Mon states part Burma (Photo: myanmars.net) Ethnic states: Karen and Mon statespart Burma (Photo: myanmars.net) The cases of the ethnic states territorial boundaries, populations of mixed race and administrative arrangements have been debated in both the private and public arena. At least the new media shapes its own role, devising its own path to political freedom and democracy for the people of the country. Mann Htain Win Sein, vice-chairman of the Karen National Party (KNP), stated at the Karen National Level Dialogue last week, We couldnt say the word federal union for over 60 years. I feel that the National-Level Political Dialogue, which was held in Hpa-an capital, was good for both the country and all ethnic people because we were able to speak the words from our heart. The newly designed democratic model etched in Myanmars constitution in 2008 was amended without legal and constitutional knowledge of the drafting committee led by the Myanmar army. Newly proposed special autonomous regions were created in Shan state for the emerging Wa ethnic people. The process of creating new self-determined regions can be passed by the executive power instead of a constitutional agreement by the representatives of the Union Parliament. In recent articles by Myanmar Times, the initial proposal envisions a federal Union composed of national states and specific nationalities states. The national states would be the current states, which are, at least as the proposal sees it, dominated by one particular ethnicity, such as Kachin and Rakhine. Then the nationalities states would encompass territories occupied by an assortment of various ethnicities, such as Tanintharyi and Ayeyarwady. Mahn Htein Win Sein said the suggestion offered at the Hpa-an dialogue involves further cleavages. Ethnic groups not big enough for their own state could occupy autonomous regions called national areas. The less populated races like Salone, Mro-Khami and Karen Phyu [White Karen] would be granted national areas where their rights to determine economics, education, culture and literature would be promoted by the federal government, he said. The notion of an ethnic race controlling its own region and self-determination zone has been debated among armed ethnic and civilian leaders for over half a century. The arguments on shared-power and shared-administrative responsibilities have been used among ethnic armed leaders for decades. After close to 70 years of armed conflict, intra-ethnic disputes on territorial claims, and access to natural resources such as timber, rivers and bush land, ethnic leaders of Karen and Mon armed organizations have been clashing on the matter of land and access to the levy of local traders. The Mon News reported in January this year that from September 2016 to January 2017, troops from the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), the armed wing of the NMSP, and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, have clashed over 4 times, and subsequently, men from each side were injured. Furthermore, the clash between Karen and Mon armed organizations began in the early resistance era in late 1949-1951 but the two alliances united in the late 1960s. After 30 years of cooperation in armed resistance, the two ethnic armed forces clashed with serious fighting in 1988, prior to the popular democracy campaign in the country. It has become known as the Three Pagoda Pass Battle between Karen and Mon armies. The armed fighting broke out on the 23rd of July but the two sides signed a cease-fire on the 23rd of August 1988. The battle for border disputes and control of the active zone ended with losses of innocent soldiers from both sides. The unity of Karen and Mon leaders was damaged over the years until 1996, the year of unity of ethnic armed organizations, in a turning point of the political dialogue with the Military Government of Myanmar. However, common bonding between the Karen and Mon armed and political leaders hardly diminished but rather wounded the political spirit. The lower land of Myanmar once ruled by the Mon kings from 7 A.D until to 17 A.D displays battles with Thai and Burman kings throughout history. The current Karen and Mon State governments are operated under the directive of the Union Minister for Interior Affairs, as required by the countrys amended constitution. The administration of local villages and small towns are co-operated between the States governments and both armed ethnic Karen and Mon organizations in the two ethnic States. It is a complex administrative process both for public servants and the local populations because the orders and instructions made by the three officials from Burman, Karen and Mon are implemented in regards to paying levy, land tax, and other forms of donation to the social, cultural and political events. The process of creating new ethnic states was diluted in 1952. For Karen people in south-eastern Myanmar and for Mon State, legislation was only passed in 1974 and focused on the flat-paddy fields along the river and mountain in southern of Myanmar. Mon villages were allocated to the Karen administrative zones in late 1950s but a few Karen villages were located in Mon State, especially in bushland. In fact, during the proposal for creating Karen State, U Chit Hlaing, MP from Moulmein objected to the boundary of the Karen State where over 95% of the populations residents in southern Pa-Ann township were Mon. The argument over land control has never lined up with the law, its rather by a common agreement on piece of paper between Karen and Mon armed leaders that its settled. The case of territorial dispute will be on the next peace agreement, at least the intra-agreement between Karen and Mon delegates at the conference. Ethnic armed Karen and Mon leaders have been searching for a common bond in self-determination, rule of laws, local governance and democratic autonomy of the people for over two hundred years regardless of the history of achievement and failure in modern politics. The role of nonarmed social, cultural, economic and political establishments were acknowledged in the recent peace process. It is clear that the non-armed actors could be the mass force for unity of Karen and Mon ethnic people as outlined in this statement; The Peace Parks spirit of peaceful self-determination, participatory democracy, environmental integrity and cultural survival is epitomized by the preamble to its recently-concluded draft Charter We, the Indigenous Karen people of Mutraw, recognizing our roots that transcend national boundaries, celebrating the natural world, which has sustained our people for generations, honoring the memory of those who have struggled against all forms of injustice against the people and the Earth, with a commitment to the present and to the future, in order to create and sustain a lasting peace in our lands, protect and maintain the environmental integrity of the Salween River basin, preserve our unique cultural heritage, and further the self-determination of our people, do enact and establish the Charter of the Salween Peace Park released this last week. Historically, the Kingdom of Burma under the Konbaung dynasty collapsed in the late 18th A.D, (1890, A.D), and the colonial British rulers lasted until the early 19th A.D. However, prior to the Konbaung dynasty, Burma/Myanmar was ruled by Burmans in the central land, Arakan in the western land, Shan, Chin and Kachin in Hill land and Mon in the lower land until the late 17th century. After late 16 A.D, Karenni and Karen people have emerged as one of the established ethnic populations in Burmas history. After close to two hundred years after Burmas empire collapsed, the new Union of Burma was created in 1947, a raw constitution was amended for the independence of Burma from the British. The case of ethnic states was proposed in both the 1948 national assembly and a new constitution was also amended in 1974. Theoretically, seven ethnic states were created but the seven divisions were also created for administrative purposes. Executive power was largely controlled by Burmas political and military leaders for over half a century. According to Steinberg (1971), in Search of Southeast Asia, from the collapse of the empire of Pagan in 1289 to the middle of the 18th century, the region now called Burma was stretched between two poles of cultural and economic differences. In the south were the Mon people cantered in Pegu, whose Buddhist state resisted incorporation into any larger entity until the middle of the 16th century. The nature of the resultant empire, however, was always in question; the Mon tradition of independence did not die easily. A celebration of the Union Day of Myanmar is held each year on the 12th of February. This symbolic event isnt just a matter of spirit but of constitutional process, amendment of local autonomy laws and other elements of shared power and responsibility to the local parliament, and should be a focus in both national and state political dialogue. However, Burmas ethnic scholar, Ardeth M. Thaunghmung (2011) noted that the political roles and perspectives of Burmas ethnic minorities are highly complex. Variations exist even within single families; individual views change across time and space. Additional analysis of these nuances and variations will help identify individuals, groups, and modes of political action that could help either to perpetuate the status quo or to transform it. Not all members of the establishment support the status quo, and not all of those outside the establishment (members of civil society organizations, political parties, and religious organizations) adhere to democratic practices. The notions of the ethnic race, its own region and self-determined zones have been debated among armed ethnic and civilian leaders for over half of the century. The arguments on shared-power and shared-administration have been used among ethnic armed leaders for decades. Under the process of reform, or peace agreement with the newly democratic government, the best political weapon can be deployed to the political battlefield. It is the weapon of legislation in the assembly. Local autonomy, territorial claim, and access to wealth and natural resources should only be passed by the legislators. Democraticfederal governance is a process of making laws for the fairness and justice of the people. It is not a process of one ethnic race dominating another nor is it a platform for manipulating politics with fear. In short, current Karen and Mon States government and MPs from both states have a golden opportunity in addressing social, and economic issues with the support from local people, foreign investment, the NGO sector and highly accessible technology. The land will be on earth over the next millions of years but humans will live and depart in a circle of life. Addressing social, health, cultural, environmental and livelihood is much more critical than controlling the land for one race and forcing another race into exile. A new democraticfederal union of Myanmar requires common goals in re-designing the constitution of the Union, and the State Constitution in line with the principles agreed in the 1947 Pang Long agreement and the recent NCA agreement. The land of over 50 million people with diverse races, languages, cultures and religions can only be in peace when the leaders act for peace, keeping in mind and actioning for a sustainable nation as well as for the people of the golden land. The Minister for Ethnic Affairs and local ministers for border affairs, social and cultural affairs have a heavy task leading up to the 2020 General Election. MPs have the pen, not a firearm. A peaceful reform can be sustained with their heads rather than with their hands. A Saudi Prince Took 80 Falcons On Flight! Pulse oi-Syeda Farah This is a true story that happened in Saudi Arabia where people are known for their enormous wealth and for their lavish expenses and luxuries. They are the people who are really rich and do not know where to spend their money and this case is a sheer example of it! You May Also Read:WHATT! This Man Has The World's Largest Penis! This is all about a prince from Saudi who had bought 80 flight tickets for his falcons to fly safely! Check out this interesting story of falcons flying around! Falconry Is The Favourite Pastime! Falconry is considered to be the most common pastime among the middle-to-upper echelons of the inhabitants of the Middle East. It is quite symbolic as falcon is the most revered bird there and is the symbol of the United Arab Emirates. They Have Their Own Forest Green Passports! Hell, yeah, wondering how many of us actually have a real passport when we read this! Well, it is true that these birds have 3 years of valid passport to fly! Passports were brought in to help combat smuggling. How cool is that? The Rule That Needs To Be Followed! Any passenger who is travelling with a falcon must make sure that the bird goes through the same security checks that they go through and they need to have a government-issued passport for their falcons as well! They Can Travel To These Places! Their unique passport allows them to travel to places like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco and Syria. Check out the cool video below where these falcons are all calm and composed while they are in the airplane. GET THE BEST BOLDSKY STORIES! Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 22:02 [IST] Reciba en su email: noticias de ultima hora, analisis tecnicos o el cierre de mercado Email no valido Nombre requerido Recibira las informaciones mas relevantes del dia en tiempo real Que informacion desea recibir? Noticias de Ultima hora Boletin Cierre de Mercado Boletin analisis tecnico Boletin Fundsnews Debe seleccionar un tipo de boletin Acepto la Politica de privacidad Debe aceptar la politica de privacidad Responsable EMPRESAS DEL GRUPO WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Finalidad La remision de informacion, novedades y promociones Establecimiento o mantenimiento de Relaciones Comerciales. Legitimacion Consentimiento del interesado. Interes legitimo en el desarrollo de la relacion comercial Destinatario Empresas del Grupo WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Derechos Acceso, rectificacion, supresion, limitacion, oposicion y portabilidad Informacion adicional Politica de Privacidad de nuestra pagina Web + INFORMACION Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web The KC-46A is a multirole tanker. A Boeing photo. EVERETT, WASHINGTON (BNS): The US Air Force has awarded Boeing $2.1 billion for 15 KC-46A tanker aircraft, spare engines and wing air refueling pod kits. This order is the third low-rate initial production lot for Boeing. The first two came in August 2016 and included seven and 12 planes, respectively, as well as spare parts, the Company said in a statement. Boeing plans to build 179 of the 767-based refueling aircraft for the Air Force to replace its legacy tanker fleet. Tanker deliveries will begin later this year, it said. This award is great news for the joint Boeing-Air Force team and reinforces the need for this highly efficient and capable tanker aircraft, said Mike Gibbons, Boeing KC-46A tanker vice president and program manager. Our Boeing industry team is hard at work building and testing KC-46 aircraft, and we look forward to first delivery. "Placing an order for another 15 aircraft is another important milestone for the KC-46 program," said Col. John Newberry, Air Force KC-46 System program manager. "I know the warfighter is excited about bringing this next generation capability into the inventory." Boeing received an initial contract in 2011 to design and develop the Air Forces next-generation tanker aircraft. As part of that contract, Boeing built four test aircraft two configured as 767-2Cs and two as KC-46A tankers. Those test aircraft, along with the first production plane, have completed nearly 1,500 flight hours to date. The KC-46A is a multirole tanker that can refuel all allied and coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures and can carry passengers, cargo and patients. An internet imagery. SAN DIEGO (BNS): General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, has begun construction on a fifth ship for the US Navys Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD)/Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program. Designed to provide advanced flexibility and capability for sea-to-shore missions, the newest ESB will include a 52,000 square-foot flight deck, fuel and equipment storage, repair spaces, magazines, mission planning spaces and accommodations for up to 250 personnel. Serving as a pier at sea, the 784-foot-long ship is also designed to support MH-53 and MH-60 helicopters and MV-22 tilt rotor aircraft. The ship, ESB 5, is the fifth to be added to a contract between NASSCO and the US Navy that originally called for two Expeditionary Transfer Docks - USNS Montford Point (T-ESD 1) and USNS John Glenn (T-ESD 2). The first two ships, formerly classified as Mobile Landing Platforms (MLPs), were designed and constructed by NASSCO to support vehicle staging and transfers, and the movement of LCAC vessels. In 2012, a third ship, USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB 3), was added to the contract and reconfigured as an ESB, formerly known as a MLP Afloat Forward Staging Base, to support a wide range of military operations. All three ships have been delivered to the U.S. Navy, and in October 2015, NASSCO began construction on ESB 4, USNS Hershel Woody Williams, the Company said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A few Brandon city councillors are questioning the need to continue funding Brandon General Museum and Archives, considering its low visitor numbers. I dont know if we get enough bang for our buck out of this, said Coun. Jeff Fawcett (Assiniboine), during the citys budget deliberations. I think were well served by a lot of our other museums and such. Ultimately, council voted to keep the museum in the budget for $80,000 this year. However, it was clear around the table that this might be the last year. Eighty thousand dollars is a lot of money to keep that place going, said Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Rosser). I think that this is the last year we do this, and I really hope that theres planning to combine some of the museums maybe finding another spot and maybe next year if that doesnt happen, then we put everything in storage until that happens. The museum, located at 19 Ninth St. in the former Manitoba Telecom Service building, marked its fifth anniversary last summer. It has struggled to attract more traffic, and they are still working to expand its reach. There were approximately 1,200 visitors through the museum in 2015. Mayor Rick Chrest said it was regretful to hear the discussion, as the BGMA board has been working hard to keep it viable. The uptake is just very disappointing, Chrest said, adding he supports another year of funding, but would like a solution by 2018. Coun. Jeff Harwood (University), a member of the BGMA board, said the committee is acutely aware of the issues. Space is a problem, accessibility is a problem, and theyre going to be looking at that, Harwood said. He also pointed out to his fellow councillors that the museum is a creation of the city and belongs to the city. If something happens that it doesnt stay open and has to close, then the keys come back to the city, and the city will be responsible for everything thats in the building, he said. The museum is home to the original council chamber furniture, as well as a permanent MTS exhibit, which showcases a number of vintage phones dating back to the early 1900s. The B.J. Hales Collection of Natural History is also on display. It was once housed at Brandon University, but had been boxed up and put in storage for many years. This collection has remained in Brandon because Brandon General Museum is in existence, as there was a move afoot to relocate the collection to another area of the province, said Barb Andrew, chair of the BGMA board. Other exhibits have included The Flats, which showcased Brandons north end; and Flags Over Brandon, which featured a display of numerous flags and banners that have been a part of the fabric of the history of the city. The current exhibit featuring prominent women in the history of our city have attracted visitors from near and far, Andrew said. She recently appeared before council, urging the city to continue supporting the fledgling organization. In spite of some of the obstacles that the board has encountered with location and accessibility, we feel that the first five years of operation has provided a great service to this community, Andrew said. One of the interesting things that we have observed is that even many lifelong residents have made discoveries about our citys history of which they had no previous knowledge. Andrew said numerous local groups take advantage of the museum, such as Westman Immigrant Services, YMCA, BU and youth groups. Councils financial support has enabled us to come this far in the last five years, and we expect its continuing support will enable us to better preserve and display Brandons history, Andrew said. jaustin@brandonsun.com Twitter: @jillianaustin Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The students at George Fitton School dont just have a great principal, they have an outstanding one. Gail McDonald has been named one of Canadas Outstanding Principals of 2017 by The Learning Partnership. There were 40 principals chosen from across Canada, nominated by parents, colleagues and community members, and chosen by a national selection committee. Colin Corneau/The Brandon Sun George Fitton School principal Gail McDonald has has been named one of Canadas Outstanding Principals of 2017 by The Learning Partnership for her work at the Brandon school. They are being celebrated for demonstrating innovation, leadership and for employing creativity in finding solutions and opportunities within their school communities. McDonald is one of only two principals chosen out of Manitoba. Im getting goosebumps now that Ive had time to think about it, said McDonald, laughing. It was quite a surprise Im very honoured and humbled by the award. A group of McDonalds colleagues told her they had nominated her for the award back in November, but she never expected to receive it. I just do at George Fitton what I think every principal does in their school you certainly want to do the best for absolutely every student that walks through the door, McDonald said. I think our jobs are to make sure we can diminish those roadblocks that sometimes put up some challenges for programming, its just what we do on a daily basis. McDonald has been teaching for 35 years. A Brandon University graduate, she has taught at a wide variety of schools across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Growing up, McDonald said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. I always liked working with kids growing up I guess it started with babysitting, McDonald said. When I was going into university I had a summer recreational position (organizing play schools) and I really enjoyed that, so I knew I was on the right track and my career just moved forward from there. As a principal, McDonald said its almost like she has come full circle as George Fitton School was the first school where she taught after returning to Manitoba. I had lots of wonderful experiences, McDonald said. I had lots of great mentors along the way. McDonald will travel to Toronto with the other outstanding principals at the end of February to partake in a five-day executive leadership training program at the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management. She will also attend Canadas Outstanding Principals gala on Feb. 28 where she will be awarded for her accomplishments. McDonald said she is just thankful The Learning Partnership has this opportunity available for principals, and that her colleagues took the time to nominate her. I certainly appreciate them going the extra mile, McDonald said. edebooy@brandonsun.com Twitter: @erindebooy Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. As a former crystal meth user, Bethany Spink knows how the dangerous and highly addictive drug can destroy lives. Before eventually overcoming her own addictions to help others fight theirs, she lost her job, friends and even herself. With use of crystal meth on the rise in Brandon, she wants to warn users to stop if they can and warn others to never go near its deceptive lure in the first place. It starts off as a good thing you become more productive and stuff like that but then it takes your soul, Spink said. It takes everything. Brandon police recently made two of its biggest crystal meth seizures. One kilogram was seized in October as part of a large-scale drug investigation. Earlier this month, two men were pulled over with nearly 20 ounces of the drug worth $150,000, again as part of an ongoing investigation. However, while those drugs are now off the street, the size of the seizures reflect the local demand for methamphetamine. Yes, were finding that the use of crystal meth is up in Brandon, said Brandon Police Service Sgt. Dave Andrew. Andrew said the reason for the rise in meth use is likely its more intense and longer-lasting high in contrast to other drugs such as cocaine and its cheaper. He said it costs about $20 to $30 for 0.1 gram of crystal meth, while cocaine is $80 to $100 per gram. Meth is smoked, its snorted, and increasingly here its injected because that provides a faster rush. While fentanyl makes headlines, and Andrew said it would be naive to think that that dangerous drug isnt here, its meth that has emerged in Brandon as a top drug. Its becoming just as popular as cocaine, said Andrew, who spent a total of seven years in the Crime Support Unit, which investigates drug dealing, before becoming the BPS public information officer. People who are using this methamphetamine talk about the addiction and how they know how bad it is but their addiction is so strong that they cant break free from it. Users of the stimulant experience euphoria, and sustained periods of being awake. But the dangers and long-term effects are anything but pleasant including damaged teeth and gums and skin, paranoia, psychosis, hallucinations and risk of stroke. Andrew said the local trade in crystal meth isnt tied to any specific gang. While its typically made in illegal labs, but to his knowledge it isnt produced in Brandon or surrounding area. Its brought in by independent drug dealers from locations that have included Toronto and Winnipeg, and possibly British Columbia. It seems easy to get from locations like bars or through a dial-a-dealer. No deaths or serious harm have been tied to Brandon users that police are aware of. However, the need for meth users to support their addiction has been tied to serial shoplifting, other thefts and break-and-enters. Andrew said users will pawn, sell or trade stolen goods to get drugs. Statistics from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba also show that self-reported use of amphetamine, which would include crystal meth, is up for the office that serves Brandon and surrounding area. The portion of clients who reported using amphetamine is relatively small, but has grown slightly. In 2016, 73 per cent of clients said they never used it, compared to 78.1 per cent in 2015. In 2016, the percentage of those who used the stimulant monthly or less was 5.1 per cent; weekly, one per cent; daily or several times a day, 6.3 per cent. In 2015, those numbers were 4.3 per cent, 0.3 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively. We certainly are seeing more clients than in the past self-identifying as having used crystal meth, said John Jackson, registered psychiatric nurse and team lead at AFMs Brandon office. Jackson said that could be due to a general willingness in our society to experiment, combined with the highly addictive nature of meth. I think that theres a willingness, and then when people are trying its a little more addictive than they anticipated, Jackson said. He said that crystal meth addiction can be more of a struggle to overcome in the long term than other drugs. However, AFM offers counselling, group treatment and residential treatment. For Spink, now 26, the Teen Challenge program was her path to recovery. But as a former user, she can describe the dismay that crystal meth can lead to. Originally from Goderich, Ont., its there that her addiction began. Shed turned to drugs to be socially accepted and to numb the pain of being sexually abused as a child by her grandfather. At 12 years old, shed started drinking, then tried marijuana and developed a crack cocaine addiction. At 18, someone told her it would be easier to get off crack if she switched to meth, so she tried it. She got hooked fast, and she kept drinking, and using crack and marijuana. It was all day, every day, Spink said of her meth use. From the first time I used it, it was every day. Dating a drug dealer, Spink found crystal meth easy to get. Other women were involved in prostitution to get crack or meth, but because she dated her supplier she didnt have to. Meth was cheaper than crack, and lasted longer. At first, meth made her feel productive. She said it kept her awake for three weeks to a month, then shed sleep for two to three days straight. It keeps you awake until eventually youre nuts, because youve been awake so long. The withdrawal would be so bad, that she would turn back to meth. Eventually, it took everything from me, Spink said. I would be up days at a time, and then the crash of it was so bad that you would go back to using it. She said her meth took her feelings away, and her personality. She changed she became angry, and selfish. She lost her job, and nearly lost all hope. My organs were starting to shut down, Spink said. I was coughing up blood. I would be so weak I couldnt even get off the ground. Smoking more meth made her feel better. She said she knew it was going to kill her, but used it anyway. Spending all her money on drugs, she resorted to stealing necessities like clothes and food. Two of her friends died from crystal meth use. You want help, but it seems hopeless, Spink said, adding shes thankful she never lost all hope. I always had a little strand of hope, which thank God! After a frightening fight with her boyfriend in which she thought he was going to kill her, Spink found help. After three years of using meth, a friend introduced her to the Teen Challenge program. That friends recovery inspired Spink to try to break her addiction. She flew to here to attend Teen Challenge herself. Now alcohol and drug free, shes program manager for the Adult and Teen Challenge recovery centre near Brandon, which provides a home for women who are fighting to overcome addictions. Spink doesnt know why crystal meth use is rising here, but knows: Its definitely on the climb, and its increasing everywhere. But she said she knows the struggle to overcome that addiction, and knows: It can be done, so there is hope. ihitchen@brandonsun.com SIDEBAR: Crystal meth in Brandon Recent court cases and police reports provide examples of the presence of crystal meth in Brandon: Jan. 23 As a result of an ongoing investigation, city police stop a vehicle with two men in it. Theyre found with 19.5 ounces of methamphetamine worth $150,000. Jan. 12 A woman receives three months house arrest followed by 18 months probation for offences that include thefts from six different Brandon stores within a month. A crystal meth addiction is cited as the reason for her crimes. Oct. 13, 2016 Police seize one kilogram of methamphetamine worth $55,000 during a raid at a Brandon-area farm as part of an investigation into the large-scale movement of illegal drugs from Ontario. Oct. 3, 2016 Two people found in a taxi during a high-risk arrest related to a series of shootings in Brandon were found with meth. Aug. 24, 2016 A man inside a car that was pulled over is found with a knife and a substance believed to be crystal meth. April 9, 2016 An admitted crystal meth addict is one of two men involved in committing a violent robbery at a Brandon corner store. March 2016 A Brandon man breaks into his parents home and steals their passports and other possessions belonging to his mother, including jewelry and a laptop. He then uses the passports to barter for $3,000, apparently as a way to pay off a drug debt. Jan. 20, 2016 A Winnipeg woman who admitted to being a long-term crystal meth addict was high on drugs when she dragged a Carberry RCMP officer who was trying to stop her from driving off. She struggled with that officer and another, and was Tasered four times before finally being subdued. She had also cashed stolen cheques, with one of the victims being from Brandon. Oct. 31, 2015 A man who passed out in a taxi is found with 151 grams of crystal meth worth $45,000. April 2015 Two Winnipeg men are caught in the Brandon Walmart parking lot with a backpack that contained 50 grams of methamphetamine, plus marijuana and cocaine. The Brandon Sun Already have an account? Log in here An attempted purse snatching has police looking for three female youth suspects. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The base commander at CFB Shilo maintains they are still placing a premium on security even though an ID check is no longer required when entering the base. The optics on it may appear that the securitys been loosened, conceded Lt.-Col. John Cochrane. But with the increases of random spot checks, and the military police increasing their patrolling throughout the base as well, Id say its the same level of security. Effective Jan. 1 this year, military members and civilians are no longer asked to produce government-issued identification before entering the military base. Colin Corneau/The Brandon Sun A security checkpoint at an entrance to CFB Shilo on a recent afternoon. The requirement was put in place in October 2014, following the shooting at the National War Memorial in Ottawa in which Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was killed. Bases throughout the country beefed up security following 9/11 and again following the 2014 shooting. Cochrane said CFB Shilo chose to eliminate the mandatory ID check this year as part of a regular assessment of their security strategies. We have the means now to conduct random spot checks, Cochrane said. He explained the tactic, employed by military police, could occur any time of day. Every person on base is still asked to carry photo ID with them, and may be asked to leave if they cannot produce identification. The military polices increased emphasis on security replaces the Commissionaires, the security agency that previously manned base entrances. The Commissionaires continue to be involved in other capacities on base like working the ammunition compound and dispatching military police. In addition to conducting more random checks, CFB Shilo is also heightening the number of military police patrols. Additional security tactics are not publicly disclosed, Cochrane said. And I would offer, quite honestly, that every single military member on the base is part of security, he said. Especially when the ID check at entrances was launched, military personnel and guests forgot to bring identification, said Cochrane, resulting in family or friends grabbing their ID and bringing it to the entrance. In some cases, people were turned away or were only permitted entry if military police approved their request. Examples of forgotten identification happened less frequently as people became accustomed to the security measure, Cochrane said. Now, if photo identification is not on the person, military police may escort the individual off the premises. They are not obligated to, but they are authorized to ask you to leave, Cochrane said. The small hut at the bases north and south entrances, which security would use, is expected to remain in place in the short-term. If we ever have a situation where we need to increase our security level, then what we can do is start manning that again, Cochrane said. Asked to describe security differences at other Canadian Forces bases, the Department of National Defence said they could not provide the information because of its sensitive nature. We can tell you that all base security is constantly reviewed and based on local base/wing commander discretion, a written statement read. ifroese@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ianfroese Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. As the old adage states, Youll be known by the company you keep. As such, the implications for Canadas biopharmaceutical sector are rather dismal. While an extensive body of evidence demonstrates that patents and other intellectual property protections are critical to the future of innovation and the development of new treatments and cures, Canadian legislation fails to measure up. For example, Canadas intellectual property rights protections more closely mirror those of China, Turkey, Poland and the United Arab Emirates than industry leaders such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany. For Canada, the legal architecture surrounding intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and the national regulatory regime helps shape the biopharmaceutical industry, its profitability, productivity and innovative future. And for Canadian patients, it affects the availability of medicines in Canada and access to future breakthrough innovations. A recent study by the Fraser Institute describes existing IP policy in Canada, compares it to global norms and regimes, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the Canadian system, and recommends improvements and reform. Overall, there are numerous deficiencies that weaken intellectual property protections within Canada relative to other industrialized countries. While Canada may aspire to join the ranks of industrial leaders, shortfalls in Canadian legislation prevent that from happening. Those shortfalls include: Onerous patentability requirements, specifically the patent utility doctrine, which creates significant uncertainty for innovative industries by requiring innovators to see into the future to soundly predict the usefulness of the innovation and demonstrate that the innovation will fulfil this promise. Insufficient enforcement mechanisms, which make it difficult for biopharmaceutical companies to effectively appeal court decisions where a patent is ruled invalid. And inadequate anti-counterfeiting measures, which increase risks of adulteration, counterfeiting and cargo theft. Consequently, Canada sits in the middle of the pack in the global IP Index rankings. These rankings matter to prospective investors and strongly signal Canadas lack of support for knowledge-based industries. Fundamentally, Canada is a global outlier, providing inadequate intellectual property protection for the biopharmaceutical industry. The result has been a striking decrease in pharmaceutical research and development and a drastic drop in pharmaceutical innovation and patenting in Canada. How much does this really matter? The study also outlines the potential effects of improving Canadas IP architecture. Benefits will include reduced legal ambiguity and litigation through increased predictability, more money for research and development, increased foreign direct investment, additional job-creation in the biopharmaceutical and related industries, productivity gains, greater biopharmaceutical self-sufficiency, faster launch times for new medicines, and additional innovation on cutting-edge treatments and therapies. In the era of personalized medicine, antibiotic resistance and breakthrough biologic drugs, investments in a robust biopharmaceutical industry are critical to global public health. Accordingly, the Fraser Institute study proposes several recommendations for Canadian IP legislation. Specifically, Canada should provide innovative biopharmaceutical firms with patent term extensions in order to recover time lost due to mandatory governmental regulatory and marketing approvals. In addition, Canada should remedy issues of weak enforcement by providing patent owners with an effective patent linkage right of appeal, to provide biopharmaceutical companies the ability to appeal court decisions where a patent is ruled invalid. Changes should be made to Canadas IP laws to restore certainty to Canadas distorted patent system and clarify the expectations of the patent utility doctrine, which currently makes Canada the sole developed country in the world with a patent utility standard that is inconsistent with both NAFTA and the WTO and requires biopharmaceutical firms to exactly predict in the patent application how an innovation will be utilized in the future. Canada should also extend data protection regulations and increase the scope of products that may be classified as innovative drugs. Finally, Canadian policymakers should enact legislation to define rare diseases and encourage Canadian firms to intensify their research and development of new therapies. These changes would help bring the Canadian regime in line with international standards, signal a commitment to knowledge-based industries, and foster a robust biopharmaceutical sector. Kristina Lybecker is an associate professor of economics at Colorado College and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute. See her latest study on intellectual property rights protection at fraserinstitute.org. Troy Media Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/02/2017 (2103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Brandon is a small, yet remarkable city. One of many in this country. Built by the railways, and thus serving as an artery for the settlement of Western Canada, Brandons experience has been unique in history, and yet so very Canadian in scope. This year will mark the Wheat Citys 135th birthday, which will be enjoyed within the same year as Canadas 150th. This is a significant achievement for our community, and our hope is that all Brandonites will be able to come together in celebration. The massive and lasting economic, political, spiritual and social changes that have washed over Canadas landscape since Confederation have not left Brandon unaffected. In the last decade, especially, there have been many changes and challenges come to Brandon. We have become a more multicultural city than ever before in our history, and for the most part our citizens have risen to those challenges. And while this is yet another reason to celebrate, like every other community, Brandon has had to grapple the ramifications. Politics and race, religion and money societys great dividers have become ballooning flash points in our society. This is especially true in recent months as we have watched the ascension of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, hand in hand with the white supremacist movement. Whether it be the Trump administrations temporary ban of refugee admissions from seven majority-Muslim countries, his promise to force the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, to his inflammatory push to build a $15-billion wall along the Mexico-U.S. border, it is a rare person who has not fallen down on some side of these issues either for or against. Sometimes vehemently. With tensions rising south of the border, it was always inevitable that these pressures would spill over the border and into Canada as well or rather, dragged over the border by our political class and those who would use politics as a weapon. So it was that following a weekend of protest in the United States against Trumps executive order to ban refugeess, and the resulting fiasco in that nations airports, Canada had its nose bloodied by bigotry and hatred when six members all fathers of a Quebec-City mosque were gunned down during evening prayers on Monday. This horrific act caused disbelief across the country, from all of us who value the virtues of justice and freedom. Thousands of Canadians have tried to show their support for the victims of this cowardly shooting spree. They have shown the best of Canada, even as we are forced to come to grips with the worst of us, and the Islamophobia that has taken hold on a portion of our citizenry. The Muslim community in Brandon remains small. The Brandon Islamic Centre on 10th Street not outlandish or showy rather an older structure that allows the faithful to practise their faith in peace. Yet, as Brandonite David Winter told the Sun on Monday, the Islamic community has become intrinsic to the fabric of our local community. In the wake of Sundays shooting spree, the Islamic Centre was the focal point of Brandons attempts to show solidarity to this somewhat isolated community, which is nonetheless growing solid roots here in Westman as we welcome more immigrants and refugees. Centre president Faiz Ahmad told us that he didnt have enough time on Monday to respond to the array of condolences he received from friends, perfect strangers and organizations such as the Brandon Police Service and even the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. As much as Muslim faith in Canada has been shaken by this tragedy, we suggest our local community take solace from this local show of support, which has cut across both religious and social lines. For those readers who want to show further support to our Muslim neighbours and friends, we suggest you make your way down to the St. Matthews Cathedral tonight at 7 p.m. for a memorial service for the victims of the Quebec shooting. Lets show them how remarkable Brandon really is. Vanuatus two 2017 OFC Champions League-bound clubs Malampa Revivors and Erakor Golden Star took a share of the spoils in two friendly matches in Santo preparing them both for the regional club competition kicking off in March.Hosts Malampa Revivors were the first to get on top when they shocked Erakor 3-2 at Luganville Stadium, Santo on 28 January.The visitors were almost able to snatch a draw after being awarded a penalty kick but captain Brian Kaltack missed his opportunity, allowing Malampa to claim the victory.The two sides met again at Luganville Stadium on 30 January, but this time the Port Vila Premier League champions made the most of their opportunities to reverse the previous matchs score and secure a 3-2 win.Erakor Golden Stars Romain Carlot finished two goals for his side before Vanuatu U-20 captain Jason Thomas secured the win with the successful conversion of a penalty kick in the last 15 minutes of the match.Both sides will feel confident with a win under their belts as they await kick off for the 2017 OFC Champions League.Malampa Revivors FC will face Papua New Guineas Lae City Dwellers in their first Group C fixture of the 2017 OFC Champions League at Mangere Centre Park, Auckland on 11 March before facing defending champions Auckland City FC and Solomon Islands Western United for a place in the semi-final.Erakor Golden Star FC have been drawn with Solomon Islands Marist FC, Tahitis AS Tefana and Fijis Rewa FC in Group D and will take on the group hosts at Stade Pater in Papeete, Tahiti in their first match on 11 March. It is believed the Government plans to launch a "rainy day fund" in two years to cope with the fallout from Brexit. The 'Action Plan for Jobs', aimed at mitigating the effects of the UK leaving the EU, will also focus on getting women back into the workforce, with 2m in funding disbursed through the Department of Justice, and poaching "globally renowned" workers from Britain. A Belfast resident has won a case at the UK's highest court over the failure of the PSNI to prevent union flag protests. Five Supreme Court justices in London ruled unanimously in favour of the unnamed resident, announcing that the PSNI did have the legal power to stop the parades. Mass loyalist demonstrations, some of which descended into serious violence, were staged across Northern Ireland in opposition to Belfast City Council's decision to limit the number of days the union flag flew over City Hall. In April 2014, a judge at the High Court in Belfast ruled in favour of the resident of the nationalist Short Strand area of east Belfast, who claimed the police's failure to stop unnotified loyalist marches past his home between December 2012 and February 2013 breached his right to privacy and family life. Later that year, appeal judges overturned the ruling following a challenge by the PSNI. The resident then took his case to the British Supreme Court. Today, the justices said the PSNI had "misconstrued" its legal powers to stop parades passing through or adjacent to the Short Strand area. As permission for the loyalist marches was not sought from the Parades Commission adjudication body, the events were not lawful. In ruling in favour of the resident, referred to only as DB, the judge at the High Court in Belfast found that police had not properly understood their powers to intervene in the protests. But three appeal judges, among them Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, came to a different conclusion and allowed the PSNI's appeal against the judgment. The PSNI had argued that the original ruling regarding its handling of union flag protests would have placed major constraints on how it polices future parades and demonstrations in the North. They said commanders' decisions to contain the protests and pursue arrests and charges at a later date fell within their discretionary powers. But Lord Kerr, giving the ruling of the Supreme Court, concluded: "I would reverse the decision of the Court of Appeal and make a declaration that, in their handling of the flags protest in Belfast during the months of December and January, PSNI misconstrued their legal powers to stop parades passing through or adjacent to the Short Strand area." Constructions companies are pleading with expats to come home to fill job vacancies fuelled by an anticipated construction boom, writes Stephen Rogers in the Irish Examiner. The Construction Industry Federation has forecast the industry will grow from 15bn to 20bn up to 2020, with an additional 112,000 employees needed to meet demand. It estimates construction projects worth 19bn will commence or be completed in the next 12 months. CIF has said up to 31,000 carpenters and joiners, 28,000 general labourers, 12,000 plumbers, and 14,000 plasterers are needed over the course of the next three years. It has even set up a website, cifjobs.ie, to target the diaspora to fill the jobs. The latest CSO figures show unemployment is down to 7.1%, meaning an even smaller pool of skilled workers to choose from. Construction employers have started actively targeting people who moved abroad during the economic crash. One of those companies, ICDS Constructors, took to the CIF website to make an appeal to the diaspora to consider a return. From the trough of 2013, the construction industry has gradually returned to expansion and at the end of 2016 all indicators point to sustainable long-term growth, wrote its construction director Tom McHugh. The latest CSO figures show 154,800 people were out of work in January, almost 30,000, or 16%, lower than a year earlier. The fall was particularly significant in the 15-24 age bracket, down to 13.5% last month from 18.1% in January 2016. Although emigration has been a factor to some degree in keeping unemployment down since the financial crisis, the labour market has improved dramatically in recent years, reflecting the strengthening of the economic recovery, said Merrion economist Alan McQuaid. This article first appeared in today's Read More: Irish Examiner. A man is due in court this afternoon in connection with a drugs seizure in Cork. Two men were arrested after Gardai found 5.5kg of cannabis at a house on Ballinlough Road yesterday afternoon. The end of mobile roaming charges across the EU is a step closer following a provisional deal to cap wholesale charges. The European Parliament has agreed a deal to cap the prices that telecoms operators pay for using each other's networks. This is in order to allow travellers to use their mobiles across the EU for the same cost as they would at home. From mid summer, mobile calls within the EU will cost 3.2 cent per minute, while texts anywhere in the European Union will set you back one cent each. The full European Parliament and EU member states must confirm the deal. The new caps have to be low enough for operators to be able to offer fee-free roaming to customers without putting up domestic prices, but high enough so they can recover their costs. Dr Emmanuel Mallia, the Maltese Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy, said: "This decision is the final step in a process that started 10 years ago. "From next summer, wherever they are travelling in Europe, citizens will be able to make calls, send texts, surf and stay connected. Roam like at home is now a reality." An interim cap came into effect in April last year making roaming within the EU 75% cheaper during the interim period. The new rules aim to prevent consumers receiving huge bills after downloading films or other data while travelling in Europe. Consumers have been especially vulnerable to roaming charges since the smartphone market exploded and mobile data consumption soared. So-called "bill shock" from holidaying in the EU affects millions of mobile users a year. UK consumers will benefit from the agreement while the country remains a member of the EU, but there is uncertainty as to whether or not it will continue following Brexit. The HSE and Department of Health will be told to give doctors a 20% pay rise to stop them leaving the country. The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) says the wages of non-consultant doctors have been cut by 46% after new rules on working hours. The Justice Minister has described Donald Trump's policies on refugees as 'extraordinarily disappointing'. Frances Fitzgerald (pictured) has said the immigration ban on people from seven countries is morally questionable. The Minister added that the government's response should focus on Trump's policies, and not on pre-clearance at Irish airports. Frances Fitzgerald said there needs to be a quick response to help refugees: "We've never needed an international response to refugees more than the world needs it at present, so in that context what's happened in America is extraordinarily disappointing. "I think it's morally totally questionable and I think that Ireland has reacted very quickly. We sent our foreign minister immediately to make our views known on this issue." Former Irish president Mary Robinson (pictured) has described US president Donald Trump's controversial travel ban as "un-American", "anti-Muslim" and potentially illegal, writes Fiachra O Cionnaith. Ms Robinson made the comments as she said the "chilling" policy may be counter-productive as it is likely to be used by Islamic terrorist group Isis as a recruitment tool and a basis from which to justify attacks on the US. Speaking on RTE Radio's Morning Ireland programme, Ms Robinson - who was Ireland's first female president between 1990 and 1997 before serving as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights until 2002 - said she "fears" the new influence of "extreme right wing" views at the White House. Citing Mr Trump's controversial travel ban policy and the role of his advisor Steve Bannon, she said the "very disturbing" developments must be challenged. "The trouble is this ban on all refugees from Syria and seven largely Muslim countries, it's very un-American. I think a lot of people believed what he [Mr Trump] was saying was just to gain votes, so it is chilling that so much of it is now becoming a reality. "It's not going to make America safer. It will only encourage Isis, and if you look at the response from that region, it's quite clear they will only encourage Isis and make things worse. "At the moment this is a cabal around Donald Trump, and I fear the influence of Steve Bannon, who is very well known for extreme right wing views. "I certainly think they [the policies] are anti-Muslim," Ms Robinson said, adding that while she will not comment on whether Taoiseach Enda Kenny should travel to the White House of St Patrick's Day "he's a bit of a bully, and you have to stand up to bullies". Speaking on the same programme, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said he wants to make it clear that "on my behalf and on the behalf of the Government we don't support president Trump's actions at all". "They're discriminatory on religious grounds and inhumane on humanitarian grounds on refugees, and they may well violate the UN human rights and also the US constitution," he said. Mr Varadkar declined to comment on whether the implementation of the travel ban policy at US pre-clearance at Dublin and Shannon airports is legal, but that Ireland has to "respect" the right of a country to make its own laws. He said Ireland will "keep this under review", but said Ireland will not remove pre-clearance and did not explain what other options are available as part of any review. The State has withdrawn a charge against a disabled woman who was accused of harassing a 98FM presenter, writes Conor Gallagher. Geraldine Delahunty with an address at Convent Lawns, Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin faced a single count contrary to section 10 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act for alleged harassment of Dublin Talks co-host Jeremy Dixon from August 4, 2014, until January 16, 2015. The allegation related to social media communications. Today at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court counsel for the prosecution entered a nolle prosequi to the charge, meaning it is not being proceeded with. A previous hearing heard that a psychologist had prepared a report for the defence stating the Ms Delahunty was incapable of standing trial. The report stated this situation was not likely to improve or change with time or medication Fiona Murphy BL, defending, said it was more of a disability issue rather than a psychiatric issue. She said the woman, who is in her 40s, lives the life of a child and is in the care of her parents. Counsel said she required constant supervision. Last week the Director of Public Prosecutions said it wanted an independent expert to examine Ms Delahunty. Dean Kelly BL, for the prosecution, accepted there had been a delay by the DPP in responding to the defence report which was issued in July. Mr Kelly told that hearing that the prosecution was not taking the position that the contents of the report were disputed. The case had been adjourned today when the prosecution withdrew the charge completely. A memorial to Terry Wogan is to be erected in Limerick, it has been decided by Limerick City and Country Council. The decision to commemorate one of Limericks most famous sons, Terry Wogan, was reached a day after the first anniversary of his death. His death in January 2016 was a shock to all his fans, with the outpouring of grief testament to the love everyone had for Terry. Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Kieran OHanlon said: Terry was welcomed into the homes of millions of Irish and British people either on the television or radio. He had a very easy going way about him, which drew people in and he made people feel they were the only person he was talking to. He was proud to be from Limerick and a wonderful ambassador for Limerick and Ireland in Britain, at a time when it was difficult. It is right for Limerick to honour him and Im proposing a statue of Terry Wogan sitting on a bench with microphone in hand ready to have a good ole chat. Limerick City and County Council is to invite a number of artists who work in creating life-sized sculptures through the medium of bronze and who can deliver within a specified timeframe, to come up with ideas. A selection committee including input from the public will then select the preferred memorial. Sheila Deegan, Arts Officer with Limerick City and County Council said: Terry was a broadcasting legend across Ireland and Britain. His love of broadcasting will feed into the plans for the memorial. His farewell words on his last radio programme were of humility and pride and we want to capture both of those traits that he had as a broadcaster and as a proud Limerick man. The new President of University College Cork, Professor Patrick OShea, has promised that the institution will "continue its rise among the great universities of the world" during his tenure. The Cork native and UCC physics graduate, becomes the 15th President of UCC today having left his role as Vice President and Chief Research Officer at the University of Maryland in the US. Professor OShea was at the helm of a $500m (470m) a year research and innovation enterprise, and he helped the university to become one of the leading research universities in the world. Under his leadership, the University of Maryland achieved two years of record research funding in 2015 and 2016, and is on track to achieve even higher levels in 2017. Something Prof. O'Shea wants to achieve at his alma mater with "creative and innovative funding streams" as well as State funding. Professor OShea said: "In parallel, the University of Maryland also reached unprecedented heights in research rankings and scholarly excellence, rising to among the top universities in the world. "We achieved new heights in our graduation rates, in scholarly output and intellectual property development, and in our impact on the economy and the community, while remaining faithful to our core academic principles." Professor OShea is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. Previously he served as Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Director of the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, at the University of Maryland. On his appointment last June Professor OShea said: "My physics degree from UCC laid the foundations for a successful academic career in the US culminating in my current leadership role at the University of Maryland. I am delighted to return to lead my alma mater, a university of ancient heritage and modern focus. "UCCs students and staff have impressed me with their enthusiasm and commitment to excellence in education, scholarship, research and service. Through their dedication, passion, and achievement, UCC will continue its rise among the great universities of the world." Best known for his pioneering work on electron-accelerators and free-electron lasers, Professor OSheas area of expertise is in electromagnetics. He has played a leading role in several large research programs and supervised the work of 24 doctoral graduates. His other interests include history, linguistics, athletics and cycling. His membership of boards included Universitas 21 Research Leaders Steering Group (which brings together 25 of the worlds leading research universities), the National Institute of Aerospace, Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board, the Maryland Cybersecurity Council, the Maryland Innovation Initiative, Oak Ridge Associated Universities and Foundation. Professor OShea attended secondary school at Colaiste Chriost Ri in Cork, and holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Maryland. Donald Trumps narrowed eyes and belligerent posture make him appear like Italian wartime dictator Benito Mussolini in a wig, Bernard Ingham has said. Mr Ingham, who was Margaret Thatchers press secretary, posed the question: Is Trump, a man used to getting his own way, sufficiently modest to take advice from a British prime minister - and a woman to boot? "Is he man enough take a real handbagging when Theresa May gets seriously critical? "I simply cannot imagine Trump cowering in the Oval Office before May, partly because of his unbounded certitude of approach - take, for example, his drive for a wall along the Mexican border - and partly because May is not as passionate as Thatcher." Mr Ingham, writing in the Yorkshire Post, spoke of Mr Trumps misogyny and his apparent desire to be seen as "one of the lads". He asked: "Can Trump be persuaded that his instinctive protectionism will do the world no good at all and play into the hands of China to boot? "Here May has a real international job to do to prevent an American-led beggar-my-neighbour approach to international trade. "Trump does not seem to have warmed to any other international statesman, with the possible - and awful - exception of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. I think May is both able and desires to help Trump become a great president. "But is he sufficiently modest to value candid friends? Thatcher did not think you were much of a friend if you were not candid." Mr Ingham spoke of the "great Trump-May hand-holding love-in" at the White House, comparing it to the Reagan-Thatcher relationship in the 1980s. "I shall reserve judgment until they have met a few times and weathered a few storms together. "I shall know that, by Jove, theyve done it when I get that old 1980s feeling when they meet that I am again directing Rhett Butler and Scarlett OHara in Gone With The Wind. Forget about holding hands. Wait for the first kiss." Negotiations to leave the European Union are likely to descend into "name-calling" and "fist-fighting" before any agreement can be found, the UK's former ambassador to the EU has warned. Ivan Rogers, who quit in January after telling British Prime Minister Theresa May that Brussels diplomats thought it might take 10 years to reach a deal, said there was a "humongous" amount of work to do in what would probably be the country's largest ever negotiation. Police have raided dozens of properties in Germany and arrested a Tunisian man suspected of being a recruiter for Islamic State and rounding up supporters to carry out an attack. Frankfurt prosecutors said 54 flats, business premises and mosques in the region were searched early on Wednesday. An armed police officer receiving psychiatric treatment has barricaded himself into a room at an Istanbul hospital and attempted to commit suicide, causing panic, a hospital official said. Earlier, Turkish media reports claimed the man had taken doctors and other staff hostage at Cerrahpasa hospital in the city Zekayi Kutlubay, the hospital's chief doctor, said all staff has been evacuated from the psychiatry unit and the police officer was alone. He said police negotiators are trying to persuade the man not to kill himself "He is alone in the room," Mr Kutlubay told reporters outside of the hospital. "There is no hostage crisis ... God willing, we will convince him." Mr Kutlubay said the officer had been receiving psychiatric treatment for the past two years and the police force had confiscated his gun. "The gun is not his, but unfortunately he has a gun with him," the doctor said. Turkey is on edge following a spate of deadly attacks, including an armed assault at an Istanbul nightclub during a New Year's celebration that killed 39 people. - AP Brexit moved a step closer after British MPs voted for the first time in favour of legislation to pave the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the formal process of leaving the EU. The European Union (Notification Of Withdrawal) Bill will allow the Prime Minister to invoke Article 50 of the EU treaties and was backed by 498 MPs to 114, a majority of 384, at second reading in the House of Commons, its first stage. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was unable to contain a revolt on his frontbench as two shadow cabinet ministers quit so they could defy his orders and vote against the Bill. Shadow environment secretary and York Central MP Rachael Maskell and shadow equalities minister and Brent Central MP Dawn Butler both defied a three-line whip so they could vote in line with their heavily Remain-backing constituencies. Mr Corbyn will decide later on how to respond to an expected rebellion among junior frontbenchers over Article 50. Following a marathon 17 hours of debate over two days, MPs will now await the publication on Thursday of the Government's promised white paper setting out its strategy for withdrawal from the EU. Downing Street said it would "reflect the Government's plan for Brexit as the PM set out in her speech on our negotiating objectives". The major Commons skirmishes on the Bill are expected to take place next week during its committee stage, when the Government is likely to face attempts to amend it from all sides. A total of 47 Labour MPs defied Mr Corbyn's orders and voted against the Bill. Former chancellor Ken Clarke was the only Conservative to vote against the legislation. A total of 10 Labour junior shadow ministers and three whips, who are supposed to enforce party discipline, voted against triggering Article 50 in revolt against Mr Corbyn. The frontbenchers were shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan, shadow culture minister Kevin Brennan, shadow police minister Lyn Brown, shadow housing minister Karen Buck, shadow crime minister Rupa Huq, shadow Northern Ireland minister Stephen Pound, shadow housing minister Andy Slaughter, shadow foreign office minister Catherine West, shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead and shadow transport minister Daniel Zeichner. The whips were Thangam Debbonaire, Vicky Foxcroft and Jeff Smith. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, a close ally of Mr Corbyn, did not vote. A Labour source said she was "taken ill" and left Parliament at about 5pm. A Tunisian man suspected of being a recruiter for Islamic State has been arrested in Frankfurt as authorities raided dozens of locations. Tunisian officials also suspect the man of involvement in a deadly attack on a museum in his homeland in 2015, authorities added. Frankfurt prosecutors said their investigation focused on 16 people aged between 16 and 46. The main suspect, a 36-year-old Tunisian whom authorities did not identify, was arrested on suspicion of supporting a foreign terrorist organisation. Investigators believe he had been a recruiter and smuggler for the IS group since August 2015. They suspect he had built up a network of supporters with the aim, among other things, of carrying out an attack in Germany. However, they say that plans for an attack were at an early stage and no specific target had been chosen. The main suspect was in Germany from 2003 to 2013, then returned in August 2015 as an asylum-seeker, prosecutors said. He was arrested a year later in Frankfurt because he had not finished serving a 2008 sentence for bodily harm. Tunisia was also seeking his extradition at the time - the man was under investigation for alleged involvement in planning and carrying out the March 2015 attack on the Bardo museum in Tunis as well as a March 2016 attack on the border town of Ben Guerdane. In November, he was released again because he had served his previous sentence and Tunisia had failed to provide full documentation to support his extradition within the required 40-day deadline, prosecutors said. However, he was kept under round-the-clock surveillance until Wednesday's arrest. Wednesday's raids covered 54 flats, business premises and mosques in Frankfurt and the surrounding region. Officials said the raids followed a four-month investigation. In a separate case, prosecutors in Berlin said that they arrested three people on Tuesday night suspected of planning to travel to Syria or Iraq to undergo explosives and weapons training with IS. All three were associated with the Fussilet mosque in Berlin, known as a gathering point for radicals, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for prosecutors. Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri - a Tunisian whose asylum request had been rejected -visited the mosque shortly before his December 19 rampage in which 12 people were killed. - AP News / Africa by Mark Allix The Department of Home Affairs is set to increase its inspection of the sectors that employ large numbers of migrants, the BusinessDay reported.Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said in Pretoria on Tuesday the issue of migrant workers had taken centre stage worldwide and needed to be managed sensitively.He said the government needed to "control the narrative" regarding an issue that was becoming subject to right-wing opinions globally.Gigaba said the department planned to increase inspections in the mining, hospitality, construction and agricultural sectors. It also wanted to work with industry bodies, he said.On Tuesday, he met representatives of the hospitality sector to discuss the high rates of immigrant employment in the various sectors.A key issue was a failure to properly distinguish between economic migrants and refugees, he said.SA has been pushing various legislative reforms, including the 2014 Immigration Act, which introduced contentious requirements for unabridged birth certificates when travelling.The act also requires that individuals applying for a business visa, or companies applying for a corporate visa to bring in individuals with requisite skills, prove they employ at least 60% South African nationals.Legislative changes to the Refugee Act are also in the offing, with the Refugee Amendment Bill currently before Parliament, which will among other things, redefine some of the grounds for exclusion of refugee status.Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said the association had a direct interest in ensuring adherence to regulations for its members and the rest of the sector.The meeting also followed complaints by Cosatu last week that a Chinese company was "illegally" bringing in hundreds of Chinese workers as part of a contract to upgrade a cement plant from PPC.PPC has said in response it was satisfied the company - CBMI Construction - had complied with government regulations and protocols in relation to the labour employed on the project. This included local labour and scarce skills sourced abroad, it said.Gigaba said the department would probe the allegations.An announcement on the status of the Zimbabwean Special Permit - covering 197,000 people - should be made in February, he said.The special permits, which date back to 2010 and have been intermittently renewed, were unlikely to be extended past December 2017 and Zimbabweans who were eligible for existing visas should apply for them, Gigaba said."We are not going to take any decision that is going to leave hundreds of thousands of people on the street without documentation," he said. Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. Firefighters and residents fought the fast-spreading blazes on the ground on Tuesday, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules have dumped thousands of gallons of water on the area. An inquest has heard how a teenager tried to shield his grandfather from a rampaging gunman during the Tunisia terror attack which also claimed the lives of his brother and uncle. Owen Richards, who was 16 at the time, was helping Charles Patrick Evans, 78, try to escape as extremist Seifeddine Rezgui hunted for victims in a hotel. Mr Evans, his son Adrian Evans, 49, and grandson Joel Richards, 19, were shot dead within 12 hours of arriving in the Sousse beach resort. They were among 38 people killed by Rezgui at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel on June 26 2015. Inquests at the Royal Courts of Justice heard how the West Midlands family, who were enjoying the first day of a "boys' outing", fled from the outdoor pool area after hearing gunshots from the direction of the beach. In a police interview in the UK, Mr Richards described how he had been sitting on a lilo in the pool when he heard what sounded like "firecrackers, but a lot deeper". His brother Joel, an aspiring top-flight football referee, was sitting on the edge of the pool, and his uncle and grandfather were on sun loungers a short distance away. As guests began to flee, both teenagers ran to the older men before making for the hotel. Once inside they pressed the button for the lift but decided not to wait for it to arrive and ran to the indoor pool as Rezgui made his way around the corner. Mr Richards told police: "On the way granddad kept falling over so he was not very fast. "I saw the person running after us and he just came around the corner. Clearly we knew he had caught up with us. "Ade (Adrian) dived down and laid down. I was still holding granddad, trying to help him run." As the gunman approached, Mr Richards and Mr Evans, known to his family as Pat, fell to the floor. "I was hugging granddad on the floor and then I could see out of my right hand corner my brother and seeing him dive to the floor," Mr Richards said. "Then Joel screamed - I think he shouted 'no' three times, like pleading him to stop. "He lifted the gun up and I closed my eyes, then I heard a bunch of shots." Mr Richards described seeing Mr Evans was wounded before adding: "Granddad just said, 'he's got me'." Rezgui moved closer and shot Mr Evans again at close range as Mr Richards was still clinging to his grandfather. Realising his brother was lying nearby, Mr Richards said: "I hit his foot a few times, telling him to get up. "You could see in his eyes that he was not alive - there was no life in his eyes." His uncle was also lying motionless a little further away and Mr Richards ran to the neighbouring Soviva hotel before being taken in an ambulance for medical treatment for a wound on his left shoulder, believed to have been caused by a bullet. The coroner, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith, said: "It seems to me Owen behaved with extraordinary courage while trying to protect his grandfather." Church of the Brethren Newsline February 1, 2017 By Cliff Kindy FEMA stated that the six-inch rain event of August 2014 in Detroit, Mich., was the major disaster of that year for FEMA. But our US government disaster program did not allocate funds for that disaster, which had its most negative impact on African-American families. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) did choose to provide funding and volunteers for the Northwest Detroit Flood Recovery Project. When volunteers dwindled off, Brethren Disaster Ministries stepped into the breach, completing more than 55 homes during their stint. Mennonite Disaster Service was carrying similar responsibilities in East Detroit. Even with these strong disaster programs in gear, thousands of families were left without assistance. The families that Brethren Disaster Ministries served in Detroit were almost all African-American. As part of the Brethren Disaster Ministries orientation for Detroit volunteers Steve Keim explained that during World War II, African-Americans from southern states were brought in to replace white workers in the automotive industry who were sent off to war. At wars end those soldiers took back their jobs in the factories and the African-American workers seeped into the streams of neglect that nurture US structural racism. Although stories of random violence and gang activity fill our news channels those were not the experiences of volunteers working in Detroit. For example, the grandfather in one home was a physicist who had studied at Harvard. Older women would leave the white Brethren volunteer teams alone in their homes as they went shopping, even though these were strangers they did not know. The homes were secured by barred windows and double lock security doors at a time when white attacks on black people across the country were making headlines. A young high school senior in another home hung around the disaster volunteers, asking questions, and soon was pitching in to help hang drywall, re-set the basement banister, and install the security hardware for the exterior doors. Had we been at that site another two days, perhaps we would have enlisted another regular volunteer for other Brethren Disaster Ministries sites! Sure there were difficult stories. Homes had been more than two years without a furnace. The city wont turn on water without assurance the pipes wont freeze and burst. BDM put secure doors on a home that had been burgled immediately after a new furnace and water heater had been installed. Why is Detroita state-run citychoosing not to invest in check valves for flooded homes? Why not separate the storm sewer system from the waste water system? Why not invest in schools and job opportunities for the families who live in these well-built homes? Why it is likely that investment funds will flow in after the gentrificationthe whitingof Detroit gets under way? Natural disasters strike people from all walks of life. Always, in numbers out of proportion to their populations, poor and minority communities are most devastated in a disaster. This again happened in Detroit. Across the country it is economic racism that allocates the low-lying lands to those who can only afford to live on vulnerable sites. It is political racism that locates oil pipelines and toxic waste dumps in poor or indigenous communities. It is religious racism that soothes church members into accept continuing racial injustice in the richest society the world has ever seen. What can Brethren Disaster Ministries and the Church of the Brethren do in the face of this overwhelming and growing apartheid? We can continue to go to the Detroits of our nation. God becomes human to us in these settings. We can uncover our own personal racism and elect to ally ourselves with Gods efforts to transform us. We can choose Jesus downward mobility to walk more regularly with and as the poor and oppressed. Environmentally our world is entering into a time when displaced populations and critical disasters will overwhelm our capacity as church-based agencies to respond, or even make a difference. Undoing racism so we can tackle such insurmountable tasks together will open new spaces of possibility for us. Being open to Gods grace-filled transformation into justice allows us to participate with Gods in-breaking miracle of heaven on earth. Even so, come, lowly Jesus! Cliff Kindy is a Church of the Brethren member and a farmer in northern Indiana who volunteers with Brethren Disaster Ministries. Over the decades he also has participated in Christian Peacemaker Teams work in various countries including Israel and Palestine and Iraq. Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week. Church of the Brethren Newsline January 31, 2017 By Jeff Boshart The following is a brief report posted this past weekend from Tijuana, Mexico, by Jeff Boshart, manager of the Global Food Initiative and the Emerging Global Mission Fund for the Church of the Brethren: Greetings from Tijuana. I am here for a couple days with Ludovic St. Fleur [pastor of lEglise des Freres, a predominantly Haitian congregation of the Church of the Brethren in Miami, Fla.] and Gilbert Romero [founder of Bittersweet Ministries based in southern California, who has served on the Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren]. We got across the border with Mexico this morning and learned later that the US government closed the border crossing. The main purpose of the visit is to hear the stories of some of the Haitian immigrants who have been arriving by the hundreds by way of Brazil. They have stories of abuse in every country they have crossed and tales of those who died on the way. These people now face the reality that many of them are going to the US border, being put on buses, taken to detention centers, and being sent back to Haiti. The cruel reality that they face is that many of them sold most of their worldly belongings to pay the human traffickers to get to Brazil in the first place. They now have nothing to go back to. Tonight Pastor Ludovic gave an amazing message of Gods sovereignty over kings and presidents. A message that these travelers may not reach the promised land, but God has a purpose for each one of them, even if it is back in Haiti. After his message five people came forward to give their lives to Jesus. So friends, in the words of Ludovic, if Jesus is sovereign over the winds and the waves, he is certainly sovereign over little presidents. Amen and may it be so. Jeff Boshart serves on the Church of the Brethren Global Mission and Service staff as manager of the Global Food Initiative and the Emerging Global Mission Fund. Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week. Canberra can't afford to lose gains made in improving GP numbers, which remain low for the ACT, a health consumer advocacy leader has warned. While government investment in two walk-in centres and an influx of medical graduates had improved the ACT's GP numbers, a Productivity Commission report showed Canberra remained under serviced for GPs, Health Care Consumers Association executive director Darlene Cox said. GP numbers remain low in the ACT compared to other states and territories, a Productivity Commission report found. Credit:Getty Images Her comments came after the commission's report on government services found the ACT continued to have fewer GPs than interstate, recording 73.2 per 100,000 people. The figure increased by four from 2014-2015 but was still the lowest rate among all states and territories, and less than the 97.4 national rate. A former JB Hi-Fi store manager who used fake receipts to pocket more than $22,500 from two of the business's Canberra stores has been ordered to complete 150 hours of community service. Achoe Malarone, 41, fleeced stores at Phillip and Belconnen of the cash through 15 fraudulent transactions involving false receipts and customers for amounts between $800 and $2500 between October 2014 and May 2015. Achoe Malarone, 41, was a store manager when he took more than $22,500 from tills at Phillip and Belconnen JB Hi-Fi stores. Credit:Glenn Hunt He was charged after the ruse was uncovered by a loss prevention officer and he resigned. Malarone pleaded guilty to obtaining financial advantage by deception and faced the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing on Wednesday. The University of Canberra opened the doors to new lodgings at its Bruce campus to students on Wednesday, as the university prepares for continued growth, future-proofing accommodation at UC Lodge until 2020. University of Canberra's Vice President of Finance and Infrastructure Vicki Williams said the 496 new beds across 353 apartments brought the total number of beds on campus to 2476. The University of Canberra said there was enough accommodation on campus for all first year students. "The University also recognises the benefits of remaining competitive in its student accommodation offerings in an increasingly competitive market," Ms Williams said. According to Ms Williams, 1900 students are currently living on campus, making up 19 per cent of students studying at Bruce, and she expected the numbers to rise over the year with 2000 expected to be living there by the time semester starts. How long before the Trump-hating Clinton luvvies accept the legitimacy of the election, and the policies being implemented were clearly enunciated during the election. Owen Reid, Dunlop "Chaos" the headlines shout. Really? Sad, controversial, disconcerting, disrupting, harsh yes for the 100-200 people estimated by the American Civil Liberties Union to have been directly affected by the US migration ban. But "chaos" hardly! The measure was promised by Donald Trump during his election campaign. All he is doing is delivering. If Americans don't like it they should take a deep breath and remember that they voted him into office. Don Sephton, Greenway The question posed by Mark Kenny "What will it take?" ("Canberra's response either clever or mealy-mouthed", January 30, p.4) is spot-on. What in the name of God will it take for the Australian government to distance ourselves from the hate-filled venom emanating from a crazed dictator in Washington? I didn't live through the 1930s, but my own country's silence in the face of policies that demonise whole groups of people still fills me with dread. Sue Wareham, Cook Voting numbers "What gives" Bruce Kennedy (letters, January 31) is that of the just over half of those eligible (and that doesn't include children and others so about 220 million) actually registered to vote. (About) 80 per cent of those voted. This means there were around 125-130 million voters, 63million of whom voted Trump. Under the laws of the US, like here, you can win an election with less than 50 per cent of the vote. Jevon Kinder, Murrumbateman Heating up Former US Ambassador to Australia, Jeffery Bleich, said "the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality". Malcolm Turnbull, said "It is not my job, as Prime Minister of Australia, to run a commentary on the domestic policies of other countries." Leaders around the world have spoken up about the inhumanity of Trumps (immigration) executive order. Turnbull should learn what fairness, humanity and leadership is really about. Things may hot up for Malcolm in more ways than he expected. Tony Wynack, Wanniassa It appears that Malcolm Turnbull has finally found common ground with the majority of Australians on one issue he doesn't have what it takes to be a Prime Minister of substance. When questioned why he hadn't bothered to speak out for Australians facing discriminatory treatment by the Trump administration Turnbull offered this classic wimp out: "It is not my job". Couldn't agree more. Jon Stirzaker, Latham Short circuit After some consideration of budgets and bankers, Ross Gittins admitted he had, "supported privatisation of NSW's electricity 'poles and wires' mainly because [it had] presented the government with too much temptation to [gouge] their customers." ("Politics as a priesthood and the problem with being governed by bankers", January 30, pp32,33) In context, I suspect that MrGittins is tending to the opinion that the cure was worse than the disease. Privatisation of utilities has no history, globally, of producing cheaper supply. Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor Inappropriate attire I fought the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983 in Victoria. We had one fatality, a man who was on the fireground in shorts, T-shirt and thongs. I was reminded of this when Isaw the picture of the resident ("Close call for residents as fire flares in Latham", January 31, p.5). His motives were good, but it is irresponsible to go dressed in sneakers and no shirt (not to mention other items such as a hat); it is equally irresponsible to display his picture in the Times. Bob Gardiner, Isabella Plains Asylum-seeker question Can somebody explain to an old woman, once a refugee child in post-war Europe and then an eager young immigrant, the reason behind our government's effort to dump asylum seekers onto a country more densely populated and less stable than the one where asylum was sought? Meta Sterns, Yarralumla West Basin proposal disastrous for now and future generations No city has ever become famous for a housing estate. Yet here in Canberra we find our local government busy planning a housing estate for one of our central lakeside parks at West Basin. Our current city fathers should remember we are not building a city just for today, but also for well into the future. This is the same local government busy promoting higher population for Canberra and further urban densification for inner-city areas. Do they not know densely populated communities need even more open space if they are to remain healthy and sane. Our future city will need all the lakeside parks it can get. Comparisons are sometimes drawn between West Basin and Kingston Foreshore. Let us not forget that Kingston Foreshore was a "brownfields" site of disused industrial buildings, prime for redevelopment. To propose a private housing estate at West Basin is simply stealing public parkland, in no way comparable to rejuvenation of a post-industrial site. West Basin has enormous potential to return to being a beautiful and popular recreational lakeside park with rejuvenated boat and bicycle hire, picnicking and a natural lakeside swimming beach. Perhaps the name West Basin, in its raw simplicity, appears inviting to real estate concerns wanting location, location, location. A name change, such as Menzies Park, should be considered together with proper safeguarding of the space as a designated public park for now and future generations. Penleigh Boyd, Reid Renewal offers hope Finbar O'Mallon's report on the Left Renewal meeting of Greens in Canberra ("No policies, just division for the Greens", January 31, p.6) was a poor and misguided hatchet job. Here are a group of mainly young people wanting to change the world and all O'Mallon has to report are gripes from opponents who attended. Politics around the world is being shaken up. All that is solid is melting in to air and Left Renewal is an expression of that hope for a better world. Capitalism cannot provide a future for us either environmentally or economically. Left Renewal is one sign of a search for alternatives that empower ordinary people rather than make us slaves to the market. Left Renewal offers a vision of hope for the future.Left Renewal will grow because it expresses hopes for a radical and democratic future and is an alternative to the hate mongers. O'Mallon and the Canberra Times can do all it likes to malign these developments. They will not disappear. They may increase because they raise questions about the sort of society we want and give answers to those questions that fundamentally challenge the status quo. I am not a member of Left Renewal or the Greens. John Passant, Kambah Let's reclaim integrity Congratulations to Pat Cash ("'Legal Cheating' claim rejected", Canberra Times, 31 January, page 39) on his comments regarding injury timeouts in the recent Australian Open, as "legal cheating". It's quite noticeable how players recovered miraculously after the injury timeout. This was also noticeable during the match between Rafa Nadal and Alex Zverev when the latter received treatment for cramp. No doubt Nadal would also have liked a bit of the "magic spray" and a quick massage to get him through the match, but he didn't. However, "legal cheating" appears rife in our society. We just have to look at the number of times some politicians have been brought to account for claims of questionable expenditure. This has been happening for many years. We see it in the claims from some property developers in their development applications and multinational companies not paying taxes. Their catchcry "we're working within the law". We have been overtaken by greed, materialism and humanism. When will those in authority, with the ability to change the legal loopholes or print the truth, stand up and reclaim "integrity" for our society? Lead by example and stand up for what is right for the whole of our community and not just selected pockets of power. Wendy Ellis, Queanbeyan Expensive dud To those few who say about the Ellerton Drive Extension (EDE) "Just build it", be careful what you wish for! Why has it been on the maps and debated for 40 years but never built? Because it's an obscenely expensive dud. Council's own traffic studies prove it will worsen traffic in many critical areas. Trucks will continue through Queanbeyan's town centre and traffic on Monaro St (aka the Monaro Highway) will decrease by only five per cent. What is certain is Queanbeyan-Palerang rates will increase substantially in three years' time to pay for the EDE when the temporary rates freeze is lifted. John Barilaro, National Party MP for Monaro, claims "First and foremost I'm the member for Monaro ... I always look through the local member perspective of what is best for our community" ("Barilaro's stance on Council amalgamations won't impact Queanbeyan-Palerang", canberratimes.com.au, January 20). John, start listening to your constituents who are white hot angry about the Queanbeyan-Palerang forced council merger and the fact the EDE would never have been approved if we still had elected representation. The Nationals are gone in Monaro (and elsewhere in NSW) at the next election unless their government reverses council mergers and major decisions made by administrators. Claire Cooper, Queanbeyan, NSW Trump coverage Fairfax media, please pay no attention to Neil Watson (letters, January 31) when he asks for the retirement of Paul McGeough and his "wearing ... and overblown" articles about President Trump. They are the first thing I look for in the Canberra Times. There can be no such thing as "overblown" when it comes to this megalomaniac. Jennifer Saunders, Canberra TO THE POINT QUID PRO QUO I never thought I might be caught up in the Centrelink fiasco. A letter from Icon water informed me I might lose my water concession because their details on me didn't match my DVA Gold Card. DVA had me as Norman.E. Lee, and icon had me as Norman Ernest Lee. My sympathies go out to fellow Centrelink victims. Norman. E. Lee, Weston JOKER IN THE PACK Monday's editorial (January 31, page 10) refers to Trump's 207 weeks still to go. Yes, interesting times. But what of the impact of the mid-term elections. Trump stymied by a Democrat majority in both houses? Now that would be interesting. A scenario for impeachment or resignation? A. Rhodes, Cook Donald Trump is making America hated again. Bert Castellari, Curtin BARR HIS ENTRY D. Perry (letters, January 31) suggests Andrew Barr head to Queanbeyan with his billboards. No thank-you Mr Perry. We will be forced to activate our call-in powers to repel him if that's what it takes. P. Stanford, Queanbeyan The 'cool' capital? Nothing cool about billboards. Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla SOUND ADVICE Recent letters have complained about the volume being too loud at cinemas, with Fred Schelb (letters, January 27) citing Rogue One at Woden. I saw Rogue One at Civic, and found the volume too low. I didn't feel like I was in the middle of an interplanetary battle. Ian Douglas, Jerrabomberra, NSW EARNING HIS KEEP Peter Dahler begrudged the light rail project director's remuneration. (letters, January 31). Tram tracks have been laid for only about 100 years. There is (also) that newfangled electricity to deal with. Such rare knowledge is worth every cent. John Simsons, Holt CATCH UP, TREASURER What a proud moment for Scott Morrison, beating his chest over Donald Trump's immigration policies. "The world is catching up with Australia." How deplorable and out of touch with humanity is this man. Failed immigration minister, failed treasurer. Steve Clarke, Macgregor STARRY SPARRING News / Agriculture by Alice Dube Government has with immediate effect banned Agritex officials from commenting on its sponsored Command Agriculture activities with vice president Emmerson Mnangangwa mandate to divulge any information to the media.It was not immediately clear what has promoted ban.A memorandum titled "Media Policy for Command Agriculture Programme" has been sent to all provinces."Of recent CMM provincial Agritex Officers have been reporting to the media about Command Agric activities in their respective provinces."Be advised that interaction with the media on Command Agric activities is officially the prerogative of Hon V P Mnangagwa CMM the Hon min of Agric Mechanisation & IRRG Development and the Dep Chief Sec OPC ONLY" reads part of the memorandum obtained by Bulawayo24.com.In August last year, Mnangagwa launched a $500 million programme, which aims to produce two million tonnes of maize on 400,000 hectares of land.Under the programme, 2,000 farmers are given inputs, irrigation and mechanized equipment but will be required to give five tonnes per hectare to government as repayment.Zimbabwe borrowed from private banks to finance the importation of farming equipment from Brazil, Belarus, Russia and India under its ambitious Command Agriculture programme aimed at enhancing grain production in the country.Zimbabwe requires about 1,5 million metric tonnes of maize annually to meet demand.Government said the command agricultural programme has been over-subscribed.But many doubt that the interest on the programme is driven by the desire to change the country' s precarious food security situation.There are fears the scheme could have been over-subscribed by opportunists bent of making a quick buck. Strong governments stand up for little people. In working-class Brisbane in the early 1970s, no one stood up for the Chesters. "Working parents, three kids. My mother had been squirrelling away money for two years to afford a return flight to Perth to visit her mother," daughter Karen told a conference late last year. "The price of domestic air travel at the time was in real terms over fourfold what it is today. The price of clothing, with tariffs north of 40 per cent think President Trump was also more than threefold higher in real terms than today. And three kids, each five years apart in age, experienced a simultaneous exponential growth spurt." Single mothers lazy? Anthony Albanese son of a single mother is right to call for Pauline Hanson to dump Western Australian One Nation candidate David Archibald for saying single motherhood "was a lifestyle choice" and that single mothers were "too lazy to attract and hold a mate". As a single mum of four, I am used to this negative stigma which too often accompanies non-traditional parenthood. One Nation candidate for the PIlbara David Archibald called single mums 'too lazy to attract and hold a mate' Credit:YouTube/mmattjanet I know I am in the minority: Only 16 per cent of families worldwide are single-parent families. But given I didn't get a full night's sleep for almost 4000 consecutive nights (or 10 years), that could hardly make me lazy. Single motherhood means double the work, double the responsibility and double the number of decisions. The formula for raising children is often difficult for two-parent families to grasp let alone one on their own. For me, the job of single motherhood wasn't a choice, but circumstances lead me here. The package goes beyond fulltime paid work. I single-handedly supported a family of five, raising four children under seven, with the constant anxiety of being 100 per cent accountable for the well-being of my children. It's not just the anxiety but the lack of some one to help with chores around the home that can be overwhelming. I was taking the garbage bins out the night I went into labour with my fourth child. I had to cajole the other three children into the car (yes they all came to the birth). This cemented the turbulent breadth of responsibility that lay ahead. Former Billabong boss Matthew Perrin is sent to jail - at our expense - for eight years for forging his then-wife's signature. And killer David Bradford is let out of jail on bail, despite facing charges over a cruel and savage attack on his ex-wife and the mother of his children. Sure Perrin was convicted - but it's about the use of our jails. And for my money, a man accused of gross violence should take a cell over a white-collar non-violent criminal. Bradford's ex-partner Teresa is dead. Her children, who were home at the time of their mother's brutal slaying at the hands of their father, will face nightmares for life. It was Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew who once chided that Australia in the 1980s appeared a nation destined to be the "poor white trash of Asia". It was a calculated barb from a supposed friend, but politicians of the era nevertheless adopted the phrase as a challenge, to spur a transformation in Australia away from complacent parochialism to embracing the prospects for a multicultural country in a growing global economy. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The benefits in the years since have been enormous, in quality of life, culture and identity. Yet the debate over the character of Australia lingers still, and could be heard in competing visions set out by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten this week to the National Press Club. In what is traditionally seen as the beginning of the political year, both speeches were substantive, and at a time of dwindling public trust in the political system, deserve to be applauded as a genuine contest of ideas. Recent changes to the US National Security Council should be ringing loud alarm bells in Canberra. By demoting the highest-ranking military officer and the highest-ranking intelligence officer, and appointing political adviser Stephen Bannon as a permanent member of the NSC, Donald Trump has seriously escalated the risk of the US launching into ill-advised conflicts. Bannon comes from a role as chairman of the racist, Islamophobic website Breitbart.com, and is reported as having been in charge of writing the recent executive order that has banned US entry for refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations. It is no secret that Australian foreign policy and defence forces are closely enmeshed with the US. Since Trump has taken office he has loudly proclaimed an "America first" foreign policy, and his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, talks of denying China access to artificial islands in the South China Sea. Any such blockade is likely to be seen by the Chinese as an act of war. Malcolm Turnbull's meek response to the immigration executive order does not inspire confidence that he will stand up to the US. Historically Australia's foreign policy has also leaned towards "America first", with little differentiation between our ally's interests and our own. In rushing to join the coalition going into Iraq, the thought that Australia may be better off not invading another country on the basis of dubious intelligence was overlooked. Indeed, in the Vietnam War, the CIA knew the war was unwinnable, even before Australia sent troops. Malcolm Fraser, defence minister at the time, was livid when he discovered this many years later. A total of 521 Australian troops died in Vietnam and about 3000 were wounded. Since World War II, Australia has joined in more US wars than any other ally. With Canberra's current "business as usual" agenda, Australia is at high-risk of joining future US wars that will likely create further humanitarian disasters and undermine our security. Simultaneously there is talk of expanding US bases in the region. What is Australia going to say when the US asks to increase its bases on our soil? Are we willing to make Australia a target? CIA documents from the 1980s released this month revealed authorities expected the Pine Gap spy base near Alice Springs to be attacked in the event of a US-Soviet nuclear fight. Australia has US marines based in Darwin, multiple surveillance bases and about 40 senior Australian Army officers working in US Pacific Command. This includes an Australian Army Major-General serving as the deputy commanding general operations, US Army Pacific. This intense enmeshment reinforces Australia's past behaviour; when the US goes to war, we have little option but to follow. With the US building up its military bases around China, American threats of blockades in the South China Sea are reckless and provocative. A war between China and the US is not in Australia's interests or anyone's interests. Another example of US influence has been Australia's behaviour at recent UN talks regarding the nuclear weapons ban treaty. Australia has acted as US proxy in trying to thwart these negotiations. So much so that the Australian delegation was dubbed the chief of the "weasel states". Despite Australia's efforts, negotiations for a treaty will go ahead this year. Australia has not committed to participating, which calls into question our government's commitment to the UN. Australia urgently needs to re-evaluate its American bases and promote steps that defuse rather than intensify regional tensions. Having senior Australian defence personnel integrated into the US defence force hinders Australia acting independently. Do we want Australia to be capable of making strategic decisions in the national interest? New Zealand clearly acts in its own interest and remains an ally. With Trump now the new US Commander-in-Chief, is it wise that we allow ourselves to be so automatically tied to American foreign policy? War in our region would be a humanitarian catastrophe for all involved. Margaret Beavis is a Melbourne GP and president of the Medical Association for Prevention of War. Energy giant Santos has lodged its long-delayed application to develop the controversial Narrabri coal seam gas project, a move opponents say will trigger a big battle and is merely a "fattening up" exercise ahead of a sale. Santos on Wednesday submitted its State Significant Development Application and associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the new billion-dollar proposed gas field in the Pilliga State Forest and its surrounds. The venture, which the company says could supply as much as half of NSW's gas needs and generate 1300 jobs in its construction phase and 200 ongoing ones, is "based on the best available science" to ensure the environment and water are protected, Santos said in a statement. "The EIS has concluded the project can proceed safely with minimal and manageable risk to the environment," Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said. Queensland's LNP is facing a dilemma over how to handle One Nation preferences, as it attempts to balance contrasting views from its city and country members in the face of a growing threat from the outlier party. And Malcolm Turnbull is unlikely to help them solve it, with the Prime Minister shying away from issuing a John Howard-style decree to preference One Nation last, as conservatives struggle to combat Pauline Hanson's appeal without alienating a shared voter base. It has left the LNP with a conundrum, as it publicly refuses to rule out any preference deal. Internally, party sources say, debate continues to rage between the potential gains a preference deal could mean in regional and rural electorates and the possibility of a backlash that same deal could bring from south-east voters. "There are those who see it as a Faustian bargain and those who see it as the saving grace," one senior LNP member told Fairfax Media. This donation was always going to have to be declared, yes far too late under our disclosure laws, so why not own it up-front and immediately? Wouldn't a real-time disclosure have sent a signal that he is a different sort of PM? Turnbull's actions ridicule his own claim that he is not a political insider. The Sydney Morning Herald editorial is scathing on this particular claim today. [Read] Weirder still is his attack on Bill Shorten claiming the Labor leader wants to live in his own Harbourside Mansion (Kirribilii House) at taxpayers expense. Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull's sprawling home in Point Piper. Credit:Edwina Pickles Not only has Turnbull validated the attack made on him by a former staffer, Peta Credlin, and thereby elevated her, but he's also once again reminded us that he's requiring the federal police to man his personal Harbourside Mansion because he doesn't want to downgrade to Kirribilii. And seriously, does anyone think any political leader is in it for the sole purpose of living at Kirribili? Liberal backbench MP Craig Kelly. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen One of Turnbull's MPs has joked that the mega donation was clearly one of Turnbull's trademark investments as it secured the Coalition a one-seat majority! Ouch. Labor is harsher, accusing the PM of basically buying his position and the election. [My report/Fairfax] 2. Trump says "go nuclear" President Donald Trump announces his nomination to the Supreme Court. Credit:AP With a number of senior Democrats saying they won't support Donald Trump's conservative choice for the Supreme Court, the president made it clear on Wednesday he wants Republicans to set aside convention and take the "nuclear" option to confirm him anyway. [Politico] US Democrats boycotted moves to advance two of Trump's Cabinet nominees so the Republicans used their absence to their advantage and progressed the nominations for the Treasury and Health and Human Services departments. [Arnie Seipel/NBC News] Stephen Bannon. Credit:Bloomberg Studying the figures around Trump is crucial in understanding the Trump administration. My must-read for today is this terrific long-read in The Washington Post on Steve Bannon, the far-right ideologue and former head of Brietbart News. [Frances Stead Sellersm David A. Fahrenthold] 3. Farage trolled You gotta pay this. UKIP's Nigel Farage was boasting how he gave "both barrels" to the European Commission during a speech in which he called for Donald Trump to address the EU Parliament, naturally. [Cynthia Kroet/Politico.eu] But it was his Labor opponent Seb Dance who stole the day. UKIP, which so hates political correctness, has filed a complaint, reports Adam Payne. [Business Insider] 4. Brexit/Trump Speaking recently to one Australian departmental official who had seen up close the UK Government's operations, we both remarked how much more mature, proactive and open the Brits are towards informing the media. Australia, I have long thought, has one of the worst approaches when it comes to communications with the government and departments always on the defensive, speaking in acronym heavy, meaningless mumbo jumbo. Treasurer Scott Morrison pictured in London on 24 January 2017. Credit:Bloomberg Just take a look at this exchange I had with Scott Morrison when he was in London last week. (I've cut out a bit of the back and forth for brevity but full transcript here). QUESTION: Are you going to raise the debt ceiling? MORRISON: Gross debt will peak at just over 30 per cent of GDP which is a third of what it is in many other developed countries and those issues will have to be accommodated in the normal way. QUESTION: What does that mean Treasurer? TREASURER: Well it means they will have to be accommodated in the normal way. I came away from that thinking if a knock-about guy like Scott Morrison, who represents Sydney's Sutherland shire area can't or doesn't want to speak plainly, what hope do we all have in trying to understand our politicians given how difficult it is for them to cut through as it is? If the answer is yes, sure you get a bad story about needing to raise the debt ceiling, but politically slippery language simply compounds the problems biting the political class in the form of the backlash against the establishment we are experiencing today. As one former MP said to me since retiring from Parliament, I just want to throw something at my television when I hear them speak. Don't they know we can all tell when they dodge and evade? British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street on January 31, 2017. Credit:Jack Taylor In Britain I find the speaking is more plain, clearer, active and concise. The Foreign Office has begun regular briefings with the prime minister's team for all foreign correspondents and I attended today's session. Sure the spin was heavy but so was a genuine effort to answer queries and reach out to the reporters shaping coverage from London for the rest of the world. After all, Britain wants to be Global Britain post-Brexit we're told. Trump and EU were the focus of the questions, obviously. It appears the question of Trump addressing the Parliament is not decided (although it would be very hard to justify denying Trump an honour afforded to Obama, Clinton et al.) [My report/Fairfax] 5. Ukraine One of the questions at the briefing came from a Russian reporter for the news agency Tass about the conflict that's flared up again in Ukraine. Russian state media is highlighting the change in tone from the United States now Trump's in power. A story to watch. [Shaun Walker/The Guardian] 6. Bunnings opens in UK on Thursday With more lace than your grandmother's good room and more layers than an onion, David Jones launched one of its strongest winter campaign's in Sydney on Wednesday. The department store's behind-the-seams shake-up, which saw long-serving merchandise and fashion boss Donna Player replaced by Woolworths South Africa stalwart David Collins last year, has paid off, as the upcoming seasonal showcase was a comprehensive catalogue of Australian labels, international designer wear, accessories and wedding dresses. David Jones Fashion parade. Credit:Edwina Pickles While a bridal section is trickier to execute than a homemade pavlova it's a fine line between a fairytale moment and suburban wedding expo vibe the retailer showed off a handful of fluffy looks by Monique Lhuillier, Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta with a finale that was more entertaining than an episode of Married at First Sight. When the temperature drops, layering, ruffles and bell sleeves louder than the ones that provided the soundtrack to the show staged outside St Mary's Cathedral, will be must have wardrobe staples. In a move that speaks to fashion's power for making a political statement (beyond, say, a peppy logo t-shirt or a well-meaning if occasionally tone-deaf editorial), the label Opening Ceremony has released a limited capsule collection called the "Global Varsity Collection." It's a range of pieces (including varsity jackets, t-shirts and jumpers at fairly exxy prices) that features the flags and national symbols of countries around the world. The kicker? The collection was released on the same day that US President Donald Trump enacted his executive order to impose restrictions on refugee intakes and immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. "We wanted to celebrate the fact that the America we know is comprised of a diverse and expansive group of nations," said Humberto Leon & Carol Lim, founders of Opening Ceremony. "To do so through our iconic varsity jacket felt like a perfect way to highlight each country's unique attributes through colour, symbols and patterns." Diane von Furstenberg has spoken out against the ban. Credit:Brent N. Clarke The move from the brand is, as The Hollywood Reporter noted, one of the few major statements from the fashion industry on Trump's polarising move. It's a contrast from the dozens of fashion types who joined in the women's marches last month by marching, donating profits on the day to Planned Parenthood and creating merchandise and social media posts in support of the cause. As fashion designer Rachel Comey said of the marches in an open letter to her industry: News / Local by Staff Reporter Jabulani Sibanda, ex-Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association chairman will have his day in court in May for allegedly insulting President Robert Mugabe.The controversial politician is accused of insulted Mugabe at a rally in Mutare in 2014 saying power was not 'sexually transmitted'.Thereafter, he was given his marching orders from ZANU-PF.According to reports, the State sought the postponement, with the consent of Sibanda saying they were waiting for the determination of his ConCourt application before proceeding to trial.The case has been dragging on for a long time with speculation that it will eventually crumble. When she won the Stella Prize on Tuesday, Charlotte Wood had a fantastic and poetic speech prepared on the role books play in our lives. Wood, a Sydney-based novelist, took out the $50,000 prize for Australian womens' literature for her fifth novel The Natural Way of Things. Charlotte Wood won the Stella Prize for her novel The Natural Way Of Things. Credit:Daniel Munoz The novel explores a dystopian world where women are send to a hard labour camp in the middle of nowhere after being involved in affairs with high-profile men. In a ceremony at the Sydney Opera House, Wood admitted she became bogged down at times when writing her award-winning book, and at one point wanted to abandon the project all together. When Michael Vaudreuil's college classmates were in the library studying together at night, he was wiping down chalkboards and picking up their trash. But this weekend, donning a black cap and gown, he stood with them not as a 54-year-old college custodian but as a fellow undergraduate. Michael Vaudreuil graduated from the same college he cleaned at night. Credit:Joyce Vaudreuil It was 2008, the year of the economic downturn, when Vaudreuil filed for bankruptcy, his house was foreclosed on and his car repossessed. His thriving 24-year plastering business had ground to a halt as the economy waned. Months earlier, in May 2007, a typically busy time for construction work, he sat home for two weeks without any jobs lined up, the first time that had ever happened in all the years he'd been an independent contractor. It was the first warning that hard times were ahead. By fall, he tried to find a steady job with a construction company but by then no one was hiring. And now he no longer had the extra income to support his wife's entrepreneurial effort -- a coffee vending machine business -- so that went under, too. From left: Australian Liberty Alliance Senate candidates Bernard Gaynor, Debbie Robinson and Kirralie Smith at the party's launch in 2015. Credit:Getty Images As it was, a confluence of events brought her to her mission. In 2000 Smith and her husband Greg, a tradesman, sought out volunteer work in Mali and there met the Assemblies of God missionary Faouzi Arzouni, whom she describes as a Muslim apostate who became a friend and mentor. Two years later the couple went on another trip, a 10-day visit to refugee camps of the displaced of what is now known as the Maluku sectarian conflict in Indonesia, during which Christian and Muslim communities fell into violent political and ethnic conflict. Smith recalls sitting in refugee camps hearing terrible stories of violence perpetrated by Muslims. Liberal senator Cory Bernardi is one of several prominent conservatives to have voiced support for Smith. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In 2009 Smith's husband took her to a talk being given by Mark Durie, an Anglican vicar. During that lecture Durie expressed concern about buying certain supermarket products because they had been certified as halal. Smith was intrigued and began her own investigations on the internet, learning that many brands are halal-certified, and that a portion of the fees paid for such certification is donated to Muslim charities. In other countries, Smith contends, those charities have directed funds towards groups with terrorist links. Her online investigation became a website, Halal Choices, a campaign and, with the support of Bernardi and Christensen, a parliamentary inquiry into "third party" food certification. Finally it became a political ambit, with Smith running for the ALA in a campaign launched by the anti-Islamic immigration Dutch MP Geert Wilders. A screenshot of Dutch politician Geert Wilders speaking in an anti-immigration campaign ad. Credit:YouTube "There is no question of our country being Islamified. Now, this reply constituted a historical error as soon as it was uttered," Wilders once told Dutch parliament. "I can report that they have had enough of burkas, headscarves, the ritual slaughter of animals, socalled honour revenge, blaring minarets, female circumcision, hymen restoration operations, abuse of homosexuals, Turkish and Arabic on the buses and trains as well as on town hall leaflets, halal meat at grocery shops and department stores, Sharia exams, the Finance Minister's Sharia mortgages, and the enormous over-representation of Muslims in the area of crime, including Moroccan street terrorists," Wilders said. George Christensen and Pauline Hanson in Parliament. Credit:Andrew Meares Smith says she does not believe there is an imminent threat of adopting Sharia law, but is concerned about what she calls "creeping Sharia". "We are being encouraged very strongly to tolerate Sharia finance, halal certification, the hijab," she says. Kirralie Smith has been described as a potential leader for a new conservative movement. "Sharia is definitely present in Australia I believe there are honour killings and it is all reported under domestic violence or another name," she says. As evidence she says she has close friends who are pastors who work in churches who have provided sanctuary to victims. But Smith's concerns are broader than creeping sharia. During the US election she was horrified by Hillary Clinton's support for abortion rights. She opposes political correctness, Safe Schools and big government regulations imposed upon farmers by distant bureaucrats. "I pretty much oppose everything the Greens stand for," she says. She was also appalled by the Liberal Party's abandonment of Tony Abbott for Malcolm Turnbull. This broader political outlook, and Smith's articulate direct manner, has led some observers to speculate that she is a potential leader for a new conservative movement, one energised by the international populist surge. She is, says John Adams, a former Coalition adviser who has written about the need for more intellectual depth in the new conservative movement, a more capable and charismatic messenger than, say, Pauline Hanson. ("I think Pauline has a lot of good sentiment, I am not sure about the ability," says Smith of Hanson.) In the months since the campaign Smith has kept in touch with supporters via videos on her Facebook page. In them she is relentlessly bright and articulate, upbeat about Christmas and Australia Day, though scandalised by the recent billboard that showed a pair of little girls celebrating in a hijab and cheerily opposed to the "threat" of multiculturalism. She denies ever having had media training, though confesses that she is constantly asked if she has. A man has been shot in the chest and killed in what is believed to be a targeted attack over a drug dispute in Sydney's west overnight. Homicide squad detectives have launched an investigation into the 37-year-old man's death at the house on Kennedy Street in Guildford on Wednesday night. Police received a triple-zero call about 11.10pm to say that a man had been shot and was seriously injured. NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived a short time later to find a man in cardiac arrest with a gunshot wound to his chest. They attempted to revive him, but he died at the scene. The Berejiklian government is considering using plebiscites to allow residents to decide the future of the state's councils, in a potential major about-turn from one of the Coalition's signature policies. The use of plebiscites to settle the contentious issue of council mergers would raise logistical and political issues across the state, after multiple councils were already forcibly amalgamated. But after Gladys Berejiklian declared that she would listen to the community on the topic, it is understood that councils that have not yet merged may be spared amalgamation. It is unclear what would happen to councils that have been merged, but if the government did not allow residents in those areas to vote on the future of their councils, there would be a certain strong backlash from MPs and residents. Plebiscites are likely. Torres Nadredre, left, before he was struck down by gangrene. Represented by John Watson of Shine Lawyers, the claim alleges Bamaga Hospital was negligent in its initial treatment of Mr Nadredre. A TCHHS spokeswoman said they could not comment on the ongoing case, but said Bamaga Hospital complies with the Australian College of General Practitioners Standards for General Practice, and in July 2015 it won an excellence award for 'Improvement in Health Service Quality'. Only Mr Nadredre's right thumb could be saved. Staffed by three doctors and 19 nurses, Bamaga Hospital was Mr Nadredre's first port of call when he felt unwell in the early hours of January 1, 2014. "This time I said 'no, I need to go to the hospital'," he said. Gangrene developed while Mr Nadredre was in ICU. Complaining of light-headedness, body aches and nausea, Mr Nadredre said he was sent home from the hospital twice that day with a diagnosis of the flu and some Panadol. "I just went home, took the tablets, felt sick and threw up all day, all night," he said. It wasn't influenza, however: Mr Watson said Mr Nadredre was actually suffering from acute bacterial endocarditis - an inflammation of the heart tissue caused by bacterial infection. On January 2 Mr Nadredre collapsed, and his wife Kristen had to rush him back to hospital. "With the last strength I had in me I stood up - I knew something was wrong - I just stood up, walked into the other room, called out 'Kristen' and I just fell over," he said. By this stage Mr Watson said "he had developed septic shock, bacteria started to shut his heart down." Medically evacuated to Cairns Base Hospital, Mr Watson said ICU staff spent the next week trying to restore Mr Nadredre's heart function. "He wasn't getting proper circulation to his fingers, to his feet," Mr Watson said. "But they couldn't reverse the effects of the endocarditis. His cardiac output only got worse and worse." Mr Nadredre said he woke from a month-long coma in Townsville Hospital where they had replaced his infected heart valve. Not long after, his legs and fingers were amputated, and he then started his claim against the TCHHS over that first day of treatment. "To me, when someone is in an unusual situation like Torres - he has rheumatic heart disease, he has an artificial valve ... one would have thought they would have been sufficiently suspicious ... that something was really going wrong," Mr Watson said. In six months' time, Mr Nadredre and Mr Watson will meet with TCHHS at a compulsory conference to try to settle the claim. "Obviously the hope is to get some sort of settlement that can get him the financial assistance he needs," Mr Watson said. There are escalating calls for urgent changes to bail for those accused of domestic violence following the stabbing murder of a mother-of-four on the Gold Coast. Teresa Bradford's estranged husband David was released on bail less than three weeks before he killed his wife and took his own life while their children were still inside their Gold Coast home on Tuesday morning. He was facing charges of choking, deprivation of liberty, assault occasioning bodily harm and domestic-violence-related common assault over a November attack on his 40-year-old wife, but was released on January 12 despite police objections. Friends said Ms Bradford was scared of what he would do and trying to leave her Pimpama home so he could not find her. If anyone had any lingering doubts about whether "jobs" were on the agenda for the Palaszczuk government, the premier's speech on Wednesday has confirmed it. In just over 17 minutes, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the word "jobs" 11 times at a Capricornia Chamber of Commerce lunch in Yeppoon, in addition to talking about the economy, work, infrastructure, employment, education, tourism and Shoalwater Bay. The word "region" (or deviations) was used 20 times, "economy" (or deviations) eight times, "work" (or deviations) 12 times, "employment" (or deviations) four times and "tourism" (or deviations) nine times. The premier is spending her week in central Queensland, announcing a $200 million jail expansion in Rockhampton, holding community cabinet, a town hall meeting and is expected to travel to Gladstone on Thursday. The Queensland government will consider forcing anyone accused of serious domestic violence offences to convince a magistrate they are safe to be released, under a review of the state's bail laws. But the lawyer for the Gold Coast man whose murder-suicide brought the issue to the fore maintained the potential changes would not have prevented his client being released. David Bradford, 52, was freed on bail less than three weeks before police believed he murdered his wife, Teresa, at her Pimpama home, before taking his own life. It's believed at least three of her children were home early Tuesday morning and rushed to alert neighbours to the horrible crime. The brother of accused Bourke Street killer Dimitrious Gargasoulas has been discharged from hospital after 12 days. Angelo Gargasoulas was a patient of The Alfred hospital after his brother allegedly stabbed him multiple times at the Windsor public housing unit where their mother lives in the early hours of January 20. He was driven to hospital in a critical condition by a friend, having suffered stab wounds to his chest and head. Hours after the alleged stabbing at the Raleigh Street public housing unit, Dimitrious Gargasoulas is accused of ploughing through lunchtime crowds in a car on Bourke Street. Six people were killed, including a three-month-old baby boy and a 10-year-old girl. News / Local by Staff Reporter A self styled prophet from Govere Village under headman Kwenda, Chief Neshangwe in Sadza District has appeared in court after he allegedly raped and infected a form four whizkid with an STI on the guise of exorcising her of an evil spirits.The crime only came to light after the girl suffered stomach pains linked to the STI.Mudyiwa appeared before Chivhu Regional Magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni facing three charges of raping the pupil from Neshangwe Secondary School.The brilliant pupil told the court that she suspected an infection after Kunzwana Kwevapostori Church founder and Prophet Percy Mudyiwa (42) of Bolton Farm, Village 1, Plot 11, Wedza raped her on three different occasions.It is the State case that sometime in October last year, the complainant visited Mudyiwa's church located at a bushy area at Govere Village where she wanted to be cleansed of evil spirits. The accused person then proposed love to the complainant and the complainant turned down the proposal.Mudyiwa intimidated the complainant saying that she was being haunted by evil spirits and he was the only one who could cleanse her. On November 8, the accused followed the complainant as she was going to school, grabbed her when they had got to a secluded area and raped her once.It is the State case that the complainant bled and wiped the blood with a handkerchief. Mudyiwa threatened to stab the complainant if she divulged the matter to anyone. He also ordered the complainant to accompany him to a nearby stream to wash off the blood.On the second count, on November 22 the complainant passed through the accused's homestead on her way to school and Mudyiwa followed and raped her again. The accused ordered the complainant to bath before she left him at a nearby stream. The complainant did not tell anyone about the abuse.On the last count, the accused caught up with the complainant at a secluded area whilst she was on her way to school and raped her again.On December 5, last year, the complainant felt some stomach pains and told her grandmother who questioned her about the cause of the illness and the complainant divulged that she suspected that the accused person could have infected her with a disease when he sexually abused her. A report was made to ZRP Sadza Police leading to the arrest of Mudyiwa. Tony Engellenner sits down on the edge of his bed at the Coburg Motor Inn. The room is small, but it's clean, and safe. It has a toilet, a TV, and a kitchenette that he probably won't use. "It's pretty good here, mate," he says. "It's really not bad at all." This is the first day in six months Mr Engellenner has had a roof over his head. His past week was spent sleeping outside Flinders Street station, where he was attacked once and robbed twice. On Wednesday, he was relishing some rare "peace and quiet". At $130 a night, though, he can only afford to stay here until Thursday. They are the teddies and other soft toys left in their thousands at the Bourke Street Mall to mourn those killed and injured on the morning of January 20. There are about 2500 of them, each one a symbol of love, resilience and hope. They are soft, furry, cuddly and a little bit forlorn. Melbourne City Council is yet to decide what is going to happen to the soft toys left at the Bourke Street memorial. Credit:Quinn Rooney On that Friday, Dimitrious Gargasoulas allegedly drove a maroon Holden through lunchtime crowds in Melbourne's busy Bourke Street, killing six including a three-month-old baby boy and a 10-year-old girl. Seven victims still remain in hospitals, with one of them in a grave condition. In the days since, the scene of the tragedy was turned into a makeshift memorial as Melburnians left flowers, cards, candles, soft toys and wreaths. On Tuesday, "the monument to life" was cleared away, with the cards to be preserved and the organic material to be composted and, eventually, added to the Victims of Crime memorial near State Parliament. And a packed crowd, young and old, were treated to that 25-year catalogue of genius, mesmerised by Cave's beautiful oddity on Tuesday night. But lyrics befitting too of his enduring and era-spanning success. A durability and a standing of the test of time shared by very few other artists, globally. Fitting lyrics for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to end on in their curtain closing concert at Perth Arena - particularly given the tragic and heartbreaking circumstances of the past 18 months for the Australian icon. His charm and enigma was on show from the onset as he opened with tracks from their agonising new album Skeleton Tree - thought to have been written in part after the death of Cave's son Arthur in mid-2015. Cave took to a chair to deliver Anthrocene first up, before he was up on his feet to unleash his uncoordinated but nevertheless endearing, Ian Curtis-esque, dance moves in Jesus Alone. And by the time he had launched into the chorus of Higgs Boson Blues, he had also launched into the crowd. Barely held aloft by the adoring, but quite frankly gropey hands of his upfront and centre fans, Cave defied his age, sweat pouring through his typically dark suit, to deliver quite probably the most intimate of concert experiences for those who packed in tightly by the stage. And despite my own fears about the intimacy of Perth Arena on the whole for a gig of this nature - Cave has an almost unrivalled ability to transcend a space of that size, making us feel as though we were there front and centre where he crowd surfed - just without the sweat. There is nothing ironic about crime. But a brazen thief that stole a CCTV camera from a Mandurah business could soon be dubbed Perth's most ironic criminal if he gets caught. Police put out a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying the man was captured on CCTV just before he stole the camera. The footage shows the man dressed in shorts, thongs and a t-shirt with a distinctive tattoo on his left arm, reaching for the camera outside a business in Mandurah. Two teenagers have been charged with stealing from around 30 cars over the past month in Perth's southern suburbs. A 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl have been charged after Kensington Detectives searched a residential unit in Victoria Park on Tuesday. The firefighters car was broken into as he tackled the Waroona fire (file picture). Police said the two juveniles either entered or stole from the cars within the suburbs of Kensington, South Perth, Victoria Park and East Victoria Park over the course of the month. Donald Trump sacked Sally Yates after she spoke out against his order. Credit:Bloomberg Kent Alexander, who was US attorney in Atlanta as a Democratic appointee in the mid-1990s, said Yates was within her right in deciding the travel ban was indefensible and Trump had every right to fire her because she served at the pleasure of the president. "What surprised me was that they said she 'betrayed the Department of Justice,'" Alexander said. "Whoever wrote that doesn't know Sally Yates. Sally would be the last person on my list of someone who would even think of betraying the Department of Justice." Dana Boente has been named as Sally Yates' replacement. Credit:AP Atlanta lawyer Joe Whitley, who also served as Yates' boss as US attorney in the early 1990s, said Yates' accomplishments as a federal prosecutor "are incredible by any measure." But Whitley also said he believed Trump's executive order was constitutionally valid. "The president has broad authority to deal with immigration at border crossings," said Whitley, appointed by President George W. Bush as the first general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security. "The problem was how the order was implemented. It didn't have enough vetting or advance notice." As for Yates' decision not to defend it, Whitley said, "I'm confident she felt like it was the right thing to do and whatever she did, she did for the right reasons." Trump replaced Yates with Dana Boente, a US attorney in Virginia. Boente immediately rescinded Yates' directive. President Barack Obama picked Yates to be his deputy attorney general in January 2015. Yates became acting attorney general on Inauguration Day and was to hold the post until Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump's nominee, won Senate confirmation. That could happen later this week. During Yates' confirmation hearing in 2015, Sessions asked Yates a question that has now become an internet sensation. "Do you think the attorney general has a responsibility to say no to the president if he asks for something that's improper?" Sessions asked. "Senator," Yates replied, "I believe that the attorney general or the deputy attorney general has an obligation to follow the law and the Constitution, and to give their independent legal advice to the president." On Tuesday, Republican Senator David Perdue, who supported Yates' nomination to be deputy attorney general, said, "Refusing to defend the United States is irresponsible. ... It is refreshing to see President Trump take action immediately instead of acting like a typical politician." Republican Louie Gohmert went even further. "She showed herself to be a political hack, and hacks have to be jacked," Gohmert said, according to published reports. "She violated her oath. She needed to go." A Georgia GOP activist said Yates' decision will come back to haunt her no matter what she does next. "She failed to do her job - there's no question about it," said Conrad Quagliaroli, a member of the Cherokee Tea Party. "The hateful left will make heroes out of her and raise a ton of money off her. But Republicans won't forget." But Yates' supporters say she did the right thing. "The Oval Office is not the set of some reality show," said Dubose Porter, chair of the state Democratic Party. "(Trump) can't just say 'You're fired' when someone stands up for the rule of law. This is not our America, and we need more patriots just like Sally Yates to take a stand." Seth Clark, a veteran Democratic political strategist, said Yates can help Democrats regain power. "The biggest problem Democrats have in the state of Georgia is this elusive white vote that we've been chasing since Sonny Perdue won," he said. "And I'll tell you, a woman who prosecuted a whole bunch of Atlanta politicians, with Republican support and now a full-throated stand against Donald Trump - well, that might be the magic bullet." Whether Yates decides to enter politics and seek statewide office is an open question. She could easily land a lucrative position at any number of top law firms. She could become a college professor. She could head a national nonprofit. But she's already become part of US political history as one of the few top prosecutors to be fired by a sitting US president. Whatever Yates does next may be a difficult transition because she's leaving a job she's loved. In a 2013 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Yates said she was "incredibly lucky" to be the US attorney in Atlanta. News / Local by Staff Reporter Two women Nyaradzai Gijima (21) of Hillside in Harare and Fungai Mpandawana (26) of Hwiru, Gutu have appeared before Magistrate Edward Marecha facing charges of assaulting Hazvinei Mukeyoza (29) who was dating Gulam Mukumba a married man.It is the State case that on January 8, 2017 at around 3am, Mukeyoza was walking home in the company of Mukumba who is a bar man at Nice Time beer hall.Gijima was an ex-lover of Mukumba before she left for Harare.Gijima followed the two until they separated when Mukumba was going to his home. Gijima confronted Mukeyoza and demanded to know why she was dating Mukumba. She assaulted Mukeyoza with open hands until accused two Mpandawana arrived and helped Gijima to assault Mukeyoza who fell to the ground. Mpandawana faced a second count of assault on the same day when she assaulted Marvellous Makumira (26) of Hwiru, who had received a message from Mukeyoza to come and help her out of the fight.Mpandawana was angry because of the help of Makumira so she followed her and assaulted her with a log in the head.Makumira was helped by Simbarashe Mahiye who stopped Mpandawana from beating her and she sustained head injuries and got nine stitches. Gijima was sentenced to three months in prison while Mpandawana was remanded in custody to January 19 as she denied the first count.On the second count Mpandawana was sentenced to 12 months in prison, 3 months were suspended on condition that she did not commit the same offence in five years which leaves her with an effective nine months.Agatha Gabriel prosecuted. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams 84th Precinct Brooklyn HeightsDUMBOBoerum HillDowntown Train bash A bruiser hit a woman over the head with a piece of wood on a Manhattan-bound F train near the Jay StreetMetroTech station on Jan. 14. The victim told cops she was riding the train at 7:50 am when the clod punched her in the head. She tried to get up and move seats, but the brute bashed her over the head with the piece of wood three times, authorities said. Van-moosed A pair of crooks robbed a dollar-van driver at gunpoint on Smith Street on Jan. 27. The driver picked up the two baddies at the corner of Nostrand and Flatbush avenues around 1:53 am, cops said. Once they got to the final stop near Livingston Street, the snakes stayed seated until all of the other passengers got off, and pointed a gun at the driver, demanding his money and cellphones. The driver handed over $35 and his two phones and the weasels fled, according to a report. Caned Police arrested a man who allegedly tried to swipe a Trojan erotic massager from a Schermerhorn Street store on Jan. 25 then wielded a walking stick as a weapon when he was caught. A worker says he saw the man lift the sex toy plus a disc player and lighter from the shop near Smith Street at 6:18 am and put them under his shirt, cops said. He approached the alleged thief, the guy grabbed a cane and shouted, Anyone who tries to stop me, I will use it! a report said. Ugly theft Cops cuffed a woman who they say punched a worker at a Joralemon Street store on Jan. 24 when he tried to stop her stealing $190 worth of makeup. The employee at the shop by Court Street allegedly spotted the suspect grabbing the goods from a display shelf at 6:15 pm, put it in her pockets, and exit the store, according to a report. But when he went outside to stop her, she allegedly socked him in the mouth and jaw, according to authorities. Time thief Some crook snatched a $6,500 watch off a mans wrist in a Fulton Street jewelry store on Jan. 27. The pilferer grabbed the timepiece in the store by DeKalb Avenue around 6:35 pm and fled in a Dodge sedan, police said. Lauren Gill Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams President Trumps controversial immigration restrictions are offensive because theyre illegal and because they are useless, says one of Brooklyns Trumpbusters in Congress. Rep. Jerry Nadler (DBay Ridge) spent most of Saturday at John F. Kennedy Airport fighting the presidents executive order barring all refugees for four months and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations for three months. I was outraged, Nadler told Brooklyn Paper Radio co-hosts Gersh Kuntzman of the New York Daily News and Brooklyn Paper Editor Vince DiMiceli in the shows first installment of its new Trumpbusters segment. It is obviously religious discrimination its a denial of due process, and its wanton cruelty for no reason. Nadler first pointed out that not a single American has been killed in the United States by an immigrant from the seven countries in question Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen and then pointed out that terrorists can already come into our country in myriad ways. We admit 20 million tourists a year, many from visa-waiver countries, the erudite congressman said. They dont even need a visa. They are not vetted at all. If I was a terrorist and I wanted to come in, thats the way I would do it. But were not looking into that because that would really affect our economy. But instead, the President is making a demogogic political point by ruining the lives of refugees and helpless people. Nadler detailed his day on Saturday from when he heard about Trumps airport detentions at about 10:30 am until a Brooklyn federal judge stayed the White Houses executive order. I got in touch with the lawyers for two people being detained and they said they couldnt even talk to their client, Nadler said. So I asked, Would having a congressman help you? They said it would and I headed out there. In the cab, he got a call from fellow Rep. Nydia Velazquez (DSunset Park), who met Nadler at JFK. Over the next few hours, the pair of Trumpbusters helped lawyers gain access to their clients, who were eventually released. Nadler said he was fighting not just for a handful of immigrants who were being detained under a foolish executive order, but to defend the law. But Kuntzman was concerned that the man or woman on the Brooklyn street doesnt have the time to be constantly protesting. How can the average citizen be a Trumpbuster? We have to oppose all the various things hes doing, Nadler said. Then, we have to start looking to 2018 by lining up candidates that can take on the Republicans, Nadler added. We need to capture a chamber of Congress so we dont just lie supine for the President, he said. And some Republicans have to take a stand. We have to start pushing them to say this is not a standard Republican president. This is a nationalist, semi-fascist operation here. And its an operation that is working hand-in-glove with the Russians! Also on the show, Brooklyn Paper Deputy Editor Ruth Brown gave an insiders account of being on hand as Trumps immigration order was stayed in an historic Saturday night hearing at Brooklyn Federal Courthouse. Brown who is from Australia, though many mistake her accent for South Africa said it was the biggest story she ever covered. It was intense, she said. The moment when the judge read the lawyers names and one said, Representing President Trump, it really sunk in. Kuntzman wondered what it was like for a foreigner to watch America at war with itself. Its exciting and scary, she said. Its hard for Americans to understand because you dont feel this way about other countries, but the rest of the world is directly influenced by what you do. My own country is forced to grapple with this. Kuntzman and DiMiceli have grappled in their own way. Hoping to unite the nation under a patriotic banner, the fabled Lennon and McCartney of Community Journalism opened the latest episode of the show with their a capella rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, one of the only American paeans that does not mention God. Kuntzman actually provided harmony for the dulcet tones of DiMiceli. When you go low, Kuntzman said, I go high. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams 88th Precinct Fort GreeneClinton Hill Slice and dice A man threatened to slice a worker of a Myrtle Avenue store with a knife on Jan. 27 after the employee tried to stop him from stealing body wash and T-shirts. The staffer told cops the crook entered the store between Clermont Avenue and Adelphi Street around 8:15 am and took the items without paying. The victim then tried to retrieve the stolen items but the robber flashed a blade and hissed, Ill f you up, then fled, according to authorities. Doesnt register A miscreant broke into a Fulton Street restaurant and stole money from a cash register on Jan. 27. The sneak entered through the side window of the eatery near S. Oxford Street between 12:40 am and 7:30 am and took the $833 that was in the register, police said. Double grab A villain snatched a womans phone and purse as she was walking on Lafayette Avenue on Jan. 29. The victim told police she was strolling near Washington Avenue when the lout approached her from behind, tried to grab her phone out of her hand, and asked for her password. He then yanked away her cell and took her purse from her shoulder as he attempted to poke her with the unknown object before fleeing, a report said. Pen plundered A ball-point bully socked a 69-year-old man and stole his pen on a Manhattan-bound Q train as it was near Flatbush Avenue on Jan. 23. The senior was riding the train by Hanson Place around 12:30 pm when the lout grabbed his writing device. The man tried to take it back but the jerk punched him in the side of the face and fled, according to authorities. Double teamed A pair of scofflaws stole a mans phone out of his pocket on Fulton Street on Jan. 23. The victim was walking out of the building near Grand Street at 2 pm when one of the scoundrels grabbed him from behind while the second knave removed the phone from his pocket, cops said. Lauren Gill News / National by Staff reporter Members of the Children of Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association say they will be rallying behind the Zanu PF party in the 2018 elections.Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting held in Masvingo, Memory Nyakwima, the association's Secretary for External Affairs - Masvingo Chapter, said as children of liberation fighters, they are already mobilising support so that the revolutionary party will emerge victorious come 2018.John Muchenje, Secretary General of the association, said the meeting also looked at issues affecting the welfare of its members and what business opportunities they can venture into.The association will be holding the meetings in all the country's provinces. News / National by Stephen Jakes The CIVIL Society Organisations has alleged that they are facing stifling constraints caused by the government in their operations in Zimbabwe.This was revealed through their report on an enabling environment for Civil Society Organizations case study of the country."While Zimbabwe has made some notable strides in the creation of an enabling environment, it was noted that the constraints that mitigate against effective CSO operations tend to outweigh the numerous efforts made. Key research findings pointed to a very limited enabling environment for CSOs due to the lack of trust that the government has towards CSOs,"" reads the report."Politicisation of CSOs programs and work, lack of cooperation from government departments, stringent registration processes for CSOs, unconducive legislation and lack of spaces to engage into development oriented dialogue between the CSOs, the government and the Donor community were cited as some of the major contributing factors that are curtailing an enabling environment for CSOs in Zimbabwe."The report also states that inadequate capacity, over reliance on donor funding, lack of sustainability strategies and failure to adhere to strict corporate governance were also identified as some of the internal weaknesses that are inhibiting Zimbabwean CSOs to effectively carry out their work."The research acknowledged the work that the different donor agencies are doing to support local CSOs but at the same time notes a growing concern by CSOs based out of Harare who opined that the donors tend to be more inclined towards established CSOs especially those based in Harare and Bulawayo," reads the report in part."The adoption of the 2013 constitution was identified as a significant milestone in strengthening the development effectiveness agenda in Zimbabwe as the constitution promotes civic participation, guarantees the freedom of assembly and association, promotes human rights and fosters good governance. With all these pillars being critical in the establishment of an enabling environment. The research however noted that the antithesis of the good constitution is the lack of constitutionalism among key players in Zimbabwe's governance processes."The report states that numerous reforms and recommendations are proffered throughout the report with the realignment and total repulsion of restricting laws that are currently inhibiting freedom of association and assembly taking centre stage."Increased CSO-government cooperation and trust building, relaxed government bureaucracy and institutionalised coordination platforms that bring together government and CSOs, were also identified as being critical to development effectiveness as they significantly contribute to an unadulterated operational environment that is enabling to CSO operations," reads the report."The need to come up with strong institutional mechanisms that facilitate coordination between the government and CSOs so as to implement the different reforms that are essential in enhancing an enabling environment for Zimbabwean CSOs is also underscored as an urgent action. It is within this vein that the research proffers a country strategy for coordination so as to push the reform agenda but at the same time enhancing synergies between the government, CSOs and the donor community as well as increasing the participation of CSOs in policy formulation, implementation and decision making." latest news October 31, 2022 Buddy TV In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options... Remember the girl who pushed Tyra Banks over the edge? It was more than a decade ago when Tiffany Richardson received the wrath of Banks on Americas Next Top Model and unexpectedly became a subject of numerous memes, but now the former model hopeful reveals how she really feels about Banks and what viewers didnt see during the controversial moment. Americas Next Top Model Moves to Wednesdays>>> In case you need a refresher, Richardson was encouraged to audition for Americas Next Top Model by her grandmother in attempt to get away from stripping, doing drugs and partying. She first competed in Cycle 3 but was disqualified after she had an altercation with another contestant at a bar. I needed a break. I needed to get away and try to do something better, Richardson told BuzzFeed. Top Model was my way out of what I was doing before I killed myself or did some crazy sh*t, or ended up in jail or dead. After taking anger management classes, Richardson returned in Cycle 4 but eventually faced elimination with fellow contestant Rebecca Epley after struggling to read a teleprompter properly in one of the challenges in the episode aptly called The Girl Who Pushes Tyra Over the Edge. While Epley was visibly emotional about the elimination, Richardson appeared to take her exit lightheartedly, causing the supermodel judge to blow up. [VIDEO] Eliminated Americas Next Top Model Contestant Kyle McCoy on Her Romantic Future with Marissa Hopkins and More>>> Rebecca, I admire your emotion right now. It shows to me that this was something thats very important to you, Banks said at the time. Tiffany, Im extremely disappointed in you. This is a joke to you. This is serious to these girls, and it should be serious to you. Looks can be deceiving, Richardson told Banks. Im hurt I cant change it, Tyra Im sick of crying about stuff that I cannot change. Im sick of being disappointed. You aint sick of being disappointed, Tiffany, Banks replied. If you were sick of being disappointed, you would stand up and you would take control of your destiny. Do you know that you had a possibility to win? Do you know that all of America is rooting for you? I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this, Banks shouted. When my mother yells like this, its because she loves me. I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you! While that scene was awkward and painful to watch, Richardson says their confrontation was 1,000 times worse in reality. The ANTM alum recalled Banks yelling at her, You can go back to your house and sleep on your mattress on the floor with your baby, in front of everyone. Richardson also claims that harsh comments from Banks, who also dropped personal details about Richardsons not-so-pleasant life back home in Florida, stayed in the back of her mind. Some would perceive Banks unusual reaction to Richardson as tough love but Richardson doesnt see it that way. Why are you yelling at me, because Im grown as f*ck, Richardson recalled thinking as Banks blew up, adding that it was all for the ratings. It was just, like, bullsh*t. It was so over-the-top for no reason. I didnt think she cared, Richardson added. I dont think she gave a f*ck about none of us, except for the ones who made it big. But hey, it is what it is. [VIDEO] Eliminated ANTM Contestant Krislian Rodriguez on How She Feels About Never Connecting with Rita Ora>>> These days Richardson is not complaining about her life. Her son Chaddrick is now 14 years old and she has a 9-year-old daughter named Chaz. Occasionally she does some modeling but she spends most of her time at a group home in Miami assisting people with mental disabilities. Im a completely different person, Richardson said. She dont owe me nothing, Im good. Though Richardson has since moved on from all that drama, unfortunately not everyone can forget. Its pretty cool, though, Im not complaining about it, she said. Every f*cking day somebody is coming up to me about this show and how I couldve won and Tyra said this and its like, really? Its been 10 years. Could yall not? What do you think of Richardsons revelation and statement about Banks? Americas Next Top Model season 23 will now air on Wednesdays at 10/9c on VH1. Want more news? Like our Americas Next Top Model Facebook page! (Image courtesy of UPN) In the winter premiere of The Fosters season 4, Insult to Injury, Jesus lands in the hospital after fighting with Nick in the winter finale. But when he starts having seizures, everyone is alarmed. Also, the rest of the Foster family deals with the aftermath and their own drama. Freeform Renews The Fosters for Season 5 >>> Jesus in Trouble Jesus is rushed away in an ambulance at the top of the hour, after he got punched by Nick in the winter finale, and Stef joins him for the trip. Hes awake and coherent but then starts complaining of a strong gasoline smell that no one else senses. Suddenly, he starts having a seizure, and Stef understandably freaks out when he continues to have it by the time theyre rushed into the emergency room at a nearby hospital. When Lena, Mariana and Emma go to the hospital as well, Mariana is clearly out of it, and Lena notices. Emma quickly reveals that Mariana has been taking some of Jesus ADHD pills, which makes Lena furious and upset. But before she can admonish Mariana too much, Stef walks in, looking distraught. She apparently explains to them what little she knows of whats going on, and by the time Callie and Aaron arrive, they and the others present are told that Jesus is unconscious and that his latest injury may have compromised his brain. But just where were Callie and Aaron before they got to the hospital? The Latest Callie Drama Remember how Callie got into a car with some guy at the end of season 4A to go looking for Mariana? And how Callie was trying to prove that Kyle didnt murder that guys grandmother? Well, at the beginning of this episode of The Fosters, she gets a call from Aaron, who tells her hes been informed that the murder weapon apparently didnt have the DNA of the suspect they had in mind, but it did have DNA from someone related to Martha, the woman who was killed a male relative of hers, in fact. Callie quickly realizes that she may be in danger and starts pretending that shes talking to someone on the phone about how they found Mariana. She continues the charade when she hangs up, asking the guy, Troy, just to drop her anywhere. But he starts pressing, asking her why shes so convinced that Kyle is innocent, and he quickly becomes angry. When he totally freaks out, Callie stops them from drifting into the other lane, but they end up in a car accident that briefly knocks Troy out. Callie starts to call 911 to report the accident, but the guy wakes up and starts going after her, and she books it. He sees the driver injured in the other car but does nothing about it and drives away. When Callie gets to a safe place, she calls Aaron, who finds her and tells her she should go to the police about the accident. But he also advises her not to mention anything about Troy or the murder, which will be important later. After that, Callie gets a call about Jesus, and the two of them rush to the hospital. Brandons Next Mistake So wheres Brandon during all of this? Well, initially, hes wandering aimlessly, hopelessly sad about losing his shot at Juilliard. The scene flashes back to when he sent a letter to Cortney, basically breaking up with her to start his new life in New York City. We also see that he eventually goes to her and explains that he felt he got in over his head with her and Mason, and she tells him she never wanted to hold him back. When he offers to continue helping them, she shoots back that she isnt helpless, and she declines when he asks if he can still come by to see Mason sometimes. However, now that hes not going to NYC, he goes back to her place and explains what happened everything from the SATs to how he wont be going away to school. She comforts him, which leads to them having sex in her living room, and someone really needs to talk to that boy about healthy relationships. After theyre done, Brandon finally notices his phone ringing, and they go to the hospital as well, with Brandon trying to get a hold of Jude while Cortney drives. Judes Adventure But Jude is off making some bad decisions of his own. He and Noah had wandered away from the festival to get high, flirting the whole way, and they eventually come to a marina. They smooth-talk their way onto a boat that the guy they spoke with thinks is Noahs fathers and continue to get high on the vessel. Oh, and they get a bad case of the munchies, so they break open some bags of chips on the boat and cuddle in a bed, where they eat them together. Itd be kind of cute if it wasnt so reckless. The smoking and eating leads to stoner talk and eventually to the boys making out. Just as Jude takes off his shirt and it looks like things are going to get even more hot and heavy, they hear footsteps above them on the deck, so they scramble to put clothes on and clean up. Just as the guy who owns it unties the boat from the dock, the boys rush to jump off of it, running to escape the guy who had initially let them get on it. By some coincidence, Cortney and Brandon happen to be driving by just as the boys run towards the road theyre on, so the boys jump in and tell them to drive. They make their getaway, and Cortney agrees to drop Noah off at home after leaving Brandon and Jude at the hospital. Quiz: Which The Fosters Character Are You? >>> More Complications While the others are waiting for word on Jesus, a police officer shows up to question him. He claims that Nick and Mariana both said Jesus started the altercation that landed Jesus in the hospital, and he wakes up just in time so the police can question him about the incident. Stef refuses to let the officer talk to him alone, so she goes with him. Lena has Mariana seen by a doctor just after Mat shows up and as Jesus is being questioned in another room. She admits that she took two (maybe three) of Jesus pills because she was falling behind in school and not getting enough sleep, and Lena is furious. Luckily, the person checking her says that Mariana is little dehydrated but otherwise seems okay. Later, Mat comforts Mariana and she explains about the pills, but she also mentions that Nick was at the festival and she doesnt know how he knew she was there. Of course, we know Mariana could have been seeing things when she thought Nick was there, but Mat doesnt know that. Elsewhere, the office is questioning Jesus, and he gets more agitated as the inquiries continue. He starts complaining of a gasoline smell again, and Stef, recognizing whats happening, frantically calls for a doctor just as he starts to seize again. Bolts and Break-Ups The doctors explain that Jesus brain is swelling, so hes placed in a medically-induced coma in order for them to go in and insert a bolt into his head to monitor pressure. It will let them know if they need to go in and drain fluid or even perform a full craniotomy, which would involve removing part of his skull. The moms agree to the surgery, and hes wheeled off. Lena goes to pray while Jesus is in surgery, and Cortney shows up after dropping Noah off, asking to speak to Brandon privately. She tells him she thinks what happened between them that day was a mistake, that nothings changed. When Brandon tries to argue that everything has changed, she replies that she feels like his back-up plan, explaining that he hurt her and Mason, and shes not going to get over that. She leaves, and Brandon is left without a girlfriend again. Apologies After Brandon tells Callie what happened, including the fact that hes not going to Juilliard, AJ and Mike show up at the hospital, Mike having convinced AJ to go in and apologize and be there for Callie in spite of the fight they had in the winter finale. AJ and Callie make up, AJ goes over and apologizes to Aaron for some disparaging remarks he had made about him, and Callie and Brandon agree not to tell anyone else about Juilliard until things have settled down. So when Mike gives Brandon a book about hidden places in New York, he doesnt have the heart to tell his dad that he isnt going after all. But Callie also ends up owing Aaron an apology because AJ accidentally reveals to him that Callie had told him Aaron was trans. Thats not something you casually disclose. And when Aaron is leaving later that night, he makes it clear that she cant go around telling people that hes trans. He reminds her that people get killed for being transgender, and she sincerely apologizes for her mistake before he heads out for the night. No More Trouble Lena prays briefly in the hospital chapel, with Stef eventually joining her, and then they apparently receive word that Jesus has made it through okay, which they relay to the rest of the group still waiting for news. As hes still in the ICU, they tell the kids to go home, as it could be days before the swelling goes down enough that he can be woken up. They also request that there be no more trouble, which the kids agree to. Easier said than done. After talking earlier in the day with Aaron, Callie convinces herself initially not to go to the police about the accident. On the off chance that Troy didnt report it or tell them she was there, she doesnt want to draw more attention to the whole Kyle/murder mystery situation. Aaron advised her to tell her moms, but, maybe because she doesnt want to cause more drama, she instead goes straight to the police after hearing a news report about the hit and run accident on a hospital TV. Callie goes to the precinct and explains that she wants to make a statement about the accident. But when two cops are talking about the situation in a nearby room while she waits for questioning, its clear that she did in fact ramble on about Kyle and Martha and the DNA because they talk about it. Im not 100% sure, but I think one of the cops is the one who was involved in covering up information about that case. He mentions that by running, she left the scene of an accident, which is a felony. It looks like Callie has more drama on the way, as usual. At the hospital, the moms talk about how Jesus could have very real problems after he wakes up, like needing to learn to walk again or personality changes including anger problems. And earlier in the day, Emma went after Mariana, blaming her for causing Jesus to be in that situation in the first place, having only attacked Nick while trying to protect his sister. So it looks like they all have more trouble on the horizon, as much as they might want to avoid it. Will Jesus wake up without major repercussions? Will Mariana reveal that shes been seeing Nick everywhere? And whats going to happen to Callie now? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The Fosters season 4 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Freeform. Want more news? Like BuddyTVs Facebook page. (Image courtesy of Freeform) News / National by Staff reporter President Mugabe led a gallant charge to get continental leaders to stand on principle on the matter of Morocco's readmission into the African Union, but the majority still made a decision that violated organisational norms and potentially impinged on international law, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi has said.He said this in an interview in Addis Ababa following closed door talks between President Mugabe and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma.Thirty-nine of the AU's 54 members voted to readmit Morocco.Minister Mumbengegwi said the bloc must nonetheless strive to resolve the quest for self-determination of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, better known as Western Sahara.Morocco left the then OAU in 1984 after the organisation had two years earlier recognised the SADR's sovereignty.Morocco invaded the SADR upon the latter's independence from Spain in 1975, and claims ownership of that country, as well as asserting sovereignty over land in Algeria, Mali and Mauritania.Article 3(b) of the AU's Constitutive Act calls for the defence of the "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states", while Article 4(b) demands "respect of borders existing on achievement of independence".President Mugabe yesterday met President Zuma to deliberate on these violations of the AU Constitutive Act.After that engagement, Minister Mumbengegwi said: "It's most unfortunate, really, because our Constitutive Act is very clear as to the founding principles of the organisation, and therefore any new member who wants to join the organisation must first comply with the principles of the organisation they want to join."And the most outstanding founding principles of the African Union, which it inherited form the OAU, are the question of self-determination, the question of not using violence, the question of not occupying a fellow member state, the question of decolonisation."Now to have a member state who is in violation of all these principles being admitted into the organisation is something that we did not expect, we didn't think it would happen."It was most unfortunate but obviously the question of Western Sahara is not going to go away; it is an issue that those of us who feel that we must respect our principles, we must respect the Constitutive Act, we are going to continue to push for the self-determination of Western Sahara in spite of Morocco's admission into the AU."The Foreign Affairs Minister continued: "This is an issue that the AU must push because no member state can be in the organisation without defined territorial boundaries that are recognised at international law."This is the situation that we are facing now with Morocco; they are a member without clearly defined borders that are recognised at international law. And to make it worse they are in occupation of a member state of the AU."He said those who voted for Morocco's readmission were of the view that the Northern African kingdom would be pressed to comply with the Constitutive Act afterward, a position he described as "extraordinary"."All organisations all over the world insist that a new member must comply with the founding principles of the organisation before they are admitted into the organisation."Now this has been turned upside down in the AU where a member who is in violation of the fundamental principles is admitted on the expectation that after they are admitted they will comply."On efforts to make Africa's leaders see reason, Minister Mumbengegwi said President Mugabe had "worked very hard (during the 28th Ordinary Summit of the AU) to try and instil sanity into the organisation, to try and underline the importance of principles, the importance of rules and regulations, the importance of rules of procedure, the importance of creating consensus, the importance of putting together a committee of Heads of State who can then facilitate the compliance of Morocco with the principles of the organisation before they are admitted".He went on: "But unfortunately those who were bent on admitting Morocco said principles come after majority vote; let the majority prevail even if they are wrong."There were I think about 12 who stood firm on principle, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia in fact, most of the countries in Southern Africa stood by principles." UB Monitoring Executive Orders From President Tripathi - I am writing to let our university community know about some of the activities and actions taken by UB in response to the Friday, January 27, 2017 executive order entitled Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States, as well as several other executive orders that may impact our foreign-born students, faculty, visiting scholars, and staff. We are assessing Fridays executive order and actively monitoring the potential impact on members of the UB community who are from countries cited in the order. Until there is clarity and legal analysis of the executive order, the university is advising that affected members of the university community monitor this evolving situation to assess how they may be impacted. In addition, we are advising our students to adhere to the recommendations of SUNY to suspend travel plans to the countries included in the executive order, and urge individuals affected to keep in contact with UBs Office of International Education on a regular basis. The university will continue to provide updates to the university community as the situation becomes clearer and will continue to offer support and advice to members of our university community who may be affected by any changes in immigration law. (read more) Campus News Jacksons work in Texas prisons inspires NYC theater group Bruce Jackson records prisoners from the O.B. Ellis Unit, a Texas state prison, as they sing work songs in 1964. Photo: Courtesy of Bruce Jackson By CHARLES ANZALONE As a young man more than 50 years ago, UB English professor Bruce Jackson first heard the work songs sung by the African-American convicts in Texas state prisons. He recognized an empowering spirit that resonated expressive power he couldnt forget. I knew that, in the work songs, I was hearing a group musical tradition that came here from West Africa, Jackson says. He visited the prisons repeatedly over a three-year period to document the songs. That work resulted in a book, four recordings one of which received a Grammy nomination and a documentary film. Other work he did during that time contributed to at least a dozen other books. Slaves on Southern plantations used the songs for the same reasons as convicts in Southern prison farms, says Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor and James Agee Professor of American Culture. The songs helped people survive. Many of the prison farms I visited were built on the sites of former plantations. The land was full of ghosts. The spirits of those ghosts are thriving today in such faraway and unlikely settings as lower Manhattan, and they will likely do so in the equally foreign environment of UB. The Wooster Group, a prominent off-Broadway New York theater company, is now engaged in a production based on those songs Jackson recorded in the mid-60s: The B-Side: Negro Folklore from Texas Prisons A Record Album Interpretation. Last November, Jackson and his wife, Diane Christian, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of English, attended six rehearsals and eight performances of the Wooster Groups work-in-progress at the Performing Garage in Soho. Many were standing-room-only, Jackson says, with the final performances receiving standing ovations. When B-Side lead actor Eric Berryman introduced Jackson, who was in the audience, as the inspiration and source for the show, he got a standing ovation as well. The B-Side draws on the Wooster Groups successful production Early Shaker Spirituals, a similar theatrical record-album adaptation of the 1976 LP of the same name that used songs as source material for the original production. The B-Side follows Berrymans journey with the work songs, blues, spirituals, preachings and toasts performed in the 1960s by the men of the Texas segregated agricultural prison farms, and includes meetings with Jackson. Where Andy Kim, Bob Healey stand on abortion, inflation and more The USA TODAY Network New Jersey asked Andy Kim and Bob Healey where they stand on key issues in the midterms. Here's what they said. News / National by Staff reporter The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has been failing to pay more than 500 recruits since June last year, Parliament has been told.Parliament's Home Affairs and Security Service portfolio committee member, Oliver Mandipaka, said lack of financial support from government was hindering police operations."Our committee was disturbed to learn that 527 new ZRP graduates went without pay since June 2016, despite the fact that they were recruited within the approved establishment," he said."This situation has resulted in the ministry looking for funds from amenities to pay the ZRP graduates - a situation which is not sustainable," Mandipaka said.The police is also failing to settle its debt which has now ballooned to nearly a million dollars."ZRP has outstanding payments amounting to $429 968 required to settle bills for Zimbabwe International Trade Fair ($60 000), Heroes Commemoration ($20 000) and procurement of uniform material ($349 968).""Moreover, the ZRP alone has another outstanding debt amounting to $63 million owed to service providers like Zesa, Zinwa and TelOne and it dates back to the year 2009," Mandipaka said."The debt has since tarnished the image of the ministry and working relations between the ministry and service providers."This has negatively affected the capacity of the ministry to acquire other goods and services on credit and will grossly paralyse the ministry's operations in 2017, hence requires attention," he said.ZRP is looking into buying new equipment to stop the issue of social media abuse."Following violent protests and abuse of social media networks, ZRP initiated a CDMA trunked radio project in 2014 to avoid interrupted communication and to lower the cost of communication service rendered by private sector players," Mandipaka said."This needs to be completed before the 2018 general elections."However, our committee noted that this project was not prioritised in the 2017 budget allocation despite the long lag time required to implement it."The Forensic Science Laboratory which is housed in the CID headquarters needs to be fully equipped with modest technical equipment and chemicals, all of which are very expensive."Out of a bid of $3,2 million needed to cover initial capital equipment Treasury allocated only $400 000, which is grossly inadequate."The capitalisation of the Forensic Science Laboratory is important since it helps to bring tangible evidence in cases which require forensic science investigations."This is also important to clear the backlog of such cases like murder and rape filed with ZRP and the courts of law. The costs of outsourcing services for DNA tests will also be reduced."Mandipaka further said "similarly, the Immigration Department needs to install iris scanners at all major ports and fully computerise the ports to reduce revenue leakages."However, such expenditure items cannot be financed given that immigration is still under the $100 000 retention fund allocation which is inadequate."The Buhera West Zanu PF MP added that the Home Affairs ministry failed to complete various projects in 2016 due to financial challenges."Ministry has two high priority projects which were not completed during the first half of 2016 due to non-release of funds and unavailability of the right materials for their completion. These projects include the CID headquarters and Central Registry building."Central Registry building is yet to be occupied because there are some outstanding works yet to be done such as network cabling for the Public Finance Management System (PFMS). The 2017 allocation has no provision for these important expenditure items."In addition, ZRP has targeted to purchase and install a search engine for an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) so that the force can move away from the less inefficient manual system."A total of $9,6million is needed for that but Treasury allocated a paltry $4,2million which is inadequate, hence the search engine will not be purchased, and the AFIS cannot be operationalised," he said. I commend the Union Budgets focus on improving the growth trajectory of the economy, its pronounced thrust on rural development alongside ensuring fiscal consolidation. It will certainly have a positive impact in fiscal administration and set the stage for clean and good governance. Furthermore, it is well poised to energize employment, improve existing infrastructure and more importantly alleviate poverty in the country. A nation grows only when it is truly inclusive and the announcements today underscored the Governments commitment to build an inclusive India. Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. Band display and retreat ceremony to be conducted at National Police Memorial every Saturday The Special Secretary (IS), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Shri Mahesh Kumar Singla chaired a meeting of all the stakeholders involved in construction and managing of National Police Memorial at Chanakyapuri here today. The meeting was attended by the representatives of all the Central Armed Police Forces including Delhi Police and others. During the meeting, it was decided that every Saturday a band display as well as retreat ceremony will be conducted at the site befitting to pay homage and respect to the martyrs. The task has been assigned month-wise to all the Central Armed Police Forces. In February, 2017, this event will be conducted by Border Security Force (BSF) starting from 11.02.2017 (Saturday) and then every following Saturday of the week. The timings will be from 4.45 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. subject to the change depending upon timing of sun set. The other issues related to boundary wall of the Memorial, final sculpture to be erected and as well as police museum, which will be constructed at the site, were also discussed during the meeting. Cabinet approves Amendments in (i) the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes of the State of Odisha, and (ii) the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 to change name of the Union Territory from Pondicherry to Puducherry in the Order The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for amendments in (i) the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes of the State of Odisha, and (ii) the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 so as to change name of the Union Territory from Pondicherry to Puducherry in the Order. The Bill namely Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2017 incorporating the above changes will be introduced in the Parliament. Proposal of Sualgiri, Swalgiri caste, as per approved Modalities, was found to be eligible for its inclusion as a synonym of Sabakhia caste at SI. No. 79 in the list of Scheduled Castes of Odisha. Further, the name of Union territory of Pondicherry has been changed to Puducherry vide the Pondicherry (Alteration of name) Act, 2006 w.e.f. 01.10.2006. Accordingly, an amendment is needed in the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 to this effect. The Government approved Modalities in June 1999, as amended in June 2002, for considering proposals in regard to modifications in the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. According to the approved Modalities, amending legislation to the concerned Constitution Order is proposed only in respect of such proposals of the concerned State Government/Union Territory Administration, which have been agreed to both by the Registrar General of India (RGI) as well as the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC). The Constitution of India provides certain privileges / concessions to the members of Scheduled Castes which are notified under the provisions of Article 341 of the Constitution of India. First list of Scheduled Castes in relation to a State or Union Territory is to be issued by a notified Order of the President after having consultation with the State Government concerned. Any subsequent inclusion in or exclusion from the list of Scheduled Castes can be effected through an Act of Parliament as envisaged under clause (2) of Article 341. Six Presidential Orders were issued between 1950 and 1978 for specifying Scheduled Castes in respect of various States/Union territories. These Orders have been amended from time to time by Acts of Parliament enacted as per Article 341(2) of the Constitution between 1956 and 2016. After the Bill becomes an Act, members of the community included in the list of Scheduled Castes will be able to derive benefits meant for Scheduled Castes under the existing schemes. Some of the major schemes of this kind include Post Matric Scholarship, National Overseas Scholarship, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship, Top Class Education, Concessional Loans from National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, Hostels for SC Boys and Girls etc. In addition to above, they are also entitled to the benefits of reservation in services and admission to educational institutions. Cabinet approves Introduction of The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Parliament IIDM Kurnool to be declared as Institute of National Importance The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Parliament. The amendment Bill provides for inclusion of Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kurnool along with the other IITs in the Principal Act. Subsequently, IITDM Kurnool will be declared as an institute of National Importance with the power to award degrees to students The expenditure for the operationalization of IITDM Kurnool is incurred from the Plan funds of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The emerging needs of the industry and the economy, as a whole for skilled technical manpower is expected to be met from the talent pool of trained personnel of the Institute. The Institute shall be open to all persons irrespective of gender, caste, creed, disability, domicile, ethnicity, social or economic background. Background The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act, 2014 confers the status of Institutions of National Importance on the IIITs and also provides for matters connected with administering these IIITs. Subsequently, the Government has approved creation of a new NIT at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh as embodied in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014. Due to addition of a new IIIT, amendment has to be made in the IIIT Act, 2014. With this, IIITDM. Kurnool will be the fifth Member as a Centrally Funded IIIT. Academic session has commenced in IITDM Kurnool in two branches of study in 2015-16. English rendering of the Prime Ministers Statement on Union Budget- 2017-18 . I congratulate the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Jee for presenting an excellent Budget. It will empower the poor and live up to the expectations of all. It will provide an impetus to infrastructure, strength to the financial system and a big boost to the development. The budget has provisions to fulfill the expectations of everyone- from construction of highways to expansion of I-ways, from the cost of pulses to the data speed, from the modernization of railways to simple economic constructions, from education to health, from entrepreneurs to industry, from textile manufacturers to tax deduction. The Finance Minister and his entire team deserve praise for this historic budget. . . This Budget is a reflection of the development measures undertaken by the Government over the past two and a half years and the vision to carry forward the momentum in this direction. The merger of the Railway budget with the Union Budget is a major step. It will help in integrated planning of the transport sector. Railways can now contribute in a much better way in meeting the transport needs of the country. . . The focus of the budget is on agriculture, rural development and infrastructure which is also a reflection of the Governments commitment to raise investment and create employment opportunities. The allocation for the schemes in these categories has been hiked substantially. The budgetary outlay for Railways and Road transport sector have also been substantially increased. Governments aim is to double the farmers income by 2022 and the policies and schemes have been designed keeping this in mind. Maximum emphasis in this budget has been on the farmers, villages, poor, dalit and the underprivileged sections of the society. Agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries, watershed development, Swachcha Bharat Mission are the areas which hold lots of potential to uplift the economic situation in rural India and also bring a sea change in the quality of life there. . . The Budget has laid emphasis on increasing the employment opportunities. Special allocation has been made for the sectors like Electronic manufacturing, Textiles which create new job opportunities. Provisions have been made to bring in the people working in the unorganized sector to the organized sector. Budget allocation for Skill development has been enhanced considerably keeping in mind the youth of our country and the need to gain the advantage from the demographic dividend. Record allocation the highest ever has been made for Mahatma Gandhi National Guarantee Scheme. Womens welfare is a priority for our Government. Budgetary outlay for the schemes related to womens and children welfare has been enhanced. There has been a considerable hike in the allocation of budget for health and higher education. . . Housing and Construction Sector plays a major role in the growth of economy and creating new employment opportunities. This budget will provide an impetus to the housing sector in rural as well as urban areas. . . In the Railway budget, special emphasis has been on railway safety. Railway Safety Fund has been set up which will help in ensuring adequate expenditure of funds on rail safety. Capital expenditure on Railway and Road infrastructure has been hiked substantially in the budget.The Comprehensive package on digital economy will curb the tax evasion and check the circulation of black money. We have undertaken the exercise to launch Digital economy in a mission mode which will go a long way in achieving the target of 2500 crore digital transactions in 2017-18. . . The Finance Minister has brought in tax reforms and amendments which will provide relief to the Middle Class, result in setting up of industries, create job opportunities , will put an end to discrimination and will provide incentives for private investments. The move to reduce the personal income tax is significant as it touches the middle class most. Bringing down the rate from 10 to 5 percent is a bold move. Most of the taxpayers in India would be benefitted by this decision. You would have seen, my fight against black money and corruption is on. Political funding has always been a matter of discussion. Political parties are always under the scanner in this regard. The new scheme by the Finance Minister related to poll funding is along the lines of the hopes and aspirations of the people in our fight against the black money. . . The small and medium industries across the country have been a major source of employment generation. These industries have been demanding that they are facing difficulties in competing at the global level and if the taxes are lowered, then around 90 percent of our small scale industries would be benefitted. Therefore, the Government has amended the definition of Small scale industries, widened their scope and reduced the tax rate from 30 to 25 percent. This implies that over 90 percent of our Small scale industries will be benefitted. I am hopeful that this decision will help a lot in making our SSIs globally competitive. . . This budget is an important step towards overall development of the nation. It will create new employment opportunities, help in overall economic growth and will be complementary in raising the income of the farmers. In order to ensure quality of life for the citizens, the best possible facilities of education, health and housing can be organized. It is an effort to raise the purchasing power of the middle class without increasing the fiscal deficit. . . In a way, it is a reflection of our ongoing efforts to see to it that the speed with which our country is changing, gather momentum. This budget is associated with our aspirations, our dreams and in a way depicts our future. This is the future of our new generation, the future of our farmers. When I say future, it has a meaning in each of its letters. In FUTURE, the letter F stands for the farmer, U stands for Underprivileged which includes dalit, oppressed, women etc., T stands for Transparency, Technology Upgradation- the dream of a modern India, U stands for Urban Rejuvenation the urban development, R stands for Rural Development and E stands for Employment for youth, Entrepreneurship, Enhancement to give a push to new employment and boost to young entrepreneurs. I congratulate the Finance Minister once again to present this FUTURE in the budget. It is my belief that the budget will carry forward the development agenda of the Government, generate a new climate of confidence and help the nation to scale new heights. Once again, my heartfelt congratulations to the Finance Minister and his team for the budget. . . Petroleum Minister welcomes the Budget 2017 -18 proposals to boost Oil and Gas Sector Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan welcomed the Budget 2017-18 proposals announced by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri ArunJaitley in the Parliament today. Budget 2017-18 aims to Transform the quality of governance and quality of life, Energise various sections of society and Clean the country from the evils of corruption and black money. With an aim to give a fillip to Oil and Gas Industry, the Finance Minister announced several measures in Budget 2017 -18. The key initiatives include: 1. Reduction in the basic customs duty on LNG from 5% to 2.5%. 2. Setting up of two more strategic oil reserves at Chandikhole in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan to enhance countrys energy security taking our strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 MMT. This will increase our storage capacity to meet the consumption requirement of about 90 days which is at par with the international benchmarks. 3. Foreign companies shall not be liable to tax in India in case of sale of leftover stock of crude oil in case of strategic petroleum reserve after the expiry of agreement or the arrangement, subject to fulfilment of certain conditions. 4. Creation of an integrated public sector oil major to integrate the oil sector PSUs across the value chain and to enhance capacity of Oil PSUs to bear higher risks, avail economies of scale, take higher investment decisions and create more value for the stakeholders. 5. Encouraging digital payments through creation of digital payment infrastructure across all fuel stations by setting up facilities for digital payments including BHIM app. The Finance Minister has also praised the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for LPG and kerosene of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas which is underway across states in his Budget speech. Opinion / Columnist THE Dumiso Dabengwa led ZAPU opposition party has bemoaned government's failure to pay civil servants their 2016's bonuses saying this demotivates workers, fueling corruption and poor service delivery.This comes in the wake of dreadlocks between civil servants and the cash strapped' employer where alternative for bonus such as bonds and stand options were rejected with another meeting set for February 20."The writing is clear on the wall that the ZANU government has rejected both the country and its own workers."It's now common to see ZANU doing the uncommon with regard to the welfare of its workers who have not been readily receiving their salaries and bonuses over the false that state coffers have no money."But mysteriously when it is about President Mugabe's holiday or other executive projects, funds emerge," ZAPU deputy secretary-general Mjobisa Noko said.Corruption has rocked the civil service where public officials demand bribes from the public to access basic services with some investors turning their backs on the country following request of bribes to invest in the country.Last year the Zimbabwe Republic Police dismissed close to 400 police officers over corruption.ZAPU, which divorced from the 1987 unity accord with ZANU over poor democracy and unfulfilled unity agreements in 2008 lamented that state coffers are being abused for ruling ZANU projects at the country's expense.ZAPU blasted the master of deceit' art by government where executive demands such as president's annual trips are funded while key national issues including bonuses payments are neglected due to reported low government coffers."Millions of the tax payers' money is being clandestinely used for ZANU conferences, birthday galas and outrageous trips."Recently Mugabe's annual holiday cost six million dollars and instead of the nonagenarian centering on key national questions he is busy banqueting on the people sorrows," said Noko.There are media reports that President Mugabe was also renting a $500 000 mansion in Dubai.The over-ballooned civil service pay bill, Noko went on, was also a clear sign of ZANU inefficiency and misgovernance that has created ghost workers in government structures.Said ZAPU's deputy secretary -general : " Right now we are battling the typhoid problem due to dilapidated services and how can we be on high alert when our nurses, doctors have low morale over unpaid bonuses, poor salaries a long queuing at banks to access cash?"Noko added that government's failure to honour commitments to civil servants was a public threat, urging it to honour its contractual agreements."A ZAPU government relishes the huge sacrifice of all workers , particularly civil servants in driving the country's success and will religiously follow crucial policies crucial that safeguard their welfare in its turn-around strategy," he added. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras to be extended to all over the Country SANKALP" for Livelihood Promotion Programme to be Launched at a cost of Rs. 4000 Crores The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2017-18 in Parliament today said that the Government proposes to extend the number of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras from current 60 to cover more than 600 districts across the country. He said 100 India International Skills Centres will be established across the country. These centres would offer advanced training and also courses in foreign languages. This will help those of our youth who seek job opportunities outside the country. The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that in the Financial Year 2017-18, a programme SANKALP (Skill Acquistion and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion Programme) will also be launched at a cost of Rs. 4,000 crore. SANKALP will provide market relevant training to 3.5 crore youth. President of India condoles the passing away of Shri E Ahamed The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the passing away of IUML National President, former Minister and Member of Parliament, Shri E Ahamed. In tweets issued this morning, the President expressed heartfelt condolences over sad demise of Shri E Ahamed and described him as a friend and colleague of long years. The President said Shri Ahamed was a tireless campaigner for the welfare of underprivileged and his services to the nation will be long remembered. Rs 22095 cr allocated to WCD Ministry in the Budget 2017-18, showing an increase of 27% over BE 2016-17 Rs 2700 provided for Maternity Benefit Programme for pregnant women WCD Budget for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao doubled An allocation of Rs 22095 cr has been made for the Ministry of Women and Child Development in the Budget for the Financial Year 2017-18, showing an increase of 27% over the year 2016-17 (BE). The Budget, presented in the Parliament today by the Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley also includes a provision of Rs 2700 cr for the Maternity Benefit Programme announced by the Prime Minister , Shri Narendra Modi for pregnant women across the country. Under this scheme, Rs 6000 each will be transferred directly to bank accounts of pregnant women who undergo institutional delivery and vaccinate their children.The Finance Minister , in his Budget Speech also announced Rs 500 cr for setting up Mahila Shakti Kendras at village level in the Anganwadi Centres. This will provide one stop convergent support services for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy , health and nutrition. For the welfare of Women and Children under various schemes across all Ministries, the allocation has been stepped up from Rs 1,56,528 cr in BE 2016-17 to Rs 1,84,632 cr in 2017-18, stated the Finance Minister.In the Budget, there is an allocation of Rs 16745 cr for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme for the FY 2017-18 as compared to the allocation of Rs 14850 in BE 2016-17 for ICDS. The allocation for the flagship Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has also been doubled to Rs 200 cr in this year. An amount of Rs 200 cr has been provisioned for the National Creche Scheme, while the scheme for adolescent girls has been apportioned Rs 460 cr. Rs 50 cr is proposed to be spent on Hostels for Working Women. The Child Protection Scheme has also seen a substantial increase to Rs 648 cr as compared to Rs 397 cr in BE 2106-17. The Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has expressed satisfaction at the Budgetary provisions for the Ministry of Women and Child Development . She has thanked the Prime Minister for the 27% increase in the budget for welfare of women and children. The WCD Minister has said that adequate provision of funds will help the Ministry to push forward the much needed schemes and programmes for the safety, protection and development of women and children. Total allocation for Infrastructure Development stands at Rs. 3,96,135 crores in 2017-18 2,000 kms of roads identified for construction for better connectivity with ports and remote villages 1,55,000 kms of Optical Fiber Cables laid; high speed broadband connectivity to more than 1,50,000 gram panchayats by end of 2017-18 The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2017-18 in Parliament today informed that the total allocation for infrastructure development in 2017-18 stands at Rs. 3,96,135 crores. In the road sector, the Budget allocation has been stepped up for Highways from Rs. 57,976 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs. 64,900 crores in 2017-18. Further, 2,000 kms of coastal connectivity roads have been identified for construction and development to facilitate better connectivity with ports and remote villages. The Finance Minister,Shri Arun Jaitley in his Budget Speech, stated that the total length of roads, including those under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), built from 2014-15 till the current year is about 1,40,000 kms which is significantly higher than previous three years. Further, Shri Jaitley informed that a specific programme for development of multi-modal logistics parks, together with multi modal transport facilities, will be drawn-up and implemented that will make our economy more competitive. Speaking on upgradation of Civil Aviation infrastructure, Shri Jaitley said that the Select airports in Tier 2 cities will be taken up for operation and maintenance in the PPP mode. Further, Airport Authority of India Act will be amended to enable effective monetization of land assets. The resources, so raised, will be utilized for airport upgradation. For transportation sector as a whole, including rail, roads, shipping, the Budget provides Rs. 2,41,387 crores in 2017-18. This magnitude of investment will spur a huge amount of economic activity across the country and create more job opportunities, the Finance Minister said in his Budget speech. Calling Telecom sector as an important component of the infrastructure eco-system, Shri Jaitley noted that the recent spectrum auctions have removed spectrum scarcity in the country. This will give a major fillip to mobile broadband and Digital India for the benefit of people living in rural and remote areas. Further, for the BharatNet Project, the allocation has been stepped up to Rs.10,000 crores in 2017-18 and 1,55,000 kms of Optical Fiber Cables have been laid. Shri Jaitley informed that by the end of 2017-18, high speed broadband connectivity on optical fiber will be available in more than 1,50,000 gram panchayats, with wifi hot spots and access to digital services at low tariffs. A DigiGaon initiative will be launched to provide tele-medicine, education and skills through digital technology, he added. For strengthening our Energy sector, the Government has decided to set up Strategic Crude Oil Reserves. In the first phase, 3 such Reserve facilities have been set up and in the second phase, it is proposed to set up caverns at 2 more locations, namely, Chandikhole in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan. This will take the countrys strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 MMT. Further, the Finance Minister, in his Budget speech, proposed to create an integrated public sector oil major which will be able to match the performance of international and domestic private sector oil and gas companies. In solar energy, the second phase of Solar Park development is proposed to be taken up for additional 20,000 MW capacity, Shri Jaitley added. The Finance Mini9ster Shri Jaitley further stated that the Government is creating an ecosystem to make India a global hub for electronics manufacturing. Over 250 investment proposals for electronics manufacturing have been received in the last 2 years, totaling to an investment of Rs.1.26 lakh crores. A number of global leaders and mobile manufacturers have set up production facilities in India, hence the Finance Minister said that allocation for incentive schemes like M-SIPS and EDF have been exponentially increased to an all-time high of Rs. 745 crores in 2017-18. Further, a new and restructured Central scheme, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) will be launched in 2017-18 to focus on our export infrastructure in a competitive world. The leaders of the United States have provided many reasons for their numerous interventions in . President Donald Trump has focused on one thing: the United States should take the countrys oil. Prime Minister Theresa May today said that US President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban was "divisive and wrong", five days after she initially refused to condemn the move. "On the policy that president Trump has introduced, this government is clear that that policy is wrong," May told parliament after being pressed by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. "We believe it is divisive and wrong," she said, speaking to MPs for the first time since the travel ban came into force on Friday the same day she met Trump at the White House. Trump's executive order bars refugee arrivals for at least 120 days and suspends visas from seven Muslim-majority countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. May said she had no advance notice of Trump's plans. "If he (Corbyn) is asking me whether I had advance notice of the ban on refugees, the answer is no. If he is asking me if I had advance notice that the executive order could affect British citizens, the answer is no. "If he is asking if I had advance notice of the travel restrictions, the answer is we all did, because president Trump said he was going to do this in his election campaign." The ban sparked global mass protests and was swiftly condemned by the United Nations and countries including Germany and France. But May initially failed to condemn the measure, saying the US was responsible for its own refugee policy. She then issued a statement saying she did "not agree" with it. A petition demanding that Britain withdraws an invitation for Trump to make a state visit has garnered 1.8 million signatures. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, on a visit to Lisbon today, described the US ban as "arbitrary and brutal". European leaders are also concerned about Trump's virulent criticism of NATO he has dubbed the transatlantic military alliance "obsolete" at a time when it stands as the main defence against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Arnold Schwarzenegger has criticised President Donald Trump's controversial executive order barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, and halting the nation's refugee programme. The Austrian-born actor and former California governor, in an interview with 'Extra's Mario Lopez, said the action "was vetted badly" and "makes us look stupid", reports People Magazine. "I think the real problem is that it was vetted badly," Schwarzenegger said and added, "If they would run this by the Justice Department and Homeland Security and had the lawyers really study and focus on it and give it some time to do it the right way." While the 69-year-old said he understood the need to keep terrorists out of the country, he suggested there were better ways to go about it and Trump's administration was "hasty" with the order, called the "Muslim ban" by Trump's critics. The 'Terminator' star, an immigrant from Austria who came to the United States in 1968, went on to sympathize with those affected by the order. "To go and ban people who have a green card, that means that the United States of America has given you permission to work here permanently and you are on the way to permanent citizenship. I was in that position," Schwarzenegger said. "It's crazy, it's crazy and makes us look stupid when the White House is ill-prepared to put this kind of executive order out there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan media has speculated that the house arrest of Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was consequent to the warning issued by the United States. A media report said that American officials warned Pakistan to rein in Saeed or risk sanctions. Saeed in a video released shortly after his detention claimed that Pakistan was obliged to act because of U.S. President Donald Trump's warm relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, an article published in The Dawn speculated that if any external pressure compelled Pakistan to place Saeed under house arrest then it's more likely to have come from Beijing than Washington. The article said that Trump has been in office for less than two weeks and beyond his rapid-fire issuance of executive orders, his presidency appears frenzied and disorganised-not to mention hamstrung by numerous unfilled senior diplomatic and national security posts. And with this, the Trump administration has too much on its plate to be focusing laser-like on Pakistan. The article said that in a telling yet underreported development several weeks ago, China's former consul general in Kolkata published a blog post calling on Beijing to rethink its default policy of blocking Indian attempts to have Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar sanctioned by the United Nations. This all makes good sense when we think about the high stakes of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). For Beijing (as for Islamabad), rapid and sustained progress on this project is a core strategic imperative, the article said. It adds that even though Saeed doesn't pose a direct threat to China, but so long as he walks free he poses a direct threat to India-Pakistan relations. The last thing China wants as it pushes forward with CPEC is an India-Pakistan relationship on tenterhooks. China has long leaned on Pakistan to tackle terror more robustly - and it's arguably gotten results. Some have speculated that Beijing prodding played a role in Pakistan's decision to launch the Zarb-i-Azb operation to fight militancy. The anti-state militants targeted in that offensive had not only terrorised Pakistan but they had also posed a threat to Chinese investments and workers in Pakistan. In short, we should never underestimate China's leverage in Pakistan including its ability to get Pakistan to do things it often resists, said the article while questioning as to why Pakistan did not act weeks or months ago if the decision was influenced by China. It said that this house arrest, at least in part, can also be read as an effort by Pakistan to showcase its counter-terrorism bonafides to the new US administration and to dissuade Trump from adding Pakistan to the list of countries that can't send their citizens to the United States for 90 days. The article further says that China has the ability to get Pakistan to go beyond token gestures when it comes to addressing anti-India militancy and unless Pakistan chooses to do some big-time signaling to Washington by keeping Saeed in detention for an extended period. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least four people were killed on Wednesday when an under-construction building collapsed in Kanpur's Jajmau. The Army and the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reached the spot and are carrying out rescue efforts even as more than 40 people are feared trapped under the rubble, as told to ANI by Kanpur DM Kaushal Raj. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hours after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented Budget-2017 in the Parliament, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter to condemn it in harsh words. Calling the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government's budget 'misleading' and 'full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words', the TMC leader rued the absence of the data or figures that could show the impact of demonetisation. "A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility. Tax payers still have restrictions on withdrawals. Remove all restrictions immediately. And where are the figures for #DeMonetisation? Misleading. Full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words which mean nothing," Mamata wrote on the social networking site. The TMC earlier boycotted the first two days of the Budget session as a mark to protest against demonetisation. The party said the note-ban was implemented without taking Parliament into confidence. Earlier in the day, Jaitley presented the General Budget proposals for 2017-18 in Parliament and said the major thrust of his fourth budget is on stimulating growth, relief to middle class, affordable housing, curbing black money, promoting digital economy, transparency of political funding and simplification of tax administration. The Finance Minister also outlined the government's overarching agenda - 'Transform, Energise and Clean India'. He also said the government's emphasis will be on implementing all these proposals for the benefit of the farmers, the poor and the under privileged sections of the society. The Budget has evoked diverse reactions from nation across with most of the BJP-opposing parties criticising it for the absence of any breakthrough schemes facilitating compensation for the cash shortage in the country due to demonetisation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A new 44.76-km broad gauge rail line from Agartala to temple city Udaipur was recently inaugurated by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu through video-conference from New Delhi. This is part of the India government's initiative to connect the last border town of Tripura, Sabroom, by rail network after spending Rs 1,200 crore to secure access to the Chittagong international sea port in Bangladesh. Tripura's MP Jitendra Choudhury, PWD and Health Minister Badal Choudhury and Transport Minister Manik Dey, among others, attended the inaugural function at the Agartala railway station. Large number of passengers had gathered to be a part of the inaugural ride which according to them is historical. They expressed that the train service is like their long time dream come true and shall not only be convenient and cheap but also safe. Northeast is a priority area for the central government which proposed to make the region a most developed area. To resolve the problems and backwardness of the northeastern region the railway budget for region was increased Rs 2,021 crore to Rs 5,340 crore in the current year's (2016-17) budget and is expected to further increased in the upcoming financial year (2017-18). The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has undertaken ambitious plans to connect by 2020 all the state capitals of the northeastern states by rail network. Beside that there is a proposed rail link between Tripura and Bangladesh so that northeastern states can be easily connected by railway with Myanmar to access the railway communications of the southeast Asia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, scheduled from June 1 to 3, as the 'Guest of Honour'. In response to a question on India as a guest country at the forum, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said, "'This is to confirm that India has been invited as a Guest Country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum which will be held in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia from June 1 to 3, 2017. "As a part of this, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will attend the Forum as Guest of Honour. Other details of the Prime Minister's visit are being worked out, and we will announce them as and when they are finalized," said a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The forum is an annual Russian business event for the economic sector that witnesses more than 4,000 people from over 60 different countries every year. The forum brings together the chief executives of major Russian and international companies, heads of state, political leaders, prime ministers, deputy prime ministers, departmental ministers, and governors. The key purpose of the forum is to provide a practical tool for business, helping to overcome the barriers, both geographical and informational, dividing Russia and other countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Police on Wednesday confirmed the seizure of 15,000 liquor bottles in Sector 2 of Dwarka. Receiving a tip-off, Superintendent Ram Pratap, Assistant Superintendent Chittar Singh and three other constables intercepted the Leyland tempo that was carrying 300 cartons, of Haryana-made illicit liquor. Naresh, the son of Kishan Lal, was arrested. He is said to have been involved in three other cases of bootlegging. Naresh said, he brought the liquor from Haryana to supply in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the ensuing assembly election. A case has been registered under the Delhi Excise Act. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Announcing the Congress' vision for Goa ahead of the upcoming polls, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asserted that grand old party is aiming to ensure Goa becomes free from the menace of drugs, crimes and the perils of sexual predators. "Overwhelming support and all-round blessings of people of Goa has ensured that Congress party will form the next government in Goa. Drug, crime and other sexual predator-free Goa, that's the Goa that we dream of," Surjewala said in a press conference Tuesday. "We call the paradigm of formation of government in Goa by the Congress party as TEA, a transparent government, empowered Goa and accountable government, which is Congress party's vision for Goa," he told ANI. He added that this entire paradigm of development for the people of Goa can be termed as "We Shine". Which stands for water and electricity, employment, special status, health, institutionalizing mining reforms, natural development of Goa as a tourism hub and ensuring a drug and crime free state. "Our slogan depicts power to the people and power for people's welfare. That is the motto of the Congress party," Surjewala further said. He said that under their manifesto the following provisions will be made available to the people of Goa: 1. Rs. 5000 monthly allowance to every youth whose income is less than Rs. 1 lakh. 2. Reducing the minimum qualification for unskilled jobs to 8th standard 3. Free wifi in schools, colleges, universities and professional institutions 4. Creating a new sports university in Goa 5. Five litre petrol pass every month to every student who is 18 years of age and above 6. Creation of a mining fund. Ahead of the assembly polls in five states of the country, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is holding rallies in various cities of the states to ensure the Congress secures a significant number of seats. Goa goes to polls on February 4. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 10-year-old Bangladesh girl has sprouted bark-like warts on her face, which doctor's fear might be another case of tree-man disease in the country. Shahana Khatun's father, a farmer, was concerned when he found the growth on her face. He had previously thought it to be prickly heat rashes. But the growths began to spread and grow, The Daily Star reported on Wednesday. Khatun could be the first female in the country to be afflicted with the tree-man syndrome, after Abul Bajandar, who made news around the world with the long wooden-wart like outgrowths. "This appears to be similar to Tree man disease that affected Abul Bajandar, hailing from Khulna," Samanta Lal Sen, coordinator of Dhaka Medical College Hospital's Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit, told The Daily Star. Khatun will be treated at the same hospital and a six-member medical board will be formed to assess her illness. "At the age of one, she appeared to have what was then thought to be prickly heat rashes on her face. These started to grow about three years back," her father said. Abul Bajandar, 26, also known as "tree man", has undergone at least 18 operations at the same hospital where Khatun is receiving treatment. Bajandar is suffering from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, a rare skin disorder commonly known as the tree man illness, which covers limbs with warts, making them look like tree branches. He is believed to be the fourth man in the world with the illness. --IANS ruwa/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Arunachal Pradesh Governor P.B. Acharya on Wednesday reviewed the security scenario in the state with senior state officials and central security agencies. During the meeting, the Governor called upon the officials to strengthen the security apparatus and simultaneously initiate action to change people's mindset to promote a Pan-India spirit. "Every citizen of the state must be respected. It is the prime duty of the security agencies to instil a sense of security," the Governor stressed at the meeting attended by officials of the Arunachal Pradesh Police, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Seema Suraksha Bal, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Assam Rifles. Acharya also asked the Arunachal Pradesh Police to constitute a peace and security committee involving opinion makers to aid the security agencies in maintaining law and order, promote peace and harmony and also help the poor and needy. "Do more than your call of duty. Involve trend setters and opinion makers such as senior citizens, ex-servicemen and college and university students in your programmes," he said. Acharya also asked them to help farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs of the region by buying their products for the forces, which would solve the product marketing challenges to some extent. The Governor also held a meeting with different banks' officials in the state and exhorted them to put in their best efforts towards the state and central programmes, particularly the Jan Dhan Yojana and insurance schemes, for financial empowerment of the people. --IANS rrk/nir/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here on Wednesday said its doctors had revived former union minister E. Ahamed when he was brought after collapsing in Parliament. The Lok Sabha member from Mallapuram in Kerala on Tuesday suffered cardiac arrest during the President's address to Parliament. The hospital administration said although it tried its best to save the Indian Union Muslim League leader, he passed away at 2.15 a.m. on Wednesday. Earlier, Congress MP K.V. Thomas claimed he was told by the hospital that Ahamed died on Tuesday. Thomas told IANS on Wednesday that when he reached the hospital on Tuesday, "I was told Ahamed is no more". According to RML, Ahamed was resuscitated by hospital doctors after he was wheeled in. "On arrival he was in cardiac arrest. A team of experts revived him by putting him on a pacemaker, ventilator and cardiopulmonary resuscitation," RML Medical Superintendent A.K. Gadpayle said. "All possible efforts were made by the RML doctors. However, he succumbed at 2.15 a.m. due to complete heart blockage, cadiogenic shock, diabetes with hypertension," he said in a statement. --IANS rup/tsb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aligarh Muslim University on Wednesday expressed its "deep sense of sorrow" on the death of former Union Minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader E Ahamed, who played a key role in the establishment of AMU's Malappuram Centre in Kerala. Ahamed suffered a cardiac arrest during President's address in Budget session on Tuesday and succumbed early on Wednesday. He had served the country in different capacities including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Minister of State for Railways and on several other portfolios. A Member of Parliament from Kerala, he had played a key role in the establishment of Aligarh Muslim University's Malappuram Centre in the state and remained concerned for its development till his last. AMU administration extended its condolence to his family. --IANS bk/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Initially set up to improve roads in the northeast, a fledgling state-owned company has now seen its mandate expanded to cover other hill states as well as the Andaman and Nicobar islands, where it is undertaking an ambitious sea-link project in the strategically important archipelago that is being developed as a maritime hub. The two-km, Rs 1,000 crore sea link across a sliver of the Bay of Bengal is part of the over Rs 4,000-crore worth of projects undertaken in the Andamans by the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), which achieved "Mini Ratna" status in only its second year of existence. The company, which has garnered projects worth a whopping Rs 100,000 crore ($14 billion) since its inception in July 2014, will also be building around 360 km of modern roads across the islands that suffer from poor connectivity and lack of infrastructure. The infrastructure focus is part of a larger Rs 10,000 crore plan to transform the Andaman and Nicobar islands into the country's first maritime hub. Considering the territory's strategic importance, the governments wants to develop infrastructure in the territory, including dry docks and roads, among others. The sea link, between Bamboo Flat on the South Andaman and Chatham island, will cut down travel time from three hours to 15 minutes. While this is the showpiece project, there are several others that are key to better connectivity in the Andamans, according to Anand Kumar, Managing Director, NHIDCL. "The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has transferred the road upgradation of Andaman-Trunk (AT) Road to NHIDCL," Kumar, told IANS, adding that the project includes construction of two bridges of 1.5 km over Humphrey Straight Creek and Middle Straight Creek at a cost of Rs 423 crore and an execution deadline of three years. "NHIDCL has moved quickly and obtained forest clearance for Humphrey Straight Creek and is likely to award the work at a cost of Rs 232 crore (soon)," said Kumar, a 1984 batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre. Promising that the construction of AT Road will be done to global standards, Kumar said: "We are also likely to award (a part) of the work for AT Road at the cost of Rs 136 crore over the next week. The work should be over in 18 months." Kumar said the designing of the sea link connecting Bamboo Flat and Chatham Island is in DPR (Detailed Project Report) preparation stage and the work should be awarded within one month. Kumar -- who has been leading the NHIDCL since its inception -- has also successfully obtained the long-pending clearance from the Navy for the construction of the bridges. As part of widening of the existing NH-223, the company will also do two-laning with a paved shoulder of the Port Blair-Mayabunder-Diglipur road at a cost of over Rs 300 crore. "We will try to award the work by March 31," he said. NHIDCL was launched with the mandate of quickly constructing over 4,000 km of roads and highways in the northeastern states to improve connectivity in the long-neglected region that has sensitive borders with China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Given its timely execution of projects in the region, the company's mandate was soon expanded to include the hill and border states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where it has been assigned the task of constructing 6,841 km of roads and highways at an estimated cost of Rs 45,164 crore. "We are the first to start 18 projects in Tripura, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh with a total length of 600 km at a cost of Rs 6,500 crore. This year we have started five projects in Arunachal Pradesh," Anand Kumar had previously told IANS. The NHIDCL had hit the ground running, taking over the projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Public Works Department (PWD) of the states concerned and started showing immediate results in terms of improving the shoddy conditions of the roads and highways in the region, he added. (Rupesh Dutta can be reached at Rupesh.d@ians.in ) --IANS rup/sar/vm/sac/ky/tb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday demanded the arrest of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, blaming him for a blast near Bathinda that killed three persons. "To ensure peaceful elections, Sukhbir Badal should be immediately arrested. His role in yesterday's (Tuesday) blast be probed. He will cause more violence," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader tweeted. At least three persons were killed in a powerful blast in a car close to a rally of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi in Maur Mandi. More than 10 people were also injured. "Sukhbir Badal is a hardened criminal who will go to any extent to ruin Punjab and its peace. Election Commission MUST arrest him to ensure peaceful elections," added Kejriwal, who is campaigning in Punjab. The Punjab assembly election is due on February 4. The AAP, the Congress and the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance are the major contenders for power in the state. Kejriwal had soon after the blast made a similar appeal to the Election Commission: "BJP, Akali Dal and Congress are capable of anything. "Police must act firm, nab culprits. Blast just three days before elections?... EC must ensure peaceful elections," he tweeted on Tuesday night. Separately, AAP leader Sanjay Singh also demanded the arrest of Sukhbir Badal, who is son of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and also the Home Minister. Listing a string of violent incidents in Punjab in which the culprits have not been caught, Sanjay Singh said Sukhbir Badal should be arrested "immediately". --IANS vv/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Midfielder Franck Ribery will be sidelined for two weeks due to a thigh injury, the German Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich has announced. The Frenchman, who provided two goals in 13 outings in Germany's top flight so far, sustained a strain in his right thigh, which forced him to stop training on Tuesday, reports Xinhua. The 33-year-old offensive midfielder will hence miss the upcoming Bundesliga games against Schalke and Ingolstadt as well as the German Cup last 16 encounter against Wolfsburg. Bayern Munich sit currently atop the Bundesliga standings with a three-point advantage to second-placed Leipzig. --IANS sam/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Politicians in House of Commons gave overwhelming backing to the Brexit bill, paving the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the Article 50 mechanism for Britain to leave the European Union. The vote on Wednesday night, came after two days of intensive debating when around 180 members of parliament (MPs) spoke for and against the measure. The final figures stood at 498 'yes' against 114 'no', which gave the government a clear and comfortable majority of 384, Xinhua news agency reported. The vote was the most critical in a process that will lead to more detailed discussions before peers in the House of Lords vote, ahead of Queen Elizabeth II giving the bill her Royal assent. The debate was called after the Supreme Court ruled last month that parliament had to vote on triggering Article 50, the mechanism for any country wanting to leave the EU. The final speaker in the debate, government minister David Jones, urging MPs to "trust the people" and saying the government was clear that the referendum outcome would apply to the whole of Britain. Jones said the British government insists it will work with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And in a message to the people of Europe, he said: "You will still be welcome in our country, as we trust our citizens will still be welcome in yours." Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the government had chosen not to make the economy the priority, but had prioritized immigration control, which was a clear message from the referendum campaign. --IANS vgu/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union Budget for 2017-18 was easily the most anticipated one in recent times. The public was seeking the government's policy stance after its bold attack on black money with demonetisation. On a related note, the market was also looking forward to the government's response to the demonetisation-induced slowdown. The Economic Survey had also raised expectations of a radical move like Universal Basic Income (UBI). With a wide range of expectations tied to the Budget on a year when growth expectations were low, it was bound to have a few hits and misses. Coming to the positive aspects, the Budget was high on decibels with its take on black money. It took the fight against black money and corruption to its very root by targeting the funding of political parties. The maximum amount of funding that parties can receive in cash has been reduced to Rs 2000. Besides political funding, the Budget targets big-time offenders that flee the country by proposing a new law to confiscate their assets till they submit to the jurisdiction of the appropriate legal forum. Finally, cash transactions, in general, have been limited to Rs 3 lakhs. The continuity in the government's anti-corruption stance after the widely debated demonetisation was necessary to take the attack on the stock of black money to its flow in the economy. Secondly, a similar continuity in the governmentas stand was seen in the area of fiscal consolidation. The government has displayed an unwavering commitment to maintaining a stable fiscal regime since its first Budget for 2014-15, despite temptations to splurge in order to revive a slowing economy. The Budget promises to maintain a fiscal deficit of 3.2 percent of GDP in FY2018 and achieve the FRBM-recommended target of 3 percent in the following year. This should send a positive signal to the credit rating agencies and attract funds from abroad, which is urgently required in an investment-starved Indian economy. Third, as per market expectations, the government gave a push to capital expenditure that was needed to stimulate the slowing economy. According to our estimates, the government's capital expenditure saw an increase of 2.3 percent since the last Budget. Infrastructure witnessed a much-needed push with higher allocations to roads and highways than last year amounting to Rs 97,000 crore. Further capital expenditure was seen in the area of renewable energy with an allocation of Rs 3,000 for nuclear power alone. This fiscal stimulus should partly compensate for the lack of private investments in the economy. Other positives in the Budget were seen in the gradual nudge towards digitalisation with duty exemptions on cashless transaction in PoS terminals and online rail booking. Positive steps were also taken towards ensuring affordable housing. A housing coverage of 1 crore was promised under the Housing for All scheme. Further, 100 per cent rural electrification by 2018 was also promised. In another welcome move to encourage entrepreneurship, MSMEs were given tax reductions of 5 per cent. The latter move should give a slight fillip to muted private investment sentiments in the country. However, that is one area where the Budget could have contributed more effectively. Private investment, which has been at its weakest in recent times and makes up two-thirds of the country's total investment, needs urgent revival. This was especially needed in the Budget, considering that economic growth is not expected to be high. Moreover, the government is limited by its promise to remain within the FRBM recommendation to replace private investment with public spending. Higher private investment could have been achieved with a targeted strike on the rising stressed assets of banks. The acetwin balance sheet problem" highlighted by the Economic Survey is impeding the lending practices of over-leveraged banks and thus hurting new investment across the country. In fact, the Budget has allocated Rs10,000 crore for recapitalisation of banks in 2017-18, but the strategy has failed to improve the situation in the past. The government needs to take the Economic Survey's recommendation of the establishment of a Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency or a similar institute that tackles the problem of stalled infrastructure projects. There is an urgent need to tackle the problem of NPAs head-on before the situation festers and stalls the overall economy in the process. A second miss in the Budget was in the education and health sector. Since India has one of the lowest spending on health and education, more budgetary allocations are always welcome. However, as it often happens when the fiscal situation is tight, the two sectors were merely paid lip service. A few initiatives within the sector were taken up, but substantiated policy actions to improve the quality of institutions within the sector were lacking. It is high time the Indian government perceives such budgetary allocations as an investment rather than a cost to the exchequer.AAA All in all, the Budget aimed at fulfilling the heightened expectations that it had generated, especially with the government's take on black money. However, it is hoped that future government actions address the issues it has left wanting. On an immediate basis, reviving private investment and dealing with the problem of NPAs need innovative policy redressal to renew the long-elusive Indian growth story.A (Amit Kapoor is chair and Chirag Yadav is researcher with Institute for Competitiveness, India. The views expressed are personal. Amit Kapoor can be contacted at amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in and tweets @kautiliya) --IANS Amitk/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress on Wednesday termed the Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in parliament, as "disappointing" for all sections of society. The party's Madhya Pradesh unit President Arun Yadav said: "We expected special provisions for farmers, workers and youth, but nothing happened." He said a proposed increase of Rs 50,000 in income tax exemption was not enough. Yadav said the central government was trying to offer "lollipops" to lure people but they know it was trying to "pick-pocket" them. --IANS hindi-py/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Budget 2017-18 that was presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday evoked mixed reactions from people here. The budget aims to reduce the tax liability for the entry level income tax slab to 5 per cent from 10 per cent and that is certainly the most talked about announcement among the people. "My concern is the tax slab, my money budget and my household. For the first time in my life I have seen the taxes being reduced. It is a relief. Thumbs up to the budget," a 33-year-old TCS employee told IANS. Ruchika Arora, a 42-year-old housewife expressed excitement over the decision, saying, "This whole thing about bringing down the taxes is going to be beneficial for middle class families like mine. It is nice that they took this big step." "It is a prudent step as it is aligned with the developmental paradigm of our nation," Advocate Sahil Tutreja told IANS. According to 27-year-old Divya Sinha, the Union Budget is in the best interest of women as the central government has increased the budget allocation for women and children welfare under various ministries from Rs 1.56 lakh crore to Rs 1.84 lakh crore. "Income tax reforms are fine. There is some relief for the salaried people but extremely beneficial," said Sinha, who is a civil services aspirant. "There is a huge increase in the proposed expenditure for agriculture but then this is the BJP government. It never has much to offer to middle class. They either make efforts for the most disadvantaged or the focus is pro-development," she said. "Nothing for the common man. Personal tax reforms are not significant but there is nothing conspicuous for education. The good part is the insistence of using state of the art technology for agriculture and soil management. Affordable housing infra status is another good news," she explained. For 55-year-old Zohra Ali, the income tax rates for individuals earning around Rs 2.5 lakh should have been reduced to nought. "Rs 2.5 lakh is not a very big amount in the present day. I feel that this category of people should have simply been exempted from taxes. That's what we were expecting." According to 22-year-old student Ashna Batra, "The statistics of the people eligible to pay taxes and the people who have purchased cars and gone abroad in a year, are surprising as the difference is huge. It means that tax evasion is a practice in this country and due to this, the burden falls on honest tax payers." She feels that changing the tax bracket and percentage will ensure that people comply with tax rules and regulations. She added, "And installation of Aadhar card swipe machines will ensure inclusion of people from all income brackets. Stand up India scheme floated by government sounds impressive as it encourages women entrepreneurs and people from backward classes." There are many who appeared sceptical and confused about the implementation of the proposed plans. "They say that they would double the income of the farmers. I am confused how they would do it. The budget doesn't talk about it," said Shaurya Sharma, an engineer by profession. "There should have been some more announcements on the defence sector. The way it used to be before. There isn't any clarity about the proposed defence expenditure... I like the efforts of the government of bringing more and more people in the taxation system," the 38-year-old said. For communication student Ritika Kumari, everything is appreciable including "tax reforms, increase in infrastructure, transportation, removal of service tax in railways but it all depends on how these things are implemented". Shantanu Misra, 31, who is a banker by profession, said that the budget focuses more on real development than on freebies. "The amount allocated to railway development and other infrastructure projects has increased. Not much can be commented on indirect taxes as GST is still to be rolled out," he said. --IANS mg/lok/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday flayed the Union Budget and said that it had nothing for the poor and weaker and marginalised sections of society. In a statement issued here, she said that while people were looking for relief measures post-demonetisation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley "disappointed" them. "Small relief given in income tax will neither offset the problems of the people nor wash away the blots on the BJP-led NDA government," the statement said. The four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also castigated the central government for being adamant on pushing through the budget even while the poll process was underway in five major states of the country. She said that the demonetisation of higher currency notes on November 8 has already singed the economy, made people jobless and put honest people through endless travails. --IANS md/ahm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A sombre mood overshadowed the Budget proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday due to the death of sitting IUML MP E. Ahamed, with the opposition Congress, which had asked for postponing the budget by a day, remaining mostly silent - allowing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to read his budget speech unhindered. The 2017-18 budget, which had for the first time the railway and general budgets merged and was presented around a month earlier than the usual date, saw the ruling party members thumping their desk repeatedly -- amid a largely silent opposition. The opposition's mood remained grim, and there were very few exchanges between the ruling and opposition benches. Congress President Sonia Gandhi was not present in the House. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, who later called the budget a "damp squib", was seen sitting flanked by party members Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, exchanging words with them from time to time. As soon as the House met, obituary reference was made to Ahamed, a former minister in the UPA government and a long-time Kerala MP of the Indian Union Muslim League. Ahamed was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest in Parliament's Central Hall during President Pranab Mukherjee's address on Tuesday. He died early on Wednesday. The members stood in silence for two minutes as a mark of respect to Ahamed. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced that the House will not sit on Thursday as a mark of respect to Ahamed, but that the budget has to go on. "I would have adjourned the house for the day but today's sitting has been specifically fixed by the President for presentation of the Union Budget for the financial year 2017-18 which is a constitutional obligation. In view of this exceptional situation, the House may go ahead with the presentation of the Union Budget," she said, leading to a brief uproar as Congress members wanted the budget to be postponed and the house adjourned. "I requested you today that the House should be adjourned because E. Ahamed was a very senior member. Nearly 45 years he was there in legislative affairs. As a mark of respect the House must be adjourned today. He was on his duty yesterday. He collapsed at the joint sitting," said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. However, as Finance Minister Jaitley stood up to present the budget, the Congress members gave up their protest and sat on their seats. The opposition members did not even once thump their desks - a usual mark of welcoming an announcement in the House - at any point during the Budget speech, and nor did they voice protests. They just sat very quietly throughout. The only time a Congress leader, Kharge, interrupted Jaitley was when he was making an announcement on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, but it was not audible as his microphone was switched off. The ruling NDA party members meanwhile cheered the Finance Minister through the announcements, specially when he hailed demonetisation as a "bold and decisive" step. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also seen thumping his desk as Jaitley mentioned demonetisation. Jaitley also broke into poetry twice during his speech. One of them came as he talked about black money. "Nayi duniya hai, naya daur hai, nayi hai umang Kuchh the pehle ke tarike to kuchh hain aaj ke dhang, Roshni aa ke andheron se jo takrayi hai Kaale dhan ko bhi badalna pada aaj apna rang." (This is a new world, and new times; the earlier ways have changed. Light has struck the darkness, and black money had to change its colour). In another verse, he said: "Iss mod pe na dar kar tham jaiye aap, Jo baat nayi hai usse apnaiye aap, dar jate hain nayo raah par kyo chalne se, hum aage aage chalte hain, aaiye aap." (Don't be scared of moving ahead at this turn, accept the new things. We will walk ahead, follow us). Talking to reporters later, Kharge responded to the minister's poem and said: "We cannot follow their path, it is not the right path." --IANS ao/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has said that the union budget is "very disappointing" for minorities. He said the budget looks hardly inspiring, with "nothing worthwhile for any section the society and for every sector of the economy". The MP from Hyderabad pointed out that though minorities account for 20 percent of the country's population (24.17 crores out of 121.08 crores), they were allocated only Rs 4,515 crores in the budget which envisages total expenditure of Rs 21,46,735 crores. The outlay for minorities comes to just 0.21 percent though they account for 20 percent of the population, he said. Owaisi said that per capita outlay for minorities comes to only Rs 187 per capita, and there is an increase of only Rs 368 crore in the allocation for minorities over the previous year. He said though the AIMIM had demanded scrapping the Haj subsidy on chartered flights and instead allocating this money for the education of Muslim girls, this was not done. --IANS ms/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said he was disappointed with the Union Budget 2017-18 as Delhi has again been deprived of its due share in central taxes. "Delhi has been deprived of its due from central share in this year's budget too... Delhi's share in central taxes remains stagnant for the 17th year at Rs 325 crore," Sisodia tweeted soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Budget in the Lok Sabha. Later, a Delhi government statement said that it had asked the central government to enhance the allocation to at least Rs 5,000 crore. "The Budget of Delhi has increased from Rs 8,739 crore in the year 2001-02 to Rs 46,600 crore in 2016-17, whereas the share in central taxes has remained frozen at Rs 325 crore since 2001-02." "However, states are getting share in central taxes every year based on the annual increase in collection of central taxes," the statement said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government expressed disappointment and slammed Jaitley for not earmarking any funds to Municipal Corporations of Delhi. "Indian government provides basic and performance grants to local bodies in all states. However, local bodies in Delhi are not getting any support from the central government despite providing 10.5 per cent of our annual tax collection to the local bodies," the Delhi government said. Earlier, Sisodia also slammed Jaitley for not going all the way to do away with anonymous donations to political parties. "Why are political parties free to accept cash donations up to Rs 2,000? Why does a vegetable vendor need to go cashless for even transactions of Rs 20 and parties can accept Rs 2,000 in cash," Sisodia asked. In his budget speech on Wednesday, Jaitley announced that political parties receiving donations above Rs 2,000 will now have to disclose the identity of the donor -- a sharp decline from the earlier limit of Rs 20,000. --IANS vv/ruwa/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangladesh Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested four alleged militants of a faction of banned militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in a raid, media reports said on Wednesday. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) told bdnews24.com that the four operatives of JMB Sarwar-Tamim faction were arrested from a five-storey building in the capital's Jatrabarhi area around 3 a.m. on Tuesday. The arrested were identified as Ashfaque-e-Azam alias Apple, Mahbubur Rahman, Shahinuzzaman and Ashraful Islam. Ashfaque-e-Azam was the group's IT expert. He was in charge of maintaining websites and providing technical support, said the RAB. Firearms, ammunitions and explosives were also seized in the house, including two pistols, 21 rounds of ammunition, four sharp weapons, gun powder and bomb-making materials. "Amid law-enforcers' crackdown, the militants were scattered. We received inputs that they were regrouping," RAB told bdnews24.com. The four had rented the apartment on January 23 saying they were construction workers. "The landlord is a woman. When she asked for IDs and pictures, they told her she would get them on February 1," said RAB-10 chief Jahangir Hossain Matubbar. The RAB officer said Ashfaque, an IT graduate from a private university, got involved with militancy five years ago while Shahinuzzaman is an expert in handling firearms. "We suspect they were planning for an attack. Further details can be known once they are interrogated," said Hossain. Earlier in January, police nabbed a 35-year-old Neo-JMB terrorist Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, one of the key figures behind the terror attack on the Gulshan cafe in July last year in which over 20 people, mostly foreigners were killed. Rajib had close connections with Tamim, the mastermind of the cafe siege, who was killed last year. --IANS sm/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To ensure greater transparency in political funding, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday sharply cut the cash donation a political party can accept and announced "electoral bonds" to promote legitimate funding of parties. Any anonymous cash donation to a political party will now be limited to Rs 2,000 -- a sharp drop from the Rs 20,000 limit earlier. Further, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue bearer bonds that a donor may buy through cheques and digital payments. He or she can then give the bond to a political party which must deposit it within a month in a pre-determined account. While this gives the donor the option of remaining anonymous, both ends of the transaction will happen through the banking system. Jaitley made the announcement in the Union Budget for 2017-18 saying political parties would have to take donations above Rs 2,000 through cheque and digital payments. The decision of the government to reduce cash donations will require political parties receiving a donation above Rs 2,000 to disclose the identity of the donor. Earlier, most of the political parties had been declaring that a majority of their donations were below Rs 20,000, and thus anonymous. Jaitley said the government proposes to amend the RBI Act for issuing the electoral bonds under the new scheme. "This will bring greater reform in political funding while preventing future generation of black money," Jaitley said He said that the government has accepted the Election Commission's recommendation to bring in transparency in political funding. The commission had asked the government, among other things, to bring down the limit of anonymous donations to Rs 2,000. "Even after 70 years of independence, there is no transparency in political funding. Most donations are received in cash and the donors too hesitate to disclose their identity," Jaitley said. --IANS mak/ps/hs/sar (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Donald Trump came under attack from Western allies, with EU President Donald Tusk dubbing the new US President an "existential threat to Europe". French Minister of Economy and Finance Michel Sapin said the Trump administration posed "a serious risk to world trade order" while Japan rejected Trump's charges of manipulating its foreign exchange market. In an extraordinary attack on Trump, the European Union chief called Trump, elected as the US President on January 20, an "existential threat to Europe", the Independent reported. In an open letter to leaders of the 27 member states, Tusk included the Trump administration as part of a group of "dangerous" challenges facing the bloc, citing Russia, China and radical Islam as other threats. "The change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation, with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. He issued a call for "political solidarity" before a summit in Malta this week where Europe's heads of states will discuss the future of the bloc. The former Polish Prime Minister said that an assertive China, Russia's aggressive policy, "terror and anarchy" in the Middle East and "worrying declarations by the new American administration" put the future of Europe in jeopardy. "The disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the US, Russia and China." Trump had earlier called Nato "obsolete" and dismissed the EU as a "vehicle for Germany" and said he's had "a very bad experience" with the EU as a businessman. French Minister Sapin said the decisions of Trump's administration "pose a serious risk to the world trade order". When the future of global trade was increasingly being questioned and trade openness caused dissatisfaction, "we are facing today a new wind of contestation of the benefits of commercial openness", Sapin was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. He said this challenge leads in particular the US "to take unilateral protectionist decisions that could destabilise the global economy as a whole. "Unexpectedly, it is China who poses as a defender of free trade on the international scene against the American withdrawal." Japan on Wednesday rejected Trump's charges that it had been manipulating its foreign exchange market to devalue the yen. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga rejected Trump's charges as "completely baseless", Efe news reported. Suga denied that Japan intervenes in the foreign exchange market. He said the country bases its monetary policy on the G7 and G20 agreements. Trump said on Tuesday in New York that Japan and China were playing the devaluation market in recent years. Suga added that Japan's financial policy was aimed at achieving consumer price index stability and not at bringing down the yen. Trump had earlier criticised Japan and China for their monetary policies and said he intended to include clauses against currency manipulations in the event of negotiating trade agreements with the two countries. The matter is expected to be discussed during the first official meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on February 10 in Washington which will focus on economic ties and their bilateral security agreement. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rome, Feb 1 (IANS/AKI) Former Italian rail chief Mauro Moretti and other defendants jailed over the 2009 Viareggio rail disaster that killed 32 people should resign, families of the victims said on Wednesday. "It is morally unacceptable that after a conviction of first instance, Mauro Moretti continues to lead a state company," the families said through their spokesman Marco Piagentini. "We request his resignation and that he be stripped of his Order of Merit for Labour," the families stated. The families were referring to former Italian railways chief Mauro Moretti, who is currently head of state-controlled defence and aeropspace giant Leonardo. A court in the Tuscan city of Lucca on Tuesday jailed Moretti and another top Italian manager to seven years and two others to six and a half years in prison for their roles in the train derailment which caused a massive gas explosion. The families also said they found "offensive" the statement made by Moretti's lawyer Armando D'Apote who said his sentence was "scandalous" and "oozed populism". The Lucca court of first instance convicted 23 people over the June 29, 2009 disaster when liquid petroleum gas cannisters carried by the train blew up into a fireball that engulfed Viareggio station and nearby houses in the Tuscan seaside town. The court gave a nine year and nine month prison sentence to Rainer Kogelheide, managing director of GATX Rail Europe Group, a tank and freight-train leasing company that owned the wagons that derailed. Peter Linowski, maintenance manager of GATX Rail Germany was also jailed for nine years and nine months. The managing director of GATX Rail Austria, Roman Mayer, and Uwe Koennecke, head of the German maintenance company that checked the wagons, got nine years in jail. Italian rail company Trenitalia's cargo division chief Mario Castaldo was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Trentialia's former managing director, Vincenzo Soprano, and the former head of Italy's rail network company RFI, Michele Mario Elia, got six years and six months. Fourteen other Italian and German managers were jailed for between six and eight years. Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato group and its logistics subsidiary were among companies acquitted while RFI and Trenitalia were found guilty. GATX Rail Europe Group told Germany's DPA news agency in a statement on Tuesday that it planned to appeal the verdict. A total of 33 people and nine companies were tried on various charges including rail disaster, multiple manslaughter, culpable arson and bodily harm. The court issued 10 acquittals in the trial. --IANS/AKI mr/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Investigators searched the lower chamber of the French Parliament as part of a probe into allegations that the wife of French presidential candidate Francois Fillon earned money in a fake job. At least one reporter at the scene witnessed agents belonging to France's anti-corruption agency, who on Monday questioned centre-right candidate Fillon and his Welsh wife Penelope, enter the National Assembly -- France's lower house of Parliament, Efe news reported. Fillon has denied the allegations -- published by satirical weekly "Le Canard Enchaine" -- that his wife earned 500,000 euros ($535,050) of public funds as a parliamentary adviser, despite not actually doing the job. While he said the accusations were part of a smear campaign, the investigators reportedly searched Fillon's own office. Fillon was widely regarded as a favourite in the upcoming French presidential elections where he is to run against far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen, Socialist Party candidate Benoit Hamon and the centrist Emmanuel Macron. --IANS vgu/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday morning he will go live with the Union budget for 2017-18 at 11 a.m. "Watch me live presenting the Union Budget 2017 at 11 am, February 1, 2017 http://www.loksabhatv.nic.in/," Jaitley tweeted. There was speculation that the Union Budget may be postponed after the death of sitting MP from Kerala E. Ahamed on Tuesday night at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. Ahamed, President of Indian Union of Muslim League and former Union Minister suffered a cardiac arrest on Tuesday during President Pranab Mukherjee's address to a joint session of parliament in the central hall on Tuesday. --IANS aks/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NRI televangelist Zakir Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) was banned as there was fear that youths could be "radicalised or motivated" to join terror groups, the government told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) showed confidential documents to the court on the basis of which a decision to ban the foundation was taken. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva reserved judgment on a plea filed by Naik challenging the November 17 notification imposing a ban on IRF for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The IRF told the court that the notification did not give sufficient reasons and materials for taking such a step and that the ban was imposed without giving any showcause notice. --IANS gt/ahm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nearly 900 refugees will be allowed into the US this week despite President Donald Trumps order suspending the refugees programme. Kevin McAleenan, acting Commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection agency, said at a press conference on Tuesday that 872 refugees would be granted waivers, which he said was allowed for under the order in instances where refugees were ready for travel and stopping them would cause "undue hardship". Trump's executive order, which aims to stop terrorist attacks on the US, stoked international outrage and expressions of dissent within the US government. Thousands of protesters descended on international airports around the country, and teams of volunteer lawyers assisted travellers that were being detained. McAleenan said it was fair to say that communication among government agencies on the order had "not been the best". But he said the refugees waivers were being done in harmony with the State Department. He said those 872 refugees will be arriving this week and will be processed for waivers through the end of the week. In addition to the refugees, the agency processed waivers for 1,060 lawful permanent residents and 75 visa-holders, McAleenan added. At the briefing, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly denied reports that he had been out of the loop in the White House planning for the immigration restrictions. Kelly said he looked at two drafts of the order before the Friday signing and that high-level government lawyers and agency officials were involved in drafting it. He also said he knew it was coming because Trump had long talked about it as a presidential candidate. Trump's order pauses America's entire refugee programme for four months, indefinitely bans all those from war-ravaged Syria and temporarily freezes immigration from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. --IANS soni/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India will spend Rs 150 crore on the strategic Chabahar port in Iran, Rs 50 crore more than in last fiscal, apart from giving Rs 6,479 crore in aid to other countries. All this will flow out of the External Affairs Ministry's budget outlay of Rs 14,798 crore. A commercial contract for the development and operation of Chabahar Port was signed between India, Iran and Afghanistan last year in Tehran during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. The allocation for the port made a debut in last year's revised budget. The international aid allocation for the next financial year is Rs 6,479 crore whereas in the last fiscal the revised budget was Rs 5,939.90 crore. Bhutan, the biggest beneficiary of Indian foreign aid, will get Rs 3,714 crore with Rs 1,630 crore earmarked for capital expenses. The allocation for the year is Rs 153.77 crore less than last year's revised allocation of Rs 3,867.90 crore. India's aid to Nepal for next fiscal is Rs 375 crore, Rs 55 crore more than last year. Afghanistan will get Rs 350.00 crore. There has been a deep dive in the Indian support to Afghanistan. In 2015-16, Rs 880.44 crore was spent in Afghanistan. This fell to Rs 315 crore in the revised budget of 2016-17. India will send Rs 330 crore in aid to African countries. India runs multilateral and bilateral aid and assistance programmes for its neighbouring and other developing countries. This assistance is provided to immediate neighbouring countries and also to countries of Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Latin America. It also caters for aid for disaster relief and humanitarian aid. The provision also includes aid assistance to Bhutan, Myanmar and Afghanistan. In comparison with last year's revised estimate, the Ministry will have additional Rs 1,372 crore to spend. The capital budget for the next fiscal is Rs 2,150 crore, Rs 302.36 crore more than last fiscal's revised capital budget of Rs 1,847 crore. --IANS rs/lok/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pulitzer Prize winning Indian-American writer Siddhartha Mukherjee's latest book 'The Gene' has made it for the longlist of this years Wellcome Book Prize. Mukherjee shared the news on Twitter. Weaving science, social history and personal narrative, Mukherjee has written a history on genetics. The book animates the quest to understand human heredity and its surprising influence on our lives, personalities, identities, fate and choices. The longlist that features seven non-fiction and five fiction titles also includes "Mend the Living" by Maylis de Kerangal, "The Golden Age" by Joan London, "The Essex Serpent" by Sarah Perry, "Omo Deus" by Yuval Noah Harari, "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi and "Cure" by Jo Marchant. "The challenge of judging the Wellcome Book Prize is that we have all had to read outside our own areas of expertise. That makes demands both of the judges and of the books. "This longlist is evidence of the breadth, humanity and creativity at work in the submissions for the prize and we commend each of these 12 books for your reading pleasure," Val McDermid, Chair, Wellcome Book Prize 2017 judging panel, said in a statement. Wellcome Book Prize is an annual award with 30,000 pounds prize money that recognises new works of literature, both fiction and non-fiction, that have a central theme engaging with some aspect of medicine, health or illness. The shortlist for the 2017 prize will be announced on March 14 and the winner on April 24. --IANS ss/sm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Despite the death of sitting parliamentarian and former Union Minister E. Ahamed, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is all set to present the 2017-18 Budget in Parliament on Wednesday, Lok Sabha sources said. The Congress party, however, has sought a day's postponement. "As per normal tradition, the house is adjourned after the demise of a sitting member, but it is not a rule," a Lok Sabha official said, requesting anonymity. But Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in view of the death of such a senior leader, the budget must be postponed by a day as there is nothing pressing for it to be presented on Wednesday itself. "If they go ahead, it will be an inhuman act," Kharge said, adding: "But the government has ignored this and they are going ahead in their own way." Earlier on Wednesday, Jaitley arrived at the Finance Ministry ahead of the Budget holding the traditional Budget suitcase. He then left for the Rashtrapati Bhawan to meet President Pranab Mukherjee. Meanwhile, the copies of the budget was also brought to Parliament. The uncertainty over Budget presentation loomed on Wednesday after the death of the Indian Union Muslim League's Ahamed, who passed away at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital early on Wednesday. He had collapsed in Parliament's Central Hall during President Pranab Mukherjee's address to a joint session of parliament on Tuesday. Earlier in the morning, Union Minister Santosh Gangwar said that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will take a final call on whether the Parliament would be adjourned or not following Ahamad's demise. --IANS aks/in/ap/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Kerala MP E. Ahamed died here on Wednesday hours after suffering a severe cardiac arrest in the Parliament, confirmed a senior doctor at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. According to hospital authorities, Ahamed was officially declared dead around 2.15 am after being put on the life support system. "His body will be sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for embalming so that it can be flown to his hometown in Kerala," a senior doctor, who did not wish to be named, told IANS. The RML hospital does not have facilities to perform embalming. Ahamed, a former Minister in the UPA government and a long-time IUML MP from Kerala, was admitted to RML after he fell unconscious in Parliament's Central Hall on Tuesday during President Pranab Mukherjee's address. The 78-year-old leader served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. Immediately after the news of his death, many of the leaders including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Kerala Congress leader and parliamentarian K.C. Venugopal visited the hospital. Ahamed was initially admitted to the emergency department. However, as he showed no signs of revival, doctors put him on life support after shifting him to the trauma centre. A team of three doctors, consisting of head of Cardiology Department Neeraj Pandit, head of Anaesthesia Department Rajesh Sood and Nursing-in-Charge R.S. Tonk, monitored Ahamed's condition. --IANS rup/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Kerala MP, E. Ahamed, who on Tuesday suffered a heart attack and collapsed in Parliament's Central Hall, died after undergoing treatment at the city-based Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, sources confirmed. "Ahamed died despite being tried to revive. He was on life support system since Tuesday evening," sources told IANS. Ahamed, a former Minister in the UPA government and a longtime IUML MP from Kerala, was admitted to RML after he fell unconscious in Parliament's Central Hall during President Pranab Mukherjee's address. The 78-year-old Ahamed has served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. Immediately after the news of Ahamed's death spread among the political class, many of the leaders including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Kerala Congress leader and parliamentarian K.C. Venugopal visited the hospital post midnight. Ahamed was initially admitted to the emergency department of RML. However, as he showed no signs of revival, doctors attempted to revive him by putting him on the life support system after shifting him to the trauma centre of the hospital. A team of three doctors, consisting head of cardiology Neeraj Pandit, head of anaesthesia Rajesh Sood and In-charge of Nursing facility R.S. Tonk, has been constituted to monitor Ahamed's condition. --IANS rup/vgu/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed sadness over the way IUML leader and Lok Sabha member E. Ahamed's death was handled. "Controversial budget became even more controversial," Banerjee tweeted. "Very sad to see the way Ahamedji and family were handled." Banerjee condoled Ahamed's death -- he collapsed in Parliament on Tuesday -- and said he "served the nation and the people of Kerala". When his family tried to see him in a Delhi hospital, they were denied permission. The Trinamool Congress announced a boycott of Parliament on the first two days of budget session against demonetisation "which was implemented without taking Parliament into confidence". On Wednesday, the Congress demanded that the house be adjourned for the day without transacting any business as a mark of respect to the departed leader. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rejected the demand, saying budget presentation was a constitutional obligation and President Pranab Mukherjee had fixed February 1 for budget presentation. The house would be adjourned on Thursday as a mark of respect to Ahamed. --IANS ssp/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump as a dinosaur with a concrete wall for a tail, of Trump as a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan with the slogan "The Un-Islamic State of America" -- are among the cartoons posted by Middle East artists on social media in protest against the US administration's visa ban on seven Muslim major countries. Expressing their anger against Trump's visa ban on Muslim countries, many artists depicted him as a leader who discriminates against people on racial and regional basis, Dunya News reported on Wednesday. The artists in their cartoons suggested that Trump was exploiting the people having Islamic beliefs. A toon tweeted by "Emad Hajjaj Cartoons" depicts Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as driving a tank towards the disputed Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem towing the US embassy in Tel Aviv with Trump sitting atop it, and controlling the start-and stop-lever -- in a reference to the controversial proposal to shift the US embassy to Jerusalem. "They tweeted political cartoons showing links between Trump and freemasonry, not to mention his unpopular urge to form wall between the United States and Mexico," it said, adding that the cartoonists left no stone unturned to "displease the American President." Another cartoon shows Trump, with his blonde mane shaped like a gun - pointing at the world. --IANS ruwa/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Nani and the crew of his next yet-untitled Telugu project left for the US on Wednesday for a month-long schedule, a source in the know said. "The team left for the US in the early hours of Wednesday. This schedule will go on till March 2, and nearly 30 to 40 percent of the film will be shot there," the source, from the film's unit, told IANS. Being directed by Nirvana Siva, the film also stars Nivetha Thomas and Aadi Pinisetty. An excited Nani wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday: "Off to US. Shoot of my next begins on February 2." On Thursday, in San Francisco, Nani will attend the special premiere of his Telugu film "Nenu Local", which is slated for theatrical release in India on Friday. --IANS hp/rb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said Union Budget 2017-18 is "disappointing" for people, particularly the poor, farmers and youths. Both the Janata Dal (United) President and the RJD chief pointed out that the central government has failed to provide special packages to backward states such as Bihar as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign for the state assembly polls in 2015. "The budget has disappointed the people. There is nothing that could speed up growth and development in the country. It is not going to help the common people, farmers and the youths," Kumar told the media here. The Chief Minister said he expected special packages for Bihar but there was no such mention in the budget. "Bihar got nothing new in the budget." Kumar questioned the Centre's silence over how much black money returned to the banks after demonetisation and what benefit did the November 8 move bring to the Indian economy. "Why has Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech in parliament not given any information about how much black money returned following demonetisatiion and the benefits of demonetisation." According to the Chief Minister, it was surprising that there was no specific reference to the much hyped move of demonetising old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes. Lalu said it was a 'nirashajanak' (disappointing) budget as there was no relief for the common people, who have been fighting for survival after demonetisation. "Why has the central government failed to inform how much employment it provided to youths last year as Modi had promised to bring in two crore jobs each year. "What about special focus to help farmers, who have been committing suicide," Lalu asked. The RJD chief said the budget was anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-youth. --IANS ik/py/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition parties on Wednesday slammed the Union Budget as a "damp squib", "pro-corporate" and "hopeless" while the ruling party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hailed it as "historic" and reflective of the government's aim to boost investment and employment. The Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal-United and Communist Party of India-Marxist were among the parties which criticised the budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha. In his reaction to the budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that maximum emphasis has been given to farmers, villages, poor, dalit and the underprivileged sections of the society. "This budget is associated with our aspirations, our dreams and in a way depicts our future. This is the future of our new generation, the future of our farmers. When I say future, it has a meaning in each of its letters," Modi said. Expanding on the word "Future", he said 'F' stands for the farmer, 'U' for Underprivileged, 'T' for Transparency and Technology Upgradation, 'U' for Urban Rejuvenation, 'R' for Rural Development and 'E' for Employment, Entrepreneurship and Enhancement. He said the budget will give new strength to the economy and reflects commitment to eliminate corruption and black money. Modi said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his team deserve praise for the "historic budget." Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament that the budget did not address key issues like job creation and agrarian distress. "We were expecting fireworks, instead got a damp squib. The budget lacked vision," Gandhi said. "The shock that this government gave through demonetisation, the expectation was the government will do something for the poor, farmers the unemployed. But there is no clear vision. He (Jaitley) did a lot of sher-o-shayari, gave a good speech but there is no basis," Gandhi added. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said the budget lacked any direction. "The budget is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless, actionless and heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility," she said in a tweet. "The budget is misleading, full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words which mean nothing," she added. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said in Patna that the budget has disappointed the people. "There is nothing in it that could speed up growth and development in the country. It is not going to help the common people, farmers and the youth," he said. Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad said the budget was anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-youth. "Why has the central government failed to inform how much employment it provided to youth last year," he asked. CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the budget will burden the common man. "We are calling it a contractionary budget, as opposed to an expansionary budget as it is not expanding domestic demand. There is decline in revenue expenditure, no employment generation and it is seeking to hike indirect taxes, which will burden the common man," he said. Communist Party of India said that Jaitley failed to present any proposal to recover Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). "The Union Budget including the Railway Budget contains nothing concrete for the common people and its (the government's) real patrons, the corporate houses will be given all facilities and concessions," the party said in a statement. Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agrawal said the budget will not help in curbing corruption. "It's a hopeless budget. It has nothing for farmers. It does not talk about jobs for the unemployed," Agarwal told IANS. Another party leader Dimple Yadav, who is wife of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, termed the budget as "directionless" and said that it neglected the farmers and women. Lauding the budget, BJP president Amit Shah said Modi has fulfilled his promise of bringing in transparency in by reducing cash donation to political parties to Rs 2,000. "Cash donation to political parties has been reduced to Rs 2,000 from Rs 20,000. This is the beginning of a new era," he said. He said the budget was women-friendly and poor-friendly and had several measures for benefit of the farmers. Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Suresh Prabhu were among those who hailed the union budget. --IANS team-ps/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan envoy Abdul Basit on Wednesday condoled the death of senior Kerala parliamentarian E. Ahamed. "My sincere condolences. I have fond memories of meeting him a few times," Basit tweeted. "May Allah bless the departed soul," he added. Ahamed, an IUML MP from Mallapuram, Kerala, had served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the previous UPA government. He died here early on Wednesday, hours after collapsing in the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday during the President's address. He had suffered a cardiac arrest, and was rushed to hospital. --IANS ruwa/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the Panamagate case hearing, involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and family, till Monday as a member of the five-judge bench has fallen ill. The hearing of a string of petitions against the Sharif family for alleged corruption was adjourned as Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh was rushed to the hospital late on Tuesday. According to sources, the judge was admitted to the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology following chest pain and may undergo an angioplasty. On January 4, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who is heading the apex court's larger bench, ruled the hearings of the Panamagate case will be conducted daily without any adjournment. --IANS ahm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O.Panneerselvam commended Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for the balancing act with the Union Budget 2017-18 on Wednesday but urged the central government not to impose national level testing on Tamil Nadu. Reacting to the budget proposals Panneerselvam expressed serious concern over the National Testing Agency conducting nationwide entrance examinations. He said Tamil Nadu is against common entrance exams like the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for medical college admissions. "I urge the Government of India to ensure that national level testing is not imposed or forced in states like Tamil Nadu which already have a transparent, fair and robust system of admission based on a school leaving examination which is conducted with unimpeached integrity," Panneerselvam said. Panneerselvam welcomed the budget proposals pertaining to agriculture, increased allocation for social welfare schemes, affordable housing and others. "The taxation measures on the personal income tax side, however, fall short of the expectations of the salaried middle classes," he said. He said the budget does a difficult balancing act given the constraints under which the Finance Minister was operating. "But the people of the state of Tamil Nadu had still higher expectations," Panneerselvam said. --IANS vj/ruwa/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Philippine Communist guerillas' New People's Army (NPA) on Wednesday unilaterally terminated a ceasefire with the government following several armed clashes between the two sides. The party's armed wing said the truce was off as President Rodrigo Duterte's government had not set free political prisoners and violated the truce with military operations, Efe news reported. The NPA said in a statement that the end of the ceasefire would be effective from February 10. But the rebel group said it was open to negotiations with the government to end the armed conflict which has claimed 30,000 lives over the past 45 years. The Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, representing the Communist rebels, agreed in August 2016 in Oslo to make the unilateral ceasefire indefinite and promote amnesty for political prisoners in order to initiate peace talks. Representatives of both parties began the third round of peace talks in Rome in mid-January where the Communists threatened to end the ceasefire due to the government's alleged violation of the bilateral agreement. The truce broke down on January 21 when rebels and soldiers exchanged gun shots in southern Philippines, leaving a guerilla dead. The NPA, a Maoist group created in 1969, consists of 6,000 fighters and has been declared a terrorist outfit by the US and the European Union. Apart from the Communist rebels operating in several parts of the country, Islamist groups such as Abu Sayyaf or Maute Group also carry out violent campaigns in the south of the archipelago. --IANS in/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Police on Wednesday hinted that the powerful blast in Maur Mandi town in Bathinda district on Tuesday evening which left five persons dead was due to twin high-intensity IEDs. The death toll in the car blast went up to five on Wednesday with two more children succumbing to their injuries in a hospital in Ludhiana. Two men and a child were killed in the explosion on Tuesday evening just as a rally of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi ended at Maur Mandi town, 200 km from here. "The victims who succumbed to their injuries today were Japsimran Singh (14) and Ritamdeep (9), One girl, Barkha (10), died on Tuesday evening. Other victims included Harpal Singh and Ashok Kumar," said a police officer said in Maur Mandi. Ten other injured persons were under treatment in hospitals in Bathinda. Police officials said, based on preliminary investigations, that the twin IED blasts took place in an abandoned Maruti 800 car and a scooter near Jassi's rally venue. Jassi, who is a Congress candidate and a relative of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, had passed the blast site just coupler of minutes before the explosion took place. His personal assistant, Harpal Singh, was among the dead. Police and forensic experts found electronic circuits and a pressure cooker full with sharpnel (nails and other sharp metallic things) from the explosion site. The car and the scooter were extensively damaged in the blast. "It has been reported that there were twin ED devices and that the scooter and car used for the attack sported fake numbers and even the numbers of their chassis and engine had been struck off," said Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who also holds charge of the home portfolio. Within hours of the blast, the political blame game started with Sukhbir Badal, who is also the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal President, blaming the incident on the "Aam Aadmi Party's alleged nexus with radical elements". "We have been asking the Election Commission to take note of the manner in which AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal is consorting with extremist forces. The bomb blast proves that our apprehensions were correct and that radical elements have infiltrated into Punjab in league with AAP," Badal said in a statement. He asked the Election Commission to keep a strict watch on radical elements who, he alleged, had become active in the state after a long time. "It would be best to watch the activities of undesirable elements who have entered the state in the name of canvassing for AAP. These people are being funded to foment trouble in Punjab," Badal added. Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh termed the blast as a "conspiracy against the Congress, which was set for a landslide victory in the assembly polls". "The incident has proved my worst fears that armed criminals and goondas had been let loose by the rival political parties in a desperate bid to scuttle the Congress ride to a sweeping win in the elections," he said. Demanding further strengthening of security in poll-bound Punjab, Singh said: "The situation is highly volatile. With the entry of AAP-sponsored outsiders, tensions have escalated." "The Naxal-Khalistani nexus promoted by Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has transformed the state into a tinder-box waiting to explode," Singh said, expressing apprehensions of further violence over the next four days, up to the polling on Saturday. Blaming Sukhbir Badal for the blast, the AAP on Wednesday urged the Election Commission to intervene and get him (Sukhbir) arrested. While alleging that Sukhbir Badal and the Akali Dal leadership could be behind the blast, AAP General Secretary Sanjay Singh said Badal's arrest was essential to ensure peaceful assembly elections. An AAP delegation led by Sanjay Singh met Punjab Chief Electoral Officer V.K. Singh here and sought the panel's intervention. --IANS js/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scottish ministers are pressing for stricter restrictions on sale of knives online, after the brutal stabbing on a schoolboy last year, media reports said. Michael Matheson, the Scottish justice secretary, has approached Home Office ministers asking for a cross-government effort to toughen up restrictions on online knife sales, the Guardian reported. Bailey Gwynne, 16, was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil during a fight in a school in Aberdeen, Scotland on October 28, 2016. His killer was subsequently jailed for nine years for culpable homicide. The killer, bought a folding knife with an 8.5 cm blade for 40 ($50) from online shopping portal Amazon and avoided the mandatory age check by the courier as he putting a note on his front door rather than accepting the delivery in person. It is illegal to sell a folding knife to anyone under 18 if it has a blade more than 3in (7.62cm) long. "We can act to change the law in Scotland on the purchase of knives. But as the purchase and delivery of knives crosses the borders of all UK countries, it is clear that the impact of a change only in Scotland would be limited," Scottish education secretary John Swinney said. --IANS vgu/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the death of senior Kerala parliamentarian E. Ahamed, describing him as a "fine human being" and a "committed democrat". "In his death India has lost an outstanding parliamentarian. He was a committed democrat and beloved leader of Kerala, whose simple life style and commitment to cause... was an example to an entire generation," Gandhi said. Gandhi also conveyed her solidarity to the family and supporters of Ahamed "in this hour of grief". Ahamed died here early on Wednesday, hours after suffering a severe cardiac arrest in the Central Hall of Parliament during the President's address to the joint sitting of both Houses on Tuesday. --IANS sid/in/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At a time when Islamophobia is riding high with US President Donald Trump's ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, Pakistani journalist-writer Reema Abbasi believes Sufism can counter the very negative message about Islam that is going out to the world. "This is a time when there is an absolute need for somebody like Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti and the teachings of Sufism. It counters the whole hardliner Islamist acts, those kind of fundamentalist elements and the very severe message that is going out to the world. "I think Sufism gives a very beautiful and all-encompassing message, which is generally not perceived of Islam," Abbasi told IANS in an interview. Abbasi, who has worked with The News International, The Herald Magazine and as Assistant Editor at Dawn newspaper, was in the capital to launch her second book "Ajmer Sharif: Awakening of Sufism in South Asia". Her well-researched work traces the spiritual journey and mystical influence of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. Describing his life and times, the Mughal emperors who were his devotees, and his enduring legacy, the book highlights the special features of his dargah at Ajmer Sharif. "The message of Khwaja ji is very different from what is generally perceived of Islam these days. The difference between Sufism and the rest of Islam is the message of inclusiveness and plurality, which the hardliners do not believe in," she said. Abbasi, the recipient of the 2003 Gender in Journalism Award from Unesco and the 2014 Rajiv Gandhi Award for Literary Personality of the Year, said she believed that terrorism in Pakistan and elsewhere has a lot to do with poverty. "The terror sweeping across Pakistan and the rest of the world has a lot to do with poverty. Even madrasas (religious schools) are exploiting the poor. Parents are often given money to send their children to madrasas, where they are indoctrinated. "There is a lot to learn from his life and his teachings. Madrasas want to dominate Sufism but I am sure that with the fighting spirit that Pakistan has, we will reclaim Sufism," said Abbasi. With this book, she aims to spark a discourse that dispels intolerance towards any faith and shuns the concept of religious power. Abbasi said that India is like a second home to her and she has not faced any instance of discrimination based on her nationality here. "I am very grateful to the press and the people because I have received a lot of love from the people here. I have not faced a single instance of discrimination or where I was treated badly just because I am a Pakistani," she said. The only problem she did face was the dearth of information about the subject of her research. "There was very little information about Moinuddin Chisti, especially around the monuments and historical sites associated with him. I got some information from foreign writers, scholars and the British Council. I also received a lot of inputs from the Aligarh Muslim University. They have some fine scholars and researchers, who have studied the subject in great depth," said Abbasi. On women being barred from entering many of the shrines, the author said that these saints were shaped by the women in their lives -- their mothers, sisters or wives -- and there is no evidence to suggest that they would have segregated men and women. "Those who are segregating and not allowing women to enter the shrines are doing so not to follow the teachings of saints but to exhibit their dominance. These are sensibilities of today and not the teachings of our saints," she said. Her first book, "Historic Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience", was an attempt to record the history of an Islamic country's Hindu past, particularly as extremist activity increases against Pakistan's religious and ethnic minorities. The book received critical acclaim internationally. "In both the books I am not talking about faith at all. I am talking about our heritage, unity, pluralism and roots. We are far too ancient and far too diverse to lose these values," noted the author. Born a Pakistani in the Netherlands, she went to school in England, college in Karachi and has been involved with the mainstream media for about two decades. (Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in ) --IANS ss/vm/sac/ky/tb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Almost 50,000 British men convicted of offences under former anti-gay laws have been granted posthumous pardons. Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday gave Royal Assent to a new bill which pardons men of any sexual acts that are no longer crimes in England and Wales, Xinhua news agency reported. The pardons only apply to men who are no longer living, but men still alive who have criminal convictions can apply on an individual basis to have their names cleared. Government Justice Minister Sam Gyimah described the outcome as a "truly momentous day". Gyimah said: "We can never undo the hurt caused, but we have apologised and taken action to right these wrongs." The London Gay rights charity Stonewall described the pardons as another important milestone in equality. The measure, under the Policing and Crime Bill, is known as the Turing Law and follows the granting of a pardon to World War II hero Alan Turing in 2013. Turing worked as a wartime code breaker at the top-secret Bletchley Park facility and is famed for breaking the German war machine's Enigma code. He is credited with saving thousands of lives because of the ability of the British military to read coded messages. After the war, Turing was convicted of an offence known as "gross indecency" because of a relationship with another man. Rather than live with chemical castration as part of a punishment, he killed himself in 1954. In a society with changing attitudes toward gay, bisexual and transgender people, former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a formal public apology in 2009 to Turing for the way he had been treated. --IANS py/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three persons, including two brothers, were killed in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi on Wednesday after they came in contact with a high-tension wire, police said. The incident took place in Baghauda under the Kachauna police station in the district. The three were going to their fields, when they accidentally tripped on a high-tension wire which had snapped and fallen in the field. The trio, having received serious burn injuries were sent to a nearby medical facility but could not be saved. The deceased have been identified as Anoop, 22, Ajay, 18 and Sudhir, 16. Police said the angry villagers have been pacified and action will be taken against power men, who are accused of not repairing the snapped wires. --IANS md/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Foreshadowing "Buy American" moves that could affect the largest market for Indian pharmaceutical companies, US President Donald Trump told drug makers on Monday to bring back manufacturing to the United States. "I want you to manufacture in the United States," he told leaders of seven major pharmaceutical companies. "I want you to move your companies back into the United States." To facilitate this, he said: "We're going to be lowering taxes, we're going to be getting rid of regulations that are unnecessary." India exported $6 billion worth of drugs to the US in 2015 and restrictions on pharmaceutical imports and manufacturing abroad could impact the industry in India. Trump also hinted at the possibility of ending a multi-layered pricing system for medicines by which rates are often set lower for drugs sold abroad than in the US. "Our trade policy will prioritise that foreign countries pay their fair share for US manufactured drugs so our drug companies have greater financial resources to accelerate the development of new cures," he said. "And I think it's so important. Right now, it's very unfair what other countries are doing to us." The meeting was part of a series of meetings he has been holding with leaders of different sectors to get them to increase jobs and investment in the US to further his campaign promises. The CEOs of Amgen, Novartis and Eli Lily were among those who attended. Trump emphasised deregulation of the strict controls on marketing medicines in the US. "We're going to be cutting regulations at a level nobody's ever seen before," he said. "And we're going to have tremendous protection for the people, maybe more protection." He criticised the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval process for new drugs saying that he was troubled that a terminally-ill patient could not get a vital medicine because of the approval delays. An Indian American, Balaji Srinivasan, who is a technology and biotechnology entrepreneur and a critic of the functioning of the FDA, is among those being considered to head the agency. "A lot of the companies have moved out, they don't make the drugs in our country any more," Trump said. "A lot of that has to do with regulation, a lot of it has to do with the fact that other countries take advantage of ous with their money and their money supply and devaluation." Trump also took aim at big pharmaceutical companies over their pricing policies. "we have to get lower prices, we have to get even better innovation, he said. For this he said that he would favour smaller companies. "I'll oppose anything that makes it harder for smaller, younger companies to take the risk of bringing their product to a vibrantly competitive market," he said. "That includes price-fixing by the biggest dog in the market, Medicare, which is what's happening. But we can increase competition and bidding wars, big time." Medicare is the government health insurance programme for senior citizens. --IANS al/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An armed police officer receiving psychiatric treatment caused panic on Wednesday when he barricaded himself in a room at an Istanbul hospital and attempted to commit suicide, the media reported. Patients and staff were evacuated from Cerahpasa hospital after the police officer receiving treatment at the clinic threatened to shoot himself and others, the BBC reported. Earlier reports that the armed officer had taken several people hostage proved incorrect. The chief consultant of the hospital, Zekayi Kutlubay, who was evacuated from the facility, said that there had been "no hostage crises", adding that the man was "alone in the room". Kutlubay said that the man had been receiving psychiatric treatment for the past two years, according to media reports. He said that the hospital had previously submitted a report stating that the man should not be permitted to carry a gun. "His firearm was taken away," Kutlubay said, adding that the gun in the officer's possession on Wednesday was not his issued firearm. The incident comes amid tension in Istanbul following several attacks in crowded areas, including the deadly assault on the Reina nightclub on New Year's Eve which left 39 people dead. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appointed Toby Lanzer of Britain as his deputy special representative for Afghanistan, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the media here. Lanzer will serve as the deputy head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), which is a political UN mission established at the request of the Afghan government to assist it and the people of Afghanistan in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development, Xinhua news agency quoted Dujarric as saying on Tuesday. He succeeds Mark Bowden of the UK, who will complete his assignment at the end of the month, the spokesman said. "The Secretary General is grateful for Bowden's dedicated service in Afghanistan," Dujarric said. Lanzer brings significant experience in development, humanitarian affairs and peacekeeping. His most recent positions have included Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel and before that he was Deputy Special Representative in the UN Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss). --IANS py/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has reiterated its support for the UN efforts to facilitate a lasting political settlement of the Syria crisis, according to a statement. The UNSC members on Tuesday heard a briefing by the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, and pledged to facilitate the lasting political settlement of the crisis through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process, Xinhua news agency cited the statement as saying. They reaffirmed "strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria", and reiterated the only sustainable solution to the current crisis in Syria was through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process. The Security Council members welcomed the International Meeting on Syria held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on January 23-24. They welcomed the talks between the Syrian government and armed opposition groups with de Mistura's involvement, expressed their appreciation to Kazakhstan President for hosting the meeting, and took note of the joint statement by Iran, Russia and Turkey adopted on the outcome of the talks. The members recognised the International Meeting on Syria in Astana as an important step toward the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations under the auspices of the UN. --IANS py/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The bitter electoral battle between a former RSS leader and guru, and his illustrious and politically-powerful shishyas, is fast attaining mythical proportions in this coastal state going to the hustings on February 4. Ranged against each other are Subhash Velingkar, the sacked Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief, and three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians he personally groomed and mentored -- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Union Minister of State for Ayush Shripad Naik. Fighting for the same electoral constituency, the conservative Hindu vote, the battle between the Velingkar-mentored Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) and the BJP seems to be taking a leaf out of Indian epics Mahabharata and, to some extent, the Ramayana, if the comments made recently by leaders from both the parties are considered. Regarded by the BJP party cadre as the "Bhishma pitamaha" of state politics, after the grand patriarch of the Mahabharata, Velingkar was sacked as the Goa RSS chief last year after his consistent critcism of the state BJP for backing English over regional languages as a medium of instruction in schools. Velingkar, during his tenure as Goa Sanghachalak, mentored several generations of BJP leaders, including Parrikar, Parsekar and Naik. Immediately after he was sacked, Laxmikant Parsekar, however, decided to depict him as the warrior Karna, whose kavach kundals had been stripped off and was therefore rendered vulnerable. "There is nothing to fear now. He has lost his kavach kundals," Parsekar said just as the BJP's poll campaign kicked off. In the Mahabharata, the kavach kundal is a reference to Karna's earrings which made him invincible in battle, but the warrior was tricked into parting with them by Lord Indra, disguised as a pauper, rendering Karna vulnerable. Parsekar, obviously, was referring to Velingkar's sacking from the RSS, an organisation which he had been a part of for nearly 50 years. Velingkar responded in equal measure. "My kavach kundals are not linked to the RSS post. I am a Sangh Swayamsevak for life. He should know our kavach kundals are not temporary in nature. Their kavach kundals will fall when elections are held," Velingkar had retorted. The rhetoric wedded to mythology did not end with this. When asked if the GSM, which is contesting five seats as part of an alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Shiv Sena, would be able to take on the might of the ruling BJP, party President Anand Shirodkar told IANS: "Our five Pandavas are fighting the Kauravas of the BJP. And you know who eventually won the battle of righteousness." For the Shiv Sena, it would appear that Velingkar is Lord Krishna incarnate. "This election is a contest like the final war as described in the Mahabharata. While the BJP represents the Kauravas, those who are fighting against them are the Pandavas. Velingkar is for us like Lord Krishna, who is going to guide non-Congress and non-BJP forces to victory," former state Shiv Sena President Sudip Tamhankar had said. Velingkar himself, in a speech on January 29, slipped in a bit of the Ramayana in the Pernem assembly constituency while campaigning for the MGP. "Power has gone to their heads in such a way that during the corporation elections in Panaji last year, they tried to once again sow the seeds of Portuguese influence in their manifesto. Some people have studied in IIT, even Ravan at the time had studied in the IIT of that era," Velingkar said, in a veiled reference to Parrikar, an Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay alumnus. While top BJP leaders have refused to directly criticise Velingkar, in their public speeches they have suggested that the former RSS leader had lost his bearings due to age. In response to a question about Velingkar's criticism on Sunday, Parsekar said that he would not like to respond to his allegations against the BJP. "It is not necessary for me to react to Velingkar's comments. It would be good if you clarify with him... We have allowed him to talk. Let him keep talking. We will keep listening," Parsekar said. (Mayabhushan Nagvenkar can be contacted at mayabhushan.n@ians.in )) --IANS maya/vm/sac/ky (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Violence continued in Nagaland on Wednesday with protesters ransacking the office of the election commission in Mokokchung district and the district office of the ruling Naga People's Front in the wake of the state government's decision to hold the urban local body elections. In the meantime, Nagaland Chief Electoral Officer Sentiyanger Imchen issued a notification stating the local body election, which was to be held in 12 towns across the state was "withheld" due to the abnormal situation prevailing across the state and also as desired by the state cabinet. The tribal bodies have been opposing the Naga People's Front government's decision to hold the elections with 33 per cent women reservation, stating it infringes on the special rights for Nagaland guaranteed by Article 371 (A) of the constitution. Hundreds of protesters ransacked the two offices in Mokokchung district in western Nagaland. "They ransacked the district election branch office and NPF office. We are still trying to gather more details on the incident," Nagaland police chief, L.L. Doungel told IANS. "The situation is still tense, but we are all out to ensure that there will be no further breakdown of law and order," the police official said. Taking serious note of the prevailing situation, the state government has shutdown internet and mobile data service to stop the spread of rumours through social networking sites, a government official said. On Tuesday night, two persons were killed and three injured in the state following clashes between the police and the public at Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland. Hundreds of people armed with spears and machetes took to the streets in protest on Tuesday night. Many of them marched to the private residence of Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang. "The police resorted to firing to disperse the agitating crowd after the protesters attempted to storm the Chief Minister's residence," Doungel said. There were also reports of seven people sustaining injuries when the police fired on them to prevent the demonstrators from entering the office of the District Magistrate Longleng. Meanwhile, the Nagaland Cabinet on Wednesday decided to institute a judicial inquiry into the incidents leading to the death of, and injury to, persons at Dimapur and Longleng districts and payment of ex-gratia to the victims. The Cabinet also expressed deep concern and anguish over the violent events in Dimapur and Longleng and sadness over the death of two persons and injury to other persons and decided to convey condolences to the bereaved families, an official communique stated. "Keeping in view the sentiments of the people, and the prevailing situation, the Cabinet decided to ask the State Election Commission to withhold the ongoing process of elections to the ULBs and take up with the remaining postponed process of the elections to the ULBs as notified by the SEC on 31.1.2017," an official said. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang and enquired about the law and order situation in the state. Zeliang briefed Singh about the incidents on Tuesday evening and also about the decision of the Cabinet to withhold the polls to the ULBs. "Singh told the Chief Minister that the decision taken by the state government to fulfil the constitutional obligation of holding elections to the civic bodies was not wrong at all, and advised him to patiently convince the people of the state to accept the reality," a statement said. Nagaland Governor P.B. Acharya, who is presently in Itanagar, also called up the Chief Minister and conveyed his sympathies and concern at the unfortunate turn of events and offered any assistance required in the prevailing situation in the state. The state government had on Monday signed a deal with the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) -- an umbrella organisation of tribal bodies opposed to holding the elections -- to postpone the polling by two months. However, the Guwahati High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to constitute the municipalities and town councils in Nagaland with 33 per cent reservation of seats for women. The court also directed the Nagaland government to provide security to the candidates and voters. --IANS rrk/pgh/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vatican City, Feb 1 (IANS/AKI) Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Christians to stand by their faith and believe in resurrection and eternal life, admitting that we all fear death. "We are all a bit afraid of dying," Francis told pilgrims gathered at the Vatican for his weekly general audience. "Before the mystery of death, and the loss of our loved ones, we Christians are challenged to hope more firmly in the Lord's promise of eternal life," Francis said. The first Christian communities also "had some difficulty" with death, Francis said, citing the "still relevant" teaching of Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Thessalonians. Francis noted how Saint Paul told the early Christian community to believe in the afterlife and to "wear its faith like a helmet". --IANS/AKI mr/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress MP K.V. Thomas said on Wednesday that former central minister E. Ahamed was declared dead on Tuesday but the hospital went mum later. He was finally declared dead on Wednesday. Thomas told IANS that the manner the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital handled the Lok Sabha member's death was "mysterious". Ahamed was formally declared dead on Wednesday morning by the hospital. Thomas, who arrived in his constituency here on Wednesday, said when he reached the hospital on Tuesday after President Pranab Mukherjee's address to Parliament, "I was told Ahamed is no more. "But soon things changed... Everything looks mysterious and surprising," he said. When Ahamed's children reached the hospital, they were not allowed to see their father, Thomas said. "There are doctors among his immediate family members and they too were not allowed entry." Thomas alleged that the whole drama was enacted on Tuesday just to ensure that the union budget was presented on Wednesday. "See, the budget got presented as planned. All this unpleasant situation could have been avoided," said Thomas, a senior Congress leader. Jose K. Mani, a Lok Sabha member from Kottayam and representing the Kerala Congress (Mani), told IANS that when he reached the Delhi hospital, he could make out from the body language of doctors that they had lost hope of saving Ahamed. "After a while, when a union minister came to the hospital and met the authorities, there was a change in attitude. The minister didn't even come to us though we were in large numbers," said Mani. Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it was "most unfortunate" that when a senior member of the house passed away, the union budget was presented on Wednesday. --IANS sg/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Doctors in Bangladesh will form a medical board to assess a 10-year-old girl with bark-like warts growing out of her face, believed to be tree-man syndrome, a rare genetic hereditary skin disorder. A six-member medical board will be formed to assess Shahana Khatun's illness, Dr Samanta Lal of Dhaka Medical College Hospital said, adding that her treatment will be free of cost, according to a media report today. Shahana Khatun's father Shahjahan Mia, a farmer became concerned when a growth previously thought to be prickly heat rashes started to spread and grow on his daughters face, The Daily Star reported. "This appears to be similar to Tree-man disease that affected Abul Bajandar, hailing from Khulna," Samanta Lal Sen, coordinator of Dhaka Medical College Hospital's Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit said. A class-3 student of Baluchora Government Primary School, Shahana lost her mother four years ago and was raised by her grandmother and aunt. At the age of one, she appeared to have what was then thought prickly heat rashes on her face. These started to grow about three years back, her father said. Previously, Abul Bajandar, 26, also known as "tree man" has undergone at least 18 operations at the same hospital where Shahana is receiving treatment. Tree-man disease is a rare skin disorder, which covers limbs with warts, making them look like tree branches. A Romanian man was first diagnosed with the disease in March 2007. Another case was reported in Indonesia in November the same year in a 35-year-old fisherman. The last reported case also occurred in Indonesia in 2009. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The mortal remains of two soldiers, who died in an avalanche in Machhil sector of Jammu and Kashmir, were cremated today with full state honours at their native villages in Gujarat's Panchmahals and Bhavnagar districts. Sunil Patel (27), who hailed from Orwada village in Panchmahals, and Deva Parmar (29), from Karmadiya village in Bhavnagar, recently died in the avalanche. Their bodies were brought late last night to Vadodara airport in an IAF plane from Delhi. This morning, the mortal remains were taken to Godhra and Bhavnagar respectively, and from there they were taken to their respective villages where they were cremated with full state honours. Minister Jaydrathsinh Parmar, who is an MLA from Halol in Panchmahals, and officials of district administration including Collector P Bharathi received Patel's body at Godhra, from where it was taken to his native village Orwada, Panchmahals Assistant Collector Ashish Kumar said. "Sunil Patel's funeral took place at Orwada according to Army protocol. Minister Jaydrathsinh Parmar read out Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's condolence message at his native village," Kumar said. Patel is survived by wife and a 2-year-old child. Meanwhile, Deva Parmar's body was also taken from Bhavnagar to his native village Karmadiya under Mahuba taluka in a military vehicle where his funeral took place according to Army protocol. Parmar is survived by his wife. "Parmar's body was brought to Bhavnagar in an Army helicopter at around 10.35 AM where it was received in the presence of officials of district administration. He was cremated at his native village in the presence of Army personnel and local police," Bhavnagar Superintendent of Police Dipankar Trivedi said. As many as 20 soldiers including an officer have died in avalanches in Kashmir over the past few days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after an abandoned Pakistani fishing boat was seized from Sir Creek in Kutch district on the Indo-Pak border, two more boats from the neighbouring country were today seized by the Border Security Force (BSF) from the same area, officials said. "These two boats were abandoned in Pabewari Creek near Sir Creek by Pakistani fishermen, who fled away into Pak territory after being chased by a BSF patrol party," a senior BSF official said. During the operation, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deployed there by the Indian Air Force (IAF), spotted the presence of these Pakistani fishermen in the Indian territory of the creek, following which BSF was alerted about it, the official added. "Though BSF patrol boats chased them for a considerable distance, these fishermen eventually managed to flee into their territory after abandoning two of their boats that have been seized by BSF for further investigation," the official added. The search operation in the area was launched by BSF after five to six Pakistani fishermen fled away after abandoning their boats in Sir Creek area last evening, although nothing suspicious was found in that boat, the official said. Pakistani fishing boats are found in creek area at regular intervals. Earlier, such abandoned boats were found in Padala Creek and Haraminala area by the BSF. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Donald Trump's nomination of Betsy DeVos as education secretary appears to be in trouble. Two Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced their opposition to DeVos in speeches on the Senate floor yesterday. If she loses one more Republican and all Democrats vote against her, the nomination dies. Both Collins and Murkowski said they appreciate DeVos' commitment to children and learning, but that her lack of experience in the nation's public schools is a deep concern. "Mrs. DeVos is the product of her experience," Collins said. "She appears to view education through the lens of her experience promoting alternatives to public education in Detroit and other cities." Murkowski said she believed DeVos, a billionaire Republican donor and school choice activist, has much to learn about public education. "I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved on one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers that she may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools and also what is broken and how to fix them." If all other GOP senators support DeVos, and all Democrats oppose her, she would end up with a 50-50 vote in the Senate and Vice President Mike Pence would have to break the tie to confirm her. But at least one other Republican wouldn't commit to supporting her. "Well, I'll let you know when I vote," Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska told The Associated Press. Sullivan said he hopes that DeVos will pay attention to remote rural schools like those in his home state, where "there is no choice at all." White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he wasn't concerned about the defections by Collins and Murkowski. "I have 100 per cent confidence she will be the next secretary of education. She is an unbelievably qualified educator and advocate for students, teachers, parents," he said after the two senators announced their opposition. Democrats have vigorously opposed DeVos, questioning her commitment to public education, knowledge of federal education law and her overall qualifications to lead the Education Department. They also have expressed concerns about possible conflicts of interest with her finances and political donations. DeVos, 59, is the wife of Dick DeVos, the heir to the Amway marketing fortune. She has spent more than two decades advocating for charter schools in her home state of Michigan, as well as promoting conservative religious values. At her confirmation hearing last month, she pledged to address "the needs of all parents and students," but said a one-size-fits-all model doesn't work in education. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There army personnel, including a Major, were injured and one Taliban commander was killed today in gun battle in this northwestern city of Pakistan. "Three army personnel - Major Abbas, Captain Umar and Naik Adnan - were injured in exchange of fire in Luni Jungle area in Khyber Pakthunkhwa," the army said in a statement. A Tehreek-e-Taliban commander was also killed in exchange of fire, it added. Eight suspects have been arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 7 labourers were killed and a dozen others were injured after an under-construction building collapsed today in Kanpur's Jajmau. Kanpur Police DIG Rajesh Modak told PTI that number of dead and injured may rise. The incident took place in KDA (Kanpur Development Authority) colony in the afternoon, when top floors of the seven-storey under-construction building started falling, Modak said. So far, seven bodies have been recovered and around a dozen injured have been sent to hospital, he said. Home Minister Rajnath Singh also tweeted on the incident, "Spoke to DG NDRF regarding the of an under construction building collapse in Kanpur. Two teams are rushing to the spot for rescue ops". "I offer my condolences to those who lost their loved ones in Kanpur building collapse. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said in a second tweet. Relief and rescue is underway with army troops also pressed into the operation. Senior administrative officials have rushed to the spot. According to the DIG, the exact number of dead and injured could be ascertained only after sometime as many more are fear trapped under the rubble. As per locals, the collapsed building belongs to Samajwadi Party leader Mahtab Alam but no official has confirmed this. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Overruling demands from the Opposition to postpone the presentation of the Union Budget following the death of IUML leader E Ahamed, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today allowed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to carry out the exercise saying it was a "constitutional obligation". Initially, there were doubts on whether Budget presentation could be postponed since the practice is to adjourn the House for the day as a mark of respect in case of death of a sitting member. E Ahamed, who represented Malappuram constituency in Kerala, passed away in the wee hours today. Even as Opposition parties led by Congress and the Left, protested and demanded that the presentation be postponed, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the first General Budget, that also subsumed the Railway Budget. "Today's sitting has been fixed by the President for presenting the Union Budget 2017-18... It is a constitutional obligation," Mahajan said while mentioning that the House is generally adjourned as a mark of respect in case of death of a sitting member. Due to this "exceptional situation", the House will go ahead with Budget presentation as listed on the agenda but will not sit tomorrow as a mark of respect for the departed, Mahajan said before asking Jaitley to present the Budget. Opposing the Speaker's decision to allow Budget presentation, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said it should be postponed as a mark of respect for Ahamed, who was a very senior leader. "Ahamed was on duty when he died...", Kharge said. Peeved over the decision, Left parties, including most of the members from Kerala, walked out of the House. However, they returned to the House some time later. Amid the Opposition protests, Mahajan told the members to "please cooperate". As soon as Jaitley started speaking at around 11.10 am, some Opposition members who were protesting calmed down. Kharge was heard saying that the sky is not going to fall if the presentation is postponed. Prior to Budget presentation, the House stood in silence as a mark of respect for Ahamed -- a sitting member and former Union Minister -- who died after suffering cardiac arrest yesterday during the President's address to the joint sitting of the Parliament. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Philippine police may have committed crimes against humanity by killing thousands of alleged drug offenders or paying others to murder as part of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, Amnesty International said today. An Amnesty report, which followed an in-depth investigation into the drug war, also outlined what it said were other widespread police crimes aside from extrajudicial killings that mainly targeted the poor. "Acting on orders from the very top, policemen and unknown killers have been targeting anybody remotely suspected of using of selling drugs," Rawya Rageh, a senior crisis adviser for Amnesty, told AFP. "Our investigation shows that this wave of extrajudicial killings has been widespread, deliberate and systematic, and therefore may amount to crimes against humanity." Among a litany of alleged crimes, Amnesty accused police of shooting dead defenceless people, fabricating evidence, paying assassins to murder drug addicts and stealing from those they killed or the victims' relatives. It also said police were being paid by their superiors to kill, and documented victims as young as eight years old. "The police are behaving like the criminal underworld that they are supposed to be enforcing the law against," the report said. Duterte won presidential elections last year after promising during the campaign to eradicate drugs in society within six months by killing tens of thousands of people. On one occasion Duterte vowed that 100,000 people would be killed and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them. Duterte launched his crackdown immediately upon taking office seven months ago. Since then, police have reported killing 2,555 people while nearly 4,000 others have died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures. As president, Duterte has repeatedly urged police to kill drug users as well as traffickers. Duterte said in December he had personally killed people when he was mayor of a southern city to set an example for police. Three months earlier he said he would be "happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts, and likened his campaign to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's efforts to exterminate Jews in Europe. The Amnesty report said Duterte had incited the police to carry out a murderous war on the poor, and warned that the International Criminal Court would need to start investigating unless Philippine authorities did not stop it soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Australia's prime minister would not say how many refugees from Pacific island camps will be resettled in the United States after President Donald Trump's administration said "extreme vetting" would be used to check their cases. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said today that Trump had agreed during a weekend telephone conversation to keep an Obama administration promise to resettle an undisclosed number of mostly Muslim refugees held on the impoverished nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters: "There will be extreme vetting applied to all of them." Questioned about Spicer's comments, Turnbull would not say how many refugees the United States could end up accepting. Australia pays Papua New Guinea and Nauru to house more than 1,200 asylum seekers it has refused to accept. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A band display as well as retreat ceremony will be conducted every Saturday at the National Police Memorial here to pay homage and respect to the martyrs. A decision in this regard was taken during a meeting chaired by Mahesh Kumar Singla, Special Secretary (Internal Security), Ministry of Home Affairs and attended by all the stakeholders involved in construction and managing of the memorial at Chanakyapuri area. The meeting was attended by the representatives of all the Central Armed Police Forces including Delhi Police and others. "During the meeting, it was decided that every Saturday a band display as well as retreat ceremony will be conducted at the site befitting to pay homage and respect to the martyrs. The task has been assigned month-wise to all the Central Armed Police Forces," a press release issued by the Home Ministry said. The first-ever ceremony will be conducted by Border Security Force (BSF) on February 11 and then by others on every consecutive Saturday, it said. The timings for the ceremony will be from 4.45 PM to 6 PM subject to change depending upon timing of sunset. The other issues related to boundary wall of the memorial, final sculpture to be erected and as well as police museum, which will be constructed at the site, were also discussed during the meeting, the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today criticised the Union Budget as "clueless and missionless" and said it had no roadmap for the country or the future, from a government "that has lost all the credibility". The TMC supremo, who was at loggerheads with the Modi government over demonetisation, wanted to know the figures due to the move, saying taxpayers were still saddled with restrictions on withdrawals. "A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility," she wrote on Twitter. "Tax payers still have restrictions on withdrawals. Remove all restrictions immediately. And where are the figures for #DeMonetisation? Misleading. Full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words which mean nothing," she said in a series of tweets. Earlier in the day, Banerjee indirectly criticised the Narendra Modi-led Central government for presenting the budget even after the death of former Union minister and MP E Ahmed. "Controversial budget became even more controversial," she wrote on the microblogging website. "Very sad to see the way E Ahamed Ji and family were handled. Condolences to the family of E Ahamed ji. He was first elected as an MLA 50 years ago and served the nation and the people of Kerala #RIP," she added. Keeping up with its protest against demonetisation, the Trinamool Congress on Monday had decided not to attend Parliament for the first two days of the Budget Session which began yesterday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Budget presents the "future", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today, while asserting that it is an important step towards overall development of the nation with focus on fulfilling the "dreams" of every section, including the poor, the farmers and the under-privileged. He said the Budget will create new employment opportunities, help in overall economic growth and help in raising the income of the farmers. Modi, whose government presented the third Budget, said it is a reflection of the development measures undertaken over the past two-and-a-half years and the vision to carry forward the momentum in this direction. "In a way, it is a reflection of our ongoing efforts to see to it that the speed with which our country is changing, gathers momentum," the Prime Minister said, while describing it as an "excellent" and a "historic" Budget. "It is my belief that the Budget will carry forward the development agenda of the government, generate a new climate of confidence and help the nation to scale new heights," he said. Contending that this Budget was "associated with our aspirations, our dreams and in a way depicts our future", he said, "This is the future of our new generation, the future of our farmers." Explaining about the "future", he said it has a meaning in each of its letters. "In FUTURE, the letter 'F' stands for the farmer, 'U' stands for underprivileged which includes dalit, oppressed, women etc., 'T' stands for transparency, technology upgradation - the dream of a modern India, 'U' stands for urban rejuvenation - the urban development, 'R' stands for rural development and 'E' stands for employment for youth, entrepreneurship, enhancement to give a push to new employment and boost to young entrepreneurs," Modi said. Underlining that the Budget will empower the poor and live up to the expectations of all, he said "It will provide an impetus to infrastructure, strength to the financial system and a big boost to the development." Modi said the budget has provisions to "fulfill the expectations of everyone - from construction of highways to expansion of I-ways, from the cost of pulses to the data speed, from the modernization of railways to simple economic constructions, from education to health, from entrepreneurs to industry, from textile manufacturers to tax deduction. The Prime Minister said the merger of the Railway Budget with the general Budget is a major step, which will help in integrated planning of the transport sector. Railways, he said, can now contribute in a much better way in meeting the transport needs of the country. "The focus of the budget is on agriculture, rural development and infrastructure which is also a reflection of the government's commitment to raise investment and create employment opportunities," Modi said. He said the allocation for the schemes in these categories has been hiked substantially and outlay for Railways and Road transport sector has also been substantially increased. "The government's aim is to double the farmers' income by 2022 and the policies and schemes have been designed keeping this in mind," he said, while emphasising that "Maximum emphasis in this budget has been on the farmers, villages, poor, dalit and the underprivileged sections of the society." Agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries, watershed development, Swachcha Bharat Mission are the areas which hold lots of potential to uplift the economic situation in rural India and also bring a sea change in the quality of life there, Modi said. The Budget has laid emphasis on increasing the employment opportunities, he said, adding special allocation has been made for the sectors like electronic manufacturing, textiles which create new job opportunities. Provisions have been made to bring in the people working in the unorganized sector to the organized sector. Budget allocation for skill development has been enhanced considerably keeping in mind the youth of our country and the need to gain the advantage from the demographic dividend. "Record allocation - the highest ever has been made for Mahatma Gandhi National Guarantee Scheme," he said. Underscoring that women's welfare is a priority for his government, the Prime Minister said budgetary outlay for the schemes related to women and children has been enhanced. There has been a considerable hike in the allocation of budget for health and higher education, he added. Noting that housing and construction sector plays a major role in the growth of economy and creating new employment opportunities, Modi said this budget will provide an impetus to the housing sector in rural as well as urban areas. "The Comprehensive package on digital economy will curb the tax evasion and check the circulation of black money," he said while noting that the government has undertaken the exercise to launch digital economy in a mission mode which will go a long way in achieving the target of 2500 crore digital transactions in 2017-18. Referring to the tax reforms and amendments, Modi said these will provide relief to the middle class, result in setting up of industries, create job opportunities/ It will also put an end to discrimination and will provide incentives for private investments, he said. "The move to reduce the personal income tax is significant as it touches the middle class most. Bringing down the rate from 10 to 5 percent is a bold move. Most of the taxpayers in India would be benefitted by this decision," he said. The Prime Minister referred to the provision in the Budget capping at Rs 2000 per person the cash donation that a political party can receive and said it "is along the lines of the hopes and aspirations of the people in our fight" against the black money. "You would have seen, my fight against black money and corruption is on. Political funding has always been a matter of discussion. Political parties are always under the scanner in this regard," he said. Noting that the small and medium industries across the country have been a major source of employment generation, he said these enterprises have been saying that they face difficulties in competing at the global level and if the taxes are lowered, then around 90 percent of the small scale industries would be benefitted. "Therefore, the government has amended the definition of small scale industries, widened their scope and reduced the tax rate from 30 to 25 percent. This implies that over 90 percent of our small scale industries will be benefitted. I am hopeful that this decision will help a lot in making our SSIs globally competitive," Modi said. "This budget is an important step towards overall development of the nation. It will create new employment opportunities, help in overall economic growth and will be complementary in raising the income of the farmers," he said. "In order to ensure quality of life for the citizens, the best possible facilities of education, health and housing can be organized. It is an effort to raise the purchasing power of the middle class without increasing the fiscal deficit," Modi said. Several ministers today hailed the Union Budget as "inspiring" and "transformational", contending that it will give a strong push to infrastructure sector, bring about electoral reforms and benefit the farmers, poor and the middle class. The ministers also lauded Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for offering "many" concessions to honest tax payers, while tightening the noose around those evading taxes and fleeing the country. They said the big push given to the infrastructure sector will transform rural India. With the budget announcing an electoral reform wherein political parties can receive a maximum of Rs 2,000 in cash from one source as donations, the ministers took an apparent dig at the opposition saying those parties running on black money will become "extremely poor". "It's a fine exercise taken up by the Finance Minister. It's very inspiring, bold steps has been announced. Particularly the political funding has been made transparent. People will be happy. Some political parties will become poor. That is why our opponents are saying the budget is anti-poor. "The Congress and other leaders said this budget is anti-poor. It means that these parties which were being run on black money, they will become extremely poor," Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters outside Parliament. He said that the highlight of this budget is that one cannot contribute in cash more than Rs 2000 to a political party and honest people who want to donate to honest parties, political bonds have been allowed which he termed as a "big reform". He said that highest allocation in the history of the country has been given to MNREGA and honest taxpayers have been rewarded. He said that with more people coming under tax net, the tax rates are coming down. "More money coming into the system means more money will be available for spending on welfare measures for the poor. "The housing sector which has been asking for infrastructure status for years and I have been asking the finance minister for two-and-a-half years, by personally talking to him and writing to him, FM has agreed to give the infrastructure status," Naidu said. He said that infrastructure and agriculture has been given maximum priority by the Prime Minister and the budget gives priority to villages, farmers, poor, women, youth and middle class. Union minister Kiren Rijiju said that the budget is focussed on rural infrastructure, housing and roads. "It will transform rural India and urban as well in terms enhancing the capacity of building infrastructure. It is a great relief to the common masses and it will transform the economy of the nation. At the same time, the reform in taxation is great. "From the point of view of electoral reforms, this budget has shown a clear way. Political parties have to transform itself. In democracy, political parties are the essence of the whole system. The transparency in which the political parties have to manage their funding system, has been given a great lift in this budget," he said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said this budget clearly shows and proves BJP's agenda of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'. "On one side the budget focuses on development in rural areas and farmers. At the same time, measures have also been announced to make small businesses to become competitive in the global market. "Transparency, development, nation building are keystones of this historic budget. It again shows our government's commitment to eliminate corruption and black money from the system," Kumar said. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the electoral reforms is a very important step in bringing transparency in political funding. "But more importantly FM has ensured many concessions to honest tax payers. Now it's only five per cent tax, it is the lowest bracket we have ever imagined. And so (those earning) up to Rs five lakh, all should come and declare their income that is the intent of this revolutionary step. "Demonetisation has resulted in bringing all the money into various accounts. Therefore, we can all track, issue notices. So things are on the move. 35 per cent advance tax increase is the success of demonetisation," he said. Union minister Smriti Irani described the budget to be "multi dimensional". The push given to the infrastructure sector with the highest ever allocation is a testimony to the government's commitment to ensure that 'Make in India' is complimented by the success of infrastructure sector. "The push given to agriculture and allied sector by enhanced allocation is also an indication that with the strengthening of the rural economy we will see prosperous families and homes across the nation. "Additionally, the push given to the SC plan and the enhancement of allocation of SC plan is an indicative that the government is ensuring the strengthening of opportunities for those who are under privileged," she said. Irani said being a woman, she was "extremely buoyant" with the fact that Mudra Yojana had 70 per cent beneficiaries as women and the Finance Minister's announcement that its allocation is also being doubled is an indication that women who want to be entrepreneurs in their own right will have substantial support from the government. (REOPENS DEL64) "It (reform in political funding) is an additional chapter in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by PM, the electoral bonds announcement is indicative of the fact that the government is committed to ensuring transparency in even donations given to political parties," Irani said. Asked about the Finance Minister's statement that legislative changes will be made to confiscate economic assets of those who flee the country after evading taxes, she said it is a reference to every individual who tested the government's patience. "On issues of propriety, the government gave ample opportunities to those who evaded the law. The very fact that the government is coming down strongly on those who have evaded the system, those who have bolstered corruption, I think for us today, budget in itself is a clear message that if you evade the system the government will through law will prevail upon you and ensure justice to those who have been rendered injustice by such elements," she said. Praising the budget, Union minister Ramvilas Paswan said it was "very positive" and cited measures taken on election funding, affordable housing besides tax benefits for middle class and social security schemes to praise. "Budget fulfils aspirations of farmers, youth, poor, women and weaker sections. It will create balance between rural India and urban India. It is focused on nation building and infrastructure growth and is full of commitment to socio-economic political reforms," he said. Dubbing the budget as a "gazette of empowerment of poor and weaker sections", Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the "constructive and transformative" financial plan is full of commitment to socio-economic educational reforms. Commenting on Rahul Gandhi's remark yesterday that the Centre has been a failure on the job creation front, Union minister Rijiju said the Congress vice president does not understand how jobs are created. "There is a massive increase in funding for rural infrastructure. That will create jobs. Jobs will not come without these activities being enhanced. This budget is there to provide employment opportunities to youth, women especially in the rural areas," he said. Two-month-long hectic campaigning by political parties for the February 4 Goa Assembly election will culminate tomorrow. Campaigning ends 48 hours before the beginning of the polling process. The election for the 40 Assembly constituencies in the State would be held across 1642 polling booths. The coastal State is witnessing a four-cornered fight with BJP, Congress, AAP and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party-led alliance vying for mandate to rule Goa. Besides them, small parties and Independents are also in the fray. While AAP, which was the first political party to starts its campaigning, is contesting on 39 seats, Congress has fielded 37 candidates and is supporting other nominees on the remaining three constituencies. Ruling BJP has fielded candidates in 36 constituencies and is supporting four Independents in Catholic voters dominated constituencies. The new alliance between MGP, rebel RSS leader Subhash Velingkar's Goa Suraksha Manch and Shiv Sena is contesting on 28 constituencies. While the MGP-led alliance and AAP have declared their Chief Ministerial candidates, Sudin Dhavalikar and Elvis Gomes, respectively, BJP and Congress have not done so. BJP has hinted Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar might be sent back to Goa as Chief Minister if it wins the polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Manohar Parrikar have addressed rallies in support of party candidates. For Congress, Vice-President Rahul Gandhi addressed two public meetings, while Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and others addressed scores of corner meetings for party nominees. AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal accompanied by his colleagues from Delhi Cabinet also addressed rallies. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP President Sharad Pawar, too, addressed rallies. There are 58 Independents in the fray, down from 72 in 2012. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CPI(M) led LDF governmnet in Kerala today said Union budget was 'disappointing' and had failed to deliver justice to the state. Reacting to the budget proposals, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said it had failed to include any measures to overcome the crisis in the economy due to demonetisation. In a facebook post, Vijayan said the Centre had failed to take into account the problems faced by the cooperative sector in the state post demonetisation. 'Kerala had put forward certain suggestions during pre-budget discussions to face the crisis faced by the cooperative sector after demonetisation. But they were not considered by the Centre', Vijayan said. Hittting out at the Centre, he said though it had promised that the states would be compensated when GST comes into force, no funds had been set apart for this. 'The GST council itself had estimated that Rs 50,000 crore was required for this. Not a single paise has been earmarked', Vijayan said. Chief Minister also flayed the Centre for not keeping its promise of sanctioning an All India Institute of Medical Science centre for the state. The plan of the Centre to GO cashless was best example that the economy was being controlled by those who were unaware of financial background and livelihood of majority of people in the country, he said adding 'This would only push the economy and rural sector backward'. Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac said the budget proposals would result in price rise of commodities. Though the state had asked for a substantial increase in funds allocation from Centre following the slow down, 'the hike was very nominal', he told reporters here. Centre has also not accepted the state's demand for an increase of 0.5 per cent in loans, he said. The Union Minister was exuberant for having brought down the revenue defecit to 3.2 per cent, 'but this will only further aggravate the financial crisis in the country', Issac said. Criticsing the budget, he said Union Finance Minister, aims to mobilise revenue from selling the share of public sector undertakings. "It was planned to mobilise an amount of Rs 75,000 crore by disinvestment of public sector undertakings', Issac added. Though the government had stated that it would double the income of farmers, there was only a marginal increase of Rs 3000 crore for agriculture sector from Rs 48,072 crores to Rs 51,026 crores, he pointed out. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the budget proposals were far from reality and also neglected Kerala in all apects. 'There was no justitification for denying AIIMS for the state which was promised in 2015 itself', he said adding the concessions to income tax payers were also nominal. While KPCC President V M Sudheeran also criticised the budget and said it had failed to address the problems of the country due to demonetisation, BJP state president, Kummanam Rajasekharan, hailed the budget and said it was 'pro people' and had taken into consideration all sections of the society. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Colin Farrell is in talks to star in the legal drama, "Inner City" alongside Denzel Washington. The 40-year-old Irish actor may star in the Dan Gilroy film where Washington plays a hard-nosed liberal lawyer who's been fighting the good fight while credit is snatched away by others at the firm, reported Variety. Farrell would portray another attorney at the firm. He was most recently seen in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", a spin-off from the "Harry Potter" franchise. Farrell also finished filming Clint Eastwood's movie "The Beguiled", also starring Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Spinner Anukul Roy led India U-19 bowlers' splendid show as they drubbed England U-19 by 129 runs in the second one-dayer to level the five-match series 1-1, here today. The hosts put up a challenging 287, and then bundled out England for 158. India colts struck in the third over when pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti removed opener Max Holden (0) with the team score reading 12. George Bartlett (7) edged to 'keeper Harvik Desai, giving pacer Shivam Mavi his first wicket. Mavi, who was bowling in the right areas, struck again as he cleaned up opener Harry Brook (26) to leave the visitors struggling at 40-3. Pope (24) and Euan Woods had added 40 runs for the fourth wicket when a quick throw from Nagarkoti cut short the former's stay in the middle. Roy took three wickets to play a part in his side's win at the Brabourne Stadium. Roy dismissed Woods (19) as the visitors lost their fifth wicket on 89. The left-arm spinner stuck twice as he first cleaned up Tom Banton (4) and then dismissed skipper Matt Fisher (7), leaving the visitors stuttering at 119-7. Pacer Ishan Porel had the dangerous Delray Rawlins (46) trapped in front of the wicket. Rawlins stuck two powerful sixes and five fours. Porel then dismissed Henry Brookes (3), while captain Abhishek Sharma finished the proceedings by scalping Aaron Beard. Put into bat, fifties by opener Himanshu Rana and Harvik Desai helped India post 287 for eight. Rana made an impressive 58, and his knock was laced with 10 boundaries. But it was Desai's 75 off 62 balls that ensured India went beyond 250, after struggling at 108 for 4 at one stage. Desai played a variety of shots, including late cuts, sweeps and drives, before throwing his wicket away. Prithvi Shaw, who failed in the first game, departed for 12 when he was cleaned up by Matthew Fisher. Rana, the last match's centurion, added 82 runs for the second wicket with Shubham Gill. Gill (24) was the second man to be dismissed with the scoreboard reading 102 for two. A late onslaught by Nagarkoti (36 not out) and Shiva Singh (23 in 12 balls) took the hosts to 287 even as 15 runs were scored in the 49th over. Fisher was the most successful English bowler with the figures of 4-44. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Union minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader E Ahamed has passed away early today after he suffered a cardiac arrest, a senior doctor has confirmed. The 78-year-old Ahamed died at 2:15 am at RML hospital where he was admitted yesterday and put on artificial life support. "E Ahamed has passed away at 2:15 am. His body has been taken to AIIMS hospital for embalming (a method to preserve a corpse from decaying) as the facility is not available at RML," a senior RML doctor told PTI. Ahamed's body will be taken to Kerala later today. The MP from Kerala's Mallapuram suffered a cardiac arrest during the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament yesterday. At around 2.15 PM, he was shifted to the RML trauma centre's ICU where he was put on ventilator and breathed his last. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides other party leaders had rushed to the hospital late at night and met Ahamed's family. Ahamed's family had alleged that they were not allowed to meet the leader. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Union minister and IUML leader E Ahamed, who was widely considered as India's 'unofficial ambassador' to Gulf countries, passed away early today but a row broke out over the presentation of the Union Budget in Parliament in the light of the death of the sitting MP. The Centre was also accused by the Congress of delaying the announcement of the death of 78-year-old Ahamed at government-run RML hospital in Delhi to facilitate the presentation of Budget as scheduled. Ahamed is a sitting Lok Sabha MP from Mallapuram in Kerala. Ahamed died at 2:15 AM at Ram Manohar Lohia(RML) hospital where he was admitted yesterday and put on artificial life support. The Indian Union Muslim League(IUML) leader collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest during the President's address at the joint sitting of Parliament and was rushed to RML hospital yesterday. "E Ahamed passed away at 2:15 AM. His body has been taken to AIIMS hospital for embalming as the facility is not available at RML," a senior RML doctor told PTI. A widower, Ahamed is survived by two sons and a daughter. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the Centre for presenting the Union Budget, hours after the death of Ahmed saying it was "improper, unfortunate and amounted to showing disrespect" to the departed leader. "Presenting budget in the same building within hours after his death was totally improper and unfortunate. The Centre has gone ahead with the budget presentation, hurting the sentiments of the members of the House," he said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram "The act amounted to disrespect to the memories of the deceased and insulting the democratic consciousness of the nation. It was a grave mistake that the government had gone ahead with the budget presentation at a time when tributes should have been paid to such a senior leader," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other top leaders cutting across party lines paid rich tributes to Ahamed. Modi said Ahamed's efforts for empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered, noting that he served the nation with great diligence. He said Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala's progress and his role in deepening India's ties with West Asia was notable. Ahamed was not only an able Parliamentarian and administrator, but also is considered as India's 'unofficial ambassador' to Gulf countries due to his proximity with leaders in that region. Ahamed had served the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh from 2004-12 as Minister of State for External Affairs and Railways besides holding the additional charge of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Ahamed, who started his political innings in Kerala with five stints as member of state assembly, proved his administrative capabilities as Industries Minister in 1982. Rejecting demands from the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to postpone the presentation of the Budget following the death of Ahamed, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to carry out the exercise saying it was a "constitutional obligation". Mahajan, however, said Lok Sabha will not sit tomorrow as a mark of respect for the departed leader. Ahamed had also tried his hand as a journalist-- both as Sub editor and Reporter of the party newspaper 'Chandrika' and played a vital role in the growth of the newspaper. "They had information (about E Ahmed's death) and could have decided yesterday (to make it public) but they put that on hold. They thought they will take a decision after the presentation of the Budget. "This is an inhuman act. To deal with a politician like this at such a time is not acceptable. There is ample time for conducting the Budget. They could have postponed the Budget and conducted it tomorrow but they have dismissed this," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters in Delhi. High drama prevailed at RML hospital when top Congress leaders visited the hospital to enquire about Ahamed's health last night amid allegations that his family was not being allowed to meet him. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides other party leaders rushed to the hospital late at night and met Ahamed's family. "Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel rushed to the RML hospital because E Ahamed's family, who collapsed today, is not being permitted to meet him or to know about his well being. This is complete high-handedness of the government," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told (REOPENS DEL59) In a statement later, RML Hospital said Ahamed died because of complete heart block, cardiogenic shock, coronary artery disease, Post PTCA, diabetes with hypertension. "He was admitted six months back in CCU in RML Hospital with heart failure. Coronary angiography was done which revealed all grafts patents with changes of atherosclerosis at that time medical management was advised and he was under follow up. "The team treated him by application of various measures like ventilator, pacemaker, intra aortic balloon pumps, vasopressers, auto pulse, CPR, IV fluids, antibiotics and other logistic supports after his admission in hospital. "All medically possible efforts were made. However, he succumbed on February 1, 2017 at 2.15 AM. The cause of death is complete heart block, cardiogenic shock, CAD, CABD, Post PTCA, diabetes with hypertension," it said. In a bid to insulate the country from volatility in global oil market, the government will build two more underground crude oil storages in Odisha and Rajasthan. Announcing the two new facilities at Chandikhol in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget for 2017-18 also exempted income of foreign company, which books a capacity in the strategic storages, from sale of leftover stock. India has already built underground storages in rock caverns at Visakhapatnam (1.33 million tonnes), Mangalore (1.5 MT) and Padur (2.5 MT). "For strengthening our energy sector, Government has decided to set up Strategic Crude Oil Reserves. In the first phase, three such Reserves facilities have been set up. Now in the second phase, it is proposed to set up caverns at two more locations, namely, Chandikhole in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan. This will take our strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 million tons," Jaitley said in his Budget speech. Strategic storages provide a country with two-fold advantage. Firstly it ensures utilisation of reserves in times of high oil and gas prices and secondly they can be used in the event of supply disruptions following unforeseen events like a natural disasters or a war like situation. The storage at Chandikhol will be an underground rock cavern while the one at Bikaner will be an underground salt caverns. Phase-II storage will have a total capacity of 10 million tonne, which includes 4.4 MT storage capacity at Chandikhol and 5.6 MT at Bikaner. "With this, India will move to the high energy table of the world," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told PTI here. "We have a lot of learning from the first phase construction. We plan to do the second phase in 3-4 years." Last week, UAE's national oil company ADNOC signed an agreement to hire half of the capacity of India's maiden strategic oil storage at Mangalore. India is 81 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will hire half of the 1.5 million tonnes Mangalore facility, officials said. An agreement to this effect was signed between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) - the special purpose vehicle building the oil storages, and ADNOC after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Under the agreement, India will have first right to use the stored oil in case of an emergency, while ADNOC would use the facility to store oil for trading purposes. ADNOC will stock 0.75 MT or 6 million barrels of oil in one compartment of Mangalore facility. Of this, 0.5 MT will belong to India and it can use it in emergencies. ADNOC will use the facility as a warehouse for trading its oil. The 1.33 MT Visakhapatnam storage and 2.5 MT Padur stockpile together with 1.5 MT Mangalore storage will be enough to meet nation's oil requirement of about 10 days. Pradhan said Congress-ruled Karnataka government has agreed on waiving VAT on the crude oil imported for the strategic storage, which UAE wants to use to stock oil when prices are low and supply to its customers when rates are good. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Social activist Anna Hazare today approached Mumbai Police and submitted an application seeking registration of an offence in the alleged Rs 25,000 crore sugar cooperative factories scam. Hazare visited the Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg Police Station to file a complaint in the alleged scam, a police officer said. Senior officials then took him to the office of the Commissioner of Police in Crawford Market, the official said. "Hazare met Commissioner of Police and submitted a written application about sugar factories," DCP Ashok Dudhe, Mumbai police spokesperson, said. However, he did not divulge any details. "We have received his application, but no offence has been registered in this case," the official said. From Police Commissioner's office, Hazare left for Mantralaya and met Additional Chief Secretary (Home), police sources said. "We have filed a complaint to Mumbai Police in the Rs 25,000 crore sugar cooperative factories scam on the directions of high court. Its regarding a petition which was filed by Anna in High Court and next hearing in this case is on February 13," office-bearer of Hazare told PTI. Last month, Hazare had moved the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI inquiry into the "sugar cooperative factories scam involving Rs 25,000 crore." Hazare had filed two civil PILs and one criminal PIL asking for a CBI probe. The petitions alleged that fraud had been committed in governance by first burdening sugar cooperative factories with debts and thereafter selling these sick units at throwaway prices, causing loss of Rs 25,000 crore to the government, cooperative sector and members of public. The petitions also demanded an inquiry by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) into the alleged role of "politicians into the sugar cooperative scam, including NCP President and former Union Agriculture Sharad Pawar and his nephew and former Irrigation Minister Ajit Pawar". NCP chief Pawar had said that he would file a defamation suit over the allegations raised in the PILs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court has set aside an order passed by the Delhi School Tribunal directing a private school here to reinstate a music teacher, who had allegedly molested girl students and had misbehaved with lady teachers. Justice Valmiki J Mehta allowed the petition filed by the management of the school which had challenged the August 2008 order passed by the tribunal directing reinstatement of the teacher who had resigned from the job in September 2000. The music teacher had joined the school in 1994 and he had resigned from the post after a memo was handed over to him by the management seeking explanation regarding his alleged acts of outraging the modesty of girl students and misbehaving with lady teachers there. He had approached the tribunal questioning his termination of service claiming that he was forced to tender resignation to the school. His plea before the tribunal was contested by the school management which said there were about 800 girl students and about 80 to 85 lady teachers there and there were complaints against him that he was misbehaving with minor girls and even his lady colleagues. While assailing the tribunal's order, the school contended before the high court that he had given resignation letter on September 12, 2000 and on the same day, it was accepted by the managing committee and thereafter approval of the Director of Education was sought, which was accorded on November 15, 2000. In its order, the tribunal had dealt with the contentions of the man that he had withdrawn his resignation by letters of September 17 and September 28, 2000 respectively. The tribunal had held that the approval of the Director of Education was given only on November 15, 2000 which showed that the resignation was "validly withdrawn". The high court dealt with this issue and said, "Once resignation is accepted by the managing committee of a school then the approval required of the Director of Education is an 'ex-post facto' aspect so as to ensure that resignation should be taken as accepted by the school, but that does not mean that finalisation of the resignation does not take place on the resignation of the employee being accepted by the managing committee of the school. "Also, I do not find that there could have been any reason for denial of the approval of resignation by the Director of Education....The Director of Education has given approval for acceptance of resignation on account of there existing serious issues of respondent no.3 (teacher) outraging the modesty of minor girls studying in the school as also misbehaving with the lady teachers in the school...," Justice Mehta said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana government will prepare a special plan for the expansion of the popular Surajkund International Crafts fair, which began here today. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the 31st edition of the annual mega event in Faridabad district, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, "The state government is going to prepare a special plan for the expansion of the crafts fair." Telangana, partner state of Haryana under the 'Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat' programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would be the partner state in Surajkund International Crafts Mela next year, he said. While extending greetings on the occasion of 'Basant Panchami' and birth anniversary of Sir Chottu Ram, the Chief Minister said the fair was reducing distances as "people from all over the world participate in it". Welcoming the artisans, craftsmen and weavers of 'theme state' Jharkhand, he said the state was blessed with rich minerals. He also congratulated the artists, who came from 23 countries in the fair, and said that the event would provide a platform for exchange of art as well as an opportunity to learn and understand each other. Khattar said last year, 17 lakh people had visited the mela. "In view of the enthusiasm towards the event, expansion on additional three acres of land had been made this year. More than 1,000 stalls have been set up at the event as against 850 last year. Any conflict works to break the society whereas art, culture and music work to connect the society," he said. The BJP leader said his government was observing the present year as 'Swarna Jayanti Year' (golden jubilee) as Haryana was carved out as a separate state 50 years ago. He said the government had been working to connect the people with the mantra of 'Haryana Ek-Haryanvi Ek'. Giving a push to cashless transactions, the Chief Minister purchased a shawl from the stall of Nepal, a hand made portrait of Prime Minister Modi and his own from Sri Lanka stall by using Mobikwik App and POS system. He also made a visit at the stall of partner country Egypt, where Ambassador of Egypt to India Hatem Tageldin, welcomed the Chief Minister. The 15-day long Surajkund fair will come to an end on February 15. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ivory Coast's cashew producers called today for a fixed price that would allow them to make money this year, after a "disastrous" last season for the world's biggest producer of the tasty nuts. In 2016 the country produced 725,000 tonnes at the start of the harvest season, marred by clashes between farmers which left 33 people dead. Ivory Coast beat India last year while global production is 2.9 million tonnes, according to figures from the Cotton-Cashew Council, which manages the sector. Over the same period the price paid to producers was 350 CFA francs (0.53 euro) per kilo, seen as low compared to neighbouring countries. This year they want a "sale price which makes money," industry officials said days before the start of this year's harvest in mid-February. "We have to fix good prices. Something which would have to be bought for 600 CFA francs (0.9 euros), if it is sold for half the price it upsets the sector," said Mamoudou Meite of the international cashew federation Filcajou, which represents over half of the producers. He told AFP that a price "which makes money" in the deprived north of the country could help "to fight poverty, illegal migration to Europe and jihadism" in the region on the border with Mali and Burkina Faso, which both had attacks last year. The last harvest was "disastrous" for the industry, Meite said, noting that prices were twice as high in neighbouring Ghana. In April 2016 clashes between farmers in the northeastern region of Bouna descended into inter-communal violence which left 33 people dead, 52 injured and 2,640 forced from their homes. The industry employs some 250,000 people in about 20 cooperatives directly, while some 1.5 million jobs are dependent on it including indirectly. Cashew nuts are exported to India, Vietnam and Brazil which transform them into everything from food, cosmetics and aircraft brake fluid. The biggest consumer countries are India, the United States, the European Union, China, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India is attempting to block on "procedural grounds" the appointment of a Pakistani diplomat as SAARC's next secretary general, according to a media report here which has been strongly dismissed by New Delhi. "The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), beleaguered by internal rifts, is headed for more difficult days ahead as India is attempting to block on 'procedural grounds' the appointment of a Pakistani diplomat as the next secretary general of the regional body," Dawn reported. The SAARC secretariat can, therefore, potentially remain a headless body for a long time if the stalemate prolongs and the "dispute" is not resolved soon, the report said. Reacting to the report, official sources in New Delhi said India was not trying to block the appointment, it has only pointed out that "procedural" norms need to be adhered to which was also accepted by other SAARC members. The Pakistani turn, which is held by rotation, starts from March 1, 2017, and continues till February 28, 2020. Amjad Hussain Sial is a career diplomat who has been nominated by Pakistan as the 13th secretary general of SAARC, the daily said. This is the first time in SAARC's troubled history that it is moving towards a standoff over the Secretary General's appointment, the report said. Sial had been nominated by Pakistan as the Secretary General to replace the outgoing top official of Kathmandu- based SAARC secretariat Arjun Bahadur Thapa, whose tenure expires on February 28. Sial's nomination was made at the SAARC Council of Ministers in Pokhara, Nepal, in March 2016 and was endorsed by all member states. "New Delhi, however, through a diplomatic note last month asked the secretariat to adhere to the 'due working procedures' in the appointment of Mr Thapa's successor," the report said. Pakistani officials, meanwhile, have accused India of employing "delaying tactics". They insist that concurrence had been received from all members, including India, it said. The daily claimed that a copy of an Indian diplomatic note dated May 30, 2016 conveying its concurrence to Sial's appointment as secretary general was also shared with it. New Delhi is now unnecessarily raising issues over the appointment, the report said, citing officials. SAARC is an eight-member regional grouping that comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Consumers will have to shell out 1-2 per cent more on mobile phones following the levy of a special additional duty (SAD) on circuit boards of mobile phones. The Union Budget for 2017-18 imposed a SAD levy of 2 per cent on populated printed circuit boards (PCBs) that is the heart of the smartphone and accounts for nearly half of the manufacturing cost of the phones. "This will lead to a potential one per cent increase in cost of mobile handsets. In the initial phase, the cost will be passed on to consumers as it is difficult to absorb this cost fully," Panasonic President and CEO (India and South Asia) Manish Sharma told PTI. Other handset makers, however, declined to comment on the impact on prices. "Due to increase in duty by additional 2 per cent, we estimate the price of mobile phones to go up to 1-2 per cent but it depends on OEMs to decide whether to pass it on to end consumers or not," Counterpoint Research Senior Analyst Tarun Pathak said. He added that handset companies may cut down on bills of other components to nullify the increasing cost as most of the mounted components for PCB are still imported. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget Speech said the focus is on creating an ecosystem to make India a global hub for electronics manufacturing. Over 250 proposals envisaging investment of Rs 1.26 lakh crore for electronics manufacturing have been received in the last two years, he said. "A number of global leaders and mobile manufacturers have set up production facilities in India. I have therefore exponentially increased the allocation for incentive schemes like M-SIPS and EDF to Rs 745 crore in 2017-18. This is an all-time high," he added. The industry is of the view that the Budget will push handsets makers to move from local assembly to actual manufacturing. Indian Cellular Association National President Pankaj Mohindroo said phased manufacturing is at the heart of development of mobile ecosystem to achieve target of 500 million handset production by 2019 and export target of 120 million mobile phones by 2019-20. "Though the Budget does not talk about it, we expect it to be taken up during debate," he added. Micromax co-founder Rajesh Agarwal said 'Make in India' is a great opportunity, given India has attracted huge investments in local manufacturing lately not only benefitting the economic growth but also creating increased employment. "At Micromax, we are committed to supporting the Make in India initiative and invest accordingly," he added. (REOPENS DCM121) Vivek Zhang, Chief Marketing Officer at Vivo India also said the move to impose 2 per cent customs duty on PCBs might initially result in a hike in the cost of smartphones. He, however, did not quantify the potential hike. Intex Technologies Chairman and Managing Director Narendra Bansal said the increase is "very marginal" and will have no impact on the consumer. "First, the increase is so minuscule that brands will absorb this impact and will not pass it on to the consumer. Second, globally and in India, prices of mobiles are coming down and every month cheaper handsets are making their debut in the market," he said. In such a scenario, in future too, prices of mobiles will keep falling continuously with the result this increase in duty will get mitigated by the low cost of handsets, he added. A 55-year-old Indian national, who ran a Kenyan drug trafficking organisation with global ambitions, has been charged for smuggling large quantities of heroin into the US from suppliers in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami, along with Baktash Akasha 40, Ibrahim Akasha, 28, and Pakistani citizen Gulam Hussein, 61, have been charged with participating in a narcotics importation conspiracy and were brought to the US from Kenya, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said. The four were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya in November 2014 following a US request. They were charged with four counts of conspiring to import heroin and methamphetamine into the US. Each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. They were charged in a superseding indictment with narcotics importation offenses based on their delivery of 99 kilograms of heroin and two kilograms of methamphetamine in Kenya, which they intended would be imported into the US. "As alleged, the four defendants who arrived yesterday in New York ran a Kenyan drug trafficking organisation with global ambitions. For their alleged distribution of literally tons of narcotics - heroin and methamphetamine - around the globe, including to America, they will now face justice in a New York federal court," Bharara said. From about March 2014 through the date of their arrests, the four men conspired to import large quantities of heroin into the US. Baktash Akasha is the leader of an organised crime family in Kenya responsible for the production and distribution of large quantities of narcotics within Kenya and throughout Africa. Goswami managed the Akasha Organisation's drug business, including the production and distribution of methamphetamine and the procurement and distribution of heroin. Hussein, a long-time associate of Goswami, headed a transportation network that distributes massive quantities of narcotics throughout the Middle East and Africa, and has acknowledged responsibility for transporting tons of kilograms of heroin by sea. Over the course of several months, during telephone calls and meetings in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya, the defendants supplied multi-kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine to individuals they believed to be representatives of a South American drug-trafficking organisation, but who were in fact confidential sources working at the direction and under the supervision of the Drug Enforcement Administration. They negotiated on behalf of the Akasha Organisation to procure and distribute hundreds of kilograms of heroin from suppliers in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and to produce and distribute hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine, which they understood would ultimately be imported into the US. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 33-year-old Indian-origin woman has succumbed to her injuries following a road accident, becoming the sixth person to die in the mishap which toook place on the busiest street of Central Business District. Bhavita Patel of Blackburn South suburb died in hospital on Monday night after her family decided to turn off her life support following the fatal incident. Doctors had tried to save Patel, but her condition did not improve and she lay unresponsive in hospital, according to a media report. Patel, a senior manager with Deloitte, was walking back to her office from her lunch break when she was struck down by the speeding car which rammed into several pedestrians on the Bourke street on January 20. "My parents and I are broken. But we all appreciate the love we're getting from people," her brother Mitesh was quoted by the Herald Sun. Patel attended Australian National University in Canberra and worked as an accountant and adviser for the federal government before moving to Melbourne to work with the state government. Nine patients remain in hospital and one is still in a critical condition, police said, after 39 persons were treated after the incident. Four persons - Thalia Hakin (10), Jess Mudie (22), Matthew Si (33), and a 25-year-old man - had died on the spot. Dimitrious Gargasoulas, the 26-year-old man accused of driving the car, has been charged with five counts of murder. He has been remanded in custody and ordered to face court via video link in August. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The last rites of soldier Ramchandra Shamrao Mane (34), who recently died in an avalanche in Machhil sector of Jammu and Kashmir, were performed today with full state honours at his native village in Maharashtra's Sangli district. The funeral was held this morning after Mane's mortal remains was brought in a helicoper to Kavathe-Mahankal village, District collector Shekhar Gaikwad said. The body was earlier flown to Pune from Delhi. Mane is survived by mother, wife and two sons--both studying in Satara Sainik School. His elder brother had retired from Army in July last year. Mane's younger brother is also in the Army. While 20 soldiers including an officer died in avalanches in Kashmir over the past few days, five civilians were also killed in similar incidents in the valley. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla today expressed hope that ethnic Mizos living in different states in the country and in contiguous parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh would one day "reunite under a single administrative unit". Lal Thanhawla said that cultural and emotional integration of all 'Zo' ethnic groups would help in the "reunification process". He was addressing a function to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Chin-Lushai Conference on the Mizoram-Assam border in Kolasib town. Former chief minister and Mizo National Front chief Zoramthanga urged the 'Zo' people to accept each other. The function, conducted by the Zo Reunification Organisation (ZoRO), an organisation spearheading the reunification of the Zos living in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, was to commemorate the Chin-Lushai Conference held at Fort William in Kolkata on January 29, 1892. The leaders of the organisation said the conference, held 125 years ago, was the first and only effort made by the British to unify the ethnic Mizos into a single administrative unit. "The conference was held after British India realised that the ethnic groups living in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Chin hills and Assam were one ethnic group," President of the ZoRO general headquarters R Sangkawia said. Sangkawia said that the British gave freedom to India, Bangladesh (East Pakistan) and Burma without reuniting the 'Zo' ethnic groups and left them in the three countries against their will. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Russia in June to attend St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), where India has been invited as a 'Guest Country', and the two sides are working on the "bilateral aspect" of the visit. Confirming the invitation for the Forum to be held from June 1 to 3, External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "As part of this, the Prime Minister will attend the Forum as Guest of Honour. Other details of the Prime Minister's visit are being worked out" and will be announced once they are finalised. Earlier this week, Dmitry Peskov, Spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin who will inaugurate the Forum at St Petersburg, had said Russia was assigning a "high priority" to Modi's visit. "We will carry out detailed preparations for the visit, in terms of both the bilateral aspect and the multilateral forum as a whole," Peskov had said. The Forum is an international economics and business event held annually with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation, SPIEF said. In 2016, the Forum welcomed more than 12,000 participants, among them political and business leaders, leading scientists, public figures and members of the media from all over the world to discuss the most pressing issues facing Russia and the global community, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after independent corporator Makrand Narvekar from Colaba joined the BJP, ahead of the February 21 Mumbai civic polls, a local NGO My Dream Colaba (MDC) from South Mumbai today extended its support to him. Issuing a statement, MDC said that based on Narvekar's success in the past, we have decided to support him in the forthcoming BMC elections scheduled this month. Highlighting Narvekar's "significant achievements, MDC said, "He worked closely with the various resident associations and increased the participation of citizens, either through residents associations or through their corporators to find solutions to their civic issues." Narvekar was the only citizen who successfully contested as an independent candidate in 2012. Yesterday, sitting corporator Makrand Narvekar along with his sister-in-law Harshada Narvekar, NCP's local leader Asif Bhamla and Prashant Rele besides Shiv Sena affiliated Yuva Sena worker Swapnil Yerunkar joined the BJP. Narvekar is a brother of NCP MLC Rahul Narvekar who was earlier associated with Shiv Sena. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Opposition on Wednesday denounced the Union Budget with Rahul Gandhi saying it lacked a clear vision and had nothing for farmers, youths and job creation while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dubbed it as "clueless, useless and heartless" and questioned why no data on demonetisation was given. Terming the Budget as "contractionary" and a "complete gimmick", the Left parties alleged that the figures given by the Finance Minister do not match the reality. The opposition parties also accused the government of bringing the Budget proposals keeping in mind the Assembly polls in five states and indulging in jugglery of words and numbers. However, the government's proposal to cleanse political funding by bringing in transparency did find favour with most of them. "We were expecting fireworks, instead it was a damp squib. It is just 'sher-o-shayari' in the budget. There is nothing for farmers and youth and nothing for job creation. There is no clear vision, no idea," Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress boycotted the first two days of the Budget session to protest against demonetisation, claimed the Budget has no road map and is full of hollow words. "A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility," Banerjee said in a tweet. "Taxpayers still have restrictions on withdrawals. Remove all restrictions immediately. And where are the figures for #DeMonetisation? Misleading. Full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words which mean nothing," she said. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav also said the government did not touch upon the issue of how much black money has been recovered post demonetisation. Rahul was appreciative of proposals on political funding, saying "any step to clean political funding will be supported by us". At the same time, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the proposals to cleanse political system do not specify how the government plans to implement it. "They have promised all these things keeping polls in five states in mind. They have not said anything for farmers, youth, women. They have accepted that GDP growth has gone down," Kharge said. On Rail Budget, Rahul said, "Modi had promised the bullet train. Where is the bullet train now? Railways' fundamental problem is safety." Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury termed the Budget as "contractionary". "It an example of finance minister joining the prime minister and the BJP president to create 'jumlas' (phrases used as rhetoric). The Budget is a classic example of that. "It won't boost employment or generate demand. The idea of infrastructure development is a farce because the data given by the finance minister is not related to reality, does not match to what he said in his speech," Yechury said. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader in Lok Sabha Bhartruhari Mahtab wondered from where the revenue would come for the government at a time when the manufacturing growth is coming down. He, as also his party colleague Tathagata Satpathy, said more relief should have been given to the middle-income group. Mahtab said that with the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, it had become essential to give benefit to salaried and fixed income groups. Satpathy said that the finance minister handled the "demon" part of demonetisation through "smooth language and smattering of poetry". Mahtab, however, said greater thrust on infrastructure and investment in rural development was welcome. Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP's) Tariq Anwar said the Budget was way below expectations and had nothing for farmers and youth. Party leader Supriya Sule too noted that the Budget did not offer anything to farmers. She said the Budget is giving more thrust on employment guarantee scheme of MGNREGA which the BJP had allegedly opposed for years. "It is a government of U-turn," she quipped. "The budget is high on rhetoric and short on delivery. It does not lay out a roadmap to return India to a high growth trajectory. There is a fundamental contradiction between enhanced public expenditure and the fiscal deficit cap," Congress leader Manish Tewari said. Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary D Raja said the budget has nothing "spectacular" to offer and does not stoke any hope of retrieval of country's economy, which he added, is in "bad shape as underscored in the economic survey" released yesterday. "Besides, the way they claim about giving thrust on rural development, it is rhetoric, done in view of polls in five states. What are the efforts for job creation? On the issue of tax, how they are going to tighten noose around those evading tax, they have not explained," Raja said. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav was not impressed with the restriction on cash donations to political parties to Rs 2000. "Until the people of the country teach a lesson to those with black money, things will not improve," he said. Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli, Leader of YSR Congress in the Lok Sabha, said the Budget is "not encouraging" as there is no concrete proposal for generating employment. "There is no special status to Andhra Pradesh, so no justice has been done to us. The BJP promised a railway zone to Vizag. "They did not consider a single proposal for employment. They have not considered the poor people," Velagapalli said. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia said the national capital has been yet again deprived of its due from central share in this year's budget. "Delhi's share in central taxes remains stagnant for 17th year at Rs 325 crore. Detailed govt response follows. My initial response is Delhi has been deprived of its due from central share in this year's budget too," Sisodia tweeted. The opposition in Assam Assembly today staged a walkout form the House after the Speaker dismissed their adjournment motion to discuss the eviction drive in several places by the government. Two separate adjournment motions were introduced by Congress and All India United Democratic Front to discuss the continuous eviction drive against encroachers from government land for the last few months and their rehabilitation at various places across the state. After listening to both the opposition and government versions over inclusion of the adjournment motion, Assam Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami dismissed the adjournment motion and said there were at least three other devices through which the issue could be discussed. On this, the entire opposition rose to their feet and requested the Speaker to include the motion for a discussion by suspending all other businesses. "I have given my ruling. You cannot challenge my ruling. ...You may not like it. But for that also, there is a device," Goswami said. On this, Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said, "As you are not allowing us to discuss the issue, we are leaving the House now. Earlier, arguing for admission of the motion for a discussion, the Congress leader said people were being evicted without any rehabilitation and they were indigenous people with many having valid land documents. "The government proposes to give some compensation as per the old British-made policy. It had assured to compensate within 40 days, but already 90 days have passed. The government has broken its promise," Saikia claimed. In support of his adjournment motion, AIUDF MLA Hafiz Bashir Ahmed said thousands of people were rendered landless and homeless as the government has failed to protect the Indian citizens. "Without any proper verification, people are evicted and living in open areas like river bank in this cold. Children have died. It is a matter of public importance as the government failed to deliver its role. So, the matter should be discussed," he added. Ahmed also questioned the government for treating the evicted persons as suspected Bangladeshi nationals and said, "If that is the case, then why were they not being sent to detention camps instead of just allowing them to leave the place and settle again somewhere else?" Presenting the official stand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said the government also has a humanitarian view, but it cannot allow any encroachment to happen irrespective of religion, caste and creed. "As per rule, we cannot allow adjournment motion during Budget discussion or discussion on Thanks to President's and Governor's speech. "There are four other devices and the opposition should bring it through them," he added. Requesting the Speaker to dismiss the adjournment motion, Patowary said eviction of encroachers will not stop and will continue across the state. New Pentagon chief James Mattis today heads to South Korea and Japan, where he will seek to reassure the key US allies about American security commitments in the region. The defense secretary's visit marks the first overseas trip of any senior official in the government of President Donald Trump, who suggested while campaigning that America's longstanding role in Northeast Asia could change. "The trip will underscore the commitment of the United States to our enduring alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and further strengthen US-Japan-Republic of Korea security cooperation," the Pentagon said in a statement. On the campaign trail, Trump raised the possibility of Japan and South Korea arming themselves with nuclear weapons, and accused Seoul and Tokyo of not paying their fair share for US troops stationed in their countries. Some 28,500 US troops are based in South Korea and 47,000 in Japan. Mattis's visit comes amid heightened concerns over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and a simmering row between Tokyo and Seoul over the use of sex slaves during World War II. According to South Korea's defense ministry, defense chief Han Min-Koo and his new US counterpart vowed Tuesday to push ahead with a plan to deploy a US anti-missile system this year despite angry protests by China. The two allies last year announced the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system following a series of atomic and missile tests by nuclear-armed North Korea. The THAAD plan has infuriated China, which fears it will undermine its own ballistic capabilities and has slapped a series of measures seen by Seoul as economic retaliation. Mattis will begin his trip in South Korea, where he will meet Han and other senior officials. The two countries are due to hold annual joint military exercises starting in March. Trump's campaign rhetoric raised concerns in both Seoul and Tokyo, and in a statement South Korea's defence ministry said it hoped Mattis' trip would prove "an opportunity for the Trump administration to maintain and strengthen US commitment to defend the South and the unwavering US-South Korea alliance." On Friday Mattis travels on to Tokyo for meetings with Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and other officials, the Pentagon said. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- who is scheduled to meet Trump next week in Washington -- told lawmakers he intends to press Mattis about "the significance of the Japan-US alliance." Abe has repeatedly argued that Japan bears an appropriate share the costs of the alliance, which he stresses benefits the United States, Japan and the broader region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-anticipated visit to Israel will likely take place later this year in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, according to a media report. India's ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told local portal 'Ynet' about the visit as the two countries are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations. Kapoor also mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under the "Make in India" campaign. Other informed sources told PTI that the dates have not yet been finalised by the two sides but "it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017." India's relations with Israel have made steady progress since the two countries established diplomatic relations 25 years ago in January 1992 even as New Delhi has generally shied away from visits at the highest level in the past. The BJP-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to the Jewish state. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejee's invitation which was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi coming after a gap of almost 20 years. The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003 when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Relations between the two countries have constantly shown an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. Modi's visit is being discussed amid talks of a "close chemistry" between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders have already met twice on foreign soil on the outskirts of UN related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. "I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened," Modi told Netanyahu during their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015. The Israeli Premier had then promptly responded saying, "in your case too". (REOPENS FGN 1) India's abstention at a UNHRC vote in 2015 on a UN report critical of Israel's offensive in the Gaza war of 2014 was described by many here as a sign of a "qualitative leap" in relations which had transformed into a "completely normal relations without any hangups" with many crediting the closeness between the two Prime Ministers for the "change in heart". India, however, later clarified that the vote was a "principled" stand in connection to the International Criminal Court that had reference in the resolution and did not mark "any shift in policy". Netanyahu has often described Modi "as my friend" and has been trying to take steps to boost Israel's exports to India, emphasising that "sky is the limit" as far as cooperation between the two countries goes across several sectors. Starting with humble figures of USD 200 million in annual trade in 1992, the two countries have registered a bilateral trade of about USD 4.5 billion last year. The defence ties between the two countries have often drawn worldwide attention and acquired strategic dimensions. In the wake of murder of 23 years old woman employee at the premises of Infosys here, Pune police are planning to issue a fresh security advisory to the IT and ITES firms in the city. IT professional from Kerala, Rasila Raju OP, was allegedly strangled by a security guard near her workstation in the Infosys building at Hinjawadi here on Sunday. There are over 400 IT and ITes companies in the city, a large chunk of them at the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjawadi. "In view of the recent incident, there is need to sensitise all these firms on the internal security of the employees and specially women employees. "The campus of major IT companies does not come under the status of public places and the security is managed privately, so we are going to issue an advisory to all the firms asking them to augment the internal security," said Joint Commissioner of Police, Sunil Ramanand. He said the firms will be asked to install CCTV cameras on the premises and make sure that their feed is monitored. "The female employees should not work alone and they should work in buddy system. The companies should monitor the pick and drop system and make sure that female employees are not picked first and dropped last," he said. The companies will be asked to monitor "emotional stability" and health of the employees including the security guards and other support staff. "Generally, security guards' background checks are done, but there is something called emotional stability, which needs to be checked and all these things we are going to incorporate in the advisory," he said. Police are also seeking suggestions from various stakeholders over the security of employees in and outside the campuses and also planning to carry out security audits of the IT firms. Rasila was killed near her workstation on the ninth floor of Infosys building, allegedly by the security guard Bhabhen Saikia (27) whom she had earlier reprimanded for staring her. Saikia was later arrested at CST station in Mumbai. Rajasthan Governor and Chancellor state universities today appointed vice chancellors for three universities. Professor Bhagirath Singh has been appointed as vice chancellor of Maharaja Ganga Singh University in Bikaner, Professor Bhanwarlal Sharma as vice chancellor of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shekhawati University in Sikar and Professor Ashwini Kumar Bansal as vice chancellor of Maharaja Surajmal Braj University in Bharatpur, an official release issued here said. They have been appointed as vice chancellors in consultation with the state government for the tenure of three years or till 70 years of age, whichever is earlier, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Reserve Bank today said it has not authorised dealings in or use of virtual currencies, and cautioned those investing in the instruments like Bitcoins. "The Reserve Bank advises that it has not given any licence/authorisation to any entity/company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency. As such, any user, holder, investor, trader etc. Dealing with virtual currencies will be doing so at their own risk," it said in a statement. Those investing in such virtual currencies are exposing themselves to potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks, it warned. The apex bank also drew attention to a December 2013 notification cautioning the investors against the same. RBI had said then that the virtual currencies stored in e-wallets were exposed to hacking and in the absence of any regulations, users were exposed to lack of recourse in case of any problems or disputes. The central bank had also flagged issues surrounding valuation, saying there was no underlying asset and there was lots of speculation in it, and those who trade on unregulated platforms face legal and financial risks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tonight announced "securing" the release of five Indians who were jailed in Togo. "We have secured the release of 5 Indians from Kerala jailed in Togo. Good work by Indian mission in Accra and Consulate in Togo (sic)," she tweeted. They were in jail since 2013 for their suspected involvement in a piracy attack off the coast of Togo, according to reports. The Indians were employees of a Merchant Navy firm and were sailing on board a ship to South Africa from Mumbai when they were arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A sum of Rs 78,000 crore has been earmarked for the Home Ministry for 2017-18 of which Rs 1,577 crore outlay is for Intelligence Bureau (IB). The budgetary allocation for the next financial year is 6.37 per cent more than Rs 73,328 crore given to the ministry for 2016-17. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in the Budget presented on Wednesday, allocated a total of Rs 54,985.11 crore to seven paramilitary forces as against about Rs 52,443 crore for the ongoing financial year. Among these forces, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), deployed for internal security, action against Maoists and operations against militants, has been earmarked the highest at Rs 17,868.53 crore. Border Security Force (BSF), which guards Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders, will get Rs 15,569.11 crore while Central Industrial Security Force, responsible for security of country's airports, nuclear installations, key government buildings and private entities, has been allocated Rs 6,686.25 crore. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), tasked with protecting the Sino-Indian border, has got an outlay of Rs 4,824.31 crore and Assam Rifles, deployed in Indo-Myanmar border and dealing with insurgents in the north east, will get Rs 4,801.84 crore. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan border, has been earmarked Rs 4,320.67 crore while National Security Guard (NSG), the anti-terror commando force, gets an allocation of Rs 816.10 crore. Delhi Police, which reports to the Home Ministry, has been given Rs 5,910.28 crore in the Budget. Senior officials of SAARC nations are meeting here and are expected to discuss new date for the 19th SAARC summit which was postponed last year after India and four others pulled out of it accusing Pakistan of not cooperating on combating terrorism. The 53rd Programming Committee meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) began in Kathmandu today. The two-day Programming Committee meeting is being held in the wake of the postponement of the 19th SAARC summit that was supposed to take place in Pakistan in November last year. The joint secretary-level meeting is being led by Nepalese Foreign Ministry's Regional Organisation Division Chief Mani Prasad Bhattarai. Nepal is hosting the meeting in capacity as the SAARC Chair. The meeting taking place on an initiative of the SAARC Secretariat. The meeting will deliberate on SAARC's activities since mid-April 2016, operation of the SAARC Secretariat and the budget for the next year. The meeting is expected to pave way for rescheduling of the 19th SAARC Summit. Nepal, current chair of the SAARC, had postponed the SAARCsummit until further notice after Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India requested to postpone the summit in Islamabad scheduled for November 9 and 10 last year, following escalation of tension between India and Pakistan. India and others had blamed Pakistan for not creating a conducive environment and not cooperating on combating cross-border terrorism in South Asia for holding the SAARC Summit, charges rejected by Pakistan. The decisions taken by Programming Committee meeting will be forwarded to the Standing Committee meeting for consideration. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP president Amit Shah today signed off his party's campaign in poll-bound Goa by launching a broadside against Congress and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi who, he said, was "wearing Italian glasses". "Press hard the button in front of Lotus symbol on February 4 so that the current can be felt in Italy," he said while addressing a public meeting in Bicholim constituency. The BJP chief said the borders remained unsafe under the erstwhile "Sonia-Manmohan government" rule. "There used to be firing from across the border every day. Rahulbaba was pointing out that even now firing continues from across the border, so what is the difference between then and now? "Rahulbaba apko fark maloom nahi padega, apki ankh par to Italian chasma chada hua hai (Rahulbaba you won't understand the difference between then and now because you are wearing Italian spectacles)," Shah said. Continuing his diatribe, Shah said, "When your (Congress) government was in power, Pakistan used to start the firing and end it too. But now, Pakistan starts the firing but Indian soldiers end it. No one can now dare to mutilate head of our soldiers." The BJP chief said, "Rahulbaba keeps asking us what Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has done? "Jab 2019 me ayenge to ek ek second ka aur ek ek pai ka hisab bharatiya janata ko denge (we will give account of every penny to people of India on returning to power in 2019)," Shah said. Shah said Rahul should give account of what the UPA government had done during its 10-year tenure at the Centre instead of asking BJP. "There were so many scams during the UPA regime that the list is unending. There was a scam in ISRO, 2G, submarine... Congress did not spare coal which even thieves do not steal. "After committing scams to the tune of Rs 12 lakh crore, Rahul is now questioning us? I can say with pride that in the last two-and-half years of our rule, even Opposition parties cannot accuse us of being involved in any scam," Shah said. He appealed to people to elect BJP candidates on "two- third of total 40 seats for a stable government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The chief executive of German industrial giant Siemens said today he was concerned about protectionist United States policy under Donald Trump, saying the country had been built by immigrants. "What we're hearing from the States at the moment worries us, worries me personally, because it doesn't fit with this country," Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser told a press conference in Munich, adding that the US was "known for its free movement, its openness." "America became great thanks to immigrants," he went on. Newly-installed president Donald Trump has vowed to build a wall on the US border with Mexico, signed an executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travellers from seven Muslim countries. He has also threatened to impose heavy border taxes on manufactured goods from outside the country, especially Mexico. Germany, too, has been targeted by the new US administration, with Trump's top trade advisor accusing Berlin of keeping the euro undervalued to make its exports cheaper in an interview yesterday. Kaeser would not be drawn on possible consequences of US protectionism for Siemens, saying that despite the rhetoric, Trump has "a very good team of advisors". With 50,000 employees at 60 factories in the US and some USD 30 billion invested in the past 10 years, the group "is concentrating on its customers," he said. The manufacturer, whose products include trains, wind turbines, and medical equipment reported a 25-per cent boost to profits in the first quarter of its financial year 2016-17 at 1.9 billion euros (USD 2.0 billion). Siemens took in 19.1 billion euros in revenue in its first three months, up 1.0 per cent, pointing to "modest" revenue growth for the whole financial year. Executives would not be drawn today on the forthcoming flotation of Siemens' medical devices business, known as Healthineers. "We'll let you know as soon as there's something new," finance director Ralf Thomas said, refusing to say whether the listing would happen in 2017 or 2018. Siemens also said today that Jim Hagemann Snabe, former head of software firm SAP, would take the head of its supervisory board from 2018 if approved by shareholders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Sikh advocacy group has asked Gurdwaras in the US to be alert in view of the prevailing anti-immigrant rhetoric and the recent terror attack on a mosque in Canada. "Given the current situation of our country, and other parts of the world, we advise Gurdwaras to step up their security measures, especially following Sunday's deadly mosque attack in Quebec," Gurvinder Singh, director for United Sikhs said in a statement. Since the 9/11 attacks, Sikhs have often been harassed and/or victimised by people who mistakenly perceive them as an accessible proxy for the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, it said. The result of which is that turbaned Sikhs in America and Canada have been victims of racial violence and have had their identity challenged by calls for immigrant groups to assimilate into Western societies, the advocacy group said. "The anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner political rhetoric, combined with this week's terrorist attack in Canada have many living in fear of additional hate crimes and other attacks," United Sikh said. Following the Quebec shooting in which six people were killed, the New York Police Department announced it would provide additional protection for mosques in the city. United Sikhs is also asking worshippers in Gurdwaras to be vigilant. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 29-year-old Sikh man in the UK, accused of murdering his step grandfather by allegedly stamping and jumping on him repeatedly in front of a gurdwara, went on trial. Sukhraj Singh Atwal is being tried for the murder of 74-year-old Satnam Singh - the father of his mother's ex-husband - in Derby in July 2015. The prosecution at Nottingham Crown Court alleged he repeatedly stamped and jumped on Singh, BBC reported. Singh, was attacked as he walked from his home, in Princes Street, Pear Tree to open his local Sikh Gurdwara Temple, in the same street, on July 23, 2015, the report said. The accused Atwal, however, denies murder. Singh suffered 41 fractures to his chest, lacerations to his heart and "blunt force trauma" to his body. Atwal's car appeared several times on local CCTV at the time of the attack. The beating itself was not caught on camera but the vehicle was seen entering the spot where Singh died immediately before the attack and leaving four minutes later. Footage from a garage forecourt showed Atwal appearing to inspect his light-coloured trousers. He also returned to the scene several times "to observe what was happening", the prosecution alleged, wearing different trousers. Atwal was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving four days later, giving no comment at interview, save that police should "check the forensics" on his car. He was arrested in April 2016 on suspicion of murder after tests determined Singh had not been hit by a car. Examination of Atwal's phone disclosed he had travelled to a remote location near Carsington Water, near the Peak District, later that day where the prosecution alleges he disposed of his trousers. A text message on his phone said he had not hit Singh "with my car" and he even taunted police in a letter from custody saying they "couldn't even get the cause of death right". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thousands of people from various walks of society today paid homage to E Ahamed, IUML National President and former Union Minister, when his body arrived Kozhikode this evening from New Delhi. Several people had thronged the Karipur airport as the mortal remains were brought by the late leader's family and party leaders. The body was taken to League House, the headquarters of IUML at Kozhikode, where people a large number of people paid homage. The burial will be held tomorrow at Kannur, Ahamed's native place, IUML sources said. Ahmed collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest during the President's address at the joint sitting of Parliament yesterday and was rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The leader died at 2:15 AM at the hospital. Meanwhile, IUML today expressed displeasure at the manner in which Ahamed's family was allegedly denied permission to see him at the hospital in New Delhi. Veteran IUML leaders including P K Kunhalikutty, MLA, MPs - E T Muhammed Basheer and P V Abdul Wahab and party's state General Secretary K P M Majeed alleged that the proceedings and precedence of Parliament was "violated" in Ahamed's case. "Ahamed was India's face in the international community. The Centre should introspect whether he was given due consideration, that has to be given to a senior Parliamentarian," Kunhalikutty said. "Denying permission to his family to meet him at the hospital was an inhuman act. Keeping his demise a secret was not a small issue," the former state Industries Minister alleged. Majeed said the hospital authorities did not disclose the health details of Ahamed even to his close relatives. If senior leaders including Sonia Gandhi had not come to the hospital and protested, the hospital authorities would not have confirmed the demise even then, he alleged. Panakkad Munavarali, the state president of Youth League, the youth outfit of IUML, also expressed unhappiness over the incidents. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Tunisian man arrested in Germany today on suspicion of recruiting for the Islamic State group is also accused of involvement in the deadly 2015 attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis, German prosecutors said. The 36-year-old is wanted by Tunisian authorities on suspicion of "participating in planning and carrying out" the attack. He is also accused of involvement in the deadly jihadist assault on the border town of Ben Guerdane last March, the prosecutor's office in the western state of Hesse said in a statement. Tunisian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in June 2016, it added. The suspect was taken into custody early today as police carried out sweeping anti-terror raids in Frankfurt and nearby towns. "He did not offer any resistance," Alexander Badle, a spokesman for the Frankfurt prosecutor's office, told reporters. In Germany, the Tunisian national is suspected of recruiting for the IS jihadist group and of building a network of IS supporters with the goal of staging an attack in the country, he added. Plans for the attack were still "at a very early stage", he said. "There was no concrete danger of an attack." The suspect arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker in August 2015, the prosecutors said, after already living in the country for a decade some years earlier. He was arrested the following August on an outstanding 2008 conviction for causing bodily harm. After serving a 43-day sentence, he was kept in detention awaiting deportation to Tunisia before the authorities were forced to release him again. "As the Tunisian authorities, despite repeated reminders from the German authorities, failed to supply the necessary deportation documents within the 40-day period, the suspect was released on November 4, 2016," the statement said. He was kept under surveillance from the day of his release until his arrest today, it added. IS claimed responsibility for the Bardo attack during which two gunmen opened fire at the museum, killing 21 foreign tourists and a police officer. The Ben Guerdane attack last March saw dozens of heavily armed jihadists cross into the frontier town from Libya to launch coordinated attacks on police and army posts, killing seven civilians and 13 security personnel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UN Security Council has unanimously called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Ukraine after three days of fighting left at least 13 dead. The council endorsed a Ukrainian-drafted statement that did not raise objections from Russia, after meeting behind closed doors to discuss the violence in east Ukraine. Council members yesterday "expressed grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population." They "condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements along the contact line in Donetsk region that lead to deaths and injuries, including among civilians." The Minsk agreements, backed by France and Germany, lay out a series of measures to end the conflict in east Ukraine, but its implementation has been faltering. The latest bout of fighting has focused on the town of Avdiivka, which is in government-controlled territory. About 20,000 residents have been left without electricity. "The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime," said the statement. Russia has in the past routinely blocked draft statements submitted by Ukraine, a non-permanent council member. Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko told journalists following the council meeting that the violence in east Ukraine could be considered war crimes. "We think that these actions by Russia and Russian proxies may qualify as a war crime, a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions," Yelchenko said. The Ukrainian ambassador met Monday with new US Ambassador Nikki Haley who reaffirmed "the United States' support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," the US mission said in a statement. There had been speculation that President Donald Trump's drive for friendlier ties with Russia would be at the expense of Ukraine, which accuses Moscow of backing separatist fighters in the east. The situation in east Ukraine will be discussed again tomorrow when the UN's top political affairs official Jeffrey Feltman and UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien report to the council on the latest developments. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people since 2014 -- more than half of them civilians. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States has given Honduras the first USD 125 million from a regional scheme aimed at curbing emigration from Central America to its borders, according to officials. The aid transfer was signed yesterday by the US ambassador, James Nealon, and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, with the latter saying: "Our goal is to attack the root of the problem of irregular migration" to the United States. The money comes from a USD 750 million Alliance for Prosperity Plan authorised by former US president Barack Obama. The money is meant to improve living conditions, economic prospects and security in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The three countries are together known as the Northern Triangle of Central America: an area wracked by gang violence and poverty, and which is the biggest source of illegal migrants to the US. Every year, between 80,000 and 100,000 Hondurans trek north in an attempt to get into the United States, according to estimates by humanitarian groups. About a million of their compatriots live in the US, most of them without legal residency papers. The new US president, Donald Trump, has promised to reduce the number of undocumented migrants in the United States and to deport many of them back to their home countries. He has also signed an order to start looking at construction of a 3,000 kilometer wall along the US border with Mexico to stop illegal border crossings. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Excited that his next release "Runningshaadi.Com" is finally coming out, actor Amit Sadh said the "waiting period" was frustrating. The film has been waiting for its release for two years and will now hit cinema houses on February 17. "I have done a PhD in waiting. To wait for anything is painful and frustrating. It was suppose to come out after 'Kai Po Che' but that did not happen, it was to release last year but then as it is a small film so to get a right release date is a challenge," Amit told PTI. "The good thing is the film is releasing now. The trailer is out and it's getting overwhelming response and the vibe of the film is also spreading," he said. Produced by Shoojit Sircar, "Runningshaadi.Com" was scheduled to release after his debut "Kai Po Che" while female lead Taapsee Pannu had filmed it before signing "Baby". Though the release date kept pushing, Amit was confident that the film will release someday. "Over a period of time director Amit Roy and I have become good friends. I told him I don't know if the film will be a hit or not but I am sure the film will release one day. I believe anything made with honesty, hard work and good intent can't go wrong," the 37-year-old actor said. "Runningshaadi.Com" is a youth romantic comedy centered around a website that helps people elope and get married. Amit says he was bowled over by the film's plot. "It was an instant yes to do the film. It has an interesting story with an immature love story. It has elements of comedy but it's not forced humour. It is a quirky film, it is a relevant film as marriages will continue to happen in India. It's not a typical rom-com," Amit said. According to the "Kai Po Che" actor, the plotline of "Runningshaadi.Com" is unique and will surely entertain the audience. "It's a unique concept of helping people run away with the love of their life to get married. The unlikely duo of a conscientious Bihari and a Sardarji geek stand up and create a platform to couples who want to spend their lives with their soul mates. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The stardom Salman Khan enjoys has the power to even overshadow Mila Jovovich, but the superstar had his own fan boy moment when Jackie Chan visited the country for promotion of his upcoming film "Kung Fu Yoga". Chan was in Mumbai last week and promoted the Indo-Chinese production along with co-actor Sonu Sood, and Salman, who was supposed to shoot for his upcoming film "Tubelight" till late in the night wrapped up the shoot to meet the action-star. "Salman always wanted to meet Chan. He was shooting for 'Tubelight' and he was supposed to pack up in the night but he asked people to pack up early as he wanted to meet Jackie Chan," Sonu told PTI. Salman, 51, who worked with Sonu in "Dabangg," has been great friends with the actor since then. The actor says Salman is as happy and excited for the film as he is. "He is very sweet. He gets very excited whenever something good happens in my life. I remember he was very happy when me, Jackie and he were sitting and chatting. He told Jackie that I'm his one of the most favourite people in the industry. and whenever something good happens in my life he feels as happy as I do. "Those words were very special and at the same time they motivate you in life to work harder," Sonu said. Salman had shared the first trailer of the Stanley Tong-directed movie on his Twitter handle and thanked Chan for giving opportunity to his 'Chedi Singh'. The superstar today shared a cute video on social media featuring him, Sonu and Chan. The three actors are seen saying "Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai" in the clip. Starring actresses Amyra Dastur, Disha Patani, "Kung Fu Yoga" is releasing this Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Winter chill returned to Bihar with a drop in mercury today ending yesterday's pleasant sunny day. While the minimum temperature was recorded at 11.5 degrees Celsius in Patna today, the maximum temperature was 20.4 degrees Celsius in the state capital, state Met office bulletin said. In temple town Gaya, the minimum temperature was 12.2 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 22.9 degrees Celcius. In Bhagalpur it was 12.2 and 22 degrees Celsius, respectively and in Purnea 11.5 and 21.1 degrees Celsius, respectively, the bulletin said. The state weather office has forecast fog/mist in the morning and partly cloudy sky later in the day tomorrow. It predicted that minimum temperature would be around 11 degrees Celsius tomorrow. Though the sun came out of from the dark clouds later in the day today, the winter chill made the day uncomfortable. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The World Bank has signed an agreement with the government to provide USD 201.50 million loan for quality engineering education across several states in India. The loan agreement is part of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP III), which is the third phase of a 15-20 year programme that started in 2002. TEQIP III has supported 250 engineering institutes, including NIT Surathkal, College of Engineering Pune, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad and BIT Mesra. "It has made a considerable impact on the quality of education by implementing institutional and policy reforms by focusing on institutional autonomy and accountability," World Bank said in a release. "The focus of the project is to strengthen engineering education in India's low-income, hill states and states of the North East." TEQIP III will support affiliating technical universities for the first time, multiplying benefits to all affiliated colleges and not just those being supported individually. The Washington-based funding agency has estimated that nearly 30 lakh under-graduates and post-graduates will benefit from it. Some 30 per cent of this will likely be females and 20 per cent from scheduled castes and tribes, the World Bank said. "It will also scale up post-graduate education, research, development and innovation at these institutions," it added. The agreement was inked between Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Finance Ministry, and Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank India. In the latest phase, TEQIP will impart skill training to labour market entrants more equitably across the country by focusing on states with under-performing engineering education set-up. "The focus on strengthening engineering education and research under TEQIP III will help prospective labour market entrants acquire the skills needed to produce a world-class technical workforce," said Ahmad. This project will help India meet its growing demand for highly qualified engineers, he said. Significant efforts will be devoted to monitoring and evaluation to ensure the investments result in better performance of the selected institutions, the World Bank said. The loan with 25 years of maturity with a 5-year grace period comes from World Bank concessionary arm International Development Association (IDA). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian factory activity returned to modest growth in January, bouncing from a contraction in December triggered by the government's scrapping of high value banknotes, a business survey showed on Wednesday. Compiled by IHS Markit, the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.4 in January from 49.6. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. In a sign factories have started the year on a better footing, a sub-index measuring new orders also nudged back above the breakeven mark, with domestic demand driving the pace as export orders remained in contraction. "January saw only modest increases in order books, production and buying levels, but the quick rebound will be welcome to policymakers," said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at IHS Markit. "Improving confidence among firms bodes well for the outlook, with the expansion in manufacturing output likely to pick up pace in coming months." Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation drive in November banned 500 and 1,000 rupee bills, removing 86 percent of cash in circulation, in a bid to fight corruption and tax evasion. The cash crunch is expected to hurt the economy in the October-December quarter of 2016, with economists predicting growth slowing to a near 3-year lows of 6.5 percent. In December, the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly left its key policy rate unchanged at 6.25 percent, opting to wait before judging the full effects of the currency ban. But India's central bank is expected to go through with a rate cut in its meeting next week, with 29 of 46 economists in a poll conducted over the last few days expecting a 25 basis points cut. India's government will unveil its budget on Wednesday and is expected to try and boost economic growth through reducing personal income and corporate tax as well as higher public investment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In 2015, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi criticised the Narendra Modi Government as a suit boot ki sarkar, or a government of and for the moneybags. It had hurt the Modi government grievously. After its electoral triumphs in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced embarrassing defeats in Delhi in February of 2015 and in Bihar in November of that year. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys penultimate Budget strived to neutralise the perception that it was a government friendly to the rich. He also reached out to the middle classes, the traders but also to the BJP's new found constituency of the poor. The general insurance industry today hailed the Union Budget and welcomed the government's decision to increase the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from 30 per cent to 40 per cent in 2017-18 and 50 per cent in 2018-19. The government has increased its spending on PMFBY to Rs 13,240 crore, which the industry believes will help bring more farmers under the insurance cover. "Indian farmers need risk mitigation mechanism in the form of insurance and PMFBY will compensate them whenever they suffer crop loss during natural disasters," New India Assurance CMD G Srinivasan said. New India has underwritten premium of Rs 1,100 crore under the scheme in the current fiscal so far and it plans to increase it to Rs 2,000 crore in the next financial year. "The increase in insurance cover under PMFBY will result in increase in premium by 15-20 per cent by the industry in the next fiscal," National Insurance chairman and managing director, Sanath Kumar said. ICICI Lombard MD & CEO, Bhargav Dasgupta said, "This government has done more to promote insurance as a risk mitigation tool and the decision to increase the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to cover 40 per cent of crop area is a continuation of that approach. "The budget aims at continuing with the government's agenda of pursuing an inclusive and long-term development of the economy by focusing on the core enablers, including infrastructure, digitisation, rural development, among others. New initiatives, such as a proposed model on contract farming are a welcome move," he said. "With a view to boost the agricultural sector, the government has increased the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from 30 per cent to 40 per cent in 2017-18 and 50 per cent in 2018-19 which will help farmers get insured," M Ravichandran, President - Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance said. Farmers will also benefit further with the government spending Rs 13,240 crore in fiscal 18 on crop insurance, he added. Swiss Re, which has recently opened its India branch, believes that it's a positive move to close the protection gap in agriculture "Increasing allocations for Fasal Bima Yojana and targeting greater insurance coverage is a positive move to close the protection gap in agriculture," Swiss Re India branch chief executive Kalpana Sampat said. "A robust crop insurance framework is an important stepping stone towards food security and financial stability for farmers," she added. Traders and investors were relieved that there were no negative surprises in the Budget. The Budget did not tinker with the holding period for availing long-term capital gain tax (LTCG) on sale of listed securities, and exempted Category-I and Category-II foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from paying tax for indirect transfers, which resulted in a smart rally on bourses. The benchmark indices recovered the lost ground as finance minister Arun Jaitley made no reference to long-term capital gains tax on equities, and also set a comfortable fiscal deficit target of 3.2% for the fiscal year 2017-18. A fog of uncertainty made its presence felt on the Union Budget for 2017-18 on Tuesday night, with the possibility of Member of Parliament E Ahameds death. Questions arose on whether the Budget should be postponed. After the first Union Budget where railway finances were merged with the main one for the government, Railways Minister SURESH PRABHU spoke to the media. Edited excerpts: The Union Budget has hinted at July 1, 2016, as the roll-out date for goods and services tax. In midst of state elections, the NDA government, however, did not go in for the much-expected increase in service tax rate. The Budget gave relief to on personal income tax front, mainly the salaried group in the middle class, by halving the tax to five per cent up to the income of Rs 5 lakh to ease the pains of demonetisation. However, those earning above Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs one crore will have to shell out additional 10 per cent surcharge. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the Union Budget will steer the nation in the right fiscal direction. In his reaction to the budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Naidu said growth-specific spending will boost infra and employment generation. Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA government at the centre, said that the budget had many proposals which will yield the results in long term. He thanked Jaitley for giving capital gain tax exemption to farmers, who have pooled their lands towards the construction of state capital Amaravati. The chief minister said the state was still waiting for statutory status to special package announced by the Centre last year. He reiterated the demand that Visakhapatnam should be made a railway zone. Naidu welcomed the sharp cut in an anonymous cash donation to political parties and remarked that some parties exist only for donations. The TDP chief backed the idea of simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and Assemblies mooted by President Pranab Mukherjee during his address to joint session of Parliament on Tuesday. Naidu said simultaneous polls should be held for all bodies from panchayat to Parliament. In a relief to the mutual fund investors when it comes to merger of schemes, the government has proposed in Union budget to take into consideration the holding period of the units held in the erstwhile schemes for taxation purposes. Further, the cost of acquisition of the units in the consolidated plan will be the cost of units in the merged plan. The amendments will come into effect from April 1, 2017 and will be applicable in the assessment year 2017-18. The government will create a mega oil company as part of its plan to consolidate public sector companies. The proposal of merging 13 government oil companies, which had stemmed out of the Cabinet Secretariat last year but did not find takers in the ministry of petroleum, is now back on the agenda. The Indian manufacturers lobby, the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), isn't quite happy with the finance minister's announcement during the Budget presentation to amend drugs and cosmetics rules to ensure affordable generics in the country. Preparing the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley faced three challenges. He needed to convey a message that the Narendra Modi government was no suit-boot ki sarkar, but a government for the poor. With an eye on the impending assembly polls, he needed to deliver gains to the middle classes and small entrepreneurs after the pain of demonetisation. The FM also needed to showcase the intent of the government, particularly post-note ban, that it is serious about bringing greater transparency in political funding. The finance minister tackled all three challenges head on. In his Budget speech, finance minister Arun Jaitley mentioned that the government would introduce a law that will make it possible to confiscate the assets of absconders who owe money to banks. The Budget documents did not provide any detail on this, as this was an intent and not related to the budget or policy issues. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today announced the Union Budget for the year 2017-2018, thereby marking another important day on India's calendar. In the Budget presentation, the FM announced welfare schemes for the public and also targetted political parties over funding. While many have termed this Budget an inclusive one, debate has also sparked on its aim at softening confused voters. Hence comes the debate on whether its Budget is a populist one or not. Was the railway board not taken into confidence by the finance ministry while announcing the divestment of railway public sector undertakings? The stock markets gave a thumbs-up to Union Budget 2017-18, posting their biggest single-day gain in two months. Investors cheered Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitleys decision to not impose a long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax or increase the securities transaction tax (STT). The Street also welcomed minister deciding not to overshoot the fiscal deficit beyond 3.2 per cent of the gross domestic product. What will be the one takeaway from the Union Budget for 2017-18? It was a bit of a mixed bag, so different groups will probably focus on different things. But for global investors, there will no doubt be a focus on the finance ministers decision to delay fiscal consolidation. The fiscal deficit for the coming year is pegged to be 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) instead of three per cent. It is important to realise why this matters: Global investors will look at that number first, and perhaps look only at that number. It will be interpreted as a sign that the main economic achievement of the Narendra Modi government so far, its restoration of macro-economic stability, is being sacrificed at the altar of expediency. That this did not happen at a time of drought but following a year dominated by self-inflicted damage will be noted. Lok Sabha MP from Malappuram, Kerala, E Ahamed died early on Wednesday, following a cardiac arrest in Parliament the previous day. He had collapsed during President Pranab Mukherjee's address to the joint session of Parliament on Tuesday. The 78-year-old leader died at 2:15 am at Delhi's RML hospital where he had been admitted on Tuesday and put on artificial life support. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday termed the Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as futuristic. He said the Budget aims at fulfilling the dreams of every section the poor, the farmers and the underprivileged. Modi said the Budget also focuses on job creation, transparency, urban rejuvenation, enterprise and rural development. From railway modernisation to economic reforms, from education to health, from entrepreneurship to industry, the aim at fulfilling the dreams of all is clearly visible in the Budget, he said. In an attempt to encourage multi-modal transportation Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the government was in a position to synergise investments in rail, road and port sectors and has earmarked an allocation of Rs 3,96,135 crore for the infrastructure sector. Ever since it came to power in May 2014, the Narendra Modi government has displayed a penchant for appropriating legacies of political leaders outside of the Sangh Parivar pantheon. These have included Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar and Jayaprakash Narayan. North Block mandarins would be busy fine-tuning the Union Budget 2017. The year 2016 was blemished with political tremors in the global and domestic environment. On the domestic front, government's impromptu economic reform,'demonetisation' of high value currency, caused a virtual loss of the Winter Session in Parliament coupled with uncertainty in the rollout of GST, besides holding back legislative business. The other key developments in 2016 include passage of Constitutional Amendment Bill for GST, dedicated action to deal with the menace of black money [Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 (IDS), amendment to Benami Property Transactions Act, etc.] and concentrated efforts to improve the tax administration. The impact of such tectonic changes would be underscored and largely determine the policy framework in Budget 2017. FULL COVERAGE: RAILWAY BUDGET 2017-18 Majority of the policy announcements are expected to focus around changes to the economic architecture to address the post demonetisation policy framework. This could mean reduction in tax rates for corporate as well as individual taxpayers, though the fiscal health will guide the extent to which the Finance Minister(FM) can bet. Most experts believe that the FM will avail another year to meet the overall fiscal deficit target of 3 per cent, on the back of healthy tax collections. In the 2015 Budget speech, the FM had proposed lowering of corporate tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent over a period of four years, coupled with simultaneous phasing out of tax incentives. While the 2016 budget laid down a roadmap for phasing out of tax incentives (and announced few new tax exemptions), reduction in corporate tax rate was not implemented, other than a concessional rate for new manufacturing companies and marginal rate cut for start-ups. Industry is expecting a realignment of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) rate, which was re-introduced in Finance Act, 2000 and was charged at 7.5 percent when the corporate tax rate hovered around 35 percent. Since then, while the corporate tax rate has declined to 30 percent, MAT rate has increased to 18.5 percent. Considering that the government has announced a roadmap for reduction in corporate tax rate, there is a case for the government to review the MAT rate given that it should bear semblance with the prevailing tax rates. The larger plan for tax rate realignment seems to be in line with the recommendations of expert groups, particularly Justice (Retd.) Easwer Committee and administrative reforms suggested by the Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC). On the global front, President-elect Donald Trump has proposed slashing of corporate tax rate in the US to 15 percent. This marks a tectonic policy shift in the Unites States, which has average income-tax rate of around 39 percent. Similarly, UK already having walked path of low corporate tax rate of 20 percent is now proposing to further reduce to 17 percent by 2020. India's corporate tax is much higher even as compared to Asia's average tax rate of 20.14 percent (weighted average rate of 26.20 percent).Thus, lowering of tax rates would be in line with global trends and reinforce India's claim as a competitive investment destination. Similarly, given the need to reverse the sombre mood due to artificially imposed cash-crunch, increase the disposable income of the households and revive the consumption story, the FM is expected to reduce tax rates for individual taxpayers and advance other tax sops, while refraining from populism. While doing so, it has to be borne in mind, as pointed out by Economic Survey, that India's tax-to-GDP is 5.4 percent, much below comparable markets, and just 15 percent of national income is reported to the tax authorities. Though hiking tax-exempt income or bringing back standard deduction, as recommended by the Justice Easwer Committee, appears to be the popular choice, this will obviate the need to file tax returns for around 15-20 lakh taxpayers. Hence, a more reasonable approach would be to keep the basic exemption limit intact and increase the 10 percent slab rate from the current ?5 lakh to say, ? 8 or 10 lakh. That said, under both the scenarios (whether basic exemption limit is enhanced or 10 percent slab rate is increased), the government could fall short of meeting its fiscal deficit target of 3 percent for financial year 2017/18 as the tax revenues could possibly be impacted in the short term. This would need to be compensated by steadily increasing the taxpayer base. According to the government, IDS and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)are likely to contribute to this objective. As per a recent press release of January 9, 2017, this has seemingly manifested in 12 percent increase in direct tax collections up to December, 2016 vis--vis corresponding period last year. However, increase in taxpayer base because of such schemes may not be sufficient to make up for tax revenues foregone due to rate cuts or extending tax sops, and would require other measures. The government should focus in simplifying the tax regime and bring in new taxpayers into the tax net through effective enforcement. Recommendations made by the TARC, like increasing the scope of presumptive taxation, use of technology, providing incentives for people who disclose information about large non-compliance, re-introduction of Fringe Benefits Tax and Banking Cash Transaction Tax etc, need to be considered and implemented. A corollary to India's problem of low taxpayer base is the composition of tax revenue, which is skewed in favor of the indirect taxes. The composition of India's tax revenue as compared to other economies / regions reflect certain trends - (a) the proportion of indirect tax in the total tax collections is very high; and (b) income-tax collections from individual taxpayers is low. How developers gain? In a move to provide required boost to the affordable housing segment, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech granted infrastructure status to the affordable housing schemes in the country. This will allow the developers to enjoy the associated benefits. "Giving the Affordable Housing Sector Infrastructure status, will propel growth in the segment and lead to higher consumption. This will also lead to growth in the affordable home loans business, where a lot of players have taken positions and new lenders have emerged. Exciting times ahead for affordable housing and affordable home loans players," says Parth Pande, co-founder & CEO of Finance Buddha. Kishore Pate, CMD- Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd says, "Affordable housing been given infrastructure status will mean cheaper loans for developers of budget housing and significantly boost the Government's target of Housing for All by 2022." The total allocation for infrastructure is a whopping Rs 3,96,135 crores in 2017-18. "This is very good news for the real estate sector, as the correlation of infrastructure with real estate growth is a well-established fact", says Pate of Amit Enterprises. Under the budgetary provisions, developers will get one year's time to pay tax on notional rental income on completed unsold residential inventory. Also, the time limit for capital gains to be considered as a long term gain has been reduced to 2 years from the earlier 3 years. This will drive activity in the sector. "More supply will enter the housing market now", says Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLL India. Promoters of affordable housing will now have more time of up to 5 years as against 3 years to complete their project. ALSO READ: Affordable housing gets infrastructure status in Budget How buyers gain? Finance Minister, in his speech announced change in size requirements of affordable house from built-up area to carpet area of 30 sqm and 60 sqm was a welcome measure. The 30 sqm limit will apply in case of municipal limits of 4 metropolitan cities and for rest of the country, limit of 60 sqm will apply. This move will make houses more spacious. The budget also proposes to complete 1 crore houses by 2019 for the houseless and those living in kutcha houses. Allocation to Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin was also raised from Rs 15,000 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs 23,000 crores in 2017-18. "The Budget however, missed out on providing any additional income tax incentives to first-time home buyers or providing higher tax savings on housing loans and house insurance premiums. Nor did it raise house rent deduction limits", points out Puri of JLL India Modi government had earlier announced interest subvention scheme for housing loans. Combined impact of Modi led government's earlier initiatives and budget reliefs will provide much awaited boost to the real estate sector. Demonetization had created surplus liquidity in banks allowing them to reduce their lending rates on home loans. As per data from PaisaBazaar.com, State Bank of India and Axis bank have reduced rates by 50 bps followed by ICICI bank which has lowered the rates by 45 bps. 1 BPS is equal to 0.01%. Further in Budget 2017-18 it was announced that the National Housing Bank (NHB) will refinance individual housing loans of about Rs. 20,000 crore in 2017-18. A reduction in home loan rates brings down the cost of purchasing house, making it more affordable. "A 50 basis points reduction in a home loan over 20 year tenure on 80 per cent of Rs 1 crore apartment of the purchase price will bring down the effective price by 4.11 per cent", says Amit Oberoi, National Director, Knowledge Systems at Colliers International India. If developers receive benefit, they will be able to pass on the same to the buyers in form of lower prices. Simultaneously, if buyers get funds at cheaper rates, they will create more demand in the sector. We may soon expect to see some growth in the sector. After the hardship demonetisation brought to people a few months ago, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made announcements in the union budget that will offer some relief to the common man. Jaitley announced alterations in the tax slabs that will help save people with the income between Rs 2.5 lakhs and Rs 3 lakhs about Rs 12,500 annually after he reduced the tax rate to 5 % from the existing 10 per cent. ALSO READ: Moody's analyst says budget 'fiscally prudent', reforms key Jaitley also proposed a new surcharge of 10 per cent on incomes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore and raised duties on cigarettes and pan masala while stepping up allocations for infrastructure, rural, agriculture and social sectors. Breaking from the past, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented a historic Budget in which the railway budget has been merged and the date advanced by a month, retaining the 15 per cent surcharge on taxable income above Rs 1 crore. While the surcharge alone would net Rs 2,700 crore a year, his give away on direct tax proposals will result in a loss of Rs 15,500 crore. The change in the personal income tax rate for individual assessees between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh income would reduce the tax liability of all persons below Rs 5 lakh to either to zero (with rebate) or 50 per cent of their existing liability. In order to have duplication of benefit, the existing benefit of rebate available to them is being reduced to Rs 2,500 available only to assessees upto income of Rs 3.5 lakh. ALSO READ: Budget 2017: 5 key tax announcements Arun Jaitley made in budget speech While the taxation liability of people with income upto Rs 5 lakh is being reduced to half, all other categories of tax payers in the subsequent slabs will also get a uniform benefit of Rs 12,500 per person. In the case of senior citizens above 60 years, there will be no tax upto Rs 3 lakh, while the exemption will be upto Rs 5 lakh in case of citizens above 80 years. Both the categories will attract income tax of 20 per cent on income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh and 30 per cent for income above Rs 10 lakh. Against the backdrop of demonetisation intended to eliminate blackmoney and introduce clean transactions, the Budget barred any transaction in cash above Rs 3 lakh. As a measure of transparency in political funding, he lowered to one-tenth the donation that political parties can accept in cash to Rs 2000 per donor. The Finance Minister expressed confidence that the pace of remonetisation has picked up and would soon reach comfortable levels with effects not expected to spillover into the next fiscal. (With inputs from PTI) One could argue there is very little for 'Make In India' in the budget - except for an increase in the allocation for incentive schemes such as M-SIPS and EDF and a potential boost to the local manufacturing of POS card readers, finger print readers, scanners and iris scanners because of certain exemptions on such devices. Nevertheless, a paragraph under 'The Poor And The Underprivileged' in the budget document holds immense importance for the future of manufacturing in the country. The Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, said that the government is keen on fostering "a conducive labour environment wherein labour rights are protected and harmonious labour relations lead to higher productivity". He went on to add that legislative reforms will be undertaken to simplify, rationalise and amalgamate the existing labour laws into four codes on (i) wages; (ii) industrial relations; (iii) social security and welfare; and (iv) safety and working conditions. While it sounded a very pro-labour statement, there's a lot in it for employers as well. As far back as April 2016, the Second National Commission on Labour recommended that the existing Labour Laws, which totals more than 100 at present, be broadly grouped into four 'Labour Codes' on functional basis. Two of these codes - the ones of industrial relations and wages - had already been discussed and debated at length in meetings between tripartite partners which consisted trade unions, employers and the government a year before. They were probably ready to be tabled in the form of a bill but none from the industry heard anything about it since, a source who participated in these meetings said. The Finance Minister may have just revived the reforms process here. It is critical for the industry from the ease of doing business perspective. Manufacturers have been clamouring for changes in ancient acts such as The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The act mandates companies employing 100 or more workers to seek prior permission of the government for firing workers. Chapter V B of the Act bars companies from exiting or downsizing quickly - a company needs to seek permission from the government three months in advance. This locks up capital in unproductive assets. In the new recommendations, that limit has been extended to 300 employees. While some expect the government to take the codes up post the state elections, patience is the key word when it comes to touchy subjects such as labour. Highlight107:Defence was a big sector where spending was increased: Arun Jaitley# Highlight106:Many steps in the budget are towards boosting employment: FM# Highlight105:PM: We have taken strict actions against black money hoarders: FM# Highlight104:The commitment to eliminate corruption and black money is reflected in the Budget: PM Modi# Highlight103:This Budget will help small businesses to become competitive in the global market: PM Modi# Highlight102:Merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget will give an impetus to the transport sector's growth: PM# Highlight101:Govt aims to double farmers' income by 2022: PM Modi# Highlight100:Budget has taken steps for the interst of all sectors: PM Modi# Highlight99:This is a disappointing Budget. This government will not complete its term, says Lalu Prasad# Highlight98:Budget had nothing substantive for farmers. We were expecting some fireworks, it was a damb squib, says Rahul Gandhi# Highlight97:Sensex up 130 points amid Budget announcements# Highlight96:Finance Minister Arun Jaitley concludes his Budget speech# Highlight95:Surcharge of 15% for those whose annual income is above Rs 1 crore# Highlight94:A single one-page form for filing IT returns for taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh# Highlight93:Surcharge on 10% on people whose income between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore# Highlight92:Propose to reduce existing rate of taxation of those with income between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh from 10% to 5%: Arun Jaitley# Highlight91:Political parties will be entitled to receive donation by cheque or digital mode by donors# Highlight90:Electoral Bonds to be introduced for donors# Highlight89:Maximum donation any party can receive from one source is Rs 2000# Highlight88:Effort required to cleanse the political funding system in India: Arun Jaitley# Highlight87:5% reduction in Income Tax for companies with annual turnover of less than Rs 50 crore# Highlight86:The net tax revenue grew by 17% in 2015-16: Jaitley# Highlight85:Capital Gains Tax holding period reduced from 3 years to 2 years for real estate# Highlight84:We are committed to make taxation rates reasonable and expand tax base of the country: Arun Jaitley# Highlight83:3.7cr individuals who file tax returns, 99 lakh showed income below Rs 2.5 lakh# Highlight82:We are largely a tax non-compliance society: Arun Jaitley# Highlight81:Direct tax collection very low in India# Highlight80:Arun Jaitley announcing tax proposals for 2017-18# Highlight79:Fiscal deficit pegged at 3.2 % of the GDP# Highlight78:Defence expenditure, excluding pension, Rs 2 lakh 74 thousand crore# Highlight77:Total Budget expenditure - Rs 21 lakh 47 thousand crore# Highlight76:New law soon to confiscate assets of economic offenders who have fled the country# Highlight75:Proposal to rationalise number of tribunals wherever appropriate# Highlight74:Head post offices to be used as head office for passport procurement in far flunged areas# Highlight73:Two new schemes to be launched soon to promote BHIM app# Highlight72:1.25 lakh people have adopted BHIM app# Highlight71:Promotion of digital economy integral part of government's plans# Highlight71:FIPB to be abolished in 2017. Roadmap to be announced soon# Highlight70:Govt will continue with its reform agenda, says Arun Jaitley# Highlight69:Highway allocation raised to Rs 68,000 crore# Highlight68:Proposal for an integrated public sector oil major# Highlight67:Airport assets to be monetised# Highlight66:High speed broadband connectivity for more than 1 lakh gram panchayats# Highlight65:Rs 10,000 crore for BHARATNET project in 2017-18# Highlight64:Selected airports in tier-2 cities to be operated under PPP model# Highlight63:2,000km coastal roads have identified for construction# Highlight62:New Metro Rail policy to be announced# Highlight61:Service Tax for E-tickets booked through IRCTC to be scrapped# Highlight60: Railway to offer end-to-end transportation services# Highlight59:Special corpus fund of Rs 1 lakh crore for Railway Safety Fund# Highlight58:Rs 1.31 lakh crore including Rs 55,000 crore provided for Railways. Railway line of 3,500 km will be commissioned in 2017-18# Highlight57:Unmanned level crossing to eliminated by 2020# Highlight56:Railways to focus on passenger safety, cleanliness and accounting and financing# Highlights55:Jharkhand, Gujarat to get two new AIIMS# Highlights54:Proposal to create 1 crore houses for the houseless by 2019# Highlights53:Five special tourism zones will be set up# Highlight52:Mahila Shakti Kendra given Rs500cr to provide one stop convergance system to empower rural women# Highlight51:SANKALP programme for skill development for training of 1 crore youth# Highlight50:Outcome based ranking system for higher education institutions# Highlight49:Reforms in UGC for higher education# Highlight48:Innovation Fund for secondary education# Highlight47:Sanitation coverage in rural areas increased from 49 to 67 % under Swachh Bharat Mission# Highlight46:100% rural electrification by 2018: Jaitley# Highlight45:We propose to complete 1 crore houses by 2019: Arun Jaitley# Highlight44:Government has taken conscious effort to reinvent MNREGA, Rs 48,000cr earmarked for it: Arun Jaitley# Highlight43:Fasal Bima Yojana - coverage to be raised from 30% in FY17 to 40% in FY18 and 50% in FY19: Arun Jaitley# Highlight42:With better monsoon, agriculture is expected to grow at 4.1 per cent in current year: Arun Jaitley# Highlight41:We are committed to double farmers' income in the next five years: Arun Jaitley# Highlight40:We are aware we need to do more for our people. Our prime agendas are transform, energise and clean India: Jaitley# Highlight39:Merger of Railway Budget with General Budget is a historic step. However, functional autonomy of the railways to continue: Jaitley# Highlight38:Budget 2017-18 contains three major reforms, says Arun Jaitley# Highlight37:We are moving from informal to formal economy: Jaitley# Highlight36:The pace of remonetisation has picked up and soon will reach comfortable levels: Arun Jaitley# Highlight35:A right cause never fails, Jaitley evokes Mahatma Gandhi# Highlight34:Like all reforms, demonetisation is also seen to be destructive, says Arun Jaitley# Highlight33:International Monetary Fund estimates that the world GDP will grow by 3.1% in 2016 and 3.4% in 2017: Jaitley# Highlight32:India has become sixth largest manufacturing country: Arun Jaitley# Highlight31:FDI increased by 36 per cent, account deficit came down to 0.3 per cent: Arun Jaitley# Highlight30:Foreign Exchange Reserve has reached 360 billion dollar: Jaitley# Highlight29:Presenting this Budget in view of economic uncertainity worldwide: Jaitley# Highlight28:Massive war against black money has been launched: Jaitley# Highlight27:We have moved from favouratism to transparency in decision making: Arun Jaitley# Highlight26:Our govt was elected amid huge expectation: Arun Jaitley# Highlight25:Finance Minister Arun Jaitley begins his Budget speech# Highlight24:Cabinet approves Budget# Highlight23:Budget has a sanctity. There should be no controversy over it. It is a Constitutional liability: Venkaiah Naidu# Highlight22:Budget a Constitutional obligation, will go ahead as planned: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan# Highlight21:Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says he will be presenting Budget at 11am# Highlight20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at E Ahamed's house# Highlight19:President Pranab Mukherjee gives his assent allowing Arun Jaitley to present Union Budget 2017# Highlight18:All opposition parties are of the opinion that Budget be postponed by a day: Mallikarjun Kharge# Highlight17:Congress calls for postponing Union Budget# Highlight16:Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reaches Parliament# Highlight15: Jaitley may surprise the common man by lowering excise tax on petroleum products# Highlight14: The expectation is that the basic exempted income limit for an individual below 60 years will go up to Rs 3 lakh# Highlight14:It is widely anticipated that the government will increase the tax slab# Highlight13:Experts believe there are likely to be more of good surprises in this year's Budget due to the upcoming elections# Highlight12:Rupee extends gains, up 24 paise against dollar# Highlight11: Budget will be presented and Kerala MP E Ahamed's obituary may happen before or after it: Govt sources# Highlight10:Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is meeting President Pranab Mukherjee# Highlight9:Budget copies reach Parliament# Highlight8:Market has opened on a positive note. Sensex 15 points up, Nifty 11 points up# Highlight7:Note ban a risk to growth target for financial year 2017-18: Economic Survey# Highlight6:Economic Survey hints at growth slowdown in the next fiscal# Highlight5:It will be a challenging task for Arun Jaitley as he will be presenting the Budget less three months after PM Modi's demonetisation move# Highlight4:Allocation of Rs 20,000cr for safety upgrade and customised trains for agri products are likely to be in focus of Jaitley's first Rail Budget# Highlight3:For the first time in history, Rail Budget has been merged with Union Budget. # Highlight2:Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be presenting his fourth budget# Highlight1: Hello and welcome to LIVE coverage of Budget 2017# After the immense confusion over the delay of the Union Budget on Wednesdsay, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget as scheduled. In a big relief to the middle class, Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech reduced the Income Tax rate for people coming under the bracket of annual income of Rs 2.5-5 lakh. Jaitley said the demonetisation move will not impact the Indian economy. He also increased the allocation for welfare of women and children under various to Rs 1,84,632 crore. This was for the first time that the Railway Budget was merged with the General Budget. In his fourth Budget Speech, Arun Jaitly announced that the focus of the Railways will be on passenger safety, capital works and cleanliness. Here are live updates on the Union Budget 2017 The TMC, in a statement, said that it would remain absent on the first two days of the Budget Session in protest against demonetisation, which was implemented without taking Parliament into confidence, and restrictions on withdrawal limits from bank accounts which are still in force. Previously, TMC cited Saraswati Puja as a reason for not attending the Parliament on the Budget day. "Trinamool will not attend Parliament on February 1 because of Saraswati Puja which is a big day in Bengal," party leader and MP Derek O'Brien said. He said that on Saraswati Puja, there is a custom of keeping away from work and not even touching the tools. "Saraswati Puja is beyond a religious festival. It is a socio-cultural festival of Bengal," he added. Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday. TMC also skipped an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ahead of the Budget session of Parliament. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has been vocal against demonetisation, on Monday decided not to attend the pre-budget all-party meet called by the Centre as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has directed all party MPs to attend a meeting at her Kalighat residence in Kolkata. Mamata had earlier questioned the February 1 date for the Union Budget. When asked if his party was "boycotting" these proceedings or just skipping, he replied, "It is open for your interpretation". Trinamool Congress has been angry over the arrest of its two MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal by CBI in connection with the Rose Valley Group chit fund scam. Dubbing the government's demonetisation drive as 'calamity' for the Indian economy, the Congress on Tuesday backed the decision of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to boycott the first two days of the Budget Session of Parliament and said that such protests would continue until the BJP-led Centre comes up with a proper clarification on the decision to demonetise high-denomination currency notes. Expect no sops or freebies by the railway ministry in the upcoming General Budget, the first year after the rail budget was merged with the union budget. Burdened with an operational loss of Rs 33,000 crore, Railways has decided against announcing new trains and rail lines. Doling out sops in the rail budget has been a major tool to gain political gains particularly in pollbound states. The railway ministry, instead, will focus on reducing the operational cost to overcome losses. Sources said that this year, instead of sops, there may in fact be a hike in rail fares, which have all ready gone up by up to 50 per cent in premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto express. ALSO READ: From demonetisation to GST: 10 major events in the Indian economy in 2016 Cutting down fare concessions is another option being explored by the railways. "This is going to the end of populism in rail budget. Any new announcement regarding new trains or rail projects will be need-based. Our aim is de-politicization of budget," said railway minister Suresh Prabhu. This is in stark contrast to the decades old tradition where railway ministers diverted a major chunk of rail budget on various projects in their constituencies. Former railway minister Mamata Banerjee and Lalu Prasad Yadav had announced 80 per cent of rail budget in their states of West Bengal and Bihar respectively. The development comes after the finance ministry refused the railway's proposal to bear its operational losses especially after implementation of the 7th pay commission. At present railways spends nearly Rs 77,000 crore on passenger operations while it receives only Rs 44,000 crore from passenger fares. Thus it incurs a loss of Rs 33,000 crore annually. However, the finance ministry is not keen on providing any financial assistance and instead wants the railways to bridge the gap through internal resources. A senior Indian Railway official said the Budget would show restraint on introduction of new trains and instead stress on foreign investment, monetization of assets and cutting down of expenses. While the railways plan to cut down the fuel expenses by tapping alternate fuels like bio-diesel and CNG that are cheaper than diesel, it aims to fund its projects through foreign investment. A railway board official said the ministry was also considering generating money through commercial exploitation of its vacant land and station buildings but that would require huge investment. Officials said multiple activities of Indian Railways have been opened for foreign investment. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today criticised the Union Budget as "clueless and missionless" and said it had no roadmap for the country or the future, from a government "that has lost all the credibility". The TMC supremo, who was at loggerheads with the Modi government over demonetisation, wanted to know the figures due to the move, saying taxpayers were still saddled with restrictions on withdrawals. "A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility," she wrote on Twitter. "Tax payers still have restrictions on withdrawals. Remove all restrictions immediately. And where are the figures for #DeMonetisation? Misleading. Full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words which mean nothing," she said in a series of tweets. Earlier in the day, Banerjee indirectly criticised the Narendra Modi-led Central government for presenting the budget even after the death of former Union minister and MP E Ahmed. "Controversial budget became even more controversial," she wrote on the microblogging website. "Very sad to see the way E Ahamed Ji and family were handled. Condolences to the family of E Ahamed ji. He was first elected as an MLA 50 years ago and served the nation and the people of Kerala #RIP," she added. Keeping up with its protest against demonetisation, the Trinamool Congress on Monday had decided not to attend Parliament for the first two days of the Budget Session which began yesterday. It was announced today that Dawn Farms has signed a new agreement with an export value of up to 850m to supply cooked sandwich meats to more than 4000 SUBWAY restaurants across Europe, including the UK. The contract will run for seven years until 2024 and continues a long relationship between the SUBWAY organisation and Dawn Farms. Headquartered in Naas Co. Kildare and with manufacturing operations in Ireland and the UK, Dawn Farms supplies cooked and fermented meat for pizza, sandwich, ready meals & snacks to international foodservice chains and food manufacturers. The company was a founding member of Bord Bias Origin Green sustainability programme and is the current Irish Exporters Association Food and Drink Exporter of the Year. SUBWAY is one of the largest food chains in the World with more than 44,000 restaurants worldwide. Commenting on the deal, CEO of Dawn Farms, Larry Murrin said, "The SUBWAY organisation has ambitious growth plans for new restaurant openings in Ireland, the UK, and across Europe and with this strategic supply agreement these can translate into significant additional export sales for Ireland." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Most Irish SMEs rely on traditional forms of finance to grow their business despite a large increase in the availability of alternative sources of capital for SMEs at all stages of their development This is according to a new research report, Equity Finance The Irish Equity Challenge published today. The research, carried out by Ipsos MRBI for AIB, finds that 71% of those surveyed said they were partly financed by the reinvestment of profits from the business, while 56% also relied on traditional bank debt in the form of a business loan or overdraft. The majority of SMEs surveyed are forecasting growth, however, 20% reported that future access to finance was a factor in limiting the potential of their growth, while 24% of respondents cited economic factors as a potentially limiting factor. Just 1% of the SMEs surveyed secured investment from either a venture capital firm or an equity firm to help them grow and expand. Of the 70% of companies that had no wish to use equity finance, 77% cited the possible loss of control of their business as a deterrent, while 69% said that they preferred debt finance. Furthermore, six out of ten (61%) believed they would have to sell some or all of the business in order to pay back the equity investor while 60% believed that maintaining ownership was more important than achieving growth. Speaking ahead of the launch of the report, AIBs Head of Business Banking, Catherine Moroney said, "AIB wants to raise awareness among business owners about the supply of finance for growth - whether equity, mezzanine finance or senior debt - not just from AIB but also the Government supply of funding for example through SBCI, Microfinance Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. Making that ecosystem accessible and easy to understand is vital." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us The Irish Independent has today reported that EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said the majority of the 13bn that the European Commission says Apple must pay in back-taxes will remain with Ireland. This comes despite her own invitation to other EU member states to explore whether the money should be paid to them. Her offer to other states to seek a share of the funds has been controversial, raising the question of how Ireland could be owed tax also owned elsewhere. An initial deadline to collect the tax bill plus interest from Apple had passed, the commissioner said, but she was not concerned. Apple has said it will make the payment. The delay in collecting the tax reflected the complexity of locking away such a large sum for an extended period, Ms Vestager said. However, according to the report, other sources close to the situation have said the delay is down to the complexity of working out how much Apple must pay precisely, using the commission's formula. That work is being done by tax authorities in Ireland. "My guess is the large, large majority of the unpaid taxes would be due in Ireland," the commissioner told TDs and Senators at the Oireachtas Finance Committee yesterday. Source: www.businessworld.ie About us New research from Bord Bia has found that European and International customers drove demand for Irish chocolate and bakery products last year recording growth of 3% and 4% respectively, offsetting the reduction in chocolate sales to the UK. In addition, the development of new customers particularly in Continental European markets provides a foundation for further growth opportunities, notably for bakery products. Overall chocolate confectionery exports reached 255 million with exports of sugar based products boosted by a recovery in consumer spending across key markets. Lower sales to the UK were eased by increased exports to Continental European markets including Germany, France and Belgium. Outside Europe the main growth market was the United States. Bakery products including breads, cakes and snacks showed further growth in 2016 rising to around 270 million. Despite the challenging currency environment higher sales were reported to the UK on the back of new healthier products and a rise in demand for gluten free products. Other growth markets included the Nordics and North America. Bord Bia and confectionery exporters are aiming to increase demand for Irish confectionery at this week`s International Sweets and Biscuits Fair (ISM) in Cologne, Germany, the worlds largest trade fair for the confectionery and snacks industry. This is the 47th year of ISM with over 1,600 companies participating attracting around 38,500 visitors from 130 countries. Bord Bia is coordinating the presence of six companies on two Ireland stands under the umbrella of Origin Green, the sustainability programme for the Irish food and drink industry. The companies participating include: Butlers Chocolates (Broderick's) Ina Handmade Desserts Keoghs Crisps Lir Chocolates Pandora Bell East Coast Bakehouse Speaking at ISM, Bord Bia Sector Manager, Miriam Tuomey said, "The market environment for confectionery remained mixed in 2016 as competitive pressures persisted, particularly in the second half of the year. Export drivers for the year ahead include currency uncertainty, new product design; focus on innovative product solutions and high customer service levels, as well as growth in premium gourmet style products." She added, "Indications in the UK suggest that overall market demand will remain positive; however competitiveness issues driven by exchange rate movements will remain the key challenge. Growth prospects for chocolate based confectionery will be dependent on brand awareness and the ability of the sector to diversify further." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A Utah lawmaker has introduced a bill that would create a felony child abuse registry in addition to the existing sex offender registry. The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/2jv7sBb ) that the measure known as Mileys Bill would require government websites to include a link to a list of felony child abusers. Rep. Derrin Owens, a Fountain Green Republican, says hes surprised the sex offender registry was started without including child abusers as well. The bill is named after a girl who suffered from shaken-baby syndrome in 2013 at the hands of her biological father. Mileys grandmother, JoAnn Otten, voiced her support for the measure. Otten says Miley recovered but has a severely decreased standard of life. The measure received strong support from the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee. LOGAN Jason Relopez appeared again in 1st District Court Tuesday, seven months into his one-year jail sentence for raping two women. The 28-year-old former Sigma Chi fraternity member was ordered in May of last year to also undergo sex offender treatment therapy. The jail sentence and treatment was part of a plea agreement the defendant accepted in February of last year, when he pleaded guilty to attempted rape, a first-degree felony and attempted forcible sexual abuse, a third-degree felony. Under conditions of the agreement, Judge Brian Cannell sentenced Relopez to retake a PPG test that determines the likelihood of reoffending. If the results show he is low risk he could receive early release. However, if the results showed moderate or high risk, he would be sent to prison. Previous test results had been invalid. Relopez was ordered to appear in court because prosecutors alleged that he hadnt retaken the test. Defense attorney Shannon Demler said his client had opted to just serve the one year in jail. He said Relopez would take the test again around the first of May, for treatment purposes before he is sent to the Northern Utah Community Correctional Center (NUCC). Judge Cannell reminded Relopez that he must successfully complete the NUCC program before he can be released. He also ordered him to be held in jail until space is available at the center. Relopez was arrested July 21, 2015, after a woman claimed he raped her multiple times while she was attending a party at the Sigma Chi fraternity house, near Utah State University. A second victim later reported also being sexually assaulted by him October 13, 2014, while the two were doing homework in her residence.

will@cvradio.com In this Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 photo, Dole Anderson, left, smiles as he scratches the neck of therapy dog Charlie Sparkle at Sunshine Foundation's Terrace Grove Assisted Living facility in Logan, Utah. Maren Scott, right, is the owner of the 3-year-old English bulldog. Charlie Sparkle was born without the use of his back legs. (Sarah Welliver /Standard-Examiner via AP) LOGAN, Utah (AP) Theres something about Charlie Sparkle that makes people smile. The 3-year-old English Bulldog was born with spina bifida, leaving his two back legs useless. To get around, Charlie hops around in a pair of size 6 diapers and childrens shorts from the thrift store, using his two front legs to propel himself forward, reported the Standard-Examiner (http://bit.ly/2jOc0q4). His name is Sparkle because you shouldnt let anybody or anything take your sparkle, owner Maren Scott of North Logan said. Hes exuberant and happy and full of joy despite the fact that hes completely messed up. I mean, his eye wanders, his pipshoot is in the wrong place, his legs dont work, his wee falls out, hes messed up. And hes the embodiment of joy. Hes Charlie Sparkle. Charlie took a lap around Sunshine Foundations Terrace Grove Assisted Living facility. The residents and employees there couldnt help but laugh as Charlie scooted down the hallway in his pants, and many who were bedridden lit up as Scott lifted up the dog and told his story. Scott got Charlie as a puppy from a breeder. He had been chewing on his back legs like toys because there wasnt any feeling in them. Charlie now lives at home with eight cats and another family dog named Tigger. He even has his own special stroller to make it easier to get around, paired with his favorite toy, a stuffed Big Bird. Scott has considered having Charlies back legs removed but decided not to because he uses them for balance, and they make it easier to wear a wheeled harness. Hes so messed up already, why mess him up more? Scott said. He is what he is. Terrace Grove resident Bud Covert said Charlie reminded him of the many dogs he had owned throughout his 85 years of life, especially a bulldog named Sarge. He used to go with me to the bakery for a couple of trays of rolls and the rowdies in town learned pretty quick, You dont mess with Covert, hes got a bulldog,' he said. But ol Sarge was about the kindest old mutt that ever was. Charlie isnt the only furry friend at Terrace Grove. The residents also care for a large, brown rabbit whose name was changed from Thumper to Thumpalina when the bunnys gender was discovered. Jennifer Heninger, a recreational therapy intern, said she wants to train therapy dogs for a career and will be introducing them at the center more consistently. Animals help release endorphins, happy hormones, when you pet them and when youre around them, she said. Some people just arent animal people, and if thats the case, thats OK, but having a dog around, their lives are just so simple and happy and that can really be good for someone to have around. Research is ongoing regarding animal-assisted therapy. One study in Italy showed animal therapy improved depressive symptoms and lowered blood pressure in elderly patients. Another study in Mississippi showed pet therapy reduced loneliness in long-term care facilities. Sheila Field, a 75-year-old resident who has come to enjoy taking care of Thumpalina, stopped to say hello to Charlie. Field said having animals around is beneficial for her and her friends at the center. We love having Charlie come in, hes so much fun, she said. Cherie Woods was visiting the facility because she had just lost her mother, a resident there. Even she stopped to say hello to Charlie as he hopped around on the floor at the feet of his owner. My goodness, look at that tongue! Woods said, smiling as she bent down to give Charlie a head rub. Charlie was excited and anxious upon arriving at the center, so he simply clung to Scotts leg with his two functional legs, giving an occasional snarly bark and using the cuff of her jean as a chew toy. Its not what it looks like, Scott said, laughing as she walked, dragging Charlie with her. Susan Gibson, who works with the Cache Valley chapter of Love on a Leash, said training Charlie and certifying him as a therapy dog was easy. She said his tendency to use Scotts leg as a home base is acceptable because its just one of the several ways he finds his balance. I think the name Charlie Sparkle says it, Gibson said. Hes a happy, happy boy. Gibson said Charlie passed the American Kennel Clubs Canine Good Citizen program, which requires that dogs complete 10 tasks, including accepting a friendly stranger, walking through a crowd, coming when called and responding to distractions appropriately. Gibson said she also accompanied Charlie for 10 hours of service work prior to certifying him. You can bring in somebody like Charlie and they really perk up, they respond, Gibson said. When they dont respond to people, they will respond to an animal, which is really cool to see. Economist Tom Lawler sent me the table below of short sales, foreclosures and all cash sales for selected cities in December. On distressed: The total "distressed" share is down year-over-year in all of these markets. Short sales and foreclosures are mostly down in these areas. The All Cash Share (last two columns) is mostly declining year-over-year. As investors continue to pull back, the share of all cash buyers continues to decline. Short Sales Share Foreclosure Sales Share Total "Distressed" Share All Cash Share Dec- 2016 Dec- 2015 Dec- 2016 Dec- 2015 Dec- 2016 Dec- 2015 Dec- 2016 Dec- 2015 Las Vegas 4.8% 6.8% 6.2% 5.9% 11.0% 12.7% 28.7% 28.4% Reno** 1.0% 4.0% 3.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% Phoenix 1.7% 3.7% 2.1% 2.9% 3.8% 6.6% 23.1% 23.9% Sacramento 2.3% 4.0% 2.6% 4.0% 4.9% 8.0% 15.3% 16.2% Minneapolis 1.6% 2.6% 5.5% 9.0% 7.1% 11.6% 12.8% 13.3% Mid-Atlantic 3.4% 4.2% 9.3% 12.5% 12.7% 16.7% 16.5% 18.7% So. California* 4.8% 7.0% 21.1% 21.0% Florida SF 2.0% 3.3% 7.4% 14.4% 9.3% 17.7% 28.3% 33.7% Florida C/TH 1.2% 2.1% 5.7% 12.1% 6.9% 14.1% 55.8% 60.5% Miami-Dade Co SF 3.7% 6.7% 11.2% 28.7% 14.9% 35.3% 27.1% 34.5% Miami-Dade Co CTH 2.3% 2.9% 10.8% 17.0% 13.1% 19.9% 57.6% 64.5% Northeast Florida 13.1% 24.0% Chicago (city) 14.6% 17.9% Spokane 8.4% 14.4% Chicago (city) 14.6% 17.9% Rhode Island 9.5% 11.0% Toledo 25.6% 33.4% Tucson 23.7% 28.0% Knoxville 21.6% 25.4% Peoria 28.3% 24.0% Georgia*** 20.7% 22.7% Omaha 15.7% 19.0% Richmond VA 8.5% 11.4% 15.4% 19.8% Memphis 10.3% 15.6% *share of existing home sales, based on property records **Single Family Only ***GAMLS CAMEROUN :: Cracks in the Biya regime as Southern Cameroons protest continues Growing frustration accentuated by internal rivalry and personality conflicts has left Biya and his cabinet in shambles following the successful on-going civil disobedience campaign in British Southern Cameroons. With age telling on the chief executive and his health now being discussed by hard-liners of the regime, the shutting down of internet services and the arrest of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium provoked a backlash and has divided even members of the political bureau of the ruling CPDM party. Some supporters of the One and Indivisible Cameroun philosophy were heard murmuring privately that the decision to disconnect internet services and the arrest of Anglophone senior judges was a deliberate attempt by some Beti Ewondo political elites to rob the regime of knowledgeable and legitimate Anglophone support for President Biya. Conversely, politicians from the Northern regions have been having a field day secretly celebrating the end of the Biya hegemony. The confusion within the Biya governing council it should be recalled was provoked by the arrogance displayed by Ministers Jacques Fame Ndongo, Laurent Esso and a certain Paul Ghogomu Minglo of the Ad Hoc Committee. Confusing signals emerged when the 83 year old Biya ostensibly with the backing of some moderates scurried Garga Haman Adji to Bamenda and claimed he (Garga) was the legitimate emissary from Etoudi. Cameroon Intelligence Report sources in the nations capital hinted that a majority of CPDM bigwigs are blaming the current Southern Cameroon situation on the secret Head of State now running the country-Minister Martin Belinga Eboutou. Tension is mounting in Yaounde as more Southern Cameroonians are detained and some from the North West region reportedly being killed and buried in mass graves in Soa. Ghost town operations are continuing and schools remained closed in West Cameroon. Francophone troops have continued to arrest, detain and torture Southern Cameroonians in Bamenda, Buea and Ekondo Titi. Southern Cameroonians arrested in Kumba, Nguti, Muyuka, Limbe, Tiko and Buea were being locked up in prison cells in Douala. They were rounded up by soldiers from La Republique in various localities, some before the civil disobedience campaign even started. In the wake of massive demonstrations in various capital cities in the West, and more international condemnation of the excessive use of force on Anglophone Cameroonians, the trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has been postponed. Many Southern Cameroonians have been arrested in Yaounde, while more were picked up in other towns in the Center and South regions. We got intelligence that many of the Southern Cameroons detainees including Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine of the Supreme Court of Cameroun were in bad health and attempts to communicate with family members have been strictly prohibited. Government sources are now reporting that Southern Cameroonians have refused to be cowed and preferred to be killed rather than denounced the struggle. Barrister Agbor Nkongho Felix, the Chairman of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was cited by a police source to be a lion-hearted man who spared no opportunity during interrogation to hit hard on the thievery of the Francophone political elites. The interim leaders of the Consortium indicated recently that the international community has been informed about the brutalization but no official statement has been made by the British parliament and the United Nation Security Council. Randy Joe Sa'ah BBC Correspondent In Cameroon Archives Security forces have just arrested BBC English Correspondent in Cameroon at the Yaounde Military Tribunal this February 1, 2017 as he joined others to cover the trial of some Anglophone leaders arrested in the wake of Crises rocking the two English speaking regions. According to some Journalists present at the tribunal, Randy is alleged to have been caught recording outside the court. A Journalist who pleaded not to be mentioned said, Randy picked up at military court for recording an interview, his release is being negotiated, I am speaking from a hideout in that court, he is currently being arraigned in the chamber at the Military court, only CRTV we are told had access to the place, we have been coerced to stay where we are before our phones will be checked.Whatever the former Bar Presidents like Muna, Tchougang , Monthe, Eta Bissong and others are with Randy in the Chamber, he is certainly out of danger. Journalists present at the court were coerced to delete any photos or videos taken at the court. Cameroon Info Net gathered that Randy could be released anytime after the verification process to determine whether he works for the BBC must have taken place. The court hearing of Ayah Paul, Nkongho Balla, Mancho Bibixy, Dr Fontem and others arrested was programmed for February 1, 2017 reasons why a college of lawyers answered present at the Court to defend them. | BY Lynchy | CB Exclusive CB hears that Brent Smart, the former managing director of Colenso BBDO, Auckland, who has headed BBDO San Francisco for nearly two years, has been appointed by Saatchi & Saatchi to the new role of worldwide managing director on General Mills, based in New York effective December 1. Smart will sit on the worldwide board with responsibility to drive integration across the Publicis Groupe. During his stint at BBDO Smart made a lot of changes, including getting Mike McKay, the ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi, Los Angeles across as ECD. Before that Smart, together with ECD Nick Worthington, was the driving force behindColenso BBDOs success in recent years, including winning CampaignBriefs NZ Agency of the Year title in 2008. | BY Kim Shaw | The pioneer in award shows globally to celebrate effective advertising for good, the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards, is now accepting entries. Deadline is set for March 30, 2017. Entries from Australia and New Zealand are eligible. The Conference and Awards night will be held on June 6 in Manila. Entry forms may be downloaded here. The APAC Tambuli Awards honors brands that do good and do well showing the seamless integration of creativity + human good + results. Case study entries must demonstrate how brands uplift society, create positive change, and correlate purpose with purchase. The APAC Tambuli Awards is not an award on charity, advocacy, pro bono, or CSR advertising, even if those campaigns are welcome and encouraged to enter. The award, however, focuses on mainstream brand campaigns that celebrate humanity, inspire purpose, and deliver results. An award that began in Manila in 2005, the Tambuli (a native Filipino horn) is organized by the School of Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) in collaboration with industry partners, to create positive impact in society through marketing communications. Each year a world class jury gathers in Manila to judge. Last years awards saw MullenLowe Lintas Group India named Agency of the Year and they were also honoured with a Grand Prix award for Unilevers Lifebuoy Future Child campaign. | BY Ricki Green | Tourism New Zealand is bringing the rich history of New Zealand to Melbournes CBD with a new campaign Every days a different journey in Northland via TBWA Sydney. The out-of-home campaign is focused around a giant art mural featuring New Zealands oldest Kauri tree Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest). The bespoke street art situated on the corner of La Trobe and Swanston streets, was painted by New Zealand born artist Monique Barnett a first for its location. The eight week campaign will make it hard to miss Northland for the thousands of Melburnians who will be exposed to the signage. Campaign channels include Facebook and outdoor advertising showcasing iconic Northland scenes such as Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga. Buses, a tram wrap, train stations, street furniture and billboards will all be decked out with Tourism New Zealands Every days a different journey in Northland campaign imagery. This includes a variety of sequential and stand-alone placements to maximise impact and showcase the diversity of experiences and landscapes on offer in the Northland region. Tony Saunders, general manager Australia, Tourism New Zealand says Northland and the Bay of Islands offers a variety of unique hidden gems which are highly appealing to Australians. Says Saunders: From ancient islands to golden beaches, lush forests to seaside vineyards, there truly is a new experience around every corner waiting to be discovered. Air New Zealand regional general manager Australia, Kathryn Robertson says Northland is a fantastic option for Australians looking for a relaxing holiday. Says Robertson: With multiple daily flights and seamless international connections via Auckland, Australian visitors can easily access this beautiful region or in fact any of the 21 regions we connect to domestically. Our latest safety video also takes viewers through the region with an all-star cast highlighting the tourism jewel that is Northland. To support the campaign Air New Zealand have also launched special sale fares from Melbourne to Kerikeri. The campaign is being run in conjunction with Air New Zealand, Facebook, Flight Centre and Northland NZ. For more information visit www.newzealand.com/Northland. Images: Tourism New Zealand and Alistar Guthrie Artist Monique Barnett Apparition Tourism New Zealand Public Relations Manager: Lauren Coughlan Regional Campaign Manager: Robert Bowring Marketing Campaign Manager: Katherine Butterworth TBWA Associate Creative Director: David Roberts, Katrina Jarratt Art Director: Andrew Torrisi, Sai Nitivoranant Copywriter: Chloe Saintilan Group Account Director: Erin Kelly Account Manager: Matthew Moran Blue449 Planner: Georgia Kirman Trader: Cleo Lam Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 12:09AM If you're part of Android's beta program and have a Google Pixel or Pixel XL, well an update should be making its way to you. The beta version of Android Nougat 7.1.2 brings some minor bug fixes to the phones. This build is expected to get released publicly in the coming months. Other eligible Google-branded phones to get the update include the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel C, and Nexus Player. No sign of the 2014 Nexus 6 phone and Nexus 9 tablet, though. Source: The Verge "It appears that people are listening to our drink driving messaging, but people are still tuning out to our other road safety messages in relation to speed, drug driving and driver distraction. These three factors consistently contribute to serious and fatal collisions." "We've got such a well-educated and engaged community and planning is an innately political thing, because it's about our democracy, it's about how change occurs in the environment and there is always going to be people who are for something and people who are against something," she said. "It was not the sort of Christmas present we wanted, certainly it's something that has affected our family. But it happens to a lot of people, we are not unique, and we are coping with it the best we can," he said. Airtels investment in Africa, which dates back to its purchase of 15 operations from Zain for $10.7 billion in 2010, was not as successful an experiment as he hoped, he told Bloomberg in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Indian group, which is faced with tough competition in its home market, has already sold some of its African operations and is believed to be discussing other possible deals. The moves would pare the size of operations in the continent and could be completed within a year, said Bloomberg following the interview. Airtel Africa managing director and CEO Raghunath Mandava said in a statement: Mergers and acquisitions continue to be the norm for any multinational organisation and they affect all global organisations in equal measures as and when they happen. But meanwhile the CEO of Airtels operation in Rwanda has countered suggestions that the Indian-owned group is planning to reduce its African operations. Michael Adjei, CEO of Airtel Rwanda, told local English-language publication New Times that the company was here for the long haul. Responding to suggestions that the company was planning to sell up, he told the paper: Thats not true. Thats not the case. Airtel Rwanda is not leaving the market. We want to assure customers that we are not exiting Rwanda. However Airtel Kenya said it was aware of Bharti Airtels consideration of stake sales or mergers to some of its Africa operations to cut debt. In September 2016, Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi complained about the dominance of Vodafone associate Safaricom in the market. He threatened that Airtel would pull out of Kenya if the regulator did not intervene because of Safaricoms position. We have been trying for over five years and have not made one dollar in profit. Airtel is likely to exit Kenya if the market structure is not addressed in terms of dominance, Youssefi told Business Daily Africa. February 1, Saint Source: Lives of the Saints by the Benziqer Brothers. Roman Martyrology: In Ireland, St. Bridget, virgin. One day, at her touch, the wood of an altar immediately sprouted into life, in testimony of her virginity. SHORT BIOGRAPHY Next to the glorious St. Patrick, St. Bridgid, whom we may consider his spiritual daughter in Christ, has ever been held in singular veneration in Ireland. She was born about the year 453, at Pochard in Ulster. During her infancy, her pious father saw in a vision men clothed in white garments pouring a sacred unguent on her head, thus prefiguring her future sanctity. While yet very young, Bridgid consecrated her life to God, bestowed everything at her disposal on the poor, and was the edification of all who knew her. She was very beautiful, and fearing that efforts might be made to induce her to break the vow by which she had bound herself to God, and to be- stow her hand on one of her many suitors, she prayed that she might become ugly and deformed. Her prayer was heard, for her eye became swollen, and her whole countenance so changed that she was allowed to follow her vocation in peace, and marriage with her was no more thought of. When about twenty years old, our Saint made known to St. Mel, the nephew and disciple of St. Patrick, her intention to live only to Jesus Christ, and he consented to receive her sacred vows. On the appointed day the solemn ceremony of her profession was performed after the manner introduced by St. Patrick, the bishop offering up many prayers, and investing Bridgid with a snow-white habit, and a cloak of the same color. While she bowed her head on this occasion to receive the veil, a miracle of a singularly striking and impressive nature occurred: that part of *the wooden platform adjoining the altar on which she knelt recovered its original vitality, and put on all its former verdure, retaining it for a long time after. At the same moment Bridgid's eye was healed, and she became as beautiful and as lovely as ever. Encouraged by her example, several other ladies made their vows with her, and in compliance with the wish of the parents of her new associates, the Saint agreed to found a religious residence for herself and them in the vicinity. A convenient site having been fixed upon by the bishop, a convent, the first in Ireland, was erected upon it and in obedience to the prelate Bridgid assumed the superiority. Her reputation for sanctity became greater every day; and in proportion as it was diffused throughout the country the number of candidates for admission into the new monastery increased. The bishops of Ireland, soon perceiving the important advantages, which their respective dioceses would derive from similar foundations, persuaded the young and saintly abbess to visit different parts of the kingdom, and, as an opportunity offered, introduce into each one the establishment of her institute. While thus engaged in a portion of the province of Connaught, a deputation arrived from Leinster to solicit the Saint to take up her residence in that territory; but the motives, which they urged urged human, and such could have now eight with Bridgid. It was only the prospect of the many spiritual advantages that would result from compliance with the request that induced her to accede, as she did, to the wishes of those who had petitioned her. Taking with her a number of her spiritual daughters, our Saint journeyed to Leinster, where they were received with many demonstrations of respect and joy. The site on which Kildare now stands appearing to be well adapted for a religious institute, there the Saint and her companions took up their abode. To the place appropriated for the new foundation some lands were annexed, the fruits of which were assigned to the little establishment. This do- nation indeed contributed to supply the wants of the com- munity, but still the pious sisterhood principally depended for their maintenance on the liberality of their benefactors. Bridgid contrived, however, out of their small means to relieve the poor of the vicinity very considerably; and when the wants of these indigent persons surpassed her slender finances, she hesitated not to sacrifice for them the movables of the convent. On one occasion our Saint, imitating the burning charity of St. Ambrose and other great servants of God, sold some of the sacred vestments that she might procure the means of relieving their necessities. She was so humble that she sometimes attended the cattle on the land, which belonged to her monastery. The renown of Bridgid's unbounded charity drew multitudes of the poor to Kildare; the fame of her piety attracted thither many persons anxious to solicit her prayers or to profit by her holy example. In course of time the number of these so much increased that it became necessary to provide accommodation for them in the neighbor- hood of the new monastery, and thus was laid the foundation and origin of the town of Kildare. The spiritual exigencies of her community, and of those numerous strangers who resorted to the vicinity, having suggested to our Saint the expediency of having the locality erected into an episcopal see, she represented it to the prelates, to whom the consideration of it rightly belonged. Deming the proposal Just and useful, Conlath, a recluse of eminent sanctity, illustrious by the great things which God had granted to his prayers, was, at Bridgid's desire, chosen the first bishop of the newly erected diocese. In process of time it became the ecclesiastical metropolis of the province to which it belonged, probably in consequence of the general desire to honor the place in which St. Bridgid had so long dwelt. After seventy years devoted to the practice of the most sublime virtues, corporal infirmities admonished our Saint that the time of her dissolution was nigh. It was now half a century since, by her holy vows, she had irrevocably consecrated herself to God, and during that period great results had been attained; her holy institute having widely diffused itself throughout the Green Isle, and greatly advanced the cause of religion in the various districts in which it was established. Like a river of peace, its progress was steady and silent; it fertilized every region fortunate enough to receive its waters, and caused it to put forth spiritual flowers and fruits with all the sweet per- fume of evangelical fragrance. The remembrance of the glory she had procured to the Most High, as well as the services rendered to dear souls ransomed by the precious blood of her divine Spouse, cheered and consoled Bridgid in the infirmities inseparable from old age. Her last illness was soothed by the presence of Xennidh, a priest of eminent sanctity, over whose youth she had watched with pious solicitude, and who was indebted to her prayers and instructions for his great proficiency in sublime perfection. The day on which our abbess was to terminate her course, February 1, 523, having arrived, she received from the hands of this saintly priest the blessed body and blood of her Lord in the divine Eucharist, and, as it would seem, immediately after her spirit passed forth, and went to possess Him in that heavenly country where He is seen face to face and enjoyed without danger of ever losing Him. Her body was interred in the church adjoining her convent, but was some time after exhumed, and deposited in a splendid shrine near the high altar. In the ninth century, the country being desolated by the Danes, the remains of St. Bridgid were removed in order to secure them from irreverence; and, being transferred to Down-Patrick, were deposited in the same grave with those of the glorious St. Patrick. Their bodies, together with that of St. Columba, were translated afterwards to the cathedral of the same city, but their monument was destroyed in the reign of King Henry VIII. The head of St. Bridgid is now kept in the church of the Jesuits at Lisbon. Reflection: Outward resemblance to Our Lady was St. Bridgid's peculiar privilege; but all are bound to grow like her in interior purity of heart. This grace St. Bridgid has obtained in a wonderful degree for the daughters of her native land, and will never fail to procure for all her devout clients. After remaining on the wait list for more than a year and a half, Chattanooga Housing Authority Police Departments Chief Felix Vess has been selected to attend the 268th session of the FBI National Academy. Participation in the Academy is a once in a lifetime leadership and educational experience for less than 1 percent of all law enforcement officers worldwide. Officer participation is by invitation only through a nomination process. Candidates are drawn from every U.S. state and territory as well as from international partner nations. Out of approximately 220 participants, Chief Vess is one of only two selected from Tennessee for the 268th session. The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers nominated by their agency heads because of demonstrated leadership qualities. The 10-week program at the FBI campus in Quantico, Va. which provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic scienceserves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge, and cooperation worldwide. It is an immense honor to be nominated to attend the FBI National Academy," said Chief Vess. "While it will be an intense 10 weeks, Im looking forward to learning more to help make CHA housing and our community a better, safer place." Following graduation from the program, each officer has the opportunity to join the FBI National Academy Associates, Inc., an organization of more than 16,000 law enforcement professionals who work to continue developing higher levels of competency, cooperation, and integrity across the law enforcement community. CHA Executive Director Betsy McCright said, We are thrilled for Chief Vess and we definitely support him in this endeavor. He is very deserving of this honor due to his tireless hard work and continued commitment to excellence. Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Rising high school juniors and seniors interested in being part of the 16th annual Youth Leadership program of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce for 2017-18 will find the application as a downloadable form on the Chambers website, www.clevelandchamber.com. Youth Leadership, first introduced in 2002, provides an opportunity for high school students to develop leadership skills and gain better understanding of the local community. The program also seeks to find those young people who will have a positive influence on the future growth and development of Cleveland and Bradley County. According to Sherry Crye, coordinator of the Youth Leadership program and liaison to the area schools, a selection committee comprised of alumni from the adult Leadership Cleveland program will review applications and select eight rising juniors and seniors from Bradley Central, Cleveland, and Walker Valley High Schools and two from Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, totaling 26 students in the program. The selection committee requested last year that we move to a downloadable application process for selecting the class, Ms. Crye said. Tomorrows leaders will utilize more computer skills than ever before, and it was the next logical step for selecting students with leadership skills. The downloadable applications made reviewing numerous applications a much easier process. Following the selection of the Youth Leadership Class of 2017-18, the 26 students will participate in a daylong retreat and a number of day trips designed to help the students learn about the local economy, heritage and tourism, city and county government and services, and health and human services. They also experience a day in Nashville to learn about state government. Recruitment begins Feb. 1, Ms. Crye said. Students who want to apply should visit the Chambers website and follow instructions there. School guidance offices also will have instructions and access to the link for the application site beginning Feb. 1. All applications must be completed and turned in to the guidance offices by March 3. Students selected will be notified by early April. If you know students who would be good candidates for our Youth Leadership program, please have them contact their schools guidance office or visit the Chamber website at www.clevelandchamber.com, Ms. Crye said. The application is on the Downloadable Forms page and under Youth Leadership Program on the Chambers home page. The 2017-18 Youth Leadership class will run from August through March. Middle Valley Church of God announces that Pastor Mitch McClure will speak on the topic, 'In Your Crisis You Must Help Others ' in the 10:30 a.m. service this Sunday. This is part of a sermon series titled 'Praying And Fasting Will Motivate Us.' This new sermon series will focus on the need for Believers to spend time in prayer and fasting as a means to draw closer to God. Pastor Mitch McClure will lead the congregation in a Special Event, 'Chili for Cusuna,' on Sunday, at 6 p.m. 'Chili for Cusuna' is a fund raising event to raise funds for a missions effort in Cusuna, Honduras. The event will include a chili cook off, an auction, and a big screen tv and take place in the church Family Life Center. All are invited to participate in this event. Each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Sunday school classes are available for all age groupings. Cumulus Media announced that it has named Brian Joyce of Chattanooga's WGOW Talk Radio as afternoon host on NewsRadio 106.7/WYAY-FM in Atlanta. Mr. Joyces show will air weekdays from 3-6 p.m. and will debut on Monday, Feb. 13. He will still be doing 1-3 p.m. here, then 3-6 in Atlanta from the WGOW studio. Officials said, "Mr. Joyces addition follows the continued explosion of popularity for WYAY-FMs entertaining and informative on-air team of Shannon Burke, The Kimmer, Rob Stadler and Cheryl White. Mr. Joyce will continue to host his current midday show from 1-3 p.m. on Cumulus Media-Chattanooga, TNs Talk Radio 102.3/WGOW-FM and will then follow the Kimmer on NewsRadio 106.7 for Atlantas afternoon commute. "Before heading south, Mr. Joyce grew up in Boston and was on-air talent for several New England stations including WRKO. In Chattanooga, his show regularly outperforms nationally syndicated news/talk personality Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Joyce is a regular contributor on Fox News and a featured blogger on Huffington Post. He has been named to Talkers Magazines Heavy Hundred list and was named one of talk radios Top 5 Rising Stars at Talk Show Boot Camp." Sean Shannon, vice president/market manager for Cumulus Media-Atlanta said, We live in a world where dialogue on matters of substance has become increasingly difficult, with politically-slanted news/talk outlets and social media platforms that feed consumers with stories that confirm their existing political belief systems. NewsRadio 106.7 breaks that confounding and polarizing mold. We are committed to delivering a forum ruled not by any agenda or by an algorithm, but by the unique value we can create for our listeners. We present multiple sides of the story when were delivering the news, ensuring we both inform existing opinions and provoke opposing opinions on every side of the story. In the process, we create a rare media experience facilitating respectful and spirited discourse where there is as much value in listening as there is in talking. Greg Tantum, program director for News Radio 106.7, said, From Shannon Burke to The Kimmer to now Brian Joyce, NewsRadio 106.7 provides Atlantans with a diversity of viewpoints. Brians background as a truck driver, teacher, bouncer, bartender, comedian and Senior Derivatives Analyst for a Fortune 20 company is a natural follow to the eclectic talents and backgrounds of our diverse news/talk team. No syndicated, one-note political mumbo jumbo here NewsRadio 106.7 stands as a different kind of place and a stimulating and thought-provoking break from the echo chambers that populate news/talk today. Hollywoods most lovable villain, Christoph Waltz, will be bringing his own brand of humor during Seinfelds next episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, streaming February 2 on Crackle. While this clip is just a teaser, it seems that Waltz plans to educate Seinfeld about crows having a sense of humor, while also stating that he cant stand inches, preferring the Metric system over Imperial. After finding new fame following his role in Quentin Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds, Waltz went on to act in several other major Hollywood flicks such as The Three Musketeers, Django Unchained, Horrible Bosses 2, Spectre and most recently, The Legend of Tarzan. In case you dont see a pattern, trust us, its there. Hes mostly being cast in a villain-type role (with only a few exceptions). Currently, Waltz is filming Alita: Battle Angel, helmed by Robert Rodriguez. Although hes not a real comedian, the fact that he won an Academy Award for Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, makes him one of the biggest names in business. VIDEO We take certain things for granted. Water is wet, fire is hot, and convertibles are heavier than the coupes on which theyre based. Theres just too much extra chassis reinforcement, on top of whatever removable or folding roof mechanism is fitted right? Well, Pagani is here to tell us otherwise. From the beginning we set ourselves some pretty ambitious targets, said Horacio Pagani in the statement accompanying this latest teaser image of the forthcoming Huayra Roadster. The first, from a technical point of view, was to make a roadster that would be lighter than the coupe, which was already the lightest hypercar on sale at the time. Hows that now? We dont know, but suffice it to say that Horacio and company must have pulled some innovative tricks out of their carbon-fiber helmet for this one. And most of those tricks, we figure, were first applied to the hardcore Huayra BC (instead of the original model) on which the roadster is based. The image otherwise gives us little to go on, camouflaged and dark as it is. What we can make out, though, is the redesigned rear deck, which appears to encompass a set of flying buttresses extending from the rear of the passenger compartment towards the rear, in between those swooping fender haunches. With a bit more emerging each week, we can expect to find out a bit more next Tuesday as the roadsters debut at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show approaches a little more than a month from now. Photo Gallery Following its global debut at the 2016 LA Auto Show, the all-new Mazda CX-5 is getting ready to touch down on European soil for the first time. Mazdas new SUV will be on display, among other models, at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, starting with March 7, in the Palexpo Convention Center. Six years after the unveiling in Geneva of the Mazda MINAGI concept, the precursor to the original CX-5 and an exciting new range of acclaimed vehicles, the new compact SUV takes Mazdas most popular model in Europe into a new generation, Mazda writes. Slated to go on sale this summer, its engine lineup is expected to differ between markets, and so its currently unknown what units will be adopted by the European version. Its North American and Japanese twins get two petrol engines, the SkyActiv-G 2.0 and SkyActiv-G 2.5-liter, along with a SkyActiv-D 2.2-liter diesel. Joining the new CX-5 in Geneva will be the 2017MY variants of the CX-3 and Mazda2. Both of them will hit European dealers this spring, with enhanced i-ActivSense active safety technology, improved ride comfort, less noise, full-color head-up displays, and redesigned steering wheels, among others. PHOTO GALLERY In early 2014 at the launch of the FT-1 Concept, Toyota president Akio Toyoda told the world that no more boring cars would be produced by the Japanese marque. Following the unveiling of the eighth-generation Camry, weve seen this manifested. As part of Toyotas ambitions to make its cars more exciting and pleasing to the eye, a product chief designer now works alongside the chief engineer in developing a new model. In years gone by, the Japanese marque scarified design for safety, lower costs and the pursuit of fuel efficiency but no more. During discussions with Automotive News, Toyota design veteran Ian Cartabiano said that Toyoda has made design a much more significant priority for the brand. It basically comes down to someone at the top saying, We have to do this. And giving design a much stronger voice than ever before in this company. And now, because of Akio, design has a really strong voice. Cartabiano said that the new Camry actually started life out as a 2-inch sketch in a journal and from there, became a life-size representation of that model. We actually started with that 2-inch doodle. And it became sketch, bigger sketch, bigger sketch, model. But that original intention followed all the way through to the cars. It was totally new for us. Theres always been a designer, but the chief engineer has been the top guy. It was always just 100 percent engineering, he said. While Toyodas influence in shaping Toyotas new design direction has been instrumental, technological improvements have also played a part in shaping the brand. For example, new metal-stamping innovations now make it much simpler to form strong, sharp creases across a vehicles exterior. Compared to previous Toyota Camrys, it is impossible to deny that the new one is much more eye-catching. Will this result in extra sales? Only time will tell. PHOTO GALLERY Toyota has sent an urgent message to its U.S. dealers to tell local politicians of the ramifications of the Republican partys plan to heavily tax all imports. In conversations with members of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Automotive News reports that Toyota dealers told politicians that hitting imports with a 20 per cent tax could force consumers to pay thousands more for vehicles. In an interview, Toyota North America chief executive Jim Lentz said of the taxes that Cost is going to go up, as a result demand is going to go down. As a result, were not going to able to employ as many as people as we do today. Thats my biggest fear. Many multi-national and overseas companies have expressed concerns over President Trumps proposed import taxes. They fear that by Trump favoring American manufacturing, their sales and profits will be hurt. Prices for consumers are also expected to rise due to any strict import taxes. According to Republican Representative Trey Gowdy from South Carolina, the importance of foreign automakers like BMW and Toyota cannot be overlooked when making laws. Although some companies are concerned with border taxes, others arent. Boeings chief executive recently said that such taxes could have positive effects on the aerospace juggernaut. PHOTO GALLERY Glassdoor is well established in the tech and business world, but deserves more exposure in the animation sphere. Over the last couple years, Ive watched it grow as a valuable tool for our community, and the more animators who join, the more useful it becomes. I was reminded of this today when I was writing up the piece about Insomniac Games and wanted to get a sense of how sincere the CEO was being when he condemned Trumps immigration ban. According to the Glassdoor reviews, he is indeed an upstanding boss and employees have had generally positive experiences working at Insomniac. A caveat about Glassdoor. The site only works for mid-to-large-size studios where enough employees have contributed reviews to generate a fair sample size of workers. Many studios in the U.S. and Canada still dont have accurate rankings simply because enough people havent contributed reviews. European studios are also non-starters for the most part; for example, Aardman has just seven reviews, and Illumination Macguff has only four, neither enough to form an accurate portrait of those studios. There are exceptions, like Londons Framestore, which has over 75 reviews. The good news is that for studios where a significant number of employees have contributed reviews, the group consensus almost always matches up to the anecdotal stories and reviews that I personally hear from people who have worked at those studios. In other words, the site works and it can save you a lot of the hassle and grief that comes from choosing the wrong place to work. On Glassdoors five-star rating scale, many studios tend to rate average or above-average. Dreamworks Animation is 4.2 Disney Animation Studios is 4.1, Pixar and Framestore are both 3.9, Blue Sky Studios is 3.8, Sony Imageworks is 3.4, and Lucasfilm is 3.3. But employees are also not afraid to share stories (sometimes long ones) about studios where they feel they were not treated well. Nitrogen, the studio that made Sausage Party, doesnt rank too highly (2.9), yet it still has higher employee satisfaction than Kubo and the Two Strings studio Laika (2.6) or Bobs Burger maker Bento Box (2.2). Glassdoor isnt perfect, but it has proven itself as a valuable tool for animation jobseekers. If youre searching for work in the industry, use it along with Cartoon Brews curated job feed Cartoon Brew Jobs. Photo: Contributed Mental illness can shorten your life. Weve known for a long time that people living with mental illness have a higher likelihood of other serious health conditions such as heart disease. We also know mental illness seems to hamper or slow recovery from some medical conditions. Recent meta-analysis of data from 203 studies conducted in 29 countries around the world has shed light on the bigger picture of mortality and mental illness. This analysis found people with mental illness have a mortality rate that is 2.22 times higher than the general population and their lives are shortened by an average of about 10 years. While mental illness is directly responsible for death in some cases, many people with mental illness die from other medical conditions and at a higher rate than in the general population. More than two thirds of deaths among the mentally ill in this analysis were from natural causes. This, of course, raises questions and concerns about medical care and prevention among the mentally ill. Interestingly, this study found the mortality gap has gotten bigger in recent years studies beginning in the 1990s showed higher mortality than those beginning in the 1970s. Researchers say it appears people with mental illness are not experiencing the increased life expectancy enjoyed by the general population. Increased mortality could be occurring for a variety of reasons. It is well known that many psychiatric conditions are associated with higher prevalence of unhealthy behaviours such as smoking and substance abuse, which could increase general mortality and cause lower overall health. Access to quality healthcare is also a concern as are social determinants of health such as poverty and social connectedness. We know that people with mental health conditions often do not receive preventive health care such as immunizations or cancer screenings, they are less likely to get tobacco counseling and tend to receive a lower quality of care for chronic medical conditions. All of this information gives us a roadmap toward ensuring better care for those living with mental illness. Of course, we need to continue working to prevent events such as suicide, but this is also an excellent reminder that mentally ill individuals are whole people with more than one aspect to their health. Sometimes symptoms of mental illness can overshadow everything else because of how debilitating they can be, but we should not neglect proper diagnosis and management of other chronic health issues or illness prevention in this population. If you or a loved one are living with mental illness and are concerned about the quality of your general medical care, talk with your healthcare professional about your concerns. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Photo: New Town Architecture A heritage tree will have a prominent place within a new condo development near downtown Kelowna. City council gave initial approval for the rezoning of the property at 1730 Ethel St. for construction of a four-storey, 26-unit condo building. To proceed, the developer will have to enter into a tree protection covenant for a mature copper beech tree located on the property. The tree is a registered heritage tree. It's more than 100 feet tall. "The planning department will require an arborist report to be completed, which will include a series of recommendations on how to best protect the tree," said planner Terry Barton. He says requirements of the report will be included as part of the development permit for tree protection during construction. "The proposed building has been designed to embrace and highlight the tree within the development." The development will now be forwarded to a public hearing. City council also said yes to a 93-unit apartment complex that fronts on both Leon and Harvey avenues. The development, next to The Dorchester, will merge two orphaned properties on Harvey and four lots facing onto Leon. It would include a two-storey podium with four-storeys above and a two-storey parkade behind. Planner Ryan Smith says the project will add more rental housing units, which the city currently needs. Photo: Jon Manchester The man who committed a bizarre string of crimes last April was recently found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. Mark Fines has been in custody since his arrest on April 1, after crashing a stolen vehicle into a police car, before he was subdued by several construction workers and arrested. The Chase man assaulted a man in an alley by BNA Brewing Co. and stole the mans young daughters backpack in the morning. He then went on to steal a car, driving erratically down Ellis Street in the southbound direction. After smashing the stolen car into a police cruiser near the Queensway bus loop, stunning the officer inside, he attempted to drag the officer out of the car before the construction workers came to the officer's aid. He was reckless driving like he was in Grand Theft Auto or something," said a witness at the scene. "He was jumping over curbs, trying to hit people." The construction workers who subdued Fines, David Jake Sharpe, Ronald Polak and Jay Whitesell, were recognized by city council and received Commendation Recognition Awards by the RCMP several days later. Fines was found not criminally responsible Friday, but will remain in custody for the time being. This finding means that the accused committed the crimes he was accused of, but did so "while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered him or her incapable of appreciating the nature or quality of the act or of knowing that it was wrong," according to the Criminal Code. His matter will now go before the British Columbia Review Board, a tribunal that decides the fate of those who are found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. The hearing will take place on March 7 at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, where Fines is being held, before a three-person panel. The panel must consist of a judge, or a lawyer with 10 years experience, a psychiatrist, and a person with experience in mental health, medicine, psychology, social work or criminology. Two days before the Grand Theft Auto-style excitement on April 1, Fines had been charged with breaching probation in Salmon Arm. Prior to the breach charges, Fines had been found guilty of two counts of mischief in Kamloops for incidents on Dec. 18 and 19, 2015, and causing a disturbance in Kamloops on Dec. 24, 2015. He received probation sentences for those convictions. UPDATE: 3:20 p.m. KF Aerospace has already started the hiring process for 80 positions after a new contract was signed for a hangar to be built at Kelowna International Airport. Brian Akerstream, director of business development at KF Aerospace, said it is a really great time to be part of the industry. Last year we had a fanatic year, a little bit surprising even, but a great year, he said. KF Aerospace will eventually have to look outside of B.C. to hire for the 40 structural technicians. We are not just looking at Okanagan College we are looking all over B.C. In fact, we are going to extend our reach to a national program, said Akerstream. It is quite a big jump to go to 40 addition technical staff, and we are probably not going to be able to find that resource in B.C., but obviously B.C. comes first, so we will try to look as close as we can and extend our reach as required. They hope to have all positions filled by July as the hangar is predicted to be completed by July 1. ORIGINAL: 5 a.m. KF Aerospace is hiring 80 job positions. The Kelowna company is extending a hangar and received a new contract, confirmed KF Aerospace HR supervisor Susan Van Unen. We are specifically looking for two types of aircraft maintenance engineers, structural technicians as well as mechanics, and some support staff, said Van Unen. Out of the 80 growth positions, 40 of them will be structural technicians. It is going to be hard to find 40 of them, said Van Unen. We pretty much always hire the entire Okanagan College structural class, but now we need even more. She added this is a really large hire for the company. Two drug overdoses in less than a week at the Vernon public library have prompted administration to step up security. The incidents have also caused stress among library staff. I have received reports of two overdoses in the Vernon branch, one on January 23rd and one on January 28th, confirmed Stephanie Hall, the Okanagan Regional Library's chief executive officer. 911 was called and paramedics attended. We do not believe either incident was fatal. While there were no overdoses in the preceding 12 months, Hall said: There is an epidemic happening in Vernon and across B.C. and the library is not immune. The Vernon branch is highly popular and is used by homeless people as a comfortable place to go during the cold winter months. We are stepping up our security in the branch. We do have safety procedures in place, but we are reviewing them in light of these incidents. The employer has also reached out to Worksafe BC for any recommendations they have on maintaining a safe worksite. Hall said it was a stressful situation for staff, adding the head of the human resources department was speaking with Vernon employees on Tuesday. We are seeing new behaviours and they need to be addressed, said Hall. Jordanian Teen Detained In Chicago After Being Held 48 Hours In Houston Airport By Stephen Gossett in News on Feb 1, 2017 5:10PM Photo: Tyler LaRiviere A 16-year-old boy, who lives in Texas and flew there over the weekend on a Jordanian passport, is being held in a Chicago detention shelter. Mohammad Abu Khadra, a resident of Katy, Texas, near Houston, was detained on Saturday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport after traveling from Jordan, where he was renewing his visa. Mohammad was kept for more than 48 hours at the airport before being taken to the shelter in Chicago, where he reportedly remains. Including time in the airport and the Chicago facility, Wednesday is the fifth consecutive day in which the boy has been detained. Lawyers representing Khadras family said they do not know why the boy was detained. Jordan is not on the list of banned countries under Trumps executive order; and Khadra is also a legal resident of the United States, holding a visitors visa, attorneys told the Tribune. Our first priority at this stage is to get him released, and get him united with his family, said attorney Alia Zakaria, who is representing Mohammeds brother, Rami, who also lives in Texas and holds a green card, according to Citylab. Even though Jordan is not on the barred list, the legal team thinks there is a connection between Khadras days-long, ongoing detention and the executive action. [M]y discussions with other attorneys around the country leaves me to believe that Customs and Border Protection at the airport is pulling all Muslim travelers, even those not from the seven listed countries, for secondary inspection and questioning them and reviewing their documents for three to nine hours," Zakaria told the Tribune. It could take up to five days of request processing for counsel to get in contact with the boy. Zakaria hopes to see Mohammad out of the detention facility within two weeks. This isnt the first case of a person with Jordanian ties being caught up in the immigration sweep. On Sunday, Yahya Romman, a Syrian man with a Jordanian passport not allowed entry after he arrived at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Mass confusion and protests overtook many of the nation's airport over the weekend, including O'Hare following Trump's suspension of the refugee program and strict restrictions on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Chicagoist has reached out the brother's lawyers and the Department of Health and Human Services. This post will be updated as necessary. Madison Erhardt Canada's wartime history is the focus of a national travelling exhibition now at the Okanagan Military Museum. Vimy to Juno: Canada in France 1914-45 explores the connections between defining moments in Canadian history and the experiences of Canadians who fought in both world wars. The exhibition was developed by the Juno Beach Centre, Canadas museum on the historic D-Day landing in Normandy, France. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 2017 and the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Canadian success on the battlefields at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele set a high standard of performance for Canadian troops serving in the Second World War, said Keith Boehmer, military historian at the museum. This educational exhibition provides an excellent overview of key battles in Canadian military history. In two world wars, hundreds of thousands of Canadians fought in France, where their achievements helped shape our national identity, said Jenna Zuschlag Misener, executive director of the Juno Beach Centre. From Vimy to Juno will be on display at the Okanagan Military Museum now through Feb. 11 I was alarmed at how easily and quickly council complied with the demands of the professional presentations by Tourism Kelowna and their business partners. The regular citizens pleas to "put it downtown but just dont block the view of the water" were obviously in the majority, but they fell on deaf ears. Only Mr. Hodge on Council heard the taxpayers ask for help. Why? Because many on Council had already made their minds up before the meeting and decided that a large building was necessary to "active" the area and at the same time get rid of an ugly parking lot. And who needs more park space with just grass and flowers and views anyway? 3 years ago, the previous council also gave away another big piece of waterfront. 240 linear feet (36,000 sq. ft.) of Cedar Avenue park also known as Pandosy Waterfront park (except there is no park). Instead this waterfront is covered by a clubhouse for the Kelowna Paddle Club, complete with their own waterfront parking lot, and numerous deteriorating rental houses owned by the city. The park that the expensive and time consuming City wide charrette plus the previous City council recommended is still, sadly, just a dream. So, after the Tuesday night explanation that buildings are essential in parks to activate them and, presumedly make the public happier, we should ask what we can reasonably expect when council finally gets around to designing Cedar Avenue park? Personally I think we will be told that this park also needs activation by a big building. And then it will be approved, over the protests of the public, and built with a concrete walkway around it. And Council will say that the good news is that the ugly parking lot and old houses will now be gone. What will not be mentioned, because it will be too late, is that the Queensway walkway and the Cedar Avenue park could just as easily have been built anyway. No building was really necessary all that was necessary was the determination of Council to do the right thing. The citizens of Kelowna need to get together and develop a clear position that large buildings are not wanted on the waterfront before the second shoe drops on Cedar Aveue park or on some other park. Bob Whitehead If our health minister wants to look at foreign health policies then he should look at the whole medical system not just one part. I understand the addiction crisis is in the forefront but there are other people waiting month to month year to year to get health issues resolved. It takes two years to see a specialist here for allergies or colorectal issues. How long do people wait in Zurich for that? Or hip surgery, what is the wait time there in Europe? What about cataract surgery, do they wait seven to eight months? I am tired of all the focus being on addiction. There are other issues and our health care system is failing us all. Time for a change all around. Heather Hamilton Photo: The Canadian Press Heavy artillery and rockets hit residential areas in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday amid a new outburst of fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatist rebels, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens. Salvos of heavy-calibre artillery were heard throughout the night and late morning in Avdiivka, a town on the northern outskirts of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk where residents have been without electricity for days. In Donetsk, at least one civilian was killed by shrapnel. The U.N. Security Council called for "an immediate return to the cease-fire regime," a call echoed by the U.N. spokesman. Council members, including Ukraine which is serving a two-year term, expressed "grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in the eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population." The council condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements on ending the conflict and called for their implementation. Members also expressed "full support" for the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine." Fighting around Avdiivka has cut water and power supplies for most of the town and it was left without heating in the dead of winter. Temperatures plunged to minus 18 Celsius (zero Fahrenheit) Tuesday morning. The warring sides blamed each other for the spike in hostilities, the worst in months. The Ukrainian government was considering evacuating 12,000 residents from Avdiivka, Pavlo Zhebrivsky, head of the administration in charge of the government-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, said on Facebook. With no signs of an immediate evacuation in sight, some residents went to a local bus station, hoping to get away from the heavy shelling. Volodymyr Bassak, 67, was waiting to catch a bus Tuesday morning to a city some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north because of the lack of heat in his home. "The house was shaking (shelling) was really intense at about four in the morning," Bassak said as he brushed tears from his eyes. "There were flames along the front line." Valery Tretyakov said he was having tea at home in Donetsk when he heard a big explosion and the sound of shattered glass. He rushed into the bedroom and saw his wife bleeding from a shrapnel wound to her neck that proved fatal. "It was impossible to stop bleeding," Tretyakov said. "One minute and that's all." The rebels' Donetsk News Agency also reported that four fighters died and seven were injured overnight along with three civilians. Oleksandr Turchynov, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Defence Council, said on Tuesday that shelling around Avdiivka killed at least three government troops and injured 24 more. Another seven soldiers were killed on Sunday and Monday, the government said. The press office of the Ukrainian military operation in the east reported an unspecified number of civilian casualties. It said the rebels turned down the government's offer for a cease-fire to allow the dead and wounded to be moved. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused the Ukrainian government of provoking the hostilities to distract public attention from domestic issues. Photo: The Canadian Press The Army Corps of Engineers was ordered to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline to proceed under a disputed Missouri River crossing, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said on Tuesday, the latest twist in a months-long legal battle over the $3.8 billion project. The Standing Rock Sioux, whose opposition to the project attracted thousands of supporters from around the country to North Dakota, immediately vowed to again go to court to stop it. Hoeven announced late Tuesday that the acting Secretary of the Army, Robert Speer, had directed the Army Corps of Engineers to "proceed" with an easement necessary to complete the pipeline. Hoeven said he also spoke with Vice-President Mike Pence, just a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order signalling his support for the project. A spokesman for the U.S. Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night. Hoeven spokesman Don Canton says that Speer's move means the easement "isn't quite issued yet, but they plan to approve it" within days. The crossing under Lake Oahe, a wide section of the Missouri River in southern North Dakota, is the final big chunk of work on the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois. President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 called on the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its December decision to withhold permission until more study is done on the crossing. The pipeline has been the target of months of protests led by the Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation lies near the pipeline's route and who have argued that it's a threat to water. The tribe has vowed to challenge any granting of the easement in court, and Chairman Dave Archambault renewed that vow Tuesday night. "If it does become a done deal in the next few days, we'll take it to the judicial system," Archambault said. He added: "This is a good indicator of what this country is going to be up against in the next four years. So America has to brace itself." The developer, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, says the pipeline would be safe. An environmental assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to issue an easement, saying a broader environmental study was warranted in the wake of opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux. Energy Transfer Parters called Darcy's decision politically motivated and accused then-President Barack Obama's administration of delaying the matter until he left office. Two days before he left the White House, the Corps launched a study of the crossing that could take up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 just four days after he took office signed an executive action telling the Corps to quickly reconsider the Dec. 4 decision. The company appears poised to begin drilling under the lake immediately. Workers have already drilled entry and exit holes for the Oahe crossing, and the company has put oil in the pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of finishing the project, its executive vice-president Joey Mahmoud said in court documents filed earlier this month. Photo: The Canadian Press A tiny unborn hummingbird is getting in the way of a big bridge project in the San Francisco Bay Area. The discovery of a nest and egg in a tree is stalling the start of upgrades on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge about 30 miles north of San Francisco, officials said Tuesday. The species, Anna's Hummingbird, is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that forbids the removal of the egg and offers other protections to birds. The nest about half the size of a fist was discovered about a week ago when work was set to begin. It was found on the Richmond side of the $70 million bridge project, in one of about two dozen trees that were to be removed to widen the freeway, officials said. Under the protection act, the tree must stay put until the hummingbird baby is gone. The goals of the act are to protect, restore and manage migratory bird populations to ensure long-term sustainability. "We've dealt with this on all sorts of things on every project we've worked with in the Bay Area," Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman Randy Rentschler said. Audubon California spokesman Garrison Frost said cliff swallows were building their intricate nests beneath an overpass in Petaluma, and cormorants held up deconstruction of the old Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. Some work on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge could be delayed a few weeks by the discovery of the egg. But Rentschler said the lag is not expected to increase the cost of the project because there are other tasks that crews can do in the meantime. The project includes adding a bike path on the upper deck of the bridge that will allow riders to cross in both directions. Plans also call for a third traffic lane on the lower deck to ease congestion for drivers heading eastbound. Photo: The Canadian Press Authorities say a female moose is safe after she fell through an unlatched window into the basement of an Idaho home. The Idaho Mountain Express reports that the moose spent about three hours in the Hailey basement early Sunday morning. Law enforcement officers and those from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game tried to shoo the moose upstairs beginning at about 2:30 a.m. A Fish and Game officer arrived from Twin Falls at about 5:30 a.m. and shot the moose with a tranquilizer dart. Homeowner Julie Emerick says eight officers carried the approximately 600-pound animal up the stairs. Emerick says the moose got up and ran off about 15 minutes later. She says the basement room suffered little damage and called the moose "the most polite, gracious beast." Photo: Contributed The popular Vernon Collectors Club Antiques & Collectables Sale has a new time and date. The 29th annual event will be held Feb. 24 from 2-8 p.m. and Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Greater Vernon Museum and Archives said the Collectors Club has taken over the event that will be held at the recreation complex. More than 100 vendors are expected with all manner of antiques to collectables including jewelry, China, crocs, military, bottles, automotive, books, art, toys, tools and more. Photo: The Canadian Press A majority of the thousands of killings of poor suspects under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug crackdown appear to be "extrajudicial executions," Amnesty International said Wednesday, and may constitute crimes against humanity. The London-based human rights group urged Duterte's government to adopt an approach that respects human rights in its fight against drugs and crime, and called on the police and judiciary to ensure accountability and prosecute officers involved in unlawful killings. After investigating the deaths of 59 people, and interviewing 110 witnesses, relatives of slain suspects, drug users, police officers and even hired killers, from November to December, Amnesty said it had concluded that "the vast majority of these killings appear to have been extrajudicial executions." Amnesty said it's "deeply concerned that the deliberate and widespread killings of alleged drug offenders, which appear to be systematic, planned and organized by the authorities, may constitute crimes against humanity." There was no immediate government reaction, but Duterte, a lawyer and former government prosecutor, has defended the crackdown and says that he and his top police officials have authorized law enforcers to open fire only when threatened by suspects. The deaths of at least 35 policemen and three soldiers prove that suspects have fought back during raids, according to the police. Duterte took office in June, and since then more than 7,000 suspects have been killed, including many slain in clashes with police. That is an average of 34 a day, Amnesty said. The campaign and deaths have alarmed Western governments, including the United States and the European Union. In several cases, the rights group said its investigation found that "witnesses described alleged drug offenders yelling they would surrender, at times while on their knees or in another compliant position. They were still gunned down." It said police officers often appear to have planted "evidence" and falsified incident reports. A police officer, who was involved in the crackdown in Manila, stated that police and hired killers profit from the killings, with some law enforcers getting paid from funeral parlours for each body brought in, the Amnesty report said. Amnesty said it interviewed two hired killers involved in the campaign who were paid 10,000 pesos ($200) by a police officer for each killing they carried out, adding they gunned down three to four suspects a week. On Monday, National police chief Director-General Ronald Dela Rosa indefinitely stopped all police anti-drug raids and disbanded police anti-narcotics units after the anti-drug crackdown was used as a cover by a group of rogue officers to kidnap and kill a South Korean man for money in a still-unraveling scandal. The widely publicized scandal prompted Dela Rosa to form a counter-intelligence force to cleanse the 170,000-strong police force of criminals and corrupt officers. He has tried to resign twice but Duterte, who has pledged to defend the police enforcing his crackdown, has ordered him to stay on. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court prohibited a group of police officers from entering a slum community to stop them from threatening villagers who accused the officers of ruthlessly killing four residents in an anti-drug raid. Photo: The Canadian Press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming White House visit aims to cement ties to a surprisingly supportive U.S. president but it also presents a political minefield. While Netanyahu appears to have hit it off with President Donald Trump, he will have to tread carefully during their meeting or risk being seen as endorsing divisive policies that have alienated key constituencies in Israel and the United States. "On the one hand, the prime minister is going to want to and absolutely should establish a close working relationship with the new president," said Dan Shapiro, who earlier this month completed his term as President Barack Obama's ambassador to Israel. But on the other hand, Shapiro said "there is a risk that by seeming to associate too closely with certain proposals, and perhaps in some ways with him personally, there's an alienation factor for other key (American) constituencies that have been part of the bipartisan pro-Israel coalition. That is something the prime minister may want to keep in mind." In a sign of what could lie ahead, Netanyahu over the weekend set off a diplomatic incident with Mexico with a tweet supporting Trump's border wall a posting that Israel apologized for on Tuesday. Netanyahu also stayed conspicuously silent while American Jewish groups condemned an awkward White House statement about the Holocaust that made no mention of Jewish suffering. He also avoided speaking out on Trump's executive order banning travel to the U.S. for citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, despite deep misgivings among many American Jews and fears here that Israelis of Middle Eastern descent might also be affected. On the surface, Trump appears to be a welcome change for Netanyahu from Obama: they repeatedly clashed over Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands and the U.S-backed nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. Trump has signalled a vastly different approach to both issues, and in their Feb. 15 meeting, Netanyahu will likely be looking to reach understandings with the tycoon-turned-president. He is expected to seek guidance on what sort of settlement construction will be tolerated by the Trump administration, and to push the president to revisit the nuclear deal or at least seek other ways to put pressure on Iran. The nationalist Netanyahu may also be looking for Trump to follow through on promises to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move long favoured by Israel and vehemently opposed by the Palestinians. In a series of tweets, Shapiro said that both men will want their meeting to be a "lovefest," but suggested that Netanyahu should beware. "The real question is what does Trump want from the meeting?" Netanyahu got a possible taste of the future what with his handling of Trump's proposed wall along the Mexican border. Responding to Trump's praise for Israel's own border walls, Netanyahu sent out a Trump-like tweet: "President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea," he wrote. Mexico quickly demanded an apology, and Netanyahu was forced into damage-control mode. Appearing to take another page from the Trump playbook, he angrily accused the media of inflating the issue. Shapiro said Netanyahu moved perilously close to involvement in U.S. affairs, apparently under pressure from Trump. "It surprised me, that he kind of weighed in on a very divisive domestic American issue, considering that desire to maintain bipartisanship, and on an issue that doesn't really have a core Israeli interest," he said. "It struck me as certainly possible that the administration sought that endorsement from him as kind of an early sign of friendship." Netanyahu's conservative worldview tends to be in sync with the U.S. Republican Party and he has a long record of appearing to side with Republicans. But Trump is no mainstream Republican, and his recent policy pronouncements could trigger backlashes from some of Netanyahu's most important constituencies. Trump angered U.S. Jewish groups across the political spectrum with his comments on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in which he made no mention of the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews. Even the Zionist Organization of America, a right-wing group that has been supportive of Trump, expressed "chagrin and deep pain." Trump's ban on refugees and visitors from the seven predominantly Muslim countries has also upset many American Jews, some of whom have strong memories of their forefathers fleeing persecution in Europe. In Israel, it set off a scare that tens of thousands of Israelis who were born in Muslim countries might also be caught up in the ban. The U.S. Embassy in Israel clarified that on Tuesday, saying Israelis of all backgrounds were eligible for visas as long as they are not dual citizens of the countries affected by the ban Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Few Israelis would be affected. Trump's travel ban also threatens to upset Israel's Muslim minority, which has long had a rocky relationship with Netanyahu. Caught between a new U.S. president who shows little patience for critics and groups who fiercely oppose Trump, Netanyahu has kept noticeably silent. Updated: Chicago Doctor Barred From Returning To U.S. Sues Over Trump's Immigration Ban By Stephen Gossett in News on Feb 1, 2017 6:31PM Update, 4:30 p.m.: Both Al Homssi and the Iranian man, who filed a separate suit, will reportedly be allowed entry to the United States. The cases were scheduled to go before a judge on Wednesday, but authorities admitted that both men should have been allowed to board their respective flights. Original: A local doctor who has been stranded in the United Arab Emirates since the weekend is the latest to file suit in Chicago over Donald Trumps immigration-ban executive order. Dr. Amer Al Homssi, 24, a resident of internal medicine at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and visitor-visa holder, traveled to the UAE for his wedding, on Jan. 23. He was prevented by U.S. security from boarding his flight from Abu Dhabi International Airport to OHare International Airport, the lawsuit reportedly alleges. Al Homssi is a citizen of both UAE and Syria. The suit names Trump and both Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protectionalong with each agencys headas defendants. It claims that the plaintiff is collateral damage in President Trump's ill-planned and discriminatory executive order." "Classic insanity. I mean, it's just so ignorant and stupid. I don't understand it. I'm just embarrassed that my country would do something like that," Thomas Durkin, Al Homssi's attorney, told ABC7. American security cancelled Al Homssis visa, Durkin told reporters, and he may have to return to Syria, where he reportedly has not lived since the age of 17. He could end up back in Damascus, where hes never lived, and which is a war zone. Its an insane Catch-22, Durkin told CBS. Donald Trumps executive order suspended refugees from Syria and temporarily bars travel to the US for citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trumps order caused widespread chaos and prompted large-scale protests over the weekend at airports, including OHare. Al Homssi is the second person to file suit in Chicago over Trumps order. A legal permanent resident of the United States and an Iranian citizen sued as John Doe after he was barred from a flight to Chicago, where he hoped to be for the birth of his grandchild. Madison Erhardt The community gathered together at the Kelowna Islamic Centre Tuesday evening to mourn the six people who lost their lives in the Quebec City shooting. Several area pastors spoke at the centre, all with the same message. "With all of our differences we are still together and we want to show to the world that whatever motives that those wrong people have, it can not break us. We still love each other. We still won." The centre was completely packed. Many were deeply saddened by the tragedy, but smiles were also seen on a few faces as the vigil brought hope and support to all. Ahmed Rizki, community member said, " This will bring us together. We are overwhelmed with the amount of support we are getting from the community. We will all be united against violence. With peace, we will celebrate our diversity." Photo: Wayne Moore An angry membership, a fractured board, two police officers and a lawyer made up another general meeting of the Rutland Park Society Tuesday evening. The nearly three-hour meeting accomplished little, except expose the divide between the membership in attendance and several members of the embattled board of directors. At one point early in the proceedings, president Ross Kulak demanded director-at-large Sukhdev Goraya leave the proceedings when he would not cease reading a statement from six board members explaining why the meeting was invalid. Kulak even went to RCMP members at the back of the room, asking they remove Goraya from the building. The officers did not. The meeting was called, ostensibly to remove embattled Treasurer Wendi Swarbrick from the board and the society. A motion was made, and seconded, but never voted on. A lawyer in attendance, hired by a majority of the board of directors, told the crowd of more than 40 the meeting was, in fact, not legally called under the BC Societies Act and therefore, the vote could not take place. According to the legal opinion, the motion was not provided to the membership within the requisite 14 days and the meeting was called by just the president. General meetings, she said, must be called by a majority of the board. She added a motion to add three new directors from the floor was likely not valid as well. In order for a general meeting with a special resolution motion attached to be held, a majority of the board or 10 per cent of the membership would have to call it. Members at the meeting scrambled at the end of the night to sign a paper asking for such a meeting. A date for the meeting was not determined. At issue for the society is renovations to the aging Rutland Centennial Hall. According to Swarbrick, the society must forward documentation to Western Economic Diversification Canada by Wednesday, or risk losing half of the more than $270,000 Canada 150 grant. Swarbrick cited adverse media reports on the goings on of the society for pushing that deadline up. Tolko says it's providing help for employees to cope with the death of a co-worker in Kelowna this week. Ivor Lundin died Monday night at the mill in downtown Kelowna when the boat he was in sank in Okanagan Lake at about 9:30 p.m. Searchers using an underwater camera determined he was still inside the boat. As a company, we are extremely saddened by this loss of life and our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the deceased during this difficult time, said Brad Thorlakson, president and CEO. "We also know that the coming days and weeks will be difficult for our Kelowna employees and we will be providing assistance to them during this time. Tolko said counselling will be available at the workplace and by phone as crews return to work. Lundin, a longtime Tolko employee, was remembered as a kind and warm person. Family and friends gathered at the mill Tuesday to mourn him. "I'm totally shocked," said Jorma Jyrkkanem. "He was the nicest guy in the flippin' world. That's so sad." The mill was closed Tuesday. We want to thank everyone involved in the response and recovery operation for their professionalism and compassion in handling the situation," said Thorlakson. Photo: Google Street View Thousands of doses of drugs, including fentanyl, have been taken off the streets by Surrey RCMP. Last week, police arrested three individuals and seized thousands of doses of street-level drugs and about $16,000 in cash as a result of a two-month long drug investigation. In November 2016, Surrey RCMP launched a strategic drug investigation as a result of the high number of overdose-related deaths. The investigation focused on drug traffickers who were believed to be supplying drugs to the 135A Street area in north Surrey. Sgt. Alanna Dunlop said as a result of the complex investigation, a search warrant was executed on Jan. 13, in the 10100 block of 127th Street in Surrey, resulting in the seizure of approximately 240 doses of suspected heroin/fentanyl, 21 doses of methamphetamine packaged for sale, and approximately $13,000 in Canadian currency. A 30-year-old Surrey man was arrested. A search warrant was executed on Jan. 26, in the 9500 block of 127th Street. The search warrant resulted in the seizure of 3,600 doses of suspected heroin/fentanyl, 500 doses of methamphetamine, and 410 doses of crack cocaine all packaged for street level sale. Also seized was about $3,000 in cash. Lee Roy Braaten, 54, from Surrey, has been charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. Also arrested and charged with drug-related offences is 47-year-old Surrey resident Wanda Stopa. Her arrest and the seizure of suspected heroin/fentanyl prevented about 300 doses of the potentially fatal drug from reaching the streets. Stopa has been charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of trafficking and one count of failing to comply with a recognizance. Surrey has had the second highest number of overdose deaths in B.C., second only to Vancouver, said Insp. Shawna Baher. The 135A Street area and the people that frequent that area have been significantly impacted by the ongoing fentanyl health crisis. This investigation will have a significant impact on illegal drug activity in this area and has no doubt saved lives. Photo: Contributed A Kelowna woman is "going remote" for a year. Communications specialist Michelle Hargrave is one of 75 people selected from 25,000 applicants around the world to spend a year working, traveling and exploring 12 cities as part of the Remote Year program. She'll leave Kelowna March 4 to join the group at its first stop, in Split, Croatia. I was at that stage in my career where I needed to refresh my mind and soul, to reignite my creativity and combine my passion for travel," said Hargrave. "I took that scary leap of faith and trusted my dream, even when I didnt know how it was going to come together. This program is intriguing, as youre pushing yourself outside any comfort zone but youre not alone on the journey. Spending one month in each location, the group continues to work at their own jobs (or new ones), connects with local cultures and business networks, often forming lifelong, borderless relationships. Participants pay to enter the program, but all travel accommodation and workspaces are included, along with community-building events. Ive worked from home for a day or two, but this program takes the idea of remote work to a whole new level, said Hargrave. Business today is largely done over the Internet, or by phone and video conference, so theres no need to work from a traditional office. Why not make your office anywhere in the world? Hargrave took a leave of absence from her regular work and launched a freelance business, Michelle Hargrave Communications, that she will work at for the coming year. Im overwhelmed with the support Ive received from my peers, she said. Theyve provided advice and cheered me on along the way. You can follow Hargrave's journey at www.michellehargrave.com. The group's itinerary is: Photo: CTV Three people are in custody following a police standoff in Victoria Tuesday night. Police were tipped that a man wanted on an outstanding warrant was at the Blanshard Court housing complex and may have had a gun. An Emergency Response Team was called in when the man refused to leave the home. Roads were closed and several residents were evacuated as officers surrounded the building with automatic weapons drawn. The investigation revealed that there was possibly a firearm involved in terms that it could be in the residence, so out of an abundance of caution we took steps to evacuate and contain, Sgt. Paul Brookes told CTV. So obviously a big scene, a fairly big disruption, but to ensure safety we lock down as much as we can and evacuate people from any form of danger that we can. Three people inside the unit eventually came out and were arrested. with files from CTV Vancouver Island Photo: The Canadian Press When it comes to weddings, these days the "something borrowed" is likely money. According to the Wedding Wire, the average cost of a wedding is $36,720, which is a dramatic increase from three years ago. In 2014, the average cost of a wedding was $31,110, according to Golden Girl Finance. For those couples who don't have that amount of cash on hand, they resort to credit cards to make up for the lack of cash flow in order to keep up with the "expectations" that come with weddings. Your wedding budget is the key to your wedded bliss. Take the time to sit down with your future spouse and discuss how much your wedding is going to cost you. No one wants to start a marriage plagued by debt, says Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director, Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada. Some of the costs, according to Statistic Brain: Photo: Wayne Moore You've been challenged Kelowna challenged to give back to your community. As part of sesquicentennial celebrations across the country, Kelowna has joined the 150 for 150 Volunteer Challenge. The nationwide movement, in honour of Canada's 150th birthday, encourages residents to give what time they have, be it an hour, or 150 hours, this year. The goal is to amass 150,000 hours of tracked volunteer time by Kelowna residents throughout 2017. Now, 150,000 sounds like a big number and it is," said Mayor Colin Basran in kicking off the campaign at Stuart Park. "But imagine a city with a population of almost 128,000. What if each person gave one or two hours of volunteering in a single year. You could see how 150,000 hours is absolutely attainable. And, you know what, quite honestly, we should surpass that." The Central Okanagan has more than 370 non-profit organizations looking for volunteer help. One of those is Habitat for Humanity. "In the last couple of decades, Habitat, because of the volunteers, has been able to put over 40 local families in a home they can call their own. In the next five years, we hope to provide homes for another 30 families," said spokesperson Lorraine Richmond. "We are right on track, and I will tell you why. It's because our volunteers have stepped up." Residents can track and log their hours using the tracking system powered by Kelowna tech company Volinspire. The company was chosen to be the official tracking platform of the national campaign. The mayor got the ball rolling Wednesday by challenging other municipalities, mayors and councillors to take up the challenge. Okanagan Mission Secondary school student Madelyn Miyashita had a similar message for students. "My team of Volinspire students ambassadors have an action plan to kickstart volunteering incentives within the school district," said Miyashita. "We want to challenge each school to volunteer the most hours between now and June. In the very near future, each participating high school will have a youth volunteering team registered on Volinspire to track each member's hours." The 150 for 150 volunteer Challenge runs all year. Photo: Castanet Staff Forest safety ombudsman Roger Harris says injured workers in rural British Columbia are waiting too long for air ambulance service and he's calling for improved standards and service. His report says injured forest workers in remote and rural parts of the province often must wait hours for emergency air ambulance service even though hospitals are a short flight away. His report released today says a logger on Haida Gwaii whose leg was crushed in a tree-falling accident waited five hours for an air ambulance to transport him to hospital in Queen Charlotte City, a 20-minute flight. The report recommends the province introduce legislation that guarantees timely air ambulance responses to emergencies at rural work sites and communities. His report says B.C. falls short when compared with other jurisdictions like Alaska and Washington states and it recommends that the province guarantee time limits for residents to get to health facilities. The Forest Safety Ombudsman Office was established in 2006 to enhance safety in the forestry sector and investigate issues about policies, practices, and procedures within the industry. Photo: CTV A new study says Canadians aged 55 and older were the second most likely among comparable countries to stop filling their prescriptions in 2014 because of cost. The study from the University of British Columbia says one in 12 people in that age group skipped their prescriptions in 2014. The research draws on data from a 2014 survey of older adults in 11 high-income countries. The study says among countries that have publicly funded health-care systems, Canada is the only one without coverage for prescription drugs. The researchers analyzed the survey and found the United States had the highest rate of skipped prescriptions, with 16.8 per cent of respondents deciding not to fill prescriptions. In most of the other countries, fewer than four per cent of respondents reported skipping prescriptions due to cost. Canada's rate was 8.3 per cent. The 10 other countries used in the comparison are Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A separate analysis found that one in eight Canadians aged 55 to 64 reported that they did not fill prescriptions because of cost in 2014. One in 20 Canadians aged 65 and older reported not filling prescriptions, and the study says that age group qualifies for public drug coverage in many provinces. Prof. Steve Morgan, senior author of the study, said gaps in drug coverage are a problem that is costing the health-care system. "When patients stop filling their prescriptions, their conditions get worse and they often end up in hospital requiring more care which in the long run costs us more money," said Morgan, who teaches in the school of population and public health. Morgan said the 2014 findings were consistent with studies that date back a decade. "Financial barriers to prescription drugs are still high, both in absolute terms and relative to our peer countries." The university's research was described in two studies published in BMJ Open and CMAJ Open medical journals. 7 Arrested During 'Resist Trump Tuesday' Protest Of Trump Cabinet Appointments By aaroncynic in News on Feb 1, 2017 4:40PM Demonstrators are arrested while protesting in the lobby of the Kluczynski Federal Building against President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty. "When public eduction is under attack, what do we do? STAND UP FIGHT BACK!" #ResistTrumpTuesdays turning up on the heat on VOTE NO TO DEVOS pic.twitter.com/2HZ46Rf9VB Resist Trump Chicago (@ResistTrumpTues) January 31, 2017 We got your back, we got your back! #ResistTrumpTuesdays protesters chant supporting students risking arrest at Federal Building pic.twitter.com/zlo5eVrkLR Resist Trump Chicago (@ResistTrumpTues) January 31, 2017 DeVos has financial interests in a student debt collection agency that has done business with and is seeking a renewed contract with the department of education and she has a multitude of investments in for-profit education companies, Nadia Perl, a member of The People's Lobby Education Institute, the group which organized the demonstration, said in a press release. According to the Chicago Tribune , some 300 demonstrators rallied outside the building while the students sat in the lobby. Earlier in the day the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee approved Devos in a 12-11 vote, amid accusations of alleged plagiarizing answers to questions from Senators. This nominee is being jammed through with corners being cut and with the minority being brushed aside, Sen. Patty Murray told the Washington Post. We just received responses to hundreds of written questions yesterday, less than 24 hours before this scheduled vote, and with no time to fully review and ask any follow-up questions. Though, I will say, upon initial review, many of the responses look copied and pasted from previous statements or are simple reiterations of the law and no true responses at all. Earlier in the afternoon, separate groups of education activists delivered letters to Durbin and Duckworths offices with the similar messages. Devos has faced harsh criticism from many for her preference for school privatization and alleged lack of knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Neither DeVos nor her children have ever attended public school, said Camila Gonzalez, another member of The People's Lobby Education Institute. As a billionaire, she has no need for or experience with the system of public education that she has been nominated to lead. Tuesday morning, Duckworth also said Devos was not qualified to lead the Department of Education: After reviewing Ms. DeVos record and recent Senate testimony, it is abundantly clear that she lacks the necessary experience and expertise that every Secretary of Education must possess, coming up short in two particular areas: her commitment to public education and her understanding of our nations civil rights laws. Photo: Contributed The prosecution says a woman accused of pushing her husband to kill himself offered the man pills and then told him she would get him a gun. In his opening argument today in B.C. provincial court, Crown attorney Andrew Masey says Terri Linda Reimer came home last March 22 and found her husband Bill Reimer taking prescription pills in an attempt to kill himself. Masey says she then offered him different pills and said she would load a gun to help finish the job. She is charged with administering a noxious substance with intent to endanger and counselling a person to commit suicide. Masey told the court in Cranbrook that a relative called on the night of the confrontation and overheard Terri Reimer yelling "Go ahead and just do it," and "I'll get you the gun." The Crown says he expects to call RCMP officers, the husband and other family members as witnesses in the judge-alone trial that's scheduled for four days. Photo: Instagram - @taketwofoto A few employees in Kelowna may be asking for an extended lunch break around Valentine's Day. Kelowna's Hotel Zed is offering a sexy deal for Valentine's Day, $50 "nooner" room rentals for "loving couples" between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The hotel says the deal is "back by popular demand and without any judgment." "Forget running around looking for a Valentines Day gift in a store. The 'nooner' allows you to give the best gift of all your sexy self," says the hotel. Rooms are available for nooners Feb. 9 and10 and Feb. 13 and 14. Hotel Zed in Kelowna can be reached at 250-763-7771. Trump Slams 'Out Of Control' Chicago Again During Black History Month Event By Rachel Cromidas in News on Feb 1, 2017 4:50PM Getty Images / Photo: Pool President Donald Trump took yet another opportunity to slam Chicago's violence rate during a so-called listening session at the White House in honor of the start of Black History Month. Sitting at a table of black community leaders, many of whom work in Trump's administration, Darrell Scott, a Pastor of Ohio's New Spirit Revival Center and a member of Trump's transition team, told the president that "top gang thugs" in Chicago had reached out to him personally due to his affiliation with Trump. "I was recently contacted by some of the top gang thugs in Chicago for a sit down, they reached out to me because they associated me with you, they respect you, they believe in what you're doing, and they want to have a sit down about that body count," he said. "So in a couple of weeks I'm going to go to Chicago ... straight street guys, they're going to commit that if they lower that body count, we're going to go in and bring them some social programs. They want to work with this administration." "They reached out, I didn't reach out to them," he added. "They didn't believe in the prior administration." Trump responded to Scott's comments approvingly. "We're going to have to do something about Chicago, because what's happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country," he said. Calling the city's violence totally out of control, Trump added that, if Chicagoans don't curb the city's violence problem themselves, "we'll solve the problem for them." Trump, who Tweeted last week that he would possibly "send in the feds" to Chicago, has been very low on details about how exactly he would help "solve" Chicago's decades-long, entrenched gun and gang violence problems. But some have interpreted his comments to mean he would send the National Guard to Chicago. During the listening session, Trump also called out CNN's journalism, labelling the news organization "fake news," and noting that he doesn't watch CNN. He also said his Supreme Court nomination Neil Gorsuch would be approved "very very quickly," and that HHS secretary nominee Ben Carson would help lower violence in the "inner cities." Perhaps most perplexingly, Trump made a nod toward Black History, the actual subject of the event, by describing 19th Century abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass as "an example of somebody who's done an amazing job that is being recognized more and more." A Toronto Star reporter published a transcript of Trump's remarks, below: This is a full transcript of President Trump's speech to his Black History Month event. pic.twitter.com/uJ9iXvUOGr Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 1, 2017 Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a new conference on Wednesday said Trump should "just sent them" in response to the president's latest dig. "Send more FBI, DEA, ATF agents," Emanuel said, according to NBC. "We don't have to talk about it anymore. Just send them." Emanuel said "no" when asked if he wants Trump to come to Chicago, adding "What I would really like is the federal resources." This post has been updated. You are here: Home Bangladesh's 31st National Poetry Festival will be held on the premises of Dhaka University on Wednesday, the National Poetry Council said Tuesday. Hundreds of poets from across Bangladesh as well as poets from Austria, Argentina, China, India, Russia, Sweden, Germany and Puerto Rico will attend the festival and recite their poems, said Mohammad Samad, president of the council, at a press conference. The council leaders said they were hosting the annual episode of the two-day festival with the slogan "Poem Does Not Accept Barbarism." The festival will feature programs such as recitation of poems, songs, a seminar on poetry. Bangladesh: Loesche to supply VRM for Haria 2 upgrade ICR Newsroom By 01 February 2017 Loesche has announced that it has been chosen to supply a vertical roller mill and other equipment for the Aman Groups Haria 2 grinding mill in Narayangonj, Bangladesh. The equipment will be supplied as part of upgrade works being undertaken by China National Heavy Machinery Corporation which will raise the capacity of the plant from its current level of 10,000tpd. Bangladesh has seen its level of cement consumption rise strongly in recent years and the government has been keen on encouraging domestic cement consumption. As the country lacks commercially developed limestone deposits, grinding mills such as Haria are key to this ambition. Loesche are to supply a vertical roller mill of type LM 56.3+3 CS. The roller mill has a production capacity of 240tph Portland and composite cement clinker with a fineness of 3200 Blaine or 175tph GGBFS (ground-granulated blast-furnace slag) with a fineness of 4500Blaine, as well as a drive power of 5300kW. In addition to the mill, the scope of supply also includes additional technical equipment for the grinding plant such as a rotary feed, two-way chute, metal detector and permanent magnet drum separator. Published under The Chinese New Year was in the spotlight of this weekend's events at the impressive, newly-founded Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) here, as Greeks celebrated the Year of the Rooster with joy. On Saturday, 40 children aged four to eight attended a crafts workshop where they had the chance to make their own traditional Chinese paper kite, their first experience with Chinese culture. Excited about their new decorative toys, the children played in the vast indoor and outdoor spaces of the cultural center, waving their paper kites enthusiastically. "All the children really enjoyed this activity. They did it with their heart. It was creative. The outcome was marvellous and, by the way they are playing with it right now, I can tell they loved it," said Ioanna Mavridou, whose son and his friends attended the workshop, speaking to Xinhua. "As a mother, I always seek to offer my son stimuli from other cultures and traditions, so that he can get in contact with different cultures than ours. The result is always remarkable. It broadens his horizons," she added. On Sunday, adults were invited to make paper mache lanterns to take home with them, as a souvenir from their participation in the celebration. Afterwards, they decorated a wire dragon figure with paper strips and lighting, and attempted their first dragon dance. The dragon, symbolizing good luck, wisdom, and power, danced through the cultural center and along the beautiful esplanade, spreading joy and arousing curiosity among the visitors. "It is something that, as far as I know, has never before happened in Greece. So, as soon as I heard about it, I thought it would be fun to join in," said Dimitris, who participated in the workshop with his girlfriend. Both workshops were followed by two Chinese film screenings. The 2011 martial arts drama "Dragon," directed by Peter Chan, on Saturday, and "The Grandmaster," a 2013 film on the life of martial-arts grandmaster Ip Man, on Sunday, attracted a Greek audience eager to learn more about Chinese culture. "Starting with the Chinese New Year, our goal is to introduce a new events section, through which we can initiate our visitors into foreign cultures, on the occasion of these cultures' biggest celebrations," SNFCC programming and production manager Gabriella Triantafyllis said in a recent interview. The organizers plan to make Chinese New Year festivities bigger every year, turning it into a colorful annual custom for locals. Apart from fitting in the center's strategic goals, the small-scale celebration of this year also had its roots in Triantafyllis's personal experiences as a traveller. "A few years back, I had the chance to be in Shanghai during the New Year celebrations and all the traditional customs, the fireworks etc. offered me a very intense and beautiful experience," Triantafyllis stressed. Pedro Almodovar, renowned Spanish film maker director and producer, will preside the jury of the 70th Festival de Cannes due to take place from May 17-28, the organizers announced on Tuesday. "For its 70th edition, the Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome a unique and hugely popular artist. His works have already carved out an eternal niche in the history of film. A long and loyal friendship binds Pedro Almodovar to the Festival," the organizers said in a statement. Almodovar, has been seen an icon of Spanish cinema, as he won the best foreign film Oscar in 1999 for his "All About My Mother" drama, which also won him best director at Cannes festival. His four other films, namely Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009), The Skin I live in (2011) and Julieta (2016), have also been selected in Cannes festival's official competition. But, the Spanish director has never taken its top prize, the Palme d'Or. Born to a farming family in a small, dusty town south of Madrid, Almodovar bought his first camera at 22 when he started making his short first films. "I am very happy to be able to celebrate the Festival de Cannes 70th anniversary from such a privileged position. I am grateful, honoured and a bit overwhelmed," said the 67-year-old film director. "I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that I'll devote myself, body and soul, to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure," he added. This year's edition of Cannes festival will raise its curtain on May 17. The rest of the jury and the films that will make up its official selection will be announced mid-April, organizers said. Catholic Family News A Monthly Journal Preserving our Catholic Faith and Heritage Home Latest Archives Subscribe CFN Media - videos Contact Us CFN Bookstore Oltyn Library Services 2017 CFN Daily Blog Originally started as a daily Blog update of news reports on the Papal Conclave and ongoing news on Pope Francis, it is now a general Blog updated daily on traditional Catholic topics Updated Regularly Book mark this page click here Luxury hotels in the historic center for a Catholic family. Only luxury hotels can provide a paradisiacal vacation for a big Catholic family. A high-level vacation for families, children and not only. The gorgeous views, divine service, and the best location are all luxury hotels. Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, and more. Everyone will find their place in this corner of paradise. 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Naples Luxury Hotels Naples Luxury Resorts Louisville, KY, United States Louisville is in the heart of Kentucky and is known for being the home of the Kentucky Derby. There are a lot of great places to visit in Louisville, including the Louisville Zoo, the Muhammad Ali Center, and the Frazier History Museum. There are also a lot of great restaurants and bars in Louisville, and it's a great place to visit for a weekend getaway. Louisville Luxury Hotels Galveston, TX, United States Galveston is a Texas coastal town that is rich in history and offers visitors a variety of places to visit and things to do. Some of the most popular attractions include the Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn Waterpark, and Historic Downtown. There are also a number of museums and other historical landmarks, as well as plenty of shopping and dining options. Galveston Luxury Hotels Galveston Luxury Resorts Omaha, NE, United States The birthplace of Warren Buffett, Omaha, Nebraska, is a great place to visit. There are plenty of things to see and do in Omaha, from touring the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium to visiting the Durham Western Heritage Museum. Other popular tourist destinations in Omaha include the Joslyn Art Museum, the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, and TD Ameritrade Park. Omaha Luxury Hotels Columbus, GA, United States Columbus is a charming small town in Georgia that is worth a visit. There are several places to visit in Columbus, including the Riverwalk, the Chattahoochee River, the National Infantry Museum, and the Coca-Cola Space Science Center. The Riverwalk is a beautiful walkway along the Chattahoochee River that is perfect for a relaxing stroll or a bike ride. The Chattahoochee River is a great place to go fishing, swimming, or kayaking. The National Infantry Museum is a museum dedicated to the infantry of the United States Army. It is a must-see for history buffs. The Coca-Cola Space Science Center is a museum dedicated to space science. It is perfect for kids and adults alike. Columbus Luxury Hotels Anchorage, AK, United States Anchorage is a great place to visit if you're looking for an adrenaline rush. From skiing and snowboarding in the winter to rafting and fishing in the summer, Anchorage has something to offer everyone. In addition to its outdoor activities, Anchorage also has a variety of cultural and historical attractions, including the Anchorage Museum and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Anchorage Luxury Hotels Portland, OR, United States Portland is a city that is located in the US state of Oregon and it is known for its art scene, food, and coffee. There are a lot of interesting places to visit in Portland, such as the Portland Art Museum, where you can see a variety of art from all over the world. Another place to visit is the Powell's City of Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world. If you're looking for a place to eat, Portland has no shortage of amazing restaurants, such as Pok Pok, which serves Thai cuisine, and Le Pigeon, which serves French cuisine. And, of course, no trip to Portland would be complete without trying some of the city's famous coffee, such as Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Portland Luxury Hotels Florence, Italy No trip to Italy is complete without a visit to Florence. This historic city is home to some of the country's most famous attractions, including the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, and Michelangelo's David. There's also plenty to see and do outside of the city center, including the picturesque Tuscan countryside and the vibrant university town of Arezzo. Florence Luxury Hotels Florence Luxury Villas Asheville, NC, United States Asheville is a city in western North Carolina. It is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Buncombe County. Asheville is home to the Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in the United States. The city of Asheville proper had a population of 84,236 in 2010. The city is known for its art deco architecture, mountain scenery and outdoor activities, and as the birthplace of American novelist Thomas Wolfe. It is also home to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, the second largest craft brewery in the United States. Asheville Luxury Hotels Asheville Luxury Cottages Long Beach, CA, United States There's plenty to do in Long Beach, California without ever having to leave the city limits. If you're looking for a little adventure, head to the Aquarium of the Pacific for a glimpse of the ocean's creatures or take a walk on the boardwalk at Rainbow Harbor. If you're more of a history buff, the Queen Mary is a must-see. This retired ocean liner is now a hotel and museum with plenty of stories to tell. And no trip to Long Beach is complete without a visit to the iconic Vincent Thomas Bridge. Long Beach Luxury Hotels Long Beach Luxury Villas Cincinnati, OH, United States Cincinnati is a city located on the Ohio River in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. The city was founded in 1788 and named after the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of Revolutionary War officers. Cincinnati is a major U.S. city and the metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million people. The city is well-known for its German heritage, Oktoberfest celebration, and its variety of chili dishes. Cincinnati is home to three major sports teams: the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, MLB's Cincinnati Reds, and the NBA's Cincinnati Cavaliers. The city is also home to the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. The city's historic neighborhoods include Over-the-Rhine, Mount Auburn, and Hyde Park. Cincinnati is a popular tourist destination and offers a variety of attractions and places to visit, including the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Newport Aquarium, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Cincinnati Luxury Hotels Laughlin, NV, United States Laughlin, Nevada is a great place to visit if you're looking for a fun and affordable vacation. There are plenty of casinos and resorts to choose from, as well as plenty of outdoor activities and attractions. Be sure to check out the local nightlife, and don't forget to take a trip down the mighty Colorado River. Laughlin Luxury Hotels Laughlin Luxury Resorts Anaheim, CA, United States Anaheim, California is home to both Disneyland and California Adventure Park. The parks are just a short walk away from each other, and make for a great day of exploration. Anaheim is also home to the Anaheim Angels and the Anaheim Ducks, so there's always a game to catch. If you're looking for something a little more low-key, Anaheim has a great shopping district and a variety of restaurants to choose from. Anaheim Luxury Hotels Santa Cruz, CA, United States Santa Cruz is a great place to visit! There are so many places to see and things to do. Some of my favorite places to visit are the Boardwalk, the wharf, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Boardwalk is a great place to go for a walk, ride on the amusement park rides, and eat some of the delicious food. The wharf is a great place to go for a walk, eat some seafood, and listen to the street performers. The University of California, Santa Cruz is a great place to visit to learn about the history of the area and to see some of the beautiful architecture. I highly recommend visiting Santa Cruz if you are looking for a fun and interesting place to visit!. Santa Cruz Luxury Hotels Eugene, OR, United States Eugene, Oregon is a great city to visit with a lot of places to see and things to do. One of the most popular attractions is the University of Oregon campus, which is home to a number of museums and a large football stadium. The city also has a vibrant arts scene, with a number of theaters and art galleries. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy the dozens of parks and hiking trails in the area, and there are also a number of wineries and breweries in the area. Eugene Luxury Hotels Branson, MO, United States There's plenty to see and do in Branson, Missouri, from state parks and amusement parks to theaters and shopping. Here are some of the most popular places to visit: Silver Dollar City is a theme park with rides, shows, and craftsmen demonstrations. is a theme park with rides, shows, and craftsmen demonstrations. The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theatre puts on a variety of shows, including "The Legend of the Shepherd of the Hills" and "The Catfish Fry." puts on a variety of shows, including "The Legend of the Shepherd of the Hills" and "The Catfish Fry." Table Rock State Park has fishing, swimming, and hiking trails, as well as a nature center. has fishing, swimming, and hiking trails, as well as a nature center. The Titanic Museum features a half-sized replica of the ship, along with exhibits about the history of the Titanic. features a half-sized replica of the ship, along with exhibits about the history of the Titanic. Branson Landing is a shopping and entertainment complex on the waterfront. There's something for everyone in Branson, Missouri come visit and see for yourself!. Branson Luxury Hotels Panama City Beach, FL, United States The white sand beaches and emerald waters of Panama City Beach, Florida, are a popular tourist destination. The city is home to numerous hotels, resorts, and restaurants, as well as amusement and water parks. Visitors can also enjoy fishing, kayaking, and surfing. Panama City Beach Luxury Hotels Panama City Beach Luxury Resorts Monterey, CA, United States Monterey is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, United States. It stands at the southern end of Monterey Bay, on the Pacific coast. The city is also the home of the Naval Postgraduate School. Monterey is the largest city in the Central Coast region of California. The main attractions in Monterey are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, and the downtown area. Monterey Luxury Hotels Norfolk, VA, United States Norfolk, Virginia is a great place to visit for its historical places and military bases. Some places to visit in Norfolk are the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk Botanical Garden, and the Norfolk Naval Station. Norfolk Luxury Hotels Palm Springs, CA, United States Palm Springs is a vibrant city located in the Coachella Valley and is known for its year-round sunshine, resort atmosphere and Mid-Century Modern architecture. Top places to visit include the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Palm Springs Art Museum, Indian Canyons and Moorten Botanical Garden. For a truly unique experience, be sure to check out the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale the worlds largest vintage furniture and design event. Palm Springs Luxury Hotels Palm Springs Luxury Resorts Palm Springs Luxury Villas Rochester, NY, United States Rochester is a city in western New York State and is the county seat of Monroe County. Rochester is known for its annual festivals, including the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Rochester Fringe Festival, and the Holiday Folk Fair International. Places to visit in Rochester include the George Eastman Museum, the Strong National Museum of Play, the Rochester Museum and Science Center, and the Seneca Park Zoo. Rochester Luxury Hotels Pigeon Forge, TN, United States Visit the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge for a unique experience. This museum is dedicated to the Titanic, one of the most infamous ships in history. Tour the ship and learn about the passengers and crew who were on board. You can even see the actual artifacts recovered from the shipwreck. If you're looking for a little more excitement, head to Dollywood. This amusement park is home to roller coasters, a water park, and plenty of other rides and attractions. Plus, the park is themed around the life and music of Dolly Parton. No trip to Pigeon Forge is complete without a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains. These mountains offer a variety of activities, including hiking, fishing, and horseback riding. Plus, the natural beauty of the area is simply breathtaking. Pigeon Forge Luxury Hotels Jacksonville, FL, United States Jacksonville is less than an hour's drive from the beaches of Amelia Island and St. Augustine, and a little more than two hours from Orlando. The city has a lot to offer visitors, including a riverwalk, museums, and a vibrant arts scene. Jacksonville is also home to the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team. Jacksonville Luxury Hotels Minsk, Belarus Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is a city that has something for everyone. If you're looking for a little history, Minsk has plenty of it, with churches and monuments dating back to the 12th century. If you're looking for a lively nightlife, Minsk has that, too, with plenty of bars, clubs, and restaurants. And if you're looking for a little nature, Minsk has parks and gardens to enjoy. Here are just a few of the places you can visit in Minsk: The Holy Spirit Cathedral, one of the oldest churches in Minsk, is a must-visit for history buffs. The National Library of Belarus is a huge library with more than 18 million items in its collection. The Opera and Ballet Theatre is a beautiful building that hosts performances of both opera and ballet. The Victory Park is a large park with a war memorial, a children's playground, and a lake. And for a little bit of nature in the heart of the city, the Botanical Garden is a great place to relax and take a break from the hustle and bustle of Minsk. Minsk Luxury Hotels Jaipur, India Jaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. It is the capital of the state of Rajasthan and is known for its palaces, forts and temples. Some of the places to visit in Jaipur include the Amber Fort, the City Palace, the Jantar Mantar Observatory and the Hawa Mahal. Jaipur is also a great place to shop for traditional Indian handicrafts. Jaipur Luxury Hotels Chicago, IL, United States Chicago is a city full of culture and history. There are plenty of places to visit, such as the Willis Tower, Buckingham Fountain, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicago is also home to many restaurants and bars, so there is something for everyone. Chicago Luxury Hotels Auckland, New Zealand Auckland is a beautiful city located on the north island of New Zealand. There are many places to visit in Auckland, including the Sky Tower, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the Auckland Domain. The beaches in Auckland are also worth visiting, especially Karekare and Piha. Auckland is a great place to visit, and I highly recommend it!. Auckland Luxury Hotels Auckland Luxury Villas Amsterdam, Netherlands If you're looking for a city that's got it all, Amsterdam should be your go-to destination. From the city's lively and vibrant nightlife to its charming and quiet neighborhoods, Amsterdam has something for everyone. Be sure to check out the Anne Frank Huis, the Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum, as these are some of the most popular attractions in the city. And if you're looking for a little bit of nature, be sure to take a walk or bike ride through Amsterdam's many parks. Amsterdam Luxury Hotels Berlin, Germany There are so many great places to visit in Berlin that it can be hard to know where to start. From the iconic Brandenburg Gate to the fascinating Reichstag Building, there's something for everyone in this vibrant city. If you're looking for a bit of history, make sure to check out the Berlin Wall Memorial or the DDR Museum. And for those looking for a bit more fun, there's always the Alexanderplatz Christmas Market or the Zoologischer Garten. No matter what your interests, Berlin is a city you won't want to miss. Berlin Luxury Hotels Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok is a city of contrasts with its gleaming temples and skyscrapers, chaotic markets and tranquil canals. While it's a popular tourist destination, Bangkok is a city that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages. Some of the top places to visit in Bangkok include the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, the floating markets and the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Bangkok Luxury Hotels Bangkok Luxury Resorts Bangkok Luxury Villas Bruges, Belgium Bruges is a city in Belgium that is worth visiting. It is full of medieval charm and there are a lot of things to see and do. Some of the places to visit include the Markt, the Belfry, and the Begijnhof. Bruges Luxury Hotels Brussels, Belgium Brussels is a city in Belgium that is best known for its chocolate, waffles, and beer. But there is much more to see and do in Brussels than just indulge in the local cuisine. There are a number of interesting historical landmarks to visit, such as the Grand Place and the Atomium, as well as a variety of parks and gardens. And, of course, Brussels is also a great city to explore on foot. Brussels Luxury Hotels Budapest, Hungary Budapest, Hungary's capital, is a city of thermal baths and medival, baroque and art nouveau architecture. Crowded with tourists, the city is bisected by the Danube River into the hilly Buda and the more developed and flat Pest. Among the main places of interest are the neo-Gothic Parliament, the Chain Bridge linking Buda and Pest, the Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion on the Buda bank, and the State Opera House and Heroes' Square on the Pest side. Budapest Luxury Hotels Playa del Carmen, Mexico Home to some of the best beaches in Mexico, Playa del Carmen is a favorite tourist destination for visitors from all over the world. With its lively nightlife, gorgeous coastline and ample shopping opportunities, there's something for everyone in this tropical paradise. Don't miss the opportunity to visit some of the area's most popular attractions, such as the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum and Coba, or the eco-friendly Turtle Beach. With its friendly people, delicious food and stunning scenery, Playa del Carmen is a place you'll never want to leave. Playa del Carmen Luxury Hotels Playa del Carmen Luxury Resorts Playa del Carmen Luxury Villas Denver, CO, United States Denver is a great city for visitors. There are so many places to see and things to do. Some of the top places to visit include the 16th Street Mall, the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Denver Art Museum, and the Colorado State Capitol. There are also plenty of great restaurants and shops to explore. Denver is definitely a city worth visiting!. Denver Luxury Hotels Dublin, Ireland Dublin is a city located in Ireland. It's a city full of culture, with plenty of places to visit. Some popular tourist spots are the Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College, and the Dublin Castle. There are also plenty of pubs and restaurants to discover. Dublin Luxury Hotels Dusseldorf, Germany Dusseldorf, Germany is a city with many different places to visit. The city has a mix of old and new buildings, and a variety of activities to do. The best places to visit in Dusseldorf are the Konigsallee, the Rhine Tower, and the Oktoberfest. The Konigsallee is an open-air shopping mall that has many high-end stores. The Rhine Tower is the tallest building in the city and offers great views of Dusseldorf. The Oktoberfest is a week-long festival that celebrates German culture and food. Dusseldorf Luxury Hotels Edinburgh, United Kingdom Edinburgh, Scotland is a beautiful city to visit. The architecture is very old and unique, and there are plenty of historical places to visit, like Edinburgh Castle. There are also plenty of parks and gardens, and lots of shops and restaurants. Edinburgh Luxury Hotels Rome, Italy Rome is a city rich in history and filled with beautiful places to visit. Make sure to stop by the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. Also be sure to visit St. Peters Basilica and the Sistine Chapel while in Rome. If youre looking for a little more nature in your trip, head to the Villa Borghese gardens or the Janiculum Hill for some wonderful views of the city. And of course, no trip to Rome is complete without a gelato!. Rome Luxury Hotels Rome Luxury Villas New York, NY, United States There are many amazing places to visit in New York State. Some of my favorites are the Niagara Falls, the Adirondack Mountains, and the Finger Lakes. If you're looking for a city break, New York City is definitely worth a visit. There's endless things to see and do, from touring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to visiting world-famous museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. No matter what your interests are, you'll be able to find something to enjoy in New York State. New York Luxury Hotels New York Luxury Villas London, United Kingdom London is a city rich in history and full of amazing places to visit. Some of my favorite places are Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. There is so much to see and do in London, you could spend weeks here and never run out of things to do. If you're looking for a city full of culture and history, London is the place for you. London Luxury Hotels London Luxury Cottages Madrid, Spain Madrid is one of the most beautiful and culturally rich cities in the world. From the Royal Palace to the Prado Museum, theres plenty to see and do in Madrid. If youre looking for a little bit of nature, Madrid has plenty of parks, like the Buen Retiro Park, to relax in. And dont forget to try some of the delicious tapas and wine while youre in town. Madrid Luxury Hotels Memphis, TN, United States The birthplace of rock 'n' roll, Memphis is a city rich in history and culture. From Graceland to Beale Street, there are plenty of places to visit in Memphis. Be sure to check out Sun Studio, where rock 'n' roll was born, and the National Civil Rights Museum, which tells the story of the African-American civil rights movement. Memphis is also home to some amazing food, so be sure to try some of the city's famous barbecue and soul food. Memphis Luxury Hotels Miami Beach, FL, United States There is much to explore in Miami Beach, from the famous Art Deco district to the vast beaches and crystal-clear waters. Outdoor enthusiasts will love the opportunities for fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding, while history buffs can explore the ancient burial mounds at Miami Beach. Shoppers and foodies will find plenty to keep them busy, with vibrant neighborhoods like Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive offering unique boutiques and award-winning restaurants. And of course, no trip to Miami Beach is complete without a visit to world-famous South Beach. Miami Beach Luxury Hotels Miami Beach Luxury Resorts New Orleans, LA, United States You can't visit New Orleans without trying some of the local food. Beignets, Po' Boys, and gumbo are just a few of the must-try dishes. While you're in town, be sure to check out the French Quarter, Jackson Square, and St. Louis Cathedral. If you're looking for some nightlife, Bourbon Street is the place to be. And, of course, no trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to Mardi Gras!. New Orleans Luxury Hotels Milan, Italy Milan is a city located in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is a popular tourist destination because of its historical and artistic heritage. Some of the places you should visit while in Milan are the Duomo, La Scala, and Castello Sforzesco. Milan Luxury Hotels Naples, Italy Naples is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in Italy. There are countless places to visit, such as the Royal Palace, the Museum of San Martino, and the Church of Gesu Nuovo. Naples is also home to excellent shopping and dining options. Be sure to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the city's many cafes and take a stroll through the picturesque streets. Naples Luxury Hotels Paris, France Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It's home to iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum, as well as a thriving nightlife and restaurant scene. If you're looking to explore all that Paris has to offer, here are some of the top places to visit: The Eiffel Tower: This iconic landmark is a must-see in Paris. Climb to the top for stunning views of the city, or take a ride on the elevator to the bottom for a closer look at the structure. The Louvre Museum: This world-famous museum is home to some of the most famous works of art in the world, including the Mona Lisa. The Notre Dame Cathedral: This beautiful cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks in Paris. Make sure to climb to the top for some amazing views of the city. The Champs-Elysees: This famous avenue is a popular destination for shopping and dining. Be sure to wander down the street and take in all the sights and sounds. The Arc de Triomphe: This towering arch is another iconic landmark in Paris. Climb to the top for some amazing views of the city. Paris Luxury Hotels Paris Luxury Villas Prague, Czech Republic Prague is a city rich in history and culture. There are plenty of places to visit, including the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, and the Old Town Square. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars to enjoy, and the nightlife is vibrant. Prague is a truly unique city and a must-visit for anyone traveling to the Czech Republic. Prague Luxury Hotels Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Located on the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana is known for its beautiful beaches and turquoise waters. This paradise is a favorite destination for travelers looking for a Caribbean getaway. Punta Cana is home to a wide variety of resorts and activities, from enjoying the sand and surf to golfing, spas, and shopping. Nature lovers can also explore the areas jungles, caves, and waterfalls. Punta Cana Luxury Hotels Punta Cana Luxury Resorts Punta Cana Luxury Villas Marbella, Spain If you're looking for an idyllic and luxurious Spanish escape, look no further than Marbella. Located on the country's Costa del Sol, Marbella is home to stunning beaches, top-notch resorts, world-class golfing, and much more. A visit to Marbella is the perfect way to experience all that Spain has to offer. Marbella Luxury Hotels Marbella Luxury Villas Marrakesh, Morocco Marrakesh is a city in Morocco that is full of culture and history. There are several places to visit in Marrakesh, including the Palace of the Bahia, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, and the Saadian Tombs. The souks (markets) are also a must-see, where you can find everything from souvenirs to spices to traditional clothing. Be sure to enjoy a meal in one of the many restaurants or cafes in Marrakesh; the food is delicious and the atmosphere is always lively. Marrakesh is a wonderful city to explore and definitely worth a visit!. Marrakesh Luxury Hotels San Francisco, CA, United States San Francisco is a popular tourist destination, and for good reason. There are plenty of things to see and do in this vibrant city. Here are some of the top places to visit: 1. Fisherman's Wharf: This neighborhood is home to a variety of shops and restaurants, as well as a popular pier where you can enjoy views of the bay. 2. The Golden Gate Bridge: This iconic bridge is a must-see for any visitor to San Francisco. 3. Alcatraz Island: This former federal prison is now a popular tourist attraction. It's a must-see for fans of history and crime dramas. 4. Chinatown: This colorful neighborhood is home to some of the best food in San Francisco. Be sure to check out the Dragon Gate entrance. 5. The Mission District: This trendy neighborhood is home to hip restaurants, bars, and art galleries. San Francisco Luxury Hotels Moscow, Russia Moscow, Russia is a beautiful city with plenty of places to visit. Some of the most popular tourist attractions are the Kremlin, Red Square, and Saint Basil's Cathedral. Other great places to see include the Bolshoi Theatre, Gorky Park, and the Tretyakov Gallery. There are also many churches and other historical buildings to explore. Moscow is a lively city with a lot of culture and nightlife. There is something for everyone to enjoy in Moscow. Moscow Luxury Hotels Venice, Italy Venice is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The city is built on a lagoon in northeast Italy and is known for its canals and gondolas. There are many places to visit in Venice, including the Grand Canal, St. Marks Square, and the Rialto Bridge. Venice is also home to many museums, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Venice Luxury Hotels Vienna, Austria Vienna, Austria is a city with a long and rich history. There are many places to visit in Vienna, including the Hofburg Palace, the Ringstrasse, and St. Stephen's Cathedral. Vienna is also home to some of the world's best shopping, including the Karntner Strasse and the Graben. Finally, no visit to Vienna is complete without experiencing the city's world-famous nightlife. Vienna Luxury Hotels Zurich, Switzerland Zurich is a marvelous city located in the heart of Switzerland. It is a city that has something to offer for everyone. From amazing restaurants and beautiful architecture to exciting nightlife and gorgeous parks, Zurich has something for everyone. Some of the most popular places to visit in Zurich include the Bahnhofstrasse, which is the city's most famous shopping street, the Lindenhof, which is a beautiful park with amazing views of the city, and Grossmunster, which is a stunning Romanesque church. Zurich is also home to some of the best museums in the world, including the famed Museum of Art and the Swiss National Museum. With its mix of old-world charm and modern amenities, Zurich is a city that is definitely worth exploring. Zurich Luxury Hotels Acapulco, Mexico If you're looking for a Mexican vacation spot with plenty of history and culture to explore, Acapulco is a great option. From the archeological wonders of the ancient city to the stunning coastal views, there's something for everyone in Acapulco. Plus, with its temperate climate, it's a great escape from colder winter weather. Acapulco Luxury Hotels Acapulco Luxury Resorts Acapulco Luxury Villas Nashville, TN, United States One of the United States' most interesting places to visit is Nashville, Tennessee. There's plenty to see and do there, from the Grand Ole Opry to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Music is a big part of the city's history and culture, so be sure to catch a show while you're in town. Other popular attractions include the Ryman Auditorium, the Parthenon, and the Jack Daniel's Distillery. Nashville is also a great place to eat, with a wide variety of restaurants serving up everything from barbecue to Mexican food. So if you're looking for an exciting and diverse city to visit, be sure to add Nashville to your list. Nashville Luxury Hotels Nashville Luxury Villas Atlanta, GA, United States What's not to love about Atlanta? From the iconic Georgia Aquarium to the World of Coke, from the Fox Theatre to Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta offers a wealth of destinations for tourists. Sports fans will want to check out the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and history buffs will enjoy the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Braves fans can take a tour of SunTrust Park, and shoppers will enjoy the many boutiques and malls in the city. There's also a great restaurant scene in Atlanta, and music lovers will want to check out the many venues offering live music. Whether you're looking for a fun family vacation spot or a place to explore on your own, Atlanta is a great choice!. Atlanta Luxury Hotels Miami, FL, United States The Magic City is a top tourist destination for a reasonthere are endless things to do in Miami! From exploring the trendy neighborhoods and dazzling beaches to soaking up the Latin culture and nightlife, Miami is jam-packed with amazing places to visit. Here are a few of our favorites: 1. Wynwood Walls: This outdoor art exhibit is a must-see for any art lover. The colorful murals are awe-inspiring and definitely Instagram-worthy. 2. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: This estate is dripping with luxury and opulence, from the grandiose architecture to the expansive gardens. It's the perfect place for a day of relaxation. 3. South Beach: This world-famous beach is a must-visit for any sun-seeker. The crystal-clear water and soft sand make for the perfect day-long beach getaway. 4. Little Havana: Experience Cuban culture at its best in Little Havana. From delicious food to lively music and dance, there's something for everyone in this vibrant district. 5. Art Deco District: This district is home to Miami's most iconic architecture. Take a stroll down the charming streets and admire the colorful buildings that make Miami so unique. Miami Luxury Hotels Miami Luxury Villas Tokyo, Japan Tokyo is a must-see destination in Japan. There are endless places to explore in this city - temples, shrines, gardens, and more. The Shinjuku district is a great place to start, with its neon-lit streets and myriad shops and restaurants. For a taste of traditional Japan, visit the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa or the Imperial Palace. Nature lovers will enjoy the Hamarikyu Gardens or the Hama-rikyu Teien Garden. And for a unique experience, take a trip to Mount Fuji. Tokyo Luxury Hotels Tokyo Luxury Villas Buenos Aires, Argentina There are plenty of places to visit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some popular tourist destinations include the obelisk, the Casa Rosada, and the Puerto Madero district. Every barrio (neighborhood) has its own unique culture and flavor. San Telmo, La Boca, and Palermo are some of the most popular barrios. There are also many parks and plazas, such as Plaza de Mayo and Plaza de la Republica, that are worth checking out. Buenos Aires Luxury Hotels Hamburg, Germany One of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany is Hamburg. From the lively and colorful harbor district to the grandiose City Hall, there is plenty to see and do in Hamburg. Some of the other popular places to visit include the Reeperbahn district with its pubs and nightlife, the Planten un Blomen botanical gardens, and the architecturally stunning Rathausmarkt square. Hamburg Luxury Hotels Lisbon, Portugal The capital of Portugal, Lisbon is a city of fascinating contrasts. From its coastal location, visitors can enjoy stunning ocean views, while its hilly, narrow streets are home to a maze of charming traditional homes and lively nightlife. A city of 7 hills, Lisbon is a bustling metropolis with something for everyone. Here are some of the top places to visit: The Belem Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of Lisbons most iconic landmarks. This 16th-century fortress and lighthouse is a must-see for visitors. The Alfama district, with its winding streets and tile-roofed homes, is the oldest district in Lisbon. This is the perfect place to get lost and explore the citys history. The Lisbon Zoo is a great place to enjoy a day out with the family, with over 2,000 animals from around the world. The Christ the King statue, located atop a hill in the suburb of Almada, offers impressive views of Lisbon and the river Tagus. The Lisbon Oceanarium, located in the Parque das Nacoes district, is home to more than 12,000 marine creatures and is one of the largest aquariums in Europe. Lisbon Luxury Hotels Lisbon Luxury Villas Malaga, Spain Malaga is an attractive seaside city in southern Spain with a long history. There are many places to visit in Malaga, including the Gibralfaro Castle, the Alcazaba fortress, and the Malaga Cathedral. Malaga is also home to a variety of museums, including the Picasso Museum. The city is well known for its beaches, and there are many delightful places to relax and enjoy the sun and the sea. Malaga Luxury Hotels Malaga Luxury Villas Munich, Germany When planning a vacation to Munich, Germany, be sure to include these top places to visit: The Marienplatz is a must-see square in the city center, featuring a beautiful Glockenspiel show and the Old and New Town Halls. The Englisher Garten, Europes largest city park, is a great place for a relaxing stroll or a picnic. OlympiaPark is home to the famous 1972 Olympic Stadium as well as a huge amusement park. The Frauenkirche is a stunning church in the old town with a Glockenspiel of its own. Beer lovers will want to visit the Hofbrauhaus, the worlds most famous beer hall. For a bit of history and culture, check out the LudwigMaximilians-University and the Deutsches Museum. There is so much to see and do in Munich these are just a few highlights!. Munich Luxury Hotels Granada, Spain Granada is a city in southern Spain that is known for its Moorish architecture and history. The city is home to the Alhambra, a palace and fortress that was constructed in the late 1300s. Visitors can also enjoy the citys many churches, including the Cathedral of Granada. Granada is also a convenient base for exploring the other cities and towns in Andalusia. Granada Luxury Hotels Bucharest, Romania Bucharest is a city full of history and culture. There are many places to visit, such as the Palace of Parliament, which is the world's largest civilian building. Other places to visit include the old city center, which is full of charming streets and buildings, and the Botanical Garden, which is the largest botanical garden in Romania. Bucharest Luxury Hotels Bologna, Italy Bologna, Italy is a beautiful city with plenty of places to visit. Some popular tourist destinations include the Piazza Maggiore, the Tower of Asinelli, and the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. There are also plenty of museums and churches to explore, and the city is full of charming restaurants and cafes. Bologna is an excellent destination for a vacation, and there is something for everyone to enjoy in this amazing city. Bologna Luxury Hotels Porto, Portugal Porto is a port city in Portugal that is well known for its wine. It's also a city with a long and rich history. There are many places to visit in Porto, including the old city center, the Dom Luis I Bridge, and the Clerigos Tower. Porto is also home to the famous Port wine caves, which are a must-visit for wine lovers. Porto Luxury Hotels Cologne, Germany Cologne, located on the Rhine River in western Germany, is a city well worth visiting. The city has a long and rich history, dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. Some of the city's most popular tourist attractions include the Cologne Cathedral, Hohenzollern Bridge, and the RheinEnergieStadion. Additionally, Cologne is home to a wide variety of museums, shops, and restaurants. In fact, the city has been ranked as one of the best places to live in Germany. So, if you're looking for a great European city to visit, be sure to add Cologne to your list. Cologne Luxury Hotels Istanbul, Turkey If you're looking for an exotic and affordable vacation destination, look no further than Istanbul, Turkey. Filled with historical places to visit and bargains to be found, Istanbul offers something for everyone. Be sure to visit the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque while you're there. Don't forget to bargain for the best prices when shopping in the bazaars, and enjoy some delicious Turkish cuisine while you're at it. Istanbul is sure to leave you with a lasting impression. Istanbul Luxury Hotels Istanbul Luxury Villas Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai is a fascinating and exotic city that offers visitors a mix of traditional Middle Eastern culture and modern, cosmopolitan life. There are plenty of places to visit in Dubai, from the towering skyscrapers of Downtown Dubai to the luxury shopping malls and luxurious hotels of the Palm Jumeirah. Don't miss a chance to experience an Arabian night out on an epic dhow cruise, or take a trip out into the Arabian Desert to see the stunning sand dunes. Dubai Luxury Hotels Dubai Luxury Resorts Dubai Luxury Villas Antwerp, Belgium Antwerp is a city located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital of the province of Antwerp and has a population of over half a million people. Antwerp is a popular tourist destination due to its many historical buildings, museums, and art galleries. Some of the most popular places to visit in Antwerp are the Cathedral of Our Lady, the City Hall, the Rubenshuis, and the Antwerp Zoo. Antwerp Luxury Hotels Lyon, France Lyon is a beautiful city in the south of France that is full of culture and places to visit. Some of the most popular places to visit in Lyon are the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere, the Place Bellecour, and the Vieux Lyon. The Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere is a beautiful cathedral that is a must-see when visiting Lyon. The Place Bellecour is a large square in the heart of Lyon that is full of restaurants and cafes. The Vieux Lyon is a district in Lyon that is full of old buildings and is a great place to wander around and take in the sights. Lyon Luxury Hotels Athens, Greece If you find yourself in Athens, there are definitely some spots you won't want to miss. The Acropolis, Parthenon, and Olympic Stadium are all essential stops, but there are plenty of others, too. If you're looking for a bit of history, the National Archaeological Museum is a must-see, while nature lovers will enjoy a visit to the botanical gardens. If you're looking to relax, take a walk along the beach in Glyfada or head to the Plaka district for a charming and picturesque setting. No matter what you're interested in, Athens has something for you. Athens Luxury Hotels Athens Luxury Villas Helsinki, Finland While in Helsinki, make sure to visit these popular tourist destinations: The Senate Square and Lutheran Cathedral The Sibelius Monument Ateneum Art Museum Market Square Helsinki Zoo. Helsinki Luxury Hotels Vilnius, Lithuania The capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, is a picturesque city with a rich history. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is full of charming churches, narrow streets, and pretty squares. There are also lots of museums and other places of interest to visit, including the Hill of Crosses, Gediminas Tower, and the Presidential Palace. Vilnius is a great city to explore on foot, and there are plenty of cafes, restaurants, and bars to enjoy in the evening. Vilnius Luxury Hotels Reykjavik, Iceland A city of remote beauty, Reykjavik is teeming with interesting places to visit. One of the worlds most northern capitals, Reykjavik offers stunning landscapes and a wealth of cultural experiences. From the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church to the popular Golden Circle tour, theres plenty to see and do in Reykjavik. Be sure to check out the citys lively nightlife scene, too you wont be disappointed!. Reykjavik Luxury Hotels Glasgow, United Kingdom Some of the most popular places to visit in Glasgow include the Gallery of Modern Art, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Riverside Museum, and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. There are also many wonderful parks and gardens to explore, including the Botanic Gardens and Glasgow Green. For those interested in history and architecture, there are many fascinating old buildings to see, such as the Glasgow Cathedral and the University of Glasgow. And for those looking for a lively nightlife, Glasgow has no shortage of pubs, clubs, and restaurants. Glasgow Luxury Hotels Los Angeles, CA, United States As the birthplace of Hollywood and home to some of the world's most recognisable landmarks, there's no shortage of places to visit in Los Angeles. Start by exploring the city's iconic neighbourhoods like Beverly Hills and Hollywood, then venture out to attractions like the Griffith Observatory, Venice Beach and Disneyland. And don't forget to savour the city's world-famous cultural scene, with its abundance of museums, theatres and restaurants. Los Angeles Luxury Hotels Los Angeles Luxury Villas San Diego, CA, United States San Diego is a city located in California and is a major tourist destination. One of the main reasons people visit the city is for its many beaches. Coronado Beach, Mission Beach, and Pacific Beach are some of the most popular and are all within close proximity to the city center. Other attractions in San Diego include the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego, and the USS Midway Museum. Restaurants, bars, and shopping can be found throughout the city, and world-renowned museums, like the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, are also located in San Diego. San Diego Luxury Hotels San Diego Luxury Resorts San Diego Luxury Villas Washington, DC, United States Washington, D.C. is a city full of history and places to visit. Some popular places to visit are the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the Smithsonian. D.C. is also home to a number of monuments and memorials, like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial. There are also a number of museums in D.C., like the American History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum. Washington Luxury Hotels Cancun, Mexico Cancun is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Aside from its beautiful beaches, there are plenty of places to visit and things to do in Cancun. Some of the most popular attractions include the ancient ruins of Chichen Itza, the eco-park Xcaret, and the nightclubs and bars in the resort district. Cancun Luxury Hotels Cancun Luxury Resorts Cancun Luxury Villas Virginia Beach, VA, United States Virginia Beach is one of the top tourist destinations on the East Coast. From the Virginia Beach Boardwalk to the miles of sandy beaches, there's something for everyone to enjoy. There are also plenty of restaurants, shops, and other attractions to keep visitors busy. Some of the most popular places to visit in Virginia Beach include: The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center : This aquarium is home to more than 20,000 animals, including sharks, dolphins, and rays. : This aquarium is home to more than 20,000 animals, including sharks, dolphins, and rays. The Virginia Beach Boardwalk: This 3.5-mile boardwalk is one of the most popular attractions in Virginia Beach. It features a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and amusements. This 3.5-mile boardwalk is one of the most popular attractions in Virginia Beach. It features a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and amusements. First Landing State Park: This park offers miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as a beachfront area for swimming and sunbathing. This park offers miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as a beachfront area for swimming and sunbathing. Cape Henry Lighthouse: This lighthouse is one of the oldest in the country and offers stunning views of the Chesapeake Bay. There are plenty of other things to do in Virginia Beach, including dolphin and whale watching tours, kayaking, and golfing. Whether you're looking for a fun family vacation or a romantic getaway, Virginia Beach is sure to please. Virginia Beach Luxury Hotels Virginia Beach Luxury Resorts Beijing, China If you're looking for an amazing cultural experience, be sure to add Beijing, China to your travel bucket list! With beautiful temples, charming hutongs (traditional alleyways), and a lively food scene, there's something for everyone in this bustling city. Plus, Beijing is home to some of the most iconic attractions in China, like the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. So if you're looking for an unforgettable East Asian adventure, be sure to add Beijing to your list!. Beijing Luxury Hotels Seoul, South Korea Seoul is a metropolitan city that is home to over 10 million people. It is a city full of culture, history, and a vibrant nightlife. There are plenty of places to visit in Seoul, including the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace, and N Seoul Tower. The Jeongdongne district is a must-see for anyone interested in art and culture, and the Itaewon district is a great place to go for a night on the town. Seoul Luxury Hotels South Lake Tahoe, CA, United States Known for its dramatic lake and mountain scenery, South Lake Tahoe offers visitors plenty of places to visit and things to do. Some of the most popular attractions include floating down the river on a tube, hiking the trails in the summer and skiing or snowboarding the slopes in the winter. The city also has a variety of restaurants and nightlife options, as well as casinos for those looking to try their luck. South Lake Tahoe Luxury Hotels South Lake Tahoe Luxury Resorts Daytona Beach, FL, United States Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It is approximately 40 miles northeast of Orlando, and 85 miles southeast of Jacksonville. The city is known as "The World's Most Famous Beach." Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Fun Coast region of Florida. The Daytona Beach area is a popular tourist destination. It is well known for its beaches, sports events, and motorsports. Daytona Beach was the birthplace of NASCAR and home to its first track, Daytona International Speedway. Dayton Beach also features a large number of tourist-oriented businesses, such as motels, restaurants, and bars. Daytona Beach Luxury Hotels Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The coastline of Rio de Janeiro is breathtaking, and the views from Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain are unforgettable. Rio's world-famous beaches are the perfect place to relax and enjoy the sun and the surf. The city's rich culture and history can be experienced in its many museums and in the lively nightlife. Rio is also a great place to shop for souvenirs. Rio de Janeiro Luxury Hotels Rio de Janeiro Luxury Villas Jaco, Costa Rica Jaco is a town on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. It's about an hour drive from San Jose and is a popular spot for surfers, sunbathers, and tourists. There are a number of beaches in the area, as well as restaurants, bars, and hotels. If you're looking for a place to relax and enjoy the Costa Rican sun and beaches, Jaco is a great option. Jaco Luxury Hotels Oslo, Norway Oslo, Norway is a city with plenty of places to visit. You can find the peace and tranquility of nature parks and green spaces, experience the city's vibrant nightlife, or take in the historical and cultural sights. Here are a few of the top places to visit in Oslo: The Royal Palace: Oslo's Royal Palace is the official residence of Norway's king and queen. The palace is open to the public year-round, and offers a glimpse into the lives of the royal family. Oslo's Royal Palace is the official residence of Norway's king and queen. The palace is open to the public year-round, and offers a glimpse into the lives of the royal family. Vigeland Park: Considered one of Oslo's most popular tourist destinations, Vigeland Park is home to over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. The park is a great place to spend a sunny day outdoors. Considered one of Oslo's most popular tourist destinations, Vigeland Park is home to over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. The park is a great place to spend a sunny day outdoors. The Maritime Museum: This museum is home to a variety of exhibits on Norway's maritime history. Visitors can explore everything from Viking ships to modern submarines. This museum is home to a variety of exhibits on Norway's maritime history. Visitors can explore everything from Viking ships to modern submarines. The National Gallery: The National Gallery is Norway's largest art museum, and home to a vast collection of paintings and sculptures from the country's most famous artists. The National Gallery is Norway's largest art museum, and home to a vast collection of paintings and sculptures from the country's most famous artists. Aker Brygge: Aker Brygge is a popular waterfront district in Oslo, home to a variety of bars, restaurants, and shops. The area is a great place to people watch and enjoy the view of the Oslo Fjord. Oslo Luxury Hotels Lima, Peru If you're looking for a city that's bursting with culture and flavor, Lima, Peru is the place for you! This vibrant destination is home to some of the most amazing places to visit in all of South America. From ancient ruins to lush rainforests, there's something for everyone in Lima. Here are just a few of the must-see attractions in this amazing city: The Larco Museum is one of Lima's top tourist destinations. This incredible museum is home to one of the largest collections of pre-Columbian art in the world. The Historic Center of Lima is a must-see for any history lover. This vibrant area is home to some of the oldest architecture in Lima, including the iconic San Francisco Monastery. If you're looking for a little bit of jungle in the city, head to the Parque de la Reserva. This lush park is home to beautiful gardens, a zoo, and even a butterfly farm! No trip to Lima would be complete without a visit to Machu Picchu. This ancient Inca citadel is one of the most iconic sites in all of South America. Lima Luxury Hotels Ankara, Turkey Ankara is the cultural and political center of Turkey. The city is home to many museums, including the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, and is a popular destination for tourists. The Citadel, the Ataturk Mausoleum, and the War of Independence Museum are all popular tourist destinations in Ankara. The city is also home to a vibrant nightlife and is a popular destination for students. Ankara Luxury Hotels Birmingham, United Kingdom There are plenty of great places to visit in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Some of the most popular places to go include the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the Black Country Living Museum. These places are all great for tourists, as they offer a variety of attractions, including beautiful gardens, interesting art, and a recreation of an old-fashioned town. Additionally, there are plenty of other great places to visit in Birmingham, such as the Jewellery Quarter and the German Christmas Market. Birmingham Luxury Hotels York, United Kingdom With a rich history that spans back over 1,000 years, York is a must-visit destination in the United Kingdom. Explore the city's medieval architecture and narrow cobblestone streets, or enjoy a leisurely walk along the River Ouse. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of cultural experiences, such as the York Minster cathedral, the Jorvik Viking Centre, and the National Railway Museum. There are also plenty of shops and restaurants to enjoy in York. York Luxury Hotels Inverness, United Kingdom Inverness, Scotland is a must-see destination on any traveler's list. Filled with rolling green hills, historical sites, and plenty of outdoor activities, there's something for everyone in this charming town. Start by exploring the city center, which is home to a variety of shops and restaurants. Make sure to check out the Inverness Castle, which offers commanding views of the area, and the Inverness Cathedral, a beautiful example of medieval architecture. Outside of the city center, there are plenty of other attractions to explore. The Loch Ness Monster is said to make its home in the loch here, and visitors can take boat tours to hunt for the mythical creature. If you're looking for a more active adventure, take a hike in the hills or go fishing on the loch. No matter what you choose to do, Inverness is a beautiful and welcoming town that is sure to charm you. Inverness Luxury Hotels Marseille, France The Vieux Port (Old Harbor) is the oldest port in France. It is a beautiful place to visit with its sailboats, restaurants, and cafes. The Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica is also worth a visit. It offers stunning views of the city. If you're looking for a more lively atmosphere, head to the La Canebiere. It's a wide avenue with plenty of shops and restaurants. Marseille Luxury Hotels Marseille Luxury Villas Honolulu, HI, United States Honolulu is a city located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, United States. It is the most populous city in the state of Hawaii and the county seat of the City and County of Honolulu. Honolulu is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world and is located in Honolulu. Other places to visit in Honolulu include Diamond Head, the USS Arizona Memorial, and Hanauma Bay. Honolulu Luxury Hotels Honolulu Luxury Resorts Honolulu Luxury Villas Bar Harbor, ME, United States Famous for lobster and stunning ocean views, Bar Harbor is a popular destination in Maine. There are plenty of things to do in the town and its surroundings, including hiking, biking, whale watching, and exploring Acadia National Park. Bar Harbor Luxury Hotels Colorado Springs, CO, United States There are many places to visit in Colorado Springs. Garden of the Gods is a popular park with beautiful rock formations. Pike's Peak is a 14,115 foot mountain that offers great views and outdoor activities. The Broadmoor is a world-renowned resort with lovely gardens and a championship golf course. Royal Gorge Bridge is the world's highest suspension bridge and a popular tourist spot. Colorado Springs Luxury Hotels Fort Myers Beach, FL, United States Just an hours drive from the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach is a popular tourist spot, especially in the winter when the snowbirds migrate down. The seven-mile-long beach is known for its white sand and clear water and is a popular spot for swimming, sunbathing, fishing, and kayaking. There are also a number of restaurants and bars in the area, as well as a few stores. Fort Myers Beach Luxury Hotels Biloxi, MS, United States There are plenty of places to explore in Biloxi, Mississippi from the citys iconic Beaches to the picturesque Bay Saint Louis. Venture into the citys downtown area to check out the many shops and restaurants, or take a walk along the shoreline. No matter what you choose to do, youre sure to have a great time in Biloxi. Biloxi Luxury Hotels Palermo, Italy If you're looking for a city with a rich and diverse history, Palermo is the place for you. This coastal city in Italy is teeming with medieval architecture, churches, and cathedrals. Be sure to check out the Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Europe, and the Palazzo dei Normanni, the seat of the Sicilian government. Don't miss out on the city's vibrant nightlife and vast array of restaurants that serve up some of the best food in the country. Palermo Luxury Hotels Palermo Luxury Villas Manila, Philippines The capital of the Philippines, Manila is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant culture. There are plenty of places to visit in Manila, including the walled city of Intramuros, the Rizal Park, and the Manila Bay. The city is also home to a large number of churches, including the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church. Manila is a great city to explore on foot, and there are plenty of restaurants and shops to enjoy. Manila Luxury Hotels Zermatt, Switzerland Zermatt is an alpine village in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is famous for its ski resort, mountaineering and hiking trails. The views of the Matterhorn from Zermatt are iconic. The village is car-free, making it a cyclists' and pedestrians' paradise. There are many places to visit in Zermatt, including the village's beautiful churches, impressive museums, and great restaurants. Zermatt Luxury Hotels Basel, Switzerland Basel is a city located in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel has a population of about 176,000 and is the third most populous city in Switzerland. Basel has many interesting places to visit, including the Basel Munster, the Basel Rathaus (town hall), the Basel Zoo, and the Munsterhof, the old town square. Basel also has a number of art museums, including the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Fondation Beyeler, and the Schaulager. Basel is a great city to visit, and I highly recommend it!. Basel Luxury Hotels Copenhagen, Denmark There are a number of places to visit in Copenhagen, Denmark. Some of the most popular tourist destinations include Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn, and the Rosenborg Castle Gardens. Tivoli Gardens is a beautiful amusement park that has something for everyone. It is perfect for a day of fun with family or friends. Nyhavn is a charming canal district that is popular for its brightly colored houses and lively atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing cruise down the canal or take a seat in one of the many cafes and restaurants. The Rosenborg Castle Gardens are home to a majestic castle as well as beautifully landscaped gardens. There is plenty to see and do in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen Luxury Hotels Steamboat Springs, CO, United States Steamboat Springs is located in northwestern Colorado. The town is named for the steamboats that traveled up the Yampa River in the 1800s. Today, the town is a popular tourist destination, known for its skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and rafting. Steamboat Springs Luxury Hotels Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and is home to many tourist attractions. Some popular places to visit in Abu Dhabi include the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Ferrari World Theme Park, and the Yas Island Waterpark. There are also a number of museums and shopping malls in Abu Dhabi, making it a great destination for those looking for a mix of culture and leisure. Abu Dhabi Luxury Hotels Abu Dhabi Luxury Resorts Abu Dhabi Luxury Villas Bogota, Colombia There's a lot to see and do in Bogota. Some of the top places to visit include the historical La Candelaria district, the cobblestone streets of Plaza de Bolivar, the Monserrate mountain, the Bogota Botanical Garden, and the Gold Museum. La Candelaria is home to many brightly-colored colonial buildings, churches, and plazas. Plaza de Bolivar is the center of Bogota and is surrounded by important landmarks like the Presidential Palace and the National Capitol. The Monserrate mountain is a popular tourist destination due to its stunning views of Bogota. The Bogota Botanical Garden is the largest in Colombia and features a wide variety of plants and trees. The Gold Museum is home to the largest collection of Pre-Columbian gold artifacts in the world. Bogota Luxury Hotels Cebu, Philippines Due to its location and its rich history, there are plenty of places to visit in Cebu. Some of the most popular tourist destinations include the Cebu Taoist Temple, the Fort San Pedro, the Yap-San Diego Ancestral House, and the Magellan's Cross. Cebu Luxury Hotels Cebu Luxury Resorts Lagos, Portugal Lagos is a small town in Portugal with a population of around 22,000. It's located in the Algarve region and is a popular tourist destination. Some of the places to visit in Lagos are the beaches, the old town, and the Marina. The beaches are beautiful and there are a lot of them to choose from. The old town is a maze of narrow streets and alleyways with lots of shops and restaurants. The Marina is a great place to walk around and watch the boats. Lagos Luxury Hotels Medellin, Colombia Some places to visit in Medellin, Colombia are: the Botanical Garden, the Ethnographic Museum, the Jardin Botanico, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Park of Lights, and the San Pedro Claver Church. Medellin Luxury Hotels Genoa, Italy While there are many places to visit in Genoa, one of the must-sees is the city's cathedral. Dedicated to San Lorenzo, the church features an intricate Gothic facade and a Renaissance interior. If you're looking for a place to take in some stunning views, head to the Genoa Aquarium, which is located on the promenade stretching along the city's harbor. Genoa Luxury Hotels Hoi An, Vietnam Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Vietnam. Its a bridge town thats best explored on foot. The narrow streets are a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese architecture. There are tailors, artisans, and lantern shops galore. The food is also some of the best in Vietnam. Be sure to try the local specialties, like Cao Lau and White Rose dumplings. Hoi An Luxury Hotels Hoi An Luxury Resorts Baku, Azerbaijan Baku, Azerbaijan is a city with a lot of culture and history. There are a lot of places to visit, like the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower. There are also a lot of great restaurants, like the Flame Club, which has a great atmosphere and delicious food. Baku Luxury Hotels San Luis Obispo, CA, United States San Luis Obispo is a city located in the central coast of California. It's known for its natural beauty, relaxed vibe, and abundance of things to do. Some of the top places to visit in San Luis Obispo include the Madonna Inn, Hearst Castle, and the Paso Robles wine country. The city is also home to a variety of beaches, parks, and other attractions. In addition, San Luis Obispo is a great place to live, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and other amenities. San Luis Obispo Luxury Hotels Colombo, Sri Lanka Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The city is located on the west coast of the island and is the administrative, commercial, and industrial center of Sri Lanka. Colombo is also the center of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, with numerous Buddhist temples. There are a number of places to visit in Colombo, including the Galle Face Green, the Dutch fort, the Pettah Bazaar, and the Sri Lankan National Museum. Colombo Luxury Hotels Yogyakarta, Indonesia The city of Yogyakarta in Indonesia is home to some of the most stunning temples and historical landmarks in the country. The city is also a great place to enjoy traditional Javanese culture and cuisine. Some of the must-see places in Yogyakarta include the Borobudur Temple, the Prambanan Temple, and the Sultan's Palace. Yogyakarta Luxury Hotels Cefalu, Italy Looking for a beautiful and historic place to visit in Italy? Look no further than Cefalu. This town is teeming with history and stunning architecture, and its location on the coast makes it the perfect place to relax and take in the stunning scenery. Don't miss the Duomo di Cefalu, a 12th century Norman church that is definitely worth a visit, or the Palazzo dei Normanni, a former royal palace. Cefalu Luxury Hotels San Jose, CA, United States San Jose, California, is home to a variety of tourist destinations. Some popular places to visit include the Winchester Mystery House, the Tech Museum of Innovation, and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. There are also a number of lovely parks, such as Kelley Park and Plaza de Cesar Chavez, that are well worth a visit. San Jose is also home to a number of great restaurants, so be sure to check out the local cuisine. Whatever your interests, San Jose has something to offer visitors. San Jose Luxury Hotels Hong Kong, China Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in China. There are many places to visit in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Victoria Peak, and the Temple Street Night Market. Hong Kong is also a great place to shop, with many high-end malls and markets. Hong Kong Luxury Hotels Hong Kong Luxury Resorts Orlando, FL, United States Orlando is a city in the central region of Florida, in the United States. The city is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the metropolitan area also known as Greater Orlando. Orlando is well known for its theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando. Other tourist destinations in Orlando include the Holy Land Experience, the Orlando Science Center, and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, one of the largest universities in the United States. Orlando Luxury Hotels Orlando Luxury Resorts Orlando Luxury Villas Philadelphia, PA, United States If youre looking for a place thats rich in history and culture, Philadelphia is the place for you. The city is home to numerous iconic landmarks, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Theres also a great variety of museums and other attractions to explore, such as the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum. And, of course, Philly is the birthplace of Americas favorite sandwich, the cheesesteak. So why not visit Americas most historic city and see for yourself what all the fuss is about?. Philadelphia Luxury Hotels Nice, France France is known for its many beautiful places to visit, and Nice is no exception. With its stunning coastline and mild climate, Nice is a popular tourist destination. Some of the most popular places to visit in Nice include the Promenade des Anglais, the Castle Hill, and the Old Town. There is also a wide variety of shops and restaurants to enjoy in Nice. If you're looking for a beautiful and relaxing place to visit in France, Nice is definitely worth considering. Nice Luxury Hotels Nice Luxury Villas Singapore, Singapore Singapore is a popular tourist destination, brimming with cultural and natural attractions. From award-winning restaurants to serene gardens and pristine beaches, there is much to explore in this diverse city-state. Here are some of the top places to visit in Singapore: 1. Marina Bay: This iconic waterfront district is home to stunning architecture, world-class landmarks, and a vibrant nightlife. 2. Gardens by the Bay: These stunning gardens feature a mix of plants from around the world, as well as towering sculptures and a biodome. 3. Chinatown: This lively district is home to traditional Chinese shops and restaurants, as well as vibrant street markets. 4. Little India: This neighborhood is known for its vibrant culture and colorful temples. 5. Sentosa Island: This resort island is home to sandy beaches, lush rainforests, and a variety of entertainment options. Singapore Luxury Hotels Singapore Luxury Resorts Nottingham, United Kingdom Nottingham is a city in the East Midlands of England. It is one of the United Kingdom's major cities, with a population of over 321,000. The city is home to two universities, Queen's Medical Centre, and seven football grounds. Nottingham is known for its lace-making and bicycle manufacturing. The city has a rich history, dating back to the Bronze Age. There are plenty of places to visit in Nottingham, including the Nottingham Castle, the Sherwood Forest, and the National Ice Centre. The city also has a lively nightlife, with a variety of pubs and bars. Nottingham Luxury Hotels Cannes, France Cannes is a city located in the south of France. Some of the places to visit in Cannes are the Palais des Festivals et des Congres, the Boulevard de la Croisette, and Le Suquet. Cannes Luxury Hotels Cannes Luxury Villas Park City, UT, United States Park City, Utah, offers visitors a wealth of places to visit and things to do. Main Street, with its charming shops and restaurants, is a must-see. The Park City Museum tells the town's fascinating history, and the Park City Utah Temple is a beautiful sight. For outdoor enthusiasts, there's plenty of skiing and snowboarding in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer. And don't forget to visit the Olympic Park, where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. Park City Luxury Hotels Park City Luxury Resorts Port Angeles, WA, United States If you're looking for a quaint, small town to visit in the US, Port Angeles is worth a stop. Located in the state of Washington, it's right on the Pacific coast with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. There's plenty of things to do in the area, from hiking and fishing to whale watching and enjoying the local restaurants and breweries. Port Angeles Luxury Hotels Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States If you're looking for a fun-filled Florida getaway, look no further than Fort Lauderdale! With its miles of pristine beaches, world-famous shopping and vibrant nightlife, there's something for everyone in this seaside city. Here are some of the top places to visit in Fort Lauderdale: Las Olas Boulevard: This popular shopping and dining district is home to some of Fort Lauderdale's most upscale boutiques and restaurants. The Beach: With its wide, sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters, Fort Lauderdale's beach is a major draw for visitors. The Everglades: Just a short drive from Fort Lauderdale, the Everglades are home to an abundance of wildlife, including alligators, bald eagles and manatees. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts: This world-class performing arts center is home to a variety of theater, dance and music performances. So what are you waiting for? Book your trip to Fort Lauderdale today!. Fort Lauderdale Luxury Hotels Fort Lauderdale Luxury Resorts Myrtle Beach, SC, United States Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a popular tourist destination. There are plenty of places to visit in the area, including amusement parks, beaches, and golf courses. Myrtle Beach also has a lively nightlife, with plenty of bars and restaurants. Myrtle Beach Luxury Hotels Myrtle Beach Luxury Resorts Salzburg, Austria Salzburg is one of the most visited places in Austria. It is a city rich in history and culture. There are many places to visit, such as the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Mirabell Palace, and the Salzburg Cathedral. There are also many hiking trails and parks to enjoy. Salzburg Luxury Hotels Pattaya, Thailand Pattaya is an amazing city with plenty of places to visit and things to do. One of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, Pattaya offers something for everyone. There are lovely beaches, interesting temples, great shopping, and exciting nightlife. With its moderate climate and affordable prices, it's no wonder Pattaya is a favorite destination for tourists from all over the world. Pattaya Luxury Hotels Pattaya Luxury Resorts Pattaya Luxury Villas Dallas, TX, United States Dallas is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the ninth most populous city in the United States and the third most populous city in the state of Texas. Dallas is also the main city of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States. The city's prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position as a major transportation hub for the South. Dallas is home to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, and transportation. The city is home to the world's largest airline hub and the third largest cargo airport in the United States. Dallas Luxury Hotels Kolkata, India Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. The city is located on the east bank of the Hooghly River. It is the second most populous city in India, after Mumbai, and the third most populous metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi. The city is notable for its colonial architecture, art and culture, and for its overwhelming poverty. Kolkata is home to the Indian Museum, the Calcutta Stock Exchange, the National Library of India, and the Indian Statistical Institute. Kolkata Luxury Hotels San Antonio, TX, United States San Antonio is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Texas. There are plenty of places to visit in this city, from the well-known River Walk to the exquisite Spanish missions. If you're looking for a fun place to spend the day, you can't go wrong with San Antonio. San Antonio Luxury Hotels Seattle, WA, United States There are many wonderful places to visit in Seattle, Washington. Some of the most popular attractions include Pike Place Market, the Seattle Space Needle, and the Museum of Pop Culture. There are also many parks and gardens, such as Volunteer Park and Seattle Chinese Garden, as well as plenty of restaurants and shops. Located on the other side of the world, Western Australia is a great place to visit for those looking for something different. Some of the most popular attractions include Rottnest Island, the Margaret River region, and Monkey Mia. There are also plenty of beautiful parks and gardens, such as Kings Park and Botanic Garden, as well as restaurants and shops. Seattle Luxury Hotels Liverpool, United Kingdom Liverpool is a city located in North West England and is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom. The city is known for its football teams Liverpool and Everton, The Beatles, and its maritime history. Liverpool is a popular tourist destination and is home to various tourist attractions including Mersey Ferry, Liverpool Cathedral, and Albert Dock. Liverpool Luxury Hotels Malmo, Sweden Malmo is Sweden's third largest city with a population of over 310,000. It is located in the province of Scania on the country's southern tip. Malmo is a vibrant city with a strong arts and cultural scene. There are plenty of places to visit in Malmo, including the Malmo Castle, the Botanical Gardens, and the Turning Torso skyscraper. Malmo is also home to a large shopping district and a lively nightlife. Malmo Luxury Hotels Gothenburg, Sweden Goteborg, Sweden's second largest city, is a major port on the country's west coast. It's a popular tourist destination, known for its lively nightlife, beautiful architecture and delicious seafood. Some of the city's highlights include the Liseberg amusement park, the Botanical Garden, and the charming old town district. Goteborg is also home to a large number of museums, including the Volvo Museum, the Maritime Museum and the Universeum science center. Gothenburg Luxury Hotels Ljubljana, Slovenia Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia and is a city full of culture and history. There are many places to visit in Ljubljana, such as the castle, the old town, and the cathedral. The city is also home to many museums, art galleries, and parks. Ljubljana is a great city to explore on foot, and there are many restaurants and cafes to enjoy. Ljubljana Luxury Hotels Sydney, NSW, Australia Australia is a vast country with plenty of stunning places to visit, but Sydney is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist destinations on the continent. From the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge to the beautiful beaches and lush national parks, there's something for everyone in this lively city. There's also a thriving food and nightlife scene, so you'll never run out of things to do in Sydney. Sydney Luxury Hotels Sydney Luxury Villas Melbourne, VIC, Australia There's a lot to love about Melbourne its lively arts and culture scene, its parks and gardens, its diverse range of restaurants and cafes, and its stunning architecture. Here are some of the best places to visit in Melbourne: - Federation Square: This iconic square is a great place to people-watch and take in the city's impressive architecture. It's also home to a number of museums and galleries, including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the National Gallery of Victoria. - Queen Victoria Market: This vibrant market is a must-visit for foodies and shoppers alike. It's the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere, and offers a vast array of fresh produce, meat, seafood, and souvenirs. - Melbourne Cricket Ground: If you're a sports fan, be sure to check out the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is the largest cricket stadium in the world. It's also home to the Australian Football League, and has hosted a number of major sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby Union World Cup. - Royal Botanic Gardens: These beautiful gardens are a great place to relax and take in some of Melbourne's natural beauty. They're home to a number of different gardens, including the Australian Garden, the Sculpture Garden, and the Japanese Garden. Melbourne Luxury Hotels Melbourne Luxury Villas Vancouver, BC, Canada The top places to visit in Vancouver are Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown, and Chinatown. These are all must-see attractions that offer an array of activities, scenery, and history. Stanley Park is a world-famous urban park that features greenery, beaches, gardens, and a stunning view of the North Shore Mountains. Granville Island is a vibrant neighbourhood with unique shops, restaurants, and art galleries. Gastown is the city's oldest neighbourhood and is home to charming cobblestone streets and funky boutiques. Chinatown is one of the largest and most vibrant Chinatowns in North America and offers delicious food, interesting history, and vibrant culture. Vancouver Luxury Hotels Toronto, ON, Canada From the CN Tower and Hockey Hall of Fame to the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Distillery District, there are plenty of amazing places to visit in Toronto, Canada. With something for everyone, Toronto is a great city to explore. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip today!. Toronto Luxury Hotels Montreal, QC, Canada Montreal is a vibrant city with something for everyone. There are plenty of places to visit, including the Notre Dame Basilica, the Olympic Stadium, and Mount Royal. The city is also home to a lively arts and culture scene, with theatres, art galleries, and music venues. Montreal is a great place to visit year-round, with festivals and events happening throughout the year. Montreal Luxury Hotels Seville, Spain Seville is one of the most visited places in Spain for a plethora of reasons: its stunning architecture, tapas bars, flamenco and great weather. The Giralda Tower is a must-see when in Seville as is the Plaza de Espana. Andalusian culture is heavily present in the city and is best experienced by wandering the narrow streets and alleyways, popping into a lively tapas bar for a drink and some snacks or enjoying a flamenco show. Seville Luxury Hotels Seville Luxury Villas Ocean City, MD, United States Ocean City is a seaside resort town in Worcester County, Maryland, on the Atlantic coast. It is well known for its long promenade, its fishing, and its crab cuisine. There are plenty of places to visit in Ocean City, including the boardwalk, amusement rides, shopping, and restaurants. You can also visit the Assateague Island National Seashore, which is home to wild horses, or head to the nearby town of Berlin for more shopping and dining options. Ocean City Luxury Hotels Cambridge, MA, United States If you're looking for a quintessential New England town to visit, Cambridge, Massachusetts is the place for you. With its elaborate architecture and Colonial history, Cambridge is a lively town with plenty of things to see and do - perfect for a weekend getaway. Some of the places you won't want to miss include the Harvard University campus, the charming and lively shops and restaurants in Harvard Square, and the leafy paths of the Cambridge Common. Cambridge Luxury Hotels Laguna Beach, CA, United States Laguna Beach, California is a place known for its stunningly beautiful coastline, excellent restaurants, and art galleries. But there's more to Laguna Beach than meets the eye. Here are some of the best places to visit in Laguna Beach: Crystal Cove State Park: This state park is known for its coves, tidepools, and bluffs. It's a great place to go hiking, swimming, and snorkeling. Heisler Park: This park is a great place for a walk or a picnic. It's also home to some of the best views of the Pacific Coast. Downtown Laguna Beach: This charming downtown area is home to art galleries, boutique shops, and excellent restaurants. Aliso Beach: This beach is known for its excellent surfing and swimming conditions. It's also a great place to take a walk or enjoy a picnic. Laguna Beach Luxury Hotels Hot Springs, AR, United States In downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas, you'll find historic buildings, antique shops, and art galleries. For nature lovers, there are also plenty of places to visit, including the Garland County Arboretum, Ouachita National Forest, and Hot Springs National Park. Spa enthusiasts can enjoy a relaxing day in one of the area's hot springs. And no trip to Hot Springs is complete without a visit to the world-famous Bathhouse Row. Hot Springs Luxury Hotels Sedona, AZ, United States There are many places to visit in Sedona, Arizona. Among the most popular are the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Boynton Canyon. The town's unique red-rock formations and ancient ruins offer plenty of photo opportunities. Visitors can also enjoy hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Sedona is a great place to relax and take in the natural beauty of the Southwest. Sedona Luxury Hotels Sedona Luxury Resorts Boulder, CO, United States Boulder, Colorado is a breathtaking city nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The city is home to stunning views, ample outdoor recreation, and a lively arts scene. Outdoor enthusiasts will love exploring the city's many trails, parks, and open spaces. History buffs will enjoy checking out the city's museums and historic sites. Culture seekers will appreciate the city's many theaters, art galleries, and restaurants. No matter what your interests, you'll find something to love in Boulder. Boulder Luxury Hotels Key West, FL, United States Key West is a small island off the coast of Florida that is filled with history, charm, and fun places to visit. Its lush tropical setting and the laid-back vibe of the island make it a popular destination for those looking for a relaxing getaway. There are plenty of places to explore in Key West, from the charming historic district to the crystal-clear waters of the Florida Keys. Here are some of the top places to visit in Key West: -The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum: This iconic museum is dedicated to the life and work of Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Key West for over 20 years. -Duval Street: This lively street is the heart of Key West's nightlife and is home to many bars and restaurants. -The Southernmost Point: This landmark is located at the end of Duval Street and is the southernmost point in the continental United States. -The Key West Lighthouse: This picturesque lighthouse is a popular spot for tourists and offers stunning views of the island. -The African American Heritage House: This museum is dedicated to the history and culture of African Americans in Key West. -The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory: This attraction is home to over 2,000 butterflies and a variety of other tropical plants and animals. Key West Luxury Hotels Key West Luxury Resorts Key West Luxury Cottages Key West Luxury Villas Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm, Sweden is a city with many places to visit. One place is the Vasa Museum, which is home to a ship that sunk in 1628 and was raised from the ocean floor 333 years later. The ship is preserved and on display in the museum. Another place to visit is the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Swedish monarch. The palace is open for tours, and visitors can see the royal apartments, the throne room, and the Hall of State. Stockholm Luxury Hotels Destin, FL, United States Looking for a place to visit in Florida? Look no further than Destin! This city is home to beautiful beaches, wonderful restaurants, and plenty of places to shop. No matter what you're looking for, you can find it in Destin. Be sure to check out the Destin Harbor and the fishing pier for amazing views and plenty of things to do. If you're looking for a place to relax, head to the beach and enjoy the sun and sand. There's something for everyone in Destin, so be sure to visit this amazing city!. Destin Luxury Hotels Destin Luxury Resorts Ashland, OR, United States There are many places to visit in Ashland, Oregon. Some of the most popular places are the Shakespeare Festival, Lithia Park, and Mt. Ashland. The Shakespeare Festival is a great place to see some of the best plays in the world. Lithia Park is a beautiful park with a river running through it. Mt. Ashland is a great place to go skiing in the winter. Ashland Luxury Hotels Seaside, OR, United States One of the most beautiful places on the Oregon Coast is Seaside. With its wide, sandy beach and majestic promenade, Seaside is a popular tourist destination. There are plenty of places to eat and shop, and the Seaside Aquarium is a must-see. Visitors can also enjoy fishing, whale watching, or just taking a leisurely stroll along the beach. Seaside Luxury Hotels Newport, RI, United States Newport is a picturesque town located in southern Rhode Island that is home to some of the most visited tourist destinations in the United States. The city is known for its miles of beaches and historic mansions that line the coast. Some popular places to visit in Newport include the Cliff Walk, the Breakers Mansion, the Museum of Yachting, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Newport Luxury Hotels Siena, Italy Siena, Italy is a popular tourist destination, thanks to its well-preserved medieval city center. The city is famous for its art, food, and wine. Siena is located in the heart of Tuscany, making it the perfect base for exploring this beautiful region of Italy. Don't miss the Duomo (cathedral), the Piazza del Campo, and the Torre del Mangia. Siena Luxury Hotels Reno, NV, United States Home to the University of Nevada, Reno and a wide variety of cultural and natural attractions, Reno is a great place to visit. Some of the top places to see in Reno include the Nevada Museum of Art, the Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center, and the Reno Events Center. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy hiking and skiing at Lake Tahoe and biking and kayaking on the Truckee River. In addition, Reno is home to a diverse array of restaurants and nightlife venues. Reno Luxury Hotels Atlantic City, NJ, United States Atlantic City is a popular East Coast tourist destination, known for its boardwalks, beaches and casinos. There are plenty of places to visit in Atlantic City, from the Boardwalk Hall and the Absecon Lighthouse to the Atlantic City Aquarium and Lucy the Elephant. For a more thrilling experience, head to one of the city's casinos, where you can try your hand at blackjack, slots, roulette and more. Atlantic City also offers a wide variety of restaurants, from seafood spots to pizza places, so you're sure to find something to your taste. And if you're looking for some nightlife action, the city has you covered there too. Atlantic City is definitely a place worth visiting!. Atlantic City Luxury Hotels Atlantic City Luxury Resorts Lake George, NY, United States Looking for a place to visit in upstate New York? Look no further than the stunning Lake George. This picturesque locale is located in the heart of the Adirondacks and is known for its pristine beauty and terrific recreational opportunities. Visitors can enjoy hiking, biking, boating, fishing, and skiing, among other activities. Don't miss the chance to take in the spectacular views from the summit of Prospect Mountain or from the water's edge. Lake George Luxury Hotels Buffalo, NY, United States If you're looking for a city that has it all, Buffalo is the place to be. From its vibrant downtown district to its abundance of parks and nature preserves, there's something for everyone in Buffalo. Here are some of the top places to visit in Buffalo: 1. The Buffalo Zoo - One of the top zoos in the country, the Buffalo Zoo is a must-visit for animal lovers of all ages. 2. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery - Buffalo's answer to the Louvre, the Albright-Knox is home to some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. 3. The Buffalo-Niagara Heritage Village - This living history museum offers a glimpse into what life was like in Buffalo in the 1800s. 4. The Buffalo River - Take a walk or bike ride along the Buffalo River, one of the city's most picturesque areas. 5. Delaware Park - This large park is home to a variety of attractions, including a zoo, a golf course, and a nature preserve. Buffalo Luxury Hotels Rochester, MN, United States Rochester, Minnesota is a city with plenty of places to visit. There's the Mayo Clinic, the Apache Mall, and several other shopping areas, as well as a variety of restaurants. There are also a few parks and golf courses. For those who love the outdoors, Rochester is also close to several state parks and the Mississippi River. Rochester Luxury Hotels Duluth, MN, United States If you're looking for an amazing place to visit, Duluth, Minnesota should definitely be at the top of your list. This city is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States, and there are plenty of things to do here that will keep you entertained for days on end. Some of the most popular places to visit in Duluth include the Aerial Lift Bridge, the Glensheen Mansion, and Chester Creek Park. Additionally, there are a number of excellent restaurants and shopping areas in the city, so be sure to explore everything that Duluth has to offer. Duluth Luxury Hotels Maputo, Mozambique Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and a city full of culture and history. There are many places to visit in Maputo, such as the Jose Eduardo dos Santos Museum, the Maputo Cathedral, and the Rua da Independencia. Maputo is also home to the Maputo Bay, which offers beautiful beaches and great seafood. Maputo Luxury Hotels Barcelona, Spain Barcelona, located on the northeast coast of Spain, is a renowned tourist destination and one of the most popular cities in the world. There are plenty of places to visit in Barcelona, such as the Gothic Quarter, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia, and more. The city is also home to a lively nightlife and some of the best restaurants in the country. Barcelona Luxury Hotels Barcelona Luxury Villas Split, Croatia Split is a city on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It is the second-largest city in Croatia and the largest city in Dalmatia. It has a population of over 200,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area, which includes the City of Split and the surrounding towns, has a population of over 330,000. Split is a popular tourist destination and is the home of the Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other popular tourist destinations include the Riva, the Peristyle, the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, and Sustipan. Split Luxury Hotels Split Luxury Villas Dubrovnik, Croatia Dubrovnik is a city on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, a seaport and the administrative center of Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Dubrovnik is nicknamed "The Pearl of the Adriatic". Dubrovnik Luxury Hotels Dubrovnik Luxury Villas Byron Bay, NSW, Australia Byron Bay is a magical place. It's no wonder that it's one of the most popular destinations in Australia. The town is set in a beautiful location, surrounded by rolling green hills and the bright blue ocean. There's plenty to do in Byron Bay, whether you're looking for a relaxing beach holiday or an adventure-filled trip. Some of the top places to visit in Byron Bay include the iconic lighthouse, the stunning beaches, and the lush rainforest. There's also a great nightlife and plenty of restaurants and cafes to enjoy. If you're looking for an amazing Australian getaway, be sure to add Byron Bay to your list!. Byron Bay Luxury Hotels Wellington, New Zealand If you're looking for a little slice of heaven on earth, look no further than Wellington, New Zealand. With its gorgeous landscape and plethora of activities, there's something for everyone here. Whether you're a nature lover or a city slicker, Wellington has something special to offer. Top Wellington attractions include the Zealandia eco-sanctuary, the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens, and the sprawling Te Papa museum. For those who love getting out into the great outdoors, there are plenty of hiking and biking trails, as well as lovely seaside towns and villages to explore. And of course, no trip to Wellington would be complete without trying some of the delicious local cuisine be sure to sample a traditional Maori hangi feast! So what are you waiting for? Book your flight to Wellington today and start planning your perfect holiday!. Wellington Luxury Hotels Saint Louis, MO, United States If you're looking for a fun place to visit with a rich history and plenty of things to see and do, look no further than Saint Louis, Missouri. This vibrant city is home to a variety of interesting attractions, including the Gateway Arch, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. There's also no shortage of restaurants and shopping options in Saint Louis. So, whether you're looking for a place to explore new cultures and cuisines or you're just looking for a place to have some fun, Saint Louis is a great option. Saint Louis Luxury Hotels Bloomington, IN, United States The city of Bloomington, Indiana is home to a variety of attractions and places to visit. The Indiana University campus is a popular destination, as is the city's historic downtown district. Monroe County Courthouse Flash Israel approved on Tuesday the construction of 3,000 housing units in West Bank settlements, amidst a spate of settlement expansion in the wake of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. According to a statement from Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the approval is "part of returning to normal life" in the West Bank, after some construction projects were put on hold during the term of Barack Obama's administration. Their statement was released hours before the expected eviction of the illegal Jewish outpost of AMona, east of Ramallah, and was widely viewed by local media as a mean to appease hardline settlers. The new approval was given to construction projects throughout the West Bank, including 150 units in Pisgat Ze'ev, a settlement neighborhood of Jerusalem, 650 units in Beitar Illit, east of Jerusalem, 700 units in Alfey Menashe in the central West Bank, and 650 units in Beit Aryeh in the northern West Bank. About 2,000 of units are ready to be marketed immediately, and the rest are in earlier stages of reviews by planning and construction committees, the statement said. Last Tuesday, days after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn into office, Lieberman and Netanyahu gave the green light to 2,500 other housing units. "We are in a new era in which life in Judea and Samaria goes back to the normal track, and from now on we give a proper response to the needs in that area," Lieberman said in the statement. The settlements are illegal under international law because they are built on lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to form their future state. The former U.S. administration criticized Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements, which it considered as a major obstacle to peace. Flash The head of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) has hailed China's role as a catalyst and as one "showing the way forward" in promoting the construction of a better world. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Michael Moller, director-general of UNOG, hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent speeches at the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Palace of Nations in Geneva. "Particularly in today's world that is fragmented, confrontational and difficult, his message was extremely welcome," said Moller. "I look forward to our working very closely together to make sure we move forward on what is basically a very common approach," said Moller. In the face of climate change, migration, resource scarcity, water, health and financial issues, the world must cooperate to find solutions and reduce the impact of these global scourges on affected populations, he added. Against this challenging backdrop, the UN official welcomed Chinese support for multilateralism, adding that the country can play a key role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement on climate change, both adopted in 2015. "There the role of China is really important as a catalyst, and showing the way forward," he said. "China is a very important country. When it decides to go in a certain direction, a lot of people will follow. It's a leadership role," he added. While wishing the Chinese people a happy lunar Year of the Rooster, he reminded that China's well being has a direct impact on people around the world. "If things go well for China and the Chinese people, the chances are it's going to go well for a lot of other people around the planet....I wish that the year of the rooster will indeed bring good luck for everybody, especially for China and its people," he said. On Jan. 15-18, President Xi paid a state visit to Switzerland, attended the 2017 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos and visited international organizations based in Switzerland. Flash Almost 50,000 British men convicted of offences under former anti-gay laws were granted posthumous pardons on Tuesday. Queen Elizabeth gave Royal Assent to a new bill which pardons any men of any sexual acts that are no longer crimes in England and Wales. The pardons only apply to men who are no longer living, but men still alive who have criminal convictions can apply on an individual basis to have their names cleared. Government Justice minister Sam Gyimah described the outcome as a "truly momentous day". Gyimah said: "We can never undo the hurt caused, but we have apologized and taken action to right these wrongs." The London Gay rights charity Stonewall described the pardons as another important milestone in equality. The measure, under the Policing and Crime Bill, is known as the Turing Law and follows the granting of a pardon to the World War II hero in 2013. Turing worked as a wartime code breaker at top-secret Bletchley Park, famed for breaking the German war machine's enigma code. He is credited with saving thousands of lives because of the ability of the British military to read coded messages. After the war Turing was convicted of an offence known as gross indecency because of a relationship with another man. Rather than live with chemical castration as part of a punishment, he killed himself in 1954. In a society with changing attitudes towards gay, bi-sexual and transgender people, former Labor prime minister Gordon Brown issued a formal public apology in 2009 to Turing for the way he had been treated. Flash Former chief of Italy's state railway company Mario Moretti was sentenced to jail along with other executives on Tuesday over a train disaster that caused 32 deaths in the Tuscan city of Viareggio in 2009. Moretti -- head of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) group until April 2014, and now chief executive of Leonardo engineering and defense company -- was given 7 years in prison by a first grade court in Lucca. Michele Mario Elia, the former head of Italian Railway Network (RFI) managing the national rail network, was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in jail. Overall, some 33 people and 9 companies were on trial on charges of rail disaster, multiple manslaughter, culpable fire, and culpable injuries, Ansa news agency reported. The trial concerned the derailment of a freight train occurred in the coastal city of Viareggio, Tuscany, in the evening of June 29, 2009. The train carried 14 wagons loaded with liquefied gas, and the derailment caused a huge explosion, which suddenly engulfed the station and some blocks of apartments nearby. Some 11 people were immediately killed in the fire and the collapse of some buildings, and 21 injured people died in the following weeks, bringing to 32 the total death toll. The direct cause of the derailment was the structural failure of an axle in the leading wagon of the train, according to a 2015 report by the General Directorate for railway investigations of Italy's Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport. Of the 33 individual defendants, eight were cleared from all charges. Among those convicted was the former CEO of rail operator Trenitalia, Vincenzo Soprano, who was given 7 years and 6 months in jail. Among the companies involved, FS and FS Logistic were cleared, while RFI and Trenitalia were held variously responsible, according to Ansa. The convicted managers would not go to jail immediately. The first grade court's sentence could in fact be appealed against, and, under the Italian law, those convicted are allowed to wait until the final ruling to serve their sentence. Nashville-based acoustic folk artists Shelby Bottom Duo will bring their multi-media Musical History to Chattanooga on Feb. 21. The show is hosted by Tennessee Alliance for Progress, Humanities Tennessee and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 175, at 3922 Volunteer Dr. Food will be served at 5:30 p.m. and the performance is at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 and proceeds will go to benefit Chattanooga Area Food Bank. Seated is limited and reservations can be made by calling 894-3557. The Duos recently released companion CD Joe Hill Roadshow will be available at this show. For more information call Nell Levin at 615.579.0451 or email bernellalevin@gmail.com. Review for the show: Perhaps best known through Joan Baezs stirring singing of I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night at Woodstock, the Swedish-born Joe Hill was an activist and songwriter for the Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies. His best-known song The Preacher and the Slave introduced the phrase pie in the sky into the English lexicon. He is the precursor of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. Mr. Hill was framed for two murders he did not commit and executed by a firing squad in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1915. There is little doubt today that Mr. Hill was framed for the crimes because he was a foreigner and a well-known labor activist. The case drew international attention and appeals for clemency from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, Helen Keller, the Swedish Ambassador, the American Federation of Labor, and many others. After his execution, Mr. Hill became a labor icon. In 2015, on the 100-year anniversary of Mr. Hills death, 40 shows were held around the country to celebrate his life and his legacy. Shelby Bottom Duo organized and played in the Nashville show and also played in the Knoxville show. Shelby Bottom Duos entertaining, educational presentation includes early labor history interspersed with live music and a slide show. The Duo will hold a post-concert discussion on art and activism and the relevance of this history to what is going on in our country today. The event is free and open to the public. A light supper will be served at 5:30 before the show. All are encouraged to attend, including creative artists who are seeking to understand how art can influence social change. When setting the agenda for our annual Leadership Conference, we were looking for a unique addition that would be a lively experience for our attendees," said Tennessee AFL-CIO President Billy Dycus. "Thats exactly what we found with the Shelby Bottom Duo. Nell and Michael engaged the audience and provided everyone with a memorable and distinct take on the history of the labor movement. "For those who wonder about the lineage of Woody Guthries celebrated songs of social conscience and labor activism, the Shelby Bottom Duo & Friends have provided a compelling answer with the Joe Hill Roadshowa collection that places top notch musicianship and heartfelt singing at the service of songs as meaningful now as they were when Hill wrote them a century ago. Chattanooga States top priority is student success. The 2016 Excellence Award winners all embody the same characteristics to ensure success: teamwork, integrity, productivity, and professionalism. Nominated by supervisors and/or fellow colleagues, members of the Chattanooga State Foundation Board had the challenging task of selecting a winner from each category that included TCAT Excellence in Teaching, Arts & Sciences Teaching Excellence, Advising, Professional Staff, and Support Staff. Houston Graham, HVAC/R program associate instructor in the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT), was selected to receive as the TCAT Excellence in Teaching award. Mr. Graham worked diligently to obtain recertification of the HVAC/R program and is well known as a mentor to his students. Houston instills in his students the need to cultivate proper work ethics, as well as personalities to help them to become more positive and make possible adjustments in their everyday experiences, states Richard Claburn, recently retired senior instructor, Industrial Electricity/Electronics. He has a teachers heart and his first priority is the success of his students, adds Claburn. Since 1998, Debra Jones has contributed significantly to the Speech discipline at Chattanooga State. Ms. Jones is the 2016 Arts & Sciences Teaching Excellence award recipient. As a lead teacher for SPCH-1010, she responds quickly to the needs of students, mentored adjuncts, developed and revised the online version of SPCH 1010 course, led the integration of the flipped classroom model, created several academic audit documents for the speech team, and advocated for a redesign of the SPCH-1010 classroom form and function. Debras high level of dedication to her students and her craft is nothing new. She has maintained the same enthusiasm for her students as well as her job all these years, states Dr. Joel Henderson, Humanities department chair. Chosen as to receive the Advising Excellence Award, Judy Mabe is a full-time dental hygiene faculty member who advises more than 95 students each semester. This number not only includes students who are currently enrolled in the program, but any Chattanooga State student who desires to apply to the program at a later date. She also makes herself available to students who are transferring from another college specifically to apply to dental hygiene. According to Angie Maida, Dental Hygiene Program Director, Judy inspires all of the dental hygiene faculty and her students to give a little more, pursue higher goals, and continues to se the bar high for the profession. Assistant Librarian Sandra Williford is known for her commitment to student success and this driving force is behind everything she does. Nominated by supervisor Elisabeth Ferguson, coordinator of public services for the Kolwyck Library, and Chattanooga State Associate Professor of Nursing Yolanda Green, Ms. Williford was rewarded for her dedication with the 2016 Professional Staff award. As a librarian-in-residence for the Nursing and Allied Health Division, Sandra developed a General Nursing Libguide that is used by every nursing student and she provides information for students seeking enrollment in the nursing program on how to prepare for the TEAS admission test. When she is assisting students, she does not do the work for them, but demonstrates how to develop research skills, provide correct citations, etc. She prepares the students to independently excel on the current assignments as well as future assignments, shares Ms. Green. Engineering & Information Technologies teaching lab assistant and Support Staff award recipient Peter Kriener is always on the go as he assists four department heads and more than 24 faculty members, works with 26 programs and maintains millions of dollars in equipment. Peter strives for excellence in all that he does, states Caitlin Moffitt, associate professor-lead for Civil & Construction Engineering Technology. He works hard to keep our technical lab spaces, computer labs, classrooms, and equipment in sterling condition. In addition, he works with students to oversee projects, offering constructive feedback to encourage critical thinking, she adds. Associate Professor for Manufacturing Technology Mark Palmer says, Peter goes out of his way to ensure we professors have an exceptional experience for students by ensuring that everything is ready and prepared for classes. Chattanooga State recognizes employee excellence annually. The nomination committee selects three nominees with the final selection made by the Foundation board. The winner in each category receives $500. When measuring the duration of high-speed physical phenomena, a good stopwatch can only get you so far, and while oscilloscopes can pick up electrical signals with frequencies of a few GHz, measuring incredibly fast optical phenomena requires something more--a system called an optical frequency comb. Normal lasers are monochromatic sources only containing a single frequency of light; in contrast, frequency combs contain many frequencies, equally spaced in the frequency domain, which look very much like the teeth of a comb. Frequency combs are used extensively as a type of 'optical ruler' since they can measure rapidly varying signals by interfering the 'teeth' of the frequency combs with the signal they want to measure, which consequently converts those signals into more manageable radio frequency signals. Researchers in the Light-Matter Interactions Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, along with collaborators in Washington University, outline how they created a frequency comb in the visible spectrum. They accomplished this by combining a phenomenon known as four-wave mixing with a low-cost, low-power device called a micro-bubble resonator (MBR). MBRs are a type of whispering gallery mode resonator (WGMR), and until now, only infrared frequency combs have been produced directly using four-wave mixing in WGMRs. Moving the operating wavelength of these devices into the visible regime has enormous benefits since an 'optical ruler' is often sought after for light that can be observed by the human eye. The MBR device could be very useful in medical science where high precision frequency measurements are required, such as medical CT scans, where optical frequency combs are an excellent candidate. Presently optical frequency combs are generated using hefty femtosecond laser systems that require a lot of space and consume many watts of power, or using other large mode-locked laser systems. The proposed MBR, in contrast, is microns in size and only requires a low-power laser to pump the device since the tiny volume of the resonator mean that small input powers correspond to extremely high circulating intensities, a requirement for non-linear processes to occur. A classical whispering gallery--the phenomena which allows this device to operate--is an acoustic effect. The dome of St. Paul's cathedral in London is a famous example of a whispering gallery. In a circular enclosure, sound waves propagate along the inner walls with little loss, allowing one to hear whispers muttered near the wall a great distance away along the wall. Optically, the researchers replicate this effect by causing light to 'bounce' along the walls of a circular cavity, in this case a micro-bubble resonator. The group managed to fabricate a micro bubble resonator with a wall thickness of 1.4 microns--about 60 times thinner than a human hair--and an overall diameter of 120 microns. Using this device, they succeeded in producing an optical frequency comb with a central red wavelength of 765 nanometers, coinciding exactly with the predicted results. The authors of the paper created MBRs by tapering thin glass capillaries down to a few tens of microns in diameter, blocking one of their openings and then pumping gas into the tubes. Heating an area of the glass using a CO2 laser forms a tiny bubble due to the balance between the gas pressure within the capillary and the surface tension of the molten glass, much like how glass blowers produce beautiful glass vases. Unlike typical solid resonators without thin walls, the researchers can control the wall thickness precisely allowing an extra degree of freedom. This crucial difference allowed the researchers to tune the central frequency of device to the visible regime. Dr. Yong Yang, the primary author of this paper, looks forward to pushing the limits of the device with even thinner wall dimensions and hopes to expand the range of this device to eventually span the gap between the lower wavelength blue light all the way to the near infrared region. "I'm excited about the microbubble resonator since its unique geometry gives us so much more control over the dispersive properties and will ultimately help us to further push the boundaries of this device," says Yang. Ultimately, this work could provide researchers with a tool that is a low-cost, low power and compact alternative to the commercially available frequency combs today. What better way to measure light than to use light? Tech companies are bracing for changes President Donald Trump may make to work-visa programs that could transform their workforces. The H-1B visa program, in particular, is important to tech companies. The visas let American companies sponsor immigrants with "highly specialized knowledge" in fields including science, engineering and computer programming, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Advertisement In Chicago, employers sponsored almost 13,000 H-1B petitions in fiscal year 2017, the fifth-most of any city in the U.S. Proponents of the program say it helps companies fill job openings for which there aren't enough Americans available. Critics say the need for foreign talent is less than some companies say, or that the program allows companies to choose foreign workers over Americans. Advertisement Here's what you need to know about what H-1Bs are and who uses them. Most of the information below comes from USCIS, unless otherwise noted. What is the H-1B visa? USCIS says this visa allows foreign nationals to work for up to six years in the U.S. in specialized occupations, such as computer programming; for the Department of Defense on cooperative research and development or coproduction projects; or fashion modeling. First Lady Melania Trump, a former model, says she held an H-1B visa early during her time in the U.S. Each H-1B petition is valid for a maximum of three years at a time. After six years, H-1B visa holders must change to a different status or leave the U.S., except in special cases of exemption. Who is eligible? The first requirement of getting an H-1B is being able to demonstrate that the applicant is employed. In the case of an entrepreneur, this can be proved by documents showing that others a board of directors or investors, for example control the applicant's employment. If someone else has the ability to fire an entrepreneur, he or she may qualify. Beyond that, the applicant likely must hold at least a bachelor's degree relevant to the position. Those without bachelor's degrees must hold valid licenses permitting them to perform their particular job, or equivalent education or training. USCIS says three years of work experience or training equals one year of a bachelor's degree. The applicant must also be paid at least the prevailing wage for the role. In Cook County, the mean prevailing wage for computer programmers is $37.27 an hour, or $77,522 a year, according to the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center. Advertisement How great is the demand? In 2016, 236,000 people applied for H-1B visas for fiscal year 2017, up from 233,000 applicants the year before. Every year, USCIS caps spots at 65,000, with 20,000 reserved for those with master's degrees or higher. If USCIS receives more than that number of petitions in the first five business days of the annual filing period, it awards visas using a computer-run random lottery system. The cap mainly covers new applicants; visa-holders who are only applying to extend their stays or change their employment may not be subject to the cap. USCIS accepts and processes petitions in the second category longer than the five-day period for capped visas. To sponsor an applicant, employers must show that the job meets eligibility requirements, such as needing a bachelor's degree, according to HR software provider Zenefits. Fees associated with sponsorship vary based on company size and how many nonimmigrant workers they employ, UCSIS says. Interest in the coveted visas, which are subject to an annual federal cap, has surged in recent days. Nearly 49,000 people looked at Wikipedia's entry for H-1B visas on Jan. 31, up from a daily average of about 3,100 for the rest of the month, according to Wikimedia Labs. Most of Tuesday's views were on the English-language site, followed by German, Hindi, Chinese and Korean. Advertisement Who uses it? Tech companies often sponsor H-1B workers, but consulting and outsourcing firms tend to be more active in that regard. The top H-1B sponsor in the country for fiscal year 2017 is Infosys, an Indian consulting and IT services firm, according to MyVisaJobs.com, which tracks visa data. Capgemini, a French consulting and outsourcing firm, and Tata Consultancy Services, an Indian IT and business services firm, round out the top three. IBM, headquartered in upstate New York, is fourth on the list. Employers in California sponsored more than 119,000 H-1B petitions for this year, the most in the country. Illinois was fifth on the list with more than 35,000 petitions. The top Chicago companies were Capgemini, Deloitte Consulting, Tata Consultancy Services, IBM and Ernst & Young. Infosys, Capgemini and Tata Consultancy Services gave H-1B employees salaries averaging about $84,000. Tech giants Microsoft, Google and Amazon pay H-1Bs more than $127,000 on average. In Chicago, the highest-paid H-1B employees work for consultancies and financial services firms including Citadel, the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey and Company. They average more than $149,000. Advertisement aelahi@chicagotribune.com Twitter @aminamania The Illinois Institute of Technology sold its main building, a Chicago landmark, for redevelopment as a 102-unit apartment structure. Jan. 31, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune) The Illinois Institute of Technology has sold the historic Main Building the oldest structure on its campus for redevelopment as an apartment building. Private developers purchased the 125-year-old building last week for an undisclosed price, with plans to create 102 one-bedroom rental apartments. The $20 million redevelopment is seeking federal tax credits for historic preservation. Advertisement "Absent this tax credit, this building would be torn down, because the financing is already very tight for us to make it work," said Ghian Foreman, a principal with the Washington Park Development Group, which is partnering with MCM Co. on the renovation. Built in 1892, the ornate five-story red brick and terra-cotta building was named a Chicago landmark in 2004. It has been a de facto South Side landmark for much longer, rising up across the Dan Ryan Expressway from the White Sox stadium, now known as Guaranteed Rate Field. Advertisement The building was an original centerpiece of the Armour Institute of Technology, which was funded by the Chicago meatpacking family. The school became IIT in 1939 and took its place as an modern architectural powerhouse under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who designed much of the campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Features of the Main Building, which housed classrooms and offices throughout its history, include large stained glass windows, as well as intricate ornaments and carvings along the facade. It has been vacant since 2012. Foreman, 43, said the redevelopment will preserve the historic facade but will essentially gut the building. "The building is in beautiful shape visually, but the bones of it need some work," Foreman said. Plans include 102 one-bedroom apartments, a fitness center, a community room and a green rooftop deck, among other amenities. The building will be one of the first market-rate rental developments in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Foreman said. "This project will honor the architectural legacy of Main Building while providing unique housing options for our students, young professionals, and others who want to live near our historic campus in Bronzeville only minutes from downtown," IIT President Alan Cramb said in a news release Monday. The Main Building was placed on Preservation Chicago's seven most endangered buildings list in 2015. Ward Miller, executive director of the not-for-profit group, said selling and repurposing the building is a "very acceptable" solution for preservationists. "It's always best when a building can be reused for its original purpose," Miller said. "We feel that at least this preserves the story and it allows a reuse for this structure even if it won't be used for academic purposes any longer." Advertisement The redevelopment must be approved by city, state and federal agencies to maintain the building's historic designation. The Main Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of a campuswide designation. Foreman has applied to the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, which offers a 20 percent income tax credit to private developers for the rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings. If the National Park Service approves the project, Foreman said he hopes to begin construction in June, with residents moving in by August 2018. While IIT may seem to be walking away from its history by selling its oldest building, Foreman said he believes it is a blueprint for other colleges to preserve their legacies. "IIT cannot take advantage of the historic tax credits, which is a valuable tool to help facilitate the redevelopment of these historic treasures," Foreman said. "This is a key tool in saving some of these old buildings." rchannick@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @RobertChannick Gap is closing its State Street store this month. The retailer's final day at 35 N. State St. will be Feb. 23, a Gap spokesperson said in an email. A sign at the store's entrance directed shoppers to Gap's 555 N. Michigan Ave. store. Advertisement DNAInfo first reported the closing on Tuesday. When The Georgetown Co. bought the property in 2011, it told Crain's Chicago Business that development was an option for the site, one block south of Macy's and Block 37, but said it had no specific plans. Advertisement Georgetown did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on what's next for the property. lzumbach@chicagotribune.com Twitter @laurenzumbach Make a can of black beans into something altogether different with bacon, sauteed red bell peppers and onions, and a hit of oregano. (Chicago Tribune) Among our pantry staples, a can of black beans is pre-eminent you can do so much with them, side dish, salads, soups, more. A little doctoring in this recipe transforms the simple legumes into a soup studded with earthy flavors of bacon and the freshness of red bell peppers. For a wine companion, you can go crisp or rich, as with these choices. MAKE THIS Advertisement Black bean soup Cook 4 strips bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp; transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Add 1 white onion, finely chopped, and 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped, to the pot; cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add 1 can (29 ounces) black beans, drained, rinsed; 3 cups chicken broth; and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano. Heat over medium-low until soup is hot, about 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved bacon. Serve with sour cream and chopped cilantro. Makes: 4 servings Advertisement Recipe by Joe Gray DRINK THIS Pairings by sommelier Liz Martinez, of The Purple Pig, as told to Michael Austin: 2015 Eva Fricke Riesling Trocken, Rheingau, Germany: This nuanced riesling will cut through the richness of this soup nicely. The wine has clean and juicy acidity, with green apple skin and zippy citrus flavors. Its wet stone minerality will play off of the earthy black beans, and its freshness will lift the cilantro and zesty red pepper, leaving a pleasant lingering scent of white peaches. Also, the tangy sour cream won't get lost with this wine. 2015 Domaine Andre et Mireille Tissot, Jura, France: For a lighter-style red, this 100 percent poulsard is perfect. It's full of energy, with vibrant, fresh cranberry and pomegranate, and its acidity will line up well with the red pepper in the dish. The wine's soft tannins are perfect for the black beans, and a hint of baking spice in the wine will play up the smokiness of the bacon. 2012 Quinta de Roriz, Prazo de Roriz, Douro, Portugal: This fuller-bodied red with plummy fruit is a blend of five indigenous Portuguese grapes, and is a wine for anyone who wants richness to match the soup's heartiness. Slightly macerated blackberries and dried thyme will pair with the earthy black beans and herbs, while the wine's texture and weight will match the soup perfectly. The wine's soft tannins will also play nicely with the black beans. food@chicagotribune.com Twitter @pour_man Dumplings are delightful things, born of thrift and culinary ingenuity, that can easily be eaten in a few bites. That's about as definitive a definition as I can reasonably give. Try to craft any stricter definition one that perfectly encapsulates the incredible diversity of the foods that fall under that category and you will fail. I genuinely believe it can't be done. Advertisement We call an insane number of different kinds of foods dumplings. Few dishes can be made with everything from rice, flour, potatoes or corn among many other things and can be boiled, steamed, pan-fried or deep-fried. Their basic structure also differs dramatically: Some feature a filling wrapped with dough like Chinese jiaozi, while others are nothing more than a basic dough simmered in liquid like the dumplings found in the Southern classic, chicken and dumplings. How can those two types be called the same thing? Some people intentionally dismiss the basic, unfilled dumplings, anointing the filling-wrapped-in-dough version as the one true dumpling. That certainly works with what we think of most Asian dumplings, like Chinese wontons, Japanese gyoza and Korean mandu. In fact, most cuisines on earth have some variation on the dish constructed from a filling wrapped in dough, which explains the prevalence of photo galleries online showcasing the wide world of dumplings. Advertisement I'm here to squash all of that universal goodwill. This definition has a couple of major, irresponsible flaws. The first is that this open-ended definition leaves room for dishes that have never been called dumplings before, like empanadas, samosas, hand pies and calzones. The fact that Wikipedia currently classifies tamales as a type of dumpling should be regarded as a minor crime. The main reason I dislike this definition so much is that it excludes the exact kinds of dishes that the word dumpling originally was intended to describe. Barbara Gallani, in "Dumplings: A Global History," writes: "The English word 'dumpling' ... has been traced back to the sixteenth or seventeenth century, when the now obsolete noun 'dump', which probably meant 'lump', was given a diminutive suffix." Those lumps referred to dough or batter dropped in a liquid, like the traditional English dumplings made with flour, water and, usually, a fat. Though the exact ingredients change by cuisine, this humble style of dumpling is known in Germany as knodel and was adapted by the Ashkenazi Jews to make knaidlach (or matzo balls). Form the simple dough into strands and you have spatzle. In fact, an etymologist would probably feel far more confident excluding dishes in which a filling is wrapped in dough from being called dumplings. Few places are on the frontlines of this dumpling divide as Italy, where you can order gnocchi (small nuggets of dough simmered in liquid) and ravioli (a filling wrapped in dough) and yet still debate fiercely whether one, both or neither should be classified as a dumpling. Jenn Louis, executive chef of Lincoln and Sunshine Tavern in Portland, Ore., wrote a cookbook of Italian dumplings called "Pasta by Hand." The 2015 book is filled with gnocchi, gnudi and spatzli (an Italian version of spatzle), but no ravioli. Forced to come up with a definition of dumpling in the introduction, Louis settled on this line: "Carefully handcrafted nubs of dough that are poached, simmered, baked, or sauteed." Thing is, Louis admits that this definition didn't please most actual Italians she interviewed while researching the book: "When I approached the subject as dumplings, I was quickly corrected and told that dumplings are Chinese food." Indeed, when most people speak of dumplings, Chinese dumplings are what they're after. While the word dumpling goes back a few hundred years, the Chinese dish of a small filling wrapped in dough traces its history back thousands of years! Corinne Trang, in her book, "Essentials of Asian Cuisine," notes that what we call Chinese dumplings may have been around since around 200 BC: "Dumplings gained broad culinary significance during the ancient Han dynasty, when the flour mill was first introduced to China from Central Asia, and rice and wheat flour production was ascendant." Which is a way of saying the problem isn't necessarily with the definition of a dumpling, but the word itself. Alan Davidson, in "The Oxford Companion to Food," blames the English for this "heinous" mistake: "English speakers, seeking a term which could be applied to various kinds of oriental filled pasta, unhappily chose 'dumpling.'" Advertisement (This wouldn't be the first time the English made things more confusing for all of us. Let's not forget that they took the Tamil word for sauce, kari, changed it to curry, and then applied it to thousands of wildly different dishes across the whole Indian subcontinent. And yet we still use the word!) To recap, we have a word that originally meant a simple dough simmered in liquid, which was then erroneously applied to cover a completely different kind of dish of dough wrapped around a filling. And now more people identify the latter as dumplings than the former. Basically, we are stuck with a word that refers to two distinct dishes, and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. Thank the English. If you can't tell, the more I dug into this subject, the more frustrated I became. I needed someone to sort through the haze, to help land this subject on any sort of firm ground. The perfect person was Max Falkowitz, co-author with Helen You of the recently released book "The Dumpling Galaxy," executive digital editor of Saveur, and true dumpling enthusiast (and former colleague). Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > "We can argue about the mechanics, but what does a dumpling make us feel?" says Falkowitz over the phone. "Dumplings are about condensing delight. It's about combining a lot of flavors and textures in one bite or two." This means he excludes larger items, especially ones that you pick up with your hands, like samosas and empanadas. "Those are designed to be snacks or meals on their own, but you never eat just one dumpling." But he does include simmered or boiled nuggets of dough (and you might eat just one of the larger German versions): "They've been meaningful dumplings for a long time. They fit into the thrifty spirit of dumplings too much to not include them." Advertisement That last point resonated. As Davidson, in "The Oxford Companion to Food," notes, a "dumpling is a food with few, indeed no, social pretensions." To make great dumplings, Falkowitz thinks, you don't need expensive ingredients, but you do need to "exercise cleverness." Helen You, Falkowitz's co-author and owner of the acclaimed dumpling restaurant of the same name in Flushing, N.Y., serves dozens upon dozens of unique dumpling fillings, from shrimp, egg and asparagus to lamb and green squash. (I was lucky enough to try the lamb and green squash dumpling at You's first food stall, Tianjin Dumpling House, in 2014. It's still the best dumpling I've ever eaten.) She learned to create these flavors not in cooking school, but through years of practice and ingenuity. You grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution in Tianjin. In the introduction to the book, she relates how her father was sent to a prison camp for speaking out against political corruption. To help cope, her family made dumplings. There she learned that "dumplings spur not one but two kinds of joy: making them, with all the hands in the house around the table, and eating them, for that unexpected moment of delight." nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com Twitter @nickdk The Goddess and Grocer located at O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 5, shown on Wednesday, has contributed food to attorneys volunteering their time this week during the immigration restrictions. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) "Come find us at the #lawyerstable, it's across from Exit B by the escalators in Terminal 5." That's according to the Twitter bio of a brigade of lawyers who have set up camp at O'Hare. They are there to provide free legal aid to any travelers affected by President Donald Trump's weekend executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Advertisement In response, Chicago restaurant owners have stepped in to donate food to the volunteers, who have set up three daily, six-hour shifts to offer their services to detainees. Terminal 5 heavy-hitters like Publican Tavern, Tortas Fronteras, Burrito Beach and The Goddess and Grocer supplied meals, according to a representative of the lawyers group, which provided a running list of donations the volunteers have received. Meanwhile, Metropolis, Dark Matter and The Coffee Shop in Rogers Park fueled the sleep-deprived attorneys with gallons of coffee. Advertisement Members of the Muslim community, such as Ali Hashmi of Lincoln Park's Cairo Kebab, offered their thanks through food donations too. A tweet from Ald. Deb Mell, who represents the 33rd Ward, shared a photo of pastries donated by Albany Park's Dukan International Food Market. "You can't ignore the monstrosities of what's happening right now," says Hashmi, one of the operators of family-owned Cairo Kebab, which donated 20 to 30 sandwiches and falafels to the lawyers. "Someone's got to do something, and I've never seen a response like this. The last thing these attorneys need to worry about is eating junk food from the terminal we want them to know that we're watching out for them." Attorney Jason Gordon dines on free food from Burrito Beach as other lawyers work in the back at O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 5, Wednesday Feb. 1, 2017. Attorneys are volunteering their time during the immigration restrictions. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Hashmi, who is Muslim, said in a phone interview that the restaurant's response was one of unity. "Egypt may not be directly affected, but we wanted to do what we can these lawyers are putting their time and expertise on the line," he says. "Ours is a unified response from the community. We appreciate their efforts beyond measure, beyond anything that sandwiches can give." Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > Debbie Sharpe, proprietor of The Goddess and Grocer and its related businesses, saw an opportunity to help out as well. The pre-security location of the O'Hare Goddess and Grocer supplied sandwiches and Metropolis coffee to the lawyers. "I'm really proud of the (restaurant) team at O'Hare," says Sharpe, an immigrant from Australia with U.S. citizenship. "When I called to ask them to do something for the attorneys, they'd already done it." For Sharpe, the executive order is a call to action. "My family escaped World War II in 1940 and were accepted into Australia. My uncle had a concentration camp tattoo on his arm. I'm very fortunate that I'm here," she says. "Personally, I'm not affected (by Trump's executive order) now that I'm a citizen, but this entire thing shows that we have to be so much more compassionate and understanding." Jeff Dreyfuss, owner of Metropolis Coffee, also tells a family story. "My father was a refugee. He came to the U.S. in 1934 from Germany," says Dreyfuss, who, along with his son Tony and the team at the roastery, donated coffee to the lawyers directly, and through The Goddess and Grocer. "This is our way to help the lawyers helping people with information it's something we can do beyond just railing on social media." "There have been many families and individuals who have come by and dropped off food and beverage," said a representative for the lawyers, via direct messaging on Twitter. "Yesterday we were able to get food to detainees. We appreciate the support of the community and encourage people to donate to registered organizations." "I am so fortunate to be able to pay it forward," says Sharpe. "If we're going to encourage each other to live together and play together, we need to set an example for the democracy we want to see in the world." Advertisement The Goddess and Grocer, multiple locations, www.goddessandgrocer.com Burrito Beach, multiple locations, www.burritobeach.com Cairo Kebab, 1524 W Fullerton Ave., 773-687-8413, www.cairokebab.com Dark Matter Coffee, www.darkmattercoffee.com Metropolis Coffee, 1039 W Granville Ave., 773-764-0400, www.metropoliscoffee.com The Coffee Shop, 1135 Sheridan Road, 773-274-1670 Dukan International Food Market, 4638-4642 N. Kedzie Ave., 773-478-8000 jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com Twitter @joeybear85 The ghosts of sitcoms past are hard to ignore in the new CBS comedy "Superior Donuts," which premieres 7:30 p.m. Thursday and returns again 8 p.m. Monday on its regular night going forward. Set in a gentrifying Chicago neighborhood Uptown, specifically and based on a play by Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts, the multi-camera comedy plants its feet in a doughnut shop that has remained unchanged in the nearly 50 years it's been open. The guy who runs the place is Arthur, a mostly even-tempered grumbler played by Judd Hirsch, always a welcome presence on television and an actor who has been around this block enough times to know how to make a performance like this look easy. Hirsch actually looks like he belongs behind the counter of some old joint that could be anywhere on Montrose or Lawrence avenues. Advertisement He sells regular doughnuts, nothing fancy. And no hybrids like the cronut. "Nor do I sell muffins, or duffins or muffnuts." He's not kidding. "My parents did not smuggle me out of Poland in the hold of a cargo ship so that 65 years later I could sell you a damn cronut!" MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Advertisement Changes in the neighborhood, including the Starbucks across the street, haven't been good for business and that's where Arthur's new employee comes in. Franco (played by Jermaine Fowler) is restless and ambitious and not only talks his way into a job, but persuades Arthur not to sell the store. Squint and the premise looks an awful lot like that '70s staple "Chico and the Man," but the smarter money is on the show's "Cheers" DNA. A cast of regulars including Katey Sagal and Darien Sills-Evans as neighborhood beat cops, Maz Jobrani as an Iraqi-born owner of the dry cleaners next door, David Koechner (a former Chicago improviser) as a middle-age dude working the gig economy, Anna Baryshnikov (of "Manchester by the Sea" and daughter of dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov) as a suburban airhead grad student could, if given the right material, come to resemble something almost as watchable as the gang that used to come together in a certain basement bar where everybody knows your name. With Hirsch on screen, there's a glimmer of "Taxi" in here somewhere as well, if only the show laid off on the gas a bit and focused on character-based comedy. And better jokes. It needs better jokes. By the way, the original play was not, strictly speaking, a comedy. Not to my mind, anyway. It was too schematic for that. (Per CBS, Letts has no involvement in the series.) But you can see why the show's creators thought it had the bones for a sitcom: Old white guy resistant to change gives a leg up to young black guy with a willingness to experiment. Let the culture clash ensue. Reviewing the play in 2008, my colleague Chris Jones called it "less wholly truthful in its depiction of the human condition" and the TV version shares this quality. But the show's strength its real potential actually lies not in the Arthur-Franco relationship but in the doughnut shop itself, which functions as a natural gathering spot for this group of cranks and oddballs. Any old excuse for some loose interplay and the carefully aimed punchline back-and-forth across the counter that's what "Superior Donuts" should be aiming for. That's where laughter lies. In January, while promoting the show, Fowler was asked about an emphasis on the racial differences between the two leads. "You can't not talk about these issues," he said. "It would be a disservice to comedy. That's what our show is about." Fowler is credited as an executive producer on the series and when I asked CBS if the show has any black writers on staff, the publicist responded that "we don't give out specific breakdowns but we do have a very diverse writing staff." Whether black writers are helping to shape storylines and write jokes matters. Who is framing the events of each episode and is that only being filtered through the life experiences of non-black writers? That's a question worth an answer, especially if a comic tension based on race is an essential part of the show. Too often black writers (and this extends to other people of color, women, people with disabilities, people of differing religions, I could go on) are still a rarity behind the scenes in television. In the case of "Superior Donuts," the show so far hasn't found a less-than-clumsy approach to mining stereotypes and different cultural backgrounds for comedy. Advertisement When the neighborhood is beset by a crime wave and Franco thinks Arthur isn't taking things seriously enough, he and his friend Sweatpants (Rell Battle) break into Arthur's apartment to show him how vulnerable he really is. "All right, Sweatpants," Franco says as they stand there in the living room, "tell Arthur what you'd do to him." "I dunno," comes the reply, "I guess I'll probably tie you up to this chair, take all your stuff, realize you've seen my face, take that cigarette in my hand and burn this place down so nobody knows I was here." The scene progresses with variations on this idea two young black men telling an older white man how they could commit crimes against his body and property and you watch it thinking, this is conscious choice that didn't have to be made, the framing is so baldly stereotypical. It doesn't even feel comedic. Or consider this exchange from the pilot, when Fawz, the owner of dry cleaners, walks into the doughnut shop and sees Franco for the first time. Fawz: "Who's this black guy?" Franco: "Actually I go by Franco, only my friends call me Black Guy." Fawz: "What, I'm not allowed to say you're black? I'm not allowed to call black people 'black people'?" Advertisement Franco: "It's cool man, no reason to blow up." Fawz: (sarcastically) "Ah, a terrorist joke a first for me!" As for the show's setting, it's about as Chicago as "Mike & Molly" which is to say, not really Chicago at all except in name. It's Anywheresville television, and like most sitcoms, it's shot on a LA soundstage. (Bob Daily, the show's executive producer and showrunner, is originally from Chicago; he has been a writer in Hollywood since the '90s and his credits include "Frasier" and "Desperate Housewives.") The show does toss in the occasional localized reference. "Don't go north on Foster Avenue," a character says and you're left to wonder how that's possible on an east-west street. Or here's Franco, on concerns about the neighborhood's gentrification: "Great, jack up the rents so I gotta move down to the South Side and dodge bullets every time I go to the store." People get shot and killed in Uptown too, but OK. The show also includes nods here and there to the caustic relations between people of color and Chicago police. "Oh, I must really trust you, I just turned my back on a Chicago cop," Franco says to Sagal's character, to which she responds without missing a beat: "I'm not gonna shoot you, I got my body cam on." Depending on the performance, that kind of exchange could be uncomfortably funny or toothless. "Superior Donuts" almost always goes for the latter. And yet the seeds are there for something good. Fowler is a charismatic performer; the show just needs to give Franco a worldview that exists outside of servicing these people in the doughnut shop. As for Hirsch well, it's Hirsch. You can't beat that. Just give the guy a rag to wipe down the counter and tee up a few punchlines to the peanut gallery around him. If he and Fowler aren't forced to shoulder so much as a pair, there's real potential for something more relaxed and ensemble-based to develop. Advertisement I'll end with this sentiment from Arthur as he contemplates selling the joint, only to reconsider. "In this crazy and uncertain world, what could be more comforting than a doughnut and a cup of coffee?" Oh, Arthur. I'll dunk to that. "Superior Donuts" premieres 7:30 p.m. Thursday on CBS nmetz@tribune.com Twitter @Nina_Metz Advertisement RELATED STORIES: 'Superior Donuts' stars Judd Hirsch as owner of a kneady Chicago shop CBS sets 'Superior Donuts' premiere date CBS orders new comedy 'Superior Donuts' with minority co-lead following diversity furor Katey Sagal joins pilot for Chicago-set 'Superior Donuts' Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) "Blackout," the 13th and final episode of "Voltron's" sophomore season, which began streaming Jan. 20, may be the greatest single episode of "Voltron" ever produced. (Netflix) The second season of Netflix's "Voltron," based on the classic '80s cartoon of the same name, has added to the legend of this animated universe in spectacular ways. "Blackout," the thirteenth and final episode of "Voltron's" sophomore season, which began streaming Jan. 20, may be the greatest single episode of "Voltron" ever produced. The episode features an incredible battle between Voltron and a robot beast powered by classic villain Zarkon that's the top moment in the Netflix series so far. Advertisement Instead of giving fans what they thought would happen, producers Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery are surprising them, taking advantage of the limited scope of their "Voltron" memories. As the producers told The Washington Post last year after "Voltron's" debut on Netflix, most fans know they love Voltron, but probably couldn't tell you many plot points from the original series. Most remember the lions transforming into a robot warrior and Voltron's vintage episode-ending swipe of a sword to do away with the bad guy robot in the original '80s series. But that's it. Truth be told, going back and watching those original '80s episodes is an eye-opening experience. They were fun, but not very complex in plot. It was basically Voltron will destroy the evil robot beast, the end. "Voltron" looked really cool, and for a lot of us, that has been enough to keep these characters in high regard. Advertisement MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR "Voltron's" new animated series on Netflix, by contrast, is rich with intrigue. "Blackout" proves the best is yet to come, despite being an episode that seems impossible to top. Repossession of the black lion remains an obsession for Zarkon, a former paladin of the black lion, who can't shake his history with the robot and is convinced getting it back will put the universe in the palm of his hand. Both Zarkon and Shiro have a mental link to the black lion and the two engaged in a telepathic battle for the robot's soul in "Blackout." Shiro may have paid the ultimate price with his life (we won't know until next season), and Zarkon was so badly injured in battle with Voltron that fan-favorite bad guy Prince Lotor, who has yet to make an appearance in this series, was summoned and perhaps will be the lead villain of season three of "Voltron." Keith, the presumed future leader of Team Voltron if Shiro doesn't make it back from wherever he has gone, has discovered he is half Galran, the same race of aliens as Zarkon, which puts him at odds with Princess Allura, extinguishing for now any potential romance between the two. Allura considers the Galrans to be the ultimate evil in the universe. But Allura is also surprised to find out that Zarkon's right hand woman Haggar is, like her, Altean, proving Galrans aren't the only race capable of evil in the universe. Bits of everything we thought would happen on "Voltron" are there. They are just taking shape slowly and possibly not happening the way we would expect. If Shiro comes back in season three, will his death, foreseen by so many fans, indeed happen, or will the producers decided he's worth keeping around because he's been such an enjoyable character in Voltron's first two seasons? He's certainly become more than a character just used to set up his impending death. At this point, if and when Shiro is gone for good, it could be quite an emotional exit -- causing a level of emotion probably not elicited if Dos Santos and Montgomery decided to just kill him in season one like everyone expected. Can Keith lead this team? Will Allura let him, given her revealed prejudice towards an alien race she refuses to embrace? Will we find out who Keith's Galran mother is in season three? Did we already meet her in season two? Advertisement Is Allura somehow connected to Haggar? Both have powers based in magic. Will Allura take over the red lion if Keith takes over the black lion? Or will she pilot the blue lion like she did in the '80s, meaning paladin Lance (currently piloting the blue lion) could be up for a robot lion change? For a show that many thought they could easily guess over two seasons, "Voltron" continues to give us more questions than answers. The one sure thing is that "Voltron" has never been better. RELATED STORIES: 'Superior Donuts' stars Judd Hirsch as owner of a kneady Chicago shop 'Santa Clarita Diet' review: Drew Barrymore eats people in quirky comedy Advertisement Christina Ricci is the reason to watch Amazon Prime's new biographical drama 'Z: The Beginning of Everything' 'Riverdale' review: This isn't the Archie you grew up with Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) The progression of civil rights for black Americans is not like climbing a staircase, where the next step orderly follows the one before, the ascent certain if slow. For African-Americans, even the most educated and affluent, the climb has been repeatedly interrupted by angry white people setting fire to the stairwell. Advertisement In "The Original Black Elite: Daniel Murray and the Story of a Forgotten Era," author Elizabeth Dowling Taylor chronicles the colored aristocracy's brief taste of nearly equal citizenship in the nation's capital in the late 1880s. In doing so, she dismantles the narrative of black Americans post-Civil War as a pitiful mass of slavery's survivors, destitute and undereducated. Particularly in East Coast cities, the black elites formed social and literary clubs, threw elegant galas, had summer homes and sent their children to the most selective colleges. Advertisement Taylor's protagonist is Daniel Murray, born free in Baltimore in 1851. He became an entrepreneur, self-taught historian and staunch civil rights activist. He developed real estate, ran for office, petitioned presidents and was a patron of the arts. Years before W.E.B. DuBois wrote the 1903 essay "The Talented Tenth" to describe the select share of African-Americans who would serve as examples for their less educated sisters and brothers, Murray and his peers hoped their class status could secure some measure of assimilation. Daniel Murray from "Voice of the Negro." (HarperCollins) "They saw themselves as cultural brokers," writes Taylor, "their success and gentility would inspire the black masses while proving to whites that, given education and opportunity, all African Americans would follow in their footsteps." Their mission was futile and as naive as respectability politics always is. Black excellence, then and now, proved no match for racism. In the late 19th century, African-American congressmen from the South began to be replaced by white men. And when President William McKinley sought to appease Southern legislators under the guise of national unity, he welcomed in the virulent racism they brought with them and allowed it to spread throughout the country. Integrated restaurants and hotels were segregated. Federal appointments for black men to stable jobs became scarce. And in 1883, the Supreme Court gutted the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which had guaranteed access to public accommodations regardless of race. "Recognizing that they were not to be considered exceptions to the new rules was a bitter pill for Washington's black elites to swallow. They were used to a flexible color line that allowed for class and recoiled to see it tighten," Taylor writes. Elizabeth Dowling Taylor (HarperCollins) Much of the story is documented through Murray's correspondence with friends, columns he penned for black newspapers and high society coverage by the black press. The government's role as an employer cannot be overstated. Murray's path to success was made possible largely through his coveted federal appointment as an assistant librarian for the Library of Congress. There he fed his obsession: demonstrating that black Americans were whites' intellectual equals. His primary evidence: black literature. Advertisement Wrote Murray to a friend in the spring of 1900: "The curse of prejudice is the hand maiden of ignorance." "Since, as literature is the highest form of culture and the real test of the standing of a people in the ranks of civilization, this showing must undoubtedly raise the Negro to a plane previously denied him, but which, in spite of every drawback, he has honestly won." Murray believed such a literary bibliography would be "an antidote to troubled race relations," writes Taylor. That year, Murray cataloged 980 titles written by black authors as part of the American Negro Exhibit at the Paris Exhibition. While Carter G. Woodson claims the title as the father of black history, Murray deserves credit as Woodson's progenitor. Over the years, Murray wrote more than 20,000 biographical sketches and compiled a list of 6,000 books and pamphlets and more than 4,000 musical works, all about or by black people. But while Murray was a rich man, by black standards, he couldn't afford to publish "Murray's Historical and Biographical Encyclopedia of the Colored Race Throughout the World." He died in 1925 with his life's work incomplete. (It wasn't until 1999 that the first black encyclopedia was published, by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Kwame Anthony Appiah.) Advertisement Not surprisingly, Murray had an equally accomplished woman beside him. His wife, Anna Evans, was an equally committed activist, accomplished musician and advocate for early childhood education for black children. Their circle, though, was not without its own prejudices: Membership was largely reserved for blacks with near-white complexions. Murray was born to a mother described as an "octoroon" with "Indian" features. Murray's father, born a slave and described as "bright mulatto," was the child of an enslaved woman and a white Scotsman. Taylor, the best-selling author of "A Slave in the White House," is the former director of interpretation of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and director of education at James Madison's Montpelier. At times, the writing is bogged down by distracting minutia, particularly about who attended which ball. The flood of proper names is hard to follow. And the story isn't told in a strict chronological fashion; chapters proceed in parallel, which can be confusing. But with the recent inauguration of a president unwilling to or incapable of imagining of black people outside of what he's labeled the "carnage" of crime-ridden, inner cities, Taylor's book could not be more timely. Over time, the federal government has led the way to secure rights for black Americans, only to then abandoned these protections. "The Original Black Elite" justifies fears that the country is headed into another such decline. Instead of looking to Nazi Germany for a reminder of what a government hostile to human rights can do, Americans should instead turn to their own country's shameful and not-too-distant history. Advertisement "The American master narrative of increasing freedoms can reverse direction at any time again," Taylor writes. "Rights won must be rights guarded and, if necessary, rewon." Wendi C. Thomas is a Memphis-based journalist and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. Her work has appeared in The Undefeated, The Nation and the Christian Science Monitor. 'The Original Black Elite' By Elizabeth Dowling Taylor, Amistad, 512 pages, $27.99 Students from Sacred Heart School and Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School in Chicago join with Muslim students at MCC Academy in Morton Grove for a session with Poetry Pals, which brings together students from different faiths through poetry. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune) The children Muslim, Jewish and Christian sat crossed-legged, shoulder-to-shoulder Wednesday morning brainstorming ways to practice charity. "Smiling!" a young boy called out. Advertisement "Helping someone carry something heavy," suggested another. Serving food to homeless people. Cutting the grass for an elderly neighbor. Planting a tree. The answers came fast and furious, fueled by youthful idealism and miniature bags of Veggie Straws. Advertisement The hundred or so students were gathered in the gymnasium at the Muslim Community Center in Morton Grove, where the nonprofit youth arts organization Poetry Pals hosted an interfaith event for fourth-graders from Sacred Heart Academy, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School and Muslim Community Center Academy. "One of the greatest ways you get to know about other ethnicities and faiths is through interaction," Habeeb M. Quadri, Muslim Community Center Academy's principal, told me. "They're talking about their faith, but they're talking about it through shared values: trying to get close to God, trying to be a good individual, taking care of your family and your community." Shortly after they arrived, the students split into small groups and played a game called, "Yes, let's," in which they called out different traditions and celebrations in their religions. Then they snacked on Veggie Straws and decorated bookmarks and tiles for Little Free Libraries, small wooden boxes that house books for people to share for free. When the crafts were complete, the students retreated to the mosque, where Quadri led the students in a discussion about charity and stewardship. At MCC Academy in Morton Grove, Muslim students conduct a tour of their school for students from Chicago's Sacred Heart School following a poetry writing session run by Poetry Pals, which seeks to bring together through poetry students from different faiths. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) "There aren't enough days like this," said Ilene Siemer, executive director of Poetry Pals. "This should be normal for everybody, and this is so very far from normal." Wednesday's event was the sixth annual interfaith gathering that Poetry Pals has coordinated at the Muslim Community Center. Founded in 2008, the nonprofit works with elementary schools throughout the Chicago area, encouraging kids to express and share their faiths with one another through music, art, poetry and performance. The educators present Wednesday were as enthusiastic as the students. "We think it's important that kids are exposed to as many different people and cultures as possible, so they get to see that we're all pretty much the same," said Brian East, a lower school teacher at Sacred Heart. "Our kids are always kind of amazed, for example, that Steph Curry is just as popular with Jewish and Muslim kids as he is with the guys at Sacred Heart." Advertisement Favorite athletes, favorite movies, favorite books all plant the seeds that can grow into friendship, rather than fear. "The kids learn to stop othering," Siemer said. "Instead of being this other group of people I don't know, they just become 'my friend.'" Students from Sacred Heart Academy, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School and Muslim Community Center Academy gather Wednesday morning for an interfaith event sponsored by Poetry Pals, a nonprofit youth arts organization. (Heidi Stevens / Chicago Tribune) It's a particularly critical lesson in this moment, when the nation indeed, the world is debating a crackdown on refugees coming to the United States, as well as recent travel and immigration restrictions that target people from seven predominantly Muslim countries. We seem hopelessly, bitterly divided. And yet, in that gym, we seemed anything but. "Kids have pure hearts," Quadri said. "When you catch them at a young age, you can change their perspectives before they let other factors influence their decision-making." The students giggled and played together, seemingly oblivious to one another's plaid pleated skirts or hijabs or shirts with the tiny Star of David embroidered on the chest. Advertisement "It's fun to meet people, so you're not just reading about them in a book," a girl from Bernard Zell told me. "You're actually with the people, and you get to know them." "You learn about their personalities," her classmate chimed in. (The schools asked that students' names not be used.) During the discussion about practicing charity, a Jewish boy stood up and explained the tzedakah box, a container for collecting money that will be donated to charity. A Muslim child raised his hand and said his faith has the same tradition. It's called sadaqah, and it means voluntary giving. The words are so similar tzedakah and sadaqah and the value they express is identical. "We learn that we're more the same than we are different," a Sacred Heart boy told me. Advertisement We should all find the courage to follow their lead. hstevens@chicagotribune.com Twitter @heidistevens13 RELATED STORIES: If you like Boy Scouts' new transgender policy, speak up How to talk so kids will listen and stop lying, begging and pouting Advertisement Leave Barron Trump alone President Donald Trump's travel ban could have lasting impact on patients traveling to the U.S. for surgery. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images) President Donald Trump's recent ban on travelers from certain countries could put a chill on international medical visits to hospitals in Chicago and elsewhere, Rush University warned Tuesday. "Patients are coming to the United States generally for the most complex, necessary care that they can't get at home, and delaying that care could ultimately be a matter of life or death," said Tricia Johnson, a professor at Rush, the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center, who helps track medical travel data for a national consortium of hospitals and health systems. Advertisement About 50,000 patients came to the U.S. between July 2014 and July 2015 for treatment at 33 hospitals and health systems in the U.S. that were tracked by a center at Rush. That doesn't include international patients treated at other U.S. hospitals. The top five countries that patients came from included Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Mexico, she said. Those countries aren't part of Trump's recent executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Advertisement Representatives of Rush, Lurie Children's Hospital and University of Chicago Medicine said this week they have not so far had any patients caught up in the travel ban. Still, the ban could create fear among citizens of countries other than the seven named in the order, Johnson said. Patients from other countries might "perceive that there would be risks in them traveling here, either to get here or in not being able to travel back home, that would make them decide to not come to the United States for medical care," she said. Last year, Lurie cared for 247 patients from outside the U.S., said spokeswoman Julie Pesch. Those patients came from 36 countries, but the majority came from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. That includes patients like AliAlhadhi Ahmad who, at 6 months old, traveled with his family to Lurie from Kuwait for treatment of spinal bifida, a neurological defect that affects the back bones, spinal cord and surrounding nerves. He was treated at Lurie's Spina Bifida Center for seven months before returning home. He visited Lurie again last year where he was fitted with devices to help him walk, according to Lurie. Rush University Medical Center spokesman John Pontarelli wasn't able Tuesday to provide numbers on international patients treated at Rush, but he said most come from the Middle East, Europe and South America. Representatives for University of Chicago Medicine and Northwestern Medicine were not able to immediately provide information about international patients Tuesday. Trump's executive order, signed Friday, prohibits citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. It also bans Syrian refugees from entering the country indefinitely, and bars all refugees for 120 days. A drop in international medical travel to the U.S. isn't unprecedented. The country saw a significant dip in people traveling to the U.S. for medical treatment after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well, Johnson said. It took years for medical travel to the U.S. to recover. Fewer international patients might be a problem for hospitals, said Josef Woodman, CEO of Patients Beyond Borders, a company based in North Carolina that publishes and sells guides about international medical travel. Advertisement "Hospitals will feel it because as their margins shrink, they need that out-of-pocket patient that they charge a lot of money to," Woodman said. Andy Garman, a Rush professor who helps track the data, said if U.S. hospitals lose significant numbers of international patients, it won't affect them in a big way financially. Some international patients pay for their treatment out of pocket, others have insurance that covers care and still others' care is sponsored by their governments, Johnson said. "The economic impact is relatively low," Garman said. "But the mission impact is pretty significant." lschencker@chicagotribune.com Twitter @lschencker President Donald Trump shakes hands with 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch, his choice for Supreme Court Justices in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Carolyn Kaster / AP) You can already hear the screaming from the political left over President Donald Trump's nomination of a conservative to the Supreme Court. But don't allow yourself to be mesmerized by the flecks of spittle flying from angry mouths. Don't worry about jesters like that Hollywood actor at the Screen Actors Guild gala who wanted to punch those who disagree with him in the face "with soul, with heart and with joy." Advertisement If you focus on theatrics, you'll miss this: Because, for all the noise, the hard American political left can't really hate President Trump. Advertisement They love him. Or at least, the smart ones on the hard left do. This president has given them an opportunity to reach for one thing they didn't have during the last eight years of Barack Obama: Power. And every day they use wave after wave of anti-Trump hysteria much of it carried in the media to stoke anger, like that over Trump's immigration policy. The liberal argument is that a temporary ban on immigration from just seven Muslim-dominated nations with a history of terrorism is not only wrong, but racist. We're told that those who don't oppose it are racists themselves, and if they consider themselves Christian, then they're hateful Christians. But much of America doesn't agree. And people don't appreciate being slammed over the skull with some blackjack Jesus wielded by the left. They opted for border control and increased vetting of immigrants, and they made that clear in the last election. Many longtime Democratic voters were among them. What this angry public theater allows is opportunity for the left to steamroll Democratic centrists out of the way, so they can grab control of the Democratic Party apparatus. Advertisement Because that's what this wild, seething game is all about now: control of the Democratic Party, or what's left of it. Perhaps that's why Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was crying the other day, not over Trump's executive order on immigration but for his own prospects. Schumer is like the boy dancing on a log in the river, trying not to fall in. He must keep moving farther to the left to accommodate that leftward roll, while trying to help 10 Senate Democrats running for re-election in states Trump won. So the hard left deconstructs the Democrats, eases old Bernie Sanders out to some apple orchard where he can sit in a chair with a warm blanket on his legs and exiles the old Clinton establishment centrists to some desert island. Meanwhile, Trump plays his own game. He was sent to Washington by angry and disaffected voters of middle America to impose economic nationalism and dismantle the corrupt old establishment. That establishment on the Republican side is the old big-government GOP war party led by Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Advertisement Trump promised to dismantle it, and that's what he's doing. And that's basically why McCain, and Graham and the war party boys hate him so. They've joined the establishment media as allies against Trump. Trump has installed his top aide, Steve Bannon, in the National Security Council. Critics see Bannon as Trump's Rasputin; supporters see him as the disrupter who'll attack the establishment. He will disrupt as long as Trump allows it. Bannon has also famously accused journalists of being "the opposition party." Outraged, they bit down hard, as Bannon expected. The tone of much of the news coverage on Trump, a mixture of hostility and loathing, crawls up from almost every news story and much of the commentary about him. Trump doesn't much care. He's a Viking among the Wedgwood china, and he's swinging his war hammer. He has his thumbs and his Twitter account and a phone and a pen for executive orders but he really doesn't need the phone. Someone on the other end might tell him "no." The problem for the republic in this Trump vs. "the media" fight is this: Advertisement With the American establishment collapsing under its own weight like some mad King George, attacked now by both the hard left and the nationalist right, there is one thing that is absolutely necessary: The credibility of the media. But that credibility is lacking, isn't it? For decades, the establishment media has mostly listed to the left. That's not in dispute. And in the last election, WikiLeaks' releases from the Hillary Clinton campaign showed evidence of deep collusion between the Beltway establishment media and establishment Democrats. The fiasco of Democratic broker and CNN contributor Donna Brazile feeding network debate questions to the Clintons has not really been resolved. She's been let go from the network, but viewers can't help the feeling that the bosses there figured it's time to move along and forget the past. There were other cases as well of journalists running copy past Clinton campaign officials; and throughout all those WikiLeaks, there was the general sense of coziness between the media and Clinton against Trump. Advertisement When it became known, there were no heads put on spikes as an example for the people to see. The wound wasn't cleansed. Instead, it was ignored and continued to fester. And now, when legitimate media attention on the president is required and necessary, stories may be dismissed as mere partisan attacks. That's wrong but also dangerous and corrosive, especially now, in this time of breaking. It is a time of great, accelerating change, socially, culturally and politically. And it's just begun. Listen to "The Chicago Way" podcast with John Kass and WGN's Jeff Carlin here: www.wgnradio.com/category/wgn-plus/thechicagoway. Advertisement jskass@chicagotribune.com Twitter @John_Kass Jacob McCurry is among seven students arrested by the Department of Homeland Security on Jan. 31, 2017, after failing to leave the Kluczynski Federal Building on South Dearborn Street while protesting outside the offices of U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) About 300 people crowded the entrance of the Kluczynski Federal Building in the Loop on Tuesday evening to loudly voice their opposition to President Trump's recent Cabinet picks particularly his choice for education secretary. By the end of the hourlong protest, seven people had been arrested, dragged away by Homeland Security officers after they staged a brief sit-in in the building's lobby while chanting and holding a banner demanding that U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth vote "no" on Trump Cabinet pick Betsy DeVos. Advertisement Hours before the protest, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted to approve DeVos' nomination as education secretary, sending it to the full Senate. DeVos, a billionaire from West Michigan and longtime contributor to the Republican Party, has faced mounting criticism as Trump's education nominee due to her past support of school vouchers over public education. Advertisement Tuesday's protests was the second "Resist Trump" event, part of a nationwide grassroots campaign to oppose the Trump administration on each Tuesday during the first 100 days of his presidency. Demonstrators on crowded downtown sidewalks carried homemade anti-Trump signs and placards as organizers using a bullhorn led those gathered near the corner of Jackson and Dearborn streets in chants. Many of those attending were young adults affiliated with groups that believe DeVos' nomination is a strike against public education. "One of the problems we have with Betsy DeVos is that she would profit off the privatization of our public education system, and so we need our elected officials to serve the interest of the people and not the interests of the 1 percent and corporations," said Samantha Nichols, a seminary student affiliated with the group Fair Economy Illinois, which supports public education and social service programs. Many in the group opposed not just DeVos, but Trump's other Cabinet choices. Others such as Yesenia Mata, a Little Village resident whose family came from Mexico, pushed back against Trump-led attacks on sanctuary cities such as Chicago. But Mata, 27, also criticized local officials such as Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whom she said offered lip service to immigrants while attacking the resources that immigrants rely on. Mata said she was first spurred to action by Trump's comments about Mexicans during his campaign. "We're tired. We're no longer going to be tolerating this kind of racism anymore because if we do, we know what can happen," said Mata, who is affiliated with Dream Action Coalition, which advocates against discrimination for immigrants. "I am here fighting for my family, for my friends. That is something I'm not going to stop doing." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Seven young adults three women and four men entered the federal building and sat on the floor with a sign that read: "Durbin, Duckworth Vote No on DeVos." After conversations between organizers and Homeland Security officers, each protester went limp as they were dragged away by officers. Following the arrests, the Chicago Maroon, the University of Chicago's student newspaper, tweeted that one of those arrested was the school's student government president. Advertisement Police at the scene said those arrested were being processed by federal authorities at the Kluczynski building, but federal officials couldn't be reached for comment. Participants said they're committed to protesting the Trump administration every Tuesday to keep their voices in the public. "We can't sit back and let this happen," said Maddie Tallman, another seminary student connected to Fair Economy Illinois. "Complacency would give the impression that we don't care, that we are even for what is happening, and we're not." wlee@chicagotribune.com Twitter @MidNoirCowboy Joliet and Major Crime Scene officers from the Illinois State Police back again at the residence at 1113 Barber Lane in Joliet. Authorities are searching for the remains of Michael Mansfield a Rolling Meadows man that disappeared in 1975. Thursday January 26, 2017 (Warren Skalski /For the Chicago Tribune) (Warren Skalski / Chicago Tribune) Rolling Meadows police ended their search Tuesday of a Joliet area home as part of its investigation into the disappearance of a college student more than 40 years ago. Police issued a brief statement saying the search of the home, in the 1100 block of Barber Lane near Joliet, had ended without the discovery of any human remains. Police, however, were able to develop "additional leads" and the case remains active, according to the statement. Advertisement Michael Mansfield disappeared from his home in Rolling Meadows in late December 1975 while home on break from Lincoln College in Lincoln. In a 2011 deathbed confession, a Joliet area man, serving time for another murder, told authorities he killed Mansfield, according to media accounts at the time. Mansfield was scheduled to testify in a theft case against the man who gave the deathbed confession, according to reports. Detectives believed evidence, or possibly Mansfield's remains, might have been in the home on Barber Lane, Rolling Meadows police said previously. The home, owned by relatives of the man who gave the deathbed confession, is vacant. Advertisement Rolling Meadows conducted a nearly weeklong investigation on the property. The Cook County major case assistance team, north regional major crimes task force and the FBI assisted in the investigation. The Will County sheriff's office and the Cook County Department of Homeland Security also provided support. A spokesman for Rolling Meadows police did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Alicia Fabbre and Dennis Sullivan are freelance reporters. Violence in Chicago remains stubbornly high as the city recorded about the same number of homicides and shootings in January as the year-earlier period, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Police Department. Much of the violence remains concentrated in three police districts Englewood on the South Side and Harrison and Austin on the West Side where half of the homicides took place, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a news conference at the Englewood District station. Asked about recent comments by President Donald Trump about Chicago's violence, Johnson said he welcomed the president's attention to the problem, saying he'd like more federal financial support for programs to support the most troubled neighborhoods. "I like the fact that he recognizes Chicago has some challenges," said Johnson, who noted that other cities also are seeing a spike in violence. Advertisement At about the same time, during a White House listening session to mark African-American History Month, Trump raised the issue again, saying that violence in Chicago was "totally out of control," according to an official transcript. "...We're going to have to do something about Chicago," the president said. "Because what's happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country." Advertisement Last week a tweet from Trump drew wide attention. "If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible 'carnage' going on ... I will send in the Feds!" he wrote. Told of Trump's latest comments, Mayor Rahm Emanuel also emphasized at a separate news conference that he wanted more help from federal law enforcement agencies as well. He also spoke of a need for more assistance to prosecute gun crimes as well as funding for upgrades to Police Department technology and to expand jobs programs. He said the president is welcome to come to see what the city is doing to combat violence but that he would prefer the specific support he's already requested. "What I would really like is the federal resources," he said after taking part in a mentoring meeting with Cubs President Theo Epstein and students at a Hyde Park high school. "I'm not saying he can't (visit), what I'm saying is what I would welcome is the resources to back up." While discussing what he has asked for from the Trump administration, Emanuel said he spoke "as recently as last week" with Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff. With pressure mounting to find solutions, Johnson detailed at the news conference that the department's new intelligence centers at two districts will use more technology to speed up how quickly officers can respond to shots fired. The pilot project, starting in the Englewood and Harrison districts, will include data pinpointing the location where gunshots have been fired. Officers in the districts will also be linked by smartphone technology to the data to improve how quickly they can respond to the scene. Johnson said Chicago recorded 51 homicides in January, one more than the first month of 2016, a year that would emerge as the most violent in two decades. Across the city, the department said, 18 of Chicago's 77 neighborhoods saw an increase in homicides. In the other 59, homicides remained the same or fell below levels a year earlier. Advertisement One bright note was the Deering District on the Southwest Side, which posted a 50 percent decline in homicides, the department said. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Johnson began the news conference on a lighter note, referring to his near-fainting at a news conference last Friday when the department first tried to announce the new crime-fighting efforts. Later that day, Johnson revealed that he was on a waiting list for a kidney transplant but blamed his "lightheadedness" in the morning on his taking blood pressure medicine on an empty stomach. "Good morning, deja vu all over again," Johnson said Wednesday to start the news conference. Chicago Tribune's John Byrne contributed asweeney@chicagotribune.com kskiba@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @annie1221 Twitter @KatherineSkiba A 16-year-old boy traveling on a Jordanian passport is being held in Chicago after being detained at a Houston airport for two days amid the chaotic rollout of President Donald Trump's executive order on travel restrictions, according to Texas attorneys working to reunite the boy with his family. Mohammad Abu Khadra, a student at Katy High School in Texas, arrived Saturday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where he was detained, having to sleep in a chair, and then moved Monday to Chicago, according to his attorneys. Khadra was returning from a trip to renew his visas in Jordan. Advertisement The Office of Refugee Resettlement confirmed to Khadra's attorneys that he's being held in Chicago, according to Anisa Thobhani, one of his lawyers. Government agencies have not given his lawyers a reason why Khadra was detained. "We don't know the details of what happened or why he got held up," Thobhani said. "He's a minor. He's alone. He doesn't know where he is. He doesn't even know if the family is trying to get a hold of him or not." Advertisement Khadra lives in Katy, Texas, with his older brother, who has a green card. His parents are in Jordan. Khadra has a visitor's visa, his attorneys said. Attorneys haven't been able to talk with Khadra in the days since he was taken into custody. It will take at least another three to five days before their paperwork is processed and they are allowed to communicate with him. The attorneys said they believe the situation is connected to Trump's executive order, which suspended the U.S. refugee program and froze immigration for seven majority-Muslim countries. Jordan was not included in the order. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Muslims from any country appear to face more scrutiny in U.S. customs now, said immigration attorney Ali Zakaria, one of the boy's lawyers. "My experience talking to the client (the brother), my observations at the airport as a volunteer and my discussions with other attorneys around the country leaves me to believe that Customs and Border Protection at the airport is pulling all Muslim travelers, even those not from the seven listed countries, for secondary inspection and questioning them and reviewing their documents for three to nine hours," he said. Khadra's brother could not immediately be reached. Zakaria said officials have to separate minors from the general population, but he doesn't know why Khadra was taken to Chicago. His firm is first trying to reunite Khadra with his brother. Then they will take a deeper look at what happened, he said. Advertisement echerney@chicagotribune.com Twitter @ElyssaCherney Kevin Narko disappeared Monday evening, Jan. 30, 2017, while jogging along the lakefront between North Avenue Beach and Fullerton Drive. (Photo via Chicago police) Chicago police on Wednesday released a new version of a photograph of the man who disappeared while jogging Monday night near North Avenue Beach. The search began after 52-year-old Kevin Narko was reported missing at 7 p.m. Monday. Advertisement Police Marine Unit officers searched Lake Michigan near the beach Sunday and Monday but didn't find the man. Police News Affairs did not immediately have an update on whether the search was going on Wednesday. Narko is 6 feet tall and about 175 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. He was last seen between North Avenue Beach and Fullerton avenues near the lake, officials said. He was wearing a navy "Yale" sweatshirt, dark jogging pants and bright green running shoes. Advertisement He has a medical condition and may be in need of his medication, and he's considered a high-risk missing person. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 312-747-8380. Darrell Scott, a pro-Trump pastor from Cleveland, speaks to reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on Dec. 13, 2016. (John Taggart / EPA) President Donald Trump responded enthusiastically Wednesday to a Cleveland-area minister's surprise comment that "top gang thugs" wanted to meet in Chicago to help reduce the city's gun violence. "That's a great idea because Chicago is totally out of control," the president told the Rev. Darrell Scott at a Black History Month event at the White House. Advertisement But the idea was greeted with skepticism by Chicago anti-violence groups, which saw it as likely to fail and out of touch with longtime gang dynamics. In an interview Thursday night with the Tribune, Scott, a strong Trump supporter, said a former Chicago gang member who knew of his ties to the president reached out asking for help with the violence. He said he hopes the president can attend the "sit-down" with gang members, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 15. Advertisement "The thing about Mr. Trump is that he is an attention magnet," Scott said. "His association will bring a lot of attention to it. A lot of it is going to be positive attention." The pastor's comments at the White House meeting produced another perplexing moment in the president's continuing focus on Chicago's rampant gun violence. At the morning meeting, Scott said that the gang leaders in Chicago had committed "to lower that body count" in return for added social programs from the federal government. "If they're not going to solve the problem and what you're doing is the right thing then we're going to solve the problem for them because we're going to have to do something about Chicago," the president said. "Because what's happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country." Scott said of the Chicago gangs: "They want to work with this administration. They believe in this administration. They didn't believe in the prior administration. They told me this out of their mouth. But they see hope with you." "I love it," Trump said. But those who have been doing anti-violence work in Chicago for years said the idea of an outsider coming to Chicago to untangle gang conflicts was suspect. "The idea is great, but trusted insiders are really crucial because you need that understanding of what both sides are dealing with," said Charles Ransford, director of science and policy at Cure Violence, which has mediated gang conflicts for more than 15 years in Chicago but was forced to scale back drastically over the past two years due to funding cuts. Advertisement Ransford and others said Scott's plan also seemed out of step with Chicago's gang structure, which long ago splintered into smaller neighborhood divisions that are offshoots of the once-larger, more organized super-gangs that had powerful leaders. "Chicago no longer has the gang hierarchy it used to have," Ransford told the Tribune. "It's much more a block-by-block clique system. How can I say this? They would need to call a lot of people to the table to really be able to cover all the different cliques and gangs. There is not just a handful. There is a lot of them." Scott would not be the first outsider with hopes of fixing Chicago's violence problem with a gang summit. In 2013, a Los Angeles-based minister who grew up in Chicago's crime-plagued Cabrini-Green housing project ran an event intended for gang members citywide to gather at a Far South Side church, but hardly any gang members showed up. In the Tribune interview, Scott said he agreed to help out the former gang member after checking out his credentials with NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown, founder of Amer-I-CAN. He said Brown and boxing champion Floyd Mayweather might be involved in his efforts to fight Chicago's violence. Scott said he raised the issue for the first time with Trump at the public meeting Wednesday because it was his first chance to do so. Advertisement Before he took the idea to Trump, Scott said he had asked the former gang member if he could bring current gang members "to the table." "He said yes," Scott said. " I am there by invitation. It is not like I am trying to come in, (not like) I am the savior (or) some big civil rights activist. "I want to help dispel this notion that Chicago is Dodge City. It is not," he said. "The people in these communities all want the American Dream just like everybody else." Trump's comments marked the third time in the first two weeks of his presidency that he has singled out Chicago for its surging violence. Homicides exceeded 760 last year, the worst in two decades, and violence remained stubbornly high in January as homicides and shootings kept at about the same levels as a year earlier. The president stirred much speculation last week by tweeting about Chicago's violent January, saying if city officials can't address it, "I will send in the Feds!" Some took the comment to mean he might be considering bringing in the National Guard, a move criticized by policing experts as a Band-Aid measure that wouldn't deal with underlying causes and would exacerbate already tense police-community relations. Then on a nationally televised interview, Trump said that two people were shot and killed during then-President Barack Obama's farewell speech Jan. 10 in Chicago. The Tribune first reported, however, that police records showed no one was fatally shot in Chicago for about 24 hours before or after the speech. Advertisement Ira Acree, a West Side community leader and pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church in the Austin community, said if Scott could change the minds of young gang members, then "God bless him." But he said that even if Scott is talking to ranking or former gang members, they no longer hold the sway on the street to influence the thousands of young gang members in fractured groups. "I hope he doesn't think meeting with some renegade gang leaders is going to impact this epidemic of violence significantly," Acree said. "They just don't have that kind of control. ... The paradigm has changed." Corey Brooks, pastor of New Beginnings Church in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood, said he spoke with Scott for 45 minutes Wednesday. He said he was asked to call Scott in a text message from Omarosa Manigault, the reality TV show participant who works for the Trump administration and attended the White House event Wednesday. Scott confirmed that Brooks would help organize the Chicago meeting with current and former gang members "people of influence," as Brooks put it. Brooks, who is perhaps best known for camping out on the roof of an abandoned South Side motel for three winter months in 2012 in a campaign to raise funds to demolish the building, said he expected a "representation" of gang members from the South and West sides and elsewhere in the city. According to published reports, Scott has said a televangelist introduced him to Trump in 2011 and that he had since visited Trump Tower "about a thousand times." During a Fox News broadcast featuring Trump in a town hall-style meeting in September from Scott's church facility in Cleveland Heights, Trump referred to Scott as "my pastor." Advertisement His position as a conservative and unabashed Trump supporter soon drew national attention and also rankled other black pastors who accused him of abandoning their core issues. During the campaign, Scott was the organizing force behind a scheduled meeting at Trump Tower in New York with the real estate mogul and a nationwide group of 100 black pastors. The meeting was abruptly canceled after many pastors became upset because they thought Scott had just asked them to meet with Trump but instead it was billed as a group endorsement. Scott later took the blame, telling The New York Times it was a "miscommunication" on his part. Several profiles on Scott over the years have detailed his story of redemption after a troubled youth growing up in an impoverished neighborhood on Cleveland's East Side. According to a New York Post profile last year, Scott started selling drugs at 13 and spent much of his teen years "snorting cocaine, breaking and entering, stealing cars, even bringing his father's 9mm gun to school at 16 and getting expelled for it." Scott said he found religion in 1981 while in his mid-20s, after his then-girlfriend had come back from a friend's church "speaking in tongues," according to a lengthy 1998 profile by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Two weeks later, he said he agreed to go with her and wound up running home to flush $3,000 worth of drugs down the toilet. He was baptized later that night, and he and Belinda were married a month later. The couple went on to found their own church in Cleveland Heights in 1994. Initially a congregation of four, today the New Spirit Revival Center has thousands of members. Advertisement Even as Scott and Trump were discussing their own solutions at the Washington event, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was at the Englewood District station Wednesday morning for a news conference outlining part of the department's crime-fighting plans for 2017. Johnson first addressed the disappointing crime statistics from January. Violence remains stubbornly high. By the department's count, Chicago recorded 51 homicides in January, one more than a year earlier. And 299 people were shot, eight more than a year ago. Much of the violence remains concentrated in three police districts Englewood on the South Side and Harrison and Austin on the West Side where half of the homicides took place in January. In compiling its total, the department does not include shootings on expressways, police-involved shootings, homicides in which a person was killed in self-defense, or pending death investigations. When those are included, there were 55 homicides in January compared with 57 by the same count in January 2016, according to data kept by the Tribune. There were 310 people shot, compared with 297. While Trump's latest comments had not yet been made public, Johnson was asked about the president's repeated commentary about the city's violence woes. Advertisement Putting a positive spin on the issue, Johnson said he welcomed the president's attention to the problem. "I like the fact that he recognizes Chicago has some challenges," he told reporters. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Chicago Tribune's Katherine Skiba contributed. asweeney@chicagotribune.com jgorner@chicagotribune.com jmeisner@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @annie1221 Twitter @JeremyGorner Twitter @jmetr22b Federal authorities worked swiftly Wednesday to resolve two lawsuits filed by Chicago residents who said they were unlawfully stranded overseas due to President Donald Trump 's controversial executive order restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. One suit was filed by Dr. Amer Al Homssi, an internal medicine resident who traveled to the United Arab Emirates to be wed only to have his visas canceled on his attempt to return home. The other involved a Chicago businessman who went to his native Iran to care for his ailing mother but was told he could not purchase a return ticket because of the ban. Both cases had been set for hearings Wednesday. But after hours of behind-the-scenes negotiating with an assistant U.S. attorney, customs officials and the State Department, the two ended with the same announcement neither traveler should have been barred from re-entering the country based on the president's executive order, and both would be coming home. Advertisement "This was a tremendous victory for the rule of law," said attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin, who represented Al Homssi. "We are a government of laws, not men. I hope we don't lose sight of that." Standing behind Durkin as he spoke in the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse were more than two dozen of Al Homssi's colleagues from Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, many of whom had packed into U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo's standing-room-only courtroom in a show of support. Advertisement "This is a pretty serious issue I mean he's a doctor," Durkin said. "He has patients. It's not like he was coming to ride the Staten Island Ferry." Al Homssi had been notified of the deal and was scheduled to fly back to Chicago from Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning, Durkin said. Earlier Wednesday, lawyers for the Iranian-born businessman, who filed under the pseudonym John Doe, negotiated a similar arrangement with U.S. officials. The man is an Iranian citizen and legal permanent resident of the U.S. who lives in Chicago with his wife and three children. According to his lawsuit, the man had flown to Iran last month to care for his sick mother. He was planning to return to Chicago in time for the birth of his first grandchild, but when he tried to book a return flight Saturday, the ticketing agency "refused to issue a ticket for his travel to the United States due to the executive order," the suit said. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The man's lawyer, Taher Kameli, said he agreed to withdraw his emergency request to stop enforcement of Trump's executive order after government officials determined his client's travel should not be restricted under the new policy. "The government was very cooperative, and they agreed that the executive order does not apply to permanent residents," Kameli told reporters. Meanwhile, the underlying claims in that lawsuit alleging Trump's executive order is unconstitutional will go forward before U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan. The two cases came on the heels of a tumultuous weekend at O'Hare International Airport , where people traveling from seven majority-Muslim countries were detained for hours as customs agents struggled over how to interpret the president's order. After court, Al Homssi's supervisor, Dr. Taylor Brinton, described his colleague as a "compassionate and smart" doctor who worked hard to get a chance to study and practice in the United States. Advertisement "I couldn't be happier ... that he's coming back and he doesn't have to give his spot up, that basically his dream of becoming a doctor is still a reality at this point," Brinton said. jmeisner@chicagotribune.com Twitter @jmetr22b A conservative think tank allied with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner called Tuesday for slashing state spending on universities, health care for the poor, teacher pensions and grants for needy school districts to dig Illinois out of the red. Also on the group's agenda is a plan to let the state keep all income tax proceeds instead of sending a portion to cities and villages while imposing a five-year property tax freeze that would prevent local governments from filling the gap by raising taxes on their own. Instead, the think tank's plan would exempt cities from some collective bargaining rules to lower their costs. Advertisement The ideas were unveiled by the Illinois Policy Institute a group that received at least $500,000 from Rauner before he was governor in a glossy brochure that was billed as a way to slice $7 billion from the state budget and avoid raising state taxes. The news conference came as the Illinois Senate considers an approach that includes major tax increases to help close the budget hole amid a record 19-month impasse. Rauner has pushed many of the cost-cutting ideas in the past, but he's also acknowledged numerous times that a tax increase also might be required to solve Illinois' budget woes. The governor's office, however, declined to comment Tuesday on the think tank's suggestions. Advertisement The question of how to balance the state's books has been a politically tricky one for Rauner, who has tried to use the budget process to create leverage for his broader economic and political agenda. The governor is scheduled to present a budget proposal Feb. 15 for the upcoming financial year. It will be his third such speech, though the state has been without a full budget during most of his time in office. In 2015, Rauner offered a budget that contained a $2.2 billion hole because of proposed pension savings that the governor eventually acknowledged might not pass constitutional muster. Last year, he offered lawmakers the choice of working with him to cut the budget or letting him do it himself. He did not spell out how he would close a hole of at least $3.5 billion. The policy institute's prescription for bringing Illinois into financial health relies on a series of assumptions, the most important one being that a number of politically unpopular cuts and changes to public employee pensions and union rules would be approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. Like the Rauner-funded state Republican Party, the policy institute's political arm has attacked Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, the governor's chief political nemesis. Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said the policy institute's plan would take the "standard of living back to the '50s. Not sure anyone wants that." Under the policy institute's view, Illinois' path forward would entail enacting a five-year property tax freeze and allowing the state to stop sharing income tax money with larger local governments. It would put a stop to special grants for needy school districts such as Chicago Public Schools. And it would allow the state to stop contributing to the pension funds for teachers in elementary school and secondary school districts as well as state universities. That would put local governments and school districts in a financial bind. The policy institute's solution to that problem is to allow the governments and school districts to cut their costs by going around collective bargaining and prevailing wage requirements, and making teachers pay more toward their pensions. "Raising taxes will not fix Illinois. We must reform the way Illinois does business," Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman said. "We must reform the way it actually spends the taxpayers' money. We must slow the growth of spending to a rate below the growth in revenues. It is that simple. Spending must rise more slowly than revenues. That is the only solution." For state worker retirement, the policy institute wants to shift to a 401(k)-style savings plan. While the Illinois Constitution does not allow the state to force workers into such a plan, Tillman argued that some workers would voluntarily choose to make the switch. Pressed for more detail on how that would work, Tillman ended a question-and-answer session with reporters. Advertisement Additionally, the policy institute wants to see Rauner's preferred contract terms with state workers imposed on the state's largest public employee union, which is in the midst of holding a strike vote. Workers stand to lose overtime pay and their health insurance costs would rise under the governor's proposal. Finally, the policy institute is looking to cut the state's higher education budget by more than 10 percent, or about $500 million, and wants to slash $125 million in spending on Medicaid, the health care program for the poor. Specifically, the group advocates pulling out of an expansion of the Medicaid program, for which the federal government is supposed to pay 95 percent of the costs in 2017. kgeiger@chicagotribune.com Twitter @kimgeiger Mayor Rahm Emanuel and first lady Amy Rule hosted six Dreamer students for dinner at their home Tuesday night to stress Chicago's status as a sanctuary city among growing tensions over President Donald Trump's new immigration policies. "The dreams of these kids to go to college and what they want to do are no different than Amy and mine's children, and their parents' concern for them and their hopes for them is no different than Amy and I have for our children," Emanuel told reporters as he stood with the students on the sidewalk outside his Ravenswood home. "The power of the United States is that people from all walks of life, all over the world, can come here to Chicago, the most American of American cities, and give their children a chance at a better life." Advertisement The mayor briefly addressed reporters and TV cameras after the dinner, which was served around the Emanuel family dining room. Emanuel and Rule were joined by their daughters, Ilana and Leah, Cardinal Blase Cupich, four students originally from Mexico, one from Nigeria and one from India. According to the mayor's office, the six students benefited from former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that offered legal protection to about 742,000 people who were brought to the U.S. as children and stayed here illegally. During the campaign, Trump said he would rescind Obama's executive order that created DACA, but after the election said he was willing to work out a solution for them to stay. Advertisement Trump's recent executive order cracking down on refugees and citizens traveling to the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim countries has led to airport protests and federal lawsuits challenging his move. The president also signed an executive order last week that seeks to strip federal funding from sanctuary cities such as Chicago that prohibit city officials from asking individuals' immigration status. Amid that political climate, Emanuel has sought to position himself as a champion of the city's immigrants and Dreamer students, often noting that his ancestors fled religious persecution overseas. "As we were talking, a lot of the kids mentioned how comforting it is to know that the city is going to remain a welcoming city," Emanuel said, as he encouraged other citizens to host similar dinners and volunteer with organizations to give "our fellow citizens a sense that they belong, they are secure and they are supported here in the city of Chicago." As the mayor talked on the sidewalk outside of his home, he was interrupted by two protesters who shouted that Emanuel should expand Chicago's sanctuary city status to those who have been arrested, charged with crimes or convicted of crimes. "How about you expand sanctuary cities?" shouted Anthony Quezada, a 21-year-old activist who lives in Logan Square. "That is how you fight back! Quit using them as symbolism and fight back! Have a spine!" "OK," Emanuel calmly responded with a smile. "Thank you." "Everything you're doing here is just for show," shouted Egle Malinauskaite, a 22-year-old who described herself as a DACA student originally from Lithuania who is studying to be an engineer. "Inviting us into your home and pretending like you care about us? OK. How about you protect us?" "That's what we're talking about," Emanuel responded as police escorted the two demonstrators down the block. "Thank you very much." Advertisement Instead of finishing his remarks, Emanuel asked Cupich to come forward and speak and the protesters' shouting faded into the distance. The cardinal said he'd be hosting a similar dinner soon. As Emanuel ended the brief news conference and began to walk inside, he was asked about the criticism that the city's sanctuary protections aren't strong enough. The mayor responded by noting that in 2012 he strengthened the city's sanctuary policy from just a mayoral executive order to a city ordinance. Emanuel said the current policy is "comforting to these children," but he did not address the argument that he should protect those who are arrested or convicted of crimes. The dinner marked a rare moment during his nearly six years as mayor that Emanuel has been the one to draw attention to his leafy Ravenswood street. Usually, it's the protesters who draw television cameras to the mayor's block. Demonstrators have picketed along the street many times, including during a Chicago teachers strike, as Emanuel moved to close nearly 50 elementary schools, and in the aftermath of the release of the Laquan McDonald police shooting video. The mayor's neighborhood was in the news again in December 2014 when his son, Zach Emanuel, was robbed of his cellphone while walking down the street and was assaulted by two individuals, one of them a teenager who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery. Emanuel's Tuesday night dinner was closed to the press, and the mayor's office did not identify the six students by name, just by their schools and the countries they emigrated from. Emanuel's office released four images of the get-together, including one of the mayor standing in front of a blazing fire, his arm rested on a fireplace mantle as the six students and Rule sat on couches and his two daughters sat on the floor. Advertisement Earlier Tuesday evening, Emanuel promoted a new school construction project on the Northwest Side but ducked out early, explaining that he was hosting a group of young Dreamers at his home "to let them know that they're welcome in this great city." Given President Trump's actions on immigration, Emanuel urged the crowd gathered inside the Merrimac Park gymnasium to contact their immigrant neighbors to stress they are welcome in Chicago. "We have a lot of our fellow residents who are unsure about tomorrow," Emanuel said. "Their kids are unsure." Chicago Tribune's Juan Perez Jr. contributed. bruthhart@chicagotribune.com Twitter @BillRuthhart One piece of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's multipronged effort to curtail tobacco use never took effect because of a legal challenge, and it could be finished off by a recent court ruling. Emanuel last year backed a measure to place new taxes on loose tobacco, chewing tobacco and cigars. The City Council approved it in March with hope it would raise $6 million for high school orientation classes, smoking cessation programs and additional efforts to crack down on illegal smokes. Advertisement The tax joined Emanuel's other moves to get aldermen to approve a tax increase on cigarettes that gave Chicago the highest per-pack rate in the nation and raise the city smoking age to 21. But before the latest tax could go into effect July 1, it was challenged in court by tobacco sellers and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Both sides agreed the tax wouldn't take effect until the case was finished, so no Chicagoans have paid the new tax of $1.80 an ounce for chewing tobacco and smoking tobacco, 60 cents for pipe tobacco and 20 cents per cigar. Advertisement Now, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Ann Collins-Dole ruled last month that the tax violated an Illinois law that prevented cities, villages and towns from enacting new taxes on cigarettes or other tobacco products after July 1, 1993. Chicago already had a cigarette tax at that time, but no tax on other tobacco products. The city has not yet decided whether to appeal the case, said Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the city Law Department. The ruling was not a huge surprise. In 2011, the Finance Committee considered a resolution that would have urged the Illinois General Assembly "to empower (cities, villages and towns) to tax any and all tobacco products." And state lawmakers on three occasions considered efforts to specifically allow the city to tax tobacco products other than cigarettes. None of those measures were approved, but they all "showed that the city understood that they couldn't do it," said Stanley Kaminski, the attorney representing the tobacco sellers. "They got tired of waiting for the law to change." Tanya Triche of the Merchants Association had warned aldermen before passage that state law did not allow the tax. "What we said all along is what the court opined," Triche said Wednesday. "The city had not been granted the authority to have a tax on tobacco products." Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno, 1st, who along with the mayor sponsored the new tobacco tax ordinance, agreed that the ruling "was not unexpected," but maintained that aldermen "did what we needed to do." "We really need Springfield to act, that's the bottom line," Moreno said. "I'm going to push this as hard as I can, but you know what's going on in Springfield." Advertisement Triche and Kaminski also noted that the ordinance that created the new tobacco taxes anticipated a potential loss in court. If there's ultimately a final court ruling against the new taxes, minimum "floor" prices for all tobacco products including cigarettes will go into effect after 90 days, according to the ordinance. Retailers would have to charge higher prices for chewing and loose tobacco and not be allowed to offer discounts or accept coupons for those products. Kaminski said if the new taxes were to be overturned, his clients would go back to court to argue that the floor prices are an "improper litigation penalty." Whatever happens to the city tax, it won't affect a similar set of taxes approved by the Cook County Board in late 2011. Those taxes which went into full effect at the start of 2013 added 60 cents an ounce to the price of chewing and loose tobacco, 30 cents to the price of a large cigar and 5 cents to the price of a little cigar. The county is able to collect those taxes because the state law affects municipalities, not counties, Kaminski said. hdardick@chicagotribune.com Twitter @ReporterHal Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 10, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Alex Brandon / AP) WASHINGTON The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 11-9 to advance the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as attorney general. He is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate by the end of the week. Republicans, who need only a majority vote to approve him, control 52 of the Senate's 100 seats, and Democrats have thus far failed to convince anyone on the other side of the aisle to oppose Sessions. Advertisement The committee vote, which passed along party lines, comes at a tumultuous time for the Department of Justice. On Monday, President Donald Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an Obama administration holdover, after she refused to defend his controversial immigration order. Senate Democrats lambasted the move as improper and said it called into question whether Sessions would enforce laws with which the president took issue. Republicans, meanwhile, asserted that Yates was the one to have acted wrongly in refusing to defend an order that the Justice Department's own Office of Legal Counsel had deemed lawful. Advertisement The dispute led to a bitter Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, and the panel ultimately decided it would wait a day to vote on Sessions' nomination. On Wednesday, Democrats again launched bitter attacks against Sessions before the vote. The process, along with fights over other Cabinet nominees, has frustrated Trump, who took to Twitter on Tuesday to decry Democrats. "When will the Democrats give us our Attorney General and rest of Cabinet!" he wrote. "They should be ashamed of themselves! No wonder D.C. doesn't work!" Until Sessions can be confirmed, the Justice Department is being led by Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who was chosen to lead in Yates place. Boente, a longtime Justice Department lawyer nominated by President Barack Obama for his U.S. attorney's job, rescinded Yates' directive not to defend Trump's immigration order. Trump on Tuesday also announced three other picks for Justice Department leadership. Provided they are confirmed, Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. attorney from Maryland, will serve as the deputy attorney general, the No. 2 post in the department, and Rachel Brand, a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, will serve as the associate attorney general, the No. 3 post. The White House said Trump intends to nominate Steven Engel, a lawyer at the Dechert firm, as an assistant attorney general with reports suggesting he will run the Office of Legal Counsel. Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, recently confirmed by the Senate as President Donald Trump's secretary of state, on Jan. 17, 2017. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images) WASHINGTON Senate Republicans moved aggressively Wednesday to push through several of President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, the latest round in an escalating showdown with Democrats trying to thwart President Trump's administration. Republicans lashed out angrily at Democrats trying to stall the president's nominees at the committee level, suspending the rules to approve two nominees, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., for secretary of health and human services and Steve Mnuchin to lead the Treasury. Advertisement Republicans also advanced the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., for attorney general, and they finalized confirmation of former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson for secretary of state by a vote of 56 to 43. The day was not without its setbacks for Republicans, however. Two GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, and Susan Collins, Maine, signaled they do not plan to support the president's nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos - leaving Democrats one vote shy of the number needed to doom her nomination. Both senators cited their uncertainty about whether DeVos, an avid supporter of charter schools and school vouchers, is sufficiently committed to helping public schools. Advertisement The drama on Capitol Hill unfolded at a time when Democrats, under intense pressure from liberal activists, have become increasingly emboldened to block Trump's agenda and appointees. Democrats were enraged by the administration's executive order issued over the weekend to bar travel to the United States by those from seven majority-Muslim countries. They galvanized around the firing of acting attorney general Sally Yates, who was dismissed for refusing to enforce the ban. And some Democrats were also angered by the president's nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Tuesday night, arguing that Republicans cannot expect them to swiftly approve the selection after their blockade of then-President Barack Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. Lawmakers began meeting with Gorsuch on Wednesday. Although several moderate Democrats said they remain open to the federal appeals judge, others, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to block him with a filibuster, which Republicans would need 60 votes to overcome. Meanwhile, Trump urged Senate Republican leaders Wednesday to be prepared to tear up the rules of the Senate and "go nuclear" if Democrats try to block Gorsuch - that is, change long-standing Senate rules to permit the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee with a simple majority vote. "I would say, 'If you can, Mitch, go nuclear,' " Trump said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "Because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect. I would say it's up to Mitch, but I would say, 'Go for it.' " Several Democrats did side with Republicans to approve Tillerson, including senators from states that Trump won during the election: Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Manchin III (W.Va.). Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also supported Tillerson. There is little Democrats can do to prevent final confirmation of any of Trump's picks because the GOP needs only 51 votes to approve them in the full Senate and there are 52 Republican senators. With Tillerson, six high-ranking Trump nominees have been approved by the full Senate: Elaine Chao as transportation secretary; retired generals John Kelly and Jim Mattis at the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon; Mike Pompeo to lead the CIA; and Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Advertisement Over in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republicans celebrated Sessions' approval on a party-line vote of 11 to 9, with Democrats present and opposing his nomination. "Senator Sessions has devoted his life to public service, and his qualifications cannot be questioned," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement following the Sessions vote. "He has a history of protecting and defending the Constitution and the rule of law for all people." But a committee hearing to approve Trump's pick for the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, was delayed after Democrats failed to show up. So was a hearing to vet Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., to lead the Office of Management and Budget, which was delayed Wednesday, although the delay happened before the panel convened. And on Tuesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the nominations of former Texas governor Rick Perry to be energy secretary and Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to be interior secretary. Republicans came to the aid of Trump's nominees after Democrats dipped into their procedural arsenal to stall many of them at committee hearings on Monday, echoing growing liberal anger in the streets. "Democrats are going to keep fighting back," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. "We are going to stand with people across the country. And we will keep pushing Republicans to put country above party and stand with us." Advertisement That stance was met with praise from liberal activists, labor unions and constituents. "We're seeing someone who came into office with a historic popular vote loss come in and push a radical, unconstitutional agenda," said Kurt Walters, the campaign director of the transparency group Demand Progress. "Yes, radical and bold tactics are what senators should be using in response." At Senate Finance on Wednesday morning, Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, rammed through Mnuchin and Price after Democrats did not show up for that hearing. Their nominations head to the Senate floor for an up-or-down vote, although it is unclear when that will occur. "Republicans on this committee showed up to do our jobs. Yesterday, rather than accept anything less than their desired outcome, our Democrat colleagues chose to cower in the hallway and hold a press conference," Hatch charged. Incensed by the Democratic boycott, GOP members spent Tuesday exploring how they could quickly approve Price and Mnuchin and punish Democrats for their surprise move. Committee staffers scoured the panel's lengthy rule book and discovered it permits the majority party to temporarily suspend the rules and meet without Democrats. Hatch said he consulted the Senate parliamentarian, who serves as a referee on all disputes in committees and on the Senate floor, who said doing so was within bounds. Advertisement After weeks of back-and-forth about Trump's nominees, "the boycott was the last straw," explained Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who pushed staffers to explore their options. "The ultimate result was not in doubt. Getting to the ultimate was in doubt," he added. "For us, it was going to get done. Why not find a way to do it since they weren't going to show up for a committee meeting? To them, slowing down the process just gave them the time to do that and try to make cases against us." Democrats were told Wednesday morning that Finance would reconvene. But they were not given any indication that Hatch would alter the rules, according to a spokesman for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking Democrat on the committee. Democrats complained that Mnuchin misled the committee by initially misstating his personal wealth on a financial disclosure form and misrepresenting under oath how OneWest Bank, which he led, scrutinized mortgage documents. And Wyden pointed to discounted stock buys Price made in a health-care company, first reported by the Wall Street Journal. "We felt it was important to say we need this information to do our job," Wyden said Wednesday after Hatch forced the party-line vote. Other Republicans dismissed accusations that the GOP is bending Senate procedure to quickly confirm Trump's picks. Advertisement "I think people expect senators to show up for work and be there. It's unfortunate," said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. Democrats defended their actions as a necessary step to register their frustration after a small group of Republicans refused to allow them to question the nominees once new information came to light. Over at the Environment and Public Works Committee, where Pruitt is being considered, Republicans vented their frustration at the lack of Democrats who came. A GOP aide displayed a chart designed to show how quickly past EPA nominees were confirmed. Notably missing, however, was Obama's second EPA administrator, Gina McCarthy. Nominated in March 2013, McCarthy was not confirmed until July of that year - at one point, Republicans on the Environment Committee boycotted a meeting to demand that McCarthy answer more questions. "That was not a new president, newly elected," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., arguing that the GOP boycott differed because it happened during Obama's second term. "A newly elected president, I believe, has a right to their Cabinet." The Washington Post's Sean Sullivan and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report. President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washingtonon Feb. 1, 2017. (Evan Vucci / AP) DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. Assuming the somber duties of commander in chief, President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip Wednesday to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in a weekend raid in Yemen. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. More than half a dozen militant suspects were also killed in the raid on an al-Qaida compound and three other U.S. service members were wounded. Advertisement More than a dozen civilians were also killed in the operation, including the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and U.S. citizen who was targeted and killed by a drone strike in 2011. Trump's trip to Delaware's Dover Air Base was shrouded in secrecy. The president and his daughter, Ivanka, departed the White House in the presidential helicopter with their destination unannounced. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported until his arrival. Advertisement After returning to the White House, Trump commented on the trip at the swearing-in of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. "I just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at Dover," Trump said. "It is something very sad, very beautiful. Ryan, a great man." Marine One landed at Dover shortly before a C-17 believed to be carrying Owens' remains touched down. The president met with Owens' family during a two-hour visit to the base. The sailor's family had requested that Trump's visit and the return of Owens' remains be private. Former President Barack Obama lifted a ban on media coverage of the casualty returns, though families may still request privacy. A spokeswoman at Dover said about half of families choose to allow media coverage. Owens joined the Navy in 1998 and was the recipient of two Bronze stars, a Joint Service Commendation and an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, among other honors. In a statement following his death, the Navy Special Command called Owens a "devoted father, a true professional and a wonderful husband." His death underscores the human costs of the military campaigns Trump now oversees. Far fewer troops are serving in combat now than in the wars Trump's predecessors led in Afghanistan and Iraq, but thousands of Americans remain in hotspots around the world. In Afghanistan, where America's longest war continues, about 8,400 U.S. troops are training and advising local forces. More than U.S. 5,100 troops in Iraq and about 500 in Syria are involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group. The U.S. also engages in counterterrorism operations mainly drone strikes in Yemen, where Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has exploited the chaos of the country's civil war. Sunday's pre-dawn raid which a defense official said was planned by the Obama administration but authorized by Trump could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in Yemen. Advertisement As a candidate, Trump said he would be willing to "take out" the families of terrorists in order to root out extremism. On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said no Americans "will ever be targeted" in raids against terror suspects. The president's trip to Dover comes as he begins weighing whether to reshape U.S. military activities around the world. As a candidate, he vowed to be tougher on the Islamic State and at one point said he would be willing to send up to 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. Last week, Trump gave the Pentagon and other agencies 30 days to submit a plan for defeating the Islamic State. Trump has said little about his approach to Afghanistan. Obama had pledged to end the war there on his watch, but continuing security concerns prompted him to extend the U.S. military campaign, handing the war off to a third American president. Trump, who never served in the armed forces and received student and medical deferments during the Vietnam War, had an uneven relationship with the military community during the presidential campaign. About 60 percent of voters who served in the military supported Trump in the presidential election, compared with 34 percent who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. But Trump was also criticized by military groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, for his feud with the Khan family, whose Muslim-American son was killed while serving in Iraq. Associated Press President Donald J. Trump speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 28, 2017. (MICHAEL REYNOLDS / EPA) The Trump administration on Wednesday maintained a low-key approach to the latest flare-up of violence in eastern Ukraine, where the government accuses Russian-backed forces of stepping up attacks. The restrained tone may reflect the start of a new U.S. approach to dealing with Russia's cross-border activity, even as top U.S. officials are pledging to support Ukraine's sovereignty. White House spokesman Sean Spicer had little to say on Wednesday when asked for the administration's position on the renewed fighting that began over the weekend and persisted into early Wednesday. At least 10 people have been killed and dozens wounded. President Donald Trump has been "kept aware of developments" in Ukraine, Spicer said, and the White House will "have further updates as we go on." It was not immediately clear when those updates would come. The new rhetoric comes amid significant concern in Europe about Trump's overtures to Russia. The new president has called NATO "obsolete" and challenged America's allies to take on greater responsibility for defending themselves, while raising the possibility of a new era of U.S.-Russian cooperation. On Tuesday, the State Department responded to the violence in Ukraine but omitted any mention of Russia in a six-sentence statement that called for an immediate cease-fire and full implementation of the agreements meant to outline a political resolution to the crisis. Trump's U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, met with her Ukrainian counterpart "to reaffirm the United States' support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," according to a statement. The omission of Russia from the responses contrasted sharply with statements by the Obama administration, which sharply criticized Moscow for supporting and even directing attacks by the separatists, and not fulfilling its obligations under the 2015 truce plan signed in Minsk, Belarus. The State Department statement reaffirmed U.S. backing for the Minsk plans, but that reference only came about after internal interagency discussions in Washington. According to an American official with knowledge of the discussions, White House officials questioned why the Minsk agreements needed to be mentioned at all even though the U.S. has insisted for almost two years on the deal's full implementation. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. "The United States is deeply concerned with the recent spike in violence in eastern Ukraine," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in the statement. "To avert a larger humanitarian crisis, we call for an immediate, sustained cease-fire and full and unfettered access for OSCE monitors. We also reaffirm U.S. support for full implementation of the Minsk agreements." During the last surge in violence in December, former State Department spokesman John Kirby had gone far further, accusing Moscow of backing "a Russian separatist attempt to seize additional Ukrainian territory." In his Dec. 20 statement, Kirby said Russia was violating its commitments and urged Moscow to use its influence over the separatists to stop the violence. And in the Obama administration's last days, then-White House spokesman Josh Earnest specifically criticized Russia for misrepresenting its activities in Ukraine, saying its public pronouncements "routinely fly in the face of the facts on the ground" there and in Syria. At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Trump's incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took a similarly stern line despite his close business ties with Russia stemming from his days as Exxon Mobil CEO. He said Russia posed a "danger" and had "invaded" Ukraine, and that he would have recommended a far more robust response than Obama mounted after Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. New Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA chief Mike Pompeo also had tough words for Moscow. Obama era officials as well as many in Europe are concerned about a possible shift in U.S. policy toward Russia, particularly as it relates to Ukraine and the potential for a lifting of sanctions on Moscow before the situation is resolved. On Tuesday, European Union President Donald Tusk mentioned Russia's "aggressive policy towards Ukraine" along with "worrying declarations by the new American administration." He accused the Trump administration of "seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy." WASHINGTON Associated Press We should remind our American friends of their own motto: United we stand, divided we fall, European Council President Donald Tusk, pictured last month, said Jan. 31, 2017. (Thierry Charlier / AFP/Getty Images) Reporting from London The president of the European Council on Tuesday branded the U.S. a threat, as the backlash against the Trump administration's stance on issues such as immigration, NATO and European sovereignty intensified across the continent. In a harshly worded open letter to 27 European Union heads of state, Donald Tusk said "worrying declarations" by the new administration were helping make the EU's future "highly unpredictable." Advertisement Tusk, who heads the council that defines EU priorities, said the external threat posed by the U.S. administration was among geopolitical conditions that include an assertive China, especially on the seas, Russian aggression toward Ukraine and its neighbors and anarchy in the Middle East and Africa, with radical Islam playing a major role. "For the first time in our history, in an increasingly multipolar external world, so many are becoming openly anti-European, or Eurosceptic at best," Tusk wrote. "Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy." Advertisement He called on European leaders to show courage and "political solidarity." "We should remind our American friends of their own motto: United we stand, divided we fall," Tusk said. The Tusk letter came a day after former Belgium Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's chief negotiator as Britain prepares to leave the EU, said during a speech at a London think tank Monday that he believes Trump is trying to encourage exit referendums in Germany and France. "My impression is we have a third front undermining the EU, and that is Donald Trump," he said. French President Francois Hollande has called for a firm response to the new U.S. administration and a united European front, and warned Trump in a phone call Saturday against the economic and political consequences of his protectionist approach. "Faced with an unstable and uncertain world, withdrawal into oneself is a dead-end response," Hollande said in a statement issued by the Elysee Palace. EU leaders are scheduled to gather for a summit in Malta on Friday. The potency of Tusk's letter is likely to have been fueled by fears over any deepening of ties between the U.S. and Russia as a result of Trump's election victory in November. Advertisement Tusk, a Polish politician, expressed concerns late last year that Russia was pursuing a strategy designed to weaken the EU and has supported keeping sanctions against Russia in place. Across Europe, concerns have been mounting about how Trump's election will affect the EU, not least because Trump has referred to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as "obsolete," praised Britain for voting to leave the EU and appeared to welcome the idea of other countries leaving the EU. "I believe others will leave," Trump said in a recent interview with London's Sunday Times and German newspaper Bild. "I do think keeping it together is not gonna be as easy as a lot of people think." In Britain, where 48% of voters favored remaining part of the European Union while 52% voted to leave in the bitterly fought referendum campaign, and more than 100,000 people recently took to the streets in a series of anti-Trump women's marches, tensions have also been running high. British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to attend only some elements of the Malta summit since Britain voted to leave the EU in the June referendum. Britain is preparing to extricate itself from the bloc and forge new trade alliances globally. May has sought to establish a strong working relationship with Trump and last week became the first foreign leader to meet with him since his inauguration Jan. 20. Advertisement Her visit to Washington was touted as a diplomatic coup by the prime minister's office, and May stood with Trump in the White House and reaffirmed the strong "special relationship" that exists between the two nations, while speaking of a robust future trade deal. She also invited Trump to a state visit hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. Hours later, the president signed an executive order temporarily banning refugees and travelers from some countries. A petition calling for Trump's state visit to be banned because it could embarrass the queen swiftly gathered popular support and had amassed more than 1.7 million signatures by late Tuesday. The matter is to be debated in Parliament on Feb. 20. May's public show of solidarity with Trump and her subsequent refusal to condemn his new policies or withdraw the invitation for a state visit has been met with skepticism and some concern. The former head of the Foreign Office and a national security advisor, Peter Ricketts, wrote a letter in the London Times on Tuesday saying that the visit should be downgraded because it puts the queen in a "very difficult position" and was "ill-judged" advice. "It would have been far wiser to wait and see what sort of president he would turn out to be before advising the queen to invite him," Ricketts said. Advertisement He said a possible solution could be inviting Trump for an official visit without the full pomp and ceremony of a state visit that heavily involves the monarch, and delaying the state visit until it would be viewed in a more favorable light and the queen could receive him in a celebratory, warm manner. The queen has kept characteristically quiet about the uproar, at least in public, but her son and heir to the throne, Prince Charles, expressed his concerns during a speech at a Jewish charity's dinner Monday. "The work of World Jewish Relief enables us to rally together, to do what we can to support people practically, emotionally and spiritually," he said. "Particularly at a time when the horrific lessons of the last war seem to be in increasing danger of being forgotten." Charles, who campaigns about the environment, also reportedly plans to confront Trump over his views on climate change if they meet face to face, according to the Sunday Times. Boyle is a special correspondent. ALSO Advertisement More than 1 million Britons sign petition demanding that government rescind invitation to Trump For Syrians stuck in limbo in Lebanon, Trump's ban will mean harder times ahead Iraqis thought they had a special relationship with the United States. Now they're furious over Trump's travel ban President Donald Trump's executive order on refugees was a combination of ineptitude, irrelevance, counterproductivity and malice, lamely rationalized as a matter of public safety. Like many of his actions, it raises the question: Is he doing this because he doesn't understand how badly it will work or because he doesn't care? In symbolic and constitutional terms, this anti-Muslim measure is hugely important and regrettable. But in a practical sense, there is less than meets the eye. The attention to what Trump proposes to do to refugees who want to come here distracts from a bigger issue that affects more far more displaced people. Advertisement Some 4.9 million Syrians have fled their war-racked country. The vast majority have wound up in Turkey, Lebanon or Jordan. In 2015, the Obama administration admitted a grand total of 1,682, and last year it took 12,587. Under Trump's executive order, until further notice, the number will be smaller: zero. For the millions who would not have been allowed to come regardless, though, Trump's order is beside the point. They were suffering exiles before, and they are suffering exiles still. It's no wonder that many dream of making their way to America or Europe, even at grave personal peril. Advertisement But letting them in involves two costs that concern many Americans, particularly those who voted for Trump. One is the risk of bloodshed by violent extremists masquerading as refugees. That danger happens to be microscopically tiny. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, right, talks with children as he tours damaged neighborhoods of East Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 1, 2017.According to media reports, Grandi visited Aleppo to assess the humanitarian situation, get acquainted with the reality of the displaced people, and find means of extending help to them. (Youssef Badawi, EPA) Refugees typically face a wait of 18 to 24 months to come to the United States, and they have no say on whether they are sent here or somewhere else. Any applicant who raises the slightest doubt gets the heave-ho. Syrian terrorists intent on killing Americans would look for an easier, quicker way. The other cost, however, is not so improbable. It's the expense of resettling these people, most of whom need considerable time and aid to adjust to their new lives. The Center for Immigration Studies, which favors reductions in immigration, estimates that each Middle Eastern refugee admitted to the U.S. costs taxpayers $64,370 over the first five years. Plenty of Americans resent having to bear that burden. Opponents of Trump's executive order, however, think we have an obligation to help the innocent victims of President Bashar Assad's savage war. Some insist we have a special duty because of our refusal to use military power to stop the slaughter. But even under the most optimistic scenario which has no chance of coming to pass under the current president we can take only a tiny fraction of these refugees. The rest have a better chance of squeezing through a straw. There is a way to help them, though, that should appeal to both Trump's supporters and his critics: aid to the displaced in the countries where they are now living. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says it needs $4.63 billion this year to meet the basic needs of these exiles including food, shelter, medical care and schooling. That works out to $940 per refugee or just 7 percent of the annual cost of resettlement in this country. Many of the refugees would no doubt prefer to remain in the Middle East, where they wouldn't have to adapt to our culture and language, and this aid would make that easier. Hundreds of Syrian families wait to register at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees headquarters in Beirut on Jan. 30, 2017. President Donald Trump has put an indefinite hold on admission of Syrian refugees to the United States. (Hassan Ammar / AP) But the UNHCR has failed to persuade donor nations to match their generosity to the scale of the emergency. Last year, it got $2.7 billion for Syrian refugees, just 59 percent of what it needed. Advertisement If the U.S. government is going to close the door to these lost souls, why not at least offer financial help to ease their plight? This option wouldn't carry the danger of terrorists reaching American soil, and it wouldn't require great public expense. Nor would it inflame anti-American furies as Trump's policy is likely to do. If anything, it would win friends. It's not likely to happen, though, because nothing is less popular with the American public than "foreign aid." A 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center found that "for 18 of 19 programs tested, majorities want either to increase spending or maintain it at current levels. The only exception is assistance for needy people around the world." In this case, prevention would be a prudent approach. We can try to spare ourselves the problem of the Syrian refugees. But we can't expect it to cooperate. Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/chapman. schapman@chicagotribune.com Twitter @SteveChapman13 Advertisement Related articles: Democrats should use Supreme Court fight to spotlight Trump's authoritarianism How a 'chaos candidate' becomes a disaster president Refugees in Illinois: More than 40 percent from banned countries Starbucks to hire 10,000 refugees in response to Trump's executive order Because it lies at the intersection of sex, faith and law, the issue of abortion embitters Americans whenever politicians debate it, no matter which side wins. That scenario is about to be repeated. You can bet on it. In his Tuesday nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Donald Trump characterized the federal appeals court judge as in the tradition of the late Justice Antonin Scalia who called the court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade to decriminalize abortion "an absurdity." Gorsuch himself has written that "no constitutional basis exists for preferring the mother's liberty interests over the child's life." Advertisement That is not going to sit well with many who marched in protest on Trump's second day in office. The anti-abortion and the pro-choice positions are mutually exclusive, making compromise impossible. The prerequisite to breaking a political impasse is looking at things from the other person's perspective. That's not going to happen in this instance. Advertisement It's like Strother Martin says in the movie "Cool Hand Luke": "What we got here is a failure to communicate." Each party to the abortion dispute rests its case on a hallowed document. For the anti-abortion side, it's the Bible. For the pro-choice side, it's the U.S. Constitution. But those who are pro-choice say they can't find the word "abortion" in the Bible. Those who are anti-abortion counter that they can't find the word "abortion" in the Constitution. Both sides are right. Confronted with that sticky issue, both sides would respond: "Maybe the word isn't there. But the concept certainly is." Each side attaches a virtual adjective to the virtual noun they think justifies their position. Pro-lifers envision the Bible pronouncing abortion "bad." Pro-choicers envision the Constitution proclaiming the right to choose whether to have an abortion "good." Each side justifies its insertion of the missing words on the assumption that historic documents must be interpreted. Read literally, the documents don't fully convey the authors' thinking. That's like what a press secretary told reporters about Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley's famed malapropisms: "Don't print what the mayor said. Print what he meant." I support Roe v. Wade. Yet I can't conceive the Founding Fathers as proto-feminists. I can't imagine James Madison and a few other delegates huddling at the Constitutional Convention whispering: "We agree that a woman has a right to terminate a pregnancy, but some of these guys aren't ready for that. So we have to write it in very subtly." Advertisement That credits Madison and his buddies with a conception of women's rights far beyond their 18th century contemporaries. William Blackstone, the famed legal scholar, credited married women of that era with rights, of a sort. "The very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband; under whose wing, protection, and cover, she performs every thing," Blackstone held. Yet when writing the Roe v. Wade decision, Justice Harry Blackmun assumed that, somewhere in the Constitution, there must be a covert message to the future about abortion rights. Blackmun thought it might be tucked into the 14th Amendment, or maybe the Ninth. To me, Blackmun's approach sounds like a jazz musician noodling around on a piano looking for the notes to a melody running through his head. Strangely, that feels OK. The mind often hands political debates over to the heart. Blackmun's interpretive method is mimicked by some who base their moral code on the Bible. They mentally edit the text, scratching out passages that conflict with their beliefs. According to the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus said: "Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." Yet liberal Protestants accept divorce, and allow divorced persons to remarry. On the other hand, Catholics and some evangelical Protestants base their opposition to abortion on a curious passage in the Old Testament. The Book of Exodus says: "If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: He shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine." Advertisement To put it wetly, that sounds like our laws covering fender-bender accidents: A man's property the baby in his wife's womb has been damaged, so he is owed financial compensation by the guy who caused it. Yet from that proposition, some abortion opponents deduce that pregnancy can't be terminated even to save a woman's life. I just don't get it. I'm sure pro-lifers are stumped by my position. That's why, should we meet, our conversation would be boring. I'd say: "A woman has a right to terminate a pregnancy!" They would reply: "Read your Bible!" I'd counter: "I have!" Then we'd repeat that call-and-response dialogue, probably to the end of our days. rgrossman@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Related articles: Anti-abortion activists have newfound optimism for this year's March for Life New report: Abortions in U.S. drop to lowest level since 1974 Trump isn't truly pro-life Before Roe v. Wade, the Jane Collective served Chicago women Rescue workers crowd around fallen CTA cars at Wabash Avenue and Lake Street on Feb. 4, 1977, the worst rapid-transit accident in the city's history, which killed 11 riders and injured 183 people. (Walter Kale / Chicago Tribune) Every day, Robert and Kathleen Ferbrache would ride the "L" home together after work. He was a collector for a finance company on Adams Street, she was a receptionist for an accounting firm in the Prudential Plaza building. They lived in Oak Park, a few blocks from an "L" station. On Feb. 4, 1977, a Friday, they were on their usual train, the Lake-Dan Ryan line (now parts of the Green and Red lines), on their way to a birthday party for a friend's son. It was just a little after 5:20 p.m. Advertisement They must have been surprised or, perhaps, frustrated when the train seemed to hit something after coming around the curve at the corner of Lake Street and Wabash Avenue. After a "quiet thump," the first two train cars started to wobble. Slowly, the back of the first car lifted into the air and then crashed into the street 20 feet below, dragging three other cars with it. Advertisement More than 160 people were injured, and 11 were killed, including the Ferbraches Robert, 29, and Kathleen, 25. A bystander called it "a slow-motion horror." The Tribune called it the worst CTA crash in history. It wasn't clear at first what had caused the crash. The Lake-Dan Ryan train had turned the corner to pull into the station at State and Lake streets and hit the rear car of a Ravenswood (now the Brown Line) train, which was waiting for an Evanston Express (now the Purple Line) train to leave the station. The Evanston train wasn't supposed to be there, but an earlier switching problem meant that a few of the express trains were still running on the wrong tracks. According to the CTA chairman, a cab signaling device should have stopped the Lake-Dan Ryan train from getting too close to the Ravenswood train. "Why that didn't work, I don't know," a CTA spokesperson told the Tribune. Chicagoans converged on the crash site, helping to pull passengers from the cars before police and firefighters arrived. Businesses along Lake and Wabash were turned into temporary "blood-spattered" hospitals. Lakeview Restaurant, 179 N. Wabash Ave., handed out water, coffee and towels for first aid. At one point, more than 50 victims were crowded into the restaurant, covering tables, booths, chairs and the floor. Agnes McCormick, a 59-year-old secretary with the Chicago Public Library, was eating an early dinner at the Lakeview when the train crashed. "The victims were lying in rows in the streets, and some were pinned in the cars," she told the Tribune. "Some of them were obviously dead. I saw one blond girl, about 20, lying in a pool of blood and there was nothing we could do for her." Cardinal John Cody appeared at the street corner to administer last rites, joined by Michael Bilandic, who was the acting mayor after Richard J. Daley died in 1976; then-Rep. Abner Mikva; and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Advertisement When rescue workers arrived on the scene, they moved quickly to get the injured to one of nine hospitals in the city. They worked with an orderly flow for two hours straight, shuffling, sorting and shipping off those they could help. The hospitals had learned a valuable lesson in disaster planning a year earlier when 310 passengers were injured after another Chicago rapid-transit crash. Train service resumed at 6:02 the following morning. And four days after the crash, the Ferbraches were buried in Brookfield. It took months for the CTA and the National Transportation Safety Board to nail down the ultimate cause of the crash. The train's driver, Stephen A. Martin, was badly injured and spent weeks recovering in Northwestern Memorial Hospital. An investigation by the NTSB found that during his eight years as a CTA employee, Martin had a long record of rule violations, including another derailment three years earlier. Investigators originally thought Martin might have been high while he was operating the train two police officers had found four hand-rolled "cigarets" supposedly containing marijuana in his bag at the crash site but toxicology reports showed that Martin wasn't under the influence of alcohol, narcotics or marijuana at the time. What happened was much more mundane: human error. During NTSB hearings about the crash, Martin admitted he saw a red flashing light in his cab right before he came around the curve and hit the end of another train. That red light should have persuaded Martin to stop and wait for the light to change to yellow or green before accelerating again. Instead, Martin testified that he thought the red light meant to slow down to 15 mph, so he continued along the tracks at 10 mph and wasn't able to apply the brakes in time to prevent the crash. Advertisement Martin was fired six months later. Three months after that, the NTSB officially blamed him for the accident. In the wake of the crash, there were calls for reforms to the aging "L" system. President Jimmy Carter offered "help and assistance and all the resources of the office of the president," and Bilandic hoped to marshal potential federal funds into two pet transportation projects: a subway under Franklin Street and the Crosstown Expressway, which would have connected parts of the Kennedy, Edens and Stevenson expressways. Bilandic flew to Washington to meet with Carter, but nothing came of it. The White House had offered Bilandic $400 million in January to build the Franklin Street subway, but Bilandic turned down the money. He wanted help funding the new subway and the Crosstown Expressway not one or the other. Gov. Jim Thompson vehemently opposed the expressway, and in the end, the Carter administration didn't have enough money to support both billion-dollar projects. Something tangible did come out of the disaster: The CTA implemented a few lasting changes to its safety procedures. Barriers were built along the "L" tracks' sharpest curves to prevent trains from falling off the tracks in a derailment. Train operators with moving violations were required to be retested and retrained. The CTA updated its rule book and conducted a large safety study on distracted driving and train accidents. And finally, the CTA clarified its rules on red lights on the tracks: Red always means wait. Elizabeth Greiwe edits the Tribune's Voice of the People. Advertisement Thanks to reader Jack McLean of Wauconda for suggesting this Flashback. Over the weekend, when I was on a birthday-induced news fast, President Donald Trump's executive order on migrants from seven Middle Eastern countries turned into a fiasco in that sweet spot where incompetence and malevolence overlap. I missed most of the general frenzy. But I certainly didn't miss the turmoil that ensued on Monday, when Acting Attorney General Sally Yates issued a letter ordering the Department of Justice not to defend the order. And then Trump, quite predictably, fired her. That is, after all, what he's famous for. This martyrdom was very well received by people who opposed the order. Paeans were written to the duty of public officials to stand up against illegal and immoral orders from above. Comparisons were made to the Saturday Night Massacre, in which a series of officials were ordered to fire the special prosecutor investigating President Nixon. It looks to me much less heroic: The left finally has its very own Kim Davis. Advertisement Davis was the Kentucky county clerk who was sent to jail in contempt of court when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (Because her position was elected and because the Kentucky state legislators had no appetite for removing her against the wishes of their voters, she could not simply be fired.) I believed that Davis had every right, and perhaps a moral duty, to refuse to issue a document she found morally abhorrent. What she didn't have a right to do was to refuse while continuing to hold a job in which issuing such documents was a legal requirement. She chose her principles, and faced the consequences. Yates, of course, served at the pleasure of the president, and no longer holds that job; she was quite easy to fire, so the comparison to Davis is not perfect. But as with Davis, the appropriate action for her to take was to resign a position she could not in good conscience carry out, not to brazenly defy her boss. Advertisement But wait. Isn't Yates's ultimate duty to the Constitution? OK, sure. But if her stance were in defense of the law, she would have cited you know the law. Instead, in her letter telling the department to not enforce the executive order, she wrote: "At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the Executive Order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the Executive Order is lawful." That sounds awfully like legal weasel words for "It's probably lawful, but I don't think it should be." Someone in her position who was standing on the law an acting attorney general who has had several days and a large staff with which to consider this question would cite legal authority in raising her concerns. Jonathan Adler of the Volokh Conspiracy and Jack Goldstein of the Lawfare Blog were equally unimpressed. Yates's grandstanding is, as Goldstein writes, a marked departure from the standards that the attorney general has historically used to decide whether to defend a policy in court, including during Yates's own time: "The longstanding DOJ view is that DOJ will defend a presidential action in court if there are reasonable arguments in its favor, regardless of whether DOJ has concluded that the arguments are persuasive, which is an issue ultimately for courts to decide. DOJ very often typically defends presidential action in court if there is a reasonable legal basis for the action, even if it is not supported by the "best view" of the law. Indeed, that happened a lot in the Obama administration, as it does in all administrations." Suddenly switching standards now that Trump is president is not a good look for his opponents. It suggests what many people already believe: that a cadre of coastal liberals have appointed themselves the moral guardians of the electorate, entitled to subvert the lawful wishes of their fellow voters. Of course there are times when an official should refuse to obey the law, the classic example being genocide. But the "genocide" argument is getting hauled out way too early and too often. Trump's executive order regards controlling immigration obviously well within the customary rights of a nation, and well short of the "genocide" standard. Attempting to equate the two is both foolish and tactically unwise. If everything you disagree with is the Holocaust, then you can't really criticize people for using the Nuremberg Defense. Sometimes, people do have to follow orders they disagree with, even orders that they think may result in someone being hurt. Because the alternative is a society of 300 million freelance legislators. And large-scale anarchy does not generally produce the greater moral good. To this, Yates's fans might fairly reply that Trump has already flagrantly violated the norms of his office, such as vetting his orders with the people who have to carry them out. And believe me, I share their concerns. To lay down a marker: If a court rules against Trump's executive orders, and he defies that court (not foot dragging or weaselly legal interpretations, but Jacksonian "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it"), then I think Congress will have a moral duty to impeach him. And any bureaucrat who carries out such an order in defiance of the court will be engaging in lawlessness far worse than Yates did. Advertisement But if you are genuinely convinced that Trump is a thug who is going to try to erode the rule of law, then the best way to fight him is probably not to start sanding at the thing yourself. The best way to fight him is to scrupulously observe those norms. Because that's how you gain the credibility to insist that he follow them too. After his shambolic first week in office, I'm pretty sure that's credibility we're going to need. It's unwise to try to save civic society by torching the norms that support it. Bloomberg View Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist. She wrote for the Daily Beast, Newsweek, the Atlantic and the Economist and founded the blog Asymmetrical Information. She is the author of ""The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success." Alexander Calder's motorized mobile "Universe" in Willis Tower atrium in Chicago. Since the Sears Tower opened in the 1970s, the nation's tallest building has changed owners and even its name. But at least one feature remained constant: the giant, brightly colored Calder sculpture in the lobby. (Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune 2010) Now you see it. Soon you won't. Advertisement Artist Alexander Calder's "Universe," a brightly colored large-scale work that has graced the lobby of Willis Tower since 1974, appears destined to be removed from the skyscraper a casualty of a $500 million renovation that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the tower's owners, New York-based Blackstone, announced Wednesday. That's a shame because the abstract, motorized work lends a sense of playfulness and movement to Willis Tower's high-ceilinged, ultra-sober lobby. In addition, because that lobby is heavily used by office workers and tourists, the piece, while privately owned, forms a significant part of Chicago's renowned collection of public art. Advertisement "It's extremely important in Calder's, but also in Chicago's, public art collection," said Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago curator Lynne Warren, who organized a 2010 Calder exhibition. "I think it's a serious loss." There is no sign of "Universe" in architectural renderings depicting Willis Tower's renovated main lobby. Emanuel, who has pushed for public art on the lakefront and in transit stations and who designated 2017 the "Year of Public Art" in Chicago, made no mention of the piece at a news conference on Willis Tower's 57th floor. A spokesman for the mayor did not respond to an email requesting comment. For their part, Blackstone executives sought to distance themselves from the brewing controversy about the sculpture. They said the previous owners of the 110-story skyscraper still own "Universe." Buying the piece, they added, was not "on the table." In 2015, Blackstone bought the building, Chicago's tallest skyscraper and the nation's second-tallest building, from the previous owners a group led by New York investors Joseph Chetrit and Joseph Moinian and Skokie-based American Landmark Properties for $1.3 billion. On Wednesday, a person at the Skokie firm referred a call about "Universe" to Chertrit, who did not return several calls from the Tribune requesting comment. That leaves the future of "Universe" in doubt. The monumental, motorized mobile was unveiled Oct. 25, 1974, the same day that Calder's better-known Chicago sculpture, "Flamingo," made its debut at Federal Plaza. Advertisement Chicago hosted a parade for the sculptor, which featured more than a dozen circus wagons, clowns, unicyclists and multiple marching bands. Calder was in the parade and was introduced by Chicago architect Carter Manny as "the one and only Alexander the Great." Born in 1898 and best known for his delicate, wind-driven mobiles, Calder died in 1976 at 78. Displayed against a tall wall of travertine marble, "Universe" evokes the sun, moon and stars as well as leaves and flowers, both longtime sources of inspiration for Calder, Warren said. In 1998, during the centennial year of Calder's birth, former Tribune art critic Alan G. Artner called "Universe" a "fine late piece" in Calder's portfolio and one of the artist's last motorized constructions. But Artner added: "For much of the time that 'Universe' has been in place, the motors have been off, robbing the work of its reason for being." On Wednesday, some, but not all, of the pieces, were moving. Advertisement In 2010, "Universe" was the subject of a legal dispute between the investor group that then owned the tower and the original owner, Sears, Roebuck & Co., whose Merchandise Group left the tower in 1992 for northwest suburban Hoffman Estates. In July 2010, Sears officials notified the investor group that they were moving to buy back the multipiece work at half of its appraised value as allowed under a 1994 agreement. But the investor group asked a judge to block the purchase, arguing that the buyback agreement had been terminated. Based on Blackstone's remarks Wednesday, it appears that Sears did not win control of the sculpture. Construction on the Willis Tower renovation is expected to begin in the first quarter this year and be complete in 2019. The Chicago office of Gensler designed the retail structure for Blackstone. Warren, the art curator, speculated that "Universe" is likely to be sold at auction. The best-case scenario, she said, would be for a museum or private collector to buy the piece and display it in a public venue. She also noted the irony of losing "Universe" in light of Blackstone's stated intention to make Willis Tower less forbidding at ground level by wrapping a three-story retail structure around nearly all of the skyscraper's now-forbidding base. Advertisement It looks like Blackstone is putting "a skirt around the building," she said, echoing my criticism that the planned retail structure will enfold and therefore, hide the base of the iconic tower. "One of the things that really did bring people into (Willis') pretty formidable lobby is 'Universe.'" bkamin@chicagotribune.com Twitter @BlairKamin The Manufacturing Careers Internship Program is one of several efforts aimed at reducing unemployment among young people, training them for careers in the manufacturing industry. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) The despair that courses through Chicago's West Side and South Side neighborhoods has many causes. Underperforming schools. The prevalence of guns. The scourge of gangs. Sometimes, troubles at home. And, youth joblessness. A new report by the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago dives deep into that last cause. In 2015, about 43 percent of black men ages 20 to 24 were neither working nor in school, the report says. That's an improvement over the figure for 2014, which was 47 percent. Either statistic speaks volumes about the trough where young people dethatched from educational attainment and jobs in so many impoverished neighborhoods find themselves. Advertisement Joblessness almost certainly is a big reason that violence in Chicago has spiraled into an urgent crisis and national headlines. According to the report, five of the city's 77 community areas accounted for a third of Chicago homicides in 2016. Those same five community areas had jobless rates of 79 to 92 percent for teenagers, and 49 to 70 percent for young adults. Young people who don't work, or who aren't involved in schooling, make perfect recruits for gangs. It's not just Englewood's problem, or Roseland's problem. Employers and citizens across the city and the metropolitan area have a stake: Chicago's epic struggle with violence has grave ripple effects for a region that needs to ceaselessly grow new generations of dependable workers, skilled professionals and prospering consumers. The city's overall health its economic health included depends on what happens to young people in Roseland and Englewood. Advertisement Government can throw money at the problem, but too often that approach yields a heap of red tape and a dearth of results. There'll never be enough public jobs, or enough public funding, to engage all of the young people who need jobs. What's a better answer? Consider this a new bullet point in the job description for the region's business community: When you're penciling in teens for summer jobs, pencil in a teen from the South or West sides. When you're looking for internship candidates, look at 20-somethings from the city's bleakest neighborhoods. When you're thinking about hiring three kids for summer jobs, ask yourself if you can afford to hire four. Asking employers in those neighborhoods to provide those jobs is a limited solution, because for the most part the employers just aren't there. Those neighborhoods have been ravaged by a yearslong, relentless flight of people and businesses. But there's still a strong, viable labor pool in those neighborhoods in need of that first toe-dip into the workaday world, a first taste of responsibility, reliability, routine: getting to work on time, hitting deadlines, collaborating with co-workers. Every youth from Gurnee to Glen Ellyn, Franklin Park to Ford Heights needs that experience. But for youths growing up in Chicago's gang-ravaged neighborhoods on the South and West sides, the need is acute. Why? Because jobs can firewall youths from the lure of gangs, drugs and guns in those neighborhoods. For teens and young adults, jobs do much more than put a little spending money in jeans pockets. They imbue a sense of self-responsibility and self-worth, and perhaps, in the case of an internship, a step toward a career. The institute's report cites youths from Chicago's broken neighborhoods talking about jobs and violence. One youth's plaintive request: "Everyone wants drugs and violence to stop. Well then get us off the streets and get us into some work clothes and you will see the change." Chicago hasn't forgotten President Donald Trump's impetuous tweet Jan. 24 warning that he would "send in the Feds!" if the city doesn't solve the "carnage." We have a better proposal. "Send in the employers!" Putting teens and young adults to work isn't the only fix to Chicago's violence but it's a good start. Advertisement Related articles: How Donald Trump can help Chicago right now Hopelessness: A byproduct of violence in Chicago Report says youth unemployment chronic, concentrated and deeply rooted Another month crossed off the calendar and still no state budget. If you see your local lawmaker at the supermarket, be sure to inquire about the ongoing stalemate. Note that the Illinois House and Senate spent only about six of 20 workdays during the month of January in Springfield. Similar schedule for February. Advertisement Momentum for a budget deal remains wobbly. The Senate is expected to vote the week of Feb. 6 on a package of bills that are spinning plates at best. The House is working on its own agenda, mostly nonbudget issues so far. Gov. Bruce Rauner delivers his budget plan on Feb. 15 for the fiscal year that starts July 1. And last week, Attorney General Lisa Madigan tossed a grenade into the porcelain. Madigan announced she would challenge the legality of continuing to pay state workers when there's no budget in place. Her office says her intent is to speed up a budget agreement with the threat of employees not getting paid. But with lawmakers finally trying to structure a deal, her timing isn't helpful. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Illinois Policy Institute, a free-market think tank, released its own budget proposal on Tuesday a plan that would impose no new taxes. It would alleviate the budget crisis by encouraging state workers to transition to cheaper pension plans; ease collective bargaining restrictions placed on local governments while reducing the revenue they get from the state; cut Medicaid rolls by limiting eligibility to only the most disadvantaged; and provide local property tax relief with a five-year freeze. Some of the institute's ideas have seen bipartisan support at the Capitol. But with a Republican governor and a Democrat-controlled legislature, policy differences create a frustrating divide between what is needed and what is doable. Right now, the policy institute's ideas have little chance of passing. As the crisis worsens, who knows. But the group is correct in its broader premise: Higher taxes will not reverse the state's financial nosedive. Without meaningful spending reductions and real incentives for businesses to locate here and grow, the new tax revenues being discussed in the Senate would merely evaporate into the state's financial abyss. We'd be back here in just a few years still with no structural reforms. The Senate plan, which is a start, so far includes at least 13 bills that are interdependent. One won't become law without the others. There's a budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. There's a bill that would give state workers a choice between two lower-cost pension benefits. The plan also includes a two-year property tax freeze, new casinos, an income tax hike to about 5 percent from 3.75 percent, tougher workers' compensation laws that businesses favor and local government consolidation. Bits of Rauner's employer-friendly agenda are included. We aren't offering a verdict on the details of the Senate bills until they firm up, but we applaud the effort to strike a compromise. Yet the package already has been panned by just about every special interest group in Springfield. The state's largest public employee union doesn't want the pension changes, and the business community doesn't want higher taxes. The health care community doesn't want the Medicaid changes, and local governments don't want the property tax freeze. Democrats don't want the workers' comp changes, and Republicans don't want the income tax hike. The spinning plates in Springfield are fragile and breakable. But all sides have a moral obligation to keep talking, keep negotiating. Amazing that, in this state, that's a big "ask." "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands." Judge Neil Gorsuch after his nomination Tuesday to the U.S. Supreme Court Advertisement A U.S. president selects a distinguished judge to join the Supreme Court. If you've followed these nominations in the 30 years since the demonizing of Robert Bork, you know what comes next: The nominee becomes a chew toy. Senators of the opposition party, stoked by interest groups they serve and protect, say he or she is a troubling choice, out of the American mainstream. They annotate flaws, indiscretions and the chew toy's writings with which they disagree. Advertisement Members of both major parties play this sorry game. President Trump's nomination of federal appellate Judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado is no different. Moments after Gorsuch's brief and humble remarks to the nation Tuesday night, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., quipped that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer "is about to tell Americans that Judge Gorsuch kicks puppies and heckles piano recitals." Schumer promptly declared his "serious doubts" about whether Gorsuch should be confirmed. Schumer also said it's up to Gorsuch to prove that he's in, yes, the American mainstream. Wrong. Gorsuch doesn't have to prove anything his stellar record has established. It's up to Schumer and his colleagues to vet Gorsuch, preferably with open minds, and decide whether he'd be a good justice. The process includes hearings notorious for long-windedness from preening senators. Example: In 2005, during the questioning of nominee John Roberts, Sen. Joe Biden warned Roberts to give "short answers," then filibustered for 12 of his assigned 20 minutes. As Roberts responded, Biden deployed theatrics that The Washington Post described as "the full Al Gore: While Roberts spoke, Biden shook his head, put his face in his hand, pouted and glared disgustedly." There's a much better way for senators to provide their advice and consent. First, a word about the Gorsuch nomination: It comes as Democrats are justifiably furious about the shabby treatment that, in 2016, Republican senators gave to President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Obama sought to fill what had been a conservative seat with a liberal jurist, Chicago-area native Merrick Garland. We strongly urged, as is our custom, that the Senate evaluate Garland's exemplary record and "Vote him up or down, but vote." Republicans stonewalled, disingenuously claiming that Obama, so late in his presidency, should leave the nomination to the next president. Republicans said they were merely following the dictate of, again, Biden: In 1992, with a Republican president and a Democratic Senate, Judiciary Chairman Biden said that "once the political season is underway, and it is, action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over. That is what is fair to the nominee and essential to the process." The Gorsuch pick offers both parties a chance to end these selfish antics. Early reviews suggest he's fair-minded, brilliant, collegial and the sort of conservative Trump told voters he'd nominate. New York University law professor Richard Epstein, who disagrees with Gorsuch on some issues, on Wednesday gave us his verdict: "He is all around a terrific guy, and if he is out of the mainstream then no Republican appointee to the bench is within it. Nor is he like Scalia in temperament. He thinks first, then writes, does not have any strong intellectual crusades on anything from standing to abortion to gay rights." Critics say Gorsuch defers to corporations and scorns government regulation. Those are areas senators should explore. The rest of us should ask whether the critics fault Gorsuch's application of laws, or merely dislike the outcomes of the cases. It is fair to ask whether his rulings reflect the Constitution or his own beliefs. Democrats can draw a question from an episode involving Scalia, whom Gorsuch admires: Advertisement In 1989, Scalia cast a deciding vote to uphold flag burning in Texas. A year later he opposed a federal law against flag burning. His votes, he said, upheld constitutional free speech yet violated his principles: "If it were up to me, I would put in jail every sandal-wearing, scruffy-bearded weirdo who burns the American flag. But I am not king." Nor are U.S. senators, whose convictions shouldn't be the chief issue in any confirmation process. Yet in hearings, senators tend to ask show-off, hot-button questions that they know nominees are too smart, and too ethical, to answer candidly. A wordy question essentially asking if a nominee agrees with the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade elicits an earnest but vague nonresponse; the future justice likely will hear abortion cases, and doesn't want to suggest bias. We'd urge less attention in hearings to previous court decisions and more focus on how a nominee views key passages in the Constitution. What does this amendment mean to your jurisprudence? How, if at all, would you recast it? Does it conflict with such-and-such in the Bill of Rights? In short, explore how a nominee thinks rather than playing gotcha over how he or she may vote in future cases. Judging isn't legislating. It's about, well, judgment. Maybe vetting will unearth reasons why senators should reject Gorsuch. Any conclusion should emerge from a fair, efficient process, not from reflexive reactions driven by senators' and their pet interest groups' politics. Then: Vote him up or down, but vote. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Advertisement Related articles: Trump's firing of Sally Yates is petulant and unsettling Democrats should use Supreme Court fight to spotlight Trump's authoritarianism Neil Gorsuch is an intellectual giant and a decent man Are we really stuck with President Donald Trump? Donald Trump is not stupid. His executive orders are crafted to misdirect the public from his agenda. Getting rid of, or at least delegitimizing, the press is the first step to shutting down a democracy. That is why he uses Twitter, is rearranging who sits where in the press briefing room, and uses Kellyanne Conway as his propaganda minister. The media, to some extent, and both Republican and Democratic politicians are playing into his hand by spending an inordinate amount of time on the size of the Inauguration Day crowd rather than our president's blatant grab for personal power. The fear mongers who want to ban Muslims and everyone else who does not look "American" thrive on policies that are clearly not American. All the while, our politicians and media talk about whether Trump lied about this, that or the other thing. Trump lying comes as no revelation. There is an elephant in the room, and Democrats and more than a few Republicans are acting like it is business as usual. Advertisement Freedom of the press is vital to our democracy and a large portion of the burden of exercising that freedom is borne by the media. While reporting stories about yet another one of the administration's lies is necessary, greater attention must be paid to stories involving abuse of power because they are of greater significance and ultimately serve to protect our precious freedoms. I applaud the Tribune and other media outlets on their coverage of the ongoing immigration crisis. Frank Greenfield, Northbrook The Arlington Heights Police Department is warning residents, senior citizens in particular, to be wary of scammers bilking people under the guise of protecting their Social Security payments and is also offering a class on how to spot and prevent fraud. Arlington Heights Crime Prevention Officer Brandi Romag said while police have not received any reports from local residents who have been victimized, officials at the village's senior center asked them to get the word out to prevent a future incident. Advertisement This scam has already targeted Social Security recipients in several states across the U.S., with elderly residents receiving a so-called "referendum on Social Security" in the mail, Romag said. The letter includes a voting form and asks for money or other kinds of support to fight what the group calls "greedy Washington insiders" who claim seniors no longer need Social Security, Romag said. Advertisement "The scammers contact seniors, and in some cases ask them to send money in an envelope to support a campaign to save Social Security, or they tell them there is a shortage in their Social Security account that they need to reimburse," Romag said. Police are also warning local residents to beware of another new ruse targeting seniors, known as the "Can You Hear Me?" phone scam. In that scam, the caller asks the elderly resident, "can you hear me?" and when the call recipient answers "yes," the scammer then immediately hangs up the phone. The scammer, who has recorded the person saying "yes," then phones the victim back a few weeks later, telling them they agreed to a purchase or contribution in a previous phone conversation. "There are so many angles to all of these new scams, so we're just trying to get the word out and make people aware as much as possible," Romag said. In addition, the police department will be hosting a scams and identity theft presentation at 10 a.m. on Feb. 21 at the Arlington Heights Senior Center at 1801 W. Central Road. To be led by Det. Todd Radek, the police department's financial crimes investigator, the free presentation will offer tips on how to recognize scams and protect yourself from the most common internet, mail and phone scams, as well as identity theft and debit card and credit card fraud. For further details and to reserve a seat for the event, call 847-253-5532. Advertisement kcullotta@tribpub.com Twitter @kcullotta Caterpillar may send up to 800 jobs away from its Aurora area facility. (Ron Johnson / Associated Press) Several Aurora area officials will meet with representatives of Caterpillar to discuss the company's potential move of about 800 jobs out of the area. Caterpillar Inc. announced a month ago that it was considering moving the 800 manufacturing jobs from the Aurora plant, actually in the Kendall County section of Montgomery, to plants in downstate Decatur and in North Little Rock, Ark. Advertisement Aurora Mayor Robert O'Connor has said he would like to meet Cat officials to see if there was anything the city or other government entities could do to change their minds. O'Connor said Tuesday that meeting will take place next week or the week after, and would include himself, Montgomery Mayor Matt Brolley and Kendall County Board Chairman Scott Gryder. Advertisement Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis on losing the global headquarters of Caterpillar to the Chicago area. Jan. 31, 2017 (Greg Trotter / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune) He said he was unsure at what level Caterpillar would be represented at the meeting. O'Connor said the basic message he would have is to ask what the city can do "to help maintain a facility here." He said that would not go as far as spending tax money. "We're just saying, what is it going to take?" O'Connor said. The mayor pointed out that the Aurora, Montgomery, Oswego and Kendall County area in general is concerned about the jobs lost for people who live in the nearby communities. He said Montgomery also has to worry about the potential of thousands of square feet of empty manufacturing space, and what to do with that. Caterpillar also announced Tuesday it is looking to relocate its national headquarters from Peoria to the Chicago area, possibly in the city or in the suburban area. O'Connor said maybe Cat would look at using the space it already owns in Montgomery. "Why not Montgomery?" he said. "They have room there." Advertisement Montgomery officials recently talked about their desire to keep Caterpillar's jobs in the community. "At this point we need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Mayor Matt Brolley said during a recent Village Board meeting. Brolley said he wants to make certain local agencies that can assist displaced workers are ready to help any who find themselves without employment. "I met with some staff to discuss. Our biggest concern is what can we do to get them to stay. If that is not a possibility, what does that mean to our area? They have many other people who work at the building, there are businesses in our area that are impacted a great deal. Hopefully, in the next few months, we can get some clarity on what the impact is to our area," Brolley said. Caterpillar's moves come as the company faces a weak equipment market that has been cutting into its bottom line. Last week, the farming and construction equipment maker reported a wider fourth-quarter loss on charges and higher restructuring costs. It has been cutting jobs and facilities over the last several years. Advertisement As far as moving its headquarters out of Peoria to the Chicago area, company officials said there are many reasons for that. "As a result of continuing challenging market conditions and the need to prioritize resources to focus on growth, Caterpillar will not build the previously announced headquarters complex in Peoria," the company said. The company said it will locate a limited group of senior executives and support functions in the Chicago area later this year, saying it is a more strategic location. It expects about 300 people to be based at the new location. "Locating our headquarters closer to a global transportation hub, such as Chicago, means we can meet with our global customers, dealers and employees more easily and frequently," said CEO Jim Umpleby. Freelance reporter Judy Pochel and The Associated Press contributed. slord@tribpub.com Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke's duties have gone beyond officiating over City Council meetings. In his years as the city's chief executive, he has accepted requests for eulogies, attended school functions, community events, ribbon cuttings and gone to lots of structure fires - duties he said he considers are not just part of the job but a privilege to have in a community he grew up in. Advertisement Schielke was a paid-on-call Batavia firefighter when he was first elected mayor in 1981. Although he had to walk away from his "lifelong interest" in the profession, he still goes to fire calls as a non-paid photographer for record-keeping purposes. He's also gone to talk with residents who had suffered a major loss in a fire. "People have told me how they appreciated me showing up and what it meant to them to have someone to talk to in a time of need. Those are the types of things you get to do when you are a mayor," Schielke said. "You can go out and use the high-visibility of the office to let people know you are there to help them." Advertisement Schielke recently announced that he would seek a 10th term as mayor of Batavia in the April election. Batavia School Board member Jason Stoops has also announced a run for mayor. Schielke says he's sensitive to the fact he is the longest serving mayor in Kane County. He certainly does not want to become the poster child on a call for term limits, he said, so in the months prior to deciding whether he would seek office again, he spoke to a lot of people to find out what they thought. "You have to be careful and sensitive to this," Schielke said of his years in office. "The vast majority, many of whom approached me, said they would be happy if I ran for mayor again. When you have been here as long as I have, you have had the opportunity to touch a lot of lives." Schielke and Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett - each with nine terms - are the second longest serving mayors in Illinois. Marion Mayor Robert Butler was elected in 1963 and holds the title as being the longest serving mayor in the state. As for projects, the mayor points to a $40 million redevelopment plan for a downtown block that would include the demolition of the former First Baptist Church and several other city-owned properties that were recently acquired, including the purchase of the Larson-Becker industrial properties on North River Street. Concept plans for One North Washington Place, a proposed multi-story, mixed-used building for residential and commercial uses on about 2.25 acres, is currently under city committee review. "It would be a major redevelopment in the part of the downtown that has been stagnant for a while," Schielke said. He said the proposal has the potential to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax revenues annually. Advertisement "We would turn around an area that's generating very little in tax revenues," he said. Schielke also looks to potential improvements to the Fox River. "One of the things I would like to accomplish, if I am fortunate to get elected to another term, is to finish up cleaning the Fox River banks through downtown Batavia. We started on that and have a maintenance schedule in place and have made great headway south of the Wilson Street Bridge, but there are areas north of the Wilson Street Bridge that need to be cleaned up and maintained," Schielke said. He said there is potential for planning for the outer portion of the Mooseheart property the city several years ago annexed and is now on the comprehensive plan for residential and office uses. There is also the prospect for development of the former Avenue Chevrolet dealership on Randall Road. Schielke said he is intrigued with what is being done with Batavia's older houses as well. "The phenomenon we have experienced in Batavia is the revitalization and refurbishing of the older housing stock. In the last few years, we have issued hundreds of permits. Many of the houses surrounding the downtown on the east and west sides were built in the turn of the last century by Scandinavian carpenters who came to work in the stone quarries after the Great Chicago Fire. These guys knew how to build homes," he said. Advertisement Schielke will have an opponent, the first time since the 2009 election when it was a three-way race. This time around, School Board member Jason Stoops is running for the office. He said residents are appreciative of getting help from the mayor. Schielke said he was in a McDonald's in Batavia one night and someone approached him about snow removal along the Riverwalk behind the Government Center. The mayor said he swept off benches and contacted the city street department the next day about clearing snow away. He said the person posted a thank you on social media and he couldn't believe the favorable public response. "(It's amazing) how many people have thanked me for that," he said. Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News Campton Hills Police Chief Daniel Hoffman addresses concerns of some members of a group Tuesday outside the office of U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Plano). The Campton Hills police station is across the street from the congressman's office. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News) After dozens of residents called for a Town Hall meeting on President Donald Trump's executive orders and Cabinet choices, U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren's office staff said "some form" of forum will be put together to give citizens a chance to share their views. About 65 people attempted to file into Hultgren's second floor suite in the Fox Mill Professional Office Center in Campton Hills Tuesday to speak with staff members about a range of issues and to request a public meeting with the Plano Republican. Advertisement They said they were told that since the office is small, two people would be allowed inside to talk with a staff member. The group was met outside by Campton Hills Police Chief Daniel Hoffman, who assured them he wasn't there to discourage them. Advertisement Hoffman told them he was being "proactive" to ensure they had a "peaceful assembly" and there was no disruption to the public, such as if they crowded into a stairwell or blocked the entrance of the privately owned building. "We want the congressman to know that his constituents care about what decisions he is making. If he doesn't see that there are many of us, he may not take it seriously. We are serious," St. Charles resident Miki Powell told the police chief. Hoffman said if they were going to protest that it had to be on the public sidewalk. Hoffman said Hultgren's office has received a couple of "harassing" phone calls, and there was an incident when a man pounded on the glass door of the congressman's office and "startled" an intern. A group upset with President Donald Trump fill a hallway of the Campton Hills congressional office of U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Plano). (Linda Girardi / Beacon-News) The group did make its way up the stairwell where they were met by Hultgren's Deputy Chief of Staff Beth Goncher. Goncher said they want to hear from constituents. However, for security reasons, they could not be permitted in the office all at once. Goncher said they are in the process of scheduling "some form" of a Town Hall meeting, although she did not have any details. "It is a priority (for the congressman). He does want to hear from you," Goncher said. Hultgren represents the 14th District, which includes parts of Aurora, Naperville and Elgin and many other towns in the area. Advertisement One woman exclaimed that she wants members of Congress to "stop telling us to be quiet and stop telling the media to be quiet." Jeanne Scown of Geneva told the group to "clear out" and respect the staff member's directive. Hoffman told the crowd to file out and not disrupt the businesses in the building. Two people from the group, William Scown of Geneva and Howard Miller of Batavia, were able to go in and had about 10 minutes to speak with a staff member. A group of people who said they were concerned about the actions of President Donald Trump crowd into a stairwell of the Campton Hills congressional office of U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Plano). (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News) Scown said that Trump "appears to have no understanding of his office" and "acts as if he is unconstrained by law or duty." "We want to know that Mr. Hultgren will protect the Constitution, protect our rights and protect our interests from an out-of-control president," Scown said. Advertisement On Monday, Hultgren issued a statement that said that Trump's executive order on immigration was "overly broad and its interpretation has been inconsistent and confused." "This has led to unintended consequences, like the barring of legal, permanent residents and the rejection of Syrian Christians at the airport, a religious minority that was supposed to be protected by the executive order," he said. Scown said he was aware of Hultgren's statement on Trump's executive order. "I feel it was an attempt to minimize what is going on," Scown said. "The implication was that this was an implementation issue. This is a basic Constitutional violation of First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens." He said while the group that went to Hultgren's office Tuesday didn't expect a commitment on a date for a public meeting immediately, they do want a response within a reasonable time frame. "We want the congressman to reassure us at a Town Hall meeting that he is putting our interests and the country's interests ahead of the Republican Party," Scown said. Advertisement "It does matter to him (Hultgren) what you have to say," Goncher said. "He does want to hear from you. It is a priority for him. It is a matter of identifying what is the best format." Miller said he was concerned with Trump's adviser Stephen Bannon and several of the president's selections for his cabinet. "There are lots of concerns that are going unheard here," Scown said after the exchange with Hultgren's staff member. He said staff members for Hultgren were "more accommodating" last week but he understood there was a larger crowd Tuesday. "The reason we have a larger crowd is that people are frightened. (Trump) appears to have little regard for the Constitution and process of government," he said. Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News. An Aurora woman reported an armed robbery Friday afternoon in a parking lot on the city's West Side. At 4:30 p.m. Friday in the West Aurora Plaza parking lot on the 1900 block of West Galena Boulevard, a 46-year-old woman was approached by a man who asked for money, said police spokesman Dan Ferrelli. Advertisement When the woman refused, the man took out what appeared to be a pellet gun and shot it several times at the driver's side window of the woman's Chevrolet pickup truck, Ferrelli said. The woman then ran into one of the stores while the suspect reached into her truck, took her purse and got into a light blue crossover vehicle possibly a Kia with tinted windows that had been parked next to the woman's truck. The vehicle took off eastbound on Galena, Ferrelli said. Items inside the purse included cash and an iPhone, he said. Advertisement Police described the suspect as a male, unknown race, about 6 feet tall, slim, with a deep voice. His face was partially covered and he was wearing a blue and black shirt, gray pants, a black hat and sunglasses during the robbery, Ferrelli said. The total loss, including damage to the truck, is estimated at $1,500, Ferrelli said. Police ask anyone with information to call Aurora police investigators at 630-256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and qualify for a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to any arrests. People also can submit tips through the Aurora Police Department's free My PD mobile app. hleone@tribpub.com Twitter @hannahmleone A candidate running for Yorkville City Council in the April 4 election has been removed from the ballot based on an error on his nominating petitions. Two candidates, Andrew Graham and Alejandro Hernandez, filed nominating papers to run for the 4th Ward seat open on the City Council in the April election. Alderman Diane Teeling, who was elected in 2009 and 2013, decided against running for a third term. Advertisement The Yorkville Electoral Board agreed with an objection by Hernandez that the nominating papers of Graham were not numbered as required by Illinois election law, and Graham subsequently was taken off the ballot. The Electoral Board, comprised of Mayor Gary Golinski, City Clerk Beth Warren and Teeling, who is the senior alderman on the City Council, convened in January for a hearing, where attorneys for both candidates argued their side. Advertisement Golinski read aloud their decision at a recent meeting at City Hall. Attorney Brian Pollak, representing Graham, argued that while the pages of his client's petitions were not numbered, the petitions "substantially conformed" to the requirements of the state Election Code and the objection should be dismissed. According to the decision, Pollak cited two Illinois cases which did find "substantial compliance was sufficient." However, the attorney representing Hernandez, Gregg Ingemunson, argued that another decision in a case that went before the Illinois Appellate Court in the 2nd District that has jurisdiction over Kendall County decided that "the numbering of nomination papers is a mandatory requirement." The city's legal counsel, Kathleen Field Orr, submitted cases that mandated nominating petitions are to be numbered, as well. A petitioner also filed an objection to the nominating petitions of Hernandez, saying the signatures of two people were not registered voters. However, the Electoral Board overruled those objections, saying that the address was incorrect on the objection and the correct address did have registered voters. Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News Celebrity influence: I have a comment about the Golden Globes. They said Russian President Putin interfered with the election in America. Have you seen what the American movie stars have done? They think they know it all because of their high salaries. I don't see them donating to charities. Maybe these celebrities should realize they are also trying to influence America. We used to have good stars like Rock Hudson. As far as I'm concerned, people shouldn't go to movies anymore. The stars are no better than Putin. Backlash against Hollywood: Please tell me why Hollywood thinks they can dictate to us about who we can vote for and who we can't vote for. Get a life. Hollywood stars are just men and women like us. They get in their pants the same way. They have no brains. Ninety-eight percent of them are on drugs or are alcoholics. They are going to tell us what we can do? I don't think so. I think after this inauguration, there will be a big backlash. Nobody cares about them anymore. Good luck, Hollywood. You're on your way down. Advertisement Chicago war zone: How can Chicago police be blamed for their reflex behavior? Never once do their so-called victims obey orders. The police never know if they have a gun or a knife. It's like being in the middle of a war. Stop the shootings: My Speak Out is regarding all the shootings in Chicago. Ninety-five percent of the shootings are black on black. Why didn't President Obama get involved in this? Why didn't Sen. Durbin, Michael Madigan or Jesse Jackson get involved? All they did was go to the funerals and tell the people with guns to knock it off. In his hometown, the president didn't square it away so innocent victims wouldn't have been killed. I'm sure glad Obama is gone. Now we need to get rid of Durbin and Madigan. Advertisement Need for dignity: I know a lot of Donald Trump supporters don't know why others bash him so much. First of all, he tells downright lies. If you can't see that, you are just like him. I understand that people are angry about the economy, but this man is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He has two sides, and one side is not very good. Meryl Streep said a little something about Trump at the Golden Globes, and he threw a tirade about it. People said things about President Obama for years, but he didn't go off on people. Obama handled the office of the president of the United States with dignity. That's all we're saying. Kudos to District 131: I want to comment on District 131's idea of teaching Spanish and English together. Now Spanish-speaking kids can learn English and English-speaking kids can learn Spanish. Bravo. That's the best thing in the world. Now you have to get the parochial schools to do the same so everyone will speak English and Spanish. Teach kids together so they learn together. Equal blame: We're always talking about equality. There was a black man charged with selling heroin. Don't get me wrong, I think any kind of drug dealer should be thrown underneath the jail and have the key thrown away, but fair is fair. The man is on trial in McHenry County and probably won't get a fair trial. A white guy bought heroin from him and took it to his girlfriend. She died. He could have saved her life by telling the truth. The boyfriend should get as much blame for her death as the drug dealer. The boyfriend gets a little time served, but he and the drug dealer should both go down the river holding hands. Stop judging others: The person who called in about the family that was burned out of their home twice shows what's wrong with America. We don't care about one another. They should have had insurance, but they didn't. God wants us to help one another, but all we can do is ridicule people. If you don't want to give, don't give, but don't put your two cents in when others are trying to help them. Let God judge you in the end as you are now judging others. Lewis in left field: I want to comment about Mr. Lewis. He thinks he is a living icon. He is not the only person who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King. The other people who marched with Dr. King wouldn't have thrown a fit because someone won an election. Mr. Lewis is way out in left field. Don't be so demeaning and nasty. He is still living back in the 1930s. Nobody alive today has slaves. Come on, Mr. Lewis. Buckle up. March forward, not backward. Skipping the inauguration: I called in last week about the Democrats. If they didn't want to come to the inauguration, they shouldn't have gone. The Republicans won, and they will do better things than the Democrats ever did. Who cares if the Democrats show up? The Republicans know how to do things right. Editor's note Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line. A 47-year-old Chicago man was fatally shot early Wednesday morning in Burnham, officials said. Steven Jackson, of the 7800 block of Colfax Avenue, was shot multiple times in the torso and leg during an argument in 14100 block of Saginaw Street, Burnham Police Chief Peter Belos said. Advertisement The Lake County, Ind. Coroner declared Jackson deceased at 1:06 a.m. Wednesday at Franciscan Health in Hammond. Police had no prior contact with Jackson, Belos said. Police learned of the shooting from a 911 call. Belos declined further comment, calling the investigation "very preliminary." Advertisement Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Four men were accused of forcing their way into an Alsip home and attacking several people in a dispute over an ex-girlfriend, authorities said. The four men face multiple counts of home invasion, a Class X felony, according to Cook County records. Advertisement Only Abdullah Alkhatib, 37, of Bridgeview, is on electronic home monitoring, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office. A judge last week set his bail at $350,000. Alkhatib's three co-defendants, Ashraf Gharib, 35, Palos Hills; Mohammad Alkhatib, 33, Oak Lawn and Yahya Jabbar, 28, Oak Lawn, are free on $250,000 bail each, according to the sheriff's office. Advertisement The four allegedly entered home in 12700 block of South Kenneth Avenue on Jan. 19 with stun guns and knives to seek revenge on a former mutual acquaintance of the homeowner, officials said. That revenge allegedly was over an ex-girlfriend of one of the defendants, police said. Two victims and Abdullah Alkhatib were injured in the attack, said Alsip Deputy Chief Jay Miller. All three were treated at an area hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening. The four are scheduled to return to Bridgeview court Feb. 16. Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Flowers and crosses were placed outside a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park following the Feb. 2, 2008, slaying of five women in the store. (M. Spencer Green / Associated Press) Nine years after five women were slain inside a Tinley Park store, police in that suburb have turned for help to a Philadelphia-based group that aids law enforcement working to solve cold-case homicides. Two Tinley Park detectives last October presented evidence in the Feb. 2, 2008, shooting to members of the Vidocq Society, a nonprofit comprised of criminal and forensic investigators whose members include former police detectives and federal agents. Advertisement Police have followed up on more than 7,000 tips in the case, and a reward of $100,000 has yet to produce a lead that will bring resolution to the Lane Bryant slayings. The Vidocq Society provides free help for law enforcement in examining unsolved killings, and the group includes "some of the finest criminalists in the country," said Tinley Park Police Chief Steve Neubauer. Advertisement In a news release Monday, the village said the group's members reviewed the 9-year-old case and "assisted in strategies incorporating the latest in forensic technology and case management tactics." Neubauer said he could not discuss what advice or recommendations the group offered in solving the case. "It's a fresh set of eyes on a very daunting and complicated case," he said. One Tinley Park police detective still works the case full-time, aided by a second investigator on a part-time basis, according to the news release. Police last year received 45 tips in the case, and officers tend to see a spike in leads around the anniversary of the killings, Neubauer said. An electronic billboard was used to help police catch the killer of five women inside a Tinley Park Lane Bryant store. (Mario Petitti / Chicago Tribune) The department's tip hotline is 708-444-5394 and tips also can be emailed to lanebryant.tipline@tinleypark.org. The department said that any information provided to the tip lines is kept confidential. "We firmly believe someone has information about this case, and we need that person to contact us," Neubauer said. The department had been looking at possibly hiring a consultant to assist with the investigation, and it was recommended that police turn to the Vidocq Society for help, the chief said. Founded in 1990, the society is named for Eugene Francois Vidocq, a French criminal turned detective who is considered the father of modern criminology. Neubauer said the society doesn't agree to hear every case that is presented for consideration, and that the department had to request to be placed on the society's docket. He said that two detectives as well as a representative of the Will County state's attorney's office made the trip. Over the years since the shooting, Tinley Park police received help in the case from agencies including Illinois State Police, the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, FBI and Secret Service. Advertisement Flowers and crosses were placed outside a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park following the Feb. 2, 2008, slaying of five women in the store. (Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune) Murderer's motive not clear The store had just opened for the day on the Saturday morning of the shooting when a man posing as a delivery driver entered the store and engaged the women in the store in conversation. Police described the suspect as African-American man about 6-foot to 6-foot-2 tall, with a husky build and broad shoulders. He had three to five "puffy" corn rows running from the back of his head to the front, with one strand with green beads hanging over his right cheek, police said. He pulled out a gun, a .40-caliber Glock pistol, and announced he was robbing the store, then herded the women into a back room, where they were bound with duct tape and ordered to lay face-down on the floor before being shot, according to police. Killed were store manager Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet; Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Connie Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; and Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort. A sixth woman, also a store employee, suffered a gunshot wound to the neck but survived and was able to provide police with a description of the killer. McFarland wasn't scheduled to work that day, but stopped in to help get the store ready for a big clearance sale, according to her family. Bishop, a nurse, and her husband were in the area for a conference; Hudek Chiuso, a counselor at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, was shopping for clothes for a gathering with college friends. Szafranski had stopped at the store to look for clothes for her new job in the accounting department at CNA Financial in Chicago. Five women were murdered inside a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park on Feb. 2, 2008. Police have turned to a group of investigators for help in solving the case. (Scott Strazzante / Chicago Tribune) Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Woolfolk, a single mother of two boys, was getting ready to enjoy a night out with friends who were meeting later that day for a birthday party at Ed & Joe's Pizza in Tinley. She was a longtime employee for the Village of Park Forest and had worked as a mortgage lender. Advertisement Using her cellphone, McFarland was able to call 911, whispering her location to an operator who told her to stay on the line. McFarland pleaded "hurry" before the connection was lost. The call was first received by the Will County Sheriff's Department and immediately transferred to Tinley Park, which took the call at 10:44 a.m. A police officer was on a call in Brookside Marketplace, the shopping center where Lane Bryant was located, and was on the scene within a minute, but the gunman had already fled. Police said that they know, by the survivor's account, that the man was in the store for 40 minutes. One motive considered was that it was a botched robbery, but police noted the timing was unusual because the store hadn't been open for long and wouldn't have conducted many sales transactions. Police have previously said their investigation did not uncover any evidence to suggest that any of the women knew the assailant. "The motive is daunting on this," Neubauer said. "There is still not a clear-cut motive." Initially $5,000, the reward swelled to $100,000, with much of it coming from the parent company of Lane Bryant, and the payout not contingent on a conviction in the homicides. The store never reopened in Brookside Marketplace, southwest of the intersection of Interstate 80 and Harlem Avenue, and a T.J. Maxx opened in the space in fall 2013. mnolan@tribpub.com Tommy Crockwell was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in prison in the 2011 slaying case of a 19-year-old man in University Park. (WIll County State's Attorney's Office\Handout) A Country Club Hills man was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in prison in the 2011 slaying of a 19-year-old man in University Park. Tommy Crockwell, 47, was found guilty in November following a trial before Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak of the shooting death of Johnny Rouse. Crockwell, who was 41 at the time of the homicide, hid in the bushes and snuck up on Rouse, shooting him once in the back of the neck on the evening of Oct. 26, 2011, officials said. Rouse's body was discovered by a passerby later that night. Advertisement "Tommy Crockwell committed the most cowardly of murders by sneaking up in the night on a youth half his age and then shooting him in the back of the neck," Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said in a news release Wednesday. Prosecutors said Crockwell, who was eligible for 45 years to life in prison, shot Rouse because he believed Rouse had robbed his younger brother. Advertisement Months after the shooting, an informant told police Crockwell had told the informant he killed Rouse. The informant, who had known Crockwell for years, worked with police and wore a wire when he visited Crockwell in his home in 2012. During the 33-minute taped conversation, which was played in court, Crockwell allegedly shared details only the shooter would know, including how the victim fell, that he had an MP3 player and was wearing headphones, and that a .40 caliber gun was used in the shooting. Crockwell also told the informant he shot Rouse from behind because he did not want to be identified in case something went wrong or his victim survived the shooting. In a statement read at Crockwell's sentencing, Rouse's father, Keith Rouse, said he had talked to his son about college and Job Corps a month before his son's death. "He had gotten all the information and was close to going toward a positive future," Keith Rouse wrote in his victim impact statement that was read at Wednesday's sentencing. The day his son died, Keith Rouse recalled leaving for work, telling his son to have a good day and leaving him a few dollars on his dresser. He talked to him two other times that day. In their last conversation, Johnny told his father he was going to walk his dog, Bear, and then told his father he loved him. "All I can say is that he was ambushed and was shot with the intent to kill him," Rouse wrote in his victim impact statement. "He wasn't shot in the arm or leg, but in the back of the neck. No other result would come but death shooting Johnny, leaving him to die in the dirt and grass; it hurts to no end." Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. When I was getting ready to teach a night class last year, I thought that there must be some sort of mistake. Some confusion with the textbook that students were supposed to purchase. English 1102 is a required writing class for all degree seeking students in colleges and universities throughout the country. The course involves reading and writing of essays, which sharpens the communication and critical thinking skills good preparation for any career. To students, it's better known as the "flunk out course," since a lengthy research paper is often a requirement. Advertisement But as I paged through the textbook, I did a double take: were there no essays by syndicated African American columnists? I thumbed back to the table of contents. The bulk of nearly 200 articles were editorials and op-eds from newspapers, many written by nationally syndicated columnists. They are ideal models since they are short, expertly written, and they cover interesting current events. Advertisement This textbook had columns, for example, by Pat Buchanan, David Brooks, Nicholas Kristoff, and Charles Krauthamer, among others. But not a single work by a nationally syndicated African American columnist. No Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post. No Charles Blow of the New York Times. No Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald. No Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune. Was this a problem? Was it an innocent oversight? Or was it a symptom of institutional racism in our system of education? February is Black History Month, and while African Americans have ready, hard earned answers to those questions, it is an opportune time for the rest of us to confront them. Advertisement First, yes, it is a problem, and not just because there were three African American students in my class of 25. Of course, it is discriminatory and harmful towards them, exacerbating the sense of invisibility in the classroom and in society. Volumes have been written about the deleterious effects of feelings of powerlessness and lack of self worth experienced by minorities in this country, through racism, segregation, and exclusionary practices in institutions like our educational system. A too-white textbook is, essentially, a lie: a misrepresentation of history and truth that usurps the very purpose of education. Further, the absence of these uniquely gifted journalists squanders opportunities for discussion and progress on the issue of race, currently the most contentious conflict facing this country. As for the second question: yes, the use of a college textbook without equitable African American inclusion was, I am 99% sure, an oversight. I'm fairly certain that members of the textbook selection committee would be surprised and flabbergasted by the realization that the text is discriminatory. But as this was not a history or art or literature book, they likely did not have in their minds a criterion for racial balance when choosing a book for a writing class. Advertisement Or, pressed for time, they listened to pitches made by book reps and then voted for a reasonably priced text that seemed to cover all the subject matter, from writing an outline, to avoiding plagiarism. Authorial diversity they just didn't think of it. If they had, they would have sought another text. But something resulting from an oversight does not make it okay, since damage is still done. And that's the point of this essay. When white people don't consider race, or don't think of it, or don't let it factor into their activities, words, or every day decisions, they believe they are exempt from charges of racism. They think that if something they do is discriminatory not nominating a black actor for an Academy Award, not selecting a textbook with equal representation of black authors that if they didn't mean anything by it, then they are not racists, and that what happened is not racism. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > But good intentions alone have never insulated African Americans from injustice, racial violence or unequal opportunity. So the racism label can be a matter of perspective and definition. A person whose actions or lack thereof, unwittingly lead to or reinforce deprivations for African Americans does not consider herself racist. Whereas, African Americans do, since they're plagued with the results. What I propose, then, on the occasion of Black History month, is that we coin an alternative term for racism something less accusatory, connoting, instead forgetfulness or blindness or inattention, where it applies: "The textbook committee racelessly screwed up." Or, "The news anchor race-ishly misspoke." Advertisement Perhaps, then, whites will be less defensive and less in denial, and African Americans more trusting, so that the two might meet in a national forum more conducive to constructive change. And if that happens, we'll have a different answer to the third question listed above: Yes, the too-white textbook used in my school was not an act of racism, but a preventable mistake that race advertently tipped the scales. And then we can order the right textbooks, among other things. David McGrath is Emeritus professor of English at College of DuPage. Senior citizens gathered Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, at Temple Anshe Sholom in Olympia Fields for a weekly luncheon and discussion of current events. Jewish community centers nationwide have received dozens of bomb threats this year. (Ted Slowik / Daily Southtown) I enjoyed a friendly visit Tuesday afternoon with a small group of senior citizens who gather weekly for lunch and to discuss current events at Temple Anshe Sholom in Olympia Fields. The talk was arranged through Jewish Community Centers of Chicago, a network that provides a variety of educational, cultural and recreational programs throughout the region. Advertisement Jewish community centers made news again Tuesday because for the third time since the start of the year, the day camps for children and group gatherings for elderly people were once again targets of bomb threats. A Jewish center in Lake Zurich was among 17 threats documented on Tuesday, an authority told the Lake County News-Sun, a sister publication of the Daily Southtown. The report said about 30 bomb threats were received at Jewish centers nationwide on Jan. 18, and threats were phoned into 16 centers on Jan. 9. Advertisement Authorities have to take each threat seriously, which means evacuating children and senior citizens from buildings and going through facilities with bomb-sniffing dogs. No bombs have been found, but security awareness is heightened. As I pulled into the parking lot of Temple Anshe Sholom, I noticed an Olympia Fields police SUV near the entrance. The vehicle might have been there as a precaution, or the officer might have just been monitoring the speed of vehicles along Western Avenue. There have been no reports of the Olympia Fields center receiving a threat. It's cowardly for an individual or group to be threatening and disrupting the lives of innocent children and harmless senior citizens, apparently because of their faith, but such are the times in which we live. The group I visited was unfazed by the threats of violence. They carried on with their lives despite the fact someone is threatening to blow up places like the one where they gather from their homes throughout the south suburbs. Group coordinator Paula Williams introduced me to two members who are both 99 years old. That means they were born near the end of World War I. They were young men when Hitler's Nazis stormed across Europe and herded innocent civilians into concentration camps. They remember the horrors of the Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews during World War II. I asked their thoughts about President Donald Trump's Holocaust Remembrance Day statement on Friday that excluded any mention of Jews. Most of the seniors shook their heads. The omission was shameful, they seemed to suggest. Trump's administration has defended the statement, saying Nazis also slaughtered gypsies, communists, trade unionists, people with disabilities and others. Critics said it's dangerous to depict the Holocaust as generic suffering instead of the intended genocide of the Jewish people. I asked group members what they thought of the president's executive order targeting refugees from Syria and immigrants from six other predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East. Advertisement We talked about how on the one hand, nations should have secure borders and careful vetting of immigrants and visitors to reduce the risk of terrorism. On the other hand, there is concern about the way Trump rolled out the order, and how much power is concentrated in the executive branch. The order affected legal immigrants, including an Iraqi who helped the United States by serving as a translator for 10 years. Students, engineers, doctors and other professionals with green cards granting them permanent residency also were affected. We talked about how the order generated much confusion and some chaos, and how it prompted spontaneous peaceful demonstrations at airports across the country over the weekend. We talked about videos showing members of Congress confronting authorities, asking if detainees were being allowed to meet with lawyers, as judges had ordered. Some reports depicted the situation as a constitutional crisis, with the executive branch ignoring the rule of the judicial branch. Group members nodded their heads, as if to say they've never seen anything like this before. They've seen a lot, too. They remember America turning away boatloads of Jewish refugees, sending them back to their deaths in Europe during the Holocaust. They remember the internment of Japanese-Americans by the United States during World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor. At times in its history, America has disregarded freedoms and rights and shown little compassion to others when emotions ran high, fear prevailed and national security interests trumped other concerns. Advertisement We talked about Israel. Group members were generally supportive of the new administration and said they favored moving the American embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. We agreed the prospects of two-state solution are looking increasingly remote. Palestine refuses to even recognize Israel, they said, and the Jewish state should continue building more settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This was a smart group, I could tell, because they understood the complicated nature of relationships among nations like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and other states in the Middle East and North Africa. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," according to an ancient proverb. I apologized for my ignorance about Jewish customs and traditions. It's quite possible I wasn't paying close enough attention, but my recollection of Catholic school is that we spent a lot of time learning the names of saints and very little time talking about Judaism, Islam or other religions. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > They said that was alright, and that they liked how Pope Francis seems like a humble man. Advertisement We talked about families and shared histories, how my mother grew up near 79th Street and Western Avenue on Chicago's South Side. Jack Levitt, 85, of Homewood, said he owned a currency exchange near that location for many years. I think we're in era of American politics where facts and reason are taking a backseat to emotions. Republicans have leveraged this to their advantage, winning elections by tapping into passions about issues like abortion, immigration and national security. Democrats are showing signs of regaining control of the narrative, though, as demonstrators take to streets to show solidarity on issues like women's liberties, environmental protections and First Amendment rights. I left thinking how if people of different races, faiths and ethnicities spent a little more time and effort trying to understand each other we'd all get along better. tslowik@tribpub.com Twitter @tedslowik Bob, from Homer Glen, should just zip it and wait to see whether the man delivers on his campaign promises or not. We gave the previous administration eight years to deliver. So give this man more than a week. Please spare us from the old and tired talking points. To Tom from Evergreen Park. We get it . You did not like former President Barack Obama. But to say President Donald Trump is showing "business competence" is a little off base. What he has shown is a demented personality that borders mental illness. Ask all of his contractors that built his buildings if Trump shows "business competence." Sorry Tom, you got conned by a con man. Advertisement Tom, Homer Glen I just listened to a Republican's point of view on the radio. He said he believed health care in this country should be a privilege. So, only those who can afford it, get it. This is a guy who also claims to be "pro-life." I'm sorry but not wanting health care to be a right for all of our citizens is not pro-life. Advertisement Orland Park Kellyanne Conway, President Donald Trump's liar-in-chief, summed it up best. She said that Trump's team has alternative facts. That's her new name for all the lies that they continue to pass on to the American people. We can't believe a word that comes out of their mouths. It's going to be a long four years if he makes it that far. Daily Southtown headline: President Donald Trump mistakenly stated that two people were shot during former President Barack Obama's speech here. How dare he. Hang him. Impeach him. Burn him at the stake. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the liberals believe this was a horrible lie. They must think it was a great accomplishment that the five shootings that did occur, didn't happen while their idol was speaking. This is a perfect example of the "liberal Chicago rationalization." To them, they evidently believe it's better that shootings happen when they're aren't any important liberals visiting. Bob, Oak Forest What's Speak Out? Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 120 words and give your first name and your hometown. A group that has attempted for years to open the first charter school in Elgin, will get to argue its case once more with what organizers believe is an improved proposal. The Elgin Charter School Initiative submitted its application to School District U46 on Tuesday, with a hearing before the school board to come in the next few weeks. Advertisement "This officially gets the clock ticking," said Kerry Kelly, president of the group's board of directors. In 2014, both the U46 school board and Illinois State Charter School Commission rejected the proposed Elgin Math and Science Academy, to the dismay of the charter school initiative, which Kelly said has picked up more public support. Advertisement The 99-page application laid out the specifics of the proposed school: A 200-student, K-3 school to be opened in 2018, and the gradual addition of more grade levels until it becomes a 450-student, K-8 school in 2023. The school to be located on the former site of the Fox River Day School property on Route 25. A partnership with EL Education, a national education group assisting more than 150 schools, according to the application. The adoption of curriculum intended to narrow the achievement gap between all student groups, which the application says exists among District U46 schools. The prospect of receiving additional dollars to reduce District U46's costs on the school, such as a $950,000 federal grant for charter startups and private funds. The group estimates the school will cost U46 about $2 million in the first year, which they say is minuscule compared to the district's $500 million-plus budget. Kelly, who has been with the group since Elgin Math and Science Academy first came up in 2012, said the new proposal corrects the flaws in the previous proposal. The federal grant, for instance, helps solve one of the problems the state charter school commission had with the proposal in its reliance on grant sources. The proposal also gives more detail on assisting students who are either English language learners or have special needs, which Kelly said was not descriptive enough years ago. Advertisement Finally, the proposal presents other backup locations besides Fox River Day School, which closed its doors in 2011. Other possible locations for Elgin Math and Science Academy include the current Wayne Elementary School or another District U46 site. "We have backup locations if (Fox River Day School) will kill the deal, but that would be our ideal school," Kelly said, noting how its location in an outdoor setting presents students and staff with other instructional opportunities. Kelly is optimistic about the group's chances because, as noted in previous interviews, both the school board and administration have been more welcoming to them. When the board rejected Elgin Math and Science Academy in 2014, the vote was 6-1 against, and then-Superintendent Jose Torres did not support the school idea, Kelly said. "(U46 CEO) Tony Sanders has a more open personality, approachable and definitely not oppositional," she said. "I think the most important takeaway is to have support from the school board," Kelly said. "We went into it last time knowing we had no support from the board or the superintendent. I think having a school board willing to listen, give us a fair hearing, is most important. If we didn't have that, we would not be filing it." On Tuesday, Sanders said he had not reviewed the full proposal yet. He said state charter schools law dictates what happens next in the process. Within 45 days of the submission, the U46 school board must hold a public hearing. Kelly said the hearing will likely come in March. Advertisement According to the state charter schools law, the board will then have 30 days to vote on the proposal. Kelly said they wanted to submit the application early in the year in order to get through the hearing and vote with the current school board. The makeup of the school board may change in the April 4 election. "Everyone is a bit of a known quantity," Kelly said. "At least with (this school board), we have some good idea." raguerrero@tribpub.com Evanston police Chief Richard Eddington addressed the crowd at a police open house event Monday, Jan. 30, 2017 at the Levy Senior Center. Eddington announced at the event that a settlement is pending in the Lawrence Crosby excessive force lawsuit. (Brian L. Coxx / Pioneer Press) A community forum Evanston police thought would be an informational one for residents quickly went off-script Monday night after many in the packed room pressed the issue of alleged excessive force surrounding the arrest of Northwestern University post-graduate student Lawrence Crosby. "Yes there will be a settlement," Evanston police Chief Richard Eddington told the audience of about 150 people at the Levy Senior Center. Advertisement Crosby was stopped in October 2015 by officers investigating a report of an auto theft, according to police data, including a publicly released police dashcam video showing the encounter. The video shows that Crosby got out of the vehicle holding a cellphone with his hands in the air and he told police he owned the car. Advertisement The officers then shouted at Crosby to get on the ground and, the video shows, wrestled him down. Crosby announced that the vehicle was his and police on the scene were able to confirm that, according to the video. Crosby was arrested, but the charges of disobeying police were later dismissed in court and the engineering student went on to sue the police for excessive force. Eddington made the pending settlement announcement without providing further details. "The city is still in somewhat of a handcuffed position dealing with pending litigation," the chief said."Part of our guarded response to date has been to keep that settlement to a minimum. I, as an Evanston taxpayer, have a vested interest in not adding any more zeros to this deal." The Evanston Police Department's open house event was supposed to have residents and police could talk about community policing initiatives and other law enforcement topics, according to information police distributed announcing the event. But most of the night was spent talking about the Crosby incident. "My concern is not whether or not there are more zeros added to the end of the financial settlement," said resident Melissa Blount. "My concern is about justice and equity and how we live as Evanston residents and how we treat each other. One of the vital things that's not been mentioned is that this young man was black." Although the focus of the open house ended up being on the Crosby arrest video and subsequent fallout from that, Evanston police were there to engage the community in various other ways, said police Cmdr. Joe Dugan. "We had this planned months ago to have various community outreach events and this open house was one of them," he said. "People come in and meet the various units and talk to our people, get to know people, what they do and to learn about some resources that type of thing. It just so happened the chief knew it [the Crosby arrest] was on a lot of people's minds so he wanted to talk about it." Advertisement He said the department holds similar events around the city and that officers were made available at the open house to talk to residents about problem solving, victim services and neighborhood enforcement, among other things. In addition, the department provided "crime maps" showing where there were spikes in crime, tips to prevent common crimes and what motorists should do if they are pulled over by police. "We try to interact with members of the community on a regular basis under circumstances that are non-police, non-enforcement related," Dugan said. Brian L. Cox is a freelancer Chinese culture exchange student Krain Jin took note of one major difference after spending nearly a week in Leyden Township removed by about 7,000 miles from his home in mainland China. It's "very quiet in the streets, not many cars," said the teenager, sporting a Gap T-shirt. Advertisement Jin was one of 15 exchange students from China last month visiting Leyden High School District 212, under the Sino-American Youth Ambassadors program, which encourages cultural exchanges between the countries. The students spent a busy week living with host families, joining students in their classes at East and West Leyden high schools, as well as taking time out to visit Chicago landmarks, such as the Shedd Aquarium and Art Institute. Advertisement Jin's personal highlight came while attending a Chicago Bulls game. "Jimmy Butler he's very cool," he said. The SAYA program was launched by the Ameson Foundation after President Obama's first visit to China in 2009, according to its website. The program seeks to draw on the president's call for "increased educational cooperation and closer academic ties" between the countries, Ameson Foundation said on its website. This is the third year for the program at Leyden, said Joe Ruffolo, the district's foreign exchange coordinator. By comparison, Ruffolo has been overseeing the district's Italian cultural exchange program since 1990. Preparations began well before the students' visit, he said. Three weeks to a month before the students' arrival, the sponsoring groups provide a list of the students. Then, inquiries go out to families who might be interested in housing students, and matchups are made, he said. This year, six students were hosted by East Leyden families and nine by West Leyden, he said. The students spent time at the district high schools, where they gave cultural presentations and shadowed students in class to get a real feel for American education. Leyden students showed a keen interest in Chinese students' life as well, pressing one of the students, Aleyna Yuan during a session at Leyden to discuss differences between the countries. What is school like in China? she was asked. Advertisement "The school in China is totally different than in America," said Yuan, like her fellow classmates speaking in English and striving hard to fully answer Leyden students' questions. "I know you guys went to different classes, but my school is not like that. You have all your classes with your classmates, and when there is class the teacher will come in and teach you the subject." "And the teacher in China is very strict," Yuan added. "You should raise up your hand if you have something to do, something to ask. You can't use your phone, you can't use your computer, your laptops. And if you want to go to the restroom or leave your seat or answer some questions, you must raise your hand before you do that and get permission from the teacher." She said most of the schools in China have lots of homework. "In my class, we need to have an evening class from 6:40 to 9:50 in the evening," she said. "A lot of students in my class stay up late and go to bed at 12 or 1 in the morning." East Leyden students asked what surprised her most and what she missed most. "I like the students here. I like the schools here because it is interesting," said Yuan, who said she may return in two or three years for college as part of her international studies focus. Advertisement And what did she miss? "The thing I miss in China is the noodles. I haven't tasted noodles here like made by my mom," she said, receiving an approving murmur from her American counterparts. Uriel Martinez, a junior at East Leyden, sat in on several of the cultural presentations given by the Chinese students in the East Leyden library, including a lilting bamboo flute solo. He viewed the cultural exchanges as positive, if only to help students break out of their "western culture bubble." "I think it's really beneficial we have the opportunity to see all these different cultures and how people live in ways different than our own," he said. In another corner of the library, Hilda Mendoza, a senior at East Leyden, checked out the photographic images of natural beauty, which visiting Chinese students had spread out on a table in the school library on Jan. 26. Advertisement "Maybe we can go to China. I would love to," she told Sage Fang, one of the visitors. Fang recommended the countryside because there "people are closer, friendly." Ruffolo, in his 28th year of running the cultural exchanges, indicated those kind of interactions are what the program is about. "One is to open our kids' eyes to how small the world has become the things that unify us as human being, as a species," he said. "They [students] start to see the commonalities. They start to see that kids are kids, that kids love the things that kids like and [conversely, don't like the things that kids tend not to like.] There are a lot of universal truths in the world, whether you're Chinese or you're Hispanic or you're European or you're Native American." The program offered first-hand experience for Leyden students to learn about how students from other countries live, he said. "You know, not reading it out of a book, but actually having somebody living in the house with them, getting to hear their experiences and even having Chinese kids tell them just how different dinnertime is in their home compared theirs and whatnot." Both Ruffolo and Victor Pilolla, the Leyden theater director who also helps out with the exchange program, studiously avoided mentioning the unfolding international situation and the barriers going up between countries. Advertisement Pilolla noted that his own daughter participated in the Italian cultural exchange program and came out changed for the better, more open to different perspectives. "If every single high student in the world had a chance to do this," he said about the cultural exchange, "I think half the problems we have in the world would be cleared up." A former Lake County Circuit Court probation public service coordinator was sentenced to 18 months of work release and 30 months of probation Wednesday for trading unearned community service credits for money and sex. Anselmo Magana, 46, of Lindenhurst, had previously pleaded guilty to several counts of official misconduct for providing public service credits to people sentenced to community service work in exchange for cash and sexual favors. Advertisement He had only worked with adults on probation, according to authorities. A state prosecutor had sought a three-year prison term for Magana, while his defense attorney argued for probation and community service. Advertisement Judge Victoria Rossetti, in handing down the sentence, noted that Magana had "absolutely no priors," had taken responsibility for his actions and had met all required conditions while he was out on bond. But she also noted he had used his position to take advantage of those he was supposed to be supervising. "At the heart of this crime is the dignity of this court," Rossetti said. "You wouldn't be here except for your worst moments, which occurred over three years. I have a duty to sentence you for your worst moments." Rossetti also sentenced Magana to 200 hours of community service, said he must pay $7,155 in fees and court costs and pay restitution of several hundred dollars to those who had paid him cash for community service credits. Prior to being sentenced, Magana apologized to the court and for his actions and for embarrassing his family. His wife and children wrote letters of support to the judge seeking leniency, as did several officials and members of his church. Magana had faced a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison under a negotiated plea deal in which additional counts of official misconduct were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea. Tom Brown, an attorney with the Illinois State's Attorney's Office, had prosecuted the case because one of Magana's relatives formerly worked as a secretary with the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, and officials said they wanted to avoid any appearance of conflict. Brown said Magana's actions "were a crime against the integrity of the judicial system" in requesting a three-year sentence. He had no comment on the sentence that was imposed. Defense attorney Jed Stone had argued that a sentence of probation was "entirely appropriate" for Magana if combined with a requirement that he serve the community service hours that were not completed due to his actions. Stone referred to that as "symbolic restitution." Advertisement When Rossetti included community service hours in the sentence, she also noted that it was appropriate based on the nature of the crime. In June 2015, a Lake County Grand Jury indicted Magana on 11 counts of official misconduct. According to the indictments against him, Magana received money in exchange for service hours on nine occasions and received "sexual favors" from the same woman in two separate incidents. Undersheriff Ray Rose said after Magana's arrest that an extensive investigation into Magana included an audit of other probation employees, and there was no evidence that any other probation officers were involved. The adults on probation were not required to make up the hours involved in the allegations, in part, Rose said, out of consideration for the time they spent cooperating with investigators on the case. The probation clients involved had been convicted of low-level crimes, he said. Authorities said that in January 2014, an internal probation services investigation was initiated into allegations of misconduct by Magana. Advertisement After it was determined the actions involved could potentially be criminal, detectives with the Lake County Sheriff's Criminal Investigation Division were notified and began to investigate. Magana was arrested at his former workplace and initially jailed on $250,000 bail, but he has been free from custody since posting bond shortly after. Brown said the incidents Magana pleaded guilty to occurred in 2012, 2013 and 2014. jrnewton@tribpub.com Twitter @jimnewton5 In the 1800s, Lake County was a stronghold in the abolitionist movement, providing numerous stops on the Underground Railroad, bringing slaves to freedom, historians said. "Areas noted as abolitionist hot spots in Lake County included Deerfield, Gurnee, Ivanhoe, Milburn and Waukegan," wrote Diana Dretske, the curator for the Lake County Discovery Museum, and the county historian, in her blog titled "Slaves Found Freedom in Lake County." Advertisement Lake Forest College graduate Glennette Tilley Turner has researched and authored 10 books on the subject since the 1960s. She likened the Underground Railroad to jazz, because the safe houses where people stopped were improvisational, changed with circumstances, such as if a home were being watched. West Dundee was a place known to assist a 16-year-old slave named Caroline Quarles, who escaped slavery in St. Louis, Turner said. The teen made her way to Milwaukee when slave catchers came for her, Turner said. Abolitionists helped her make her way to Canada, first through Illinois, Turner said. Advertisement "Designated historical sites fill the downtown and surrounding residential neighborhood," according to the Village of West Dundee website (http://www.wdundee.org). "Restored buildings, including structures reported to have provided refuge for slaves on the Underground Railroad." In her book, "The Underground Railroad in Illinois," Turner, 83, of Wheaton, said that most of the fugitive slaves, whom she calls "freedom seekers" came from Missouri. Though freedom seekers traveled on their own prior to 1837, it was at that time that the Illinois Anti-Slavery Society was formed, thus creating a more organized Underground Railroad. "Many citizens of Lake County were active abolitionists and in 1846, a group organized the Lake County Anti-Slavery Society in Antioch," Dretske wrote. "There are a handful of stories of escaped slaves passing through Lake County, and also of former slaves settling here after the Civil War." In 1858, a 28-year-old freedom seeker, Andrew Jackson, arrived at the home of Lyman Wilmot, in Deerfield, according to Dretske. Jackson went to live at the home of Lorenz Ott, assisting with chores and building a fence around Ott's log cabin home, she said. Although Illinois was legally a free state, it is sometimes referred to in history books with quote marks around the word free. Turner described it as "free with a lower case f." "Illinois wasn't free in the full sense of the word," Turner said. Slave catchers could come to Illinois and return slaves to their owners. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made Northerners responsible for enforcing slavery by requiring officials to arrest alleged runaway slaves or face stiff fines of $1,000 or six months in jail time if they did not, Turner said. Because of the extreme risk, very little was written down at the time, Turner said. Instead, freedom seekers used verbal directions, natural paths, such as rivers, Indian trails and the stars, she said, often sleeping in hollow trees or caves. Advertisement "Finding the Kuhn Family (safe house) in rural Lake County in the 1850s would have been a trick if not for a distinct landmark in the vicinity known as Kuhn's Rock," Dretske wrote in her blog "Kuhn's Rock and the Underground Railroad." Located in Newport Township, and thought to be the largest gray granite rock in Illinois, it was moved in the late 1950s onto private property with the construction of Interstate 294, she wrote. In Gurnee, Mother Rudd's Temperance Tavern, located on the corner of Old Grand Avenue and Kilbourne Road, and owned by the county's first woman innkeeper, was used as the town hall for local elections and meetings, Dretske wrote in a blog, "Mother Rudd's Temperance Tavern." "During the Civil War, the tavern became a stopover on the underground railway system," according to the Village of Gurnee website (http://www.gurnee.il.us). "Slaves were hidden in the barn on their travel to Canada and freedom." Like spokes in a wheel, Lake County towns served freedom seekers destined for Chicago, because although they could still be captured and returned to slavery, the large city offered protection, Turner said. Due to its large number of abolitionists, both black and white, Chicago offered a job market to slaves who had learned a wide array of skills while in bondage. In Chicago, freedom seekers received payment for the first time in their lives, Turner said. Advertisement Another benefit of Chicago was the African Episcopal Church, now referred to as the AME Church. As organized abolitionists, the church helped freedom seekers. For example, night watchmen alerted freedom seekers if slave catchers were approaching while they slept, Turner said. Chicago offered the "feeling of being at least semi-safe," Turner said. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Canada became the primary safe haven, she said. What made Illinois pivotal were the many historical links to the state that had national implications, Turner said. The most obvious is that President Abraham Lincoln was from here, and so was the author of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, Senator Lyman Trumbull. Presbyterian minister Elijah Lovejoy made his way to Alton, where he published the "Alton Observer," an abolitionist newspaper until he was killed there by a pro-slavery mob in 1837, historical accounts show., Another Illinois connection was the landmark Supreme Court Dred Scott Decision in 1857. The court ruled against Dred Scott, a slave who sued for his freedom after living in the free state of Illinois for a long period of time. The court said taking a slave into a free state did not make that slave free, Turner said. Additionally, the court ruled that he was not a citizen because he was a black man, and thus could not bring suit. It also ruled that Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in any territory. Advertisement Illinois was also the home of Senator Stephen Douglas, who discussed slavery during the seven famed Lincoln Douglas Debates in 1858. Douglas was also instrumental in passing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Turner said. In recent history, it was two Illinois senators who "were involved in the Underground Railroad in a different way," Turner said. First, in 1990, Paul Simon authored legislation directing the National Park Service to research the Underground Railroad. Secondly, it was Carol Mosely Braun, who in 1998 authored the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act, establishing a National Park Service program to "coordinate preservation and education efforts" according to the National Park Service website. Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun. Waukegan mayoral candidate Lisa May accepts an endorsement from the state chapter of the Sierra Club, an influential environmental organization. (Luke Hammill/Chicago Tribune) There will be two candidates on the ballot in the Feb. 28 Democratic primary seeking to be the mayor of Waukegan incumbent Wayne Motley and Ald. Sam Cunningham, who represents the city's 1st Ward. But the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, which calls itself America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, chose to endorse neither of them. Advertisement Underneath the Stiner Pavilion at Waukegan Municipal Beach Tuesday morning, the Sierra Club announced its endorsement for Ald. Lisa May, 7th, who is running as an independent candidate and will face the winner of the Motley-Cunningham contest in the April 4 general election. "Lisa May will be the leader that Waukegan needs in becoming the true city of progress and in forging a healthier, more prosperous future," said Kady McFadden, political director of the Sierra Club's Illinois chapter, nodding to Waukegan's motto as the "City of Progress." Advertisement Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 29 Waukegan mayoral candidate Lisa May talks to a voter after a forum hosted by Waukegan High School AP government students on March 22. (Luke Hammill / Lake County News-Sun) The group lauded May for founding the Friends of Waukegan Beach volunteer group, which participates in shoreline cleanups, and cited May's support for the Clean Power Lake County campaign as a member of the Waukegan City Council as a reason for supporting the candidate. McFadden said the Sierra Club interviewed all of the mayoral candidates and came to the conclusion that May was the one most aligned with the environmental group's concerns, which in Waukegan include green lakefront redevelopment, protection of Lake Michigan and a transition away from coal to a clean-energy economy. "Climate change is a reality that can't be denied," May said. The Stiner Pavilion was a symbolic choice to hold the endorsement event, which took place as emissions billowed from industrial buildings nearby and two lakefront sites continue to be identified for cleanup as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program. The Sierra Club and Clean Power Lake County have also advocated for NRG Energy, the owner of a lakefront coal-fired power plant, to move away from coal and into a cleaner source of power. Waukegan "has unique economic and environmental challenges a legacy of toxic pollution," McFadden said. But the city "also holds tremendous opportunity and potential," she added. May pledged to fight for Waukegan to get a share of state and federal dollars distributed as part of environmental initiatives, specifically referencing anticipated programs resulting from an energy bill passed late last year by the Illinois General Assembly. She said she supports job re-training programs for NRG employees who may be displaced if the energy company ever does move away from coal at the plant. "It's my desire that NRG is a leader in renewable energy," May said. On his campaign's Facebook page on Sunday, Motley touted his own administration's accomplishments on the environment, which he said included completing a beach management plan, hiring a firm to address lakefront development and preservation, working with the EPA on its cleanup efforts and installing a bioswale in the parking area of the beach to improve water quality. Advertisement Attempts to reach Cunningham for comment were unsuccessful. lhammill@tribpub.com Twitter @lucashammill Like all Americans, I look forward with anticipation to the Trump administration bringing back the economy and creating millions of jobs. Trump has promised workers in the Rust Belt battleground states he carried last November that jobs are his priority after he makes America safe from Syrian refugee mothers and children. While Illinois and county voters dumped Trump in the 2016 election, there's no doubt jobs have been fleeing our limping Prairie State. Advertisement Wisconsin for years has cherry-picked Illinois companies, luring them north with tax incentives. Then officials in America's Dairyland crow about their coups. According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, in December 2016, the last full month of the Obama administration, Lake County's non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 5.6 percent, the same as the Illinois rate. During the same month, Wisconsin was at 4 percent, lower than the national number of 4.5 percent, which economists consider full employment. Advertisement So Illinois should be more than a blip on the president's radar when it comes to helping unemployed Lake Countians. He's already warned the nation's captains of industry that American jobs trump foreign investment. Those that don't comply with the America First mantra will be subject to, as of this writing, a 20 percent tax on incoming products. On the face of it, this all sounds jolly for the return of good-paying, middle-class jobs for American workers. But where will these new factories and production facilities be located? The lasting heavy-manufacturing legacy in Waukegan and North Chicago has left a bad taste in officials' mouths. So much so, Waukegan aldermen have ongoing dreams of turning the industrial wasteland on the Lake Michigan shore into retail, single-family residential, condominium and apartment developments. That would bring jobs to the city. Lake County communities certainly don't want some noxious factory in their back yards. They want nice, non-polluting office and research facilities, like the ones that have settled in Corporate Woods in Lincolnshire, Grand Tri-State Business Park in Gurnee, and the Amhurst Lake Business Park in Waukegan. Or at least locate hoped-for nasty factories far enough from taxpaying residents' homes. Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Heavy industry in the region in days of old was something to point to with municipal pride. Waukegan's lakeshore was dotted with companies a tannery, outboard engine manufacturing and a steel wire mill among them which provided hard workers the chance to enjoy the benefits of the middle class. Superfund sites those factories left behind have become cautionary tales for the new millennium. To that end, Starbucks announced the other day the coffee company will add 10,000 new jobs. Now, who doesn't want a Starbucks in their neighborhood? To aid the influx, the College of Lake County could offer courses such as Barista 101. Alas, that may not be a good career choice. A San Francisco firm has invented a robotic barista which can serve 120 coffees from espressos to lattes to frappes an hour. How it works I don't know, but it doesn't sound promising for those who toil at Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts. Futurists long have advanced the notion that robots have been behind the loss of American factory jobs, rather than trade pacts or companies running for the border, any border. They also believe artificial intelligence could replace workers in various specialties in coming decades. Advertisement This all runs counter to President Trump wanting to shoehorn jobs back into the U.S. The past week, he's been doing his part to keep lawyers and journalists on the clock and racking up overtime. That's the way to keep America working. Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor. sellenews@gmail.com Vicente Campos, head chef at Front Street Cantina, has worked at the Mexican restaurant for more than 20 years and some of the menu items come from old family recipes. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun) In Chef's Choice, the Naperville Sun asks local chefs about their favorite meal in Naperville at a restaurant other than their own. This week, we speak with Vicente Campos, 40, who is a chef at Front Street Cantina in Naperville. When the Mexican born chef wants a break from tacos and fajitas, he enjoys a good old American burger with a little Mexican flavor. Advertisement Q: Where did you live in Mexico? Campos: I'm from the state of Michoacan, Mexico, that is about six hours from Mexico City. I first came here in 1994 when I was 16 years old. I came by myself, and lived with a brother that was already here. After about 10 years, I brought the rest of my family to the area, and my kids have gone to the Naperville schools. Advertisement Q: Were you looking to work in a restaurant or just looking for a job? Campos: I had no idea where to work and I came here to Front Street. Q: Really? So this has been your first and only job? Campos: Correct. It was at this particular location and I came here in 1996. I was part time at first and was washing dishes. Then I began to do all the preparation for the cooks. We had a huge book of recipes and I wound up memorizing all of them. Q: How many was that? Campos: Around 80. Q: Tell me about your experiences with cooking back in Mexico. Campos: I was watching my mom cooking. Actually now at Front Street Cantina, we do have some of my mom's recipes, like "Tacos Campos," which has our last name, and "Tacos Mexicanos." I was watching my mom when I was 10 or 11 years old and she taught me things. Here, I moved up to cook after about a year and my brother, who also works here, helped develop some of the recipes, like the Yucatan Red Pork. That's our family recipe too. Advertisement Q: You must have a lot of pride knowing that something created by your family long ago is now being served here in Naperville. Campos: Yes. Q: What keeps you excited about cooking after all these years? Campos: I get excited when customers tell us the food is really good, it's tasty. When people say, 'What are you guys doing? This is so good,' that means you're doing your job right and that really keeps me motivated. Q: When you go to eat elsewhere, where do you like to go? Campos: I like to go to this little place here called Jackson Avenue Pub. They have really good hamburgers there. The one that I really like has an egg on top and fresh jalapenos on it. It's the only like that and it's called the "Diablo." Advertisement Q: What else does it have? Campos: It's got a fried egg, some cheese and bacon, and this sauce. Q: You're a chef you could make your own burger. Why go there? Campos: Because they have some special types of bread you can have. They have maybe three different types there and the combination of the bread with the burger is really good. Q: How often have your ordered this sandwich? Campos: Honestly, I'd say once a week. Advertisement Q: How did you find out about them in the first place? Campos: Well, they are new and so I know the owner. I went to try the hamburgers and I liked them. Jackson Avenue Pub is located at 7 W. Jackson Ave. David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. Officials say Naperville's electric utility, which includes this station at Modaff Road and 75th Street, developed a fund shortfall that is requires rate increases last year, this year and in 2018. (Susan Frick Carlman / Naperville Sun) Naperville residents can expect their electric bills to go up 3.6 percent starting this month, an increase that will amount to about $3.80 a month for the average user, the city's electric utility administrator said. The rate increase went into effect Jan. 1, and a hike of exactly the same amount will kick in Jan. 1, 2018, said Mark Curran, director of public utilities-electric. Advertisement While rates have been increasing for years to help the utility restore cash balances and repay debt, residents saw a comparably larger rate increase of 8.3 percent in 2016. The hikes are needed for a few reasons, Curran said. Supply expenses and purchase power costs have gone up, and Naperville's electric utility is working to pay back $13.2 million it borrowed from the water department, he said. Advertisement "With the larger increase of 8.3 percent last year, we started rebuilding cash levels, started to restore capital maintenance work, and we needed to start repaying the water utility," Curran said. The city has a five-year plan to repay the loan. In 2016, the rate increase helped the electric utility make a $3.2 million payment toward that debt, Curran said. The average electric bill for a Naperville resident in 2016 was $103.75, Curran said. With the 3.6 percent increases this year and next, the average residential electric bill is expected to be $107.55 starting this month and $111.40 in January 2018. Naperville is a member of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency and purchases its power from the agency, which consists of more than 30 municipal electric systems. A cost overrun on Illinois Municipal Electric Agency's coal-fired Prairie State Energy Campus project caused Naperville's previous electric rate increase. The City of Naperville's contract with the agency runs through September 2035. The coal-fueled Prairie State Energy Campus in Southern Illinois, which Naperville helped fund, serves as one resource for the city's power. The city decided in 2006 to join the agency because it offered "stability in prices as time goes on," Curran said. As far as whether the City of Naperville is seeing benefits from joining the IMEA, Curran said "it's a long-term deal and we'll see how the market goes ... it's so very early in the contract." IMEA electric rates are currently higher than ComEd rates, Curran said. But that could change when ComEd sets their new rates in June, he said. Advertisement ehegarty@tribpub.com Librarian Amy Kauth crosses children last fall at Maple School, which would need a lot of repairs and refitting to meet current educational standards, according to District 30 administrators and consultants. (Irv Leavitt / Pioneer Press) Members of a campaign committee assembled for the $36.3 million bond referendum to build a new Maple School said the case will be taken to all the people of Northbrook/Glenview Elementary District 30, instead of just those most likely to vote for it. "Do you go about a non-campaign, or go about this informing the whole district of what the issues are?" said Jeff St. John, one of the leaders of the Citizens for the District 30 Bond Referendum. "We think it's fair to try to talk to everybody." Advertisement Since the school board approved the referendum in December, the committee has been three men: St. John and Pat Dunbar, both of whom have served on District 30 caucus committees that have slated district board members; and Carlo Cavallaro, a former board president. After the first meeting of supporters Jan. 29, there are 10 members, St. John said. He noted that though off-year elections, such as the one April 4, often draw relatively few voters, there could be a significant number of district voters interested in the Northbrook and Glenview village board races who may know little or nothing about the referendum. Advertisement He said that the first of two all-district mailings will go out later this month. Two coffees are set for March. One is at the town center of Northbrook's Covenant Village senior complex at 1:30 p.m. March 15, according to campaign worker Beth Preis. She said the Korean American Parents Organization is trying to set another one up earlier the same day at the Northbrook Public Library. A third will be at 7:30 p.m. March 8 in Northbrook's Sunset Fields neighborhood, at 1740 Ellendale Drive. All of them will feature a description of the needs of Maple School by superintendent Brian Wegley. Wegley said he'll be careful not to promote the referendum, illegal for a district employee under Illinois law. "My understanding is one of my jobs as a district superintendent is to share information," he said. "I'm not going to tell people to vote one way or another then I leave." Similarly, he may continue to take part in tours of Maple which, supporters say, better tell the story of needs there. Preis, too, is a district employee, who handles the school system's public relations. "She's doing this as a resident and supporter," St. John. "She's being very careful not to do anything at work." St. John said that committee members are worried that "the unease" prevalent after the November election may interfere in their aims, but worse, that the Illinois budget woes may lead voters to hang onto their wallets. Advertisement "Demographically, the biggest opposition is probably in the pre-retiree group, in the mid to late 50s, sending kids to college," St. John said. He said he hopes to convince them with the district's financial record of being debt free, and not having had a bond referendum since 1975. He said the district plans to add $5.2 million from reserves to pay the full cost of $41.5 million to rebuild the school, and do life-safety work at the district's two elementary schools. He also said that a better school, he hoped, would bring higher home values at time of sale. "We think it's worth it to them economically," he said. He said he considers it key that if a new Maple isn't built, the old one will need about $15 million in repairs. That would be a waste, he said. "It's not one of those situations where you build a new school or you don't build anything," he said. Advertisement St. John said the campaign has a web site, and is working on Facebook and Twitter presences as it tries to win the campaign and raise $10,000 to $15,000 to do it. ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @IrvLeavitt The authors of a book on Italian-American jazz musicians will give a presentation Feb. 11 at the Oak Park Public Library in honor of the centennial of the first jazz record. Bill Dal Cerro and David Anthony Witter, journalists, teachers and authors of "Bebop, Swing and Bella Musica: Jazz and the Italian American Experience," will share music, stories and photos from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 11 in the second floor Veterans Room of the library, 834 Lake St. Advertisement Dal Cerro said the event celebrates the 100th anniversary of what's recognized as the first jazz record, recorded Feb. 26, 1917 by Nick LaRocca and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band of New Orleans. "It's so astounding the impact it must have had on our culture," Witter said. Advertisement Dal Cerro and Witter acknowledged that even some jazz fans aren't aware of the Italian influence on jazz music, and Witter said many people associate jazz with the 1920s and '30s. "There's always been Italian-American artists around," Witter said. Dal Cerro noted many Italian-American jazz musicians had Americanized last names, like jazz drummer Louie Bellson, whose surname was originally Balassoni. Jazz pianist Gene Esposito, who grew up in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, was originally Genaro. "The anniversary date is bringing more awareness of the issue," Dal Cerro said. "It's really one of those great, untold stories." For more information, visit www.italiansinjazz.com. Copies of Dal Cerro and Witter's 383-page book will be available for purchase and signing. Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. The Oak Park Police Department is seeking a suspect who shot a Chicago woman in the southern portion of the village near the Eisenhower Expressway. According to Detective Sgt. Michael Lepczynski, the shooting occurred at approximately 7:35 p.m. Jan. 28 in the 900 block of South Oak Park Avenue, which is near Interstate 290. Advertisement "A female Chicago resident received a nonlife-threatening gunshot wound while she was sitting in a vehicle," Lepczynski said. "She has since been treated and released from the hospital." None of the individuals believed to be involved in the incident are Oak Park residents, Lepczynski said. Advertisement When pressed for further details about the shooting, Lepczynski would say only that the incident remains under investigation. sschering@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @steveschering What began as a fight between two brothers over a pair of shoes ended in multiple charges against a 20-year-old Hobart man, including battery on a law enforcement officer causing bodily injury, according to charging documents. Eein Wesley Harmon also has been charged in Lake Superior Court with two counts of resisting law enforcement and one count of domestic battery. Advertisement He is being held in Lake County Jail. According to the probable cause affidavit, Hobart police officers Adam Ahmad, Adam Zormier and Michael Trajkovski responded to a call of a family fight in the 3100 block of Crabapple Lane on Sunday and were told that an argument over a pair of shoes had escalated and Harmon began punching and wrestling with his brother. Advertisement When officers spoke to Harmon, he began yelling expletives at them. He allegedly refused to be handcuffed when told he was being arrested for domestic battery and started fighting with Ahmad and Zormier, court documents said. At one point Harmon tossed or shoved Ahmad across the room, injuring Ahmad's wrist and breaking the bridge of his nose open, the affidavit stated. Harmon also allegedly kicked at officers and bit Ahmad's hand, documents said. The three officers restrained Harmon and placed him in the back seat of Ahmad's car to be taken to Lake County Jail. While en route, Ahmad's squad was involved in a vehicle accident at U.S. 30 and Mississippi. Harmon allegedly was thrashing around in the back seat and rocking the vehicle, documents said. Ahmad's right hand and wrist were swollen and he was examined at a hospital. Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Police arrested an Iowa truck driver on several misdemeanor and felony charges after they said he led them on a brief foot pursuit before saying an assortment of things in broken English and Arabic about President Donald Trump and wanting to be taken home to his mother, a report said. Uthman Al Samraay, 34, of Johnston, Iowa, was arrested on two misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement; two misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief; and a felony count of battery to law enforcement. Advertisement Police said he had an Iowa commercial drivers license in his name and a permanent resident card with his information on it. Police also contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and officers there did not have any additional information about Al Samraay. Porter police said they were called shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday to Travel America South, 1441 U.S. 20, Porter, where they found Al Samraay's semitrailer in a ditch on the south side of the road. Advertisement Police said as they approached the semitrailer, Al Samraay got out and walked toward them before turning around and walking back to the truck. Al Samraay went into the sleeper of the truck as though he was looking for something before coming back out, a report said. Al Samraay ran at an officer, grabbed his Kevlar vest and wouldn't let go as he screamed "Take me to my mom," the report said. The officer pushed Al Samraay away, at which point Al Samraay began running southbound and headed into a wooded area and disregarded police commands to stop, the report said. An officer drew his stun gun and Al Samraay was tangled in heavy thorn bushes before police were able to take him into custody, at which point police said Al Samraay was soaking wet, the report said. Police said he also began acting oddly as though he was intoxicated and became partially combative, the report said. Al Samraay was transported to Porter Regional Hospital for medical clearance before police transported him to Porter County Jail. Burns Harbor police assisted. Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Post-Tribune columnist Phil Potempa first interviewed actress Mary Tyler Moore in March 1997 at a reception in Chicago celebrating the release of her autobiography. (Photo Provided by Phil Potempa / Post-Tribune) One of my earliest interviews with a favorite person was with actress Mary Tyler Moore, whom I interviewed for the first time in March 1997. When Moore died a week ago at age 80 from complications of pneumonia, for many her passing felt like the loss of a close friend. Her easy and relaxed personality, combined with a gift for natural humor, are added reasons her talent shined on both "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and later her namesake TV series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Advertisement That first time I interviewed her, it was at a party in Chicago to celebrate the release of her autobiography titled "After All." She was kind, gracious and all smiles to spend time with a 26-year-old newspaper reporter who was just beginning a career in journalism. She was also was very honest and forthright answering my questions. Advertisement I always had heard that while working on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," she wasn't very close to fellow female co-star Rose Marie, who played the man-hungry comedy writer Sally Rogers. "With Dick Van Dyke, I've never met and worked with a nicer, better man," Moore said then. "He allowed me to have a career. A lot of comedians just want a 'pretty straight-line woman' to set up the punchlines. But Dick was never like that. No ego. He encouraged me to explore comedic talent and helped me with timing." She also emphasized she was "an unknown" compared with the rest of the cast. "I was originally billed to be a supporting character. The more Dick let me do comedy, and it worked for me on the show, the more story lines began to center around our home life and less stuff at the office," Moore said. "That didn't make everyone in the cast happy. I'd describe Rose Marie and myself as cool and distant. She was originally billed as the female lead with the most lines. But the show just took a different direction. We were always cordial with one another, but we also both felt threatened by each other. I also wasn't as close to Morey Amsterdam. He palled around with Rose Marie, while me, Dick and Jerry Paris, who played the next-door dentist neighbor Jerry Helper, hung out together." Rose Marie is 93 and Dick Van Dyke is 91. As for her closest friend and cast member from her own TV series, Moore said Valerie Harper, who played neighbor Rhoda on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show, ranked as her best friend on and off camera. "I don't know how I can express my feelings for my friendship with Valerie Harper," Moore said. "She was at my side for four memorials, if that tells you something." Advertisement Among those memorials, first and foremost, was Moore's son Richie, who died in 1980 at age 24 from an accidental gunshot wound. "I still cry every day," Moore said in 1997. "And every time I see a rerun of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' on Nick at Nite and see scenes with Larry Mathews, who played my TV son 'Ritchie,' I think how busy I was with my new career. I wonder what my Richie was doing off-camera while those scenes were being filmed, and ask myself why I didn't spend more time with him then." And in addition to her health struggles with diabetes, Moore had to cope with two previous divorces, and the deaths of her younger sister from a drug overdose and her brother from cancer. She also shared a love of animals with her other TV co-star Betty White, who turned 95 in January. "I'm a strict vegetarian," Moore told me. "I refuse to eat anything with a face. When I look into an animal's eyes, I'm one with divinity." One of my favorite parts of Moore's early career is her first TV appearance. Her TV debut was in 1955 on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," even though she never appeared in a single episode. She was featured in the sponsor's appliance commercials as "Happy Hotpoint," a leotard-garbed elf who lived in Harriet's refrigerator, dancing on ice cube trays and sharing helpful kitchen hints. Advertisement Moore told me her favorite episodes as Laura Petrie on Van Dyke's series were the one when she accidentally dyes her famous "flip" hairdo half blonde and half brunette, and also the "alien invasion" episode, that featured Moore gliding down an avalanche of cascading walnuts. Moore said the 1,000 pounds of walnuts were rented. Moore said the original plot for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was to have her as "a recently divorced assistant to a gossip columnist who is building a new life for herself after a failed marriage." But CBS executives altered the plot because viewers might be confused thinking her character was divorced from Dick Van Dyke. Philip Potempa is a journalist, author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. pmpotempa@comhs.org A bill before the Indiana Legislature wants to help bolster the state's casinos but could cut gambling revenues that go to local governments. The bill aims to make Indiana's riverboat casinos more competitive by restructuring taxes on the venues, but has local municipalities concerned they'd lose significant money in casino revenue. The Legislative Services Agency estimated local governmental units across the state could lose $49.5 million based on how the bill is currently written. Advertisement Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, introduced the bill that would remove the admission tax for riverboat casinos; create a 3 percent supplemental tax on casinos' adjusted gross receipts; and reduce the supplemental distribution to local communities. The House Public Policy Committee did not take any action on the bill Wednesday. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., said the city's lobbying team is keeping an eye on the bill. Advertisement "Obviously, we take every change in gaming very seriously," McDermott said. "I'm confident our team is on it." Huston said he wants to talk with stakeholders and make any necessary amendments. "It's still a work in progress," Huston said. Huston said the current admission tax is antiquated and moving to a tax on adjusted gross receipts will help attract new investment in the casinos. "I think it's a long time coming," said Rep. Matthew Lehman, R-Berne. As the new South Bend casino development moves forward, Lehman said the existing casinos won't be able to compete on the same level. "It's very important that we move this bill," said Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville. Rep. Randy Frye said when communities made the choice to accept riverboats, they saw it as a way to bring economic development to their communities. He said those communities negotiated with the state so they too benefited from the casinos' presence. Dana Bennett, Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson's chief of staff, said the City of Gary is concerned about changes to the distribution of casino monies. Advertisement In nine years, Gary's property tax collection has dropped by almost 50 percent, Bennett said, and local casino revenues have declined by roughly a third. Out of the money the city collects, $3.5 million goes toward the Regional Development Authority and another $1.5 million to the property tax credit program. The City of Gary would lose just under $1.5 million if the supplemental distribution is adjusted down, Bennett said. "We have some pretty significant concerns about the initial fiscal impact," said Speros Batistatos, president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau. clyons@post-trib.com Twitter: @craigalyons A bill that sought to push voting precinct consolidation in Lake County stalled Wednesday. The Indiana House of Representatives Elections and Apportionment Committee delayed action on the consolidation bill after hearing testimony that Lake County officials were prepared to review a plan to combine smaller precincts on their own without the Legislature's nudging. Advertisement "We are willing and ready to get started on this immediately," said Michelle Fajman, director of the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration. Fajman said it's an off-election year and a plan could likely be put together over the summer and submitted to the state's Elections Division for approval. Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, entered a bill that would establish a commission to develop a plan to consolidate Lake County voting precincts with fewer than 600 active voters. Proponents say the legislation will create savings for the county, while detractors decry consolidation efforts as making it difficult for residents to vote. Advertisement "We know things need to be cut, just not to these drastic numbers," Fajman said. Slager, at the hearing, did not object to the committee's decision to hold the bill. "I'm heartened to see they want to move forward on this," Slager said, but a similar bill passed three years ago and nothing happened. Rep. Charles Moseley, D-Portage, said Lake County in one of the few counties that has a combined voter and elections board and that bi-partisanship could result in a local resolution to the issue of small precincts. "We only ask that you give us a chance back home to resolve this," said Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary. Slager had put in a similar bill in 2014, which passed, but wound up being challenged by Lake County Democratic Party Chairman John Buncich. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled against Buncich's challenge, but the ability to move forward with a consolidation effort had expired. The Board of Elections in 2014 estimated consolidating polls with fewer than 500 active voters could net $87,000 in savings per election year, according to court documents, based on the determination that more than 70 precincts could be combined. Slager told the Post-Tribune the cost savings of precinct consolidation could net an excess of $500,000 in five years. Advertisement The costs savings touted if the precincts are consolidated could be minimal, Fajman said, since more people at one location would require more machines, clerks and staff. Fajman said a review of the precincts showed that many of the smallest throughout the county also had the lowest rate of early voting. She said if too many precincts are consolidated into one voting local, it could dissuade people from voting if lines are too long. "It does lead to voter suppression," Fajman said. Barbara Bolling-Williams, state president of the NAACP, said one of the goals of the organization is to see that all people participate in the electoral process. "We strive to make things easier not more difficult," Bolling-Williams said. clyons@post-trib.com Advertisement Twitter: @craigalyons Inmates at the Porter County Jail will have a new medical provider in the coming weeks. The Porter County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a contract with Muncie-based Quality Correctional Care for just over $1.5 million a year. The contract should begin in about two weeks and continues through March 2019. Advertisement The county has had a contract with Correct Care Solutions of Nashville, Tenn., since July 1, 2013. That contract, signed under former Sheriff David Lain, marked the first time the jail had around-the-clock care at the jail, as well as mental health services. "That's a major operation in there. It's like having a hospital 24/7," Sheriff Dave Reynolds told commissioners, adding while medical services at the jail have improved, "we can take it further." Advertisement The contract's cost is about where the cost has been hovering, said Commissioners President Jeff Good, R-Center. Reynolds said later the new contract is about $7,000 less than the current one. As with any contract that size, Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North, said he was alarmed by the cost but the county faces legal liability if it does not provide medical care. "It would cost a lot more if we didn't," Reynolds said. Though he didn't want to disparage Correct Care Solutions, which also offered a proposal for medical care, Reynolds said the jail had some problems with the company, including keeping staff. He reached out to other sheriffs and found many were using Quality Correctional Care, which serves jails in 44 counties, including Jasper, Pulaski and Starke. The firm has four regional representatives in the state, he said, and can pull medical staff, which includes nurses, doctors and psychologists, from other county jails if there are staffing concerns here. The firm also will retain several of the staff members who are at the jail with Correct Care Solutions, Reynolds added. "Everything we asked of them, they complied with," he said, including negotiating the cost of prescriptions, which are $90,000 a year. Advertisement "This is a lot of money and from the county's perspective and the taxpayer's perspective, they want to know if we're getting the best bang for the buck, and I think we are." Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Gholamreza Behforooz (cq), 65, who lives in Muncie, Ind., is returning back from a family vacation in Iran shakes hands with Leila Raab (cq), of Evanston, and chats with a group of protesters who are gathered inside the international terminal at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. Behforooz, who is Iranian, was traveling with his wife and son. He says that he and his family were held for secondary questioning. Reporter Nereida Moreno was on the scene and gathered more detailed information. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune) (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) In unison with many other bishops and religious leaders around the country, I voice my concerns about the recent executive order to turn away refugees from certain countries and also the proposal to build a wall along the entire U.S./Mexican border. While every country has both the right and responsibility to secure its border and protect its people from violence and terrorism, these sweeping actions go too far, upending the lives of many people who have legitimate documents to reside here in the United States and turning away refugees, particularly Muslims, who are fleeing violence at home. The United States has always been a nation of immigrants that welcomes those seeking peace, opportunity, freedom and religious liberty. The millions of people who have settled here contribute their culture, religious belief, work and values to the common good and we are richer for it. Here in Northwest Indiana, many of our priests, sisters, brother and lay people are from other countries, drawn here by the Lord to make their contribution both to the Church and our local communities. Both our American and Catholic values call us to welcome the stranger, heal those who suffer and offer hope to those who live in despair. Accepting refugees who come to our shores seeking safety is both the humane and Christian thing to do. Advertisement As I said in the January 8, 2017 NWI Catholic column, "The Church will certainly stand with families who could potentially risk the tragedy of suffering division, parents potentially being deported whose children are United States citizens and only have lived in this country. The Church stands with political and religious refugees whose forced return to their homelands could result in persecution or death. The Church wants to help those seeking to escape a crushing poverty whose misery most of us can only imagine." In his statement on the recent executive order, Cardinal (Blase) Cupich of Chicago quote Pope Francis, "If we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us." Advertisement Rev. Donald J. Hying is the Bishop of Gary. Rabbi Samuel Gordon of Wilmette talked to Pioneer Press about his recent trip to the Dominican Republic as a Global Justice Fellow for the American Jewish World Service. (Rabbi Samuel Gordon / HANDOUT) Rabbi Samuel Gordon of Wilmette's Congregation Sukkat Shalom was named a 2017 Global Justice Fellow by the American Jewish World Service and visited the Dominican Republic, studying the plight of Dominicans of Haitian descent, whose citizenships have been stripped from them. He spoke Feb. 1 about his trip. Q: How did you become an AJWS Global Justice Fellow? Advertisement A: I have long been an admirer and supporter of the AJWS and its mission ("to realize human rights and end poverty in the developing world"). Becoming a fellow was the result of conversations between me and (the organization's) leaders. Q: What did you expect to find in the Dominican Republic and about the plight of Dominicans of Haitian extent? Did what you found match your expectations? Advertisement A: I was surprised by the level of what seems to be economic success in the Dominican Republic, and the discrepancy between that and the abject poverty we saw we spoke with leaders of the (Dominican Haitian) community, and I think what struck me most was how some issues happening there resonate with some issues we're now confronting here the idea of denying citizenship to people, the demonization of the other that's something I did not expect. Q: Can you expand more on that, in the wake of the recent presidential executive order temporarily banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries? A: I think for me, it was a warning about how easily a country's values can be changed. The lesson of Jewish experience is that we are taught in the Torah always to remember we were slaves in the land of Egypt, but it doesn't say, "Therefore hate the Egyptians." It says, remember how you were a slave and treat well people like that in your midst. We need to ensure that the worst part of our history is not experienced by others. Q: Finally, do you have a favorite memory from your trip? A: In one of the most impoverished areas outside of Santo Domingo, where people live in shacks, we met a group of school girls who have so much hope and so much energy. That was very hopeful to me. Kathy Routliffe, Pioneer Press kroutliffe@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @pioneer_kathy Advertisement Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut. Adults in Fujian province who are the product of single-child families will be guaranteed paid leave of up to 10 days annually if they need to care for older parents who are hospitalized, according to legislation passed by the province's top legislature. The measure was passed on Jan 22 and is set to go into effect on March 1. It is intended to protect residents at age 60 or above, but some experts and members of the public say they are doubtful it will work in the private sector. It says that wages and benefits for those without siblings who take time off for the specified purpose should continue to be paid. Employers who refuse to continue paying wages and benefits will be punished, said Xu Hua, vice-chairwoman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Fujian Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee. If employers still refuse to pay past a deadline, the Department of Human Resources and Social Security will levy fines ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 yuan ($290 to $2,900) in accordance with Regulations on Supervision of Labor Security, Xu said. They also will be listed as "promise breakers" and will be restricted in bidding, market access and obtaining financing, she said. There were 5.15 million seniors aged 60 and above in Fujian by the end of 2015, representing 13.4 percent of the province's population. For the whole country, the number was 222 million, or more than 16 percent of the population. Fujian's new measure follows a national law passed in 1996 by the country's top legislative body on the "protection of the rights and interests of the elderly". The law was amended twice in 2012 and 2015. According to the latest amendment, seniors have the right to obtain material assistance from the State. It also says families are required to care for them. The Fujian regulation builds upon the national law by adding more detailed provisions, said Gan Mantang, a sociology professor at Fuzhou University. But while calling paid leave "innovative", he said it will be difficult to put into practice. "Workers are not even paid now for some normal vacations. It remains doubtful that this paid leave will be carried out." He said it probably can be put into practice in State-owned institutions, but it may not be so easy in private companies, he added. Han Yongjing, an assistant to a real estate company's chief financial officer in Fuzhou, Fujian's provincial capital, said public servants may benefit from the policy but doubts the same will apply in the private sector. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SSARC) is a virtual recreation of the bitter rivalry between two nuclear powers -- India and Pakistan. Its 19th summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November 2016 was postponed following the Uri attack and there is deep uncertainty where the next summit will be held. As the fate of SAARC is in limbo, there have been academic deliberations on the prospect of China joining the regional body. In December last year, a regional seminar entitled "China in South Asia - South Asia in China" was organized in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where foreign affairs experts from SAARC member states offered their insights into the imperativeness of China's membership to the SAARC. It was one of several academic efforts to highlight the synergic impacts arising from the close cooperation between China and South Asia, which are the home to 40 percent of the global population. China and South Asia combined represent almost 12 percent of the world area, 26 percent of armed forces and three of the world's recognized nuclear powers. China is already an observer of SAARC, and its entry into it is expected to give momentum to economic development in the region. "Geographical, historical, cultural and economic factors make it necessary to induct China into the SAARC, thereby giving new impetus to the regional body," said Dr MP Lohani, former Nepalese ambassador to Bangladesh. Dr Lohani, who participated in the Colombo workshop, said that five SAARC member countries - Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Afghanistan - share a border with China and that this geographical proximity serves as rational grounds to invite China to join SAARC. SAARC nations and China have historical and religious bonds. Both are the home to ancient religions that have existed and interacted since time immemorial. Buddha, known as the Light of Asia, was born in Nepal and obtained enlightenment in India, and his philosophy and knowledge spread to China. Collaboration between the pristine trans-Himalayan civilizations will undoubtedly usher in a new era of China-South Asia relations. Economic cooperation, trade and investment are other vital areas where China and SAARC can work together. Although India is a key player and an economic powerhouse among the SAARC members, it has failed to cough up enough money to build infrastructure in the region, which has the largest number of people living in abject poverty. This is a reason why the regional bloc fares badly compared to other similar organizations around the world. China has recently focused on building massive infrastructures along its southwest for better connectivity, and SAARC's recent decision to start trains service from Pakistan to Bangladesh via India and Nepal creates great potential for enhancing China-South Asia economic cooperation. Poverty is the biggest problem in South Asia, and SAARC has called for its eradication. China has achieved tremendous success in lifting millions of people out of poverty in the last 35 years. The Chinese experience can be highly helpful in achieving similar gains in the SAARC. China is the world's second largest economy and a global power. It has huge foreign reserves and is massively investing in infrastructure in different parts of the world. The cash-strapped SAARC is in the dire need of money to tap into its natural resources. China's entry will undoubtedly bring dramatic economic changes to the region and the life of its people. "China-South Asia relations are economically and diplomatically significant, strategically vital and political crucial," said Dr Sambhuram Simkhada, Nepal's former Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. Situated between the two large economies, Nepal enjoys tremendous potential as a transit point for trade, tourism, investment, transport and communications. "Nepal can be a manufacturing hub with the Chinese investment if China joins the SSARC," asserted Dr Lohani. China wants stability in its neighborhood. It can be stable and prosperous only when there is lasting peace and economic development in the adjoining nations. China has been constantly saying that its rise is peaceful and poses no threat to neighbors and the world. In this context, a quote from a Western scholar is relevant. He says: "The Chinese apparently never plundered and murdered unlike the Portuguese, Dutch and other European invaders of the Indian Ocean later." This assertion makes different between China and other colonial powers that ruled the roost in the past. Therefore, countries like India need not harbor unnecessary anxiety about China's entry into the SAARC. If China and India work together as SAARC members for the advancement of the common cause of the region, this will change the face of region, boost its international status and transform it into a global force to reckon with. Ritu Raj Subedi is an associate editor of The Rising Nepal. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Flash Search efforts continued on Tuesday for the missing people in a boat accident off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo. A rescuer searches for missing people off Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Jan. 31, 2017. Search efforts continued on Tuesday for the missing people in a boat accident off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo. (Xinhua) The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said the operations would cover 3,000 square nautical miles with planes and ships from the agency as well as Malaysian navy and air force, as neighboring Brunei also sent planes and ships to search its waters. Adam Aziz, a regional official of the agency, said the search and rescue personnel were rushing the golden hours of finding the missing. "We will continue the operation and step up the search efforts," he said. Sabah police chief Ramli Din said the latest investigation put the figure of the missing at six, including five tourists and one crewman. One survivor had brought his wife and daughter but only his name were registered, he said. The two remained unaccounted for. Police also found that one passenger was listed twice, he said. It was first reported that the boat was carrying 28 Chinese tourists and three crew members, when the boat sank off Sabah on Saturday. Twenty tourists and two crew members have been rescued so far. Police said Monday that one tourist had registered for the trip but didn't get on board. There's possibilities of more changes on the number of the missing, Ramli said. China's Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu said they were notified but the new figure needed to be further verified. Flash Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency said Tuesday a Dutch-led team deliberately delayed a probe into the crash of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight in 2014. "The team wants to deliberately mislead public opinion," Oleg Storchevoy, deputy head of the Russian aviation regulator, was quoted by TASS news agency as saying. A Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board died, most of them Dutch citizens. In September 2016, the joint investigation team, consisting of representatives of the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine, announced that the airplane was hit by an anti-aircraft Buk missile from the territory controlled by pro-Russian insurgents. But Moscow refuted the results as "biased and politically motivated," and provided the Dutch-led team with data which were supposed to prove that the plane was shot down from the territory controlled by Ukrainian authorities. On Saturday, Austrian Der Standart newspaper reported that the investigators were unable to decode images from the radar data provided by Russia as they did not conform with international standards. Storchevoy said he is puzzled that the team has failed so far to decode the information and there are no international requirements for such kinds of data. He added that the investigators did not request any assistance from Moscow, which is eager to provide experts and information "necessary for the public to know all about the truth." You are here: Home Flash A total of 5,483 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe since the beginning of the year, down from 67,375 through the first 29 days of 2016, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday. Most entries this year were registered in Italy, where 4,292 migrants have arrived since Jan. 1, with the remaining 1,191 individuals landing on Greek shores. According to the latest IOM figures, 253 people have drowned at sea attempting to reach European shores so far this year. Most deaths (227) were documented on the central Mediterranean passage linking North Africa with Italy, with the remaining fatalities recorded on western and eastern Mediterranean sea routes. Some 363,348 migrants and refugees reached Europe in 2016, a year which saw a record 5,079 people lost their lives while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Flash The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) consensus government decided on Tuesday to hold municipal elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on May 13, while Islamic Hamas movement said the decision is "illegal" and it will boycott it. Hussein al-Araj, minister of Palestinian municipal affairs, told Xinhua that May 13 was decided by the government in its weekly cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday. He said the decision was made in accordance to the electoral law. The municipal elections were sheduled on Oct. 8, 2016, but postponed after a Palestinian court ruled that they should only be held in the West Bank because Hamas courts in Gaza deprived dozens of Abbas Fatah Party's candidates of their right to run for the elections. "A new court, specialized in elections, is to be established and it will be authorized to decide whether this candidate or that one fits to run in the municipal elections," said al-Araj, adding that municipal elections will be held in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. However, Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement that the election decision is "rejected and illegal." "This decision boosts the internal division, serves the policies and interests of Fatah and harms the interests of the Palestinian people and their establishments," said Bahroum. "It's illogic to hold the elections amid severe internal division and any elections should be held in a frame of a reconciliation deal," he added. In an earlier exclusive interview with Xinhua, Salah al-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, said that his movement won't participate in the municipal elections in the Palestinian territories until the end of the decade-long internal split between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas forcibly seized control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, after weeks of fighting with Abbas' security forces. Since then, an internal Palestinian political and geographical division remains between the two sides despite a series of mediations from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. The last municipal elections held in the West Bank without the Gaza Strip was in 2011, while the last elections held in both enclaves was in 2005. Flash The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday the 2017 humanitarian appeal for Ukraine, which was launched last month and calls for 214 million U.S. dollars, is only 1 percent funded. "The humanitarian coordinator and the aid community there today said they are gravely concerned by the drastic deterioration of the security situation in the country's east and its impact on the humanitarian work," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. The UN humanitarian coordinator, Neal Walker, said that an immediate cessation of hostilities is needed to prevent further loss of life and to allow repair teams to restore critical basic services, including water and heat, to people living in freezing cold weather. According to the UN estimates, the conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents, which rages in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, left some 3.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Flash More than three quarters of French voters are not convinced by presidential candidate Francois Fillon's defense over allegations that he paid hefty salaries to his wife for job he had never did, a survey showed on Tuesday. An online Elabe poll for BFMTV news channel showed that 76 percent of respondents found Fillon's arguments to defend his wife Penelope were not convincing. Fillon has been the frontrunner to win the upcoming presidential election until last week when the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine published a report that raised question over the "honest, morally irreproachable", image that Fillon had projected during right primary campaign. The newspaper claimed that his Britain-born Fillon's wife had been paid 600,000 euros (648,120 U.S. dollars) for her job as a parliamentary assistant to her husband and for work at a cultural journal for 1998-2013 period. However, there was no evidence she had really worked, the report said. In its edition to appear on Wednesday, the investigative newspaper reported Penelope drew hundreds of thousands of euros more that it had originally reported, without really doing any work. It claims that she had been paid more than 900,000 euros as her husband parliamentary assistant and after for his successor Marc Joulaud and for her work in a magazine owned by a rich close friend of the Fillons. The report added Fillon hired two of his five children as parliamentary assistants when he was a senator. Both had gained 84,000 euros. Earlier on Tuesday, investigators searched French parliament as part of an inquiry into possible "misuse of public funds" and "misappropriation of assets," relating to Penelope fictitious job. According media reports, no material evidence including access badge and specific e-mail when she was a parliamentary assistant, had been found during the raid. As the investigation is gathering pace, the Fillon couple was questioned on Monday to stand their case. Last week, investigators searched the headquarters of the cultural journal that employed Penelope Fillon. They also seized files on ex-prime minister held by France's official anti-corruption watchdog. Flash vdeevka, a government-controlled town in eastern Ukraine, is on verge of a humanitarian disaster as heavy shelling has damaged its public utility and infrastructure, government officials said on Tuesday. The fighting, which entered its third day, left the town without electricity, heating and water amid the winter temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius, said Zoryan Shkiryak, an advisor to the Interior Minister. The town has a current population of some 20,000 people. "People, who live in prefabricated apartment complexes, are ready for evacuation because it is actually impossible to survive in such buildings during low temperatures and under heavy shelling," Shkiryak wrote on Facebook. Later in the day, Pavlo Zhebrivsky, the head of Donetsk regional military-civilian administration, said heating tents had been set up across Avdeevka, where people can get a shelter, warm food, hot tea and blankets. Many disabled and seriously ill people have been already evacuated from the frontline town, Zhebrivsky said, adding that Avdeevka authorities are ready for a full-scale evacuation if the need arises. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is working hard to provide Avdeevka residents with humanitarian relief assistance. Avdeevka, which lies on the outskirts of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, has been the epicentre of the renewed fighting between government troops and independence-seeking insurgents in the past few days. Battles have renewed in eastern Ukraine during the weekend after more than a month of a relative calm. Apart from Avdeevka, fighting is underway in Donetsk and its other satellite towns, namely Makeevka and Jasynuvata. Flash Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision to ban entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries as anti-Muslim bias. Visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) addresses a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, on Jan. 31, 2017. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision to ban entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries as anti-Muslim bias. (Xinhua/Rob Schoenbaum) "It is deeply regrettable that the United States has suspended all travels from citizens of seven countries. That's anything but good." said Lofven. "Fighting terrorism does not justify going against an entire group of people from a specific faith," Merkel emphasized, reiterating her comments earlier this week. Under an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended from entering the United States for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The total population from these countries exceeds 130 million. Aside from the travel ban, the two leaders also exchanged ideas on topics of the refugee crisis, Brexit, etc. "We need a more harmonized legislation and for all EU countries to share the responsibility on taking in refugees," Lofven said. More work needed to be done to ensure people do not need to flee in the first place, Lofven said. Merkel also said that international cooperation was a "must" to tackle the current refugee challenges faced by the EU. MEXICO CITY - Mexico seeks to continue strengthening comprehensive ties with China and attract investment in the coming years, Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Videgaray said on Monday. "We want to attract investment and continue to strengthen our ties with China in a comprehensive way," Videgaray told senators from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). At the meeting in the Senate, Videgaray said Mexico has already taken steps to enhance trade ties with other Latin American countries, as well as those in Europe, Asia and Africa, given the changing global landscape marked by US President Donald Trump. "Regarding China, we have to remember that it is a country with which we have elevated our relationship, the character of our comprehensive strategic partnership, and we are seeing an increase in the flow of trade," said Mexico's top envoy. While Mexico's most trade with China is in the form of imports, "our exports are also growing," noted Videgaray. Trump recently withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal among more than 10 countries, including Mexico, which will look to expand trade with other signatories of the TPP, said the official. "We are already in talks" with South Korea, he said. Despite Trump's divisive initiatives, including building a wall along the US-Mexico border, Videgaray said, "We are going to ... maintain dialogue and we are going towards a process of negotiation." In the coming months, the two countries are expected to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in force between Canada, the United States and Mexico since 1994. Trump claims the treaty has benefited Mexico only. BEIJING - Jaguar Land Rover will start to recall 6,438 vehicles in Chinese mainland due to defective safety belts on Feb 24, the top quality watchdog has said. The recall affects 1,554 imported 2016-2017 Range Rover and 3,438 imported 2016-2017 Range Rover sport series manufactured between July 12, 2016 and Oct 26, 2016, according to a statement from China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The affected vehicles also include 1,132 imported 2017 Jaguar XE manufactured between July 13, 2016 and Dec 7, 2016, and 314 imported 2017 Jaguar F-TYPE manufactured between July 19, 2016 and Dec 16, 2016. The defective safety belts may not function when vehicles are involved in collisions, said the statement. The automaker will check all the affected vehicles and replace defective parts free of charge, the statement said. By HEZI JIANG in New York and ZHAO LEI in Beijing | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-02-01 12:38 Six Chinese delegates pose for a group photo during the 6th UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum at the UN headquarters in New York on Jan 30, 2017. From left to right: Meng Jun, Guo Xinli, Wang Yuan, Zheng Bozhong, Sun Hairuo and Gaoshan Junjian. [Photo Provided by the Chinese Delegation to the ECOSOC Youth Forum to CRIENGLISH.com] While most Chinese teenagers are collecting red envelopes and watching fireworks, three were at the United Nations looking for solutions to global problems. As the youngest delegates taking part in the Sixth United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum, Sun Hairuo, Zheng Bozhong and Wang Yuan shared and learned from 500 international people aged 16 to 29 at the conference on Monday and Tuesday. Wang, 16, is a teen pop-star with millions of fans. He has worked with the UN China Youth group to promote the "Imagine 2030" campaign, which aims at encouraging the young generation in China to reflect and envision the world they want to see in the year the Sustainable Development Goals are expected to be achieved. "My topic is quality education. My passion for 2030 is that every young person can access good quality education and girls have the same potential to achieve amazing things as boys," said Wang. "It's not that easy to speak at the UN. I made huge efforts to go through all the interviews and got finally picked by the committee. It's a great honor to be here," he said. Sun, 17, and Zheng, 16, are student leaders at the high school affiliated with Renmin University of China in Beijing. "It's a precious opportunity to learn from our peers from other parts of the world, to learn their takes and solutions on the problems we face in China," said Sun, who is co-founder of the China Youth Environmental Forum. At a health conference where sexual and reproductive health has been the focus, Sun asked her peers what young Chinese advocates should do about reproductive health, as it is an issue people rarely talk about. "A girl from Belgium shared her own experience, and encouraged me to stand up, to speak out and to talk to policy makers," said Sun. "That's my most important takeaway." Zheng, a young speaker who has given many motivational speeches to peers, said he was most inspired by the older representatives who have made "real" changes in the world. "Some representatives have developed mobile applications to contribute to good causes, and others have done outstanding scientific research," he said. "Someday I'll be one of them, not only to advocate but to be part of a bigger change," said Zheng. Wang said he was touched by an African delegate's speech. "She talked about her nation's problems and she delivered a message to her government. That was the moment when I realize the power of the voice of youth. As a Chinese youth, I have a lot to do for my country," he said. Another 17 young Chinese who work with United Nations organizations in China, the Chinese government, non-governmental organizations and universities also participated in the forum. "Young people who are born after 2000 are starting to play important roles in our world," said Guo Xinli, a Chinese delegate at the forum who works for UN Resident Coordination Office. "They are China's new engine. Having them on the international stage shows the new face of China," he said. Judy Zhu in New York contributed to the story. Despite policy changes, some couples are reluctant to have another baby The approach of Spring Festival, the traditional time for family reunions in China, saw many people making travel plans or preparing to go on year-end shopping sprees. Liu Cuilan used to do those things, but this year, she preferred to remain at home after giving birth to twin daughters a month ago. Liu, a 30-year-old English teacher from Meizhou, a prefecture-level city in the east of Guangdong province, and her husband Luo Yi, a bank teller, also have a 4-year-old son. They decided to have a second child after the government implemented the second-child policy early last year but they didn't expect twins. "You have no idea what you will be experiencing with twin babies until you have them. It is a struggle to feed them, change their diapers and lull them to sleep. I am crazily busy every day," Liu said. Even working as hard as possible, Liu still could not cover every need, so she asked her mother-in-law to live with them and lend a helping hand. In October, the family then numbering three people spent the Golden Week holiday in Shantou, a city in Guangdong, and also visited relatives and friends in the countryside to spend some quality time with them. Preparation, exhaustion "I am afraid that won't happen again for about three years. There is a huge amount of preparation to do before we go out, and we have to take my mother-in-law with us every time because the babies need special care. Everyone would be exhausted, so the best choice is to stay home," Liu said. The arrival of the twins will also mean higher daily expenses during the holiday. "Milk powder costs money, and with the whole family living in the city, spending the Spring Festival at home will require more money to cover everyday expenses than if we had headed back to the village in the countryside. We can imagine our lives in three years it will be very pressurized, and I will need to work even harder to earn more money," Luo said, with a smile. "But, we are lucky enough to have three children this is the greatest thing ever." Their bittersweet comments are a luxury that few families in China can afford, because the country is aging fast. There are 1.3 billion people in China, and more than 220 million people, about 16 percent of the population, are age 60 and older. That figure set to rise to more than 400 million by 2033, according to the China National Working Commission on Aging. If nothing changes, by 2050, one-third of the country's population will be senior citizens. The relaxation of the national policy on family planning in January last year, which effectively allowed every family to have two children, was intended to tackle the long-term problem. However, it will take time until the benefits become obvious. A recent report, jointly conducted by the All China Women's Federation and Beijing Normal University, found that more than 50 percent of Chinese parents do not want a second child, while a further 25 percent are hesitant about expanding their families. Some factors were omitted to make the report more concise, but they also play an important role when parents are considering whether to have a second child, according to Wang Yun, a professor of child development at Beijing Normal University who led the research team. They are objective conditions such as how many houses or apartments a family owns, how many cars they have and whether the children will have rooms to themselves, she added. "Obviously, the more you have, the more you are capable of raising a second child," she said. However, there are also other, less obvious, concerns, such as how people feel about their financial circumstances. That is far less tangible and measurable, because many people in Beijing, where average incomes are the highest in the country, feel they are not well-off, a feeling derived in part from fierce peer pressure and the excessive portrayal of the wealthy in some sections of the media. "This subjective feeling can play an equally important role as objective conditions in families' decisions, if not more so in some instances," Wang said. She suggested that the government should provide more public resources, such as easier access to childcare services, education and medical treatments, to make people feel more comfortable with the idea of having a second child. "It's not the second baby that traps people at home during the holidays it's the lack of public services," Wang said. Contact the writers at chenmengwei@chinadaily.com.cn and liuxiaoli@chinadaily.com.cn Stunning scenery and a relaxing atmosphere help visitors feel at home Ding Guangning drives an electric patrol car around a campsite, which is located 1.5 kilometers away from the west gate of Huangshan, or Yellow Mountain, in East China's Anhui province. "Huangshan is probably the most well-known Chinese mountain in the world," said Ding, who saw a sport utility vehicle stop and restart a couple of times on a road on the campsite. JERUSALEM -- Israel approved on Tuesday the construction of 3,000 housing units in West Bank settlements, amidst a spate of settlement expansion in the wake of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. According to a statement from Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the approval is "part of returning to normal life" in the West Bank, after some construction projects were put on hold during the term of Barack Obama's administration. Their statement was released hours before the expected eviction of the illegal Jewish outpost of AMona, east of Ramallah, and was widely viewed by local media as a mean to appease hardline settlers. The new approval was given to construction projects throughout the West Bank, including 150 units in Pisgat Ze'ev, a settlement neighborhood of Jerusalem, 650 units in Beitar Illit, east of Jerusalem, 700 units in Alfey Menashe in the central West Bank, and 650 units in Beit Aryeh in the northern West Bank. About 2,000 of units are ready to be marketed immediately, and the rest are in earlier stages of reviews by planning and construction committees, the statement said. Last Tuesday, days after Trump was sworn into office, Lieberman and Netanyahu gave the green light to 2,500 other housing units. "We are in a new era in which life in Judea and Samaria goes back to the normal track, and from now on we give a proper response to the needs in that area," Lieberman said in the statement. The settlements are illegal under international law because they are built on lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to form their future state. The former US administration criticized Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements, which it considered as a major obstacle to peace. The Western Wall and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Photo provided to China Daily As the number of Chinese outbound tourists grows, Israel is cashing in on the lucrative market. Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reported that 76,400 Chinese tourists went to Israel between January and November last year, a massive 60 percent increase from 2015, making China its biggest growth market. Figures from the Tel Aviv Hotel Association also show that the time Chinese tourists spent in the Tel Aviv region has grown 50 percent in 2016, more than any other country. Wolfgang Arlt, director of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, attributes the surge to new direct flights run by Hainan Airlines from Beijing to Tel Aviv to compete with El Al Israel Airlines the previous sole airline on the route. The competition has provided more flight options at cheaper prices. Cathay Pacific is expected to start flying from Hong Kong to Tel Aviv this year offering even greater connection options from China. Arlt said Israel's introduction of 10-year multiple entry visas for Chinese citizens also made it easier for Chinese travelers, as it not only allows tourists to stay longer but also go to nearby Jordan and Egypt without problems on return. At a time when the list of potential holiday destinations is increasing in the minds of Chinese tourists, travel pundits say uniqueness and authenticity are key selling points. As a travel destination, I think that Israel has many distinct and unique features, such as cultural background or historic heritage sites," said Oliver Sedlinger, of international tourism consultants Sedlinger & Associates. Sedlinger said that despite the complex political environment, Israel is located in a very culturally interesting region of the world, offering rich and very developed tourism infrastructure. Tour operators in Israel are seeing a more demand from the Chinese tourism sector as seasoned Chinese travellers are inspired to explore new and exotic destinations. Ben Julius, founder of TouristIsrael.com, said the company is experiencing huge growth in Chinese travellers on their tours, including both individuals and travel groups. Among the most popular attractions for Chinese tourists, Julius listed Jerusalem and, in particular, the Old City as a unique destination, with rich content,. "To name a few, the Dead Sea where floating in the waters and bathing in the muds is a great photo opportunity for the Chinese, Masada where the story of Jewish heroism is fascinating to visitors, and Tel Aviv whose hi-tech economy and culture are world-class. To some Chinese travellers, Israel has been an eye-opening experience. Li Jiayang, who spent two weeks in Israel recently, said the whole journey was a highlight of her life as it shocked her emotionally. I was able to learn and feel the thousand years of history that just passing through me when I was standing in front of the Western Wall, and I could not stop myself from crying out of no reason, she said. Reading is a must, not an optional before visiting the country, Li said, adding one needs a solid understanding of the history of the holy land to appreciate the country". This is a place for you to realize how much knowledge you are still lacking, to push you to learn more and stay humble, she said. US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Neil Gorsuch (L) after nominating him to be an associate justice of the US Supreme Court at the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan 31, 2017.[Photo/Agencies] WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the US Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the US Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the nation's highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. Announcing the selection at the White House flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuch's resume is "as good as it gets." Trump said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous disciple, and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said. "Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent," Trump added. Gorsuch is a judge on the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W. Bush in 2006. Some Democrats in the US Senate, which votes on whether to confirm judicial nominees, have already said they would seek to block whoever Trump nominates. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official described Gorsuch as a mainstream judge who should easily be confirmed by the Senate. The official noted that the Senate confirmed him for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. The official said the White House feels Gorsuch has the qualities that Democratic senators said they wanted to see in a justice during visits with senior Trump officials about filling the vacancy. "He plays it straight. He sticks to principles, and his opinions reflect a consistency regardless of who is in his courtroom," the official said of Gorsuch. Trump made his choice between two US appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. Gorsuch became the youngest US Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. He is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the US Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan's administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA's use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trump's selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on Feb. 13, 2016. Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, got the opportunity to name Scalia's replacement only because the Republican-led US Senate, in an action with little precedent in US history, refused to consider Obama's nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the Nov. 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasizing the importance of the pick during the campaign. Trump last week said evangelical Christians would love his nominee. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate. The minority Democrats, irate over Garland's rebuff, potentially could try to block the nomination with procedural hurdles. The new appointee would expand the court's conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Kennedy long has been considered the court's pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court's restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia's replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch has strong academic qualifications, with an Ivy League education: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bush's Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many US conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the court's longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon's presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the US Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Advocacy groups geared up for a fight. Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative legal advocacy group, said it would launch the first part of a $10 million media advertisement campaign on Tuesday night in favor of Trump's pick. The effort will hold Senate Democrats who face election in 2018 "accountable for their choice" on the Supreme Court, the group said. Liberal groups including People For the American Way and abortion rights advocate NARAL Pro-Choice America planned a nighttime rally in opposition to Trump's nominee outside the Supreme Court after the announcement. Some Democrats have threatened to pursue a procedural hurdle called a filibuster, meaning 60 votes would be needed in the 100-seat Senate unless its long-standing rules are changed. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick. Trump said last week he would favor Senate Republicans eliminating the filibuster, a change dubbed the "nuclear option," for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. Trump during his presidency may get to make additional appointments to the Supreme Court. Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him "a faker," is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. If any of those three is replaced by a Trump appointee, conservatives would be eager to bring cases challenging the Roe v. Wade ruling in the hope it would be overturned, long a goal for many Christian conservatives. It's been said that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle invented Western science by having his students collect sea shells on the beach and then sort them by their features, looking for connections. If that's true, his helpers would surely be scratching their heads over the remains of some critters just unearthed in China. Researchers have identified traces of what could be the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of not just humans, but of all bilaterally symmetrical creatures with a back bone. And you'd never know it to look at it. Named Saccorhytus, the microscopic, bag-like sea creature lived about 540 million years ago.Shaped like a tiny grape, it had a huge mouth relative to the rest of its body and probably ate by engulfing its food or other creatures. Its skin (like human's) was thin and flexible and it lived in the sand bed of a shallow sea, wiggling to get around. Its features were spectacularly well preserved in the fossils, including cone-shaped "vents" along its sides that may be precursors of gills. Intriguingly, the researchers were unable to find any evidence that the animal had an anus and suggest it discarded its waste back out through its mouth. The species is all new to science and is thought to be the most primitive example of the broad biological category called deuterostome, according to the paperjust published in Nature. The study was carried out by an international team of academics, including researchers from Northwest University in Xi'an and theUniversity of Cambridge in the UK, with support from other institutions in China and Germany. "We think that as an early deuterostome this may represent the primitive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including ourselves," saidSimon Conway Morris, professor of evolutionary palaeobiology at Cambridge. "To the naked eye, the fossils we studied look like tiny black grains, but under the microscope the level of detail is jaw-dropping. All deuterostomes had a common ancestor, and we think that is what we are looking at here." Degan Shu, from Xi'an's Northwest University, added: "Our team has notched up some important discoveries in the past, including the earliest fish and a remarkable variety of other early deuterostomes. Saccorhytus now gives us remarkable insights into the very first stages of the evolution of a group that led to the fish, and ultimately, to us." Not just to fish but creatures as diverse as starfish and sea urchins, so this little creature's reach embraces a level of diversity scientists had previously found extremely difficult to connect the dots on. The Saccorhytus microfossils were found in Central China's Shaanxi province in an area that during the Cambrian Period would have been a shallow sea.Scientists isolated the fossils from surrounding rock and then studied them under both electron microscopes and CT scans. "We had to process enormous volumes of limestone - about three tons - to get to the fossils," said Dr Jian Han, of Northwest University. "But a steady stream of new finds allowed us to tackle some key questions: was this a very early echinoderm (starfish, sea urchin or sea cucumber), or something even more primitive? The latter now seems to be the correct answer." The new findings also throw light on one of the most esoteric discrepancies in modern science - the mismatch between fossil evidence and the so-called "molecular clock" provided by modern genetic analysis. Scientists believe that two species diverging from a common ancestor leave a time trail in their DNA and many of these "tracks" suggest how far back life went. The problem has been, most forms of life back half a billion years were too small to leave fossils. This remarkable find could help bridge the gap between the two methods of sleuthing for answers. Aristotle would give it an A plus. Contact the writer at chrisdavis@chinadailyusa.com. Like many US cities, Boston is trying to increase the number of Chinese who visit, but the city is trying to take advantage of its reputation as a college city to try to entice more Chinese students to go study there, and inevitably bring along their friends and families to visit as well. Visitors who go to Boston for education-related reasons make up the majority of Chinese tourists in the area, and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GBCVB) is trying to ramp up its efforts to keep increasing that market, said Patrick Moscaritolo, the bureau's president and CEO. "When you drill down into the number, it's more than just Chinese students at our colleges and universities in Boston and Cambridge," he said, "it's also now turning out to be Chinese students at secondary schools, Chinese visitors that are coming for summer camps." Besides the students, Boston wants to rope in their parents as well. Parents who drop off their children at summer camps, for example, might spend the week exploring Boston and the rest of Massachusetts, or travel up into New England and other parts of the northeast, before returning to pick up their children and heading back to China. "Education is such a major part of what Boston and Cambridge offer. Another way to put it, to look at it from a marketing perspective, it is really the underpinning of the Boston and Cambridge brand, as it relates to Chinese visitors," he said. About a quarter of Chinese visitors going to Boston go for education purposes, according to 2015 figures published by the US Department of Commerce. More recent figures are not officially available yet, but Moscaritolo estimates that the number has grown to approximately 28 percent for 2017. The education category that visitors check off on their surveys can mean attending college in the Boston area, attending secondary schools and academies, short summer education programs, or corporate training programs, he said. There are roughly 20,000 Chinese students attending school in Boston, with the city seeing double-digit growth in the last decade. Boston gets roughly 209,000 Chinese visitors, which is just outranked by the 215,000 people who visit from the United Kingdom. It has set a goal of 500,000 visitors by 2021, which Moscaritolo said he expects the city can accomplish. GBCVB held China-friendly seminars for participating member organizations and retailers in December, and is working to partner with colleges and other education institutions to strengthen its Chinese programs. "Colleges and universities are such drivers of Chinese visitors [so] part of our plan is to build programs with the colleges and universities, and within the colleges and universities with the Chinese student associations, to better serve them, to better serve incoming freshman classes," he said. "Because obviously not only the student comes, and she or he spends money while they're at our colleges, but many times their family members, their parents come, or maybe their parents and their grandparents - that's all potential new opportunities for business," he said. Boston also has a regular stream of direct flights flying to Beijing and Shanghai: it currently has daily flights to Beijing and Hong Kong, and a four-times-a-week flight to Shanghai. Moscaritolo said if they were able to expand the Shanghai service to daily flights it could be a "very successful service", but the current US-China bilateral treaty on aviation and transportation caps the number of direct flights between Tier 1 Chinese cities and American cities. "I understand why the treaty has the limits - because there's a priority to open non-stop service between secondary cities to the US and I can understand from an economic development strategy why you would want to do that," he said, "but there may be ways to either renegotiate the treaty or mend the treaty so that we can get the additional flights from Shanghai to Boston." If the treaty is mended Moscaritolo said the 500,000 visitor figure could be reached before 2021. Contact the writer at amyhe@chinadailyusa.com SEOUL -- Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday vowed not to run for presidency in Republic of Korea, his home country, during an unscheduled press briefing in the parliament. Ban told reporters that he will give up his "pure will" to lead the country's political change and the national unity, abandoning his ambition to become the next South Korean leader to replace the impeached president. The former UN head has never officially declared any decision to run for presidency, but he has long been viewed as the most powerful presidential contender in the conservative bloc. An early presidential election is widely forecast to be held in April or May as the motion to impeach President Park Geun-hye was passed in the National Assembly on Dec 9 with an overwhelming majority. The press conference was urgently held without any prior notice. He returned to South Korea on Jan 12 after his second, five-year tenure in the top UN post terminated at the end of last year. Since his comeback, Ban had made the so-called "people-friendly" trip across the country to directly meet people in regions. He also proposed to amend the country's constitution for decentralized presidential power. His actions and words in the past three weeks pulled down his approval ratings for his mistakes in the nationwide campaign and local media speculations about his involvement in a bribery case involving his younger brother and nephew. During the conference, Ban said that his pure patriotism and ambition were damaged by slanders and fake news reports that were almost equivalent to "killing" his personality. The career diplomat said he was very disappointed at the narrow-minded, egoistic behaviors show in some of the political arena, noting that it would be meaningless for him to go together with them. He expressed his deep apology to supporters, advisors and those working around him. Ban, however, vowed to devote himself to resolving the country's crisis and bringing a bright future based on his experience as former UN chief. Palace of Westminster, 31 January 2017 Chairman Graham, Minister Hands, Lord Sassoon, My Lords and MPs, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today is the fourth day of the Year of the Rooster. The feeling of celebration is still in the air. In the Chinese culture, the rooster stands for renewed vigor and good luck. So I would like to begin by wishing everyone good health and prosperity in the New Year! This is the sixth APPCG Chinese New Year Reception that I have attended since I came to London as Chinese Ambassador. Every time is very enjoyable. Last year when we gathered here, no one would have expected that Britain would go through so many changes within just one year. The British people voted to leave the EU and Britain got a new Prime Minister and a new Cabinet. Some say Britain has undergone a "political earthquake" and its future is full of "uncertainties". However, in the face of uncertainties the UK once again demonstrates to the world the strong "resilience" of the British people. After the Brexit referendum, the UK's economy maintained a solid growth momentum far better than was widely expected. We are also pleased to see that China-UK relationship is also showing "resilience". Thanks to the concerted efforts of both countries, the relationship steadied in a time of transition and continued to grow: President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Theresa May had a successful meeting in Hangzhou. Both leaders reaffirmed our shared commitment to the "Golden Era" of China-UK relations and our global comprehensive strategic partnership at a new level. The dialogue mechanisms between our two countries ran smoothly: o The Economic and Financial Dialogue. o The High Level People to People Dialogue. o And the Strategic Dialogue were held successively. Also, our two countries held: o The first China-UK High Level Security Dialogue. o The first China-UK Regional Leaders Summit. o And the ninth China-UK Leadership Forum. There were notable outcomes of our financial and nuclear cooperation. China issued RMB sovereign bond in London for the first time. And China, Britain and France signed the package deal of Hinkley Point C nuclear project. People-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges received a further boost as our two countries commemorated the 400th anniversary of the passing of Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare. We also began to issue two-year multi-entry visas to each other's nationals and increased flight capacity to facilitate mutual visits. On global issues, China and the UK have showed our strong sense of responsibilities as big nations. We worked closely together within the G20 and at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. We had effective communication and cooperation on global governance, climate change, free trade, sustainable development, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism. The parliamentary exchanges between our two countries have also maintained a sound momentum: Last year, the APPCG sent two delegations to China. Delegations from China's National People's Congress, the Chinese People's Political Consultation Conference, the Ministry of Supervision and other political parties also visited the UK for exchanges with the British Parliament. These visits enabled exchange of views and experience sharing between the two sides over issues such as the economy, rule of law, judicial reform and anti-corruption. I myself joined the APPCG discussions twice last year to answer your questions, share views, build trust and promote cooperation. 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the UK. This is good moment to review the bilateral relationship in the past and outline the vision for the future: Over the past 45 years, China-UK relations have seen remarkable achievements despite some ups and downs. Looking into the future, challenges still exist. But, we are confident that we are able to ensure the steady growth of China-UK relations in the "Golden Era". This will deliver more "golden fruits" to our two countries and the rest of the world. In 2017, the UK will start and proceed with the Brexit negotiation. Against this background, one needs to think seriously about how China and the UK could overcome the challenges. We need to work closely together and seize the opportunities to advance this "Golden Era" of China-UK relations. I think President Xi gave us the answers when he said this in Davos: "We should share opportunities and interests through opening-up and achieve win-win outcomes." He also said: "In the face of both opportunities and challenges of economic globalization, the right thing to do is to seize every opportunity, jointly meet challenges and chart the right course for economic globalization." If we put these words in the context of China-UK relations, there are quite a few things that we can do together: First, China and the UK should begin looking into the free trade negotiation as soon as possible. We need to upgrade our business cooperation. We need to forge a more open partnership for trade and investment. Second, China and the UK should strengthen cooperation on science and technology, education and creative industries. We need closer cooperation involving all our industries, the universities and the research institutions in order to boost our respective economic growth. Third, China and the UK should stay committed to an open global economy. We must support free trade and oppose protectionism. We must stand for multilateralism and oppose unilateralism. We must advance a globalization process that is more inclusive and sustainable. Fourth, China and the UK should continue to dovetail our respective development strategies and strive for new progress in our cooperation under the "Belt and Road" Initiative. All in all, Brexit will mean both challenges and opportunities. However, there is much China and the UK can do to build our global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century. There is huge potential to advance the "Golden Era" of China-UK relations. My Lords and MPs, The British Parliament plays a crucial role in British politics. Meanwhile, it is also an important player in building China-UK relations. I have learned that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons is going to conduct an inquiry into China-UK relations. I hope this inquiry will help advance China-UK ties. I hope it will come up with good advice and suggestions for our bilateral cooperation. And I hope it will play a positive role in shaping our future relations. It is also my hope, my Lords and MPs, that you will be all the more actively engaged in China-UK inter-parliamentary dialogues and exchanges in the new year. I would count on your support for the cooperation between China and the UK across the board. Let us commit ourselves to working closely to contribute to the "Golden Era" of China-UK relations! In conclusion, let me again wish everyone a happy and prosperous Year of the Rooster! Thank you. Chinese food in the United States is whetting new appetites, with more focus on taste and preparation to please, and tease, the palate. The usual suspects remain, but for more refined diners, the most-wanted list is expanding. General Tso's and sesame chicken are still on the menu but restaurateurs are attempting to redefine the cuisine, drawing inspiration from the homeland and fusion trends. "Chinese restaurateurs have been trying to offer Chinese food as fine dining; but their efforts have remained largely unsuccessful until recently," said Tong Chen, a professor at the University of California-Irvine and author of Chop Suey, USA: The Rise of Chinese Food in America. He said that "more professionally trained chefs and more affluent and more informed diners in Chinese restaurants" are helping drive the trend. At La Chine, which opened in November 2015 inside the Anbang Insurance-purchased Waldorf Astoria hotel, lamb loin stir-fried with cumin costs $38. The white-tablecloth restaurant offers seasonal freshwater crabs transported by air from China. 'Going out' Famed Peking duck restaurant, Dadong, is set to open in Midtown Manhattan, steps away from Times Square, in spring 2017. The 1,672-square-meter flagship location will seat 400 people on two floors and feature a massive rooftop bar and private dining facilities with glass exposure on three sides. In June 1996, Wang Gang and his wife, Liang Li, opened their first restaurant, Meizhou Dongpo, in Beijing. "Someday we are going to cook for the whole world!" they said. Nineteen years later, they oversee a corporation with more than 100 restaurants in China. Soon, they are going to have five restaurants in the US, with a flagship venue on the Las Vegas Strip. Meizhou Dongpo opened its first US restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 2013, and kept its name exactly as it is in China, with dishes selected from its menu in China. The chefs, though hired locally, were sent to China for training. "We are trying to make authentic Chinese food for America," said Wang Xiaojing, the US general manager for Meizhou Dongpo. Chinese companies have implemented a rapid "going out" strategy, buying properties around the world, merging with global companies and opening foreign subsidiaries. Restaurant brands are joining the movement. "Fame has brought us pressure and responsibility because Chinese restaurants who are considering opening locations in the US are all looking at us," said Wang. "If we are successful, they will take action. If we fail, they will be afraid of 'going out'." California is known for authentic, diverse Chinese food, driven by a large population of new Chinese immigrants. You will find your regional cuisine in the Greater East Los Angeles area -Monterey Park, Arcadia, Roland Heights and other cities nearbyno matter which province of China you are from. In places like Hollywood and Beverly Hills, however, residents don't see a great variety of Chinese cuisine. There are Panda Express outlets in shopping centers, and takeout restaurants tucked in malls. This is changing. Meizhou has recently opened a rooftop dining deck at the Westfield Century City mall in Beverly Hills. Wang and his team have worked hard to please both their American and Chinese customers as each group has its own preferences. "We realized Americans prefer that all the main dishes be served at the same time," he said. "Chinese like the dishes to be served right, when it's ready, because they share dishes. Our servers mark the order letting the kitchen know whether the customers are Chinese or American so that we can accommodate them better." Make Chinese food 'fun' To maintain quality, the company brought a dozen chefs from Beijing. They debated passionately about what dishes should be on the menu, spending hours analyzing if a dish would be liked by both Chinese and American diners. "We decided that our rule was picking what Americans would like from our traditional Meizhou Dongpo dishes," Wang said. That way, they would not sacrifice authenticity in making dishes appealing to Americans. Meizhou's opening created a buzz in the Chinese community. Chinese students and immigrants were excited to see a Chinese brand they could relate to coming to California. It also got the attention of American foodies. "Popping fiery Szechuan dumplings on a sun-drenched patio at Westfield Century City is a new kind of mind blowing," Los Angeles magazine wrote. Many were attracted by its authenticity. "The times I've been by, at least half the patrons were Chinese, and I suspect they would not accept toned-down food," wrote a reviewer on Chow.com. The Peking duck seemed to have gotten the most favorable reviews. "I have a new respect for duck meat design, as the chef displayed such patience as he skillfully assorted each piece of meat and crispy skin," wrote Ariel Zhu in LA Splash magazine. "Americans like the duck the most," said Wang. "We are making it our signature." "For the 18 years the chef worked here, he barely ate at other restaurants,'' Jonathan Ho said.Ho is the latest owner of a decades-old Manhattan Chinatown establishment, Shanghai Cuisine, and co-founder of a new fusion chain: Carma. "For lots of Chinese chefs here in the US the problem is not their craft or experience, but their vision," said Ho. "Cooking is an art. A chef has to be aware of what other chefs are doing, while broadening his vision by listening to music, learning about art and more. Cooking is not a static action of turning the food in the wok." Ho brought Shanghai Cuisine's chef to RedFarm, a modern Chinese restaurant owned by Ed Schoenfeld, a pioneer in the movement to bring authentic regional Chinese dishes to New York in the 1970s. Ho served the waiters himself to show them how fine-dining restaurants treat their customers. "Now diners have very high standards for restaurants. Every detail in my restaurant represents my attitude toward food," he said. "Two ways we can redefine Chinese cuisine: First, stick with the most traditional and authentic Chinese food and make it better; second, innovation, play with it," Ho said. His theory matched the findings of the National Restaurant Association of America after surveying 1,300 professional chefs and members of the American Culinary Federation. On the 2015Menu Trends to Watch list, "going global" stands with five others, like local sourcing and gourmet kids' dishes. And under the big umbrella of American restaurants going global, "microtrending in this category is fusion cuisines, as well as authentic and regional, underscoring the breadth and depth of flavors being explored". After taking over Shanghai Cuisine, Ho co-founded Carma Asian Tapas in New York's West Village and Carma East in East Village. With Carma, Ho is aiming for "playful places". Carma East focuses on dim sum grouped under creative categories on the menu including For Carnivores Walking in Dreams and Comfort Food to Go with Other Comfort Food. There are dozens kinds of soup dumplings, crispy pies and Chinese tacos. The back wall is decorated with glowing LED letters: Let the Lights Dim Sum. On the Carma Asian Tapas' menu, there is the crispy wosun salad, made with lotus root and fresh shredded wosuna thick-stemmed lettuce most Americans have never tasted. The restaurant features a full bar and a beautiful courtyard looking like a small siheyuan, or historical Chinese quadrangle. On a Friday evening, the courtyard is packed. At one table, six ladies are having a girls' night out. In a combination of Cantonese and English, they spoke highly of the beef noodles. Affluence plays a role Separated by blooming begonias, at the table next to the women, are a senior couple enjoying xiaolongbao (steamed bun) and Peking duck tacos. House water is served in classic French restaurant glass bottles. Crystal ball string lights illuminate the yard when night falls, and the pathos plants stretch their short veins on the wall. "Chinese chefs are becoming much less provincial, much more worldly. They are seeing other kinds of foods. Now you see Chinese people adding all kinds of food to their repertoire. They are feeling the influence of other cultures," said Schoenfeld of RedFarm, who's known as "the walking encyclopedia of Chinese food" by eater.com. "Growing" is Schoenfeld's prediction of the future of Chinese cuisine, and he suggested two reasons for Chinese restaurants becoming increasingly upscale. First is the change in food culture in China.As the economy grows, and Chinese people are becoming more affluent, they care more about what they are eating, said Schoenfeld, and that will affect Chinese cuisine internationally. "People have money. They spend on food. So, there is excitement in China about restaurants and food-traditional Chinese cooking and modern Chinese cooking. I think we are going to see more and more of these (upscale Chinese eateries)," he said. There is a growing number of rising local chefs working with Chinese food. Jonathan Wu, a Chinese American from New York, is the chef and partner of Fung Tu, a restaurant on the Lower East Side of New York, featuring creative Chinese-American food and a thoughtful beverage program. By Chinese-American food, Wu doesn't mean sweet and sour chicken; he means food that he can relate to. "Things that were important to me in terms of the cuisine were originality and soulfulness," said Wu. "I would draw from food that I ate growing up, which were American-Chinese dishes that my mother and relatives made." Wu was exposed to traditional Chinese ingredients from early on.There is a tree in his grandparents' yard in New Jersey. "It's a Toona sinensis. In the spring, the leaves, when they first come out, are very tender. It has this special flavor: it's garlicky, earthy, bitter," said Wu. "It's very Chinese in its palate. My grandma would harvest the leaves, chop them up, and fold them into scrambled eggs." That's the inspiration for the dish "The Toon Cloud" at Fung Tu. With egg white-infused dashi (stock), kombu (kelp), ginger and garlic, he makes a floating island. The cloud of eggs is served in the broth, and he drapes toon leaves over the top to highlight its flavor. The man shot to death by an Eau Claire Police officer on Saturday first called 911 to report a man with a gun in the parking lot of a motel, police said Wednesday. Matthew C. Zank, 49, of Eau Claire, died after being shot by a 19-year veteran of the police force, Officer Kris ONeill. ONeill went to the Scottish Inn and Suites at 1135 W. MacArthur Ave. after Zank, who was renting a room at the motel, reported a man was pointing a gun at passing vehicles and people in the immediate area. ONeill found Zank in the parking lot, and Zank had a gun. Several witnesses stated Zank was pointing the gun at Officer ONeill, Eau Claire Police said. (The officer) ordered Zank to drop the weapon numerous times. Zank failed to comply, and Officer ONeill discharged his service weapon. Officers arriving at the scene began life-saving efforts on Zank, who was pronounced dead at the scene. It was not known at the time that Zank was the original caller to 911. ONeill has been placed on an administrative assignment while an investigation of the shooting is conducted. The La Crosse Police Department will conduct the investigation, because Wisconsin state statutes require investigations of this nature to be completed by an outside law enforcement agency. The Eau Claire County Sheriffs Office, Eau Claire Fire Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol assisted the police department during the incident. (Photo : Getty Images) A view of the Luohuang Power Plant on February 21, 2008 in Chongqing Municipality, China. Advertisement China's power consumption is expected to increase by 3 percent this year, according to the China Electricity Council as cited by state-backed Xinhua News agency. The growth marks a slow down from last year, when China's power use jumped 5 percent year on year to 5.9 trillion kilowatt hours. Power consumption is used to gauge economic activities in the country. Thus, this confirms China's ongoing restructuring and growth momentum. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement China also saw its economy expand to 6.7 percent in 2016, as it starts to pivot from an export-reliant economy to a service-oriented one. Last year, China reported progress on its energy efficiency and clean energy levels, with the amount of energy used per unit of GDP dropping to 5 percent. Clean energy such as hydropower, natural gas, and wind power account for 19.5 percent of China's total energy consumption in 2016, up from 17.9 percent from 2015. Although the country still sourced over 60 percent of its power from coal, it aims to slash down its dependency to 55 percent by the end of the decade. It also plans to allocate $361 billion in clean energy by 2020, as it targets to shift 20 percent of its power source from non-fossil fuels by 2030. Meanwhile, China's wind power capacity also grew last year. It had 149 million kilowatts of installed wind power capacity by the end of 2016, with 19.3 million kilowatts added last year the National Energy Administration reported. The country's wind power facilities generated 241 billion kilowatt hours of electricity last year, accounting to 4 percent of China's total electricity production, up from the 3.3 percent in 2015. However, it still did not meet its true potential. An estimated 50 billion kilowatt hours of wind power has been wasted, up from the 33.9 billion kilowatt hours in 2015, because of the distribution of wind resources and grid system issues. Advertisement TagsChina Power Consumption, renewable resources, CLEAN ENERGY, wind power, coal consumption (Photo : Getty Images. ) The missile was tested at the Taiyuan Space Launch Centre in Central China, from where it flew into the western Chinese desert after being fired. Advertisement Last month, China tested a long-range missile that is capable of carrying 10 warheads, according to local media outlets. These reports have come at a time when speculations are rife that China is developing air-to-air long range missile to take down the high-value targets. The Chinese military tested the DF-5C missile in January, using 10 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV). The exact date of the testing is, however, not known. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The missile was tested at the Taiyuan Space Launch Centre in Central China, from where it flew into the western Chinese desert after being fired, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The DF-5C missile can reportedly travel for between 7,500 to 9,300 miles and is expected to replace the DF-41 ICBM, which was test fired in April last year. Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross said that the missile testing was closely monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies, according to the Washington Free Beacon. "The [Defense Department] routinely monitors Chinese military developments and accounts for PLA capabilities in our defense plans," Ross said. The new chief of the U.S. Strategic Command, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, also expressed concern over China's increasing nuclear weapons. He reportedly told the Senate that even though China professes a "no first use" doctrine, it is relentlessly continuing to work on its long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear war heads. China's missile program is largely a secretive affair, with the Chinese government offering no details about its missile expansion program. Beijing, however, surprised everyone in 2015 when it publicly demonstrated its missiles for the first time during a military parade. According to a rough estimate, China currently has 250 warheads in its nuclear arsenal, with analysts expecting them to increase further in the coming years. Advertisement TagsChina Missile Testing, China Long Range Missile, china missile, china (Photo : Getty Images) Aside from Beijing, five more Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia have competing claims in the region. Advertisement The United States remains the No.1 military threat to China followed by North Korea, according to a report released by China's armed forces, the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The report echoes the view of Chinese people in a poll conducted late last year that the US is the "top threat" facing Beijing. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Most of the 3,154 respondents in the survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Center believe that the US has been trying to prevent China from becoming an equal power. No.2 Threat The PLA report, written by PLA military strategists, said that despite the current friendly ties between Beijing and Pyongyang, the Asian superpower still considers the North in a military point of view as the No.2 threat to China with its nuclear development program. Kyodo News, which had access to the report, said on Monday that the PLA document would form the guidelines of its annual military wartime exercises which include simulation of combat against hypothetical enemies. The strategists said that of the "five potential threats" that the Chinese military is facing, the US threat tops the list followed by North Korea and Japan. North Korea was placed second on China's list of threats due to Pyongyang's series of missile and nuclear tests in the Korean Peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently warned the US that the next missile it would launch would be targeted at the US mainland. Korean Peninsula The PLA report warned that if a war breaks out again in the Korean Peninsula, China would be facing a "huge threat" to large parts of its territories. The report cited Japan as the third threat, noting the longtime spat between the two countries over ownership of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The report warned that a military confrontation could occur between China and Japan with their respective military assets like ships and aircraft continuing to patrol the East China Sea. The report pointed to the disputed South China Sea as the fourth on the list of threats China is currently facing. Aside from Beijing, five more Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia have competing claims in the region. Advertisement TagsPeople's Liberation Army report, South China Sea, United States, North Korea, nuclear development program, missile launches, Korean peninsula, Senkaku Islands, Japan, East China Sea, Kim Jong Un, Military exercises, china This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below: Password: Superintendent Scott Johnson wants to sort out the financial details to see how Gov. Scott Walkers proposals to help rural schools would give a boost to the New Auburn School District. Lake Holcombe School District Superintendent Jeff Mastin is hopeful the governors plan will help but says it could amount to shuffling money around. Walker is expected to talk more about his plan in a visit Thursday afternoon to the Stanley-Boyd Schools. He was scheduled to visit there last week but cancelled when he became ill. The biggest priority for public schools this year, including those in rural areas, is an overall aid increase and lifting of revenue limits to allow the money to be spent in the classroom, rather than diverted to property tax cuts. Walker on Wednesday reiterated his promise to significantly increase K-12 funding in his budget next week. He provided no details. But his rural schools plan, released Wednesday at schools in Wauzeka, Hilbert and Crandon, generally won praise. I think its a step in the right direction, said Kim Kaukl, executive director of the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance, which represents about 144 schools. Walkers plan calls for expanding and increasing a program that funnels money to the states lowest enrollment districts and putting more money toward the high cost of transporting students long distances. It also takes steps to stem teacher shortages and increase access to high-speed internet. These are things all school districts in the state need, Mastin said of the governors plan. But Mastin said he understands that under the governors proposal aid will not increase if a school district has reached its revenue limit, which most Wisconsin school districts have reached. Its basically like having six pieces of pie, he said. Youre not getting a seventh piece of pie. Lake Holcombe residents have twice passed referendums to exceed state revenue limits to keep the school district operating. Walkers plan sounds good in theory but doesnt address the states school funding formula, he said. We just hope our lawmakers continue looking at how schools are funded, he said. Johnson is interested in Walkers proposal to double state money into whats called Fab Labs, part of the Fabrication Laboratories Grant Program that helps districts buy equipment in fabrication labs. He said a Fab Lab can take what is a shop room and fill it with cutting edge equipment, such as 3D printers. Its an opportunity to turn the kids on to the state-of-the-art equipment thats out there, he said. Some districts with Fab Labs make them available to the public to use after school hours, creating a partnership between school districts and communities. Overall, Johnson is optimistic about the governors plan but is taking a wait-and-see approach with it. Until you see the details of everything, Ive learned over the years not to get too excited, he said. Walker said the proposal was fashioned to address unique challenges faced by students in rural districts. Providing additional money for schools is a welcome change from previous budgets, said Dan Rossmiller, lobbyist for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. State Superintendent Tony Evers also applauded the proposal, but he renewed his call for the Legislature to consider his plan to equalize funding differences between rural and urban schools. He said thats the only way to stem the tide of teachers leaving rural schools for higher salaries in more urban areas. Walkers plan addresses the needs of rural schools, said John Forester, director of the School Administrators Alliance that represents about 3,000 principals, superintendents and other administrators. Its good stuff, he said. Hes definitely giving rural schools some of what they need. However, Forester and Kaukl said the top priority remains the need for a $200 per-student spending increase. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling reacted to his rural schools plan by saying Walker needs to restore $1 billion in state aid cut since 2011. She did not comment on the specifics of his proposal. Republican Rep. John Nygren, co-chair of the Legislatures budget-writing committee, said he was hopeful Walker would be including even more investments for public schools in his budget. Walkers rural schools plan would: Increase sparsity aid by $20 million. That aid goes to districts with fewer than 745 students and a population density of less than 10 students per square mile. Walker said his budget will spend $12.3 million more on sparsity aid than was requested by the state Department of Public Instruction. Create a new $100-per-student tier of sparsity aid for districts with between 746 and 1,000 students. Provide 100 percent reimbursement, with a $10.4 million funding increase, for transportation costs for schools with fewer than 50 students per square mile and transportation costs that are 150 percent of the state average. Last year, the reimbursement rate was about 60 percent. Increase by $22.5 million the money available through Technology for Educational Achievement grants. The grants can currently be used to pay for training for teachers to use educational technology. Walker is also proposing allowing districts to apply for grants to pay for making internet hot spots available on buses and for students to take home. Increase grants for broadband internet expansion by $13 million. Require the University of Wisconsins flex option program to create a program to train teachers aides and other paraprofessionals already working in schools to become full-time teachers. This proposal is designed to help rural schools struggling with teacher shortages. The flex option program allows students to earn college credits by demonstrating real-life knowledge through online tests. President Trump has nominated conservative federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court seat which has been vacant since the passing of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The nomination announcement came on Tuesday night, during which Trump said, Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support. Standing here in a house of history, and acutely aware of my own imperfections, I pledge that if I am confirmed I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country, Gorsuch said on Tuesday. The 49-year-old Gorsuch, a conservative judge who currently sits on the federal appeals court in Denver, is the youngest judge in 25 years to receive a Supreme Court nomination. He was praised highly by Republican lawmakers following the nomination, called a phenomenal nominee by House Speaker Paul Ryan, and described as the kind of person that the founders envisioned sitting on the Supreme Court by Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska to The Guardian. Gorsuch has a strong educational and legal background. He earned his bachelors from Columbia University and his law degree from Harvard, and went on to receive his doctoral degree as a Marshall scholar at Oxford University. Gorsuch also clerked for two Supreme Court justices, including Bryan White and Anthony Kennedy, and has worked for a corporate law firm in Washington, D.C. Gorsuchs work during his legal career is noted for his clear and memorable writing and interpretation of the Constitution according to the time it was written traits which Scalia had been known for during his career. Theres just an awful lot of Scalia-ness in Gorsuchs views and Gorsuchs opinions, John Malcolm, the director of the Heritage Foundations Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, was quoted as saying by USA Today. He thinks very, very deeply about the fundamental tenets of our democracy. Those are not quaint, fuzzy concepts to him. Gorsuch is also known for his defense of religious freedom, as he sided with several religious organizations and businesses in significant cases such as the Hobby Lobby case and the case involving Little Sisters of the Poor, in which the plaintiffs sought an exemption from the Affordable Care Acts contraception mandate. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have expressed disapproval, saying that Gorsuch would be filling in a stolen seat if confirmed. Prior to Trumps election, former President Barack Obama had nominated Merrick Garland to fill the Scalias seat, who Republican lawmakers refused to confirm. This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court, Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon was quoted as saying by The Guardian. Gorsuch will need to receive 60 votes from the Senate to be confirmed, which means he will need at least eight of the Democrats votes, under the assumption that he receives all 52 Republican votes. As this process now moves to the Senate, I look forward with speaking with members from both sides of the aisle, to answering their questions and to hearing their concerns, Gorsuch said Tuesday. I consider United States Senate the greatest deliberative body in the world, and I respect the important role the Constitution affords it in the confirmation of our judges. A few years ago, I saw my moms fear of refugees dissolve. While visiting me and my family in the Midwest, she sat in as I taught an English literacy class for East African refugee women, mostly from Somalia and Oromia. We were learning the language to describe our families, and we all went around the room saying how many children we had (the numbers were high5, 8, 4because Muslims view children as a gift from God). When I introduced my mother, my class started probing. They asked how many children she had. Three daughters, she said, explaining that I was the middle child. No sons? The women seemed a little sad for her. My mother told them that she did, in fact, have a son, but that he had died in childhood as a result of a car accident. The women immediately expressed grief for hera few even got up to hug my mom. Then, despite various cultural and language barriers, one by one the women in my class shared how they too, had lost children, through sickness, famine, and war. One woman shared how six of her children died in a refugee camp. This woman, and every other person there had been touched by profound loss. Our English class was transformed into something else. As the women hugged my mom and enfolded her into their circle of grief and resilience, she stopped seeing them as refugees. To her, they were grieving mothers, just like herself. A few days ago I sent a brief text message to Maryan, a Somali, Muslim, neighbor, and friend. I told her I was thankful for her, I was sad about everything happening in the news, and I wanted her to know she was always welcome. Later, the phone rang: I havent had time to listen to the news, she said. Whats going on? ... 1 I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up. President Donald Trump named Neil Gorsuch, a conservative, Ivy League-educated federal judge known for his way with words and defenses of religious freedom, as his Supreme Court nominee during a live broadcast Tuesday night. A favorite pick among Christian conservatives, Gorsuch fulfills Trumps promise to select a judge that evangelicals, Christians will love and who also stands a solid chance of scoring Senate approval. (Gorsuchs federal appointment by President George W. Bush in 2006 was uncontroversial.) Judge Gorsuchs combination of intellectual horsepower and work ethic has enabled him to excel academically at the worlds best universities, become a first-rate lawyer and judge, and develop remarkable verbal abilities, said Robert Pushaw, a constitutional law expert and professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. An Episcopalian, Gorsuch accepted what he called a most solemn assignment, remarking I am so ... 1 Frederick Douglass might be called the Barack Obama of the early 19th centurya figure who revolutionized expectations of black people simply by being himself. A brilliant writer, thinker, and orator, Douglass repeatedly confounded both friends and critics. They found it hard to believe a self-taught former slave could engage as an equal with the intellectual leaders of his day. Douglass was born as a slave in rural Maryland in about 1817, though the date of his birth went unrecorded. He never knew his father, and his mother died when he was a boy. Early on, according to his own recollections, Douglass felt the pain of being enslaved for life and longed for freedom. Sent to Baltimore by his master, he managed to teach himself to read and write while earning money for his master as a laborer on the docks. In 1838, probably just out of his teens, he escaped to the North. Arriving in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Douglass joined the local anti-slavery association, was eventually "discovered" as an eloquent abolitionist, and began to make speeches throughout the North. Douglass's first autobiography, published in 1845, was Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. It was so well written many critics doubted that he had written it himself. In 1847 he moved to Rochester, New York, to start his own newspaper, The North Star. Through his writings and lectures he became a major contributor to the abolitionist movement. Douglass was also one of the first to support the woman's rights movement, attending and speaking at its first convention in Seneca Falls, New York. As the following excerpts from his writings show, Christianity and Christian ethics shaped Douglass's thinkingboth ... Created Equal: 'Gorsuch Requires Extreme Vetting' COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Today, President Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the US Supreme Court left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Here is some of what we know about Gorsuch on life issues: Gorsuch forcefully dissented from a case in which the Tenth Circuit sided with Planned Parenthood and refused to allow the Governor of Utah to defund the abortion business in wake of videos showing its involvement in the selling of baby body parts. Gorsuch wrote a book called "The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia." He argues in the book that "human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable" and that "the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong." Created Equal's comment: "President Reagan gave us Justice Kennedy. George H.W. Bush gave us Justice Souter. George W. Bush gave us Justice Roberts. Gorsuch requires extreme vetting. We can't get this one wrong. We have no margin of error. Getting it wrong condemns millions of preborn children to death. This time around, we will trust but verify." -- Mark Harrington, National Director, Created Equal World Congress of Families XI, The Budapest Family Summit, to be Held in Hungary, May 24-28, 2017 Hungarian Government Delegation to Attend Feb. 2nd National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC Contact: Larry Jacobs, Managing Director, World Congress of Families, 815-997-7106, ljacobs@profam.org WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- The World Congress of Families (WCF) is proud to announce that World Congress of Families XI will take place in Budapest, Hungary, May 24-28, 2017. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most family-friendly countries in Europe. WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs observed: "World Congress of Families is excited about our Budapest Congress and all of the exciting events during the five days of the Budapest Family Summit. Budapest is a beautiful, historic city and Hungary has demonstrated its strategic leadership as an advocate for the natural family in Europe. We believe that this Congress will strengthen our existing international network and help launch a new global pro-family alliance of countries dedicated to defending marriage, the family and the sanctity of human life." The local organizing committee of WCF XI is led by Mrs. Katalin Novak, Hungary's Secretary of State for Youth, Family and International Affairs under the government's Ministry of Human Capacities headed by Hungarian Cabinet Minister, Zoltan Balog. As a further demonstration of Hungary's commitment to family and faith, Minister Balog was part of a government delegation from Hungary that included embassy officials and key members of the Hungarian Parliament that are attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. The Theme of World Congress of Families XI, Budapest Family Summit, is: Building Family-Friendly Nations: Making Families Strong Again. Most sessions will take place at the Budapest Congress Center with 3,000 delegates and participants expected. Special sessions at WCF XI will include a Global Forum for Youth and Emerging Leaders, A Global Forum for Business Leaders, and a Global Forum for Political Leaders to be held at the Hungarian Parliament. The WCF XI Budapest Family Summit will include the Budapest Demographic Forum (May 25), the WCF Budapest Congress (May 26-27), a One of Us Pro-Life Conference (May 27), and will conclude on Sunday, May 28th with a World Congress of Families "Viva Familia" Family Festival and Parade starting at Lajos Kossuth Square. Hungarian high ranking leaders, politicians, WCF Founder Allan Carlson and WCF President Brian Brown are expected to address the thousands of pro-family advocates gathered in the streets of Budapest to celebrate the natural family. The festival will be led by WCF, Hungarian state representatives, representatives of public organizations, families, children, and young people in traditional folk costumes. The assemblage will march with flags, signs and balloons to the Basilica where participants will receive blessings and release the balloons with a cry of "Viva Familia!" Hungary's leadership in defense of family, life, and Christianity is well known in Europe. The adoption of key provisions in the Hungarian Constitution in 2011 defining marriage between a man and a woman and protecting human life from conception to natural death have made the Orban government the hero of pro-family and pro-life leaders from all over the world. Hungary's leadership is fully committed to family friendly governance and has recently launched a new national motto, "Hungary, the Family Friendly Country." The first World Congress of Families was held in Prague in 1997, two years after WCF was founded by Dr. Allan Carlson following a trip to Moscow, Russia. Subsequent Congresses have been held in Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw (2007), Amsterdam (2009), Madrid (2012), Sydney (2013), Salt Lake City (2015) and Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia (2016). Each Congress is unique, with its own theme to celebrate the Natural Family and discuss challenges facing families today, at the national, regional and international levels. WCF delegates affirm the Natural Family as the fundamental and sustainable unit of society and affirm the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), including Article 16, which states that "the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state." WCF also recognizes the sanctity and dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. Delegates at WCF include a wide range of leaders, activists, scholars, researchers, clergy, politicians, business executives, professionals, parents, and youth. The World Congress of Families maintains a network of leaders from more than 80 countries around the world who help inspire and coordinate the international pro-family movement. World Congress of Families is a project of the International Organization for the Family (IOF) which unites and equips leaders worldwide to promote the natural family. IOF has recently launched the Cape Town Declaration, where supporters of marriage and family are invited to stand up and sign this Universal Declaration for the Family and Marriage: opusf.co/2hwBhRg. More information is available at www.profam.org and www.worldcongress.org. home US Aid groups are split on Trump's policy to prioritize Christian refugees One of the largest persecution watchdog groups has warned that President Donald Trump's executive order that would give preference to Christian refugees could worsen religious persecution. Another aid group urged the people to understand the policy before jumping to conclusions. David Curry, president of Open Doors USA, commended Trump for recognizing the rise of persecution against Christians. However, he warned that choosing the refugees that would be allowed to enter the U.S. based on their religion could lead to more religious persecution. "Expediting refugee entry for those intentionally targeted by ISIS, like the Yazidis and Christians and some Muslim groups, seems appropriate. However, cherry-picking one religion over another only exacerbates the already severe worldwide trend of religious persecution," said Curry, who is recommending a "needs-based approach" that would treat refugees from all faiths equally. Trump has stated that Christians have been horribly "treated" and noted that the temporary visa ban on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen is meant to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the U.S. Pastor Jalil Dawood, the president of World Refugee Care (WRC), contended that Trump's policy is not a "Muslim ban" and noted that it only targets refugees from seven countries, which were also designated for additional scrutiny under President Barack Obama's visa waiver program last year. Dawood, who fled to the U.S. from Iraq as a refugee during the war with Iran in 1982, said that while many Muslims are peaceful and just want to live like other people, there are some who have an agenda that are not so peaceful. "I lived through persecution a Iraq, and I do not want to see my kids or others face it. It's a horrible ordeal!" Dawood told The Christian Post. In a statement posted on the WRC website, Dawood stated that the Trump's new immigration policy is "an aggressive move," but he also pointed out that Christians and Yazidis made up less than one percent of the refugees coming from Syria in 2016. "So, President Obama's policies (perhaps inadvertently) favored Muslim refugees from Syria over and above Christian refugees a by a long shot," he remarked. Dawood said that he supports the U.S. and its right to defend itself, and he vowed that WRC would keep providing aid to refugee families no matter what happens during and after the temporary ban. home World Czech aid worker, two Sudanese Christians receive prison sentences in Sudan A Czech aid worker, a Sudanese pastor and a Christian from Darfur received lengthy prison sentences in Sudan on charges related to espionage. Petr Jasek, a 52-year-old Czech aid worker, was sentenced on Sunday to 23-and-a-half years' imprisonment after he was pronounced guilty of spying and various other charges. The court also fined him 100,000 Sudanese pounds (about $15,000) for engaging in NGO work without a permit, World Watch Monitor reported. Rev. Hassan Taour and Darfuri graduate Abdulmonem Abdumawla each received sentences of 12 years' imprisonment for aiding Jasek in the espionage, causing hatred among communities and spreading false information. The defense attorneys have expressed intentions to file an appeal within the next two weeks. The case against the three men stemmed from their attempts to help a Sudanese student named Ali Omer, who was injured during a protest in 2013. Jasek was arrested in December 2015 as he was leaving Sudan. The authorities found a receipt on Jasek, detailing his $5,000 contribution to the student. The aid worker explained that it was for Omer's medical cost, but the prosecution accused him of donating the money to rebel groups based in the southern regions of South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur. Kuwa Shamal, another pastor who was arrested in connection to the case of the three men, was acquitted of charges ranging from spying to inciting hatred against the government on Jan. 2. Officials from the Czech Republic condemned the ruling and vowed to secure Jasek's release from prison. Foreign Minister LubomAr ZaorAlek was expected to travel to Sudan's capital of Khartoum to discuss the release of Jasek with his Sudanese counterpart, according to BosNewsLife. Joel Edwards, the advocacy director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said that the sentences received by the three men were excessive and unjustified, given the lack of evidence against them. "Mr. Jasek, Rev. Abduraheem and Mr. Abdumawla are not spies; they were simply driven by compassion to source finance for the medical treatment of a man whose injuries are so severe that he requires ongoing medical care," Edwards said in a press statement, as reported by Morning Star News. "We call for the annulment of the verdict and the immediate release of these three men," he added. home US Donald Trump nominates conservative judge Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed "very serious doubts" about the nominee. Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Gorsuch while conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like "outstanding," "impressive" and a "home run." Gorsuch, the son of a former Reagan administration official, is the youngest nominee to the nation's highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. He is a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W. Bush in 2006. Announcing the selection to a nighttime crowd in the White House East Room flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuch's resume is "as good as it gets." Trump, who took office on Jan. 20 and has sparked numerous controversies, said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Trump told an audience that included Scalia's widow. "Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent," Trump added. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights and writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. "I respect ... the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws," Gorsuch said, as Trump looked on. "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official said a screening committee helped in the selection process that included Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Don McGahn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and top strategist Steve Bannon. Gorsuch became the youngest U.S. Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. Gorsuch was in the same 1991 graduating class from Harvard Law School as Obama. The selection of Gorsuch, who was on a list of about 20 judges suggested by conservative legal activists, unified Republicans in a way not seen since Trump's Nov. 8 election victory, with even critics within the party such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham singing the nominee's praises. Trump made his choice between two U.S. appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. Democrats signaled it may not be easy this time. "Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court," Schumer said. Trump got the opportunity to name Scalia's replacement only because the Republican-led Senate, in an action with little precedent in U.S. history, refused to consider Obama's nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. "This is the first time in American history that one party has blockaded a nominee for almost a year in order to deliver a seat to a president of their own party. If this tactic is rewarded rather than resisted, it will set a dangerous new precedent in American governance," Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said. McConnell said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate would show Gorsuch "fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of (Democratic) Presidents (Bill) Clinton and Obama." A rally outside the Supreme Court building staged by liberal groups drew hundreds of demonstrators against Gorsuch. Michael Keegan, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, described Gorsuch as an "ideological warrior who puts his own right-wing politics above the Constitution." MOTHER SERVED IN REAGAN ADMINISTRATION Gorsuch is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan's administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA's use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trump's selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on Feb. 13, 2016. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick under current rules. Trump said last week he would favor Senate Republicans eliminating the procedural move that Democrats have promised, called a filibuster, for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. Such a change has been dubbed the "nuclear option." Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the Nov. 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasizing the importance of the pick during the campaign. If confirmed, Gorsuch would expand the court's conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy Samuel Alito and Thomas. Kennedy long has been considered the court's pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court's restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia's replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch boasts Ivy League credentials: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bush's Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many U.S. conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the court's longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon's presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the U.S. Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Trump may get to make additional appointments. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him "a faker," is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. home World Hungary seeks to become hub for groups supporting persecuted Christians The Hungarian government has stated that it wants the country to become a "hub and supporter" of groups that support Christians who are being persecuted for their faith. The announcement was made during an international conference in Hungary's capital of Budapest, where leading advocacy groups gathered to discuss the persecution of Christians across the world. "More Christians are being persecuted today throughout the world than during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero," said Bence RAtvAri, state secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources, according to BosNewsLife. According to advocacy group Open Doors, about 100 million Christians around the world experience persecution, and many believers have been killed, detained, discriminated against or abused. Hungary was the first country in the world to set up a government office that aims to support persecuted Christians in the Middle East and other troubled regions, Vatican Radio reported. "When I travelled through Iraq I also met with numerous church leaders. Everybody asks that we don't help the Iraqis and the persecuted get into Europe. Instead we should help locals start up their lives again," said RAtvAri, whose ministry supervises the office. However, some advocacy groups have criticized the approach and said that Hungary should also take in Christian refugees, including former Muslims, who may be detained or killed if they return to their home countries. Although the new government department would be focused on providing aid to Christians in their home countries, there are ongoing talks about Hungary accepting Christian refugees. Hungary was among the first European Union countries to erect razor wire fences with the aim of stopping the influx of migrants who are fleeing war and poverty. Ignatius Ephrem Joseph III Younan, the leader of Syria's Catholic Church, urged Hungary to pressure the European Union and the United Nations to end the war in his home country. "I still hope that the Western countries, that means the Western politicians, would accept to stop financing and arming so-called because there would be otherwise no end to the sectarian war," he said. The government urged international advocacy groups to develop an action plan to support Christians who are being persecuted for their faith. Christians in Hungary also faced persecution for decades until the collapse of Communism in 1989. home World Iraqi priest says Christians unlikely to return to Mosul even after the defeat of ISIS An Iraqi priest who recently visited Mosul has stated that Christian residents are unlikely to return even if the Islamic State is completely driven out of the city. The eastern part of Mosul was recently liberated from ISIS, but Fr. Emanuel Youkhana, a priest or archimandrite of the Assyrian Church of the East, doubts that Christians would want to return to the city. "I don't see a future for Christians in Mosul," said Youkhana, who runs Christian Aid Program Northern Iraq, which supports displaced Iraqis around the city of Dohuk. The priest entered the city with a military convoy on Jan. 27, the same day when Iraqi officials raised the national flag over the eastern part of the city. Upon his arrival, Youkhana visited two heavily damaged churches and talked with the residents and soldiers. He noted that ISIS had converted the churches into warehouses. "They used the churches to store what they looted from Christian and Yezidi villages, but as the end neared they sold the buildings to local contractors, who started tearing down the walls to reuse the steel inside," said Youkhana, as reported by Catholic News Service. "If the army hadn't entered for another couple of weeks, the buildings might have been completely destroyed," he continued. One building, which belongs to the Syriac Orthodox Church, had been painted with an Islamist slogan by ISIS. A military commander offered to paint over the graffiti but Youkhana said that he had no authority as it was not his church. He added that leaving the slogan would preserve the evidence of what ISIS did to the city. Youkhana, who attended high school in Mosul, took pictures of several houses that once belonged to Christians but had been given or sold to Muslims by ISIS. Although he doubts that Christians would return to the city, he believes that they can recover the value of their properties. "Christians aren't going to come back to stay. The churches I saw were not destroyed with bombs, but by the everyday business operations of the community. How can Christians return to that environment?" the priest remarked. Meanwhile, a leading researcher from London has warned that "there is no such thing as a post-IS world." Charlie Winter, senior research fellow at the International Centre for Radicalisation Studies at King's College, said that ideological measures must be taken after achieving military victory to address ongoing levels of sympathy for ISIS and its supremacist aims. He said that the Shia-led Iraqi Government must show that they care about the people who lived under ISIS occupation and rebuild what was lost in order to convince the non-Muslim communities to return to the city. home US New documentary aims to present argument for historical accuracy of Genesis A soon-to-be-released film is aiming to provide visual evidence and scientific arguments for the Creation and the Flood as recorded in the book of Genesis. The film "Is Genesis History?" is scheduled to be shown in hundreds of movie theaters across the U.S. in a one-night showing on Feb. 23. The documentary-style film, produced by Compass Cinema, features interviews with Christian scientists such as astronomer Danny Faulkner, microbiologist Kevin Anderson, geologist Andrew Snelling and others. The film's host, Del Tackett, also guides the viewers through more than a dozen locations and landmarks both contrasting views of creation and evolution. Some of the locations featured in the film include Grand Canyon National Park, Pockett Wilderness, Coral World Ocean Park, Bountiful Blessings Farm, Discovery Park of America, Chino Valley and Sedona, Arizona. It delves into topics such as the Big Bang, radiocarbon dating, transitional forms, dinosaurs, starlight, coal formation, rock layers and genealogies. According to the film's official website, the documentary will "challenge and change the way you see the world." Thomas Purifoy, Jr., the producer of the documentary, says that it will be useful to people of all ages. He revealed that he was inspired to create the film after he had a conversation about creation and evolution with his daughter. He narrated that he had a hard time explaining things to his daughter, so he and Tackett sought out the scientists to help explain the world as recorded in the book of Genesis. Purifoy said that biblical authority is the main focus of the film, and he hopes that people who watch it would be reminded of the reliability and the accuracy of Genesis. He noted that while science is useful, he contended that it is not the ultimate authority. "Every field of science has changed many times through history, and will continue to do so. History, on the other hand, is unchanging. And if the Bible is anything, it's a book of history," Purifoy told Christian News. "Whether it reports the creation of the world, the fall of man, the coronation of King David, or the birth of Jesus, it is just recounting real events that happened in a real place at a real time," he added. The film has already received the endorsements of Answers in Genesis and the Associates for Biblical Research. home US Republican legislator introduces federal 'Sanctity of Human Life Act' in U.S. Congress A Republican representative from Georgia has introduced a federal bill in the U.S. Congress declaring that life begins at conception. Rep. Jody Hice presented House Resolution 586, also known as the "Sanctity of Human Life Act," just days before the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Christian News reported. Hice, a former pastor of Bethlehem First Baptist Church and The Summit Church, said in a statement last week that the resolution recognizes the inalienable right to life outlined in the Declaration of Independence. "Today, with the right to life under attack, now more than ever before, we must stand up as advocates for the unborn. Our culture must affirm the value of the weak and vulnerable in our society, beginning with our children," said Hice. "With that in mind, I introduced the Sanctity of Human Life Act, which rightly defines life as beginning at conception." he continued. The legislation also declares that Congress and each state has the right "to protect the lives of all human beings residing in its respective jurisdictions." If passed, the legislation could make the "day after pill" as well as abortion illegal, according to Outlook Ohio. Others have feared that the resolution would also affect the procedure known as in vitro fertilization (IVF). Critics were concerned that IVF would be criminalized if embryos created in a lab do not turn into successful pregnancies. However, North Carolina congressman Robert Pittenger, who is co-sponsoring the legislation, gave his assurance that it would not affect IVF, as it is only a declaration, not a regulatory bill. "It's certainly not a legislative bill. It just says that life begins at inception," he told Eyewitness News. Other co-sponsors of the resolution include Reps. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and Blake Farenthold (R-Texas). The bill has not been changed or voted on since it was introduced in Washington two weeks ago. Similar measures have been proposed before, but opponents fear the bill has a greater chance of being signed into law with Republicans in control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate and the White House. home US Texas lawmaker receives death threats after introducing bill that will criminalize abortion A Texas lawmaker was placed under state protection after he received death threats following his filing of a bill that would criminalize abortion in the state. The Texas Department of Public Safety is providing the security for Rep. Tony Tinderholt and his family after the legislator received multiple death threats. Tinderholt's political consultant, Luke Macias, has revealed that the Arlington Police and the Tarrant County Sherrif's Office were also called in due to the number of threats and that an investigation is underway. "Representative Tinderholt and his family have received multiple death threats leading to his family being placed under DPS protection on multiple occasions," Micah Cavanaugh, Tinderholt's chief of staff, said in a statement, according to the Texas Tribune. "Specifics to the threats cannot be discussed due to an ongoing investigation, and we do not intend to speak on behalf of law enforcement," he added. The threats began after Tinderholt introduced the Abolition of Abortion in Texas Act on Jan. 11, according to Macias. The bill seeks to amend the state code to declare that a child's life begins at "the moment of fertilization." The legislation would allow abortion practitioners and women who acquire abortions to be charged with murder. The bill carries an exception for cases when the mother's life is in jeopardy. "I'm pretty passionate about the pro-life movement," Tinderholt said when he filed the bill. "When you read and see how abortions are performed, and how they end the life of an innocent child, it amazes me that we allow that." he added. Abortion advocates described the bill as the "most extreme measure" in the state legislature this year. Tinderholt said that the measure was created in response to the language in the Texas Republican Party platform, which called for a complete abolition of abortion in the state. Macias said that while Tinderholt and his wife received death threats over the issue, there was also positive feedback from the pro-life community, Christian News reported. "Local law enforcement have been very protective of him and his family," Macias remarked. "The truth is that he has received a tremendous amount of feedbackaboth positive and negativeaon the subject of his legislation," he added. Registration for Catholic Writers Conference Online Opens INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Feb. 1, 2017 / Attendees must register by Feb 10 at The conference will be held using webinar software, making the experience more personal and immediate. "Last year, we had amazing success with presentations in webinar format. It took the learning to a new level," said organizer Karina Fabian. Fabian said the workshops offer terrific opportunities to ask in-depth questions and get feedback from knowledgeable instructors. This year's sessions include a wide range of talents, including speakers like Lisa Mladinich, host of the TV talk show WOMAN; Lisa Hendey, author and founder of Pitch sessions give authors with finished books a chance to personally interest a publisher. Pitch sessions include well known Catholic publishers like Our Sunday Visitor and Ave Maria, and secular presses like Liberty Island and Vinspire. "Every year, we hear back from an author who finished a book, started a project, or got a publishing contract thanks to the Catholic Writers' Conference Online. Plus people make contacts and good friends. It's a terrific opportunity, especially for those who can't afford to attend a live conference," Fabian said. This year's conference is $40; $30 for members of the Catholic Writers' Guild. To register or for more information, go to Graphics, interviews and further information at Share Tweet Contact: Karina Fabian, Catholic Writers' Guild , 317-755-2693INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Feb. 1, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- The Catholic Writers' Guild will hold its annual online conference for writers Feb. 17-19, 2017. This faith-focused authors conference offers presentations covering all aspects of writing from the faith aspects of your calling as a writer to publishing and marketing your books. There will also be online pitch sessions with noted Catholic publishers and secular publishers.Attendees must register by Feb 10 at https://catholicwritersguild.org/catholic-writers-conference-online-admission-non-members The conference will be held using webinar software, making the experience more personal and immediate."Last year, we had amazing success with presentations in webinar format. It took the learning to a new level," said organizer Karina Fabian. Fabian said the workshops offer terrific opportunities to ask in-depth questions and get feedback from knowledgeable instructors.This year's sessions include a wide range of talents, including speakers like Lisa Mladinich, host of the TV talk show WOMAN; Lisa Hendey, author and founder of CatholicMom.com , horror author Karen Ullo, and attorney Antony Kolenc. In addition, there are practical workshops on indie publishing, Goodreads, characterization and more.Pitch sessions give authors with finished books a chance to personally interest a publisher. Pitch sessions include well known Catholic publishers like Our Sunday Visitor and Ave Maria, and secular presses like Liberty Island and Vinspire."Every year, we hear back from an author who finished a book, started a project, or got a publishing contract thanks to the Catholic Writers' Conference Online. Plus people make contacts and good friends. It's a terrific opportunity, especially for those who can't afford to attend a live conference," Fabian said.This year's conference is $40; $30 for members of the Catholic Writers' Guild. To register or for more information, go to catholicwritersguild.org/online-conference Graphics, interviews and further information at catholicwritersguild.org/online-conference 15 Christian Women Raped By Muslim Mob In 'Revenge Attack' For Pastor Overseeing Conversions Fifteen women were raped in a church by a mob of Muslims in eastern Uganda as a punishment against a pastor who was allegedly converting Muslims to Christianity. The pastor is still missing along with eight other Christians two weeks after the attack in which the congregation were locked inside the church and several Christians were beaten, sources told Morning Star News. Around 90 Muslims broke into the evening prayer meeting where some 80 Christians had gathered at the Katira Church of Uganda, in the Katira village, Budaka District at about 8:30pm on January 15 and beat the Christians with clubs and sticks, the report said. A member of the congregation who escaped before the doors were locked heard one of the attackers shout, "Away with the pastor who is converting our Muslims to Christianity." The pastor, Moses Mutasa had been outside talking to some visitors to the church when several others arrived shouting, "Away with the pastor," and he fled, according to Rev Musa Mukenye, who oversees several churches in the district's Iki-iki County. "We do not know what has happened to our pastor, Moses Mutasa," Mukenye told a meeting of local officials, police and other security officers. "He might have been killed or has been kept hostage." Around 50 men and 30 women had attended the prayer meeting and the assailants locked about half of the total inside the building, beat the men and tied them up before raping the women, Morning Star News reported. "Women's clothing was found inside and outside the church building," a church elder said. The abused women received treatment at a clinic in Katira. Police reportedly arrived about two hours after the assault began. Several church members were also injured as they were trampled in the rush to get out of the building, and a considerable amount of church property was damaged. Prior to the attack, Muslims had thrown stones on the roof of the church building to disrupt services at the church, which attract 500 people. On the morning after the attack, a group of Christians were planning to destroy the local village mosque but Pastor Mukenye pleaded for them to adopt an attitude of forgiveness, and they refrained, he said. Pastor Mukenye said that Christians should leave justice to authorities. "This act is evil, and police should not relent until the attackers are arrested and charged in a court of law," he told Morning Star News. The attack is the latest in a series of persecution incidents against Christians in eastern Uganda. Around 85 per cent of the population of Uganda is Christian and 11 per cent Muslim, with some eastern areas having large Muslim populations. 2 Christian Human Rights Lawyers Subjected To Electric Shocks, Other Forms Of Torture In Chinese Prison Beijing reportedly considers him to be more dangerous than slain al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. That should explain the harsh treatment that detained Christian human rights lawyer Li Heping has been subjected to. In a report by the Christian human rights organisation China Aid, Li's wife, Wang Qiaoling, confirmed that her husband and another detained Christian lawyer, Wang Quanzhang, had been subjected to electric shocks and other forms of torture.. The two lawyers had been charged with "subverting state power." In an apparent indication of the gravity of the torture, Li's wife told China Aid that her husband fainted several times during one electric shock session. Li and Wang were first taken into police custody in 2015 as part of a nationwide round-up of human rights lawyers in China, according to China Aid. However, Li reportedly "vanished" while in police custody that year. He apparently reappeared and was formally arrested on Jan. 20, 2016, and has since then been locked up at the Tianjin Municipal Detention Center No.1. A Chinese security agent once told a reporter from The Guardian that Beijing considers Li to be "more dangerous than Bin Laden." When he was still a free man, Li told the British publication that, "Chinese say that they are living inside a prison. If you are detained, you are in a smaller prison. If you are released, you are in a bigger prison." Aside from Christian lawyers, human rights activists, pastors and churchgoers have also suffered as a result of the Chinese Communist Party's continuing crackdown on people who are deemed threats to the establishment. Last week, a Chinese female church leader reportedly went on trial over allegations of "illegal business operations." Zhang Xiuhong, a deacon at the Guiyang Huoshi Church in Guizhou province, was detained by local police in July 2015, China Aid reported. Earlier this January, Pastor Yang Hua, also known as Li Guozhi, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on a charge of "divulging state secrets." Police arrested Yang after he reportedly tried to stop officials from confiscating the church computer hard drives when they raided Huoshi Church in December 2015. Just like other human rights detainees, Yang had also suffered torture while in prison, according to his lawyers. "This is nothing but purely barbaric religious persecution," said Bob Fu, president and founder of China Aid. China is ranked 39th on the latest Open Door USA's World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution. Boy Scouts To Allow Transgender Boys, Frustrating Conservatives The Boy Scouts of America announced on Monday that they would begin accepting transgender boys, in a move that has upset many conservatives. "Starting today, we will accept and register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application," said Boy Scouts of America communications director Effie Delimarkos in an emailed statement. Delimarkos explained the change by citing increasingly fluid definitions of gender under state laws, which can "vary widely from state to state". The Cub and Boy Scouts programs will still be aimed at boys, but the change will allow children to apply even if they are not categorised as male on their birth certificate. "The BSA is committed to identifying program options that will help us truly serve the whole family," the Scouts said. The decision has been met largely with applause from progressive groups and disappointment from conservatives. Advocacy group Scouts for Equality said: "This is another historic day for the Boy Scouts of America. The decision to allow transgender boys to participate in the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts is an important step forward for this American institution." Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, applauded the move. He said: "No one should be denied the opportunity to participate in any Boy Scout troop because of their gender identity or expression." But many conservatives see it as further rejection of the Boy Scouts' traditional foundations. Southern Baptist Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said: "Now we see once again that the Boy Scouts really is committed to a gender-theory culture war that evangelical Christians and many other Americans just can't accept. "I think, for some, this will be the final sign that it's time to go," he told the New York Times. "The Boy Scouts of America sacrificed its last vestige of integrity on the altar of political correctness," wrote Todd Starnes for Fox News. He described the move as a "complete capitulation to the gender and sex revolutionaries." For conservatives who now feel disenfranchised, alternative groups do exist. Starnes for example recommends Trail Life USA, a "Christ-centered scouting program" that began in 2014 and now has nearly 30,000 members. The group was founded by former Scoutmaster John Stemberger, after the B.S.A decided to allow gay members in 2013. In response to the B.S.A's recent statement, Stemberger said: "It's the beginning of the end of what the Boy Scouts used to mean. It's really a sad move." Stemberger warned of child protection risks, and said that the decision will "put boys in a state of confusion and does nothing to help normal psychological development." The Boy Scouts of America states its mission as preparing youth for life and leadership. The group has nearly 2.3 million members between the ages of 7 and 21 and roughly 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the country, according to its website. Many scout groups are sponsored by conservative groups, who may withdraw their support following the BSA announcement. Additional reporting by Reuters Christian Artists Amy Grant, Gary Chapman 'So Proud' Of Daughter Who Donated Her Kidney To Her Best Friend She literally gave a part of herself to her best friend to save her life. Gloria Mills "Millie" Chapmanthe 27-year-old daughter of Contemporary Christian Music artists Amy Grant and Gary Chapman and the inspiration behind Grant's Grammy-winning hit "Baby Baby"donated her kidney to her best friend, Kathryn Dudley, on Jan. 24, the Tennessean reported. Both Amy and Gary expressed great pride at what their daughter had done, posting their separate messages on their Facebook pages. Amy, who was reportedly at the hospital during the surgeries, posted on Facebook that she was so proud of her daughter's "selfless act of friendship." Gary was also at the hospital during and after the surgeries and was seen helping his daughter Millie walk down the hall. On his Facebook page, he wrote, "I'm so proud of her, words fail me." Millie's stepsister and Vince Gill's daughter Jenny Gill also posted on her Facebook page, saying she's "in awe" at what her stepsister has done, calling it "an act of true love." One day after the surgeries, Kathryn said she could not thank her friend Millie enough. She recalled that at the age of 13 she was diagnosed with FSGS (focal segmental glomerulosclerosis). "The parts of the kidneys, the tubes, they scar, so I basically just kind have little tiny rocks for kidneys. They don't work," she told WKRN. In 2014, she said her doctors told her the only option left to keep her alive was kidney transplant. She then texted Millie, telling her that she's in kidney failure. At that time, Millie was miles away in New York City. "I was at a Yankees game, and she just said she was going into active kidney failure," said Millie. She said she replied, "OK well take mine, I have two, you need one." During the matching test, the two proved to be a match, both with an O+ blood type. "We've been friends for pretty much forever," said Kathryn. "Turns out we're not just best friends, but our antibodies are, too. She'll forever be a part of me." Christian Woman Stabbed To Death By Man Who Called Himself An 'Anti-Theist,' Someone Opposed To All Religions A 31-year-old Christian woman met a bloody end for saying that she does not approve of gay marriage. The unidentified woman was stabbed to death in cold blood by her 25-year-old flatmate who called himself an "anti-theist," someone opposed to any form of religious belief, the German news agency The Local reported. The man, named only as Daniel E. under German privacy laws, was arrested and promptly sentenced to life in prison by a court in Freiburg, Germany on Monday. The case appears unique since it's very rare that an "anti-theist" gets mentioned in the news. An anti-theist should not be confused with an atheist because the two are different. According to the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM), an atheist is someone who lacks belief, or who doesn't know if God exists, or who doubts that God exists, or who believes God does not exist. On the other hand, an anti-theist is someone who not only believes that God does not exist, but also is against the idea of God's existence and is opposed to any kind of religion. Hence, all anti-theists are atheists, but not all atheists are anti-theists, CARM states. According to The Local report, the court learned that the victim was an active member of her parish community and a committed Christian. Ten days after the two moved into their new flat, Daniel E stormed into the victim's bedroom, and asked if she approved of same-sex marriage. When she replied that she is against such union, he immediately stabbed her, the prosecutors told the court. The wounded woman tried to flee from her assailant but was stabbed again repeatedly in the back as she was about to climb down the stairs. Realising that he just killed his flatmate, Daniel E tried to commit suicide but failed, the court learned. Investigators found a computer in his room, which reportedly contained a "manifesto" declaring his hatred of all religions. During the trial, an expert testified that Daniel E idolised fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the film "Silence of the Lambs." Another expert testified that he had a personality disorder. However, this did not the stop the court from finding him criminally responsible for the murder. Daniel E was then sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Divisions Deepen In Catholic Church Over Communion For Remarried Couples A senior Catholic cardinal has set himself at odds with bishops in his home country of Germany by speaking out against allowing divorced and remarried people to receive Holy Communion. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has described liberal bishops who advocate change as "the blind leading the blind". He says in an interview with the Italian Catholic magazine Il Timone: "We are called to help people, little by little, to reach the fullness of their relationship with God, but we can not make concessions. The Church is a living body, the development is a movement to better understand the depths of the mysteries. But you can not exceed the magisterium statements when it comes to statements that relate to the divine Catholic faith revealed." In the interview, translated by L'Espresso, Muller warns Catholics not to fall into the trap of believing that "if love dies, then the marriage bond is dead." He says: "These are sophistries: the Word of God is very clear and the Church does not accept the secularisation of marriage. The task of priests and bishops is not that of creating confusion, but of bringing clarity." The cardinal, who is from Germany, spoke out as a group of his fellow German bishops endorsed Communion for the remarried. In a new statement reported by the Catholic Herald, agreed by the permanent council of the bishops' conference, the bishops say that the remarried can receive Communion without resolving to live "as brother and sister". They say this is possible through "differentiated solutions which are appropriate to the individual case". An accompanying statement says the solution will be found through "a decision-making process, accompanied by a priest", the Herald reports. It notes that the permanent council does not include Muller. The split between the German bishops is the latest fall-out from the Pope's synod on the family and his resulting exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. Earlier this week, Catholic laity in Malta condemned their own bishops for appearing to endorse a relaxation of the traditional rules that remarried Catholics cannot receive communion unless they live as brother and sister. 'Evangelicals Are Ecstatic': Christians Rush To Praise Trump For Conservative Choice At Supreme Court Evangelicals are rushing to congratulate Donald Trump on his choice of Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. The arch-conservative's record on religious liberty and gun law prompted relief for Christians, many of whom backed Trump after his campaign promise to pack the top US court with conservative judges. Gorsuch will have to be approved by Senate before he is appointed to the vacant seat on the nine-person panel. If he escapes blocks by Democrats, Gorsuch will tilt the finely balanced Court in the conservatives favour ahead of upcoming rulings on gender neutral bathrooms, abortion restrictions and whether a business can refuse services to a gay couple. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, hailed Gorsuch as an "exceptional choice". In a statement he said: "I heartily support President Trump's excellent appointment. I look forward to Judge Gorsuch's voice on the Court for decades to come and pray that he will be an articulate and stalwart advocate for religious liberty and human dignity at all its stages." Christian author and Kairos Company CEO Johnnie Moore went further and praised Trump for not only fulfilling "his most important promise to the evangelical community in this selection, he has gone over and above by repeatedly doubling down on those issues most important to the community during his first 10 days as president." Moore added: "His endorsement of, and the administration's participation in the March for Life, coupled with his prompt attention to the Mexico City ruling were precursors to tonight's very good news. "Should this nominee be confirmed, Scalia's legacy will live on for at least another generation. Evangelicals are ecstatic." James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, was equally enthusiastic and thanked God for the appointment saying Trump had "delivered on one of its most critical campaign promises to appoint a judge in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and the original intent of its framers." Rev Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, was more measured and congratulated Trump for "selecting a judge with such a commendable track record on issues important to the Evangelical community." He also called on Democrats not to block Gorsuch's appointment: "The recent trend of blocking such nominees by both Republicans and Democrats must stop. Their political games are not in the best interest of the security and prosperity of the United States." Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside and Irvine, California, praised Trump for "nominating a judge to the Supreme Court who appears to be someone who will protect the right to life." He said: "Judge Gorsuch will have big shoes to fill in replacing the late and revered Justice Antonin Scalia. "As Jefferson so eloquently reminded us, the God who gave us life gave us liberty. So, I pray Judge Gorsuch never forgets to value each and every American as our Maker does." Exclusive: Lion Hudson Christian Publisher Files For Administration Lion Hudson Christian publishing is going into administration, Christian Today can reveal, and has made nearly two-thirds of its staff redundant. The award-winning company, famous for books such as Canon Andrew White's My Journey So Far, has been forced to dismiss 35 staff after it failed to recover from ongoing financial pressures. Managing director Suzanne Wilson-Huggins insisted the company was not liquidating but has submitted a notice of intent to go into administration. She described the move as a "deep and painful restructure". A total of 18 staff remain. Wilson-Huggins said she believed "there is a way forward for the business to continue in our mission to publish quality literature worldwide true to the Christian faith." Lion's financial statement for 2016 stressed particularly "tough market conditions" and reported a 30,000 loss on top of a 184,000 loss the year before. But the report, published in September 2016, gives no indications of forthcoming redundancies despite the "challenging" outlook. It says the directors expect the company "to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future" and that it "will be able to meet its liabilities." It concludes thatan approach of reducing overheads left the firm "in good stead" in spite of the "turbulent" economy. "The Company still maintains a strong balance sheet enabling it to counter the inherent uncertainty in the economy," the report said. In a prayer letter in December, Wilson-Huggins said she was "acutely aware that Lion Hudson has truly been tested in 2016" and asked for prayer for "a positive extraordinary shareholder meeting in January". Phil Groom, an expert in Christian publishing, told Christian Today, the loss would be devastating if Lion Hudson went bankrupt. "It would be a major blow not only for the Christian publishing but for the whole Christians community "They are a bright vibrant presence within the trade and in their children's imprint especially." He said the company had struggled with crippling debts for several years and it was unlikely anyone else would buy them out. A statement from Wilson-Huggins said: "We had a positive team meeting this morning and prayed together at lunchtime for leavers, each other and the future of Lion. "To reiterate, we believe there is a way forward for the business and our financial advisors are being very supportive throughout this process. "We would very much value your continued prayer support at this time as we adjust to new ways of working." Exclusive: Lord Carey Praises Potentially 'Outstanding' President Trump And Condemns 'Reprehensible' Protests The former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has hit out at "hysterical" and "baying" critics of the potentially "outstanding" President Donald Trump, and said that he would "of course" attend a state banquet were he still Anglican leader. Lord Carey of Clifton, who was Archbishop from 1991-2002, told Christian Today that while he did not "by and large" agree with the new President, the choice of the American people should be "honoured and respected" and that Trump "has the strength of personality to be an outstanding President". He added that the "extraordinary and hysterical reaction" against Trump is "reprehensible" and could "damage the fabric of democracy". The Prime Minister, Theresa May has announced that Trump has been invited by the Queen to a state visit of the UK later this year, and has reiterated this despite more than 1.6 million people signing a petition against such a visit. A former head of the Foreign Office has said that the Queen has been put in "a very difficult position" by the invitation. Lord Carey said: "I am very concerned by the 'baying of populism'. Donald Trump is the elected President of the US and the vote by the American people has to be honoured and respected. His views may not be largely shared - I don't by and large - but I guess that many Americans do share them. I think that Donald Trump will learn on the job and his rhetoric will be toned down as time goes on. He has the strength of personality to be an outstanding President but this is predicated on him acquiring experience and wisdom." Asked whether he would attend a state banquet in honour of Trump, Lord Carey said: "Of course, because the invitation would come from the Queen in the first instance. But I would also be there to join in the welcome because of the unique links the UK has with the USA. The extraordinary and hysterical reaction against Donald Trump is deeply worrying and reprehensible and, if allowed to continue, could damage the fabric of democracy." It is not clear whether the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby would accept an invitation to the state banquet hosted by the Queen. Lambeth Palace declined to comment. Archbishop Welby has not so far joined church leaders around the world who have voiced their opposition to the new President's executive orders halting travel, migration and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. The Archbishop issued a prayer after Trump's election last November, saying: "As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, my continuing prayers are that the United States of America may find reconciliation after a bitter campaign, and that Mr Trump may be given wisdom, insight and grace as he faces the tasks before him. Together we pray for all the people of the United States." A spokesperson for Westminster Abbey confirmed to Christian Today that the Dean of Westminster, John Hall, would meet the President and take part in the traditional ceremony at the grave of the Unknown Warrior. "We would expect to take part in the ceremony and it would be the Dean of Westminster that would be leading the prayers," the spokesperson said, adding: "The Abbey is a neutral party." Lord Ricketts, who was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office from 2006 to 2010, said in a letter to the Times that "the Queen is put in a very difficult position" by May's "premature" move. He said it was unprecedented for a US president to be invited for a state visit in their first year in the White House, and questioned whether Mr Trump was "specially deserving of this exceptional honour". He wrote: "It would have been far wiser to wait to see what sort of president he would turn out to be before advising the Queen to invite him...Now the Queen is put in a very difficult position". Latvian Who Stole Lazarus Icon From Cathedral Is Jailed A Latvian man who stole a painting from Chester Cathedral and left a Christmas tree decoration behind has been jailed for nine months. The icon, worth about 2,000, was stolen by talented artist and experienced restorer, Vasilijs Apilats, 61. Chester crown court was told he was not motivated by greed but because he liked the painting of the Raising of Lazarus and his actions were "akin to the instinct of a magpie". The painting was donated to the cathedral seven years ago by the family of a former dean of Chester, Ingram Cleasby, according to The Guardian. Apilats stole it in 2014 and was tracked down using DNA evidence. Police searched his Cheshire home and found the icon hidden among dozens of other paintings, mostly depicting Jesus, and religious artefacts. Peter Howell-Jones, the vice-dean of Chester Cathedral, said in a victim impact statement the icon was "hugely important" and was used as an aid for prayer, and its theft had upset the congregation. Apilats wrote an apology letter to the cathedral and the general public after his conviction, begging for forgiveness. He said at his trial he had bought the painting in good faith from two men he claimed worked at the cathedral for "restoration purposes". Leaders Of Anglican Mission Agencies Call On Trump To Reverse Refugee Ban Leaders of Anglican mission agencies have expressed their "profound concern" over Donald Trump's recent executive orders on immigration and refugees. In a joint statement, the church mission agencies said it is never right "to discriminate against people simply on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or country of origin." As well as a travel and immigration ban, the new President has signed an order suspending the US refugee programme for 120 days and permanently banning refugees fleeing the war in Syria. He has also extended a temporary block on refugees from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen for 90 days. The mission leaders' statement, which begins with the quote from Jesus in Matthew 25:43 "For I was a stranger and you welcomed me" - reads: "As leaders of Church of England mission agencies we wish to express our profound concern at recent events in the USA." It continues: "We are proud of the role that together we have played in making the good news of Jesus Christ known both in England and in the wider world. We know however that in our own activities we have sometimes acted with prejudice and discrimination, and of that we repent. We understand President Trump's desire to protect America from extremism but we do not accept that it is ever right to discriminate against people simply on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or country of origin." The mission leaders also call on the British and other governments not only to seek exceptions for its own citizens but "justice for all". They say: "We call on the US Government to reverse its current policy and to renew its commitment to freedom for all. And we recommit ourselves to be builders of a Kingdom where, 'there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus' (Galatians 3:28)." A wide range of Christian voices from Catholic Cardinals to US evangelical leaders have criticised Trump's refugee ban. The mission leaders' statement is signed by the Rev Richard Bromley of the Intercontinental Church Society; Rev Alex Jacob of the Church's Ministry among Jewish people, Canon Philip Mounstephen of the Church Mission Society, Janette O'Neill of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, Sam Richardson of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Mark Russell of the Church Army and Canon Andrew Wright of the Mission to Seafarers. Liam Neeson Says Christian Persecution Film 'Silence' Impacted His Faith, Quips 'God Is Love' "God is love, love is God." That's the unequivocal profession of faith by Liam Neeson who expounded on his role in the new Martin Scorsese film "Silence." In a recent interview with Patheos, the 64-year-old Irish actor said preparing for his role as the apostate Jesuit priest Fr. Ferreira deeply impacted his faith. "Silence" depicts the anti-Christian persecution that took place in 17th century Japan, where Neeson's character renounces his faith after being tortured and witnessing other Christians being tortured. Neeson pointed out that even though his character abandons his faith in the end, Fr. Ferreira "believed that Christ would work through him and this gave him the freedom to learn the language and to serve the people in other ways that were meaningful." The actor further explored his character's mind, saying that despite what the Jesuit priest did, "I think Ferreira's idea of God was ultimately one of love, but this is what I choose to believe myself." On his own, Neeson said he believes that "if God were a stern master, I would have given up the faith long ago." "God is love, love is God. I have had personal experiences of God's love, beautiful and calming, all the things the Psalms talk about. If he was a stern master, well, I don't know," he told Patheos. "Silence," directed by Scorsese, tells the story of two Portuguese Jesuit priests (played by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver), who face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to seek their mentor, Fr. Ferreira, who renounced the faith under torture at the hands of the Japanese empire. The film is based on the acclaimed 1966 novel by Japanese Catholic writer Shusaku Endo. Like Neeson, Garfield said the film also impacted him spiritually, saying that he "fell in love" with Jesus while preparing for his role, according to America the Jesuit Review. "What was really easy was falling in love with this person, was falling in love with Jesus Christ. That was the most surprising thing," Garfield said. "God! That was the most remarkable thingfalling in love, and how easy it was to fall in love with Jesus." The Christian Today earlier reviewed the film, stating that Scorcese "truly gifted the Church [with] a discipleship tool of staggering beauty and sharp-edged challenge." The review said that spending two hours and 40 minutes watching the film will help Christians "care again about the things that matter to God," adding that it "is a worthwhile investment." Murdered Priest Appeals From Beyond The Grave For Killer To Be Let Off Death Penalty A Florida-based Catholic priest who was murdered last year said he did not want anyone who killed him to be subject to the death penalty. News of the "beyond the grave" in a signed document in1995 was revealed at a press conference in the United States yesterday. The appeal by Fr Rene Robert came as Catholic bishops in Florida and Georgia urged a prosecutor in Georgia to reverse her decision to seek capital punishment against the man who is accused of killing the priest. Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Ashley Wright is seeking the death penalty against Steven Murray, who faces charges over killing Fr Robert last April. But the priest had appealed for leniency in the event of his murder. "I request that the person found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances," wrote Fr Robert, in a "Declaration of Life" document witnessed and notarised by a lawyer. The document added that the death penalty should not be sought, "no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered". Catholic bishops held a press conference yesterday outside the Richmond County Courthouse, drawing attention to the declaration. Fr Robert devoted his life to helping the mentally ill, convicts and others who were troubled, according to the BBC. "He was well aware for the potential violence that might involve his ministry, but he cared for those people nonetheless," said Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who was among about a dozen clergymen who rallied at yesterday's press conference. They delivered a petition signed by more than 7,400 people from Fr Robert's diocese asking that his wishes be honoured. "We want to be the voice that he no longer has to make that 'Declaration of Life' a part of the understanding of this particular case," said Bishop Gregory Hartmayer, speaking outside court. Another Bishop, Felipe Estevez of the St Augustine diocese, said the alleged killer clearly deserved punishment. But, he added that "imposing a sentence of death as a consequence of killing only perpetrates the cycle of violence in our community". Murray, who is a repeat offender, had asked the priest for a lift in Jacksonville, Florida, before abducting and murdering him, according to authorities. The suspect was apprehended while driving the priest's car in South Carolina a day after Fr Robert was reported missing. Murray led police to the priest's body. The suspect has claimed he has mental illness, and during a court appearance shortly after his arrest, he appealed for forgiveness. "If anybody loves Father Rene, they'll forgive me because he was a man of God, and forgiveness is forgiveness," Murray said, according to Georgia's WALB News. He added: "I have mental problems and I lost control of myself. I apologise." Norway's Lutheran Church Approves Service For Gay Marriage Homosexual couples can marry in church in Norway from today after a liturgy for same-sex marriages was approved. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway voted 83 to 29 in favour of the new liturgy, or service, that allows gay marriages. There is already one that pastors can use to bless the unions of gay couples. "It is the day when a prayer and a dream came true," the gay leader of the liberal wing of the Lutheran Church, Gard Sandaker-Nilsen, told Norway's Local after the vote by the Church's General Synod. Norway has an ultra-liberal tradition on the issue, with Swedish, Danish and French Protestants already allowing gay marriage. Homosexuals have been permitted civil marriage in Norway and have been allowed to adopt children since 2009. The Church also allows homosexuals to be ordained priests and bishops. After initially rejecting it 2014, the Church approved gay marriage last April. This week's vote was to authorise a new liturgy, or service, available for use from today. The synod has ruled that priests have the freedom to choose whether to perform weddings of same-sex couples or not. Other Church employees are also allowed not to take part in the liturgy if they do not wish to. Pastor, 8 Other Christians Missing And Feared Dead Or Abducted After Muslim Mob's Attack On Uganda Church The pastor of a church in eastern Uganda and eight of his parishioners remain missing and feared dead or kidnapped two weeks after the church was attacked by a mob of Muslims, the Morning Star News reported. The mob turned the church into a den of sex and violence, raping 15 Christian women and beating the men inside and those who managed to escape the building. About 90 Islamic radicals armed with clubs and sticks stormed the church while the parishioners numbering about 8050 men and 30 womenwere holding their evening prayer meeting, witnesses said. A church leader reportedly heard one of the attackers shouting, "Away with the pastor who is converting our Muslims to Christianity," apparently explaining the motive behind their attack. Pastor Moses Mutasa was outside the church at the time questioning some new visitors when the mob arrived and stormed his church. A fellow pastor, Rev. Musa Mukenye, said Mutasa disappeared when the commotion started and has not been seen since then. "We do not know what has happened to our pastor. He might have been killed or has been kept hostage," he said. As soon as they entered the church, the attackers closed all doors, beat the men and tied them up. They then began raping the helpless women, said a church elder, who managed to escape. Islamic radicals positioned outside the church building also beat the men and raped the women who tried to escape, the unidentified church elder said. The attackers also destroyed church property before fleeing two hours later when the police arrived. They left leaflets threatening more attacks if Christian leaders continue with their evangelisation mission, sources said. Uganda is not listed in Open Doors USA's World Watch list of 50 countries that persecute Christians the most. Uganda is also one of the few countries in Africa where Muslims do not comprise the majority of the population. In fact, about 85 percent of the people in Uganda are Christian with only 11 percent Muslim. However, some eastern areas have large Muslim populations, according to Morning Star News. The country's constitution and other laws also guarantee religious freedom, including the right to propagate one's faith and convert from one faith to another. Despite this, Christians in eastern Uganda still fall prey to attacks from Islamic radicals. The assault on Katira church was just the latest in a series of incidents of Christian persecution in Uganda. In December 2016, a report came out about a Christian teacher from Uganda who was threatened with death and severely beaten by a Muslim mob from his village after he turned his back on Islam to embrace Christianity. A month earlier, another report came out about two teenage boys who converted to Christianity from Islam who were forced to go on the run in fear of their lives. Supermodel Chrissy Teigen Boasts On Twitter: 'Jesus Isn't Shaping My Anything' Supermodel and TV personality Chrissy Teigen, who is married to "All Of Me" crooner John Legend, has declared that she does not let Jesus Christ take charge of her life. Teigen made the declaration after posting on her Twitter account (@chrissyteigen) about the recent Women's March in Washington. "I went to the women's march. I successfully escaped the escape room. I went to Saturday Night Live. Yesterday was A DELIGHT," she tweeted. Her post drew comments from a netizen named Jan Finochio, who described herself as a Christian mother and wife and a pastor as well. "Is Jesus shaping your personal culture or is the culture shaping you?? Just wondering," she asked Teigen. The "Lip Sync Battle" star replied, "Jesus isn't shaping my anything." In response, Finochio warned Teigen that "like a rag doll the culture will use you and shake you." By then, Teigen appeared unwilling to extend the conversation any further and simply said, "OK, Jan." The Women's March, which attracted hundreds of thousands of supporters, was the brainchild of Hawaiian grandmother Teresa Shook. The march was aimed for men and women to come together and voice their opposition against President Donald Trump and his alleged anti-feminist views. But Billy Graham's daughter Anne Graham Lotz did not appreciate the Women's March, and even wrote on her Facebook page that it was a "destructive" event that would lead participants to their "spiritual and moral graves." Those who attended the march were avowed supporters of Trump's opponent in the last presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton who supports abortion and LGBT causes. "My heart aches for many of the women I saw marching," Lotz wrote. "I pray earnestly for them to turn to the one, true, living God, who is the only One who can give them the deep, permanent peace, love, hope, and security we all long for." Syrian Christian Family Blocked By Trump's Refugee Ban Voted For Him A Christian family who were one of the first casualties of the refugee ban are Trump supporters, it has emerged. On Saturday, hours after the executive order was signed, Sarmad Assali's family were detained at Philadelphia International Airport and sent back to the Middle East. The two brothers, their wives and two children are all Christians but were victims of the permanent ban on Syrian nationals travelling into the US. They all had green cards and were approved to join Sarmad in Philadelphia. "I understand he wants to make America safe," said Sarmad after having voted for the Republican in the recent US Presidential election, according to The Grio. "We're all on with this. I definitely want to be in a safe place. But people need us and we need to be there for them." She described how they were stopped by security guards at the airport who asked them if they were Syrian before marching them back to a return flight. "America is not America," said Assali. "Like ISIS now, they ask, 'Are you Christian? What do you believe?' And if they are not saying what they believe, they kick you out and they cut your head off. "So America, same thing. They ask you are you Muslim? You've got to change your religion. Thank you." Trump's executive order bans people Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days with those from Syria barred indefinitely. A wholesale halt to the US refugee programme has also been put in place for 120 days. Trump said the ban was "not about religion" and added in a statement: "To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days." But there are fears, raised by the UK home secretary Amber Rudd on Tuesday, that the ban could act as a recruiting tool for Islamic State. Trump has since insisted Christians fleeing persecution would be prioritised in the immigration system but defended the ban. Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2017 He told the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) it was "impossible, or at least very tough" for Syrian Christians to enter the United States. "If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair -- everybody was persecuted, in all fairness -- but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them," he said. Since Russias governing body (known as the Duma) passed its Yarovaya law in July 2016, Protestant missionaries across that vast country have been holding their breath. The law was described as putting anti-terrorism practices into place, yet several missionaries have been arrested under its guidelines. Now, after much pushback, the Duma has appointed a group to review the law. The decision to review the law comes after a lot of pushback from Protestant leaders and missionaries in Russia, as well as the broader public. Many see the laws restriction of missionary activities as a move to protect the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is state-endorsed. Missionaries feel their hands being tied as the laws restrict things like proselytizing on residential premises. However, the laws are subject to enforcement by local police, so the extent to which they are enforced varies greatly. According to Forum 18, there have been 34 prosecutions of people involved in religious activity. A handful of the cases were dropped before reaching court, but 25 trials have gone on19 resulting in conviction and six in acquittalsince the laws went into effect last year. A detailed description of what the laws state, as well as how they have played out so far, are summarized on Forum 18s site. Don Ossewaarde is an American missionary who is currently appealing to the Russian Supreme Court after being arrested in August 2016 for failing to inform officials he was holding a religious meeting in his home in Oryol, Russia. Although he is playing what feels like a waiting game with the Supreme Court, he is hopeful his case will be overturned and he will be able to continue his ministry in Russia. In September, opposition to the law came to President Vladimir Putins attention; in response, Putin conceded the law may need to be adjusted to not put people in a difficult position. According to the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, however, nothing was done after that statement. Other people, besides Protestants and foreign missionaries, have been caught in the laws tow, including a yoga instructor and four people in Moscow who were reading the constitution out loud on the streets. The outrage over the heavy-handedness of the law has prompted hundreds of thousands of Russians to sign an online petition asking for the government to revisit the law, according to Stratfor. As you read their update, the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin offers the following points for those inclined to pray for the situation in Russia: Please pray our Sovereign Lord will: direct the thinking of the Working Group, the Duma and President Putingracing them all with wisdom and insight; guide all discussions, recommendations and considerations, to the end that religious liberty might be restored. The next step for the group is to report their findings to Putin, who will ideally call for measures that will allow more freedom for the missionaries working there. The 'Great Satan' Acting Like Satan. Is Portraying Trump As 'The Devil' Preventing Sane Debate? Just when you thought the world couldn't get any more surreal, along comes Donald Trump and his executive order on immigrants and refugees - queue mass panic, hysteria and protests in the streets. Depending on whose fake news you read - fake news by now being the euphemism for that news which does not agree with my position - this is either a temporary measure saving the US from imminent terrorist attack, or the beginnings of fascism in the US and the end of the world as we know it. You can take your position and google your own confirmation bias. Can I try to offer another perspective - one which is both more depressing and more hopeful? What's wrong with it? It's a betrayal of America's glorious tradition of being a land that welcomes immigrants and refugees. One of my favourite places in the world is Ellis Island, the port of entry for so many immigrants who came to the US and made America great. In a world where there are more refugees than ever before it seems somewhat incongruous that the worlds richest economy should be planning to half the number of refugees it takes. According to Pew Research Centre, 40 per cent of refugees entering the US in 2016 were Muslim and 46 per cent Christian. The two countries from which most refugees came were the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq. But this ridiculous blanket policy has resulted in Christian refugees being sent back too. It won't achieve the purpose it is designed to do. At best it is virtue-signalling by the President, showing his supporters that he keeps his word. At worst it is a "strongman" doing something to show his power, just because he can. Its gesture politics. Theatre. Showmanship. The man from reality TV is bringing us the political version of that particular genre. Although it is not a ban on Muslims, it sounds like one. And for that reason it will fuel the number one reason for terrorism - grievance. The "Great Satan" will have acted like Satan. It has been badly enacted. It was ham-fisted and cruel. I am in two minds here. Either Trump and his advisors are incompetent and did not anticipate the reaction, or they are extremely clever and have set up this particular sideshow so that they can get on with other stuff. President Trump has sought to justify it by stating that it is similar to the ban imposed by President Obama on Iraqi refugees in 2011. There is a big difference. As The Gospel Coalition article on this points out: "The Obama administration doesn't appear to have changed the visa policy, did not issue a direct halt on refugees from that country, and did not put a stoppage on non-refugee visas held by Iraqi nationals as President Trump has done." Overall the policy is ill-advised, ill-thought-out and to be frank, immoral. Thankfully there have been many Christians in the US as well as here who have challenged this policy - but there are too many who seem prepared to excuse it. This is because identity politics has become the norm and we fall into the trap of "our man can do no wrong" or "their man can do no right". How else do you explain Franklin Graham's bizarre comment: "It's not a biblical command for the country to let everyone in who wants to come, that's not a Bible issue." This is at best a disingenuous attempt to defend the policy. The argument is not that everyone should be let in who wants to come. Once you start arguing against what people are not saying, you have lost the right to be heard. But it is also wrong to say that this is not a biblical issue. Welcoming refugees, the poor and the displaced are a core part of biblical faith. It is inconsistent and hypocritical to complain when the government does not uphold biblical values on the sanctity of life, and then keep silent when it does not uphold biblical values on helping the oppressed. What's wrong with the Protests? I appreciate very much that there are those who are genuinely concerned about what is happening and want to protest against Donald Trump. I appreciate even more those who don't just sign a petition but actually get out on the streets to express their opposition. However there are some really disturbing aspects from these protests. The Hysteria - Trump as the devil, the incarnation of evil is preventing any sane rational discussion. Thats why you get the irrationality of uber left-wingers championing a petition which seeks to save the Queen embarrassment. The Hubris - As if 1.5 million people in the UK signing an online petition means that the US will change. On the one hand we have politicians and media solemnly saying that we should effectively ignore the actual votes of 17 million people over Brexit, then on the other the argument that we change policy because 2.5 per cent of the population sign an online petition. Thinking that signing an online petition is an "I am Spartacus'" moment is a delusion that prevents real action. Apparently the "revolution" will only come when you get enough Facebook likes. The Hypocrisy - the former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright said she would register as a Muslim in protest. This is the woman who when asked whether the death of 500,000 Iraqi children because of the sanctions intended to bring down the Saddam regime was worth it, replied: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price... we think the price is worth it." Or Ed Miliband, former Labour leader, leading protests in Westminster. This one really sticks in my throat, because I remember the same Ed Miliband almost pleading with the British government to bomb Libya - a policy which has resulted in the destruction of that State, a massive increase in refugees into Europe and the deaths of thousands. In other words his policies helped create the refugee crisis that he is now pontificating about. The list could go on To those who are marching just now to voice their angery and getting all wound up on social media, I have questions. Where were you? Where were you when President Xi of China and Saudi King Abdullah came on State visits to the Queen? Didn't you know or care about the harm their policies do? Where were you when Hilary and Obama dropped numerous bombs on Yemen, resulting in the death of many women and children (from my perspective bombing women and children is a whole lot worse than banning visas for the few who can afford to travel)? Where were you when the Obama administration at the end of last year started forcibly deporting thousands of Haitian Refugees ? I'm also curious. You rightly regard citizens from seven countries being banned for 90 days from travelling to the US as being wrong, what would you say if it was 16 countries and they were permanently banned? Would that not deserve your anger, tears, petitions and marches? So why have you kept silent that citizens of Israel have been permanently banned from travelling to 16 countries? Where were you when Christians in Syria and Iraq were being destroyed? Why are you not on the streets about the murder of five Coptic Christians in Egypt having their throats slit? What about the stuff you can actually do something about? Are you campaigning for more refugees in your own city? In your own community? Will you be willing to help them? Or is this just about a land far far away and a fantasy President doing Reality TV politics? The US takes less than 0.5 per cent of the refugees in the world. In the grand scheme of things this ban is not going to make a big difference to most. Where is the concern and compassion for the millions in Syria, Turkey and Libya? And what about the refugees in this country? What are we doing to help them? And why don't we take more? The people who upset me the most are the virtue-signalling politicians who are tweeting selfies all over the place, letting everyone know how anti-fascist they are and how they are right on the pulse of the revolution. I'm sorry but you can do very little about Donald Trump, except feed his ego whilst at the same time feeding your own self- righteousness. But there are plenty of things you can do more generally. I know that there are many MP's who work quietly away helping and representing their constituents and offering their vote on more national and international issues. It seems to me that there are also too many politicians trying to put right the wrongs of the world rather than dealing with the problems within their own communities. The Horror - Politicians and media are playing with fire. They are stirring up an irrational, emotive mob through social media, fake news, fear and virtue signalling. They need to beware that the beast they create could just as easily turn on them. The mob is fickle - left-wing mobs can quickly become right-wing mobs and vice versa. The Hummus Revolution? - I find it interesting that the top twenty areas for signing this petition are almost all in London, apart from Bristol, Edinburgh, Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge. All of them are anti-Brexit and all of them are middle class university areas. It seems a very middle class way to have a protest. In my view it won't make one iota of difference to Donald Trump and perhaps may even encourage and enhance him. So, I'm not a Trump fan and I won't be signing the petition to bring him here. Nor will I be signing the petition to ban him. I won't be joining the hummus revolution. Where can I turn? The Hope - I can't just leave it there. Maybe Trump will be impeached? Maybe he will go mad? Maybe things will work out and all the doom mongers will be proved wrong? I haven't a clue. But I know this. I don't trust Trump, or May, or Sturgeon or any of our political leaders. I respect them and pray for them, but I don't place my hope upon them. I think it is a fundamental mistake for the church to hitch itself to a pro-Trump bandwagon, or an anti-Trump bandwagon. My hope is only in Christ and his sovereign and gracious care of us. So we pray, work for justice and live our lives in as much godliness and love as He enables. Christ is the light of the world. Maybe the best thing we can do is proclaim His reality in the midst of this surreal, confused and angry world. Lets join the Christian Revolution of Love, not the Trump or Hummus ones. Rev David Robertson is minister of St Peters, Dundee and director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity. He is on Twitter @TheWeeFlea. Trump Picks Conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch For Supreme Court President Donald Trump has chosen Neil Gorsuch, 49, as his much anticipated nomination for the Supreme Court. The youngest nominee for more than a decade, Gorsuch could face a contentious battle to be approved by Senate before he can be appointed to the vacant spot on the nine-seat panel. The scholarly conservative has a track record defending religious rights and writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide drawing praise from Republicans and evangelicals. Announcing the selection in the White House on Tuesday night, Trump said Gorsuch was "as good as it gets". He told the packed room: "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous disciple, and has earned bipartisan support. He added: "Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent." .@realDonaldTrump promised to appoint a conservative. Thats exactly what he's done in selecting Judge Neil Gorsuch. https://t.co/BcBpGG3QQn Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) 1 February 2017 Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights and writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide. He is seen as very much in the mold of the late Judge Antonin Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades, whose seat Gorsuch is set to fill. "I respect ... the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws," Gorsuch said. "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands." Democrats vowed to fight the nomination after Republicans blocked President Obama's choice after Scalia died in February 2016. The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed "very serious doubts" about the nominee. Trump's Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick under current rules. According to Reuters, his nomination is seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. He became the youngest US Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. Gorsuch was in the same 1991 graduating class from Harvard Law School as Obama. The selection of Gorsuch, who was on a list of about 20 judges suggested by conservative legal activists, unified Republicans in a way not seen since Trump's November 8 election victory, with even critics within the party such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham singing the nominee's praises. Trump made his choice between two US appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. Democrats signaled it may not be easy this time. "Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court," Schumer said. Trump got the opportunity to name Scalia's replacement only because the Republican-led Senate, in an action with little precedent in US history, refused to consider Obama's nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. "This is the first time in American history that one party has blockaded a nominee for almost a year in order to deliver a seat to a president of their own party. If this tactic is rewarded rather than resisted, it will set a dangerous new precedent in American governance," Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said. If confirmed, Gorsuch would expand the court's conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy Samuel Alito and Thomas. Kennedy long has been considered the court's pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court's restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia's replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many US conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. Trump may get to make additional appointments. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him "a faker," is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. Additional reporting from Reuters. Why It Is Wrong To Pretend That Catholics And Protestants Agree #Reformation500 If the Reformation had never happened, what would Western Christianity look like today? That's an obvious question to ask this year, which marks the 500th anniversary of the publication of Luther's Ninety-five Theses on October 17, 1517. What's less obvious is whether Catholics should commemorate it. I won't be. Naturally, Protestants everywhere will be celebrating the day that they consider to be the true start of their Reformation. That's fine by me, but it's the wrong party for Catholics to crash. Ecumenical functionaries in my church think differently, but their arguments are painfully convoluted: I don't see how dwelling on an event that from a Catholic perspective deprived countless millions of Christians of most of the sacraments instituted by Jesus can possibly bring us closer together. As an exercise in alternative history, however, imagining a Europe without Luther is quite a challenge. Would Christendom have remained overwhelmingly Catholic (or "Roman Catholic", if you insist: it's not what we call ourselves)? Surely not. The church had already been horribly wounded by the Western Schism, during which England supported a pope in Rome and France supported one in Avignon. The dispute was formally resolved in 1417, exactly a century before the publication of the Theses, but it left a papacy that was vulnerable to being pushed around and pulled apart by newly emerging nation states. It would have happened again, even without theological disputes about the means of salvation and the nature of the Eucharist. So one possible alternative future for Christianity in the West is that it would have come to resemble the church in the East fractured by rival popes or patriarchs under the control of secular monarchs. Would that have been better, from a Catholic point of view, than what did happen? Ecumenical etiquette in the West dictates that both Protestants and Catholics pay tribute to the "riches of Orthodoxy"; Anglicans are especially keen on this, though the compliments are rarely returned. The problem is, however, that those riches are so often obscured by Orthodox pandering to temporal power. Many Eastern churches are compromised by nationalism. This has been true of Western churches, too, but not so consistently. Or, to put it another way, Catholics and Protestants operate in more of a free market than Christians in the East, and there is a huge body of data suggesting that internal competition is good for sustaining Christian practice, if not coherent doctrine. That market in religious ideas is inseparable from technology, and that is the main reason why a Luther-free Europe would not have divided along Orthodox lines. The freedom to question orthodox Christian tradition went hand in hand with the invention of printing and Western modernisation generally. If not Luther, somebody else would have uncorked the bottle. Everything we know about late-medieval religious dissenters such as the Lollards suggests that, at some point in the 16th century, there would have been an eruption of religious enthusiasm directed against the sacramental priesthood. Where alternative historians can have fun is in speculating how the temporal powers would have reacted. If non-Lutheran Protestantism had been confined to radical sects, lacking the support of princes and city fathers, would Henry VIII have nudged England into the rejection of core Catholic teachings in addition to challenging the authority of the pope? But enough of this. Self-conscious games of alternative history get boring after a time. What bothers me is the thought that church leaders are constructing a different sort of alternative reality: one that they would like us to substitute for the real thing. Catholics and Protestants (the latter including most Anglicans) disagree fundamentally on the significance of the Eucharist. This is a tragedy that has not been reversed by earnest dialogue: it is a vitally important part of the fabric of Christian life, and the attempts by ecclesiastical bureaucrats to persuade us otherwise misrepresent the convictions of ordinary Christians, perhaps especially in England. A few months ago, by accident, I stumbled on a Low Church Anglican Eucharist being held by a nice young vicar in an old people's home. After reading a Eucharistic prayer very similar to one that we use in the Mass, he went round offering the residents many suffering from dementia a communion wafer. "What's this?" asked one old lady. "Just a bit of bread," replied the vicar. He meant no disrespect, but any Catholic priest who uttered those words would have been betraying his vocation. And that, in a nutshell, is why I won't be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Damian Thompson is an associate editor of The Spectator and editorial director of the Catholic Herald. Find him on Twitter @HolySmoke. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump is casting his newly minted Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch into a bitterly divided Senate where frustrated Democrats vowed a vigorous review of the presidents choice, citing their concerns about his deeply conservative views and his willingness to check Trumps aggressive use of executive power. Democrats deep initial skepticism signals the intense confirmation fight to come, just as theyre battling Trump and other Republicans over a controversial executive order on immigration that resulted in Trump firing the acting U.S. attorney general. The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the executive branch, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuchs ability to meet this standard. Democrats in theory could have enough votes to block Gorsuch, since the 52 Republicans are eight shy of the 60 needed to advance the nomination -- unless Republicans take the explosive step of unilaterally changing the Senates rules to require a simple majority. But it would be an extraordinary step for Democrats to reject a Supreme Court nominee so early in a presidency, barring any unexpected revelations. In addition to Democrats lingering resentment over the 11-month Republican blockade last year of Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obamas pick to fill the vacancy caused by Justice Antonin Scalias death, some liberal groups have been pushing hard for a complete filibuster of almost any Trump pick. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon has said he would filibuster whoever Trump picked; and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a harsh critic of the president, said shell oppose Gorsuchs confirmation. This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court," Merkley said in a statement after the announcement Tuesday. But Democrats may find strong reasons to seriously consider -- and eventually approve -- Trumps pick. The 60-vote threshold needed to advance a high-court pick in the Senate is the most powerful tool the Democrats have to influence the choice. And they may want to make sure the filibuster is in place if Trump gets the chance to fill another vacancy during his presidency. Fair Consideration Either way, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is likely to come under strong pressure to change the Senate rules if Democrats block Gorsuch. I hope members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, McConnell said in a statement. Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a frequent Trump critic, also praised Gorsuch as the most qualified guy one could choose. Hes going to get confirmed, Graham said in an interview. And it would be a huge mistake to have to change the rules over this. But Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted Trump for having outsourced the selection process to conservative interest groups. From my initial review of his record, I question whether Judge Gorsuch meets the high standard set by Merrick Garland, Leahy said. And with the ideological litmus test that President Trump has applied in making this selection, the American people are justified to wonder whether Judge Gorsuch can truly be an independent justice. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said Tuesday, These executive orders have really pushed to the limit of the relationship between us. Breathtaking Retreat Several liberal Democrats went much further, rejecting Gorsuch outright. The Gorsuch nomination represents a breathtaking retreat from the notion that Americans have a fundamental right to constitutional liberties, and harkens back to the days when politicians restricted a peoples rights on a whim, Ron Wyden of Oregon said in a statement. No senator who believes that individual rights are reserved to the people, and not the government, can support this nomination. Several moderates suggested they were open to considering Gorsuch, including Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and independent Angus King of Maine. Gorsuchs August 2006 confirmation to his current seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was unanimous. Yet that unified bipartisan consent belies a tough task ahead in a Senate that has changed significantly in the years since the 49-year-old jurist last appeared before lawmakers. Only 41 of the Senates 100 lawmakers were in the Senate when Gorsuch was named to the appellate court, so the administration cant bank on old impressions. Whats more, a Senate confirmation process that was acrimonious back then is much more so today. Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2013 forced a vote eliminating filibusters on all nominees except those to the high court, after Republicans worked to block many of Obamas executive nominees and judges. Garland Fight More bitterness erupted last year after Garlands nomination was rebuffed without any consideration by Republicans who said the next president should get to make the pick. Many Democrats said this week that partly because of that, they cant rule out subjecting the nominee to a 60-vote filibuster threshold. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Republicans passive resistance to Garland was a big deal, and said that shes waiting to decide how to proceed. Republicans took away Barack Obamas final year, in terms of appointing a man who would have been a very good Supreme Court justice, she said. McConnell has been sending mixed signals about whether he may permanently alter Senate rules as Reid did, thereby ending filibusters for high-court nominees as well. While raising the prospect of doing so, he has been critical of Reids willingness to do that by using the nuclear option -- changing Senate rules with just 51 votes instead of 67. Earlier Tuesday, he said Merkleys threat to filibuster the new nominee would likely mean that 60 votes would be needed. Predicting Victory White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the administration is confident that it can get nine Democrats to support the nominee, enough votes to overcome delaying tactics if Democrats use them. I think the criteria in terms of academia, background, time on the bench, the expertise in criteria meets the intent of both Republicans and Democrats, Spicer said. Groups on both sides of the fight have already been gearing up for the nomination. Concerned Veterans for America, part of the network funded by the conservative Koch brothers, intends to take a lead role in drumming up grassroots engagement in support of Gorsuch. As soon as Gorsuch was announced, organizers began running paid Facebook, Twitter and search ads prompting people to call their senators to express support for him, said the groups executive director, Mark Lucas. Organizers will activate their 3.2 million supporters using direct mail, door knocks, phone calls and digital advocacy, he said. On the other side, abortion rights groups quickly blasted Trumps choice. Gorsuch represents an existential threat to legal abortion in the United States and must never wear the robes of a Supreme Court justice, Ilyse Hogue, the president of Naral Pro-Choice America, said in a statement. Naral and our 1.2 million member-activists call on the Senate to reject Trumps nominee using any and all available means, including the filibuster. Liberal groups, energized by the success of the womens marches the day after Trumps inauguration, pledged an all-out battle against Gorsuch. "We plan a mass mobilization to defeat Judge Neil Gorsuch," said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice Action Campaign. She said his record would roll back a range of protections including womens access to health services and LGBT equality. (Adds Merkley statement in sixth and seventh paragraphs.) --With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs Billy House and Shannon Pettypiece To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Michael B. Marois, Laurie Asseo 2017 Bloomberg L.P. The popular In-N-Out Burger chain is coming to Houston, according to the CBRE real estate firm. In-N-Out Burger is finalizing the purchase of its first site for a Houston location after considering the market several times, Jazz Hamilton, first vice president in the retail division at CBRE said at a panel discussion on the Houston real estate market Tuesday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Although details remain sketchy, the White House has raised some worries over a proposal to slap a 20-percent tax on goods imported from Mexico. The suggested tariff is one idea that President Donald Trump's administration has put forward to pay for the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. TRUMP TARIFF: Avocados (and lots of other stuff) could get pricey The bulk of U.S. imports from Mexico are cars made by manufacturers based in the United States and other non-Mexican countries. According to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. imported $295 billion worth of goods from Mexico in 2015, including $74 billion in vehicles. You can see the vehicles that would be impacted in the gallery above. Sean Spicer, Trump's press secretary, addressed the tariff notion in remarks Thursday morning after the president mentioned it in a Twitter message. Although Spicer later said the tariff was just one of several options under consideration to pay for the wall, the suggestion has drawn heavy criticism, especially from Texas businesses and elected officials. State Rep. Cesar Blanco, D-El Paso, who chairs the House Border Caucus, said the import tax would be a setback for trade with the state's number one partner and would devastate not only border communities but also the entire Texas economy. MEXICO RESISTS: Former Pres. Vicente Fox says Trump has revived 'very strong Mexican spirit' "Any tax imposed on Mexican imports will ultimately be passed on to the American and Texas consumer," Blanco told the Chronicle. "So, a 20-percent tax on Mexican imports means a 20-percent tax on our middle class and working families." Officials haven't released a list of specific items that would be subject to the tariff. University of Houston Board Chairman Tilman Fertitta praised two University of Texas System regent nominees who last week criticized UTs intended expansion in Houston in their Senate confirmation hearings. I think theyre very intelligent people, Fertitta said, grinning in a meeting Tuesday with the Houston Chronicles editorial board. Two of Gov. Greg Abbotts three nominees to join UT's board said in their confirmation hearings that they didnt think the Houston project could be successful without local support and that they didnt know why the university spent $215 million to buy 332 acres without a specific plan as to how to use the property. The third said he didnt have enough information to express an opinion. UT Chancellor William McRaven said last week that it would have been irresponsible not to buy the land in Houston, given its nationally renowned energy research and medical center. Still, he said, he would not operate without the board of regents endorsing the final decision on how to use the property. McRaven appointed an advisory group last year to come up with proposals that would not duplicate what other Houston schools offer unless more capacity in those programs is needed. The group was asked to make its recommendations to McRaven by the end of the year. It has not yet been passed to the chancellor. Fertitta and UH Chancellor and President Renu Khator said Tuesday that they did not know what UT was planning. UH has criticized UTs land buy as an invasion in its backyard. From what I hear, there is no plan, Fertitta said. I dont think the Chancellor has a direct plan. A UT System spokeswoman didnt immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment. A Detroit man said he wasn't allowed to bring his mother back to America after she was visiting family in Iraq. Mike Hager told news station WJBK in Detroit his 75-year-old mother, Naimm,a fell ill during the visit to Iraq, prompting him to return to America. Hager, an American citizen, said his mother was stopped at the airport in Iraq, despite having a green card and living in the U.S. since 1995. Hager said she died the next day. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is joining forces with a California healthcare firm to advance a less invasive cancer detection method. MD Anderson and Guardant Health want to make comprehensive liquid biopsy technology a standard part of cancer treatment, according to a joint statement. The keenly observed realism in Steven Stafford's play "Small Jokes About Monsters," which runs at the Landing Theatre through Feb. 18, has tinges of Sam Shepard, Tracy Letts and Stephen Karam. But its central character, Ryan, is a singular creation. Just listen to the way he talks, the words he picks like bullets from a belt. His style of speech is loose and mordant, his jokes peppered with piercing truths that betray a wounded man underneath. Ryan, played with fervor and finesse by Joshua Hoppe, is the second out of three children. Older brother John (Jonathan Gonzalez) and younger brother Derek (Colin Brock), who unlike Ryan have wives and children, join him in a New Jersey beach house after their father's funeral. The father has left behind an envelope, inside which is supposedly his will, though they soon find that its contents raise far more questions than answers. The events that follow involve family secrets and childhood traumas, as any proper kitchen-sink drama should. Like a train, the play's puttering dialogue quickens in measured intervals, each reveal adding fire and steam as the first act ends in an accelerando. More Information 'Small Jokes About Monsters' When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, through Feb. 18 Where: Landing Theatre at the Docks, 1119 Providence Tickets: $10-$100; 562-502-7469, landingtheatre.org See More Collapse The second act is a different vehicle, with an unraveling that feels both surprising yet inevitable. The introduction of the mother, a fierce, precise and comically domineering Rachel Dickinson, saves the play from its windless opening - Hoppe, Gonzalez and Brock struggle to mix up the energy early on before Dickinson's manic gesticulating or Stafford's gripping second-act plot enter the fray. Why is it that family members struggle so much to talk to each other? The brothers and mother in this play are each too consumed with their own lives, not to mention with what role they believe they should play in the family, to create the kind of disruptive dialogue that can push forward, or ruin, relationships. Then Ryan finds out something about himself, which in turn reveals truths about his brother, mother and father. His father tried to keep these revelations hidden inside a cryptic message inside an envelope, but once they're in Ryan's hands they pour out in waves. Not every bit of the script is perfect, but "Small Jokes About Monsters" represents a notable full play debut from Stafford, a Chicago-based actor known for his one-man show "Methtacular!," which delved into his experience as a meth addict for three years. With Stafford's vivid examination of family secrets, Landing Theatre shows just what is possible for a relatively new company in Houston (the play's premiere is tied to the company's new works series, New American Voices). "Small Jokes About Monsters," after all, indicates a mind in search of truth that's painfully aware of the bottomless nature of such a search. The title of the play speaks to this theme. It comes from Ryan's idea that there are three kinds of comedians. Overt ones are Godzillas, subtle ones are Mothras and unintentional ones are Gamera. But which brother gets assigned which fictional Japanese monster is not nearly as important - or as symbolically meaningful as it's intended - as the fact that the siblings need to fulfill distinct roles in the family. When events throw the family into chaos, the image of monsters battling over Tokyo gives them both a narrative they can understand and a way to illustrate the destruction they foresee ahead of them. The mother who blows in like a typhoon won't be giving them what they want from her, so they resort instead to jokes and pop-culture triviality. The tactics work, until they don't. All of a sudden, the laughter stops. That's when things get interesting. Seven consecutive years and another Cigar Coop Countdown is in the annals of history. The Countdown Concept began on Cigar Coop back in 2010, our first year in operation. Once the Countdown is over, there always is a sense of relief given the amount of time it takes to pull it off. At the same time, its also an opportunity to reflect. This has led me in recent years to do an post-game analysis of the cigars that made the list and look at trends and patterns. This also provides an opportunity to see what worked and what didnt. Wed like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read the countdown, give us feedback, and post it on social media. It is greatly appreciated. This year the Countdown was delayed due to the fact more time was needed to complete the list. Combining this with not publishing on holidays and weekends and the result was that it was too spread out (i.e. it went too long). Next year, it will return to approximately the 30 day window as it has in the past. The complete list of the 2016 Top 30 Cigars can be found here. Evaluating This Years Countdown In a lot of ways, this Countdown will probably be the last one of its kind on Cigar Coop. Namely, it is the last Countdown that will be based on a single cigar year. As I mentioned prior to the Countdown, there are two driving forces to this. First, the Deeming Regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could very well limit the amount of new releases. Second, it is this authors feeling that a single cigar year is too limiting to consider aging and tobacco vintage. As a result, 2017 will feature a two year window for the 2016 and 2017 Cigar Years, and after that it could very well be we eliminate the calendar restriction. Ive been in the minority of the cigar media in that I believe the single cigar year system for determining the best cigars of the year is quite flawed. Im hoping the first step of implementing a two year window will address some of the shortcomings. One final note, this years Countdown used informal feedback from cigar enthusiasts who dont follow social media, but enjoy cigars. It was one component used to determine the list. This was done by having them smoke some of the cigars on the list. In the meantime, here is the data captured from this years Top 30 Countdown. Im always fascinated by the trends year to year. 2016 was no exception. A Slight Increase in Maduros The amount of Maduros making the list has pretty much been stable the past three years. 2016 saw three Maduro cigars make the list. Last year saw eight maduros on the Countdown while 2014 saw six. No maduro cracked the Top 5 this year (last year saw maduros take the #1 and #2 spots overall). In addition, only three maduros cracked the top 13 this year. Since we starting tracking this statistic, this is the breakdown of Maduros on the list. 2012 10 2013 12 2014 6 2015 8 2016 7 While San Andres led the way in 2015 with four maduro entries, this year only saw one San Andres wrapped cigar make the Countdown (Regius Exclusivo U.S.A. Oscuro Especial Robusto). The remaining six maduros in 2016 making the list were split evenly between Connecticut Broadleaf and Ecuadorian Maduro. Connecticut Broadleaf 3 Ecuadorian Maduro 3 Mexican San Andres 1 Puros Multi-national blends continued to be a trend on the Countdown. This year saw a decline in single country puros with only three entries landing on the Countdown. This is down from 6 puros last year and 10 puros in 2014. All three puros were in the top eight cigars for 2016. Perhaps the most interesting statistic is that there were no Nicaraguan puros on this years Countdown. Nicaragua has dominated the single country puro category the previous two years with 5 in 2015 and 8 the year before. This years highest rated puro came from Honduras (Aladino Elegante) 2014 10 (8 from Nicaragua, 2 from Dominican Republic) 2015 6 (5 from Nicaragua , 2 from Dominican Republic) 2016 3 (2 from Dominican Republic, 1 from Honduras) Nicaragua 5 Dominican Republic 1 Ecuador Reigns Supreme for Wrappers For this category, we are only counting wrappers where both the country of origin and wrapper type is disclosed. If its just Nicaraguan or Habano, we are not counting it here. There wasnt a dominant wrapper for 2016, although Ecuadorian Habano once again led the way with 5 (down from 9 in 2016). The interesting statistic is that there was not an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper that landed in the Top 10. Of the wrappers that were specifically disclosed, here was the breakdown: Ecuadorian Habano 5 Ecuadorian Maduro 3 Connecticut Broadleaf 3 Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade 2 Ecuadorian Desflorado 2 Nicaraguan Habano 2 We broke out Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade and Ecuadorian Desflorado in separate categories, but an argument can certainly be made to combine these categories. We also looked at wrappers originating by country. Here we include cases where the wrappers country of origin is disclosed, but not the specific type of tobacco. Ecuador once again led the way with 12 entries (up from 11). If a country was not officially specified, we classified it as Unknown. We pointed out that there was only one San Andres wrapper, thus only one entry from Mexico. This year the country that was shut out was Brazil. Ecuador 12 Unknown 7 Nicaragua 4 USA 3 Dominican Republic 2 Honduras 1 Mexico 1 Nicaragua and Dominican Republic Lead the Way with Country of Origin In this country we look at country of origin where a cigar is produced. No surprises here. Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic led the way with 13 cigars each. Costa Rica was a distant third with three entries (two from MBombay and one from LH) and there was only a single entry (Aladino Elegante) from Honduras. The United States did not land a cigar on the Countdown. Dominican Republic 13 Nicaragua 13 Costa Rica 3 Honduras 1 Davidoff Leads the Way with Companies Davidoff was the dominant brand and company this year. As a brand it was highest performing brand on Cigar Coop. It also landed a record setting four cigars in the top 20. Only five companies landed multiple entries on this years Countdown. Davidoff 4 Crux 2 MBombay -2 Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust 2 Black Label Trading Company / Black Works Studio 2 Boutiques Unified, which is the rebranded House of Emilio did land four cigars from three separate companies (Black Label Trading Company Bishops Blend Robusto, Black Works Studio Killer Bee Green Hornet Robusto, 1502 XO Toro, and Nomad Martial Law Toro) Davidoff, Casa Fernandez, and Espinosa Cigars each extended their longest streak of consecutive appearances on the Countdown with 4, dating back to 2013. Davidoff Leads the Way with in terms of Factory Note: Here we group factories with multiple operations into a single category. It was no surprise that Davidoff topped the list with five. The four Davidoff branded cigars came from TABADOM with one entry (Paul Garmirian 25th Anniversary Connoisseur) from the Occidental Cigars factory. There were only six factories with multiple entries on the Top 30. Plasencia was second with four entries including the #1 ranked Crux du Connoisseur No. 2. Two surprise entries were Tabacos de Costa Rica (where all three Costa Rican made cigars on the Countdown are made) and Fabrica Oveja Negra, the factory operated by James Brown of Black Label Trading Company. La Zona with three entires was our Small Factory of the Year for the second year in a row. Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia was our Large Factory of the Year, but did not land a Top 30 cigar. With Fuente this award was less about what was released in 2016 and more about the consistency out of that factory. In our book, this still edged out Davidoff. Davidoff 5 Plasencia SA 4 Fabrica Oveja Negra 3 Tabacos de Costa Rica 3 La Zona SA 3 Quesada Cigars SA 2 First Timers This year saw 8 companies make the Countdown for the first time (down from 13 in 2015 and 9 in 2014). Of the new companies only JRE Tobacco was a first year company. Size Matters Like last year, Toro was the dominant size. As we did last year we divided Toro into regular Toro (Approx. 6, 50 to 52 ring) and Toro Grande (Approx 6 > 52 ring). These cigars accounted for 16 of the 30 cigars split equally between Toro and Toro Grande. The strength of Toro Grande was also reflected in the overall performance ratings for Vitolas for 2016. Lanceros had four entries on the Countdown led by Crux du Connoissuer and Aladino Elegante which took the top two spots. The LH Maduro Lancero was counted as a lonsdale since it was a 42 ring gauge. Five vitola sizes landed multiple times on the Countdown Toro 8 Toro Grande 8 Lancero 4 Robusto 3 Belicoso 2 There were six box-pressed entries on this years Countdown. What was Different About Our Top 30 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate "Where have I seen this before?" How often you must ask yourselves that same question when it comes to broadcast TV. Well, get ready to ask it again, but don't dismiss "Superior Donuts" just because it's uncannily similar to the old Freddie Prinze vehicle, "Chico and the Man." The creators of CBS' "Superior Donuts," getting a special preview Thursday before moving to its Monday time slot, have added new and agreeable life to the template with tightly effective comic writing. The show is set in the doughnut shop that time forgot, located in the middle of a rapidly gentrifying Chicago neighborhood and run by set-in-his-ways Arthur Przybyszewski (Judd Hirsch). More Information 'Superior Donuts' When: series premieres at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, regular slot starts at 8 p.m. Monday Network: CBS xxxx See More Collapse Business isn't very good these days. Only Maya (Anna Baryshnikov), a graduate student working on her doctorate, is a regular, but Chicago cop Randy DeLuca (Katey Sagal) stops in whenever she's on patrol as well. Her late dad used to bring her to the shop when she was a girl, and he was also Arthur's best friend. His neighbor Fawz (Maz Jobrani) stops in daily to renew his offer to buy the building, but even though there's no hope that business will turn around, Arthur is staying put. One day, a fast-talking young man named Franco Wicks (Jermaine Fowler) comes into the shop and persuades Arthur to hire him. Never mind that the script sidelines logic at this point: Although Arthur has shown no interest at all in hiring anyone, much less modernizing his shop, he hires a kid he's never met before for work that doesn't appear to exist. You know exactly where this is going, even if you are too young to have seen "Chico and the Man," a sitcom from the '70s in which Chico (Prinze) fast-talks his way into a job working for a crusty garage owner played by Jack Albertson. Like Arthur, Albertson's Ed gripes about the rapidly changing neighborhood, which in this case, was in Los Angeles. The writing in "Donuts" is nicely peppered with contemporary references, but, more to the point, effective character-based humor. In other words, this show is funny. Hirsch is perfect for the role without being required to do any heavy lifting. Fowler dominates the show, even when he's not onscreen. He has great comic timing that not only serves the joke well but also works within the context of his character and the scene. In spite of the fact the setup feels familiar, there's nothing stale about these "Donuts." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A note posted at an unidentified Houston-area day care is going viral. The sign, reportedly printed and taped to the facility's entrance by its employees, appeals to parents to put down their phones and interact with their children. "You are picking up your child," the note reads. " GET OFF YOUR PHONE!!!! Your child is happy to see you! Are you happy to see your child??" STUCK: Law school naming dispute hits impasse "We have seen children trying to hand their parents their work they completed and the parent is on the phone. We have heard a child say 'Mommy, mommy, mommy...' and the parents is paying more attention to their phone than their own child. It is appalling. Get off your phone!!" Since a photo of the note was shared on Facebook on Jan. 27, it was been shared more than a million times and received more than 7,000 comments and counting. "I thought it was on point," Juliana Mazurkewicz, who posted a photo of the sign, told the Houston Chronicle Wednesday. "I wasn't offended, and I thought it was a good reminder, to myself and others, of what's important." She's been reluctant to name the childcare facility because of safety concerns for her child, adding that she's had thousands of people begin following her on Facebook. She explained that it's a small, independent business located in a local suburb and that the note was posted by its owner. Some parents feel the day care employee who allegedly shared this went too far, saying that working parents have it hard and lead busy lives. Some claim that it's unnecessarily judgmental. "Wow!! How people judge others," one Facebook user wrote. "Have you ever thought that the parent is teaching the child manners? That's rude to think you should drop what you are doing because your child is demanding your attention. Stop judging peoples parenting and do your own job which by the way includes helping parents, not judging them." IMMIGRATION HOLD: Katy high student caught in Trump's immigration ban Other commenters chimed in to say they agree with the childcare business, saying that parent should prioritize their children. "These smart phone technologies are disconnecting us from reality and have become a giant distraction for parents," another person posted. "Please parents, remember, you are role models." Leave us your thoughts in the comments below. Our state and national lawmakers are back in office and already making changes that can affect us now and well into the future. But do they really care what we think? The short answer is yes. Of course they do. Why? Because without usthe votersour lawmakers may or may not return to office following the next election. One vote may seem small on the grand scale of things, but collectively, we have the power to impact change. Like legislation? Don't like legislation? Let your lawmaker know. Call their office. Email their chief of staff. Schedule an office visit. Why? Because if we don't, we may get stuck with legislation we just can't live with. This year, some big issues like trade, immigration reform and taxes will be tackled on the national level. On a state level, legislators will likely look at issues like eminent domain, land-use regulation and water. Texas Farm Bureau will be there, in the state and national capitols, fighting for our members' rights, but we can't do it alone. We need people like you to talk to your lawmakers. They want to see the faces behind the legislation they're considering. They need to know how a particular bill can impact Texans for better or worse. To help our members get out in front of these issues, TFB hosts events like the TFB Leadership Conference, which is going on now in Austin, to discuss issues affecting rural Texas and agriculture. A large group of TFB members from the conference will head to the Capitol tomorrow to celebrate TFB Day in the Texas Legislature but also to ensure the lawmakers know that TFB members care what happens in our state house and fields. Not able to make it? No problem. Each week, the TFB Legislative office publishes the Austin Newsletter with the lowdown on what's happening in our state Capitol. Catch up here: http://texasfarmbureau.org/advocacy/austin-newsletter. Need to take action? Connect with your lawmakers using TFB's VoterVoice. Look up legislation, find your official and sign up for alerts: http://texasfarmbureau.org/advocacy/voter-voice. It's time we lift our voices. Together, we can affect change. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The guests at the fourth annual Roman Forest Police Officer Awards and Recognition Dinner fell silent as Judge James Metts, Montgomery County Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace, told the story of his uncle, who lost his life to a drunken driver when Metts was 14 years old. "He was a Hardin County Deputy Sherriff," Metts said. "He was 29 years old and was married and the father of four children from the ages of 3 to 7 years old. He was someone I loved dearly. He was a big man - six-foot-six and weighed about 250 pounds - and I admired and respected him highly." As Metts' uncle was responding to a disturbance in-progress, a driver his uncle had arrested only one week before for drunken driving, pulled out of a parking lot in front of his uncle's vehicle. Metts' uncle was killed instantly. The devastating toll Metts' uncle's death took on his family has stayed with him to this day as a reminder of the daily sacrifice law enforcement officers and their families make for others' protection. "As police officers, I understand the dangers you guys face every day," Metts said. "You will always be held in the highest regard by me for what you do because I know personally how it can end quickly and it's a chance that you guys take every day to give someone like me and others the protection and freedom that we get to enjoy here in America." Metts served as the special guest Master of Ceremonies during the 2017 Roman Forest Police Officer Awards and Recognition Ceremony held at the East Montgomery County Improvement District Complex in New Caney on Monday, Jan. 30. "This award program is designed to recognize employees who provide outstanding law enforcement services in the best interests of public safety," said Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle. Metts announced recognition recipients as Carlisle presented the awards. Service bars were presented, with each bar representing four years of service. Officers who received service bars were: Randall Blackketter, three bars; Chris Wall, four bars; Greg Sammon, seven bars; and Robert Bymaster, eight bars. Specialty Pins for military service were awarded to Roxana Castillo, David Hawkinson and Bymaster for having honorably served in the United States Military. Specialty Pins were also awarded to Sammon as a certified firearms instructor; Wall, Sammon and Fidel Flores as field training officers; Richard White as mental health peace officer; Sammon and Castillo as bicycle patrol; Castillo as Honor Guard member; Sammon as motorcycle officer; and Chris Wall as instructor. The Achievement Award for Communications Officer was presented to Jackie Garza, a state-licensed communications officer serving as the Roman Forest PD records clerk, administrative assistant, event planner and in other capacities as well. Achievement award for Advanced Peace Officer was awarded to Flores; Achievement awards for Master Peace Officer were awarded to Wall, Bymaster and Sammon; and achievement award for earning a doctorate was awarded to Richard White. During the ceremony, Dimitri Jasonis was promoted from lieutenant to captain and assistant chief. Awards were also given to Roman Forest citizens, recognizing actions that help law enforcement, promote safety, or provide assistance during a critical situation. Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to Ronnie "Bubba" Tullos for donating half the cost of level 4 ballistic vests for Roman Forest police officers, and to EMCID for years of support for the department, including the purchase of a Mobile Data Computer in 2016. Citizen Citation Awards were presented to Chrystal Hartman, who delivered emergency first aid to a toddler who was choking on a quarter in November, and to Roman Forest resident Samantha Costa, who performed CPR and first aid on her son, Adoniah after he lost consciousness underwater while playing in a pool. Castillo was presented with a Chief of Police Letter of Recognition in honor of her outstanding service. At the event, members of the Law Enforcement Explorer Post 0911 helped perform various functions such as serving food to guests and conducting the raffle. The Explorers Post 0911 was started by Matt Busby, Porter High School Criminal Justice instructor and partnered with the Roman Forest Police Department approximately one year ago. Through the Explorer program, young people have the opportunity to learn about the criminal justice system through hands-on, first-hand experience. Members of the Explorers Post 0911 were honored during the ceremony and Busby presented Carlisle with a belt buckle as a token of appreciation for Roman Forest PD's involvement. "Without friends like Chief Carlisle, none of this would be possible," Busby said. Years of Service Awards were presented officers for their time serving in law enforcement. They were awarded to Cpl. Andrew Morgan for five years of service; Wall for 15 years of service; and Sammon and Bymaster for 30 years of law enforcement service. Morgan received the Meritorious Award for five years of Safe Driving and Capt. Lonnie Cantwell received the Meritorious Service Award for his help creating and serving as the position of the fire/police officer. The Medal of Honor was awarded to Sammon, who helped recover a man and child from dangerous waters under the San Jacinto River Bridge while employed by the Humble Police Department. For the second year in a row, Flores was named the Reserve Officer of the Year. Officer Randall Blackketter was name the 2016 Roman Forest Police Department Officer of the Year for his dedicated service to the department and citizens. For more information about the Roman Forest Police Department, visit http://www.romanforestpd.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/RomanForestPD/. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Faith leaders and activists mourned the death of a Fort Bend County youth Wednesday as they gathered to announce an initiative to raise the age of juvenile offenders in Texas from 17 to 18. Emmanuel Akueir, 17, died of an apparent suicide last week in the jail, where he had been held for several weeks. "We know that raising the age protects our high school juniors and seniors from the trauma that inevitably follows from spending any time in an adult jail with the increased risk of victimization, abuse and suicide," said Jay Jenkins, an attorney for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, which is pushing to raise the age. "We have to stop this from happening." Akueir's family Wednesday told the Chronicle he should have been in an juvenile jail. "Emmanuel was a minor who was put with adults who've lived the criminal life and are well aware of right and wrong," said sister Iman Akueir. "He was a child and treated like an adult. There's no excuse about what happened. Children are children." Akueir, who was arrested for aggravated robbery and evading arrest, was in the adult jail instead of a juvenile detention facility because he was 17, the age of adulthood in Texas, although he was not old enough to vote, enlist in the military or buy tobacco or lottery tickets. A high-profile group of faith leaders gathered Wednesday in front of the Broken Obelisk sculpture at Houston's Rothko Chapel to back efforts to change state law to raise the age for adulthood. Rabbi Samuel Karff, of Congregation Beth Israel said he brought a message of support from Catholic Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza and Baptist Rev. William Lawson, who had worked together study the issue and supported the change. He said politicians from opposite sides of the aisle are finding themselves in agreement on some criminal justice issues. "One, because of the surging, staggering cost," Karff said. "And two, this system woefully fails to reduce, in any significant way, the level of recidivism." Others, including Rev. Steve Quill, from TRUTH Houston, Bishop James Dixon and former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, spoke about what they have seen in their work. Quill told of providing counseling decades ago to a 17-year-old parishioner who was assaulted in an adult jail. "I spent countless hours with he and his family, we got him therapy, because he had been abused," Quill said. "This has become a very personal issue for me. My experience with parishioners and family has convinced me that we need now to raise the age." Critics have said they worry about exponentially expanding costs of diverting 17-year-olds from adult jails across the state to juvenile detention facilities. State Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat well-known as the voice of legislation on criminal justice, said earlier this week that the expense would likely keep it from passing the senate. The Chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, Whitmire said it costs $30,000 to jail an adult for a year and $150,000 for a juvenile. He said current estimates are that it would cost Harris County about $50 million. Advocates say the state will save money in the long-run, however, because of less recidivism. Also, Jenkins said, it is unlikely that the 17-year-old inmates in the Harris County Jail, about 100 at any given time, would be held in the juvenile detention center, which only holds suspects accused of the most severe felonies. He said it would probably mean an increase of 10 or fewer detainees at the juvenile detention center. "Ninety-five percent of these 17-year-olds are committing low-level nonviolent crimes," Jenkins said. "In the juvenile system, those wouldn't result in detention at all. The ultimate result may be 2, 5 or 10some low numberof 17-year-olds that need detention." Mike Glenn One person has died in an apartment complex shooting in west Houston on Tuesday evening, according to police. Police received a call about the shooting at Towne Plaza Apartments on Wild Indigo shortly after 8 p.m. One victim was reportedly shot in the back. The second victim self-transported to the hospital and is expected to survive. The Conroe/Greater Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce tallied more than 300 job seekers within the first two hours of its fifth annual job fair Tuesday at the Lone Star Convention Center. The Chamber co-hosts the event each year to connect potential employees with companies that are hiring in the area. Last year, about 600 people attended. Associate Director of the Greater Conroe Economic Development Council Jennifer Matters observed an increase this year in job seekers over the age of 55 compared to previous years. She also noticed people who are still seeking employment following grueling oil and gas industry layoffs across the Houston area last year. The job seekers had a chance to connect with 41 Montgomery County and North Harris County companies averaging 10-12 openings in various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, law enforcement, and more. NEORig, a year old joint-venture between Conroe-based BAUER Manufacturing and Houston Energy company Schlumberger focuses on the land, drilling, manufacturing side of the oil industry. The job fair vendor is in "growth mode" with about 60 openings. NEORig is specifically hiring experienced workers for its Conroe location off FM 3083, according to Human Resources Manager Suzette Olivan. "There will be a lot of job opportunity in the job market within our company due to the workload that is coming our way," Olivan said. "We have quite a few opportunities out in the assembly shops, the rig up pads, in the weld shop we need lots of hands to make this happen." The employees will be able to work in an oil rig atmosphere in Conroe, but go home to their own bed in the evenings. "It gives you a little bit of both worlds," she said. "Those people who may be ready to stay at home and be with their families on a more routine basis still get to work in the industry with just a slight different environment." Conroe resident Phillip Black, 54, has been unemployed since June from the oil and gas industry. "The oil and gas business is so high pressure," Black said. "I feel like I'm getting older so I want to slow down a little bit." While Black said he has experienced challenges finding a job, he said it has not been because of age. "There's so many people laid off in the oil and gas business," Black said. "I did a lot of looking online, but you'll see a job post and you'll see 200 people already applied for this job. You start to feel like what's the point of applying for the job. So at least with the job fair you get to talk to people and get in front of them. I felt like I was a little old for most of them (the vendors like the police department, fire department, and military) -- I'm way too old for all of that." Walt Wellborn was laid off from his Information Technology job in December, which he moved to Conroe for two years ago. He worked in the industry for more than 20 years. He spoke to several people including insurance companies and HVAC companies that have sales positions available. "I have loved meeting everybody, Wellborn said. "It's doesn't have the types of jobs I normally apply for, but that's OK I wasn't expecting it and the people I have met have been wonderful and I think I'll get a couple of interviews out of it." The job hunt has been difficult, he said. "I'm 62 years old so it's hard," Wellborn said. "I appreciate companies even bothering to talk to me because it's tough to hire somebody like me that has been doing this for so long. So I am grateful for any conversation I have with anyone who is interested." He thinks senior citizens are underrated when it comes to hiring. "They get relegated to positions where they cannot use their experience," Wellborn said. "That is not a reference to me, that is a reference to a whole. I think we need to find a way to leverage our senior citizens and their experiences rather than shove them in a corner." While some attendees came out to find a job now, others used the event as an opportunity to prepare for the future. Sgt. First Class U.S. Army Reserve Career Counselor William Jozwiak will be retiring from the military in 12 to 15 months after 25 years of service. He is interested in operations management or becoming a recruiter for a major corporation. The experience provided an opportunity to network and to review his resume. He said he believes it is important for the community to have the job fair to help the employment rate and job seekers. "It's advantageous to have it in one location instead of having to go business to business or website to website," said Jozwiak who lives in Spring and works at the Reserve Center in Conroe. "It's easier for people to say no over the phone but if you can come here and you have that face-to-face with the business, then you can go ahead and establish that initial impression." A total estimate of attendees was not available by press time. Texans have to be 18 years old to vote, join the military or buy a lottery ticket. But when arrested for any crime from misdemeanor to felony, 17-year-olds are treated like adults, an inconsistency some legislators, judges and religious leaders hope to change. Several members of Houston's faith community will gather with criminal justice experts and youth advocates Wednesday to support several bills filed in the state Legislature seeking to raise the age of criminal jurisdiction from 17 to 18. "The idea that someone is not mature enough to buy a can of Copenhagen but is mature enough to go to the adult jail facility for committing such an infraction is crazy," said Jay Jenkins, an attorney for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, which is pushing to raise the age. "This group of ministers and interfaith leaders consider it more than just a financial issue. They consider it a moral issue, in the way that we are treating some of our most vulnerable citizens." Texas is one of only seven states that still view a 17-year-old as an adult forcing sheriffs across the state to make special, sometimes costly, accommodations to house 17-year-olds separately from older offenders. If 17-year-olds were classified as juveniles, they would get more educational services and treatment, be confined in juvenile detention facilities and might be able to get their records sealed, advocates say. But critics worry the charge would explode juvenile jail budgets and strain courtroom resources for the same reason that advocates want it: youths behind bars get more assistance and are treated more individually. The difference is exponential - it costs $30,000 to jail an adult for a year and $150,000 for a juvenile, according to state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. He said it would cost Harris County an additional $50 million to implement, a cost that is unlikely to gain support among certain lawmakers. "The bottom line is that it can't pass the Senate right now," Whitmire said. For full story, visit houstonchronicle.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Houston's two embattled law schools alerted a federal judge Wednesday morning that their sluggish settlement discussions in a dispute over naming rights had reached a standstill. Attorneys for the University of Houston Law Center and the newly renamed South Texas College of Law Houston jointly asked the judge to send the case to mediation under U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Hanovice Palermo. UH sued for a trademark violation over the private college's initial efforts to rename itself the Houston College of Law. RANKING WELL: Texas law schools touted for high return on investment In October, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison granted a temporary injunction, effectively telling the private school to stop using the new name and remove it from buildings and school materials because UH had a likely chance of winning its lawsuit at trial. Then, after closed-door settlement efforts, the case appeared all but resolved when the 93-year-old private downtown campus announced that it had re-branded itself a second time, using a name that UH deemed acceptable and decided to change its branding colors from crimson with white to blue and gold. But lawyers have been unable to work out the final details of the settlement. IMMIGRATION HOLD: Katy high student caught in Trump's immigration ban The parties have yet to resolve a dispute over whether South Texas should award damages to UH, and they also have not agreed on terms for withdrawing various trademark applications and registrations that lay claim to the word "Houston" in association with educational services. If mediation is unsuccessful, the case would go to trial. >>>Click through the above gallery to see the top laws schools in Texas and nationally GALVESTON A Texas rowboat crew sent a text from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday saying they were on course to be the first three-person crew to complete a 3,000-mile trans-Atlantic race. The rowboat Anne was bucking heavy winds about 87 nautical miles from the finish line at Nelson's Dockyard English Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda, about 300 miles east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, crew captain Michael Matson texted to the Houston Chronicle. Despite three previous attempts, no three-person rowboat crew has successfully completed the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Matson, 32, of Missouri City, said he and crewmates Brian Krauskopf, 28, and David Alviar, 31, both of Houston, are worn and tired. "Biggest complaint from all is actually butt pain. (imagine bed sores mixed with friction burns) Sitting down to row is shudder worthy," Matson said. "Condition: huge weight loss, Cast Away beards, and an atrocious smell, 12 hours of rowing a day, so blistered hands and feet, sore backs," he said. The crew set out Dec. 14 from San Sebastian de La Gomera on the island of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa. The Anne is one of 12 boats in the race, with crews of one to four. Matson said the Anne was hampered because it was designed for a crew of two and the extra crew member makes it heavy in the water, a disadvantage when winds are strong. Even so, the Anne was in fourth place as of Wednesday, with four-member-crew boats ahead of it, Matson said. The boat was battling the strongest winds of the race and was unlikely to catch the third place boat, about 15 nautical miles ahead, he said. Matson expected the Anne to cross the finish line Thursday, making the crew the first from Texas to finish the race and accomplishing the crew's goal of making the crossing in fewer than 50 days. "And we hit the goal of back in time to see the Super Bowl!" Matson texted. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate On February 1, 2003, tragedy once again struck the NASA family when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up while it was returning to Earth. The Columbia broke apart in flames 200,000 feet over Texas, killing all seven astronauts just minutes before they were to glide to a landing in Florida. THE JOURNEY BEGINS: Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program At approximately 9:00 a.m., within seconds of the last communication received from the Columbia crew, residents in Texas and Louisiana reported hearing a loud noise and seeing debris falling from the skies. The remnants of the shuttle were scattered across a large part of East Texas as it re-entered the atmosphere. Within hours, locals were calling to report pieces of the spacecraft strewn about their property, along roads, and in backyards. The incident, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts came just days after the seventeenth anniversary of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM: Despite hurdles, space shuttle was key to a grander vision Commander Rick Husband; Pilot William McCool; Kalpana Chawla; Michael Anderson; Dr. Laurel Clark; Dr. David Brown; and Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli in space, all lost their lives. Years later, reminders of Columbia are everywhere, including up in the sky. Everything from asteroids, lunar craters and Martian hills, to schools, parks, streets and even an airport (Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport) bear the Columbia astronauts' names. Some 84,000 pounds of wreckage, representing 40 percent of NASA's oldest space shuttle, are stored at Kennedy and loaned for engineering research. The wreckage serves as a training tool for those studying disasters like Columbia. Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate There are loads of free events going on around town in celebration of Houston hosting the Super Bowl, but traveling to those said events proves to be difficult if you're getting there by car. Yes, you could take an Uber, but there are likely surge prices, plus some of you have deleted your account after this weekend's debacle with Donald Trump's immigration ban. FIND THE ANSWER: This is why some of your friends are publically deleting Uber But there are so many more options provided by the city of Houston and its Super Bowl partners, namely those in the biking industry. These are the traveling freebies that locals and visitors can take advantage of throughout the week during Super Bowl festivities: Houston B-Cycle Throughout the city, there are dozens of Houston B-Cycle kiosks that residents and visitors are welcome to utilize free of charge. The bike-share program also provides an app for users to view the location of all bike stations and the number of bikes and docks open at each station. BikeHouston Bike Valet Houstonians and visitors that already have bikes at their disposal, can ride into downtown and park their bike for free at the bike valet provided by BikeHouston. Riders are able to use the service one-hour prior through one-hour after posted Super Bowl Live times. Pedicabs If pedaling really isn't your thing in any way, there will be registered pedicabs on the north side of Discovery Green and will travel anywhere in the Central Business District. EVENTS OUT OF DOWNTOWN: SoberBowl debuts in Houston as 'fresh alternative' Though, if biking isn't your thing, there are special points to note about the way Uber and taxis are going to be working in the Super Bowl Live/downtown area. Uber only has one designated drop-off and pickup location on Crawford between Rusk and Capitol (behind the Marriott Marquis). When requesting an Uber downtown, the geolocation will pin you at that spot and you'll have to walk to meet your Uber at pick up. Taxis are approved to provide rides at various locations downtown and have a special called "Six in the City" where $6 taxicab rides are provided to riders anywhere downtown by any taxi company in Houston. This is exclusively for traveling within downtown. To find a taxi in Houston, use the Arro app to locate a close ride. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate VICTORIA After a fire destroyed this South Texas towns only mosque last weekend, Victorias sole Jewish temple handed over a set of keys to the Muslim worshippers. A Jewish value is to love your neighbor as yourself, said Robert Loeb, 66, president of Bnai Israel Temple. So I think you have some responsibility when other people have some turmoil to help them out. In a town of fewer than 80,000 where people can give telephone numbers without an area code, the offer was as simple as a man stopping by a friends house and turning over the keys to the synagogue. Dr. Gary Branfman, a 61-year-old Jewish plastic surgeon, woke up Saturday morning to news that the Islamic Center of Victoria had burned down. From his house, he could see the flames that took firefighters four hours to extinguish. "We're a pretty small city, so you could see it from everywhere," Branfman said. PASS, PLEASE: Houston group advises mosques to say no to lawmaker's survey He drove the short distance to the mosque, where he saw the wreckage. He decided on the spot that he would drive to the house of the mosques president, Dr. Shahid Hashmi, a fellow surgeon who is a former neighbor and longtime friend. The drive didnt take long. Branfman said Victoria residents joke that they can get anywhere in the city in eight minutes or less, unless theres a cow crossing the road. Branfman pulled up to the Hashmi home in his white Land Rover with a Grateful Dead bumper sticker. He walked up to the familiar house, which features arches, tiles and other elements of Islamic architecture. Hashmi, a 69-year-old general surgeon who serves as president of the Islamic center, returned home a few minutes later. Branfman, a member of the Bnai Israel board, pulled out his set of temple keys. He had not yet asked the rest of the board for permission, but he was prepared to ask their forgiveness later. He left the keys in the hand of his old friend. The move was natural in a place like Victoria. "When you live in a town of 80,000, you know a lot of people," Loeb said. When their neighbors needed help, they weren't strangers. He added that several churches also offered to host Muslim worshipers, who for the time being plan to hold prayer services in a temporary building beside the burned-out mosque. When you live in a town of 80,000, you know a lot of people, Loeb said. When their neighbors needed help, they werent strangers. Several churches and an office building also offered to host the Muslim worshipers. We appreciated everybodys offer, Hashmi said. It was nice, very nice. For the time being, the mosque is using a portable building donated by a local school and placed beside the burned house of worship, board member Irfan Qureshi said. Our prayers are very simple, he added. We really just need a clean place to put our forehead. Members of the temple and mosque got acquainted during a series of interfaith events three or four years ago, Loeb said. People spent several Saturday afternoons visiting the mosque, the temple and a church to learn about each others faiths. Christians and Jews have been among those to support the mosque as it makes plan to demolish the burned building and rebuild. A fundraising page to support the project raised more than $850,000 in 24 hours. By Wednesday it had raised more than $1 million. The mosque had been a target of hatred several years ago and experienced a burglary just a week before the fire early Saturday , the Victoria Advocate reported, and the synagogue was the target of anti-Semitic graffiti 10 years ago. GUILTY: Houston man admits to Christmas Day mosque fire Saturday's fire was not the first incident at the two institutions. In 2013 teenage vandals spray-painted graffiti on the mosque, which was burglarized a week before the fire early Saturday, the Victoria Advocate reported, and the synagogue was the target 10 years ago of anti-Semitic graffiti. A clerk at a convenience store spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2 a.m. No injuries were reported. Victoria Fire Marshal Tom Legler asked for help from the Texas Fire Marshal's Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the blaze. Andrew Kragie reported from Houston, Susan Carroll from Victoria. Leave it to Texas academics to help bridge the rift between North Korea and the United Sates. North Korea's Pyongyang University of Science and Technology recently reached out to Texas A&M for advice in agricultural economics and public health programs, Reuters reported. SAN ANTONIO The northbound lanes of Interstate 37 were shut down on the Southeast Side Wednesday after a major accident involving two 18 wheelers and up to 20 vehicles, according to authorities. The crash occurred shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday near Old Corpus Christi Road on I-37, where at least two 18-wheelers crashed due to the heavy fog in the area in the northbound lanes, said San Antonio Police Department Sgt. George Antu. All lanes of I-37 finally opened at about 11:40 a.m., according to SAPD. The multi-vehicle pileup was the result of four to five different crashes on I-37, according to Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Josh Donat. RELATED: Southeast Bexar County hit by dense fog in area of major wreck on I-37 Antu described the fog as creating a "domino effect" when mixed with vehicles traveling above the speed limit. EMS transported several people to area hospitals and others were being treated at the scene. Antu said at one point numerous people were lying on the side of the road since they were having trouble getting emergency personnel to the scene for treatment. Further south of the main scene, officials closed the Loop 1604 and I-37 intersection to prevent more crashes. TxDOT approved the opening of the interchange at about 11:30 a.m. Antu said people driving through the area need to slow down, as many of the vehicles involved in the various crashes were speeding. "The fog is real heavy," Antu said. "The accidents are continuing because cars are still traveling at a high rate of speed." Visibility in Southeast Bexar County Wednesday morning was about a quarter mile, according to the National Weather Service, which triggered a dense fog warning. The area was one of the worst hit in the city. Dense fog stretched from about Interstate 35 down to the Alice and Beeville areas in South Texas, an expanse of about 90 miles. READ ALSO: Truck bursts into flames after being broadsided by tour bus on I-37 The NWS said the fog is expected to clear away around 11 a.m. Eric Platt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said this type of fog is not unusual for this time of year. This story will continue to be updated as more information is available. Staff writers Chris Eudaily, Kelsey Bradshaw, Madalyn Mendoza and Caleb Downs contributed to this report. Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com David Williams/Austin Ridesharing AUSTIN -- An additional $500 million for sweeping reforms of Texas' beleaguered child protection system and $250 million in cuts to business franchise taxes are highlights of Gov. Greg Abbott's proposed budget released Tuesday. While Abbott does not write the state budget -- that's up to the Senate and House -- he has the final authority to sign or veto the spending document, so his wishes will hold some sway in a year when state revenues are down and spending is expected to be tight. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday made good on a promise to cut all state grant funding to Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez over a new policy of refusing to cooperate with all federal immigration detainers. Within hours after Hernandez's new policy took effect, Abbott halted more than $1.5 million in criminal justice grants that go through his office. Abbott aides said the county already has received $300,000 of a total of $1.8 million in grants to the sheriff's office. WARNING SHOT: Abbott declares emergency, bans 'sanctuary cities' Hernandez 10 days ago announced a new policy that her department would no longer honor most warrantless requests from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to detain jailed suspects who were in the United States illegally. Hernandez said her policy would not include those charged with murder, aggravated sexual assault and human smuggling. Neither Hernandez nor Travis County officials had any immediate comment. According to state records, the grants to Travis County fund such things as courts dealing with family drug-treatment, veterans and DWI cases, along with drug diversion programs, and family violence and victim outreach programs. It was not immediately clear how each program would be affected, or how much of their total budget came from the governor's grants. Most of Travis County's legislative delegation are Democrats, and they immediately protested Abbott's cutoff of funding as unfair to the participants in the local justice programs. "Not a single dollar of the (Governor's) Criminal Justice Division grants are allocated to or administered by the Travis County Sheriff's Office," said state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin. "Instead, these resources are used to help veterans get back on their feet, support victims of family violence, reunite children with parents in recovery and reach our youth before they become involved with the criminal justice system in ways that will affect their entire lives." State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, who is the author of a bill that would ban "sanctuaries," said he was unmoved by those pleas, because Hernandez is the one responsible for the cutoff of funding because she's the one who decided not to follow the law. State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, the only Austin lawmaker who is a Republican, said she firmly supports Abbott's decision. "We have a clear message to our law enforcement officers: obey the rule of law, respect the detainers or else there are dire consequences," she said. >>>Click through the gallery to see which cities have declared themselves 'sanctuary cities' AUSTIN The state's top judge on Wednesday implored lawmakers to immediately beef up security in courts judges statewide, citing an Austin judge who was ambushed and critically wounded in the driveway of her home just over a year ago. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht said the shooting attack that critically wounded state District Judge Julie Kocurek should serve as a warning that security improvements are needed in courts and for judges as quickly as they can be funded and implemented. He specifically requested that the Legislature fund a new office to oversee judicial security statewide, to significantly increase funding for court security, including bodyguards for judges who are threatened, and to amend existing laws to allow all personal information about judges to be kept secret. Kocurek, who since has recovered from her injuries and has returned to the bench, was present at the speech and received a standing ovation. Three men, including the alleged gunman, have been indicted in the attack and are awaiting trial, officials said. In a speech to a joint session of both the Senate and House on Wednesday, Hecht renewed his call for increasing the salaries of state judges. He said Texas ranks 27th nationally in judicial pay, and is least among the large states. Hecht said that straight-ticket voting in judicial races should be scrapped to keep effective judges from losing their seats in national election years, as happened in Harris County and others last November when Democrats swept out Republican incumbents. House Speaker Joe Straus supported that call, not just in judicial races but in all elections: "This change would encourage voters to learn more about individual candidates, their platforms and their qualifications. Too often, good men and women are swept out of down-ballot offices due to the political winds at the moment." Hecht also recommended that lawmakers reform bail and jail-release policies to keep low-level offenders from sitting in jail too long, and to save taxpayers untold millions of dollars each year. The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. BNM anunta concurs pentru postul vacant de expert coordonator (durata determinata) responsabil de control pe teren si din oficiu a sistemelor de plati Hoax, conspiracy, propaganda, or just a moneymaker for Macedonian teenagers? The definition of fake news has been debated to death since the election. But that debate has mostly referred to one thing: the spread of inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise invented articles passed as real news. The fake news conversation has taken place in the realm of words, but thats missing a big part of the story. Much of the content that circulates on Facebook are images, often memes. Whats in a meme? Memes are built for social media, and for viral sharing. They typically combine an image with big, block letters. Theyre not attached to an article, and theres often no way to trace their source. And while Facebooks algorithm is notoriously elusive, it seems to favor images and video over text; images have the potential to reach more readers than articleswhether fake, real, un-partisan or hyper-partisan. Take, for example, the most-shared post on Breitbarts Facebook page in 2016: Sign up for CJR 's daily email The posts implication is that while Democrats vilify Republicans, Democrats are the ones who riot, beat innocent voters, destroy property, and torch American flags. But it doesnt say so outright. This post was shared more than half a million times. By comparison, the most-shared article link on Breitbarts Facebook page had 97,000 shares. In fact, on Breitbarts Facebook page, images and videos are overwhelmingly more popular than links. Images made up just 5 percent of Breitbarts total posts in 2016, but they accounted for half of the pages most-shared posts. Breitbarts total Facebook posts for 2016 Breitbarts 100 most-shared Facebook posts in 2016 Total shares from Breitbarts Facebook posts in 2016 In other words, although Breitbart posted 12 times more links out of Facebook than images and videos combined, images and videos account for 79 percent of the total shares out of these top 100 posts. This disparity is even greater when you sum up the total shares of those 100 posts. While Breitbart is a partisan news site and not explicitly a generator of fake news, this type of content sometimes hardly resembles news. Take the second-most-shared Breitbart post of 2016, from July, shared 218,000 times by December 31: Hillary Clinton was cleared by the FBI. Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch met on a plane. But Breitbart implies causality by putting those two facts next to each other, overlaid on a triumphant photo of Hillary Clinton that has nothing to do with the events referenced. Breitbarts caption to this photo is ***UNPRECEDENTED CORRUPTION***. There is no date on the photo itself, no attribution to Breitbart, and no context. A reverse-image Google search comes up with hundreds of similar memes that overlay white text on this same image. Whats more, Breitbart explicitly aims to be shared as widely as possible. In August, Breitbart launched a We are Breitbart Instagram page, which Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow described as digital ammunition to blast across social media. From Breitbarts own article: Conservatives often ask, How can I help break Establishment Medias stranglehold and get the truth to Americans who need it? says Marlow. The answer is simple and powerful: follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and now Instagram and share and blast the digital bullets we provide for you far and wide. It worksand Establishment media are taking notice. In effect, Breitbart fans are encouraged to share pieces of information without context in order to break the existing media structures. And Facebook is helping them do it. Related: 7 photos that captured the absurdity of the election Out of the top 10 shared posts on Breitbarts Facebook page, nine are images and one is a video. Only one features a image of Trump. One calls vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine creepy. Three focus on the FBI investigation of Clinton, and two speak out against Obamas apology to Japan for dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki: There are a few misleading claims this image makes. First, the idea that a million lives were saved by dropping the bombs is speculative (a video on Breitbarts Facebook page specifies American liveseven more questionable). Second, this image does not appear to be of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. But perhaps that is irrelevant to the purpose of the image, which is to put words in the mouths of Breitbarts viewership. In December, Facebook announced partnerships with FactCheck.org, Snopes, and other organizations to fact-check and flag articles. But according to PhillyVoice, FactCheck.org says it found just four false stories in over a month of looking at flagged posts, and that If he had a larger staff, [Director Eugene] Kiely said expanding to images and memes would be a logical move. Indeed. These readymade, easily alterable images are the perfect vessel for the spread of false information. Breitbarts 10 most-shared posts of 2016 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 ***DEAR HIROSHIMA: OBAMA MAY BE SORRY, BUT AMERICA IS NOT*** Breitbart 2016511 #6 #7 #8 #9 Breitbart 2016118 #10 Breitbart 2016104 Breitbarts 5 most-shared links of 2016 #1 (13th most-shared post overall) Fact-Check: FALSEIndeed, Clintons ninety percent claim is false according to her troubled charitys own tax filings. Posted by Breitbart on Wednesday, October 19, 2016 #2 (15th most-shared post overall) The Doctor is In! Posted by Breitbart on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 #3 (20th most-shared post overall) Secret Service officers told at least one source that she began yelling, screaming obscenities, and pounding furniture. Posted by Breitbart on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 #4 (21st most-shared post overall) "every time you spend $8 on 1 of their flavors you're lining the pockets of cop hating communists." Posted by Breitbart on Friday, October 7, 2016 #5 (30th most-shared post overall) "After witnessing 50 years of failure from the Democratic Party, compounded by a growing hostility to religion in their Posted by Breitbart on Friday, November 4, 2016 Pete Brown, senior research fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, contributed content analysis to this article as part of the Platforms and Publishers project, which receives funding from the MacArthur Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Knight Foundation, and Amy Abrams. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Nausicaa Renner is digital editor of CJR. Both maintenance workers killed by an Amtrak train near Philadelphia, Pa., last year were on drugs when the crash happened, test results show, but that doesnt appear to have factored into safety lapses and miscommunications being blamed for their deaths. Toxicology reports released Thursday by federal safety investigators show backhoe operator Joseph Carter Jr. tested positive for cocaine and supervisor Peter Adamovich had morphine, codeine and oxycodone in his system. Tests on train engineer Alexander Hunter, who was injured in the crash, showed evidence of marijuana use. Other documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board pinned blame on a lax safety culture that put Carter, 61, and Adamovich, 59, in harms way as they performed maintenance on an active track in April. Although the materials do not reflect that drug use was the cause of this incident, any positive drug test result is completely unacceptable, Amtrak President and CEO Charles Wick Moorman wrote in a letter to employees. Among the other documents released Thursday was a report posted in error and later removed in which investigators criticized Amtrak managers for allowing the track maintenance work to go on without a detailed plan identifying safety hazards. NTSB investigators wrote that the railroads assertion that a plan wasnt needed amounted to a post-accident circling of the wagons. Investigators said they determined that the track where Carter and Adamovich were struck was closed to trains until about 20 minutes before the crash, and that a foreman who took charge after a shift change never called to have it closed again. Hunter, 47, blew the horn and hit the brakes once he saw equipment on an adjacent track and then on his own track, about five seconds before impact. The train slowed from 106 mph to 100 mph and only came to a complete stop about a mile down the track. Lawyers for Carters family said his positive drug test was irrelevant to the systematic failures the investigative report described at Amtrak. Had the appropriate systems been in place and human error by the tower and locomotive engineer not occurred, Mr. Carter would be alive today, lawyer Tom Kline said. Carter, Adamovich and Hunter had all passed previous drug tests given as part of their employment, according to the investigative reports. No drugs were detected in post-crash tests given to surviving maintenance workers, the trains conductor and two assistant conductors. Federal regulators say theyve seen an uptick in drug use by rail workers in recent years. Starting in April, workers who perform track maintenance will be subject to the same random drug and alcohol testing as train crew members. In a statement, the Federal Railroad Administration urged railroads to be vigilant in substance testing and do all they can to ensure employees are not operating or working under the influence. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The family of an American mother and daughter killed when a pilot deliberately flew an airliner into a mountainside on Monday sued the German airline, its parent company and the U.S. airline that sold them their tickets. The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia on behalf of the husband and son of Yvonne Selke, who was killed along with her daughter, Emily. Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, locked the captain out of the cockpit and crashed the plane in a remote area of the French Alps nearly two years ago. The two Virginia women were the only Americans on board the plane. The lawsuit was filed against Germanwings; its parent company, Lufthansa Airlines; and United Airlines, which is headquartered in Chicago. The Selkes bought their tickets for a trip to England and Spain from United and departed on a United flight from Dulles International Airport in Virginia. United, Lufthansa and Germanwings are part of a global airline alliance that allows the companies to book flights on each others planes. The Selkes were traveling from Spain to Germany, where they planned to transfer to a flight to England, when the crash occurred. The suit alleged Lufthansa and Germanwings are negligent because they didnt have a policy requiring at least two flight crew members in the cockpit at all times. U.S. airlines have been required to have two crew members in the cockpit since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Whether it be sudden pilot incapacitation, a rogue pilot, or a pilot allowed to fly with known mental conditions, like we have here, the airline industry has long been aware of the dangers associated with just one person in the cockpit, said Los Angeles attorney A. Ilyas Akbari, who represents the Selke family. Yvonne Selke, a former Army officer, worked at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Emily Selke was a graduate of Drexel University who aspired to be an event planner. Officials for Lufthansa didnt immediately reply to a request for comment. United said in a statement that the lawsuit had no merit and we will defend ourselves. An international aviation treaty known as the Montreal Convention permits lawsuits to be filed in the home country of the persons harmed, according to a statement by Akbaris law firm, Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Trump presidential victory, along with several gubernatorial elections, could significantly impact workers compensation, according to hosts of Safety Nationals Out Front Ideas, Mark Walls and Kimberly George. The two workers comp industry experts continued their monthly webinar series, kicking off the New Year with a webinar on the 20 issues to watch in workers compensation in 2017. Walls, vice president of Communications and Strategic Analysis at Safety National, explained that impending gubernatorial elections in 12 states, along with the Trump victory, means the industry could see some policy changes. Just last year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) criticized the current system in a report that recommended minimum standards for state workers comp systems. Because President Trump is an advocate of less government involvement, the DOLs recommendation regarding revamping the workers comp system may be on hold, he said. George, senior vice president and senior health advisor for Sedgwick, discussed how workers comp might be impacted by repealing or replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many health insurers backed out of the marketplace as a result of the ACA, pushing prices higher as competition dwindled. She explained that population health wellness needs to be pushed versus continuing with the sick care system currently in place. OSHA shifted resources from education and into enforcement during the Obama administration, Walls said. This could change under the new administration. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) also saw increased enforcement action under Obama. George noted there was a 63 percent increase in ADA suits in the first half of 2016. As regulations broadened, employers began to outsource leave of absence (LOA) and ADA administration, George said. Paid parental leave, like unlimited time off offered by movie rental company Netflix, will remain a hot topic in 2017. Accommodations under the ADA are becoming more complex, George said, citing accommodations for service animals, noise levels and allergies. Walls said that 2013, was the first time workers comp saw an underwriting profit. This led to increased competition which drove down rates. As a result of falling rates and increasing exposures, a negative outlook is expected, he said, with combined ratios of 100 percent expected in 2017. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recommended a 20 percent rate increase in Florida due to court rulings that changed the law governing existing claims, Walls said. This could lead to some carriers exiting the marketplace. Long tail exposures remain challenging, George said. Decreasing premiums collected today may not be sufficient to pay future losses. Advances in medical science, increased exposure for lifetime claims and new medications add to increasing costs. The best strategy to handle these types of claims is to maintain proper reserves, utilize appropriate resources and conduct timely settlement reviews, she said. Four states are expected to consider workers comp legislation, Walls said. In California, bills to address past reforms passed by Governors Schwarzenegger and Brown are expected. Florida is considering bills on whether the attorney fees cap is unconstitutional and an option to opt-out of workers comp. Walls said Illinois job growth agenda includes workers comp reform. New York is considering a two-year cap on temporary total disability (TTD) benefits. Constitutional challenges in five states means unanticipated liabilities for carriers and self-insureds, Walls said. Because elements of workers comp statutes were found to be unconstitutional by state supreme courts, the decisions are retroactive, going back to when the law was first enacted. Litigation related to occupational diseases will continue, according to Walls. This is due, in part, to old statutes that dont take into account manifestation times for work-related diseases. While there is a movement toward evidence based medicine and states are working to create unique formularies, there is a lack of consensus among stakeholders across state lines, George said. The trend toward an advocacy based claims model will continue, she said. Transparency in the process will promote positive experiences which will drive worker engagement. Because mental health is one of the top reasons for short term disability absences, employers are taking notice, said George. Employers are promoting employer assistance and behavioral health programs. Insurers are offering telephonic and field programs to address mental health issues. According to Walls, laws may need to be revisited since many states exclude workers comp coverage for mental injuries without a physical cause. As more states allow recreational and medicinal use of marijuana, Walls said a standard needs to be established for what constitutes impairment when it comes to marijuana. Opioids remains a concern, George said, noting there has been a lack of acceptance of non-opioid alternative treatments by providers. Insurers, too, have been hesitant to pay for expensive opioid alternatives, she said. Insurers will need to take a multi-faceted approach to replacing retire workers over the next 10 years, said Walls. This will entail working with college and universities to develop risk programs and doing more to create flexible work environments in order to retain existing employees. In addition, insurers will need to partner with communities in order to improve the public image of workers comp, said George. Industry groups shouldnt lose momentum in discussions that began last year, Walls added, noting that it is better to continue the discussion while the industry can control it. Benefit adequacy, misaligned incentives and the threat of federal intervention were the main topics. While many carriers deployed machine learning for in- house case management, claims and analytics, there is little published data on the outcomes, George said. This, along with insuretech, is an area to watch. The value of innovation will need to be determined, she said. How will quality, compliance and outcomes be impacted, she asked. External disrupters are poised to change where policy premiums come from, said Walls. Retail buying habits are changing, consumers tend to choose online shopping over brick and mortar stores, he said. The payroll associated with retail is changing. The same will likely occur as self-driving cars take the road, he said. Self-driving vehicles could be ultimate disruptor of workers comp industry, said Walls. AKRON, Ohio - An Akron man was found guilty Tuesday of sexually abusing three young children and giving them sexually transmitted diseases. A Summit County jury found Delacey Walters, 27, guilty of nine counts of rape of a child under 10 years old and five counts of gross sexual imposition, the Summit County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Walters faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole at his sentencing Feb. 16 in Summit County Common Pleas Court, prosecutors said. Walters raped and sexually assaulted three children from Oct. 8 to Dec. 25, 2016, police said. One of the victim was 2 years old. The two other victims were both 8 years old. Walters abused them while their mother was at work, prosecutors said. The children told their father, who reported the abuse to police. Doctors later determined all three children contracted a STDs from Walters, prosecutors said. Walters lied to investigators and attempted to hide the results of his medical tests to keep that information from police, prosecutors said. Walters' criminal history includes two previous felony convictions. He spent two years in prison after nearly hitting an Akron police cruiser and another car during a 2012 police chase. Officers later found two open bottles of E&J liquor in Walters' car, records show. Walters also was convicted in 2007 of aggravated assault. He paid someone $2 to punch a 21-year-old robbery victim in order to keep her from testifying in a criminal case, records show. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section. police tape.jpg Akron police are investigating a shooting that wounded a 22-year-old man early Wednesday in the city's Lane-Wooster neighborhood. (File photo) AKRON, Ohio - An Akron man suffered non-life-threatening injuries Wednesday when someone fired shots into a house in the city's Lane-Wooster neighborhood. The 22-year-old man was shot in the back just before 1:30 a.m. on Ruth Avenue near Vernon Odom Boulevard, according to a police report. No arrests have been made, police said. Neither the man nor several people in the house could provide a description of the shooter. Paramedics took the victim to Cleveland Clinic Akron General for treatment. Anyone with information about the shooting is being asked to contact the Akron Police Department's detective bureau at 330-375-2490. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section. Front-street2.jpeg Cuyahoga Falls $13 million Downtown Transformation Project, which should be complete by May of 2018, includes a new hotel along with public improvements, retail development, historic preservation and branding. (City of Cuyahoga Falls) CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio - A new boutique hotel is in the works, as part of a plan to reinvigorate downtown and reopen the Front Street pedestrian mall to vehicular traffic. The $13 million project will convert Front Street to a curving, 15 mph pedestrian-friendly road along the Cuyahoga River, just north of Akron. The work, which should be complete by May 2018, includes public improvements, retail development, historic preservation and branding, in the town of nearly 50,000, For downtown to be vibrant again, it must be visible and accessible, Mayor Don Walters said Tuesday during a public meeting at the Natatorium. About 85,000 cars per day travel through Cuyahoga Falls on Ohio Route 8, which has nine exits that lead to town. "We need to give them a reason to get off the highway and spend some money," Walters said. The city will borrow money for the project with no increase in taxes, said city Finance Director Bryan Hoffman. The investment should boost retail activity, property values and jobs. The city in December issued a request for proposals from developers. It plans to use a design-build approach, preparing about 40 percent of the blueprint for design and construction, and bidding out the rest of the design, as well as construction. The city expects to award the job in late May. A new boutique hotel planned for the northeast corner of Portage Trail and Front Street is moving forward, with construction expected to begin this summer. The only new construction planned so far for Front Street is a new boutique hotel at the northeast corner of Portage Trail and Front Street, said Jason Rice of Falls-based Aventis Development. With engineering plans nearly complete, Rice's group is working on an agreement with a management firm and securing financing, so construction can start this summer. What's planned for Front Street? The street will include amenities such as landscaping, classic lighting, new furniture with more seating, game tables, bike racks and repair stations, and pet-friendly drinking fountains. Parallel parking will be add about 120 spaces on Front Street and 48 spaces on Second Street, while the three nearby parking garages hold about 600 spaces. Deterioration in the three garages will be repaired, lighting upgraded and an elevator will be added to the green deck, closest to the foundation. Walkways will be paved with multi-colored brick pavers for durability and added interest, while tying the new construction into the historic nature of downtown. How will the historic character be treated? As part of the project, a large section of downtown is expected to become an historic district, with some sites eligible for up to 45-percent tax credits on redevelopment, said architect Lauren Pinney Burge, of restoration architecture firm Chambers, Murphy and Burge. A smaller area of downtown will be nominated to be a National Historic District. Burge and her husband plan to repurpose the Falls Theater, which Burge referred to as "one of the most beloved buildings in Cuyahoga Falls." The old Falls Stamping & Welding Co. building, known as the Foundry housing TRIAD Communications, also has been granted historic status. How will Front Street draw shoppers? Shopping has not all moved to the internet, said Stuart Zall of the Zall Company. But retailers need to create an experience for shoppers. With Front Street featuring the Cuyahoga River, offering variety of businesses and outdoor amenities, it could draw about $60.4 million in sales to the area through 215,000 square feet of retail space, offering clothing, office supplies, gifts and food and drink. What about housing? Downtown could also support housing, said David Mangum, Gibbs Planning Group. About 65 percent of people surveyed, from Baby Boomers to Millennials, want to be able to walk from their home to shopping, officials said. The area could accommodate 585 new units, or 45 new units per year beginning this year. Branding and marketing Currently, a5 Branding & Digital and TRIAD Communications are working on branding and marketing the Falls. Interviews are underway at several locations to find out how residents feel about downtown and what they'd like to see there. The city expects to host another meeting soon to unveil the branding and marketing aspects of the Downtown Transformation. For more information about the project, including photos and designs, visit the city's Downtown Transformation site. Save Save Save 1.31.17 Brooklyn bank robbery suspects Nathaniel Hill, 20, (left) and his accused accomplice Devontae Ware, 21, (right) have both been arrested in connection with a November 2016 Brooklyn bank robbery. (FBI) BROOKLYN, Ohio -- A second man wanted in connection with a November 2016 Brooklyn bank robbery has been arrested. Devontae Ware, 21, was taken into custody Monday night by the FBI's Violent Crime Task Force, FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson said in an email Tuesday. He is charged with one count of aggravated robbery in Parma Municipal Court. His accused accomplice, 20-year-old Nathaniel Byron Hill, was arrested Jan. 6 in Cleveland, Anderson said in a news release. Hill is also charged with aggravated robbery in Parma Municipal Court. During the November 28, 2016 robbery, one of the robbers pointed a revolver at a Huntington Bank teller while the other held out a bag and demanded cash, Anderson said. The teller complied, and the duo ran away from the bank. It's unclear which accused man was armed or who took the cash from the teller. Court records do not show when Ware will appear in front of a judge. If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section. SOLON, Ohio -- Nestle USA announced today that it is moving 300 technical, production and supply chain jobs to the Solon plant as part of the company's plan to relocate its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, from Glendale, California. "Employees will be offered the opportunity to relocate, and if they choose relocation they can," said Roz O'Hearn, a spokeswoman for Nestle. "But if they choose not to relocate, we will recruit locally." The job relocations have already and will be complete by the end of 2018, O'Hearn said. The company wants the jobs to be closer to its USA factories, considering 75 percent are located on the eastern half of the U.S. and the Midwest is more central. "We're experiencing one of the most profound shifts in how people eat, shop and engage with brands right now. To address the ever-changing landscape, we're striving to make our products healthier and tastier, using unmatched R&D capability, nutrition science and passion for quality in everything we do," Nestle USA chairman and CEO Paul Grimwood, said in a written statement. "The moves announced today are designed to allow us to work even smarter, fueling growth for our bright future, and we're pleased to continue that growth and investment here in Ohio and in Solon, where both Governor John Kasich and Mayor Susan Drucker have welcomed our efforts." Nestle worked closely with JobsOhio, Team NEO and the City of Solon to facilitate its continued growth in the state. While the 60-acre Solon campus is referred to as the Center of Excellence for the Nestle frozen and chilled foods businesses, Nestle also has other businesses and functions in the city that provide employment to more than 2,000 people, with an annual payroll of about $84.5 million. Nestle employs nearly 3,600 throughout Ohio, in several locations. In Dublin, the company recently completed a $31 million investment in its Nestle Quality Assurance Center, the largest and most sophisticated testing facility in the Nestle network and possibly the world. More than 220 chemists, microbiologists, food scientists, quality specialists and support staff offer specialized laboratory services, factory hygiene and food safety systems around the clock to Nestle production facilities throughout the Americas. Aaron Pitts, managing director of JobsOhio, applauds the company's increasing commitment to the state. He said the company went from purchasing Stouffer's in the early 1970s and just having office locations, to bringing 334 jobs to the state in 2012 to manage the company's pizza brand. The following year Nestle announced plans to open a $50 million research and development plant in Solon that opened last year. Meanwhile, he said, the Dublin plant is the company's most advanced food testing laboratory. "They're the largest global food manufacturer, so that's pretty impressive," Pitts said. "Then last August they came to us and said, here's what we're thinking about doing. It's competitive. But we see an opportunity to grow from the Solon base... Any state or city would love to have professional jobs in their area. "We're thrilled that they've made yet another commitment to the Solon campus," Pitts said. "They're the epitome of a class organization ... creating shared value is really a mantra that they live by." The Solon campus is located near the intersection of Harper and Bainbridge roads. The Harper Road Building, which opened in 1969, is undergoing a complete renovation. The "smart office" will feature open-space workstations with natural lighting, and informal as well as formal meeting spaces designed to foster enhanced communication and collaboration. The office building is adjacent to the Nestle production facility where frozen meals are made by more than 850 employees, one of four similar facilities strategically placed across the U.S. to allow fast delivery to retail customers, the company reported. Nestle also manages a lot of well-known brands at this location. They include Stouffer's(r) and Lean Cuisine(r) freshly made, simply frozen meals, whose roots are in Cleveland. The Stouffer's brand traces its history to 1922 when the Stouffer family entered the restaurant business. When patrons in the 1950s began requesting menu items from the suburban Shaker Square restaurant be frozen to "take home," the Stouffer family found themselves in the frozen food business. In 1968, the Solon production facility was built and in 1973, Nestle S.A. acquired the business. Later, in 1981, with the aid of Nestle resources, Lean Cuisine was launched. Both of brands remain leaders in their categories today. Additional brands managed from Solon include Buitoni(r) refrigerated pastas and sauces; DiGiorno(r), California Pizza Kitchen(r), Tombstone(r), and Jack's(r) frozen pizzas -- which arrived on the campus in 2014. "We are thrilled with Nestle USA's announcement to move their technical and production organization and all of their supply chain teams to Solon," said Mayor Susan Drucker. "The city appreciates the great working relationship we have with Nestle and we are pleased that Nestle continues to show strong confidence and commitment to our city. We look forward to welcoming the 300-plus new Nestle employees to Solon and continuing our partnership into the future." Nestle in the US B-Roll Package February 2017 from Nestle USA on Vimeo. $3 Million Gift to Support Transfer of CMU Inventions to the Marketplace January 31, 2017 Professor Aleksandar Kavcic and his wife, Dr. Sofija Kavcic, have donated $3 million to create a new, endowed fund to support inventors at Carnegie Mellon University. Specifically, the Mary Jo Howard Dively Fund for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation will facilitate the smooth transfer of inventions and other intellectual property developed at Carnegie Mellon into the marketplace. Aleksandar Kavcic, a signal-processing researcher and an adjunct professor in CMU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, asked that the fund be named for Mary Jo Dively, CMU's vice president and general counsel, in recognition of her support for faculty and researchers across the university, as well as her protection of the groundbreaking discovery Kavcic and CMU Professor Jose Moura made in data storage technology, which had an impact across the computer industry in the early 2000s. Proceeds from the new fund will be used to educate creators at CMU about relevant aspects of intellectual property law and practice, so they can make informed decisions; improve connections with industry in order to speed up the transfer of technology; and assist with the patenting and copyrighting process in cases where the inventors cannot afford to do so through their departments, research centers or grants. "Alek's work with Jose showed the power of CMU research to make a significant impact on the world around us," said President Subra Suresh. "We are deeply grateful that he has also chosen to make a profound impact on future researchers with his philanthropy. It means a great deal to have this gift come from within the CMU community." The fund also will enhance the capacity of CMU's Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC), which is responsible for facilitating and accelerating the movement of research and technology out of the university and into the marketplace, and its ability to evaluate whether a CMU invention is being used properly and potential resolutions if necessary. Kavcic said that ensuring that support across the university would be invaluable to potential inventors at CMU, many of whom are focused on their research and not on the business implications of their work. "Sooner or later someone at CMU is going to invent the next great technological breakthrough, and if they're like us, they won't know what to do," he said. "We don't want future inventors to go through the same. We should take care of our inventors, most of whom have two desires: To see their intellectual content used by society and to get proper credit. If we can aid them through these endeavors, that's as much as they are asking, and we are hoping that this fund will do just that." Prior to joining the University of Hawaii in 2007, Aleksandar Kavcic was an assistant professor of electrical engineering in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, where he also served as the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Natural Sciences. While on leave from Harvard, he served as a visiting associate professor at the City University of Hong Kong and as a visiting scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Kavcic received a degree in electrical engineering from Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany, and a doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Sofija Kavcic received a doctoral degree in architecture from University of Hawaii and recently worked at Architects Hawaii, an architectural firm in Honolulu. Last week, the university announced that Moura, his wife and fellow CMU faculty member Professor Manuela Veloso, and the Kavcics had jointly donated $16.5 million to the university to support education and research activities in data science and engineering. The gift created the Kavcic-Moura Endowment Fund, which will support research and education activities in data science and engineering and aims to join technologists and quantitative scientists from the College of Engineering, School of Computer Science and Department of Statistics with domain specialists across the university. The fund will offer fellowships and scholarships to doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students, provide grants to support course development and research in data science and engineering across the university, and include chaired professorships in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. It will further support educational, academic and research work at the university's Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC), a collaborative effort between several departments. For more than a decade, Dively led the university's efforts to protect a patent for Kavcic and Moura's discovery, working closely with the inventors. "I'm truly humbled by this honor," Dively said of the fund named for her. "Our success was the result of a collective effort, which was fueled by the determination with which Alek and Jose put in countless hours in the process, so this is really an honor to all those who played a part. I'm privileged to work closely with so many wonderful people at Carnegie Mellon." Dively, who joined CMU in 2002 as the university's first general counsel, established the university's first legal team and has managed CMU's legal affairs ever since in Pennsylvania, nationally and throughout the world. She received her J.D. from the Vanderbilt University School of Law and is a member of the American Law Institute, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, and the Association of American Universities' General Counsel Roundtable. Within the Pittsburgh region, Dively is a current member and past chair of the board of trustees of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and a member of the boards of trustees of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, Shady Side Academy, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Frick Art and Historical Center Inc. She is a past member of the board of trustees and current member of the board of visitors of UPMC Health System. She and her husband, Lane, have triplet sons who are juniors at CMU. Source: Starbucks The popularity of Starbucks ' mobile ordering and pay app hampered sales last quarter, but the coffee giant isn't likely to be the only restaurant chain that will stumble as it adopts the promising technology. Mobile order and pay apps promise more convenience for customers and restaurant staff alike. However, few chains are equipped to deal with patrons speeding through the checkout. For Starbucks, mobile transactions spiked throughout its U.S. stores last quarter, with 1,200 of its locations experiencing a 20 percent jump in mobile pay and ordering during peak hours. The company disclosed that the increase in user volume and crowding at pickup stations caused incoming customers to leave without making purchases. watch now "The restaurant industry in general, and even quick service restaurants, have really been impacted by a slowdown in visits," Warren Solochek, president of NPD Group's food service division, told CNBC. "So, the fact that Starbucks could drive that number of additional visitors to their units is great. It's a nice problem to have. More quick service restaurants would like to have that problem." Starbucks has begun brainstorming its own solutions to ease the bottlenecking, but restaurant analysts and consultants have their own suggestions. Hire and train new staff "I think the bigger issue for Starbucks is they need more baristas and more equipment," Darren Tristano, president of Technomic, told CNBC. Starbucks managers across the U.S. have employed additional staff members and redeployed already-hired employees to assist with the congestion. Long term, however, analysts suggest that this move could be a costly one. With labor prices going up, Solochek said that many restaurants may look to hire employees to cover only during peak hours instead of for full shifts. "That kind of demand does not exist all day, just at certain times," he said, noting that shorter shifts are not desirable roles for job seekers and employee turnover could become an issue. Restaurants will have to train new employees and retrain already-hired staff to work differently. Clark Wolf, founder and president of Clark Wolf Co., a consulting firm, said that these changes could be "very destructive" for restaurants and not just financially. "There are a lot of downstream changes," Julie Ask, principal analyst at Forrester, told CNBC, explaining that chains will have to completely rethink food preparations and in-store delivery methods. Reconfigure stores Employment and training strategies aren't the only things restaurants will need to reimagine. Ask noted the physical space of each store will need to be updated and reconfigured. Starbucks is already working to devise solutions to its congestion issues in stores. CEO Howard Schultz said that several Starbucks designers were in Seattle last week working on plans for future Reserve stores and bars and would also tackle the bottlenecks. Schultz noted the company will look to redesign future stores and remodel older shops to adapt to this new payment structure. "Separate pay and ordering stations and likely a mobile order pickup area will provide some relief for the staff and customers," Technomic's Tristano said. Reconfiguring thousands of stores is no easy feat and it's certainly not cheap. However, the investment could be worth it for chains. "Mobile order and pay is being adapted full-scale across the restaurant and food service industry," Andrew Feinberg, a principal analyst at Deloitte, told CNBC, explaining that more and more consumers are gravitating toward these payment options. Upgrade technology and payment options "Restaurants have to become e-commerce companies," Ask told CNBC, explaining that these companies need to adopt new technologies and alter the traditional restaurant business model. Many chains have already begun to integrate a variety of payment methods into operations including Apple Pay and Android Pay, as well as in-house mobile payments. However, there is no way of capping the number of digital orders that restaurants receive. "In a restaurant or even a cafe setting generally you are limited to the orders created from the number of seats or line that forms in the store," Andre Neyrey, CEO of Blackwood Hospitality, told CNBC. "When faced with an unlimited number of orders at the same time just handling them could create issues or bottlenecking. This also affects customers in line as well because it could slow the staff down serving them." Starbucks said mobile alerts could be used to alleviate overcrowding and will test this feature in the future. This addition may not be enough to solve the problem. Tristano suggested that "orders have to be staggered so the kitchen can manage pace without negatively impacting the customer experience." Leverage loyalty programs and data Gorsuch hails from Colorado, a key swing state that President Trump almost won in the election. While it may not seem like choosing a nominee from a particular state will make a difference to the voters, these things tend for swell local pride. Just as importantly, Colorado's Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennett is a relative moderate, who might be swayed to vote for Gorsuch's confirmation because of his "favorite son" status. Every little bit helps. So, how does all of this stack up for Gorsuch's chances of being confirmed? Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has to choose how far he's willing to go to block this nomination. Unfortunately for Schumer, the Senate Republicans could use the "nuclear option" to confirm Gorsuch with a simple majority vote in the Senate. This is the legacy that Schumer's predecessor, Harry Reid, left him when he decided to use the nuclear option himself to get several federal judges confirmed. Several reports say the Senate Republicans under Mitch McConnell are prepared to use the same option now to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. That is the biggest reason why Schumer is most likely to make a lot of noise opposing Gorsuch, but will not expend all of his ammunition to block him. So, expect delays and even some kind of Senate floor demonstration. But in the end, Schumer knows he cannot really expect to win this fight against a highly educated legal scholar. He will have a better chance trying to block the remaining unconfirmed Trump cabinet choices or upcoming Trump legislation, like the Republican tax bill. Barring any major surprises, Neil Gorsuch will be on the high court before the end of this Supreme Court session. Chinese military policemen march past the Great Hall of the People beside Tiananmen Square in Beijing. But Guo did not provide evidence to back up his claims, which cannot be independently verified. Guo also made allegations against deputy national police chief Fu Zhenghua, who headed the special unit that investigated disgraced security tsar Zhou Yongkang. Guo said in the interview that Li You, former CEO of technology conglomerate Founder Group, had powerful "backers" in the party's Politburo Standing Committee. He vowed to name some of these backers later. Guo Wengui, the controlling shareholder in Beijing Zenith Holdings and Beijing Pangu Investment, appeared in a video interview last Thursday on Mingjing, an overseas Chinese political rumors website. After nearly two years of silence, a controversial mainland tycoon has resurfaced and alleged that members of the Communist Party's inner circle were among the backers of a fallen business rival. In bidding for a landmark property project near Beijing's Olympics stadium in 2006, Guo toppled Liu Zhihua, a former Beijing vice mayor, with a sex tape of Liu. The mainland magazine Caixin reported Guo obtained the sex tape with the help of Ma Jian, a former deputy minister with China's state security ministry who is now in jail. Guo said in the interview that he submitted the sex tape of Liu to China's disciplinary watchdog, but he didn't specify how he got the tape. His reappearance came just a day before Xiao Jianhua, a mainland billionaire believed to have ties to party elites, was reportedly captured by mainland security agents in Hong Kong. Li was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for insider trading and other offences in November. He and several other top executives at state-owned Founder were arrested in 2014 in the fallout of a spat with Guo over the board composition of the group's securities house. But Guo said he and Li were only "puppets" and that their battle was part of a struggle between the powers behind them. He also accused Li of hiding and laundering money for leaders in the Politburo and its Standing Committee. More from the South China Morning Post: Missing Chinese tycoon last seen at luxury Hong Kong hotel China 'steps up preparedness for possible military conflict with US' Beijing'ssecond aircraft carrier 'takes shape' Li is known to have ties to former presidential aide Ling Jihua, who is now behind bars for life for corruption. However, Guo said Ling and his wife Gu Liping were only "small backers" of Li. Fu, who was once considered a rising star in the police force, was removed last August from his post at the party's Central Politics and Law Commission. Guo also said his employees on the mainland had been seized by a special investigation team and interrogated using "inhumane" methods. In March 2015, mainland media published investigative reports accusing Guo of conspiring with officials during his rise to riches, including former deputy spy chief Ma Jian, who came under investigation for corruption that January. At the time, Guo rejected accusations that he went into hiding overseas from graft-busters after Ma's downfall, claiming he was in New York for medical treatment and would soon return to China to clear his name. But since then, Guo's whereabouts have remained a mystery. He did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. President Donald Trump's executive order barring citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries has prompted nationwide protests and led tech companies, including Amazon, to consider legal action because of potential business impacts. But for some tech companies around the world, the ban has already thrown operations into chaos. "Until the executive order, we didn't really care about who's from where or what religion they were, we didn't ask, but all these things have been a distraction and worrying," said Husayn Kassai, the CEO and co-founder of London-based startup Onfido. The company, which uses artificial intelligence to help clients carry out complex background checks, boasts a 145-person staff representing 41 different nationalities. Kassai was born in Manchester, U.K., but holds dual citizenship in Iran and the U.K. He moved to San Francisco to helm the company's stateside expansion, which now employees 10 people. Kassai, who holds a U.S. green card, is exempt from the Trump administration's immigration order, according to a recent clarification from the White House, but he said there's too much uncertainty to know if he will be leaving the country anytime soon. Unlike Kassai, Onfido Co-founder Eamon Jubbawy doesn't have a green card, and his parents were born in Iraq. He's currently in London, and does not expect to be allowed to visit the U.S.-arm of his company in the near future. Vietnam in particular has faced a high number of outbreaks over the past month. The Southeast Asian nation's very first case was reported in April 2016 but late last year, more people began contracting the disease. The majority are within Ho Chi Minh, home to around 145 cases in total, with health officials warning on Dec. 21 that the city was averaging 10 cases per week, according to local media. Zika is no longer classified as a crisis, according to a WHO statement in November, but despite the best efforts of health officials, the number of global infections continues to rise. One year ago today, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the mosquito-borne virus known as Zika an international public health emergency. Hanoi, January 26 2017: Locals shop at the Quang Ba flower market during the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival. Because the principal vector carrying Zika, the Aedes mosquito, is widespread in Vietnam, the country faces the risk of endemic transmission, a situation where infections occur year-round, a WHO spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday. The Zika fever, which has similar symptoms to dengue fever, is not typically regarded as life-threatening but it has resulted in deaths and is especially dangerous for pregnant women as it can cause birth defects. There is no known treatment, but global scientists are working on a number of vaccines and preventive treatments. Last month, the virus entered Vietnam's rural areas, particularly the southern Dong Nai province, where local health authorities declared an outbreak within the Vinh Thanh commune on Jan. 9 after four new cases were reported from December to early January, local media said. "Data collection and analysis should be enhanced to monitor the geographical distribution and temporal trends of Zika virus transmission and related complications, especially the congenital virus syndrome Guillain-Barre," the WHO said, adding that it was working closely with the government to strengthen the country's preparedness and response capacity. Of course, it's not just Vietnam battling fresh outbursts this year. Last month, Angola reported its first two cases of the disease, which come on the heels of a major yellow fever epidemic in the Southwest African nation. Stateside, Florida has announced four new incidents since the year began and one new contraction was reported in Texas last week. And last month, Jamaican authorities declared the country's first case of microcephaly, a condition where heads of newborn babies are smaller than average. "Overall, the global risk assessment has not changed," the WHO said in a January report, warning that vigilance worldwide must remain high. A general view of the financial district of Makati City on May 8, 2013 in Manila, Philippines. The Philippine property market could be poised for a slowdown despite the country managing one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world. Analysts are blaming Donald Trump. That's because the newly inaugurated U.S. president has been banging the gavel of protectionist rhetoric. In December, Trump threatened in a tweet to impose a 35 percent tax on products sold in the U.S. by any domestic business that moved operations overseas. Trump has also targeted specific businesses, particularly automakers, which were considering expanding outside the U.S. It's unclear whether he'll target services as well. Credit Suisse pointed to recent "channel checks" on the office sector in the Philippines amid uncertainty over U.S. business process outsourcing (BPO) companies' plans to expand in the archipelago amid concerns over the protectionist rhetoric. "Risk of slower occupancy ramp-up, or worse cancellation of pre-commitments for upcoming office space in the country seems to have been escalating in recent weeks," Credit Suisse said in a note on Tuesday. "Aside from our recent channel checks with property agents, there has been a constant flow of negative news citing uncertainties about U.S. President Trump's protectionist rhetoric about outsourcing, which could slow down and/or delay expansion plans particularly for U.S. BPOs in the Philippines." Remittances and the BPO sector are key pillars of the Philippine economy, contributing around 10 and 6 percent, respectively, to annual gross domestic product (GDP). Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric could also impact remittances from overseas Filipino workers in the U.S. It's that time again! Jim Cramer rang the lightning round bell, which means he gave his take on caller favorite stocks at rapid speed: Teck Resources : "If you think that worldwide growth is going to continue, then this remarkable stock is going to keep going higher. I happen to prefer Freeport at this time, FCX, but Teck, if you think the world goes higher Teck goes higher with it." Molina Healthcare : "Let's understand each other that I am only recommending one in that group, and that stock is UnitedHealth, UNH, which I think will go up 10 points while Molina meanders." Royal Caribbean Cruises : "Royal Caribbean is terrific. Why am I partial to Carnival, then? I think Arnold Donald [CEO] has done a remarkable job and I actually think it's now cheaper than Royal Caribbean. That's the one I want to be in." Fomento Economico Mexicano : "I think Mexico is too dangerous. I appreciate that like Kimberly-Clark to Mexico. I understand what you're trying to do. The ETF is probably the best way to play it." Containers for new nuclear fuel rod assemblies from Global Nuclear Fuel, a joint venture of General Electric Co., Toshiba Corp., and Hitachi Ltd., are moved inside the number two reactor at Exelon Corp.'s Limerick nuclear power generating station in Limerick, Pennsylvania. Toshiba will halt its nuclear construction ambitions after its Westinghouse unit incurred losses that could reach up to $6 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company is likely to announce these plans this month, the Journal stated. Toshiba Chairman Shigenori Shiga and the former head of Westinghouse Electric, Danny Roderick, are also expected to step down as a result, the Journal added. Meanwhile, Westinghouse will only focus on designing nuclear reactors in the future. The company will, however, finish the construction of two nuclear facilities in the U.S. that it is in the midst of building, the WSJ report said. Toshiba bought nuclear manufacturing company Westinghouse in 2006 for $5.4 billion. However, delays in the construction of power plant projects in the U.S. have led to high costs for the Japanese company, which was rattled by an accounting scandal in 2015. Toshiba also recently announced plans to sell a part of its memory chip business to cover for costs incurred by the nuclear construction projects. Experts say that the Japanese conglomerate's decision to leave the nuclear construction business is likely to impact competition in the industry, the WSJ said. Read the full report here. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Wednesday upgraded Amgen to buy from neutral, a day after President Donald Trump spoke with a host of pharmaceutical company chief executives on drug pricing and the future of the industry. During the meeting, Amgen CEO Robert Bradway told Trump the biotech giant is planning to add 1,600 jobs soon. Bank of America didn't specifically comment on the pharma gathering , but referenced the likelihood for Trump's policies to benefit Amgen. "In light of Trump's proposal on cash repatriation, we believe AMGN could repatriate a significant portion of its $34.8B cash held overseas," equity analyst Ying Huang wrote in a research note. "The potential share buyback, dividend payment and acquisitions associated with the cash repatriation can further boost stock performance, in our view." In the past 12 months, shares of Amgen have traded sideways, up only 4 percent, on investor concerns about the pace of earnings growth amid a possible crackdown on drug prices by the new administration. Amgen, 1 year Source: FactSet "We see 14 percent EPS growth y-o-y in 2017, compared to 8 percent growth anticipated by consensus and 8 percent mean growth expected by major pharma," Huang wrote, explaining that other analysts might be overlooking the potential for new drug releases to boost sales. "With limited net pricing increases expected, AMGN will seek new product launches for growth," the analyst wrote. "In 2017, we expect launches of Evenity in osteoporosis and Parsabiv, and filing for FDA approval of erenumab in migraine. We also see 2017 as the 'on-ramp' for AMGN's growing biosimilar business, with three anticipated launches in 2018 and beyond," he said in reference to Amgen's pipeline. Another positive catalyst for the firm, according to Bank of America, could be the approval of Repatha, a drug to treat cardiovascular disease. "Our deep dive analysis indicates more than 20 percent CV [cardiovascular] risk reduction is clinically relevant and achievable. Positive outcomes should ease access to treatment. AMGN may benefit from an 'early mover advantage' and has no downside regardless of injunction appeal outcome," Huang wrote. He says Amgen shares currently trade at a discount given the company's growth potential. "AMGN trades at 12.6x 2017E consensus EPS, a discount to the 15.2x 2017E EPS in the major pharma group," Huang wrote. The spread in multiples amounts to about a 17 percent discount. In the next 12 months, Bank of America predicts shares of Amgen could trade as high as $192, implying a gain of nearly 23 percent from Tuesday's close. Huang's picks have a 15 percent one-year average return with a 69 percent success rate, according to analyst ranking service TipRanks. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this story. Robert Bradway, president and chief executive officer of Amgen Inc., listens as Ken Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer of Merck & Co., left, speaks during a news conference outside the White House following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, in Washington, D.C. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Apple's fiscal first quarter results showed a bit of stabilization in China and "record revenues" in India, according to CEO Tim Cook, but the U.S. technology giant still faces challenges in these emerging but increasingly "critical" markets. Greater China revenues were down 12 percent year-on-year to $16.2 billion, marking another double-digit decline in the region for Apple. The bright spot however was that Greater China revenues which includes Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong were up 85 percent on the quarter, thanks to the iPhone 7 series. And Cook said on an earnings call that on a "constant currency" basis, sales in mainland China were up six percent. It points to some stabilization, according to analysts. "Improvement with Greater China revenue -8 percent in constant currency and Mainland China +6 percent suggests the issues are more cyclical than secular. The Greater China decline should be similar in F2Q (fiscal second quarter), so improvement and possibly some growth come in the F2H (fiscal second half)," UBS said in a note on Wednesday. Cook said that he does not expect next quarter's performance to be "dramatically different" to the first fiscal quarter, offering little in the way of specific numbers. And in India a country Cook has touted the potential of on many occasions Apple recorded "record revenue". The Cupertino, CA-based firm does not break out specific figures for India. And Apple does not look like pulling back from the country. "We are in discussions on a number of things, including retail stores, and fully intend to invest significantly in the country and believe it's a great place to be," Cook said on the earnings call. The potential for President Donald Trump to enact tax reform, including the chance to bring back overseas cash at a lower tax rate, could provide as much as 10 percent upside to earnings for Apple, said Jim Suva, director and senior analyst at Citigroup. Apple is already doing better than Wall Street expected and the possibility for more economic growth could drive it even higher, analysts told CNBC on Wednesday. Customers take a selfie as they enter the first Apple Store in Mexico City, Mexico. Another analyst, Morris Mark, founder of Mark Asset Management, also sees more potential for Apple "to do so much better." "The economy is doing well, but it obviously has the potential to do much better," Mark told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" on Wednesday. "If we get intelligent [tax] reform, then the economy's pace will pick up, and that's a win-win." Apple shares climbed 6.7 percent on Wednesday to their highest level in a year and a half, on the back of a better-than-expected earnings report. Apple also reported a record $246.09 billion in cash during the December quarter, up $8.49 billion from the previous quarter. Most of that cash is held overseas for tax reasons, but President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans might change the tax code to let Apple bring that money back into the U.S. with less of a tax hit, paving the way for more domestic acquisitions. When asked about repatriation on the earnings conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that iPhone maker is "always looking at acquisitions" and that it has acquired 15 to 20 companies each year for the past four years. "There's not a size that [Apple] would not do," he added. "It's a fantastic problem that Apple has of too much cash," Suva said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Sales of its new iPhones promoted heavily by U.S. telecom carriers and especially the high prices of the iPhone 7 Plus helped Apple boost its revenue. JPMorgan noted in a research note that Apple managed to maintain resilient demand despite "tougher than expected consumer backdrop." "People are paying up for these premium devices," Suva said. Citi increased its target price on Apple on Wednesday, noting the long term potential of its push into India and its software ambitions. "To me, the real question in regard to Apple is how they strengthen their ecosystem," Mark said. "When you got the first iPhone, if you had iTunes, that was the only place that you could listen to it on a mobile [smartphone] device. Now you want greater content that's proprietary the same way. That's where Apple should be pointing and I thought that Tim Cook alluded to that in the call." Disclosure: Citi owns a more than 1 percent stake in Apple shares, and Apple is a Citi investment banking client. Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates LP, said he is increasingly concerned about the Trump administration's "populist" policies that could hurt the world economy. The detrimental effects of these policies could be more powerful than the beneficial effects of Trump's pro-business policies, Dalio and co-Chief Investment Officer Bob Prince said on Tuesday. "We are now in a period of time when how this balance tilts will be more important to the economy, markets, and our well-beings than normally dominant drivers such as central bank policies," Dalio and Prince said in a note. President Donald Trump now has a nominee for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch. Expect the battle over his confirmation to be bitter, ugly, nasty, and every other synonym you can find to describe the worst elements of our current politics. After Republicans held up the nomination of Merrick Garland for a year, Democrats are ready to hit back just as hard. The politics of Supreme Court nominations are extra-ugly not just because of polarization but because the stakes are so high. Unlike every other democracy in the world, here in the US we have lifetime appointments for our Supreme Court. This means that whoever gets appointed could serve for 30 or more years a tenure that is becoming more and more the norm. Here's an idea to abate some of the destructive warfare of the Supreme Court confirmation process: Term limits for Supreme Court justices. More from Vox: Jon Stewart on Donald Trump: if we survive, he'll have accidentally proven America's greatness How should the media cover a White House that isn't afraid to lie? Trump's immigration order lays out a way to turn the temporary ban into a permanent one Term limits would make the Supreme Court more responsive and predictable The idea of term limits for Supreme Court justices (10, 12, or 18 years are the most common proposals) has been floating around for decades. But the increasingly contentious nature of the confirmation process should give this proposal new urgency. For one, it would significantly decrease the likelihood of another unexpected departure, like the one caused by Justice Scalia's death almost a year ago now. Scalia was appointed in 1986. He would have been term-limited out long before his passing. In these partisan times, justices are staying on the bench longer, not wanting to leave unless they can be replaced in a political environment that ensures a replacement on the same side. Which will make them more likely to die on the bench. Moreover, if justices were staggered in their terms, everyone in Washington would know they'd have another opportunity to change the Court again soon enough. This regularity could also move toward more of a norm of fair play. Instead of this predictable changeover, we have a system where, as Norm Ornstein compellingly puts it, "the policy future of the country depends as much on the actuarial tables and the luck of the draw for presidents as it does on the larger trends in politics and society." Longer and longer terms also mean that justices increasingly lose touch with the world outside the Court. This is a point that Justice John Roberts made in 1983: "Setting a term of, say, 15 years would ensure that federal judges would not lose all touch with reality through decades of ivory tower existence." Roberts also warned, "The federal judiciary today benefits from an insulation from political pressure even as it usurps the roles of the political branches." The Economist magazine has also agued that higher turnover would make the Court more responsive: Breathing new life into the nation's highest court more often even if it does not make the tribunal any less political would bring more dynamism to the judiciary, jog the justices' decision-making patterns and narrow, even if only slightly, the yawning gap between the enrobed ones and everyday citizen. There's also something fundamentally anti-democratic about lifetime appointments. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made this point when he called for Supreme Court term limits last year: Nobody should be in an unelected position for life. If the president who appoints them can only serve eight years, the person they appoint should never serve 40. That has never made sense to me; it defies that sense of public service. Yet, Gorsuch, age 49, could possibly serve 40 years on the bench. Plenty of people live to 89 these days. The public largely agrees on the value of term limits for Supreme Court justices. A Reuters poll last year found widespread support for term limits. Sixty-six percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Republicans wanted 10-year terms for justices, and 80 percent of those identified with the Tea Partysupported term limits. While the most direct way to enact term limits would be a constitutional amendment, that's obviously a long shot in today's politics. A more likely way to accomplish this was suggested by Robert Bauer in 2005: that the president agree not to nominate anybody who wouldn't agree to serve a limited term and the Senate agree not to confirm who doesn't agree to serve a limited term. As Bauer wrote: The president could announce such a commitment when he introduces the candidate to the media. The Senate Judiciary Committee could ask the nominee about his views on longevity and also seek a commitment, even to a range of years. Any justice who hopes that with the passage of time such an exchange would be forgotten would likely be disappointed. Over time, a custom or expectation would develop. No law would be necessary to assure that justices act in the socially accepted fashion, just as no president served more than two terms for almost 150 years after Washington. Understandably, Republicans have no real incentive to agree to this compromise. If Democrats filibuster Gorsuch, Republicans can get rid of the filibuster for Supreme Court confirmation, and use their narrow majority to put Gorsuch on the bench. But the short-term victory comes at a price: it further escalates the war over the judicial branch. At a time when American institutions seem increasingly fragile, a compromise like term limits for Supreme Court justices would be a much-needed vote for long-term stability. Mes Aynak, Afghanistan Brent Huffman | Saving Mes Aynak Two Chinese state-owned mining companies plan to destroy an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan in order to get the copper underneath it, according to a new documentary According to the film "Saving Mes Aynak," Metallurgical Group Corp. (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper are in the initial stages of building an open-pit copper mine 25 miles southeast of Kabul. The location is home to a walled Buddhist city that dates back 5,000 years. According to the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the site is also home to the world's second-largest copper deposit. China is an importer of copper and a major global refiner of the industrial metal. In 2007, under the administration of President Hamid Karzai, MCC agreed to pay Afghanistan $3 billion to lease the Mes Aynak area for 30 years. MCC plans to extract over $100 billion worth of copper deposited directly beneath the Buddhist city, according to the documentary. Archaeologists are trying to save the site. A spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Zabih Sarwari, told CNBC that the project is slated to start after the completion of a feasibility study. Brent Huffman | Saving Mes Aynak "I feel pity if they allow it," said Javed Noorani, formerly of the nonprofit Integrity Watch Afghanistan. "The World Bank, in collaboration with the Afghan government, tried to remove the heritage [site] to safety, but this act in itself is a breach of international standards and laws on archaeology." About 2,300 items have been removed from the site to National Museum of Afghanistan, said Ministry of Mines spokesman Sarwari. Brent Huffman | Saving Mes Aynak. The residents of at least a dozen villages were permanently cleared out to make way for the mining work, according to the documentary, most of which was filmed in 2013. "People are worried because they have been displaced without being consulted or their consent sought," said Noorani of Integrity Watch Afghanistan, who called the planned mine a "clear violation of Afghanistan's environmental and social impact assessment standards." In the film, the deputy president of MCC, Zhengou Liu, claims those villagers were informed in advance, and says that "MCC has outsourced some jobs to Afghan companies and is providing jobs to Afghans." Brent Huffman, the director of "Saving Mes Aynak," told CNBC that he's skeptical about that claim. "Chinese companies have a history of making big promises to third world countries," he said. Huffman's documentary became available on Netflix last week. Brent Huffman | Saving Mes Aynak Facebook 's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, donated $1 million to Planned Parenthood earlier this week, a source confirmed to CNBC. Sandberg has lent "longstanding, and now increased, support" to Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told Refinery29, which originally reported Sandberg's donation. Sandberg's not alone: The organization has received a flood of post-election donations. CNBC has reached out to Facebook for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Sandberg's book, "Lean In," is famous for stoking debate about women's roles in the modern workplace. Under her leadership, Facebook has expanded policies for women's health, including giving employees money to get their eggs frozen in order to delay childbirth. Planned Parenthood, which provides birth control and health screenings, is expected to be a target of federal funding cuts from the new Republican administration because it performs abortions. (Abortions are not funded by federal tax dollars.) President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, has also opposed laws that require health coverage of contraception. For more on the story, see Refinery29's article. In nominating 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, Donald Trump followed a script and well laid strategy. And, he hit a home run. The single best strategic decision Donald Trump made during his presidential campaign was to release a list of his potential Supreme Court appointees, should he be elected president. After releasing 11 names in May of 2016, he put out 10 more possibilities last September. This second list included Neil Gorsuch. After much derision by many establishment Republicans and social conservatives alike during the primaries, Donald Trump put forward actual candidates and gave skeptics a reason to support him in November. It worked. Twenty-one percent of voters said the single most important decision in determining their vote was the Supreme Court and Donald Trump handily won those voters, according to a CNN exit poll. In choosing Neil Gorsuch, a widely respected Circuit Court Judge, Trump appointed a strict constructionist. This decision has implications for the broader business community and particularly anyone battling onerous regulations from federal agencies. Gorsuch has been a leading questioner of the so-called Chevron doctrine a doctrine that says the courts should defer to federal agencies when there are vague laws defining their role and responsibilities. He made his views on the separation of powers in a widely acclaimed speech he gave entitled "Of Lions and Legislators," "[C]ombining what are by design supposed to be separate and distinct legislative and judicial powers poses a grave threat to our values of personal liberty, fair notice, and equal protection." As the Trump administration begins to dismantle Obama-era regulations around labor and the environment, around immigration, health care, insurance, and even securities, these battles will surely make their way to the courts. And, this "Gorsuch doctrine" will be critical in the battle over what is the appropriate size and scope of the federal government. This is important not just because the past eight years have seen an unprecedented abuse of power by the executive branch, but as precedent for future administrations. After nearly a year with a vacancy in our nation's highest court, it is essential that a new justice be in place as soon as possible. This past November, millions of voters made their voices heard on the future they want for this country. As President Trump continues to make good on his campaign platform, it is the duty of the U.S. Senate to honor the American people. We must have a court that errs on the side of personal liberty, the rule of law, and strict adherence to the Constitution. We can rest assured that Judge Gorsuch will preside over our highest court with dignity and commonsense judgment. It is vital that the Senate confirm him quickly. In 2008, Nick Baucom returned from active duty as an infantryman in Iraq only to find out that his career prospects were few and far between. "I couldn't find a job. I was nearly a broke," Baucom says on CNBC's "Blue Collar Millionaires." And he needed work: "My wife at the time was pregnant and I needed to put food on the table." Every so often his neighbors in Alexandria, VA, would ask him to help them during moves. He realized he could make a business out of that. So on November 10th, 2008, the day the Marine Corps was founded in 1775, Baucom started Two Marines Moving, a moving company that only hires U.S. veterans. "Democrats should ask themselves if they would rather focus on temporarily stopping Republicans during this time in the minority, or whether they should hope to pass significant laws when the wheel turns and the Democrats are back in power." The problem is a relatively new one. While the filibuster is an old device going back to 1806, outside of its use by Southern Senators to kill Civil Rights legislation during the Jim Crow era, it was more of a peculiarity than a regularly used weapon for much of the Senate's history. Yet since 1990, the filibuster has become the norm. Stats on the filibuster are so open to interpretation that they are almost impossible to state without massive caveats. But one thing is clear: Over the last two decades, the filibuster has been used constantly in the Senate, with more being pushed each year than occurred over the course of decades. The filibuster may be a major wrench in the legislative process, but the two parties have managed to keep it alive despite criticism and potential law changes. Each side assumes that the other likes having the weapon of the filibuster in hand when they are in the minority and there has been no bigger proponent of the law than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Many members of both parties have been on the other side of the fence on filibusters, as change in control of the Senate is now a regular feature. Since 1980 neither party has controlled the Senate for as much as eight straight years. The result has been that not much gets done. Democrats should ask themselves if they would rather focus on temporarily stopping Republicans during this time in the minority, or whether they should hope to pass significant laws when the wheel turns and the Democrats are back in power. The problem is that no party is willing to sacrifice the power of the filibuster without some political gain. Most voters don't care about legislative procedure, and those that do are exactly the type to run primary campaigns against members of their party for disarming their biggest weapon. But the nomination of a conservative Supreme Court judge presents a perfect opportunity for the Democrats to use the filibuster and force the Republicans to kill it. A filibuster against Gorsuch will ward off any intra-party complaints that the Senate Democrats are not taking a strong enough stand against Trump. Right now, there is a very vocal wing of the party that is criticizing any perceived weakness by the party members. A filibuster will be another rallying opportunity for the Democratic Party base and it will force McConnell to use the so-called "nuclear option" of changing Senate rules to allow Republicans to invoke cloture, which would kill the filibuster, without 60 votes. McConnell may claim that he is only invoking this change for Supreme Court judges, but in the future, senators could easily take a more expansive view of any filibuster-busting plan and use it to prevent filibusters on other legislative votes. Most Senators come to DC looking to make substantive changes getting rid of the filibuster would help that. If the Democratic Senators want to be able to act once they get in power, then they should make some moves now to make it happen. A filibuster fight over a Supreme Court pick is exactly the moment that the party can accomplish this. Forcing the Republicans to destroy the filibuster during a Republican term is a perfect way to help set the Senate on a course for action in the future. Commentary by Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York. He blogs at The Recall Elections Blog. Follow him on Twitter @recallelections. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is "new to politics" and still has a lot to learn. "He has been in a different world. It's a totally new environment to him," he said at a space technology conference in Tehran. "It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world," Rouhani added. His comments followed an executive order from Trump to ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, to enter the United States for 90 days. Trump denied on Sunday that his policy was based on religious grounds. Instead, he said it was about keeping the country safe. According to Rouhani, such a decision will only harm the United States. "They (the American government) have cried out for many years that they are against the government of Iran and back the people of Iran. Now they proved that their statements, which they have been making for years to be wrong so clearly, they have been thinking differently behind the scenes and have been uttering different words. Because this person (Trump) is a special character, he has removed the mask of hypocrisy and he is showing what they have in their hearts," the Iranian leader said. "You have issued visas, you have stamped them in passports, you have signed them and now you say you don't accept it and they cannot travel to your country. They (the U.S. government) have contravened all international principals and commitments," he added. Apart from Trump's immigration ban, Rouhani also criticized the decision by the new U.S. administration to build a wall on its border with Mexico. "Today we live in a world of communications," he said. "Today is not a time for separating nations by walls," he added. - Additional reporting by NBC. Markets have been moving to the beat of U.S. President Donald Trump and understanding such a correlation is key to making money, the chief executive officer of Julius Baer told CNBC on Wednesday. "That's the area that one needs to understand to the best possible extent (to) devise an investment strategy around it," Boris Collardi, chief executive officer at the Swiss private bank Julius Baer, told CNBC Wednesday. One particular impact from Trump's protectionist policies has been outflows from emerging markets. However, according to Collardi, such a trend should disappear by 2018. "We're going to have - in 2017 - the last bit of outflows in emerging markets related to the upcoming 'automatic information exchange' and that should then tail off so that in (2018) the offsets of outflows should diminish or should actually totally disappear," he said. The automatic information exchange on financial accounts is a new global rule that aims to cut tax evasion. Apart from Switzerland, almost 100 nations, including all major financial centers, have declared their intention to adopt such a rule. Mark Cuban warned on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration could damage American business, following backlash from key corporate leaders who pledged to fight the measure. Trump signed the order late Friday. It indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the country, suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocks citizens of the seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the country for 90 days. It prompted criticism from lawmakers who said it could hurt rather than help the fight against terrorism. Confusion ensued after its passing, as some permanent residents were detained at airports and protests emerged around the country. The White House has defended it as necessary to properly vet people who come from countries with terrorism concerns despite any inconvenience it causes people. "I'm concerned. I'm very concerned the travel ban changed the calculus of hiring and investing," Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur, told MSNBC on Wednesday. Cuban said he did not previously have to consider whether a job candidate had a green card or dual citizenship in another country. "Now I have to say to myself, OK, what is the ethnicity of this person? What about their parents? What about their relatives? That is bad for business across the board," Cuban said. Major technology companies like Apple and Alphabet have slammed Trump's order and said they were taking steps to shield employees affected by it. Apple is also lobbying the White House to change the rule and is considering a legal challenge. After initial confusion over whom the order affected, the Department of Homeland Security later said that admitting lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, is in the national interest. Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank," which features Mark Cuban as a judge. Since Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump has been moving quickly. According to Mark Cuban, billionaire investor, star of ABC's "Shark Tank" and owner of the Dallas mavericks, that calls into question Trump's skill as a manager. In particular, Cuban says that Trump's travel ban, dropped late on Friday night, was a blunder. "It's horrible! Look, let's just be real clear. The ban was half-a--ed and half-baked," says Cuban, speaking to CNN's Erin Burnett. "If the goal was security, why do you leave off any other countries that hosted terrorism? That's like locking your front door and leaving all your windows open." The executive order indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the country, suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocks citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days. That Trump signed the order before carefully considering the consequences was, Cuban says, a red flag. Jeans being manufactured in Mexico. Jonathan Tobin | Getty Images Co-dependency isn't so healthy in a human relationship, but in international trade, it's worked well for the U.S. and Mexico for textiles and some apparel. The North American Free Trade Agreement paved the way for the partnership as the industry took advantage of each nation's strengths. According to the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the U.S. has great textile mills for making fabrics, yarns and other inputs, while Mexico is better at cutting and sewing. This means American textiles are sent to Mexico to be finished and then sent back to the U.S., duty-free, to be sold to consumers. But now industry experts fear that relationship is being threatened by some of President Donald Trump's proposals. During the first presidential debate, Trump called NAFTA "the single worst trade deal ever approved in this country," and in his first week in office, he's been exploring renegotiating or ending it. That led to a bumpy beginning as Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled his planned in-person trip to talk to Trump. Later, the two spoke on the phone for about an hour. US textile jobs at risk While Trump has said NAFTA has cost the United States jobs, more than 64,000 textile workers, largely in North and South Carolina and Georgia, are dependent on the current textile and apparel trade with Mexico. Nate Herman, senior vice president of supply chain at the apparel association, warned that changing NAFTA would cost tens of thousands of American textile manufacturing jobs. "Not only would a change in policy put their jobs in jeopardy, but it could also be disastrous for the supply chain, potentially impacting jobs in other sectors, as well as result in higher costs for American consumers," Herman said. Rules of origin on apparel and textile are complicated since it's not uncommon for textiles to originate in one place and be cut in another and sewn in another, said David French, senior vice president for government relations at the National Retail Federation, the retail industry's trade group. French said the most important factor to consider when looking at U.S. trade with Mexico in retail is the cost and skill of labor. Apparel construction is fairly labor intensive and requires a certain skillset, the cost of which, is lower in Mexico and Central America, though not as low as elsewhere. One apparel category dependent on Mexico Within the apparel sector, the category most dependent on Mexico is men's and boys' jeans. Mexico is the largest supplier of male jeans to the U.S., responsible for 40 percent of those sold in the U.S., Herman said. So a change in NAFTA that makes trade with Mexico less favorable, or damages the co-dependent relationship with the textile workers in the U.S., could be detrimental for the price of men's and boys' jeans at your favorite retailer. Levi Strauss & Co. sources its products from 25 countries, including Mexico. The denim brand declined to say how much it sources from Mexico, but SEC filings detail no single country accounted for more than 15 percent of its sourcing in 2016. A company spokesperson said Levi Strauss is "watching the policy developments around NAFTA and others closely, but it's too early to comment on the speculation about potential future policies." VF Corp. , which owns jean brands include Wrangler, Lee and Rock & Republic, did not return CNBC's request for comment. Retail-related trade with Mexico Cozying up to President Donald Trump will require more than barrels of Saudi Arabian oil. The world's largest exporter of the black stuff wants to re-establish itself as America's most important ally in the Gulf. But it has less to offer in return for the political and military backup it has historically depended on. The U.S. government's focus on reducing foreign energy imports and developing vast shale oil resources have reduced Riyadh's usefulness. Establishing good relations with the new president is a priority for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom's energy minister hinted how that may be done in an interview with the BBC on Feb. 1. Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia may add to its billions of dollars of energy-related investments in the United States following the "pro-oil and gas policies of the Trump administration". That's a remarkable change in tone. Riyadh was spooked by the Obama administration's eagerness to the lift international nuclear sanctions against Iran, its main regional rival. Washington's refusal to provide more support for Saudi Arabia in proxy conflicts in Syria and Yemen further soured relations. And Saudi officials protested last year when Congress passed a bill which could have allowed victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to sue for damages. More from Breakingviews: Carlyle gets a boost from an LBO multivitamin Siemens beats activist investors at their own game Apple working harder to squeeze iPhone juice Peter Thiel Kim Kulish | Corbis | Getty Images The file shows Mr Thiel's citizenship was granted on the basis of factors including his commitment to apply his entrepreneurial skills in New Zealand, the setting up of a venture capital fund and a philanthropic donation of NZ$1m (US$730,000) to earthquake recovery in Christchurch. In a letter accompanying his application to Nathan Guy, then minister for internal affairs, Mr Thiel wrote that it would give him "great pride" to let it be known he is a New Zealand citizen and an enthusiastic supporter of the country and its emerging high-tech industry. "I am happy to say categorically that I have found no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand," he wrote. Despite Mr Thiel's professed enthusiasm, his citizenship only came to light last month when a journalist at the New Zealand Herald reported on the businessman's NZ $14.5m purchase of a 193-hectare estate on Lake Wanaka a sensitive area where foreigners typically require government approval to buy land. Mr Thiel, who was born in Germany but is a US citizen, donated US$1.25m to Donald Trump's campaign and is an adviser to a president who called for "total allegiance" to the US in his inaugural address. Under the normal process of applying for New Zealand citizenship, applicants must spend about 70 per cent of their time living in the country over a five-year period. They should also reside in the country for a period thereafter. New Zealanders of all ages highly value egalitarianism and so there is growing unease across the political spectrum about immigration of very wealthy individuals, especially if they are seen to get special consideration. Bronwyn Hayward University of Canterbury politics department head An Uber vehicle is viewed in Manhattan in New York City. How well did high-tech transportation companies Uber and Lyft react to President Donald Trump's so-called "Muslim ban"? Twenty-one business school professors analyzed and graded the corporate responses, and their consensus is that Lyft handled the situation better than Uber. The professors give Lyft a B and Uber a C+. Responding professors are part of The Real Time Expert Poll, a panel of experts from 39 world-renowned universities, including Oxford, Cornell, Columbia, INSEAD, Georgetown, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. Organized by Drexel LeBow's Institute for Strategic Leadership in partnership with the American Marketing Association, The Real Time Expert Poll grades companies when they take political stands. LYFT'S RESPONSE San Francisco-based Lyft publicly opposed the Muslim Ban and announced that it would donate $1 million to the the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years. "Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values," Lyft's co-founders wrote in an official company statement. "We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community." Lyft's co-founder and CEO, Logan Green, also tweeted out a message calling the President's executive order "antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values." UBER'S RESPONSE Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick said that he would bring the issues to Trump's attention when he next meets with him. "While every government has their own immigration controls, allowing people from all around the world to come here and make America their home has largely been the U.S.'s policy since its founding," Kalanick wrote in a letter to Uber staff, which he shared on his Facebook page. "That means this ban will impact many innocent people an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trump's first business advisory group meeting." Kalanick also said that Uber would be working to identify any drivers unable to return to the U.S. because of the immigration ban and compensate them so that their families are not left without a source of income. "But whatever the city or country from the U.S. and Mexico to China and Malaysia we've taken the view that in order to serve cities you need to give their citizens a voice, a seat at the table," says Kalanick. "I understand that many people internally and externally may not agree with that decision, and that's OK." He said that Uber would create a $3 million legal defense fund to help drivers with immigration and translation services. Many users disagree with Kalanick's participation in Trump's advisory council, and the company's response to the Muslim Ban was perceived to be lacking in conviction. Customers were also angered that Uber did not stop service to New York's JFK airport, where several immigrant detainees were being held. The New York City Taxi Workers Alliance had ordered a temporary halt to rides heading to JFK on Saturday, so Uber drivers were seen as scabs. A spokesperson later apologized and clarified that Uber had not "meant to break up any strike." By that point, a boycott had already taken hold. Users, including celebrities, deleted the Uber app from their phones and the hashtag #DeleteUber went viral on social media. NEITHER RESPONSE WAS PERFECT Uber's attempts at crisis management earned it a just-barely-passing grade from experts, while Lyft garnered a respectable B. "The panelists clearly see Uber as on the losing end of this political development. Not only has it harmed the brand psychologically, but there appears to be a migration to Lyft," says Daniel Korschun, an associate professor at Drexel's LeBow College of Business, and lead administrator of the poll, in a statement released with the results. "President Trump's executive order has revealed a stark difference between these two companies," Korschun says. Continuing to have cars operating to and from JFK over the weekend didn't align with Kalanick's Facebook messages, the business professors felt. But not all of the professors were impressed by Lyft, either. The panelists clearly see Uber as on the losing end of this political development. Daniel Korschun associate professor at Drexel's LeBow College of Business Facing a boycott by Senate Democrats, Republicans on the Environment and Public Works committee on Wednesday delayed a vote to confirm Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as President Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Committee Chairman and Wyoming Republican John Barrasso vowed to move Pruitt's nomination forward "as expeditiously as possible." "I believe no one is served, no environmental goal is achieved by the Democrats acting in this obstructionist way," he said in closing statements. Democrats said they could not support the nomination of Pruitt, who has led efforts by Republican attorneys general to sue the EPA over President Barack Obama's climate change and environmental actions more than a dozen times. Those efforts have been backed by the energy industry. In his confirmation hearing, Pruitt said he had taken the legal action on behalf of an industry that is critical to his state's economic vitality, not on the part of energy companies or their shareholders. Democrats have also cited Pruitt's history of denying the effects of man made climate change. Last week, ranking Democrat Tom Carper said Pruitt's answers during his confirmation hearing lacked substance, "blatantly contradicted his record, and provoked many serious concerns." "Mr. Pruitt's responses were shockingly devoid of substance, did not rely on empirical evidence and did not reflect the thorough effort that a task so important to our democracy demands," he said. Barrasso on Wednesday said Democrats had forfeit their right to complain about the Trump administration's policies by sabotaging the committee tasked with overseeing them. He warned that the precedent the Democrats were setting in boycotting the vote would have consequences in the future. "This amounts to nothing more than political theater at the expense of working on issues that we care about," he said. The Match.com application is displayed in the Apple Inc. App Store on an iPhone. Match Group shares dropped more than 4 percent Wednesday after it issued a disappointing forecast for the year. On Tuesday, Match said it expects 2017 revenue to be between $1.26 billion and $1.31 billion.That was well below the analyst estimate of $1.41 billion, according to FactSet. The forecast came as the Dallas-based company turned in a fourth-quarter earnings beat, but fell short on the top-line. Match posted earnings of 29 cents per share on revenue of $319.7 million. A consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 24 cents per share on revenue of $320.6 million. The company owns several online dating services including Tinder, PlentyOfFish, OkCupid, and Match.com, as well as the test prep company The Princeton Review. The average paid member count across Match Group's dating services leaped 23 percent to nearly 5.7 million, but that was less than FactSet estimates of about 5.75 million. Tinder more than doubled its number of paid members in 2016, from 0.8 million to over 1.7 million. "As we roll into 2017, we're confident we can maintain that momentum," said Chairman and CEO Greg Blatt in a press release. Match Group also said it plans to sell The Princeton Review to ST Unitas, an education technology company, this year. "The Princeton Review is a great company," said Blatt, "but it has become increasingly clear to us that its differences from our core dating businesses meaningfully exceed its similarities." Match Group had its IPO back in Nov. 2015. "The added incentive for a hacker is that the shipping industry involves high value assets and the movement of valuable cargo on a daily basis." "This includes software to run the engines, complex cargo management systems, automatic identification systems (AIS), global positioning systems (GPS) and electronic chart displays and information systems (ECDIS)," explained Matthew Montgomery, senior associate at international law firm Holman Fenwick Willan, told CNBC via email. Cybersecurity has come into focus across the economy, as hackers become more capable. Meanwhile, ships are more reliant on a range of electronic devices to operate. The shipping industry is increasingly at risk from cybersecurity attacks and a gap in insurance policies is leaving them vulnerable, industry experts have told CNBC. Jamming or disrupting GPS systems creates significant problems. For example, in April last year, South Korea said that around 280 vessels had to return to port after experiencing problems with their navigation systems, and claimed North Korea was behind the disruption. Professor David Last, strategic advisor to the U.K.'s General Lighthouse Authorities which provides navigation aids for ships, recently ran a series of trials to examine the effect of GPS jamming on shipping. In one trial, a jammer was operated from a lighthouse and aimed at ships. "The effect was profound. It strongly affected GPS receivers on ships out to sea to the horizon at about 30km," he told CNBC during a phone call. "Some GPS receivers simply died. They wouldn't provide any information. But interestingly other ships' GPS receivers lied. That is to say they gave false positions. So we had ships that were actually in the sea that appeared to be travelling over land." A second series of trials placed a jammer on a ship, which caused multiple systems to fail, including navigation systems, emergency systems, the clocks and the automatic identification system, which transmits a ship's location to other nearby ships so they appear on radar. "We had ships that were in wrong positions and ships that suddenly began to move very gently without anybody realizing it," explained Last. Losing these systems can become a big problem when visibility is an issue and on busy shipping routes such as the English Channel. "When the weather is bad, when fog is down the visibility is low, they (the ships) depend entirely on GPS for their navigation," he said. "If GPS goes wrong, the potential for accidents is very high." Another cause for concern is the fact many shipping companies may be uninsured in the event of a cyber attack. "Most insurance policies covering ships include a cyber attack exclusion clause which excludes cover for property damage and business interruption. This has left a potential exposure for shipowners," said Montgomery. According to Montgomery, the insurance market is responding to these gaps and starting to offer products which cover cybersecurity, but the shipping industry needs to identify which risks need to be insured and how to mitigate them. "Some ship owners are now identifying the areas where they are exposed to cyber risks, developing and testing written information security and incident response plans, and putting their incident response team through simulated exercises (with the assistance of external legal advisors) to see where the gaps are," he said. "Once a shipowner has implemented active cyber risk identification and mitigation processes, they are likely to be in the best possible position to transfer any remaining exposures through a cyber insurance policy." Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. watch now A group of U.S. military veterans has vowed to block completion of the hotly disputed Dakota Access pipeline, despite the secretary of the Army giving the project the green light. "We are committed to the people of Standing Rock, we are committed to nonviolence, and we will do everything within our power to ensure that the environment and human life are respected. That pipeline will not get completed. Not on our watch," said Anthony Diggs, a spokesman for Veterans Stand. Diggs added that the group hopes to raise enough funds "to have a larger, solid boots-on-the-ground presence." The secretary of the Army instructed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to grant Energy Transfer Partners the easement it needs to complete the final stretch of its $3.7 billion pipeline, Sen. John Hoeven and Rep. Kevin Cramer, both of North Dakota, said Tuesday. President Donald Trump last week signed executive actions to advance construction for Dakota Access and another disputed pipeline. Dakota Access pipeline route, source: Energy Transfer Partners Veterans Stand has raised $37,000 since launching a GoFundMe campaign last week. Part of that money will go to "basic transport of supplies and personnel," Diggs told CNBC. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe also on Tuesday vowed to mount a legal challenge claiming the Corps lacks the statutory authority to stop an environment review and issue the easement. The tribe opposes construction, saying the pipeline passes beneath a source for its drinking water and construction would disrupt sacred land. Their campaign has drawn thousands of protesters to camps near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in recent months. To abandon the study "would amount to a wholly unexplained and arbitrary change based on the president's personal views and, potentially, personal investments," the tribe said in a statement. Trump's financial disclosures show he owned shares of Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the Dakota Access pipeline. Staffers for Trump say he has sold that investment, but that has not yet been confirmed by any further financial disclosures. watch now It's difficult to argue that the secretary of the Army lacks the authority to grant the easement, said Bruce Huber, an associate professor of law at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in environmental law. However, any halt to the environmental study will face a high burden proof, he said. That's because the Army's assistant secretary for civil works is on the record as saying other routes should be explored and an environmental study is the best way to do that. In December, the Corps denied the easement and said the best path forward would be to consider alternative routes for the project by conducting an environmental review with public input and analysis. "That's an unclear bit of law there, whether the process can simply be terminated," Huber said. "You can bet your bottom dollar it will be litigated." The Standing Rock Sioux also took issue with Republican lawmakers who claimed the easement had already been granted. The headline on Cramer's statement on Tuesday read, "Approved Dakota Access Pipeline receives federal easement." The Indigenous Environmental Network raised concerns that attempts to force through approval would stoke tension at protest camps, where activists have already clashed with law enforcement. "Instead of following proper legal procedure and completing the Environmental Impact Study, the Army has chosen to escalate an already tense situation, go against their own processes and potentially put people in harm's way," the network said in a statement. In his statement, Hoeven said various agencies are working to bring in more "federal law enforcement resources to support state and local law enforcement." The latest flare-up occurred last month when the Morton County Sheriff's Department used foam rubber bullets, pepper spray and smoke canisters to disperse protesters. The activists attempted to enter private property and threw projectiles at authorities, the department said. A department spokesperson said there are still about 300 people at three camps on or near the Standing Rock reservation. Last week, Veterans Stand announced plans to support the protesters camped out in North Dakota. Those efforts include a plan to quickly mobilize thousands of U.S. military veterans to return to Standing Rock after about 4,000 traveled there in December. The presence of veterans among protesters potentially sets up a public relations challenge for the Trump team. Efforts by activists to boost their presence could be hampered by forecasts for flooding in the region. Numbers have already dwindled due to harsh winter weather. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images When Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway referred to "alternative facts" earlier this month, she succinctly encapsulated the ongoing narrative of some governments propagating the shadowy, Orwellian world of "disinformation" that has risen to prominence in recent months. The subsequent backlash has placed renewed impetus on media outlets to put news reporting under the microscope. In light of the "fake news" phenomenon, French newspaper Le Monde is launching a series of tools on Wednesday designed to help its readers separate fact from fiction. The products, known as Decodex, are centered around a database that tracks 600 websites responsible for dubiously sourced news. This can be accessed via Le Monde's own website, where readers can type in URLs they want to test the veracity of. Alongside this, the newspaper will unveil a free browser attachment for online readers using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, which uses a colored labeling system to indicate potential fake news. A Facebook Messenger bot will provide a similar service for mobile users. watch now Samuel Laurent, head of Le Monde's fact-checking arm Les Decodeurs which is behind the new launches, told CNBC via telephone that his mission was to "change the way people see the news." For Laurent, the project is a way of expressing the media industry's defiance against fake news impostors. "We are going to fight," he said. Le Monde's Les Decodeurs predates the furor surrounding fake news and U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign late last year, and instead was started after the Paris terrorist attacks in December 2015. Conspiracy theories surrounding the event were rife online. Laurent also sees the tools as a rebuff from traditional news companies to social media behemoths. He told CNBC that he wanted to "say to social media outlets that it is possible to discriminate between sources." Google and Facebook among others have taken steps to tackle fake news, though debate lingers as to whether they have gone far enough. The idea of an internet browser extension detecting fake news is not strictly new. Last December, the Washington Post launched its own version RealDonaldContext which adds "context or corrections" to Trump's tweets. watch now A black swan could be surfacing in the oil markets. Oil prices sharply extended gains on Wednesday after U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said the White House is putting Iran "on notice." That raised concerns President Donald Trump could take actions that would hobble Iran's efforts to revive its oil and gas industry, spark conflicts along oil supply routes and ultimately drive crude prices higher. "As soon as those comments hit the wires, you saw a bit of a rally in crude oil," said John Kilduff, founding partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital. Flynn said the warning is a response to Iran carrying out a ballistic missile test this week and its support for Houthi rebels in Yemen's civil war. During a White House press briefing, he called agreements struck by the Obama administration, the United Nations and Iran "weak and ineffective." "Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened. As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice," he said. Under a deal reached between Iran and six world powers, Tehran accepted limits on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran has conducted several ballistic missile tests since the nuclear deal went into effect, but the latest is the first since Americans elected a president who has threatened to pull out of the accord. Anthony Scaramucci, SkyBridge Capital Founder and aide to President-elect Donald Trump, arrives at Trump Tower in New York last month. Albin Lohr-Jones | Pool via Bloomberg | Getty Images A secretive Chinese company with deep ties to the country's Communist Party has become one of the biggest foreign investors in the United States over the past year, snapping up American firms in a string of multibillion-dollar deals. But it is one of its smaller deals that is apparently stalling the White House career of a top adviser to President Trump. Anthony Scaramucci, a flamboyant former campaign fund-raiser for Mr. Trump whom the president has appointed as the White House liaison to the business community, has been in limbo for more than a week since he agreed to sell his investment firm to a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate, HNA Group. Mr. Scaramucci is on the job but has yet to be sworn in, partly because of concerns about the Jan. 17 deal, according to two administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters. It is the second known transaction between a politically connected Chinese company and an incoming White House official. And it is evidence of the unusual confluence of interests between superrich members of the new Trump administration who need to unwind complex financial portfolios to comply with government rules and international firms eager to buy American assets. "You are not going to get an administration with thousands of political appointees and not have people who have contacts with the Chinese," said Derek Scissors, a China specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning research organization in Washington. Still, he said, no one should have any illusions about the Chinese motivation behind such deals. "HNA is looking for influence in an administration that looks like it is positioning itself to be anti-China," he said. "They all are." Previous administrations have rarely faced such issues, partly because the surge of Chinese investment in the United States is relatively recent. Chinese companies are on a buying spree, investing about $50 billion in American companies and projects last year alone. HNA Group, a conglomerate focused heavily on aviation, burst onto the American business scene last year when it bought a quarter of the hotelier Hilton Worldwide Holdings for $6.5 billion, and paid $6 billion for the information technology giant Ingram Micro. watch now Last year, Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese financial colossus, began negotiating an investment in a Manhattan apartment tower owned by Mr. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Mr. Kushner, 36, is now one of the president's most influential advisers, with a White House portfolio that is expected to include handling America's relationship with China. Mr. Trump has taken a hawkish stance toward China, threatening to raise tariffs on Chinese imports, and demanding that China abandon the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea in an attempt to bolster its claim to the vast area. Compared with Mr. Kushner, Mr. Scaramucci appears to be making a clean break from his business, SkyBridge Capital. Although the sale price could rise as high as $230 million, depending on the company's future performance, Mr. Scaramucci's payment is fixed, he said in an interview on Monday. HNA is a newcomer to the asset management field in the United States, and companies like SkyBridge so-called funds of funds that act essentially as middlemen investing clients' money in hedge funds have experienced pain in recent years. Citing high fees and disappointing performance, investors have withdrawn billions from such firms. SkyBridge's asset pool has shrunk by more than $2 billion since mid-2015, and its flagship fund posted its second straight year of negative returns in 2016. While Mr. Kushner's negotiations with Anbang apparently raised few eyebrows in Mr. Trump's inner circle, some White House officials appear to view Mr. Scaramucci's sale of his firm to HNA with more suspicion. Mr. Scaramucci was left out of the group of about two dozen White House aides who were sworn in on Jan. 22. More from the NYT: Picking One Justice, Trump Has Eye on Choosing a Second Where Immigrants From Banned Nations Live in the U.S. Fear of Protesters Prompts Cancellation of Trump Trip One White House official cited concerns that it could take as long as three months for the SkyBridge deal to close and be approved by the ethics office. Mr. Scaramucci's lawyer said this period of time was standard for any large, complex deal. A White House spokesman did not comment on Mr. Scaramucci's status. Allies of Mr. Scaramucci's said the sale of his company was a red herring, and attributed the delay in his swearing-in to objections from Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, who they said had not favored giving Mr. Scaramucci a White House position. Mr. Priebus's allies denied that. In an interview, Mr. Scaramucci rejected any notion that HNA was seeking a friend in the administration, saying that his company was a highly attractive investment and that HNA was a logical buyer. HNA has described the purchase as an important toehold in the American market for its growing asset management businesses. Even if HNA was hoping for influence, Mr. Scaramucci said, he has walled himself off from any discussions with the Chinese company. David Boies, his lawyer, said Mr. Scaramucci went well beyond what was required to rule out any perception of a conflict of interest. watch now "They know they cannot talk to me, so what influence are they buying?" Mr. Scaramucci said in the interview. "If people are saying that HNA is trying to buy access, then people are saying HNA is stupid." "I took their bid because it would protect my clients, partners and investors," he said. "So what did I do wrong?" An irrepressible self-described "diva" nicknamed "the Mooch," Mr. Scaramucci, 53, is as outspoken as HNA's owners are tight-lipped. His support for Mr. Trump in the Republican primaries came late, and only after he initially attacked Mr. Trump as a "hack politician" with "a big mouth." He first backed Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, and then Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor. Still, he was one of the first Wall Street financiers to sign up with Mr. Trump's campaign, and has been a relentless cheerleader for him since May, using the blunt, colorful speech that made him a frequent news show guest. At a national business conference sponsored by SkyBridge in May, Mr. Scaramucci said that Mr. Trump was only "saying cuckoo-la-la things" because he knows that "the red-meat-eating Middle American loves the swipes at the know-it-alls." Analysts of Chinese politics and strategy say the ties between administration officials and companies like Anbang and HNA bear careful watching, because while such firms are ostensibly privately owned, their very survival depends on the good will of the Chinese government. "They will do, and they have time and time again done, many, many things at the behest of the Chinese government," said Victor Shih, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego who specializes in the nexus between business and politics in China. And few private companies have as obvious ties to the Chinese government as HNA, whose connections rival even those of Anbang, whose chairman married the granddaughter of Deng Xiaoping, China's former paramount leader. Faxes and emails sent to HNA press offices in Beijing and in Hainan were not responded to, and phone calls were not answered. A company spokesman in the United States declined to comment for the record. Chen Feng, the firm's chairman and founder, has the Chinese political titles that are the equivalent of a peerage or knighthood. He has been a delegate since 2002 to the high-level Communist Party conclaves held every five years that pick the country's leadership, a streak almost no other private company executive can match. While HNA's ownership structure is murky, it has paired with a company run by the son of a former member of the party's top ruling body, the Politburo Standing Committee. In 2008, HNA formed a venture in the northern city Tianjin with Womei Investment Management, part of a group of firms led by a son of He Guoqiang, then the Communist Party's powerful discipline chief, Chinese corporate records show. With more than $90 billion in assets, HNA has been showered with cheap loans that have helped fuel its overseas purchases. The amounts are extraordinary for a private company. HNA Group's biggest lenders are two government policy banks, followed by a gaggle of state-owned commercial banks that as of the end of 2015 gave HNA a combined $67.4 billion line of credit, according to a bond prospectus. One major shareholder, Guan Jun, who records show may indirectly own more than a quarter of the company, lists his address in a rundown apartment block in Beijing. In the filthy hallway outside his door, a decaying bed lies upright, a bag of trash suspended from its frame. Some in Mr. Trump's inner circle argued that Mr. Scaramucci's skills as a salesman made him the perfect fit to head the White House Office of Public Liaison. Mr. Scaramucci said he was so eager to serve his government that he took the job for $1 a year and gave up a "phenomenal" company. Mr. Scaramucci, who had a controlling interest in the firm, said three other entities bid for SkyBridge besides HNA, including one that offered him more money but would have laid off 40 employees. HNA, which teamed up with a second firm to buy the company, will become its majority owner. Whether selling his firm to join the White House will prove a wise move still seems uncertain. "Why are people so stupid to blow up their lives to serve the country they love?" Mr. Scaramucci said in the interview on Monday. "Maybe that is the story you should be writing." WATCH: Trump vs. Obama: Here's who inherited the better economy The sun rises over the City of London on February 25, 2010 Dan Kitwood | Getty Images British trade won't suffer punitive tariffs, the world will continue to flock to the City of London and there will be no hefty divorce settlement fee to leave the European Union, if the so-called Brexiteers' Brexiteer is to be believed. John Redwood, chief global strategist at investment manager Charles Stanley and a member parliament for Wokingham, told CNBC Wednesday that "a happy outcome is quite possible" as the U.K.'s negotiations for exiting the EU step up a gear. Charles Stanley does not hold a house view on the Brexit negotiations but Redwood has made clear that he will be voting in favour a so-called Brexit Bill which is scheduled for later today and will determine Prime Minister Theresa May's ability to begin the EU Brexit process. Redwood told CNBC that "the worst that can happen to (the U.K.'s) trade is that we will trade with Europe as we trade with the rest of the world at the moment with relatively light tariffs and relatively light barriers because we've had very good progress through the WTO in getting barriers down between advanced countries, and this is trade between advanced countries." watch now Indeed, any additional tariffs imposed on the EU outside of the single market would lead to "big profit" for the U.K. government, which it could then rebate to business and people by way of tax cuts, explained Redwood. As with many of those who campaigned to leave the EU in the lead up to the referendum on June 23, 2016, Redwood remains certain that the City of London, a large contributor to the U.K.'s economy, will not see an exodus of talent and business once departure processes get underway. Earlier this month, UBS and HSBC announced that they could each move 1000 jobs away from the U.K. as they seek to prepare for disruption caused by negotiations. Redwood advised banks to have contingency plans in place in case passports, which enable financial firms to carry out business across the EU, are revoked, but said he believes London will remain the world's most competitive financial market. "Passports are a two-way street and there are many more passports from the Continent into London than the other way around because this is their big capital market. The London markets have lent about $1.5 trillion to the Euro area and they want us to keep lending to them. A Senate panel voted Wednesday morning to advance the nomination of Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions as U.S. attorney general a day after Democrats clashed with Republicans over the future of the Department of Justice. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sessions' nomination along party lines, 11-9, sending it to the full Senate for confirmation. Sessions is expected to easily win approval by the GOP-controlled chamber. After Tuesday's hearing included fiery rhetoric against Sessions' nomination, Democrats on Wednesday again went after the four-term Alabama senator's record on civil rights, women's health care and his hard-line immigration stance. More from NBC News: Neil Gorsuch and the making of SCOTUS a Donald Trump production GOP advances Mnuchin and Price despite Dem boycott Analysis: Trump's 'America First' vision could upend postwar consensus They also questioned whether he could be nonpartisan enforcing the federal laws as the nation's top attorney after being an early supporter of Donald Trump's candidacy for presidency. At issue has been how Sessions would deal with Trump's controversial immigration ban and handle the president's unverified claim that there was widespread voter fraud during last year's election. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said Wednesday that it's "the job of the attorney general to call [the president] out on" proven lies. "It's important that we know if Sen. Sessions is able or willing to separate fact from fiction and speak truth to power," Franken said before the vote. The urgent need for an attorney general also comes after Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was fired by Trump on Monday night after she refused to direct the Justice Department to enforce his controversial immigration ban. Most business leaders have their unique quirks. Bill Gates does the dishes every evening. Warren Buffett starts his mornings with a meal from McDonald's. Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo, writes more than 400 letters each year to the parents of her senior executives. The letters are a unique display of gratitude, Nooyi explains on "The David Rubenstein Show." And they have had quantifiable results. When Nooyi first became CEO of the now $150 billion company back in 2006, she visited India, where she had grown up, to see her mother. "When I got home and I sat in the living room, a stream of visitors and random people started to show up," Nooyi tells Rubenstein. "They'd go to my mom and say, 'You did such a good job with your daughter. Compliments to you. She's CEO.' But not a word to me." Besides a short greeting, the visitors didn't speak to Nooyi at all. Nooyi realized that it was her mother and her late father who were responsible for much of her success. They deserved to reap the praise. SALINA, N.Y. The Salina plant of Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) has produced the 100th AN/TPQ-53 radar system under its contract for the equipment with the U.S. Army. The defense contractor on Monday took local reporters on a tour of the production facility to see the radar and answer questions about its work on the contract. Lockheed Martin is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The firms locations in Salina and in Owego started building the Q-53 radars in 2007 and deployed them to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010, Rick Herodes, director for the Q-53 counter-fire radar program at Lockheed Martin, said in speaking with reporters at the Salina plant. Were on contract right now for 104 radars. We complete the 104th radar this summer, and were in negotiations for 70 more with the [U.S.] Army. Beyond that, we expect to have international contracts under what we call FMS, or foreign-military sales, for our allies, said Herodes. The radars eventual destination is up to the U.S. Army, he says. The U.S. Army has used the radar system has been in combat since 2010. They assist military personnel with an early warning on rockets, artilleries, and mortars. [It] lets [them] know where they came from and lets [them] know where theyre going to land, he says. They also provide a protective umbrella over our soldiers, he added. It takes Lockheed Martin employees about 18 months to produce a Q-53 radar, according to Herodes. Mondays meeting with reporters preceded an event scheduled for Tuesday at the Salina plant to acknowledge the firms employees and its vendors for the work on Q-53 contract, and to thank the U.S. Army for awarding the contract, Herodes noted. Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com SYRACUSE, N.Y. LeChase Construction Services, LLC announced it has promoted Paul Klinko to operations manager, leading its Syracuse office. In his new role, Klinko will work to expand LeChases business in the Central New York region, with responsibility for managing client, employee, and subcontractor relationships, and overseeing daily operations, the firm said in a news release. Klinko has more than 25 years of construction experience across a range of markets that include health care, higher education, K-12, mixed-use development, and industrial construction. He has extensive on-site construction and project management expertise as well as a background in estimating and budgeting, LeChase said. Most recently, Klinko served as a project executive for Conifer-LeChase Construction a joint venture between LeChase and Conifer Realty that develops housing projects. Having started at LeChase as a project manager in 2006, Klinko was promoted to project executive in 2011, and had been part of Conifer-LeChase since 2014. LeChase Construction Services, established in 1944, is a full-service construction management and general construction firm headquartered near Rochester. In addition to Syracuse, the firm also has branch offices in Buffalo, Corning, Ithaca, Binghamton, Schenectady, and Armonk, plus two offices in North Carolina. Contact the Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com First Spouse First Spouse gold $10 bullion coins The same 2005 law that directed the U.S. Mint to produce dollar coins with portraits of U.S. Presidents on the obverse also created the First Spouse gold $10 bullion coin program, which honors t...READ MORE UNK concert slated for CHS COLUMBUS -- The University of Nebraska at Kearney Wind Ensemble will perform 7 p.m. Thursday at Columbus High School's Nantkes Performing Arts Center. The wind ensemble will share the evening concert with the Columbus High School band. Among the UNK performers will be Columbus' Cayla Cuba on the clarinet and Audrey Grant on the horn. The concert is free and open to the public. Kindergarten roundup slated COLUMBUS -- Immanuel Lutheran Elementary School will hold a kindergarten roundup from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday at the school, 2865 26th Ave. For more information, call 402-564-8423. Book sale slated for city library COLUMBUS -- The Friends of the Columbus Public Library will have a Super Book Sale on Super Bowl weekend, Thursday through Sunday, at the library. Dates and times for the sale are as follows: 6-9 p.m. Thursday, with no entry fee; 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; and 1:30-5 p.m. Sunday, with special pricing of $2 per bag. Most hardback books will be sold for $1, and all children's books and paperbacks are 50 cents. There will also be an especially large selection of VHS, cookbooks and Christian books. All proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Columbus Public Library. Harolds Squares dance Sunday COLUMBUS -- Harolds Squares Square Dance Club of Columbus will have its Valentine dance from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sunday at the VFW Hall. The caller/cuer for the dance will be Mary Channer-Paul from Fullerton. Lunch will be served following the dance. Spectators are always welcome to stop by and see what square dancing is all about. Lessons will precede the dance at 4 p.m. Applicator training set LINDSAY -- Private pesticide applicator training will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday in the community room at Lindsay City Hall. Additional private pesticide training in Platte County for 2017 will be held 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 and March 22 at Pinnacle Bank (east) in Columbus. This training is for farmers whose pesticide applicators certificate is expiring April 15 and for those wanting certification for the first time. Those recertifying at the training are asked to bring the letter sent to them by the Department of Agriculture. Cost to attend the training is $30. For more information, contact Allan Vyhnalek, Platte County Extension educator, at 402-563-4901 or email avyhnalek2@unl.edu. CCH fundraiser slated Feb. 9-11 COLUMBUS -- The volunteers at Columbus Community Hospital will be hosting a Sees Candies sale Feb. 9-11 outside the Unique Discoveries Gift Shop in the hospital. Hours for the sale are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 9-10 and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 11. There will also be a Dose of Love sale from 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in the gift shop. Proceeds from these events will help fund medical equipment purchases and program advancements at the hospital. For more information, call Angie Ramaekers at 402-562-3365 or adramaeker@columbushosp.org. How Harrison Fowler was the difference as Hallsville's upset Centralia CLARKS A grocery store could be in the future for Clarks. Residents of the Merrick County village have been taking steps over the last couple of years to establish a grocery store there. After a previous grocery store closed in 2011, a group of local investors bought the building and Len and Jo's Supermarket opened in the leased space at 214 N. Green St. However, that store went out of business in 2015. Since then, the community of about 360 residents has been without a grocery store. The closest one is about 10 miles away in Central City. Despite having a convenience store in town, Clarks residents have expressed their desire to have a supermarket again. A community survey conducted in 2015 showed 89 percent of respondents consider a grocery store to be important. Overall, 439 surveys were sent out with 140 returned. The results were presented by a business development specialist with the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center. Now, steps are being taken to launch a cooperative grocery store in the community. Janet Meyers, one of the local building investors, said cooperative grocery stores are becoming more common in smaller towns and serve as a way for residents to invest in their community. The sale of shares for the co-op will begin at an informational meeting set for 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the old grocery store site in Clarks. Meyers said there is no timeline for establishing a grocery store in town, but she hopes the effort will move forward as quickly as possible. Organizers must sell $175,000 in shares for the project to continue. If we cant get enough money to meet our goal, we cant proceed. We have to have the community participation to go forward, Meyers said. COLUMBUS An unexpected turn at the annual March for Life held Friday led to a memorable moment for a Scotus Central Catholic senior. Abbie Perault joined more than 40 Columbus high schoolers, as well as adult chaperons and Fr. Matt Capadano, a Scotus religion teacher and in-residence priest at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church, on the yearly pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., to protest the legalization of abortion. They were among the more than 800,000 estimated in attendance, including others from the Omaha Archdiocese. I guess I wasnt expecting all the people that showed up, Perault said. It was cool to be there with people who believe in the same things I do and were standing up for the thing that I think is most important. But the march, held every year since 1974 to protest the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, had a little bit of a different twist. Instead of turning left near the end of the march, the group turned right and marched to the Supreme Court building. What members of the group saw there was unexpected. When we went past the Supreme Court building, there were mothers and fathers holding signs that said, I regret my abortion, I regret losing my motherhood, and then there were dads (holding signs) saying, I regret losing my fatherhood. Capadano said. And to see the smiles and joy on their faces was really, really powerful. I mean goosebumps powerful. Thats when Perault and a friend Hannah Pflug, a student at Omaha Duchesne Academy took action. It was right at the end and we had just stopped to take pictures, and I look over and there they were, Perault said. Hannah was with me, and we were like, We need to go give them hugs. Thats the one thing we said at the same time. We agreed we have to do it, and they just said some awesome things. They were sweethearts. Thats one moment of the march I will remember forever. Another memorable part of this years pilgrimage was a stop in Philadelphia, which Capadano said happens every third or fourth year. Among the sights to see there was the Church of St. John Neumann. At the church, the National Shrine of St. John Neumann includes the remains of the saint resting under the altar of the shrine within a glass-walled reliquary. A lot of kids were really moved when we were able to see his body, Capadano said. Seeing their reaction was priceless for a priest, to see that type of devotion and love and sincerity in a bunch of teenagers was actually really beautiful. Its not something you get to see every day when youre in school. The group also visited the tomb of St. Katharine Drexel, the only canonized saint to have been born a United States citizen. It is located under the main altar in St. Elizabeth Chapel. Capadano said seeing where those two saints were located was important to the youths attending. Our students were able to see that there are saints in the United States who we can go and visit and ask their intercession, Capadano said. We dont have to go to Rome to see places where saints have lived and walked and been buried. We dont have to go to Jerusalem. We dont have to leave this country in order to experience the Church triumphant. We can just go where we already know they were and experience them." Capadano calls this years pilgrimage a "gift from God," recalling last years blizzard-marred trip. A year ago, several buses, including the bus with the Columbus and Omaha groups, were stuck for 17 hours on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. With all our buses successfully getting there and back without breaking down, with having the time to do everything that we really wanted to do and not having to cancel anything, Capadano said. It was such a successful pilgrimage, such a successful experience for the students, and I feel that it was a blessing after everything we went through last year. The trip wasnt perfect, however. Some of the adults who went along battled illness, including Capadano, who said he lost his voice. We had a chaperon who had a kidney stone for the whole trip, Capadano said. One of our Scotus bus captains had a chest cold the whole time and could barely breathe and was coughing all night and she was still really strong. Im just really proud of how our adults received grace and used it and stayed even keel. Capadano credits Scotus for the numerous students who volunteer to make the trip every year. "I think Scotus does a good job of promoting the Catholic ethos in general, the Catholic world view," Capadano said. "If we have that Catholic world view, then were going to be pro-life. It kind of goes hand in glove. Its not like were doing anything specific. Were just Catholic, and because of that, we have students that want to go." COLUMBUS A 37-year-old former Columbus man arrested late last week after being involved in confrontation with his estranged wife in the parking lot of a local motel remained in jail Tuesday after a sharp reduction in his bond. Platte County Court Judge Frank Skorupa lowered bond for Scott Plummer from $500,000 to $25,000, 10 percent allowed for release, on five felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from Thursday's parking lot altercation that drew seven police officers to the scene. The judge appointed the public defenders office to represent Plummer and scheduled the defendant for a Feb. 9 status hearing on the charges. Plummer is charged with attempted second-degree assault and terroristic threats, both Class 3A felonies, and stalking, second-degree false imprisonment and third-degree assault, all Class I misdemeanors. The felonies each carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison, 18 months of post-release supervision and a $10,000 fine. Skorupa ordered the conditions of Plummers initial bond no contact with his wife and the defendant not go within five blocks of her Columbus residence remain in place. Plummer listed Omaha as his current address when he was arrested during a traffic stop following the incident and booked into the county jail. Columbus Police said the couple were fighting earlier in the day at the local home, and Plummer decided to get a room at the motel in the 3800 block of 23rd Street. The defendant's wife later joined him at the motel to discuss their disagreement and, when she wanted to leave, her husband blocked the motel doorway, Officer Alysson Norris wrote in her probable cause arrest statement. Norris wrote that Plummer reported he and his wife had been having marital problems for a couple of months, and they were basically separated. Last weeks dispute spilled into the motel parking lot, with the wife getting into her car and Plummer waving around a BB pistol and banging on her window, Norris wrote. Plummer then jumped in his vehicle, rammed into his wifes car, and left the parking lot, the officer wrote. There were no injuries in the incident. The Ibex Pro is one supercharged machine that will probably hurt your electric bill. System76's fastest Ibex Pro with Ubuntu Server 16.10 packs some crazy horsepower with Intel's latest 22-core Xeon E5 v4 chips and eight Nvidia Tesla P100 graphics processors. It's got the same number of GPUs as Nvidia's superfast DGX-1, which is being used for deep learning. System76 is targeting the Ibex Pro -- which is a rack server -- at the same market as the DGX-1. The server has fewer, but newer, CPUs, compared to the DGX-1. An entry-level Ibex Pro priced at US $9,575 will run Ubuntu Server 16.10, with a six-core Intel Xeon E5-2603v4 chip, 16GB of memory, a Tesla K40 GPU, and 250GB of storage. A fully loaded system is priced at $114,725, and will come with two 22-core Xeon E5-2699v4 CPUs, 1.5TB of DDR4 DRAM, eight Tesla P100 GPUs, 2TB of NVMe-based SSD storage, and an additional 32TB of SSD storage. System76 has made its name as an Ubuntu PC maker, but the Ibex Pro is one of its handful of Ubuntu servers. The server is targeted at companies looking to implement machine learning for tasks like speech and image recognition. High-end GPUs are driving image and speech for companies like Google and Facebook. Those companies have deployed GPUs across servers to analyze images, classify them, and then try to identify objects in a picture. The GPUs provide "learning" capabilities to a server, and the more data it is fed, the stronger a learning model gets. GPUs are also being for analytics, engineering applications, and scientific research. For example, oil and gas companies value a system with many GPUs for exploration, and the Ibex Pro is much more powerful than workstations with dual-GPU configurations. The GPUs also make the Ibex Pro great for multimedia or computer vision applications. It can be used for movie production or image editing. But the whole point of putting so many GPUs together is for machine learning, said Ryan Sipes, a community manager at System76. The importance of GPUs is growing, and even smaller companies want a piece of machine learning, Sipes said. But machine-learning -- or Nvidia's GPUs -- aren't cheap, explaining why the Ibex Pro costs so much. The Ibex Pro ships with Ubuntu; System76 has tested the OS to work with the GPU and server components. System76 can ship the server with other Linux distributions like Red Hat, but the customer will have to work with the company to tune all the components to work with the hardware. The Ibex Pro does not take advantage of the superfast NVLink interconnect in the Tesla P100 GPUs. That feature, for now, is reserved only for the DGX-1 and Power8 servers. Nvidia's NVLink is a significantly faster interconnect than industry standard PCI-Express 3.0, which is used in the Ibex Pro. Server makers are expected to offer servers with Nvidia's Tesla P100 later this year. The Ibex Pro server will ship in 62 countries worldwide. Originally posted on the Puppet blog, and republished here with Puppet's permission. Were often so focused on crafting code that we forget the reason why: to deliver a better experience for our users and help our business grow. Let's take a step back and look at how continuous delivery can help your organization reach its goals. And when youre done here, make sure to get even more details on continuous delivery in the full ebook. Continuous delivery means low-risk deployments Continuous delivery, once processes are in place and regularly used, gives you the option of much faster software development cycles. Instead of releasing code once or twice a year, companies doing continuous delivery have the option of releasing multiple times per day. When youre releasing at that rate, each release is small maybe only a single line of code so the risk to system stability and customer service is much lower. Every change is easier to roll back, easier to test and if theres a failure, easier to diagnose. A company still may not want to release new code as multiple times per day, but what really matters is that every piece of code thats checked in is proven and ready to deploy. This makes it much more viable to continually test small changes on your systems and on your customers. For example, you might want to see if a big blue buy now button on the homepage makes people act more quickly than your existing green button. With continuous delivery practices in place, you can test that change to see if it breaks anything before rolling it out. And you can limit the change to just a small percentage of website visitors to see how they respond, or see if visitors arriving at various times of day, or on different days of the week, react any differently. The feedback from these experiments helps business managers make better decisions. Continuous delivery means faster market response time Markets change all the time: Regulations get modified, commodity prices go up and down, safety warnings go out, celebrities launch fads. With faster cycle times, you can respond much more quickly to those changes. Something you thought was profitable may turn out to be a loser. Website analytics may show that people visiting your site on mobile devices are buying more than those using desktop computers. Whatever decision you need to make, you can implement it faster if youre already practicing continuous delivery. Once the whole organization gets comfortable with making more changes more often, youll have a distinct edge over competitors whose deployments are infrequent, chaotic and error-prone. And the more you practice frequent code release, the better you get at it. Continuous delivery means happier, more productive staff Workplace satisfaction matters. There are just too many options out there for talented technology people; they dont have to stick around if theyre getting burned out. Continuous delivery is known to reduce stress on technical teams, ending the 2:00 a.m. pager calls and reducing the last-minute technical fixes that add to technical debt and slow future releases. With continuous delivery, employees can perform at higher levels. Puppets 2016 State of DevOps Report found that high performers have better employee loyalty, as measured by employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS). Employees in high-performing organizations were 2.2 times more likely to recommend their organization to a friend as a great place to work, and 1.8 times more likely to recommend their team to a friend as a great working environment. Other studies have shown that this is correlated with better business outcomes. Continuous delivery also fixes another source of developer dissatisfaction: writing code that never gets released. Its not at all uncommon for blocked development pipelines to swallow code forever, and no developer likes working on a product that no one ever gets to use. Bonus: When theres less stress, theres more room to be creative. Technical teams who arent fighting fires and fixing bugs all the time have the bandwidth to innovate in ways that benefit the business. Make a positive cultural shift with continuous delivery Dont forget continuous delivery is as much a cultural shift as it is a technical one. For most teams, the biggest shift is from separate teams dealing with the writing, testing and deployment of software to a single team that is responsible for the successful deployment of quality software albeit one staffed by people who have specialized skills and are tasked with specific responsibilities. Developers will still write code, QA people will still manage testing, and IT operations will still configure and manage infrastructure, but everyone shares ownership of the software development and release process. That means when something goes wrong, its important to refrain from finger-pointing. Instead, get the delivery pipeline moving again, and then analyze the situation for a blameless postmortem. The object: to treat each such event as an opportunity to learn and make the process better. Continuous delivery requires that testing and IT operations people get involved earlier in the software design process. When all parties talk over what the new application will need, in terms of validation and infrastructure, the IT and testing people will be better prepared to test and deploy, and developers will be better equipped to make sure the code they write is testable and deployable. When it comes time to deploy, most errors will have (hopefully) been worked out already. If there are errors, each deployment should be a small enough change that its easy to roll back to the last known good state. Want to learn more? Download Puppets Continuous Delivery eBook, and read the 2016 State of DevOps Report to learn why DevOps is critical to continuous delivery. This story, "The business case for continuous delivery" was originally published by CIO . I recently bashed Windows for being too darn snoopy, but you know what? Its not just Windows. Ever since Yosemite came out, Apples macOS has been just as untrustworthy. As for Chrome OS, Android and iOS, come on! Theyre all built around cloud services; by design, they share everything you do with third-party services. Whats the answer? Desktop Linux. With President Trump considering asking foreign visitors to disclose all websites and social media sites they visit and Jeff Sessions, Trumps attorney general pick, wanting cryptographic back doors, I think privacy is more important than ever. True, Ive been praising desktop Linux for ages, but privacy is a new reason to use it. In the past, while Windows had lousy security, at least it didnt report into headquarters. Now it does. So do almost all operating systems. Chrome OS and Android, for example, are Linux distributions, but they perform at full power only with an internet connection. Google makes its money from your information. So if privacy really matters to you, you need an operating system that doesnt broadcast your moves to the World Wide Web. For all practical purposes, that means desktop Linux. Why? Because while you can certainly use cloud services such as Gmail or even Microsofts Office 365 on Linux, most Linux desktop apps live and work on your desktop. [ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ] These applications, such as the LibreOffice office suite, the Evolution email client and the GIMP image editor, are every bit as good as their Windows equivalents. If you do need a specific Windows application, chances are good that Wine 2.0, a set of Windows APIs that have been ported to Linux, will let you run your program on top of Linux. For example, Microsoft Office 2013 now runs on Linux with Wine. If you think Linux is too hard to use, think again. Modern Linux distributions are as easy to use as Windows XP ever was. In particular, I like Linux Mint 18.1 with the Cinnamon desktop. Mint has everything that a traditional WIMP (windows, icons, menu and pointer) desktop should have. If youve used any desktop in the last 10 years, youll get up to speed with Mint quickly. In addition, Linux is less prone to vulnerabilities than Windows. Windows 10 still gets its regular share of critical patches every month. Im also not at all comfortable with Microsoft dropping its security bulletins in favor of a searchable database of support documents. I think that will make it much harder to know whats wrong with Windows. If you want even more security, and if youre willing to go the extra mile to get it and youre no ordinary desktop user, try hardened Linux desktop distributions such as Kali Linux, Qubes OS and Tails. Keep in mind, though, that what you do on the internet determines your level of privacy. If you post your every thought on Facebook, even Tails you cant give you any real privacy to speak of. Dont get me wrong. Linux has its share of security problems, but there are far fewer of them. Still, as security guru Bruce Schneier wisely said, Security is a process, not a product. With Linux, however, youre starting from a more secure and private foundation. While President Donald Trump decided not to sign an executive order on cybersecurity (pdf), which would have required a review of the nations cyber vulnerabilities to be done in a mere 60 days, he told reporters, I will hold my cabinet secretaries and agency heads accountable, totally accountable for the cybersecurity of their organization. 8 months later, vulnerable Pentagon servers still not patched 60 days would be crazy-fast, considering the Pentagon has known it is running vulnerable servers for more than eight months and yet still has not implemented fixes. The misconfigured servers were discovered by security researcher Dan Tentler, founder of the Phobos Group. He told ZDNet, It's very likely that these servers are being exploited in the wild. Although Tentler did report the Department of Defense cybersecurity issue to HackerOne, which runs the Hack the Pentagon (pdf) bug bounty program, the flawed servers were considered to be out of the scope of what is allowed to be tested. Tentler pointed out that Russia and China dont care what the acceptable probing guidelines are; you can bet theyre scanning those networks. There were hosts that were discovered that had serious technical misconfiguration problems that could be easily abused by an attacker inside or outside of the country, who could want to implicate the US as culprits in hacking attacks if they so desire, Tentler told ZDNets Zack Whittaker. The flaw could allow politically motivated attacks that could implicate the US. If the Pentagon can't patch after more than eight months, can President Trump seriously believe all the nation's cyber vulnerabilities could be reviewed in 60 days? After he decided not to sign the cybersecurity executive order as was originally planned, he said, We must protect federal networks and data. We operate these networks on behalf of the American people, and they are very important and very sacred. Cybersecurity is more important than some people can comprehend it touches everything these days, but another very sacred thing to Americans that needs to be protected is freedom of speech. Reuters braces reporters covering Trump for bumpy ride There shouldnt be a chilling effect on free speech because of any president. The news needs to continue to be the news, not news like that which is reported from state-owned news outlets in authoritarian regimes. Reuters pointed out, Its not every day that a U.S. president calls journalists among the most dishonest human beings on earth or that his chief strategist dubs the media the opposition party. Reuters is so concerned that its Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler reminded his staff that they manage to pump out the news in other locations where the media is unwelcome and frequently under attack such as Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe, and Russia, nations in which we sometimes encounter some combination of censorship, legal prosecution, visa denials, and even physical threats to our journalists. White House freezes out CNN If you dont think the White House is hostile to news outlets not agreeing with its agenda, look no further than CNN which is currently being punished. Politico reported that the Trump administration has iced out CNN. A White House official confirmed the ban, saying it is not necessarily permanent. Were sending surrogates to places where we think it makes sense to promote our agenda. Colbert and Stewart tag-team against Trump As former Daily Show host Jon Stewart said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, trying to cover Trump is exhausting. Stewart added, The presidency is supposed to age the president, not the public. The comedians discussed securing the border with the Great Wall of China, abuse of power and Americas new official language. Stewart said, We have never faced this before purposeful, vindictive chaos. Regarding Trumps presidency, Stewart said, If we do not allow Donald Trump to exhaust our fight and somehow come through this presidency calamity-less and constitutionally, partially intact, then Trump will have demonstrated the greatness of America just not the way Trump thought he would. *Some viewers may take offense at language, etc. If unity is strength then Silicon Valley has never looked more unified as execs from across the sector and beyond come together in opposition to what many in world now call Donald Trumps "Muslim ban." Heart-wrenching Apple CEO, Tim Cook, told the Wall Street Journal that hundreds of Apple employees have been impacted by the ban, forcing the company to consider legal action. Cook explained that in one case an Apple employee who is expecting a child learned that the grandparents of that child will be unable to visit the infant when it is born because they hold Canadian and Iranian citizenship. Cook says he is in contact with very, very senior people in the White House, to urge a repeal of the ban. More than any country in the world, this country is strong because of our immigrant background and our capacity and ability as people to welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds. Thats what makes us special, Cook said. We ought to pause and really think deeply through that. Opposition Apple does not live in isolation. Google, Salesforce, Microsoft, Facebook, every major technology company opposes these restrictions. Google is putting together a huge crisis fund to help people impacted by these rules, while Netflix CEO Reed Hasting called the order "so un-American it pains us all." Silicon Valley is and always has been patriotic. Apple co-founder Jobs always aimed to introduce products in the U.S. first, and worked incredibly hard to bring opportunity to the country. His father was Syrian born, but Jobs showed his national pride and gratitude through his actions. While the economics of manufacturing have changed, Apple has created almost two million U.S. jobs as of 2015 (including direct hires, third party suppliers and independent developers). Apple is already one of the countrys biggest employers. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do, wrote Cook in an email to Apple staff. Expert help Technology firms are also concerned at other restrictions being mooted by the White House, including major H-1B reforms. The latter will have a hugely negative impact on the Valley, meaning that even while traditional manufacturing jobs are automated, tech firms will be restricted in their operations, which will limit the number of new employments they can create. After all, if a company can work with 1,000 experts from abroad on H-1B visas, but that work can then create 10,000 jobs in the host nation, who wins if the experts required to create that opportunity cannot be hired? Beyond tech Resistance to the measures extends far beyond tech firms. Ford CEO Mark Fields and Executive Chairman Bill Ford have voiced their opposition, saying, We have to live by our values. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, MasterCard, Nike and Procter & Gamble have also expressed concerns. Opposition is being felt worldwide. In the U.K. almost 1.8 million people have argued against a Royal Visit for Trump. There is also concern that if he does receive that honor, the U.S. President apparently doesnt wish to meet Prince Charles, because he does not want to discuss climate change with the U.K.s future king. While it is a fact that U.S. history demonstrates determined disinterest in being ruled by royalty, it is not normal for visiting dignitaries to select which royal family members they meet, particularly if doing so means snubbing the next King of England. A U.K. patriot may see such lack of tact as an insult against the nation. Opposition to the ban now extends across an A-Z of corporate, national, and international people and entities. What makes the whole thing so sad is that the ban itself is ineffective in policing the very problem it claims to address: any determined, well-resourced criminal will avoid it by using a fake identity to enter the country. It is the innocent who will suffer it most. Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple? Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter. I'd like it if you chose to follow me there so I can let you know when fresh items are published here first on Computerworld. One of the great benefits of the computer age? Easy communication across great distances. But some people can't even speak with people right next to them. To help solve that problem, researchers in Europe have developed a device that helps paralyzed patients communicate. But how does it work? In IT Blogwatch, we listen. So what is going on? Renee Morad has the background: Patients with complete locked-in syndrome experience paralysis...They cannot move, speak...or even move their eyes to communicate...doctors and researchers believed...these people were unhappy with their quality of life and did not have the goal-directed thinking necessary to communicate. ... Now, a...study conducted by researchers at the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva, Switzerland, has...[determined]...patients with complete locked-in syndrome do obtain the goal-oriented thinking necessary to express their thoughts...and they say they're "happy," despite their condition. How did the researchers determine the answers to those questions? Adarsh Verma has the details: European researchers have devised a brain-computer interface that helps in communicating with the patients in locked-in state...This brain-computer interface is worn...like a swimming cap. It measures the electrical waves coming out of the brain and blood flow using a near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography. But how exactly does the brain-computer interface help people communicate? Emily Mullin explains: Researchers...[used] a brain-computer interface to communicate with four people completely locked in after losing all voluntary movement due to Lou Gehrigs disease...To verify the four could communicate, [neuroscientist Niels] Birbaumers team asked patients...to respond yes or no to statements such as You were born in Berlin or Paris is the capital of Germany by modulating their thoughts and altering the blood-flow pattern. The answers relayed through the system were consistent about 70 percent of the time, substantially better than chance. So how did they ultimately determine that the patients were happy? Jacqueline Howard is in the know: As the patients thought about their answers, the researchers analyzed changes in the system's measurements to determine whether the patient was thinking about a yes or no response...the system could not decipher specific letters or words. ... Once the researchers determined that the patients were trained on how to respond to the questions, they repeatedly asked open questions with no known answers, such as "Are you happy?"...the patients repeatedly answered quality of life questions with a "yes" response, indicating that they had a positive attitude toward life. The families of the patients were able to determine some of the opened-ended questions being asked. James Gallagher shares what one family wanted to know: In one case a daughter wanted the blessing of her completely locked-in father before marrying her boyfriend...nine times out of 10 the answer came back no. Two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and a cybercrime investigator from Kaspersky Lab have reportedly been charged with treason for helping U.S. intelligence services. The arrests of Ruslan Stoyanov, the head of the computer incidents investigation team at Kaspersky, and Sergei Mikhailov, the deputy head of the Information Security Center at the FSB, happened in early December and were reported in the Russian media last week. Since then, the arrest of a third FSB officer named Dmitry Dokuchayev, who also worked for the agency's Information Security Center, came to light, and the investigation is said to have targeted even more people. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian defense lawyer who specializes in treason cases, was cited by the Associated Press as saying that at least four people have been arrested in connection with the investigation. According to the news agency, the fourth defendant in the case is his client, but he declined to name him. The suspects have been charged with state treason and cooperating with U.S. intelligence services, Reuters reported Wednesday, also citing Pavlov. Russian newspaper Kommersant previously reported that Mikhailov and Stoyanov are accused of passing information to a foreign organization. It's not clear when this is alleged to have happened, but Kaspersky Lab said in a statement that Stoyanov is under investigation for a period that predates his employment at the company. Stoyanov joined Kaspersky Lab in 2012 after working for a cybercrime investigation firm called Indrik. Before that he worked for the Russian Ministry of Interior in the Moscow police department that investigates cybercrimes. Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported last week, citing unnamed sources, that Mikhailov was arrested in front of his FSB colleagues during a meeting by agents who placed a bag over his head and escorted him out. The U.S. intelligence community has accused Russia of trying to influence the November presidential elections by using hacking and planting fake news, accusations that the Russian government has denied. St. Edward man seriously injured in accident ST. EDWARD A St. Edward man suffered serious injuries in a Sunday morning crash along Highway 39. According to the Platte County Sheriff's Office, 42-year-old Ronald Billington of St. Edward was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado south on the highway when his vehicle crossed the centerline and collided nearly head-on with a northbound semitrailer driven by 27-year-old Ben Kirsch of New Leipzig, North Dakota. The sheriff's office says Kirsch attempted to avoid the collision by veering toward the ditch. Billington was extricated from his vehicle by rescue personnel and flown by medical helicopter to a Lincoln hospital, where he remained in the intensive care unit on Monday, according to the sheriff's office. Kirsch was uninjured. The crash happened around 7:10 a.m. Sunday along Highway 39 about 4 miles southeast of St. Edward. Rescue crews from St. Edward and Genoa, Midwest MedAir, the Platte County Sheriff's Office and St. Edward Police Department responded to the accident, which remains under investigation. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash. Detention Center The inmate count at the Platte County Detention Facility Tuesday was 80, with 53 from Platte County and 27 from out of county. Police Dec. 11 8 p.m. At the Laundry Line, 2572 33rd Ave., Kenneth Inks, 20, 2572 33rd Ave., No. C-4, cited for theft by unlawful taking. Jan. 18 2:47 p.m. At the intersection of 11th Street and 18th Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were John Hoff, 18, 1804 Seventh St., and Mary Kluever, 59, 6925 53rd St. Jan. 20 Unknown time At the intersection of 25th Avenue and 16th Street, an unknown vehicle struck a city street sign and left the scene. Jan. 21 Unknown time In a parking lot at 517 E. 23rd St., an unknown vehicle struck a parked vehicle owned by Mark Avis, 2065 18th Ave., and left the scene. Jan. 25 Unknown time In the 200 block of 23rd Street, an unknown vehicle struck a state road sign and left the scene. 5:23 a.m. At the intersection of 14th Street and 33rd Avenue, Javier Marino Ortiz, 45, Carriage House Estates, No. 101, was cited for driving under suspension. 8:50 a.m. At the intersection of 26th Avenue and 38th Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Paige Kelly, 27, 3404 53rd St., and Maria Ramirez-Bautista, 46, 4603 31st St. Jan. 26 11:05 a.m. At 3803 23rd St., Scott Plummer, 37, Omaha, was jailed for second-degree domestic assault, terroristic threats and second-degree false imprisonment and cited for no valid registration. Jan. 27 1:22 a.m. In the 100 block of South Parkway, a vehicle driven by Irvin Salazar, 24, 209 27th St., No. 22, struck a parked vehicle owned by Aaron and Jayme Puntney, 117 S. Parkway. 6:49 a.m. Motor vehicle theft at 153 S. Rose Lane, 1997 GMC pickup stolen, under investigation. 6:39 p.m. In the 500 block of East 23rd Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Jesse Ingwersen, 45, David City, and Christopher Dreifurst, 55, 625 Road 2. 6:51 p.m. In the 1500 block of 26th Avenue, a vehicle driven by Jojo Dunn, 39, Humphrey, struck a parked vehicle owned by Robin and Travis Kluck, 2522 19th St. Jan. 28 11:06 a.m. In the 2200 block of 45th Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Raymundo Davila, 51, 2478 141 Road, and Sheryl Korger, 60, 82 Cottonwood Drive. 11:55 a.m. Theft at 38 Lakeshore Drive, license plates stolen, under investigation. Jan. 29 10:25 a.m. At the intersection of 33rd Avenue and 14th Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Marie Porter, 85, 3000 39th Ave., No. 612, and Teressa Van Buskirk, 36, 2453 18th Ave. Jan. 30 10:20 a.m. Suspicious activity at 3418 18th St., lock broken and door broken into, no loss amount. 3:49 p.m. Theft at Hy-Vee Gas, 3012 23rd St., gas driveoff, $30 loss. 5:23 p.m. Theft at Super Saver, 3318 23rd St., $200 loss. Sheriff Jan. 27 6 a.m. At the intersection of 23rd Street and 10th Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Laura Maldonado, 55, Monroe, and Christopher Henry, 50, 2576 46th Ave. 8:57 a.m. Wanted person at 914 Eighth St. in Duncan, Whitney Micek of Duncan jailed on a Platte County warrant. 7:57 p.m. Traffic violation at the intersection of Highway 22 and 310th Avenue, Brady Yosten of Cedar Rapids cited for no valid registration. 9:36 p.m. Traffic violation at the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and East 14th Avenue, Curtis Lukert of David City cited for careless driving. 10:38 p.m. Traffic violation at the intersection of East Eighth Street and East 29th Avenue, Kelly Misek of Schuyler cited for speeding. Jan. 28 8:31 p.m. Traffic violation at the intersection of U.S. Highway 81 and 385th Street, Miguel Rivas Cabrera of Clarks jailed for driving under suspension. 7 p.m. Traffic violation eastbound on Highway 30 from Merrick County, Roberto Pablo of Columbus jailed for no operators license. Jan. 30 9:53 a.m. Theft from a building at 370 Third St. in Creston, radiators stolen, $600 loss. 1:16 p.m. Traffic violation at Loup Power District on 15th Street and 24th Avenue, Yordana Semanat of Columbus cited for expired license plates. 1:55 p.m. Traffic violation at the intersection of East 29th Avenue and East 25th Street, Amber Newton of David City cited for expired in-transit decals. 2:16 p.m. Traffic violation at the intersection of East 32nd Avenue and East Eighth Street, Jael Ontiveres of Columbus cited for speeding and no operators license. Fire Jan. 28 10:19 a.m. In the 4500 block of 38th Street, medical. 7:06 p.m. In the 100 block of South Road, medical. Jan. 29 11:05 a.m. In the 2700 block of 14th Street, medical. 2:21 p.m. In the 3600 block of 23rd Street, medical. 5:06 p.m. In the 1100 block of 15th Street, medical. Jan. 30 6:08 a.m. In the 3000 block of 39th Avenue, medical. 7:58 a.m. In the 4000 block of 38th Street, medical. 8:37 a.m. In the 2800 block of 40th Avenue, medical. 12:17 p.m. In the 2600 block of 14th Street, medical. 2:42 p.m. In the 1500 block of 24th Avenue, medical. 10:52 p.m. In the 4100 block of East 25th Street, medical. The greatest politician ever to come out of Birmingham was Joe Chamberlain. He was the first self-made man to get to the top of British politics, becoming at the end of the 19th century the person who, in Winston Churchills phrase, made the weather. Andy Street, Conservative candidate for Mayor of the West Midlands, is like Chamberlain a successful businessman managing director from 2007-16 of John Lewis who has entered politics from Birmingham. Street, whose heroes include not only Chamberlain but Michael Heseltine, is convinced he can win the West Midlands for the Conservatives, and told ConservativeHome: If we can win here it is a knife thrust in the Labour Partys heart. The region stretches from Wolverhampton to Coventry, and as well as Birmingham, includes Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Solihull. Of the 38 parliamentary seats in this area, Labour took 31 in 2015 and the Conservatives only seven. But Street points out that in that year the Conservatives gained 33 per cent of the vote compared to 41 per cent for Labour, which means a four per cent swing in the election to be held on 4 May would be sufficient for victory. He adds that the national polls currently show a swing of 3.5 per cent to the Conservatives. In Streets view, this election is a test case which will show whether Theresa Mays prospectus, set out last summer in Birmingham, of an economy that works for everyone is going to work. He believes that, like Chamberlain, he can use business methods to help many millions of people who feel they have missed out on rising prosperity. Street dismissed Enoch Powell, for many years an MP in Wolverhampton, as an utter irrelevance, and said the Conservatives are today making headway among voters of immigrant descent who would once have been put off by Powell. ConHome: You were President in 1984 of Oxford University Conservative Association. Why then did you not seek early election to Parliament? Weve got all these Oxford Tories running the show. Theresa May and Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson. Street: And David Cameron. Yes, absolutely right. Why did I not do it? I suppose the truthful answer is I thought Id better go and get some knowledge of business, if Im honest. In 1985 he became a trainee with John Lewis at Brent Cross in London. And although he acted as the unpaid Tory agent in Brent East when Damian Green stood there in the 1992 general election, for many years he concentrated on rising to the top at John Lewis, which under his leadership enjoyed great success. Street: The honest answer is I wasnt going to be prised out of my business career until this particular political job [West Midlands Mayor] came about. Its this job I want to do because it is so significant for this region. ConHome: And were there any individuals who particularly persuaded you to make this jump? Street: Id been thinking about it for some time, but the answer to your question is I only decided I would definitely do it after I saw the Prime Minister. ConHome: Oh right! The present Prime Minister? Street: The previous Prime Minister was keen that I do it, let me be clear about that. There was lots of gossip about whether I was going to do it all through the first half of last year. I knew I had to wait to see the Brexit result, and then when we got the result we did, I wanted to wait to see who took over. So when Theresa May was appointed, she asked to see me actually, and we had an extremely constructive meeting, where she said she would absolutely ensure the party supported this election, and it was on the back of that that I said Id do it. ConHome: Were you involved in the Brexit campaign? Street: No. ConHome: Did you take a public position on it? John Lewis didnt warn of cataclysm if we were to leave or anything like that? Street: John Lewis wrote to its employees suggesting I still believe this, actually that the John Lewis interest was for us to remain in the EU. But that was a business position, and I did not campaign on it as a politician at all. I wasnt a politician, I was a business person at the time. So the position now quite clearly is that the electorate has spoken, Im absolutely with the Prime Minister, my job now when elected is to ensure the West Midlands thrives after leaving the EU. ConHome: You must be encouraged that she gave that speech in Birmingham on 11 July 2016, the morning that Andrea Leadsom stepped down. Street: This is the whole point. Im sitting waiting to decide whether I would put my name forward for this, when she came here. And the content of her speech, about an economy that works for everyone, that was the theme that motivated me to say yes, Im going to go for this. And I say at every meeting now, Ive said it many times, Im very proud to stand under that particular Conservative banner. And the reason is, if you look at the economic geography, the city [of Birmingham] and Solihull are particularly buoyant at the moment in terms of economic growth. However, there are large parts of this region that have felt they have missed out on that growth. And lets be clear, up until the 2010 election the relative performance of this place was very poor. We completely missed out on the Blair-Brown boom. So if you go to do focus groups, as we have, you will hear a lot about people who have missed out. So the mantra that youve got to have an economy that works for everyone, I actually call it a society that works for everyone, that is absolutely right here. Indeed I see this as a test case as to whether or not that mantra can be delivered. ConHome: Youve expressed admiration already for Theresa May, but who else are your political heroes? Street: I wouldnt be here, doing this job, if it wasnt for Michael Heseltine. ConHome: How did that come about? Street: He is the architect of devolution. These mayoralties are the natural consequence of the work that Cameron commissioned from him five years ago. To quote Heseltine, hes been giving the same speech for the last 40 years, and the only difference is that people now listen to it. And his speech basically goes: weve concentrated far too much power in London. We need to turn that back so that the people of the West Midlands have more responsibility over the things they can control. And by the way thats not an anti-London feeling in any way. Its all about complementarities. He started that work with central government about five years ago. It moved through various stages, the Local Enterprise Partnerships of course, I chaired the Local Enterprise Partnership here for Birmingham and Solihull, and then it led to the devolution deal that was done at the end of 2015, and its that devolution deal that brought about the mayoralty. So he is clearly a hero of that act, and hes also a hero because of his views round industrial policy. As he said, Ill intervene before breakfast, before lunch, before tea and before dinner. So as a soulmate Id be with Michael. ConHome: Anyone else? What about Joe Chamberlain? Street: Of course! But I thought you were talking about current politicians. ConHome: No, no. Either dead or alive. Street: Well the other person we should talk about is Joe Chamberlain. Why is he there on the wall? [Street pointed to the wall, on which the only politician to appear is Chamberlain.] He was a businessman, he could have continued in business, couldnt he, but he decided to move into a political career, and made this city the best governed city in the world, in a relatively short amount of time, actually. And he was actually also very intolerant of mediocrity. But the really important thing is his whole purpose was to use not just his own, but collective business success to his language, not mine improve the lot of the masses. Its exactly the same now. We will only address those people who feel theyve missed out if we can drive a successful economy that everyone shares in the fruits of. ConHome: Surely to get good people in local government, you need the devolution of taxation. The poll tax was a terrible disaster, but someones got to grasp that nettle eventually. Street: One of the reasons I want to do this is I do believe that business disciplines, and the whole notion of urgency, holding people to account, being paid by results, all that stuff, has got a place. ConHome: So as a local politician youre not just wasting your time in talking shops. Street: Exactly. And this is about driving out delivery. Having a plan, and making sure you deliver. My appeal to the electorate, and actually I know this is going down extremely well, is here is a chap who has run something of scale and has learnt the skills to run something. Now on this question of taxation, weve already got substantial budgets to manage, the disciplines of doing that are very important. Do I happen to think that the next stages of devolution will be some fiscal devolution? I do. But I dont think you need to have that before you live by the whole mantra of saying what youre going to do, and do it. ConHome: I see that on your leaflets you like to emphasise, I am NOT part of the Westminster or Brussels establishment. Street: Correct. ConHome: Whereas Sion Simon, the Labour candidate in the West Midlands, who by the way was very good fun to talk to in his days as a journalist Street: Im sure. The choice is between someone whos not been politically active, but has always been a Tory, but has built skills and ability and has delivered and done something; and a career politician [Simon was an MP from 2001-10 and is currently an MEP]. It would probably be unfair to say hes not achieved anything, but its difficult to find what really has been achieved through his years in public office. ConHome: So thats the pitch. Street: One of the pitches. Thats the choice were putting before people. The symbolism of a win here for Theresa Mays moderate, very democratic in the sense of being unpretentious Conservative Party, in what has traditionally been a Labour heartland, would go well beyond Birmingham and Wolverhampton. So it would be seen as Corbyn losing something he should naturally have assumed he would win. ConHome: The West Midlands always were seen as vital swing seats. Street: Yes, but to be a pedant, a lot of those are not actually the urban core. ConHome: Twenty years ago, when you went into a pub, youd find people there saying Enoch was right. Enoch Powell was a big figure for a long time after his time as MP for Wolverhampton South West [1950-74]. Is he now? Street: Never mentioned. ConHome: Obviously he did retard Conservative progress among some voters of immigrant descent. Street: Ah, thats a very interesting feature. He is an utter irrelevance. I suspect if you mention that to the average voter they wouldnt know what youre talking about. It really is a different era. ConHome: I feel rather sad about that in a way. Although I strongly disagree with the Rivers of Blood speech, he was a great figure. Street: One of the reasons the Labour Party could take this area for granted, and what again makes it so interesting, is their grip over the ethnic minority vote was very, very strong. In this area, a third of the electors are from ethnic minorities, and Im pretty sure that is the largest of any large area anywhere in the country. Within the ethnic minority vote it is definitely fragmenting. One of the features of the 2015 election, and Cameron did this extremely well, was that a greater proportion of Sikhs and Hindus voted for the Conservatives. The way we are approaching that is we want to understand their communities, but we do not want to treat them as isolated communities. They are a part of the total success of the West Midlands, and thats how they want to be treated. And the Labour Party has historically been too siloed divisive about it. ConHome: What about Muslims? Street: Well, I would say that change is slower, but its coming. Weve done interviews on Muslim TV with people whove always voted Labour whove come to us. ConHome: And Afro-Caribbeans? Street: Also interesting. Much, much more open to us. Particularly the conservative values of the Afro-Caribbean churches play well with us. Its not just that Im a Brummie. Its that I think its a real cutting-edge test of the Tory Party. This thing about it being democratic, meritocratic. Theres no silver spoon here. I am utterly sure were going to win, actually. ConHome: Really? Street: We only need a four per cent swing is the first thing. The second thing is that Mrs May gets Mr Corbyn. The third thing is the Andy Street versus Sion Simon and this whole pitch that you explored. But the next thing is that we are going to have the best campaign. And this is where your readers come in. Our activists here are better motivated than at any time recently. And it can make a difference of those last few percentage points. ConHome: I think youre right that motivation is very important. Recently for ConservativeHome I visited Copeland, and Corbyn is a real disaster as far as getting out the traditional working-class Labour vote is concerned. Hes given them a reason to abandon the party. They all say My father was a miner, my family have voted Labour for generations, and then they say something unprintably rude about Corbyn. They have such contempt for him, and they think hes personally insulting them somehow. I dont know where they will go, but in Copeland the Tories will win if the Tory vote holds up and Labour just stay at home. Some of them will go to UKIP. Its more of a jump for them to go to the Tories. Street: And weve got the same thing playing out here, in the sense that if the Labour vote stays at home, and our vote in our areas turns out, were home and dry. But the point I was making was about the activists, who as you know drive some of that behaviour, get the vote out in our areas. Extremely well-motivated, but I dont want you to think theres hundreds and hundreds of them. The partys been relatively weak in these urban areas. So part of this campaign is about rebuilding the party. And obviously we need all the help we can possibly get from outside. Were the challenger brand. And you know that challengers are particularly well-motivated. That was something I learned in John Lewis. Never become the complacent establishment. Always have the psychology of the challenger. Tomkins accuses SNP of treating Holyrood with contempt Adam Tomkins, one of the Conservative MSPs for Glasgow, has attacked Nicola Sturgeons administration for failing to debate legislation in the Scottish Parliament. The Herald reports his claim that MSPs havent debated a bill since the new parliament was elected in May last year, despite no fewer than 17 debates on Brexit during that time. Only four of the 14 bills the First Minister promised to introduce in 2016/17 have been laid out. Tomkins, who is the Conservative spokesman on the constitution and a professor of constitutional law, further criticised the SNP for pursuing a wildly unrealistic bid for a veto on Brexit at the Supreme Court whilst neglecting the day-to-day governance of Scotland. May intensifies UK-wide Brexit work The Prime Minister was in Cardiff this week to meet the heads of the devolved administrations, where she informed them of her intention to step up work on their proposals for Brexit. It will be a challenging role: both the Scottish and Welsh government are floating proposals that will allow them to stay inside the EU single market, which contradicts both Theresa Mays apparent determination to secure a country-wide set of departure terms and her pledge not to allow any new barriers or divisions within the UK. May was also in Dublin this week talking to the Irish government, where she joined Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach, to promise a seamless and frictionless Irish border post-Brexit. How this is compatible with the Republics ongoing membership of the EU, and her promise not to introduce internal divisions within the UK, remains to be seen. Brokenshire criticises disproportionate focus on security services in inquiry The Northern Irish Secretary has warned that investigations into killings during the Troubles are currently skewed against members of the military, police, and security services. The Irish Times reports that James Brokenshire believes current inquires are not working, and that the vast majority of soldiers and Royal Ulster Constabulary officers served with distinction. Former servicemen are apparently appealing to the Government to introduce a statute of limitations to curtail prosecutions. Their treatment contrasts with that of so-called On The Runs, individuals wanted by the police in connexion to terrorism offences who received a de facto pardon from Tony Blairs administration. Naturally Sinn Fein have described the Secretary of States remarks as wholly unhelpful. Scottish Labour rule out support for a second independence referendum Kezia Dugdale, Labours leader in Scotland, has written in the Scotsman that her party will never support a second referendum on Scottish independence. She highlights the currently unassailable economic case for the Union, and the devastating impact the shock of separation could have on Scotlands public finances and those who depend on them. Dugdale has previously come under fire for seeming to be ambivalent in her unionism, especially when Scottish Labours immediate survival depends on staunching any further loss of unionist voters to the Conservatives. In less happy news Tam Dalyell, the far-sighted sage who originally posed the West Lothian Question and Scottish Labours pre-eminent opponent of devolution, passed away this week. He held lots of other views which irritated conservatives but hes been a bit of a hero to this column, so Ill light a candle for him. Republicans can do business with Democratic Unionists after election, says ONeill The new leader of Sinn Fein has said that her party will be able to do business with the DUP after next months snap elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, according to the Belfast Telegraph. Michelle ONeill, who replaced an ailing Martin McGuinness as her partys leader in Northern Ireland, has refused to set preconditions on Sinn Fein entering talks with the DUP, and indicated that she is willing to work with Arlene Foster, their leader. A previously close, if not especially effective, working relationship between the two parties appeared only weeks ago to have broken down almost completely in the fallout from the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. The prospect of a deadlock over Fosters future bringing down the devolved settlement seemed possible. ONeill also revealed that she had been told a while ago by McGuinness and Gerry Adams that she was in line for the leadership. Sinn Fein challenged over links to supporters of Trumps immigration crackdown The BBC reports that Fianna Fail, a once-dominant opposition party in the Republic of Ireland, has put Sinn Fein under pressure to spell out its contacts with US supporters of President Trumps immigration ban, including any donations. Despite Gerry Adams attacking the Presidents policy, apparently Congressman Peter King, one of its high-profile backers, is a close personal ally of the Sinn Fein leader, and has raised significant funds for the party. Nor did King stop with Sinn Fein: he apparently used to be a vocal supporter of the IRA, describing them as a legitimate force. Ken Clarke made a case yesterday in the Commons that Nicky Morgan put on ConservativeHome this Monday that MPs are representatives, not delegates; that it follows that they should not regard the EU referendum result as an instruction and that (in Clarkes case), he will vote against the Article 50 Bill since his judgement is that Britain should remain a member, The former Chancellor was absolutely right. This site has argued the Burkean case many times, and wont change its mind just because it is pro-Brexit. Furthermore, the argument that the people have given Parliamentarians a mandate and that they must therefore execute it is less straightforward than it looks. What should a pro-Leave MP do if his constituents voted Remain? (Or vice-versa, for that matter.) Such calculations are a reminder that the Burkean ideal doesnt operate in an abstract. It must be applied in the real electoral world. Burke himself lost his seat in Bristol because his constituents disagreed with his view on free trade with Ireland. It follows that constituents who dont like how their MP votes on the Article 50 Bill can in turn vote him out when the time comes. This is the fate that overtook Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park. This debate is complicated by the way in which MPs are picked as candidates. Most of them are party animals, and its the party that selects. ConservativeHomes surveys during the referendum, and polling elsewhere, suggested that about three in five Party members were for Brexit. If they feel that their MP is mistaken in opposing it, they can always refuse to reselect him. This consideration seems a bit academic: Clarke himself is standing down, and some of the most dedicated campaigners for Remain are voting for Article 50. But the point is none the less worth making. I myself would not automatically vote in a reselection to spurn a pro-Remain MP who had opposed Brexit in the lobbies (because I might well think his local record, say, more important when push comes to shove). None the less, my presumption in these circumstances would be not to re-adopt because the Party has a very clear position on Brexit, and Tory MPs should get with the programme post-referendum. The choice is not so clear for Labour. Their party policy pulls one way; the referendums verdict the other. Which is why Keith Starmers speech yesterday seeking to reconcile the two was tortuous but also made a sad sort of sense. President Trump's new get-tough attitude on immigration has already stopped one Mexican from coming to the United States. Trouble is, the Mexican who stayed home was President Enrique Pena Nieto. President Nieto wasn't coming here illegally, and he wasn't captured in Jeff Davis County, Texas, by one of Trump's friends in the Border Patrol. But the Mexican leader and President Trump decided to scrap their planned summit this week after trading some testy tweets about whether or not Mexico was going to pay for a new wall along the U.S. southern border. Don't worry. There won't be another Mexican-American war. President Nieto will be back in good time and he and Donald will make their deal. But before the two leaders meet face-to-face -- and before Trump starts spending his weekends in Texas pouring concrete footers on the border -- Trump should get his busy staff to dust off, update and improve the Bracero program. Most Americans -- especially the politicians in Washington -- have no idea what the Bracero program was. But from 1942 until 1964, when the federal government's program was eliminated, it made illegal immigration from Mexico largely unnecessary by allowing the free flow of Mexican agricultural workers into and out of the United States. Over 22 years about 4.5 million Mexican nationals worked temporarily on the vegetable and fruit farms of California and the Southwest. The braceros were poor peasants. They were seasonal workers. They did hard agricultural work that not enough Americans were willing to do. They were greeted and processed by U.S. officials at collection stations at the border. They signed contracts with the farmers and companies that employed them, then worked long hours for low wages. It was far from perfect. The braceros weren't treated as well as they should have been by their bosses or the government. They often suffered discrimination. But they were free to come and go as temporary guest workers of America, not illegal invaders. They could work, save their money and, unlike illegal immigrants today, could then easily return to Mexico. The United States and Mexico both benefited from the Bracero program, which in the long run had a huge impact on American culture, the agriculture business and the northerly flow of illegal immigration. The program was ended in 1964 in part because of President Kennedy's concerns that the cheap labor of braceros was hurting American workers and because of political pressure from self-interested farm labor unions. By ending it and replacing it with nothing, the federal government and Congress essentially created the illegal immigration issue in the United States. It turned good men from Mexico who wanted to come here to work into criminals. They had to break into the United States to find work and then break out of America if they wanted to see their families again. Many Mexican immigrants here illegally had little choice but to stay and then have their families sneak across the border to join them. Fifty years and millions of illegal immigrants later, the Southern border is closed in both directions and President Trump is looking to waste billions on a wall he thinks will keep it that way. But before he starts construction, he should get rid of the government regulations, laws and red tape that have created our illegal immigration problem. Then he should come up with a new version of the Bracero program, so that the Mexicans who want to work in America can come in legally through a gate, not over a wall. CORNWALL, Ontario In a press release to the media on Wednesday, Feb. 2, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 4155 which represents support employees in the Conseil scolaire de district catholique de lEst ontarien (CSDCEO) said they could strike as early as Sunday, Feb. 5. There are three schools that are a part of the CSDCEO in Cornwall, Marie Tanguay, Nortre Dame and the high school, La Citadelle. The CSDCEO also has schools in Long Sault, North Lancaster and Alexandria. In all, the CSDCEO manages over 30 schools, all of which could be affected by this strike. CUPE 4155 represents supervisors, school administrators, clerks, maintenance workers, library and IT technicians. The union has given the school board its five day notice of an impending strike. "We have been extremely patient with our employer, so that we could avoid just such a labour dispute," said Raymond Giroux, president of CUPE 4155. "But after 12 bargaining dates and the impasse we reached yesterday in negotiations even working with conciliators we realized that, unfortunately, the time had come to take job action, up and including a full strike." CUPE 4155 will hold a membership meeting on Saturday, Feb. 4 to decide if they will enact the strike action starting the following day. The union says that the CSDCEO is the only school board in Ontario without a local collective agreement with its education workers and claims that the school board refuses to reach an agreement at the bargaining table. Close Twins Annabelle and Imogen Weir were born at just 23 weeks premature; they could fit in just one hand. Their parents from Paisley, Scotland, thought the twins would die. The twins were born 3 days under their 24th week, which also happens to be the legal limit for abortion. The identical sisters are considered to be record-breaking as the youngest twins ever recorded in Britain. The twins were born unexpectedly on April 3, 2016. Annabelle weighed 15.05 oz at 12:48 AM and Imogen was 1lb and 1/2oz at 12:58 AM in an extremely fragile state. They endured multiple blood transfusions and emergency surgeries where they spent four months in the hospital. Doctors feared their skin might tear and did not put clothes on them for 100 days. Claire had to breastfeed them through a tube in their noses. They are now home and are ten-months-old with their parents James and Claire in Paisley. They continue to amaze doctors with their progress. The twins still weigh only 11 and 12lb and wear sized 0-3 month baby clothes. Clair said "The consultant told us that if the girls had been born just two years ago they wouldn't have survived - that's how fast medical technology is advancing. They have surprised everyone. They will always be our little miracles." At seven weeks Claire experienced some bleeding. That was when they discovered during a scan they'd be expecting twins. James didn't expect twins as there was no history in their family. According to Daily Mail, Claire's 20-week scan showed the twins growing well. But at 22-and-a-half weeks her waters broke. She went straight to the hospital, got admitted when doctors found she was 2cm dilated. Doctors at The Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley told them that they would not be able to provide resuscitation for infants born under 28 weeks. She had to be transferred to the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow according to Mirror. The couple was extremely grateful for the incredible care that they raised more than 1,700 for the Princess Royal Maternity Baby Fund. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close To be able to provide treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS, Canada is groundbreaking a move to provide affordable access to treatment of such disease in their country. Testing HIV for patients is now a standard for most hospitals in Canada. In British Columbia, a couple was immediately provided with HIV testing to address the possibility of both having HIV. After being diagnosed as HIV positive, they were immediately given free access to HIV treatment and showed rapid health improvement even after being undiagnosed for so many years, Huffington Post reports. This has been a standard in British Columbia in Canada and has been saving a lot of lives in the process. The standard practice is recommended for adults ranging from 18 to 70. After being diagnosed as HIV positive, these individuals are immediate given access to antiretroviral treatments, regardless of their social status and financial capabilities. However, this is not the case in neighboring countries. With the Republican government seeking to revise the Affordable Care Act, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may not be able to push through with its recommendation to make HIV testing universal. Further restrictions on the use of federal funds may pose a threat to HIV testing and treatment especially for a large margin of the population. At present, the United States of America has one out of eight people undiagnosed for HIV. Meanwhile, in a report from The Conversation, the United Nations revealed that the US has already failed to diagnose and treat the disease in their country. The US failed to diagnose 90 percent of those living with HIV, failed to treat 90 percent of its citizens diagnosed with HIV, and failed to suppress viral loads for the 90 percent of those who underwent treatment - the "90-90-90" goal target imposed by the UNAIDS organization. Numerous research has already proved that providing treatment for people living with AIDS can help in improving their health and extending their lives regardless of their socio-economic status. It also helps in preventing the disease and reduces the risks of HIV transmission. With Canada's effort in making AIDS treatment facilities readily accessible for its citizens, nearby countries may resort in proving their health care provisions for this type of disease as well. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Tree Man Syndrome is a rare genetic disease that causes the hands and feet to grow scaly macules and papules resembling a tree barks. In a Bangladesh, doctors fear that the first female victim may be a 10-year old girl. Tree man syndrome is medically known as epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) or Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia, named after the physicians who first documented the disease. The heridetary skin disorder is highly associated with carcinoma of the skin that occurs between the ages of one and 20 years old. People affected with tree man syndrome have lifelong eruptions of warts and lesions that could also develop into cutaneous carcinomas. No curative treatment has been discovered yet but acitretin, interferons with retinoids and cimetidine have been suggested. Sahana Khatun started to grow a bark-like wart four months ago according to a report by BBC News. His father was unalarmed then, but when the warts started to spread on her face, he went to Bangladesh capital Dhaka to sought medical help. The first Bangladeshi diagnosed to have a Tree Man Syndrome is Abul Bajandar who is 27 years old. On his hands grew warts weighing up to 5 kilograms (11 pounds). He has already undergone 16 separate surgeries at Dhaka's Medical College Hospital. Doctors were reported to have announced that Bajandar could soon leave the hospital. Doctors are now conducting tests to see whether Khatun will be the first female to be afflicted with Tree Man Syndrome. However, Samanta Lal Sen, head of Dhaka's Medical College Hospital burn and plastic surgery unit, believes that is the first woman to have the disease. According to The Telegraph, there are only four people in the world who have the rare condition. All of them are men. Last year, an Indonesian man died due to complications of the Tree Man Syndrome. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare To the editor: The work of Christina Lieffring in covering and finding news stories in Schuyler is admirable and appreciated. I do need to make a correction concerning the move of the Colfax County Food Pantry to an area of the Schuyler Middle School, an article that appeared in the Jan. 25 edition of the Sun. These past few years the Colfax County Food Pantry has been housed at First Presbyterian Church, the article stated it was Christ United Methodist Church. On behalf of the Schuyler Ministerial Association, the administrator of the food pantry and other assistance, I want to thank First Presbyterian Church for hosting the pantry. This has been much appreciated. The move was precipitated by a water and mold issue that developed in that space. The pantry needed to be moved so First Presbyterian could care for its property. Thanks needs to be given Pastor Sarah Gengler of First Presbyterian for organizing the move and smooth transition. Unfortunately, she was missed in the picture of workers. She worked with the Schuyler Middle School and Schuyler Central High School students who volunteered to move boxes and sort products before they were shelved. Thank you, Pastor Sarah and students. The move to First Presbyterian was a result of the high water table in downtown Schuyler. Previously, the pantry was in the basement of the Municipal Building and the space was flooded. Thank you to Superintendent Dan Hoesing for the invitation and addition of shelving space in the concession stand and its storage area at Schuyler Middle School. Thank you to SMS Principal Michele Burton for her assistance to SMA in its transition to this location. For anyone needing assistance, it is still helpful to call the church that is responsible for the month. That can be found on the schuylernebraska.net website by clicking on Community and Churches. Or call Christ United Methodist, Divine Mercy Parish, First Presbyterian, Trinity Lutheran or St. John's Lutheran, administrators of the pantry. Then services can be arranged between 1:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, using the Ninth Street entrance. This assures that someone is available at SMS; the school staff will not be available to help. Christ United Methodist Church has been the location of the Share the Warmth winter clothing drive this and prior years. That assistance ended Tuesday as need was subsiding. Thanks to members of Christ UMC and La Iglesia Principe de Paz for staffing the coat closet. Thank you to the Schuyler community for cash and food donations to assist those in need. Pastor Ruth Boettcher St. John's Lutheran Church, ELCA 1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. 2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. 3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. 4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war. 5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites. 6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination. 7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N. 8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N. 9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress. 10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N. 11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.) 12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party. 13. Do away with all loyalty oaths. 14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office. 15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States. 16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. 17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. 18. Gain control of all student newspapers. 19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. 20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions. 21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures. 22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms." 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art." 24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. 25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. 26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." 27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." 28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state." 29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. 30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man." 31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. 32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. 33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. 34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities. 35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI. 36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions. 37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business. 38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand. 39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. 40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. 41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems. 43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. 44. Internationalize the Panama Canal. 45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike. Indonesia-Australia Partners in crime The Australia East Timor Friendship Association SA (AETFA SA) and the Australia West Papua Association SA (AWP SA) jointly released the following statement in response to the recent Indonesian military (TNI) backing down on its statement to cut military ties with Australia: It is interesting to see that the TNIs ban on military cooperation has lasted little more than a day. Major General Wuryanto expressed outrage and that Indonesia was offended because some Australian military training materials contained criticism of the TNI in West Papua and someone had written a cheeky comment on a document containing Indonesias national credo, the Pancasila. Australias Defence Minister claimed that it was a storm in a teacup, which indeed it was. West Papuan and non-Papuan activists and supporters set up for a overnight vigil in front of the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne. As Australias Defence Minister Marise Payne said, the issue was a total overreaction on the part of the senior leadership of the TNI. This fact, however, did not stop her from grovelling to these generals who have a history of genocide, mass murder and gross human rights abuses in our region. Observers of Indonesian politics have seen such performances on numerous occasions by leading Indonesian military personnel or politicians time and time again. These extreme right wing leaders also staged tantrums when references to their crimes were revealed just as the TNI generals have. It was rather ironic that the person who was chosen by the Indonesian leadership to announce its backdown on the issue was General Wiranto who is the nations Politics, Law and Security Minister. In 2003, Wiranto was one of seven senior TNI commanders in the country to be indicted with crimes against humanity. The charges were laid by the UNs Serious Crimes Unit and relate to the murder and persecution of East Timorese independence supporters before and after the East Timor independence referendum of 1999 when an overwhelming percentage of the population decided to be independent from Indonesia. The senior officers tried to use intimidation, violence and murder to thwart this outcome. Wirantos leadership of the TNI in East Timor during 1999 led to the deaths of nearly 2,000 more East Timorese and the destruction of 80 percent of the nations infrastructure. The TNI had already wiped out about one third of East Timors population in its brutal and barbaric 24 year illegal occupation of the tiny nation. Australians have to ask themselves if a country like ours, whose leaders claim to stand for democracy, peace, international rule of law and fair play, should be involved in arming, training and cooperating with an organisation like the TNI, which to its many victims in Indonesia, West Papua, East Timor and Acheh is viewed as the largest terrorist force in our region. The fact is that if a criminal like Wiranto had faced the Nuremberg Tribunal, he might well have received a term of imprisonment for life or even been executed for his crimes. Instead, he has been rewarded by President Joko Widodo and made a minister in his cabinet. Amnesty International described Wirantos appointment as an insult to international human rights. West Papuans have had to endure the bloody TNI jackboot since 1962 when the US forced a situation where the process by the Dutch government to give them their independence was abandoned and the TNI occupied the country. Belatedly in 1969, the Suharto dictatorship conducted a bogus Act of Choice referendum when a very small minority were forced to vote for integration into Indonesia. This process was anything but free and the TNI used repression and brutality to get the result its leaders wanted. This was supposed to have occurred with UN supervision, but the fact was that there were too few UN personnel to ensure that it was a fair process free from intimidation. Human rights groups claim that during the TNI occupation about 500,000 people have lost their lives and that torture, sexual violence against women and girls (including rape), poisonings and murders of independence leaders, mass murder and brutal repression occur continuously. The TNI has 45,000 personnel in West Papua to ensure that expressions of freedom are stomped on very quickly, but also to ensure that the US corporation Freeport McMohRan can continue to make millions of dollars profit from West Papuas copper and gold and that military business rackets and corruption and massive illegal logging can continue to occur. This is not an internal Indonesian matter as the Indonesian generals claim. It should be a great matter of international concern involving mass murder, genocide and many human rights abuses that can continue to occur. It has to be asked why world leaders, who frequently preach to others about the rule of law and human rights, are strangely silent about the fact that they are silent about the incredible crimes that have been committed by the TNI war criminals and why they should be giving them military support at all. Australians who care about human rights, the rule of law and fairness between nations should be questioning their federal politicians about why they are so compliant to the very corrupt and brutal TNI leaders. The Indonesian lobby in this country keep telling us that Indonesia is a democratic nation and we should not interfere in its internal affairs. It has to be acknowledged that there is more press freedom in Indonesia since the fall of the Suharto dictatorship, but the reality is that the TNI still has a very powerful sway over Indonesian politics that sees TNI war criminals holding government positions, standing for elections and forcing decisions on civilian political leaders. Australia should be promoting a UN ban on all military aid, cooperation and sales with the TNI until all the war criminals in its ranks are brought before an international tribunal to face justice, the TNI is withdrawn from West Papua and the Indonesian government compensates all TNI victims and their families whether they are Indonesian, West Papuan, East Timorese, Achehnese, Australian (Balibo 5) and others. Andrew (Andy) Alcock Information Officer AETFA SA Inc Member of the Australia West Papua Association SA Editorial Remember Sabra and Shatila This year will mark the 35th anniversary of the massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps in Beirut. In July 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon under the direction of the then Israeli Defence Minister, Ariel Sharon. After entering Beirut the Israeli forces encircled Sabra and Shatila on September 18, allowing the Israeli-backed Phalange militia, a fascist Lebanese group, into the camps where they slaughtered almost 3,000 people, mainly women, children and the elderly. Around 20,000 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians were killed by the invading forces. Ariel Sharon, as the Prime Minister of Israel, unleashed a murderous campaign of terror against the Palestinian people, at the same time labelling Palestinians terrorists. This is not a new tactic. Israel has long used the term terrorism to describe pretty much every act of Arab resistance to Israeli occupation and aggression. So, Palestinians who refuse to accept the usurpation of their land and choose to defend their national existence are labelled terrorists. Lebanese patriots who resist Israeli occupation of their country are also labelled terrorists. (In 1986 a compilations of essays appeared in a book called Terrorism: How the West can win. The essays were written by a long list of noted warmongers, including former members of US Republican administrations, George Shultz and Jeane Kikpatrick. It was edited by the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the time the Israeli ambassador to the UN.) In fact, it is Israel that has first and foremost used military force when the resolution of disputes and differences could have been found through peaceful means. This is reflected in Sharons rise to power through war crimes and the ongoing violation of human rights: his career path laid down for him by the Zionist state. A driving force behind the establishment of Jewish settlements on confiscated Palestinian land, he was nurtured in the ranks of the Haghana gang that spread terror throughout Palestine in the late 1940s. As the commander of a terrorist group known as Special Unit 101, he was responsible for countless acts of killings and sabotage. Always based in the camp of reaction, Sharons extremist cabinet members pushed for military strikes against Lebanon and Syria and for the bombing of the Aswan Dam in Egypt. This warmongering is shown up in even sharper relief when put next to the concessions made by the Palestinians in seeking peace and coexistence. It should be recalled that in 1993 the Palestinian Liberation Organisation signed an agreement in Oslo which allowed for peace negotiations and an interim period that would culminate in the signing of a peace treaty in 1998. The Palestinians agreed to create a state of their own on only 22 percent of historic Palestine. Instead, Israel stepped up the construction of Jewish settlements and deliberately sparked off a conflict which it has been escalating ever since. The horrific violence against a mostly defenceless people by the biggest military power in the Middle East a power armed with nuclear weapons arises out of one of the longest military occupations in modern history, based on the growth of illegal settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem and the collective punishment of more than three million people. Nonetheless, despite Israels illegal policies of assassinating activists, destroying the Palestinian infrastructure and economy, devastating the health and education systems and killing civilians, Israel has not smothered the determination of the Palestinian people to be free of Israeli occupation. Such opposition to Israels policies draws claims of anti-Semitism from the perpetrators and their supporters. But it is not anti-Semitism to cry out against the demolition of houses and the destruction of fields and orchards, or the tight closures and sieges which turn every Palestinian village and town into a prison camp and ghetto. We have to say and cry it out loud that the government of Israel and its military are committing war crimes, and that the war criminals must pay. Black Lung Justice, safety and new laws On the 70th anniversary of the historic Miners Federation campaign to eradicate the deadly Black Lung disease from Australias coal industry, our CFMEU has welcomed the Queensland governments introduction of new laws to tackle its re-emergence. Just as the union led the campaign in 1947 against Black Lung, today it is leading the charge to not only finally eradicate the deadly disease but fighting for justice for the victims of Black Lung and other dust related diseases. The union points out that it was the CFMEU in 2015 that exposed the re-emergence of Black Lung in Queenslands coal mines and has since led the campaign against it and that the latest positive response of the Queensland Labor government was pleasing. On January 1 reforms to work health and safety regulations became law providing better protection for mineworkers. They ensure: Making it compulsory for companies to publish dust levels publicly. Compulsory health checks for both underground and above-ground miners to ILO standards. Compulsory reporting of Black Lung cases to the government. In announcing the new laws Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said Black Lung is a disease that does not belong in the 21st century and I am determined to continue to work with industry, unions, and doctors to protect our coal miners. Under the new regulations, all new coal mine workers will undergo a health assessment, including respiratory function and chest x-ray examinations, on entry into the industry, allowing doctors to detect changes that may occur over time. Above-ground coal miners will also be subjected to a chest x-ray and respiratory function test at least once every 10-years. If they have worked underground, it will be conducted every 5-years. Companies will also be required to provide dust-monitoring data to the Mines Inspectorate every three months. An Advisory Committee of union, industry and government representatives will review the data and it will be published online. With the new laws, Black Lung will become a notifiable disease, which means companies are required to report known cases to the Queensland Mines Inspectorate. Coal mine workers retiring permanently can now ask their employer for a retirement examination, including respiratory function and chest x-ray examination. Chest x-ray examinations will be performed in accordance with International Labour Organisation guidelines, an initiative pushed strongly by the CFMEU. Another development driven by the union is for a new system of reading x-rays to the worlds best practice levels after some shocking and disastrous failures in the previous system missed diagnosing many of the Black Lung victims. More than 2,000 coal mine worker chest x-rays have been read first by an Australian radiologist, and then sent to be read by US-based National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health approved readers. This system ensures every workers chest x-ray is examined independently by at least two medical experts. More to be done While these are welcome moves, the CFMEU says it will continue to campaign for much more to be done in 2017 including: A 10c levy on all coal produced in Queensland to support current and future victims of Black Lung disease. A significant reduction in legal dust levels in coal mines. Stronger laws to fight the deadly disease. The CFMEU also expects that recommendations to come from the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into Black Lung and other dust related diseases be immediately acted upon as well as the recommendations also made by the Senate Inquiry and the Sim Inquiry. On pride, shame and national responsibility On January 26, 1788, 736 convicts disembarked from Captain Arthur Phillips fleet of British ships and staggered onto the shores of Sydney Harbour. They were mostly poverty-stricken industrial and agricultural labourers or members of their families. Phillip immediately claimed the entire landmass on which he stood for Britain, even though neither he nor his rulers had a clear idea of its extent. The British government saw the new colony as an appropriate place to dump convicts, who were to provide the unpaid labour force to gain valuable raw materials and agricultural produce, in a process that often resembled slavery. Phillip subsequently informed the government with great enthusiasm that Sydney Harbour could accommodate a thousand ships of the line, i.e. British Navy vessels. It was, in short, an excellent place to exploit for the benefit of the empire. Objections from Aboriginal inhabitants were to be dealt with if necessary by force and the fictional description of the land as terra nullius (empty land) provided a convenient legal pretext for the invasion. The British government certainly had no intention of establishing an independent nation there. Indeed, Britain had recently lost its most valuable colony in North America to the inhabitants of that place, who maintained that taxation without parliamentary representation was unacceptable. The impact of the new colony at Sydney was catastrophic for local Aboriginal people, whose numbers were decimated by introduced diseases, massacres and intermittent armed conflict with the new arrivals. That tragic impact still haunts the nation. Its continuing legacy for Indigenous Australians is poverty, poor public health and education, high rates of incarceration and homelessness, social breakdown and the loss of culture and languages. Choosing a different date January 26, 1788 is a very important point in history. It was the beginning of the terrible ordeal of Aboriginal people, and in terms of political economy it also marked the first tiny step in the transition from primitive communism to nascent capitalism on the Australian landmass. Australia Day has only been observed nationwide on January 26 since 1994. The current arrangements for the event focus almost entirely on achievements which have benefited the nation, but it is not appropriate to do so on that date because of its terrible significance for Indigenous Australians. They have observed it as a day of mourning for 79 years and more recently as Invasion Day or Amnesia Day because their historical experience is virtually ignored in the formal activities of January 26. Last week former conservative federal cabinet minister Ian MacFarlane pointed out that holding Australia Day on that day is similar to asking the Scottish people to celebrate the historical defeat of their ancestors by the English. The Prime Minister rejected the idea of changing the date, but others disagreed, and protest demonstrations were held in many Australian cities. Some argue that we should move the date to August 16. On that day in 1976 Prime Minister Gough Whitlam marked the transfer of Wave Hill Station to the Guringi people, pouring sand into the hand of local elder Walter Lingiari and saying, I put into your hand part of the Earth as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever. The old man smiled and replied with wonderful grace: Now we can all be mates again. It was a great moment. Equally significant was May 27, 1967, the day when Australian voters gave their fellow citizens, Aboriginal Australians, their long-withheld right to vote. January 1, the day the colonies united to form the new nation of Australia, has also been suggested by some as an appropriate date. Others object that its already a public holiday, but the next day could be declared a holiday as compensation. One Fairfax correspondent recently argued that the head of state is still the British monarch, so the right date for Australia Day should be the day we eventually become a republic. However, that argument implies we dont have to bother changing the date until we achieve that status. And unfortunately the discussion about the date for Australia Day has become clouded by arguments as to whether it should emphasise national pride or shame. Both arguments are based on a false premise, because in any nations history there are activities or practices that evoke pride or shame, and both should be acknowledged, albeit in different ways. A different approach Australias national day should involve recognition and consideration of past wrongs, present injustices, and achievements that have benefited our people. But can any date in our history do this? The very title Australia Day indicates that whatever the date is, on that day we should seriously examine the state of the nation. And that in turn depends on what we see as our national responsibilities. We first assumed those responsibilities when we became a nation on January 1, 1901 and adopted the name Australia. Since then weve taken responsibility for many initiatives which in some instances contradicted the vice-regal position on the matter in question. The government and the people must also accept responsibility for bad decisions and actions, The first federal government legislation introduced the white Australia policy. The clear message from the postwar Nuremberg trials was that accepting responsibility is not optional. Its no excuse to say I didnt know or I was just following orders. And accepting responsibility is not optional. The government and the people are responsible for their decisions and actions, both good and bad. That was the clear message from the post-war Nuremberg trials of Nazi crimes. Its not acceptable to say I didnt know or I was just following orders. National responsibility is surely the appropriate theme for Australia Day, because its ambit covers matters of national pride and shame, the rectification of injustices past and present, and the recognition of outstanding achievements. It covers everything which impacts on the life of the Australian people. Adoption of national responsibility as the theme of Australia Day could also accomplish the crucial objective of stimulating public discussion on all of the issues we face as a mature nation, including asylum seeker treatment, climate change, US-led wars, trade deals and our treatment of the nations First People. There is much to support the idea of holding Australia Day on January 1, but only on condition that the theme of that day is recognising our national responsibilities as well as celebrating our achievements. Australia/NZ 34th Southern Cross work-study Brigade Declaration Long Live the Revolution! The 30 members from a broad section of the Australia and NZ societies that make up the 34th Southern Cross brigade to Cuba thank the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People, ICAP and the Cuban people for welcoming us into their country. We welcome the recent decision by the Obama Administration to eliminate the Wet foot, Dry foot policy aimed at encouraging illegal Cuban migration to the United States in violation of previous Migration agreements between the governments of Cuba and the US. Also the end of the Parole policy that encouraged Cuban doctors, nursers and other professionals to defect to the US with the clear and unjust intention of a brain drain that has affected Cuban international missions in Third World Countries. We recognise these changes to be a result of the ongoing principled position taken by the Cuban government in the US-Cuba negotiations and another step in the reestablishment of civilised diplomatic relations between the two countries. We call on the US Congress to also end the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. Travelling throughout Cuba over the last three weeks has allowed the Southern Cross contingent to witness the support of the Cuban people for the revolution and its government. Equally the respect and love for the father of the Cuban revolution Fidel Castro amongst millions of Cubans is obvious and sincere. Talking to people on the streets and visits to different health and economic centres show the devastating effects on the population by the criminal and illegal US blockade on Cuba. This insidious and cruel blockade even punishes third countries for exercising their sovereign right to trade with Cuba such as the case of the ANZ bank in Australia fined 5.9 million dollars for economic transactions with Cuba. We had the opportunity of visiting the Latin American School of Medicine, ELAM; an initiative by Fidel Castro to train doctors from Latin America free of charge. More than 27,000 doctors from 82 countries including the United States have since graduated from the program. This noble and humane project is unique in the world. During our visit we met with students from the Pacific Islands currently studying medicine at the ELAM. The 34th Brigade encourages the Australian government to participate with the Cuban medical cooperation in the Pacific Islands through a program to help fund travel for students with scholarships or stipends to facilitate the much needed formation of doctors to strengthen health systems in the Pacific. The Southern Cross brigade expresses its solidarity with the people of Cuba and will continue to strengthen the friendship between the people of Australia, NZ and Cuba. We call on the Australian and New Zealand governments to deepen their economic and diplomatic relations with Cuba by opening their respective embassies in Havana as Cuba has done in Canberra and Wellington. The policies by the United States such as sponsoring regime change activities and the continued occupation of Guantanamo Bay against the will of the Cuban people must end. We call on the US Administration and President elect Trump to continue to develop just and civilised diplomatic relations with Cuba. We call for the end of the US blockade on Cuba, the return of Guantanamo Bay and the end of all regime change policies sponsored by the US governments. Havana, Cuba January 17, 2017, 34th Southern Cross Brigade. The first victim of war Open letter to President Juan Manuel Santos Colombian prisoner David Ravelo must go free, now! The North American Committee for the Defence of David Ravelo and the Boston Committee of International Labour Defence recently wrote an open letter to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. The two groups were demanding freedom for prisoner David Ravelo. Members of the two organisations on January 19 delivered the letter to Yida Ximena Mora Silva, the Colombian Consul in Boston, together with a list of people and organisations signing on in support. Heres the letter: To the Honourable Juan Manuel Santos, President of the Republic of Colombia: Sir, those who sign this letter believe that the case against prisoner David Ravelo (cedula de ciudadania 13.887.558) collapsed long ago under the weight of lies and an illegitimate prosecution. With respect, we ask that you instruct your government to release Mr Ravelo from prison. We point to a long, unvarying record of injustice against Ravelo. David Ravelo was arrested September 14, 2010 in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. Charged with plotting to murder municipal official David Nunez Cala in 1991, he is serving an 18-year term. Appeals have failed. His case is now before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Ravelo, we think, is emblematic of thousands of political prisoners in limbo now as Colombia implements its peace accord. Imprisoned combatants and civilian political prisoners may soon be eligible for amnesty. Ravelo needs to be one of them. Barrancabermeja, Ravelos native city, produces 60 percent of Colombias oil products. In the late 1980s the Patriotic Union (UP) electoral coalition entered local politics. Soon David Ravelo was a UP member of Barrancabermejas city council and a UP delegate to the Santander Assembly. At the time, however, killers were targeting UP activists in Barrancabermeja, and nationally. Charged with rebellion in 1993, Ravelo went to prison for 27 months. By the late 1990s, paramilitaries controlled the city and its surroundings. They massacred 36 Barrancabermeja inhabitants on May 16, 1998 and 17 more on February 28, 1999. In Barrancabermeja, Ravelo was a labour organiser, community educator, and journalist. He is a long-time member of the Colombian Communist Partys Central Committee. Barrancabermejas Catholic Diocese honoured Ravelo in 2008 for his 30 years dedicated to defending human rights. In response to paramilitary violence, he founded and directed the CREDHOS human rights organisation. Many CREDHOS leaders subsequently were killed or threatened. Ravelo in 2007 circulated a video showing President Alvaro Uribe socialising with Barrancabermeja paramilitary leaders in 2001. The US government, Colombias military ally, had complained about Uribes ties to paramilitaries. We suspect that the video, embarrassing to President Uribe, provoked his taking action against Ravelo. Persecution, lies, and vengeance Colombias government in 1999 convicted paramilitary leaders Mario Jaimes Mejia (alias Panadero) and Fremio Sanchez Carreno for organising the two Barrancabermeja massacres. Each received a 20-year sentence. Having accused them, David Ravelo played a role in their downfall. From Itagui prison, paramilitary leader Roberto Perez Alzate gave the order, says Ravelo, for Jaimes Mejia to take revenge and accuse David Ravelo Crespo and Jose Aristides Andrade of murdering David Nunez Cala in 1991. Jaimes confessed to organising the massacres of 1998 and 1999 in order to qualify for the Justice and Peace Law of 2005. According to that law, paramilitary leaders telling the truth and demobilising troops would serve eight years in prison. In 2008 Jaimes confessed to the Nunez Cala murder and named Ravelo and ex-congressperson Aristides Andrade as accomplices. He claimed they attended a meeting in Barrancabermeja where the murder was planned. Again, accusations against Ravelo would ease his entry into the Justice and Peace program. Jaimes paramilitary associate Fremio Sanchez also confessed to the massacres and to his role in the Nunez Cala murder. He too implicated Ravelo and Aristides Andrade in order to qualify for Justice and Peace. Jaimes Mejia was a FARC member when he killed Nunez Cala; only later would he join the paramilitaries. Accusing Ravelo of ties to the FARC, he showed investigators a 1985 photo of Ravelo attending a peace meeting with FARC leaders at a forest encampment. Authorities had used the old photo to put Ravelo in prison in 1993. Ravelo went free when the Ravelo in the photo was shown to be someone else, a journalist. In the clutches of the state The prosecution and trial of Ravelo revealed terrible procedural failings. The court, for example, accepted Jaimes Mejias accusation a lie that Ravelo and Andrade participated in a murder. Colombias Attorney General on August 20, 2014 charged him with lying, and a judicial unit specialising in false witnesses is investigating. Between May 26, 2015 and October 27, 2016, however, six scheduled court sessions were cancelled. Further, the prosecutor in Ravelos case, William Pacheco Granados, is a criminal. As a police lieutenant in 1991 he arranged for the forced disappearance of a young man. A military court convicted him; he spent a year in prison. Law 270 of 1996 prohibits anyone dismissed from any public office or convicted of a crime from joining the judicial branch. Now Pacheco Granados faces civil prosecution for murder. And, the criminality of Ravelos accuser, Mario Jaimes Mejia, seems limitless. Jaimes arranged for journalist Yineth Bedoya to be kidnapped before she was to interview him in prison in 2000. She was beaten and raped. Jaimes received a 28-year sentence. Theres more: Jaimes Mejia bribed fellow prisoners to testify that Ravelo and Aristides Andrade attended the meeting where the murder was planned. Jaimes used prisoner Fremio Sanchez to recruit them, according to witnesses at Ravelos trial. Prison officials facilitated meetings to enable Jaimes and Sanchez to conspire against Ravelo. And, none of Ravelos 30 defence witnesses were allowed to testify during the trial proceedings. Prosecutor Pacheco closed his pre-trial investigation without hearing testimony as to Ravelos innocence. Moreover, four weeks elapsed between Ravelo being convicted and the actual announcement of his conviction on December 11, 2012. This flagrant violation of due process delayed preparations for Ravelos appeal. Lastly, the atmosphere surrounding Ravelos trial was grim; family members and members of Ravelos CREDHOS organisation continually suffered paramilitary death threats and harassment while the trial was in progress. Summarising, Ravelo declares that, [T]he paramilitaries had reasons for wanting to eliminate me. Thats why they tried to assassinate me physically, but didnt succeed. They decided to eliminate me judicially, and for that they implemented the judicial facade, using the lie as their favourite weapon. Its clear, therefore, that the truth is the first victim of war. Divisive policies slammed Latin American leaders united last week to condemn US President Donald Trumps affirmation of his plans to build his infamous Mexican border wall and turn away Syrian refugees. Heads of state gathered at the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States summit in the Dominican Republic as Trump began moves to build a wall cutting the US off from Latin America. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, has fiercely rejected Trumps claims that Mexico will be made pay for the wall. Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez said his country would take action to confront the changes, with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa calling on the region to assume a clear position in defence of migrants, not only from Latin America and the Caribbean, but the entire world. Cuban President Raul Castro called on regional nations to unite in their common interests. Never has it been more necessary to tread the path of unity, recognising that we have numerous interests in common, he said. Working for unity in diversity is a necessity that cannot be postponed. Castro reiterated his support for the people and government of Venezuela and condemned actions against the Bolivarian revolution, as well as last years legislative coup against Brazilian Workers Party president Dilma Rousseff. Outgoing US president Barack Obama extended his decree declaring Venezuela a threat to national security for another year just before leaving office last week. But Castro also said he would continue negotiations towards detente begun under Obama with the Trump administration in the framework of equality, without conceding Cubas sovereignty or independence. It would be desirable for the new US government to opt for respect for the region, although it is worrying that it has declared intentions that put at risk our interests in the spheres of commerce, employment, migration and the environment. Meanwhile Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who wasnt at the summit, has fiercely rejected Trumps claims that Mexico will be made pay for the wall and cancelled his planned visit to Washington. Pena said he would await reports from a high-level team of Mexican officials currently meeting with the Trump administration in Washington before deciding how to proceed. And mayors, state governors and legislators in New York, Seattle and other sanctuary cities vowed to resist Trumps threat to remove federal funding unless they end their policies of declining to prosecute or co-operate in the deportation of illegal immigrants. Morning Star Billions from Saudi war crimes LONDON: This month the High Court here will consider a case that could set a vital precedent and be instrumental in changing British arms export policy. For almost two years now, Saudi forces have inflicted a brutal and devastating bombing campaign on the people of Yemen. On February 7-9, following an application by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), judges will be examining the legality of arms exports to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen. For almost two years now, Saudi forces have inflicted a brutal and devastating bombing campaign on the people of Yemen. Schools, hospitals, and homes have been destroyed in a bombardment that has killed 10,000 people and inflicted a humanitarian catastrophe on one of the poorest countries in the region. The appalling consequences have been condemned by the United Nations, the European Parliament, and major aid agencies on the ground, with the Red Cross warning that the country has been left on the edge of famine. A harrowing report from UNICEF has found that one child is dying every 10 minutes because of malnutrition, diarrhoea, and respiratory-tract infections in Yemen, with 400,000 at risk of starvation. Right at the outset of the bombing, Britains then-foreign secretary Philip Hammond pledged to support the Saudis in every practical way short of engaging in combat. Unfortunately, the British government has stayed true to his word. One major way in which it has done this is through the sale of arms. Despite the destruction, and despite its appalling human rights record at home, Saudi Arabia is by far the largest buyer of British arms. The arms sales havent slowed down; in fact, Britain has licensed over 3.3 billion (US$4.1 billion) worth of arms since the bombing began. These include Typhoon fighter jets, which have been used in the bombardment, and missiles and bombs that reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have linked to attacks on civilian targets. Last month, Saudi forces even admitted to using British-made cluster bombs, one of the cruellest and deadliest weapons that can be used in warfare. When bombs are dropped they open up in mid-air to release hundreds of sub-munitions. Their impact is indiscriminate. Anybody within the striking area is very likely to be killed or seriously injured. The bombs were exported in 1988, but the lifespan of weapons is very often longer than that of the political situation they are bought in. How will the billions of pounds worth of weapons being sold now be used and who will they be used against? If cluster bombs are not considered beyond the pale by the Saudi military, then what is the likelihood that its personnel are doing everything in their power to avoid civilian casualties? Its not just the bombs that are deadly; it is the mindset which allows their use in the first place. British arms export law is very clear. It says that licenses for military equipment should not be granted if there is a clear risk that it might be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law. By any reasonable interpretation, these criteria should definitely prohibit all arms sales to Saudi Arabia that could be used in Yemen. Of course the relationship is nothing new and the problem is institutional rather than party-political. For decades now successive British governments of all political colours have armed and uncritically supported the Saudi regime. In 2006, we saw former Prime Minister Tony Blair intervening to stop a corruption investigation into arms deals between Saudi Arabia and BAE Systems. This was quickly followed by another multibillion-pound fighter jet sale. In 2013 and 2014, we saw then-Prime Minister David Cameron and even Prince Charles making visits to the Saudi Kingdom where they posed for fawning photographs and pushed arms sales. One outcome of this cosy partnership has been a high level of integration between British and Saudi military programs. There are around 240 British Ministry of Defence civil servants and military personnel working to support the contracts through the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Program and the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project. The political consensus seems to be shifting though, with the Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrat front benches and many Tory backbench legislators all calling for arms sales to be suspended while an independent investigation into their legality takes place. This has gone a long way in shifting the terms of the debate. But, even if it is taken up, it can not be enough unless it is complemented by an end to future arms sales and a meaningful change in foreign policy. Regardless of the outcome in court, it is already clear how weak and broken British arms export controls are. A brutal dictatorship has created a humanitarian catastrophe, killed thousands of civilians, and flouted international law and yet Britain has continued arming and supporting it. Instead of following its own rules on arms sales, the government has prioritised arms company profits over human rights. If thats not enough to stop arms sales, then what more would it take? Morning Star Britain Anti-Trump protests LONDON: Protests were held worldwide last month as Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. Anti-racist and anti-war protesters were joined by womens groups and other activists at events in at least 30 towns and cities across Britain, including Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Thousands attended a major protest at the US embassy in London with the organising group Stand Up to Racism warning that the effects of the Trump presidency will be felt all over the world. The anti-racist group fears that racism and sexism will be normalised by one of the worlds most powerful and visible figures. During a bitter and divisive election campaign, Trump made a series of inflammatory and racist statements, including a call to ban all Muslims from entering the US and a pledge to force Mexicans to build a wall to stop them crossing the border. Human rights organisation Amnesty International urged Trump to condemn hate and protect human rights, calling on him to publicly repudiate the use of torture and to close the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. Trump has pledged to increase the use of torture and fill Guantanamo with bad dudes. Campaigners also condemned him for his rhetoric and attacks on minorities throughout the election contest. He mocked a disabled journalist, referred to Mexicans as rapists, and condoned the beating of opponents protesting at his rallies. He was caught on tape claiming that his celebrity status meant that he could do what he wanted to women including grab them by the pussy. Women who have accused Trump of sexual assault are filing lawsuits against him. Trump announced last week that he was getting ready to leave for Washington, DC. He said, The journey begins and I will be working and fighting very hard to make it a great journey for the American people. I have no doubt that we will, together, make America great again. However, John Rees from the Peoples Assembly warned: Donald Trumps presidency is bad for black Americans, bad for Muslim Americans, bad for Mexican Americans, bad for any woman in America, bad for anyone who needs healthcare in America and bad for any working person in America. His foreign policy will undoubtedly be bad for the rest of the world. We all have an interest in making this the shortest ever US presidency. The Labour Partys shadow home secretary Diane Abbott urged solidarity against Trump: There is a link between inflammatory statements by politicians and racist attacks and hate crimes on the street. Now is the time for people of goodwill to unite and stand up to racism. Trump has made a series of belligerent statements on international issues including a promise to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Stop the War Coalition vice-chairman Chris Nineham said Trumps election represented a serious danger for global politics: Trump has threatened Iran, provoked China, promised to escalate in the Middle East, and move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. These are dangerous days for the world. The anti-war movement needs to be on full alert. Communist Party of Britain general secretary Rob Griffiths warned that the reality of Trumps big business politics would hit the working class and minorities as he called for maximum international solidarity. Morning Star If you live in a city, your first conversation every morning is probably moaning about the traffic. If you don't live in a city, this is probably why you haven't moved there. Well, we've found that one way to take your mind off of your road rage is to remember that things could be much, much worse. 6 The Chinese Students Who Have To Scale An 800-Meter Cliff The next time Grandpa grumbles about having to walk uphill to school every day, whip out this pic and show his ass what "uphill" truly looks like: CEN How about 90 degrees. And we ain't talking about the temperature, you old fart. What you're seeing above is the single route to get to Atuler, a clifftop village in southwest China. What you're also seeing is children as young as six years old making the nearly half-mile ascent home via treacherous paths and that rickety-ass wooden ladder. It's as scary as it looks; a reporter dispatched to the village reportedly burst into hysterical tears while attempting the climb (admittedly, tears are one of several liquids we'd burst into, were we to try). Meanwhile, the village's schoolchildren regularly and fearlessly pull off this 90-minute reenactment of Cliffhanger, with heavy book bags in place of Stallone's weighty pecs. The Counter Reformation of the Vatican's Jesuit Order did not end back in the 1600s - or more accurately, the Roman Catholic Inquisition did not end during the 1800s ------------------------------------------------------------- open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. Acts 26: 18 NKJV Channel programs News Accenture To Buy Consultancy To Boost IT Support For Asset Managers, Investment Service Providers Michael Novinson Share this Accenture said today it will buy Los Angeles-based InvestTech Systems Consulting, a will purchase a company with experience providing systems integration and technology consulting support to blue-chip firms like PNC Financial Services and The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Dublin-based Accenture, No. 2 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, said InvestTech will help global investment managers, institutional investors and asset services stay in front of new digital innovations and technologies. "Asset managers are under growing pressure to modernize their investment management and operational infrastructure to support growth, higher efficiency and profitability," Owen Jelf, head of Accenture's Capital Markets practice, said in a statement. "By further expanding our systems integration and consulting capabilities in this area, we will be able to do much more to help our clients." [RELATED: Accenture Buys Another ServiceNow Partner As It Aims to Be 'Number One' Worldwide In ServiceNow Capabilities] InvestTech was founded in 1993, employs fewer than 200 people, and provides front and back-office support for investment firms. The company has developed a suite of proprietary tools and methodologies to serve many of the largest and most complex global asset management firms, according to Jeremy Hurwitz, InvestTech's founder and president. "Over the past twenty-five years, we've built a team of some of the world's most experienced investment systems professionals," Hurwitz said in a statement. "As part of Accenture, we will be able to bring world-class services to a wider spectrum of clients from large and mid-sized asset managers to insurance companies, pension plans and hedge funds." Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Accenture did not respond to a request for additional comment. The deal is expected to close within the next several weeks, the company said. InvestTech said it had used proprietary technology to enhance its investment process, architecture, data and technology delivery services to clients. The company has expertise in strategic architecture planning, operations transformation, enterprise data management, investment accounting, portfolio management, trading product evaluation and implementation of leading vendor-provided solutions. InvestTech's practitioners and technologies average more than 15 years of experience in the front, middle and back offices, according to the company. The company said it has hands-on knowledge of all asset classes and all investment strategies. The company said it has completed more than 400 engagements for many of the worlds largest asset managers, including insurance and mutual fund companies, pension funds, alternative investment managers, wealth managers and endowments. InvestTech will become part of Accenture's Capital Markets practice, which provides consulting, strategy, digital technology and outsourcing services. The practice is focused on helping financial institutions drive sales-force effectiveness and improve decision-making by leveraging big data and analytics, and counts seven of the world's top 10 global asset managers among its clientele. The InvestTech deal is Accenture's second industry-focused asset-management acquisition in a little over a year. It follows the December 2015 purchase of Beacon Consulting Group, which provides management consulting to five of the top 10 North American asset-management firms. This acquisition comes less than a week after Accenture purchased solid-serVision, one of Germany's largest independent ServiceNow solution providers. Earlier in January, Accenture purchased the corporate and aviation consulting businesses of Seabury Group to help guide airlines through digital disruption. Components & Peripherals News Xerox To Spend $100M In 2017 To Acquire More Multi-Branded Resellers, Get Into Emerging Markets Michael Novinson Share this Xerox has set aside $100 million for mergers and acquisitions this year to convert more multi-branded dealers into Xerox-exclusive agents and gain a foothold in newer technologies. The Norwalk, Conn.-based vendor said its Global Imaging Systems (GIS) business unit plans to continue buying independent, multi-branded resellers and converting them over to resellers focused exclusively on Xerox, according to Bill Osbourn, Xerox's chief financial officer. These resellers typically only cost 1x their annual revenue, Osbourn said, and Xerox has historically enjoyed a very good return from these deals. Osbourn said the company will continue looking for opportunities to carry out multi-branded resellers acquisitions not only in the United States, but also internationally, in 2017 and beyond. [RELATED: CRN Exclusive: New Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson On The Managed Print Services Goldmine, Why A4 Is So Important To The Channel, And The Pursuit Of Larger Partners] The company's GIS practice has enjoyed great success in the North American SMB channel and is looking to replicate that performance in Europe, according to Jeff Jacobson, Xerox's new CEO. Jacobson took over from Ursula Burns at the start of the year as the company completed the spinoff of its $6.7 billion business process services division, which was renamed Conduent. "We have solid plans in place to capture opportunities in our strategic growth areas to change the trajectory of our company's top line and outperform the market over time," Jacobson told Wall Street analysts during the company's earnings call Tuesday. Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 tumbled to $2.73 billion, down 7.5 percent from $2.95 billion the year prior. That fell short of Seeking Alpha expectations of $2.77 billion. Net income from continuing operations plummeted to $181 million, or 17 cents per share, down 29 percent from $256 million, or 24 cents, the year prior. On a non-GAAP basis, earnings fell to $260 million, or 25 cents per share, down 8.8 percent from $285 million, or 27 cents per share, last year. This was in-line with Seeking Alpha's estimates. For the full year 2016, Xerox's sales fell to $10.77 billion, down 6 percent from $11.47 billion the year prior. Net income sunk to $616 million, or 58 cents per share, down 27 percent from $848 million, or 77 cents per share, last year. Xerox is also exploring acquisition opportunities beyond multi-brand dealers in areas such as workflow automation, software technologies. Osbourn cautioned, though, that Xerox will be forced to pay a higher multiple to carry out technology-centric deals. Jacobson said he's looking for deals that will get Xerox into a market the company can't address well today. For instance, he would look favorably at acquiring technologies or businesses that would help Xerox get into the $60-to-$65 billion commercial offset print and packaging space. Xerox is very focused in moving beyond printing on paper to printing on packaging, plastics and electronics, Jacobson said. Xerox has debated internally whether it should attack this emerging market through M&A, partnerships, or commercializing products itself, which would take more time. Xerox also plans to continue making investments in the production and inkjet printing businesses to address ongoing challenges there, Jacobson said. The company's fourth quarter equipment sales sunk to $677 million, down 12 percent from $770 million the year prior due to the timing of product launches, lower OEM sales, and lower sales to a Fuji Xerox partner. Equipment revenue was particularly weak in Europe, the company said, while the decline in North America was stable. Meanwhile, Xerox's fourth quarter annuity revenue dipped to $2.06 billion, down 5 percent from $2.18 billion last year. Within that segment, Xerox's outsourcing, maintenance and rentals revenue sunk 7 percent due to a weak performance in the company's Document Technology segment. Annuity revenue from supplies, paper and other sales declined 1 percent due to a modest decline in supplies and OEM sales, which was partially offset by improved paper sales and licensing revenue. And the vendor's annuity financing revenue tumbled by 8 percent because of a declining finance receivables balance reflecting lower equipment sales in prior periods. For all of 2017, Xerox expects GAAP earnings from continuing operations of between 44 cents and 52 cents per share. Xerox shares closed down $0.02 (-0.22%) to $6.94 in trading on Tuesday. With the inauguration of our 45th President of the United States recently behind us, a new administration will be met with emerging and imminent threats to our homeland. As new leadership is appointed by the President and confirmed, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will maintain a clear understanding of their role within the national security apparatus, and will continue the difficult work of keeping Americans safe and critical infrastructure secure. John Kelly, the newly confirmed DHS Secretary and former Marine Corps four-star General, has recently addressed the numerous homeland security issues facing the country. His main focus will be on defeating terrorism, more robust cybersecurity protections, and infrastructure security and resiliency. DHS is a huge federal department with many moving parts. The agency includes Customs and Border Protection, Secret Service, Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration, and numerous offices dedicated to cyber and physical security missions. However, while the 240,000 employees serve a critical role within government, its the private sector that will help and ensure continued success at DHS. It is widely understood that over 85% of all critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector. Power grid operators, water treatment specialists, and chemical process engineers are the first to encounter security threats at their particular work stations. These subject matter experts are typically supported by cyber and facility security professionals dedicated to keeping their systems and infrastructure secure. The first line of defense resides outside of government and lands squarely in the hands of private industry. Fortunately, industry has long had the support and interest from DHS. Currently, the most significant reliability threat to the U.S. power grid is associated with squirrels and balloons, and not a coordinated cyber-attack inspired by state-sponsored hackers. However, we have recently seen noteworthy interest in disabling or destroying critical infrastructure. Coordinated attacks specifically targeting the grid are rare, but an attack by a disgruntled former employee, ideologically motivated activist, or a criminal stumbling across a soft target, could inflict significant damage. DHS has always let the Sector Specific Agency (SSA), the Department of Energy (DOE), take the lead on coordinating response, recovery, and the security of the power grid. However, we may see DHS take a more active interest as a result of hackers causing a blackout in western Ukraine. After cutting off power to nearly 250,000 homes and businesses, this event demonstrated how a grid attack in North America could rapidly deteriorate and cascade into a catastrophic national security event. Under the new administration, it will be vitally important to increase information sharing with the electricity sector, provide additional security clearances, and tackle many of the lessons learned from grid security exercises. Brian Harrell The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), one of the few regulations spearheaded by DHS, identifies and regulates high-risk chemical facilities to ensure they have security measures in place to reduce the risks associated with dangerous chemicals. Currently, there are approximately 2700 facilities falling into strict compliance with the 18 Risk Based Performance Standards (RBPS), which provide individual facilities the flexibility to address their unique security challenges. Chemical plants, oil refineries, and water treatment facilities have long worked with DHS, government coordinating councils, and the trade associations to ensure the regulation is effective and remains malleable to existing threats and vulnerabilities found within the sector. While CFATS got off to a rough start in 2007, industry and government have seemingly ironed out many points of contention. The Top-Screen process, which identifies facilities responsible for economically critical and mission-critical chemicals, has been streamlined and made painless for industry users. In addition, compliance inspections are now underway and the help desk has been a resource for those wanting to gain valuable insight. With over 4,000 inspections complete, CFATS is an example of the government using the expertise found within industry to help craft compliance guidance to better protect high-risk chemical facilities. The United States Coast Guard enforces the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) which allows for the authority to regulate facilities located on or adjacent to waterways under U.S. jurisdiction. The Coast Guard typically conducts at least one scheduled audit and one unannounced "spot check" each year. MTSA-regulated facilities must complete a Facility Security Assessment (FSA) that identifies and evaluates critical assets, critical infrastructures, and potential threats and vulnerabilities to those assets. The facility must then develop and submit a Facility Security Plan (FSP). The importance of keeping our ports and waterways secure cannot be overstated. Approximately 90 percent of all global trade and over 25 percent of our Gross Domestic Product moves via the sea. A terrorist attack at our ports could severely disrupt the supply chain, which would be catastrophic to our economy. Private industry and the Coast Guard have a long history of working together to mitigate safety, security, and environmental risks to U.S. ports and maritime critical infrastructure. Brian Harrell Cybersecurity at DHS has turned into a top priority and the department has seen tangible progress. The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), which can be characterized as the federal governments 24/7 hub for cybersecurity information sharing, technical assistance, and incident response has grown to be a very useful resource for industry. In 2016, the NCCIC disseminated more than 6,000 bulletins and responded on-site to 32 cybersecurity incidents. With the recent classification of election systems as critical infrastructure, this will add to the mounting pressure for the department to expand its cyber resources, funding, and expertise. This expansion will only aid the private sector when they are faced with cyber threats and will assist with intrusion detection and prevention capabilities. DHS recently released a refreshed version of its National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP), with a strong focus on how the U.S. can react to cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure. The NCIRP describes a national approach to dealing with cyber incidents. In addition, it also addresses the important role that the private sector, state and local governments, and multiple federal agencies play in responding to incidents and how the actions of all fit together for an integrated response. As mentioned above, the majority of infrastructure in North America is owned and operated by the private sector. Because of this, it is vital that the public and private sectors work together to share relevant threat information. Over the past few years, DHS, the FBI, and the Department of Energy have made considerable strides in improving information sharing and giving classified access to intelligence products such as bulletins, alerts, and secret level briefings. These data points have been used to mitigate threats, reduce risk, and update internal security policies. This data flow has enhanced communications between security teams, management, and board members by providing authoritative threat warnings. Ultimately, information sharing is a two-way street. Private sector entities must remove the words compliance risk from their lexicon and readily share timely information as it happens. Nobody knows their systems better than they do. Cybersecurity alerts coming from industry professionals are imperative to the collaborative exchange process. Simultaneously, federal intelligence partners must alert those within the private sector who actually have the ability to mitigate threats. This partnership can become stronger and timelier with additional security clearances given to the private sector. Given todays cyber and physical security threats to the nation, the boundaries between the private and public sector have blurred. Whereas traditional national security has been the domain of the federal government, homeland security is not solely the responsibility of federal agencies, but also of state and local government and the private sector. Homeland security is a shared responsibility that cannot be met by government alone. Uninterrupted operation of basic services such as energy, communications, water, transportation, and unbroken access to other goods and services used on a daily basis are essential to Americas security, safety, economic vitality. Congressman Mike McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, recently said that, DHS needs to work more urgently to assist the private sector in defending the nations critical infrastructure, including communications, the electric grid and nuclear energy. This is a partnership and we need to lean on each others strengths and expertise. Jeremy King says there's some cybersecurity leadership roles at large U.S. corporations offering $1 million compensation packages. The recipients of these big pay packages include military cyber experts making a switch to the commercial sector. King has helped many dozens of senior intelligence community (IC) and Department of Defense (DoD) transitioning government officials find private sector roles and consulting (and board) opportunities. His active Top Secret clearance and connections at Fortune 500 corporations make him a top 20 cybersecurity matchmaker (and credible source of compensation data), according to Hunt Scanlon Media. What's luring military cyber leaders to the other side? King says that while top cyber experts in the commercial sector can earn as much as 5x what their counterparts in the military earn, money is not the number one motivator. the top reason is because commercial capabilities are now crucial to the national security mission, and the commercial sector will always be more agile and innovative. The passion they have to serve their nation never leaves them. Now they are providing a dual-use solution, the U.S. Government and commercial customers. Although there are only so many of these elite million dollar jobs, there are senior roles where compensation packages range from $500,000 and up for CISOs and Chief Risk Officers (CRO). Mid-sized and smaller public companies typically pay in the $250,000 to $500,000 range (total comp) for their senior cyber and risk executives. King notes that as an employee at an agency in the U.S. Government, they follow the U.S. Civil Service pay scale. It goes from GS-1 to GS-15, the highest level. Even the most talented producers who climb to GS-15 level max-out making $133,000 per year, even the top cyber experts protecting our networks and infrastructure. For the select few that are promoted to Senior Executive Service (SES), they max-out making around $200,000 per year. Unlike the private sector, there are no large bonuses or stock options. What comes around goes around. U.S. military men and women devote their careers (and lives) to defending and protecting our country. Those with cyber experience are no different, except that they've unexpectedly become valuable commodities - and their service is being rewarded with lucrative career opportunities in the commercial sector. What are the hot skills in demand at U.S. corporations? King lists some of them - which the military cyber defense specialists bring: Red Team hackers who find vulnerabilities in your defenses; Insider threat experts who map out risky behavior of your employees; Incident response experts who do breach analysis and remediation; Threat intelligence experts who can evaluate your threat landscape; Security experts who can help design and manage security operations centers. For more information read the quarterly "Ask The Recruiter" report featuring King. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STRATFORD Joseph Scarduzio has heard the Stratford School for Aviation Maintenance Technicians called the best-kept secret in Connecticut. But Scarduzio, department head at the school, wishes that werent the case. Between Sikorsky (Aircraft), Pratt & Whitney and major corporations up in Windsor Locks, we cant produce enough graduates, he said. In 2015, the state Department of Labor estimated there were 111 openings for aircraft power plant technicians, yet the Stratford school and the Aero Tech program in Hartford graduated just 28 students. Last June, the Stratford school had 15 graduates and it expects to have roughly the same number this March. The schools future was put in question last summer when the state notified the school it could not accept new students based on budget cuts, only to rescind that decision in September, too late for many students to join the program. Then, in October, state officials increased the tuition to $26,000 from the current $6,500 total for the two-year program, Scarduzio said, noting that the decision was also reversed after enrollment efforts took a nosedive. Basically were back to the status quo, he said. Now, the school is holding a final open house for prospective students interested in enrolling this March. The event will be held on Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. at its facility at Sikorsky Airport. Local legislators are also stepping up to help move the school forward. The Stratford delegation this month introduced a bill that would move the school from the Connecticut Technical High School System its host school is Platt Technical High School in Milford into the community college system. State Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, said the action is related to a change in federal regulations that made students in the technical high school program ineligible for federal Pell grants to help pay for tuition and fees. It just frees up options for students for funding, Gresko said of the proposed move into the community college system. George Bonadies, 19, a Cheshire resident currently enrolled in the Stratford school, said its affordability made it possible for him to enroll. We were attracted to the value of the school, he said. In aviation, theres a lot of good-paying jobs and chances for growth. Scarduzio said many of the schools graduates find jobs with starting salaries of $40,000 a year or above. Outhisack Phrathep, a 34-year-old Danbury resident, said he was hoping to pick up new skills and knowledge about aircraft maintenance that could help him in his military career. Stratford resident Justin Panther, 18, a recent Bunnell High School graduate, said that while some of the work involves textbook learning, mostly math, the group also works on actual private aircraft under the supervision of the faculty. Theres a lot of class time but weve had a lot of time to do hands-on things too, Panther said. Scarduzio estimated that two-thirds of the program focuses on the hands-on work. Weve had a lot of success in the past where people have gone through the program and (later) found management positions, he said. Scarduzio said the school will continue to operate as long as it is allowed. Until they resolve the budget, everyone will continue to have funding problems, he said. The good thing is the industry and legislature is behind the program because there are so many aviation businesses in the state. ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Bargain hunters, rejoice. TJX has laid out a plan to add about 800 T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores and perhaps 432 Home Goods stores in the U.S., Retail Dive reports. TJX rival Burlington also plans to add 30 stores in 2017. This speaks to a growing trend in the retail space: death to department stores. Just last August, Macy's announced that it would close 100 stores to cut costs and improve the customer experience in the remaining locations. In 2017, 108 Kmart locations are shutting their doors, and Sears is planning some closings as well. "For years, off-price chains have been luring shoppers out of department stores with prices up to 70 percent lower than traditional retail. And as department stores continue to experience declining foot traffic and slash store counts, off-price retail has begun to flourish," Retail Dive writes. Another thing helping off-price stores is simply room for growth. Christina Boni, vice president and senior analyst for Moody's, told Retail Dive that the off-price market has not been saturated yet. It's also unique in that it's a strictly brick-and-mortar business. Online shopping does not exist at stores like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, so customers have to head into the store to see what's in stock that day. "If you look at off-price retailers, you have somewhat of a treasure hunt. You might go in with an idea of what you want or need but you might find something else. And every time you go in there might be something different," Boni told Retail Dive. "There is a freshness of inventory versus department stores which have long lead times." According to Retail Dive, the U.S. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls business grew seven percent to $15.22 billion in the last year; HomeGoods sales rose 12 percent to $3.07 billion. BRIDGEPORT - A Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that the citys personnel director misinterpreted the citys charter and wrongly allowed an ineligible officer to sit for the police captain examination. In a 23-page decision, Judge Michael Hartmere ruled that Lt. Manuel Cotto did not meet the eligibility requirements to take the test and his name will be stricken from the eligibility list for promotion to captain. BRIDGEPORT - A radio sales and marketing executive is Mayor Joe Ganims new spokesman. Rowena White, most recently of Star99.9 and WPLR, has begun work in City Hall, replacing Av Harris. The mayor has known Rowena for several years and knows her level of competency, said Danny Roach, Ganims 2015 campaign manager-turned-adviser. Roach noted White will assist the mayors office in having a larger presence on social media. Harris, hired by Ganim last winter after being laid off from his job as spokesman for the Secretary of the State, will be spending more time back in Hartford as a liaison with legislators and state officials. The administration is expected to issue a formal announcement, including Whites salary, in the coming days. Harris earned $100,000. Ganims communications operation will still include Dalmarys Matos, a former traffic reporter for News12 hired last year to assist Harris. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD Giuseppe Bonaiuto has been following the heady aroma of roasted coffee all his life. Growing up in Naples, Italy, he fondly remembers walking home with friends from school and following the rich smell of roasting coffee wafting out of a cast iron pot atop a stove in his grandmothers kitchen. Now 60, Bonaiuto has a huge roaster painted Ferrari-fire engine red at his East Side business, BonJo, where about 300,000 pounds of beans are roasted each year. The name was easy, said Bonaiuto, who now goes by Joseph. But the name also means good, as in bon, and joe, as in coffee. After years of importing beans from Italy, Bonaiuto got the idea to duplicate the perfect Italian espresso coffee here. I really decided to start roasting coffee because people were telling me that there will never be anyone that will be able reproduce an Italian espresso in the United States, so that was a challenge to me, he said. So, Bonaiuto, who came to the U.S. when he was 18, began buying imported green coffee beans and special ordered the handsome 5,000-pound roaster from the Giuseppe Balestra company, which has been making roasters for more than a century. The machine, capable of roasting 90 pounds of coffee at a time heats the beans up to about 400 degrees before they are dropped into a bin where they are stirred with metal bars and brushes while being cooled with air piped into the bin with a fan. I said there is no reason why I couldnt duplicate what they did in Italy, he said. And I did it. I accomplished it. BonJos showroom coffee shop, which opened in 2013 between a Dunkin Donuts and Donut Delight, offers a strong, but smooth espresso. Bonaiuto said the espresso he grew up with was even stronger. In Naples, they like it dark and stormy, he said with a grin. A good espresso, Bonaiuto said, should be smooth. But you should feel the impact of the coffee on your mouth and it shouldnt be bitter or attack your palette. Its a good cup of coffee, retired police Sgt. James VanAllen said simply as he sat at the counter. Angelo Grieco, who runs Sunny & Frankies Restaurant on Hope Street, also praised BonJos selection. They are great. I cant tell you enough about them. Its the best around. It cant be beat, said Grieco, who has been buying the coffee since he ran Michelangelos Deli on Cove Road about 18 years ago. Their American brew and espresso are just top notch. Bonaiuto and his wife, Maria, began their business in the late 1970s in Yonkers, N.Y. Bonaiuto said he has since sold coffee to about 20,000 restaurants, schools, country clubs and companies. He estimated nearly all of his business is wholesale and the company roasts between 20,000 and 30,000 pounds of coffee each month. BonJos coffee roaster, Jim Bradshaw, said he listens closely to hear the beans turning over in the heated metal drum begin to crack. He waits for the beans to exude what he described as a rich bread smell before he knows the coffee is nearing its peak. After hearing the beans crack, Bradshaw, 26, said he continues roasting for three to eight minutes depending on the batch, which loses about 15 percent of its weight to evaporation. I love it. It is something that I wanted to do and Im doing it, said Bradshaw, who began working at BonJo as a barista in the showroom. I go out to restaurants in the area and when I look in back and see the BonJo logo on their coffee, I know I did that. I roasted it, I packaged it. Its a sense of pride. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com; The Connecticut Department of Public Health will recognize February as American Heart Month to create public awareness of risk factors for heart disease and stroke and to promote preventive measures. People are encouraged to Go Red for Women on Feb. 3 by wearing red to promote awareness of the leading cause of death among women heart disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease kills more than 600,000 Americans each year one in every four deaths in the country for both men and women. Heart disease is also the leading cause of death for men. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Oscar-nominated movie "Hidden Figures" recently shed light on a little-known piece of history: the talented black women who helped launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Here in Connecticut, we have some hidden stories of our own. Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison once called Connecticut the "Georgia of New England" and the nickname remained for good reasons. Slavery in Connecticut dates as far back as the mid-1600s and remained legal until 1848 - long after most Northern states outlawed the institution. Beyond the abolition of slavery, the black men and women of Connecticut who had long fought for equal rights have shaped Connecticut's history in small and big ways. Here are 10 little-known facts on some of the first African-Americans to break down racial barriers. A legendary freedman from Connecticut was also a literary wonder Venture Smith was as bold as his name. The first-born child of a Guinean prince, Smith was captured and sold into slavery three times. In 1753, he married a slave named Meg. They raised three children and saved enough money to buy their freedom in 1765. Smith lived the remainder of his life as a farmer in Haddam, CT. His memoir, published in 1789, is one of the earliest books of African-American literature. The last Connecticut slave died in 1857 Nancy Toney of Fairfield died in the home of a wealthy Windsor family, eight years before the abolition of slavery. She was 82-years-old and remained a slave until her death. African-Americans in Connecticut used to elect their own governors During colonial times, New England African Americans democratically elected their own leaders. In Connecticut, they elected black governors, black sheriffs, and black judges. Many of these black governors were African born or of African royalty. The practice lasted until the mid-nineteenth century. The first black diplomat in U.S. history was from Derby Born in 1833, abolitionist Ebenezer Bassett was the son of Black Governor Eben Tobias. He was the first black man to graduate from Connecticut Normal School - now known as Central Connecticut State University. The civil war had just ended when President Ulysses Grant asked him to be the first U.S. minister to the new republic of Haiti, marking the beginning of a long diplomatic career. One of the first black Yale graduates broke even more records In the 1870s, American universities had only graduated six doctors of physics. Edward Alexander Bouchet, a black man from New Haven, was one of them. He was already one of the first African-Americans to graduate from Yale College in 1874 and the first black man to earn a PHD in America. Despite these many achievements, Bouchet was never offered a faculty position and spent most of his career teaching science to high school students. Bridgeport was once the home of a lighting genius The only black member of Thomas Edison's research team, Lewis Latimer invented modern carbon filaments in 1881, improving the lifespan of lightbulbs. He also drew Alexander Graham Bells telephone blueprints and worked with Hiram Maxi at the United States Electric Lighting Company in Bridgeport. A New Haven dressmaker revolutionized ironing In 1892, Sarah Boone, a young black dressmaker from Connecticut, invented and patented an early version of the modern ironing board with collapsible legs. If it wasnt for Boones practical invention, we may still be ironing on tables. The real Aunt Jemima was a theater director from Hartford Hartford resident Gwen Reed played Quaker Oats Aunt Jemima on TV and on tours around the country for 17 years. But in the 1940s and 50s, she was also known as a pioneer in the theater community and throughout Connecticut, having directed and acted in many classic plays like A Raisin in the Sun'' and Stage Door. A Danbury opera icon became the first black woman to sing at the Met An opera prodigy, Marian Anderson first sang at church functions and social events in Connecticut. In 1933, she embarked on a European tour where she quickly found fame. In 1955, she became the first black woman to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. This New Haven-born lawyer was a woman of many firsts Constance Baker Motley was a longtime Connecticut resident and a trailblazer for women of color. The first black woman to graduate from Columbia University School of Law in 1946, she went on to defend the Freedom Riders of Montgomery. In 1964, she was the first African-American to serve as a New York state senator. In 1965, she was also the first woman to become Manhattan Borough President in New York, and a year later, the first African-American woman to be appointed a federal judge. It doesnt matter whether youre a desk worker or a warehouse worker, a millennial or a Baby Boomer, an urbanite or a rural dweller. If youre a human being, your body relies on your joints to maintain proper bodily functioning. That means over the course of a lifetime, our joints take a beating. Not caring for your joints can lead to symptoms such as pain, discomfort, stiffness, decreased range of motion, and an increased risk of sprains, strains and dislocations, and arthritis or osteoarthritis. These symptoms can be exacerbated by common effects of aging, including decrease in muscle mass, weight gain, inflammation and past injuries. Because aging is unavoidable (and because most of us dont make a concerted effort to care for our joints) joint pain is incredibly common. Up to half of Americans visits to the doctor are driven by musculoskeletal complaints. The only way to mitigate the effects of lifelong joint use is to take steps to care for your joints now and to maintain those strategies over the long haul. The good news is caring for your joints is actually pretty simple. Implement the following six strategies to increase your chances of maintaining pain-free joints for life. 1. Get a move on. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to keep your joints healthy. Working out strengthens the muscles that stabilize the joints. It can facilitate weight loss, which reduces the load your joints carry each day. And it can get synovial fluid flowing around the joints, which helps prevent stiffness. Related: 9 Yoga Poses You Can Do At Your Desk Without Looking Really Weird The best exercise routine for healthy joints is one that includes a mixture of cardio and strength training (more on that below). Its also important to avoid over-exercising, which can actually exacerbate joint issues. As with so many things, balance is key. 2. Include bodyweight exercises into your routine. Regular bodyweight training can improve your strength, increase muscle mass, reduce stress and give you an energy boost. It has also been found to reduce joint and bone pain. Exercises such as lunges, pushups and squats are all great examples of effective bodyweight exercises. (Squats and lunges are especially helpful for protecting the knee joints.) Keep track of your progress with tools like this squat calculator so you can increase your effort at a healthy rate. Its also a smart idea to record any changes in joint sensation during and after bodyweight exercising. Related: Exercise Is One Thing Most Successful People Do Everyday If you absolutely hate bodyweight exercises, you can reap similar benefits from a regular strength-training routine. 3. Stretch it out. Strength is important for healthy joints, but so is flexibility. Tight muscles can place strain on your joints. So its important to keep your muscles as supple as possible. To do that, implement the following strategies: Incorporate small bits of movement throughout the day, especially if youre a desk worker. Take the long way to the bathroom, walk to the water cooler every hour, take a stroll during your lunch break, and so on. Give yoga a try. Research suggests yoga is a great way to increase flexibility in the muscles and ligaments while providing additional benefits to the joints. Stretch every day. Even if youre not interested in becoming a yogi, its still important to include stretching into your daily routine. Thats because stretching requires your muscles, ligaments and joints to move through their full ranges of motion, which improves flexibility. 4. Take pain and injuries seriously. Exercise is hugely important for joint health. But its equally important to know when to back off. If you experience shooting pain during a workout (not just the sensation of your muscles working), then stop for the day to avoid damaging your joints. If youre injured, whether during exercise or in your daily life, properly care for your injury. Consult a medical professional, take a break from intense exercise, use ice to combat inflammation and consider using a brace until youve healed. Proper treatment at the time of injury will significantly reduce your risk of developing a chronic issue. 5. Set up an ergonomic workstation. If youre one of millions of Americans who spend most of their days in front of a computer, your joints are suffering. Reduce joint strain at work by making your workstation as ergonomic as possible. Here are a few strategies: Raise up your computer monitor so your neck doesnt need to bend forward and down in order for you to look at the screen. Invest in a wrist rest to reduce strain on your wrists. Make sure your elbows can rest at a right angle by your side while you type. 6. Evaluate your footwear. Most of us dont spend a ton of time thinking about our shoes (except when were matching them to our outfit). But footwear is actually a critical component of joint health. Related: How Greats Footwear Puts Its Best Foot Forward Any pair of shoes that you wear on a regular basis should fit you well, provide plenty of arch support, give your toes room to wiggle, and offer some cushion under the ball and heel. If youre an athlete, youll probably want to replace your sneakers every six months or so to ensure theyre still providing adequate support. The steps required to maintain your joints health are pretty basic. But the benefits youll reap from caring for your joints now are anything but. Greater mobility, flexibility and strength and a decreased risk of pain or chronic joint issues await anyone whos willing to take good care of their joints. Related: 6 Simple Strategies for Desk Jockeys to Keep Their Joints Pain-Free 10 Top Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Health Regimen Secrets When Is It a Good Idea to Change Your Company's Name? Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved We must rethink the U.S. response to infectious disease. Here's why. After protests, complaints, and Democratic requests for a second hearing on Betsy DeVos ability to head the Department of Education, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted along party lines to move DeVos to a full Senate vote for confirmation. The committee voted twice after Democrats attempted to push the vote another week, but was declined. Both times Republicans voted the same, 12 to Democrats 11, according to The Hill and The Detroit Free Press. There has been controversy over many of the picks President Trump has chosen for positions in his administration, but DeVos may be one of the most controversial. Videos of DeVos being questioned by committee senators at her hearing recently made their rounds on social media and in a popular clip available through NBCnews.com, DeVos told lawmakers that guns might have a place in schools due to the threat from grizzly bears. In a video available through Vox.com, Senator Bernie Sanders questioned if DeVos wouldve gotten the appointment had her family not donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to the Republican Party. DeVos said that she believed that she would have, stating she has been working hard to be a voice for students and to empower parents to make decisions on behalf of their children. In the 2016 cycle the Devos family gave nothing to Democrats and $2.7 million to Republican candidates and political action committees, according to The Washington Post and an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. Some students at the U of M recognized the name, but werent happy about DeVos potential confirmation. DeVos is too far removed from the public education system to be in a position of power that will have such an impact on today's youth, and consequently the future, Sydney Trujillo, a 25-year-old third year law student, said. She does not have even AN interest of children at heart, definitely not their BEST interest. If children are not the point of education, but executing schools like a business we are failing as a nation. The Teacher Education Collective, a group of professors from 8 different universities around the country (including the University of Michigan, the University of Washington, and Vanderbilt) wrote how uniquely unqualified DeVos is for the highest governmental position in education in an opinion article published by The Tennessean. College students for whom debt is not an abstraction, but a visceral weight casting a pall over their future prospects, should worry about someone so disconnected from their reality making decisions that directly affect their economic well-being, the Collective wrote. Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement that she believed that DeVos nomination was not in the best interests of the young people of America and It is hard to imagine a less qualified or more dangerous person to be entrusted both with our country's education policy and with a trillion-dollar student loan program. Despite many peoples concerns over DeVos qualifications, some believe that DeVos is a great candidate. I have worked with Mrs. DeVos on education issues in Tennessee for several years, Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey wrote in another article for The Tennessean. I know her to have both a heart for our school children and the experience to take the Department of Education to new heights. Senator Kelsey represents Cordova, East Memphis, and Germantown and serves on the Tennessee Senate Education Committee. The American people elected President Donald Trump to shake things up in Washington, Kelsey wrote in the article. They are tired of politicians who promise results but fail to produce them. Betsy DeVos is not a politician. She is an education leader who has given her life to helping children achieve. Shes helped many already. The Senate should vote to allow her to help them all. Two members of the U.S. education committee, Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, would not guarantee they would vote for DeVos again in the Senate vote despite voting for her in the committee, according to The Detroit Free Press. It has not yet been announced when the Senate vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education will take place. The fact is that when it comes to playing politics, Lord Ricketts an impartial civil servant has form. He was invited onto Radio Fours Today programme during the build-up to the EU referendum last year and was a cheerleader for the Cameron governments Project Fear scare-mongering. Most egregiously he backed its claim that Brexit would lead to the French moving the Jungle migrant camp (which no longer even exists) from Calais to Kent. He was at it again yesterday, griping about Donald Trumps invitation for a State Visit to the UK this summer. Sir Peter Ricketts with the Queen on a visit to France when he was the British Ambassador in 2014, meeting Manuel Valls, Prime Minister of France But the nakedly political way that Ricketts a career diplomat speaks out causes irritation in Whitehall because it is protocol for mandarins such as him who have recently retired to keep their counsel on sensitive political issues. But perhaps this was seen as pay-back time. For Cameron had appointed Ricketts as his national security adviser on his first day as Prime Minister in 2010. When he quit No 10 last summer, Ricketts was among the list of Cameron cronies given gongs, knighthoods and peerages. Having been knighted in 2003, he was elevated to the peerage. Born and brought up in the Midlands, Peter Forbes Ricketts went to a grammar school in Sutton Coldfield (motto: The right hand of God hath lifted me up) and then studied English at Pembroke College, Oxford. A career civil servant, he was ambassador to Nato in Brussels and chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee giving evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war. Although he said he believed that Iraq had some level of weapons of mass destruction capacity, albeit one that was hobbled, he said regime-change did not stack up, adding: It sounds like a grudge between Bush and Saddam. Actress Salma Hayek, President of the Arop Gala evening (L), and Sir Peter Ricketts, British Ambassador to France in 2012 After two years as national security adviser under the Cameron government, Ricketts became British ambassador to France in 2012, and enjoyed the lifestyle afforded by the grandiose Paris residence, Hotel de Charost. While belt-tightening meant that other ambassadors had to seek corporate sponsors for parties to celebrate the Queens birthday, Ricketts enjoyed the services of four in-house kitchen staff at a cost to taxpayers of almost 150,000 a year. This revelation followed a similar one a few years previously when he was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office and it had come to light that he claimed almost 20,000 in expenses in three months, which included 11,000 for a chauffeur-driven car. His salary at the time was 195,000, and he had a pension pot of more than 1.7million. Unlike the classic Sir Humphrey-style civil servants and diplomats depicted in the sitcom Yes Minister, Ricketts does not have a reputation for bureaucratic caution. In September, he was in hot water again when he became strategic adviser to aerospace giant Lockheed Martin which was negotiating billions of pounds in defence industry sales with the British Government, and which had featured in the first strategic defence review ordered by Camerons administration. Who led that review? None other than Ricketts. What an incestuous world! There was more backscratching when Ricketts popped up last month to defend Sir Ivan Rogers against critics when he quit as ambassador to the EU after criticising the Governments handling of Brexit. In an article for The Guardian, Ricketts described them as being part of a campaign of denigration, which he likened to the tabloid campaign against the judges. Ricketts added: The new rule seems to be if someone is saying something inconvenient about the difficulties ahead, attack their integrity rather than deal with their argument. After his comments about the Trump visit to the UK, some may consider that Lord Ricketts is guilty of doing just that in his criticism of Theresa May for having invited the American president to Britain. But then gone is the day when retired civil servants were seen, not heard. The 'Visit to Parliament by President Trump' Early Day Motion was sponsored by Labour MP Stephen Doughty and attracted 73 signatures 60 of them Labour MPs. On the same day, another Early Day Motion entitled 'In Memory of Tam Dalyell', tabled by SNP MP George Kerevan, attracted only two supporters both Tories. No Labour MPs signed it despite the fact that Labour man Dalyell was a former Father of the House, a resolute campaigner and a man of huge principle. Why not? Perhaps because he was a toff and an Old Etonian. The 'Visit to Parliament by President Trump' Early Day Motion was sponsored by Labour MP Stephen Doughty The late Sir Terry Wogan, who died a year ago yesterday, worked here for 50 years but never relinquished his Irish passport. Now his heir apparent Graham Norton, 53, plans to apply for a British passport amid fears Brexit might make it more difficult for him to return regularly to London from his holiday home in Cork. Striking SNP politician Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, 46 Striking SNP politician Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, 46, pictured, who took exception to buffoonish Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames heckling her with 'woof woof' during Boris Johnson's statement to the Commons, boasts a colourful political past. An ex-chairman of the Edinburgh Central Young Conservatives, she stood unsuccessfully as the Tory candidate in Glasgow Govan in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. She quit the party in 2000, briefly joining Labour, before moving on to the SNP the same year. To think she and Sir Nicholas could have been colleagues! Saucy authoress Kathy Lette, 58, sunning herself in her native Australia, reports: 'About to swim at the nudist beach with my three sisters. If we get caught in a rip tide, it's gonna be an amusing winch up into the rescue chopper!' But a terrifying ordeal for its flight crew, surely. Ed Miliband's former deputy chief of staff, Lucy Powell, 42, embarrassed after a message mocking fellow female MPs was accidentally sent to them, has a frosty relationship with Jeremy Corbyn's ex-squeeze, Diane Abbott. Reminded by BBC presenter Andrew Neil that London-born Ms Abbott enjoyed trying to mimic her northern accent, Ms Powell replies: 'Diane has her own special approach to these things, that usually loses her the room on the occasions that she does them.' Girls, girls! While President Donald Trump enrages Mexicans by saying he'll make them pay for a 40ft wall, ex-Tory minister Michael Portillo recalled in his BBC rail journeys show last night that President James Polk gained Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada and California from Mexico in the 1840s Mexican-American War. Polk increased the size of America by about a third but kept his promise not to stand for a second term. Trump insists he'll seek two full terms. Colourful broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, 68 Having evidently given up various vices for January, colourful broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, 68, was ready today to welcome a more indulgent February. He tweets: 'No alcohol, coffee, chocolate, garlic, spices, butter, red meat, fizzy drinks... my digestion is BEAUTIFUL, but, oh boy, my MOOD ain't.' Let the Mail lay its cards on the table: we have never been a great admirer of Donald Trump. Though we agree with some of the things he has said and done, we have strong reservations about his style of politics. We find many of his pronouncements and policies misguided and a few of them frankly distasteful. But like it or not, he is the democratically elected President of our greatest and most powerful ally, who has deep affection for our country. A strong supporter of Brexit, he has said repeatedly that he wants to strengthen America's links with us and see us prosper after we withdraw from the EU. But clearly, the massed ranks of our liberal elites and their sheep-like followers have other ideas. For they have made plain that they would rather see Britain risk its security and be reduced to penury than do business with, let alone show friendship to, a U.S. led by a man with whom they viscerally disagree and paint as a monster. Indeed, their hysterical reaction to Mr Trump's executive order restricting immigration from seven mostly Islamic countries has been wildly over the top, making the brash President himself look positively restrained by comparison. A strong supporter of Brexit, Donald Trump (pictured) has said repeatedly that he wants to strengthen America's links with Britain Yes, there are respectable arguments to be made against his order and the way it has been implemented. As nobody can deny, it has thrown airports into chaos and caused acute inconvenience, uncertainty and distress to many travellers who pose no threat whatsoever to America. But it is blatantly false to suggest that this is a racist measure, directed against all followers of the Islamic faith. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims remain as free as ever to travel to the U.S. Furthermore, the list of those on whom restrictions have been imposed was drawn up under President Obama, who was also notably slow in giving sanctuary to Syrian refugees. This paper does not recall the Left accusing him of racism or, incidentally, attacking those nations that refuse entry to travellers with Israeli stamps in their passports. Nor do we remember any outcry from the Left with mass protest marches or online petitions clicked by 1.7 million when in 2011 Mr Obama all but stopped admitting Iraqi refugees for six months, while drastically tightening procedures for vetting. Indeed, other Democratic presidents have imposed tough restrictions on migration including Jimmy Carter, who banned almost all Iranians from entering the U.S. during the hostage crisis of 1980. So why is it only when a conservative does the same that the liberal class and its attendant luvvies take to the streets in protest, in unseemly alliance with self-serving multinationals such as Google and Goldman Sachs? Nor can anyone claim that Mr Trump has sprung his policy on an unsuspecting American public, out of the blue. On the contrary, he is honouring a well-publicised election pledge (much watered down, incidentally, since he first said he would ban all Muslims from entering the U.S.). Americans knew what they were getting when some 63 million of them voted for him. This measure, it must be stressed, is not aimed at any particular race or religious group. It is designed only to lessen the terrorist risk to the U.S. Which is why it is outrageous that many figures on the Left from Labour's Dennis Skinner to the Guardian newspaper and its more idiotic contributors have rushed to compare Mr Trump to Adolf Hitler. This is not only a grotesque insult to him and the people of democratic, freedom-loving, constitutional America, but to the six million murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. The Mail would remind the Left that the new President has yet to cause any suffering beyond disruption to air travel unlike their former hero, Tony Blair, who left much of the Middle East drenched in blood. Which brings us to that quintessential member of the liberal elite, the former Foreign Office mandarin Lord Ricketts. This is a man whose Foreign Office was deeply implicated in the catastrophes of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, which gave birth to Islamic State. Yet now he has the gall to lecture Theresa May on her relationship with Mr Trump. By inviting the President to a state visit, he says, she has put the Queen in a 'very difficult position'. Leave aside that Lord Ricketts, who conducted a defence review for David Cameron, now just happens to be a paid consultant to Lockheed Martin, the U.S. aircraft firm which Mr Trump hit on Monday when he knocked $600 million off a government contract for F-35 fighters. In 2011, Barack Obama (pictured) all but stopped admitting Iraqi refugees for six months, while drastically tightening procedures for vetting Forget that, needless to say, he is a prominent Remoaner, who was ennobled by Mr Cameron after serving in the vanguard of Project Fear as our ambassador to Paris. Why on Earth does he think the Queen might be embarrassed to welcome the democratically elected representative of our closest ally? Heaven knows, under pressure from the Foreign Office that Lord Ricketts once led, Her Majesty has sat in her carriage on the Mall beside far more unsavoury characters than Mr Trump. Take President Suharto of Indonesia, whose regime was blamed for up to a million deaths after the bloody invasion of East Timor in 1974. Or Emperor Hirohito of Japan, leader of Hitler's wartime ally. Indeed, only in 2015, at the behest of the Foreign Office, she wined and dined President Xi Jinping of China, whose regime holds and tortures countless political prisoners, while executing hundreds every year. Yet the Queen has survived all these visits with her dignity and reputation entirely intact. How could she possibly be harmed by extending the same courtesy to Mr Trump? Indeed, it would be far more embarrassing for her to withdraw or postpone her invitation to the President. For, in doing so, she would insult not just him but the nation he represents, which came to our rescue in two world wars and ensured the survival of the Throne. Isn't it strange that the Left spits so much bile against the champions of freedom to which refugees long to flee, while raising barely a squeak of protest against the hellholes they want to flee from? Instead of attacking Mrs May, Lord Ricketts should have been congratulating her for ensuring Mr Trump's continuing support for the Nato alliance. No, the Prime Minister must stick to her guns and insist that Mr Trump's invitation should stand. In Washington last week, she laid the groundwork for a revival of the Special Relationship, which promises huge benefits for both our countries after Brexit. In sealing her friendship with the President, she foreshadowed a dramatic shift in the balance of global trade, which will have filled our EU partners with deep concern (and it is no coincidence, surely, that the attacks on Mr Trump in this country come mainly from the Remain camp). And it's the Remain camp, of course, which seems impervious to the fact that it would be sheer madness to throw away those advantages, so recently gained, by gratuitously snubbing a President who has shown himself so anxious to promote Britain's prosperity. As for Mr Trump himself, this paper reserves judgment on his presidency, which is less than a fortnight old. Yes, we may question his executive decisions. But, so far, he has given little reason to doubt that his motive in imposing restrictions on migration from the breeding-grounds of terrorism is exactly as he says to safeguard the American people. It may not work. But it hardly behoves our European allies, who have paid a heavy price in blood for throwing open their borders, to lecture him on how best to defeat terrorism (and how ironic that in this country, the President's opponents want to counter his ban on terrorists by imposing a ban on him). Though it may come as a surprise to Britain's elite that tyranny of the minority who see Mr Trump as a cartoon Satan, no President in history has regarded entry into the U.S. as a universal, unconditional human right. So the Mail's message to the hysterical Left is straightforward: calm down and keep things in perspective. These are nervous times. The last thing Britain wants to do is make an enemy of the world's greatest power. A woman obsessed with peroxide blonde fake hair and piling on make-up undergoes an incredible transformation - after being delivered an ultimatum by her 'fed-up' boyfriend in Channel 5's 100% hotter. Summer, 21, from outside Manchester, is welcomed by the programme's makeover team after being nominated by her other half Ryan, 19 - who is unsure if their relationship can last any longer. 'Sometimes we do argue about what she chooses to wear and I do get fed up with it. If she does carry on I dont know what is going to happen to be honest,' he says. Summer, 21, goes through an astonishing transformation - from Barbie-obsessed to classy brunette She is thrilled at the results of her make-under as hair stylist Daniel K Palmer talks her through her new mature look Arriving into the salon in a breeze of fake hair extensions, ripped jeans, eight-inch plastic heels and a pink fishnet top, Summer leaves the experts stunned. Stylist Karen Williams, make-up artist Melissa Sophia and hair designer Daniel K Palmer all listen as Summer explains her unique look, saying: 'I like the fishnet look, I do like to look like a Barbie. I like fishnets. 'This is what I look like when I go on a night out. I always get my boobs out.' She confesses that at just 4 foot 10, she is desperate to look older - and so cakes herself in make-up as well as donning her 'pornstar heels'. The team start the process of transforming Summer into classy rather than trashy and begin with asking her to take her make-up and heels off. 'I feel awful. I always wear heels, it is a confidence boost when I wear them,' she says - adding that her boyfriend has only seen her bare face just once when she was ill. Summer's boyfriend Ryan, 19, isn't sure if their relationship can continue if she doesn't tone down her look, he wants to see her natural beauty Summer breaks down in tears as she sees her new look, the long fake blonde hair is gone and replaced with a sleek brunette bob all her own hair The team of experts ask Summer to remove her warpaint to reveal glowing skin underneath. She confesses that her boyfriend has only seen her once without it 'I try to make myself look older, because I am so small I do look young.' However, she realises her over-the-top look means she could lose her boyfriend, who only wants to see her real beauty: 'I want her to tone down her make-up and see the real her for once. 'Everywhere I go I can just see everyone staring and she piles on all that make up. She doesnt need to do that because I think shes beautiful without.' After the team work their magic, Summer's waist-length blonde extensions have disappeared and been replaced with a glossy brunette bob. A stunned Summer gushes: 'I love it.' At just 4 foot 10, Summer wears eight-inch 'pornstar' heels to appear taller and has never wears flat shoes The tears flow as she takes in her new classy makeover, from the knee-length black dress which covers her large bust, to the neon red stilettos that have taken the place of her much-loved plastic shoes. 'I love it, the hair its so different. Its lovely. [The make-up] is flawless. I wont go out in my porn star heels!' she reassures hair stylist Daniel. Her astonishing transformation leaves her virtually unrecognisable - and with one very happy boyfriend. After the public rated her just four out of ten in the beginning, Summer is now an average of nine out of ten. Ryan gives his girlfriend a ten: 'She looks fantastic, shes amazing. Ive always wanted to see her like this. 'Id score her a ten, she looks gorgeous.' 100% Hotter airs on Wednesday on 5STAR at 8pm On the second episode of Married At First Sight, groom Anthony seemed to fall instantly in love with his bride Nadia. The 33-year-old racing broadcaster's face lit up when flight attendant Nadia started walking down the aisle at their wedding. But unfortunately, things didn't go exactly as planned when he made a faux pas only moments after meeting her. Scroll down for video Wedding bells: On the second episode of Married At First Sight, Nadia and Anthony (pictured) tied the knot Uh oh: But Anthony made a faux pas, asking if Nadia was walked down by her Nanna and Nadia was not impressed Wow: It appeared to be love at first sight for Anthony when he saw Nadia walk down the aisle Nadia walked down the aisle accompanied by her sister and mother, one on either side of her.' When she arrived at the front of the room to meet her groom, the pair introduced themselves to each other. 'You look beautiful,' Anthony told his new bride as he kissed her on the cheek. Family: The bride was accompanied by her mum and sister as she made her way to the front of the room Then Anthony accidentally put his foot in it. 'Is that your Nanna who walked down with you?' he asked his bride-to-be. Suddenly Nadia's face went cold, and she looked away. Guests put their heads in their hands, obviously embarrassed for Anthony. 'That's my mum,' she told the racing broadcaster. Awkward: Nadia laughed it off, but it wasn't a good start to their marriage All's well that ends well: Thankfully the couple seemed to get over the embarrassing moment Anthony started immediately apologising, obviously embarrassed. 'Oh I'm so sorry, that's really rude,' he said to Nadia. Nadia told the Today Show that she experienced 'pain' at her new husband's faux pas. But she said she also felt for Anthony in that moment. 'I could see he was dying inside,' the bride said. In spite of the cringeworthy moment, the couple later danced and even shared a kiss in a private moment together. Married At First Sight returns at 7:30pm on Wednesday night on Channel Nine. If you didn't heed your mother's advice to leave your shoes at the door... you've been warned. Wearing your dirty sneakers, or even your corporate stilettos, through the house could be trekking bacteria, toxins and E. coli in to your carpet. Here Femail looks at the revolting reasons why you should never wear your shoes at home, and they're enough to make your toes curl. Gross: There are a number of revolting reasons why you should never wear your shoes inside Leave them at the door: Shoes can bring dangerous bacteria in to the house, such as E. coli, which can give you diarrhoea, intestinal infections and even meningitis E. COLI If you're still not convinced you should take your shoes off, consider this. 'We walk through things like bird droppings, dog waste and germs on public restroom floors, all of which are sources for E coli,' University of Arizona microbiologist and professor Kelly Reynolds told The Huffington Post. 'The unique thing about the shoe environment is that other things you walk on like leaves and debris, can serve as food for the bacteria and help them grow.' E. coli can lead to diarrhoea, intestinal infections and even meningitis, so it's not something you want to have embedded in your lounge room carpet. Not so clean: Shoes are found to have on average 421,000 different types of bacteria on them BACTERIA E. coli is just one of the thousands of bacteria present on the soles of your shoes. In fact, Kidspot reported there are on average 421,000 different types of bacteria on shoes. Coliforms, a bacteria commonly used to indicate sanitary quality of foods and water, were found on 96 per cent of shoes. Kidspot also reported transfer of this bacteria from shoes in to your home occurred at a rate of 90 to 99 per cent. Know the facts: Bacteria can be transferred from shoes to your home at a rate of between 90 and 99 per cent TOXINS Chemicals used in farming or toxins you throw on your lawn can also make their way in to the home via your shoes. The Huffington Post reported a study by Baylor University that shows people who live near asphalt roads sealed with coal tar had an increased risk of cancer from toxins as they were brought in to the home by their shoes. Rainwater can also carry toxins, such as petrol from the road. Toxic: Shoes can also trek toxins from your lawn and the road in to your house DIRT Germs aside, your shoes are just plain dirty. Wearing them inside could trek mud in to the house, meaning more cleaning for you. It's also not a great idea if you have children at home who play on the floor, and constantly put their toys or hands in their mouth. From Jessica Alba to Roxy Jacenko, celebrities and socialites alike are going crazy for Australian designer Johnny Schembri. And the latest A-lister to hop on the bandwagon is Kourtney Kardashian, who was spotted wearing a bandeau from label By Johnny while holidaying in Costa Rica. A picture of the 37-year-old shows her strike a sultry pose in the striped bralette, which ties up over her chest. It's just another win for the young designer, whose brand receives weekly requests from celebrities and has featured in magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Strike a pose: Kourtney Kardashian added to the buzz around Australian label By Johnny on Tuesday when she shared a picture of herself dressed in a striped bralette from the brand As well as the casual wear seen on Kourtney, By Johnny has dressed a number of celebrities for more formal occasions. His creations are commonly seen by the racetrack, with Laura Dundovic, Rachael Finch, Ashley Hart and Edwina Bartholomew all spotted rocking the bold designs over the past few years. The label aims to pay homage to the past by reworking traditional silhouettes to give them a modern edge. Mr Schembri told Daily Mail Australia the brand's success is attributable to its strong design focus in each season. 'My design aesthetic is bold, graphic and structured,' he said. Taking chances: Designer Johnny Schembri (pictured) says his brand creates 'statement pieces' which fit and flatter the female body 'When you pair this with delicate body contouring it produces statement pieces that fit and flatter the form. 'Each season I take into careful consideration every occasion, from formal evening events to a casual brunch with the girls, ensuring the collections have versatility and key dressing options.' Recently, Isla Fisher wore a white skirt and top set to the Los Angeles premiere of her latest movie, Keeping Up With The Joneses. In September, Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick appeared on the Graham Norton Show, and wowed the crowd in a high necked grey wool number from By Johnny. Dressed to impress! Isla Fisher wore a two-piece set designed by Johnny Schembri to the Los Angeles premiere of Keeping Up With The Joneses Keeping warm: In September, Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick wowed the crowd at the Graham Norton Show in a grey woollen number by the booming brand Glitz and glamour: Former Miss Universe Australia Laura Dundovic was an early adopter of By Johnny, turning heads in red at the Melbourne Cup in 2014 Mr Schembri says keeping in mind where and when the garment could be worn while he designs it is a crucial factor in the brand's celebrity endorsement - something he is delighted to see growing. 'I believe this mindset paired with the brands bold aesthetic is why the By Johnny brand has caught the eye of a handful of amazing personalities such as Kourtney Kardashian, Jessica Alba, Isla Fisher and Vanessa Hudgens,' he said. 'I find it extremely rewarding as a designer to see your designs come to life on such influential platforms, whether it be through movement on stage or on the red carpet - it is such an amazing feeling.' Sparkle sparkle! After a wardrobe mishap earlier in the Spring Carnival, television presenter Edwina Bartholomew turned to a fluid design from the label Up and coming: The 29-year-old began selling his designs from Paddington market before coming third on Project Runway and his label now has a huge following of celebrity fans It's a long climb from the 29-year-old's humble beginnings in 2009, selling his wares from a stall at Sydney's Paddington markets. He came third in Project Runway in 2011, and in 2014 his label was picked up by Myer, who continue to stock his designs alongside about 50 boutique stores. The Sydney-based designer's work has been widely recognised over the last eight years. In 2010 he was the Harper's Bazaar Young Designer of the Year, and since has been a finalist in the 2014 BT Emerging Designer award and was nominated two years in a row for the Australian Emerging Designer Laureate award. The Duchess of Cornwall caused canine chaos today when she brought her rescue dogs, Beth and Bluebell, along on an official engagement. The excitable Jack Russells jumped up at television star Amanda Holden and almost dragged Camilla out of an official photocall - as she was announced as the organisation's Royal Patron. But Beth managed to regain the family honour when she almost faultlessly completed a dog agility course for the first time, after which she and Bluebell were rewarded by their royal mistress with some delicious treats. It's not first time a dog has taken a liking to Amanda. Indeed, while hosting the Animal Hero Awards at Grosvenor House in London in September last year, the TV personality, renowned for her love of animals, was struck down by Baxter, a determined Labrador, who was so pleased to see the star he managed to knock her to the floor. Scroll down for video Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall (L) watches her dog Beth compete an agility course with Amanda Holden (R) and her daughter Alexa Hughes (C) during her visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Amanda Holden got the shock of her life when she was mounted by a determined Labrador while hosting the Animal Hero Awards at Grosvenor House in London in September Camilla grins as she meets Willow the Cocker Spaniel during a trip to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home at Old Windsor on Wednesday - her first visit to the centre since its opening Down boy! The Duchess makes friends with a Jack Russell as she chats to staff outside the centre in Old Windsor. She adopted her own dogs, Beth and Bluebell, from the charity Camilla was on a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's Old Windsor site on the day she was announced as the world famous rescue organisation's new Royal Patron, following the Queen's decision to step down from the role last year. In a short address Camilla said: 'I hope I will be patron of Battersea as long as I am standing. After my first visit the inevitable happened [she re-homed a dog]. 'This is my fourth visit, my first to Windsor. I want to thank the walkers, staff and volunteers who do such a wonderful job.' Vets, receptionists, kennel and chattery staff greeted her on arrival - and a well as several of the centre's animals, most of whom are looking for a new home, who formed a canine guard of honour. The news was announced by Clarence House on Twitter during Camilla's visit on Wednesday. She takes over from the Queen, who decided to step down from the role last year Stars including model David Gandy and presenter Amanda Holden (and daughter Alexa, right) were on hand to greet the royal as she arrived at a rain-soaked Windsor on Wednesday David Gandy, third left, asked Camilla how she had enjoyed her tour of the centre, to which she replied: 'These visits are rather fatal as you always want to come back with something' Making friends: Amanda greeted the Duchess warmly and told her how she had rehomed a Battersea Shih Tzu dog, Alfie, with her parents after they lost their previous dog, a Labrador The Duchess's two dogs, Beth, whom she rescued from their London headquarters in 2011, and Bluebell, who joined her in September 2012, wagged their tails with excitement at the sight of her car drawing up. 'I think they are a little jealous,' she said as stroked another gentle pooch, Daisy, who was waiting to greet her too The Old Windsor site, which has been operation since 1979, cares fro around 100 dogs and 50 cats at any one time. It has its own on-site clinic and a small team of vets and nurses. Camilla's Jack Russells jumped up at TV star Amanda, right, and almost dragged the royal out of an official photocall - as she was announced as the organisation's Patron The Duchess' visit comes as she was announced as the world famous rescue organisation's new Royal Patron, following the Queen's decision to step down from the role last year Camilla wrapped up in a grey check coat dress and a printed monochrome scarf, teaming her outfit with a pair of black suede shoes which she wore in Bath the day before Showing off: Beth almost faultlessly completed a dog agility course for the first time, after which she and Bluebell were rewarded by their royal mistress with some delicious treats Most pets find a new home after around 30 days but Mabel a two-year-old mongrel, has been there since April last year and is desperately looking for a loving new owner. First up was Willow, a four-year-old cocker spaniel who was found tied to the gates of the home in a pitiful state. Vet Paul Dobson described her as the worst case he had ever seen - she had bleeding and infected skin, hair loss, puss filled eyes and had been clearly bred from repeatedly. Thanks to Battersea's round-the-clock care she has now finally been re-homed. 'Oh your poor thing, ' said Camilla, stroking her ears, 'no sign of her puppies or papers? Look at her now, though. It just goes to show that a little bit of TLC does miracles, doesn't it?' Camilla greets a pooch before heading inside. She donned a smart black and white check coat dress, wrapping up against the winter chill with a pair of leather gloves and printed scarf The royal heads inside to meet dogs being cared for by the centre including Willow, pictured. Camilla, an avid animal lover, has made several visits to the charity over the years Camilla also recalled how one of her dogs had been brought into the Old Windsor site for treatment before it was re-homed with her. The Duchess also got to meet Brody, a hugely friendly black Labrador, who loves children but suffers from a form of arthritis, and Duke, an 18-month-old Border Collie stray called Duke. She also met with one of the feline residents, Luna, a nine-month-old cat, and was suitably impressed by her luxury bed which had Buckingham Palace written on it. Reunited with her own dogs, Camilla brought the youngest, Bluebell, in for a photocall with some of the home's celebrity supporters, supermodel David Gandy and actress and presenter Amanda Holden. Down boy! Camilla meets a Labrador named Brody during her visit as she is announced as royal patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Amanda greeted the Duchess warmly and told her how she had rehomed a Battersea Shih Tzu dog, Alfie, with her parents. The couple, who lost their previous dog, a Labrador, five years previously, had vowed never to get another pet - but she brought Alfie down as a surprise to their home in Cornwall.....and he has never left. 'How wonderful,' Camilla said. Gandy asked her how she had enjoyed her first tour of the Old Windsor centre, to which Camilla replied: 'These visits are rather fatal as you always want to come back with something.' Bluebell was then invited to join her for the photocall but got terribly overexcited by the sight of her owner - and the cameras. BATTERSEA'S NEW ROYAL PATRON Camilla during a 2012 visit to Battersea Dog and Cats Home in London The Duchess of Cornwalls relationship with Battersea stretches back to October 2010, when she visited the charitys south London centre to open its new state-of-the-art cattery in its 150th anniversary year. A huge animal-lover and supporter of rescue dogs, she chose Battersea when she re-homed two Jack Russell Terriers - Beth in August 2011 and Bluebell in September 2012. The Duchess returned to Battersea in 2012, accompanied by Beth and Bluebell, when she met the dogs in the charitys care, alongside Battersea Ambassador Paul OGrady. The Duchesss most recent visit to Batterseas London centre was in September 2016 when she opened the charitys new Veterinary Hospital and Centre of Excellence. Advertisement With her tail wagging nineteen to the dozen she sniffed David Gandy and jumped up at Amanda Holden before dragging laughing Camilla out of the shot. Outside Beth was, however, on her best behaviour as Battersea's head of dog behaviour, Ali Taylor, put the little dog through her paces on an agility course. Beth trotted through a tunnel, nipped through a slalom and even managed, with her little legs flying, to jump over a hurdle, before racing to be reunited with her 'mum'. Proud Camilla ruffled her fur delightedly before giving Beth and Bluebell some treats each after first firmly making the pups calm down with a stern 'sit' (although Bluebell did jump up on her owner's coat with some very muddy paws). Asked by Mail Online as she left whether she fancied adding to her pack with a third, Camilla laughed and said: I don't think these two would like that very much. But aren't you tempted?!' Queen Letizia showed off her signature chic style as she joined her husband King Felipe for lunch with the President and First Lady of Germany. The Spanish royals hosted Joachim Gauck, 77, and Daniela Schadt, 57, at their home in the Palace of Zarzuela, in Madrid, today. Queen Letizia, 44, looked elegant in a colour block coat with tones of grey, brown and burnt orange, which complimented Ms Schadt's own vibrant red ensemble. Warm welcome: Queen Letizia of Spain greets German First Lady Daniela Schadt in Madrid Dignified: Queen Letizia, far right, and King Felipe, second from right, welcomed Daniela Schadt and Joachim Gauck on the steps of the Palace of Zarzuela in Madrid, Spain The mother-of-two gave a warm welcome to the visiting dignitaries outside the palace, embracing the First Lady and affectionately shaking Mr Gauck's hand. The couples appeared relaxed in each other's company as they chatted briefly before posing for photos on the steps and heading inside. The palace, on the outskirts of Madrid, is the official residence of the Spanish royal couple. Relaxed: Queen Letizia, 44, looked chic in a block coloured coat in tones of grey, orange and brown as she greeted the German President, pictured, ahead of the royal lunch Close: The Spanish Queen embraced Ms Schadt before the group posed for photographs Queen Letizia wore her on-trend coat over a dark skirt and champagne-coloured silk blouse. The elegant outfit was finished off with a pair of nude court shoes. King Felipe complimented his wife's colour scheme with a pink tie, which he wore with a smart dark suite. The Spanish royals have had a busy start to the year packed with a number of public appearances. Elegant: The Queen, pictured with her husband and the visiting German dignitaries, wore her on-trend coat over a dark skirt and champagne-coloured silk blouse Earlier this week they attended a Cervantes commemoration ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid. The ceremony officially closed the celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes and was attended by more than 200 authorities and cultural personalities. The Cervantes Institute regularly meet at the palace. The Cervantes Institute, which is named after famed Don Quixote author, Miguel de Cervantes, is a worldwide non-profit organisation created by the Spanish government in 1991. She's a mother-of-three as well as the Queen of the Netherlands. And Maxima's maternal instincts were plain to see as she cuddled a young refugee during a visit to a school today. Queen Maxima, who wore a slim fitting printed dress with long sleeves, was snapped smiling and chatting with the students at IMC Weekendschool in Haarlem, where they are being taught to speak Dutch. Queen Maxima cuddles a young refugee during a visit to an Amsterdam school where the pupils are being taught the language The Dutch Queen, who wore a slim fitting printed dress with long sleeves, poses for photographs with pupils at the school in Amsterdam The Queen wore her hair loose, and added a pair of hoop earrings to her outfit for her visit to the school in Haarlem today. The pupils Maxima met are getting an introduction into Dutch society at IMC Weekendschool, as well as language lessons. The photographs showed her delight at meeting the young students, as she crouched down to talk to a young girl, sat in the midst of students for a group shot, and burst into a fit of giggles as she sat chatting with two young boys. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands meets a young girl during her visit to the IMC Weekendschool in Haarlem in Amsterdam The mother-of-three smiles as she crouches down to talk to young students at the school Today's visit comes after the Queen's trip to a wind farm in the Dutch town of Nijmegen yesterday. Maxima braved muddy conditions as she was given a tour of the farm by local dignitaries. Fortunately the 45-year-old, who was snapped picking her way through murky puddles, had dressed in shades of brown for the outing - meaning any unfortunate mud splatters would have escaped the photographers' lenses. My birthday falls in the winter and, these days, it brings with it fresh fears about old age and approaching infirmities as well as some sorrow. In particular, I miss my mum, Jena, so much. She died more than ten years ago, but I still want to pick up the phone and talk to her in Kutchi, my home language, as I did every single day when she was alive. She would moan about the bad weather she was always cold and wed talk about food and recipes, her various ailments and medicines, as well as the places we could visit and the Bollywood films she wanted me to get. Writer Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and her mother, Jena, pictured together in 2001 I would share my anxieties about the children and my work. The thing I am most proud of in my life is that I took care of her for more than 25 years. I kept the two promises I made to her: that I would never put her into a care home or let her die alone. None of it was easy. Sometimes I found it almost impossible to balance demanding work with the needs of my young daughter, my husband and my mother, who lived in a small housing association flat a mile away from us. But, without fail, I took her freshly cooked food three days a week and drove her to and from the mosque and the doctors. There were days when I lost my temper. My eyes still fill with tears when I remember the time I shouted: I am tired of you, tired of being your carer. I hope she has forgiven me those trespasses. It might have been hard, but I have never regretted the sacrifices I made for my mother. Its estimated that an extra 2.6 billion is needed by the end of the decade to avoid swingeing cuts After all, she was a woman whod taught herself English after we came to Britain in the Seventies, having fled Idi Amins Uganda, and whod worked while she brought up three children. I rationalised that I was only caring for her in old age as she nurtured me as a girl. Now, it appears official thinking matches my own. This week, health minister David Mowat said that the social care crisis was now so great, families could no longer rely on the state for the care of elderly relatives. The responsibility lay with them. I wholeheartedly agree. For, make no mistake, a crisis is what we are facing. Its estimated that an extra 2.6 billion is needed by the end of the decade to avoid swingeing cuts. But even without the cost implications, the way the elderly are so often treated parked in hugely expensive, impersonal homes where some are maltreated and even abused is one of the great scandals of our age. Yet, if people believe things are bad now, I have good reason to think they will only get worse. Its the younger generation the millennials who are sometimes referred to as the me me me generation that David Mowat needs to target. What do I mean? In our modern society, people seek personal gratification. Duty to parents is an extinct concept. I have never forgotten a discussion I had with some schoolkids about obligations to parents and grandparents. They had no idea what it meant. One young lad said: I didnt ask to be born. My mum and dad decided. So its not my problem when they get old. Its my life. This week, health minister David Mowat said that the social care crisis was now so great, families could no longer rely on the state for the care of elderly relatives A young girl cheerfully added that she would stick her mum in a home because she didnt like her. Others reflected views like them. As for my own children (I also have a son), I dont expect them to understand the mutual sense of dependence I grew up with. I dont expect they will want to care for me when I am old. It makes me sad, but how can I expect them to feel differently, given the culture they have grown up in? A few years ago, it would have been different for Asian families. Ours is a reciprocal culture: our parents gave us life and raised us so, in return, we are expected to do our best for them when they need it. A few years back, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and then Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes publicly extolled this approach among British Asians and suggested it should be a model Western societies learn from. But, sadly, family attitudes even in Asian communities are now changing. As more self-centred Western values spread and lifestyles change, some of our most precious traits are disappearing. Many of the young in our communities feel they have their own lives to live, and think their parents are always trying to make them feel guilty in order to squeeze a lifelong commitment of care from them. True, the appalling expense of care homes costs have risen by a quarter in the past year, according to some surveys, and 1,000 a week for basic care is commonplace mean a few more keep their parents at home. But still, the view that people should routinely look after their elderly parents isnt a popular one. On one carers website, a contributor attacked politicians who suggest that families should take care of their elders: I want to yell, you do that yourself damn Mr Minister and see how long you last. As I have said, looking after an elderly parent can be trying and exhausting. Its especially hard today when people with jobs have to work very long hours and, unlike childcare, taking time out for parental care is not yet part of company employment policies. In most families, adults have to work and so cant look after their own parents, at least during the daytime. But these negative attitudes will have to be challenged, because our population is ageing and the welfare state is shrinking. By 2034, 23 per cent of the population will be over 65. Three million will be over 80 years old, many with complex physical ailments and emotional needs. Its time for a reality check and honest reflection. Elderly men and women with multiple health problems have to go into institutions for their own safety. But thousands are, frankly, being outsourced by their loved ones. Some of these homes are happy places, but many are simply holding warehouses for those waiting to die. Costs have risen by a quarter in the past year, according to some surveys, and 1,000 a week for basic care is commonplace With budgets being slashed, workers can only do the bare minimum. Some dont bother to feed the residents, others have no time to make sure food often of appalling quality is eaten at all. By contrast, the local council sent carers to bathe my mum, do her shopping and make sure she ate on those days I couldnt go over there. But those services are no longer available, except for the most helpless. Worst of all is the loneliness of old age. Most elderly folk crave company and contact with their families. Of course, some people do sacrifice their time and peace and privacy to care for a parent at home something that is all the more challenging if the house guest is an in-law. Twelve per cent of the old and ill are living with one or more family members the stoics who are unseen and unrewarded. Most of them are women daughters, daughters-in-law and younger sisters. As ever, the blokes manage to slip away from the worst of these arduous duties. In my case, my brother moved to South Africa in the Nineties and my sister is severely mentally ill, so I had to take responsibility for Mum. But there are many like Ellie, for example, a woman I met recently who was a nurse in a big London hospital. Her father died, her brother moved to Manchester and, with them gone, her mother lost the will to live. She stopped eating or moving, sat still like a zombie. Ellie decided to quit her job and move in with her. That was five years ago. Her mum is happier, but the money her dad left is running out and Ellie is getting worried and depressed. This is deeply unfair. More importantly, it is extremely unwise. Our state is now spending billions on social care and it isnt enough. Hard-pressed NHS hospitals are full of elderly people who cannot be discharged because local authorities are short of facilities or accommodation for them. Imagine how that feels. Imagine if it was you wasting away on a hospital bed. The answer is for the Government and society to embrace looking after the elderly within the family. We should offer proper financial incentives to relatives who want to take care of their old, but cant afford to. The carers could get tax breaks or proper benefits. Councils could occasionally send in social workers to make sure the elderly are safe and happy. This would be money really well spent. For if we fail to look after the old, we can no longer call ourselves civilised or even human. My mind whirred with fear, as I lay awake, rigid with anxiety. It was 2am. But there was no hope of sleep for me. What had I done to my poor baby? How could I live with myself? You might wonder what my heinous crime was. Well, Id been sprinkling flaxseed on my then 11-month-olds porridge for months. A source of omega-3, I was congratulating myself on aiding his brains development, having read up in Annabel Karmel, the baby nutrition author, on the importance of essential fatty acids. Then, late one night, I read the tiny print on the packet: Not Suitable For Infants. Frantic, I Googled dangers of flaxseed and flaxseed toxic for babies. Personally, I find parenting guides the most pernicious, as the gurus write with such conviction Within minutes, I was convinced I had caused an intestinal blockage in my sons delicate digestive system. What sort of mother was I? At 6.50am, I phoned a paediatrician friend, my own guts in guilty knots. I think I may have blocked his intestines with flaxseed, I gabbled. He seems fine, but Ive been feeding him it for ages and now Im terrified Ive damaged him. She had just returned from treating Ebola in Sierra Leone, and burst out laughing at my First World Parent Problem. Im sure its fine, she said, once she could get a word in. Throw away the flaxseed and maybe stick to Weetabix. Im fully aware of how silly this story makes me sound: the neurotic mummy of an emperor child. It will come as no surprise that my son, now three, was my first baby. This was a classic case of helicopter parenting the nickname for those mothers who, like me, are unable to let go, always hovering just in case. But whats making so many of us modern parents so fretful? There can be no doubt the parenting industry the countless manuals and guides, the mummy blogs and websites is partly to blame. Mothers are bombarded with more goals, checklists, tips and paranoia than ever before. The stakes for getting it right seem higher than ever. Personally, I find parenting guides the most pernicious, as the gurus write with such conviction. My husband even refers to my Parenting Guide Face the sad, self-doubting expression of the woman who has just read Gina Ford or Penelope Leach and feels inadequate. MADDEST MUMMY WORRIES We have a bubble gun at home, which I insisted my husband call a bubble hairdryer, so as not to promote violence. He refuses, and even said hed rather his sons got into guns than hairdryers. Im now afraid I have a homophobic husband, and my babies will later get into a gang. I have just made a roux for my toddler, a requirement of Annabel Karmels Mini Fish Pies. I wouldnt dream of making a roux for my husband. What does this say about the state of our marriage? If I use self-tan while pregnant, will it leach into my womb and turn the foetus orange causing a misdiagnosis of jaundice? Suppose I leave just my bump white? My son is about to start big school. He will be taking the train alone for the first time and, since he is very slim, Im terrified that he will fall down the gap between the train and the platform. I suggested he go to a different school, near a station with a smaller gap, but my husband wont agree as it got a lower Ofsted rating. Advertisement There have been many bonkers things I have read in such guides, yet cant quite forget. One piece of advice that still haunts me was never to look disgusted by a dirty nappy, lest you instil a shame complex in your child. Another filled a page with a table of more messy and less messy food options. But did I really need a book to tell me to slice, not grate, my childrens cheese? But worst of all is to read two parenting guides simultaneously, as they invariably contradict each other. For example, Queen of Routine Ford will tell you that babies thrive on consistency, which sounds very plausible until you read Earth Mother Leach imploring you to be led by your baby (anything but consistent). Today, I once again find myself with a stack of baby books on my bedside table. For, six months ago, I gave birth to my second son. And this time, well-meaning friends have been lending me bibles aimed at second-time mothers: The Second Baby Survival Guide and Coping With Two (why must these books make it sound so joyless?). So why do we fall for these manuals? Why do we trust an industry that exploits our new mother vulnerability? Online parenting blogs such as Mumsnet, which supposedly offer real, sisterly advice, arent much better. Im always left wide-eyed at how mothers insult and condemn each other with abandon behind their chirpy screen names. That said, its often cheering to stumble on others fears that make yours seem comparatively sane although I did once waste 20 minutes reading a thread debating whether Peppa Pig was morally corruptive. Another reason we succumb to these parenting manuals is that we typically have less contact with extended family than previous generations. For many women, their own baby is the first newborn theyve touched. No wonder todays baby novices obsess over the tiny things they can control (is the pram suit too hot? Are blueberries a superfood, or a choking hazard?). And of course, going back to work after having children leaves the door wide open for maternal guilt. My own working-mother low point was when I discovered my sons new nanny had taken him to the library, instead of a Spanish singing class (dont judge me, I know just how absurd this sounds). I wasnt meaning to spy on her. But, as a writer, I often work in the local library and, on that day, I was surprised to see my sons buggy parked on the childrens floor. I wound myself into a frenzy, wondering why his nanny had changed my very detailed, prescribed itinerary. What else was she hiding? Should I confront her, or wait until she got home and see if she confessed or lied? I sat stewing, unable to work, like a jealous wife plotting to catch out her spouse. Eventually I called my own ever-patient husband, who was non-plussed. The singing class was probably off, he said. Its great she took him to the library. Yes, but she should have told me, I whined. I need to know where he is. Deep down, I knew that I was just guilty about leaving him with someone else. And my desire to control every second of my childs life. Mothers are bombarded with more goals, checklists, tips and paranoia than ever before (Stock image) Sometimes, following the advice in parenting guides actually caused me new problems. I remember the time I hung a tiny wooden aeroplane over my sons changing mat, as instructed by Brilliantly Bright Baby, so hed have something stimulating to look at. Inevitably, it then fell on his face. I spent the next hour dropping it onto my own face from the same height to determine how much pain Id caused, crazed with guilt that I couldnt recreate the shock hed experienced. Should I take him to A&E for peace of mind? I rang a doctor friend first (not the flaxseed one all worried mothers have a revolving crew of medics to call). This friend was brisker. Babies are very rubbery, she said. While Id like to say Im more zen about my second son, Im not much calmer. My speciality is wrecking perfectly good naps by diving into his buggy to check for a pulse every time he sleeps longer than expected. The upside to all this madness is that it inspired my book, Worry With Mother, a collection of ridiculous mother worries like my own. I didnt want to limit it to new mothers, so I spoke to women with children of all ages. There was the woman who was keen to try free-range parenting, jargon for giving children more independence than most modern parents, such as walking to school alone. However, she wanted to tag her son electronically first, so she knew where he was at all times. My library panic didnt seem so extreme in comparison. Speaking to mothers from previous generations, I found the only ones lucky enough to have brought up their children in a carefree, benignly neglectful way, were now in their 70s and 80s. They were spared the nightmare of the parenting industry and the rabbit hole of Google. So, what have I learned? You cant win. Your approach will always be wrong in someones eyes. And the best therapy for those scarred by parenting manuals is to voice your most ridiculous worries ideally to a fellow mother and laugh. After all, you cant be scared of something you find funny, and the joy of first world parent problems is that theyre always laughable. On that note, is it true that rice cakes may contain arsenic? Help! Life has an unerring capacity to surprise us and the end of my marriage was one of those unforeseeable shocks. After eight blissful years it seemed to me at least that our relationship was unassailable. We had achieved that happy state of companionability that comes from being completely at ease with each other. Blessed with a country home in Wales and a house in Central London, we enjoyed all that these contrasting worlds had to offer. Whether we were tramping over mountains in our hiking boots, cuddled up on the sofa in front of a roaring fire watching a TV box set or out at a smart Kensington restaurant I felt equally content. TV weathergirl Sian Lloyd is single at 58 and searching for love - and she reveals she's not afraid to date younger men So when two years ago my husband, motor racing entrepreneur Jonathan Ashman walked out on our marriage without notice or explanation I was, for the first time in my life, utterly heartbroken. To this day I still dont really know why he left because Id assumed he shared my happiness. Wise friends have since remarked that its easier to leave a marriage when youve been divorced before, and as I was Jonathans third wife I can only assume that he did not feel he was making an irrevocable vow when, in 2007, he promised to stay with me until death parted us. He, however, was my only husband and Id intended our commitment to be a lifelong one, which is why I felt so bruised and miserable after his desertion. I thought he was my rock, but I discovered, although he wasnt unfaithful, Jonathan was guilty of deceiving me. Today Im 58 and single. And Im far from exceptional. In fact Im among an increasing number of silver divorcees who are bucking a national trend: while separations among younger couples are steadily falling, the over-55s is the only age group in which divorce rates continue to rise. So more and more older singletons are dating again. Two years ago Sian Lloyd's husband Jonathan Ashman walked out on their marriage Its the first time in 40 years Ive been on my own for any length of time, and until now Ive been too raw to contemplate another relationship. Well-meaning friends have enticed me out to dinners where eligible single men have clearly been invited for my benefit. But I havent been interested. Ive even been out on a few dates but Ive known the time wasnt right. Now, however, after two years alone, I feel Im ready to dip my toe into the dating pool again. The truth is, although Ive got a wide circle of good and loyal friends, I dont relish being single for ever. As a TV presenter and meteorologist Im the UKs longest-serving weathergirl, having appeared on television for 24 years between 1990 and 2014 I have a busy social life. But Ive got couple envy. I see a smiling woman on the arm of a handsome man, strolling through the park, and I think: why cant that be me? Its the small, everyday acts of thoughtfulness and love, that make us all feel valued, I long for. What I miss most are Jonathans affectionate texts; his arms enfolding me on the sofa; sharing the days news with him, and planning and cooking the evening meal knowing hell enjoy it with me. Since I was 18, Ive always had a long-term partner. I met Jonathan in 2007 at the then Welsh Secretary Peter Hains St Davids Day party. Ten months later in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Jonathan proposed and our wedding, at Portmeirion Hotel, North Wales, was a happy but low key affair. We shared the celebrations with just seven friends. Before Jonathan, Id been engaged to Lembit Opik, then Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, who was practically my neighbour in my native Wales. I learned from that relationship to dodge men who are more interested in rowdy, drunken nights out with their mates than spending time with their partners. After Lembit and I split up, he began a relationship with 24-year-old Gabriela Irimia, one half of Romanian pop duo the Cheeky Girls. Before Jonathan, she'd been engaged to Lembit Opik, then Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire When I look back it was my first serious boyfriend, Mark Cavendish, who was an irreproachable gentleman. I met Mark when we were both 18-year-old undergraduates at Cardiff University he lived in the accommodation block just below mine and we were together for 18 years. Mark is related to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, whose family seat is Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, but it wasnt his illustrious heritage that impressed me. He was, and still is, a fabulous person: reliable, genuine and kind. Now Im starting my mid-life search to find the perfect partner. And having learned from my mistakes I have wisdom and experience to share. Im old enough to know the character traits I value most in a man, the habits I deplore and the opening gambits that would make me squirm. These days internet dating is almost de rigeur, but how anyone can chose a partner on the basis of a box-ticking algorithm beats me. And its impossible to tell from one, often overly flattering, photograph if youll have that spark of chemistry essential to ignite a relationship. That said, lots of women choose the online dating route, but I urge caution and common sense. Im amazed at how many invite strangers to their homes on the first date. Meet in the daytime for a coffee never a meal because you could be stuck for an entire evening with a man who bores you to distraction. Choose a bustling venue. One friend meets internet dates at the National Theatre coffee shop in London and sometimes sees several during the course of an afternoon. Shes acquired quite a caffeine addiction! What many of us would prefer is to go back to basics and enlist the help of a matchmaker, which is why the launch of a mid-life dating column where two singletons of a certain age are sent off on a blind date is such an inspired idea. When you are picking yourself up from heartache or nervous about dating after years spent in coupledom, just getting back out there helps, and who knows, love may bloom where you least expect it. You certainly have a better chance if you can sit across a table from someone and chat. It beats sending endless emails. At our age, we havent got time to waste, so dont linger if you know the signs are unfavourable. Always give a polite but unequivocal rebuff. Lovely to meet you, but I dont think it will work out, is far kinder in the long run than fudging the issue. Ive never judged a man by his looks: wit, intelligence and humour are far more attractive than a gym-honed body and few men of my age are Adonises. But my circle of fiftysomething female friends look good for our age. We keep fit, eat sensibly and have an armoury of beauty products so often much younger men invite us out. Ive no hard-and-fast rules about age after all, Lembit was seven years younger than me but if a man doesnt understand your cultural references Id avoid him. A friend dated a young man who had no idea what she was talking about when she mentioned the film, The Graduate. By the time shed explained that it featured a 21-year old who is seduced by an older woman shed realised the relationship was untenable. Mid-lifers have a different set of criteria when seeking a new partner. They are often solvent women with their own homes who are not looking for a mate to build a home and family. Ive never wanted children, and as a resourceful, independent career woman, Ive no intention of becoming a parent now either to a needy youth seeking a sugar mummy, or to a man approaching his dotage looking for someone to warm his Horlicks. Neither do I expect to be cast as an amateur psychologist when I go on a date. Its a sure sign that a man is not over his ex, or ready to start a new relationship, if he bangs on incessantly about how dreadful his divorce was and how abysmally his wife treated him. And while sympathetic, I wouldnt want to be counselling a hapless widower in mourning. A sense of adventure is a prerequisite in any man Id hope to build a future with A sense of adventure is a prerequisite in any man Id hope to build a future with: I want to be with a partner who is gearing up for the next challenge, not sliding into sedentary retirement. And if youre also keen to side-step sluggards, join a walking club, book a singles holiday or cultural tour. Experience has also taught me to shun men who suffer from amnesia when it comes to their wallets. However, if I was going out for my first meal with a date Id expect to go Dutch. Im ultra-wary, too, of duplicity, and if a date is jumpy or constantly checking his phone Id view it as cause for suspicion. Ive also learned to be equally circumspect about drinkers. Id advise women, too, to be careful not to indulge too freely; especially on a first date. Being drunk lowers your guard, renders you vulnerable and is undignified. The fact that we mid-lifers are not as hormone-driven as we were in our 20s can be a bonus. The urge to fall into bed is not as likely to cloud our judgment. I dont think there should be any etiquette for when it is right to sleep with your date. Clearly some women have rules: never on the first date; wait for the second or a month. My method is simple: wait until it feels right. Many of us covet a man with style and sophistication, but we shouldnt be swayed by appearances. When I first met Lembit he had a penchant for polyester suits, which I found quite endearing. It became my mission to smarten him up. Some sartorial preferences are, however, beyond the pale. Id always run a mile from a man in pointy shoes because, for me, they signal vanity. Be as wary of smarm as you would be of insults masquerading as jokes. Intelligence is a prerequisite, and Im a stickler for correct grammar, even in a text! I enjoy receiving them although not sexting and a witty message from a lover is a sweet flirtation. But if I could choose one quality in a partner above all others it would be kindness. A man who is kind will, by implication, also be honest, generous and thoughtful and isnt that what we all want? Health tourism is draining the NHS of hundreds of millions of pounds a year because of 'chaotic' billing. Hospitals fail to identify overseas patients or never send them bills, MPs warn in a report today. GPs were also found to be doing too little to flag up those who should be charged for care. Complications: Priscilla, shown in a BBC film, is unable to afford her bill after she had quadruplets on the NHS A woman from the Philippines, pictured, known only as Sonia, had a heart operation after falling ill visiting her sister in the UK The Commons public accounts committee accuses successive governments of failing to tackle the issue. Ministers were first warned to impose charges 30 years ago. Whitehall research puts the cost to taxpayers of health tourism at anywhere between 200million and 2billion a year. Today's scathing report says: Britain is among the worst countries in Europe at extracting payments from foreign patients; Four in five hospitals do not expect to start recouping more money; The Government should draw up an action plan by June; Hospitals could be given extra cash for issuing more invoices. Meg Hillier, the Labour chairman of the accounts committee, said: 'The Government's failure to get a grip on recovering the costs of treating overseas visitors is depriving the NHS of vital funds. 'Our committee has reported extensively on the financial pressures facing the Health Service and it is simply unacceptable that so much money owed should continue to go uncollected. 'This is a problem for the Health Service as a whole and work to put it right must be driven by central government. 'We are concerned that financial progress to date does not reflect meaningful progress with implementing the rules and the Department of Health and NHS have much to do if they are to meet their target for cost recovery.' The report warns the Government will fall well short of its target of collecting 500million a year from overseas patients by 2017/18. A Palestinian man who had an operation to remove kidney stones and then discharged himself early Figures for 2015/16 show hospitals only managed to invoice patients for 289million and much of this was never repaid. 'The systems for cost recovery appear chaotic,' the report adds. The extent of the problem will be exposed in a hard-hitting BBC2 documentary tonight. It will highlight the case of a Nigerian woman who recently had quads in an NHS hospital. Imperial College Healthcare in West London is now chasing a bill of more than 500,000. The mother had wanted to have the delivery in the US but was refused entry and went into labour shortly after landing at Heathrow in November. The babies were three months premature and two died. The remaining two are still being treated in intensive care. Hospital staff are also trying to recover 59,000 from a Filipina who had major heart surgery in November, who has since flown home. One manager says patients including failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants 'disappear into the community' before they can be charged. Imperial spends about 4million a year on overseas patients and recovers only a third of the costs. The show highlights the case of a Nigerian woman who recently had quads in an NHS hospital The committee also highlights how the NHS is particularly bad at recovering costs from European patients. Under EU arrangements, the Government is allowed to reclaim the bills from member states for every patient treated on the NHS. In return, ministers must pay that relevant member state whenever a UK citizen receives treatment in their healthcare system. But figures for 2014/15 show that the Government recovered only 49million yet paid out 675million. This included 4.5million paid to Poland while just 1.5million was clawed back for treating Polish patients on the NHS. The report also highlights a survey of 50 hospital trusts by the National Audit Office last year showing that only 11 expected to increase income from overseas patients. The NHS has been obliged to collect money from foreign patients since 1982 when charging regulations were first introduced. These state that only patients who are 'ordinarily resident' in the UK and have lived here for at least six months are eligible for free treatment, operations and scans. This excludes GP and A&E services which are currently free for all. But today's report highlights how successive governments have done 'very little' for most of the subsequent 30 years. MPs also urged GPs to flag up health tourists when they refer them to hospitals, particularly those from the EU. But this suggestion was firmly rejected by Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, who is chairman of the Royal College of GPs. One of Priscilla's babies, Elizah. The birth is part of the new BBC programme Hospital 'We must stop perpetuating this idea that general practice should, in whatever way, assist with border control,' she said. 'Patients share information with their GP on the mutual understanding that it will remain confidential.' A Department of Health spokesman said: 'This Government was the first to put measures in place to make sure the NHS recoups money from people who are not eligible for free care. 'Some hospitals are already doing great work and the amount of income identified has more than trebled in three years, to 289million. However, there is more to be done to make sure that if people are not eligible for free care, they pay for it.' The shocking failure on health tourism comes at a time when both the health service and England's social care system are dangerously underfunded. The 200million shortfall the lower end of the estimated scale for uncollected cash would fund care home places for 5,298 people based on an average cost of 37,752 per year. The crisis in social care is partly blamed for elderly patients being stranded in hospitals Invisible particles in the air we breathe may elevate the risk of dementia by 92 per cent, experts have warned. Toxic fumes from cars and power plants are infiltrating brain cells, causing them to swell in response. This leaves the brain at risk of succumbing to the devastating condition, according to a new study. Experts believe that dangerous levels of pollution in cities could actually be responsible for a fifth of global dementia cases. And scientists also discovered the risk was greater for women - especially if they possess a well-known 'dementia gene'. Toxic fumes from cars and power plants are infiltrating brain cells and increasing the risk of dementia, experts have warned Researchers from the University of Southern California analysed data of 3,647 women between 65 to 79 who didn't have dementia. 'Microscopic particles generated by fossil fuels get into our body directly through the nose into the brain,' said study co-author Professor Caleb Finch. 'Cells in the brain treat these particles as invaders and react with inflammatory responses, which over the course of time, appear to exacerbate and promote Alzheimer's disease. 'Although the link between air pollution and Alzheimer's disease is a new scientific frontier, we now have evidence that air pollution, like tobacco, is dangerous to the aging brain.' The study, which was published in the Translational Psychiatry journal, is the first of its kind conducted in the US. It noted that women who live in heavily polluted areas - such as near main roads or busy city centres are 81 per cent more at risk for cognitive decline. Theory: According to the data, pollution could be responsible for a fifth of dementia cases While they are also 92 per cent more likely to develop dementia if they are exposed to levels deemed unsafe by health officials. And it also found that women with the APOE4 gene - a variation that increases the risk of Alzheimer's - were most at risk. AIR POLLUTION CRISIS Air pollution which plagues the UK threatens the human rights of children, a United Nations expert has warned. There is an urgent need for the Government to protect children and other at-risk groups from the air pollution 'crisis' which causes serious health problems, special rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak said. The Government has repeatedly been taken to court over its failure to meet EU standards on air pollution and has admitted it might not meet the rules in London and some other cities until 2025. Advertisement Worldwide, nearly 48 million people suffer from dementia, and there are 7.7 million new cases every year, according to the World Health Organization. Earlier this year, scientists in Canada found that living close to a busy road increases the risk of Alzheimer's by up to 12 per cent. They tracked the progress of six million adults for 11 years found a clear trend with dementia incidence rising the nearer people lived to main roads. Compared with those whose homes were more than 300 metres away, people living within 50 metres of heavy traffic had a 7 per cent higher risk of developing dementia. While Danish researchers earlier this year found expectant mothers living close to busy roads are at greater risk of serious complications in pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia a condition suffered by 42,000 pregnant women in Britain each year is made more likely by noise and pollution from roads. Smoking electronic cigarettes does increase your risk of heart disease, a new study claims. Scientists have found that habitual users of e-cigarettes are more likely to have increased adrenaline levels in the heart and increased oxidative stress, risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease. First marketed in the UK in 2005, and in the US one year later, e-cigarettes have gained unprecedented popularity, especially among young people, because they lack the dangerous smoke, tar, and carbon monoxide of traditional cigarettes. But research has shown the products could be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than smoking tobacco. Smoking e-cigarettes can increase your risk of heart disease, a new study from UCLA claims About nine million Americans and 2.6 million Brits smoke e-cigarettes or similar vape products on a regular basis, but not a great deal has been studied regarding their cardiovascular risks. Experts know that the nicotine in tobacco cigarettes constricts blood vessels. E-cigarettes produce an aerosol often containing nicotine which users inhale, mimicking the feeling of smoking. But knowledge of the cumulative damage e-cigarettes cause to your heart, lungs and blood vessels is varied. The study, conducted at the University of California Los Angeles, looked at 23 habitual e-cigarette users, meaning they smoked most days for a minimum of one year, and 19 people who have never smoked traditional cigarettes or electronic one, both between the ages of 21 and 45 years old. Researchers found that the habitual e-cigarette users were more likely than the non-smokers to have increased adrenaline levels in the heart and increased oxidative stress, known mechanisms by which tobacco cigarettes increase cardiovascular risk. In people who have chronic heart failure, the body releases adrenaline to try to make the damaged heart work harder. What cardiologists had thought would protect the heart was actually found to cause further damage. THE CONTROVERSY OVER E-CIGARETTES Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are are devices, often resembling cigarettes, cigars or pipes, designed to deliver nicotine or related substances to users in the form of a vapor. E-cigarettes contain a solution thats heated up and converted to an aerosol, which is then inhaled. The most common ingredients are: Nicotine Flavorings Colorings Propylene glycol (a lab-made liquid found in foods but also used to make artificial smoke or fog for performances) Glycerin (a liquid that has a slightly sweet taste) Chemicals to heat up the liquid such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde (both possible carcinogens) Proponents have touted that e-cigarettes are healthier, safer alternatives to traditional tobacco products. Research has found that the aerosol from e-cigarettes was significantly lower in toxins than from conventional cigarettes, although toxins could be detected. Additionally, those exposed secondhand were also at much lower risk from e-cigarettes than from traditional ones, though some risk might still exist. A January 2015 found that the cancer risk from e-cigarettes long term is estimated to be five to 15 times higher than that of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, due to the toxic substance formaldehyde in the vapor. Advertisement Oxidative stress, an imbalance between the production of free radicals (unstable molecules) and the ability of the body to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects through neutralization by antioxidants. Traditional tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 toxic chemicals that lead to oxidative stress. The authors write that these findings have critical implications for the long-term cardiac risks associated with habitual e-cigarette use. They wrote: 'Nicotine, which is the major bioactive ingredient in e-cigarette aerosol, with its metabolites, may harbor unrecognized, sustained adverse physiologic effects that lead to an increased cardiovascular risk profile in habitual e-cigarette users.' The authors have have strongly suggested a reexamination of aerosolized nicotine and its metabolites. A recent study from the University of California San Francisco, found the number of schoolchildren who were smoking both cigarettes and e-cigarettes rose between 2011 and 2014. The figure rose to 12.2 percent from 11.4 percent, suggesting that the trendy devices are a gateway to a long-term harmful habit. Since October 2015 in the UK and August 2016 in the US, it has been illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, but the wide range of flavors, such as bubblegum and blueberry, can make the device very appealing to young people. However, this is not the first study to question whether e-cigarettes are actually better than traditional cigarettes. A January 2015 study found that the lifetime cancer risk of using e-cigarettes long term is estimated to be five to 15 times higher than that of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, due to the toxic substance formaldehyde in the e-cigarette vapor. The connections between smoking and heart disease and stroke in particular are well-established, but turning to e-cigarettes for a nicotine fix may not erase your heart-health risks. Christopher Allen, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: Quitting smoking is the single most important step you can make to improve your heart health as smoking causes severe damage to all parts of the body and dramatically increases your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. While e-cigarettes have become a popular quit smoking aid, they are unregulated and contain varying amounts of nicotine and other chemical substances. Over time this can be harmful and this research highlights what some of those future risks may be. In the short term, using e-cigarettes may be useful as a stepping stone to quitting smoking, but the ultimate goal is to stop using e-cigarettes too.' A spokesman from the UK Vaping Industry Association argued that the study brushed over the benefits e-cigarettes can have on quitting smoking. He said: Vaping products have in recent years emerged as a hugely popular alternative for smokers. Public Health England have found that vaping is 95 percent less harmful to your health than smoking. This study, and many like it, does not directly compare vapers and smokers; and doesnt address the huge potential vaping has for the health of current smokers. Studies like this one merely show that vaping could have a similar effect on the heart to that of, for example, drinking a cup of coffee or watching a scary film. Guidelines defining what the healthy birth weight of a child born in Britain is are inaccurate, experts have warned. When a baby is deemed too small or too large by doctors, they intervene by performing a Caesarean section to maximise their chances of survival. But new research suggests that lives are unnecessarily being lost due to the healthy size bracket being too narrow. Experts now warn that the current guidelines should be reevaluated to account for children not deemed a risk at present. What is currently considered to be a healthy guideline size for babies needs to be reviewed, according to a new study If babies are predicted to weigh in the lightest 10 per cent or the heaviest 10 per cent they are considered at risk of adverse outcomes. But University of Glasgow researchers found the bracket should actually be extended after assessing nearly one million pregnancies over 19 years. They analysed the associations of birth weights with stillbirths, infant mortality rates and admissions to neonatal units. Their study found that those weighing in the 25 per cent lowest weights were actually at an increased risk of adverse outcomes. While those born weighing more than 85 per cent of newborns also suffer the same risks, according to the study published in PLOS Medicine. Closer surveillance, or earlier delivery, of babies with these predicted birth weights may reduce these adverse outcomes. When a baby is deemed too small or too large by doctors, they intervene by performing a Caesarean section (stock) Study author Dr Stamatina Iliodromiti said: 'We looked at almost a million births and found the bands are too narrow. WHAT TO EAT TO AVOID A MISCARRIAGE Eating nuts, kale and avocado could help protect women from suffering a miscarriage, research has suggested. Being deficient in vitamin E starves an embryo of vital energy and nutrients it needs to grow, scientists found. This can cause severe neurological damage - ultimately leading to the loss of a pregnancy, Oregon State University researchers claim. Advertisement 'By widening them we may be able to address some of Britain's poor record with stillbirths. 'We provide convincing evidence that how we define whether a baby is too small or too large needs to be revisited. 'We anticipate that by redefining this, we can continue to reduce stillbirths.' Research last year found that Britain ranked 21st out of 35 A study last year ranked Britain 21st out of 35 of the world's developed nations for stillbirth rates. While many nations have cut their rates, Britain is lagging behind, according to research. In a league table of progress on the issue, it placed 114th out of 164 countries for improvements over the past 15 years. Chad and Stacey Baker went through a monumental struggle to have children. Over the course of eight years, the couple from Des Moines, Iowa, suffered through six miscarriages and two bouts of cancer that nearly killed Chad. But now, thanks to grueling chemotherapy and gestational surrogacy, Chad is in remission - and they are the parents of two kids: Gavin, two, and Hadley, four months. Neither birth would have been possible without the selfless acts of two separate surrogate mothers. Happy family: Stacey and Chad Baker, from Des Moines, Iowa, were able to fulfill their dream of having their children, Gavin, 2, and Hadley, 4 months, thanks to two surrogate mothers Difficulty: The couple struggled for many years to conceive. Over the course of eight years, they suffered six miscarriages and two bouts of testicular cancer that nearly killed Chad The Bakers were married in 2004 and suffered their first miscarriage in 2007, but their doctor reassured them that they were not alone. Between 10 and 25 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage - and as many as 80 percent happen in the first 12 weeks. By 2010 the couple had not only suffered their third miscarriage, but Chad's two rounds of testicular cancer threatened not only his ability to father children but also his very life. Stacey told THV11: 'There was a lot of depression. All that was going on in our life was cancer and infertility for years.' When 2013 came, Stacey and Chad officially decided to end all attempts at having children. Around this time, they hired Summer Marnin, a single mother raising two daughters, to dog-sit their black Labrador, Daisy. Touched by the Bakers' trying story, Marnin texted Stacey one day asking: 'How old is too old to be a surrogate?' Soon afterwards, Marnin became the Bakers' gestational carrier. Unlike a traditional surrogate where the carrier's own egg is part of the pregnancy and the child is genetically hers, a gestational carrier is implanted with another's egg. Hope: The couple's dog-sitter, Summer Marnin, offered to be a gestational carrier for their first child. Gestational carriers, unlike traditional surrogates, do not use their own eggs and are therefore not biologically-related to the child Lucky: Chad and Stacey had frozen three embryos, but only two had been used the first time. They decided to try for a second child and, after Marnin declined, family friend Tiffany Kiernan offered to be their second surrogate The Bakers froze three embryos for the process. When Marnin went in for her in vitro fertilization, she decided to be implanted with two embryos rather than one. She became pregnant with twins - a boy and a girl. Marnin ended up miscarrying the female twin, but delivered a healthy baby boy in August 2014. 'When the doctor came in and finally did tell us that we were having a boy, there was like this 30 seconds of smiling at each other,' Stacey said. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT IN VITRO FERTILIZATION In vitro fertilization, commonly referred to as IVF, is the process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish, and then transferring the embryo to the uterus. IVF can treat fertility in the following patients: Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes Male factor infertility including low sperm count or sperm motility Women with ovulation disorders, premature ovarian failure, or uterine fibroids Women who have had their fallopian tubes removed Individuals with a genetic disorder Unexplained infertility Couples may choose to use donor eggs, sperm or embryos. The number of embryos transferred typically depends on the number of eggs collected and maternal age. Traditional surrogates: These are women who use their own eggs and are artificially inseminated by the intended father's, or donor, sperm. The surrogate is the baby's biological mother because its her egg that was fertilized. Gestational surrogates: These are women who carry a baby conceived using the eggs of the intended mother (or an egg donor) and sperm from the intended father or a sperm donor. The surrogate has no genetic connection to the baby. About 1,400 babies are born annually through gestational surrogacy. Advertisement 'But then the rest was just grief. And so what should have been the best day of our lives we had been waiting for this for eight years you know, a healthy baby boy. For eight years, we had been waiting for that. We came home, and we cried all night.' Marnin, at the time, told THV 11: 'It for sure made it all worth it when I looked over to my right and Stacey had him in the rocking chair and had her son in her arms...that was my favorite part.' While the Bakers settled in to raise their new baby, they had a burning question in the back of their minds: what to do about the third embryo they had stored. They didn't feel comfortable donating and approached Marnin to ask if she was interested in carrying their second child. She ultimately declined. A little ways down the road, Chad said he was discussing the decision he and Stacey had to make about the embryo with his stylist. The stylist ended up mentioning the situation to a friend - Tiffany Kiernan. Kiernan had told her husband after having their own two kids that, if possible, she wanted to help other couples have children. Kiernan told THV 11 she was looking for 'somebody that was going to love and appreciate their kids as much as I do. And be a good parent. I didn't want to have a baby for someone that wasn't going to give the love that I would give to my own child.' The Bakers met Kiernan and her husband for a three-and-a-half hour coffee date. They clicked. Hadley arrived three weeks ahead of schedule, weighing barely more than five pounds. At her two-week checkup, she ranked among the lowest one percent in weight. Upon hearing Hadley's first cries, Kiernan said she didn't feel any regret at giving up the baby - just fulfillment. She said: 'It made me feel like I made the right decision, that everything was meant to be, and it was perfect.' Blessing: The Bakers' daughter, Hadley, arrived three weeks early and weighed just five pounds. Photos of each surrogate hang in the bedrooms of Chad and Stacey's children Raising awareness: The couple wants to offer guidance and support for similarly struggling families, and have the same maternity leave time as birth moms granted to adoptive parents The Bakers say they've always been rather private people, but were coaxed into public view at the chance of their story offering some guidance or moral support to others struggling with infertility or cancer. Stacey, who had to use her vacation time as maternity leave, is currently pushing for adoptive and foster parents to be granted the same family leave as birth moms. But the couple says talking openly about their lives is what led them to find their surrogate mothers. Stacey said: 'We always say if we hadn't talked about it, Hadley for sure wouldn't be here. We would've never found Tiffany if we would've kept quiet.' And they're not keeping any secret from their children about how they came into this world - Marnin's photo hangs in Gavin's bedroom. Kiernan is on Hadley's wall. In a major step towards empowering women and greater gender parity, the Indian Coast Guard has become the first force to deploy female officers in combat roles on board ships patrolling the country's maritime zone near the borders with Pakistan. The four women who have been deployed in the combat role are posted at the coastal areas bordering Pakistan and Bangladesh, including Jakhau in Gujarat and Haldia in West Bengal. 'These officers have been posted on board the Air Cushion Vehicles, popularly known as hovercrafts, in the Coast Guard and have been trained to handle all types of situations including interception of suspicious activity boats like the MV Kuber, in which terrorists carried out the 26/11 terror attacks,' Coast Guard officers told Mail Today. Four women deployed on ships patrolling maritime borders with Pakistan, making history in India Most countries employ women in various roles in their armed forces but only a handful, including Australia, Germany, Israel and the United States, have allowed them to take on fighting, or combat, roles. The aim of training these women is that they should be capable of handling all missions under the Coast Guard charter including boarding suspicious vessels, chasing such boats in high seas or catching contraband smugglers there, they said. Asked about the deployment of women officers on these hovercrafts, Coast Guard director general Rajendra Singh said: 'We are intensely passionate about true inclusiveness and empowerment of lady officers. While the Coast Guard celebrates four decades, as part of our commitment, we have appointed these lady officers in combat roles.' Assistant commandants Anuradha Shukla, Sneha Kathyat, Shirin Chandran and Vasundhara Chouksey, who started training about a year ago At the hovercrafts, the female officers are deployed along with senior male officers and sailors and carry out the same tasks that the men are expected to perform. At present, a total of 18 hovercrafts serve in the Coast Guard, attached to units in Okha and Jakhua in Gujarat, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Mandapam in Tamil Nadu, and Haldia in West Bengal. The training of these women was started by the Indian Coast Guard about a year ago at its base at Mandapam with four female officers - assistant commandants Anuradha Shukla, Sneha Kathyat, Shirin Chandran and Vasundhara Chouksey. The move has been hailed a major step towards empowering women and greater gender parity These women sail on these hovercraft on both the seaboards and their tribe is set to expand in future as their training progresses. India had for many years kept women away from the frontline, citing concerns over their vulnerability if captured and their physical and mental ability to handle the stress of such deployments. The Navy, which is the biggest maritime force in the country, does not allow women to sail on board its ships. The female officers being deployed follows calls from PM Narendra Modi encouraging better gender equality in the military forces The Coast Guard started introducing women to combat roles after Prime Minister Narendra Modi - in an interaction with military commanders last year - urged them to give female officers combat roles and open more avenues for them in the services. Following this, the Air Force started inducting women in combat aircraft flying but that initiative is an experiment and the ladies have not yet joined operational squadrons. When the Coast Guard informed defence minister Manohar Parrikar about the induction of female officers in operational roles, he urged the force to look for more avenues to strengthen women officers there. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was formally established in 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978, of Parliament as an independent armed force of India. It has more than 130 female officers under its command, forming around 10 per cent of the officer cadre there. The women have also been inducted in the flying branch as they independently operate Dornier surveillance planes and Cheetah choppers in the force. A crackdown on corruption will be among the top priorities of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if it comes to power in Uttar Pradesh. In an exclusive interview with Mail Today, UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said the party will launch investigations into alleged cases of corruption against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and former CM Mayawati. 'We will institute a task force to investigate all cases and allegations of corruption in the past 15 years. If found guilty, be it Mulayam, Mayawati, Akhilesh or Shivpal, nobody will be spared for looting the state and will be thrown behind bars. The BJP will not shy away from doing it,' said Maurya. UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya promised to investigate alleged corruption The UP BJP chief also told Mail Today that those Hindu families who have been displaced from places such as Kairana in western UP will be rehabilitated in their own houses. 'We will ensure their ghar wapsi (home coming),' he said. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is among those on Keshav Prasad Maurya's 'crackdown list' The young turk is billed in many quarters of the BJP as a befitting replacement to OBC leader Kalyan Singh and a dark horse in the race for UP Chief Minister if the party grabs numbers in the upcoming polls. Commenting on Kairana, he said: 'Rehabilitating displaced people not just from Kairana, but from across the state, will be the first thing that we have on agenda. 'We will create a task force to investigate all such cases where peaceful people have been crowded out of their homes and businesses by criminal elements. We will punish those responsible for it,' he said. 'We will grab more than 300 seats, something between 330 and 350. The Congress and SP alliance and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will be reduced to not more than 50 seats,' Maurya claimed. Former CM Mayawati (left) and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav are also under Maurya's scanner 'The Akhilesh government has failed on every front. Look at the goondaraj in the state. Law and order is in tatters. Corruption is at an all-time high. 'When mafia, within and outside the government, gets protection of the state machinery, then people want change. 'Their (SP leaders) failures are a big reason for our success. The complimentary reason is that our government at the Centre has launched several extensive schemes for the poor, who do not see beyond PM Modi,' said Maurya. 'Mayawati sold poverty and grabbed votes for money. She is hungry for money and selling party tickets. This is how she runs her show. PM Modi is hungry for the welfare of the people,' he said. Talking about a communal undercurrent in western UP, Maurya said the BJP did not indulge in that brand of politics, the situation was created by the likes of SP minister Azam Khan. 'People are feeling insecure in western UP owing to lawlessness and communal riots orchestrated by senior SP minister Azam Khan. If the culprits are not punished, people certainly will not like it.' Asked if he could be the chief ministerial face of BJP, Maurya said: 'When the party decides, it will happen.' The Indira Gandhi International airport has done away with the body scanner machine installed at Terminal 3 due to its poor performance. But with no replacement at hand, security officials are back to manual scanning of passengers through metal detectors, which is not foolproof. 'We had installed a body scanner machine (Pro Vision 2) to detect concealed objects made of metallic and non-metallic materials. During the trial period, the machine did not give the desired result,' said an official of the Airports Authority of India. Many smugglers sneaked past the scanner with contraband concealed in their bodies 'It has multiple technical loopholes and hence, we decided to remove it following recommendations from CISF,' the official added. Multiple security agencies deployed at IGI observed that smuggling of gold, silver and contrabands have been on the rise since last year with passengers concealing them inside their bodies. On November 15, 2016, two drug traffickers from Afganistan were arrested from T3 after the health of one of them named Gulam Rabani deteriorated. In November, a man who swallowed 57 capsules of heroine had managed to pass through security at the airport and his plot was only foiled when he fell ill He was offloaded and admitted in AIIMS where doctors found 57 capsules of heroine concealed in his stomach. 'Rabani had managed to dodge security agencies at T3 and boarded the flight. If his health would not have deteriorated, he could have managed to smuggle top quality heroine worth Rs 2 crore out of the country. The incident was an eye opener for us,' the official said. Airport authorities had also imported a German-made body scanner machine but that too failed on technical parameters and thereby rejected by security officials. 'We need a scanning machine emitting safe radio waves and capable of detecting a broad range of targets including weapons, explosives, banned liquids, gel, powder, plastic, metals, ceramic, etc. 'Many passengers conceal these banned items and manage to pass through manual scanning,' a CISF officer said. CISF had cracked five cases at T3 last year where drug traffickers had tried to smuggle in heroine, ketamine and marijuana. India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives in Parliament House to present the Union Budget in New Delhi The 2017 Union budget will be remembered for a long time. Besides the advancement of its date from February 28 to February 1 and merging the railway budget with the general budget, the annual exercise will be registered in the annals of parliamentary history. The presentation of budget 2017 was full of suspense and melodrama. Ever since the Narendra Modi government disclosed the plan to advance its presentation till the moment finance minister Arun Jaitley finally started reading the speech in Lok Sabha, the budget witnessed a roller coaster ride. Several opposition parties, including the Congress, Left and Samajwadi Party, petitioned the Election Commission not to allow the government to present the budget before the February-March assembly elections in five states. They argued that sops could be announced in the budget that would influence voters in poll-bound states. The election watchdog examined the matter and finally came out with its decision on January 23, barely a week before the presentation of the budget. In its letter to cabinet secretary PK Sinha the same day, the commission allowed the government to go ahead with its budget presentation. Prime Minister Narendra Mod arrives to address the media on the first day of Budget session in New Delhi However, it asked the Centre not to announce any state specific schemes in the budget which may influence voters in the five states going to polls in the interest of free and fair elections and in order to maintain level playing field during elections. The second major hurdle came in the form of a litigation in the Supreme Court. Advocate ML Sharma filed a PIL in the apex court requesting it to direct the Centre to present the budget in the financial year 2017-18 instead of February 1. The PIL also based its arguments on the forthcoming assembly elections and said it would violate the Model Code of Conduct. However, the SC dismissed the petition, saying there was no illustration to support that presentation of the budget would influence voters. Meanwhile, a fire broke out on Tuesday night in a room in the Parliament House. A UPS in room number 50 caught fire. The fire service received a call around 9.30 pm and it pressed 12 fire tenders into service. It took about 15 minutes to put out the fire without any casualty or injury being reported. Had the fire spread or had it been severe, the budget presentation could have been jeopardised. However, the biggest hurdle came in the form of the death of Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala and Indian and Indian Union Muslim League president E Ahamed, in the early hours of Wednesday. To ensure the safety of women in the national Capital, the central government has increased the Nirbhaya Fund by almost 90 per cent in the Union Budget 2017-2018. In 2016-17, the Delhi Police got Rs 3.4 crore in the Nirbhaya Fund, but the allocation has been increased to Rs 28.9 crore. The Nirbhaya Fund was set up in 2013 in the aftermath of the December 16 Delhi gang-rape. The fund is named after the victim of the infamous Delhi rape and is to ensure the safety of women in the national Capital (picture for representation only) This year, Delhi Police were allocated Rs 6,378.18 crore that was earlier Rs 5,913.74 crore. The Budget allocation for Delhi Police includes Rs 5,910.28 crore for Delhi Police (maintaining and enforcing law and order in the city), Rs 439 crore for the police infrastructure (office building and residential building projects) and the remaining for the Nirbhaya Fund. The Centre has not changed the Budget allocation for the Delhi government and granted Rs 758 crore, while the share in central taxes and duties (that is Rs 325 crore) for the Capital remained unchanged despite AAP government's demand for a hike. Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said Delhi has been 'deprived' of its due share in central taxes for 17th consecutive year. 'We had requested the Government of India a number of times to enhance the allocation to at least Rs 5,000 crore as share in central taxes as against Rs 325 crore being released to NCT of Delhi,' he said. The budget for NCT of Delhi has increased from Rs 8,739 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 46,600 crore in 2016-17, whereas the share in central taxes has remained frozen at Rs 325 crore since 2001-02. Also, the government of India has not earmarked any fund to local bodies in the NCT. The normal central assistance to NCT of Delhi during 2017-18 has been proposed at Rs 412.99 crore which is at the same level of current year 2016- 17. There is no increase in the Normal Central Assistance in the year 2017-18. 'Government of NCT of Delhi has already paid about Rs 96 crore as enhanced compensation to 1984 riot victims in the current year. However, in the Union Budget, an amount of Rs 75 crore in the current year RE and Rs 15 crore in the next year BE has been proposed for reimbursement to GNCTD,' said Sisodia. An amount of Rs 5 crore as grant has been proposed for GNCTD towards Disaster Response Fund which is at the same level of Rs 5 crore in the current year. Meanwhile, Rs 17,810 crore has been allotted for the Metro projects under the ministry of urban development across the country. It includes Rs 2,700.01 crore for the equity investment, Rs 1,465.99 crore for subordinate debt, Rs 13,644 crore for Pass Through Assistance (PTA). Of Rs 17,810 crore, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will also get the allocation. Whereas, Rs 150 crore has been granted to DMRC for NCR expansion. For Phase III sanctioned fund, Rs 42,674.91 crore (including all taxes, extension in Noida, Ballabhgarh) has been given. The first combined Union and railway budget of India has strong political undercurrents. Coming in the face of Opposition apprehensions that it would be used to influence poll-bound states, especially UP and Punjab, it managed to largely address most sections of voters. Touted by the treasury benches as the 'budget for better India', it was just about what economists and political analysts had predicted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi went in for demonetisation and people were put to great discomfort in its aftermath. The Opposition has claimed that the Budget would be used to influence poll-bound states like Punjab The budget tried its best to soften the blow. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley pushed for a digital economy just as he went in for propitiating farmers and the rural sector as such. The political undertones of the budget were betrayed by an increase in allocations for SC, ST and minorities and a record allocation to MGNREGS just as tax holidays for projects under the 'Start Up India' and tax sops given to those in the lower brackets of income were intended to appeal to the youth. Receiving approval from Modi on the floor of the House as he thumped the desk several times, Jaitley went on to invoke Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda to drive home his ideas. The budget document presented its agenda as 'Transform, Energise and Clean India' - TEC India: transform the quality of governance and quality of life of our people; energise various sections of society, especially the youth and the vulnerable, and enable them to unleash their true potential; and clean the country from the evils of corruption, black money and nontransparent political funding. 'This is a Budget for the future - for farmers, underprivileged, transparency, urban rejuvenation, rural development, enterprise,' Modi said, commenting on the document presented by Jaitley. Lauding Jaitley, Modi said it will speed up development of the country, create employment opportunities and double farmers' income. 'It will bring a big change in the financial condition of villages,' the Prime Minister said. 'It also attempts to raise the income of the middle class without increase in fiscal deficit. This Budget focuses of farmers, agriculture, villages, dalits and the oppressed,' he added. 'This Budget is yet again devoted to the well-being of villages, farmers and poor,' Modi said, adding that the government's commitment towards taking the country forward is clearly visible. 'From railway modernisation to economic reforms, education to health, entrepreneurship to industry, the aim of fulfilling the dreams of all is clearly visible in the Budget,' Modi further said. He said a record allocation has been made for MNREGA as well as women's welfare. Asserting that the Budget reflects commitment to eliminate corruption and black money, Modi said it provides for a comprehensive package of digital economy that will reduce tax evasion and help control black money. However, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi slammed the Budget, saying it lacked vision and had nothing for farmers, youths and job creation. 'We were expecting fireworks; instead it was a damp squib. It is just 'sher-o shayari' in the budget. There is nothing for farmers and youth and nothing for job creation. There is no clear vision,' he said. Swaraj Abhiyan's Yogendra Yadav said: 'With a Budget like this, the BJP has shown that it is moving towards a kisan-mukt Bharat. Being the worst-hit section after demonetisation, farmers needed dire help from this Budget and the government.' 'But look how farmers get sweet talk, middle-class soft-talk, and ultimately corporate sector has the real gain. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at Parliament to present the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha The Modi government has ignored farmers when they should have been the first beneficiary,' Yadav added. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress boycotted the first two days of Budget session to protest demonetisation, claimed that the Budget has no road map and is full of hollow words. 'A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility. Tax payers still have restrictions on withdrawals. And where are the figures for #DeMonetisation?' Banerjee said in a tweet. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi too came out in support of the funding proposal Taking its anti-corruption agenda a step further, the Narendra Modi government unveiled reforms in the funding of political parties in India in the Union Budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday. While most opposition parties denounced the rest of the Budget, the move came in for acceptance, also appreciation in some instances. According to provisions made in Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's current Budget, henceforth, the political parties can receive only up to Rs 2,000 in cash donations from one person as part of a major move to clean the electoral system of black money. As of now, the limit to accept political donations was Rs 20,000 in cash. Announcing this, Jaitley said the political parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode from their donors. As an additional step, an amendment is being proposed to the Reserve Bank of India Act to enable the issuance of electoral bonds in accordance with a scheme that the government would frame in this regard, Jaitley said in the Lok Sabha. Under the scheme, a donor would be able to purchase bonds from authorised banks against cheque and digital payment only. They would be redeemable only in the designated account of a registered political party. These bonds would be redeemable within the prescribed time limit from issuance of a bond. The proposal said every political party would have to file its return within the time prescribed in accordance with the provision of the Income Tax Act. Needless to say the existing exemption to the political parties from payment of income tax would be available only subject to the fulfilment of these conditions. 'This reform would bring about greater transparency and accountability in political funding, while preventing future generation from black money,' said the FM. The FM's announcement comes close to the heels of the demand made by the Election Commission to amend laws to ban anonymous contributions of Rs 2,000 and above made to political parties. BIOCON CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, though she was disappointed with the absence of any impetus for exports, science and technology, manufacturing sector, said the push for digital payments and electoral bonds was a good step to clean up political funding. Jaitley received accolades from PM Modi as well as BJP chief Amit Shah for the bold move. While the PM referred to the provision as 'an important step to clean politics of corruption', Shah called it 'historic' and hoped that all parties would welcome it. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi too came out in support of the funding proposal. 'Whatever steps are to be taken to cleanse political funding, we will support it,' he said. 'It's very inspiring, bold steps has been announced. Particularly the political funding has been made transparent. 'People will be happy. The Congress and other leaders said this Budget is anti-poor. It means that these parties which were being run on black money, they will become extremely poor,' said Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu. It's all very well for banks, supermarkets and coffee chains to moan about the taxes they pay - but they have it easy. The real victims are your local greengrocer, baker and cornershop owner. Devastation is being heaped on communities by so-called business rates, and they can be difficult to fathom. But 'business rates' is just jargon for the council tax firms pay on their bricks and mortar to fund services, such as repairs to the road outside. The real victims: Devastation is being heaped on communities by so-called business rates Like council tax, the charges are based on property values and must be reassessed every so often. Major retailers won't be badly hit by this April's changes, as taxes will rise in some of the areas where they have outlets and fall in others. By contrast, family firms can't spread the cost. If property values have soared in their area since 2010 - when rates were last calculated - they face unaffordable hikes. Make no mistake, the Government is taxing what it can, rather than what it should, and will decimate communities in the process. Unlike income or corporation taxes, this levy bears no relation to earnings or profits. Most small retailers just about break even. Their turnover covers wages, new stock, the family car, utility bills and days out - and that's it. But, if by sheer fluke, their shop is in a village where property prices have rocketed in the past seven years, their bills could go from 300 a year to 3,000 over the next five. Where does the Government think families will get that kind of money? If they cannot dip into their own pockets, they'll just close. That'll leave our High Streets full of bookmakers, charity shops (which don't pay business rates) and big chains that employ armies of accountants to dodge as much tax as possible. John Whiting argues profits from Airbnb and eBay should be taxed We urgently need a rethink of how these taxes are calculated, before thousands of livelihoods and country towns are ruined for ever. Taxing task Did you file your tax return on time? As the deadline passed last night, accountants said thousands were being penalised for forgetting to mention old savings accounts, work health insurance and so on. Last year, 142,775 people were fined for 'careless errors' - a 66 per cent rise on the previous 12 months. But this is a problem of the Government's own making. Since the Office of Tax Simplification was formed in 2010, the length of our tax code has roughly doubled. The quango's director, John Whiting, argues our tax system must take in new money-making schemes, such as homeowners letting properties on Airbnb or trading on eBay. But his job has been made unnecessarily complicated by repeated Government tinkering with savings, such as the 1,000 tax-free allowance. In his own words, it's been like trying to paint Brighton pier as it's extended to France. He should tell Chancellor Philip Hammond it'd make all our lives easier if he just scrapped all tax on savings. And how about ditching that pointless lifetime cap on pension saving while he's at it? Gadget grief It's all change for the telly. Not what's being shown on screen, but the way we watch it. The 3D revolution is dead, with LG, Sony and Samsung ceasing production of the specialist sets. Turns out nobody wanted to wear the silly coloured glasses every time they turned on the box. You really don't say! Now Dixons has a deal where you pay a monthly fee for your TV instead of buying one. If a set breaks, the firm will repair or replace it. I'm not sure it'll catch on, but at least Dixons, the owner of PC World, is trying to listen to what shoppers actually want. The same can't be said about some of its in-store policies. I've written before about the PC World store that told me you can't try headphones before buying or return them if they sound tinny when you get them home. After writing to Sebastian James, the firm's chief executive, he sent this polite reply: 'I don't think we covered ourselves in glory in terms of the advice we gave you. We do allow customers to return unused products within a period of time, even if they are not faulty and I'm sorry you were told differently.' Great. And he says that the staff in the store that I visited are to be retrained. He did add, however, that the gadgets where the box seals are broken 'are, in many cases, worthless,' so Dixons 'needs to be stricter' than fashion retailers on returns. That is just a little bit too vague for my liking. Aid the elderly Surrey County Council's response to the care funding crisis embodies everything that is wrong with the way our elderly are looked after. Money Mail has seen documents that show officials went into the empty home of a widowed nursing home resident in her 80s to find proof she could afford care fees. The council got her permission to do this just a month before she was judged incapable of managing her affairs. It found bank statements showing 39,518 in savings and now wants to take control of her estate - she has since died - to cover the 36,333 care fees it paid. The cash-strapped councils can't afford care bills of up to 1,000 a week per person - but who can? The Government could help. How about allowing money to be taken out of pensions tax-free to pay for care? And perhaps give people a 50p top-up for every 1 put into a 'care Isa'? Everyone in Britain must share the care funding burden now - and that still has to include the state. d.hyde@dailymail.co.uk Divorce hearing: Bob Diamond's business partner, Ashish Thakkar Bob Diamond's Brylcreemed business partner, Ashish Thakkar, 35, is due in a London court next week, where his estranged wife Meera is seeking a cut of his fortune. Thakkar's lawyers claim he's worth less than 500,000. Yet he didn't demur when the Sunday Times Rich List put his fortune at 500million in 2015. Nor when he was being talked up as 'Africa's youngest billionaire' when he and Diamond floated their African venture Atlas Mara in London three years ago. It's a five-day hearing so stand by for fireworks. Morale at Deutsche Bank is rock bottom. With this year's bonus pool wiped out by a series of massive regulatory fines, it said dispirited staff were last week sulkily turning up on the trading floor after the opening bell had sounded. Most hope for a better offer elsewhere. Poor lambs. Whatever happened to the famous stiff upper lip, or 'steife oberlippe' as their employers refer to it? Hiscox chairman Rob Childs, 64, admits insurance firms and governments behave differently when a natural disaster occurs at home. He says: 'If you're in an office and can see your Rolls-Royce floating down the river, it's a different reaction from when you're just watching events happen on the news.' So true! Legendary US investor Warren Buffett reveals in a new HBO documentary that he stops in at McDonald's each morning on the way to his office. He orders either the $3.17, $2.95 or $2.61 breakfast option, depending on how prosperous he is feeling when he awakes. He pays for his food with the exact change his wife Astrid counts for him, and then consumes it at his desk with a can of coke. Buffett's net worth currently stands at 59billion. An opportunity to have lunch with the Financial Times's long-serving editor Lionel Barber fetched 2,900 in an online auction for charity Medecins Sans Frontieres yesterday. Lunch with US managing editor, Gillian Tett, was attracting bids over 3,200. An award-winning author and regular media pundit, 'Tett Offensive', 49, is a bigger draw than Barber, 61. Some think she'll have his job before long. Poor earning prospects faced by the young shouldn't be blamed on older workers who are now staying longer in the same job, the TUC says. A paper published by the trade union representative to coincide with its annual pension conference in London today, suggests that changes in the labour market are to blame for the vast swathe of 21 to 30 year olds struggling to make ends meet. It highlights that young people were hardest hit by the fallout from the financial crisis between 2008 and 2014 with real wages falling by 16 per cent for that age-group compared to 10 per cent for all workers. Poor earning prospects faced by the young shouldn't be blamed on older workers who are now staying longer in the same job, the TUC says A previous study by the Resolution Foundation think tank announced that the old were to blame for the workplace struggles encountered by the young. It suggested that because people were staying longer in jobs, there was less room in the market for the new generations to break through. Analysts said this in turn led to rising job insecurity, decreased pay and a lack of training opportunities for those aged under 30. Some experts believed over-generous pension provisions for the old also left the younger generations hard done by. However, the new TUC report contradicts this hypothesis and states that there are many variables accounting for the situation and older people shouldn't be solely held responsible. Offering a different point of view, the paper notes: 'Rather than see the debate as one which sees the relative wealth of some older people as the primary driver of young peoples poorer prospects, we believe that policymakers should focus on changes to the labour market which have had a negative impact on everyones prospects, with young people at the sharp end of these changes.' Members of the TUC are now calling on ministers to improve pension provisions across the board rather than focusing on the distribution of an inadequate pool of retirement savings between different generations. Speaking ahead of the conference at Congress House today, TUC assistant general secretary Paul Nowak said: 'Many young workers are unable to save for a pension because theyre stuck in low-paid, insecure work. 'But we are not going to fix this problem by pitting them against older people. Lets not forget that 1.5 million pensioners live in poverty and most of them are women. 'All generations deserve fair pay during their working lives and a decent standard of living in retirement. 'We must focus on the wider causes of inequality to improve pensions across the board.' Claims: Amanda Staveley is separately pursuing Barclays through the civil courts Former Barclays bosses have been hauled in again for interviews as investigators weigh up charges over an alleged 2.3billion fraud, the Mail understands. Barclays has been accused of loaning cash to Qatari investors at the height of the financial crisis, which they then used to buy shares saving it from a Government bailout as part of a 7.3billion deal. If true, the allegations would mean the bank was illegally kept afloat using its own savers' money. There are also questions over 322million in advisory fees paid to Qatar at the same time. The Serious Fraud Office has been probing the case and is expected to decide on charges by the end of March. And glamorous financier Amanda Staveley is separately pursuing the bank through the civil courts over claims her clients in Abu Dhabi were treated unfairly when they took part in the funding drive. The SFO has already interviewed a number of senior Barclays bosses, including former top investment banker Roger Jenkins and ex-chief executive John Varley. It is understood that the case was delayed while investigators tried to get their hands on 100,000 documents at the bank, which were handed over by chief executive Jes Staley. Having examined these the SFO has now re-interviewed a number of senior executives who were involved in the rescue, the Mail can reveal. It is understood the SFO is keen to progress with the case, particularly given its recently successful deferred prosecution deal over corruption at Rolls-Royce. Key evidence is believed to have been provided by Barclays' ex-financial services chairman Richard Boath, who claims he was unfairly sacked after speaking to the SFO. The rescue of Barclays was cooked up in 2008 as chaos reigned in the financial crisis. As Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds crashed into the hands of taxpayers, Barclays bosses desperately sought a way to avoid the same fate. If the Government had been forced to step in, it would have given ministers a say over the bonuses paid to senior executives and the way the lender was run. Instead, the bank asked Staveley and Jenkins head of its Middle East investment division to get to work on their contacts. Staveley, 43, and her firm PCP Capital Partners had a long history of working with Arab investors and she was able to win backing from Abu Dhabi. She was paid 29.5million for the work, far less than the alleged payments to the other side, and is suing the bank for more than 700million in damages. Meanwhile Jenkins, 61, is believed to have been instrumental in securing the investment from the Qataris. He was once Britain's highest-paid banker on more than 75million. Other top players during the rescue included then-chief executive Varley, 60, who remained in charge until 2011. His successor Bob Diamond also worked at the bank during the crisis and was quizzed when the investigation first opened two years ago. The 65-year-old was branded the 'unacceptable face' of banking in 2010. Barclays and the SFO declined to comment last night. Today, Money Mail reveals how a tax raid on shopkeepers threatens to devastate Britain's high streets. From April, hundreds of thousands of shops, salons, bakeries, restaurants and other small stores will be hit with huge tax hikes. Many say their so-called business rates the equivalent of council tax on commercial properties will be so high, they will struggle to survive. In some cases, local shopkeepers who are only just about earning a living face paying thousands of pounds a year extra. Trouble ahead: From April, hundreds of thousands of small stores will be hit with tax hikes It couldn't come at a worse time, with Britain's high streets already blighted by sweeping closures caused by internet shopping, parking restrictions and rising business rates. Now, campaigners warn the new hikes could turn vibrant communities into 'ghost towns' as yet more shops close and residents stay at home and buy online, or travel to larger shopping centres. Today, we also reveal how Britain's small businesses are: Paying higher rates per square foot of their property than supermarket giants. Being hit with bigger bills than ever - despite Government promises that they would not have to pay tax at all. Facing fees of 150 or more to appeal against unfair charges. Being offered discounts of as much as 5,000 by apologetic officials when they call to complain. Around 500,000 shops and small firms stand to be hit with eye-watering increases to their business rates. The hikes are the result of a major review of the way rates are calculated the first in seven years. All small firms, with few exceptions, must pay business rates on some or all of their premises. Unlike other forms of tax, business rates are not calculated based on how much money a firm or individual brings in, but on the value of the premises if they were let out. Shutting up: Campaigners warn the new hikes could turn vibrant communities into 'ghost towns' These charges have stayed flat since 2010. But in April, the Government will adjust rates according to whether property values and rents have increased across the country. Where prices have fallen, owners may pay less. But where they have risen - more likely across much of Britain - firms face staggered increases of up to 300 per cent. For example, a small corner shop in Surrey might currently pay 100 a month in business rates. A 300 per cent rise would increase its bill to 400 - an extra 3,600 a year. The rises will be staggered over the next five years - yet many owners say their livelihoods are now under threat and fear they will have to sell up sooner, because while the value of their premises may have jumped, their takings, hit by the rise in online shopping, have not. The tax hikes will be greatest in London, government figures show, where property prices have risen by 50 per cent since 2010. Business rates in the capital will rise by 11 per cent on average. By contrast, they will go down by 11 per cent on average in the North East and 6 per cent in the South West. Yet, overall, rates in England will rise by 9 per cent on average, according to the Government's Valuation Office Agency. Among the biggest losers will be desirable villages where property prices have been driven up by the number of second home owners. Glyn Davies, Tory MP for Montgomeryshire, said many rural shops may end up closing Martin McTague, of the Federation of Small Businesses, says: 'We have been inundated with calls from small businesses deeply concerned about these changes.' Meanwhile, Glyn Davies, Tory MP for Montgomeryshire in Wales, says: 'Shops in rural communities are unlikely to have enough customers to make up for the increase in rates and may end up closing down.' Retail expert Richard Hyman adds: 'It's bonkers to tax small businesses in a way that makes life difficult.' Shopkeepers who consulted an official website have found that big businesses nearby are being charged less per square metre. In one case, a computer shop in Berkshire is being charged 450 per square metre, while the Lidl round the corner pays only 195. The tax rises will come as a shock to many shopkeepers because the Government promised a cut less than a year ago. Currently, businesses with a 'rateable value' - jargon for the amount it would cost to let the property - of less than 6,000 a year are exempt. This is known as 'business rates relief'. Those whose property is valued between 6,000 and 12,000 pay reduced taxes. For example, a shop valued at 10,500 receives a 25 per cent discount. In last year's March Budget, then Chancellor George Osborne won plaudits from business leaders when he said stores worth up to 12,000 would be exempt from this April. Those worth 12,000 to 15,000 would pay reduced rates. But Money Mail has discovered that some firms expecting an exemption will end up paying more because their property's value is now deemed to have exceeded the 12,000 mark. Up to 1.9billion is set aside annually to repay businesses whose taxes have been miscalculated. But a new charge means that, from April, owners must pay 150 to the Valuation Office Agency to challenge their bills. Officials seem so embarrassed by the tax hikes that one family-run kennel in Carlisle was offered a 5,000 discount on their bill when they phoned to complain. A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government says: 'This revaluation will make rates fairer, as they will more closely reflect the property market. Nearly three-quarters of businesses in England will see no change and 600,000 will have their bills cut. 'No small business will see more than a 5 per cent increase this year.' The spokesman accepted that, while the rises will be a maximum of 5 per cent this year, they will be higher over the next five. The mother of an ex-Playboy model who went on the run after luring a Bosnian gangster to his attempted murder says her glamorous daughter is innocent and will never turn herself in. Slobodanka Tosic, 30, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars for laying a honey trap for mafia boss Djordje Zdrale so his rival could kill him, but fled to Serbia while on house arrest. With the beautiful blonde's exact whereabouts a mystery, her mother Jadranka has defended her decision to flee by claiming she was 'framed'. 'There is no way she will surrender. No surrender!' Jadranka told MailOnline from the house where her daughter was confined in Han Pijesak, an industrial looking town in eastern Bosnia. 'Slobodanka will not return to Bosnia.' Jadranka added: 'She [Slobodanka] is not a fugitive. She left for Serbia because we lost confidence in Bosnia's legal system. Accused: The blonde beauty fled to an 'unknown address' in Serbia while on trial for being an accomplice to the 'assassination' attempt, but her mother Jadranka insists she is 'not a fugitive'. Pictured: Slobodanka in her hometown of Han Pijesak before fleeing to Serbia Controversy: Meanwhile Slobodanka's Sarajevo-based lawyer Vlado Adamovic claims she was wrongly convicted because of the testimony of a witness whom he did not deem 'credible' On the run: The mother of former Playboy model Slobodanka Tosic, above, who is on the run after she was convicted of being accomplice to a murder attempt, has said her daughter will 'never surrender' and never return home to Bosnia Fugitive: Jadranka claims her glamour model daughter, now listed as a fugitive by Interpol, was wrongly accused and was forced to flee to neighbouring Serbia for 'protection' Wanted: 30-year-old Slobodanka is listed on the Interpol wanted list for 'criminal organisation and murder', alongside a picture of her with brown hair and wearing sports clothing Jadranka also claimed her daughter, who appeared on the cover of Playboy in 2008, has not broken the terms of her house arrest. 'She was allowed to move within eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina,' she said. 'When they wrongly accused her, we knew she needed to move to Serbia to protect herself. 'She is a great girl and her youth was destroyed by this case. She is not hiding but she is tired all of this. She feels helpless.' Slobodanka arranged a date with Zdrale on the orders of his arch-rival Darko Elez, who she was reported to have been romantically involved with at the time. She was charged as an accomplice to the murder plot. The former glamour model, now listed as a fugitive by Interpol, is said to have lured Zdrale into an area where Elez's thugs were waiting for him - and gave the signal for them to open fire. Zdrale survived the ambush and testified against her. She fled to Croatia in 2014, while her trial was underway, but was extradited back to the country to face trial following an undercover police sting named 'Operation Doll' the next year. Slobodanka's lawyer Vlado Adamovic says her conviction hung on the testimony of a witness her defence attorneys did not deem 'credible'. Trouble: Beauty queen Slobodanka, above, arranged a date with crime lord Zdrale on the orders of his arch rival Darko Elez, whom she was rumoured to have been dating at the time. Jadranka furiously denies prosecutors' claims that she was working for Elez's gang Honeytrap: Former beauty queen Slobodanka, crowned Miss Bosnia when she was just 19, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for luring mafia boss Djordje Zdrale into an ambush Mother's fury: With the beautiful blonde's exact whereabouts a mystery, her mother Jadranka, pictured above, has defended her decision to flee by claiming she was 'framed' and hit out furiously at the suggestion she was involved in the killing He claimed the court only believed the statement regarding his client because without it, the cases against the other targets of 'Operation Doll' might have collapsed. The Sarajevo-based lawyer confirmed his client is hiding at an 'unknown address' in neighbouring Serbia while he tries to prove to the Constitutional Court that the witness was unreliable - a process which could take up to three years. The former Miss Bosnia is believed to have been a member of crime lord Elez's syndicate, described by prosecutors as 'one of the largest organised crime groups in Bosnia'. But her mother has suggested she was not working for the notorious crime lord, who has done time for murder and robbery. 'She was not the part of a gang. Those people knew her because she was popular, but she was not the part of a gang. She is not a criminal,' her furious mother told MailOnline. 'How come no one can see this young girl was pushed into trouble?' She is a victim of this process. How come they do not know who shot [Zdrale] but they know my daughter was helping? Isn't that suspicious? 'She was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for helping to organise a murder attempt but the court does not even know who the shooter was.' Hard at work: While Slobodanka is in hiding, her lawyer is trying to prove to the Constitutional Court that the witness statement against her was unreliable - a process which could take up to three years Assassination: Slobodanka arranged a date with Bosnian gangster Zdrale, above, on the orders of his arch-rival Elez and was charged as an accomplice to the murder plot. Not involved: Jadranka insists her daughter was not working for the notorious crime lord, adding: 'She was not the part of a gang. Those people knew her because she was popular' Accused: The blonde beauty fled to an 'unknown address' in Serbia while on trial for being an accomplice to the 'assassination' attempt, but her mother Jadranka insists she is 'not a fugitive'. Pictured: Slobodanka in her hometown of Han Pijesak before fleeing to Serbia Jadranka said the entire family - her father Goran and kick boxer sister Sanja Tosic - are behind Slobodanka and are 'totally sure' they are innocent. She added: 'We all hope this will end soon, and with a happy ending. I hope the Constitutional Court will find the irregularities in earlier court process. 'And I hope they will do it soon. I want my daughter back home. And I want her to have life back.' Advertisement They're called the 'empty-nest elderly', the senior citizens in China who live by themselves without their children's company; and their biggest wish is for their sons and daughters to visit them. A set of striking pictures, taken by a young photographer while visiting rural China, have captured how the lonely parents eagerly expected their children to return home for a long-awaited family reunion. All of their children have moved to cities for a better quality of life and only see their parents once or twice a year, said photographer Jesse Ding to MailOnline. It's time to come home: An elderly woman in China stood outside her house and waited for her children to return A long-awaited reunion: Jesse Ding, 31, went to two rural villages in south-east China to photograph the lonely parents Lonely life: These elderly people's children work and live in big cities. They only go home to their parents once or twice a year Come home, my child: Three elderly women sat in the village waiting for their children to return home for the Lunar New Year The pictures were taken by 31-year-old Ding during two trips: one in January 2017 and one in January 2016. Both times, the elderly parents were waiting for their children to come home for the Lunar New Year, the most important festival to the Chinese people and a time for family reunions. The pictures were taken in two villages in south-east China's Fujian Province: the Songshuping village in Dabugang township and the Yushan village in Guiling township. Each village has a population of about 100 people and most of them are elderly people and children, according to Jesse Ding. The elderly couple were among the many parents Ding photographed in rural Fujian during his two trips in 2016 and 2017 An elderly mother looked at her mobile phone to see if her children had messaged her ahead of the Lunar New Year Two elderly women who live without the company of their children waited for them at home. The pictures were taken in the Songshuping village in Dabugang township and the Yushan village in Guiling township in Fujian Province Each village has a population of about 100 people and most of them are elderly people and children, according to Jesse Ding As the Lunar New Year approached, these elderly residents put on their nicest clothes, prepared festive treats and sat by their doors, hoping to see their children as soon as they entered the village. He said: 'The aging of the population has become a serious issue in China. 'These elderly people's children work and live in the city. However, they are accustomed to the village lifestyle, and wouldn't get used to the fast pace of a city.' They continue to live in their villages without their children's company. Some of them help look after their grandchildren as their sons and daughters work in the city. As the Lunar New Year approached, the elderly parents put on their nicest clothes while expecting to meet their children Although their children live in big cities, it's hard for the elderly to get used to urban life, therefore they remain in the villages Some of these elderly parents live by themselves, others help raise their grandchildren as their children work in cities Ding said the aging of the population has become a serious issue in China and many elderly people rarely see their children Jesse Ding took this picture in January 2016 which shows eight elderly residents of the Yushan village in Fujian Province The photographer tried to photograph the same group last month. However, only six residents were able to attend the photo shoot. One elderly woman had passed away and another had been invited by her children to live with them in the city Ding, a native of Fujian, hoped his pictures could prompt migrant workers in China to visit their parents and talk to them as much as possible. He said when he arrived at the village, the elderly residents were excited to see him because 'the village receives few visitors and the elderly don't have people to talk to'. During his second visit, Ding witnessed the touching reunions of a few families. The young man used his lens to document the happy moments as the parents, their children and their grandchildren sat together and celebrated the Lunar New Year. He also had the family photos developed before giving them to the parents as presents. Home, sweet home: A grandmother in Songshuping village prepared food as she waited for her children to visit her Ding hoped his pictures could prompt migrant workers in China to visit their parents and talk to them as much as possible Happy reunion: During his second visit, Ding witnessed the touching moments when a few elderly parents met their children Finally together: The young man used his lens to capture the touching moment as the parents and their children reunited As China's urbanisation increases in speed, many villages have been faced with an aging population. While young and middle-aged people move to more developed parts of China to find work, their parents and children are left to live in the rural areas. This phenomenon has challenged the treasured family values passed down by generations of Chinese people. Traditionally, Chinese families would live under the same roof for generations. It is believed that the bigger the family size, the more prosperous the family is. Ding was moved by the happy and emotional reunion. He said: 'No matter how far away we are, our parents miss us every day' The photographer also said: 'They don't care how much money we make and how much presents we bring home. All they want is a warm reunion and the company of their family' There are around 277 million migrant workers in China, making up more than one-third of the country's working population. The above picture, taken by Jesse Ding, showed the annual reunion of a typical migrant workers' family According to China Labour Bulletin, there are around 277 million migrant workers in China who were born in the less-developed areas but now live in big cities. They make up more than one-third of the country's entire working population. For these people, the only opportunity to go back home in a year is the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, when the majority of the country go on a one-week-long holiday. Their efforts to reunite with their parents have helped create what's billed as the world's largest annual mass human migration. Known as 'chun yun', or the 'spring transport', millions of Chinese migrant workers leave the cities they live in and return to their far-flung homes by train or bus at the same time. This year, nearly three billion trips are expected to be made during the festive period between January 13 and February 21, according to People's Daily Online. After taking the family photos, Ding had the pictures developed before giving them to the elderly villagers as presents One elderly woman looked at a picture Ding had taken of her and her children after having the emotional reunion Thanks to Ding's pictures, these lonely parents are able to see their children's faces whenever they miss them To tackle the rising social issue of the 'empty nests', the Chinese government has amended its laws to ensure that young people would visit their parents. In 2013, a new clause was added into the Law of the People's Republic of China on Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, requiring children to go home 'often'. The clause gives parents the rights to sue their children if they feel they have been neglected. Jesse Ding concluded: 'No matter how far away we are, our parents miss us every day. 'They don't care how much money we make and how much presents we bring home. All they want is a warm reunion and the company of their family.' A South Texas jury has acquitted a Border Patrol agent of murder, but convicted him of aiding an organized crime in a drug-related case that left a man decapitated. Joel Luna, 32, was acquitted Tuesday in Brownsville of the most serious charges in the 2015 death of Honduran immigrant Jose Francisco Plazcios Paz, who worked as his family's tire shop in Edinburgh. Prosecutors contend Luna used his position to help the powerful Gulf cartel move illegal weapons and ammunition south of the border and drugs to the north. Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Joel Luna (left) was found not guilty of murder charges on Tuesday, but the jury did find him guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity. His attorney Carlos Garcia is pictured on the right Luna was arrested in connection to the 2015 murder of Jose Francisco Plazcios Paz (pictured). year-old guilty of two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity, and not guilty on the charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The Brownsville Herald reports prosecutors and the defense agreed on a 20-year sentence in exchange for no appeals from Luna. Luna was expressionless as the jury read their verdict Tuesday morning. His younger brother, Eduardo, 27, was found guilty on all four charges and is expected to face a life in prison sentence, plus 50 years, during formal sentencing in a month. During the trial, Joel's older brother Fernando, 37, testified that he was watching TV with Paz at the tire shop when Eduardo came in and shot the man in the head. Joel's younger brother Eduardo, 27, was found guilty on all four charges - including murder. He's pictured above in court after hearing the verdict on Tuesday Paz's headless body was discovered in the waters off South Padre Island in March 2015 - a popular destination for Spring Breakers. Prosecutors say Paz was murdered because the brothers feared he was a snitch. At the time of Paz's murder, Joel - a decorated Iraq War veteran - was working as a border patrol agent at the Hebbronville checkpoint. Prosecutors were never able to connect him to the actual murder. Super-strong ecstasy tablets known as 'crystal caps' are reportedly making their way on to Australian streets. Super-strong ecstasy tablets known as 'crystal caps' are reportedly making their way to Australian streets. Pictured is a stock image of ecstasy tablets Police have become concerned about the tablets after analysing a batch of drugs seized on Chapel Street in Melbourne in early January, which resulted in three deaths and 20 people in hospital, reported the Herald Sun. They believe it is possible those affected took these pills. A 'crystal cap' is believed to contain 80 per cent MDMA, compared to standard ecstasy tablets which contain 30 or 40 per cent MDMA. Hospital emergency consultant David Caldicott told the Herald Sun said the habit of Australian users to take two or three MDMA pills at a time could have deadly consequences. The warning comes as calls are growing this week to bring in pill testing at music events. The calls have been heightened after police fury over patron behaviour at this year's Rainbow Serpent festival in regional Victoria. The concerns about the super strong ecstasy tablets come as calls are growing this week for drug testing to be present at music festivals. Pictured is Rainbow Serpent festival in regional Victoria Police slammed the alternative festival after releasing this year's rap sheet, which includes a death, two sexual assaults and multiple drug trafficking arrests. But patrons and some political voices say the 'zero tolerance' approach is not working. Amanda O'Keefe, who has attended Rainbow Serpent each year for the past six years, told AAP the festival had a strong emphasis on harm reduction. 'Sadly, the one thing I believe is missing is the ability to test your drugs to see what's in them which to date has been blocked by the government,' she says. Police are said to be furious with patron behaviour at the recent Rainbow Serpent festival (pictured) after a death, two sexual assaults and multiple drug trafficking arrests 'How the government can continue to withhold a service that can save lives really seems unfathomable when it's clear that a zero tolerance attitude towards drugs does not work. 'I believe the festival is often treated unfairly and used as a scapegoat by authorities to prove a point that falls on deaf ears.' Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has previously indicated his opposition to pill testing of illicit drugs, claiming such practices can help normalise drug use. Victorian premier Daniel Adnrews (pictured) has said in the past that drug testing could normalise drug use in Australia Police seized a range of drugs including substances allegedly marketed as ecstasy, MDMA, ketamine and cannabis at the festival. A 22-year-old Kensington man died on Saturday night after collapsing at the five-day music and arts festival. His death is not being treated as suspicious and police will prepare a report for the coroner. Rainbow Serpent organiser Tim Harvey has been contacted for comment. German police have arrested a Tunisian man suspected of planning a terror attack after 1,100 officers raided mosques and businesses across the country. The 36-year-old was detained in Frankfurt in Germany's Hesse state after anti-terror units targeted 54 properties. He is suspected of recruiting and leading a 16-member ISIS cell that was 'planning an attack in Germany... but which was foiled at an early stage without a target being chosen', prosecutors said. German police have arrested a Tunisian man suspected of planning a terror attack after 1,100 officers raided mosques and businesses across the country. An officer is pictured after a raid at a mosque in Frankfurt He is suspected of recruiting and leading a 16-member ISIS cell that was 'planning an attack in Germany' The operation came after German police arrested three men in Berlin on suspicion of having close links to ISIS militants and planning to travel to the Middle East for combat training. The three men, aged 21, 31 and 45, are formally suspected of having prepared 'a serious act of violent subversion' for planning to attend combat training. A police spokesman said there was no indication of any concrete plan to carry out an attack in Germany. The operation came after German police arrested three men in Berlin on suspicion of having close links to ISIS militants and planning to travel to the Middle East for combat training A glass door of Frankfurt's Bilal mosque is smashed following early morning raids in the federal state of Hesse The newspaper Bild reported that the three suspects had close links to ISIS fanatics in Syria and Iraq and were frequent visitors of a mosque in the Berlin district of Moabit that Anis Amri, who attacked a Berlin Christmas market in December, also used to visit. The police spokesman declined to comment on the background of the suspects, but confirmed that police had raided a mosque in Moabit. One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson has hit back at those demanding she disendorse one of her candidates for the West Australian state election after he labelled single mothers 'lazy'. 'To all the fat lazy politicians and fat lazy journalists in the fat lazy media playing fat lazy political correctness, identity politics - the answer is no,' she wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. One Nation candidate David Archibald wrote in a magazine article two years ago that single mothers were 'too lazy to attract and hold a mate.' Mr Albanese has called for Pauline Hanson to dump David Archibald from her One Nation Party - he is running for the Pilbara seat in Western Australia where an election is planned for March One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson took to Twitter on Wednesday to hit back 'This will result in a rapid rise in the portion of the population that is lazy and ugly,' he wrote for Quadrant in 2015. Archibald also described single motherhood as 'a lifestyle choice,' and said welfare payments for women in such a position should be cut. 'We know what causes pregnancy these days, so everyone who gets pregnant outside of marriage is a volunteer. This is an easy one for defunding.' Mr Archibald, who is running for the Pilbara seat in WA, also called for the childcare and disability support pensions to be defunded. 'The 800,000 Australians on the disability pension. OK, not all of them. But a good proportion are able to drive cars, bash police and each other, go fishing and so on,' he said. One Nation candidate David Archibald (pictured) says single mums are 'too lazy to hold a mate' David Archibald's (pictured) controversial comments continued when he labelled single motherhood a 'lifestyle choice' Labor's Anthony Albonese demanded Ms Hanson immediately sack David Archibald for making the 'deeply offensive' comments. Albanese, an ALP frontbencher who was raised by a single mother, said on Wednesday morning Mr Archibald's comments were 'incredibly offensive' and called for his removal from Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party. 'I had an enormous amount of love and I have nothing but respect for my late mum, and I regard his comments as incredibly personally offensive. But more importantly offensive towards all those single parents out there,' he said. 'The idea that if you have a single mother then somehow you're less of a human being really belongs way back in the dark ages and I find it incredibly offensive.' Mr Albanese (pictured) revealed he was raised by a single mother and the comments were 'incredibly offensive' Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese (pictured) has condemned the Western Australian candidate and called for him to be sacked by the One Nation Party Mr Albanese took to his Facebook account on Wednesday morning to reminisce about his late mother. 'When I was growing up in Camperdown, it was just me and my mum, living on what was then called an invalid pension,' he said. 'Mum had rheumatoid arthritis and often struggled with accessing proper health care. It wasn't until I went to university that I realised not all people have to live like this.' Mr Albanese took to Facebook on Wednesday morning to reminisce about his mother following Mr Archibald's comments Mr Archibald's controversial suggestions were written in response to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's comments about Indigenous communities. Mr Abbott suggested living in remote Indigenous communities was a 'lifestyle choice'. 'What we can't do is endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices if those lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australiaon society that everyone should have,' Mr Abbott said in 2015. Mr Archibald said 'let's help Mr Abbott by pointing out a number of other lifestyle choices that could be defunded' before listing single motherhood and disability pensions. A terrified girl trapped in a janitor's closet and a Delta flight crew hiding in a briefing room were among the 911 callers during the Florida airport shooting spree that killed five people and wounded six others on January 6. Broward Sheriff's Office released the first batch of 10 calls Tuesday, totaling about 45 minutes. The FBI is still reviewing other calls that will be released later. None of the callers was identified. 'I'm hiding in the closet, of the janitor closet, ma'am, please,' a very scared young woman tells the operator, saying there are seven others hiding with her. Scroll down for video Esteban Santiago is led from the Broward County jail for an arraignment in federal court, Monday Santiago is charged in a 22-count federal indictment in the Jan. 6 shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. He has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts that resulted in five deaths and six injuries Santiago reportedly is an Iraq war veteran who has a history of mental illness 'I work in one of the stores. I left the store and ran in here. There's a bunch of people I left in the store, children. Oh, my God,' she said staying on the line with the operator for several minutes as she and others tried to open several locked doors before making it out to the tarmac safely. Authorities say 26- year-old Esteban Santiago, an Iraq war veteran from Alaska, opened fire in a baggage claim area January 6 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, causing pandemonium as passengers and employees ran for cover, many spending hours on the tarmac amid false reports of a second shooter. Esteban Santiago has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts Santiago was taken into custody after allegedly firing 15 shots. He has pleaded not guilty to 22 counts. It's unclear why Santiago, who relatives said suffered from mental illness and heard voices, came to Fort Lauderdale. 'Were stuck in Fort Lauderdale briefing room,' a man with 12 other people told the 911 dispatcher, according to the Miami Herald. 'Theres pandemonium going on with guns drawn outside. We cant go outside because were scared that something is happening. Can you tell us what is happening?' he asks the operator. 'I'm sorry, sir, I cannot,' the operator says. Over 100 calls poured into 911; many people had to stay on the tarmac for several hours until the airport was cleared One woman, locked in a room in Terminal 2 with several other people, says they must have evacuated the terminal as it's silent. When the operator tells them to stay inside, the woman says 'It's 911, they're totally clueless.' 'No, we know what's going on there,' the operator snaps. 'It's not that we're clueless.' The group turn on a local TV station to see what's happening. 'Sorry to be short with you before,' the woman says. 'Were just scared half to death.' One woman said she was hiding in a kitchen in the back of a restaurant; another man at a bar in Terminal 3 tells the operator that everyone is running toward him, fleeing the security lines. People took cover on the tarmac as chaos broke out in the airport when shots were fired 'You need to take cover and have the people around you take cover,' the operator tells him. Two different callers from Delta crews said more than a dozen of them were locked in a small briefing room and had barricaded the door. They didn't know whether it was safe to leave. An operator tells one of the crew members that shots had been fired and to stay put because there 'is an active search going on.' First responders secured the area outside of the airport with people have to lie on the ground 'God, you just never think this is going to happen,' the frightened crew member tells the operator. There were about 100 calls not directly related to the shootings. The FBI have not released 25 calls directly related to the shootings. Santiago faces the maximum penalty of life in prison or death. The suicide boats that attacked a Saudi frigate yesterday may have been meant for an American vessel instead. Fox News Channel is reporting that Pentagon sources say the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who attacked a Saudi ship in the Red Sea killing two sailors and injuring three, may have mistaken the vessel for an American warship. 'Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to the Jews,' a voice narrating the attacks said, according to an audio recording that narrated the incident. Scroll down for video Two sailors died in the explosion and a further three were injured as a result of the attack Footage shows huge flames on the vessel, in an attack claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi movement Footage of the attack appears to show the ships attack the vessel, although the Houthis claimed the explosion was caused by a guided missile The ship was attacked by the Houthi movement, which is locked in conflict with the Saudi-led coalition Defense analysts told Fox News they believed the attack was either a mistake that the Iranian-backed rebels thought they were targeting the United States or a 'dress rehearsal.' A similar attack style was used on the U.S.S. Cole by al Qaeda terrorists in 2000, killing 17 American soldiers and wounding 39 others, in the run-up to the Sept. 11 attacks. Additionally, the attack occurred near the Bab al Mandab Strait, where U.S. Navy warships were attacked in October. Initially, the Houthi movement's al-Masira channel quoted a military source and said the attack was carried about by a guided missile. But a statement from the state news agency SPA from the Saudi-led coalition reported: 'A Saudi frigate on patrol west of Hodeidah port came under attack from three suicide boats belonging to the Houthi militias.' One of the three vessels smashed into the rear of the Saudi boat, which caused the explosion and fire that killed two crew members. The attack came just 10 days into the Donald Trump's presidency. It also comes a day after the new American president spoke with the Saudi King to discuss safe zones for refugees in Syria and Yemen. Defense officials who talked to Fox News Channel said they were concerned by the latest bout of violence, but believed American warships were equipped to deal with the threat. The United States has supported the Saudis' campaign against the rebels in Yemen since 2015 under the previous administration of President Barack Obama. The toll of the Philippines' bloody war on drugs has been laid bare in a report revealing more than 7,600 people have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte took office last July. The harrowing details come to light as the government suspends the crackdown after the execution of innocent South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo by rogue officers sparked outrage. A new report by Amnesty International says death squads are slaying up to four victims a week across the country, as police face pressure to reach quotas. The report says acts committed as part of the crackdown could constitute 'crimes against humanity.' An alleged drug user strewn on the ground after an unidentified gunmen shot him dead in Manila amid the government's bloody war on drugs Of those killed since President Duterte's crackdown began last July, at least 2,500 were at the hands of police Bodies lay unclaimed in a cemetaries as funerals struggle to deal with an upsurge in fatalities from the drug war, which has claimed more than 7,600 lives Two hired guns told Amnesty researchers that under Mr Duterte, known as 'The Punisher', demand for their work has risen from two 'jobs' a month to up to four a week. They said they received 'orders' from police in an envelope, along with details of their targets. 'It has the person's name, a picture, the address, what the person likes to do,' the anonymous assassin is quoted as saying in the report. Amnesty also reported that some assassins were rewarded by funeral homes for each body sent their way. The Amnesty interviewed 110 people and details 59 deaths, concluding the wave of drug related killings appears to be 'systematic, planned and organised.' Of those killed since President Duterte's war on drugs began last July, at least 2,500 were at the hands of police, who go house to house knocking on doors in search of drug suspects. Witnesses told Amnesty the raids often happened in poor neighbourhoods late at night. Victims were often unarmed and begged to surrender.The Amnesty International reports showed death squads are slaying up to four victims a week, An Amnesty International reports showed death squads are slaying up to four victims a week (pictured: a coroner attending to a body of an alleged drug user shot dead in Manila) Hired guns claim the demand for their work has risen from two 'jobs' a month to up to four a week (pictured: another Manila victim) The Amnesty report claimed the wave of killings could constitute 'crimes against humanity' In some cases, it's alleged, police planted drugs and weapons while plundering homes for valuables. One officer told Amnesty that some were rewarded by funeral homes for each body sent their way. The investigation came after the death of Jee Ick-joo, who was kidnapped and falsely accused of being involved in drug activity last October. He was then taken to the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Crame, in Quezon City, where he was strangled to death and cremated at a funeral parlor. His ashes were then flushed down a toilet bowl,according to CNN. President Duterte said Tuesday he had ordered all police to stop prosecuting his deadly war on drugs as he sought to cleanse the force of widespread corruption The execution of innocent South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo by rogue officers sparked outrage the world over Activists hold a protest in front of Camp Crame, the headquarters of the Philippine National Police, where the businessman was strangled to death Two of the officers suspected of carrying out the killing were anti-drug force officers, sparking concerns of police corruption in the savage crackdown. President Duterte said Tuesday he had ordered all police to stop prosecuting his deadly war on drugs as he sought to cleanse the force of widespread corruption. However the president vowing to forge ahead with his war on drugs until his term ends in 2022, ordering the military and a drug enforcement agency under his office to carry on. Despite previously imposing a deadline of March this year, it seems there are few signs of the killings easing up. Just a fortnight before he stabbed his estranged wife to death, David Bradford was released on bail for an earlier assault on her, despite police protests. The former train driver, 52, and his wife Teresa Marie Bradford, 40, were found dead in their Pimpama home, on the Gold Coast in Queensland, by police on Tuesday morning. Bradford was on bail for allegedly choking the nursing student, gaffer-taping her mouth shut and beating her unconscious until she lost control of her bowel movements on November 28, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported. Police strongly objected to Bradford's bail after he had been held custody for 44 days, saying he was 'an unreasonable risk of causing self-harm or harm towards others'. Just two weeks later, he stabbed Ms Bradford to death. Scroll down for video Just a fortnight before he stabbed his estranged wife Teresa (pictured) to death, David Bradford was released on bail for an earlier assault on her, despite police protests. Two weeks after being released on bail for serious domestic violence charges, Dave Bradford, 52, was found dead in suspected murder suicide After suffering a series of strokes and left walking with a cane, Bradford was unable to continue working as a train driver and supported his family with the disability pension, according to sources. He was reportedly 'too broke' to move out of the family home and had tried to access his superannuation to support himself. Bradford is believed to have broken into the family home overnight on Tuesday - in breach of his bail conditions - and stabbed his estranged wife to death in front of their children before killing himself. Just two months earlier, he was charged with four domestic violence offences including choking, assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and common assault. On November 28, he broke into her home, threatened to tie her up and beat her until she blacked out. Ms Bradford allegedly lost control of her bowel movements during the attack and was dragged by her hair across the kitchen, according to the Courier Mail. Her estranged husband allegedly sat on her stomach and choked her for 25 minutes after she tried to call police. A specialist Gold Coast domestic violence magistrate allowed Bradford to be released on bail after his lawyer argued there was no criminal history, no independent witnesses and Bradford had been in custody for 44 days. Friends of the mother-of-four claim Ms Bradford did not know her estranged husband was applying for bail until after he was released and that she spent her final days scrambling to find a new home so he would not track her down. After suffering a series of strokes (pictured after a stroke in September) and left walking with a cane, Bradford was unable to continue working as a train driver and supported his family with the disability pension, according to sources Teresa Marie Bradford, 40, was found dead in her Pimpama home by Queensland police on Tuesday morning after three of the couple's children raised the alarm with neighbours 'She was scared and tried to get assistance but no one helped her and her kids,' a unnamed friend said of Ms Bradford Authorities were initially called to the scene following reports of a disturbance, but a neighbour said they hadn't heard anything in the hours before the gruesome discovery Bradford is believed to have broken into the family home overnight on Tuesday - in breach of his bail conditions - and stabbed his estranged wife to death Ms Bradford's friend April Trengove told Daily Mail Australia that the authorities had failed her. 'The system didn't even tell her he was released until she found out hours later. The system could not get one thing right. Bradford was charged with a number of violent offences against Ms Bradford on November 28 last year 'This is why this happens and this is why she is not here and those babies lost their mum.' Another friend, Karina Mason, told the ABC that Ms Bradford had a series of house viewings lined up as she desperateley sought to move home. 'She was actually due to look at five houses this week because she knew she needed to move out of the house they were living in together and she needed to move so he didn't know where they were,' Ms Mason said. The friend added that the choking incident in November was serious and that Ms Bradford could have died. 'She did fight very hard for her life that day, and she did talk him down and she was able to call for an ambulance,' Ms Mason said. Bradford was charged with a number of violent offences following the incident, including domestic violence-related common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm, choking or strangulation, and deprivation of liberty, accoriding to the Courier Mail. As part of his bail conditions, Bradford had to stay at a hotel in Brisbane, report to police and stay 100m away from Ms Bradford unless they were appearing in court. They had four children together, aged between nine and 17 years old. Three of them were in their home when their mother was murdered and ran to a neighbour's house to raise the alarm. The white suburban home in Pimpama at the centre of police investigations where Dave and Teresa Marie bradford, 40, were found dead Police have established a crime scene on the street as forensic investigators look for clues to what led to this fatal incident Friends of the much loved Ms Bradford describe a woman with 'a heart of gold' and who was always there to help and give warm words of encouragement, but was failed by the system. 'She was scared and tried to get assistance but no one helped her and her kids,' an unnamed friend told Daily Mail Australia. 'I can't believe he was allowed out on bail to do it again.' A childhood friend, called Debbie, told A Current Affair that the authorities had no excuse for allowing Bradford out on bail. She said she took Ms Bradford to hospital in November after her husband's 'nearly killed her'. 'She was scared,' Debbie said. 'She was going to find another place to move so her and the kids were safe. 'The system has let her down a lot. It makes me angry because I've lost a close friend. 'I can't get my head around [the court releasing this man]. There's no excuse for this. He shouldn't have done what he did and the police should have kept him in jail.' Another friend expressed her guilt for not telling the mother-of-four to come stay with her when Bradford was released on bail. 'You were so scared,' she posted on Facebook. 'I really regret not telling her to come here last week. He wouldn't have found them here.' Another friend who knew Ms Bradford from their teaching days, said Ms Bradford had been studing for a nursing degree at Griffith University. 'She was a kind, beautiful person who was always there to help,' Liv Kronsteiner told Daily Mail Australia. 'She was an amazing mother.' Ms Kronsteiner said there had been an 'insane history of violence and abuse'. Bradford was out on bail at the time of the his and Ms Bradford's death in a suspected murder-suicide 'Enquires are in their infancy,' Detective Inspector Mark Thompson Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch said at the scene (Pictured: Forensic officers examining the house) Friend Nikki Searle said Ms Bradford's life had been 'tragically cut short at the hands of a cowardly monster'. 'She had a heart of gold and was always there to help others,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'She was always caring, had a smile or a laugh ready. I couldn't imagine her ever saying a bad word about anyone. 'Even with what she endured over the last few months I wouldn't say anything she said or posted on Facebook was hateful or overly negative. She just wanted to move on with her life with her kids that she cherished. 'In the last few weeks she was very fearful for her life ... but she kept going and used her network of friends to help her. 'I know some of her close friends were helping her with getting the kids ready for school. She wasn't really one to ask for a handout but the pressure of the situation was getting dire.' Authorities were initially called to the Pimpama scene following reports of a disturbance. It's understood three of the couple's children alerted neighbours to the tragedy before police arrived at the scene The 88-year-old Radio 2 host Brian Matthew was axed against his will whilst he was off work recovering from a fall, but now he'll return to Sounds of the 60s for a series of specials and a farewell episode Brian Matthew is to return to the airwaves on Sound of the 60s, after BBC bosses bowed to pressure to reinstate him. The 88-year-old Radio 2 host was axed against his will whilst he was off work recovering from a fall. But, in a victory for Radio 2 listeners, he has now been invited back into the studio to record a series of 'specials' including a farewell show. The BBC said in a statement: 'We are discussing a series of special Sounds of the 60s programmes with Brian which we hope to broadcast at Easter. Brian will have the opportunity to say goodbye to his listeners.' Mr Matthew told the Telegraph: 'They have now rearranged everything so I'm supposed to be recording another programme. It will be a farewell, as far as I' m aware. 'A friend called me and said people were unhappy about me going, and that is so gratifying in itself.' The BBC was forced to give way after furious listeners threatened to boycott the station in disgust over the 'heartless' way Mr Matthew was treated. More than 5,000 people signed an online petition to get Mr Matthew back on air, and scores of fans contacted the Daily Mail in outrage. They lamented the loss of the DJ's 'mellow, unmistakable' voice, and the way he discussed sixties music as if 'from memory'. And they accused the BBC of ageism and 'underhand' behaviour, as it used a 'fairly minor health setbackto ditch him'. Mr Matthew got his marching orders whilst he was off work recovering from a fall. Matthews (right on the show Thank Your Lucky Stars with Thelma Newton, John Davis and Janet Nichols) has been a staple on BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 60s The BBC claimed that it had mutually agreed that the veteran presenter needed 'to step off the treadmill of presenting the show' - but Mr Matthew said that was 'absolute balderdash'. 'I was ready and willing and able to go back, and they've just said they are going to put the programme in the hands of other people,' he said in a furious tirade. But the veteran presenter is not the only Radio 2 host to be dismissed in a heartless manner. The station is now embroiled in a furious new row with its DJs, after bosses allegedly dismissed one of its longest-serving presenters without so much as shaking his hand. Alex Lester, host of After Midnight, had worked at Radio 2 for three decades when his show was dropped, along with all of the station's live overnight programmes. Instead of congratulating him on his years of loyal service, the station's managers did not offer 'the smallest word of thanks', the DJ's wife has claimed. Kerry Lester made the shocking accusations in a post on Facebook, as she criticised BBC managers for the cold-hearted way in which they dealt with his departure. 'No-one in Radio 2's management team has seen fit to offer even the smallest word of thanks to Alex for 30 years of making BBC Radio 2 distinctive, informative, and entertaining during the hours of the night, albeit when none of them were awake, or bothered enough, to notice,' she said. More than 5,000 people signed an online petition to get Mr Matthew back on air after he was fired 'You'd have thought that someone in management might have invited Alex for a farewell drink, popped in to the studio to shake his hand, or, at the very least, dropped him a quick email to say thank you for everything he has done for the station for three decades.' The DJ who goes by the on-air nickname 'The Dark Lord' - said he was 'absolutely heartbroken' to be dropped from After Midnight, and lambasted radio bosses for being out of touch with listeners. 'Management exist in their own management bubblethey can only guess at what the audience is like. That is why I find it so heart breaking,' he told Radio Today, the industry magazine. Mr Lester also took a swipe at the BBC, suggesting that it undervalues its night time listeners. 'A breakfast show listener is as important as a night time listener, especially with the BBC because they all pay the licence fee and so therefore they expect something from the BBC. If they pay the licence fee they deserve a service.' Radio 1 host Greg James leapt to the defence of Mr Lester and Janice Long, his 61-year-old After Midnight co-host who was also axed. 'Janice and Alex are two of the very best broadcasters aroundThey sound like actual people on the radio not afraid to show their frailties and oddities and that's one of the hardest things to nail,' he said. Lewis Carnie, head of BBC Radio 2, has previously said that the station cut After Midnight as one of the 'extremely tough decisions' it has to make 'to reduce programming costs'. The corporation refused to comment on the accusations made by Kelly Lester. Ivanka Trump has been spotted for the first time since she was criticized for posting a glamorous picture of herself in $5,000 gown at a swanky dinner amid the deportation row. While protesters gathered at airports around the country and decried the president's 'Muslim ban', First Daughter Ivanka shared the 'tone deaf' photo of her and husband Jared Kushner on social media. The couple, who were headed to the annual Alfalfa Club dinner on Saturday night, drew a sharp rebuke as critics pointed to those affected by the president's executive order. Her father opted not to attend the event. Ivanka has kept a low profile since the angry backlash. But on Tuesday, she was seen leaving her new Washington D.C. home in the back of a black Secret Service vehicle. Ivanka Trump has been spotted for the first time since she was criticized for posting a glamorous picture of herself in $5,000 gown at a swanky dinner amid the deportation row Ivanka was seen leaving her new Washington D.C. home just days after the picture controversy On Tuesday, she was seen leaving her new Washington D.C. home in the back of a black Secret Service vehicle Wearing a long white coat, she was busy texting as the car drove away from the property in the elite neighborhood of Kalorama Wearing a long white coat, she was busy texting as the car drove away from the property in the elite neighborhood of Kalorama. Ivanka, 35, and her family moved to DC earlier this month as Kushner prepared to began his unpaid job as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump in the White House. She will be taking an unofficial advisory role. While protesters gathered at airports around the country and decried the president's Muslim ban, First Daughter Ivanka Trump was shared a 'tone deaf' photo of her and her husband on Saturday Some were quick to insult Ivanka's style while others eviscerated the the couple for being 'out of touch' and seemingly callous The First Daughter faced heavy criticism for her insensitive tweet just one day after Trump signed an executive order barring any non-U.S. citizen traveling from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. The move, which also included legal permanent residents and visa-holders from those seven countries, sparked an outrage, although the ACLU won a temporary legal battle preventing detainees from being deported. Thousands of protesters gathered in airports across the country, while Ivanka and Kushner dressed up to attend the black tie event. Kushner wore a tuxedo, while Ivanka defaulted to a $4,990 silver jacquard gown by Carolina Herrera - and Twitter users mercilessly mocked her for looking like a baked potato. Ivanka, 35, and her family moved to DC earlier this month as Kushner prepared to began his unpaid job as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump in the White House Jared Kushner was seen leaving their home on Tuesday morning looking ready for work Social media erupted in outrage over the image, which Ivanka shared on her Instagram and Twitter accounts without a caption, with many attacking the couple for being 'out of touch' and seemingly callous. Christopher Ellers tweeted: '@IvankaTrump Oh, good, the world is burning and families are being torn apart, but you're decked out in tin foil. Cool. #MuslimBan' User @dbvalentine wrote: '@IvankaTrump More unashamed displays of obscene wealth representing a complete detachment from reality #sad' Another critic shared a photo of a refugee girl who crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece with an emergency blanket draped over her shoulders and wrote: 'She wore it better'. Protesters rallied in Brooklyn outside of the federal courthouse, where the ACLU won a temporary legal battle preventing detainees from being deported President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country Cher, another Twitter user, chimed in, writing: '@IvankaTrump Your father is responsible for two senior citizens with green cards being illegally detained at O'Hare for 10 hours. Have fun!' Kelly Oxford simply shared the photo, adding 'Let them eat cake' - a quote often attributed to Marie Antoinette as the French starved during the revolution. The Alfafa Club dinner is known for attracting members of the Washington elite from senior staff to heavyweight donors. Every president since Ronald Reagan has attended, but Donald Trump, who spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for an hour on Saturday - is said to have skipped out. Phil Shiner (pictured) has a firm which took on clients for a public inquiry into alleged abuses An Iraqi fixer was paid 1.6million for drumming up claims against British troops as part of an unscrupulous deal with two law firms, a hearing heard yesterday. Mazin Younis was also handed 500 by disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner for each Iraqi he persuaded to accuse soldiers of committing murder or torture, it was said. Mr Shiner's firm, Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), took on clients for a public inquiry into alleged abuses, but then cut a 'lucrative' deal with Leigh Day, which pursued compensation claims. A tribunal in London yesterday heard how Leigh Day then carved up the profits from suing British troops between PIL and Mr Younis. Details of the deal, which broke a string of conduct rules, emerged on day two of Mr Shiner's disciplinary hearing, where he is facing 24 counts of misconduct brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Much to the anger of soldiers tormented for years over spurious claims, Mr Shiner has refused to attend, saying he is unwell and cannot afford a lawyer. Andrew Tabachnik, counsel for the SRA, accused him of trying to avoid being cross-examined. Now-defunct PIL brought the vast majority of 3,380 allegations of wrongdoing by British soldiers to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team. Hundreds of soldiers were relentlessly pursued for more than a decade as a result. Not a single case has resulted in a prosecution. Mr Tabachnik said Mr Shiner had paid Mr Younis 500 in referral fees for each of four clients that he brought to him in September 2007. He described how Leigh Day profited from 4.3million for taking on the case of 95 Iraqis who sued the British Government at taxpayers' expense. This money was carved up, with 1.6million paid to Mr Shiner's PIL in fees and 1.6million to Mr Younis. Mazin Younis (right) was also handed 500 by disgraced lawyer Phil Shiner (centre) for each Iraqi he persuaded to accuse soldiers of committing murder or torture, it was said Mr Tabachnik acknowledged that Mr Shiner had told his employees that cold-calling potential clients was not acceptable, but added: 'The sorry reality of this case is that when the allegations crossed Professor Shiner's desk all of that was put to one side. What became of paramount importance to him was to locate the clients. This was an opportunity he was not prepared to let slip.' But after five years of investigations, the Al-Sweady public inquiry concluded that the allegations by Iraqis were based on 'deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility'. The tribunal yesterday heard how cases dried up when Mr Younis refused to find more clients unless he was paid referral fees for historic cases, which is not allowed under the solicitors' code of conduct. Mr Tabachnik accused PIL and Leigh Day of making a 'disguised' payment of 50,000 to Mr Younis for the historic cases. The hearing continues. A man has been jailed for six years after he tricked his cousin into letting him into a bedroom and then raped her without a condom. The man, who is from Far North Queensland, was 'heavily intoxicated' when he walked his cousin home to change her outfit after an indigenous wedding ceremony. According to the Cairns Post, the cousin, who was aged 31, had told him 'No, get the (expletive) off. We're cousins, we're family' as he tried to undress her. A court heard that the man, who was 24 years at the time, replied: ' 'I've wanted this all the time. I used to watch you when I slept in the lounge and freak.' A Far North Queensland man tricked his cousin into letting him into a bedroom and then raped her without a condom after an indigenous wedding (stock image) On Tuesday he was jailed for six years in the Cairns District Court (pictured) On Tuesday he was jailed for six years in the Cairns District Court. He will be eligible for parole in 21 months, in October next year. Judge Brian Harrison said the man's behaviour 'showed a total lack of respect' and had 'torn the family apart'. In a victim impact statement, the cousin said she felt judged by those in her community and had experienced a relationship breakdown with her partner. The man, who cannot be identified, wrote letters of apology to his cousin and some of her immediate family. Advertisement A woman was pushed to the ground by police as she was protesting against the removal of the homeless people at the makeshift camp outside Flinders Street Station Several arrests were made as violence flared between police and protesters at the homeless campsite outside Flinders Street Station. Homeless people sleeping along Melbourne's busiest street were being evicted ahead of renovations on the historic building. But plans to relocate the rough sleepers were met with anger on Wednesday, with protesters rallying against the removal of the campers. As officers moved in to clear the footpath to allow space for builders to set up scaffolding, chaotic scenes erupted between the homeless people, their supporters and police. The large crowd of people spilled onto the street as they were heard chanting 'f**k the police' and 'let them go' as the campers were being dragged away from their makeshift homes. Officers wearing red vests formed a human wall to barricade the group of campers from protesters, onlookers and media. One woman was seen hitting police and resisting arrest before she was pushed to the ground and handcuffed. It's not clear whether she was a resident of the campsite or a protester. A man repeatedly rammed his mobility scooter into officers. Five arrests were made, four of them are protesters. Two surrounding streets were closed to traffic as a swarm of police officers attempted to stop people causing havoc. By 5.30pm police said the camp had been cleared. The homeless people were given notice by the council to clear out in 24 hours or risk being arrested after they took up half the footpath with bedding, luggage and even a couch in recent weeks. Scroll down for video Dramatic scenes erupted along Melbourne's busiest street as the woman was seen resisting arrest by two police officers A large crowd of protesters have turned up to the makeshift campsite where up to 20 homeless people have been living The woman was spotted setting up her own sleeping bag in the middle of the road to protest against the removal of the camp The woman appeared to have acted out aggressively towards police, who moved in on Wednesday to relocate the homeless 'Sleeping rough is not a crime' a sign on Flinders Street reads - where homeless people are set to be evicted for good Plans to move the rough sleepers with met with anger on Wednesday, with one woman protesting against the move, holding a cardboard sign that reads: 'civil not criminal' The woman who was holding the sign is later seen being led away from the site by police officers Lisa Peterson, who was among the supporters of the homeless, described the scene as a 'circus' after the protest spiralled out of control. 'I think there were only half a dozen homeless people here, yet it's become a circus. The community didn't need a circus,' she told The Age. 'I'm very concerned about the impact this is going to have.' Acting Commander for North-West Metro Stuart Bateson said protesters became violent when police tried to break up the vagrant campsite. 'Police moved in to facilitate work in Flinders Street Station,' Commander Bateson said in a police media conference on Wednesday. 'For this work to be carried out safely we needed to clear all obstructions on the pathway of Flinders Street. 'We tried to negotiate with those that remained, but ultimately when we moved in we were met with resistance from a small group of protesters. 'As a result, three of our members were injured, and we have made five arrests.' Police stand guard after they evicted several homeless people from their makeshift home earlier on Wednesday A man wearing a grey t-shirt and pair of sunglasses is seen being led away from the site by police A man not wearing any shoes was seen being escorted into a police van on Wednesday as dramatic scenes erupted Homeless people have been a regular fixture outside the city's busiest station for years but numbers swelled and tents were erected last month. Swanston and Elizabeth streets was closed for an hour to allow the homeless people to relocate and builders to begin renovations on the station. On Wednesday morning, Housing Minister Martin Foley said 20 or so 'genuine homeless' people still outside the station would be offered accommodation and access to 'intensive' support services for two years. 'It's a pretty good deal and these people should take it,' he told reporters. 'We want to use this as a concerted attempt ... to breakdown the numbers of homelessness.' He said that prior to Wednesday, 15 people have already been placed in housing with another four going into residential rehabilitation services. Police formed a human wall to block the rough sleepers from their supporters, onlookers and media The woman was all smiles moments before she was pushed to the ground and arrested by police officers on Wednesday Police officers formed a human wall to barricade protesters, onlookers and media from the homeless people Police urging people to move along earlier on Wednesday as they moved in to evict the rough sleepers from Flinders Street Supporters of the homeless who gathered outside the camp on Wednesday hoped the package would be delivered in full. 'That's fantastic, at least something will get done,' former rough sleeper and now homeless advocate Simon Zlatain said when told of the government assistance. '(But) the government promise you one thing ... they need to actually do it.' People were given notice by the council to clear out within 24 hours or risk being arrested. However, many have been far from impressed, with signs at the camp reading: 'sleeping rough is not a crime' and 'civil not criminal'. One woman said she has been offered six weeks of accommodation but she would be back on the streets again soon after that. 'It's a disgrace and a shame on the Victorian Government. This is Crown property and we have every right to occupy the streets,' she told 9News. 'If everyone sticks together, united we stand. It's not a criminal act.' A fence was set up to allow space for the builders to set up scaffolding - as police form a human shield to block off protesters Police lined along the busy street to barricade the group of campers from protesters, onlookers and media A homeless person was being escorted away from the footpath after officers moved in to clear way for renovations More than a dozen people have been taking up half the footpath with bedding, luggage and even a couch in recent weeks State government said people sleeping rough at the station will be offered immediate housing Wild scenes escalated on Wednesday afternoon, with one bystander heard verbally abusing the homeless people. 'You'd rather pay for the booze, the drugs, spend all your bullsh** money on something else,' he can be heard saying in a video. 'You take the easy road. 'You going to pay for a drug test, prove me wrong?' He goes on to accuse the rough sleepers of having no life experience. 'Give some f***s,' he said. 'Get some life experience mate.' He was then escorted away from the scene by policemen. The group is being forced out as builders erect scaffolding to begin a paint job on the building After weeks of public outrage and media scrutiny, the people at Flinders St will be relocated Plans to move the rough sleepers with met with anger on Wednesday, with one woman protesting against the move, holding a cardboard sign that reads: 'civil not criminal' A council spokeswoman said the group had been given notice several days ago, with the lord mayor commenting that most were 'compliant'. On Monday afternoon, homeless people protested outside the train station as violent scenes erupted. Police arrested two for anti-social behaviour, including a woman who allegedly assaulted police and a 17-year-old Queensland boy who was charged with numerous assault offences. The lord mayor, responding to public outrage, announced a fortnight ago that he would enact a bylaw to move rough sleepers on - a move that attracted condemnation from homeless groups and the Greens. People sleeping outside Flinders Street Station are set to be evicted for good - but many are far from impressed, with a sign erected at the camp that reads 'sleeping rough is not a crime' People were given notice by the council to clear out within 24 hours or risk being arrested as police move in to help with their relocation on Wednesday morning State government said people sleeping rough at the station will be offered immediate housing Police are moving in to help the homeless people along Flinders Street relocate on Wednesday But the premier backed the plan and police announced a more hardline approach to rough sleepers. Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said they were 'not homeless and choosing to camp in the city'. The state government last week said people sleeping rough at the station will be offered immediate housing as part of a new $10 million state government package. About 40 people will be given units across Melbourne until new additional permanent housing is in place at the end of 2017. Scaffolding will be installed in the area where the makeshift campsite was set up as builders prepare to repaint the building After weeks of public outrage and media scrutiny, the people at Flinders St will be moved Up to 100 MPs are set to defy the will of the people today and vote against Britain leaving the European Union. Dozens of Labour MPs, Scottish Nationalists and Liberal Democrats will spark fury by trying to block the Article 50 Bill giving Theresa May the power to trigger Brexit. As debate began in the Commons yesterday, leading Leave campaigner Michael Gove accused opponents of the Bill of seeking to 'dilute the democratic mandate of the British people'. Brexit Secretary David Davis (pictured) said Britain had passed the 'point of no return' Brexit Secretary David Davis said Britain had passed the 'point of no return' and urged Remain MPs to 'trust the people'. We'll be Europe's top economy for two years Britain will be the fastest growing major economy in Europe over the next two years, according to a report published today. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research says it now expects the economy to grow by 1.7 per cent this year and by 1.9 per cent next year. The eurozone is expected to grow by 1.5 per cent this year and the same again in 2018. The UK forecast for 2017 is better than the 1 per cent the think-tank pencilled in last August, in the aftermath of the EU referendum, and the 1.4 per cent predicted in November. Simon Kirby, an economist at NIESR, said: 'We are faring better than the euro area. That has been a pretty common story. The eurozone has its own travails at the moment.' Of the G7 rich nations, only the United States and Canada will do better than the UK in the next two years, according to the NIESR. But the report warns the robust growth seen since the Brexit vote 'is not expected to persist' as rising prices squeeze family finances. It predicts a peak of 3.7 per cent for inflation this year with an average of 3.3 per cent less than its estimates last year. Unemployment is tipped to rise to 5.1 per cent. Advertisement The vote will plunge Labour into further chaos. Some 35 Labour MPs have declared their intention to vote against the Bill, despite Jeremy Corbyn imposing a three-line whip. Two shadow ministers have already quit so they can oppose the triggering of Article 50, and at least half a dozen more have warned they will rebel. Yesterday shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook warned his colleagues that trying to nullify the referendum risked 'fuelling the rise of the far-Right, adding to the alienation already felt by a significant section of the electorate and perhaps even sparking civil unrest in some parts of the country.' Only one Tory unrepentant Europhile Ken Clarke is expected to vote against the Government. In a highly charged Commons debate, Conservative Remainer Anna Soubry declared that 'all options should remain open' at the end of the negotiations with Brussels. Another Remainer, ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve, described the referendum result as 'an error'. Tory Neil Carmichael said the Government needed to 'keep its options open' and suggested he would press for Britain to have 'associate membership' of the EU. Their comments sparked concerns some Tories could join forces with Labour to secure a vote on the final deal between Britain and the EU. Government sources said this would be 'completely unworkable'. Mr Clarke told the Commons he would not back the Bill, and said Leavers' view of Britain's post-Brexit future was an 'Alice in Wonderland' fantasy. To groans in the House, he referenced Tory MP Enoch Powell a vociferous opponent of mass immigration. Belgians demand free trade to sell us chocs Makers of Belgian chocolate (pictured) are terrified of having to pay tariffs to export to the huge British market Our love of Belgian beer and chocolate could influence how Brexit unfolds, it has emerged. Belgian brewers and chocolatiers are lobbying their government to ensure negotiations with the European Union unfold without punitive terms imposed on Britain. They are worried that their exports could fall victim to massive trade penalties. Belgian exports to Britain, which also include frozen chips, medicine, fruit and textiles, are worth 27 billion a year to the nation, which has a population of just 11 million. The country's Brexit High Level Group said exporters feared a disastrous slump in sales if negotiations turned sour. The group has handed a report to Belgian premier Charles Michel, calling for an 'ambitious' free trade agreement. Mr Michel, who has been unsympathetic to the Brexit movement, said his government would seek to reduce the impact of Britain's departure from the EU on Belgian jobs. Belgium's government tends to follow the European Commission, which has taken a hard line on the deal Britain can expect after Article 50 is triggered. The report was ordered by Belgium's economy minister Kris Peeters and was compiled by the National Bank of Belgium and the Belgian Employers' Federation. Advertisement He said: 'He probably would find it amazing to believe that his party have become Eurosceptic and rather mildly anti-immigrant in a very strange way in 2016.' Opening the debate on the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, Mr Davis said: 'We asked the people of the UK if they wanted to leave the European Union; they decided they did. So at the core of this Bill lies a very simple question: do we trust the people or not?' He said the 'eyes of the nation' were on the Commons, adding: 'For many years, there has been a creeping sense in the country... that politicians say one thing, and do another. 'We voted to give the people the chance to determine our future in a referendum. Now we must honour our side of the agreement: to vote to deliver on the result.' Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said that for Labour, the Bill was 'very difficult'. But he added: 'The notion that the referendum was merely a consultation exercise to inform Parliament holds no water.' Lib Dem Brexit spokesman Nick Clegg was heckled by Tory MPs when he said the House had a 'duty' to vote against the Bill. He said doing so would force ministers to 'come back to this House with a more sensible and moderate approach to Brexit.' SNP spokesman Stephen Gethins accused the Government of 'a lack of respect' for devolution. All 54 SNP MPs will vote against the Bill tomorrow. Leading Tory Eurosceptics accused opponents of the Bill of being 'anti-democratic'. Mr Gove attacked the Lib Dems, saying: 'It is a tragedy that the party which is called Liberal Democrat is scarcely liberal and now anti-democratic.' Opponents of Brexit were 'seeking obfuscation, delay and a dilution of the democratic mandate of the British people', he added. And Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Remain campaigners of a 'shocking, outrageous and monstrous hypocrisy'. What a U-turn! Top City lobbyists back Brexit One of the City's most influential lobby groups has ditched its pro-EU message, instead hailing Brexit as an 'unprecedented opportunity' to boost global trade. In a dramatic U-turn, TheCityUK said Brexit presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a rethink of our commercial relationships with the rest of the world. In the run-up to last year's EU referendum, the group warned of the devastating consequences Brexit would unleash on Britain's economy and its powerhouse financial services sector. It said up to 70,000 jobs could be lost and formulated plans for how companies could cope. But in a report this week, the group launched a withering attack on Brussels describing EU membership as a 'straitjacket' which had hampered Britain's ability to forge lucrative relationships with non-EU nations. This is because Brussels imposes tariffs on goods imported from outside the EU. TheCityUK's director of policy and strategy, Gary Campkin, said: 'An area of opportunity in leaving the EU is ... for the first time in forty-plus years to have an independent trade and investment policy.' Advertisement Just one in four MPs believe Britain must leave Europe's single market after Brexit Only a quarter of MPs believe the UK must leave the European single market to honour the referendum vote for Brexit, according to a new survey. MPs view imposing immigration controls and ending UK contributions to the European Union budgets as more important factors in implementing the referendum result. Nearly six in ten MPs questioned, including 71 per cent of Conservatives and 57 per cent of Labour members, said they would not consider Britain to have really left the EU if foreign nationals continued to have the right to live and work in the UK. Some 35 per cent said that leaving the EU would have to involve Britain ceasing payments into the EU budget and 26 per cent said it would require quitting the single market. MPs view imposing immigration controls and ending UK contributions to the European Union budgets as more important factors in implementing the referendum result Only 5 per cent, including 10 per cent of Tories but none of the Labour MPs questioned, thought the referendum result meant EU nationals currently living in Britain could not be allowed to stay. The survey, by the UK in a Changing Europe think tank and London's Queen Mary University, found that MPs who voted Leave 'want to control immigration at all costs', while Remainers were far more divided over their priorities. Half of MPs believe Parliament should have a vote on the final deal with the EU, but there is little appetite for a further referendum, which is backed by just 13 per cent of MPs, the survey found. All of the Leave-backing MPs interviewed for the study said they were optimistic that the UK will quickly sign trade deals with major powers such as China after quitting the EU, and 86 per cent think the deals will more than compensate for any loss of trade with the EU. By contrast, just a quarter of MPs who backed Remain think there will be swift post-Brexit trade deals, and 71 per cent say that any deals that are struck will not make up for the loss in EU trade. Sixteen per cent of MPs said former prime minister David Cameron's renegotiation of the UK's EU membership made them more likely to vote to Leave than said it had the intended effect of making them more favourable to the Remain side (12 per cent) Some 44 per cent of MPs questioned expected the UK's general economic condition to get worse over the next year, compared to 22 per cent who said it would improve. This contrasts starkly with the position before last year's referendum, when more than 50 per cent expected improvement over the coming 12 months. Among Remain-backing MPs, just 8 per cent expect the economy to improve over the next year and 36 per cent over the coming decade, while 55 per cent of Leavers expect improvement over the next 12 months and 97 per cent over 10 years. Looking back to last year's referendum campaign, only 3 per cent of MPs said that it encouraged them to support more public votes of this type. Some 69 per cent said they had expected Remain to win the vote, against just 22 per cent who correctly predicted victory for Brexit. And more MPs (16 per cent) said former prime minister David Cameron's renegotiation of the UK's EU membership made them more likely to vote to Leave than said it had the intended effect of making them more favourable to the Remain side (12 per cent). Ipsos Mori questioned 101 MPs, including 48 Conservatives, 43 Labour, seven SNP and three others, between October 31 and December 21. The former girlfriend of Man Haron Monis has been sentenced for the 'hot-blooded and frenzied' murder of the Lindt Cafe gunman's ex-wife. Amirah Droudis stabbed the ex-wife, who can only be identified with the pseudonym Helen Lee, 18 times before dousing her with petrol and setting her alight at a Werrington apartment in Sydney's west in 2013. Droudis, 37, appeared calm when she was sentenced on Wednesday to a maximum of 44 years, with a non-parole period of 33 years. Scroll down for video Amirah Droudis, 37, was in November found guilty of the murder of a woman known only as Helen Lee, the ex-wife of Man Monis Droudis was the girlfriend of Lindt cafe gunman Man Haron Monis The earliest she will be released is 22 December is 2047. Droudis was found guilty of the murder in November last year. In handing down his verdict, NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Johnson said it was Monis who orchestrated the attack after a bitter family dispute. He said Droudis had become 'enthralled' by Monis, who took advantage of her willingness to act at his behest. 'Monis had a persuasive power with respect to women,' he told the court. Justice Johnson said while Monis had significant control over Droudis, she had ample opportunity to pull out of the murderous plans. Amirah Droudis, now 37, is pictured about a decade ago. She will spend at least 33 years behind bars Man Monis took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Cafe at Martin Place in Sydney, December 2014 He said Droudis was a woman of sound mind, and was not young or impressionable. No psychiatric or psychological report was tendered in court. Justice Johnson said Droudis' moral culpability in the murder was high and that she had numerous chances to back out of the attack. NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Johnson is pictured handing down sentence 'This was a hot-blooded and frenzied murder by an enraged female attacker,' he said in his judgment. 'This crime had all the hallmarks of a frenzied attack by an angry amateur killer, acting in a manner consistent with Monis' desire.' He said the pair had a very unusual relationship and accepted evidence she suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of Monis, whom he described as an 'evil man'. 'His personality was marked by ... a grandiose sense of self-importance, a lack of empathy and a demonstrated capacity for exploitative behaviour and deceitful conduct,' Justice Johnson said on Wednesday. Justice Johnson accepted evidence the relationship was emotionally and physically abusive (Droudis and Monis are pictured together) 'This was a hot-blooded and frenzied murder by an enraged female attacker,' Justice Johnson said in his remarks of Droudis (pictured about a decade ago) Droudis is pictured outside Downing Centre Local Court in central Sydney 'He exploited what life in Australia offered him.' Droudis, a Greek Australian, was radicalised by Monis and has continued living as a committed Muslim at Silverwater Correctional Centre, the court heard. In his remarks, Justice Johnson said Droudis brought a container of petrol and set Ms Lee alight to 'obliterate any possible chance of survival' - though the court heard she was already dead. Justice Johnson called the murder 'callous'. He said the murder was motivated by a desire to remove the ex-wife from the picture to form a single family unit with Monis and Ms Lee's children. The murder caused 'serious harm' by depriving the children of a mother, and Ms Lee's parents of their only child, Justice Johnson said. At Droudis' judge-alone trial, her defence team suggested the assailant could have been another woman or a hired bikie killer. But Justice Johnson rejected the theories as fanciful and inconsistent with the evidence. He said Droudis had adopted Monis' view of the world, appearing in videos spouting his extreme beliefs and even helping him contact dead soldiers' families so he could inflict his twisted views on them. Tales From the Coast Rating: Sicily: The Wonder of the Mediterranean Rating: The inhabitants of Lundy take a dim view of the 21st century. No cars. No electricity after midnight. No wifi. And definitely no celebrities. Most of the locals are Atlantic grey seals, not humans, and on their rocky outcrop in the Bristol Channel they have strict rules. Puffins are tolerated luvvies are not. No one warned Robson Green, who donned his diving gear and leapt into the choppy seas on Tales From The Coast (ITV) to go Snorkelling With Seals. It could hardly be dangerous, after all not like Swimming With Sharks or Dancing With Wolves. Robson Green donned diving gear to swim with seals on Tales From The Coast (ITV) on Tuesday night He kept a polite distance and let the curious youngsters slide over to check him out. Soon seal pups were nibbling his flippers, as Robson gurgled with delight. He bobbed his head above water to gasp, with nauseating sincerity: I truly believe if you love nature and look after it, then it will love you and look after you back. Then he was attacked. A bull male seal, longer than him and three times as heavy, barrelled into his chest and started snapping at his arms and legs. Robson tried to make light of it later, but as he was hauled out of the water by the boat crew he was plainly terrified. The bull didnt hang around to be interviewed after the fight, so we cant be sure whether it saw Robson as a love rival, a threat to the pups or just a sanctimonious nuisance. But theres a lucrative career awaiting this big, grumpy grey. SEX SYMBOL OF THE WEEK The Morse prequel Endeavour (ITV) has been recommissioned for more two-hour episodes this time six of them, not just four, set in 1968. All very promising, not least for the many devoted fans of Shaun Evans, who plays the detective. Admit it, ladies, you adore him. Advertisement Imagine if, every time Meryl Streep starting sighing about inequality on stage, a massive seal started barking at her. Or whenever Gary Lineker joined a protest, waving his liberal credentials on a placard, a ton of fishy blubber sank its teeth into his leg. The seal was the star, but Robson was good value. He was enjoying himself much more on the North Devon coastline, where he spent his childhood holidays, than he did a few weeks ago on that Pacific paradise isle, beset by mosquitoes and food poisoning. Though hes never tried rock-climbing before, he gamely tackled a 400 ft slab of granite on Lundy known as the Devils Slide. It looked genuinely scary. And at Clovelly, a picturesque village of steep, cobbled streets where part-time second-homers are banned from buying the whitewashed stone cottages, he made headlines by attempting to rescue a gent who had toppled over a cliff. When he couldnt haul him to safety, Robson summoned the coastguard helicopter. Im not a hero, he said modestly, dipping his head like Lady Di. He was a great salesman for British holidays, though. When he went rock-pooling, he was revelling like a child and he was beside himself with excitement as he helped to drain the tidal pools at Ilfracombe and spotted a 5 ft conger eel. Meanwhile, historian Michael Scott took his working holiday much further south in Sicily: The Wonder Of The Mediterranean (BBC2) Leading us through cliff tunnels carved by Welsh miners almost 200 years ago, he explained how the first lady bathers at the seaside were so shy that a bugler had to be posted on the coastal path to warn of any gentlemen approaching. Victorian men, on the other hand, swam naked. Robson chose to wear a wetsuit. Bet he was grateful for that when he got monstered by the anti-celebrity seal. Historian Michael Scott took his working holiday much further south in Sicily: The Wonder Of The Mediterranean (BBC2). No rock-pooling or chip suppers for him he was more intent on learning to tread grapes in the ancient tradition of wine-making. Then he was off to Signor Corrado, the barber of Syracuse, for a cut-throat shave and a chat in Italian. Michael wasnt afraid to stand up in a Roman amphitheatre and recite Shakespeare, like a sixth-former showing off in the school play. This was billed as an investigation of the islands archaeology and the successive invasions by Greeks, Carthaginians and Moors that shaped its character. But really it was a posh travelogue, aimed at people who love to boast of the dear little taverna they know in Palermo . . . and wouldnt dream of eating crab paste sandwiches on Devons beautiful sands. Lizard Man Bronson Ellery's terrified ex-girlfriend considered faking her own death to escape him just one month before he brutally murdered her in his Gold Coast apartment. Shelsea Schilling was just 20-years-old when her ex-partner Ellery - dubbed 'Lizard Man' by the police because of his tattooed appearance - bashed and suffocated her in November last year. Ms Schilling's mother Bonnie Mobbs revealed on Tuesday her daughter wanted to escape Ellery and start a new life. Lizard Man Bronson Ellery's (right) terrified ex-girlfriend Shelsea Schilling (left) considered faking her own death to escape him just one month before he stabbed her to death 'I only found out after the fact but she needed money because she wanted to change her identity or she'd need to fake her own death,' Ms Mobbs told the Gold Coast Bulletin at a Red Rose Foundation rally at Labrador. 'She even said to me and this is a long time ago something along the lines of "sometimes it's better staying with him because at least you know you are not going to die".' Ms Schilling reportedly did attempt to escape from Ellery before her death, even moving from the Gold Coast to New South Wales temporarily. Ms Schilling (left) reportedly did attempt to escape from Ellery (right) before her death, even moving from the Gold Coast to New South Wales temporarily Ms Schilling (left) was reportedly terrified of her ex-partner Bronson Ellery (right) before her death Ellery was dubbed the 'Lizard Man' by the police because of his tattooed appearance Bronson Ellery was dubbed the 'Lizard Man' by the police because of his tattooed appearance But she missed her family and returned not long after. In an attempt to go unrecognised she cut her hair and dyed it a different colour. She also quit her retail job at Harbour Town, where Ellery used to visit her during work hours. She also had a restraining order taken out against him. Ms Schilling's interest in faking her own death was also confirmed by her best friend Allana Miley on Tuesday. Ms Miley said her friend spoke about disappearing and allowing her family to mourn her. 'What she wanted to do was be dead to everybody, so she didn't exist. (She) was going to be dead to her mum and dad,' she told the Gold Coast Bulletin. Ms Schilling's interest in faking her own death to escape Ellery was also confirmed by her best friend on Tuesday Shelsea Schilling (left) with her sister Chloe (right). Chloe posted this photo to her Facebook pleading for information about her sister's whereabouts when they discovered her missing Ms Schilling's mother Bonnie Mobbs (pictured) revealed on Tuesday her daughter wanted to escape Ellery who she previously had a restraining order against - and start a new life Ms Mobbs posts heartbreaking message on Facebook about her murdered daughter Shelsea Schilling Ms Schilling's mother has actively campaigned for the safety of domestic violence victims since the November murder-suicide. 'How many lives need to be innocently taken by the actions of selfish people,' Ms Mobbs said at the Red Rose rally where family and friends turned up to show their support. Ms Mobbs called for 'better protection' of victims online. 'The government laws need better protection for all these innocent people. Put an anklet band on these bastards and monitor every move. Even if the victim has to wear a bracelet to alert them that the perpetrators are nearby,' she wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. The disgraced former head of the child abuse inquiry charged taxpayers almost 6,000 to fly treasured possessions including a vase 11,400 miles across the world from New Zealand. Dame Lowell Goddard, who became Britain's highest paid civil servant when she took up the role as the third chair of the beleaguered inquiry, demanded that a favourite vase and other personal items be flown from her home in Wellington to Britain. The New Zealand judge, who was paid 360,000 - double the wages of the Prime Minister - billed the public purse 5,812 to fly out cherished possessions which she claimed she could not be parted from. She said she needed to have the objects in her flat in Kensington, West London, for which taxpayers were also paying 119,207 in rent and utility bills. The astonishing largesse of the former chair of Britain's biggest public inquiry, who was branded a 'disgrace' after she quit last year, only emerged after the Home Office refused a Freedom of Information request about her employment. Now the Government's financial watchdog is threatening to investigate the entire 100million child abuse inquiry over the vase scandal. Dame Lowell Goddard demanded that a favourite vase and other personal items be flown from her home in Wellington to Britain and billed the public purse 5,812 to fly out the items The National Audit Office (NAO) has been asked to undertake a 'Value for Money' investigation into the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The request was made by Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who has raised concerns about 'the use of public funds to meet excessive expenses, salary and severance payments' for the inquiry. Miss Nandy wrote to the Home Office requesting all communications around the employment of the New Zealand judge. But the freedom of information request was refused on the grounds that it would deter future candidates from applying for the post. Undeterred, Miss Nandy wrote to the National Audit Office saying: 'I am concerned that IICSA is not presently subject to any scrutiny regarding its use of public funds. 'Despite serious concerns emerging in the past year about the use of public funds to meet excessive expenses, salary and severance payments, both the Home Office and the IICSA have refused to disclose details about how money has been spent.' Now NAO chief Sir Amyas Morse has agreed that there is 'real scope for the NAO to look at some of the issues' and ordered a director to carry out 'initial inquiries' into the finances of the independent inquiry. It is the first time the financial watchdog has been asked to intervene in the spending of an independent inquiry. Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who has raised concerns about 'the use of public funds to meet excessive expenses, salary and severance payments' for the inquiry Dame Lowell, who quit last August, cost the taxpayer over 500,000 last year, including a payoff of over 80,000. Under an extraordinary deal agreed with the Home Office, taxpayers paid out 29,156 in relocation costs and 67,319 for flights back and forth to New Zealand. But when she unexpectedly quit, the inquiry refused to foot the bill to transport her vase home. The chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee branded Dame Lowell a 'disgrace' after she refused to appear before MPs who want to quiz her over her tumultuous 16-month tenure when she is alleged to have made racist remarks and been abusive to staff, which she denies. Yesterday Miss Nandy said: 'This is an astonishing use of public funds at a time when the victims and survivors of child abuse are struggling to meet their own costs to participate in the inquiry. 'It beggars belief that Theresa May set up an inquiry this important without any oversight of how public money is spent. 'I welcome the National Audit Office's decision to begin initial investigations into the way public money has been spent by the Child Abuse Inquiry. Now the Government's financial watchdog is threatening to investigate the entire 100million child abuse inquiry over the vase scandal 'Since Theresa May set this inquiry up in 2014 as Home Secretary it has been beset by problems and characterised by secrecy. 'It cannot be right that an inquiry that has already spent more than 30m of taxpayers' money is not accountable to Parliament or the public.' There has been concern over mounting costs following a series of delays to the inquiry, which was set up to examine decades of allegations of abuse in institutions including the government. Hearings are yet to start, but the probe has already cost 34million and the final bill to the public purse is expected to top 100million by 2020. More than 3million has gone on hiring a battery of lawyers charging up to 200 an hour before a single word of evidence has been heard. According to the latest financial report, 4.1million has been spent on staff, which includes an accommodation allowance for the current chairman, Professor Alexis Jay of 35,150 on top of her 185,000 salary and 10,773 expenses. But the inquiry has refused to disclose any further details on staff spending or expenses. The National Audit probe raises the prospect of yet another inquiry into the crisis-hit inquiry. Professor Alexis Jay has already had to call in an independent legal expert to examine an alleged cover-up of sexual assault and bullying claims at its headquarters. An IICSA spokesperson said: 'To assist with the relocation costs, the inquiry paid for a number of personal possessions to be brought to the UK for Dame Lowell's residence at a total cost of 5,812.32. 'The figure includes insuring the items as well as shipping costs and was a one-off expense to the inquiry. We did not pay for the items to be returned to New Zealand.' Nigel Farage has accused Sadiq Khan of hypocrisy after the Mayor of London invited ambassadors from countries which impose immigration bans on Israelis to City Hall. At the meeting the Mayor slammed President Trump's 'cruel, prejudiced and counterproductive' policy of banning immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries. But representatives from Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen - which do not allow entry to Israelis - were all welcomed at the reception last night. Former UKIP leader Mr Farage branded Mr Khan a hypocrite on Twitter and asked why he 'did not oppose' those bans. His view was supported by Tory MP and former justice secretary Michael Gove, who re-tweeted him. Scroll down for video Nigel Farage, left, has accused Sadiq Khan, right, of hypocrisy after the latter spoke out against Donald Trump's immigration ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries but invited diplomats from countries that operate similar bans on Israel to a summit in London The International Air Transport Association say Israeli passport holders - and in some cases travellers with Israeli stamps in their passports - are banned from Syria, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. The 16 countries around the world with an Israeli travel ban There are 16 countries around the world that have a travel ban on all people with Israeli passports. Some of the anti-Israeli nations also ban people who have been to the country and have a stamp in their passport. These are: Syria, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Advertisement Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also have an Israeli ban, according to the IATA. Mr Farage wrote on Twitter: 'Why are there 11 diplomats from nations that ban Jewish Israelis at your meeting tonight? Why don't you oppose them? Hypocrite.' Mr Khan said before the meeting he would be speaking about why he opposed all immigration bans based on religion/nationality. According to the Evening Standard, he was due to make a speech about how the UK had a 'responsibility to show moral leadership'. He was expected to say: 'You don't need me to tell you that there's no contradiction between subscribing to Western values of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and freedom of speech and being a Muslim. 'Nor do you need me to tell you that targeting people for no reason other than their faith or their country of birth is cruel, prejudiced and counterproductive.' Earlier in the day the Mayor called on Mr Trump to think again about his decision to close US borders to a host of Muslim-majority nations. Mr Farage asked why Mr Khan did not oppose such countries that 'ban Jewish Israelis' on Twitter He said: 'As close friends of America, as somebody who boasts of having a special relationship, we shouldn't be scared of saying boo to a goose. We should say to our close friends 'You've got this wrong'. 'While the ban is in place we should not be rolling out the red carpet, we should not be having a state visit and the offer of a state visit should be rescinded. 'I've heard the views of Londoners loudly and clearly over the last few days ... The Government should take heed.' Asked whether he expected people to protest again during the state visit, Mr Khan said: 'The reality is we've got a rich history of peaceful protest. We've got a rich history of people expressing their views, either by signing petitions or turning up on the streets to protest peacefully. 'I don't expect that to change.' According to the Jewish Chronicle, Mr Khan 'changed his mind' about boycotting Israel after calling for sanctions against the country in 2009. He told the paper he wanted to 'send a message around the world' by being a Muslim mayor 'who does more to protect Jewish Londoners from antisemitism' than ever before. He added: 'The evidence clearly shows that boycott, sanctions and divestment against Israel do not help us achieve peace we must not turn our face against Israel.' A spokesperson for the Mayor said: 'The Mayor believes that any travel ban based on nationality or religion is shameful and cruel. 'He used last night's reception to call for greater global values of tolerance, diversity and freedom.' A record number of fines have been issued to middle-class taxpayers who make mistakes on their returns. Figures suggest HM Revenue & Customs is taking a tougher stance against ordinary households to ensure they pay every penny they owe. It has fuelled accusations that the taxman is focusing too much attention on such taxpayers while allowing big companies and the super-rich to game the system. Yesterday was the deadline for submitting an online self-assessment tax return The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, show that HMRC issued 143,000 penalties last year to people who filed inaccurate information about their finances because they were deemed not to have taken reasonable care. This is almost three times the 55,000 fines imposed in the 2012-2013 tax year. Accountants said HMRC is in danger of looking like it is engaging in penalty farming, in an attempt to squeeze more money out of taxpayers. There are concerns that people are being penalised for innocent mistakes, such as forgetting to declare the interest on a savings account or details of a gym membership received through work. But they go easy on the rich and powerful While HMRC has issued a record number of fines to those who made mistakes, it has been less willing to take on powerful multinational companies. Last year, it emerged that Google had paid HMRC only 130 million for ten years of back taxes, despite its estimated annual sales of 5.3 billion. It was hailed by then Chancellor George Osborne as a victory, following a six-year HMRC investigation, but the Government was heavily criticised for its deal with the internet giant. Starbucks paid 8.6million in tax to HMRC over a period of 14 years from 1998 and between 2009 to 2012 it paid no tax at all. Thanks to its tax avoidance, whereby it officially posted a loss in the UK, the company managed to pay only 0.3 per cent tax on its 3billion revenue in the country. In 2015, Amazon was revealed to have paid only 11.9million in tax, despite sales from British shoppers totalling 5.3billion. Because sales in the UK were attributed to the companys Luxembourg arm, its UK subsidiary could report the comparatively small profit of 34.4million. Facebook managed to pay HMRC only 4,327 in corporation tax in 2014, despite dolling out more than 35million to its 362 UK staff in a share bonus scheme. By operating at a loss it was able to keep the tax bill down. While HMRC has claimed to be tracking down 2billion of unpaid tax, investigators have closed 72 cases of suspected tax fraud. To date, the specialist unit set up to investigate the cases has only achieved one conviction. Advertisement The figures, requested by accountancy firm RSM, also showed a jump of almost 40 per cent in the number fined by the taxman for deliberately understating income on their return. In 2015/16 the taxman issued 28,663 fines for such errors, compared with 20,740 in 2014-15. In the 2012-13 tax year there were only 5,162 fines issued for these errors, meaning the number of penalties has risen more than five-fold in just four years. The figures emerged ahead of yesterdays deadline for submitting an online self-assessment tax return. These returns are usually completed by those earning more than 100,000, people with multiple sources of income and those who are self-employed. It comes as HMRC faces growing criticism from MPs for appearing to take a more lenient approach with wealthy taxpayers. A damning report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee last week said HMRCs failure to get tough with Britains richest individuals is undermining confidence in the entire tax system. It criticised HMRC for collecting 1billion less tax from high net worth individuals worth 20million or more, six years after setting up a special task force to crack down on super-rich tax dodgers. It accused the taxman of creating the impression in its dealings with taxpayers that there was one rule for the rich and another for everyone else. Critics have accused HMRC of picking on easier cases rather than more complex cases typically involving rich individuals to hit targets for cracking down on tax avoidance. Last night one MP said HMRC spends too much time hounding ordinary taxpayers to pay their fair share while the wealthy are often let off the hook. HMRC has launched high profile campaigns to crack down on tax evasion by plumbers and tradesmen. Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, said: HMRC needs to focus less on small businesses and hard-pressed families. Instead they need to crack down on the super-rich people and multinational companies who game the tax system. George Bull, a tax expert at RSM told The Times: This spike in penalties suggests a marked change in attitude at HMRC and it is clear that inspectors are taking a much harder line. Yesterday was the deadline for filling out self-assessments online However, the taxman needs to be wary of the perception that it is engaging in penalty farming; and ensure it does not unfairly penalise people who are not trying to deliberately deceive. HMRC categorises tax return errors into four areas: not deliberate; failure to take reasonable care; deliberate understatement; and, the most severe, deliberate understatement with concealment. The size of the fine depends on how the error is classified, but it can be up to 100 per cent of the tax due and the taxpayer will also have to hand over the tax owed. An HMRC spokesman said: The penalty rules are designed to create a level playing field for the majority who make the effort to get things right while penalising the minority who try to get round the rules by making careless mistakes. A 14-year-old autistic boy who is accused of stabbing his mother to death before being found hiding under floorboards with her blood dripping over him will be charged as an adult for the crime. The Greenville County Sheriff's Office said that Miguel Cano confessed to stabbing his mother, Isabel Cristina Zuluaga, 44, to death in September 2015 at their home in Simpsonville, South Carolina, WHNS reported. Cano, who was aged 13 at the time of the incident, allegedly used a large knife to kill his mother right before bedtime. A contractor who entered the property to carry out repair work first discovered Cano hiding in a crawlspace under the house with blood dripping through the floorboards above him. The Greenville County Sheriff's Office said that Miguel Cano (left) confessed to stabbing his mother, Isabel Cristina Zuluaga (right), 44, to death in September 2015 at their home in Simpsonville, South Carolina Cano, who was aged 13 at the time of the incident, allegedly used a large knife to kill his mother (pictured) right before bedtime. The coroner said Zuluaga suffered multiple stab wounds to her torso The contractor then went inside the home and found the mother dead in a bedroom, according to the sheriffs office The Greenville County Sheriff's Office said that Cano, who was a student at Bryson Middle School, was found hours after the discovery of his mother's dead body walking along a road alone. Once Cano was in custody, he confessed to killing his mother, who the coroner said suffered multiple stab wounds to her torso. The contractor went inside the home and found Zuluaga dead in a bedroom, all according to the sheriffs office. At the time of his confession, Greenville County sheriff Steve Loftis said: 'The fact that there was no remorse shown that we could see, it's just an extremely unusual incident. A contractor who entered the property to carry out repair work first discovered Cano hiding in a crawlspace under the house with blood dripping through the floorboards above him (scene above) 'I don't have a good grasp of what he was thinking, why he did it and so forth. That would be pure speculation at this point.' On Tuesday, the Solicitor's Office announced that Cano will be charged as an adult for the killing. During a court hearing last year, teachers testified that the boy was a strong student. But a doctor from the Department of Juvenile Justice said Cano performed well on academic IQ tests, but he scored poorly on emotional IQ tests, citing that family 'could never read him,' WHNS reported. The contractor then went inside the home and found the mother (pictured) dead in a bedroom. On Tuesday, officials announced that Cano will be charged as an adult for the crime In addition, other medical doctors at the hearing said that the teen was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and might have been struggling to handle the stress sensory overload, which is often a struggle for children who have the disorder. Solicitor Walt Wilkins said that severity of the crime was a major factor for the case to be transferred to General Sessions Court. The maximum sentence for a murder conviction if Cano was tried as a juvenile would be imprisonment until age 21. Since he is now being charged as an adult, he faces up to 30 years to life in prison if convicted. Authorities have not released a motive for the killing. A woman has crashed her car into a lake narrowly missing a pole, a tree and passing cyclists as she fumbled with her GPS. The 50-year-old woman, from Western Australia, had to be rescued from her Toyota Camry after it landed in the Swan River, Perth on Tuesday evening. The car dropped two metres causing a large splash when it broke the surface of the water, The West Australian reported. Scroll down for video A woman has driven her car into Perth's Swan River after 'checking her GPS' and losing control The car was removed from the river using a crane on Tuesday evening A passerby saw the huge splash made by the car and jumped in the water to help rescue the woman who was unharmed, but panicking. The rescuer managed to convince the woman to wind down her window so he could help her out. By this time another man had jumped into the water to assist in getting the driver to the surface. When police arrived she told them she had been checking her GPS when she lost control of the car and it ploughed off the road and into the water. The female driver, a 50-year-old woman, was taken to hospital following the crash but didn't appear to be injured The woman was rescued by someone passing by when the accident unfolded The car was removed from the river shortly after the accident on Tuesday night Sen. Const Rob Townsend said people need to concentrate when they are driving. 'A moment's inattention can lead to absolutely anything,' he said. A crane was used to remove the car from the river. The female driver did not appear to be hurt in the accident - but was taken to hospital as a precaution. The female driver did not appear to be hurt in the accident - but was taken to hospital as a precaution The 36th in line to the throne has posted this picture on Instagram backing refugees She was crowned the most beautiful member of the Royal Family by society bible Tatler, but is 21-year-old Lady Amelia Windsor also the most subversive? The 36th in line to the throne, right, daughter of the Earl and Countess of St Andrews and granddaughter of the Duke of Kent, has posted this picture on Instagram with the rainbow-coloured words: 'Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here', alongside an illustration of three clenched fists raised in the air. 'Let the evil in the world be always conquered by the good,' she writes alongside the image. It is no accident that Amelia posted the message on the same day U.S. President Donald Trump was widely denounced for his immigration ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. More than 1.7 million people in Britain have signed an official petition to rescind Britain's invitation to Trump of a state visit this year. The royals traditionally refrain from making political statements. But just two weeks ago, Amelia told a magazine that she was intending to make her Instagram account public. 'I love that we can share all the beautiful and meaningful things we see and hear in the world,' she said. 'I find it so inspiring and uplifting.' The second-year French and Italian student at Edinburgh University is signed to Storm, the model agency that turned Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne into household names. Amelia has never been a stickler for convention and once adorned her left shoulder with a temporary tattoo of a tiger. She marked the Queen's 90th birthday in ostentatiously scruffy style. As her royal elders quaffed champagne at Windsor Castle to toast Her Majesty, Amelia was photographed in ripped jeans and trainers at a pub in Notting Hill called the Windsor Castle. It is no accident that Amelia posted the message on the same day U.S. President Donald Trump was widely denounced for his immigration ban Is this the latest cappuccino hiring by James Harding, the BBCs director of news? Some sinecures are said to be handed out over a cosy coffee rather than candidates going through an interview process. The newest recruit to take up work as a BBC broadcaster is David Camerons former policy adviser Baroness Cavendish. Shes doing a small number of authored pieces for the Today programme on some topical policy issues, says a BBC spokesman. There was anger last month when she quit the Conservatives just two months after taking her seat in the Lords as a Tory peer. Cavendish, 48, who was ennobled in Camerons resignation honours list, said she had been offered a new job and it was not possible for her to accept it while she represented the Conservative Party. Her job has yet to be divulged. How keen is Sir Peter Bazalgette to shrug off his responsibilities as chairman of Arts Council England? Summoned to give evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport select committees Brexit inquiry on his final day in the job, the man who famously brought Big Brother to the UK, exclaimed: Twelve hours to go! Who ruled the roost at Chinese New Year? Sir David Tangs China Tang restaurant celebrated the Chinese New Year of the Rooster. The room was full of puffed up chests and red faces, but who was the biggest cockerel of them all? From left, Harry Bunter Worcester, aka the Marquess of Worcester; Duke of Marlborough; Ali Spencer-Churchill, nephew of the 11th Duke of Marlborough; and Jeremy Clarkson 1. Harry Worcester Harry Bunter Worcester, aka the Marquess of Worcester, is heir to the Duke of Beaufort and a 315 million fortune. Last year, he triggered a costly divorce by ending his near 30-year marriage to Tracy Ward, mother of his three children. The 64-year-old is an aspiring rock star, singing with his band the Listening Device. 2. Duke of Marlborough The 12th Duke of Marlborough, 61, has always lived life in the fast lane, quite literally given his several charges for dangerous driving. A former addict, his proclivity for forged prescriptions saw him spend time in prison. His concerned father considered disinheriting him from the familys Blenheim Palace seat. Luckily his behaviour improved with age and he inherited the family seat in 2014. 3. Ali Spencer-Churchill Nephew of the 11th Duke of Marlborough, Ali Spencer-Churchill was one of societys most eligible bachelors until he married PR girl Scarlett Strutt last year. In 2009, he set up wealth management company SCM Private with notorious Brexit blocker Gina Miller, but left the venture after less than a year. 4. Jeremy Clarkson The TV presenters membership of the Chipping Norton Set has seen him forge close friendships with socialites such as Jemima Goldsmith and ex-PM David Cameron. The former Top Gear host was relieved from his duties at the BBC for punching a producer. Why is my throat sore? My baby has a red rash. Do I have depression? What are the symptoms of breast cancer? How do I get rid of a migraine? These days, millions of the people consult Google every day about health issues before they even think about going to a doctor, but the responses may not be reliable. Now, the search engine is launching a service that aims to increase the trustworthiness of the answers to medical questions people ask on the web. Dr Google has launched a new health card to provide Australians with accurate information about the condition, symptoms and diagnosis fact checked by a panel of qualified doctors From today, searches on around 900 common health complaints will retrieve 'Health Condition Cards' that display information that has been fact-checked by a panel of qualified doctors and the Mayo Clinic. A similar feature was introduced in the United States in 2015. Google has partnered with Australian groups and is using local data to tailor responses to better suit Australian users, project manager Isobel Solaqua told The Sydney Morning Herald. The feature will include an outline of the condition, symptoms, diagnosis, and prevalence according to age at the top of search results. Australians can now trust that Dr Google is providing them with reliable health information The feature, launched by the internet giant on Wednesday, will show accurate information For some conditions you'll also see high-quality illustrations from licensed medical illustrators. With one in 20 online searches related to health, Google says they want to empower their users. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has welcomed the new Google health tool, but says nothing it better than speaking directly with a doctor if people have concerns about their health. Tony Bartone from the AMA said anything that improves or supports a patient's health literacy is a good thing. Millions of Australians tend to turn to Google to search about health conditions (stock image) Australians can now trust Dr Google to provide them with reliable information but any health concerns should be discussed with a GP (stock image) 'What this has done has improved the quality and accuracy of the information people will get when they do the very frequent health searches because up until now the results of the searches were indiscriminate in terms of their veracity and reliability.' But the information should not be used to form a diagnosis, warned Dr Bartone. 'It is information - it is not knowledge. It is essentially to aid a person's understanding around a certain condition,' he said. 'A diagnosis is based upon taking a history, an examination and knowing the past medical history of that patient and a management plan is formulated on all those inputs,' said Dr Bartone. Any health concerns should be discussed with a GP. Incredible drone footage of New York's forgotten leper colony has captured a haunting labyrinth of crumbling ruins which have been closed to the public for 50 years. Opened as a quarantine center in 1885, it was once home to hundreds of patients including the notorious 'Typhoid Mary' - the first healthy carrier of any disease ever to be identified - who spent years confined in its bleak woods. Its first inhabitants were those unfortunate patients with communicable diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis, scarlet fever and leprosy, who were forcibly removed from the city's teeming streets and sent to live away the rest of their lives on the bleak little island, located just 350 yards away from the South Bronx, in New York. Incredible drone footage of New York's forgotten leper colony has captured a haunting labyrinth of crumbling ruins which have been closed to the public for 50 years The footage shows the quarantine hospital on North Brother Island on New York's East River Opened as a quarantine center in 1885, it was once home to hundreds of patients including the notorious 'Typhoid Mary' - the first healthy carrier of any disease ever to be identified - who spent years confined in its bleak woods The colony on North Brother Island closed in 1963, and since then it has been abandoned and mostly forgotten about. Protected birds are its only inhabitants and the waters around the island are patrolled by armed coastguards who ensure the sanctity of the former quarantine zone is never violated. But drone videographer Scott Kalberer found a way round the strict ban on public access. Kalberer, part of the aerial filmmaker group DCEIT, rented a speed boat with friends and sailed just 100 feet from the island last June. The colony on North Brother Island closed in 1963, and since then it has been abandoned and mostly forgotten about Drone videographer Scott Kalberer David Erath found a way round the strict ban on public access Kalberer, part of the aerial filmmaker group DCEIT, rented a speed boat with friends and sailed just 100 feet from the island last June There they launched two camera-equipped drones to fly across the island, capturing the dramatic footage as they went. David Erath, one of the friends on the boat, later posted the footage. Cameras reveal the decaying buildings dotted round the island. They include Riverside Hospital where patients with smallpox, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases were sent for treatment. While the video offers viewers a tantalizing glimpse of the mysterious island, the more adventurous may soon get a chance to visit in person. The city's parks department is considering granting 'limited' public access to North Brother Island after Manhattan Council member Mark Levine, was granted funding to study the feasibility of hosting small, seasonal tours. 'This is really a vision of limited, highly-curated public access that could be done in a way that respects the historical and natural integrity of the island,' Levine told Gothamist on Thursday. 'We are reopening the discussion and exploring options for some limited visits. Perhaps volunteer projects [for the public],' said Matt Drury, director of government relations for the Parks Department. 'We are beginning those conversations now.' There they launched two camera-equipped drones to fly across the island, capturing the dramatic footage as they went. David Erath, one of the friends on the boat, later posted the footage Cameras reveal the decaying buildings dotted round the island. They include Riverside Hospital where patients with smallpox, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases were sent for treatment 'With the very significant investment that would be necessary to make that access truly [happen],' he hedged, 'the city has to weigh those costs and benefits.' Levine's feasibility study will not be complete until later this month but study leader - University of Pennsylvania Preservation Professor Randall Mason said early signs are good. He believes that 'carefully curated public access is feasible and would positively impact New Yorkers' although he suggested limiting it to students and Bronx community groups to prevent posing a hazard to the island's herons. Mason believes that to make it safe, some of the most decrepit structures should be taken down or stabilized. North Brother Island is situated in the Hell Gate, a treacherous section of the East River between The Bronx and Riker's Island. While the video offers viewers a tantalizing glimpse of the mysterious island, the more adventurous may soon get a chance to visit in person Pictures show nature beginning to reclaim the island as trees and vines grow over the buildings The building has long been a source of intrigue for local historians and urban explorers Some of the buildings are crumbling, while the roof of one structure has almost completely collapsed Living conditions were primitive, a hotch-potch of pavilions, tents and cottages flung up around the central Riverside Hospital. When bad weather stopped ferries from running there were food shortages and in winter, frequently little heat. Incarceration on North Brother was often a death sentence. Those who did return from its shores spoke of a hellish environment like 'the black hole of Calcutta.' With the dawn of the 20th century, city authorities made a desperate attempt to clean up North Brother with better buildings and improved care. The island was now mainly a home for tuberculosis patients and for those suffering from venereal disease. In 1942, it closed for the first time before being used to house World War Two veterans who were studying in the city. But this idea was quickly abandoned. In 1952, it underwent its final transformation, hosting an experimental programme to treat juvenile drug addicts. When this, too, failed, the North Brother was left to the ravages of time. The video starts with the drone following the boat as they sailed from New York to the island The island is currently only open to a select few bird experts, who have a particular interest in its colony of black-crowned night herons, and city patrol officers - though a number of bloggers have detailed illicit trips to its shores. Local historian and photographer Ian Ference, who was given unprecedented access to the site, said that the island had a 'notorious and sometimes sinister reputation.' TYPHOID MARY, THE WOMAN WHO MADE MEDICAL HISTORY Mary Mallon was the most infamous patient at North Brother Island where she spent nearly three decades of her life. Despite being healthy, she was a carrier of the typhoid virus and is believed to have been responsible for 43 infections and three deaths. 'Typhoid' Mary, an Irish immigrant who emigrated to the U.S. in 1884, worked as a cook from 1900 to 1907. She was first identified as a carrier by medical researcher George Soper, who concluded she was responsible for a spate of infections linked to where she lived and worked. But she refused to listen to him. Instead, the city intervened after Soper published his findings, and his subject was forcibly incarcerated on North Brother from 1907 to 1910. Typhoid Mary fought for three years to be released, claiming she was being persecuted by the authorities. She was finally set free on the proviso she would stop working as a cook. But Mary Mallon promptly changed her name and broke her pledge, leading to her return to the island in 1915. She was to stay there, living in her own cottage, until her death in 1938. When doctors carried out a post-mortem, they found live typhoid cultures in her body. Advertisement He was able to document the crumbling ruins of the islands' hospital, staff and patient quarters and forced drug rehabilitation centers as they slowly revert to nature. 'It was established as a forced quarantine camp for people suffering from infectious and often fatal diseases such as typhoid, scarlet fever, yellow fever and typhus,' Ference said of North Brother. 'There were six people suffering from leprosy confined here in wooden huts. 'New York was taking in a huge number of immigrants in the late nineteenth and earth twentieth centuries - and new arrivals were forced to live in crowded and unsanitary conditions. 'Diseases would inevitably spread and once the health authorities identified a person as having a communicable disease they were seized and forced to live on North Brother Island - unless they were rich enough to afford a private clinic. 'Conditions were bad - the mortality rate among patients was high and the recovery rate low. 'There was no telephone in those early days so once people were grabbed and taken there - they were often never heard from again by their families.' Other closed-off sites the city is considering whether to reopen include Hart Island - a burial site for the city's poor and unfortunate - the interiors of monuments like the Washington Square Park Arch and the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch at Grand Army Plaza, and the Croton Aqueduct. 'You are never going to have as many users [at these sites] as the great lawn of Central Park,' Levine said. 'Nor would we want that. But there's just something so unique in these spaces. How we dealt with infectious disease, how we honored our war dead. You can read about [these things] in textbooks, but to touch the stone that was laid by someone who lived thorough those moments in history... it's something you can't replicate.' Yet, unlike North Brother Island, The Parks Department was strongly opposed to opening up the monuments to the public over fears that too many people climbing up the stairs inside the Washington could damage the stairwell or roof. They also declined responsibility for the cemetery at Hart which is currently controlled by the Department of Correction. If and when Donald Trump visits the Queen he will be among more than 100 world leaders she has welcomed on state visits. Here we list some of the more unsavoury characters she has had to entertain. President BASHAR AL-ASSAD of Syria December 2002 He and his British-born wife Asma dined with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. While not a formal state occasion, the UK rolled out the red carpet after then-PM Tony Blair extended an invitation. The visit was mired in controversy due to the presidents alleged support of Palestinian and Islamic terror groups. Assad now stands accused of killing civilians with chemical weapons and barrel bombs during Syrias brutal civil war. Assad and his British-born wife Asma dined with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. While not a formal state occasion, the UK rolled out the red carpet after then-PM Tony Blair extended an invitation VLADIMIR PUTIN June 2003 The Russian presidents only state visit to Britain in 2003 was marked by protests against his continued repression of separatists in Chechnya. The visit was organised by Mr Blair, who admired Putin as a moderniser. It happened three years before the murder of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London allegedly by Russian agents - which resulted in a hardening of relations between Britain and Moscow. As well as Chechnya, demonstrators were unhappy about his regimes treatment of minority groups, along with Russias poor prison conditions and high occurrence of domestic violence. The Russian presidents only state visit to Britain in 2003 was marked by protests against his continued repression of separatists in Chechnya President XI JINPING of China October 2015 Protesters turned out in force for the visit of Xi Jinping and there were even rumours of royal unrest about his arrival. Members of Amnesty International, pro-Tibet campaigners and followers of the Falun Gong spiritual practice, banned in mainland China, were present on The Mall in central London. But they were outmuscled by hordes of people wearing bright red who shouted the presidents name as he was driven past in a gilded carriage. Protesters turned out in force for the visit of Xi Jinping and there were even rumours of royal unrest about his arrival in 2015 President ROBERT MUGABE of Zimbabwe May 1994 He had already been blamed for the deaths of 10,000 people during crackdowns on rebel groups in the 1980s long before his visit to Britain. But, with the full horror of the Zimbabwean leaders regime yet to emerge, he was welcomed as a trading partner and for his influence on peace in southern Africa. He was welcomed by Princess Margaret at Heathrow and taken by Rolls Royce to meet a delegation including the Queen and then Prime Minister John Major. He then accompanied the Queen for a five-minute procession by carriage to Buckingham Palace. Mugabe was made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath during the visit. But he was later stripped of the honour amid concern about the brutality meted out by his supporters and his chronic mismanagement of the country. With the full horror of the Zimbabwean leaders regime yet to emerge, Mugabe was welcomed as a trading partner and for his influence on peace in southern Africa President SUHARTO of Indonesia November 1979 With his regime blamed for up to one million deaths after the bloody invasion of East Timor five years earlier, President Suhartos visit stirred up controversy. But the Indonesian despots arrival was hailed by some commentators as an excellent opportunity for the UK defence industry. He was confronted on arrival in Downing Street by demonstrators carrying placards with slogans about Indonesian brutality. Romanian President NICOLAE CEAUSESCU June 1978 Dissidents from Romania who had fled their homelands Communist regime were outraged at the state visit. Jim Callaghans Labour government wanted to broker a deal with Romania to co-produce aeroplanes. Shortly before their arrival, French President Valery Giscard DEstaing had telephoned the Queen to warn that Ceausescu and his wife Elena had walked off with valuables from their state rooms on a visit to Paris. Dissidents from Romania who had fled their homelands Communist regime were outraged at the state visit from Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu President MOBUTO SESE SEKO of Zaire December 1973 The former son of a cook presided over the collapse of his countrys economy and locked up dissidents. He was later found to have embezzled 12billion, and blamed for the deaths of 230,000 people. The family of the Los Angeles dementia sufferer who was flown to the UK and dumped in a Hereford parking lot knew of the alleged plot to abandon him, DailyMail.com can disclose. Kevin Curry frequently spoke about taking his father Roger to England, a relative of the Alzheimer's sufferer revealed - but was not believed. Mary Martin, 69, whose cousin is Roger's wife Mary Jo, said she had frequently heard the idea raised, but simply dismissed it as something that none of the family thought he would actually do. 'He had said he had a plan,' she said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com. 'It was a plan. And really no, it wasn't a secret one.' Mrs Martin says convicted criminal Kevin also asked for her help in trying to regain custody of his father in April - five months after abandoning him in a foreign country with no form of identification. Threat: Mary Martin, left, a relative of the American dementia sufferer who was dumped in the UK by his family members claims his son warned he would his abandon his father abroad Warning: Kevin Curry often spoke about taking his ill father to England, said Mrs Martin, a cousin of the dementia sufferer's wife Mary Jo. She says the family did not believe Kevin, who has been to jail four times, most recently in 2007. Pictured: Roger and Mary Jo Curry on their wedding day in 1975 Abandoned: Mrs Martin also revealed she tried to tell social services in California that Roger Curry was in England - where he was dropped off at a hospital in Hereford by Kevin's friend - but they never got back to her Chance missed: If social services had listened to Mrs Martin, Mr Curry may have been returned to Los Angeles much quicker after his son Kevin, above, abandoned him in a foreign country with no form of identification She also disclosed that she tried to tell social services in California about Roger Curry being in England, but they did not call her back. If she had been listened to, it is possible that the 76-year-old could have been returned far more rapidly to Los Angeles. Martin spoke for the first time since the disclosure of the full tragic story of how Roger, 76, was left wandering confused in Hereford in November 2015 by his son, and how his true identity was only discovered when a care worker in Manchester saw an appeal for help identifying him and worked out who he was online, was revealed. Martin disclosed that his son, Kevin, 36, has been revealed to have dumped him in the English market town on a trip with his then girlfriend and two of their young children. Roger Curry was picked up at Gatwick airport by Kevin's friend Simon Hayes, a former Royal Marines commando who claims Kevin begged him to take his sick father to a hospital. Martin, a retired teacher, also said that Kevin's mother Mary Jo is herself a victim in the case, as she has been unable to care for her husband through her own health issues and that she was 'controlled' by her son. Martin's disclosures to DailyMail.com shed fresh light on the tragic situation. Speaking at her home in Huntington Beach, California, she described Kevin, who is an unemployed 36-year-old with a string of convictions, as 'dangerous and volatile' and said he has been 'difficult' since childhood. Plot: Martin claims Kevin Curry, who has a criminal record dating back to 1999, left his father in the sleepy English market town during a trip with his then-girlfriend and two of their young children. Pictured: Kevin with his mother Mary Jo 'Dangerous': Speaking at her home in Huntington Beach, California, Mrs Martin she described Kevin, above, an unemployed 36-year-old with a string of convictions, as 'dangerous and volatile' 'Controlled': Retired teacher Mrs Martin also claims that Kevin's mother Mary Jo, also accused of abandoned Roger in the UK, is herself a victim in the case - and has been unable to care for her husband through her own health issues 'We had heard from Kevin that he was going to take Roger to England but we never imagined that it would happen,' Mrs Martin said. She said it was clear that her cousin Mary Jo was struggling with her husband's illness. The cousins had long been friends, and were part of a large Catholic family with roots in Ohio. Roger Curry, who had served in the Air Force at the time of Vietnam, and worked as a nurse, was seriously ill, having first been diagnosed with dementia 10 years ago. At first, Mary Jo was able to care for him but she was found to have a type of Parkinson's disease that has left her physically disabled and unable to move her right arm. Despite Curry's criminal history, which includes four stints in jail, and his aggressive past behaviour towards his parents, Martin says her cousin felt she had no option but to ask her son for help. 'They needed help [with Roger] Mary Jo needed help. They were desperate,' she said. Kevin moved in at the start of 2014, with his then girlfriend Kim, their daughter and Kim's daughter from a previous relationship. Once installed, Martin says he soon began to cause trouble for his parents refusing to pay rent, verbally abusing his mother and growing 'resentful' at his father's increasingly difficult behaviour. Tough decision: Despite harrowing testimony from neighbours who claimed Kevin locked both his parents in the back garden of their home in Whittier, California, Mrs Martin says Mary Jo was desperate for help in caring for her husband. Pictured: Their home which was burned down in November 2014 Desperate times: Mr Curry, who had served in the Air Force in Vietnam before working as a nurse, was seriously ill. Mary Jo was able to care for him until she was diagnosed with a form of Parkinson's disease 'Volatile': Despite Kevin's criminal history, which includes four stints in jail, including one for assault with a deadly weapon, Mrs Martin says Mary Jo had no option but to ask him for help. Pictured: Builders working on the Currys' burned out home in California 'He would hide things and of course, Mary Jo couldn't keep a watch on him physically because she is sick too,' Martin said. 'Kevin, of course, was resentful and felt he had come home and now [caring for his parents] was his full time job and so he should be getting paid for it.' 'They [Curry and Mary Jo] had checked out all sorts of options to see how they could carry on with caring for Roger. Mary Jo said she had exhausted all these routes for finding help. 'Twice a year, the VA [Veterans Affairs department] would give them 30 days of respite and he would go off. 'But then it got to a point where they would drop him off and then they wanted him to be taken home, and they would not want to take him home. 'Then they would get these threatening calls to say we'll start charging you $1,000 a day if you don't come and get your dad. They were trying to get care for him and it just wasn't happening.' She adds: 'Mary Jo and Roger were happily married for many years but I think she got worn down. 'The enormity of knowing your health is getting worn down and your husband's mind is gone but he's still strong and could live for a very long time to come. It has been very hard for her.' The family was swelled by an extra member after Mary Jo's mother, Elizabeth Ann, 93, moved in after taking a dislike to the Catholic residential home her five younger children had placed her in. But disaster struck when the plumbing in the house failed forcing the family into a succession of motel rooms paid for by insurance. That was the first disaster: then in November 2014, the home, which had been empty for three months, burned down. Cramped: Kevin moved in with his parents at the start of 2014 with his then girlfriend Kim, their daughter and Kim's daughter from a previous relationship. Trouble: Mrs Martin says Kevin soon began to cause trouble for Mary Jo and Roger, above. She says he refused to pay rent, verbally abused his mother and resentful' at his father's increasingly difficult behaviour Bad luck: The difficult living arrangement was made worse when the plumbing in their house failed, forcing the family into a succession of motel rooms paid for by insurance. Then in November 2014, the home which had been empty for three months burned down. Pictured: The assisted living facility in Bellflower, California, where Roger Curry is now living safely 'They were put up in motels all over the place, two nights here, a week there, and it was a nightmare,' says Martin. 'There's three disabled people [Roger, Mary Jo and Elizabeth Ann] and they're all ill, they're all in and out of hospital. There's all sorts of stuff going on. 'I'm visiting them and hearing what's going on Kevin wasn't feeding them right - and that's when I finally called adult protective services. 'I grieved over it but I saw what was going on in that situation. It all got dropped. Everything got dropped. It was terrible but at least my aunt had been placed in a home.' But the decision by Martin to call in professional help chilled relations. Curry declined to tell his mother's cousin where they were living. The only means of contact was to leave a letter at the burned-out house. Finally, a meeting was arranged just before Christmas 2015. 'It was the Sunday before Christmas [2015] and we arranged to meet in a restaurant because they were coming down from this unknown place Kevin would never tell me where they live,' she says. 'The only way I knew to get in touch with him was to send a letter to the house because I knew Kevin was still picking up the mail.' Mary Jo and Kevin came and Martin handed them presents. Roger was not there - but Martin understandably thought nothing of it. It was a brief meeting, and Roger was not mentioned. Help: When Kevin Curry flew his father to England, he was met at Gatwick airport by his friend Simon Hayes, above, a professional fitness instructor who drove the pensioner to Hereford Confession: Mr Hayes initially told police he found Roger wandering aimlessly around the streets of Hereford but later admitted that he lied, and was in fact a friend of Kevin Curry's What Martin did not know was that shortly before that, Kevin had flown his parents to London and dumped his father 150 miles from the airport, in the town of Hereford. The case perplexed British authorities. They knew they had an American man, and asked Interpol for help. However in Los Angeles, Martin says she knew exactly who Hereford's mysterious American pensioner was as early as January 2016. The 69-year-old retired teacher says she first realized that her relation was the mystery dementia sufferer after an article about the case popped up as she checked her emails. Horrified, she phoned Roger's younger sister Bonnie Kirk, 74, of Riverside, California, who told her she too had seen articles about the case. 'I only knew about it because I opened my mail and this article popped up with Roger's sweet picture on it,' she said. 'I called Bonnie and she knew about the article. She knew the day I talked to her. So then I freaked out because I was like, oh no they're looking for him [Roger].' Unable to get hold of Mary Jo, she contacted another cousin who told her to get in touch with the Los Angeles public guardian's office and tell them what she knew. She explained: 'I called another cousin who is a retired Cleveland police officer and said, what shall I do? Who shall I contact to say who this person is? 'They [the British police] were dealing with Interpol and I just thought, my God, the enormity and expense of this. Tense: Mrs Martin tried to call in professional help to help her cousin and her husband but this chilled relations. Kevin, above, declined to tell her where his mother was living 'I had just gotten that paperwork [detailing Roger's health plans] from the office of the guardian, so I began to call those people I was very nervous about it. 'They weren't calling me back in a timely manner and when finally I got a hold of someone, by that point, he [Roger] had been identified. 'Before that, I was like, do I call London? Who do I tell who he is? Of course I knew it was him because it was his sweet picture there [on the article].' A spokesman for the office of the LA Public Guardian told DailyMail.com that it could not comment on Martin's account. It receives 'a high number of public inquiries and records of calls are not kept unless there is a case number,' the spokesman said. 'In Roger's case, a file was not opened until he returned to the US in July 2016 and so Martin's calls regarding his identity would not have been logged. The spokesman added: 'Mr Curry's case did not become our case until July 2016. We could not take action on anything until then.' Whether the mystery could have been solved earlier is of course now impossible to tell. But in England, unable to tell medics who he was, his identity remained a mystery until Manchester care worker Debbie Crocker unearthed a photo of the 76-year-old taken 60 years ago and tipped off the police. Mystery: Curry's case perplexed British authorities, who asked Interpol for help, but in Los Angeles Mr Martin says she knew exactly who Hereford's mysterious American pensioner was as early as January 2016. Pictured: Manchester care worker Debbie Crocker who unearthed a photo of 76-year-old Curry after a TV appeal, and tipped off the police. Frustration: Mrs Martin, 69, says she first realised she was related to the mystery dementia sufferer after an article about the case popped up as she checked her emails. But unable to get hold of Mary Jo, she contacted another cousin and then the Los Angeles public guardian's office who she claims ignored her In July 2016, after nearly nine months in the UK, Roger was finally flown home to Los Angeles. Martin was told about his return by the LA Guardian's Office, who told her she was on a list of relations nominated as potential legal guardians in a medical directive made by Roger. However, the saga is not over - and Kevin still has a place in it. Last week, just before the BBC Panorama documentary which revealed full details of the case, Curry sought Martin's help. Astonishingly Kevin Curry arrived on the doorstep of the home where she lives with her husband Jim Alpaas, 65, to ask for her assistance in getting custody of his father. Curry asked her to appear on his behalf at a hearing over his father's care in April - apparently in the belief that her being there would help boost his chances of regaining custody of Roger. It was the first time she had seen either Curry, or her cousin, since December 2014. Martin says she plans to attend, not to support Curry, but because of her concern for Mary Jo - who she says now appears frailer than ever. Ignored: 'They weren't calling me back in a timely manner and when finally I got a hold of someone, by that point, he [Roger] had been identified,' Mrs Martin said of the LA Public Guardian, who would not comment on the account Shocking: Astonishingly, Kevin Curry arrived on the doorstep of the home where Mrs Martin lives with her husband Jim Alpaas last year to ask for her assistance in getting custody of his father. Pictured: The court documents in which Roger Curry told of how his son once tried to strangle him 'She falls a lot,' she said. 'She has a scar on her cheek from a fall and she didn't even have a cane. Kevin isn't taking care of her properly. She needs a cane so I gave her an old one of my mother's.' Husband Jim Alpaas, 65, added: 'Kevin is dangerous in my opinion. I don't want to have him in the house. We had no idea they were coming - the doorbell rang and it was them. 'He's slippery like a bar of soap but now, with this, things seem to be catching up with him.' Harriet Harman has demanded the BBC appoint a woman as the next Doctor Who. Labour's former deputy leader, a prominent feminist, also said the new Doctor's assistant should be a man, so she could 'tell him what to do'. But Theresa May who has said she is a fan of the 54-year-old sci-fi show hit back, saying the sex of the Doctor was a matter for the programme-makers to decide. The current Doctor, Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, made the shock announcement on Monday night that he is leaving the Tardis after three years on the show. Bookmakers suggest that likely replacements include James Bond star Ben Wishaw and The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade. Twelve actors have played the time-travelling Doctor since William Hartnell first adopted the role in 1963, and so far all of them have been men. Harriet Harman, Labour's former deputy leader and a prominent feminist, has demanded the BBC appoint a woman as the next Doctor Who. She also said the new Doctor's assistant should be a man, so she could 'tell him what to do' Yesterday Billie Piper, who played the Doctor's assistant when the show was brought back in 2005, tweeted that it would be a 'welcome turn' for a woman to take the role. Potential female candidates would include Olivia Colman, who was tipped for the job by the 10th Doctor, David Tennant, who starred with her in Broadchurch. Speaking at a Westminster lunch yesterday, Miss Harman agreed that the next Doctor should be a Time Lady. 'Of course there should be a female Doctor Who but what we need is a man as her assistant,' she said. 'She has got to just tell him what to do, he will need that leadership.' But the Prime Minister's spokeswoman said: 'As someone who has been clear she enjoys Doctor Who, I think she will just want to see it continue and continue to be entertaining. It's for the programme-makers to decide.' The current Doctor, Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, made the shock announcement on Monday night that he is leaving the Tardis after three years on the show Mrs May revealed her liking for Doctor in an interview with Radio Times about her Christmas Day TV viewing, in which she said: 'I always like to see Doctor Who on Christmas night, if possible.' Bookies yesterday named Ben Wishaw, who played Q in the 007 films, as the favourite to become the 13th Doctor. The 36-year-old has been suggested for the role twice before, when Matt Smith landed the role in 2010 and again when Capaldi took it over in 2014. Rory Kinnear and Rupert Grint have also been named as potentials to pick up the sonic screwdriver. Last time the vacancy in the Tardis arose, Mr Whishaw played down the prospect of him joining the show, saying: 'I don't think you can be Q and Doctor Who. It would be a bit wrong.' Announcing his decision to step down from his Time Lord role, Mr Capaldi said: 'This'll be the end for me. I feel sad. I love Doctor Who. It's a fantastic programme to work on. Bookmakers suggest that likely replacements include James Bond star Ben Wishaw (left) and The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade (right) 'It's been a huge pleasure to work with... a family. I can't praise the people I work with more highly. 'I've never worked the same job for three years, and I feel like now is the right time to move on. I'll still be the Doctor for a while.' Potential female candidates would include Olivia Colman, who was tipped for the job by the 10th Doctor, David Tennant, who starred with her in Broadchurch In a statement, show boss Steven Moffatt, who is himself leaving at the end of Series 10 said: 'Like Peter, I'm facing up to leaving the best job I'll ever have, but knowing I do so in the company of the best, and kindest and cleverest of men, makes the saddest of endings a little sweeter.' Broadchurch's Chris Chibnall, who is taking over from Mr Moffatt, will be given the difficult choice of choosing the next Doctor. Insiders say it is likely he will choose someone younger who can recreate the popularity that came with David Tennant's era. Sales of Dr Who merchandise have fallen in recent years, and producers are keen to boost the show's popularity with kids. Some fans feared the regeneration into the 13th doctor could signal the end of the sci-fi show as a 1970s episode said there could only be 12 regenerations. But thankfully the writers dealt with the problem in the 2013 Christmas Special, when the Doctor played by Matt Smith used all his regenerations up trying to save Trenzalore, the planet it was foretold he would die on. As his life was set to end, the Time Lords granted him a new generation cycle, allowing the Doctor to regenerate into the 12th Doctor, played by Capaldi. The BBC confirmed there will definitely be another Doctor. Police are on the hunt for a 17-year-old girl's attacker, after she was indecently assaulted in the centre of Sydney. At about 3.30am on Christmas Day, the teenager was sitting on a bench on Oxford Street in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst when she as approached by a man who assaulted her. In CCTV footage released to aid their search, a man can be seen strolling up and down a Sydney street, at one point turning around to look at a group of young people. Scroll down for video Police have released CCTV images of the man they wish to speak to after the indecent assault of a 17-year-old in the centre of Sydney Following the Christmas Day assault, the girl left the scene but was followed by the man into Hyde Park, He was last seen walking towards Sydney's CBD. The man is described as being of Caucasian appearance with a medium build and was unshaven. The footage shows him wearing a black-coloured jumper and black-coloured tracksuit pants with the word 'EVERLAST' on his left leg in white writing. He was also depicted carrying a green-coloured bag around his waist and a black backpack with the word 'EVERLAST' in yellow. Authorites are urging anyone with information to contact Day Street Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. The footage shows him wearing a black-coloured jumper and black-coloured tracksuit pants with the word 'Everlast' on his left leg in white writing A British chef who died while fighting ISIS in Syria may have turned his gun on himself to avoid capture', according to reports. Ryan Lock, 20, joined up with the Kurdish armed forces last August after telling his family he was going on holiday to Turkey. It was believed he died in a gun battle in Raqqa but it has since emerged he may have killed himself to avoid capture. Ryan Lock, pictured, 20, died fighting ISIS in Syria last December and sources suggest he may have 'turned his gun on himself to avoid capture' Sources told the BBC his post-mortem showed a gun wound under the chin. Speaking to BBC South, Kurdish rights activist Mark Campbell said: Ryan Lock may very well have turned his own gun upon himself rather than be taken prisoner by ISIS. There are no words to describe the bravery required to take such an action. ISIS were robbed of a predictable macabre propaganda opportunity by Ryan's action. I personally believe he deserves the very highest of military honours for such outstanding bravery in the face of such a barbaric enemy. Mr Lock had no military experience but joined the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish force fighting ISIS in the north of the country. Mr Lock died on December 21 in a village close to Raqqa in northern Syria, which has been the scene of fierce fighting. His family was left 'completely grief stricken' by his death. Paying tribute to him, his caterer father Jon, 39, said Mr Lock had a 'heart of gold' and was a 'caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone'. Mr Lock, pictured on social media holding a rifle and in camouflage gear, told friends and family he was going on holiday to Turkey but joined Kurdish fighters in Syria last August Although his exact motivations for joining the fight against IS are unknown, friends said Ryan was driven by a desire to protect others, rather than any particular religious or political beliefs. Friends said he wanted to be like his hero, adventurer Bear Grylls, and also wanted to 'protect others'. School friend Harry Kirby said: 'Ryan always enjoyed an element of adventure. 'Among his quiet, loving and caring traits, he would always wish to try new things, as well as making everyone's life more enjoyable to those around him.' Another friend Harry Austin added: 'His love for protecting others was always a dominant characteristic of his.' Originally from Chichester in West Sussex, Mr Lock went to Warblington School in Havant, Hampshire, before studying to be a chef at Havant Sixth Form College. He wrote in a Facebook message on August 31 last year promising to be back in six months, when he said: 'I'm on my way to Rojava. I lied about going to Turkey. I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone. I love all of you and I will be back in six months.' Despite having no military experience, he was lauded for his bravery in fighting ISIS militants in Syria (file picture) In Syria he joined the YPG, who provided training and equipment, before he was assigned to a unit tasked with taking ground back from ISIS. The YPG said he was an inspiration to their younger fighters as he fought bravely in a number of battles alongside Syrians and other international volunteers. In a statement released after his death, a spokesperson said: 'Ryan was not only a fighter providing additional force to our struggle. 'In fact, with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for younger fighters. 'While he has reached a vast amount of achievement up in our frontlines, Ryan has served the purpose of a very important bridge between us, the Kurds of Rojava. 'He crossed continents for the destiny of our people and humanity.' The Foreign Office continues to advise against travelling to Syria over the 'danger' and has revealed it is 'extremely difficult' to confirm the whereabouts of British nationals in the country. Families searching for lost loved ones reduced Britain's Got Talent judges to tears as a choir for a charity fronted by Kate McCann gave a heartbreaking secret audition. Among them was the sister of missing Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards, who disappeared 22 years ago today, the father of chef Claudia Lawrence, and the family and friends of murdered schoolgirl Alice Gross, 14. The Missing Peoples's Choir launched an emotional bid to win the ITV talent show with auditions that left Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden particularly moved, onlookers said. Madeleine McCann's mother Kate, 48, is an ambassador for the charity Missing People, whose choir is expected to appear on the talent show in May. It will mark ten years since her daughter's disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz, Portugal. Although she has not been singing in the choir during the auditions, it has been said Mrs McCann may become more involved if they progress to the televised stages. Other choir members are relatives of a British man who went missing hitch-hiking in Canada in 1989, a woman who disappeared in Italy and a 15-year-old boy police fear may have been silenced after discovering a haunt of paedophiles in south London. Scroll down for video Families searching for lost loved ones reduced Britain's Got Talent judges to tears as a choir for a charity fronted by Kate McCann gave a heartbreaking secret audition. The group includes Peter Boxell (far left), whose teenage son Lee went missing in 1988, Denise Horvath-Allan (second left), the mother of missing Charles Horvath-Allan, Rachel Elias (third from left) the sister of Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards, Violeta Hawkins (centre) and Tom Hawkins (second from right), the sister and brother-in-law of Lucia Hawkins, and Emma Cullingford (far right), the daughter of Sandra Hall, who was missing before being found dead Kate McCann is an ambassador for a choir making an emotional bid to win Britain's Got Talent. She has been joined by the father (right) of chef Claudia Lawrence, who disappeared in 2009 The secret audition on Sunday is said to have brought the Britain's Got Talent judges to tears The families of Madeleine McCann (pictured left) and Claudia Lawrence (right) are in the choir The group reduced onlookers to tears during the BGT auditions with their tear-jerking song I Miss You, written by Peter Boxell, whose son Lee went missing from Sutton, south London, in 1988. The song includes the lyrics: I never thought Id be without you. I always thought youd be here safe with me. 'Maybe tomorrow Ill wake up to find you.' Lee was just 15 when he disappeared and his parents Peter and Christine have been seeking an explanation ever since. Police enquiries have focused on a church building in the area near where he was last seen, which has since discovered to have been a haunt of paedophiles with detectives saying the teenager could have been killed to keep him quiet. Speaking about the BGT audition, a source told The Sun said: 'Their story is unbelievably moving so its certain to capture the hearts of the nation. 'Its ten years since Maddie went missing so if they got through to the live shows its possible Kate will want to be involved.' Among those in the choir are Ros Hodgkiss and Nina Gross, the mother and sister of Alice Gross, 14, who was murdered by convicted killer Arnis Zalkalns. However the pair were not part of the BGT audition. Denise Horvath-Allan, the mother of missing Charles Horvath-Allan, is also part of the group, which is led by Missing People choir director Jim Hawkins. Missing Lucia Hawkins's sister Violeta (left) says the choir 'provides a way of dealing with loss'. The sister of missing Richey Edwards (right) of the Manic Street Preachers is also in the choir Peter Boxall (pictured left), the father of missing Lee Boxell, also performs as part of the choir Tear-jerking: The Britain's Got Talent judges are said to have been brought to tears. Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden are both understood to have been particularly moved by the song Mr Horvath-Allan was last seen in Kelowna in the south of Canadas British Columbia province back in 1989. He had been hitch-hiking his way across the country when he disappeared. Peter Lawrence's involvement comes after police announced in January that the investigation efforts into his daughters suspected murder would be scaled back. Retired solicitor Peter, 75, expressed his disappointment but vowed never to give up searching for Claudia. Britains Got Talent boss Simon Cowell has previously given the Missing People campaign his support, along with celebrities including Stephen Fry. LYRICS TO 'I MISS YOU' In my dreams, I see your face, Walk with you, hold you safe. Close my eyes, I think of you, Until the day I see you again. I never thought, Id be without you, Id always thought, youd be here safe with me. Im so empty and silent without you. In my dreams, I see your face, Walk with you, hold you safe. Close my eyes, I think of you, Until the day I see you again. Where are you now? Are you safe and well? Maybe tomorrow Ill wake up to find you. Searching, calling, In my dreams, I see your face, Walk with you, hold you safe. Close my eyes, I think of you, I miss you. Advertisement The choir also includes the sister of Lucia Hawkins, who went missing in 2009 in Perugia, Italy, at the age of 42. Last November Kate McCann told how every day brings fresh hope that her missing daughter Madeleine will be found. The former GP revealed her continued heartache during an impassioned speech as she joined forces with the mother of murdered Alice Gross to launch a new charity. The appeal, Find Every Child, aims to raise money so the charity Missing People can reach out to the thousands of youngsters who disappear each year. Speaking at the launch event in London, Ms McCann said: 'We go to bed every night with the agonising feeling that just maybe tomorrow we will find something to lead us back to Madeleine. To let us know what happened. To give us hope.' Mrs McCann shared the stage at the Corinthia Hotel with Ros Hodgkiss, whose 14-year-old daughter Alice was found dead in September 2014 after she went missing for five weeks. Together, the mothers - united it grief over the loss of their daughters - highlighted the plight of 140,000 youngsters who go missing in Britain each year. Mrs McCann then made an impromptu speech in which she urged the public to give their support. 'When my little girl first disappeared, on that horrendous night that changed our lives forever, I could never have imagined that nearly 10 years later we would still be in the same position. Heartbreaking bid: Madeleine McCann's mother Kate, 48, is an ambassador for the The Missing People's Choir (pictured), which is expected to appear on Britain's Got Talent in May Arnis Zalkalns (left), the suspected killer of schoolgirl Alice Gross (right), 14, took his own life David Walliams, Anthony McPartlin, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Declan Donnelly are pictured attending the Britain's Got Talent photocall at the London Palladium 'That I would be stood here in front of you tonight talking about the issue and how important it is that we look for each and every missing child. 'Giving hope is what Missing People do day in and day out. Please help this wonderful charity in their ambitious goal to Find Every Child.' Madeleine, three, vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz nearly 10 years ago in May 2007. Mrs McCann and her heart doctor husband Gerry, both 48, from Rothley, Leicestershire, believe their daughter who would now be aged 13 could still be alive. Singing for lost loved ones: The mothers, daughters, sons and brothers who vanished and the relatives left to overcome their grief through the power of music MADELEINE MCCANN Madeleine, three, vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz nearly 10 years ago in May 2007. Mrs McCann and her heart doctor husband Gerry, both 48, from Rothley, Leicestershire, believe their daughter who would now be aged 13 could still be alive. Detectives have explored dozens of theories about Maddies disappearance from being snatched by paedophiles and murdered during a botched burglary to being accidentally killed by her parents. Despite nearly 9,000 potential sightings across the globe police have struggled to unearth any new clues. But in Operation Granges potentially final year of searching they are concentrating solely on the fact she was sold by child traffickers her parents and their first team of private investigators initial hunch and could still be alive. Reports following her kidnap suggested she could have been smuggled to Belgium or Morocco in North Africa. Advertisement CLAUDIA LAWRENCE Chef Claudia Lawrence was last seen on March 18, 2009 and reported missing the following day after she failed to turn up for a shift at work at the University of York. Police believe the 35-year-old was murdered, although no body has ever been discovered. She last spoke to her parents by phone on the day she was last seen. Earlier this month police announced the investigation into her disappearance has been scaled down, leading to her father Peter saying he was 'hugely disappointed and depressed' by the decision. Last March it was revealed that four men investigated over the murder would not face charges. The men, who are all in their 50s, were arrested in March and April 2015 in connection with the missing chef's death - and were released on police bail while investigations took place. But the Crown Prosecution Service decided against pressing charges after reviewing evidence files passed to the organisation by North Yorkshire Police. Advertisement CHARLES HORVATH-ALLAN Charles Horvath-Allan was last seen in Kelowna in the south of Canadas British Columbia province back in 1989. He had been hitch-hiking his way across the country when he disappeared. Over the 25 years that he's been missing, his mother Denise has made numerous visits to the city in the hopes of learning more about her son's mysterious disappearance. She is convinced that it involves foul play, telling CBC News in 2015: 'Something happened to him that prevented him from calling home. 'Maybe he got into the wrong company he was a little bit of a show off. 'I knew something terrible had happened to him, but the brain won't allow you to believe that he's gone.' Advertisement RICHEY EDWARDS Today marks 22 years since Manic Street Preachers lyricist Richey Edwards checked out of a London hotel never to be seen again. Two weeks later his car was found abandoned at a motorway service station next to the old Severn Bridge. Despite numerous and high-profile appeals in the media, no trace of the guitarist has been found - either dead or alive. Although he was declared legally dead in 2008, Edwards' sister Rachel Elias hopes he will be remembered for his talents rather than his troubles with alcoholism and self-harming - which culminated in him being admitted to a mental health unit. Described as a tortured genius, it is widely believed Edwards, 27, took his life by jumping from the Severn Bridge. He was last seen on February 1, 1995, as he prepared to fly to America for a tour. Advertisement LEE BOXELL Lee was just 15 when he disappeared in 1988, and his parents Peter and Christine have been seeking an explanation ever since. Police enquiries have focused on a church building in the area near where he was last seen, which has since discovered to have been a haunt of paedophiles with detectives saying the teenager could have been killed to keep him quiet. Lees parents have not changed his bedroom since the day he disappeared, refusing to give up hope, and have never stopped searching for him. The teenager was last seen in Sutton high street and police assumed he had gone to watch a football match at nearby Selhurst Park but that was ruled out. It was then realised he used to spend time in a building at St Dunstans church, nicknamed the Shed, which is now known to have been a gathering place for teenagers, who became a target for sexual predators. Detectives used radar to look for any disturbance in the graves around the Shed and made searches in 2013. Advertisement As head of the Reserve Bank of Australia, there are very few people in this world who Philip Lowe is answerable to. But it seems that his 15-year-old daughter is among that number after Mr Lowe revealed how her criticism inspired him to champion the role of women in banking. The RBA Governor said his daughter came home from school one day with a burning question about how the bank was making sure women got equal opportunities. Philip Lowe, 55, has revealed how his 15-year-old daughter told him 'that's not good enough' when he failed to answer her question about giving women equal opportunities at the RBA Dr Lowe, 55, told Bloomberg Business that he was unable to provide a good answer, which prompted his daughter to tell him: 'That's not good enough.' He added: 'That made me think about where we're going.' Since taking over the reigns at RBA four months ago after Glenn Stevens stepped down, Dr Lowe has promoted women into two of the five assistant governor positions - the first time the role has been held by a female. Michele Bullock, a long-standing member of the bank, has been installed as the assistant governor for the financial system, while Luci Ellis was promoted to assistant governor for economics. Since then Dr Lowe has promoted two women to assistant governor roles, explaining that diversity of opinions is crucial to making sure the bank comes up with good ideas Between them, Ms Bullock and Dr Ellis hold two of the three roles responsible for setting monetary policy, one of the bank's chief concerns. Explaining his decision, Dr Lowe said diversity among his top advisers serves a practical purpose, and is not just about quota-filling. 'If you've just got people from the same gender and the same background, the same personality even, then you're not going to be as good at developing and testing ideas,' he said. 'Historically we've had a particular way of viewing things and it's actually worked out OK, but maybe we could've done better if we had more perspectives.' Two top public schools attended by Prince Charles and Tony Blair are being investigated by a major national inquiry into child abuse. Gordonstoun, the alma mater of the heir to the throne, and Fettes College where the former Labour Prime Minister was a pupil both feature in the statutory probe. Other private schools under investigation include Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Loretto School in Musselburgh and Morrison's Academy in Crieff. The boarding schools are being probed as part of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry into more than 60 residential care establishments which have been identified as sites of alleged child abuse or neglect. Gordonstoun, the alma mater of Prince Charles, is being investigated by a major national inquiry into child abuse Lady Smith, chairman of the inquiry, revealed a list of organisations which are coming under scrutiny for the treatment of children in care, including some that were run by the Catholic Church and Barnardo's. The judge said: 'We are investigating what reports of abuse were made, whether any such reports of abuse were known about in official circles, what was done about them and, if nothing was done, why not? 'If abuse was known about but covered up, we will not hesitate to say so.' More than 100 locations where abuse is said to have taken place have been pinpointed by the inquiry, which was set up by the Scottish Government and launched in October 2015. A forthcoming publicity drive will see posters in bus shelters and advertising abroad to encourage more victims to come forward. Gordonstoun School in Moray said: 'Cases of non-recent abuse must be unimaginably distressing for the victims and their families and the work that the [inquiry] is undertaking will, we hope, draw important lessons from the past and make children safer in the future.' Fettes College (pictured), where Tony Blair was a student, is also part of the inquiry. The school in Edinburgh said it 'will assist fully' with the inquiry A former teacher at Gordonstoun has been accused of child sex crimes dating back to the 1980s. Andrew Keir, a retired physics teacher, has appeared in court charged with acting in a lewd and indecent manner to two 13-year-old pupils in the 1980s. Fettes College in Edinburgh said the school 'will assist fully' with the inquiry. A spokesman for Loretto School in Musselburgh, East Lothian said the school had a 'zero tolerance' approach to abuse, adding: 'It is truly heart-breaking to learn that similar standards may not have applied in the past.' In 2013, James Rainy Brown, 75, a Merchiston Castle teacher for 52 years, committed suicide after learning that police were investigating claims of 'inappropriate conduct' towards pupils. The claims involved lewd comments, not physical offences. Gordon Cruden, a former Merchiston teacher, was found guilty in 2015 of three charges of indecent exposure at the school covering a period between 1980 and 1985. He was given an absolute discharge and last year was reported to be teaching French at a boarding school in Oxfordshire. Queen Elizabeth II visited Gordonstoun as Prince Charles's school days ended. She is pictured above in 1967 with Mr Robert Chew, the Headmaster, who retired the same year Prince Charles wears a duffel-coat over his kilt as he shows visitors around the Gordonstoun school in 1966 Merchiston Castle is the only all-boys independent boarding school in Scotland for 7 to 18-year-olds and is based in the Colinton area of Edinburgh. Last night a school spokesman said: 'We will be co-operating with the inquiry to the fullest possible extent.' The now-closed Keil School in Dumbarton is also being looked at by the inquiry. Morrison's Academy in Crieff, Perthshire, where Trainspotting actor Ewan McGregor was a pupil, features in the inquiry because it was once a boarding school. Last night its rector Gareth Warren said the school had 'not received any direct complaint so the team at Morrison's Academy is not aware of the nature of any complaint'. Lady Smith told a hearing at Parliament House in Edinburgh yesterday that the inquiry is 'determined to get to the bottom of any systemic failures that occurred'. Lady Smith said 170 people had contacted the inquiry by June last year and 'many more have done so since then' *There are three ways to contact the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry: by post at PO BOX 24085, Edinburgh EH7 9EA; by email at information@childabuseinquiry.scot or by calling the freephone number 0800 0929 300. Champion boxer Anthony Mundine will not appear in the ring for his fight in Adelaide on Friday with Danny Green until after the Australian national anthem has been played. Mundine, 41, made it clear he would not be standing for the national anthem before the fight during a press conference for the event on Wednesday. 'I ain't coming out until it's played. I ain't coming out,' Mundine said at the press conference. Champion boxer Anthony Mundine made it clear at the press conference for Friday's fight in Adelaide he would not be standing for the Australian national anthem The Indigenous boxer, and former rugby league star, said he was trying to educate people that Advance Australia Fair is a theme song for the white Australia policy, which he believes is unjust to indigenous Australians. Despite saying that he believed that his job was to 'unite people', Mundine was not for making any allowances here either. 'I'm about uniting the people,' he said. 'But I can't stand for something blatantly racist.' Organiser Steve Crawley said that 'it [the fight] was in Australia so the national anthem must be played', but that Mundine was free not to get in the ring until after it had been sang. Danny Green glares at his opponent Mundine as he speaks at Friday's Press conference Despite the controversy Mundine still felt that his job was to 'unite people' Danny Green shadow-boxes during a public workout on Monday ahead of the highly-anticipated clash The indigenous boxer said Advance Australia Fair was a theme song for the white Australia policy Not the first time: In September, Mundine encouraged NRL and AFL players to boycott the anthem at the grand finals in a Facebook post MUNDINE MUSINGS 'I ain't coming out until it's played. I ain't coming out,' Anthony Mundine on the Australian national anthem. 'Advance Australia Fair... it's fair - as in white fair - not as in fair go,' Mundine on what the anthem really means. 'He can use all the help he can get,' Mundine when opponent Danny Green is stopped for a drug test. 'I hope they test for LSD because you're tripping boy,' Green's reply to him. 'Just keep watching the borders,' Mundine on his opponent trying to escape before the fight. Advertisement Mundine's opponent Green was not worried about whether he came out ahead of the national anthem or not. 'He can do what he likes. We're just going to go out there and smash each other,' Green, 43, said. On Monday in Adelaide, Mundine said he was a man 'that stands against wrong' and believes the national anthem is a 'big wrong in our country'. ''Advance Australia Fair', if you speak to your historians and educated college professors, [it's] fair - as in white fair - not as in fair go,' he told SBS. 'That was the theme song for the white Australia policy, from 1901 to the early 1970s when Aboriginal people weren't even considered citizens.' The disgraced former-owner of BHS, Sir Philip Green, could cling on to his knighthood for years to come The disgraced former-owner of BHS, Sir Philip Green, could cling on to his knighthood for years to come, it emerged last night. Despite a unanimous vote by MPs in the House of Commons last year to strip Sir Philip of his title, the Whitehall panel which will decide whether to remove his honour has said it will not make a decision until after investigations into his handling of BHS have concluded. The billionaire, 64, is currently facing an investigation by the Insolvency Service and Pensions Regulator which are expected to run, respectively, for several months and years. In a letter sent on January 17 to the MP Frank Field, the co-chairman of the parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of BHS, the honours forfeiture committee said while it took the Commons vote to strip Sir Philip of his title seriously, it would wait for the findings of independent regulators to make a final decision. The letter from Sir Jonathan Stephens, chairman of the committee, said: As you know, the government is taking the circumstances surrounding the collapse of BHS very seriously, including investigations by the Insolvency Service and the Independent Pensions Regulator. I believe it will be important to ensure any consideration of Sir Philips case by the forfeiture committee should have the benefit of the findings of the independent inquiries into BHS by the relevant regulators. Last Octobers debate in the House of Commons saw Sir Philip dubbed a billionaire spiv. MPs lined up to pour scorn on Sir Philip, who had sold BHS for 1 despite its pension scheme which had a deficit in its pension scheme of 571 million. His behaviour was also compared to that of Napoleon and Robert Maxwell. Referring to the Commons vote, Sir Jonathan added it will be carefully considered. Mr Field said: I dont think justice delayed is justice denied. I think we should be proud of our system. If BHS had been run on the same proper and careful lines as the honours forfeiture committee, then 20,000 workers would still have a job and 11,000 workers would be getting their full pensions. Despite a unanimous vote by MPs to strip Sir Philip, pictured with daughter Chloe, of his title, the Whitehall panel which will decide whether to remove his honour has said it will not make a decision until after investigations have concluded While not binding, the MPs motion will put pressure on the committee to strip the businessman of his honour. The committee, whose discussions are confidential, publish their decisions on forfeiture in the London Gazette. While honours are usually removed from those found guilty of criminal offences or struck off by an official or professional body, Fred Goodwin the then head of RBS lost his honour in 2012. Although he had not been professionally struck off or found guilty of an offence, the committee found that the government bailout for RBS made for an exceptional case. A former lover who bashed and stabbed the mother of his child has been sentenced to at least 18 years in prison for her murder. Melbourne man Makeny 'Nelson' Banek, 25, had pleaded guilty to beating and stabbing aspiring lawyer Abuk Akek, 20, before laying her in her bed and placing a white plastic rose next to her body in March 2016. On Wednesday Banek was sentenced to 23 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 18 years. Makeny 'Nelson' Banek, 25, who bashed and stabbed the mother of his child Abuk Akek, 20, has been sentenced to at least 18 years for her murder The Sudanese refugee admitted murdering the mother of his son on March 13, 2016 after he 'snapped' The pair had moved from Sudan to Australia as refugees but had separated a month before the frenzied killing, remaining in contact so Banek, could see their young son. Banek admitted to murdering Ms Akek, also known as Jackie Deng, saying he 'snapped'. He said it was because 'I loved her very much but she did not love me'. Victorian Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said Banek had become 'enraged that Ms Akek did not want him in her life'. 'He made a calculated choice to take the life of the mother of his son as if somehow it was his prerogative to do so 'Ms Akek's last moments of her life must have been terrifying.' On the day of her murder, Banek says he went to Ms Akek's Melton home to sort out things between them a day after the pair had an argument about their son. Following his arrest, Banek said he 'used a knife and my fists'. He said Ms Akek had told him she didn't want him in her life Following the fatal attack Banek laid Ms Akek in her bed and placed a white plastic rose next to her body Family and friends discovered the slain mother's body after they were unable to reach her by phone Ms Akek was talking to a friend on the phone when she told them 'there's someone at the door, I'll call you back' about 2.30pm. She let Banek in and he sat on the couch before the pair began arguing. Banek kicked, punched and choked Ms Akek with his hands, and hit her with a stereo speaker. He then went into the kitchen, picked up a knife, and stabbed her three times in the abdomen. Afterwards, he placed her body on her bed along with a rose, covered her with a blanket, and cleaned the unit. 'I think the rose gesture is weird and disturbing,' Justice Croucher said. Banek kicked, punched and choked the young mouther with his hands, and hit her with a stereo speaker. He then stabbed her three times in the abdomen with a knife Banek had a history of violence and was jailed for seven months for assaulting Ms Akek before he murdered her He left Ms Akek's home, taking the knife with him, and Ms Akek's phone because he couldn't find his own. 'That was callous,' Justice Croucher said. Family and friends discovered the slain mother's body after they were unable to reach her by phone. Police arrested Banek at 9pm that night after finding him asleep on the couch at a friend's house. He admitted what he had done, saying 'I snapped, I used a knife and my fists'. He said Ms Akek had told him she didn't want him in her life. 'When I snapped, I decided to beat her up and kill her,' Banek told police. 'In my head I thought 'just kill her' - so I did.' Banek had a history of violence and was jailed for seven months for assaulting Ms Akek before he murdered her. 'The murder of Ms Akek against that background increases his moral culpability,' Justice Croucher said. Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline The Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said on Tuesday. Hoeven issued a statement late in the evening after he said Acting Army Secretary Robert Speer informed him of the decision. Hoeven said he also spoke with Vice President Mike Pence. A spokesman for the US Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night. Hoeven spokesman Don Canton says that Speer's move means the easement 'isn't quite issued yet, but they plan to approve it' within days. Speer's move means the easement 'isn't quite issued yet, but they plan to approve it' within days. Pictured: Protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline The crossing under Lake Oahe, a wide section of the Missouri River in southern North Dakota, is the final big chunk of work on the four-state, $3.8bn pipeline to carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois President Donald Trump on January 24 called on the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its December decision to withhold permission until more study is done on the crossing The move is likely to be challenged in court by the Standing Rock Sioux, who have spent months protesting the project along with supporters from around the country The crossing under Lake Oahe, a wide section of the Missouri River in southern North Dakota, is the final big chunk of work on the four-state, $3.8bn pipeline to carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois. President Donald Trump on January 24 called on the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its December decision to withhold permission until more study is done on the crossing. The move is likely to be challenged in court by the Standing Rock Sioux, who have spent months protesting the project along with supporters from around the country. The tribe gets drinking water from the river and worries a pipeline leak would pollute the water. The developer, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, says the pipeline is safe. ND Senator John Hoeven announced the reversal that contradicts then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy's December 4 decline to issue an easement. She'd said a broader environmental study was warranted following opposition by Standing Rock Sioux An environmental assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on December 4 declined to issue an easement, saying a broader environmental study was warranted in the wake of opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux. The tribe gets its drinking water from the lake and worries a pipeline leak would pollute the water. The company says the pipeline is safe. It called Darcy's decision politically motivated and accused then-President Barack Obama's administration of delaying the matter until he left office. Two days before he left the White House, the Corps launched a study of the crossing that could take up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump on January 24 - just four days after he took office - signed an executive action telling the Corps to quickly reconsider the December 4 decision. The company appears poised to begin drilling under the lake immediately. Workers have already drilled entry and exit holes for the Oahe crossing, and the company has put oil in the pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of finishing the project, its executive vice president Joey Mahmoud said in court documents filed earlier this month. Hundreds and at times thousands of pipeline opponents who have dubbed themselves 'water protectors' have camped on federal land near the crossing site since last August, often clashing with police and prompting more than 625 arrests. The camp's population has thinned to fewer than 300 due to harsh winter weather and a plea by Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault for the camp to disband before the spring flooding season. Former Mrs. Bergen County Soneca Guadara, pictured, has been charged over a weekend party at her home A former Mrs. Bergen County has been charged over a weekend party at her New Jersey home that allegedly included alcohol and ten minors. Capt. John Bakelaar with Franklin Lakes police told the Pascack Valley Daily Voice that authorities showed up at 47-year-old Soneca Guadara's residence around 8pm Friday concerning a report of a drunk and passed out minor. The captain said that police discovered alcohol was being served, as well as an additional nine minors. The supposedly intoxicated minor was transported to a hospital, according to a report from Wyckoff Patch. Bakelaar told the website that he didn't know if Guadara was home while alcohol was served. Guadara's charged with leaving property in custody of another where alcohol was being served to minors, as well as maintaining a nuisance. Guadara's charged with leaving property in custody of another where alcohol was being served to minors, as well as maintaining a nuisance Authorities had said in a release that the ex-beauty queen had been arrested, the Pascack Valley Daily Voice reported. Guadara told the news outlet: 'The crazy thing is that today is Tuesday and I have yet to been even summoned a notice from my police department, not to say I won't. 'However, I was never taken in custody or told my rights. Bottom line is [I] was never arrested.' Guadara's daughter Gianna (pictured left and right) is a college sophomore and attends the University of Kentucky Police allegedly discovered alcohol was being served and minors at Guadara's home (pictured) Her daughter Gianna is a college sophomore and attends the University of Kentucky, The New York Post reported. Police sources described the incident to the newspaper as 'the standard kids getting together, having alcohol thing'. Guadara's blog says she is a 'mom to four kids'. It says: 'From Miami to the burbs of New Jersey (Yes, you can say she is a Real Housewife of New Jersey) this fabulous fashionista not only has a keen eye for fashion but she has amazing taste for interior decor and fashionable entertaining.' Kevin Rojano-Nieto, 20, will spend 25 to life in prison after being resentenced An Orange County judge who imposed less than half the mandatory sentence on a man who sodomized a three-year-old girl was told Tuesday to resentence him. California's 4th District appellate court ruled that Kevin Rojano-Nieto should spend 25 years to life in state prison. A resentencing date was not immediately set. Nieto, then 19, was convicted in 2014 of sodomizing the girl, a relative who had wandered into the garage of his Santa Ana home where he was playing video games. An appellate court said the 10 year sentence that Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Marc Kelly imposed on Rojano-Nieto was far too short for his crime Rojano-Nieto was arrested that day and later confessed, telling police that the sodomy lasted for 'five seconds.' His lawyer said Rojano-Nieto, who had no criminal record, suffered from psychological issues stemming from growing up in a dysfunctional and abusive family. In 2015, Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Marc Kelly sentenced him to 10 years in prison rather than the state-mandated term. In an analysis, Kelly said he compared sentencing for similar and other offenses, looked into details of the case and took into account a court-ordered psychological examination and a sentencing report that concluded Rojano-Nieto wasn't a true pedophile or sexual predator and wouldn't pose a danger to society. Rojano-Nieto sodomized a 3-year-old relative; Kelly took pity on him and sentenced him to less than half the state-mandated time The mandatory term would be 'grossly disproportionate' in the case and would be unconstitutionally cruel and unusual, Kelly wrote. 'The manner in which this offense was committed is not typical of a predatory, violent brutal sodomy of a child case,' he wrote. Although he acknowledged the act was 'serious and despicable,' Kelly said Rojano-Nieto stopped the assault within seconds and was remorseful, the girl wasn't seriously injured and her parents had urged leniency. The sentence outraged victims' rights groups, prompted Orange County supervisors to urge Kelly to resign, and sparked an unsuccessful recall drive. In its ruling, the appellate court said Kelly ignored 'important undisputed evidence about the entire scope of Rojano's actions.' 'Violent physical injury is not what makes the crime of sodomy against a young child a serious and horrific crime,' the court said. 'Put simply, a sex offense against a small child is a grave offense because of the vulnerable nature of the victim and the risk of psychological harm to the child, regardless of any associated physical injury.' 'Even an extremely immature 19-year-old should understand that it is wrong to sodomize a three-year-old child and should be able to control his sexual impulses,' the ruling stated. An email seeking comment from Rojano-Nieto's trial lawyer, Erfan Puthawala, was not immediately returned. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas praised the decision. 'This was a good day for child victims of brutal sex assaults and the People of Orange County,' he said in a statement. In April 2015, t he judge said that he was sure that although Rojano-Nieto sodomized the girl and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream out, 'there was no violence or callous disregard for the victim's well-being,' according to KTLA. The judge said that Rojano-Nieto 'inexplicably became sexually aroused but did not appear to consciously intend to harm the victim.' During the assault, the victim heard her mother yelling for her, so the perpetrator covered her mouth so she couldn't answer. Later, when the girl told her mother she was in pain, police found injuries consistent with rape. Teresa Bradford (pictured) was murdered by her husband David about 6.30am on Tuesday. He had been released on bail after being charged with four domestic violence offences including choking, assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and common assault The document that failed to stop a man from killing his wife in a brutal Gold Coast murder-suicide can be pictured for the first time - as the dead mother's desperate messages to friends can be revealed. Nursing student and mother-of-four Teresa Bradford, 40, was stabbed to death by her husband David, 52, at her Pimpama home in the early hours of Tuesday morning, police said. After murdering his wife, David then killed himself. It was just days after he had been granted bail by a special domestic violence court. The killing just months after police filed a protection order for Ms Bradford because her husband had gagged her with tape, bound her with rope and beat her until she fell unconscious. In chilling messages exclusively obtained by Daily Mail Australia, Ms Bradford shared pictures of the temporary violence protection order application that was filed to the court on her behalf on November 30. It was the first step in the process that reportedly led to a full protection order being put in place by the court a fortnight later. But the order failed to stop her estranged husband from breaking into the mother-of-four's home at 6.30am and killing her. The Facebook conversation with friends exclusively obtained by Daily Mail Australia shows the terrifying reality of Ms Bradford's situation. Pictured: The police AVO application for Teresa Marie Bradford - which she shared with friends in a Facebook Messenger chat where she bared her soul In messages shared with friends after she was brutally bashed, Teresa Bradford told a large group of friends who she had to walk past him into the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre 'You need to tell someone there Teresa': Friends voiced support for the domestic violence victim 'He's sitting outside the DVPC (Domestic Violence Prevention Centre),' Ms Bradford told friends about 10.18am on the morning of November 30. 'I had to walk past him.' Friends - panicked by her message which featured four crying emoji - urged her to call for help. 'Get security now,' said one friend. 'you need to tell someone teresa. you need to have someone and most certainly (n)eeds to have a police guard,' added another. 'You need to tell someone!!' urged a third. 'omfg this is ridiculous,' added a fourth person. Moments later, Ms Bradford said: 'He has a right to be here but to have him sitting outside the door is f*****'. Apparently, her estranged partner was still a hospital inpatient at the time and had not been discharged. Friends would later express their relief as she told them: 'Theres cops everywhere. The duty lawyer has me now.' Friends also expressed relief she had found a place that was not at home Part of the temporary protection order application lodged for Ms Bradford's protection Ms Bradford shared details of the protection order application Her application for a protection order said: 'Police believe the seriousness of the respondent's behaviour warrants the making of a Temporary Protection Order by the court. 'As per as the grounds of this application, the respondent (David Bradford)'s preparations in relation to cutting sections of rope and tubing to restrain the aggrieved as well as the application of tape to the aggrieved mouth indicate that his behaviour was premeditated, and not as a reaction to relationship stresses. 'The respondent has been physically violent towards the aggrieved. Police believe that a Temporary Protection Order with additional no contact conditions with protect the aggrieved from incidents of domestic violence.' A full protection order was later issued to protect her on December 14, reports said. The court document said David received a phone call relating to a medical condition about 9.30am on November 28 when the incident allegedly happened. 'This has upset the respondent who was already stressed in relation to the aggrieved wanting to leave him. 'The respondent (David) also believed the aggrieved was cheating on him. The respondent has then taken a knife from the bedside table and given it to the aggrieved'. Ms Bradford told friends the cheating claim and relationship stress claim was 'bulls***'. 'He claims he thought I was cheating on him and it's relationship stress. Bulls***'. Police forensic officers are seen outside the home where the murder-suicide occurred in Pimpama, on the Gold Coast, on Tuesday After David Bradford suffered a series of strokes (pictured right after a stroke in September) and was left walking with a cane, he was unable to continue working as a train driver and supported his family with the disability pension, according to sources Following the November 28 incident, Mr Bradford was charged with four domestic violence offences including choking, assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and common assault. A domestic violence magistrate allowed Bradford to be released on bail after his lawyer argued there was no criminal history, no independent witnesses and Bradford had been in custody for 44 days, News Corp reported. Police objected, saying said he was in a 'fragile mental state' and was 'an unreasonable risk of causing self-harm or harm towards others'. Bradford's lawyer Mark Donnelly told the Courier Mail there were 'no indications whatsoever that he would do what he did'. 'He had accepted the relationship had irretrievably broken down and was accepting of the very restrictive bail conditions that had been imposed, including having no contact with his partner,' Mr Donnelly, of Krosen and Co. Lawyers, said. A family friend said the relationship broke down after Bradford suffered a series of strokes. David Bradford was charged with a number of violent offences against Ms Bradford (pictured) on November 28 last year 'Last year he started having strokes and medical problems and turned on her,' Debra Napper told the Gold Coast Bulletin. Ms Bradford's friend April Trengove told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that the authorities had failed her. 'The system didn't even tell her he was released until she found out hours later. The system could not get one thing right. 'This is why this happens and this is why she is not here and those babies lost their mum.' The 52-year-old is believed to have broken into the Pimpama home some time before 6.30am on Tuesday. The children who were in the home at the time of the attack ran to neighbours to raise the alarm. Both were dead by the time police arrived at the Matas Drive address. National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero. Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467. MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78. A former child-care worker who sexually abused a six-year-old girl has been attacked in a fiery confrontation outside court. A woman and a teenage girl shoved and shouted at Brenton Kelly Dickson as he left the South Australian District Court on Wednesday. Dickson, a former director of an out-of-hours care centre in Adelaide's north, was found guilty of the persistent exploitation of a child under his care. Scroll down for video Brenton Kelly Dickson was found guilty of the persistent exploitation of a child under his care The 36-year-old was acquitted on multiple other charges allegedly involving up to 10 children between 2007 and 2013. The teenager who confronted Dickson was one of the alleged victims of the offences for which he was found not guilty. 'Look at me, I'm not myself any more. I hate myself because of you,' she screamed as she shoved the heavy-set, bearded man in the back. 'I hate you. F*** you. You're still walking,' the woman continued as he walked away without reacting to her tirade. 'You're so lucky I'm wearing heels right now, I should have worn my Nikes.' In the car park the other woman grabbed Dickson by the hair and hit him until a journalist told her she should stop or she could be charged. The teen who confronted Dickson was one of the alleged victims of the offences for which he was found not guilty In the car park the other woman grabbed Dickson by the hair and hit him until a journalist told her she should stop or she could be charged 'I don't care. It's worth it,' she yelled. 'See you scumbug,' she added. Earlier, the victim in relation to the charge for which Dickson was found guilty told the court she used to be a 'bubbly' girl who thought the world was mostly good. 'But since this incident my real smile has faded,' she said in her victim impact statement read by prosecutor Mark Norman. 'I feel disgusted that people in this world could do this. 'I am so hurt that someone that I should've been able to trust did this to me.' At his trial Dickson denied the allegations against him and said all he had done was hug children when they were hurt or upset. The 36-year-old was acquitted on multiple other charges allegedly involving up to 10 children between 2007 and 2013 He was suspended in 2013 after he was seen washing an 11-year-old girl's legs. Dickson will be sentenced on Thursday. He had also been attacked by families in November, when he was hit eight times outside the court. 'You f****** loser,' one of the mothers yelled at Dickson. She said her daughter, who was an alleged victim in a charge Dickson was acquitted of, had trusted him for six years. 'What am I going to say to her now?' she said. The series of punches thrown at Dickson caused his dark sunglasses to fall off his face, forcing the large man to bend over and pick them up from the pavement. A man who sexually violated an elderly woman then stomped her to death has pleaded guilty to the heinous crime at the eleventh hour. Jaden Lee Stroobant, 20, admitted at the last minute of his trial in the High Court of Auckland in New Zealand on Wednesday to murdering Cunxiu Tian, 69, in her home in January last year. Stroobant, who lived in the home behind her, jumped over the back fence, pulled down her pants and sexually assaulted her before fatally beating her, reports NZ Herald. Jaden Lee Stroobant, 20, admitted the heinous crime at the last minute of his trial in the High Court at Auckland in New Zealand He sexually violated then murdered Cunxiu Tian, 69, in her home in Auckland in January last year A post-mortem examination revealed that Tian suffered a fractured eye socket, blunt force trauma to her head and blood clots on her brain. She was also left with multiple broken bones including one in her neck and ribs and serious injuries to her genitals. The details of the sexual violation charge have not been released as the convicted man claims publication of the attack could put him at risk in prison. After the attack he tried to cover up his tracks by using rags and dish washing liquids from his home to clean up the evidence. He then robbed an iPad, Chinese currency that he later exchanged for NZ$370, and a gold watch belonging to Tian's daughter, who also lived in the home with her partner. Stroobant then denied any involvement in the brutal killing and pleaded not guilty until the last minute of his trial on Wednesday. Stroobant, who lived in the home behind her, jumped over the back fence, pulled down her pants and sexually assaulted her before fatally beating her A Maine community is in shock after a former town councilor was found dead alongside a 21-year-old transgender woman as police are investigating the circumstances surrounding their mysterious deaths. The bodies of former Old Orchard Beach Town Councilor Dana Furtado, 44, and Amber Morrow, 21, were found Monday in a home that is listed as Furtado's business address, according to the Portland Press Herald. Old Orchard Beach police said the two deaths don't appear to be suspicious, but the circumstances are under investigation. Police said their family and friends found the bodies inside the home after being unable to contact Furtado or Morrow over the previous day or two. It's unclear how Furtado and Morrow knew each other. Autopsies on Furtado and Morrow were completed on Wednesday by the state Medical Examiner's Office, but officials will not release the cause of their deaths until toxicology tests are completed in a few weeks. Dana Furtado (left),44, and Amber Morrow (right), 21, were found dead on Monday in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Police said the two deaths don't appear to be suspicious, but the circumstances are under investigation The two were found dead alongside each other inside a home that is listed as Furtado's business address (file above) Community members described Furtado, a father-of-two who supported President Donald Trump's campaign for the White House, as a frequent volunteer and dedicated public servant. 'He was always very pleasant to work with,' Assistant Town Manager Louise told the newspaper. 'I remember thinking that I wished we had more time to talk about family and friends, because I felt there was more to say, but it really wasn't the place. 'It's a great loss to the community. He did a lot of good things for people.' Many of his friends have taken to Facebook to share found memories with Furtado, who had operated a roofing and construction company since 1997. 'Just know he loved hard and with all he had in him and he was a good man and an even better friend,' former town councilor Sharri MacDonald wrote on Furtado's Facebook page. Kaley Alahna, his 17-year-old daughter, started a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $5,000 towards funeral expenses for her father. As of Tuesday evening, $3,000 has been donated towards her goal. Community members described Furtado (above), who was a former Old Orchard Beach Town Councilor, as a frequent volunteer and dedicated public servant Family and friends of Morrow's (above) said that she met 'the world with unfailing kindness' 'We are trying to raise as much as we can to pay for his funeral expenses and what comes next,' she wrote. On Facebook, she wrote about how her father was her best friend. 'With a blink of an eye, my dad is gone. He always harassed me, made fun of me, made me laugh and smile, sang to me, and most of all never gave up on me,' Alahna wrote. 'My father was a handsome man, he was the most sweetest guy you'll ever meet. Was so caring and giving. He was my hero. He was my best friend. He was my rock.' The mother of his two children, Sherrie Nadeau, also wrote a heartbreaking Facebook post that shared how it was their daughter's birthday. 'Our beautiful baby girl is 17 today. I wish you were here,' Nadeau wrote. 'We've always been a team, family and a united front for both of them. This day will not be easy for her, or any of us. I'm going to try to make today as perfect as I can for her, and continue to do the best I can for both of them. 'This is so hard. I never thought you wouldn't be here Dana, I promise you I will do my best to get them through this. Kaley Alahna, Furtado's (above) 17-year-old daughter, said her dad was her 'best friend' and her 'rock' Of her daughter, Morrow's (above) mother said: 'She was always willing to try to make somebody smile, even if she was having a bad day' 'If I could take every last ounce of their pain away, you know I would. You are an amazing Dad who they know loved them with all your heart, they know you would move mountains for them if you could. We love you, Dana. Please continue to watch over and protect our babies. They still need you.' On inauguration day, Furtado shared a post calling for people to come together to support Trump. 'Listen folks, Mr. Trump is in fact our new president,' he wrote. 'I'm sorry your candidate lost, but for the country's sake STOP this destructive behavior! 'Stop believing the rumors and speculation that others are saying. It's a shame that these protesters are committing acts like this because he hasn't done a dam (sic) thing. Let's come together and see how in fact he does as president.' Family and friends said that Morrow met 'the world with unfailing kindness'. Morrow's mother, Jen, told the Portland Press Herald: 'She was always willing to try to make somebody smile, even if she was having a bad day.' Morrow's funeral service was held on Monday, where more than 100 of her close family and friends gathered at First Parish Congregational Church, United Church of Christ to say their final goodbyes. Australian boxer Anthony Mundine is sticking his neck out to gain the advantage over arch-rival Danny Green. Mundine showed off the neck strengthening device he is using in training in the lead-up to Friday's highly anticipated fight with Green in Adelaide, in an interview with 7 News. Mundine is seen lying across chairs, grabbing his neck, and repeatedly rocking up and down. Scroll down for video Anthony Mundine shows off his neck strengthening device Mundine in training mode ahead of his highly anticipated bout with Danny Green The controversial boxer is pulling out all stops to defeat Green His eyes are covered by the strap of the strengthening device, which in turn is attached to chains and a weight. Mundine is being trained by Roy Jones, the father of American boxer Roy Jones Jr. The Australian boxer told 7 News he needed to do everything he could to defeat Green, considering he will be carrying more weight. He added if he did win, it would be the biggest of his career. 'There's a genuine dislike for each other,' Mundine said. 'I know he wants to hurt me. I know I want to hurt him.' Mundine last defeated Green at a fight in Sydney in 2006. The showcase of the neck strengthening device is the latest in a string of high-profile appearances by Mundine in the lead-up to Friday's fight. On Wednesday morning he refused to back down over a promise he made earlier in the week to snub the 'racist' national anthem and will leave Green in the ring to sing it alone. Danny Green stares down Anthony Mundine at a press conference in Adelaide on Wednesday It will be first time since 2006 Mundine will take on Green ' Thousands of protesters marched to Senator Chuck Schumer's luxury apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn to voice their disdain towards his 'yes' votes for three of President Trump's cabinet picks. They want to make sure it doesn't happen again. Cries of: 'What the f***, Chuck?' rang out on the chilly evening as part of 'Resist Trump Tuesdays.' Scroll down for video Demonstrators gather in Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza, during the first in a series of 'Resist Trump Tuesdays' Thousands of people attend a rally at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn before marching to Senator Chuck Schumer's apartment Approximately 3,000 people gathered at Grand Army Plaza to march to Park Slope. So far, Schumer has approved James Mattis for the Department of Defense, John Kelly for the Department of Homeland Security and Mike Pompeo for the CIA. Many of the demonstrators complained the senate minority leader talked a big game on social media, but his votes proved he wasn't as progressive as he claimed to be. 'You have a mission, lead the opposition,' chanted some reports Patch. 'Fight Trump, knock out hate. Compassion makes America great,' others yelled. Senator Chuck Schumer said he will reject at least eight of President Trump's cabinet picks Demonstrators held signs to try to encourage Schumer to keep his word and reject Trump's cabinet picks Schumer famously cried at a news conference Sunday in response to Trump's travel ban. But to many New Yorkers, actions speak louder than tears. Protester Phoebe Damrosch, who attached Kleeex to her sign, told the New York Post: 'His tears know whats right. It takes a real man to cry and lead.' On Facebook, Schumer wrote he will vote against eight of Trump's picks: 'I've made it very clear I will vote NO on nominees DeVos (education), Tillerson (state) and Sessions (attorney general).' 'Nothing will change that, and while I will continue to demand that each nominee issue a public statement on his or her views of President Trump's Muslim Ban, I will vote against nominees who will be the very worst of this anti-immigrant, anti-middle-class, billionaires club cabinet.' 'Rep Mick Mulvaney for Budget Director, Rep Tom Price for Health and Human Services, Steve Mnuchin for Treasury, Scott Pruitt for EPA and Andy Puzder for Labor have repeatedly shown they will not put the American People or the Laws of our nation first, and I will vote against their confirmations.' Protesters argue with supporters of President Donald Trump at Rutgers University In New Jersey, there were similar protests. Hundreds of students and community members have gathered at Rutgers University to protest President Trump's executive order restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. Organizers of the rally staged Tuesday afternoon in New Brunswick, New Jersey, called on Rutgers President Robert Barchi to publicly condemn the executive order Trump issued Friday. They also want him to reaffirm Rutgers' status as a 'sanctuary school' and offer legal assistance for students unable to re-enter the country. The march also drew some Trump supporters who waved large American flags and argued with some rally participants. Officials said the march was peaceful and no arrests were reported. Three people were discovered dead inside a burned Washington state home as part of what authorities are calling a quadruple homicide. The bodies of 37-year-old Christale Careaga, her 16-year-old son Johnathon Higgins and Hunter Schaap, also 16, were found in the Seabeck residence, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office. Deputies went to the house late Friday night regarding a 911 call that there was violence inside, KIRO reported. They weren't able to enter the home at first because it was ablaze, with the bodies found after the fire was over, according to the TV station. Four members of a blended family were killed, according to authorities. The victims were named (from left to right) as John Careaga, Johnathon Higgins, Christale Careaga, and Hunter Schaap The bodies of Christale Careaga, Johnathon Higgins and Hunter Schaap were found in a Seabeck, Washington, residence Deputy Scott Wilson described the 911 call to KING, saying 'it was a voice that said there has been violence here, people have been injured'. The person gave little information and hung up, he told the TV station. Neighbors told KING that they'd heard gunshots earlier that night but yet didn't know if they were linked. The Kitsap County Sheriff's office said Saturday that police were looking for 43-year-old John Careaga and his Ford truck. The sheriff's office said on Sunday that it found human remains in the burned-out truck, which had been discovered in Mason County. Deputies went to the house late Friday night regarding a 911 call that there was violence inside. They weren't able to enter the home at first because it was ablaze, with the bodies found after the fire was over Police had been looking for 43-year-old John Careaga and his Ford truck. The truck was later found to have been burned-out, and contained his remains On Tuesday evening, the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said it confirmed that the remains belong to John Careaga. It said: 'Based on the investigation and evidence so far, Detectives do not believe these four murders were a random act.' The victims were part of a blended family, Sheriff's Detective Lt. Earl Smith told Kitsap Sun. Christale Careaga was the mother of Johnathon Higgins, and was married to John Careaga, the newspaper reported. Christale Careaga and John Careaga reportedly owned a taco shop together. John Careaga and Hunter Schaap's mother were previously in a relationship, according to Kitsap Sun. Pictured are victims Johnathon Higgins (left) and Hunter Schaap (right) Christale Careaga (left) and John Careaga (right) were married and reportedly owned a taco shop together The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday: 'Detectives are continuing to follow up on the many leads received, interviewing subjects and collecting evidence. 'We have asked for assistance from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Fireams (ATF) and the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab. 'In order to maintain the integrity of the case and not compromise the investigation, specific details can't be released. 'This vicious crime of murdering a family, including two teenagers is difficult to comprehend for everyone. 'Our thoughts go out to our entire community affected by this tragic loss.' A GoFundMe page meant to help the Careaga family says: 'This is the family that owns Juanitos Taco Shop on Kitsap Way, as you all know this family would do ANYTHING for anyone, they would give you the clothes off their backs, give you a place to stay and always welcomed you with open arms.' Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, was arrested during protests tonight against Trump's Supreme Court pick, Judge Neil Gorsuch. She was one of 'multiple' arrests made during a protest outside Trump Tower. Multiple members of Al Sharpton's National Action Network were arrested, the New York Daily News reported. Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, was arrested during protests tonight against Trump's Supreme Court pick, Judge Neil Gorsuch Members and supporters of the National Action Network block traffic in front of Trump Tower during a protest against President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Multiple members of Al Sharpton's National Action Network were arrested during a protest at Trump Tower against his SCOTUS pick Protests also took place outside Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer's Prospect Park West apartment on the night of January 31 Carr's Son Eric Garner was killed while in police custody in July 2014 in Staten Island, New York. He was held in a chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo, who did not let go of him despite Garner saying 'I can't breathe' 11 times. The death launched protests regarding police brutality and his mother, Carr, has been at the forefront of many demonstrations campaigning for justice for her son. Gwen Carr holding a photo of her son Eric Garner during a July 2015 demonstration Nawar al-Awlaki, also known as Nora, was among the non-combats killed in the raid, which also resulted in the death of several Yemeni women Fighters for al Qaeda were apparently prepared for Donald Trump's first military raid as President, it has been claimed. An eight-year-old American girl and a SEAL Team Six member have been named after they were killed in President Trump's first military raid, in which officials have said 'almost everything went wrong.' It involved 'boots on the ground' at an al Qaeda camp near al Bayda in south central Yemen, officials confirmed in a statement to NBC. An official told the news outlet that the raid was directed from a US base in Djibouti. Officially, it was to search for 'information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terrorist plots'. A US official told ABC News that SEAL Team Six members took a Marine MV-22 from a Gulf of Aden-based ship, the USS Makin Island, to get to the compound on a moonless night. SEAL Team Six is the US Navy's special forces team that gained worldwide fame for killing Osama bin Laden. That source told ABC that with armed drones above, the SEALs got to the compound where they were instantly met with heavy fire - and it was obvious that al Qaeda compound fighters had been expecting the Americans. Scroll down for video Nora, was the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki (pictured), an American al Qaeda leader, born in New Mexico who was killed in a US strike ordered by Obama five years ago. Chief Special Warfare Operator William 'Ryan' Owens (right) was killed in the action Per ABC, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said Monday there'd been female fighters who 'ran to pre-established positions as though they had trained to be ready and trained to be combatants and engaged with us'. Chief Special Warfare Operator William 'Ryan' Owens, a 36-year-old from Illinois, was killed in a firefight which left three other SEALs hurt, according to the news outlet. Owens enlisted in August 1998 and made chief in December 2009. His awards included three Bronze Stars - two with a 'V' distinguishing device signifying combat valor. Three different American servicemembers were hurt when a Marine MV-22 meant to medevac those who'd been injured suffered a 'hard landing', ABC News also reported. Fourteen al Qaeda fighters were killed in the raid, it's been revealed. Nawar al-Awlaki, also known as Nora, was among the non-combats killed in the raid, which also resulted in the death of several Yemeni women. Eight-year-old Nora was the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American al Qaeda leader born in New Mexico who was killed in a US strike ordered by President Obama five years ago. He was killed by a drone on September 30, 2011, after the Justice Department approved killing him in a memorandum that was disclosed in 2014. The memo said: 'We do not believe that al-Awlaki's US citizenship imposes constitutional limitations that would preclude the contemplated lethal action.' United States intelligence believed that al-Awaki was a potential successor to Osama Bin Laden. Defense Secretary James Mattis said in a statement about Owens: 'Ryan gave his full measure for our nation, and in performing his duty, he upheld the noblest standard of military service. 'The United States would not long exist were it not for the selfless commitment of such warriors. 'I thank our gallant troops and their families for their dedication to protecting this nation, and I pass our respects to Ryan's family in this most difficult time.' Nora's grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki, is Yemen's former agriculture minister and told NBC: 'My granddaughter was staying for a while with her mother, so when the attack came, they were sitting in the house, and a bullet struck her in the neck at 2:30 past midnight. Other children in the same house were killed.' He said she died two hours after being shot. He continued, 'They (referring to the SEALs) entered another house and killed everybody in it, including all the women. They burned the house. There is an asumption there was a woman from Saudi Arabia who was with al Qaeda. All we know is that she was a children's teacher.' The fate of the girl's mother has not been confirmed. However, al-Awlaki's brother-in-law was killed in the raid. This was the president's first clandestine strike, and not one that was originally ordered by former President Obama. It involved 'boots on the ground' at an al Qaeda Camp near al Bayda in south central Yemen (pictured) After American service members landed on the ground, a two-hour gun battle ensued. Some al Qaeda fighters were women, and they were among the casualties, reported the San Diego Union Tribune. Al Qaeda has claimed that 30 civilians have died. National security experts believe that the death of the girl will be used as a part of al Qaeda propaganda methods. Parents have received a blunt letter slamming the controversial Safe Schools program which teaches children about sex changes and homosexuality. The memo, sent to mailboxes in Sydney's northwest, says children who are confused about their so-called 'gender identity' have a mental illness. It also urges teachers to refrain from promoting homosexual intercourse. Parents of students at Seven Hill High School, in Sydney's northwest, received the letter Calling it as they see it: a letter sent to parents in Sydney about the Safe Schools program 'Safe Schools encourages cross dressing and teaches children that they can be the opposite sex if they "feel" like they are,' it said. 'If a child is struggling with gender identity disorder, a parent/guardian should seek counselling ... not affirm this twisted and harmful lie about their gender.' The anonymous letter, sent to parents of Glenwood and Seven Hills high school students, also criticises the taxpayer-funded program for making children role play a homosexual. 'It is a proven fact that harmful diseases stem from homosexual acts, sodomy, and this type of behaviour should not be encouraged from our school teachers,' it said. Several woman have taken to social media to express support for the letter, which argues the program disregarded the difference between male and female chromosomes. This woman says children should be taught about other things This mother says the Safe Schools program material is simply inappropriate This Facebook post agreed with the letter's critique of the Safe Schools program 'Don't indoctrinate our kids - sounds fairly simple,' Jeannie Starzy said. 'The program makes many assumptions which are not backed by reputable research. 'Speaking out against this indoctrination does not make me a "hater". A mother, Jodie Flynn, told Facebook the material was inappropriate. 'This stuff should be kept out of the classroom,' she said. However, one woman accused the letter writer of displaying 'fanatical homophobia'. The federally-funded Safe Schools program has been plagued with accusations it is pushing radical gender theory since it was introduced in 2010. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a supporter of gay marriage, agreed to a review of the controversial lessons in early 2016. An earlier version of the program had featured links to a third party group, Minus 18, which showed a teenage girl binding her breasts. Links to that group have since been removed from program material. Safe Schools is now limited to high schools, after the review found the material was unsuitable for primary-school aged children. These women demonstrated in Melbourne last year against a federal review of Safe Schools Members of the controversial Minus 18 group, which featured an image of a teenage girl binding her chest Kim Kardashian Wests private jet has been searched by immigration officials at LA Airport just days after Donald Trump imposed his Muslim travel ban. The reality star was returning from a four-day trip with her family to Costa Rica when the plane was boarded by customs officials. After being interviewed by officials, Kim and her family were caught on camera leaving the plane, the Sun reports. Kim Kardashian Wests private jet has been searched by immigration officials at LA Airport just days after Donald Trump imposed his Muslim travel ban (Kardashian is spotted disembarking in LA) The reality star was returning from a four-day trip with her family to Costa Rica when the plane was boarded by customs officials The inspection comes just days after Kim responded to Trump's 'Muslim ban' by tweeting statistics on the number of Americans killed by Islamic jihadist immigrants. The 36-year-old tweeted on Saturday 'Statistics', along with the chart, which demonstrated that only two Americans are killed annually by 'Islamic jihadist immigrants', versus over 11,000, who are killed by gun violence at the hands of other Americans. The chart included citations at the bottom of the tweet, and was quickly shared on Twitter. The chart was clearly shared in response to Trump's sweeping executive order, signed Friday. The order suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months. After being interviewed by officials, Kim (pictured) and her family were caught on camera leaving the plane Kim was joined by her older sister Kourtney, 37, and younger sister Khloe with two-year-old Reign Disick (Kourtney leaves the plane with her young children) The Kardashian's 61-year-old matriarch Kris Jenner (pictured) also joined them for the trip Kylie Jenner, 19, (pictured) was also in attendance, as was her boyfriend Tyga and his four-year-old son King Cairo The move, which was implemented immediately by US authorities, sparked large protests at major airports across the country including LAX. At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators there chanted 'Let them in, let them in!' But by Saturday, a federal court granted an emergency stay blocking the deportation of migrants detained at airports around the United States due to Donald Trump's immigration ban. Costa Rica is not on the list of seven countries which Trump has banned refugees and immigrants from. The Kardashian-Jenners had all decamped to the Central American nation en masse for the quick four-day trip. Kim was joined by her older sister Kourtney, 37, and younger sister Khloe with two-year-old Reign Disick and the 61-year-old matriarch Kris Jenner. Kylie Jenner, 19, was also in attendance with her boyfriend Tyga and his four-year-old son King Cairo. Her response: Kim Kardashian has responded to President Donald Trump's immigration ban by sharing a chart of statistics which show just how often Americans are killed by 'Islamic jihadist immigrants' Heartbroken: Kim's sister Khloe Kardashian, meanwhile, also responded to the immigrant ban on Twitter Only Kendall Jenner, 20, missed out - preferring to concentrate on her other business interests, with a trip to the office where she is collaborating on a new wireless headphone with Will.i.am. Kim also took her three-year-old daughter North and one-year-old Saint on vacation and was spotted boarding the plane for the six-hour flight in Costa Rica. The Kardashian family are fourth-generation immigrants from Armenia and have spoken about their pride at their history. As well as Kim's dig at Trump's executive order, the so-called 'Muslim ban' Khloe Kardashian, meanwhile, also responded to the immigrant ban on Twitter. The reality star tweeted, 'All of this in the news today breaks my heart.' Customs and Border Protection officers can legally search all items being brought into the country. A teenager who bragged to fellow inmates he was part of the Apex gang could be sent to an adult prison for brutally beating a father in south-east Melbourne, a court has heard. Peter Paulino, 18, is accused of bashing the man at his Brighton East home as he protected his family during a home invasion in April last year. Paulino pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and recklessly causing injury and theft in a County Court on Wednesday, as Judge Philip Misso declared he would not consider sending the teen to youth detention, according to The Herald Sun. Judge Misso said he would only be considering adult prison for Paulino, who was out on bail at the time of the home invasion, because 'he blew it.' Peter Paulino, 18, (not pictured) could face up to 25 years in adult prison after a Melbourne judge declared on Wednesday he would not consider youth detention for the allegedly self-proclaimed Apex member In a separate incident, other Apex members allegedly broke into a tennis club in Prahran, Melbourne, and sprayed 'Apex, guess who?' on the walls A youth justice worker told the court the 18-year-old has bragged to his fellow inmates about being a member of the notorious gang since he was arrested in April. Paulino has denied he told inmates about his gang affiliation because the 'Apex gang is hated throughout the prison,' his lawyer Julia Munster said. Ms Munster suggested Paulino's insecurities could have led him to allegedly make such comments. 'Youthful bravado and assertion of strength are not inconsistent with immaturity,' she said. Judge Misso said he would consider Ms Munster's request to sentence Paulino to two years in jail with a community corrections order upon release before making his final decision. He could face a maximum of 25 years in prison for his aggravated burglary charge. In keeping a promise, a mother wrote a heart-rending obituary speaking honestly about her daughter's battle with heroin addiction that led to her untimely death. Casey Schwartmizier, 20, died January 15 of an accidental heroin overdose in Ross Township, Pennsylvania. She died just one day before she planned to fly to California to seek treatment for her addiction. Her mother, Michelle Schwartmizier, told WXPI that her daughter 'wanted her to share her story if anything every happened to her' so that it would 'maybe help someone else. Tragic: Casey Schwartmizier (above), 20, died January 15 of an accidental heroin overdose in Ross Township, Pennsylvania. She died just one day before she planned to fly to California to seek treatment for her addiction In keeping a promise, her mother, Michelle Schwartmizier (above), wrote a heart-rending obituary speaking honestly about her daughter's battle with heroin addiction The heartbreaking obituary described the young woman as being a huge believer in second chances and that she 'never wanted to be defined only by her addiction and mistakes.' 'She made it clear if she was to ever pass as a result of it, she wanted people to know the truth with the hope that honesty about her death could help break the stigma about addicts and get people talking about the problem of addiction that is taking away so many young lives,' the obituary reads. 'Casey was a beautiful, intelligent child of the suburbs who fell into its grip. It can happen to anyone. 'She was feisty and outspoken but would do anything for anyone and always lit up the room with her smile and sense of humor, even while struggling with her demons.' Michelle wrote that her daughter wished to have her organs donated 'to give someone else a second chance at life.' 'This amazing woman should be remembered for this and not her mistakes,' the obituary continues. Her mother said that her daughter (above) 'wanted her to share her story if anything every happened to her' so that it would 'maybe help someone else The heartbreaking obituary described the young woman as being a huge believer in second chances and that she 'never wanted to be defined only by her addiction and mistakes' 'Casey believed that hiding her cause of death would help no one, but if her story could help just one addict push even harder for another day of sobriety, encourage an active user to choose recovery or shine a light on this horrible epidemic, then it would be worth coming out of the shadows. ' The mother also wrote that her daughter was open about her struggles with heroin and that in the wake of her death, it's not time to change that. 'This strong attitude with a fierce drive and loving beautiful heart that wanted to help other addicts even in death is one of the many things that she can be defined by, not her addiction,' she wrote. 'Casey wanted to live. She had dreams of a future career, children of her own and fought hard all the way until the end, one day away from entering rehab, but couldn't break the chains of this demon that's wiping out a generation,' the obituary continues. Video courtesy of WPXI 'Addiction doesn't discriminate, it will take hold and destroy anyone in its path, including the families and people who love them. 'Addiction hides in the faces of everyday people all around us. Casey isn't just another statistic or just 'another one gone too soon,' she was a great heart with a bright future and a gift that the world lost and can never be replaced.' Michelle said that writing the obituary for her daughter was one of the most hardest things she ever had to do. 'It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life,' she said. 'It was so hard. I wanted to honor her memory. I hope I hit the right words because I feel like Casey was helping me write that.' A Washington woman is accused of trying to murder a date she met on Craigslist - before trying to eat his heart. The 24-year-old had arranged to meet her alleged victim at the Rodeo Inn motel room in Lynwood, Washington. But it quickly became apparent that romance wasn't on the cards. The 24-year-old had arranged to meet the alleged victim at the Rodeo Inn motel room in Lynwood, Washington After repeatedly asking if the man, 29, was a murderer, she took out her own pocket knife, police reported. 'Well, I'm a serial killer,' she reportedly announced. The woman, whose identity has not been released, proceeded to slash and stab her date several times as he tried to escape, according to news station KOMO. The injured 29-year-old, who insists he met the woman on a website for dating - not just sex - was eventually able to flee and call police from the motel office. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries including a punctured lung. However, he is expected to recover. His attacker was found by police in the parking lot, with the knife still in her pocket. Her victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries including a punctured lung. However, he is expected to recover When they confronted her, they said she confessed she had planned to eat her date's heart. She had even written a note that she planned to leave on his body, saying would kill again, officers said. 'I'm a loon' she allegedly told interviewing officers. The suspect has not yet been charged, but is being held on $1 million bail. Joshua Shepherd, 17, took to Facebook to find a date for his year 12 formal Asking a girl out is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of a young man's life. But this 17-year-old took the plunge in a particularly unique fashion as he sought to find a date for his year 12 formal. Joshua Shepherd, from Perth, recently broke up with his ex-girlfriend but did not want to go to his end-of-year ball alone. So he took to Facebook to see if anyone wanted to accompany him to the dance - and the plucky teenager has been inundated with replies. Writing on a buy and sell page in Perth, he said: I'm not buying or selling anything but seeing if there were any 15 - 19-year-olds in this group that would be willing to go to my year 12 ball with me in March this year. 'Comment below and I'll private message you. And yes, I really am a 17-year-old boy! I can supply proof upon request.' The scheme may have seen a little outlandish at first, but Joshua has already had several young ladies get in touch - as well as some people a little older than him. Melissa Smith, 23, offered to go with the young lad and said she would wow his friends. 'Oh man, I'm 23 years old and would love to rock up with you and enjoy the night but that would be a bit naughty,' she said. Joshua took to Facebook to see if anyone wanted to accompany him to the dance - and the plucky teenager has been inundated with replies Joshua, from Perth, recently broke up with his ex-girlfriend but did not want to go to his end-of-year ball alone Joshua, who goes to Ballajura Community College, revealed that since making the appeal, 'two lovely girls' have offered to go to the ball with him. A hairdresser and make-up artist have both offered to help the 17-year-old's date get ready for the night, once he has made the tough decision on who to invite to the ball at the Hyatt Regency hotel. The teenager went to the same formal last year with his ex-girlfriend, who is a year older than him, and he admitted that he is still 'heartbroken' following their recent split. 'I don't wanna go solo as otherwise I'll just be thinking about my ex all night as she was meant to be my date,' he said. Some suggested he take a female friend with him as a date, but Joshua said that he did not have any. The Swan Lake Suite gained celebrated status as the necklace Diana wore on one of her final public engagements The diamond necklace worn by Princess Diana to the ballet just two months before her death has gone on sale for 10million. Glittering with diamonds and South Sea pearls, the Swan Lake Suite gained celebrated status as the necklace Diana wore on one of her final public engagements. The necklace was made with Diana's assistance, and included five of her favourite pearls. Now the Ukrainian couple who own it, intend to cash in on its status by selling the jewelry for 9.6million. The iconic necklace was last sold for 500,000 in 2010 but its current owners believe its value has sky rocketed. The 178 diamonds and pearls have been described by New York auction house Guernsey's, as the 'gift of the century'. A spokesman for Guernsey's told the Sun: 'Right now they [the owners] are just entertaining offers. I can't cite prices but obviously you're aware of what it sold for previously. 'Markets change and I think the family feel that originally they picked it up for a bit of a song.' The Swan Lake Suite earned its nickname because Diana was wearing the necklace at a performance of the ballet at the Royal Albert Hall in June 1997. It was at the show that the Princess was invited by Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed to join his family for a holiday in the South of France, where she then met his son Dodi - which set in train the fatal events of later that summer. Diana did not wear the earrings designed to go with the necklace that evening, pairing it with her own set instead because the then Crown Jeweller, Garrard, had not yet finished making the matching earrings in time for the event. The Ukrainian couple who owner the necklace of diamonds and pearls now wants to cash in on its status and have set an asking price of 9.6million She returned the necklace after the gala ballet for the accompanying pearl-and-diamond earrings to be completed, but she died without ever seeing the finished items. Later, Garrard sold them discreetly to a British businessman who wanted them for his wife. But he put them up for auction in 1999, making what was described as a 'significant' donation to the Diana Memorial Fund from the proceeds. Both the necklace and the earrings Garrard subsequently produced have rarely been worn since. In 1999, a U.S. collector paid more than 360,000 to buy it, plus a pair of matching earrings. Later Texan furniture millionaire Jim 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale bought the piece and kept it locked in at his store in Houston, Texas, where he put them on show in order to draw in customers. Mike Hager, who has claimed that President Trump's travel ban caused his sick Iraqi mother to die after she was stopped from travelling to the U.S. for treatment A Detroit man has claimed that President Trump's travel ban caused his sick Iraqi mother to die after she was stopped from travelling to the U.S. for treatment. Mike Hager, who fled Iraq during the Gulf War, had returned to his country of birth with his mother 75-year-old mother Naimma to visit family but while they were there she fell ill. At the weekend, they decided to travel back to Michigan, where they have both lived for 22 years, in order for Naimma to get urgent treatment. However, when they arrived at the airport in Iraq, Mr Hager was told he could travel back to the US, as he was an American citizen, but his mother would have to stay in Iraq as she only held a green card. After being denied boarding on to the flight, Mr Hager, who served with the US Army as an interpreter during the Iraq War, says he then had to then take his mother back to an Iraqi hospital, where he claims she later died. And now he has told Fox News that she would still be alive today if it weren't for the new ban implemented by the new president. He said: 'I was just shocked. I had to put my mom back on the wheelchair and take her back and call the ambulance and she was very very upset. She knew right there if we send her back to the hospital she's going to pass away - she's not going to make it. 'I really believe this in my heart: if they would have let us in, my mom - she would have made it and she would have been sitting right here next to me. She's gone because of him. When Mr Hager and his mother, pictured, arrived at the airport in Iraq, hewas told he could travel back to the US, as he was an American citizen, but his mother would have to stay in Iraq as she only held a green card. 'You have to understand you have a daughter - you have family - imagine if somebody does that to your mom. You put the terrorists on this side - the bad people - but don't mix everyone together.' And he added that despite having lived in the US for over 20 years and having American citizenship, he is worried if he will be able to stay. Trump signed the executive order on Friday that temporarily bans refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries, sparking tumult at U.S. airports and protests in major American cities. The countries include Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. Trump signed the executive order on Friday that temporarily bans refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries, sparking tumult at U.S. airports and protests in major American cities It was put in place while so the country can detect 'individuals with terrorist ties and stopping them from entering the United States.' The president, who campaigned on a promise to bring what he called 'extreme vetting' to the nation's immigration system, said the order he signed on Friday was meant to protect the country and its borders. 'This is not a Muslim ban,' he said. But confusion over who was covered by Trump's order left travelers, airlines and foreign governments scrambling to get clarity from U.S. officials, many of whom were also bewildered. This is the moment a zookeeper was viciously attacked by a raging zebra - just three days after a man was killed by a tiger at another Chinese animal park. Footage shows the zebra clamping its powerful jaws around the man's arm and dragging him around an enclosure at Changlong zoo in the city of Guangzhou, southern China. The man's co-worker desperately tries to intervene, chasing the enraged animal with a long wooden stick in the hope it will release its victim. Attack: Footage captured the moment a zookeeper was viciously attacked by a raging zebra - just three days after a man was killed by a tiger at another Chinese animal park Dramatic video shows the zebra clamping its powerful jaws around the man's arm and dragging him around an enclosure at Changlong zoo in the city of Guangzhou, southern China But the zebra continues to haul the zookeeper around, dragging him from the bushes and pulling him effortlessly across the dirt. Guests screamed as the attack started under a giant visual display which was showing a zebra running free across the plains of Africa. The zookeeper is said to have escaped alive but suffered hand injuries in the two-minute ordeal. It comes just days after a m an in China was killed by a tiger after he tried to climb the fence in a bid to avoid paying for his entrance ticket. The incident occurred at the Youngor Wildlife Park in the city of Ningbo, around 125 miles south of Shanghai on January 29. The man's co-worker desperately tries to intervene, chasing the enraged animal with a long wooden stick in the hope it will release its victim The zebra continues to haul the zookeeper around, dragging him from the bushes and pulling him effortlessly across the dirt It comes just days after a man in China was killed by a tiger after he tried to climb the fence in a bid to avoid paying for his entrance ticket The zoo has since released a statement saying that the man surnamed Zhang and his friend had scaled the wall of the enclosure to gain free access to the park. Video footage emerged online of the tiger dragging the man under some trees and sinking its teeth into his neck as two other big cats lurked behind. Zoo visitors raised the alarm soon after he was attacked by the predator but it took zoo staff about an hour to grapple the man from the tiger's firm grip, according to local reports. The tigers were eventually driven away by firecrackers and a water cannon, said a report in the Beijing Youth Daily, which added that the man was rushed to hospital but later died. Advertisement Incredible photos show First World War U-boats wrecked off the Cornish coast after being surrendered by the Germany Navy. The pictures, which have never been seen before, were taken in 1921 at Falmouth by Royal Navy officer Jack Casement. The U-boats were surrendered by Germany in 1918 and were due to be sunk as gunnery targets. Pictured: The UB-106 arches up on the rocks after being wrecked on the Falmouth coast. The submarine could hold up to 10 torpedoes and carry a crew of 3 officers and 31 men Pictured: Royal Navy crew clamber over a U-boat at Falmouth. The vessels were supposed to be used as gunnery targets but, with their engines stripped, were difficult to tow and were occasionally sank or wrecked on Britain's beaches But because they were stripped of their engines, the submarines were difficult to tow and occasionally sank or were wrecked on Britain's beaches. The U-boats played an important role in the Great War and caused devastation to both military vessels and supply ships. During 1916, 431 of our ships were sunk by the submarines worldwide but in 1917, following the declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany, the number lost nearly tripled to 1263. Even hospital ships were targeted, provoking worldwide outrage. Ships like the Rewa, torpedoed in 1918, were unarmed and painted with the internationally recognised symbol of the Red Cross but were still attacked. As well as attacking the Royal Navy, U-boats focused on starving Britain by torpedoing ships bringing in food and supplies. All vessels trading with the UK were seen as targets by the Imperial German Navy, including those from neutral countries such as Norway, Denmark and the United States. Pictured: The UB-112 fought in a number of raids during the First World War and is believed to have sunk five Royal Navy vessels. However, after surrendering to the British the illustrious history of the submarine saw it wrecked at Falmouth The incredible photos were captured by Royal Navy officer Jack Casement (left) and were later donated to the Historic England archive by his family. Right, is a photo he captured of the damaged interior of one of the U-boats THE GERMAN U-BOAT CAMPAIGN WHICH DESTROYED 5,000 SHIPS In total, U-Boats sunk almost 13 million gross tons of Allies' shipping. Of the 351 boats, 178 were lost in combat, with 5,000 people killed on board them The Germans ran the U-Boat campaign throughout World War I, and used the submarines to attack the Allies' trade routes. They mostly attacked around Britain and the Mediterranean, and destroyed almost 5,000 ships in total. The campaign started in the North Sea, when 10 submarines were sent from Heligoland to attack Royal Navy ships. However, it was unsuccessful - only one torpedo was fired and it missed its intended target - HMS Monarch. Meanwhile, two of the U-Boats were lost. The U-Boats had much more success when their attentions were turned to the war on commerce. Britain had already managed to block off Germany with its Navy, not even allowing food to enter the country, and since the Germans' main navy was much weaker than the British, they fought back using U-Boats. Admiral Hugo Von Pohl, commander of the German High Seas Fleet, declared the British and Irish seas a war zone, and the Germans send out 20 boats to form a naval blockade. They sunk a huge amount of trade boats heading into Britain. In 1917, the Germans came up with the tactic of trying to 600,000 tons of shipping heading into Britain each month - they believed this would force their enemies to try for peace within six months. This was a huge success - 860,000 tons were sunk in April of that year alone, the British were left with just six weeks-worth of wheat, and the Americans were forced to declare war. Towards the end of the war, the Allies had become far better at countering the threat of U-Boats. They used planes to patrol the seas - forcing them to go below the surface, where they were blind. The North Sea Mine Barrage then followed - when 70,000 mines were lain and destroyed six U-Boats between September and November 1918. Upon the German surrender, the Allies insisted all U-Boats were also surrendered to them. Their last act was to suppress the German naval mutiny in October 1918 - revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet. In total, U-Boats sunk almost 13 million gross tons of Allies' shipping. Of the 351 boats, 178 were lost in combat, with 5,000 people killed on board them. Advertisement In 1917, the Germans came up with the tactic of trying to 600,000 tons of shipping heading into Britain each month - they believed this would force their enemies to try for peace within six months. This was a huge success - 860,000 tons were sunk in April of that year alone, the British were left with just six weeks-worth of wheat, and the Americans were forced to declare war. Roger Bowdler, Director of Listing at Historic England said: 'The declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917 was a decisive moment in the First World War. 'Germany's tactic led to devastating losses for many nations but it also horrified the world. 'It was seen as uncivilised, ungentlemanly and ultimately brought the might of the United States into the war. 'By commemorating this day we can better understand its consequences and remember the many people who lost their lives in this way.' First he was branded the modern-day Hitler and now Donald Trump has been compared to Mussolini by Sir Bernard Ingham. Margaret Thatcher's former press secretary said the US President's 'narrowed eyes and belligerent posture' make him appear like the Italian wartime dictator in a wig. It is the second time this week a high profile political figure in the UK has compared President Trump with a fascist. Veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner lashed out at Theresa May for walking 'hand-in-hand with a fascist - Trump' as he likened the man in the oval office to Hitler. Sir Bernard Ingham said Donald Trump's 'narrowed eyes and belligerent posture' make him appear like the Italian wartime dictator Benito Mussoloni, right, in a wig The relationship between President Trump and Theresa May has already drawn comparisons with the famous partnership between Ronald Reagan and Mrs Thatcher in the 1980s and the billionaire told the British PM last week that he wants their alliance to be even better. But Sir Bernard warned that even the strong-willed Mrs Thatcher 'did not get far' with persuading President Reagan to change course on some of his domestic policies. He said he 'cannot imagine' Mrs May succeeding in changing President Trump's mind on his highly controversial moves, such as his travel ban. Writing in the Yorkshire Post Sir Bernard posed the question: 'Is he sufficiently modest to take advice from a British Prime Minister and a woman to boot? 'Is he man enough take a real handbagging when Theresa May gets seriously critical?' Margaret Thatcher's former press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham, pictured said he would reserve judgement of Theresa May's relationship with Donald Trump for now He added: 'I simply cannot imagine Trump cowering in the Oval Office before May, partly because of his unbounded certitude of approach - take, for example, his drive for a wall along the Mexican border - and partly because May is not as passionate as Thatcher.' Sir Bernard spoke of Mr Trump's misogyny and his apparent desire to be seen as 'one of the lads'. He asked: 'Can Trump be persuaded that his instinctive protectionism will do the world no good at all and play into the hands of China to boot? 'Here May has a real international job to do to prevent an American-led beggar-my-neighbour approach to international trade. 'Trump does not seem to have warmed to any other international statesman, with the possible - and awful - exception of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. I think May is both able and desires to help Trump become a great president. 'But is he sufficiently modest to value candid friends? Thatcher did not think you were much of a friend if you were not candid.' But Sir Bernard said he would reserve his judgement on the success of the current PM's relationship with the billionaire tycoon and did compare last week's 'great Trump-May hand-holding love-in' at the White House last week with the Reagan-Thatcher partnership. 'I shall reserve judgment until they have met a few times and weathered a few storms together,' he wrote. 'I shall know that, by Jove, they've done it when I get that old 1980s feeling when they meet that I am again directing Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind. Forget about holding hands. Wait for the first kiss.' During a Commons statement on President Trump's travel ban on Monday, a furious Mr Skinner said: 'Will the Foreign Secretary (Boris Johnson) just for a moment try to recall, along with me, as I hid underneath the stairs when two fascist dictators, Mussolini and Hitler, were raining bombs on towns and cities in Britain. 'Now this Government are hand-in-hand with another fascist - Trump. And what I say to him - do the decent thing and ban the visit. This man is not fit to walk in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela.' Advertisement Asian elephant bull Bong Su has celebrated the 40th anniversary of his arrival at Melbourne Zoo. But the 42-year-old elephant appeared tired as his zoo keepers tried to cheer him up with a mud bath and a wash down on Wednesday. Being Australia's largest zoo animal at 4,750 kilograms, he is constantly monitored by vets and keepers. Australias largest animal, Asian Elephant bull Bong Su has celebrated the 40th anniversary of his arrival at Melbourne Zoo But the 42-year-old elephant appeared tired and miserable as his zoo keepers tried to cheer him up with a mud bath and a wash down on Wednesday Bong Su arrived at Melbourne in 1977 from a refuge in Malaysia. He was three-years-old Bong Su arrived at Melbourne Zoo in 1977 from a refuge in Malaysia. He was three-years-old. For years after he arrived Bong Su lived in the former elephant exhibit with two older females Betty and Peggy, and another elephant of a similar age, a younger female Mek Kapah. But he was moved to a different area of Melbourne Zoo in 2003. Bong Su was so big he needed a truck to transport him to the new exhibit. The new area gave Bong Su and Mek Kapah more space, with two paddocks, a large new barn and a deep pool. In November that year three young female Asian Elephants arrived from Thailand. Their arrival created a social group for Bong Su and Mek Kapah and was also the beginning of a new regional breeding program for the increasingly endangered species. Since then, Bong Su has proved to be a highly fertile elephant and has fathered six calves. Asian Elephant bull Bong Su enjoys a wash and a rub by elephant keeper Lucy Truelson, as he celebrates the 40th anniversary of his arrival at Melbourne Zoo Elephant keeper Lucy Truelson gives Bong Su a pedicure on Wednesday Bong Su appeared to be tired as he was rubbed by elephant keeper Lucy Truelson, as he celebrates the 40th anniversary of his arrival at Melbourne Zoo Jacqueline Johnston, alleges she paid a builder 15,900 for a downstairs bathroom to help husband Andrew when he fell ill with pneumonia in September An elderly widow has claimed she was conned out of 16,000 by cowboy builders who built a 'death trap' extension for her dying husband. Jacqueline Johnston, 83, from Leeds, alleges she paid a builder 15,900 for a downstairs bathroom to help husband Andrew when he fell ill with pneumonia in September. Andrew passed away in November and Mrs Johnston claims that despite pocketing her money, the builder downed-tools and left the shoddy extension unfinished, just two days before Christmas. In a desperate bid to get the work completed, the grandmother-of-three posted an advert pleading with builders to assess the extension. But when workmen came to her house to assess the brickwork, they quoted her 10,000 just to demolish the botched job. Mrs Johnston said: 'This builder did not do the work we agreed on initially. 'When three builders went in there to check it they said one of the walls could just be pushed over because the foundations had been screwed into the wall, it was not secured and there was no mortar or concrete. 'If the roof was fully tiled, then it would have all come down and it could have killed somebody. It is a death trap. 'The builder knew about my husband because he met him on his second visit and my husband told me 'if you want the extension then have it but be careful, all conmen seem nice because that is what they do'. 'This man seemed nice and he seemed like he knew what he was doing but he did not do the work. 'He was always asking for the full balance to be paid over email, never face-to-face, and he would promise that he would turn up with a plumber and a team of roofers whenever I questioned him about the work but he never did.' Mrs Johnston called the extension a 'death trap' and was quoted 10,000 just to knock it down, but a group of workmen travelled to her home and kindly carried out the work for free Mrs Johnston said the work, which was initially quoted at 14,000, started in late October last year and was due to be finished by the first week of January this year. Mr Johnston, who was married to his wife for 57 years, died after returning to hospital on November 1. Shortly after his death Mrs Johnston claimed she started noticing issues with the build. The pensioner alleges her builder had already requested 1,200 of the agreed 14,000 total for designs and planning when she first spotted issues. She also claims by December 12 he began to ask for the full 14,000 towards completion for the job, citing cash flow problems. Mrs Johnston explained that in total she bank transferred the builder 15,900 after he persuaded her to also part with another 2,000 for a metal staircase she never received. Mrs Johnston's husband Andrew (right),passed away in November and the pensioner claims that despite pocketing her money the builder left the shoddy extension unfinished (left), just two days before Christmas She has not heard from the builder since December 23 - despite attempting to contact him via phone and email. Mrs Johnston said: 'I was in a rush because of my husband's health and I did not have time to do a thorough search of the builder's background so my advice would be to make sure that you do a thorough search before taking someone on. ' When builder Steven Mitchell heard her story he was so touched he rallied a group of brickies from across the UK to visit her and knock down the structure for free. Mr Mitchell called out for help on social media with one bricklayer making a 536-mile round trip to help bring the masonry to the ground. Mr Mitchell said: 'We went to assess it and give Jacqueline a price to finish it between Christmas and New Year. But when we got there, there was nothing that looked right about it. Pictured: Mrs Johnston and the generous crew of builders, led by bricklayer Steven Mitchell, who came to her aide and demolished the shoddy extension for free 'The wall was basically free-standing and when three builders went in to demolish it, they could basically push it over. It's only 9m so she has effectively overpaid and she's paying almost 2,000 for each square metre. 'When you see Jacqueline, she reminds me of my grandmother - how could you leave her with this? I would rather he had not done the work and ran off with the money because it is a death trap.' Mrs Johnston said: 'I think they were a bit ashamed that someone who is calling themselves a builder has left me in this situation so I am very grateful for them for doing this.' A West Yorkshire Trading Standards spokesperson said they were unable to confirm whether the incident had been reported to them. West Yorkshire Police said they had no record of the incident having been reported. Three women who defied a topless ban on a popular holiday beach surrounded by TWENTY police officers have sparked a major protest. The trio refused to put on their bikini tops when approached by officers at Necochea, the Atlantic coastal resort in Buenos Aires. One even whipped her top off when being warned about their behaviour. The women say the police called to the scene threatened to arrest them during a heated discussion on the sand watched by bewildered sunbathers. Police were called to the beach following complaints about three topless women The women say the police called to the scene threatened to arrest them during a heated discussion on the sand watched by bewildered sunbathers The three friends eventually agreed to leave but only after police called in reinforcements over fears that the argument could escalate. Although going topless in Spain has been accepted for years, it still raises eyebrows in Argentina and is not the norm. The three women took off their tops on the popular beach but a number of other tourists were said to have been offended by the 'exhibitionism' and called in the police. A large crowd gathered to watch the spectacle unfold at Necochea, the Atlantic coastal resort in Buenos Aires Officers called reinforcements after the row about going topless on the beach escalated The trio alleged they were being picked upon and said they had as much right as a man to go topless. The row eventually involved other beach users, some of whom agreed with their stance, others who objected. At one stage, about 20 police officers in six patrol cars arrived. 'At one stage, the discussion became very heated,' one onlooker told the Spanish press. 'A police officer apparently told them to put their breasts away as people were fed up seeing them. They were also told to go away and find a proper nudist beach.' An officer remonstrates with the women in a dispute after police were called by baffled sunbathers Witnesses said around 20 officers were called to the scene and the women said they were threatened with arrest The women only agreed to move away after the police said they would put them in handcuffs. The angry scenes were caught on video by numerous tourists and has reopened the debate about topless sunbathing in the south of Argentina. The footage has been posted on YouTube and has already gone viral. Women's groups are now calling for protests in various parts of Argentina next week, including on the beach itself. Protests are planned in various parts of Argentina, including on the beach itself The women have found one major supporter in the form of the Mayor of Necochea, Facundo Lopez. He said telling the trio to cover up was 'a violation' but 'what happened afterwards could not be justified' as it was not worthy of a row. 'The law is obsolete, I am ready to modernise it. Just look at the comments in the networks to note that there is still a long way to go to eliminate machismo in Argentina.' Websites have been set up so other women can register their objections and marches are to be held on February 7th and 11th. One of the protests is being planned for the famous obelisk of Buenos Aires under the motto 'Our breasts should not be censored!' This is the dramatic moment a young boy's life is saved by his father after beginning to choke on a piece of food in front of a shocked crowd. Damien Martinez captured the scenes after the anonymous child was seen walking innocuously around the floor at a boating trade show in Houston, Texas. The footage shows how the child suddenly twists round, clutching at his throat in distress, and as the panic starts to set in the boy can be heard retching as he begins to struggle for air. The dramatic footage shows the boy walking around the trade show when he doubles over and begin to choke Clutching at his throat in distress, and as the panic starts to set in the boy can be heard retching as he begins to struggle for air as his father arrives on scene Luckily the dad - dressed in black and wearing a cowboy hat - is alerted by someone by a nearby stall and comes rushing over. He begins to firmly smack his terrified son on the back as he bends over in a state of hyper-ventilation. After several failed attempts to dislodge the object in the boy's throat, the father increases the power of his strike. And thankfully the boy manages to spit out the troublesome snack that could've killed him. The father begins to firmly smack his terrified son on the back as he bends over in a state of hyper-ventilation After several failed attempts to dislodge the object in the boy's throat, the father increases the power of his strike Mr Martinez, from Pasadena, Texas, who filmed the incident, said: 'The dad was in complete shock after. 'Everyone was, nobody could believe what they had seen. 'It was incredibly distressing. I'm just glad the boy was okay, it could've been a lot worse. 'He was very upset as he walked away with his dad, we were just all relieved that he walked away safely.' Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, pictured, said the referendum vote had triggered a task 'fraught with legal complexity' EU law will continue to affect Britons even after Brexit, the Government's former top law officer has warned. Dominic Grieve, a barrister and Conservative MP for Beaconsfield who backed the Remain campaign, says tens of thousands of acts, court verdicts and international standards bind UK citizens because of Britain's 43-year history. In an article in a legal magazine, he says that Brexit presents a Gordian knot, a term derived from Greek legend and is used to describe a complex or unsolvable problem. 'The best estimate is that there are now at least 40,000 legal acts, 15,000 court verdicts and 62,000 international standards binding on us by virtue of EU membership,' he writes in Counsel. 'It affects private rights such as intellectual property and data protection ... Then there are all those other areas ... that confer rights on us as EU citizens, in areas such as freedom of movement and of capital and rights of establishment, voting rights for the EU Parliament, anti-discrimination laws, competition law and human rights. 'It has to be for Parliament to consider such issues and question the Government on its strategy as to how these rights and obligations will be preserved, altered or unravelled.' He said the referendum vote had triggered a task 'fraught with legal complexity'. He wrote: 'The EU is primarily a treaty about creating a single market. 'But that does not mean that Brexit can be neatly compartmentalised away from our interests in other areas in which the EU has an impact. 'All of this will have to be negotiated as well. It must also mean, at the end of the day, that decisions of the European Court of Justice and EU law ... will continue to impact on us even if the direct effect of EU law is removed.' Poachers poisoned three while lions before decapitating one and hacking off its paws for black magic rituals in South Africa. Police believe suspects threw poisoned chicken meat into the lions' enclosures at a game farm in Alldays, South Africa, to incapacitate them in order to butcher the big cats. They said the thugs had started trying to skin one of the lions, but think they were interrupted. The lion near Polokwane in South Africa which poachers decapitated and attempted to skin Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said they found one lion dead at the Ingogo Safari lodge north-west of Polokwane on Tuesday. 'The other two lions were incapacitated by the poison but the white one unfortunately died,' he told News 24. 'The suspects appear to have been disturbed as they also attempted to remove the skin but failed. 'A veterinarian was called to the scene to treat the surviving sickly animals. 'They could not walk and the one was even vomiting.' A white lion poisoned and mutilated by poachers in May last year as part of a muti-killing This is the sixth lion to be killed in the province this year and the suspects are on the run. Sadly, it is not a new phenomenon. In May last year, a pair of majestic white lions were poisoned by poachers in South Africa who then beheaded them and chopped off their paws in almost a copycat case. It is believed the lions were targeted by poachers as part of a muti-killing, where animal body parts are used for healing in black magic rituals. It is believed the lions, targeted in May last year, were killed for their body parts which are used for healing in black magic rituals Just like the most recent incident, the lions in May were poisoned before they were butchered Before they were killed, it is believed the lions were fed a pesticide called Temik, which is used to get rid of spider mites and other pests. Local police said they had picked up a number of suspects relating to the killing near the Stockpoort border crossing with Botswana. It has been estimated that 8,000 lions are bred in captivity in South Africa. Animal rights activists say canned - or 'captive' - hunting in South Africa, where lions have been reduced to little more than 'farmyard chickens', is popular to meet the market of high-paying tourists who hunt them down using guns or bows for the ultimate 'trophy' kill. An undercover investigation for a new film into the trade reveals that safari companies will even send out prospective hunters a catalogue so they can choose the exact animal they want to kill - ranging in price from $5,400 (3,500) to $48,000 (31,000), depending on size and condition. South Africa is a prime destination for rich tourists looking to add another trophy to their collection and, as a result, 1,000 lions are killed there every year. Ian Michler - a long time campaigner against the canned lion trade - points out just five lions killed last year were 'wild' or 'free running'. This is the heart-stopping moment heroic passersby smashed the windows of a car to rescue a trapped driver after her car plunged into a frozen river in China. The incident took place on January 27 in Wudi county, Shandong province. Passersby rushed to help free the woman who had become stuck in her vehicle following the crash. Rescue: A man jumps into the water to break the ice and see if he can access the woman Hard work: He is joined by other men who stand on the car in an attempt to break the windows According to reports, two cars were involved in an accident with one of the vehicles coming off the road and plunging into the river. Passersby can be seen in the footage rushing over to the vehicle. One man jumps onto the frozen surface to try and break the ice. He stands in the icy water to get a better look at the trapped woman. Four other men also join the effort to help. Quick thinking: The men used a wooden log to break the window and rescue the woman As a team: Working together, the men count and pull the woman from the vehicle One man can be seen climbing on top of the car before smashing the window through with a log. Once they break through the window, the men climb onto the car to try and open the driver's door and free the woman. They work together, counting to try and pull the woman free. After struggling for around three minutes, they manage to free the woman. The men then bring her to the shore before she was rushed to hospital where according to Sina, she is currently in a coma in intensive care. Doctors say she has injuries to her head, chest and lungs. Paul Bush was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell in Budapest in August 2014 A British man was found dead at the bottom of a stairwell in a Hungarian sex den having suffered multiple broken bones and internal bleeding while on a stag do. Paul Bush, 36, was found with his trousers around his ankles in Budapest in August 2014. He was last seen on CCTV entering a building in Budapest with a prostitute at 1.49am at the end of a drunken night out. Minutes later the woman was caught on camera leaving the 'place of consortium' along with a second woman and then another man. The body of Mr Bush, a satellite TV aerial installer, was found six hours later at the bottom of the stairs with his shoes and socks off and his trousers down. He had apparently been robbed of his wallet and mobile phone. A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Bush had suffered internal bleeding, broken vertebrae in his neck and back and multiple rib and skull fractures having fallen from a certain height. A British police officer who investigated the death and a Home Office pathologist said that foul play could not be ruled out. But the British authorities had been frustrated with the level of cooperation from the Hungarian police who have been unable to confirm if the three people on the CCTV had been tracked down. The inquest heard Mr Bush, who lived in Weymouth, Dorset, with his fiance Tracey Hodder and her two children, had organised the stag do for groom Steve Palmer in 2014. The group of 12 friends arrived in Budapest at 11.45am on August 29 and set out at 8.45pm on a pub crawl of six bars with a local guide. Mr Bush was last seen by his friends on a dance floor at about 1am. Over the course of the night the group became separated and returned to the hotel at different times. The confusion meant no one noticed Mr Bush was missing until 10.50am the following morning when the group met for breakfast and did a head count. The group went to the police station to report him missing before being told he had been found dead. Friend Henry Hardwicke said: 'The policeman said they saw Paul on CCTV with a girl in a white dress, he went into a building with her and she was a whore. She came out, he didn't. 'We were all completely shocked and devastated.' Detective Constable Peter Gray, of Dorset police, investigating, said a report from Hungarian police said 'foul play cannot be ruled out' but that they had closed the investigation ruling it was an accident. He said Dorset police did not know if all the people seen entering and leaving the building on the CCTV had been identified and interviewed or if forensic samples the police had taken from the scene, including cigarette ends and condoms, had been looked at. DC Gray said: 'There are unanswered questions about the police investigation - have any persons from the CCTV been identified, located and interviewed, have any forensic samples been submitted to identify further lines of inquiry?' Both Ms Hodder and Mr Bush's mother Cherry Bush raised concerns about the handling of the investigation into his death. A coroner in Dorset recorded an open verdict in Mr Bush's death, after difficulties in cooperation with the Hungarian authorities Mr Sheriff Payne, the Dorset coroner, said he was not satisfied Mr Bush's death had been an accident and could not rule out foul play. He said: 'We now know from CCTV he was seen approaching a building with a woman dressed in white. She previously entered with another man sometime earlier, the implication is that she's a prostitute. 'The police found debris on the ground which includes condoms. It would appear to be a place of consortium where people do gather. 'Paul appears to have been found close to this wooden concierge structure below this curving staircase. 'The implication of the Hungarian authorities is that he has fallen off the stairs on to the roof, which account for the injuries which would not normally be caused by a straight fall to the ground. 'It was very dark in the stairwell, it may be that the subsequent visitors did not realise he was there. 'I think it is significant that no marks were found to his face, which would suggest he was not subjected to any direct assault, but I cannot exclude the possibility that someone was involved. 'He was found with his trousers around his ankles, his shoes and socks separate from his body - quite why that happened we don't know. 'I am not satisfied that it's an accident because of the lack of information. The police say the woman was spoken to but she has not been able to provide any useful information. 'The police are unwilling to provide any further and fuller information into the circumstances and I am unhappy to record a verdict of accidental death. 'I have no proof he was assaulted or anybody deliberately intended to cause him harm so the only verdict I can record is an open verdict.' Mr Bush's mother, Cherry Bush, said she was so concerned by the handling of the investigation and lack of information from the Hungarian authorities she flew to Budapest herself to get answers. She said: 'I spoke to a policeman for about two hours. He showed me some photos and said he would send anything requested to Dorset Police. When I went to building it just made more questions. I didn't think it made any sense at all from the photos. There was no reason for him to have gone anywhere upstairs. Cherry Bush, Mr Bush's mother 'I feel the robbery of Paul was not covered at all. He didn't seem to want it known the case had been closed. It's difficult to understand why it had closed. 'They said they interviewed a man who said he spoke to Paul at the bottom of the stairs after this so-called accident but he couldn't have done. He must have been lying. 'That was someone they talked to for the robbery. I asked to speak to someone about that and the lieutenant phoned the other station but they said they didn't want to speak to me. 'The policeman wouldn't take me to the scene but my friend and I went there afterwards ourselves. 'When I went to building it just made more questions. 'I didn't think it made any sense at all from the photos. There was no reason for him to have gone anywhere upstairs.' Ms Hodder said she was also concerned about the handling of the case, particularly the difficulty of them appealing the Hungarian court's ruling that it was an accident. She added: 'I don't understand why all the reports say his eyes were brown, they were blue, and I have concerns about where his body was allegedly found.' After the inquest held in Bournemouth, Mr Bush's partner of 11 years Ms Hodder said: 'Paul was a loving, caring fiance, stepfather, son and brother. His many family and friends all miss him very much. 'The family would like to thank everyone for their support at this difficult time and ask that you allow us to come to terms with the outcome of the inquest and continue our grieving process in private.' Mr Bush had known the groom Mr Palmer since school and was a 'lifelong friend'. He had organised a detailed four-day itinerary for the trip. Mr Palmer's wedding was planned for five days after his return from Hungary and went ahead as planned with the blessing of Mr Bush's family, but included a minute's applause for him at the reception and tributes paid throughout the day. Advertisement Hundreds of child refugees are being beaten by police, mauled by dogs and stripped of their clothes before being illegally pushed back into Serbia, Save The Children has claimed. The charity says many of the 1,600 refugees kicked out of Croatia and Hungary are now living in overcrowded camps or squalid, abandoned warehouses in the Serbian capital Belgrade, where temperatures can drop to minus ten. Suffering from frostbite and infested with body lice, refugees as young as eight are clinging to life in the unforgiving Serbian winter, having already crossed the Balkans in sub-zero conditions. 'The police beat us, took our clothes and boots and then pushed us back,' said 12-year-old Afghan refugee Aalem, one of 1,000 sleeping rough in Belgrade after several failed attempts to sneak into Croatia. Scroll down for video Stranded: Hundreds of child refugees trying to reach EU nations are being beaten, stripped of their clothes and 'illegally' pushed back into Serbia, a harrowing Save The Children report has claimed Destitute: Having spoken to more than a thousand refugees at aid centres in Serbia, Save The Children claims around 1,600 refugees and migrants have been kicked out of neighbouring Hungary and Croatia Desperate: Around 1,000 of the 7,000 migrants in Serbia are sleeping rough on the streets of Belgrade. Having been refused access to overcrowded refugee centres, some of them have resorted to living in old, abandoned warehouses, above Squalid: Often without a working toilet, running water or even a bed to sleep on, the refugees dwelling in Serbian warehouses light small fires to survive the country's sub-zero temperatures About 46 per cent of refugee and migrant arrivals in Serbia are children and 20 per cent of these children are unaccompanied and travelling alone, some as young as eight Aamen - who arrived in Serbia after travelling through Iran, Turkey and Bulgaria for seven months - had already crossed into Croatia when policemen beat him and sent him back. Speaking to Save The Children at an aid centre in Belgrade, he said: 'We tried five times to cross the Croatia border and five times the Hungary border. 'We had problems with the police or the bad weather every time. The first time I crossed the border [into Croatia], I got around 5km in when police caught us. 'And when I went to the Hungarian border and managed to cross, the police were waiting with dogs. They beat us, took our clothes and boots, then pushed us back.' Most of the 7,000 migrants in Serbia have found shelter in one of 17 official refugee centres but some, like Aamen, live in squalid, disused buildings where they huddle around a small fire for protection from the cold. 'We came to this place because it is much better than the barracks where we were staying,' he said of the drafty warehouse he and 20 other migrants call home. 'We can't go to the camp because there is not enough space.' 'We are able to relax here but it is very cold. I'm freezing cold. I got ill here and had a really bad cold for a long time. 'There is a fire in the other room. When it gets really, I go there to get warm. There is no toilet.' Passed along: Aamen, a 12-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, is one of the many sleeping rough inside dirty, disused buildings in Serbia like this one because the nearby official United Nations centre was full Forgotten: 'We are able to relax here but it is very cold,' said Aamen, who tried to sneak into Hungary and Croatia ten times before giving up. 'I'm freezing cold. I got ill here and had a really bad cold for a long time.' Pictured: One of the abandoned warehouses in Belgrade housing migrants Hell frozen over: Refugees as young as eight - having already crossed the Balkan route in sub-zero conditions - are now clinging to life in Serbia, where temperatures can drop to minus ten degrees Wounded: Having trudged through the icy conditions to reach Serbia, before being refused access to dream destinations such as Germany and the UK, some of the migrants suffer from frostbite while others are infested by lice Injured and exhausted: Others arrive defeated at aid centres and the filthy warehouses they now call home swathed in bandages, having been attacked by police dogs on the Serbian border, Save The Children told MailOnline Liaqat Khan, a 17-year-old from Bajaur in Pakistan who now inhabits one of Belgrade's largest decrepit warehouses, also failed to get access to an official centre. From his current squat, he told of how 'sleeping is big problem, shower is big problem, water is big problem, eating is big problem'. Having tried to cross the Serbian border no less than 20 times, he claims to have been brutally sent back by Croatian and Hungarian police who took his phone and money. I met a man who was on crutches, hobbling around on ice and snow outside. He told me had been mauled by a dog at the border. Another man had a wound on his hand from a dog bite Gemma Parkin, Save The Children Unable to find official shelter, he returned to the unsafe warehouse in Belgrade. 'All the people have chest problems,' he said, as others kept warm by the fires fuelled by bits of railway sleepers, emitting toxic fumes into the makeshift dormitory. Of the 30 or so migrants illegally pushed back into Serbia, some arrive at help centres swathed in bandages having been attacked by police dogs, Save The Children spokesperson Gemma Parkin told MailOnline. She said: 'I met a man who was on crutches, hobbling around on ice and snow outside. He told me had been mauled by a dog at the border. Another man had a wound on his hand from a dog bite. 'A crowd of teenagers quickly gathered around me, telling me it happens "all the time". Many of them said they've been bitten crossing the woods near the borders of Bulgaria and Hungary.' Other children have complained of problems with the 'mafia' in Bulgaria, who want to profit from their misfortune - either by extorting money for safe passage to the West or by putting them to work. Last resort: Liaqat Khan, a 17-year-old from Bajaur in Pakistan, tried to leave Serbia 20 times before he abandoned hope and holed up in a warehouse in the capital. Pictured: Migrants lining up to receive food aid in Belgrade Having resorted to life inside a stinking shell of a building after he was refused access to an official centre, Liaqat said: 'Sleeping is big problem, shower is big problem, water is big problem, eating is big problem' Under threat: Children have complained of problems with the 'mafia' in Bulgaria, who wanted to profit from their misfortune - either by extorting money for safe passage to the West or by putting them to work Starving: Save The Children said migrants living in warehouses get one hot meal a day from a charity which is 'ignoring the government recommendation to discontinue providing meals and basic supplies outside of asylum centres' Bare minimum: Save The Children spokesperson Gemma Parkin said the only other food migrants eat are potatoes, which they buy with any spare change they may have and cook it over burning rubbish Hazardous: 'All the people have chest problems,' said Liaqat from his makeshift home, where others keep warm by fires fuelled by bits of railway sleepers, emitting toxic fumes into the room Meanwhile charities and local health services are constantly having to respond to cases of frostbite and breathing illnesses caused by freezing people lighting fires of rubbish to keep warm in windowless, wet warehouses. Despite a growing number of young men sheltering near the snowy railway tracks in Belgrade, Serbia's Commissariat for Refugees Ivan Miskovic said there is no chance of a 'Calais Jungle' style camp springing up. 'We would not allow anything like that,' he said, referring to the notorious refugee camp outside the northern French port city of Calais which was torn down late last year. Even when space becomes available in asylum centres, migrants and refugees are anxious to move, fearing that they will be detained in centres indefinitely, or deported illegally. Save the Children outreach teams have met unaccompanied children, one as young as eight years old, too frightened to get on the bus to the new reception centres. The charity, which is supporting the government in refurbishing safe spaces for unaccompanied children, estimates that around 100 refugees and migrants arrive in Serbia every day. They include an Iraqi family who crossed the snowy mountains on the Bulgarian border carrying their 8-year-old daughter. History repeating: Despite a growing number of young men sheltering near the snowy railway tracks and warehouses in Belgrade, Serbia's Commissariat for Refugees Ivan Miskovic said the country will not allow a 'Calais Jungle' style camp Tricked: Many refugees and migrants resort to sleeping rough when asylum centres are full but, according to Save The Children, some fear going to the camps for fear of being detained indefinitely or deported illegally Health risk: Charities and local health services are constantly having to respond to cases of frostbite and breathing illnesses caused by freezing people lighting fires of rubbish, above, to keep warm The mother needed urgent medical attention on arrival. They fled their home country when their home was bombed and the children could no longer attend school because of ISIS. Human Rights Watch has slammed reports of police violence against migrants, particularly in Croatia, saying the 'shocking and abusive treatment of asylum seekers at its border is unworthy of an EU state'. Around 46 per cent of refugees and migrants arriving in Serbia are children, some as young as eight, and 20 per cent of them are travelling alone. Since Europe shut down its borders in March last year, thousands have found themselves stuck in limbo in the Balkan country - and its authorities are under pressure to do something about it. Brexit negotiations could end up in a 'fist-fight' and Britain's divorce bill could cost up to 60billion, Britain's former EU ambassador has warned. Sir Ivan Rogers, who dealt a blow to Theresa May's Brexit plans by quitting the key diplomatic post last month, predicted lengthy rows over tariffs would mean a trade deal with the EU would not be able to be agreed until after 2020. He said all senior EU figures he has spoken to think a deal is impossible until they complete the initial negotiation on Britain's EU divorce. A leaked document revealed late last year that Sir Ivan had told the PM that Brussels diplomats thought it might take 10 years to reach a deal. The document became public at a sensitive time for Mrs May ahead of a key EU summit in December, but Sir Ivan defiantly dismissed suggestions today that he was the source of the damaging leak. Scroll down for video Brexit negotiations could end up in a 'fist-fight' and cost Britain up to 60billion, Britain's former EU ambassador Sir Ivan Rogers, pictured at the EU scrutiny committee, has warned 'I never leak, I never have, I never would,' the diplomat told the influential Commons EU scrutiny committee. 'I can categorically deny and rebut that.' He added that he had never said he personally believed a post-Brexit deal would take a decade and said he was simply passing on the 'street wisdom among the senior players' in Brussels and EU capitals and said he personally believed a deal could be reached much sooner. They thought trade negotiations would not start until late 2017 at the earliest and would not be concluded and ratified until the 'early-mid 2020s,' he said. 'I have been saying to people it is possible to go much faster with the UK,' adding that he was in 'no doubt' that the UK will be able to negotiate trade deals with non-EU states more swiftly after withdrawal. But Sir Ivan, who quit the civil service after resigning from his post in Brussels last month, repeated his warnings about the scale of the challenge facing the civil service, which he said could be even greater than the Second World War. He said Brexit negotiations, which have to be completed within two years under EU rules, will be 'on a humongous scale'. Sir Ivan said the UK and the EU were currently in a 'phoney war situation' and could be expected to make 'pious' pronouncements at this stage about the need for agreement on free trade. But he warned that talks 'usually end up in a fairly mercantilist fist-fight' before finally resolving themselves in a deal of some sort. He warned MPs that reports that Brussels officials were preparing an 'exit bill' of 40 billion to 60 billion euros (34 billion-51 billion) for the UK were 'genuine'. He said senior EU figures believe the costs of crashing out without a deal are so great that Britain cannot afford to refuse. 'The view of many will be that the implications for the UK of walking away without any deal on the economic side and without any preferential arrangement and walking into a World Trade Organisation-only world are - from their perspective, which may be a misreading of us - so unpalatable that we won't do it,' said Sir Ivan. From the EU's point of view, UK withdrawal will 'explode a bomb' under its seven-year budget, costing poorer countries as much as 10%-12% of the structural funding they receive from Brussels and putting richer states like Germany and France under pressure to make up the shortfall. A leaked document revealed late last year that Sir Ivan Rogers had told Theresa May, pictured leaving No10 today that Brussels diplomats thought it might take 10 years to reach a deal Although each of the 27 states will have its own interests and priorities in negotiations, 'one thing they can all agree on is that we are the rogues who have ceased to pay our dues', he said. An exit payment can be expected to be a major priority for the EU side in negotiations, alongside the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, the relocation of EU agencies based in Britain, the status of international treaties signed by the EU on the UK's behalf and transitional arrangements for a new relationship. Warning of the challenge facing the civil service, Sir Ivan told the Commons EU scrutiny committee: 'This will be an unprecedentedly large negotiation, covering large tracts of Whitehall... and our destination is to be defined by the Government and by this House and by the other House and so it's a negotiation on a scale that we haven't experienced probably ever - but certainly since the Second World War. 'So I think there's always a danger in generalising from specific experience that I've had - say on budget negotiations, or tax negotiations or in negotiations around JHA issues. They all have a specificity to them. 'This is going to be on a humungus scale, we're going to have an enormous amounts of business running up various different channels.' However the former diplomat said he was hopeful that in the end both sides of the negotiation would want a mutually-beneficial deal. Sir Ivan told the Commons EU scrutiny committee today that the UK will not be able to agree a trade deal with the EU until after 2020 He said: 'Obviously, I would expect us and the 27 to be coming at this from very different angles and with very different objectives, but negotiations ultimately only culminate in deals if there is a determination on both sides of the table to make progress. 'That involves generating a momentum and generating an atmosphere so that even when we get into name-calling and an extremely feisty atmosphere - and we undoubtedly will in both exit negotiations and future trade and economic negotiations - there is still an atmosphere to proceed and finalise agreement.' As for striking a new trade deal with non-EU countries, which member states are barred from doing, Sir Ivan said Britain will be able to negotiate trade deals with non-EU countries much quicker after it officially cuts ties. 'One of the key cases for leaving is the nimbleness and agility we would have (when) not a member state, on our own, to negotiate at speed with only our own priorities on the table,' he told MPs. 'I have no doubt that we will negotiate FTAs (free trade agrements) with other partners outside the EU faster than the EU can do it. No doubt at all. 'The question is then the negotiating heft you have at the table in comparison with being part of a wider bloc. The advantage of being in the EU is not speed or nimbleness .... it is the size of the market. Why are the Canadians or South Koreans or others interested in the EU market? It's the size and scale.' Sir Ivan predicted that details from the negotiations are likely to be copiously leaked during the two-year process of withdrawal under Article 50 of the EU treaties. A senior ISIS bomb expert accidentally blew himself and a fellow terrorist up as they attempted to plant roadside explosives. The bungling Islamic State militant, nicknamed Abu Abdullah, died alongside his companion in the town of Shirqat, Iraq. He was part of one of the terror group's top booby-trapping cells and has been actively involved in bombings in recent months. Abu Abdullah was responsible for roadside bombs, like this one in November which exploded outside the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan A source told Alsumaria News Abu Abdullah was a second-tier ISIS leader, according to Iraqi News. Local news outlets reported the death had been confirmed by a security official. As they come under increasing pressure from coalition forces who are attempting to liberate terrorists-held areas in the Middle East, hapless jihadis appear to be helping out their opposition. Last month, a n expert Taliban bomb maker accidentally killed himself and his four sons in while building a cache of roadside bombs in northern Afghanistan. Kamal Khan, a Taliban commander in the northern part of the Sar-i-Pul province of Afghanistan, died overnight while making explosive devices in his home. Zabiullah Amani, spokesman for the provincial governor said Khan was believed to be the Taliban's best maker of roadside bombs in the region. The bombs created by the terrorists frequently hit civilians, including children STOCK PHOTO These bombs have been frequently and effectively used for years against both government security forces and international troops in Afghanistan. While the Taliban's heartland is in southern Afghanistan, they have become increasingly active and dangerous in the north of the country as well. Afghan civilians are paying a heavy price for the escalating conflict across the country. A total of 2,562 civilians were killed and another 5,835 wounded in the first nine months of 2016, according to a UN report. An armed police officer receiving psychiatric treatment at an Istanbul hospital barricaded himself in a room and threatened to kill himself, sparking a stand-off with cops, it has emerged. Turkish media had earlier reported that the man had taken doctors and other staff hostage at Istanbul's Cerrahpasa hospital. But Zekayi Kutlubay, the hospital's chief physician, said all staff has been evacuated from the psychiatry unit and the police officer was alone. An armed man is holding a number of doctors and other staff hostage at a hospital in Istanbul, it has emerged He said police negotiators are trying to persuade the man not to kill himself 'He is alone in the room,' Kutlubay told reporters outside of the hospital. 'There is no hostage crisis ... God willing, we will convince him.' Kutlubay said the officer had been receiving psychiatric treatment for the past two years and the police force had confiscated his gun. 'The gun is not his, but unfortunately he has a gun with him,' the physician said. Turkish media had earlier reported that the man had taken doctors and other staff hostage at Istanbul's Cerrahpasa hospital A hospital spokesman now says all staff have been evacuated from the psychiatry unit and police negotiators are trying to persuade the man not to kill himself It comes as Turkey remains on high alert after multiple bombings in 2016 blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants. The new year began with the bloody attack on Istanbul's Reina club which claimed the lives of 39 people. The man suspected of launching the mass shooting claimed he received the order to attack from ISIS jihadists in Syria. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. A doctor and a paramedic were hurled out of the back of an ambulance in this horrifying road smash. Dashcam video from the city of Rybinsk in western Russia's Yaroslavl Oblast region shows an emergency ambulance on the way to a casualty. It goes through a red light at crossroads with its lights flashing and its sirens blaring. A doctor and a paramedic were hurled out of the back of an ambulance in this horrifying road smash But a Mazda driver is apparently oblivious to both and tries to speed through the crossroads at speed, striking the ambulance at the rear and sending it spinning. Its rear doors burst open and two medics are seen sailing through the air, along with the ambulance's medical equipment. Remarkably, the driver parked in front of the dashcam car takes this as a cue to leave and drives over some debris from the ambulance to get away. Dashcam video from the city of Rybinsk in western Russia's Yaroslavl Oblast region shows an emergency ambulance on the way to a casualty It is not clear what state the casualties were in at this point but only one passerby appears to go in their direction, heading off camera the way they flew. Another driver stops but seems more interested in clearing debris from the road than in helping any injured people. Other emergency crews were called though, and three people were taken to hospital: A 38-year-old doctor, a 25-year-old paramedic and the 19-year-old driver of the Mazda. Information on their conditions was not released. Police are investigating and interviewing witnesses. The released footage went viral. Netizen 'Aleksey' said: 'How is it possible even to think that the Mazda driver was innocent? He definitely heard the siren, he should have seen it approaching.' And 'Dmitriy Shirokov' added: 'Both are guilty. The ambulance driver should have at least made sure the road was clear and hit the brakes a little.' Mobile roaming charges will be axed in Europe under an EU deal that will see phone bills rise for people living in Mediterranean nations while benefiting German tourists. A deal was struck in Brussels earlier today that will pave the way for the controversial fees to be scrapped across the bloc from June. But there are already fears free roaming would in effect make poorer Europeans in the south pay for wealthy tourists from the north phoning home or surfing for data while on holiday. The move was pushed through in a bid to highlight the benefits of European Union membership and to quell anti-EU sentiment in the wake of Brexit. Mobile roaming charges will be axed in Europe under an EU deal that will see phone bills rise for people living in Mediterranean nations while benefiting German tourists (file picture) The new arrangement effectively means: Local phone providers will be forced to restrict charges on tourists using their phones abroad Suppliers along the Mediterranean which rely on tourists' roaming charges to boost profits will be forced to raise prices for domestic users to cover the loss in revenue As a result, customers living in countries such as Spain, Greece and Portugal will see their phone bills rise Countries in the north of Europe, such as Germany, will reap the benefits of no roaming charges A cap on charges mobile service operators pay each other to enable their customers to use phones in other European countries was agreed earlier today. It paves the way for the end roaming fees in June - but there are fears that the deal will simply benefit northern European countries like Germany at the expense of southern members whose economies are reliant on tourism. WHAT ARE ROAMING CHARGES? When people travel abroad, their mobile operator pays the local operator to keep them connected, and then charges them a fee to recoup the cost. Those roaming charges have been drastically cut by the EU since 2007. As of April 2016, consumers pay 5 euro cents a minute on top of their domestic price for calls, 2 euro cents per text message and 5 euro cents per megabyte of data. That is 92 percent cheaper than it was in 2007. Telecom operators used to charge a lot more than it cost them to keep their customers connected when they travelled abroad, earning fat margins from roaming charges and eventually leading to a public backlash against getting shockingly high phone bills after holidaying in other countries within Europe. Many industry insiders now admit they made mistakes on roaming. The EU sees roaming charges as out of place in a single market and ending roaming charges became a rallying cry for politicians keen to show citizens the benefits of EU membership. In 2010, the Commission unveiled a digital agenda in which it said it would ensure that the difference between national and roaming prices would be zero by 2015. When people travel abroad, their mobile operator pays the local operator to keep them connected, and then charges them a fee to recoup the cost WHY WAIT UNTIL JUNE 2017? The Commission put forward a legislative proposal in 2013 to abolish roaming charges by 2016 at the latest. After much wrangling between member states, who had to give their approval before the proposal could become law, a compromise ending date of June 2017 was agreed upon. However that hinges on agreeing a reform of the wholesale roaming market first, which is being discussed by member states, to ensure telecoms firms do not operate at a loss. The proposal also foresaw the Commission putting forward a 'fair use' policy to prevent permanent roaming, whereby someone buys a foreign SIM card in a country where it is cheaper and uses it at home. The industry had lobbied hard to delay the roaming end date on the grounds that abolishing retail roaming charges too quickly would distort the market as they would still have to pay wholesale rates to each other. National governments largely sided with their operators, resulting in a north-south, east-west split. In the north and east of Europe, where domestic prices are low, operators feared that removing retail roaming rates without lowering wholesale prices first would force them to raise prices at home to recoup the cost. On the other hand, countries which host a lot of tourists, like Spain, Greece and France, have an interest in keeping wholesale rates high so they are compensated for handling the extra tourist traffic. Advertisement The plan was initially delayed when angry telecoms operators in tourist magnets such as Italy and Spain complained of the deal's knock-on effects and threatened to hike domestic prices to pay for travellers from northern Europe using their networks. After the agreement to abolish retail roaming charges in June this year, policymakers grappled with the challenge of who would foot the bill as telecom operators still need to pay each other to keep their customers connected abroad. The difficulty was compounded by wide differences in domestic prices and consumption patterns across the bloc, making a wholesale cap that suited all national markets extremely hard to settle. Countries in northern and eastern Europe where consumers gobble up mobile data at low prices favoured lower wholesale caps to avoid companies raising prices in their home markets, effectively making poorer customers subsidise frequent travellers. However countries in southern Europe where tourism is vital to their economies worried that if wholesale prices were too low their operators could be forced to raise domestic prices to recover the costs. It follows fierce criticism of Germany from southern European Union nations such as Greece who say they are already suffering as a result of Angela Merkels austerity measures in the wake of the financial crisis. There are already fears free roaming would in effect make poorer Europeans in the south pay for wealthy tourists from the north phoning home or surfing for data while on holiday (file picture) Under Wednesday's agreement between lawmakers and the Council of EU member states, wholesale charges for data - which were the most controversial given the exponential use of mobile Internet - will be capped at 7.7 euros per gigabyte from June 2017, going down to 2.5 euros per gigabyte in 2022. Caps for making calls will decrease from five euro cents per minute to 3.2 euro cents per minute, while those for sending text messages will halve to one euro cent from two euro cents as of June, said the Council. 'Goodbye roaming,' tweeted Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, the EU lawmaker who negotiated for the setting of wholesale rates on behalf of the European parliament. The European Commission - the EU executive - will review the wholesale caps every two years and propose new ones if necessary. Wednesday's deal still needs to be confirmed by the full European Parliament and all member states. The decade-long battle against roaming charges took on an added significance after Britain voted to quit the bloc last year in a surge of anti-EU sentiment, making Brussels keen to demonstrate the benefits of membership to ordinary citizens. 'Today we deliver on our promise,' said Andrus Ansip, European Commission vice president. While politicians were quick to proclaim the end of roaming charges, some mobile service operators warned that the wholesale caps were still too high, which would force smaller operators to limit their 'roam like at home' offers. 'European citizens expect the end of the roaming surcharges to happen without losing competitive tariffs and innovative offers,' said Innocenzo Genna, vice-president of MVNO Europe, which represents mobile virtual network operators who do not own a network, such as Fastweb, Sky and Liberty Global. The brother of accused Bourke Street rampage killer Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas has been released from hospital after 12 days. Angelo Gargasoulas was allegedly stabbed by his older brother only hours before he was accused of driving down the central Melbourne mall and killing six people. He was released from The Alfred Hospital on Wednesday after being treated for stab wounds to the head and chest, according to The Age. Scroll down for video Angelo Gargasoulas, the brother of accused Bourke Street rampage killer Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas, was released from hospital on Wednesday after 12 days Angelo was allegedly stabbed by his older brother (pictured) in the head and chest only hours before he was accused of driving down the central Melbourne mall and killing six people Police 26-year-old Dimitrious Gargasoulas drove through the Bourke Street Mall in a frenzied attack on January 20 Angelo took to Facebook on Sunday to express his sympathy for the families of the deceased. 'To all the families of the victims involved in last Friday's tragedy, my heart goes out to you and for all those still fighting in hospital, my thoughts are with you and your recovery,' Angelo wrote. 'No one could've predicted what Jimmy did or that he'd do that, that morning. 'I'm fortunate enough to still have my life and the support I have received is unheard of. 'I thank everyone involved in making this an easier time for everyone else involved, and my family. 'As for me, I still got some recovery time to do, and it's all looking good. 'Still in disbelief, the realism of it all has yet to fully sink in, stay strong Melbourne!' Angelo took to Facebook on Sunday to express his sympathy for the families of the deceased Angelo took to Facebook on Sunday to express his sympathy for the families of the deceased (pictured) In total six people were killed after being hit by the vehicle, while more than 30 ended up in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to critical Six people lost their lives in the shocking rampage on January 20 and nine still remain in hospital, one in critical condition. Among those who died are 10-year-old Thalia Hakin, who was out walking with her mother and eight-year-old sister Maggie when all three were allegedly hit by Gargasoulas' car. Maggie was left with a broken leg and attended her sister's funeral earlier this week with it still in plaster, but her mother was too gravely injured to see her own daughter laid to rest. Finance consultant Bhavita Patel, 33, is the most recent victim. She died in hospital on Monday night, 10 days after the tragedy Three-month-old baby Zachary (right) was killed. His two-year-old sister Zara was injured but is in a stable condition Jess Mudie, 22, is one of the six people to have been killed in the Melbourne massacre 10-year-old girl Thalia Hakin was killed in the rampage. Her mother and sister were also hospitalised with serious injuries Father and husband Matthew Si, 33, was also killed in the tragedy Three-month-old Zachary Bryant was also killed during the attack. His sister Zara, two, was badly injured but is now in stable condition. Matthew Si, 33, Jess Mudie, 22, and a 25-year-old Japanese man were also killed during the frenzied rampage. Finance consultant Bhavita Patel, 33, is the most recent victim. She died in hospital on Monday night, 10 days after the tragedy. Gargasoulas has been charged with five counts of murder and has been remanded in custody while lawyers compile evidence to be used against him. Angelo was expected at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday for charges unrelated to the Bourke Street rampage but is scheduled to appear on Thursday, according to The Age. This is the moment the car involved in the Bourke Street rampage in Melbourne mounted the pavement before accelerating towards packed crowds of shoppers A former special agent who once helped capture the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo is working on a book. HarperCollins said the Drug Enforcement Administration official, writing under the pseudonym 'Cole Merrell,' was collaborating with author Douglas Century on 'Hunting El Chapo.' The book is scheduled to come out on October 17. According to the publisher, 'Hunting El Chapo' will offer a 'cinematically' detailed take on the investigation and eventual capture of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman-Loera in 2014. El Chapo escaped in 2015, was recaptured last year and was extradited to the U.S. earlier this month. According to the publisher, 'Hunting El Chapo' will offer a 'cinematically' detailed take on the investigation and eventual capture of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman-Loera in 2014 It comes as the notorious drug lord demands to appear in person at his next US court hearing and not by video link. Judge Brian Cogan last week ordered that the 59-year-old, who spectacularly escaped from prison twice in Mexico, appear by video link for the brief procedural hearing to 'minimize disruption from physical transportation.' But in a five-page letter, his American public defenders told Cogan that Guzman 'objects' and requests to 'be physically present in the courtroom' on Friday and at other future hearings. Guzman, accused of running one of the world's biggest drug empires, was extradited to the United States on January 19 and appeared without handcuffs and without incident to plead not guilty to a raft of firearms, drug trafficking and conspiracy charges during a brief hearing on January 20. Since then, he has been held in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, unable to make telephone calls or communicate directly with his family or lawyers in Mexico, his lawyers said. 'He is locked in a cell 23 hours a day and only allowed to leave to meet with his attorneys and for one hour of solitary exercise,' they wrote in the letter. 'His absence from the courtroom would necessarily lead to the public impression that Mr Guzman is too dangerous to be brought to the courtroom.' Guzman, accused of running one of the world's biggest drug empires, was extradited to the United States on January 19 The letter complained that Guzman's extradition, which his lawyers had strenuously resisted, came 'suddenly and without warning to his attorneys.' In New York he is charged on a sweeping 17-count indictment that spans decades of alleged criminal enterprise, drug importation, illegal use of firearms and money laundering conspiracy. The MCC is a two-mile (three-kilometer) drive from Cogan's federal court room in Brooklyn and has stringent security measures. In the past, a handful of inmates have nonetheless managed to escape. Guzman escaped from prison in Mexico for the first time in 2001 in a laundry cart and through a tunnel under his shower in 2015. If found guilty at trial in New York, he stands to spend the rest of his life in a maximum security US prison. A former student of Amherst College who was expelled for alleged sexual misconduct has been told he can't rely on text messages sent by his accused in a bid to clear his name as they might cause her 'psychological trauma'. The student, only known as John Doe, was expelled from the college in Massachusetts in 2013 after being accused of sexually assaulting a his girlfriend's room-mate. It came following an investigation by the university's disciplinary board despite Doe maintaining their sexual encounter was consensual. A former student of Amherst College who was expelled for alleged sexual misconduct has been told he can't rely on text messages sent by his accused in a bid to clear his name as they might cause her 'psychological trauma'. Pictured is Amherst College He was given seven days to appeal the decision to ban him from the college, but did not lodge a case. However, months later, the accused reportedly became aware of text messages his alleged victim, known as Sandra Jones, sent following their encounter, which he believes suggests she did give her consent. He then asked Amherst College to reopen their investigation into the incident in light of the new messages but they refused. Now he has decided to sue the liberal arts college for mistreatment and his legal team wanted to subpoena his alleged victim's messages. But it has now emerged that a judge has ruled Doe's lawyer's cannot use the messages as part of their case or summon her to court as it might 'harm' the accuser. t takes no leap of logic to reason that a live deposition would impose emotional and psychological trauma upon Ms. Jones In his judgement, Seattle District Judge James Robart, wrote: 'An in-person deposition of boundless scope would impose a substantial burden on Ms. Jones. 'The deposition would force Ms. Jones to relive a night in which she asserts Mr. Doe sexually assaulted her. 'It would also reraise the subsequent investigation, hearing, and period of publicity that Ms. Jones has endured. 'It takes no leap of logic to reason that a live deposition would impose emotional and psychological trauma upon Ms. Jones.' Doe has not yet finished his college degree but hopes when the case is over, he can complete his studies. Meanwhile, the lawsuit is likely to fuel debate over whether colleges and universities are being tough enough on tackling sexual misconduct. The United Arab Emirates claims Donald Trump's migration ban is not anti-Islamic after pointing out that the majority of Muslims are still free to travel to the US. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed al-Nahyan said the controversial measure, affecting seven mainly Muslim countries, is not directed at any religion. Trump's executive order on Friday singled out citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to prevent 'radical Islamic terrorists' from entering the United States. The Sheikh, whose country like neighbouring Saudi Arabia is a close ally of Washington, said it was 'wrong to say' that the decision by the new US administration was 'directed against a particular religion'. United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed al-Nahyan (pictured) said the controversial measure, affecting seven mainly Muslim countries, is not directed at any religion 'The United States has made... a sovereign decision,' he said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, pointing out that it was 'provisional' and did not apply to 'the large majority' of the world's Muslims. In his defence of the ban which has stirred widespread protests across the globe, Sheikh Abdullah also said that some of the countries on the blacklist had 'structural challenges' on the security front that they still had to overcome. Hot on the heels of the travel ban, Trump called Saudi King Salman and UAE strongman Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi's crown prince. Trump agreed with both on cooperation to fight 'radical Islamic terrorism', the White House said. He also agreed with the Saudi monarch to 'rigorously' enforce the nuclear agreement with Riyadh's arch-foe Iran, an agreement that Trump had opposed. The United Arab Emirates claims Donald Trump's migration ban is not anti-Islamic after pointing out that the majority of Muslims are still free to travel to the US Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has reportedly lashed out at the ban describing Trump and his administration as newcomers who don't understand politics, saying, 'A man had been living in another world and now has entered the world of politics.' Rouhani also said that Trump would end up harming not only his own nation but other countries as well and called the American administration dishonest for claiming to be on the side of the Iranian people, but then banning them. The ban has exempted Muslim-majority nations associated with major attacks in the West. Out of the 19 hijackers of planes used in the September 11, 2001 attacks, 15 came from Saudi Arabia, also the birthplace of Al-Qaeda founder and attack mastermind Osama bin Laden. The other four included the Egyptian plot leader, two Emiratis and a Lebanese. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf and Arab nations are also home to scores of jihadists who have joined Al-Qaeda and its rival ISIS, both of which have been behind deadly attacks in Europe. But the kingdom, cradle of the austere Sunni doctrine of Wahhabism, has traditionally been a strategic ally of Washington. President Hassan Rouhani of Iran used an appearance on Wednesday to once again attack Donald Trump, five days after he signed an executive order banning Iranian citizens from entering the United States. 'He is new to politics. He has been in a different world. It's a totally new environment to him,' said Rouhani. 'It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world.' Rouhani also made a clear reference to the Mexican border Trump plans to erect to keep citizens of that country out of the United States during his remarks, saying: 'Today is not a time for separating nations by walls.' The Iranian leader delivered these comments at a ceremony marking National Day of Space Technology in Tehran and broadcast live on state television. He did not only go after President Trump either, stating that the whole administration was dishonest for allowing the ban to be put in place. Rouhani previously criticized Trump and the United States on Saturday, shortly after the ban was announced, saying: 'They have forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed many years ago. Even if there are walls between nations, they must be removed.' Scroll down for video Lahging out: President Hassan Rouhani of Iran criticized Donald Trump on Wednesday (above) for signing an order banning his country's citizens from entering the US Deriding Donald: Rouhani suggested that President Trump did not know what he is doing because he is 'new to politics' which is a 'totally new environment' for him President Trump announced on Friday afternoon while appearing at the Pentagon that he was preparing to reveal strict new measures that he said would prevent domestic terror attacks. Later that day he signed an executive order banning citizens of seven Muslim nations from entering the United States. Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen were named alongside Iran in the order, which states that citizens from these counties will not be allowed into the US for at least 90 days. And refugee admission into the US from these seven nations has been suspended for at least 120 days. Iran shot right back at the White House, stating the day after President Trump signed the ban that they would retaliate by keeping out American citizens. 'The US decision to restrict travel for Muslims to the US, even if for a temporary period of three months, is an obvious insult to the Islamic world and in particular to the great nation of Iran,' said the Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement. 'Despite the claims of combating terrorism and keeping American people safe, it will be recorded in history as a big gift to extremists and their supporters.' The Ministry then went on to state that the country would take 'proportionate legal, consular and political action and ... will take reciprocal measures in order to safeguard the rights of its citizens until the time of the removal of the insulting restrictions of the government of the United States against Iranian nationals.' There are currently over a million Iranians living in the United States as citizens who as a result of this ban would be unable to travel to their homeland. President Trump will be going after Rouhani again as well, and likely very soon as he wants to renegotiate the nuclear pact that the Iranian president signed while Barack Obama was in office. He has called the pact 'the worst deal ever negotiated.' Rally cry: People gather to protest the immigrant ban on Saturday night at Terminal 4 of John F. Kennedy Airport, Rouhani seems to be not all that concerned however with Trump's threats, saying that the deal will continue to stand while speaking at a press conference just a few days before the inauguration. He said that the deal is in fact beneficial to the United States during his remarks and that Trump simply 'doesn't understand this.' Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany were also part of the deal Rouhani point out too, adding that none of those countries have expressed an interest in scrapping the deal or restoring sanctions. 'There will be no negotiations on the nuclear deal,' said Rouhani. 'The deal has been finalized and it was approved in the U.N. Security Council.' Rouhani, a moderate who has advocated greater openness toward the West, made waves back in 2013 when he spoke with Obama on the phone for 15 minutes in what was the first communication between the nations in over 30 years. He will be up for re-election in May, and said last month he does not believe the new administration in Washington would impact the vote. Britain passed the point of no return in its historic battle to cut ties with Brussels tonight as MPs backed the Brexit Bill. The Commons endorsed the legislation by 498 votes to 114 after the government saw off a desperate bid by more than 100 Remoaners to block it. In the first of a crucial set of votes in the Commons, a 'wrecking' amendment that would have effectively killed the law was defeated by 336 to 100. The House then gave the Bill its second reading by another huge margin, despite the opposition from Labour MPs, the SNP and most Liberal Democrats. One Labour MP yelled 'suicide' as the result was read out in the chamber. The government defeated the wrecking amendment by 336 votes to 100 in the Commons, and won the key second reading vote by 498 votes to 114 One furious Labour MP yelled 'suicide' as the result was read out in the chamber tonight The Speaker oversaw the historic votes in parliament tonight which will see the UK's membership of the EU pass the point of no return Minutes before the vote, two Labour MPs dramatically quit the frontbench to defy Jeremy Corbyn and vote against the key legislation. Some 33 of the party's MPs backed the wrecking amendment tabled by the SNP. More are thought to have voted against the Bill's second reading. A handful, such as Chris Bryant and Mary Creagh, opposed the legislation despite their constituents having decisively backed Brexit in the referendum. Dozens more voted in favour of holding the EU referendum two years ago - but voted against implementing the result. Just one Tory MP, arch-Europhile Ken Clarke, appears to have joined the Brexit opponents in the division lobbies. The votes came after two days of bad-tempered and impassioned debate in parliament. Mrs May earlier confirmed she will publish a white paper on her Brexit plans tomorrow. Ex Chancellor George Osborne - who led the charge for Remain - earlier warned opposing Brexit risked a 'constitutional crisis'. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn's EU nightmare gathered pace as two more members of his top team quit to vote against Brexit. Dawn Butler and Rachael Maskell resigned rather than fall into line with the leadership's stance of supporting legislation that will trigger Article 50. More could follow them out of the door after the key votes. Mr Corbyn tried to put a brave face on the chaos, thanking the pair for their work and saying they were still 'assets to the party'. The government secured a thumping majority in both the key Commons votes tonight Dawn Butler (left) and Rachael Maskell (right) resigned from the shadow cabinet tonight rather than fall into line with Jeremy Corbyn's stance of supporting legislation that will trigger Article 50 Neil Coyle (pictured in the Commons today), the Labour MP for Bermondsey was ordered to apologise for describing Tory MPs as 'b*******' Mr Corbyn said: 'MPs have a duty to represent their constituents as well as their party, and I understand the difficulties that MPs for constituencies which voted Remain have in relation to the European Union withdrawal Bill. 'However, it is right that the Labour Party respects the outcome of the referendum on leaving the European Union.' In a statement, Ms Butler praised Mr Corbyn for pushing the government to give parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit. But she said: 'Unfortunately I still feel strongly that I want to send a message to our Prime Minister that I do not agree with the direction she is [taking the country in] the way for me to do that is to vote against this second reading.' BREXIT VOTE: WHAT TONIGHT MEANS MPs have backed Brexit in an historic vote that effectively makes the process irreversible. For the first time, the Commons has supported the principle of legislation that gives the Prime Minister power to trigger Britain's exit from the EU. A wrecking amendment tabled by the SNP was heavily defeated, before the EU Bill was given its second reading. The government also comfortably won the third vote - setting the timetable for the rest of the bill's progress. Advertisement Ms Maskell said: 'The UK is no longer being offered a peoples Brexit but a Theresa May Brexit, which goes far beyond just leaving the European Union, as voted on at the referendum last June.' The resignations came hours after Labour MP Neil Coyle was ordered to apologise for branding Tory MPs 'b*******' in the historic Brexit debate in the Commons. In one of the most inflammatory section's of today's marathon debate, Mr Coyle said: 'Former prime minister John Major referred to the like of the former secretary of state for work and pensions as b*******. 'He could not have known that his party would become a whole Government full of b******* who are absolutely causing economic damage for my constituents and for the whole country. 'At the risk of offending my own front bench as well as the Government front bench, I say this - my members campaigned vigorously to remain in the European Union and they deserve a front bench position that is not to sign up to the Government's position, the Government's timetable and the Government curtailing debate. 'It is a disgrace.' Mr Bercow told the Labour MP: 'You shouldn't have used the word you used. 'You tried to wrap it up in a quote but it was very unseemly and rather undignified and quite unnecessary, and you shouldn't have done it, and you should apologise.' Mr Coyle said: 'While I share the former prime minister's sentiment, I apologise if it is unparliamentary language.' Mr Bercow replied: 'It was unparliamentary language and you shouldn't do it again.' Mr Coyle vowed to defy the referendum result - despite backing the poll - in the Commons lobbies tonight. Ex-chancellor George Osborne admitted he had given up his career in support of the Remain campaign and warned the negotiations to come would be difficult Mrs May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were engaged in bitter clashes over Brexit at Prime Minister's Questions earlier today The decision to produce the paper after tonight's landmark Commons vote on Article 50 will cause irritation among Remain campaigners. But the publication will be another crucial step toward Britain's exit from the European Union. In the debate, ex-chancellor Mr Osborne admitted he had 'sacrificed' his career in support of the Remain campaign and warned the negotiations to come would be difficult. He warned it is 'unfashionable in schools these days' to teach what he believes is a 'true tale' of Britain's history, including Magna Carta, the Glorious Revolution, the Founding Fathers of the American constitution, the Great Reform Act and female emancipation. He went on: 'We have given the modern world a version of democracy that has spread far beyond our shores. 'And therefore to vote against the majority verdict of the largest democratic exercise in British history I think would risk putting Parliament against people, I think it would provoke a deep constitutional crisis in our country, I think it would alienate people who already feel they are alienated, and I am not prepared to do that.' 'So I will be voting for the Bill tonight.' Theresa May used Prime Minister's Questions to announce her Brexit white paper will be published tomorrow MPs gathered today for the second marathon day of debate on the bill's second reading. By 7pm, the debate will have run for around 17 hours But in a warning to Mrs May, Mr Osborne he added: 'The Government has chosen and I respect this decision not to make the economy the priority. They've prioritised immigration control. 'The European Union isn't prioritising the economy either in these negotiations... while they understand that Britain is a very important market for their businesses, their priority is to maintain the integrity of the remaining 27 members of the EU. BREXIT DAY WILL BE MARCH 9 Theresa May has set a target date of launching the formal Brexit process on March 9. The Government is aiming to push through its EU Bill through Parliament by March 7, which would allow the Prime Minister to trigger Article 50 at a summit of European leaders on March 9 and 10. Ministers told the House of Lords yesterday that it hopes to have the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill approved by March 7. The following day - March 8 - is the Budget, before Mrs May travels to Brussels for the long-awaited Brexit showdown with her EU counterparts. The PM has promised to trigger Article 50, the formal mechanism for quitting the EU, by the end of March. But she does not want to get off on the wrong foot with EU leaders by clashing with the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which effectively gave birth to the EU. She could tell her European counterparts of her timetable at a meeting in Malta on Friday. The timetable could be knocked off course if the Lords initiate what is known as parliamentary 'ping-pong' by sending the bill back to the Commons with a series of amendments. Advertisement 'They are not interested in a long and complex hybrid agreement with the UK. Therefore both sides are heading for a clean break.' Labour's Chris Bryant said he would go against the majority in his Rhondda constituency which backed Leave on June 23 and vote against the Brexit Bill. He said: 'I am a democrat but I believe in the form of democracy that never silences minorities and I think the 48% in this country have a right to a voice and for that matter the 46% or the 45% or whatever the actual figure was in my constituency. 'Today I'm afraid I am voting and speaking on behalf of a minority of my constituents.' He warned the Government's Brexit plans would do 'untold damage' to his constituents and make the UK 'poorer' and 'weaker'. But he acknowledged voting against the majority view of his constituents could cost him his job. He said: 'In the end there is no point in any single one of us being a member of this House if we don't have things that we believe in and that we are prepared to fight for and, if necessary, lay down our job for.' Earlier at PMQs, Mrs May told MPs: 'That white paper will be published tomorrow'. The white paper - conceded by Mrs May last month - will be based on the 12-point plan contained in her historic Brexit speech at Lancaster House. Mrs May's spokeswoman refused to comment on the length of the white paper or elaborate on its contents. MPs are expected to vote by a landslide at 7pm tonight for legislation on starting Brexit talks - despite as many as 100 rebel MPs vowing to vote against the referendum. Urging MPs to back the Article 50 bill tonight, Mrs May told the Commons: 'This House has a very simple decision to take. 'We gave the right of judgment on this issue to the British people. They made their choice. They want to leave the EU. 'The question every member must ask themselves as they go through the lobbies tonight is: 'Do they trust the people?'' Tonight's Commons vote on Article 50 and tomorrow's white paper pave the way for Mrs May to launch her talks with the EU next month, in time for her deadline of the end of March LABOUR REVOLT GROWS AS LEWIS THREATENS TO QUIT Corbyn ally Clive Lewis could quit the shadow cabinet next week if the Government refuses to amend the Brexit bill. The shadow business secretary will back the legislation tonight - unlike scores of his colleagues. But he has confirmed he will not agree to the bill at its final stage if it is not amended. Losing Mr Lewis would be a heavy blow to Mr Corbyn, who has already seen two shadow ministers quit so they can vote against Article 50. Advertisement A spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today refused to spell out the consequences for front benchers who defy his orders to back the legislation. A string of Labour shadow ministers and whips have said they cannot support the legislation - a position that would normally see them sacked if they refuse to resign. But the spokesman refused to confirm this would happen, telling reporters only that a decision would be taken 'later'. At least 30 Labour MPs are expected to vote against the Bill when it is called after 7pm tonight. Asked if he would vote in favour of the EU Bill if he was still a Labour MP, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he 'accepted the verdict of the British people'. He told MailOnline: 'I am quite clear that as far as the EU exit is concerned the British people did vote to leave the EU, did vote to leave the EU structures.' 'I accept the verdict of the British people.' Mr Khan insisted his focus was on pressuring the government to maintain 'privileged access to the single market'. Labour MP Chris Bryant (left) today admitted he would vote against the wishes of his Rhondda constituents - who heavily backed Brexit Following tonight's second reading vote, the legislation will come back to the Commons next week for more scrutiny - and it is expected to be law by the end of the month. Debate resumed this afternoon and first on his feet was former Labour leader Ed Miliband who urged his party to back the Article 50 Bill. CHOOSE BREXIT: SNP MP SLAMS ARTICLE 50 WITH TRAINSPOTTING SNP MP Hannah Bardell borrowed from Trainspotting in today's Brexit debate SNP MP Hannah Bardell channelled the movie Trainspotting today to slam Brexit. A famous speech, delivered by actor Ewan McGregor in the 1996 film, called on viewers to 'Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family'. Ms Bardell told MPs: 'Choose Brexit. Choose making up numbers from thin air about the NHS and plastering them on the side of buses. Choose racist and xenophobic sentiments seeping out from some corners of the Leave campaign. 'Choose hate crime rising by over 40 per cent and LGBT hate crime by 150 per cent in England and Wales following the Brexit vote. 'Choose taking the people of our nations to the polls on one of the most important issues of a generation with nothing written down and no plan.' Advertisement He said: 'I didn't want this referendum... The reason was that I felt the country had many, many other problems it faced and that the referendum would become as much about the state of the country as about Britain's place in Europe. 'That is water under the bridge... I said I would accept the result and I do and that is why I will be voting for the Second Reading tonight. 'We do not want to give the sense that people who voted for Brexit because they felt they had been ignored are being ignored once again.' Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: 'Democracy means accepting the will of the people at the beginning of the process and at the end. 'Democracy means respecting the majority and democracy means not giving up your beliefs when the going gets tough.' Ex Scottish first minister Alex Salmond said: 'The choice the House will get is a bad deal or no deal. 'Therefore, it is crucial that when the House debates that and comes to a decision there is a meaningful vote, a vote that can made a difference as opposed to a Hobson's choice with a metaphorical gun at the House's head.' Brexit supporters queued up to back the Bill. Conservative MP Chris Green said: 'The British people had 40 years to make up their mind when looking at the European Union. 'It wasn't about the last few weeks of a referendum campaign, it was about the lived experience in the European Union. 'That's why the people rejected it, not because of a few debatable arguments from one side or another.' As debate on the Article 50 bill resumed today, first to his feet was former Labour leader Ed Miliband who urged his party to back the legislation Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, said: 'I for one will be voting to respect the result. 'The leader of the Liberal Democrats seems to think this is like Hotel California - you can check out and you can never leave. 'I don't think that is the right approach to take. The SNP think you should just have multiple referendums until you get the right result. 'My constituents have been very clear. Number one - there must be an end to unchecked EU migration. Number two - no more billions for bloated Brussels bureaucrats.' The text will be at the heart of the impending 'hand to hand combat' in parliament - sparked by the Supreme Court's ruling that Theresa May cannot use executive powers to invoke Brexit Tonight's vote and tomorrow's white paper pave the way for Mrs May to launch her talks with the EU next month, in time for her deadline of the end of March. Talks will last for up to two years, after which Mrs May hopes to have secured an amicable Brexit and a free trade deal with the EU. Speaking at Lancaster House a fortnight ago, Mrs May said her 12-point plan will see Britain regain full control over borders and quit both the single market and European Court of Justice. She insisted the UK can become a great, outward-looking trading nation. 'We seek a new and equal partnership between an independent, self-governing, global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU,' she said. 'Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out. 'We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave. 'The United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. My job is to get the right deal for Britain as we do.' In the face of potential rebellion, the PM agreed last week to put her plans in writing in a formal white paper. The young man who died at the Rainbow Serpent music festival in country Victoria has been identified as 22-year-old Jacob Langford. Police and paramedics were called to the festival in Lexton in the state's north on Saturday night, but were unable to save Mr Langford who died at 10.15pm. His grieving family said he collapsed after 'accidentally skolling a substance he believed was safe but ended up being a poisonous product meant only for inhaling'. The young man who died at the Rainbow Serpent music festival in country Victoria has been identified as 22-year-old Jacob Langford Police and paramedics were called to the festival in Lexton in the state's north on Saturday night, but were unable to save Mr Langford who died at 10.15pm A man died on Saturday night at the notorious Rainbow Serpent music festival in country Victoria His sisters Ember and Imogen and mother Jill have criticised organisers for not providing a safe environment at the festival. 'The festival goes way too long without affordable food and drink. With that much heat and dehydration, it does not equal a safe environment,' they told the Geelong Advertiser. Police are not treating the death as suspicions. Tributes have flowed for the young man on social media. 'Rip Jacob Langford yet again a life taken to early rip buddy,' wrote Daniel O'callaghan on Facebook. He is the second person to die at Rainbow Serpent in five years and last year the event was marred by drug arrests, fights and alleged sexual assaults. His sisters Ember and Imogen and mother Jill have criticised organisers for not providing a safe environment at the festival 'Rip Jacob Langford yet again a life taken to early rip buddy,' wrote Daniel O'callaghan on Facebook Tributes have flowed for the young man on social media The psychadelic-oriented event featured a wide array of funky outfits from tie-dyed shirts to elaborate costumes - or just going shirtless to beat the heat. Dozens of acts perform over four stages, and the festival also includes art galleries, cultural performances, food stall, markets, workshops and speeches. Police said last year it was 'a miracle no one was killed' after 40 drivers tested positive for drugs at stops outside the venue. Festival goer Daniel Buccianti, 34, died in 2012 after taking acid. The festival started on Friday and still has two days to run, ending on Monday About 16,000 people are attending the event over four days and all camp on site Police and paramedics were called to the festival in Lexton in the state's north on Saturday night, but were unable to save the man who died at 10.15pm Only one in three Britons believe Donald Trump's state visit to the UK should be cancelled, a poll revealed today. Half of those surveyed said it should go ahead and disagree with a petition signed by 1.7million people calling for No10 to withdraw its invitation in the wake of the President's hardline immigration crackdown. But despite the clear majority in favour of President Trump's visit to the UK, there was an equally large majority who said his ban on anyone travelling from seven majority Muslim countries was a bad idea. Half of those surveyed said it should go ahead and disagree with a petition signed by 1.7million people calling for No10 to withdraw its invitation in the wake of the president's hardline immigration crackdown In contrast, three in ten Britons said his controversial executive order was a good idea, according to a YouGov poll for The Times. Theresa May reiterated today that President Trump's state visit, when he will be a guest of the Queen, will go ahead later this year as planned. It is expected to feature the usual full pomp and ceremony, although a growing number of MPs are demanding he should not be given the honour of addressing the Houses of Parliament, as Barack Obama did. Despite the protests against President Trump - which saw thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of cities across the UK on Monday - a clear majority are in favour of President Trump visiting the UK. According to the poll, 49 per cent of those questioned said the trip should go ahead, against 36 per cent who said it should be stopped. In a separate poll, 27 per cent of Britons said they would be pleased or delighted if Mrs May imposed similar travel restrictions in the UK, while 49 per cent said they would be disappointed or appalled. As the row over President Trump's visit raged in the UK, the President made one of the most important early decisions of his term in office, nominating Neil Gorsuch to fill a vacant judge's seat on the US Supreme Court. Theresa May reiterated today that President Trump's state visit, when he will be a guest of the Queen, will go ahead later this year as planned As the row over President Trump's visit raged in the UK, the President made one of the most important early decisions of his term in office, nominating Neil Gorsuch, pictured shaking the President's hand last night, to fill a vacant judge's seat on the US Supreme Court Theresa May and Donald Trump met for the first time in the White House last Friday If confirmed by the Senate, the appointment of the 49-year-old - who took a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University in 2004 - would restore the court's conservative majority, lost with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Tory former cabinet minister Baroness Warsi are among senior politicians calling for the state visit not to happen while the travel ban is in place. The YouGov poll found particular support for the visit among Ukip supporters (81 per cent), Conservatives (76 per cent), Leave voters (68 per cent) and over-65s (58 per cent), while demand for it to be cancelled was strongest among Labour supporters (62 per cent), Liberal Democrats (58 per cent), Remain voters (53 per cent) and people aged 18-24 (53 per cent). Men were more likely to back the visit than women, by a margin of 60 per cent to 39 per cent. YouGov surveyed 1,705 adults on January 30 and 31 about their views on President Trump's visit, and 6,926 adults on the same dates about a potential UK travel ban. Meagan Lafferty, 43, who was given a place to stay by her neighbors after a fire at her apartment has been accused of killing their puppy A homeless woman who was given a place to stay by her neighbors after a fire at her apartment has been accused of killing their puppy. Meagan Lafferty, 43, had been left with nowhere to live after the fire on a neighbouring property to her home in Salem, Oregon. A neighbour then invited her to stay with her family as investigators need to probe the cause of the fire. However, shortly afterwards police were called to the home following reports a woman was trying to steal a nine-week-old dog. According to Salem Police, the pet's owner had asked Lafferty to put down the dog but she refused. She then allegedly put her hands around the dog's neck and squeezed until its tail twitched and its body went limp. Lafferty is then accused of telling her neighbour: 'I am God, and I am here to end his misery'. According to USA Today, by the time the woman's husband returned home, the puppy was dead and when police arrived they had to prise Lafferty's fingers off the dead dog's neck. Lafferty was later arrested and was charged with first-degree theft and first-degree aggravated animal abuse. She was then taken to Marion County jail and is being held on $20,000 bail. She will appear in court tomorrow. About 1,000 U.S. State Department officials signed an internal dissent memo protesting a travel ban by U.S. President Donald Trump on refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, in a rebellion against the new president's policies. The New York Times reported the latest total on Wednesday. A senior State Department official confirmed the memorandum had been submitted to acting Secretary of State Tom Shannon through the department's 'dissent channel,' a process in which officials can express unhappiness over policy. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday he was aware of the memo but warned career diplomats that they should either 'get with the program or they can go.' Scroll down for video State Department employees harboring anger about President Donald Trump's travel ban are welcome to find a new place to work, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said after 100 of them signed a 'dissent' memo and now the number has topped 900 The memo declares that closing the U.S. to 'over 200 million legitimate travelers ... will not achieve its aim of making our country safer' Protesters turned out in force at major U.S. airports over the weekend in response to the Trump administration executive order that has upset hundreds of State Department officials A draft of the dissent memo argued that the executive order would sour relations with affected countries, inflame anti-American sentiment and hurt those who sought to visit the United Spates for humanitarian reasons. It said the policy 'runs counter to core American values of non-discrimination, fair play and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants. Trump on Friday signed an executive order that temporarily bans refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries, sparking tumult at U.S. airports and protests in major American cities. The ban affects Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Even before the executive order on immigration was issued, concern among State Department officials had been growing over news reports that Trump was about to ease sanctions against Russia, said one State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The resignation of at least four top State Department officials, including Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy, who formally left the department on Tuesday, also caused some unease among diplomats who worried about a power vacuum. The White House said Monday that the first 100 State Department employees who signed the memo harboring anger about Trump's travel ban were welcome to find a new place to work. They 'should either get with the program or they can go,' press secretary Sean Spicer declared during his daily briefing. 'At some point if they have a big problem with the policies that he's instituting to keep the country safe, then that's up to them to question whether or not they want to stay or not.' The cable argues that Trump's executive order barring the State Department from issuing visas to citizens of Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Libya will not achieve its stated purpose, to protect the country from terrorism. It further points out that countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are not included in the order, even though citizens of those countries have committed acts of terrorism in the United States in the past. The executive action will 'immediately' sour relations with the countries affected and 'much of the Muslim world, which sees the ban as religiously motivated,' the dissenters write. 'It will increase anti-American sentiment,' the draft memo argues, 'hostility towards the United States will grow.' The State Department has confirmed the existence of the dissent cable. 'This is an important process that the acting secretary, and the department as a whole, respect and value,' State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, according to the Times. 'It allows State employees to express divergent policy views candidly and privately to senior leadership.' Dissent cables like the one that's making the rounds now are typically presented to the secretary of state. Trump's nominee, Rex Tillerson, has not yet been confirmed Senate. Barack Obama's policy toward Syria was the source of consternation among career foreign service officers last summer. A group of 51 diplomats working in Washington and serving overseas urged the administration to intervene in the humanitarian crisis in Syria with military action. Kerry called the memo that was sent to his desk 'an important statement.' 'I respect the process, very, very much. I will ... have a chance to meet with people when I get back,' he said during a visit to Copenhagen. Trump's White House took a more abrasive approach to dissenters of the immigration order the president signed Friday afternoon. Protesters attend a demonstration against President Donald Trump's executive order, placing temporary bans on entrance to the U.S. for people from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya in Dulles international airport 'The president has a very clear vision. He's been clear on it since the campaign. He's been clear on it since taking office, that he's going to put the safety of this country first,' Spicer said during his briefing. 'He's going to implement things that are in the best interest of protecting this country prospectively, not reactively.' He brought up polling showing that more Americans agree with the travel ban, that prohibits Syrians from coming the country indefinitely, than not and proclaimed that 'the American people support what the president is doing.' They are 'pleased that this president is taking the steps necessary to protect this country,' he said. 'If somebody has a problem with that agenda, then they should ques then that does call into question whether or not they should continue in that post or not,' he said of State Department employees protesting the travel restrictions. The White House on Friday asked four career State Department officials, including Patrick Kennedy, undersecretary for management, to quit who were appointees of the previous president, allowing them to submit their resignation, in line with protocol. Toner, a hold-over from the Obama administration himself, said the political appointees were in 'limited term positions.' News reports initially said that diplomats were quitting in protest of Trump, but a State Department official told CNN those reports were wrong. 'These people are loyal to the secretary, the President and to the State Department. There is just not any attempt here to dis the President. People are not quitting and running away in disgust. This is the White House cleaning house.' Shocking photos have revealed the hell Teresa Bradford suffered at the hands of her estranged husband David before he murdered her and killed himself. Bradford, 52, was released on bail just two weeks before he stabbed the mother-of-four to death in their Pimpama home, on the Gold Coast in Queensland, on Tuesday. The former train driver had been released following his arrest for allegedly choking Ms Bradford, taping her mouth shut and beating her unconscious until she lost control of her bowel movements on November 28 last year. Chilling images have now emerged of the 40-year-old mother with a dark bruise around her left eye, as well as a picture of gaffer tape and rope that police found under a bed while investigating the murder-suicide. Chilling images have now emerged of 40-year-old mother Teresa Bradford with a dark bruise around her left eye A picture of gaffer tape and rope that police found under a bed while investigating the murder-suicide has also emerged Just a fortnight before he stabbed his estranged wife Teresa (pictured) to death, David Bradford was released on bail for an earlier assault on her, despite police protests. The picture of her with a black eye was taken shortly after the alleged assault in November. Police had strongly objected to Bradford being bailed in January, saying he was 'an unreasonable risk of causing self-harm or harm towards others'. Just two weeks after his release, he murdered her. After suffering a series of strokes and left walking with a cane, Bradford was unable to continue working as a train driver and supported his family with the disability pension, according to sources. He was reportedly 'too broke' to move out of the family home and had tried to access his superannuation to support himself. Bradford is believed to have broken into the family home overnight on Tuesday - in breach of his bail conditions - and stabbed his estranged wife to death in front of their children before killing himself. Just two months earlier, he was charged with four domestic violence offences including choking, assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty and common assault. Two weeks after being released on bail for serious domestic violence charges, Dave Bradford, 52, was found dead in suspected murder suicide On November 28, he broke into her home, threatened to tie her up and beat her until she blacked out. Ms Bradford allegedly lost control of her bowel movements during the attack and was dragged by her hair across the kitchen, according to the Courier Mail. Her estranged husband allegedly sat on her stomach and choked her for 25 minutes after she tried to call police. A specialist Gold Coast domestic violence magistrate allowed Bradford to be released on bail after his lawyer argued there was no criminal history, no independent witnesses and Bradford had been in custody for 44 days. Friends of the mother-of-four claim Ms Bradford did not know her estranged husband was applying for bail until after he was released and that she spent her final days scrambling to find a new home so he would not track her down. After suffering a series of strokes (pictured after a stroke in September) and left walking with a cane, Bradford was unable to continue working as a train driver and supported his family with the disability pension, according to sources Teresa Marie Bradford, 40, was found dead in her Pimpama home by Queensland police on Tuesday morning after three of the couple's children raised the alarm with neighbours 'She was scared and tried to get assistance but no one helped her and her kids,' a unnamed friend said of Ms Bradford Authorities were initially called to the scene following reports of a disturbance, but a neighbour said they hadn't heard anything in the hours before the gruesome discovery Bradford is believed to have broken into the family home overnight on Tuesday - in breach of his bail conditions - and stabbed his estranged wife to death Ms Bradford's friend April Trengove told Daily Mail Australia that the authorities had failed her. 'The system didn't even tell her he was released until she found out hours later. The system could not get one thing right. Bradford was charged with a number of violent offences against Ms Bradford on November 28 last year 'This is why this happens and this is why she is not here and those babies lost their mum.' Another friend, Karina Mason, told the ABC that Ms Bradford had a series of house viewings lined up as she desperateley sought to move home. 'She was actually due to look at five houses this week because she knew she needed to move out of the house they were living in together and she needed to move so he didn't know where they were,' Ms Mason said. The friend added that the choking incident in November was serious and that Ms Bradford could have died. 'She did fight very hard for her life that day, and she did talk him down and she was able to call for an ambulance,' Ms Mason said. Bradford was charged with a number of violent offences following the incident, including domestic violence-related common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm, choking or strangulation, and deprivation of liberty, accoriding to the Courier Mail. As part of his bail conditions, Bradford had to stay at a hotel in Brisbane, report to police and stay 100m away from Ms Bradford unless they were appearing in court. They had four children together, aged between nine and 17 years old. Three of them were in their home when their mother was murdered and ran to a neighbour's house to raise the alarm. The white suburban home in Pimpama at the centre of police investigations where Dave and Teresa Marie bradford, 40, were found dead Police have established a crime scene on the street as forensic investigators look for clues to what led to this fatal incident Friends of the much loved Ms Bradford describe a woman with 'a heart of gold' and who was always there to help and give warm words of encouragement, but was failed by the system. 'She was scared and tried to get assistance but no one helped her and her kids,' an unnamed friend told Daily Mail Australia. 'I can't believe he was allowed out on bail to do it again.' A childhood friend, called Debbie, told A Current Affair that the authorities had no excuse for allowing Bradford out on bail. She said she took Ms Bradford to hospital in November after her husband's 'nearly killed her'. 'She was scared,' Debbie said. 'She was going to find another place to move so her and the kids were safe. 'The system has let her down a lot. It makes me angry because I've lost a close friend. 'I can't get my head around [the court releasing this man]. There's no excuse for this. He shouldn't have done what he did and the police should have kept him in jail.' Another friend expressed her guilt for not telling the mother-of-four to come stay with her when Bradford was released on bail. 'You were so scared,' she posted on Facebook. 'I really regret not telling her to come here last week. He wouldn't have found them here.' Another friend who knew Ms Bradford from their teaching days, said Ms Bradford had been studing for a nursing degree at Griffith University. 'She was a kind, beautiful person who was always there to help,' Liv Kronsteiner told Daily Mail Australia. 'She was an amazing mother.' Ms Kronsteiner said there had been an 'insane history of violence and abuse'. Bradford was out on bail at the time of the his and Ms Bradford's death in a suspected murder-suicide 'Enquires are in their infancy,' Detective Inspector Mark Thompson Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch said at the scene (Pictured: Forensic officers examining the house) Friend Nikki Searle said Ms Bradford's life had been 'tragically cut short at the hands of a cowardly monster'. 'She had a heart of gold and was always there to help others,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'She was always caring, had a smile or a laugh ready. I couldn't imagine her ever saying a bad word about anyone. 'Even with what she endured over the last few months I wouldn't say anything she said or posted on Facebook was hateful or overly negative. She just wanted to move on with her life with her kids that she cherished. 'In the last few weeks she was very fearful for her life ... but she kept going and used her network of friends to help her. 'I know some of her close friends were helping her with getting the kids ready for school. She wasn't really one to ask for a handout but the pressure of the situation was getting dire.' Authorities were initially called to the Pimpama scene following reports of a disturbance. It's understood three of the couple's children alerted neighbours to the tragedy before police arrived at the scene The anguished parents of Madeleine McCann today told of their fury at failing to silence a Portuguese police chief from 'spouting false smears' over their daughter's disappearance. Kate and Gerry McCann said their eight-year libel battle with detective Goncalo Amaral, who claims Maddie died and they covered it up, had become deeply personal - and was not about money. The 'devastated' couple could face financial ruin after losing their fight with Amaral, on the eve of their twins Sean and Amilie's 12th birthday. But a close friend today insisted their legal fight wasn't about compensation, but to gag their 'tormentor-in-chief' whose theories they felt hampered the search to find her. 'It was never about winning big libel damages,' said the friend. 'It's always been more of a personal battle. They are bitterly disappointed they have lost but not totally surprised. 'It was all about them silencing him to stop him spouting untruths. The whole point of the libel action was to try and stop Mr Amaral spreading false accusations, which they felt hampered the search for Madeleine. 'It's personal': A friend of Kate McCann said today told of the family's fury at losing their eight-year libel battle with Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral, who accused the McCanns of covering up the death of missing daughter Madeleine Search: Madeleine, pictured, disappeared from the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz aged three on May 3, 2007. Amaral wrote a book in which he claimed Maddie died and her parents covered it up 'Not about money': The McCanns face possible financial ruin after losing the drawn out legal battle over Amaral's book, pictured. They told a friend that their battle had become personal and about stopping the detective from 'spouting false smears' about the case The friend went on: 'Any award would have gone into the Madeleine's Fund to help find their daughter and would never have been used for Kate and Gerry's own use. 'They are considering whether to appeal the decision and need to take advice from their Portuguese lawyer. But I think they just want to draw a line under it.' The friend said the couple are now considering whether to appeal and will seek advice from their legal team in Portugal before deciding on their next move. But the source added: 'To say they are upset and angry would be an understatement. But their main and only focus is to find Madeleine who has been missing for nearly 10 years. They will be able to concentrate on this totally now.' In the bitter legal battle, the McCanns successfully sued Amaral for 500,000 damages, whom they branded 'a poisonous liar'. Smears: The couple told the source that Amaral's (pictured) theories over Maddie's case had hampered the search for her But a higher court reversed the decision and judges in Lisbon have upheld the U-turn. The payout would have been added to the official Find Maddie Fund set up through public donations and boosted by big-hearted celebrities to finance the worldwide hunt for the missing girl. The Fund once stood at 1million but is now closer to 300,000 and could be wiped out by the Portugal's Supreme Court shock ruling. A source close to the family said: 'This news is devastating, not just for Kate and Gerry but for Madeleine wherever she is. 'It's not good news. We just don't know what to do but we need to sit down with our lawyer and discuss it. 'We've gone to the pinnacle of the Portuguese legal system and we've lost. We now have to pay a sizeable amount in costs.' As the Scotland Yard search for Madeleine who disappeared as a three-year-old from a holiday apartment in the Algarve's Praia da Luz is being wound down the McCann's had been keeping the soon-to-be-obliterated fund as a life-line to pay for their own ongoing search the moment the investigation, codenamed Operation Grange, ends. Ex GP Kate and heart doctor Gerry, both 48, from Rothley, Leicestershire, live in hope that 'a miracle' will one day reunite them with their daughter. If still alive, she would turn 14 in mid May. Gone: The detective's book claimed the McCanns were involved in their daughter Madeleine's (pictured) disappearance. He claimed that she died and that her parents had covered it up Fury: 'Devastated' Kate and Gerry McCann, pictured in Praia da Luz, could face financial ruin after losing their legal fight on the eve of their twins Sean and Amelie's 12th birthday The appeal hearing in Lisbon which ruled against the McCanns was held in private. A spokesperson from their lawyer's office said: 'This is a big disappointment and very bitter for us and for Mr and Mrs McCann. 'We know the libel decision has gone against us but we do not know the basis of the ruling and will not find out until Thursday.' Mr Amaral, 56, who the McCanns first sued for libel in June 2009, won the lengthy legal fight after judges decided he had the 'right to freedom of expression.' Madeleine's parents could now lodge an appeal to the highest court in Europe, the European Court of Human Rights. But a source close to the exasperated couple said: 'I think the fight is finally over. They want to concentrate on finding Madeleine and don't think they have the time or energy to lodge yet another appeal.' Mr Amaral, who led the initial bungled search to help find their daughter, claimed in a once banned book that Madeleine was dead. Fund: The couple (pictured) said any compensation they had received over the book damages would have gone back into the fund used to pay for the search to find her He was later sacked for criticising the British police handling of the case. He has since made a fortune from his best-seller 'The Truth of the Lie' in which he claims Madeleine is dead and her parents 'staged a cover up'. It has been translated into six languages and sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. It led to libel action from the distraught McCanns and action in a civil court, an appeal court and finally the Supreme Court. Amaral is understood to have earned 400,000 euros (344,000) from his book before it was banned and a subsequent TV documentary. He claimed in the book Madeleine had died in their holiday flat and they had faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy. The book was released just three days after Gerry and Kate McCann were told their status as arguidos or formal suspects had been lifted on July 21, 2008. Amaral's lawyer claimed the McCanns had taken legal action 'to rid themselves of guilt for their negligent conduct' in leaving Madeleine and her siblings alone while they ate tapas with friends nearby. He also claimed their lack of co-operation with the Portuguese police authorities had led to the archiving of the investigation in 2008. The McCann's fiercely deny his allegations. In a 36-page writ, lodged nearly eight years ago, they describe him as a self obsessed, manipulative money-grabber and accuse him of libel and breaching their human rights. In documents they describe in detail the pain and anguish he has caused the family by repeatedly smearing them, and say his slurs have left them 'totally destroyed' and most importantly had hindered the search for Madeleine. Scotland Yard are busy investigating one 'last throw of the dice' lead in a bid to end the family's torment but time could be running out as police now have just two months left of guaranteed Government funding to continue to unravel an 'important' new tip. Detectives on the Madeleine inquiry recently revealed they are working on a final theory that the youngster was kidnapped by a European trafficking gang. The 'spotters' are believed to have targeted the blonde toddler taking photographs of her while she was playing on the beach and beside the pool at her holiday apartment. Retired English teacher Mark Frost, 70, pleaded guilty to a catalogue of abuse spanning more than two decades - he attacked children across the world and even adopted a son One of Britain's worst ever paedophiles faces dying in jail after admitting 45 child sex offences - but only after he spent decades abusing children across the globe and was even able to adopt a son. Disgraced scoutmaster and former teacher Mark Frost, 70, was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange who campaigned in the 1970s and 1980s to lower the age of consent to 10 and even legalise incest. Despite links to the notorious group of sex offenders a council allowed him to adopt a son in 1986 - after a previous attempt through the Catholic Church failed. After years of abusing children he taught in UK schools he was finally banned from teaching after 20 years in the mid-1990s. After two short jail terms he began abusing boys in Sweden, France, Spain and Holland before moving to south-east Asia. Frost, whose real name is Andrew Tracey, then lured impoverished boys in Thailand to his home with sweets, money, computer games and his swimming pool, before abusing them, between 2008 and 2013. He also groped and raped them on webcam while watched by other paedophiles, the court heard. After hiding in Britain in 2014 before fleeing to Holland he was finally found in Alicante, Spain, in 2015 where he was extradited back to the UK. At the Old Bailey today Frost admitted 17 charges involving nine young boys in Thailand. These included rape, sexual assault, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and making indecent photographs of children. Frost also pleaded guilty to six counts of historic abuse, involving buggery and gross indecency, against the two British pupils. But he denied 43 counts involving both sets of boys, which were left to lie on file. Frost previously pleaded guilty to 22 counts of sexual abuse against the boys in Thailand - bringing the total he admitted to 45. Prosecutor Ruona Iguyovwe told the Old Bailey today: 'There has been harrowing evidence which reveals Frost has systematically abused vulnerable young boys. 'He has exploited them and he has exploited their situation. 'This case ranks as one of the most serious I have dealt with as a prosecutor - one of the most serious I have come across.' Frost joined PIE (Paedophile Information Exchange), a paedophile group campaigning to legalise child sex, in 1978 using his real name of Andrew Tracey 'The offending involved exploiting the boys' circumstances and backgrounds in order to take advantage of them and to sexually exploit them. 'He was a person who the children thought was friendly and generous. 'They went to his house to play computer games and swim - that was part of the draw. Then he exploited that relationship.' Timeline: How Britain's worst paedophile abused children all over the world 1978: Frost joins the Paedophile Information Exchange - a group which campaigned to legalise child sex in the 1970s and 80s. It boasted almost 1,000 members at its height and waged a long-running campaign for paedophiles to be seen as 'child lovers' and abolish the age of consent. 1986: Under his real name of Andrew Tracey he tried to adopt a young son through the Catholic Church. He was rejected before his local council agreed. He and his adopted child are estranged. Late 1980s: His abuse of children is known to have started while he was working as a teacher in the UK. 1991: The former scout commander was first arrested in 1991 for child sex offences, and a string of convictions followed throughout the 1990s. 1992 Frost was pleaded guilty and was convicted at Evesham Magistrates Court for possessing indecent photographs of a child. 1993: He was convicted at Worcester Crown Court for permitting his home to be used for drugs and unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged 13-15. He was jailed for 12 months. 1996: He is banned from teaching in the UK so starts to travel Europe abusing boys in Sweden, France, Spain and Holland. 1998: Frost was convicted at Luton Crown Court of indecent assault on a male under 16 and served another 12 months in prison and was placed on the Sex Offender's Register for ten years. 2013: He resurfaces again in Thailand - having lived there since 2008 - and police arrest him over child sex offences but he manages to flee the country. 2014: He starts living in Sussex and police start considering a prosecution based on evidence from Thai police but he goes on the run again. 2015: Dutch police contact the NCA - Britain's FBI - about footage of him abusing Thai boys on his computer. November 2015: Tracey, now using the name Frost, is found hiding in Alicante, Spain. April 2016: He was extradited back to Britain last April, and later in 2016 admitted the initial 22 charges. February 2017: He pleaded guilty to 22 charges of child sex abuse. He faces 45 additional charges to abuse carried out across Europe as well as 22 charges relating to nine boys in Thailand, a total of 89 charges in all. Advertisement Police, who described Frost as a 'predatory paedophile' and a 'dangerous individual' hope the publicity will encourage any other victims to speak out and said they are also working with forces in France, Sweden, Spain to identify abuse. Frost joined PIE (Paedophile Information Exchange), a paedophile group campaigning to legalise child sex, in 1978 using his real name of Andrew Tracey. Police said Frost, who changed his name from Andrew Tracey in 2014, may have funded his abuse by working cash in hand or relying on his British teacher's pension. In 1986, the unmarried teacher tried to adopt a son through the Catholic Church and was turned down, only to succeed through a local authority, the NCA said. The pair are now estranged. He started exploiting children in the late 1980s while working as a teacher in the UK. Since the allegations emerged in Asia, two former pupils of a school in Worcestershire have come forward claiming they were sexually assaulted in the 1990s. Frost had sex with the boys in a school store room, during breaks, and at his home where he lived with his adopted son, and also at a car park in Woking, the Old Bailey heard. The former scout commander was first arrested in 1991 for child sex offences, and a string of convictions followed throughout the 1990s. He taught for more than 20 years until he was barred in 1996. Over the next few years he then travelled between Sweden, France, Spain and Holland where he is believed to have continued to abuse boys, police said. Frost later moved to Thailand, where he carried on assaulting young boys. He was arrested by Royal Thai Police in February 2013 over child sex exploitation offences, and in May of that year was arrested over allegations of physical assault. But he fled back to the UK, and was living in Sussex in 2014 when local police began to contact him in relation to his previous British convictions. British police were considering applying for legislation to prosecute him for his crimes in Thailand - but before they could gather evidence, he left the country. Then, in July 2015, the Dutch authorities contacted the National Crime Agency about footage of child abuse they had allegedly found on a suspect's computer, which involved Frost abusing young Asian boys. Frost was eventually tracked down to a bolthole in Alicante, Spain in late 2015, after he tried applying for residency. A European Arrest Warrant was issued, and he was extradited back to Britain last April, and later in 2016 admitted the initial 22 charges. These involved abusing four Thai boys aged seven to 13 on a live web feed while a man was allegedly watching. These included making the victims strip and expose themselves on webcam, as well as making them blow kisses and make heart shaped gestures and thumbs up to the camera, while Frost would fondle them. Prosecutor Sally Hales told the court: 'He remains wanted in Thailand.' Outlining the case, she said: 'The origins of the investigation are that in July 2015 the Dutch national police contacted the National Crime Agency in relation to indecent images of a Skype chat that the Dutch police had obtained.' During the investigation by the Dutch police into a suspect in Holland, they seized webcam videos. These showed young Asian boys, some of whom looked as young as eight, being sexually abused by Frost while the other man allegedly made requests. Outlining the child sex offences in Thailand, Miss Hales said: 'The victims described being introduced to Frost, who with the exception of one they knew as Andrew Tracey, often by other boys, on occasion by family members. 'They described how they attended his address in Thailand where there was a pool to swim in, computer games to play, and many of them mention sweets being available. 'Many of the boys describe witnessing sexual activity between Frost and the other boys, has in some occasions seeing Frost behave in a physically violent manner. 'He bought them food, sweets and regularly gave them money - the latter very often, it would appear, as a reward for sexual behaviour performed by that child. 'They described how Frost regularly filmed the sexual activity, directing them how to behave for the camera. 'As far as complaints of physical violence, they cannot be prosecuted in the UK, they are offences that were committed in Thailand.' Damning: Frost was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange, who argued in official documents obtained by the Mail in 2014 that 'a person aged 14 or over should be legally capable of giving consent' and the age of sexual consent cut to ten 'if the child understood the nature of the act' Extraordinary: The group also set out the argument that the 'crime of incest should be abolished' Paedophile used ouija board during abuse 'seances' and attacked child while his adopted son slept in same bed Paedophile Mark Frost urged children to perform seances with a ouija board and had sex with a schoolboy next to his adopted son, a court heard. Youngsters were plied with booze and drugs, shown pornography and encouraged to have underage sex with each other during parties at the former teacher's West Midlands home. The details emerged when police raided the property Frost, then known as Andrew Tracey, in 1992, while he was working as an English teacher at a nearby school. Frost was charged with possession of indecent photos, and many of his pupils were interviewed at the time. The prosecutor said: 'Many reported Frost permitted them to use his house and allowed the use of his bedrooms for underage sexual activity, drinking alcohol, viewing pornography, seances using a ouija board and smoking cannabis.' Frost was convicted of possessing indecent photos of a child and jailed for allowing his premises to be used for drugs and sex with an underage girl. But the investigation failed to uncover abuse of the two pupils who Frost has now pleaded guilty to abusing. One told police, in an interview last year, Frost spent a lot of time with him in the classroom before being invited around to his home to visit his teacher's son. Frost also took the pair on a trip to Germany and a camping trip in Wales, where he assaulted his pupil while lying in the tent between the two boys. On another occasion he had sex with the youngster in his home while his adopted son slept in the same bed. Advertisement She added: 'It was a means by which it can be reasonably inferred that there was an element of control from this defendant, and that they would have been as a consequence reluctant to report what was happening to them. 'These were not wealthy boys, but came from impoverished families.' Turning to the historic abuse, the court also heard the first victim of the historic abuse described himself as a 'vulnerable child, who had an unhappy home life'. Frost started abusing him soon after they met, at both his home address and the school. But around about 1992, the victim was walking along a street when Frost pulled up alongside him and warned him not to tell the police. Frost told him 'that it was likely police would want to speak to him', and he was 'to say nothing to police about what had transpired between them'. In a statement, the victim, who has since died, said: 'Since the rape, I have never felt so lonely. 'I made no friends due to having no confidence. 'I have carried this burden for a long time and lived in fear. 'I have found this process incredibly painful.' John Cameron, head of NSPCC helplines, said: 'Mark Frost is a very dangerous paedophile with a long and vile history of sexually abusing children in Thailand and distributing images of child abuse. 'Frost worked as a teacher in the UK until 1996 and today's guilty plea may encourage further victims to speak out. 'We are working with the National Crime Agency's on-going investigation into non-recent child sexual abuse allegations against Frost and anyone who thinks they may be a victim can contact the dedicated NSPCC helpline on 0800 3280904.' Ruona Iguyovwe, Senior Specialist Prosecutor at the CPS, said: 'The harrowing evidence presented by the prosecution in this case outlined the suffering that Mark Frost caused to his victims. Over many years, Frost repeatedly exploited vulnerable young victims, both in the UK and in Thailand, for his own sexual gratification. 'His offending has caused severe psychological harm to all of the children he abused many of whom are now old enough to realise the enormity of what happened to them. Andy Brennan, deputy director of the NCA's CEOP Command, said: 'This has been a lengthy and complex investigation into a prolific child sex offender, who over many years believed he could sexually abuse children and evade law enforcement. 'The weight of evidence gathered by the investigating officers in this case was such that Frost pleaded guilty to over 40 charges. 'However, we suspect there could be many more victims of Frost, both male and female, who have never come forward or spoken to anybody about what happened to them.' Three Texas teens dug deep into their pockets after they saw a struggling homeless man counting change to buy a meal at a Chick-fil-A. Ryan Cook and his friends Joshua Mechell and Alberto Montiel were at the restaurant in Corpus Christi on Thursday night when they saw the man named Eddie sitting by himself at a nearby table and decided to buy him a meal and some clothes. 'He had a bible on the table. And he also had a picture of Jesus. Which really gave us kind of a sign to help him out', Cook, 19, told KRIS-TV. Three teenagers saw Eddie, a homeless man, counting a pile of change at a Corpus Christi, Texas, Chick-fil-A. Eddie and his pet dog Socks are regular patrons of the location So, they decided to pool their money and buy him gift cards, a first-aid kit and clothes Chick-fil-A employees told the teens that Eddie often frequents the restaurant and only asks for water or nuggets for his pet dog, Socks. 'People were telling us there how he never asks for handouts. We saw him crying and we saw him struggling to buy a meal. So I decided to go buy him a gift card', Cook told Inside Edition. The teens didn't stop there. They asked Eddie to wait while they went next door to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy him a new coat, some shirts, a first-aid kit and a winter hat. The store even donated a few items and chipped in $20 toward their purchase. When the teens returned they surprised Eddie with the gifts. The teens are still in contact with Eddie and plan on getting him a meal and a hotel room to watch the Super Bowl In the video of the exchange, which has been viewed more than four million times on Facebook, Eddie is clearly touched by the gesture. 'His reaction was basically priceless. Once we gave him that jacket he had a big ole smile on his face and it was just probably one of the greatest feeling I've had in the world. 'Not only for myself, but just to know that we did something great for somebody else', said Cook. Eddie told the teens that he didn't receive anything for Christmas this year. 'It was an awesome experience. He quickly got out of his chair. He was so excited and happy to see something new in his life. I told him just think about it as a late Christmas', Cook said. Cook shared the video on his Facebook page in an effort to inspire others to do the same for those in need. But it wasn't the group's idea to share the video. 'My mom actually told me to. Basically because to show and be examples to other people. And it was great to see responses we were getting because I didn't realize it'd blow up to be that big', Cook said. The teens made it clear they want their story to serve as a catalyst for change. 'We just want to make the world a better place to live in, and we want to inspire people to make a difference', Mechell said. Cook, Mechell and Montiel are still in contact with Eddie and plan on getting him a motel and a meal for Super Bowl Sunday. Lorraine Ridout, 57, (pictured) left her house to visit a friend at 7pm on January 31, 2016 and was last seen on Aberporth Road, Gabalfa, Cardiff, between 7pm and 8pm A mother-of-three who disappeared more than year ago shows no sign of being found despite a police force undertaking one of their biggest ever searches. Almost 1,000 lines of inquiry have been pursued by police trying to find missing Cardiff mother Lorraine Ridout. Hundreds of officers have spent thousands of hours undertaking interviews and examining evidence in the effort to find the grandmother of one. Ms Ridout, 57, left her house to visit a friend at 7pm on January 31, 2016and was last seen on Aberporth Road, Gabalfa, Cardiff, between 7pm and 8pm. 'We have conducted the most extensive urban search South Wales Police has ever undertaken,' Detective Chief Inspector Mark O'Shea said. 'We have utilised police and resources from the National Crime Agency, British Transport Police and the Home Office to assist us in our search for . 'But despite all that search activity and the efforts of a team of detectives we are still not able to explain Lorraine's disappearance.' The inquiry would remain live 'unless we are able to explain to Lorraine's family.' Ms Ridout's son Peter and daughter Christine talk about the search for their mother Lorraine 'Lorraine remains a missing person,' DCI O'Shea said. 'Her daughters, her son, her husband and grandson are desperate to find out what has happened to her. 'We at South Wales Police are absolutely committed to giving them those answers, no matter how long it takes us. 'We need the assistance of the people of Cardiff to find new lines of inquiry. 'We have followed up nearly 1,000 lines of inquiry so far.' He said there was 'no evidence' Ms Ridout, who does not hold a passport, hadmoved to another part of the country or gone abroad. 'Lorraine's lifestyle was fairly limited in geographic span,' DCI O'Shea said. 'She spent most of her life in and around Gabalfa.' Lorraine's daughters Christine and Sarah and her sister Katherine Jarman during a search The officer believed 'the answers to Lorraine's disappearance still lie in Cardiff somewhere'. 'That may mean someone has seen her and not realised it or someone has got more information about what happened and has not come forward yet,' he said. And Ms Ridout's mental health problems may offer 'an explanation'. 'I have to consider crime as a possibility and we have done,' DCI O'Shea said. 'But we have no specific intelligence that points to that. 'I have got grave concerns for Lorraine. It would be extremely unusual and out of character for her to remain away from home for any period of time. That it has been 12 months only reinforces our concern.' The detective said it was impossible to say if she is alive or dead. 'I cannot tell the family at this stage she is dead,' DCI O'Shea said. 'But we have found no evidence to suggest she has moved despite hundreds of inquiries. We have spoken to everyone that knows Lorraine we are aware of dating back to her childhood. 'We've spoken to hundreds of residents in Gabalfa and the Cardiff area. We have examined various aspects of Lorraine's life in the hope that we can identify a line of inquiry that explains her disappearance.' DCI O'Shea says it is the hardest case he has been involved with. 'This remains the most difficult investigation because of the number of possibilities,' he said. 'The inquiry is as broad and complex and detailed as any South Wales Police is involved with at the moment. 'We are desperate to give Lorraine's family the answers they crave. Neighbours, friends and family have all helped the search by taking posters to local shops 'I have given my personal commitment that we won't rest until we are able to explain her disappearance.' Divers have scoured the River Taff looking for Ms Ridout, and air and landsearches have taken place. 'Thousands of man hours have gone into this,' DCI O'Shea said. 'It's been a 12-month police investigation that has involved hundreds of police officers, not all at the same time, but over a 12-month period.' He was confident that 'one day' the case would be solved. 'We won't give up,' he said. 'It's a real mystery,' DCI O'Shea said. 'It's an absolute mystery. It's going to take continued commitment and detective work to explain her disappearance. This case will never be closed.' Ms Ridout's son Peter has spent most of the year working as an electrical engineer in Middlesbrough. Divers have scoured the River Taff looking for Lorraine, and air and land searches have taken place 'I've been working away the majority of the time so it has been a lot easier on me than it has been for the rest of the family,' the 38-year-old said. He came back before Christmas. 'All this stuff had been happening and Christine and the family were trying to make Christmas a bit normal,' he said. 'That was very hard. It was not the same at all. The atmosphere was terrible and we could not really enjoy it. 'We've still got no information, it's really frustrating. I just keep myself busy.' Ms Ridout was always 'the life and the soul of the party with her laughter'. 'That would get us laughing but it's not nice not knowing where she is,' Peter said. 'It didn't feel right. So we were trying to make it as normal as possible but it was just not the same.' His sister Christine was 'as good as I can possibly be'. 'Over the last year we have had Mother's Day which was difficult and then her birthday which she shares with my dad,' the 34-year-old said. 'Christmas Day was not the same. She always did a lovely dinner and used to enjoy everyone opening their presents so it was difficult. 'I'm just hoping that with today's appeal that someone is going to come forward. 'It's about finding my mum and finding out what has happened. 'I'm hoping someone will remember something from the night and come forward. 'It's the not knowing that is the hard thing, not knowing whether she will she ever get found.' A New York City teacher faces up to five years in prison after being accused of breeding and training roosters for cockfighting in his Bronx backyard. Hector Cruz, 59, was arrested on Tuesday, on one count of animal fighting. Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara say the roosters were raised to fight each other to the death, with blades or knives attached to their legs. A New York City teacher is accused of running a cockfighting farm in the Bronx. The teacher allegedly went by the name 'Bird King' online. Pictures on Cruz's social media account show roosters being primed for cockfights, although it is unclear who is pictured in this particular photo Cruz's charges and arrest came after an investigation by the NYPD and U.S. Department of Agriculture into the breeding of roosters for cockfighting. It is a felony to make animals fight for fun or to own animals for the purpose of fighting. Cruz was earning close to $100,000-a-year as an English as a Second Language teacher at P.S. 211 in the Bronx and has since been reassigned outside the school while the matter is resolved. Cruz first aroused suspicion after NYPD officers visited him in the Bronx after a complaint by someone to the city, according to the Wall Street Journal. The NYPD's Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad caught word of Cruz's operation in February 2016 after a 311 call reported a 'large number of roosters' in the backyard of a building It is alleged that Cruz, 59, used his Facebook page to sell his roosters to people all over the country knowing that the birds were intended for bloody death battles Cruz showed officers a backyard full of between 40 to 45 roosters and hens of different ages. He called it the Bronx Rooster Farm. 'The rooster outnumbered the hens, were kept in isolated cages, and were dubbed,' which is a form of physical mutilation used on roosters bred for cockfighting, the complaint said. However, it appears his postings on social media ended up helping authorities with their investigation. The name on his Facebook account is 'Rajah Khan' which 'appears to be a play on words that means, in sum and substance, 'Bird King,' authorities said. On his Facebook page, Cruz is seen discussing sales and shipments of birds and even mentions cockfighting in New Jersey, posting several photographs. Pictures of people involved in cockfighting are posted on Cruz's Facebook page Pictures of roosters at cockfights are also included alongside conversations between people who bought various birds from him The Humane Society believes that tens of thousands of people in the U.S. are involved with cockfighting. Cruz was released Tuesday on $25,000 bond and ordered by the judge to not 'buy, possess or sell live chickens' until his case is resolved. If convicted, he faces up to five years in a federal prison. Imposing a temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim countries, President Donald Trump said the move would help protect the United States from terrorism. But less than one-third of Americans believe the move makes them 'more safe,' according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. The Jan. 30-31 poll found roughly one in two Americans backed the ban, which also suspends admission of all refugees for 120 days, although there were sharp divisions along party lines. Trump has pushed back against critics who say the travel ban targets Muslims. He says the 'extreme vetting' is necessary to protect the country and its borders. Scroll down for video 'This is not about religion,' Trump said in a statement after announcing the travel ban on Friday. 'This is about terror and keeping our country safe.' In the Reuters/Ipsos poll some 31 percent of people said the ban made them feel 'more safe,' while 26 percent said it made them feel 'less safe.' Another 33 percent said it would not make any difference and the rest said they don't know. Trump's executive order blocked citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Some Republican lawmakers criticized Trump's order and said it could backfire by giving terrorist organizations a new recruitment message. 'This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country,' senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a joint statement. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 49 percent of Americans agreed with the order and 41 percent disagreed. Some 53 percent of Democrats said they 'strongly disagree' with Trump's action while 51 percent of Republicans said they 'strongly agree.' Democrats were more than three times as likely as Republicans to say that the 'U.S. should continue to take in immigrants and refugees,' and Republicans were more than three times as likely as Democrats to agree that 'banning people from Muslim countries is necessary to prevent terrorism.' Cheryl Hoffman, 46, of Sumerduck, Virginia said she was thrilled that Trump ordered the ban. 'I understand that the country was founded on immigrants,' said Hoffman, who participated in the poll. 'Please, I get that. But I'm worried that refugees are coming in and being supported by my tax dollars.' Another poll respondent, Veronica Buetel, 57, of Green, Ohio felt just the opposite: 'Yes, we do live in scary times, but there are other, better ways to root out terrorism.' Westy Egmont, director of the Immigrant Integration Lab at Boston College, said Americans have grown increasingly hostile toward refugees and immigrants as the influx has shifted from Eastern Europeans to people from countries like Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. Is it s ban? Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning that it did not matter what the measure was called after controversy over whether it was a ban or a temporary measure Controversy: Despite being met with protests at airports - such as this one at San Francisco - the measure is supported by more Americans than it is opposed by 'The rise of those numbers, as relatively small as they are, have gathered just enough attention to set off a small reaction from people who are genuinely uncomfortable with the diversity around them,' Egmont said. Most Americans, however, don't think the country should show a preference for Christian refugees, as Trump has suggested. Some 56 percent, including 72 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans, disagreed that the country should 'welcome Christian refugees, but not Muslim ones.' On Tuesday, the Trump administration sought to clarify that citizens of U.S. ally Israel who were born in Arab countries would be allowed into the United States. Hillary Clinton has a lot of plans for 2017, including some reflections on her stunning loss to Donald Trump and a speaking engagement at her alma mater. The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is working on a collection of personal essays that will touch on the 2016 presidential campaign, Simon & Schuster told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The book, currently untitled, is scheduled for this fall and will be inspired by favorite quotations she has drawn upon. Clinton also will reissue her best-selling 'It Takes a Village' in an illustrated edition for young people. Scroll down for video Could have been her: Hillary Clinton is set to return to the speaking circuit, following her failed bid for president. She will be working with the same agency which earned her six-figure fees before (pictured above at one of the presidential debates) This spring, Clinton will return to her old stomping grounds at Wellesly College to give the commencement address. When Clinton graduated from the university in 1969, most of the Ivy League schools still only admitted men. Wellesley was part of the 'Seven Sisters' - the women's-only schools that were associated with the Ivy Leagues, and therefore one of the best in the country. She will also resume her relationship with the Harry Walker Agency, the speakers bureau through which she made the paid talks that were criticized by Sen. Bernie Sanders and others during the election race. Clinton will also give the 2017 commencement address for her alma mater, Wellesley, this spring. She's pictured on the left giving the address back in 1992, and on the right graduating in 1969 When Clinton graduated from the university in 1969, most of the Ivy League schools still only admitted men. Wellesley was part of the 'Seven Sisters' - the women's-only schools that were associated with the Ivy Leagues (the campus pictured above) Although the fees for none of the items were disclosed, Hillary and her husband Bill made themselves multi-millionaires on the back of their previous speaking and writing contracts. Clinton has also has received near-record advances for her previous books. In 2003, Simon & Schuster paid her an $8million advance for her book Living History. On the speaking circuit, Clinton made about $200,000 to $225,000 per speech. Records show that she earned over $11million for the fifteen months ending in March 2015. She is also estimated to be worth $30milllion on her own, and $45 to $53million with her husband. Dozens of animals are being kept in filthy enclosures by a zoo in southern China, a tourist claimed. Su Yuan, 25, said the animals, including ostriches, tigers, deer and monkeys, looked unhealthy and the zoo stank when she and her family visited last week. The shocked woman took pictures and videos of the sad animals before uploading them to the internet to expose the dire conditions inside the zoo in Zhuzhou city. Miserable: Tourist Su Yuan said many animals appeared ill at the zoo in Zhuzhou. She said one deer (right) in the zoo had lost its antlers and suffered from hair loss The 25-year-old woman was especially shocked by a macaque (pictured) which was struggling to move around in its enclosure Ms Su, a Beijing-based graphic designer, told MailOnline that she had visited the zoo in the city of Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, with her mother, her uncle and her brother on January 26. She said she was visiting relatives in Zhuzhou and wanted to see the city. The zoo is said to be a part of the Zhuzhou Magic Dragon Park and has more than 20 animal species. The woman paid 15 yuan (1.7) to enter the zoo, which is situated in a remote part of the park. Ms Su claimed that she had not seen any staff members besides one ticket seller during her visit despite that the animals had appeared to need care. She added that there were few visitors when they went. Ms Su said: 'All animals looked ill. The feathers on the ostriches were broken. The swan were kept in a small glass-bottomed pond. The mandarin ducks were kept in a man-made pond no larger than two square metres (20 square feet).' The woman continued: 'One deer had patchy fur and its antlers had gone. At least, I think it was a deer.' She added that the tigers were extremely skinny. Ms Su, a Beijing-based graphic designer, took a video which shows the macaque trembling Ms Su also said that the feathers on the ostriches were broken and the whole zoo stank The zoo is in Zhuzhou, a city with about four million residents in Hunan, southern China On January 26, Ms Su posted a set of six pictures she had taken at the zoo onto her personal account on Weibo under the account name 'black bear'. Part of her post read: 'The animals' living conditions are bad. Can't anyone look into this?' On January 29, Ms Su added a video she claimed she had taken in the zoo to her Weibo account. The eight-second footage, said to be taken outside the monkeys' enclosure, shows an unhealthy-looking macaque shaking and struggling inside its cage. Ms Su recalled: 'I saw the monkey trembling. When it saw me, it tried to come closer but it had difficulty doing so. My mother said it must be ill. 'I wanted to feed it, but I didn't bring food, so I went to buy some peanuts. The monkey couldn't eat the peanuts by itself.' The tourist wanted to bring to the public attention the zoo's miserable conditions. She said: 'This is indeed the saddest zoo I have been to. Hopefully the relevant authorities can look into the situation and improve the living conditions of the animals.' Last April, a web user named 'the people's teacher' exposed the zoo's conditions as well. 'The people's teacher' posted the above picture showing the cages in the zoo The web user, who claimed to have been to the zoo, said it was 'lifeless' and 'depressing'. 'The people's teacher' posted the above picture showing the entrance to the zoo 'The people's teacher' claimed that the macaque seemed blind in one eye and couldn't stop trembling. The web user posted the above picture showing the monkeys' enclosure in the zoo According to 'the people's teacher', the zoo kept more than 20 species including the Siberian tigers. The web user posted the above picture showing the tigers' enclosure in the zoo 'The people's teacher' also said that most animals in the zoo seemed to have skin diseases A picture taken by 'the people's teacher' shows that the tigers in the zoo are Siberian tigers, an endangered animal species The Changsha Small Animal Protection Association, based in the provincial capital Changsha, said they would send volunteers to visit the zoo and investigate the situation, according to Ms Su. The woman said she planned to report the case to the Chinese Forestry Bureau. Apparently, this is not the first time tourists have accused Zhuzhou Magic Park for mal-treating its animals. Last April, a web user named 'the people's teacher', who claimed to have visited the zoo, wrote on a local online forum that the zoo was 'lifeless', 'depressing' and all animals looked 'sick'. The web user added that all animals looked 'as if they were begging for help'. 'The people's teacher' claimed that the zoo is located in a very remote part of a popular park The web user felt sad after visiting the zoo in Zhuzhou. 'The people's teacher' posted the above picture showing the peacocks' enclosure in the zoo According to 'the people's teacher', the zoo kept more than 20 species including the Siberian tigers, which is a class-I protected species in China and an 'endangered' animal species listed by World Wild Life. It appears that the Zhuzhou Magic Dragon Park does not have an official website. According to Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency, the Zhuzhou Magic Dragon Park is situated on the Jianshe Middle Road in downtown Zhuzhou and is the city's oldest park. It is also said to be built to worship and promote the Yan Emperor of China. An accused thief has been ordered to travel 400 kilometres in handcuffs for swearing at a magistrate. Zachary Hunt, 21, was appearing in a north Queensland court, via video link, when he uttered 'cheers d***head' to magistrate Damien Dwyer after he had already been excused. When the magistrate asked him to repeat what he had said, he replied: 'I said cheers d***head,' the Daily Mercury reported. A 21-year-old man in Queensland faces a 400km trip in handcuffs for swearing at a magistrate during a video link appearance (stock image) He was ordered to be transported 400 kilometres from Townsville Correctional Centre to Mackay Magistrates Court, in handcuffs, to face a possible contempt of court charge in person. Hunt was appearing via video link on Monday from the high-security prison on a range of charges, including four counts of stealing, disqualified driving, failing to stop a motor vehicle and unlawful use of motor vehicle. A father-of-four has lost both legs and all but one of his fingers to gangrene after he claims he was misdiagnosed with flu when he was actually suffering from a life-threatening infection. Torres Nadredre twice visited Bamaga Hospital in northern Queensland on New Year's Day 2014 after feeling unwell but was sent home with mild painkillers. The Torres Strait Islander, who felt light-headed, nauseous and had aches and pains all over his body, tried to take the Panadaol tablets but could not keep them down. Mr Nadredre claims doctors were convinced he had flu, but he was actually suffering from acute bacterial endocarditis - a severe heart inflammation caused by an infection. Torres Nadredre lost both legs and all but one of his fingers to gangrene after he claims he was misdiagnosed with flu when he was actually suffering from a life-threatening infection Mr Nadredre's circulation suffered as he lay in the coma, with gangrene spreading throughout his legs and hands The next day, Mr Nadredre collapsed inside his home and his wife, Kristen, rushed him to hospital as he slipped in and out of consciousness. 'With the last strength I had in me I stood up. I knew something was wrong. I just stood up, walked into the other room, called out "Kristen" and I just fell over,' he told the Brisbane Times. He was flown to Cairns Base Hospital, but by this time Mr Nadredre had septic shock as his heart began to shut down, his lawyer John Watson claimed. Mr Nadredre was taken into intensive care as doctors worked to keep his heart function up, before he fell into a coma. Mr Nadredre awake a month later at Townsville Hospital after having heart surgery to replace the infected valve. His circulation had suffered as he lay in the coma, with gangrene spreading throughout his legs and hands. Not long after he came back around, Mr Nadredre was delivered some devastating news. 'They gave me a choice: you either keep [your legs and fingers] and it gets worse, or we just cut them off,' he said. Mr Nadredre lost both his legs below the knee and all of his fingers except for his right thumb The father wants compensation from the health authority because he is no longer able to hunt and grow food for his family He went ahead with the amputations, losing both his legs below the knee and all of his fingers except for his right thumb. He is now suing Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS). The father wants compensation from the health authority because he is no longer able to hunt and grow food for his family. 'I worked full time, also I lived off the sea and land ... I have to buy myself through life now,' he said. Mr Nadredre claims Bamaga Hospital negligently treated him during his first visit to the hospital. Mr Watson claims medical staff should have taken his client's medical history into account when he twice visited the hospital on the same day. Mr Nadredre had rheumatic heart disease and already had an artificial valve before the infection took hold on New Year's Day. TCHHS and Mr Nadredre will meet later this year to try to settle the claim. The man's lawyer says he will need financial assistance for ongoing medical fees, as well as new equipment around his house. A spokeswoman for TCHHS said: 'Our health service is confident weve acted in the best interests of the patient. We are unable to comment on ongoing legal matters.' About 100,000 Australian university students are paying for shopping trips, beauty treatments and nights out with the help of their Sugar Daddy. Dating website SeekingArrangement.com revealed this week the number of women signing up to be a Sugar Baby for a Sugar Daddy grew in 2016, with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology leading the way with 92 new members. SeekingArrangement is an American company that allows Sugar Babies to be financially compensated for spending time with older men who have an income of over $200,000. It insists there is no pressure for the women to have sex with their Sugar Daddy. 100,000 Australian female university students have signed up to be a Sugar Baby to an older Sugar Daddy in exchange for 'gifts, beauty treatments, lingerie and handbags' (stock image) The increasingly popular website has hooked 100,000 Australian students, who receive an average monthly allowance of $2,700 from their Sugar Daddy, according to SeekingArrangement spokeswoman Alexis Germany. TOP FIVE SUGAR BABY UNIVERSITY SIGN-UPS Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology - 92 Monash University - 87 Griffith University - 85 The University of Melbourne - 84 Deakin University - 77 Advertisement Monash University had the second highest tally of new sign-ups last year with 87 and Griffith University, on the Gold Coast, followed with 85. The University of Melbourne ranked fourth with 84 and Deakin University has 77 new members. The University of Sydney fell from its top spot last year to number eight with 69 new Sugar Babies. The cost of attending university is continuing to rise, as well as general living expenses, provoking women to join, Ms Germany told The Courier Mail. Students receive an average monthly allowance of $2,700 from their Sugar Daddy, and many claim they use the website to help them be debt free when they graduate (stock image) 'Sugar dating is a way for students to get the money they need for school without dedicating precious study hours to low-paying part-time jobs,' she said. Many woman turn to SeekingArrangement to help them graduate and enter the workforce without debt, Ms German said. Maddison, a 27-year-old student at UNSW, told The Courier Mail she has had three Sugar Daddies and is currently seeing a 45-year-old man who lives interstate. 'I don't love him and he doesn't love me; we both know what we want out of this relationship. He has asked me to only see him as an exclusive Sugar Daddy, which I happily agreed to,' she said. 'I receive gifts, beauty treatments, lingerie and handbags. He also paid for my breast implants and I get an allowance. It means I will graduate debt free and can focus on other things when I finish,' she said. A former CIA director said Tuesday that the Trump administration's removal of the director of national security and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the 'Principals Committee' of the National Security Council 'doesn't make sense.' 'It's on national security, and you'd exclude the chairman of the joint chiefs! What? What's going on? Why would you do that?' James Woolsey told DailyMail.com. 'It is odd, I think,' he said, twisting his face into a grimace. Asked if he has heard a plausible explanation from his network of friends, he said: 'No. None. None.' Scroll down for video WASHINGTON -- SEPT 8 : Former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey told DailyMali.com on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's reshuffling of a key National Security Council committee 'doesn't make sense' Trump signed an order on Saturday removing the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the permanent roster of the NSC's 'principals committee' Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford (left) and DNI-designate Sen. Dan Coats (right) can still attend the meetings but they're no longer required to be in the room for every national security discussion White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that the two officials are 'welcome to attend' NSC principals meetings '100 per cent.' But if the threat doesn't involve the military, such as a discussion on the pandemic flu, 'it would be a waste of time to drive the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff over,' he said. Woolsey frowned at the idea. 'That may have been the way they were doing it in the Obama administration, but that certainly was not the way we did it in the Clinton administration,' he said Tuesday. Woolsey led the spy agency during Bill Clinton's presidency. He spoke before a luncheon panel on U.S.-Israel relations held by the conservative Gatestone Institute. On Monday the White House announced that President Trump has removed the DNI and Joint Chiefs chairman from the list of people who serve on the NSC's central committee, a group established by President George H.W. Bush in 1989. The two officials will be welcome at meetings where 'issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed,' a presidential directive now says. Woolsey (at left) would become part of Bill Clinton's first cabinet members when the newly elected Arkansan announced his national security team in December 2012 The White House Trump's elevation of chief strategist Steve Bannon to the NSC's principals committee reorganization is 'much ado about nothing' since he could have attended meetings even if he were not formally part of the panel White House press secretary Sean Spicer blasted reporters on Monday for 'misreading' the order as saying that the DNI and Joint Chiefs chairman are being kept out of meetings holding up copies of the Bush-era order and the Trump version to show that their similarities Former acting CIA chief Michael Morell also was critical of the moves, telling CBS on Monday that he has 'never been to a principals meeting where the views of the DNI and the views of the chairman are not relevant.' 'Every principals meeting starts with an intelligence briefing by the DNI.' Trump has also reinstated the CIA director as a Principals Committee member, and added his chief strategist Steve Bannon a move that generated a mini-uproar Monday in Washington. Morrell said that 'Having somebody like Bannon in the room brings politics into a room where there should be no politics.' Woolsey disagreed on Tuesday. 'I haven't thought that there is much to complain about with him,' he said, noting that he has never met Bannon. He told DailyMail.com that he was glad to see the CIA director included in meetings of the principals committee, but he would still object to the other changes if he were in a position to speak up. But Woolsey said that with the current organization of the West Wing, he wouldn't know who to complain to. 'I would, I think, go back to the president, or whomever is relevant in the system over there I can't exactly tell and say, you know, I think the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the DNI ought to be at the heart of most of your considerations of national security,' he told DailyMail.com. 'They can say no, but you don't get everything you want, or believe ought to happen, accepted in government.' That said, Woolsey is staying out of the formal discussion in government circles. 'Not a word,' he said, laughing. 'I don't offer gratuitous advice to White Houses.' Institutional Washington has been awash with former officials who have weighed in on policy decisions since Trump took over the White House on Jan. 20 including former President Barack Obama. The 44th president joined others in the Democratic Party on Monday, complaining about his successor's temporary travel ban covering seven Muslim-majority countries. Woolsey, still chuckling, offered a joking assessment. 'Maybe they don't have enough to do,' he said. An Oklahoma jury has found a man guilty of shooting dead his wife as she slept and then concocting a story about a home invasion so he could be with his stripper lover. Kinney Glasson, 36, was convicted on Tuesday of first-degree murder in the November 2014 death of his wife, 41-year-old Erin Glasson, inside their Oklahoma City home. The jurors deliberated for about three hours before returning the guilty verdict and recommending a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Guilty: A jury in Oklahoma has convicted Kinney J. Glasson Jr., 36, of first-degree murder in the 2014 shooting death of his wife. Glasson is pictured in handcuffs in court Tuesday Glasson, pictured left in his mugshot and right conferring with his defense lawyer on Tuesday, will be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole Video courtesy of The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com Glasson initially told police his wife was shot during an altercation with an intruder who broke into their home and caused Glasson to point the pistol in the direction of his sleeping wife and accidentally pull the trigger. Mrs Glasson was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the back, and her manner of death was ruled a homicide. Prosecutors said there were no signs of a break-in or burglary, and that his story did not match bullet trajectories, The Oklahoman reported. In the course of the trial, it emerged that Glasson had been having an affair with his-then 24-year-old stripper girlfriend, Reva Ann Smith. Smith, who performed under the stage name 'Heaven,' had been locked up in Stephens County Jail for unrelated charges, and was receiving letters and phone calls from Glasson saying he would bail her out and be with her once his 'divorce was finalized in January'. Prosecutors said Glasson killed his wife Erin Glasson, 41, (left) while she slept in their Oklahoma City home so he could be with his stripper girlfriend, Reva Ann Smith, 26, (right) However, there were no records of Glasson ever filing for divorce. Glasson's attorney, Richard Hull, told the court that just because he was having an affair 'doesn't mean he killed his wife'. Prosecutors suggested that Glasson was also motivated to get rid of Erin so he could collect on her $500,000 life insurance policy. The hardware salesman told police he and his wife were asleep in bed on November 19, 2014, when he awoke around 3am and saw an 'unknown man in the bedroom'. The robber did not say anything and 'just grunted', according to the defense. Glasson said he then grabbed his pistol but the intruder 'pushed his arm' in the direction on his wife. Although there is no argument that Glasson did not shoot, the defense argued there was 'unknown DNA' found on the gun. Glasson told his lover he was an FBI agent and even carried a badge, but prosecutors said he was working as a hardware salesman at the time of his arrest. Smith had met Glasson at an Oklahoma strip club called the Double D Saloon where she worked as an exotic dancer, and they began their relationship that June. Assistant District Attorney Dan Pond read the conversations Glasson had with Smith while she was jailed. 'I love you. I love you always.... I'm here for you baby. I'll take care of you. I promise. ... I know I can be the man to make you happy,' Pond read to the jury. He told police his wife was shot during an altercation with an intruder in their Oklahoma City home (pictured) which caused Glasson to point the pistol in the direction of his wife She had been jailed on a felony charge in 2013 for driving an unauthorized vehicle and was on the run for a year until she was able to make $2,000 to pay the bond, close friends told The Oklahoman. Friends said the two were 'crazy in love' and had been 'making plans for the future.' Records show Smith is a widow and the mother of three kids who were not in her custody. According to relatives, Smith was 'devastated' when she found about the situation and said Glasson 'had them fooled.' The 36-year-old and his wife had been married since 2005, and had a five-year-old daughter at the time of the shooting. The child is now being raised by her aunt. In court on Tuesday, Kinney Glasson, dressed in a black suit and tie, was seen weeping as he was placed in handcuffs after the jury delivered the guilty verdict, reported The Oklahoman. He told his mother sitting in the audience he was sorry before sheriff's deputies led him away. Glasson will be formally sentenced on March 28 and will become eligible for parole in 36 years. Donald Trump's proposed tax on Mexican food items is just one of the problems set to impact Americans' grocery bills. The price of bacon went up 20 per cent this month because the nation's bacon reserves are at a 50-year low. The Ohio Pork Council reported on Tuesday that the demand for frozen pork belly, which is often used to make bacon, is outpacing the supply. America's pork belly reserves are at a 50 year low, causing the price of bacon to jump 20 per cent last month 'Todays pig farmers are setting historic records by producing more pigs than ever,' said Rich Deaton, president of the organization, according to USA Today. 'Yet our reserves are still depleting.' As of last December, the nation's inventory of pork belly totaled 17.8million pounds, which is the lowest stock pile since 1957. Therefore, the low supply is causing a spike in prices. The Council said that the issue may be pegged for an increase in foreign demand. America's pig farmers export about 26 per cent of their stock. However, the Council said the time to panic is not now. 'While bacon may become more expensive for consumers, rest assured the pork industry will not run out of supply,' Deaton said. John McCain has emerged as President Donald Trump's top Republican nemesis on Capitol Hill. Since Trump's inauguration, McCain has broken with the president on his immigration order, warned him against getting chummy with the Kremlin, lectured him on the illegality of torture, and supplied only a tepid endorsement of Rex Tillerson, Trump's secretary of state nominee. The 2008 Republican presidential nominee hammered Trump for backing away from - instead of embracing - international free trade agreements. He also handed the smear document containing allegations about the president's business and personal dealings in Russia to the FBI, saying it was what: 'any citizen should do'. As Trump presses ahead with an ambitious and contentious agenda at home and abroad, McCain is pushing back, using his seniority in Congress and his characteristic bluntness. John McCain has emerged as President Donald Trump's top Republican nemesis on Capitol Hill The 80-year-old cruised to a sixth Senate term in November, defeating a Democratic challenger who hounded the senator for standing by Trump even after the billionaire businessman insulted him as a 'loser.' Trump, who received several draft deferments during the Vietnam era, also said there was nothing heroic about McCain's military record after he was shot down during the Vietnam War and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war. McCain dropped his support for Trump in early October after a 2005 recording surfaced in which Trump boasted about groping women. The move led to an outcry from conservative voters firmly behind Trump. But McCain overcame the backlash in what may have been his final election. Since Trump's inauguration, McCain has broken with the president on his immigration order and a host of other issues. McCain is pictured speaking to reporters at the Capitol in DC on January 30 Trump (pictured on January 31) has repeatedly clashed with McCain, and early signs from his presidency suggest that is unlikely to change He hasn't looked back. Trump's immigration order, signed by the president Friday, temporarily suspends all immigration for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. McCain, along with his close friend and Senate colleague Lindsey Graham, said they feared Trump's immigration order could 'become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.' 'This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security,' McCain and Graham wrote. That elicited an angry tweet from Trump, who accused the two of 'looking to start World War III.' McCain and other senators said that Trump's order, unless amended, would ban Iraqi pilots from coming to the United States for training so they can join the fight against ISIS. Republican Senators John McCain, Mitch McConnell, and Tom Cotton (right) are pictured with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Tuesday McCain (pictured with Tom Cotton), along with his close friend and Senate colleague Lindsey Graham, said they feared Trump's immigration order could 'become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism' The travel ban could also affect Iraqis who worked with the US-led coalition and, after lengthy reviews, received special immigrant visas to enter the US, according to the lawmakers. 'I hope that they are working to walk what they did back and learn that you better really vet these decisions before you make them,' McCain told reporters Tuesday. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain is one of the leading Republican voices in Congress on national security matters. Re-elected last year to another six years in office, he is free to challenge the president without fear of retribution from voters. And perhaps on no issue has McCain been more unequivocal than of Trump's desire for a better relationship with Moscow. Trump's praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin before and after the election signaled that US-Russia relations could be getting a makeover - even after American intelligence agencies determined Moscow meddled in the campaign to help Trump win. But McCain has little interest in detente with a country that has invaded Ukraine, annexed Crimea, threatened America's NATO allies, and backed Syrian President Bashar Assad's 'murderous' regime. McCain (pictured on January 26) is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, meaning he is one of the most powerful voices on national security matters Ahead of a telephone call on Saturday between the two leaders, McCain issued a blistering statement in which he called Putin a 'murderer and a thug' who will never be an ally of the United States. He cautioned Trump against lifting sanctions against Russia and voiced his support for legislation that would broaden the punishments and even codify them in law. 'Each of our last three presidents had high hopes for building a partnership with the Russian government,' McCain said. 'Each attempt failed, not for lack of good faith and effort on the U.S. side, but because Putin wants to be our enemy. He needs us as his enemy.' McCain has been bucking his own party for years. In the mid-1990s, he worked with then-Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, to help President Bill Clinton restore full diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain also teamed up with Sen. Ted Kennedy, and, more recently, Sen. Chuck Schumer, to craft bipartisan legislation aimed at repairing the nation's flawed immigration system. McCain served in the US House and then was elected to the Senate in 1986, succeeding conservative Barry Goldwater. He will be 86 when his new term ends, making him one of the oldest and longest-serving members of the Senate. Jewish community centers around the US have been warned to step up security after more than 50 bomb threats across the country this month. In the latest wave of threats, a total of 14 centers across 10 states, were evacuated on Tuesday. The latest spate of threats followed telephoned threats on January 9 made against 16 Jewish religious centers in nine US states and a second wave on January 18, which targeted 27 centers in 17 states. Jewish community centers in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada received the threats Elise Jarvis, associate director of law enforcement outreach and communal security at the Anti-Defamation League, told NBC News the group has been working with law enforcement and members of Jewish groups nationwide to prepare for the worst. The ADL recently held a joint security briefing with the FBI and almost 700 representatives from Jewish institutions across the country to provide resources and best practices for responding to threats. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told NBC: 'Unfortunately, threats like this are nothing new for the Jewish community. Still, it is vitally important to take these threats seriously and to ensure that every institution is prepared to respond to this type of security emergency.' David Posner, a director at the JCC Association of North America who advises centers on security, added: 'We are concerned about the anti-Semitism behind these threats.' Adults and children return to St. Louis Jewish Community Center on January 18 in St. Louis, Missouri after canine units cleared the building. According to St. Louis County Police, someone called the front desk claiming a device was inside Jewish community centers in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada received the threats. Mr Posner added that the previous threats phoned in this month were deemed to be hoaxes and that no one has been injured. Some of the calls were made using an automated 'robocall' system, while others were made by individuals, security officials have said. After the second round of threats, the FBI said that it and the Justice Department were investigating possible civil rights violations in connection with threats. No arrests have been made. A couple who founded a charity to save Chinese tigers before their marriage broke down have returned to court for another round of litigation in their multi-million-pound legal fight. Chinese conservationist Li Quan and estranged husband Stuart Bray, a banker from America, launched the Save China's Tigers project more than a decade ago. But for three years, they have been embroiled in a legal battle and a judge has warned them the money they are fighting over could end up in lawyers' pockets. Li Quan will be back in court over a three-year long legal dispute with her estranged husband, Stuart Bray Ms Li claims that Mr Bray used a 50 million offshore trust set up to fund a shelter for South China tigers to hide his money. In turn, Mr Bray maintains he has committed his cash to saving endangered animals and is virtually penniless. The couple initially fought at a hearing in the High Court in London and Ms Li complained about a ruling by judge Sir Paul Coleridge. She argued that money put into the Save China's Tigers charity was used to fund the couple's 'personal lives' but Mr Bray disagreed. Sir Paul ruled in Mr Bray's favour, calling her an 'unreliable' source, but Ms Li complained that there was a 'lack of detail' in Sir Paul's ruling and called for a review. Two appeal judges last year agreed that Sir Paul's ruling should be reconsidered. The latest hearing, at the Court of Appeal in London, heard by three appeal judges is due to end later this week. In January, Ms Li, 53, spoke for the first time about the case in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday. She said: Im not trying to take money from charity or deprive the tigers. I am not trying to be greedy. All I want is my fair share so that I can rebuild my life. I have tried to settle this amicably but he wants me to have nothing. Stuart Bray says he has repeatedly offered to settle out of court but claims his wife wants more money than he can give her My husband is a very clever man. He didnt even like animals that much I had to beg him to let me have two house cats. He complained that they left hair everywhere. The couple, who met at business school in the US in 1990, married in 2001 and set up home in a luxury penthouse overlooking the Thames. While her husband worked as an executive for Deutsche Bank, Li resigned from her role at Gucci to work as a conservationist, specialising in reintroducing tigers into the wild. She established the Save Chinas Tigers charity, which has an 81,000-acre wildlife reserve in South Africa that is home to 20 critically endangered big cats. All are destined to be returned to their natural habitat in three reserves in China. Mr Bray bankrolled the charity, whose celebrity supporters include martial arts star Jackie Chan, actress Michelle Yeoh and businessman David Tang, funnelling millions through a charitable trust. But Ms Li claims she lost custody of the tigers after Mr Bray ousted her from the charitys board in 2012. She also claims he transferred all their joint assets, including the 23 million reserve in South Africa, to the offshore trust. She alleges that the trust is protected by a complex financial structure which makes it tax-efficient, but opaque. He had all the power, she said. I had nothing in my name except a dormant bank account. I had no idea how much he actually took home. Stuart took care of our finances and I focused on the tigers. Ms Li, who is being represented by divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag, added: The trust became our only source of income. We used it for everything, from holidays to nights out at expensive restaurants. Neither of us took a salary. It paid all our expenses. Mr Bray said: A Family Court [in October 2014] made a finding of fact that I did not hide joint assets and also found my wife to be an unreliable witness, whose actions have been motivated by revenge. Ive repeatedly offered to settle out of court, but I cant pay as much as she wants. Its more than I can afford. All the money in the trust is for the tigers charity. Mr Bray said he no longer sat on the board of the trust and that the original sum was closer to 25 million, not 50 million. He also insisted that he had no problems with cats, despite Lis claims, and that she resigned from the charity of her own accord. Judges have heard that Save China's Tigers had acquired land in South Africa with the aim of 're-wilding' south China tigers. Romania's new government has sparked widespread anger after decriminilising official misconduct - in spite of warnings that it will make corruption legal. The move defies mass protests and warnings from prosecutors and the country's president. Leaders of the centre-left Social Democratic Party and the junior Alliance of Democratic Liberals are currently facing corruption charges that bar them serving as ministers. Social Democrat chairman Liviu Dragnea was unable to become prime minister because in April 2016 he received a two-year suspended jail sentence for vote rigging The nation's president, Klaus Iohannis, called the measure's adoption 'a day of mourning for the rule of law'. An emergency ordinance decriminalising abuse in office was published at 3am today in the official government monitor and will soon automatically become law. It alarmed critics, who hit out at the hour and the speed in which the centre-left government, less than one month in office, passed the proposal - which will benefit government allies and officials facing corruption charges. The nation's president, Klaus Iohannis, called the measure's adoption 'a day of mourning for the rule of law' Dan Brett, an associate professor at the Open University, said: 'It shows that the government is willing to use backdoor methods with no scrutiny or checks and balances in order to protect and promote itself.' In recent years, Romania been touted as a regional leader for a fierce anti-corruption fight that has targeted the rich and the powerful, but the drive has proved unpopular with politicians. Social Democrat chairman Liviu Dragnea was unable to become prime minister because in April 2016 he received a two-year suspended jail sentence for vote rigging. On Tuesday, he went on trial for abuse of power while he was president of the Teleorman local council from 2006 to 2012. He denies wrongdoing. Justice Minister Florin Iordache said the emergency ordinance will decriminalise cases of official misconduct in which the damages are valued at less than 200,000 leu - the equivalent of 37,000. The government on Tuesday evening also sent to Parliament a proposal that will pardon thousands of prisoners. It says the measure, which will free about 3,000 convicts, will help reduce overcrowding in prisons. Protests erupted in cities around the country after the emergency pardon plan was made public last month and chief anti-corruption prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi said it 'will render the anti-corruption fight irrelevant'. An Audi driver was caught on camera running another motorist off the motorway and causing his car to flip over in a water-filled ditch. Dashcam footage shows the two vehicles driving side by side at high speed along the motorway in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The Audi A8 in the middle lane then veers towards the other car, leading it to swerve into the ditch. Dashcam footage shows an Audi driver running another motorist off the motorway and causing his car to flip over in a water-filled ditch Police said the driver and his girlfriend were lucky to escape the crash alive. Officers have arrested a 41-year-old man from the nearby town of Valkenswaard in relation to the incident. He is currently being detained by police and could face charges of attempted manslaughter. The Audi A8 driver, who did not stop after the crash, had reportedly driven very closely behind their car, before later overtaking them on the right instead of the left. The victim, who has not been named, said: 'I signalled to him: take it easy. He got angry and he literally pushed me towards a lamp post.' The couple luckily missed the lamp post, but their car turned over four times after hitting the water. Police said the driver and his girlfriend were lucky to escape the crash alive The motorist added: 'I stood there in the ditch, completely wet, and saw my girlfriend in the car not moving at all. At that moment your mind explodes.' Police said the couple were lucky to escape the crash alive. The man suffered cuts to his head, a broken thumb and tore a muscle in his leg. Doctors say he may suffer pain in both shoulders for the rest of his life. His girlfriend suffered multiple bruises and pain to her back and neck. The suspect's car has been impounded by polcie and is being examined for evidence. The vehicle on the right can be seen swerving into the ditch after the Audi veers towards it Witness videos capture extraordinary scenes as a river bursts its banks, flooding the streets of Peruvian capital Lima. The first shows an almost dry river bed that is suddenly filled with gushing brown water as the flood begins. A raft of debris is carried on its leading edge and the river is quickly filled, brushing the underside of a bridge that seconds before had been several feet clear. Witness videos capture extraordinary scenes as a river bursts its banks, flooding the streets of Peruvian capital Lima The first shows an almost dry river bed that is suddenly filled with gushing brown water as the flood begins A raft of debris is carried on its leading edge and the river is quickly filled, brushing the underside of a bridge that seconds before had been several feet clear Another video picks up the story, filmed from an enviable position high in a tower block as the street below is engulfed by the rushing brown waters. Police are out in force and the air is full of sirens as officers try to usher citizens to safety. In one video, motorcycle officers ride at low speed in front of the advancing flood with sirens and lights on to warn people of the danger. It was the river Huaycoloro that is seen overflowing throughout the district of San Juan de Lurigancho in Lima. Some areas were gridlocked with traffic and the clean water supply was cut off. The flood caused damage including a broken bridge. There were reports that some residents risked their lives by jumping over the broken portion of the bridge but no reports of casualties. Police cordoned off some submerged streets and houses were also flooded. Advertisement Petrol head Ron Hackenberger began collecting cars when he was aged just 15, buying a 1948 Studebaker, with money borrowed from his grandfather. The married father-of-six has now amassed more than 700 cars - with an estimated 250 Studebakers. Now he is selling the entire collection at auction, with each of the cars going across the block with no reserve. Hackenberger, who marred Eunice in 1962, started his own trucking business which helped fund his obsession. Ron Hackenberger has put his entire collection of more than 700 cars up for auction Among some of the more exotic cars is this mid-1970s De Tomaso Panterra II Hackenberger is a particular fan of Studabakers and has more than 200 of them, including this example, in his collection Among the collection is a tiny BMW Isetta, a Nash Metropolitan as well as a DeLorean. He kept his amazing collection at his home in Norwalk, Ohio. For those seeking a bit of old-school muscle, there is a 1965 Ford Mustang, a '67 Plymouth Barracuda and a '66 Dodge Charger. There are also micro-cars, motorbikes and trucks in the massive collection. Some of the cars are in pristine condition while others require a full restoration. According to VanDerBrink Auctions: 'The collection isnt limited to Cars and Trucks. There are John Deere and International tractors and a host of rare Studebaker buggies and wooden wagons. Some of the vehicles in the collection are quite bizarre including this machine Some might like this small Studebaker Avanti, a sporty version of the standard car This three-wheel car is one of the less practical examples within the 700-car collection 'Ron liked everything with wheels and even has a 1947 Indian Chief "Roadmaster" motorcycle complete with sidecar, and a 1949 Harley Davidson motorcycle. Keeping true to the roots that helped build his great collection, he even has a '75 Dodge Big Horn diesel rig for sale! 'Ron was going to restore many of them and then realized he didnt have enough time to get them all done. Then there was the idea of a museum and he came to the realization that wouldn't fly. He decided to turn them back into the wild and let other collectors, rodders, customizers, and hobbyists enjoy his vast collection.' The amazing collection will go under the hammer, with no reserve on the weekend of July 14. Many of the cars have been packed into massive barns on the Hackenberger's property Motorbike fans can also examine some very collectible items such as this Indian There are cars int the collection from most decades of the last century with most of the major marques included Some of the cars are are American classics, while there is also a Mercedes SL - in yellow This unusual wedge-shaped car runs on electric batteries but don't expect high performance Van lovers will also be able to find a few bargains among the lots going under the hammer The cars will all be going under the hammer on the weekend of July 14 with no reserve This classic model has a suicide back door which were used by gangsters in the prohibition era for drive-by shootings Muscle car fans might want to bid for this good looking Chevrolet Impala which looks like it is in excellent condition This small bubble car is in need of a bit of work although the fiber glass body looks in reasonable condition This Chevrolet has the most amazing patina and it would be almost criminal to paint it during a restoration Those looking for a simple car could consider this early example of a Citroen 2CV which is in need of substantial work Quite randomly, there is a room full of dodgem cars along with several well-restored tractors Here it looks like work has begun on restoring this sleek roadster but was stopped before the urgent respray Some of the vehicles do not even have doors or a roof making them rather impractical during periods of poor weather Anyone looking for a vintage truck to convert into a retro food outlet could consider this particular example This Chevrolet station wagon could provide the perfect project for a family looking to arrive in classic style This Oliver 60 tractor is an unusual machine from the late 1940s and would be highly desirable among collectors Many of the lots in July's auctions will need to be carried away from the site on the back of a truck as they are non-runners Some restorers like to apply a clear coat on the existing paintwork and rust to save the vehicle's unique patina Donald Trump's White House managed to keep Neil Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court a secret all the way up until the president made his televised announcement on Tuesday at 8:02 pm. Gorsuch was one of three reported finalists for the position, leading White House officials to take extraordinary measures to keep his selection under wraps. They had him ferried from a friend's home in an SUV to a Starbucks in a Safeway parking lot, Axios reported. From there he and his wife Louise were transported to Washington on a military aircraft. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Donald Trump's White House managed to keep Neil Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court a secret all the way up until the president made his televised announcement on Tuesday at 8:02 pm President Trump's team had the Gorusch family ferried from a friend's home in an SUV to a Starbucks in a Safeway parking lot. From there he and his wife Louise were transported to Washington on a military aircraft Neil and Louise Gorsuch are pictured at the White House on Tuesday night as President Trump makes his surprise announcement It was an especially impressive operation, given the number of leaks coming out of the new administration. Even Republican lawmakers were left out of the loop until an hour before Trump's big reveal. 'We leak like a sieve,' Arizona Republican Jeff Flake joked while speaking inside the White House. 'We were only certain tonight,' he said, laughing. Flake noted, 'It was narrowed down, everybody pretty much knew the few at the top.' Gorsuch, William Pryor and Thomas Hardiman were said to be finalists for the position on the high court. The White House confirmed on Tuesday, after Trump publicized his choice, that they and three others were. Trump met with Gorsuch, Pryor and Hardiman on January 14 at his New York residence. He also interviewed Amul Thapar in person. Spicer told reporters during a Tuesday night gaggle that a team from the White House flew out to Denver, and then traveled to Boulder, after Trump called Gorsuch on Monday. They subsequently accompanied him to Washington. 'He arrived in Washington, D.C. last night and stayed in a private residence, and then he was escorted to the White House today,' Spicer said. Gorsuch 'flew out on a military (plane) .He went to a neighbor's house, then was met by White House counsel staff, transported to a farm, back farm road,' said Spicer, explaining the measures the White House took to keep the nomination quiet. The three other judges on the shortlist who didn't get it were informed by White House Counsel Don McGhan, who was instrumental in the selection process. Steve Bannon, the president's chief strategist, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, and Mike Pence were also involved in shaping the pick. Spicer said of the hush, hush rollout that survived any leaks: 'It was a great effort by the entire team.' Reports initially hinted that Hardiman had also been summoned to attend for a reality TV-style announcement. The White House says it had nothing to do with the dramatics. CNN said that Hardiman had been spotted leaving his home in Pittsburgh and driving east, toward Washington. Hardiman did leave his home yesterday, but it wasn't to come to D.C., White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said. Hardiman visited the chief justice of the 3rd District Court. 'The reality is, that to the best of my knowledge he never left the state of Pennsylvania,' Spicer told reporters. 'He never was in D.C., nor did he ever leave the commonwealth.' The White House spokesman did not say what issues Trump and the judge specifically discussed before the president decided he should join the court. In his meeting with the judge the president 'discussed a range of topics and asked him several questions regarding his judicial philosophy, ' Spicer said. 'He was constantly looking for somebody who reflected Justice Scalias love of the Constitution, adherence to law, not making up the law as you go to fit your political whims or your personal interests,' Kellyanne Conway, a senior advisor to the president, also said. Casey Pigge, 29, pictured, who admitted he killed 26-year-old Luther Wade at the Lebanon Correctional Institution in Ohio in February 2016 A prisoner has pleaded guilty to murder his new cellmate after admitting smashing a cinder block over this head so he would die. Casey Pigge, 29, said he killed 26-year-old Luther Wade at the Lebanon Correctional Institution in Ohio in February 2016, according to Warren County prosecutor David Fornshell. It comes after Pigge told investigators he blindfolded his new cellmate under the pretence of showing him a magic card trick. He then repeatedly struck Wade over the head with a cinder block taken from his cell wall but grew angry when the victim 'wouldn't die' and kept making noises. Prosecutors say Pigge then continued to strike his victim with the block until he eventually could not fight back. According to the Cincinatti Enquirer, the victim was found 10 minutes after the attack by corrections officers. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but later died from his injuries. Pigge was already in prison and serving a 30 years to life sentence for aggravated murder in 2009 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Wade who died in prison after being attacked. He was in the middle of a 10-year sentence for aggravated murder. He had just been transferred into Pigge's cell a day before his death Meanwhile Wade was in the middle of a 10-year sentence for aggravated murder. He had just been transferred into Pigge's cell a day before his death. Investigators say it is unclear what caused the killing but Pigge is expected to be sentenced later this month. Prosecutors have ruled out the death penalty due to the killer's low IQ and are instead seeking a life sentence without parole. Six peepholes were discovered in the men's restrooms in two rest areas in North Carolina. The Johnston County Sheriff's Office said transportation workers reported the peepholes at the rest areas along Interstate 40 near Benson on Monday. Capt Jeff Caldwell said the holes were in the walls of the bathroom stalls. Six peepholes were discovered in the men's restrooms in two rest areas (pictured) in North Carolina. The Johnston County Sheriff's Office said transportation workers reported the peepholes at the rest areas along Interstate 40 near Benson on Monday There were four holes at the rest area along the westbound lanes and two in the bathrooms at the rest area along the eastbound lanes. The damage was estimated at nearly $5,000 and has been repaired. Investigators think the 1/2 inch holes were drilled sometime between January 24 and January 28. No peepholes were found in the women's bathrooms at those rest areas. Deputies are investigating the incident and reviewing surveillance video from the area. No victims have come forward. TRUMPS A MONSTER! Theres the popular global narrative for you after just ten days of Donald Trumps tenure as President of the United States of America. Indeed, such is his monstrosity status, there is currently a petition in Britain to have him banned from receiving a state visit as a guest of The Queen that has so far been signed by nearly two million people. This follows the huge marches around the US and UK in response to Trumps ill-conceived and poorly executed temporary travel ban on immigrants and refugees from seven terror-strewn predominantly Muslim countries. Protestors, led by incensed celebrities and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, have been competing to see who can be most abusive about the President. Many of them, ironically, deploying the very same coarse misogynist rhetoric they cite as one of their main reasons to hate him. The popular global narrative just ten days into Donald Trumps tenure as President of the United States of America is that he is a monster. But a new poll has revealed that 49% of Americans support Trumps travel ban, as opposed to 41% who are against it For example, theres one video thats gone viral of a large rally in Brighton, on the UKs south coast, where thousands of people simply chant Donald Trump, youre a c**t! at the top of their voices. This just about sums up the ridiculous Trump-bashing hysteria that has enveloped the world since his inauguration. People are literally losing their minds over the mere thought of him sitting in the Oval Office. A mental faculty failure that is driven, I fear, by sore loser syndrome. The protestors wanted, and expected, Hillary Clinton to sweep this ghastly man to crushing defeat in the election two months ago and become the first female president. When it didnt happen, mainly because Hillary was a terrible candidate who fought a terrible campaign, they were collectively struck down by Post Trump Success Disorder. This is an awful affliction that causes victims to lose the power of calm, rational thought and instead resort to uncontrollable, unrelenting outbursts of shrieking, screaming, wailing and teeth-gnashing. Every single thing President Trump now does, says or tweets or is greeted by instant paralysis of perspective. He is, and must remain, a MONSTER! Theres just one problem: the majority of people dont seem to actually agree with this assessment. Protestors expected Hillary Clinton to sweep this ghastly man to crushing defeat. When it didnt happen they were collectively struck down by Post Trump Success Disorder. This is an awful affliction that causes victims to lose the power of calm, rational thought and resort to uncontrollable, unrelenting outbursts of shrieking, screaming, wailing In fact, the more the angry, puce-faced, self-righteous, snowflake, marching, millennial mob try to force through their view, the less inclined ordinary voters seem to be to swallow it. A Reuters poll last night revealed that 49% of Americans support Trumps travel ban, as opposed to 41% who are against it. And in the UK, a YouGov poll today revealed 49% of Britons are in favour of President Trumps state visit going ahead, compared to just 36% who are against it. So despite all the howling, marches, social media onslaughts and foul-mouthed chants, more people in America and Britain appear to be behind Trump than against him. And as we saw with the US election and Brexit, these polls are probably understating that support. Perhaps the reason for this is that the further away you get from the hysterical liberal elite conclaves of places like New York, Los Angeles and London, the more calmer common sense prevails. Those people see a travel ban portrayed as a racist Muslim ban, then work out for themselves that 85% of the worlds Muslims arent actually banned, and shrug their shoulders. They know President Obama had a shockingly poor record on admitting Syrian refugees, and let many of them die by not engaging with Assad when he crossed the fabled red line, so cant get too worked up about Trump not letting any in. They remember Bill Clinton had sexual relations with interns inside the Oval Office, so cant get too wildly outraged by Trump saying women throw themselves at celebrities either. Just as they know Bills wife Hillary voted for war with anything that moved, so they rather like Trump not instantly nuking Russia but instead making friendly overtures to Putin. And so on. In short, they dont over-react. As for the Queen, theyve also probably worked out that Her Majestys met a lot worse world leaders than Donald Trump. Real monsters, in fact, whove done truly monstrous things. I studied the entire list of state visits to the UK since she ascended to the throne in 1953, and found a right royal Dirty Dozen that my poor Monarch has had to endure: * 1971 Emperor Hirohito of Japan, who led Japan into World War II, ordered the attack on Pearl Harbour and allowed systematic and appalling prisoner-of-war camp torture. * 1973 President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, a despicably corrupt military dictator who embezzled 12 billion, caused the countrys financial collapse, and is blamed for the deaths of 230,000 people. * 1973 General Yakubu Gowon of Nigeria, who waged the Biafran civil war that killed 100,000 soldiers and created a blockade which starved a million civilians. The Queeen has met a lot worse world leaders than Donald Trump. Here she is with Hirohito, left, and Nicolae Ceausescu, right, on London visits * 1978 President Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania, a blood-thirsty, genocidal communist despot who banned abortion and contraception. * 1979 President Suharto of Indonesia, who ran a vile regime that is blamed for the deaths of a million people. * 1991 President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, a brutal iron-fisted dictator with a shocking record of human rights abuses, corruption and torture. * 1994 President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, a repressive and sickeningly corrupt dictator responsible for the murder of more than 10,000 rebels, anti-white discrimination, human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. The Queen smiled in 2002 as she greeted Syria's President Bashar al-Assad nd his wife Asma at Buckingham Palace during a three day visit * 2002 President Bashar Al-Assad, the ruthless Syrian dictator responsible for the deaths of an estimated 500,000 civilians and who thinks nothing of murdering his own people with barrel bombs and chemical weapons. * 2003 President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has bullied, tortured and killed anyone who gets in his way. * 2007 King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a country rampant with medieval beheadings, stonings, religious and political persecution, that treats women with grotesque intolerance and where its illegal to be gay. She also smiled through the 2003 visit from Putin and the 2007 visit from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, both seen her at their Buckingham Palace state dinners * 2015 President Xi Jinping of China, a nation with a shocking record of human rights abuses, jailing political dissidents, religious and ethnic discrimination, torture and executions. Thats 11 utterly reprehensible monsters if ever I saw one. Whos the 12th? Well how about President George W. Bush, who waged an illegal, unethical, immoral war in Iraq as revenge for 9/11, against someone, Saddam Hussein, who had nothing to do with it? That senseless, disastrous war created most of the resulting mayhem in the Middle East, fuelled the rise of ISIS and cost the lives of up to a million civilians and military servicemen and women. George W. Bush was rewarded with a state visit the same year he started a disastrous war! He's seen here 19th November 2003 at a Buckingham Palace state banquet in his honour Bushs reward was a state visit at the end of that very same year, 2003! So, monstrosity is all relative, right? To date, Donald Trumps most monstrous act is to enforce a campaign pledge to suspend travel for people from seven very dangerous countries until a new, stricter VISA system can be established. I dont personally agree with the way hes gone about it, and Im glad to see hes already reined back on banning any green card holders, but I absolutely respect his right to do it given that is what he promised to do. This is how democracy works. You listen to election campaign arguments, you vote, and the winner gets to do what he or she said they would do if its within the law. Amid all the furore over the travel ban, Trump has also unleashed a blizzard of other executive orders and statements that deserve bigger headlines. Yesterday, he said he was supporting an Obama EO protecting LGBTQ rights in the workplace. No one is giving enough attention to the executive order he signed protecting LGBTQ rights. But I accept that Trump IS a monster in some ways- a monstrous force of personality. Hes won the White House with an undeniably monstrous ego, monstrous determination, monstrous chutzpah and monstrous doses of political incorrectness The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to have mentioned the LGBTQ community in his nomination speech, pledging to protect the community from violence and oppression, said the White House. Nobodys talking about this today because it doesnt suit the MONSTER! label. But it is a very significant moment worthy of applause, not apathy. Similarly, what Trumps said about issues like NATO, red tape bureaucracy, government waste and tax are all important things that should be given credit. As is his pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, who seems a very impressive and not-very-dangerous individual. Trumps hit the ground hard, and shown he both means business and intends to deliver on much of what he said hed do. In some respects, though, I accept that Trump IS a monster. America has never seen someone like him bulldoze his way like this into the White House through sheer monstrous force of personality. Hes done it with an undeniably monstrous ego, monstrous determination, monstrous chutzpah and monstrous doses of political incorrectness. Now hes applying the same tough, uncompromising strategy to his presidency. Trumps tactics may not be pretty, but they might yet prove to be rather effective in a country so paralysed by Washington intransigence that 20 children can be shot dead at school and not a single new law is introduced to stop it happening again. So call him a MONSTER! all you like. But by comparison to many of the real monsters whove been entertained at Buckingham Palace, Donald Trumps still a choirboy. President Donald Trump has tapped Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. to lead a White House task force on improving higher education. Falwell, one of the country's most prominent evangelical leaders, endorsed Trump in January 2016, just days before the Iowa caucuses, which were the first votes cast in the presidential election cycle. His support led Trump to victory in the Republican primary and the general election, with 80 percent of white evangelicals choosing for president the GOP leader last November. Scroll down for video President Donald Trump has tapped evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. to lead a higher education task force Jerry Falwell Jr. is the head of Liberty University, a private Christian institution. He said he's concerned with 'overregulation' in higher education Now, NBC News is reporting that Falwell will play an official role in the Trump White House. The Liberty University president will specifically look at 'overregulation and micromanagement of higher education,' according to university spookesman Len Stevens. Later, in an interview with the Washington Post, Falwell explained: 'In the Department of Education, there's too much intrusion inot the independent accreditation.' 'There's too much intrusion into the operation of universities and colleges,' he continued. 'I've got a whole list of concerns. It mainly has to do with deregulation.' This wasn't the first education-themed role for which Falwell was being considered. After Trump's win, the evangelical leader talked to the president-elect about becoming his secretary of education, a nomination that eventually went to Betsy DeVos. Jerry Falwell Jr. (right) endorsed Donald Trump (left) in January of 2016, just days before the Iowa caucuses, giving the billionaire a boost among evangelical voters Jerry Falwell Jr., seen speaking before the crowd at the Republican National Convention, was the son of Jerry Falwell Sr., who helped Ronald Reagan win the White House in 1980 Falwell declined, according to NBC, because he wanted to stay close to Lynchburg, Virginia, where his Christian university is based. A lawyer and educator, Falwell is the son of the late Jerry Falwell Sr., who founded the private Liberty University. The elder Falwell also co-founded the Moral Majority, the Christian political organization that helped another Republican president, Ronald Reagan, reach the White House in 1980. Reagan appointed Rev. Robert Billings, the Moral Majority's first executive director, to be a religious adviser to this presidential campaign. The Republican president later nominated Billings to serve in the Department of Education. This is the bizarre moment a driver in China was caught performing a U-turn on a motorway. Footage of the manoeuvre on the express way in Jiujiang, China's Jiangxi province was captured on CCTV on January 30. The driver was later fined 200 yuan (23) and handed a deduction of 12 points. Risky: The driver turns around and then starts driving the vehicle in the opposite direction Missed a turning better go back! It then goes back to the turning it missed originally Footage shows the white SUV driving along the expressway when it suddenly comes to a stop. It indicates left and then makes the U-turn, driving up the expressway the wrong way in the oncoming path of cars. The driver then makes a left turn to join the junction it missed. Fortunately no one was hurt in the incident. All is usual: The SUV was driving on an expressway in China's Jiangxi province Dangerous driving: The car turns as vehicles are forced to swerve and slow down The entire incident was caught on CCTV and seen by officers monitoring the surveillance footage. They managed to track down the driver using its registration plate, reports Jxnews.com.cn. The driver told officers that he realised he had missed his turning and decided to turn the vehicle around. He said he thought the turn was legal. Under Article 90 of the People's Republic of China Road Traffic Safety Law, the driver was fined and had 12 points taken off his licence. The relatives of two young girls who died on New Years Eve today hissed and shouted at the man accused of killing them. Gabor Hegedus, 38, is accused of a series of motoring charges following the deaths of Helena Kotlarova, 12, and her 11-year-old cousin Zaneta Krokovaje, in Oldham, Greater Manchester on New Years' Eve. He admitted not having a driving licence, failing to report the car had been involved in a crash and also pleaded guilty to a charge of falsely claiming to police the vehicle had been stolen at the time of the crash and had agreed with others to dispose of the car. Hungarian national Gabor Hegedus, 38, is accused of a series of driving offences including two charges of causing death by dangerous driving Zaneta Krokovaje, 11: Members of the girls families began hissing and shouting at Hegedus from the public gallery at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester Helena Kotlarova, 12, died in Oldham, Greater Manchester on New Years' Eve as she walked to the shops with her cousin But as the Hungarian national pleaded not guilty to two charges of causing death by dangerous driving, members of the girls families began hissing and shouting at him from the public gallery at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester. The girls were mown down by a Peugeot 807 estate car as they crossed the road hand-in-hand to buy crisps at 7pm on December 31. Helena died at the scene and Zaneta passed away in hospital two days later. Last week some 300 mourners turned out for the funeral service at St Paul's Church near the girls' homes. In court Hegedus spoke via a Hungarian translator and pleaded guilty to driving without a licence, failing to stop and report a collision and conspiracy to pervert justice and not guilty to the other charges. He will face trial on June 26, 2017. The girls were mown down by a Peugeot 807 estate car as they crossed the road - and the scene was later flooded with floral tributes Devastated friends and family pictured at the scene paying tribute to the young cousins In court Hegedus pleaded guilty to driving without a licence, failing to stop and report a collision and conspiracy to pervert justice The 38-year-old spoke via a Hungarian translator and will face trial on June 26, 2017 David Orsos, 18, Janos Kalanyos, 49, and Zoltan Peto, 48, all of Oldham, all face charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Orsos pleaded not guilty whilst the other two suspects are expected to make legal applications to have charges against them dismissed. All four men were remanded in custody. Judge John Potter said: 'I want to thank the public for attending and I appreciate that this is a very difficult case and I will do the best I can to keep that difficulty to a minimum.' A JustGiving campaign to support the family of the dead girls has raised more than 4,300. Kim Kardashian has relived the horrific moment she was bound and robbed at gunpoint in Paris last year after a French judge flew to New York to get her testimony. She met with the judge and attorneys involved in the multi-million jewelry heist case behind closed doors in New York on Wednesday, TMZ reports. Part of her testimony involved watching footage of the robbery to try and identify the two armed men who broke into her Paris apartment in October and terrorized her. She is also expected to continue answering questions related to the case on Thursday. Kim Kardashian (pictured in New York on Tuesday night) gave her testimony in relation to the multi-million dollar Paris jewelry heist behind closed doors in New York on Wednesday Kim brought her two children, North and Saint, to New York for the testimony but husband Kanye West stayed away given the potential stress it could cause. Under French crime laws, victims don't have to face the offenders in court with judges allowed to travel elsewhere to obtain a testimony in private. Seventeen alleged veteran armed robbers - aged mostly between 50 and 72 - were arrested last month in relation to the jewelry heist and police charged 10 of them. Two of the suspects - the only ones Kim will be able to identify - are accused of breaking into the reality TV star's Paris apartment block and tying her and a security guard up at gunpoint. They fled with her $4 million 20-carat emerald cut diamond engagement ring and a case of her other jewelry. Kim flew out of Paris within hours of her ordeal. Kim was held at gunpoint in her Paris apartment on October 3 while two suspects fled with her $4 million 20-carat engagement ring (pictured) and a case of her other jewelry Two of the suspects - the only two Kim will be able to identify - are accused of breaking into the reality TV star's Paris apartment block (pictured) Just an hour before the robbery, Kim posted this video on Snapchat that showed her wearing the engagement ring She broke her silence in a teaser trailer for her family's reality TV show last month telling two of her sisters her thoughts at the time: 'They're going to shoot me in the back. There's no way out.' French newspaper Journal du Dimanche last month published Kim's testimony to police describing how a robber threatened her when she refused to hand over one of her rings. 'I saw through the sliding door two people coming,' Kardashian said in comments translated from the newspaper's French account, adding that one of the men was wearing 'a jacket with 'police' written on it'. 'He asked me with a strong French accent where my ring was. It was on the bedside table. (But) I replied that I didn't know and then he pulled out a gun and I showed him the ring,' she told police, adding it was worth four million dollars. Kardashian told police the men tied her up with plastic cables and adhesive tape 'and they carried me to my bathroom' where they placed her in the bathtub. The gang also took a box containing jewellery including two Cartier diamond bracelets, a diamond-studded necklace, a yellow gold Rolex watch and a diamond-encrusted cross. Seventeen alleged veteran armed robbers - aged mostly between 50 and 72 - were arrested last month in relation to the jewelry heist The accused men, one of whom is pictured right, are suspected of stealing millions of dollars worth of jewelry A suspect is pictured being taken to a police station in Paris last month after lengthy investigations into the robbery Investigators say the gang's key members were Aomar Ait Khedache and Didier Dubreucq, men in their 60s with long criminal pasts nicknamed 'Old Omar' and 'Blue Eyes'. Khedache, told police his gang had melted down and sold most of the stolen goods but still have the engagement ring. A transcript of his testimony given to police after his arrest last month was leaked to the Le Monde newspaper. Khedache said his team stayed in Paris for a short time after the heist before they went to the Belgian town of Antwerp, a diamond trading centre, to sell the stolen goods. 'So that the jewels wouldn't be recognised, we took a joint decision to melt them down,' Mr Khedache told police. 'One of us took care of that... He came back with bars Altogether there must have been a bit more than 800 grammes,' said the suspect, whose DNA was found at the crime scene at the luxury Paris apartment where Kardashian was staying. Following the arrests, Kim's French lawyer Jean Veil said hopefully it would end speculation that the heist was all a publicity stunt. 'These arrests are a nice surprise because on the one hand, it will perhaps make it possible to find the jewelry,' Mr Veil said. 'On the other hand, it puts an end to the outrageous speculation by some, who thought it was intelligent to pretend that this robbery was staged, or a publicity stunt organised by Ms Kardashian.' An Oklahoma substitute choir teacher was arrested for indecent exposure after she reportedly did a cartwheel in front of her class of high school students, according to police. Lacey Sponsler, 34, was wearing a long dress at the time of the incident, but she didn't have on undergarments, causing her 'to expose herself to the students in the class'. A 17-year-old Pawhuska High School student recorded the incident on a cell phone using the Snapchat app, according to a probable cause affidavit. Oklahoma substitute choir teacher, Lacey Sponsler (left and right), 34, was arrested for indecent exposure after she reportedly did a cartwheel in front of her class of high school students, according to police Sponsler (left), who was wearing a long dress, did the cartwheel in the Junior High Choir room when her dress 'flipped up', exposing her buttocks, according to police Police Chief Scott Laird of the Pawhuska Police Department, says the incident reportedly happened during a high school choir class in Pawhuska, about 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. Sponsler, who was wearing a long dress, did the cartwheel in the Junior High Choir room when her dress 'flipped up', exposing her buttocks, according to police. An officer who saw the video wrote in the affidavit that he also noticed Sponsler 'was not wearing any type of underwear'. The 17-year-old student said Sponsler told the class she 'was not wearing underwear before performing the cartwheel', which also exposed her 'bare vagina'. In the affidavit the student claimed that she saw Sponsler's 'vagina open and close, as her legs were in the air'. The teen also told police that Sponsler 'had been talking about using drugs' and commented on how she 'thought fourteen year old boys were like men'. Sponsler was arrested Tuesday afternoon and when questioned by police she denied doing the cartwheel in class. She told police that she was 'just dancing with the students' and 'trying to be a cool teacher'. Pawhuska police say Sponsler remained jailed until Wednesday morning. Missing businessman: Robert Baron, 58, a Pennsylvania restaurant owner, has been missing for a week, and now police have found bloody clues inside his pizzeria Police in Pennsylvania are testing a tooth and a bloody blanket that were found in the pizza restaurant owned by a man who went missing a week ago. Lackawanna County District Attorney Shane Scanlon says authorities are concerned for the safety of 58-year-old Robert Baron. He was last seen on January 25. Since then, investigators searched his business, Ghigiarelli's Restaurant in Old Forge, and made several grisly discoveries: a tooth in a utility sink and a bloody afghan blanket. According to a search warrant obtained by the Scranton Times-Tribune, traces of what could be dried blood were also found on the walls and floor around the bar and in another room in the pizzeria, and there was evidence of an attempted cleanup. More blood was found on the door and inside the car Baron was believed to have been driving Wednesday night, the document stated. Baron's 30-year-old son, Bobby, who is his father's business partner, reported the 58-year-old man missing the following morning when he entered the pizzeria and found the place in a state of disarray. On Sunday, Baron's silver 2006 Hyundai Elantra was discovered abandoned on Howard Street in Old Forge, raising concerns that Baron had been the victim of a crime. A search of Ghigiarelli's Restaurant in Old Forge has turned up a tooth in a utility sink, a bloody blanket and traces of what could be dried blood on the floor One of Baron's employees at Ghigiarelli's has told police that before his disappearance, the businessman received multiple phone calls on the restaurant's landline, which eventually prompted Baron to tell the staffer, 'Don't answer the phone anymore.' Old Forge Mayor Robert Mulkerin, who is a friend of Baron's, has urged residents to stop speculating about Baron's fate on social media, saying the businessman's family 'is looking at this and it's not good'. On Monday, dozens of volunteers fanned out across the city looking for clues that could help find the missing man, but the search failed to turn up any new information. Baron's family are offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who has information on his whereabouts. A Texas sheriff's deputy killed his son then himself in a murder suicide at their home. Joseph Parker, 61, was found dead along with his 27-year-old son Kensy at their house in Graham, Texas, on January 26. Police confirmed on Wednesday that the father was responsible for both their deaths. Chief of Police Tony Widner gave no motive for them and said no note had not been left behind. Joseph Parker (left) killed his 27-year-old son Kensy (right) before turning his gun on himself The men's bodies were found in one of the bedrooms of their home. Each had a single gunshot wound. Joseph Parker was a deputy at the Young County Sheriff's Office It's not clear who called police but their bodies were found at 10.40am. 'On Thursday Morning at approximately 10:39 AM, Graham Police officers were called to the 1300 block of Cherry Street to investigate the discovery of two individuals deceased within a residence,' police said last week. 'Upon entry into the residence, Investigators discovered the bodies of two white males in a bedroom, each having an apparent single gunshot wound.' A weapon was found nearby. It's not yet clear whether the gun was Parker's service weapon. The deputy was a retired City of Graham police officer when he began working for the Young County Sheriff's Office. He has two other daughters. Kensy's mother Tammy Davidson died in 2007. She had been married to another man for decades at the time of her death. A joint funeral was held for the father and son on Sunday, January 29. Video courtesy of KFDX New York City isn't so pig-headed after all. At the last minute, Mayor Bill de Blasio stepped in to give a Staten Island family's beloved pet porker, Wilbur, a temporary stay of removal. The miniature painted pig, which is bred for pet purposes, was supposed to be removed from its owners' Great Kills home by January 31, following the city health department's determination that keeping Wilbur as a pet violated city laws regarding ownership of wild animals. Pet pig Wilbur pictured here with owner Cristy Matteo of Staten Island, New York On the day of Wilbur's deadline for removal however, Mayor de Blasio decided to let sleeping pigs lie. 'The Mayor directed officials to find a reasonable solution,' a spokesperson for the Mayor's Office said. 'The Health Department is not taking any enforcement actions at this time, but is working closely with the family to find a safe and suitable home for Staten Island's favorite swine in the coming months.' The Mayor's decision comes after months of #SaveWilbur campaigning and criticism from 2017 mayoral candidate, State Senator Tony Avella, who is supporting a bill to legalize pet pigs in New York, so long as they're under 200 pounds. (Wilbur tips the scales at 180 pounds.) Miniature painted pig Wilbur fully decked out to celebrate in the backyard 'Very relieved, very happy very excited I couldn't be happier,' Wilbur's owner, Cristy Matteo, told NY1 about the mayor's decision. Up until the last minute reprieve, Matteo had been planning to send Wilbur to a farm in Pennsylvania. Despite her relief, Matteo admitted she's 'still worried about are they going to knock on my door tomorrow or a week from now and say he's got to go its very unsettling.' She hopes that in the interim, before any new decisions have to be made, Avella's pet pig bill will pass so that she can legally keep Wilbur a pet she's had in NYC for the past five years. The health department says it will continue to work with Matteo to find a suitable home for Wilbur. Wilbur, a Juliana pig, stretches out for a comfy nap with a friendly pooch Matteo's pork problems began last year, following a complaint to NYC hotline 311. The city's health department told Matteo she was violating a city law against keeping wild animals as household pets, particularly since there isn't a rabies vaccine for pigs. Matteo, however, argued that Wilbur is a registered support animal. She suffers from anxiety and her father is being treated for cancer. 'As soon as my father would walk into the house, Wilbur would lay down in front of him and my father would rub his belly for an hour just trying to take his mind off of the radiation treatment he had all day,' Matteo told NBC New York earlier this year. 'He's no harm to anybody, he stays in the house 95 per cent of the time wrapped up in a sleeping bag all day.' A fenced in Wilbur pauses for a vanity shot Matteo currently has no immediate plans to relocate Wilbur and said she is waiting to learn more information from the Mayor's office. 'Until I speak to the mayor's office and find out what's going on, I'm not doing anything,' Matteo told NBC New York. 'As of right now, he will be staying home.' Lynne Patton, who helped run Eric Trump's charity foundation and spent eight years working closely Trump family members, has landed a job with a federal agency as she formally informed President Trump herself Wednesday. Patton oversaw millions of dollars as a vice president at the Eric Trump Foundation, a a charity effort Eric Trump suspended after his dad won the White House. Now, she will play a key role at HUD, an agency with a $49 billion budget and which has some financial interactions with the Trump Organization being run by Eric and Donald Trump, Jr. She forged close friendships and bonds with Trump family members in a variety of roles and cut a 5 minute video during the campaign that passionately defended Donald Trump from 'repeated and reprehensible' attempts to connect him to 'hate-mongering groups.' 'They continue to trust me with every aspect of their lives, and the lives of their families,' Patton said in the video. 'They invite me into their homes and welcome me to their family gatherings.' Lynne Patton appeared in the Roosevelt Room with President Donald Trump and HUD Secretary Ben Carson during a Black History Month event. She said she would be working at the agency Now, Patton has taken a role as senior-level advisor to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. Patton is believed to be the first Trump Organization or Trump charity employee get senior agency job in the federal government. Patton revealed her new job during a roundtable in the White House Roosevelt Room as attendees were making introductions. While others mentioned their own names, President Trump referred to her as 'Lynne' when it was her turn. 'Hi Mr. President,' Patton said, seizing the opportunity to tell the president personally that she had joined his administration, after mulling a couple of options he had provided to her. 'I am, as you know, the former VP of the wonderful charity that Eric Trump founded, the Eric Trump Foundation,' she told him while a press pool watched. Lynne Patton is pictured with Lara Trump Patton pictured left with Lara Trump, center Lara Trump posted an image with Patton on her Instagram account Patton spoke at the Republican National Convention President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on African American History Month in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. From left are, Omarosa Manigault, Trump, Housing and Urban Development Secretary-designate Ben Carson, and Lynne Patton Patton (pictured in back in a group selfie with Eric Trump) says that the Trump family has stood by her side during 'immensely difficult times without hesitation or concern for their own reputation by association' Patton (pictured second left with Lara Trump, center, Shanna Cain, left, Torry Hixon, second right, and Vivana Freije, right) says she is treated like part of the Trump family and that they 'have been incredibly loyal' to her over the years 'I've been with your family for about eight years now, right Jared?' she said, referencing Trump son-in-law and top Trump advisor Jared Kushner. 'And I was an RNC speaker and I will be landing with Dr. Carson at HUD as one of his senior advisors and director of the office of public liaison,' she said. She is believed to have been under consideration either for a job at HUD or at the White House. 'Oh that's great,' Trump responded on hearing from her. 'You did a fantastic job.' She said later that Trump had personally invited her to join his administration in Washington. Patton told DailyMail.com that she had the opportunity to join the White House staff as a special assistant to Trump or as a senior advisor to Carson, and she elected to go to HUD in order to focus on issues she is most concerned about. She said in a statement Wednesday evening: 'I chose HUD because not only has our President and his Administration made promises to the African-American, Hispanic & Native-American communities during the campaign, but I have too and I know that Dr. Carson has, in kind, and I believe that at HUD, we can make a more immediate and significant impact in bringing those promises to fruition.' Her campaign video talked up the Trumps' loyalty and friendship. 'The Trump family that I know is, without question, one of the most generous, compassionate and philanthropic families I've ever had the privilege of knowing and the honor to call friends,' Patton says. 'They have been incredibly loyal to me and to the countless dedicated people they employ around the world - hiring more minority and female executives than any other company for which I've ever worked,' she gushed. HUD is one of several agencies that has oversight responsibilities that could affect the performance of the Trump Organization, which is now being overseen by Eric and Donald Trump, Jr. President Trump yielded control of the company and told reporters he was putting it in a trust to be run by his sons. One project that HUD oversees is Starrett City, a 5,000 unit, 46 building low-income housing project in Brooklyn that gets federal affordable housing subsidies. The Trump Organization inherited an ownership stake from Trump's father, Fred Trump, who led him into the real estate business. The building gets reduced-rate loans through a federal program, and must maintain the property as low-income under a federal 'use restriction,' ABC News reported. Trump valued his 4 per cent share in the development as being worth $5 million to $25 million, generating up to $5 million in income in the prior year. Democratic leader Senator Charles Schumer planned to discuss the fate of Starrett City during a private meeting with Carson before his confirmation. Trumps financial disclosure report values his 4% share of the Starrett City development at between $5 million and $25 million, and Trump reported that it generated between $1 million and $5 million in income for him last year. As public liaison, Patton wouldn't have control over grants, regulations, or low-income subsidies, but would travel with Carson and serve as a senior advisor. In December, after Trump revealed his intention to nominate Carson, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings said, according to ABC. 'Mr. Trump and his business partners could reap huge financial windfalls based on the actions of the individual that he chooses to lead HUD or the proposals he makes to Congress.' Speaking about potential conflicts, he said: 'I see all of this as a major, major problem.' The potential for the Trump Organization to profit from HUD decisions became an issue in Carson's confirmation hearing. Lynne Patton, 43, was one of the most trusted members of the Trump Organization. She considered the Trumps family and rejects any suggestion that Donald is a racist or a misogynist Lara Trump, Steven Levine, and Lynne Patton (right) 'Can you assure me that not a single taxpayer dollar that you give out will financially benefit the president-elect or his family?' asked liberal Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren during Carson's Banking Committee confirmation hearing. 'I can assure you that the things that I do are driven by a sense of morals and values, and therefore I will absolutely not play favorites for anyone,' Carson responded. 'Do I take that to mean that you might manage programs that might significantly benefit the president-elect?' pressed Warren. 'You can take it to mean that I will manage things in a way that benefits the American people. That is going to be the goal. If there happens to be an extraordinarily good program that's working for millions of people and it turns out that someone that you're targeting is going to benefit, you know $10 from it, am I going to say no, the rest of you Americans can't have it? I think logic and common sense probably would be the best way,' Carson responded. Patton spoke at the Republican National Convention on behalf of Trump. Eric and Lara Trump asked her to assist wedding planner Preston Bailey and played a key role in putting together their Palm Beach wedding. During the campaign, when Democrats were attacking Trump for what they said was a connection to hate groups, Patton cut a 5:15 minute video to defend the family she knows well. Her words were accompanied by soft music and photos of her posing closely with Eric Trump, Lara Trump, and other family members. 'The Trump family that I know is, without question, one of the most generous, compassionate and philanthropic families I've ever had the privilege of knowing and the honor to call friends,' Patton says in the video. 'They have been incredibly loyal to me and to the countless dedicated people they employ around the world - hiring more minority and female executives than any other company for which I've ever worked,' she continued. At one point in the video she chokes up while talking about her own struggles with substance abuse. 'Like many Americans, I have struggled with substance abuse and addiction. The Trump family has stood by me through immensely difficult times without hesitation, nor concern for their own reputation by association,' she says. Patton's Twitter page pictures a smiling image of her and Lara Trump. Shortly after the election, The Root listed her as the 'closest African-American advisor to the Trump family.' It predicted she would land a job. As DailyMail.com reported in May, Patton's video went viral, as she told the harrowing story of the time Lara Trump opened a letter filled with white powder. Fearing for her life, Lara grabbed her keys and Charlie, the couple's miniature Beagle, and ran the three blocks to Eric's office on the 25th floor of Trump Tower, Patton told DailyMail.com. Soon New York City police and Emergency Services teams were swarming Eric's office. They seized Lara's clothing and sent a team to their apartment to confiscate the envelope for testing. A note inside warned, 'If your father does not drop out of the race, the next envelope won't be a fake.' Patton says in the video that she decided to make it on her own, without a request by her boss, at a time when Trump was under attack by Democrats for alleged racism. 'Only up until now, it's all just been opposing campaign rhetoric and paid protesters,' Patton says in the video. 'But then a letter came,' she said in the video. 'And I thought to myself: Who does this person think he is to threaten to kill someone else's family...any family. This family. My family. All because of a political race? A campaign?' She continued that calling Trump a racist because he has called for a temporary moratorium (what was then called a Muslim ban) on a 'flawed immigration system that radical Islamic terrorists continue to exploit - or the construction of an impassable wall to protect our borders from the influx of illegal drugs - is not only incendiary, it's wholly irresponsible and only serves to embolden the very hatred these draconian groups espouse.' Patton asks in the video, 'What common-sense American wants another terrorist attack on our soil or to perpetuate this country's rampant drug epidemic? 'But to compare my boss to Adolf Hitler simply to spin your own political agenda or social media punch line is a personal affront to the extermination of over six million Jews and trivializes one of the worst acts of human genocide this world has ever seen,' she said. Luisa Williams was unexpectedly diagnosed with advanced stage three cancer Dubai is refusing to let a British woman fly home for life-saving cancer treatment because her charity work in the UAE has angered officials, she has claimed. Luisa Williams was unexpectedly diagnosed with advanced stage three cancer just days ago and needs an organ removed to stop it bursting or the disease developing into the irreversible stage four. She has arranged to see a specialist in the UK on Monday and was set to fly back tomorrow, but the authorities are refusing to hand over her passport amid a dispute over her charity work. The 41-year-old, originally from Yorkshire, has now been forced to cancel her flight. She has been living in Dubai for the past decade working for various charities including Volunteers in UAE and has amassed a following on Facebook of more than 12,000. Officials claimed she broke committed financial fraud when she was trying to help save the lives of two boys by fundraising online. Luisa Williams' passport has been seized by the police in the UAE as she tries to fly home The Arabic prosecution document that Luisa said she was forced to sign under duress She was held and interrogated for 10 hours and refused a translator back in December 2015, when she said signed an Arabic document under duress and her passport was taken from her. Luisa was dragged through the court system and was eventually found not guilty of the serious charges, and guilty of a misdemeanor charge, relating to the attempt to fundraise online. Unlike the UK, using the internet to raise money for charity is illegal in Dubai, and she was told she would be deported for it. While she was waiting for it to be processed, she found out she had cancer. Luisa Williams, who goes by the name of Lola Lopez online, needs emergency treatment Dubai officials are refusing to hand over her passport amid a long-standing dispute On Facebook she goes by the name of Lola Lopez, where she wrote: 'For the love of God they won't return my passport and are effectively denying me urgent life saving medical care. 'Is it not enough that I'm internally bleeding and my kidney could rupture at any time? 'Do they want me dead? 'I've served this country for 10 years and this is the thanks I get. Brilliant. Cheers.' She told MailOnline that the embassy have been helping her, but that she was still no closer to coming home. Luisa, from Yorkshire in the UK, has worked for charity out in Dubai for the past decade Luisa said there was a chance she had annoyed somebody high up and she was staying with a friend. She told MailOnline: 'They are holding it because they say i am guilty of asking for money on the internet - But I didn't. 'I can surrender any time I want - but I am sick and i need to be near a hospital - and the procedure to release her documentation would take up to three weeks. 'I need a procedure tomorrow to determine the extent of the cancer in my bladder 'I have an appointment on Monday with an oncologist in the UK, who will take out my kidney but at this rate. 'But I can't get there.' She is internally bleeding and the cancer is on the outer edge of her kidney, meaning she needs it removed along with parts of her bladder and ureter. The treatment she needs is said to cost 21,500 in Dubai, so a friend of hers from the UK organised for her to see an oncologist in Nottingham. But police in the UAE refused to turn over her documents, meaning she cannot travel. She now is faced with a painstaking scenario of filling forms and hoping the authorities sign off on her paperwork. MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office. Tensions between the Trump administration and China could be set to heighten amid reports that Beijing plans to place a new aircraft carrier in disputed waters. Reports in the Chinese media state that the carrier, provisionally named the Shandong, is set to sited closed to the South China Sea. It comes after the White House pledged to challenge Chinese occupation in the important transport route. Work is in progress on the new aircraft carrier, which officials reportedly plan to place in the South China Sea The Shandong will be China's first homemade aircraft carrier. The first, The Liaoning (pictured) is a refurbished Soviet vessel The South China Morning Post reports that officials believe placing China's first ever homemade carrier in the area will help the military respond to 'complicated situations'. China's existing carrier, The Liaoning, is a refurbished Soviet vessel based in the northern port of Qingdao. Placing the new vessel in the South China Sea will raise questions over whether it is intended to be a show of force over Taiwan, as part of Beijing's One China policy - based on the belief that Taiwan is an integral part of China. Military chiefs believe the new carrier will be well positioned to deal with 'complicated situations' The move could cause a flashpoint among China's rivals in the region, including Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The US has been vocal over what it sees as Chinese expansion in the South China Sea. This week White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the US 'is going to make sure that we protect our interests there'. Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, told his Senate confirmation hearing that the US should deny China access to the islands And he added that: 'We're going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country.' But he refused to be pressed on whether that would involve physically denying China from accessing seven man-made islands in the South China Sea. And Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, told his Senate confirmation hearing that the US should deny China access to the islands. In response, Beijing's Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying warned the US to keep out of the dispute. She said China has 'indisputable sovereignty' over the South China Sea and is committed to safeguarding it. She added that China preserves freedom of navigation in those waters - a concern the US has repeatedly challenged as it stepped up its military presence in the region. The move to add a second aircraft carrier to China's fleet comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US its regional rivals The comments at the regular briefing in Beijing were followed up by the most senior Foreign Affairs spokesman on NBC News, who said 'there might be a difference' of opinion over the sovereignty of these islands, 'but it's not for the United States' to get involved in. 'That's not international territories, that's Chinese territories,' said Lu Kang. 'Countries have already come back to the original agreement that maybe for the time being we could set aside those sovereign disputes, and focus on some joint developments, and working together to maintain the peace and stability in this region.' The references by US officials to blocking China's access to artificial islands have caused concern among analysts about a potential for military escalation in the South China Sea. 'If the U.S. takes actions against China's moves to protect their own sea territories, it may result in a serious military confrontation,' said Sun Hao, an international relations expert at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing. Teng Jianqun, a scholar at the China Institute of International Studies, said he didn't believe the U.S. would follow through on the threat of a blockade, saying 'it's like announcing war. That would be ridiculous.' 'Both Tillerson and Spicer seem to be trying to show China that the Trump administration will adopt a tougher approach on the South China Sea, but it's evident that they haven't yet developed a policy,' said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said the Trump administration needed to send 'clear, consistent' signals to China. Businessman Alan Brown (pictured) started the pro-Trump petition along with his daughter Gemma, aged 13 A father has revealed that it was his Muslim 13-year-old daughter who launched a petition calling for Donald Trump to be invited to the UK for a State Visit. The petition which has more than 250,000 signatures was set up in response to another one hoping to prevent the new President of the United States from visiting Britain. Businessman Alan Brown says he has supported Donald Trump's campaign to become President from the beginning as has his teenage daughter Gemma. But the idea to launch a petition actually came from the youngster. Mr Brown, 68, from Dover, Kent, said: 'My daughter noticed the petition calling for a ban of Trump visiting. 'I've supported him since he started his campaign and so has my daughter. We followed the election in America very closely. 'I think their politics are more interesting that ours. We were discussing the petition and Gemma said why don't I do something about it. 'I said I didn't know how and she said she would help me. I'm very proud of her - she really came up with the idea of turning my hot air into something tangible. 'I've said it before, but one girl can really make a difference. She is really pleased with the response so far.' Mr Brown added: 'Since it was launched people have asked me if he did come over would I like to meet him and I would but whether he wants to meet me is another thing. Mr Brown, left, said his daughter, right, 'wanted to do something' about the petition calling for the President to not be invited on a state visit - and so set up a rival version The petition to invite President Trump, pictured, which has more than 250,000 signatures was also set up to show the UK 'is a country that supports free speech' 'But I think he should come over for a state visit. Our Queen has met many other Prime Ministers and leaders; she could probably give him some sound advice.' The 'rival' campaign has so far reached 1,700,000 signatures. It states: 'Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official state visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen'. Alan and Gemma's petition reads: 'Donald Trump should be invited to make an official state visit because he is the leader of a free world and U.K. is a country that supports free speech and does not believe that people that oppose our point of view should be gagged.' Both will be discussed in parliament on February 20 having reached more than 100,000 signatures. Mr Brown, who runs a business selling gas leak detection equipment and is currently on a business trip in Dubai, adds: 'Gemma and I both knew how we felt and thought it was unfair that he was being excluded just because he says thing that people don't like. 'He is the leader of a free world and we should respect him for that. 'Brexit appears to be going ahead and we need customers, and we need to keep up a good relationship with America. 'The thing that people don't like about Trump is that he is doing what he said he would do. And he hasn't actually banned anybody [from entering the USA]. It's just a 90 day delay while paper work is being checked. 'By not letting him come over and talk we would be detaining his free speech, and that is very un-British. I wouldn't ban other leaders well maybe North Korea. 'We're known as world ambassadors we don't chose who we want to see or not.' The petition was set up in response to another one hoping to prevent the new President of the United States from visiting Britain Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in London Gemma said she is really shocked by the support the petition has received so far. She said: 'I can't believe it. We didn't really expect this much support. We got notifications about the first five, six, seven signatures. 'But then I went to sleep. When I woke up dad said it was up to 55,000. I checked myself and I was speechless.' Gemma adds: 'I didn't agree with the first petition I don't see how the Queen would be embarrassed. She has met other world leaders before.' Explaining how she developed their petition, Gemma said: 'We were looking over the first one and my dad was interested in it. I said let's make our own. 'But he didn't know how so I said I could do it. I'm excited to see the outcome and what parliament will say about it. I'll definitely watch the debate.' Speaking alongside President Trump at the White House, Prime Minister Theresa May revealed that he and the First Lady had accepted an invitation from the Queen to make a state visit Asked what it is about Trump that she likes, Gemma said: 'I agree with his stance on immigration. 'My dad told told me about Germany and the trouble immigration caused there. I think US is a great place and so don't want the same happening there. 'Also he has stuck to his word so far, and that makes me happy.' Mr Brown, who is married to Lamiaa - who is Egyptian and does not support Trump - adds: 'If you look at what's happened in Germany and France, you can't just let people in countries without checking them. 'I think Trump is different. He's not a politician. I'm a businessman and have been for many years and I think countries these days need to be run like a business and not an old boy's club.' It would be highly embarrassing for the US President, pictured with Mrs May on Friday, if MPs were given a debate on whether to cancel his state visit to the UK Asked what he thinks of Trump's comments about women, father-of-five Alan said: 'I've been on sites before and pretty girls have walked past and the comments said to them make Trump's seem timid. It's bravado. 'From my point of view you have to peg the good things he is doing against that bravado. 'He has apologised. It was stupid him saying it, and he doesn't even support himself saying it.' Mr Brown said: 'I'm very pleased that the alternative point of view is supportive. We could even over take the other one.' Women should feel free to wear the hijab, Theresa May insisted today amid a crackdown on Muslim dress across Europe. The Prime Minister sent out a strong message by telling the Commons that 'what a woman wears is a woman's choice'. The comments came after she was asked during PMQs - held on world hijab day - if she supported the right of women to wear the traditional covering. The Prime Minister sent out a strong message by telling the Commons that 'what a woman wears is a woman's choice' The comments by Theresa May came during the PMQs session in the Commons today SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh said: 'Today is world hijab day and I wondered if the Prime Minister will join with me in recognising the right of Muslim women to wear a hijab if they wish, without fear. 'And indeed the right of all women everywhere to wear what they want, when they want. 'And would the Prime Minister also commit to standing up for the right to refuge for men, women and children wherever they may be, regardless of their religion.' Mrs May told the Ochil and South Perthshire MP: 'It is absolutely the case that this country welcomes refugees to the United Kingdom, and we do so regardless of their religion. 'There is no question of discriminating on the religion. 'On the issue you raise about the wearing of the hijab, I am absolutely in line with you. SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh urged the PM to 'join with me in recognising the right of Muslim women to wear a hijab if they wish' 'I believe that what a woman wears is a woman's choice.' A hijab is a veil traditionally worn by Muslim women in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family. Their face is visible and it typically covers a woman's head and chest. FROM THE HIJAB TO BURKA: A GUIDE TO MUSLIM HEADWEAR The traditional hijab covering leaves the woman's face exposed Hijab - A hijab is a veil traditionally worn by Muslim women in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family. Their face is visible and it typically covers a woman's head and chest. Niqab - A niqab is a veil which covers almost the whole face, showing only the eyes. Burka - A burka is a full body cloak worn by some Muslim women. A piece of semi-transparent cloth in front of the eyes allows the woman to see. Advertisement It is less dramatic than the niqab, which leaves only the eyes exposed. The burka is a full-body cloak with a sheer section for the woman to see through. Leaders across Europe have threatened to crack down on the wearing of veils. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the wearing of full-faced veils should be prohibited 'wherever possible'. Meanwhile France has banned wearing the full-face veil in public places. Full-body swimsuits known as burkinis were also prohibited. The burkini ban was later lifted after a French court overruled it. Donald Trump's travel ban on refugees and citizens from seven mainly-Muslim countries entering the US has sparked a furious backlash. Mrs May has described the ban as "divisive" and stressed that Britain would never introduce one, but she faced criticism for not condemning the policy quickly and strongly enough. A married high school teacher has been jailed after seducing one of her students and meeting up for sex with them during the summer break. Brandi Lynn Vaughn, 25, formerly known as Brandi Whittaker, of Richmond, Kentucky was accused of rape, sexual abuse and sodomy. It came after she met the 16-year-old male in Fort Boonesborough State Park in June and at her home in July 2015 for sex. Married high school teacher Brandi Lynn Vaughn, who has been jailed after seducing one of her students and meeting up for sex with them during the summer break However, her lawyer was able to negotiate a plea bargain, and she admitted one count of using an electronic device to induce a minor to engage in sexual activities and sentenced to one year in jail. The six other Class D felony charges against Vaughn were then dismissed by the judge. Among them were two counts of first-degree sexual abuse; two counts of third-degree sodomy; one count of third-degree rape and one count of evidence tampering. Vaughan had started teaching at Madison Southern High School at the beginning of the 2015/15 school year. According to her LinkedIn profile, she was once a youth program volunteer for the Berea Baptist Church. Vaughan had started teaching at Madison Southern High School, pictured, at the beginning of the 2015/15 school year And social media posts shows the church hosted a wedding shower for her in March 2013. However, the teacher, who taught biology as well as anatomy and physiology, was arrested in August 2015. The Richmond Register reports the teacher confessed to investigators to having sex with the then-16-year-old male student twice, according to the Berea Police Department. The age of consent in Kentucky is 16, though rape, sexual abuse and sodomy laws still apply if the alleged victim is under 18 and the person was in a position of authority. Apple's chief executive Tim Cook is contemplating legal action against President Donald Trump's travel ban. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Cook spoke of the hundreds of Apple employees who have been affected by the president's executive order which the White House is not calling a 'ban,' after referring to it as a ban that halted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Since the order was signed last Friday, Cook said he's received emails from Apple employees filled with 'heart-wrenching stories.' Scroll down for video Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company is contemplating legal action against Donald Trump's executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority countries Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook (right) met with President-elect Donald Trump (left) at Trump Tower in December and is pushing the White House to reverse the ban One example he shared with the Journal was that of an employee who's expecting a child, whose grandparents will have Canadian and Iranian citizenship. The executive order could prohibit them from meeting the new baby. 'These are people that have friends and family,' Cook said. 'They're co-workers. They're taxpayers. They're key parts of the community,' the top tech executive articulated. What Cook didn't elaborate on, was how Apple planned to take legal action against the order, saying simply, 'we want to be constructive and productive.' On Monday, another top name in tech, Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos who also owns the Washington Post sent an email to employees pledging the company's full legal and lobbying resources would go toward fighting the ban. 'We reached out to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to explore legislative options,' Bezos explained to employees. Apple CEO Tim Cook (far right) said he's been talking to 'very, very senior people in the White House' to reverse the ban, but would consider joining a lawsuit against it too 'Our legal team has prepared a declaration of support for the Washington state attorney general who will be filing suit against the order,' the businessman continued. 'We are working other legal options as well.' Cook has been trying to reach out to the executive branch directly. He told the Wall Street Journal that he's tried to talk to 'very, very senior people in the White House.' While Trump criticized Apple during the presidential campaigning, lambasting the tech giant for producing much of its wares overseas, Cook has since gotten together with Trump, including at a meeting for tech leaders on December 14 at Trump Tower. Since then, according to the Journal, he's been spotted out to eat in D.C. with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump last week. He said he hoped to impress upon the White House, which says the ban is to keep out terrorists, that it's repeal would benefit not just Apple employees, but the country as well. 'More than any country in the world, this country is strong because of our immigrant background and our capacity and ability as people to welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds,' Cook told the paper. 'That makes us special,' he said. 'We ought to pause and really think deeply about that.' Donald Trump has launched more cannon-fire in what he has described as 'a running war' against political reporters, agreeing with White House chief strategist Steve Bannon that the media have displaced the Democratic Party as his most potent foe. 'A lot of the media is actually the opposition party,' the president said Wednesday during a morning roundtable meeting to mark the beginning of Black History Month. 'They really have to straighten out their act. They're very dishonest people.' Trump singled out CNN for ridicule amid reports that the West Wing has frozen the network out of interviews because one of its reporters interrupted Trump during a pre-inaugural January press conference. President Donald Trump lashed out against the political press on Wednesday, renewing his long-running war against the reporters who cover him 'They're so biased, and really it's a disgrace,' Trump told Armstrong Williams (far left) of the majority of the White House press corps Pointing to Republican strategist and Paris Dennard, a CNN contributor, the president joked that he 'has done an amazing job in a very hostile CNN community. He's all by himself. You have seven people, and Paris. I'll take Paris over the seven.' 'But I don't watch CNN,' Trump claimed. 'so I don't get to see you as much. I don't like watching fake news.' 'Fox [News] has treated me very nice,' the president said, gesturing to a group of cameramen in the back of the Roosevelt Room. An unnamed White House source explained this week to Politico why the administration is no longer sending top officials to appear on CNN's air. 'We're sending surrogates to places where we think it makes sense to promote our agenda,' the official said, while suggesting things might change. A CNN reporter was more pointed, telling the newspaper that the West Wing is 'trying to cull CNN from the herd.' Trump praised CNN commentator Paris Dennard (right, next to Vice President Mike Pence), but said he doesn't watch the 'fake news' network Bannon, the president's lightning-rod adviser, told The New York Times last week that 'the media here is the opposition party. They don't understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president.' Trump was enraged last month when a reporter incorrectly wrote that this bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. would no longer rest in the Oval Office He added that the political media should 'keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while.' Trump on Wednesday showed that he is still irked by a weeks-old controversy that erupted when a Time magazine reporter incorrectly wrote that he had moved a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. out of the Oval Office when he moved in. 'It turned out that that was fake news,' he said. 'They said the statue, the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, was taken out of the office. And it was never even touched. So I think it was a disgrace, but that's the way the press is. Very unfortunate.' With Housing and Urban Development secretary nominee Dr. Ben Carson seated at his left hand, Trump heard introductions from the meeting's other nine guests, while nine African-American members of is administration listened. One was Armstrong Williams, Carson's former business manager and spokesman, who is also a conservative columnist and broadcaster. 'We try to be fair and objective,' Williams told Trump. 'Not all media seems to be the opposition party. There are those that see the good that you do and we report it.' 'They're so biased, and really it's a disgrace,' Trump declared of the majority of the White House press corps. 'Some of the media is fantastic and fair, but so much of the media is the opposition party, knowingly saying incorrect things. So it's a very sad situation.' 'But we seem to be doing well,' the president snarked. 'You know, it's almost like in the meantime, we won. So maybe they don't have the influence they think.' A woman was blackmailed by her toyboy builder after they had an affair when he worked on her Canary Wharf flat, a court heard. Liam Braithwaite, 25, demanded 2,000 from the 57-year-old woman to stop him revealing their affair to her husband, who was suffering from cancer. The father-of-one sent texts and voicemails threatening to 'destroy your perfect little life' after his job at the flat and their two-week fling ended. Liam Braithwaite has avoided jail despite blackmailing a woman with whom he had an affair Despite initially denying the claims, Braithwaite pleaded guilty to a single charge of blackmail on what would have been the first day of his trial. 'The defendant had been doing some building and renovation work for the complainant and they began to have an affair,' said Thea Viney, prosecuting. 'The victim was married and her husband was unwell at the time. 'Mr Braithwaite sent a number of threatening text messages to her stating that if she did not pay him 2,000, which he urgently needed, he would reveal the fact that they had been having an affair to her husband and to her son.' The court heard he had an affair with the woman when he was working at her home. He then demanded she pay him 2,000 One message he sent her read: 'I promise, if you don't help me out I'm going to destroy your family like mine has been destroyed.' Another read: 'I don't care if you go to the police, I'm still coming.' Braithwaite was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and given a five-year restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim. He is also required to complete a 60-day rehabilitation activity and 100 hours unpaid work, as well as pay 1,500 costs and a 100 victim surcharge. Braithwaite, of Greenwich, south east London, laughed as he walked free from of the dock and shook hands with his barrister. Irfan Arif, defending, said: 'It was over a short period of time and there was no actual violence, it was only threats of violence. 'He understands he has acted extremely stupidly and foolishly in making these demands.' Passing sentence the judge, Mr Recorder Mark West said: 'Blackmail is a despicable crime. You, out of sheer greed, threatened to disclose your affair to the family members of your victim. 'The extent of the distress that must have caused can only be imagined, given the family circumstances of the person concerned, which you knew only too well. 'It is quite plain to me that only a custodial sentence can be justified.' Recorder West noted that Braithwaite had 'no need at the time' for the 2,000 demanded, adding: 'It was pure greed.' Timothy, 39, and Sarah Johnson, 38, are accused of gross misdemeanor child neglect for failing to get medical help for their son, Seth (pictured), who died in March 2015 A couple charged over the death of their young son have fled the US and are now living in New Zealand, investigators believe. Timothy, 39, and Sarah Johnson, 38, are accused of gross misdemeanor child neglect for failing to get medical help for their adopted son, Seth, who died in March 2015. The Minnesota couple did not show up for their first court appearance in Hennepin on Tuesday, causing Assistant County Attorney John Halla to tell the Judge Gina Brandt the couple has fled to New Zealand. Brandt then issued warrants for their arrests, the Star Tribune reports. As a result, the couple could be arrested and extradited to the US. Seth Johnson died in agony on a vomit-stained bed from an inflamed pancreas and various infections while at the family's home in Plymouth on March 30, 2015. The extremely religious parents had 'issues with going to doctors', according to the criminal complaint. Seth Johnson (pictured) died in agony on a vomit-stained bed from an inflamed pancreas and various infections while at the family's home in Plymouth on March 30, 2015. His parents were charged with neglect, and are now allegedly on the run They allegedly never sought medical attention for Seth's various ailments, including cuts and bruises that had become infected. The complaint said the home-schooled boy was also severely physically underdeveloped. The weekend before he died, Seth was left in the care of his 16-year-old brother while his parents were out of town at a wedding, the Star Tribune reported. Seth's brother called his parents at the time to let them know the seven-year-old was not speaking or able to get out of bed. When the parents returned home, according to the newspaper, they found Seth on the floor and unresponsive, at which point they: 'prayed for his health'. The couple also considered taking their adopted son to get medical treatment, before ultimately decided it was a decision that could wait until the next morning. According to police, authorities were called the next day to the 6100 block of Vicksburg Lane N. about 7:40am and found Timothy Johnson giving CPR to Seth on the bathroom floor. Timothy and Sarah Johnson did not show up for their first court appearance in Hennepin (pictured) on Tuesday, causing Assistant County Attorney John Halla to tell the Judge Gina Brandt the couple has fled to New Zealand The seven-year-old was already dead. Attending police said the boy had bruises all over his body and 'skin breaks' on the majority of his body. They were not hit with charges more serious than neglect because a medical examiner could not directly link their behavior to the young boy's death. Parents told law enforcement that the boy had behavioral issues and would throw himself down the stairs. They also claimed Seth developed lesions, blisters, would shake, and stopped sleeping in the weeks leading up to his death. If the parents are convicted for Seth's death, they face a year behind bars and a potential fine. A mother-of-four who was found dead in a car outside a Lidl supermarket died from head injuries, a post-mortem examination has revealed. Zimbabwean carer Gillian Zvomuya was discovered outside the Kitts Green branch of Lidl in Mackadown Lane, Birmingham, at around 4.45am on Monday. Detectives are waiting to question her husband, 42, on suspicion of murder. He is currently in hospital. Zimbabwean carer Gillian Zvomuya (pictured) was discovered outside the Kitts Green branch of Lidl in Mackadown Lane, Birmingham, at around 4.45am on Monday Police initially said the victim died as a result of stab injuries, but a post-mortem examination has revealed that she died from head injuries. However, police confirmed that Mrs Zvomuya also suffered injuries from a 'bladed article' in the attack. Tributes have been paid on social media to the mother-of-four, who has not been officially named by police as the victim. Posting a tribute on Facebook, one of her friends said: 'I am still in shock. I can't believe u are gone. Why, why, what about the kids? 'May you (sic) soul rest in peace my friend. God has taken one of his angel. What a way to die.' A 42-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife after she was stabbed in a Lidl car park in Tile Cross, Birmingham, on Monday morning (Pictured: Police forensics teams work at the scene this morning) The silver Nissan was examined by forensic officers before being removed from the scene Another friend posted on Facebook: 'RIP Gillian...gone so soon...so shocked and hurt.' Officers were searching for a couple after they were reported missing from their home in Quinton by friends at 2am. Their car was eventually traced 11 miles away to the Lidl car park where police made the grim discovery. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Joyce, from West Midlands Police, said: 'We found a man and a woman inside. A police officer carries an evidence bag on Monday afternoon in Birmingham 'Tragically the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was arrested on suspicion of her murder. 'While her identity is yet to be confirmed, at this stage we believe her to be the arrested man's wife.' Detectives also examined the couple's home and spoke to neighbours and obtained CCTV footage. A blue and white police tent could be seen in the Lidl car park on Monday morning as forensic experts scoured the scene. On Facebook Gloria Chingwara wrote: 'But why God, what a way to go my sis..I am so heartbroken' Nyasha Muchenje said: 'I am shocked may your dear soul rest in peace Gillian Zvomuya' Chrstine Gwatidzo added: 'Gillian l am still in shock. I can't believe u are gone. 'Why why what about the kids. May you soul rest in peace my friend. 'God has taken one of his angel. What a way to die God why why Gillian' A specialist lorry removed a silver Nissan Qashqai shortly before 2.30pm. The Mansfield 'Specialist Vehicle Logistics' parked in front of the forensics tent while the car was moved. A Lidl spokesman said on Monday: 'We were alerted to an incident earlier this morning by West Midlands Police and can confirm that our Kitts Green store on Mackadown Lane is closed until further notice, whilst they carry out their investigation. ' A handful of hardline Remoaner MPs ignored the will of their own constituents tonight by voting against triggering Article 50. Some seven Labour, one Liberal Democrat and an SNP MP defied the outcome of the EU referendum in their own areas by opposing legislation that will start the process of cutting ties with Brussels. In an extraordinary speech confirming he would oppose the Bill, backbencher Chris Bryant insisted he was a 'democrat' but would be siding with the 'minority'. Labour's Chris Bryant insisted he was a 'democrat' but would be siding with the 'minority' Former frontbencher Mary Creagh said she could no more vote against EU membership than she could vote against her 'own DNA' 'I am a democrat but I believe in the form of democracy that never silences minorities and I think the 48 per cent in this country have a right to a voice and for that matter the 46 per cent or the 45 per cent or whatever the actual figure was in my constituency. 'Today I'm afraid I am voting and speaking on behalf of a minority of my constituents.' He warned the Government's Brexit plans would do 'untold damage' to his constituents and make the UK 'poorer' and 'weaker'. But he acknowledged voting against the majority view of his constituents could cost him his job. THE MPs WHO DEFIED THEIR CONSTITUENTS TO OPPOSE EU BILL Graham Allen (Labour, Nottingham North) Chris Bryant (Labour, Rhondda) Ann Clwyd (Labour, Cynon Valley) Mary Creagh (Labour, Wakefield) Paul Farrelly (Labour, Newcastle-Under-Lyme) Catherine McKinnell (Labour, Newcastle upon Tyne North) Dr Alan Whitehead (Labour, Southampton, Test) Tom Brake (Lib Dem, Carshalton and Wallington) Eilidh Whiteford (SNP, Banff and Buchan) Advertisement He said: 'In the end there is no point in any single one of us being a member of this House if we don't have things that we believe in and that we are prepared to fight for and, if necessary, lay down our job for.' Some 61 per cent of Mr Bryant's Rhondda constituency backed Brexit, according to calculations by University of East Anglia researcher Chris Hanretty. Former frontbencher Mary Creagh said she could no more vote against EU membership than she could vote against her 'own DNA'. Nearly 62 per cent of her Wakefield constituents voted to cut ties with Brussels last June. Paul Farrelly voted in the Noe lobby despite nearly 62 per cent of his Newcastle Under Lyme seat backing Brexit. Some 57 per cent of voters supported Brexit in Ann Clwyd's Cynon Valley constituency. But she opted to go against Article 50. Graham Allen opposed the second reading tonight in spite of a 64 per cent Leave outcome in Nottingham North. Although 56 per cent in Carshalton and Wallington vote Leave, Lib Dem Tom Brake vote No to the Bill. One SNP MP, Dr Eilidh Whiteford, opposed the legislation in the face of a 54 per cent Leave vote in her Banff and Buchan constituency. Although 56 per cent in Carshalton and Wallington vote Leave, Lib Dem Tom Brake vote No to the Bill This text is at the heart of the 'hand to hand combat' in parliament - sparked by the Supreme Court's ruling that Theresa May cannot use executive powers to invoke Brexit Father charged: Josiah English III, 40, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the killing of his ex-wife, 35-year-old Blanca Gutierrez-Calzoncit An Arizona man has been arrested after police say he shot dead his ex-wife in the parking lot as the couple's two young children looked on. Police in Phoenix say there were continuing legal battles between the parents. Josiah English III, a 40-year-old licensed security guard, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the killing Tuesday morning of 35-year-old Blanca Gutierrez-Calzoncit. Gutierrez-Calzoncit was shot multiple times at around 6am in the parking lot of the apartment complex where she lived near Cave Creek and Greenway roads, reported the station 3TV. Investigators say the mother was putting her two children, aged three and four, into her car when English opened fire on the woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Both children escaped unharmed and were later released into the custody of relatives. Crime scene: Gutierrez-Calzoncit was shot multiple times at around 6am in this parking lot while placing her two children, aged three and four, in her car Court records indicate English and Gutierrez-Calconcit were battling in court over her intent to move the children to her native Mexico. Looks like these deer were in dire need of some snacks! Three deer crashed into a gas station convenience store in Grand Falls, Canada, leaving a heap of spilled soda, crushed chips and muddy hoofprints in their wake. Betrand Beaulieu was walking downtown on Monday morning when he saw the animals speeding straight into the door, and surveillance cameras inside captured the ensuing chaos. Three deer crashed into a gas station convenience store in Grand Falls, Canada One burst through the door and two more followed it in. They left a heap of spilled soda, crushed chips and muddy hoofprints behind The animals slid across the floor and slammed into the large glass windows in an attempt to get out of the store Beaulieu told the Global News it was unusual to see any wildlife downtown, so he followed the deer as they zipped past him filmed the bizarre occurrence. A surveillance camera inside the store showed one deer bursting straight through the door before two more followed in behind it. The animals can be seen sliding across the floor, crashing into the racks and slamming against the large glass windows in an attempt to get back out. A store clerk behind the counter can be seen whipping out his phone to snap up evidence of the break. Eventually, someone from the outside opened the door and the three deer made their way out and ran off. Beaulieu told the Global News: 'There was pop bottles on the floor, and candy and papers, deer hair and a little bit of blood.' He also noted that it was lucky they slammed into the right door on their way in, otherwise they could have been badly injured. Videos he took of the incident racked up thousands of reactions on Facebook. Another short clip showed the mess they left behind. No customers were in the store at the time. Eventually, someone from the outside opened the door and the three deer made their way out and ran off President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Senate Republicans should force through his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, if Democrats try to block him. Trump urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to 'go nuclear' if he has to and blow up longstanding rules requiring 60 votes to confirm judicial appointments. 'If we end up with that gridlock I would say, "If you can, Mitch, go nuclear," ' Trump said in a midday meeting with Supreme Court stakeholders. 'Because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect.' The president left it up to McConnell's discretion while advising the GOP leader to Go for it.' Scroll down for video President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Senate Republicans should force through his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, if Democrats try to block him Trump pulls out a chair for televangelist Paula White at the beginning of the meeting Trump, White and NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre all cracked smiles as the president sat down to discus his Supreme Court pick Republicans hold a bare majority in the Senate, 52 seats. They need eight Democrats to align with them and vote for Gorsuch or they'll be left with little choice but to embrace the nuclear tactic. They're hopeful it won't come to that. Republicans opposed a Democratic-led attempt to shove aside the rules in 2013 during the Obama administration. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved to make executive appointees confirmable by a simple majority. The rule change did not apply to judicial nominations like the Supreme Court. Republicans decried the move at the time, and many don't want McConnell to take the so-called 'nuclear' approach now. Republicans hold a bare majority in the Senate, 52 seats. They need eight Democrats to align with them and vote for Neil Gorsuch or they'll be left with little choice but to embrace the nuclear tactic Trump had previously endorsed the tactic in an interview with Sean Hannity before making his Supreme Court announcement. He went further in his comments on Wednesday at the White House. He told a Fox News reporter who asked him about the situation in the Senate, 'Yes, if we end up with the same gridlock weve had in Washington for longer than eight years, in all fairness to President Obama, a lot longer than eight years. If we end up with that gridlock I would say, "If you can, Mitch, go nuclear." 'Because that would would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect. I would say its up to Mitch, but I would say, Go for it. ' Trump said of his nominee to the high court that he doesn't 'know how anyone can oppose him at all.' 'Hes a terrific person, by the way. I got to know him reasonably well. He is just a spectacular man, and I think hes going to be a spectacular [justice],' the president said during remarks that were open to the press. 'Hes perfect in just about every way.' Gorusch is an 'exceptionally qualified person from the standpoint of experience and education - Columbia University with honors, Harvard Law School with honors, Oxford at the highest level,' he said. 'Great intellect.' 'We want to watch him go through an elegant process as opposed to a demeaning process. Theyre very demeaning on the other side,' Trump said of Senate Democrats. 'They want to make him look as bad as possible.' The president said he'd like to see Gorsuch go through a 'dignified' appointment process. 'Hopefully it will go quickly. And we will see what happens.' Trump urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (left) to 'go nuclear' if he has to and blow up longstanding rules requiring 60 votes to confirm judicial appointments Schumer and 10 other Democrats who are still in the Senate voted in favor of Gorsuch when George W. Bush nominated him to the 10th Circuit in 2006. The Republican-appointed judge was unanimously approved by voice vote. 'I hope that bodes well for the process,' South Dakota Republican John Thune said Tuesday evening. 'I hope that he'll get a fair consideration in an up and down vote again.' Trump said Wednesday that there's a 'certain dishonesty' about Senate Democrats who gave Gorsuch their support in 2006 if they vote against him now. 'A great judge, hell be a great justice. I feel its very dishonest if they go back (on their support,' Trump said. Utah's Orrin Hatch, president pro tempore of the Senate, said it's his hope that Democrats will back off their threats to filibuster. 'If they don't, we're gonna roll right over them,' he declared on Tuesday evening after Trump's East Room announcement of Gorsuch as his pick. The senator clarified a moment later that he wasn't referring to the nuclear option. 'I'm saying that we're not going to put up with it,' he stated. 'This is a very top flight man, top flight lawyer, top flight judge, and everybody knows it, including the Democrats.' Kenneth Suttner, 17, had been bullied for years at school and at work before he shot himself in the head outside his home A Missouri jury ruled that a Dairy Queen manager be charged with involuntary manslaughter for her role in the suicide of a 17-year-old employee. The Howard County coroner heard how Kenneth Suttner wrote several suicide notes to friends and family before he shot himself in the head in the early morning of December 21 outside his family's home. The Howard County coroner sought an official inquest into his death and after the verdict was read Tuesday, a Howard County sheriff's deputy arrested Harley Branham, one of Suttners managers at the Dairy Queen where he worked, reported the Columbia Daily Tribune. The jury on Tuesday concluded that negligence from a Dairy Queen in Fayette and the Glasgow School District contributed to Suttner's death. Branham has been placed on a 24-hour hold, said special prosecutor April Wilson. Many witnesses testified that Kenneth Suttner, a Glasgow High School junior, had been bullied for years at school and at work. Special prosecutor April Wilson questions former Dairy Queen manager Harley Branham about allegations she bullied worker Kenneth Suttner. She was arrested after the verdict was delivered Suttner worked at this Dairy Queen in Fayette, Missouri. Former co-workers said Branham forced him to complete humiliating tasks and once threw a cheeseburger at him Julie Sickman, another Dairy Queen manager in Fayette, said Branham bullied Suttner Suttner's former Dairy Queen co-workers said Branham repeatedly ridiculed him and forced him to complete humiliating tasks, such as cleaning the floor by hand while lying on his stomach. She once threw a cheeseburger at him because he made it wrong, said Allison Bennett, a former co-worker. Branham denies that she ever bullied Suttner. 'Theres a lot of people at Dairy Queen saying I was the reason' he killed himself, but I dont understand why it would be that way', she said. Wilson holds a photograph of Suttner. A Howard County coroner's jury ruled Tuesday that the teen's December suicide was caused by involuntary manslaughter A member of the six-person jury wipes away tears during the coroner's inquest on Tuesday The six-person jury also found that Dairy Queen was negligent in training their employees and that the Glasgow School District failed to prevent the bullying. Suttner's family said in a statement that they hope the district finally will recognize the pervasive problem of bullying and address it. 'They really feel that was Kennys voice today, and they feel like its justice for Kenny', Wilson said. Lexie Graves, Suttner's best friend, said she repeatedly saw students at Glasgow High School bully him. 'A lot of people, kids, made fun of the way - basically everything about him', Graves said. Heather McDonald demonstrates a gesture that she recalled Suttner once made to her Howard County Sheriff's Deputy Brad Young wipes an eye after reading part of a suicide letter in one of Suttner's notebooks Graves said she only reported the bullying once because administrators were reluctant to address the problem. Her mother, Chandra Graves, said her son was also bullied at school, at least once by a teacher. Another mother, Barbara Smith, said her son was bullied so much that she moved him out of the district. 'Every time we went to the school to do something about the bullying, it just got worse', Smith said. The verdict was announced after a daylong inquest in which witnesses described widespread bullying at the Glasgow School District and said administrators were reluctant to address the problem After the verdict was read, Branham was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter Mary Korte, a friend of the Suttners, said she and her husband had told the school board that faculty were bullying students. 'These things were brought to the attention of the appropriate school officials, and its a shame it was swept under the rug', Korte said. A judge Googled a dentist's practice on a laptop during a High Court hearing to thrash out the latest round of his fight over money with his ex-wife. Mr Justice Moor carried out internet research on a company the man worked for during a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London on Wednesday. The dentist was not represented by lawyers and was the only person appearing before the judge. The dentist wanted permission to challenge a ruling by a lower-ranking judge relating to the size of monthly payments he should make to his ex-wife. Mr Justice Moor ruled in his favour and said the dentist's complaint should be considered in detail at an appeal hearing in the near future. Mr Justice Moor carried out internet research on a company the man worked for during a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court He said the dentist, who lives near Southampton and has a teenage son, could not be named. The dentist was outlining his case when the judge said he wanted to find out more about the company - and turned to the internet for help. Mr Justice Moor told the man that he was Googling the company's name - then explained what the results of his research had been. 'I was surprised to see a High Court judge do a Google search - I didn't expect that,' said the dentist after the hearing. 'I was surprised to see that the judge had a laptop on his bench. 'I thought judges took notes with a pen.' He added: 'I think it's a good thing.' Mr Justice Moor, 57, became a High Court judge more than five years ago after working as a specialist family law barrister. Mr Justice Moor is one of a small number of judges based in the Family Division of the High Court who takes notes on a laptop He is one of a small number of judges based in the Family Division of the High Court who normally takes notes on a laptop during hearings rather than on paper. Two years ago one the most senior judges in England and Wales backed a call for the creation of online civil courts. Lord Dyson said the justice system in England and Wales had been slow to take advantage of internet technology and was lagging behind other countries. He described a proposal for a state-run online civil court system - made today by a group which advises on the modernisation of civil justice - as an 'exciting milestone'. 'We have been very slow off the mark in this country in taking advantage of technology in our justice system,' said Lord Dyson, who was then Master of the Rolls and the head of civil justice in England and Wales. 'Other countries are way ahead of us.' Lord Dyson was discussing internet technology with journalists at a media conference in London - and used a fountain pen to jot notes on a sheet of paper. 'We are all prisoners of an era,' said Lord Dyson, then 71, when the irony was pointed out. 'Certainly I am.' Gen. Michael Flynn issued a stern warning to Iran on Wednesday after the Islamic republic tested a ballistic missile. President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor told reporters during a White House press briefing that the administration 'condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East that puts American lives at risk.' 'As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,' he said. It wasn't clear what that notice means, or what consequences Iran can expect if it continues to test missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Senior administration officials wouldn't rule out military action or sanctions during a separate briefing with reporters that came later. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn spoke during Wednesday's White House press briefing, saying the Trump administration is putting Iran 'on notice' after it tested a ballistic missile A medium-range ballistic missile was tested on Sunday in Iran and exploded after 630 miles, a US official said on Monday. The test was carried out from a site near Semnan, 140 miles east of Tehran. Pictured above is a file photo from a March 2015 ballistic missile test in Iran Officials said 'a large number of options' are being considered and would not reveal what those are other than to say that they include financial and economic actions. 'We are considering a whole range of options. We are in a deliberative process,' one said. Flynn said that 'Iran is now feeling emboldened,' and criticized the Obama administration for failing 'to respond adequately to Tehran's malign actions, including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violations of international norms.' Administration officials, speaking on background to reporters, said Wednesday afternoon that the Republican president was taking a 'different perspective' than his predecessor. 'Iranian behavior needs to be rethought by Tehran,' one said. An official said, 'There should be no doubt that the United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for adhering to missile restrictions and accountable for behavior in the region that we consider to be destabilizing.' Iran, Republicans say, has built up its nuclear capabilities despite signing on to a multilateral deal designed to produce the opposite outcome. A defense official said this week that the Iranian missile test ended with a 'failed' re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. The suggestion that the missile was designed to return to earth supports the contention that it was a test of an attack vehicle, not a rocket meant to launch satellites into space. The official had no other details, including the type of missile, but spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Flynn said pointedly that Iran's action is 'in defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.' Flynn delivered the scathing message while press secretary Sean Spicer stood aside That international consensus demands that Iran not 'undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.' The White House said Monday that it was studying information about the ballistic missile test. Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he did not know the 'exact nature' of the test and expected to have more information later. The White House sent several officials to brief reporters a hours later. 'We can confirm that Iran conducted a launch of a medium-range missile, the Shahab, and that launch was on 29 January. The launch we view as being highly provocative,' an official said. 'This affects us all and is a destabilizing factor in the region.' Iran is the subject of a United Nations Security Council resolution prohibiting tests of ballistic missiles designed to deliver a nuclear warhead. As part of the 2015 nuclear deal, the U.N. ban was prolonged by eight years, although Iran has flaunted the restriction. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was looking into whether the ballistic missile test violates the U.S. Security Council resolution. FLYNN PUTS IRAN 'ON NOTICE' National Security Advisor Michael Flynn delivered a statement on Wednesday during the White House's daily press briefing: 'Recent Iranian actions, involving a provocative ballistic missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported Houthi militants, underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran's destabilizing behavior across entire the Middle East. 'The recent ballistic missile launch is also in defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls upon Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology." 'These are just the latest of a series of incidents in the past six months in which Houthi forces that Iran has trained and armed have struck Emirati and Saudi vessels, and threatened United States and allied vessels transiting the Red Sea. In these and other similar activities, Iran continues to threaten U.S. friends and allies in the region. 'The Obama Administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran's malign actions, including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violations of international norms. The Trump Administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity, and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East and place which places American lives at risk. 'President Trump has severely criticized the various agreements reached between Iran and the Obama Administration, as well as the United Nations, as being weak and ineffective. 'Instead of being thankful to the United States in these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened. 'As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice. Thank you.' Advertisement 'When actions are taken that violate or are inconsistent with the resolution, we will act to hold Iran accountable and urge other countries to do so as well,' Toner said. Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned Iran for the missile test. 'No longer will Iran be given a pass for its repeated ballistic missile violations, continued support of terrorism, human rights abuses and other hostile activities that threaten international peace and security,' Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, said in a written statement. Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, meanwhile, claimed a successful missile strike against a warship in the Red Sea belonging to the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting alongside Yemen's internationally recognized government. Video footage shown on the rebels' al-Masirah television on Monday shows a warship being hit and a fire on board starting as a man not shown in the video shouts the rebels' trademark chant of 'Allahu akbar (God is greatest), death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews and victory for Islam.' Detectives are desperately searching for a woman's killer after she was stabbed to death at a unit in Melbourne's north-west. Emergency services were called to a property on Main Road in St Albans just before 12.30am on Thursday to reports of a stabbing after an alleged domestic dispute. Neighbours said they woke up early on Thursday to sounds of a woman 'screaming and crying,' the Herald Sun reported. Scroll down for video A woman has died on her way to hospital after being fatally stabbed at a unit in Melbourne's north-west. Police are pictured speaking to passerbys as they investigated Emergency services were called to a property on Main Road in St Albans just before 12.30am on Thursday to reports of a stabbing 'It was a woman's voice, and then I heard someone say: "Are you all okay, are you okay?" neighbour Iris said. The deceased, who is yet to be formally identified, was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, but died in the ambulance. More than eight detectives were on the scene on Thursday morning, searching in the bushes with torches and looking behind fences, according to the Today Show. There were also at least six uniformed police on the scene. The unit block where the stabbing occurred has been taped off by police as they continue to search for the woman's killer. Her death is being treated as suspicious and the homicide squad is investigating. Bruce Davis, 74, (pictured left in 2014), was a follower of cult killer Charles Manson and is currently serving life in jail The Californian parole board have recommended the release of former follower of cult leader Charles Manson for the fifth time. Bruce Davis, 74, is serving a life sentence at the California Men's Colony at San Luis Obispo for the 1969 slayings of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald 'Shorty' Shea. Davis was a follower of crazed killer Charles Manson and at the time of his arrest Davis had the Family 'X' carved into his forehead. Manson interpreted the Beatles song to symbolize an Armageddon-like war between whites and blacks. He convinced some of his followers to kill and said that the killings would help spark the war and benefit his 'family' of disciples. Manson and his cult followers were linked to nine murders, including the killing of actor Sharon Tate, director Roman Polanski's wife who was eight months pregnant when she was killed and Polish writer, producer and director Wojciech (Voyteck) Frykowski. Davis was not involved in the more notorious killings of Tate and six others by the Manson 'family.' Davis (pictured in 2012) has been recommended for parole on four occasions - but has been blocked every other time Crazed killer Charles Manson, pictured left in 2009 and right in 1986, is currently serving a life sentence for his role in nine murders The 74-year-old long maintained he was a bystander in the killings of the two men but in recent years he acknowledged his shared responsibility because he was present. He testified at his 2014 hearing that he attacked Shea with a knife and held a gun on Hinman while Manson cut Hinman's face with a sword. 'I wanted to be Charlie's favorite guy,' he said then. Nearly a half-century after the slayings, parole panels have decided four times that Davis is no longer a public safety risk. Since his conviction, Davis has become a born-again Christian who earned a doctoral degree in philosophy of religion and ministers to other inmates. The officials cited his age and good behavior behind bars that includes earning a doctoral degree and ministering to other inmates. Gov. Jerry Brown rejected the most recent recommendation. This 1970 photo showed Steve Grogan, left, and Bruce Davis, right, defendants in the murder of movie stunt man, Donald (Shorty) Shea as they went into court on December 23 Davis, seen here as a much younger man with the Manson Family 'X' carved into his forehead walks with his attorney Daye Shinn (right) after he surrendered himself to authorities outside the Hall of Justice Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger blocked Daviss release years before that, saying he would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society. The parole bid was opposed by a former Manson family member, Barbara Hoyt, as well as Sharon Tate's sister, Debra Tate. 'Hopefully we'll get five in a row, but it really doesn't mean much unless the governor lets him go and I see no reason to think he's going to change his mind,' said attorney Michael Beckman, who has been fighting for years for the release of Davis. Beckman said Davis is the most rehabilitated prisoner among the 2,000 he is representing in the penal system. 'There's no one even a close second,' he said. Gary Hinman's cousin, Kay Martley, said Davis' crime was so heinous that he should die in prison. Hinman was tortured for three days, she recounted in remarks prepared for the parole hearing. Davis, 74, was a devout follower of crazed killer Charles Manson, and is currently serving life in prison at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, pictured 'This wasn't a crime of passion or impulse; this was slow, calculated and cold-blooded,' she wrote. Davis was convicted with Manson and another follower, Steve Grogan, in the two slayings. Few followers of the infamous Manson cult have been released from prison. Steve Grogan, who was convicted with Davis, was freed in 1985 after he led police to Shea's buried body. Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme was released from prison in 2009 after serving time for the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford. Manson and two of his followers, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, remain in prison for life in the Tate killings. Their co-defendant, Susan Atkins, died of cancer behind bars in 2009. Another of the Tate killers, Charles 'Tex' Watson, is still in prison. Sydney's top judge has slammed 'xenophobia' across the country and the state government, saying the judicial system can provide fairness and equality, 'in spite of popular sentiment'. Chief Justice Tom Bathurst gave an impassioned speech at the Law Term dinner on Wednesday night to kick off the start of the legal year, saying the New South Wales government defied the 'rule of law,' in 1888 when they refused Chinese passengers on a ship into Sydney Harbour. 'As stated by my predecessor, Jim Spigelman, it should give us pause that one of the most serious threats to the rule of law in Australia was grounded in xenophobia,' he said. Chief Justice Tom Bathurst (pictured) gave an impassioned speech at the Law Term dinner on Wednesday night about 'xenophobia' across Australia Chief Justice Bathurst particularly made mention to an instance in 1888 where the New South Wales government stopped Chinese passengers from disembarking from a ship in Sydney Harbour (pictured in 1890) 'However, this story also demonstrates the role of the judiciary and the profession in promoting equality, fairness and the rule of law, in spite of popular sentiment'. Chief Justice Bathurst particularly made mention to an instance in 1888 where the New South Wales government stopped Chinese passengers from disembarking from a ship in Sydney Harbour. He said a passenger launched legal action, leading to the Supreme Court finding detention of passengers was illegal. 'Shortly following the Court's decision, the then Premier, Sir Henry Parkes, dismissed the decision as "technical",' Chief Justice Bathurst said. 'The government maintained this defiance of the rule of law for a considerable period of time, leading Chief Justice Darley to admonish the government's actions as unprecedented and in flagrant disregard of the law'. Chief Justice Bathurst made note almost one third of Australians were born overseas Chief Justice Bathurst praised his predecessor Jim Spigelman (centre) during his speech about the legal system and NSW government He said when dismissing the decision, Mr Parkes used 'inflammatory language we are perhaps not unfamiliar with today'. Chief Justice Bathurst made note almost one third of Australians were born overseas and 23 per cent of the population speak a language other than English while at home in New South Wales. 'The diversity of our community means that in order for us to achieve equal justice, the courts and the profession must consider the unique needs of different sections of the community,' he said. Chief Justice Bathurst said the then Premier, Sir Henry Parkes (pictured), dismissed the 1888 decision as 'technical' Prosecutors say the widow of the man who committed a deadly attack on a Florida nightclub accompanied him on scouting trips to the venue and knew about his plan, as they argued against her receiving bail. Federal prosecutors in California for the first time Wednesday divulged details of the charges against 31-year-old Noor Salman. Prosecutors say she saw her husband Omar Mateen leave their Fort Pierce, Florida, home with a gun and backpack full of ammunition on the night of the attack. A judge denied bail for Noor Salman (left) on Wednesday. Prosecutors say the wife of Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen (right) helped him plan the attack Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 others in the June 12 attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. He was shot by police who responded to the shooting Federal authorities arrested Salman last month at her mother's home in suburban San Francisco, where Salman moved with her 4-year-old son after her husband Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others on June 12 at the Pulse nightclub. Mateen pledged allegiance to several terror organizations during the attack before police shot and killed him. His wife has pleaded not guilty to charges she supported him and then lied to authorities about it. Federal prosecutor Sara Sweeney divulged some details of the allegations for the first time while arguing against the release of Salman. Sweeney said Mateen asked Salman whether attacking the Disney site would have a bigger impact than attacking a nightclub. In addition to accompanying her husband on scouting trips, Salman watched him leave their apartment with a gun and a backpack full of ammunition on the night of the shooting, Sweeney said. Authorities say Salman initially said she didn't know anything about the attack but later told investigators Mateen abused steroids, was 'pumped up' on the night of the attack, and said 'this is the one day' as he walked out the door, Sweeney said in court. 'I knew when he left he was going to commit the attack,' Sweeney said Salman told investigators. Sweeney also said the couple ran up $25,000 in credit card debt and spent $5,000 in cash in the days before the shooting. Among the purchases was an $8,000 diamond ring for Salman. In addition, Mateen and Salman made her the death beneficiary of his bank account. Salman's attorneys maintain she was a battered spouse who knew nothing of Mateen's plans. They urged the judge to release her from jail pending the trial, but the judge declined. Instead, the judge ordered a mental health evaluation of Salman and said he would consider the request for release after the evaluation is complete. Salman's attorney Charles Swift said outside court that Salman made those statements without a lawyer present during an 18-hour interrogation immediately after the attack. He said he hasn't yet received a transcript or recording of Salman's interrogation to determine the context of her statements and accuracy of the allegations. Swift also pointed out that Mateen was a security guard and left the couple's home hundreds of times with a gun and ammunition. Swift argued that prosecutors were charging Salman with the crimes of her husband. Mateen physically abused Salman, he said, and never told her about his plans to carry out the killings. It was the first time Salman's legal team heard details of the allegations as well. 'We frankly expected more,' attorney Linda Moreno said outside court. Salman's mother and uncle have pledged to put up their homes as collateral to secure her release from jail pending trial. Federal prosecutors are seeking to transfer Salman to Florida to face the charges that could bring a sentence of life in prison. Advertisement The owners of the last airworthy Vulcan bomber have promised the much-loved Cold War relic will eventually return to public view after they were forced to put it into 'hibernation'. The 57-year-old nuclear bomber - XH558 - flew for the last time in October 2015 after a summer delighting millions of people at air shows and fly-pasts around the UK. Since then, 1,000 people a month have visited the Vulcan at its hangar at Doncaster Sheffield airport, in South Yorkshire. On Wednesday, XH558 was towed out of its home for the last time and out of public view as it was placed in storage at another hangar. The owners of the last airworthy Vulcan bomber have promised the much-loved Cold War relic will eventually return to public view, but for now it has to go into 'hibernation'. The 57-year-old Vulcan nuclear bomber - XH558 - flew for the last time in October 2015 after a summer delighting millions of people at air shows and fly-pasts around the UK Since its last flight, 1,000 people a month have visited the Vulcan at its hangar at Doncaster Sheffield airport, in South Yorkshire The aircraft lost its permit to fly 18 months ago, but The Vulcan To The Sky Trust, which restored the aircraft to flight a decade ago, has been developing a plan for a visitor attraction around the Vulcan On Wednesday, XH558 was towed out of its home for the last time and out of public view as it was placed in storage at another hangar The aircraft lost its permit to fly 18 months ago, but The Vulcan To The Sky Trust, which restored the aircraft to flight a decade ago, has been developing a plan for a visitor attraction around the Vulcan, including periodically opening up its powerful engines on fast taxi runs around the airport. But an increase in cargo traffic at the airport has meant XH558's hangar is needed for other uses. Trust chief executive Robert Pleming said the plane is 'hibernating' as a funding appeal is launched to fulfil the long-term aim of creating a purpose-built home and visitor centre at the former RAF base. Dr Pleming said the problem is that, as public tours and events have been halted, there has been a huge drop in income. 'It's sad leaving here,' he said. 'It's sad that we've had to let quite a number of our team go. It's sad for the volunteers who've provided such amazing support for the tours. 'But we're very hopeful of a bright future ahead of us.' Dr Pleming added: 'I'm really confident that in about a year's time we'll be able to move into that new facility. Trust chief executive Robert Pleming said the plane is 'hibernating' as a funding appeal is launched to fulfil the long-term aim of creating a purpose-built home and visitor centre at the former RAF base. Pictured above, Sam Evans, an airframe technician or 'rigger', working inside the bomb bay of the last flying Vulcan bomber XH558 in 2015 An increase in cargo traffic at the airport has meant XH558's hangar is needed for other uses. Pictured above, 'the Spirit of Great Britain' is seen on the side of the aircraft Dr Pleming said that maintaining the aircraft, along with the trust's Canberra WK163, in the new storage location is expected to cost around 200,000 The trust said that half of the funds raised have been match-funded by a group of philanthropists but an appeal has been launched for the rest. The airport is providing the storage facility free until the end of April 'In effect, the aircraft is hibernating for the time being.' Dr Pleming took the 'bitter decision' last month to reduce the trust's team from 22 to eight full-time staff. Engineering director Andrew Edmondson, one of the world's leading specialists in vintage jet restoration, is being retained along with chief engineer Taff Stone, who is responsible for the ongoing care of XH558. Dr Pleming said that maintaining the aircraft, along with the trust's Canberra WK163, in the new storage location is expected to cost around 200,000. The trust said half has been match-funded by a group of philanthropists but an appeal has been launched for the rest. The airport is providing the storage facility free until the end of April. XH558 was built in 1960 and entered service with the RAF in the role of carrying Britain's nuclear deterrent to the heart of the Soviet Union. The Vulcan last flew in October 2015 before losing its flight permit. The aircraft was first commissioned into service by the RAF in 1956 and formed a key part of Britain's nuclear deterrent until 1984 It was designed as a strategic bomber that could deliver a nuclear payload and carried the Blue Danube, Britain's first ever operational nuclear bomb Manufacturers A V Roe & Co (Avro) named the aircraft 'Vulcan' after the Roman god of fire. At the time, the RAF had three V-bombers: the Vickers Valiant, the Handley Page Victor & the Avro Vulcan. Pictured above, crew, from left, Jonathan Lazzari, Bill Ramsey, Martin Withers and Phil Davies, standing in front of Vulcan XH558 after its final flight in 2015 Under the control of a joint RAF and US command, 108 Vulcans were on standby to attack major Soviet targets by the end of 1959, and from 1962, two jets were stationed in every RAF base carrying nuclear weapons. Pictured above, the crew walking away from Vulcan XH558 after its final flight at Doncaster's Robin Hood Airport The plane's five crew included a pilot, copilot, tactical navigator, radar operator and air electronics officer. Vulcans had no defensive weaponry and so depended upon its high altitude capability to evade attacks by other aircraft It was the last Vulcan to fly as an RAF aircraft in 1992 and was brought back into service in 2008. While there was no direct like-for-like replacement for the Vulcan following its retirement, the Tornado strike bomber fulfilled roles performed by the aircraft. Several other aircraft also carried nuclear weapons until the program was retired in 1998. But XH558 lost its permit to fly at the end of October 2015 as the engineering firms who helped keep it in the air accepted they no longer have the 1950s' skills available to ensure safety. Despite being built as nuclear bombers, the Vulcans' most famous mission was in 1982 when they bombed the runway at Port Stanley during the Falklands War - a raid which has gone down in military history due to the complex multiple refuelling operation needed over such huge distances. Such was the popularity of XH558, its final flight was kept secret so fans would not bring operations to a halt at the airport. Steve Gill, chief executive at the airport, said: 'Having the Vulcan based here is a big part of our history and we want to see it remain here long into the future. 'We continue to work closely with the trust on plans for a new hangar to hold the aircraft for which a possible site has been identified.' Theresa May will warn Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu he is undermining trust in the Middle East peace process when they meet for the first time on Monday. Mr Netanyahu will meet the Prime Minister for talks and a working lunch in Downing Street. Relations between Britain and Israel turned frosty after the UK helped produce a UN security council resolution blasting settlement building last year. No 10 today said Mrs May would not retreat from the position, despite condemnation from both Israel and US President Donald Trump, because it 'undermines trust' in the faltering peace process. Theresa May, pictured at the Commons Despatch Box yesterday, will welcome her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street on Monday Mr Netanyahu and Mrs May have never met. The Prime Minister will hope to ease chilly relations after Britain endorsed a Security Council resolution on settlement building but will make clear Britain's position is unchanged Monday's talks will also cover trade between Britain and Israel. The pair spoke by phone last summer but have never met. Mrs May's spokeswoman said: 'The bilateral is an opportunity to address a wide range of issues. 'I think they will want to talk about how do we strengthen the bilateral relationship, particularly looking at trade and progress made in recent years particularly linking up on innovation and technology. 'They are going to want to talk about a range of security and international issues including the Middle East peace process. I would expect the Prime Minister to set out the Government's position. 'We think the continued increase in settlement activity undermines trust. Our focus is on how do we make a two-state solution with an Israel that is safe from terrorism and a Palestinian state that is viable and sovereign work.' Pressed on the close ties between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu, the spokeswoman added: 'Obviously the Prime Minister has recently been, Prime Minister Netanyahu I think is due to visit the following week, so it is quite possible it will come up in that broader context. 'But it is not the focus for the visit.' Two Palestinian men walk past the huge wall Israel has constructed illegally in the occupied West Bank. News of next week's visit came only hours after the Foreign Office condemned the construction of another 3,000 homes for Israeli settlers Britain helped draft last year's security council resolution on Israeli settlement building, to the fury of both Israel and the new president. The Foreign Office repeated its position yesterday and No 10 today said there would be no unwinding of the position. Mrs May's spokeswoman said the resolution was 'fully consistent with our long standing position' adding: 'She will also be clear we realise and recognise settlements are far from the only problem in this conflict.' Mr Netanyahu (pictured, right) was warmly welcomed to Downing Street by David Cameron in September 2015 Israeli ambassador to the UK Mark Regev confirmed the visit today, tweeting: 'Pleased to announce Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will be in London on Monday for his first meeting with PM Theresa May.' Mr Netanyahu last visited Britain in 2015 and met then Prime Minister David Cameron but he has never met Mrs May. He snubbed her during her only official visit to Israel, as Home Secretary, in June 2014 because he was handling a crisis after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed. They were due to meet last month at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland but Mr Netanyahu cancelled the meeting amid the row over the December's UN Security Council resolution against Israel's settlement policy. Mr Netanyahu has been emboldened by the election of President Trump, who has been more vocal a supporter of his policies in Israel than President Obama. The Israeli leader is due to visit Washington on February 15 and now it appears he is coming to London ahead of that trip. Mr Netanyahu is reportedly seeking to get Britain's support for a chance in policy against Iran. The Obama administration's deal with Iran was derided by Mr Trump during the election campaign but it is not clear if he is prepared to tear it up altogether. The Republican-led Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump's secretary of state, after early GOP reservations fizzled and a handful of Democrats joined the Republican majority. Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve the former ExxonMobil CEO's nomination to be the nation's chief diplomat. Every Republican voted for him, after early signals of concern about Tillerson's ties to Russia, having negotiated oil deals in that country and had contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tillerson was quickly sworn in during a ceremony in the Oval Office, where Trump showered him with praise. Rex Tillerson (pictured center speaking at the White House) was sworn in as President Donald Trump's secretary of state Wednesday after being confirmed by the Senate Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve the nomination of the former ExxonMobil CEO (pictured shaking Trump's hand next to his wife Renda St Clair) Vice-President Mike Pence (center) is pictured preparing to swear in Tillerson (left) as the nation's 69th secretary of state Wednesday in the Oval Office of the White House 'You understand that the job of our diplomats and the mission of the State Department is to serve the interests of the United States of America to make our nation safer, our country more prosperous and our country much more secure,' the president told Tillerson. 'I do believe we can achieve peace and stability in these very, very troubled times.' Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson's nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO to be highly qualified for the post. Senator Ben Cardin, the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, says he feared Tillerson would be a 'yes man' and would not be able to prevent Trump from pursuing a misguided foreign policy that leads the country 'on a march of folly.' Democrats also said they feared Tillerson's four-decade career at the energy giant meant he'd view the world only through the lens of a corporate executive. But Republicans had the numbers to push Tillerson's nomination through. Democrats in a previous Congress pushed through a rules change allowing presidential cabinet nominees to get confirmed on a simple majority vote. They got help from several Democrats who crossed party lines, mostly conservatives from Republican leaning states. Every Republican voted for Tillerson (pictured signing the appointment affidavit) after early signals of concern about his ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin Democrats also said they feared Tillerson's four-decade career at the energy giant meant he'd view the world only through the lens of a corporate executive (he is pictured being sworn in) Trump showered Tillerson with praise, saying: 'I do believe we can achieve peace and stability in these very, very troubled times' Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson's nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO (pictured Wednesday) to be highly qualified Tillerson's ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention. He is pictured at the Chairman's Global Dinner in Washington, DC last month Three Republicans, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, raised concerns about Tillerson, only to vote for his nomination. Rubio is seen applauding at left as Vice President Mike Pence hugs former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley after filling out paperwork to make her the new U.S. Ambassador to the UN Republican Senator John McCain (right) of Arizona, also voted for Tillerson. He is pictured next to Democrat Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island last month The Democrats who backed Tillerson were West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Virginia Senator Mark Warner, and independent Senator Angus King of Maine. Delaware Senator Chris Coons missed the vote. Tillerson's ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention. His opponents on Capitol Hill believed he was too cozy with the Russian leader and wouldn't push back aggressively enough when Moscow acted against US interests. Tillerson received an honorific - the Order of Friendship - from Putin's government in 2013. Among those backing Tillerson were Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who had raised concerns about the nomination when it first got announced. In a statement announcing his decision to back Tillerson in the Foreign Relations Committee last week, Rubio said cabinet nominees deserve 'significant deference.' But his statement contained plenty of criticism. 'While he condemned Russia for "supporting Syrian forces that brutally violate the laws of war," [Tillerson] refused to publicly acknowledge that Vladimir Putin has committed war crimes,' Rubio said. 'Despite his extensive experience in Russia and his personal relationship with many of its leaders, he claimed he did not have sufficient information to determine whether Putin and his cronies were responsible for ordering the murder of countless dissidents, journalists, and political opponents. He indicated he would support sanctions on Putin for meddling in our elections only if they met the impossible condition that they not affect US businesses operating in Russia,' Rubio continued. The Florida senator chided Tillerson over the need for 'moral clarity'. Two other Republicans who had raised concerns, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also voted for him. Democrats tried and failed to persuade Republicans to oppose Tillerson, and tried procedural tactics to no avail. 'This is all an advertisement for a very simple idea that this is probably the absolute worst time to have the first American President with no government experience and no diplomatic experience pick the first Secretary of State with no government experience and no diplomatic experience,' Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said according to the Hill. Maryland Senator Ben Cardin added: 'We need, as the next Secretary of State, a person who is going to be a leader in saying, 'We are going to use every one of our diplomatic tools to isolate Russia if they continue this activity of interfering with our elections.' Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said he was confident that Tillerson 'has the ability to be the effective leader the State Department needs.' Corker cast Tillerson's experience at Exxon Mobil as a plus, saying he led a global enterprise with 75,000 employees and forged 'deep relationships' with world leaders. Tillerson will grapple with many of the same geopolitical dilemmas his predecessors did. As senators cast their ballots, the Trump White House put Tehran 'on notice' after the Iranian military tested a ballistic missile and allied rebels in Yemen attacked a Saudi naval vessel in the Red Sea. The former CEO will also have to deal with any fallout stemming from Trump's executive order on immigration and travel that halts entry for 90 days to citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations. Meanwhile, other Trump cabinet nominees continued to make their way through the confirmation process. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general after angry exchanges between Republicans and Democrats. The 11-9 vote was along party lines. All the panel's Democrats voted against the nomination. The Alabama Republican is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate. Republicans have been strongly supportive of their colleague, arguing that he will follow the law and maintain traditional independence from President Trump, if needed. Democrats have expressed doubts that he would be able to say no to the president since he was one of his earliest and strongest defenders in the presidential campaign. They also expressed concerns about whether Sessions would be committed to civil rights, a chief priority of the Obama administration. A spokesman for Andrew Puzder says the Labor secretary-nominee is working to divest his assets so he can take office as part of President Trump's Cabinet. Puzder says he is 'fully committed to becoming secretary of Labor.' In a statement to The Associated Press, Puzder says he's looking forward to his confirmation hearing, which has been postponed at least three times. Spokesman George Thompson says Puzder's work to divest assets is complicated because his fast food empire, CKE Restaurants Inc., is a private company. The statement comes as Democrats and their allies opposed to Puzder's nomination have raised questions about his fitness for the post. Puzder still has not turned in the required paperwork detailing his plan to avoid conflicts of interest. Two Republican senators have announced their opposition to Betsy DeVos for education secretary. Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both say they cannot support DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor and school choice activist. Both said in Senate floor speeches Wednesday that DeVos' commitment to the nation's public schools is in question in light of her long-held support for vouchers and charter schools. If all other GOP senators support DeVos as expected, and all Democrats oppose her, she would end up with a 50-50 vote in the Senate and Vice President Mike Pence would have to break the tie to confirm her. Democrats temporally thwarted a Senate confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency by boycotting a key committee meeting. The seats reserved for the 10 Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee were empty as Wednesday's meeting to discuss to nomination of Scott Pruitt was called to order. Committee rules require that at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held. Employees at a Houston, Texas, daycare sent a strongly worded message to parents, telling them to get off their phones and pay attention to their own children. Juliana Farris Mazurkewicz posted a photograph of the emphatically written sign, which racked up more than one million shares and 81,000 reactions. The sign read: 'We have heard a child say "Mommy, mommy, mommy" and the parent is paying more attention to their phone than their own child. It is appalling. Get off your phone!!' Employees at a Houston, Texas, daycare sent a glaring message to parents, telling them to get off their phones and pay attention to their children Mazurkewicz admittedly had her phone in hand when she picked her kids up from the daycare outside Houston on Friday. But she found it 'funny and relevant' and snapped a photo to share with her friends before it soon went viral. The sign read: "You are picking up your child! GET OFF YOUR PHONE!!!! Your child is happy to see you! Are you not happy to see your child?? 'We have seen children trying to hand their parents their work they completed and the parent is on the phone. 'We have heard a child say Mommy, mommy, mommy and the parent is paying more attention to their phone than their own child. It is appalling. Get off your phone!!' Mazurkewicz told KARE11: 'I think that it needed to be said, that it's a good reminder to all of us. The daycare is awesome, they are very loving and obviously have the best interest of the children in mind.' Mazurkewicz found the sign 'relevant' and snapped a photo which went went viral Hundreds of people chimed, expressing their approval of the message. Tanisha Monroe, however, pointed to the hypocrisy of the commenters, writing: 'Everybody is complaining about how cell phones are such a nuisance while they're on their cell phones.' Other parents pointed out that they were likely hard at work. Lisa Davis-Kemp said: 'Or could it be that you're self employed, dealing with clients, sorting out problems???? 'But no I'll put down the phone, lose clients and the bills won't get paid!!!!! You can look at the kids work when you get home!!!! Jeez some people are a special kind of stupid!!!!!' Others took issue with the way the message was relayed, with some calling it rude. Alexia Nicki Nichole wrote: 'I'm sorry, I'm going against the status quo and saying this was rude and there is a better way to address this than to make EVERYONE feel like they can never use their phone when it's probably the repeat offenders that need to be addressed. 'Someone could have family in the hospital, waiting for news....you never know. People are quick to be passive aggressive and slow to directly address the real problem.' Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens, a 36-year-old from Illinois, was killed in Sunday's botched raid President Donald Trump has returned back to the White House alongside his eldest daughter, Ivanka, after they met the coffin of a fallen SEAL Team Six member who was killed in a military raid. The arrived duo back at the White House Wednesday evening and walked to the Oval Office to attend the swearing in of Rex Tillerson as the nation's 69th Secretary of State. The president and first daughter flew back in to the Capital after they received the body of Chief Special Warfare Officer William 'Ryan' Owens at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware earlier in the day. For the quick trip, they were accompanied by Delaware Sen. Chris Coons at the private return ceremony that Owens' family also attended. The 36-year-old Illinois native is survived by his wife, Karen, and their three children. Owens was killed in a pre-dawn raid, in which officials have said 'almost everything went wrong,' on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula last Sunday. It was Trump's first clandestine strike, and it was not one that had previously been ordered by former President Barack Obama. Eight-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, known as Nora, was also among the non-combats killed in the raid, which resulted in the death of several Yemeni women. Scroll down for video President Donald Trump has returned back to the White House alongside his eldest daughter, Ivanka (above), after they mourned the death of a SEAL Team Six member killed in a military raid The president and first daughter were photographed stepping off Marine One on Wednesday evening at the White House The duo flew back in to the Capital after they received the body of Chief Special Warfare Officer William 'Ryan' Owens at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware earlier in the day They arrived back at the White House Wednesday evening and walked to the Oval Office to attend the swearing in of Rex Tillerson as the nation's 69th Secretary of State President Donald Trump is pictured with Ivanka as they departed from the White House earlier Wednesday to mourn the death of a SEAL Team Six member killed in his first military raid as president Trump and his eldest daughter, Ivanka, arrived at Dover Air Force Base this afternoon, after making the short flight to Delaware from Washington, to receive the body of Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens SEAL Team 6 is the US Navy's special forces team that gained worldwide fame for killing Osama bin Laden. Dover AFB is traditionally the arrival point for service members killed in action. Obama's first trip to Dover was on Oct. 29, 2009, nine months into his administration. He received 18 American soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan. He reflected several hours later, in Oval Office remarks on the toll of war. 'It is something that I think about each and every day,' he stated. The U.S. president was back at Dover again two years later, in 2011, to receive the remains of 30 soldiers who died in Extortion 17, a helicopter mission in Afghanistan that resulted in the most American military casualties in a single day since the beginning of the war on terror. The Sunday raid that resulted in the death of Owens involved 'boots on the ground' at an AQAP near al Bayda in south central Yemen, officials confirmed in a statement to NBC news. Today's journey was Ivanka's first trip on Marine One The pair exited the Oval Office together to make the quick journey President Trump saluted a marine as he boarded Marine One Wednesday afternoon from the South Lawn of the White House Marine One flew with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Ivanka Trump leaves her home in Washington D.C. on Wednesday lunchtime White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was visibly affected by the tragedy as he addressed it in his daily briefing with reporters before Trump's trip to Dover. The president's spokesman admitted that the raid was not a '100 percent success.' 'I think it's hard to ever say something was successful when you lose a life,' Spicer said. The White House official said Owens deployed 12 times 'because he loved his country and he believed in the mission.' Spicer said that 14 AQAP members were killed and U.S. forces gained 'an unbelievable amount of intelligence' in the raid 'that will prevent potential deaths or attacks on American soil.' 'You never want to call something a success 100 percent when someone is hurt or killed and that was the case here. But I think when you recognize that an individual like this loved this country so much and deployed over and over again because he knew the mission that he was conducting was so important to our protection, our freedom, our safety.' She met her father at the White House and they rode together on Marine One to Dover Ivanka has been filling in for some traditionally first lady roles with Melania in New York The First Lady is in New York until at least June, leaving Ivanka to fill the role Owens' wife, Karen, stressed in her conversation with the president that while it is 'an unbelievably sad and emotional time for her and her family that he loved doing this.' 'And so again, I don't think you ever call anything 100 percent success, but what he did for this nation and what we got out of that mission, I think, I truly believe and I know the president believes is going to save American lives.' A friend from Illinois Valley Central High School, Cody Jackson, added that Owens was doing exactly what he wanted with his life. 'Since he was a freshman in high school, this kid decided he wanted to protect his country (and) he never once wavered from that,' Jackson told the (Peoria) Journal Star. 'Not everyone knows what they want to do in high school, but he did. He wanted to be a Navy SEAL.' Marine One with US President Donald Trump and Ivanka on board, just before it lands at Dover Air Force Base Ivanka's husband, Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Vice President Mike Pence watched from the Rose Garden as they left Owens joined the Navy just after graduating from high school and went on to earn two bronze stars, Joint Service Commendation and an Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Trump, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and others praised Owens for his sacrifice. U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Republican from Peoria, said Owens' death 'is a painful reminder of the immeasurable cost of our freedom and national security.' U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from of East Moline, said Owens death is a 'tragic loss' and 'our nation owes him and his family our deep heartfelt gratitude.' The eight-year-old who was killed in the raid, Nora, was the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born al Qaeda leader, born in New Mexico, who was killed in a U.S. strike Obama ordered five years ago. Al-Awlaki was killed by a drone on September 30, 2011 after the Justice Department approved the strike in a memorandum that was not disclosed until 2014. The memo said: 'We do not believe that al-Awlaki's US citizenship imposes constitutional limitations that would preclude the contemplated lethal action.' United States intelligence officiers believed that al-Awaki was a potential successor to Osama Bin Laden. Defense Secretary James Mattis said of Owens in a statement, 'Ryan gave his full measure for our nation, and in performing his duty, he upheld the noblest standard of military service.' Nora's grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki, is Yemen's former agriculture minister. He told NBC news, 'My granddaughter was staying for a while with her mother, so when the attack came, they were sitting in the house, and a bullet struck her in the neck at 2:30 past midnight. Other children in the same house were killed.' He said she died two hours after being shot. Mr. al-Awlaki said hte SEALS 'entered another house and killed everybody in it, including all the women. They burned the house. There is an asumption there was a woman from Saudi Arabia who was with al Qaeda. All we know is that she was a children's teacher.' Nawar al-Awlaki, also known as Nora, was among the non-combatants killed in the raid, which also resulted in the death of several Yemeni women The girl's mother survived, NBC says, and sustained a minor wound. Al-Awlaki's brother-in-law, however, was killed in the raid. An official told NBC that the raid was directed from a U.S. base in Djibouti. Officially, it was to search for 'information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terrorist plots'. After American service members landed on the ground, a two-hour gun battle ensued. Some al Qaeda fighters were women, and they were among the casualties, reported the San Diego Union Tribune. Al Qaeda has claimed that 30 civilians have died, and the Tribune reported that four other Americans were wounded in the raid and complications in the aircraft landing. National security experts believe that the death of the girl will be used as a part of al Qaeda propaganda methods. Trump said in December of 2015 that he wouldn't fight a 'politically correct war' against ISIS. In a interivew on Fox & Friends, Trump said, 'The other thing with the terrorists, you have to take out their families. 'They care about their lives, don't kid yourself. But when they say they don't care about their lives, you have to take out their families,' he said. The Geneva Conventions, of which the United States is a signatory, bars the killing of civillians. An eight-year-old, Nora, killed in the raid was the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki (pictured), an American al Qaeda leader, born in New Mexico, who was killed in a US strike ordered by President Obama five years ago This was the president's first clandestine strike, and not one that was originally ordered by former President Obama. It involved 'boots on the ground' at an al Qaeda Camp near al Bayda in south central Yemen (pictured) Trump, then a GOP candidate for president, reversed his position in March, saying in a statement, 'I will use every legal power that I have to stop these terrorist enemies. 'I do, however, understand that the United States is bound by laws and treaties and I will not order our military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters.' After Nora al-Awaki was killed in Sunday's raid, the White House went a step further on Tuesday and Spicer unoquicivocally stated: 'No American citizen will ever be targeted.' One of Spicer's deputies walked back her boss' claim later that day. She said in a statement that the Trump administration would abide by the legal standard adopted by the Obama administration. 'U.S. policy regarding the possible targeting of American citizens has not changed,' Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that was reported on by Bloomberg. Mike Hager (pictured), who had claimed that President Trump's travel ban caused his sick Iraqi mother to die after she was stopped from traveling to the US for treatment, has been exposed as a fraud A Detroit man who claimed Donald Trump's travel ban caused his sick Iraqi mother to die after she was stopped from traveling to the US for treatment has been exposed as a fraud. Mike Hager, who fled Iraq during the Gulf War, had returned to his country of birth with his mother 75-year-old mother Naimma to visit family but while they were there she fell ill. He claimed they decided to travel back to Michigan at the weekend so she could get urgent treatment, only to be stopped at an Iraqi airport and told Naimma had to stay in the gulf country as she only held a green card. She died soon after, the grieving son claimed. However, an Islamic leader in Dearborn, Michigan, has refuted Hager's claim, and said instead the 75-year-old woman died in Iraq five days before Trump's ban was rolled out. Imam Husham Al-Hussainy, leader of the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center in Dearborn, told WJBK that Naimma died on January 22 - days before Hager claims. Al-Hussainy said Hager's mother was suffering from kidney disease, for which she was receiving treatment in the US. Hager has been exposed after he previously told Fox News his mother would still be alive today if it weren't for the Trump's new ban. He said: 'I was just shocked. I had to put my mom back on the wheelchair and take her back and call the ambulance and she was very very upset. She knew right there if we send her back to the hospital she's going to pass away - she's not going to make it. 'I really believe this in my heart: if they would have let us in, my mom - she would have made it and she would have been sitting right here next to me. She's gone because of him. Hager falsely claimed that when he and his mother, pictured, arrived at the airport in Iraq, he was told he could travel back to the US, as he was an American citizen, but his mother would have to stay in Iraq as she only held a green card President Donald Trump shows his signature on an executive action announcing 'extreme vetting' for people traveling to the US 'You have to understand you have a daughter - you have family - imagine if somebody does that to your mom. You put the terrorists on this side - the bad people - but don't mix everyone together.' And he added that despite having lived in the US for over 20 years and having American citizenship, he is worried if he will be able to stay. Trump signed the executive order on Friday that temporarily bans refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries, sparking tumult at US airports and protests in major American cities. The countries include Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. A family gang who scammed devastated families by selling seriously ill and dying dogs from a brutal puppy farm have dodged jail. The animals were advertised online as being home-reared but were actually kept in cages in dark sheds at an Essex travellers' site, with three dying, four more put to sleep and others suffering serious health problems. One of the dogs was 'vomiting worms', some of its fur fell out and it had blood in its faeces, Basildon Crown Court heard. Scroll down for video A family puppy farming gang has made 100,000 selling hundreds of sick and dying dogs Many dogs died or suffered serious health problems, kept in windowless sheds and cages The four members of the sick syndicate were slapped with suspended sentences for fraud offences in what was described as a 'sophisticated conspiracy'. It is thought the scam netted the gang between 100,000 and 500,000 over the course of two years as more than 700 dogs were vaccinated. During the trial a horrific video was played to the jury which showed a dog almost 'rotting away' at lynchpin Teresa Wade's home in Aveley, Essex. Many of the animals died or suffered serious health problems after being kept in windowless sheds, before being sold for an average of 450 each. Just under 2,000 of the animals were snapped up by new owners after they were listed on the unlicensed Pets4Homes website for up to 750 Wade bred and sold toy breeds on an industrial scale, scamming animal lovers into believing they were 'home-bred'. Midway through a lengthy trial she please guilty and was sentenced with Roxanne Montgomery , 33, Victoria Montgomery , 35, all from Essex and east London - who also admitted fraud charges. Gang leader: Teresa Wade, 57, has been convicted of the fraud Roxanne Montgomery and her ex-partner Hammond claimed to be unaware of the conditions at the puppy farm - but admitted helping to sell the dogs from front homes at the earliest opportunity. The court heard how the gang suffered from a series of health and emotional problems - and a prison sentence would not benefit any of the defendants. Judge David Owen-Jones today said: 'The case itself involved the advertising and sale of puppies to the public represented to have been home bred. 'Miss Wade's premises were visited under search warrant by RSPCA officers in 2014. 'Photographs and videos were taken which I have seen. 'Numerous puppies were taken away variously described as being tired, dirty and lethargic and the conditions in the kennels were poor. And added: 'This conspiracy was a sophisticated enterprise which required planning and significant skills related advertising and conveyance of various puppies.' Some dogs died shortly after arriving at their new homes, or were ill and infested with fleas; one even 'vomited worms' The prosecution was brought by the RSPCA following a raid at the traveller site in Essex Basildon Crown Court heard Wade's home was raided by RSPCA inspectors in October 2014 The gang advertised the animals on the website Pets4Homes and sold them for as much as 750 after luring victims to homes. But often the dogs would die soon after or be plagued with ill-health and fleas when their new owners got them home. A shocked customer reported their dog 'vomiting worms' shortly after being picked up. Wade's home was raided by RSPCA inspectors in October 2014 after a string of complaints and investigators discovered 76 dogs all different toy breeds - 44 of which were puppies - and they soon had more than 100 due to births. RSPCA inspector Carroll Lamport told the court: 'They were dirty, some were pot-bellied and generally they appeared somewhat depressed. 'For the most part what bedding there was of shredded paper was wet and it was dirty. A lot of the water bowls were empty.' Details of the case were raised at their fraud trial, with the prosecution brought by the RSPCA following a raid at the traveller site in Essex. The gang behind it all, from Essex and east London, included Wade, Victoria Montgomery, 54, her daughter Roxanne Montgomery, 33, and her partner Tony Hammond, 34 It is not known exactly how many dogs were sold, although 1,900 were taken by Wade to the vets for vaccinations in 2013 and 2014 Wade's daughters Charlene Smith, left, and Danielle Wade, right, both 29, denied conspiracy to commit fraud and the charges will lie on file In a shocking twist Wade and Victoria Montgomery changed their pleas four weeks into the six-week hearing, after originally denying ripping off hundreds of families. Pointing to a mixed breed adult dog in the clip previously shown to the court: 'This dog was in very poor condition. 'He had lots of areas of sores, it was almost rotting away, it had a lot of skin sloughing off the body.' Jurors were told it is not known how many dogs were sold - but the court previously heard Wade took 1,900 to vets for their first vaccinations in 2013 and 2014. Prosecutors said small family-friendly breeds were only worth around 200 because they were farmed and Wade charged between 450 and 750 per puppy. All of the dogs - a mix of poodles, cocker spaniels, cavachons, cockerpoos and golden doodles - were seized by police and placed into the RSPCA's care along with one horse, one bird and five cats. As part of the fraud trial a horrifying video was shown to the jury, depicting one helpless dog 'rotting away' at Wade's home in Aveley All of the dogs, a mix of poodles, cocker spaniels, cavachons, cockerpoos and golden doodles, have been placed into the RSPCA's care They have now been successfully re-homed and are living in good homes with loving families Some of the bitches were pregnant and the puppies were born in RSPCA care. Of the 103 dogs in total, four died and courts ordered for all the survivors to be rehomed by the charity ahead of the court case. In mitigation the court heard Hammond, both Montgomerys and Wade had no serious convictions up until the RSPCA raid. Wade's solicitor Sara Lise-Howe claimed some of the puppies were from another supplier in Wales and believed they were healthy. She said: 'Up until the warrant being executed at her home she was effectively a lady of good character. 'This is a lady that has fallen on hard times she has clearly been industrious and hard working. 'Custodial sentence would have a devastating effect on Miss Wade's mental health.' Victoria Montgomery was sentenced in her absence as she has health problems and the court heard she cares for her disabled children. Wade received a 21 month sentence suspended for two years, Victoria Montgomery, of Dagenham, had a 14 month sentence suspended for two years, Hammond, of Upminster, and Roxanne Montgomery, of Dagenham were slapped with an unpaid work order and a nine month suspended sentence. All were fined 500. Of the 103 dogs in total, four died and courts ordered for all the survivors to be rehomed by the charity ahead of the court case Some of the bitches were pregnant and the puppies were born in RSPCA care Victoria Montgomery and Wade now face a prosecution for animal cruelty RSPCA inspector Cliff Harrison, speaking outside court, said of the sentences handed down: 'It was clearly looked at seriously by the court and it reflects just how serious this case was in terms of hoodwinking the public into believing they were buying home-bred puppies that had been socialised and raised with children and pets when in effect they were buying factory-farmed puppies.' He added: 'Unfortunately we believe there are a lot of misrepresentations of the provenance of puppies up and down the country and this has been exacerbated by the latest trend for cross-breed puppies.' He said he hoped the sentences sent a strong message to unscrupulous breeders, and warned would-be buyers to be wary of online adverts. 'It's invariably a mobile phone number, a cross-breed dog and the parent dog shown doesn't even show signs of having been bred from or of being interested in the puppies,' he said. Victoria Montgomery and Wade now face a prosecution for animal cruelty. Evidence of longevity at Calverton, Virginia; photo by George W. Hamlin Admittedly, I dont spend a lot of my time trackside examining rails. While they are a foundational part of railroading, typically something else causes me to appear trackside, camera in hand. For that matter, their sides are typically not well-lit, and they are often in the shadows, both literally and figuratively. They spend most of their time waiting for relatively brief (in most locations) interactions with other pieces of steel in a different shape: round wheels, as opposed to the longitudinal strands of rails. However, depending on the alignment of the track, and time of the year, sometimes the sun will bring to light what usually goes unnoticed, sitting there in otherwise plain view on the side of the rails. Typically, there will be a description of the steel product, in terms of its weight (expressed in pounds per yard), and in some cases, a reference to its cross-section or other physical properties. But most interesting is that they generally bear the date of their birth, and also, in many cases, where this took place, or at least, the name of the manufacturer. And thus, I was startled recently to discover that this particular piece of trackage included some very long-serving components. Here on track two of Norfolk Southerns Washington district in Calverton, Virginia, are rails that date from 1954 and 1959, and yet, are still serving after all these years. Not relegated to a slow-speed, light-duty branch line, either, where an elderly piece of rail might reasonably expect to spend its declining years. In a few minutes, Amtraks eastbound Cardinal will roll across the top of these rails; track speed is 79 miles per hour here for the passenger train, but the 1950s products will be up to the task. Putting this in perspective, when these two first went on duty, it would be decades before any of the equipment about to pass over them was built, and Amtrak itself was over a decade away. Also included in the rails descriptive data are BSCO and, appropriately, Steelton. The former is an acronym referring to the Bethlehem Steel Company; the latter is a reference to that companys plant in Steelton, Pennsylvania, just south of Harrisburg. Steel rails are still being manufactured in Steelton, although the facility now belongs to ArcelorMittal. According to the companys website, Steelton is one of only three producers of rails in the Americas. The old cliche you get what you pay for comes to mind here, as does the tension between the need to balance investments and quarterly earnings often found in todays financial world. On balance, however, it would be hard to describe these two lengths of rail dating from the Eisenhower administration as anything other than investments, and sound ones, indeed. And, in the right light, a worthy subject for contemplation and photography. Donald Trump is set to face another potential conflict of interest after a massive percentage of workers at his Washington DC hotel voted to unionize. A staggering 95 per cent of all housekeepers and guest-room workers at the Trump International Hotel Washington voted last week to join Unite Here Local 25, which represents hospitality workers in the region. The Washington Post reports about 40 people were in favor of the action, which is the first push by workers to unionize and secure themselves on-the-job protection since Trump took office. Donald Trump is set to face another potential conflict of interest after a massive percentage of workers at his Washington DC hotel voted to unionize. Staff members are pictured before a ribbon cutting last October Donald Trump gives a thumbs up after cutting the ribbon at the new Trump International Hotel with his son Eric Trump, wife Melania Trump and daughter Tiffany Trump in October 2016 Another 80 bartenders, servers, porters and other workers will vote next, meaning the number of unionized workers at Trump's capital property could rise even higher. Trump put his sons in charge of managing his businesses but has refused to divest from them. As president, Trump appoints top members of the National Labor Relations Board, which rules on disputes between unions and employers. He has already picked Andrew Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, to serve as Labor Secretary. A staggering 95 per cent of all housekeepers and guest-room workers at the Trump International Hotel Washington (pictured) voted last week to join Unite Here Local 25, which represents hospitality workers in the region As president, Trump will have the power to appoint top members of the National Labor Relations Board. His pick for Labor Secretary, Andy Puzder (right, shaking Trump's hand) has been described as 'anti-union' Puzder, 66, has been labelled by many as 'anti-union', and he has been a component of automation replacing people. 'They always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, theres never a slip-and-fall or an age, sex or race discrimination case,' he said of machines in an interview with Business Insider last year. The 66-year-old is also staunchly against increasing the minimum wage. The local union's executive secretary, John Boardman, predicted a quick agreement on a labor contract with the Trump company. It was the photograph that became an internet sensation - 80 birds of prey travelling in the cabin of a passenger jet. But the bizarre scene may not have been as unusual as you might suspect. Many wealthy Arabs collect falcons and the creatures receive care and treatment that is second to none. Birds of prey wait for health checks and other treatments at the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital The birds, which cost at least 8,000 each, are carried around in luxury cars, exhibited with pride and even have the services of a specialist falcon hospital in Abu Dhabi. Several Middle East-based airlines have set rules and prices for owners who wish to take their birds aboard as living hand luggage. Falconry is an ancient art regarded as integral to Arab heritage and culture. It is thought to have been practised in the Middle East for thousands of years, as Bedouin tribes used the birds to hunt in the desert. Around 9,000 birds are treated each year for a range of ailments at the Abu Dhabi hospital Combined with some of the vast wealth to be found in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries, it is not surprising the birds are often a little on the spoilt side. Owners ensure the birds are tagged with GPS devices in case they get lost. Prized specimens can reach huge sums, with outstanding breeding birds even selling for as much as 1million. The falcons are trained using toy aircraft or drones which are flown with bait attached by strings, encouraging the creatures to perform in mid-air. The photo which emerged earlier this week showed 80 birds of prey filling the cabin of a commercial plane. The photo, uploaded to Reddit by a user known only as Lensoo, carried the caption My captain friend sent me this photo. Saudi prince bought ticket for his 80 hawks'. The birds were wearing special hoods to keep them docile and perched calmly among the human passengers. This extraordinary photograph showed 80 hawks who had been booked on a plane by a Saudi prince Falconry fans take their birds on a Qatar Airways flight to Baku. They escape the heat of Doha for a week to let the birds fly in the cooler air of Azerbaijan It is believed the birds were booked onto a Qatar Airways flight but this has not been confirmed. Qatar Airways guidelines states: You are permitted to carry one falcon on board the economy class passenger cabin of an aircraft, and a maximum of six falcons are permitted within the economy class cabin of an aircraft (country regulations may apply)'. Transporting the animals with the airline costs between 90 and 500 per bird depending on the destination. It means the 80 creatures may have cost as much as 40,000 to transport on this one trip. The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital says it is the largest of its kind in the world. Qatari men hold their prized peregrine falcons on a bus after landing at Doha airport Established in 1999, it treats and examines about 11,200 falcons a year, with customers travelling from across the United Arab Emirates and from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. The hospital boasts an operating theatre, advanced anaesthetic equipment, an ophthalmology unit, patient monitoring apparatus, latest laser technology, a digital radiography unit and endoscopy facilities. The hospital says it has state-of-the-art intensive critical care units for up to 11 birds in separate rooms at the same time. There is also a separate falcon pox unit with thermo-cautery apparatus and other equipment to treat cases of avian pox. It also has its own breeding centre. The lawyer who successfully applied for bail for David Bradford weeks before he stabbed his wife Teresa to death has defended the decision to Lisa Wilkinson. In a firey interview with the Today host, Queensland lawyer Mark Donnelly said the bail system is working and that Bradford should actually have been free earlier. Wilkinson argued that the current system allowed a mother-of-four to be killed, but Mr Donnelly shot back that, even with proposed reforms, Bradford would have been given bail anyway because he has no criminal history. Today host Lisa Wilkinson got into a heated debated with Mark Donnelly, the lawyer who got killer husband David Bradford freed on bail, over whether the system needs to be reformed He said: 'I thought the decision to grant bail was appropriate in the circumstances, Mr Bradford didn't have any criminal history, this was a single incident. 'In relation to bail I think it was actually the right thing to do, he should have been given bail sooner than spending 44 days in custody.' Wilkinson then asked: 'But if that's the case why do think police felt very strongly that he shouldn't be allowed out on bail? 'Many of those surrounding the case felt that Teresa was in grave danger of being murdered, and one of her friends, Carina Mason, said as soon as Teresa found out her husband had been murdered she "lived in fear of her life"?' Mr Donnelly responded: 'Police take statements from witnesses, Mrs Bradford was the complainant, and charges were laid, so based on that police believed her. Bradford spent 44 days in custody accused of beating and choking wife Teresa before being released on January 12 'But my client is the accused, so he has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.' Wilkinson added: 'So you're happy with the situation as it stands, but the situation as it stands means a woman is dead and four children are without their mother.' Mr Donnelly added: 'This is a really tragic event, but I think if the reverse onus which is being proposed was in place, Mr Bradford would have gotten bail in any event. 'He doesn't present as someone who - if you look at the criminal history and this particular incident - would not get bail if the reserve onus applied.' Bradford, 52, and Teresa, 40, were found dead in their Pimpama home, on the Gold Coast in Queensland, by police on Tuesday morning. Bradford is believed to have broken into the family home - in breach of his bail conditions - and stabbed her to death in front of their children before killing himself. He was charged with a number of violent offences against Ms Bradford on November 28 last year - including domestic violence-related common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm, choking or strangulation, and deprivation of liberty, according to the Courier Mail. Ms Bradford told police that her husband had slapped her before trying to drag her into a bedroom. She claimed he threatened to kill himself before taping her mouth shut and punching her in the face until she was unconscious. Mr Donnelly argued that Bradford should actually have been freed earlier, and even if the law was changed, he would have been granted bail anyway Police believe Bradford broke into Teresa's home on the Gold Coast earlier this week before stabbing her to death in front of three of their children and then killing himself Ms Bradford also alleged that her husband pinned her down for 25 minutes before grabbing a knife, box cutter and rope and threatening to tie her up. At Bradford's bail hearing, police cautioned against setting him free, saying he still posed a danger to his wife. He was released on bail on January 12. Friends of the mother-of-four said she did not know Bradford was applying for bail until after he was released and that she spent her final days scrambling to find a new home so he would not track her down. Ms Bradford's friend April Trengove told Daily Mail Australia that the authorities had failed her. 'The system didn't even tell her he was released until she found out hours later. The system could not get one thing right. 'This is why this happens and this is why she is not here and those babies lost their mum.' Another friend, Karina Mason, told the ABC that Ms Bradford had a series of house viewings lined up as she desperateley sought to move home. 'She was actually due to look at five houses this week because she knew she needed to move out of the house they were living in together and she needed to move so he didn't know where they were,' Ms Mason said. He might not have got much thanks from British voters for the central role he played in the failed campaign to keep Britain in the EU. But last night Peter Mandelson basked in continental glory after being awarded Frances highest honour at French ambassador Sylvie Bermanns official residence in London. One of the EUs biggest cheerleaders, Lord Mandelson served as the Brussels trade commissioner between 2004 and 2008. He was also a senior Cabinet minister in Gordon Browns government. The French embassy tweeted a picture of Peter Mandelson last night with the Legion dHonneur medal pinned to his suit and posing with the ambassador The French embassy tweeted a picture of the Labour politician last night with the Legion dHonneur medal pinned to his double-breasted suit, posing with the ambassador in front of French and EU flags. Germanys ambassador to the UK, Peter Ammon, confirmed he also attended the reception in the honour of Lord Mandelson. The peer, long known as the Prince of Darkness for his behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, has been one of the most outspoken critics of Brexit. He is behind the pro-EU Open Britain campaign group, which demanded that MPs have a vote on leaving the EU. The peer (left), long known as the Prince of Darkness for his behind-the-scenes manoeuvring declined to say why he was given the accolade (right), adding it was a matter for the French embassy Last night he declined to say why he was given the accolade, adding it was a matter for the French embassy. However, he said the citation was six pages long. The honour is usually reserved for those who have given great service to further the interests of the French. Another EU supporter who recently received the medal was the editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber. Mr Barber was given the rank of Chevalier in August, the lowest of the awards five classes, in recognition of his positive role in the European debate. His newspaper was accused of publishing relentless pro-EU coverage in the run up to last Junes referendum, and also issued warnings about the supposed dire economic consequences after Britain voted for Brexit. Critics suggested both Mr Barber and Lord Mandelsons honours were handed out for their slavish support of the EU. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: The French seem to have a habit of giving out medals for battles they have lost. Both Peter Mandelson and Lionel Barber had a bad dose of Europhilia. The best remedy for that is Brexit. When Labour was in power, Lord Mandelson, a close supporter of Tony Blair, survived a number of scandals and was brought back government despite being sacked twice. THE LEGION D'HONNEUR: A GIFT FROM NAPOLEON The Legion DHonneur (pictured) was established in 1802 by Napoleon The Legion DHonneur was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and is the highest decoration in France, both military and civilian. In order to receive the redribboned medal, a non-French national must have served France or upheld its ideals. It has been awarded to soldiers, celebrities, novelists and journalists and Peter Mandelson joins nearly one million other recipients in the honours 215-year history. France, which on Tuesday gave the award to a dozen British servicemen, is in the process of awarding the medal to all British D-Day veterans. Other recent British recipients include Sir Paul McCartney (2012) and Harry Potter author JK Rowling (2009). Other non-French holders include Bob Geldof, Bono, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood and Bob Dylan. British novelists Graham Greene (1967) and Nancy Mitford (1950) also received the award. Advertisement The first occasion was in 1996 when he took a loan from the then paymaster general Geoffrey Robinson to buy his Notting Hill home. He failed to declare it and the error cost him his job as trade and industry secretary. He came back as Northern Ireland secretary ten months later and lasted a year before being embroiled in a row over a passport for an Indian billionaire who wanted to give 1million to New Labours Millennium Dome project. He officially departed from public life six years ago to pursue a lucrative business career. He also set up a secretive consultancy called Global Counsel, whose client list includes BP. The grandee will take up an appointment as chairman of the Design Museum later this year. He has also been given a role as a Brexit adviser by Londons Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is known to harbour ambitions to lead the Labour Party. When Labour was in power, Lord Mandelson (pictured centre with Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, right), a close supporter of Tony Blair, survived a number of scandals and was brought back into the government despite being sacked twice Britain passed the point of no return in its historic battle to cut ties with Brussels tonight as MPs backed the Brexit Bill Lord Mandelson has not always been so admired by the French government. He fell out with former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who accused him of selling out French farmers interests. On Tuesday, the French embassy gave the same honour to 12 British D-Day war veterans. The French embassy could not be reached for comment last night. A tourist reportedly dropped dead yesterday while waiting in a long queue at a Chinese theme park. The woman, described to be in her 20s, fainted at around 10:30am as she waited to ride a roller coaster at the Fangte Eastern Myth theme park in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, reported People's Daily Online. She was taken to a hospital by an ambulance at once, but was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, the report said. People tried to rescue the tourist after she fainted while queuing in the park in eastern China Footage emerged on Chinese social media shows that one man was giving CPR to the woman, who was lying on the ground. It remains unclear whether the woman was alive or dead when the video was filmed. A number of people, believed to be staff at the theme park, formed a human wall to fence the woman and the rescuers from a large number of onlookers. The woman, who was originally from Taiwan, was queuing to ride a wooden roller coaster called 'Jungle', according to the People's Daily Online report, which cited China News. When the video first circulated on social media, it was claimed that the woman dropped dead after she had ridden the roller coaster. An unnamed official from the theme park told local reporters: 'According to our surveillance footage, the tourist did not faint after riding the roller coaster. [She fainted] while she was waiting for the ride.' Some people claimed that the queue for the roller coaster could be as long as three hours. There were also accounts saying the queue was about 1.5 hours on the day Web users claimed that the queue for the roller coaster could be as long as three hours. Other accounts said that the queue was about 1.5 hours long on the day. Fante theme park in Ningbo released a statement on its official Weibo account at 3:36pm on January 31. The statement said: 'At around 10:30am on January 31, the Taiwanese tourist, surnamed Chen, suddenly fell ill. 'Paramedics at the theme park arrived on the scene at once and called for an ambulance, which took the tourist to the hospital. ' The woman, who was originally from Taiwan, had wanted to ride a wooden roller coaster called 'Jungle' (pictured) in the Fangte Eastern Myth theme park in Ningbo The statement continued: 'The hospital confirmed that they had not been able to save the [woman's] life.' The case is being investigated as of writing. The police is yet to release a statement. The Fangte Eastern Myth theme park is situated in Ningbo, a city with about eight million residents and is situated about 90 miles south of Shanghai. Occupying some 200 acres, the park has four zones and is themed after various ancient Chinese fables. A ticket to the park costs 280 yuan (32). It was once thought that the icy tomb of the Cold War military base Camp Century would remain sealed forever, trapping with it the millions of gallons of waste materials stored inside. The site contains over 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 6,340,000 gallons of wastewater, and an unknown amount of low-level radioactive waste and PCBs. Scientists now estimate that the snow and ice that sealed the base will melt away by the end of the century as a result of climate change, potentially releasing the hazardous chemicals. New maps from NASAs Earth Observatory reveal just how extreme this ice loss could be, with some areas surrounding Camp Century expected to shed 10 or more feet from the surface per year. Scroll down for video The area around Camp Century is expected to start seeing ice loss by 2090, as illustrated in the map in a pale red colour. The dark red area indicates where surface ice could drop by 10 feet (three meters) or more per year The new maps reveal the estimated changes in surface mass balance, or the change between the accumulation and ablation of ice and snow on a glaciers surface, for the 1950s and 2090s, according to NASA. The area around Camp Century is expected to start seeing ice loss by 2090, as illustrated in the map in a pale red colour. And, the deeper hues surrounding it indicate a more extreme trend. The dark red area shows where surface ice could drop by 10 feet (three meters) or more per year. It was once thought that the icy tomb of the Cold War military base Camp Century would remain sealed forever, trapping with it the millions of gallons of waste materials stored inside A radar profile from NASAs Operation IceBridge captured on May 2, 2011 shows disturbances within the smooth ice. According to the researchers, this indicates the presence of buried physical wastes at depths consistent with those predicted for the Camp Century tunnels In the maps, blue means a net gain in ice cover, while white means no change. The analysis comes after a study published last year in Geophysical Research Letters revealed that dramatic ice loss could affect the area by the end of the century. According to the authors, there are 200,000 liters (53,000 gallons) of diesel fuel, 24,000,000 liters (6,340,000 gallons) of wastewater, including sewage, and an unknown quantity of low-level radioactive waste and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). THE HISTORY OF CAMP CENTURY By the time it was abandoned in 1966 as the ice cap started to crush the camp, soldiers had built two miles of tunnels Camp Century was built in 1959 in northwest Greenland by the US Army Corps of Engineers, 8m beneath the surface of the ice sheet. It was one of five bases built near the Thule Air Force Base, with the purpose of resting Arctic construction techniques and scientific research. The original plan was to build 2,500 miles of tunnels which would have covered an area of 52,000 square miles which is bigger than the size of England. By the time it was abandoned in 1966 due to the ice cap starting to crush the camp, soldiers had already built two miles of tunnels and a facility that boasted a hospital, theatre, church and a shop for 200 of its inhabitants. The real plan was top secret - known as Project Iceworm,' it was designed for a proof of concept for a planned subsurface nuclear missile base. Scientists now estimate that the snow and ice that sealed the base will melt away by the end of the century as a result of climate change, potentially releasing the hazardous chemicals The hidden launch site would be able to shoot as many as 600 intermediate range ballistic missiles that could reach the Soviet Union. But, the plan was thrown out in 1963. It housed 85 to 200 soldiers during its time of operation Camp Century is completely encased within the ice sheet, positioned roughly 125 miles inland from the Greenland coast. It housed 85 to 200 soldiers during its time of operation, and scientists at the site collected ice core samples that are still used in research today. The project, though it was built with Denmarks approval, was kept secret from the Danish government. And, several years after it became operational, the camp was decommissioned. The US removed a portable nuclear reactor that had supplied heat and electricity, but left behind an estimated 200,000 liters (53,000 gallons) of diesel fuel and 24,000,000 liters (6,340,000 gallons) of wastewater, including sewage, according to an international study published in August. And, they left an unknown quantity of low-level radioactive waste and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Under the secret mission 'Project Iceworm', the hidden launch site would be able to shoot as many as 600 intermediate range ballistic missiles that could reach the Soviet Union. But, the plan was thrown out in 1963 The original plan was to build 2,500 miles of tunnels which would have covered an area of 52,000 square miles which is bigger than the size of England Remarkable footage sheds new light on the 'City under Ice.' A narrator in the video explains: 'Camp Century is buried below the surface of this ice cap. 'Beneath it, the ice descends for 6,000 feet. 'In this remote setting, less than 800 miles from the North Pole, Camp Century is a symbol of mans unceasing goal to conquer his environment, to increase his ability to live and fight if necessary under polar conditions.' Advertisement While surface melting may not be imminent yet, the researchers say liquid meltwater could pose a threat much sooner. The phenomenon could carry the PCBs deeper into the ice, according to NASA, and farther downhill. Camp Century (red) is completely encased within the ice sheet, positioned roughly 125 miles inland from the Greenland coast A radar profile from NASAs Operation IceBridge captured on May 2, 2011 shows disturbances within the smooth ice. According to the researchers, this indicates the presence of buried physical wastes at depths consistent with those predicted for the Camp Century tunnels. Solid waste buried roughly 100 feet (30 meters) below the surface can be seen as the darker splotch in the image. Researchers warn that the waste, which lies near the edge of the retreating Greenland Ice Sheet, could soon be exposed as the temperatures continue to rise. How are we going to adapt to this and start talking about what to do in 2090? said William Colgan, the studys lead author. This is just one in a very long list of reasons to say: how do we try and mitigate climate change now? A new robot is fueling fears about jobs being replaced by technology. British firm Ocado, the world's largest online-only supermarket, is testing a soft robotic hand that can delicately pick-up and pack fruits and vegetables in its warehouse. Called the RBO Hand 2, the machine's fingers consist of flexible material and uses pressurized air to grasp objects - and could replace many of the human workers. Scroll down for video Ocado, the world's largest online-only supermarket, is testing a soft robotic hand that can delicately pick-up and pack fruits and vegetables in its warehouse. Called the RBO Hand 2, the machine's fingers consist of flexible material and uses pressurized air to grasp objects HOW DOES IT WORK? RBO Hand 2 has fingers made of flexible material, which air is pumped into in order to grab objects. Actuators are positioned on the printed scaffold and air is pushed through specific areas of the hand to regulate its movements. In the future, Ocada foresees the RBO Hand 2 identifying whether a fruit or vegetable is ripe enough for shipping by adding computer vision to the robot. Advertisement RBO Hand 2 is part of the firm's SoMa (Soft Manipulation) project and is a collaboration with universities in Italy, Germany and Austria, as well as Disney research. There are about 4,000 humans employed in Ocado's warehouses, and pick and packing are major roles at the facilities. Alex Harvey, the head of the robotic and autonomous systems at the company, told WIRED that 'The overall goal is to automate picking of every single item we have'. Ocado noted that it has integrated more automation into its warehouses and expanded its operations, the number of people employed has grown. Prior to this game-changing robot, machines were unable to grab soft objects without bruising or damaging them but that is where RBO Hand 2 comes in. 'One of the main challenges of robotic manipulation has been the handling of easily damageable and unpredictably shaped objects such as fruit and vegetable groceries,' aid Dr. Graham Deacon, robotics research team leader at Ocado Technology. 'These products have unique shapes and should be handled in a way that does not cause damage or bruising.' 'To avoid damaging sensitive items, the project uses a compliant gripper in conjunction with an industrial robot arm. WILL ROBOTS TAKE YOUR JOB? In a recent McKinsey report, the researchers looked at many factors of workplace automation, including the 'technical feasibility' of certain activities. Based on this factor, certain jobs were at greater risk, including: - 59 percent of manufacturing activities could be automated. Within this field, the researchers say 90 percent of the activities of welders, cutters, solderers and brazers could be done by a robot. - 73 percent of activities in food service and accommodations could be automated - 53 percent of retail work could be automated; 47 percent of the salespersons job could be automated, while 86 percent of bookkeepers, accountant and auditing clerks has this potential - They also detailed the activities with low potential for automation: - Education - Healthcare, especially those which require expertise and direct contact with patients, like dental hygienist - 'Knowledge work,' including management jobs Advertisement The air pressure is the only component controlled, while the while the fingers, palm, and thumb adjust their shape to the given object when airflow is pumped into the hand. Actuators are positioned on the printed scaffold and air is pushed through specific areas of the hand to regulate its movements. This simplifies control and enables effective exploitation of the environment. There are some 4,000 humans employed in Ocado's main warehouse, and pick and packing are major roles in the facilities. Alex Harvey, the head of the robotic and autonomous systems at the company, said that 'The overall goal is to automate picking of every single item we have' 'We designed a set of experiments to evaluate grasping performance on an example set of artificial fruit stored in an International Fruit Container tray,' said Deacon. The hand used areas of the tray to pick-up objects, which proved the machine 'is able to successfully grasp a variety of shapes'. The air pressure is the only component controlled, while the while the fingers, palm, and thumb adjust their shape to the given object- and are controlled by airflows. Actuators are positioned on the printed scaffold and air is pushed through areas of the hand MORE ROBOT SOLDIERS BY 2030 A top US general responsible for shaping the military of the future has revealed that robots could make up a quarter of the army within the next few decades. General Robert Cone said last year that the hi-tech machines will fight alongside soldiers on the battlefield by 2030 or 2040, in a bid to make the army 'a smaller, more lethal, deployable and agile force'. He said modern health and safety concerns designed to keeping soldiers safe - adding armour and protection to vehicles and personnel - has caused the army to lose some of its lethal edge, but hinted that robots could revitalize its killing force. The US Army has a long-running mission to create autonomous robots - machines capable of making decisions, in real time, on the front line to changing circumstances. More than a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq has allowed the public to see the huge resources already dedicated to unmanned systems; from the high-flying Global Hawk to the lethal Predator drones to hand-launched Raven. Advertisement In the future, Ocada foresees the RBO Hand 2 identifying whether a fruit or vegetable is ripe enough for shipping. 'The RBO Hand 2 offers a versatile, cost-effective and safe solution for robotic grasping and manipulation that integrates very well with Ocado's highly-automated warehouses,' Deacon shared. The soft robotic robot isn't the only robot sharing the floor with human employees at Ocado. The firm also developed a humanoid maintenance worker, named SecondHands, helps keep the warehouse clean. Researchers have turned everyday cooking oil into the wonder material graphene. The new technique could make the typically pricey nanomaterial ten times cheaper to produce. It also provides scientists with an inventive new way to recycle waste oil, while producing a material that is 200 times stronger than steel. The material could be used to create everything from quantum computers to flexible television displays. Researchers have turned everyday cooking oil into the wonder material graphene. The new technique could make the typically pricey nanomaterial far cheaper to produce. Image shows researcher Dr Dong Han Seo, co-author of the study, holding a small piece of graphene film GRAPHENE'S APPLICATIONS - In May 2016 a Chinese company created bendable smart phones made from graphene that could be worn like a futuristic bracelet. - Graphene is also being used to fight superbugs: In March this year it was found that the wonder material could be used to fight infections if coated on surgeons' tools because of its germ-killing properties. - Ribbons of the high tech material could even be strapped to plane wings to keep them free of ice in flight: In January 2016 scientists from Rice University proved that the material has electrothermal properties. Advertisement Graphene is a single sheet of carbon atoms that is incredibly strong and thin. It is 200 times stronger than steel, harder than diamond, and bends like malleable plastic. The material conducts electricity better than copper, and could be used to make high-powered, flexible TV screens and phones. Scientists from Canberra, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have now made graphene using cheap soybean cooking oil. 'One of the limiting factors in utilising graphene is the high price compared to other materials,' said lead researcher Dr Zhao Jun Han. 'If we reduce the price, we can promote its application.' With a cheaper, quicker way to produce graphene than ever before, the researchers hope that their finding can kick start a graphene revolution. They are calling their new technique 'GraphAir'. The method involves heating soybean cooking oil in a tube furnace for around 30 minutes, causing it to break down into its basic carbon building blocks. Graphene is a single sheet of carbon atoms that is incredibly strong and thin. It is 200 times stronger than steel, harder than diamond, and bends like malleable plastic. Graphene could be used to make roll-up flexible TV screens, such as this 18-inch LG display unveiled last year The researchers can currently only make a sheet of graphene around the size of a credit card, but they hope to refine their technique in future. Graphic shows the molecular structure of graphene, which researchers have compared to chicken wire The heated carbon is then cooled down on a nickel foil where it settles as a thin square of graphene just one atom thick. This method is far quicker than the conventional technique, which must use purified materials fused at intense temperatures in a vacuum over several hours. At one carbon atom thick, graphene is 80,000 times thinner than a human hair. As well as its impressive physical properties, the material can be utilised as a powerful superconductor that carries electricity with zero resistance. Graphene-based pixels could change colour as they change shape, as illustrated in this graphic. These pixels could one day help to build more durable and energy-efficient display screens A study last year found that graphene could be used to make phone batteries that last 25 per cent longer. The material could also be used to filter pollution out of the air. But until a cost-effective method of making graphene is found, it will be decades before it can be used in everyday phones and TVs. And the Australian team hope that their technique can bring that date forward. The researchers can currently only make a sheet of graphene around the size of a credit card but hope to refine their technique in future. 'The potential is enormous,' David Officer, a graphene expert from Australia's University of Wollongong, who wasn't involved in the study, told Australian broadcaster ABC. '[But] the question will be whether you can economically scale a method like this, where they've sealed it inside a furnace tube, to create and handle metre-sized films.' Facebook could be working on an TV app to rival Netflix, according to a new report. The app would be available for existing boxes, such as the Apple TV box. And like Netflix, Facebook aims to provide exclusive content on the app as part of a long-term strategy to make video the centre of the platform. Scroll down for video The report from the Wall Street Journal suggests that Facebook could be creating a TV app as part of a long-term strategy to make video the centre of the platform (stock image) WHAT WOULD THE TV APP SHOW? The rumours suggest that Facebook aims to provide exclusive content on the app. Most videos on Facebook are short clips and live streams which the firm introduced in April last year. But both of these formats will be difficult to sell advertising revenue against. Facebook is now asking media firms to develop programmes in exchange for a licensing fee, which would allow the firm to sell adverts - which are key to Facebook's continued revenue growth. Advertisement The report comes from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), who claims that 'people familiar with the matter' said that the social network is developing a video-centric app for TV. According to the WSJ, Facebook began working on the app last year. And since then, the firm has been on the hunt for programmes to fill the app with. Currently, most videos on Facebook are short clips and live streams which the firm introduced in April last year. But both of these formats will be difficult to sell advertising revenue against. Facebook is now asking media firms to develop programmes in exchange for a licensing fee, which would allow the firm to sell adverts. Getting advertisers to buy more video ads is key to Facebook's continued revenue growth. Such adverts can fetch higher rates from advertisers than text or photo-based ads. Facebook could be looking to create an app similar to YouTube, which launched its own set-top version in 2014. MailOnline has contacted Facebook for comment. Open field trials of a genetically modified super wheat have been approved by ministers, despite fears it will contaminate other crops. The planting in Hertfordshire, which will be surrounded by a steel fence to keep out protesters, will start in spring. Scientists claim the wheat is able to dramatically increase the yield of grains. The UK government has granted permission to researchers in Hertfordhire to grow the 'wonder-wheat' which can improve the yield by up to 40 per cent But the technology is controversial. American farmers have turned their backs on planting GM wheat for fear it will be rejected by shoppers. Critics fear British wheat sales and exports will suffer if crops here are contaminated with genes from the GM plants. HOW IS IT MODIFIED? Two versions of the wheat will be planted, both with extra copies of a gene that makes the enzyme SBPase, which plays an important role in photosynthesis. One will have two extra copies of the gene and the other six. The genetic tweaking will allow the plants to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon is one of the raw ingredients plants use to make sugar through photosynthesis, a complex chemical process powered by energy from sunlight. Advertisement The wheat has been genetically engineered so that, in theory, it can use sunlight more efficiently. Genes from a wild plant called stiff brome have been inserted. The process also added an antibiotic marker gene and genes giving resistance to some weedkillers. Tests in greenhouses at Rothamsted Research have boosted yields by up to 40 per cent. The field trials will determine whether this can be replicated in open air. It is not the first GM wheat to be tested at the site. British researchers took five years to develop a crop that gave off chemicals supposed to deter insect pests, but the process did not work in field trials. More than 3million of public money was spent on the trials and associated security measures. Trials on GM wheat varieties in the US have led to some so-called escapes, creating the risk of contaminating wild plants and commercial crops. GM Freeze, representing 30 organisations, had called on ministers to refuse permission for the wheat trial. However, the Government has made clear it is keen to promote GM farming. Liz ONeill of GM Freeze said: We raised a number of technical concerns about the application itself and highlighted the potential for GM wheat to escape into the wild, as has happened repeatedly with GM wheat trials in the US. Wheat varieties which were modified to make them resistant to weedkillers have been discovered growing outside field trials in the US on three separate occasions in recent years. Tiny gold particles coated with DNA will be used to transport the extra genes into the plant. The idea is to blow the gold dust over germinating wheat seeds, some of which will incorporate it into their genomes (stock image) Peter Melchett of the Soil Association, which supports organic farming, said: We do not believe that this trial should go ahead. GM FOOD CONTROVERSY Some people have concerns over GM foods. The main topics of debate include: Allergenicity - It's possible to transfer a gene from an allergenic plant to a non-allergenic plant. But to date, no allergic effects have been found in GM foods currently on the market. Gene transfer - The risk that genes from a GM food will be transferred to the cells of the body or bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract is considered low. However, there's concern about the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes and effects on human health. Outcrossing - When genes from GM plants spread to conventional plants, it's called outcrossing. The effects of introducing engineered genes into wild populations are concerning, as are the possible effects on food safety and security. For this reason, several countries have adopted strategies to keep GM crops separate from conventional crops. Source: Mayo Clinic Advertisement It is vital that the trial crop does not escape from the trial site given the inclusion of antibiotic resistance and herbicide tolerance genes, but that is exactly what has happened on multiple occasions with GM wheat trials elsewhere. If that happens here it will threaten the growing use of UK wheat in British bread. The claimed potential gains from this trial are achievable through other means and there is simply no market for the trials eventual end product. The trials, which are jointly funded by the British and US governments, have been approved by the food and farming department, Defra. The Rothamsted team, with researchers from Lancaster and Essex universities, says modified wheat carries out photosynthesis the use of sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen more efficiently, resulting in more grain. Rothamsteds Dr Malcolm Hawkesford said the trial would assess the plants ability to produce more using the same resources and land area as their non-GM counterparts. He added: These field trials are the only way to assess the viability of a solution that can bring economic benefits to farmers, returns to the UK taxpayer from the long-term investment in this research, benefits to the UK economy and the environment in general. Essex Universitys Professor Christine Raines said: To date photosynthesis has not been used to select for high yielding crops and represents an unexploited opportunity. After decades of growth, world-wide wheat production has plateaued. Conventional methods of improving wheat yields appear to have stalled - yet global demand for flour and bread is set to soar How the mutant strain escaped across the US By Tom Leonard in New York for the Daily Mail Genetically modified wheat trials have long been a source of controversy in the US. While supporters insist GM food is safe, America has failed repeatedly to stop it from contaminating GM-free wheat. In 2013, a strain of GM wheat was found sprouting on a farm in eastern Oregon where it had never been grown. The farmer made the discovery after spraying a patch of wheat with herbicide and finding it did not die. GM CROPS IN THE UK Some of the first open air trials of GM crops in the late 1990s were disrupted by protesters who trampled on the plants. As a result, the government put a halt on all outdoor trials of the technology between 2003 and 2010. But in 2014, Rothamsted Research was granted permission to perform field trials of GM rape seed, containing omega-3 fatty acids. The results are yet to be published. And in 2012, the firm was granted permission to do a field trial of GM wheat that had been modified to repel aphids. Unfortunately the trial was unsuccessful and the GM wheat was not shown to repel insects in practice. Advertisement Testing confirmed that the strain, which was resistant to the weedkiller glysophate, had been developed by biotechnology giant Monsanto across the US between 1998 and 2005, and tested in open fields. However, it was never approved or marketed. Scientists were puzzled about how the crop had appeared when no seeds should have been available for eight years. The discovery rocked international wheat markets. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan suspended imports of US soft white wheat for months, while a Kansas farmer sued Monsanto, saying it had caused the price of American wheat to plunge. The US government insisted the outbreak was confined to a single field. But it was never able to explain what had happened. A Monsanto boss blamed anti-GM saboteurs. Other theories included a bag of wheat being mislabelled at Monsanto or even passing geese infecting the field as they flew over. More Monsanto-made GM wheat was found in 2014 in a research field at Montana State University. There were field trials of the wheat at the research station 11 years earlier but it should have been removed or destroyed. Roughly half of Americas huge wheat crop is exported. In 1999, Thai scientists claimed they had found GM wheat in a grain shipment from the Pacific Northwest of the US. The news caused shock in America as GM wheat had not been approved for commercial sale and was grown only on supposedly secure test plots. Officials were unable to discover how the shipment, sent from Portland, Oregon, had become infected but admitted that a small number of acres of GM grain had been planted in the states of Washington, Idaho and Oregon that year. Critics say such cases of GM wheat contamination are evidence that field trials must be monitored far more carefully. Carol Mallory-Smith, a weed science expert at Oregon State University, said the outbreaks showed that plant genes are likely to persist in the environment once they are planted in open fields. Theres really no way of retracting that gene or bringing it back and saying, Weve changed our mind, she added. Since the late 1990s bee populations around the world have been in rapid decline. Now a wing-deforming virus is shortening the lifespan of wild honeybees already contending with a startlingly long list of existential threats. Spread by microscopic mites, the microbe disrupts bees' foraging and curtails their lives, experiments confirmed for the first time. Bees around the world - especially in Europe and North America - have been decimated in recent years by a mysterious blight called 'colony collapse disorder'. Now they are being hit by a wing-deforming virus which leads them to an early death 'Deformed wing virus strongly reduced the chances for workers to survive to foraging age,' scientists reported in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B. It also 'reduced the life expectancy and total activity span' of infected bees, they found. Bees around the world - especially in Europe and North America - have been decimated in recent years by a mysterious blight called 'colony collapse disorder', in which entire populations disappear or die out. Research has pointed an accusing finger at agricultural pesticides, viruses, fungi, parasites, malnutrition because of fewer flowers - or some combination of the above. More than just the survival of the bees is at stake. Scientists recently calculated that 1.4 billion jobs, and three-quarters of crops, depend on pollinators, mainly bees. All told, there are some 20,000 bee species that fertilise more than 90 percent of the world's 107 major crops. The UN estimates that 40 per cent of bees are at risk of extinction. Belgian scientists tracked out-of-hive activity in order to find out the impact of pathogens on honeybee health At the same time, the United Nations estimates that 40 per cent of invertebrate pollinators - mostly bees and butterflies - are at risk of extinction. Deformed wing virus has previously been recognised as a threat to bees' well-being, compromising their ability to remember where they have been. The pathogen is found in most parts of the world; in certain areas up to three-quarters of hives are affected. HOW BEES FIND POLLEN Scientists recently found tiny, vibrating hairs may explain how bees sense and interpret signals transmitted by flowers, leading them to the plants so they can gather pollen. While it was known that flowers communicate with pollinators by sending out electric signals, experts were previously unsure how bees detect the fields. Using a laser to measure vibrations, scientists at the University of Bristol found both the bees' antenna and the hairs on their bodies 'dance' in response to an electric field. However, they discovered the hairs move more dramatically and rapidly. Looking at the bees' nervous system, they discovered it is the hairs that alert the bee's nervous system to this signal. Advertisement It was previously also suspected of affecting flight patterns and lifespan, but evidence was lacking. The new study removes any doubt on this score. Scientists led by Kristof Benaets from the Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution in Leuven, Belgium, set up an experiment using radiofrequency identification (RFID). Tiny emitters placed on the bodies of both healthy and virus-infected bees allowed the researchers to follow, and compare, their movements. Researchers placed tiny emitters on the bodies of both healthy and virus-infected bees to find out the impact of pathogens on honeybee health (stock image) 'Tracking out-of-hive activity is key in studying the impact of pathogens on honeybee health,' the team said. The virus did not reduce the number or duration of pollen-gathering sorties by worker bees. But it did cause the insects to begin foraging too young, the experiment revealed. They were less adept at the task, and died earlier than non-infected bees. Deformed wing virus 'had a strongly negative overall effect,' the study concluded. Boston Dynamics, the robotics firm owned by Google parent firm Alphabet, has unveiled its latest nightmare inducing robot, Handle a wheeled humanoid that can carry heavy loads, do squats, and even leap over obstacles. Leaked footage from the companys first presentation of Handle reveals a robot that looks like the child of the Atlas bot and a Segway, with self-balancing capabilities to prevent falls as it zips around. Despite its bizarre design, Handle moves with surprising agility, and is said to be far more efficient than its legged predecessors. Scroll down for video Boston Dynamics has unveiled its latest nightmare inducing robot, Handle a wheeled humanoid that can carry heavy loads, do squats, and even leap over obstacles. Leaked footage reveals a robot that looks like the child of the Atlas bot and a Segway THE 'HANDLE' BOT Leaked footage reveals a glimpse at Boston Dynamics' latest humanoid, Handle. It combines legs and wheels, and 'throws its weight around' to balance itself at all times. The robot can squat, stand, and even jump over obstacles. Founder Marc Raibert called it the latest 'nightmare inducing robot.' Advertisement While Boston Dynamics hasn't officially revealed their latest design, a video shared to YouTube by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson gives a sneak peek. In the footage, founder Marc Raibert jokingly describes Handle as what I think will be a nightmare inducing robot. Handle stands atop two small wheels, with leg-like appendages that bend in knees that point backward. Its upper body is equipped with two arms, and elbows that point in the opposite direction of its knees. The robot can move between a squatted position low to the ground and a full stand and despite its top heavy appearance, it doesnt fall over. The video reveals Handle can even do tricks, showing off with a series of fast spins in both the squat and standing position, and even jumping over a construction barricade This is an experiment in combining wheels with legs with a very dynamic system that is balancing itself all the time, and has a lot of knowledge of how to throw its weight around, which it uses to stabilize itself, Raibert said. This is much more efficient than the legged robot. The video reveals Handle can even do tricks, showing off with a series of fast spins in both the squat and standing position, and even jumping over a construction barricade. The robot moves fast, but its design means itll likely be limited to smooth terrain. But, the video shows it can drive on grass. The presentation suggests Handle could be useful in a warehouse type of setting, with the ability to crouch low to pick up heavy objects and bring them elsewhere. It can carry a reasonably heavy load on a small footprint, Raibert said THE 'ATLAS' ROBOT According to Boston Dynamics, Atlas is a 'high mobility, humanoid robot designed to negotiate outdoor, rough terrain. 'Atlas can walk bipedally leaving the upper limbs free to lift, carry, and manipulate the environment. 'In extremely challenging terrain, Atlas is strong and coordinated enough to climb using hands and feet, to pick its way through congested spaces.' Atlas can now do a range of movements including: - Standing up after falling over - Running - Balancing on a narrow beam - Cleaning, including vacuuming and sweeping - Karate kick - Throwing a paper aeroplane Advertisement Handle earns its name from its future job; eventually, the robot will be expected to handle objects. The presentation suggests Handle could be useful in a warehouse type of setting, with the ability to crouch low to pick up heavy objects and bring them elsewhere. It can carry a reasonably heavy load on a small footprint, Raibert said. And its basically an exercise in seeing if we can do something like the humanoid that has less degrees of freedom and eventually could be less expensive, but with similar capabilities. Boston Dynamics previous robots, including the dog-like Spot and SpotMini, and the humanoid Atlas, have relied on wheel-less legs to get around. Advertisement Summer on Mars is a little different from an Earth season - especially at the north pole. Stunning new images from NASA's HiRISE satellite reveal a dune field formed near the base of the North Polar cap. The amazing patterns are clearly visible, and NASA says image was taken during the Martian northern summer, so there is no frost present on the dunes. Scroll down for video This dune field formed near the base of the North Polar cap, and was taken during the Martian northern summer, so there is no frost present on the dunes. The dunes closest to the base of the polar cap are long and parallel, indicating strong winds from the direction of the cap. As they get farther away from the polar cap, they start to form more crescent shaped dunes, called barchan dunes. However, dunes require a source of loose particulate material to form. The source of the northern dune fields around the polar cap may be from the layers of dusty ice that are eroded by strong polar winds, experts believe. This image was taken during the Martian northern summer, so there is no frost present on the dunes. The dunes closest to the base of the polar cap are long and parallel, indicating strong winds from the direction of the cap. As they get farther away from the polar cap, they start to form more crescent shaped dunes, called barchan dunes. Repeated observations by HiRISE of dunes like these show measurable changes in some locations. 'This discovery adds to the growing evidence that there are active processes happening all over the surface of Mars today,' NASA says. As the dunes get farther away from the polar cap, they start to form more crescent shaped dunes, called barchan dunes. Repeated observations by HiRISE of dunes like these show measurable changes in some locations. The surface of the red planet may be a desolate land with little geological activity now, but it is filled with fascinating bumps and scratches from frozen poles to deep basins, all hinting at a geologically active past. Earlier this year a team at Nasa has released more than 600 images of Mars, showing a range of gullies, dunes, craters, geological layering and other features. Each feature teaches us something new about the history of our mysterious neighbour, which used to be covered with oceans, ice sheets and erupting volcanoes. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the red planet, capturing pictures using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, since 2006. Now the team behind the orbiter has published hundreds of new images. Hyblaeus Dorsa, one of the ridges on the planet, is shown The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the red planet, capturing pictures using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, since 2006. The team behind the orbiter, led by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab in Passadena and the University of Arizona, has now published hundreds of new images taken by the instrument. Among the images are hundreds showing one of its most fascinating features: craters. There are hundreds of thousands of impact craters on Mars, caused by encounters with other objects such as asteroids, but only some of them have names. Other craters were formed in different ways, through volcanic activity, for example. Some of these craters have provided clues to the most fascinating history of the Martian surface. Other craters were formed in different ways, through volcanic activity, for example. Some of these craters have provided clues to the most fascinating history of the Martian surface. Concave fagged features in the Tempe Fossae region, a group of troughs in the Arcadia quadrangle of Mars, shown Among the images are hundreds showing one of its most fascinating features: craters. This picture shows a crater in the Chryse Planitia region, a relatively smooth, circular plain. Some think the plain is an ancient impact basin, in the north equatorial region of Mars The surface of Mars is a well worn place in the solar system, heavily pounded by countless meteor impacts. And some of these craters are hundreds of millions of years old. So its unusual for there to be a completely fresh impact on the surface. A recent impact site is pictured Mesa-Forming layered materials pictured. A mesa is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs Mars is now a frozen desert, but geological studies of rocks by previous missions to the surface have suggested the planet used to be warmer and wetter. The polar caps on the planet spend much of their time, during the pole's winter, in continuous darkness. When the poles are again exposed to sunlight, the frozen carbon dioxide sublimes into gas, creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 250 mph (400 km/h). The caps at both poles are mainly made of water ice. Frozen carbon dioxide accumulates as a thin layer about one metre thick on the north cap in the northern winter only, while the south cap has a permanent dry ice cover about 26 feet (8 metres) thick. Both polar caps have spiral-shaped troughs (pictured), which analysis of ice penetrating radar has shown are a result of spiralling winds. The polar caps on the planet spend much of their time, during the pole's winter, in continuous darkness. When the poles are again exposed to sunlight, the frozen carbon dioxide sublimes into gas, creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 250 mph (400 km/h). The south polar residual cap is pictured Cerberus Fossae (pictured) is a long fracture system in the southeastern part of Elysium. The system has acted as a conduit for the release of both lava and water onto the surface of the planet. Mars is now a frozen desert, but geological studies of rocks by previous missions to the surface have suggested the planet used to be warmer and wetter The total volume of ice in the south polar cap, including nearby layered deposits, is around 380,000 cubic miles (1.6 million cubic km). Both the north and south polar caps have spiral-shaped troughs (south pictured), which analysis of ice penetrating radar has shown are a result of spiralling winds At one point, Mars was covered with oceans, ice sheets and erupting volcanoes that created the mountains that tower over the planet. Some of these remain, like Olympus Mons - the largest-known volcano in the solar system, measuring 15 miles (24 km) high. Olympus Mons, the solar system's biggest volcano, three times higher than Mount Everest, is thought to have had its last major eruption as recently as 25 million years ago. At one point, Mars was covered with oceans, ice sheets and erupting volcanoes that created the mountains that tower over the planet. Some of these remain, like Olympus Mons - the largest-known volcano in the solar system, measuring 15 miles (24 km) high. Olympus Mons (pictured) is the solar system's biggest volcano, three times higher than Mount Everest Groundwater moving beneath a massive tectonic rift zone helped carve some of Mars' deepest basins. A study published earlier this year claimed these basins may have been habitable, suggesting that life once existed on the red planet. A valley in the Northern Hellas Planitia, pictured Billions of years ago Mars might have been home to even larger volcanoes. Evidence collected by Nasa's Curiosity rover earlier this year showed these ancient volcanoes might have been a lot more powerful than we had thought. Curiosity's instruments found a substance called tridymite - a kind of crystal that only forms on Earth as a result of extremely hot, silcic volcanoes. The tridymite was found in the Gale crater, a crater that spans 96 miles (154km) in diameter and holds a mountain rising from the crater floor. Silicic volcanism is a highly explosive form of volcanic activity, which happens as tectonics plates move from the Earths outer shell into the Earths mantle and force water into the molten depths. The plates melt into magma, which is ejected out into the surface in a powerful eruption. There has been no evidence found for plate tectonics on Mars so far, so how the silcic volcanism occurred is a mystery. Coprates Chasma, is a major trough in the Valles Marineris canyon system, pictured. Evidence collected by Nasa's Curiosity rover earlier this year showed these ancient volcanoes might have been a lot more powerful than we had thought Isidis Planitia, pictured, is a plain inside a giant impact basin on Mars. Groundwater moving beneath a massive tectonic rift zone helped carve some of Mars' deepest basins. A study published earlier this year claimed these basins may have been habitable, suggesting that life once existed on the red planet Groundwater moving beneath a massive tectonic rift zone helped carve some of Mars' deepest basins. A study published earlier this year claimed these basins may have been habitable, suggesting that life once existed on the red planet. The discovery could help future exploration missions decide where to look for evidence of Martian life. 'The temperature ranges, presence of liquid water, and nutrient availability, which characterize known habitable environments on Earth, have higher chances of forming on Mars in areas of long-lived water and volcanic processes,' said lead author Alexis Palmero Rodriguez. Sand dunes are among the most widespread features on Mars, serving as unique indicators of the interaction between the atmosphere and surface. On a planetary body, dunes accumulate where a supply of sand-sized grains exists or may be abraded, is carried downwind by winds, and is subsequently deposited where these winds weaken below the threshold for sand transport. Dunes can be preserved in rock over time. This means the deposits can reveal insights into the evolution of Mars' atmosphere from a more hospitable realm to the harsh, dry climate there today. As a result, the study of dune processes contributes to both atmospheric and sedimentary science. It might look more like bacteria growin in a petri dish, but this picture actually shows frosty dunes on Mars' surface. Sand dunes (pictured) are among the most widespread features on Mars. Dunes form where a supply of sand-sized grains exists or may be abraded then carried downwind by winds Dunes in the Russell Crater, pictured. Dunes can be preserved in rock over time. This means the deposits can reveal insights into the evolution of Mars' atmosphere from a more hospitable realm to the harsh, dry climate there today. As a result, the study of dune processes contributes to both atmospheric and sedimentary science On a planetary body, dunes accumulate where a supply of sand-sized grains exists or may be abraded, is carried downwind by winds, and is subsequently deposited where these winds weaken below the threshold for sand transport. Dunes can be preserved in rock over time The surface of Mars is also covered with narrow, deep channels known as gullies. Martian gullies carved into hill slopes and the walls of impact craters were discovered several years ago. Exactly how these gullies formed is not fully understood - previous research had suggested the structures were a result of flowing liquid water, because water makes similar structures on Earth. Polar ice caps were discovered on the planet four decades ago, and erosion patterns on the surface strongly suggest rivers and oceans may have existed there in its early years. With low gravity and a thin atmosphere, it was thought that this water largely evaporated out into space, instead of falling back down, as it would have done on Earth. But new research shows water is not behind the Martian gullies, instead suggesting they could be created by carbon dioxide freezing and thawing. INDIAN SPACE PROBE SNAPS NEW IMAGES OF THE RED PLANET India's space agency has released a new series of beautiful images, beamed back from its Mars orbiter, revealing our closest planetary neighbour in all its glory The spotlight surrounding research on Mars is often on the US, European and Russian space agencies. But while it may be overlooked, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) remains one of only three national space programmes to have reached the red planet to date. To celebrate its achievements, the space agency has released a new series of beautiful images using data beamed back from its Mars orbiter, revealing our closest planetary neighbour in all its glory. India's Mars Orbiter Mission, called 'Mangalyaan', reached the red planet in September 2014. Since then it has been taking measurements, collecting data and capturing images from orbit. Last month, ISRO released its first full years data from the orbiter covering the period up to September 2015 with its incredible images beamed back in a stream of pixels. Advertisement The ExoMars Landing Site, taken on 14 August. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a heavy lift Proton rocket on 14 March to begin a seven-month, 300 million-mile (483 million km) journey to the red planet. THE EXOMARS TIMELINE Launch: 14 March Mid-course correction: 28 July SchiaparelliTGO separation: 16 October 2016 TGO manoeuvre: 17 October 2016 Orbiter insertion into Mars orbit: 19 October 2016 Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing: 19 October 2016 Aerobraking: JanuaryNovember 2017 Science phase begins: December 2017 Advertisement A spacecraft designed to search the atmosphere of Mars for clues of life on the surface of the red planet successfully blasted off in March this year. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a heavy lift Proton rocket on 14 March to begin a seven-month, 300 million-mile (483 million km) journey to the red planet. It is due to analyse Mars' atmosphere to search for low levels of gases such as methane that may betray the presence of alien life on the planet's surface. ExoMars 2016 is the first phase of an historic 1.2 billion (924 million) joint European-Russian mission to search for biochemical 'fingerprints' of past or present life high above Mars and on its surface. Scientists believe the probe has the potential to find 'very strong evidence' of alien life when it arrives at Mars on 19 October. Scientists hope to land the ExoMars rover in Oxia Palus, a plain located on the north east of Mars. However, any new data won't be shared until the end of next year at the earliest, because the probe has to spend a year decelerating so it can graze the atmosphere at a slow enough speed. In 2018, a robotic probe built by Lockheed Martin for Nasa, the Mars InSight mission, will set off for red planet. Snap Inc. is reportedly developing a new version of its Snapchat lenses that joins the real world with augment reality. Deemed smart lenses, this technology would let users overlay virtual animations on landscapes and allow them to interact with the objects. The alleged feature is said to be a revamped version of last years world lenses, but with the ability to identify environmental elements. Scroll down for video Smart lenses, this technology would let users overlay virtual images and objects onto landscapes and interact with them. The alleged feature is said to be a revamped version of last years world lenses (pictured), but with the ability to identify environmental elements. SNAP SMART LENSES a report from The Information reveals Snapchat is working on 'smart lenses' that overlay on real world landscapes, which users can interact with. The alleged feature is said to be a revamped version of last years world lenses, but with the ability to identify environmental elements. And its believed these lenses will be a way for advertisers to target more users in the app. If it turns out that Snapchat is working on these smart lenses, people familiar with the matter said users would be the first to get their hands on it. Advertisement The report was published by The Information, which said the new technology is a notable expansion of the object recognition within Snapchats Lenses, one that could lead to more ad-friendly products. Snapchat declined to comment on the matter. According to the paper, the new lenses are in the testing phases and only on Snapchats internal version of the app. However, a person who has used the feature said the technology is not on Snaps near-term product roadmap, reports MacRumors. And it is believed that these lenses will be a way for advertisers to target more users in the app. If it turns out that Snapchat is working on these smart lenses, people familiar with the matter said users would be the first to get their hands on it. This would let advertisers get an idea of how Snapchatters will use the feature, so they can better plan campaigns. It is unclear whether these smart lenses will make an appearance in the app, but if it is, Facebook could add it to their platform - as it has been known as the Snapchat copycat. The report was published by The Information , which said the new technology is a notable expansion of the object recognition within Snapchats Lenses, one that could lead to more ad-friendly products Facebook began rolling out Snapchat-like features in August 2016 the first being the popular Stories on Instagram. The feature lets users create 10-second video clips and share them with a select group of followers. Users can now apply filters, type text and doodle over the clips. And videos will appear on someone's profile for 24 hours. These creations can be saved or posted to the Instagram feed, where they will become permanent like normal Instagram videos. 10 MOST POPULAR SNAPCHAT LENSES Dog Flower Crown Butterflies Pink Crown Deer Bee Frown Rosy-Cheek Friend Face Swap Camera Roll Face Swap Advertisement Then just a month later, Facebook began testing what it calls Messenger Day for some users in Poland, which aims pique the interest of those who have yet to get hooked on its rival, Snapchat. This feature works just like Snapchat Stories users add lively elements and it disappears in 24 hours. And just earlier this month, Facebook added Snapchat-like animated filters to Facebook Live in Ireland. Again, users selfies and videos and add lively filters, effects and masks that vanish within 24 hours. And the latest copycat move was Facebook testing custom location-based camera filters that overlay pictures and videos similar to Snapchat's geo-filters. Users build frames on any design platform, submit them to Facebook and then friends nearby will have access to the creations. Facebook did offer to buy Snapchat in 2013 for $3 billion and was turned down, so 'borrowing' features may be the social media giant's way of getting revenge. Advertisement Two nebulae in the stinging tail of the constellation Scorpius can be seen in stunning new detail in one of largest images ever released by the ESO. The new picture from the Very Large Telescope uses roughly two billion pictures to display the Cats Paw and Lobster nebulae, which sit 5500 and 8000 light-years away from Earth. Observation capabilities have come a long way since the objects were first spotted in 1837, but even with the powerful new instruments, thick dust in the nebulae keeps much of their content hidden. Use your mouse or the slider to zoom in and out of the image Two nebulae in the stinging tail of the constellation Scorpius can be seen in stunning new detail in one of largest images ever released by the ESO. The new picture from the Very Large Telescope uses roughly two billion pictures to display the Cats Paw and Lobster nebulae, which sit 5500 and 8000 light-years away from Earth. WHAT IT SHOWS The image reveals a detailed look at the Cat's Paw and Lobster nebulae. These objects, named NGC 6334 and NGC 6357, sit 5500 and 8000 light-years away from Earth, respectively. Small traces were first detected by British scientist John Herschel in June 1837, when he spotted the brightest 'toepad' of the Cat's Paw. Now, telescopes are able to see three of these toepads and the claw-like regions of the nearby Lobster Nebyla. Advertisement Astronomers have studied the Cats Paw Nebula and the Lobster Nebula, named NGC 6334 and NGC 6357, respectively, for roughly 180 years. Small traces were first detected by British scientist John Herschel on consecutive nights in June 1837. The scientist spotted the brightest toepad of the Cats Paw during a three-year expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Now, telescopes are able to see three of these toepads and the claw-like regions of the nearby Lobster Nebyla. These features are actually made up of gas, mostly hydrogen, thats energized by the light of newborn stars. The Cats Paw is one of the most active stellar nurseries in the sky, according to the ESO, producing thousands of young, hot stars. The images shows a number of highlights from the stunning two billion pixel view. The hydrogen clouds of the stellar nurseries glow in red, alongside darker clouds of dust The hot stars in these nebulae are around 10 times more massive than the Sun, and radiate intense ultraviolet light. When the light encounters hydrogen atoms, the atoms become ionized, creating a glowing cloud known as emission nebulae. Scientists with the ESO were able to capture this stunning new view using the Very Large Survey Telescopes (VST) 256-megapixel OmegaCam camera. Astronomers have studied the Cats Paw Nebula and the Lobster Nebula, named NGC 6334 and NGC 6357, respectively, for roughly 180 years. Small traces were first detected by British scientist John Herschel on consecutive nights in June 1837 The massive image at 49511 x 39136 pixels shows tendrils of dust moving through the nebulae, blocking some of the light. While thick dust continues to hide much of the nebulaes content, telescopes such as the ESOs VISTA can observe infrared wavelengths to the star formation activity behind the cloud. According to the scientists, viewing the nebulae in different wavelengths can change their appearance. At the longer infrared wavelength, part of the Lobster nebula looks like a dove, while the other appears to be a skull. This has earned NGC 6357 the name War and Peace Nebula along with its other moniker. Researchers have discovered that the brains of astronauts change shape during spaceflight. The researchers conducted fMRI scans on astronauts who'd recently spent time on the International Space Station, finding that some regions of the brain showed decreases in gray matter, while others showed increases. The research could help in treating other conditions that affect the brain, for example people on long-term bed rest who have hydrocepahlus - fluid pressure in their brain. Scroll down for video Researchers conducted fMRI brain scans (pictured) to determine brain changes in astronauts who had spent time aboard the International Space Station. Blue shows areas of gray matter volume decrease, likely reflecting shifting of cerebrospinal fluid. Orange shows regions of gray matter volume increase, in the regions that control movement of the legs. This likely reflects brain changes associated with 'learning how to move in microgravity'. The researchers, based at the University of Michigan, analyzed the brains of astronauts using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). They analyzed brain scans of 12 astronauts who spent two weeks in space as shuttle crew members, and 14 who had spent six months on the International Space Station. All of them experienced increases and decreases in gray matter in different parts of the brain. But the changes were more significant the more time the astronauts spent in space. HOW DOES AN MRI SCAN WORK? Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an exam that doctors use to image parts of the brain and body. The machine is a large cylindrical tube that contains two powerful magnets. A strong magnetic field is created around the patient and pulses of radio waves are sent from a scanner. The radio waves knock the nuclei of the atoms in your body our of their normal position. When the nuclei realign to their normal position, they send out radio signals. The signals are received by a computer that analyzes them and converts them into a 2D image of the area being imaged. The image then appears on a screen that doctors can analyze to look for brain activity, abnormalities or patterns. Source: HopkinsMedicine.org Advertisement Professor Rachael Seidler, a University of Michigan professor of kinesiology and psychology who led the study, said: 'We found large regions of gray matter volume decreases, which could be related to redistribution of cerebrospinal fluid in space.' 'Gravity is not available to pull fluids down in the body, resulting in so-called puffy face in space. 'This may result in a shift of brain position or compression.' But the researchers also found increases in gray matter in areas of the brain that control leg movement and process sensory information from the legs. This increase may reflect the brain learning how to adapt to moving in microgravity. These changes were more significant in astronauts who had spent time aboard the space station because their brains were learning how to adapt round-the-clock. 'It's interesting because even if you love something you won't practice more than an hour a day,' professor Seidler said. But the brain scans revealed that the astronauts brains had changed in a way that was equivalent to someone practicing a skill constantly. The top row shows brain changes with long duration bed rest. The bottom row shows brain changes with spaceflight. Orange shows regions of increase in gray matter, and blue shows regions of decrease. There is some overlap between the two, but also notable differences with spaceflight showing more changes in the cerebellum, a structure that is involved in motor learning (practicing a new skill) Another study has found that prolonged space flight is linked with back pain as the muscles waste away in the absence of gravity. The data collected from astronauts aboard space stations has shown that a lack of gravity can wreak havoc on the human body, weakening muscle and causing bones to become brittle Although the researchers have't determined the exact nature of the changes as yet, they say that the findings could help people with health conditions that cause similar problems, for example conditions that cause cerebrospinal fluid to accumulate in the brain. Professor Seidler said the brain changes could be new connections between neurons. The results of this study show strong similarity to another study by professor Seidler where participants spent three months in a downward tilted position, which cased their brains to shift up. She's leading another study that will determine the effects of these changes on the congnition and physical movement, The study will also look at how long the brain changes last. For example, even after balance returns to normal when an astronaut returns to Earth from space, the brain might still have different neuron connections pathways to adapt to the brain changes caused by spaceflight. 'The behavior may return to normal, but the way the brain controls the behavior may change,' said professor Seidler. The picturesque Hampton Manor in the heart of Warwickshire has always been a popular destination for weddings (its a photographer or Instagram users dream) and for business travellers who prefer the luxury country house option to the city hotels nearby Birmingham. But as Im neither getting hitched nor sealing a deal at the NEC why would I choose to head to this Solihull spot? Well, if you cant get to me through my heart or my wallet - my stomach is a sure thing. Hampton Manor is putting its mark on the gastro-map and Ive got my sat nav programmed for its location. The hotel is literally just off the M42, nestled in the picturesque greenery of Hampton-in-Arden. Sarah-Jane Mee checks into the picturesque Hampton Manor (pictured) in the heart of Warwickshire The hotel is literally just off the M42, nestled in the picturesque greenery of Hampton-in-Arden Sarah-Jane is wowed by the lavish interior and soon finds herself taking snaps for home decoration inspiration Sarah-Jane perches on one of Hampton Manor's imposing outer walls The first thing that strikes me about Hampton Manor is not the exterior - its an impressive 19th century Manor House, but I was expecting that as Id taken a peek at the website. It is the fantastic interior that really stands out. The hotel has done an incredible job in choosing contemporary furnishings and decor that blends seamlessly with the original features - Minton tiles, hand-painted stained glass and carved oak panels and banisters. Its simply beautiful - in short as soon as I walk in I want to live there. Sadly I have to make do with taking snaps of the wallpaper for potential refurb plans at my somewhat inferior abode. The most impressive room is The Parlour, where the hotels signature Afternoon Tea is served. Its decadent but very much on the right side of taste. Speaking of which, its tea for two, so Ive brought my mum. She loves a cuppa so well soon know if this is any good or not. Brew's company: Sarah-Jane and her mother, Lynda, enjoy a magnificent afternoon tea Hampton Manor is foodie heaven, with a top-class restaurant in Peels Tea is a serious business at Hampton Manor. We are served by Nathan the resident tea maestro, who has studied the history, science and culture of tea and who its safe to say loves tea almost as much as Mrs Mee. No teabags or milk and two sugars here, the organic artisan tea is brewed at 80 degrees as science says this is the optimum temperature for the best flavour. Nathan talks you through the range of teas and tells you their stories from Assam and Oolong to Darjeeling. The tea is served in a carafe with a tiny hourglass - when the timer runs out its ready to pour. Guests are served drinks amid elegant surroundings, which includes beautiful wallpaper This isnt a PG tips experience, this is a tea treasure hunt. It is great to try different teas and learn about the flavours and where they come from - its like wine tasting but without the hangover! The traditional three-tier stand makes an appearance laden with goodies, savoury and sweet scones, broad bean and parma ham buns, blueberry cake and mini strawberry trifles. The ingredients are seasonal so the afternoon tea menu changes regularly - a convenient excuse to come back. Theres time for a stroll around the grounds to walk off the scones and a massage in the hotels treatment room before we are ready for dinner at Peels, the hotels fine dining offering. The evening starts in Freds Bar with a glass, or two, of Rose Nyetimber - the English sparkling wine that is becoming a firm favourite in establishments that support British produce. All the bedrooms at Hampton Manor are bespoke - and a dream to sleep in This bedroom has a slightly funky feel - and is supremely luxurious, too Sarah-Jane liked the fact that Hampton Manor is grand - but not stuffy Then into the dining room for the four-course tasting menu (more courses are available but not advised if youve filled up on afternoon tea!). Its a grand space but without the stuffy atmosphere you find in many fine dining rooms. The staff too are relaxed and happy to talk you through the whole experience. A sign of any good fine dining experience is the extra detail that goes into your meal. Wine pairings are offered for each course and dont disappoint, theres home baked bread with homemade butter, and wagu beef dripping. This starts off our food frenzy, followed by an amuse bouche of warm potato and thyme with thyme crisps, with a special mention to the little tasty offerings they slip in between courses. Extras aside, the official first course from the menu is heritage tomatoes with burrata served with a tomato ice cream and soft cheese and lovage jelly. Sea trout with dill, cucumber and caviar follows and then it is delicious wagu beef with artichoke and mushroom. The hotel is surrounded by verdant countryside, as this image shows An artisan cheese board is next with home-baked breads and crackers and homemade chutney and jellies. The dessert is a very different take on blackberry and apple cheesecake - it should be called Freezecake as the chef blasts it with dry ice to make it a very unusual but very tasty final treat. Hampton Manor is a welcome addition to gastro tourism in the Midlands and deserves to be a dining destination in its own right. The fancy 15 bespoke bedrooms are a plus - especially after a day of indulgence. Its just a short walk up the stairs to fall asleep happy and rather full. My first mistake is to arrive in Verona with two men. One is tall, dark and handsome. The other is fair, with mesmerising green eyes. 'Which will you choose?', winks a lady at the elegant Hotel Colomba D'Oro as we check in. I smile hopelessly at my two gentlemen of Verona, and in unison we declare that we are all just friends. They look rather too relieved for my liking. Just glorious: Verona sits splendidly on the banks of the River Adige By the time Lucy, the fourth member of our party, arrives, I have protested my singleness to half a dozen passers-by. One sends me straight to the House of Juliet, of Shakespeare fame. There is no Romeo waiting for me beneath the balcony (a delicious 20th-century addition to the medieval building), but there is a wall of love notes and romantic wishes. To write or not to write? I opt instead to make for Juliet's statue. Rub her right breast, they say, and you will be lucky in love. Before I can reach her, I am shoved out of the way by a throng of wedding guests. A beaming bride and groom have appeared on the balcony overhead. We leave the fray and head for dinner. Verona's specialities are donkey ragu and hearty horse stew. I order risotto. Across the square from our table at Antico Caffe Dante an orchestra plays on a loggia. After a bottle of Valpolicella, we are glad to have travelled with an empty suitcase. The next day, we stock up at a charming wine shop called Signorvino. In the last of the evening light, the four of us head over to Piazza delle Erbe via the so-called 'Arch of the Rib'. You could easily miss it, but if you gaze skywards you will see a mighty whale rib dangling precariously above from the middle of the arch. Legend has it that the bone will fall on the first honest person to pass beneath. Deciding that impalement is no reward for virtue, we are glad to be exposed as hucksters. A place of history: Verona's ancient soul sings on the Piazza Bra, with its Roman ampitheatre During the day, Piazza delle Erbe is Verona's main market square. Stalls selling watermelon and strawberries, sunflowers and Venetian masks stand in the shade of enormous cream parasols. At night, there is more room in which to appreciate the palaces which surround them. Before the Venetians took over in 1405, the most prominent family in Verona had been the Scaliger. Many buildings were raised in their honour, then redecorated during the Renaissance. The facade of one, Casa Mazzanti, is adorned with the kind of frescoes you'd sooner associate with a Renaissance interior. Statues of Roman gods, meanwhile, peer down from the gorgeous Palazzo Maffei at the piazza's north end. In fact, it is hard to avoid the Romans in Verona. Mesmerised by its ancient gates, we venture the next morning to the Arena. It is even older than Rome's Colosseum. We are too early for the opera, which is performed here in the summer months, but not in the sun. After a few minutes sitting here, we are already developing a Donald Trump glow. A Shakespearean setting: Verona was, of course, the framework for Romeo and Juliet Originally I visited Verona to research a book on Catullus, the erotic Latin poet who grew up here. Verona's airport, Valerio Catullo, proudly bears his name. Juliet Capulet may be Verona's most famous star-crossed lover, but Catullus was its first. Remembering how Catullus despaired in his relationships, 'I hate and I love', I reach the conclusion that Verona isn't a city of love at all. From my lonely seat in the Arena, I resolve to rechristen it the (exceedingly beautiful) city of heartbreak. On our last night, I realise that I have lost my notebook. I run through all the places we have visited that day. Did I leave it in the hills beyond the River Adige, where we went for a thigh-bruising walk? Or at Museo di Castelvecchio, among all the paintings by Bellini and Pisanello? Finally, I return to the bar where we had enjoyed our aperitivi: Aperol Spritz all round. Inside, I find the jolly, pot-bellied owner waving my battered book. 'I thought you would come back for it,' he says. 'You are a writer. And you are very beautiful.' He may be no Montague, but he's better than a whalebone through the heart. Spirit Airlines is the latest US carrier to reduce the size of the hand luggage that passengers are permitted to bring on board for free. Fliers travelling on the low cost airlines Bare Fare ticket, set to be introduced in April, will see their carry-on size allowance shrink by a quarter. Under the new ticket type, fliers with cabin baggage that spills over the new compact dimensions will be hit with a $100 fine. Travellers flying with Spirit Airlines on the new budget 'Bare Fare' ticket will only be allowed to carry one small bag or item as their hand luggage When the airline introduces the new budget ticket on 4 April, fliers maximum carry on dimensions will be cut to 18in x 14in x 8in, according to The Independent. They can, however, pay $26 to take a larger item in their hand luggage. The Florida-based carrier follows other budget US airlines in rolling out a stripped back, cheaper ticket fare with carry-on restrictions. In December last year, MailOnline reported that United Airlines is launching a basic economy ticket in March. Passengers who buy the 'basic economy' ticket instead of a standard economy fare can travel with a single small item of carry-on luggage, but only if it fits underneath the seat in front of them. This means some fliers will inadvertently be charged extra to store their full-size carry-on luggage in overhead bins - because they'll have to buy a more expensive ticket to do so. United Airlines doesn't say this explicitly, but it's clear from the luggage size restrictions associated with the ticket that this is the case. The website explains that those opting for this fare are 'allowed to bring a small personal item on board such as a shoulder bag, backpack, laptop bag or other small item that is 9 inches x 10 inches x 17 inches (22 cm x 25 cm x 43 cm) or less. Full-size carry-on bags are not allowed.' Fliers who want the cheapest fare that American Airlines and United Airlines offer will have to leave their rolling carry-on bags at home and opt for something small enough to squeeze under a seat (stock image) Prices, however, for this new low-frills ticket will actually be comparable to the low fares United now charges for the economy cabin, according to Reuters - which effectively means that using the overhead bins will hit fliers in the pocket. Earlier this month, American Airlines also followed suit by announcing a no-frills basic economy ticket. Travellers who want the cheapest fare that American offers will, from next month, have to leave their rolling carry-on bags home. Cash-strapped fliers, are only allowed to cabin baggage that squeezes under their seat. American didn't say how much the tickets would cost, just that in general they will be less than other main-cabin tickets. The airline's president, Robert Isom, said in a memo to employees that flight attendants won't monitor whether basic-economy ticket holders try to put their personal item in the overhead bins. These ticket holders will board last though and cannot pick their seat. Low cost carriers in Europe such as Easyjet offer travellers almost double the Spirit size allowance for hand luggage and a third more volume on Ryanair flights, reports the Independent. A spokesperson for Spirit Airlines said: 'As far as the personal item size, youre correct about the planned adjustments noted on our site. We heard from many customers who told us their laptop bags or larger purses werent fitting quite as well under our seats length-wise. 'We take customer feedback very seriously, so weve adjusted the length to accommodate these popular personal items. Were still proud to offer one of the largest personal item sizes in the industry.' Georgia Love lost her mother to pancreatic cancer late last year, taking to social media at the time to confirm the sad news. And The Bachelorette star has opened up about her late mother Belinda's death, when speaking to Mamamia's Mia Freedman on her podcast. Georgia got emotional as she revealed the heartbreaking moment she realised her mother wouldn't make it through her cancer battle. Scroll down for video Sad: Georgia Love opens up about her mother's death and revealed the heartbreaking moment she realised her mother wouldn't make it through her cancer battle 'It probably wasn't until she was admitted into palliative care, ten days before she passed away,' Georgia said. 'And it wasn't until probably her third or fourth day in there, that we realised she wasn't going to be coming home again.' Belinda, 60, was admitted into palliative care in late October, just days before the series finale of The Bachelorette aired, with Channel Ten confirming the news at the time to The Daily Telegraph. 'It wasn't until she was admitted into palliative care': Georgia is seen with her late mother, Belinda, (L) Just days later, on October 31, Georgia revealed on Instagram that her mother had lost her six-month battle. Georgia further told Mamamia that one of the toughest moments for her throughout her mother's battle, was when Belinda and husband, Christopher, decided to stop chemotherapy. 'I think the hardest part for me was when mum and dad told us they were stopping the chemo because it wasn't doing enough, and that's very, very, very hard to accept, because you just go, "well no, fight more, don't stop, why would you stop the chemo, just fight more." In her Instagram post revealing her mother's death, Georgia said her 'heart is utterly broken.' 'Fight more': Georgia further told Mamamia that one of the toughest moments for her throughout her mother's battle, was when Belinda and husband, Christopher, decided to stop chemotherapy (Georgia is seen with her parents and sister Kate) Underneath a collage of pictures, Georgia wrote: 'Seven weeks ago we were sipping cocktails in Italy. Seven months ago you werent even sick. How is it possible youre no longer here?' After describing her mother as her 'best friend' and 'rock,' the 28-year-old journalist added in part of her post: 'There is so much more I need and want to share with you. I have no idea how to even begin to say goodbye.' Georgia recently shared on Instagram a shot of her family and where they pose with Belinda, writing: 'Two years ago today. Some days are harder than others.' Grief: In her Instagram post revealing her mother's death, Georgia said her 'heart is utterly broken' Her love: Georgia was able to introduce her mother to her chosen Bachelorette winner and boyfriend Lee Elliott, shortly before her death Georgia was able to introduce her mother to her chosen Bachelorette winner and boyfriend Lee Elliott, shortly before her death. She previously told TV Week: 'It was amazing to see how much he perked her up,' she told, adding: 'She was sitting up talking and laughing with him, which she hadn't been able to do all day. 'It was obviously an awful place and reason to be meeting.' Lee also revealed in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he met Georgia's mother for the first time in hospital straight after the finale aired and received the seal of approval from her. Georgia is now a Pancare Foundation ambassador. She's ready to grow her family even though it's just five weeks since she and husband Josh Kelley welcomed their first son to the world. And it seems Katherine Heigl isn't too much worried about how it happens. 'I still want more children,' the 38-year-old actress said in the cover story for the latest issue of People magazine. What baby bump?: Katherine Heigl with husband John Kelley at an LA event on December 7 before birth of baby Joshua 13 days later. Now the actress says she's ready for a fourth child 'Id get pregnant again, and I still am very inspired by adoption. I also have been thinking a lot about fostering.' The beautiful blonde and musician Josh, 37, are no strangers to adoption. Their first daughter, eight-year-old Naleigh, came from South Korea in September 2009, and their second little girl, Adalaide, four, was adopted from Louisiana in April 2012. In fact, the two-time Golden Globe nominee didn't see herself ever getting pregnant. Sleepy snuggles: The 38-year-old actress posted this sweet snap of Josh cuddling his baby boy on Instagram on Monday - the musician's 37th birthday She said it 'didnt ever really speak to me. I got really invested in adoption. I didnt look back or even think about it.' she told People in an earlier interview posted on January 25. Back in June when Katherine announced the exciting news in a statement, she wrote: 'Only when I was about 35 did I start going, "Well, should we consider getting pregnant?" 'You dont want the choice to be taken away from you,' she explained. Cover girl...and boy: The broody star talked about motherhood in the latest issue of People Katherine and Josh have been together since 2005 when they met on the set of his music video for Only You. They got engaged a year later and tied the knot on December 23, 2007, in Park City, Utah. The couple moved their growing family from Los Angeles to a ranch in Utah in 2010 to 'chill out.' Ringing in the New Year: Katherine with her adopted daughters four-year-old Adelaide, left, and Naleigh, eight The clan now also includes her 15-year-old niece Madison, who is an aspiring equestrienne. Meanwhile, the Emmy Award-winning star is gearing up to promote her upcoming CBS series Doubt next month, in which she plays defence lawyer Sadie Ellis. It's due to premiere on February 15. Dakota Johnson made a shady appearance in New York City on Tuesday. Dressed in an oversized brown fur coat, black Mother Denim jeans and black brogues, the Fifty Shades Darker actress capped off her look with a pair of dark sunglasses. The 27-year-old was spotted leaving the Bowery Hotel as she made her way over to NBC studios for an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Is she fur real? Dakota Johnson was seen leaving New York's Bowery Hotel ahead of her interview with Jimmy Fallon Into the dark: The 27-year-old has been busy promoting her upcoming movie, Fifty Shades Darker On the prowl: The back of the jacket featured a tiger design With the sequel to 2015's Fifty Shades Of Grey set to hit theaters on February 10, the cast - including actor Jamie Dornan, 34 - have been busy doing the rounds to promote the new movie. And it seems they can use all the publicity they can get. Despite the hype surrounding the original film, the latest installment in the franchise is only expected to bring in around $40 million on its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Unlikely love: Dakota stars in the racy movie alongside hunky Irish actor Jamie Dornan, playing a couple whose relationship is fueled by kinky sex Over it already: 'Im ready to do other stuff... I do know that Im ready to move on,' the actress told Glamour magazine about her role in the franchise This is less than half of what the original made during its opening weekend, when it reaped $85 million. But fans may not be the only ones moving on from the franchise, which details the sexual relationship between the brooding Christian Grey and the innocent Anastasia Steele. In a new interview with UK Glamour magazine, Dakota revealed she's ready to do something different. Putting on a brave face? Fifty Shades Darker is expected to take in less than half of what the first film did on its opening weekend Light and darkness: 'In the end, Fifty Shades has plopped me in a world that I really wanted to be in' 'Its not that it has put me off entirely, but Im ready to do other stuff. And maybe they will be sexy [projects], or maybe they will be the complete opposite. But I do know that Im ready to move on,' she confessed. However, the daughter of actors Don Johnson, 67, and Melanie Griffith, 59, says she has no regrets about taking on the role of Anastasia. 'This project is not going to be my swan song. It has put my life on a path that I didnt plan to go down, but I do feel proud of it. And the films have allowed me to do so many different projects and travel so much,' she added. 'In the end, Fifty Shades has plopped me in a world that I really wanted to be in.' Ravishing in red: She changed up her look for an appearance on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon Keeping it cool: No doubt she had a bit of fun with the 40-year-old chat show host Stunnings; She wore a sheer red gown with strappy black leather heels Simply stunning: Her brunette tresses were worn down as she had natural, complimentary make-up on her face After Martin Scorcese's The Departed and Gangs Of New York, Leonardo DiCaprio is returning to mob films. The Academy Award-winning actor's not only starring in but also producing The Black Hand, an adaptation of a yet-to-be-released nonfiction book by Stephan Talty, Deadline have reported. According to its Amazon page, the book won't be out until April 25, and revolves about the titular criminal enterprise in early 20th century New York City. Back at it: After appearing in Martin Scorcese's The Departed and Gangs Of New York, Leonardo DiCaprio is returning to mob films, Deadline have reported Per the synopsis given to Amazon, the book's central figure is Joe Petrosino, 'the Italian Sherlock Holmes,' an NYPD detective who hunted the nascent US mafia. The Black Hand's reign of terror over New York involved ransom-seeking abductions of Italian American children and a slew of murders by bombing and gunshot. Using a black hand image as their signifier, the criminals eventually managed to expand operations outside New York and inflamed anti-Italian sentiment. Incoming; The Academy Award-winning actor's not only starring in but also producing The Black Hand, an adaptation of a yet-to-be-released nonfiction book by Stephan Talty Relentless and deft with disguises, Petrosino assembled an 'Italian Squad' of detectives that, per Deadline, began apprehending and deporting mafiosi. An immigrant from Salerno, Petrosino was armed with fluency in Italian and a drive to prevent Italian Americans garnering a reputation as mobsters. Ultimately, he was shot dead by the mafia in 1909 whilst seeking information about them in Palermo, where a memorial for him was put up in the Piazza Marina. The man behind the story; Per the synopsis given to Amazon, the book's central figure is Joe Petrosino, 'the Italian Sherlock Holmes,' an NYPD detective who hunted the nascent US mafia The New York Times have referred to him as 'The only New York City police officer ever killed in the line of duty on foreign soil.' As Deadline reported, Talty's written six historical books and has ghostwritten Richard Phillips' book A Captain's Duty, which became the film Captain Phillips. Paramount Pictures are behind the forthcoming film of The Black Hand, the book version of which is subtitled The Epic War Between A Brilliant Detective And The Deadliest Secret Society In American History. She's the Australian supermodel who recently found Hollywood fame in films like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Neon Demon. And Abbey Lee Kershaw has continued her stateside success with a risque advert for Calvin Klein's Spring/Summer 2017 campaign. The Melbourne-born beauty, 29, posed topless while draped in the United States flag in an artistic photo shoot by Willy Vanderperre. Fashionista: Melbourne-born model Abbey Lee Kershaw featured in a risque photo shoot for Calvin Klein's Spring/Summer 2017 campaign while draped in the American flag Abbey looked simply flawless as she displayed her slim, toned figure in the patriotic ensemble. Last year, she spoke to Sunday Style magazine about her relationship status, saying she doesn't 'get picked up at bars'. 'I think I must be scary or something.,' she explained. 'Maybe it's because I'm nearly six foot tall with a b***h resting face.' Model-turned-actress: The Australian beauty, 29, recently found Hollywood fame in films like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Neon Demon Meanwhile, her acting career has gone from strength to strength in recent years as she steps back from modelling work. She has also began using 'Abbey Lee' professionally, ditching her family name so it sounds 'sexier, it's short and sweet'. Abbey's recent role in psychological horror film The Neon Demon finds her playing an ageing model obsessed with a younger protege. Flying the flag: Abbey looked flawless as she showed off her figure in the patriotic ensemble New direction: Abbey's acting career has gone from strength to strength in recent years as she steps back from modelling work to focus on the silver screen 'I f***ing hope that my performance is good enough to shut them all up,' she previously told Dazed and Confused. 'I guess we'll see. I wanted to not only do my character justice, but for the film to do the industry justice, and I wanted it to be right.' Abbey rose to fame after winning the 2004 Girlfriend Model Search and later moved to Sydney to pursue a runway career. 'I f***ing hope that my performance is good enough to shut them all up': She recently spoke to Dazed And Confused about her role in psychological horror film The Neon Demon Charmed, he's sure. Shep Rose had a rather rude run in with the Kardashian entourage when they crossed paths in Costa Rica. The Southern Charm star revealed on twitter he was barged out of the way by the reality family's security team at the airport, Bravo reported. Charmed, he's sure: Shep Rose had a rather rude run in with the Kardashian entourage when they crossed paths in Costa Rica 'The whole Kardashian family is in the airport in Liberia, Costa Rica. Security everywhere. People are in a frenzy. What a world,' he tweeted. When a fan begged him to confirm he wasn't 'interested in one of them', he replied: 'Pretty sure I'm not their type.' 'I didn't know what was going on. And was shoved out the way by a security goon,' he continued. 'Wonder what would happen if they just quietly walked in?' The whole KUWTK clan had been enjoying a much publicised break in the Central American country. Steamrolled: The Southern Charm star revealed on twitter he was barged out of the way by the reality family's security team at the airport What a world: 'The whole Kardashian family is in the airport in Liberia, Costa Rica. Security everywhere. People are in a frenzy' he tweeted. Shep concluded with some vague commentary on celeb culture, without specifying if he included or excluded himself from it. 'If you Pait enough publicists and get in enough magazines, the public believes the hype. Celebrity gossip is big [money] and its worldwide', (sic) he wrote. In fairness to the Kardashian clan, they probably take the security very seriously since Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris last year. This week it emerged that the mastermind behind the heist Aomar Ait Khedache, a AKA 'Omar le Vieux' (Old Omar) told police that all of the $10million worth of jewelry had been melted down and sold, bar the $3.5million engagement ring given to her by Kanye West. A transcript of the 60-year-old's testimony given to police after his arrest earlier this month in connection with the October robbery was leaked to Le Monde newspaper. Not taking chances: In fairness to the Kardashian clan, they probably take the security very seriously since Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris last year (Kim and daughter North pictured catching flight out of Costa Rica on Monday) He sent fans into a frenzy after announcing he is to quit Doctor Who by the end of the year. Now Peter Capaldi has joined in the name-dropping for the next Time Lord - and he wants a woman to take over from him. And the Scottish actor, 58, is giving his backing to Rising Damp veteran Frances de la Tour. Scroll down for video Rising dame? Exiting Doctor Who Peter Capaldi has joined in the name-dropping for the next Time Lord - and he wants a woman to take over from him, Rising Damp star Frances de la Tour Speaking to the Mirror after his shock announcement on Monday, he said: 'The time felt right to bow out, to let somebody else play this wonderful role and I would like Frances de la Tour to be first female doctor.' The 72-year-old actress is best known for her turn as Miss Jones in 1970s sitcom Rising Damp and role in Harry Potter. Bizarrely, she was considered to be the first female Doctor in the 1980s, when producers were desperate to change the sex of the time-travelling alien in a bid to keep it on the air. De lay Tour, Joanna Lumley and Dawn French were in the running, however, the show was cancelled in 1989, only to return with another man, Christopher Eccleston, in the lead role in 2005. Screen veteran: The 72-year-old actress is best known for her turn as Miss Jones in 1970s sitcom Rising Damp (above) and role in Harry Potter Former favourite: Bizarrely, she was considered to be the first female Doctor in the 1980s, when producers were desperate to change the sex of the time-travelling alien in a bid to keep it on the air Capaldi was the 12th actor to play the iconic role, having landed the coveted spot on the long-running series after Matt Smiths departure in June 2013. He made his departure announcement whilst speaking to Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2 on Monday, and revealed that it was 'time to move on' from the BBC series. 'I feel its time to move on,' he reasoned, adding: 'One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best. 'From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead 'I cant thank everyone enough. Its been cosmic.' The Time(lord) is right: Capaldi was the 12th actor to play the iconic role, having landed the coveted spot on the long-running series after Matt Smiths departure in June 2013 Moving on: Peter made the announcement whilst speaking to Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2 on Monday, as he revealed he would be leaving the BBC series at the end of the year In a statement, show boss Steven Moffatt said: 'For years before I ever imagined being involved in Doctor Who, or had ever met the man, I wanted to work with Peter Capaldi. 'I could not have imagined that one day wed be standing on the TARDIS together.' Steven, who is also leaving after season 10, added: 'Like Peter, Im facing up to leaving the best job Ill ever have, but knowing I do so in the company of the best, and kindest and cleverest of men, makes the saddest of endings a little sweeter. 'But hey, its a long way from over. Peter's amazing, fiery, turbulent Doctor is still fighting the good fight, and his greatest adventures are yet to come. 'Monsters of the universe, be on your guard - Capaldis not done with you yet!' Predecessor: Peter replaced Matt Smith (pictured) in 2013. His casting was revealed on August 4 during a live broadcast on BBC One, titled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor Peter's decision to quit comes as a shock, as it comes just a matter of weeks after he claimed he wanted to stay in the role for a 'long time'. Ahead of his return on Christmas Day, the actor appeared on The Andrew Marr Show, where he claimed to have no intentions of moving on. He said: 'My kind of attitude about it is that I didn't want it to change my life much, but it does. But in as much as my private life goes, it remains much the same. 'But when I go out into the world, I can't, you know I don't want to escape the idea that I'm Doctor Who, and it's finite - I won't be Doctor Who forever - so there will be a day when people don't come and say hello.' Asked when that moment would be, he replied: 'Oh, not for a long time, I hope.' Dream team: When Peter began the role his assistant was played by Jenna Coleman Despite Peter's insistence that he would be staying with the show, rumours began to circulate about his departure earlier this month. It was previously announced that writer Steven Moffat would be stepping down this year, with his replacement Chris Chibnall - who created Broadchurch - believed to be in control of picking his own Time Lord. A source on the BBC show told The Mirror: 'Bosses are already discussing a fresh start when Steven leaves. 'Theyve been happy with what Peter has brought to the role but some think it might make sense to give Chris his own choice of actor to play the Doctor. 'They hope he will be able to find someone who can have the same impact as Matt Smith did when Steven Moffat kicked off his run as executive producer.' Mixed opinions: Doctor Who fans expressed their sadness at Peter's departure, as talk immediately turned to who could replace the star as the 13th Time Lord Before his work on Doctor Who, Peter was best known for playing the foul-mouthed Spin Doctor Malcom Tucker in satirical series, The Thick Of It. His casting as the Time Lord therefore came as a shock to fans when it was revealed on August 4 during a live broadcast on BBC One, titled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. Since landing the role over three years ago, he has fronted two series and appeared in 27 episodes. Changing it up: Before his work on Doctor Who, Peter was best known for playing the foul-mouthed Spin Doctor Malcom Tucker in satirical series, The Thick Of It As seen on screen: Peter first appeared as the Doctor in a cameo in the 50th anniversary special, titled, The Day of the Doctor, before appearing in the 2013 Christmas special Peter first appeared as the Doctor in a cameo in the 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, before appearing in the 2013 Christmas special, 'The Time of the Doctor'. As a die-hard fan of the franchise, Peter had previously starred in an episode of the show, playing Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 episode The Fires of Pompeii. Peter also played civil servant John Frobisher in 2009 in the spin-off series, Torchwood: Children of Earth. When he joined the series as the Time Lord, his companion was played by Jenna Coleman. Jenna starred as Clara Oswald - joining initially as Matt Smith's companion in 2012. She left the series in 2014. Is it Time for a female Time Lord? Fans called on Hayley Atwell to be considered as a replacement, which would make her the first female Doctor in the shows history Girl power: Fans have called on the BBC to employ Avengers star Hayley Atwell as the first female Doctor. She is best known for her portrayal of Peggy Carter in various Marvel films Fans took to Twitter in their droves to express their dismay at Peter's departure, but it wasn't long before they began to speculate who could be the 13th Doctor. Some fans have called on the BBC to employ Avengers star Hayley Atwell as the first female Doctor. She is best known for her portrayal of Peggy Carter in various films and television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other viewers have suspected Rupert Grint could take on the role. He is no stranger to giant franchises having made his name as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series. Time for a change? Fans called on Rupert Grint to be considered as the next Doctor Big moment: Rupert is no stranger to giant franchises having made his name as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series Meanwhile, Peter's shock departure comes days after he was spotted in high spirits filming scenes for series 10 of Doctor Who in Cardiff alongside show newbie Pearl Mackie. Pearl - best known for her role in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - was announced as the Doctor's new sidekick during an FA Cup semi-final match, with a special teaser trailer showing her and the Time Lord facing off against a Dalek. She certainly has a fan in her co-star Peter, who recently said: 'It is a genuine delight to welcome Pearl Mackie to Doctor Who. 'A fine, fine actress with a wonderful zest and charm, she's a refreshing addition to the TARDIS and will bring a universe of exciting new possibilities to The Doctor's adventures.' Turn back time: The announcement comes days after he was in spotted in high spirits filming scenes for series 10 of Doctor Who in Cardiff alongside show newbie Pearl Mackie The show is reportedly set to return to screens in April, and will see Matt Lucas return as Nardole, while David Suchet will make a guest appearance as The Landlord. Little Britain star Lucas previously said in a BBC press release: 'Im chuffed to bits that Nardole is returning to the TARDIS for some more adventures. I loved acting with Peter and Im excited to work with Pearl.' While executive producer Steven Moffat added: 'Delighted and slightly amazed to be welcoming Matt Lucas back on to the TARDIS - and this time its not just for Christmas, hes sticking around. One of the greatest comedy talents on planet Earth is being unleashed on all of time and space.' They are The Bachelor's first lesbian couple. And after a spate of online trolling, questioning the couple's legitimacy Megan Marx, 27 and Tiffany Scanlon, 30, insisted that their love is genuine and not a publicity stunt. 'We live in a warped world and we get messages every day,' Megan told 9 News Perth on Tuesday. Not a publicity stunt: And after a spate of online trolling, questioning the couple's legitimacy Megan Marx and Tiffany Scanlon insisted that their love is genuine. 'We live in a warped world and we get messages every day,' Megan told 9 News Perth on Tuesday. 'We think the world is too judgmental,' Megan continued. The couple moved to Bali last month to live together and were keen to add that they plan to launch their own business. 'We're really excited we're going to be working on a project together,' Tiffany enthused. Business chicks: The couple moved to Bali last month to live together and were keen to add that they plan to launch their own business Collaboration: 'We're really excited we're going to be working on a project together,' Tiffany enthused Meanwhile, they were spotted shopping together for racy lingerie at Victoria's Secret at the weekend. And on Sunday night, the couple continued their loved-up escapades, returning to the bar where they shared their first kiss six months ago. Taking to Instagram, Tiffany shared a short video from the Deus bar in Canggu, the coastal Balinese town to which they have recently re-located. Scroll down for video Special spot: Tiffany Scanlon (right) and girlfriend Megan Marx (left) returned to the Deus bar in Canggu, Bali on Sunday night, the place where they celebrated their first kiss together six months earlier In the clip, Megan and Tiffany were singing Katy Perry's 'I Kiss A Girl', which played on the cafe's speakers. Clearly taken by the lyrics, Megan then turned towards her girlfriend, and puckered her lips before she moved in for a kiss. However, the couple's intimate display was obscured by Megan's hair. 'Last night we returned to Deus where we shared our first kiss 6 months ago! This song played and seemed fitting,' Tiffany captioned the clip, after she uploaded it on Monday. Seeming to reveal the loved up pair were intoxicated at the time of filming, Tiffany added the hashtags 'girls gone world' and 'drank'. Last Friday with KIIS 1065's Kyle & Jackie O Show, Tiffany opened up about her very first night of passion with Megan, when they realised their friendship had turned into something more. TMI? Tiffany revealed to Kyle and Jackie O that she and Megan got up to 'all sorts of things' during their first night together in Bali, after the couple enjoyed an 'ice game' 'Megan had more of an idea where things would go, than I did,' Tiffany told radio co-hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson. 'We were at one of the bars in Bali and we were playing the ice game. 'You put a cube of ice in your mouth and you have to pass it on [to another person] in five seconds with your mouth. Megan passed it onto me and it ended up being an extended kiss. Things soon heated up, with Tiffany revealing they got up to 'all sorts of things' that night in the bedroom. Revealing all: 'You put a cube of ice in your mouth and you have to pass it on [to another person] in five seconds with your mouth. Megan passed it onto me and it ended up being an extended kiss,' Tiffany told co-hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson He is the star of Jeff, Who Lives At Home. But that is no longer the case for Jason Segel after it emerged his Hollywood Hills home has hit the market for $10.5 million. It is the first time the vintage property has been up for sale after he sold it for a mammoth profit back in 2015. Worth chande-leering at: Jason Segel's old Hollywood Hills home has gone on the market Beverly Hills prices: The price tag form the two home property is a whopping $10.5 million He raked in a mammoth $6.9 million, a whopping return considering he purchased the 1925 house for just $1.89 million in 2010. The actor forked out on the house when he was at the height of his fame as the star of How I Met Your Mother. The property is located withing strolling distance of popular Hollywood nightspots Chateau Marmont,a feature he no doubt exploited while enjoying his then single status. What a Muppet: Jason no doubt loved watching Kermit and co while next to the fire Breakfast is served: The main home boasts a specious kitchen with island Telly addict: It seems that in almost every living room there is a television set Room with a view: The star no doubt loved watching his classics such as Sex Tape, Bad Teacher and Gulliver's Travels in the cinema Jason golden fleeced: The property is now selling for far more than the $6.9M he sold it for The property is made up of two homes and a studio, and there is plenty of sleeping room, as there are a total of nine bedrooms. And the lucky future resident should have no fear of ever being caught short, as there are also eight bathrooms to choose from. The main house boasts an open concept kitchen, dining area and there is plenty of natural light thanks to the multiple walls of windows and French doors. Its second house is in the Moorish-Spanish style and boasts two-story vaulted ceilings, and a library which has a hidden space said to be from Prohibition days. Masterful: The big bedroom has an enormous bed and couch Comfy: Another room boasts leafy views and a king-sized bed Tub tub time: The luxurious clawfoot bathtub will be a boon for post-work soaking Power shower: The ornately decorated shower boasts beautiful moulding Guests only: While Jason was enjoying the master bathroom he will have sent his visitors to this much less luxurious alternative Outdoors there is a pool area, fireplace, kitchen and even a bocce court, an Italian variant of British bowls/ No doubt Jason fancied moving on to fresher pastures, and his decisive nature is no doubt one of the reasons he managed to woo his photographer girlfriend Alexis Minter. The pair were photographed together several times out and about in Los Angeles and New York before going public with their romance. They finally confirmed they were dating when they arrived together for Sean Penn's Help Haiti fundraiser in Beverly Hills last year. For when it is not 90 degrees: The outside leisure area comes with a fireplace Making a splash: The enormous swimming pool area is ideal for parties Nicole Kidman might be joining the DC Cinematic Universe. The 49-year-old Oscar-winning actress is reportedly 'in early negotiations' to join the cast of Aquaman as the title character's mother, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 'Nicole has been director, James Wan's, top choice for weeks, with an official offer finally going out on Monday,' an insider told the publication. Aquamom? Nicole Kidman is reportedly 'in early negotiations' to join the cast of Aquaman as the title character's mother, according to The Hollywood Reporter Nicole Kidman is only 12 years older than Jason Momoa, who is set to star as Aquaman in the highly-anticipated film. The 37-year-old Game Of Thrones hunk made a brief appearance as Aquaman last year in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and reprised his role as the Atlantean superhero in Justice League, which is due out November 17. As for the stand-alone Aquaman movie, Jason attended a table reading earlier this week. Production is expected to begin in Queensland, Australia as early as April, although previous reports had suggested filming would begin in May. Underwater royalty: The 49-year-old Oscar-winning actress is only 12 years older than Jason Momoa, who is set to star as Aquaman in the highly-anticipated film If the deal goes through, the Australian actress would play the superhero's mother, Atlanna, who hails from royalty in the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. As the story goes, she escapes her kingdom and falls in love with a lighthouse keeper, giving birth to the boy who will one day grow up to be a bridge between two worlds. The new report also revealed that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who starred on Netflixs The Get Down, is in early talks to play the villain known as Black Manta. Meanwhile, Amber Heard is already on board as Mera, Aquaman's love interest, and Willem Dafoe will portray Aquamans advisor, scientist Dr. Vulko. Patrick Wilson will play Orm, Aquamans villainous half-brother. He's garnered an army of followers over the years, thanks to a successful pop career and hosting stint on popular show Extreme Fishing. And Robson Green sent fans into another frenzy with his shirtless chest on the premiere of his new show, Tales of The Coast, on Tuesday night. The 51-year-old was seen enjoying an outdoor shower on the coast of Devon - although it was the view of his chest, rather than the horizon, which caught attention on social media. Scroll down for video Hubba hubba! Robson Green sent fans into another frenzy with his shirtless chest on the premiere of his new show, Tales of The Coast, on Tuesday night The series sees the Geordie revisit his childhood holiday hotspots - heading to Ilfracombe, Clovelly and the island of Lundy in North Devon on the first episode. First enjoying a run across the gravelly sand, the former pop star then takes to a nearby cliff to enjoy a stunning outdoor shower, looking out to sea. Stripping to his swimming shorts, Robson is seen rinsing his hair and body in the cold natural flow before he turns to admire the view before him - displaying his bare and hunky chest for all to see. Sweating it out: First enjoying a run across the gravelly sand, the former pop star then takes to a nearby cliff to enjoy a stunning outdoor shower, looking out to sea Idyllic: Stripping to his swimming shorts, Robson is seen rinsing his hair and body in the cold natural flow Hunky: He then turns to admire the view of North Devon before him - displaying his bare and hunky chest for all to see Known for his witty style, the presenter then pokes fun at his emulation of the famous scene on I'm A Celebrity by asking the camera: 'Who needs the jungle?' He then adds: 'How's that for an outdoor shower! What a great way to start the day.' Fans and viewers were left shocked and impressed by his display, and immediately took to Twitter to laud him with praise. Is that you, Myleene? Known for his witty style, the presenter then pokes fun at his emulation of the famous scene on I'm A Celebrity by asking the camera: 'Who needs the jungle?' Relaxed: He then adds: 'How's that for an outdoor shower! What a great way to start the day' One passionate fan did not hold back in her admiration for the Grantchester actor, writing: 'Robson Green is the hottest man on earth. FACT' Meanwhile another was equally as happy with the steamy shower scene, adding: 'Love it when you stumble across a bit of Robson Green on the tele! #phwoar' Agreeing more reluctantly, another guilty supporter questioned whether it was 'bad' that she had a 'slight weak spot' for the father-of-one. Fan favourite: Fans and viewers were left shocked and impressed by his display, and immediately took to Twitter to laud him with praise and admiration Secret admirers: One passionate fan called him 'the hottest man on earth. FACT' while another added how good it was when 'you stumble across him on the tele! #phwoar' As the show continued, more fans added to the fray by flooding the Waterloo Road actor with praise over his presenting talents and personality on-screen, too. One wrote cheekily: 'We all love a bit of Robson Green', while another acknowledged the star's particularly daring coastal climb, adding: 'Fair play to Robson Green, top chap' Meanwhile another younger fan added that she had fallen for his charm as the frontman of the new series, questioning: 'Why do I love Robson Green? I just want him to be my dad.' Love him: As the show continued, more fans added to the fray by flooding the Waterloo Road actor with praise over his presenting talents and personality on-screen, too Robson will no doubt stir up excitement in fans even more on next week's episode, when he reunites with former musical partner Jerome Fynn to travel the shores of Pembrokeshire. While the star has embarked on this new project, fans will not be without his famous fishing escapades - as a souped-up version of his iconic series, Robson Green Grand Slam Fishing, began on Travel Channel last week. In his new venture, Robson will be challenged with achieving the highest accolade in fishing, the near impossible, Grand Slam. The term is used by International Game Fishing Association users when anglers catch three or more different species in 24 hours. In his new series, Robson will travel the world to attempt the Grand Slam in 10 different locations. Two would-be robbers walked away empty handed with one suspect getting stuck in a trash can while attempting to escape police during an early morning burglary in Shippensburg Township Wednesday, according to State Police at Carlisle. Michael TaRae McDaniel and Chance Kevin Neilley, both 19 and from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, are charged with six felony counts of robbery, one felony count each of burglary, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit burglary, as well as misdemeanor terroristic threats, unlawful restraint and simple assault after they burglarized a home in the first block of Richard Avenue around 1 a.m. Wednesday. McDaniel and Neilley broke into the home through a first-floor window and were immediately confronted by a resident who awoke as they entered, police said. The two demanded the resident give them money and marijuana but were told there were neither inside the home, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by state police. Neilley, who was carrying a knife, and McDaniel, who was carrying a black pellet gun that resembled a semi-automatic handgun, continued through the house confronting five more occupants, according to police. Each time they were told there was no money or marijuana inside the home, police said. Neilley told police he had purchased marijuana at the home twice and the two had been driven to the home by two unnamed men, police said. Police arrived as the burglars were still inside the home, and the burglars attempted to flee, according to the affidavit. Neilley was tackled by one of the residents and detained, police said. McDaniel climbed onto the front porch roof and jumped into a plastic garbage container, where he got stuck, according to the affidavit. He was immediately taken into custody after getting free from the garbage can, police said. McDaniel said he was not prepared for what they ran into, the affidavit read. When asked to explain, McDaniel said he did not expect to find so many people inside and did not expect to come away empty-handed. McDaniel said he figured it would have been much easier. The two are being held in Cumberland County Prison in lieu of $139,000 bail each. Many A-list stars have added their voices to protest President Donald Trump's recent executive order restricting immigration and banning Syrian refugees from the U.S. And while preparing to leave LAX on Tuesday, emotional Kristin Davis contributed her opinion to the issue, breaking down in tears as she discussed her work with refugees. The 51-year-old actress wore a top by a UN-sponsored refugee organisation as she emotionally discussed the potential fallout of Trump's ban. Scroll down for video Emotions running high: Kristin Davis broke down in tears at LAX Airport on Tuesday night as she discussed the potential fallout of President Donald Trump's new immigration policy 'I'm very very worried very upset,' she said. 'I've met refugees - they're victims. I don't think we should be blaming them. I have a hope that checks and balances in our government can step forward and rectify the situation. Comfortable in the sweater emblazoned with the UN Refugee Agency slogan, the star became emotional whilst discussing her work with refugees, having last visited a refugee camp back in December. 'I think that mostly, everyone thinks America's wonderful and in their wildest wildest dreams they get to come here,' she said, her voice breaking. 'It makes me really sad that could change.' Voice breaking: Kristin broke down when she began talking about her work with refugees Tearing up: Kristin showed her support via her UNHCR sweatshirt at LAX 'I think right now we're in a moment of changing chaos,' she added. 'It makes me emotional because I love America and I don't want people to think we're not kind people. On Twitter, the actress shared a photo of a man holding a sign that said, 'Refugees welcome.' '#TuesdayMotivation At LAX, where there is a welcoming committee ! Love this SO much, thanks to all of you for standing #WithRefugees,' wrote Kristin. The actress joins the many celebrities who are opposed to President Donald Trump's recent immigration policy. Making a statement: The Sex And The City actress, 51, made sure her voice was heard in the form of a long-sleeve statement shirt Showing her support: On Twitter, the actress shared a photo of a man holding a sign that said, 'Refugees welcome Trump's executive order prevents non-American citizens from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for a limited time. The order stops the State Department's entire U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days and declares that refugees from Syria are not welcome until further notice. After that period of time, refugees will be accepted only from countries that the State and Homeland Security Departments decide are safe to work with. But the nation will limit the total refugee resettlement numbers to 50,000 per year. Casual: The mother-of-one was comfortable in a set of distressed denim skinnies Sharing their views: The actress joins the many celebrities who are opposed to President Donald Trump's recent immigration policy The President noted that America 'will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression,' but won't disregard safety of its citizens, in a statement released on Sunday. 'America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. 'America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave.' He also pointed out that it wasn't a 'Muslim ban,' as 'over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim,' have not been affected by the policy. She set out for a romantic stroll on the beach in Byron Bay with boyfriend Chandler Powell. But Bindi Irwin's brother Robert had a different idea in mind when he decided to play a prank on the 18-year-old. The Dancing With The Stars champion shared a video of herself walking along the sand while being filmed by Chandler, before Robert, 13, jumps in to the front of the frame. Scroll down for video Crashing in: Robert Irwin crashed in on his sister Bindi's romantic beach walk with her boyfriend Chandler Powell on Tuesday 'When you're trying to get a gorgeous beach video & then BAM! @robertirwinphotography arrives,' Bindi captioned the footage, tagging her younger brother. Bindi wore denim shorts and a singlet, with a dark kaftan draped over her shoulders. Robert was wearing a rash vest and board shorts as he jumped into the shot, holding his body board up to block the view of Bindi. Loved-up: The teen couple had been enjoying a vacation together in sunny Byron Bay 'When you're trying to get a gorgeous beach video & then BAM!' Bindi was clearly taken by surprise as her brother jumped into the shot Despite being unimpressed with Robert's stunt, the wildlife conservationist was still grinning from ear to ear as she soaked up the sun. Earlier in the day, the daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin shared a gorgeous couple's shot as she cosied up to Chandler. 'Byron Bay was glorious. Beach vibes with my Sunshine,' she captioned the snap. Bindi looked relaxed as she posed alongside Chandler, who was shirtless after having been swimming. There he goes! Bindi didn't seem impressed with her brother's prank, but appeared to be enjoying the sunshine regardless The love birds reunited in Australia two weeks ago, after having spent three weeks apart. Before seeing Chandler off at the airport ahead of his flight back to the US, Bindi shared: 'Dropping you off at the airport & waving goodbye, it never gets easier. 'Thank you for the most wonderful adventures these last few months.' She concluded the gushing post by saying: 'I miss you so much already. You really do mean the world to me.' He recently returned to work after an extended summer holiday. And within days of being back at the desk, Karl Stefanovic has already been roasted by his colleagues after he made the outlandish claim that he could grow a beard by the end of Wednesday's Today show. But after the 42-year-old failed to deliver on his word, staff photoshopped Karl with hilarious facial hair. Un-beard-lievable! Today photoshopped Karl Stefanovic with hilarious facial hair after the host joked about being able to grow a beard by the end of the show Lisa Wilkinson introduced the joke segment by reminding viewers of her co-host's promise. 'A little earlier this morning Karl claimed he would be able to grow a beard before the end of the show,' she said. Karl responded: 'Well not surprisingly I have succeeded - now the results are pretty un-beard-lievable!' Holding him to his word: Lisa Wilkinson introduced the joke segment by reminding viewers of her co-host's promise earlier in the show The screen then cut to a photo of Karl photoshopped with lush facial hair superimposed on the body of another man chopping wood. 'This one when I was on holiday in Canada,' he explained, as the screen changed to an image of a digitally altered Karl fishing and sporting a full beard. 'That was me fishing in far north Queensland.' That's different! The screen then cut to a photo of Karl photoshopped with lush facial hair A photoshopped image of Karl clutching a kitten on a ladder was described by the journalist as: 'This is me climbing a ladder in the White House ...helping build the wall in Mexico.' After all the hosts stopped giggling Lisa quipped: 'You should think about keeping it - it looks good on you.' 'I can grow one in the next break,' Karl responded. What movies? Sports reporter Tim Gilbert also cheekily joked: 'I've seen a few movies with guys like that' Sports reporter Tim Gilbert also cheekily joked: 'I've seen a few movies with guys like that', later adding that he was referring to Magnum P.I unless viewers minds were wandering elsewhere. The popular Channel Nine personality returned to television screens last month, covering President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 from Washington DC. Karl made it back to the desk on Monday after taking an extended break due to his separation from wife of 21 years Cassandra Thorburn. Karl must now 'justify' his salary, rumoured to be up to $1.5 million annually, according to media analyst Steve Allen speaking in The Sunday Telegraph. Johnny Depp likes to live large, apparently. In addition to owning multiple homes and a luxury yacht, he spends $30,000 a month on wine, travels by private jet and maintains 12 storage facilities housing his fine art and memorabilia collections. That's according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by his former managers who are asking a judge to rule that the actor has no-one but himself to blame for his financial troubles. Money woes: Johnny Depp spends $2 million-a-month to maintain his lavish lifestyle, according to countersuit filed by former managers he accused of 'mishandling' his finances The Pirates Of The Caribbean star filed suit against The Management Group earlier this month alleging mishandling of his finances and seeking compensation of at least $25 million. But on Tuesday those managers countersued, opening up a window into the extravagant lifestyle of one of Hollywood's biggest stars whose divorce from actress Amber Heard was finalized just two weeks ago. In documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Joel and Robert Mandel claim they repeatedly warned Depp that he was overspending, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 'Depp lived an ultra-extravagant lifestyle that often knowingly cost Depp in excess of $2 million per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford,' attorney Michael Kump wrote in the cross-complaint. 'Depp, and Depp alone, is fully responsible for any financial turmoil he finds himself in today.' Lavish spending: The Pirates Of The Caribbean star owned 14 residences and spent $30,000-a-month on wine, the legal documents claim. Pictures is his spectacular LA mansion Room to roam: The actor owned five penthouses in a Downtown LA building, which he has now put up for sale. He also maintains 12 storage units housing fine art and memorabilia collections On the block: He also put up for sale the French country estate he had spent millions of dollars restoring during his relationship with Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children No expense spared: Depp also blew $18 million on a luxury yacht and has his own island in The Bahamas TMG claims the Black Mass actor spent $75 million on the purchase of 14 residences including a chateau in France, splashed out $18 million on a luxury yacht and paid more than $3 million to blast the ashes of author Hunter Thompson over Aspen, Colorado, from a specially-made cannon. TMG is currently pursuing foreclosure actions against Depp to recover $4.2 million it claims he still owes the company. Meanwhile, Depp has accused his former managers of 'gross misconduct' that led to him losing 'tens of millions of dollars', Variety reported on January 13. He alleged the company had failed to file or pay his federal taxes on time costing him millions in fees and fines and lent $10 million of his money to a third party without his knowledge. Depp has been selling off some of his properties in the past year. He also settled his divorce from Heard for $7 million which she stated she would donate to charity. She's one of the most in demand models of the moment. And Jourdan Dunn lent her star power to another campaign as she was seen working on a fashion shoot in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Proving just why she's so successful, the 26-year-old Vogue covergirl was a vision of beauty on the outing. Scroll down for video Model moment: She's one of the most in demand models of the moment. And Jourdan Dunn lent her star power to another campaign in Los Angeles on Tuesday Showing off her decotellage, Jourdan donned a navy bardot top that billowed over her lithe frame. She teamed the garment with a pair of cut off denim jeans with a frayed hem and added some height to her model frame with a pair of tan buckled heels. Adding to the glamour she wore cat eye sunglasses and carried a canary yellow Prada handbag. Glam: Proving just why she's so successful in the modelling world, the 26-year-old Vogue covergirl was a vision of beauty on the outing Blue-tiful! Showing off her decotellage, Jourdan donned a navy bardot top that billowed over her lithe frame Leggy lady! She teamed the garment with a pair of cut off denim jeans with a frayed hem and added some height to her model frame with a pair of tan buckled heels All about the accessories: Adding to the glamour she wore cat eye sunglasses and carried a canary yellow Prada handbag The mother-of-one was propelled to international fame when she was discovered by a model scout in a branch of budget high street store, Primark, in Hammersmith, west London, at the tender age of 15. She has since appeared on countless covers of fashion bible Vogue and featured in campaigns for the likes of Burberry, Balmain, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, DKNY, John Galliano and Tommy Hilfiger. The model has one son, Riley, seven, with ex-boyfriend Jordan Cummings, who was sentenced to a drugs-related prison sentence shortly after Riley's birth. Look at her now! The mother-of-one was propelled to international fame when she was discovered by a model scout in a budget high street store aged 15 Switching it up: The beauty changed into another summer-inspired, denim ensemble Trendy look: Jourdan wore a halter, off-the-shoulder dress with its waist cinched in with a belt The model recently praised her own mother for helping out with Riley while she jets across the globe to fulfill work commitments. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, she said: 'Thank God for my mum, because shes amazing. 'She said to me, "Once you have Riley, Im going to be here for you, 100 per cent. So do what you have to do".' Knows what she's doing: The supermodel gave off her best pose as she carried slides and a yellow purse All eyes on her: Jourdan was surely a scene-stealer on the beach Hot-weather look: Later, the UK-born star showed off her slender legs in a white, knit dress Dressing it up: For added texture, the 5ft 11in stunner layered a denim jacket over her look The 2017 awards season has been rife with celebrities voicing their views on Donald Trump both onstage and on the red carpet - including Meryl Streep and Dev Patel. And with the BAFTAs only two weeks away, it has been reported that BBC bosses fear award-winners will once again use their speeches to promote their political views. According to The Sun, the producers of the ceremony believe an endless string of speeches regarding the Presidential election would be a 'disaster' - resulting in the BBC broadcast potentially being edited if more than 'the odd reference' is made. Scroll down for video Anxious: BAFTA are reportedly afraid award-winners will use their speeches to promote their political views at the upcoming ceremony, like Meryl Streep did at the Golden Globes (above) The anti-Trump movement has been at its peak this week, with protests against his entrance to the UK occurring all over Britain, and feminist marches taking across the world. BAFTA bosses are now reportedly afraid that this year's ceremony, taking place on Sunday 12 February, will be full of celebrities vocalising their political standpoint - thus detracting from the films being recognised. An inside source to the bash told the paper: 'Having 15 back-to-back Trump speeches would be a disaster and would take complete attention away from the films.' 'Disaster': With anti-Trump protests rife, an inside source said: 'Having 15 back-to-back Trump speeches would be a disaster and would take complete attention away from the films' However, acknowledging that the Academy had no desire to anger the stars, the source added: 'Nobody wants to tell the stars what they should or shouldn't say and bosses expect the odd reference. 'But the last thing they want is a string of political rants, particularly with Trump's UK visit and his Muslim ban in full flow.' The insider went on to warn that if any went beyond a brief comment and begin to discuss racism, their speech may be edited - as the live ceremony and broadcast take place two hours apart. Cut: The insider also warned that if any went on to discuss racism, their speech may be edited - as the live ceremony and broadcast take place two hours apart An official Bafta spokesman said of the matter: 'We respectfully ask all winners to keep their acceptance speech short.' The concerns come in light of a somewhat controversial awards season - with endless stars taking to the stage to discuss Trump's new role, rather than their TV or film project. Most notably, actress Meryl Streep, 67, used the Golden Globes to slam the new President for mocking a disabled reporter in 2015 - branding him a 'disrespectful bully.' She said as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award: 'Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose.' Lashing out: Earlier this month Meryl used her Golden Globes speech to call the new President a 'disrespectful bully' - to which he retaliated by calling her 'the most over-rated actress' Not taking it well, the new President then responded to her comments on Twitter the following day, writing: 'Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes.' Meryl is nominated in the Leading Actress category for Florence Foster Jenkins at this year's BAFTAs, so is likely to be present at the ceremony, held at the Royal Albert Hall. Also quick to get involved in the conversation at the SAG Awards last week was British actor and Supporting Actor nominee Dev Patel. Brit hit: Also quick to get involved in the conversation at the SAG Awards last week was Dev Patel - who called his Muslim ban 'devastating' on the red carpet Talking on the red carpet about Trump's new Muslim ban, the Slumdog Millionaire star said: 'I just flew in from India a day ago. When I heard the news it was utterly devastating. 'The first thing that came into my head was the children who arrive on these shores with hope in their hearts. It's horrible. It's divisive.' He added: 'I hope something changes and something can be done because it really is terrible.' Joining in: Other actors who spoke up were Ashton Kutcher (L), who said America welcomes 'everyone at airports' and John Lithgow, who agreed with Meryl's words (R) Not a fan: However not all celebrities have been fans - with Winona Ryder causing a frenzy by pulling funny faces during her director's political speech at the SAGs Other actors who spoke up were Ashton Kutcher, who said America welcomes 'everyone at airports' and John Lithgow, who acknowledged that Doubt star Meryl had 'managed to speak his exact thoughts'. However, other celebrities' shocked reactions to these speeches have hit headlines just as much the political comments themselves. At the SAGs last week, Stranger Things star Winona Ryder became the target of hilarity on social media when she was seen pulling horrifed faces onstage, as the series' director discussed equality. Other disgruntled stars include Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn - who caught attention among fans with their flat and confused facial expressions during Meryl's political attack. On a night dedicated to radio it was one of the more prominent faces of Saturday night television who caught the eye on Tuesday evening. Making a typically upbeat appearance at the Radio Times covers party, Strictly Come Dancing co-host Claudia Winkleman opted for a chic black ensemble comprised of fitted shirt, skinny trousers and matching stiletto heels. But it was the 45-year old presenters highly bronzed and undeniably patchy skin tone that commanded attention as she posed for photos ahead of the celebratory event at Londons Claridges Hotel. Scroll down for video Here she comes: Making a typically upbeat appearance at the Radio Times covers party, Strictly Come Dancing co-host Claudia Winkleman opted for a chic black ensemble comprised of fitted shirt, skinny trousers and matching stiletto heels As always the generously applied layer of eye-liner was present and correct, while her jet black hair was styled with a heavy fringe. Completing an otherwise subdued look with a vibrantly patterned black leather handbag, Claudia offered onlookers a beaming smile as she made a welcome appearance at the Radio Times event, held annually to celebrate those who have graced the iconic magazines cover throughout the year. The presenter was joined by veteran DJ Jo Whiley, who looked comparatively colourful in a bold red lace dress. Hard to miss: The 45-year old presenters highly bronzed and undeniably patchy skin tone commanded attention as she posed for photos ahead of the celebratory event at Londons Claridges Hotel Trademark look: As always the generously applied layer of eye-liner was present and correct, while her jet black hair was styled with a heavy fringe Finishing touches: Completing an otherwise subdued look with a vibrantly patterned black leather handbag, Claudia offered onlookers a beaming smile as she made a welcome appearance at the Radio Times event High spirits: Claudia certainly seemed to have had a good time at the bash, emerging with a broad smile on her face With an off-the-shoulder detail and semi-sheer design, the dress ensured Jo, 51, claimed her own share of the spotlight as she made her way inside the up-market venue. Other guests to attend Tuesdays event included Mary Berry, who opted for a gold sequinned jacket and elegant black evening dress. The Great British Bake Off presenter, 81, added to her look with a bold statement necklace, while her liberal use of red lipstick gave it an added splash of colour. Looking good: The presenter was joined by veteran DJ Jo Whiley, who looked comparatively colourful in a bold red lace dress Loud and proud: With an off-the-shoulder detail and semi-sheer design, the dress ensured Jo, 51, claimed her own share of the spotlight as she made her way inside the up-market venue Night out: Jo joined a host of stars at the event, held annually to celebrate those who have graced the iconic magazines cover throughout the year Quick change: Jo emerged in a different ensemble, sporting black jeans and teal shoes while holding a placard with an Adele Glastonbury Radio Times cover Elsewhere Konnie Huq was without husband Charlie Brooker as she climbed from the rear of her car and made her way through the hotels double doors. The former Blue Peter presenter, 41, looked suitably glamorous in a tiered grey evening dress and powder blue blouse, while strappy heels rounded things off. Also making an appearance at the annual event, fellow presenter Melvin Odoom looked dapper in a two-piece suit and crisp white shirt. Taking the plunge: Eleanor Tomlinson looked stunning in a low cut crimson velvet jumpsuit teamed with strappy black sandals Chic: Eleanor wore striking black eyeliner and deep crimson lipstick with a loose updo Dashing: Aidan Turner looked a far cry from his alter-ego Ross Poldark as he emerged dressed in casual jacket and jeans The 36-year old, a recent Strictly Come Dancing contestant, looked delighted after being presented with a framed print of the Radio Times cover featuring himself and his fellow participants. Poldark stars Eleanor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner were also on hand to join the celebrations with Aidan looking a far cry from his alter ego dressed in a casual jacket and jeans. Eleanor meanwhile, looked stunning in a low cut crimson velvet jumpsuit teamed with strappy black sandals with her red hair piled on top of her head in a loose updo. In attendance: Other guests to attend Tuesdays event included Mary Berry, who opted for a gold sequinned jacket and elegant black evening dress Dazzling: Mary looked in high spirits, fresh from her triumph at last week's NTAs Stylish: Konnie Huq looked suitably glamorous in a tiered grey evening dress and powder blue blouse What a cover up: Actress Charlotte Ritchie sported a red anorak over a black and white dress and silver trainers The pair have recently been filming the latest series of Poldark in Wales with the series expected to air sometime later this year. Other stars to attend the event included The Apprentice UK stars Grainne McCoy, Frances Bishop, and show winner Alana Spencer. Many of the stars emerged holding cardboard placards of Radio Times covers with DJ Jo clutching one with Adele on the front. Overjoyed: Melvin Odoom looked delighted after being presented with a framed copy of the Radio Times Strictly Come Dancing cover Let's celebrate: (L-R) The Apprentice UK stars Grainne McCoy, Frances Bishop, and Alana Spencer also attended the event She's the outspoken, body-confident breakout star of The Bachelor Australia. And blonde bombshell Megan Marx, certainly had a lot on her mind, as she took to Instagram on Wednesday. The 27-year-old posed nude in a Bali pool, as she reflected on life and past experiences, writing: 'I'll be the first to tell you I've f**ked up a lot.' Scroll down for video 'I'll be the first to tell you I've f**ked up a lot': The Bachelor's Megan Marx, 27, took to Instagram on Wednesday, sharing a racy snap of herself nude in a pool, while going on an epic rant about life and past experiences 'Nudey Swims in Canggu with the DetecTiff!' Megan began the lengthy caption, referencing her reality star girlfriend Tiffany Scanlon, 30, who she met on The Bachelor Australia. 'Nearly fell asleep like this thinking about lyyyfffee [sic]. I want philosophy to become very worldly, very practiced. I think that the more self aware humanity is, the more tolerant and understanding we can become,' she continued. 'Although my upbringing in many ways was a little eccentric, as part of that my parents always taught me to self-critique, to understand that I'm a small cell that makes up a whole functioning organism. Reflecting: 'I hope I can still self-critique myself and the world at large,' Megan candidly continued in her post 'To me this meant I needed to somehow comprehend my personal operational responsibility in order to make the world even small if in a small way, healthier. 'I'll be the first to tell you I've f**ked up a lot because I can be arrogant and vain and fairly prideful, but I hope I can still self-critique myself and the world at large,' Megan candidly continued. The snap accompanying the message saw the Western Australia native offering the camera a look at her toned back and the reflection of her slender legs in a pool, as she rested the majority of her body weight on a pool float. Not a publicity stunt: After a spate of online trolling, questioning the couple's legitimacy, Megan and girlfriend Tiffany Scanlon [left] 30, insisted that their love is genuine. 'We live in a warped world and we get messages every day,' Megan told 9 News Perth on Tuesday This is not the first time Megan has voiced her opinions to the public. After a spate of online trolling, questioning her and girlfriend Tiffany's legitimacy as a couple, Megan insisted their love is not a publicity stunt on Tuesday. 'We live in a warped world and we get messages every day,' Megan told 9 News Perth. 'We think the world is too judgmental,' she continued. Business chicks: The couple moved to Bali last month to live together, revealing that they plan to launch their own business The couple moved to Bali last month to live together, and were keen to add that they plan to launch their own business. 'We're really excited we're going to be working on a project together,' Tiffany enthused. Last weekend, the couple were spotted in Bali shopping for racy lingerie at Victoria's Secret, and continued their loved-up escapades, returning to the bar where they shared their first kiss six months ago. Collaboration: 'We're really excited we're going to be working on a project together,' Tiffany enthused Last Friday with KIIS 1065's Kyle & Jackie O Show, Tiffany opened up about her very first night of passion with Megan, where they realised their friendship had turned into something more. 'Megan had more of an idea where things would go, than I did,' Tiffany told radio co-hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson. 'We were at one of the bars in Bali and we were playing the ice game. 'You put a cube of ice in your mouth and you have to pass it on [to another person] in five seconds with your mouth. Megan passed it onto me and it ended up being an extended kiss. Things soon heated up, with Tiffany revealing they got up to 'all sorts of things' that night in the bedroom. TMI? Tiffany revealed to Kyle and Jackie O that she and Megan got up to 'all sorts of things' during their first night together in Bali, after the couple enjoyed an 'ice game' Revealing all: 'You put a cube of ice in your mouth and you have to pass it on [to another person] in five seconds with your mouth. Megan passed it onto me and it ended up being an extended kiss,' Tiffany told co-hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson She jetted into Sydney on Monday for a whirlwind trip for the first time since giving birth to her second son. And on Wednesday Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) was spotted enjoying some down time, shopping at luxury jewellers Tiffany & Co. in Sydney. The 29-year-old flashed her slender pins as she strutted out in a black coat with a sexy lace outfit underneath. What under the coat? On Wednesday Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) was spotted shopping at luxury jewellers Tiffany & Co. in Sydney The blonde beauty paired her ensemble with a pair of Fendi orange suede heels with fur detailing. Her famous 'bingle bob' was left in a simple style while she kept her makeup low key with a flawless complexion. Her wedding band was on full display as she stood at the shop front chatting to her manager Annie Kelly, who wore a stylish black ensemble with a matching Hermes Birkin bag and ballet flats. Sexy! The 29-year-old flashed her slender pins as she strutted out in a black coat with a sexy lace outfit underneath What in the bag? The wife of Sam Worthington accessorised her look with a white tote bag from her tanning line The Base, alongside a gold statement necklace The wife of Sam Worthington accessorised her look with a white tote bag from her tanning line The Base, alongside a gold statement necklace. After chatting to her manager, Lara was seen inside the store talking on her phone. The mother-of-two was all smiles as she put on an animated display. Model pose: Her wedding band was on full display as she stood at the shop front chatting to her manager Annie Kelly who wore a stylish black ensemble with a matching Hermes Birkin bag and ballet flats Happy chat! After chatting with Annie, Lara was seen inside the store talking on her phone Smooth talker! The mother-of-two was all smiles as she put on an animated display Short visit: Lara is currently based in New York and according to a friend is only in Australia for a short time Fleeting: 'Lara is in Sydney for literally 72 hours for business meetings for her beauty brand The Base and meet with her Australian team,' a friend told The Daily Telegraph Away from the family: 'Because it's a short trip she left her children at home,' the friend added Lara is currently based in New York and according to a friend is only in Australia for a short time. 'Lara is in Sydney for literally 72 hours for business meetings for her beauty brand The Base and meet with her Australian team,' a friend told The Daily Telegraph. 'Because it's a short trip she left her children at home,' the friend added. Lara has two boys, eldest son Rocket Zot, and a son who she hasn't yet publicly named, who was born in October. Mother-of-two: Lara has two boys, eldest son Rocket Zot, and a son who she hasn't yet publicly named, who was born in October Lara (married name Worthington) arrived at Sydney Airport on Monday morning. The blonde beauty showed off her svelte post-pregnancy figure in a pair of black trousers teamed with a chic black and white check blazer. Lara was clearly happy to be home, beaming as she walked through Sydney airport's international terminal. The Daily Telegraph reported over the weekend that Lara was jetting into her native Sydney on her first trip home in almost eight months. House husband: Sam has presumably been left to mind the kids The publication claimed a source said the visit is to not only spend time with her relatives, including her Cronulla-based mother Sharon Bingle, but to also hold meetings for her tanning line, The Base. The blonde beauty is also attending the David Jones fashion show on Wednesday. It was Karen and Ros' turn to whip up a feast on My Kitchen Rules on Wednesday. And after the judges and their fellow contestants unanimously said their main dish of lamb was overcooked, shocking everyone with his comments was villain, Tyson. The Uber driver - who is known for his harsh words and critiques - gave a glowing review of the main dish, even shocking judge Pete Evans. Scroll down for video Feeling okay? MKR contestants were left shocked when Tyson complimented a dish on MKR on Wednesday (pictured with sister Amy) 'The lamb, my piece was tender and juicy,' Tyson blurted out at the table, causing Pete to raise his eyebrows. David and Betty then labelled his remarks as 'random,' in a piece to camera, joking: 'say what?'. Tim added he had done a '180.' Taken aback: The Uber driver - who is known for his harsh words and critiques - gave a glowing review of the main dish, even shocking judge Pete Evans 'I liked the stuffing, the crust on it and then the sweet mint flavour. The flavours were spot on for me,' Tyson added. Pete then quizzed Tyson, asking him if it was 'excellent food' as what Tyson wanted in the competition. Tyson remarked: 'It's good food definitely, I'd be happy to eat this again.' Upon hearing the comment, Kyle whispered to Tim at the table: 'Don't piss in my pocket and tell me it's raining,' while Tim said he thought it was 'strategy' as it's almost Tyson and his sister Amy's turn to cook. His enemy: Upon hearing the comment, Kyle whispered to Tim at the table: 'Don't piss in my pocket and tell me it's raining' Overdone: Middle Eastern lamb, with couscous stuffing and orange jus was served for main Bek added that Tyson always goes against the grain, saying when they all love a dish he hates it, and when they hate a dish, he loves it. Tyson however, revealed his niceties was for show, saying to camera: 'At the table, I'm saying I like the lamb, but deep down, I know it's not great.' He added: 'It's the best of the bad bunch. If this is the standard of competition, I'm not worried.' It came after Amy told him to stop smirking when the dish arrived in front of them. Tyson and Amy were the only ones to not enjoy the gnocchi entree, saying it had 'too much cheese' for them. Well that's interesting! On My Kitchen Rules on Wednesday, it seems midwives Karen and Ros (seen, R and L) created the most bizarre theme yet, a birthing suite theme They also slammed the pavlova dessert, with Amy saying it was too sweet and Tyson saying it was 'underwhelming' and 'unenjoyable.' The rest of the teams and the judges liked the entree and dessert. Despite their negative comments, Tyson and Amy scored Karen and Ros a seven, the highest score awarded by any couple that night, because they thought they'd seen the best food in the competition that night. Karen and Ros served up an entree of ricotta gnocchi with sage and walnut sauce and blue cheese and Middle Eastern lamb, with couscous stuffing and orange jus for main. They finished with a delicious dessert of pavlova with a twist, being spiced pavlova and roasted fruits and finished on a grand total of 65 points, topping the leader board. Blac Chyna shared a sweet family photo on Tuesday featuring herself with son King Cairo and baby daughter Dream but Rob Kardashian was noticeably absent. The 28-year-old model posted the studio photo showing herself with four-year-old King smiling while standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Chyna beamed in a white sweatshirt while holding her two-month old girl Dream. Family photo: Blac Chyna shared a family photo on Instagram on Tuesday with Rob Kardashian noticeably absent 'Unconditional,' Chyna wrote along with a heart emoji in the caption for her more than 11 million followers on Instagram. Kardashian, 29, who is Dream's father was not included in the family photo. The Keeping Up With The Kardashian star was featured in an Instagram video that Chyna posted on Saturday of him planting kisses on cooing baby Dream. Kardashian and Chyna last week celebrated their first year anniversary together. New father: Rob, shown last April in Los Angeles, welcomed baby Dream in November Checking up: The reality star was shown kissing Dream in an Instagram that Chyna shared earlier this month during the baby's two-month checkup The couple announced their engagement in April 2016 after just a few months of dating and revealed they were expecting a girl in September on their reality show Rob And Chyna. Chyna had her son King with ex-fiance Tyga, 27, who has been dating Kardashian's half-sister Kylie Jenner, 19, since 2014. Kardashian took to Instagram in December to announce that he and Chyna had split, but they quickly reconciled. Tender moment: Chyna last week shared a Snapchat of Rob holding Dream Chyna opened the beauty bar Lashed in Encino, California in 2014. Rob And Chyna has been renewed for a second season but a premiere date has not yet been released. Keeping Up With The Kardashians will return for its 13th season in March. She won Australia's Next Top Model at the tender age of 17 back in 2009. But eight years later and Tahnee Atkinson has completed her transformation from teenage fashionista into a modern day sex symbol. The 25-year-old beauty channeled Hollywood glamour with a contemporary twist in her latest photo shoot for Oliver Grand. Fashion: Australia's Next Top Model's Tahnee Atkinson channeled Hollywood glamour with a contemporary twist in a recent boudoir-style photo shoot for fashion website Oliver Grand The former reality TV star posed in a skimpy negligee for a boudoir-style editorial, which was shot in artistic black and white. Tahnee styled her brunette hair in silky waves while kicking her feet in the air and gazing seductively at the camera. In another shot, by photographer Trevor King, the Bras N Things model posed in lacy black lingerie on a fur rug. She's a beauty! In another black-and-white shot by fashion photographer Trevor King, the 5ft 8in Bras N Things model posed seductively in lacy black lingerie on a fur rug Meanwhile, Tahnee sparked romance rumours in December when she was spotted kissing model Jordan Barrett at Sydney Airport. The 5ft 8in brunette gave her friend a 'welcome home' kiss when he arrived Down Under after spending time in Paris and New York. But it is believed the pair are just friends as they often catch up during Jordan's frequent trips back to Australia. More than just friends? Tahnee sparked romance rumours in December when she was spotted kissing male model Jordan Barrett (L) at Sydney Airport. Pictured in Sydney in November Beach body ready! Sydney-based Tahnee is a regular fixture on the city's eastern suburbs beaches, and often flaunts her bikini body on Instagram Sydney-based Tahnee is a regular fixture on the city's eastern suburbs beaches, and often flaunts her bikini body on Instagram. She rose to national fame on the fifth cycle of Australia's Next Top Model, and was announced as the winner in July 2009. Tahnee was previously a state finalist in the Girlfriend Model Search in 2008 but was disqualified because she was already signed to an agency. She hit back at critics who slammed her for the risque photos she posts on Instagram. Now First My Kitchen Rules star Betty Banks has starred in a more modest photo shoot, showing off her svelte figure and her tattoos while posing for the trend-setting StreetPeeked Instagram account. In one image, the brunette beauty is seen candidly walking down the street in a khaki green sleeveless dress that flaunts her slim arms and her ink. You can Bank on her! My Kitchen Rules star Betty Banks shows off her svelte figure and her tattoos while posing for the trend-setting StreetPeeked Instagram account Low cut, the mini dress showed off a hint of the Instagram model's cleavage. The short skirt also revealed her slender pins, accentuated by her black leather high heeled sandals. For the shoot her hair was coiffed in straight layers across her shoulders, a pinkish hue to the highlighted sections complimenting her skin tone. She topped off the whole look with a pair of heavy dark sunglasses and a black bag with tassels. Tattooed beauty: In one image, the brunette beauty is seen candidly walking down the street in a khaki green sleeveless dress that flaunts her slim arms and her ink A second snap reveals Betty's tattoo of her mother's face, which is on her forearm, and is just visible in the image. Although she is fairly clothed in this photo shoot, the 'social media influencer' is known for posting racy images on Instagram. Betty recently vowed even though she gets often slammed for her revealing photos, she won't stop posting photos. Risque: Although she is fairly clothed in this photo shoot, the 'social media influencer' is known for posting racy images on Instagram 'I get SLAMMED all the time for 'showing too much skin'. But isn't it my body? So, IT'S MY RULES,' she wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post. 'There's nothing wrong with being confident with showing some skin. Nothing wrong with SELF LOVE.' The reality TV star also added: 'For the woman who are slamming each other down. STOP.' Leave me be! Betty recently vowed even though she gets often slammed for her revealing photos, she won't stop posting photos Meanwhile, in an interview with TV Week, both Betty her mother, Manisone, 48, revealed the struggles the tough cook went through when she was younger. 'When I was about seven or eight, she hurt herself and I went, 'It's my turn to take care of you. I want you to teach me how to cook',' the brave girl told her mum. Mama's girl: Mean while, in an interview with TV Week , both Betty her mother, Manisone, 48, reveal the struggles the tough cook went through when she was younger Betty, who has Laotian heritage, took over being the 'woman of the house' cooking for the family and caring for little her sister, who was only five at the time. She also did the cleaning and shopping, took her mum to doctor's appointments, did her mother's hair and make-up, and bathed her little sister. 'I think I grew up pretty fast,' Betty admits. She's used to making a statement on the runway. And Toni Garrn certainly owned the room when she attended the Dior Poison Girl Eau de Toilette International Launch in New York City on Tuesday evening. The supermodel, 24, looked sensational in a masculine ensemble, adding a glamorous touch to her look thanks to an entirely sheer top. Daring to bare: Toni Garrn owned the room when she attended the Dior Poison Girl Eau de Toilette International Launch in New York City on Tuesday evening Toni flashed her cleavage by going braless in the slinky number, through which her defined stomach abs were also visible. The blonde beauty ensured she preserved her modesty thanks to a smart velvet blazer and a pair of high-rise trousers. Toni's skin glowed as she pulled her hair back and let loose strands frame her face and her striking blue eyes. Sheer beauty: Toni flashed her cleavage by going braless in the slinky number, through which her defined stomach abs were also visible Masculine with a twist: The stunning blonde effortlessly mixed and matched menswear chic with a feminine edge She carried a chain strapped purse and accessorized with a host of chunky rings upon her fingers. Adding a splash of color to the look, the Storm Management repped model put on a pair of red velvet kicks that seemed to match the texture of her chic jacket. Earlier in the evening, the German beauty had attended the premiere of The Comedian at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Party pals: The blonde beauty ensured she preserved her modesty thanks to a smart velvet blazer and a pair of high-rise trousers Lights, camera, action! Earlier in the evening, Toni showed off some skin at the New York premiere of The Comedian Reams of stars appeared for the release of the dark comedy starring Robert Di Nero and Leslie Mann. The film follows De Nero's character Jackie after he's assigned to do community service for harassing an audience member. There, he meets Leslie's Harmony Schlitz and the pair create a surprising bond that becomes the driving force of the film. The Comedian is already receiving mixed buzz from critics and arrives on the big screen for all to see on February 3. Stepping it up: The 24-year-old beauty paired her all black outfit with a pair of striking velvet kicks Laugh out loud: Actors Robert De Nero and Leslie Mann both star in The Comedian which follows the life off aging insult comic Jackie Now it's really a party of three. James Wolk and wife Elizabeth Jae Byrd are now the proud parents of a baby boy, evidenced by a photo James shared to Instagram on Tuesday at around 9:30 PM Eastern time. 'Welcome to the world, Charlie Wolk,' James, 31 wrote with the photo of his son, including the hashtags 'babyboy,' 'CharlieWolk,' and his often-used 'wolkpartyof3.' 'Welcome to the world!': James Wolk and wife Elizabeth Jae Byrd are now the proud parents of a baby boy, evidenced by a photo James shared to Instagram on Tuesday The couple have shared many tender moments along their pregnancy journey through their social media channels. The Zoo actor posted a particularly artistic photo recently, featuring his wife against a white wall in silhouette, showcasing her prominent baby bump. 'Finish line,' he wrote with the post on January 16, seemingly getting anxious for the arrival of their son. Photography skills: The Zoo actor posted a particularly artistic photo recently, featuring his wife against a white wall in silhouette, showcasing her prominent baby bump on January 16 James has been practicing his fatherly duties for a while now. At least as far back as December 6, 2016 when he shared a precious image of himself reading aloud to their little guy while he was still in the womb. 'Reading started early in the Wolk house,' he wrote, again including the hashtag 'wolkpartyof3' along with the very Hollywood-appropriate 'comingsoon.' Reading time! James has been practicing his fatherly duties for a while now, seen here in a photo shared on December 6, 2016 Before their new addition arrived, the Mad Men star and his leading lady jetted off for one final couples trip. In a photo [posted on October 21 and tagged at Los Angeles International Airport, the now-new father wrote, 'Last trip just the two of us,' and of course, again included 'wolkpartyof3.' The couple apparently went to Hogansville, Georgia. This is the first child for James and Elizabeth, who were married in June 2015 at a winery in Los Olivos, California. Like any teenager, Sofia Richie is not one to pass up a day at the mall. Today the 18-year-old star enjoyed some shopping at The Grove in Los Angeles where she was accompanied by a friend. Although she seemed like a typical teen on Tuesday, the night before the rising talent embraced a more mature side as she was seen sharing dinner with Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton who is 14 years her senior. Cool kid: Sofia Richie picked up some books and technology while out shopping at The Grove with a friend in Los Angeles on Tuesday S for Sofia: The 18-year-old added tons of bling to her outfit, even including a small 'S' shaped charm on her camera strap As she ambled about the shopping center with her pal, Sofia made time to pick up some essentials. She carried a small bag from the Apple store and what looked to be books from Barnes & Noble. During the trip, the daughter of Lionel Richie showed off her fit middle in an off-the-shoulders black top that she paired with highwaisted blue jeans. Belly baring: The celebuspawn looked trim in a midriff baring top paired with highwaisted jeans She accessorized with layers of necklaces in addition to retro sunglasses and a flashy blue camera strap with an 'S' shaped charm. Her pal looked chic in a jean jacket with fuzzy interior that he paired with cool sweats and a loosely fitted tee. Later on Snapchat, the starlet showed off some of her purchases while relaxing at home. It looks like the star had a taste for the classics on this trip, grabbing a copy of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist and the self-help tome The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It's lit...erature! The teen dream showed off her book purchases on Snapchat later in the day The star was probably looking forward a relaxing evening of reading after spending last night on-the town. Yesterday, 18-year-old Sofia shared a sushi dinner with British Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, who is 32-years-old. The pair enjoyed their meal at West Hollywood's Sugarfish quite privately, but it appears like there's a spark between the Select repped model and three-time Formula One World Champion. Vroom vroom: On Monday, the 18-year-old star was spotted sharing a dinner with 32-year-old Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton It seems as if the cover girl might have a taste for older men. In September, Sofia was linked with 22-year-old Justin Bieber who she said she shared a 'special relationship' with. The star was later seen getting close with 41-year-old actor Tobey McGuire at the Hollywood hot spot 1OAK but both Sofia and Tobey firmly denied any funny business. She is known for her singing voice which earned her runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol. But on Tuesday night, Katharine McPhee made her legs known as she stepped out for the Tyler Ellis x Petra Flannery collection anniversary party at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. The 32-year-old actress showcased her toned pins in a skintight leather skirt which was slit up to her thigh as she hit the West Hollywood hotspot. Lady in leather! Katharine McPhee showed off her legs as she stepped out for the Tyler Ellis x Petra Flannery collection anniversary party at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Tuesday Katharine, who split from her Scorpion co-star Elyes Gabel last July, looked single and ready to mingle. She teamed the sexy skirt with a matching black lace blouse which featured a sultry plunging neckline. The Smash star topped off her evening look with a silver and black leather bomber jacket and slung a chic purse over her shoulder. She added extra height to her five-foot-eight stature with a pair of metallic strappy stilettos. Sexy skirt! The 32-year-old actress donned a skintight leather skirt which was slit up to her thigh. She teamed the look with a plunging blouse and added metallic details The brunette beauty played up her natural good looks with minimal make-up and left her long curly locks down to cascade past her shoulders. Octavia Spencer was also spotted arriving for the fashion anniversary party. The Hidden Figures star looked ready for spring in a white V-neck top which she tucked into a navy midi-skirt. Star-studded! Octavia Spencer was also spotted arriving for the fashion anniversary party. She looked beautiful in a blue and white ensemble and added a pop of leopard print The 46-year-old actress added a pop of flair with a leopard-printed belt around her midsection and a coordinating pair of patterned open-toe heels. Octavia looked happy to be at the party despite her very busy award season for Hidden Figures. Kelly Rutherford was casually clad in a pair of blue jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Dressed down: Kelly Rutherford was casually clad in a pair of blue jeans and a plain white T-shirt. The Gossip Girl star, 48, polished her look off with a dark grey blazer and suede booties The Gossip Girl star, 48, polished her look off with a dark grey blazer and suede booties. The blonde beauty left her hair down and wore minimal make-up yet still looked gorgeous. She wore an oddly small chain purse around her midsection and also held a blue velvet clutch in hand, identical to the one Octavia carried. Mini-Gossip Girl reunion! Michelle Trachtenberg also attended the event. She wore an eclectic pink floral blouse with black pants and leather booties It was a mini-Gossip Girl reunion as Michelle Trachtenberg also attended the event. The 31-year-old actress donned a pink floral printed blouse over an otherwise all-black ensemble. She topped off her eclectic look with black leather booties and a large silver statement ring which covered her entire left ring finger. Beautiful in black! Natasha Henstridge showed off her figure as she hit the blue carpet in a curve-hugging ensemble The brunette beauty wore her hair down and accentuated her light eyes with a bronzed shimmery shadow. Natasha Henstridge showed off her figure as she hit the blue carpet in a curve-hugging ensemble. The Whole Nine Yards star donned a shimmery on-trend and off-the-shoulder blouse which she teamed with a similar skirt which fell just above the knee. Pretty as a petal! Emily VanCamp looked feminine in a long-sleeved floral printed dress which nearly grazed her ankles Just rosy! Jess Weixler also opted for a feminine floral frock More leather! Britt Robertson opted for a black jumpsuit and leather moto jacket The blonde beauty, 42, wore her shoulder-length tresses in curls and lined her eyes and added dark gloss to her lips. Emily VanCamp looked pretty in a long-sleeved floral printed dress which nearly grazed her ankles. The Revenge star, 30, teamed the plunging wrap dress with a pair of black heels which featured bows on top. The lady of honor, Tyler Ellis, looked beautiful in a blue short-sleeved shift dress. The designer added fringe suede booties to her look and wore one of her tiny purses around her body as a necklace like most of her guests. She's nearing her due date with less than five weeks to go. But Rachael Finch isn't slowing down on the work front, with the expectant star currently on the promo trail for her new dance fitness program. The 28-year-old simply stunned as she showed off her figure in a gold pleated dress and bronze makeup during media appearances on Wednesday. Scroll down for video Gorgeous in gold: Rachael Finch looked flawless as she posed in a gold pleated dress on Wednesday Taking to Instagram to share photos of her glamorous look, the former Miss Universe Australia was seen cradling her baby bump in one shot, striking a pose in the Acler frock. Posting a close-up of her hair and makeup, the brunette stunner wrote: 'Chocolatey golden hues to start my day.' Showing off her flawless glowing complexion, Rachael sported brown eye shadow and a soft pink lipstick to highlight her plump pout. Bronzed beauty: The 28-year-old showed off her glowing complexion while sporting brown and bronze makeup Gorgeous: The expectant star is showing no signs of slowing down on the work front despite being weeks away from her due date The former Dancing With The Stars contestant finished the post by giving a shout-out to her new online dance fitness program Body Of Dance. 'Feeling very grateful & absolutely pumped to get fit with you through @bodbyrachaelfinch. When was the last time you tried something new?' the former beauty queen wrote. Townsville-born model has been sharing plenty of details on her pregnancy. Glowing: The former Miss Universe Australia beauty is promoting her new online dance fitness program Just last week, she shared an Instagram story showing her unborn baby's heartbeat playing during a visit to the doctor with her daughter Violet. 'Can you hear the heartbeat Violet?' the Myer ambassador asks her daughter. The little girl responded excitedly, clearly elated with the prospect of welcoming a sibling. Mum-to-be: The brunette has been documenting her pregnancy via Instagram, sharing a clip from her ultrasound last week Excited: Rachael's daughter Violet accompanied her to the doctor visit and seemed elated at the prospect of welcoming a little sibling Keeping busy: The expectant star has a busy year ahead, with the birth of her unborn child as well as a new fitness business venture Rachael will have a busy year ahead, with the impending arrival as well as the launch of her new fitness business. The workout program was created with her dancer husband Michael Miziner, whom she met while competing together on Dancing With The Stars in 2010. The dance partners fell in love on the reality show and married in 2013. She stripped down to lingerie at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last year in Paris. And once again Australian model Bridget Malcolm was showing some skin on the runway in Sydney on Wednesday. The 25-year-old blonde beauty stormed the catwalk at the David Jones 2017 Autumn/Winter Fashion Launch wearing a pair of daring thigh-high boots and a sheer floral dress that exposed her bra. Racy: Australian model Bridget Malcolm stormed the catwalk at the David Jones Autumn/Winter 2017 Fashion Launch on Wednesday, wearing a sheer floral dress and a thigh high boots The shirt dress featured cut-out detailing at the shoulders and the fabric was see-through, revealing her black lingerie. Bridget's boots appeared to be made a stretch leather material and also featured cut-outs at the toes. With her blonde locks out in soft waves, the catwalk queen's beauty look consisted of dark smokey eye and a nude lip. Revealing: Bridget's shirt dress featured cut-out detailing at the shoulders and the fabric was see-through, revealing her black lingerie Shoe-in: Bridget's boots appeared to be made a stretch leather material and also featured cut-outs at the toes Fashionista: With her blonde locks out in soft waves, the catwalk queen's beauty look consisted of dark smokey eye and a nude lip Bridget has been back hard at work after celebrating her second wedding to her musician husband Nathaniel Hoho, earlier this month. Not long after the ceremony the bombshell revealed that her brother presided over the beach ceremony. Bridget took to Instagram to share the first snap from beneath the arch at idyllic Rottnest Island in Western Australia. Winter warmth: Bridget also modelled a full-length cream skirt and a black leather jacket Wrapping up: The jacket featured a sizable fur collar as the model tucked her hands into the pockets For the ceremony, the blonde beauty wore a loose-fitting baby-pink dress from Australian label Zimmerman. Bridget and Nathaniel first said 'I do' in July 2016 in an intimate ceremony on a mountain overlooking the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, US. Two months earlier in May the Victoria's Secret model told Daily Mail Australia of her wedding plans. Versatile: The Perth-born beauty showcased her versatility by modelling a number of different outfits, including this sheer dress Blossoming: Bridget cut a cute figure in a floral pattern dress that showed off her slender arms Smart casual: A loose-fitting patterned dress flowed elegantly off the model as she paraded down the runway 'We are having two weddings,' the stunning blonde said. 'Hes [fiance Nathaniel] a Pennsylvania boy so we are going to have one July 23rd next year, and one in Perth, so two summer weddings.' Bridget got engaged to Nathaniel - the lead singer and guitarist of New York rock band Walking Shapes - last year after two years of dating. These long-time lovers are keeping the romance alive. Miles Teller and Keleigh Sperry looked dapper as they headed out for a night on the town at the BOSS Show for Fashion Week in New York City on Tuesday. Miles, 29, and Keleigh, 24, were braced for the chilly night while still looking hot. Date night! Miles Teller and Keleigh Sperry looked dapper as they headed out for a night on the town in New York City on Tuesday The gorgeous couple were seated in the front row to take in all of the men's best styles at the event. The One Management model didn't sacrifice fashion for the weather, as she strutted out into the brisk night air. Keleigh wore a strappy black tank tucked into an empire-waisted skirt with subtle pleats. She covered just the right amount of skin to pull off the look by draping a black trench coat with cream accents over her shoulders and selecting high-ankle booties with a slightly chunky heel for her footwear. Style and grace! The One Management model didn't sacrifice fashion for the weather, as she strutted out into the brisk night air She added just a little something extra by opting for a pair with a zipper up the front. To top off the classic look, she carried an over-sized matte black envelope clutch. Miles looked like he had just stepped off the runway, himself, dressed to the nines in slightly warmer wear. The War Dogs star wore a white turleneck under a double-breasted, grey-and-white pin-striped suit with black dress shoes. Hot couple alert! Miles, 29, and Keleigh, 24, were braced for the chilly air while still looking hot Celebrity couple: Spcck from Star Trek's reboot, Zachary Quinto, and his boyfriend, painter and model Miles McMillan were two of the A-listers that joined them in the front row Miles donned a grey pea coat that was expertly tailored to his body with a bit of sheen in the fabric. They were joined at the show by other celebrities, also enjoying the show. Spcck from Star Trek's reboot, Zachary Quinto, and his boyfriend, painter and model Miles McMillan were two of the A-listers that joined them in making a front row appearance. BOSS fashion: Miles and Keleigh were joined at the show by other celebrities, like Zachary Quinto and Miles McMillen, also enjoying the show Miles' next projects include feature films Thank You For Your Service and Granite Mountain, as well as the made-for-television movie Ascendant, all due out in 2017. Keliegh, who is an aspiring actress in her own right, previously appeared in the 2011 short film, Opeth: The Devil's Orchard. The couple who tout each other as their own best friends have been dating for approximately four and half years. Dear Editor: In response to "How Trump's plan to pay for Mexico border wall would work" (Cumberlink.com, Jan. 26), I ask: why would it work? Why should we dim the lamp beside the golden door at our southern border? Trump suggests immigrants are taking our jobs. Yet studies indicate 87 percent of our manufacturing job loss is due, not to trade or immigrants, but to automation. This challenge is so pervasive that economists and tech experts have given it a name: the fourth industrial revolution. Trade with Mexico offers 6 million Americans jobs, and Mexicans spent $295 billion on American products in 2016. Trumps proposed 20 percent tariff on Mexican goods to pay for the wall would disrupt this mutually beneficial economic relationship. If the president wishes to address job loss, he must first understand its true cause. Trump frets about Mexican criminals entering our country. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, native-born Americans statistically are more likely to commit crimes than immigrants are. We must keep criminals out, but a longer wall is no solution. Mexican kingpin El Chapo, responsible for half the illegal drugs entering the U.S. from Mexico, was not deterred by the existing wall. He tunneled under it. He is now in our custody and awaiting trial in the United States because Mexican authorities collaborated with us in his capture, then extradited him here. How can we expect Mexico to help us in the future if we treat their country as an enemy? Spending $12 to $25 billion to lengthen the wall at the Mexican border would offer a false sense of security. It would ultimately diminish both our economic security and our ability to apprehend criminals. Let us seek a truly effective security solution rather than squandering both our monetary treasure and our transnational friendship. Angela Smith Carlisle They are usually seen striding around the Cornish countryside dressed demurely in 18th century ensembles. But Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner looked a far cry from their TV alter egos as they attended the Radio Times covers party on Wednesday night. Eleanor, 24, looked stunning in a plunging velvet crimson jumpsuit which clung to her slim figure. Scroll down for video Taking the plunge: Eleanor Tomlinson sported a plunging crimson velvet jumpsuit and strappy black sandals as she attended the Radio Times Covers party at Claridges on Tuesday The outfit featured narrow straps and loose wide-legged fit which she teamed with strappy black sandals. With her fiery red hair teased into a loose bun, the stunning actress wore black eyeliner and matching lipstick which perfectly complemented her alabaster skin. She was joined at the bash by her Poldark co-star Aidan Turner who looked a little more casual in jeans, a navy blue shirt and rust-coloured suede jacket. She wore crimson velvet: Eleanor's striking ensemble flattered her slim figure to the maximum Casual appearance: Aidan Turner dressed casually in tan suede jacket, blue shirt and jeans Glamming it up: With her fiery red hair teased into a loose bun, the stunning actress wore black eyeliner and matching lipstick which perfectly complemented her alabaster skin Gimme shelter: Eleanor was given some protection from the wet weather by an assistant He seemed in good spirits as he emerged from the plush London hotel, clutching a shopping bag and black holdall. Meanwhile, Eleanor had some protection from the wet weather by a man holding a large umbrella. The actors were joined by a slew of TV stars including Claudia Winkleman, Jo Whiley and Mary Berry to celebrate the stars who had made the cover of the TV magazine last year. Fresh from filming: Aidan has recently been spotted shooting the third season of Poldark in Walers Sleek and chic: The actors were joined by a slew of TV stars including Claudia Winkleman, Jo Whiley to celebrate the stars who had made the cover of the TV magazine last year High hopes: Aidan recently confessed he wants another season of Poldark The twosome have recently been spotted filming the third season of the BBC1 drama in Wales where they reprise their roles of Ross Poldark and his wife Demelza. The show lost out to Call The Midwife at the National Television Awards on Wednesday in the Period Drama category, but Aidan has high hopes for a fourth season. 'We might get a fourth you never know,' he told The Sun at the awards held at the O2 Arena last week. More familiar: Aidan and Eleanor are more familiar to viewers as Ross Poldark and his wife Demelza in the BBC1 drama series Her ex-partner Scott Disick has been seen cuddling up to not one, but two beautiful girls in Miami. But Kourtney Kardashian proved she doesn't need a man in her life as she shared a defiant bikini snapshot of her Costa Rica break, flaunting her fantastic figure in a peach bikini. The 37-year-old star posted the picture on Instagram after it emerged Scott had gone straight from their family holiday at their Private Villa Manzu to Miami, where he wasted no time meeting women. Stunning: Kourtney Kardashian proved she doesn't need a man in her life as she shared a defiant bikini snapshot of her Costa Rica break, flaunting her fantastic figure in a peach bikini Kourtney displayed her enviably toned frame in the bright swimwear as she posed with a friend in the infinity pool. The mother-of-three - who raises children Mason, Penelope and Reign with ex-boyfriend of nine years, Scott - has been spending quality time with her friends and family in their luxurious private residence. She is yet to officially comment on claims Scott has returned to his party lifestyle, which spawned their split in the first place. Since Scott has touched down in Miami, he was seen enjoying some alone time with brunette beauty Jessica Harris - professionally known as J Lynne - a Next model from Philadelphia. Case of the ex: The 37-year-old star posted the picture on Instagram after it emerged Scott had gone straight from their family holiday at their Private Villa Manzu to Miami, where he wasted no time meeting women Cosying up: Since Scott has touched down in Miami, he was seen enjoying some alone time with brunette beauty Jessica Harris - professionally known as J Lynne - a Next model from Philadelphia The duo embraced and nuzzled each other as they hung out in the pool at the luxurious Setai Hotel. Just a day after packing on the PDA with model J Lynne, Scott, 33, was back at it again and cuddling up to a mystery blonde poolside at the Setai hotel. Last week, Kourtney apparently wasn't sure she wanted Scott coming on her family trip at all after hearing about his partying at the Sundance Film Festival. 'Scott is still in the dog house from partying at Sundance,' a source told People.com on Thursday. 'Kourtney disinvited him.' During a TAO pop-up in Park City, Utah at the film festival, Scott was apparently seen sipping on cocktails and flirting with a pretty brunette. Womaniser? She is yet to officially comment on claims Scott has returned to his party lifestyle, which spawned their split in the first place Intimate scenes: Just a day after packing on the PDA with model J Lynne, Scott, 33, was back at it again and cuddling up to a mystery blonde poolside at the Setai hotel At a couple points in the night, he would briefly put his arm around her waist but she seemed more into it than he was.' a source told the publication. Meanwhile KUWTK matriarch Kris Jenner gushed about how Scott is like a son to her in an interview this week. Kris remains close to the 33-year-old club promoter - and admits he has had a 'challenging time' of it. She said: 'We knew Scott when he was 20 years old. He was a very young man, he was a baby! He was younger than Kendall is now for goodness sake.' 'They started a relationship very young and had three beautiful children. 'His parents both died in the same year a few years ago. He's been through a lot ... I think he's had a bit of a challenging time. He's one of my kids, what can I say?' Scott and Kourtney have remained committed to co-parenting their three young children following their split in July 2015. The break-up followed an incident where Scott was caught getting affectionate with ex-girlfriend Chloe Bartoli in St. Tropez. Friendly exes: Scott and Kourtney have remained committed to co-parenting their three young children following their split in July 2015 Montana Cox showed her former employers what they're missing on Wednesday. The model made sure all eyes were on her as she arrived at the David Jones Autumn/Winter Collection Launch in Sydney wearing a very short red dress. After being dumped as a brand ambassador last year, the 23-year-old smouldered as she attended the event as a guest. Scroll down for video Red hot! Montana Cox made sure all eyes were on her in a very short red dress as she walked the red carpet at David Jones' Autumn/Winter Collection Launch in Sydney on Wednesday Montana put her long slender legs on show in the daring dress, which she described as 'barely covering my bum'. The lacy number also showed off her svelte arms and shoulders as she accessorised with a pair of strappy nude coloured heels. Montana clutched a black leather purse, while matching her lipstick with her rouge outfit. Making a statement: After being dumped as a brand ambassador last year, the 23-year-old smouldered as she attended the event as a guest Poser: Montana put her long slender legs on show in the daring dress as she posed in front of the media wall The Melbourne native wore her brunette locks in curls as she joined the brand's current crop of ambassadors. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on the red carpet, Montana said attending the event as a guest took the pressure away. She said: 'I'm really relaxed. I can't wait to have a glass of champagne and watch all the styles. It's really cool that I get to come back and join the family.' The brunette also said she had no hesitation in accepting the invitation when asked to come and watch her former colleagues, particularly Jason Dundas, Jessica Gomes and Jesinta Franklin (nee Campbell). Curls for the girls: The Melbourne native wore her brunette locks in curls as she joined the models brand's current crop of ambassadors 'I've never really had the opportunity to come and watch before. When they asked me, I said '100 per cent'. I love to come back and see the old crowd like Jason, Jess and Jesinta,' she revealed. Montana lost her lucrative contract with David Jones in July after the department store called time on her three-year association with them. However, the blow was softened a month later when the former Next Top Model Australia winner scored a contract as the face of Forever New. Missing me? Montana lost her lucrative contract with David Jones in July after the department store called time on her three-year association David Jones marketing general manager Michiel Tops said the Melbourne beauty would remain part of the store's 'family'. Weeks after being told that her contract would not be renewed, Montana walked in the brand's Spring Summer launch - but not in her role as an official ambassador. At the time, she told The Daily Telegraph: 'Its been such an amazing three seasons and Ive loved every minute of it but its a great change and Im now going to focus on my international career, so it opens up a few more doors.' Former model and I'm a Celebrity contestant Kate Fischer has spoken about her time living in a women's refuge after breaking up with billionaire James Packer. Fischer, who now takes the Jewish name Tziporah Malkah, spoke about being homeless following her divorce from the tycoon just years after she shot to fame as a model and later in the Hugh Grant movie Sirens. Branding her mother, New South Wales mental health minister Pru Goward, as 'unmotherly', Malkah told The Project she had nowhere to turn when she returned to Australia. Scroll down for video Former model and I'm a Celebrity contestant Kate Fischer has spoken about her time living in a women's refuge after breaking up with billionaire James Packer. She revisited the shelter with Carrie Bickmore She found a shelter (pictured) which she shared with about 20 other women, but found it difficult to speak to others because some would recognise her Fischer, who now takes the Jewish name Tziporah Malkah, spoke about being homeless following her divorce from the tycoon Describing the day she arrived at the single women's refuge in Melbourne, she said: 'I was numb, in shock, I sat on the bed and wept ... It was pretty overwhelming.' Malkah said she 'tumbled from a great height' after moving to Australia from Beverly Hills after her marriage with Mr Packer crumbled. She had fallen for a Jewish man living in Hollywood and rediscovered her faith before changing her name to that of her grandmother. Malkah also got engaged to a businessman but that relationship ended when she discovered that her new love had a wife and children back in Israel. She wound up back in Australia and had nowhere to go. 'I didn't know anything about homelessness so I thought I had to sleep under a bush so I Googled "Homelessness Melbourne",' Malkah said. Malkah said her mother, Ms Goward, did not even know she was homeless when she was living in the shelter Malkah (pictured in her younger years) said she 'tumbled from a great height' after moving to Australia from Beverly Hills after her marriage with Mr Packer crumbled Malkah spent 22 months at the women's refuge in Melbourne. She is now on I'm a Celebrity She found a shelter which she shared with about 20 other women, but found it difficult to speak to others because some would recognise her, despite dropping out of the world of showbiz eight years earlier. 'I just felt so ashamed, and so frightened of being recognised,' she said. 'I was quite reluctant to kind of talk to anybody for quite a long time.' She would go on to spend nearly two years at the refuge. Malkah said her mother, Ms Goward, did not even know she was homeless. Revealing that she no longer speaks to her mother, she added: 'It has always been quite a difficult relationship. I respect my mother and I understand my mother... that she is not motherly.' She first found fame when she made a fleeting appearance on TOWIE in 2013. And while Pascal Craymer has moved on from life in reality TV, she certainly fits the mould alongside her former co-stars, as illustrated when she larked around on the shores during a recent trip to Tenerife. The 29-year-old model and stunt woman looked incredible as she slipped into a barely-there blue bikini which struggled to contain her ample assets. Scroll down for video Bikini babe: Pascal Craymer has moved on from life in reality TV, she certainly fits the mould alongside her former co-stars, as illustrated when she hit bthe beach in a bikini in Tenerife Pascal looked to be thoroughly enjoying her break from the dreary weather plaguing Britain, as she topped up her tan during a trip to the beach. Hitting the island's shoreline, the former gymnast was sure to showcase her envy-inducing figure. Slipping in to an eye-popping bikini, Pascal ensured that she was certainly the centre of attention. Siren of the seas? The 29-year-old model and stunt woman looked incredible as she slipped into a barely-there blue bikini which struggled to contain her ample assets Opting for a plunging pale blue bikini top, the one-time TOWIE stunner flashed more than a hint of her ample assets. And teaming the top with a pair of matching bottoms, the model was sure to highlight her taut tummy and pert bottom. Running into the surf as the waves lapped at the shoreline, Pascal's lithe and gym-honed legs stole the limelight. Fun in the sun: Pascal looked to be thoroughly enjoying her break from the dreary weather plaguing Britain, as she topped up her tan during a trip to the beach Envy-inducing: Hitting the island's shoreline, the former gymnast was sure to showcase her envy-inducing figure An eye-popping display! Opting for a plunging pale blue bikini top, the one-time TOWIE stunner flashed more than a hint of her ample assets Clearly keen to take full advantage of the hot weather, the brunette beauty went without any accessories - plunging straight into the surf. Wearing her dark, lustrous locks loose, the Essex beauty let the wind add some volume to her thick mane. And whilst she may have been hitting the beach solo, the star looked to be enjoying herself thoroughly as she frolicked in the water. Brunette beauty: Wearing her dark, lustrous locks loose, the Essex beauty let the wind add some volume to her thick mane A bracing experience? Running into the surf as the waves lapped at the shoreline, Pascal's lithe and gym-honed legs stole the limelight Despite looking the picture of confidence, Pascal has admitted previously that she regrets going under the knife to increase her 34B boobs to a 34DD, after being influenced by watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Speaking to The Sun, she revealed: 'When you watch the Kardashians it makes you want to have your lips and face and almost everything done! 'Kim K is famous for a certain thing but in our world and reality, and when you want to settle down and have kids thats not natural.' She won custody of her beloved pets in her divorce settlement from Johnny Depp. And Amber Heard continued to celebrate her single status as she enjoyed a girl's night out in West Hollywood with Amanda De Cadenet on Tuesday. The 30-year-old actress was looking her best, sporting a stylish all-black ensemble for her dinner date. Scroll down for video Enjoying herself: Amber Heard continued to celebrate her single status as she enjoyed a girl's night out in West Hollywood with Amanda De Cadenet on Tuesday Amber donned a pair of high-rise black jeans, paired with a loose silk blouse. She pulled the rock chic look together with a loose crochet top and a pair of simple heels. The blonde beauty wore her hair down loose, upping the glamour with a deep red lip and elegant gold earrings. Yee-ha! The blonde beauty wore her hair down loose, upping the glamour with a deep red lip and elegant gold earrings, while gal pal Amanda went for country chic The star's outing comes less than two weeks after Amber's divorce from Johnny Depp was finalised, winning custody of both the couple's dogs, along with nearly $7million, which she plans to donate to charity. The star has been seen in multiple locations over the past week, seemingly moving on quickly from her divorce from the actor, 53. The Rum Diary co-stars officially ended their 15-month marriage on January 15 after Amber accused Johnny of domestic abuse. The Friday Night Lights star received a $6.8 million settlement that she has pledged to donate to two charities: Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union. Keeping the dogs: The star's outing comes less than two weeks after Amber's divorce from Johnny Depp was finalised, winning custody of both the couple's dogs, along with nearly $7million, which she plans to donate to charity The actress has been keeping herself busy since the messy divorce, throwing herself into work - beginning production for the hotly anticipated movies Aquaman and Justice League. Amber is also set to star as the protagonist, Nicola Six, in the Mathew Cullen's directed movie London Fields. The movie follows the story of a clairvoyant femme fatale Nicola Six, who has been living with a dark premonition of her impending death by murder. She begins a tangled love affair with three uniquely different men: one of whom she knows will be her murderer. She may have failed to bag former Bachelor star Richie Strahan. But Keira Maguire, 30, wasn't deterred from trying to win the attention of a different bachelor this week as she attended the Cosmopolitan Bachelor Of The Year Awards. The reality TV 'villain' made sure to turn heads by revealing an ample glimpse of her decolletage in a plunging cut-out halterneck gown. Busting out! Keira Maguire, 30, wasn't deterred from trying to win the attention of a different bachelor this week as she attended the Cosmopolitan Bachelor Of The Year Awards on Wednesday Slinking down the red carpet in the racy ensemble, the bronzed blonde completed her look with a simple black leather clutch bag. Body-confident Keira wasn't shy to flaunt a hint of under-boob by posing to the side with one hand resting on her hip. Her makeup look included a brown lip hue, gold eye-shadow and a bold eyebrow. Her breast assets! The reality TV 'villain' made sure to turn heads by revealing an ample glimpse of decolletage in a plunging cut-out halterneck gown Basic black: Slinking down the red carpet in the racy ensemble, the bronzed blonde completed her look with a simple black leather clutch bag Body-confident: Keira wasn't shy to flaunt a hint of under-boob by posing to the side with one hand resting on her hip Baby got back: As she showed off the back of her outfit, the blonde beauty also flaunted her makeup look for the evening, which included a brown lip hue, gold eye-shadow and bold brow She also sported a set of perfectly painted white nails. Last year, the blonde beauty admitted to undergoing a $22,000 cosmetic surgery transformation after the appearance of her face on-screen made her displeased. She admitted to getting Botox, vampire facials, lip fillers, and tattooed eyebrows, and revealed that she's thinking of having a breast augmentation next. In good company! Joining her at the Cosmopolitan Bachelor Of The Year Awards was fellow Bachelor contestant Kiki Morris, 29, who similarly showcased her voluptuous chest in her glitzy ensemble Glitzy: Bronzed to perfection, the spotlight-stealing starlet donned a sequin-encrusted strapless skater dress with a sweetheart neckline 'Maybe just boosting them to little teardrops, not big bazookas,' mused the Eastern Suburbs socialite in an interview with NW magazine. Joining her at the Cosmopolitan Bachelor Of The Year Awards was fellow Bachelor contestant Kiki Morris, 29, who similarly showcased her voluptuous chest in her glitzy ensemble. Bronzed to perfection, the spotlight-stealing starlet donned a sequin-encrusted strapless skater dress with a sweetheart neckline. Accessory enthusiast: She completed her look with a pair of strappy heeled sandals encrusted with gold jewel detailing, several chunky bangles, a pair of statement drop earrings and a Louis Vuitton envelope clutch bag She completed her look with a pair of strappy heeled sandals encrusted with gold jewel detailing, several chunky bangles, a pair of statement drop earrings and a Louis Vuitton envelope clutch bag. Her makeup was equally as dramatic as her ensemble, featuring a bold eyebrow look and black smokey eye-shadow. She made sure to buddy up with former rival Kiera on the red carpet for some happy snaps. Gal pals: She made sure to buddy up with former rival Kiera on the red carpet for some happy snaps Man of the hour! The pair also made sure to pose with the winner of Cosmopolitan Bachelor Of The Year Awards, Ryan Anderson The pair also made sure to pose with the winner of Cosmopolitan Bachelor Of The Year Awards, Ryan Anderson. Keira- who famously called Kiki a 'peasant' on The Bachelor last year- appeared to have made amends with her glamour model counterpart as they posed arm-in-arm. Joining the twosome was fellow blonde Bachelor alum Olena Khamula, 24, who looked demure in her black palazzo-trouser jumpsuit. The understated look was enhanced with a pair of stud earrings and a gold box clutch bag, while adding height to her frame with a pair of black strappy heeled sandals. Understated: Joining the twosome was fellow blonde Bachelor alum Olena Khamula, 24, who looked demure in her black palazzo-trouser jumpsuit A touch of glitz: The understated look was enhanced with a pair of stud earrings and a gold box clutch bag, while adding height to her frame with a pair of black strappy heeled sandals Subtle look: The Chadwick-signed model wore her wavy hair in a half-up-half-down style and sported an understated makeup look that accentuated her eyes The Chadwick-signed model wore her wavy hair in a half-up-half-down style and sported an understated makeup look that accentuated her eyes. Meanwhile, Olena's Bachelor bestie Stephanie Dixon made a style statement in her fluorescent-pink romper Wearing her hair up in a high ponytail, the Melbourne model showcased her trim pins as she posed in the sassy ensemble. Won't lose her in a crowd! Meanwhile, Olena's Bachelor bestie Stephanie Dixon made a style statement in her fluorescent-pink romper Fiery: She added a pop of bright red lipstick and matching nail-polish Tangerine dream! Model Fiona Falkiner also turned up the volume when it came to colour, donning an eye-popping tangerine gown with a drop-waist and high neckline Golden goddess: The former Biggest Loser host sported a deep bronze tan as she smouldered in the Grecian-inspired frock She added a pop of bright red lipstick and matching nail-polish. Model Fiona Falkiner also turned up the volume when it came to colour, donning an eye-popping tangerine gown with a drop-waist and high neckline. The former Biggest Loser host sported a deep bronze tan as she smouldered in the Grecian-inspired frock. Fancy seeing you here! Bachelorette stars Jake Ellis (left) and Davey Lloyd (right) were pictured with winner Ryan (centre) Bachelorette stars Jake Ellis and Davey Lloyd also attended and posed for fun photos with winner Ryan. Bikini model Elyse Taylor also attended the event in an off-the-shoulder black mini dress with flared sleeve detailing. She also enhanced her look with a red handbag and matching rose-hued heeled. Blackout! Bikini model Elyse Taylor also attended the event in an off-the-shoulder black mini dress with flared sleeve detailing She's one of Australia's hottest stars. And Pia Miller showed exactly why, as she wowed on the black carpet at the David Jones Autumn/ Winter launch on Wednesday night. The Home and Away star was stunning in an unique black gown that featured a high neckline and a sleeveless arm. Back to black: Pia Miller stunned on the black carpet at the David Jones Autumn/Winter launch on Wednesday night, showing off her incredible figure in a form-fitting gown that featured a high neckline and a sleeveless arm The high-fashion garment allowed Pia to show off a tanned and toned right arm. The form-fitting frock also highlighted the 33-year-old's incredible figure, while a split at the right side revealed a hint of the star's trim pins along with her statement heels. Upon close inspection, the dress also featured a subtle lace-style pattern. Statement heels! The soap star added statement lace up stilettos with some feather detailing to her ensemble Perfection: The 33-year-old was a vision in her unique gown Pulling her brunette locks back in a loose ponytail, the Chilean-born actress was made up flawlessly for the fashion event, with light mascara, a hint of eyeliner and a dewy pink lip. Pia wore a pair of unusual strappy black lace up stilettos, which featured what appeared to be feather detailing at the sides. Keeping her look simple and chic, the stunner eschewed jewellery, save for a silver band she wore on the middle finger of her left hand. Don't rain on my parade: Pia seemed unfazed by the gloomy weather as she made her way along the carpet and into the show Appearing unfazed by the light rain, Pia paused to talk to organisers along the carpet, standing under a large black umbrella. The mother-of-two was among a number of stars who opted to wear black for the evening - appropriate as the fashion show advertises for the cooler months of Autumn and Winter. Jesinta Campbell wore a black velvet jumpsuit on the carpet, while supermodel Karlie Kloss walked the runway in a dress of the same colour. She may be modelling for a new make-up campaign, but the focus is almost as much on Hailey Baldwin's stunning figure as her flawless complexion in a set of sizzling new shots. The 20-year-old shows off her svelte frame in a camisole, white panties and matching socks in one image while wearing her long blonde hair tousled and loose over her shoulders. The new collection of images are to promote Hailey's second collection for Australian make-up brand ModelCo. Scroll down for video Stripped back: Hailey Baldwin shows off her stunning figure in a lacy white camisole, knickers and matching socks in new shots for a new campaign for Australian make-up brand ModelCo The daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin turns photographer in another shot, happily snapping Polaroids of a hunky male model companion sporting just a lacy bralette. Another image shows her posing for the shirtless hunk, smiling and poking her tongue out while in a state of undress. The catwalk star adds a touch of the girl next door to her sexy ensemble, sporting a pair of white socks throughout the shoot. Snap happy: Hailey takes a turn behind the camera in one shot, taking a few Polaroid snaps of her hunky male companion Sock it to them: The daughter of actor Stephen posed on a white bed wearing underwear and white socks The arty black and white shots are part of the 'Intimacy' campaign for Hailey's collection and concentrate on the on trend 'no make-up beauty look,' according to the brand. 'I have always loved the world of beauty and was thrilled to be given the chance to show my creativity by collaborating with a cult-cool brand like ModelCo,' Hailey said about her collection back in November. 'I feel that ModelCo has a modern, innovative approach to beauty and I love that my fans can now create my personal beauty style.' Lovely in lace: Another sultry shot showed the blonde model in a dainty bralette Strike a pose: It was Hailey's turn to smile for the camera sporting the bralette and white pants Hailey may be a rising star in the modelling world with an international career to boot, but the beauty finds the large amount of travelling a little lonely sometimes. 'It's tough sometimes, the thing I've been struggling with the most is I miss my family,' she told Glamour magazine last year. 'I think about my parents and I'm like, "Wow I really haven't seen them in a long time". Things get pretty lonely, I'm not going to lie, some of the most famous people you'll see are truly some of the most lonely. It's very sad.' She's the Australian model who's rumoured to have once caught the eye of Scott Disick. But Megan Blake Irwin admitted she's hoping to catch someone else's eye in 2017 - casting directors for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the David Jones Autumn/ Winter launch in Sydney on Wednesday, the blonde bombshell confessed her dream is to don the angel wings for the lingerie giant. Making of an angel! Megan Blake Irwin told Daily Mail Australia at David Jones Autumn/ Winter launch in Sydney on Wednesday night, her career dream is to don the angel wings in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 'Victoria's Secret is something that's always close to my heart,' Megan revealed on the black carpet. 'I think the [Victoria's Secret] shows are beautiful. I really admire the work they do,' she added. Indeed, Megan looked ready to play the part of a VS Angel, showing off her fantastic figure in a plunging black velvet dress. Eye-catching: Sizzling in a racy black gown, Megan made it easy to see how she may have caught the eye of Scott Disick Future VS Angel? Megan flashed the flesh on the black carpet proving she's got what it takes to model for the lingerie lebel Flashing the flesh in the ensemble, the daring gown featured not only a plunging neckline, which showed off her ample cleavage, but also a thigh-high split. Working the angles of the dress and lifting the skirt near the split, the model put on a leggy display for the cameras. At one point, the 22-year-old turned her back towards the cameras, also showing off her pert derriere. Taking the plunge: Megan's dress revealed more than a hint of cleavage Megan completed her moody look with maroon polish on her nails and a vampy oxblood-coloured lip. The star, who according to The Sun, made it to the callbacks stage of the Victoria's Secret audition process last year, said she staying career-focused as she soon heads back to the United States after an extended stay Down Under. 'There's a lot of things I wish to conquer and people I'd love to work with this year,' Megan said. Moody: Megan's dark ensemble was complemented by a vampy lip and dark nail polish combo The star also divulged details on her recent trip to Byron Bay, saying she partook in a lot of yoga during her beach-side break. 'It's nice to have time in the sun and not work for a little while, but by the end of it, after a few weeks, you start to miss work,' Megan said. The blonde beauty was seated front row for the show and was placed alongside Bachelor starlet Anna Heinrich. Trump should exercise restraint Dear Editor: I am a 70-year-old male. I attended schools and professional training in the east; then worked 35 years as a livestock veterinarian with small family farms in Colorado, California and Montana. I am not one to shout loudly against, nor trade insults with those I disagree with. Neither will I be intimidated or continue listening to those, including a new president, who speak erratically with little apparent thought about complex subjects; who seemingly lack ability or desire to handle dissent appropriately. It is disheartening that Americans on both sides of the issues may choose to, or feel forced to, disengage from their neighbors, from elected officials, from other cultures around the world. I believe we can find ways to work together locally. United States actions have repercussions around the world; and the rest of the world impacts this nation. We are all on this planet together; gains made by one faction at the expense of others will not likely be sustained . In the last week we saw widespread expression, peacefully demonstrated, that very many Americans feel they are being shut out of any process for change. Nonetheless, the womens marches showed tremendous positive energy accepting, even celebrating wide diversity all with an attitude of mutual respect . Imagine what could be accomplished if the new president will interact in a positive manner with all segments of the American population. Will he work to gain support from dissenters even while speaking to his original supporters? Will he use the positive energy that is demonstrated? Or will he continue trying to prove that he can overcome all others, acting on personal whims? The presidents office holds great power. I hope this president will soon show that he can use it with intelligence, good judgment and restraint. Paul Smiley, South Middleton Township She's no stranger to showing off her flawless figure in a series of smouldering selfies. And Joanna Krupa continued to parade her model physique as she attended the Bizuu fashion show in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday evening. The Real Housewives of Miami star, 37, looked sensational as she posed up a storm while strutting down the red carpet in a chic white and pastel ensemble. Scroll down for video A model citizen! Joanna Krupa paraded her model physique as she attended the Bizuu fashion show in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday evening The model ensured all eyes were on her as she teased a glimpse of her plentiful cleavage in a plunging jumpsuit, which cut into a deep-V across her tanned chest. The blonde beauty's tiny waist was accentuated with a thick metallic belt, which she artfully matched to her silver stilettos. The reality star perfectly accessorised her chic outfit with circular dangling earrings, while she toted her belongings in stylish block clutch. Stylish: The Real Housewives of Miami star, 37, looked sensational as she posed up a storm while strutting down the red carpet in a chic white and mint ensemble Working it! The model ensured all eyes were on her as she teased a glimpse of her plentiful cleavage in a plunging blouse, which cut into a deep-V across her tanned chest Joanna styled her long honey-hued tresses in an elegant side-do, allowing her tightly curled locks cascade down her shoulder. The stunner later treated her 984,000 thousand Instagram followers to an inside shot of the glamourous event, posing alongside fellow model Karolina Pisarek. While Joanna appears to be having the time of her life in Poland, she is currently embroiled in a court case with her former reality show co-star Brandi Glanville. Model pals: The stunner later treated her 984,000 thousand Instagram followers to an inside shot of the glamourous event, posed alongside fellow model Karolina Pisarek Dressed to impress: Joanna has attended numerous events in Poland over the past week Joanna is seeking $2 million in punitive damages over Glanville's comments she made about the model's 'smelly' lady parts and her alleged affair with Yolanda Foster's ex-husband, Mohamed Hadid. According to court filings obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, the judge will review the records to determine if they are relevant to the case. The battle has been ongoing for several months as the two parties participate in the 'discovery phase of the lawsuit', with both sides providing the court with documents to support their respective case. Glanville insisted Krupa produce her Housewives of Miami contract, medical records, tax returns and other financial information. She kicked off the Britain's Got Talent 2017 auditions by bring her new puppy Buddy along to the London Palladium. And Amanda Holden continued to showcase her passion for pooches by paying a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home on Wednesday for a special event in honour of the Duchess of Cornwall. The Britain's Got Talent judge, 45, was joined by her daughter Alexa, 10, as they watched the dogs compete in an agility course. Scroll down for video Barking mad: Amanda Holden continued to showcase her passion for pooches by paying a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home on Wednesday for a special event Pretty in pinl: The TV personality was impeccably dressed for the occasion, sporting a ladylike and demure pastel pink dress, posing alongside David Gandy Amanda - who also raises daughter Hollie, five, with her husband Chris Hughes - was in good company, joining Camilla in the VIP area. The TV personality was impeccably dressed for the occasion, sporting a ladylike and demure pastel pink dress. The pretty, 60s inspired number boasted white lining on the pockets and at the neckline. In royal company: The Britain's Got Talent judge, 45, was joined by her daughter Alexa, 10, and the Duchess of Cornwall as they watched the dogs compete in an agility course Chic: The pretty, 60s inspired number boasted white lining on the pockets and at the neckline She teamed the classic dress with a coordinating coat and a cute pair of sating heels. Amanda kept her beauty look simple and sophisticated, wearing her hair down in a sleek blow dry and setting off her look with pearl earrings. The star has been inseparable from her new dog Buddy of last, welcoming the Shitzu and Bichon-Frise cross just after Christmas. Clearly excited about the new arrival, Amanda even set Buddy up his own Instagram page in order to share adorable photos of the pooch, which has garnered over 3,000 followers in one week. Meet and greet: The event was held in aid of Camilla, who was announced as Battersea's Royal Patron Camilla was on a visit to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's Old Windsor site on the day she was announced as the world famous rescue organisation's new Royal Patron, following the Queen's decision to step down from the role last year. In a short address Camilla said: 'I hope I will be patron of Battersea as long as I am standing. After my first visit the inevitable happened [she re-homed a dog]. 'This is my fourth visit, my first to Windsor. I want to thank the walkers, staff and volunteers who do such a wonderful job.' Vets, receptionists, kennel and chattery staff greeted her on arrival - and a well as several of the centre's animals, most of whom are looking for a new home, who formed a canine guard of honour. She brought her rescue dogs, Beth and Bluebell, along on the official engagement. Puppy love: She brought her rescue dogs, Beth and Bluebell, along on the official engagement Tessa James cut an elegant figure as she attended the David Jones Autumn/Winter launch on Wednesday. The actress opted for an all-black ensemble, which she showed off as she posed for photos at the Sydney event. Tessa, who beat Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015 after a year-long cancer battle, looked happy and healthy as she smiled for the cameras. Scroll down for video All black everything: Tessa James cut an elegant figure as she attended the David Jones Autumn/Winter launch in Sydney on Wednesday The 25-year-old wore a black dress over a knitted jumper, which featured gold stud detailing on the shoulder and upper arm. Tessa completed her outfit with a pair of black strappy heels as she posed in front of the media wall. The Melbourne native wore her short locks in a stylish do as she swept her fringe to one side. Stylish: The actress opted for an all-black ensemble as she posed for photos at the Sydney event Looking good: Tessa, who beat Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015 after a year-long cancer battle, looked happy and healthy as she smiled for the cameras Tessa made her mark playing Nicole Franklin on Home and Away from 2008 to 2011, leaving the show to pursue an acting career overseas. But in September 2014, Tessa discovered she had Hodgkin's lymphoma, and returned to Australia for treatment. With the support of her husband, NRL player Nate Myles, she finished chemotherapy in mid-2015, sharing her courageous journey with Channel Seven's Sunday Night. Soap star: The striking blonde made her mark playing Nicole Franklin on Home and Away from 2008 to 2011, leaving the show to pursue an acting career overseas Shock diagnosis: In September 2014 Tessa discovered she had Hodgkin's lymphoma, and returned to Australia for treatment 'You'd see actresses and they seemed to always go through hardships,' a tearful Tessa told the current affairs program. 'I always thought, "Well I don't have a story. My life is great". Yeah, I have a story now.' As she continues cancer-free 18 months later, Tessa admits her battle with the deadly disease has changed her perspective on life. Staying strong: Tessa married NRL star Nate Myles in 2011, who remained supportive throughout her batter with cancer While once she was set on a star-studded Hollywood career, the petite beauty is now content with the simpler things in life. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in July 2016, Tessa said she felt frustrated that she wasn't having much success in Hollywood prior to falling ill with cancer. 'I'm not in such a rush anymore. I was really jaded and really kind of, "well I've been doing it for x amount of years, why hasn't this happened, why hasn't that happened",' she said. Changed woman: While once she was set on a star-studded Hollywood career, the petite beauty is now content with the simpler things in life 'I was just in such a panic and I think by getting sick I'm just so much more content, more patient, and more aware of the world in general. My main goal now is to be happy. 'I can still work hard and achieve things but I don't need to be stressed out about it and in a rush. I believe being consistently stressed creates bad health and I don't need to put that on myself.' Since her recovery, the former soap star has had roles on Love Child and 2016 movie Spin Out. It's an old adage that it is bad luck for a groom to see his bride in her wedding dress prior to the big day. Yet Olivia Buckland proved she is not one to fall for superstition as she requested the company of her fiance Alex Bowen to help look at designs from the Lipsy Bridal launch in London on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Love Island beauty not only trawled the racks for a wedding dress but also changed her outfit as she transformed from a sexy leopard print shirt into a chic tracksuit, while her co-star beau, 25, was casual in ripped jeans and a pea coat. Scroll down for video Shop till you drop! Olivia Buckland proved she is not one to fall for superstition as she requested the company of her fiance Alex Bowen to help look at designs from the Lipsy Bridal launch in London on Tuesday Olivia could hardly contain her delight in December when Alex popped the question on her birthday, during a festive trip to New York, as she took to Instagram following the proposal to write: 'I have no words for how happy I am. So magical.' The blonde beauty put her usual trendy stamp on her wedding shopping outfit, as she headed to the store dressed in a sexy leopard print shirt with culottes. Having left the ITV2 show and styled herself as something of a fashion guru, as she uses the hashtag 'Olive's Outfits' to inform her fans of her style choices, she naturally looked incredibly stylish as she added in ankle boots to the look. Atop her passion for fashion, Olivia is also a make-up fanatic meaning her shopping look was stunning with a smudged smokey eye perfectly complementing her taupe lipstick and chic heavy brow. Look at me! The 23-year-old Love Island beauty not only trawled the racks for wedding dress but also changed her outfit as she transformed from a sexy leopard print shirt into a chic tracksuit Magic! Olivia could hardly contain her delight in December when Alex popped the question on her birthday, during a festive trip to New York, as she took to Instagram following the proposal to write: 'I have no words for how happy I am. So magical.' The clever star opted to split her hair into two different styles, with one side curly and the other straight, no doubt to analyse which styles match which gowns. After a stint of trawling the rails, the Essex-born beauty appeared to fall for a non-wedding look as she transformed into a chic tracksuit designed by the clothing company. Handsome Alex showed he has as much of a flare for fashion as his girlfriend, as he wore heavily ripped jeans paired with a pea coat and oversized rucksack. Styled: The clever star opted to split her hair into two different styles, with one side curly and the other straight, no doubt to analyse which styles match which gowns Oh hi! There's always time for a selfie with Liv A hairy situation: The clever star opted to split her hair into two different styles, with one side curly and the other straight, no doubt to analyse which styles match which gowns Look at us! Olivia and Alex could not stop smiling within the bash Don't look now: Despite the lovely day out, some superstitious fans may raise concern for the fact that Alex was seeing the dress prior to the big day, although the couple certainly did not seem perturbed by the tradition Olivia shared an Instagram snap showing her gazing at dresses, while penning the caption: 'First proper day on Wedding mode!! Hello @LipsyLondon #LipsyBridal getting sooo many ideas'. Despite the lovely day out, some superstitious fans may raise concern for the fact that Alex was seeing the dress prior to the big day, although the couple certainly did not seem perturbed by the tradition. Also headed to the wedding shop was model Chloe Lloyd, who is preparing for her wedding to Union J star Josh Cuthbert. Cheeky drink! Olivia turned shopping into a social event while sipping champagne A vision: Olivia looked at some billowing white gowns Happier than ever: Olivia soared to fame in June when she starred on the second season of the rebooted version of Love Island, where she went on to meet Alex and enjoy a month of bikini-clad frolics in the sunshine and on-screen sex Shocker! The couple's engagement came as a shock to the reality world, after her and Alex met a mere eight months ago, yet she is insistent their future is sparkling Making the right choice: Also headed to the wedding shop was model Chloe Lloyd, who is preparing for her wedding to Union J star Josh Cuthbert A wise choice? Chloe left her beau at home - perhaps wisely given superstition Wrapped up: The fashionista looked sensational as she slipped into skin-tight leather trousers paired with a bold shearling jacket with a teal trip and wide collar The fashionista looked sensational as she slipped into skin-tight leather trousers paired with a bold shearling jacket with a teal trip and wide collar. Olivia soared to fame in June when she starred on the second season of the rebooted version of Love Island, where she went on to meet Alex and enjoy a month of bikini-clad frolics in the sunshine and on-screen sex. The couple's engagement came as a shock to the reality world, after her and Alex met a mere eight months ago, yet she is insistent their future is sparkling. On -trend: Both Olivia's ensembles for the day were simply stunning Secret! She revealed they do have plans for children - but will keep an integral element of their love story quiet particularly their various on-screen romps Some day... She said: 'We have said we want kids eventually. We just want to enjoy our time together, we have a lot to do, experiences to have, holidays to take' Getting Lipsy: The duo were loving their day out What do you think? Alex's opinion seemed invaluable to Olivia She revealed they do have plans for children - but will keep an integral element of their love story quiet particularly their various on-screen romps. She said: 'We have said we want kids eventually. We just want to enjoy our time together, we have a lot to do, experiences to have, holidays to take. 'It will be nice but maybe not in the next seven years. I'm still a baby anyway. I would never let my kids watch Love Island! There's not as much controversy in sex on TV as there used to be. But I won't be showing my kids Love Island. Maybe keep it secret.' Not too loud: 'It will be nice but maybe not in the next seven years. I'm still a baby anyway. I would never let my kids watch Love Island! There's not as much controversy in sex on TV as there used to be. But I won't be showing my kids Love Island. Maybe keep it secret' All smiles: The couple could not stop beaming as they cosied up She's known for being an integral member of Taylor Swift's girl squad. But reports on Wednesday suggested that supermodel Karlie Kloss cancelled an interview with breakfast TV program Sunrise, because she didn't want to discuss her friendship with the pop star. Addressing the story later in the evening at the David Jones Autumn/ Winter launch in Sydney, Karlie told The Daily Telegraph: 'I won't tell my private information because I value my friendships'. Private: Karlie Kloss addressed claims she cancelled a Tuesday appearance on Sunrise, after the breakfast show couldn't agree to her request not to talk about close friend Taylor Swift The star went on to state, 'I'm happy to be here to work with David Jones and that's what I want to focus on'. Earlier in the day, the same publication reported the star's team cancelled an appearance on show, after the program refused to concede to her team's interview terms. According to a source quoted, Karlie was scheduled to appear on Sunrise on Tuesday morning, but 'backed out at the last minute'. Star attraction: Karlie rocked the runway on Wednesday night, leading the David Jones Autumn/Winter launch Karlie requested not to be asked about her friendship with the pop superstar. Similarly off limits according to the publication was talk about politics, Donald Trump and her boyfriend, Joshua Kushner, who happens to be Ivanka Trump's brother-in-law. When the program made no guarantees 'they were told that Karlie would not do the interview'. BFF: Karlie says 'I value my friendships' and won't publicly discuss her friendship with her pop superstar pal Taylor (pictured) Private relationship: According to The Daily Telegraph, Karlie's relationship with boyfriend Joshua Kushner, who is the brother-in-law of Ivanka Trump, is also off-limits in interviews The Daily Telegraph also states that during her stay Down Under, Karlie's interviews have been patrolled by a team of five managers, in an effort to curb any curly questions. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Karlie's representatives for comment. Meanwhile, the star put on a dazzling display for David Jones on Wednesday, showing just why she's one of the world's most in-demand models. Runway ready: Karlie proved exactly why she is one of the world's most in-demand models during the show on Wednesday night The stunner rocked the runway alongside David Jones regulars Jessica Gomes and Jesinta Campbell. Karlie, who is the world's third highest-paid supermodel, is reportedly being paid $1.5 million by the retail giant for the appearance, according to The Daily Telegraph. The blonde beauty flew to Sydney on Monday from Melbourne, where she was seen at both the women's and men's finals of the Australian Open. Damian Lewis says his time in boarding school has made him an angry adult. The Homeland actor attended the revered prep school Ashdown House School and later Eton College, where previous alumni include the likes of Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston - and Damian admits the experience shaped him as a person. He explained to the Evening Standard newspaper: 'I do have a temper. There is a latent anger in a lot of people that went to boarding school at an early age.' Scroll down for videos Anger issues: Damian Lewis told The Evening Standard that going to Boarding school from a young age has made him 'angry' as an adult 'I was eight and I loved it over the five years. But I think the adjustments for eight-year-olds are a lot. And I think it informs who you are for a long, long time. 'But if you learn a mechanism that early to deal with situations that are foreign to you - trying to find your place within a group - you naturally suppress a lot of your own instincts. And I think exercising that amount of control is very clearly related to outbursts of anger later on.' Damian has been married to fellow star Helen McCrory since 2007 and the couple - share a daughter called Manon, 11, and a son called Gulliver, nine. Happily married: Damian and actress Helen McCrory have been married for nine years However, he's previously been adamant that his own children won't be sent away to school. 'I went at eight and I think that's very hard. You go through something which, at that age, defines you and your ability to cope,' he told the Sunday Times Magazine last year. 'There's a sudden lack of intimacy with a parent, and your ability to get through that defines you emotionally for the rest of your life. 'It's a very violent experience in those first few weeks. It's just, boom! And you deal with it.' Controversy: Damian's appearance at Acland Burghley school last year prompted a petition from a pupil who objected to his privileged background The son of a City broker, he also claimed that he would take great pride when at school discos he would speak to girls in his 'unconvincing mockney' accent and they would tell him he didn't sound like an Etonian. And even at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and as he pursued a successful acting career afterwards, he was reluctant to tell people that he went to Eton because he was conscious of attitudes towards privilege. It was only in the wake of 2001 series Band of Brothers that he 'self-consciously' announced his past because he knew it would impress Americans. And the actor's perception of people's attitudes towards Eton proved true when the Wolf Hall actor was invited to switch on a laser display to mark a state school's 50th anniversary earlier this year Big role: Damian in U.S. series Homeland which won him an Emmy A former pupil of Acland Burghley's in Tufnell Park, north London, tried to block the his appearance claiming his privileged background made him unsuitable. The petition - which only attracted 124 signatures - said the school had a 'long and proud tradition in comprehensive education' whereas Eton 'represents the reproduction of privilege and inequality in the UK'. Of Damian, it added: 'We have nothing against him as an actor or local resident, but he is a wholly inappropriate choice for this celebration of a wonderful local comprehensive school.' But the actor, 'surprised' by the petition, said the pupil missed the point of the occasion, which was about community and celebration. She was an icon and loved by thousands around the world but to him she was just Mary. Mary Tyler Moore's husband Robert Levine has paid tribute to his late wife after losing her to complications from her life long battle with diabetes and pneumonia. The doctor told People that his life is now empty without the 80-year-old. 'I can't believe she is gone': Mary Tyler Moore's husband Robert Levine has paid tribute to his late wife (pictured 2011) Levine, 62, told the magazine: 'I can't believe she is gone. 'Mary was my life, my light, my love. The emptiness I feel without her with me is without bottom. 'She was a force of nature who fiercely defended her autonomy even as her health was failing. Mary was fearless, determined and wilful. If she felt strongly about something or that there was a truth to be told, she would do it, no matter the con sequences.' Levine - who was 18 years Mary's junior - told the magazine he would do anything to see his wife of 33 years again. 'She was kind, genuine, approachable and humble. And she had that smile. Oh, to see her smile that smile, just once more. Spoke of his love: The doctor (seen here with his late wife) said, 'Mary was my life, my light, my love. The emptiness I feel without her with me is without bottom' 'My sadness is only tempered by the remarkable outpouring of good wishes, tributes, and personal ''Mary stories'' told, with heart, by those touched by her grace. As long as we all remember her, talk about her, share our stories about her, and what she meant to us, her light will never go out.' The sitcom legend, who paved the way for women in television and starred in the The Mary Tyler Moore Show, died last Wednesday at Greenwich Hospital of a heart attack brought on by pneumonia and diabetes, her death certificate reveals at age 80. Friend Bernadette Peters also spoke to the magazine of the couple's love. Peters said: 'They cared about each other more than everything [and Levine] took phenomenal care of Mary. He would never let anything happen to her.' Hers and Levine's words of love come as it was revealed that Mary had struggled both with her health and her marriage towards the end of his lie. The actress' final years were rocked by a string of medical and domestic emergencies according to police reports reviewed by DailyMail.com. 'Sadly, Mary had battled a myriad number of medical problems for years that were only getting worse and which forced her to become a shut-in,' a well-connected Greenwich neighbor of the star told DailyMail.com. And now, call summary reports from the Greenwich Police Department create a disturbing picture of Mary's last few turbulent years. Sad end: The star's final years were rocked by a string of medical and domestic emergencies involving her husband of 33 years. Pictured, the couple together in 2008 The reports indicate there had been multiple 911 calls made from Mary's $8 million back-country Connecticut estate, dating back to May 2012. In 2016, the calls became even more frequent. In addition to her deteriorating health, in January 2014, Mary's marriage to cardiologist Robert, her much younger third husband, appeared to be troubled amid two stunning 911 calls, placed just days apart. Both were classified as a 'domestic incidents' and each time had police racing up the winding drive of the couple's gated mansion. The first of the two calls, on the evening of January 19, says under call remarks that 'wife [Mary Tyler Moore] states her estranged husband is refusing to leave house. She states he co-owns the home but normally does not reside there. [Responding police] states housekeeper is present.' 911 calls: Police reports indicate there had been multiple 911 calls made from Mary's $8 million back-country estate, dating back to May 2012. In 2016, the calls became even more frequent Iconic: Fresh-faced Mary in her TV sitcom heyday and in one of the last pictures taken of her in 2013. Police reports from as far back as 2012, indicate that Mary fell multiple times, and in one instance suffered a possible broken shoulder and had very weak, shallow breathing The narrative goes on to say that the incident was nonviolent, no weapons were found and no restraining orders were issued. The report continues: 'Due to lack of medication Moore was confused and disoriented. Medication was given by the aid [sic] and Moore was calmed and put into bed for the evening.' Then, just four days later on January 23, three police units rushed to the couple's home yet again. They encountered a 'verbal dispute' between Mary and her husband, according to the officers' report. Police said Levine made a 'vail [veiled] threat' as he left the house and drove away in his car. No restraining orders were issued and neither Levine nor Mary were found to be under the influence. Sad loss: Mary died last Wednesday at Greenwich Hospital of a heart attack after complications from diabetes and pneumonia at age 80. Her grave site now sits at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut Friends of the couple say that the domestic incidents were an anomaly, caused by medication prescribed after she had brain surgery leaving her prone to hallucinations and confusion and that Levine was devoted to his wife. The couple's representative declined to comment on the story. Levine, 62, was listed as the 'reporting party' on both of those domestic calls. On two consecutive days in May 2015, police and EMS were called again to the Moore estate. Number of incidents: Police responded to domestic incidents between Mary and Levine in 2014. One report describes the scene as, 'wife [Mary Tyler Moore] states her estranged husband is refusing to leave house. ' Above Mary and Levine together in 1980 On May 30, the partially redacted narrative reads: 'Medics were there yesterday for an incident.' The day before, the remarks were 'unknown female [word redacted] is unconscious/breathing at this time requesting evaluation.' Other police reports, from as far back as 2012, indicate that Mary fell multiple times, and in one instance suffered a possible broken shoulder and had very weak, shallow breathing. One report states that she 'had hip surgery two weeks prior to a possible infection that put her in a state of semi-consciousness'. Official report: Police called to the home in 2014 said Levine made a 'vail [veiled] threat' as he left the house and drove away in his car. Pictured, Levine at Mary's funeral on Monday In addition to having suffered from type 1 diabetes for four decades, among several other injuries and health issues, sources say the beloved actress had risky surgery in May of 2011 to remove a benign brain tumor. She had also reportedly lost most of her vision - a side effect of her diabetes. 'In the last months of her life she had pretty much been bedridden,' another source close to the family said. 'And in the rare times she did get up she was confined to a wheelchair.' Mary, who battled alcoholism, had little family left when the end came. Her only child, a son, Richie Meeker, tragically died at age 24 in 1980, from a self-inflicted accidental gunshot wound. 'Mary was blessed with immense talent and fortune during her storied life,' says the friend and neighbor. 'But when the end came she had no immediate family by her bedside outside of her husband. 'All that money and fame did little for her as she came down the homestretch in terms of it having provided a life filled with good health and happiness, especially in her twilight years. 'And then, when she took her final breath, she didn't even have the comfort of a child or sibling's reassuring hand gently holding hers as she slipped away to the other side.' Blac Chyna has released a very racy naked photo shoot - but it looks rather familiar. The 28-year-old reality star, who is engaged to Rob Kardashian, posted an Instagram photo on Wednesday that used only white paint to cover buxom chest. The mother-of-two left little to the imagination in the eye-popping image which exposed part of her nipples. She captioned a naked snapshot of herself: 'Queen'. But the concept appeared reminiscent of Kim Kardashian's naked photo shoot from back in 2015. 'Queen': Blac Chyna posted an Instagram photo of herself naked and covered in white paint on Wednesday Not camera shy! The former stripper flaunted every inch of her figure in a series of eye-popping snapshots Kim stripped nude and splattered in paint for the risque desert shoot for her website kimkardashianwest.com and app, and it was also captured by cameras for her reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians. In Kim's famous shoot, she bared her curves for photographer Kesler Tran with strategically placed stripes of white body paint across her breasts and along her body. Chyna, who as a two-month old daughter Dream with Rob and a four-year-old son King Cairo with Kylie Jenner's boyfriend Tyga, has previously been accused of trying to cash in on her ties with the Kardashians. Kopykat: The 28-year-old star copied Kim Kardashian's white paint naked photo shoot 'Bold': Chyna posed up a storm for her seductive photo shoot Hot mama! The mother-of-two stripped nude and splattered in paint for the risque desert shoot back in 2015 The Kardashian family hit back after she tried to trademark the name Angela Renee Kardashian. In court documents, the family's attorneys claimed the sisters 'own and control the rights in the 'Kardashian' brand and related trademarks and services marks.' They added: '[They have] spent, and continue to invest, a substantial amount of time, resources and money in protecting, advertising and promoting the 'Kardashian' marks [and] the public has come to associate goods and services bearing the 'Kardashian' marks [with them]. 'She is deliberately seeking to profit from the goodwill and popularity [of the Kardashians and it is] likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive consumers.' White hot! In Kim's famous shoot, she bared her curves for photographer Kesler Tran with strategically placed stripes of body paint across her breasts and along her body Feeling free: The middle of the desert was the perfect setting for Kim to bare all But it's not only Chyna who seems to be replicating ideas, as Kylie Jenner, 19, vented her frustrations about Kim's copy cat antics. 'She wants to do everything that I'm doing,' the teen beauty told her older half-sister Kourtney Kardashian, 37, of the similar desert style photo shoots that were both aired on the same KUWTK episode back in May 2015. 'I did this desert photo shoot and she did a desert photo shoot. And she takes everything and does it way cooler,' the Kylie Jenner Lip Kit entrepreneur added. 'She is deliberately seeking to profit': Chyna, who as a two-month old daughter Dream with fiance Rob Kardashian has previously been accused of trying to cash in on her ties with the Kardashian clan; they are pictured January 15 And while Kim may be one of the most photographed women in the world, she explained that she was always worried about a dry skin condition before taking off her clothes for a photographer. 'I have psoriasis, there is nothing I can do about it so there is no reason why I should feel uncomfortable,' she explained. 'So to make myself feel better I lay out all my insecurities before we start a shoot in the hope that no one will be focused on that. I just want to do fun and artsy things. 'I want to capture really cool moments and have some great shoots and be nude and do all this cool stuff.' It's been almost six years since they last graced the big screen in the Harry Potter film franchise. But the magical bond between the cast is still strong, as Jason Isaacs proved in his latest social media posts from Universal Orlandos Celebration of Harry Potter event in Florida. The 53-year-old actor, who played duplicitous Lucius Malfoy in the popular big screen adaptations of J.K. Rowling's books, sent fans wild with delight when he posted a series of snapshots of his mini-Potter reunion with Tom Felton and Matthew Lewis. Scroll down for video Back together again: The magical bond between the cast Harry Potter cast is still strong, as Jason Isaacs proved as he posed alongside Matthew Lewis (left) and Tom Felton (right) at Universal Orlandos Celebration of Harry Potter event in Florida Jason can be seen with his arms around Tom - aka his on-screen son, Draco Malfoy - and Matthew - who played the hapless yet lovable Neville Longbottom. He captioned the picture: 'Me, @TomFelton & @Mattdavelewis marvel at them getting older as I get younger. to all the Potter fans who remind us to fight for the light.' Another image saw the trio posing with Warwick Davis, who starred as Professor Flitwick. Wingardium Leviosa! Another image saw the trio posing with Warwick Davis, who starred as Professor Flitwick Seal of approval: Rowling herself was filled with glee upon seeing the reunion, retweeting the picture alongside a lightning bolt and a heart emoji Fans were thrilled with the rare reunion, sharing, 'Potter family love is all around', 'Thank you for the light in our heart!' and 'Thanks for keeping the magic alive.' There were numerous posts reflecting the current political climate in the US, with one person poignantly posting, 'We need to remember the values Harry Potter taught us these days!' Even Rowling herself was filled with glee upon seeing the reunion, retweeting the picture alongside a lightning bolt and a heart emoji. Jason and Tom, 29, have been enjoying plenty of bonding time at the event, with Jason sharing another selfie of the two of them. Like father, like son? Jason and Tom, 29, have been enjoying plenty of bonding time at the event, with Jason sharing another selfie of the two of them He posted: 'Me and the wizarding blond bombshell reunited and wandering around Universal's #wizardingworldofharrypotter extremely cognito. 'A welcome escape from the horrors of the world until we answered questions on stage and were reminded what the stories were all about: fighting fascism, embracing diversity and never giving up hope. 'Suddenly seemed a lot less fantastical. Still, huge love and thanks to all the Potterites who made it a glorious weekend. 'You're all brilliant - even the tragically unSlytherin. X' Near miss: The 53-year-old actor, who played Lucius Malfoy in the film franchise, has admitted he nearly turned down the role The Hollywood star - who last appeared in Netflix series The O.A. - has revealed he almost refused the part of Lucius because he thought it was too similar to previous villain roles he had played, including Captain Hook. Luckily, he was persuaded to accept the role by friends and family - and is eternally grateful he did. He said: 'Every child I knew and their parents called and told me that I had to do it. 'Not because they cared about my career but because they wanted to visit the set, I think. So I took the job, and thank God I did.' The stars of HBO's Girls came together for a special issue of The Hollywood Reporter to reflect on the hit show as it comes to an end after six seasons. Creator and star Lena Dunham remembers 'the worst pitch you've ever read' that she handed to HBO before it all began, reveals her hope for a Girls movie and dishes on the one graphic sex scene that crossed the line for the network. Of her initial pitch, Lena, 30, said: 'It was like a tone poem about millennial life. It doesn't mention a character, doesn't mention a plot. "They're everything, they're nothing, they're everywhere, they're nowhere." Saying goodbye: The stars of HBO's Girls gather for a cover feature on the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter as they discuss the controversial show ahead of its final season 'I mean, it's the worst pitch you've ever read pretentious and horrifying but I remember writing it, sitting on the floor listening to Tegan and Sara in my underwear, being like, "I'm a genius."' It was thanks to her low budget directorial effort Tiny Furniture that bosses took Lena's idea seriously. 'We all felt we had this very good blueprint for what a show might be.' explained Casey Bloys, former HBO comedy head. As the buzz picked up about the show, Lena was bombarded with male producers wanting to work with her, as she revealed, 'I'd never been pursued like that by anybody in my fin' life, 'I was getting calls as if I had been friends with these producers since I was born and was betraying them,' Lena told THR. 'It's the worst pitch you've ever read pretentious and horrifying' Lena Dunham, 30, said of the pitch she handed to HBO bosses before Girls began 'I'd never been pursued like that by anybody in my fin' life,' the actress reflected on the phone calls she got from male producers as the show was being developed She revealed she was horrified when one producer suggested an episode 'when the girls sync their periods,' 'People ask what happens to young female directors when they come to Hollywood. The first people who support them feel this incredible sense of entitlement.' Lena and co-stars Alison Williams, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver, Jemima Kirke, Alex Karpovsky and Andrew Rannells posed for the cover of the February issue of The Hollywood Reporter. The actors also feature individually inside the publication in a series of moody images. 'If HBO paid for two Sex and the City ones, they'd better pay for one of ours.' Lena said of her hopes to make a Girls movie Too risky: The show is known to be extremely explicit when it comes to depicting raunchy scenes between the characters, but the one scene that didn't make the cut, Lena explained, was 'cum arcing through a shot.' The cast was joined by show insiders including executive producers Judd Apatow, Jenni Konner to discuss the highs and lows of the show's five year history. The final sixth premieres February 12 and Lena already has her heart set on a movie version. Konner said: 'We feel like no one necessarily needs to hear from us right now. But if someone wants to do the [Girls] movie, we'll do it.' Lena wholeheartedly agreed: 'Oh, we're doing the movie. I'd just want to leave enough space so that we are finding them in a super different place than we left them.' The native New Yorker joked, 'If HBO paid for two Sex and the City ones, they'd better pay for one of ours.' At that point Konner reminded her that the movie studio paid for the SATC movies, to which Lena replied, 'Oh, we may have more trouble with that' The actors also feature individually inside the February issue. Pictured is Zosia Mamet (left), Jemima Kirke (right) Looking to the future: Allison Williams, who plays Marnie in the show, is pictured Moody shots: Adam Driver and Andrew Rannells suited up for the photoshoot Meanwhile, the actress dished on the one graphic sex scene that HBO bosses felt crossed the line. The show is known to be extremely explicit when it comes to depicting raunchy scenes between the characters, but the one scene that didn't make the cut, Lena explained, was 'cum arcing through a shot.' Apatow added: 'And HBO said, 'If this is in the show, we could lose our license.' We were like, "Oh my God, we've actually found the line at HBO."' Konner said that they thought the bosses were being 'pussies' after the networks then-president of programming Mike Lombardo said they didn't need the scene. 'But when Mike fought us on stuff, which wasn't often, he was always right.' she concluded. Dear Editor: The headline in a recent edition of The Sentinel stated that the CEO of Project Share, Elaine Livas, no longer was with the organization she founded. I was deeply saddened to think the board of Project Share would do something so unthinkable as to put aside the visionary who responded to God's call to serve the poor by creating and giving her entire life to this incredible service organization. I remember when this young Dickinson College student began Project Share in 1985. Year after year it grew until today when we have the fabulous organization serving our community from the youngest members to the oldest. The summer lunch programs for children and the weekend backpack meals provided to more than 231 children throughout the school year are but one example of the many services which fall under the Project Share umbrella. Will our community stand for Elaine Livas' dismissal by the board? Elaine has devoted her entire life to serve those in need in our community by establishing a food bank, farm statnd, resources for infants, senior food boxes and so much more. Project Share and Elaine Livas are one and the same. I am heartbroken to learn that Elaine no longer will be at the helm of this ministry organization that was her life's dream. Gladys M. Lehman Carlisle Scott Disick's former manager and longtime friend has lashed out at the star in a new podcast. David Weintraub talked about the Keeping Up with The Kardashians star during an interview on the Allegedly show with Theo Von & Matthew Cole. And the 38-year-old reality producer and ex Sons of Hollywood star had some harsh words for the father-of-three who's been living it up in Miami this week. 'He actually thinks hes some big superstar who has talent and does stuff,' Weintraub said. 'He actually thinks hes some big superstar who has talent': Scott Disick's former manager and longtime friend David Weintraub has lashed out at the star in a new podcast 'Where he comes from is me and Sean Stewarts couch.' Weintraub revealed Scott used to couch surf with him before he was famous 'When you get a lot of fame for not really doing anything, or you get a lot of money for not really doing anything, you have to remember how you got there. Dont change as a person. 'I love Scott to death, but fame and money changed who he is. Hes got to remember who he is and where he comes from,' he said. 'And where he comes from is me and Sean Stewarts couch.' he added. 'He always felt like he was entitled, but like youve really got to have talent.When youre lucky to be famous, and youre lucky to make money, its different.' Weintraub says he's the one who introduced Scott to ex Kourtney Kardashian who he shares three children with. 'I love Scott to death, but fame and money changed who he is. Hes got to remember who he is and where he comes from,' Weintraub said on the Allegedly podcast. He's pictured with Ray J in March 2015 He also takes credit for making Scott millions of dollars in deals (personal and professional) and Weintraub says he's owed several hundred thousand dollars in fees and other expenses. 'I brought him tons and tons of deals that he f****d up, f****d up my relationships with people because either he didnt perform, or he wanted too much money, or he was a d**k, or he did a deal and then f****d it off, and everybody has egg on their face.' Fame: Scott, 33, has been living it up in Miami in recent days and pictured with a variety of young models In a final bitter blow Weintraub said 'Its all good that you won, but recognize where you came from, cause youre still a couch surfer to me,' Meanwhile Scott has been partying in Miami with a bevy of gorgeous young models. It came just days after the star spent time in Costa Rica with Kourtney, 37, their children and some other members of the Kardashian clan. Business: The reality producer and ex Sons of Hollywood starclaims he made Scott millions of dollars in deals (personal and professional) and that the KUWTK star owes him hundreds of thousands It came after months of speculation he was reconciling with his former partner of nine years and transforming his bad boy ways. But reports on Tuesday suggested that Scott ended his trip with the Kardashians abruptly after a disagreement with Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner. TMZ reports the 'momager' found his actions disrespectful, but her disdain wasn't anything to do with her daughter Kourtney, who has long been separated from Scott. She journeys back to Britains war torn past for her latest role, but it was a very modern Kate Bosworth who made an entrance at BBC studios on Wednesday evening. The American actress looked typically elegant in an off-the-shoulder dress ahead of an appearance on The One Show, where she was on hand to promote unconventional new drama SS-GB. With a distinct bronze hue and tasteful fitted detail the outfit ensured Kate, 34, commanded attention as she prepared for her latest interview on behalf of the forthcoming show. Scroll down for video Striking: She journeys back to Britains war torn past for her latest role, but it was a very modern Kate Bosworth who made an entrance at BBC studios on Wednesday evening Conventional black stiletto heels completed her look, while a distinct lack of accessories allowed her wardrobe to take centre stage. Styling her willowy blonde locks in a simple bun, the actress revealed naturally pretty features accentuated by subtly applied foundation, delicate mascara and a generous layer of bold red lipstick. Taking her place on the studio sofa, Kate was joined by co-star Sam Riley as she talked about the 1941 set show, in which war-time London has been successfully occupied by marauding Nazi Germany, and her role as visiting New York Times reporter Barbara Barga. Looking good: The American actress looked typically elegant in an off-the-shoulder dress ahead of an appearance on The One Show, where she was on hand to promote unconventional new drama SS-GB Hard to miss: With a distinct bronze hue and tasteful fitted detail the outfit ensured Kate, 34, commanded attention as she prepared for her latest interview on behalf of the forthcoming show You dont really know what side of the line anyone stands, she told hosts Matt Baker and Michelle Ackerley. Its a great psychological thriller for all the characters. I play a journalist who has come over from America to relay the story of whats happening in the UK. 'Shes mysterious and a femme fatale, which is what I really loved about the character. Shes really great. Finishing touches: Conventional black stiletto heels completed her look, while a distinct lack of accessories allowed her wardrobe to take centre stage. Kate and co-star Sam lead the way in the highly-awaited mini-series from BBC Films, based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Len Deighton. The series, produced by Sid Gentle Films Ltd, has been adapted from the novel by Bafta award-winners Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Set in Nazi-occupied London, the drama is based on the premise that the Germans won the Battle of Britain. Tasteful: Styling her willowy blonde locks in a simple bun, the actress revealed naturally pretty features accentuated by subtly applied foundation, delicate mascara and a generous layer of bold red lipstick British actor Sam, 37, will play British Detective Douglas Archer, who finds himself working under the brutal SS in occupied London and investigates what appears to be a simple black market murder. Speaking at the show's London premiere on Monday evening, he said: 'Archer is a compelling and complex character. He is a good guy struggling to reconcile his job as a policeman within the repressive Nazi machine. 'Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have written a gripping screenplay that pays homage to Len Deightons novel. I am very much looking forward to working with this talented team.' Kate added: 'I am thrilled and honoured to be a part of this incredible team, bringing an iconic novel to the screen.' Tom Cruise emerged on a movie set in Georgia this week looking very different. The 54-year-old actor appeared trimmer and more youthful than he has in months. It is believed the A lister was doing reshoots on his CIA drug war saga American Made, which used to be titled Mena. Back to work! Tom Cruise was spotted in an almost completely unbuttoned shirt on a movie set in Georgia this week Different in November: Only three months ago the movie star looked fuller When he was working with his shirt closed, he was seen in a thick black jacket and a stylish pair of dark sunglasses. At one point, with the jacket off, he smiled and waved at someone in the distance while walking across some grass. Originally titled Mena, American Made is a biographical drama about Adler Seal, who was known as Barry. Ciao! At one point, with the jacket off, he smiled and waved at someone in the distance while walking across some grass The TWA pilot-turned-drug-runner-for-the-Medellin-cartel ultimately began working undercover for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Three cartel hit mean shot Seal dead in 1986 at a halfway house in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Hollywood Reporter broke the new title and shifted release date last August without giving a reason. Bundled up: It's possible he's filming re-shoots for his upcoming movie American Made, which has had its release date bumped from January to September 2017 In 2015, while the film was shooting in Colombia, two crew members died and another was injured in a plane crash. The film's producers have since been hit with two wrongful death lawsuits, the most recent filed last September. With a cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Domhnall Gleeson and Lola Kirke, as well as Connor Trinneer as George H.W. Bush, American Made will be out September 29. She's just finished enjoying a month long holiday around Australia. And model Elyse Knowles certainly looked refreshed as she attended the 2017 Cosmo Bachelor Of The Year Awards at The Ivy in Sydney on Wednesday. The 24-year-old showed off her flawless figure and perfect tan in a black off-the-shoulder little black dress as she posed on the red carpet. Flawless: Model Elyse Knowles stunned on the red carpet at the 2017 Cosmo Bachelor Of The Year Awards at The Ivy in Sydney on Wednesday She teamed the sexy ensemble with eye-popping red accessories, including a scarlet shoulder bag with chain strap and strappy matching sandals. Elyse's hair was out in a natural wave and she had a slick of red lipstick applied to her pout. The blonde beauty has recently concluded a month long road trip and last weekend donned one last flirty bikini to celebrate the end of her vacation. Eye-popping accessories: Elyse made her outfit pop with red accessories, including a small red shoulder bag and matching scarlet strappy sandals Standing aboard a small boat on the The Murray River at Torrumbarry, Victoria, the blonde poked out her tongue as she posed in the bright white swimwear. The bikini top and very skimpy bottoms almost resembled underwear, and showed off her taut and muscular tummy as well as her toned legs. Having just celebrated Australia Day with a group of her girlfriends at the Murray River, Aussie flags were still draped over the boat. 'What a month ! Back to reality today,' she captioned the image. Va-va-voom: Elyse's hair was out in a natural wave and she had a slick of red lipstick applied to her pout Elyse has also recently been spending time with her boyfriend of four years, Josh Barker. The pair have had portions of their recent Byron Bay vacation documented by a professional photographer from Lost in Love Photography. The unusual move to have such romantic photos taken in the middle of their holiday sparked engagement rumours. However appears that The Billabong model and her beau were just having some romantic snaps taken for themselves. The front row is the most in demand spot at any fashion show. And while most celebrities love to have their photograph taken in the coveted position, that didn't appear to be the case for Megan Blake Irwin at the 2017 David Autumn/Winter Fashion Launch on Wednesday night. The blonde bombshell appeared to force a smile and turned to the side as she posed alongside The Bachelor's Anna Heinrich. Giving her the cold shoulder? Model Megan Blake Irwin forced a smile and turned to the side as she posed alongside The Bachelor's Anna Heinrich in the front row at the David Jones Fashion Launch on Wednesday night Wearing an eye-popping low-cut black dress that exposed her cleavage, the 22-year-old crossed her legs and almost turned her back to Anna, who was seen smiling awkwardly. While the two blondes were touching arms, they didn't appear to interacting with one another. Both ladies were hard to miss in the front row thanks to their gorgeous and glowing appearances at the show. Awkward: Wearing an eye-popping low-cut black dress that exposed her cleavage, the 22-year-old crossed her legs and almost turned her back to Anna, who was seen awkwardly smiling Anna also stunned on the night in a two-piece floral ensemble that showed off her incredibly taut tummy and tanned complexion. Meanwhile, during the evening Megan admitted she's hoping to catch someone else's eye in 2017 - casting directors for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia she confessed her dream is to don the angel wings for the lingerie giant. 'Victoria's Secret is something that's always close to my heart,' Megan revealed on the black carpet. Concentration: Megan had a concentrated look on her face as she watched the models glide down the catwalk Stunning! Megan wore an eye-popping low-cut black velour dress on the night Taut: Anna also stunned on the night, wearing a two-piece floral ensemble that showed off her incredibly taut tummy and tanned complexion 'I think the [Victoria's Secret] shows are beautiful. I really admire the work they do,' she added. Indeed, Megan looked ready to play the part of a VS Angel, showing off her fantastic figure in a plunging black velvet dress. Flashing the flesh in the ensemble, the daring gown featured not only a plunging neckline, which showed off her ample cleavage, but also a thigh-high split. Working the angles of the dress and lifting the skirt near the split, the model put on a leggy display for the cameras. Fashionistas: Lara also sat front row alongside Kit Willow, right, and another fashionable friend Thanks for the memories: The blonde beauty snapped away with her camera phone At one point, she turned her back towards the cameras, also showing off her pert derriere. Megan completed her moody look with maroon polish on her nails and a vampy oxblood-coloured lip. The star, who according to The Sun, made it to the callbacks stage of the Victoria's Secret audition process last year, said she staying career-focused as she soon heads back to the United States after an extended stay Down Under. 'There's a lot of things I wish to conquer and people I'd love to work with this year,' Megan said. The star also divulged details on her recent trip to Byron Bay, saying she partook in a lot of yoga during her beach-side break. 'It's nice to have time in the sun and not work for a little while, but by the end of it, after a few weeks, you start to miss work,' Megan said. She's the star of critically acclaimed NBC show This Is Us, but Chrissy Metz underwent a good deal of hardship along the way to the top. As she's told Glamour, her family was so financially strapped during her childhood that her single mother occasionally went without supper. 'I knew she was giving up food to make sure we could eat, but when youre 9 or 10 years old, you cant help,' she said. 'It was devastating.' The brunette also confessed she was broke before she landed her TV gig: 'When I booked This Is Us, I had 81 cents in my bank account. I could cry right now just thinking about it.' Rags to riches: She's the star of a critically exulted network show, but as she's told Glamour, Chrissy Metz underwent a good deal of hardship along the way Food became 'the way we showed love - my grandmother would make me a grilled cheese sandwich every time shed pick me up from school.' The 36-year-old recalled: 'I really valued that attention. As I got older, that turned into: "Oh, Im happy - lets celebrate and eat. Im sad? Let me eat my feelings."' Her divorced parents had had three children, and after her mother took a second husband, she had two more daughters, leaving Chrissy one of five siblings. The past: The actress' family was so financially strapped during her childhood that her single mother occasionally went without supper; pictured on This Is Us Turning to comedy, 'I was always the class clown, and I think I gravitated toward performing for the attention I didnt always think I was getting at home.' Acting became her ambition, and despite lacking wealth or connections, 'I never was afraid of the odds, even though they were seriously stacked against me.' Going with her 'skinny and tall and beautiful' sister to a 'open-call model and talent search,' Chrissy impressed by singing Christina Aguilera's 2002 song Beautiful. Beginnings: Going with her 'skinny and tall and beautiful' sister to a 'open-call model and talent search,' Chrissy impressed by singing Christina Aguilera's 2002 song Beautiful; pictured with Chris Sullivan on This Is Us 'The following day [the woman she sang for] called my sister for a modeling contract and told me shed introduce me to managers and agents in Los Angeles.' Born and brought up in Florida, the actress aspirant and a group of female friends 'caravanned all the way from Florida, then lived in a two-bedroom apartment, three of us to each room, in Burbank.' She landed a gig as Ima Wiggles on American Horror Story's fourth series, subtitled Freak Show, appearing in five episodes from 2014 until 2015. Though at the time 'I thought, OK, awesome, this is a jumping board for my career!' she found that 'when it wrapped, there wasnothing.' Start and stop: Whilst playing Ima Wiggles on five episodes of American Horror Story: Freak Show from 2014 to 2015, 'I thought, OK, awesome, this is a jumping board for my career!' yet she found that 'when it wrapped, there wasnothing' Financial difficulties grew, but friends rallied about her. 'I moved in with a roommate who told me: "Stay with me until you can afford rent. Dont give up."' She remembered that ''People who supported me were like: 'If you dont have money for food, Ill cook you dinner. You dont have money for acting class? Lets get together and read lines."' Even now, though, 'You may think: "Ooh, youre on TV, youre a millionaire!" No. Its definitely a lot more than I was making, but I still live with my roommate - though I pay my proper share of the rent now.' The nick of time: She's recalled that 'when I booked This Is Us, I had 81 cents in my bank account,' saying: 'I could cry right now just thinking about it' Touchingly, 'what I really wanted was my grandmother to have a washer and dryer in her apartment before she passed away. I never got to give it to her.' Said she: 'Ive had women - average women, older women, teenagerswho say to me: "Your role and this show has changed my life,"' which to her renders her old troubles 'worth it.' In her words, 'Sometimes I cry on the way to the set still. There is something that happens when you are grateful: You continue to keep receiving blessings. So I will always be grateful.' Created by Dan Fogelman, This Is Us premiered on NBC last September and is still airing its first series. Two more were green-lit last month. She shared bikini snaps from her trip to Costa Rica last week. But Kylie Jenner was fully covered up on Wednesday in a new photo she shared to Instagram. The 19-year-old star couldn't help but highlight her curves however as she squatted down for the snap which she had a pal take from behind. Scroll down for video Hey there! Kylie Jenner posed for a Instagram snap on Wednesday showing off her curves in velour pants and snakeskin boots Kylie gazed back at the camera with her makeup immaculately applied and extra long extensions cascading down her back. She captioned the snap simply 'ootd' which stands for 'outfit of the day'. The KUWTK star's outfit consisted of grey velour sweatpants and a light grey sweater. Some snakeskin ankle boots added a little more glam to the look. Flawless: The reality star posted some Snapchats revealing her makeup look and long dark extentions She's back: Kylie's BFF Jordyn Woods also appeared on Kylie's Snapchat. The teen lost her father to cancer last month Kylie also teamed up with her BFF Jordyn Woods in some Snapchats she shared the same day. It's the first time her pal has featured on Kylie's social media following the death of her father from cancer last month. Jordyn broke her sad news on Instagram with a photo of her dad. 'Last night heaven Got Another angel. My Daddy,' she wrote. She then explained: 'Just two short weeks ago he was diagnosed with cancer and by that time it was too late.' Camera ready: Jordyn also looked glam in a black tank and jeans Out and a pout: The star smoldered into the camera during her impromptu photoshoot Jordyn concluded: 'I appreciate everyone's kind words and it means the world to me. It still doesn't feel real. Forever and Always.' Meanwhile Kylie's New York pop up shop is set to open in February. And the teen shared a sneak peek at pieces soon to be available online and at her new East Coast store sharing snaps to her Kylie Jenner Shop Instagram this week. Kylie has designed a brand new collection with the tagline 'all different types #Thick.' The teen star modeled a pastel underwear set which featured the word 'Thick!' across the band of her bottoms and beneath her cleavage. Brunette beauty: The TV star showed off some serious bling on her finger as she pouted for the camera Wow: Meanwhile the star's official Kylie Jenner shop shared a sneak peak at pieces soon to be available online and at her new East Coast store; Kylie Jenner photographed by Gunner Stahl The reality star revealed her cleavage and flat stomach in the photo - while her face was cut from the image. The Kylie Jenner Shop Instagram page, which has almost 900K followers, also shared two more pictures from the new collection. In December, Kylie had a pop up shop inside the Westfield Topanga mall in Los Angeles; the physical store, which is now closed, had clothing, undergarments, accessories and makeup from her Kylie Cosmetics company. Flashback: Kylie served as a model for her first Kylie Shop collection; seen in December The Kylie Cosmetics founder just returned back to Los Angeles following her family trip to Costa Rica. She was joined by her boyfriend Tyga, 27, and his son King Cairo, four; her sister Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian were there as well. Kim brought her two children North, three, and Saint, one, while Kourtney brought her three kids: Mason, Penelope and Reign - ages seven, four and two. Mom Kris and her boyfriend Corey Gamble were in Costa Rica too. She inherited both of her famous parents' good looks. And Georgia May Jagger was certainly ready for her close up as she attended the Opel calendar launch on Wednesday night. The model - offspring of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger - brought some flawless glamour to the event, celebrating her striking campaign with the German car company, at the launch in Berlin. Scroll down for video Hot date: Georgia May Jagger was certainly ready for her close up as she attended the Opel calendar launch on Wednesday night Dressed to impress in a dainty dress, the blonde stunner worked the camera, looking sensational as preened and posed. She was joined by revered snapper Ellen Von Unwerth, the woman behind the imagery for the new calendar. Georgia is the face of the brand's new drive, alongside an unlikely co-star - Grumpy Cat, the miserable moggie who has become a pop culture phenomenon. The catwalk queen has been getting used to having a new Jagger to contend with - her rocker dad welcomed his eighth child in December. Say cheese: The model - offspring of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger - brought some flawless glamour to the event, celebrating her striking campaign with the German car company, at the launch in Berlin Ready for her close up: Dressed to impress in a dainty dress, the blonde stunner worked the camera, looking sensational as preened and posed Snap happy: She was joined by revered snapper Ellen Von Unwerth, the woman behind the imagery for the new calendar Roar! Georgia is the face of the brand's new drive, alongside an unlikely co-star - Grumpy Cat, the miserable moggie who has become a pop culture phenomenon Ballet dancer Melanie Hamrick welcomed a son, Deveraux Octavian Basil, with the Rollings Stones legend - and has been documenting motherhood on Instagram. In a sweet Instagram snap, the 29-year-old ballerina showed off her slimmed down figure in a red and white dress as she cradled the youngster, with the sea billowing behind her. The American-born beauty opted to go barefoot and braved a wardrobe malfunction in the patterned thigh-high split dress due to the windy conditions. Cat's the way to do it! She stood in front of a giant cat sculpture as she posed for snapshots Up and away: She was also seen carrying a novelty balloon as she lapped up the party vibes Soaring to new heights: The beauty stood tall in her platform boots at the fun-filled event Feline just fine! She was seen cosying up to Grumpy Cat as she posed for photographers New pal: Despite the cat's name, Georgia seemed to get along just fine with Grumpy Cat Look at me now! Georgia held him up for all to see as he got comfortable with the cameras Melanie's brunette tresses were tied into a low ponytail as she kept her sweet son protectively close to her chest. 'Rain Rain Go Away! Thinking back to my angels first beach trip ,' she captioned the moody-filtered snap, which provided her with a scenic backdrop of the ocean and cliffs. The dancer, who gave birth to the frontman's latest child after they began dating in 2014, is also determined to get back into shape as she focuses on a return to the stage. New Jagger: Georgia is now a big sister to the eighth Jagger child - Melanie Hamrick, 29, gave birth to son Deveraux Octavian Basil last year Tiny dancer! The ballerina, who began dating the Rolling Stones frontman in 2014 and gave birth to his eight child last month, is determined to get back into shape as she focuses on a return to the stage Melanie shared a snap of her after working up a sweat in the gym over the weekend. Looking glowing after the gruelling session, she gave the camera two thumbs up as she posed for the post workout snap taken by her personal trainer. She wrote: 'One day at a time getting back in ballet shape #ballerina #fitness #fitnessbody #ballerinabody #postbaby.' In another gym snap, she was dressed in black leggings and a sweatshirt which highlighted her slim figure as she flexed her bicep. With her hair pulled up into a ponytail and her yoga mat laid out on the gym floor, Melanie looked ready for her work out. The beauty also shared an Instagram shot from her NYE celebrations earlier this month, which she marked by partying at a pal's wedding. 'Gym day for a baby workout!': In another gym snap, she was dressed in black leggings and a sweatshirt which highlighted her slim figure as she flexed her bicep Party time: Melanie also shared an Instagram shot from her NYE celebrations earlier this month which she marked by partying at a pal's wedding Perched on a window seat, the beauty shows off her long legs in a pretty black mini dress. 'Happy New Year from a NYC rooftop! Honored to ring in the new year with a #petely wedding !! #beautifulcouple #happynewyear #3weekspostpartum #postpartumbody,' she wrote. Melanie has been documenting her first few weeks of motherhood on her social media, telling fans she's getting back into her health and fitness regime. Last week she shared a snap from her Cryotherapy session, with the bizarre treatment involving exposing her nude body to nitrogen gas at minus 100c temperatures for up to four minutes. Night on the town: Melanie also enjoyed a fun girls' night out a week ago, sharing a video as she danced with her girlfriends 'Day one of my journey to getting the Ballet Body back! Thanks @kryolife for the Icy start! #ballerina #kryolife #balletbody #postpartumfitness #postpartumbody #fitness @abtofficial', she captioned the image. The week before, Melanie treated her followers to the very first snap of her baby son. Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'I'm so love with my baby Deveraux Jagger. Thank you @lizzyjagger for the sweet introduction.' The picture is very similar to the one first shared with Mick's daughter Elizabeth two days ago. A photograph of the baby, Sir Mick's eighth child, appeared on an Instagram account under the name of Elizabeth Jagger, one of the rocker's other children. Post-baby regime: Melanie underwent a bizarre Cryotherapy session - just three weeks after giving birth to her baby boy 'I'm so love with my baby Deveraux Jagger': Thrilled Melanie shared a snap of her newborn son with Sir Mick Jagger on Instagram The caption read: 'My beautiful baby brother Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger.' The baby's full name is Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger - Octavian means 'born eighth' in Latin. Sir Mick and Melanie began dating after the death of fashion designer L'Wren Scott in 2014, Sir Mick's partner of 13 years. It is understood Sir Mick flew 3,500 miles from London to New York in a last-minute dash to be by Hamrick's side for the birth. A source told the Daily Mirror the legendary rocker said he 'needed to be there' for his partner. Gushing sister: Mick's daughter Elizabeth posted an almost identical first picture of the newborn boy on Instagram Baby joy: Rolling Stones frontman Mick (right) became a father again at the age of 73. He welcomed the latest addition to his brood with Melanie (left) The source added: 'He made sure he was there. He wouldnt have missed it for the world.' Sir Mick has a daughter, Karis Hunt Jagger, 46, from his relationship with Marsha Hunt and a daughter Jade Jagger, now 45, with his ex-wife Bianca. He had four children with his ex-partner Jerry Hall - Elizabeth, 32, James, 31, Georgia, 24, and Gabriel, 18. He also had a son, Lucas, 17, following a brief relationship with Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez. Basil was the first name of Sir Mick's late father, who died in 2006, although he was known to others as Joe. Jumping for joy: Sir Mick is understood to have given Melanie a $150,000-a-year maintenance deal to help the ballerina raise their child A statement released on behalf of the couple at the time of birth said: 'Melanie Hamrick and Mick Jagger's son was born today in New York and they are both delighted. 'Mick was at the hospital for the arrival. Mother and baby are doing well and we request that the media respect their privacy at this time.' Even though Mick and Melanie are not planning on getting married, they plan to co-parent given his hectic work schedule. A source told MailOnline: 'Mick wanted to make sure that the deals and money aspects were in place before Christmas and the birth of their child. 'Mick is adamant that the kid will be cared for and the deal works out at 150k a year and then housing on top of that. Mischa Barton was seen for the first time since her now infamous rant. The 31-year-old actress looked somber as she did some grocery shopping including picking up a bottle of wine at a CVS Pharmacy in Los Angeles on Wednesday. 'I'm feeling better,' she told reporters as she left the store, following her meltdown last Thursday. She was dressed casually for the errand trip as she wore a black and grey Letterman's jacket over a green hoodie. Scroll down for video Moving on: Mischa Barton was seen for the first time since her now infamous rant as she did grocery shopping - including picking up a bottle of wine - in Los Angeles on Wednesday The former star of The OC kept the rest of her look comfortable as she wore a white T-shirt, patterned jeans and black trainers. Her blonde locks were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she went make-up free for the occasion. Mischa kept her eyes hidden beneath a pair of mirrored aviator shades as she puffed on a cigarette. Tough times: The trip came just days after footage has emerged showing the moment Barton began screaming about her mother and the end of the world, after she was allegedly given the drug GBH She was also joined by a male friend as they left the store with items including bubble wrap, Drumstick ice creams, paper towels and Apple Cider. The trip came just days after footage has emerged showing the moment Barton began screaming about her mother and the end of the world, after she was allegedly given the drug GBH. The actress was filmed ranting incoherently while standing on the fence in her backyard in LA. Barton is seen suddenly crashing to the ground as she loses her footing and falls backwards. Hands full: The 31-year-old actress had her hands full as she left the store On-the-go: She was busy tapping away on her mobile Helping hand: She was joined on the outing by a male friend Eyes on the prize: Bubble wrap and paper towels were two of the items that she walked away with Au naturel: She opted to go make-up free for the occasion Moving on: The actress seemed to have a lot on her mind Out and about: She loaded up her purchases in the car before jetting off Side-by-side: Her male companion did most of the heavy-lifting The actress was voluntarily taken to hospital Thursday after neighbors found her screaming. Barton said Friday she was out of the hospital after an overnight stay and had found out through doctors that someone had given her GHB on Wednesday night, while she was celebrating her 31st birthday. GHB, which is often referred to as a date-rape drug, has been known to be slipped in alcoholic drinks, typically to incapacitate victims of rape or sexual assault. Essentials: She also bought a bottle of apple cider and Drumstick ice creams Anything else? No doubt she tried keeping a low-profile while running errands Au naturel: Her blonde locks were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she went make-up free for the occasion Watchful eye: Her friend followed closely behind as he sported a Guns N Roses shirt In the footage, Barton can be heard shouting about planet earth, before saying: 'Oh my God, it's over. I feel it. And it's angry.' She later says: 'We're dying, we're dying. I knew it, I knew it. I don't want anybody to know. Oh my god, it's terrifying.' The actress is also heard shouting: 'Oh my mother. I always knew it. Oh you f***** witch. I knew it. What a witch. I was right, I was right.' Towards the end of the footage, she shouts out 'Ziggy Stardust', the name of one of her dogs. Going incognito: She also wore a big pair of mirrored aviator shades while out Stepping out: Mischa looked calm upon her arrival at the store Casual cool: She looked stylish on the outing Friendly to fans: She appeared to say hi to a fan while making her way in Barton told People Friday that she went out with a group of friends on the evening of the 25th. 'While having drinks, I realized that something was not right as my behavior was becoming erratic and continued to intensify over the next several hours,' the actress aid. 'I voluntarily went to get professional help, and I was informed by their staff that I had been given GHB. After an overnight stay, I am home and doing well.' Barton thanked the staff at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for their care. The actress said Friday she was out of the hospital after an overnight stay and had found out through doctors that someone had given her GHB on Wednesday night. Barton is pictured earlier this month 'This is a lesson to all young women out there, be aware of your surroundings,' she added. However, a source has now claimed to TMZ that Mischa was on a downward spiral for 'nearly a year' before checking into the hospital psych unit. The site alleges that Mischa's neighbours claim she 'frequently' has loud crying and screaming fits, disturbing the peace. Her next-door-neighbours are also reported to have complained about the star's loud parties and late night Netflix binges. The actress, who turned 31 just two days ago, tweeted: 'Thank you all for all the birthday messages Xoxo' Law enforcement sources told TMZ Thursday that Barton had been voluntarily taken to the hospital for a mental health check. Police and firefighters were called to the scene after being alerted about a jumper or possible overdose. Barton was wearing just a dress shirt and tie at the time. Not long afterwards the Brit, who turned 31 just two days ago, tweeted: 'Thank you all for all the birthday messages Xoxo'. The tweet seemed to have been deleted as of Thursday evening. It is not the first mental health episode Barton has been involved in. It is not the first time Barton has blasted her mother Nuala. She famously sued her in 2015, accusing her of defrauding her by stealing her money In July 2009, after seeking medical attention for a tooth infection, the actress was sectioned for two weeks under a '5150', a Californian law that allows a psychiatrist to involuntarily confine a person deemed to have a mental disorder that makes them a danger to themselves and others. She said at the time: 'If they feel you are depressed or a danger to yourself they can hold you on a 5150. I am terrified of needles and they wanted to pump me full of drugs and I said, 'No, absolutely not. I don't want to be here,' and got into a fight with the nurses, and that led to my 5150.' It is not the first time Barton has blasted her mother Nuala either. Last year she accused her mom of purposely holding up the sale of the $7million Beverly Hills mansion they co-own She famously sued her 2015, accusing her of defrauding her by stealing her money. Last year she accused her mom of purposely holding up the sale of the $7million Beverly Hills mansion they co-own. The 7,600-square-foot Tuscan-style villa, which boasts views of Catalina Island, was one of the focal points of the suit - with the actress claiming her mom gave herself co-ownership of the property without her knowledge or permission. She accused Nuala of taking out massive loans against the house behind her back - and turning the home into her 'personal ATM'. The 7,600-square-foot Tuscan-style villa, which boasts views of Catalina Island, was one of the focal points of the suit Barton even claimed she was then kicked out of the home by her parents who wouldn't let her back on the property. That case was dismissed back in February with the terms of the agreement stating Nuala would sell the home. Nuala had been her daughter's manager for years until the actress accused her mom of being a 'greedy stage mother posing as a talent manager'. Barton's lawsuit included claims that Nuala had lied about her salary for a film and didn't pay her the full amount. She also accused her mom of opening up a Mischa Barton fashion boutique in London and used the Sixth Sense actress's name to hawk a handbag line - yet Barton claimed she never saw a cent. Nuala called her daughter's allegations 'nonsense' and the case was dismissed in February last year. Both mother and daughter have had financial problems for years - so the impending sale of the home should bring much-needed relief to them both. In her bankruptcy papers, filed in February, Nuala said her assets totaled $3,747,500 but her liabilities totaled $5,583,412. She said her average monthly income totaled only $1,600 but her expenses were $27,618 - leaving her in the red over $26,000 every month. The biggest asset listed in her bankruptcy petition was the Bowmont Drive property. She said the current value of her portion was $3,747,500 with the total value being $7,495,000. The petition stated her liabilities as $4,264,567 on the mansion, including an unknown amount owed to Barton. Nuala spends $10,500 a month on the Beverly Hills home along with $12,200 in additional mortgage payments, $3,635 in real estate taxes and $600 in food & housekeeping supplies, according to the papers. Barton (pictured earlier this month) attempted a comeback on the most recent Dancing With The Stars - but was booted off after just three episodes Last year, the actress who has been trying to sell off the home for 6 years - listed it for sale at the price of $7.495 million. Barton also listed it back in 2010 for $8.6 million and even tried to rent it out for $35,000 a month but nobody bit. London-born Barton moved to the United States when she was five and began acting at age eight, appearing in hit movies Sixth Sense and Notting Hill before rocketing to fame in teen drama The OC. However her glittering career came crashing down as her partying began to get out of control. She was arrested for DUI in 2007, then two years later - following an intervention by her parents - she had a nervous breakdown and was held in psychiatric care after threatening to kill herself. In 2009 her house went into foreclosure after it was revealed she had failed to pay her mortgage for five months. The same month she was sued by producers of the movie Promoted, who claimed they paid her an advance but she never turned up for work. Barton was then sued by her landlord over unpaid rent on her $7,000 a month NYC apartment in 2010 before suing her own mother five years later for 'theft' and 'breach of contract'. Her legal troubles are believed to have left her homeless and broke. She attempted a comeback on the most recent Dancing With The Stars - but was booted off after just three episodes. Being poor is worse for life expectancy that excess alcohol, obesity or high blood pressure, a major health study has found. People in poverty may live up to two years less on average than those nearer the top of society, according to Lifepath, a European Commission-funded consortium that conducted the study. This makes social rank a bigger risk factor for illness and premature death than either high alcohol consumption or obesity, and it nearly equals the risk posed by physical inactivity, researchers said. Low social rank shaves over 25 months off the average lifespan, compared with six months for heavy alcohol intake, according to a study by Lifepath On average, a low social rank shaved over 25 months off the average lifespan, compared with six months for heavy alcohol intake and eight months for obesity. For diabetes, the risk was almost four years in lost life, and for smoking nearly five. The study was the first attempt to weigh the health risk of socioeconomic status against other 'modifiable' factors, the authors said, at least in high-income countries. The study's lead author, Silvia Stringhini of the Lausanne University Hospital, said: 'Given the huge impact of socioeconomic status on health, it's vital that governments accept it as a major risk factor and stop excluding it from health policy. 'Reducing poverty, improving education and creating safe home, school and work environments are central to overcoming the impact of socioeconomic deprivation. 'By doing this, socioeconomic status could be targeted and improved, leading to better wealth and health for many.' Lifepath added in a statement: 'Low socioeconomic status is one of the strongest predictors of premature mortality worldwide, but health policymakers often do not consider it a risk factor to target.' Smoking, drinking and physical inactivity are already the focus of national and global public health policies. Being obese only shaves eight months off the average life expectancy, but being poor takes more than two years off, on average Social rank could be improved by government policies on tax or education, for example, said the study, published in The Lancet. The researchers reviewed data from 48 previous studies covering more than 1.7 million people from seven countries -- Australia, Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and the United States. Current Affairs Today - Current Affairs - 2021 | Current Affairs - 2022 GKTodays Current Affairs Today Section provides latest and Best Daily Current Affairs 2021-2022 for UPSC, IAS/PCS, Banking, IBPS, SSC, Railway, UPPSC, RPSC, BPSC, MPPSC, TNPSC, MPSC, KPSC and other competition exams. ! The report titled The Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow Climate adaptation failure puts world at risk was released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). ContentsAbout the Adaptation Gap ReportWhat is adaptation?What are the key findings of the AGR 2022?What are the reports recommendations? About the Adaptation Gap Report The Adaptation .. Month: Current Affairs November, 2022 Category: Reports & Indexes Current Affairs Topics: UN Environment Programme (UNEP) UNEP Adaptation Report UNEP report The Union Education Ministry released the detailed report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 on school education of India. ContentsAbout UDISEAbout UDISE+UDISE+ 2020-21 report dataUDISE+ 2021-22 report data About UDISE Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) was initiated in 2012-13. It is one of the largest Management Information Systems on .. Month: Current Affairs - March, 2022 Category: Reports & Indexes Current Affairs Topics: Data GER Information School UDISE 1. Who is the head of the panel set up to strengthen the assessment and accreditation of higher educational institutions? [A] K Radhakrishnan[B] Kasturi Rangan[C] Amitabh Kant[D] V K Paul Show Answer Correct Answer: A [K Radhakrishnan] Notes:The Central Government has set up a high-level panel to strengthen the assessment and accreditation of higher educational .. Category: Current Affairs Quiz - 2022: Daily Objective Current Affairs MCQ Quiz Tags: Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2022 Here are Todays News Headlines by GK Today for November 5, 2022 ContentsINDIAECONOMY & CORPORATEWORLDSPORTS INDIA President Droupadi Murmu inaugurates and lays foundation stone for various Central and State govt projects in Sikkim Centre constitutes panel for strengthening assessment and accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions, headed by Dr. K. Radhakrishnan of IIT, Kanpur .. Month: Current Affairs November, 2022 Category: Today's News Headlines Topics: 2022 Current Affairs Current Affairs: News Headlines Headlines Latest News Headlines News Headlines Today's News Headlines Top Headlines Top News 1. Which of the following countries are members of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework? Philippines Brunei Fiji Vietnam Malaysia Taiwan Choose the correct answer using the codes given below: [A] Only 1, 2, 3 & 5[B] Only 2, 4, 5 & 6[C] Only 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5[D] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 Show .. Category: Daily Current Affairs Test for UPSC Prelims Examination 2023 Tags: upsc prelims test series 2023 US News and World Report, an American media company, released Best Countries 2022 ranking recently. ContentsWhat is US News and World Reports Best Countries 2022 rankingHow did India perform in this report?How did the other countries perform? What is US News and World Reports Best Countries 2022 ranking The Best Countries 2022 ranking evaluated 85 .. Month: Current Affairs November, 2022 Category: Reports & Indexes Current Affairs Topics: Indices and Reports manufacturing sector manufacturing sector in India Reports Trump's executive order on immigration: Is it legal? US President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily halting refugee arrivals and blocking immigrants from seven majority Muslim nations marked perhaps the most contentious moment of his provocative new tenure. The declaration triggered an international uproar as more than 100 immigrants, refugees, and even legal permanent US residents were ensnared in a web of detention in several airports. Some were turned away and put on departing flights, but many were released into the United States, often with the help of US attorneys, after a delay. Demonstrators protest outside the US Supreme Court against President Donald Trump's executive ban on refugee arrivals and immigrants from seven majority Muslim nations ZACH GIBSON (AFP/File) Critics savaged Trump's order as haphazardly written, un-American, even unconstitutional. Supporters argue it is merely a temporary measure similar to restrictions put in place by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama in 2011, and aimed at boosting national security at a time of heightened global concern over terrorism. But is it legal? We take a look at both sides. - 'Not a ban' on Muslims - The US Constitution's First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion, speech and the press, a section now known as "the establishment clause." Supporters insist Trump's "Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" abides by such a rule. "This is not -- I repeat, not -- a ban on Muslims," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday, adding that religious liberty is a "fundamental treasured value." The order indeed does not explicitly ban Muslims, something Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, noted in defense of the order. "The law favors Trump on the constitutionality," he told MSNBC. "On the statutory side, there's an argument under a 1965 law," he added, referring to the Immigration and Nationality Act that prohibits discrimination based on religion or national origin. But experts also say that law focused on removing the skewing of immigration quotas, not national security priorities. "There's compelling arguments... supporting the president," Turley said. Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of Lawfare, said on his national security blog that despite the "malevolent" nature of the order for its potential to adversely impact so many innocent lives, it passes legal muster. "The president's power over refugee admissions is vast," Wittes wrote. "His power to restrict visa issuances and entry of aliens to the United States is almost as wide." - 'Violating' provisions - But round one of the constitutional fight nonetheless has gone to the order's opponents. Following immediate legal challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union, judges barred any deportations of legal refugees already in the country, including at airports, or of immigrants from the seven nations listed in the order with legal visas. District Judge Ann Donnelly, in issuing a stay, wrote that the order "violates (petitioners') rights to due process and equal protection guaranteed by the US Constitution." Michael Price, counsel of the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that many of the arguments about a president's plenary power over immigration are "misplaced." He said there are two related questions -- whether the president has statutory authority and whether he has constitutional authority -- and that Trump is wrong on both counts. Congress has repeatedly enacted laws to prevent the president from excluding people based on ideology, he said, and Section 212 of the current immigration law code places clear prohibitions excluding immigrants based on their beliefs. "The president is violating that provision," Price told AFP in an interview. On the broader issue of constitutionality, courts have warranted that the president has broad powers, but that if he was acting "based on religious animus or discriminatory intent, then that constitutional analysis would change." Several Republican lawmakers have argued that Trump is merely taking steps to keep Americans safe, but Price called that a "fig leaf" on a larger problem. Trump's comments on the campaign trail calling for a ban on Muslims, and statements by his supporters including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani saying Trump sought a Muslim ban and wanted to do it legally, "give lie to that argument," Price said. While the order makes no mention of Islam or Muslims, it prioritizes "minority religion" refugee claims when immigration resumes from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Such an appearance of prioritizing Christian immigrants adds to the argument that Trump is discriminating, Price said. Johnny Depp almost ruined by lavish spending: lawsuit Johnny Depp's lavish spending -- including $3 million to blast author Hunter S. Thompson's ashes from a cannon -- led him to the brink of financial ruin, according to an explosive lawsuit filed Tuesday. Over the best part of two decades, the 53-year-old actor has been spending $2 million a month, according to The Management Group (TMG), which is suing the star in Los Angeles for an unpaid loan. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor is alleged to have forked out $75 million on 14 homes, including a 45-acre (18-hectare) French castle, a chain of Bahaman islands, several Hollywood homes, penthouse lofts in downtown LA and a horse farm in Kentucky. Johnny Depp's lavish spending has led him to the brink of financial ruin, according to an explosive lawsuit FRANCOIS GUILLOT (AFP/File) Since 2000, the Oscar-nominated actor has spent $18 million on a yacht, bought 45 luxury cars and shelled out almost $700,000 a month on wine, private planes and a staff of 40 people, according to the lawsuit. Beverly Hills-based TMG says Depp has accrued more than 200 artworks by Warhol, Klimt and other masters, 70 collectible guitars and a Hollywood memorabilia collection so extensive it is stored in 12 locations. Depp filed his own $25 million suit on January 13 accusing TMG of mismanaging his finances, taking out loans without his approval, and concealing his ruinous finances. "Over 17 years, The Management Group did everything possible to protect the actor from himself," TMG attorney Michael Kump said in a statement. "In fact, when Depp's bank demanded repayment of a multimillion-dollar loan and Depp didn't have the money, the company loaned it to him so that he would avoid a humiliating financial crisis." TMG says it repeatedly warned Depp over his "wanton" overspending, but he responded by rebuking his business managers, increasing his spending and demanding they find some way to pay for it. The firm, fired by Depp last year, says it is owed $4.2 million and was forced to launch foreclosure proceedings on Depp's property. "The only reason Depp filed this lawsuit was to interfere with TMG's ongoing efforts to be repaid on the loan they had made to bail him out," TMG said. New Pentagon chief seeks to underscore alliances with Japan, S.Korea New Pentagon chief James Mattis on Wednesday heads to South Korea and Japan, where he will seek to reassure the key US allies about American security commitments in the region. The defense secretary's visit marks the first overseas trip of any senior official in the government of President Donald Trump, who suggested while campaigning that America's longstanding role in Northeast Asia could change. "The trip will underscore the commitment of the United States to our enduring alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and further strengthen US-Japan-Republic of Korea security cooperation," the Pentagon said in a statement. James Mattis speaks after his ceremonial swearing-in with President Donald Trump as US Secretary of Defense on January 27, 2017 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC MANDEL NGAN (AFP/File) On the campaign trail, Trump raised the possibility of Japan and South Korea arming themselves with nuclear weapons, and accused Seoul and Tokyo of not paying their fair share for US troops stationed in their countries. Some 28,500 US troops are based in South Korea and 47,000 in Japan. Mattis's visit comes amid heightened concerns over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and a simmering row between Tokyo and Seoul over the use of sex slaves during World War II. According to South Korea's defense ministry, defense chief Han Min-Koo and his new US counterpart vowed Tuesday to push ahead with a plan to deploy a US anti-missile system this year despite angry protests by China. The two allies last year announced the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system following a series of atomic and missile tests by nuclear-armed North Korea. The THAAD plan has infuriated China, which fears it will undermine its own ballistic capabilities and has slapped a series of measures seen by Seoul as economic retaliation. Mattis will begin his trip in South Korea, where he will meet Han and other senior officials. The two countries are due to hold annual joint military exercises starting in March. Trump's campaign rhetoric raised concerns in both Seoul and Tokyo, and in a statement South Korea's defence ministry said it hoped Mattis' trip would prove "an opportunity for the Trump administration to maintain and strengthen US commitment to defend the South and the unwavering US-South Korea alliance." On Friday Mattis travels on to Tokyo for meetings with Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and other officials, the Pentagon said. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- who is scheduled to meet Trump next week in Washington -- told lawmakers he intends to press Mattis about "the significance of the Japan-US alliance." Abe has repeatedly argued that Japan bears an appropriate share the costs of the alliance, which he stresses benefits the United States, Japan and the broader region. Anthony Ruggiero, a North Korea expert from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said: "It was comforting to see the first cabinet-level trip was to East Asia, and in particular focused on North Korea." - 'Mad Dog' - Aside from defense concerns, the two Asian countries are locked in a diplomatic row over the wartime use of "comfort women." Mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women -- mostly from the then-Japanese colony of Korea but also from other parts of Asia including China -- were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Mattis stressed the US strategic interest in its alliances with Japan and South Korea. "The United States is stronger when we uphold our treaty obligations," he said. However, he added, "we expect our allies and partners to uphold their obligations as well." Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, sailed through the confirmation process with overwhelming bipartisan support. Trump has said he will defer to his defense secretary on key issues, including the future use of torture on jihadist suspects, a move Mattis opposes. Mattis is well-liked by US troops and lawmakers. His reputation is one of a colorful former commander prone to swearing on the battlefield. Marines under his command delighted in his pugnacious aphorisms, and the media dubbed him "Mad Dog," a nickname he hates. He has been quoted as saying, "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet." Mattis also has a well-known cerebral side: he issued reading lists to Marines under his command, and instructed them that the most important territory on a battlefield is the space "between your ears." South Korean and US Marines take part in a joint military drill near Pohang in 2016 JUNG YEON-JE (AFP/File) 'Rent-a-monk' business thrives as Japanese lose temple ties In a quiet room thick with the smell of incense, Buddhist monk Kaichi Watanabe chants sutras to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a woman's death. The 41-year-old may look like a traditional holy man in Japan -- but he wasn't dispatched by a temple. Instead, the family ordered him through a fast-growing rent-a-monk business that has angered traditionalists who warn it is commercialising the religion. Watanabe's employer, Tokyo-based firm Minrevi, said demand for its monk delivery service has spiked since it started in May 2013, as more and more Japanese lose their ties to local temples -- and lose faith in an opaque donation system. Buddhist monk Kaichi Watanabe chants sutras to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a woman's death at her home in Funabashi, Chiba prefecture, a suburb of Tokyo Toshifumi KITAMURA (AFP) The monk later rings a small traditional bell and bows to relatives as the 30-minute ceremony winds down at the grieving family's home near Tokyo. "There are many temples in the neighbourhood, but I didn't know where to call," said the deceased woman's middle-aged son, who asked not to be named. "Also, I have no idea how much I should donate. But this has a clear pricing system." At the click of a mouse, customers can hire a monk from Minrevi from 35,000 yen($300) depending on the ceremony. Retailing giant Aeon sent shockwaves through Buddhist circles in 2010 when it started a service that had a price list for introducing customers to temples for funeral services. The open pricing flew in the face of longstanding system in which monks collect donations, known as ofuse, in return for performing ceremonies. But there has been growing unease about the murky system which leaves the amount up to families, who have to make several more donations after a funeral for more than a decade. - 'Commodified donations' - Japan's Buddhist temples count on donations to do renovations, which can cost several million dollars, but there has been criticism that they're more interested in raising revenue than offering spiritual guidance. Chiko Iwagami, an executive member of the Japan Buddhist Federation, acknowledged that some monks have improperly demanded specific amounts of money at memorial services, hurting public trust. "That ignores the spirit of donations," Iwagumi said, noting that monks are not supposed to expect financial rewards for performing their duties. Aeon's fledgling operation outraged the federation, which demanded it take down the price list. The company complied but still runs its service. Earlier this year, the federation also blasted online retailer Amazon for listing Minrevi's monk-renting service. "They have commodified donations. This is extremely unfortunate," Iwagami said. But Minrevi's vice-president Masashi Akita brushed off the criticism, saying the company is just offering a "platform" to connect customers with monks. The firm has a roster of about 700 monks nationwide with business on track to grow by 20 percent this year, he added. Akita, who grew up in rural community where his neighbours regularly visited a temple, said the business is just a sign of the times. "I was shocked when I first learned that some people didn't know how to contact a monk," he said. "So I wanted to be that bridge." - Community ties - The Japanese government does not keep track of the religious identification of citizens, but participation in rituals related to both Buddhism as well as native Shintoism -- the two major religions in the country -- is common across the nation. Some firms also offer Shinto priests' services. But attachment to religion has fallen into decline. As the population rapidly ages and small rural communities shrink, some 30 percent of Japan's 75,000 Buddhist temples are at risk of closing by 2040, said Kenji Ishii, a professor of religion at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. "Japanese have maintained ties with temples because of funerals and other types of commmunity-related events, not for religious reasons," he added. "Buddhist leaders now have to think how they're going to run their sects with shrinking revenues. But it seems like they don't want to look at the reality." Watanabe, who conducted the service near Tokyo, doesn't see a clash between the business and spiritual aspects of his job. "I want to spread the teachings of Buddhism," he said. "This service gives us more opportunity to visit homes. I think it's meaningless if we cannot be there to help." Buddhist monk Kaichi Watanabe is employed by the Tokyo-based firm Minrevi, which says demand for its monk delivery service has spiked since it started in May 2013 Toshifumi KITAMURA (AFP) Buddhist monk Kaichi Watanabe talks to relatives during a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of a woman's death at her home in Funabashi, Chiba prefecture Toshifumi KITAMURA (AFP) Buddhist monk Kaichi Watanabe doesn't see a clash between the business and spiritual aspects of his job Toshifumi KITAMURA (AFP) Fatalities soar among Afghan forces as govt loses ground to Taliban The death rate among Afghan security forces soared last year, as the Kabul government's overall control of the country dropped significantly, an official US watchdog said in a report on Wednesday. The grim new statistics paint a picture of a beleaguered nation still in the grips of a widespread security crisis, despite many years and billions of dollars spent building up Afghanistan's army and police forces. According to the US government's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), 6,785 Afghan soldiers and police officers were killed between January 1 and November 12, with another 11,777 wounded. Afghan soldiers gather at the scene of clashes between security forces and Taliban militants in Helmand province NOOR MOHAMMAD (AFP/File) That's an increase of about 35 percent from all of 2015, when some 5,000 security forces were killed. Afghan police and army units took over from NATO the task of providing security for the country in 2015. Their first year was something of a disaster, the nadir coming when the regional capital Kunduz in northern Afghanistan was briefly captured by the Taliban. US and NATO officials had been hoping the Afghans would fare better in 2016, but clearly the security situation remains perilous. The Pentagon, however, insists the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are improving and points to successful efforts to repel Taliban attacks on regional capitals. Most of the fatalities among the ANDSF came from "direct-fire" assaults, meaning local troops were directly attacked by the Taliban and other insurgent groups, instead of dying in roadside bomb and mine blasts. In addition to the high death rate in the ANDSF, the report also found that the number of Afghan districts under insurgent control or influence are increasing. US Forces Afghanistan reported that about 57.2 percent of the country's 407 districts were under Afghan government control or influence as of November 15, the report states. That marks a drop of 6.2 percentage points from the 63.4 percent reported in late August, and a nearly 15-point drop since November 2015. A Western observer who has lived in Afghanistan for years told AFP that the provinces under Taliban control could ultimately split from those held by the Kabul government. "Everybody here thinks this country will collapse in a matter of two or three years," he said. The report also found civilian casualties remain high. According to a UN body, there were 8,397 conflict-related civilian casualties between January 1 and September 30, a slight drop compared to the same period in 2015. The report also cites an Asia Foundation survey last year that found only 29.3 percent of respondents nationwide felt their country was moving in the right direction, down from 36.7 percent in 2015. "This represents the lowest level of optimism recorded since the survey began in 2004," the SIGAR report notes. The Taliban have been especially active in Helmand province -- a global center for opium production, which is on the rise. Joshua, the Hong Kong teen taking on the might of China A scrawny millennial with gaunt features and a studious frown, Joshua Wong looks like he'd struggle to take on a large steak, let alone the might of Communist China. Yet the bespectacled activist is the unlikely hero to a generation in Hong Kong, where he led a movement inspiring hundreds of thousands to join his cause for elections free from Beijing's interference. At the age of just 17, he spearheaded mass blockades that brought parts of the Asian financial center to a standstill in 2014, sparked by restrictions from Beijing on how Hong Kong's next leader will be chosen. Hong Kong politician Joshua Wong attends a political forum hosted by Taiwan's grassroot New Power Party (NPP), in Taipei, on January 8, 2017 Sam Yeh (AFP/File) Hailed as one of the world's most influential figures by Time, Fortune and Foreign Policy magazines, he is now the focus of an award-winning Netflix documentary due for release later this year. "We hope people around the world recognize that social movements can make things happen. They can make things change," Wong, now 20, told AFP by telephone from Hong Kong. "People may be depressed or downhearted with the political situation in their own country, but it's still optimistic to see hope and seek change by street activism." "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower" tells the story of how Wong became one of China's most notorious dissidents after the mainland Communist Party backtracked on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong. - 'David and Goliath' - Critics say the 79-minute documentary could not have picked a better moment, with political engagement piqued in the West as protesters take to the streets to decry the policies of new US leader Donald Trump. "You have a lone teenager taking on China and it's one of the things that attracted me to the story. The odds don't get much bigger. Talk about David and Goliath," Los Angeles-based director Joe Piscatella said in an interview. At the age of just 14, Wong campaigned successfully for Hong Kong to drop a pro-China "National Education" program, rallying a crowd of 120,000 to his cause. He was one of the 78 people arrested in September 2014 during another giant pro-democracy protest after China reneged on a pledge made during the handover to give Hong Kongers the right to choose their next leader. Umbrellas were used to shield activists from waves of police pepper spray, giving the nascent "Umbrella Movement" its banal yet iconic symbol of resistance. Galvanized by Wong's passion, the Umbrella Movement made headlines around the world, but was ultimately unable to shake up Hong Kong politics after weeks of protest. Wong continues to campaign under the banner of a new political party, Demosisto, for a referendum to determine who will rule Hong Kong after the "one party, two systems" principle codified in Chinese agreements with Britain expires in 30 years. "I'm still hopeful for the young generation here. In Hong Kong, more young people may be legislators in the future. I would say that this is just a starting point," Wong said. - 'That's my life' - Born to middle class Christian parents Grace and Roger Wong in 1996, Wong began his life of activism at age 13 with a protest against plans for a high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and the mainland. It was here that Piscatella's producer, documentary filmmaker Matthew Torne, first encountered Wong and, seeing something extraordinary in the youngster, started his camera rolling. "The first time I met Joshua, I was in awe... He's kind of a conundrum in that, when he walks into a room, he's not somebody you notice right away," Piscatella said. "You give him a microphone and a bullhorn and there's a change in him where suddenly he just becomes this other person where he's passionate and has this ability to connect with a large group of people." "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower" was picked up by Netflix and awarded the audience prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where Wong attended screenings, describing the support for the film as "unbelievable." Since the end of the Umbrella Movement, Wong has been denied entry into Malaysia and Thailand, attacked in the street and abused by pro-China protesters in Taiwan. But he takes it all in his stride. "That's my life," he shrugs, describing the drawbacks of his high profile, with a quiet insouciance, as "inconvenient" and vowing to fight on. "We didn't win in the last battle," he said, "but I'm still optimistic for winning in the final war." After more setbacks, where do Syria's rebels stand? Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have dealt another blow to the faltering Syrian rebel movement, regaining control of a strategic area near Damascus at the weekend. The capture of the Wadi Barada area is another setback for rebels after the loss of the second city of Aleppo in December, the biggest blow to the opposition since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Q. What happened in Wadi Barada? The capture of the Wadi Barada area by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad is another setback for rebels after the loss of the second city of Aleppo in December A: Syrian government forces took back Wadi Barada outside Damascus on Sunday after a deal that saw hundreds of rebels leave for opposition-held Idlib province in northern Syria. Wadi Barada is the main source of water for the capital, and the government accused rebels of deliberately cutting off supplies since December 22, leaving 5.5 million people without water. Rebels said government strikes had damaged pumping infrastructure. But they eventually agreed a deal that saw 700 rebels and 1,400 civilians leave Wadi Barada for Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The government has struck similar so-called reconciliation deals in at least six other areas around the capital in recent months. "The rebel movement has definitively lost Damascus," said Fabrice Balanche, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He told AFP that Syria's army and allied militia -- like Lebanese movement Hezbollah -- have methodically chipped away at rebel-held towns around the capital since 2013. "The most rational rebels are seeking a way to negotiate an amnesty with the Syrian government. For others, their only hope is to be moved to Idlib," Balanche said. Q: Where does this leave rebels? A: Nearly six years since Syria's uprising broke out, many of the opposition movement's most important gains have been rolled back. They have lost much of the territory they had captured around Damascus, and suffered their biggest defeat yet in December when government forces took full control of Aleppo. Rebels now hold just 13 percent of Syrian territory, according to Balanche, including the province of Idlib where former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front holds sway. Elsewhere, the armed opposition holds part of the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus and some territory in central and southern Syria. "In 2013, rebels' repeated attacks threatened central Damascus and the lines of communication towards the outside," Balanche told AFP. "But today, they are on the defensive, divided, encircled and without hope of victory," he said. Assad's regime had essentially won a war of attrition, Balanche said, "counting on being able to wear down communities bombarded, besieged, and at the mercy of rebel groups". "It took more than four years, but the regime can consider itself victorious, even if it faces pockets of resistance." Q: What is happening in Idlib? Northwest Idlib province, which borders Turkey, is the main remaining bastion for Syria's weakened opposition fighters. But the province has been rocked by opposition infighting for more than a week, as Fateh al-Sham Front battles former rebel allies. Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert in jihadist movements, has said the fighting could escalate to an existential war that Fateh al-Sham would not be willing to lose. Some rebels have sided with Fateh al-Sham, while others have supported the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, once a key ally of the former Al-Qaeda affiliate. With rebels divided, Syria's army and key backer Moscow could deem the moment right to launch an attack on the province, Balanche warned. "This is a war within the uprising," pitting hardliners against those seeking a political solution to the conflict, he said. "It corresponds with Russia's strategy to divide and conquer, ahead of backing a military offensive against Idlib province," Balanche told AFP. Syrian government forces took back Wadi Barada outside Damascus after a deal that saw hundreds of rebels and families leave for opposition-held Idlib province Muhammad HAJ KADOUR (AFP) Tunisian held in Germany linked to 2015 Tunis museum attack A Tunisian man arrested in Germany on Wednesday on suspicion of recruiting for the Islamic State group is also accused of involvement in the deadly 2015 attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis, German prosecutors said. The 36-year-old is wanted by Tunisian authorities on suspicion of "participating in planning and carrying out" the attack, which killed more than 20 foreigners, the prosecutor's office in the western state of Hesse said in a statement. They also suspect him of involvement in a bloody jihadist assault on the border town of Ben Guerdane last March, it added. German anti-terror police raided 54 offices, homes and mosques around Frankfurt, on February 1, 2017 Boris Roessler (dpa/AFP) Tunisia issued a warrant for his arrest in June 2016 but he escaped extradition from Germany late last year because Tunisian authorities failed to provide the required documentation for his deportation, according to the prosecutors. The suspect was taken into custody in the early morning as police carried out sweeping anti-terror raids in Frankfurt and nearby towns. There was no immediate response from Tunis to the arrest. "At the moment we don't know the identity of this person, there are several suspects in the Bardo and Ben Guerdane cases currently on the run," Tunisian prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti told AFP. The case is likely to reignite debate about Tunisia's cooperation in taking back nationals due for deportation. - Raids - The issue has already caused tensions between the German government and Tunis after it emerged that the Tunisian national who ploughed a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in December, killing 12 people, was a failed asylum-seeker. Anis Amri should have been deported months earlier but Tunisia did not provide the necessary paperwork until after the attack. More than 1,000 officers were involved in Wednesday's dawn searches in the Frankfurt area, which targeted dozens of homes and offices as well as two mosques. Alexander Badle, a spokesman for the Frankfurt prosecutor's office, said the Tunisian national did not put up any resistance when he was taken into custody. - High alert - The suspect is accused of recruiting for the IS jihadist group and of trying to build a network of IS supporters with the goal of staging an attack in Germany. Prosecutors are also investigating 15 other people aged 16 to 46 over the alleged plot. Badle stressed the plans were still "at a very early stage". "There was no concrete danger of an attack," he told reporters in the western city of Wiesbaden. The suspect arrived in Germany as an asylum-seeker in August 2015, the prosecutors' statement said. He had already lived in the country for a decade some years earlier. He was arrested the following August on an outstanding 2008 conviction for causing bodily harm. After serving a 43-day sentence, he was kept in detention awaiting deportation to Tunisia before the authorities were forced to release him again. "As the Tunisian authorities, despite repeated reminders from the German authorities, failed to supply the necessary deportation documents within the 40-day period, the suspect was released on November 4, 2016," the statement said. He was kept under surveillance from the day of his release until his arrest on Wednesday, it added. Germany has been on high alert since the December 19 Christmas market assault, wich was claimed by the Islamic State group. The attack fuelled criticism of Germany's security services and of Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal asylum policy, with opponents saying not enough was done to stop Amri. Merkel, who is up for re-election this year, has since vowed to get tough on deportations and step up pressure on countries to take back nationals whose asylum claims have been rejected, particularly in the Maghreb region. Separately, police in Berlin on Tuesday arrested three suspected jihadists accused of planning to travel to foreign "war zones", likely to be either Iraq or Syria. IS claimed responsibility for the Bardo attack, in which two gunmen opened fire at the museum, killing 21 foreign tourists and a police officer. The Ben Guerdane attack saw dozens of heavily armed jihadists cross into the frontier town from Libya to launch coordinated attacks on police and army posts, killing seven civilians and 13 security personnel. German anti-terror police raided the Bilal mosque in Frankfurt, western Germany Boris Roessler (dpa/AFP) Tourists escape from Tunis' Bardo Museum during the 2015 terror attack in which 21 people were killed by Islamist gunmen A Tunisian soldier patrols Ben Guerdane after jihadists killed 20 people during a raid on the southern border town in February 2016 FATHI NASRI (AFP/File) Clashes as Israel evicts wildcat settlers Israeli police clashed Wednesday with Jewish settlers resisting the eviction of hardline residents of a wildcat outpost, hours after the government authorised 3,000 new homes in other West Bank settlements. Israel has issued a series of approvals for new settler homes since US President Donald Trump took office less than two weeks ago having signalled a softer stance on Israeli settlement building. The latest authorisation was seen as a sop to supporters of the Amona outpost, where hundreds of police officers moved in to carry out evictions after the High Court determined the homes were built on private Palestinian land. Israeli security forces carry a teenage Jewish settler of the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, towards a bus as they evict settlers from the wildcat Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, on February 1, 2017 Thomas COEX (AFP) Minor clashes broke out as hundreds of settlers faced off against security forces during an operation that marked the end of months of attempts by government hardliners to legalise the outpost near Ramallah. By late afternoon, police had evicted people from 21 homes and bulldozers were expected on Thursday. Security forces had arrested 13 people and evacuated hundreds of protesters, who had earlier slipped past army roadblocks on foot and set fire to tyres and furniture. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Wednesday said a new settlement would be built for the evicted families, with a task force including representatives of the settlers asked to choose a location. Some residents earlier resisted the evictions by barricading themselves indoors, with a few throwing stones, but many quietly packed their possessions to leave. One woman fought back tears as she carried her baby out of her house for the last time. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP there were around 3,000 officers in and around Amona to move the 42 families. He estimated that another 600 people who were not from the outpost had arrived to support those being evicted. - 'We won't be going' - Police said they were "attacked by anarchists with materials that made their eyes burn," adding that 20 officers were slightly injured. Youths confronted the forces with chants such as "How will you feel tomorrow after you evacuate a Jew from his home?" and "Today it's me, tomorrow it will be you," as police began evacuating them from the area. Teenage girls wrote slogans about their right to the land of Israel on the walls of the caravan homes, soon to be demolished. "We won't be going, they'll have to take us," Amona resident Rivka Lafair, 19, told AFP. Far-right lawmaker Moti Yogev, whose Jewish Home party is part of Israel's governing coalition, joined the settlers in a show of solidarity. He said the demolition of the outpost was "a bad decision" but that the new homes announced by the defence ministry late Tuesday were some compensation. "Yes, Amona will be destroyed, but against Amona we are going to build 3,000 new homes," he said. Israel makes a distinction between the settlements it has approved and unauthorised outposts. The international community considers all Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land as illegal and regards their construction as the biggest obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The United Nations expressed concern at the settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank. "We once again warn against any unilateral actions that can be an obstacle to a negotiated two-state solution and call on both parties to return to meaningful negotiations," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. - 'A new era' - The European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the expansions marked a "very worrying trend, posing a direct challenge to the prospects of a viable two-state solution, which is increasingly difficult and risks becoming impossible". In a significant break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned any of the four settlement expansions announced by Israel since he took office. They will add more than 6,000 homes for Jewish settlers -- 566 housing units in three settlement neighbourhoods of annexed east Jerusalem and 5,502 more elsewhere in the West Bank. According to the defence ministry, 2,000 of the latest new homes are ready to be put on the market, while the rest are in various stages of planning. "We're in a new era where life in Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank) is returning to its natural course," said Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has himself long lived in a West Bank settlement. Speaking at West Bank city Ariel on Wednesday, Lieberman said his heart was with the Amona settlers, but stressed their protest must "remain within the law". More than 50 other outposts could be legalised by Israel's government in the coming days as a controversial bill is expected to be passed by parliament. Pro-settler movements hope Amona will be the exception rather than the rule for the coming years. "Americans voted for Trump because they were sick of political correctness in the US and in losing American identity throughout the US. We feel the same pain," said longtime Amona resident Eli Greenberg. "The world is changing. We hope that Amona will be the last." The Amona settlement Jewish settlers burnt tyre barricades in protest at the High Court's decision to raze the Amona outpost in the West Bank Jack GUEZ (AFP) Two Jewish settlers embrace as Israeli security forces evict hardline residents from the wildcat Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, on February 1, 2017 Thomas COEX (AFP) Bangladesh booksellers warned not to offend Muslims Bangladesh's largest book fair began in Dhaka on Wednesday, with police warning organisers against selling books that hurt "religious sentiment" in the Muslim-majority country. The month-long Ekushey Book Fair draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the crowded capital, making it one of Bangladesh's keynote cultural events and giving readers a chance to interact with authors. But the fair has incurred the wrath of Islamist extremists, who hacked and critically injured a top secular writer in 2004 and killed a US-based atheist blogger moments after he signed books for readers in 2015. Bangladesh has been reeling from a wave of attacks by Islamist extremists who have killed some 80 people, including around a dozen secular bloggers and writers MUNIR UZ ZAMAN (AFP/File) Last year a 73-year-old publisher was arrested and his stall at the fair was shut down after a book called "Islam Debate" triggered protests by Islamists who said the work was offensive to Muslims. Police said they have tightened security for the annual fair in a park on the campus of Dhaka University, the country's main secular bastion. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia visited the fairground on Tuesday and asked the authorities to "scrutinise" the books before they are cleared to be displayed at stalls. "Therefore no book hurts civic, social and religious values," Mia said, according to a statement posted on the Dhaka police website. "Hurting religious sentiment is a punishable offence." The Dhaka police chief offered "special security" to writers and publishers and said that the park, except for the fairground, would be vacated by late afternoon as part of a series of safety measures. There was no immediate comment from the Bangla Academy, a state-run publisher and research-based organisation which has been organising the event for decades. But one leading publisher reacted angrily to the police's decision to scrutinise the content of books, saying such a move was "brutal and uncivilised". Robin Ahsan, owner of the Shraban Prakashani publisher, told the New Age daily there was no other country in the world where "police are the watchdog over books", adding that such action would encourage extremists to launch attacks on writers and publishers. Bangladesh has been reeling from a wave of attacks by Islamist extremists who have killed some 80 people, including around a dozen secular bloggers and writers. Police say the writers were targeted for their blogs or books which were critical of Islam or the Prophet Mohammed. Many of these attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State group or a local wing of Al-Qaeda. Economic Survey backs Universal Basic Income Published: February 1, 2017 The Economic Survey 2016-17 tabled in Parliament has advocated for the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as an alternative to the various social welfare schemes in an effort to reduce poverty. It suggests that a more efficient way to help the poor will be to provide them resources directly, through a UBI. It will be an efficient substitute for a plethora of existing welfare schemes and subsidies. What is Universal Basic Income (UBI)? A basic income is a form of social security in which all citizens of a country regularly receive an unconditional sum of money, either from a government in addition to any income received from elsewhere. It is based on the principles of universality and unconditionality. However, it forfeits other government aided benefits. Recently, government of Finland announced the introduction of a trial for UBI involving 2,000 unemployed people. In June 2016, Swiss voters in referendum had overwhelmingly rejected proposal to introduce basic income for all. Surveys justification for introduction of UBI Promoting social justice, reducing poverty, unconditional cash transfer that lets the beneficiary decide how she uses the money, employment generation by promoting labour flexibility. It will bring in administrative efficiency as a direct cash transfer through JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile) platform. It will be more efficient as compared to the existing welfare schemes which are riddled with misallocation, leakages and exclusion of the poor. It can help to achieve considerable gains in terms of bureaucratic costs and time by replacing many of these with a UBI. Month: Current Affairs - February, 2017 Topics: Business Economic Survey 2016-17 Economy National Poverty alleviation Social Security Latest E-Books 'Dieselgate' drags on for VW and Bosch with new payouts German carmaker Volkswagen and auto parts supplier Bosch on Wednesday announced payouts to US buyers of vehicles affected by the "dieselgate" scandal, in a bid to put the American chapter of the tale behind them. Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to building so-called "defeat devices" designed to hoodwink regulatory emissions tests into around 11 million cars worldwide, including 600,000 in the US, and has been clocking up fines and compensation payments ever since. VW said in a statement it will pay $1.2 billion (1.1 billion euros) to compensate around 78,000 US buyers of 3.0-litre diesel cars as well as buying back or refitting their vehicles. Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to building so-called "defeat devices", designed to reduce harmful emissions during regulatory testing Josh Edelson (AFP) Owners of 3.0-litre VW, Audi, and Porsche diesel models dating from 2009-16 are the last group of customers to be compensated by VW over dieselgate. The amount brings the total in fines and compensation the Wolfsburg-based group has agreed in the US to more than $23 billion. Meanwhile, Bosch said in its own statement that it will settle "the most substantial part of criminal law proceedings pending" in relation to the emissions cheating scandal with a $327.5 million payout to car owners and dealers. Stuttgart-based Bosch is the world's largest car parts supplier and a household appliance giant, reporting 2016 revenues of 73.1 billion euros last week. The family-owned group is accused of helping Volkswagen conceal the existence of the software, elements of which Bosch itself supplied. Bosch's deal will see it compensate buyers of 2.0-litre diesel cars from Volkswagen and subsidiary Audi between 2009 and 2015, as well as 3.0-litre VW, Audi, and Porsche diesels bought between 2009 and 2016. But the company said it "neither acknowledges the facts as alleged by the plaintiffs nor does Bosch accept any liability." Bosch has "neither admitted anything nor covered anything up," a spokesman told AFP. By contrast, VW admitted earlier in January to conspiring to deceive its customers and US authorities and to obstructing justice by destroying documents, adding $4.3 billion in fines to the dieselgate tally. - Moving on? - Both Bosch and VW are keen to leave the diesel scandal behind them, with the carmaker especially keen to restore its image after sales plummeted in the Americas last year. VW plans to slim down, shedding some 30,000 jobs by 2020, as well as making a turn towards new technologies including self-driving cars and introducing a slew of electric models. As a major supplier to the entire German car industry, Bosch too wants "to devote our attention and our resources to the transition in mobility and in other areas of activity," chief executive Volkmar Denner said in its statement. Presenting provisional results for 2016 last week, the family-owned firm said it was investing billions in electric cars and connected objects. But with the proposed agreement affecting only civil law claims, Bosch added that it "will continue to defend its interests in all other civil and criminal law proceedings and to cooperate comprehensively with the investigating authorities in Germany and other countries." Meanwhile, it remains under investigation in both Germany and the United States and is running its own internal investigation "prioritising thoroughness over speed," the spokesman said. Neither does VW's deal bring it out of the woods. The auto giant has always maintained that its top executives first found out about dieselgate in September 2015. But German prosecutors on Friday opened an investigation into former CEO Martin Winterkorn on suspicion of fraud, saying he may have known earlier than he has so far admitted about the cheating. If it is proved that Winterkorn knew about the cheating earlier and colluded in covering it up, VW's legal bills could skyrocket. The firm faces claims from investors in Germany saying it withheld relevant information from them, causing them to lose out as the shares plunged when the emissions cheating was revealed. Along with Winterkorn, investigators are looking into former finance director Hans Dieter Poetsch -- now supervisory board chairman -- and VW brand chief Herbert Diess on suspicion of holding back information from shareholders. In a sign that dieselgate continues to make waves at the carmaker, compliance chief Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, a former judge, stepped down last week -- just a year after she was brought to help clean up VW's image. Volkswagen shares were up 1.49 percent at 146.05 euros at 1240 GMT Wednesday, slightly outperforming the Dax index of leading German shares. Lufthansa chief rejects 'subsidies' as he signs Etihad deal The Lufthansa chief on Wednesday reiterated the German carrier's opposition to state subsidies for airlines, as he signed a cooperation deal with Abu Dhabi's Etihad, one of the main Gulf carriers accused of receiving government support. "It is not a secret that Lufthansa has always been and remains an opponent of state subsidies," Carsten Spohr said at a joint press conference in Abu Dhabi with Etihad chief James Hogan. He said a partnership should be based on "openness and fairness", while adding that two successful groups could have their differences and still become "successful partners". Carsten Spohr (centre left), Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa, and Australian James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, pose following a press conference on boosting cooperation, on February 1, 2017 in Abu Dhabi NEZAR BALOUT (AFP) The two carriers said Wednesday that a codeshare agreement had taken effect, and they also sealed a $100-million global catering accord and signed an engineering memorandum of understanding. Western legacy carriers have long accused the three fast-growing Gulf carriers, Etihad and Dubai's Emirates and Qatar Airways, of receiving state subsidies that give them an edge over competitors. Spohr told reporters he would like to see the rules of the World Trade Organisation applied in aviation, "as we see that for other global industries". However, relationships between governments and airlines appeared likely to grow as "we see a wave of protectionism around the world", he said. Spohr, who has in the past dismissed speculation that Etihad would buy a share in Lufthansa, said the airline industry needed "rationalisation" with a "healthy relationship between offer and demand". The German carrier agreed in December to lease 38 aircraft from struggling Air Berlin, in which Etihad has a 29-percent stake. Under the outgoing Hogan, Etihad pursued an ambitious expansion policy through equity partnerships in other airlines. It saw Etihad spend hundreds of millions on stakes in foreign airlines, including acquisitions of 49 percent of Alitalia, 19.9 percent of Virgin Australia and three percent of Irish carrier Aer Lingus that it offloaded in 2015. Some of the investments have been costly, however, with Etihad having had to keep Air Berlin alive with regular cash injections. Etihad, which announced last month that Hogan would step down in the second half of 2017 after more than a decade at the helm, has said the Abu Dhabi-based carrier will review its strategy. On Wednesday, Hogan defended his policies, saying Etihad and its shareholders continued to support an expansion strategy that the carrier would "fine-tune". Trump travel ban will impact US tourism: UN agency President Donald Trump's executive order blocking immigrants from seven majority Muslim nations will hit tourism to the US, the UN's World Tourism Organization warned Wednesday. The ban on nationals from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen has triggered a domestic and international uproar, but supporters argue it is a temporary measure aimed at boosting national security. In a statement, the Madrid-based UNWTO voiced "deep concern and strong condemnation" over the immigration clampdown. Tourists photograph the Statue of Liberty as they arrive by ferry from Manhattan to Liberty Island in New York on August 3, 2004 TIMOTHY A. CLARY (AFP/File) The move is "contrary to the principles of freedom of travel" and will "hinder the immense benefits the tourism sector brings in terms of economic growth and job creation," added the agency. Rather than increased security, the travel ban will lead to "growing tensions and threats," said UNWTO chief Taleb Rifai. He added that "the image of a country which imposes travel bans in such a hostile way" would affect potential visitors the world over and "risk dumping travel demand to the USA." Trump's executive order, which has also temporarily halted refugee arrivals, has seen immigrants and even legal permanent US residents detained in several airports. Dutch court puts 1977 train hijack back in spotlight A Dutch court Wednesday ordered an in-depth probe into the 1977 deaths of two Moluccan hostage-takers whom their families say were executed at point-blank range by marines as they stormed a hijacked train. "The court has ordered an in-depth investigation to determine as clearly as possible what happened in the train," the Hague district court said. "It wants to know more about the facts around the deaths of the two hijackers in order to determine whether there was indeed an execution, as claimed by the plaintiffs," it said in a statement, charging the government with carrying out the probe. People looking at a train damaged after a hijacking near the Dutch town of De Punt in May 1977 in which two Moluccan hostage takers were executed at close range according to their families Relatives of hijacker Max Papilaja and co-conspirator Hansina Uktolseja -- the only woman in the group -- sued the state after seeing autopsy reports in 2013 which suggested they were shot at point blank range. Dutch marines stormed a passenger train on June 11, 1977 in the small hamlet of De Punt in northern Netherlands, three weeks after it was hijacked by a group of nine Moluccan separatists who had taken hostage 55 passengers. During a violent firefight when the train was riddled with bullets, six hostage-takers and two hostages were killed. Six other passengers were wounded. The Dutch government has always maintained the operation to free the hostages was done according to the book and that the marines acted "with honest belief" in using deadly force in the heat of battle. But Papilaja and Uktolseja's families say their relatives were executed -- and sued the state to admit guilt and pay damages amounting to around 55,000 euros ($59,000). "I demand the truth. Why was my son murdered?" Papilaja's mother told the NOS newscaster when the hearing opened in November last year. Moluccan separatists at the time of the hijacking were agitating for independence from Indonesia, of which it has been part since 1950. Moluccans first arrived in The Netherlands in 1951 following Indonesia's independence in 1949, fearing reprisals after having fought on the side of the Dutch colonial army. They planned to stay for only a few months before returning to an independent country, as part of negotiations at the time between the Dutch government and Indonesia. Their wish however never materialised and some 12,500 Moluccans were left stranded in The Netherlands, crammed together in suburbs across the country. Trump travel ban 'divisive and wrong': May Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban was "divisive and wrong", five days after she initially refused to condemn the move. "On the policy that president Trump has introduced, this government is clear that that policy is wrong," May told parliament after being pressed by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. "We believe it is divisive and wrong," she said, speaking to MPs for the first time since the travel ban came into force on Friday -- the same day she met Trump at the White House. Donald Trump's immigration ban is divisive and wrong, according to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May MANDEL NGAN (AFP/File) Trump's executive order bars refugee arrivals for at least 120 days and suspends visas from seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- for 90 days. May said she had no advance notice of Trump's plans. "If he (Corbyn) is asking me whether I had advance notice of the ban on refugees, the answer is no. If he is asking me if I had advance notice that the executive order could affect British citizens, the answer is no. "If he is asking if I had advance notice of the travel restrictions, the answer is we all did, because president Trump said he was going to do this in his election campaign." The ban sparked global mass protests and was swiftly condemned by the United Nations and countries including Germany and France. But May initially failed to condemn the measure, saying the US was responsible for its own refugee policy. She then issued a statement saying she did "not agree" with it. A petition demanding that Britain withdraw an invitation for Trump to make a state visit has garnered 1.8 million signatures. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, on a visit to Lisbon on Wednesday, described the US ban as "arbitrary and brutal". European leaders are also concerned about Trump's virulent criticism of NATO -- he has dubbed the transatlantic military alliance "obsolete" -- at a time when it stands as the main defence against Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We should organise as soon as possible a NATO summit in Brussels with new US President Donald Trump so European leaders can have contact with him," said Reynders. The United States provides significant funding to NATO, and Trump has urged other member nations to step up their contributions. Italy to fund African states to curb migrant flow Italy on Wednesday pledged 200 million euros ($215 million) in funds to several African countries as it seeks to slash the number of migrants risking their lives in the Mediterranean to reach Europe. Unlike previous European financing pledges, which have aimed to tackle the root causes of migration, the fund seeks to boost efforts by African security forces to stop people from leaving. The so-called Africa Fund will help bolster the "fight against human trafficking and illegal migration", Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said. A record of 180,000 migrants reached Italy's shores in 2016 ANDREAS SOLARO (AFP/File) The funds will go mainly to Niger, Libya and Tunisia -- the three key transit and departure points for the vast majority of African migrants trying to reach Italy's shores. They are intended to help train the nations' security forces and to pay for equipment to monitor the borders. "We don't build walls in the Mediterranean -- we can't and don't want to do that," Alfano said, in an allusion to US President Donald Trump's pledge to construct a wall on the Mexican border. "We give money to these countries, and in return they must use it to reduce the number of illegal migrants arriving here," Alfano added. A record 180,000 migrants reached Italy's shores in 2016, the government says. In a summit on migration in the Maltese capital Valletta in November 2015, EU leaders agreed with their African counterparts to set up a 1.8-billion-euro fund to help address the root causes of migration. But it remains unclear how much of those funds have actually been handed over, and what steps, if any, African nations have taken to limit migration flows. Another meeting in Valletta on Friday, this time an EU leaders' summit, is also set to discuss migration. Drogba repels bullet-proof Corinthians offer Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has refused an offer to join Corinthians of Brazil that would have included generous wages and a bullet-proof car. The Ivory Coast star, 38, is out of contract after a spell at Montreal Impact and was offered $120,000 (110,000 euros) a week, a 24-hours-per-day translator, six return tickets to Europe -- and a bullet-proof car. Drogba said on Twitter on Wednesday that he had spoken with the Corinthians president Roberto de Andrade to decline the offer. Didier Drogba of the Montreal Impact warms up prior to kickoff against the LA Galaxy in their MLS match on September 12, 2015 in Carson, California FREDERIC J. BROWN (AFP/File) "I'm very honoured... but it doesn't feel like the right move for me at this time," wrote Drogba. The club thanked the player for showing an interest. "Life is made on choices and this renowned player will head for other horizons this season," Andrade said in a press release headlined "Thanks anyway, Drogba". In mid-January Corinthians' sporting director Flavio Adauto had indicated that Drogba had been approached by the club and that his relatively modest demands would be met. Drogba moved to Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, remaining at Stamford Bridge until 2012 then returning there for the 2014-2015 season. A Champions League and four-time Premier League winner with the Blues, Drogba has hinted at a return to Marseille. Blondie plans star guests for new album New Wave pioneers Blondie on Wednesday announced a new album that will bring in stars from across generations including Sia and Joan Jett. Entitled "Pollinator," the album will come out on May 5 and mark the first release in three years by the New York band fronted by 71-year-old Debbie Harry. The band released the album's first track, "Fun," which harks back to the disco era but with more contemporary electronic beats. Debbie Harry performs during a 2014 concert for Amnesty International at the Barclays Center in New York DON EMMERT (AFP) Blondie, which also features guitarist and co-writer Chris Stein, teamed up for the album with a diverse range of artists including groundbreaking female hard rocker Jett, prolific pop songwriter Sia and young electropop star Charli XCX. Guitar collaborators include Johnny Marr of The Smiths, the defining 1980s alternative band highly influenced by Blondie, and Nick Valensi of The Strokes, which led a revival of New York post-punk in the 2000s. The album also features the experimental rock composer Laurie Anderson and is produced by John Congleton, who has worked with some of the most critically acclaimed names in contemporary rock, including Sigur Ros and St. Vincent. Blondie was at the forefront of the New Wave scene that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, expanding the energy of punk rock to bring in elements of dance music and reggae. Harry pursued a solo career through much of the 1980s and 1990s before Blondie returned. Trump White House puts Iran 'on notice' Donald Trump's White House signaled a tougher stance toward Iran on Wednesday, condemning a recent missile test and declaring America was putting the Islamic republic "on notice." In his first public remarks since taking office, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn accused Barack Obama's administration of having "failed to respond adequately to Tehran's malign actions." Flynn cited a recent missile test and the actions of Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen as examples of Tehran's malign behavior. US National Security Adviser Mike Flynn speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on February 1, 2017 NICHOLAS KAMM (AFP) "Iran is now feeling emboldened," Flynn said, in trenchant pre-written remarks, "as of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice," he said without elaborating. Both Trump and Flynn have been harsh critics of Tehran and vocal opponents of an international deal that saw Iran curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Chris Sherwood, a Pentagon spokesman, said there had been "no change in the US military posture" around Iran at this time. "We stand ready to defend America's interest and partners around the world," he said. Flynn insisted that Sunday's missile test was "in defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231," which calls on Iran not to test missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapon. Iran's ballistic missile program has been a bone of contention with the West since the nuclear deal took effect in January last year. But a previous, while controversial, test was not found to be in breach of the UN guidelines. - Looming sanctions? - It remains to be seen if the White House will push for sanctions this time around. A senior Trump administration official said that it was clear the missile was capable of carrying a nuclear payload. "That's something that it's just a matter of engineering and science," the official said. But a second official stopped short of describing America's next step, except to say that this was not considered a breach of the nuclear deal. "We are in the process of evaluating the strategic options and the framework for how we want to approach these issues." "I think it's premature," the official added. "What we sincerely hope is that the Iranians will take this notice and will cease that kind of behavior altogether." A move toward sanctions could test the foundation of the nuclear deal and would likely meet resistance from European nations as well as Russia and China. Iran confirmed it had tested a ballistic missile, but denied that was a breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The comments from Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan came after the UN Security Council met Tuesday to discuss the weekend test, which Washington described as "absolutely unacceptable." Iran says its missiles do not breach United Nations resolutions because they are for defense purposes only and are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. "The action was in line with boosting Iran's defense power and is not in contradiction with the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) or Resolution 2231," Dehghan said. "This test was in line with our ongoing program," Iranian media quoted him as saying. "We have previously announced that we will execute the program we have planned in production of defense equipment meant for our national interests and objectives. Nobody can influence our decision." Iran has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), sufficient to reach Israel as well as US bases in the region. Flynn also criticized Iran after Yemeni rebel "suicide" boats attacked a Saudi warship on patrol in the Red Sea, killing two sailors in what the Saudi-led coalition called an escalation of the nearly two-year-old war. The assault off the rebel-held port of Hodeida came as coalition-backed government forces pressed a deadly drive up the Red Sea coast, despite mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. American and European officials previously said that while Iran has supplied arms and training to the Huthi rebels, they expressed doubt that Iran has command-and-control power over the group's operations. UN chief backs plan to pick Syria delegates to Geneva talks UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday backed his peace envoy's plan to pick representatives from the Syria opposition to the Geneva talks if the groups fail to agree on their delegates. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura came under sharp criticism from the Syria opposition after giving opposition groups until February 8 to agree on their delegation to the talks, scheduled to open on February 20. "It is clear this is a possibility that might be used," Guterres told reporters about the ultimatum. Chief opposition negotiator Mohammad Alloush (C) of the Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel group attends the first session of Syria peace talks at Astana's Rixos President Hotel on January 23, 2017 Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV (AFP/File) "What we want is the success of the Geneva conference, and the success of the Geneva conference implies that there is a meaningful representation of the Syrian opposition in Geneva," he said. "We will do everything to make sure that that happens." De Mistura told the Security Council on Tuesday that he was delaying the peace talks, initially scheduled to begin on February 8, to allow both sides to better prepare. He warned that if the opposition fails to agree, he would "select the delegation in order to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible." Guterres noted that UN resolutions on Syria give De Mistura the prerogative to pick the delegation to the peace talks. "What is important is to have, this time, substantive discussions on the central issues, and I hope that this will be possible," he said. Previous UN-led talks have broken down over disagreements on ensuring a transition in Damascus that would lead to President Bashar al-Assad's exit from power. The opposition rejected the envoy's comments as "unacceptable." "Selecting the Syrian opposition delegation is not the business... of de Mistura," Riad Hijab, head of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, wrote on his Twitter account. India, Russia holds high-level consultations on counter-terrorism Published: February 1, 2017 India and Russia have held high-level consultations on counter-terrorism issues in New Delhi. Both sides shared views and assessment on the threats posed by increasing terrorist activities including Indias concern on state-sponsored, cross-border terrorism. The Indian delegation was led by Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) in the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) while the Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Oleg V. Syromolotov. Highlights of Meeting Both sides shared views and assessment on the threats posed by the scourge of terrorism, including state-sponsored, cross-border terrorism faced by India. They also shared concerns regarding the emergence of Afghanistan-Pakistan (AfPak) region as the epicentre of terrorism. They discussed successful experiences in countering radicalisation and curbing terrorism. Both sides agreed that the UN Security Council (UNSC) Sanctions List 1267 processes for blacklisting various terrorist individuals and entities must be stringently complied. They also emphasized on prospects for deepening engagement on counter-terrorism under the United Nations, BRICS and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) mechanisms. They also agreed to frame joint action plan to focus on enhancing capacity building, frequent expert-level meetings, sharing of insights, exchange of best practices in curbing terrorism and countering radicalization. Month: Current Affairs - February, 2017 Topics: India-Russia National Terroism Latest E-Books Tillerson takes charge of restive State Department Former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson was sworn in to take charge of a US State Department simmering with opposition to President Donald Trump's refugee ban. After the 64-year-old oilman's nomination was confirmed by the Senate, he headed to the White House, where Trump formally named the political newcomer Washington's next top diplomat. "This is a man that is respected all over the world before he even begins," Trump said, thanking Tillerson. "He left a very good job for this, I want to tell you." Former ExxonMobil executive Rex Tillerson will take over a State Department already rattled by senior-level resignations and by Trump's order suspending refugee arrivals and visas for citizens from some Muslim countries SAUL LOEB (AFP/File) Also in the Oval Office as Tillerson was sworn in was Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon, the nationalist former boss of right-wing news platform Breitbart. Bannon is emerging as a key foreign policy figure and was reportedly involved in drafting the visa and refugee ban that triggered global protests. Tillerson thanked the president and vowed to serve him and the American people at all times. He is due to meet State Department staff at his new headquarters on Thursday. He takes over an agency already rattled by top-level resignations and by Trump's order suspending refugee arrivals and visas for citizens from some Muslim countries. On Tuesday, around 1,000 officials from US missions across the globe signed and submitted a protest memo, decrying Trump's ban as an affront to American values. The State Department "dissent channel" has existed since the Vietnam War to allow diplomats to question official policy, but the scale of the protest was unprecedented. One official, speaking to AFP condition of anonymity, warned a bureaucratic "insurgency" against Trump is under way. Others spoke of colleagues bursting into tears. Tillerson has not made his views known on Trump's executive order, but the White House's response was uncompromising. Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer said the travel restrictions would help weed out extremists and keep America safe. The dissident diplomats, Spicer declared, "should either get with the program or they can go." His threat outraged many at the State Department, who argue that their in-house experts should have been consulted before the order was signed. - Amateur policy - Thomas Countryman, a 35-year career diplomat who retired on Monday as assistant secretary of state, urged Tillerson to protect his new employees from retribution. "If you don't trust professional public servants to help you on foreign policy then by definition you end up with an amateur foreign policy," he told MSNBC. Tillerson comes into office after a decade as Exxon's CEO and trails an impressive reputation as a manager of a large international organization. ExxonMobil's global empire has been compared to a quasi-state with its own policy. It is the world's largest publicly-traded energy firm -- a $350 billion corporation with revenue last year of $226 billion and more than 70,000 employees. The US State Department has an annual budget of only $65 billion and employs 13,000 diplomats, 11,000 civil servants and 45,000 local staff at 270 missions worldwide. At Exxon, Tillerson was the ultimate insider. He joined the firm in 1975 as a young engineer straight out of college and worked his way up the ranks to the top. At the State Department, by contrast, he will come in as an outsider with no political or diplomatic experience. - Many deals - ExxonMobil has operations in dozens of countries, under multi-year contracts with a variety of governments, and Tillerson was at the heart of many of the deals. As the director of Exxon Neftegas, a Bahamas-registered consortium set up to exploit offshore oil and gas in the Russian far east, he built close ties to the Kremlin. So close was he to President Vladimir Putin that in 2013, Tillerson received Russia's "Order of Friendship." This has raised eyebrows in Washington, where lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have questioned why, under Tillerson, Exxon lobbied against sanctions on Russia. Trump has said he too hopes to form a friendship with Russia, and US allies are concerned that he and Tillerson might halt measures taken to punish the Kremlin's intervention in Ukraine. This led to some combative moments in Tillerson's confirmation hearing, but the Senate voted by 56 votes to 43 to approve him. Kenya agrees to rejoin South Sudan UN force Kenya has agreed to take part in a UN regional force for South Sudan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday, three months after Nairobi angrily withdrew its troops from the country. Kenya pulled its peacekeepers from South Sudan and announced it would not contribute to the planned regional force after Guterres' predecessor, Ban Ki-moon, fired the Kenyan commander of the peacekeeping force. The commander was sacked following a report that showed UN peacekeepers failed to protect civilians during heavy fighting in Juba in July. A group of Kenyan Defence Force {KDF} soldiers attached to the UN mission in South Sudan {UNMISS} arrive at Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi on November 9, 2016 JOHN MUCHUCHA (AFP/File) Guterres told reporters that he had "reached full agreement with Kenya in order for Kenya to participate in the regional protection force" to be deployed in Juba. The UN Security Council decided in August to deploy the 4,000-strong regional force to bolster its peacekeeping mission, but the plan has been bogged down in delays and bureaucratic hurdles. Guterres returned from a series of meetings with regional leaders on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, saying that peace efforts on South Sudan were back on track. The UN chief, who also met with President Salva Kiir, said the African Union's mediator for South Sudan, Mali's former president Alpha Oumar Konare, would led the new diplomatic push, backed by the United Nations. The IGAD regional bloc and the African Union have made little headway in efforts to end the three-year war in South Sudan, one of Africa's worst conflicts, that has killed tens of thousands of people. Judge: Federal firearms regulations trump Kansas gun law WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge on Tuesday rejected arguments that a Kansas law can shield from federal prosecution anyone owning firearms made, sold and kept in the state a ruling that casts doubt on the legality of similar laws passed in nine states across the nation. The decision handed down by U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten allows federal firearms charges against Shane Cox and Jeremy Kettler to stand. The ruling clears the way for their sentencing on Monday. Jurors in November returned eight guilty verdicts against Cox, the owner of Tough Guys gun store in Chanute, under the National Firearms Act for illegally making and marketing unregistered firearms, including a short-barreled rifle and gun silencers. Kettler was found guilty on one count of possession of an unregistered silencer. The Kansas Second Amendment Protection Act, which passed in 2013, says firearms, accessories and ammunition manufactured and kept within the borders of Kansas are exempt from federal gun control laws. Kansas modeled its law on a Montana law that an appeals court has found to be invalid, according to court filings. Similar firearm nullification laws have been signed into law in nine states. In addition to Montana and Kansas, other states having them include Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming, according to Everytown For Gun Safety, which advocates common-sense gun control laws. Noting the significant interest the case against Cox and Kettler has generated in Kansas and beyond, Marten wrote in his 13-page decision that he is bound to uphold the U.S. Constitution and laws as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The judge then proceeded to cite those earlier rulings in rejecting every constitutional argument raised by the defense in the Kansas gun case. "As a district court judge, I am not empowered to do what I think is most fair I am bound to follow the law," Marten wrote. Defense attorneys argued that the National Firearms Act a part of the Internal Revenue code enacted under Congress' power to levy taxes is unconstitutional because it amounts to "regulatory punishment" rather than imposition of a valid federal tax. They also contended that the federal law violated the Second Amendment as well as Tenth Amendment state rights protections of the U.S. Constitution. But Marten was unpersuaded, noting that the nation's highest court ruled 80 years ago that the National Firearms Act is valid exercise of Congressional taxing power. As such, it supersedes a state law, he said. Marten also rejected the Second Amendment arguments raised. Kettler's attorney, Ian Clark, separately asked the court for leniency at sentencing, calling his client a good man "caught in the crossfire of a political strong arm contest." The two men, like many other Kansans, were under the mistaken belief that the Kansas Second Amendment Protection Act was valid and protected them from federal prosecution. Indiana Senate panel considers adding drone-related crimes INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Some Indiana lawmakers concerned that operators with nefarious intentions could turn peeping drones into peeping Toms are pushing to criminalize using the high-tech flying gadgets for voyeurism. Republican Sen. Eric Koch's bill creates regulations that in part target operators who could use the technology to invade people's privacy or capture images of them in compromising positions, a new misdemeanor proposed in the measure dubbed "remote aerial voyeurism." "All 50 states are working through this and trying to balance the competing interests here," said Koch, who has been involved with drone legislation in Indiana for years. "We're trying to get out in front of it and write some rules of the road that all lawful persons can agree to abide by, and avoid having to go back and backfill later on." Many states have laws defining appropriate drone uses and some, including Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, have regulated the new technology to specifically address voyeurism or "peeping Tom" activities. An Indiana Senate panel held the bill to refine its language after discussing it Tuesday. The proposed measure would also bar using a drone to interfere with public safety officials or to harass someone and set penalties for sex offenders who use them to target people they aren't supposed to contact. The state measure would not pre-empt local ordinances on drones. In its current version, the bill criminalizes invading a person's "reasonable expectation of privacy," which prompted some debate on existing peeping tom law from committee members. "If a person's in a hot tub, they've got an expectation of privacy defense, but I can see them from my second level," Sen. Mike Young said, using a hypothetical situation. "So, whether I can see them from my bedroom window or another window or a UAV have I invaded the expectation of privacy?" Lawmakers agreed to reassess Koch's wording and to potentially include Indiana's peep definition "any looking of a clandestine, surreptitious, prying or secretive nature" to apply to drones. Chad Budreau of the Academy of Model Aeronautics testified he believed that existing tort law could be an avenue for regulation without requiring new laws for each new technology, but in an interview with The Associated Press, Koch said that approach would rely on the civil tort law system as a "deterrent" rather than using the criminal system and creating specific misuses. He said the proposed regulations aren't intended to stifle lawful commerce or use of drones, but rather, are an attempt to design something "that's right for Indiana." Iraqi man released from Texas detention following challenge DALLAS (AP) An Iraqi man was released Tuesday by federal authorities after his overnight detention at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport prompted a legal aid group to file a challenge in federal court. The man, Labeeb Issa, was released after being held some 15 hours at the airport. According to the court challenge, Issa worked for the U.S. military as a driver a job that brought threats and eventually a 2016 attack that left him confined to a wheelchair with a broken pelvis. A friend of Issa's, a former translator for the U.S. Army in Iraq, had already come to the U.S. on a special visa. He helped Issa complete an application for a Special Immigrant Visa in January, after showing he had been threatened after working with the military. Protesters demonstrate against President Donald Trump's executive order banning Muslims from certain middle eastern countries from entering the United States at the Dallas Forth Worth Airport, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in Dallas. (Brandon Wade/Star-Telegram via AP) Early this week, Issa boarded a plane from Baghdad headed for Qatar then Dallas, special visa in hand. Peter Schulte, among more than 100 attorneys offering free legal services to those detained at the airport, said there was no excuse to hold Issa so long because he earlier had been granted the visa and was presumably vetted at the time. "This is not somebody new who's flying in that the government has no idea who they are," he said. Schulte and the other attorneys have established a so-called war room at a hotel at the airport and also have tables outside airport customs with signs offering free legal services. They began working with detained travelers last weekend following President Donald Trump's executive order on Friday that suspended entry by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations. Issa was detained in Qatar by authorities citing Trump's order, but was able to show his visa was in order. His translator friend had planned to be waiting. More than eight hours after Issa was detained, that friend contacted attorneys saying Issa had never arrived. The attorneys filed an emergency petition on his behalf Tuesday in federal court in Dallas when Issa was still being detained. Schulte said it's understandable that the screening of overseas travelers can take hours. But he says any detention longer than four hours should be considered unlawful. Schulte said Issa's release, and the release of others by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, are happening only after legal challenges are filed on their behalf. "We are moving forward in that we're going to have attorneys at the airport pretty much 24-7 until a federal court orders the executive order or parts of the order unconstitutional," he said. It appears more than a dozen people were detained at the airport Monday and others were detained Tuesday, Schulte said. But the actual number is unclear because he and other lawyers must rely on family members or airline passengers who notice travelers being pulled aside. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not return messages Tuesday seeking a response to the assertion. Trump has defended his order, saying Monday on Twitter that, "Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning." Gorsuch: Conservative court nominee praised by some liberals DENVER (AP) Neil Gorsuch, named Tuesday as President Donald Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, has a solidly conservative pedigree that has earned him comparison to the combative justice he would replace, Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch clerked for two Supreme Court justices and worked in President George W. Bush's Justice Department before being appointed to the federal bench and authoring a series of sharply written, conservative opinions. His mother, Anne, ran President Ronald Reagan's Environmental Protection Agency. But Gorsuch has also won praise among liberals and others in the Colorado legal community for his fair-mindedness and defense of the underdog. Judge Neil Gorsuch speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, after President Donald Trump announced Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) "He is a very, very smart man. His leanings are very conservative, but he's qualified to be on the Supreme Court," said Denver plaintiff's attorney David Lane. "I don't know that Judge Gorsuch has a political agenda and he is sincere and honest and believes what he writes." A judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Gorsuch lives in the hyper-liberal college town of Boulder and teaches at the University of Colorado's law school there, also a progressive bastion. "I think this should be Merrick Garland's seat," said Jordan Henry, one of Gorsuch's students there and a self-described liberal, referring to President Obama's nominee for the vacancy last year who was never considered by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. But she described Gorsuch as an eager mentor, always solicitous of students' opinions and with a brilliant mind. "He's dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the justice system," said Henry, 29. "I do take some comfort that he can be a Trump choice." Gorsuch is a Colorado native who earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then earned a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington, D.C., law firm. He served for two years in Bush's Justice Department before Bush appointed him to a seat on the 10th Circuit in 2006. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, served as administrator of the EPA, but she was forced to resign 1983 amid a scandal involving the mismanagement of a $1.6 billion program to clean up hazardous waste dumps. Burford was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over Superfund records, which she claimed were protected by executive privilege. Neil Gorsuch has contended that courts give too much deference to government agencies' interpretations of statutes, a deference that stems from a Supreme Court ruling in a 1984 case. More recently, he sided with two groups that successfully challenged the Obama administration's requirements that employers provide health insurance that includes contraception. Gorsuch summed up his minimalist judicial philosophy and focus on impartial judgment Tuesday evening. "A judge who reaches every outcome he wishes is likely a very bad judge," he said after Trump introduced him from the East Room of the White House in a primetime televised address. Lane, who frequently clashes with law enforcement, praised Gorsuch as fair and open-minded. Lane won a $1.8 million jury verdict against the Denver Police Department in a brutality and wrongful arrest case. The city appealed and the case ended up before Gorsuch. Lane said Gorsuch tore into the city's lawyers and urged them to go to mediation rather than drag out appeals for years to deny the plaintiffs their reward. The mediation led the case to be settled for $1.6 million. Gorsuch has also drawn attention for siding with religious employers against the Obama administration's requirement that they provide health insurance that covers contraception. He also wrote a book arguing against assisted suicide. Marcy Glenn, a Denver attorney and Democrat, recalls two cases before Gorsuch in which she represented underdogs. In one, a college student faced criminal libel charges for mocking a professor; the court upheld the student's right to file a claim against the prosecutor. In the second, homeowners sued over illnesses stemming from an old nuclear weapons facility outside Denver. Gorsuch revived their class-action lawsuit in a novelistic, 38-page ruling that began, "Harnessing nuclear energy is a delicate business." "He issued a decision that most certainly focused on the little guy," Glenn said. Rebecca Love Kourlis, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice, said Gorsuch has written 175 majority opinions and 65 concurrences or dissents in his decade on the 10th Circuit. "He's really earned his stripes," she said. Kourlis said Gorsuch is also a notable advocate for simplifying the justice system to make it more accessible. "Legal services in this country are so expensive that the United States ranks near the bottom of developed nations when it comes to access to counsel in civil cases," Gorsuch wrote in a journal article last year. "The real question is what to do about it." The article is written in Gorsuch's characteristic, straightforward style. "He thinks it's really important for people other than lawyers to understand what he's writing," Kourlis said. Gorsuch is also an avid skier, fly fisherman and horseback rider, Kourlis said. He teaches at the University of Colorado's law school in Boulder. "He is humble, he is extremely articulate and he is extraordinarily hard-working," Kourlis said. In his financial disclosure report for 2015, he reported assets ranging from $3.1 million to $7.25 million. He earned $26,000 for his law school duties and another $5,300 in book royalties that year. The Latest: White house plans major outreach by Gorsuch WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President Donald Trump nomination of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court (all times EDT): 10:20 p.m. The White House is planning a major outreach effort to get Neil Gorsuch confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice. President Donald Trump announces 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch as his choice for Supreme Court Justice during a televised address from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says the White House is planning a series of briefings with House and Senate staff about Trump's pick. Gorsuch is expected to travel Wednesday to Capitol Hill to begin meetings with lawmakers, including Senate Judiciary Committee members. Spicer says the White House is "going to work really, really hard" to get Trump's pick confirmed. ___ 9 p.m. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer says he has "serious doubts" that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is within what Democrats consider the legal mainstream. Schumer said in a statement Tuesday night that Gorsuch "has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the Court." Schumer says the Senate "must insist" on 60 votes for any Supreme Court nominee, meaning the nominee would have to receive bipartisan support. Schumer has not said whether he would attempt a filibuster, a procedural maneuver that would require 60 votes. But any senator can move to filibuster, and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley has suggested he will. ___ 8:25 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Donald Trump has made an "outstanding decision" in nominating U.S. Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. In a statement, McConnell says Gorsuch has "a long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution" and notes that he was confirmed by voice vote in the Senate in 2006. He is urging Democrats not to block the nomination. McConnell says, "I hope Members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama." ___ 8:14 p.m. President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court is pledging to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and the laws of the United States. U.S. Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch is also thanking Trump for giving him a "most solemn assignment." If confirmed by the Senate, Gorsuch would succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, whose death nearly a year ago created a vacancy on the nine-member court. But Gorsuch's selection is expected to spark a fierce fight with Democrats. ___ 8:12 p.m. President Donald Trump is praising Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch for his "extraordinary resume." Trump announced he was nominating Gorsuch Tuesday night. He says the nominee's academic credentials were "as good as I have ever seen." He adds that Gorsuch "has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support." Trump also says Gorsuch was "the man our country needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice." ___ 8:04 p.m. President Donald Trump has nominated federal appeals judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The 49-year-old Gorsuch has served on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver since 2006, after being appointed by President George W. Bush. He once worked at the Supreme Court as a law clerk. If approved by the Senate, Gorsuch would take the seat left vacant since Justice Antonin Scalia died last year. Republicans refused to consider President Barack Obama's nominee for the seat, saying the choice should go Obama's successor. He would be the youngest justice since Clarence Thomas joined the court in 1991 at age 43. Trump made the announcement Tuesday in a prime-time address from the White House. ___ 7:55 p.m. Congressional leaders, White House staff and President Donald Trump's family members are gathering in the East Room for his Supreme Court announcement. The event has drawn top congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump's former rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump's oldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, are also on-hand. As is Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council. Trump's announcement has taken on the quality of a reality television show, with days of anticipation. A look at some of Judge Neil Gorsuch's notable opinions Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, has been on the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals since 2006. Here are summaries of some of his notable opinions: HOBBY LOBBY STORES v. SEBELIUS: Gorsuch voted with a majority of the 10th Circuit in favor of privately held for-profit secular corporations, and individuals who owned or controlled them, who raised religious objections to paying for contraception for women covered under their health plans. Gorsuch wrote a separate opinion in which he explained the moral dilemma facing the family that owns Hobby Lobby. "As they understand it, ordering their companies to provide insurance coverage for drugs or devices whose use is inconsistent with their faith itself violates their faith, representing a degree of complicity their religion disallows... No doubt, the Greens' religious convictions are contestable. Some may even find the Greens' beliefs offensive. But no one disputes that they are sincerely held religious beliefs," he wrote. UNITED STATES v. GAMES-PEREZ: Gorsuch was on the losing end of a vote by the full 10th Circuit over whether to rehear the case of a man who was convicted of having a gun after having earlier been convicted of a serious crime. The issue was whether the defendant knew that his earlier conviction was for a crime that disqualified him from owning a gun. Gorsuch argued in favor of a new hearing. "None of these arguments compels us to perpetuate the injustice of disregarding the plain terms of the law Congress wrote and denying defendants the day in court that law promises them." GUTIERREZ-BRIZUELA v. LYNCH: In this 2016 case, Gorsuch wrote for a panel of judges who sided with a Mexican citizen who was seeking permission to live in the U.S. The case gave Gorsuch an opportunity to raise an issue he has championed in his time as a judge: whether courts should so readily defer to federal agencies in determining what laws and regulations mean. Senator: Army Corps told to approve Dakota pipeline easement BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The Army Corps of Engineers was ordered to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline to proceed under a disputed Missouri River crossing, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said on Tuesday, the latest twist in a months-long legal battle over the $3.8 billion project. The Standing Rock Sioux, whose opposition to the project attracted thousands of supporters from around the country to North Dakota, immediately vowed to again go to court to stop it. Hoeven announced late Tuesday that the acting Secretary of the Army, Robert Speer, had directed the Army Corps of Engineers to "proceed" with an easement necessary to complete the pipeline. Hoeven said he also spoke with Vice President Mike Pence, just a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order signaling his support for the project. FILE- In this Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Law enforcement officers, left, drag a person from a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, near the town of St. Anthony in rural Morton County, N.D. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP, File) A spokesman for the U.S. Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night. Hoeven spokesman Don Canton says that Speer's move means the easement "isn't quite issued yet, but they plan to approve it" within days. The crossing under Lake Oahe, a wide section of the Missouri River in southern North Dakota, is the final big chunk of work on the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois. President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 called on the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its December decision to withhold permission until more study is done on the crossing. The pipeline has been the target of months of protests led by the Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation lies near the pipeline's route and who have argued that it's a threat to water. The tribe has vowed to challenge any granting of the easement in court, and Chairman Dave Archambault renewed that vow Tuesday night. "If it does become a done deal in the next few days, we'll take it to the judicial system," Archambault said. He added: "This is a good indicator of what this country is going to be up against in the next four years. So America has to brace itself." The developer, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, says the pipeline would be safe. An environmental assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to issue an easement, saying a broader environmental study was warranted in the wake of opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux. Energy Transfer Parters called Darcy's decision politically motivated and accused then-President Barack Obama's administration of delaying the matter until he left office. Two days before he left the White House, the Corps launched a study of the crossing that could take up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 just four days after he took office signed an executive action telling the Corps to quickly reconsider the Dec. 4 decision. The company appears poised to begin drilling under the lake immediately. Workers have already drilled entry and exit holes for the Oahe crossing, and the company has put oil in the pipeline leading up to the lake in anticipation of finishing the project, its executive vice president Joey Mahmoud said in court documents filed earlier this month. Hundreds and at times thousands of pipeline opponents who have dubbed themselves "water protectors" have camped on federal land near the crossing site since August, often clashing with police and prompting more than 625 arrests. The camp's population has thinned to fewer than 300 due to harsh winter weather and a plea by Archambault for the camp to disband before the spring flooding season. FILE - In this May 9, 2015, file photo, workers unload pipes for the proposed Dakota Access oil pipeline that would stretch from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to Illinois. The Dakota Access project, which is mostly completed, has created about 12,000 construction jobs, according to project leader Energy Transfer Partners LP. Most of those jobs are over, however. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File) FILE - This Dec. 3, 2016, file photo shows the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, N.D. The first seasonal flood outlook from the National Weather Service indicates minor spring flooding is almost certain in the area of southern North Dakota where pipeline opponents are camping. The Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, outlook says there's little chance of major flooding but that parts of the camp area could be under water. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) FILE- In this Dec. 3, 2016, file photo, law enforcement vehicles line a road leading to a blocked bridge next to the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) FILE- In this Dec. 1, 2016, file photo, military veterans walk onto a closed bridge to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline across from police protecting the site in Cannon Ball, N.D. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) FILE- Nov. 29, 2016, file photo, Grandma Redfeather of the Sioux Native American tribe walks in the snow to get water at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. "It's for my people to live and so that the next seven generations can live also," said Redfeather of why she came to the camp. "I think about my grandchildren and what it will be like for them." North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) FILE- Nov. 29, 2016, file photo, Grandma Redfeather of the Sioux Native American tribe walks in the snow to get water at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. "It's for my people to live and so that the next seven generations can live also," said Redfeather of why she came to the camp. "I think about my grandchildren and what it will be like for them." North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) FILE- In this Dec. 1, 2016, file photo, military veterans walk onto a closed bridge to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline across from police protecting the site in Cannon Ball, N.D. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) PICTURED: Chile continues to battles its worst wildfires DICHATO, Chile (AP) Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. Firefighters and residents fought the fast-spreading blazes on the ground Tuesday, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules have dumped thousands of gallons of water on the area 290 miles (470 kilometers) southwest of the Chilean capital. A Boeing 747-400 supertanker from the United States also assisted local emergency crews Tuesday. In this Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 photo, residents watch nearby wildfires in Portezuelo, Chile. Strong winds have continued to stoke the flames of the raging wildfires in Chile. Firefighters and residents fought the fast-spreading blazes on the ground on Tuesday, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules dumped thousands of gallons of water on the area. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) The fires have consumed forests, livestock and entire towns, prompting President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help. In all, more than 20,000 people, including firefighters and experts from more than a dozen countries, have battled wildfires that Bachelet has called the worst forest disaster in Chile's history. At least 11 deaths have been blamed on the fires. The national forestry agency says the blazes have destroyed nearly 904,000 acres (366,000 hectares) since Jan. 15. In this Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 photo, a resident wets down the ground surrounding his home, threatened by a nearby wildfire in Portezuelo, Chile. Residents of some communities have been battling the fires themselves, without any protective gear and often using just branches or bottles of water in a frantic effort to save their homes, pasture and livestock. But those efforts are often undone as winds or smoldering ash spread the fires anew. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 photo, a mare and her foal are led to safety as wildfires burn in Portezuelo, Chile. The fires have consumed forests, livestock and entire towns, leading President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Monday, Jan. 30, 2017 photo, wildfires straddle Chile's Dichato community. Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017 photo, a woman closes a gate on her land as wildfires rage on a nearby mountain in Cajon del Maipo, on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. Chile is suffering one of its worst fire diasters in history. The fires have outpaced local ability to put them out, forcing Chile to request international aid. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 photo, firefighters takes a break from digging trenches, as wildfires threaten Florida, a community of Concepcion, Chile. More than 20,000 people, including firefighters and experts from more than a dozen countries, have battled wildfires that President Michelle Bachelet has called the worst forest disaster in Chile's history. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Jan. 21, 2017 photo, wildfires burn in Pumanque, Chile. The ferocity of the flames prompted President Michelle Bachelet's to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help, calling it "the greatest forest disaster" in Chile's history. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 photo, a man battles approaching wildfires in Hualqui, Chile. Firefighters and residents continue to fight the fast-spreading blazes, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules have dumped thousands of gallons of water on the area, southwest of the Chilean capital.(AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 photo, a scarecrow doll stands in a scorched potato field destroyed by wildfires in Florida, Chile. Fires have been raging in central and southern Chile, fanned by strong winds, hot temperatures and a prolonged drought. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 photo, debris is kicked up by a helicopter dumping water on wildfires in Portezuelo, Chile. Firefighters and residents are fighting the fast-spreading blazes on the ground, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules have dumped thousands of gallons of water, southwest of the Chilean capital. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 photo, a resident helping firefighters runs with an empty water bucket as they fight wildfires in Paso El Leon, in Concepcion, Chile. Residents of some communities have been battling the fires themselves, without any protective gear and often using just branches or bottles of water in a frantic effort to save their homes, pasture and livestock. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 photo, Claudia Salinas salvages charred coins, which belong to her daughter, as she culls through the remains of their home destroyed by wildfires in Santa Olga, Chile. The flames engulfed the post office, a kindergarten, and about 1,000 homes in the town, located south of the Chilean capital. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) This Monday, Jan. 30, 2017 photo shows a road sign scorched by wildfires in Portezuelo, Chile. More than 20,000 people, including firefighters and experts from more than a dozen countries, continue to battle wildfires that President Michelle Bachelet has called the worst forest disaster in Chile's history. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) Jenny Tapia dresses her doll with clothes donated to victims of Chile's raging wildfires, in the community of Santa Olga, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Flames from one of the country's worst wildfires completely consumed the town of Santa Olga. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) Scorched trees, vehicles and debris cover the landscape of a sawmill consumed by wildfires in the community Santa Olga, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. The fires have been raging in central and southern Chile, fanned by strong winds, hot temperatures and a prolonged drought. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 photo, resident Javier Pazos takes a break from digging trenches, as wildfires threaten the Florida community of Concepcion, Chile. Residents of some communities have been battling the fires themselves, without any protective gear and often using just branches or bottles of water in a frantic effort to save their homes, pasture and livestock. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) This Saturday, Jan. 21, 2016 photo shows charred bicycles amid debris left from wildfires in Pumanque, Chile. The fires have consumed forests, livestock and entire towns, prompting President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 photo, a couple walks through a neighborhood destroyed by wildfires in Chile's Santa Olga community. Officials say the town was consumed by the country's worst wildfires, engulfing the post office, a kindergarten and hundreds of homes. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) CET : ; Harvard scholars: Travel ban deprives US of best, brightest BOSTON (AP) Harvard Medical School professor Thomas Michel was so excited about recruiting Iranian researcher Soheil Saravi, he put Saravi's name on the door of his Boston lab when his new hire got his visa. Then President Donald Trump's travel ban took effect, blocking Saravi from entering the U.S. "It's interesting. This is a door. It's open," Michel said Tuesday. But he added this lament: "He can't walk through the door into this country to walk into this laboratory." Harvard medical researcher Soumya Raychaudhuri, of Brookline, Mass., pauses during an interview at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Raychaudhuri awaits the fate of a new hire, Samira Asgari, an Iranian national who was not allowed to board a flight in Switzerland to Boston due to the travel ban issued by President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Trump's ban on people from Iran and six other predominantly Muslim countries has frustrated academics like Michel, who feel like they've been robbed of a brain trust. Boston and other U.S. cities have long prided themselves on attracting the world's best and brightest. Many have been immigrants, and over the past half-century, their work has contributed to numerous Nobel Prizes. But the ban and the legal tussles it has touched off have cloaked all that in uncertainty. Another Harvard researcher, Soumya Raychaudhuri, is impatiently awaiting the fate of a new hire, Samira Asgari. Asgari, also Iranian, said last weekend that she was not allowed to board a flight in Switzerland bound for her new job in Boston because of the ban even though she already had been issued a J-1 visa allowing her to work in the U.S. "Feeling safer?" she tweeted. "It's a major setback," Raychaudhuri said. "She has expertise in infectious disease, as well as expertise in computational approaches. That combination is very rare. To find someone with that skill set is really a challenge." Saravi was to have worked on a research project examining the contractions of heart muscle cells and blood vessels. His chances and Asgari's prospects of being allowed to enter the U.S. remained unclear. The Trump administration insists the order is necessary to keep potential terrorists out of the country until security procedures are improved. "This is turning away the best and the brightest who want to come here, who see this as the land of opportunity," Michel said. "America will become less great as a consequence of these policies. I'm not a politician, I'm a scientist." Tunisian IS suspect arrested over attack plot in Germany BERLIN (AP) A Tunisian man suspected of being a recruiter for the Islamic State group and building a network of supporters to carry out an attack in Germany was arrested Wednesday in Frankfurt as authorities raided dozens of locations. Authorities said that Tunisian officials also suspect the man of involvement in a deadly attack on a museum in his homeland in 2015. Frankfurt prosecutors said their investigation focused on 16 people aged between 16 and 46. The main suspect, a 36-year-old Tunisian whom authorities didn't identify, was arrested on suspicion of supporting a foreign terrorist organization. Investigators believe that he had been a recruiter and smuggler for the IS group since August 2015. They suspect that he had built up a network of supporters with the aim, among other things, of carrying out an attack in Germany. However, they say that plans for an attack were at an early stage and no specific target had been chosen. A German police officer walks into a mosque during a terror raid in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) The main suspect was in Germany from 2003 to 2013, then returned in August 2015 as an asylum-seeker using a different name, authorities said. He was arrested a year later in Frankfurt, because he had not finished serving a 2008 sentence for bodily harm. Tunisia was also seeking his extradition at the time the man was under investigation for alleged involvement in planning and carrying out the March 2015 attack on the Bardo museum in Tunis, as well as a March 2016 attack on the border town of Ben Guerdane. In November, he was released again because he had served out his previous sentence and Tunisia had failed to provide full documentation to support his extradition within the required 40-day deadline, prosecutors said. However, he was kept under round-the-clock surveillance until Wednesday's arrest. The spokesman for Tunisia's national prosecutor, Sofiane Selliti, said Wednesday that authorities were awaiting formal identification from Germany to confirm that the suspect is the man sought and to begin formal extradition proceedings. Wednesday's raids covered 54 apartments, business premises and mosques in Frankfurt and the surrounding region. Officials said the raids followed a four-month investigation. In a separate case, prosecutors in Berlin said that they arrested three people Tuesday night suspected of planning to travel to Syria or Iraq to undergo explosives and weapons training with IS. All three were associated with the Fussilet mosque in Berlin, known as a gathering point for radicals, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for prosecutors. Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri a Tunisian who used multiple identities and whose asylum request had been rejected visited the mosque shortly before his Dec. 19 rampage, in which 12 people were killed. On Wednesday, Germany's Cabinet approved a plan that will allow authorities to make extremists deemed to pose a possible security threat wear electronic ankle monitors part of a package of measures meant to avoid a repeat of mistakes made in keeping track of Amri. ___ Bouazza Ben Bouazza in Tunis contributed to this report. German police officers stand guard in front of a mosque during a terror raid in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017.(AP Photo/Michael Probst) Peter Thiel became New Zealand citizen in California in 2011 WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) Silicon Valley billionaire and President Donald Trump adviser Peter Thiel was able to gain New Zealand citizenship in 2011 despite never having lived in the country, because a top lawmaker decided his entrepreneurial skills and philanthropy were valuable to the nation, documents reveal. Thiel didn't even have to leave California to become a new member of the South Pacific nation. He was granted citizenship during a private ceremony held at the New Zealand Consulate in Santa Monica. The New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs on Wednesday released 145 pages of partially redacted documents detailing how Thiel became a citizen. FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo, entrepreneur Peter Thiel speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Thiel was able to gain New Zealand citizenship in 2011 despite never having lived in the country because a top lawmaker decided his entrepreneurial skills and philanthropy were valuable, documents reveal. Thiel didn't even have to leave California to become a new member of the South Pacific nation. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) His status was first reported by The New Zealand Herald newspaper last month and raised questions because Thiel didn't fulfil the usual criteria requiring people to live in the country. In his application, Thiel wrote that he owned a home in New Zealand but if he was granted citizenship, he would need to continue residing in the U.S. to manage his California-based companies. He said he realized his circumstances wouldn't usually qualify him for citizenship, but that he believed he was an exception. "In the course of pursing my international business opportunities, my travel, personal philosophical commitments and benefaction, I am happy to say categorically that I have found no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand," he wrote. He said that as part of his study into how he could contribute to the local entrepreneurial environment, he had consulted with John Key, who was New Zealand's prime minister at the time. Thiel wrote that "it would give me great pride to let it be known that I am a New Zealand citizen." Thiel didn't immediately respond to requests made Wednesday for additional comment. However, Thiel's citizenship status only became publicly known following last month's newspaper report. The 2011 documents show that Thiel also remained a citizen of Germany, where he was born. Thiel, 49, co-founded PayPal and was the first professional investor in Facebook. He secretly bankrolled a lawsuit against the news and gossip site Gawker which led to its bankruptcy and closure. Forbes estimates his net worth at $2.7 billion, which makes him one of New Zealand's wealthiest citizens. He has been an important adviser to Trump, who has vowed to put "America first." When considering Thiel's application, New Zealand officials noted that he had established a venture capital fund in New Zealand which had invested in a Wellington-based online accounting business, Xero. "Mr. Thiel has demonstrated his philanthropy through making a million-dollar donation to the Christchurch earthquake relief fund," officials wrote as part of a letter recommending his application be approved. His citizenship was granted through a special approval by lawmaker Nathan Guy, who at the time was the Internal Affairs minister. Opposition lawmaker Iain Lees-Galloway tweeted Wednesday that the decision was "entirely about money" and that citizenship shouldn't be for sale. Government figures show that over the past five years, New Zealand has received about 150,000 citizenship applications, with 92 receiving special approval by the minister after taking into account exceptional circumstances. Trump court pick earns GOP praise as he visits Capitol Hill WASHINGTON (AP) Judge Neil Gorsuch earned warm praise from Senate Republicans as he visited Capitol Hill Wednesday a day after President Donald Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court. Democratic divisions were on display as the Senate minority struggled for a strategy to oppose the conservative judge. Accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, Gorsuch met first with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called him an "outstanding appointment" and declared: "We're all thrilled and looking forward to getting the confirmation process started." Pence said the administration looked forward to the Senate performing its constitutional advice and consent role in the nomination process, and to senators having the opportunity to getting to know Gorsuch, a 49-year-old Denver-based judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals whose conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Supreme Court Justice nominee, Neil Gorsuch, center, is joined by Vice President Mike Pence, right, as they meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Last year, Senate Republicans, led by McConnell, blocked a confirmation hearing for Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's pick for the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia who died in February 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) "I think as they do, they'll come to understand the enthusiasm the president of the United States has for his appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States," Pence said. A handful of Democrats immediately announced their opposition to the choice, insisting that Gorsuch, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan Cabinet official, is outside the mainstream. Democrats are still furious with the way Republicans treated former President Barack Obama's nominee for the open seat last year; the GOP refused to even grant a hearing or a vote to Judge Merrick Garland in Obama's final year in office. Instead, the seat remained empty for 10 months and the court operated with eight justices as McConnell maintained that the next president should make the nomination. "This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Merkley said even before the nominee was announced that he will hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 votes for confirmation. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority. But other Democrats were holding off on announcing their position on Gorsuch, saying he deserved the full and fair hearing Garland was denied. "I think that he is owed what Judge Garland never got which is a full hearing, a chance for the American people over several days to better understand his views on the constitution and a wide range of the rights that are central to our Republic," said Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a Senate Judiciary Committee member. The Judiciary Committee will aim to begin hearings on Gorsuch in about six weeks' time, according to a spokeswoman for the panel's chairman, Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York he said after the nomination was announced that the Senate "must insist" on 60 votes, the threshold for a filibuster, meaning McConnell would need bipartisan support unless he changes Senate rules to lower the threshold for Gorsuch to 50 votes, a scenario known as the "nuclear option." Schumer and Democrats are under intense pressure from liberal groups and the party base to challenge every Trump nominee. As the nomination was announced, hundreds were protesting at Schumer's Brooklyn home, pressuring him to vote against Cabinet picks and block the Supreme Court nominee. A handful of other Democrats joined Merkley in immediately opposing Gorsuch. They included Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said Gorsuch has sided with large companies over workers, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who said Gorsuch's rulings haven't favored American workers or women's rights. Brown and Warren are up for re-election in 2018. Warren's Massachusetts colleague, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, also said he will oppose Gorsuch. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden indicated he would as well, citing Gorsuch's stand against laws that allow terminally ill people to end their lives. Schumer is in a tough position. As liberal groups and Democratic voters angry about Trump's election victory press him to lead the loyal opposition, he must also be mindful of 23 Democrats and two independents up for re-election in 2018, including 10 in states won by Trump. Some of those senators could face blowback from voters who see Democrats as obstructing Trump's pick. And some might decide to vote for Gorsuch. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he had little sympathy for fellow Senate Democrats feeling pressure to support Trump's nominee because they're running for re-election in 2018 in states that Trump won. Manchin is among those up for re-election I n 2018. "I didn't come here to say, 'Oh my goodness, if I don't do this, I might not get re-elected,'" Manchin said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." He's said he will examine Gorsuch's record and make "a determination of whether to provide my consent." Supreme Court Justice nominee, Neil Gorsuch meets with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Last year, Senate Republicans, led by McConnell, blocked a confirmation hearing for Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's pick for the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia who died in February 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) GOP pushes 2 top Cabinet picks through to full Senate WASHINGTON (AP) Republicans jammed two of President Donald Trump's top Cabinet picks through the Senate Finance Committee with no Democrats in the room Wednesday after suspending a rule that would have otherwise barred them from taking the vote. The tactic seemed a warning shot that they might deploy brute political muscle in the upcoming fight over the Supreme Court vacancy. With a near-toxic vapor of divisiveness between the two parties across Capitol Hill, nasty showdowns broke out elsewhere as well. One Senate panel signed off on Trump's choice for attorney general only after senators exchanged heated words, and another committee postponed a vote on the would-be chief of the Environmental Protection Agency after Democrats refused to show up. Busting through a Democratic boycott of the Finance panel, all 14 Republicans took advantage of Democrats' absence to temporarily disable a committee rule requiring at least one Democrat to be present for votes. FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2017 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, to testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Republicans on Wednesday muscled through President Donald Trumps nominees for Treasury and Health after the majority GOP suspended committee rules, a power grab in the latest escalation of partisan tensions in Congress. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) They then used two 14-0 roll calls to approve financier Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to be health secretary, ignoring Democrats' demands that the two nominees provide more information about their financial backgrounds. All the nominations will need full Senate approval. Underscoring Congress' foul mood, Finance panel Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Democrats should be "ashamed" for staying away from his committee's meeting. "I don't feel a bit sorry for them," he told reporters, adding later, "I don't care what they want at this point." Trump won one major victory, as the Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state. The mostly party-line 56-43 vote came with Democrats critical of Tillerson's close ties to Russia as former Exxon Mobil CEO. Tillerson was sworn in later Wednesday at the White House. But the prospects that GOP donor Betsy DeVos would win approval as education secretary were jarred when two GOP senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, said they opposed her. Both challenged her support for public education, and their defections meant Vice President Mike Pence might need to break a tie in a Senate that Republicans control 52-48. Congress' day was dominated by confrontation, even as lawmakers braced for an even more ferocious battle over Trump's nomination of conservative federal judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Democrats were already furious over Republicans' refusal to even consider last year President Barack Obama's pick for the slot, Judge Merrick Garland. Trump fueled the fire by urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to "go nuclear" shorthand for a unilateral change in the chamber's rules so Democrats can't block Gorsuch with a filibuster. Without a rules change, Republicans will need at least eight Democrats to reach the 60-votes necessary to halt filibusters, or endless procedural delays. Democrats boycotted Wednesday's abruptly called Finance Committee meeting, as they'd done for a session a day earlier. They say Price and Mnuchin have lied about their financial backgrounds and must answer more questions. "It's deeply troubling to me that Republicans on the Finance Committee chose to break the rules in the face of strong evidence of two nominees' serious ethical problems," said the panel's top Democrat, Ron Wyden of Oregon. Democrats say Price had special access to low-priced shares in an Australian biomed firm, even though he testified the offer was available to all investors. They say Mnuchin ran a bank that processed home foreclosures with a process critics say invites fraud. The two men have denied wrongdoing and have solid Republican backing. The Senate Judiciary Committee used a party-line 11-9 vote to sign off on Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., for attorney general. That came after Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had misrepresented remarks he'd made about Sessions weeks ago. Cruz wasn't present as Franken spoke. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, interrupted Franken twice, calling it "untoward and inappropriate" to disparage the absent Cruz. Franken said Cruz "personally went after me, he personally impugned my integrity." Angrily pointing at Cornyn, he asked, "You didn't object then, did you?" Cornyn said he wasn't sure he was there when Cruz spoke. At the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Democrats boycotted a planned vote on Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma's state attorney general in line to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. The vote was postponed. Pruitt has questioned the scientific consensus that human activities are contributing to global warming and joined lawsuits against the agency's emission curbs. Another panel postponed a vote on Trump's pick to head the White House Budget Office, tea party Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., as Democrats asked for more time to read the nominee's FBI file. ___ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Michael Biesecker contributed to this report. FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2017 file photo, Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Republicans on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, muscled through President Donald Trumps nominees for Treasury and Health after the majority GOP suspended committee rules, a power grab in the latest escalation of partisan tensions in Congress. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Refugees: A world away from loved ones, anxious and in limbo President Donald Trump's executive order banning refugees from certain countries has brought stress, desperation, worry and confusion to a number of families in the United States and abroad. Trump's order temporarily halted the entire U.S. refugee program and banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days. Many refugees in the U.S. had expected to reunite with relatives any day, but now their plans are on hold. 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL: FAR FROM MOM AND DAD Somali refugees Habiba Mohamed and Abdalla Munye pose for a portrait to Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in Decatur, Ga.. The couple's 20-year-old daughter is unable the leave Somalia due to the travel ban implemented by President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Nagi Algahaim, a U.S. citizen who runs a gas station in Detroit, said he's effectively stuck in Malaysia with his wife, a native of Yemen. Their 5-year-old daughter is at home with relatives in Detroit but the mother can't travel there. Algahaim, 33, said he and Kokab Algazali, 28, have been in Malaysia since December, seeking immigration documents to qualify her for a green card in the United States. Algahaim said Malaysia Airlines told them that while he can fly to the U.S., his wife cannot. But he's not leaving Kuala Lumpur without her. "She's been crying every day. It's heartbreaking," he said Tuesday. Their daughter, who has health problems, hasn't seen her mother since she was 8 months old. "As an American, I'm disgusted," Algahaim said. "I thought Trump was going to bring up America, not twist it around with fear and racism." EVERYTHINIG WAS SET Everything was set for the Syrian refugees to fly to the U.S. A "processing error" that for months kept Baraa Haj Khalaf, her husband and baby daughter from joining her parents and two siblings in the U.S. had at last been taken care of. They were told to be at the Istanbul airport Monday for their flight to the U.S. and a new life near Chicago. So confident were they that they were on their way to America after fleeing Aleppo, Syria in 2013, Baraa and her husband sold or gave away practically all of their belongings. In suburban Chicago, her 46-year-old father, Khaled Haj Khalaf, could hardly contain his excitement. "We were very happy," he said through an interpreter Tuesday. "This is the land of freedom, the land of democracy." Even some Chicago mothers had volunteered to collect furniture, food, clothing and toys for the baby at their future apartment. Then came President Donald Trump's executive order. Now all the refugees' plans and hopes are "in limbo," said Melineh Kano, executive director of a group called RefugeeOne, which is providing support for the volunteers. A FAMILY SEPARATED Abdalla Munye and his wife resettled in Georgia weeks ago but their 20-year-old daughter wasn't able to join them. Her flight was scheduled to arrive this week. Now her trip is on hold. Munye said his family stayed in refugee camps after fleeing the violence of Somalia, and his wife, Habiba Mohamed, said she watched her 11-year-old daughter be raped and killed. They are concerned about their older daughter, Batula, who remains in a refugee camp in Kenya. "Now that we are here and we have left her behind, we are in a lot of distress and worry," Munye, 44, said through a translator. "The only thing I can request from the American government is to help me be reunited with my daughter." The couple held out hope that first lady Melania Trump, herself an immigrant from Slovenia, might be able to persuade the president to reverse course. "She's a parent and she knows the love that a parent has for their child and I would like her to do her best to convince the president to change his mind," Munye said. A DAUGHTER WHO HAS NEVER MET HER FATHER Somali refugee Nimo Hashi bought couches and a new kitchen table for her Salt Lake City apartment in anticipation of reuniting Friday with her husband for the first time in nearly three years. Hashi said she last saw him when she was two months pregnant with their daughter, Taslim. Her husband has never seen his daughter. After Trump's order, it's not clear when the father and daughter will meet. The couple met in Ethiopia after both fled Somalia amid the civil war. Her refugee case had already been approved, so officials told her to go ahead to the U.S. where she could apply for her husband to join her. "I was so happy and joyous but that dream is shattered," Hashi said through a translator. "This is not right just singling out people from Muslim countries, being singled out based on religion." STRESSED OUT Iraqi refugee Rana Elshekly expected to see her husband soon but his resettlement was put on hold. Now he is in limbo in Turkey. "Every time we talk it sounds like we are arguing because we don't know what to do," Elshekly said through an interpreter. "He's even trying to get me to come back to Turkey so we can at least all be together." Elshekly, 36, resettled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in October with her two young boys, 9-year-old Dair and 3-year-old Laith. Her husband, Hikmat Ahmed, 42, stayed behind after officials suggested that she and the children come alone to the United State to get out of the region faster. When she thinks about returning to the war-torn region, she remembers her 20-year-old pregnant sister who was recently killed in a bombing at a market in Iraq. "I start thinking of my boys, and I have to stay because of them," she said. NO ONE SHOWED UP FOR DINNER The Somali community in Providence, Rhode Island, prepared traditional home-cooked meals including goat meat, vegetables and the crepe-like bread known as canjeero and furnished an apartment for three brothers who were supposed to arrive Monday night. They never made it. The eldest brother fled his war-torn homeland in the 1990s and had been waiting to be resettled since 2000, when he registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency, said Baha Sadr of refugee resettlement group Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island. "For the past 16 years, most of his life, he was just waiting to get approval," Sadr said. "If anybody's in waiting for 16 years, how much more extreme vetting can they get?" FROM AFGHANISTAN WITH WORRIES Haidary Mohammad, 27, is celebrating little more than a week of being in the U.S., just barely settled into an apartment in Jacksonville, Florida, after years of working for the U.S. military as a translator in Afghanistan. Haidary was able to move with his wife. But his father, mother and sisters and brothers remain in Afghanistan. He hopes they'll be able to make it to the U.S. one day like he did. But now there's much to be uncertain about. "I've been through a lot of firefights and ambushes and stuff like that in Afghanistan," he said, adding he applied two years ago to be resettled as a refugee, fearing for his life from the Taliban. "The Taliban look for the guys who work with Americans, and I was one of the guys," he told The Associated Press. Now he doesn't know what will happen with two friends who are helping U.S. forces and also want to come over. "There's two friends of mine still working in the north of Afghanistan with the Special Forces," he said. "Their paperwork is nearly done, one already got his visa, and they're still hoping to come." ___ Associated Press writers Don Babwin in Chicago; Jason Dearen in Gainesville, Florida; Ed White in Detroit; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City; Russell Contreras in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report. Somali refugee Habiba Mohamed wipes away tears as she speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in Decatur, Ga.. Mohamed's 20-year-old daughter is unable the leave Somalia due to the travel ban implemented by President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Somali refugee Abdalla Munye speaks during a news conference to Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in Decatur, Ga.. Munye's 20-year-old daughter is unable the leave Somalia due to the travel ban implemented by President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Somali refugee Nimo Hashi holds her daughter Taslim at their home Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in Salt Lake City. Hashi bought a new kitchen table and couches for her Salt Lake City apartment in joyful anticipation of reuniting Friday with her husband for the first time in nearly three years. But he won't be arriving as planned to see her and the 2-year-old daughter he's never met. He is among hundreds of people stuck in limbo after President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banned refugees and nearly all travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Somali refugee Nimo Hashi holds a photo of her husband Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in Salt Lake City. Hashi bought a new kitchen table and couches for her Salt Lake City apartment in joyful anticipation of reuniting Friday with her husband for the first time in nearly three years. But he won't be arriving as planned to see her and the 2-year-old daughter he's never met. He is among hundreds of people stuck in limbo after President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banned refugees and nearly all travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Trump's VA pick pledges to save beleaguered agency WASHINGTON (AP) Physician David Shulkin headed toward likely confirmation as President Donald Trump's veterans affairs secretary, after offering repeated assurances Wednesday to sometimes skeptical senators that he will work quickly to meet the medical care needs of millions of veterans without dismantling the beleaguered department. At his confirmation hearing, Shulkin, the top health official at the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2015, cited efforts during his tenure to improve wait times for veterans needing urgent care, such as same-day services in primary care and mental health at VA medical centers. He urged a more integrated VA network in which veterans could seek outside care, but only in close coordination with the VA. "VA is a unique national resource that is worth saving, and I am committed to doing just that," Shulkin said. "There will be far greater accountability, dramatically improved access, responsiveness and expanded care options." The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking member Jon Tester, D-Mont., left, with committee chairman Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., center, shakes hands with Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Dr. David Shulkin on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, prior to the start of Shulkin's confirmation hearing before the committee. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Pressed repeatedly as to whether he may be pressured by Trump to privatize the agency, he told the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee that he believed that VA hospitals offered unique services in treating battlefield injury. "We share a common vision that we have to do a lot better for veterans," Shulkin said, adding that Trump set no preconditions when offering him the VA secretary job. "He knows I will follow my values." The 57-year-old physician is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate. A committee vote is expected as early as next week. Shulkin would be the lone former Obama administration official serving in Trump's Cabinet. As secretary, he would take over amid a conservative push to privatize government services. "Sooner than later, you'll come to a crossroads. And you'll have to choose whether to pursue what you think is best for veterans, or what the president tells you is best for veterans," said Sen. Jon Tester, the top Democrat on the panel, who repeatedly grilled Shulkin about his views on Trump's hiring freeze in the federal government and willingness to consider privatization. Diverging from Trump, who criticized the VA during the presidential campaign as "the most corrupt," Shulkin indicated that wide-scale firings weren't necessary. Trump wants to fire and discipline VA employees, have a commission investigate wrongdoing and create a 24-hour White House hotline to register complaints about the agency. "VA has many dedicated employees across the country, and our veterans tell us that every day," Shulkin said. As undersecretary of health for the agency, Shulkin has managed a system responsible for 9 million military veterans in more than 1,700 facilities. He was given responsibility for improving wait times for medical care following the 2014 scandal at the Phoenix VA medical center. Veterans waited months for care even as VA employees created secret waiting lists and other falsehoods to cover up delays. But his tenure under former VA Secretary Bob McDonald wasn't always well-received. Recent reviews by the Government Accountability Office and the AP separately found limited progress in improving wait times, with VA data often misleading. A forthcoming GAO report this month also will place the VA health system once again on its "high risk" list, citing the potential for significant problems due to waste, fraud, mismanagement or structural flaws. Shulkin is generally supported by the largest veterans' organizations, which have praised steps begun under President Barack Obama to address the VA's problems. They oppose greater privatization as a threat to the viability of VA medical centers. The VA has nearly 370,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $167 billion. In his testimony, Shulkin did not rule out closing underused VA facilities and said he would explore "public-private partnerships" to avoid building new medical centers that cost too much or take too long to build. There were widely reported cost overruns at the VA hospital in Aurora, Colorado. He also reiterated his support for the VA workforce, calling them the "best in health care." Anyone who "beats up" the VA is being counterproductive and destructive, Shulkin said, noting that it has affected the VA's ability to fill vacancies. "It's got to stop." The son of an Army psychiatrist and grandson of a VA pharmacist, Shulkin is a former president of the Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. He was president and CEO of the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and chief medical officer at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. ___ Follow Hope Yen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hopeyen1 Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Dr. David Shulkin, currently undersecretary for health at the VA, listens at left as Sen. Pat Toomey, D-Pa. introduces him on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Pentagon boss makes 1st trip to Asia; NKorea plans unclear WASHINGTON (AP) Other than a tweet, President Donald Trump hasn't said how he'll stop North Korea from threatening America with a nuclear weapon. And as his Pentagon chief visits key allies in Asia, neither Trump nor his GOP allies in Congress seem settled on any plan. The fight against the Islamic State group is the new administration's top national security priority, but Defense Secretary Jim Mattis chose South Korea and Japan for his first official overseas trip. Departing Wednesday, Mattis will look to reassure the nations on the front line against North Korea. Americans are seeking reassurance, too. Concern has surged on both sides of the Pacific about the North's weapons programs, after leader Kim Jong Un warned in his annual New Year's address that the country is in the final stages of readiness to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile that could potentially threaten the continental United States. FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2107 file photo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford greets Defense Secretary Jimn Mattis at the Pentagon. By visiting Japan and South Korea on his first official overseas trip, Mattis is seeking to reinforce key alliances after President Donald Trumps campaign-trail complaints that defense treaties disadvantaged the United States.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) In Washington this week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held its first policy hearing since Trump took office to discuss North Korea. There were more questions than answers. Last month, Trump fueled speculation of possible U.S. military action to pre-empt North Korea's weapons development. In response to Kim's threat, Trump tweeted, "It won't happen!" But he didn't elaborate how he could be so sure. "Does that mean we have drawn a red line?" Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., asked at Tuesday's Senate hearing. Those questions and more will be posed to Mattis when he meets top officials in Seoul on Thursday and Tokyo later in the week, two jittery allies that host nearly 80,000 U.S. troops. During the campaign, Trump complained that defense treaties disadvantaged the U.S. and that he would not rule out abandoning signatories if they refuse to pay more for their defense. He also suggested that South Korea and Japan, which are already within the range of North Korean missiles, might acquire their own nuclear weapons rather than rely on U.S. deterrence. "It was a smart decision" to visit these allies early, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in an interview. He believes officials in Tokyo and Seoul are wondering: "Can we rely on the U.S.? What is the future here?" In phone conversations last weekend with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, Trump offered his own reassurance, saying the U.S. defense commitment to both nations was "ironclad." The commitment didn't answer how his administration would tackle the North Korean threat. In Congress, bipartisan legislation passed last year empowered the U.S. government to apply Iran-style economic restrictions on North Korea, which includes punishing other countries that deal with Pyongyang in violation of U.N.-approved sanctions. The obvious target is China, the North's top economic partner. But going after Beijing entails its own dangers. The Chinese can retaliate against the United States, raising the prospect of a mutually debilitating trade war, or could end up less motivated to cooperate with Washington on containing North Korea. At this week's hearing, Republican committee chairman Sen. Bob Corker questioned whether anything short of military action or regime change would force Kim to give up nuclear weapons. The sanctions legislation, he said, is "piddling compared to the challenge," and he called for new ideas about a U.S. strategy. Trump has consistently emphasized the need for China to exert more pressure on its unpredictable neighbor. But Trump has also said he would be open to sitting down for a hamburger with Kim, who has met no other foreign leader since assuming power five years ago. No one seems comfortable with the previous administration's "strategic patience," though ready alternatives appear few. The inherited approach involved America tightening sanctions while refusing to jump into aid-for-disarmament negotiations. In the meantime, Pyongyang has marched toward greater prowess. Last year alone, the North staged two underground atomic explosions and two dozen ballistic missile tests, including its first from a submarine. Estimates of North Korea's capabilities vary, but some U.S. experts believe it could be able to strike the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon by the end of the decade. By then, the North could also have enough reprocessed plutonium and enriched uranium for 100 bombs not far short of India and Pakistan's likely arsenals. Suspect in German station bombing bragged to fellow inmates BERLIN (AP) A 50-year-old German far-right extremist suspected of carrying out a bloody bomb attack that injured 10 immigrants six of them Jewish in 2000 was arrested after bragging to fellow inmates about the crime, officials said Wednesday. Duesseldorf prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Ralf S. in line with Germany privacy laws, was arrested Tuesday in the nearby town of Ratingen, ending an almost 17-year hunt for the perpetrator. The suspect had been a questioned by police soon after the bombing at Duesseldorf-Wehrhahn train station on July 27, 2000, but wasn't arrested at the time due to a lack of evidence. FILE - In this July 27, 2000 file picture investigators look at the area where an explosion tore through the entrance tunnel to a commuter train station in Duesseldorf, Germany. German police have arrested a suspect in connection with a bombing at a train station 17 years ago in which 10 immigrants were wounded, six of them Jewish. Police in the western city of Duesseldorf said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 the 50-year-old man, was arrested in the nearby town of Ratingen. (AP photo/Edgar R. Schoepal,file) Prosecutors said they received a tip from a prisoner in 2014 that the man had bragged about the crime, prompting them to re-open the case and follow up 330 leads. The victims were on their way home from a German-language class when the pipe bomb exploded. Among the wounded was a 26-year-old woman from Ukraine who suffered a miscarriage. A few months after the attack, a Duesseldorf synagogue was firebombed, prompting fears of a wave of far-right violence. German news site Spiegel Online reported that the suspect was known for having extremist views and operated a store selling military gear near the site of the bombing. Reacting to the arrest Wednesday, Germany's interior minister acknowledged that officials had underestimated the threat of far-right violence for years, until the discovery in 2011 that a group of wanted neo-Nazis had committed a string of killings that police had initially blamed on rival immigrant gangs. Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters that authorities are now working "to nip in the bud everything that happens in that regard." 10 Things to Know for Thursday - 2 February 2017 Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday: 1. TRUMP TO SENATE: SCRAP RULES IF NEEDED TO CONFIRM GORSUCH It's an aggressive opening to what's shaping up as a ferocious clash over the future of the Supreme Court. A settler looks out the window in the West Bank outpost Amona, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Israeli forces have begun evacuating a controversial settlement Amona, which is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected in the West Bank without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) 2. SENATOR TAKING HEAT FROM BOTH RIGHT, LEFT Leading Democrat Chuck Schumer has been ridiculed by Trump but also faces complaints he's not fighting hard enough against the president. 3. BRITAIN'S CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT GETS A WIN The country moves closer to leaving the European Union as lawmakers decisively back a bill authorizing divorce proceedings. 4. HOW ISLAMIC STATE GROUP IS ADAPTING Faced with a diminishing number of fighters, the militants are relying on retrofitted commercial drones to do things like guide suicide car bombers to their targets. 5. VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT DELAWARE PRISON Inmates at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center take corrections department workers as hostages, prompting a lockdown of all prisons in the state. 6. WHAT FACEBOOK IS FOCUSING ON The social network is furiously promoting its live video feature as it tries to get more users to shoot and watch such videos. 7. ISRAEL EVACUATES WEST BANK OUTPOST The removal of residents and their supporters from what Israel's Supreme Court has ruled is private Palestinian land provokes violent clashes. 8. WHO'S BEEN 'BLESSED TWO TIMES OVER' Beyonce and Jay Z announce on Instagram that the superstar singer is pregnant with twins. 9. ALABAMA REIGNS ON RECRUITING TRAIL The Crimson Tide's latest signees may be coach Nick Saban's best recruiting class yet. 10. NFL'S GOODELL SAYS HE HOLDS NO GRUDGE The commissioner at his pre-Super Bowl news conference insists there's no awkwardness between him and the Patriots in the wake of "Deflategate." FILE - This Nov. 4, 2016 file photo shows Beyonce performing at a Get Out the Vote concert for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Cleveland. Beyonce announced on her Instagram account, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, that she is expecting twins. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) Coast Guard searches for Canadian diver off Florida Keys LOWER MATECUMBE KEY, Fla. (AP) The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the Atlantic off of the Florida Keys for a Canadian filmmaker who went missing while scuba diving. The agency said in a news release that the crew of The Pisces reported 37-year-old Rob Stewart missing about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday in the vicinity of Alligator Reef, which is off Lower Matecumbe Key. Stewart is from Toronto, Canada. The Facebook page for Stewart's 2007 documentary "Sharkwater" shared the news and asked for donations on a GoFundMe account to support the search. It had raised more than $26,000 by mid-day Wednesday. Stewart is a wildlife photographer, filmmaker and conservationist. His films include "Sharkwater" and Revolution, released in 2013. He's also written two books, "Sharkwater: An Odyssey to Save the Planet" and "Save the Humans." Coast Guard officials say the Navy, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office are assisting in the search. Pennsylvania mayor accused of disturbing graves SHAMOKIN, Pa. (AP) A central Pennsylvania mayor has been accused by authorities of disturbing 14 graves through work on a cellphone tower planned for the cemetery where he serves as board president. Police charged Shamokin Mayor Bill Milbrand with vandalism over the plan to build the cellphone tower over the graves. He has denied the charges and said he had little involvement in the project, which would have generated money for cemetery upkeep. Some of the 16,000 graves at Shamokin Cemetery date to 1919. Shamokin, Pa., Mayor William Milbrand attends his arraignment Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in the office of Magisterial District Judge John Gembic in Shamokin, Pa. Milbrand was arrested Tuesday, accused of disturbing 14 graves with the construction of a cellphone tower in the cemetery where he serves as board president. He has denied the charges and said he had little involvement in the project, which would have generated money for cemetery upkeep. (Eric Scicchitano/The Daily Item via AP) Milbrand told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he could not discuss the situation until he met with a lawyer. He was arrested and handcuffed Tuesday at his tour bus company. Police accused him of letting construction crews cover more than a dozen graves with dirt in order to place the cell tower at the back of the cemetery. Milbrand hoped it could generate $900 to $1,200 a month. "If it is proven that graves were disturbed, with my own money I will see that it gets righted," Milbrand told the Daily Item of Sunbury. The arrest followed a complaint from local resident Thomas Ward. According to court papers, Shamokin Patrolman William Miner used burial records and photographic evidence to determine that 14 graves had been disturbed, and spoke with a contractor who said he had done work there at Milbrand's direction. Other residents complained that rocks and rubble had fallen onto graves. Police: Allman Brothers drummer Trucks killed himself WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks killed himself in front of his wife, police reports released Wednesday show. The 69-year-old Trucks shot himself in the head Jan. 27 at his home, the West Palm Beach police reports show. Trucks was one of two original drummers, along with Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson, who helped formed the rhythms and the drive for The Allman Brothers. Formed in 1969 and led by Duane and Gregg Allman, the group helped define the Southern rock sound that incorporated blues, rock, country and jazz. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Trucks joined with the Allman siblings to form the band, including guitarist Dickey Betts and bassist Berry Oakley. They moved to Macon, Georgia, to cut their first record with Capricorn Records. The two drummers melded their individual styles, with Trucks considered to be the straightforward, driving train rhythm player, while Johanson added his R&B and jazz drumming influences. The band's 1971 live album, "At Fillmore East," became their seminal breakthrough album, featuring a fusion of jazz, blues and rock. It featured songs like "You Don't Love Me" and a 22-minute version of "Whipping Post." Trucks also helped encourage a family lineage of musicians. One nephew, Derek Trucks, is the frontman of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and also joined The Allman Brothers band in 1999 as a guitarist. Another nephew, Duane Trucks, is the drummer for Widespread Panic. Cartwheeling choir teacher arrested for indecent exposure PAWHUSKA, Okla. (AP) Police in northern Oklahoma say they've arrested a substitute teacher on an indecent exposure complaint after she reportedly did a cartwheel in front of students while wearing a skirt but no undergarments. The Pawhuska Police Department says a student recorded the incident on a cellphone. Police Chief Scott Laird says the incident reportedly happened during a high school choir class in Pawhuska, about 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. German church OKs case-by-case Communion for remarried VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Francis' outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics opens the door to letting them receive Communion, Germany's bishops declared Wednesday. In a statement, the German bishops' conference said a document by Francis entitled "The Joy of Love" sets out how pastors can provide "differentiated solutions" to individual cases through a process of accompaniment. That process "opens the possibility of receiving the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist," the bishops' statement said. Argentine and Maltese bishops already have issued similar guidelines based on Francis' divisive 2016 document, which was the fruit of a two-year canvassing of church leaders during two Vatican meetings, or synods, of bishops. Pope Francis poses with a chorus during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) The Maltese bishops have gone even further than the pope, saying the Eucharist cannot be denied to civilly remarried or divorced Catholics if, after a path of spiritual discernment, they are at peace with God. The German bishops' statement isn't surprising given that they led the progressive wing during the synods, pushing for a case-by-case allowance for these Catholics. However, not all German leaders back the conference interpretation. Francis' own doctrinal czar, German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, said church doctrine prevents Catholics who divorced and remarried outside the church from receiving Communion unless they abstain from sex. "It cannot be said that there are circumstances according to which an act of adultery does not constitute a mortal sin," Mueller said in an interview with Italian publication "Il Timone." ''For Catholic doctrine, it is impossible for mortal sin to coexist with sanctifying grace" necessary to receive Communion. He further admonished bishops for trying to interpret the pope, saying they should first know their doctrine. "The bishop, as teacher of the word, must himself be the first to be well-formed so as not to fall into the risk of the blind leading the blind," Mueller said. Church teaching holds that unless divorced Catholics receive an annulment, or a church decree that their first marriage was invalid, they are committing adultery and cannot receive Communion. For a variety of reasons, such annulments often cannot be obtained. Citing Jesus' teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, some conservatives have insisted the rules are fixed and that the only way these Catholics can receive Communion is to abstain from sex. Progressives sought wiggle room to balance doctrine with mercy by looking at couples on a case-by-case basis. In his document, Francis said pastors should help individual Catholics ascertain what God is asking of them. Using vague language and footnotes, he linked such discussions of conscience with access to the sacraments. He has said the Argentine interpretation of his document is the only one, while the Vatican newspaper published the Maltese guidelines in a sign of endorsement. Backing Mueller is the archbishop of Philadelphia, who issued guidelines for his archdioceses saying civilly remarried Catholics can only receive Communion if they live as brother and sister. ___ Moulson reported from Berlin. Colored balloons float as Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus prayer from his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Police: Texas sheriff's deputy killed his son then himself GRAHAM, Texas (AP) Investigators say a Texas sheriff's deputy fatally shot his son before killing himself at the home they shared northwest of Fort Worth. Graham police Chief Tony Widner said in a statement Tuesday that 61-year-old Joseph Parker killed his son, 27-year-old Kensy Parker. Their bodies were found Thursday in a bedroom at the home. Widner initially declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the deaths as investigators awaited forensic results. He says no note was found and that the motive for the shooting is not clear. Texas inmate will not be executed Thursday HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) A federal appeals court Wednesday allowed a reprieve from Thursday's scheduled execution for a man convicted of killing a Corpus Christi convenience store worker in a robbery that garnered $1.25. A judge on Tuesday let stand a stay of execution for John Henry Ramirez after Ramirez argued that he wanted a new attorney to file a clemency petition and investigate claims his previous court-appointed lawyer was deficient. Ramirez was sentenced to death for the 2004 slashing and stabbing death of 45-year-old Pablo Castro. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled that Ramirez's previous lawyer left him "effectively without counsel" and there wasn't enough time for "serious consideration" of the appeal before Ramirez's scheduled execution, so she stopped the punishment. FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate John Henry Ramirez, who was convicted for the 2004 robbery-slaying of a convenience store worker in Corpus Christi. The Texas Attorney General's Office is appealing a federal judge's decision on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that gave a reprieve to Ramirez who had been set to die Thursday, Feb. 2. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP, File) The Texas Attorney General's Office appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the lower court. A three-judge panel of the appeals court let the order stand, saying late Wednesday they could find "no reversible error" in Ramos' decision. State lawyers had pointed out in their appeal that Ramirez had ordered his previous lawyer to not file a clemency petition. They argued his previous lawyer did not abandon him and had continued to act on his behalf while setting the stage for arguments that led to Ramos' reprieve. "This is not abandonment; it is gamesmanship," Assistant Texas Attorney General Jennifer Morris wrote. "It is a run-of-the-mill, last-ditch attempt to thwart his execution." Gregory Gardner, the attorney who filed the appeal to Ramos and was appointed by her to represent Ramirez, had said allowing the punishment to move forward would deprive Ramirez of "his right to meaningful representation." The U.S. Supreme Court in October declined to review Ramirez's case. The 5th Circuit earlier last year rejected arguments that the legal help at his trial was deficient. Testimony at Ramirez's trial showed that he, his girlfriend and another woman ran out of money after three days of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and other drugs and turned to robbery to get more cash to fuel their binge. They found Castro taking out the trash the night of July 19, 2004, as he was helping to close up the convenience store where he'd worked for 14 years. Evidence showed Ramirez stabbed and slashed Castro 29 times. Ramirez's girlfriend, Angela Rodriguez, went through Castro's pockets, taking $1.25. Ramirez and the two women then moved on to a couple of fast-food restaurants, robbing one customer in a drive-thru lane and attempting to rob another. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison. The second woman, Christina Chavez, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery charges and received three 25-year prison sentences. 15-year-old boy charged after gunfire in Boston schools HQ BOSTON (AP) Police say a 15-year-old boy is under arrest after one gunshot was fired during a fight between two teenagers inside a building that houses Boston Public Schools administrative offices. No one was hurt in the shooting at about 9:20 a.m. Wednesday. Officer Rachel McGuire says that during a physical altercation in a common area, one teen produced a gun that went off during the struggle. Commissioner William Evans said the .40 caliber handgun the suspect pulled from a backpack jammed and several bystanders jumped in to restrain the boys. Both were handcuffed, but one, who was with his mother to register for school, was not charged. Police also recovered a gun. Evans said it's unclear what sparked the confrontation. Mexico starts talks with businesses on NAFTA changes MEXICO CITY (AP) The Mexican government said Wednesday it will open a 90-day consultation period with private business groups about possible changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump wants to re-negotiate NAFTA, a trade pact with Mexico and Canada in operation since 1994. Mexico says it will negotiate changes, but won't accept import quotas or new tariff barriers. Mexico's Economy Department said the consultations will be held simultaneously with similar talks in the United States. Manufacturers in Mexico have benefited from the pact, but Mexico's small farmers say they've been hurt. On Tuesday, President Enrique Pena Nieto reached an agreement with state governors to use their states' offices in the United States to help protect migrants there. Laurence Fishburne calls Nelson Mandela role 'life-changing' NEW YORK (AP) There are a handful of roles that every good actor is more than honored to play. So when Laurence Fishburne was asked to portray Nelson Mandela in a new miniseries, he didn't hesitate. At first. "I was offered the part. I said 'yes' immediately, was completely honored to be asked. And then, 15 minutes later, panic set in. I was like, 'What are you doing?'" recalled the Emmy- and Tony Award-winner. Fishburne put aside his fears when he learned he'd be filming exclusively in South Africa with South African actors helping tell the story Mandela told in his own autobiographies. This image released by BET shows Laurence Fishburne as Nelson Mandela in a scene from, "Madiba," a six-hour miniseries premiering on Wednesday, Feb. 1. (Marcos Cruz/BET via AP) "Our storytelling is really about the man, more so than the myth. We've tried to reveal how the man became the myth," he said. "It was a life-changing experience." The result is "Madiba," a six-hour film broadcast over three nights on BET starting Wednesday. It takes its title from the clan name of Mandela, who became one of the world's most beloved statesmen. The star of "The Matrix" and "Man of Steel" has played real people before Thurgood Marshall and Ike Turner but Mandela is in a special class. "There's Christ. There's Gandhi," he said, listing options. "A couple of Shakespearian kings and queens, if you will. Popes. Some Roman emperors. And perhaps a few gods, some Olympian gods." Producer Lance Samuels reached out to Mandela to get his blessing almost eight years ago. The only directive Mandela had was he wanted the film to explore the less well-known figures in the anti-apartheid struggle, like Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo. "The fact that we have the six hours to work with gives us a much larger canvas," said Fishburne. "We can introduce people to the audience who were instrumental not only in bringing apartheid down but also people who very influential in Nelson Mandela's life people who helped to guide him, shape him, counsel him, oppose him, challenge him." Orlando Jones, who plays Tambo, noted that the vast majority of the cast in "Madiba" is South African, plus it marks the first time an African-American director has helmed a story about Mandela's life and also the first time a South African actress has played Winnie Mandela. "South Africans finally have a voice in this South African story," said Jones. Director Kevin Hooks, who directed Fishburne in "Fled," put the actor at the top of his list when it came to casting. Hooks knew he made the right choice while filming Fishburne in a scene in which the imprisoned Mandell learns his son has died. "I was at the monitor when I said, 'Cut!' I had to compose myself because I was near tears," said Hooks. "I was speechless because it was just so powerful. That's when I knew that it was a home run for me." Though daunting as an acting task, Fishburne knew he could handle the assignment as he was doing a special tour of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg before filming began. He was looking though Mandela's letters and artifacts when he spied a bust of Thurgood Marshall the same kind of bust he had been given by the Thurgood Marshall Foundation to celebrate his opening night playing the Supreme Court justice on Broadway in 2008. "I think, 'OK. I'm good. Somebody gave him the same kind of award they gave me, so I'll be OK. I should be able to pull it off,'" said Fishburne. "When I saw that, it was like the silent wink." In a twist, Fishburne's BET movie will not only be competing with his latest movie " John Wick: Chapter Two" but also with his turn as the crotchety Pops Johnson in ABC's "black-ish," which he said he's loving. "I am in the grandpa chair and I'm loving the grandpa chair," he said. "I get to show this side of myself that's been in the background, not really at the forefront. It's nice because I like change. I don't want to always do the same thing. I don't want to be predictable. I want to mix it up." ___ Follow Mark Kennedy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits This image released by BET shows Laurence Fishburne as Nelson Mandela in a scene from, "Madiba," a six-hour miniseries premiering on Wednesday, Feb. 1. (Marcos Cruz/BET via AP) Poland taking Russia to UN court over late president's crash WARSAW, Poland (AP) Poland's government says it is taking Russia to the United Nations' principal court over the continuing probe into the 2010 death of Poland's president in a plane crash in Russia and Moscow's refusal to turn over the wreckage. The twin brother of late President Lech Kaczynski leads Poland's ruling party. Jaroslaw Kaczynski blames the crash on Moscow. He has made finding those responsible and recovering the plane's pieces for Poland's own investigation part of his political agenda. Russian prosecutors say they still need the wreckage for their ongoing probe. Aviation experts said the crash was an accident. Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Wednesday that Poland is drafting up a complaint to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands. With some pork, fan lures Ramos into giving his shirt MADRID (AP) A Real Madrid fan had just the right gift to convince Sergio Ramos to hand over his shirt a package of pork. The fan went into Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for Sunday's game against Real Sociedad carrying a sign that said, "Sergio, if you give me your shirt, I'll give you a tray of pork in lard." After Madrid's 3-0 win, Ramos ran across the field and threw his shirt to the fan in the stands. Smiling, the defender asked for the meat and waited a few seconds as a steward picked up the package from the fan. Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, centre, celebrates with teammate Sergio Ramos, left, and Casemiro after scoring their side's second goal against Real Sociedad during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Ronaldo scored once in Real Madrid's 3-0 victory. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) A video of the exchange was posted on Twitter, and several photos showed Ramos returning to the changing rooms carrying the pack of meat. Local media identified the fan as Sergio Sanchez, who is from Vejer de la Frontera in southern Spain, which is known for its pork in lard, or "lomo en manteca," as it's called in Spanish. "He asked for it twice," Sanchez told channel CSN Cadiz. "He didn't want to leave without it." The Latest: Pence hopes to avoid 'nuclear option' on Gorsuch WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President Donald Trump's nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court (all times local): 4:35 p.m. Vice President Mike Pence says in an interview with "PBS NewsHour" that he's hopeful that the Senate will not need to take the so-called "nuclear option" to win approval for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Supreme Court Justice nominee, Neil Gorsuch, center, is joined by Vice President Mike Pence, right, as they meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Last year, Senate Republicans, led by McConnell, blocked a confirmation hearing for Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's pick for the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia who died in February 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Pence was asked if Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might have to resort to changing Senate rules to make it impossible to filibuster the Supreme Court nominee. Pence says he's hopeful McConnell won't, and is pointing to the first-term nominees of former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He says those nominees received "broad bipartisan support" and were considered in about 60 to 70 days. ___ 2:15 p.m. The first phone call Judge Neil Gorsuch made after being nominated to the Supreme Court was to Judge Merrick Garland former President Barack Obama's pick for the bench. It was a courtesy call by Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's selection for the longstanding vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a year ago. The Republican-led Senate never acted on Garland's nomination for that seat, much to the irritation of Democrats who are now threatening to make trouble for Gorsuch's bid. The phone call by Gorsuch was confirmed by Ron Bonjean, who is assisting the judge through the nominations process ___ Noon President Donald Trump says if political "gridlock" stalls his Supreme Court pick, it may be time for the Senate's Republican leader to consider the option to "go nuclear." That would mean changing Senate rules to make it impossible to filibuster a high court nominee. The president tells reporters that if Senate Democrats try to block Neil Gorsuch's nomination, he would say this to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "If you can, Mitch, go nuclear, because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web." ___ 11:10 a.m. President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick is earning GOP praise as he visits Capitol Hill. Judge Neil Gorsuch was accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence as he met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell called Gorsuch "an outstanding appointment" and said Republicans were "thrilled" to get the confirmation process started. Pence predicted that as senators get to know Gorsuch, "they'll come to understand the enthusiasm" Trump has for Gorsuch. Democratic divisions were already on display as a handful of senators announced immediate opposition to Gorsuch while others said he deserved a hearing before any conclusion is reached. A Senate Judiciary Committee spokesman said the panel hoped to begin confirmation hearings in about six weeks. __ 7 a.m. President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer's flair, to the Supreme Court. That sets up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. He's known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. UN: 5 killed in attack along Cameroon-Nigeria border DAKAR, Senegal (AP) The United Nations is strongly condemning an attack along Cameroon's border with Nigeria that killed a U.N. independent contractor and four others. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for West Africa, said in a statement Wednesday that the attack took place near Kontcha, Cameroon. The contractor's nationality was not released. Three Nigerians and one Cameroonian also were killed in the Tuesday afternoon attack. Several others were wounded. The U.N. says the group was part of a technical monitoring team carrying out a field mission related to border demarcation. There are no immediate claims of responsibility, and it is not known which armed group was responsible. 38 Studios final defendant agrees to $16 million settlement PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Rhode Island is settling with the final defendant in its lawsuit over the failure of 38 Studios, the video game company started by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. The state Commerce Corporation said Wednesday it has agreed to a $16 million settlement with Dallas-based Hilltop Securities Inc., formerly known as the First Southwest Co. The settlement was filed Wednesday morning in Rhode Island Superior Court and is contingent on court approval. Schilling's video game company moved from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010 in exchange for a $75 million loan guarantee, then went bankrupt less than two years later. First Southwest was the state's financial adviser on the deal. Hilltop Securities said Wednesday that the settlement isn't an admission of liability or wrongdoing. "It allows our firm to put this matter behind us and move forward on the important work we undertake for municipal clients across the country," spokeswoman Patti Doyle said. The lawsuit was filed in 2012 by then-Gov. Lincoln Chafee. The state has since settled its claims against Schilling and others involved with the deal, including Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital. If a judge approves Wednesday's agreement, the combined settlements will total about $61 million. Schilling has said his company failed because it didn't raise enough money, not because he did anything malicious or illegal, and that he has apologized to his former employees. He has also faulted Rhode Island politicians for giving him a loan guarantee in the first place. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said Wednesday she is pleased with the settlement but that now that the civil case is ending, she will immediately petition for the release of all documents from a separate grand jury investigation into the 38 Studios deal. State law enforcement officials announced in July that there would be no criminal charges following a yearslong investigation. They have declined to release the documents because the investigation, though inactive, remains open. Guyana using $80M to pave jungle highway link to Brazil GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) Guyana has secured nearly $80 million to pave a portion of a 350-mile (560-kilometer) jungle highway that is expected to increase trade with neighboring Brazil. Infrastructure Minister David Patterson told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the grant from Britain will cover a 70-mile (115-kilometer) portion and include a $10 million bridge across the western Essequibo River. Vehicles currently cross the river via a pontoon during a 12-hour journey that is expected to drop to two hours. The money is part of a $379 million grant that Britain pledged in 2015 to help improve infrastructure in the Caribbean. After walkabout, escaped bobcat Ollie nonchalantly returns WASHINGTON (AP) After a two-plus day walkabout in the leafy wilds of northwest Washington, an escaped bobcat returned to the National Zoo and walked right into a trap where some "goodies" had been left for her Wednesday, zookeepers said. The adventures of the female bobcat known as Ollie lit up social media and transfixed the nation's capital after she went missing Monday, offering a distraction from the more serious news of the Trump administration's early days. While bobcats are native to much of North America, including the greater Washington area, none are believed to live in Rock Creek Park, which surrounds the zoo. Officials weren't optimistic that Ollie would reappear, given that she could easily thrive on a diet of mice, rats, chipmunks and other critters in the 1,700-acre national park. This photo provided by the Smithsonian's National Zoo shows Ollie, a female bobcat the the zoo. Ollie, who escaped from its enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, is perfectly capable of surviving in the wild and would find plenty to eat in Rock Creek Park if it wanted to stay there, zoo officials said. The female bobcat, believed to be about 7 years old, was found to be missing Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, morning when it didnt show up for breakfast. (Barbara Statas/Smithsonian's National Zoo via AP) On Wednesday afternoon, after the zoo had given up searching for her, Ollie was spotted by a visitor crossing a walkway near the zoo's bird house, said Craig Saffoe, the zoo's curator of great cats. Saffoe and another zookeeper set some traps and walked away, and minutes later, they were told Ollie had been caught. "She was watching us and waiting for us to walk away. She never came out to say 'Hi.' She was waiting to see what kind of goodies we left for her," Saffoe told reporters. "She came in, she ate a couple of goodies and she left a lot of goodies sitting in the crate. She wasn't starving." Brandie Smith, the zoo's associate director of animal care, said Ollie appeared to be in good health but would undergo a full examination Thursday morning. The bobcat had a minor cut on her left paw that didn't require treatment, Smith said. Bobcats look a lot like house cats, only bigger and with short, stubby tails. Ollie is about 7 years old and weighs 25 pounds. Bobcats are secretive, largely nocturnal animals and coexist peacefully with humans throughout the United States. That, however, didn't stop District of Columbia public schools from canceling recess for a day while Ollie was out, out of what was called "an abundance of caution." Zoo officials said they were overjoyed to have Ollie back and added they were in no rush to put her back on exhibit in a space she shares with two male bobcats. Ollie was believed to have escaped from a hole in the mesh netting that surrounds her enclosure. "She came right back home. She didn't go too far," Saffoe said. "Did she escape because she wanted to be free? I don't know. I think she wanted to go out and have a little bit of fun, see what it was like on the outside." ___ Nigeria's Lagos governor signs law authorizing death penalty LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) The governor of Nigeria's most populous state has signed a law authorizing the death penalty for anyone convicted in a kidnapping where the victim dies. Lagos state Gov. Akinwunmi Abode says the law he signed Wednesday will help halt a spate of kidnappings for ransom. Victims have included schoolchildren, officials and foreign workers. Nigeria seven years ago signed a moratorium to stop executions. But that has been breached in Edo state, where three men convicted of armed robbery were hanged in December and four convicted criminals were hanged in 2013. Nigeria has more than 1,000 prisoners on death row. May 8 trial for Tulsa officer who fatally shot unarmed man TULSA, Okla. (AP) A white Oklahoma police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man last year will go to trial May 8. Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby was arraigned Wednesday in district court. She has pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the Sept. 16 death of Terence Crutcher. District Judge Doug Drummond also overruled motions by Shelby's attorneys to have the case thrown out for lack of evidence or sent back for a new preliminary hearing. Tulsa Police officer Betty Shelby leaves the Tulsa County Courthouse aafter her arraignment Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, in Tulsa, Okla. Shelby pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the Sept. 16 death of Terence Crutcher. (Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP)/Tulsa World via AP) Prosecutors say Shelby acted unreasonably because Crutcher wasn't armed or combative when she approached him after his SUV broke down, and that he obeyed commands to raise his hands. Shelby's attorneys say she shot Crutcher because she feared for her life, believing Crutcher was reaching into his vehicle for a gun. Judge orders halt to Trump's ban for immigrant visa holders LOS ANGELES (AP) A federal judge in Los Angeles has ordered the U.S. government to allow people holding immigrant visas from seven majority-Muslim nations into the United States despite President Trump's executive order banning them. In a temporary restraining order issued late Tuesday, Judge Andre Birotte Jr. ordered the government not to cancel any validly obtained immigrant visas or bar anyone from the seven nations holding them from entering the U.S. But it was unclear whether the order will have any effect. The State Department ordered all visas from the seven countries revoked on Friday, and the government has maintained that orders similar to Birotte's do not apply because the visas are no longer valid. In this photo taken Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, Yemenis gather for a meeting with American lawyer Julie Goldberg, who is helping them with their cases, in Djibouti city, Djibouti. Hundreds of Yemenis with U.S. visas are stranded in the tiny African state of Djibouti because of President Donald Trump's ban on entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, lawyer Julie Goldberg said Wednesday. (Julie Goldberg via AP) The State Department declined comment Wednesday on Birotte's order, saying it does not comment on pending litigation. Stacey Gartland, a San Francisco attorney who represents a 12-year-old Yemeni girl whose parents and siblings are U.S. citizens living in California, acknowledged Wednesday that her client and hundreds of others with immigrant visas still may not be allowed in the U.S. under Birotte's order, but said she's optimistic. "This court order is a major victory and definitely gives us a path forward," Gartland said. "It's just a matter of getting it into the right hands of someone who'll obey the court order." Julie Goldberg, the Los Angeles-based immigration lawyer who filed the lawsuit that prompted Birotte's order, is trying to arrange flights for dozens of Yemeni citizens who have immigrant visas and are stranded in the tiny African nation of Djibouti, including the 12-year-old girl Gartland represents. Gartland said two major airlines have turned them down but they are trying to work with smaller airlines that will follow Birotte's order. "These are all children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens," Goldberg told The Associated Press from the Horn of Africa nation, emphasizing that those stranded are not refugees, though Yemen is engulfed in civil war. They received visas last week, she said. Mohamed Mosleh Jeran is one of the many waiting. After his family's home was blown up in Yemen's conflict, he and his wife and two young children spent two years in Djibouti. Last month, their younger son died during what should have been routine surgery. Last Thursday, the family received their U.S. visas and looked forward to joining Jeran's father, a U.S. citizen, in New York City. But Trump the next day announced his executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. On Saturday, Jeran's family was turned away at the Turkish Airlines check-in counter, Goldberg said. A spokesman for the airline did not respond to a call for comment. "Finally I am leaving Djibouti, but in my heart I was upset, I lost one of my kids," Jeran recalled to the AP. "But what can you do? This is life. I was happy my wife and son were leaving Djibouti, finally." But when they were turned away, "my wife, she was like a child, crying, my son, too.'" Jeran has been accepted to the University of Toledo to begin a masters' program in March, Goldberg said. "It's super frustrating," she said. "They're running out of money. Djibouti is very expensive. They can't go back to Yemen, they would be killed." Yemen has been gripped by conflict since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States, has been carrying out an air campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for nearly two years. Many Yemenis have fled on boats across the Bab al-Mandab strait to Djibouti or other Horn of Africa countries. In the United States, relatives of the stranded Yemenis are anguished. Esam Molhi and his wife, both green card holders from Yemen, now fear leaving for Djibouti to reunite with their 3-year-old daughter because Trump's order might keep them from returning home. The girl was born in Yemen, and the U.S. Embassy there refused to let her fly with her mother to join Molhi in the U.S., Goldberg said. The family has been pursuing a U.S. visa for the girl since then. The child is staying in a rented room in Djibouti with her Yemeni grandfather, Molhi told the AP from his home in San Francisco, where he works as an Uber driver. He has not yet seen her in person, and his wife has not seen her since she was a month and a half old. "This is unfair," Molhi said of Trump's order. "I want him to feel as I feel, you know?" The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti has posted an urgent notice online telling people, including those with dual nationalities, from the countries affected Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen not to schedule visa appointments or even attend existing visa appointments. ___ Georgia teenager accused of strangling mother during fight NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) Police in Georgia have charged a 15-year-old boy with felony murder after they say he strangled his mother when the two argued about him refusing to take his medication. Gwinnett County police Cpl. Deon Washington says the teenager killed his 47-year-old mother Tuesday night in their apartment in Norcross, northeast of Atlanta. The victim's nephew found the woman's body and police found the suspect near the apartment complex a short time later. Police initially reported the boy was 16. They say he's been charged as an adult and is being held at a youth detention center. The Associated Press does not typically identify juveniles who are charged with crimes. Gwinnett County police said the teen had "mental health issues" but declined to be more specific. ___ Mexico's remittances reach almost $27 billion MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexicans living abroad sent home almost $27 billion in 2016, the highest yearly figure on record, the central bank reported on Wednesday. The remittances rose 8.8 percent, from $24.78 billion in 2015 to 26.97 billion last year. The central bank said almost all the money was sent to Mexico by electronic transfers, though about $600 million continues to arrive in cash or by money orders. Remittances have become Mexico's most important source of foreign income after auto exports of almost $34 billion per year. Remittances have far surpassed the $15.6 billion Mexico earns from oil exports and the $17.5 billion in tourism income Mexico received in 2015. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. might retain some remittances to pay for a wall between the countries, a project Mexico opposes. Michigan pair guilty of harboring 5 immigrants who died DETROIT (AP) The owners of a Chinese restaurant pleaded guilty Wednesday to harboring five immigrants who died in a basement fire at a house in suburban Detroit. Roger Tam and wife Ada Mei Lei said they knew a teenager and four young men from Mexico were in the U.S. illegally. But they insist they shouldn't be held responsible for their deaths a year ago. That issue will be critical when they're sentenced on June 13. If a judge finds they're responsible, Tam and Lei could face years in prison. "It's going to be a vigorous fight with the government," said defense attorney Ray Cassar, who called the deaths a "tragic accident." "These were immigrants helping other immigrants," he told The Associated Press, noting that Tam and Lei are naturalized U.S. citizens from China. "Mr. Tam cared a great deal about these people. This is not a case where a bus tipped over or a boat sank or he put them in a rat-infested hotel that collapsed." The January 2016 fire occurred in a comfortable neighborhood in Novi where some houses are worth more than $350,000. Investigators say the victims likely were overcome by smoke and couldn't get up the stairs and out of the basement. Windows were made of glass block. The fire has been linked to careless smoking. "The United States will seek a sentencing enhancement for creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to reflect the seriousness of the offense," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in a written statement. Tam, 56, and Lei, 49, answered a series of yes-or-no questions in court Wednesday. Tam regularly drove the five between the restaurant and the house, which he owned. They were paid cash while working at Kim's Garden. "Nobody wants to do that kind of work," Cassar said. ___ Two prison guards are still being held by a group of inmates who have taken over part of a Delaware jail in a protest over President Donald Trump. Prisoners seized five officers at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna. So far three of the officers have been released, along with 41 inmates. Inmates contacted a local newspaper to highlight their concerns, which included a fear of Trump and complaints over the lack of access to education and rehabilitation services. James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Delaware went into lockdown on Wednesday as police swarmed the facility due to a hostage situation Delaware State Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz (center) said the incident began around 10:30am when a correctional officer inside Building C, which houses over 100 inmates, radioed for immediate assistance Video courtesy of WBOC Prisons across the state were placed in lockdown as authorities feared copycat demonstrations. A large group of law enforcement officers surrounded the 2,500-inmate facility while negotiations with the ringleaders progressed. So far, three officers and two dozen prisoners - who may have also been hostages - have been released. Robert Coupe, secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said 27 inmates also left the building that's been the scene of negotiations all day. Authorities said they didn't know whether the inmates had been held against their will. Authorities believe the takeover began around 10.30am yesterday when a prison officer inside Building C called for back-up. According to Sergeant Richard Bratz of Delaware State Police, there are more than 100 inmates housed in Building C. Other officers responded to help, and five Department of Corrections employees were taken hostage. Five guards were taken hostage at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna, Delaware at 10:30am on Wednesday Firefighters were called to the scene after reports of smoke and were being held on standby Later in the afternoon, prisoners contacted their local newspaper, The News Journal in Wilmington with the help of one inmate's fiancee and another person's mother. The mother told the paper her son was among the hostages. In that call, an inmate said their reasons 'for doing what we're doing' included 'Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that he's doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse.' That caller said education for prisoners was the inmates' priority. They also sought effective rehabilitation for all prisoners and information about how money is allocated to prisons. Bratz did not address the phone calls during the news conference or give details about negotiations, which he said were ongoing. He did not take questions. 'We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of everyone involved and using all of our available resources,' he said. The inmates released one hostage around 2:40pm yesterday. Bratz said the person, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Bratz did not say how much of the prison, which houses about 2,500 inmates, was involved in the incident. But Bruce Rogers, counsel for the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, told The Associated Press Building C was under the inmates' control. Rogers described the hostages as four guards and one counselor. He said he'd been briefed on the situation by the union's president, who was talking to officials at the scene. The officer who was released 'had been beaten and bruised and banged up,' said Rogers. Video from above the prison Wednesday afternoon showed uniformed officers gathered in two groups along fences near an entrance to the prison. Later, video showed several people surrounding a stretcher and running as they pushed it across the compound. People could be seen standing near a set of doors with an empty stretcher and wheelchair. Blood Bank Delmarva tweeted about 12pm saying they were in need of O blood type and platelet donations to go to Smyrna. Video from above the prison shows uniformed officers gathered in two groups along fences near an entrance to the prison The prison was placed into lockdown as police swarmed the facility early Wednesday morning Dozens of emergency response teams and Delaware State Police swarmed the prison as helicopters circled above the buildings when the hostage situation was first reported. The Department of Correction initially only said that an emergency situation was reported at the Smyrna prison late Wednesday morning. The facility and all other prisons in the state were placed on lockdown, which is protocol if an emergency happens at one of the facilities. Video shot by CBS from above the prison shows uniformed officers gathered in two groups along fences near an entrance to the prison. According to the department's website, the prison is Delaware's largest correctional facility for men, housing about 2,500 inmates. It houses minimum, medium, and maximum security inmates, and also houses Kent County detainees awaiting trial. It is also the site of the state's death row and where executions were carried out. The prison opened in 1971. The last hostage situation at the prison occurred in 2004 when inmate Scott Miller raped a counselor and took her hostage for nearly seven hours. A department sharpshooter later shot and killed the 45-year-old ending the standoff. Dover attorney Stephen Hampton, who has represented state inmates in civil rights cases, said complaints have increased in the past year from inmates systemwide about substandard medical care and poor record-keeping. Hampton also said that pretrial inmates at Vaughn and other facilities are locked up for much of the day, without access to gyms or libraries, because rules prohibit mixing pretrial and sentenced inmates. He said prisoners awaiting trial sometimes make deals to get out of their cells. He added: 'There gets to be a tremendous pressure on these inmates.' Key legal test approaches for Arkansas LGBT measure LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) With a gay pride parade that organizers tout as the largest in Arkansas and a reputation as a liberal haven in a conservative state, college-town Fayetteville took what seemed like a logical step in guaranteeing civil rights to its LGBT community. Voters approved an ordinance in 2015 banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, joining a handful of other communities with similar measures on the books. But Arkansas is one of three GOP-controlled states that had explicitly banned cities and counties from taking such steps, and state officials are challenging the action. FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2015, file photo, Arkansas state Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, speaks about his bill that would prevent local governments from passing their own anti-discrimination laws. Hester's bill eventually became a law that the Arkansas Supreme Court will take up on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. The court has been asked whether an ordinance in Eureka Springs, and others like it, violates the ban against local anti-discrimination laws. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File) The Arkansas Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether the city or the state should prevail. The case is one of the first of its kind on the LGBT issue to reach a high court review, and could be an important test for cities in other conservative states that are trying to counter bathroom laws, religious objections measures and other efforts that critics consider discriminatory. It also comes as Democratic cities are pushing back on other issues. "As we see many cities taking these steps, we also really see this backlash in state legislatures," said Cathryn Oakley of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group. At least 40 bills seen as anti-LGBT have been introduced in 16 states so far this year, according to activists. The question of local control vs state's rights will be hotly debated. For Republicans who have traditionally extolled keeping power in the hands of the people, "to pull power away from localities in favor of the state to me seems very hypocritical and it tends to be really directed around progressive issues," Oakley said. But conservative leaders say the local actions are impractical and unsupported in state law. "These ordinances run the risk of creating a patchwork of civil rights from one community or one county to another," said Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council, the social conservative group that had pushed for the state level ban. Arkansas' civil rights law doesn't cover sexual orientation or gender identity, and in 2015 the Legislature banned cities from expanding protections beyond the current language. Tennessee has a similar ban, and the prohibition is also part of North Carolina's controversial law restricting which bathrooms transgender people can use. A state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against Tennessee's ban in 2014. North Carolina's law, which prompted widespread boycotts of the state, is being challenged in federal court. In Arkansas, Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas and its 27,000 students, and Eureka Springs, a mountain resort town known as a gay-friendly tourist destination, approved broad anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people. More limited measures covering only government agencies and contractors were enacted in capital-city Little Rock, the county around it and in Hot Springs. Officials of those towns said the gay-friendly measures can help in attracting businesses. "I think certainly it sends a strong message to the community and to the public and to the entire country that we're an open welcoming city and we embrace diversity," said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola. Stodola and other officials have argued that other parts of state law allow for such local protections. A state judge agreed with that argument and upheld Fayetteville's ordinance, prompting the state's Republican attorney general to appeal to the high court. So far, the issue has mostly involved dueling legal briefs. Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams said no discrimination complaints have been filed under the new ordinance. Likewise, Eureka Springs has yet to have an applicable case. "We didn't anticipate that we would have any discrimination suits," Mayor Robert "Butch" Berry said. Cox said that if the Supreme Court rules for the state, conservatives may ask the Legislature to pass a more sweeping anti-local action ban. "We have determined as a society that things like civil rights should be handled at a different level and there are certain issues that are so important, they should be handled with uniformity," Republican Sen. Bart Hester said. ___ Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo FILE - In this May 6, 2015, file photo, Eureka Springs, Ark., Mayor Robert "Butch" Berry talks about his town's anti-discrimination ordinance. The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, will hear arguments on whether the citys ordinance, and others like it, violates a ban on local anti-discrimination laws imposed by legislators in 2015. (AP Photos/Danny Johnston, File) Vatican newspaper calls out Trump's travel ban VATICAN CITY (AP) The Vatican is criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policy, with a senior official voicing concern and the Vatican newspaper saying Trump's recourse to walls and travel bans is counterproductive to America's economic interests. Archbishop Angelo Becciu, a top official in the Vatican's secretariat of state, was asked Wednesday about Trump's immigration policy, including the president's decision to keep citizens of seven mostly-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. "Certainly there's concern. Because we are messengers of another culture, that of opening, but also about the capacity of integrating those who arrive in our society and our culture," Becciu told TG2000, the television of the Italian bishops' conference. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano headlined a front-page editorial Wednesday with the words, "Closure isn't progress." The paper said protests by U.S. corporations to Trump's travel ban showed that "closing doors to immigrants means depriving the country of potentially important resources." When asked last year about Trumps' campaign promise to have a wall built on the U.S.-Mexico border, Pope Francis declared that anyone who builds walls rather than bridges "isn't Christian." Now that Trump is president, Francis has taken a wait-and-see attitude, although he has warned against the threats of electing populist "saviors" in times of crisis, likening their rise today to Adolf Hitler's rise in the 1930s Germany. Catholics in the U.S. and beyond have been particularly critical of Trump's travel ban, saying it violates the Gospel-mandated welcome and love owed to strangers and those in need. Some Catholic bishops in the Mideast have said it could further jeopardize Christians already at risk in the region. Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, the head of the Chaldean Church that encompasses most Iraqi Christians, said the preferential option proposed for Christian refugees "is a trap" for Mideast Christians. Mexican police found the bodies of six men kidnapped by an armed gang in the southern state of Guerrero, the state prosecutor said Wednesday. A day earlier, on Tuesday, eight people including two women were kidnapped from their homes in the town of Chacotla. State prosecutor Xavier Olea said the two women who were kidnapped along with the six men were later released alive. But Olea said the women 'are in a state of shock, they are very afraid' and had not yet spoken to investigators. The bodies of six people with gunshot wounds were found on the road between Mochitlan and Lagunillas in the state of Guerrero in Southern Mexico Police officers and forensic personnel work on the place where six corpses were found at the side of the road The bodies were apparently found on Tuesday in a rural mountain community north of the resort of Acapulco, an area that has been the scene of turf battles involving drug gangs and vigilante 'community police' forces. The prosecutor said investigators had not been able to remove the bodies for autopsies or testing because vigilantes would not allow it. Also Wednesday, the governor of the eastern Gulf state of Veracruz said three marines who disappeared Tuesday in the port city of Veracruz remained missing. On Tuesday, eight people, including two minors, were kidnapped by armed assailants who attacked several houses in Guerrero's Chacotla Gov. Miguel Angel Yunes said in an interview on Grupo Formula radio that military and police were working closely to search for the marines. The marines handle policing duties in the port city and Yunes said they were abducted in the Infonavit Buena Vista neighborhood. The news outlet Milenio reported that Mexico's navy confirmed they had been taken by force by an armed group. Guerrero state has one of Mexico's highest crime rates. Forty three students disappeared in Mexico's Guerrero state in September 2014 Kidnapping and murder statistics across Mexico are frightening. In 2014, the mass kidnapping of 43 student protesters in Guerrero state sparked widespread demonstrations and prompted action from President Enrique Pena Nieto. The government claimed the students were detained by corrupt police, who passed them to a local drug gang who took them to a remote garbage dump near the town of Cocula, killed them, burned the bodies and threw the remains into a river. Brazil judge orders banking tycoon's assets frozen SAO PAULO (AP) A federal judge in Brazil has ruled that more than $300,000 of assets belonging to banking tycoon Joseph Safra be frozen for his alleged involvement in the payment of more than $4 million in bribes. The federal court press office said Judge Rodrigo Parente Paiva Bentemuller ordered the assets frozen Tuesday. Prosecutors filed charges against Safra in April, but a federal court dismissed them. The prosecutors appealed and Bentemuller agreed the investigation should proceed. Prosecutors allege Safra knew of a 2014 plan by executives at Banco Safra to pay 15.3 million reals ($4.25 million) in bribes to tax auditors to reduce or annul fines on unpaid taxes. They say Safra was not directly involved in the negotiations but that wiretapped conversations show that former bank executive Joao Inacio Puga reported to him on the bribery talks. Gov. Walker: White House interested in Wisconsin union law MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that he spoke with Vice President Mike Pence about how the White House can implement on a federal level parts of the Republican governor's contentious policy that all-but eliminated collective bargaining for public sector unions in the state. President Donald Trump has talked about wanting to weaken collective bargaining protections for federal employees, most of whom can't currently bargain over wages or benefits, to make it easier to hire and fire government workers and base pay on merit rather than tenure. Those changes would require an act of Congress. Walker severely restricted union power in Wisconsin and is now talking with the Trump administration about "how they may take bits and pieces of what we did" with the union law and civil service reform and "apply it at the national level." Vice President Mike Pence, left, and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Trump discussed the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) "It's something the vice president has brought up before," Walker told reporters following a speech in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. "It's certainly something we're willing to offer our assistance on, particularly if it helps not just the nation, but in turn improves our ability to be better stewards of the taxpayers here in Wisconsin." The Wisconsin law passed in 2011 barred collective bargaining over working conditions, or pay increases greater than inflation, for most public workers while requiring them to pay more for health care and pension benefits. The fight over its passage led to protests as large as 100,000 people and Walker's recall election in 2012, which he won. Walker was the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall attempt. Union membership in Wisconsin has dropped 40 percent since the law passed. In 2016, only 8 percent of Wisconsin's public and private-sector workers were in a union, below the national average of 10.7 percent. "I don't think that the model that Scott Walker has put forward is a model for success," said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. "That's the model that the Koch Brothers have tried to spread everywhere." Charles and his brother David Koch operate one of the most powerful conservative groups in the nation and have supported efforts across the country to curtail union rights. Trumka said collective bargaining is the best way to ensure workers get fair wages. "If you're going to get workers a raise you have to give them the right to collective bargaining unless you're willing to impose a straightjacketed minimum wage on everybody," Trumka said. During his brief run for the president in 2015, Walker proposed eliminating collective bargaining for federal employees and putting restrictions on unions that represent private-sector workers. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is advising Trump and has talked about the need to reform the civil service system for federal workers. Walker told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that Gingrich and Pence talked with him about civil service reform when Walker paid a visit to the White House on Saturday. "They look at not only what we did with (the collective bargaining law) but even some of the civil service reforms, the two combined, so they can hire and fire based on merit and pay based on performance," Walker told AP. "Long term, this is what the vice president and Newt Gingrich and I were talking about." Walker said if Trump truly wants to make the federal government run more like a private business he needs to "change the structure so that just like any other organization or business that operates outside of government, people are measured based on merit and rewarded based on performance." Pence, when he was governor of Indiana, frequently sparred with public employee unions and only awarded pay increases to state workers who received positive performance reviews. ___ Labor nominee Puzder says he's divesting _ and all-in WASHINGTON (AP) Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder is working to divest his assets from his fast food empire so he can be confirmed to the Cabinet post that enforces protections for American workers, a spokesman said Wednesday. Puzder is CEO of fast food empire CKE Restaurants Inc., and his spokesman George Thompson said divesting assets is a "complex process" since the company is privately held. It was the first time that Puzder has acknowledged he is trying to avoid conflicts of interest by fully separating himself from CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns such fast food chains as Hardee's and Carl's Jr. CKE has said that Puzder would step down as CEO once confirmed. "I am fully committed to becoming secretary of labor and I am looking forward to my hearing," Puzder said Wednesday in a statement to The Associated Press. Puzder's nomination has long been assailed by Democrats and their allies who question his fitness for the post. The nominee has not yet submitted the required ethics paperwork laying out how he intends to avoid conflicts of interest while in office. His confirmation hearing has been postponed indefinitely pending the receipt of that document. Thompson suggested the delay is due in part to the divestiture process. Under federal law, that process is overseen by the Office of Government Ethics, which typically requires Cabinet appointees to sell off assets that pose a "substantial" conflict of interest with their official duties. Appointees who divest can also set up a blind trust for those assets, a process which also requires the office's sign off. Democrats on the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee, which will vote on the nomination, have raised questions about CKE's worker protections on Puzder's watch, releasing complains by workers who say they were shabbily treated. Puzder's company also laid off about 20 employees in 2010 and hired a company in the Philippines to run its technology help desk. Outsourcing is a legal and not uncommon practice for American companies, but one Trump has railed against. ___ Associated Press writer Chad Day contributed to this report. ___ The following residents of Madison County will be running for election as University of Missouri Extension Council Representatives to serve two-year terms beginning March, 2017. Missouri state statutes create county extension councils to work with University of Missouri Extension. The publicly-elected (and appointed) council members assist in planning and carrying out extension programs in their county, providing local extension governance and representing the diversity of the countys changing population. University of Missouri Extension offers educational programs addressing high-priority areas like agriculture, horticulture, nutrition, consumer and family economics, business and industry, community development and youth development (4-H). All residents of Madison County who are 18 years of age or older may vote one time in the County Extension Council election. You may vote online at extension.missouri.edu/madison from Feb. to Feb. 20, 2017, by mail, or in person at the MU Extension Center at 137 W. Main St., Fredericktown. If you have any questions please contact the MU Extension Center at 573-783-3303. Lucas Brewen is the manager of MFA Agri-Services and has served on the Extension Council for the last two years. He enjoys farming and spending time outdoors. He said he feels he would be a good candidate for the Council because of his previous service and that he has a knowledge of Extensions contribution to the community. He is community-minded and has experience working closely with a group to accomplish a project. He hopes to use his experience to contribute to the Council in a way that will benefit our community and the programming that Extension brings locally. Kevin Griffon has served the last two years as Extension Council Vice Chair and Treasurer. He is a loan officer at First State Community Bank. In his free time, he loves hunting, fishing and spending time with his family. He is also a Sunday school teacher for the pre-teen class at the Open Door Tabernacle where he attends church regularly. He was born and raised on a family farm in Madison County and worked as a farm hand during and after high school for more than five years. He has also worked at First State Community for the past ten years, starting out as a teller and working his way up to be a loan officer, where he has been for the past five years. Kevin says he believes his background and work history makes him a good candidate for the Extension Council. As an Extension Council member, he hopes to spread the word about what all the Extension consists of and how it can help the residents of Madison County. There are many untapped resources the Extension has which could benefit many people but they are just unaware the programs exist. Kevin said he hopes to make more people knowledgeable about the Extension and all the various resources and tools it has to assist people. Sandra Ivison (photo not available) is a long-time resident of Madison County. She was raised in Marquand by her parents, Melvin and Bessa Lee Starkey, and has spent the last 35 years in Fredericktown. She was blessed with three children and eight grandchildren, and they help keep her young. For the past four plus years she has worked at Mineral Area College while completing her Bachelors Degree in Business Management. Education plays an important role in her life and she would welcome the chance to aid in continuing education of others using the resources of the University Extension Office. Roger Stevens was born in the Dry Creek community of Madison County, where he has lived in the same valley his entire life. He graduated from Fredericktown High in 1977 and began as a part time employee at BREC in September 1977. He graduated from Mineral Area College in 1979, "majoring in foosball and cheerleaders." He retired from BREC in 2014 and now spends his time working cattle, timber and other non-profitable ventures. He believes his experience in leadership, budgeting, public speaking, power distribution and design, and construction will help him as an Extension Council representative. Lisa Welch has been back in Fredericktown for a year and a half, but has lived in Fredericktown for 15 years total. She is the co-founder of Madison County Miracles on Main Street. She loves spending time helping and creating. She is also applying for a board position for Azalea Festival. She is a high school graduate with two years of additional college education. She works for the Madison County Council for Developmentally Disabled, which she enjoys. She teaches basic skills such as money management, goal setting, and community involvement. Lisa says she feels her experience organizing and creating events will help her as an Extension Council representative. Her focus has always been seeing and helping people achieve happiness. Peggy Yount has lived in Fredericktown all her life; was born and raised here. She is a member of Calvary Church and is very active there. She loves to sing and started singing in her familys group in 1965 when she was four. She is also secretary of the Foot Hills Car Club. Her hobbies include sewing, crocheting, knitting, stained glass and pottery. She took advantage of the knitting classes and canning classes the Extension offered some years back. She is a grandma to five wonderful grandkids. She has previously served on the Extension Council for several years, so she would have knowledge of how it works going into it if elected. Trump honors fallen Navy SEAL during unannounced trip DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) Assuming the somber duties of commander in chief, President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip Wednesday to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in a weekend raid in Yemen. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. More than half a dozen militant suspects were also killed in the raid on an al-Qaida compound and three other U.S. service members were wounded. More than a dozen civilians were also killed in the operation, including the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and U.S. citizen who was targeted and killed by a drone strike in 2011. President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Trump's trip to Delaware's Dover Air Base was shrouded in secrecy. The president and his daughter, Ivanka, departed the White House in the presidential helicopter with their destination unannounced. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported until his arrival. After returning to the White House, Trump commented on the trip at the swearing-in of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. "I just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at Dover," Trump said. "It is something very sad, very beautiful. Ryan, a great man." Marine One landed at Dover shortly before a C-17 believed to be carrying Owens' remains touched down. The president met with Owens' family during a two-hour visit to the base. The sailor's family had requested that Trump's visit and the return of Owens' remains be private. Former President Barack Obama lifted a ban on media coverage of the casualty returns, though families may still request privacy. A spokeswoman at Dover said about half of families choose to allow media coverage. Owens joined the Navy in 1998 and was the recipient of two Bronze stars, a Joint Service Commendation and an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, among other honors. In a statement following his death, the Navy Special Command called Owens a "devoted father, a true professional and a wonderful husband." His death underscores the human costs of the military campaigns Trump now oversees. Far fewer troops are serving in combat now than in the wars Trump's predecessors led in Afghanistan and Iraq, but thousands of Americans remain in hotspots around the world. In Afghanistan, where America's longest war continues, about 8,400 U.S. troops are training and advising local forces. More than U.S. 5,100 troops in Iraq and about 500 in Syria are involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group. The U.S. also engages in counterterrorism operations mainly drone strikes in Yemen, where Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has exploited the chaos of the country's civil war. Sunday's pre-dawn raid which a defense official said was planned by the Obama administration but authorized by Trump could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in Yemen. As a candidate, Trump said he would be willing to "take out" the families of terrorists in order to root out extremism. On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said no Americans "will ever be targeted" in raids against terror suspects. The president's trip to Dover comes as he begins weighing whether to reshape U.S. military activities around the world. As a candidate, he vowed to be tougher on the Islamic State and at one point said he would be willing to send up to 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. Last week, Trump gave the Pentagon and other agencies 30 days to submit a plan for defeating the Islamic State. Trump has said little about his approach to Afghanistan. Obama had pledged to end the war there on his watch, but continuing security concerns prompted him to extend the U.S. military campaign, handing the war off to a third American president. Trump, who never served in the armed forces and received student and medical deferments during the Vietnam War, had an uneven relationship with the military community during the presidential campaign. About 60 percent of voters who served in the military supported Trump in the presidential election, compared with 34 percent who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. But Trump was also criticized by military groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, for his feud with the Khan family, whose Muslim-American son was killed while serving in Iraq. ___ Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor and AP Polling Director Emily Swanson contributed to this report. ___ Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Marine One, with President Donald Trump aboard, lands at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Trump traveled to Dover AFB to meet with family members Chief of Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill, the U.S. service member who was killed in a raid in Yemen, and who's remains where returned today. Owens is the first-know combat death of a member of the U.S. military under Trump's administration. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Massive lava stream exploding into ocean in Hawaii HONOLULU (AP) A dramatic "firehose" stream of molten lava continued to shoot out of a sea cliff Wednesday on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. The lava stream, dubbed a "firehose" flow because it shoots lava outward from the source, started out as a drizzle coming down the sea cliffs after the New Year collapse, but has recently increased in intensity. The molten lava is now arching out and falling about 70 feet to the ocean below. In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) When the molten lava hits the cool seawater, it reacts, causing explosions that can throw large chunks of hot rock and debris inland, where people hike in to see the lava, and seaward, where tour boats cruise the shoreline. Captains are constantly watching the cliffs and lava to keep their passengers safe, said tour boat owner Shane Turpin, who runs Lava Ocean Tours. "We've never had an incident," he said. "We're always watching for what the cliff is doing. Is it moving? Are the rocks rolling down the cliff? We can actually see the changes throughout the day." Turpin described this flow as a "special," saying it "is definitely the most dramatic firehose event I've ever witnessed in the last three decades of viewing lava." On land, the National Park Service is responsible for visitor safety and has restricted the areas that people can go to view the flow, but Turpin said he sees people on the cliff edge where they shouldn't be on a daily basis. Lava bench collapses can happen at any time without warning and if someone was on the edge during a collapse "it would likely be a fatality," said Cindy Orlando, Superintendent of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Despite signs and roped-off areas, people still cross the boundaries and go to the edge of the cliffs near the lava flow, Orlando said. Park rangers have recently issued citations to people who cross into prohibited areas, but Orlando said it is nearly impossible to prevent everyone from breaking the rules. One of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" in the rock above the firehose flow, said USGS geologist Janet Babb. The crack runs parallel to the sea cliff and makes the surrounding land susceptible to collapse. When the large delta collapsed on December 31, it sent hot rocks and lava spatter flying into the air and giant waves outward. "The seaward side of that crack could fall away," Babb, who works at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, said. "That is of great concern because if it does, it's going to drop a lot of hot rock into the water and hot rock mixing with cool seawater makes for explosive interactions." The steam plume created by the lava reaching the water is also a concern. "It's super-heated steam laced with hydrochloric acid from the interaction with the seawater and has shards of volcanic glass," she said. "It's something to be avoided." Babb said that this firehose event is unusual because it has lasted so long. Usually when a flow opens up like this, the lava quickly builds new land below and plugs the entry. "In this case, there's no evidence of a new delta is forming, which leads us to believe that the offshore topography there is very steep," Babb said. Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, and the most recent vent flow that is reaching the ocean has been ongoing since last summer. "There's no indication of it slowing down or stopping," Babb said. ___ Follow Hawaii correspondent Caleb Jones on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalebAP Find more of his work here: http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/caleb-jones In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) A "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) In this photo provided by Shane Turpin, a "firehose" lava stream from Kilauea Volcano shoots out from a sea cliff on Hawaii's Big Island, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, as seen from a tour boat off the coast. The massive Kilauea flow is coming from a lava tube at the Kamokuna ocean entry on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is gushing from a tube that was exposed when a huge, 26-acre lava delta collapsed into the ocean at the site on New Year's Eve. The collapse of the newly formed land triggered massive explosions and giant waves in the area. (Shane Turpin/Lava Ocean Tours via AP) This Jan. 28, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a lava stream pouring out of a tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 25, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a lava stream, up to 2 yards (meters) wide pouring out of a lava tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 28, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a closeup view of a lava stream pouring out of a lava tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 29, 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a lava stream pouring out of a tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. A dramatic "firehose" stream of lava is shooting out of a sea cliff on Hawaii Island, splashing into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding upon impact. A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is a large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) This Jan. 28, 2017 photo, left, provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a crack that has developed near the site of a lava stream pouring out of a lava tube on the sea cliff at the Kamokuna ocean entry at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. The thermal image and graphic on the right shows the varying temperature of lava and rock within the crack, reaching as high as 428 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius). A USGS geologist with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that one of the biggest concerns is this large "hot crack" above the lava tube, running parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land susceptible to collapse. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP) Feds say methamphetamine-smoking IRS attorney shipped drugs MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) An Internal Revenue Service attorney is facing charges he shipped methamphetamine from his Washington, D.C., apartment to a recipient in suburban New York. Federal prosecutors say Jack Vitayanon was arrested Wednesday in Washington. The plot allegedly involved unidentified co-conspirators in Arizona and on Long Island. Prosecutors say they have recordings that they say show Vitayanon smoking methamphetamine and discussing shipments of drugs. They say the alleged scheme lasted from September 2014 until last month. They say suspected methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, packaging materials and drug ledgers were recovered from his apartment. Vitayanon will be prosecuted in federal court on Long Island, but his initial court appearance was not announced. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney representing him. AP EXPLAINS: What is the Senate's 'nuclear option'? WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should "go nuclear" if necessary to approve his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch. What does that mean? It's a reference to the "nuclear option." That is the nickname for a potential move by Republicans to unilaterally change Senate rules so that Gorsuch's nomination could be approved with a simple majority in the 100-member Senate, instead of the 60 votes now required. Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch, center arrives for a meeting with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Washington. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire walks with Gorsuch at left. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE This procedural maneuver has recent precedent. In 2013, when Democrats were in the majority under the leadership of then-Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, they pushed through a rules change lowering the vote threshold on all nominees except for the Supreme Court from 60 to a simple majority. The Supreme Court was exempted at the time as part of a deal bringing along Democrats reluctant to change the rules. Some Democrats, including the current leader Chuck Schumer of New York, have voiced regret, since the changed rules are now allowing Trump to push his Cabinet picks through the Senate and Democrats can do little to stop him. WHY IT WOULD BE EXPLOSIVE Such a rules change on Supreme Court nominees would be a momentous change for the Senate, which traditionally operates via bipartisanship and consent from all senators. Some believe it could begin to unravel Senate traditions at a hyperpartisan moment in politics and perhaps end up in the complete elimination of the filibuster even for legislation, which would mean an entirely different Senate from the one that's existed for decades. Senate experts note that the filibuster is not enshrined in the Constitution and filibustering nominees is a relatively recent phenomenon. Cloture the procedural motion to end a filibuster was attempted for the first time on a nominee in 1968 as President Lyndon Johnson tapped Abe Fortas as chief justice of the Supreme Court, according to the Congressional Research Service. The cloture attempt failed and the nomination was withdrawn. McConnell is an institutionalist who has made clear he does not favor invoking the nuclear option, but has not ruled it out for Gorsuch. TV's Oxygen network to focus on crime stories NEW YORK (AP) The Oxygen television network is looking behind bars for inspiration. The NBC Universal-owned network said Wednesday that starting this summer, it will focus its programming on crime stories that appeal to women, joining an already crowded television genre. Its other programming, such as "Bad Girls Club" and "Battle of the Ex-Besties," will be phased out. FILE - This Aug. 2, 2016 file photo shows executive producer Dick Wolf participating in the "Chicago Med" panel during the NBC Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. Wolf is behind the upcoming Oxygen series, "Cold Justice," which features former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and a team of detectives as they try to solve real-life crime cases across the country. Wolf's series will start this fall. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File) Oxygen's saga speaks to the survival pressures faced by many cable networks. NBC Universal recently decided to shutter its Esquire network and make it digital-only. When Oxygen's launch was announced in 1998 with prominent backers that included Oprah Winfrey, the goal was to make it a general interest network for women to compete with Lifetime, only hipper. The change won't be completely abrupt. Oxygen has seen success during the past year with a prime-time block of crime-oriented programming on three nights, recently increasing it to four. That helped Oxygen to a 42 percent increase in viewers during the last three months of 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier, the Nielsen company said. Crime stories are easily found onscreen now, from the dramas on CBS' prime-time lineup to Investigation Discovery, probably the most successful cable network launch in some time. Frances Berwick, president of lifestyle networks for NBC Universal Cable, said Oxygen will take cues from the successful podcast "Serial" and Netflix's "Making a Murderer" in finding stories that viewers can follow to guess the outcome of true crime stories. "We felt like we could do that in a different way than there is currently out there, one that appeals to a younger demographic," Berwick said. In March, Oxygen will premiere a new series, "Three Days to Live," focusing on the stories of women who have been abducted. Veteran producer Dick Wolf is behind the upcoming series, "Cold Justice," which features former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and a team of detectives as they try to solve real-life crime cases across the country. Wolf's series will start this fall, along with "The Jury Speaks," which examines noted criminal cases as seen through the eyes of the jury that decided them. Oxygen is also launching its own podcast, "Martinis and Murder," that delves into the details surrounding murder cases. Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Jan. 31 The Washington Post on Trump's firing of acting Attorney General Sally Yates: AMERICA'S HISTORY of orderly freedom reflects the strength of our Constitution and laws. Yet it also demonstrates the power of unwritten rules norms of civility and decency that are often hard to define but always crucial to respect, lest social trust disappear and instability spread. As Judge Learned Hand famously remarked: "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it." Unwritten rules lie at the heart of the conflict over President Trump's firing of the acting attorney general, Sally Yates, a caretaker left over from the Obama administration. Ms. Yates felt she was honoring a vital unwritten rule the Justice Department's political independence by refusing to defend the president's executive order restricting refugees and others from seven majority-Muslim countries. Ms. Yates was absolutely right that Mr.?Trump's order is neither wise nor just, as she said in a letter made public Monday. Less certain is that the appropriate response was to remain at her post, blocking legal defenses of the order "unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate" to change course, as she also wrote. The order's legality, or lack thereof, is an unsettled issue; much of Mr. Trump's decree, alas, may be permissible under the wide discretion that immigration statutes grant the president. Significantly, Ms.?Yates herself did not state flatly that the order was unlawful, only that she was not yet convinced of its lawfulness. Given all that, she could have resigned in protest and let Mr. Trump appoint someone who could, in good conscience, defend his policy. Mr. Trump was, accordingly, within his rights to oust her. Characteristically, however, the new president took power he legitimately possesses on paper and abused it in practice. The White House statement announcing Ms. Yates's firing could have expressed respectful disagreement or thanked her for her long service to the government. Instead, it hurled politicized insults "weak on borders" at Ms. Yates and, more shockingly, accused her of having "betrayed" her department. Among the unwritten rules that make democracy possible, none is more important than resisting the impulse to demonize political opponents. The fledgling Trump administration, like the Trump campaign before it, has violated this norm with zest. Before the White House's ugly response to Ms. Yates, press secretary Sean Spicer told dissenters within the Foreign Service that "they should either get with the program or they can go." Such rhetoric is having its predictable radicalizing effect on Democrats, including over-the-top tactics such as Tuesday's boycott of Senate committee meetings on the confirmation of Mr. Trump's Cabinet picks. Hand gave his "Spirit of Liberty" address in 1944, before administering the oath of citizenship to immigrants assembled in Manhattan's Central Park. In a world at war, these new Americans heard his words and looked forward to new lives in a stable political community flawed by deep social ills but blessed by democratic processes for addressing them. Every participant in politics today could benefit from reflecting on Hand's message Mr. Trump most of all. Online: http://www.washingtonpost.com ___ Feb. 1 The Orange County Register on Trump administration and Iran: Iran is offering the Trump administration its first foreign policy crisis. In a provocative act likely intended to take advantage of U.S. political turmoil, Tehran tested a ballistic missile understood by leading Western allies to be a violation of the recent nuclear deal brokered under the Obama administration. Hawks in America and elsewhere had already begun to push Trump to tear up the Iran agreement, with doves warning even an imperfect deal offered a much better chance at peace and stability than any more forceful alternative. Given the political climate he faces at home, Trump must use international support to apply pressure to the mullahs without risking a degree of escalation he can no longer control. Without doubt, Iran's plan is to press for advantages now, figuring out how much it can get away with while attention is focused or scattered elsewhere. In addition to the missile test, which it refuses to confirm or deny, the regime has ratcheted up conflict with America's Persian Gulf allies. Using shoulder-fired rockets supplied by Tehran, Houthi rebels in Yemen crippled and nearly sank a UAE auxiliary ship that had previously been contracted to the United States. Sensing opportunity in a fluid situation, the mullahs likely presume that the Trump administration will struggle to mount a concentrated response or back off in the interest of closer relations with Moscow. Trump should surprise them. Although Russia has indeed denied that the missile test amounts to a violation of the international agreement, Britain and Israel share the U.S. assessment that it has. Countries with a stake in the dispute should be made to go on record about where they stand and what subsequent action they support or oppose. Even a Security Council resolution that draws a Russian veto, or offers only watered-down language, affords the Trump administration a starting point for negotiations and coalition-building. Russia's behavior will help reveal just how committed to Iran Putin has become, while European reactions can be used to help gauge appetites for a broader adjustment of priorities regarding Russia from the Baltic Sea to Syria. This episode will prompt the first of many judgment calls from the new administration on Middle Eastern affairs. Trump's opponents and allies alike share little appetite for an unpredictable wider war in the Mideast theater. At the same time, no one will benefit from a lax or inconsistent approach to Iranian aggression and provocation. President Obama does bear substantial responsibility for the current state of play, but America's best interests are not served by Trump simply doing the opposite of what Obama has done. The key is to quickly and effectively connect a potent, immediate response up to a broader strategy that preserves the basic balance of the international order short of war. Too many enemies and adversaries could pile on and hope to make the best of a chaotic situation. And too many friends and allies could falter in that environment. To prevent that sort of meltdown, the Trump administration needs to mobilize adequate international support for serious but limited consequences against Iran's recent acts then swiftly begin the hard work of restoring a durable, predictable order along the blurry edge of the Western world. Online: https://www.ocregister.com ___ Jan. 31 Minneapolis Star Tribune on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines: President Trump's first week in office included executive orders to revive two controversial pipeline proposals halted during former President Barack Obama's administration. Trump's move on Keystone XL, which will deliver heavy crude from Canada to U.S. refineries, is sensible and will boost public safety in Minnesota. His decision on the other, the Dakota Access pipeline spurring protests near a North Dakota Indian reservation, was premature. Trump should have first wielded his deal-making skills to defuse still-close-to-boiling-over tensions between the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, the pipeline company and local law enforcement. Without intervention by a coolheaded authority, violence as the pipeline construction resumes is a distinct possibility. Citing concerns about the safety of other methods of oil transport, the Star Tribune Editorial Board previously backed Keystone's completion, putting it at odds with climate change activists whose political clout spurred Obama's rejection of the pipeline. This nation still relies on crude oil, which typically needs to be transported vast distances to refineries. There is no risk-free method, and pipelines, though imperfect, are safer than rail, truck and ship. Minnesota more than most states had a stake in this debate. Rail lines crisscross the state. Trains pulling 100 or more tankers have become "rolling pipelines" passing through cities large and small and along rivers such as the Mississippi that supply drinking water for the metro. Railroads have made safety improvements, such as slowing train speed or upgrading tanker cars to sturdier models. Still, fiery explosions in Lac Megantic, Quebec, and Casselton, North Dakota, illustrate the danger of rail transport. A Keystone spur line would help relieve the oil train traffic coming through Minnesota. Supporting it is logical and conscientious, particularly with federal analysis showing that blocking the pipeline would do little to slow the development of Canadian oil sands and, by extension, global warming. The reason: The oil would just be transported a different way. The Dakota Access pipeline will cross under the Missouri River near North Dakota's Standing Rock reservation. The tribe has raised concerns about pipeline leaks contaminating drinking water and disturbing burial grounds and other culturally sensitive locations. Three federal agencies have also raised concerns about the quality of the environmental and cultural reviews that have taken place. Those issues should not be shrugged off as federal agencies move forward after Trump's executive order. The volatility of the ongoing protest also warrants caution. The encampment near the pipeline's proposed river crossing drew thousands of protesters last year. Clashes between them and North Dakota law enforcement were frequent and sometimes violent. Tensions are only going to escalate with the rapid resumption of construction, further sapping the resources of already fatigued North Dakota law enforcement. More images of unrest from this Great Plains standoff would be shared around the world, casting further doubt on Trump's leadership and his claims of popular support. The president, already the focus of widespread protests elsewhere over travel restrictions, doesn't need another global PR mess to mar his first weeks in office. Caution by the agencies charged with carrying out the Dakota Access pipeline executive order would best serve the nation and reflect positively on the fledgling Trump administration. Online: http://www.startribune.com ___ Jan. 31 The New York Times on Trump's Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch: It's been almost a year since Senate Republicans took an empty Supreme Court seat hostage, discarding a constitutional duty that both parties have honored throughout American history and hobbling an entire branch of government for partisan gain. President Trump had a great opportunity to repair some of that damage by nominating a moderate candidate for the vacancy, which was created when Justice Antonin Scalia died last February. Instead, he chose Neil Gorsuch, a very conservative judge from the federal Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit whose jurisprudence and writing style are often compared to those of Justice Scalia. If Judge Gorsuch is confirmed, the court will once again have a majority of justices appointed by Republican presidents, as it has for nearly half a century. For starters, that spells big trouble for public-sector labor unions, environmental regulations and women's access to contraception. If Trump gets the chance to name another justice, the consequences could be much more dire. In normal times, Judge Gorsuch a widely respected and, at 49, relatively young judge with a reliably conservative voting record would be an obvious choice for a Republican president. These are not normal times. The seat Judge Gorsuch hopes to sit in should have been filled, months ago, by Merrick Garland, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, whom President Barack Obama nominated to the court last March. Judge Garland, a former federal prosecutor and 20-year veteran of the nation's most important federal appeals court, is both more moderate and more qualified than Judge Gorsuch. That meant nothing to Senate Republicans, who abused their power as the majority party and, within hours of Justice Scalia's death, shut down the confirmation process for the remainder of Mr. Obama's presidency. There would be no negotiations to release this hostage; the sole object was to hold on to the court's conservative majority. The outrageousness of the ploy was matched only by the unlikelihood that it would succeed until, to virtually everyone's shock, it did. The destructive lesson Senate Republicans taught is that obstruction pays off. Yet they seem to have short memories. After Senate Democrats refused to attend votes on two of Mr. Trump's cabinet picks on Tuesday, Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said, "We did not inflict this kind of obstructionism on President Obama." Even absent such dishonesty, any Democratic impulse to mimic the Republican blockade by filibustering Judge Gorsuch would be understandable. But Senate Democrats should be wary of stooping to the Republicans' level, especially because any such effort is likely to prove futile, since Republicans have the votes to simply eliminate the use of the filibuster against Supreme Court nominees. The hearings should, however, present Democrats with an opportunity to probe Judge Gorsuch's views. So what might a Justice Gorsuch mean for the court? Like Justice Scalia, he is an originalist, meaning he interprets the Constitution's language to mean what it was understood to mean when it was written an approach that has led both men to consistently conservative results. Judge Gorsuch's similarities to Justice Scalia extend into several areas of the law. Since his appointment in 2006, by President George W. Bush, he has voted consistently in favor of religious-liberty claims, such as requests for exemptions for private companies and religious nonprofits that oppose the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate. He is even more conservative than Justice Scalia in at least one area calling for an end to the deference courts traditionally show to administrative agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, that are charged with implementing complex and important federal laws. Given the events of recent days, senators should press Judge Gorsuch on how he would approach constitutional questions that have already arisen out of Mr. Trump's actions as president, like his order barring refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, or his alleged violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. While Judge Gorsuch's views on abortion are not known, he has written extensively about assisted suicide and euthanasia. In his book on the topic, he wrote that "human life is fundamentally and inherently valuable, and that the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong." By himself, Judge Gorsuch would not upset the court's balance on abortion rights or affirmative action, but if one of the more liberal justices or Justice Anthony Kennedy step down during Mr. Trump's presidency, a solidly right-wing majority could quickly overturn those precedents. Supreme Court nominations are among the most important decisions a president makes, and certainly the most enduring: A nominee like Judge Gorsuch could sit on the court for more than three decades. At a rally last summer Mr. Trump said: "Even if you can't stand Donald Trump, you think Donald Trump is the worst, you're going to vote for me. You know why? Justices of the Supreme Court." That may have played well on the campaign trail, but Mr. Trump's failure to choose a more moderate candidate is the latest example of his refusal to acknowledge his historic unpopularity and his nearly three-million-vote loss to Hillary Clinton. A wiser president faced with such circumstances would govern with humility and a respect for the views of all Americans. Online: http://www.nytimes.com/ ___ Jan. 31 Dallas Morning News on false testimony in Emmett Till case: It's been more than 60 years since Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black teen from Chicago, was brutally beaten and lynched after flirting with a white woman while visiting relatives in the Mississippi Delta. Now comes welcome news, in a book coming out this week, that his accuser has recanted the most incendiary parts of her claims against him. Carolyn Bryant Donham told author Timothy B. Tyson that her long-ago allegations that Emmett grabbed her and was menacing and sexually crude toward her, "that part is not true." How a woman at the center of one of the nation's most heinous tragedies, which helped propel the civil rights movement, could withhold this vital information for so long is beyond us. She's 82 now. Maybe she was trying to relieve her conscience. Whatever the reason, Donham's recanting all these years later is important. This photo provided by his family shows Emmett Till in Chicago, about six months before he was killed. The Associated Press This photo provided by his family shows Emmett Till in Chicago, about six months before he was killed. The Associated Press "I think until you break the silence, there is still that implied consent to the false narrative set forth in 1955," Patrick Weems, project coordinator at the Emmett Till museum in Sumner, Mississippi, said in The New York Times. Donham confirmed what so many of us already believed. Even had the claims been true, no sane person today could think they merited serious punishment, much less death. Still, her admission holds lessons in the roots of why perceptions of our justice system differ so starkly between white and black people. The case helps us understand the persistent belief by some in our community that there is a disparity in how justice is meted out based on race. Carolyn Bryant Donham, in this 1955 photo, was at the center of the Emmett Till case. She has acknowledged that she falsely testified he made physical and verbal threats, according to a new book by Timothy B. Tyson. The Associated Press Carolyn Bryant Donham, in this 1955 photo, was at the center of the Emmett Till case. She has acknowledged that she falsely testified he made physical and verbal threats, according to a new book by Timothy B. Tyson. The Associated Press Many of Emmett's contemporaries are in their 70s now, still living among us. Such memories are still fresh in the minds of many. Experiences like these have shaped relations between whites and black for generations. Emmett Till's was a watershed case. The teenager was days into his visit to Mississippi when he spoke to Carolyn Bryant, 21, in a store owned by Bryant and her husband, Roy. Days later, he was kidnapped from his uncle's house, tortured, and shot in the head before his body was sunk into the Tallahatchie River. His mother insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing, galvanizing the black community across the nation. It's impossible to forget the picture of his mutilated body that first ran in Jet magazine. Roy Bryant and his half brother, J. W. Milam, were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury. They later admitted the murder in a Look magazine interview but could not be retried because of double jeopardy. We're glad Donham finally came clean. But this goes beyond setting history straight. It helps explain the lingering effects of this country's painful past. Online: http://www.dallasnews.com ___ Jan. 30 The Montreal Gazette on deadly shooting at Quebec mosque: A stunned Quebec is in mourning. Flags are at half mast, vigils are being held, and expressions of solidarity with the Muslim community are flowing in from all quarters. Sunday night's outrageous, murderous attack on innocent worshippers, which has taken at least six lives, seriously injured several more people and left many children fatherless, is getting the vehement condemnation it deserves. Ordinary Quebecers of all faiths and none have recoiled at the violence and its heartbreaking toll. In the wake of the attack, many questions have yet to be answered. But what is already far too clear is that innocent people were killed simply for who they were: Muslims. This massacre, all the more offensive because it targeted a house of prayer, by all appearances was a hate crime. It was as pointless as it was tragic. What warped objectives did the gunman or gunmen think they were going to achieve? Was the aim to drive Muslims from Quebec? Was it to stoke divisions within Quebec society? Was it nothing more complicated than an expression of hatred pure and simple? It's disconcerting to think that discourse painting Muslims as people to be feared might have been one of the factors behind this attack. There has been far too much dog whistle politics in recent years, both in Quebec and by those who made niqabs an issue in the last federal election. If so, that would be a particularly bitter irony. Assault weapons are not to be found under burkas, it seems, but in the hands of those who would do innocent Muslims harm. Who has reason to fear whom? Was the attack influenced by the current discourse south of the border? Was it merely a coincidence that it was committed the same weekend that U.S. President Donald Trump enacted entry prohibitions on citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries? The president's defenders were quick to say this was not a "Muslim ban," and that citizens of many other Muslim countries were not affected, but in the context of Trump's statements on the campaign trail, it would be hard to see it otherwise. Or were there other twisted motives? Regardless of what motives may have been at play, however, the attack on innocent worshippers was an attack on all of us. And therefore it is incumbent on all to show solidarity in the face of this horror. In due course, the accused will have to answer in court. In the meantime, the unity of our condemnation must be the only response to these repugnant actions. Online: Clinton will return to Wellesley to give commencement speech WELLESLEY, Mass. (AP) Hillary Clinton has been chosen to give the 2017 commencement speech at her alma mater, Wellesley College. The former Democratic presidential candidate is scheduled to address the graduating class on May 26. The private, all-women's college announced the decision Wednesday. Wellesley President Paula Johnson says Clinton "changed the face of American politics" and inspires women of all ages to defy expectations and reject stereotypes. The senior class at Wellesley helps pick the commencement speaker. Class co-president Amal Cheema says Clinton is "is the best person to represent who we have become at Wellesley and who we strive to be in the world." Clinton graduated from Wellesley in 1969 and was the liberal-arts school's first student commencement speaker. She later gave the commencement address in 1992, the year before she became first lady. ___ Allen Scarsella was convicted of assault for opening fire and wounding five men demonstrating against the fatal shooting of a black man by Minneapolis police officers A jury on Wednesday convicted a Minnesota man of assault for opening fire and wounding five men demonstrating against the fatal shooting of a black man by Minneapolis police officers. Allen Scarsella, 24, of Bloomington, was found guilty on all 12 charges of assault and riot. Scarsella showed no emotion as the Hennepin County jury's verdict was read. Defense attorneys left the courtroom without comment. Sentencing is set for March 10. Scarsella was accused of shooting and injuring the five African-American men at a Black Lives Matter protest after the death of Jamar Clark in 2015. Scarsella and three other men, all wearing face masks, went into an encampment outside a police station in north Minneapolis to livestream Black Lives Matter protests that had closed down a city block. Scarsella, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, brought a .45-caliber handgun and fired at demonstrators in what his attorneys say was self-defense. Prosecutors cited a number of texts Scarsella had sent to friends about shooting black people and accused the men of being white supremacists and trying to disrupt the protest. Scarsella, who is white, testified he was afraid of being attacked while filming the protest on the night of November 23, 2015. Protests in the city erupted after Jamar Clark (above) was shot November 15, 2015, after a confrontation with two police officers and died a day later Wesley Martin (pictured), is one of the five people who was shot in the vicious attack He said a group of protesters accused him of being in the Ku Klux Klan and that someone had already punched him in the face. Scarsella said he and his friends tried to leave the protest but a group of men followed them and one pulled out what appeared to be a weapon, prompting Scarsella to open fire. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said his office will seek 'the stiffest possible sentence' for Scarsella. 'We charged him with the most serious possible charge that the evidence allowed,' Freeman said in a statement. Only one of the five victims attended the verdict. Cameron Clark, 26, Jamar Clark's cousin, was shot by Scarsella in the right leg. Clark said he remembers Scarsella provoking protesters with racial slurs and luring a group of black men up the street where he turned and shot at them. Five people were rushed to hospital after the attack, but their injuries were not life-threatening. Pictured: a protest on November 24 following the shooting Clark attended parts of Scarsella's testimony and said he had 'butterflies' in his stomach before the verdict was read Wednesday afternoon. 'I was kind of really thinking that (the jurors) were going to be on his side and they were going to let him go because he was claiming self-defense,' Clark said afterward. Clark and another victim Tevin King sustained bullet wounds near major arteries. Hennepin County Assistant Attorney Judith Hawley said King was shot in the abdomen and that the bullet is too close to his arteries to be removed. Injuries ranged from leg, arm and foot to stomach and back wounds. The three other Minnesota men with Scarsella at the time Daniel Macey of Pine City, Nathan Gustavsson of Hermantown and Joseph Backman of Eagan are charged with second-degree riot and aiding an offender. Review of pipeline could be beginning of end for opponents BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The Army's review of a proposal to finish the Dakota Access pipeline could be the beginning of the end for opponents who have been fighting the project for nearly a year. But the American Indian tribe at the center of the debate, the Standing Rock Sioux, vows to keep battling the pipeline in court out of fear that an oil leak could contaminate its drinking water. Here's a look at the legal steps that remain before the last section of pipe can be laid and the final options to stop it. FILE- In this Dec. 3, 2016, file photo, law enforcement vehicles line a road leading to a blocked bridge next to the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) ___ WHAT ARE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS? On Tuesday, the acting secretary of the Army ordered a review of an earlier decision to block the last section of pipeline from being laid under a Missouri River reservoir. The move came just days after President Donald Trump issued a memo calling for reconsideration of the December decision by the Army Corps of Engineers. Based on a discussion with the Army secretary, Robert Speer, Republican Sen. John Hoeven said Wednesday that there is no doubt in his mind that permission to finish the project will be granted. A government assessment last summer determined that the final segment would not have a significant effect on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to give permission for construction to begin, saying a broader environmental study was needed. The pipeline builder, Energy Transfer Partners, called Darcy's decision politically motivated and accused then-President Barack Obama's administration of delaying the matter until he left office. Two days before he left the White House, the Corps launched an environmental study that could take up to two years. ___ WHAT IS THE TRIBE LIKELY TO DO? Army attorneys have said the environmental study could be withdrawn. Should that happen, the tribe will probably challenge the move on two fronts that the study is necessary to preserve tribal treaty rights and that it's part of the legal process for obtaining final permission to finish the pipeline, as the Army has maintained, according to tribal attorney Jan Hasselman. The Army cannot arbitrarily change its mind because of the change in White House administrations, said Monte Mills, co-director of the University of Montana's Indian law clinic. Given that the Army said in December that an environmental study was necessary, Mills said, the Army would have to explain how its new decision was consistent with the legal standards it used in December and how there's a reasonable basis for change. Otherwise the tribe could argue the reversal was "arbitrary and capricious," in violation of federal law, he said. But Connie Rogers, a Denver attorney who specializes in federal permits, natural resources and Indian law, said the Army does have the discretion to change its mind. Since the original environmental assessment found nothing that would require an additional study, the Army was not required by law to order the fuller review and therefore can reverse course, she said. ___ WHAT ABOUT TREATY RIGHTS? The tribe says under the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868, the federal government is obliged to consider a tribe's welfare when making decisions affecting the tribe. That would be one likely argument against the Corps withdrawing the environmental study that the tribe has repeatedly demanded, Hasselman said. Tribes have effectively used old treaty rights in other high-profile court cases. For example, a landmark ruling in Washington state in 1974 affirmed tribal fishing rights in treaties stemming from the 1850s. "Without question, treaties, especially during modern times, have proven to be very successful legal vehicles for tribes in defense of existential threats," said Gabriel Galanda, a Seattle lawyer who represents tribes throughout the West. When the Corps published a notice last month in the Federal Register, the agency explained that it was looking for a better understanding of how the pipeline would affect treaty rights. If the government isn't going to look at those rights now, Mills said, it will have to explain why. ___ LOOKING AHEAD FOR OTHER LEGAL OPTIONS Should the Corps give permission to build the last piece of the pipeline, the tribe would immediately ask U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to temporarily ban construction while the legal issues are decided, Hasselman said. The builder would probably fight that, and Rogers said the tribe would have to clear "a high bar" to convince the judge. But other options to challenge the project remain. In a lawsuit it filed last year, the tribe alleges that the government broke environmental law by approving the pipeline's crossing of numerous waterways, and "the remedy is to turn off the pipeline," Hasselman said. That lawsuit is still pending and could be the basis for more delays and courtroom arguments. FILE- Nov. 29, 2016, file photo, Grandma Redfeather of the Sioux Native American tribe walks in the snow to get water at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. "It's for my people to live and so that the next seven generations can live also," said Redfeather of why she came to the camp. "I think about my grandchildren and what it will be like for them." North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) This Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, photo from video provided by KXMB in Bismarck, N.D., shows cleanup beginning at a North Dakota encampment near Cannon Ball where Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents have protested for months. The Standing Rock Sioux has organized the cleanup with the help of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. from South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation, which has arranged for heavy equipment including front-end loaders, dump trucks and skid-steer loaders. The work could take weeks, and the cost isn't known. (KXMB via AP) FILE- In this Oct. 10, 2016, file photo, Law enforcement officers, left, drag a person from a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, near the town of St. Anthony in rural Morton County, N.D. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, that the Acting Secretary of the Army has directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the Dakota Access pipeline. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP, File) Florida man charged with faking his death gets 14 years JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) A Florida businessman who faked his own death to defraud insurance companies has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. The Florida Times-Union (http://bit.ly/2kTNMss ) reports that 63-year-old Jose Lantigua was sentenced Wednesday in Jacksonville after he pleaded guilty to bank fraud, identity theft and other charges. The former owner of a furniture business, Lantigua and his wife told people that he had mad cow disease and was traveling to Venezuela for treatment. According to his plea agreement, he went there to obtain a fake death certificate. He was arrested last year in North Carolina while applying for a passport in another man's name. Lantigua's wife, who also pleaded guilty to her part in the scam, received five years of probation. ___ COLUMBIA The Missouri Department of Conservation recently received DNA results from a confirmed mountain lion in Shannon County. Those results indicated the mountain lion was a female with a probable origin in the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota, and Northwest Nebraska. This is the first definitive confirmation of a female mountain lion being present in Missouri since 1994. Mountain lions are still rare in Missouri, said MDC Wildlife Management Coordinator Alan Leary. The detection of a female increases the likelihood that breeding could occur within the state, but at this point we dont have evidence that a breeding population exists in Missouri. In 1996, the Department established its Mountain Lion Response Team (MLRT) with specially-trained staff to investigate reports and evidence of mountain lions. Since then, all mountain lion sightings confirmed by the MLRT have either proven to be males, or have provided insufficient evidence to determine the animals sex. Since 1994, MDC has recorded 68 confirmed mountain lion sightings in the state. On Jan. 21, MDC confirmed a male mountain lion was struck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 70 in Warren County. Confirmations have become more common in recent years, likely due to a combination of factors, according to MDC Furbearer Biologist Laura Conlee. We know the mountain lion population has grown in western states, and that could translate to more dispersing mountain lions making their way into Missouri, but we have also gotten better at finding them, Conlee said. As technology has advanced, weve seen an explosion in the numbers of game cameras across the Missouri landscape. Weve also established more efficient methods for reporting and investigating mountain lion sightings. These factors all likely play a role in the increased number of confirmed mountain lion sightings in our state. The risk of a mountain lion attack in Missouri remains highly unlikely. No mountain lion attack on a human has ever been recorded in the state. People, livestock, and pets face a much greater risk from familiar dangers we encounter including automobiles, stray dogs, and lightning strikes. MDC has never stocked or released mountain lions in Missouri and has no plans to do so. However, the Department wants to learn more about these rare animals and encourages all citizens to report sightings, physical evidence, or other incidents so they can be investigated. Anyone with information about a mountain lion can file a report with the Mountain Lion Response Team at mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov. To learn more about mountain lions, and to view a map of confirmed sightings in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/mountain-lion. Australian leader makes $1.3 million political donation CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australia's wealthy prime minister has revealed that he donated 1.75 million Australian dollars ($1.3 million) to his cash-strapped party's re-election campaign last year, prompting his opponents to accuse him of buying the election victory. Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull, Australia's richest lawmaker with a fortune estimated to exceed AU$200 million, had refused for months to say how much he had contributed to his Liberal Party-led conservative coalition scraping back into power at elections on July 2. But he confirmed the figure late Wednesday, despite being legally entitled to conceal it for another year. FILE - In this May 8, 2016 file photo, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. Turnbull said Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 that U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed during a weekend telephone conversation to keep an Obama administration promise to resettle an undisclosed number of mostly Muslim refugees held on the impoverished nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File) "I've always been prepared to put my money where my mouth is," Turnbull told Australian Broadcasting Corp. "I put my money into ensuring that we didn't have a Labor government," he added, referring to the center-left Labor Party opposition. Secrecy surrounding the size of Turnbull's donation has added to calls for Australia to reform its political donation laws to ensure more transparency. Labor's finance spokesman Jim Chalmers on Thursday accused Turnbull of buying the election in which the coalition clung to power with the barest majority of 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. "It stinks. Malcolm Turnbull had to buy his way out of trouble," Chalmers said. "If Malcolm Turnbull didn't have AU$1.75 million to splash about, he wouldn't be the leader of the Liberal Party and he wouldn't be the prime minister," Chalmers added. Treasurer Scott Morrison described Chalmers's comments as "a grubby political smear from grubby political hack." Morrison, a senior Liberal Party member, accused opposition leader Bill Shorten of doing the bidding of the labor union movement, which donates to the Labor Party. Under Australian electoral law, political donations exceeding AU$13,200 made in the last fiscal year had to be published on Wednesday along with the names of the donors. Turnbull avoided his disclosure by promising the money to his Liberal Party during the election campaign but not making the donation until the current fiscal year. The current fiscal year started on July 1 the day before the election. Party officials had been desperately lobbying donors for more money to maintain their campaign in the final weeks. Calls for Turnbull to admit the donation intensified when he was absent from the donors' list published on Wednesday. His absence highlighted one of the tactics donors can use to avoid or delay disclosure. The former merchant banker's wealth is seen as a political liability, with his opponents accusing him of being out of touch with the financial pressures facing most ordinary Australians. The 62-year-old self-made multi-millionaire has been dubbed "The Silvertail," a pejorative term for someone with wealth and privilege, and "Mr. Harborside Mansion." Cartoonists depict him wearing a top hat. A parliamentary committee is currently considering changes to Australian electoral laws to increase transparency. Watford have sold Odion Ighalo to Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai for a reported 20million. Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at some of the other former Premier League players to have taken their talents to China. Carlos Tevez Breaking down Carlos Tevez's reported wages at Shanghai Shenhua: 2.86m a month 660k a week 94.2k a day 3.92k an hour 65 a minute pic.twitter.com/RvmmnH6lLL Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) December 29, 2016 The Argentina forward, who had spells in the Premier League with West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City, hit the headlines in the summer with a big-money move to China from Boca Juniors. As part of the deal to join Shanghai Shenhua, Tevez is said to be on wages of 615,000 a week. Graziano Pelle Graziano Pelle (Nick Potts/EMPICS) Italy forward Pelle joined Shandong Luneng for 12m in July 2016, having scored 30 goals in 81 appearances for Southampton after joining from Dutch club Feyenoord two seasons earlier. Ramires Ramires (Nick Potts/PA) Signed for Jiangsu Suning from Chelsea 12 months ago in a deal believed to be worth 25million a Chinese Super League record that would be broken twice in the following 10 days. The Brazil midfielder was sent off on his debut, but helped his new club finish runners-up to Guangzhou Evergrande in the league. Oscar Oscar (Paul Harding/EMPICS) Joined Brazilian compatriot Ramires out of the door at Stamford Bridge last month after finding himself out of favour with manager Antonio Conte. Chelsea cashed in as they received a reported 52million from Shanghai SIPG, which gave the Blues a handsome profit of around 30million on the midfielder they bought from Brazilian club Internacional in 2012. Gervinho Gervinho (Andrew Matthews/EMPICS) US President Donald Trump has said he will tell the Senates Republican leader to consider the option to go nuclear if political gridlock stalls his Supreme Court pick. Such a move would mean changing Senate rules to make it impossible to filibuster a high court nominee. The president told reporters that if Senate Democrats try to block Neil Gorsuchs nomination, he would tell Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell: If you can, Mitch, go nuclear, because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. Mr McConnell has not said whether he might invoke the nuclear option if minority Democrats block Mr Gorsuchs confirmation, as several already are threatening to do. But the Senate leader has said repeatedly that, one way or another, Mr Gorsuch will be confirmed. WATCH Neil Gorsuch will be a great #SCOTUS Justice. I applaud @POTUS for his excellent pick to our nation's highest court. pic.twitter.com/jCkto6kAs1 Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) February 1, 2017 I wholeheartedly applaud President Trump for nominating Judge Gorsuch: https://t.co/nJ2kxct3vM Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 1, 2017 The nuclear option would mean unilaterally lowering the threshold needed to approve Mr Gorsuch from 60 to 50 votes, so that Republicans could use their 52-vote majority to put him on the court without Democrats consent. Speaking on the Senate floor around the same time as President Trump made his views known, Mr McConnell said he expects to see Democrats giving the new nominee a fair consideration and up-or-down vote just as we did for past presidents of both parties. Gorsuch put corps over workers, been hostile toward womens rights & been an ideolog. Skeptical that he can be a strong, independent Justice Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 1, 2017 SCOTUS justice must stand up to a Pres willing to bend the Constitution. Serious doubts on Judge Gorsuchs ability to meet this standard. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 1, 2017 What Mr McConnell did not say was that he refused last year to allow even a hearing for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obamas pick to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Instead, the seat remained empty for 10 months and the court operated with eight justices as Mr McConnell maintained that only the next president should make the nomination. I encourage my Senate colleagues to give Neil Gorsuch the same courtesy Senate Republicans gave Merrick Garland. #SCOTUS Earl Blumenauer (@repblumenauer) February 1, 2017 Democrats remain furious over Mr Garlands treatment. But their divisions were already on display even as Mr Gorsuch made the rounds on Capitol Hill accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, earning warm praise from Mr McConnell and other Senate Republicans. A handful of Democrats did announce their opposition to the 49-year-old Denver-based judge on the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals whose conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of Mr Scalia. Not only is this a stolen seat, but @realDonaldTrump has nominated a far right extremist. Unacceptable. https://t.co/9bkw4QODXD pic.twitter.com/iVHDdb2Pn9 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) February 1, 2017 They argued that the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan administration official is outside the mainstream. This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court, said Sen Jeff Merkley. Thank you for joining me as I make a very special announcement regarding my nomination for United States Supreme Court Justice. Posted by President Donald J. Trump Archived on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 Sen Merkley said even before the nominee was announced that he would hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 votes for confirmation, a position that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has endorsed. President Trump had the chance to select a consensus nominee to the Supreme Court. To the surprise of absolutely nobody,... Posted by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 But other Democrats were holding off, saying Mr Gorsuch deserved a fair hearing. A British man who died fighting alongside Kurdish forces in Syria killed himself to avoid being taken hostage by Islamic State militants. Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, West Sussex, died in an offensive by anti-IS forces in a bid to retake the northern city of Raaqa, considered to be the terrorist groups de facto capital. Former chef Mr Lock, who had no previous military experience, joined Kurdish militia after telling his family he was going on holiday to Turkey in August. (PA) The Peoples Defence Units (YPG), a Kurdish military force, told Mr Locks family he died along with other fighters last December 21. Now it has emerged he turned the gun on himself to avoid falling captive to IS and being held as a propaganda tool. Mr Locks father, Jon Plater, confirmed BBC reports that it appeared he committed suicide to avoid falling captive to IS. He told the Press Association: We did know. It is true 100%. YPG general command member Mihyedin Xirki described Mr Lock who used the nom de guerre Berxwedan Givara as a martyr who died putting up a brave fight. UK YPG volunteer Ryan Lock's body passed over the border of Rojava to KRG region with military honours today to begin... Posted by Mark Campbell on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 Xirki said in a statement: We bless the resistance of British martyr Berxwedan Givara for the families of all martyrs and the British people. A military ceremony attended by dozens of pro-Kurdish fighters, representatives from political parties and NGOs was held in Rojava on Tuesday. Photographs of the ceremony showed a coffin displaying a photograph of Mr Lock, who went to school in Havant, Hampshire, and a Union flag surrounded by armed militia. A YPG spokesman said the body of Mr Lock was handed over to the British Consulate after they had bade farewell to him, and his body is due to be repatriated to the UK in the next few days. (PA) In a statement, Mr Plater said: Since we heard the devastating news of Ryan, its been pretty tough, especially the difficulties surrounding the repatriation. We are grateful to the YPG for bringing him home. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Syria. Mr Lock is the third British man to die fighting IS with the Kurds in Syria. Dean Evans, 22, a dairy farmer from Reading, Berkshire, died in the city of Manbij in July last year and former Royal Marine Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, 25, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, died in the northern village of Tel Khuzela in March 2015. A Foreign Office spokesman said: Our sympathies are with Ryan Locks family at this very difficult time. We are in contact with them and have provided advice to them on repatriation of his body. A Nigerian mother who gave birth to quadruplets on a plane to the UK, two of whom died, now owes the NHS nearly 500,000. The woman, named as Priscilla, 43, went into premature labour as she was flying home from America, via Heathrow, The Sun reported. Mustn't be distracted by individual tragic cases -where appropriate #NHS should recover but not expense of compassion @HelenStokesLam @GMB RCGP (@rcgp) February 1, 2017 One of her babies did not survive the birth and the remaining three were taken to neonatal intensive care at St Marys Hospital in west London. NHS logo A second baby, named Deborah, died on Saturday, according to the newspaper. While recovering in hospital, Priscilla was told she must pay the cost of her healthcare, estimated to be more than 20,000 a week and expected to reach 500,000. Entirely inappropriate for GP and nurses to be acting as border guards - our priority is the patient @HelenStokesLam @GMB RCGP (@rcgp) February 1, 2017 Her case will feature on the BBC Two documentary Hospital on Wednesday. She receives a visit from the hospitals overseas officer Terry, whose job it is to prepare her for a huge bill, the programme synopsis says. Because she is not a British resident, she must pay for the care that she and her babies are receiving. The cost of such specialist care quickly tops 100,000 and looks likely to rise to half a million pounds during their stay. Urgent action needed to recover more from NHS patients visiting from overseas - read our new Report https://t.co/FNgZUM5zuH #NHS pic.twitter.com/krIVmp4Z9i Public Accounts Committee (@CommonsPAC) February 1, 2017 Emergency NHS treatment is free but non-UK residents have to be billed. The system for recovering cash from overseas patients was criticised in a recent report by MPs from the Commons Public Accounts Committee. Unacceptable so much owed is not collected: Our Chair @Meg_HillierMP on NHS treatment for overseas patients. More https://t.co/FNgZUM5zuH Public Accounts Committee (@CommonsPAC) February 1, 2017 Some 289 million was charged to all overseas patients in 2015/16, with trusts collecting only around half of the amounts they invoice. England will start their RBS 6 Nations title defence by hosting France at Twickenham on Saturday, February 4. Here, we look at some key numbers in Englands tournament history. - Englands total haul of Grand Slams, with the reigning champions completing the clean sweep in 2016. The 6 Nations captains line up with the trophy - The number of total outright tournament wins by England, who have also shared the trophy 10 times. - Jonny Wilkinsons tournament points haul as Englands record points scorer. Irelands Ronan OGara retains the overall record of 557. - Englands record number of tournament tries, shared by Cyril Lowe and Rory Underwood. Irelands Brian ODriscoll holds the overall record of 26. - Englands highest home attendance in the competition. Murrayfield hosted 104,000 spectators in the tournaments record crowd for the 1975 clash between Scotland and Wales. - Englands number of Triple Crown wins, the accolade awarded for victories over Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the same season. England have also received the Wooden Spoon for finishing last on 25 occasions. - Englands all-time tournament win percentage, leaving them top of the pile, with Wales second with 53.14 per cent and France third with 51.37 per cent. Most Britons want the Government to go back to Brussels to try again if Parliament rejects Theresa Mays final Brexit deal, a poll has indicated. The survey, commissioned by the Open Britain campaign group, found just over half of people wanted a renegotiation. But only a third were prepared for the UK to leave the European Union without a deal if MPs and peers rejected what was on the table. A broken Union flag on a backdrop of the European flag The Prime Minister has said Parliament will be given a vote on the final package she has agreed with Brussels, but if they reject it then the UK will leave without a deal. The YouGov poll asked what people would prefer if Parliament decided the final deal was not good enough. Some 34% said the UK should leave the EU without a deal, while 51% said the Government should continue negotiations with Brussels to seek a deal that Parliament can accept and 15% said they did not know. Among people who backed Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, 9% said the UK should leave without a deal while 79% said further negotiations should be sought. Some 63% of Leave voters backed quitting the EU without a deal if Parliament rejected the package, while 27% said ministers should go back to Brussels and try again. WATCH: WTO chief confirms that trade will not be disrupted as Britain leaves the EU pic.twitter.com/PV12lqo5rX Change Britain (@Change_Britain) November 4, 2016 Open Britain is campaigning for the UK to maintain close ties to the EU, including remaining in the single market. Labour former minister and Open Britain supporter Pat McFadden said: A vote on this deal should not be the Government putting a gun to Parliaments head - it should be a meaningful choice which allows Parliament to send the Government back to the negotiating table if the deal they negotiate is not good enough. :: YouGov surveyed 1,684 British adults online between January 29 and 30. Chettithody Shamshuddin has voluntarily stood down as an on-field umpire for Englands Twenty20 international against India in Bangalore, Press Association Sport understands. Shamshuddin was heavily criticised for his decisions in Sundays second match of three in the series, including giving Englands Joe Root out lbw in the last over off an inside edge. He was due to stand in todays match nevertheless but has withdrawn and will instead act as third umpire, switching places with Nitin Menon. Joe Root Shamshuddin does not feel 100% apparently - hard to say if that's physically or mentally - and voluntarily swapped on-field duties for TV Rory Dollard (@thervd) February 1, 2017 As well as giving Root leg before off his bat, Shamshuddin reprieved India skipper Virat Kohli from a plumb lbw in the first innings and England made clear their dissatisfaction with the 46-year-olds performance in their post-game feedback to match referee Andy Pycroft. Shamshuddin is a member of the International Cricket Councils international panel the tier below the elite list and has stood in 21 one-day internationals and 11 T20Is dating back to 2013. He was a late appointment to Sundays match in Nagpur, having officiated an ODI between Australia and Pakistan in Adelaide just three days earlier. Fatigue may have been a contributing factor to his display, while it is not ideal to move so quickly between the bouncier Australian pitches and the less responsive decks in India when tight calls on height are involved. TEAM NEWS One change for England - Liam Plunkett returns in place of Liam Dawson for the decider #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/dYS9RUEYYp England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 1, 2017 But it is understood the Board of Control for Cricket in India was keen to have him in the middle ahead of the less experienced Menon. Shamshuddin is thought to have been gravely disappointed by his mistakes but it seemed as though he would take the chance to make amends when he completed a walk around at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday. England were informed of the change, which was proposed by the BCCI and ratified by the ICC, on their arrival at the ground. Speaking on the eve of the match Root called for DRS to be introduced in T20 internationals and said of Shamshuddin: I have no problem with him umpiring any of our future games. As a player youre going to make mistakes and as an umpire youre going to do exactly the same. He should be able to go and do his job as we are doing ours and hell be under enough external pressure after what happened the other night anyway. Umpires are under as much scrutiny as we are and if you make consistent mistakes youll get found out and you might lose your international status. I dont think thats for us to worry about as players and we know that the best umpires available are going to be standing in our games so it would be wrong to make him feel uncomfortable. Nigel Farage has accused EU leaders of anti-Americanism as he mounted an impassioned defence of Donald Trumps controversial travel ban on a series of mainly Muslim countries. Amid raucous scenes at the European Parliament in Brussels the former Ukip leader said the new US president was simply trying to protect his country from Islamist terrorists. He challenged MEPs to invite Mr Trump to come and address them in an open dialogue or expose themselves to be the anti-democratic zealots he had always suspected them to be. Labour MEP Seb Dance sitting behind Nigel Farage brandishing a notice declaring "He's lying to you" (European Parliament TV/PA) My fellow Labour MEP @SebDance made a telling point in the European Parliament today @hopenothate @GrillingKippers @UKIPNFKN @WomenDefyUKIP pic.twitter.com/RLMsKNhkS7 Paul Brannen (@PaulBrannenNE) February 1, 2017 As he spoke, the Labour London MEP Seb Dance could be seen sitting behind him brandishing a notice declaring Hes lying to you. Mr Farage, a long-time admirer of Mr Trump who was among the first foreign visitors to meet him after his election victory, lashed out after a series of senior figures - including EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini - condemned the travel ban. He said that Mr Trumps victory and his subsequent actions to deliver on his campaign promises had come as a profound shock to an EU where proposing legislation was the sole preserve of the unelected European Commission. If I am wrong in saying that you can throw me out of this parliament right here, right now, this afternoon, he said. It seems to me with all the anti-Trump rhetoric that is coming from everywhere, actually what we are hearing is the true nature of the European project which is genuine anti-Americanism. Trump is motivated by protecting the United States of America from Islamic terrorism whereas what has happened in this room and in governments around Europe is that you have welcomed these people into your own homes. Will you condemn Saudi Arabia for taking no refugees? Where was your 'outrage' when Obama did the same as Trump to Iraq in 2011? https://t.co/0sWJqamqlM Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) January 29, 2017 He accused senior EU figures of hypocrisy and faux outrage after they failed to condemn a previous six-month travel ban on Iraqis imposed by President Barack Obama. I am sure as democrats you will all agree that what we need to do is to have an open dialogue with the newly-elected most powerful man in the world, he said. And if you throw that suggestion back in my face then you prove yourselves to be the anti-democratic zealots that I always thought you were. Proposals to allow Theresa May to start formal Brexit talks have passed their first Commons test following overwhelming support from MPs. The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill was given a second reading by 498 votes to 114 a majority of 384. The legislation allows the Prime Minister to decide when to trigger Article 50 and therefore begin the two-year process of negotiation on Britains withdrawal from the EU. MPs vote 498 to 114 to approve the Second Reading of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. pic.twitter.com/jgqy7rnw2i UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) February 1, 2017 A total of 47 Labour MPs defied orders from leader Jeremy Corbyn by voting against the Bill. Mr Corbyn imposed a three-line whip on his MPs, which required them to support it. An SNP-led wrecking amendment which attempted to stop the Bill from progressing was earlier defeated by 336 votes to 100, a majority of 236. There were 33 Labour MPs who supported the SNP proposal, with six voting against, and 44 who opposed a motion outlining the future process for the Bill which undergoes further scrutiny over three days from next Monday. MPs vote against the reasoned amendment to the Second Reading of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill by 336 to 100. pic.twitter.com/2Ae7BoiUnO UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) February 1, 2017 The votes came after more than 17 hours of debate. Ministers were forced to bring forward the proposed legislation after the Supreme Court ruled that Parliaments approval is needed before the Brexit withdrawal process can begin. The Government wants this to start before the end of March. Former Chancellor George Osborne used the second day of debate to warn that blocking Brexit risks putting Parliament against people and provoking a deep constitutional crisis in Britain. #georgeosborne may have voted Remain but he did everything in his power to impoverish people as Chancellor forcing them to vote #brexit John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@Harryslaststand) February 1, 2017 He added the Government has chosen not to make the economy the priority in this negotiation, they have prioritised immigration control. His remarks came after Labour former leader Ed Miliband warned Mrs May against feeling an inevitable consequence of leaving the EU is being driven into the arms of US president Donald Trump. Mr Miliband said: I can go along with the Prime Minister that Brexit means Brexit but I cannot go along with the idea that Brexit means Trump. And nor do I believe that is inevitable and nor do I believe that is what the British people want either. Proud of fantastic #StandUpToTrump protests around country tonight--and thanks to those on the London one for being so welcoming. Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) January 30, 2017 The danger is this, the Prime Minister feels it is an inevitable consequence of the decision to leave the EU that we are driven into the arms of president Trump. Warnings to Mrs May also emerged from Tory MPs, with former minister Alistair Burt noting: I dont believe that this Bill provides much opportunity for the addition of detail to Government future negotiation the Government needs a pretty open hand though one or two amendments might help the Government in keeping and retaining parliamentary support. Among the Labour MPs who said they would vote against the Bill, Chris Bryant (Rhondda) said: Today Im afraid I am voting and speaking on behalf of a minority of my constituents. He warned the Governments Brexit plans would do untold damage to his constituents and make the UK poorer and weaker. But he acknowledged voting against the majority view of his constituents could cost him his job. He said: In the end there is no point in any single one of us being a member of this House if we dont have things that we believe in and that we are prepared to fight for and, if necessary, lay down our job for. A local woman was killed late Monday night after walking into the path of a deputy who was driving down the road trying to find the car the woman was supposedly driving. Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen said at 11:15 p.m. deputies were notified by a concerned family member that Brenda Gross, 66, of Mineral Point, was driving around possibly intoxicated in a white passenger car. The deputies, being familiar with Gross, traveled to the Hopewell area in an attempt to locate her, said Jacobsen. Gross was arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Jan. 27 for driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident and arrested and charged again on Jan. 28 for driving while intoxicated. Jacobsen said at approximately 11:37 p.m. Corporal Scott Pratt radioed dispatch and informed them he had located debris on Old Highway 8 at Jargon Road, which is near Hopewell. He advised the front bumper from a white passenger vehicle was located and appeared to be from the same vehicle Gross was to be driving, said Jacobsen. Corporal Pratt notified responding deputies to be looking for the vehicle. Jacobsen said Pratt removed the bumper and other debris from what appeared to be an accident scene from the roadway. He then continued eastbound on Old Highway 8 looking for the car and driver. Corporal Pratt exited Old Highway 8 at Potosi Lake Road and traveled west on Old Highway 8, explained Jacobsen. As Corporal Pratt approached the Hopewell turnoff again, he hit Gross as she stepped into the roadway in front of him. He immediately notified central dispatch of the crash and began lifesaving measures on Gross. Jacobsen said the Washington County Ambulance District and the Potosi Fire Protection District were called to the accident scene, where they treated Gross. Gross was taken to the Washington County Memorial Hospital for treatment, said Jacobsen. (She) suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased by the emergency room doctor at 12:22 a.m. Jacobsen said the woman's car was located south of where the accident occurred and was in a dark driveway. Her vehicle was pulled into the driveway right next to another vehicle, said Jacobsen. Its our belief she exited the vehicle and worked her way to the road. What she was doing we dont know, because her phone and purse were still in the car. The patrol has told us that speed was not a factor in this crash. Jacobsen stressed that Corporal Pratt is not working right now, but he is not being suspended. He was given time to grieve because he is having a tough time with it. There is no reason at this point that we believe he did anything wrong, stated Jacobsen. I took him to the hospital last night and had blood work done, which is procedure. He also provided a breath sample to the trooper on scene and everything came back clean as far as no intoxicants. He was checked out at the hospital. Jacobsen said Pratt didnt have any visible injuries but was checked out as a precaution. Jacobsen stressed again that Pratt is in no way being suspended or reprimanded. The speed limit in that area of Old Highway 8 is 55 mph and it is our belief based on the highway patrols information they have provided us that he was traveling considerably slower than the posted speed limit ... he was actively looking for the vehicle involved in the accident, said Jacobsen. The damage to the patrol vehicle is very minimal. Jacobsen added the coroners office did a toxicology report but did not order an autopsy. He stressed that he has stayed out of the patrols investigation because he wants to be 100 percent transparent to the community regarding this event. That is why I ordered the patrol to assume command of the investigation because I want an independent investigation and I have also requested that once the report is completed and finalized to have it submitted to our prosecuting attorney for review, said Jacobsen. The unfortunate part is that someone lost their life and a deputy and his family are suffering. Jacobsen appreciates the response from the emergency personnel who responded. He said the fire department, the ambulance district, the highway patrol, the sheriffs office and the hospital staff did an outstanding job and he cant thank them enough. Its an unfortunate incident, one that couldnt be avoided, but everyone involved handled themselves with a very high degree of professionalism, added Jacobsen. I do want to send out my condolences to the family. I think too often in instances like this the family of the deceased is always forgotten. I dont want them to think the sheriffs office has forgotten them and I would like the community to know we are handling this, as well as any other incident with any fatality motor vehicle collision ... we will always have the highway patrol investigate it. Jacobsen reiterated an independent review by the prosecuting attorneys office will be conducted at the completion of the patrols investigation. Missouri State Highway Patrol Spokesperson Juston Wheetley confirmed the patrol is handing the crash part of the investigation. Wheetley said their reconstruction team will do a complete investigation of the crash. We do have indication that Gross was wearing dark clothing in a dim area, explained Wheetley. It was extremely dark in that area, so the visibility was low as well. Wheetley stressed that at this time they have not found any reason to dispute the deputys reported speed. There is no indication that he was traveling in excess of the speed limit. He came through, found debris in the roadway, removed the debris, went up the roadway and turned around and was coming back through looking for a vehicle belonging to the debris, said Wheetley. When he thought he spotted the vehicle off the roadway, a minute later the pedestrian steps out in front of him. Morocco arrests seven suspected militants and seizes weapons RABAT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Moroccan authorities said on Friday they had arrested seven suspected militants linked to Islamic State and seized weapons and explosive belts. A statement from the interior ministry said the group had ties with commanders of the Sunni Islamist group in Syria, Iraq and Libya and had set up a hideout in the coastal town of El-Jadida. It said the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation seized an assault rifle, seven pistols, ammunition and bomb-making material. Authorities said they also found two explosive belts in the raids in El-Jadida, Sale and other towns. Morocco, a Western ally against Islamist militancy, says that since 2002 it has dismantled more than 150 militant cells linked to groups fighting in Syria and Iraq. Hundreds of fighters from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have joined militant groups in the Middle East and Libya. Security experts say some try to return and create new jihadi groups in their home countries. Kenya extradites four men to U.S. on suspicion of heroin smuggling By Nate Raymond, Katharine Houreld and David Lewis NEW YORK/NAIROBI, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Four men charged with directing a major heroin trafficking ring have been extradited to the United States from Kenya, U.S. prosecutors announced on Tuesday, in what officials say is a major blow to East Africa's cartels. Baktash Akasha, who U.S. prosecutors say led a Kenyan crime family called the Akasha organization that was involved in distributing heroin and methamphetamine, arrived in New York from Kenya along with three co-defendants on Monday. His co-defendants include Ibrahim Akasha, his brother; Gulam Hussein, a Pakistani charged with heading a drug transportation network; and Vijaygiri Goswami, an Indian businessman accused of managing the Akasha organization's drug business. They are expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan later on Tuesday. U.S. lawyers for Baktash Akasha, 40; Ibrahim Akasha, 28; and Hussein, 61, could not be immediately identified. Goswami's lawyer declined immediate comment. The charges stemmed from a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration probe into the Akasha organization, which it alleges is a major smuggling operation connecting the poppy fields of Afghanistan to European and U.S. cities. The Akasha family has been involved in the drug trade for years, according to U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks. The Satao Project, a private company focused on fighting poaching, said the Akashas' network was also linked to around 30 tons of ivory seizures. The four men had been fighting their extradition since being arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November 2014 in a U.S.-led sting operation. They had been out on bail when senior police officers from the counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics units in Nairobi arrested them in the coastal city of Mombasa on Sunday, their lawyer Cliff Ombeta said. According to U.S. prosecutors, in 2014, the defendants agreed to supply multi-kilogram quantities of drugs individuals they believed were representatives of a Colombian drug-trafficking organization. Those individuals were in fact DEA informants who recorded their meetings with the defendants, according to court papers. Canada shooting suspect rented apartment close to mosque -neighbors By Kevin Dougherty and Allison Lampert QUEBEC CITY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The French-Canadian student accused of killing six people during evening prayers in a Quebec City mosque had rented an apartment nearby, neighbors said on Tuesday, a sign he may have been targeting the house of worship. Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, was charged in court on Monday with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon after Sunday evening's massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec. Police said he acted alone but did not release specific details of the weapon. RDI, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's French-language arm, cited sources as saying the gunman had a 9 mm handgun and a long gun, but the report did not provide further details. The mass shooting, which was rare for Canada and which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned as terrorism, prompted an outpouring of support for the mosque and for Canada's 1 million Muslims in the country of about 35 million. Authorities in Quebec have called for a spirit of inclusivity, and police have tightened security at all religious institutions in the province, which had the second-highest rate of crimes motivated by religious prejudice among the provinces in 2014, second only to Ontario, according to police crime data collected by Statistics Canada. The data showed that reported crimes of prejudice against Muslims in Canada more than doubled between 2012 and 2014. Bissonnette, who said on his Facebook page that he was a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump and far-right French politician Marine Le Pen, had moved into an apartment in the beige block near the mosque in July and drove a Mitsubishi truck, said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified. The Facebook page has been taken down since the shooting. Another neighbor on the fourth floor never spoke to Bissonnette but frequently heard piano-playing from the apartment. A neighbor of his parents told the CBC that Bissonnette shared the apartment with his twin brother. Police declined to discuss a motive for the shooting, but friends and online acquaintances told Canadian media that Bissonnette had expressed anti-immigration sentiments, especially toward Muslim refugees. Both law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the United States believe the suspect was sympathetic to right-wing nationalist ideology, and that likely contributed to motive, U.S. officials said. On Tuesday, the prime minister's chief spokeswoman, Kate Purchase, demanded that Fox News channel in the United States either retract or update a tweet that the gunman was of Moroccan origin. She said the tweet dishonored the victims. The tweet was later taken down. Fox initially corrected the error with a tweet and an update to the story on Monday, said Refet Kaplan, managing director of Fox News.com. "The earlier tweets have now been deleted. We regret the error," Kaplan said in a statement. Purchase noted that Canada welcomed refugees and immigrants, effectively underscoring major differences between Trudeau and Trump, who on Friday temporarily banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, citing the risk of terrorism. 'TURNING POINT' FOR QUEBEC A large turnout at vigils in Quebec City, Montreal and other cities on Monday evening showed people rejected hate speech and wanted to be inclusive, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said. "I think it's a turning point for Quebec, to see people rallying around values like that," he told reporters in Quebec City, the provincial capital, on Tuesday. Bissonnette did not hide his hostility toward Muslims during his long interrogation by police, Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported, quoting a source close to the investigation. He was also interested in guns and practiced shooting at a club, La Presse reported. Bissonnette, a social science student at Universite Laval and a former cadet, made a brief appearance in court on Monday under tight security. Prosecutors said all of the evidence was not yet ready and Bissonnette was set to appear again on Feb. 21. No charges were read in court and Bissonnette did not enter a plea. His lawyer, Jean Petit, declined to comment at the courthouse on Monday. Quebec's public safety minister, Martin Coiteux, said security at all religious institutions across the province had been heightened, particularly at mosques. He told reporters that while police always treated reports of religious harassment and hate speech seriously, they had not always done a good job of letting communities know the results of their probes. Missouri executes man for 1998 triple murder By Timothy Mclaughlin Jan 31 (Reuters) - A man convicted of killing a woman and her two children after a break-in at their home in southern Missouri in 1998 was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday. Mark Christeson, 37, was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST (0105 GMT on Wednesday), according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. Christeson was sent to death row for the murders of Susan Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle. Christeson raped the mother after breaking into the family's home with his cousin, according to court documents. They drove the family to a pond where Christeson cut the throats of the mother and son and threw them into the water, court documents said. They suffocated the daughter and threw her into the pond, according to court documents. Christeson's cousin Jesse Carter, who at 17 was one year younger than him at the time of the slayings, testified against Christeson at trial and received a sentence of life in prison, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted Christeson's execution in 2014 after his legal team argued his previous attorneys failed to meet a key deadline for filing court papers in 2005 and had refused to cooperate when the mistake came to light. The failure to meet the deadline meant Christeson's conviction in state court was never reviewed by a federal judge, which is the usual practice. In January 2015, the Supreme Court threw out an appeals court ruling, denying Christeson another chance for his case to be heard. His current attorney, Jennifer Merrigan, petitioned the Supreme Court for another stay of execution on Monday. The request was denied on Tuesday. Christeson was also denied a clemency request by Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on Tuesday evening. "Mark was 18 at the time of his crime and has an IQ of 74," Merrigan said by email on Monday. "His execution may be unconstitutional, but the courts keep trying to rush him to the death chamber instead of giving him a fair opportunity in court." Greitens in a statement describing the victims said Adrian wanted to become a veterenarian or a teacher and Kyle wanted to be an Army officer. Christeson in a written statement before his execution said he loved his family and was "more than blessed" to have them. S.Korea Jan exports to China, EU jump, shipments to the U.S. slip SEOUL, Feb 1 (Reuters) - South Korean exports to China and the European Union expanded in January compared to a year earlier, while shipments to the United States fell, according to trade ministry data released on Wednesday. Exports to China jumped 13.5 percent year-on-year for a third straight month, while shipments to the EU grew 13.4 percent. South Korean exports to the United States declined by 1.8 percent year-on-year. Germany's Schulz calls Trump 'un-American', warns against lifting Russia sanctions BERLIN, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Germany's centre-left chancellor candidate Martin Schulz has criticised U.S. President Donald Trump's policies as "un-American" and warned against lifting sanctions imposed against Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. In one of the sharpest remarks yet by a senior German politician since the new American leader took office, Schulz told the Funke media group in an interview published on Wednesday that Europe had to stand up to defend liberal values. "What Trump is doing is un-American," Schulz said, adding that the United States like no other country in the world stood for enlightenment, democracy and freedom. "If Trump is now driving a wrecking ball through this set of values, then I will tell him as chancellor: That's not the policy of Germany and Europe," Schulz added. Germany's Social Democrats last week nominated former European Parliament president Schulz to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel in a federal election in September, and the surprise move has boosted popular support for the centre-left party. Merkel said on Monday the global fight against terrorism does not warrant putting groups of people under suspicion, adding Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States violates the spirit of international cooperation. Turning to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine conflict, Schulz said that sanctions imposed against Russia could only be lifted after both sides had implemented the so-called Minsk peace plan. "As long as the Minsk peace agreement is not fully implemented, the sanctions cannot be lifted. We must tell Putin very clearly that Russia is obliged to respect and defend international law," Schulz said. Schulz' comments bring more clarity about his stance on Russia after some leading Social Democrats have voiced support for a partial lifting of sanctions as long as Russia is implementing some aspects of the plan. Cuban artists paint garments, not canvases for 'Fashion Art' show By Sarah Marsh HAVANA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A fantastical blue bird emerges from leaves in the latest work by Manuel Mendive, considered Cuba's top living artist. But this isn't a framed canvas, it's a painting on a dress, for the exhibit "Fashion Art Havana" that opened on Tuesday. In creations by other Cuban artists, a ghostly face seems to scream out from a dark cape, a red and blue matryoshka doll is painted onto a dress, while a bubble-shaped frock is covered with wooden spikes. The show is the latest in the "Fashion Art" series by Spanish designer Manuel Fernandez, who has worked with artists all over the world to create one-off garments at the intersection of both disciplines. "Art doesn't have to always be hung on walls, it could also be on floor tiles, earrings, tights or many other places," Fernandez said in an interview. Participating artists said at the opening they had high hopes the exhibit would help fashion become viewed in Communist-ruled Cuba as more than a mere consumerist indulgence. "Fashion is also art, and this is a concept we need to start understanding here," said Jorge Perugorria, who painted a graphic black and white design on his dress. Fernandez said he first designs a garment for an artist, letting their work and personality inspire the form. He leaves the fabric blank though, like a canvas for them to then paint. Given that he lets the artists paint whatever they wish, he has no idea what his shows will look like until the very last minute - a nail-biting experience. In the case of "Fashion Art Havana", which will run in Havana's sumptuous, neo-baroque Gran Teatro until Feb. 11, Fernandez said he was struck with how two painters ended up drawing on Russian themes. This testified to the strong influence the Soviet Union had on Cuba during their Cold War alliance, something you would not find in other Latin American cultures. Eduardo Abela, son of the Cuban artist of the same name, daubed a matryoshka doll onto his dress, while Gustavo Echevarria, known as "Cuty," stained his scarlet, then painted communist symbols like a hammer and sickle on it. "Cuba remains a Communist country, yet at the same there is the sensuality of the dress and the consumerism of the designs - there is a contradiction there that in this case coexist perfectly," Cuty said. With this show, Fernandez said he decided to juxtapose the new Cuban creations with works from previous collections by Puerto Rican and Spanish artists like Antonio Martorell and Rafael Canogar. Romania - Factors to watch on Feb. 1 Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Wednesday. CORRUPTION Romania's new leftist government late on Tuesday decriminalized a number of graft offences including some abuse-of-power cases in the ex-communist state's biggest retreat on anti-corruption reforms since it joined the European Union a decade ago. FX RESERVES Romania's central bank to release foreign exchange reserves data for January. 2017 BUDGET Romania's leftist government approved a budget draft with a fiscal deficit of 3.0 percent as planned on Tuesday, hours after a national defence panel (CSAT) endorsed it to defuse a week-long spat over funding for intelligence agencies. FEBRUARY DEBT ISSUANCE Romania aims to sell 3.9 billion lei ($927.47 million) worth of leu currency bills and bonds in February, and an additional 315 million lei at non-competitive rounds of auctions, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. UNEMPLOYMENT Romania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 5.5 percent in December from November's 5.7 percent, the National Statistics Board said on Tuesday. CEE MARKETS Romania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 5.5 percent in December from November's 5.7 percent, the National Statistics Board said on Tuesday. For the long-term Romanian diary, click on For emerging markets economic events, click on For an index of all diaries, click on Trump's defense chief heads to Asia, eying China, N.Korea threat By Phil Stewart and Nobuhiro Kubo WASHINGTON/TOKYO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary is expected to underscore U.S. security commitments to key allies South Korea and Japan on his debut trip to Asia this week as concerns mount over North Korea's missile program and tensions with China. The trip is the first for retired Marine General James Mattis since becoming Trump's Pentagon chief and is also the first foreign trip by any of Trump's cabinet secretaries. Officials say the fact that Mattis is first heading to Asia - as opposed to perhaps visiting troops in Iraq or Afghanistan - is meant to reaffirm ties with two Asian allies hosting nearly 80,000 American troops and the importance of the region overall. That U.S. reaffirmation could be critical after Trump appeared to question the cost of such U.S. alliances during the election campaign. He also jolted the region by pulling Washington out of an Asia-Pacific trade deal that Japan had championed. "It's a reassurance message," said one Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "This is for all of the people who were concerned during the campaign that then-candidate, now-president, Trump was skeptical of our alliances and was somehow going to retreat from our traditional leadership role in the region." Trump himself has spoken with the leaders of both Japan and South Korea in recent days and will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on Feb. 10. Mattis leaves the United States on Feb. 1, heading first to Seoul before continuing to Tokyo on Feb. 3. DEFENSE SPENDING Trump singled out both South Korea and Japan on the campaign trail, suggesting they were benefiting from the U.S. security umbrella without sharing enough of the costs. In one 2016 television interview, Trump said of the 28,500 U.S. troops deployed to South Korea: "We get practically nothing compared to the cost of this. Why are we doing this?" Mattis, in his confirmation hearing, appeared to play down those remarks, noting that there was a long history of U.S. presidents and even defense secretaries calling on allies to pay their fair share of defense costs. But his visit to the region comes amid concerns North Korea may be readying to test a new ballistic missile, in what could be an early challenge for Trump's administration. Speaking with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo ahead of his trip, Mattis reaffirmed a U.S. commitment to defend the country and "provide extended deterrence using the full range of U.S. capabilities." Analysts expect Mattis to seek an update on South Korea's early moves to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which, once in place sometime in 2017, would defend against North Korea's nuclear and ballistic capabilities. Still, a South Korean military official played down expectations of any big announcements during the trip, saying Mattis' first visit would likely be "an ice-breaking session" for both countries. In Tokyo, Mattis is to meet Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who has repeatedly said Japan is bearing its fair share of the costs for U.S. troops stationed there and has stressed that the alliance is good for both nations. Japan's defense spending remains around 1 percent of GDP, far behind China, which is locked in a dispute with Japan over a group of East China Sea islets 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Taiwan known as the Senkakus in Tokyo and the Diaoyus in Beijing. The trip also comes amid growing concern about China's military moves in the South China Sea. Tension with Beijing escalated last week when Trump's White House vowed to defend "international territories" there. China responded by saying it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over disputed islands in the strategic waterway. Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on Feb 1 PRAGUE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial markets on Wednesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 1 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================== Real-time economic data releases.................... Summary of economic data and forecasts........... Recently released economic data.................. Previous stories on Czech data............. **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: http://emea1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/CountryWeb/#/2E/events-overview ==========================NEWS================================== CEZ: Czech electricity producer CEZ and energy group Czech Coal have started talks on the sale of CEZ's Pocerady coal-fired plant, Mlada Fronta Dnes reports, citing unnamed sources. Story: Related stories: MONETA: Moneta Money Bank has received an investment grade rating from Moody's agency, the Czech lender said on Tuesday. It also said it got an investment grade rating from Standard & Poor's. Story: Related stories: HACK: Hackers have breached dozens of email accounts at the Czech Foreign Ministry in an attack resembling one against the U.S. Democratic Party that the former Obama administration blamed on Russia, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said on Tuesday. Story: Related stories: CENBANK: Czech President Milos Zeman appointed Oldrich Dedek and Marek Mora to the board of the central bank (CNB) on Tuesday, replacing two outgoing members of the seven-strong board as the bank approaches exit from its weak-crown policy. Story: Related stories: O2: O2 Czech Republic said its share premium distribution mid-term intention, not one-off Story: Related stories: CEE MARKETS: Warsaw led a rebound of Central European stocks on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to the first quarter earnings season, focusing on expectations that results will show that some Polish stocks are undervalued. Story: Related stories: ---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------ Index/Crown Currency Latest Prev Pct change Pct change close on day in 2017 vs Euro 27.019 27.002 -0.06 -0.04 vs Dollar 25.031 25.098 0.27 2.41 Czech Equities 932.46 932.46 0.18 1.18 U.S. Equities 19,864.09 19,971.13 -0.54 0.51 Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1600 GMT ==========================PRESS DIGEST======================== TESLA: Industry Minister Jan Mladek said he was aiming to convince Tesla Motors to build a factory in the Czech Republic but declined to give more details. He plans to meet with the firm during a May visit to the United States. Hospodarske Noviny, page 5 DEBT: Household bank debt rose by 7.2 percent in 2016 to 1.419 trillion crowns ($56.68 billion). Household deposits rose by 8.4 percent to 2.206 trillion crowns. Hospodarske Noviny, page 16 (Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy.) For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX For updates on CEE currencies TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets Prague Newsroom: +420 224 190 477 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com ($1 = 25.0350 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Prague Newsroom) A southeast Missouri native who survived the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New Yorks World Trade Center towers shared his gripping tale to members of the St. Francois County Rotary Club at a recent luncheon meeting. Kevin Boyer, who grew up in the Parkland and attended school in the West County School District, kept the rapt attention of the crowd as he told of the events that took place on a cold, clear and crisp morning 15 years ago while working in New York City as a consultant for the New York/New Jersey Port Authority headquartered in 1 World Trade Center. Boyer said he had left his nearby hotel for work, but then realized hed left his cellphone in his room. Deciding he would retrieve it at lunchtime, he took the elevator to the towers 70th floor and went to his desk. Sometime around 8:45 a.m. I had just sat down at my desk with my second cup of coffee, recalled Boyer. I heard a loud explosion and immediately the building shook, as if we were having a major earthquake. I jumped up out of my chair only to hear someone yell, Everybody stand still. I grabbed hold of the partition that was next to my desk. I looked out the window to my right and saw debris falling. The building stopped shaking and swaying, and somebody yelled, Lets go. As soon as we hit the stairways, my prayers began. Unaware of what had shaken the building, Boyer and others on his floor began their descent down the stairs. He described the exit from the building as quite orderly with no pushing or shoving. There were a number of people who were extremely nervous and many were having trouble breathing, he said. Women were taking their shoes off in order to make it easier to walk down the stairs. You could smell and see smoke; and smell what seemed like gas, but neither was overwhelming. Once they reached the 44th floor, the evacuees were taken to a different stairway and they learned for the first time that a plane had hit the building. My first instinct was that it was a small plane and that it was an accident, he said. It was at this point that Boyer met up with a fellow co-worker, Kyle Crager. Exiting the building slowed considerably at this point as people who had been burned and/or injured were being brought down the stairway and firefighters were checking different floors of the building to make sure everyone had been evacuated. The firemen were sweating profusely under their protective gear, recalled Boyer. I realize now that many of the firefighters we saw going up the stairs never made it out of the building. Many people being evacuated were starting to have a hard time catching their breath as we descended the stairs. Boyer said that as they came to the fifth or sixth floor, he and his fellow evacuees began walking through water running down the steps. Upon reaching the first floor, they were now able to see out the windows into the outside plaza behind the World Trade Centers. Upon exiting the World Trade Center Boyer said, We immediately looked up and saw both buildings on fire. It was a sight he said he will always remember. We started walking away from the area, he continued. I knew my wife and kids would now be frantic, not knowing whether or not I had made it out of the building. Every pay phone he passed had long lines of people trying to contact their families. He finally walked into a small business, told them he was from St. Louis and asked if they would allow him to call his family to let them know he was all right. The man said OK and I made the phone call, said Boyer. To say the least, everyone was relieved that I was out and OK. While talking to my wife on the phone, the man in the office was listening to the news and we heard a plane had hit the Pentagon. My wife then told me there had also been a plane hit near Pittsburgh. Boyer and Crager began discussing what they should do next. Kyle wanted to try and call our company and let them know that everyone from our consulting firm had made it out of the building, recalled Boyer. We had about 20 employees working in the building. Walking back toward the World Trade Center, the pair looked at the buildings on fire. Crager told his co-worker that, if the buildings were to collapse, everyone in the area would be in big trouble. Boyer retorted that the buildings would never collapse. We walked a little farther; I recognized the area, said Boyer. We were only one or two blocks away from the World Trade Center. We stopped to look at the World Trade Center buildings. All of a sudden, a loud noise was heard and some said, Its falling. The noise was deafening. Everyone started screaming and running. Boyer watched as Crager began running away from the area. I thought there were other bombs going off, continued Boyer. Dust and debris were hitting everyone. People were running into each other and trying to get away from the debris. We couldnt see anything. I put my hand in front of my face and I couldnt see it. I got behind a concrete planter that was maybe 10 feet away. Before I got to the planter, the dust and debris were on top of me. There were people jumping on top of me and people running into me. Boyer said that, at that moment, he believed he would not make it out of the situation alive. I knew that at any moment something could strike me or fall on top of me, Boyer said. If that didnt happen, then I thought I might choke to death on the dust and debris. He couldnt breath and couldnt see. Someone yelled for everyone to close their eyes. Boyer unbuttoned his shirt, using it to cover his mouth but he still couldnt breathe. This seemed to last forever, recalled Boyer. I was standing now. I looked to my left and saw light. I reached out to touch the light, it had a calming influence on me. I started to think I was going to survive. At this point, he realized the lights are decorative lights on the tree inside the planter he was using to protect himself from the dust and debris. As the dust settled, Boyer could see well enough to leave the area. I told myself that I had to get out of there, said Boyer. If the other building collapsed I might not make it. Walking away, Boyer was choking from the dust and debris in his mouth. He saw a small food wagon nearby where people were taking the drinks to clean out their mouths. The owner of the wagon came running over to make sure that everyone paid, said Boyer. I gave him $2 for a bottle of iced tea. I rinsed out my mouth and spit it out. My eyes, nose and ears were full of dust and debris. My clothes were covered. I took off my tie and threw it to the ground. As he continued to walk, Boyer heard people calling out the names of other people and the sound of fighter jets roaring over the area. Everyone started running again, thinking it was another attack, said Boyer. When we realized it was only jets, everyone slowed down. Covered in gray dust, Boyer notices he had blood on the front and back of his shirt and T-shirt. It wasnt his blood and he had no idea how it got there. A police officer directed people to walk north. I wasnt sure what direction was north, but I started following everyone else, said Boyer. I then realized that one of the buildings had collapsed. It seemed unreal. Only one tower remained I began walking, trying to get as far away as possible. The second building collapsed. By that time, Boyer said he was far enough away to not be affected by the dust and debris from the falling of the second tower. Unsuccessful in finding a working pay phone, Boyer saw a man inviting people to enter his apartment building to use his phone, get water and use the restroom. The apartment manager and a police officer were arguing with the man, saying they didnt want people going into the building. Boyer entered the building, but because the man was only letting people enter his apartment two at a time, he eventually left and continued his walk north. Finally reaching the Williamsburg Bridge, he crossed over into Brooklyn, amazed at the sight of so many people walking away from the destruction. It looked like all of Manhattan had decided to walk out of the city, Boyer recalled. I reached the Brooklyn side of the bridge and numerous people offered me water. I walked around looking for people from my company, but was unable to find anyone. I spent awhile just walking around the immediate area of the bridge. I found a pay phone, but it didnt work. It was after lunch and I needed to eat something. I realized I had only had $3. None of the ATMs worked. Glimpsing a woman at a business holding up a sign reading, Come in, use our phone, use our restrooms, Boyer was finally able to phone home and his office. The hotel where I was staying was destroyed when the World Trade Centers collapsed, said Boyer. I needed to find a place to spend the night. I asked the lady who had been helping me to ask her boss. He told me there was a Marriott about five or six blocks away. He went there, but found no hotel. After several failed attempts, Boyer received directions from a different person and was told to wait for a bus to take him there. No bus arrived. At about 4 p.m., Boyer arrived at the hotel, but they had no rooms. I contacted my wife to let her know where I was, he said. I called my company and told them I needed someplace to stay. They wanted me to walk further, but I told them I couldnt. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I would just sleep on the floor somewhere in the hotel. He went to the hotel bar to order food and something to drink. After hearing Boyers story, a man invited him to share the other bed in his room and use the shower. I went to the bathroom and started taking off my clothes, said Boyer. My shoes were covered with dirt. I just stuck them under the water running for the shower. I took my clothes off and dirt fell everywhere. I got into the shower and it seemed like it took forever to get the dirt out of my hair. I put my clothes back on. I went back downstairs to the hotel gift shop and bought new socks and an NYPD T-shirt. Once back in my room, I called my wife. At 10 p.m. I laid down on the bed, but I didnt sleep all night because I kept reliving the collapse of the building. About noon the next day, Boyer limped around Brooklyn. I saw a church that had a 12:10 p.m. mass, he recalled. I went to the mass and everybody had a look of pain and sorrow on their face. The priest seemed to be at a loss for words. He went back to the hotel, called his wife and was interviewed by the Steve & DC radio show. On the following day, a Thursday, Boyer thought he would be flying back to St. Louis, but it wasnt meant to be. I had breakfast at the hotel and checked the news to see if the airports were going to open, he recalled. It looked good. I got a cab and went to JFK airport. It was about noon. The airport announced only one flight would be allowed to fly that day it was going to Puerto Rico. He took a shuttle back to the hotel and called his company. They told him there was a flight leaving from LaGuardia. Boyer went to the airport, but there was no plane. Frustrated, he returned to his hotel and again contacted his company. They told me they had made reservations for me to fly out of Philadelphia on Friday morning, Boyer recalled. A car would pick me up at 2:30 a.m. He made the flight, arriving in St. Louis at 10:30 a.m. Friday morning, tearfully welcomed by his wife, Linda, and their two daughters. According to Linda Boyer, the press treated the family well for the most part, but she had to draw the line when a TV crew asked to cover the familys Thanksgiving dinner that year. I told them no, she said. Asked by one of the Rotary members if he considered himself a hero, Boyer shook his head. One of my daughters calls me that, but I dont see myself as one at all, he said. I was just trying to get myself to safety. Of course, I would have helped anyone around me who needed it, but I wasnt a hero. Ryanair adds 15 routes to Israel for sun-seeking Europeans JERUSALEM, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Ryanair is adding 15 new routes between Europe and Israel to cater for Europeans seeking a milder climate in the winter, the Irish low-cost carrier said on Wednesday. Europe's largest airline entered the Israeli market in late 2015 with seasonal flights between October and March from Budapest, Bratislava, Krakow in Poland and Kaunas in Lithuania to Ovda Airport, which is north of the Red Sea resort Eilat. Ryanair said these routes, which came after Israel signed an Open Skies agreement with the European Union in 2012, were "performing well". The deal has led to a 30 percent increase in flights to Tel Aviv the past three years. From October 2017, Ryanair will add twice weekly flights to Ovda Airport from Baden Baden, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Milan and Polish cities Warsaw, Gdansk and Poznan. It will also add seven new routes to Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv from Baden Baden, Gdansk, Milan, Poznan, Krakow and Wroclaw in Poland and Paphos in Cyprus. David O'Brien, Ryanair's chief commercial officer, said the airline was working with Israel's Tourism Ministry to "establish Eilat as a viable alternative to competing sunshine destinations in Europe." Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said the significant expansion of Ryanair should cut the cost of fares to and from Israel, while "expressing great confidence in Israeli tourism." Cyprus leaders seek new UN peace summit in early March -envoy ATHENS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The leaders of ethnically-split Cyprus have asked the United Nations to prepare for a new peace conference in early March with guarantor powers Britain, Turkey and Greece, a U.N. envoy said on Wednesday. Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci also agreed at a meeting to reconvene weekly through the month of February to try to resolve outstanding issues, envoy Espen Barth Eide said. "The leaders requested the United Nations to prepare, in consultation with the guarantor powers, for the continuation of the Conference on Cyprus at political level in early March," Eide said in a statement. "They underscored their strong resolve and determination to maintain the current momentum," said Eide, a former Norwegian foreign minister who has been one of a long line of envoys trying to broker peace on the eastern Mediterranean island. Cyprus was a British colony until 1960 and its Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities have lived estranged on either side of a U.N.-monitored ceasefire line since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded the island in response to a brief coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece. The seeds of partition were planted years earlier when Turkish Cypriots withdrew from a power-sharing system after the outbreak of communal violence, which spurred the dispatch of what is now one of the oldest U.N. peacekeeping contingents. One of the 1960 treaties under which Cyprus was granted independence allows Greece, Turkey and Britain intervention rights in the event of a breakdown of constitutional order. The foreign ministers of guarantor powers Britain, Greece and Turkey met Cypriot leaders in Geneva in mid-January to weigh security guarantees, seen as crucial to a reunification deal. Lufthansa sees rapid growth of Gulf airlines slowing By Stanley Carvalho and Alexander Cornwell ABU DHABI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Lufthansa believes the rapid growth phase of Gulf airlines is coming to end, which could help to ease some of the pressure in a highly competitive industry, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Speaking after signing catering and maintenance deals with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said there were signs Gulf rivals were reaching the limits of their recent growth. "I'll leave that to the airlines in this region but I think this industry needs to see a healthier relationship between (supply) and demand. And I am optimistic we will see this in the years to come," he said. Lufthansa has long been critical of the rapid growth of Gulf carriers, which include Emirates and Qatar Airways as well as Etihad, saying the fact they are state backed creates an unfair playing field. Spohr said he "stands firm" on that view. European airlines such as Lufthansa have been cutting costs and revamping their cabins to try to cope with competition from the Gulf carriers on long-haul routes. But some Gulf carriers have recently also struck a more cautious tone. Etihad, for example, is reviewing its network of equity stakes in carriers Air Berlin, Alitalia and Air Serbia. "The equity stakes continue," outgoing Etihad Aviation Group CEO James Hogan said at the same event. "The chairman has been very clear that the investment in those equity airlines continues in terms of strengthening the partnership." Hogan and Spohr were speaking after Etihad signed a $100 million deal to take catering services from Lufthansa unit LSG, and said it would explore options for maintenance services from Lufthansa's Technik unit. The catering deal is for four years and will see LSG provide services at 16 cities outside of Etihad's hub at Abu Dhabi. "I think finding smart partnerships, like Etihad has now done with us, and limiting growth ... will play a bigger role in the next 12 months than in the last 10 years," Spohr said. The move follows a fledgling code share arrangement signed by the two airlines last year, agreed after Lufthansa said it would lease 38 crewed planes from Air Berlin, in which Etihad owns a 29 percent stake. Lufthansa said on Wednesday they were working on further ways to cooperate, such as in cargo and on more code shares next winter. Norway summons Russian ambassador to protest rejected visas MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had summoned the Russian ambassador to complain after Moscow refused to issue visas to two Norwegian members of parliament. The ministry said the members of parliament's foreign affairs committee had been due to visit Moscow on Thursday and Friday after receiving an official invitation from Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council. It said Moscow had blocked the visas because of Norway's sanctions against Russia, imposed after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Foreign Minister Borge Brende said the visa denial was "highly regrettable" and that Norway had protested through diplomatic channels before summoning Teimuraz Ramishvili, the ambassador. "Meetings between parliamentarians are an important element of political contact. The planned visit ... would have brought this dialogue further," Brende said in a statement. Slovaks set up unit to fight extremism and hate speech BRATISLAVA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico unveiled a special police unit to fight extremism on Wednesday, warning about the rise of fascism in Europe and Slovakia. The 125-strong unit will investigate crimes related to support and funding of terrorism and extremism, hate crimes and hate speech, both online and offline, the police said. In an electoral shock, the far-right People's Party-Our Slovakia entered the Slovak parliament for the first time last year after winning 8 percent of the vote in March's election. The party openly admires Jozef Tiso, leader of the 1939-1945 Nazi puppet state who allowed tens of thousands of Slovak Jews to be deported to Nazi death camps and was tried for treason after the war. It is also hostile to Slovakia's Roma minority. "A new wave of fascism has been on the rise not only in Europe but also in Slovakia. We have neglected the history because nobody expected it could return," Fico, head of the centre-left but socially conservative Smer party, said. "Today we see people in the parliament and regional government using the fascist salute (...) we see statements challenging the results of the World War Two and the Holocaust on a daily basis." Right-wing and anti-immigrant parties have been on the rise across Europe after years of slow economic growth and the arrival of more than a million migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Fico himself has been criticised by human rights groups and socialist colleagues in the European Parliament for refusing to accept the EU quotas on accepting refugees and for saying in a May 2016 interview "there is no space for Islam in Slovakia". He has also repeatedly blamed high unemployment in some Slovak regions on the Roma, who make up around 300,000 of the country's 5.4 million population. Also on Wednesday, General Prosecutor Jaroslav Ciznar called on lawmakers to scrap their immunity on statements made in parliament, saying it prevents authorities from prosecuting hate speech. People's Party-Our Slovakia lawmaker Stanislav Mizik is facing a 1,000 euro fine for breaching parliamentary standards by calling Islam "satanic". He also criticised President Andrej Kiska last month for giving state honours to what he called "people of Jewish origin". Congo's main opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, dies at 84 By Aaron Ross KINSHASA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's veteran opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, has died in Brussels aged 84, his party said on Wednesday. Tshisekedi stood up to Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the country then known as Zaire, for more than three decades before Mobutu was overthrown by Rwanda, Uganda and other forces. He was also the main civilian opponent of Laurent Kabila, who took power in 1997, and his son, President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since 2001. Tshisekedi was set to take the top post in a transitional council agreed in December under a deal to pave the way for Kabila to leave power in 2017 and refrain from running for a third term as president. His death deprives the opposition of its principal figurehead as talks over implementation of the December accord falter. His son, Felix, is tipped to be named prime minister in a forthcoming power-sharing government. "The information is confirmed. The (party) president is dead," the spokesman for Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party, Augustin Kabuya, told Reuters. A pivotal figure in Congo, whose history has been marked by foreign intervention, civil war, coups and authoritarian rule, Tshisekedi's stalwart activism meant he could draw huge crowds. His death comes at another inflection point in the country's history following Joseph Kabila's failure to step down when his constitutional mandate expired in December. Dozens have died since 2015 in anti-government protests over alleged efforts by Kabila to cling to power and international powers fear tensions could spark a resurgence of civil wars that lead to the deaths of millions between 1996 and 2003. As word of his death spread in the capital Kinshasa, clashes broke out near his house in the Limete district between stone-throwing UDPS supporters and dozens of police, who fired teargas and made several arrests, a Reuters witness said. Tshisekedi served as a minister under Mobutu before founding the UDPS, the first organized opposition platform in Zaire, in 1982. He was named prime minister four times in the 1990s as Mobutu contended with pro-democratic currents in the country, but Tshisekedi never lasted more than a few months as he repeatedly clashed with the charismatic autocrat. He finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2011 presidential election. International observers said the vote was marred by fraud and Tshisekedi's supporters have referred to him ever since as the "elected president". "A baobab (tree) has fallen," Albert Moleka, his chief of staff during the 2011 election, told Reuters. "The baobab protects you from the rain and the sun ... people like that can't be replaced." Prosecutors investigate Deutsche Boerse CEO's 2015 share purchase By Andreas Kroner and Maria Sheahan FRANKFURT, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse said on Wednesday that German prosecutors were investigating a share purchase by its chief executive in December 2015, which was just over two months before the exchange operator announced merger talks. Deutsche Boerse said the purchase of around 4.5 million euros ($4.8 million) of its shares by Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter at that time was related to the management board's remuneration programme. The company and the CEO were fully cooperating with the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office, it said in a statement. Two people familiar with the case told Reuters that investigators searched offices at Deutsche Boerse's headquarters in Eschborn near Frankfurt on Wednesday in relation to suspected insider trading in connection with the share purchase. Kengeter bought 60,000 shares in Deutsche Boerse on Dec. 14, 2015. Just over two months later, Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange announced that they were making a third attempt at a merger, pushing up the share price of both companies. "The accusations are groundless," Deutsche Boerse's supervisory board Chairman Joachim Faber said. "Only in the second half of January 2016 did the two chairmen and CEOs agree to begin negotiations for a merger of LSE Group Plc and Deutsche Boerse AG," he added. No one at the Frankfurt prosecutor's office was immediately available for comment. Kengeter, who attended Deutsche Boerse's New Year's reception in London on Tuesday, was not present during the searches, one of the sources said. Faber said Kengeter bought the shares ahead of an end-December deadline set by the group's management remuneration programme. Under the programme, he was allowed to make a one-time purchase of shares worth up to 4.5 million euros, which he would be required to hold onto until the end of 2019. As part of the deal, he received what the company calls "co-performance shares" in the same amount, whose value depends on a mix of Deutsche Boerse's profits and its share price movement relative to a benchmark index. Deutsche Boerse's stock has gained around 11 percent since Kengeter bought the shares. Kengeter joined Deutsche Boerse in April 2015, having previously worked at investment bank UBS and Goldman Sachs, and moved up to the helm two months later. Financial sources have told Reuters that he started discussing with the rest of the management board possible avenues for growth, including a deal with LSE, right after assuming his position as CEO. But they said that concrete preparations for a merger and initial talks did not take place until January 2016. Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka who completes his 10th year today as a Cabinet minister under two different governments says he has achieved a lot for the country. He says he is committed to protect the current government. Excerpts of the interview: QHow do you look at your ten years as a Cabinet Minister under two different governments? In our country, alternative political forces are scared to take up governmental responsibilities. They relish in the habit of criticizing with the use of colourful jargon. The JVP, for example, held such portfolios only for a short while. Then, we, as a political force outside the mainstream, set an example in the successful operation of ministerial duties. We are happy about it. There was one set of utopian politicians who, driven by wishful thinking, employ colourful jargon to talk about their politics. They are leftist political forces. It was there since the formation of Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) in 1933. They were awakened to reality in governance when they joined the government in 1970s. In contrast to them, we found another set of politicians who took up Cabinet posts and appointed their kith and kin for various assignments. They belong to the lot that hoarded wealth locally and internationally, and sent their spouses and children abroad for greener pastures. They indulge in corruption and all. I stood as an example to both the categories. I am a person who held key cabinet portfolios. They were the Ministries riddled with problems. We ran them without corruption for the first time. We injected professionalism to these ministries. We developed them to a level so that they need not become dependent on the Treasury. By the time we took over, the institutions like the Forest Department and the Wildlife Department. We strengthened them financially. For the first time, we introduced appraisal of professionalism. We proved that even the government institutions can compete with the private sector. We managed to resuscitate the crisis ridden Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). On occasions, we did not receive the cooperation from the government at the time or the Finance Ministry for that matter. Diesel and coal mafias launched a scathing attack on us in the media. Notwithstanding all that, we brought about a renewal in the CEB. We ensured 24-hour electricity supply. We connected the north and the east with the national grid. In 2010, we improved its financial situation. It was projected to incur a loss of Rs.40 billion. However, by the time we handed over, it had recorded a profit running into Rs. 5 bn. We faced difficulties such as diesel price hike, drought etc. For the first time, I introduced a concept called Demand Management. All tried to construct more and more power plants to meet with the increased demand for electricity. There was a prolonged dry spell running into months. We did not go for power cuts. We were able to do so because of demand management. We introduced the green energy concept. In 2010, we afforded the opportunity for consumers to fix rooftop solar panels and sell off additional electricity generated to the grid. We did it despite objection by some engineers. Above all, we worked out the energy policy aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in energy requirements. We planned to go for green energy using our gas resources by 2030. In the CPC, we managed to curb corruption that was happening through unsolicited proposals. We introduced competitiveness at the CPC during the 100-day period of the Yahapalana Government. We closed all the expensive thermal power plants. We introduced the spot tender process to purchase coal, breaking the monopoly of one company. The coal mafia had spread its tentacles across the entire government machinery. Yet, for the first time, it was we who introduced the two strategic economic models for this country after former President, the late JR Jayewardene. In view of the election campaign of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010, we introduced the five-hub concept. Q What is the comparative advantage of Sri Lanka you talk about? I identify two in this instance. One is our geopolitical location. We can capitalize on this to make this a financial, commercial, air and naval hub. Now, tourism is an added component to this. We introduced this concept as a theory in 2010. It became the policy of that government. We always lament about the lack of Foreign Direct Investments and less industrialization. It is completely true. The reason is Sri Lanka lost the comparative advantage in this regard. In 2006, we managed to get only US $ 800 million as FDI. However, Myanmar attracted FDIs worth US $ 6800 million and Vietnam US $ 15,800 million. Why do we get only a minuscule? We do not provide cheap labour. We have strong labour and environmental laws. Whatever infrastructure is laid for industrial zones, we do not get enough FDI. For us to reach the next level of development, we need to adopt innovation driven economic model. We should move for knowledge based economy. We submitted an investment plan accordingly. President Jayewardene liberalized the economy. Then, there was the state-owned economy during the time of former PM, the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Some involved in much wrangling about these two models. For them, we presented a novel model for consideration. We are happy about. It became the decisive policy pillar of two successive governments. QThough you said Sri Lanka lost the comparative advantage for attracting FDI, the main slogan of the current government is the establishment of industrial zones with FDI and signing Free Trade Agreements to sell our products to the rest of the world. Do you see it as an unviable option? In the overall context, we need political cooperation with the countries. For example, the United States cooperated with Taiwan and Hong Kong and invested there as countermeasure for its wrangling with China. Some countries turned to Vietnam for investment over the dispute with China. Other than investment attached with strategic political interests, Sri Lanka holds less chances of attracting general investment in the broad, overall context. However, we stand chances for investment in knowledge-based projects such as gene technology, nanotechnology etc. Our basis should be knowledge-based services. I see three stages in our country. First, the tea industry initiated by James Taylor 1864, and then the garment-dominated export economy started by President Jayewardene in 1977. We have entered the third level now. We have to do develop knowledge- based services and products. We have to attract investment in that direction. Whatever number of industrial zones are set up, we will not get investment other than those with geopolitical colouring. Even local investors turn to Vietnam and Bangladesh today. Q What is your future political plan? We do not indulge in any publicity blitz. We do not intend to do work worth a single rupee and advertise it as if something worth Rs.100. We, however, act according to a systematic plan. It has been accepted by the general public. We know it going by attacks on us. These elements are scared of us. So, they have resorted to character assassination posting utter falsehoods on websites. First and foremost, we are committed to protect the Yahapalana government which we formed. Especially, people voted for this government not because the Mahinda Rajapaksa government failed in its performance or development activities. People voted for this government because they believed there was large scale corruption during the previous rule. Past corruption should be penalized. Alongside, present corruption should also be dealt with. Especially, action should be taken against the Central Bank Bond scam. The government should be made clean. We need to bring in laws for prevention of corruption in the future. Minister Sarath Amunugama has drafted a Bill. I am also a party to it. It has to be enacted. We need to instil confidence in investors. As for my ministry, we have not received enough investment by the government. However, we are implementing the largest investment called the Port City Project. We are doing it very successfully. We have accelerated the project to meet the targets even before the initial schedule. We sorted out all legal and environmental issues. We are laying the background for the introduction of a light rail system with the involvement of the Transport Ministry. Politically we act to drive this government on the correct path. There are signs of resurgence of terrorism. We have to thwart it and create stability. QYou held ministerial responsibilities in the last government, and you are a Minister of the present government too. How do you compare and contrast the present government with the previous government in terms of corruption level and efficiency? The previous Govt. acted in a frenzied manner to carry out large-scale development projects. For that, it had to borrow excessively. The country is in a crisis today due to it. The present government virtually faces a limit in borrowing as a result. It cannot give its sovereign guarantee for the inauguration of major projects. The government has to resurrect the country from the current situation. The space for State-sponsored mega development projects is shrunk. The government has to impose taxes to gain revenue for the settlement of loans obtained previously. There is an economic setback under these circumstances. If we ensure fiscal discipline for a period, we will be able to tide over the crisis. If the President and the PM act to ensure it, we will get the chance for sustainable plans in future. QAs for stability of the government, we see the Ministers taking on each other. It has hampered the decision-making process of the government. How do you see it? Well, it is the strength of this government to leave an opening for criticism of the governments leadership and to listen to public opinion. It is not a weakness. As for the governments policies, I have to say that the two parties and those involved should act in consensus with each other. The policies of individuals should not be implemented. Then only, stability could be secured. QYou siad there were signs of resurgence of terrorism. How serious is it? The Tamil society should understand what a lot of things it could achieve through unity with others. I have to say one thing. As Tamil leaders such as SJV Chelvanayagam advocated separatism, the areas inhabited by Tamils in the North and the East remain backward in every sense today. The Muslims and the upcountry Tamils, who acted in cohabitation with the Sinhalese, have gained immensely in terms of socio-economic development. We should not get carried away by inflated egos of those advocating separatism. If they work in cohabitation with others, the new generation of Tamils in the North and the East would stand better opportunities in life. Instead of looking to foreign powers such as India, they should look at Sri Lanka. We should not underrate extremism. Recently, we heard reports of a plot to assassinate TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran. This is similar to the plot worked out by the LTTE to kill Neelan Theruchelvam. We should not leave room for anyone to operate terrorist activities. There are those crowing over the presence of the military in the North. Only with the assistance of these military forces and the police, we can arrest the resurgence of terrorism. We do not have a war situation there. So, we need smart defence operations. We do not need to have a large military presence there. We have to develop our Navy and intelligence services. QYou are a politician who emerged from the nationalist movement. Today, there are talks about the majority, culture and religion being at stake. Your comments on this... When Prabhakaran was alive and the LTTE was in possession of artillery guns, those who did not travel beyond Medawachchiya, are trying to become heroes today. They are trying to create fear psychosis. They were in hibernation at that time. When Chandrika and Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to introduce a Federal Constitution at that time, it was we who thwarted it. We only acted decisively against terrorism in Mavil Aru at that time. Then, MR was opting for talks with Prabhakaran. We stood for his government during trying times. We will act without hesitation for the stability of this country even in the future. We will never compromise it. We enjoy religious harmony in the country. Buddhism is not the State religion though the Constitution says it is given the foremost state. It does not enjoy special privileges or benefits. Other religions are also treated equally. We want to protect the status quo. QParliamentarian Ven. Aturaliye Rathana Thera, who represented your party has decided sit as an independent member. What is your position on it? Our partys Central Committee got an assurance from him at that time that he should relinquish his parliamentary position if he decided to act as an independent MP. It was done when he was offered the MP post by the party at that time. We believe Ven. Ratana Thera would honour it. The MP slot is meant for the party not for an individual. He could resign from it and act as he wishes. QHow do you look at the next national election? That eventuality has not arisen as yet. In a nutshell, whoever boasts of anything, we will be the force that changes the course of the country as done in 2005, 2010 and 2015. The JHU has evolved into a broader political force with a scholarly outlook. QThere are rumours that you would contest the next election as a presidential candidate. How true is it? This is a story spread by those scared of us. It is done wilfully to scare away certain others and to subject us to mudslinging. More than becoming the President, we will act as the force that determines the policies of the next President. We did it in 2015. We will do it in 2020. QWhat is your position on the move to hand over the Hambantota port to a Chinese company and the Trincomalee harbour to India? We have to act according to the comparative advantage we have. We have to bear in mind that China is becoming the global leader in a context where the United States is stepping down from it. The US hegemony is collapsing in the Indo-Pacific region. China is engaging rigorously in the region. China is pursuing its one belt-one route policy. It is investing in building a mega city in Egypt. It is building ports in Djibouti and Iran. It built a port in Gwadar, Pakistan. We should be proud that an Asian country is making giant strides. We, as a small nation, should not favour anyone. Following Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthaphas assurance in court that he would Gazette the electoral wards in conformity with recommendations by the Delimitation Review Committee within a month, there is now some certainty about the possibility of holding the local authorities election this year. Earlier, the delay on the part of the minister was cited as the obstacle for election authorities to proceed with conducting the polls which is already overdue by two long years. In this backdrop, the Elections Commission (EC) called for a meeting with political party representatives, the poll observing groups and Minister Mustapha, to discuss the current status of affairs in terms of the election and the way forward. At the meeting, the minister confidently stated that he would Gazette the electoral wards within the period mentioned in court, thereby instilling hope in the minds of those aspiring to have the election as early as possible. In terms of the new election law adopted vis-a-vis local government polls, the authorities concerned are unable to call for the election in the absence of electoral wards announced in a Gazette notification. Once it is done, the Commission will face no legal impediment for the declaration of the election and forging ahead in accordance with the provisions of the law. For the first time in Sri Lankan history, the election is to be conducted under a new system; a mix of the First Past the Post System and the Proportional Representation System. It will be an experimental exercise for electoral reforms to the national elections -- a topic being discussed at length by the Steering Committee in the Constitution-making process. EC to consult AG on lacunas in election law During the meeting, the gathering discussed about some lacunas in the new law that created practical difficulties to the smooth flow of the election. These legal loopholes need to be rectified by enacting fresh legislation in the form of amendments. However, it is practically difficult to secure the passage of new legislations within a short span of time after a broad consultative process. Hence, Elections Commission (EC) Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya decided on the next available option; to consult the Attorney General (AG) in order to find a way out of it (for the time being). He announced at the meeting that he would seek the advice of the AG and work out some redress. More womens representation sought in political decision-making Womens representation in politics was yet another factor that drew the attention of the meeting. Mr. Deshapriya, as a strategy to increase women representation in politics, mooted the idea that women should be given placements in decision-making bodies of the political parties. Then, he argued that such woman decision-makers would encourage the nomination of woman candidates as well. When women are calling the shots in the parties, it will be a boost to womens representation, he said. Currently, women representation is low in the political party hierarchies of the country. Alongside, there are parties headed by women. As a novel concept, Mr. Deshapriya sought to make arrangements to make way for youth, who have completed 18 years but are not included in the annual electoral register, to cast their votes at the next election. The electoral register is revised annually. It happens by the middle of each year. Anyone completing 18 years after the revision process is denied voting rights until they are formally enumerated the next time. Further, Mr. Deshapriya proposed to prepare supplementary lists for such youth left out of the official enumeration process, to vote at the next election to the local authorities. He sought the assistance of political parties to move ahead with it. However, the Elections Commission has undertaken a lot of work for the generation of enthusiasm in politics among the youth. JHU disputes Asoka Peiris impartiality At the meeting, JHU representative Nishantha Warnasinghe complained against Delimitation Review Committee Chairman Asoka Peiris getting on to the stage of a political party. He said Mr. Peiris integrity suffered in this manner, and therefore the credibility of his report was questionable. He repeatedly questioned this matter at the meeting. Mr. Peiris has switched his loyalty to the JVP. It is questionable because we expected him to be independent and impartial, he said. However, Mr. Peiris had not been called for the meeting on that day. Later, Mr. Deshapriya and Mr. Warnasinghe exchanged views on media guidelines to be followed during election times. All in all, there were indications that the election could be conducted before June 30 this year. However, fresh impediments could arise or be placed as the minor and minority parties are already against the new electoral system. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Democratic Peoples Front and some upcountry political parties have taken a common stand in this regard. They fear that the minorities who live scattered among the others would get reduced representation under the new system. President proposes Cabinet reshuffle Amidst certain confusions and contradictions within the government, President Maithripala Sirisena is reported to have proposed a Cabinet reshuffle. However, according to sources close to the President, it is to be done only after the first half of the Presidents term is over. The initial understanding was to determine portfolios reserved separately for the two parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). As a result, if a UNP MP is stripped of current Cabinet responsibilities, another MP from the same party has to be picked for it. The President, elected for a period of five years, will complete his first half in office by the middle of this year, and at that time, attention would be paid for possible alternation of Cabinet posts. This is an idea mooted by the President to the UNP. The President has given thought for it after complaints and observations about lack of cohesion and consensus in decision-making. Some ministers are distraught over the trend, and raised it with the President on several occasions. JO seeks high-profile candidates for PC polls The joint opposition (JO), which is the Mahinda Rajapaksa group of the UPFA, launched yet another rally in Nugegoda last week with the sole aim of forming a political force to oust the government. It is not ready to align with the UPFA faction in the government under the current circumstances despite overtures being made. Apart from contesting the next local government election, the JO contemplates plans for elections to the three provincial councils due this year. It is planning to field some high-profile candidates at the elections to the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councils. There is a strong possibility of an MP or two resigning from Parliament to contest the election. JO MP Prasanna Ranatunga was in for a rude shock at the Nugegoda rally when he found that his former local government and provincial council members could not be accommodated on stage. As a mark of protest, he chose to stand with those members offstage despite being prodded by his colleagues to return to his allotted seat on stage. Besides, Kurunegala District MP Johnston Fernando was deceived to believe that Mr. Rajapaksa had arrived at the rally when MP Janaka Bandara Thennakoon arrived in advance in a bullet-proof vehicle. Mr. Fernando was addressing the rally at the time Mr. Bandara disembarked from the vehicle. He then paused for a second and wanted to make some remarks, but suddenly realised it was not Mr. Rajapaksa. I was deceived. Only the dummy has arrived, he scoffed. The South Asian Regional Cooperation (SAARC) seems to have reached its nadir. With Brexit having shaken up the European Union in June 2016, it is not surprising that the least economically integrated region of the world is breaking apart. In general, the rise of nationalism the world over seems to have relegated regional cooperation to a lower rank in the list of a countrys priorities. The SAARC meeting, which was supposed to be held in Islamabad on November 15 and 16, 2016, has been postponed indefinitely because India withdrew from it, protesting against Pakistans hand in the Uri terrorist attack. All others except Nepal, the current head of SAARC withdrew. The chances are that the 19th SAARC meeting may not take place in 2017 in case all members are not present. This is a very disturbing development that would hinder the progress of regional cooperation in South Asia. But it signifies that regional cooperation in the midst of two acrimonious neighbours cannot flourish anymore. Only if there is sub-regional cooperation among countries of the region can there be some success in achieving the goals of development and poverty reduction. Begun in 1987, SAARC is only 30 years old. Today it comprises of eight membersAfghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. It is a shame that whatever progress has been achieved so far will be wiped out by the recent and indefinite postponement of the 19th Summit. Regional cooperation is important for reducing inequality among member countries and promoting people to people contact that can increase tourism and enhance cultural ties. South Asia happens to be one of the most backward regions of the world containing 23.4 percent of the worlds population but accounting only for 6.6 percent of the worlds gross domestic product (GDP) (in terms of Purchasing Power Parity). It contains 40 percent of the worlds poor surviving on less than US $ 1.25 a day. The achievements of SAARC have not been spectacular though India has reduced custom duties on most product imports from the region. India has been especially generous to Bangladesh and Nepal with whom it has an open border. There have been cooperation deals signed in the fields of agriculture, energy, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), investment, services and human development at the 18th SAARC meeting in Kathmandu. Compared to the monumental problems all the countries face in the region towards eradicating poverty the achievements have been rather meagre. There are still a lot of barriers to travelling freely between the countries of the region due to lack of connectivity and transportation. Geopolitics has taken over geo-economics in most cases and even when the countries concerned know the clear economic gains, they are reluctant to let down barriers to trade and investment for geopolitical reasons. Pakistan blocked three connectivity agreements proposed in the Kathmandu summit because Pakistan had not completed its internal process to endorse them. Even though there is widespread smuggling going on between Pakistan and India, the total quantum of trade between the two countries is at US $ 2.6 billion, which is meagre as a proportion of Indias total trade with the world. Pakistan has a huge trade deficit with India. Even so more trade and investment could have eased the political impasse as it would have increased the incomes and living standards of people in both countries. Yet, there is a tremendous amount of mistrust between the two governments on economic issues. Pakistan is afraid of being swamped by Indian goods, if it allows freer access to Indian goods. Even though India granted the MFN status in 1995, Pakistan has been reluctant to reciprocate. Though the Pakistan Cabinet approved of it in November 2011, it has continued to delay. Now it has come up with another type of trade facilitationNon-Discriminatory Market Access Agreement, which is not the same as MFN which means that Pakistans tariffs will continue to be charged at differential rates for Indian products as compared to Pakistans other trade partners. Chinas presence Political problems have stood in the way of cordial economic relations between the two countries. Pakistan however has good relations with Sri Lanka and has a free trade agreement since 2006. Chinas role is very important in the region. Out of the two huge countries dominating the regionChina and India, China is gaining ground in terms of increasing trade and doling out monetary help for infrastructure building under its One Belt One Road Project. All the SAARC members have forged closer trade ties with China. Nepal is specially becoming closer and China is investing a large amount in it. In March 2016, former Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli paid a visit to China and signed 10 memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to boost economic cooperation that include an agreement to facilitate trade and transit between the two neighbours, concessional loan for constructing Pokhara Regional Airport and an economic and technical cooperation agreement. With India, in 2016, two MOUs were signed worth US $ 2 billion. The first was US $ 1 billion line of credit and second was US $ 1 billion assistance for rebuilding after the earthquake. Bangladesh is also receiving a huge loan of US $ 21 billion from China making Indias loan of US $ 2 billion look puny. There are 27 agreements and MOUs including 12 loan and mutual agreements in building roads, bridges, capacity building and skill development, BCIM-EC initiative and industrial production. China is number one trade partner of Bangladesh and it imported US $ 9.8 billion worth of goods in 2015-16. In Pakistan, China is spending US $ 46 billion in infrastructure that includes the building of economic corridor between Kashgar, Xinjiang province of China and Gwadar, a Pakistani port on the Arabian sea. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently inaugurated a 340 MW power plant built with Chinese aid and pledged that the menace of blackouts will last only till 2018. It is also giving soft loans of US $ 1 billion for three road projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Chinese President Xi Jinping toured South Asia promoting the Silk Road initiative and became the first Chinese Head of State to visit the Maldives where China is upgrading the Maldives international airport after the cancellation of a deal with an Indian firm in 2012. In Sri Lanka, China was financing s US $ 1.4 billion Colombo Port City project but due to some controversy, President Maithripala Sirisena cancelled it in 2015. But overall since 2005, China has funded or constructed 70 percent of new infrastructure projects. Thus, SAARC clearly needs to be reorganized because in its current form it is unlikely to work with the souring of relations between Pakistan and India after the Uri attack and Pakistans cosying up to China in building its infrastructure, some of it through POK. China is taking a more active role in all the member SAARC countries and they seem to be having strong bilateral relations with China and not with India, the biggest country in the region. Admitting China in SAARC as a full member instead of being one of the Observers along with Australia, Iran, Republic of Korea, Mauritius, Myanmar the European Union, US and Japan, was discussed at the Kathmandu summit but it was not supported by India. Indias role will remain important in SAARC in terms of geography and population (occupying 70 percent of the area and population) and GDP. Since SAARC has faced many hitches in the past, several sub regional initiatives have turned out to be successful like the SASEC (South Asian Sub Regional Economic cooperation comprising of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka and BBIN (involving Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal). BBIN sub region signed a motor vehicles agreement to ensure free and unfettered movement of passenger, personal and cargo vehicles. Around US $ 30 billion regional projects have been started under SASEC in areas of transport, energy, trade facilitation and information, communication technology. Much will depend on how deeply interested Prime Minister Modi is in promoting regional cooperation and what relations India has with its neighbours in 2017. Pakistans cooperation is also vital for SAARC to succeed and revived. (Jayshree Sengupta is a Senior Fellow working with Observer Research Foundations Economy and Development Programme) Astrologer Vijitha Rohana Wijemuni was released on bail by Colombo Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara a short while ago. He was released on a cash bail of Rs.10,000 and two sureties of Rs. 1 Million including a travel ban. Astrologer Wijemuni was arrested yesterday by the CID on charges of circulating a video forecasting the death of President Maithripala Sirisena. (Shehan Chamika Silva) Public Administration and Management Minister Ranjith Maddumabandara today said he regretted if Divulapitiya Divisional Secretary had to face any inconvenience because of the phone conversation with Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake. Issuing a statement after meeting between Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association (SLASA) officers, the Minister said it was the responsibility of both the Government and the State employees to look at the situation in an impartial manner without being aggressive. He said a discussion was held with the SLASA representatives recently over the issue. The dignity of their services and security had also been discussed. As a responsible member of the Government and a Minister, we are dedicated to the protection of State employees and their reputation, the Minister said. Commenting on the controversial incident, he said it appeared that the Deputy Minister was inquiring into an environmental issue, which affected the people. Minister Maddumabandara said it was only natural for a peoples representative to act emotionally when it came to an issue like this. However, it doesnt mean I approved what had happened. Yet, again, the Deputy Minister had appeared on behalf of the people, not to raise a personal matter, he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla) By Avi Selk (c) 2017, The Washington Post Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the open-armed anti-Trump to millions of people over the weekend when he publicly welcomed refugees to Canada, hours after the U.S. president barred many from his shores. Some wondered whether Trudeaus invitation was just talk. Last nights apparent terrorist attack on a Canadian mosque was just the sort of horror that President Donald Trump had said his ban would protect against. But Canadas government has made good on Trudeaus words - offering temporary residence to any traveler who is stranded in Canada as a result of a controversial and confusing travel ban, the Globe and Mail reports. As noted in the papers handy guide to Trumps executive order - Ive been stranded. What can I do? - the offer wont do much good for people stuck in countries that arent Canada, including those who arrived in the United States with U.S. visas, only to be detained and face deportation. But some travelers were hit with the ban while en route from Canada to the United States, the Globe and Mail reported. They can now stay in the north - at least until Americans sort out the chaotically implemented order. Trumps executive order, which was signed Friday, bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for three months, with longer restrictions on refugees. The president said the bans would give his administration time to strengthen vetting procedures and keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States - though The Washington Post reported that Trumps aides keep citing terrorist attacks that the ban would not have prevented, and others have accused Trump of trying to make good on his campaign promise to bar Muslims from the country. Canadian officials also reported confusing and conflicting responses from the White House, according to the Globe and Mail. Even Trumps national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was unable to answer basic questions about the ban when his Canadian counterpart first asked him about it, the newspaper reported. The confusion left Canadian politicians questioning what steps to take next. For some stranded travelers, theres now a solution: Live in Canada, for a while, if you want. Canadians are proud of our long history of acting with compassion and humanitarianism to those seeking refuge for themselves and their families, said immigration minister Ahmed Hussen - who the Globe and Mail noted was born in one of the countries whose citizens are barred from the United States. Dr Nirmala Chandrahasan (LLB, LLM, PhD, Attorney-at-Law) in an article titled National Question and grievances faced by a minority (which she claims is a response to a piece I wrote, Lets make Sampanthans New Year wish come true) offers some sober reflections on the issue of grievances, lists what she considers the most important and makes recommendations for their resolution. They warrant discussion. Nirmala begins by quoting the LLRC (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) report: The Commission takes the view that the root cause of the ethnic conflict lies in the failure of successive governments to address the genuine grievances of the Tamil people (Chapter 9 para 184). Nirmala has flagged eight points of contention: 1. Implementation of the Language Act. 2. Equal access to services and opportunities. 3. The principle of equality in the dispensation of justice. 4. Fair and just treatment of those detained. 5. Transitional justice. 6. Return to rightful owners of private properties secured by the State during the conflict (Points 4, 5 and 6 being essentially elaborations of Point 3). 7. Lack of State-sponsored economic development in the Northern and Eastern provinces and 8. Non-implementation in full of the 13th Amendment. These we shall consider keeping in mind the keyword genuine in the quote above, framed of course by the root cause narrative. Of these, Points 3-6 and 8 are not root causes (I deliberately leave the first two points for the last for reasons that will become obvious). Points 3 to 6 are issues that have arisen long after tensions snowballed into a full blown armed conflict and Point 8 is a recommendation. Even Point 2 touches on language-related issues. They are certainly valid concerns and anything less than comprehensive addressing of the same cannot help the cause of reconciliation. However, to flag these as valid or strong justification for devolution is simplistic and demonstrates the pretty thin case for federalism championed by Tamil nationalists long before the LTTE came into the equation. It is the State that has to pick up after the fact, yes. Those who funded, armed and in other ways backed the LTTE can adopt and have adopted a hands-off policy in the matter of infrastructure development and other necessary action to rebuild conflict-ridden territories including rebuilding livelihoods. Its never enough, of course, but the important thing here is the after the fact element. It doesnt go with root cause. The issue of justice (Points 3, 4 and 5) are valid. In fact the entire justice system in its operation heavily favours the privileged. Privilege is not the preserve of any particular community. Nirmalas point is valid when it comes to disappearances. Proper investigation and follow-up action are necessary and sadly have been most manifest in absence. Just to get the ethnic dimensions of the perspective right, the kind of justice that is sought was something that was offered to victims of the 1988/89 insurrection either. And, in the larger narrative of reconciliation, it has to be remembered that it was not just the security forces that were engaged in strewing misery. We cant talk of certain widows and not others, certain orphans and not others. Allegations have to be investigated. The LLRC is absolutely right on this. Nirmala has picked the correct quote which bears re-telling: The government is duty bound to direct the law enforcement officers to take immediate steps to ensure that these allegations are properly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. It will be recalled that this report came out quite a few years ago, but evidently these recommendations have fallen on deaf ears. It is a grievance. Not a root cause. Perhaps a cause for delay in reconciliation or even a cause for another round of violence, but certainly not a root cause that warranted armed insurrection or even a demand for devolution simply because of the error of chronology. The same holds for Point 4, the indictment or release of those held in detention. The release of more than 90% of those taken into custody at the end of the conflict, many of them, as mentioned above, after being provided the opportunity to obtain marketable skills and useful qualifications, is not a valid excuse for denying justice to those who remain in custody. Again, as pointed above, not a root cause but a consequent whose genesis is not neat, not tidy and not the lot of any single community. The state has to hold the baby of course since no one is saying I am an LTTE member these days, but this doesnt mean that we say nothing of the babys parentage. Not a root cause though. Point 6 is also an issue of justice. However, demilitarization is a process and no one can say that this Government or the one before did nothing on this count. Security is and always will be an issue, but return to normalcy requires that properties secured for whatever reason be returned to rightful owners, subject of course to the often difficult process of establishing legality of claim. Thorny, but addressable. Not a root cause though. The implementation of the Language Act has been slow. Nirmala is correct. Reasons include lack of resources and lack of political will. Theres movement on both, however. It is a grievance that needs to be rectified, the LLRC is correct. Perhaps it is a root cause in generating a sense of being subject to discrimination, but whether the dimensions were significant enough to warrant insurrection is not clear. Point 2. Equal access to services and opportunities. Of course. The Tamils were favoured by the British in the public service and that edge did erode. If thats a grievance and therefore should be addressed by restoring the percentages we had in 1948, then the Sinhalese would be edged out for all time. We can play the proportions game in many ways. We call it multi-ethnic and multi-religious as though the population is equally divided among ethnicities and religious communities. Not true, but its not said is it? That said, she is absolutely correct about the low representation of Tamils and Muslims in the armed forces and the Police. This has to be rectified. It will be slow, in the case of Tamils at least, for understandable reasons, but progress should be made. The recruitment of a full complement of Tamil speaking officials as per the requirement of providing meaningful services to all citizens is a non-negotiable. Here too, Nirmala is absolutely correct. Point 2 is a demand and it outlines a genuine grievance. A root cause? Well, as much or as little as Point 1, as argued above. As for job opportunities and the lack of effort by governments to set up factories in the conflict-ridden areas (the development-deficit mentioned in Point 7), one must understand that it was not possible for thirty years and little thanks to those who went around burning all State institutions, factories included. Clearing the ground for democracy and development was done. Nothing done is ever enough. And development, lets not forget, is not about benefiting ordinary people, quite in contrast to the rhetoric. Its not about this community or that. Nirmala has acknowledged this. The one telling deficit is a comprehensive irrigation programme for the Northern province that matches development in this sphere elsewhere. The issue of a River to Jaffna has been debated for a long time. There are disputes over technical feasibility. One must take into account that not all areas have the same complement of resources. However, if devolution is about each devolved entity making do with what it has, then the Jaffna River is out. Theres nothing in Nirmalas first seven points that make a case for her eighth point, devolution. Devolution is not a root cause or a grievance. An aspiration, yes, but not a grievance. The grievances, the genuine ones that is, call for action and resolution but nothing that can be pinned on devolution of power. The 13th Amendment is an aberration. It presumes historicity and scientific validity of arbitrarily drawn lines and markers that neither the Tamils nor the Sinhalese had anything to do with. The President himself has correctly pointed this out and the most ardent devolutionists have maintained a deafening silence on the matter. Nirmala asks if devolution is good for everyone, not just Tamils, never mind that devolution to the current lines will concretise the myth-models of Tamil chauvinism. She quotes Mahinda Rajapaksa on this, people in their own localities should be able to guide their own destinies. This of course presupposed a neat and equal distribution of resources, but even if that were true, then the devolution logic demands that we move to village councils and not stop at provinces. Nirmala says decentralization can do it but does not say that decentralization cannot redress the key issues she has flagged (Points 1 and 2). Many have misquoted or selectively quoted the LLRC report on the issue of devolution. Nirmala is not an exception. I strongly recommend a re-reading of the LLRC report with close examination of Section 9.231 which interjects four caveats to the principle of devolution. Back to basics. Root causes. Trotting out issues produced by an armed conflict where the blame for the dismemberment, death, displacement and destruction cannot be placed at a single door is not an enumeration of root causes but a description of what any conflict inevitably produces. The only legitimate grievance Nirmala has expressed is about the language issue and here again it is more about sloth than anything else. Genuine grievances are about true dimensions. And resolution is about a solution that engages with grievance. Devolution doesnt arise from any of the genuine grievances Nirmala has outlined and certainly not the devolution to the Eelamist lines that are taken erroneously as a goes without saying which, we all know, comes from a comes without saying that has nothing to do with grievance. Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer. Email: malindasenevi@gmail.com. Twitter: malindasene. Blog: www.malindawords.blogspot.com This year marks the 69th Independence Day of Sri Lanka and Hameedia with its heritage of over 68 years in the industry have special plans to celebrate the Independence Day in style. Always in the forefront with its fashion sense and as the number 1 mens wear specialist in Sri Lanka, Hameedia is a name synonymous with quality and style. Established in the year 1949, Hameedia continues to remain the premier menswear specialist in Sri Lanka.Hameedia has always provided equal opportunity employment and created many jobs for the Sri Lankan citizen by giving them access to state of art technology.Hameedias philosophy of exceptional customer satisfaction and individualized service has won them an unwavering clientele and has been a key factor in their phenomenal growth in its journey of 68 years. Arrangements are all underway at Hameedia Stores Island wide from the 1st to 3rd February 2017 to celebrate and reward their customers in commemoration of the Independence Day 2017. All staff wearing a special Sri Lankan badge would greet the customers and all customers purchasing from Hameedia during these 3 days would be eligible for a raffle draw held daily and the lucky winners could look forward to receive special gifts courtesy of Hameedia. Sharing his warm thoughts at this special occasion,Fouzul Hameed - Managing Director, Hameedia, had this to say, Hameedia has always placed great emphasis on preserving and promotingSri Lankan heritage and carrying forward tradition. As an establishment that has been in operation since the dawn of Independence we take pride in seeing Sri Lanka achieving great heights. Needless to say, the steady growth we have achieved as the style icon of Sri Lanka is indeed a reflection of our success as well as the successful journey of a nation. We have also stepped into international market by providing high quality stylish clothes. Our clothes and the fashion trends over time indeed bespeaks of the social changes reflective of the specific eras, and most of the products we sell are produced in Sri Lanka.Hence, we wanted to take a fresh approach and combine our love for the Nation and our gratitude and appreciation for our customers into one, and this was the best way to do so. At least 54 vehicles, which were illegally assembled, causing a loss of Rs. 325 million to the government, were recovered by the Panadura-Walana Central Anti-Corruption Unit and the Sri Lanka Customs during a raid yesterday. The Panadura-Walana Central Anti-Corruption Unit launched an investigation under the instructions of DIG Ranmal Kodithuwakku in connection with a petition which stated that vehicles parts were being imported illegally and sold after they were assembled in the country. Investigations had revealed that Vehicle Lanka Private Limited had assembled the vehicles at a complex situated in the Minuwangoda Industrial Zone. The complex had also been used to store vehicles without engines and vehicles which were returned by Customers, police said. The company had assembled the vehicles at the premises and then sold them in the local market before it was released by Sri Lanka Customs, officials said. Police spokesman DIG Priyantha Jayakody said the company had violated the Customs Act and caused a large financial loss to the government by exporting vehicle parts illegally. The police had obtained a search warrant from the Minuwangoda Magistrate Court and raided the premises with the assistance of the Customs officials. Police recovered 29 cars, 22 jeeps, two vans and parts of another vehicle during the raid. Police said an administrative officer at the company had failed to produce any documents when the raid was carried out. The vehicles recovered in the complex were given to the Customs Department for further investigation as they were illegally brought into the country. Customers of Vehicle Lanka Private (Ltd) who suspect they have been scammed by the company are requested to call the Panadura-Walana Central Anti-Corruption Unit via 038 -2234314 and 039- 2234315.(Darshana Sanjeewa) Political circles are abuzz with the talk about a reshuffle of the top team these days. There is a strong demand by the opposition to sack a certain purohita holding a key portfolio and this demand is being backed by a sizable section from the government. This has fueled the speculation about a shake-up of the top team in the offing. Meanwhile, there is a growing general consensus that an astute and well educated person completely free from the taint of corruption should hold this key portfolio, they say. In the wake of the speculation that the unpopular purohita is going to be dumped, two Green hopefuls from the Colombo district have already entered the running for the coveted office. One of them is a young academic and the other a mature intellectual, they say. However, a high political authority is said to have indicated his preference for a senior Green man hailing from the Kegalle area. A clearer picture about the situation is expected to emerge within the coming fortnight, they say. By Supun Dias Micro Cars together with the Chinese auto giant, BAIC, introduced three of its highest selling models to the Sri Lankan market at the Ceylon Motor Show, which was held at the BMICH recently. The BAIC electric car model EC 180, X25 SUV and D20 sedan were the three models introduced. BAIC is a Fortune 500 Company, which commenced operations in 1958. Micro Cars Chairman Dr. Lawrence Perera said that in the late 1960s the late Uplai Wijeyawardena timely started assembling the Upali Fiat and Mazda. You may not know that the first Mazda plant outside Japan was set up in Sri Lanka. Due to the inconsistent policies of the governments, he could not carry it forward. If these problems didnt arise, we would have been ahead of India, Korea and even China, he highlighted. We, as Micro, have come a long way and we are very happy that a giant automaker in China BAIC has recognized us as a leader in this industry in order to introduce a wide range of vehicles to the Sri Lankan market, he said. Although our name is small, we are a giant. We have done things the other companies havent done. The mission of Micro is to provide an affordable car to the Sri Lankan market. Micro Panda was a success. It is because we look at the safety of all the stakeholders. We dont provide cars with poor conditions. With the right support of our customers, we plan to go to the next level of entering the regional markets, he added. The X25 SUV exhibits the youthfulness with its interior and exterior design. It has a high-performance engine and a sophisticated break system powered by Bosch. The D20 sedan is well equipped with a sizable 450L boot space backed by Swedish automaker SAABs technology. The EC 180 is the first attempt by Micro to assemble the first electric vehicle in Sri Lanka. The X25 SUV is priced at Rs.4.2 million and the D20 sedan is priced at Rs.3.8 million as a very special market introductory price. Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Manpower Union Vice President M.S. Mangala who was reported missing since Saturday, was found abandoned in Ingiriya this morning. According to the complaint lodge with the police, the Union activist had gone missing while returning home in Pannipitiya. Police said he was dropped off by a van in the Ingiriya area. He had then lodged a complaint with the police stating that he was abducted. The manpower employees commenced a protest, demanding that the government absorb them into the permanent cadre. Earlier, the Union charged that the Union Vice President has been abducted with the intention of sabotaging their trade union action. Several JO members who are skeptical about the blooming of Pohottuwa are said to be frequently visiting on the sly the political head of a Colombo-based diplomatic mission of a powerful Western country. At least two of them have assured the powerful diplomat that they are awaiting the most opportune time to switch sides. One of these politicos pally with the diplomat is a talkative character from the South and the other is a stalwart from the central hills, they say. The JO bigwigs who had learnt about the conduct of the renegades within their ranks had, in a tit for tat move, enticed several unhappy dissident government members for secret talks to brief them on the groups plans for the future. The yahapalanaya high-ups who have got wise to the moves by the JO bigwigs have deployed NIS sleuths at strategic points to monitor all suspicious movements, they say. 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Reveals how Maithripala Sirisena was chosen as Presidential candidate The role played by Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in changing the political landscape in January 2015 was praiseworthy. In this exercise there is no doubt that she had to face great danger in undertaking such a risk. Upon the completion of two years of the unity government it is opportune to discuss issues that had surfaced in the recent past. The former President in a recent interview expressed her views on such issues, including the actions of the government and internal struggles among the rank and file of the SLFP. Q It is now two years since your direct involvement in the political change that took place in January 2015. Are you satisfied with the process that had taken place since then? Despite criticism by some individuals, I am satisfied to a certain extent. We intervened in the January political change because of our love to the country. People do not seem to understand the challenges we had to face at that time. By the time this government came into power the entire government service had been destroyed. During the time I was in London, most of these officers used to call me and inform that the Police, Judiciary and all sections had become corrupt. We had to begin by rebuilding this country which had been destroyed. As promised we appointed the Independent Commissions, and as assured took steps to establish police, judiciary and the government service to work independently. However a country that had been destroyed over a period of ten years cannot be rebuilt in just one or two years. During the first nine months of this government, it was not allowed to function by MR. This proves that the government has not completed even one and half years. During this period so many things had been put on the correct track. That is why I say that I am satisfied. I will be very happy if the government could act faster. Among the Ministers from the UNP, there are many who had never been ministers early, and many SLFP members who are holding portfolios had been ministers of the earlier corrupt government. This may be the reason for the government to be slow. However it is a happy coincidence that these two parties had been able to work together, which is historical. Another matter I want to state is that there are rogues in this government as well. I know it clearly well. No meaningful steps had been taken to arrest that situation. Even what could have been done initially had not been done. My thinking of good governance is that not only the former Ministers, but even the present ones who had done wrong should be punished. Q Even though it was possible to defeat MR politically at the last presidential poll, charges of financial fraud and corruption levelled against him are yet to be proved. What are the reasons for this delay? Do not forget that this is a Democratic State. We accused MR of having committed frauds. Just because we accuse him he cannot be put in prison, and a democratic country like ours cannot act that way. We cannot do the same thing what they did to Sarath Fonseka, or what a UNP government did to Wijaya Kumaratunga. We are doing everything in a democratic and in a legal manner. I am observing all these from outside. Those who are investigating these matters are doing it perfectly well. Those who are demanding that MR should be brought back, have been discussing with him while remaining with the President. I am aware of them. What they say is that they will not engage in splitting the party, what they want is withdrawal of all charges made against the members of the Rajapakse family. QIn this background people may be tempted to believe that the firm commitment shown by the President earlier in conducting probes against the Rajapaksas has now diminished. How do you see this? I do not agree with that. Coming to that point, I can tell that some ministers who were close to Rajapakse making such requests were turned down by President Maithripala Sirisena and completely rejected them, showing that he is strongly bent on implementing the promises he made to the people. He is not in favour of splitting the party, and his desire is to rally round everybody and go forward. Leaders differ in how they decide. If I have proof of someone involved in fraud, I will immediately sack him. The way the President acts is different and history might someday prove he is correct. He is not a robber and he is anxious in honouring the pledges given to the people. QIt now appears that the ministers in the unity government are criticizing each other. Would this be an obstacle in the future of the government? That is what I said before. There are many who had plundered everything during the past nine years. They are eager to bring in the old regime so that they can continue in their quest for filthy lucre. We have to take a decision on this issue. For them the yahapalanaya government is similar to pouring kerosene on rat snakes. Q People have also begun to query your role in this scenario... I have no scenario. I am only a patron among four or five others in the party. I have also stepped forward to resolve disputes among both parties at their request. Q What do you think about your decision to propose Maithripala Sirisena as the common candidate? I think it was the correct decision. Maithripala is an honest; Sinhala Buddhist leader. He is one who shuns communalism. That was why the entire nation accepted him irrespective of creed or race. QHow was Maithripala Sirisena chosen from the other names that were proposed? We had to choose someone who could win, and there were no objections. We discussed this matter for over three years. During this time I was telling the UNP that this cannot be done alone by them or the group that would leave the SLFP. Therefore we need to get the support of civil organizations. In 1996, I proposed to Ranil Wickremesinghe to vote for my Constitutional proposals and immediately I would have invited the UNP to form a National government. It was a tragedy that the UNP did not agree to it at that time. When we were worrying over the rule of MR, I told Ranil it would have been better if you had agreed to my proposal. He agreed with me that the two parties should join, and it is much better to form a broader alliance. Thereafter we could decide on a common candidate. Many requested me to come forward. But I was determined not to contest, because I was not greedy for power. The question as to who was the common candidate surfaced. By this time, the common alliance had been formed. I told even though there was a common alliance, the burden of taking it forward rested in the hands of the UNP, I reiterated. While this was in the process, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake crossed over. But Kabir Hashim who took over carried out the task far better. Ven. Sobitha Thera said that he was not going to contest, I proposed Maithripala Sirisena. At first he did not agree. At that time there was an intelligence officer attached to the security division of each minister. There were two attached to my security division as well. There was a fear psychosis prevailed at that time. There was no freedom like today. All our telephones were tapped, my emails were also not spared. Despite all this, we nominated Maithripala Sirisena. There were many who asked whether we could trust him; not only the TNA, even Ranil raised this same question. I vouched to them, placing my palm on my chest that I trust him. This trust I placed on him is still there without any break. Like us, he also took a heroic decision and walked out of the government. His doubts of obtaining nomination with the support of the UNP were cleared by my assurance to him. He walked out of the government asserting that he would contest as the common candidate was a great act showing his love for the country. After effecting the change and establishing a government, it is regretting to note that a group of our own members having negotiations to split the party joining with MR. Not stopping at that, they are scheming to spur differences between the President and the PM and between myself and the President. QDid the President discuss these issues with you? He used to earlier, but I did not trouble him about these issues always, as I considered that he should act independently. Whenever there is a big issue, he would call me or visit me at home and discuss. He is a very unassuming person. He seldom speaks about party issues with me. He discusses with others and take decisions. I have a feeling that I could do a lot with my knowledge and experience. I only intervene when requested. Q The President was firm when he contested the presidential polls that he would not contest again. But now some of his allies have made statements that he would be the SLFP candidate at the 2020 polls. What is your stance over this matter? His confidante ministers are saying various things and my problem is my inability to shut them off. This should be done or sack them. A party should be democratic and also disciplined. He had never said that he would contest. I do not think he would break the pledge, which he made to all of us. It is not recorded anywhere that he was one politician who broke a promise made. Executive Presidency should be abolished, and there is no second word about it. Those in the SLFP with MR, dreaming to cripple this idea. Q During your presidency in 1994, you made a pledge to abolish the Executive Presidency, but you failed, what could you say about it? Ranil was the one who did not allow me to do it. I was concerned about the abolition of this post from the beginning. More than that I was keen to find a solution to the ethnic issue. By August 1995, I presented a draft of a new Constitution to the country. But it was brought to Parliament after improving it only after five years. But it was set on fire inside Parliament. In one chapter of that draft, there was a clause saying that the post of Presidency should be totally abolished. But it was not mentioned that after my second tenure of presidency (1999-2005) that this would be done. We had discussions with the UNP led by Ranil on 33 occasions about every word of the draft Constitution. With the approval of the UNP some of the clauses in the draft was changed, and finally a draft acceptable to all was prepared. Whenever discussions on the abolition of the Presidency was discussed, the UNP always differed the matter. Finally Ranil did not come for these meetings. Karu Jayasuriya and Tyronne Fernando and a group of UNP members attended the discussions. However, they kept saying that they had failed to arrive at a decision. On seven occasions I allocated dates for discussions, but the UNP representatives always said that they were still to arrive at a final decision. They might have feared that I would continue to hold office for another five years, I categorically stated that if they had voted for this, I would definitely leave this post in two years. There was no reply to this as well. Then I called Rathnasiri Wickramanayake, who was the PM at that time and instructed him to inform Ranil that I would be leaving the post not in two years, but in one. But the response from everybody was for me to go on. Even Tamil parties too wanted me not to give up. They were of the opinion that my leaving at that moment would create issues. The UNP never gave a definite answer to these questions, but resorted to burning the draft proposals. Rajitha Senarathne had said recently that I wanted to stay for another two years and they objected to it. No one had ever attempted the sacrifices I made towards the abolition of the post of Presidency. QIn 2005, you gave the SLFP nomination to MR at the presidential polls. What do you think now about your decision then? That was the biggest mistake in my life. I never expected him to become so bad. I knew about his mistakes. He created much issues for our party. He caused my mother great distress with this actions. When MR was given a portfolio in my cabinet and after swearing in, he came and knelt and said Thank you and when I asked him what it was all about, he said that he had never expected him to have been appointed to the Cabinet. I knew why he was saying so, because he created many problems to my mother, and I told him it was not necessary to thank me but do not get into rash activities hereafter for the party or its leadership. Q It now appears that a more centred objection for the new Constitution is brewing up in the SLFP quarters. They raise their concern about a federal system and their opposition to it. How do you analyse this situation as a former leader of the SLFP? The Party leaders should create an awareness among them. When the 13th Amendment was brought in some of our party members joined my mother and sat under Bo trees and displayed their opposition to it. I made them aware of its good side and was able to turn round the opinion of the party. Except a few many accepted my thinking. Therefore in a similar manner, the facts should be cleared with them by educating them. I am ready for that and I should be given a chance. QAs a solution to the ethnic issue, there have been many discussions on the political implications, and you played a role in implementing same. With the culmination of the war, there appears to be a new trend. What is your thinking now? During MRs time, I was unable to raise my head. Even at that time I was invited for many international forums where they kept on asking me even after the LTTE made an attempt on my life how come you still continue to be propagating peace. I do not know what was moving me towards this aim. While attempting to find a solution to this problem, I lost my father, and with the JVP terrorism, I lost my husband (Wijaya Kumaratunga). In the events that followed, I lost one of my eyes in an attack by the LTTE. Despite all these setbacks, I had in my heart the belief that peace should be established. Towards this end I introduced a new Constitution, which was opposed by the UNP and Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera staged protests in public roads. But later he also realized the correct position and came to a stand, and I was able to join him and work closely. Though I was not able to do it due to the opposition of the UNP, now both parties had joined together. But because of some of our own members, this cannot be done. MR arouses from outside, and today, he has become the father of racism. In order to overcome this challenge, we should take control of the party and explain to the membership the truth behind all this and after removing all who disagree take the decision. QDo you think with the present political environment and the pressure from within the party, is the President in a position to tackle this precarious situation. Yes, I believe. Because he has a good knowledge. He reads well and also explains well. He is a good listener. When it is necessary to take stern action, I have no doubt that he would do that. But now the time is running out. QThis government had entrusted to you the task of building national reconciliation. What is the present position of it? It is successfully carried out. In the face of opposition and a handful of extremists, activities are continuing with the blessings of the majority. Reconciliation means a lengthy activity. What is urgent now is to bring in a new Constitution, and then comes the establishment of the Office of the Missing Persons. With these in place, there would not be any necessity to have courts to probe war crimes. QA few days ago after the release of a report by Manori Muththettuwegama, a direction had been made to the effect that Foreign Judges should be included to probe the issues during the final stages of the war, and the Joint Opposition had been very critical on this issue. Would you like to share your thoughts on this? They have no right to comment in that manner. The committee was entrusted to obtain the views of the public and submit its report to the government. That was the responsibility of the committee. Their own ideas too had been incorporated in the report. QIf we are to go back on the issues confronting the SLFP, do you accept that there is a conflict in the party. The whole world knows it. MR wants to break a piece and form a new party, in the same way he did earlier. QSplitting parties are Basils way of doing things and it is not strange for MR. It seems like a trend among the grassroots level members to show solidarity with the Podu Jana Peramuna. Do you consider this as a challenge to the party? It is a minor challenge. With our stepping out it would change. QCertain SLFP ministers themselves declare that in order to resolve the crisis situation in the party, both Maithri and Mahinda should join. What is your opinion on this? I am completely against such overtures. Why did the people of this country vote for Maithripala Sirisena? Why did we defeat MR at the risk of our lives? If the latter had won, I would have been the first to have been killed and then Maithripala Sirisena. It is an utter lie, to say that SLFP cannot advance without MR. When I was brought into the party in 1993, MR vehemently objected to it. But I was able to win without his support. In the same way we can win. QThere was a talk sometime ago that your son is keen to enter politics. Would it become a reality? He is not willing to enter politics and I also dont want him to see he enters into politics. QYou were at the forefront of the political change in this country. What would be your role when all these come to an end? Who knows when it will end? It could be five years or twenty years. I spend most of the time in building peace and reconciliation and then on education. I do not get involved in other issues. We assisted in establishing this government. At this point, I would like to record my appreciation to PM Ranil Wickremesinghe for enduring so much patience. He had been working in that manner from the beginning. He had not made any statements against President Maithripala Sirisena. He works as a versatile politician. He listens to others. He gives a very good leadership on economics and international affairs. Both the President and the PM are giving leadership according to the short and long term plans in the development of the country. These have to be explained to the people in order to make them fully aware of the correct position. If this journey goes ahead with the support of the people our country, Sri Lanka would someday reach a position that we never anticipated. Malaria is a life-threatening disease transmitted by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. There have been several malaria epidemics in the past and a major attempt in eradicating the disease failed and consequently there was a resurgence of the epidemic. The worst malaria epidemic was recorded between the years 1934 and 1935 when there was a severe drought, food shortages and a malaria outbreak in the wet zone which is an area supposed to be malaria free. In 1945 regular spraying of DDT started in malaria endemic regions and the number of malaria cases decreased strikingly that it gave hope of eradicating malaria. Yet an epidemic broke out once again in 1968 and vectors resistant to DDT were discovered. This raised serious concern as by 1980 all efforts to control malaria proved to be futile as it reached a situation similar to the pre-DDT period. Subsequently health authorities started using malathion instead of DDT and there were effective changes in the Anti-Malaria Campaign as well. The struggle to control and eradicate malaria persisted through the civil war and ultimately last year, the World Health Organization(WHO) certified that Sri Lanka has eliminated malaria and is malaria free as there were no infections reported in the preceding three years. The eradication of malaria in Sri Lanka has given hopes for more than 30 countries as it shows that persisting commitment can remove malaria. However the discovery of an Anopheles stephensi mosquito in Mannar recently which can transmit Malaria has raised concern among health authorities and they are taking possible precautions to prevent a resurgence of the disease. Speaking to Daily Mirror Dr. Sarath Amunugama, the Deputy Director General of Health Services said an Anopheles stephensi mosquito was identified in Mannar. This mosquito is predominantly found in India. This is an urban mosquito as it can survive in the urban environment. Usually the Anopheles mosquito is found in rural dry areas, he said. If this particular type of mosquito spreads in the country there is a probability of contracting malaria in urban areas as well. This mosquito has to suck the blood of a malaria infected patient to be able to transmit it to another, he added. Precautions taken We have started fogging the area, and putting abate, a chemical, in breeding places. We are doing entomological surveillance to find out if there are more mosquitoes of this type. We are also spraying Indoor residual insecticides, Dr. Amunugama said adding that the health authorities were taking all actions to prevent transmission. He requested the people in Mannar to assist them in preventing the spread of the mosquito. To diagnose the disease it is necessary to get a blood film and test for malaria parasites, he said. He believes that the discovery of the mosquito in Mannar will not affect the malaria-free status in the country. (Amra Ismail) Pakistan has placed the chief suspect behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks under house arrest as it cracks down on the group linked to the carnage. Firebrand cleric Hafiz Saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group and has a $10 million US bounty on his head, is to be placed under preventative detention, according to the Interior Ministry order. JuD is listed as a terror outfit by the United Nations, considered by the US and India to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group blamed for the attack on Mumbai. Police took Saeed away from a mosque in Lahore late Monday and escorted him to his residence where they appear to be holding him under house arrest, an AFP journalist reported. LAHORE AFP Jan31, 2017 The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today charged that it was not the court but President Sirisenas government that was responsible for the verdict permitting the registration of SAITM medical graduates with the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake said permission was granted to a corrupted and illegal institute which was misused by the Rajapaksa political authority. (Thilanka Kanakarathna) Pix by Kithsiri de Mel Solomon Police have been urged to investigate a Sri Lankan, who was involved in an accident at the Mendana Avenue in Honiaraon the night of October 29, 2016, Solomon Star reported today. The Sri Lankan who was in his mid-40s was an Information Technology (IT) Manager of the Pan Oceanic Bank (POB) and was reportedly drunk at the time of the accident. Sources have relayed the information and urged the police to investigate him after noticing that the investigation into the accident has vanished completely - where they think some fishy dealings might be the cause. Solomon Star was tipped about the incident in early December 2016, where an inquiry was carried out thereafter. Pan Oceanic Banks Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was asked on 14th December 2016 about the incident. He replied and confirmed the accident which also involved a girl who was correspondingly a staff of the bank. We are aware that there was an accident involving a local staff member on holiday, outside normal working hours. Bank will do whatever it takes to ensure the wellbeing of any staff member of the bank, the CEO stated in a reply email to the Solomon Star. The couple hit a street light post located opposite the Honiara Casino, when travelling eastward to town in a black car owned by the bank both were believed to be drunk. The suspect and the local girl were then taken to the police station for questioning and remanded in the police custody. They were later released the same night. According to sources within the bank, the Sri Lankan was supposed to go to court on a given date but he did not turn up. Solomon Star was told that the suspect left the country towards the end of November, seeking medical attention in Australia after falling ill after the accident. After over a month away from the country, he returned on January 18, a fortnight ago. When this paper contacted him to comment on the incident, he denied being involved in any accident. On January 19, he visited the Solomon Star headquarters at Henderson insisting that news about the accident did not go into print. I have other issues with the bank. My return here is to question my status as an employee of the POB. When I reached here, I was restricted entry into the bank premises, he said. When questioned about his involvement in the accident, he declined to comment but stated that the police have already taken care of the matter. He then returned to see the Solomon Star editor on January 20 to ensure that the article was not published. Knowing that the paper is well aware of the incident, he said he did not want to comment but will send a response to the Solomon Star by email. To this date, this paper did not hear anything from him, though he was given the opportunity to respond. Solomon Star also received photographs of the location of the accident and the vehicle that was involved. Meanwhile, the informants have insisted and urged that police officers that are handling the case to continue with the investigation honestly as this is their mandated job. Solomon Star was informed over the weekend that the suspect received his marching orders from the bank last week he was previously suspended following some other issues he formerly had with the bank that are currently under investigation. By Alan Freeman, Lindsey Bever & Derek Hawkins (c) 2017, The Washington Post QUEBEC CITY - Canadian authorities on Monday charged a 27-year-old university student known for his far-right sympathies with six counts of first-degree murder in a mass shooting the day before at a local mosque. Alexandre Bissonnette, was described by neighbours and acquaintances as a socially awkward introvert who had recently adopted virulent political views. He was charged late Monday afternoon with five counts of attempted murder with a restricted firearm. The five surviving victims were still in the hospital, with two of them in critical condition, although hospital officials said their injuries were not life-threatening. Handcuffed, his feet manacled and wearing a white prison jumpsuit, Bissonnette reportedly looked at the floor throughout the court hearing, aside from casting a brief glance at his lawyer. The prosecutor, Thomas Jacques, indicated that terrorist charges could be added later to the murder and attempted murder charges. The attack, which took place just as about 50 worshipers at the small mosque in the suburb of Sainte-Foy near Laval University had completed evening prayer, sent shock waves through Canada. Accustomed to seeing violence as a phenomenon taking place in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Canadians found themselves in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was clear that his government considered the shooting a terrorist act. This was a group of innocents targeted for practicing their faith, Trudeau told the House of Commons. Make no mistake. This was a terrorist attack. Bissonnette was described in media reports as an ardent nationalist and a strong supporter of the French far-right politician Marine Le Pen. He was known to activists in Quebec for taking positions against feminism and refugees, Francois Deschamps of the pro-refugee group Bienvenue aux Refugies said on his Facebook page. The suspect was captured by police about 15 miles from the scene of the attack after he called 911 and offered to surrender. The police initially said they had also arrested a 29-year-old engineering student at the mosque. By Monday afternoon, they had released him and called him a witness to the event. It turned out the witness, Mohamed Belkhadir, had left the mosque at the end of prayers and was near the building when he heard shots. Returning inside, he called 911 and began helping a friend who had been shot. When he saw armed police arrive, he panicked and ran off and was quickly stopped. He said the police had treated him well. On Rue du Tracel, a quiet crescent of modest houses in suburban Cap-Rouge about a 15-minute drive from the mosque, Rejean Bussieres knew something was up when several police cars descended on his street Monday morning. Having heard of the shooting, he said, he immediately thought it could be Bissonnette. He used to like to break things as a kid, said Bussieres, who has been a neighbour of the family for 30 years. He was turbulent. Bussieress 23-year-old daughter, Rosalie, said the twins had reputations as nerds who were obsessed with violent computer games and were bullied at school. They were always just with each other. Its sad. They were always home alone, she said. According to Torontos Globe and Mail website, Vincent Boissoneault, a friend of the suspects who also studied at Laval University, said that Bissonnette had been uninterested in politics until Le Pen visited Quebec City last year. Soon Boissoneault was clashing with his friend over his support for Le Pen and Trump. I wrote him off as a xenophobe, Boissoneault told the newspaper. I didnt even think of him as totally racist, but he was enthralled by a borderline racist nationalist movement. At least ten women were arrested when the Colombo Central Divisional Law Enforcement Unit had raided a brothel which was operating at Malay Street in Slave Island last night. Police said the raid was carried out on a search warrant obtained from the Fort Magistrate Court. The arrested women suspects were aged between 29 and 48 were identified as residents of Ambalantota, Weyangoda, Seeduwa, Mathugama, Ragama, Aluththarama, Middeniya, Lidula, Handapangoda, Thissamaharama and Kirulapana. They were to produced in Fort Magistrate Court today. Artiman Jalali, 5, was detained at Dulles with his cousin Aida Mohammadi, who is behind him. His mother, Shohreh Rahnama, left, brought them to a protest at the White House on Sunday. (Michael Chandler/The Washington Post ) By Petula Dvorak (c) 2017, The Washington Post When they came through the arrivals gate at John F. Kennedy Internationl Airport in 1968, my parents could have been seen as a threat. It was the middle of the Cold War, and my parents - my mom was 21 and my dad was 23 - had spent their entire lives behind the Iron Curtain in a communist country. And 1968 was the bloodiest year yet for American troops in a war being fought to contain communism. Nearly 17,000 Americans died that year in Vietnam. And here came my parents through the airport gates in the middle of all of that, in the fanciest clothes they owned, two people with paperwork - Czechoslovakian passports - that linked them to communism. They were not detained, they were not questioned. They were allowed into a country symbolized by the Statue of Libery. That was the America of 1968. It is not the America of today. My parents watched this weekend, in horror, by the scenes unfolding across this 2017 America, as people like them - refugees with nothing more than suitcases and dreams - were treated so differently when they walked through those airport gates. It was the second weekend of Donald Trumps presidency, and, once again, hed generated a wave of protests in Washington and around the country. This time the outrage was aimed at his decision to sign an executive order banning immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Trumps Muslim ban, basically. At the White House, up Massachusetts Avenue to the Islamic Centre of Washington, outside the Trump International Hotel and at airport arrival gates across the region and the nation, thousands of people gathered to show support for refugees, green card holders and even American citizens who were suddenly banned from America. My mom imagined what would have happened if, back then, President Lyndon B. Johnson had signed an executive order banning all citizens of communist countries from entering America. A chunk of American would have bought that, for sure. Fear sells. Communists were the enemy. But reason, empathy and humanity won. Because when my parents left everything in Czechoslavakia behind, when they got green cards, and when they raised their hands to pledge allegiance to America, the immigrants of my parents era were seen as dissidents, heroes, even. Of course, it helped that my mother and father are white and from a Christian country. And it helped that our confrontations with communism didnt take place on American soil, for the most part. So they were celebrated for rejecting the enemy and embracing America. America 2, Communism 0. USA! This weekend, we became a country that detained a 5-year-old Bethesda, Maryland, boy at Dulles International Airport, kept him from his Iranian-born mother for hours to make sure he wasnt terrorist threat. Artiman Jalali was born in the United States and has dual citizenship with Iran. He was traveling back from visiting relatives with his 25-year-old cousin. Both were detained. His mother, Shohreh Rahnama, said she waited for him hours, until he and his cousin were finally released around midnight. He was hungry and he was thirsty, and I could not see him, she said. How can a 5-year-old be banned? Just because his parents are Iranian? We are American, too, she told my colleague, Michael Alison Chandler, at a protest outside the White House. I almost died in that airport. I can say it was the worst day of my life. We became the kind of place that treated Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who had a valid U.S. visa and worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army in Iraq, like a criminal when he flew into JFK airport. Overnight, America reneged on promises of citizenship and sanctuary to hundreds of people - translators, engineers, IT specialists, fixers. Some of them risked their lives for our military. A friend of mine who has worked in Afghanistan and Indonesia was stunned by this development. Over time, hes helped five people come to the U.S. from Afghanistan, all of them risked their lives helping fight terrorism in their home nation and in turn, he helped them find new lives here. He marched on Sunday, and as the crowd went past the Islamic Centr eof Washington, a woman handed out water bottles to the marchers and thanked them for her support. One of the marchers hugged her. And she buried her head in (the marchers) shoulder and began crying about how scared she is, he said. It is tragic to see the human toll on people who are already part of the fabric of America. This executive order is a shameful stain on our country, yanking the American dream out from under families who have been here for decades and from families in dangerous parts of the world who sold everything and endured years of vetting to join us. Why a sudden executive order? To stop terrorism , Trump said. There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Trump tweeted Monday morning. It was wrong as part of his campaign, and its wrong now. In the chaotic aftermath of US President Donald Trumps controversial immigration ban, 71 individuals from 20 countries including Sri Lanka were detained at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday, Asian Correspondent said today. According to the No Ban JFK, a coalition of volunteer attorneys camped out at JFK, those detained include a Malaysian and a Chinese national, as well as travellers from Turkey, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, France, Algeria, Jordan, Qatar, Senegal, Switzerland, Algeria, Egypt and Guinea, which were not on the US travel blacklist. Others in the lawyers list released on social media include travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya, five of the seven countries named in Trumps ban. The remaining two are Yemen and Somalia. Camille Mackler, Director of Legal Initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), pointed out in a statement that the detentions prove the ban affects more than just the seven targeted countries. And the turmoil inflicted by this sudden disruption is spilling over into the broader United States, as family members desperately seek to reunite with their loved ones. Students and professionals continue to be blocked from their homes, schools and workplaces, she said in the statement released by No Ban JFK. She added that the attorneys at JFK have stayed put since Trump issued the executive order on Friday, offering legal assistance to those caught in the US governments immigration dragnet. We are especially concerned with individuals being prevented from boarding flights at points of departure, Mackler said. The team of pro-bono lawyers and volunteers at JFK are being coordinated by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and NYIC. Asian Correspondent has contacted the group for updates on the situation at JFK. A press statement is expected by tomorrow. Trump signed the executive order that banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US for the next 90 days. The order also suspended admission of all refugees for 120 days. Over in Southeast Asia, politicians in Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia expressed concern as the ban took effect, although the two countries were not named in the list. Bhagwant Mann in his traditional attire a pale yellow shirt, a jacket, a yellow turban and a garland around his neck does a Facebook Live in the key constituency of Jalalabad, where he has locked horns with deputy chief minister and SAD leader Sukhbir Badal. Standing in an open Jeep, Mann is flanked by two students lamenting the poor state of education in Punjab. According to the two, they want to take up maths in Class 11 and 12, but there is no one in school to teach the subject. Education has been a much-neglected subject in Punjab for years. While Mann may have been doing exactly what other politicians did in the past (read gimmick) to secure AAP's position in the high-stakes battle for Punjab amid a ruling SAD and Congress, parties have made education a top poll plank (mainly aiming at the youth vote) this time around in Punjab. Even as politicians are waxing eloquent with promises of providing "first-class" education, it has been a much-neglected subject for years in the state. Here's what the main parties are promising. SAD: Free laptops with one GB data cards for Class 12 students in government schools and 10 lakh jobs for youths. They even promised free two-wheelers for girl students in Class 12. Congress: Free education to girls from Class 1 to PhD level. Smartphones for students and a job to each of the 55 lakh households. AAP: Laptop for all government school students; primary and secondary education in government-run schools will be on a par with private schools. As many as 25 lakh jobs for youth. The claims undoubtedly look tall compared to the ground reality. In Kharar's Bhagwantpur government primary school, there are 50 students from Class 1 to Class 5. When we (this correspondent and a cameraman) walked in, the students were sitting in the sun with some of them already asleep. The teacher, who was some distance away, came in rushing towards us (after spotting a camera and mike). Sukhjinder Kaur told us that the school has three teachers, out of which one was on leave. There were three classrooms, but all students were taught in one. We spoke to another teacher, Paramjit Sandhu, in Mohali. She teaches 20-odd underprivileged children for free. Most of them go to government schools, but are barely taught anything. She decided to give free classes to the students to help them out of the precarious situation they find themselves every year ahead of exams. When we went to their school, the children were made to sing nursery rhymes in English for us. Though they study in only Punjabi and Hindi. The mid-day meal that was prepared "khichdi" looked edible, but not enough to satisfy a child's hunger. The cook told us that she was paid (Rs 1,200) for 10 months last year. "The remaining two months' pay was pocketed by them," she told us without naming anyone. On the highway, we stopped at a central government-affiliated Rayat Bahra skill development centre. Considering the fact that Skill India is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amongst 40 students, only a handful turned up for training. But here comes the real eye-opener Bahra, a deemed university, has since its inception in 2011 shot off close to 100 letters to the state technical department for approval but are still waiting for a reply. Rajnish Tuli, marketing head of the training centre, lamented: "The students who joined us for a three-year course, got only two-year certificates at the end of three years." The institute, he added, has got an approval from the Union HRD, but a similar request of approval from the state government never came through. Till date, 300 students have passed from the institute, but many of them are still waiting for their certificates. Another student told us: "We have little or no job opportunities in the state. After completing our training programme from here, I shall seek a job in Delhi NCR." Outside the institute, we met another 20-year-old Rajiv, who told us: "I'm looking for a sarkari naukri (government Job) because I want an easy job." Though shocked by his blunt confession, one couldn't fault him for that. From there we came across another young man from the neighbouring state of Haryana, Amit Kumar. All of 23 years, Kumar is a national gold medallist, but after failing to land a job in his home state for the past two years, he has come to Punjab. Our next stop was IIT-Ropar. Off the state highway, the IIT is gaining more recognition after it was recently ranked no. 9 among various research and teaching institutes in the country. Sarit K Das, director of IIT-Ropar, told us, matter-of-factly, that only 20 per cent of Punjab undergraduates make it to IIT-Ropar. Masters and Phd programmes are better off, with 40 per cent. Similarly, the faculty has 20 Punjabi professors out of 100. But then IITs are not about one particular region. In February 2011, SM Krishna, the then India's foreign minister, read out the speech of his Portugal counterpart at a meeting at the United Nations. Five years later, the suspicion is that he is reading out the script written by the BJP. Last week, Krishna called off his 46-year-old association with the Congress. It was surprising since there was no fresh provocation for the veteran leader to walk out. The snub he recounted dated back to 2012 when he was unceremoniously dropped as external affairs minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. The grouse he carried would at best be Karnataka-specific where despite his several complaints against the state leadership, the high command has persisted with Siddaramaiah. Krishna called off his 46-year-old association with the Congress last week. What then is Krishna's game plan? At 84, clearly he is past his prime to be Arjuna either in the Congress or the BJP. But he must be more than flattered that he is still being made to feel that he is wanted by the political ecosystem in Karnataka. While the Congress has asked him to reconsider his decision, the BJP has invited Krishna to the party. But the former chief minister has so far held his cards close to his chest. The BJP will be pleased to see the manner in which Krishna's exit has upset the Congress. Not that his going public with his grievances is a body blow to the party in electoral terms. But it creates a perception that it is not the party of choice even for its very own. The fall guy is likely to be Siddaramaiah, who will be seen as a chief minister unable to take colleagues along. Already B. Janardhana Poojary has slammed the chief minister, blaming him for Krishna's exit. Krishna's exit comes on the back of senior Dalit leader Srinivas Prasad bidding goodbye and joining the BJP. That he did so after making his displeasure against Siddaramaiah clear is important. Another disgruntled leader who may be the next to move out could be popular film star Ambareesh who till June last year was housing minister in Siddaramaiah's team. He hails from Mandya and is referred to as "Mandyada Gandu" (Mandya's man), also because he had starred in a 1994 Kannada film by the same name and the popular title song is a number still hummed by every Mandya resident. Is there a pattern in this? Of course, the geographical imprint of this "quit Congress movement" is rather apparent. All of them Prasad, Krishna, Ambareesh hail from the old Mysuru region, a patch the BJP is not very strong in. If Krishna and Ambareesh end up having a relationship with the BJP formal or informal it will only help its cause. Even if they do not join the BJP, an aggressive campaign could wean away crucial votes from the Congress. The intention is to hurt Siddaramaiah where it hurts the most because he too hails from the same patch. He is already facing a threat from the Vokkaliga-dominant JD(S) of Deve Gowda and a strong BJP could make every assembly contest a touch-and-go affair, forcing him to rework his caste matrix focus. Apart from the perception factor, the BJP also gains by reducing the Karnataka Congress more into a Siddaramaiah outfit. It is a known fact that the CM is not exactly the most popular leader in the party because he is still seen by many as an import from the JD(S) and takes his own decisions. Also, many younger leaders in the party have been Krishna's proteges at one point in time and would not be able to take on their political mentor. But does it benefit the BJP by wooing over-the-hill Congress veterans one year before Karnataka goes to polls? The answer to that perhaps lies in BJP's own internal problems. Karnataka unit chief BS Yeddyurappa and former deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa do not see eye to eye. The latter has been organising caste-based events to consolidate his own position and cock a snook at Yeddyurappa's leadership. The former CM realises that 2018 will be last hurrah in Karnataka politics and he needs to sign out on a high. The attempt to recruit from the Congress camp could well be an insurance policy against Eshwarappa and also keep the media focus away from trouble in the BJP's backyard. But at the end of the day, does Krishna even gain anything? At best, he could be offered a Raj Bhavan posting, something the Congress cannot get him now. That is no big deal given that he has served as Maharashtra governor between 2004 and 2008. Speculation is rife that the outburst and resignation could also be linked to his family's business interests. The manner in which Krishna has exited in a hurry gives rise to suspicion that there is more than what meets the eye. Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. The following companies are subsidiares of Johnson & Johnson: 3Dintegrated ApS, ALZA Corporation, AMO (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Beijing Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Guangzhou Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. 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Service Center (DAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Mozambique) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (New Zealand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Philippines) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Thailand) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (Trinidad) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Vietnam) Co. Ltd, Johnson & Johnson - Societa' Per Azioni, Johnson & Johnson AB, Johnson & Johnson AB Eesti filiaal (Branch), Johnson & Johnson AG, Johnson & Johnson AG (Zuchwil Branch), Johnson & Johnson Belgium Finance Company BV, Johnson & Johnson Bulgaria EOOD, Johnson & Johnson China Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Thailand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer B.V., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Care Switzerland Branch of Janssen-Cilag AG, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Holdings France, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Dominican Republic Branch), Johnson & Johnson Consumer NV, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Services EAME Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Del Paraguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson Dominicana S.A.S., Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation Inc., Johnson & Johnson European Treasury Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson Finance Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Finance Limited, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH (Branch Office), Johnson & Johnson Gateway LLC, Johnson & Johnson Gesellschaft m.b.H., Johnson & Johnson GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Guatemala S.A., Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions Inc., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Commercial and Industrial S.A., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Consumer Products Commercial Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson Hemisferica S.A., Johnson & Johnson Holding GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Inc., Johnson & Johnson Industrial Ltda., Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc., Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Limited, Johnson & Johnson International, Johnson & Johnson International (Belgian Branch) (European Logistics Center), Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Branch), Johnson & Johnson International Financial Services Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson K.K., Johnson & Johnson Kft., Johnson & Johnson Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Korea Selling & Distribution LLC, Johnson & Johnson LLC, Johnson & Johnson Lda, Johnson & Johnson Limited, Johnson & Johnson Limited (Sri Lanka Branch), Johnson & Johnson Luxembourg Finance Company Sarl, Johnson & Johnson Management Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Proprietary) Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Suzhou) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical B.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group - Latin America L.L.C., Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical NV, Johnson & Johnson Medical Products GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical S.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.C.S., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.p.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical SAS, Johnson & Johnson Medical Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Ankara Branch), Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Izmir Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East - Scientific Office, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ - LLC (Lebanese Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Ghana Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Kenya Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC Branch (TSO) (Saudi Arabia Branch), Johnson & Johnson Morocco Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson NCB (Belgian Branch), Johnson & Johnson Nordic AB, Johnson & Johnson Pacific Pty Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pakistan (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Panama S.A., Johnson & Johnson Personal Care (Chile) S.A., Johnson & Johnson Poland Sp. z o.o., Johnson & Johnson Poland sp. z o.o. oddzial w Warszawie "Consumer", Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd. Korea Branch, Johnson & Johnson Pty. Limited, Johnson & Johnson Romania S.R.L., Johnson & Johnson S.A., Johnson & Johnson S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson S.E. Inc., Johnson & Johnson S.E. d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson SDN. BHD., Johnson & Johnson Sante Beaute France, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision India Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson UK Treasury Company Limited, Johnson & Johnson Ukraine LLC, Johnson & Johnson Urban Renewal Associates, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Ireland Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson de Argentina S.A.C. e. I., Johnson & Johnson de Chile Limitada, Johnson & Johnson de Chile S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Colombia S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson de Uruguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Venezuela S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Ecuador S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Peru S.A., Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Industria E Comercio de Produtos Para Saude Ltda., Johnson & Johnson for Export and Import LLC, Johnson & Johnson s.r.o., Johnson Y Johnson de Costa Rica S.A., Johnson and Johnson (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson and Johnson Sihhi Malzeme Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, LTL Management LLC, La Concha Land Investment Corporation, Latam International Investment Company Unlimited Company, Legal Entity Name, MDS Co. Ltd., McNEIL MMP LLC, McNeil AB, McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., McNeil Denmark ApS, McNeil Healthcare (Ireland) Limited, McNeil Healthcare (UK) Limited, McNeil Healthcare LLC, McNeil Iberica S.L.U., McNeil LA LLC, McNeil Nutritionals LLC, McNeil Panama LLC, McNeil Products Limited, McNeil Sweden AB, Medical Device Business Services Inc., Medical Devices & Diagnostics Global Services LLC, Medical Devices International LLC, Medos International Sarl, Medos International Sarl succursale de Neuchatel (Branch), Medos Sarl, MegaDyne Medical Products Inc., Menlo Care De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Mentor B.V., Mentor Deutschland GmbH, Mentor Medical Systems B.V., Mentor Partnership Holding Company I LLC, Mentor Texas GP LLC, Mentor Texas L.P., Mentor Worldwide LLC, Micrus Endovascular LLC, Middlesex Assurance Company Limited, Momenta Ireland Limited, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., NeoStrata Company Inc., NeoStrata UG (haftungsbeschrankt), Netherlands Holding Company, NeuWave Medical Inc., Neuravi Limited, Novira Therapeutics, Novira Therapeutics LLC, NuVera Medical Inc., OBTECH Medical Sarl, OGX Beauty Limited, OMJ Holding GmbH, OMJ Ireland Unlimited Company, OMJ Pharmaceuticals Inc., Obtech Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals NV, Ortho Biologics LLC, Ortho Biotech Holding LLC, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, Orthospin Ltd., Orthotaxy, PT Integrated Healthcare Indonesia, PT. Johnson & Johnson Indonesia, Patriot Pharmaceuticals LLC, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pharmadirect Ltd., Pharmedica Laboratories (Proprietary) Limited, Princeton Laboratories Inc., Productos de Cuidado Personal y de La Salud de Bolivia S.R.L., Proleader S.A., Pulsar Vascular Inc., Regency Urban Renewal Associates, RespiVert Ltd., RoC International, Royalty A&M LLC, Rutan Realty LLC, SYNTHES Medical Immobilien GmbH, Scios LLC, Sedona Singapore International Pte. Ltd., Sedona Thai International Co. Ltd., Serhum S.A. de C.V., Shanghai Elsker For Mother & Baby Co. Ltd, Shanghai Elsker Mother & Baby Co. Ltd Minghang Branch, Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Ltd., Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sightbox LLC, Sodiac ESV, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Company, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Partnership, SterilMed, SterilMed Inc., Surgical Process Institute Deutschland GmbH, Synthes Costa Rica S.C.R. Limitada, Synthes GmbH, Synthes Holding AG, Synthes Holding Limited, Synthes Inc., Synthes Medical Surgical Equipment & Instruments Trading LLC, Synthes Produktions GmbH, Synthes Proprietary Limited, Synthes S.M.P. S. de R.L. de C.V., Synthes Tuttlingen GmbH, Synthes USA LLC, Synthes USA Products LLC, TARIS Biomedical, TARIS Biomedical LLC, TearScience Inc., The Anspach Effort LLC, The Vision Care Institute LLC, Tibotec LLC, Torax Medical Inc., UAB "Johnson & Johnson", UAB Johnson & Johnson Eesti Filiaal (Estonian Branch), Vania Expansion, Verb Surgical, Verb Surgical Inc., Vision Care Finance Unlimited Company, Vogue International, Vogue International LLC, Vogue International Trading Inc., WH4110 Development Company L.L.C., XO1, XO1 Limited, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Beijing Branch Office, Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Shanghai Branch Office, Zarbee's Inc., and Zarbee's Naturals. Read More Citigroup Inc. is one of the worlds largest financial institutions. It is the 13th largest bank globally by assets and 8th by market cap with operations in consumer and institutional banking. In the US, Citigroup is the 3rd largest bank by assets and one of the Big Four deemed systemically important and too big to fail. Citigroup Inc. was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. The bank was run by Samuel Osgood who led the company with success for many years, even throughout the War of 1812. The bank was later renamed the National City Bank of New York in 1865 and by 1895 is the largest bank in the US. In 1913 it was the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a few years later it began to expand into overseas territories. The bank became the First National City Bank of New York after another merger in 1955 and then later, the New York part was dropped off as part of the 150th-anniversary celebration. By 1974 the company is known as Citicorp which is still the operational branch of the business and a global banking powerhouse. A merger with Travelers insurance group in 1998 resulted in the name Citigroup but the joint venture did not last. By 2002 Travelers was publicly traded once again but Citigroup retained the new name. Today, the company is headquartered in New York, New York but boasts more than 200 million customer accounts in 160 countries worldwide. As of mid-2022, it operated 2,649 branches in the United States, Mexico, and Asia. The company reports nearly 725 branches in the US and 1499 in Mexico with the rest scattered throughout its territory. Total annual revenue topped $75 billion in 2022. Citigroup is a diversified financial services holding company that owns Citicorp among other assets. The companys mission is to serve as a trusted partner providing responsible financial solutions to its clients. Citigroup provides financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. The company operates in two segments, Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and Institutional Clients Group (ICG). The GCB segment offers traditional banking services including deposit and saving accounts, credit cards, personal loans, home loans, and investment services. This segment operates through local branches and digital means. The ICG segment offers wholesale banking products and services to corporate, institutional, public sector, and high-net-worth clients. Xylem Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions for the water and wastewater applications in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, and Measurement & Control Solutions. The Water Infrastructure segment offers various products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment under the Flygt, Godwin, Wedeco, Sanitaire, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brand names for the transportation and treatment of water. The Applied Water segment provides pumps, valves, heat exchangers, controls, and dispensing equipment systems under the Goulds Water Technology, Bell & Gossett, A-C Fire Pump, Standard Xchange, Lowara, Jabsco, Xylem Vue and Flojet brand names for residential and commercial building services, and industrial water applications. The Measurement & Control Solutions segment provides smart meters, networked communication devices, and measurement and control technologies, as well as critical infrastructure technologies. It also offers software and services, including cloud-based analytics, remote monitoring and data management, leak detection, condition assessment, asset management, and pressure monitoring solutions, as well as testing equipment and managed services. This segment sells its products under the Pure, Sensus, Smith Blair, WTW, Xylem Vue, and YSI brand names. The company markets and sells its products through a network of direct sales force, resellers, distributors, and value-added solution providers. Xylem Inc. was formerly known as ITT WCO, Inc. and changed its name to Xylem Inc. in May 2011. The company. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy CULPEPER A former deputy in Culpeper and Rappahannock counties is free on bond after being indicted on a charge of molesting an Orange County girl. An Orange County grand jury handed down a felony charge of object sexual penetration Jan. 23 against Ryan Mathew McCormack, 26, of Amissville, according to court records. According to the indictment, the charge stems from a Dec. 15 incident involving a child younger than 13. McCormack previously worked in law enforcement for the Culpeper County Sheriffs Office and, more recently, the Rappahannock County Sheriffs Office for six months, according to Rappahannock Sheriff Connie Compton. McCormack is no longer employed by the department and the Rappahannock Sheriffs Office has been cooperating with the Virginia State Police since learning of its investigation into the allegation, Compton said in a news release. The state police investigation led to the indictment and the agency arrested McCormack without incident the same day the indictment was returned, according to state police spokesman Sgt. Les Tyler. He said the investigation continues. On Jan. 26, McCormack was released from jail on a $15,000 personal recognizance bond following a bail hearing in Orange County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court. Per the terms of his bond, he cannot leave Virginia or have any unsupervised contact with minor children. The defendant was ordered to avoid all contact with the child in the case and her family, to not use drugs or alcohol and to submit to drug and alcohol screening, according to court documents. McCormack was ordered to live with his parents in Culpeper County and to notify the court of any changes in his residency. In 2014, McCormack was found guilty in Culpeper County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court of misdemeanor assault of his former girlfriend on St. Patricks Day of that year, according to court documents. He was sentenced to two years probation. McCormack resigned from the Culpeper County Sheriffs Office shortly after the assault conviction. He was ordered to receive substance abuse and mental health evaluations. State police handled that investigation, as well. McCormack is due back in Orange County Circuit Court for arraignment March 3. Orange attorney Amy Harper is representing him. She declined comment Wednesday. A Chesterfield County man was chased through Central Virginia by Virginia State Police this morning, leading troopers on a high-speed chase from Louisa County to Rockbridge County that ended when he ran out of gas. At about 12:30 a.m., a state trooper traveling west on Interstate 64 near mile marker 142 in Louisa County clocked a stolen souped-up, Roush Performance Ford Mustang going 95 mph in a 70 mph zone. With lights flashing, the trooper attempted to pull the Mustang over, but it sped away, reaching speeds in excess of 130 mph. The chase continued west on I-64 and then continued south on Interstate 81. Police said the pursuit ended when the Mustang ran out of gas at about mile marker 202 in Rockbridge County. Police arrested 20-year-old Daniel R. Loster, of North Chesterfield, without incident. He faces charges of eluding police with endangerment, possession of burglary tools, possession of marijuana, reckless driving and failing to dim the vehicles high beams. He also faces charges of grand larceny and stealing a motor vehicle out of the city of Richmond, after police discovered the Mustang was stolen. Loster is currently being held without bond at the Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange County. Members of the public attended Tuesdays Albemarle County School Board meeting to voice support primarily for pay increases and funding a new initiative included in the superintendents recent budget request. At the public hearing, many who spoke were on board with Superintendent Pam Morans $180.8 million funding request for fiscal years 2017-18, but some said it needs to go further, particularly in compensation. This budget request is 4.7 percent higher than the adopted budget for the current year, and projected revenues, $180.2 million, are also higher, increasing by 4.3 percent. The projected funding gap at this time is $691,261. The comments from the public focused on two main areas: requests for higher pay increases for bus drivers in the county schools and School Board approval of a new Equity and Access initiative. Morans budget request includes $8.1 million in new expenditures, the majority of which are directed at mandated costs. This includes $2.4 million that would go toward increases in spending to accommodate 2-percent raises for teachers and other staff members, such as bus drivers. The other mandated costs include $1.5 million in increased contributions to the Virginia Retirement System and $1.2 million to cover rises in health care costs. Moran is also asking for $497,355 in salary compression, which is the difference in pay between experienced employees and newly hired employees in the same job, for classified employees who have not had pay increases in recent years. Bus drivers Cara Bickers and Debbie Hall, along with other colleagues, asked the School Board during the public comment period to adjust their requested pay increase from 2 to 5 pecent. Its very difficult doing our job without the added stress of the low morale, low pay and constant understaffing, Hall said. We have so many drivers out sick or with extended medical conditions, we have shop mechanics and office staff driving for us. According to data provided by the county schools, a newly-hired bus driver for the school division who has no prior driving experience makes $11.62 an hour. I wont say that I dont love my job, and I love my students and I love being able to contribute to their life every day and be a part of their day in the morning and part of their day in the afternoon, and I love it and it works for me, Bickers said, adding that she wishes her job would financially allow her to not have to take on additional jobs in order to help provide for her family. A large group of bus drivers and those supporting their request to the board attended the meeting, many standing, wearing yellow and holding signs while others spoke to show their support. Additionally, William Hughes, a teacher at Western Albemarle High School, spoke during public comment and asked the School Board to consider a pay increase for teachers that is higher than the 2 percent in the current budget request. After the meeting, Chief Operating Officer Dean Tistadt commended the drivers for their comments, as well as the teacher who spoke, making their cases for pay increases. I think its great that theyre coming and advocating on their own behalf, he said. I think its good for the board to hear about the issues and the challenges they face. The one large, new initiative built into the budget request would boost programs designed to close achievement and opportunity gaps among students. The initiative, referred to as Equity and Access, asks for $1.28 million in funding. Part of the push to move forward with Equity and Access has been in response to increases in specific student demographics. In the last 10 years, the division has seen an overall 8 percent increase in the student population, but an increase of 67 percent in economically disadvantaged students and a 37 percent increase in those who are learning English as a second language. These demographic shifts are highest at Agnor-Hurt, Cale, Greer and Woodbrook elementaries, which are all located in the urban ring of the county. On top of funding for areas such as professional development in the initiative is a request for $493,600 for a Social-Emotional-Academic Development, or SEAD, team that would provide support and services to at-risk students. The team would serve elementary schools in the urban ring. Greer Elementary teacher Sarah Scott, who is also a parent of two students at the school, said she is in support of the initiative. This funding is necessary to support the growing number of students coming to our schools needing extra support to learn English, students moving through different schools and students who need extra support with academic and social behaviors, she said. Eileen Delaney, assistant principal at Greer Elementary, also asked the School Board to go forward with the initiative. I believe that [the SEAD team] will provide relief and direct support to our school and, eventually, to all schools in Albemarle County, she said. This is an initiative that is collaborative, proactive and innovative while embracing the whole child socially, emotionally and academically. The next scheduled School Board meeting regarding the budget request is set for Feb. 7, with another on Feb. 9. The board members are expected to adopt a budget request on Feb. 9 that will then be sent to the Board of Supervisors. Frank Dubec, a veteran newspaper advertising executive, has been appointed regional advertising director for The Daily Progress, Publisher Rob Jiranek announced Wednesday. Dubec has 18 years of experience in sales and marketing in Charlottesville. During his 13 years at C-Ville Weekly and Portico Publications, he rose from an account executive to advertising director to vice president and group publisher. In 2013, he formed a design agency serving local and national accounts in strategy, branding and e-commerce, Jiranek said. Dubec will succeed Lowell Miller at the end of February. Miller will return to The Omaha World-Herald in Omaha, Nebraska, to become manager of local major accounts. As regional director, Dubec will manage and direct advertising sales for The Daily Progress, The News Virginian in Waynesboro, the Orange County Review, the Madison Eagle and the Greene County Record. We are delighted to have Frank join The Daily Progress advertising team. He has a sharp, creative mind, and a marketing experience that will bring our advertisers outstanding results, said Jiranek, who was a former colleague of Dubec's at Portico. As concerned citizens and critics of the new White House administration rally across the nation to protest myriad executive orders and proposed cabinet and administrative appointments, a new local political organization enjoyed an unexpectedly large turnout at its first public meeting. After announcing its formation last month, organizers with Equity and Progress in Charlottesville, or EPIC, held a meeting Tuesday evening with dozens of community members in the McIntire Room of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Librarys Central Branch. People are hungry to know what they can do, said Dede Smith, a former city councilor and organizer with EPIC. We need to work at a grassroots level to make a difference. Local community activist Michael Payne, an organizer with Indivisible Charlottesville, a local branch of a national movement in opposition to President Donald Trump, described current local and national developments as a civic emergency. Were seeing a breakdown of an independent judiciary, unconstitutional executive orders and state governments trying to criminalize dissent, Payne said. In local government, he said, were engaging in pro-development projects instead of uplifting communities that are going to be most impacted by the Trump administration. The only way were going to get out of this is if we form a political movement. Theres no way to do it unless youre forming relationships in your community with other political groups, Payne said. EPICs primary mission is to encourage and support candidates for the more than half-dozen local political offices in the city that are up for election this year. At its first formal meeting, organizers discussed the progressive platform they want candidates to champion. In three separate breakout groups, organizers with the group solicited input on the three core tenets of its platform: economic opportunity and quality of life, social and racial equity, and open, accountable government. In each group, meeting organizers led the discussion and took suggestions, which were then written down on large, white pads. Following the breakout sessions, the organizers repeated what they had heard in the discussions and offered their own input as to how the group can effect change in the city. Each city councilor has their own pet project, said Joy Johnson, an organizer with the Public Housing Association of Residents and EPIC. Usually, they focus on their pet project more than anything else. If a pet project is not going to be about what we have, then that should change, she said. Our concerns in the community should be their pet projects. But thats not whats happening. ... We need to change that. Thats what we need to do. Brandon Collins, another organizer with both PHAR and EPIC, suggested that the new group could soon form a committee that can craft policy proposals. Weve gotten a lot of great starts tonight and a lot of great stuff ahead of it, he said. Maybe itd be wise if we get a small group to come up with narrower policy objectives so that we can go to the people and say, We think youd be good in office. Are these ideas that you can support or defend? Another committee, he said, could be focused on community engagement and direct support of candidates. I think its important we set this kind of structure, Collins said. After the meeting, Tad Abbey, a local city resident, stirred the crowd after calling upon them to remain active and go beyond the planning stages to support a candidate that will disrupt the status quo. There is a movement in this country the likes of which we havent seen since the 1960s, Abbey said after the meeting. We have thousands of groups around the country saying, Were angry, were mad, we need to stop this. Thats fantastic, but as weve seen time and time again, these groups form another group or committees without leadership or a delegation that can stop whats happening, he said. We need to create one goal for all our people, he added. We all believe in this area. We need to fight for it and make sure that its strength among numbers instead of divisions among [the] classes and races. LEXINGTON Twenty years after she wrote the opinion that forced Virginia Military Institute to admit women, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg paid a visit Wednesday to the school, which she called a better place. During a public interview with her two biographers, Ginsburg was asked to respond to criticism from many including her close friend and fellow justice, the late Antonin Scalia who said at the time that ending the all-male tradition at the state-supported school would kill it. I knew it wouldnt. It would make VMI a better place, Ginsburg said to applause from a crowd that included hundreds of cadets. It was the first visit time Ginsburg had visited VMI since the Supreme Court heard the case. Women now make up about 11 percent of the corps of cadets. In the audience Wednesday at Cameron Hall was Kelly Sullivan, who was a member of the first class of women who entered VMI in the summer of 1997, one year after Ginsburg authored the landmark decision. I was completely blown away by the talk, Sullivan said afterward. Sullivan said she felt a strong connection to Ginsburgs recollections of how it felt to be one of the few female students at Harvard Law School, and how she was on display and expected to represent all women whether she failed or succeeded. The same thing was true of Sullivan and her fellow female cadets. Although we had the same struggle, she did it first, Sullivan said, and she paved the way for us. Ginsburg, 83, spent nearly an hour taking questions from her two biographers, Georgetown University law professors Mary Hartnett and Wendy Williams. She also met in private with law school students and professors at adjacent Washington and Lee University. Ginsburg was appointed to the nations highest court in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. At the time, she was just the second woman on the court following Sandra Day OConnors appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan but she now presides along with two other female justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Two child executions have reportedly been carried out in Iran since the start of 2017 Iran Human Rights (JAN 28 2017): Two juvenile offenders were executed in Kerman (southeastern Iran) and Tabriz (northwestern Iran) prisons. This is in addition to the more than 70 people who have been executed since the beginning of 2017. Iran Human Rights calls for international reactions to the wave of executions and in particular juvenile executions in Iran. "We want abolition of the death penalty, and as a first step abolition of the death penalty for all offences committed while under age of 18. We are calling on the international community, especially the United Nations and the European Union, to place abolition of the death penalty, in particilar the death penalty for juveniles, at the top of their talks with the Iranian authorities," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson of Iran Human Rights. The Iranian authorities lead the world in the most executions of minors, despite the revisions made to the Islamic Penal Code and that child executions violate Iran's international obligations. Arman Bahr Asemani - Convicted of murder at age 16 Iran Human Rights has received confirmation on the execution of a a juvenile prisoner who was convicted of murder at the age of 16. "Arman Bahr Asemani, born February 10, 1997, convicted in November 2012 of murdering his cousin, was hanged on Sunday January 15, 2017 at Kerman's Shahab Prison," a close source tells Iran Human Rights. "Bahr Asemani, who was 20 years old at the time of his execution, had also been condemned to 74 lashings on the charge of consumption of alcohol. Hs lawyer had attempted to argue that if [Arman] was drunk, then he should not have been charged with first degree murder, but the lawyer never got anywhere," says the close source. Iranian official sources had announced an execution at Shahab Prison of a 23-year-old prisoner charged with murder; however, there was no mention of Bahr Asemani's execution. Hassan Hassanzadeh - Convicted of murder at age 15 The human rights news agency HRANA reports on the execution of a juvenile prisoner at Tabriz Prison on Wednesday January 18. The prisoner, identified as Hassan Hassanzadeh, was reportedly around 15 years old when he was convicted of murder. He was reportedly jailed for about two and a half years before he was executed at the age of 18. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Iran Human Rights, January 29, 2017 RICHMOND A Fredericksburg police officer pulled over Travis J. Blair and fatally shot him after a chase and struggle in March. Soon after, Police Chief David Nye authorized public release of the officer's identity: Christopher Brossmer. Blair had a warrant for failing to appear in court on a drug charge and his father told The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg he held no animosity toward the officer who shot his son. Release of the officer's name wasn't required by state law, but it was not prohibited, either. While many Virginia police agencies don't release an officer's name until the investigation of a shooting is over, a 2015 Fredericksburg police policy says officers will be named within 72 hours of a shooting unless their safety is threatened. Del. Jackson H. Miller, R-Manassas, wants such police policies to end. Miller, a former police officer, is sponsoring House Bill 2043, which would forbid a police chief or any public official from naming an officer who discharges a gun, or is under investigation for using force, until an investigation is complete, unless the investigation lasts longer than six months. Naming an officer beforehand or providing information to the public that would identify the officer would become a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. So if Miller's bill were law, a chief like Nye who released the name of an officer before an investigation was complete - or a police officer passing on information to a reporter - could be charged with a crime for doing so. The bill cleared a House subcommittee 5-1 and is scheduled to be heard Thursday in the House General Laws Committee. Miller said the bill would protect police and "standardize" a policy for identifying them after an incident. "Most agencies won't release anything until well after the investigation," he acknowledged. "I believe Fairfax and a couple others decided they're going to release it really quickly, probably based on pressure they got for other issues." Miller said he didnt have firsthand knowledge of officers in Virginia facing threats after a shooting, but he said the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police relayed examples. "It'll let emotions die down" after a police shooting, Miller said of his bill. The state NAACP and the Virginia Press Association criticized the proposal, which comes following a series of police shootings nationally that were captured on bystanders' cellphone video, such as the fatal shooting in 2015 of Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C. Officer Michael Slager shot him in the back as he ran. Police in the United States killed 1,092 people in 2016, according to a database from The Guardian newspaper. Little to no information is publicly available in Virginia about the officer after a police shooting. Any history of disciplinary problems, previous shootings or use of force complaints is shielded from the public in Virginia law. "Anything that broadens the gap between the community trust and law enforcement, that would deepen the divide, cannot be a good thing," said Linda Thomas, president of The Virginia State Conference NAACP. "And so we would urge lawmakers to ... vote this down, and continue on the pathway that leads to better communication, citizens review and oversight in the investigatory process, and to continue to remedy anything that would prevent law enforcement officers from being in tune and in touch with the community." She also noted that after a police officer shoots someone the person shot is named and opened up to public scrutiny, "while cloaking in secrecy the identity of the public servant who is paid with taxpayer money." Shrouding such information encourages public mistrust of police, she said. Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the bill would override some police policies and deny a chief or sheriff the ability to name an officer even if they think the information should be publicized - as is currently allowed by law. "There will be times when it would be in the publics interest for having that information in a more timely manner," she said. Betsy Edwards, executive director of the Virginia Press Association, said Miller's bill would criminalize transparency. "Police jurisdictions are not being forced to release the names. Its totally up to the officers in charge, the sheriffs, the police chiefs to decide whether or not it's appropriate," she said. "The vast majority of jurisdictions use the discretion to not release the name. ... I think the police chiefs and sheriffs know their communities and know whats in the best interest overall in the community and their relationship with the community." A Fairfax County policy adopted in 2016 would be overruled if Miller's bill became law. Fairfax police release the name of an officer who fatally shoots someone within 10 days, as long as there isn't a security threat to the officer. Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham authorizes release of an officer's name case by case, with safety being an important factor, Gene Lepley, police public affairs director, said in an email. The increased national scrutiny of police shootings raises a need for more balance, said Wayne Huggins, executive director of the Virginia State Police Association and a former superintendent of Virginia State Police. He said he supports Miller's bill, but expects it would be amended in some fashion if it survives the legislative process. Police are under scrutiny - and criticism - in a way Huggins hasn't seen in his career, he said. "We have seen instances around the country where the police officer is presumed guilty even before the investigation is completed," Huggins said. While he acknowledged Virginia hasn't had the level of controversial police protests as some other states, the national mood about policing and concerns over safety weigh on police officers, he said. So there's a need to balance the public's desire for information with safety of a police officer, he said. Miller's bill would "afford a degree of protection for a law enforcement officer" until an investigation is complete, he said. "These use-of-force incidents can get super charged in a hurry. And this will give the law enforcement community the opportunity to kind of protect themselves," he said. "And were not suggesting that the names should not be, at the appropriate time, released." Miller's bill echoes 2016's Senate Bill 552 from Sen. John A. Cosgrove Jr., R-Chesapeake, which would have allowed the names of all Virginia police officers to be withheld from the public. Critics said Cosgrove's bill was an extreme reaction to anti-police protests and would have hindered the public's ability to hold police accountable for their actions. After passing the Senate last year it was killed by the same subcommittee that advanced Miller's bill this year. Del. James M. LeMunyon, R-Fairfax, chairs the subcommittee that heard Cosgrove's bill in 2016 and Miller's bill last month. He was the lone vote against Miller's bill in subcommittee, in part because, he said, it would supplant the discretion of local officials. "Every situation is different, LeMunyon said. The question is do you trust the people on the ground in the different place and situation to exercise their judgment responsibly or not?" He added that the bill could also lead to awkward situations where an officers name becomes public through unofficial channels and is widely known on the Internet or in the media. "The government employees are still bound not to talk about it as if its still a secret when it really isnt," he said. RICHMOND Proponents of expanding Virginias DNA databank have raised $33,000 toward the cost of a Virginia State Crime Commission study that may be put off because of a lack of funds. Albemarle County Sheriff J.E. Chip Harding and Commonwealths Attorney Robert Tracci were in Richmond on Friday with the parents of Hannah Graham, a University of Virginia student slain in 2014, lobbying for the study aimed at the possible expansion of the database to include persons convicted of more serious misdemeanors. Currently, DNA samples are kept from convicted felons and from persons convicted of 14 serious misdemeanors, primarily sex-related offenses. Harding and the Grahams were told by legislators that the study may have to be put off this year due to budget limitations. Harding said Tuesday that the Albemarle Sheriffs Foundation has offered to donate $10,000, Harding and his wife will write a personal check for $5,000 and that another $18,000 has been pledged by others who wish to remain anonymous. The money can be transferred to the states general fund to support the study, he said. Harding said the speaker of the House of Delegates, William J. Howell, R-Stafford, said he would ask the commission to consider the study. It is unclear, however, if a lack of funds is the full problem. Kristen Howard, executive director of the commission, which has a small staff, said Tuesday that the request from Howell, when received, would be considered with other requests by an executive committee after the current legislative session, likely in the spring. Susan Graham, whose daughter was slain by Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., told the Richmond Times-Dispatch after her meeting with legislators last week that, We feel that this study is a major first step and were very hopeful that it will be taken forward in some way. The Grahams believe that had Matthews DNA been in Virginias DNA databank following his 2010 misdemeanor conviction for trespassing, it could have solved the 2009 slaying of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington and the 2005 rape of a Fairfax woman. John Graham said, If hed been compelled to give a DNA sample in 2010, he would very quickly have been linked to those two earlier, very serious crimes and he would probably have been in jail ... he wouldnt have met Hannah that Sept. 19, 2014, [night] and she still be alive. And so its a particularly sore point for us. Thats partly why were so passionate about this, said Graham. We know we cant bring Hannah back, but we can learn the lesson from Hannahs tragedy and try to ... protect other Virginians, he said. Harding said the crime commission would be asked to review the impact of databank expansion in states such as Wisconsin and New York. He said the commission would examine the impact of DNA enhancement on solving crimes, averting future crimes, and freeing the wrongfully convicted. It would also review safeguards against the unauthorized collection, dissemination, or use of DNA data, said Harding, who hopes the study can be completed this year before the next General Assembly session. RICHMOND A bill seeking to defund Planned Parenthood cleared a House subcommittee Tuesday on a 4-1 vote. HB 2264, introduced by Del. Ben Cline, R-Amherst, would prohibit the Virginia Department of Health from granting funds or entering into contracts with certain health care providers that perform abortion. More specifically, it would cut off Title X funding for Planned Parenthood, which supports family planning services, long-term contraception and educational programs. Its just another effort to cripple the organization, said David Timberline, director of communications for the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has clinics in Charlottesville, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Hampton and Roanoke. More than 22,000 people visited Planned Parenthood clinics in Virginia in 2014, the most recent year for which statistics were available. Nationally, Planned Parenthood clinics provided about 11 million procedures and exams in 2011-12, the group reported. About 41 percent were for testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases; 34 percent for contraception; and 10 percent for cancer screening and prevention. Planned Parenthood also provided more than 327,000 abortions, representing about 3 percent of the total services. Timberline believes that many of the people who oppose Planned Parenthood think that once it is shut down, other clinics can pick up providing the family planning services that the organization provides. That is completely false, he said. Supporters of the bill said it would ensure that taxpayer money is spent on fully comprehensive health clinics to provide services to women. Addressing the subcommittee of the House Committee of Health, Welfare and Institutions, Cline said the legislation ensures that hospitals, federally qualified health clinics and rural health clinics are funded prior to abortion centers. He said the bill would give priority to more than 140 federally qualified and rural health clinics in Virginia. Cline said the bill would make sure that money is sent to health clinics that meet the needs of those populations they serve in the most comprehensive manner possible, instead of to clinics that provide abortions. Cline introduced an identical bill in the 2016 legislative session. It passed both the House and the Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. The House was one vote short of overriding the governors veto. The bill will advance to the full House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions. The panel will consider the legislation on Thursday. The University of Virginia Health Systems message of cost-cutting may evoke reactions ranging from The sky is falling! to Its about time! Time, that is, for increased hospital efficiencies that can lower health-care costs. Such lower costs will be necessary if national reforms reduce the insurance payments that providers rely on to cover their expenses. That was part of the message from Dr. Richard P. Shannon, executive vice president for health affairs, and other officials at a meeting of UVas Medical Center Operating Board earlier this week. From Daily Progress editorial board conversations with health officials over the years, along with news coverage, we know that UVa health officials have been concerned about costs and care for quite a while now. The Obama administration sent health care spinning in one direction. The Trump administration is spinning it in a different direction. In the interim were annual arguments in the Virginia legislature over accepting additional Medicaid funding from Washington, which could have helped UVa and other hospitals care for more indigent patients. UVas interest in that funding was not ideological; it was merely practical, representing as it did a vehicle toward expanded service. As a teaching hospital at a public university, UVa has a greater responsibility than many toward helping poor patients whether they can pay or not. Patient survival is at issue but so is hospital survival. Not all hospitals will make it through the coming changes. Youre going to see hospitals disappear, Dr. Shannon said. The question is: Who are the 50 percent who are going to survive? A 50 percent attrition rate would be severe. Small hospitals and rural hospitals already are under economic stress. Yet health-care planners often bemoan the lack of care available to rural residents even under current circumstances. In some parts of the state, many people drive five, six hours for a medical appointment , said Dr. Karen Rheuban, director of UVas Center for Telehealth. One efficiency that could be expanded is telehealth, in which patients obtain a consultation via internet. UVa last year recorded 11,000 telehealth visits; Dr. Shannon said he wants to increase that number to 60,000. Other efficiencies may include use of robots to administer treatments and even, using artificial intelligence, to diagnose ailments. The honest answer to the coming changes, Dr. Shannon said, is [that] we have to get more efficient and we have to get more productive. Some critics will say: Well, its about time! Forcing efficiencies into the system is an overall goal of health-care reform and the goal, at its most basic, is admirable. If efficiencies can be gained, health-care providers would do well to implement them as soon as possible before being forced to by changing conditions. But change also will create some losers. Implementing some changes, such as employing more robotics, will require added capital investments up front even as insurance and Medicaid reimbursements for patient care will decline in the wake of reform. Some hospitals will not be able to make those investments, or will not be able to cope in other ways to counter the loss of reimbursement income. Those hospitals will simply die. Its too soon to know exactly what health care reform will look like, and if it will be successful. But if these predictions are accurate, we may be worsening a divide between haves and have-nots those who have access to surviving hospitals and those who cant get good health care because no nearby hospital exists any longer to serve them. FEB. 18 BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM Blue Run Baptist Church, Barboursville, will hold its Black History program Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. All are welcome to attend. FEB. 19 BLACK HISTORY SERVICE Beulah Baptist Church will host a Black History program Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. Sister Linda Thomas, the president of the Virginia State Conference NAACP, will be the guest speaker. Dinner will be served. All are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Pastor Kenneth Pitts at bbc9297@gmail.com or (540) 937-5563. FEB. 26 WOMENS AUXILIARY BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM The Womens Auxiliary of the Wayland Blue Ridge Baptist Association, Inc. will celebrate its 40th annual Black History program Sunday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. at the Wayland Blue Ridge Baptist Center. The Rev. Jerome Gipson, his choir and congregation from Rising Zion Baptist, Jeffersonton, will be in attendance. The theme of the program is Rooted in Faith, Anchored in Hope, and it will highlight youth in the community. Tickets are $5 in advance or $7 at the door (but $1 for students). For tickets, contact 661-2013 or email nb_roberts@msn.com. NOTICES CALL IN BIBLE STUDY Beulah Baptist Church, Rixeyville, hosts a free call-in Bible study with Pastor Kenneth Pitts every Wednesday from 7-7:30 p.m., studying the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Call-in number (302) 202-1118; access code 862090. REDEFINE YOU MEETINGS Church of the Living God hosts Redefine You, meetings meant to empower, inspire, and uplift women to help them reach their purpose or destiny, Tuesdays at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Debra Yarde at (434) 305-9641. CRAIGS BAPTIST PROGRAMS Craigs Baptist Church, 14123 W. Catharpin Rd., holds its AWANA program every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Their next 8-week Centershot archery program, for ages 6-adult, will begin Thursday, Feb. 2. The church is now accepting early bird applications for vendors for the Oct. 7, 2017 Harvest Festival/Craft Show. Contact the church office at 854-5284 if you are interested in any of these activities. Public execution in Mashhad, Iran, January 28, 2017 Two prisoners were reportedly hanged at Rasht's central prison and a total of four prisoners were hanged in public in two different Iranian cities on armed robbery and rape charges. Iran Human Rights (FEB 1 2017): On the morning of Saturday January 28, two prisoners were reportedly hanged at Lakan, Rasht's central Prison. On the morning of Sunday January 29, a total of four prisoners were hanged in public in Mashhad and Bandar Abbas. According to a report by the Iranian state-run news agency IRIB, the two prisoners at Rasht's central prison were hanged on drug related charges. The report identifies the prisoners as "R.Z.", 26 years old, and "M.A.", 39 years old. R.Z. was reportedly sentenced to death on the charge of trafficking one kilogram of crystal meth and M.A. was reportedly sentenced to death on the charge of buying and selling three kilograms of heroin. IRIB reports on two unidentified prisoners who were executed in public in Bandar Abbas. The prisoners were reportedly 26 and 22 years old and their charges include two counts of rape, abduction, and assault & battery. The Iranian state-run news agency, Mizan, which is tied to Iran's Judiciary, reported on the execution of two prisoners which were both carried out in public in Mashhad. The prisoners were reportedly sentenced to death on the charge of Moharebeh (enmity against God) through armed robbery and creating a state of fear & terror. According to Mizan, in 2014, the two prisoners were involved in an armed robbery in which they fired shots while fleeing the scene of the crime and caused injuries. Photos of the public hanging in Mashhad (via Iran Human Rights) | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Iran Human Rights , February 1, 2017 A man convicted of killing a woman and her two children after a break-in at their home in southern Missouri in 1998 was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday. Mark Christeson, 37, was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST (0105 GMT on Wednesday), according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. Christeson was sent to death row for the murders of Susan Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle. Christeson raped the mother after breaking into the family's home with his cousin, according to court documents. They drove the family to a pond where Christeson cut the throats of the mother and son and threw them into the water, court documents said. They suffocated the daughter and threw her into the pond, according to court documents. Christeson's cousin Jesse Carter, who at 17 was one year younger than him at the time of the slayings, testified against Christeson at trial and received a sentence of life in prison, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted Christeson's execution in 2014 after his legal team argued his previous attorneys failed to meet a key deadline for filing court papers in 2005 and had refused to cooperate when the mistake came to light. The failure to meet the deadline meant Christeson's conviction in state court was never reviewed by a federal judge, which is the usual practice. In January 2015, the Supreme Court threw out an appeals court ruling, denying Christeson another chance for his case to be heard. His current attorney, Jennifer Merrigan, petitioned the Supreme Court for another stay of execution on Monday. The request was denied on Tuesday. Christeson was also denied a clemency request by Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on Tuesday evening. "Mark was 18 at the time of his crime and has an IQ of 74," Merrigan said by email on Monday. "His execution may be unconstitutional, but the courts keep trying to rush him to the death chamber instead of giving him a fair opportunity in court." Greitens in a statement describing the victims said Adrian wanted to become a veterenarian or a teacher and Kyle wanted to be an Army officer. Christeson in a written statement before his execution said he loved his family and was "more than blessed" to have them. Following Christeson's execution, 24 men remain on death row in Missouri, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. Christeson becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Missouri and the 88th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1989. Only Texas (540), Oklahoma (112), Virginia (112), and Florida (92) have executed more condemned inmates since the death penalty was re-legalized on July 2, 1976. Christeson becomes the 4th condemned inmate to be put to death this year int he USA and the 1446th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. Missouri's Unjust Rush To Execute Intellectually Disabled Man Who Was Abandoned by His Attorneys The state's determined efforts to execute Mark Christeson are hasty, bizarre, and troubling. Death is the ultimate punishment a state can impose. Because of the death penalty's severity and finality, its implementation should never be rushed or done without full due process of the law. Yet Missouri will do exactly that if it proceeds with the execution of Mark Christeson on January 31. Intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court is now needed to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice. The federal courts have truncated due process by ordering unreasonably expedited briefing and hearing schedules, solely for the purpose of maintaining an execution date that was set at the State's request while appeals were already pending. No court has ever fully considered the merits of Mr. Christeson's important underlying constitutional claims, and no court has ever provided him with counsel free of conflicts of interest to raise those claims. Mr. Christeson was 18 years old at the time of the offense for which he was sentenced to death and has significant cognitive limitations, scoring only 74 on an IQ test. There are also other mitigating factors in his case that were not properly presented at trial, such as a tragic history of pervasive sexual violence in his family. Yet no court has fully considered the merits of these claims or analyzed whether he has an intellectual disability that makes his execution unconstitutional, because the first attorneys to raise these claims filed the petition 117 days late. Although it is the lawyers who made the error, the fatal consequences of their mistake fall squarely on Mr. Christeson, and courts have declared that all of his claims for relief are now waived and "procedurally barred' from review. For many years afterward, Mr. Christeson's lawyers concealed their serious error from their client, preventing him from seeking new counsel who could argue that the procedural bars should be set aside on equitable grounds. These issues led the United States Supreme Court to intervene in 2014, granting a stay only hours before his execution. The high Court sent the case back to the lower courts, directing them to appoint new, conflict-free counsel. "Without even holding a hearing, and based on the limited evidence that counsel could compile with minimal funding, the court concluded that Mr. Christeson was not entitled to relief." Responding to this directive, the federal trial court appointed new attorneys to represent Mr. Christeson, but it approved only 6% of their requested budget, thereby creating a new conflict of interest for substitute counsel who lacked the funding or resources necessary to adequately investigate and assess his severe cognitive impairments. Without even holding a hearing, and based on the limited evidence that counsel could compile with minimal funding, the court concluded that Mr. Christeson was not entitled to relief. Before the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals had decided whether to consider Mr. Christeson's appeal of this decision, the state of Missouri decided to go forward with their plans to execute Mr. Christeson, setting his execution for January 31. After taking several extensions for filing their own briefs, lawyers for the State asked the court to set short deadlines for Mr. Christeson's counsel so that the execution could proceed on schedule. Mystifyingly to many, the Eighth Circuit agreed to hear the appeal but then granted the State's request for an expedited schedule, leaving Mr. Christeson's attorneys a mere 5 business days over the holidays to file his appeal brief. The Eighth Circuit ordered the district court to hold another hearing to develop evidence about prior counsel's abandonment of Mr. Christeson. The lower court responded by scheduling the hearing less than 2 days after receiving the order. This timeline was so short that Mr. Christeson's counsel could not even arrange for witnesses to travel to Missouri in time for the hearing, let alone adequately prepare to present evidence and make complex legal arguments. After the hearing concluded, the court ruled immediately from the bench, rejecting all of Mr. Christeson's claims and sending the case along its hurried path toward execution. If the death penalty is to be used at all, it should be carried out fairly and only with full due process of law. Justice should never be sacrificed for the sake of expediency in any criminal proceeding, and in a capital case, a court's failure to take the necessary time to hear all relevant evidence is simply unacceptable. No court has ever fully considered the merits of Mr. Christeson's claims, and if this execution proceeds on January 31st no court ever will. Now is the time to halt the frenzied rush toward his execution and ensure that he is provided with the means and opportunity to present his case, before the state makes an irreversible mistake. Source: Opinion, Carol S. Steiker, January 30, 2017. Mr. Steiker is a professor at Harvard Law School and co-author with Jordan M. Steiker of "Courting Death: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment." | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Reuters, Timothy Mclaughlin; Rick Halperin, January 31, 2017 Jakatia Pawa Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella reacts to a CBCP official who says the Philippines will lose 'any moral authority and legality to ask clemency' for Filipinos on death row if it restores the death penalty Following the death of Overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jakatia Pawa who was executed by hanging in Kuwait , several groups again urged the government not to revive the death penalty in the country. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), for instance, said on Thursday, January 26, that Pawa's death "should make us all advocates against the death penalty." In a CBCP News article, Bishop Ruperto Santos of the CBCP's Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People was also quoted as saying the government should not push through with death penalty because its reimposition will result [in] the country losing "any moral authority and legality to ask clemency for our Filipinos who are sentenced to death." Reacting to the CBCP, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Saturday, January 28, said that when it comes to seeking clemency for OFWs on death row, "we cannot claim ascendancy, but we can claim perhaps clemency and mercy depending on the merit of each case." "We understand where the CBCP is coming from. However, we also have to understand that certain countries, especially those in the Middle East, condemn certain alleged crimes. But we have to understand that they operate from a different set of rules," Abella said in an interview with government-run radio dzRB. He added: "They don't go by Western civil law. They go by Shariah, for example. They have different procedures. We're not saying we're not going to fight for that. However, we cannot claim ascendancy, but we can claim perhaps clemency and mercy, depending on the merit of each case." Pawa, a 44-year-old mother of 2, was executed on Wednesday, January 25, even as she asserted her innocence in the murder of her Kuwaiti employer's 22-year-old daughter. Her execution caught the Philippines off guard. Abella said the Philippines hired "top caliber lawyers" for Pawa's case. "The case really seemed to be tilted against her. But we do not neglect the situation of our fellow Filipinos abroad." Restoring capital punishment for heinous crimes is a priority measure of the Duterte administration, whose ongoing war on drugs has killed more than 7,000 people in the last 6 months. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: rappler.com, January 29, 2017 Plenary discussions on the bill for the reimposition of the death penalty will have to wait another day, with lawmakers opposed to the proposed legislature taking the floor as a "clear message" against fast-tracking its passage. Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali were supposed to deliver their sponsorship speeches at Tuesday's session for House Bill No. 4727, a consolidation of seven bills on capital punishment which passed the Umali-led justice committee last month. However, they eventually left the floor as several lawmakers against the measure diverted the session - a move that eventually led to a "gentleman's agreement" that the sponsorship and debates for the bill will be on Wednesday afternoon instead. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a member of the House minority bloc, confirmed this with reporters near the end of the plenary session, which was adjourned 6:11 p.m. "[O]ur only agreement is that we are going to have the death penalty bill sponsored and debated tomorrow," Lagman said. Asked what made proponents of the bill agree to this, the lawmaker said it may be because "this debate would last until midnight." "There are important and relevant concerns which the House would have to address before we tackle an important, although retrogressive, measure like the death penalty," he said. "Moreover, we would like to send a clear message to the House leadership that they cannot fast-track the enactment of this retrogressive measure," Lagman added. Lagman said the agreement may not extend to subsequent days, but noted that opponents will no longer deliver privilege speeches on Wednesday and let the debates start if there is a clear quorum. Speeches Tuesday's plenary session was witnessed by dozens of representatives from civil society groups who oppose death penalty. The day's events on the floor began when Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza asked for a recount, after a quorum was declared with 224 representatives responding to the roll call. Atienza, who said there were only 152 solons on the floor, asked that his manifestation be put on record, after the leadership refused his request for a recount. As Iloilo Rep. Arthur Defensor, deputy majority leader, repeatedly moved to tackle bills on second reading, which included HB 4727, lawmakers opposed to the death penalty rose and asked to deliver privilege speeches. Granted 5 minutes, Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin spoke for some 17 minutes about the plight of fishermen in the tuna industry, notably those detained in Indonesia. Lagman asked to interpellate Villarin, but his request was denied. As Defensor moved again to proceed with bills on 2nd reading, Atienza took the podium anew, this time asking to talk about his concerns over 3 unnamed lawmakers found in President Rodrigo Duterte's narco-list. The party-list representative, who was eventually given 10 minutes to speak, called the alleged involvement of his colleagues a "very personal and collective matter" that affects the House as a whole. Here, Atienza demanded that the three representatives allegedly involved in the drug trade be named to clear the issue. "3 of our members, according to them, are drug coddlers or drug lords themselves. We need to clarify this, Mr. Speaker. We cannot be tackling important measures in this chamber unless this is addressed and confronted with the truth," he said. "Let them be pointed out and let them defend themselves, here in Congress and outside of Congress. They do not deserve to be called representatives of the people and members of Congress if they have, in any way, in any relation, an involvement in the drug trade," he added. How lawmakers will argue vs death penalty bill Opposition lawmaker Edcel Lagman says the Philippines must first address 'much delayed' reforms in the police and justice systems before reviving the death penalty The opposition bloc outlined its main arguments against the return of the death penalty as the House begins the plenary debates on the measure on Tuesday afternoon, January 31. Around two hours before the start of session, opposition lawmaker and Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman reiterated that House Bill Number 4727 is not the solution to end crime. "The first argument is that the death penalty is not the solution to criminality, including the drug menace. Because the process of solving the incidence of crimes is a multi-dynamic process, which would range form sustainable poverty alleviation to reforms in the police, prosecutorial and judicial systems," said Lagman. He argued that it is also "the worst of times" to revive the death penalty, citing the involvement of cops in the murder of South Korean businessmen Jee Ick Joo as well as the Supreme Court sacking 17 judges as part of its efforts to clean its ranks. "While no time is right and ripe for pushing the reimposition of the death penalty, now is the worst of times to enact the revival of capital punishment when scalawag cops are the felons and rogues in robes preside over the life or death of citizens," said Lagman. "Justice is not only delayed but also wantonly waylaid, due to the flawed, inept and corrupt police, prosecutorial and judicial systems. We must put the death penalty bill irretrievably in the backburner and address and implement much delayed reforms in the police and justice systems," he added. The House of Representatives is expected to begin its debate on the death penalty bill after House justice committee chairperson and Oriental Mindoro 2nd District Representative Reynaldo Umali sponsors the measure on 2nd reading Tuesday afternoon. No less than President Rodrigo Duterte, who is allied with a majority of congressmen, said the death penalty is a way to exact payment from the perpetrators of heinous crimes. Sacredness of life, 'fallible' justice system The opposition bloc, however, remains unfazed, saying they have gathered at least 50 congressmen to oppose the bill. As of posting, 25 lawmakers are already lined up to interpellate against the return of the death penalty. Apart from the argument that the capital punishment is not a true deterrent to crime, Lagman said they will be arguing that life is sacred. "Another reason is that life is sacrosanct. No one should be allowed to deprive man of his life. And even the Pope instructs that a viability of life is both for the criminal and for the innocent," he said. "Another is justice is fallible so much so that even the innocent can be sent to the gallows. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that it will be better to free 10 accused who are possibly guilty of the crime they are charged than to convict one person who is innocent," Lagman added. He also said that Duterte's retribution defense for the death penalty is an "anathema to the modern trend of penology which is reformative justice." Anti-death penalty lawmakers will also argue that the measure is anti-poor. "Another ground is the death penalty further marginalizes and victimizes the poor who cannot afford competent counsel and who will not have access to court processes," said Lagman. International repercussions The Philippines is also a state party to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as the Second Protocol on the ICCPR, wherein all signatories are mandated to abolish the death penalty and ensure it will not be reimposed. "We will be losing our preeminent leadership in the ASEAN and Asian regions, wherein we have been acknowledged as leader of advocating the promotion of human rights and the abolition of the death penalty," he said. He added that the Philippines stands to lose tariff-free exports to country-members of the European Union, "where the only condition is we abide by the tenets of human rights." There are other reasons or grounds, but we will be ventillating these during the debates. All of these reasons are all compelling reasons why the death penalty should not be reimposed," said Lagman. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: gmanetwork.com, January 31, 2017Source: rappler.com, January 31, 2017 Texas prison officials in 2015 arranged to buy lethal-injection drugs from a company in India that was busted for selling psychotropic drugs and opioids illegally to people in Europe and the United States, a new report claims. When that deal fell through, they bought $25,000 worth of execution drugs from another supplier in India, a shipment seized in Houston by U.S. drug enforcers as an illegal importation, according to the report in BuzzFeed News. BuzzFeed, in a detailed story posted late Thursday, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials notified the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Jan. 8, 2015 that they would be importing a large amount of sodium thiopental, Texas' execution drug, as required by a DEA license the agency holds. "TDCJ will be importing Thiopental Sodium in 1 gram vials for a total of 500 to 1,000 grams per purchase/importation," a DEA investigative report published with the article shows. "TDCJ will be importing from the following supplier: Provizer Pharma." Before the sale could be completed, however, Indian drug enforcement authorities raided Provizer Pharma's offices in the city of Surat, arrested five employees and seized an assortment of drugs, many of which are used as "party pills" in the United States, India's Narcotics Control Bureau called the raid a "significant seizure." Weeks later, Texas turned to another supplier in India -- identified in leaked DEA documents as Chris Harris -- and that shipment was seized in July 2015 at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. A second shipment bound for Arizona was seized at the same time. The seizures came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had warned Texas and its supplier, along with Arizona and Nebraska, that attempts to import the drugs would be illegal and that the shipments would be confiscated, officials earlier confirmed. A federal court at one point blocked its importation. The BuzzFeed report provides new details about the source of Texas' execution drugs, long a secret that the state has battled in courts to keep out of public view, and of the lengths to which Texas and other states have gone to obtain them. In recent years, as most companies in the United States and Europe have stopped making the drugs used in U.S. executions or prohibited their sale for lethal use, Texas and other states have had to resort to secondary suppliers where purchases have proven to be much more difficult. Critics of the death penalty also have questioned whether the quality of those drugs can more easily be compromised, and whether they will kill condemned inmates without pain and suffering -- a key element in whether the use of those drugs could compromise the legal administration of the death penalty. The Texas-bound executions drugs seized in July 2015 remain in DEA custody. Earlier this month, Texas sued the FDA seeking to release the drugs, accusing the agency of "gross incompetence or willful obstruction," according to court filings. In its lawsuit, Texas referred to the source of the lethal drugs only as a "foreign distributor." While the source of Texas' execution drugs used to be publicly available, state officials in recent years have made information about their suppliers a guarded secret as suppliers for the drugs dried up, some driven by pressure from death penalty opponents in the United States and Europe. Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered the information secret, and state officials have fought since then to keep as many details as possible under wraps, including a threat against the DEA not to identify the supplier in the pending lawsuit over the confiscation. Texas prison officials declined late Thursday to discuss any details in the BuzzFeed story, other than to say they had "not engaged in any transaction" with Provizer. They declined further comment. "The story is highly speculative and inaccurate," said TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark, declining to discuss any details. "TDCJ has a statutory responsibility to carry out court ordered executions in Texas," Clark said. "All drugs used in the lethal injection process are legally purchased and are tested by an independent lab for both potency and purity to ensure they meet national standards." | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Houston Chronicle, January 28, 2017 Judge Neil M. Gorsuch and Donald Trump WASHINGTON President Trump on Tuesday nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, elevating a conservative in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia to succeed the late jurist and touching off a brutal, partisan showdown at the start of his presidency over the ideological bent of the nations highest court. Mr. Trump announced his selection during a much-anticipated evening ceremony that unfolded in prime time at the White House. He described Judge Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge based in Denver, as a man who our country really needs, and needs badly, to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support, Mr. Trump said, standing beside the judge and his wife, Louise, as White House officials and Republican lawmakers looked on. It is an extraordinary resume as good as it gets. But Democrats embittered by Republican refusals for nearly a year to consider President Barack Obamas choice to succeed Justice Scalia, and inflamed by Mr. Trumps aggressive moves at the start of his tenure promised a showdown over Judge Gorsuchs confirmation. Joined by liberal groups that plotted for weeks to fight Mr. Trumps eventual nominee, leading Democrats signaled they would work to turn the Supreme Court dispute into a referendum on the president, and what they contend is his disregard for legal norms and the Constitution. Conservatives and business groups cheered Judge Gorsuch, calling his record distinguished and his qualifications unparalleled. The announcement came at a particularly tumultuous moment in an extraordinarily chaotic beginning to Mr. Trumps presidency. Just a day earlier, he dismissed the acting attorney general for refusing to defend his hard-line immigration order that started a furor across the United States over what critics condemned as a visa ban against Muslims. Now, more than ever, we need a Supreme Court justice who is independent, eschews ideology, who will preserve our democracy, protect fundamental rights and will stand up to a president who has already shown a willingness to bend the Constitution, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said in a statement. The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the executive branch and protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all Americans, Mr. Schumer said. He said he would insist that Judge Gorsuch meet the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate to overcome a filibuster for his confirmation to move forward. That would either require eight Democrats to join the Senates 52 Republicans to advance the nomination, or force Republicans to escalate a parliamentary showdown as Mr. Trump has already urged them to do to change longstanding rules and push through his nominee on a simple majority vote. Republicans and conservative groups signaled they relished a war over Judge Gorsuchs confirmation. I hope members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama, said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader. He noted that the Senate confirmed Judge Gorsuch without opposition in 2006 to his current seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Carrie Severino, the chief counsel for the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group that immediately started a $10 million campaign to defend Mr. Trumps nominee, said the coalition would mount intensive campaigns in crucial states to force vulnerable senators to choose between obstructing and keeping their Senate seats. If confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would become the 113th justice and take a seat held not only by Justice Scalia, but also by Justice Robert H. Jackson, perhaps the finest writer to have served on the court. As an Episcopalian, Judge Gorsuch would be the only Protestant seated among five Catholics and three Jewish jurists. He would restore the 5-to-4 split between conservatives and liberals on the court, returning the swing vote to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whose rulings have fallen on both sides of the political spectrum. At 49, Judge Gorsuch (pronounced GORE-sutch) is the youngest nominee to the Supreme Court in 25 years, underscoring his potential to shape major decisions for decades to come. In choosing him, Mr. Trump reached for a reliably conservative figure in Justice Scalias mold, but not someone known to be divisive. Mr. Trump, who recognized Justice Scalias wife, Maureen, in the audience as he announced his choice, heaped praise on the late, great jurist, saying his image and genius was in my mind throughout the decision-making process. Judge Gorsuch said he was humbled by his most solemn assignment. I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country, he said. He also praised Justice Scalia as a lion of the law. The announcement reopened the bitter wounds that dominated the political battle last year over Mr. Obamas nominee for the seat, Judge Merrick B. Garland. Republicans refused to even consider much less support his nomination in the thick of a presidential campaign. A Colorado native who was in the same class at Harvard Law School as Mr. Obama, Judge Gorsuch is known for his well-written, measured opinions that are normally, though not exclusively, conservative. He holds a doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar, and was a Supreme Court law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Kennedy. That Judge Gorsuch has a personal connection to Justice Kennedy is no accident. By choosing a familiar figure, several officials said, the White House is sending a reassuring signal to Justice Kennedy, 80, who has been mulling retirement. Choosing a more ideologically extreme candidate, the officials said, could have tempted Justice Kennedy to hang on to his seat for several more years, depriving Mr. Trump of another seat to fill. Still, Judge Gorsuchs conservative credentials are not in doubt. He has voted in favor of employers, including Hobby Lobby, who invoked religious objections for refusing to provide some forms of contraception coverage to their female workers. And he has criticized liberals for turning to the courts rather than the legislature to achieve policy goals. It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the peoples representatives, he said on Tuesday. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands. Judge Gorsuch is the son of Anne Gorsuch Burford, who became the first female head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan. He attended Georgetown Preparatory School, outside Washington, before going to Columbia University. There had been some speculation that Mr. Trump would choose someone with a less elite background for the court. The other finalist for the post, Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, was the first person in his family to graduate from college, and helped pay for his education by driving a taxi. The White House stoked suspense over Mr. Trumps court choice in the hours before announcing it. A senior Trump administration official said both Judge Gorsuch and Judge Hardiman were summoned to Washington for the nomination ceremony. But only Judge Gorsuch appeared at the White House gathering shortly after 8 p.m. In an allusion to the intense foreshadowing he and his team did to encourage interest and speculation over the pick, Mr. Trump interrupted his own announcement to marvel at his showmanship: So was that a surprise? the president said after announcing Judge Gorsuchs name. Was it? As he looked out into an audience that Democrats had refused to join several senior lawmakers declined his invitation to attend the East Room ceremony the president expressed hope that he could avoid a partisan battle. I only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once, for the good of the country, Mr. Trump said. But progressive groups had already gathered at the steps of the Supreme Court to protest a nominee they predicted would be extreme. Nan Aron of the liberal-aligned Alliance for Justice called Judge Gorsuch a disastrous choice, adding that his record showed no sign that he would offer an independent check on the dangerous impulses of this administration. Conservatives were as ardent in their support. Tom Fitton, the president of the right-leaning group Judicial Watch, called Mr. Trumps nomination a major step in the right direction in defining his presidency and moving the Supreme Court away from dangerous and destructive judicial activism. Source: The New York Times , Maggie Haberman and Adam Liptak, January 31, 2017 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Derek Bentley The death penalty was suspended in Britain 54 years ago as a result of resolute campaigning following a number of miscarriages of justice but now some dream of bring it back. 64 years ago at 9am on January 28 1953 a young man called Derek Bentley was hanged for murder at Wandsworth Prison. Bentley was 19, but various educational tests had put his mental age at 10 - his reading age at 4 and his IQ at just below 80. Today, we would describe Bentley as having severe learning difficulties. He also suffered from epilepsy. Outside the prison a large crowd had gathered - many were convinced a last minute reprieve would save Bentley's life but it was not to be. When the news emerged that the judicial killing had taken place shock turned to anger. 2 people were arrested in the prison gate protests. Derek William Bentley was born in south London on June 30 1933. He failed his 11-plus and at 14, he and another boy were arrested for theft and sent to an approved school near Bristol. Bentley was released on July 28 1950. Early in 1952 he failed his medical for National Service where he was judged "mentally substandard' and unfit for military service. He became a bin-man with Croydon Corporation but was soon demoted to a road sweeper. He lost that job too in September for unsatisfactory performance. On November 2 1952, Bentley and a 16-year-old companion, Christopher Craig, attempted to burgle a confectionery warehouse in Croydon. Craig carried a revolver. He had shortened the barrel so it would fit in his pocket. Craig gave Bentley a sheath knife and a knuckle duster - neither was used in the crime. A 9-year-old girl in a house across the road spotted Craig and Bentley climbing over the gate and onto the roof. She told her mother, who called the police. When the police arrived, the 2 youths hid. Craig taunted the police. Detective sergeant Frederick Fairfax was the 1st police officer to reach the roof. He grabbed hold of Bentley but the teenager broke free. What happened next has been a matter of argument for half a century. Police witnesses claimed that they demanded that Craig "Hand over the gun, lad." Bentley is said to have shouted the ambiguous phrase: "Let him have it, Chris." Craig fired his revolver at Fairfax, hitting his shoulder. Despite this injury Fairfax was again able to restrain Bentley who warned Fairfax that Craig was armed with a revolver and had further ammunition for the gun. More police arrived on the roof. Constable Sidney Miles was immediately killed by a shot to the head. Craig, now out of bullets, jumped around 30 feet (10 metres) from the roof, fracturing his spine and left wrist. Bentley and Craig were both charged with murder and were tried by jury before judge Lord Goddard. At the time those under 18 could not be sentenced to death: consequently, of the 2 defendants, only Bentley faced the death penalty. Bentley's defence was that he was effectively under arrest when Miles was killed. There was much controversy over Bentley's alleged shout to Craig to "let him have it, Chris." Both boys denied that Bentley had uttered the words, while the police officers testified that he had said them. Bentley's counsel argued that even if he had said the words, they could mean "give him the gun, Chris." In addition there was disagreement over whether Bentley was fit to stand trial in light of his mental capacity. The jury took just 75 minutes to decide that both Craig and Bentley were guilty of Miles's murder, with a plea for mercy for Bentley. The judge put on his black cap to sentence Bentley to death, while Craig was ordered to be detained at her Majesty's pleasure - he was eventually released in May 1963 after serving 10 years' imprisonment. The home secretary David Maxwell Fyfe turned down a reprieve for Bentley. Judge Goddard forwarded the jury's recommendation of mercy, but added that he himself "could find no mitigating circumstances." 200 MPs signed a memorandum requesting a reprieve but Parliament was given no opportunity to debate Bentley's sentence until he had been hanged. After the execution there was a public outcry resulting in a long campaign to secure a posthumous pardon. The campaign was initially led by Bentley's parents until their deaths in the 1970s, then by his sister Iris. On July 29 1993, Bentley was granted a royal pardon. However, in English law this did not quash his conviction for murder. Finally, on July 30 1998, the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction for murder. Bentley would have been 65 years old. The hanging of Bentley for a murder he clearly did not commit was 1 of 3 cases that built public opinion against capital punishment. Timothy Evans was hanged on March 9 1950 for the murder of his daughter, he was also charged with murdering his wife but was not tried for it. Evans made an apparently voluntary confession and it seemed like an open and shut case. 2 years later the bodies of more women were discovered in the same house at 10 Rillington Place. They had all been murdered by Evans's landlord John Reginald Christie who had given evidence against Evans at his trial. 2 years after the Bentley case, Ruth Ellis was sentenced to hang for murdering her boyfriend, David Blakely. Because of the violence she had suffered at the hands of Blakely she attracted enormous public sympathy. She still went to the gallows in Holloway prison on July 13 1955 - the last woman to be hanged in this country. The abolition of capital punishment was a major priority of the incoming Labour government of Harold Wilson in October 1964. On November 9 1965, the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act suspended the death penalty for murder in Britain for a period of 5 years. It has never returned. The most recent polls suggest that less than 1/2 the British population is in favour of capital punishment but it is close. Tory ministers like Priti Patel and the new leader of Ukip Paul Nuttall are still keen to lead the backwoodsmen of the right to demand the return of the noose. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: morningstaronline.co.uk, January 29, 2017 'As of January 2017, Capital punishment is legal in 31 US states.' Here's a look at the death penalty in the United States. Facts: As of January 2017, Capital punishment is legal in 31 US states. New Mexico and Nebraska abolished the death penalty in 2009 and 2015, respectively. The repeal was not retroactive, however. Inmates on death row in those states may still be executed. Pennsylvania imposed a moratorium on executions in 2015. Maryland abolished the death penalty in 2013. A year later, former governor, Martin O'Malley commuted the death sentences of four prisoners awaiting execution. Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated by the US Supreme Court, 1,444 people have been executed (as of January 19, 2017). Since 1973, there have been 156 death row exonerations. 26 of them are from the state of Florida. Federal Government: The US government and US military have 62 people awaiting execution. (As of July 1, 2016) The US government has executed 3 people since 1976. Females: There are 55 women on death row in the United States (as of July 1, 2016). 16 women have been executed since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. Juveniles: 22 individuals were executed between 1985 and 2003 for crimes committed as juveniles. March 1, 2005 - Roper v. Simmons. The Supreme Court rules that the execution of juvenile offenders is unconstitutional. Clemency: 282 clemencies have been granted in the United States since 1976. For federal death row inmates, the president alone has the power to grant a pardon. Timeline: 1834 - Pennsylvania becomes the 1st state to move executions into correctional facilities, ending public executions. 1838 - Discretionary death penalty statutes are enacted in Tennessee. 1846 - Michigan becomes the 1st state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason. 1890 - William Kemmler becomes the 1st person executed by electrocution. 1907-1917 - 9 states abolish the death penalty for all crimes or strictly limit it. By 1920, 5 of those states had reinstated it. 1924 - The use of cyanide gas is introduced as an execution method. 1930s - Executions reach the highest levels in American history, averaging 167 per year. June 29, 1972 - Furman v. Georgia. The Supreme Court effectively voids 40 death penalty statutes and suspends the death penalty. 1976 - Gregg v. Georgia. The death penalty is reinstated. January 17, 1977 - A 10-year moratorium on executions ends with the execution of Gary Gilmore by firing squad in Utah. 1977 - Oklahoma becomes the 1st state to adopt lethal injection as a means of execution. December 7, 1982 - Charles Brooks becomes the 1st person executed by lethal injection. 1984 - Velma Barfield of North Carolina becomes the 1st woman executed since reinstatement of the death penalty. 1986 - Ford v. Wainwright. Execution of insane persons is banned. 1987 - McCleskey v. Kemp. Racial disparities are not recognized as a constitutional violation of "equal protection of the law" unless intentional racial discrimination against the defendant can be shown. 1988 - Thompson v. Oklahoma. Executions of offenders age 15 and younger at the time of their crimes are declared unconstitutional. 1989 - Stanford v. Kentucky, and Wilkins v. Missouri. The Eighth Amendment does not prohibit the death penalty for crimes committed at age 16 or 17. 1994 - President Bill Clinton signs the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that expands the federal death penalty. 1996 - The last execution by hanging takes place in Delaware, with the death of Billy Bailey. January 31, 2000 - A moratorium on executions is declared by Illinois Governor George Ryan. Since 1976, Illinois is the 1st state to block executions. 2002 - Atkins v. Virginia. The Supreme Court rules that the execution of mentally retarded defendants violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. January 2003 - Before leaving office, Governor George Ryan grants clemency to all of the remaining 167 inmates on Illinois's death row, due to the flawed process that led to the death sentences. June 2004 - New York's death penalty law is declared unconstitutional by the state's high court. March 1, 2005 - Roper v. Simmons. The Supreme Court rules that the execution of juvenile killers is unconstitutional. The 5-4 decision tosses out the death sentence of a Missouri man who was 17-years-old when he murdered a St. Louis area woman in 1993. December 2, 2005 - The execution of Kenneth Lee Boyd in North Carolina marks the 1,000th time the death penalty has been carried out since it was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976. Boyd, 57, is executed for the 1988 murders of his wife, Julie Curry Boyd, and father-in-law, Thomas Dillard Curry. June 12, 2006 - The Supreme Court rules that death row inmates can challenge the use of lethal injection as a method of execution. December 15, 2006 - Florida Governor Jeb Bush suspends the death penalty after the execution of prisoner Angel Diaz. Diaz had to be given two injections, and it took more than 30 minutes for him to die. December 17, 2007 - Governor Jon Corzine signs legislation banning the death penalty in New Jersey. The death sentences of 8 men are commuted to life terms. December 31, 2007 - Due to the de facto moratorium on executions, pending the Supreme Court's ruling, only 42 people in the US are executed in 2007. It is the lowest total in more than 10 years. April 14, 2008 - In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court upholds Kentucky's use of lethal injection. Between September 2007, when the Court took on the case, and April 2008 no one was executed in the US March 18, 2009 - Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico signs legislation repealing the death penalty in his state. His actions will not affect 2 prisoners currently on death row, Robert Fry, who killed a woman in 2000, and Tim Allen, who killed a 17-year-old girl in 1994. November 13, 2009 - Ohio becomes the 1st state to switch to a method of lethal injection using a single drug, rather than the 3-drug method used by other states. 2010 - Execution by firing squad is used for the last time in Utah, with the death of Ronnie Lee Gardner. March 9, 2011 - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announces that he has signed legislation eliminating the death penalty in his state, more than 10 years after the state halted executions. March 16, 2011 - The Drug Enforcement Agency seizes Georgia's supply of thiopental, over questions of where the state obtained the drug. US manufacturer Hospira stopped producing the drug in 2009. The countries that still produce the drug do not allow it to be exported to the US for use in lethal injections. May 20, 2011 - The Georgia Department of Corrections announces that pentobarbital will be substituted for sodium thiopental in the 3-drug lethal injection process. July 1, 2011 - Lundbeck Inc., the company that makes pentobarbital (brand name Nembutal), the drug used in lethal injections, announces it will restrict the use of its product from prisons carrying out capital punishment. "After much consideration, we have determined that a restricted distribution system is the most meaningful means through which we can restrict the misuse of Nembutal. While the company has never sold the product directly to prisons and therefore can't make guarantees, we are confident that our new distribution program will play a substantial role in restricting prisons' access to Nembutal for misuse as part of lethal injection." Lundbeck also states that it "adamantly opposes the distressing misuse of our product in capital punishment." July 7, 2011 - Humberto Leal Garcia, Jr., a Mexican national, is executed by lethal injection, in Texas for the 1994 kidnap, rape and murder of Adra Sauceda in San Antonio. Despite pleas from the US State Department and the White House, Texas Governor Rick Perry does not grant clemency and the US Supreme Court does not intervene. November 22, 2011 - Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon grants a reprieve to Gary Haugen, who was scheduled to be executed December 6. Kitzhaber, a licensed physician, also puts a moratorium on all state executions for the remainder of his term in office. April 25, 2012 - Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signs S.B. 280, An Act Revising the Penalty for Capital Felonies, into law. The law goes into effect immediately and replaces the death penalty with life without the possibility of parole. The law is not retroactive to those already on death row. June 22, 2012 - The Arkansas Supreme Court strikes down the state's execution law, calling the form of lethal injection the state uses unconstitutional. August 7, 2012 - The Supreme Court allows the execution of Marvin Wilson, 54, a Texas inmate with low IQ. November 6, 2012 - A measure to repeal the death penalty in California fails. May 2, 2013 - Maryland's governor signs a bill repealing the death penalty. The legislation goes into effect October 1. January 16, 2014 - Ohio executes inmate Dennis McGuire with a new combination of drugs, due to the unavailability of drugs such as pentobarbital. The state used a combination of the drugs midazolam, a sedative, and the painkiller hydromorphone, according to the state corrections department. According to witness Alan Johnson of the Columbus Dispatch, the whole execution process took 24 minutes, and McGuire appeared to be gasping for air for 10 to 13 minutes. February 11, 2014 - Washington Governor Jay Inslee announces that he is issuing a moratorium on death penalty cases during his term in office. May 22, 2014 - Tennessee becomes the 1st state to make death by electric chair mandatory when lethal injection drugs are unavailable. May 28, 2014 - A judge in Ohio issues an order temporarily suspending executions in the state so that authorities can further study new lethal injection protocols. July 23, 2014 - Arizona uses a new combination of drugs for the lethal injection to execute convicted murderer Joseph Woods. After he was injected it took him nearly 2 hours to die. Witness accounts differ as to whether he was gasping for air or snoring as he died. September 4, 2014 - The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety issues a report on the controversial April execution of inmate Clayton Lockett. Complications with the placement of an IV into Lockett played a significant role in problems with his execution, according to the report. An autopsy confirmed that Lockett died from the execution drugs and not from a heart attack, but many consider it botched nonetheless because it took 43 minutes for him to die. November 19, 2014 - A Utah legislative committee votes 9-2 to endorse a bill that will allow the execution of condemned prisoners by firing squad if drugs needed for lethal injection are not available. The bill is scheduled to be heard by full Utah Legislature convening in January 2015. December 22, 2014 - A US district court judge in Oklahoma rules that future scheduled executions may proceed after he denies a preliminary injunction request filed by 21 Oklahoma death row inmates stemming from the problematic execution of Clayton Lockett on April 29. December 22, 2014 - Arizona's state-commissioned review board decides that the execution of Joseph Woods was "handled appropriately," but that it will be changing the combination they use in future executions from a 2-drug formula to a 3-drug formula, or a single-drug injection if the State can obtain it (pentobarbital). December 31, 2014 - Outgoing Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley takes the state's last 4 inmates off death row, commuting their sentences to life in prison without parole in one of his final acts in office. January 8, 2015 - Ohio announces that it is reincorporating thiopental sodium, a drug which it used in executions from 1999-2011, into its execution policy. The state is also dropping the 2-drug regimen of midazolam and hydromorphone. January 23, 2015 - The Supreme Court agrees to hear a case concerning the lethal injection protocol in Oklahoma. The inmates claim that the state protocol violates the Constitution's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. January 30, 2015 - The Ohio State Department of Rehabilitation and Correction announces it will delay the executions of seven death row inmates while searching for an adequate supply of drugs that complies with its new execution protocol. February 13, 2015 - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf halts all executions in his state, citing the state's "error prone" justice system and "inherent biases" among his reasons for the moratorium. The moratorium will be in place until a task force examining capital punishment in Pennsylvania issues its final report. February 18, 2015 - Philadelphia District Attorney R. Seth Williams announces he has filed a petition to block Gov. Wolf halting executions. Williams says the moratorium is an "unconstitutional takeover of powers." March 23, 2015 - Utah Governor Gary Herbert signs legislation making the firing squad an authorized method of death if the drugs required for lethal injection are unavailable. May 20, 2015 - The Nebraska legislature passes a bill to repeal the state's death penalty and replace it with life without parole. The measure, which passed on a 32-15 vote, faces a promised veto from Gov. Pete Ricketts. State Sen. Ernie Chambers, the bill's sponsor and a member of the New Alliance Party, says he's confident supporters can muster the 30 votes necessary to override a veto. June 29, 2015 - The Supreme Court rules, in a 5-4 decision, that the usage of the sedative, midazolam in lethal injections is not a violation of the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Midazolam is 1 of 3 drugs that are combined to carry out the death penalty in Oklahoma. After the long, messy execution of Clayton Lockett on April 29, 2014 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, public safety officials conducted a review to determine whether midazolam is potent enough on its own to prevent severe pain when the deadly drugs are administered. They ultimately concluded that the sedative is safe and effective, even though the drug is not approved by the FDA as a general anesthetic for surgery. October 19, 2015 - Ohio delays executions until 2017, citing difficulties getting the necessary drugs. May 23, 2016 - The Supreme Court rules 7-1 in favor of black death row inmate Timothy Foster, who contended there was racial discrimination in his 1987 jury selection. He will now have the opportunity to argue for a new trial. "The focus on race in the prosecution's file plainly demonstrates a concerted effort to keep black prospective jurors off the jury," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. August 2, 2016 - The Delaware Supreme Court rules the state's death penalty law unconstitutional. Attorney General Matt Denn later announces that he will not appeal the decision made by the state's high court. December 8, 2016 - Once a temporary stay issued by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is lifted, Alabama executes Ronald B. Smith. According to a witness, during the 34-minute execution, the death row inmate coughed and heaved for about 13 minutes after the lethal injection process began. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: CNN, January 30, 2017 JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser Skip to main navigation Hiking Be prepared for your next hike by reviewing our HIKE SMART NY webpage before you hit the trail. From breathtaking mountain views to city skylines, lush forests to miles of coastline, New York has a diverse landscape and what better way to see it than by hiking. There are thousands of miles of trails across the state for hikers of all abilities, whether you want to hike the Appalachian Trail or take the family out for a short excursion to a scenic view. If you can walk, you can hike. And if you can't walk or have trouble walking, many trails are accessible to people with disabilities. DEC maintains hiking trails on many areas of Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks as well as on State Forests, Wildlife Management Areas and Unique Areas. Most trails are marked with color coded disks affixed to trees. Trail guides and maps corresponding to these markers have been developed for many locations. Find your next adventure using DECinfo Locator - an interactive map full of hiking trails, parking areas, campsites, lean-tos, conservation easements, and other information to help plan a hike on state-managed lands. Trail register boxes are generally located near major access points and parking areas. Although most DEC-maintained trails are marked, hikers are encouraged to consult topographical maps or other guides when planning to venture into the backcountry. Nervous about trying hiking for the first time? Consider hiring an outdoor guide. NYS Outdoor Guides Association (leaves DEC website) Beginners may also be interested in Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW), a program designed to teach women outdoor skills. It provides women with information, encouragement, and hands-on instruction in outdoor skills such as fishing, shooting, archery, hunting, trapping, outdoor photography, map and compass, survival, camping, canoeing, and outdoor cooking. Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshops are designed primarily for women who have little or no experience with outdoor activities. These are three-day workshops that offer many different classes over the course of a weekend. Information on hiking safety, rules, and etiquette. Where to Go Hiking Hiking trails can be found throughout the state. Here are links to some highlighted trails. To explore other hiking trails on DEC lands, see the Places to Go page. Trails Supporter Patch The Trails Supporter Patch is available for $5 at all outlets where sporting licenses are sold, on-line and via telephone at 1-866-933-2257. Patch proceeds help maintain and enhance non-motorized trails throughout New York State. Important safety tips and guidelines for all outdoor recreational activities. Hiking trails can be rough and rugged - they are not maintained as park walkways - wear boots or shoes designed for hiking. Wearing sneakers, sandals, or other shoes on trails can be uncomfortable and may result in injuries. Know the rules and regulations. Know the weather forecast; plan and prepare based on current and forecasted conditions. Know and plan for the route and terrain that you plan to hike and the conditions you may encounter. Adirondack Backcountry Information provides general information, seasonal conditions, and specific notices on closures and other situations involving trails, roads, foot bridges, parking lots, lean-tos, campsites and more. Pack a day pack with the 10 essentials. Keep together when hiking in groups - always have at least the person in front of you and the person behind you within your sight and all of the group within hearing distance. Sign in and out of all trail registers that you encounter - for groups only one person should sign in. Call 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264) to report a lost, injured or stricken hiker or other backcountry emergency. Consider hiring an outdoor guide if you are new to hiking. Find a DEC licensed guide. Respect Others Be respectful and courteous towards your fellow adventurers by following trail etiquette: Be courteous of all other users regardless of their sport, speed or skill level. Hike in single file, especially when approaching other hikers. Stay to the right and pass on the left when safe and appropriate. Allow faster hikers to pass by. When coming up from behind politely make them aware of your presence and desire to pass. On narrow trails, yield to oncoming hikers. Hikers going downhill should yield to hikers going uphill. Hikers on foot bridges and bog bridging have the right of way, allow them to complete their crossing before stepping onto the bridge or other structure. Keep pets under control. Enjoy and respect wildlife from a distance, and never feed them. Park in designated parking areas - do not block gates, entrances, exits or other vehicles. Do Your Part to Protect New York's Lands and Waters Know the rules of the area where you will be hiking. Know the Principles of Leave No Trace (leaves DEC website) Many DEC lands do not have trash cans. Don't litter - take your trash home with you. Do not remove or damage trail markers. Stay on trails - don't trample vegetation, especially sensitive high elevation plants. Walk through, not around, mud and puddles on trails to avoid further eroding and widening trails. Stay off steep, high elevation trails during the spring mud season. After a hike and before getting into your vehicle, shake or brush off clothing and clean boot treads to avoid spreading seeds of invasive species. More about Hiking: Adirondack Backcountry - Information on access, outdoor recreation infrastructure and conditions for those planning to hike, bike, camp, paddle, boat, hunt, fish, horseback ride, snowshoe or snowmobile in the Adirondack backcountry. Catskill Backcountry Information - Access, outdoor recreation conditions, and other information for those planning to visit the Catskill backcountry Hike With Us - Catskills - Come see the Catskills like never before! Trails Less Traveled - There are many very popular hiking trails in New York State. But, what about the lesser-known hidden gems? Find trails less traveled in New York for a quiet hike away from the crowds. Adirondack Day Hikes - These trails are rated as excellent family-friendly hikes in the spring, summer, and fall. Due to their lower elevation, they are great alternatives during transitions between seasons like mud season in the spring. First Day Hikes - Find a hike near you to celebrate the New Year. Great Winter Hikes - Explore a great winter hike in locations across New York state. Great Autumn Hikes - Explore a great autumn hike in locations across New York state. Great Spring Hikes - Explore a great spring hike in locations across New York state. Great Summer Hikes - Explore a great summer hike in locations across New York state. Imagine that, and the lies she fed to the kids she taught all the years she was a teacher. No wonder American students keep falling behind in math and science. The merger of Vodafone and Idea would have formed one of the largest telecoms companies in the world. New Delhi: Aditya Birla group firm Grasim Industries today said it is not making any "large investment" into Idea Cellular as part of the proposed merger between Idea and Vodafone. "The company denies the rumour that it would be making a large investment into Idea as part of the transaction being contemplated," Grasim Industries informed BSE. As on December, 2016 Grasim Industries has 4.75 per cent share in Idea Cellular. According to Grasim, "regrettably" some of investors have raised concerns that to take the merger transaction between Idea and Vodafone forward, large investment would be made by Grasim into Idea Cellular. "No such proposal is under evaluation by this board," the company said. It further added: "Grasim would like to clarify that its knowledge of the proposed Idea-Vodafone transaction is restricted to what has been put out by Idea Cellular in the public domain." On January 30, Britain's Vodafone Group had said it is in talks to merge its Indian unit with Idea Cellular in an all-share deal to create the country's largest telecom operator to compete with Reliance Jio that has unleashed a fierce price war. The merger of Vodafone -- the world's second-largest cellphone network operator -- with the Aditya Birla Group firm -- India's third-largest cellular operator would create a company with around 387 million users and form one of the largest telecoms companies in the world. In a statement, the UK-based company had said it is in talks with Idea about an all-share merger, but the deal under consideration excludes its 42 per cent holding in Indus Towers, a joint venture with Bharti and Idea. People following the Union Budget of 2017-18 at a big screen of the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai. (Photo: AP) Mumbai: The pharma sector representatives said the Union Budget has failed to specifically address imminent challenges directly affecting the key industry, but hailed certain proposals of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The life sciences sector had great expectations from the Budget not only from a fiscal incentive perspective but also from a regulatory angle. Expectations were based on the Government's vision of making India one of the top three pharmaceutical markets by 2020, according to experts. They, however, welcomed certain Budget proposals. In 2017, too, no specific impetus was given to the sector. The move to eradicate certain NCDs, the proposal to set up two new AIIMS, additional post-graduate medical seats, proposed amendments in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules and new rules for medical devices are welcome. However, the Budget has not specifically addressed imminent challenges directly affecting the sector, KPMG India National Head-Life Sciences Practice Utkarsh Palnitkar said. In order to stay competitive in the overseas market and given the uncertain global climate, it was expected that specific impetus or incentives would be given to innovation in the form of weighted deduction on R&D, incentives for patents, exemptions of certain duties and taxes. These demands remained largely un-addressed, giving no specific reason to cheer for the sector as a whole in 2017-18, Palnitkar said. Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said, overall, the Union Budget is a step in the right direction. Lowering tax on MSMEs is a welcome step that would provide a much-needed fillip by creation of jobs and putting more money in their pockets in all sectors, including pharmaceuticals. The Government has shown its clear intent towards fast-tracking inflow of FDI, and the scrapping of FIPB is a notable step that would go a long way in supporting the objective of ease of doing business, Saldanha said. Additionally, the Government's impetus to reduce the borrowing cost and increase access to credit will surely help businesses to grow, he said. "We see the biggest-ever allocation to the infra sector which would benefit all sectors, including the fast- growing pharmaceuticals. The Finance Minister reiterates his commitment to keep current account deficit and fiscal deficit under control," Saldanha said. "The Medical Council recently amended its guidelines to encourage doctors to prescribe generic names of medicines. In the Budget, it has been indicated that changes may also be introduced to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules along similar lines. This will be a significant change if introduced and pharma firms will have to alter their marketing strategies" said Bhavik Narsana, Partner, Khaitan & Co. Upon arriving in Mumbai, the actor paid Salman Khan a visit along with his films co-star Sonu Sood. Mumbai: Jackie Chan is in Mumbai to promote his upcoming film, Kung Fu Yoga. The actor has worked in several Hollywood movies and was recently awarded an honorary Oscar for his extraordinary achievements in film at the 8th Annual Governors Awards ceremony. Upon arriving in Mumbai, the actor paid Salman Khan a visit along with his films co-star Sonu Sood. Later, Salman also shared an adorable picture with the superstar and now, he has shared a cute video where the two spread out a message of brotherhood. In the video, we hear Salman, Jackie and Sonu saying, Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai. A source close to the development had earlier said, Jackies co-star Sonu Sood is close to Salman (they worked together in Dabangg) and it was he who arranged for this meeting between the two stars. Jackie will have a press conference in the afternoon and host a small, intimate dinner for some select people." The source had further added, "He wont have time to meet many people, but he is keen on meeting Salman during his stay here. Sonu has spoken a lot about Salmans superstar status in India and his charity work and the action star expressed a desire to meet him. Though Salman is shooting for Kabir Khans Tubelight, he plans to meet Jackie at an Asian bar and restaurant at JW Marriott, where the star is staying." Kung Fu Yoga also stars Aarif Rahman, Sonu Sood and Disha Patani. The movie will be releasing on January 26. Amritsar: Shah Rukh Khan has voiced support for filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who recently found himself in the eye of controversy after being attacked by a political group Karni Sena in Rajasthan on the sets of his upcoming movie 'Padmavati'. Citing 'discussions' as the only plausible means to sort issues out, Shah Rukh said art and creativity should initiate conversations. "As far as art and creativity are concerned, everybody wants to do something new, say something new. Art should start conversations, discussions. A person might like a painting, or a poem. Other person might not. So, it should be a discussion. And a discussion should be an exchange of knowledge," he said. Shah Rukh added, "If anybody should have a disagreement, or an issue with a form of art, they should sit down and have a discussion. There's no other means that's plausible to sort issues out." Last week, members of Rajput Karni Sena had entered the Jaigarh Fort at Jaipur, Rajasthan, vandalised it and beat up Bhansali accusing him of distorting history relating to Rajput queen Padmini, her ruler-husband Raja Ratan Rawal Singh and Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji, who was besotted with Rani Padmini. According to Karni Sena, which had earlier protested during the shooting of Ashutosh Gowariker's directorial 'Jodhaa Akbar', Bhansali's film has love scenes between Padmini and Khilji. Bhansali's team, however, clarified that there were no love scenes between Rani Padmini and Khilji and history was not distorted. The National award-winning later pulled the shoot off Jaipur. Following the attack, many celebrities, including filmmakers, actors and politicians, have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment over the incident. Padmavati has actress Deepika Padukone playing the titular role, while Shahid Kapoor essays the role of Raja Ratan Rawal Singh. Actor Ranveer Singh will be seen as Alauddin Khilji in the film. Ben Affleck was seen in the 'The Accountant' last year. (Photo: AP) Los Angeles: Actor-filmmaker Ben Affleck has announced that he would not serve as director on the upcoming Batman standalone film 'The Batman'. The 44-year-old star, who is also producing the project, said he would just like to focus on his performance as the Dark Knight, reported Variety. "There are certain characters who hold a special place in the hearts of millions. Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give. It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require. "Together with the studio (Warner Bros), I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film. I am still in this, and we are making it, but we are currently looking for a director. I remain extremely committed to this project, and look forward to bringing this to life for fans around the world," Affleck said in a statement. According to the sources the decision was solely made based on what is best for the project and had nothing to do with the recent disappointment of Affleck's latest directing job 'Live by Night.' "Warner Bros fully supports Ben Affleck's decision and remains committed to working with him to bring a standalone Batman picture to life," the studio said in a statement. Affleck first appeared as the superhero in last year's 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.' Sensible said: Saw it on facebook thought I would discuss, that is why I put, provided it's true. It seems as though these threats undermine moving forward with political discourse. I do not like any President being threatened. Click to expand... TRENDING BREAKING: D.C. National Guard General ORDERED TO STAND DOWN During Trump Inauguration- Here's What We Know IT'S OFFICIAL! California Announces Plan To Secede From United States- Here's What We Know Secret Service Opens Investigation On Madonna For Terror Threats To President Trump- Here's What We Know BREAKING: Liberals Now Calling For Obama To Declare MARTIAL LAW- Here's What We Know OUTRAGE: Ashley Judd Joins D.C. Womens March, Makes DISGUSTING Claim About Trump And Ivanka BREAKING: We Just Dug Up SICK Photo Of 'Women's March' Organizer- It's WORSE Than We Thought JUST IN: Family Of Disabled White Man Who Got TORTURED By Thugs Speak Out... Leaves Millions SPEECHLESS [VID] JUST IN: After Getting THREATS For Playing Trump's Inauguration, Toby Keith Makes HUGE Announcement BREAKING: NFL Just SLAMMED All Trump Supporters... BOYCOTT NOW BREAKING: FBI Drops BOMB In Probe Of Michael Flynns Russian Ties, And Hes Why would any discussion be warranted on a premise that isn't known to be true. Did you see these stories at the freedom fighting website?This website and the people it attracts are the products of eight years of fear and hatred directed against Obama and anyone who supported him. Now suddenly, with the Republican takeover of DC, where is all the fear and hatred supposed to go? One thing's for sure. It isn't going away.There's a lot of talk from the winners that The Donald won and it's time to move on. They'd do well to take their own advice. A death hoax that claimed actor Sanusha had met with a fatal car accident went viral on social media and messaging sites, prompting frantic enquries from her well wishers, friends and family members. Turns out that it was another death hoax that celebrities are increasingly falling prey to. Not willing to take things lying down, reports suggest that Sanusha and her father will be approaching the Cyber Cell in Kannur to take legal action against the perpetrators of this news. Earlier Salim Kumar, Mamu Koya, the late actor Jishnu and Jagathy Sreekumar had also found themselves the victims of fake death news. It is like opening a bottle of soda! Isha Talwars effervescence is contagious she is quite simply bubbling with joy. It is in keeping with her resolution for 2017 which is simple to be happy! As part of that resolution, Isha took time off from her busy career to spend her New Year at a retreat for 10 days, far from the prying eyes. She switched off her phone and went offline for those 10 days before joining the sets of her Bollywood film. Though she is busy with modelling and her film career across the Southern Industry and Bollywood, Isha has not neglected the industry that launched her to stardom. Busy with two Bollywood projects, she has still found time to act in Malayalam films and even come down to Kerala to give Kathak performances. Isha will be playing the lead role of a Bharatanatyam dancer Maya in the segment Mudra directed by Alberrt of the portmanteau titled Crossroad, an anthology of 10 stories on issues Kerala women face. A trained Kathak dancer, Isha had to undergo training to pick up the steps of Bharatanatyam for Mudra. She says, Every dance form has its own essence and beauty. Even though I know dancing, I had to adapt to this dance form which was relatively easy considering my background in Kathak. She is happy that she got to show off her dancing prowess on screen. Not that we had any doubt after seeing her dance moves on stage. After doing a slew of special appearances in recent Malayalam films, Isha is happy that she is getting to play the lead in Mudra. Acting in Malayalam films has been a pleasure, she adds, revealing that it was her Bollywood projects that had her on her toes for the past few months. She mentions, I have a soft spot for Malayalam films and Kerala has grown on me. Whenever I come to Kerala, I switch on my experiment mode and try out different cuisines. Initially, it was difficult for me to adjust to the food and culture here and I threw a lot of tantrums, but now during each trip to here, I find myself falling in love with Kerala more. I go to the restaurant Dhe Puttu, watch Koodiyattom performances and catch up with friends. I fell in love with Wayanad. My affair with Kerala started in 2012 and it is 2017 now! The language barrier too has gone. Isha philosophises, You cannot emote in a language you do not understand. And you cannot keep on saying that you do not understand that language as an excuse, so I have picked up Malayalam now. Coming back to Ishas Hindi projects, it cannot get bigger than this. Isha is acting in Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight directed by Kabir Khan and an Akshat Varma-directorial starring Saif Ali Khan. Her happiness comes clearly across. I play a cameo though an important part in the historical war drama Tubelight and I dont want to reveal more about my character. But she has more to say about her role. I am a huge Delhi Belly fan and I could not have asked for a better debut in Hindi than with the director of that movie. The second attraction was Saif; again I have enjoyed his films and after acting alongside him, I have become an even bigger fan. He is a wonderful co-actor and a very intelligent person, which is a rare combination. I play a photographer in the film. Isha has already acted with Shah Rukh Khan in a commercial. She quips, Thats three Khans off my list; now I guess Aamir Khan is the only one left! Isha is very happy with the way her career has shaped up and mentions that 2016 has been very kind to her. Her Bollywood films have kept her busy and she has been part of many commercials last year. 2017, she adds, has started with a bang. She has been busy with dance shows through January and hopes better things are in store. Isha reflects, See, I not only act, I do modelling, go for my kathak classes, do yoga and have also started voice classes in Mumbai. So it is not one thing happening, but many things. She says, How life pans out is not in your control but I want to try and focus and set up some goals in life! A jilted lover set himself and the girl on fire near Kottayam, Kerala, on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI/Representational) Kottayam: In a shocking incident, a girl studying in a medical institution near Kottayam on Wednesday suffered serious burn injuries after a youth set her and himself on fire for allegedly spurning his love. Adarsh, a native of Neendakara in Kollam, set himself ablaze while hugging the girl allegedly after chasing with a can of petrol, police said. The girl is a fourth year physiotherapy student at Mahatma Gandhi University's School of Medical Education (SME). She was admitted at the Government Medical College Hospital with 60 per cent burn injuries. Adarsh, a former student of the SME's Arpookara campus, is also admitted at the same hospital with 75 per cent burn injuries. Two other students of the institute, have suffered minor burn injuries following their efforts to save the girl and the youth from the fire, police said. According to police, a 2013 batch student, came to the SME today to enquire about the date of the supplementary examination for his failed subject. Adarsh, who had professed his love for the girl, went to her classroom at 11 am and requested her to come out for a chat. But the girl allegedly turned down his request. Infuriated by the rejection, Adarsh poured petrol from the can on her when she got out of the class at around 1 pm. He also chased her when she tried to flee ran away. He later got hold of the girl near the library of the institute hugged her forcefully and lit a matchstick, setting them both on fire, police said. Kozhikode: The body of slain software engineer Rasila Raju, 25, was cremated on the premises of her house at Payimbra, near Kuruvattoor, Kozhikode, on Tuesday. She was found murdered at the Infosys office in Pune on Sunday and the police had arrested security guard Bhaben Saikia from Assam for the crime. Infosys offered the Rasila family a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a job for one of her relatives. "In the tragic event of the demise of any employee under unfortunate circumstances, as happened in this instance with our employee, OP Rasila, in Pune, Infosys ensures that the next of kin of the deceased employee does not suffer financially in any way," Infosys said in a statement issued tonight. The statement said that towards ensuring financial stability for the family, Infosys takes into account the statutory payments to be made as per the company policy. "The company also considers ex-gratia payments based on the circumstances. Infosys also endeavours to make every effort at a suitable employment opportunity for the next of kin who qualify its recruitment criteria," it said. Meanwhile, a senior office-bearer of the 'Pune Kerala Samaj' has claimed Infosys has issued a letter to the family of Rasila, agreeing to pay "Rs one crore as ex-gratia" to her nominee. Repeated calls to Infosys officials for reaction on the claims regarding issuance of the letter remained unanswered. Rasila's father Raju OP along with Malyali community members had visited Infosys officials on Pune campus on Monday night. Her mortal remains were cremated today at her village in Kozhikode district in presence of a large number of people. Meanwhile, Congress in Kerala on Tuesday demanded a comprehensive probe into the techie's murder. In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devandra Fadnavis, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala assembly, Ramesh Chennithala, said he had visited the relatives of Rasila at Kozhikode this morning. "There is some mystery in the murder and some others had a role in her death, Rasila's relatives informed me. Besides, the family also complained that there was a serious lapse on the part of the company," he said. Police had on Monday arrested Bhaben Saikia, a security guard from a private security services firm deployed at the Infosys campus, in connection with the murder. According to police, Rasila had chided Saikia for "staring" at her and threatened to complain against him. A local court in Erode, Tamil Nadu, sentenced a 27-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering his landlord in 2011. (Representational image) Erode: A local court in Erode, Tamil Nadu, sentenced a 27-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering his landlord in 2011. District Mahila Court Judge N Thirunavukkarasu had on Tuesday awarded life sentence to Srinivasan, a tailor from Karnataka, on charges of murder and also sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for committing theft. In his order, the judge said the sentences should run concurrently. The prosecution case was that one Nacharammal, 75, a resident of EPB Nagar in Erode had rented out her house to Srinivasan, who ran a tailoring shop. On August 27, 2011 the convict had taken his landlord to his house and strangulated her to death. Later, he had removed the gold jewellery she was wearing and pushed her into a ground level water tank. A few persons in the vicinity noticed her body and informed the police. A case was registered and Srinivasan was arrested. Hyderabad: The Chaderghat police arrested all the teenagers who sodomised and filmed a 13-year-old boy in their neighbourhood. Police found that the four had compelled the boy to perform oral sex for many weeks. Police said that two of the suspects were Class 9 student, and one was in Class 10. The fourth suspect had passed out from Class 10 last year. We have arrested all of them, and they will be produced before a juvenile court, said an officer from Chaderghat police. Investigation officials said that they could not recover the video recordings by the teenagers, who allegedly filmed the victim. The police has sent the victim to child welfare officers for counselling. He will be put under observation for a while, said Sultan Bazaar ACP R. Giridhar. Bengaluru: In a yet another incident of safety lapse at schools, a three-and-a-half year old boy died after he sustained head injuries while playing at the school premises. The deceased has identified as Harshith, son of Swamy who is a resident of Sheshadripuram, and the incident happened at St. Thomas School in Kumara Park West, Sheshadripuram. Police said the incident happened on Monday morning, while the boy allegedly fell while using a play equipment. He was immediately rushed to hospital after the parents were informed about the incident. "The incident occurred within the school premise and faulty play equipment could be one of the reasons for the incident. The child might have been hit by a sharp object after he fell. The incident occurred within the school premises and we are investigating the case from all angles, the police said. The school was closed for three days, with the authorities fearing protests and attacks. During their investigation the police found that the school had not implemented any safety measure and no CCTVs were installed. When asked them about the CCTV footage, they said that there was no CCTV camera around the area. Thus a case of negligence has been filed against the school authorities and further action will be taken, police added. The boys father, who works as a field officer for a security agency, has said the school was responsible for the incident. He alleged that no staff was present at the playground and the children were left unattended. Belagavi: Five sharp-shooters from Mumbai who were conspiring to target VIPs in Belagavi city have been arrested on Wednesday evening by the police, who seized five pistols and 40 rounds of live bullets from them. According to sources, the shooters had arrived in the city a few days ago and were trying to target some realtor in Belagavi. Acting on a tip-off, the police raided Rex Lodge, located near city bus terminus and arrested the five in their rooms. During the search operation five pistols and live bullets were found by the police. Some sharp weapons were also recovered from some of the accused in their rooms, sources added. A few days ago, the police had received information from anonymous sources that five sharp shooters had arrived in the city from Mumbai to target VIPs in the city and since then security was beefed up for many VIPs. All five were produced to a local court on Wednesday. The police did not disclose as to who were on their target and who brought them to Belagavi city. At least four jawans of Odisha State Armed Police were on Wednesday evening killed in an IED blast in Odishas Koraput district. (Photo: PTI/Representational) Koraput: At least five jawans of Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) were on Wednesday evening reportedly killed and 20 others were seriously injured when suspected Maoists detonated a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Mogarguma village under Sunki police limits on Sunki-Salur highway in Odishas Koraput district. There was no official confirmation from the Odisha government either on the reported blast or the number of casualties till this report was filed. Sources said the death toll is most likely to rise as many of the jawans have suffered serious injuries. Preliminary reports said, at around 5.25 pm, - the rebels triggered the blast when a mini-bus carrying 70 OASP jawans was on its way to Angul Police Training College for further training. The intensity of the blast was so intense that the bus was severely damaged and fell down 70 feet off the road. Unconfirmed sources said the rebels after detonating the IED surrounded the injured jawans and slit throats of some of them. After the blast, vehicular movement on Sunki-Salur highway that connects Koraput with Visakhapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh has come to a grinding halt with hundreds of vehicles getting stranded on both sides of the road. Senior police officials have rushed to the spot. Chandigarh: Holding the ruling SAD responsible for the Maur explosion and a series of sacrilege incidents, AAP on Wednesday said its president and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal should be arrested for ensuring a peaceful election. AAP national general secretary Sanjay Singh told a press conference in Chandigarh that his party had lodged a complaint against Sukhbir with the Election Commission, seeking his arrest and interrogation. He alleged that the incidents of violence were being perpetrated by Congress and SAD out of "frustration" as AAP was gaining massive support. He said Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh spoke the language of Sukhbir and alleged that both of them were hand in glove to create an atmosphere of horror in Punjab which goes to polls on February 4. He alleged that "Sukhbir is mentally bankrupt and well-known for playing cheap politics". He also attacked SAD MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha. The AAP leader alleged Sukhbir and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia were shielding criminals and hell bent on disturbing peace in Punjab. He said that if elected to power, AAP would investigate all cases and punish Sukhbir for the alleged mischief he was playing to defame AAP leaders. He said that AAP was a party born out of agitation against corruption and misrule. "We are the nationalist people and nation's interests are utmost to us," Singh added. Later, an AAP delegation led by Sanjay Singh met Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V K Singh seeking his immediate intervention for immediate arrest of Sukhbir. Five people died in the explosion in a car near the venue of the poll campaign of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi at Maur Mandi of Bathinda district on Tuesday. Muzaffarnagar: Controversial BJP MLA Suresh Rana, earlier booked for hate speech over his remarks that curfew will be imposed in Kairana if he is elected again, has been booked again for violating the Model Code of Conduct at Goherpur village in neighbouring Shamli district. The BJP candidate from Thana Bhawan constituency for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls starting from February 11 was booked after he laid a foundation stone on his name of a newly-built road in the village on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday. This is the third case lodged against Rana, also an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, ahead of the polls including the one registered on Monday after the controversial remarks at a public gathering in his constituency on Saturday, evoking criticism from opposition. "If I emerge as the winner (in UP polls), curfew will be imposed in Kairana, Deoband and Moradabad," he had said on Saturday. Following the remarks, the case was registered against him under IPC Section 505 (Making a statement with intent to incite) and Section 125 (Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of The Representation of the People Act for his controversial remarks, Thana Bhawan circle officer Sunil Kumar Tyagi had said. Rana was also booked in another case for allegedly violating the model code of conduct after he held a public gathering and took out a road show at Hathi Karonda village in Shamli district on Sunday without the permission of the authorities. The driving centres would come up in tribal-dominated and backward areas to generate employment avenues there. (Photo: Representational Image) Bhopal: The Centre has accepted Madhya Pradesh government's proposal to set up 100 driving training centres to generate employment in economically backward areas of the state, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. "We have accepted the proposal of MP government to commission 100 driving centres in the state," Union Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Minister Gadkari told reporters in Bhopal on Tuesday night. State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also present on the occasion. There was a shortage of 22 lakh drivers in the country. The driving centres would help in providing more drivers, Gadkari said. The driving centres would come up in tribal-dominated and backward areas to generate employment avenues there, the minister said. He said five acres land is needed to set up the driving centres which will be equipped with other employment generation courses related to automobile sector. New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday defended in the Delhi High Court its decision to ban controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) saying the order was made after "application of mind" as there was apprehension that youth could be "radicalised" to join terror groups. The government told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who reserved the verdict on IRF's plea challenging the order to immediately ban the organisation, that it has enough material in its possession to take action against IRF. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, also produced before the court the files and materials available with the government on the basis of which the decision was made. The ASG handed over these documents to the court and requested Justice Sachdeva to "have a look at the materials and notings on the basis of which such a decision was taken". IRF, in its plea, has challenged the November 17, 2016, notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which had imposed an immediate ban on the organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). During the hearing today, senior advocate Dinesh Mathur, representing IRF, submitted that the MHA notification gives no reason and cites no material for taking such a step as was required by the law laid down by the Supreme Court. IRF also said the immediate ban was imposed without giving it any show cause notice. However, the Centre countered the submissions and said that the need for taking the urgent step was felt in view of the apprehension that Indian youths could be "radicalised" or "motivated" by the alleged statements and speeches made by IRF and its members, including its President Naik, to join terror groups like ISIS, which is a cause of global concern. Opposing the maintainability of the petition, the ASG said the government did not want to wait for some "catastrophic" incident to happen before taking the decision. Aggrieved by the Centre's stand, IRF's counsel said that whatever has been done by a person in his or her individual capacity does not mean that an organisation can be banned. "IRF is not an accused in the case and the crime report reported against Naik is of 2012-2013," he said, adding, "Why action has been taken afer such a long time? Is this the way the government applies its mind?" Ahamed had served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the previous UPA government. (Photo: ANI Twitter) New Delhi: The family of former union minister E Ahamed, who passed away in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest in the Parliament on Tuesday, lashed out at the administration of the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital in Delhi where he was admitted, saying that they were allowed to meet Ahamed nor consulted regarding his medical procedures. Speaking to ANI in Delhi, Nazeer Ahamed, son of the deceased said that he and his other family members were barred from meeting his father and were not kept in loop in regard to any medical developments. Read: Modi condoles demise of IUML leader E Ahamed "My simple request was that I be allowed to see my father and I'm told that I cannot see him. I've been told that everybody has been allowed to see him all morning without any problem, so I think as a son, I have the right to see my father and get an explanation as to what is going on," he said. Nazeer Ahamed further stated that his family is appalled at the way they were kept on the sidelines at such a critical juncture. "If they are doing any new treatment, there is nothing being discussed with us. I think the decision seems to be made by the junior doctors on call, instead of at least consulting with the family. That has not happened even once," he added, before his father passed away. The senior politician's daughter, who was also keeping vigil in the premises of RML, expressed her shock and dismay at the "unprofessional" and "unethical" behaviour by the hospital administration. Nazeer's brother-in-law Babu Shehzad, who is a nephrologist, asserted that the hospital had no protocol for visitors, which was disturbing and stressed on how the family had begged and pleaded with the administration to visit Ahamed, but to no avail. "This is our basic right and we were not allowed. When I asked to see the protocol for visitors there was no such thing. They wanted to do the ECMO procedures so that he can be sustained on artificial means, and that was not even discussed with the family. How can they do it? It's assault," he stated. Earlier, the Congress top brass including party president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi visited the now-deceased politician in the hospital. Congress General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad was also part of the visiting delegation at the RML hospital here. 78-year-old Ahamed fell unconscious soon after he took a seat in the rear rows of the Central Hall of Parliament during President Pranab Mukherjee's speech to open the Budget session. At around 2.15 pm, he was shifted to the RML trauma centre's ICU where he was put on ventilator. However, he passed away in the wee hours on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also inquired about his health. Ahamed had served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the previous UPA government. New Delhi: Election Commission on Wednesday issued a notice to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar over his bribery remarks during election campaigning in Goa. Explain bribe remarks by February 3, said the Election Commission. Goa Forward Party had filed a complaint with state Chief Electoral Office, claiming Manohar Parrikar violated the model code of conduct by making a statement similar to the one made by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal who had purportedly asked people to accept money but vote for his party. In its complaint, the Goa Forward Party attached a statement purportedly made by Parrikar during a corner meeting of BJP in Chimble village, a suburb of state capital. .I understand if someone organises a rally and you take Rs 500 for moving around with (candidate), that is not a problem. But when you vote, choose the lotus (BJPs poll symbol)..This you must remember, Parrikar was quoted as saying by the Goa Forward party. AAP chief also wrote a letter to the poll body pointing out instances where leaders of other parties had made similar remarks. The Election Commission has given orders to register an FIR against me for my bribery remarks on Sunday... So much promptness was shown in my case that the Delhi high courts January 2016 orders were ignored, which dismissed these allegations and the demand to register an FIR against me, he said in the letter. On January 29, in his rally in Lambi district of Punjab, Captain Amrinder Singh had appealed to people to take money. He had said that some people might come to give money to you, which you should not refuse, but cast your vote for Congress only. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on January 29 had said that he can understand that some people might give upto Rs 500 to the people, but they should take the money and vote for BJP only, the letter added. The letter requested that the poll body show similar enthusiasm in the case of the two leaders by taking permission from the Prime Ministers Office. New Delhi: Senior IPS officer PVK Reddy was on Wednesday appointed the new Director General (DG) in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Reddy, a 1982-batch officer of Tripura cadre, is presently working as a Special Director General in the CRPF and will have a tenure till April in the Commission. A Home Ministry order said Reddy has been appointed as the DG (Investigation) in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) "from the date of joining the post and up to the date of his superannuation till April 30, 2017 or until further orders, whichever is earlier." Hearing a plea, the Supreme Court, in January had directed the Centre to fill this post within a week. A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar had also asked the central government to appoint the members of the human rights body within four weeks. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stands outside the North Block with the briefcase containing Union Budget for 2017 to be announced on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Asserting that quality of education will energise the youth, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday unleashed measures to revamp the country's education system, including setting up of a National Testing Agency to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions. Unveiling the budgetary proposals for 2017-18 in Parliament, Jaitley said the government proposes to establish a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions. This would free CBSE, AICTE and other premier institutions from these administrative responsibilities so that they can focus more on academics, he said. "We have proposed to introduce a system of measuring annual learning outcomes in our schools. Emphasis will be given on science education and flexibility in curriculum to promote creativity through local, innovative content," Jaitley said. The government also proposes to create an innovative fund for secondary education for ensuring universal access, gender parity and quality improvement. Delivering his Budget Speech, the Finance Minister said this will include ICT enabled learning, transformation and the focus will be on 3,479 educationally backward blocks. The Finance Minister said that the government proposes to leverage information technology and launch SWAYAM Platform with at least 350 online courses which will enable students to virtually attend the courses taught by the best faculty; access high quality reading resources, participate in discussion forums; take tests and earn academic grades. Access to SWAYAM would be widened by linkage with DTH channels, dedicated to education, Jaitley said. "In higher education, the government will undertake reforms in the UGC. Good quality institutions would be enabled to have greater administrative and academic autonomy," Jaitley said. In his Budget Speech, the Finance Minister said that the colleges will be identified based on accreditation and ranking, and will be given autonomous status. A revised framework will be put in place for outcome-based accreditation and credit-based programmes. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia this year in the beginning of June, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Wednesday. Observers point out that the three-day visit from June 1 to 3 will provide India an opportunity at the highest levels to convey to Russian President Vladimir Putin, New Delhis concerns on Moscow inching closer to both Beijing and Islamabad despite the decades-long strategic partnership and close friendship that New Delhi and Moscow have shared. In a statement, the MEA said, This is to confirm that India has been invited as a Guest Country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that will be held in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia from June 1 to 3, 2017. As a part of this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Forum as Guest of Honour. Other details of the Prime Ministers visit are being worked out, and we will announce them as and when they are finalised". National Security Advisor Ajit Doval too has just concluded a two-day visit to Russia. On Dovals just-concluded visit, the MEA said, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Russia from January 30-31, 2017 at the invitation of Mr. Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia. The talks were part of regular high level consultations between India and Russia. The two sides discussed issues of mutual bilateral, regional and global interest, with a special focus on security and defence cooperation between both sides, the MEA said. They noted with satisfaction the ongoing cooperation between them in meeting threats to their national security, particularly those emanating from terrorism in their respective regions, and unequivocally reaffirmed their intention to continue to work together to confront these challenges, it added. The NSA and the Secretary of the Russian Security Council noted that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia was a great asset for both the peoples, and a factor of peace and stability in the region and the world. They agreed to further strengthen this partnership in all areas. The two sides also highly evaluated the plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia in 2017, and pledged to make 2017 a special year in the history of their relations, the external affairs ministry said. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi reacts on Budget 2017-18 after its presentation in the Lok Sabha, at Parliament house in New Delhi. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: Slamming the Budget, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said it lacked a clear vision and had nothing for farmers, youths and job creation. "We were expecting fireworks, instead it was a damp squib. "It is just 'sher-o shayari' in the budget. There is nothing for farmers and youth and nothing for job creation. There is no clear vision," the Congress vice-president said soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget for 2017-18 in Lok Sabha. Highlighting the need for employment creation, Rahul said, "The main issue facing India today is creation of jobs. How are you going to solve that problem? On that front there was nothing. No vision, no idea and for farmers absolutely there is nothing." Rahul, however, supported the proposal on political funding. "Whatever steps are to be taken to cleanse political funding, we will support it," he said. Rahul said, "The Prime Minister had promised in his speech last last year to give two crore jobs for youths. "There was nothing in the budget for poor, unemployed and farmers. It is shameful. Farmers are suffering and there is a need for waiving their loans. There was nothing in the budget. These are fundamental issues." On Rail Budget, Rahul said, "Modi had promised the bullet train. Where is the bullet train now? Railways' fundamental problem is safety." New Delhi: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Russia from January 30-31, 2017 at the invitation of Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia. The talks were part of regular high level consultations between India and Russia. Both sides discussed issues of mutual bilateral, regional and global interest, with a special focus on security and defence cooperation between both sides, an MEA release said. Both NSAs noted with satisfaction the ongoing cooperation between them in meeting threats to their national security, particularly those emanating from terrorism in their respective regions, and unequivocally reaffirmed their intention to continue to work together to confront these challenges. Doval and Patrushev noted that the Special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia was a great asset for both the peoples, and a factor of peace and stability in the region and the world. They agreed to further strengthen this partnership in all areas. The two sides also highly evaluated the plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia in 2017, and pledged to make 2017 a special year in the history of their relations. Arfa Aflatooni knew it was time to leave the country. The government was cracking down on his religion, closing institutions run by his faith and denying jobs and university enrollment to anyone who worshiped as he did. So in 1979, at age 23, just before the revolution, Aflatooni part of the Baha'i faith got a visa and left Iran for the United States of America. Now 61 and marking his 19th year as an instructor of sociology for Linn-Benton Community College, Aflatooni has never been back to his home country. But lately, he said, he's seeing some parallels. A U.S. citizen since 1987, Aflatooni has an American passport and doesn't hold dual citizenship. He's not affected by President Donald Trump's executive order, signed Friday, that restricts Iranians and nationals from six other countries in the Middle East from traveling to the United States for at least the next three months. He could go home if he wished, but said he won't. Followers of Islam see the Baha'i as a threat, he said, and treat people differently depending on their faith. "It's kind of ironic," he said. "What Trump is doing is what the Iranian government did to us." Citizens of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are currently on the travel ban list, along with Iran. It's an odd mix, he said, considering the exodus of Iranians during the last 40 years has left the country with a relatively young and nonreligious population. But the government is still based on followers of Islam, he said, and that makes it unsafe for the Baha'i, the country's largest non-Muslim minority. Before Aflatooni emigrated, the government seized one of his family's two homes. During the revolution, Baha'is were rounded up for arrest. Imprisonment and torture followed. In the 10 years following the revolution, more than 200 Baha'is were executed, according to statistics from the Baha'i National Community. The Baha'i faith is looked upon with suspicion and mistrust because it's different and seen as competing with the ruling faith, Aflatooni said. Yet he added he bears Muslims no ill will. "Even though Muslims persecute us, I have sympathy for Muslims because the same thing is happening (here)," he said. Aflatooni said his country of origin has not resulted in any conflicts in recent weeks. In fact, he said, he can think of only three uncomfortable instances in his 38 years in America. The first two came during the 444-day Iran hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans were held captive in Iran from Nov. 4, 1979, to Jan. 20, 1981. Aflatooni had come to Eugene to join his younger brother, who emigrated shortly before he did. Their parents followed six months later. Aflatooni took English classes at the University of Oregon. Immigration services, which had an office there, ordered all students of Iranian heritage to come down for fingerprinting and questioning. Aflatooni complied. It made him feel "not good," he said, "but at that point I didn't speak too much English and I didn't know my rights. If someone did that to me now, I know what my rights are." Not long afterward, he recalled, he and his brother had moved to Idaho to enroll at Idaho State University. They were looking for housing. "No one would rent us an apartment," he said. Finally, he said, a first-generation Italian-American "a fellow immigrant," he said took pity on the men and said they could have the apartment below his barber shop. No one said or did anything about Aflatooni's nationality following the Sept. 11 attacks, in which Iran was not involved. But he did experience an incident during the first Gulf War, roughly 1990 or 1991. Aflatooni was teaching at the Vancouver, Washington, branch of Washington State University, his first teaching position after achieving his doctorate in sociology. He had an office at Clark College. "I came to my office one day and found graffiti on the door: 'Camel jockey go home,'" he said. The memory makes him laugh heartily. "By the way, Iranians are not Arabs, so we don't have camels," he pointed out. "We are Persian. We speak Persian, not Arabic." He's found some Americans have trouble making distinctions: even Sikhs, whose faith originated in India, are mistaken for followers of Islam. Nationally, that makes for a turmoil-filled atmosphere, which he said "is not good for our country. It's not good for humanity. We are members of the same human family." Being part of one big human family is a pillar of the Baha'i faith, he said. Another is the belief in one God who has had a variety of prophets through the centuries who all help interpret His word. Another irony of the travel restriction, Aflatooni said, is that it affects not just Muslims, but Christians, Jews and Baha'is like himself who are fleeing persecution. Nor does he think it will work, from the standpoint of evaluating human behavior as a sociologist. The human story is one of constant migration, constant relocation and reinvention, he said. "Immigration is part of human history." Had the travel ban been in place in 1979, Aflatooni still would have left Iran. He figures he would have wound up in Canada, where he had other family members, or possibly somewhere else in Europe. And he would have continued to pursue learning, and eventually teaching, sociology, which has always been his dream. Aflatooni isn't worried about himself, and said he never was even in Iran, even during the hostage crisis, even when he found the graffiti on his door. "You can't live in fear. I've never lived my life in fear," he said. Instead, he said, he'd characterize what he feels about recent changes in U.S. foreign policy as "disappointment, more than anything else." Years of studying sociology, beginning with early university days in Tehran, have taught him that the dominant groups have always persecuted those below them. It has also taught him that this, too, shall pass, Aflatooni added. But first, he said, "There will be some pain." Officials said Kumar, an Assistant Director of the agency, has been "suspended pending enquiry" even as he has been removed from the cases he was probing like the Rose Valley chit fund case. (Photo: Videograb) Kolkata/New Delhi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday suspended its Investigating Officer (IO), probing the Rose Valley case, after a purported video showing his 'relation' with the estranged wife of main accused Gautam Kundu. The officer, Manoj Kumar, has denied the charges saying the entire episode was being blown out of proportion and was part of a "larger conspiracy" to take him out of the case. Officials said Kumar, an Assistant Director of the agency, has been "suspended pending enquiry" even as he has been removed from the cases he was probing like the Rose Valley chit fund case and some pertaining to the Coal blocks allocation. Purported CCTV grabs of the IO and the woman were last night shown on some West Bengal-based news channels which claimed that the footage allegedly revealed that the duo travelled together by air from Kolkata to Delhi sometime back and later together checked into a hotel in the Sunder Nagar area of the national capital. While speaking to reporters outside the agency's Salt Lake office in Kolkata, Kumar claimed innocence. "It is a larger conspiracy to eject me out of the case (Rose Valley). I don't want to comment to be political victim or a victim of cross-fire by the Kolkata Police for the reasons best known to them. I have already offered my cases to be scrutinised by any officer of ED or to a team of officers," he said. He, however, evaded direct replies to the queries on the videos purportedly showing him and the woman together as he claimed that he went to Delhi "on his own" to file attachment of assets cases before an appropriate authority and that the lady came "separate". Taking cognisance of the late night reports yesterday, the Enforcement Directorate headquarters in Delhi sought a report from Kolkata and said "strict disciplinary action" will follow if charges are proved true. The CCTV footage of the duo allegedly being together was obtained by the Kolkata Police as part of its separate investigation against the activities of certain hawala dealers post demonetisation. "This is a serious case and we are investigating it thoroughly. There were some inputs about the official concerned and he was under watch. A probe report will decide the future course of action," an agency source said. However, they added it does not look like that the high-profile probes could have been influenced by the IO as such cases are supervised at multiple levels. Kumar said he was instrumental in getting successes in the Rose Valley ponzi case, pegged at Rs 15,000 crore. The woman was having an estranged relationship with Gautam Kundu and they were living separately since October 2013, Kumar said, adding several disputes are going among them, before the PMLA case of Rose Valley was taken up by the ED. "I had been a great help to the investigation (in Rose Valley) and with this I was able to attach assets worth Rs 1,600 crore. The investigations done by me in these cases was also appreciated by PMLA courts as well as the high court. The ED is about to attach several more properties of Rose Valley as well as various persons for which legal formalities are under process," he told reporters. The officer joined ED on deputation few years back from the Customs and Central Excise department. Hyderabad: A traffic block created by the CMs movement in Suryapet claimed the life of a housewife. Soma Lakhsmamma, 65, who developed complications was going to a hospital located in the lane next to energy minister P. Jagadeesh Reddys house, where Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao had halted for lunch on way to Khammam to inaugurate the Bhakta Ramadasu Project. When their car was stopped by the police, it took another lane and reached hospital. But due to the delay, Lakshmamma died in the car. However, police denied this saying that the vehicle Lakshm-amma was travelling was not stopped by the police. Lakshmamma, a resident of Suryapet, was suffering from hypertension, diabetes and heart problems. On Monday her husband Anjaiah took to her to the nearby Gayatri Nursing Home. Dr Ram Murthy treated her and advised them to take her to Hyderabad. On Tuesday morning, Anjaiah hired a car to take his wife to hospital but she suddenly developed complications. Anjaiah asked the driver to rush to Dr Ram Murthys hospital located in the lane next to minister Jagdeesh Reddys residence. When they reached the Telangana Talli Junction police stopped them citing the CMs movement. We took another lane but we were stopped again near the hospital. I rushed inside and pleaded with the doctor to examine my wife. The doctor came out and she was taken inside the hospital where she was declared dead, Anjaiah said. He blamed the police for not allowing them to go to hospital and alleged that if she had got care in time she might have survived. Suryapet SP Ms Parimala Nutan said the police did not stop the car and on knowing about a car carrying a serious patient they allowed the vehicle to proceed to hospital. "Keeping in view the situation the police brought the doctor to the vehicle. The CM's movement did not block their car," the SP said. New Delhi: A new scheme will be launched in2017-18 to create infrastructure for exports, a move aimed at reducing transaction costs for traders. "A new and restructured central scheme with a focus on export infrastructure, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) will be launched in 2017-18," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech. Indian exporters face huge challenges in terms of infrastructure, particularly in states. Inadequate infrastructure pushes their transactions costs, impacting competitiveness of Indian goods in the global markets. Exporters body FIEO said the scheme will help create modern infrastructure like last mile connectivity to ports, testing labs and certification centres. "This is a welcome move. The scheme will help in modernising infrastructure in states for exporters," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) DG Ajay Sahai said. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last month informed about TIES and stated that it would aim at funding export infrastructure in states. The issue was discussed during the meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion in January. Announcement about TIES assumes significance as the "Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) Scheme" was shifted to states on the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission. ASIDE provides for an outlay for development of export infrastructure in states. After this shift, states came back last year and urged the centre to take care of creating infrastructure for exports, Sitharaman had said. She had stated that all the pending or incomplete projects will have to be undertaken by states. Recording positive growth for the fourth month in a row, India's exports rose by 5.72 per cent to USD 23.9 billion in December on better performance by petroleum, engineering and pharmaceuticals segments. New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2017 in the Parliament on Wednesday by beginning on a positive note and assuring the country that India continues to be a bright spot in the world economy. He proposed to present the budget under ten distinct themes to foster the governments broad agenda with a focus on the poor and marginalised. Following are the ten themes he spoke of in the budget session: 1. Farmers - The government has committed itself to double the income of farmers across the country in five years. 2. Rural population - To provide them employment and basic infrastructure 3. Youth - Energising youth in the country through education, skills and jobs. 4. Poor and the underprivileged - Strengthening the system of social security, health care and affordably housing. 5. Infrastructure for efficiency, productivity and quality of life. 6. Financial Sector - To achieve growth and stability through stronger institutions. 7. Digital economy for speedy accountability and transparency. 8. Public service, effective governance and efficiency of service delivery through peoples participation. 9. Prudent fiscal management to ensure optimal deployment of resources and preserve financial stability. 10. Tax administration honouring the honest. Anand Sharma said that one can term the expectations of the Modi government from Donald Trump as "misplaced and premature euphoria". New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday termed as "regressive" the proposed executive order of the US administration that seeks to double minimum wages of H-1B visa holders, and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the matter with President Donald Trump to help protect India's interests. Congress leader Anand Sharma said both students and IT professionals will be hurt by the proposed measure which he dubbed as an "unfair practice" by the United States. "This is a regressive measure. It is an unfair practice which the US must not resort to. Because Indian IT professionals and skilled workers have built the US economy," he told PTI. Sharma said if the US had enough skilled professionals, there was no need for others to be employed there. He said these were the apprehensions which they had expressed and asked the Prime Minister to seek credible assurances that there will be no targeting of the Indian IT professionals and no discriminatory visa regime will be put in place. "The worst fears have come true. The Prime Minister should clarify whether when he spoke with President Trump, did he raise this issue and did he seek any assurances? What kind of a partnership we will build further," he said, asking the government to take it up with the new US President. Sharma said that one can term the expectations of the Modi government from Donald Trump as "misplaced and premature euphoria". "You have to be hard-nosed and realistic in the conduct of diplomacy and in upholding India's national interests. It is the duty of the Prime Minister and this government to protect and safeguard India's interests and seek those guarantees," he said. The Congress leader said by proposing more than double the monthly salary of IT professionals, that will make it economically unviable for the IT companies and this is one way to throw them out. Besides, the students will also be affected as the OTP (optional practical training) which they undertake after their graduation will be curtailed. The apprehensions come in the wake of a US legislation that proposes doubling of the minimum wages of H-1B visa holders to USD 130,000. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, MoSes Arjun Ram Meghwal (3rd L) and Santosh Kumar Gangwar (2nd R) alongwith senior officials after presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 to President Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: With polling in high-stake Assembly elections just three days away, finance minister Arun Jaitley has reached out to farmers, the backward classes and small traders in a big way through his Union Budget. Keeping his focus on the huge backward class vote bank in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Mr Jaitley announced over 30 per cent increase in Budget outlay for the welfare of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. As per the 2011 Census, Uttar Pradesh has the largest chunk of the total SC population, while Punjab has the largest share of dalits. Aware that demonetisation has dealt a severe blow to the agriculture sector as it came during the kharif harvest and the start of rabi sowing, the finance minister announced a total allocation of Rs 1,87,223 crore for rural, agricultural and allied sectors for 2017-18. With the promise of doubling farmers income in five years, he has set aside Rs 10 lakh crore for loans to farmers, increased the allocation for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to Rs 13,240 crore, set a target of 10 lakh farm ponds till March, 2017, under MGNREGA and doubled the pace of road construction, among other things. He has also announced a massive 25 per cent hike in the MNREGA budget. If the majority of Uttar Pradeshs population depends on farming activities, Punjabs agriculture sector remains the largest contributor to the states GDP. Also, to soothe frayed nerves of others hit by demonetisation, Mr Jaitley has provided tax relief to the middle class and the Sanghs core vote bank - micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). Realty stocks get big boost Realty stocks surged up to 20 per cent on Wednesday after the government announced infrastructure status to affordable housing to encourage investment in the segment and offered tax sops for developers sitting on completed unsold inventories. Shares of DLF zoomed 6.74 per cent, Godrej Properties surged 5.13 per cent, HDIL jumped 5.8 per cent, Oberoi Realty (6.38 per cent) and Prestige Estates Projects (5.61 per cent) on the exchange. National testing agency for education In a big revamp of the education system in India, finance minister Arun Jaitley has proposed to set up a National Testing Agency to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions. It will be an autonomous and self-sustained testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions and would free the CBSE, AICTE and other premier institutions of conducting exams. Two new AIIMS, 350 e-courses The government has announced setting up of two new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the states of Gujarat and Jharkhand. These hospitals will be set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surak-sha Yojana (PMSSY). Giving a boost to distance education, the government will offer 350 online courses under the SWAYAM platform to enable students to virtually attend courses taught by the best faculty and access high quality reading resources while participating in discussion, take tests and earn academic grades. Union Budget 2017-18 Costlier Cigarettes Pan masala Cigars Mobile phones Chewing tobacco LED lamp parts Aluminium ores, concentrates Cheaper Booking railway tickets online LNG POS machines Group insurance for defence services Fuel cells Extracts in leather products An analysis of the positives and the negatives of the countrys economy The funeral procession of Sepoy Sandeep Kumar at his village Devihalli in Hassan on Wednesday. Sandeep died in an avalanche in Gurez area of Bandipora district in Jammu Kashmir on January 26. (Photo: DC) Hassan: Sepoy Sandeep Kumar (26) was laid to rest on Wednesday at his village Devihalli, Shantigrama hobli of Hassan amid emotional scenes and state honours. The mortal remains of the soldier, who died in avalanche at Gurez area of Bandipora district in Kashmir on January 26, were ferried from Srinagar to Bengaluru and reached Hassan in the early hours of Wednesday. Sandeep's body could not be airlifted from the accident spot because of adverse weather conditions and the family had to wait till Tuesday for the body to arrive. It reached Hassan around 2.30 am on Wednesday and the mortal remains were kept at the Deputy Commissioner's office from 8 am onwards for public viewing. Residents of Hassan, mainly students from various schools and colleges, paid their last respects to the departed soldier. Later, the body was taken in a procession from the DC's office to Devihalli via Bhuvanahalli and Shantigrama. All along the route, villagers lined up both sides of the road and placed garlands on the mortal remains. Devihalli saw a large crowd and it was emotional as many villagers broke down. Sandeep's mother Gangamma fainted on seeing her son's body when it was taken out of the coffin. The final rites were held at the family farm close to their house at Devihalli. Sandeep was given the gun salute by the police personnel, amid chants of "Sandeep will live forever" from the villagers. MLAs H.K. Kumaraswamy and H.S. Prakash, MLCs Lakshminarayan and Gopalaswami, Hassan City Municipal Council president Anilkumar among others were present. Chennai: The Madras high court directed the police not to harass the family members of the pro-jallikattu protesters against whom cases were filed in connection with the violence that broke out when the police attempted to disperse the protesters on January 23. Justice R.Mahadevan also asked the Government Pleader to inform all police stations of this court directive. The judge gave the directive while passing orders on a petition from S.Selvam, who sought a direction to the Arumbakkam police not to harass him for the offences allegedly committed by his son, who is studying in a college. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed internet search engines Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and besides social media applications such as Facebook and Whatsapp to come out with a firewall, similar to the one developed in China, to automatically prevent the uploading of any explicit sexual contents such as video clips of rapes and other cases of sexual violence. A bench comprising Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Uday Lalit has granted three weeks time to the search engines and social media websites to spell out how the mechanism will work. The Bench did not agree with the submissions advanced on behalf of Google and others that they would remove the objectionable content withing 48 to 72 hours saying there was no need for such a firewall. The Bench also wondered why the operators were shying away from developing such a mechanism, when China could do so. Earlier, counsel Aparna Bhat for petitioner NGO Prajwala said that China had successfully developed a firewall to prevent offensive material from going online. No wonder, she said, the technology had gained the sobriquet, Great Firewall of China. Senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Google, told the court that any such auto block mechanism would seriously hurt search material for research and other legal purposes. For instance, he said that if any auto-block method was developed to say, block a phrase such as gang-rape, then even legal and archived information on films like Damini would get erased forever. Damini, revolved around the gang rape of a domestic help. Rs 195 crore for special cyber crime unit The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed internet search engines like Google and Yahoo, and social networks Facebook and WhatsApp to come up with a firewall to automatically prevent uploading of any explicit sexual contents. On behalf of the Centre, additional solicitor general Maninder Singh told the court the Centre would allocate Rs 195.83 cr towards setting up a Cyber Crime Prevention Against Women and Children cell to combat the menace of such horrendous crimes. The amount has been earmarked for three years. The apex court had in February 2015 taken suo motu cognisance of a letter written to the then Chief Justice by an NGO, along with a pendrive containing two videos highlighting the crime committed by a gang and seeking appropriate action against the culprits. Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday sought to know the stand of the Telangana government on two petitions challenging the action of the Telangana government in amending the Telangana Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Act, 2016, to constitute the Telangana Backward Classes Commission and also in the appointment of BS Ramulu as its chairman. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Shameem Akhter was hearing petitions by M. Raghavender, a post graduate student and K Ravinder, a local citizen. L Ravichander, senior counsel appearing for the petitioners, submitted before the court that the Telangana government has adopted the AP Backward Commission Act and brought out certain amendments to constitute the commission and appoint a chairman from either social activists or persons working for the cause of the backward classes. He contended that the action of the state government was offending Article 14 of the Constitution and it was contrary to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of the Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India. The aim of the apex court is to ensure that the appointment of chairman to the commission shall not be corrupted by any political influence. Noting that the earlier commissions were headed by retired judges, he argued that the person heading the commission has to be well-versed in law. The government has failed to follow procedure for appointment of chairman, as the present chairman is not falling in the category of eminent person as defined in the act. While issuing notices to the state government, the BC Commission chairman, the law secretary, the secretary to BC welfare and others, the bench granted four weeks time to file counter-affidavits. Plea to scrap memo on pre-primary schools: The Hyderabad High Court admitted a petition on Wednesday, questioning a memo issued by the Telangana government directing pre-primary schools to pay Rs 10,000 each towards application fee for granting recognition. The court rejected a plea to stay the memo. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranga-nathan and Justice Shameem Akhter was hearing a petition by Oxford Convent Educa-tional Society of Krishna Nagar and three others, seeking to declare a memo issued by the government in October last to regulate activities of pre-primary schools as illegal. S. Sriram, counsel for the petitioners, told the court that the government had issued the memo by bringing pre-primary schools under the definition of educational institution, which was contrary to the provisions of the AP Education Act 1982 as was adapted by Telan-gana State. While stating that pre-primary schools are meant for children in the age group of 3 to 5 years, he urged the court to stay the memo. J. Ramachandra Rao, additional advocate general of Telangana, submitted that the pre-primary schools have been unlawfully collecting lakhs of rupees as fee. Feb. 21, 1953 Jan. 30, 2017 Merle Lynn Duncan, 63, of Lebanon passed away on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, at the Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital. Lynn was born Feb. 21, 1953, in Floral, Arkansas, the daughter of Earl and Dulcie Nicholson. She moved to Sweet Home at an early age where she attended school, graduating from Sweet Home High School in the class of 1971. Lynn married Steve Duncan in Sweet Home on May 10, 1971. The couple moved to Lebanon in 1978 where she has resided since. Lynn enjoyed nearly 40 years working as an educational assistant for the Lebanon School District. She worked at Cascade School, Queen Anne School and most recently at Hamilton Creek School. Family was the center of her life, especially her grandchildren. She also enjoyed sewing and doing cross-stitch. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother Carlos; and sister Edith. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Steve of Lebanon; son Craig of Lebanon; daughter Tiffany Metzler of Seattle, Washington; grandchildren Brittney, Tyler and Makia Duncan and Brooklyn Metzler; and several nieces, nephews, cousins and distant family members. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, at Huston-Jost Funeral Home. Family suggests memorial donations to St. Jude Childrens Hospital in care of Huston-Jost Funeral Home, 86 W. Grant St., Lebanon, OR 97355. Aakash Chaudhry, director of the New Delhi-based Aakash Educational Services, said the proposals in the budget will lead to a paradigm shift in the education sector. (Representational image) HYDERABAD: Finance minister Arun Jaitleys pronouncements on the education sector in the Union Budget presented on Wednesday, have generally been welcomed but the changes must not remain on paper, educational experts say. Former NAAC (National Accreditation and Assessment Council) director B.S. Prasad said that the Budget announcements for education sound good. But they should be put in motion. More often than not, educational reforms remain just on paper, he said, stressing that follow-up action matters. Zafar Sareshwala, chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, said that taking up reforms in the University Grants Commission (UGC) and establishing a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustaining premier testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions, should be appreciated. Also, government has decided to focus more on giving market relevant training to graduates, which will make them employable in the market. Prof. Sushma Yadav, the newly-appointed UGC member from New Delhi, felt the decision to give priority for accreditation of higher educational institutions in this years Budget was welcome. Quality control and assessment of education standards and facilities is the need of the hour. All institutions from UG to PG level should be assessed on various factors. This will give students a clear idea about academic standards and facilities on offer in a particular educational institution at the time of admission, she said. Aakash Chaudhry, director of the New Delhi-based Aakash Educational Services, said the proposals in the budget will lead to a paradigm shift in the education sector. It will give an impetus to quality education and global exposure. Increase in the number of postgraduate seats for medical sciences is a welcome move and will greatly benefit students aiming at higher studies and research, he said. Prof. C. Vijaysekhar from the Mahindra Engineering College, Hyderabad, said, The only way to measure the quality of education is by measuring expected outcomes and hence the focus on learning outcomes is commendable. Setting up the innovation fund for secondary education segment is also a welcome step. Reforms for the future An Innovation Fund for Secondary Education to encourage local innovation to ensure universal access, gender parity and quality improvement. The focus will be on 3,479 educationally backward blocks. A system of measuring annual learning outcomes in our schools. Emphasis will be on science education and flexibility in the curriculum to promote creativity. A National Testing Agency will be established as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions. This would free CBSE, AICTE and other premier institutions from these administrative responsibilities so that they can focus more on academics. Reforms in University Grants Commission. Good quality institutions will have greater administrative and academic autonomy. Colleges will be identified based on accreditation and ranking, and given autonomous status. The increased allocation to focus on 14 lakh angandwadis to enhance child and maternal health and well-being is a move in the right direction, says Sangita Reddy from the Apollo Hospitals Group. HYDERABAD: Indias demographic dividend will be redeemed if health is made a priority and the government has taken important steps in this direction, especially on the rural front, experts said about the proposals for the health sector. Ms Sangita Reddy from the Apollo Hospitals Group welcomed measures to strengthen health infrastructure and the decision to work towards eradicating number of diseases like filaria, leprosy, measles, and tuberculosis in a time-bound manner. The increased allocation to focus on 14 lakh angandwadis to enhance child and maternal health and well-being is a move in the right direction. The transformation of 1.5 lakh health sub-centres into health wellness centres will move us towards early intervention and preventive care-based health models, she said. Amendments in the rules for reducing the cost of saving life-saving drugs are positive. In line with the governments overall commitment to move to a more digital economy, the proposal on Aadhaar-linked health cards for senior citizens is a stepping stone towards achieving the goal of universal health care, she said. The government has increased its spending on PMFBY to Rs 13,240 crore, which the industry believes will help bring more farmers under the insurance cover. (Representational Image) New Delhi: The hike in crop insurance allocation in the Budget has been hailed by the insurance companies as they see this an opportunity to expand their business. The government has decided to increase the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from 30 per cent to 40 per cent in 2017-18 and 50 per cent in 2018-19. The government has increased its spending on PMFBY to Rs 13,240 crore, which the industry believes will help bring more farmers under the insurance cover. Indian farmers need risk mitigation mechanism in the form of insurance and PMFBY will compensate them whenever they suffer crop loss during natural disasters, New India Assura-nce CMD G. Srinivasan said. New India has underwritten premium of Rs 1,100 crore under the scheme in the current fiscal so far and it plans to increase it to Rs 2,000 crore in the next financial year. The increase in insurance cover under PMFBY will result in increase in premium by 15-20 per cent by the industry in the next fiscal, National Insurance chairman and managing director Sanath Kumar said. ICICI Lombard MD & CEO, Bhargav Dasgupta said, This government has done more to promote insurance as a risk mitigation tool and the decision to increase the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to cover 40 per cent of crop area is a continuation of that approach. The budget aims at continuing with the governments agenda of pursuing an inclusive and long-term development of the economy by focusing on the core enablers, including infrastructure, digitisation, rural development, among others. New initiatives, such as a proposed model on contract farming are a welcome move, Dasgupta said. Universities and colleges in the United States are going extra mile to dispel fears in minds of students and recruiters from other countries, especially India, in the wake of new executive orders and immigration reforms proposed by president Donald Trump. (Representational image) HYDERABAD: Universities and colleges in the United States are going extra mile to dispel fears in minds of students and recruiters from other countries, especially India, in the wake of new executive orders and immigration reforms proposed by president Donald Trump. College representatives from different institutions are sending mails and phone messages to their authorised agents in India. A communication from a US varsity read: US insitutions are stronger because of those who have come from throughout the world to study, teach and work. We embrace the diversity that the students and faculty bring on our campus. We want to be clear that international students are welcome. Today our Office of International Education advised that students from the seven countries affected by President Trump's order remain in the US until immigration policy is clear. We will do everything we can to enable our students to continue their education and our faculty and staff to continue their important work. Nearly 10.4 lakh international students studied in different US colleges and universities in 2015-16. The income generated from tuition fees and other revenue is substantial. This is crucial in wake with the US government cutting down on grants and funds to educational institutions. Last year, China with 3.28 lakh students was at the top followed by India at 1.65 lakh. Students from Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Iran, Turkey, Kuwait also come in good numbers. While speculations are doing rounds about tighter rules for H-IB visas and cap on OPT (Optical Practical Training) that allows students with F-1 visas to take up jobs after their study, overseas consultant Alapati Subhaker doubted how far proposals in the Bill would finally be accepted. International students bring in big revenues. Already varsities have registered their protest on the fresh executive order. They would be hit if new restrictions result in students shying away from admissions in US varsities," he said. Chennai: After the oil spillage issue had the state assembly trembling with anxiety on Tuesday, a special team from various government departments was formulated to clear the thick sludge off the sea within two days. Comprising 2,000 staff from the Coast Guard, TNPCB, Fire and Rescue department, Tiruvallur district administration and Chennai Corporation, the clean-up operation to remove the sediment, which washed to Thiruvanmiyur on Tuesday is targeted to complete the work, within three days, Ennore port Chairman, MA Bhaskarachar told DC. In order to recover the oil from the water, dispersers and other absorbent pads are being used. Our priority is to mitigate environment hazard, he added. Tiruvallur district administration has provided the modern technological super sucker pipes to clear the oil from the sea, he added. A total of three agencies are conducting an assessment to identify the cause of the error, which resulted in the massive environmental hazard. The two prominent questions Categorisation of the oil spill (whether it is tier 3, tier 2 or tier 1) and the identification of the error loom big before the Chennaiites, who are agitated over the lack of transparency in the issue. The movement of both the vessels and other data from the radars were recorded in Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) system. As both the ships are huge, there was likely a human error in switching off the engine. The degree of the error would be ascertained in the assessment, Bhaskarachar added. Owners of the vessels are willing to compensate for the livelihood loss of fishermen, following a proper assessment, sources told DC. Tiruvallur District Collector, E Sundaravalli who had inspected Ernavur Port on Tuesday told Deccan Chronicle that 570 personnel from various departments would work at Ennore, which suffered utmost damage. Three super suckers and 305 staff members were utilised on Tuesday to clear the sludge, she added. TNPCB and Fisheries department are on the ground to assess the overall damage, hinted officials from fisheries department. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with MoS Arjun Ram Meghwal arrives at Parliament to present the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha, in New Delhi. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2017-2018 on Wednesday at the Lok Sabha. In a historic move, for the first time, the Railway Budget and the General Budget were combined and presented together. The Budget came at a crucial time for the country considering the Modi government's move of demonetisation in early November has left the country coping with such a major decision. After the Budget was presented, comments from various political leaders and economic stalwarts started pouring in on how it might affect the country. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh praised the Union Budget in Parliament, saying it is in accordance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Sabke Saath Sabka Vikas'. "Like previous year, this year also the central budget has been announced with a number of financial provisions in public interest," Singh said in an official statement. "It's a fine exercise taken up by the Finance Minister. It's very inspiring, bold steps have been announced. Particularly the political funding has been made transparent. People will be happy. Some political parties will become poor. That is why our opponents are saying the budget is anti-poor, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters outside Parliament. "The Congress and other leaders said this budget is anti-poor. It means that these parties which were being run on black money, they will become extremely poor," he added. Union minister Kiren Rijiju said that the budget is focused on rural infrastructure, housing and roads. "It will transform rural India and urban as well in terms enhancing the capacity of building infrastructure. It is a great relief to the common masses and it will transform the economy of the nation. At the same time, the reform in taxation is great. "From the point of view of electoral reforms, this budget has shown a clear way. Political parties have to transform itself. In democracy, political parties are the essence of the whole system. The transparency in which the political parties have to manage their funding system, has been given a great lift in this budget," he said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said this budget clearly shows and proves BJP's agenda of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'. "On one side the budget focuses on development in rural areas and farmers. At the same time, measures have also been announced to make small businesses to become competitive in the global market. "Transparency, development, nation building are keystones of this historic budget. It again shows our government's commitment to eliminate corruption and black money from the system," Kumar said. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the electoral reforms are a very important step in bringing transparency in political funding. "But more importantly FM has ensured many concessions to honest tax payers. Now it's only five per cent tax, it is the lowest bracket we have ever imagined. And so (those earning) up to Rs five lakh, all should come and declare their income that is the intent of this revolutionary step. "Demonetisation has resulted in bringing all the money into various accounts. Therefore, we can all track, issue notices. So things are on the move. 35 per cent advance tax increase is the success of demonetisation," he said. Union minister Smriti Irani described the budget to be "multi dimensional". The push given to the infrastructure sector with the highest ever allocation is a testimony to the government's commitment to ensure that 'Make in India' is complimented by the success of infrastructure sector. "The push given to agriculture and allied sector by enhanced allocation is also an indication that with the strengthening of the rural economy we will see prosperous families and homes across the nation. "Additionally, the push given to the SC plan and the enhancement of allocation of SC plan is an indicative that the government is ensuring the strengthening of opportunities for those who are under privileged," she said. Irani said being a woman, she was "extremely buoyant" with the fact that Mudra Yojana had 70 per cent beneficiaries as women and the Finance Minister's announcement that its allocation is also being doubled is an indication that women who want to be entrepreneurs in their own right will have substantial support from the government. As appreciated as the Budget 2017 was, it was equally criticised. Stating that the Centre's note ban decision "pick-pocketed" the common man while big defaulters remained unaffected, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray sought to the know the need for a Budget every year "when the previous promises are not fulfilled". "The troubles that people had to face due to demonetisation can never be compensated. The government might say that deposits have increased manifold but the truth remains that the big money defaulters have been kept aside while common man was pick-pocketed," Thackeray said. "Why did they not announce in the previous Budget that they would be demonetising currency," he asked. "When last year's announcements remain unfulfilled, what is the meaning of this Budget? When you do not fulfil the promises you make, what is the need to present the Budget every year," he further questioned. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said, criticised the government for proceeding with the presentation of the Union Budget after the death of E Ahamed, accusing it if delaying announcement of the news so that it could present the Budget without any hiccups. "They have promised all these things keeping polls in five states in mind. They have not said anything for farmers, youth, women. They have accepted that GDP growth has gone down," Kharge added. Opposition denounced the Union Budget with Rahul Gandhi saying it lacked a clear vision and had nothing for farmers, youths and job creation while Mamata Banerjee dubbed it as "clueless, useless and heartless" and questioned why no data on demonetisation was given. The West bengal CM, a staunch opponent of the demonetisation move tweeted, "A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. No roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility." "Tax payers still have restrictions on withdrawals. Remove all restrictions immediately. And where are the figures for #DeMonetisation? Misleading. Full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words which mean nothing," she said. JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav also said the government did not touch upon the issue of how much black money has been recovered post demonetisation. Not impressed with the restriction on cash donations to political parties to Rs 2000, Yadav said, "Until the people of the country teach a lesson to those with blackmoney, things will not improve." Terming the Budget as "contractionary" CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said, "It an example of Finance Minister joining the Prime Minister and the BJP President to create 'jumlas' (phrases used as rhetoric). The budget is a classic example of that." He added, ""It won't boost employment or generate demand. The idea of infrastructure development is a farce because the data given by the FM is not related to reality, does not match to what he said in his speech." NCP's Tariq Anwar said the budget was way below expectations and had nothing for farmers and youth. Party leader Supriya Sule too noted that the budget did not offer anything to farmers. She said the budget is giving more thrust on employment guarantee scheme of MGNREGA which the BJP had allegedly opposed for years. "It is a government of U-turn," she quipped. CPI national secretary D Raja said the budget has nothing "spectacular" to offer and does not stoke any hope of retrieval of country's economy, which he added, is in "bad shape as underscored in the economic survey" released on Tuesday. "Besides, the way they claim about giving thrust on rural development, it is rhetoric, done in view of polls in five states. What are the efforts for job creation? On the issue of tax, how they are going to tighten noose around those evading tax, they have not explained," Raja said. New Delhi: Hailing the budget, BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday said it is aimed at all-round development with sops for the youth, women, farmers, the poor and middle class and that it will usher in a new era of progress. He also called historic the announcement to restrict cash donation to Rs 2000 to a political party from one source, saying it will bring transparency and cleanliness in political funding and expressed hope that all parties will welcome it. "It is a budget aimed at all-round development. On the one hand it is pro-village and pro-farmers and on the other it also provides new possibilities for youths willing to strike out on their own. It has given relief to middle class and will also help realise the dream of the poor and lower middle of owning a house," he told reporters. Despite its sops for various sections of society, the budget seeks to keep fiscal deficit to 3.2 per cent which is laudable, he said, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. "Outlay of 10 lakh crore for agriculture credit, micro irrigation fund of 5000 crore, increase in PM Fasal Bima Yojana will all help the farmer. Increased allocation for MNREGA at 48,000 crore, from Rs 37,000 crore earlier, will help create assets in rural India. "The Prime Minister's and Finance Minister's focus on providing social security, health care and affordable housing for the poor and underprivileged is laudable. Tax concession provided to middle class, who earn between 2.5 lakh-5 lakh will go a long way in improving their spending," he said. Citing the increase in budgetary allocation to Mudra scheme to Rs 2.44 lakh crore, he said it will be a fillip to entrepreneurs. He also praised hike in defence spending and proposal to establish two new AIIMS. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives in Parliament to present the Union budget for 2017-18. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: Promotion of digital economy will clean up the system, weed out corruption and black money, and the government will soon launch an Aadhaar-based payment system to promote digital transactions for people living in hinterlands, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday. "A merchant enabled Aadhaar payment system will be launched shortly. This will specially be beneficial to those who do not have debit cards, mobile wallets or mobile phones," Jaitley said while reading out the Budget in Parliament. Promotion of digital economy is an integral part of the Government's strategy, Jaitley said, adding it has a transformational impact in terms of greater formalization of the economy and mainstreaming the financial system into the budget system. "This, in turn, is expected to energize private investment in the country through lower cost of credit. India is now at the cusp of a massive digital revolution. A shift to digital platform has huge benefits to the common man," Jaitley said. The Finance Minister said that the BHIM app will unleash the power of mobile phones for making digital payments and financial inclusion. "125 lakh people have adopted the BHIM app so far, the Government will launch two new schemes to promote the use of BHIM. These are referral bonus schemes for individuals and a cashless schemes for merchants," Jaitley said. He said that the government's earlier initiatives to promote financial inclusion and JAM trinity were precursors to the current push for digital transactions. Already, there is evidence for increased digital transactions, Jaitley said. Further, a mission will be set up with a target of over 2,500 crore digital transactions for 2017-18 through UPI, USSD, Aadhaar Pay, IMPS and debit cards. Also, banks have targeted to introduce additional 10 lakh point-of-sale terminal by March 2017, he said. "Banks will be encouraged to introduce 20 lakh Aadhaar based POS by September 2017," he said. New Delhi: To improve ease of doing business, government today announced a paperless online mechanism for registration as brokerage firms, MFs, portfolio managers and other market intermediaries and linking demat accounts with Aadhaar. Besides, commodities and securities derivative markets would be further integrated by integrating the participants, brokers and operational framework, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech for 2017-18. SEBI, RBI and CBDT would jointly put in place systems and procedures for a common application form for registration, opening of bank and demat accounts and issuing PAN for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). This will greatly enhance operational flexibility and ease of access to Indian capital markets. "The process of registration of financial market intermediaries like mutual funds, brokers, portfolio managers, etc will be made fully online by SEBI. This will improve ease of doing business," Jaitley said. The proposed system would help make it easier for the existing and new market intermediaries to complete their registration and other regulatory filings with SEBI much faster and in a cost-effective way. He further said that steps will be taken for linking of individual demat accounts with Aadhaar. To strengthen IPO market and channelise more investments, Jaitley has proposed to allow "systemically important" NBFCs, regulated by RBI and above a certain net worth, to be categorised as Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs). Presently institutions such as banks and insurance companies are categorised as QIBs by SEBI. They are eligible for participation in IPOs with specifically earmarked allocations. The minister also proposed to exempt capital gains arising out of transfer of a rupee denominated bond by a non-resident to a non-resident. "It is proposed to provide that in case of unit in the consolidated plan of a mutual fund scheme received in lieu of unit in the consolidating plan, the actual cost and the period of holding shall be the cost and the period of holding of the unit in the consolidating plan," Jaitley said. Also, he has proposed to provide tax neutrality in case of conversion of preference shares of a company into equity shares. India has called Pakistans January 30 house arrest of Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, ideological progenitor of anti-India terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, an act of tokenism. But what Islamabad is really guilty of is deception. The temporary restraint on the JuD chief has come in the wake of threats by the Trump administration that Pakistan may soon be put into the list of countries whose nationals are banned entry into the US for three months the time for vetting procedures to be strengthened due to their strong terror credentials. If Washington is serious that its not moving against Muslims as such but only against countries and entities that promote extremism and terrorism, it should ask Islamabad what steps it is taking not only against the JuD but also the LeT and a host of other deadly outfits that are nurtured by the ISI. For tactical reasons, those like Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar have been taken into custody before too, to head off stringent action by global entities. But no criminal case was brought against them. Indeed, the standard Pakistani response trotted out in Azhars case was that he wasnt wanted for any crime in Pakistan. The same is likely in the case of Saeed, who masterminded the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Islamabad must credibly demonstrate it is doing its best to dismantle and defang organisations like JuD, LeT and JeM. Its time the Americans sought accountability from an ally it has paid well to combat terrorism. All the preliminaries are over. The first batch of bills has been filed. A pair of early budgets already have been written. Legislators have gone through their training about treating each other with respect. (This is true.) So there's nothing left except for the 2017 legislative session to officially begin. (Although legislators have been traveling to Salem for the last couple of months for organizational meetings and ceremonies, state law says that legislative sessions begin on Feb. 1 unless Feb. 1 is a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, in which case they start on the following Monday.) The big storylines already are in place: Despite record revenues, legislators still must grapple with a $1.8 billion budget shortfall. Already, intriguing strands are emerging on this front: Gov. Kate Brown's proposed budget has identified $897 million in new revenue, but a more recent budget from the Legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee includes the assumption that no additional money will be found and lays out a series of cuts, including teacher layoffs and larger class sizes, increased college tuition and reduced financial aid and fewer health services for people on Medicaid. Part of the hope behind releasing the Ways and Means budget so early is that Oregon taxpayers will balk at the level of cuts it envisions and will agree on the need for additional revenue. (The Legislature has scheduled seven forums on the budget throughout the state in February, and it will be interesting to watch those.) It's also not clear yet exactly how any additional revenue will be raised, but expect a lot of attention to be paid to Sen. Mark Hass, who has in the past pitched a plan for a gross-receipts tax on certain Oregon corporations; in many ways, Hass' plan is a scaled-down version of Measure 97, which voters defeated in November. But signs are that business interests might be willing to talk about raising revenue plans, if: Some sort of progress is made to rein in the rising costs of the Public Employees Retirement System. Legislative leaders have not been enthusiastic about PERS reform, but this session might force their hands. Will a pair of PERS bills already filed get a full airing this session? This session also will attempt to craft a transportation package to help pay for badly work on the state's roads and bridges. An effort to do this in 2015 stumbled over the question of how to pay for it; that question will come up again. Those key storylines will be playing out during the course of the session, which legally must finish by early July. But the full twists and turns really won't become apparent until the last half of the session and possibly not until the final few days. The first half of the session will be dominated by what legislators sometimes call "dogs and cats" hundreds of bills that might address an important issue, but don't necessarily fit into the Legislature's major storylines. So we can expect discussions on topics as disparate as affordable housing, gun control, marijuana legalization, a carbon cap-and-invest program to combat greenhouse gas emissions, requirements for some businesses to enact so-called "predictive scheduling" for their employees and many others. Judging by some of the partisan tussling that already has occurred, this session might also include an unusual amount of feuding between Democrats and Republicans. If previous years are any guide, though, the session also will feature countless times when Democrats and Republicans work together to get something done. Here's hoping that spirit of cooperation becomes another major storyline in the 2017 session. (mm) Finance minister Arun Jaitleys fourth successive Budget, presented on Wednesday, was a bland one, like his three previous presentations. The tone reflects both the mans temperament uncomfortable with rhetoric and the situation post-demonetisation. It does not hold out any sanguine hopes for rapid growth in the economy. All it promises is an undefined transformation, a vague kind of energisation and a cleaning-up process that sounds platitudinous and appears monotonous. The modest tone and tenor of the Budget should not be held against the finance minister or the BJP-led NDA government. It is interesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to give a detailed explanation of Mr Jaitleys Budget, and his tone too remained subdued. It can be inferred that the government cannot beat the drum because of the Election Commission-enforced code of conduct that is in force because of the Assembly elections due in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh, starting February 4. It can be expected that the governments and the BJPs advertisement blitzkrieg would be unleashed after the results of the Assembly polls in the five states are announced on March 11. But by then, attention would have shifted away from the Budget. This may not turn out to be such a disadvantage for the Prime Minister, the finance minister, the government, the defenders and the apologists because Budget 2017 is much too staid to raise any sparks at any time, either now or much later. It can be argued that it is indeed a sign of maturity that the Union Budget remains a matter-of-fact affair and it does not create too much noise. But it is a forced virtue in more ways than one. First, there is really nothing exciting about the Indian economy right now. There is neither a crisis nor a high. The government could use the lull to sort out administrative issues, and it seems that is what is intended. As the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is all set out to be rolled out later this year, the finance minister did not announce any indirect tax measures. On the direct tax front, the reduction in the rate in the lower slab to five per cent from Rs 2.5 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs is clearly a palliative in the aftermath of demonetisation. The finance minister confessed as much in the Budget speech: ...post-demonetisation, there is a legitimate expectation of this class of people (honest taxpayers) to reduce their burden of taxation. Government expenditure by way of welfare measures by raising the allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) from Rs 38,000 crores to Rs 48,000 crores, and in public investment through schemes like building roads and houses in rural areas through the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMGAY), does carry a financial burden. The argument of the finance minister appears to be that the government can afford the expenditure while adhering to the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Acts provisions for keeping the revenue and fiscal deficit under three per cent. The recently constituted chief ministers committee on FRBM which submitted its report has mooted the idea of sustainable debt though there is no increase in tax revenue which was 17 per cent in 2015-16 and it is expected to remain there in 2016-17 as well. But the sore thumb in the governments thinking and policy measures remains that tax collections are not commensurate with economic activity in the country. It has been argued that demonetisation will bring more people into the tax net. But the finance minister knows too well and he has rolled out figures about how people who file tax returns show losses or minimum profits. While bemoaning the fact that we are largely a tax non-compliant society, he does not seem to have any idea as to how to change this culture of tax evasion. So demonetisation, or the bid to push more people into the digital transactions sphere, seem to be tame measures to fight this tendency. The claim that demonetisation marks a tectonic shift seems to be so much hot air. What is to be wondered is that despite the huge amounts of money generated through productivity and consumption activity remaining below the tax radar, and assuming that the money that remains invisible because of tax evasion is not taken into account while measuring the state of the economy, it seems that the macroeconomic indicators are fairly good. This remains the basic paradox of the Indian economy. The BJP, like the Congress and like any other political party, shows no inclination to minimise state interventions in the economy. Therefore, what remains to be expected from this government or any other, this finance minister or another, is how efficiently they allocate the money they have for public goods. This Jaitley Budget shows no great imagination, and displays no innovation with regard to public spending. It soldiers on along the well-trodden path. And that is not the fault of Mr Jaitley or anyone else. The economic challenges that face a polity are gargantuan and intangible. The economy, it seems, is an untameable beast. What any government can do is very limited. It is unrealistic on the part of the people to expect finance ministers to produce wonder documents through the annual Budget statements. There is a need for radical rethink about the nature of the economy. It is not the job of politicians or bureaucrats to contribute anything meaningful to this. They are plainly not equipped to do so, either intellectually or otherwise. The author is a Delhi-based commentator and analyst Hackers have breached dozens of email accounts at the Czech Foreign Ministry in an attack resembling one against the U.S. Democratic Party that the former Obama administration blamed on Russia, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said on Tuesday. He said he was told by experts the cyber-attacks were likely conducted by a foreign state. He said the ministry's internal communication system was not affected and no confidential material was compromised, though an extensive amount of data was stolen. Zaoralek, whose email account was also hit, did not name any countries he thought may be responsible for the attack. "When I discussed this with the best experts that we have here, they told me that the character of the attack was such that the attack was very sophisticated, that it must have been, according to them, conducted by some foreign state, from the outside," Zaoralek told a news conference. "They also told me that the way the attack was done very much resembles the character of attacks against the system of the Democratic Party in the United States." A government source told Reuters authorities suspect the attacks originated from Russia. Zaoralek said the ministry had known since the beginning of January that hackers had breached its email, and added it was necessary to check whether other key government institutions have also been attacked, something he said was possible. He said the ministry was not registering any further attacks at the moment. The Czech Republic is a member of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance and of the European Union. In October last year, Czech police detained Russian citizen Yevgeniy Nikulin, who has been indicted in the United State for hacking computers of social media companies. The U.S. and Russia have both requested his extradition. The state attorney office has yet to file its recommendations on the requests. Obama administration officials said Russia engaged in cyber attacks during the U.S. presidential election campaign meant to tar the reputation of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and help Republican Donald Trump to victory. Russia denied this. Trump later acknowledged that Russia likely hacked the Democratic National Committee and the emails of top Democrats during the presidential election. Russian officials have denied all accusations of manipulation and interference intended to sway the U.S. election outcome or weaken the European Union. In December, Germany's domestic intelligence agency reported a striking increase in Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilising German society, and targeted cyber attacks against political parties. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she could not rule out Russia interfering in Germany's 2017 election through Internet attacks and misinformation campaigns. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. After the death of Galaxy Note 7, everyone is eagerly awaiting Samsung to launch the Galaxy S8 smartphone. However, due to the Galaxy Note 7 battery issues, the S8 has always been under impression of being delayed than the speculated date, which usually is sometime around February at the Mobile World Conference (MWC). The Galaxy S8 has been in news for the launch since a long time now. Some said Samsung will hold a separate public event in the New York in March to unveil the smartphone, other reports said it would be unveiled in March 29 but will not go on sale until April 21, but the "big news is on its way". Samsung has released a teaser on its Samsung Mobile twitter handle in which the company has confirmed to hold a Samsung Press Conference on Feb. 26 at the MWC where it will announce something big. The big news could be the Samsung Galaxy S8, or it could also be the Galaxy Tab S3 Looking at the image showcased in the teaser, we speculate the device is the Galaxy S8 smartphone. While a report by Softpedia speculates it to be the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, we look at it the other way. If you compare the ratio of the USB Type-C port to the product body shown in the image, the device looks more like a phone rather than a tablet. While the curve does pronounce a tablet look, it also looks like a dual-edge phone with sharp edges resting on its back. However, if compared with the recent leaks about Samsung Galaxy S8, the image shown here looks completely different. If you are looking at it from another angle, it does look like the chin of the tablet with a close-up of the home button, which probably confirms the speculation of Softpedia. In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Tab S3 is rumoured to feature a 9.7-inch display, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, coupled with 4GB RAM and 32 GB of memory option, 12MP rear sensor and 5MP front sensor. The Tab S3 is also expected to run on Googles latest Android Nougat OS. On the other hand, Galaxy S8 is said to come in two models featuring a 5.8- and 6.2-inch display, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, coupled with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage option, which will be expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The flagship is also expected to be the first smartphone to debut Samsungs voice assistant Bixby, and to run on Android Nougat 7.0 OS. Moreover, Samsung has confirmed to unveil 'new products' during the press conference. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Quebec City: The French-Canadian student accused of killing six people during evening prayers in a Quebec City mosque had rented an apartment nearby, neighbours said on Tuesday, a sign he may have been targeting the house of worship. Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, was charged in court on Monday with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon after Sunday evening's massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec. Police said he acted alone. The mass shooting, which was rare for Canada and which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a "terrorist attack," prompted an outpouring of support for the mosque and for Canada's one million Muslims in the country of about 35 million. Authorities in Quebec have called for a spirit of inclusivity and police have tightened security at all religious institutions in the province, which had the second-highest rate of crimes motivated by religious prejudice among the provinces in 2014, second only to Ontario, according to police crime data collected by Statistics Canada. The data showed that reported crimes of prejudice against Muslims in Canada more than doubled between 2012 and 2014. Bissonnette, who said he was a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump and far-right French politician Marine Le Pen, had moved into an apartment in the beige block near the mosque in July and drove a Mitsubishi truck, said a neighbour, who asked not to be identified. Another neighbour on the fourth floor never spoke to Bissonnette but frequently heard piano-playing from the apartment. A neighbour of his parents told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that Bissonnette shared the apartment with his twin brother. Police declined to discuss a motive for the shooting, but friends and online acquaintances told Canadian media that Bissonnette had expressed anti-immigration sentiments, especially toward Muslim refugees. Both law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the United States believe the suspect was sympathetic to right-wing nationalist ideology, and that likely contributed to motive, U.S. officials said. On his Facebook page, which has been taken down since the shooting, Bissonnette indicated he liked Le Pen, Trump, the separatist Parti Quebecois, as well as Canada's left-wing New Democratic Party, the Israeli Defense Forces, heavy metal band Megadeth and pop star Katy Perry. A large turnout at vigils in Quebec City, Montreal and other cities on Monday evening showed people rejected hate speech and wanted to be inclusive, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said. "I think it's a turning point for Quebec, to see people rallying around values like that," he told reporters in Quebec City, the provincial capital, on Tuesday. "Our society is not perfect. No society is perfect ... racism, xenophobia and exclusion exist here. We have to recognise that and act together to highlight the path we want society to take," Couillard said. Bissonnette did not hide his hostility toward Muslims during his long interrogation by police, Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported, quoting a source close to the investigation. He was also interested in guns, and practiced shooting at a club, La Presse reported. Police have not released specific details of the weapon used in the attack, other than to say it was a restricted firearm. A social science student at University; Laval and a former cadet, Bissonnette was described by a former classmate as a "nerdy outcast." Bissonnette made a brief appearance in court on Monday under tight security. Prosecutors said all of the evidence was not yet ready and Bissonnette was set to appear again on Feb. 21. No charges were read in court and Bissonnette did not enter a plea. His lawyer, Jean Petit, declined to comment at the courthouse on Monday. Quebec's public safety minister, Martin Coiteux, said security at all religious institutions across the province had been heightened, particularly at mosques. He told reporters that while police always treated reports of religious harassment and hate speech seriously, they had not always done a good job of letting communities know the results of their probes. "We will pay particular attention to feedback," he said. In Montreal, Quebec's largest city, police increased their presence at mosques and other Muslim institutions and watched for possible hate speech online. Of the five people critically wounded in Sunday's attack, one had been discharged from the hospital, two were convalescing, one was undergoing abdominal surgery and one was in "more critical" condition, Julien Clement, trauma director at Centre Hospitalier de l'Universite Laval, said on Tuesday. Washington: Asserting that artificial trade barriers between India and the US would "evaporate" quickly, an Indian-American donor and supporter of US President Donald Trump has said fears about the H-1B overhauling are "overblown" and the issue is unlikely to cause trouble in bilateral ties. "President Trump first and foremost is a businessman. He knows how to grow US as a business. He is pretty clear on the position of US Chambers of Commerce that in order to grow the American economy, you need a lot of IT experts and professionals," Chicago-based Shalabh 'Shalli' Kumar said. "My expectation is that there would be a good monitoring of abuse and fraud in H-1B system. There is a little bit of that, not much. Otherwise when the US economy grows 4-5 per cent per year, there is going to be a very big need of IT workers and IT work, which will still be primarily be going to India and Indians," he added in response to a question on the series of legislations pending in the US Congress and if this could be a major point of friction between India and the US. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US firms to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year. During his campaign, Trump promised to increase oversight of our H-1B and L-1 visa programmes. "People in India need not be necessarily be worried about twist of words in orders. There should be no concern about H-1B visas in India," Kumar assured and said the Trump administration is determined to remove abuse and fraud in the system. Kumar, who has his own business in Chicago, said there is a huge need of IT workers in the US. "I would want the US to start producing more IT workers here itself," he said adding that major Indian IT companies would be happy to employ American IT workers if available. "The fear of H-1B, immigration, green card is overblown. I would like to assure the industry, Indian IT industry as well as Indians on H-1B visas here that things are actually going to get better for them in the coming months rather than getting worse," Kumar said. He said in the next few years India will play a crucial role in the planned economic growth of the US, which will also mean a big growth for India. "Through this, both the economies would be prosperous and it will be a win-win situation." "There is a tremendous trade opportunities between US and India. Trade barriers between India and the US would evaporate very quickly. That has to do with technology defence equipment's and energy. He is very much in favour of bilateral trade relations. It would be a great," he said. Trump has pushed back against critics who say the travel ban targets Muslims. (Photo: AFP) New York: Imposing a temporary travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim countries, President Donald Trump said the move would help protect the United States from terrorism. But less than one-third of Americans believe the move makes them "more safe," according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. The Jan. 30-31 poll found roughly one in two Americans backed the ban, which also suspends admission of all refugees for 120 days, although there were sharp divisions along party lines. Trump has pushed back against critics who say the travel ban targets Muslims. He says the "extreme vetting" is necessary to protect the country and its borders. "This is not about religion," Trump said in a statement after announcing the travel ban on Friday. "This is about terror and keeping our country safe." In the Reuters/Ipsos poll some 31 percent of people said the ban made them feel "more safe," while 26 percent said it made them feel "less safe." Another 33 percent said it would not make any difference and the rest said they don't know. Trump's executive order blocked citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Some Republican lawmakers criticized Trump's order and said it could backfire by giving terrorist organizations a new recruitment message. "This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country," senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a joint statement. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 49 percent of Americans agreed with the order and 41 percent disagreed. Some 53 percent of Democrats said they "strongly disagree" with Trump's action while 51 percent of Republicans said they "strongly agree." Democrats were more than three times as likely as Republicans to say that the "U.S. should continue to take in immigrants and refugees," and Republicans were more than three times as likely as Democrats to agree that "banning people from Muslim countries is necessary to prevent terrorism." Cheryl Hoffman, 46, of Sumerduck, Virginia said she was thrilled that Trump ordered the ban. "I understand that the country was founded on immigrants," said Hoffman, who participated in the poll. "Please, I get that. But Im worried that refugees are coming in and being supported by my tax dollars." Another poll respondent, Veronica Buetel, 57, of Green, Ohio felt just the opposite: "Yes, we do live in scary times, but there are other, better ways to root out terrorism." Westy Egmont, director of the Immigrant Integration Lab at Boston College, said Americans have grown increasingly hostile toward refugees and immigrants as the influx has shifted from Eastern Europeans to people from countries like Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. "The rise of those numbers, as relatively small as they are, have gathered just enough attention to set off a small reaction from people who are genuinely uncomfortable with the diversity around them," Egmont said. Most Americans, however, don't think the country should show a preference for Christian refugees, as Trump has suggested. Some 56 percent, including 72 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans, disagreed that the country should "welcome Christian refugees, but not Muslim ones." The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. It gathered poll responses from 1,201 people including 453 Democrats and 478 Republicans. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points for the entire sample and 5 percentage points for the Democrats and the Republicans. Noor Salman's attorneys said on Tuesday in court filings arguing for her release from jail that she had no involvement or knowledge of her husband Omar Mateen's plan to attack the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on June 12. (Photo: Twitter) San Francisco: Lawyers for the widow of the man who staged a deadly terrorist attack at a Florida nightclub said she had no advance knowledge of the plot and did not know ahead of time that her husband planned to buy ammunition while they were on a trip to Walmart. Noor Salman's attorneys said on Tuesday in court filings arguing for her release from jail that she had no involvement or knowledge of her husband Omar Mateen's plan to attack the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on June 12. Mateen shot to death 49 people and wounded 53 others before police killed him. Mateen pledged support to the Islamic State extremist group and other terrorist organizations. Salman was arrested in November and will appear in an Oakland, California, federal court Wednesday seeking her release from jail pending her trial on charges of supporting her husband and lying to investigators. Attorney Haitham Amin said prosecutors have yet to turn over to Salman's legal team much of the evidence they have collected to make their case. Amin and court papers filed Tuesday by Salman's lead attorney Charles Swift say it appears Salman is charged with being present when her husband was making plans to attack the nightclub. In particular, Swift cites media accounts reporting that Salman accompanied Mateen on a "scouting trip" in a car to the nightclub in the days before the attack and that she was with her husband when he purchased ammunition at a Walmart near their Fort Pierce, Florida, home 120 miles southeast of Orlando. Swift wrote "the evidence will show that the purported scouting trip occurred while the family was on their way home from babysitting the children of a relative, that Mateen chose to drive into Orlando and to pass by the Pulse Night Club, and that Noor, who did not possess a driver's license at the time, was at most a reluctant passenger who wanted to go home." Federal authorities arrested Salman in November at her mother's suburban San Francisco home and charged her with aiding Mateen's support of the Islamic State and then lying to FBI agents and police investigating the Orlando nightclub attack. Salman and Mateen lived with their 3-year-old son in nearby Fort Pierce before the attack. Salman and her son moved in with an aunt in Mississippi immediately after the attacks before settling with her mother in her hometown of Rodeo, California, about 25 miles east of San Francisco. Details of the charges remained under seal Tuesday and the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco did not return phone calls from The Associated Press. Mateen told her he needed the ammo for his job as a security guard when she asked him about buying the ammunition, the court filing said. "Although Noor may have been present when Mateen was possibly making preparations, mere presence alone is insufficient to establish aiding and abetting," Swift wrote. "Why not Pakistan?," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked when he appeared yesterday at the George Washington University for a forum on media's relationship with President Trump. (Photo: AP) Washington: Pakistan, viewed as an epicentre of global terrorism, could be included in a list of Muslim-majority countries from where immigration to the US has been banned by President Donald Trump, the White House has hinted. "Why not Pakistan?," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked when he appeared yesterday at the George Washington University for a forum on media's relationship with President Trump. "Maybe we will," Spicer said, responding to the question, which has been trailing senior White House officials ever since President Trump signed an executive order that prevented people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US. These countries are Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. For the past few days, top White House officials have been asked why the list does not include countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The White House Press Secretary indicated that Pakistan could very well be part of that list. "Maybe we will. The bottom line is we started with the seven countries that have previously been identified, did a 90-day review. Maybe during that 90-day review we find other countries or we take someone off or whatever. But it is a review process," Spicer said. "Our number one priority as a government and as leaders is to protect the 324 million people who live in this country. So I understand that people may be inconvenienced a little coming into the nation. But this is our nation, our country. Our first and foremost responsibility is to our people," he asserted. "If people want to come to this country and visit or travel or study, then we welcome them. We've always been a welcoming country. But the idea that we should just have an open door and let people in willy-nilly is ridiculous," Spicer said. Over the weekend, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had also said that Pakistan could also be included in a list of Muslim-majority countries from where immigration to the US has been banned by President Trump. President Donald Trump signs an executive order on extreme vetting during an event at the Pentagon in Washington. (Photo: AP) Washington, United States: A broad coalition of US technology firms has begun planning a joint legal strategy challenging President Donald Trump's executive order barring refugees and many Muslims from American soil, sources say. More than 20 firms from the sector were expected to attend a meeting to discuss legal options on the ban, which was expected to have a large impact on Silicon Valley and other tech firms that employ thousands of immigrants. "It's still very early, but the strategy would probably be similar to the San Bernardino iPhone briefs," said one tech sector employee familiar with talks on the condition of anonymity. The source was referring to the coalition which fought a US government order which would have forced Apple to weaken iPhone security to inspect a handset used by one of the shooters in a deadly attack in Southern California in December 2015. Participating in the talks were Google parent Alphabet, Netflix, Airbnb and Twitter, the source indicated. Other firms invited or participating include Adobe Systems, Dropbox, Etsy, Mozilla, Pinterest, Reddit, Salesforce, Yelp, SpaceX and Zynga, according to the source. The talks included "several" member companies of a Washington-based technology policy association, according to a separate source. Trump's order has provoked widespread outrage, including from technology firms, with executives from Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Netflix expressing concerns over the ban. The executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days, and for the next three months bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Flurry of lawsuits Several lawsuits have been filed over the order, and judges in several jurisdictions have blocked some elements of the directive. In Washington state, Expedia and Amazon filed comments supporting a challenge by the state's attorney general, Bob Ferguson. Amazon stated it had 49 employees born in one of the countries identified in the Trump order and seven who have received job offers from the tech giant. "We reached out to impacted Amazon employees and dependents and recommended that they refrain from travel outside of the United States until further notice," the statement said. Since Friday, several technology firms and associations have criticized the order and warned it could harm the competitiveness of US tech firms. Microsoft said in a statement Tuesday it would "continue to work directly with employees and their families affected by the executive order, including providing them with legal and other assistance." Ed Black of the Computer & Communications Industry Association said that the "hasty executive order is unlikely to achieve the desired goal and instead damages the principles that make this country a place immigrants aspire to work." Linda Moore of TechNet, another industry group, said the measures "create considerable uncertainty in our nation's immigration system and will adversely impact technology workers who live and work in our nation," and added that the group "opposes all discrimination, including on the basis of race, religion, and country of origin." Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Technology Association said that "blocking access en masse of employees of US companies who are lawful visa and green card holders based on religion or national origin raises constitutional issues, hurts our nation -- both morally and economically -- and runs counter to our country's longstanding values." Jurors found Timothy Ciboro and his 28-year-old son, Esten Ciboro, guilty on charges of rape, kidnapping and child endangering. (Photo: Lucas COunty Corrections Centre) Toledo, Ohio: A father and his adult son were sentenced to life in prison Friday after being convicted of raping and shackling a teenage stepdaughter who escaped their basement by hiding a spare key and using it to unlock her handcuffs. Jurors found Timothy Ciboro and his 28-year-old son, Esten Ciboro, guilty on charges of rape, kidnapping and child endangering. Both men had denied abusing the girl, who is now 14, and a nine-year-old girl who also testified that she had been sexually abused by the father and son. Esten Ciboro, who along with his father served as his own attorney, told jurors during his closing argument Friday that they needed to do the right thing and 'reunite this family and end their suffering.' Lucas County Judge Linda Jennings sentenced Timothy Ciboro to life without parole while his son received 68 years to life. 'You two are the most depraved, demented and evil people I've ever seen,' the judge said. The older girl testified earlier this week that she was forced to stay in the basement for varying lengths of time as punishment or when the men left the house and that she was allowed out to shower or use the restroom. Officers found leg irons in the basement along with a bucket the girl said she used as a toilet, according to a police report. The girl, whose mother was living in Las Vegas at the time, said she was left to live in the house with the men at age 7 when her mother moved away. She said she was treated more harshly than the younger girl and a boy who lived in the house, and that her punishment for wetting the bed worsened from being spanked, to being locked in a bathroom to being chained in the basement. Police arrested the men last May after the older girl escaped and was found outside a downtown office building more than a mile away. The two men questioned the older girl after she described the abuse and being shackled by the ankle to a support beam in the darkened room. At one point during her testimony on Tuesday, she told Timothy Ciboro to stop referring to himself as her dad. 'You didn't treat me like a dad,' she said to Ciboro, who is not her biological father. 'You think I like punishing you?' Ciboro responded. 'I would say the sexual touching you enjoyed,' answered the girl. At a pretrial hearing, Timothy Ciboro successfully argued that he should be able to bring a Bible into court, saying it was 'the only law book that matters'. 'There's a great deal of strategy in Scripture and I use those strategies in everything I do,' he told the judge, according to the Toledo Blade. Palabras iniciales Para muchos, a pesar de los grandes cambios tecnologicos, la Terra Australis Incognita sigue siendo desconocida y representa por diversos motivos, un polo de atraccion. En este blog encontraran historias, personajes, aventuras, fotografias de quienes construyeron y los que continuan desarrollando la Patagonia y el territorio antartico. Mi origen magallanico indudablemente ha influido en que pretenda ser un puente que contribuya al conocimiento y al desarrollo cultural y social de esta region del mundo. Por lo tanto, las noticias tambien son importantes y estaran presentes en el blog. Finalmente, la integracion, en sus diversas formas, es otro de los objetivos que espero desarrollar a traves de este blog Roberto Bravo Vidal Atlanta: A hijab-clad woman in the US was allegedly harassed and abused at a cafe by a man who asked her "do you have a green card", the latest in a slew of incidents in which immigrants have been targeted following Donald Trump's 'visa ban' on seven Muslim-majority nations. A young Muslim-American woman filmed the moment she was harassed and cat-called after a man took photos of her in an Atlanta coffee shop. Asma Elhuni, 39, noticed the man, who news outlets believe to be Rob Koehler, walk into Joe's Coffee Shop and start taking pictures of her as she worked on her laptop. "I was just on my computer, minding my business, and I look up and see a guy with a camera pointing at me," Elhuni told Atlanta's Creative Loafing. Elhuni, an American citizen who is a Georgia State University political science graduate student and a legislative intern for State Representative Brenda Lopez, said at first she tried to ignore the man who allegedly began photographing her with his phone. "I'm like, are you taking a picture of me? And he goes: 'Yeah.' Just like that! And so I was like: 'OK, I will take a picture of you.' And he smiled, and I was like, OK, I'm going to videotape him now," Elhuni said. In the resulting video, Elhuni calmly asks the man, who is white, why he is taking pictures of her. The man sits down close to Elhuni, claims he was taking pictures of the man behind her, and accuses her of being "uptight" and "acting like a b***h". He then asks "do you have a green card", before another man who appears to be his friend ushers him away. Elhuni posted the video on her Facebook page and it has since gone viral, with more than 90,000 views. "What I wanted to show him was, one, what he did was inappropriate, and two, I'm not afraid of you. Because did you see how he sat down and got in my face? I knew my weapon was my camera," she said. At the coffee shop, several patrons and employees who witnessed the event firsthand quickly rallied around Elhuni, sitting down next to her, hugging her and buying her tea. "It was hard to tell what was happening from across the room, but it was clear the guy was harassing her," a witness was quoted as saying. The harassment incident comes close on the heels of President Donald Trump's executive order banning all entry into the US of nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Libya, where Elhuni is originally from. An official statement posted on the Joe's East Atlanta Facebook page in response to the incident read, "There is a video floating around on Facebook of an encounter with one of our dear customers and a man saying horrible things to her. We do not condone such behaviour and are, frankly, disgusted by it." People protest against US President Donald Trump's inauguration next to a fake wall with a Mexican national flag and a dummy representing him in Mexico City.(Photo: AFP) Mexico City: Mexicans are replacing profile pictures on social media with their countrys flag. Others are calling for boycotts of American products like Coca-Cola and Starbucks. US President Donald Trumps vow to make Mexicans pay for a massive border wall has not only caused a diplomatic row, it has sparked patriotic fervour south of the border. On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, people are using the hashtag #WeAreAllMexico, punctuating anti-Trump tweets with cries of Viva Mexico! and boasting that they live in the best country in the world. President Enrique Pena Nietos spokesman, his foreign and finance ministers, and government departments have made the countrys green, white and red flag their profile photo on Twitter. A slew of hashtags encourage Mexicans to stay away from American goods: #AdiosProductosGringos (goodbye gringo products), #AdiosStarbucks, #AdiosMcDonalds and #AdiosCocaCola. Telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, the worlds fourth richest man, called a rare news conference to express his great pleasure at the burst of national pride and support for the president, even though Pena Nietos economic reforms have chipped away at the billionaires telephone empire. This is the most surprising display of national unity that I have seen in my life, Slim said, urging Mexicans to support Pena Nietos negotiations with the US administration. Proud to be Mexican Pena Nieto, whose popularity fell to 12 percent earlier in January after protests erupted over an increase in gasoline prices, has seized on the renewed patriotic pride. In a video message late Monday, he touted this national unity and said it must be the cornerstone of our strategy and our actions inside and outside the country. He boasted: Today like never before, I feel proud to be Mexican. Pena Nieto vowed to be firm in his defense of Mexicos dignity and independence from the US government, though he said that his phone conversation with Trump on Friday opened spaces for the two governments to continue their dialogue. Jesus Velasco, an expert on US-Mexico relations at Tarleton State University in Texas, said that fixing ties will take a while because the damage has been done. Mexicans praised Pena Nieto for canceling a meeting with Trump in Washington scheduled for this week, after the US president ordered the construction of the wall and insisted that Mexico pay for it. Opposition leaders rallied behind Pena Nieto and even his longtime rival, two-time leftist presidential election runnerup Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, applauded the move. But Pena Nietos popularity appears to have had a limited bounce. An opinion poll published in the daily Excelsior on Tuesday showed his approval rating rising by a handful of points to 16 percent -- though the survey was conducted only among 400 Mexicans and had a five-point margin of error. Wrapped in flag Mexico tends to be a nationalist country when it is attacked from outside, said Damaso Morales, a foreign relations expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Throughout our history, we have wrapped ourselves in the flag and thrown ourselves into a nationalism that could even be irrational, Morales said. Morales was referring to the story -- some say legend -- of a cadet who draped himself with the Mexican flag and jumped to his death from the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City rather than live to see US forces grab it during a war in 1847. But Javier Oliva, a Mexican political and security expert at the London School of Economics, said Mexicos nationalism is merely reactive and does not pose a threat. One of the things that we have to thank Trump for is that the world now knows where Mexico is, Oliva said. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during his press conference in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. (Photo: AP) Seoul: Former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, one of the world's most recognised South Koreans announced that he will not stand for the presidency of his country on Wednesday. Ban returned home last month after a decade in New York and was widely expected to run in elections due this year. But his putative candidacy ran into a series of stumbles. "I will withdraw from politics," he told reporters at a press conference adding that he is "sorry for disappointing many people." Although he never officially declared he was running, the former UN chief had embarked on a series of public appearances. He was widely expected to join the ruling Saenuri party of impeached President Park Geun-Hye, or an emerging conservative breakaway for the upcoming presidential elections. But he struggled to secure party backing in South Korea's highly partisan political system, corruption allegations were made against some of his relatives, and pictures of him trying to put two banknotes into a ticket machine at once made him appear out of touch. "My pure patriotism and aspirations have fallen victim to slander that was close to personality slaughter," he said Wednesday, before bowing briefly, shuffling his papers and leaving the stage. His support in public opinion polls rapidly declined from 20.3 percent when he returned to 13.1 percent before his announcement. A career diplomat, Ban never joined any South Korean political party, although he served as foreign minister under the late liberal president Roh Moo-Hyun from 2004 to 2006. The European Court of Justice in in Luxembourg ruled that an asylum request can be rejected if the person seeking protection has links to a terrorist group. (Photo: AP/File) Luxembourg: European Union nations can reject asylum seekers who have taken part in a terrorist groups activities even if their role was confined to logistics, the blocs top court ruled on Tuesday. The European Court of Justice ruled against a Moroccan whose request for asylum in Belgium was rejected after a Belgian court convicted him in 2006 of forging passports for a Moroccan group recruiting jihadists for Iraq. It said the Moroccan, Mostafa Lounani, had applied for refugee status expressing fears of persecution if he were returned to his home country which would likely view him as a radical Islamist and jihadist. An application for asylum can be rejected if the asylum seeker has participated in the activities of a terrorist network, the court ruled. It is not necessary that the asylum seeker personally committed terrorist acts, or instigated such acts, or participated in their commission, it added. It said grounds for exclusion from asylum can extend to people engaged in the activities of recruitment, organisation, transportation of people who travel across borders to perpetrate or plot terror attacks. The Belgian court, it said, had sentenced Lounani to six years in jail for actively participating in the Belgian cell of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group by forging passports to help volunteers fight in Iraq. The court also based its decision on the fact that Lounani was a member of the leadership of a terrorist group operating internationally and blacklisted by the United Nations in 2002. Berlin: Germany's economy minister said President Donald Trump's administration has sent "alarming" signals on trade so far, also saying isolationism would also hurt the US economy and it's important to keep talking with Washington. Germany has the biggest economy in the 28-nation European Union and is one of the world's biggest exporters. It is wary of a more protectionist US approach under the new administration. "What we have been experiencing for the last 10 days is alarming and disconcerting," Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries was quoted as telling. "This goes in completely the wrong direction." Asked what the German government can do to prevent a negative impact on German jobs, she replied, "We must talk, talk, talk. The kind of isolation Donald Trump apparently strives for would hurt everyone, including American business." She added that "US business can have no interest in an escalation either." Zypries said, without specifying details, that some of what Trump has announced "is not compatible with the principles of the World Trade Organization." Zypries noted that 60 percent of German exports go to Europe and only about 10 percent to the United States. However, in 2015 - last year's statistics are not yet available - the US was Germany's biggest single trading partner. German exports to the US totalled 113.7 billion euros ($122 billion), while imports were worth 60.2 billion euros. On Tuesday, Peter Navarro, who is to lead a new White House council on trade, was quoted in the Financial Times as saying that Germany is using a "grossly undervalued" euro to "exploit" the US and its EU partners. Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that the euro is overseen by the European Central Bank, and stressed Germany's backing for the ECB's independence - "so I can't and don't want to change anything about the situation." Beyond that, she said during a visit to Sweden on Tuesday, "we try to succeed in world trade with competitive products, in fair competition with everyone else." The victim's stepfather used to take her to the basement in a room he called his 'den' where he would rape her. (Representational image) London: A 54-year-old woman has spoken about the years of horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather who raped her since the age of 10, it was reported. In her testimony, the victim said that her mother, who had undergone hysterectomy at the time of abuse, allowed her stepfather to rape her so that he could father a child with her. According to a report in the Mirror, the victim's stepfather used to take her to the basement in a room he called his 'den' where he would rape her. The victim also claimed that her mother knew about the abuse, but she did not intervene. Moreover, when the victim got pregnant as a result of repeated rape, her mother tried to cover it up by saying that she was impregnated by a boy at a party. While the case was under going a trial in the Reading Crown Court, prosecutors argued that the accused raped his stepdaughter regularly until she gave birth to his son. However, he said that he was not the father of the child. While testifying before the court, the victim said, "He asked me if I wanted to go and get some KFC. Of course I said yes and we went in the car. We went to the chicken shop and on the way back we went through Slough Trading Estate. He pulled up and stopped and said to me I want to see something and all of a sudden his hand was in my knickers. I was screaming." "I was trying to get his hands off me. He was strong. I couldn't. I don't even known what I thought at the time, I was only little, I didn't know if it was what everybody goes through or if it is just you," she further said. "I carried on until it happened again and again," she added recalling the horror. The case is still under trial and is scheduled for the next hearing. Tehran: Iran confirmed that it had tested a ballistic missile on Wednesday, but denied that was a breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The comments from Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan came after the UN Security Council met on Tuesday to discuss the weekend test, which Washington described as "absolutely unacceptable". "The action was in line with boosting Iran's defence power and is not in contradiction with the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) or Resolution 2231," Dehghan said. He was referring to a UN Security Council resolution that bans Iran from developing missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. "This test was in line with our ongoing programmes," Iranian media quoted him as saying. "We have previously announced that we will execute the programmes we have planned in production of defence equipment meant for our national interests and objectives. Nobody can influence our decision, said the Defence Minister. He further added, "We will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defence affairs." Iran's ballistic missile programme has been a bone of contention with the West since the nuclear deal took effect in January last year, triggering the lifting of international sanctions. Iran says its missiles do not breach United Nations resolutions because they are for defence purposes only and are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. It has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 kilometres, sufficient to reach Israel as well as US bases in the region. US ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council on Tuesday that Washington would not stand idly by while Tehran pursued its missile programme. "The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out," she said. Tehran warned Washington against using the issue to fuel tensions. "We hope that Iran's defence programme is not used by the new US administration... as a pretext to create new tensions," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said ahead of the meeting. The row comes against a backdrop of already strained relations between Washington and Tehran over US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. Some 220 Iranian lawmakers signed a motion on Wednesday endorsing the boosting of Iran's defence capabilities, the Fars news agency reported. "The Islamic Republic of Iran's only way to deter the enemy's aggression is its missile power," the motion said, calling the programme "an unavoidable necessity" for protecting national security. The European Union, which helped broker the nuclear deal, had appealed to Tehran to refrain from activities such as the missile tests, "which deepen mistrust." Islamabad: While Pakistan media had earlier speculated that the warning issued by the US-led to the house arrest of Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, an article has said that China is more likely to be the reason behind the move. The article said that Trump has been in office for less than two weeks and beyond his rapid-fire issuance of executive orders, his presidency appears frenzied and disorganised. The numerous unfilled senior diplomatic and national security posts also add to his woes. With this, the Trump administration has too much on its plate to be focusing laser-like on Pakistan. The article said that in a telling yet underreported development several weeks ago, China's former consul general in Kolkata published a blog post calling on Beijing to rethink its default policy of blocking Indian attempts to have Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar sanctioned by the United Nations. It makes good sense when one thinks about the high stakes of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). For Beijing (as for Islamabad), rapid and sustained progress on this project is a core strategic imperative, the article said. It added that even though Saeed doesn't pose a direct threat to China, as so long as he walked free, he posed a direct threat to India-Pakistan relations. The last thing China wants is an India-Pakistan relationship on tenterhooks as it pushes forward with CPEC. China has for long pressed Pakistan to tackle terror more robustly - and it's arguably gotten results. Some have speculated that Beijings prodding played a role in Pakistan's decision to launch the Zarb-e-Azb operation to fight militancy. The anti-state militants targeted had not only terrorised Pakistan but they had also posed a threat to Chinese investments and workers in Pakistan. In short, we should never underestimate China's leverage in Pakistan including its ability to get Pakistan to do things it often resists, said the article while questioning as to why Pakistan did not act weeks or months ago if the decision was influenced by China. It added that this house arrest, at least in part, can also be read as an effort by Pakistan to showcase its counter-terrorism efforts to the new US administration and to dissuade Trump from adding Pakistan to the list of countries that can't send their citizens to the United States for 90 days. The article further says that China has the ability to get Pakistan to go beyond token gestures when it comes to addressing anti-India militancy and unless Pakistan chooses to do some big-time signalling to Washington by keeping Saeed in detention for an extended period. Washington: Ruing that no great power is "nudging" India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, Pakistan's opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has asked New Delhi not to threaten his country by using human entitlements such as water as a "weapon." "I am not one to oversell our strategic location, but it does pivot us at a unique node in many potential regional collaborations. Yet instead of passing on the dividends of connectivity, we remain trapped in its nemesis, the corrosive flame of conflict," Zardari, leader of the Pakistan People's Party told a Washington audience. "It is indeed a failure of the region's leadership that South and Central Asia is unable to grow its potential as an economic and energy powerhouse. It is also failure of the international community's stated commitment to peace that we see no great powers rushing to nudge India and Pakistan to resolve one of the oldest disputes on the UN's roster of forgotten flashpoints," he said. For Pakistan, and even India and Asia, climate change is a very real danger, and Pakistan is on the frontline of recurring natural disasters, flooding and droughts," Zardari said in his address to the US Institute of Peace, a top American think-tank. "As one of the 10 most water-stressed countries of the world, I know Pakistan cannot afford to be cavalier about shared resources. So I hope the current government in India does not repeat its threat of using human entitlements such as water as a weapon," the Pakistani leader said, referring to the Indus Water Treaty. He recalled that one of the world's most successful water treaties actually holds down the distribution agreements between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank in the 1960s, enduring several wars as well as the fog of cold peace. The treaty, signed in 1960, gives India control over the three eastern rivers of the Indus basin -- the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej -- while Pakistan has the three western rivers the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The IWT also sets up a mechanism, the Permanent Indus Commission, which includes a commissioner from each country. "Threatening this treaty's abrogation is one of -- is one example of how extremist postures in the region are failing the people of South Asia, blocking us from realising our potential as an engine of Asian and global growth. Our sheer population explosion in South Asia, already home to one-fifth of humanity, puts us in no position to normalise the language of war and exclusion as a policy tool, yet temperatures are rising all round," Zardari said. Islamabad: Pakistan Interior Ministry has included the names of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and 37 others, who are affiliated with JuD or Lashkar-e-Taiba, on the Exit Control List, two days after he was placed under house arrest. The Ministry has sent letters to all the provincial governments and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The move, which bars the 38 individuals from leaving Pakistan, comes two days after authorities placed Saeed under house arrest along with four other individuals, namely Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz. "Placed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) on the Watch List as per UNSC 1267 Sanctions and have listed these organisations in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 (as amended)," Geo TV quoted a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior. "Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organisations within the meaning of Section 11EEE(1) of the ATA 1997 (as amended). As such, they must be placed under preventive detention," said the ministry. The detention order surfaced hours after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar hinted that a crackdown was imminent. He told reporters in Islamabad on Monday that, given the group had been under observation for years and was blacklisted internationally, Pakistan was "under obligation to take some action". Saeed, however, told reporters that he would challenge his detention in court. "My detention orders are unlawful and we will challenge them in the court," Saeed told reporters before he was led away by the police. However, India reacted to this cautiously stating that only a ' credible crackdown' on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and other terrorist organisations will prove the 'sincerity' of the Asian neighbours. External Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the government has seen the reports on Pakistan Interior Ministry order, placing the JuD and the Falah-e-Insaniyet Foundation under the watch-list and also the notification under which the foundation has been included in the second schedule of their anti-terror legislation under UN Security Council Resolution number 1267. "We have also noted that Hafiz Saeed and four others have been placed under preventive detention. Exercises such as yesterday's orders against Hafiz Saeed and others have been carried out by Pakistan in the past also," Swarup said. (ANI) Pakistani authorities, facing mounting pressure from the Trump administration, placed Saeed and four others under detention, on Monday night. Islamabad: Jamaat-ud-Dawa and other religious parties in Pakistan on Wednesday threatened to launch a countrywide protest movement if their leader Hafiz Saeed was not released immediately. Saeed and four other JuD leaders were put under house arrest on the order of Punjab Province's Interior Ministry on Monday in pursuance to a directive from the Federal Interior Ministry on January 27. JuD along with Difai (defence) Council of Pakistan (DCP), an umbrella coalition of more than 40 Pakistani Political and Religious parties, said the responsibility would lie with the rulers, if the Kashmir movement suffered any disruption or weakness as result of the arrest. They promised to go nationwide rally on February 5 to support the cause of Kashmiris, on the instruction of Saeed. DCP Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said that house arrest of Saeed was aimed at pleasing India. "Only a few days ago, a public gathering of the DCP has designated 2017 for the liberation of Kashmir, which had irked India. The house arrest of Hafiz will not, in any way, affect the movement. Hafiz Saeed was released by courts. His arrest is without any reason or justification and he should be released instantly," Haq demanded. Militant commander Syed Salahuddin also asked the Pakistan government to withdraw the orders to keep Saeed under house arrest. Salahuddin said the government decision was "painful and cowardly". Salahuddin, who heads the United Jihad Council (UJC), said in a statement that Pakistan government's move not only sent "a negative and disappointing message" to the people living in Kashmir, but it also showed "Pakistan's weak role in the ongoing freedom struggle" of Kashmiris. Meanwhile, protests continued in major cities of Pakistan against Saeed's detention. According to local media reports, the protesters burnt effigies of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protestors also raised slogans and held placards and banners showing support to Saeed. Colombo: Sri Lanka police have arrested an astrologer who predicted President Maithripala Sirisena would die. Most Sri Lankans follow advises of astrologers for making decisions, and the suspect, astrologer Vijitha Rohana Wijemuni, is a former navy sailor convicted of attempting to assassinate India's then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by assaulting him when he visited the island in 1989. The Police Media Division said Wijemuni was arrested Tuesday evening on the charges of making false predictions and comments that could mislead people. Wijemuni posted several videos on Facebook predicting Sirisena would die of illness or accident before Jan. 27. His predictions raised concerns of top government officials, and Media Ministry Secretary Nimal Bopage asked the police chief in December to investigate, as he suspected a possible coup and assassination were behind Wijemuni's campaign. The Taliban have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan since the US and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP) Kabul, Afghanistan: The Taliban have shot dead a woman accused of adultery in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. Ahmad Naweed Frotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, said Amir Begum was killed late Tuesday in the remote Yumgan district after being accused of having an affair. "We strongly condemned the brutal killing of Amir Begum in front of the eyes of her family members," said Frotan. He said if there was any truth to the allegations they should be taken up by a court, not armed men. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, an insurgent rocket attack killed a civilian in the southern Helmand province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months. Ghulam Nabi Charkhi, head of the provincial counterterrorism department in Helmand, said three others, including a small child, were wounded in the attack in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. The attack took place as Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah was about to leave Lashkar Gah with other officials after a visit to assess security in the province. None of the officials were harmed. In the eastern Khost province, five police and three small children were wounded when a police vehicle hit a remotely detonated roadside bomb, said Ghani-ul Rahman, the deputy provincial police chief. The Taliban have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan since the US and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, leaving a smaller contingent of troops behind to focus on training and counterterrorism. Former Union minister and IUML leader E Ahamed, who was widely considered as India's 'unofficial ambassador' to Gulf countries, passed away early today but a row broke out over the presentation of the Union Budget in Parliament in the light of the death of the sitting MP. The Centre was also accused by the Congress of delaying the announcement of the death of 78-year-old Ahamed at government-run RML hospital in Delhi to facilitate the presentation of Budget as scheduled. Ahamed is a sitting Lok Sabha MP from Mallapuram in Kerala. Ahamed died at 2:15 AM at Ram Manohar Lohia(RML) hospital where he was admitted yesterday and put on artificial life support. The Indian Union Muslim League(IUML) leader collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest during the President's address at the joint sitting of Parliament and was rushed to RML hospital yesterday. "E Ahamed passed away at 2:15 AM. His body has been taken to AIIMS hospital for embalming as the facility is not available at RML," a senior RML doctor told PTI. A widower, Ahamed is survived by two sons and a daughter. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the Centre for presenting the Union Budget, hours after the death of Ahmed saying it was "improper, unfortunate and amounted to showing disrespect" to the departed leader. "Presenting budget in the same building within hours after his death was totally improper and unfortunate. The Centre has gone ahead with the budget presentation, hurting the sentiments of the members of the House," he said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram . "The act amounted to disrespect to the memories of the deceased and insulting the democratic consciousness of the nation. It was a grave mistake that the government had gone ahead with the budget presentation at a time when tributes should have been paid to such a senior leader," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other top leaders cutting across party lines paid rich tributes to Ahamed. Modi said Ahamed's efforts for empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered, noting that he served the nation with great diligence. He said Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala's progress and his role in deepening India's ties with West Asia was notable. Ahamed was not only an able Parliamentarian and administrator, but also is considered as India's 'unofficial ambassador' to Gulf countries due to his proximity with leaders in that region. Ahamed had served the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh from 2004-12 as Minister of State for External Affairs and Railways besides holding the additional charge of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Ahamed, who started his political innings in Kerala with five stints as member of state assembly, proved his administrative capabilities as Industries Minister in 1982. Rejecting demands from the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to postpone the presentation of the Budget following the death of Ahamed, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to carry out the exercise saying it was a "constitutional obligation". Mahajan, however, said Lok Sabha will not sit tomorrow as a mark of respect for the departed leader.Ahamed had also tried his hand as a journalist-- both as Sub editor and Reporter of the party newspaper 'Chandrika' and played a vital role in the growth of the newspaper. "They had information (about E Ahmed's death) and could have decided yesterday (to make it public) but they put that on hold. They thought they will take a decision after the presentation of the Budget. "This is an inhuman act. To deal with a politician like this at such a time is not acceptable. There is ample time for conducting the Budget. They could have postponed the Budget and conducted it tomorrow but they have dismissed this," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters in Delhi. High drama prevailed at RML hospital when top Congress leaders visited the hospital to enquire about Ahamed's health last night amid allegations that his family was not being allowed to meet him. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides other party leaders rushed to the hospital late at night and met Ahamed's family. "Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel rushed to the RML hospital because E Ahamed's family, who collapsed today, is not being permitted to meet him or to know about his well being. This is complete high-handedness of the government," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told PTI. He said the government has stopped the blood relatives of the former Union Minister from meeting him or knowing about his critical state at such a time. Sources add that Ahamed's son, daughters and son-in-law were at the hospital and even had an exchange of hot words with the hospital authorities. Former Defence Minister and Congress leader A K Antony termed as "cruel" the behaviour of the RML Hospital authorities towards Ahamed's family members. In an obvious reference to the demand for delaying the budget announcement following the death of Ahamed, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the "controversial budget" became even more controversial. "Controversial budget became even more controversial," Banerjee said in a statement. "Very sad to see the way E Ahamed Ji and family were handled. Condolences to the family of E Ahamed ji. He was first elected as an MLA 50 years ago and served the nation and the people of Kerala," the TMC added. Ahamed, a widely travelled politician, had represented India in United Nations 10 times. He was also an active member of the Union government's Haj Committee and also co-chairman for the high-level monitoring mechanism of India and Qatar in 2011. In 1984, he was sent to GCC countries as an Emissary of the then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi. Ahamed had started his political innings in Kerala with five stints as member of state assembly and proved his administrative capabilities as Industries Minister in 1982. It was during his tenure that a new Industrial culture took shape in the state with the setting up of KELTRON. Ahamed gave a national face to IUML, a partner in the Congress-led UDF coalition. Born to Abdul Khader Haji and Nasifa Beevi in 1938, he had his early education in Tana in Kannur district. He graduated from the Brennen College, Thalassery and earned a law degree from Thiruvananthapuram Law college. For a short period, he practised in a court in Thalassery and Kerala High Court. A student leader and founder general secretary of the Muslim Students Federation, Ahamed was first elected as MLA in 1967 and was member of the house in 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1987. In 1991, he shifted his political arena to Delhi and became Lok Sabha member from Manjeri in Malappuram district and went on to win from the same constituency in 1996, 1998, and 1999. In 2004 polls, Ahamed's victory was the saving grace for Congress-led UDF as all other 19 seats were won by CPI(M) led LDF. In the 2014 elections, Ahamed had won by the largest margin of over one lakh votes. Ahamed also had four books in English and Malayalam as author to his credit.PTI An FIR will be registered against Jamaat-u-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, a senior Pakistani minister has said, without clarifying under which case the Mumbai attack mastermind would be booked. "Action against Saeed has been taken after taking all institutions on board. The government has put Saeed under house arrest for the time being but an FIR will be registered against him," Federal Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir said. Asked under which case Saeed would be booked, Dastgir said, "It will be known in a few days". Punjab Province Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said more Jamaat-u-Dawa (JuD) and Falaha-i-Insanyat (FIF) activists would be detained in coming days. "We are watching the activities of the suspected workers of the JuD and FIF and more activists will be detained under Fourth Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act," he said. Talking to reporters here, Sanaullah said Saeed's Kahmir policy is completely different from that of the Nawaz Sharif government. "We will not compromise on national interest. Our policy on Kashmir is different from that of JuD's," he said, adding that the government is keeping an eye on the activities of the active workers of the JuD and FIF after placing both organisations on the watch list. Meanwhile, leaders from diverse political spectrum have reacted to Saeed's house arrest. Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's senior leader Mahmoodur Rasheed alleged that the PML-N government had taken action against Saeed because of the US and India. "Action against Saeed shows that the government has succumbed to Indian pressure," said Rasheed, who is also the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly. He claimed that Saeed was being punished for raising voice for the rights of Kashmiris and no one could doubt his "patriotism". Jamaat-i-Islami leader and member Punjab Assembly Wasim Akhtar said Saeed had brought the Kashmir issue alive and there had been a lot of social work to the credit of FIF. He demanded the immediate release of Saeed and other JuD leaders. Defence Council Pakistan (DPC) Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said Saeed's house arrest was aimed at "pleasing India". The DPC threatened to launch a protest movement if Saeed was not released immediately. It said the DPC will take out a nationwide rally on February 5 on the instruction of Saeed. JuD is part of DPC. Saeed has been placed under a 90-day house arrest. There have been reports that Islamabad has immense pressure from new US administration to take action against Saeed and his organisations. Saeed was also put under house arrest after Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but he was freed by court in 2009. China's second aircraft carrier, currently being built at a rapid pace, is likely to be based somewhere near the South China Sea to handle "complicated situations", state-run media reported amid tensions over the country's assertiveness in the disputed region. The second carrier is being built at the port of Dalian. An official television network in Shandong yesterday reported that the aircraft carrier was "taking shape" after two years and nine months of construction, but it did not provide further details, such as when the carrier would be completed. Various Chinese media reports have suggested that the carrier was expected to be completed in the first half of 2017 and would officially join the navy in 2019, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today. Beijing has yet to officially announce the base of China's second aircraft carrier. The country's second carrier is likely to be named the Shandong after the province on China's east coast, an article carried by Xiake Dao, a social media account affiliated with the overseas edition of the state run Peoples Daily said. "Based on existing available information," the Chinese navy's second aircraft carrier base would be in a southern province, it said. "It will be used to tackle the complicated situations in the South China Sea. The aircraft carrier will probably be based there," the article said. Recent reports in the official media said China is also in the process of building a third aircraft carrier. The first carrier, the Liaoning, which is a refitted version of former Soviet Union ship, is based in Qingdao, a port in the north that is close to Japan and South Korea. An aircraft carrier base in the southern part of China's coast is likely to enhance the nation's military capability in the South China Sea, where China is building up artificial islands and stirring up tensions with the US. Recent write-ups in the official media say China braced for a showdown with the US as officials of the Trump administration have made remarks like US should stop Chinese ships accessing the artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. China has become more assertive over the South China Sea after an international tribunal struck down its claim over almost all of the area. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims over the South China Sea. Actor and producer Sonu Sood and Hollywood actor Jackie Chan have been friends for a long time. Its not just their work that brought them together but also the fact that their wavelengths and thought processes match perfectly. The two actors are sharing screen space in Kung Fu Yoga, slated for a worldwide release on February 3. Sonu, who is presenting the film, says the project has everything one expects from a Jackie Chan venture high octane action and comical moments. The story of a treasure hunt goes beyond just marrying kung fu and yoga. The high budget film has been shot in very exclusive locations, including the deep caves in Iceland. In an interview with Nina C George, Sonu Sood talks about the making of the film and his association with Jackie Chan. When did the two of you decide to work together? We have been contemplating collaborating on a project for a while now. Kung fu is a Chinese martial art and form and yoga originates in India. We thought it would be a good idea to mix the two. I play a prince and Jackie dons the role of an archaeologist. In our separate paths, the two of us are on a common mission to find a hidden treasure. The story takes a turn when the two of us come face-to-face with each other. Tells us about your character in the film. I go by the name of Rendall in the film. He is a modern-day prince who gathers a team of people to hunt for the lost treasure that belonged to his ancestors. The treasure went missing from the palace thousands of years ago and Rendall is keen on getting it back. Although I play a prince, my body language, costume and accent dont change. They have been kept simple and relatable. What are some of the action sequences that one can look forward to? Theres a massive car chase between Jackie and me that has been shot on the busy stretches of Dubai. This scene is interesting because you will see the most expensive cars and bikes being blown up mid-air. We also have a similar chase sequence in a cave in Iceland. However, the climax action scene is a fist fight between Jackie and me. What preparations have gone into the project? I trained with Jackies team for more than a year. In kung fu, the punches are pretty quick. By the time you have packed the first punch, the second one would be in your face. The martial art form is fast and requires quick thinking. I also had to train my mind to move at a brisk pace. What do you admire about Jackie? Jackie is very passionate about cinema. He works very hard and I learnt a lot just by watching him go about his business. He came over to India and did well to move from one place to another, to promote the film. He went beyond just talking about the script and the movie and merged with the culture of the people here. We also made sure that he got a feel of Indian culture. He was treated to authentic Indian dishes and sweets. He relished Punjabi food, with butter chicken and paneer-based dishes topping his list of favourites. Three days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order sharply curtailing immigration and the rights of refugees, questions about its reach and legality are increasingly focusing on the orders uncertainty. By circumventing normal practices for formulating policies and their execution, the White House has created still-swirling confusion about whom the order targets and how it will be enforced. There is also ambiguity about the legality of the order, which the White House calls extreme vetting but which critics call a Muslim ban, and about how court challenges, already underway, will proceed. For many abroad, the ban raised questions about how a US president could undertake such an action suddenly and unilaterally, seemingly unfettered by checks and balances. The orders apparent breaches with usual protocol over how policy is made, and potentially with the law, are creating major problems in its enforcement. Why has the order created such disarray? The order targets three groups: refugees from any country, who are blocked from entering the United States for the next 120 days; refugees from Syria, who are barred indefinitely; and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, who are barred from entering the United States for at least 90 days. Those countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. But what all that means in practice is not clear, which has led to disorder in its application. The third measure has created the most uncertainty. The Department of Homeland Security initially said that the order barred even legal permanent residents who hold green cards. On Sunday, Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff, appeared to reverse that, but the order still appears to affect foreign students, workers and other visa holders from targeted countries. How is the order being carried out? The order clarifies little on enforcement, leaving customs and border officials appearing to improvise. Several federal courts have prohibited deportations under the ban and have ordered that individuals detained at airports or at the border have access to lawyers. But there have been reports of customs and border officials refusing to comply. This appears to set up a potential conflict between the branches of government a worrying possibility, as the separation of powers is a cornerstone of US democracy. Should the judicial branch be blocked from performing its role as a check on the executive, it would lead to a constitutional crisis. It is unclear how Trump would respond to such a crisis or how it would resolve. Can the president do this unilaterally? The president has broad powers to regulate and restrict immigration without congressional approval, though this is limited by certain constitutional protections that could apply. Trump broke radically in this case with long-held norms of how executive power is exercised. Those practices are meant to vet a policy for its legality and ability to be enforced, as well as for unforeseen consequences. The process also lets agencies begin planning how they will execute the policy and allows those affected to prepare. The administration appears to have largely skipped that process, drafting this and other recent orders within a small circle of political advisers. Relevant agencies and the National Security Council were granted little or no review over the immigration order before it was signed. There is no law mandating such an internal review. But, by forgoing it, the administration circumvented an important internal check on executive power, while creating the impression that it is making critical national policy in slapdash fashion. Is the order legal? For judges to issue emergency stays, like those that have emerged, they must determine that there is a high likelihood that the legal challenge will succeed meaning that they think the ban is probably legally deficient, at least when applied to people who have reached the United States and are holding valid papers. T Alexander Aleinikoff, a former general counsel to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service and a former deputy commissioner of the United Nations refugee agency, said that the ban could conflict with federal and constitutional law. The refugee convention, a UN treaty that is incorporated into US law, prohibits discrimination against refugees on the basis of religion. The Immigration and Nationality Act also prohibits such discrimination in the issuance of visas. The executive orders vague, confusing language which Aleinikoff, a leading expert in immigration law, struggled to interpret with any certainty could also leave the order open to arguments that it violates constitutional due process protections. However, the president has broad legal authority to restrict immigration. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, he can restrict any class of aliens he deems detrimental to the interests of the United States without needing legislation or congressional approval. Can the US bar Muslims? The courts have not directly decided whether the law grants the president the power to bar a religious group, such as Muslims, or if that would be a violation of the constitution. Federal courts may be reluctant to rule on such a broad constitutional question, Aleinikoff said. Narrower challenges could lead the White House to introduce a new order that is more carefully tailored to pass legal muster. Overturning the order outright would most likely require establishing that it is a ban on Muslims, which the White House has denied. Is this a Muslim ban? The order does not explicitly target Muslims but rather nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, which also contain non-Muslim minorities. However, there is growing suspicion that the order grew out of Trumps campaign promise of, as he put it in a December 2015 statement, a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what is going on. Critics have pointed out that, since 2001, no foreign-born citizens from the countries targeted by the order have committed terrorist attacks in the United States. The September 11 hijackers originated from countries not covered by the ban. And Trump has promised exceptions for Christians from the targeted countries. Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and adviser to the Trump campaign, told Fox News on Saturday that he had helped modify Trumps campaign proposal to temporarily bar Muslims into the current order as the right way to do it legally. When Trump first proposed a Muslim ban in 2015, it was condemned almost universally, including by fellow Republicans. Mike Pence, who is now vice president, wrote on Twitter at that time, Calls to ban Muslims from entering the US are offensive and unconstitutional. Now that Trump is president, some Republican leaders are supporting the order, and many others have declined to challenge it. That, in turn, raises questions about whether US political norms could shift or already have to allow for policies that were considered unthinkable only a year ago. The Union Budget on Wednesday proposed to add 5,000 more postgraduate medical seats and expand other avenue to higher studies in medical streams to make up for the acute shortage of specialist doctors in the countryside. The health ministrys overall budget has been hiked by almost 24% from its actual spend in the last fiscal. The allocation in 2017-18 stands at Rs 48,853 crore an increase of Rs 9,165 crore from last years revised estimate. The maximum beneficiary is the national rural health mission and a scheme to convert 58 district hospitals into medical college. We have decided to take steps to create additional 5,000 post-graduate seats per annum, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said presenting the Budget in Lok Sabha. Moreover, steps will be taken to roll out Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses in large district hospitals, strengthen the post -graduate teaching in select ESI and municipal corporation hospitals and encourage reputed private Hospitals to start DNB courses. Run by the National Board of Examiners, an autonomous body under the health ministry, DNB courses are for post-graduate and post-doctoral medical students. Currently there are about 18,000 post graduate medical seats in India. The governments renewed thrust to create more specialist doctors follows disturbing surveys that found rural and small-town India terribly short of specialist doctors, particularly the surgeons, who could save lakhs of lives in the hinterland. Close to 75% sanctioned posts of surgeons are vacant in the 30-bed community health centres that are located in small towns and serve as the referral point for patients coming from primary health care centres in the villages. The outlay on human resources for health and medical education increased by almost seven times Rs 600 crore in last year's budgetary estimate to Rs 4,025 crore in 2017-18. Bulk of this money, sources told DH, was spent in upgrading district hospitals, located in northern, eastern and central India. Each of them would require Rs 189 crore for the upgrade, out of which the central government would provide Rs 112 crore. Jaitley also announced setting up of two new tertiary care hospitals on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Gujarat and Jharkhand. The Congress on Wednesday questioned the economic growth projections made in the General Budget contending that it was based on financial data for only six months. The actual economic growth will not be more than 4.1%, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told reporters commenting on the Union Budget. Earlier, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi trashed the Budget as damp squib and a document that lacked vision. The main issue facing India today is creation of jobs. How are you going to solve that problem? On that front there was nothing. No vision, no idea and for farmers absolutely there is nothing, Rahul told reporters here. Congress leader Malliakarjun Kharge dubbed the budget as pro-rich and pro-corporate. Sharma said the Budget had no proposal to accelerate manufacturing or job creation and questioned the data that formed the basis of the document. GDP numbers, revenue collection data, public spending numbers given in the Budget are unreliable. The projections for the full financial year are based on the data for six months, Sharma said. However, Rahul was appreciative of proposals on capping cash donations to political parties at Rs 2,000. Any step to clean political funding will be supported by us, the Congress vice president said. Soldier D P Sandeep Kumar, who was killed in an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir about a week ago, was laid to rest with military and state honours at his native Devihalli in the taluk on Wednesday evening. Sandeep was among 10 soldiers who were killed when an avalanche hit Gurez sector in J&K on January 25. With heavy snowfall and adverse weather conditions, there was a delay in lifting the bodies. Sandeeps body, which reached Hassan from Bengaluru at 2.30 am on Wednesday, was kept in the mortuary of Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences. Later, it was kept for public viewing at the Deputy Commissioners office from 7.30 am to 10 am. Thousands of people, including school and college students, paid floral tributes to the departed soul. Later, the body was taken in a procession to his house in Devihalli. The national flag covering Sandeeps body, his belt and cap were officially handed over to his father Puttaraju. After military honours, the body was handed over to the family to conduct the final rituals. Puttaraju performed the last rites under the guidance of Dayanandapuri swami from Bengaluru. Sandeep was laid to rest amid the chanting of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Sandeep Annanige jai. Sandeeps mother Gangamma collapsed when the last rites were being performed. She was taken into the house, where a doctor treated her. Hassan MLA H S Prakash, Deputy Commissioner V Chaitra, Assistant Commissioner H L Nagaraju and Tahsildar Shivashankarappa were present. A government appointed panel has recommended 100% reservation for Kannadigas in employment, both in government and private sector with an exception to posts requiring high technical and administrative skills. The state government in 2015 had constituted a 21-member committee to revise the 30-year-old recommendations of the Sarojini Mahishi Committee to suit the present day needs of providing employment for Kannadigas. The panel headed by Kannada Development Authority chairman S G Siddaramaiah submitted its report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The panel in its 80-page report has made 14 recommendations to the state government and seven recommendations to the Centre. The panel has suggested 100% reservation for Kannadigas in employment, including in the information technology and biotechnology sectors as the companies make use of the land, water, power of the state to carry out their businesses. The panel has recommended that the government should come out with legislation to give statutory status for providing reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector. Kannadiga means any person born in Karnataka or who has lived in the state for not less than 15 years. State govt representative Another major recommendation of the panel is that a representative of the state government be included in the selection panel constituted for recruiting employees in companies having a staff strength of more than 100. The committee has recommended that a mechanism should be put in place to ensure reservation to Kannadigas in Central government jobs too. All private and nationalised banks should appoint candidates who have passed their SSLC or PUC from the state. In the Central government offices in the state, 65% reservation for Kannadigas in Group A jobs, 80% in Group B and C and 100% in Group D should be provided. Speaking after receiving the report, the chief minister said the government will take steps to implement the recommendations. We will consult legal experts and also place the recommendations before the Cabinet for approval, he said. Siddaramaiah said he is favour of providing reservation to Kannadigas both in the government and private sectors. S G Siddaramaiah said that during the process of preparing the report, the committee consulted 12 pro-Kannada organisations, 24 banks, 129 entrepreneurs, public sector units, among others. It is unconstitutional, says legal expert Former advocate general B V Acharya said imposing reservation in the private sector in unlikely to stand the test of law. In a federal framework, it becomes unconstitutional, he said. Acharya said the state government can only request the Centre to provide reservation to Kannadigas in Central government jobs. But, it will not be binding on the Centre, he said. Experts said legal hurdles were the main reason why the Sarojini Mahishi recommendations could not be implemented during the last 30 years. Major recommendations Subsidies should be provided to Kannadigas for setting up industries Preference to Kannadigas while allotting sites in urban areas All interviews while recruiting employees in the government sector should be conducted in Kannada Karnataka Public Service Commission should conduct all examinations in Kannada Bring out Employment News in Kannada Develop an online portal for providing information on employment opportunities in the state KPCC president G Parameshwara on Wednesday said some disgruntled JD(S) legislators have evinced interest in joining the Congress. He told reporters the legislators approached the Congress and the party will take an appropriate decision in this regard as the next Assembly elections nears. Parameshwara, however, did not reveal names of these legislators. JD(S) has suspended eight legislators on charges of anti-party activities. They had cross-voted in favour of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections held in June last year. Parameshwara said the resignation of senior leader S M Krishna from the Congress will affect the party and expressed hope that the high command will convince him to stay back in the party. There has been a mixed reaction in the political circles in the state to the budget proposals presented by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday. State Congress president G Parameshwara termed the budget as anti-development. The Centre has not announced any new scheme in the annual financial statement. Though the Centre used to speak at length about curbing black money, it has not announced any measure in this regard. The Centre has not announced any infrastructure project to Bengaluru city. Jaitley has disappointed all sections of society, he added. State JD(S) president H D Kumaraswamy said there were a lot of expectations from the people about high ticket announcements in the budget, but the Centre had let them down. It is one of the worst budgets ever presented. There are no new programmes for the farmers and the youth, the two sectors which the Centre claimed were being given the highest priority, Kumaraswamy said. State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa said the budget proposals will help the poor, the middle class and farmers. He said that the budget had a vision to double the income of farmers in the next five years. Revenue mobilisation has been enhanced without burdening the common man, he said. BJP leader and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar said the decision to cut income tax rate from 10% to 5% for income up to Rs 5 lakh per annum will benefit the common man. The decision to merge the railway budget with the general budget is historic, he added. CM terms budget incremental Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday termed the Union budget 2017-18 as incremental. Addressing a press conference at the Dasara Exhibition Grounds, he said the budget is not development-oriented and does not have scope for job creation, reports DHNS from Mysuru. There are no major changes in the schemes. The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was to divert the peoples attention from the failure of the Prime Ministers Achhe din concept. The rich and corrupt are not affected by demonetisation. But the poor, farmers and labourers are the worst hit. There is no growth in income tax revenue. According to the revised estimate, income tax revenue is 17%, the same as last year, he added. Siddaramaiah said that though many states are reeling under severe drought, the Centre has not announced any benefit to manage the situation. It has not announced any major projects even for the agriculture sector and farmers. Women and Narcotics wing of the Central Crime Branch have arrested two foreign nationals for selling drugs in KR Puram. Police seized 11 grams of MDMA (ecstasy drug) and 7.5 grams of cocaine worth Rs 1.5 lakh from the duo on Monday. The arrested have been identified as Nigerian nationals Ignatius Nonsoikem (31) and Nwiteunday Rose (25), who have been produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody, the police said. Police in the guise of customers approached the Nigerians to buy drugs near a supermarket on TC Palya Main Road. After they learnt that the duo were in possession of the contraband, they alerted their colleagues who arrested the drug peddlers. The suspects have been in the city on business visas. Police are verifying the authenticity of their passports and travel documents. Police said Nwiteunday Rose is already involved in a case at Indiranagar police station. The two were selling drugs to people who were known to them and to those who approached them through their acquaintances, police said. The KR Puram police have registered a case. Three students of a nursing college were injured and 15 had a miraculous escape when their bus hit a median and turned turtle. The incident occurred on Chord Road on Wednesday morning. Students, all boys of Bhavani Nursing College in KP Agrahara, were returning to their hostel from KSR-Bengaluru City Railway Station after a trip to Gujarat. According to the police, the accident occurred at around 5.30 am when the driver was trying to avoid collision with another vehicle on a slope at the Chord Road-Magadi Road junction. The driver lost control over the bus and hit the median. The impact was so severe that the bus turned turtle. The three injured students were shifted to a nearby hospital where they are undergoing treatment. A few others were given first aid and discharged as outpatients. As it was early in the morning, traffic was thin, but passersby rushed to the help of the students. Kamakshipalya traffic police cleared the road by towing away the bus. No complaint We have not received a complaint from anyone regarding this incident. No other vehicle was involved. We helped in clearing the road and traffic resumed, a senior police officer said. Former US President Obama took online donations from people, like $50 from one, $100 from another, and there was no hassle. We must follow the same example, Jaitley said outside the House, stressing the aim of bringing transparency in poll funding. The finance minister listed another measure in Budget 2017 to cleanse electoral funding, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been harping on - purchase of electoral bonds from authorised banks against cheque and digital payments. The bonds can be deposited in the designated account of a registered political party within a prescribed time limit from the issuance of the funding instrument. Finance ministry sources said this has been done to make funding transparent and easier for big donors, who otherwise had to generate cash to give to political parties. The minister told Lok Sabha, An amendment is proposed to the Reserve Bank of India Act to enable the issuance of electoral bonds in accordance with a scheme that the Government of India would frame in this regard. Both the donor and donee political parties can avail existing exemption from payment of Income-Tax only if they fulfill these conditions. This reform will bring about greater transparency and accountability in political funding, while preventing future generation of black money, Jaitley stated. Opposition parties, however, were circumspect on the impact of new measures. Senior JDU MP Sharad Yadav wondered how these measures would check unsourced funding. The government did not explain how the steps will ensure clean electoral funding. Corporate houses, said a senior government source, have been complaining to finance ministry that they avoid making public money paid to particular political parties out of fear of antagonising others. Heralding massive reforms in electoral funding, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said donations to political parties above Rs 2,000 will have to be made either by cheque or digital mode of payment. Jaitley said in his budget speech that the government had accepted the Election Commission's recommendation to reduce the cash donation a political party can receive from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000 from any one source, which they need not declare.The government's move will hit regional parties, which get money in smaller amounts, in Uttar Pradesh and other states as it would be difficult for them to make voluminous entries in their account books of people who donated Rs 2,000 or lesser, a ministry official explained. Funding over Rs 2,000 will have to be accepted by parties by cheque or digital mode. Dr H S Chandrashekar has been appointed as the director of Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedics. He will succeed Dr B G Tilak. Dr Chandrashekar has a fellowship in Arthroplasty from USA and has done basic and advanced trauma courses. His special interests are in managing primary and revision joint replacement, complex pelvic and acetabulor fractures, limb corrective surgery by Illizarov technique and spine surgeries. He has to his credit 12 papers and two publications and 24 years of experience. Saucy, rustic and trademark French, the cult comedies lined up for the 9th Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) should rev up the cinematic spirits. But is Mohamed Hamidis Arab-French comedy, La Vache (One Man and His Cow) the best appetiser? Ask the citys movie buffs, 91 minutes into this years inaugural film on Thursday. The title is pretty straightforward. You have Fatah, a bundle of modesty and cheerfulness rolled into an Algerian peasant, and his cow Jacqueline. The film is about his dream destiny: To take Jacqueline to the Paris International Agricultural show. Invited, he borrows money from every man in the village, spends it on crossing the Mediterranean and ends up penniless. Fatah and the cow turn pedestrians, foraying into unchartered French territory enroute to Paris. The press spots the lone ranger, turning him into a sensation on social networks, triggering oodles of mirth. La Vache could well be the right spark for a straight dive into the French Cult Comedy section. On the Biffes agenda is La Chevre, another 91-minute light-hearted flick by Francis Veber. It zooms into the accident-prone daughter of a French businessman, who disappears in Mexico. When the detective sent down to trace her returns empty-handed, an unusual plan surfaces: Send someone equally accident-prone to find her! Herve Paluds Little Indian, Big City beckons with its rollicking story of a frustrated French scholars sudden discovery of his fatherhood at a small party in the Amazon. Jean-Paul Rappeneaus Lovers like us steps onto the tricky path of Nelly, who runs away just after her engagement with Vittorio. A dose of espionage Now, how about a dose of espionage laced with adventure, humour and old fashioned thrills? In a nutshell, that is OSS 117: Lost in Rio, focused on a French spy, billed as the best in business by his superiors. His mission: To find a former high-ranking Nazi-in-exile in South America. Agent OSS 117 forays deep into territory Brazil in pursuit of an old man. And of course, a charming Mossad agent gives him company. Biffes begins today The Bengaluru International Film Festivals (Biffes) seven-day extravaganza will begin simultaneously in the city and Mysuru on Thursday. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the event in front of Vidhana Soudha in the evening. The festival will begin with Mohamed Hamidis One Man and His Cow. As many as 11 screens at Orion Mall in the city and four screens in Mall of Mysore, Mysuru will show 229 films, including Oscar-nominated and critics award winning movies. Asian (14 movies), Indian (13) and Kannada (12) are the categories in the competition section. Contemporary cinema of the world, films with country focus, directors' retrospectives, artistes retrospective, classic cult comedies from France and bio pics promise to offer an endless variety. Road digging for laying optical fibre cables (OFC) is going on unabated in the city, despite clear rules and emphasis laid by BBMP on prohibition on cutting for a year after a road has been asphalted. One recent case is that of ECC Road in Whitefield that has been dug up by telecom companies. Residents who were fighting for years to get the road repaired were relieved that the road connecting the oldest part of Whitefield to the new ITPB-EPIP tech zone was asphalted seven months ago. Now, the situation is back to worse with uneven footpaths, OFC cables popping out and bumpy roads. One of the telecom companies started laying cables in spite of stiff opposition from residents. The company dug four pits at one corner of the stretch. The road has turned uneven even after the pits were filled. On the night of January 30, I saw workers of another telecom operator digging the road. The OFC cell of BBMP is doling out permits at will without caring a bit for helpless citizens, said Anuj Singh, a volunteer of Whitefield Rising (WR). Gautham Mishra, another resident and WR volunteer, said the ECC Road was asphalted in June last year. According to clause 4 of the OFC cell rules and regulations, laying of cables in newly asphalted roads is strictly prohibited for a period of one year. Both the civic agency and telecom operators are at fault, Mishra said. Ramakrishna Reddy, a BBMP engineer from Mahadevapura zone, said the OFC cell has granted permission to telecom companies under emergency works. We have directed the companies to stop the work and have inspected the place. After discussing with higher officials, we will take a decision on whether to let them continue the road digging work or not. Carmel Valley resident Elle France is hoping to change the tequila drinking experience with her new Cosa Salvaje tequila. She has put her own sexy and sweet take on the Mexican liquor and it has been picking up momentum since its first pours in August of last year. Ive always loved tequila and the tradition that goes into making it, said France of the method of making true tequila in Jalisco, Mexico from the native agave plant. My tequila is a sipping tequila, like a cognac. You dont shoot it, you sip it. Elle France (Teri Joy Photography ) (Teri Joy Photography / ) Cosa Salvaje, which translates to wild thing, is made from 100 percent blue agave in a distillery in Jalisco. The smooth-drinking tequila features sweet, warm, spicy, peppery, herbaceous flavors and France promises even non-tequila drinkers will love it. It is now being sold at Carmel Valley Liquor, Seaside Market, Rancho Santa Fe Market and Deli, Old Town Liquor, Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido and is on the menu at Pacific Coast Grill. France has lived in the Carmel Valley area for several years and both of her children went to Torrey Pines High School. She has a background in marketing and also worked as a matchmaker in Rancho Santa Fe her matchmaking expertise has been featured in a reality show called The Romance, a dating show that features 14 women competing for the affection of 10 eligible bachelors in San Diego. The show will begin airing Feb. 12 and is also available to view online (find out more at theromance.tv). France started her tequila project a year and a half ago. In doing research, she found a consultant in Jalisco and took a leap of faith. It turned out to be the best leap she ever took, finding the perfect person to help her in the process (she declines to name him for the sake of keeping a little mystery). At the Mexican distillery, she tasted several different tequilas and created her own tequila profile. She chose to make Cosa Salvaje tequila blanco, which means unaged. The margarita is the number one mixed drink in the world and blanco tequila is used for it, France said. The bottles are made out of recycled glass in Mexico, so each has its own unique imperfections and wrapped around the cork is a strap of top-of-the-line leather, stamped with the Cosa Salvaje logo. The shape is like a flask but a super sultry and sexy, 007-style that France loves. The artwork on the bottles features three different ladies one of them is a familiar blonde. And unlike many liquor bottles, the artwork continues on the back of the bottle, showing the backs of the ladies on the front. When the first batch of tequila arrived in August, France said it was crazy and mind-boggling to think she had her own tequila brand. She has been doing her best to just step back and enjoy the moments like seeing her brand on a menu or when she went into Carmel Valley Liquor, where Cosa Salvaje has its very own shelf, and met a couple who had just purchased 30 bottles of her tequila. She is grateful for the support she has received from the local community and for the building excitement around the Cosa Salvaje brand the tequila will be featured at a pre-Oscar party in Los Angeles this month and is being poured in actor David Arquettes bar Bootsy Bellows in Aspen, Colo. She hopes to get as many people as possible to take a sip and experience something a little different and a little wild. For more information, check out the Cosa Salvaje Facebook page or Cosasalvajetequila.com by K.J. Lincoln Does the name Mike McIntyre ring a bell? What about Christopher Ho? There is also Earl Atchak, Donald Rearden, and Steven Stone. Add Lisa Unin and Emma Hill to the list. All these are past recipients of an artist award from the Rasmuson Foundation. The Rasmuson Foundation is seeking applicants for their next round of artist award grants. You could be the next grantee. Jeff Baird and Sharity Sommer who represent the Foundation traveled to Bethel last week to host an artist workshop to provide an overview of the grant options and to answer application related questions. Rasmuson would love to see more applicants from the Yukon Kuskokwim delta area. We have some amazing artists from this region, said Baird at the Alaska Room at the Yupiit Piciryarait Kuskokwim Consortium Library last Tuesday. So do you enjoy making grass baskets or carving wooden items? Maybe you love writing poetry, drawing, or creating your own original music and songs. This grant can help you advance your talents. Here is a list of the different disciplines that the grant covers. Choreography: Artists creating original work in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, traditional, and culturally specific dance forms. Crafts: Artists working in all forms of functional and nonfunctional crafts including, but not limited to ceramics, glass, wood, metal, fiber, textiles, and recycled materials. Traditional craft artists may choose to apply in the Folk and Traditional Arts category. Folk and Traditional arts: Artists whose work is rooted in and reflects a communitys shared cultural values, history, and experiences. These art forms can take the shape of performing traditions in music, dance and drama; traditional storytelling; traditional crafts; and visual arts. These arts are usually passed down from one generation to the next. Literary Arts/Scriptworks: Artists writing fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, screen plays, and scripts for the stage. Fiction, creative non-fiction, scriptworks, and storytelling. Media Arts: Artists creating narrative or animation time-based original works using audio, digital, and/or film, as well as installations in which these expressions form the major artistic element. Multidiscipline: Artists whose work is experimental, pioneering work that is not grounded in any one discipline. Music Composition: Composers creating original works in a range of genres including classical, jazz, folk, bluegrass, musical theatre, pop, blues, gospel, traditional, and world music. New Genre: Artists pushing the boundaries that define their art, using non-conventional materials and approaches to the artmaking process. Performance Art: Artists creating and performing original, theatre-based work or whose work provides new contexts for live performance. This includes, but is not limited to: clown, mime, vaudeville and cabaret artists, puppetry artists, and other solo artists who write and perform their own material (music composers should apply in the Music Composition category). Presentation/Interpretation: Artists who explore existing work for the purpose of presentation or performance within any artistic genre such as dance, theatrical/dramatic performance, spoken word, vocal, or instrumental performance. This includes artists working in creative roles such as lighting, set, costume, projection, production or sound design, stage direction or dramaturgy. Artists creating original work within other disciplines listed in awards criteria should apply within that discipline. Visual Arts: Artists creating original work in two- and three-dimensional forms including painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, photography, illustration, watercolor, etching, computer graphics, fiber art, and mediums associated with artists books. The visual arts also include sculpture, installations, glass, metal works, ceramics, etc. Notable Individual Artist Award recipients from our area throughout the years include: 2016 Lisa N. Unin: Project award (folk and traditional arts) to make two full-size traditional Cupik parkas based on interviews of elders. The parkas will be donated to museums in Alaska. 2016 Karina Moeller: Artist fellowship (music composition) to compose and record songs. 2016 Stephen Blanchett: Artist fellowship (music composition) to create a solo production of Yupik, Tsimshian, and English songs. 2015 Emma M. Hill: Project award (music composition) for travel and musical performances in Europe. 2015 Phillip Blanchett: Artist fellowship (presentation/interpretation) to develop a theatrical performance that communicates Yupik cultural values. 2014 Ryan Conarro: Project Award (Performance Arts) to attend Eugene ONeill National Puppetry Conference from June 11 to 19 at the University of Connecticut, and Juniper Tree School for Puppetry Arts in Boulder, Colorado. 2011 Daisy Demientieff: Project Award (Folk and Traditional Arts) to gather willow roots and other natural materials for her basket weaving. 2011 John McIntyre: Project Award (Folk and Traditional Arts) to purchase additional equipment and tools to produce new work and explore different techniques. 2011 Donald Rearden: Project award (literary arts/scriptworks) to complete a screen adaption of his book, The Ravens Gift. 2011 Steven Stone: Project award (folk and traditional arts) to build a shop for art production. 2011 Earl Atchak: Project Award (Folk and Traditional Arts) to collect materials and construct Nepcetaq (Shamans) masks. 2009 Michael F. McIntyre: Project Award (Music Composition) for technical studio equipment to produce and publish an album in Yupik in modern musical genre. 2008 Vernon Samuel Bavilla: Project Award (Folk and Traditional Arts) to upgrade his studio space and purchase additional tools. 2007 Margaret Agnes Abraham: Artist Fellowship (Folk and Traditional Arts) to continue creating dolls, mukluks, yo-yos, and baskets. 2006 Christopher Ho: Project Award (Media Arts) to shoot a short documentary film, The Bionic Eskimo and to produce a short fiction film, Trust. 2005 Jack Ayaprun Abraham: Artist Fellowship (Folk and Traditional Arts) to take time to expand a body of work. More information about this grant can be found online at rasmuson.org. And furthermore, the folks at Bethel Community Services Foundation or at the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum have graciously offered to help you with your application process. Share this: Tweet Email The 2017 running of the Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race now has 25 mushers signed up for southwest Alaskas premier mid-distance event. They are: Ken Anderson, Tony Browning, Rick Casillo, Rob Cooke, Richie Diehl, Paul Gebhardt, Victoria Hardwick, Jessie Holmes, Jackie Larson, Roger Lee, Pete Kaiser, Jeff King, Jason Mackey, Patrick Mackey, Wade Marrs, Hugh Neff, Nicolas Petit, Ray Redington, Brent Sass, Cim Smythe, Ramey Smyth, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, Isaac Underwood, Michael Williams Jr., and Niklas Wikstrand. The Kuskokwim 300 and the Bogus Creek 150 will take place on January 20th, 2017 at 6:30pm in Bethel. The Akiak Dash will start on January 21st. Share this: Tweet Email by Tad Lindley Reputable surveys suggest that somewhere between two and four percent of Americans are atheist. In case you are not up on the lingo, an atheist is a person who denies that God even exists. Christians are at the other end of the spectrum from the atheist. The Christian knows that there is one Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4, Ephesians 4:5), and will not turn from that truth. But unlikely as it might seem, many Christians are suffering from atheistic tendencies. We will never stand up in public and deny the God that bought us. We will never sue to have the words one nation under God stricken from the pledge. We are not in-your-face atheists; and yet we are Christians struggling with atheistic tendencies. Symptoms of low-level atheism: 1. Worry The number one symptom of mild atheism is worry. Jesus had a beautiful sermon on worry in Matthew 6, Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature [make himself any taller]?Now if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worrybut seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:25-33 NKJV) This is a powerful promise straight from the mouth of God. It tells us that if we seek him and his kingdom first, we will be provided for. Every time we take a thought break and begin to wonder about how we will pay the stove oil bill, or the light bill, or what we are going to do if we get laid off from work in six months, we are worrying. We are actually telling the Lord, Jesus, you know all that stuff you said in Matthew chapter six about how you will take care of us? I dont believe it. I dont believe that you can do what you promised, so I am taking matters into my own hands; Im going to worry about it until the situation is taken care of. 2. Swearing and anger I have only sworn two times since receiving the Holy Ghost. The Lord has the power to change our attitudes and habits. I wish I could say that I never get angry anymore either, but that is not the case. Just like you, I struggle with atheistic tendencies. Every time something doesnt go the way we want it to and we get angry, we are telling the world, I am losing my temper, because this problem is so messed up that not even God can sort it out. When we slam doors, swear, yell, break dishes, speed, or shake our fist at somebody we are in the grip of an atheism attack. You see the Bible very clearly states that there is nothing too hard for God to fix. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NKJV) This is why a person who has been born again can hit their thumb with a hammer and not swear. This is why the sincere Christian can look at a flat tire and say, I guess God needs to slow me down, because he has someone he needs me to cross paths with today. Swearing and getting angry only says, There is absolutely no way that God can turn this flat tire into a blessing! 3. Stinginess Some people are so greedy that they actually rob God. In what way have we robbed God? In tithes and offerings. (Malachi 3:8 NKJV)) To those who would hold back the tithe the Lord has a challenge: Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. (3:10 NKJV) The tithe is the first ten percent of a paycheck, a PFD, a TANF check, a moose, Hugo Chavez stove oil, or any other blessing that the Lord sends your way. Every time that we decide not to tithe, we are trusting in ourselves to make ends meet and not trusting in God. Not only that, we are excluding ourselves from the powerful promise of God. Avoiding a major atheism attack If you are experiencing all three of these symptoms on a regular basis, that is 1) you are worrying, 2) you are prone to fits of anger, and 3) you are not tithing and offering, you are at extreme risk for very serious complications from your atheism. The only preventative measure is repentance. Meet with God in prayer. Pour your heart out in godly sorrow and ask for him to deliver you from atheistic tendencies. Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska. Share this: Tweet Email The western Alaska village of Newtok recently requested a federal disaster declaration to mitigate the impacts of coastal erosion and thawing permafrost which have already led to the loss of the villages barge landing, sewage lagoon, and landfill. The community is expected to lose its drinking water source in a matter of months, and the airport and school within approximately three years. Newtok needs help, and many are pressing for relocation. The President has said No. We are sorely disappointed in the refusal to declare a disaster in Newtok, said Rep. Fansler. Our office will continue to support Newtoks relocation efforts, and will work with each of our villages and communities threatened by the ongoing effects of erosion and climate change. A spokesman for FEMAs Region 10 office said the Stafford Act, which is the law that covers federal disaster relief, includes requirements that Newtoks request did not fulfill. This is the first test of Federal disaster policies and how they will be applied to the impacts of climate change. At least 11 villages in Alaska have been identified as threatened by the same effects Newtok is dealing with. The Presidents decision to hide behind vagueness in the Stafford Act sets a poor precedent for other communities that are facing the same issues as Newtok, said Rep. Fansler. The residents of Newtok are pleading for help and I believe they deserve it. The decision to reject the disaster declaration request shows a lack of empathy for their situation. I am hopeful this decision can be reversed under the incoming administration. I was shocked to learn that, in one of the final acts of his administration, the outgoing President has denied Newtok a disaster declaration, said Rep. Dean Westlake (D-Kotzebue), Chair of the House Special Committee on Arctic Policy, Economic Development and Tourism. For an administration that has placed climate change at the top of its agenda, I am disheartened to see their effort solely geared toward mitigation with very little action on adaptation. The decision to reject the disaster declaration for Newtok seems in conflict with the Presidents policy emphasis on addressing the impacts of climate change. Newtok has confirmed plans to appeal the decision to the incoming President. Mitigation efforts by the current administration have begun to hold Alaskans hostage, said Rep. Westlake. They are holding our resources hostage and now our people as well. The President mentioned climate change refugees in a recent farewell address, but here we arethese are real Alaskans that are on the verge of becoming some of the worlds first climate change refugeesand the President has abandoned them. For more information, please contact Alaska House Majority Coalition Press Secretary Mike Mason at (907) 444-0889. Share this: Tweet Email Happy New Year to everyone! For over a quarter of a century Bethel Search and Rescue has faithfully served the People of the region. Our all-volunteer organization has grown from just a handful of caring individuals to over one hundred registered members. From our humble grass roots beginnings we have grown into a highly recognized professionally-oriented group that is constantly striving to serve the region in better ways. Over the years BSAR has been able, through the support of many businesses and individuals, to acquire a headquarters building, an equipment maintenance shop, a boat, snow machines, ATVs, an ARGO, and many other pieces of equipment that support search, rescue, and recovery missions. Following one of the core cultural values of our region sharing everything that BSAR has been blessed with is used to support SAR efforts throughout the region. This includes not only physical assets but our human resources as well. Our members often leave their families and jobs for extended periods to assist with search, rescue, and recovery missions across the region. In more recent years BSAR has developed a focus on prevention working hard in advance to keep travelers safe so that search and rescue missions are reduced. This is done by aerial and ground surveys of River conditions during freeze up, break up, and adverse weather conditions. Written reports with maps and pictures are widely distributed throughout the region. Possibly the most important prevention work that BSAR does each year is winter open water marking. Our members have marked hundreds of open holes over the years. Now with the establishment of legal liquor sales in Bethel, BSAR is feeling a strain on both our members and our equipment. Historically, many of our SAR missions were alcohol related. Almost all of our body recoveries were. Long ago BSAR members agreed that we would help anybody drunk or not they are still human beings to be cared for. But with a legal liquor store now operating in Bethel, and the potential for another one, the number of alcohol related search and rescue calls has been increasing. Our recent records are showing that 95% of the calls we get are for assistance to intoxicated travelers from nearby villages. And these calls are increasing. Many of these calls for help come during the middle of the night. Our members are getting worn out. We are thankful that to date these calls have all resulted in rescues and not body recoveries. But as the load of calls for assistance to intoxicated travelers continues to increase BSAR is fearful that we will not be able to respond as we have in past years. The outcomes may be entirely different. Through this letter BSAR is reaching out to the People of the region, especially to those villages close to Bethel, for help. To everyone in general: Please do not drink while traveling. Do not let others drink and travel. To the VPSOs, Search & Rescue Groups, and other caring People of the surrounding villages: when a traveler from your community is intoxicated and in need of assistance please go help them dont let BSAR do it unless it is very close to Bethel. BSAR is getting tired and we need your help. Thank you for your consideration. Bethel Search & Rescue Membership Bethel, AK Why I Love Alaska Governor Bill Walker issued a proclamation designating 2017 as a Year of History and Heritage in recognition of Alaskas sesquicentennial the 150th year since Russia ceded its possessions and interests in Alaska to the United States. Governor Walkers proclamation encourages all Alaskans to study, teach, reflect upon our past, and apply its lessons to a brighter, more inclusive future. Our goal for this coming year of History and Heritage is to be inclusive of all Alaskans the indigenous, the native born, and those who have chosen to move here and make their lives as our neighbors. During 2017 events and projects will be presented for the enjoyment and education of Alaskans, including theatrical plays and special curriculum for school children; panel discussions by historians about the causes and consequences of the Treaty of Cession with Russia; a traveling exhibit of the original painting depicting the Treaty of Cession negotiations; special events commemorating the 150th anniversary; and a magazine, to be printed and distributed by Alaska Dispatch News, that will include brief essays (150 words or less) from 150 Alaskans on the theme, Why We Love Alaska. Im sure we share many of the same reasons we love Alaska its scenic splendors, recreational pleasures, unique history, career opportunities, and because, for most of us, Alaska has proven so hospitable to raising our families in safe, enriching communities. At the core of our love of Alaska is that this is our home. For many of you who have moved out of state, you retain your love of Alaska. Home truly is where our hearts reside. For all of the above, I love Alaska. But more particularly I love and honor Alaska for giving me and so many of my family, friends, and colleagues opportunities we were unlikely to have found elsewhere. In regards to those of us who are Alaska Natives, we take great pride that our predecessors took it upon themselves to win the rights and responsibilities we enjoy today. There is another perspective, one of resentment, disappointment, and confusion about why so many Alaskan are bound by poverty, discrimination, and exclusion. I grew up with plenty of that: alcoholism cast its dark shadow on my family and friends, poverty crushed the spirits of far too many people I have known, and Alaska Natives remain at the top of all measures of social injustice. Let us all accept the challenge before us: to make Alaska an ever-more equitable society. In picking out one of the many, many reasons I love Alaska, in less than 150 words, I offer this: My friend, Dr. Walter Soboleff He was born in November 1908 in the tiny Tlingit village of Killisnoo. Educated in Russian Orthodox and Protestant boarding schools, and at a Midwest college where he was ordained a Presbyterian minister, Walter retained fluency in Tlingit and deep ties to his cultural traditions. With the exception of his college years, Walter lived in Alaska until his passing in 2011. From the time of his birth, 14 years would lapse before Alaska Natives attained status as citizens. He lived 36 years before he could be assured entry to commercial establishments, and for most of his life expressions of crude prejudice were common. Yet throughout his 102 years, Walter radiated dignity, good will, and love. Truly a wise man, his friendship enriched my life and the lives of so many others. Being the man he was, Walter Soboleff helped make a brighter and more inclusive future for all Alaskans. For more information, see: dnr.alaska.gov for 150th Anniversary information and statewide calendar of events. For Sitka activities, go to: alaska150.com [I invite my fellow Alaskans to share why we love Alaska in 150 words or less by emailing to my office through [email protected], who can also provide further information.] Byron Mallott Juneau, AK We Are Here to Help You Realize Your Dream January 16 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a national holiday and a day of remembrance. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to creating and fostering equal rights for African Americans, and he died during his efforts to make his dream a reality. Many people commemorate this holiday by serving their community and giving to others who may be less fortunate. In many ways, this is what Social Security does every day, all year long. A great way to be of service to others is to help someone you know who may need assistance applying for Social Security, Medicare, or Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug costs. This is easy to do at www.socialsecurity.gov. Some people who need these benefits may not be comfortable with computers or may not even know applying online is an option. But now, its easier than ever to apply for such benefits from the convenience of a home computer at www.socialsecurity.gov. For example, its easy to apply for retirement benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline. It can take as little as 15 minutes from start to finish. Once the application is electronically submitted, in most cases, there is nothing more to do. Its even easier to apply for Medicare, for people who do not plan to begin their Social Security retirement payments yet but who do want Medicare coverage. The application takes about 10 minutes and you can find it at www.socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly. People who already have Medicare coverage, but who need help meeting prescription drug costs, can apply for Extra Help online at www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp. This holiday, you may want to make a trip to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. or read or listen to a recording of his legendary I Have a Dream speech. You can also make your Martin Luther King Day a day of service to someone who can use your help. Lead them to www.socialsecurity.gov. It may be easy for you, but it may help someone you love realize their own dreams. Robin Schmidt Social Security Public Affairs Specialist for Alaska Share this: Tweet Email The State of Alaska strongly disagrees with the negative 90-day finding issued today (Nov. 25th, 2020) by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for a 2019 petition to re-evaluate the status of the ringed seal under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Working with the North Slope Borough, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, and the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, the State submitted a petition to NMFS in March 2019 requesting delisting of the Arctic subspecies of ringed seal, currently listed as threatened under the ESA. Ongoing research, along with traditional knowledge compiled since the listing shows no evidence of declines in ringed seal populations, said ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. The seals are handling current environmental changes well. ESA listings should be reserved for imperiled species. It is difficult to believe that a species with a healthy, robust population that numbers in the millions can be considered threatened with extinction. The petition presented substantial additional data and new analyses that demonstrated NMFS came to an erroneous conclusion by listing the subspecies. Ringed seals have far more resilience to loss of sea ice habitat than predicted by NMFS. Analysis of 6 years of new data, as well as reanalysis of prior data, show that: The Arctic subspecies of ringed seal continues to occupy the entire circumpolar Arctic, with an abundant population numbering in the millions; Despite documented declines in sea ice habitat over the past several decades, this seal subspecies has shown no evidence of decline in body condition or measures of population health; and The best available scientific information indicates ringed seals are resilient and adjusting to varying conditions across their enormous range and are likely to continue to adjust to habitat conditions that change over time; Maintaining the threatened listing will have significant consequences for the economy of the State and subsistence opportunities for Alaska Natives with little to no conservation benefit to ringed seals. Critical habitat proposed for ringed seals is expected to include an area greater than the states of California, Oregon, and Washington combined and cover the U.S. waters and Alaska coastline of the northern Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. Share this: Tweet Email by CVRF Staff Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) has offered financial assistance to the Native Village of Mekoryuk in support of their effort to expand the sale of reindeer meat locally harvested on Nunivak Island to other parts of Alaska. Following the announcement in December of 2016 that the U.S. Economic Development Administration would provide $1.8 million in funding for operational upgrades at the Nuniwarmiut Reindeer and Seafood Products reindeer farm in Mekoryuk, CVRF offered to provide assistance in purchasing additional equipment. CVRF is helping to fund the acquisition of four snowmachines to be used to herd the reindeer. We appreciate the timely financial support from CVRF, said Daniel Olrun of Nuniwarmiut Reindeer and Seafood Products. These machines will be dedicated to the herding of reindeer and their use will therefore benefit all residents and all communities in the region. I would like to thank CVRF Chair Richard Jung for traveling to my village and meeting with me on this important matter. I have known Richard for many decades and our relationship is based on a long-standing trust. CVRF has paid 40 percent of the cost of the snowmachines, with the Native Village of Mekoryuk funding the remaining 60 percent. I would like to thank the CVRF Board who made this special arrangement so that dollars earned from the Bering Sea can be used to provide the needs of our local reindeer project, the village of Mekoryuk, and the entire CVRF Region, said Marianne Williams, CVRFs Community Service Representative in Mekoryuk. We all look forward to a cooperative relationship that will continue to make CVRF and our region strong in our unity. For more information about CVRFs support of economic development activities in Western Alaska, please contact Nathaniel Betz at (907) 278-5151. CVRF is a 501(c)(4) Alaska non-profit corporation whose 20 member villages are along the west coast of Alaska from Scammon Bay to Platinum. CVRF is believed to be the largest Alaskan-owned seafood company in history and is governed by a 20-member Board of Directors elected by the residents of its 20 member communities. CVRF is dedicated to providing economic development in its 20 member communities by creating sensible, tangible and long-term opportunities that generate Hope for residents who want to Fish and Work. CVRF is the largest jobs provider in its member villages and is the first CDQ group to own and control the vessels that harvest its CDQ allocations. For more information, visit www.CoastalVillages.org. Share this: Tweet Email 3 February 2017 (CBC News) The body of acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart has been reportedly found off the coast of Florida, according to a tweet from the U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard officials tweeted Friday evening that the Key Largo Fire Department reportedly found Stewart at a depth of 220 feet off the Florida Keys. The tweet came just a couple of hours after the Coast guard announced they were suspending the search for Stewart at sunset Friday. They made the announcement Friday afternoon at a news conference in Islamorada, Fla. Capt. Jeffrey Janszen said the Coast Guard has confidence it has done everything it could do in the search for the 37-year-old. The search covered more than 5,500 square miles an area the size of Connecticut, Janszen said. Thirteen volunteer aircraft and 20 volunteer boats were part of the search, along with many volunteer divers. Stewarts family was informed of the decision earlier Friday, officials said. Janszen called the incident a marine casualty and added an investigation into what happened is pending. [more] Are there any full-on, real-life fascists in the House? Iowa just reelected one 61.4-38.6%. The biggest and least densely populated district in the state, IA-04 (Sioux City, Mason City, Ames and lots of farmland in between) gave Trump 60.9% of it's vote to Trump. They were even more enthusiastic about their longtime congressman-- since 2002-- Steve King, widely considered the most outspoken hate monger and bigot in Congress. In 2010, we asked our readers to pick the worst member of Congress. Unsurprisingly, Steve King was one of the finalists. King has been an icon of everything that's gone wrong with the Republican Party and it's slide into neo-fascist, ignornace-based dogma. His career-long ProgressivePunch score is 2.49 (out of 100); that's a shocking record of voting against the interests of the people who have voted him into office and against working families across America. So far this year, his crucial vote score is zero. But he's been doing more than just voting badly. He's Congress' and the Republican Party's unofficial ambassador-at-large to the European fascist parties , cultivating relationships with the neo-Nazi parties all over-- espaecially Islamophobes. The Congressman -- who is infamous for accusing child asylum seekers of smuggling drugs into the U.S., keeping a confederate flag at his desk, and asking what contributions nonwhite people have made to society has been openly forming political partnerships and personal friendships with a wide array of leaders on Europes xenophobic and populist right. Among his stated acquaintances are members of populist and nativist parties from Austria, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Kings collusion with fringe right wingers, including many holding anti-Muslim beliefs, should come as little surprise. This is the same man who once said that Islam is incompatible with American values and called for the government to spy on American mosques. King was recently seen palling around with the leaders of Austrias Freedom Party. The Freedom Party, founded by a former SS officer in 1956, ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Austrian presidency last month. King tweeted out his condolences to Norbert Hofer, the Freedom Partys candidate, at the time. The cause of freedom and our friendship remain, he wrote. Onward! But Hofer is just one of Kings many friends on the European far right. The Iowa congressman also hosted noted Islamophobic Dutch politician Geert Wilders in Washington, D.C. in April 2015. Wilders, leader of the Netherlands Freedom Party (sensing a theme here?), is riding the international populist wave and could grasp victory in his countrys elections this March. Wilders has frequently and openly expressed a willingness to stem immigration-- particularly Muslim immigration-- to the Netherlands; among his myriad anti-Muslim statements are gems like, the right to religious freedom should not apply to Islam. At a rally in 2014, Wilders asked a crowd: In the Netherlands, do you want more or fewer Moroccans? Fewer! Fewer! Fewer! the crowd in the Dutch city of The Hague replied. Then Ill arrange it, Wilders said at the time. He was later tried and found guilty for discrimination and inciting hatred. King was recently spotted meeting with Wilders alongside another far right-wing politician, Frauke Petry. Petry leads the Alternative for Germany party (AfD)-- an anti-immigrant party that reminds some in the country of the Nazi party. The New Yorker described the AfD as Germanys most successful nationalist phenomenon since the Second World War. In October, King met with Marine Le Pen-- a far right party leader in France who has had a surge in popularity in recent weeks and is considered a real contender in the French presidential election, set to take place in May. Le Pen is running on a platform opposing immigration and has repeatedly stoked fear of Islam to bolster support for her campaign. King was the first elected American official to publicly meet with Le Pen, and the two are set to meet again, this time in Washington, D.C. in January. Le Pen tweeted in October that she had an interesting exchange with King on France, the U.S., and international affairs. Although Kings outreach to the European far right is exceptional, hes not the only American politician currently trying to establish ties with leaders such as Hofer and Le Pen. Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the Austrian Freedom Party, said in December that he had met with President Donald Trumps National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. At the time, Trumps transition team described the report as fake news. And top Trump adviser Steve Bannon, now a member of the presidents National Security Council, turned Breitbart Media into a platform for boosting the European far right when he was the publications chief executive. Wall Street Journal, James Grimaldi dug a little deeper into For the whole span of his political career, Tom Price, a mealy-mouthed hypocrite and slick, practised liar, has used his office to enrich himself. Yesterday, writing for the, James Grimaldi dug a little deeper into the sweetheart deals that make Price look like one of the worst of Trump's swampy cabinet picks. He has consistently attempted top cover up his unethical and criminal behavior and is entirely unfit for office. Rep. Tom Price got a privileged offer to buy a biomedical stock at a discount, the companys officials said, contrary to his congressional testimony this month. The Georgia Republican tapped by President Donald Trump to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services testified in his Senate confirmation hearings on Jan. 18 and 24 that the discounted shares he bought in Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd. , an Australian medical biotechnology company, were available to every single individual that was an investor at the time. In fact, the cabinet nominee was one of fewer than 20 U.S. investors who were invited last year to buy discounted shares of the company-- an opportunity that, for Mr. Price, arose from an invitation from a company director and fellow congressmen. The shares were discounted 12% off the traded price in mid-June only for investors who participated in a private placement arranged to raise money to complete a clinical trial. The companys shares have tripled since the offering. ...[Crooked Trumpist Congressman Chris] Collins and Price said they have publicly disclosed their trades as required under the 2012 Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which aims to prevent members from using political insider information to make stock gains. Democrats have called for the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Mr. Prices trades under the STOCK Act. Both congressmen have played key roles writing health-care legislation, including the 21st Century Cures Act, sprawling legislation that included major provisions regarding the Food and Drug Administrations regulation of drugs and devices. Mr. Collins wrote legislation that would have permitted the FDA to speed up trials for new drugs. Mr. Collins, a member of the health panel of the Energy and Commerce Committee, acknowledged provisions of that legislation could eventually affect Innate Immuno, along with all drug companies. Mr. Price has traded more than $300,000 in shares of health-related companies since 2012, while on the House Ways and Means Committees subcommittee on health and while writing and voting on health-care legislation that could affect the shares of those stocks, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal. He plans to divest his health-care and other corporate stockholdings within 90 days of his confirmation, he said in a letter to the Office of Government Ethics before his confirmation hearings. There are sleazy patterns emerging, not just when you look at the totality of Price's career, but when you examine the careers of all of Trump's cabinet nominations. Like Trump himself, they have benefited by playing fast and loose with ethical considerations, with rules and with laws. Trump's Commerce Secretary nominee, Wilbur Ross, for example, enriched himself by running shoddy mining operations and ignoring demands from the state and federal governments about dangerous situations in his mines that eventually caused a dozen tragic and unnecessary deaths at his Sago Mine in West Virginia. (Upshur County, where Ross destroyed so many lives and so many families with his psychotic greed, is the heart of Trump country, a county with catastrophic opioid addiction and a 76-19% margin of victory last November for Trump over Clinton. Now they can think about Trump's pick of Wilbur Ross when they're high on oxycontin and hydrocodone.) The Senate, though, should turn down Price, not just because he's a dishonest, self-serving sleaze bag and liar but because his plans for American health care will be far more of a catastrophe for America than Wilbur Ross' neglect of his miners were for West Virginia. Yesterday the Economic Policy Institute issued a new report about the impacts of Price's plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The report provides a rough estimate of how the combination of tax cuts and spending cuts in the ACA repeal will affect employment in U.S. states. ACA repeal would cut federal spending nationwide by roughly $109 billion in 2019 and taxes by roughly $70 billion in 2019. The combination of tax cuts and spending cuts embedded in ACA repeal would reduce national job growth by almost 1.2 million in 2019, all else equal. That is because the spending cuts would hurt job growth more than the tax cuts would help it. The benefit cuts would come mostly out of the pockets of cash-constrained households that will be likely to significantly cut back their spending in response to lower disposable income, while the tax cuts would disproportionately go to high-income households who tend to save a significant portion of increases in disposable income. The jobs that would be lost are not just health care jobs. Previous high-quality studies of the jobs gained through Medicaid expansions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) indicate that more than three-fourths of the jobs gained were not in the health care sector. Every state would lose jobs. How significant this job loss is would be determined by the extent to which a state expanded spending (and thus how much spending it will lose), what portion of a states households fall in the groups getting the largest tax cuts (how much it will gain). The top 15 job-losing states, as measured by jobs lost as a share of both the total employment and the share of residents under age 65, are Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Monetary policy is unlikely to be able to provide an expansionary boost to economic activity anywhere near large enough to counteract the significant fiscal contraction posed by ACA repeal, even in 2019. Thus, any claims that any ACA job losses would be neutralized by countervailing Federal Reserve policy are unconvincing. States can also be ranked by their relative income burden stemming from ACA repeal. This relative burden measure looks at gains stemming from tax cuts minus losses stemming from spending cuts, scaled to each states share of the under-65 population. This population is chosen as our scalar because the coverage expansions of the ACA were aimed entirely at the under-65 population (as the 65 and over population is covered by Americas large single-payer health system, Medicare). Generally, states that took up the ACA Medicaid expansion see a higher relative burden, as they have more to lose from repeal. Additionally, states with a low share of national top 1 percent households will also see a higher relative burden, as they will receive lower-than-average benefits from the tax cuts embedded in ACA repeal. While states that never took up the Medicaid expansions that were part of ACA generally face a lower relative burden from repeal, it is important to note that these same states benefit disproportionately from the insurance premium and cost-sharing subsidies of the ACA. Overall, insurance premium and cost-sharing subsidies are roughly 0.4 percent of non-expansion states gross domestic product (GDP), while they are roughly 0.15 percent of GDP in expansion states. Yesterday Senate committees voted in favor of confirming Rick Perry, 17-6, Ryan Zinke, 16-6, and Betsy DeVos, 12-11 (all Democrats voting NO), but the Senate Finance Committee couldn't vote on Mnuchin and Price because the Republicans couldn't muster a quorum-- all Democrats, citing lies from both nominees to the committee, boycotted the sessions. That was a great strategy from Sherrod Brown but how long will the Democrats stick with it? Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee used a procedural tactic-- courtesy of Mazie Hirono (D-HI)-- to delay a committee vote on Sessions' confirmation recommendation. Apparently, they'll be voting this morning instead. The arbitrary firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, a woman of integrity and character, doesn't sit well with many who are very worried that Sessions will be a puppet-- and worse-- for a deranged and authoritarian president who has no respect-- in fact has nothing but contempt-- for the rule of law. By the way, for those keeping track, Democratic senators who voted for Zinke: Ron Wyden (OR), Joe Manchin (WV), Martin Heinrich (NM), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) and Angus King (ME). And voting with the GOP for Rick Perry were Debbie Stabenow (MI), Joe Manchin (WV), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) and Angus King (ME). The full Senate voted 93-6 to confirm Mitch McConnell's "wife," Elaine Chao as the Secretary of Education. McConnell didn't have the decency to recuse himself. The 6 Democrats who dissented were stalwart resisters Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley plus 3 self-serving, untrustworthy symbolic resisters-- Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand. Amidst rumors that Andrew Puzder no longer wants to be Labor Secretary and is trying to get Trump to let him off the hook, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has postponed a vote on his ill-starred confirmation for the 4th time. (He hasn't filed his financial disclosure paperwork yet, prompting many to wonder what he and Trump are hiding when Puzder is already known as a complete scumbag who companies have thrived became of his serial violations of labor standards. His February 7th hearing was cancelled yesterday and no new date was set. A 115m type 2 diabetes research centre will be built following a new partnership between Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk and the University of Oxford. Novo Nordisk will invest the money over 10 years to focus on developing new treatments for type 2 diabetes. One-hundred researchers will based at the Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford, including academic and industrial scientists who will collaborate on the project. Novo Nordisk announced that that the centre would be located in the grounds of the historic university, ranked number one in the world for medicine. Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, said: This collaboration underlines the importance of shared research and cutting-edge science across boundaries. Employees at Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford and researchers at the University of Oxford will have the opportunity for daily interaction to share knowledge and insights that will potentially produce new medicines for people living with type 2 diabetes and its complications. The move builds on a prior collaboration between Novo Nordisk and University of Oxford in 2013 the International Postdoctoral Fellowship Programmen, which was extended in 2015 and will now include up to 32 fellows. The announcement of the project has eased fears that the UKs decision last year to leave the European Union would deter companies and organisations in the life sciences industry from establishing projects in the UK. There had been concern over a research funding gap when the country leaves the European Unio, which is scheduled for later this year. Novo Nordisks executive vice president and chief science officer, Mads Krogsgaard Thomse, told Reuters: Theres no doubt that Brexit created uncertainty for a period in our deliberations. It is unfortunate, but weve passed that challenge and Im convinced weve no need to worry Oxford is a worldwide powerhouse in medicine. Tech companies are going all out to express their dissent against US President Donald Trumps executive order to ban immigration from 7 predominantly Muslim nations. Here's how Amazon and Expedia reacted. Tech companies are going all out to express their dissent against US President Donald Trumps executive order to ban immigration from 7 predominantly Muslim nations. The furore over Trumps immigration ban has now reached the courts, with Washington State suing the Trump administration for violating the US constitutions Equal Protection guarantee, the Establishment clause in the First Amendment, the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act and the right to due process. Given that US-based tech companies have much to lose thanks to the immigration ban, they are now collectively and openly protesting the ban. Joining the likes of Google, Apple and Tesla in condemning the immigration ban, ecommerce giant Amazon and online travel major Expedia have now backed the Washington states lawsuit against the Trump administration. "At least 76 employees at Microsoft are citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, or Yemen and hold U.S. temporary work visas" The complaint describing how these companies will be adversely affected by the ban reads as follows: Microsofts U.S. workforce is heavily dependent on immigrants and guest workers. At least 76 employees at Microsoft are citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, or Yemen and hold U.S. temporary work visas. There may be other employees with permanent-resident status or green cards. These employees may be banned from re-entering the U.S. if they travel overseas or to the companys offices in Vancouver, British Columbia. Seattle-based company Amazon also employs workers from every corner of the world. Amazons employees, dependents of employees, and candidates for employment with Amazon have been impacted by the Executive Order that is the subject of this Complaint. Amazon has advised such employees currently in the United States to refrain from travel outside the United States. Expedia has approximately 1,000 customers with existing flight reservations in or out of the United States who hold passports from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, or Yemen. Bellevue-based company Expedia operates a domestic and foreign travel business. At the time of this filing, Expedia has approximately 1,000 customers with existing flight reservations in or out of the United States who hold passports from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, or Yemen. The executive orders restrict business, increase business costs, and impact current employees and employers. In a declaration of support, both Expedia and Amazon released statements. Expedia believes that the Executive Order jeopardizes its corporate mission and could have a detrimental impact on its business and employees, as well as the broader U.S. and global travel and tourism industry, said Robert Dzielak, Executive Vice President and Expedias General Counsel. Ayesha Blackwell-Hawkins, Senior Manager, Mobility and Immigration at Amazon, said the order immediately and negatively impacted employees, dependents of employees, and candidates for employment with Amazon. Amazons statement goes on to say that the company has 49 employees belonging to the countries under Trumps immigration ban, of which 47 still hold citizenships of those countries. Microsoft on the other hand did not file a formal declaration, but reports suggest that the Redmond based tech giant is in talks with the office of US Attorney General on the same. See Also: Google employees rally against President Trump's immigration ban See Also: Google, Apple, Tesla, Netflix: This is how tech companies reacted to Trump's immigration ban Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, along with Co-Founder, Sergey Brin were amongst the people who spoke at the rally in the companys headquarters Google employees across multiple cities have held rallies protesting President Trumps decision to ban refugees and immigrants coming into the US from seven countries. Google was amongst the first tech companies to react to the ban and the companys immigrant CEO, Sundar Pichai has said that the ban would affect at least 187 employees. Pichai, along with the companys founder, Sergey Brin were amongst the people who spoke at the rally at the companys headquarters. The fight will continue, said Pichai at the rally. Brin recalled how he and his family were refugees who fled from the USSR to the US. He notes that even though the two countries were in the midst of the Cold War, the US had the courage to take his family in. Other people said to have spoken at the rallies were employees who were personally affected by the ban. Google isnt the only company which has spoken out against the immigration ban. Apple CEO, Tim Cook said that its not a policy we support, while Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings said, Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Other companies to have spoken against the ban include Microsoft, Tesla, Lyft, Airbnb and Uber. Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai speaking at the No Ban No Wall rally at the Google Headquarters #Google #GooglersUnite pic.twitter.com/YdSol3cWNQ Luis Larco (@LuisLarco) January 30, 2017 At HQ today #GooglersUnite to show solidarity with immigrants, refugees, Muslims and fellow Googlers worldwide. pic.twitter.com/g4V7fh8nZZ Life at Google (@lifeatgoogle) January 31, 2017 Proud, moved, and touched to be at a company that boldly stands for its people #GooglersUnite pic.twitter.com/ayJSMuyQvs Sam Tse (@samkelllie) January 31, 2017 So proud that I work for @Google right now. Fight the Muslim Ban. #googlersunite pic.twitter.com/U9uQ69FZV1 Rachel Been (@rachelbeen) January 30, 2017 Main image source: @googlegiggle01 Alcatel's modular back panel will come with colour LEDs similar to JBL Pulse speaker Alcatel will announce its next smartphones at Mobile World Congress on February 27. The company has started sending invites with the tagline 'Light Up'. The company is rumoured to follow in the footsteps of Motorola and announce its own modular smartphones. According to rumours, Alcatel might announce 5 different smartphones at MWC next month. The top attraction would be a modular device with functionality similar to MotoMods. According to Hungarian site Tech2, one of the modular back panel will come with colour LEDs - similar to the one shown on company's invite. The LEDs are reportedly tuned to change with the music playing on the device. There is very little details known about the other four devices but company's first modular device is expected to be powered by a MediaTek processor. The smartphone is tipped to be priced around 320 at the time of launch. TCL, Alcatel's parent company will also showcase BlackBerry-branded Mercury with QWERTY keyboard at MWC. It will be interesting to see whether Alcatel continues to launch Windows 10 Mobile device or goes with an all Android lineup. Indonesia-focused upstream oil, gas and power company Andalas Energy and Power announced its half-yearly report for the six months to 31 October on Wednesday - a period in which it was readmitted to AIM to focus on upstream oil, gas and power opportunities in Indonesia. The AIM-traded firm noted its milestone cooperation agreement with Pertamina, Indonesia's national energy company, providing it with the opportunity to fast-track its strategy to transform into a significant power producer. It had an initial target of 250-500MW of installed capacity on five initial fields located close to infrastructure and markets, and the submission of its first gas-to-power project of 2 x 30MW was to be included in the Republic of Indonesias Electricity Supply Business Plan. Andalas said discussions were ongoing with equipment vendors, industry participants and finance specialists with regards funding options. It also confirmed the appointment of Dr Robert Arnott as a non-executive director, to complement the existing board and management team. The signing of the cooperation agreement with Pertamina during the period provides third party validation of the high standing of Andalas management team within Indonesias energy sector, said chairman Paul Warwick. Working closely with Pertamina, already much progress has been made and post period end we submitted our first 2 x 30MW gas to power project for inclusion in the RUPTL. Approval not only opens up multiple funding options for the development of the first project, but will also prove the model we have adopted to become a leading Indonesian focused energy company via the roll-out of an initial portfolio of 250-500MW of installed capacity. Natural resource exploration and development company China Africa Resources announced on Wednesday that it has signed an investment agreement with Global Exploration Technologies - a private Australian company - to acquire a 48.88% shareholding in GET. The AIM-traded firm said GET has five exploration licences in the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana held through three Botswanan subsidiary companies Shareholders should note that this transaction does not constitute a reverse takeover under the AIM rules and consequently China Africa must continue to seek to complete a reverse takeover or face suspension from trading on AIM, its board noted. In addition to the investment, the board said it is actively advancing discussions in respect of various other investment and acquisition opportunities, including both project and corporate transactions, and is principally - although not entirely - focused on uranium, lithium, cobalt, copper and niobium commodities. I am pleased to confirm to the market this investment in GET, a company with interests in the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana, said China Africa CEO Paul Johnson. The China Africa team have been highly proactive in the search for new potentially high value opportunities across the energy metals and minerals sector. Johnson said the acquisition represents a first step forward for the Company. Investors may be aware of the significant copper discovery recently made in the Kalahari Copper Belt by MOD Resources and we are delighted to be investing in the same region in Botswana through GET. He added that exploration projects of such nature carry material exploration risk, but in this case it was countered by the exceptional operating environment that Botswana provides for professional operating companies. GET has developed and is implementing a planned exploration programme and through our investment we are supporting that work. The principle objective for GET is to identify further economically viable copper deposits in the region. Aerospace and defence group Rolls-Royc e got a boost on Wednesday as UBS upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and lifted the price target to 835p from 800p. The bank said the shares were unloved, with a high level of scepticism about management's ability to deliver adequate levels of free cash flow in 2018-20. UBS estimates cash generation is close to 850m in 2019E and 1.1bn in 2020E, including 640-680m from the non-Civil Aerospace activities. It said investors are ascribing little value to cash improvement in 2019/2020. Over 2017, we think investors will gain more comfort on management's grip on the business. 2016 was the first year without warnings since February 2014, and the 2016 outlook was raised slightly in Jan 2017. The FY16 results are due on 14 Feb, with potentially further cost-reduction announced. UBS said its industrials and commodities teams are becoming more constructive on the short-cycle industrial end markets, and the bank retains its positive stance on the defence spending outlook in the US and the UK. The bank said RRs non-Civil Aerospace businesses could surprise positively in 2018 and provide more confidence to the story. It noted Rolls has around 33% of its group sales exposed to early/short-cycle industries where it is seeing improving trends, and 16% exposed to defence spending, which is at the beginning of an upcycle. At 1000 GMT, the shares were up 1.6% to 678p. German car-maker Volkswagen AG will pay out $1.6bn in order to settle claims made against it in the US related to Dieselgate - a figure which could rise to $4.04bn if regulators do not approve the settlement. The agreement will involve Volkswagen fixing or buying back as many as 80,000 3.0 litre vehicles, according to a court document file on Tuesday. In December Volkswagen said it had agreed to repurchase 20,000 cars and would repair 60,000 more, but the company would face a hefty price if the solution was not agreed to by regulatory bodies. The settlement would represent the last major obstacle for Volkswagen in its attempts to rebuild its reputation, after it was found to have installed emissions cheating devices in its cars in 2015. The German company has been banned from diesel cars since the end of 2015. Volkswagen's Group of America chief executive Hinrich Woebcken said that the customers affected "will have a resolution available to them. We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders." Dieselgate appears to have been shaken off by Volkswagen, after it was announced as the best selling automaker in the world on Tuesday. A 3.8% gain led to 10.3 million vehicles being sold in 2016, ahead of former number one Toyota. In a separate case, car parts supplier Robert Bosch has agreed to pay $327.5m to compensate the owners of the affected vehicles. Claimants alleged that Bosch was a "knowing and active participant" in Volkswagen's emission cheating scandal. British Prime Minister Theresa May has for the first time condemned the actions of Donald Trump in signing an executive order which suspends immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim states. May travelled to the United States last week to meet with the new President in Washington, while he was signing off on several executive orders on issues such as immigration, business and trade. During the Prime Minister Questions on Wednesday in the Houses of Parliament, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn questioned May about the government's reaction to the policy, which affects refugees and immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. "This government is clear, that policy is wrong," May told the House of Commons. "In six years as Home Secretary I never introduced such a policy, we believe it is divisive and wrong." Corbyn attacked May for not speaking out against Trump previously, citing the 1951 Refugee Convention which states countries must accept refugees regardless of race, colour or religion. May defended the government's record on the protection of refugees. "We have introduced the scheme to ensure that particularly vulnerable refugees in Syria can be brought to this country...We're also the second biggest bilateral donor, helping and supporting refugees in the region." The US President has faced criticism over the decision to implement the ban, and sacked the acting attorney general Sally Yates following her refusal to enforce the travel ban. Investing in EU bonds is investing in the future. We are sowing the seeds today, so we can harvest growth, jobs, and prosperity tomorrow. Donald Trump has chosen conservative judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the US Supreme Court, possibly tipping the ideological balance of the powerful body for years to come. Gorsuch was nominated by Trump on Tuesday to fill the seat left empty by the death of Antonin Scalia in 2016, and faces a confirmation hearing in the Senate in order to approve his appointment. His nomination will undoubtedly face intense scrutiny from Democrat congressional leaders, with House minority leader Nancy Pelosi referring to Gorsuch as a "very hostile appointment". The US Supreme Court takes highly significant decisions on landmark cases related to such issues as as abortion, human rights and discrimination. Republicans in Congress are said to be highly supportive of the nomination, as well as confident that enough Democrats will pass it without major fuss. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills and a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," President Trump said. "The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute. He is man of our country and a man who our country really needs." "I can only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once for the good of the country," Trump added. With 11 months left of his presidency, Barack Obama attempted to appoint Merrick Gartland as a replacement for Scalia, but Republicans opposed the nomination as they believed it was unfair to take such a significant decision with such little time left. Gorsuch's previous decisions have shown a sympathy towards religious exemption from the law and gun rights, as well as decisions in favour of the death penalty. The United Nations' new secretary general Antonio Guterres has launched a thinly veiled criticism of US President Donald Trump's executive order to prevent the entry of citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Trump signed the order last Friday, placing a temporary ban on immigrants arriving from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, much to the ire of rights activists around the globe. In a written statement in which he did not refer directly to either Trump or the US, Guterres said that border policies created on the basis of race or religion should not be accepted. "Countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations," Guterres began. "This cannot be based on any form of discrimination related to religion, ethnicity or nationality because that is against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based." The secretary general went on to add that such border policies may indeed aid the same terrorist organisations which they are meant to fight against. It "triggers widespread anxiety and anger that may facilitate the propaganda of the very terrorist organisations we all want to fight against," Guterres wrote. The US President has faced criticism over the decision to implement the ban, and sacked the acting attorney general Sally Yates following her refusal to enforce the executive order. Hochschild Mining has suspended operations at its Inmaculada mine in southern Peru following a fatal accident involving two contractors on Tuesday. The company said an investigation is currently underway and all relevant authorities have been informed. It insisted it is committed to reviewing and reinforcing procedures to ensure safety remains the top priority across the company. Chief executive Ignacio Bustamante said: We deeply regret this tragic accident. The safety of those employed at our operations is the company's highest priority.Our thoughts and prayers go out to the individuals' families and friends. We have launched a full investigation to determine the cause of the accident, and are offering support to the family and employees at the mine site." At 0813 GMT, the shares were down 4.7% to 235p. TalkTalk was the standout gainer as investors cheered news that chief executive Dido Harding was stepping down, and as the company said revenue and earnings for the current financial year would be affected by re-contracting activity, but will be in line with previous guidance. Primary care property developer Assura gained ground after saying it made good progress in the third quarter and hiked the quarterly dividend 9% as it looked forward optimistically at NHS plans to build more doctors' surgeries. The group acquired 22 medical centres for a gross 48.8m in the in the third quarter ending 31 December, with these properties having a rent roll of 2.5m and a weighted average unexpired lease length of 13.8 years. Online property sales website Zoopla was also on the front foot a day after announcing the acquisition of the Hometrack website for 120m. On the downside, however, central and Eastern Europe focused airline Wizz Air flew lower after cutting its underlying net profit guidance for the full year despite reporting a surge in third-quarter profit, on the back of lower fuel prices and severe weather conditions. Wizz said that although the current financial year is looking like a very good year for the company and it remains excited about its prospects for the next financial year, lower fuel prices continue to feed through to lower airfares, a trend which looks set to continue well into 2017. In addition, the groups operations this winter have been disrupted by unusually severe weather conditions in CEE. As a result, Wizz has trimmed its guidance for net profit for the full year from 245-255m to between 225 and 235m. Hochschild Mining fell after suspending operations at its Inmaculada mine in southern Peru following a fatal accident involving two contractors on Tuesday. The company said an investigation is currently underway and all relevant authorities have been informed. It insisted it is committed to reviewing and reinforcing procedures to ensure safety remains the top priority across the company. Risers TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 167.10p 6.77% Evraz (EVR) 238.00p 6.73% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 159.80p 5.13% Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 310.20p 2.99% Paysafe Group (PAYS) 393.30p 2.99% Sports Direct International (SPD) 292.00p 2.82% Zoopla Property Group (ZPLA) 376.10p 2.70% Assura (AGR) 53.35p 2.60% Tullow Oil (TLW) 301.70p 2.51% Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 273.30p 2.51% Fallers Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,606.00p -9.83% Ocado Group (OCDO) 239.30p -4.05% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 240.20p -2.56% Henderson Group (HGG) 213.00p -2.29% Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 257.20p -1.87% Acacia Mining (ACA) 423.50p -1.63% Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,188.00p -1.49% Allied Minds (ALM) 392.40p -1.43% Serco Group (SRP) 142.00p -1.39% Sophos Group (SOPH) 270.50p -1.35% AIM-listed healthcare provider Circle Holdings has sold land in Manchester to the Department for Communities and Local Government for 9.1m. The proceeds of the 9.1m plus VAT will be used as working capital and to fund future growth opportunities. Investors in manufacturing and specialist services firm Redhall Group were gathering in Leeds on Wednesday for their annual general meeting. The AIM-traded companys chairman, Martyn Everett, reiterated the boards December promise that it will focus on delivering further improvements in profitability and operational performance and building a robust platform for a sustainable period of growth in the current year. Shares in Beowulf Mining tanked and were suspended after the explorer's application for an exploitation concession for its Kallak North property was referred by the Norrbottenback County Administrative Board back to the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden. The AIM-listed outfit suspended its shares from trading "until further clarification on the situation can be given". Internet-of-things company Telit Communications confirmed on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire GainSpan Corporation for $8m in cash, subject to certain working capital adjustments. The AIM-traded firm said GainSpan designs, develops, manufactures and commercialises ultra-low power Wi-Fi systems-on-chip and modules for battery and line-powered devices. Kennedy Ventures has raised 1.25m before expenses through a placing of 13.9m new shares at a price of 9p each. The company has an interest in the Tantalite Valley Mine through its stake in African Tantalum (Aftan). Sound Energy said an early estimate of its Tendrara and Meridja permit areas in Morocco put unrisked original gas in place of up to 31trn cubic feet (tcf), or 17tcf as a mid case.The AIM-listed company, which has a 27.5% interest in the Tendrara licence and an option to acquire a 55% interest in Meridja, last month conducted various tests and has now received an initial basin model, from which it made internal estimates of volumes. If youre the corporate buck, you live and breathe mens suits. And, if you just really dig the sartorial look, its likely that a suave suit is an essential weekend outfit so youre decked out for dinner dates or drinks. While a bespoke mens suit is the dream, we dont all have time or money for that kind of tailored treatment. So, how do you navigate the sea of ready-to-wear mens suits out there, without capsizing on a cheap poly-blend or an ultra-skinny fit? Taking the guessing game out of off-the-rack and online shopping, here are the best suits for men you need to know right now. Nailing that corporate office look, fine dining date ensemble, and mates wedding outfit just got easy with our curated list of the best suit brands for men. Each brand offers impeccable suits, so take a look through and see which brand suits your taste and style best. And, once youve found the best suit for you, ensure it lasts you as long as possible with these top care tips. Buying A Suit Online While buying clothes online has become a normality, and it even rose in popularity thanks to last years pandemic lockdowns, buying the best suit online may still seem like a bit of a gamble. But thats not the case at all! The best suit brands for men, all have excellently tailored suits thatll look good on anybody, any shape or size. You May Also Like Most suit brands also feature a size guide on their sites, so we highly recommend measuring yourself at home and then lining your measurements up with the size guide, to ensure you order the size that will give you the best fit. Finally, if youre still apprehensive about buying a suit online, most brands have a refund and exchange policy, meaning you can easily change the suit size, or return the suit for your money back. If youre in need of a new suit, these are the best suit brands for men on the market thatll make you look ever so sophisticated. In a matter of just two weeks into his presidency, Donald Trump has managed to rile up millions of people from around the globe via his sweeping reforms. The latest to join the outcry of blatant discrimination by the U.S President is the Nike CEO himself, Mark Parker. Parker, who is often an advocate of political and human issues, released a public statement over the weekend which details Nikes view on the of banning Syrian refugees from entering America alongside citizens of Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. In the statement Parker stressed that, Nike believes in a world where everyone celebrates the power of diversity. Regardless of whether or how you worship, where you come from or who you love, everyones individual experience is what makes us stronger as a whole, he continued. Nike stands together against bigotry and any form of discrimination. You can read the full statement below in which Parker references four time gold medal distance runner Sir Mo Farah as a prime example of a person who left Somalia for Britain and now calls Portland home alongside his wife and children. His training facility is located in Ethiopia which could jeopardise his return home to his family. Iran defies UN resolution, conducts missile test Iran conducted its first ballistic missile test since Donald Trump became the US President, in yet another apparent violation of a United Nations resolution, US officials said on Monday. The launch occurred Sunday at a well-known test site outside Semnan, about 140 miles east of Tehran, Fox News first reported. The Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile flew 600 miles before exploding, in a failed test of a reentry vehicle, officials said. Iran's Defence Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said in September that Iran would start production of the missile. UN Resolution 2231 - put in place days after the Iran nuclear deal was signed - calls on the Islamic Republic not to conduct such tests. However, this is at least Iran's second such test since July. The resolution bars Iran from conducting ballistic missile tests for eight years and went into effect 20 July 2015. Iran is "called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology", according to the text of the resolution. The landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, however, does not include provisions preventing Iran from conducting ballistic missile tests, and Iran claims the tests are legitimate because they are not designed to carry a nuclear warhead. President Trump on Sunday spoke with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, a conversation in which the two "agreed on the importance of rigorously enforcing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and of addressing Iran's destabilizing regional activities", the White House said. in a statement. A ballistic missile launch could potentially fall under "destabilizing regional activities". The launch also came a day before Jordan's King Abdullah arrived in Washington for meetings with Vice President Pence and Defense Secretary Mattis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would address the Iran issue with Trump when the two leaders meet on 15 February. "I will meet President Trump in Washington soon, and among the issues I will address, is the need to renew the sanctions against Iran," Netanyahu wrote on Facebook on Monday. "Sanctions against the ballistic missiles, and other sanctions against the terror, and readdressing the failed agreement on its nuclear capabilities. "I know that this bothers not only Israel, and not only the US but other countries in the region. Iran's aggression should not be ignored." The US intelligence community was able to identify Sunday's launch due to its robust satellite network. The overhead system can detect the heat signature of missile launches and explosions from bombs being dropped around the world. Last March, Iran sparked international condemnation when it test-fired two ballistic missiles, one emblazoned with the phrase ''Israel must be wiped out'' in Hebrew. US Army Gen. Joseph Votel told lawmakers last March the United States should continue to "expose" Iran for the role that the rogue nation plays in the region, including its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, responsible for dropping barrel bombs on his own people. Dehqan said in September that Iran would beef up its defense capabilities by "manufacturing three fundamental products in the area of missile [development] by the end of the year." "Iran's missile tests are an unacceptable act of aggression-something we have seen occur time and again for the last 18 months," Ambassador Mark D Wallace, CEO of the non-profit United Against Nuclear Iran, responded. On the one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Laurentic, Derry City and Strabane District Council hosted the opening of the Laurentic exhibition in the Tower Museum in Derry. The story of the sinking of the Laurentic at the mouth of Lough Swilly on a savagely cold winter's night in 1917 is well documented, which includes the loss of 43 tonnes of gold bullion; the experimental nature of the ship; the greatest known single loss of life in Donegal waters and the stoic heroism of the crew and especially Captain Norton, who made sure he was the last man off the ship before it sank. The subsequent salvage of all but 22 bars of gold is also well known, but this account of the Laurentic is fundamentally about divers and two divers in particular. The first was Augustus Dent, who was on the Laurentic on the night it sank, attached to the ship's company as a diver, while the second is about Ray Cossum, who eventually came to own the wreck as she is today. Their story is further intertwined because Ray Cossum interviewed and recorded Augustus Dent in later years and Dent's voice can be heard in the exhibition explaining how he took command of the lifeboat he was on and then kept his crew working and alive until they were rescued the next morning, despite the air temperature being 13 degrees below freezing. After the sinking Dent was approached by Commander Demant to dive on the Laurentic, because it was known that Dent knew where to find the gold. In Dents interview he relates how they blew their way into the wreck, found the gold and began bringing it to the surface. The bravely of Dent to return to the Laurentic and search the wreck after witnessing the death of his comrades has to be admired, but diving is much about a state of mind so maybe it was just part of the job to him. For the attendees at the Tower Museum on the centenary night it was an opportunity for the diving community and family members of the lost sailors to meet Ray Cossum, another remarkable diver. Ray described how he came to buy the Laurentic, his forlorn search for the missing gold and his interview with Dent and also a Donegal man, Paddy Murphy who helped pack the gold for onward transit when it came ashore in Donegal. The story of how Rays dive colleagues found the Laurentic bridge bell also explained the damage to the bell, caused by a sailor beating it with spanner to rouse the ships company to their peril and abandon ship. Wednesday nights attendees were told that when Ray first went to dive the Laurentic it was only found because the Browns of Inch knew the landmark transits and where able to place him directly on the wreck - no GPS coordinates back in those days. In that initial dive the fish life was so abundant that they blocked his descent, while on the wreck it had all the brass portholes and other salvageable metals still in-situ. Sadly, neither of these situations remain today. Ray at 86 is a perfect gentleman blessed with a sharp mind and clear memory. He last dived the Laurentic at the age of 74. In his younger days Ray swam the English Channel in both directions, served in submarines and dived both in the Royal Navy and commercially all over the world, but undoubtedly his pride and joy is talking about the Laurentic. As Ray told his story, other divers at the event also related their memories of both Ray and diving the Laurentic. Don McGlinchey from Derry City SAC and Steward Taylor from Antrim SAC had many stories to tell. Family members of the fallen from Britain and Canada were present and they also kindly shared their stories. One particular story was that the gold, which was destined for America to pay for war munitions, was originally French and eventually made it to its original destination, to be finally held in the vaults of JP Morgan Bank, New York. With Rays consent Sheephaven SAC has dived the Laurentic for many years and he graciously acknowledged the achievements of the club members and in particular Kevin McShane in raising, restoring and displaying the ships gun that is currently in place at Downings pier, a reminder to all of the perils of the sea. The club wishes Ray and his family the very best and thank him for allowing club members access to this most iconic of shipwrecks around our shores. Sheephaven diving activities continued over the last week, with club divers on holiday in Lanzarote, a very exciting drift dive on Saturday morning and both followed on Sunday with a dive and snorkel in Portnablagh. The Saturday morning divers commenced their dive at Knoxs Hole in Mulroy Bay and caught an 8 knot tidal current that took them quickly past Dunloan lights. On Sunday morning there was a large turnout of the club members at Portnablagh, where Noel Brennan led all present in a snorkel for the majority and a dive for the few practicing with the Search and Recovery Full Face Masks. Weather conditions were near perfect for late January, with a crisp cold morning producing a settled sea, where in-water temperatures were 7 degrees Celsius, which is just about as chilly as it gets for any extended diving activities. Members of the Enterprise community welcomed a new business to town on Tuesday as AGF Machinery broke ground on its new business location in Enterprise. AGF Machinery opened its doors in 2010 in Dothan and has since realized a need for its services in Enterprise, and will be located next to Ashley Furniture. We are a full line rental company as well as sales and service, parts, hydraulic hoses all those types of things, said Hugh Swicord, AGF Machinery sales manager. As far as the rental side, we do everything from homeowners stuff up to commercial equipment. [Were] bringing a pretty good size fleet over here in Enterprise. We just got quite a bit that were going to bring over here, so its not going to be a small place. It will be a full-fledged operation dedicated to Enterprise and that surrounding area. Were very excited to be coming. Owner Jeff Washington said the plan is to have the business open its doors at the beginning of April, and has already employed Enterprise residents to be a part of AGF Machinery. We are locally owned and operated, not a store with a location here. We are here for enterprise and to give back to the community, Washington said. The business has also started advertising its up and coming second location on its work vehicles, showing its dedication to what Washington called a place of opportunity. We needed the second location and through [Enterprise] was the perfect place, Washington said. Weve sent a lot of equipment over here already, but what happens is people want to know where youre from, and like the mayor said, you can see it on the side of the trucks. It makes a different. People do business with you because youre at home. I wanted this to be our home too, like Dothan. Washington also said that even though he doesnt live in Enterprise, he sees the amount of growth the city has been incurring and wanted to be a part of it. Its a lot of expense, but I think its going to be well worth it, Washington said. From somebody who doesnt live here, when you stand back and look at everything you just say wow to yourself. District 2 Councilman Eugene Goolsby said he was looking forward to having AGF Machinery as new Enterprise citizens and appreciated its support of the community. Were going to work with you and hope that all goes well, and let the people know that Enterprise is open for business, District 1 Councilman Bill Cooper said. The business will offer a full line of construction equipment in its sales and rental inventories from Terex, Genie and Wacker-Neuson equipment including new and used aerial lifts, scissor lifts, forestry equipment, loaders, excavators and more. AGF Machinery also is a full line hydraulic fittings and hydraulic hose dealer, carrying one fourth to one inch two-wire and four-wire hoses. Currently, it is serving the tri-state area of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. At a breakfast meeting with members of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce this week, Alabama Rep. Dexter Grimsley spoke candidly about a court ruling that will require a refiguring of a dozen legislative districts in the state, including his. I actually kind of like my district the way it is, said Grimsley, who, in his second term, is settling into his role in the state house. Now that could be thrown into uncertainty. A court panel considering how numerous Alabama districts were reconfigured during reapportionment at the beginning of the decade determined that race played too much of a role in drafting of some districts lines. And reconfiguring those in question will affect many more. When my district gets redrawn, those lines will have to go somewhere thats currently in another district, Grimsley said. It wont be the first significant overhaul for District 85. Perhaps the most memorable was the reapportionment after the 1990 Census, when the new District 85 lines gerrymandered 10-year incumbent John Beasley of Columbia out of the district. In the 1994 election, Locy Baker won the seat and served until leaving office 2010, when Grimsley won the open seat. Assuming Grimsley manages to avoid being gerrymandered out of the district as the lines are redrawn, hell likely hold off challengers as he managed in primary and general elections in 2010 and 2014. However, hes right about the effect of satisfying the courts when revisiting the district lines it cannot happen in a vacuum, and how things will end up is anyones guess. In recent years, the effects of bullying have become a much greater topic of concern for many parents, students, and school officials. Unfortunately, we do have a few cases of bullying that is reported in our school system, said Houston County Superintendent of Education David Sewell. Although we have some reported cases, it is not a problem that has become an epidemic. But, no child should be a victim. The Houston County School System, as well as other school systems in the area, enforces a zero tolerance policy for bullying. Over the last three years bullying has been addressed more in Alabama school systems than ever. Bullying is a problem, said Attorney Ben Irwin with Cherry & Irwin Attorneys at Law. A lot of times bullying actually occurs outside the school yard. Many children today are facing constant bullying due to the fact of cyber bullying. The sad thing is, many face bullying issues 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. That is why Sam Cherry and I have decided to reach out and help the children of our community. We are reaching out to local schools to help educate not only the victims of bullying, but the bullies as well. We strongly believe no child should be bullied. Education is the key to stopping this problem. Our goal is educate before the physical abuse occurs. If any school in the area, whether it is a private school or public school, and they would like for us to reach out to their students regarding bullying, contact us at 793-1000. We believe bullying is a problem. If just one child is a victim, there is a problem. According to Rhonda Lassiter, the Houston County Board of Education anti-bullying coordinator, several different programs are set up in the Houston County School System to help educate students on bullying. This is something that if we dont know it is happening, we cant address the issue, Lassiter said. If a child is being bullied, we need to know. Report it to your principal and the issue will be investigated. Sewell also encourages all parents to maintain an open relationship with their children. Make sure if your children need to speak with you about bullying, or any issues for that matter, be available, Sewell said. Every child needs someone to talk to. If you believe your child has been a victim of bullying, notify your childs principal. If you believe the situation was not handled, notify me. I want every child to be safe while they attend school in the Houston County School System. For more information regarding the Houston County Board of Education, call 792-8331. When the Dothan Police Department needs funds for training, community initiatives, and the animal shelter, there isnt always enough money in the budget to foot the bill. Dothan can be a generous place, however, and Dothan Police Chief Steve Parrish saw the potential for community involvement to help fund some unmet needs. Around a year-and-a-half ago, Parrish approached businessmen Mark Dunning and Bob Woodall to talk about starting a police foundation in Dothan. The three of us met several times and decided what components should be included in the bylaws to set this program in motion, Dothan Police Foundation Chairman Bob Woodall said. The program officially launched in August 2016; and I am proud to say, it has been well received in the community. There are three primary areas where funds may be dispersed by the foundation. One of those areas is police education and training. The Dothan Police Department has partnered with the command and staff college of Auburn University Montgomery. With this partnership the Southeast Alabama Regional Police Alliance (SARPA) was started. This offers educational and training opportunities for not only the Dothan Police Department, but neighboring law enforcement agencies as well. Second is the Community First Initiative, which enhances the plan the police department established to involve the community more than ever. Programs included under this area are the Junior Police Academy, Rape Aggression Defense Training, Kid Escape, Citizens Firearm Training Course, and others. Third is the pro-life Animal Services Program, which is designed to benefit the animals in the Dothan Animal Shelter. The animal shelter is managed by the police department. At the present time, the euthanasia rates at the Dothan shelter are among the lowest of any government-operated shelter. The goal of the foundation is to help this number continue to drop even lower by offering available funding for adoptions, transports and other pro-life initiatives to help local pets. This program is a way for the community to give back by investing in their own community, Parrish said. Since the foundation was started, we have received around $8,000 from individuals and businesses throughout the community. Each donation is greatly appreciated. One local business that has given to the foundation multiple times is Hometown Lenders. We are extremely proud to give to the Dothan Police Foundation, said Hometown Lenders South Regional Manager Tim Watson. I never realized before what procedures must be followed for a police department to get needed items. I just thought, like so many others, if anything was needed a check would be given to the department. After realizing that is not how things work, we decided to donate to the foundation. Anyone can state which area their funds can benefit. However, I wanted the funds we give to address the needs of the Dothan Police Department. So far we have given $3,000 to the foundation. This is a great way for any business to give back to the community and help make a difference. The Dothan Police Foundation is not part of the City of Dothan. The foundation is a stand-alone non-profit organization. The foundation helps the police department and the community by giving the community a chance to invest in itself. The foundation has eight governing directors. They are Bob Woodall, chairman; Mark Dunning, vice chairman; Susan Anderson; Mark Saliba, Janasky Fleming, Wayne Palmer, Kris Doss and Stanley Davis. I can honestly say we have a great group of directors, Parrish said. As you can see we have directors who are dedicated to helping our community in many ways. Once again, I want to thank everyone for their contributions to the foundation. I encourage anyone interested in making a donation to the foundation to visit the foundations website www.dothanpolicefoundation.com or call 615-3617. BMW has revealed details of its new 5-Series wagon. The German brand's mid-size family wagon uses the same foundations as the 5-Series sedan - which was revealed late last year - with a choice of four engines and a focus on becoming a safety technology leader. BMW will offer two diesel units; a 140kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo diesel in the entry-level 520d and a 195W/620Nm 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo diesel engine in the 530d. The petrol offerings also match the sedan line-up; a 185kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder in the 530i and a 250kW/450Nm turbocharged inline six-cylinder unit that powers the 540i. BMW will also offer the choice of either a six-speed manual in Europe or the eight-speed automatic that will be standard on locally-delivered models. The 530i, 520d and 530d are rear-wheel drive while the 540i and a 530d variant are equipped with BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system. The proportions of the 5-Series Touring have been extended by 36mm in length, 8mm in width and 10mm in height, while the wheelbase has grown by 7mm, all of which should translate to a roomier interior. Folding rear seats allow for a total boot capacity of 1700 litres or 570 litres with the seats up. BMW has really upped the safety suite in the new 5-Series with a comprehensive range of semi-autonomous technology including forward collision and pedestrian warning with autonomous braking, cross traffic alert, lane keep assist and automated parking. A massive 10.25-inch touchscreen dominates the interior, with functions able to be controlled by voice commands and gestures. The touchscreen is also compatible with Apple CarPlay, and is the first of its kind to offer the smartphone mirroring function wirelessly. A large head-up display - which has increased in size by 70 per cent displays a range of information and it uses GPS location and road-sign software to determine whether or not to activate the engine's stop-start function to save fuel. The new BMW 5-Series Touring goes on sale in Europe this June, with the Australian launch expected later in the year. Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera, known by various aliases including El Chapo, 59, arrived in the United States on January 19th, following his extradition from Mexico. He was arraigned the following day on a 17-count superseding indictment, before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in federal court in Brooklyn. Following his extradition to the United States on related charges filed in the Western District of Texas and Southern District of California, the Mexican government approved a request by the United States to proceed with prosecution on the charges filed in the Eastern District of New York on May 11, 2016. The indictment alleges that between January 1989 and December 2014, Guzman Loera led a continuing criminal enterprise responsible for importing into the United States and distributing massive amounts of illegal narcotics and conspiring to murder persons who posed a threat to Guzman Loeras narcotics enterprise. Guzman Loera is also charged with using firearms in relation to his drug trafficking and money laundering relating to the bulk smuggling from the United States to Mexico of more than $14 billion in cash proceeds from narcotics sales throughout the United States. As part of this investigation, nearly 200,000 kilograms of cocaine linked to the Sinaloa Cartel have been seized. The indictment seeks forfeiture of more than $14 billion in drug proceeds and illicit profits. This extradition is a tremendous victory for the citizens of Mexico and of the United States, said DEA Acting Administrator Rosenberg.Two principles stand out: No one is above the law and we simply do not quit in the pursuit of justice. The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys TD, met with Louth Chief Executive Joan Martin last week to discuss the roll out of Creative Ireland Programme / Clar Eire Ildanach in Louth. Creative Ireland is the Governments Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016 Centenary. It is a five-year all-of-government initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which at its core is a wellbeing strategy which aims to improve access to cultural and creative activity in every county across the country. In preparation, Minister Humphreys met with all local authority CEOs last week. Creative Ireland will prioritise childrens access to art, music, drama and coding; enhance the provision of culture and creativity in every community; further develop Ireland as a global hub for film and TV production; empower and support our artists and drive investment in our cultural institutions; further enhance our global reputation abroad. From 2018, an annual County of Culture will also be held each year. A major pillar of the Creative Ireland programme is called Enabling Creativity in Every Community. Local Authorities are the primary instrument for delivery of the programme objectives throughout the country over the next five years, and they are central to the success of Creative Ireland. As part of Creative Ireland, a culture team will be established in every county, which will be tasked with developing a culture plan for that county. Each Local Authority will appoint a co-ordinator for the programme, and a public workshop will be held to share the Creative Ireland plans and invite input from the public. Speaking after the meeting Minister Humphreys said: Creative Ireland is the Irish Governments ambitious five year programme to place culture and creativity at the heart of public policy. I have met with Joan Martin to discuss how we will maximise the impact of the programme in Louth. I have asked Joan Martin to establish a Culture Team bringing together relevant personnel to develop a Culture & Creativity Plan for Louth to drive public participation in creative cultural activity in Louth. "I have also asked the national Creative Ireland team to conduct workshops around the country this spring. I view these workshops as a two-way learning process from which best practice can emerge. The date for the Louth workshop will be announced in the coming weeks. "I have made a specific allocation of 1million to the Local Authorities towards the implementation of the 2017 Creative Ireland Plans. I want to send a very strong message about Irelands ambitions for our creative sectors and our vision to help children and communities to fulfil their creative potential. Ireland has an opportunity to lead by example as we roll out the Creative Ireland programme. I am very pleased that my Department is providing 1 million in funding for the Local Authority network to enable the roll out of Creative Ireland in every county. The photograph of the Sinn Fein demonstration at the Maid of Erin Monument at the Courthouse Square in May 1910 on the occasion of the proclamation of King George V as sovereign of Great Britain, which we published a couple weeks ago, gives an indication of the unrest and religious divisions that existed in Dundalk at the beginning of the 20th Century. As I mentioned previously, this photograph shows the damage caused to the Monument which had, according to Victor Whitmarsh, happened in 1903 and I wondered happened that year to cause this attack? A clue to the situation in July of that year is hinted at in the 'About Town' notes in the July 25, 1903 edition of the Dundalk Democrat. Among other reports of unrest that month is a paragraph which states --- 'The authorities have taken a very proper course in allowing out, under the First Offenders Act, to come up for judgement a man, William Grant who was arrested in connection with the recent disturbances in the town. This man is, under under ordinary circumstances, a perfectly respectable and well conducted member of society and the course adopted with regard to him when he was first arrested was rather extraordinary.' Further down in the same column, in reporting malicious injury claims for damages caused to some shop and other windows in town, the writer of the notes states 'The entire claims may roughly be put down at 100. This will amount to about 1d in the 1, to be paid by the unfortunate ratepayers' for the the little diversion of our juvenile friends who provoked that very regrettable outburst. But, so far as we know, the parties in question do not pay one halfpenny rates amongst them.' The cause of this trouble in Dundalk around July 12, 1903 is further explained by an item in Padraic ua Dubhtaigh's history called 'The Book of Dundalk'. In it Dubhtaigh relates the events surrounding the incident which came to be known as 'The Relief of Restrevor'. What happened was that several thousand Dundalk Catholics travelled by boat to Warrenpoint, where they were joined by other Catolics from Newry and parts of Cooley, on July 12, to prevent it from being attacked by an Orange mob who had threatened to make a 'Dolly's Brae' of the nearby small County Down town during a parade through it on July 13 (July 12 fell on a Sunday tht year). The sequel in Dundalk on the return of the Dundalk party is described as follows --- 'On the following night in Dundalk there was a discreditable sequel to the adventure. A small party of youths, who gathered in strength, paraded the town with an Orange flag seized at Warrenpoint. At. Messrs Patterson's there was, for some reason, a rush at a group of shop assistants (employed in that establishment and lived on the premises),who retreated down the gateway and banged the gate. A stone was thrown at Messrs Patterson's window and this led to further window breaking. At the subsequent court proceedings, one of the shop assistants concerned denied that he had cursed the Pope when the demonstrators were passing but admitted that he had done so elsewhere meaning no harm by it.' The religious tensions in Dundalk were further exacerbated by the passing of the 'Royal Train' through Dundalk Station on July 26, carrying King Edward VII and his Queen, which ua Dubhtaigh reports as --- 'The royal party, when passing through Dundalk Station, was greeted by a crowd which waved Union Jacks. Most effusive in their demonstrations of welcome were a few prominent Catholic families.' The author should have written 'Union Flag' as a 'Union Jack' in only a flag flow by a Royal Navy vessel! The background to all this unrest in Ireland was the debates on Home Rule in the Westminster Parliament which the Loyalist of the country vehemently opposed. Loyalists living Dundalk held a meeting in Market House on a later date, sometime before the Act was finally passed in 1914, at which opposition to Home Rule was expressed. The Editor of the Dundalk Democrat at the time, Thomas F. McGahon, was strong in his condemnation of this gathering which, he believed, stirring up bad feeling in Dundalk. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. 75 years of American Airmen: Past, present, future On Feb. 1, 1942, the history of todays 8th Air Force began to write its story. With milestones such as the Doolittle Raid and Operation Linebacker II, its no surprise that the 8th Air Force made a lasting legacy and is known today as the Mighty Eighth. Lining the corridors of the historic 8th Air Force headquarters building at Barksdale Air Force Base are photographs, paintings and mementos that illustrate to all Airmen who walk the halls the triumphant history and feats the Eighth has made over the past 75 years. Todays Mighty Eighth actually activated under the designation of VIII Bomber Command (BC) at Langley Field, Virginia, as part of an expansion of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. The VIII BC was a subordinate unit to the former 8th Air Force, today known as U.S. Air Forces in Europe that relocated to Savannah, Georgia, within days after settling in Virginia. Soon after, the VIII BC deployed to the European theater of operations where it found a permanent war-time home at the former Wycombe Abbey School for Girls in High Wycombe, England, under its first commander, Ira C. Eaker. Some monikers from WWII have stood the test of time and are still in use today across the command, said Lane Callaway, 8th Air Force historian. For example, the wartime codename for the VIII BC headquarters was pinetree, and now is the name of the command conference room in the Eighths headquarters building, where meetings address issues impacting worldwide operations and items of national interest. However, with great feats also come trial and tragedy. From May 1942 to July 1945, the Eighth was responsible for Americas daylight and strategic bombing campaign against Nazi-occupied Europe. With this responsibility, the Eighth suffered large losses. Out of 115,332 troops, more than 47,000 were taken out of the fight, including more than 26,000 killed in action. With this, the Eighth's brave men, from general officer to enlisted, earned 17 Medals of Honor, 220 Distinguished Service Crosses and 442,000 Air Medals. On Feb. 28, 1944, the VIII BC was given the official designation of 8th Air Force. By mid-1944, the Eighth received its nickname, the Mighty Eighth, in recognition of its strength and ability to send more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and 1,000 fighters in a single mission against enemy targets in Europe. The unit was composed of more than 200,000 people. Finally in January 1975, Eighth Air Force moved to Barksdale, its ninth location and has since called the Bossier City and Shreveport area home. Barksdale also serves as the units longest standing home station in its history. While the Mighty Eighth was born into battle in the 1940s, its influence and impact can be seen spanning the post WWII and modern day eras. The Mighty Eighth has participated in a string of contingency operations in support of bomber assurance and deterrence missions using the worlds most advanced and equipped bombers. Some examples being: 1. 1991: Gulf War involving the 2nd Bomb Wing 2. 1996: OPERATION DESERT STRIKE against Iraq 3. 1998: Operation DESERT FOX against Iraq 4. 1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia -- bombers flew 325 sorties to drop over 7 million pounds of ordnance on enemy targets. Even in todays operations, Eighth Air Forces bomber presence is felt globally. The Mighty Eighth continues to maintain a continuous bomber presence in the Pacific where B-1s not only deter aggression, but assure our allies that the U.S. is committed to international security. In the Central Command region, B-52s carry out a bombing campaign against ISIS, ISIL forces. And the B-2 operates globally as well, most recently seen striking terrorist training camps in Libya. There is no doubt that Mighty Eighth forces are as relevant today as they were in the early years, said Callaway. Today, the 8th Air Force celebrates its 75th anniversary; 75 years of progression, strength, national assurance and pride. The Mighty Eighth commands the U.S. Air Forces entire fleet of long-range, stealth and heavy-bombers, in addition to the recently added E4-B National Airborne Operations Center fleet. To commemorate the occasion, bomber Airmen from across the country have gathered at Barksdale AFB for a special retreat and flyover. Additional scheduled events include a building dedication, memorial run, WWII veteran dog tag presentation and a gala hosted by a local support organization to commemorate the American Airmen of the Mighty Eighth. Within the next decade, the Eighth will boast their newest capability -- the B-21 Raider -- a long-range strike bomber, named after the surprise attack against Japan during WWII in 1942 -- the Doolittle Raid. This bomber will play in allowing the Air Force to operate in tomorrows high end threat environment, and in providing the Air Force the flexibility and capability to launch from the continental U.S. and deliver air strikes on any location in the world. The Air Force plans to field the initial capability of the bomber in the mid-2020s. I am extremely proud to be part of a unit engrained with such a rich heritage, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, 8th Air Force commander. From early on, Eighth Air Force has played a major role in our nations security, and we will carry that legacy into the future. After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger. Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose. Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance New phase of homes coming soon at Taylor Wimpey's Arena Place Leading housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has responded to huge demand for its new homes at Arena Place in Colchester by announcing the release of a fresh collection of stunning properties. Phase 2 at Arena Place which comes hot on the heels of the hugely successful first phase within this popular new neighbourhood will be unveiled on 4th February and is already generating a great deal of interest from savvy home-hunters. This new selection of new build one two and three bedroom apartments offers additional choice for purchasers and complements the range of refurbished two and three-bedroom duplex apartments and two and four-bedroom houses that are currently available to reserve. Michael OLeary, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey, says: Were delighted to be opening up even more opportunities for people to own a new home at Arena Place We have some fantastic incentives available at the development to make home-buying even easier and more affordable. Its a great opportunity to make a stress-free move to a brand new home in this wonderful location, which has already attracted a huge number of homebuyers! Taylor Wimpey has sensitively renovated a series of historic military buildings within Arena Place the site of the former Administrative Headquarters Complex for Colchester Garrison Artillery Barracks maintaining and enhancing their original architectural features and turning them into stunning new homes. The developer has also incorporated historic features within its own designs for associated new-build properties at Arena Place. This unique refurbished property features a spacious open-plan kitchen/living/dining room with high ceilings and full-height windows, with a guest cloakroom off the internal entrance hallway. Upstairs, the landing leads to two double bedrooms, a family bathroom and a handy walk-in storage closet. Colchester offers a wide variety of amenities for everyday living, including a range of supermarkets and convenience stores, a selection of pubs and restaurants, plus an array of high street shops and cafes in the nearby Lion Walk Shopping Centre. For leisure opportunities, the town boasts several museums including Colchester Castle, which is home to the biggest keep built in the UK and provides opportunities for picturesque walks around the grounds. Arena Leisure Centre is also nearby to the development, while Colchester Zoo is just over three miles away. Families will appreciate that Arena Place is situated within close proximity of a wide choice of schools and nurseries, including Butterfly Blue Day Nursery and St Johns Green Primary School, which was rated good in its latest Ofsted report. For further education, The Sixth Form College Colchester is also nearby. For commuters, Colchester Town railway station is just a short walk from Arena Place, and provides regular direct services to Colchester, London Liverpool Street and Walton-on-the-Naze. For road links, the nearby A12 provides routes north-east for Ipswich and south-west for Chelmsford and Romford. To find out more about the new phase coming soon or the new homes currently available at Arena Place, prospective purchasers can visit the Sales and Marketing Suite, located off Napier Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 7GA, and open Thursday to Monday from 10am until 5.30pm. Alternatively, visit taylorwimpey.co.uk. Trip to prepare EBRD Annual Meeting and step up business links EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti held a day of meetings in Luxembourg on 1 February, discussing the Banks current priorities with the leadership of a country which is an important shareholder and a leading donor in support of EBRD projects. The EBRD President had meetings with Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna, who is Luxembourgs Governor at the EBRD. Mr Gramegna will chair the EBRDs Board of Governors discussions at the Banks Annual Meeting this year in Cyprus and the talks this week were an opportunity to prepare for the May 9-11 conference. The meeting with the Grand Duke provided an opportunity to discuss the long-standing cooperation between the Grand Duchy and the EBRD. President Chakrabarti expressed gratitude for Luxembourgs commitment to the Bank and its important contributions as a core partner and founding shareholder. Sir Suma also thanked the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance of Luxembourg for the countrys continued strong engagement as an investor and donor, especially in areas as legal transition, gender and inclusion support and the promotion of policy reform. Luxembourg has committed more than 40m in donor funds to back up the Banks activities, making it one of the EBRDs most generous donors per capita. It is, for instance, a major donor to the Banks successful Women in Business programme which supports women-led small businesses in many countries where the Bank invests. The visit to Luxembourg also provided an opportunity for the EBRD to step up its links with Luxembourg businesses. Sir Suma made a speech to the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, where he outlined the Banks activities and highlighted the opportunities for increased cooperation with Luxembourg firms. At the end of 2016, the value of joint investments between the EBRD and Luxembourg firms stood at 4.75 billion, with EBRD finance accounting for 3.17 billion and Luxembourg investment for 1.58 billion. Last night, the White House sent out another of its amazingly odd press releases that more closely resemble a commercial for a new reality television show or a review of a new alt-right book about the merits of white supremacy in America than they do any sort of serious, professional communication about what our federal government is doing to spend our tax dollars. The title of the email was Bipartisan Praise For The Impossible To Oppose Judge Neil Gorsuch: Click image for a larger version President Bannon is usually more subtle in his attempt to pre-set the framing over a particular issue. Like he usually doesnt enclose it in quotation marks. What President Bannon is counting on mistakenly, as it turns out is Democrats lying down without a fight when his lackey Donald Trump nominates someone to the United States Supreme Court who is a ideological zealot. And, make no mistake, Neil Gorsuch is an ideological zealot who is cut from the same mold at the late Justice Antonin Scalia. In fact, of all the people on Trumps list for the SCOTUS a list he got from the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society only Thomas Lee was more similar to Scalia in his ideological bent. I say mistakenly because, outside of a few squishy Democrats, there appears to be a movement building, particularly in the U.S. Senate, to be sand in the gears of the Bannon administration for the next four years (or less if Trump is impeached.) Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer made it clear last night that Democrats are going to fight the SCOTUS nomination with everything they have. We are not going to settle on a Supreme Court nominee, he said during an interview on MSNBC. If they dont appoint someone whos really good, were gonna oppose him tooth and nail. And they should. Democrats should obstruct the Bannon administration at every juncture. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, should come easily for Republicans until Donald Trump is out of office and a sane person is back at the helm of the United States of America. Its clear that these elected officials will pay no political price for their obstruction. After all, Republicans stopped President Obamas nominee Merrick Garland from even getting a hearing for the better part of a year, an unprecedented move in American history, and they still managed to hold onto their power in November 2016. Yesterday, Democrats showed that they are willing to go down this route by boycotting committee meetings where votes on three of Bannons nominees were on the docket: First, Democrats boycotted a Senate committee scheduled to take two votes, one on Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trumps nominee for secretary of health and human services, and the other on Steve Mnuchin, his choice to lead the treasury. Then, they blocked a vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trumps nominee for attorney general. This intentional obstruction forced Republicans to break the Senate this morning, voting to suspend their normal rules and procedures in order to ram through their picks: Senate Finance Republicans, via UC, suspend Committee rules and will vote on Mnuchin/Price without Democrats Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) February 1, 2017 There are some Democrats who are showing signs of weakness, fearful of using the filibuster lest Republicans take it away. Markos Moulitsas excoriated them at Daily Kos yesterday: So what possible fucking reason might make Democrats decide to sit out this critical fight? Well, in short, theres a batch of them who are fucking idiots. I mean, theyre the dumbest fuckers you can possibly imagine. How goddam stupid are they? Their logic is as follows: if Democrats use the filibuster, Republicans might eliminate it. And if they eliminate it, they wont be able to use the filibuster! The obvious response, of course, is why have a filibuster at all if youre too fucking afraid to use it? Or put another way, why be a senator if youre too afraid to do your job? The only choice is all out obstruction. Anything less will have those Democrats drawn and quartered by the base. Democrats with an actual spine are getting cover from progressive groups across the country. Those without a spine? They will face primaries. Period. This is the sort of nominee that no Democrat who wants to survive a primary challenge could vote for.https://t.co/FdLCzw0wnb Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) February 1, 2017 This is not a time for squishiness or tepid half-gestures by Democrats. If we learned anything from the million-strong Womens March in Washington, DC, the millions of other attendees of protests across the country, and demonstrations at airports like the one Detroit have taught us anything in the past two weeks its that people are fed up and they are taking action into their own hands. There is too much anger and outrage in this country for weak-kneed Democrats to survive primary challenges and they better get that message FAST. So, President Bannon, let us be very clear: There is NOTHING impossible about opposition to Neil Gorsuch or any of your other fascist acts, for that matter. You should count on opposition in everything you do. Nothing easy. Always a headwind. Relentless opposition. And, if necessary, disruptive acts of civil disobedience. When you have normally non-political people around the country stepping up to form opposition groups and taking action against fascism in America, you have unleashed a force you never saw coming. This isnt a bunch of anti-government tea partiers, grumpy about a Black man becoming president. This is middle America unwilling to hand over our government to a fascist regime out to enrich themselves and isolate our country from the rest of the world. And we wont rest until you have been cast out. UPDATE: Think resistance and obstruction doesnt work? Think again: The Harley-Davidson factory in Milwaukee has canceled a scheduled visit from President Trump for fear of planning protests, according to a report. Trump planned to visit the motorcycle factory on Thursday, and to sign unspecified executive orders there related to American manufacturing. His team made no public announcement about the visit, but White House staffers were already in Milwaukee setting it up. But an administration official told CNN Tuesday the visit was canceled because the company felt uncomfortable about planned protests over Trumps executive order on travel bans. Disruption. Obstruction. Protests. Dissent. Resistance. These are no longer concepts. They are TOOLS. 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John Hoeven (R-ND) and Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who issued two separate statements Tuesday night. The Obama Administration denied the easement in December, ordering the Army Corps to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and explore alternate routes. However, President Trumps executive order, signed last week, instructs the Army Corps to approve in an expedited manner construction of the pipeline and consider suspending the EIS. Representatives from the Army Corps and the pipelines owner, Energy Transfer Partners, could not confirm or deny the order when reached by the Washington Post. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/823926956479676416 In a statement Tuesday night, the Standing Rock Sioux said they had not received notice that the easement had been granted, calling the lawmakers claims premature and challenging the possible suspension of the Army Corps environmental impact statement as a wholly unexplained and arbitrary change based on the presidents personal views and, potentially, personal investments. For a deeper dive: Washington Post, NPR, NBC, CNN, Reuters, The Hill, Time, Politico, BBC, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News. By Sydney Robinson More than 1,700 residents of Flint, Michigan, are seeking legal compensation in a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. government for the handling of the lead water crisis in their city. The litigation has been a long time coming for a community that has suffered well over two years with poisoned water and for most of that time, the state and federal government denied there was a problem at all. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/693583238418321408 The lawsuit was filed on Monday and it lists more than 1,700 damaged citizens who claim that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed at every level of the crisis. The lawsuit alleges that the EPA failed to notify residents soon enough and did little to force state or local officials to take action to mitigate damages. According to the lawsuit: This case involves a major failure on all levels of government to protect the health and safety of the public. Local, state and federal agencies and employees, working individually and at times in concert with each other, mismanaged this environmental catastrophe. Already, several local state-appointed emergency managers have been arrested and charged in connection with deliberate decisions to endanger residents lives in exchange for cost-cutting procedures. These criminal cases will likely contribute to the lawsuit as well. Despite the fact that poisoned water in Flint has been common knowledge for about a year, residents have been told that they will likely need to continue drinking bottled water until 2020. Even as lead levels fall below the national threshold, the infrastructure for the new, clean water system will take years to complete. In the meantime, these residents are hoping to receive compensation for the life-altering effects of lead poisoning. Even if the water became crystal clear tomorrow, the effects of their families being poisoned for an extended period of time will never lessen. Lead poisoning is particularly harmful to children who can experience significant cognitive impairments and learning disabilities as a result. In short, compensation from the federal government is the least these people are entitled to, especially because their lives and the lives of their children will never be the same. Reposted with permission from our media associate The Ring of Fire. Under President Donald Trump, a GOP-controlled legislature and a potentially conservative judicial branch, its becoming increasingly clear that the federal government will put environmental regulations and the fight against climate change on the wayside. Instead, it may be up to local and state governments to lead this good fight. Florida is a great example of this. Around the same time that a House Republican from the Sunshine State is proposing a bill to permanently abolish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a bipartisan group of state lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban fracking in the state. https://twitter.com/HuffPostPol/status/826545858183303168 First the bad news. According to an email obtained by The Huffington Post, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has drafted a bill to shutter the EPA and is seeking support from his colleagues for the measure. Today, the American people are drowning in rules and regulations promulgated by unelected bureaucrats; and the Environmental Protection Agency has become an extraordinary offender, the Republican junior congressman wrote to his colleagues. Our small businesses cannot afford to cover the costs associated with compliance, too often leading to closed doors and unemployed Americans, he continued. It is time to take back our legislative power from the EPA and abolish it permanently. Gaetzs proposed legislation would abolish the EPA by Dec. 31, 2018, to allow our state and local government partners to implement responsible policies in the interim. As conservatives, we must understand that states and local communities are best positioned to responsibly regulate the environmental assets within their jurisdictions, he wrote. I ask for your support in eliminating this abusive and costly agency, he wrote, adding that the deadline to co-sponsor was Feb. 3 at Noon. Gaetz, who currently represents the 1st District of Florida, has a history of opposing environmental regulations as he considers them job killers. When he was a state lawmaker, he worked for years to repeal a requirement that all gasoline sold in the state contain some ethanol. After his bill succeeded in 2013, he hailed it as one more mandate off the books. Now the good news. In Gaetzs home state, state lawmakers are pushing bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the use of fracking in the state. As InsideClimate News noted, even though Republicans across the country are largely in favor of the controversial drilling process, Republican State Senator Dana Young of Tampa filed a bill on Jan. 23 to ban fracking in her state of Florida. Fellow Republican Legislator Mike Miller of Orlando filed a companion bill in the state House of Representatives on the same day. This bill is concise and straightforward: It bans fracking of all types in Florida, Young said at a news conference in Tallahassee last. Youngs bill has a bi-partisan group of co-sponsors, including Sen. Jack Latvala (R), Sen. Gary Farmer (D), Sen. Linda Stewart (D), Sen. Keith Perry (R), Rep. Janet Cruz (D) and Rep. Mike Miller (R). https://twitter.com/FCVoters/status/823895200317767681 Michelle Allen, a Food & Water Watch Florida organizer, told EcoWatch that the measure has the most bipartisan support a fracking ban bill has yet to have. Many Floridians are opposed to fracking due to its potential risk of water contamination. Last week Martin County became the 14th county to pass an ordinance prohibiting fracking, joining Alachua, Bay, Brevard, Broward, Citrus, Indian River, Madison, Martin, Pinellas, Seminole, St. Lucie, Volusia, Wakulla and Walton counties. Another 23 counties have passed resolutions opposing fracking in the state. The fight against fracking has kicked into high gear in Florida, Allen said. Its clear now that even conservative state legislators see the dangers of fracking to public health and the environment. Oil and gas industry advocates insist that the technique is safe. The United States is the leading producer of oil, natural gas and refined product in the world, and the decades-old technique of hydraulic fracturing has led to lower energy costs for consumers and improvements in the environment, Florida Petroleum Council Executive Director David Mica told SunSentinel. Sen. Dana Youngs proposed ban could undermine the benefits that Florida families and consumers are seeing today. Meanwhile, environmentalist and public health advocates have applauded the legislation. We strongly support Senator Youngs fracking ban bill to protect the drinking water of Floridians and our natural resources from the dangerous practice of fracking, said Sierra Club Florida lobbyist Dave Cullen. Kim Ross, the president of Rethink Energy Florida, had similar sentiments. Were excited by the bi-partisan support for banning fracking in Florida. The citizens have long seen that fracking is a risk Florida cannot afford for its environment, its tourism-based economy, and its communities, Ross said. We look forward to working with these Senators to get a strong ban bill on Governor Scotts desk. Jennifer Rubiello, state director for Environment Florida, praised Senator Young for listening to her constituents and Floridians across the state who want a ban on fracking. A ban on fracking will ensure our communities, our health, and our environment are better protected. Floridians should celebrate this bill, pick up their phones, and tell their state senators to support it, Rubiello said. Mary Gutierres, the executive director of Earth Ethics, an organization based in the Florida panhandle that could be fracked in the future said the bills are a step in the right direction. We need to ensure that our environment and public health are protected from the hazards that fracking poses, she said. President Donald Trumps nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court has been criticized by environmental groups and human health advocates, who fear that the conservative judge would side with corporations, limit the federal governments regulatory responsibilities, and gut environmental and health protection if confirmed. The 49-year-old federal appeals court judge from Colorado has been described as an heir to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, whose seat Gorsuch would be filling. During his announcement Tuesday, Trump praised Gorsuch for being a principled constitutionalist. Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text, Trump said. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/826637556787838976 Gorsuch said in the East Room, I pledge that if I am confirmed I will do all that my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country. Several news outlets have noted that his mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, served as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) director under President Ronald Reagan. She has been accused of wanting to dismantle the agency and notoriously resigned under fire after serving 22 months in the administration over mismanagement of a $1.6 billion program to clean up hazardous waste dumps. Earthjustice, the nations largest environmental law organization, is calling on the Senate to reject Gorsuch as Supreme Court Justice, citing his history of rulings against workers rights, that hes a friend of big business, that he has shown hostility to the rights of the disabled and that he has protected police officers charged with excessive force. Gorsuch is perhaps best known for the case, Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius, in which he agreed with the majority opinion that corporations are persons and should not be required to pay for contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Earthjustice noted that Gorsuch favors limits on federal regulatory power: Gorsuch is opposed to the Chevron doctrine, which emerged from the landmark Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council decision of 1984, and held that federal agency experts must have the authority to determine how their regulations should be carried out. Gorsuch believes judges should get to overrule agency experts when deciding how to enforce federal regulations. Even the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia agreed with the Chevron doctrine. Gorsuch has a lengthy record of decisions that seek to benefit corporations and restrict the federal governments regulatory responsibilities. His decisions also reflect a history of limiting the rights of women, the disabled, workers, and many others, said Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen. A review of Gorsuchs writings and decisions indicate that he would seek to overturn well-established Supreme Court precedents and prevent the federal government from enforcing bedrock environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, Van Noppen said. Gorsuchs record suggests he would take the court in a far-right direction doing irreparable harm to the health of communities, while failing to protecting wildlife, our public lands and restricting efforts to combat climate change. https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/826643298022522880 The international climate campaign 350.org called Gorsuch a friend of big polluters and a foe of workers, the disabled and the environment. With Trump torching the Constitution and the climate, now isnt the time to approve an extreme Supreme Court nominee. Gorsuch is a friend of fossil fuel companies and a foe of workers, the disabled, and the environment, said 350.org Executive Director May Boeve. Millions of people are marching in the streets to resist Trumps radical agenda and our counting on their Senators to join them. This couldnt be a clearer test of whose side politicians are really on. Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard expressed similar sentiments. Neil Gorsuch, empowered by spineless Congressional Republicans and an incompetent and malicious Trump administration, could inflict serious damage to people in this country, Leonard said. We need the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the peoples rights to live free, safe and equal lives and to uphold federal laws like the Clean Power Plan which help ensure our right to survival and limit the human and environmental impact of climate change. There is no evidence in Gorsuchs track record that indicates he would be a champion for these legal protections, but an abundance of evidence indicates that he would be a champion for corporate protections, she added. With this Supreme Court nomination, political forces like the Heritage Foundation and the Koch Brothers are applauding a step towards a democracy powered by the wealthy. The Center for Biological Diversity said that based on Gorsuchs track record, he will consistently rule in favor of wealthy corporate interests at the expense of environmental safeguards, civil rights and social justice. Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, also pointed out that Trumps pick for the Supreme Court was made possible only by the extraordinary, unprecedented, year-long blockade by Senate Republicans of President Obamas pick of DC Circuit Judge Merrick Garland. We should never forget that this was a stolen seat, Suckling said. Gorsuch should be filibustered, and every Democrat of conscience should vote against his confirmation. Putting him onto our highest court could inflict incredible, irreversible damage upon our nations natural heritage. The Sierra Club, which joined a rally against Trumps pick on the steps of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, has also opposed the pick. https://twitter.com/civilrightsorg/status/826610738454208512 As the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court must be composed of justices that are fair, even-handed, and thoughtful, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said. Unfortunately, Judge Gorsuch, Donald Trumps choice to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court, is none of those things and must be rejected. Gorsuch has proven himself hostile to environmental protection, womens rights, and the rights of workers and cannot be trusted to protect our air, our water, or our communities. The Supreme Court has the responsibility of deciding on the cases that protect everything from our clean air and water to our civil rights and liberties. Gorsuch is not fit for that responsibility. Gorsuch has shown he will prioritize his warped ideological views instead of using our Constitution as a guide. His dangerous views favor polluters and industry over the rights of the people. His record shows that he will limit the access of everyday Americans to the courts and prevent agencies like the EPA from fulfilling their mission and doing their job to protect our air, water, and health. Hes even been described as more extreme than Justice Scalia. Update: In an Instagram post late Wednesday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz said he wouldnt move forward with the bill he introduced last week proposing to sell 3.3 million acres of federal land in 10 different states. He said: I am withdrawing HR 621. Im a proud gun owner, hunter and love our public lands. The bill would have disposed of small parcels of lands Pres. Clinton identified as serving no public purpose but groups I support and care about fear it sends the wrong message. The bill was originally introduced several years ago. I look forward to working with you. I hear you and HR 621 dies tomorrow. According to Brad Brooks of The Wilderness Society, Rep. Chaffetz did the right thing by withdrawing his bill. H.R. 621 would have allowed the sell off of 3.3 million acres of national public land in 10 western states. Citizens throughout the U.S. who treasure public lands expressed outrage about the bill. However, Rep. Chaffetz has also made it clear that he aims to dismantle Teddy Roosevelts legacy elsewhere, by attacking national monuments and the Antiquities Act and promoting other measures designed to starve national federal lands of law enforcement resources needed to prevent vandalism and protect wildlife. This is one victory in a broader defense of public lands at large, and we plan to hold Rep. Chaffetz and the rest of Congress accountable every time they fail to protect the places that celebrate our outdoor and cultural heritage. Following approval by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Rep Ryan Zinkes nomination for Interior Secretary now heads to the full Senate for a vote. ZInke, saying Teddy Roosevelt had it right in putting millions of acres under federal protection, repeatedly defended his belief at his confirmation hearing in keeping most public land under federal control and opposing large-scale sale of public land to states, a position that aligns him with Donald Trump and breaks with his party. Big Oil Cheers as Trump Plans to Open National Parks for Drilling https://t.co/25OEh4PTFx @HuffPostGreen @greenpeaceusa EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) January 13, 2017 As Interior Secretary, Zinkes belief could soon run up against possible larger GOP plans to sell federal land to states, foreshadowed in a rule change by the House last month to alter the cost calculations of transferring federal land. And a bill introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) last week proposes to sell 3.3 million acres of federal land in 10 different states, a move environmental advocates and sportsmen groups say would cut economic activity and block public access to larger parcels of federal land. The 10 states affected are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. For a deeper dive: Zinke: Washington Post, InsideClimate News Chaffetz bill: The Guardian, E&E, Outdoor Life Commentary: The New Yorker, Michelle Nijhuis analysis For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News. By Nadia Prupis The U.S. Senate has confirmed former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, revealing just how much fossil fuel industry money has corrupted Congress, as climate group 350.org put it. The 56-43 vote went largely along party lines, but got some Democratic support, including from Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Mark Warner (Va.), as well as Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine)the same non-Republican quartet who allowed Tillerson to advance on Tuesday. A vote for Rex Tillerson is a vote for climate disaster, said May Boeve, 350 executive director. Negotiating oil deals with human-rights abusing heads of state does not qualify you to lead international diplomacy. The fight against Tillersons nomination revealed just how much fossil fuel industry money has corrupted Congress. In the face of this corruption, we all must come together to fight for the renewable energy revolution and an economy that works for all of us, she said. Despite the marginally bipartisan support, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) pointed out that Tillerson also received the highest no vote of any secretary of state candidate since at least World War II. Tillerson stepped down from his post at Exxon in December. During his confirmation hearings, the oil baron only offered to recuse himself for a year from diplomatic decisions that could impact Exxon, downplayed the urgency of climate change, and danced around questions over what Exxon knew about global warming decades ago. Tillerson failed to explain how he would resolve potential conflicts of interest over the next four years andevaded questions about ExxonMobils positions and actions under his leadership, said Kathy Mulvey, UCS accountability campaign manager, calling on him to recuse himself from those decisions for the duration of his four-year term and ensure that the U.S. takes proactive steps to keep global warming below 2C, as prescribed by the landmark Paris climate agreement. The scientific community and the 194 other countries that signed the Paris climate agreement will not sit idly by, Mulvey said. We will be watching Mr. Tillersons actions closely. Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams. Nine Students Receive Honors Program Grant Awards During an Honors Program meeting, with a guest lecture by Elizabeth City State University Chancellor Thomas Conway, nine students were awarded Honors Program grants. According to ECSUs Director of Financial Aid, Jill Gable, and Honors Program director, Dr. Kenneth E. Jones, there are 29 students currently enrolled in the university Honors Program. In many cases honors students do not qualify for many need-based grants and scholarships available to students, leaving them with higher debt. The Honors Program grant was created to assist these students in reducing debt. The objective of the grant is to provide a measure of increased incentives and support for enrollment growth of higher academically performing students. Eligible students are those who participate in the Honors Program, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and grants and scholarships cannot exceed direct cost of tuition. Students receive varying amounts, depending upon need. A minimum award is set at $200, and a maximum is set at $4,000. The average for students is $2,000. Honors Program students who received grants this semester are: Fname Lname, Jerome Jorman, Jr., Kelvin Seabrooks, Narendra Banerjee, Tervon Blount, Mattelyn Bond, Robert Boone, Laquisha Williams, and Zachary Singletary. (Photo courtesy Lambeth Palace)The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, with survivors of the 2013 Peshawar church bombings at St. Thomas Church, Islamabad, Pakistan on Nov. 19, 2016. A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has acquitted 112 individuals suspected of taking part in the 2013 burning of 150 Christian homes and two churches in the Lahore's Josep Colony the type of attacks that members on minority religions can face. In March 2013, a crowd of 3,000 enraged Muslims burned more than 125 homes in Josep Colony after hearing that t a local Christian man, Sawan Masih, had made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammad, Reuters reported. No one was killed in the incident but the properties of the mostly destitute Christians living in the neighborhood were severely damaged. Two churches and dozens of Bibles were also desecrated in the attack. Ghulam Murtaza Chaudhry, the lawyer defending the suspects, stated that the suspects were acquitted because of a lack of evidence, Jurist.org reported. Chaudhry stated the testimony of the plaintiffs was inconsistent and they could not identify those accused. CHRISTIAN ROAD SWEEPER Sawan Masahi was a road sweeper in his late twenties and he told police after his arrest on blasphemy charges that the real reason for the blasphemy allegation was a property dispute between him and a friend who spread the rumor. In Pakistan, conviction under the blasphemy laws can carry a mandatory death sentence. Masih has appealed against the death sentence imposed on him in 2014. Critics of Pakistan's blasphemy laws say they have long been used by individuals and religious groups to settle disputes. In January, the Pakistani Senate's human rights panel said it would debate how to prevent the country's blasphemy laws being applied unfairly. This is the first time in decades that any parliamentary body has considered a formal proposal to stop the abuse of the blasphemy laws. Pakistan's National Commission for Justice and Peace reported that a total of 21 Hindus, 187 Christians, 494 Ahmedis, and 633 Muslims had been accused under the blasphemy law between 1987 and 2014. Human rights lawyers says the law can trigger violence based on fighting blasphemy on frequent occasion. In 2014 Tashid Rahman, a defense lawyer and human rights activist, was shot and killed after defending Junaid Hafeez, a university professor who has accused under the blasphemy law by student groups. Blasphemy laws were first introduced in the Indian subcontinent by its British colonial rulers, says a report by the Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad. Before that, orthodox Islamic jurisprudence was briefly enforced during Mughal rule on the subcontinent but history is silent if there were any blasphemy laws prevalent at that time. Communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims before the partition of the subcontinent backed by political interests of different groups, including colonial rulers, were the main reason behind enactment of blasphemy laws. More than 96 percent of Pakistan's 202 million people are Muslims, of who up to 90 percent are Sunnis. Those following other faiths including Christians, Hindus and Ahmedis. Indicates percentages that exceed the U.S. percentage Table initially sorted by Number of Arrests. Some student counts were rounded to protect individuals from being identified. NA indicates that the school did not provide information, or that information was not considered applicable by the Office for Civil Rights. SOURCE: Education Week Research Center original analysis of Civil Rights Data Collection, 2017 Education Weeks data-driven journalism projects are supported in part by a grant from the Schott Foundation for Public Education, at schottfoundation.org. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage. 2017 Editorial Projects in Education, 6935 Arlington Road, Bethesda MD 20814, 1-800-346-1834 (Main Office), 1-800-445-8250 (Customer Service). This data tool is not for distribution or presentation without permission. For permission, please contact library@educationweek.org. Nutriad: Outlook of US poultry industry in a Trump-led US As the US is moving from a turbulent 2016 into a new year with an uncertain political outlook, it is important for the poultry industry to understand the various scenarios that may unfold in the near future regarding global trade agreements, currency exchange rates, regulations and overall cost of production, Nutriad says. Using insights from industry experts within the Nutriad group and input from external consultants, the multinational feed additives producer reviews several possible scenarios and shares its vision to the year ahead. Political scenario The election of President Donald Trump will most certainly bring changes in the overall trade and currency panorama. The outlines of some of those changes can already be seen in his first days in office. The US withdrawal from TPP will leave a vacuum to be filled by China. This nation will assume greater importance in Asia and the Pacific Rim. However, the US may establish bilateral trade deals with Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. According to USDA, close to 18% of the total poultry production in US is exported. According to Nutriad, the US poultry industry is extremely sensitive to currency fluctuations, trade negotiations, and economic growth in importing markets. The renegotiation of NAFTA can also affect current trades with Mexico and Canada, and the threat to overtax Mexican products with a 20% tariff might have a direct impact on bilateral trade. In 2015, Mexican poultry imports from US - not including eggs - reached over US$1 billion. The devaluation of the Mexican Peso versus the USD might benefit Mexican imports from South American countries such as Argentina, Chile and Brazil over the US. In January 2017, the value of the peso fell almost 20% compared to January 2016. Regulations and welfare The appointment of Scott Pruitt as head of EPA and the potential of more industry-focused policies, including an ease on regulations imposed by the previous administration, might have a positive impact on poultry producers. However, the consumers-driven requirements are still leading the way by which retailers and fast food chains select their suppliers. The challenge currently faced by producers is to decide on which aspects of welfare should be followed. The reduction in density, having smaller scale operations and using non-GM ingredients will demand a greater need for land and resources, consequently affecting its sustainability in a negative manner. The new Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) might also have an impact on operation procedures and costs, as companies adjust to the withdrawal of antibiotics growth promoters and adapt to natural alternatives. Sanitary barriers and the avian influenza Avian influenza outbreaks in Asian countries and the EU will be crucial factors affecting the trade of US poultry. According to USDA, the egg export forecast has increased in 30 million dozen eggs following an AI outbreak in South Korea. The dissemination of recombinant HPAI strains by migratory birds will alter trade patterns affecting the outlook for Asia, Europe and Africa. Even with strains such as H5N8 being eradicated in the EU, and H5N6 expected to brought under control in a few more months in South Korea and Japan, there will be potential re-introduction of other strains. The dissemination of AI, and its endemic situation in wild birds, can have a long-term impact on global market conditions. AI creates business risks to companies which are required to adjust their business model, paying high attention to biosecurity and close involvement with local government. Commodities The 2016 harvest is projected to break records in yield and total production, according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. In US, the average yield of 11,000 tonnes per hectare (175.3 bu/ac) and about 35.1 million hectares (86.8 mil ac) harvested, will translate into an estimated crop of 386.8 mmt (15,226 mil bu), which would be the largest US corn crop on record. Argentina and Brazil also follow a strong trend and should reach record numbers on corn production due the prospect of favorable returns and good weather conditions. Brazil is estimating a harvest of 215 million tonnes of grains, having surpassed 108 million tonnes of soybean, which means an 8.7% increase in production compared to last year. Argentina, despite recent floods in the country, is estimating 36 million tonnes of corn and 55 million tonnes of soybean. The elevated production numbers, combined with China's high stock, will pressure the commodities prices in the national and global market. Overall, prices should maintain close to the current $3.58/bu for corn and $10.32/bu for soybeans. The poultry market and forecast The poultry market and forecast Both broiler and turkey production was short in the last quarter of 2016. Broiler production is expected to increase in the first quarter of 2017. The forecasts for 2017 prices were increased slightly for broilers and lowered for turkey as indicated by the USDA. As of January 2017, broilers had a slight increase in price, reaching 87 cents per pound with a forecast for the year of 80 to 86 cents per pound for the whole bird. The turkey production is estimated to have an increase of 245 million pounds on year-ending stock increasing previous expectations. This leads to an expectation of an increased year-ending stocks for 2017 to 275 million pounds. On the egg market, prices are maintained to a level of 73 to 76 cents per dozen, after a common drop in the couple of weeks following the holidays. With over 307 million hens in production and a record number of 100 eggs produced per hen, it should maintain high stock level on dried-egg and frozen egg products. Expectations for the first quarter range from 78 to 82 cents per dozen. Overall, the poultry market should have a positive year with steady prices and maintained or slightly reduced feed costs. Commented Grady Fain, Senior Vice President for Nutriad in U.S.: "Nutriad is confident about the 2017 outlook for the poultry industry in the US," Grady Fain, vice president of Nutriad, says. "Through the market ups and downs, Nutriad will continue to working with customers across the country, to deliver additive solutions that positively impact their bottom line." - Nutriad To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020. Todo lo que necesitas saber para comenzar tu dia Suscribirse implica aceptar los terminos y condiciones 31 January 2017, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Today, Heads of State from across Africa endorsed the Addis Declaration on Immunization, also known as the Ministerial Declaration on Universal Access to Immunization, a historic and timely pledge to ensure that everyone in Africa regardless of who they are or where they live receives the full benefits of immunization. The endorsement was issued during the 28th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. While Africa has made impressive gains over the last 15 years toward increasing access to immunization, progress has stagnated, and the continent is falling behind on meeting global immunization targets. One in 5 children in Africa still does not receive basic life-saving vaccines and, as a result, vaccine-preventable diseases continue to claim too many lives. Measles alone accounts for approximately 61 000 preventable deaths in the African region every year. We know that universal access to immunization is achievable, noted outgoing African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The Addis Declaration on Immunization is a historic pledge. With political support at the highest levels, we are closer than ever to ensuring that all children in Africa have an equal shot at a healthy and productive life. The Addis Declaration on Immunization calls for countries to increase political and financial investments in their immunization programmes. It includes 10 commitments, including increasing vaccine-related funding, strengthening supply chains and delivery systems, and making universal access to vaccines a cornerstone of health and development efforts. The full declaration can be found below. Vaccines are among the most effective public health tools available, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. When children are given a healthy start, communities thrive and economies grow stronger. This show of support from Heads of State is a significant step forward in our efforts to achieve universal access to immunization and, ultimately, improve child health and drive sustainable development across Africa. Fewer than 15 African countries fund more than 50% of their national immunization programmes. As Africa nears polio eradication, critical funding for immunization through the polio eradication programme is expected to ramp down. Additionally, countries approaching middle-income status will transition away from Gavi support for immunization in the coming years. Consequently, governments must redouble their efforts to make universal immunization coverage a national priority. As long as even one child in Africa lacks access to immunization, our work remains unfinished, said Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. With the right mix of political will, financial resources and technical acumen, Africa can and will stem the tide of vaccine-preventable diseases across the continent. With strong leadership and investment, increased access to immunization is within reach. For example, in 2010, Ethiopia built 16 000 new health centres, purchased 2000 battery-free solar refrigerators for vaccine storage, and built a network of millions of health extension workers and volunteers at community level to increase access to immunization throughout the country. Since these investments were made, Ethiopia has made remarkable gains, with immunization rates soaring from 61% in 2010 to 86% in 2015. Immunization is one of the smartest investments a country can make in its future, said H.E. Professor Yifru Berhan Mitke, Ethiopias Minister of Health. We must do more to protect all our children from preventable diseases not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it makes economic sense. When our children are healthy, our families, communities and countries thrive. The Addis Declaration on Immunization was signed by Ministers of Health and other line ministers at the Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa (MCIA) in February 2016 in Addis Ababa. MCIA was the first-ever ministerial-level gathering with a singular focus on ensuring that children across the continent can access life-saving vaccines. To guide the implementation of the ADI, a roadmap is being developed in close collaboration with the WHO offices in the African Region and Eastern Mediterranean Region, the African Union Commission and immunization partners. African leaders are showing outstanding leadership by endorsing this landmark commitment which will allow more African children to be reached with life-saving vaccines no matter where they live, said Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance board. We must now ensure that the commitments translate into sustainable financing for immunization. Gavi stands ready to support African countries in their efforts to implement equitable health approaches and maintain strong immunization coverage so we can create together a more prosperous future for communities across our continent. For more information, please contact: African Union Commission Wynne Musabayana Head of Communication Division This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it WHO Regional Office for Africa Collins Boakye-Agyemang Regional Communications Adviser This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Rana Sidani Senior Communications Officer This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The Addis Declaration on Immunization We, African Ministers of Health, Finance, Education, Social Affairs, Local Governments attending the Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa, which took place from 24 to 25 February 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and convened by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the African Union Commission, are committed to continued investment in immunization programs and a healthy future for all people of the African continent. Recognizing the tremendous advances that are improving the health of Africas citizens, including: a 50% decline in child death rates, and ever-growing numbers of children attending school; widespread access to vaccines that were not available to African children and adults just a decade ago; higher vaccine coverage rates across the continent in each five-year periods between 1999-2014; the remarkable achievement of the Africa continent for interrupting wild poliovirus transmission for more than one year; achieving near elimination of Meningococcal meningitis A epidemics, and the significant reduction in disease burden and mortality due to measles. Bearing in mind the recently ratified Sustainable Development Goal target of Universal Health Coverage which calls for access to immunisation for all (New York, September 2015); and that health is fundamental to social and economic development; Acknowledging that broad-based, inclusive growth in Africa is dependent on a healthy population; and that strong immunization programs are a cornerstone of robust systems that help achieving universal health coverage, which is critical to helping national leaders achieve their economic and development goals; Reaffirming the economic imperative and benefits of reducing vaccine-preventable diseases and consequential deaths, which will improve overall health, empower our future generation and allow every person to achieve his or her full potential; Recalling the Heads of State Declaration on Polio Eradication in Africa: Our Historic Legacy to Future Generations (Johannesburg, June 2015); the World Health Assembly resolution (WHA68.6) on the Global Vaccine Action Plan (Geneva, May 2015), the commitment made by African Ministers of Health on Universal Health Coverage in Africa (Luanda, April 2014); the Immunize Africa 2020 Declaration (Abuja, May 2014) endorsed by African Heads of State; the World Health Assembly resolution that commits all 194 Member States to apply the vision and strategies of the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) (Geneva, May 2012), and the African Heads of State endorsement of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan in 2012 as the framework for African people to have access to essential, quality, safe and effective medical products and technologies. Recognizing that despite progress, universal access to immunisation by 2020, as endorsed under the GVAP, is largely off track in Africa as indicated by the 2014 GVAP report; but that with resolve we can still achieve the GVAP target of at least 90% coverage in our countries and at least 80% coverage in every district for all nationally available vaccines; Admitting that to sustain the progress made in vaccine introduction and coverage and achieve the full potential to save childrens and adults lives current national budgetary allocations to vaccination programmes within the context of national health systems financing will need to be further increased; We hereby collectively and individually commit ourselves to: Keeping universal access to immunisation at the forefront of our efforts to reduce child mortality, morbidity and disability, and in doing so help our countries achieve their long-term health, economic and development goals; Increasing and sustaining our domestic investments and funding allocations, including innovative financing mechanisms, to meet the cost of traditional vaccines, fulfil our new vaccine financing requirements, and providing financial support for the operational implementation of immunization activities by EPI programs; Addressing the persistent barriers in our vaccine and healthcare delivery systems, especially in the poorest, vulnerable and most marginalized communities, including the strengthening of data collection, reporting and use at all levels as well as building effective and efficient supply chains and integrated procurement systems; Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency, as well as changing the approaches as needed, of our immunization delivery systems as an integrated part of strong and sustainable primary health care systems; Attaining and maintaining high quality surveillance for targeted vaccine preventable diseases. Monitoring progress towards achieving the goals of the global and regional immunization plans Ensuring polio legacy transition plans are in place by end-2016 that will allow future health programs to benefit from the knowledge and expertise the polio program has generated through the eradication initiative; Developing a capacitated African research sector to enhance immunization implementation and uptake; Building broad political will, working with communities, civil society organizations, traditional and religious leaders, health professional associations and parliamentarians, for the right of every child and every community to have universal access to life-saving vaccines, and by extension the best possible chance for a healthy future; Promoting and investing in regional capacity for the development and production of vaccines in line with the African Union Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan including the strengthening of national regulatory authorities. We call upon: Member states and partners, including African development banks and African regional economic communities, to support the implementation of this Declaration, and to increase their efforts to mobilize resources and secure new investments to strengthen national immunization programmes to achieve the GVAP goals and overall health care delivery systems in the Member States; Member states and partners, to negotiate with vaccine manufacturers to facilitate access to available vaccines at affordable prices, and in increasing price transparency as well as developing price databases in line with resolution WHA68.6; Gavi, the vaccine alliance to consider refugees and internally displaced populations as eligible recipients of Gavi support for vaccines and operational costs; the World Health Organization and the African Union Commission to support member states to share experiences, strengthen capacity, and establish mechanisms for monitoring progress towards the fulfilment of these commitments. We thank his Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and host country for this Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa, for agreeing to champion this declaration and further request him to present it to the African Heads of States at the 26th Summit of the African Union, to be held in June 2016. Campaigner claims Syrian refugee review is nonsensical Anthony Webber campaigns on issues affecting the Crown Dependencies. A Crown Dependencies campaigner says the Manx Government's decision to review its position on Syrian refugees is nonsensical. Anthony Webber - who is a former member of Guernsey's parliament - believes the Crown Dependencies are not suitable to take in those fleeing from the war zone, and that there are other ways the Government can help the crisis. Mr Webber is calling for Chief Minister Howard Quayle to visit Syria to see what those affected by the ongoing issues in the country want, and provide funds to help rebuild areas destroyed by the troubles. The campaigner also suggests the Isle of Man could twin with an area or town in the country to provide support. Mr Quayle confirmed that the Council of Ministers will look at whether the Island could take in refugees after receiving a petition with over 1,000 signatures asking the Government to join the UK's Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Police issue further Microsoft scam warning Police have issued a further warning about scammers claiming to be from Microsoft Support targetting Manx residents. One resident reported getting a hoax call this morning from someone saying he had a virus on his computer and giving instructions on how to fix it. Once the recipient of the call said he owns a Mac, the caller changed their story to say they work for Apple. Officers warn these callers only want to steal personal details for criminal purposes, and that anyone contacted in this way should not give personal information out. Simon Helberg, "The Big Bang Theory" actor was holding a sign that said, "Refugees welcome" while posing with his wife Jocelyn Towne on the red carpet. According to CBS News, the actress went one step further than her husband and wore her loud and clear message in lettering across her chest: "Let them in," it said above her dress. Many other actors used Sunday's SAG Awards red carpet as a platform to express their opinion about the immigration ban that President Donald Trump has implemented. So, the sentiment was a theme during the night at the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. As the first presenter of the night, Ashton Kutcher welcomed everyone who was watching the show at home and in airports that belong in his America. He said that they are part of the material of who we are, and people in the US love them and welcome them empathically. With their political statements, actors wanted to show their solidarity for the protests happening across America, as dozens of refugees from Syria, Iraq and other banned countries were detained at U.S. airports over the weekend as a result of Trump's executive order, according to Holywood Reporter. Kerry Washington, who was a passionate supporter of Hilary Clinton during presidential elections, also said her opinion loud and clear about the immigration ban and demonstrated her solidarity with refugees on Instagram. She explained that she would be wearing a safety pin at the awards show on her arm. That way, she wanted to show her support and promised they will not stop fighting for their safety and the safety of our fellow citizens and human beings. #NoBanNoWall #safetypin", shared "Scandal" star. Helberg, Towne, and Washington are just the latest celebrities to speak out against president Trump's executive order of banning refugees from entering the United States. Dakota Johnson is now ready to move on from the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. However, the actress may have a hard time moving away from her character, Anastasia Steele. Especially now that the sequel "Fifty Shades Darker" is just about to hit cinemas next month. There is no denying how extremely popular the 27-year-old actress is now. Her career skyrocketed with the worldwide success of "Fifty Shades of Grey". Now, Dakota Johnson is already household names. In an interview with Glamour U.K., the young actress admits that sometimes she feels that she should not have done the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. However, she owes her newfound success and popularity with the franchise. So in the end, she is just really happy. According to ET, just like her co-star Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson also admitted that she is definitely ready to move on and take other roles. Because of the "Fifty Shades" trilogy, Dakota Johnson has even found a recent admiration and understanding of sex toys and S & M. At first, the actress really does not know anything about sex toys and S & M. However, during filming, the young actress soon found out that not all sex toys are offensive. In the end, she finds out that S & M, in general, is just beautiful. In another interview with Vogue, the 27-year-old actress confesses how she is very much like her character, Anastasia Steele. Her character's sexual awakening in the world of S & M is much like her own when she was filming the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. That is contrary to what her co-star Jamie Dornan thinks of his character, Christian Grey. For the 34-year-old actor, he is nothing like the Sex God from the books and movies. The Irish actor is not just as serious and hard to talk to as Christian Grey. "Fifty Shades Darker" will star Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan and will hit cinemas on February 8, 2017. The climate change is very evident nowadays and people of the United States of America are expecting their new president, Donald Trump, to take his action. However, on the first few days of the POTUS on his seat, some are not convinced of his plans. Donald Trump listed the first days of his strategies in the changes on energy but, according to Huffington Post, some of his campaigns didn't weigh its effects on climate change. This includes approving pipelines, new drilling for oil, gas and other major actions without even thinking what harms it can bring to the environment. Unfortunately, this can cause carbon emissions and take the State Department's right to allow cross-border pipelines denied. These tactics of Donald Trump perfectly contradict his words when he said that he will highly prioritize clean air, water, protecting natural habitat and preserving natural resources and reserves. It looks like the 45th U.S. president is avoiding talking about the worsening case of climate change that might lead to extreme weather condition that will definitely take its toll to the people. It has been said that Donald Trump and his cabinet members' alliance might lead to destabilizing the legacy the former president Barack Obama has established about the environment. Sadly, the publication also noted that these people have no idea how they could replace the programs the past government has made. However, Myron Ebell, the leader of the transition of the Environmental Protection Agency, revealed that the United States is about to transform its take on the climate policy. This includes withdrawing from the Paris agreement, Sydney Morning Herald reported. Ebell said that he actually gave Donald Trump three ways to withdraw from the 2015 Paris agreement on greenhouse gas emission. He, too, cleared that the state leader is eyeing to abolish the EPA himself. "(Mr. Trump's) interest is really that the EPA goes back to its core missions," he said. Ransomware attacks hit the headlines every week, with governments, school districts, healthcare providers, and private companies forced to admit attacks after ransomware disrupts their operations. Healthcare ransomware attacks have even been linked to patient deaths. Faced with the threat of negative publicity and often unrecoverable data non-technical executives and board members often ask their security teams or service providers to explain ransomware and how their organization might prevent ransomware attacks. While security professionals can write entire books on ransomware, executives need concise, high-level information that provides the essential information in language free of acronyms, trivia, or technical details they may not understand. What is Ransomware: The Short Version The term ransomware applies to a broad spectrum of attacks and tools that seek to encrypt data and then hold the data ransom in exchange for a decryption key. Over the past couple of years, attackers evolved their attacks to use ransomware as just one of several methods to use their access to the victims network for financial gain. Another key tactic is to steal the victims data for resale or threatening to release the stolen data to the public as leverage for extortion. While most attackers typically use ransomware for financial gain, some attackers use ransomware to camouflage other types of attacks such as: Russian hackers deployed the 2017 NotPetya ransomware attack against companies doing business in the Ukraine. No ransoms could be paid, the malware solely sought to disrupt operations. The North Korean Lazarus group deployed ransomware to erase forensic evidence in its 2017 attempt to steal money from the Far Eastern International Bank of Taiwan. Attackers deploy the ONI ransomware on critical assets to wipe and conceal the true targets of the attackers within the Japanese corporate victims. Recently, ransomware gangs seek to move faster and avoid detections that focus on the encryption process. While these attacks technically no longer count as ransomware, businesses still need to guard against similar attacks that seek to corrupt data after exfiltration or simply extort businesses based on the threat of leaking stolen data. Ransomware recovery resources: How to Identify Ransomware Once inside a business, malicious hackers can deploy many types of malware or attack systems in many different ways. For many victims, they only recognize a ransomware attack once their data is encrypted and the ransom notes are found, as in the screen and text messages from the infamous REvil ransomware group below (Sources: Arista Networks and Qualys). When trying to catch ransomware attacks earlier in the process, defenders watch for indicators of compromise such as: Known malware, such as viruses or malware signatures captured by email, endpoint, firewall, or network monitoring software Data copied outside of the environment in large quantities Attempts to delete local or network backups Active encryption of data Attempts to download or execute hacking toolkits Unusual attempts to use PowerShell Simple ransomware attacks use semi-automated malware to spread itself through networks and execute the ransomware. Sophisticated attacks use command and control servers, PowerShell commands, and active exploration of the network by attackers in combination with malware and malicious use of standard tools. Also read: Exfiltration Can Be Stopped With Data-in-Use Encryption, Company Says Am I Vulnerable to Ransomware? Everyone is vulnerable to ransomware. Regardless of the amount of training, people keep clicking on phishing emails and opening holes in security. Regardless of the quality or quantity of layers of security deployed, zero-day vulnerabilities, deployment mistakes, and human error can create security gaps that attackers will eagerly exploit. The real questions that need to be asked should be: What does the organization have in place to prevent a ransomware infection? What does the organization have in place to limit the damage of a successful attack? What does the organization have in place to alert against infection? What does the organization have in place to react to an attack? Ransomware Prevention Best Practices Organizations can prevent many ransomware attacks and limit the damage of the successful ransomware attacks through security and IT best practices. Implementing all of these strategies may be beyond the resources of some organizations, but even small organizations can find ways to implement many of these best practices through open-source tools and software-as-a-service (SaaS) products or by engaging service providers such as The smallest organizations with limited resources should at least implement effective backups and endpoint protection software. This combination will prevent many types of ransomware infections and allow the company to recover as quickly as possible from those that succeed. See the Best Backup Solutions for Ransomware Protection Ransomware Infection Prevention Best Practices Ransomware prevention requires creating reinforcing layers of security to prevent an attacker or malware from entering the secured spaces of the organization. Key components of this strategy seek to protect devices, block common infection vectors, minimize human error, and check for gaps in the security. Secure devices Many ransomware attacks launch on the endpoint. Effective endpoint security increases the difficulty for ransomware attacks to launch or to avoid detection. Endpoint Security: Antivirus provides a baseline level of protection against established ransomware malware. However, to defend better against new variants or new malware, organizations should consider upgrading to next-generation antivirus (NGAV) or endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools. Antivirus provides a baseline level of protection against established ransomware malware. However, to defend better against new variants or new malware, organizations should consider upgrading to next-generation antivirus (NGAV) or endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Critical resources, such as servers that host key applications or services like Active Directory (AD) and Domain Name Systems (DNS), should be protected by multiple factors and methods of authenticating the user. Critical resources, such as servers that host key applications or services like Active Directory (AD) and Domain Name Systems (DNS), should be protected by multiple factors and methods of authenticating the user. Device Management and Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) Restrictions: Devices should be inventoried and monitored and maintain specific security controls to be permitted to connect to the network. Network access control (NAC) and device management solutions can authorize and verify the security status of devices with sufficient antivirus and operating system updates among other options. Devices should be inventoried and monitored and maintain specific security controls to be permitted to connect to the network. Network access control (NAC) and device management solutions can authorize and verify the security status of devices with sufficient antivirus and operating system updates among other options. Windows and Email Settings: Software can be configured to block or require additional authorization to permit the download or launch of executable files. Similarly, Windows Script Host can be disabled as a defense against JavaScript malware. Software can be configured to block or require additional authorization to permit the download or launch of executable files. Similarly, Windows Script Host can be disabled as a defense against JavaScript malware. Configure Desktop Extensions: Windows should be changed from the default, so it always displays extensions. Employees can then be trained on .exe and other potentially malicious file types that should not be launched or downloaded. Windows should be changed from the default, so it always displays extensions. Employees can then be trained on .exe and other potentially malicious file types that should not be launched or downloaded. PowerShell and Hacking Software: Most users dont know hacking tools, what PowerShell is, or how to use these tools appropriately. Use of these tools should be restricted or at least immediately generate alerts. Secure common infection vectors Before ransomware launches, it must first enter the network. Organizations need to defend against the primary vectors of infection. Email Security and Spam Filters: Most malware infections start with phishing attacks with malicious links and attachments. An effective spam filter enhanced by cloud-based threat intelligence can prevent many attacks, and implementing effective DMARC, DKIM, and SPF email security tools can block even more. Email gateways are another effective first line of defense. Most malware infections start with phishing attacks with malicious links and attachments. An effective spam filter enhanced by cloud-based threat intelligence can prevent many attacks, and implementing effective DMARC, DKIM, and SPF email security tools can block even more. Email gateways are another effective first line of defense. Sandbox Testing: Some emails may be quarantined, and other emails may escape filtering, but users or email security tools may flag potentially malicious attachments. Security teams can examine these files utilizing a sandbox to examine the file and confirm if it may be safe for the user to open. Some emails may be quarantined, and other emails may escape filtering, but users or email security tools may flag potentially malicious attachments. Security teams can examine these files utilizing a sandbox to examine the file and confirm if it may be safe for the user to open. Block Malicious Websites: Phishing emails may contain links to malicious sites, or malware may contact malicious sites to download additional malicious software. Known malicious websites can be blocked by firewalls, web gateways or DNS strategies. Phishing emails may contain links to malicious sites, or malware may contact malicious sites to download additional malicious software. Known malicious websites can be blocked by firewalls, web gateways or DNS strategies. Browser Security: Users can be tempted by phishing attacks to visit malicious websites or by ads placed on legitimate websites. Browser security can automatically block pop-up ads and only allow connections with websites with valid security certificates. Even more security can be provided by using browser isolation that acts as a sandbox for web browsing. Users can be tempted by phishing attacks to visit malicious websites or by ads placed on legitimate websites. Browser security can automatically block pop-up ads and only allow connections with websites with valid security certificates. Even more security can be provided by using browser isolation that acts as a sandbox for web browsing. Firewall and Secure Gateway Security: Advanced security settings on firewalls and secure gateways can be used to filter malicious URLs, block malicious attachments, quarantine suspicious network traffic, and generate alerts of suspicious or anomalous traffic. The inspection features of these tools also help to add a layer of security for email and browser security. Secure humans Many ransomware attacks begin with a user falling for email phishing that launches malware or leads to malicious websites. The number of bad clicks can be reduced through cybersecurity training for users. While some users may remain a potential source of infection, training can also help security recognize these users that may need additional layers of security to help protect them. Patching and maintenance Attackers will quickly take advantage of exposed vulnerabilities in any way they can. Often, the announcement of a security patch or a zero-day vulnerability will be followed with malware attacks targeting that exposed weakness within a few days and sometimes within a few hours. IT teams for organizations of all sizes must promptly patch software and hardware vulnerabilities and implement mitigation to protect devices or software that cannot be patched quickly. Updates for security software and infrastructure with the latest security updates (malware signatures, malicious urls, etc.) must also be prioritized to prevent attacks. Check for mistakes The best plans often become unwittingly sabotaged by poor implementation or simple error. Organizations need to regularly check their systems with vulnerability scans and penetration tests to verify that all layers of the security stack operate as expected without any detected vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. Ransomware Damage Limitation Best Practices The best security tools can still be circumvented by human error, misconfigurations, and zero-day vulnerabilities. However, effective IT design and basic security principles can be put in place to limit the effectiveness and slow the spread of ransomware. Data encryption One key tactic in many ransomware attacks uses data exfiltration to extort companies with the threat of releasing that data to the public or to competitors. The effectiveness of this threat can be blunted significantly by encrypting sensitive data or even all data in the organization. However, encryption keys must also be managed and protected to prevent their theft by the ransomware attackers. Backups and offline backups The damage a ransomware attack can cause for an organization will be limited by the maintenance of disaster recovery solutions such as frequent immutable backups. Most ransomware attackers will seek to destroy backups and restore points for systems, so at least one version of the backup should be offline or unreachable from the network. Backup tools and processes should be tested regularly to practice restoration techniques. Organizations should also verify the capacity of the backup provider to operate at scale in the event of a widespread ransomware attack. In addition to data, backups should periodically capture the full operating system, installed software, and settings in the event that a full system backup is required. Backups should be retained for up to six months to enable the restoration of pre-infection data and operating systems as well as enable forensic investigation of long-term attacks. Segmentation and microsegmentation In line with least-privileged principles for users, devices can be isolated using segmentation and microsegmentation to create limited size networks in which a network can spread or an attacker can perform lateral movement. By implementing strict policies at the application level, segmentation gateways, firewalls, zero-trust architecture, and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) tools can prevent widespread ransomware attacks. Prioritize assets Using risk assessments, organizations can identify key assets and data for the organization and assign additional protections or alerts on these key assets. Utilize a CASB Cloud access security brokers (CASBs) provide additional visibility, compliance, data security, and threat protection in securing cloud resources and data against attacks. Ransomware Infection Alert Best Practices Despite the best efforts of security teams to prevent malware from entering the network, a simple mistake can lead to a ransomware infection. To limit the ability of the ransomware attack to damage the organization, security teams need to receive alerts regarding malicious activities as well as have the capabilities to recognize those alerts and the capacity to act on them. Security Tool Alerts: Security tools should be configured to detect and send alerts to the security team for malicious, potentially malicious, and anomalous activities. Security tools should be configured to detect and send alerts to the security team for malicious, potentially malicious, and anomalous activities. Data Alerts: Security teams can deploy data loss protection (DLP) tools or user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) solutions to generate alerts of malicious activities or anomalous large-scale copying or data transfers. Security teams can deploy data loss protection (DLP) tools or user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) solutions to generate alerts of malicious activities or anomalous large-scale copying or data transfers. Deception Technology: One way to set off a flare to warn of malicious activity is to use honeypots and other deception technology to lure attackers into setting off alarms. One way to set off a flare to warn of malicious activity is to use honeypots and other deception technology to lure attackers into setting off alarms. Active Monitoring: The best alerts from the best security tools can still lead to serious trouble if there is no one monitoring those alerts. Effective security requires the use of security information and event management (SIEM) tools, security operations centers (SOC), managed detection and response (MDR), and attentive security professionals to quickly recognize the alert and be able to take action. These professionals will also need to fine-tune the tools to minimize false alarms that might otherwise waste time and lose critical alerts in the noise of false-positive warnings. Ransomware Reaction Best Practices Advanced tools may be configured to take automated action to quarantine infected devices or block malware from executing. However, other attacks may only generate alerts. Once a ransomware alert has been recognized, the incident response teams will have very little time to react to prevent the ransomware attack from spreading or encrypting the data. We list a number of resources for recovering from a ransomware attack at the top of this article, but the short version is: Incident response The security team should already have specialists assigned or vendors contracted to perform incident response. These teams should develop and practice a playbook for responding to a ransomware attack, so they can respond immediately to an actual event. The incident response teams reaction can include: Incident response tools can help with investigation and recovery, but teams should already be practiced with their use in the local environment to enable the teams to act promptly, confidently, and effectively. Endpoint isolation can contain attacks to specific devices and prevent it from spreading throughout the network. Network isolation may be required if the attack has already spread to multiple devices within the network. Hard shut-down or the physical disconnection of devices can be warranted in large attacks that cannot be contained by other methods. This is the most disruptive response, so this action cannot be taken lightly. Forensic analysis After any detection of ransomware, there needs to be an investigation into the entry point(s), time in the environment, affected system(s), data exfiltrated, and data corrupted. Only once the investigation is complete can the organization confirm the ransomware attack is contained. What to Do When Attacked by Ransomware Ideally, ransomware reaction best practices will allow the incident response practice to kick into gear and lead to a speedy resolution. For those organizations without incident response plans, the general steps should include: First phone calls Cybersecurity Insurance Provider: Cybersecurity insurance policies often require organizations to use vendors required by the insurance company to be eligible for coverage. If the organization intends to seek coverage, the insurer should be the first call. Cybersecurity insurance policies often require organizations to use vendors required by the insurance company to be eligible for coverage. If the organization intends to seek coverage, the insurer should be the first call. Incident Response or Ransomware Recovery Experts : If the organization does not have in-house expertise, they should call in experts experienced with investigating, containing, and remediating ransomware attacks. If the organization does not have in-house expertise, they should call in experts experienced with investigating, containing, and remediating ransomware attacks. Other Stakeholders: Incident response and disaster recovery policies should contain current lists of executives, members of the board of directors, law enforcement, and legal counsel for the organization that must be contacted in the event of an incident. These parties may need to authorize any unusual steps and expenses that may be required to resolve the situation. Execute the ransomware reaction best practices As noted above, the first steps will be to contain the attack followed by stopping the malware. Once the attack has been controlled, the incident response team will need to perform a forensic investigation of the systems to remove any malware, system back doors, or other traces of the attack to prevent recurrence. Recover the data Once the systems are verified as sanitized, the organization can start the process of recovery. Version Restore: Some simple ransomware attacks leave system restore version intact and will allow the recovery team to roll back the system to a previous version. This is the best case scenario that will rarely be possible. Some simple ransomware attacks leave system restore version intact and will allow the recovery team to roll back the system to a previous version. This is the best case scenario that will rarely be possible. Restore From Backup: Organizations with good system and data backups will likely want to pursue this route because it can be the fastest to implement. However, if the last known good state for the system was a considerable time in the past, the recovery team will need to compare two options: Roll back the operating system (OS) and data, and go through all of the patching and updates since that time and restore data separately. Reinstall the OS and software from scratch, and then, restore data. Organizations with good system and data backups will likely want to pursue this route because it can be the fastest to implement. However, if the last known good state for the system was a considerable time in the past, the recovery team will need to compare two options: Decryption Attempts: Organizations without available backups will need to attempt to decrypt the data. Unfortunately, decryption does not have a good success rate, and critical data will often be lost. Post-event analysis & recommendations After the successful recovery of systems and data, the organization should do a post-event review to: Evaluate the cause and controls to prevent or mitigate a repeat event. Review the incident response process and recommend potential adjustments or improvements. Determine if additional training should be developed and provided to users or cybersecurity staff. Develop and approve reports to executives and stakeholders outlining the damages incurred, costs to remediate, steps taken to prevent future attacks, and recommendations for further controls. Effective Preparation is the Best Ransomware Protection Ransomware attackers continue to evolve and develop their skills. Some attacks may be inevitable and unavoidable especially from determined and skilled attackers. However, the hardening of IT environments to make attacks difficult and tedious can cause active attackers to prioritize easier targets of opportunity. The best protection against ransomware attacks remains effective preparation. Organizations that limit access within their IT environment, implement effective security tools, monitor alerts for signs of attack, and respond quickly will dramatically reduce the damage from ransomware attacks. If enough organizations can harden their environments and limit their damage, the ransomware business will certainly fade into the background. Of course, the current boom of ransomware is simply a resurgence of an old attack method that gained traction in a target-rich environment. Skilled attackers will always pivot to a new style of attack designed to extort or steal money, and IT teams will need to adjust their security tactics to address those new threats as they arise. Read next: How One Company Survived a Ransomware Attack Without Paying the Ransom This article was created by Sam Ingalls on Feb. 17, 2021 and updated by Chad Kime on Oct. 20, 2022. Morocco yesterday (31 January) rejoined the African Union (AU) more than three decades after leaving this regional organization. The country withdrew from the bloc in 1984 in protest over the continental bodys recognition of the independence of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, regarded by Morocco as part of its historic territory. The international community hailed Moroccos readmission into the regional organization, hoping that this step could pave the way for peace building. Responding to the African Unions decision, the officials of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), an entity currently not recognized by the UN or any Western government, sought to cast it in a positive light, saying AU membership could ultimately speed up efforts to end a protracted conflict. However, despite the idealistic view voiced after the vote by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, that Africa wants to speak in one voice. We need all African countries to be a part of that voice, Moroccos readmission was not a smooth-sailing process. As many as 15 of the AUs 54 member nations were against readmitting Morocco, including continental powerhouses Algeria and South Africa, both of whom have been longtime supporters of SADRs claim of independence. Most discussions concerned the actual border dispute as well as thousands of Sahrawi refugees living in camps in Algeria, some of whom have been there for around 40 years. Both Morocco and the African Union are key partners for the European Union and European leadership commented that the EU was looking forward to working with both sides to consolidate the EUs growing partnership with Africa. The Spanish government congratulated Morocco on its return to the African Union, saying that it expresses its great satisfaction at this decision, given Spains excellent relations with Morocco, a neighboring country and strategic partner, as well as with the African Union, a vital interlocutor in the African continent. Belgian government commended that this decision will further strengthen the partnership of both sides of the Mediterranean. France also hailed the historic return of Morocco to the African Union, viewing this as a major step towards unity, stability and development of the African continent. Morocco, the only country in Africa that was not a member of the African Union, rejoined the continental body after more than 30 years of exclusion. Rabat left the Unions predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, in 1984 in protest after a majority of the Member States recognized the independence of the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The move has been welcomed by the international community as a great opportunity to work on a lasting and peaceful solution to the territorial dispute. The European Union immediately issued a statement praising decision by the African Union to reintegrate Morocco as a Member State thus uniting the whole African continent within its regional organization. Brussels reminded that regional cooperation and integration are crucial for prosperity, stability and peace. We look forward to working with the African Union and Morocco to strengthen the EUs growing partnership with Africa, said the spokesman of the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. For Brussels, the readmission of Morocco to the African Union brings together the entire African continent within its regional organization, she added. Geo-politics and, more specifically, geo-economics, is possibly one of the key reasons for Moroccos return to the African Unions fold. Morocco has recently shifted from its area of influence in the Sahel and West Africa to East Africa, which was also demonstrated by a diplomatic tour around the region by King Mohammed VI that was widely seen as an attempt to renew and strengthen political ties with this part of the continent. In light with this development, Moroccan businesses have increasingly made significant investments all across Africa in everything from housing projects to financial services to fertilizer plants. Africa is indispensable to Morocco and Morocco is indispensable to Africa, King Mohammed VI said, thus clearly indicating that his countrys political and economic offensive around Africa is just in its initial stages. Last, but not the least, in light of the stagnant European markets to the north, the latest move by Morocco, a relatively liberalized economy and a traditionally trusted Western ally, could also be as an attempt to reduce its economic dependence on the EU by trying to shift its attention more to the markets of the fast-growing African economies to the south. Andrea Enria, chairperson of the EBA at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday Given that it has been stress-testing the regions banks since 2009, the European Banking Authority (EBA) should have a pretty good idea about the challenges that the banks under its watch face. Andrea Enria, chairperson of the EBA, has little doubt about what the most urgent of those challenges is: dealing with non-performing loans (NPLs). This problem is so big that it is a problem for the European Union as a whole, he says. It risks reigniting the bank/sovereign link crisis from 2012. His solution is a Europe-wide bad bank, or asset management company. You can put pressure on banks to dispose of NPLs, but the problem is that there isnt an efficient market to do so, Enria points out. We need to develop a pull effect as well as a push effect. The AMCs [asset management companies] are a very important tool to provide that pull effect. If we maintain this pace of NPL recognition, it might take Europe longer than Japan to get back to pre-crisis levels of NPLs - Andrea Enria, EBA Enria, formerly head of bank supervision at the Bank of Italy, outlined his thinking at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. The average coverage ratio in Europe is 44%, or 60c on euro book value, he says. The market price is around 20c. It is this steep bid-ask divide that is blocking the secondary market for NPLs in Europe. If there was an efficient secondary market for NPLs their real economic value would move to 40c. You need the public sector to bridge the gap between the inefficient secondary market today and an efficient secondary market tomorrow. Enria argues that the establishment of a pan-regional AMC to purchase loans from the banks at their real economic value would kick-start an acceleration in the disposal of bad loans books in Europe. If we maintain this pace of NPL recognition, it might take Europe longer than Japan to get back to pre-crisis levels of NPLs, he warns. Under Enrias plan, banks would transfer bad loans to the AMC, which would subsequently dispose of them in the secondary market. Banks would transfer the loans at their net book value: if the net book value is higher than the transfer price to the AMC, existing bank shareholders would suffer an immediate loss. If the eventual sale price is lower than the transfer price, shareholders are diluted and a clawback clause is activated whereby the bank is recapitalized by its member state there is no burden sharing. The clawback is on the bank, Enria emphasizes. If the bank doesnt have the resources, the member state will recapitalize the bank. It wont affect the capital base of the AMC. The real economic value would be reflected in state aid practices. This is the form of intervention that an AMC could take. It would push banks to transfer their NPLs to the AMC at their real economic value. The AMC would then face a timeline to dispose of the assets in the secondary market. Enrias idea has been given cautious support by Klaus Regling, managing director at the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). There are many issues that need to be sorted out: corporate governance, funding and the role of governments, he points out. The AMC will have to issue billions of euros of debt. That is no simple task I speak from experience, because it is what we do at the ESM. Some role for the public sector is probably needed. Another complication will be the sheer complexity and size of the newly established entity. The target is to move 200 billion to 250 billion of NPLs to the AMC. This means you would have to transfer millions of loans. In Greece alone, there are more than half a million corporate and SME NPLs. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the idea of a pan-European AMC is that it has taken so long to be suggested. Irelands National Asset Management Agency (Nama) was set up at the end of 2009, and Spain, Slovenia and Hungary have all followed suit in one form or another. The 1,061 billion NPLs sitting on the books of Europes banks 5.4% of total gross lending have not turned bad overnight. Any move to speed up the process of dealing with them should, therefore, be applauded. I dont think that you can deal with NPLs in a speedy way without the public sector, says Enria. The policy objective is to speed up the process. He argues that a common blueprint is necessary to do this. We do already have AMC in several countries, but we have a lot of differences and there is no clear understanding of how investors are safeguarded, says Enria. It wouldnt require much to distil these experiences into good practice and to have a common framework. I want to go to the full scope of having a European AMC. The positive is that we could achieve volume from pooling at a European level. The clout you would have in having a single approach would give the sell side a bit more of a voice. Europes problem The fundamental premise behind Enrias AMC plan is that those 1,061 billion bad loans are everybodys problem. However, a closer look reveals that they are fairly tightly clustered in a small number of countries. Italy, France and Spain hold half of Europe's NPLs Geographic distribution of European NPLs Source: EBA Italy alone accounts for 26% of the total , but nearly 80% of all European bad debt is held in six countries: Italy, France, Spain, Greece, the UK and Germany. Enthusiasm for bearing the costs of funding a pan-European bad bank might, therefore, be understandably thin on the ground elsewhere. "The AMC solution could involve either one Europe-wide institution or a series of mutually consistent national solutions, Regling tells Euromoney. The latter would be easier to implement but, as the ESM demonstrates, sometimes opting for a Europe-wide solution is worth it. However, if the object of the exercise is to speed up the disposal process, then the eye-watering logistics of setting up a European bad bank at this stage surely leave the proposal fatally holed below the waterline. One NPL specialist who was involved in the early stages of Nama points out that setting up an AMC takes a year to 18 months even in an emergency and things have changed since we did Nama that will make it even harder. Foremost among those are the changes to accounting treatment of NPLs and the changes to state aid rules under the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD). Those countries with high NPLs there is unlikely to be further appetite to take more risk by the sovereign, points out the specialist. This proposal makes sense for the banks but not the sovereigns. The accounting change comes from the introduction of IFRS 9, an international financial reporting standard, which will require banks to recognise present impairment values from projected credit losses. Enria expects this to ease the NPL disposal process, as the banks will be better provisioned for any losses. In the US, the accounting framework helps as loans are booked at market value after six months, he says. In Europe, the move to IFRS 9 will repair this. We are now finalizing our action of repair for use of internal models [under Basel IV]. Banks will be asked to calculate their risk parameters, taking into account selling of assets in a crisis so the hit to the banks [from selling bad loans] should disappear. The difference in insolvency regimes within Europe is clearly a problem and is deep-rooted in legal systems that are centuries old - Klaus Regling, ESM Enria suggests that transitional provisions could address this until the new rules are in place. The BRRD initiative, the shortcomings of which have been covered by Euromoney in some depth, is designed to force holders of bail-inable debt to take any losses before state support is available. The application of the year-old directive has been controversial, engendering legal gymnastics in, among others, Portugal and Italy as governments scramble to avoid investor losses. Wherever you have state intervention, BRRD and state aid rules should apply, says Enria. In particular, the concept of precautionary recapitalization. This is the injection of own funds into a solvent bank by the state when this is necessary to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy and preserve financial stability. It could, therefore, be used to justify the recapitalization of a bank under the clawback provision if AMC-held assets are sold below their net book value. Insolvency hurdle At the root of Europes bad debt problem is the disparity between its insolvency regimes. The EC has been very ambitious in the capital markets union (CMU) initiative to harmonize insolvency procedures, says Enria. But it will take time. It is important to push national legislators to take action when there is high inefficiency in national procedures, as happened in Spain. Certainly, the insolvency procedures in certain jurisdictions have acted as a serious brake to the development of a secondary market in bad debt. There are low incentives for banks to dispose of NPLs at a loss, says Enria. These are even lower if the process is so lengthy and uncertain that loss is higher than it otherwise would have been. Klaus Regling (right), managing director at the ESM, with Enria on Monday Indeed, it could be argued that harmonizing insolvency procedures across the region would sort out its bad debt problem by default. When Euromoney puts this suggestion to Regling, he shrugs in agreement. The difference in insolvency regimes within Europe is clearly a problem and is deep-rooted in legal systems that are centuries old, he tells us. Differences in, for example, the Netherlands and Greece or Italy and Germany are extreme. While harmonizing insolvency regimes is part of the CMU initiative, it will still take time and the proposal for a Europe-wide AMC is a shortcut to address the problem." If setting up a pan-European institution is a shortcut, it gives you some idea how intractable the insolvency regime problem in Europe is, and thus how long Europes NPL problem could take to be resolved. A bad bank should also function as a work-out bank, which resolves the over-indebtedness of borrowers, says Regling. It should not just be a vehicle to clean up the balance sheets of banks, so as not to simply shift the problem between the public and private sector. He suggests other measures that could be taken in parallel while the complexities of an AMC are worked through. The ECB has already started a programme assigning targets to banks to reduce NPLs, says Regling. And a platform with high-quality and consistent data or an EU servicing regime would be major steps forward that could be relatively straightforward to implement. Enria is quick to emphasize that his proposal is not a final one and there are many questions about it that remain unanswered. My role here is simply to throw a stone in the pond, he says. I am triggering a debate not selling a fully fledged proposal. However, he firmly believes that without a European AMC the lending function of the regions banks will be impaired for a longer period of time than it would otherwise be. This is not being proposed to help banks it is being proposed to help banks to support the economy, he says. I am still looking for examples of countries with NPLs in the high double digits which have been able to solve the problem without state aid. Some sort of state intervention is useful to kick-start the process and do the heavy lifting. This involves deploying public resources and trying to crowd in other funds. This is all about creating a framework for the market to buy the assets. Flying in the face of recent GBP sentiment, which between January 16th and January 27th delivered the currencys largest two-week gain since April-2015, National Australia Bank (NAB) have this week said that the British pound will, from this point, struggle to extend its gains against the US dollar. What Caused the Recent Bullishness in the GBP USD Exchange Rate? There have been many reasons touted for recent strength in the pound against the US dollar. BNP Paribas have suggested that the repetitiveness of Brexit news flow is partially the cause. Positive surprises in UK economic data. Improvements in the political backdrop in the UK improvements that would include a positive message on Brexit from British Prime Minister Theresa May, the potential for a transitional deal with Europe, and greater than expected support from the UKs opposition political parties. On the dollar side, excessively long US dollar positioning coming into 2017. Dollar-weakening rhetoric coming from positions of influence within Donald Trumps new government. Theres also the obvious issue of relative central bank policy, or the monetary policy divergence theme. But How Much of This Good News Is Already Priced In? The answer to that important question is to quite a sufficient extent, say NAB, having noted a 3% rise in sterling on a trade-weighted basis in the space of just ten trading days. It is for this already priced in reason that NAB believes GBP/USD will struggle to go any higher, and they say that they'll hold to this stance even with further improvements to the UK political backdrop. The pound to US dollar exchange rate currently trades at 1.2554, as of 07:05 GMT, Feb-1. Navarros Comments Spark New US Dollar Weakness Caution is advised for those considering acting upon NABs opinion on GBP/USD, because it is not clear how much of the banks analysis includes, or would be altered by, the market moving comments heard yesterday afternoon in London from Donald Trumps trade advisor, Peter Navarro. Navarro told the Financial Times yesterday that Germany is using a "grossly undervalued" euro to gain advantage over the United States. The report from NAB seen this morning by exchangerates.org.uk is time stamped several hours after the comments were received, but of course NABs opinions may have been formed earlier. The US dollar index (DXY) fell sharply on Navarros comments, finishing the day with its lowest closing price since November, and in large part, producing a reversal of the post-election Trump Trade. In the pound to US dollar exchange rate, prices rallied sharply between 11am GMT and 3pm GMT yesterday. They rose by around 150 pips; a little less than 1.3%. What If NAB Are Wrong? If the pound surprises and rallies further, the bank point to formidable resistance in GBP/USD at 1.2775 Decembers swing high. Big Day for GBP/USD as FOMC Looms The US interest rate decision will be announced on Wednesday evening in London (19:00 GMT), together with the Feds statement. No change in rates (currently 0.75%) is expected following Decembers hike and much of the focus for the evening will be on the Fed's statement. The market believes that the statements underlying message will be one that suggests a wait and see approach. Commentary by management consultant Michael Wade on Leadership, Ethics, Management, and Life This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The popular Northeast Side honky-tonk Cowboys Dancehall may be able to emerge from bankruptcy under a deal struck with its main lender Tuesday. A lawyer for owners Cowboys Far West said they found new financing that will allow them to pay off the clubs $4.3 million mortgage loan and legal fees owed to Business Property Lending. The dance hall landed in bankruptcy after Business Property Lending started foreclosure proceedings on the 16.6 acre property in June after the owners fell behind on taxes and failed to pay a state fine for liquor violations. Cowboys has about two weeks to turn over the funds. Lawyer Samuel Wilkins said the owners, a group in Arlington, found a new lender in Oklahoma, but he didnt know the name off-hand. If Cowboys doesnt turn over the money, it will face liquidation under a plan previously approved by Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald King. Judge King allowed the venues creditors to vote on the liquidation plan in December, which would have sold off the land at 3030 Loop 410 on the Northeast Side along with its inventory, concert equipment and vehicles, among other assets. Proceeds from the sale would have gone to pay off the dance halls estimated $10 million debt. The liquidation plan was set to be confirmed Tuesday in U.S. bankruptcy court, when Wilkins and lawyers for Business Property Lending announced the settlement. Its not going anywhere, Wilkins said of Cowboys Dancehall. We are still in business, we are going to remain in business, were staying in San Antonio. My people are here for the haul. Wilkins later added, There will be no liquidation. The agreement wouldnt immediately resolve the bankruptcy case, Wilkins said. The partnership will have to file a new Chapter 11 reorganization plan and continue making payments to its creditors. According to court documents filed last year, Cowboys owes $2.1 million toward a second mortgage made through a Houston community development corporation that is now held by Minnesota-based Prinsbank. It also owes about $66,000 to National Loan Investors on a $100,000 certificate of deposit in Oklahoma City, which was taken out to settle an employee injury lawsuit. Wilkins said Cowboys also must pay about $153,000 in Bexar County taxes. Under the new agreement, Cowboys will need to pay an additional $300,000 in attorneys fees to Business Property Lending. Cowboys sued Business Property Lending in July, accusing the lender of improperly foreclosing on the honky-tonk and forcing it into bankruptcy. King sided against Cowboys lawsuit in September, a decision Cowboys appealed in December. Wilkins said Cowboys will drop its appeal as part of the agreement with Business Property Lending. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. Business Property Lending also agreed to drop a related lawsuit in Bexar County court that attempted to force several affiliates of Cowboys Far West to pick up payments on the nightclubs mortgage, lawyer Eric English told King during Tuesdays hearing. State District Judge Richard Price denied Business Property Lendings motion for an expedited ruling in that case on Jan. 23. Cowboys Dancehall was among the top five alcohol sellers in Bexar County in December, making more than $406,000 in mixed beverage receipts, according to the state comptrollers office. jfechter@express-news.net Twitter: @JFreports This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate President Donald Trump's executive order banning people traveling from seven Muslim-majority nations is striking home for San Antonio-based Rackspace and other local and national tech companies that are heavily reliant on foreign talent. Rackspace employs engineers and other specialists from scores of counties, including those on the target list and is doing everything that we can to support our employees through these restrictions. company spokeswoman Monica Jacob said. Workers from lands targeted by the ban Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen were urged to postpone travel plans to or from the U.S., as were workers from other countries, including member countries of the European Union. Rackspace has grown to a global company of 6,100 workers on four continents that prized its diversity, CEO Taylor Rhodes said in a company blog post Wednesday. He encouraged employees who might be affected to reach out to the companys human resources and legal teams, which were working full steam along with outside experts in immigration law that we have retained for assistance dealing with the ban. President Trumps executive order restricting travel to the U.S. by the nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries has created considerable confusion and fear in the U.S. and around the world, including among Rackspace employees, Rhodes said. Many have expressed concern not only about the ban itself but also about the manner of its implementation. The specifics of the travel ban are rapidly evolving, Rhodes said, and there are indications more countries could be added. Rackspace joined corporations, universities, and others warning workers that travelers who should qualify as exempt from the travel ban have been detained. On Tuesday, the Trump administration signaled the restrictions on travel from the seven countries could be extended indefinitely and more countries could be added. I would be less than honest if I told you that some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon," newly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said at a news conference, adding that the countries were in various states of collapse and might not be able to verify peoples histories and identities. The executive order gave Kelly 60 days to submit a list of additional countries that should be targeted. In short, we are still in the early stages of a complex and rapidly unfolding situation that is charged with emotion, Rhodes said. In these times, level heads are needed to ensure we dont panic or act in a shortsighted way, but rather allow our values to guide us in how we respond and behave. We will do just that. Technology companies have been the most outspoken against the order. The state of Washington, home to Amazon and Expedia, was the first state to sue the Trump administration over the president's executive order. Rackspace co-founder and former chairman Graham Weston has been vocal about the need for more H1-B visas that allow highly skilled workers to work in the U.S., citing a shortage of home-grown tech workers. Jungle Disk, a Rackspace spinoff led by immigrants and first-generation Americans weighed in on the issue, with CEO Bret Piatt speaking out against blanket bans. Rolling them out without proper notice created a logistical nightmare for many individuals, he said. Colleges and universities also were scrambling to alert students and faculty to the known and evolving implications of the ban, with University of Texas System Chancellor William McRaven saying that university members often traveled to advance our missions of research, teaching and patient care. Implementation of the order was reported to be uneven and confusing at airports in the U.S. and overseas, McRaven said in a statement. We ask that our leaders clarify the intent of the order, bring reasonable and expeditious process to its implementation, and send the message to the rest of the world that the United States remains open and welcome to those who want to come here to learn, work and to live the American experience. Texas A&M University President Michael Young said all of the schools foreign students, faculty and staff are authorized to be in the U.S., but that the ban has understandably ignited concerns within our university community. Until we know more information, we advise that students, faculty and staff from the countries named remain in the United States until the completion of their programs or until they plan to move to their home country permanently, Young said in a statement. Trumps order last Friday suspends the entry of travelers from six of the countries for 90 days, with entries from Syria suspended indefinitely, though exemptions are allowed on a case-by-case basis. The order also halts all refugee admission processing for at least 120 days. He said the targeted countries were identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. The order is said to affect about 90,000 people. Deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States, Trump wrote in his order. The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism. The order prompted immediate criticism for not including the countries that the 9/11 terrorists were from: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. Federal judges in several courts have issued rulings blocking some parts of order. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency stay on deportations, saying that it likely violated the Due Process and Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Trump on Monday fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an Obama appointee, who refused to enforce the order, calling it inconsistent with the Justice Departments solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right. I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful, she said.Stephen Roppolo, managing partner of the San Antonio and Houston offices of management-side labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips, told employers that workers from named countries might not be readmitted to the U.S. once they leave, despite their documentation. He said visa applications could be tied up while employees remain outside the U.S. and cautioned that foreign nationals also could have trouble entering the U.S. at the Mexican and Canadian borders. Foreign nationals should carry documentation at all times, he said, and particularly if they have been to court on criminal matters such as driving under the influence. If stopped by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, or any other law enforcement officer, you should instruct them to be prepared to cooperate and present evidence of their U.S. immigration documentation and legal status, Roppolo said. Roppolo said he was hearing a lot of concern from energy and oil field service companies in Houston, many of which have global operations and staff traveling in the listed countries. The level of frustration now is pretty high, he said. I havent run into any clients yet who had anybody stranded, which is good, but its really disrupting a lot of plans because they dont feel comfortable letting anybody get on a plane when theres a risk that they might not be able to come back. Even those who are permanent residents, or green card holders, are worried because the administration has made it clear there will be heightened scrutiny, he said. When youre at the whim of a customs official or some other ICE agent about whether you get to go home, thats kind of scary, he said. U.S.-born U.S. citizens also should be prepared for more questioning, he said, recommending they carry itineraries, calendars and correspondence documenting activities in those countries. Theyre going to have to provide full explanations for what they were doing there, he said. You normally would have to do that, but again we anticipate heightened scrutiny. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate At the beginning of the school year, second-grade teacher Mindy Layne noticed the prolonged absence of one of her students at Fort Sam Houston Elementary. From parent-teacher meetings, Layne already knew that 8-year-old David Chanek was born with hemophilia, a condition where blood fails to properly clot. Concerned, she called Davids mother, Megan Nichols, who told her that David was in the hospital. They talked for close to an hour as Nichols explained how sick her son was. Three years earlier, a bacterial infection had developed around a port in her sons chest that delivered his medicine. As Davids body fought the infection, he developed hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare immune disorder where immune cells fail to destroy damaged cells, instead attacking healthy ones. Nodules grew on his lungs, stifling their ability to function, and the family believes medications damaged his vision. With medical costs quickly mounting, Davids father, formerly a sheriffs deputy in DeWitt County, enlisted with the Army to secure better health insurance for his son. Davids stepfather is in the Army, too. As David continuously missed school, his mother home-schooled him, trying to prevent him from falling too far behind. Still, he had to repeat the first grade. David had a less than 30 percent chance of survival, and Nichols worried her son would not make it to his 9th birthday. To recover, he needed a bone marrow transplant. The facts shocked Layne. Over the phone, the two women cried together. When you look at David, you cant tell hes sick, Layne said. I had no idea how sick he was on the inside. Their conversation launched the teachers months-long effort to help her sick student however she could. Since then, Layne has fundraised and organized bone marrow drives in Davids honor, both on and off base. She set up a GoFundMe page that raised more than $4,000. Her cousin helped secure David an appointment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The class began wearing Star Wars-themed T-shirts that said, May the force be with David, and Layne crafted David a Darth Vader crown to match he loves the villains red light saber. Eventually, Layne got in touch with a woman through Be the Match, a website run by the National Marrow Donor Program, who helped organize a bone marrow drive in December with more than 100 Texas state highway troopers-in-training. When David and Layne later went to Austin to visit the recruits, they invited the boy to attend their graduation ceremony in February, as an honorary graduate. The support from Layne and the community has been welcomed by Davids family, which began paying for thousands of dollars in medicine and treatment out of pocket after switching to a new team of doctors. In thanks, Nichols nominated Layne for the Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Awards. Its been really hard, Nichols said. Now he doesnt even want to go to doctors. In addition to helping David, Layne hopes the drives show the advancements in the bone marrow transplant field. Instead of a painful pelvic test, a simple cheek swab can now determine whether adults are a match. In some cases, donors only have to undergo blood transfusions, rather than pelvic surgery. The drives benefit everyone on the bone marrow registry, not just David. For the time being, David remains on the registry, waiting for a matching donor. In the coming months, Layne plans to organize more drives and fundraisers. After yet another hospitalization, this time for a staph infection, in mid-January David returned to Laynes colorful classroom, its wall plastered with posters and student artwork. Behind Laynes desk hangs a photograph of David and his classmates in their matching Star Wars shirts. David would have appeared perfectly healthy were it not for the bandages on his hands and arms. A neon green bandage swaddled his left hand, swollen from a bump on the way to school. He also bore bandages on his right hand and in the crook of an elbow. Injuries that would cause a healthy person to bruise can lead to significant internal bleeding for those with hemophilia, a reality that prevents David from participating in recess or gym class. While Layne taught afternoon math exercises at the board, David knelt on a plastic chair, rocking back and forth as he wrote in a red composition notebook. To remind the kids of addition and subtraction rules, Layne led the class in chants and dances. At the end of the school day, David put on his Darth Vader crown and fashioned his jacket into a makeshift scarf. He asked his teacher if she liked it. Layne says she would have made the effort to help any of her students, but she admires Davids resilience and positivity. David, he never gives up, ever, Layne said. Its so easy to want to help him. lcaruba@express-news.net By proposing $800 million in cuts to higher education, the Texas Senate would gut state funding for Texas A&M University at San Antonio, which already is struggling to accommodate its surging enrollment and expects 1,000 more students in the fall. TAMUSA would lose $23.6 million or almost 57 percent of its state revenue if the Senates budget for the next two years passes, the biggest percentage hit among San Antonios public colleges. Its total budget, including tuition and other revenue sources, is about $120 million over two years. Were here to explain the devastation it would cause in our community, TAMUSA President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said at a recent public hearing on the higher education portion of the bill. The Senate presented public university leaders a starting-point budget for the 2018-19 biennium that reduces the special items category. University leaders statewide would complete for a much lower $300 million left in the category. Besides TAMUSA, the cuts would affect the University of Texas at San Antonio, UT Health at San Antonio and its Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, and UTs Institute of Texan Cultures. This isnt a business where were making a commodity, like a can opener or something, UTH at San Antonio President William Henrich said. Were creating health professionals who will take care of the bulk of the health care for our citizens and they need to be superb at their craft. Because if they are, then more lives will be saved. Meanwhile, senators stressed that though the budgets may look grim now, there is still wiggle room. I keep saying it is a starting point, Senate Finance Committee Chair Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said during the Senate finance committee hearings for higher education last week. She emphasized that much could change in the months to come. The House bill calls for much less drastic measures, allocating about $1 billion to special items funding only $99.7 million less compared to the current budget. The House and Senate must agree on a budget before the bill is sent to the governor. The Senate committee has formed a work group expected to start meeting next week to determine how to prioritize the $300 million. Im trying to be reassured by the chair of Senate finance that says it is just a starting point, but its a very, very dire starting point, one that I think makes people nervous about their jobs, said Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio. He also lamented that $800 million was being cut from higher education, while the same amount would be put toward border security. It seems to me that our priorities are a little misplaced, Menendez said. That is the responsibility of the federal government. We cant ask the federal government to fund our universities, but we can tell them to go do their job at the border. The state also has a $12 billion rainy day fund that exists for times like these, he added. Everybody should be concerned, you cant take anything for granted, he said. With lawmakers facing a reduced state budget because of declining oil revenues and past decisions to cut taxes and dedicate billions to transportation senators were put in a tough position, said Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, who is also chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. He said the Texas economy is to blame. Noting that it is still probably the best in the country, Seliger said the decline of the oil and gas industry has had a tremendous impact on the economy. But Im optimistic and theres no question that A&M San Antonio and (UTSA) and the (Health Science Center) make a great case, he said. Were not evaluating the value of the institutions, its just about the funds available. Meanwhile some local university officials arent sure if they can afford to be optimistic. If this bill comes to pass in its current form, TAMUSA would lose the pot of money that funds 73 percent of its teachers. Meanwhile the Institute of Texan Cultures 65 employees would have to look for new jobs. The University of Texas at San Antonio would take a $25.4 million reduction, and University of Texas Health at San Antonio would be getting about $18.8 million less than it requested both substantial yet less drastic cuts compared with the smaller, younger TAMUSA. UTSAs two-year budget is about $509 million; UT Health at San Antonios is $806.6 million. TAMUSA relies on the state for about 50 of its total net revenue. Founded in 2009, the college just enrolled its first freshmen and sophomore classes last fall a downward expansion effort to accommodate for the rapid growth of San Antonios South Side. Texas universities can receive state formula funding when they enroll at least 6,000 full-time student equivalencies. TAMUSA is about halfway there, and thus relies on the special items funding. Formula funding from the state is based on student credit hours. During testimony last week, Teniente-Matson also referenced the demographics of her university. Eighty-two percent of the freshman class this year self-reported as being Latino and 74 percent are first-generation students. These support services are needed, especially for students of historically underrepresented communities and homes from poverty, she said, adding later that this would be a disproportional cut to individuals who need it the most. And because of the high number of low-income students 33 percent of freshmen and 49 percent of transfer students are in households that make less than $30,000 a year, Teniente-Matson said increasing tuition to compensate for the loss of funding would be detrimental to TAMUSAs student body. While TAMUSAs special items were listed more vaguely as transitional and enhancement funding, UTSAs special items consisted of six programs. I think the hardest hit would be to the Small Business Development Center, said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. He said the center has 100 employees that would get laid off, not to mention the 30,000 clients they serveand some of those folks are at little restaurants and little pharmacies in San Antonio and do extremely well. TAMUSA has already had to expand its class offerings, with classes beginning at 6:30 a.m. during weekdays, and some lessons available on Saturdays. The bookstore is in one of the 13 portables they acquired this year. The school had planned to hire a dozen more teachers this fall to accommodate for the 1,000-person expected growth to the student body. Now that is on hold. Were growing like gangbusters, and in order to keep going, we have to have this kind of funding, said Bill Spindle, head of TAMUSA business affairs. Obviously you have to have faculty. You take away our special funding, then youre right back to where we were basically in 2009, where we were supported a third of what we are now, when we had a little over 200 students. That just isnt going to work for what weve been put here to do. There will be a lot of conversation between now and the end of the session, said Teniente-Matson. I have great confidence that at the end of the day well be looking at a different fiscal picture. Austin philanthropists Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long announced a $25 million donation Wednesday to UT Health San Antonio. The gift, made on the Longs 59th wedding anniversary, will boost faculty recruitment and student scholarships. The University of Texas System board of regents voted to rename the medical school at UT Health San Antonio the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. The Longs have donated more than $80 million over time to UT System institutions. UT-Austin is home to the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Their gifts are remarkable for many reasons, but especially for the extraordinary impact they have already had on improving health access and delivery in South Texas, said UT System Chancellor William McRaven. The Longs, who both attended UT-Austin, are passionate about health and the Latino community. Joe Long said he and his wife knew they wanted to donate to an institution that both educated and helped serve the Latino population, and after doing some research, they found UT Healths program to be an area leader, pre-eminent and outstanding, he said. UT Health San Antonio, formerly the UT Health Science Center, has consistently ranked as one of the top medical schools for Latinos. My wife is Hispanic, and we know that South Texas has traditionally been short on doctors, said Joe Long. We thought if we helped the med school there it would increase the number of doctors in South Texas. Of the schools 207 physicians who graduated in 2016, 21 percent were Hispanic. Only 5 percent of medical graduates nationwide were Hispanic in the same year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Good health is a necessity in life, Joe Long said in a statement. Our goal is to empower generations of young people to enter health care and enhance the quality of life of our state. A native of South Texas, Teresa was born in Premont, in Jim Wells County, and was the first Hispanic woman at UT-Austin to earn a doctorate in health and physical education. The Longs past donations have provided scholarships for more than 115 students at UT Health San Antonio in the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Nursing and School of Health Professions. Today, 44 Long Physicians are practicing medicine in South Texas and beyond graduates of the Long-funded scholarship programs that covered their medical school tuition for their entire education at UT Health, UT Health San Antonio said in a statement announcing the donation Wednesday. UT Health San Antonio President Dr. William Henrich said the value of the Longs donation goes beyond the dollar. Each year, the Longs visit the students who receive their scholarships and encourage them to use their good fortune to help others. Joe Long wants them to remember that somebody believes in them, and that when they get the chance to help education advancement somewhere that they will pay it forward, Henrich said. sfosterfrau@express-news.net bmartin@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Rosie Castro stood before an exuberant crowd Saturday morning at Jefferson United Methodist Church and bestowed upon Ana Sandoval the ultimate District 7 blessing. Castro, the matriarch of San Antonios preeminent political family, said that over the past two decades, her twin sons (former Mayor and HUD Secretary) Julian and (U.S. Rep.) Joaquin have repeatedly told her, I wish Ana Sandoval would run for council. This year, Sandoval an engineer and urban planner with degrees from MIT, Harvard and Stanford is making the Castros wish come true. By her own admission, however, she is not taking the easiest route. By challenging three-term Councilman Cris Medina in the Northwest Side district, Sandoval, 42, is staring down some prohibitive odds. Over the past 10 years, elected City Council incumbents have won 35 of 38 races. Most of those victories have been pretty lopsided. As for Medina, he has encountered a variety of criticisms over the past six years ranging from suggestions that hes a policy lightweight to complaints that hes not engaged with constituents but none of the barbs have slowed him down much. In 2013, he defeated AVANCE founder Gloria Rodriguez by 31 points (58 percent to 27 percent) and he followed up with a solid, nine-point runoff win over Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez in 2015. Of course, one way of looking at those results is to conclude that Medinas margin for error is shrinking and his political vulnerability is rising. The right candidate, his perennial critics tell themselves, could knock off the soft-spoken councilman. Sandovals campaign kickoff on Saturday left me persuaded that Medina could be in some trouble this time around. Rosie Castro said the energy surrounding Sandovals candidacy reminds her of Julians early campaigns in District 7, and shes absolutely right. To be sure, it would be hard for any political guru to conjure up a more impressive, well-rounded individual than Sandoval for a municipal campaign. A native of Monterrey, Mexico, she grew up in District 7, was valedictorian at Thomas Jefferson High School (where she was a schoolmate of the Castro twins), played mariachi music at Fiesta Texas and has devoted much of her adulthood to the issues of environmental protection and sustainability. Much like the Castros, Sandoval is a classic example of the overachiever who went off to big-name schools but never forgot her roots. As Sandoval proudly noted at her kickoff event, she lives next door to her parents, in the same neighborhood where she grew up. She is cerebral, but not detached. She is a crusading activist, but also projects an understanding of the practical realities of governing. She thinks about big, long-term issues (clean air and water, managing growth), while also recognizing that the council gig requires you to address the nuts-and-bolts problems that residents encounter every day. It says something good about Sandoval that the attendees at her campaign kickoff included many of the people who have known her longest: childhood friends, high-school teachers, teenage co-workers and family members. During her announcement speech, Sandoval acknowledged that it would be easier to wait two years, when term limits would force Medina to step aside. In fact, she said some district residents have told her, Wait two more years. Its not your turn. But Sandoval said she believes in democracy, not incumbency, and doesnt think her district would be well-served by waiting until the politics became more convenient. I understand change isnt easy, but change is how we make progress, she said. Im not running now because I think this is the easiest time for me to win. Im running now because thats what we need in our community. Ultimately, the clearest sign that Medina is worried might have come in the form of a sign. Parked in front of Jefferson United on Saturday morning, as Sandoval supporters arrived for her campaign event, a red Ram 1500 pickup carried a huge campaign sign, which proclaimed, Police Support Cris Medina. The sign, paid for by the San Antonio Police Officers Association, was meant to remind Sandoval of the forces that stand in her way. But Sandoval supporters made it the running butt of their jokes, suggesting that its size was meant to compensate for all the ways Medina has come up small at City Hall. Silent, inactive council persons with big signs arent what we need right now, or ever, Sandoval said. What you need is a voice. ggarcia@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Archdiocese of San Antonio will honor more than 120 lay leaders Thursday with its Lumen Gentium Awards. Latin for light for the nations and the title of the Second Vatican Councils central document the awards honor lay people for their grasp of Catholic teachings and their work to widen and deepen the life of church. Carol F. White, a longtime parishioner at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, the only African American parish in the archdiocese, will be the sole recipient of the Christifideles Award, one of the highest honors bestowed on a lay person and one usually reserved for a Catholic couple. White, a volunteer pastoral leader, librarian and historian at Holy Redeemer, was selected by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller. He established the award six years ago in honor of Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Flores, the first Mexican American bishop in the United States, who died in January. The awards will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 5919 Ingram Road. White, a retired employee of the archdiocese, serves as its liaison to the Black Catholic Apostolate. Shes also assisting the Unity Explosion Evangelization Conference planned in San Antonio next year. Whites late husband and a deacon, Thomas St. Clair White, was an Air Force veteran who served as pastoral administrator at Holy Redeemer. He was the first African American member of the Knights of Columbus in Texas, she said. He died in 2004. The couple were among the first members of the National Black Catholic Congress, in which White remains active. She has received several national awards from the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary, an offshoot of the largest historically African American Catholic lay organization in the country. It is named for St. Peter Claver, a Spanish priest who ministered to African slaves. A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, White was baptized in the Episcopal Church but converted to Catholicism in the 1950s just before her marriage to a cradle Catholic, she said. She writes grants for her parish to help bring black priests and authors to San Antonio. More than a decade ago, she donated her own library on black Catholicism and history to Holy Redeemer, which was founded in 1901 as a home for aged, needy and orphaned Negroes and later became a church. Her vocation has been challenging, not only because the population of black Catholics is small, but because of a religious misperception Everyone thinks were Baptist, she said. I dont want to leave my culture at the doorstep, so Holy Redeemer was a natural fit for her family, especially after trying a few other parishes that werent as welcoming, White said. eayala@express-news.net ELKO Three cultures came together last night in the Western Folklife Centers G Three Bar Theater in the form of Real Stories. Straight Up. Narratives from the Australian Outback, the Nevada high desert and the Texas-Oklahoma borderlands were mixed in with memories of Jack and Irene Walther, local ranchers and Cowboy Poetry enthusiasts who died last year. Jack was a respected poet and Irene was known for her whit and her cowgirl ways. Their nephew, Tom Walther, recounted many stories of the couple including a time when Irene stopped by to visit and a neighbor was there with her children. You know, she said, I feel the same way about kids as I feel about sheep. I dont have any and I dont want any. He also mentioned that his uncle wrote his final poem just six days before he died. Jack Sammon, an Australian ringer, or buckaroo, horse breaker, head stockman and a coal miner spoke next. The cook rules the camp, he said. You might be the boss, the head stockman, but around the camp, thats his area and he makes the rules, Sammons said. But the trouble is he doesnt usually tell you the rules. He told the tale of Koockaburra, a camp cook who ruled the roost and did not appreciate ringers hanging around his fire. A greenhorn on the crew woke up his first day and, not knowing the rules, went and stood over by the cooks fire eating his breakfast. Well, this is going to be lively, recalled Sammon. According to the legend, without a word, the cook went over to the food box and came back to the fire with something in his hand. The jackeroo, or newcomer, soon found out they were .22 shells, thinking for sure hed been shot. Next on the docket was the official chuck wagon cook of Oklahoma, Kent Rollins. He talked about a group of Canadians who spoke French and were participating in a retreat in Alabama where Rollins was cook. Rollins described the cedar tarp poles that had dried hide protective layers on the top to keep them from weathering. One of the French speakers asked what the covering was. Rollins rolled out in his Okie accent that it was a bulnsack, as the French speakers interpreted. Some time went on without further clarification, but, eventually, the spokesmen of the French-speaking group asked for more information on what was a bulnsak? Its a bull nut sack, Rollins explained, with still little comprehension from the French speaker. But what exactly is bulnsak? To which Rollins replied, Its what we had for lunch. The final speaker of the evening, Carolyn Dufurrena, traveled from Quinn River near Denio, on the edge of the Blackrock Desert, and her tales of ranching life also kept people rolling on the floor and reminiscing about a 100-year -old cowboy she met one day in the Taylor Canyon Club. In keeping with the cook theme of the evening, she went on to recount her Eastern roots and her marriage to a Nevada cowboy. It was my rookie year as a ranchers wife, and certainly, as a ranch cook, said Dufurrena. She was sure she could please the hay crew with recipes from her Aunt Gertrudes journals. The June sun ripened as I considered the menu. A summer soup would be good, she said. When the men came in she beamed over the table decor and delicate meal. When Ray, a six foot four, broad-shouldered Basco, who ate at tables all over the country sat down she knew that the report of her first summer luncheon would spread quickly throughout the land. This soups cold, he exploded, what the hells in it? Its potage Saint-Germain, she said. Its supposed to be cold. Got any ketchup, one crewmember chirped up grabbing a piece of quiche Lorrain. Not to be deterred, she went into the kitchen. Soon, rancher husband, Tim, came in and quietly asked, Wheres the meat? Over the years she has learned to make hearty meals for the workers but admitted she still enjoys trying to add a little culture to their lives. Every once in a while, she said, I cant resist putting a soft-boiled egg down in front of a cowboy in an egg cup. A friend came to see me today. He was talking about his days as a theological student back in South Africa. I mentioned Karl Barth, and he said he never liked Barth. When I demanded an explanation, he told me he had attended lectures on Barth by a professor of systematic theology named Angus Holland.Professor Holland, my friend explained, was a little eccentric. He had studied music and medicine. He had a doctorate in mathematics. When he turned to theology he wrote a huge dissertation on Athanasius. When the thing had swollen to nearly 1400 pages, his supervisor commanded him: "Angus, do not write another word or comma. If you need to, just stop in the middle of a sentence."He was famous on campus for his mathematical genius, his staggering memory, and his lack of social skills. He could recall the weather on any day of his life. If you named any date in history, he could instantly tell you which day of the week it was. Before any lecture he would glance up at the students seated in front of him and announce the percentage of total attendance to three or four decimal places. For example, if 3 of the 17 students were absent from the Barth seminar, he would begin by remarking: Good morning. I see we have an 82.3529% attendance today.Did he recognise any of his students? Did he know their names? They never knew. If you greeted him in the corridor Good afternoon, professor! he would stop, furrow his brow, look earnestly in your direction, study some fixed point on the wall somewhere above you, then walk off in the opposite direction without saying a word.The students always suspected him of performing parallel calculations during his lectures. They wanted to prove it. So they went one day to the department of mathematics and asked for an exceedingly complicated equation. A professor of mathematics wrote it out for them. Before class they filled the blackboard with the equation. Professor Holland walked in. He stood a moment and looked at the board. He took the eraser and cleaned the board. He talked uninterrupted for two hours about Greek patristic theology. When the class finished he turned, wrote the answer on the board, and walked out.He had a curious habit of jangling the coins in his pocket when he prayed. It was distracting. He would be giving a long extemporaneous Presbyterian prayer during the chapel service, and you would see his hand in his pocket and you would hear the jingle of coins. What was he doing down there? Was there a rosary in his pocket? Was he playing with himself? The students asked one of the other lecturers about it. His loose change, he said. He counts it when he prays.The professor loved fairy tales. He knew them and loved them with a passion. He would use fairy tales to illustrate his lectures, though you never could quite grasp the connections that he had intuited between the story and the topic at hand. It only added to your bafflement. But it was always a pleasure to hear him speak, with such fierce intellectual joy, about some German fairy tale.This professor, my friend told me, was the person who taught him Karl Barth. The lectures were intricate, polylingual, unfathomable. It was like trying to read Hegel: you couldnt take down any notes because the whole thing transpired on a level to which you had no natural access. At the end of a 2-hour lecture on Barth, it might have occurred to you to jot down one word or phrase. But usually not.In class the professor could quote any passage of thefrom memory. He never had any notes. If a student read out a passage in English, he would correct the translation from memory. None of the students in this particular South African classroom had any knowledge of German. One day, in response to a students question, the professor quoted Barths German for a full five minutes. They watched the clock ticking on the wall. Five minutes. In German. Then he resumed his lecture without any word of comment or explanation.My friend spread out his hands, helpless and apologetic, and he said, When it came to Barth, I never had a chance.I begged him for more anecdotes. He gave me one more. He saved the best for last.One evening the professor was visiting a colleagues house some miles away. He had intended to walk home. It started to rain heavily and there was no umbrella. His colleague said, Angus, why dont you stay here tonight instead of going home in the rain. He replied, Thank you, thats very kind, I will do that.His colleague left the room and when he returned there was no sign of the professor. He looked in the kitchen. He searched upstairs. He went from room to room. His house-guest was nowhere to be seen. It was a mystery. The rain poured down. Later that evening, the doorbell rang. There stood Professor Holland, soaked to the skin and dripping wet and holding up his toothbrush. He had gone home to get it. Since being elected to parliament in 2005 Mr Hallett has been responsible for securing $25 million for the redevelopment of the Harvey Agricultural College, $23 million for the construction of a Doppler radar network and was instrumental in the overturning of the decision to close the Jakarta Trade Office. The future of Fauquier Times now depends on community support. Your donation will help us continue to improve our journalism through in-depth local news coverage and expanded reader engagement. Support Events and things to do to celebrate Veterans Day in Cumberland County Cumberland County will honor veterans for two weeks starting with the annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday in downtown Fayetteville. What do you do with a rogue government agency that spends billions in taxpayer dollars but constantly dissembles, denies, deceives, dodges and dithers to avoid public scrutiny and does so by spending still more taxpayer money? For years the Nevada Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) has attempted to conceal from the public any specifics about the amount of public funds that are being doled out to retired public employees. PERS spends more than $1.5 billion a year on pensions and by standard accounting methods has an unfunded liability of at least $40 billion. In 2011 in a suit filed by the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper Carson City District Court Judge James Russell ruled PERS records including the name of a retiree, the amount of retirement payment, name of the agency where the retiree worked and hire and retirement dates were subject to public inspection under the state public records law. PERS officials appealed to the state Supreme Court, which ruled in 2013 that such records are indeed public, but the agency was not required to create a record it did not already maintain. Some PERS records were released and the Nevada Policy Research Institute posted that information on its TransparentNevada.com website. In 2015, after the judge in the Reno newspaper case chastised PERS for stonewalling and possible lack of truthfulness, PERS lobbied the Legislature to specifically exempt its records from the public records law. When that failed PERS altered its recordkeeping procedures so that records were filed by Social Security numbers only and without a name attached. Social Security numbers are non-disclosable by law. NPRI filed suit. By replacing names with non-disclosable Social Security numbers in its actuarial record-keeping documents, PERS has attempted to circumvent the 2013 ruling of the Nevada Supreme Court requiring disclosure, explained Joseph Becker, the director of NPRIs Center for Justice and Constitutional Litigation, at the time of the suit. This past week another Carson City judge again slapped down PERS for refusing to release the names and pensions of its 57,000 public employee retirees under the state public records law. District Judge James Wilson chastised the agency for being deceptive, noting that the law does not require an agency to create a public record, but neither does it bar an agency from creating a record. PERS quoted in part Nevada Public Records Act: A Manual for State Agencies 2014 which states in part: An agency is not required to organize data to create a record that doesnt exist at the time of the request. The part PERS left out from that sentence in the Manual is: but may do so at the discretion of the agency if doing so is reasonable. PERS failure to indicate it was quoting only part of the sentence seems a bit deceptive. Judge Wilson further noted that the state Supreme Court has since ruled in another case that when an agency has a computer program that can readily compile the requested information, the agency is not excused from its duty to produce and disclose that information. He also dismissed as hypothetical and speculative claims that disclosure might subject retirees to cybercrime, noting that the opinions buoying this argument were based on releasing data such as gender, birth date and address, which were never requested. NPRIs attorney Becker said in a statement, NPRI is delighted that the court has once again weighed in strongly on the side of transparency, and once again with respect to PERS. As evidenced by the recent lawsuits against the agency, the courts need to crack down on government entities, such as PERS, that thumb their noses at the Nevada Public Records Acts requirements for disclosure. He noted that the court seemed especially sensitive to the fact PERS officials had changed their recordkeeping methodology in an effort to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling. Not only did PERS spend tax money to fight the current lawsuit, it now must spend more tax money to pay attorney fees and costs to NPRI. There are several vacancies coming up on the PERS board this year. We encourage Gov. Brian Sandoval to use this opportunity to appoint members who abide by the letter of the law and respect the publics right to transparency in how its money is being spent. The US is an important job market for many young scientists. Trumps immigration ban has been disastrous for a great many of them. We spoke with some of the affected researchers. Azadeh Fattahi (on the right) and other students, standing by the telescope at the University of Victoria Observatory. Bild: Azadeh Fattahi Azadeh Fattahi, age 27, grew up near Teheran and lived in the capital of Iran until she finished her Bachelors degree in physics almost six years ago. She moved to Canada to join the graduate program at the University of Victoria, where she earned a Masters degree in 2013 and will complete her PhD in late spring. Her research is on galaxy evolution. As a computational astrophysicist she runs simulations to try and understand the dark matter content of dwarf galaxies. Sibylle Anderl Redakteurin im Feuilleton, zustandig fur das Ressort Natur und Wissenschaft. Folgen Ich folge Looking at the Canadian map, I see that you actually live very close to the US border. I do. Victoria is an island. Theres not a lot of water between here and Seattle. From the southern tip of the island you can see mountains that are in the US. During your time in Canada, did you ever take a trip to the US? Well, Im Iranian. I need a visa every single time I want to go to the US. So Ive only been there a few times for work, like for conferences, to give a talk, or to visit one of my collaborators. Ive only tacked on a few days once in a while because getting the visa is such a hassle. The process of getting a visa is fairly straightforward, but it requires time and effort - and you have to pay a fee every time. Youve already applied for jobs. How has the US immigration ban affected your job search? In astrophysics, the job application process starts in the fall. Ive already heard back from many prospective employers. I have a job offer from the University of Michigan and Im shortlisted for two other positions that I would like to think about, if I get an offer. One is in UC Davis, one is at MIT. Thats the status of my applications in the US. I have also been shortlisted for interviews in Europe. Many of my colleagues are in Europe, so from the outset Europe was one of the main places I was considering. But the institutes that got back to me Well, nobody is disappointed by a job offer from MIT (laughs). So even though my job search was focused on Europe, I am very sad that I cannot even think about accepting positions in the US. Ive had to forego a lot of opportunities. When will you get a response about your other applications? They wanted to get back to me soon and Im expected to respond to all offers by mid-February. I guess if I hear from them, I have to decide within two weeks. But I don't think I'm going to accept any job offers from the US. I cannot take the risk, since theyre not going to issue me a visa. Are you worried that the ban might not be over in 90 days? There are a few things to consider. 90 days is still a long time, and the visa process itself also takes some time. Thats one thing. The other thing is, the conditions theyve put in the executive order are unrealistic. Theyre asking our governments to hand over any and all information about their citizens to America so they can issue the visa. Iran and the US have never had a particularly good relationship, so Im sure this is not going to happen. Iran is not going to give information about their citizens to the US. If they insist on what is stipulated in the executive order, I dont think the ban is going to be over anytime soon. But even if you had the chance, would you still like to work in the US? Thats the other thing. You feel unwelcome. Probably not from the American people, but from the system. I dont want to go there if Im not respected, if my work is not respected, why should I go there? Maybe I could get a visa, but with what Ive seen so far, I would not go. Do you plan any travelling to the US soon? Actually, Ive been invited to speak at two universities in the States. One talk is in almost two weeks, and one is in a month and a half. I even have a valid visa for the first but Im quite sure that because of the ban theyre not going to let me in. ,which is terrible, because speaking invitations are a crucial element on the CV of a young scientist. Exactly. Im near the end of my PhD. This is when youve done your research and people start to recognize your name and invite you to talks. That counts. If you see people, if you present your work it matters in the long term for your career - if you want to stay in academia. So its a big loss. Im missing all these opportunities. Its an emotionally intense time for you. Finishing your PhD is already pretty stressful, but then having to deal with the repercussions of immigration ban It was the busiest January ever for FCPA corporate resolutions. During a ten-day stretch, six companies settled FCPA-related offenses by paying a combined total of $256.5 million to the DOJ and SEC. January is usually a slow month for FCPA enforcement. In January 2016, there were no FCPA resolutions. In 2015, there were two. In January 2014, there was one. And in 2013, there were none. We believe only one other month had six FCPA enforcement actions. That was September 2016, with resolutions by Nu Skin, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, HMT LLC, NCH Corporation, and GlaxoSmithKline plc. Also in January 2017, two individuals pleaded guitly to criminal FCPA offenses, three were indicted, and two were charged in SEC civil complaints. There was also one corporate declination. Heres what happened: DOJ / SEC Enforcement Resolutions Mondelez International, Inc. (January 9) paid the SEC $13 million to resolve FCPA offenses related to payments by its Cadbury unit in India. The SEC said both Cadbury India and Mondelez violated the internal controls and books-and-records provisions of the FCPA. Mondelez, formerly known as Kraft Foods, Inc., acquired Cadbury Limited and its subsidiaries in February 2010. Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (January 12) agreed to pay more than $30 million to resolve DOJ and SEC investigations into the companys repeat violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The medical device maker paid a criminal fine of $17.46 million and civil penlaties and disgorgment of $13 million. Biomet previously resolved FCPA offenses in 2012 when it paid the DOJ and SEC nearly $23 million. Zimmer bought Biomet in 2015. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (January 13) paid $30.5 million to resolve criminal and civil Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses for bribes to Chilean politicians. SQM paid a criminal penalty to the DOJ of nearly $15.5 million and a civil penalty to the SEC of $15 million. The SEC said virtually all of the improper payments to [Politically Exposed Persons] were directed and authorized by a senior SQM executive. Rolls-Royce plc (January 17) agreed to pay the United States a criminal penalty of $170 million for a global conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The DOJ action was part of an $800 million resolution of investigations by U.S., UK, and Brazilian authorities. The DOJ filed a criminal information and deferred prosecution in federal court in Columbus, Ohio on December 20. The documents were under seal until January 17. Orthofix International (January 18) paid the SEC more than $6 million in disgorgement and penalties to settle FCPA charges related to illegal payments to doctors at government hospitals in Brazil. Orthofix was involved in another FCPA enforcement action in 2012 for illegal payments to doctors at government hospitals in Mexico. It paid $7.4 million to the DOJ and SEC to resolve the earlier FCPA offenses. Las Vegas Sands Corp. (January 19) paid a criminal fine of nearly $7 million for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses in China and Macau. The casino and resort operator admitted paying $5.8 million to a China consultant without any discernable legitimate business purpose. A Sands finance department employee and an outside auditor warned the company that some of the money paid to the consultant couldnt be accounted for, but the payments continued. Guilty Pleas Juan Jose Hernandez Comerma (January 10), 51, of Weston, Florida pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one count of violating the FCPA, for payments to officials at Venezuelas state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). Hes a former general manager and part owner of a Florida-based company. Sentencing is set for July 14. Charles Quintard Beech III (January 10), 46, of Katy, Texas, pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA for payments to officials at PDVSA. He owns several Texas-based companies. Sentencing is set for July 14. Indicted by DOJ Ban Ki Sang (January 10), 69, of Seoul, South Korea the brother of former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was charged in federal court in Manhattan with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, three counts of violating the FCPA, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering. He allegedly plotted to bribe a man posing as an agent for a Middle East sovereign wealth fund in exchange for financing of a building sale in Vietnam. Hes at large and presumed to be in Korea. Joo Hyun Bahn (January 10), 38, is Ban Ki Sangs son. He also goes by Dennis Bahn and lives in Tenafly, New Jersey. He was charged in federal court in Manhattan with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, three counts of violating the FCPA, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He was arrested in Tenafly and released on bail. San Woo (January 10), also known as John Woo, 35, of Edgewater, New Jersey, was charged with conspiracy to violate the FCPA. He was arrested at New Yorks JFK Airport and released on bail. He allegedly helped secure $500,000 for a bribe from Ban Ki Sang and Dennis Bahn to the man posing as an agent for a Middle East sovereign wealth fund. Charged by SEC Michael L. Cohen (January 26), 45, a partner in Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and member of the firms management committee, was charged in an SEC civil complaint filed in federal court in New York with violating the FCPA and aiding and abetting Och-Ziffs violations. He was also charged with violating the Investment Advisers Act.. He lives in London and holds dual UK/U.S. citizenship. The SEC alleged he caused Och-Ziff to pay tens of millions of dollars in bribes to high-level government officials in Libya, Chad, Niger, Guinea, and the DR Congo. Vanja Baros (January 26), 44, a former analyst in the private investments group at Och-Ziffs European office and a member of the firms African Special Investment Team, was charged in an SEC civil complaint filed in federal court in New York with violating the FCPA and aiding and abetting Och-Ziffs violations. Hes an Australian citizen living in the UK. He reported to and worked closely with Michael Cohen. Declination Orthofix International (Janauary 18) said when announcing its $6 million FCPA resolution with the SEC for payments to doctors at government hospitals in Brazil (see above) that the DOJ had decided to take no further action with respect to this matter. * * * Our prior full-year enforcement reports are here: 2016 FCPA Enforcement Index 2015 FCPA Enforcement Index 2014 FCPA Enforcement Index 2013 FCPA Enforcement Index 2012 FCPA Enforcement Index 2011 FCPA Enforcement Index 2010 FCPA Enforcement Index 2009 FCPA Enforcement Index 2008 FCPA Enforcement Index _______ Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. In the world of reality TV, Donald Trump was a king an unrivaled ruler who loved delivering his signature judgment: Youre fired! As a businessman, he dealt largely with people who owed him their jobs, their contracts and their profits. He could cut them down or cut them off. Being president doesnt work the same way. He might be the most powerful person in the world, but there are also distinct limits to his power. Reality TV is not real. Its fiction. If Trump doesnt understand the difference, if he doesnt recognize and respect real reality, he cannot be a successful president. Start with Congress. Yes, the president can pressure lawmakers, offering rewards and threatening reprisals. And most Republicans have a vested interest in his success. But he cannot fire them. Every one of the 535 members won their own elections. They all have to represent the interests of their own communities and constituencies. They are not his employees or his lackeys. Nor can the president alter another reality: Senate rules that give the minority many opportunities to slow down, and even block, the presidents agenda. His fundamental rule is that if you come after me, in any way, Ill come after you, said David Axelrod, a close adviser to Barack Obama, to The Washington Post. He thinks he can bully people into cooperation. My experience has been that can drive people further away and make it harder. There are some things that hes talking about wanting to do that hes going to need Democratic votes for. Heres another fact: The president cannot fire all those pesky journalists who keep contradicting his penchant for exaggeration and fabrication. True, the president can circumvent the mainstream media by using the TBN, the Trump Broadcasting Network, to deliver messages directly to millions of followers on social media. He can conduct a running war with the press corps and demean them as among the most dishonest human beings on earth. But he cannot silence or intimidate them. He cannot stop Chuck Todd of NBC from telling key Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway that alternative facts are not facts at all, but falsehoods. During their clash on Meet the Press, Conway lectured Todd that its not your job ... to call things ridiculous. But she got it exactly wrong. Its the job of every journalist to hold the powerful accountable for their ill-starred statements and actions especially the president. The president cannot silence the satirists, either. Saturday Night Live is not The Apprentice. Even the commander in chief could not stop a shirtless Vladimir Putin from saying to Trump on last weeks SNL broadcast, If youre going to lie, dont be so obvious. Trump is still learning the difference between campaigning and governing. He won the presidency by generating enormous enthusiasm and devotion among his core supporters. He took 41 percent of the vote in the Republican primaries, but that was sufficient to triumph over a weak and fragmented field. He won only 46 percent of the vote in the general election, but again, that was good enough to beat a Democratic opponent who failed to elicit anything like the passion and purpose that marked the Womens March the day after Trumps inauguration. The new president was absolutely correct when he tweeted during the march, Why didnt these people vote? If they had all voted and advocated and organized the outcome last November might well have been different. Still, the demonstrations were deeply meaningful. For every voter who wears a red hat saying Make America Great Again, there is another American wearing a pink one that says, in effect, Where is my place in Donald Trumps America? Yet Trump continues to stay locked in campaign mode. His inaugural speech appealed only to red hats, not pink hats; to division, not unity. There were no gestures of reconciliation, no attempts to alleviate the anxiety and fear that prompted so many citizens to take to the streets in protest. There is no question that Trump has exacerbated the divisions that already existed in the United States, on important issues from national security to civil rights to climate change, Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University, told Reuters. Dividing the country is a recipe for winning elections, but it is not a recipe for successful government. The new president cannot fire his critics. He cannot fix problems by proclaiming alternative facts. He cannot create his own reality. He has to face real reality now. A necklace worn by Princess Diana is being offered for sale for $12 million. Princess Diana wearing the necklace New York auction house Guernsey are accepting offers on the necklace and earring set, which was dubbed the Swan Lake suite after the late Princess wore it to the ballet of the same name in 1997. The couple from Ukraine who own the set - which is described as the "gift of the century" - are hopeful someone will snap up the impressive jewels, which contain no less than 178 diamonds and five pearls. A spokesman for Guernsey's told The Sun newspaper: "Right now they are just entertaining offers. I can't cite prices but obviously you're aware of what it sold for previously. "Markets change and I think the family feel that originally they picked it up for a bit of a song." The jewellery set was sold in 2010 for 500,000 and the owners are reportedly asking for $12m for the two piece set. Princess Diana - who had two sons Prince William, 34, and Prince Harry, 32, with her then-husband Prince Charles before her untimely death in August 1997 - never wore the earrings as they were still being completed when she passed away. However, she loved the necklace so much that she asked to wear it without the earrings before returning the piece of jewellery to the Crown Jeweller so it could be completed. A previous listing of the item at the auction house reads: "The Crown Jeweler, aware of this special occasion, was pleased to offer Princess Diana his recently completed necklace for her appearance at the ballet. From the hands of The Crown Jeweler and the Garrard craftsmen came a stunning necklace replete with five matched diamonds ... "Following the performance, Diana returned the necklace to Garrard where it could be mated with the matching earrings still in the process of being fabricated. Tragically, Diana did not have the opportunity to view the complete suite, as in August of that year, the world lost one of its most cherished beings." Gemma Collins has been rushed to hospital. Gemma Collins in hospital Twitter (c) The 35-year-old star is currently in Tenerife filming the new series of 'The Only Way is Essex' and has sparked concern for her wellbeing after sharing a picture of her hand tied up to a drip in a hospital bed, but not explaining why she was taken in. Alongside the photo posted on her Twitter on Tuesday (31.01.17), she wrote: "Thankyou for all your lovely messages sadly I'm in hospital in Tenerife but hope to be on the mend soon what a way to spend your birthday (sic)" The popular ITVBe show hasn't been on screens since December's festive special but bosses are adamant the first installment of 2017 is one not to miss as they've jetted a big group of the cast mates out to the sun-soaked Spanish island. Speaking previously to BANG Showbiz, Dan Edgar said: "We start filming on Sunday. We're going to Tenerife on Sunday. There's quite a lot of us to be fair." It's not yet known who will be joining Dan and Gemma - who quit the show in 2015 but keeps making sporadic cameo appearances - in Tenerife, but they had planned on celebrating Gemma's 36th birthday on Thursday (02.02.17). Dan explained: "I think we're all going out there for Gemma's birthday so there will be a big group of us out there. Although she's quit, she'll always be about!" Megan McKenna and her boyfriend Pete Wicks were also looking forward to getting some winter sun following their explosive row last summer in Marbella. She explained ahead of flying in at the weekend: "I am flying to Tenerife on Sunday. I've just come back from Dubai and St Lucia. There's only a few of us going, not everyone goes. All I know at the moment is that me and Pete are going and a I think some of the couples are going. Hopefully there won't be any drama this time. I think people can relate to us. We're normal, we do normal things. When we react to things, it's real reactions. We row and we fight. We don't look back, we look forward. For a viewer, I must have been really good TV." However, the pair had a huge argument at the National Television Awards last month, so their relationship status is currently unknown. The Indian textile sector considers the Union Budget 2017-18 to be growth oriented as it will enable the manufacturing sectors to grow at a faster rate. The budgets focus on areas like infrastructure development and youth skills development, and tax reduction for MSME industrial units will boost the local economy and create additional jobs. The main demand of the association of continuing the existing tax structure including the service tax and optional Cenvat route extended for textile industry till the GST is implemented has been considered in the budget, said M Senthilkumar, chairman, The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA). The budgets strong focus on human development and youth skills development will directly improve the manufacturing sector, said BK Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group. The Indian textile sector considers the Union Budget 2017-18 to be growth oriented as it will enable the manufacturing sectors to grow at a faster rate. The budget's focus on areas like infrastructure development and youth skills development, and tax reduction for MSME industrial units will boost the local economy and create additional jobs.# The head of SIMA also said that the cluster approach for contract farming would greatly benefit the predominantly cotton based textile industry. The other benefits extended such as 5 per cent reduction in the tax for MSME industrial units, additional allocation to the banks for NPA accounts, cashless transaction, labour reform and relaxation of FDI norms by abolishing Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) would also benefit the textile industry, added the chairman of SIMA. The industry has lauded the governments move to focus on infrastructure, housing and rural development in this years budget. The objective of doubling farmers income, housing for one crore rural Indians, skilling of youth by establishing 100 India International Skill Centres, development of infrastructure to provide end to end solution by integrating road, rail and ship would greatly benefit the textile industry, added Senthilkumar. This is a budget with a positive spirit and with an intention to increase transparencies across the board. There is a lot of focus on infrastructure, housing, agriculture and rural development, which is a very good thing considering that 70 per cent of India lives in rural areas and that is where the focus of the development should be, added Goenka. The budgets focus on infrastructure development within the country and also exporting it is a very positive step, according to Goenka. The rural focus combined with infrastructure development is what will bring about true development. The proposed launch of Swayam in exhaustive ICT courses and Sankalp for skill development of youth is a step that will positively impact the nations overall productivity in general and the manufacturing sector in specific. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Union Budget 2017 is a game changer and continues to rightly focus on rural, agriculture and infrastructure sectors that will give boost to formal economy, says Walmart India. The planned investment in these sectors will create much needed jobs and also spur consumer spending and boost economic growth. Fiscal deficit too has been contained very well. The continued focus on ease of doing business with several measures such as abolishing FIPB, Model law on contract farming, Simplification of labour laws under four areas wages, industrial relations, social security and welfare and safety augurs very well for the economy, said Krish Iyer, president & CEO of Walmart India, in email to Fibre2Fashion. Major income tax relief in the lowest bracket is laudable as it will bring back consumer confidence and boost domestic consumption, adds Iyer. Union Budget 2017 is a game changer and continues to rightly focus on rural, agriculture and infrastructure sectors that will give boost to formal economy, says Walmart India. The planned investment in these sectors will create much needed jobs and also spur consumer spending and boost economic growth. Fiscal deficit too has been contained very well. # Commending the measures announced to boost the manufacturing sector, he says, Rewarding MSMEs by reducing rate of income tax will further boost Make in India; Proposal to set up dairy processing fund will boost food processing while increased allocation to schemes such as MSIPS will boost the electronics sector. Rural sector gets a boost with increased allocation to MNREGA. The agenda for the year to transform, energise and clean India is noteworthy, according to Iyer. He also lauds governments commitment to lift one crore people out of poverty by 2019. Governments steps to promote digital economy post demonetisation are very logical and will boost formal economy. Overall, this is a very good budget. Adherence to fiscal discipline, with emphasis on growth, development, increasing infrastructural and rural spending, and encouraging formal economy are key aspects of the budget, Iyer concludes. (RKS) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India On his 12th birthday, Kartik Aaryans mother planned a trip from Gwalior to Goa for the birthday boy. The family had a glorious beach holiday. Till date, Ive fond memories of the trip. I guess, thats when the travel bug first bit him, says the Pyaar Ka Punchnama actor. Since then he has explored most of India though he hasnt travelled much internationally. He reveals he has a map in his room where he has marked all the places he wishes to travel. And amongst Amsterdam, Paris, Tokyo and New York, London featured on the top of my list, he shares. So naturally, when he heard that Ashwni Dhirs Atithii Iin London was to be shot in the British capital, he was glad that a great film was offering a great travel opportunity as well. I travelled to London for the first time last October. My director Ashwni Dhir, producer Abhishek Pathak and Pareshji (Rawal) were my flight mates. We watched and discussed films during the nine-hour flight, he recounts. Usually, Kartik suffers from travel sickness and recalls how once during a Delhi-Mumbai flight he practically stood outside the washroom and had an unpleasant time. Thankfully, this time no such episode occurred. Also, he didnt get a culture shock when he landed at London airport, as he saw Indians everywhere. In fact, the immigration officers and the security staff comprised mostly Indians. The driver who drove me to the hotel was also Indian, he smiles adding, The first day shoot was in South Hall, a suburban district n West London, which again is a mini India. We were shooting at a gurdwara. I wondered whether I had caught a flight to Punjab! he laughs. Though it was a busy one-month schedule, Kartik used to scoot away to touristy places during breaks. He enjoys his own company and was quite happy exploring London. He enjoyed visiting the iconic Buckingham Palace, the Madame Tussauds museum, Big Ben and the 16-storey Gothic clocktower and London Eye, which gives a birds-eye view of the citys landmarks. He also watched the celebrated musical The Lion King and was blown away by the experience. He made it a point to watch Karan Johars Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which was shot at some of the most happening places in London. About the shooting of his film, a comedy, he says, We shot at the Piccadilly Circus, Notting Hill, Millennium Bridge and Tower Bridge. London is a clean and beautiful city. Hence, the shoot went off smoothly. He adds, Certain areas of London in terms of the architecture remind you of Mumbai. He was also impressed by the efficient Metropolitan Police Service, which traced a crew members bag, containing his important documents including his passport within two days. Kartik is a vegetarian and it was a unique experience for him being served a dosa made by an Englishman. He claims it was one of the best hes had. We visited a restaurant called Ping Pong. I loved their sticky rice and berry salad. Another famous eatery, The Pheasant Inn & Restaurant, situated near Heathrow, was where Pareshji and I chilled out. It was our getaway after the shoot. We had grilled food and pastas, he shares. Being a vegetarian, he rues that he wasnt able to enjoy the authentic culinary experience though and survived mostly on pizzas. Londons a shopping hub and shopaholic Kartik just let himself go. He mostly shopped at Carnaby Street, a pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, its home to fashion and lifestyle retailers. I bought pairs of shoes, watches, jackets and clothes. They were expensive but the quality was worth it. I also bought an iPhone, he says. He met a girl at the Apple store and found they shared a common friend. Whats more, she had seen Pyaar Ka Punchnama and his day was kind of made. The world is a small place indeed, he grins. Irish low-cost airline Ryanair plans to capitalize on Spains tourism bonanza by opening up new routes from the country where it is already the market leader. As of February, the carrier plans to launch flights from Madrid to the Italian city of Bari, and to Glasgow and Prague, while Barcelona is expected to see new services to Krakow, Luxembourg, Prague and Venice. A Ryanair plane at Spain's Castellon airport. M. Domenech At the same time, the airline will extend its winter flight schedule for both Madrid and the Catalan capital and boost the number of flights on a total of 12 existing routes from the two cities. Under the plans, Ryanair forecasts it will carry 6.7 million people a year out of Madrid, or 12% more than current capacity, while the predicted rise in passenger numbers from Barcelona is 10% to 7.1 million. The average ticket price for Ryanair flights in 2016 was 46 The company headed by Michael OLeary built on its position as the biggest airline in Spain in 2016, carrying 34.7 million passengers, a number it hopes will grow to 38 million this year, according to the carriers marketing director Kenny Jacobs. The executive said Ryanair would pass savings on to customers in the wake of a Spanish government move to reduce airport taxes by 11% until 2021. The average ticket price for Ryanair flights in 2016 was 46 but this is expected to come down to 41 at the end of March. Thats against an average of 151 across all other airlines, according to estimates made by the Irish carrier. Jacobs said the airline would continue to focus on short- and medium-haul flights in Europe with plans to add 220 new planes to its current fleet by 2024, but he noted that Ryanair was also looking at cooperating with IAG and Norwegian on long-haul flights. English version by George Mills. You know youre on the right track if Aamir Khan refers to you as a superstar on a public platform. You know youre in the fast lane if Hollywood sensation Vin Diesel comes calling a second time. You know youre popular when half of Mexico City screams their lungs out to wish you a happy birthday. Deepika Padukone is on the fast and furious track to international success. Her latest release xXx: Return Of Xander Cage has already created a storm in India and is going to be a sure shot success in global markets too. Back home, her ambitious film Padmavati, with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and an enviable cast comprising Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, has already begun to dominate headlines. But all the raves in the world cant sweep Deepika off her feet. She remains grounded and humble, forever focussing on doing the right thing. Even when at the top, she aspires to be better. She likes to face her fears and she loves the idea of a new challenge. Confident and fearless, this young girl has fought off many personal battles on her way. Shes conquered the West and she has a dozen candid confessions about her Hollywood adventures. Deepika talks about a racy, action-packed career from glitzy Los Angeles... What was it about xXx: Return of Xander Cage that made you go to Hollywood? Often as actors its difficult to come across scripts that are entertaining and still have a message at the same time. xXx: Return Of Xander Cage is all of that. Its an all-out popcorn entertainer with action, adventure and stunts. It has a few romantic beats as well. But the sweet spot of the movie is the fact that it has a socially relevant message. When I say that Im keeping in mind the current political situation in the world. xXx is relevant to the modern political climate but its also unmistakably fun like any other big Hollywood franchise. This is the kind of film you watch with a bunch of friends and a big tub of popcorn. What did you enjoy the most about the film? The fact that the female character of this film is so strong. Thats also a reflection of modern society where women contribute so much more. A few years ago, in the same kind of film, perhaps my character would be the damsel in distress who needs to be rescued. But in this movie, the girl characters are so strong that basically Vin Diesels character, Xander, has found his match in my character Serena Unger. This girl is equal to him in every respect. She challenges him, she excites him, shes smart, intelligent and funny. She can stand up for herself when she needs to and shes a key player in the group that she represents. These traits are exciting for me. Serena is a representation of what women are in the world today. Youve done your fair share of action films in Bollywood. Did that experience help you through the making of xXx? Of course. The training that I went through for my earlier films definitely helped. The very fact that Ive been an athlete worked to my advantage. You need agility to execute action and make the stunts look natural. So, the athlete in me, made that possible. xXx also has a lot of use of weapons, which was a new experience for me. I needed to train to handle these weapons. That required much practice. Doing stunts in a Hollywood film must have been a new high... I love it when I can use my physical flexibility to pull off stunts and slick action.I love it because it also allows me to showcase my tough and sporty side.I thoroughly enjoyed the stunts that used cable work. For me theres no difference between action and dance. I view action and stunts like choreography and dance routines. Its all about contributing and learning something new in the process. When you were away working in Los Angeles who or what do you miss the most from Mumbai? I missed the spice, the food, the aromas, the fragrance and the flavours of home. And of course, I missed my family the most. You must have experienced an all new culture in Los Angeles? I dont believe Ive moved to a new city. Id like to refer to it as an extension of my journey as an actor and a professional. Everyones career is this one long and amazing journey. Its full of these exciting moments and what you make of these situations in life is what matters the most. As far as xXx is concerned it came to me at a phase when I was looking for a solid challenge. The biggest challenge for me was moving out of my comfort zone. I guess, as actors over a period of time we tend get used to our environment. I thrive on challenges. I love being thrown in new situations and finding myself in an unfamiliar territory was exciting. I had to work with a director who Id never even met before. I had to perform in an entirely alien setup with new actors and a new kind of energy. Even their style of acting is so different from ours. The way they approach every scene is so distinct from the way we do. Whats the one big difference between Hollywood and Bollywood? Theyre exactly the same. The crew was new, the actors new and it involved new energies. But the process was exactly the same. When I see the technology and the techniques at work in our own film industry, I feel we are at par with Hollywood. That makes me proud of my parent film industry. We have a tendency to sometimes keep comparing ourselves to the West. But instead we should sit back and acknowledge how much weve achieved as an industry in the past 100 years. Its all about a process of learning. When we go to the West, we learn new things, new techniques about filmmaking. Similarly, when their technicians and actors come to work with us, they learn newer aspects of our filmmaking. As an actor what keeps you motivated? I have a career thats made up of so many different things. Each experience becomes a part of my professional life. As a creative person, you want to be part of films that excite you, challenge you and motivate you. As an actor, Id like to be part of films that will help me leave behind an amazing body of work. Whats your take on long-distance relationships? I dont think Im an expert with relationships in the first place. Also I havent dealt with a long distance relationship to know what goes into it. But I do believe relationships are what you make of them. They can be easy or complex, depending on what two people make out of it. End of the day it takes two people to make a relationship work. As long as theyre both on the same page, its good. Is 31 too early to think about marriage? I dont think marriage has anything to do with age. It depends on the state of mind of the person and all the situations and people in their life. I dont believe one should define marriage with the parameters of age at all. There are some people who dont get married till their mid-40s while there are also folks who tie the knot at 21-22. Personally, Im not ready for marriage. Aamir Khan referred to you as a superstar. How does that feel? At the surface level, it feels great. Its important to be honest with the work that you do and I believe everything else will just follow. I dont want to come under the pressure of labels and tags. I want to be free of all tags. I just want to enjoy my work without the baggage of expectations and burdens. I want to fly. I want to push myself and I want to have fun. Can it be overwhelming to be called the highest paid actress in India? I would be worried if I was labelled for the kind of films I did say if someone referred to me as a bubbly actor or as an actor who can only do a certain type of film. That sort of classification would worry me. Thats something that happens in our film industry. The generic tags of being a superstar or being well paid dont affect me at all. I feel proud that people call me the highest paid actress in Hindi films. I also feel humbled. I have better sense than to let these titles affect me. Eventually, its the work that matters. The reason I hold the title of the highest paid actress is because Im able to deliver at the box-office. I see that as an achievement not just for myself, but for women in my profession as well as working women around the world. Because its not just in the film industry, but in every other walk of professional life where women are dealing with this situation. They have to prove their capability to be paid well in keeping with their efforts. Ive achieved something with this particular epithet. But theres still a long way to go. Is there anything in your career that you believe, you havent achieved yet? After a certain stage, you realise that the feeling of wanting more is endless. The thought of what next is perennial, it just never goes away. Its like a bottomless pit. You may have done something and reached some place. But then youll eye another place or desire some other achievement. I wouldnt want to talk about my ambition. Deep down inside, I know what I want. Id rather achieve my goals than talk about them. But if you talk about just films, then Im itching to work on an all-out love story. Ram-leela, Tamasha, Bajirao Mastani youve done your share of romances on screen Yes, but thats something that Ive been dying to do for the past six-eight months. I just want to work on a simple, feel-good love story. So, Im just putting it out there. Letting the Universe know that I want to be in a nice romantic film. Whenever someone talks about depression on a public platform, your name is quoted as being the brave pioneer... When I see the change in the scenario and when I hear the kind of chatter and conversations that are happening around the subject of mental health, depression and anxiety, it makes me happy. The fact that today news channels and the media talk about it, write about it and more people are coming out to share their experiences with the world, makes me happy. Yeah, Gauri Shinde and Shah Rukh Khan made a film about mental health called Dear Zindagi. I havent seen the film yet. But when my foundation (Live Love Laugh Foundation) was launched about a year and a half ago, I remember Gauri Shinde attending our event. I didnt realise at that moment but she was enthusiastic about the fact that there was an initiative to talk about mental health. Ever since, her husband R Balki and she have been supportive of the cause. For someone who refers to herself as socially awkward, youre out jet setting and charting new territory in the West. I am socially awkward. Its not like that I dont want to be social or I dont like to go out. It means that its not always easy for me to be in those situations. I enjoy talking to people, I love meeting new people. I enjoy going out. But sometimes thats exactly opposite of the way I feel. Im truly awkward. But I guess, Ive overcome that by acknowledging thats just how I am. Ive accepted it. I dont try and fight that feeling. Sometimes I have people coming up to me and asking me, Are you bored? But Im not. Even if Im bored, Im enjoying myself in a situation where people are talking and Im observing all that. Do you have any fears or inhibitions still left to conquer? Im not scared of anything. Im absolutely fearless when it comes to my work. Which wasnt the case when I started off. And that fear or uncertainty came across and it showed on camera. I was conscious and too bothered by the idea of delivering my lines or making gestures in front of the camera. But over the years Ive changed. The changed occurred because I began trusting myself, my instincts and the directors I was working with. How does it feel when you get trolled on Twitter or any other public platform? Is that an invasion of your privacy? I would never give someone that power over me. Why would I allow someone elses opinion to affect my mood? Not at all. Everyone is entitled to having an opinion. Social media has given people a voice, which is a great privilege. But those individuals who are at the receiving end should know that fear is not an option. No one should live their life in fear of what others think about them. You should do and say everything that makes you feel complete and liberated. If someone doesnt agree with what you have to say, then its perfectly okay. You should just know how to deal with these situations and not allow them to affect you. How is Padmavati shaping up? I finished one massive schedule of Padmavati before I left for the promotions of xXx. Its been such a fabulous and creative experience. For 30 days we were continuously shooting at night. We were at it all the time. Yet the schedule felt like a breeze. It has a lot to do with the director Sanjayji (Leela Bhansali), my co-stars (Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor) and of course the crew. Were all energised to make this film and give it our best. I believe well be ready to release it even before we know it. Yesterday we told you that Tabu confirmed that she is a part of Ajay Devgn's Golmaal Again. Now, we have news coming in that yet another Bollywood actor is all set to join the cast and it's none other than Neil Nitin Mukesh! The actor will start shooting for the comedy after his destination wedding with Rukmini Sahay in Udaipur, which will be followed by a reception in Mumbai on February 17. BUZZ: Shahid Kapoor Took Inspiration From Leonardo DiCaprio For His Look In Rangoon? Talking about it, Neil was quoted saying to Mumbai Mirror, "It's an interesting character of a corporate tycoon who arrives on the scene to take the story forward. I'm an ardent fan of Rohit's work and like his brand of comedy. The script is hilarious, I was in splits during the narration." He further stated that comedy is a tough genre to attempt and added, "My prep for Golmaal Again mostly involves working on the physical aspects of the character." It would be quite interesting to watch Neil tickle our funny bone. What do you have to say guys? Directed by Rohit Shetty, the comic caper has an ensemble cast comprising of Ajay Devgn, Parineeti Chopra, Tabu, Arshad Warsi, Kunal Kemmu and Shreyas Talpade. Disha Patani: Girls Are More Than Just Props And Can Do A Lot In A Film! These Are Unfair Rulings & Bullying Tactics "Films are not planned in one or three days. It takes time. You can't say that you're going to ban a picture. You've been working for the last six months. These are unfair rulings and bullying tactics. You must give a cut-off period. It gives us time to finish our films and henceforth we will not take them.'' You Are Confusing Your Country "Sometimes some skirmish happens in the border and your whole thinking goes wrong. Sometimes you shake hands and say go ahead. You're confusing your country, people.'' Why Does PM Modi Have To Go To Pakistan? "Either you shake hands or don't shake hands. Why does Modi have to go to Pakistan and shake hands when you know skirmishes will happen," Rishi Kapoor said picking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Pakistan in December 2015 to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif. On Why He Is Rejecting Films "Kapoor & Sons for me is like I have created my own Frankenstein, my own monster. Now, whichever film is narrated to me, I reject it because I want it the same way.'' On His Autobiography "In my book, I have always tried to put myself down and talk about my weaknesses, losses and failures. I have just been as honest as I can. There are things I don't need to say but I have said also. It's like a confession box statement.'' We Don't Have Nepotism In Bollywood "There's a wrong notion in people's minds that actors' children have it very easy. We don't have nepotism in our industry. There are so many cases where actors' sons and daughters have failed also. It's only about the first film where you are launched. After that, you're on your own.'' TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 01/31/17 -- Eagle Graphite Incorporated ("Eagle Graphite" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: EGA) (FRANKFURT: NJGP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions, LLC ("Arrowhead") to advise on investor relations and shareholder communications. Arrowhead is a consulting firm based in New York City, which advises public companies on investor relations, financial communications and capital markets strategies to gain exposure to qualified investors and develop market awareness and understanding. Arrowhead disseminates corporate information and analysis to its investor network, which is comprised of institutional investment funds, family offices and individuals and organizes two-way communications between them and issuers it represents. The services agreement with Arrowhead is for a renewable six-month term, and includes targeted communications with investor groups, management of and assistance with the dissemination of company news, and the preparation and dissemination of a Company Profile for use within Arrowhead's extensive investor network. Total consideration for the first six-month term is US$30,000, to be paid by the Company, half of which is payable immediately, and the remainder after three months. The engagement will then renew for six-month terms under the same compensation conditions. Arrowhead has no prior relationship with the Company, has no direct or indirect interest in its securities, and has no right or intent to acquire such an interest. However, the principals of Arrowhead intend to seek an investment banking mandate from the Company, compensation for which may come all or partially in form of grant of shares. Apart from this, the principals of Arrowhead have no intention to acquire additional interest in the Company's securities on market or through any type of direct or indirect investment. Jamie Deith, Eagle Graphite CEO commented: "We are delighted to be working with Arrowhead to improve communications with the investment community. We have chosen to partner with Arrowhead after very careful diligence to ensure the best chance of achieving Eagle Graphite's near term communications objectives. Our company has a great story but most of the world has never heard of us; Arrowhead will help us to change that by introducing us to a new strategic audience." Daniel Renaud, Managing Director of Arrowhead, issued a statement: "We look forward to working with Jamie and his team to introduce Eagle Graphite and their Black Crystal Project, one of the only advanced stage Graphite projects in North America, to our investor network. With the growing demand for graphite across industry and in empowering the battery economy, we believe Eagle is in a key position to deliver value to its shareholders over the coming years." About Eagle Graphite Eagle Graphite Incorporated is an Ontario company that owns one of only two natural flake graphite production facilities in North America, located 35 kilometres west of the city of Nelson in British Columbia, Canada, and 70 kilometres north of the state of Washington, USA, known as the Black Crystal graphite quarry. The Company's shares are listed on the TSXV under the symbol "EGA", on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "NJGP", and on the US OTC market under the symbol "APMFF". About Arrowhead Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions is a family-owned New York City-based financial services provider which was founded in 2008, and which puts perspective, insight and advice at the disposal of its partners in the business community. Arrowhead maintains the www.abid.co private network to facilitate information exchange between investors and company managements. Cautionary Statements Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such information is based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such information. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. In evaluating forward-looking information, readers should carefully consider the various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company or its securities, its financial or operating results, as applicable. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Eagle Graphite Jamie Deith CEO Tel: +1-877-472-3483 Email: ir@eaglegraphite.com Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions Daniel Renaud Managing Director Tel: +1 212 619 6889 Email: eagle@arrowheadbid.com CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/31/17 -- Canadian Equipment Rentals Corp. (TSX VENTURE: CFL) ("CERC" or the "Company") has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Cooper Rentals Canada Inc. ("Cooper"), to sell all the assets of its wholly-owned subsidiary, 4-Way Equipment Rentals Corp. ("4-Way"), for cash proceeds of $8.5 million. "This transaction is the next step in strengthening our balance sheet and narrowing the focus of the Company to the upstream and midstream energy services industry," said Ken Olson, CFO of CERC. "The cash proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce bank indebtedness and provide us with greater re-financing flexibility." Proceeds from the transaction represent approximately 73% of current tangible asset book value and approximately 5.2x twelve month trailing September 30, 2016 EBITDA. The transaction, which is expected to close on or around February 9, 2017, is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange and customary closing conditions. CIBC Mid-Market Investment Banking is acting as exclusive financial advisor to CERC with respect to the transaction. About Canadian Equipment Rentals Corp. Canadian Equipment Rentals Corp. is a Canadian public corporation with two operating divisions: Energy Services and General Rentals. The Energy Services division is engaged in the rental of surface rentals and accommodations to the Western Canadian Oil and Gas Industry. The General Rentals division is engaged in the rental of industrial and construction equipment. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CFL". About Cooper Rentals Canada Inc. Cooper Rentals Canada Inc., headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, is a full-service construction equipment rental company, servicing contractors across Ontario and Quebec. Cooper specializes in the rental of compact, aerial and heavy construction equipment while providing a wide range of related services and supplies. Forward-Looking Statements and Information Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements or information may contain statements with the words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "budget", "should", "project", "would have realized', "may have been" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or expectations. In particular, forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release, include, but are not limited to, the closing of the sale of 4-Way assets on or around February 9, 2017 and the resultant greater re-financing flexibility. Although the Company believes that the expectations implied in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of assumptions about the future and uncertainties. Although management believes these assumptions are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will be proved to be correct, and actual results will differ materially from those anticipated. For this purpose, any statements herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new contrary information, future events or any other reason, unless it is required by any applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Ken Olson Chief Financial Officer P: (403) 930-5434 E: kolson@cercorp.ca TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Toshiba Corp. plans to stop building nuclear power plants after incurring billions of dollars in losses trying to complete long-delayed projects in the U.S., a move that could have widespread ramifications for the future of the nuclear-power industry, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a Toshiba executive familiar with the matter. The Japanese industrial conglomerate is set to announce plans to exit nuclear construction by the middle of February. The executive also reportedly said Toshiba's chairman, Shigenori Shiga, and Danny Roderick, a Toshiba executive and the former head of its Pittsburgh-based nuclear power unit, Westinghouse Electric Co., are expected to step down. Toshiba's decision deals a fatal blow to its ambitions to become a major player in the nuclear construction business. The company has bet aggressively on Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design, which it hoped would anchor a new generation of nuclear power plants that were supposed to be easier to build and to deliver on time. Westinghouse will continue to design nuclear reactors, the Toshiba executive reportedly said, and is expected to complete construction work at two U.S. nuclear facilities it is still in the process of building-in Georgia and South Carolina, commissioned by utilities Southern Co. and Scana Corp., respectively. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - January 31, 2017) - Doubleview Capital Corp. ("Doubleview") (TSX VENTURE: DBV) is pleased to announce a proposed non-brokered private placement financing of convertible notes (the "Notes") in the principal amount of USD $450,000 (the "Offering"). Each Note will bear interest at a rate of 5% per annum, payable quarterly, and will mature and be payable eighteen months from the date of issue of the Notes. The principal amount of the Notes will be convertible into Units (each a "Unit") at a price of USD $0.07866582 (being CAD $0.10) per Unit (the "Conversion Price"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of Doubleview and three quarters of one share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"), with each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share of Doubleview at a price of CAD $0.15 per share for a period of thirty months from the date of issue of the Warrants. Under the terms of the Notes, Doubleview will have the right to repay the outstanding principal amount under the Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest at any time. Further, Doubleview, at its election, may pay any accrued and unpaid interest through the issuance of common shares of Doubleview at the Discounted Market Price (as defined by the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange) at the time of the interest payment date. The institutional holders of the Notes will have a right of first refusal to participate in up to 50% of any future financings. During the term of the Notes, Doubleview has agreed to not issue any shares at a price below the Conversion Price. Doubleview will also have the right to force the conversion of the Notes and accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants. Subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, Doubleview will pay a finder a fee equal to $31,500 cash and 450,000 finders warrants in connection with the Offering. The finder's warrants will be on the same terms as the Warrants. The proceeds from the private placement will be used for general working capital purposes and exploration on the Hat Gold-Copper Porphyry Project. Closing of the private placement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. About Doubleview Capital Corp. Doubleview Capital Corp., a mineral resource exploration and development company, is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is publicly traded on the TSX-Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: DBV) (OTCBB: DBLVF) (GER: A1W038) (FRANKFURT: 1D4). Doubleview identifies, acquires and finances precious and base metal exploration projects in North America, particularly in British Columbia. Doubleview increases shareholder value through acquisition and exploration of quality gold, copper and silver properties and the application of advanced state-of-the-art exploration methods. The Company's portfolio of strategic properties provides diversification and mitigates investment risk. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Farshad Shirvani, President & Chief Executive Officer Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Doubleview cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Doubleview's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Doubleview's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Doubleview undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. For further information please contact: Doubleview Capital Corp. 409 Granville St., Suite #880 Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2 Farshad Shirvani President & CEO (604) 678-9587 corporate@doubleview.ca MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 01/31/17 -- Genius Properties Ltd. (CSE: GNI)(CSE: GNI.CN) ("Genius" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that further to its previous news release of January 20, 2017, the Genius common shares will commence trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange on February 1, 2017 on a consolidated basis of one (1) new post-consolidation common share for every five (5) pre-consolidation common shares (the "Consolidation"). As a result of the Consolidation, the Company's common shares will be reduced to 18,839,082. No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the Consolidation. Genius' name and trading symbol remain unchanged. Registered shareholders will be sent a transmittal letter from Genius' transfer agent, Computershare Investor Services Inc. in due course. The letter of transmittal will contain instructions on how certificate(s) representing pre-consolidation shares may be surrendered to the transfer agent in exchange for new share certificates representing the number of post-consolidation common shares to which the shareholder is entitled. The Board of Directors believes that the Consolidation will be beneficial to the Company in that it is expected to, among other things, provide the Company with greater flexibility in attracting financing. About Genius Properties Genius is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on developing projects with some of the world's most critical metals and minerals for use in various industries including in particular, batteries for storing electrical energy and the raw materials essential for Lithium-ion battery production. Additional information about genius and its exploration projects can be found at www.geniusproperties.ca. Forward-Looking Information Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. This forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Corporation, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information. The parties undertake no obligation to update forward-looking information except as otherwise may be required by applicable securities law. NEITHER THE CSE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE CSE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. Contacts: Genius Properties Ltd. Jimmy Gravel President & CEO jgravel@geniusproperties.ca www.geniusproperties.ca CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The New Zealand dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday. The NZ dollar fell to an 8-day low of 1.4866 against the euro and a 1-week low of 82.08 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.4763 and 82.47, respectively. Against the U.S. and the Australian dollars, the kiwi dropped to 2-day lows of 0.7259 and 1.0416 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7311 and 1.0370, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.51 against the euro, 80.00 against the yen, 0.71 against the greenback and 1.05 against the aussie. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML)(NYSE MKT: DNN) is pleased to announce that Denison Mines Inc. ("DMI") and 9373721 Canada Inc. ("SPV"), both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company, have entered into definitive agreements with Anglo Pacific Group PLC ("APG") and/or its wholly owned subsidiary Centaurus Royalties Ltd. ("Centaurus") which are expected to raise aggregate gross proceeds to Denison of CAD$43,500,000 (the "Financing"). The Financing is comprised of (1) a 13-year limited recourse lending arrangement involving a loan from APG to SPV (the "APG Loan") and a further loan from SPV to DMI (the "SPV Loan"), each for CAD$40,800,000 (the "Lending Arrangement"), and (2) CAD$2,700,000 in proceeds from the sale, to Centaurus, of a stream equal to Denison's 22.5% share of the proceeds from the toll milling of certain Cigar Lake ore by the McClean Lake mill ("Streaming Agreement"). Additional details are provided below. Denison's President & CEO, David Cates, commented, "This Financing represents a truly creative partnership between Denison and APG - whereby Denison is able to use its existing asset base to provide the Company with the financial flexibility needed to advance our flagship Wheeler River project towards a development decision. With recourse being limited to the proceeds from Denison's interest in the toll milling revenues from the processing of Cigar Lake ore at the McClean Lake mill, this Financing allows Denison to benefit immediately from the cash flow expected to be produced from the McClean Lake mill over the next several years, without the overhang of a bullet payment or convert at the end of a debt, and without selling its strategic ownership stake in the McClean Lake mill or the McClean Lake Joint Venture ("MLJV")." Commenting on the Financing, Julian Treger, Chief Executive Officer of APG, noted, "This transaction ticks all the boxes for APG and moves forward our growth and diversification in a material way. The transaction should be accretive to our 2017 income, building on the more than doubling of income in 2016, which we now estimate to be in the range of GBP 19.5m to GBP 20.5m, following receipt of the final payment amount from Rio Tinto in respect of our Kestrel royalty. We are looking forward to working in partnership with Denison, and are pleased the structure of the transaction will facilitate its continued development." The Financing is expected to close in early February, and is conditional upon APG obtaining sufficient financing. APG is a publicly listed company, which trades on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: APF) and on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: APY), and has announced (concurrently, with its own news release regarding the Financing) that it will launch an accelerated equity placement book building process, which is expected to close no later than 3:00PM (GMT) today. CAD$40,800,000 Lending Arrangement The proceeds from the APG Loan will be on-loaned by SPV to DMI under the SPV Loan, and will be available for use by DMI and/or Denison, as the Company continues to advance its 60% owned Wheeler River uranium development project towards the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"). Importantly, the SPV Loan is limited in its recourse against DMI, such that it is generally repayable only to the extent of Denison's share of the toll milling revenues earned by the MLJV from the processing of the first 215 million lbs U3O8, from ore received from the Cigar Lake mine on or after July 1, 2016, under the terms of the current Cigar Lake Toll Milling Agreement (the "TMA"). The APG Loan will accrue interest at a rate of 10% per annum, but does not have a predetermined principal repayment schedule. The APG Loan is secured by a first priority interest in the assets of SPV - which will essentially consist of the SPV Loan to DMI. The SPV Loan will accrue interest at a rate of approximately 10% per annum, and also does not have a predetermined principal repayment schedule. Denison will guarantee the limited recourse loan repayments and will grant a second ranking pledge of its shares of DMI to secure performance by DMI of its obligations to pay the SPV Loan (on the limited recourse basis described above). The share pledge is second ranking to Denison's existing pledge of the shares of DMI to The Bank of Nova Scotia ("BNS") under the terms of its CAD$24,000,000 Letters of Credit Facility ("BNS Facility"). Both the APG Loan and the SPV Loan provide for regular payments against accrued and capitalized interest and principal balances to the extent payable in respect of Denison's share of the toll milling revenue earned by the MLJV from the Cigar Lake TMA. CAD$2,700,000 Streaming Agreement The Streaming Agreement entitles Centaurus to receive a stream from DMI equal to the amount of the toll milling revenue received by DMI under the TMA, once throughput from the McClean Lake mill exceeds 215 million lbs U3O8, from ore received from the Cigar Lake mine, on or after July 1, 2016. Other Financing Highlights -- No Warranty of the Future Rate of Production - In addition to the limited recourse nature of both the Lending Arrangement and the Streaming Agreement, no warranty is provided by Denison, DMI or SPV to APG or Centaurus regarding the future rate of production at the Cigar Lake Mine and/or the McClean Lake mill, or the amount or collectability of proceeds to be received or receivable by the MLJV in respect of toll milling Cigar Lake ore. -- Denison Retains Ownership of its 22.5% Interest in the MLJV - While the Financing is limited in recourse to Denison's share of the toll milling revenues earned from the MLJV from the processing of Cigar Lake ores under the TMA, Denison continues to own its 22.5% strategic interest in the MLJV, including the fully licensed and operating McClean Lake uranium mill, which is situated in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region in northern Saskatchewan. -- Potential for an Additional CAD$2,124,808 in Proceeds from the Exercise of Warrants - In connection with the closing of the Financing, Denison will grant 1,673,077 share purchase warrants, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals (including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE MKT), in satisfaction of a CAD$435,000 arrangement fee payable to APG. The warrants are expected to have an exercise price of CAD$1.27 per share, and will be exercisable for a period of 3 years immediately following the closing of the Financing. As a result, Denison may receive a further CAD$2,124,808 in proceeds from the exercise of the warrants. -- Amendment and Extension of BNS Facility - The terms of the BNS Facility have been amended to reflect certain changes required to facilitate an Intercreditor Agreement between APG, Centaurus, BNS, DMI and SPV. Amongst those changes, BNS and DMI have agreed, on the closing of the Financing, to replace a restrictive covenant to maintain CAD$5,000,000 on deposit with BNS (under the previous BNS Facility) with a pledge of CAD$9,000,000 in restricted cash or GIC's as collateral. Under the amended BNS Facility, Denison will pay letter of credit fees of 0.4% on the first CAD$9,000,000 (associated with the restricted cash), and 2.4% on the remaining CAD$13,000,000 of letters of credit issued under the facility. This is expected to result in savings to Denison of approximately CAD$180,000 per annum in letters of credit fees. In addition to the amendments, the maturity date under the BNS Facility has been extended to January 31, 2018. -- Use of Proceeds - The net proceeds of the Financing are expected to be used to fund development and exploration expenditures at the Company's projects and for general corporate and working capital purposes. -- Advisors & Counsel - Denison's financial advisor in respect of the Financing is Pareto Securities Limited, and its legal counsel is Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. About Denison Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Including its 60% owned Wheeler River project, which hosts the high grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, Denison's exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering over 350,000 hectares in the infrastructure rich eastern Athabasca Basin. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit and a 63.01% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property. Both the Midwest and J Zone deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes", or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: the Financing and its anticipated completion, receipt of required regulatory approvals, the material terms of the Financing, anticipated use of proceeds and Denison's ability to derive the anticipated benefits thereof. Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the "Risk Factors" in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2016 available under its profile at www.sedar.com and in its Form 40-F available at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in its expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation. Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: This press release may use the terms "measured", "indicated" and "inferred" mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. Contacts: David Cates President and Chief Executive Officer (416) 979-1991 ext. 362 Sophia Shane Investor Relations (604) 689-7842 Follow Denison on Twitter @DenisonMinesCo Spanish director Pedro Almodovar will head the jury of this years Cannes film festival, said organizers on Tuesday. It is the first time in the events 70-year history that a Spaniard has been picked for the role. Pedro Almodovar and actress Adriana Ugarte in December 2016. Adam Nurkiewicz (Wire Image) The acclaimed Spanish moviemaker, famous for a wide range of films including Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Talk to Her and, most recently, Julieta, said he is grateful, honored and a bit overwhelmed by the appointment. I am aware of the responsibility that entails being the president of the jury and I hope to be up to the job. I can only tell that Ill devote myself, body and soul, to this task, that it is both a privilege and a pleasure, said Almodovar in a statement. A long and loyal friendship binds Pedro Almodovar to the Festival Festival President Pierre Lescure The festival will take place between May 17 and 28. For its 70th edition, the Festival de Cannes is delighted to welcome a unique and hugely popular artist. His works have already carved out an eternal niche in the history of film. A long and loyal friendship binds Pedro Almodovar to the Festival, where he was a member of the Jury under the presidency of Gerard Depardieu, said the President of the Festival, Pierre Lescure and Delegate-General Thierry Fremaux, in a press release. Even though Almodovar won the Oscar for best foreign film with All About my Mother, and the best director award at Cannes in 1999 for the same film, he has never received the coveted Palme dOr, the top prize at the glamorous event in the south of France. His film Bad Education inaugurated the 2004 festival, and Almodovar featured on the official poster of the 60th edition. Through the presence of this passionate film lover who constantly celebrates the magic powers of cinema and pays homage to the masters Sirk, Franju, Hitchcock and Bunuel, the Festival de Cannes pays tribute to a great international director and to a modern and free Spain, says the festival release. Ambu raises its outlook for the year after yet another strong Q1 with organic growth of 11%, an EBIT margin of 12.7% and free cash flows of DKK 43m. "Based on a strong Q1 last year, it is gratifying to see that we are starting the new year with double-digit growth and significantly improved earnings. Growth is driven by sales to hospitals, and sales of our single-use videoscopes continue to develop positively. We raise our expectations for growth and free cash flows and are thus well-positioned for realising our financial targets for 2016/17," says President and CEO Lars Marcher. Highlights -- Revenue of DKK 512m was posted for Q1, representing growth of 11% both in local currencies and in Danish kroner. -- The Anaesthesia business area grew by 19% and accounts for the group's entire growth. Patient Monitoring & Diagnostics (PMD) contributed growth of 0% (in local currencies). -- Europe contributed growth of 5%, North America 12% and the rest of the world 36% (in local currencies). -- Sales of single-use videoscopes are developing positively with sales of 59,000 units for the quarter. Sales volumes are thus up approx. 85% relative to Q1 last year. -- The gross margin was 53.7% (52.6%), corresponding to an improvement of 1.1 percentage point. The improved gross margin is attributable to a more profitable product mix combined with lower production costs. -- Capacity costs totalled DKK 210m (DKK 197m), equating to a net increase of 7%. The rate of cost was 41% (43%). -- EBIT for the quarter was DKK 65m (DKK 46m) with an EBIT margin of 12.7% (10.0%), equating to a 41% improvement in EBIT. -- Free cash flows before acquisitions of enterprises totalled DKK 43m (DKK 3m) for the quarter. -- The outlook for 2016/17 is raised. The outlook is now of organic growth of approx. 9-11% against the previously announced outlook of 8-10%, an unchanged EBIT margin before special items of approx. 18%, and free cash flows before special items in the region of DKK 200m as opposed to DKK 175m. Net interest-bearing debt is expected to be in the region of 1.6 x EBITDA rather than 1.75. Special items are made up of integration costs in respect of ETView Medical Ltd., and are expected to total approx. DKK 10m rather than the previously announced level of DKK 15-20m. A conference call is being held today, 1 February 2017, at 11.00 (CET). To participate, please call the following number five minutes before the start of the conference: +45 3544 5580. The conference can be followed via www.ambu.com/webcastQ12017 and is held in English. The presentation can be downloaded immediately before the conference call via the same link. Contact Lars Marcher, President & CEO, tel. +45 5136 2490, e-mail: lm@ambu.com Attachment: https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=612845 Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de STOCKHOLM, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Coor has signed a renewed agreement with SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) with an estimated contract value of some SEK 1 bn. In the agreement, SAS shows continued confidence in Coor to deliver integrated FM services (IFM) to several offices, hangars and technical facilities in Sweden, Norway and Denmark for a further six years. SAS is the Nordics' leading airline company. The extended IFM agreement means that Coor will coordinate, develop and deliver a large number of FM services to SAS, including property maintenance, cleaning and security. The agreement spans six years, with fixed annual subscription volumes estimated at some SEK 160 m. Variable project volumes are additional. "SAS is an important customer to Coor, who we've worked with since 2008, and we're delighted to be able to continue the collaboration for a further six years. The key to a satisfied customer lies in our ability to understand and continuously adapt our operations according to our customer's changing needs. In this case, we sought ways to further develop our partnership and increase transparency. We're now looking forward to the task of continuing to renew and improve our delivery alongside SAS", commented Mikael Stohr, President and CEO at Coor. One of the new services being introduced is improved delivery follow-up. Using clear key performance indicators will allow SAS to monitor progress and compare different national markets and locations in Coor's Performance Portal, a digital follow-up tool. "We've worked alongside Coor for eight years, and are now taking a further step towards a closer partnership. Besides balanced quality and price considerations, an effective and close collaboration based on trust and transparency is of great important to us," commented Bjoern Frivold, Head of Facility Management at SAS Group. For more information, images etc., please visit www.coor.seor contact: Mikael Stohr, President and CEO at Coor, Tel: + 46 10559 59 62, E-mail: mikael.stohr@coor.com AnnaCarin Grandin, President of Coor in Sweden, Tel: +46 10559 59 57 70, E-mail: annacarin.grandin@coor.com Asvor Brynnel, Communications and Sustainability Director at Coor, Tel: +46 10559 54 04, E-mail: asvor.brynnel@coor.com This information is information that Coor Service Management Holding AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on February 1, 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/coor/r/coor-extends-a-nordic-ifm-agreement-with-sas,c2177807 The following files are available for download: BROMMA, Sweden, Feb. 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ohman Group 1) and Nordic Capital Fund VIII 2) have through NNB Intressenter AB ("NNB Intressenter") announced a public offer to the shareholders of Nordnet AB (publ) ("Nordnet") to transfer all shares in Nordnet to NNB Intressenter (the "Offer"). Following completion of the Offer on 25 January 2017 NNB Intressenter owns and controls approximately 93.4 per cent of the capital and votes in Nordnet. 3) Following the Offer being declared unconditional and NNB Intressenter announcing its intention to complete the Offer, NNB Intressenter has requested Nordnet to convene an extraordinary general meeting to elect a new Board of Directors. The notice to the extraordinary general meeting to be held on 21 February 2017 is available at www.nordnetab.com. NNB Intressenter has furthermore today announced that it has recruited Peter Dahlgren and intends to propose to Nordnet's Board of Directors that Peter Dahlgren should be appointed CEO of Nordnet in the Spring 2017, succeeding Hakan Nyberg. "Working with Hakan is great fun! Some people are especially energetic, crepative and stimulating, and Hakan is indeed such a person and he is also loyal and offers a lot of drive based on good values. He will hand over a profitable and well run bank later this spring, following an exceptional contribution as CEO, where he has built structural capital and increased the drive for innovation at Nordnet, comments Claes Dinkelspiel, existing chairman of the Board of Directors of Nordnet. "Being CEO of Nordnet is the most fun job I have had and I firmly believe in the plans to further develop the company. As the company now goes into its next development phase, I feel it is quite natural to hand over to a new CEO. I will remain with the company until the new CEO joins, and will, of course, follow the development of Nordnet as a customer going forward", comments Hakan Nyberg, CEO of Nordnet. Peter Dahlgren is a member of the Group Executive Committee at SEB and since 2016 he serves as Head of division Life & Investment. Peter Dahlgren is born in 1972 and has since he joined SEB in 2008 served, inter alia, as Head of Investments at SEB's Life division, Head of Institutional Clients at SEB's Wealth Management division and Head of business area Life. Contact information: Tom Dinkelspiel, member of the Board of Nordnet and chairman of the board of NNB Intressenter Tel.: +46 (0)706-85 51 80 This information was submitted for announcement at 08:31 a.m. (CET) on 1 February 2017. 1) The "Ohman Group" refers to the companies E. Ohman J:or AB, reg. no. 556034-9689, Premiefinans K. Bolin AB, reg. no. 556199-8112, and Gummesson Gruppen AB, reg. no. 556083-6321, which are controlled by members of the Dinkelspiel family, and to 17 members of the Dinkelspiel family. 2) "Nordic Capital Fund VIII" refers to Nordic Capital VIII Limited acting in its capacity as general partner of Nordic Capital VIII Alpha, LP and Nordic Capital VIII Beta, LP, together with associated co-investment vehicles. Nordic Capital VIII Limited is a limited liability company established in accordance with the laws of Jersey, and with registered office in St Helier, Jersey. "Nordic Capital" refers to Nordic Capital Fund VIII and/or funds preceding Nordic Capital Fund VIII (depending on the context). 3) The outcome of the offer is calculated exclusive of the 614.079 own shares held by Nordnet on 25 January 2017. CONTACT: This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/nordnet/r/nnb-intressenter-recruits-peter-dahlgren-in-connection-with-the-acquisition-of-nordnet,c2178086 The following files are available for download: STOCKHOLM, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SAS's strategy is to focus on those customers who travel frequently to, from and within Scandinavia. SAS continuously develops its offering and network to meet this customer group's needs. The air travel market in Europe is experiencing intense price pressure and rising demand for leisure travel. To secure the company's long-term competitiveness and to take an active role in the growing leisure market, SAS is now taking a further step to reduce the cost differential to newly established competitors. If SAS is to secure the long-term profitability of key traffic flows and actively participate in the growing leisure market, SAS must have the same preconditions as other market participants. Therefore, SAS has decided to establish a new AOC in Ireland with operational bases in London and Spain. The aim is for the new operations to be up and running from winter 2017/2018, providing a smaller number of departures as a complement to SAS's existing production. "In line with SAS's strategy of focusing on those customers who travel frequently to, from and within Scandinavia, the majority of SAS's airline operations will continue to be based in Scandinavia moving forward. The establishment of new bases means we can complement our Scandinavian production and, in time, build an even broader network with a superior schedule to the benefit of our customers," says Rickard Gustafson, SAS President and CEO. The aircraft based in London and Spain will have the same customer offering and appearance as other airline operations at SAS and with corresponding requirements in terms of safety and standards. At the start, smaller start-up costs for the new AOC and new bases are expected to impact earnings. Initially, the financial effects from operations at these bases will be small, but will gradually increase as operations grow. In parallel with establishing the new AOC, SAS has planned further structural measures for its operations, in line with those announced in the 2015/2016 year-end report. For further information, please contact: SAS Press Office +46 (0)8797 29 44 Bjorn Tibell Head of Investor Relations +46 (0)70997 1437 This information is information that SAS AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.30 CET on 1 February 2017. CONTACT: This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/sas/r/sas-complements-its-production-with-a-new-air-operator-certificate--aoc--and-bases-outside-scandinav,c2177388 The following files are available for download: LONDON, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital gift card platform Reward Cloud have announced a major new partnership with Maple Syrup Media offering Quidco customers an incentivised 'cash out function'. All Quidco users will now have the opportunity to convert their cashback credits into a digital gift card from their choice of top retail brands, with a minimum 5% uplift on their credit value (and as high as 20%). Through the Reward Cloud's unique interface, Quidco customers will be presented with a menu of brands with the corresponding uplifts to choose from. The cash out function converts their 100 cash to 105, or 110 credit, depending on their choice of preferred retailer, ready to spend in-store or online- immediately. And for the retailers, the cashback is recycled back into their stores; driving revenue and sales, developing brand loyalty and reaching out to a whole new potential customer base. Win-win all round then? Ido Padani, CCO from MSM explains; "Our business is built on constantly evolving our proposition to reward members. This new partnership will allow an extra level of versatility when it comes to cashing out, putting an emphasis of providing more choice and value for our members. This is just one of many additional ways we're currently working to ensure our members have the best possible on-site experience." This deal with the UK's leading cashback site represents how the digital gift card industry is being revolutionised, with Reward Cloud at the forefront of this exploration of new and exciting distribution channels for retail partners. Gareth Gillatt, CEO and Co-founder of Reward Cloud adds, 'We're excited about working with Maple Syrup Media because it showcases how a digital gift card can be utilised in a completely new channel. It proves that a digital gift card programme can be immensely valuable for retailers, dispensing a variable value in real time.' Note to Editors: http://www.reward.cloud About Reward Cloud: Launched in 2016, Reward Cloud was founded by Gareth Gillatt and Alex Preece, who previously founded daily deal company Local Daily Deals before selling it to MoneySupermarket.com in 2011. A unique proposition in the digital gift card sector, Reward Cloud works through one simple API connection to generate and send digital gift cards to recipients on demand, instantly. No more waiting for a physical delivery, just instant gratification for the recipient. About Quidco Quidco was launched in 2005 by Paul and Jen Nikkel, Maple Syrup Media built its reputation as cashback pioneers with Quidco. We've since consolidated our credentials in the UK with grocery and travel specific ventures, CheckoutSmart and EarnAway. Our burgeoning team, based in London, Sheffield, Berlin, Paris and Durban, now operates Europe's largest portfolio of cashback and loyalty platforms. To date Maple Syrup Media has returned over 370 million cashback to customers and generated over 6.5 billion in incremental sales for retail partners. For more information, get in touch: Gareth Gillatt, Co-founder and CEO, gareth@reward.cloud Alex Preece, Co-founder and COO, alex@reward.cloud +44-(0)7841-867597 Espoo, Finland, 2017-02-01 09:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRV GROUP PLC PRESS RELEASE 1 February 2017, AT 10.00SRV's REDI Living Lab wins third prize in housing market Best Innovation of 2016 competitionSRV's REDI Living Lab, located in Suvilahti, Helsinki, has won third prize at the Asuntomarkkinat 2017 event in the housing market's Best Innovation of 2016 competition."REDI Living Lab is the presentation facility of the REDI project, implemented by SRV at Kalasatama in Helsinki, and also a modern housing sales office located right next to the construction site. In the Living Lab, visitors can get to know in a unique way the Kalasatama area, REDI's services and two test apartments of Majakka, which will be the first of the REDI tower buildings to open," says SRV's Antero Nuutinen, Senior Vice President, Housing in Finland.The competition jury, consisting of representatives from Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation Tekes, the construction industry magazine Rakennuslehti and the Finnish Housing Communications Centre, selected from the ten projects that entered the competition three finalists, which were presented at the Asuntomarkkinat 2017 event in Helsinki on 31 January. SRV entered REDI Living Lab into the competition due to the facility's unique character."As a construction project, REDI is so exceptional that it cannot be communicated using traditional means alone. Living in the REDI complex will be a holistic experience, the sum of many unique factors. The Living Lab also offers a foretaste of what living up high will be like at REDI. We are not building merely a shopping centre and new towers; we are creating a completely new kind of service culture for housing and living. REDI is a complex that is best presented in a presentation facility built especially for it," continues Nuutinen.REDI Living Lab opened its doors in January 2016. During its first year in operation, the facility has been visited by a total of nearly 5,000 people. In additional to housing sales events, the Living Lab has served as a venue for SRV client and stakeholder events as well as training courses. As its name suggests, development work also takes places in the Living Lab. Those who have reserved a REDI apartment are closely involved in planning the services of their future homes, which include, for example, common club premises and a lobby service familiar from the tower buildings of major cities. In addition to REDI, the Living Lab also presents the history and future of Kalasatama. On Helsinki Day, for example, the facility was visited by more than 700 people interested in the area. Those considering living in the REDI towers can also view, with the aid of a virtual reality headset, what different apartments and the interior design options of their new home would look like.REDI Living Lab will have an open doors event on Tuesday, 6 February, 2-6 p.m. You are most welcome to visit. You can also agree on some other time by contacting the housing sales team directly. The housing sales team's contact information can be found on the www.redi.fi website.Further information:Antero Nuutinen, Senior Vice President, Housing in Finland, SRV, tel. +358 40 531 4918, antero.nuutinen@srv.fi Heli Pulkkinen, Communications Specialist, REDI by SRV, tel. +358 50 411 0787, heli.pulkkinen@srv.fiYou can also acquaint yourself with REDI Living Lab via this video:https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B29NzRLLka5hblFnRVV1UF9kRTQ/view?usp=sharingPhotos of REDI Living Lab can be downloaded from the image bank intended for the media on SRV's website:http://srv.kuvapankki.info/welcome.php'sNickname=26b3d1c321c062bda1428f92661e497 d&cat=10000183www.srv.fiwww.redi.fiYou can also find us in the social media:Facebook LinkedIn Twitter InstagramSRV - Building for lifeREDI in briefREDI, implemented by SRV at Kalasatama, Helsinki, will comprise the inner city's largest shopping and experience centre as well as eight tower buildings. Below the centre will be a 2,000-space parking facility, usable by both the towers' residents and the shopping centre's customers. Construction work at REDI, Finland's largest urban construction project, was launched in spring 2015 and is expected to continue until 2023.The REDI shopping centre will open in autumn 2018 and Majakka, the first of the tower buildings to be completed, will receive its first residents in late 2018/early 2019. The remaining tower buildings will be completed in stages by 2023. STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At a Board meeting of SAS AB, the November 2015-October 2016 annual report for the SAS Group and its parent company SAS AB was presented and approved. The annual report is now available on the internet, www.sasgroup.net under Investor Relations, and will be printed and distributed to shareholders who have notified their interest to receive a copy. The annual report does not contain any new substantial information which has not already been disclosed in SAS's year-end report for 2015/2016 or via separate press releases. Annual General Meeting 2017 The annual general meeting in SAS AB will take place on 22 February 2017 at 15.00 CET at SAS's head office, Frosundaviks alle 1, Solna, Sweden. See the notice convening the annual general meeting which was published on 18 January 2017, for further information. For further information: SAS pressjour +46 8797 29 44 Bjorn Tibell, Head of Investor Relations, +46 70997 1437 This information is information that SAS AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.25 CET on 1 February 2017. CONTACT: This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/sas/r/sas-annual-report-2015-2016,c2177368 The following files are available for download: BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German conglomerate Siemens AG (SIEGY, SMAWF) on Wednesday lifted its earnings forecast for fiscal 2017 after a strong start to the year with significantly higher first-quarter profit. Orders, meanwhile declined in the first quarter. Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, 'With a strong first quarter and a considerably raised outlook for fiscal 2017, we are sending a clear signal. . We will continue to rigorously execute our strategy program Vision 2020 to even further strengthen our innovation power and customer proximity.' For fiscal 2017, Siemens now expects basic earnings per share in the range of 7.20 euros to 7.70 euros, compared to previous expectation of 6.80 euros to 7.20 euros. Siemens also raised expectation for the profit margin of Industrial Business to 11.0 percent to 12.0 percent from the previous range of 10.5 percent to 11.5 percent. The company said it continues to expect modest growth in revenue on constant currency basis. This reflects expectation of increasing headwinds for macroeconomic growth and investment sentiment in markets due to the complex geopolitical environment. The company also continues to anticipate that orders will exceed revenue for a book-to-bill ratio above 1. In its first quarter, Siemens' net income was 1.94 billion euros, 25 percent higher than last year's 1.56 billion euros. Earnings per share were 2.32 euros, compared to 1.87 euros a year ago. On a nominal basis, revenue grew 1 percent to 19.12 billion euros from 18.89 billion euros last year. Revenue was up 3 percent on a comparable basis, excluding currency translation and portfolio effects, benefited from a strong performance by short-cycle businesses. The company said revenue increased in the majority of industrial businesses. Orders of 19.55 billion euros, meanwhile, declined 14 percent from the previous year mainly due to a lower volume of large orders. The company said its order intake continues to exceed revenue. Power and Gas revenues increased 6 percent driven by strong execution from the backlog, particularly including large orders in Egypt, while orders plunged 40 percent. Wind Power and Renewables revenues grew 16 percent, while orders fell 24 percent. Digital factory and Healthineers segments recorded higher orders. In Germany, Siemens shares closed at 120.48 euros on Tuesday, up 2.49 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de POTSDAM, Germany, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- US President Donald Trump's entry ban on seven majority-Muslim countries is already impacting international air traffic. "Since the executive order became effective, we have registered a significant increase in the number of complaints over transatlantic flight delay," says Eve Buchner, founder and CEO of refund.me. Airlines are obliged to comply with government regulations. However, passengers must be appropriately accommodated even in such extraordinary circumstances. Air traffic restrictions can lead to uncertainty on the ground, resulting in considerable delays during check-in. For example, the Dutch airline KLM recently published a note on their website informing passengers about the situation and offering optional flight change or refund services for those affected. Eve Buchner advises passengers to inquire with airlines before departure, or to seek advice from the relevant embassies. "In any case, passengers should claim compensation for the ticket they cannot use because they are denied to travel. The changes in visa and entry regulations could not be anticipated and must not burden the flight passenger." About refund.me: Since its foundation in 2012, refund.me has assisted individual airline passengers and business travel buyers from 145 countries in securing compensation from 350 airlines for flight delays, cancelations, missed connections, and re-routings covered by European Union (EC) 261/2004 legislation. An estimated 11 million passengers per year are eligible for 5.5 billion in compensation for flight disruptions covered under EU 261/2004. There is no financial cost or risk to companies as refund.me operates on a no-win, no-fee basis. Refund.me has a 94% success rate in securing compensation. Media Contact press@refund.me 0172-905-18-69 BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3:45 am ET Wednesday, Markit Economics is due to release its manufacturing PMI figures for Italy. PMI reports for France and Germany are due at 3:50 am ET and 3:55 am ET, respectively. The manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone is due 4:00 am ET. Ahead of the reports, the euro showed mixed trading against the other major currencies. While the euro rose against the U.S. dollar and the yen, it fell against the pound and the Swiss franc. As of 3:40 am ET, the euro was trading at 0.8582 against the pound, 1.0682 against the Swiss franc, 1.0793 against the U.S. dollar and 122.43 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Mexicans cross the border into the United States in search of better wages, while US companies head south to save on labor costs. The average monthly salary for a Mexican worker employed in the United States at the end of 2016 was $1,870. In comparison, the average wage in Mexico was six times lower, at $291 a month. The US-Mexican border at Nuevo Laredo. Daniel Becerril (REUTERS) More information Un trabajador mexicano cobra seis veces mas en EE UU que en su pais The $22,235 the average Mexican earns a year in the US falls short of the minimum annual salary in more progressive states such as California or New York, where the level is around $23,000. Furthermore, the base of the pyramid of salaried Mexicans is very broad: some 40% earn between $10,000 and $19,000, according to official figures. It is also necessary to take into account the cost of living in the two countries. It costs twice as much to fill the average shopping basket in the United States as in Mexico, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). After taking into account the gross salary gap, the difference in income would still be around three times bigger north of the border. Mexico is among the worlds 30 countries with the highest levels of inequality Part of the gap has to do with education and training levels. This is why the profile of immigration has been changing. Many workers with masters and doctorates stay in the United States, says Gerardo Esquivel from the Colegio de Mexico. But these differences respond to very different labor and productivity structures. And most importantly, this gap has hardly shrunk since the entry of the free trade deal [1994]. These figures show that Mexico has not been the winner in NAFTA. Despite an increase in foreign trade and investment, the salary difference has not been reduced, he adds. More than two decades of NAFTA have seen US direct investment in Mexico increase sixfold. But Donald Trump has forced Mexico to renegotiate NAFTA, saying he intends to protect jobs and rebuild the countrys industrial capacity. The effect of this could impact on the production chain connecting Mexico and the United States, which is fed on one side by technology and added value, and on the other by logistics and low salaries. It costs twice as much to fill the average shopping basket in the United States as in Mexico Mexicos competitiveness is largely based on these two factors. The automotive industry, for example, generates around a million jobs in the country. The majority are employed on production lines, while the positions requiring better training, such as design, engineering and research are almost always located in Europe, Japan and the United States. Over the last decade, salaries in Mexican car plants have risen by barely 10%. In China, they have risen by more than 15%, according to a report by the CIDAC think tank. Mexico is among the worlds 30 countries with the highest levels of inequality, according to the UNs Development Program, ahead of countries such as Nigeria and Congo. The income of the wealthiest 10% is 21 times higher than the poorest 10%, according to official figures. The minimum salary does not cover basic needs and is below the poverty line, where almost half the population finds itself. Over the last two years, some two million people have joined the ranks of the poor. English version by Nick Lyne. HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Energistics announced today that David C. Johnson VP of Research and Innovation at Petrolink has been elected to its Board of Directors. Mr. Johnson has worked for more than 20 years as a developer, designer, database administrator, real-time advisor and product manager for companies including Landmark Solutions, Halliburton and Kongsberg. David has been active in industry data standards including the Energistics community since its inception and previously held the position of Co-Chair of the WITSML Special Interest Group. He joined the energy industry as a software designer and developer in Canada, later moving to the United States to manage a team of people providing data management and engineering technologies. David graduated with a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada with a specialty in databases and data management. On his election as a board member of Energistics, David said, "I am honored to be part of the Energistics Board of Directors. Our industry is experiencing a critical change in the way we operate and looking for ways to increase productivity and cut costs. The use of the Energistics open data exchange standards can help organizations streamline their operations for better and faster decision making." Ross Philo, President and CEO of Energistics, said, "We are delighted David has joined our Board. His vast industry experience added to his years working with Energistics Special Interest Groups makes David a truly valuable technical resource. We are confident his contributions to the Board will help advance the adoption of our standards." In addition to Mr. Johnson, the members of Energistics' board are Ross Philo; Ben Williams, VP and CIO - Devon Energy who serves as Chair, Matthias Hartung, Vice President Technical Data - Shell, who serves as Vice Chair; Elinor Doubell, Information & Data Management Lead - BP; Robin Goswami, VP, Head of the Energy (Oil & Gas) Practice - Infosys; Vasu Guruswamy, VP SIS Services - Schlumberger; Tommy Husvaeg, Principal Director - Accenture; Peter Eils Nielsen, Chief Geologist - Statoil; Bryan Pate, Upstream Technical Data Support Manager - ExxonMobil; Ray Smelley, General Manager, Technical Computing & Chief Information Officer - Energy Technology Company, Chevron; Eric Toogood, DISKOS Manager - Norwegian Petroleum Directorate; Evelyne Tourte, Vice President, Information Systems - Total and Chandra Yeleshwarapu, Director, Information Management & Platform Technologies - Halliburton-Landmark. About Energistics Energistics is the leading oil and gas industry data standards body. We are a global, non-profit consortium established over 25 years ago to bring together upstream oil and natural gas industry professionals in a neutral and collaborative environment to develop and deploy open data exchange standards and to address oil and gas information sharing challenges. Our members consist of integrated, independent and national oil companies, oilfield service companies, hardware and software vendors, system integrators, regulatory agencies and the global standards user community. For more information, visit our website at www.energistics.org. Contact: Susan Morgan susan.morgan@energistics.org LONDON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --The Japan Exchange Group ("JPX") has taken a minority stake in OpenGamma, a leading provider of derivatives risk analytics. The JPX investment follows an earlier $13.3 million round of institutional investment in October 2016, which included Accel Partners, NEX (formerly known as ICAP), Euclid Opportunities and ex-SunGard CEO Cristobal Conde. This fundraising positions OpenGamma for rapid expansion as it seeks to provide an objective view of the all-in costs for derivatives users, helping the sell-side to minimise their balance sheet usage and the buy-side with the information they need to make smarter counterparty decisions. "JPX has an established tradition of leading the charge to provide efficient and innovative management of risk for Japan's financial and capital markets," said Peter Rippon, CEO of OpenGamma. "This track record makes them ideal partners and catalysts for our mission of enabling derivatives users to make smarter trading and clearing decisions." "We've followed OpenGamma's transformation from an innovator in the development of open source software into an important risk analytics provider for institutional finance," said Takeshi Hirano, Executive Officer of JPX. ABOUT OPENGAMMA OpenGamma is a leading provider of risk analytics for the derivatives markets. Its solutions help derivatives users explore the pricing, execution and clearing models that underpin the commercial relationships between market participants. Its nimble, flexible and open approach has enabled it to build a wide range of bank, asset management, hedge fund and clearing house clients. Based in London, OpenGamma is a pioneer in open source and cloudbased financial software, and is involved in initiatives investigating the potential of blockchain technologies for derivatives. Learn more at http://www.opengamma.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jpx-takes-minority-stake-in-opengamma-300399931.html CAIRO, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fujitsu today announces that it is supporting the Egyptian government in conducting the first population census to be based entirely on digital processes. Fujitsu will provide hundreds of STYLISTIC tablet devices plus data center services for the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data. Automating and digitalizing the census process is expected to halve the time it takes to gather and evaluate data from Egypt's population of around 94 million, as well as increasing data accuracy and reliability. The Egyptian census takes place every five years. Starting in February and running over several months, the 2017 census is managed by Egypt's official statistical agency, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The final report is expected as soon as July 2017 - which will represent the fastest-ever turnaround for a census of this magnitude. Fujitsu STYLISTIC Q555 tablets will be used to collect population data, going door to door visiting Egyptian households. Data will be transferred via LTE/3G connections, and centrally stored and analyzed in the new CAPMAS data center in Egypt. The data center, which went live in 2016, has been delivered, installed and is being supported by Fujitsu and includes Fujitsu PRIMERGY RX2540 M2 servers and ETERNUS DX storage systems, as well as Fujitsu ETERNUS CS800 for backup. The Fujitsu tablets that will be used in the census were chosen for their ability to withstand demanding usage over long periods, and provide all-day operation even under difficult conditions, such as extreme temperatures and dusty environments. AboBakr ElGendy, President of CAPMAS, comments: "As this is the first time that we will conduct a census that is fully based on digital technology and does not use paper ledgers at any stage in the process, it was very important to us to select a technology partner capable of supporting this major project. We selected Fujitsu because of its all-round capabilities - in building and operating our new data center, and the Fujitsu STYLISTIC tablets for their robust, lightweight design, high reliability and enterprise-grade security features." Ayman Abdel Rahman, Managing Director of Fujitsu Egypt, said: "Supporting the census is a high-profile element of our role in helping digitalize services provided by the Egyptian government, and we are excited to be supporting this milestone project. Holding a census is a huge undertaking when you think about the sheer volume of data that needs to be gathered, and the fact that it literally comes from all over the country. By digitalizing census processes, the government will save significant amounts of time. With its first fully digital census, Egypt is leading the way in making the gathering and evaluation of statistical data more efficient and reliable." Following the completion of the census, the Egyptian government is planning to provide the tablets to schools for educational purposes. About Fujitsu: http://www.fujitsu.com/eg/about/ Media contacts Isabell Horvath Tel: +49-(89)-62060-4419 E-mail:isabell.horvath@ts.fujitsu.com ZURICH, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- La Prairie partners with the renowned art fair slated for June 15-18, 2017 in Basel. In 2017, Swiss luxury skincare brand La Prairie will partner with Art Basel, the world's leading art platform, in a first-of-its-kind partnership. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463455/Art_Basel_Logo.jpg ) (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463460/La_Prairie_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463456/La_Prairie_Art_of_packaging.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463459/La_Prairie_Science_and_Arts.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463457/La_Prairie_brand_seal.jpg ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463458/La_Prairie_design.jpg ) As part of this exciting initiative, La Prairie will be present in Art Basel's Collectors Lounge throughout the duration of the fair, where VIPs will have the opportunity to experience the La Prairie universe and enjoy customized La Prairie treatments. Using rare, precious ingredients, La Prairie continues to break the codes of luxury skincare. Founded on the belief that the scientist's creative process is akin to that of the artist, every La Prairie formulation begins with an audacious vision. "We are very excited about the partnership between La Prairie and Art Basel, which we feel perfectly represents our quest for timeless beauty and our passion for audacity," said Patrick Rasquinet, President and CEO of La Prairie Group. "Indeed, from the painstaking research behind our scientific breakthroughs to the opulent formulations that envelop the senses, from the jewel-like packaging to the high-touch service, art is not just what La Prairie is, it is what we do," he added. That innovative spirit is mirrored in the world of contemporary art. "We are delighted to be partnering with La Prairie, a companythat, like Art Basel,hasSwiss rootsand has built a global reputation for unparalleledexcellence," says Marc Spiegler, Art Basel's Global Director. In addition to establishing the partnership with the art fair, La Prairie will also mark the 30th anniversary of its iconic Skin Caviar. To celebrate the occasion, La Prairie plans to collaborate on a scientific and artistic innovation with a select group of contemporary artists, to be announced at a later date. About La Prairie La Prairie is the leader in luxury skincare, present in 90 countries around the world. Synonymous not only with luxury, the La Prairie name evokes innovation, performance, high-touch service and Swissness - the purity, precision, innovation and craftsmanship inherent to the extraordinary land that saw the brand's inception in 1978. La Prairie endeavors to fulfill a quest for timeless beauty through the highest standards of advanced technology combined with exquisite formulations and elegant packaging - elevating science to art. About Art Basel Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for Modern and contemporary works, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel's engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives. In 2014, Art Basel launched its Crowdfunding Initiative, in collaboration with Kickstarter. This initiative presents jury-selected art projects to potential benefactors, which include Art Basel's vibrant audience and the Kickstarter community. The initiative has catalyzed much-needed support for outstanding non-commercial art projects worldwide and so far has helped pledge over $1.2 million to creative projects around the world. For Art Basel Cities, launched in 2016, Art Basel is working with selected partner cities to develop vibrant and content-driven programs specific to the individual city. Connecting them to the global art world through Art Basel's expertise and network, Art Basel Cities supports its partners to develop their unique cultural landscape. For further information please visit artbasel.com. Press Contact Florent Canepa - Global Communications & PR Director florent.canepa@laprairie.com +41-44-947-82-10 1 February 2017 Board Appointment Matthew Lester appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Capita plc Capita plc ('Capita') announces the appointment of Matthew Lester as an Independent Non-Executive Director, with effect from 1 March 2017. Matthew will be appointed to the Nomination, Remuneration and Audit and Risk Committees on joining the Board. Matthew will also be appointed as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee once Paul Bowtell steps down from the Board on 31 May 2017. Matthew is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience in senior finance roles. He is currently the Group Chief Financial Officer of Royal Mail plc and a Non-Executive Director of Man Group plc, where he is Chair of the Audit Committee. Prior to his current roles, Matthew was Group CFO at ICAP plc, Group Finance Controller and Treasurer at Diageo plc and started his career in various corporate finance roles. Andy Parker, Chief Executive of Capita, said: "Matthewbrings a wealth ofbusiness and financial strategy and managementexperience to Capita, gained fromthe Board and senior finance roles he has held across a broad range of leading quoted companies." Sir Ian Powell, Chairman of Capita, said "We are delighted to welcome Matthew to the team. His skills and experience willadd further depth and strength to the Capita Boardand we very muchlook forward to his contribution." The Board considers Matthew to be independent. The Company has no further information to be disclosed under paragraph 9.6.13 of the UK Listing Authority Listing Rules. - Ends - For further information: Capita plc Tel: 020 7799 1525 Shona Nichols, Executive Director, Communications Media enquiries only: Capita press office David Hendy Tel: 020 7654 2137 or 020 7654 2399 (out of hours) Email: david.hendy@capita.co.uk Note to editors Capita is a leading UK provider of technology-enabled customer and business process outsourcing and professional support services. With 75,000 people at over 500 sites, including 94 business centres across the UK, Europe, India and South Africa, Capita uses its expertise, infrastructure and scale benefits to transform its clients' services, driving down costs and adding value. Capita is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (CPI.L), and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 with 2015 revenue of 4.7 billion. Further information on Capita can be found at: www.capita.com. Aguia de Ouro samba school to present theme on raising awareness of animal rights. The most committed can join the parade with their pets through the initiative, "Your Pet on the Avenue" SAO PAULO, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brazil's Carnival is recognized worldwide.It astonishes the world with its beauty, grandeur and the joy of all those people, as the biggest Carnival celebration in the world. It has years and years of tradition behind it, with all kinds of celebrations all over the land. But undoubtedly, the parades that take place in the sambadromes, both in Sao Paulo as well as Rio de Janeiro, attract the most international attention with the shows they put on. Defying Brazil's Carnival conventions, and embracing a greater awareness of animal rights, the Paulistana samba school, Aguia de Ouro('Golden Eagle') -www.aguiadeouro.com.br- has teamed up with one of the country's major activists to help increase the visibility of this subject. The school will not use any feathers at all in its show. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/462590/Aguia_de_Ouro.jpg Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/462591/Documentary_Blackfish.jpg Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/462589/PetInTheParade.jpg It is estimated that every year, the 26 parades of special groups in Sao Paulo (14) and Rio de Janeiro (12) cost something on the order of US$35 million. In this setting, more than 19 tons of feathers are used for embellishment and to make the party happen from an aesthetic standpoint. A Carnival without feathers seems impossible to most carnavalescos, who use them in countless circumstances - whether it is to produce more dazzling costumes or even to hide the trim on the floats. In each parade about 750 kilos of feathers are used, selling at an average rate of US$330 per kilo, in other words, each samba school consumes more or less US$330,000 in feathers, which works out to more than US$8.5 million just for the major productions. "These statistics are just for the special groups, but throughout all of Brazil there are so many celebrations with shows, and feathers are always present. It's an endless story, with a lot of death behind the celebration," as carnavalescoAmarildo explains. Specifically for the festival, the most commonly used are duck, pheasant and ostrich feathers. The ostrich feathers are grand and imposing.Contrary to appearances, though, they are not "given away" by the creature as if they had fallen out naturally. On the contrary, they are mostly pulled out by force. Ostriches go through this process their whole life long. Pheasants, on the other hand, and also geese, are often bred in captivity just to have their feathers yanked out. "We had to do a lot of work to develop alternatives for a Carnival without feathers.We replaced them with elements made from plastic PET bottles," he concludes. Your Pet on the Avenue One float will be devoted to stories from the movies featuring animals as great stars. It will be carrying a big screen displaying more than 80,000 photos of persons engaged in the cause with their pets. The project "Your Pet on the Avenue" will help the school, and some of the proceeds will be allocated to the Rancho dos Gnomos Ecological Sanctuary Association (Associacao Santuario Ecologico Rancho dos Gnomos), which takes in animals of various species. To participate, just click on the link www.petintheparade.com, fill out the registration form, make a donation of US$15, US$30 or US$60 via Paypal, and send the photo you'd like to see appearing in the parade. Aguia de Ouro will be the 7th samba school to appear on the Avenue on February 24, on the first day of parades by the schools in Sao Paulo's Special Group. When the school enters the avenue, the participants will receive an e-mail announcing the start of the parade. "We want the whole world to be on the avenue with their pets, whatever they may be," Amarildo exclaims. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaTP43nUMXU&feature=youtu.be Honors and Attractions With the slogan "Love is repaid with love," the school will bring to the avenue a variety of references touching on this subject. Dogs, because they have such a strong bond with people, are in first place, but many other animals will also put in an appearance. Among those honored are the whale Tilikun, the gorilla Harambe,and the Brazilian jaguar Juma. One single float portrays the story of these animals: the orca from Orlando's SeaWorld in the U.S., featured in the documentary 'Blackfish; the gorilla, who was killed in a zoo in Cincinnati (OH) after he grabbed a 4 year-old boy who fell into his enclosure; and the jaguar who was put down by the Brazilian Army after the Olympic torch passed through the city of Manaus, Brazil, during the 2016 Olympic celebrations. Their stories, as matters of worldwide concern, are told to draw in an ever increasing number of persons to reflect on how much animals suffer when kept out of their natural habitat, which often leads to their death. "Animal rights have made it to samba," exclaims the school's carnavalesco, Amarildo de Mello. He goes on to say that this giant step forward proves how Brazil is on the path to greater awareness, but makes it plain that the country is still a beginner in this subject when compared to the rest of the world. "We are continuing in the effort to prove to the greatest possible number of people that animals deserve our respect," concludes Luisa Mell, ambassador of the school and one of Brazil's leading activists in this cause. Other stories will be represented in the parade.Besides the movies, the school also addresses the issue of circuses,emphasizing that the ring is not the forest, and taking a position against the use of animals in circus spectacles. There will also be a wing of the parade in honor of seeing-eye dogs, who will be leading blind people and their relatives in the parade. Characters such as Snoopy, Scooby-Doo, Rin Tin Tin, Santa's Helper (from the Simpsons), as well as animals created by Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa, will also appear. Samba theme song 2017 - Aguia de Ouro Dawn has broken, the sun is up I'm a passionate one in the parade Who truly loves you And will never make you suffer If a flood comes I won't forget you Like Noah did Lost in towers of Babel But I will always be with you Character of great stories Thrills on the silver screen Star that inspires It's yours, the walk of fame of my carnival Makes children laugh When the villain fails A valiant hero, and oh so funny Attraction of animated cartoons Today my Aguia comes to ask For mankind to reflect It is a new era, a new view The ring is no forest Nor is the pool an ocean Like Luisa Mell does Defend all animals Protect these companions Who guide and assist And who risk their lives for us They are angels sent from heaven Who clamor for a better future An artist's soul Lady or the Tramp Friend of the world Your gaze is a caress Court the moon in my shed Love that never ends Technical Sheet Aguia de Ouro Sidnei Carriuolo | President Amarildo de Mello | Carnavalesco Renato Candido | Director Activists Luisa Mell |Instituto Luisa Mell Luli Sarraf | Celebridade Vira Lata Mariana Castro | ItPetBlog Contact: Lola Soares lola.soares@misasi.com.br +55 11 30469575 +55 11 959043004 Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/462588/LogoAguiaDeOuro_Logo.jpg Marel will release the company's consolidated financial statement for 2016 after market closing on February 8, 2017. Marel hf. invites market participants and investors to a meeting where the financial results for 2016 will be presented by Arni Oddur Thordarson, CEO, and Linda Jonsdottir, CFO. The presentation will be held on Thursday, February 9, at 8:30 am (GMT), at the company's headquarters, Austurhraun 9, Gardabaer. Please note that the meeting will also be webcast.: www.marel.com/webcast Breakfast will be served from 8:00 am. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - U.K. shares rallied in early trade Wednesday as upbeat Chinese manufacturing data helped lift oil and mining stocks. U.K. and Eurozone manufacturing data also painted a positive picture of regional economies. Activity in the U.K. manufacturing sector expanded in January for the sixth straight month, the latest data from Markit revealed, with a final PMI score of 55.9, down from a previously revised 56.1 reading, matching forecasts. Eurozone manufacturing sector expanded more than initially estimated in January to the strongest level in sixty-nine months, final data from IHS Markit showed. The corresponding PMI climbed to 55.2 from 54.9 in December. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 66 points or 0.93 percent at 7,165 in late opening deals after declining 0.3 percent on Tuesday on growing worries about U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies. Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto climbed 1-2 percent while energy major Tullow Oil advanced 1.8 percent and Royal Dutch Shell added half a percent. Drugmakers AstraZeneca, Shire and Hikma Pharma rallied 2-3 percent after Trump on Tuesday played a balancing act between controlling prices and loosening regulations. Shares of TalkTalk Telecom, a telecom and internet services provider, soared 7 percent. The company announced that Chief Executive Dido Harding will step down after seven years in the position. Rolls-Royce Holdings advanced 1.5 percent and Smiths Group rose 2 percent on brokerage upgrades. Brewer Diageo gained half a percent after announcing plans to open a Guinness brewery and visitor center in the U.S. Telecoms giant BT Group rose over 2 percent after its network division appointed two members to its independent board. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 1, 2017) - In anticipation of a scheduled summer 2017 drill program, Jaxon Minerals Inc. (TSXV: JAX) (FSE: 0U3) ("Jaxon" or the "Company") continues to review recent and historic data on the Price Creek volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) property. Highly anomalous precious and base metal values were recorded from surface samples over a widespread area within the Max target, one of several prospective targets on the property, with mineralization exposed over a vertical extent of 750 metres within a one square kilometre area. Surface Rock Chip and Grab Samples 112 mineralized rock chip-grab samples were collected from the property. Of these: The highest recorded silver value was 3,398 g/t Ag. Sixteen samples recorded silver values in excess of 250 g/t Ag. The highest recorded lead value was 39.46% Pb. Ten samples recorded lead values in excess of 10% Pb. The highest recorded zinc value was 18% Zn. Six samples recorded zinc values in excess of 10% Zn. The highest recorded gold value was 12.7 g/t. Twenty samples recorded gold values in excess of 1 g/t. The ten highest silver equivalent values are summarized in the table below. Sample # Ag (g/t) Pb (%) Zn (%) Au (g/t) Ag Eq g/t* 1050803 419 14.0 11.6 2.6 1,404.0 1050804 347 6.5 7.0 1.3 860.8 1050807 469 39.5 9.8 0.6 2,053.1 1050808 480 26.8 6.5 2.9 1,722.5 1050809 481 27.2 6.4 3.4 1,767.5 1050811 353 30.6 0.5 2.0 1,453.7 1050812 3398 15.1 11.9 2.3 4,403.2 1050814 233 7.5 10.1 1.2 869.5 1050815 286 16.2 12.1 0.4 1201.4 1050818 1231 5.8 9.6 0.4 1744.9 Channel Samples Over 175 metres of cut channel samples were collected from 6 trenches. Each channel sample represents a 1 metre long interval and averaged 10 kilograms in weight. A total of 174 cut channel samples were taken and preliminary assaying indicates high quantities of Ag and Au, and multi-percent values of Pb and Zn. However, a significant number of samples assayed for silver, zinc and lead exceeded the maximum threshold for the assay method used (see table below). These over-limit samples may be re-assayed to determine their true metal content. Metal # Over-limit Samples Max Threshold Silver 32/174 > 100 g/t Lead 51/174 > 1% Zinc 75/174 > 1% Manganese 91/174 > 1% "We're very excited to see these kinds of bonanza silver and base metals grades distributed over a large surface area and a vertical extent of 750 metres," said Jason Cubitt, Jaxon's president and CEO. "Price Creek is obviously mineral-rich at surface-but what's most interesting to us is that, although the property bears all the hallmarks of an Eskay Creek style precious and base metals rich VMS deposit, it's never been explored as such." Jaxon continues to review data from recent and historic work on the Price Creek property. This data will inform the planned spring / summer drill program and further results will be released as appropriate. Jaxon also advises that it has elected not to pursue the Hot Bath property in northern British Columbia. * For the purposes of silver equivalent calculation, the following metals prices were used in the table above: US$18.2/oz silver, US$1,240/oz gold, US$0.91/lbs lead and US$0.94/lbs zinc. This news release has been reviewed by Glen Macdonald, P.Geo. (a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, Standards and Disclosure for Mineral Projects). About Jaxon Jaxon is a base and precious metals exploration company with a regional focus on western Canada. The company is currently advancing its optioned Price Creek Property in north-central British Columbia in the Skeena Arch. The property has seen considerable historic exploration work and presents a VMS-style target with reported potential for Eskay Creek Mine / Equity Silver Mine style mineralization. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Signed "Jason Cubitt" Jason Cubitt, President and Director For further information regarding Jaxon Minerals Inc., please contact Jason Cubitt at 604-608-0400, Toll free: 1-877-608-0007. This news release may contain forward-looking information, which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release may include, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither TSX Venture exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. ZEIST, The Netherlands, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), a network of the world's leading values-based banks, in the last quarter welcomed three new members to its community. With the new members, the Global Alliance is now bigger than ever before - 39 members and 4 partners coming from all around the world. We are continuing our work and a shared mission to use finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development, with a focus on helping individuals fulfil their potential and build stronger communities. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160725/392614LOGO ) The newest members to join the Global Alliance and the Movement bankingonvalues include: Cooperativa Abaco http://www.abaco.com.pe (Peru), MagNet Hungarian Community Bank http://www.magnetbank.hu/en (Hungary), and Teachers Mutual Bank Limited http://www.tmbank.com.au (Australia). Dr Marcos Eguiguren, Executive Director, GABV on welcoming the three new members said, "I am proud and honoured to welcome the three new banks coming from three different continents into our family. The Global Alliance, with each new member, is stronger, is more geographically balanced and has a wider reach than ever before. We must join our forces, learn and support each other. We must continue to be more proactive in fulfilling our goals of advancing positive change in the banking sector. Each member brings a unique perspective and expertise on how to use finance to create positive economic, social and environmental impact for the individuals, organisations and communities they serve. The Global Alliance is proud to be able to support and build bridges between the member banks who are working to make a positive change in the world. Only together we will be able to deliver on our mission to put banking back in service of people, the economy and the environment." The Global Alliance will continue to work on expanding its reach to new countries, supporting new members and actively promoting banking on values and the BankingOnValues movement. About the GABV The Global Alliance for Banking on Values is a not-for-profit organisation and independent network of banks and banking cooperativeswith a shared mission to use finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development. Founded in 2009, the GABV comprises 39 financial institutions and four strategic partners operating in countries across Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe. Collectively we serve more than 24 million customers, hold up to $110 billion USD of combined assets under management, and we are supported by more than 42,000 co-workers. Learn more about the GABV and how we're working to build a growing, global, values-based banking movement. Latest news: 20 Million For WorldValuesDay And BankingOnValues Collaboration Building A Global Brand To Build The BankingOnValues Movement GABV Leadership Academy Intake 2017 GABV Announces Eight New Members Massive Success of Massive 'Just' Banking Course Media Relations Jasmin Panjeta E: jasmin.panjeta@gabv.org T: +31-61-525-4228 BankingOnValues The Spanish language has made a partial return to the White House of Donald Trump, in the form of a new Twitter account for now at least. Eleven days after the new president took office, the official Twitter account of the White House on Tuesday night posted its first tweet in Spanish using the handle @LaCasaBlanca . This is how the new Spanish-language White House Twitter account looks. Imagen tomada de Twitter More information La Casa Blanca recupera el espanol... en Twitter By noon Wednesday, Central European Time, this brief welcoming message had been retweeted over 800 times, while the Spanish-language account on the social media site had already garnered more than 116,000 followers. The tweet comes after Spanish-speakers in the United States expressed outrage over the disappearance of Spanish from the White House website after the arrival of the Republican president, an exile from which the language is yet to return. Hello! Welcome to @LaCasaBlanca. Follow us to keep up to date with all the latest news about @POTUS Trump and his administration! Trumps press secretary Sean Spicer found himself having to say it would take a while to get Spanish back as voices with the Latino community in the United States accused the White House of discrimination. The fact that weve been deleted from the website does not mean weve been deleted as Americans, said Nannete Diaz Barragan, a Democratic congresswoman for California born to Mexican parents. Across the Atlantic in Spain, there was surprise and indignation, with Alfonso Dastis, Spains new foreign minister, saying we regret the removal of the Spanish version [of the White House website]. Victor de la Concha, the director of the Instituto Cervantes, which promotes Spanish culture and language teaching around the world, also weighed in, saying: Trump is president of all Americans and 18% of the population speaks Spanish and 95% of them consider that it is important for them, their children and their nephews to continue speaking Spanish. The current greeting message at www.whitehouse.gov/espanol. Under the Barack Obama administration, the White House website provided a route to a Spanish-language version of the White House website, and there was also a Spanish-language blog that discussed topics of special interest to the countrys Hispanic community. But Trump, whose campaign included anti-immigration rhetoric particularly toward Mexicans has been criticized for announcing a Cabinet with no Latinos in it, the first time this has happened in three decades. We have a country where, if you want to assimilate, you have to speak English I am not the first to say thisThis is a country where we speak English, not Spanish, he said during a debate with other Republican hopefuls in September 2015. More than 50 million people in the United States speak Spanish, while that number tops 700 million worldwide, according to the the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language (RAE). English version by George Mills. In Q1, Coloplast delivered organic revenue growth of 6% and an EBIT margin of 33% at constant exchange rates. The results are in line with expectations.Coloplast delivered organic growth of 6% in the first three months of the 2016/17 financial year, increasing revenue measured in Danish kroner by 3% to DKK 3,755m. EBIT increased by 3% to reach DKK 1,226m, while the profit for the period was up by 15% to DKK 946m.Coloplast continued to generate growth in all business areas in the first quarter, delivering organic growth in Ostomy Care at 6%, Continence Care at 5%, Wound & Skin Care at 5% and Urology Care at 8%.In Continence Care, Coloplast recently launched a new flexible catheter for men, the SpeediCath Flex. The product is now on the market in 11 countries. In addition, in Wound & Skin Care, the Biatain Silicone Sizes & Shapes product portfolio had been launched in eight countries on 1 January. Both launches have received very positive feedback from users and healthcare professionals.Geographically, Europe was the main growth driver overall, delivering 6% organic growth, with sales growth in the UK and France standing out. Other developed markets produced 4% growth, while Emerging Markets contributed 7%."We delivered satisfactory results in the first quarter of the year, supported by a particularly strong performance of our European business. Growth in the US was affected by inventory reductions of large distributors. Inventory levels are now back to normal, and we expect this to drive favourable sales growth developments in the coming quarters," says Lars Rasmussen, CEO of Coloplast.In a move to support the overall ambition of bringing innovative products and services to the US market, Coloplast acquired US distributor Comfort Medical in November. The acquisition was approved in late December, and the process of integrating the company has now been set in motion.Coloplast continues to expect an organic revenue growth of 7-8% at constant exchange rates. Coloplast now expects organic revenue growth of 7-8% in Danish kroner (DKK) following the acquisition of Comfort Medical and developments in the British pound and the US dollar. Coloplast continues to expect the EBIT margin to be 33-34% at constant exchange rates and about 33% in DKK.Maria Lindeberg Senior Media Relations Manager +45 49 11 30 95 dkmalg@coloplast.comEllen Bjurgert Director, Investor Relations +45 49 11 33 76 dkebj@coloplast.comAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=612930 TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Prosper Canada, the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) have launched an online tool to help organizations evaluate their financial literacy programs. Available in French and English, this free, easy-to-navigate platform allows public, private and community-based groups engaged in financial education to design their own tailor-made evaluation plans. The Financial Literacy Outcome Evaluation Tool offers organizations a collection of evidence-based financial literacy outcomes and indicators. The tool guides users through a series of questions about their program and evaluation goals and then suggests scales (sets of questions) and individual questions they can use. "We're very excited to be launching this tool and offering financial educators rigorous metrics and practical help to evaluate their programs," said Elizabeth Mulholland, Chief Executive Officer of Prosper Canada. "Having a shared pool of evidence-based indicators will also enable us to begin using some common measures and, over time, to start exploring the comparative effectiveness of different financial education approaches." The tool can be used by organizations with little or no experience evaluating programs. It's also a valuable resource for experienced evaluators. The tool will help: -- Make evaluation of financial literacy initiatives easier, more rigorous, and more likely; -- Focus funders and delivery organizations on shared, evidence-based outcomes and indicators; -- Leverage existing research evidence to strengthen current and future programs. "The banking industry has long supported efforts to improve the financial literacy of Canadians and the work done by financial education organizations in communities across the country," said Terry Campbell, President of the Canadian Bankers Association. "With this evaluation tool, financial literacy educators will now be able to evaluate the outcomes of their programs to ensure they are having the desired impact. We are very pleased to have been involved in this valuable initiative with Prosper Canada and the FCAC." Prosper Canada led the development of the indicator collection and tool, in consultation with financial literacy practitioners and an advisory committee with CBA and FCAC representatives, other international financial literacy evaluators and key stakeholders. Funding for the development of the tool was provided by the Canadian Bankers Association. "This tool offers a great opportunity to evaluate financial literacy programs across the country," said Jane Rooney, Canada's Financial Literacy Leader. "Measurement is a key part of strengthening financial literacy programs. We want to make sure financial education is effective and has the desired outcomes. FCAC welcomes this type of collaboration as it helps so many organizations that are working hard to strengthen the financial literacy of Canadian families." This tool which can be accessed at www.outcomeeval.org, places Canada at the cutting edge of financial education evaluation globally. Prosper Canada Prosper Canada, is a national charity dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for Canadians living in poverty through program and policy innovation. Prosper Canada works with government, business and community partners to develop and promote financial policies, programs and resources that remove barriers and help more Canadians to prosper. The Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy is co-founded and supported by TD Bank Group. To learn more about Prosper Canada and the Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy, please visit www.prospercanada.org. Canadian Bankers Association The Canadian Bankers Association works on behalf of 59 domestic banks, foreign bank subsidiaries and foreign bank branches operating in Canada and their 280,000 employees. The CBA advocates for effective public policies that contribute to a sound, successful banking system that benefits Canadians and Canada's economy. The Association also promotes financial literacy to help Canadians make informed financial decisions and works with banks and law enforcement to help protect customers against financial crime and promote fraud awareness. www.cba.ca Financial Consumer Agency of Canada The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is an independent body working to protect and inform consumers of financial products and services. It was established in 2001 by the federal government to strengthen oversight of consumer issues and expand consumer education in the financial sector. On April 10, 2014, the Government of Canada appointed the first Financial Literacy Leader within FCAC to extend collaboration with stakeholders and coordinate activities that contribute to strengthening Canadians' financial literacy. Visit www.ItPaysToKnow.gc.ca. Like www.facebook.com/FCACan on Facebook. Follow @FCACan on Twitter. Contacts: Media Contacts: Julie McFayden Manager, Marketing & Communications Prosper Canada 416-665-2828 ext. 2231 jmcfayden@prospercanada.org Andrew Perez Manager, Media Relations Canadian Bankers Association 416-362-6093 ext. 219 aperez@cba.ca Media Relations Officer Financial Consumer Agency of Canada 613-941-4168 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Orca Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ORG) ("Orca" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a share purchase agreement with two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX: K)(NYSE: KGC) ("Kinross") (the "SPA"), whereby the Company is acquiring from Kinross all the issued and outstanding common shares of two wholly-owned exploration companies located and operating in Cote d'Ivoire (the "Acquisition"), which collectively own and have rights to the Morondo and Korokaha North exploration licences, and five exploration licence applications (collectively, the "Exploration Assets"). Closing of the Acquisition is subject to a number of conditions, including, but not limited to, the parties receiving approval of the Acquisition by the Minister of Industry and Mines of Cote d'Ivoire. The Company does not currently have an expected closing date and there is no assurance that the transaction will be completed. The Exploration Assets comprise a land package of 2,268km2 positioned on highly prospective structural trends related to known gold mineralisation (see figure below). The Exploration Assets have received little or no exploration, the most advanced being Morondo, where a discovery was made by Red Back Mining Inc. in 2010 (best intercept 66m at 1.53g/t). Gold mineralisation has been identified by trenching and 4,284m of shallow reverse circulation drilling over an area of 600m x 200m and is open in all directions. Orca plans to explore this prospect with the aim advancing it to resource status. The Korokaha North licence and Korokaha South application lie adjacent to the east of Randgold's Tongon Mine. The Bassawa and Satama applications are located on the southern extension of the Hounde Belt. The Zuenoula Ouest and Zuenoula Est applications are located north west of Perseus's Yaoure project. With the signing of the SPA, Orca intends to expand its exploration programmes into what is one of the most prospective but least explored countries in Africa, complementing its flagship Block 14 Gold Project in the Sudan. Upon the closing of the Acquisition, Orca will: -- issue 10,633,169 common shares in the capital of Orca to Kinross, which will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months, representing 8.6% of the post-Acquisition share capital of Orca; -- grant to Kinross a right to maintain its proportionate equity interest in the Company through participation in Orca's future equity financings, provided that Kinross maintains a minimum equity interest in the Company of at least 5%; -- grant to Kinross a 2-year right of first refusal on any subsequent disposal of the Exploration Assets, in whole or in part, by Orca; -- grant to Kinross a right of first offer on the Exploration Assets to take effect upon the expiry of the aforementioned 2-year right of first refusal; and -- grant to Kinross a 2% net smelter return royalty on any product mined and sold from the Exploration Assets. The acquisition by the Company of these highly prospective licences and applications from Kinross complements the applications already made by Orca in Cote d'Ivoire for licences covering 789km2. The combination of Kinross's licences and applications with Orca's licence applications represents a strategic exploration portfolio in Cote d'Ivoire (See Figure 1 below). Commenting on the transaction, Rick Clark, CEO and Director of Orca, said, "The addition of the Kinross Ivorian exploration assets to our portfolio not only complements Orca's own licence applications in this highly prospective jurisdiction, but also helps the Company realize shareholder value through geographic and geopolitical diversification. We welcome Kinross as a significant shareholder of Orca going forward. Orca's management has enjoyed a long business relationship with Kinross and we look forward to working with Kinross to close the Acquisition and fast track an aggressive exploration program in Cote d'Ivoire." Figure 1 - Cote d'Ivoire - Applications & Licenses: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/4505Orca.jpg About Orca Gold Inc. Orca Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ORG) is a Canadian resource company focused on exploration and development opportunities in Africa, where it is currently focused on the development of its 70%-owned Block 14 project in the Republic of the Sudan. The Company has an experienced board of directors and management team and a strong balance sheet, with a treasury in excess of $9.5 million as at December 31, 2016. The technical contents of this release have been approved by Hugh Stuart, BSc, MSc, a Qualified Person pursuant to NI 43-101. Mr. Stuart is President of the Company and a Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding Orca's (the "Company", the "Corporation", "we" or "our") plans and expectations relating to the expansion of its exploration activities to Cote d'Ivoire, including, but not limited to, the Morondo and Korokaha North exploration licences. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. The assumptions, risk and uncertainties outlined below are non-exhaustive. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation, or industry results, may vary materially from those described in this presentation. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential", "possible" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events, conditions or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are not guarantees of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including without limitation, assumptions about the following (the "Forward-Looking Factors"): successful exploration, performance of contractual obligations by counterparties; operating conditions; political stability; obtaining governmental approvals on time; obtaining licences and permits; government regulation of the Corporation's mining activities; market conditions; the securities market; price volatility of the Corporation's securities; currency exchange rates; foreign mining tax regimes; insurance and uninsured risks; availability of sufficient capital, litigation; land title issues; local community issues; and anticipated costs and expenditures and our ability to achieve the Corporation's goals. While we consider these assumptions to be reasonable, the assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, social, economic, political, regulatory, competitive and other risks and uncertainties, contingencies, many of which are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Corporation and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. In addition, a number of other factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, and there is no assurance that the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation will be consistent with them. For further details, reference is made to the risk factors discussed or referred to in the Corporation's annual and interim management's discussion and analyses on file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available electronically on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, and those factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's documents filed from time to time with the securities regulators in the provinces of Canada4.. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such forward-looking statements and information are made or given as at the date of this news release and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Elina Chow Investor Relations 416.645.0935 x 226 info@orcagold.com BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The British pound strengthened against other major currencies in the early European session on Wednesday, after data showed that the British manufacturing growth remained strong at the start of the year. Data from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procure showed that the U.K. purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector eased to 55.9 in January from December's two-and-a-half year high of 56.1. The score was in line with economists' expectations. Factory output growth was the fastest in 32 months and the latest expansion was underpinned by a solid increase in new order intakes. New business growth moderated after a high in the previous month. Meanwhile, the European stock markets traded higher, as investor sentiment boosted with solid data out of China as well as encouraging corporate earnings results. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is currently up 0.87 percent or 61.84 points at 7,160, France's CAC 40 index is up 1.01 percent or 47.95 points at 4,796 and Germany's DAX is up 0.90 percent or 103.99 points at 11,639. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in January, albeit at a slightly slower pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.3. That exceeded expectations for 51.2, although it was down from 51.4 in December. The bureau also said that its non-manufacturing PMI came in at 54.6 in January, in line with forecasts and up from 54.5 in the previous month. In the Asian trading today, the pound held steady against its major rivals. In the early European session, the pound rose to a 6-day high of 1.2614 against the U.S. dollar, from an early low of 1.2542. The pound may test resistance around the 1.28 area. The pound advanced to 0.8554 against the euro, from an early low of 0.8594. On the upside, 0.84 is seen as the next resistance level for the pound. Against the yen and the Swiss franc, the pound climbed to 2-day highs of 142.92 and 1.2483 from early lows of 141.66 and 1.2433, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 147.00 against the yen and 1.27 against the franc. Looking ahead, manufacturing PMI reports from U.S. and Canada for January, U.S. ADP private sector jobs data for January, U.S. construction spending for December and U.S. crude oil inventories data are set to be published in the New York session. At 2:00 pm ET, the Federal Reserve will announce its decision on monetary policy. The central bank is expected to hold its federal funds rates at 0.75 percent. At 2:00 pm ET, Bundesbank Board Member Andreas Dombret is expected to speak about ECB policy in Frankfurt. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Cameco (TSX: CCO)(NYSE: CCJ) announced Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO) has issued a termination notice for a uranium supply contract with Cameco Inc. that we do not accept. Cameco Inc. sees no basis for terminating the contract, considers TEPCO to be in default, and will pursue all its legal rights and remedies. On January 31, 2017, TEPCO confirmed it would not accept a uranium delivery scheduled for February 1, 2017, and would not withdraw the contract termination notice it provided to Cameco Inc. on January 24, 2017. TEPCO alleges that an event of 'force majeure' has occurred because it has been unable to operate its nuclear generating plants for 18 consecutive months due to government regulations arising from the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011. "We are surprised and disappointed that TEPCO is seeking to terminate its contract given all the past productive discussions we have had to date," said Tim Gitzel, president and CEO of Cameco. "For the past six years we have worked in good faith with TEPCO to restructure this contract, and would continue to do so if there was any basis for a commercial resolution. During the past week we tried to engage TEPCO to obtain clarification given conflicting information we had received previously from them and only received confirmation of their intent to terminate the contract yesterday." "Now we will vigorously pursue remedies to recover value for our shareholders and other stakeholders, as we have done successfully in the past." Under the contract, TEPCO has already received and paid for 2.2 million pounds of uranium since 2014. The termination would affect approximately 9.3 million pounds of uranium deliveries through 2028, worth approximately $1.3 billion in revenue to Cameco, including about $126 million in each of 2017, 2018 and 2019 based on 855,000 pounds of deliveries in each of those years. In 2017, Cameco's consolidated revenue, including the TEPCO volume, is expected to range between $2.1 billion to $2.2 billion. More information on Cameco's 2017 outlook will be provided with our annual results which will be released after markets close on February 9, 2017. Cameco Inc. will be moving expeditiously to enforce its rights under the uranium supply contract to recover losses arising from TEPCO's actions. The uranium supply contract provides for disputes to be resolved by binding arbitration after a period of good faith negotiations. As with any commercial dispute, it will take some time for a resolution to be achieved, particularly if it proceeds all the way to arbitration. Cameco has sufficient financial capacity to manage any loss of revenue in 2017 as a result of the dispute. All estimates and uranium volumes are provided on a consolidated basis for Cameco using expected contract prices and an exchange rate of $1.00 (US) for $1.30 (Cdn) and do not reflect any resale of the cancelled deliveries under the contract with TEPCO. Profile Cameco is one of the world's largest uranium producers, a significant supplier of conversion services and one of two Candu fuel manufacturers in Canada. Our competitive position is based on our controlling ownership of the world's largest high-grade reserves and low-cost operations. Our uranium products are used to generate clean electricity in nuclear power plants around the world. We also explore for uranium in the Americas, Australia and Asia. Our shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. Our head office is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Caution about forward-looking information This news release includes statements considered to be forward-looking information or forward looking statements under Canadian and U.S. securities laws (which we refer to as forward-looking information), including our: estimates of revenue and uranium volumes for the remaining term of the contract and in each of 2017, 2018 and 2019 under contract; our estimate that Cameco's 2017 consolidated revenue, including the TEPCO volume, is expected to range between $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion; and statements relating to legal rights and remedies and recovery of losses and value. This forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions including: that the information already available to us is sufficient to allow us to make reasonable estimates of the revenue losses to Cameco from the termination of the uranium supply contract; that there is no resale of terminated deliveries under contract; that our 2017 revenue is as expected; that our uranium delivery estimates to TEPCO under the contract are accurate; expected contract prices; and the assumed exchange rate noted above. This information is subject to a number of risks, including that: our estimates of the delivery volumes and revenues losses for 2017, 2018, and 2019, as well for the remaining term of the contract, are inaccurate; actual 2017 revenue is different from our current expectations; and Cameco may not be successful in recovering all or any losses it may suffer arising from TEPCO's actions. Please also refer to our most recent annual information form, first quarter, second quarter and third quarter MD&A, and annual MD&A, which include a discussion of other material risks that could cause actual results to differ significantly from our current expectations, and other assumptions that we make in presenting forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this news release represents our current views, and can change significantly. It is subject to material risks and based upon assumptions. Actual results may be significantly different from what we currently expect. Forward-looking information is designed to help you understand management's current views, and may not be appropriate for other purposes. We will not necessarily update this information unless we are required to by securities laws. Investor conference call and webcast Cameco invites investors and the media to join a conference call and webcast with the company's president and CEO Tim Gitzel, CFO Grant Isaac and Chief Legal Officer Sean Quinn on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. To join the call, please dial 1-800-319-4610 (Canada and US) or +1-604-638-5340 (International). An operator will put your call through. A live webcast of the conference call will be available from a link on cameco.com. A replay will be available shortly after the conference call on our website. A recorded version of the proceedings will be available on cameco.com, shortly after the call, and on post view until midnight, Eastern, March 1, 2017, by calling 1-800-319-6413 (Canada and US) or +1-604-638-9010 (International) (Passcode 1161). Contacts: Investor inquiries: Rachelle Girard (306) 956-6403 Media inquiries: Gord Struthers (306) 956-6593 HELSINKI, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tieto Corporation STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 1 February 2017, 14.00 EET The Shareholders' Nomination Board of Tieto Corporation proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the meeting would decide as follows: 1 Number and composition of the Board of Directors The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the Board of Directors shall have eight members and that the current Board members Kurt Jofs, Harri-Pekka Kaukonen, Johanna Lamminen, Sari Pajari, Endre Rangnes and Jonas Synnergren be re-elected and in addition Timo Ahopelto and Jonas Wistrom are proposed to be elected as new Board members. Markku Pohjola and Lars Wollung have informed that they are not available for re-election. The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes that Kurt Jofs shall be elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The term of office of the Board members ends at the close of the next Annual General Meeting. All the proposed candidates have given their consent to being elected. Timo Ahopelto (born 1975) is the co-founder of Lifeline Ventures, a Finnish venture fund investing in early-stage companies in health, games and technology. He was the co-founder and CEO in CRF Health, the leader in electronic Patient Reported Outcomes for the pharmaceutical industry, and Head of Strategy in Blyk, the first ad-funded mobile operator. Earlier he has worked as a consultant in McKinsey as well as a researcher in Nokia Research Center and the Helsinki University of Technology. Timo acts as Board member in various companies and organizations, such as the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA), Tekes and Slush Conference. He has graduated as MSc. (Tech.) from the Helsinki University of Technology. Jonas Wistrom (born 1960) is the President and CEO of AF Angpanneforeningen, an engineering and consulting company in the energy, industrial and infrastructure sectors. Previously, he has held executive positions e.g. in Prevas AB, Silicon Graphics AB and Sun Microsystems where he acted as Country Manager of Sweden. He is a Chairman of the Board of Directors in Ratos AB, a Swedish investment company that owns and develops unlisted medium-sized Nordic companies. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Board in Teknikforetagen and IVA Business Executives Council and Board member in Business Sweden and ICC. Jonas holds a MSc. (Tech.) from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. The biographical details of the candidates and information on their holdings shall be available on Tieto's website at www.tieto.com/cv. In addition to the above candidates, the company's personnel shall appoint two members, each with a personal deputy, to the Board of Directors. The term of office for the personnel representatives is two years and Esa Koskinen (deputy Ilpo Waljus) and Anders Palklint (deputy Robert Spinelli) are appointed to the Board until the Annual General Meeting 2018. 2 Remuneration of the Board of Directors The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes that the remuneration of the Board of Directors will be annual fees as follows: EUR91 000 to the Chairman, EUR 55 000 to the Deputy Chairman and EUR36 000 to the ordinary members of the Board of Directors. The same fee as to the Board Deputy Chairman will be paid to the Chairman of Board Committee unless the same individual is also the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Board. In addition to these fees it is proposed that the member of the Board of the Directors be paid a remuneration of EUR 800 for each Board meeting and for each permanent or temporary committee meeting. It is the company's practice not to pay fees to Board members who are also employees of the Tieto Group. The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes that 40% of the fixed annual remuneration be paid in Tieto Corporation's shares purchased from the market. The shares will be purchased within two weeks from the release of the interim report January 1-March 31, 2017. According to the proposal, the Annual General Meeting will resolve to acquire the shares directly on behalf of the members of the Board which is an approved manner to acquire the company's shares in accordance with the applicable insider rules. The Shareholders' Nomination Board is of the opinion that increasing long-term shareholding of the Board members will benefit all the shareholders. 3 Shareholders' Nomination Board The Annual General Meeting 2010 of Tieto Corporation decided to establish a Shareholders' Nomination Board to prepare proposals for the election and remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors to the Annual General Meeting. The Shareholders' Nomination Board comprises four members nominated by the largest shareholders and the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The largest shareholders of the company were determined on the basis of the shareholdings registered in the Finnish and Swedish book-entry systems on 31 August 2016. The composition of the Shareholders' Nomination Board having prepared the proposal for AGM 2017 is the following: Martin Oliw, Partner, Cevian Capital AB, Kari Jarvinen, Managing Director, Solidium Oy, Timo Ritakallio, President and CEO, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Satu Huber, Chief Executive Officer, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, and Markku Pohjola, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Tieto Corporation. The Shareholders' Nomination Board shall report in the Annual General Meeting on how its work was conducted. For further information, please contact: Esa Hyttinen, Deputy General Counsel, Tel: +358-40-766-6196, E-mail: esa.hyttinen (at) tieto.com DISTRIBUTION NASDAQ Helsinki NASDAQ Stockholm Principal Media This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/tieto/r/proposal-by-the-shareholders--nomination-board-of-tieto-corporation-to-the-annual-general-meeting-to,c2178443 WOLFSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Volkswagen AG (VKW.L, VLKAF.PK, VOW.BE) has agreed to pay about $1.2 billion in compensation to owners of about 80,000 3.0-liter diesel vehicles affected by the company's emissions scandal in the U.S. Separately, automotive components supplier Robert Bosch GmbH said it would pay $327.5 million to settle a U.S. civil claim related to its role in the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal. Volkswagen said it will begin the 3.0L TDI settlement program as soon as the Court grants final approval to the settlement agreements. At the earliest, approval will occur in May 2017. Under the 3.0L TDI settlement program, Volkswagen has agreed to provide cash payments to all eligible members of the class. It will recall and repair, free of charge to the customer, approximately 58,000 affected 2013-2016 Model Year Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles to bring them into compliance with the emissions standards to which they were originally certified, if an appropriate Emissions Compliant Repair is approved by U.S. Regulators. It will buy back or offer trade-in credit of equal value for, or terminate the leases of, approximately 20,000 eligible 2009-2012 Model Year Volkswagen and Audi 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles or, if approved by U.S. regulators, modify the vehicles to substantially reduce their nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions so as to allow eligible owners and lessees to keep them. The German car maker and U.S. regulators agreed that Volkswagen would pay substantial cash compensation to vehicle owners and would buy some vehicles back while fixing others. The payments could rise to $4 billion if regulators don't approve the fix, the documents show. A preliminary hearing is scheduled on February 14. Volkswagen admitted in 2015 that about 11 million diesel cars worldwide were outfitted with so-called defeat devices, embedded algorithms used to game emissions tests. Last month, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to charges in the U.S. that included conspiring to defraud the government and consumers by manipulating diesel engines. The company agreed to pay penalties and fines totaling $4.3 billion after reaching settlements totaling up to $17.5 billion over civil lawsuits in 2016. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Gold Resource Corporation (NYSE MKT: GORO) (the "Company") today announced the continued expansion of its Switchback vein system with additional step-out drill intercepts at the Aguila Project's Arista Mine. These new results, which mark the Company's farthest step-out drill hole to date, intercepted multiple veins including 5.01 meters of 3.98 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, and extends the Switchback system's total strike length to over 575 meters, a 275 meter expansion on strike since January 1, 2017. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $109 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010, and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. From an underground exploration drill pad located on level 14 of the Arista Mine's Arista vein system, drill Holes 516150 and 516148 targeted extensions of the Switchback vein system. Multiple veins were intercepted in each hole significantly extending the Switchback vein system mineralization to the northwest (see map). Hole 516150 extended the system northwest by approximately 75 meters on strike beyond the recently released step-out Hole 516147 (see January 12, 2017 Press Release), which added approximately 200 meters of strike length to Switchback. These new intercepts expand the Switchback system strike length from its previous 300 meters of strike length to now over 575 meters of total strike. The Switchback vein system remains open in all directions. Recent step out drill Highlights include (m=meters, g/t=gram per tonne): Hole# 516150, step-out hole extending strike length by 75 meters 5.01m of 3.98 g/t gold, 66 g/t silver, 0.52% copper, 4.33% lead, 5.89% zinc 1.88m of 5.69 g/t gold, 63 g/t silver, 0.95% copper, 2.51% lead, 7.88% zinc Hole# 516148, step-out drill hole validating numerous mineralized veins 8.78m of 1.46 g/t gold, 207g/t silver, 0.24% copper, 4.77% lead, 18.15% zinc Step out drill highlights previously announced January 12, 2017 include: Hole# 516147, step-out hole extending strike length by 200 meters 4.05m of 1.25 g/t gold, 117 g/t silver, 1.00% copper, 2.13% lead, 12.90% zinc incl. 1.97m of 1.93 g/t gold, 134 g/t silver, 1.19% copper, 2.47% lead, 18.34% zinc 1.10m of 2.36 g/t gold, 566 g/t silver, 0.55% copper, 0.70% lead, 1.21% zinc "These are substantial step-out drill holes into a powerful, growing epithermal vein system," stated Mr. Barry Devlin, Vice President of Exploration for Gold Resource Corporation. "Intercepts including 5 meters of 3.98 grams per tonne gold and 8.78 meters of 1.46 grams per tonne gold indicate substantial vein widths for underground mining along with excellent grades. We are very excited to be expanding the Switchback vein system as the Arista Mine continues to grow." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SWITCHBACK STEP-OUT DRILL RESULTS FEBRUARY 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hole # Angle Vein From Interval Au Ag Cu Pb Zn ------- --------------------------------------------------------- deg Meters Meters g/t g/t % % % ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 516148 -12 Vein 207.88 1.15 0.03 69 1.72 3.40 6.96 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 262.21 0.27 0.01 35 0.09 1.25 9.52 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 677.00 8.78 1.46 207 0.24 4.77 18.15 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 677.00 0.80 2.95 334 0.14 10.65 18.15 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 680.74 0.63 10.30 156 0.16 0.31 6.53 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 682.56 1.13 0.50 451 0.52 13.20 23.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 516150 -13 Vein 255.75 0.86 0.20 58 0.37 6.92 5.62 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 545.77 5.01 3.98 66 0.52 4.33 5.89 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 547.35 1.88 5.69 63 0.95 2.51 7.88 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 550.15 0.63 9.05 43 0.19 1.50 3.29 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 554.43 0.23 6.43 351 0.39 0.29 0.72 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 559.96 0.26 12.45 1,805 0.05 0.49 2.51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PREVIOUISLY RELEASED JANUARY 12, 2017 SWITCHBACK STEP-OUT DRILL RESULTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 516147 -16 Vein 506.34 4.05 1.25 117 1.00 2.13 12.90 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 506.61 1.97 1.93 134 1.19 2.47 18.34 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 564.60 0.40 3.10 61 0.11 0.25 2.73 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 605.53 1.54 0.71 30 0.46 3.27 5.76 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 749.52 1.10 2.36 566 0.55 0.70 1.21 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 749.52 0.63 3.36 960 0.63 0.93 1.72 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 753.77 3.28 0.87 257 0.18 0.34 0.49 --------------------------------------------------------- Incl. 756.66 0.39 1.55 995 0.78 2.33 3.35 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 761.02 0.35 23.90 3,650 0.58 0.68 1.30 --------------------------------------------------------------- Vein 764.37 0.31 3.79 258 0.18 0.29 0.85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assays by ALS Chemex, Vancouver, BC Canada. Meters Down Hole, Not true width. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We are thrilled to add another 75 meters on strike of high-grade veins at our Switchback vein system," stated Mr. Jason Reid, President and CEO of Gold Resource Corporation. "Hole 516150 represents over 275 meters of vein system strike expansion since the first of the year, an increase in strike of over 90% since January 1, 2017. As I have referenced in the past, the discovery outcrop of the Switchback structure is evident in a ridge now over 200 additional meters further on strike to the northwest from this new intercept in drill Hole number 516150. As these high-grade mineralized veins continue to expand, they may not only extend underneath the surface expression of Switchback, but may continue further along strike as well. We have speculated that the Switchback vein system could over time become every bit as large as, or larger than, the Arista vein system. We are pleased and excited these continued step-out intercepts substantially grow and expand our Arista Mine." About GRC: Gold Resource Corporation is a mining company focused on production and pursuing development of gold and silver projects that feature low operating costs and produce high returns on capital. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has 56,839,823 shares outstanding, zero warrants, zero debt and has returned over $109 million back to shareholders since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010. Gold Resource Corporation offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRC's website, located at www.Goldresourcecorp.com and read the Company's 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved. Cautionary Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "target", "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corporation's strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corporation on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company's 10-K filed with the SEC. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3104574 Contacts: Corporate Development Greg Patterson 303-320-7708 www.Goldresourcecorp.com SANTA CLARA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- DataStax, the leading provider of data management for cloud applications, today announced the appointment of Robert O'Donovan as chief financial officer. O'Donovan joins DataStax from Pivotal, Inc., where he was instrumental in migrating the company's business model towards a subscription model that provides consistent, reliable revenue. "Robert's deep understanding of complex business operations and his practical experience and passion working with various teams throughout an organization are critical skills that will strengthen the DataStax executive bench," said Billy Bosworth, CEO, DataStax. "In addition, his extensive domain knowledge of both enterprise selling and the unique open source software infrastructure market make him the ideal candidate for this position. We are very excited to have him on the team." "DataStax has an incredible market opportunity as one of the leading providers of data management for cloud applications," said Robert O'Donovan, CFO, DataStax. "I am thrilled to be joining the company and look forward to contributing to DataStax's success over the coming years." As CFO at Pivotal, O'Donovan played a critical role managing all facets of corporate finance and focused on building a multi-year strategic roadmap to help position the company for future success. He was also responsible for managing the global Finance and Operations Team, improving the overall effectiveness of the compliance environment throughout the organization, and leading sales operations for the company. Prior to Pivotal, O'Donovan was vice president of sales productivity and enablement at Dell/EMC in Sydney, Australia where he directed the sales productivity and enablement teams in Asia Pacific and Japan, managed sales programs, and introduced sales training initiatives. O'Donovan has held various positions at Dell/EMC in the Asia Pacific/Japan region including senior director of business operations and CFO, and was also CFO at Dell/EMC in the UK and Australia/New Zealand. O'Donovan is a qualified accountant with ACCA and conducted his studies at the Cork Institute of Technology. Today DataStax also announced the retirement of former chief financial officer Dennis Wolf. You can view the announcement here. About DataStax DataStax, the leading provider of data management for cloud applications, accelerates the ability of enterprises, government agencies, and systems integrators to power the exploding number of cloud applications that require data distribution across datacenters and clouds, by using our secure, operationally simple platform built on Apache Cassandra. With more than 500 customers in over 50 countries, DataStax Enterprise is the database technology of choice for the world's most innovative companies, such as Netflix, Safeway, ING, Adobe, Intuit, Target and eBay. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., DataStax is backed by industry-leading investors including Comcast Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Meritech Capital, Premji Invest and Scale Venture Partners. For more information, visit DataStax.com or follow us on @DataStax. For more information, please contact: Christina Wahl DataStax 831.402.1896 christina.wahl@datastax.com SAN CLEMENTE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 --Image Protect Inc. (OTC: IMTL) Currently, the company represents 171,039 Photographers and 31 Photo Agencies for monitoring and recovering services. This compares to less than 10,000 photographers and 9 Stock photo agencies in the prior year. This growth is attributable to key initiatives launched by company management over the last twelve months. In April of 2016, the company went live with the latest version of its customer website, www.imageprotect.com. This proved to be a major milestone in the company's march towards a viable growth pattern. The completely updated website featured a "Subscriber-based" business model that allowed individual photographers to instantly set up individual accounts for the various types of Copyright services. With a simple, user-friendly interface, the website launched to tremendous accolade amongst customers and industry members alike. The website informs, educates and engages all aspects of Copyright within this digital age of rapidly growing digital piracy. In May 2016, the company attended the largest Industry trade show (CEPIC), which took place in Zagreb, Croatia. This was the first time the recently launched website was on full display. During the show the company picked up a select number of strategic partnerships, but gained strong exposure to the wide array of industry attendees for follow up sales. In October 2016, the company attended the largest Digital Licensing Trade show in North America, The DMLA Show, and the company COO Jonathan Thomas also participated as a panelist on the Digital Piracy Discussion Panel. This provided credibility to the company's standing within the Copyright Infringement space. Executed contracts from photo agencies signed during the conference were stronger than forecasted and continued long after the show was over. The company's COO, Jonathan Thomas, stated, "The culmination of our efforts in 2016 have positioned the company to grow revenue at a much larger pace than first conceived." He further stated, "I am extremely pleased and excited about the growth we are expecting in 2017 and beyond." About the Company Image Protect protects and monetizes creative works. By uniting technology with a team of copyright experts, we ensure that content providers preserve the value of their digital assets. Our web application monitors the global Internet to seek and collect evidence for illegally used visual content. Then our legal partners in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania ensure that our clients receive appropriate compensation, recovering settlement fees when their work has been used without a valid license. Safe Harbor Provision Cautionary statement for purposes of the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Information in this news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the execution and performance of contracts by the Company and its customers, suppliers and partners. Please also review Image Technology Laboratories' 10-K and 10-Q for a more complete discussion of risk factors. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise. Contact: Craig Fischer CF@valuecorptrading.com Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders Google Ad PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT Google Ad The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh Obeliai Distillery, the only producer of Lithuanian alcohol owned by Vilniaus Degtine that stands in cooperation with more than 250 farms in Lithuania, in 2016 bought over 20,000 tons of Lithuanian grain and has plans to increase its purchase volumes by another 80 per cent to 36,000 tons this year.Working with 250 Lithuanian farmsAccording to Dovile Tamoseviciene, CEO of Vilniaus Degtine, the production of the plant is Lithuanian throughout, from the land to the grain that grows on it, and to the manufacturing process itself. The company works with more than 250 domestic farmers, their farms creating hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in the regions."Last year, our own Obeliai Distillery bought in more than 20,000 tons of Lithuanian grain. This year, the volume of grain purchases is due to increase by 80 per cent to 36,000 tons. We use the alcohol distilled from the grain to produce our drinks, and roughly 50 per cent of it is exported to Poland, Latvia, and Estonia," noted Dovile Tamoseviciene."Operational since 1907, the distillery owned by our company is one of the kind in Lithuania. On the level of the international concern Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits, it is a unique regional distillation unit, producing material for products - spirits - of exclusively Lithuanian origin," D. Tamoseviciene highlighted.Turning grain into cash and fertiliserShe stressed that thanks to the 10 million euro investment project that has been carried out at Obeliai Distillery, the company now stands out not only as one of the oldest distilleries in the Baltics, but also as a plant that buys grain from local farmers and uses renewable energy sources, which produce waste that farmers use as fertiliser.Five years ago, Obeliai Distillery started making biogas from draff and is now capable of producing its own heat and electricity. The modernisation of the distillery benefits the farmers it cooperates with, since the manufacturing process turns the rye and wheat into alcohol and later into gas, and also produces draff, a by-product which can be used as a high-value fertiliser.General Manager Dovile Tomaseviciene 8 5 233 0819 Alexander Peitersen Named Regional CEO PARIS, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Publicis Communications has named Alexander Peitersen as CEO of the Nordics region, effective immediately. Peitersen has been with Publicis Groupe since 2001 and was previously CEO of Publicis in Denmark. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of the Publicis Worldwide agency, Reputation. He has headed past agency transformations in Russia, Denmark and Finland for Publicis Worldwide. Peitersen, together with Cathrine Toubal who will join as the Chief Talent Officer in the Nordics in February, and Nordics CFO Astri Garshol, will form the regional leadership team for Publicis Communications in the Nordics. As one of the four solutions hubs of Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40], Publicis Communications unites the Groupe's creative offering. Publicis Communications in the Nordics includes agencies Kitchen in Norway, Reputation in Denmark and Finland, Saatchi & Saatchi in Sweden and Denmark, MSLGROUP in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland and Prodigious in Sweden and Denmark. The leaders of these units will report to Peitersen who will in turn report to Justin Billingsley, Chief Operating Officer of Publicis Communications. Peitersen takes on this role from Guillaume Herbette who will now concentrate on his primary responsibilities of Global CEO at MSLGROUP. Christian Madsen, currently Client Services Director and a partner at Reputation, will succeed Peitersen as CEO of Reputation Copenhagen. Cathrine Toubal's role will be to further build and nurture the individuals and teams across the Nordic agencies. She comes with solid experience from HR positions at PQR, Ahlens and Hays. Billingsley said, "We have put in place a strong leadership team that will create the best possible conditions for our business in the Nordics to grow and work well together, leveraging the resources of the entire Groupe. Alexander and Cathrine will help us in our effort to tear down silos to drive integration, and to simplify the way our clients access the best communications and marketing technology solutions across the Groupe and across the region." Peitersen said, "I am thrilled to take on this exciting role. Companies are facing big changes in their business models, and through our alchemy of creativity and technology we are a strong partner to offer end-to-end platforms to transform our clients' business. The world class brands headquartered in the Nordics will benefit from our unique local strength combined with our global 'Power of One' approach." Herbette said, "Alexander has demonstrated strong leadership and management skills and his experience runs across the communications disciplines. Under his leadership, the Publicis Communications operations in the Nordics will continue to grow in a strong way." Publicis Communications ambitionis to be the indispensable creative partner to its clients in their own transformation, by delivering seamless access to the creative firepower of our networks through end-to-end platforms linking consumer insight, brand knowledge and creative ideas, boosted by data and technology.Its strong collaborative 'Power of One' model that unleashes seamless access to world-class creativity, knowledge and technology has been the basis for a series of new global client wins such as Porsche, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, GSK, Walmart, Jim Beam and others. About Publicis Communications Publicis Communications is one of the four solutions hubs of Publicis Groupe, alongside Publicis Media, Publicis.Sapient and Publicis Healthcare. Led by Arthur Sadoun, CEO, Publicis Communications unites the Groupe's creative offering: Publicis Worldwide, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBH, as well as, Prodigious, a global production leader, and MSLGROUP, specialized in strategic communications. Present in over 100 countries, Publicis Communications aims to deliver transformative work to its clients and to attract the best talents in the industry. Publicis Communications draws upon the expertise of over 35,000 employees. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463720/Alexander_Peitersen.jpg VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Trevali Mining Corporation ("Trevali" or the "Company") (TSX: TV)(OTCQX: TREVF)(LMA: TV)(FRANKFURT: 4TI) announces a new investment in the future of its Caribou Zinc Mine, located in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northeastern New Brunswick, Canada, through the decision to transition to an owner-operated model that will include procurement of a new underground mining fleet. As initially identified in the 2014 Preliminary Economic Assessment and following the successful declaration of Commercial Production at the Caribou Zinc Mine in mid-2016, the Company conducted a review of underground mining operations to further optimize and increase efficiencies. Based on this review, Trevali is moving to an owner-operated model that will include a new fleet of mining equipment. Trevali has committed to an approximately Cdn$20-million investment through a new partnership with Sandvik Mining to supply and maintain a full fleet of mining equipment for Caribou Mine operations. Trevali will operate and manage all aspects of the underground mining operation and Sandvik will be responsible and accountable for the maintenance of the fleet. During 2017, the following equipment (see Table 1) will be procured and commissioned on site: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Item Equipment Type Qty Model ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Two Boom Jumbo 2 DD 321 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 8 yd. LHD 5 LH 514 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 40 T Haul Truck 7 TH 540 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Long Hole Production Drill 1 DL 421 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Cable Bolter / Back Up LH Drill 1 DS 421 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1: New Caribou Underground Mining Fleet Additional equipment being sourced also includes a grader, new underground light vehicle fleet, and a combination of new and used underground ancillary equipment. "Trevali's new investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the future of the Caribou Mine and operations in the Bathurst region of New Brunswick," stated Dr. Mark Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO. "The efficiencies realized through this initiative will solidify our position as a major employer and economic contributor in the Province, and forms a pathway for the Company's long-term, multi-cycle vision for the Bathurst Mining Camp." Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO, Paul Keller, P.Eng, Trevali's Chief Operating Officer are qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company as he is an officer, director and shareholder. Mr. Keller is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and shareholder. ABOUT TREVALI MINING CORPORATION Trevali is a zinc-focused, base metals mining company with two commercially producing operations. The Company is actively producing zinc and lead-silver concentrates from its 2,000-tonne-per-day Santander mine in Peru and its 3,000-tonne-per-day Caribou mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. Trevali also owns the Halfmile and Stratmat base metal deposits, located in New Brunswick, that are currently undergoing a Preliminary Economic Assessment reviewing their potential development. The common shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the OTCQX (symbol TREVF), the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV), and the Frankfurt Exchange (symbol 4TI). For further details on Trevali, readers are referred to the Company's website (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of TREVALI MINING CORPORATION Mark D. Cruise, President This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation to, update such statements containing the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to statements as to: the Company's plan to prepare a new PEA for its Halfmile and Stratmat properties, the accuracy of estimated mineral resources, anticipated results of future exploration, and forecast future metal prices, expectations that environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, political, marketing or other issues will not materially affect estimates of mineral resources. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in spot and forward markets for silver, zinc, base metals and certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar and Peruvian sol versus the U.S. dollar); risks related to the technological and operational nature of the Company's business; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, the United States, Peru or other countries where the Company may carry on business in the future; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources as properties are mined; global financial conditions; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; the Company's ability to complete and successfully integrate acquisitions and to mitigate other business combination risks; challenges to, or difficulty in maintaining, the Company's title to properties and continued ownership thereof; the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, and changes in project parameters to deal with unanticipated economic or other factors; increased competition in the mining industry for properties, equipment, qualified personnel, and their costs. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty or reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. Trevali's production plan at the Caribou Mine is based only on measured, indicated and inferred resources, and not mineral reserves, and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Trevali's production plan at the Santander Mine is based only on indicated and inferred mineral resources, and not mineral reserves, and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is therefore no certainty that the conclusions of the production plans and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will be realized. Additionally, where Trevali discusses exploration/expansion potential, any potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. We advise US investors that while the terms "measured resources", "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the US Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the material in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered or sold within the United States, absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. Contacts: Trevali Mining Corporation Steve Stakiw Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications (604) 488-1661 / Direct: (604) 638-5623 sstakiw@trevali.com DENVER, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- American Cannabis Company, Inc. (OTCQB: AMMJ) (the "Company", "ACC"), a full-service business-to-business consulting solutions provider, and seller of ancillary products to the cannabis industry, today announced it has secured two new clients in the state of Pennsylvania, bringing the total number of Pennsylvania clients who have engaged the Company to five. It should be noted that none of the Company's Pennsylvania clients are in competition with each other, as they operate in distinct regions of the state. Of the two new clients mentioned in this release, one client is applying for a retail dispensing license, and is retaining the Company to advise them in responding to state application materials, developing standard operating procedures for their proposed retail operations, and, design services for their proposed dispensary location. The second new Pennsylvania client is applying for licensure in cannabis cultivation, cannabis product manufacturing, and retail dispensing. The Company will assist this client in various strategic planning initiatives, as well as with the completion of their state application. The Company expects to leverage these new contracts to secure additional revenues through long-term consulting agreements and potential sales of ancillary products. Terry Buffalo, the Company's Principal Executive Officer, commented: "We are very happy to welcome in these two new clients. Pennsylvania is stacking up to be a very competitive market, and we at ACC seek to provide our years of industry knowledge and expertise in effort to give our clients a competitive advantage. Our company is on the forefront of this industry, and we aim to continue in the rapid expansion of our brand." About American Cannabis Company, Inc. American Cannabis Company, Inc. offers end-to-end solutions to existing and aspiring participants in the cannabis industry. We utilize our industry expertise to provide business planning and market assessment services, assist state licensing procurement, create business infrastructure and operational best practices. American Cannabis Company also developed and owns a portfolio of branded products including: The Satchel, SoHum Living Soils, The Cultivation Cube and The High Density Cultivation System. We also design and provide other industry specific custom product solutions. The building and development of our brands and product suite is based on our Geoponics Philosophy, "the art and science of agriculture in soil." For more information, please visit: www.americancannabisconsulting.com www.americancannabiscompanyinc.com www.sohumsoils.com www.dabwerks.com Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as "anticipate", "seek", "intend", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, please visit www.sec.gov. Contact: Steven Lico Marketing Manager IR@americancannabisconsulting.com 303-974-4770 COSTA MESA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Sipp Industries, Inc. (OTC: SIPC), a multifaceted corporation specializing in technology, manufacturing, and distribution of commercial and consumer products is pleased to announce the Company has entered into a distribution agreement with Colorado Craft Distributors for the release of Sipp Industry's distinctly formulated hemp-infused beer into social establishments throughout the Denver territory. Sipp Industries' wholly owned subsidiary, Major Hemp, in partnership with Denver's Sleeping Giant Brewing, had completed production of the initial 50 barrels, which yielded nearly 100 kegs of premium brown ale formulated with quality hemp-seed powder. The initial strategy is to supply Denver's more highly populated and affluent establishments with inventory to gauge consumer response before determining a strategy for wider distribution. "Our approach involves delivery into primarily the local target market, with a focus on thriving areas, where there is a high concentration of bars and pubs that have a relatively progressive crowd, patrons interested in innovative and emerging trends," stated Ted Jorgensen, President of Major Hemp. "Then, based on the level of success determined, we can move forward with a much larger brew in preparation for expanded distribution and the possibility of bottling and canning." "Major Hemp Brown Ale" was skillfully brewed by contracted Sleeping Giant Brewing, a distinguished beerhouse that brews for over fifteen companies inside and outside of Colorado. By aligning with Sleeping Giant, Sipp Industries has control and own all legal rights and intellectual property to the hemp beer recipe. Because Sleeping Giant does not brew its own beer, the potential for any conflicts of interest with ownership and intellectual property does not exist. As the proprietary Ale hits the Denver craft brewery scene, management anticipates a highly favorable outcome. In light of its successful unveiling at previous 4/20 event, having already received such favorable reviews for its appealing color and authentic taste, pre-production interest has remained relatively high. Working with proprietary water-soluble hemp powder, Jorgensen and Osterman determined that the Brown Ale style of craft beer blends best with hemp powder. This infusion provides a smooth refreshing taste while enhancing the beer with the numerous healthy attributes that hemp is so highly recognized for. About Sipp Industries, Inc. Sipp Industries is a multifaceted corporation that specializes in technology, manufacturing and distribution of commercial and consumer products. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Major Hemp, the Company provides high quality and competitively priced hemp based products, bulk hemp, CBD supply, co-packing and private labeling services. Website: http://www.sippindustries.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SippIndustries Twitter: @SippIndustries Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management team. Forward-looking statements are projections of events, revenues, income, future economics, research, development, reformulation, product performance or management's plans and objectives for future operations. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Contact: Ted Jorgensen Major Hemp President Sipp Industries, Inc. Investor Relations ir@sippindustries.com 949.220.0435 FAIRFAX, VA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- InfinityQS International, Inc. (InfinityQS), the global authority on data-driven enterprise quality, challenges manufacturers to Re-imagine Quality as a competitive advantage to drive profits. Instead of perceiving quality issues as factory floor problems, manufacturers must understand that the quality data that identifies these problems is also an untapped source of insight to drive strategic transformation across their entire enterprise. Manufacturers across all industries face the challenges of producing the highest quality products at the lowest possible cost, using supplies sourced from around the globe -- all in the face of increasing global competition. These organizations spend enormous time and energy collecting and responding to an avalanche of quality-related data that ends up in disparate spreadsheets, physical filing cabinets, or siloed in databases or file servers across the organization. But, when data is scattered and non-standardized, it's impossible to visualize and analyze what's happening -- in real time or over time. As a result, quality becomes a constant problem. Instead, manufacturers must realize that quality data is the company's greatest competitive advantage. With an aggregated, end-to-end view of production sites across the entire enterprise, manufacturers can formulate a cyclical, continuous improvement program that uses valuable quality data in three ways: Enterprise Visibility: When all quality-related data is unified, from all sources, into a standardized and centralized database, it's possible to visualize more than the quality of a single product. The outcome is real-time visibility of the entire enterprise, from end to end -- including suppliers, incoming inspection, raw materials, in-process checks from shop floor operators and the quality lab, process data, packaging, and finished products. Operational Insight: With visibility of the entire operation, useful and actionable insight is generated about the enterprise's processes, suppliers, and manufacturing operations. Improved analytics and reporting help to apply best practices consistently across all plants, lines, processes, and products. Global Transformation: Finally, the resulting insights can be applied to streamline, optimize, and transform processes and operations across the enterprise, elevating product quality, improving efficiency, impressing customers, and creating exponential cost savings. Michael Lyle, president and CEO, InfinityQS, said, "When you shift your thinking about quality from 'how can I fix this' to 'how can I use this to my advantage,' you are already ahead of your competition. You no longer think just about what you reacted to yesterday, but instead about what you can proactively do tomorrow, or next year. Now you're turning today's quality data into tomorrow's strategic operational decisions to drive real, measurable benefits to your bottom line." To learn how to do more than just "manage" quality, download the InfinityQS white paper, "Quality Re-Imagined." About InfinityQS International, Inc. InfinityQS International, Inc. is the global authority on data-driven enterprise quality. The company's Manufacturing Intelligence solutions deliver unparalleled visibility across the enterprise, from the shop floor to the boardroom, enabling manufacturers to Re-imagine Quality and transform it from a problem into a competitive advantage. Powered by centralized analytics, InfinityQS's solutions provide operational insight to enable global manufacturers to improve product quality; decrease costs and risk; maintain or improve compliance; and make strategic, data-driven business decisions. Headquartered near Washington, D.C., with offices in Seattle, London, and Beijing, InfinityQS was founded in 1989 and now services more than 40,000 active licenses with more than 2,500 of the world's leading manufacturers, including Ball Corporation, Boston Scientific, Graham Packaging, and Medtronic. For more information, visit www.infinityqs.com. Media Contact: Liz Palm DPR Group, Inc. (240) 686-1000 Email Contact BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Automatic Data Processing releases private sector employment data for January at 8:15 am ET Wednesday. The economy is expected to add 167,000 private sector jobs in January, following an increase of 153,000 jobs in December. Ahead of the data, the greenback traded low against its most majors. As of 8:10 am ET, the U.S. dollar was trading at 1.0789 against the euro, 1.2631 against the pound, 0.9896 against the Swiss franc and 113.29 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. (OTC PINK: PNOW), parent Company of the Central American-Caribbean Online Travel Agency (OTA) Oveedia and Numismatic Specialty Store (Meso Numismatics) announced today, that the Company has successfully achieved another consecutive month of consistent revenue growth. "Pure has now experienced its fourth consecutive month of revenues," stated Mr. Melvin Pereira, President and CEO of Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. "More importantly, the revenues from this past month [January], were notably greater than any of the past three months combined. This means simply, that Pure Hospitality Solutions, is finally on track to give economic value back to our shareholders." Management anticipates that revenues will continue to see consistent growth over the next year; foreseeing "likely 100% month-over-month earnings increases," continued Mr. Pereira. "The market for our products and services is finally maturing and boldly showing its face. There is absolutely no reason why our revenues will slow... at all. Every indicator remains positive and points toward continued growth." Pure will continue the course in aggressively growing its revenue consecutively each month. The primary goal is to reach its sales objective within the next five months, delivering earnings in direct relation to an overall sale's equivalency of $1M. About Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. PURE provides proprietary technology, marketing solutions and branding services to hotel operators and condominium owners. The Company's vision is to build competitive operations in the areas of (i) online marketing and hotel internet booking engine services, (ii) hotel branding and, (iii) own, operate and in some instances develop, boutique hotels under the new, "by PURE" brand. PURE is the creator of Oveedia, the Central American-Caribbean online travel hub. Related Links: Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Pinterest Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Facebook Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Twitter Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Google + Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. LinkedIn Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. Investors Hangout Oveedia Google + Safe Harbor Statements in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements about plans and expectations regarding products and opportunities, demand and acceptance of new or existing products, capital resources and future financial results are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from those expressed. These uncertainties and risks include changing consumer preferences, lack of success of new products, loss of the Company's customers, competition and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Team PURE IR Div. (800) 889-9509 OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Members of the media are invited to attend a media availability with the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Clark Somerville; the Vice-President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Sylvie Goneau; and Caryl Green, Mayor of Chelsea. They will provide an update on Government of Canada programs announced in Budget 2016. Date: Thursday, February 2, 2017 Time: 9:15 a.m. Location: House of Commons Foyer, Centre Block 111 Wellington St., Ottawa, Ontario Technical briefing: Following the press briefing, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is inviting the media to attend a technical briefing via teleconference. English Time: 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Toll Free: 1-855-353-9183 Participant Passcode: 84759 # French Time: 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Toll Free: 1-855-353-9283 Participant Passcode: 36608 # Follow us on Twitter at @INFC_eng Contacts: Brook Simpson Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities 613-219-0149 brook.simpson@canada.ca Federation of Canadian Municipalities Maurice Gingues Media Relations Advisor 613-907-6399 mgingues@fcm.ca Infrastructure Canada 613-960-9251 Toll free: 1-877-250-7154 media@infc.gc.ca VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Vinergy Resources Ltd. ("Vinergy" or the "Company") (CSE: VIN)(CSE: VIN.CN)(OTCQB: VNNYF), a cannabis technology company, is pleased to announce that its common shares will commence trading on the OTCQB Venture Marketplace under the symbol "VNNYF" effective at the market open on February 1, 2017. Vinergy's common shares are also quoted on the TSX Venture Exchange. "The OTCQB listing increases accessibility and visibility with U.S investors and more efficient access to our Company's information for their investment decisions," said Mr. Glen Macdonald, CEO of Vinergy. "We anticipate that, over time, our shareholders should benefit from the increased exposure, broadening of our shareholder base and improved liquidity." OTC Markets Group Inc., located in New York, N.Y., operates the world's largest electronic interdealer quotation system for broker deals to trade over 10,000 securities no listed on any other US stock exchange. North American and international investors investors can now trade, find news current financial disclosure and real time level 2 quotes for Vinergy at www.otcmarkets.com. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Vinergy Resources Ltd. Randy Clifford Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. By its very nature, such forward-looking information requires the Company to make assumptions that may not materialize or that may not be accurate. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such information. Contacts: Vinergy Resources Ltd. Randy Clifford drcliff@telusplanet.net Phone: 780-466-6006 Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced that it has agreed to acquire Silicon Valley-based GainSpan Corporation ("GainSpan"). GainSpan is a wireless connectivity solution provider that specializes in the design and development of ultra-low power Wi-Fi technology. The company manufactures and commercializes chips and modules for battery-powered devices and related intellectual property (IP) with embedded software, including network stacks and application reference designs. GainSpan has over 90 employees, mostly R&D and application and support engineers, spread across an R&D center in Bangalore, India and San Jose, California. "As we enter an era of maturity for the IoT, we are starting to witness the appearance of spaces within it such as the Internet of Sensors, the Internet of Cars, and the Internet of Digital," said Oozi Cats, CEO of Telit. "With few exceptions, the ability to cut the power cord is an essential growth engine for all these branches of the IoT." According to the September 2016 "IoT Forecasts" from Machina Research, by 2025 about 75% of the more than 27 billion IoT connections will be short range, which is largely comprised of the various types of Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a leading technology for applications within the IoT that are battery-dependent, due to the low-power consumption associated with the technology. The new business addition positions Telit to expand its complete end-to-end IoT solutions portfolio and address the growing market of battery-powered devices that rely on Wi-Fi and other low-power technologies. GainSpan products are situated at the intersection of several emerging segments in IoT such as healthcare, building management, cold-chain logistics, and a wide range of commercial and industrial application areas. GainSpan's top-tier customer base leverage the company's IP to deliver seamless integration of Wi-Fi with low-power technologies like BLE and 6LoWPAN for reliable, secure connectivity. "The acquisition of GainSpan brings to Telit a world-class portfolio and a proven track record of Wi-Fi and low-power module solutions trusted by tier-one customers," continued Oozi Cats. "Combined with our existing strength in delivering the most comprehensive, relevant portfolio of products and solutions for the IoT, this addition positions us well for future growth in our target segments, including security and surveillance, home automation, healthcare, asset management, and smart cities." Assets from GainSpan align well with existing Telit products including cellular, BT/BLE, GNSS modules; IoT connectivity and platform services, strengthening the company's "sensor-to-cloud" solution proposition. The integration of the unique variety of low-power Wi-Fi technology from GainSpan, with low standby current and fast wake-up time into the Telit portfolio enables customers to extend the battery life of their devices for years*. GainSpan IP also offloads Wi-Fi services and networking functionality from the application. Customer devices can be designed with a simple and inexpensive MCU or without one at all. About Telit Telit (AIM: TCM), is a global leader in Internet of Things (IoT) enablement. The company offers the industry's broadest portfolio of integrated products and services for end-to-end IoT deployments including cellular communication modules in all technologies, GNSS, short-to-long range wireless modules, IoT connectivity plans and IoT platform services. Through the IoT Portal, Telit makes IoT onboarding easy, reduces risk, time to market, complexity and costs for asset tracking, remote monitoring and control, telematics, industrial automation and others, across many industries and vertical markets worldwide. Battery life depends on the customer application. Copyright 2017 Telit Communications PLC. All rights reserved. Telit and all associated logos are trademarks of Telit Communications PLC in the United States and other countries. Other names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Pagemill Partners, a division of Duff Phelps, acted as financial advisor to GainSpan. Pearl Cohen acted as legal counsel to Telit and DLA Piper acted as legal counsel to GainSpan View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005734/en/ Contacts: Telit Leslie Hart, +1-919-415-1510 Leslie.Hart@Telit.com BERLIN, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The best businesses from Germany were honoured at an exclusive event last night at the British Embassy in Berlin, for The European Business Awards sponsored by RSM. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463738/German_National_Champions.jpg ) The 32 firms were chosen by a panel of independent judges, including senior businesses and academic leaders, to be 'National Champions' in Europe's largest business competition. At the event attendees had the chance to speak to leading businesses in their field and hear from guest speakers including the British Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood and Dr Warner Popkes, Chairman of RSM Germany. British Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood said: "The European Business Awards showcase exceptional talent and capability from the European business community. We were delighted to host the German National Champions at the British Embassy in Berlin in their 10th year - they set a benchmark for business success." Lead sponsor RSM, is the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms worldwide, and has supported the European Business Awards since its inception. Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM said: "The National Champions are stand-out leaders, demonstrating businesses tenacity and commercial excellence. These companies will lead the way forward bringing growth and prosperity across the continent and beyond. I would like to congratulate them all and wish them luck in the coming rounds." In the next round, the National Champions are taking part in the Public Vote, which opened on 9 January at http://www.businessawardseurope.com. Category winners and the overall winner of the public vote will be announced at the Gala Final in May 2017. The European Business Awards was set up to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. This year it engaged with over 33,000 businesses from 34 countries. Further information about the National Champions and the Awards can be found at http://www.businessawardseurope.com and http://www.rsm.global About the European Business Awards: The European Business Awards' primary purpose is to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. For all citizens of Europe, prosperity, social and healthcare systems are reliant on businesses creating an even stronger, more innovative, successful, international and ethical business community - one that forms the beating heart of an increasingly globalised economy. The European Business Awards programme serves the European business community in three ways: It celebrates and endorses individuals' and organisations' success It provides and promotes examples of excellence for the business community to aspire to It engages with the European business community to create debate on key issues The European Business Awards is now in its 10th year. This year it engaged with over 33,000 businesses from 34 countries. Last year's public vote generated over 227,000 votes from across Europe. Sponsors and partners include RSM, ELITE and PR Newswire. http://www.businessawardseurope.com. About RSM: RSM is the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms, encompassing over 120 countries, 760 offices and more than 38,000 people internationally. The network's total fee income is US$4.64 billion. RSM is the lead sponsor and corporate champion of the European Business Awards promoting commercial excellence and recognition of entrepreneurial brilliance. RSM is a member of the Forum of Firms, with the shared objective to promote consistent and high quality standards of financial and auditing practices worldwide. RSM is the brand used by a network of independent accounting and advisory firms each of which practices in its own right. RSM International Limited does not itself provide any accounting and advisory services. Member firms are driven by a common vision of providing high quality professional services, both in their domestic markets and in serving the international professional service needs of their client base. http://www.rsm.global About ELITE: ELITE is a full-service programme designed to share best practice and increase growth opportunities for fast growing companies, with a focus on understanding the capital markets. ELITE is an innovative programme based on exclusive training and a tutorship model, supported by access to the business and financial community. Its aim is to prepare companies for their next stage of growth and investment. For further information on the programme, companies and the full list of partners, please go to: http://www.elite-growth.com About PR Newswire: PR Newswire is the leading global provider of PR and corporate communications tools that enable clients to distribute news and rich content. We distribute our client's content across traditional, digital and social media channels in real time with fully actionable reporting and monitoring. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimisation network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information on PR Newswire please visit http://www.prnewswire.co.uk Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 1, 2017) - Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") - is pleased to announce its first drill campaign has begun at the Anumso Gold Project in Ghana. The Company is implementing a drill program consisting of 20 holes at an average depth of 100 metres using reverse circulation ("RC") drilling for a total of approximately 2,000 metres. The Company will be drilling along 2.6 km of gold-bearing Banka conglomerate as outlined by historic drilling. These new drill holes are designed to verify existing intercepts, the continuity between historic drill holes and the down-dip extension of mineralized ground beneath artisanal workings. Ashanti expects a quick and low-cost drill program due to excellent infrastructure, a strong mining services industry in Ghana and good community relations. Ashanti anticipates the first results of this drill campaign to be available in early March 2017. The Anumso Gold Project is a 29.63 km2 Mining Lease within two blocks that cover >= 5 km of strike length of the well-known Birimian series auriferous Tarkwaian Banket strata within the highly productive Ashanti Belt of Ghana. Tarkwaian conglomerate strata are famous in the southern Ashanti Belt for gold produced from the Iduapriem and Teberebie mines of AngloGold Ashanti and the Tarkwa and Demang mines currently in production by Gold Fields Limited. The Anumso - Ntronang area is the only location outside of the Tarkwa Basin (an area in the southern part of the Ashanti Belt) where gold has been mined from Banket conglomerate. Gold in these rocks is considered similar to that in the conglomerate-hosted gold deposits of the ~2,800 million-year-old Witwatersrand of South Africa, except these rocks are younger, being approximately 2,115 million years old. As an analog to Anumso, the Tarkwa Gold Mine (owned and operated by Gold Fields) is relevant. The Tarkwa Gold Mine is located in the Tarkwa Basin. At present the mine uses both a conventional Carbon-In-Leach (CIL) plant and a Heap Leach facility. At the Tarkwa Gold Mine the reserve grade is approximately 1.3 g/t and the strip ratio is approximately 6:1 (as per Gold Fields Limited presentation "Analysts Site Visit" May 2015). Many of the mineralised and economic conglomerate strata are identified by Gold Fields as being up to three meters thick. As such, the known widths of gold mineralization at Anumso are similar to what is being commercially mined by Gold Fields at Tarkwa. One difference is the slope of the strata, where Anumso is steeper dipping than Tarkwa. SECOND TRANCHE OF PLACEMENT CLOSING The Company is pleased to announce that it has closed the second and final tranche of the non-brokered private placement announced on December 9, 2016 (the "Offering"). The Company has issued a further 263,750 units at a price of C$0.40 per unit, for additional gross proceeds of C$105,500. In total, after an adjustment to the first tranche closing announced December 21, 2016, the Company issued 1,150,500 units for aggregate gross proceeds of C$460,200. Each unit (a "Unit") consists of one common share and one-half of one warrant ("Warrant") with each whole Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $0.60 per share until January 31, 2019. In the event the common shares of the Company have a closing trading price of $0.85 or higher for a period of 10 consecutive trading days, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to a date that is 30 days from the date the Company provides notice to the holders. The securities issued in connection with the second tranche of the Offering are subject to a hold period expiring June 1, 2017. The Company paid finder's fees of $1,750 and issued 4,375 finder warrants, each of which entitle the holder to purchase one AGZ common share at a price of $0.40 for one year expiring January 31, 2018. Net proceeds of the private placement will be used to fund the exploration costs related to the earn-in agreement on the Anumso property, pursuant to the option agreement with Goldplat PLC announced on September 15, 2016, as well as for general corporate purposes. ABOUT ASHANTI GOLD Ashanti is a gold-focused, exploration and development company with projects in the northern Ashanti Belt of Ghana and the Kinieba Belt of Mali. The Company targets projects where it has a competitive advantage due to past work experience of the team and specific project know-how. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of ASHANTI GOLD CORP. "Tim McCutcheon" Tim McCutcheon CEO For further information, please contact: Ashanti Gold Corp. 2300 - 1177 West Hastings Street Vancouver BC, V6E 2K3 Phone: 604-638-3690 Qualified Person The information presented in this Press Release has been reviewed by Dr. Paul Klipfel CPG of Mineral Resource Services Inc. and Qualified Person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101. Dr. Klipfel is not an Independent Person, as he is a shareholder of Ashanti. The data presented has been generated by historic explorers, however the Company has not independently verified such data, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance thereon. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release and the information incorporated by reference herein, constitutes "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Ashanti Gold Corp. (the "Company"). All statements, except for statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that management of the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including such things as future exploration plans concerning the Company's mineral properties, acquisitions, capital expenditures (including the amount and nature thereof), business strategies and measures to implement strategies, competitive strengths, goals, expansion and growth of the business and operations, plans and references to the future success of the Company, and such other matters, are forward looking statements. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development and mine development activities at the Anumso Project, including the geological mapping, prospecting and sampling program being proposed for the Project (the "Program"), actual results of exploration activities, including the Program, estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, the availability of a sufficient supply of water and other materials, requirements for additional capital, future prices of precious metals, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, hedging practices, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, risks related to joint venture operations, and risks related to the integration of acquisitions, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Information Circular (December 2016) and as discussed in the annual management's discussion and analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward looking information in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- ReadyCap Lending, LLC (www.readycaplending.com), a nationally recognized SBA Preferred Lender and subsidiary of ReadyCap Commercial, LLC, has hired Charles Green as Business Development Officer in Georgia. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Green will be servicing the national markets. Green joins ReadyCap Lending with more than 35 years of experience in small business finance. His ability to manage credit risk and evaluate small business opportunities are beneficial to ReadyCap's clients, which include business owners, commercial brokers, bankers, and referral partners. Throughout his loan origination career, Green has consistently been a top producer, financing over $300 million in SBA-guaranteed loans. He was previously recognized as an influential small business lender as the SBA's "Financial Services Champion of the Year" and the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors "Affiliate of the Year". He also served as President and CEO of Sunrise Bank of Atlanta. "Charles is a great addition to our team given his experience and reputation in the industry," John Moshier, President of ReadyCap said. "His wealth of knowledge in the SBA arena adds to our foundation of industry expertise that will help us achieve our next milestones." For more information on ReadyCap's SBA loan program, contact Charles Green at 404-406-3181 or at charles.green@rclending.com. ReadyCap is hiring closing and credit support for the growing team of production. To view open positions, visit: http://bit.ly/2bfmFC9 About ReadyCap Lending ReadyCap Lending, LLC (www.rclending.com) is a licensed small business loan company offering SBA 7(a) loans to small businesses throughout the United States. Available financing ranges from $250,000 to $5 million. With concierge-like personal attention, ReadyCap is set apart by its credit decisions, processing speeds and common-sense, solution-oriented underwriting. Based in Union County, New Jersey, ReadyCap is supported by Waterfall Asset Management, LLC, an investment manager based in New York City with approximately $3 billion in assets under management. For more information, visit www.rclending.com or call 800-713-4984. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3104844 ReadyCap Lending Email Contact NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Vodafone today announced that it is working with Navico, an international marine electronics company, to bring global connectivity to Navico's GoFree product suite. Using the Vodafone Global Internet of Things (IoT) SIM, GoFree can provide boaters, fleet managers, and service technicians with the ability to monitor, log, transmit and report important vessel information in real-time. With the connectivity, GoFree Track, an affordable hardware system, can track critical vessel information like engine hours, battery status, oil pressure, coolant temperature, fuel consumption, and more. By tracking these on-board assets, boaters can instantly access details of potential mechanical problems and share them with technicians to service the specific area in need. Vodafone's IoT technology allows GoFree Track to monitor bilge levels and alarms, letting boaters know if the vessel is taking on water and allowing them to react accordingly, as well as notifying them when there is loss of shore power, which can drain batteries and potentially damage onboard systems that are running. All data collected is transmitted back to the GoFree Vessel online module for immediate viewing, giving consumers better access and control over vessel details. GoFree Vessel allows users to play back different boating trips to share with friends or service partners. "Whether you're a recreational boater or a corporate fleet manager, our GoFree Track and GoFree Vessel solutions take remote vessel monitoring to a new level," said Leif Ottosson, CEO, Navico. "To bring our consumers the latest in marine telematics, we wanted to provide connectivity no matter where in the world their vessel takes them, which required a true, global service." Vodafone's global network and the Vodafone Global IoT SIM connects GoFree Track and GoFree Vessel across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions making it easier to offer these connected products to all types of marine vessels including local boats or cargo ships traveling internationally. Vodafone Head of IoT Ivo Rook said, "Marine electronics are an example of how IoT technologies are transforming industries by bringing connectivity to places not previously reachable. These Navico technologies, connected by Vodafone IoT, bring new possibilities to boaters across the world and provide them in-depth information into their vessels." GoFree Track is offered with a variety of communication options including the Track-WiFi or Track-CellFi, which leverages Vodafone's Global SIM to connect users to 2G or 3G networks throughout the world. About GoFree The GoFree brand is wholly owned by Navico, Inc., a privately held, international marine electronics company. The GoFree brand encompasses map, apps, telematics and services that are available directly on the MFD and online. Navico is currently the world's largest marine electronics company, and is the parent company to leading marine electronics brands: Lowrance, Simrad, B&G and GoFree. Navico has approximately 1,500 employees globally and distribution in more than 100 countries worldwide. www.navico.com About Vodafone Group Vodafone is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 48 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 30 September 2016, Vodafone had 470 million mobile customers and 14 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com. PORTLAND, Oregon and PUNE, India, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Personal Care Packaging Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014 - 2022," the global personal care packaging market was valued at $27,895 million in 2015, growing at a CAGR of 5.25% during the forecast period to reach $39,585 million by 2022. In 2015, the flexible packaging product segment accounted for two-fifths of the total share in terms of revenue. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140911/647229 ) Summary of the Report can be accessed on the website at:https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/personal-care-packaging-market Changing lifestyle patterns in emerging countries, such as China, India, and Brazil, owing to the rapid economic development and increase in disposable income fueled the growth of personal care packaging market. Technological innovations in packaging designs, such as pumps, sprays, sticks, pen type, and rollers balls boost the growth of the personal care packaging market. According to Eswara Prasad, Team Lead, Chemicals & Materials at Allied Market Research, "Increased demand for flexible and lightweight packaging systems, owing to its superior properties including chemical resistance and high barrier ability, is expected to drive the growth of the personal care packaging market." However, volatility in the prices of raw material such as polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is expected to hamper the growth of the market. Growing utilization of bioplastics and paper boards along with ongoing product development to improve packaging performance is expected to open new avenues during the forecast period. Personal Care Packaging Market Key Findings: Asia-Pacific is expected to continue to lead the market during the forecast period, followed by Europe . is expected to continue to lead the market during the forecast period, followed by . The flexible packaging product segment generated the highest revenue and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.63% during the forecast period. Skin care is the fastest growing application segment in the personal care packaging market, registering a CAGR of 5.44% during the forecast period. LAMEA accounted for approximately one-fifth share of the personal care packaging market in 2015. The North American personal care packaging market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 5.51% from 2016 to 2022. Asia-Pacific and Europe collectively contributed approximately three-fourths share of the global personal care packaging market by revenue in 2015. The key players operating in the world personal care packaging market are Mondi, Amcor Limited, Bemis Company, Inc., Ardagh Group, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Gerresheimer, ITC, Saint-Gobain, Sonoco Products Company, Bormioli Rocco Group, and Hindustan National Glass & Industries Ltd. Summary of similar reports can be viewed at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/materials-&-chemicals/advanced-materials-market-report About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: Dhananjay Potle 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 (U.S. & Canada) E-mail: sales@alliedmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com LAVAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Savaria Corporation (TSX: SIS) ("Savaria"), one of North America's leaders in the accessibility industry, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the assets of Premier Lifts, Inc. ("Premier Lifts"), a leading elevator dealer in the Baltimore - Washington area, for a purchase price of approximately US $3.5 million (CDN $4.6 million). Premier Lifts has been a strong dealer installer for Savaria for 15 years and is expected to deliver net sales of approximately US $4 million (CDN $5.2 million) and earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of approximately US $500,000 (CDN $655,000) annually. The transaction is expected to close in February 2017, subject to certain conditions, including the completion of Savaria's due diligence review and the obtaining of all necessary third party consents and permits. "Although Savaria does not typically acquire dealers, the contemplated retirement of Premier Lifts' owner, Tim Blair, has presented us with an opportunity to continue our strong sales and service presence in the marketplace. Our two organizations have enjoyed a great business partnership over the years which we look forward to leveraging for the future, with Mr. Blair agreeing to remain involved in a consultative role to assist with a smooth transition for Savaria and the staff at Premier Lifts," said Marcel Bourassa, Chief Executive Officer and President of Savaria. "I am very pleased to move ahead with this transaction that will continue the legacy of all of our employees' hard work to install and service products at the highest standards. I am confident in my management team who will continue to grow and build all areas of the business," said Tim Blair. Premier Lifts sells, installs and services a full range of elevator and lift products within Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia from its offices located in Timonium, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. The company has been very active with major home builders in the area in offering new homes that feature a Savaria elevator. The company also successfully installs and services Savaria commercial accessibility lifts throughout the region. Savaria Corporation (savaria.com) is one of North America's leaders in the accessibility industry. It provides accessibility solutions for the elderly and physically challenged to increase their mobility and independence. The diversity of its product line is one of the most comprehensive on the market. Savaria designs, manufactures, distributes and installs accessibility equipment, such as stairlifts for straight and curved stairs, vertical and inclined wheelchair lifts, as well as elevators for home and commercial use. In addition, it converts and adapts vehicles to be wheelchair accessible. It also operates a network of franchisees and corporate stores through which new and recycled accessibility equipment is sold and, in certain locations, vehicle conversions are performed. Savaria operates a plant located in Huizhou (China) which increases its competitive edge. Savaria records close to 60% of its revenue outside Canada, primarily in the United States. It operates a sales network of some 400 retailers and affiliates in North America and employs some 500 people. Its principal places of business are located in Laval (Quebec), Brampton (Ontario) and Huizhou (China). Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" regarding Savaria, including, without being limited thereto, understanding of the elements that might affect Savaria's future, relating to its financial or operating performance, the completion of the acquisition of Premier Lifts and the terms thereof, the costs and schedule of future acquisitions, supplementary capital expenditure requirements and legislative matters. Most frequently, but not invariably, forward-looking statements are identified by the use of such terms as "plan", "expect", "should", "could", "budget", "expected", "estimated" "forecast", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", variants thereof (including negative variants) or statements that certain events, results or shares "could", "should" or "will" occur or be achieved. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors liable to cause Savaria's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those set forth in or underlying the forward-looking statements. Such factors notably include general, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Although Savaria has attempted to identify the key elements liable to cause actual measures, events or results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, other factors could have an impact on the reality and produce unexpected results. The forward-looking statements contained herein are valid at the date of this press release. As there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, actual future results and events could differ materially from those anticipated therein. Accordingly, readers are strongly advised not to unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. Contacts: Helene Bernier, CPA, CA Vice President, Finance 1-800-931-5655, ext. 248 helene.bernier@savaria.com Marcel Bourassa President and Chief Executive Officer 1-800-661-5112 marcel.bourassa@savaria.com www.savaria.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savariabettermobility WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - On February 20, Britain's House of Commons will debate a public petition calling for US President Donald Trump's State Visit to go ahead as scheduled. On the same day, the Lower House will discuss another petition calling on the British Government to cancel its invitation to the new US President as a state guest. During her US trip earlier this month, British Prime Minister Theresa May had extended an invitation by Queen Elizabeth to Trump to visit Britain, which is scheduled to take place later this year. A State visit requires an invitation from the Queen, who personally receives the guest and treats him to all the pomp and ceremony accorded to a state visit. But on Saturday, a public petition against according a state guest honor to Trump was launched on the British government's website. It gathered momentum very fast, and has received nearly 2 million signatures endorsing it. The petitioners argue, 'Donald Trump's well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales.' On the other side, people who support Trump's State Visit also launched a massive petition. 'Donald Trump should be invited to make an official State Visit because he is the leader of a free world and U.K. is a country that supports free speech and does not believe that people that appose our point of view should be gagged,' it says. The petition has so far received 220,189 signatures endorsing it. If a petition gets more than 100,000 signatures, the Parliament will consider it for a debate, and the Government responds to it. Monday, the Downing Street said an invitation had been issued and accepted, and made its position clear that it had not changed on the US president's trip. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Israeli Jews born in the seven Middle East countries subject to entry restrictions in the US will be spared from the ban. Citing security concerns, Trump had Friday suspended the entire U.S. refugee program for four months and banned for 90 days entry into the U.S. of nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somali, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, which are predominantly Muslim countries. The US embassy in Tel Aviv said Tuesday that travelers with an existing valid visa in their Israeli passport may travel to the United States, even if they are also a national of or born in one of the seven restricted countries. Embassy Tel Aviv said it will continue to process visa applications and issue visas to eligible visa applicants who apply with an Israeli passport, even if born in, or a dual national of, one of the seven restricted countries. Final authorization to enter the United States is always determined at the port of entry, it added. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Department of State on Tuesday warned U.S. citizens against all travel to Iraq. Travel within Iraq remains very dangerous, and the ability of the US Embassy in Baghdad to assist U.S. citizens facing difficulty is extremely limited, it said in a Travel Warning update. U.S. citizens in Iraq are at high risk for kidnapping and terrorist violence. Numerous terrorist and insurgent groups are active in Iraq, including the Islamic State. The Embassy urged U.S. citizens in Iraq to avoid protests and large gatherings. The Department of State strongly cautioned U.S. citizens not to travel near the Syrian, Turkish, or Iranian borders with Iraq which are especially dangerous and not always clearly defined. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT Google Ad The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Aurion Resources Ltd. ("Aurion") (TSX VENTURE: AU) is pleased to report that prospecting and reconnaissance mapping has resulted in the discovery of new, bonanza grade gold mineralization on its 100% owned Risti Project in Northern Finland. An 1150 m long by 700m wide area ("Aurora Zone") of gold mineralization with an apparent NE-SW trend was recently discovered by Aurion prospectors. Here, 133 rock grab samples collected from predominantly large and angular sub-cropping quartz-tourmaline blocks assayed from nil to 1563.5 g/t Au, including 36 samples which assayed greater than 31 g/t Au (1 ounce per tonne). The average grade of all 133 samples is 74.3 g/t Au. Many of these samples contain abundant coarse visible gold. Numerous quartz blocks within this trend are greater than 1 m in at least one dimension and locally reach up to 3.5 m by 3 m by 1 m in size. The Aurora Zone lies within a broader area of approximately 2.3 km by 3.0 km hosting multiple quartz-tourmaline-Fe-Oxide veins, breccias and stockworks outlined in outcrop, sub outcrop and angular boulders. A total of 525 rock grab samples from this area and including the Aurora Zone have assayed from nil to 1563.5 g/t Au. The average assay of all samples is 21.0 g/t Au. The samples reported herein are selective grab samples and are not necessarily representative of the real tenor of mineralization within the host rocks, however, they do demonstrate the abundance of coarse visible gold present within a robust gold mineralized system. The veins range from 0.1 m to greater than 3 m wide, appear to be extensional in nature, trend NE-SW and are hosted by quartzites and polymictic conglomerates of the Kumpu Group which is unconformably in contact with mafic to ultramafic volcanics of the Sodankyla Group. The Risti Project will be a primary focus of Aurion in 2017 exploring approximately 30 km along what may be interpreted as regional unconformities defined by the contact between the Kumpu Group conglomerates and the older Sodankyla Group mafic and ultramafic volcanics. Aurion has recently acquired approximately 40,000 ha of new tenements focussed on this highly prospective previously un-recognized target concept within the Paleoproterozoic, Central Lapland Greenstone Belt ("CLGB"). The Risti Project which comprises approximately 14,000 ha is east-southeast of and contiguous with Kutuvuoma but is wholly owned (100%) by Aurion. Please see attached link to maps on our website http://www.aurionresources.com/i/pdf/NR17-1Figures.pdf. The geological setting of the new high-grade gold mineralization within the Aurora Zone has many similarities to prolific gold-rich orogenic gold belts globally, specifically the Abitibi Province of Northern Ontario. The Aurora Zone appears to be underlain by young unconformable polymictic conglomerates of the Kumpu Group. These Kumpu Group Conglomerates resemble the Timiskaming conglomerates of the Timmins and Kirkland Lake area of the Abitibi and occur in a similar geo-tectonic setting ( For example, both are part of the youngest stratigraphic sequence within their respective belts). The Kumpu Group and the Timiskaming Group were deposited in late orogenic extensional basins. They form in relation to major movement along regional faults or deformation zones. In the Abitibi many high-grade multi-million ounce gold deposits are temporally and spatially associated with the Timiskaming conglomerates (or their equivalents) in close proximity to major regional deformation (fault) zones such as the Porcupine-Destor or Cadillac Lake-Larder Lake Deformation Zones. The Kumpu Group appears to have been deposited in a similar geological setting adjacent to the Sirkka Shear Zone which is a major deformation zone in the CLGB. Strong alteration including fuchsite, tourmaline, iron carbonate, albite and quartz veining is seen along the length of this structure. Mike Basha, President and CEO of Aurion commented: "To have made such a high grade gold discovery at surface belt is very encouraging and clearly demonstrates the underexplored nature of the CLGB. We look forward to the start of the field season to pursue this high grade gold mineralization in the context of a new target concept." Quality Assurance and Quality Control All samples were delivered to Labtium Oy's facility in Sodankyla, Finland. The samples were analysed for gold using procedures 704P (Detection Limit - 0.01 gold; Upper Limit - 100.00 g/t gold) - 25g fire assay with AAS finish or using procedures 705P (Detection Limit - 0.005 gold; Upper Limit - 100.00 g/t gold) - 50g fire assay with AAS finish. Multi-element analysis was completed using procedure 511. This procedure detected 31 elements by aqua regia acid digestion, HCl leach followed by ICP-OES and ICP-MS analysis. Screen fire assay, Method 709P, was used for all samples containing visible gold. The rock samples were crushed to greater than 60% less than 2mm, followed by a mild pulverization. A 500 gram subsample of the pulp was separated by matt rolling and sieved using a 150 micron mesh nylon screen. After weighing the plus and minus fractions, two 50g subsamples of the minus fraction were fire assayed as was the entire plus fraction. Approximately 1/3rd of the gold reported to plus size fraction indicating a significant component of coarse gold. Certified standards and blanks were inserted for every 20 samples. Labtium is a Finnish, accredited, certified laboratory group. The lab is monitored by an internal QAQC program and include the insertion of blank material, duplicates and certified reference material. Qualified Person Mike Basha, P.Eng., P.Geo., Aurion's President and CEO, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release. Forward-Looking Statement Certain statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companies' current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and Aurion is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. On behalf of the Board, Mike Basha, President & CEO For further information on these projects please visit our website at www.aurionresources.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the images accompanying this press release, click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/AU-Figures.pdf. Contacts: Aurion Resources Ltd. Mike Basha (709) 699-8300 or (709) 722-2141 mbasha@aurionresources.ca Gord Fernandes Capital Markets Advisor (709) 722-4132 gordon.fernandes@phoenixadvisors.ca For contact in Europe: Mathias Forss, MSc Exploration Manager - Scandinavia + 358 50 591 3976 mathias.forss@geopool.fi TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Augusta Industries Inc. (the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: AAO) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Marcon International Inc. ("Marcon"), has been award contracts from various departments of the United States government for the supply of instrumentation and equipment. The aggregate value of the contracts awarded was $246,755.17 in January 2017, the current backlog of orders, including these new contracts, is $776,749.22 as of January 31.2017 "The Corporation's continuing success in securing new contracts with various entities of the United States government is proof of the efforts and hard work of the Corporation's sales staff," stated Allen Lone, President of the Corporation. "The awarding of these new contracts is proof of the success of the Corporation's sales strategy that has resulted in increased sales and continued growth." The Corporation would also like to announce that that it has granted an aggregate of 11,500,000 stock options to its directors, officers and arm's length consultants. Each option is exercisable at $0.10 per common share at any time until January 30, 2022. About the Corporation: Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Marcon and Fox-Tek Canada Inc. ("Fox-Tek"), the Corporation provides a variety of services and products to a number of clients. Marcon is an industrial supply contractor servicing the energy sector and a number of US Government entities. Marcon's principal business is the sale and distribution of industrial parts and equipment (Electrical, mechanical and Instrumentation.) In addition to departments and agencies of the U.S. Government, Marcon's major clients include Saudi Arabia-Sabic Services (Refining and Petrochemical), Bahrain National Gas Co, Bahrain Petroleum, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Gas, Qatar Petrochemical, Gulf of Suez Petroleum, Agiba Petroleum and Burullus Gas Co. Fox Tek develops non-intrusive asset health monitoring sensor systems for the oil and gas market to help operators track the thinning of pipelines and refinery vessels due to corrosion/erosion, strain due to bending/buckling and process pressure and temperature. The Corporation's FT fiber optic sensor and corrosion monitoring systems allow cost-effective, 24/7 remote monitoring capabilities to improve scheduled maintenance operations, avoid unnecessary shutdowns, and prevent accidents and leaks. The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimates of future events. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are detailed from time to time in the Corporation's periodic reports filed with the Ontario Securities Commission and other regulatory authorities. The Corporation has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contacts: Augusta Industries Inc. Allen Lone, President, CEO (905) 275 8111 Ext 226 atlone@fox-tek.com CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Today NextTier Education Inc. announced it has again improved the college search and application process for students, particularly students who are English language learners and multi-lingual families. NextTier can now deliver its robust content and college planning and application platform in over 100 languages. With NextTier, students and families can instantly translate data and information on more than 4,700 colleges and 20,000 scholarships. NextTier Education is a web- and mobile-based postsecondary readiness platform that delivers critical information on every two- and four-year college in the U.S. The first platform of its kind, NextTier provides each student with a comprehensive college application plan, including a detailed list of every school's required tasks, step-by-step guidance and deadlines for completing each task in the process. The NextTier platform enables real-time, active collaboration between students, educators and parents. NextTier's proprietary database also includes information on more than 20,000 scholarships and grants, and helps to successfully match students with the right financial support opportunities. According to a 2013-2014 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, nine percent of public high school students (4.5 million) in the United States are English language learners. California has the highest percentage of ELL students at 22.7 percent. Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and the District of Columbia all have 10 percent or more of public school students who do not speak English as their first language. "NextTier is committed to making sure every student has equal access to higher education," said Justin Shiffman, founder and CEO of NextTier Education. "By adding translation capabilities, we have removed yet another barrier to college access, and created a centralized communication platform that allows students, educators and parents to stay informed and participate in the process, regardless of what language they speak." A cloud-based platform, NextTier education requires no hardware or software investment by schools and only requires minimal training for administrators and users. NextTier enables school counselors to quickly view every student's list of deadlines and status in the application process, as well as communicate directly with individual students and groups via email and mobile texts to keep them engaged, motivated and on schedule. About NextTier Education Founded in 2014, Chicago-based Next Tier Education, Inc. is the first postsecondary readiness solution with user engagement as its top priority. NextTier helps students find the right-fit schools, navigate the process to plan and apply to schools, and identify ways to finance their investments. Additional information is available at www.nexttier.com or by calling 312.690.9996. Contact: Kevin Martin Scott Phillips + Associates, Inc. Email Contact 312.943.9100 x23 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump announced his nomination of federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, setting up a potentially bitter fight with Senate Democrats. Gorsuch, who currently serves as a judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, would fill the vacant seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. 'When Justice Scalia passed away suddenly last February, I made a promise to the American people: If I were elected president, I would find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court,' Trump said in remarks at the White House. He added, 'I promised to select someone who respects our laws and is representative of our Constitution and who loves our Constitution and someone who will interpret them as written.' Trump argued he was keeping another promise to the American people by nominating Gorsuch and claimed the judge's qualifications are beyond dispute. The president said Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support. Gorsuch was nominated to the 10th Circuit Court by former President George W. Bush in 2006 and was confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote. The 49-year-old judge said he was honored and humbled by the nomination and pledged if confirmed he would do all that his powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and the laws of the country. Trump said he hoped Senators from both sides of the aisle can come together for the good of the country to confirm Gorsuch, but a number of Democrats have already express opposition to his nomination. Senate Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused Trump of outsourcing the process of picking a nominee to far-right interest groups. 'President Trump said he would appoint justices who would overturn 40 years of jurisprudence established in Roe v. Wade,' Leahy said. 'Judge Gorsuch has shown a willingness to limit women's access to health care that suggests the President is making good on that promise.' He added, 'With the ideological litmus test that President Trump has applied in making this selection, the American people are justified to wonder whether Judge Gorsuch can truly be an independent justice.' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also said he has very serious doubts about Gorsuch's ability to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the executive branch. Republican Senators have praised the choice of Gorsuch, but they would need the support of some Democrats to avoid a potential filibuster. Meanwhile, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel claimed Democrats who plan on blocking Gorsuch's nomination are only scheming to deprive the American people of their rightful voice on the nation's highest court. GOP leaders are reportedly considering invoking the so-called 'nuclear option' to eliminate the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de PUNE, India, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ReportsnReports.com adds "Macular Edema - Pipeline Review, H2 2016" to its store providing comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Macular Edema (Respiratory), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases. Browse 26 market data tables and 12 figures, spread across 63 pages is available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/755870-macular-edema-pipeline-review-h2-2016.html . Companies discussed in this Macular Edema Pipeline Review, H2 2016 report include ActiveSite Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp., Clearside BioMedical, Inc., Coherus BioSciences, Inc., Mabion SA, Pfizer Inc., Precision Ocular Ltd, Promedior, Inc., Taiwan Liposome Company, Ltd., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and Xbrane Biopharma AB. Drug Profiles mentioned in this research report are (aflibercept + triamcinolone acetonide), ACX-107, ASPPDC-020, BLO-021, celecoxib, danazol, dexamethasone sodium phosphate SR, HO-10, PRM-167 and ranibizumab biosimilar. The Macular Edema (Ophthalmology) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Macular Edema and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Phase II, Preclinical, Discovery and Unknown stages are 2, 9, 1 and 1 respectively. Macular Edema. Order a Purchase Copy of this Report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=755870. Scope of this report: The report provides a snapshot of the global therapeutic landscape of Macular Edema and reviews pipeline therapeutics for Macular Edema by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sources and key players involved Macular Edema therapeutics and enlists all their major and minor projects. The research covers pipeline products based on various stages of development ranging from pre-registration till discovery and undisclosed stages. The report features descriptive drug profiles for the pipeline products which includes, product description, descriptive MoA, R&D brief, licensing and collaboration details & other developmental activities and assesses Macular Edema therapeutics based on drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The report summarizes all the dormant and discontinued pipeline projects with latest news related to pipeline therapeutics for Macular Edema. Another newly published market research report titled on Diabetic Retinopathy - Pipeline Review, H2 2016 (http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/755878-diabetic-retinopathy-pipeline-review-h2-2016.html) provides comprehensive information on the therapeutic development for Diabetic Retinopathy, complete with comparative analysis at various stages, therapeutics assessment by drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type, along with latest updates, and featured news and press releases. Companies Involved in Therapeutics Development are Acucela Inc., Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Aerpio Therapeutics, Inc., Amakem NV, Antisense Therapeutics Limited, Araim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., BCN Peptides, S.A., Biomar Microbial Technologies, Charlesson LLC., Coherus BioSciences and more. Explore more reports on Pharmaceuticals Market http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/pharmaceuticals/. About Us: ReportsnReports.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 100+ leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets. With comprehensive information about the publishers and the industries for which they publish market research reports, we help you in your purchase decision by mapping your information needs with our huge collection of reports. Contact: Ritesh Tiwari UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune - 411013 Maharashtra, India. Tel: +1-888-391-5441 sales@reportsnreports.com DUBLIN, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Neurology Endoscopy Devices Market 2017-2021" report to their offering. The global neurology endoscopy devices market to grow at a CAGR of 7.20% during the period 2017-2021. Global Neurology Endoscopy Devices Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the Key vendors operating in this market. The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is integrated neuro endoscopy with surgical devices. Neurology endoscopes are integrated with surgical devices, so there are a few companies that are focusing on surgical devices that can improve the efficiency of surgeries. NICO developed the NICO Myriad system, which is an automated disposable resection device that can be used during neurology endoscopy. The resection device is used for the resection of pituitary tumors, craniopharyngiomas, colloid cysts, and for other neurosurgical disorders. According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is government initiatives and demand for brain surgeries. An increase in the prevalence of brain cancer and brain tumor cases led to a rise in healthcare costs. To reduce the burden on citizens, governments of various developed countries such as the US and the UK took some initiatives. If detected at an early stage, the disease can be treated completely and causes less psychological and financial burden on patients and the healthcare system. Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is lack of trained neurologists. The adoption of minimally invasive surgery such as endoscopy is increasing worldwide. However, most surgeons are not qualified to perform the surgery. In addition, because of the benefits, most patients prefer minimally invasive procedures. Therefore, companies are providing training to surgeons to overcome this hurdle. Key vendors: adeor medical Aesculap KARL STORZ Other prominent vendors: Ackermann Hawk Kapalin Biosciences MACHIDA Endoscope NICO Pro Delphus Renishaw Richard Wolf Rudolf Medical WANHE Medical Visionsense Key Topics Covered: Part 01: Executive summary Part 02: Scope of the report Part 03: Research Methodology Part 04: Introduction Part 05: Market landscape Part 06: Market segmentation by product Part 07: Market segmentation by application Part 08: Market segmentation by end-user Part 09: Geographical segmentation Part 10: Market drivers Part 11: Impact of drivers Part 12: Market challenges Part 13: Impact of drivers and challenges Part 14: Market trends Part 15: Vendor landscape Part 16: Key vendor analysis Part 17: Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/36khv8/global_neurology Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 New spin-out from TTP Group plc will develop, licence and manufacture second generation Disc Pump technology, which has proven applications in medical devices, healthcare, and scientific research TTP Group plc has announced the launch of TTP Ventus Ltd. The new spin-out has been formed to commercialise the second generation of The Technology Partnership's (TTP) proprietary micropump technology, Disc Pump, which will be showcased at the 32nd Annual MD&M West Conference in California, 7th-9th February 2017. The micropump platform, Disc Pump, is enabling disruptive new products across medical and industrial markets. The unique technology has been designed to enable silent operation combined with exceptional pressure and flow. Disc Pump's small size and light weight make the technology extremely portable, enabling discreet wearable products, and its ultra-low pulsatility output delivers unrivalled smoothness of flow, while millisecond response to set-point changes enables full control flexibility. The second generation of Disc Pump delivers twice the flow rate for the same input power, doubling the efficiency of earlier designs. It maintains the technology's silence, controllability and size, and incorporates an improved electrical connection. Disc Pump's unique features derive from its operating principle. Rather than changing the volume of a chamber, the micropump excites a high-frequency acoustic standing wave in a fixed-volume cavity. The technology was initially developed to address a need in the micro fuel cell market, and now has proven applications across sectors including medical devices, healthcare, and scientific research. The technology platform has been recognised by the Institute of Physics, winning its inaugural Business Innovation Award in 2012. To exploit the potential of the Disc Pump platform TTP invested in developing a second-generation design and in establishing its own manufacturing facility. TTP Ventus is now being launched, establishing a new business focused on the development, licensing, and manufacture of the Disc Pump platform. James McCrone, Managing Director, TTP Ventus, commented: "Disc Pump offers a unique combination of silent operation, ultra-smooth flow, instantaneous response, compact form-factor, and high performance. Our mission to work with entrepreneurial partners, both large and small, is to bring disruptive new products to market. We share TTP's culture of technical excellence, innovation, and customer focus and are able to draw upon its 250 world-class scientists and engineers to accelerate the integration and development of our partners' products." TTP Ventus will be showcasing Disc Pump at booth #841 at the 32nd Annual MD&M West Conference in California, 7th-9th February 2017. Photos: For high res images please contact lorna.cuddon@zymecommunications.com About TTP Ventus www.ttpventus.com TTP Ventus works with entrepreneurial companies, both large and small, to bring disruptive new products to market. Our award-winning micropump platform, Disc Pump, and excellent development support enables our partners to deliver their ambitious visions. About TTP Group www.ttpgroup.com TTP Group is the parent company of The Technology Partnership (TTP). TTP was established 30 years ago, growing quickly to become a world-leading technology and product development organisation. It combines the strengths of science, engineering, and commercial insight to create and develop innovative new technology and to help companies, large and small, to build business based on technology. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201006009/en/ Contacts: Zyme Communications Lorna Cuddon Tel: +44 (0)7811 996 942 Email: lorna.cuddon@zymecommunications.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recentglobal digital English language learning marketreport. This market research report also lists nine other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005582/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global digital English language learning market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire) Competitive vendor landscape According to the research analysis, the global digital English language learning market is characterized by the presence of diversified international and regional vendors. However, as international players have increased their footprint in the market, regional vendors are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with them, especially on features of quality, technology, and pricing. The competitive environment in this market will likely intensify further with an increase in product and service extensions, technological innovations, and M&A. In the wake of consumers increasingly accessing digital mediums, offline language learning providers are venturing into the digital space, providing digitized versions of their materials as well as developing new apps and English learning software. The market is also attracting new players from other industry verticals that cater to specific segments of the market such as m-learning. Players are developing content specific to mobile devices in varied digital formats such as games. "Partnerships with technology service providers have gained momentum, driven by the need to capitalize on online delivery platforms. Telecom operators and content providers are entering agreements to deploy learning content through mobile phones," says Jhansi Mary, a lead education technology analyst from Technavio. Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=56186 Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Technavioeducationmarket research analysts identify the following key vendors: Berlitz Languages Berlitz Languages provides language training and intellectual communication services. It provides its services to corporations, institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It offers its language learning and training services through several delivery platforms, including face-to-face, online, study abroad, virtual, mobile, self-study, and other blended formats. In May 2015, the company launched its new version of e-learning platform. This new version helps the learners in navigating through the software more easily and make them learn new and interesting things more effectively. Pearson ELT Pearson ELT combines content, assessment, technology, and services to help teachers and students worldwide in teaching, learning, and practicing their English language skills. It operates as a business unit of the parent company Pearson. The company offers numerous solutions such as PTE Academic, Progress, and MyEnglishLab. These solutions are fully automated, computer-based language programs for testing and teaching of English. Sanako Corporation Sanako Corporation offers a diverse range of language learning solutions for educational institutions. Sanako Corporation has taken several initiatives regarding product launches in the field of language teaching and learning. The key initiatives involved to strengthen its foothold in the market include launching of application that helps teachers to manage exercises, view students' performance, and collect student work, followed by continuous upgrade of existing software with features which enable personalized learning by assisting faculty to create learning exercises by using factors like subject vocabulary, and level of proficiency. EF Education First EF Education First, also known as EF, is an international education company that offers a broad range of English language courses developed by industry leading experts to meet the specific learning needs of academic and nonacademic language learners. EF specializes in online language learning, academic degree programs, educational travel, international language training, and cultural exchange. The company's business divisions include EF language and schools, EF cultural exchange, and EF educational travel. It includes summer language and activity programs, international language schools, and online language learning inlingua inlingua is a language training organization that specializes in blended learning solutions. The company has 305 language centers located in 35 countries. The company provides language training for English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German through an online learning portal that can be connected to a wide range of smartphones and tablets. Browse Related Reports: Global Soft Skills Training Market 2016-2020 Global Higher Education Game-based Learning Market 2016-2020 Global Online Tutoring Market 2017-2021 Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like K12 and higher education, and school and college essentials. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170201005582/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.technavio.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Voting along party lines, the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senator Jeff Sessions', R-Ala., nomination as Attorney General on Wednesday. The Republican-controlled committee voted 11 to 9 in favor of sending Sessions' nomination to the full Senate, where he is expected to be confirmed. Democrats used a procedural maneuver to delay the vote by a day amid anger over President Donald Trump firing acting Attorney General Sally Yates. Yates was fired Monday night after instructing Justice Department lawyers not to defend Trump's controversial ban on immigrants from some Muslim-majority nations. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee, said she has no confidence Sessions will show the same level of independence as Yates. 'Instead, he has been the fiercest, most dedicated, and most loyal promoter in Congress of the Trump agenda,' Feinstein said during a hearing on Tuesday. Democrats have also raised concerns about Sessions' record on issues such as civil rights, women's health, and voting rings. Meanwhile, Republicans have steadfastly defended their colleague, highlighting the Alabama Senator's years of public service. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, described Sessions as a man of integrity and a man of his word and said he will enforce the laws fully, fairly, and independently. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Potentially imperiling her confirmation, two Republican Senators have announced they will oppose President Donald Trump's nomination of charter school advocate Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, both revealed Wednesday that they will vote against DeVos. Both Collins and Murkowski, who are seen as moderate Republicans, have expressed concerns about DeVos' support for school voucher programs. The announcements make Collins and Murkowski the first two Republicans to break with Trump on any of his Cabinet nominees. With no Democrats expected to vote for DeVos, the GOP cannot afford any more defections if she is to be confirmed. If the remaining 50 Senate Republicans support DeVos, Vice President Mike Pence would need to vote to break the potential 50-50 tie. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Capstream Ventures Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: CSP), a publicly traded investment company, is pleased to announce that it intends to proceed with a name change to "Axion Ventures Inc." (the "Name Change"). "We are excited to announce this name change in an effort to expand our brand," said John Todd Bonner, CEO and Chairman of the Company. "Since completing our listing on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") in May 2016, we have: i. acquired additional interest in one of our assets, Axion Games Limited; ii. closed two private placements for gross proceeds of over $20 million; iii.entered into an agreement to acquire an interest in a company engaged in developing a marketing automation platform for retailers to offer various promotions; iv. graduated to Tier 1 Issuer status from Tier 2 Issuer on the Exchange; and v. formed a joint venture to establish a video game academy and development studio in Thailand." "We continued with the name "Capstream Ventures Inc." after completion of our listing in May 2016; however, we believe the name change will better reflect our portfolio and strategy to build a leading technology investment company." The Name Change is subject to Exchange approval and the Company will provide further updates regarding the Name Change, including the effective date, the Company's new trading symbol and the Company's new website. About Capstream Capstream is an Investment Issuer with interests in: (i) Axion Games Limited, a private online video games development and publishing company with primary operations in Shanghai, China; (ii) Innovega Inc., a private display technology eyewear and contact lense company with offices in San Diego, California and Bellevue, Washington; and (iii) True Axion Games Ltd., a newly formed private video game company with primary operations intended in Bangkok, Thailand. On behalf of Capstream Ventures Inc. John Todd Bonner, Chief Executive Officer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibilities for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "proposed" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the proposed Name Change, the Company's strategy, updates regarding the proposed Name Change, and future and the location of True Axion Games Ltd.'s business. Actual future results may differ materially. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Risk factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by forward-looking information include, among other things: the Company may decide not to complete the Name Change; the failure to obtain final Exchange approval; and changes in regulatory regime. The Company cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. Contacts: Capstream Ventures Inc. John Todd Bonner Chief Executive Officer 604.687.7767 AMSTERDAM, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Constellium N.V. (NYSE and Euronext: CSTM) ("Constellium" or the "Company") today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions (the "Offering"), approximately $625 million of senior unsecured notes due 2025 (the "Notes"). The Notes will be guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by certain of the Company's subsidiaries. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering, together with cash on hand, to cause its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, Wise Metals Group LLC and Wise Alloys Finance Corporation (the "Wise Issuers"), to repurchase pursuant to a tender offer (the "Tender Offer"), and/or redeem, satisfy and discharge in accordance with the relevant indenture, all of their 8.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2018 (the "Wise Senior Secured Notes"). Constellium intends to use the remaining net proceeds, if any, for general corporate purposes. There can be no assurance that the Company will successfully complete the Offering on the terms described herein or at all. The Notes will be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933. The Notes have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the Notes or any other securities, shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, and shall not constitute a notice of redemption. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area which has implemented the 2003/71/EC directive as amended (the "Prospectus Directive") (each a "Relevant Member State"), an offer of securities to the public has not been made and will not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer in that Relevant Member State of securities may be made at any time to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive, if the qualified investor prospectus exemption has been implemented in that Relevant Member State and provided that no such offer shall result in a requirement for the publication of a prospectus in that Member State. About Constellium Constellium (NYSE Euronext: CSTM) is a global sector leader that develops innovative, value added aluminium products for a broad scope of markets and applications, including aerospace, automotive and packaging. Constellium generated 5.2 billion of revenue in 2015. www.constellium.com Forward-looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" with respect to the Tender Offer, the redemption of Wise Senior Secured Notes, our business, results of operations and financial condition, and our expectations or beliefs concerning future events and conditions. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as, but not limited to, "believes," "expects," "may," "should," "approximately," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "targets," likely," "will," "would," "could" and similar expressions (or the negative of these terminologies or expressions). All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Many risks and uncertainties are inherent in our industry and markets. Others are more specific to our business and operations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to those set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F and as described from time to time in subsequent reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The occurrence of the events described and the achievement of the expected results depend on many events, some or all of which are not predictable or within our control. Consequently, actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130624/NY37453LOGO TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Appia Energy Corp. (the "Company" or "Appia") (CSE: API)(CSE: API.CN) wishes to announce that an aggregate of 2,950,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company at $0.30 per share for five (5) years have been granted to six (6) directors and three (3) consultants. About Appia Appia is a Canadian publicly-traded company in the uranium and rare earth sectors. The Company is currently focused on discovering high-grade uranium deposits in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its recently acquired properties, Loranger and Otherside, as well as high-grade REO and uranium surface showings on its Alces Lake joint venture. The company currently holds the surface rights to exploration for about 63,654 hectares (157,070 acres) in Saskatchewan. The company also has NI 43-101 compliant resources of 8.0 M lbs. U3O8 and 47.7 M lbs. TREE Indicated, and 47.7 M lbs. U3O8 and 133.2 M lbs. TREE Inferred in the Elliot Lake, ON, historic mining camp. The resources are largely unconstrained along strike and down dip. Appia's technical team is directed by James Sykes, who has had direct and indirect involvement with over 350 M lbs. U3O8 being discovered in five deposits in the Athabasca Basin. Appia currently has 50.5 million common shares outstanding, 61.2 million shares fully diluted. The technical content concerning the Property in this news release was reviewed and approved by Thomas Skimming, P.Eng., a Director of Appia and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Tom Drivas President, CEO and Director 416-546-2707 416-218-9772 (FAX) appia@appiaenergy.ca Frank van de Water Chief Financial Officer and Director 416-546-2707 416-218-9772 (FAX) fvandewater@rogers.com CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Serinus Energy Inc. ("Serinus", "SEN" or the "Company") (TSX: SEN)(WARSAW: SEN) announces that it has resumed production at the Chouech Es Saida field in Tunisia. This field was initially shut-in on January 10, 2017, in anticipation of a three-day strike with production stoppage, as voted for by the Company's employees at the Winstar Chouech Es Saida facilities, which began at midnight January 11, 2017. The labour action continued with a sit-in that persisted after the communicated work action, with the Company being unable to bring production back on line for safety and security reasons. For the past two years, the Company has been engaged in ongoing dialogue with the Tunisia General Trade Union ("UGTT") regarding the need for the Company to reduce operating costs at Chouech Es Saida due to the economic situation in the sector. Through ongoing dialogue between the Company and UGTT during this work action, the Company has agreed to resume production at Chouech Es Saida as an act of good faith in exchange for the ending of the sit-in and the agreement of UGTT to cooperate in the ongoing economic redundancy process. The ending of the sit-in on January 29, 2017, has removed the safety and security concerns the Company had in continuing operations of the Chouech Es Saida field and the cooperation of UGTT in the economic redundancy program provides the Company with sufficient encouragement to re-start production as a gesture of goodwill. The staff reductions of the economic redundancy program are necessary for the Company to further reduce operating costs and to remain a viable Tunisian employer and producer of hydrocarbons. The Company has procured a replacement electrical submersible pump for the CS-3 well and anticipates that this pump will be delivered to the Company by mid-February 2017. With the delivery of the pump, the Company will begin a workover program on the CS-3 well and install the new pump in the well. It is estimated that the CS-3 well will back on production by early April, 2017. About Serinus Serinus is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company that owns and operates projects in Tunisia and Romania. For further information, please refer to the Serinus website (www.serinusenergy.com). Translation: This news release has been translated into Polish from the English original. Forward-looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements made as of the date of this announcement with respect to future activities that either are not or may not be historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, any potential results suggested by such statements involve risk and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Various factors that could impair or prevent the Company from completing the expected activities on its projects include that the Company's projects experience technical and mechanical problems, there are changes in product prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, the state of the national or international monetary, oil and gas, financial, political and economic markets in the jurisdictions where the Company operates and other risks not anticipated by the Company or disclosed in the Company's published material. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in this announcement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement, unless required by law. Contacts: Serinus Energy Inc. Calvin Brackman Director, External Relations +1-403-264-8877 cbrackman@serinusenergy.com Serinus Energy Inc. Jeffrey Auld Chief Executive Officer +1-403-264-8877 jauld@serinusenergy.com www.serinusenergy.com CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Chinook Energy Inc. (TSX: CKE) ("Chinook") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated January 4, 2017, it has completed the disposition of certain assets located in the Gold Creek area of Alberta ahead of its previously announced closing date of February 20, 2017. The disposition included 15.6 net sections of land and related pipeline and production facilities for aggregate consideration of approximately $10.5 million, subject to customary closing adjustments, with an effective date of February 1, 2017. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- Randsburg International Gold Corporation (NEX: RGZ.H) ("Randsburg" or the "Company") announced today that it is it has entered into a agreement (Agreement") with Prophecy Development Corp. ("Prophecy") (TSX: PCY) whereby Prophecy will acquire Randsburg's 20% title interest in the patented claims that comprise the Titan property ("Titan") in Ontario, Canada. Under the Agreement, consideration for Randsburg is 20,000 Prophecy Common shares, which will be subject to a 4-month hold period. The Agreement is subject to regulatory approval. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Randsburg International Gold Corp. Michael Opara, President and Chief Executive Officer Neither the NEX Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Nex Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Contacts: Randsburg International Gold Corp. Michael Opara President and Chief Executive Officer info@randsburginternational.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/01/17 -- GoviEx Uranium Inc. (TSX VENTURE: GXU) ("GoviEx" or "Company") is pleased to announce it has engaged Palisade Global Investments Ltd. ("Palisade") to enhance the Company's marketing strategies within the investment community. Palisade will assist in the Company's efforts to expand liquidity and investor awareness through focused marketing, distribution and research. Palisade will work with analysts, writers, investment professionals, and mining industry leaders to produce in-depth, third-party research and market insights, in addition to expanding GoviEx's exposure to retail and institutional investors. Palisade has been retained, subject to certain approvals, including but not limited to TSX-V acceptance, starting February 1, 2017 (the "Effective Date") at a cost of C$10,500 per month for an initial period of seven months and thereafter on a monthly basis until terminated by either party. Pursuant to the terms of the engagement, GoviEx has granted Palisade 500,000 incentive stock options exercisable for a period of 14 months from the Effective Date at a price of $0.27. The options will vest over a 12-month period from the date of grant. Palisade and its principals currently hold the following interest in GoviEx: 1,000,000 common shares and 250,000 common share purchase warrants exercisable at a price of US$0.12 until June 10, 2018 and thereafter at US$0.14 until June 10, 2019, and 750,000 common share purchase warrants exercisable at a price of US$0.15 until December 19, 2021. Neither Palisade nor its employees presently have any other direct or indirect interest in GoviEx's securities or current intent to acquire same. About GoviEx GoviEx is a mineral resource company focused on the exploration and development of uranium properties. GoviEx's principal objective is to become a significant uranium producer through the continued exploration and development of its Mine Permitted Madaouela Project and its other uranium properties in Africa. About Palisade Palisade is a merchant banking group operating primarily in the Bahamas specializing in high growth, small cap investments. Through its global network of private equity groups, fund managers and high net worth retail investors, Palisade creates strategic relationships to drive increased liquidity and source financing. Collin Kettell, CEO and partner, founded Palisade with Sean Zubick in early 2013 with the goal of investing in and backing undervalued junior mining companies. Mr. Kettell is well connected in the capital markets and has an extensive background in project finance and corporate development. Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All information and statements other than statements of current or historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in GoviEx's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the potential for increase liquidity and market awareness of GoviEx in the marketplace and other statements that are not facts. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which GoviEx operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Assumptions upon which forward looking statements relating to the engagement have been made include that GoviEx will be able to enhance its marketing strategies and that such marketing strategies will be successful in increasing market awareness of GoviEx in the marketplace. In addition, the factors described or referred to in the section entitled "Financial Risks and Management Objectives" in the MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2015, of GoviEx, which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, should be reviewed in conjunction with the information found in this news release. Although GoviEx has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including if the parties are unable to reach a consensus on the nature of GoviEx's marketing strategies, the failure of adopted marketing strategies to garner the increased liquidity and market awareness desired, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the engagement could be modified, restricted or terminated, and the results or events predicted in these forward looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and GoviEx disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and GoviEx assumes no any liability for disclosure relating to the other company herein. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Website: www.goviex.com Govind Friedland, Executive Chairman Daniel Major, Chief Executive Officer +1 604-681-5529 info@goviex.com BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwired - February 01, 2017) - Saxena White P.A. has filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against DaVita Inc. ("DaVita" or the "Company") (NYSE: DVA) on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of the Company during the period between August 5, 2015 and October 21, 2016, inclusive (the "Class Period"). DaVita provides kidney dialysis services for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure or end-stage renal disease. The Company operates kidney dialysis centers and provides related lab services in outpatient dialysis centers, and provides acute inpatient dialysis services in approximately 900 hospitals and related laboratory services in the United States. DaVita made contributions to a purported charitable foundation called the American Kidney Fund ("AKF"), a group that provides financial assistance toward patients' health insurance premiums. The Complaint brings forth claims for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company and its senior executives purposefully steered patients into unnecessary insurance plans in order to maximize profits; (2) the Company was using AKF as a vehicle to facilitate these improper practices; (3) as a result, DaVita's revenues and profits were illegally obtained; (4) in turn, DaVita lacked effective internal controls over financial reporting; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' statements about DaVita's business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. You may obtain a copy of the Complaint and join the class action at www.saxenawhite.com. If you purchased DaVita stock between August 5, 2015 and October 21, 2016, inclusive, you may contact Lester Hooker (lhooker@saxenawhite.com) at Saxena White P.A. to discuss your rights and interests. If you purchased DaVita common stock during the Class Period of August 5, 2015 and October 21, 2016, and wish to apply to be the lead plaintiff in this action, a motion on your behalf must be filed with the Court by no later than April 3, 2017. You may contact Saxena White P.A. to discuss your rights regarding the appointment of lead plaintiff and your interest in the class action. Please note that you may also retain counsel of your choice and need not take any action at this time to be a class member. Saxena White P.A., with offices located in White Plains, New York and Boca Raton, Florida, concentrates its practice on prosecuting securities fraud and complex class actions on behalf of institutions and individuals. Currently serving as lead counsel in numerous securities fraud class actions nationwide, the firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of injured investors and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Lester R. Hooker, Esq. lhooker@saxenawhite.com Saxena White P.A. 5200 Town Center Circle, Suite 601 Boca Raton, FL 33486 Tel: (561) 206-6708 Fax: (866) 290-1291 www.saxenawhite.com Indonesian PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA) along with PT BCA Finance has established a venture capital firm. PT Central Capital Ventura is a US$15m fund seeking opportunities in startups leveraging internet and telecommunication technology to create a range of innovative fintech solutions. The fund will invest in and collaborate with fintech companies as well as support companies in the financial industry that will enhance the overall financial service ecosystem of BCA and its subsidiaries, while delivering added value to the Banks customers in particular, and the community in general. FinSMEs 01/02/2017 Sparku, a Sydney, Australia-based video sharing app startup, raised US$1.1M ($1.46 AUD) in seed funding. Turki Almadhi Ventures made the investment. The company intends to use the funds to bring their app to market. Led by Chris Parker, CEO, and Matthew Tang, CMO, Sparku uses an advanced video delivery architecture to offer a video sharing service integrating with both mobile and desktop devices. The company is currently seeking beta users to experience the app as well as recruiting people to join their team. Sparkus team also includes Mez Gallifuoco, the Creative lead, and Jesse Press, the Executive Producer. FinSMEs 01/02/2017 The budget will be presented at 11 am today. Will there be much-needed sops after the pain of demonetisation? What will Finance Minister Arun Jaitley deliver? Here are the expectations from the various segments of industry: GST implementation: Freudenberg India, a Germany-based manufacturing company engaged in developing and producing seals, vibration control technology components, filters, nonwovens, release agents and specialty lubricants as well as mechatronic products. Georg Graf, Regional Representative India, Freudenberg Group on Budget, 2017, says that the Indian Economy is in a good shape. Overall, we do see a positive business sentiment. However Graf believes that there will be no further delay implementing GST. We hope the budget has something for all stakeholders - Industry, States and the people of India. However, we do observe certain weaknesses such as slow infrastructure development, a low ease of doing business rating, existing and accepted corruption - dirty money, high gender / social inequality and unclear laws. Further measures should help improve them within the scope of the budget as well. While there is a wish list of reforms that the sector deserves, a few points need to be considered on priority, said Prakash Tulsiani Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer Allcargo Logistics. "At the outset, GST implementation is key for ease in movement of goods in the domestic market, the benefits of which are well discussed in the recent past. Secondly, focus on provisioning for infrastructure development, including better transportation system that will improve business efficiencies, thereby benefiting the sector immensely. The government should also look at fast tracking approvals for new infrastructure projects to boost foreign investors confidence. The government should consider giving tax benefits for capital intensive infrastructure. This will incentivize the private sector to invest significantly in infrastructure projects, a positive step towards realizing the Make in India motto of the government. The development of logistics parks across the country for speedy delivery is also the need of the hour. Logistics parks will help provide services and facilities to reduce costs, boost efficiency and improve the flow of both raw material procurement and finished goods." Incentivize digital payments: Demonetisation has put digitized payments to the fore and consequently digital payment firms. More and more consumers are opting to swipe their plastic cards and use e-wallets to purchase goods and services. Sashank Rishyasringa, Co-Founder and MD, Capital Float wants the budget to have proposals that will incentivize digital payments and provide for enabling infrastructure. This will encourage SMEs to adopt digital finance channels and become a part of the formal financing ecosystem. On the tax front, the expectation is the government reduce personal income tax and corporate tax rates by revising the tax slabs. By revisiting corporate tax slabs, there is less incentive for tax evasion, and this will push the economy towards digital money." Budget 2017 is widely expected to encourage digital payments and universal access to financial services. Its important for our country to create a robust infrastructure to offer high-speed, reliable Internet access to one and all. Improving access to digital services with tax rebates on the production of affordable smartphones and offering subsidized data will also go a long way in democratizing Indias payments sector. We need to focus on digital money to stay digital, by strongly encouraging digital payments of all forms, as compared to ATM machines. Waiving off transaction fees for low-ticket purchases and increased access to credit would also help bring millions of unbanked and under-banked individuals into the folds of the mainstream economy, says Madhur Deora, Chief Financial Officer, Paytm. Real estate wants 12 percent tax slab: The GST rates have been finalized and the slabs fixed at 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent and 28 percent. The real estate sector is curious to know which tax rate will be applicable for it. Surendra Hiranandani, Chairman & Managing Director, House of Hiranandani, hopes a 12 percent slab will be applicable as it will reduce the cost of apartments and increase affordability for end users. This, he feels will help developers and also impact sales. A higher rate of 18 percent is expected to increase the cost of homes, especially in under construction projects, unless there is clarity provided on the composition scheme (abetment of cost of land), VAT charges if they have been paid by developers for under construction properties), he said. Increase spending in Digital India: The government needs to significantly increase spending in their vision for Digital India and Education. The impact of demonetization on the economy will be long lasting if its not now bolstered with an Indian equivalent of quantitative easing similar to what the US and western economies did after the 2008 banking collapse, says Suneet Singh Tuli founder and CEO, DataWind Inc. Boost consumer spend: Demonetisation has affected consumer sentiment with some withholding of purchase decision specially in the discretionary category. We expect the Government to give a boost to the consumer sentiment by lowering taxes and giving tax breaks for buying affordable houses, says Abhijit Roy, MD & CEO of Berger Paints. Startups expectations: The three reforms, that many small and medium businesses, and start-ups would be expecting from the government are, rapid implementation, and roll out of GST, unemployment experienced due to demonetization needs to catered to, and the government needs to invest in large infrastructure in projects such as the Sagar-mala (a necklace of ports, surrounding India), and a massive increase in road building target to 50km, per day and, recognizing a much more inclusive, and tax paying nation, thecCorporate Tax rate needs to come down to a more reasonable 25 percent, says Yashovardhan Gupta, Torero Corporation. A stronger push towards the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the budget is being expected. "While last year, the Government supported our cause with the Startup India, Standup India initiative, amongst Make in India and Digital India, we need to now tread on the uncovered grounds, said Atul Rai, CEO and Co-Founder, Staqu - an artifical intelligence-focused startup. "Startups continue to invest their time and effort into sorting several tax-related and regulatory issues, which makes the operations further cumbersome and challenging. By extending the tax-free regiment to 5 years and taxing ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership) at the times of sale, would really give a boost to the startup environment today. Since R&D happens to be a crucial part The one thing one has learnt over the years is that the Economic Survey (ES) most often has no bearing on the forthcoming budget. This is most likely to be true this year as well. It will be futile in my view to look for tell-tale signs in the Survey for either reform measures or even the likely trends in and patterns of public expenditure or revenues contained in the budget. I would wait to see if the Finance Minister assumes the GDP growth for his budget estimates of between 6.75 to 7.5 percent as put out by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) in the ES. But I do want to emphasize that the quality of the ES lies in being a dependable document of record in the first place and suggesting new ideas and reform measure that could result in paradigmatic shifts in policy regimes over time as India continues its search of that sweet spot (which) is still beckoningly there. In its self-admitted attempt to try and do everything, I am afraid, the ES has perhaps underplayed its role as a document of record apart from virtually making it too much of a good thing by crowding in a very wide range of issues raised and ideas. Its ideational sweep and presentation style would reinforce the perception by hard nosed practitioners, economic agents of being too theoretical. Could it be that the CEA has his gaze fixed more on the global audience than on the domestic one? Do the chapters on internal migration and domestic trade really address widespread domestic concerns? I would wait for the day when the ES results in a movement in the Indian capital markets. The three risks pointed out are that of (i) lingering negative effects of demonetization in the absence of needed policy response; (ii) rising global oil and commodity prices and (iii) possible emergence of trade tensions amongst major economies and rising protectionist tendencies that could drive global growth downwards. On demonetization I would like to argue that despite its rich analytical discussion on the impact of demonetization, the ES has perhaps tended to under-estimate the benefits of this historical and unprecedented move. By encouraging digitization and de-addicting the economy from cash and by folding even a fraction of the parallel economy into the official economy, demonetization could provide a substantial uptick in GDP growth numbers and also significantly improve investment climate and sentiments as it makes the economic system more transparent, process driven and less ridden with corruption. But ES does a real service by unequivocally rebutting those who saw demonetization driving the Indian economy entering into a downward spiral and to an extended recessionary period. On global oil prices, we may see them softening once again as the US under a Trump presidency begins to pump out more oil from its principal reserves that were out of bounds hitherto and not wait only for recovery in shale oil which can come only when oil prices approximate $60-65. This could also put an end to the fragile OPEC agreement to restrain production that has pushed up prices in recent months. Moreover, Chinese demand for fossil fuels may remain soft as growth rates stabilize around 6-6-5 percent. Trade wars and tensions may not thankfully emerge as China decides to work with the US in the latters efforts to reduce its trade deficit and generate domestic employment, just as Japan capitulated to voluntary export restraints on its auto exports to the US in the late eighties. Pragmatism and not adventurism is the hall mark of East Asian societies and that would be true of the Chinese as well despite the rising neo-nationalism. ES does well to point out the upside risk of rising global economic growth and consequently greater scope for Indian exports, which seem to have finally shrugged off their shackles that saw them declining for 18 consecutive months and register a rise, though modest, in the past four-five months. With a mere 1.6 percent share in global trade in goods and only 2.3 percent in global services trade flows, India has a huge potential to aggressively expand its exports and use external demand as major growth driver in the coming years. I would have, in this context, really liked to see the CEA with his immense expertise in international trade give us the insights and recommendations on how Indian firms, specially those in small and medium (SME) category could get on a trajectory of rising export growth and become integrated with global and regional production networks. Merely saying that this can be done by signing more FTAs with EU and the UK (and may I ask why not the US?) and mentioning GST induced tax rationalization does not suffice. I wonder if the Economic Division of the Ministry of Finance, which produces the ES, discussed the issue of signing a larger number of FTAs with the Department of Commerce. The two do not seem to be on the same page.It would also have been useful here to discuss Indias optimal position on joining the RCEP, which China is now pushing in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Some of these concerns though are addressed in Chapter Seven that discusses the export prospects for clothes, shoes and leather goods, in which labor intensity is as much as 80 times more than in autos and 240 times more than in steel! These sectors are also those that are being vacated by China and India is at present consistently losing out to its smaller competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam. ES discusses the multiple constraints faced by these sector in some detail and also suggests that targeting export growth in these sectors would also help generate much needed good quality employment. ES has chosen to steer away form the discussion now raging throughout the world on how these employment opportunities in the hitherto labor intensive sectors could be rapidly disappearing with the onset of Industry 4.0 and re-shoring of these capacities back to advanced economies aided by rising automation and networking capabilities generated by internet of things and machines. This is surprising in a document, which clearly tries, both in style and content, to be in step with global practices. Does India objectively deserve to be six notches below China in investment grading? Most of us will be appalled at this. Therefore, ES must be commended for putting in their place the global credit rating agencies. Poor standards is just so apt a title to be applied to them. By pointing out in no uncertain terms the discriminatory treatment given by these agencies to India vis a vis China, whose recent growth and indebtedness record is far worse than ours, the ES has challenged them to make their country risk assessments more objective. Thankfully, foreign equity investors apparently do not rely on these ratings as is reflected in India attracting the highest ever volume of FDI in the second quarter of 2016-17 of nearly $26 billion. But the inexplicable rating performance does mean a higher cost of external credit for Indian companies and that is indeed a pity at a time when Indias investment needs are virtually insatiable. That brings me to the most important challenge facing the country today. This is the continued extreme weaknessof private investment during the last four years. Real gross private capital formation is negative in the present year. This effectively implies a contraction in the economys production capacities and perhaps also an erosion of productivity levels. This is simply untenable. ES analyses these catastrophic trend in the context of the twin balance sheet problem of the banking sector with unsustainably high levels of non-performing assets and the corporates becoming unviable because of massive debt overhang. It holds out the recommendation of establishing PARA (public sector asset rehabilitation agency) as a possible solution. It is not clear whether PARA would be able to take on the cases of private corporate sector debt as well and if it will perform any better than private sector asset management companies. ES does not really justify this recommendation except to say that it should be tried because other measures have failed. This is surely not workable. I would have rather seen ES argue for the government permitting mortality both in the public sector banking sector and also in the private corporate sector. I do not support taxpayers money being thrown at rescuing entities that have consciously taken on unwarranted risks. Is an expansion in public capital expenditure a possible means for triggering private investment through the by now famous crowding in phenomenon? I think so. Especially if this capital expenditure is sharply focused on sectors such as affordable housing that has backward linkages reputedly to nearly 200 industries and also helps improve labor productivity. I dont see a discussion of this apparently effective investment raising modality in the ES. This is possibly due to its reluctance to appear to be even mildly suggesting a relaxation of the FRBM norms and any attempt by the Finance Minister to not continue with the path of fiscal consolidation. I have the opposite view. I think of fiscal policy as necessarily being counter-cyclical. I also would like fiscal policy to target revenue deficit and not necessarily the fiscal deficit because borrowing to raise productivity and expand capacities to generate more employment is eminently justifiable. I hope the FM will make the right choice in the coming budget. Finally, the ES discussion on the Universal Basic Income (UBI) and its merits. To begin with I would have surely preferred if the CEA had cast this as a conversation between the Mahatma and DeendayalUpadhyaya, whose Antodaya was more forthright about helping the last in the queue than the Mahatma ever was. Moreover, the reasons for discussing UBI at all are not clear to me in the Indian context. We already have a plethora of subsidies that perhaps take up as much as 5 percent of the GDP if all of them at the Central and State level are accounted for. Is it not better to keep a laser like focus on improving the delivery of these existing transfer payments and eliminating leakages through a wider application of JAM based direct benefit transfers. Am I wrong in assuming that DBTs applied through JAM and focused on the poor as identified through either a self selection or asset based criteria will fulfill the objectives of UBI in our case. Is it necessary for us in India to take up every idea that is tried in some other country even if it may imply avoidable expansion in government bureaucracy and an even more avoidable duplication of already burgeoning subsidy budget. (The writer is Founder Director of Pahle India Foundation, Senior Fellow Centre for Policy Research and author of Modi and his challenges.) For full coverage of Union Budget 2017 click here. What finance minister Arun Jaitley said in the Union Budget today will definitely have an impact on your financial life. Heres a quick glance as to the steps the minister has proposed. # Reduced tax rate for Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh to 5% from 10%. Overall average tax rate will come down for those with income below Rs 5 lakh and slightly even for those whose income is above Rs 5 lakh. # Holding period for immovable property for applicability of long-term capital gains tax reduced to 2 years from 3 years. Also tax will be levied for unoccupied houses a year after getting completion certificate. # No cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh will be allowed. # Tax on the rich and wealthy continues. Surcharge of 10% on those with income Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Surcharge on Rs 1 crore and more stays as usual. # Income tax returns forms will be made easy. One page form for returns for non business income below Rs 5 lakh. # Service charges for tickets which are booked though internet on IRCTC website will be withdrawn. # Aadhar-based Point of Sale terminals will be set up. The shift to digital platform will have huge benefits for common man, according to the finance minister. # Senior citizens will get Aadhar smart cards with health details on them. The government will work with Life Insurance Corporation to implement a scheme for senior citizens with 8 percent return on annuity. One thing Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys budget for 2017-18 reveals is that the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not fond of Nehru Age ambitions but simply loves Indira Era populism. And then, we might add, the RSS-bred leaders weaned on Hindu nationalism are also happy to co-opt Mahatma Gandhi into their thought process. Jaitley mentioned Gandhi at least three times in his speech, after first referring to him as Father of the Nation. Gandhian thinking might be a political compulsion for the Bharatiya Janata Party, long described as an urban-centric party before Modis juggernaut firmly established it as a clear national party with rural support in 2014. However, the party clearly knows that the rural base cannot be taken for granted. That probably explains especially with elections looming in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh the eagerness with which spending plans to help the poorest of the poor are no longer a taboo and in fact, a preferred option for the party long considered fiscally conservative. The record allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) programme, at Rs 48,000 crore, to provide jobs to 50 million households, is an open acknowledgement of the philosophy of the Congress party. Though MNREGAs origins lie in the Food For Work programme conceived in the anti-Congress Janata Party rule between 1977 and 1980, the Congress developed it further as the Integrated Rural Development Programme before it was repackaged as a jobs guarantee scheme a decade ago under the UPA. Modi himself has been a critic of the MNREGA an once called it a living monument of UPAs failure before it became a national pride. Allocation for scheduled castes (SC) has been increased to Rs 52,000 crore for the next fiscal year from Rs 38,000 crore in the current year, no doubt with UPs Dalits in mind. But it is a big step for the BJP, long described as a party of upper caste Hindus. Other schemes including the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, also smack of a rural or pro-poor thrust. All that smacks of the politically savvy populism of the kind Indira Gandhi championed in her Garibi Hatao days of the 1970s. On the other hand, Jaitleys budget marked one more step in the Modi governments march to end Nehru-era ambitions. The budget does away with distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure, a logical step forward from the recasting of the erstwhile Planning Commission into the NITI Aayog by Modi soon after he came to power in 2014. Typically, Plan expenditure refers to asset-creating development-oriented expenditure, as distinct from unproductive expenses. Conservative economists see no reason for such distinction and certainly are not in favour of state-controlled industrial assets on a large scale. Jaitleys budget plan to merge state-run oil giants to form one behemoth is nothing but a step towards their disinvestment, increasingly through the new mechanism of exchange traded funds (ETFs). Oil and railways, both considered strategic for state control in the Nehru Age and Indira Gandhi years, are both being partially if not systematically privatised. In sum, the Modi governments message is: Nehruvian industrialisation is not welcome, Indira-style populism is. (The author is a senior journalist. He tweets as @madversity). New Delhi: Government on Wednesday proposed to phase out tax benefits up to Rs 25,000 on stock market investment under Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS), which was introduced with much fanfare by the previous UPA regime. Noting that "limited number of individuals availed this deduction", the Union Budget 2017-18 on Wednesday proposed to rationalise this tax benefit introduced in Finance Act, 2012 and phase it out from assessment year 2018-19. The tax saving scheme, which was announced in the Union Budget 2012-13 and was further expanded the next year, was designed exclusively for the first-time individual investors in securities market with gross total income below a certain limit. In 2013-14, the income ceiling of the beneficiaries was raised to Rs 12 lakh from Rs 10 lakh specified in 2012-13. Under Section 80CCG of the Income Tax Act, it provided for a 50 per cent deduction of the amount invested during the year, up to a maximum investment of Rs 50,000 per financial year, from his/her taxable income for that year, for three consecutive assessment years. At that time, the UPA government had said the objective of the scheme was to encourage the flow of savings and to improve the depth of domestic capital markets. This would help in promoting an 'equity culture' in India. The scheme was also aimed at widening the retail investor base in the Indian securities markets and also to further the goal of financial stability and financial inclusion. According to the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament, the deduction for three consecutive assessment years is allowed up to Rs 25,000 to a resident individual for investment made in listed equity shares or listed units of an equity oriented fund subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. "This deduction was introduced vide Finance Act, 2012. However, considering the fact that limited number of individuals availed this deduction and also to rationalise the multiplicity of deductions available under Chapter VI-A of the Act, it is proposed to phase out this deduction by providing that no deduction under section 80CCG shall be allowed from assessment year 2018-19," as per the Budget documents. However, an assessee who has claimed deduction under this section for assessment year 2017-18 and earlier assessment years shall be allowed deduction under this section till the assessment year 2019-20 if he is otherwise eligible to claim the deduction as per the provisions of this section. This amendment will take effect from the April 1, 2018 and shall accordingly apply in relation to assessment year 2018-19 and subsequent years, as per the Budget documents. Soon after the Union Budget 2017-2018 was announced on Wednesday, RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch said it will ask the government to reconsider its decision to abolish the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), calling Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget 'retrograde'. SJM co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan told CNN-News 18, "The whole world, from the US to the UK, is getting disillusioned with globalisation but this government has not been able to come out of the idea of globalisation. The FIPB has been instrumental in controlling and managing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors where there are serious concerns." He said that that the Budget was 'below expectations' and there aren't enough allocations for education and health sector. According to the CNN-News 18 report, SJM leaders met with Jaitley a few days ago, carrying recommendations for the Budget, some of which were 'Trumpian' in nature, like imposing restrictions on Chinese imports and clamping down Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). With more than 90 percent of the FDI is through automatic route, Jaitley said the government would abolish the FIPB next fiscal and the road map for the same will be announced soon. "In the meantime, further liberalisation of FDI policy is under consideration and necessary announcements will be made in due course," he added. With inputs from IANS The confirmation that Vodafone Group is in talks with Idea Cellular for a potential combination, a merger, did not cause too many ripples among telecom insiders. Reliance Jios entry into the market and Airtels concerted efforts to retain its market share was expected to lead to a shake-up with smaller players either banding together as partners or merging with each other. What caused consternation was hidden in the second paragraph of the succinct press release issued by the Vodafone Group. The deal, if at all, said the press release, would be a merger effected through the issue of new shares in Idea to Vodafone and would result in Vodafone deconsolidating Vodafone India. The nicely worded nuance means that if the merger happens, Idea Cellular will not pay the Vodafone Group a single rupee in hard cash immediately for its India holding. Its an open admission of a stark truth: both companies dont have money and their war chest is running close to empty. New shares presumably would be issued at prices based on a valuation of Vodafones network, customer base and its assets, and will probably be ring-fenced with a lock in period. And yes, deconsolidating means that Vodafone, if the deal goes through, would wind up its operations in India. The Indian telecom market is probably the toughest and most competitive in the world. It has been so for some years now. Today there are close to 1.1 billion mobile telephone connections in India, with the country hitting the billionth mark in the month of October last year. Only China has more mobile connections than us. This intense competition has been extremely good to India. Mobile penetration has been growing at a phenomenal 60 percent plus year-on-year for the last seven years, with the growth of the footprint increasing to 70 percent plus Y-o-Y from 2012. To put things in perspective, the number of mobile phone subscribers grew by nearly 7 million in a month, from September 2016 to October 2016. Denmark has a population of 5.6 million. India is literally adding one Denmark plus a million or so every single month. The number of smartphone users in India is 220 million, second largest in the world, and is expected to touch 370 million by the end of 2017. And, Indians pay just about a rupee for every minute of a call, one of the cheapest in the world. The intensity of the competition has also taken its toll with many companies exhausted, out of ideas and virtually running on empty, or on corporate debt. Unlike several other sectors, telecom is a tough place to make a mark due to three main reasons, and one minor one. First, the capital expenditure on setting up the network and the technology infrastructure needs a top up every three-five years to keep pace with rapid changes in technology, standards, consumer base and the innovative manner in which the pipe is used to deliver all sorts of transactions and services: from digital payments to dating. In a way, one wouldnt be too much off the mark if one were to say that the standard business models and traditional balance sheets with a clear distinction between capital expenditure, operating expenditure and amortization is not applicable to the telecom sector. One question: If capital expenditure is topped up so frequently, isnt that operating expenditure? Second, its also possibly the only industry [the other exception being the fertilizer industry] where the ancillary units, in this case the telecom tower companies, router manufacturers, network equipment makers, content providers, are doing extremely well, while the core engine is struggling. Its linked directly to the first point and the customised business models that the companies in the telecom sector necessarily have to construct in order to attract and retain customers and keep themselves relevant. For instance, owning every part of the value chain [say the telecom tower business] will bleed a company dry unless the company is ready with a war chest that allows it to stay the course for a long time. Third, the Indian customer is a rapidly maturing one and is ever ready to adopt and adapt new technologies, offerings, services and, all at the right price point. The telecom service providers have to realise this, and this realisation is more applicable to the older players than the newer ones. Somewhere this realisation, or the lack of it, is also indictment of the obsolete business models followed by some of the telecom players where the focus is on voice and data, rather than on content, transactions, payment systems and OTT services. Just to keep things in perspective, India tops the list in the world in terms of the number of Apps being downloaded every year. The Indian mobile consumer, predominantly a male, is one who has taken a huge leap directly from the analog to the smartphone world, without ever experiencing Internet over a desktop, laptop or even a tablet. The innovative and completely out-of-box manner in which a smartphone is used by an average Indian is both a challenge and an opportunity to evolve a model thats sustainable and brings in the right kind of revenues. The fourth point, relatively minor, is numerous changes, from spectrum allocation to import duties on equipment, brought about by the government in the early days of the mobile telecommunications revolution. The older players have a right to feel a little aggrieved, having borne the physical and financial cost of the governments lack of clarity. Having said, however, today the policy regime is stable, relatively transparent and open to true play of market dynamics. Its within this context that Vodafones admission of talks of a merger with Idea Cellular needs to be located. The open admission of two significant players wanting to join forces, and yet not having the money to pay for it is an inflection point in the Indian telecom sector. More such potential mergers can be expected before the year ends. Its also an indication of the shape of things to come: post Jios launch in September, Ideas Y-o-Y net profit for the quarter ending FY17 fell a steep 99%. Vodafone, during the same quarter, saw a massive 100,000 subscribers desert its ship. Moreover, Jio is the only operator with a 4G presence in all 22 circles. Interestingly, Idea, which has 4G in 10 circles, is planning to launch it in 9 more circles on the back of corporate bonds [read corporate debt]. Vodafone has 4G in 17 circles. A merger is only way forward for both legacy players as it might help them share their spectrum holdings and bring in greater efficiency and synergy. If I were to indulge in the risky proposition of seeing how this inflection point is going to ripple out in the next 18 months, here are four things that I will hold myself accountable to. First, expect some of the smaller telecom players to go down under or try and stay afloat by merging with like-minded companies. Second, telecom companies that have invested heavily in core infrastructure fibre optic network, high quality equipment, denser telecom tower coverage will start powering forward in a massive way. Third, content is going to be the king. Any telecom company that sees itself as a telecom operator is going to find it extremely difficult. Those companies that see themselves as content companies, equally invested in production, distribution and orchestrating the consumption of content, are going to rule the roost. In short, Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is going to rise for companies that are content providers rather than bandwidth givers. Fourth, the government is going to be a big player. A digital economy, from a starting point of lesscash to a finishing point of cashless, will require a digital payments ecosystem. Moreover, the emphasis on electronic and mobile governance and the rapid shift to system of QR codes, e-paper tickets and e-filling of returns is going to turn the government into the largest digital service provider in the country. A telecom company that leverages this opportunity appropriately will have a distinct competitive edge. Its going to be a hard fought battle and at the end of 18 months there might possibly be only two players standing tall and still slugging it out. Be that as it may, one thing is sure: the Indian consumer is in for a deal of his life. (The writer is Consulting Editor Firstpost.) Disclosure: Firstpost is part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries After a lull in the trend, February will see a slew of cop movies in Kollywood. One of Tamil cinemas favourite heroes is the angry, Dirty Harry-type of cop who takes on the corrupt system and goes after the scum of the earth. Every hero worth his box-office clout in Kollywood has played the larger-than-life cop, giving him an opportunity to deliver crowd-pleasing punch lines and taking on an army of bad guys single-handedly. There are three big movies lined up for release in February: Jayam Ravi and Aravind Swamys Bogan on 2 February, Suriya's long delayed Si3 (Singam 3) on 9 February and Raghava Lawrences Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva on 17 February. This is where it gets interesting. A section of the industry feels that showing a cop as a good guy on screen may backfire at this point in time as in reality, the Tamil Nadu police were shown in a bad light following the jallikattu agitation. The visuals of policemen engaging in violence had gone viral on social media and Tamil news channels. For the producers, however, delaying the release of the films is not an option (Si3 especially has had a bumpy road to its theatrical release). They must bank on the proven commercial success of the fiery-cop-taking-on-corruption formula. Hari, the director of the Singam franchise, said: Singam is one of the most successful franchise films in India, because people love Suriya's characterisation of the clean, efficient and no-nonsense cop Durai Singam. Im sure Si3 will work and depending on its success, we will decide whether or not to continue with the franchise. The big buzz is that the Jayam Ravi-Aravind Swamy starrer Bogan (produced by Prabhu Deva) is a rip-off of John Woos Face Off. In Bogan, Jayam Ravi plays a cop, with Aravind Swamy as his close friend, ad the bad guy. Sources say that the producers are trying to cash in on the success of the same teams Thani Oruvan, which was a super hit. However, Jayam Ravi says: Yes, I play a cop in Bogan but there is no truth in the film being inspired by Face Off. This is something different and a first-of-its-kind in Tamil cinema packaged with elements of fun, mystery, adventure and romance. A week later Suriyas Si3 will release and he will once again play the tough cop and will be after international crime syndicate. A teaser with just English dialogues spoken by Suriya has gone viral. Gnanavel Raja of Studio Green the producers of the film has said : Suriya has the biggest market as far as collections are concerned in Kollywood, after Superstar Rajinikanth. The Singam franchise has always been goldmine for us. Meanwhile Raghava Lawrence, the choreographer-turned-action hero is playing a cop in Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva, a remake of Telugu hit Pataas. The film is hitting the screens on 17 February and is said to be a 'masala' action entertainer. The film tells the story of a good cop who uses bad techniques to take on the villains. Lawrence is currently riding a wave of popularity as he had supported the student community and was at the forefront of the jallikattu agitation on Marina Beach. The trailer of Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva went viral and has nearly touched two million views, thanks to Lawrences current star status. Which of the cops will win over audiences? The answers will emerge by the end of this February. Having 24.7 million followers on Twitter has its fair share of perks. Amitabh Bachchan, who is the second most followed celebrity on Twitter after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is banking on his vast following to get even the smallest of his issues resolved. Bachchan took to Twitter to address his grievance to telecom operator Vodafone. He complained that while his handset is able to receive text messages, it is unable to send them. Well, half an hour later, Vodafone became this wish-granting factory when Bachchan tweeted that the issue has been resolved. When other Twitter users hint at the selective treatment dished out by Vodafone, the official Twitter handle of the telecom giant assured that they will also look into the grievances of other customers. VODAFONE WE HAVE A PROBLEM ..!! ALL SEND MESSAGES COMING FAILED .. RECEIVING SMS BUT NOT GOING .. HHEEEELLLLPPPPP !!! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) January 31, 2017 @VodafoneIN @SrBachchan Can Vodafone extend the same kind of service to each of its customers? Or u reserve preferential treatment 4 biggies Lovekush Singhania (@myself_kushlove) January 31, 2017 However, Vodafone India was not the first to respond to Bachchan's complaint on Twitter. In fact, the official handle of Reliance Jio was among the first users to reply to Bachchan's tweet. They claimed that they would be happy to help the senior actor, who has also served as their voice in one of the commercials, by sending him a Jio sim card and activating it instantly through the e-KYC home delivery process. Before Bachchan could consider this offer, Vodafone India managed to resolve his issue. @SrBachchan Sir, we would be happy to deliver a Jio SIM to you & activate it instantly through our Aadhaar based eKYC home delivery process. Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) January 31, 2017 VODAFONE PROBLEM SOLVED ... THANK YOU .. ALL SMS GOING THROUGH NOW .... BAAAADDDDUUUMMBBAAA ...!! Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) January 31, 2017 Last year, Bachchan had pulled off a similar trick on Samsung when he complained that he could not charge his new Samsung Note 7 beyond 60%. Samsung responded by sending a replacement directly to Bachchan's residence, probably accompanied by a message that read: "Khush toh bahut honge aaj aap?" By Ila Ananya What do we know about the story of Padmavati and her talking parrot Hiraman? Nobody can seem to tell if its a real story, but everyone agrees that it involves the most beautiful Padmavati or Rani Padmini, wife of Ratan Sen, the king of Chittor (who had learnt of her beauty from her talking parrot). The story also involves Alauddin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi, who wanted to capture Chittor so that he could have the beautiful Padmavati to himself. When Khilji began his invasion and Padmavati was certain they would lose the battle (her husband had been killed in another battle with another king who also wanted Padmavati for himself), she committed jauhar (mass self-immolation) with the other women in her kingdom before he could reach them. In the end, Khilji won nothing but an empty fortress. This is the story about Padmavati that Malik Muhammed Jayasi wrote in 1540. Ever since director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was attacked by the Karni Sena on the sets of his upcoming film Padmavati in Jaipur on 27 January, we have heard story after story about Padmavati, with different bits of detail. There have been numerous arguments mostly about whether shes real or fictional and about artistic freedom while men like BJP leader Akhilesh Khandelwal have announced that there will be a reward of Rs 10,000 per hit for anyone who assaults Bhansali with a shoe. The Karni Sena got riled up about an alleged romantic sequence between Padmavati and Khilji in Bhansalis movie an allegation that Bhansali has refuted since he was attacked. As of 30 January, he assured protestors that the film wouldnt have any romance between Padmavati and Khilji, to which protestors retorted that they wanted to change the films title, and review it before its release. So where is all the anger coming from? Protests against Bhansali began only because it was believed that he wasnt honouring Padmavatis dignity and everyone now rushed to save her honour. After all, as BJP Union Minister Giriraj Singh said rather grandly, Padmavati destroyed herself but did not surrender. Did not surrender to a Muslim ruler, he means. In fact, if you go looking for references to jauhar its hard to find any grand trumpeting about Rajput women committing jauhar to escape conquests by fellow Rajputs. They [filmmakers] are trying to distort our history to show us in poor light in public. We can no longer remain silent. We consider it our responsibility to reign in such forces, Khandelwal had said on Facebook. Who was this our and we that Khandelwal was referring to? Echoing him, Singh, in all his wisdom, also argued that historical facts about Padmavati were being twisted simply because she was Hindu while no filmmaker would dare to make a movie on Prophet Mohammed. The film is being made by those for whom Aurangzeb and such personalities are icons, Singh went on to say, adding that Bhansalis movie was a misrepresentation of the countrys culture. Back when Bajirao Mastani released in 2015, Bhansali had faced similar protests about Mastani and his representation of history and Mastanis relationship with Bajirao. A question that needs to be asked is how much of these protests are really about history? For that matter, what do we know about Jodha that symbol of syncretic Mughal culture, not to mention syncretic pop culture? Historians contemporary to Akbar such as Abul Fazal never mention her. There is a Mariam Zamani, mother of Salim, but no Jodhabai. The first time she makes an appearance is in a 19th century British collection of Rajashtani folklore. Back then the Karni Sena had their own feelings about this and complained at length when Ashutosh Gowarikar made Jodhaa Akbar saying that Jodhaa was Akbars daughter-in-law, Salims wife. Yes, plot mein Karni twist. The film was not allowed to be released in Rajasthan. Members of the Jaipur royal family back then said no no, Akbar married Jodha but like everyone else theyre also really relying on feelings. You might as well read Salman Rushdies Enchantress of Florence which features Jodhabai as a major character, a lonely Akbars imaginary wife/friend. Rushdie writes, She was an impossibility, a fantasy of perfection. They feared her, knowing that, being impossible, she was irresistible, and that was why the King loved her best. The courage that Padmavati has been associated with reminded me of a tweet I had seen when India had retaliated against the Uri attack with surgical strikes. How do you think Sati became a norm in India? Invaders would rape our women. Theyd rather burn themselves, a man had confidently tweeted. This mans belief, along with the anger that Padmavati could possibly have chosen, if she so wanted, to romance Khilji irrespective of where he came from and what religion he belonged to, is proof that protestors dont care about historical fact. And that they raise voices only to constantly police womens bodies and claim to defend their honour. In some parts of India, a womans honour remains tied to her body and her relationships with men; more importantly the caste and religion of men. Of course, it cant be a relationship with more than one man (even though Padmavatis husband had another wife too). And since women cant seem to make decisions for themselves and always need saving, the Karni Sena were just doing their duty. We only know of Padmavati from Jayasis writing. There are also reports about Jayasi saying that his story was allegorical, but perhaps Padmavati, like fictional characters sometimes do, has taken on a role thats larger than the story she was first included in. The strangeness around this whole issue only gets multiplied when we wonder what it means that men have decided to come to the rescue of the honour of a possibly fictional woman. If it is, as they claim, insulting to Hindus and Rajputs, why have they tied their own respect to a womans honour in a way that takes away all her agency? Its time the Karni Sena realise their arguments seem to be less about historical fact than it is about controlling Padmavatis story which in this case also means controlling womens bodies. Like Jodhaa, as long as Padmavati remained a fantasy untouched, dead and resisting rape/romance by gair mard macho men will rise every now and then to admire and defend her. God forbid, you catch the Karni Sena defending a rape survivor (who is not conveniently dead) or a woman who chooses her own lover. The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine Mumbai: Ending the speculation that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena might not contest the Mumbai civic body (BMC) elections, Raj Thackeray this evening announced that his party would contest the municipal corporation elections in the state including in Mumbai. On Tuesday, Shiv Sena, from which Thackeray split up a decade ago to form his own party, had spurned his offer of a tie-up. Addressing the party workers, Thackeray alleged that the ruling BJP wanted to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra. He also alleged that though Shiv Sena and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) were contesting the BMC elections separately, they would come together post-polls. He sought votes for "saving Mumbai for Marathi people". "I had made an offer to Shiv Sena only to protect the interests of Marathi people in this city. But the party is playing a double game by contesting the local elections on its own but sharing power (with BJP) at the Centre and the state. "I think BJP and Shiv Sena are enacting a drama of contesting BMC elections separately and will form an alliance after the results," Raj said. A similar drama was seen in last year's Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation election, where both the parties came together after the polls to share the power, he said. "I have been fighting for the cause of Marathi people and that is why I am targeted. If needed, I am ready to kowtow to anybody in the interests of Marathi people," he said. "Shiv Sena does not want to lose the Mayor's bungalow, which has been identified as the location for the memorial of the late Balasaheb Thackeray. The party fears if it separates from BJP in the state, the latter may sit on the memorial proposal. My intention behind joining hands with Shiv Sena was clear and it was to oppose BJP," Raj Thackeray said. The BJP nursed secret plans to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, and Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train proposal was a part of this conspiracy, he said, adding that the conspiracy would materialise if the people in the city did not oppose it. New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Centre defended in the Delhi High Court its decision to ban controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) saying the order was made after "application of mind" as there was apprehension that youths could be "radicalised" to join terror groups. The government told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who reserved the verdict on IRF's plea challenging the order to immediately ban the organisation, that it has enough material in its possession to take action against IRF. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, also produced before the court the files and materials available with the government on the basis of which the decision was made. The ASG handed over these documents to the court and requested Justice Sachdeva to "have a look at the materials and notings on the basis of which such a decision was taken". IRF, in its plea, has challenged the 17 November, 2016, notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which had imposed an immediate ban on the organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). During the hearing on Wednesday, senior advocate Dinesh Mathur, representing IRF, submitted that the MHA notification gives no reason and cites no material for taking such a step as was required by the law laid down by the Supreme Court. IRF also said the immediate ban was imposed without giving it any show cause notice. However, the Centre countered the submissions and said that the need for taking the urgent step was felt in view of the apprehension that Indian youths could be "radicalised" or "motivated" by the alleged statements and speeches made by IRF and its members, including its President Naik, to join terror groups like Islamic State, which is a cause of global concern. Opposing the maintainability of the petition, the ASG said the government did not want to wait for some "catastrophic" incident to happen before taking the decision. Aggrieved by the Centre's stand, IRF's counsel said that whatever has been done by a person in his or her individual capacity does not mean that an organisation can be banned. "IRF is not an accused in the case and the crime report reported against Naik is of 2012-2013," he said, adding, "Why action has been taken afer such a long time? Is this the way the government applies its mind?" The Centre had earlier told the high court that as per the notification, Naik was also accused of making statements which were "derogatory of other religions" and thus, "spreading communal disharmony". It had said that Mumbai Police had already lodged an FIR against six others of IRF on a complaint by the father of a Kerala-based youth who joined Islamic State. It had said that some terrorists and Islamic State sympathisers arrested by the authorities have claimed "they were inspired by the statements made by IRF". The Centre had also said the matter is now before the tribunal, set up under the UAPA, which will take up the issue on 6 February on which date the organisation will be provided all the affidavits filed by the government. IRF, on the other hand, had contended that dates or contents of the alleged speeches and statements have not been mentioned in the notification. It had also said the tribunal refused to accept or admit, before 6 February, its plea challenging the immediate ban and thus, it had to come to the high court. It had said that it was limiting its plea to the immediate ban and not raising the issue of freezing of its accounts under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Former Union minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader E Ahamed passed away early on Wednesday after he suffered a cardiac arrest, raising doubts whether the government may have to adjourn the parliament session today. The 78-year-old Ahamed died at 2.15 am at RML hospital where he was admitted on Tuesday and put on artificial life support. "E Ahamed has passed away at 2.15 am. His body has been taken to AIIMS hospital for embalming (a method to preserve a corpse from decaying) as the facility is not available at RML," a senior RML doctor told PTI. Ahamed's body will be taken to Kerala later on Wednesday. The MP from Kerala's Mallapuram suffered a cardiac arrest during the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday. At around 2.15 pm, he was shifted to the RML trauma centre's ICU where he was put on a ventilator and breathed his last. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides other party leaders had rushed to the hospital late at night and met Ahamed's family. Ahamed's family had alleged that they were not allowed to meet the leader. According to a report in The Indian Express, the family of the six time MP alleged that they waited for three hours at the hospital and were not allowed to meet him. "The behaviour of the hospital authorities was very unprofessional and they did not tell us why he has been kept on life support," the report quoted Ahameds daughter Fausiya as saying. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi also were present at the hospital with the family, the report said. The bigger question is whether the government will have to defer the Union Budget 2017 to be presented today as the parliamentary convention stipulates that the session should be adjourned in the case of death of an MP. However, this is just a convention and not a written rule. So there are chances the government may go ahead with the session even if the Opposition protests or even walks out. It is learnt that the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha haven't been informed of any change in today's business. There have been instance in the past too when a minister of state died and the Budget has gone ahead. "Even if a Lok Sabha MP passes away there is no legal bar to stop the Budget presentation. House has its own convention and it will be followed accordingly. May be a two-minute silence will be followed, but there will be no change in the budget presentation schedule," said Sanjay Hegde, Constitutional Expert and SC Senior Advocate. However, sources in the Speaker's office said that the Budget day is special and today's businesses will carry on as scheduled. With inputs PTI Imphal: The Manipur High Court on Wednesday issued a stern warning to secretaries of the central government to comply with the court directives or face action. A full bench, comprising Chief Justice Rakesh Ranjan Prasad, Justices N. Koteswor and K. Nobin, said that from time to time directives have been issued on remedial measures to handle the economic blockade. These should be complied with or the court will "fix responsibility". The United Naga Council (UNC)-imposed blockade in Manipur to protest against the creation of new districts has been in force since 1 November. The bench directed: "There should be at least 100 oil tankers in each trip of highway convoys. While 50 tankers should bring petrol, the rest should be carrying kerosene and diesel. These should be transported four times a week." Besides, the high court also instructed to bring consumer goods and to rein in prices. The highways should also be repaired and maintained well by the authorities and action-taken report should be submitted to the court on 7 February. "The Secretaries of the Surface Transport, Defence and Home ministries should be notified and in case of failure to comply with the instructions, responsibility will be fixed," it ruled. The high court further directed the Advocate General of Manipur to ensure that the office-bearers of the UNC make a personal appearance in the court on 7 February. Gaidon Kamei and S. Stephen, President and Publicity Secretary, respectively, of the UNC were arrested on 25 November and have been in custody. However, A. Noutuneswori, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal East, has permitted both of them to take part in the tripartite talks slated to be held in Delhi on 3 February. Sources said that the state intelligence agencies has made the list of the office-bearers of the UNC available to the Advocate General. Manipur has been facing acute scarcity of all items on account of the blockade. Jerusalem: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-anticipated visit to Israel will likely take place later this year in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, according to a media report. India's ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told local news portal 'Ynet' about the visit as the two countries are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations. Kapoor also mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under the "Make in India" campaign. Other informed sources told PTI that the dates have not yet been finalised by the two sides but "it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017." India's relations with Israel have made steady progress since the two countries established diplomatic relations 25 years ago in January 1992 even as New Delhi has generally shied away from visits at the highest level in the past. The BJP-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to the Jewish state. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejee's invitation which was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi coming after a gap of almost 20 years. The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003 when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Relations between the two countries have constantly shown an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. Modi's visit is being discussed amid talks of a "close chemistry" between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders have already met twice on foreign soil on the outskirts of UN related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. "I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened," Modi told Netanyahu during their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015. The Israeli Premier had then promptly responded saying, "in your case too". Dewas: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and seven others were acquitted in the 2007 RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi murder case on Wednesday by a Madhya Pradesh court, which held the state police and NIA conducted the probe with "prejudice" and produced "weak and self-contradictory evidences". "The contradictory evidences by police and NIA in the case raised serious doubts in the whole case," the First Additional District and Sessions Judge of Dewas Rajiv Madhusudan Apte said while acquitting Thakur, Harshad Solanki, Vasudev Parmar, Ramcharan Patel, Anandraj Kataria, Lokesh Sharma, Rajendra Choudhary and Jitendra Sharma. Joshi, once a close aide of the Sadhvi before they fell out over some dispute, was shot dead here on 29 December, 2007 in Audyogik Police station area in Dewas. Thakur, also an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, is in judicial custody. She was not present in the court when the verdict was pronounced as she is undergoing treatment in Bhopal. "My clients were absolved due to the contradictory evidences of Industrial Area Police, Dewas, and the NIA, which were not found trustworthy by the court. This has been observed by the court in para 124 of the operating order," defence lawyer Raghuveer Yardi told PTI. "The court has observed that the analysis of evidence gathered by the police and NIA reveals that in the sensitive and serious cases like murder, both the prosecution agencies carried out investigation with prejudice," he said. "They (police and NIA) didn't conduct investigation seriously and the self-contradictory and weak evidences of the agencies were insufficient to convict the accused and the contradictory pari-materia (a rule of statutory interpretation) makes the prosecution highly suspicious," advocate Yardi said quoting the order. Initially, the probe had hit a dead-end, but later the arrest of a person in Rajasthan led the district police to Thakur and other accused. The trial was shifted from the district court to the Special NIA Court in Bhopal a few years ago. However, the matter was shifted back to the district court in September 2014 on the ground it was a murder case and does not come under the ambit of NIA, which is an anti-terror probe agency. Public Prosecutor Girish Munji said the state will take a call on challenging the order in the competent court after studying the judgement. Like Thakur, Solanki, Lokesh Sharma and Choudhary too were not present in court. While Solanki is lodged in Ajmer jail, Lokesh Sharma and Choudhary are in Panchkula prison in Harayana. Lokesh Sharma and Choudhary are also accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case. Accused Jitendra Sharma, Ramcharan Patel, Kataria and Parmar were present in the court. Hearing the verdict, Parmar and Kataria broke down. The supporters of acquitted persons shouted slogans in the court premises after the verdict. Change in the political economy of India is governed by Newtons first law. That is, status quo will continue unless impacted upon by an external force. Major transformations in India have arrived at in the wake of crises. The political operating system is governed by two key principles. Politicians pursue ideas and policies that are electorally rewarding. Bureaucracy enables ideas that which are feasible in other words, those that do not upend the structure of power that they wield. Here are five major reforms that should ideally be part of Budget but will not be because they do not satisfy the diktat of necessary and sufficient conditions. Till propelled by a crisis, political interests will thwart them. Downsize government India decontrolled steel in 1992. The decision will celebrate the silver jubilee this year. Yet India continues to have ministry for steel. Telecommunications has a regulator and a commission yet there is also a ministry for telecommunications. The Ministry for Coal is basically the ministry for Coal India and the ministry for civil aviation it would seem is the ministry for Air India. The Centre has departments for rural development, agriculture, agriculture education, animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries which are not on the Union List in the Constitution. Education, health and family welfare are essentially responsibility of the states. And departments like urban development, housing, urban poverty alleviation are latter day creations. There is little or no justification for the existence of at least a dozen departments. The NITI Aayog had some months back recommended that states downsize government to 30 departments for effective decentralisation. Why shouldnt the Centre with over 50 departments and a plethora of autonomous bodies follow this sage advice? Why not restore what were till 1976 state subjects to the states? Why it will not happen: Because parties need ministries, places to park doers and political pests. Dismantle permission raj The accepted wisdom is that India needs to woo investments to propel the virtuous cycle to generate jobs to create incomes to boost consumption and spur growth. This aspiration is daunted by permission raj - the multi-layered system of clearances and regulations. Investors need to get between 40 and 120 clearances at multiple levels a flow chart would be a graphic visual of mileage and costs. This government has made ease of doing business a focal point of its reforms to make India investment friendly. This is easier said than done a point visible in rankings and in the delays in investment proposals translating into projects. Suffice to say India trails all its BRICS peers in ease of doing business. The issue is not whether clearances are faster now or not. The issue is whether the permissions listed have justification to be on the list. Why not design a policy template at the centre and liberate investors from multiple (central and state) clearances? Why not let state governments deal with it they are as elected and as accountable as the central government. Why not dismantle the permission raj? Why it will not happen: Politics is about power to give and to deny. Permission raj delivers it. Liberate PSUs, Set up Indian Temasek The Government of India is the largest business house it dominates banking, makes steel, chemicals, fertilisers, and explores and markets petroleum products, operates Air India and even runs hotels. How are public enterprises run? Of the 234 public enterprises, 163 are making profits and 71 are making losses over 36 of them for five years. The enterprises lose around Rs 20,000 crore a year roughly over Rs 50 crore a day. The total loss: estimated at Rs 119,230 crore. The market value of two private banks is more than the market value of two dozen government-owned banks. The seductive theory about public enterprises is about ownership. That till such time the government owns an enterprise it will lose money. There are enough success stories - in Singapore, Germany or Sweden, for instance to illustrate state entrepreneurship. The cause of rot in India, thanks to the reporting structure, is about the quality of managementor if you please, political management. The crux is the inability to shield enterprises from what the Swedes call ministerial rule. India has many professionally managed enterprises run by Indians. Why not create a sovereign fund or an investment trust aka Temasek, KFA. Shift the enterprises out of ministries, invite global managers to run them start with financial sector. Why it will not happen: Parties loathe parting with what they see as symbols of their power and opportunities for pelf. Abolish MPLADS and MLA LADS Every year elected representatives get money from the government to spend on their constituencies under the Local Area Development Scheme -- MPs get Rs 5 crore and MLAs, depending on the state, get between Rs 1 crore and Rs 3 crore. In theory MPs/MLAs are expected to get their constituency on the development grid and ensure systemic accountability for outcomes. Thanks to multiple failures, in a bizarre and Indian twist the elected have engineered a bypass and access to a kitty to fund political petting often tiling and retiling of pavements or re-re-refurbishing parks. It begs the question should there be a system within a system that operates on individual discretion rather than institutional logic. India spends around Rs 10,000 crore every year or over Rs 50,000 crore in five years just on the MPLADs and MLA LADs. Sure there are guidelines and there is audit. Yet laudable outcomes are few and far. Unsurprisingly administrators, MPs and MLAs admit in private that the Local Area Development Scheme is a much misused idea it has been reduced to a petty contracts programme. This militates with the aspiration of good governance. Why not abolish the Local Area Development Schemes? Why it will not happen: Vested interests will ensure those who must vote for will choose to vote against it. Tax cash donations to parties The top category of donors to parties in the worlds largest democracy is unknown sources. Just two large parties collected over Rs 1,800 crore from contributions and sale of coupons in just one year. It is no secret that a large part of the donations are ill-gotten gains channelised into party funds. India has over 1900 registered parties of which nearly a third dont contest elections which means they could very well be political laundromats. The government has been persuading those in society to go digital and deploy less cash. There is no reason why political parties should shy away from the cause and account for every donation. The Election Commission recently recommended that the cap on anonymous donations be lowered from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2000. Fact is the Rs 20,000 cap was arbitrary and so is the Rs 2000 cap. More to the point the lowering of the cap from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2000 for anonymous donations is unlikely to curb the flow of unaccounted wealth into political parties. If parties are currently using anonymity to convert quid-pro-quo cash into donations there is no reason why the lowering of cap will inhibit them. Why not tax all cash donations of political parties if not at the 50 per cent IDIS rates then at least at rates corporates pay? Why it will not happen: Cash affords secrecy and liquidity, key to sustaining the business model of politics. The author is a political-economy analyst and the author of Accidental India: A History of the Nations Passage through Crisis and Change. He tweets @shankkaraiyar A budget isn't merely an account of the government's income-expenditure and planned layout of proposed revenues and spending for the next fiscal. In the peculiar conditions of Indian democracy where election is the perennial season, the political message in a budget has to be equally astute as the economic reasoning. It will be premature at this stage to adjudge the impact of Arun Jaitley's fourth budget. Early signs are that it is a prudent presentation keeping in mind the domestic and global constraints that the Union finance minister was operating under. He seems to have presented a decent budget while maintaining fiscal prudence and managed to direct the spending in right areas without sounding too populist. It heads in the right direction. While an economist depending upon his ideological predilection may rate the budget 5 or 7 upon 10, politically the finance minister has scored 10/10. There are enough pointers and juicy, low-hanging fruits in the budget that may be plucked by BJP's poll managers and taken to the electorate to drive home the message. Let's start with political funding. In the entire debate around demonetisation, which the Prime Minister had fashioned as a 'war against black money', his critics had repeatedly pointed out that unless and until the government takes sound measures to clean up the political funding system, demonetisation would fail in its primary objective. In a 2015 paper titled Corruption in India: Bridging Research Evidence and Policy Options, Sandip Sukhtankar, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Virginia and Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, point out how political parties in India circumvent the law to receive anonymous cash donations just below the Rs 20,000 threshold to escape scrutiny. While the Election Commission handles ably the planning and execution of elections, it is unable to do anything about the murky rules regarding political funding that is governed by politicians and business perpetuating "a system of trading policy and regulatory favors for monetary payments and campaign donations, they say. Sukhtankar and Vaishnav write: "For instance, corporations and parties are only legally required to publicly disclose political contributions in excess of Rs 20,000. This rule allows contributors to package unlimited political contributions just below this threshold value completely free of disclosure. Indeed, in 2014 the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reported that 75 percent of the income of Indias six major parties comes from undocumented sources (ADR 2014)." Now consider the fact that in its report, ADR has found that political parties to have received Rs 7,833 crore funding from 'unknown' sources in the 11 years. While 83 percent of total income of Indian National Congress amounting to Rs 3,323.39 crore and 65 percent of total income of the BJP amounting to Rs 2,125.91 crore during this period came from 'unknown sources, Bahujan Samaj Party's 100 percent donations came from unknown sources, according to the report. Given this background, the chorus against cleaning up political funding was strong and it undercut Narendra Modi's stated mission to cleanse the Indian system of a parallel economy. This is why Jaitley's move to slash the anonymous donation limit from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2000, above which the parties will have to disclose the identity of the donor, makes huge political sense. Accepting the recommendation from Election Commission, the finance minister said, henceforth "the maximum amount of cash donation that a political party can receive will be Rs 2000/- from one person. Political parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode from their donors. "As an additional step, an amendment is being proposed to the Reserve Bank of India Act to enable the issuance of electoral bonds in accordance with a scheme that the Government of India would frame in this regard. Under this scheme, a donor could purchase bonds from authorised banks against cheque and digital payments only. "They shall be redeemable only in the designated account of a registered political party. These bonds will be redeemable within the prescribed time limit from issuance of bond. Every political party would have to file its return within the time prescribed in accordance with the provision of the Income-tax Act," the finance minister said in his budget speech. Some have pointed out that this merely poses a logistical impediment to political parties bent on exploiting the system and they may very well keep on subverting the law by using loopholes such as taking more donations below the Rs 2000 threshold. While that is arguable, there is not a shadow of doubt that this will be advertised as a major reformative step by the BJP during election campaign. The message is clear. The Prime Minister is serious about cleaning the system. The introduction of the RBI bonds is an intelligent step that gives the donor the chance to remain anonymous while ensuring that the transactions takes place inside, not outside the banking system. While bringing greater accountability in political funding was one part of Jaitley's message, the other part was the greater outlay for minorities and the rural sector. These are politically sensitive zones and the government's push leaves no space for doubt that the upcoming Assembly elections in five states have played a major part in the decision-making. Jaitley announced "implementation of the Schemes for welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Minorities", the allocation for which has been "stepped-up from Rs 38,833 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs. 52,393 crores in 2017-18, representing an increase of about 35 percent. The allocation for Scheduled Tribes has been increased to Rs 31,920 crores and for Minority Affairs to Rs 4,195 crores. The Government will introduce outcome based monitoring of expenditure in these sectors by the NITI Aayog," said the finance minister. Jaitley also announced that Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana will prioritize lending to dalits, tribals, backward classes, minorities and women all target areas for astute political messaging. Overall, the impression is clear. The government has laid the poll plank for the upcoming Assembly elections through budgetary provisions. Now expect the BJP to go to town. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs (RSS) economic wing has expressed serious concern over declining agricultural growth and steep cut in budgetary allocation to farm and allied sector. The RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has urged the government to take measures in the Union Budget 2017-18 to boost rural economy. Allocation to agricultural sector has gone down drastically over the years. In the past, it used to be almost one-fourth of the total budget size, but now it has come down to meager 1 to 1.25% of the total budget. Special attention is needed for this sector. Spending on seeds development and agriculture research need to be increased, national co-convener, SJM, Ashwani Mahajan told Firstpost. SJM along with the labour wing of the Sangh, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh had met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to put forth their concerns and suggestions, and demanded a slew of measures in farm, rural and public healthcare sectors in the upcoming Budget 2017. Areas of concern and demands Agriculture and allied sector: 1) Allocation to be increased. 2) Budget provisioning to encourage research and development (R&D) on seeds and 3) Ensure better Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pulses and oilseeds. Creation of cold chain and warehouses During UPA regime, allocations in agriculture, irrigation and rural roads declined. The need is to encourage R&D, so that our scientists can perform better and we dont have to depend on MNCs. If the US has given up on globalization, why cant we have our indigenous (Swadeshi) products? questioned Mahajan. The bumper Kharif production proves that the government has been doing a good job in providing remunerative price to farmers. Better MSP for pulses and oilseeds must be ensured in the budget. An old Planning Commission report had mentioned that Rs 7687 crore would be needed to create a network of cold storages and warehouses. By now this figure may go up to Rs 15,000 crore. For the welfare of the farmers, the government should provide fund for this segment, he added. Health sector 1) Government should provide medical care and not just medical cover and create mechanism for supply of essential drugs at a lower price to poor. 2) Selling or disinvestment of loss-making pharmaceutical companies under public sector undertaking (PSU) needs to be discouraged. Instead of following Niti Aayogs recommendation on dismantling of price control mechanism of essential drugs, the government should make provisioning in budget towards production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). More allocation should be made on providing medical care instead of medical cover through insurance. In API, China is a big issue as were dependent on it. If due to any reason, the trade relation with China sours, our health security will get jeopardized. For long-term interest of our country, Niti Aayogs recommendation is impractical and government should provide an alternative, asserted Mahajan. Employment generation 1) Job creation for the masses. 2) Tax incentive to units in the small scale sector creating jobs. Budget should provide some incentive to those units in small scale sector creating jobs. In the last budget, it was proposed but nothing happened, he said. Solar energy Budget should lay thrust on capacity building. If India wants to be world leader in solar power, we have to give push to capacity building. Lots of equipment are imported and we still have to depend on China. Innovation needed in manufacturing sector. Anti-dumping duty has to be imposed on imports but simultaneously we need to build our capacity. Demonetisation Though long-term effect of demonetization is good, budget should provide relief to sectors that have faced short-term effects of demonetization like employment, small traders, etc, added Mahajan. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the Budget as "futuristic" with an aim on fulfilling the "dreams" of every section, including the poor, the farmers and the under-privileged while focusing on job creation, transparency, urban rejuvenation and rural development. He said the Budget is a key link between the work done by his government over the last two-and-a-half and the steps that it will be taking in the future as part of its vision to take the country on the path of development. "This is a Budget for the future - for farmers, underprivileged, transparency, urban rejuvenation, rural development, enterprise," Modi said while commenting on the document presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha. Lauding Jaitley for presenting a "good" budget, he said it will speed up the development of the country, create new employment opportunities, double farmers' income. It will bring a big change in the financial condition of the villages, Modi said. It also attempts to raise middle class incomes without any increase in fiscal deficit. This Budget focusses of farmers, agriculture, villages, dalits, oppressed and suppressed, the Prime Minister said. "This Budget is yet again devoted to the well-being of the villages, farmers and the poor," the Prime Minister said, adding the government's commitment towards taking the country forward is clearly visible. "From railway modernisation to economic reforms, from education to health, from entrepreneurship to industry, the aim at fulfilling the dreams of all is clearly visible in the Budget," he said. He said a record allocation has been made for MNREGA as well as women's welfare. Asserting that the Budget reflects commitment to eliminate corruption and black money, Modi said it provides for a comprehensive package of digital economy which will reduce tax evasion and help control black money. With regard to the reduction of tax for people with lower incomes, the Prime Minister said it was a "courageous step" that will provide relief to the middle class. He also referred to the provision on political funding, saying it was an important step to clean politics of corruption. The merger of the Railway Budget with the general budget will give an impetus to the transport sector's growth, he said. The housing sector stands to gain immensely from the Budget, Modi said. About tax reduction for MSME sector, he said it will help small businesses to become competitive in the global market, he said. Is Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys Budget overtly populist, thus political? It does not matter. After demonetisation that disrupted the economy to some extent, the government was expected to come up with a please-all Budget. It also required to boost consumption to rev up growth in view of slack private investment, with special attention towards rural areas. Political or not, it was a matter of necessity of which Jaitley seems to have made a virtue. Is the BJP embarking on course-correction after realising that rural India could be slipping out of its hands? Perhaps. Rural India spend is up 24 percent; allocation for Dalit upliftment up by 35 percent; massive fund of Rs 3.9 lakh crore on infrastructure; promise to pull 10 million people out of poverty; electrification of all villages by May 2018; assurance to drought-proof villages and other such announcements the Budget makes its rural focus clear. The finance minister upped allocation to MNREGA to Rs 48,700 crore. Interestingly, this is a scheme of the UPA that the BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, once loved to make fun of. Of course, there are crucial elections ahead in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab states where the farming community is critical to the overall economy. Jaitley and other leaders could not have been unmindful of the fact that the Budget had to send out the right message among the electorate. Demonetisation and the general dismal agricultural scene have the voters in a sore mood. In both states, the BJP is not comfortably placed. In the absence of scope to make big bang announcements directly aimed at them the election code of conduct is in place it needed a push from the Union Budget. Jaitley has provided his party a talking point through his Budget. In that sense, it can be called 'political'. However, arent all Budgets liable to be interpreted as political? The BJP will also be wary of the fact that it is increasingly being identified with urban India and its aspirations. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been highlighting this through his relentless suit-boot jibes at Modi. The partys insistence on cashless transactions while basic bread and butter issues in rural areas call for urgent attention is incongruous. It has not helped that the job scenario, which was already dismal during the UPA days, has not improved a bit, neither has the state of farming in general. The Jats, who voted for the BJP heavily in 2014, have shown signs of disenchantment with the party of late. Elsewhere, agrarian communities are getting restless. The BJP needed to change the growing perception that it was indifferent to rural India. The Budget was the opportunity to do that. This explains partly the emphasis on non-urban areas this time. The earlier Budgets tried to do this too but the effort was half-hearted. Even the affiliates of the RSS associated with farmers and rural economy have made their displeasure over this clear several times. With slightly more than two years of the tenure of the government left, the pressure is greater. The issue could be a good handle for the Opposition. The challenge for the government is to deliver on the promises it has made. Being populist is not such a bad idea if the government is sincere about its words. The Narendra Modi-led BJP government has succeeded in giving a political message through the Union Budget 2017 it is pro-poor and is inclined to give special thrust to the welfare of the underprivileged and marginalised sections of the society. The budget spoke more on social sectors especially those concerning a large mass of the Indian population and less on industry and business. And in doing so, the Modi government has in its prudence effectively addressed the initial criticism levelled by its political and social critics that it was favourable to big business and industrial houses. The political and economic message that the current budget contained has acquired a greater significance also because it came after the Modi government had completed nearly three years in office and after a disruptive demonetisation move, and thus the burden of popular expectation was much greater on the government. It also came at a time when the Assembly election process was on in five states Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur involving roughly one-sixth of Indian electorate. It was not without a reason that Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley, spoke of the hopes and aspirations that the people have attached to the government at the very outset of the budget speech. "Ours was elected amidst huge expectations of the people. The underlying theme of countless expectations was good governance. We have undertaken a transformative shift in the way our country is governed. We have moved from a discretionary administration to a policy- and system-based administration; from favouritism to transparency and objectivity in decision making; from the blanket and loose entitlements to targetted delivery; and from informal economy to formal economy," Jaitley said on Wednesday. It was interesting to note that for the first 50 minutes Jaitley kept talking about social sectors and kept on repeating politically correct words like farmers, poor, underprivileged, women, Dalits, tribal, youth, middle class and senior citizens, and the various schemes that could be beneficial to them. The budget speech delivered by the finance minister seemed like an extension of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in his address to the nation on 31 December 2016, after deposits of demonetised notes and his 50-day hardship deadline had come to an end. Jaitley referred to that in his speech. Modi's announcement of a nationwide scheme for financial assistance to pregnant women (Rs 6,000 to be transferred directly to the bank accounts of such women to undergo institutional delivery and vaccinate their children) was incorporated in the budget. Though it is customary for the prime minister to speak about the budget presented by the finance minister in the Parliament, what was interesting to note about it was that Modi spoke at length in his televised message, talking about each social segment in detail and thereby virtually taking ownership of the budget. It is good to see the prime minister taking ownership of the economic policy of the budget and take bouquet or flak as the case may be. He had done so last year, and he has done the same for a second consecutive budget. However, it will be for his party, the BJP, and all its propaganda machinery to take it to the people particularly in the states going to polls, and UP, in particular, where there is still time before the first phase of polling takes place on 11 February 11. They will have to convince the electorate that the BJP cared for the poorer, the underprivileged and the backward sections of the society. The Modi government has done its job to suitably arm its rank and file with substantive talking points. Apart from talking about farmers at some other places, full 12 paragraphs have been devoted to schemes related to farmers. Jaitley said the total area that is sown under kharif and rabi seasons is higher than the previous year, thereby negating the notion that the farmers had difficulty in sowing due to demonetisation. He also said that with a better monsoon, agriculture is expected to grow at 4.1 percent in the current year. It appears that this time around the input given by the party was duly taken into account in the preparation of the budget. A few days ago BJP president Amit Shah talked at length about the virtues of dairy farming and how Uttar Pradesh had missed to cash on this opportunity at a public rally in Uttar Pradesh. He said that Uttar Pradesh and does not have any Amul kind of thing and stressed on the need for going beyond Amul. He promised that if elected the BJP government would put special emphasis on the subject. Now, consider the following as presented in the budget: "Dairy is an important source of additional income for the farmers. Availability of milk processing facility and other infrastructure will benefit the farmers through value addition. A large number of milk processing units set up under the Operation Flood Programme has since become old and obsolete. A Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund would be set up in NABARD with a corpus of Rs 8,000 crores over three years. Initially, the Fund will start with a corpus of Rs 2,000 crores." The rural India programmes have been detailed in 14 paragraphs while schemes for the poor and the underprivileged take 11 paragraphs. By increasing allocations under MGNREGA to Rs 48,000 crores for 2017-18 and linking it with productive asset creation, the Modi government has sought to appropriate credit for its reach from UPA. Similarly, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana allocations have been increased by over 30 percent. If the Modi government succeeds in building houses for the rural poor the way it intends to, then it would succeed in giving a long-term social political statement to the needy. The salaried middle class, which constitutes for over 90 percent of base for direct tax in India was expecting more from the Modi government. They would be little disappointed. Though some relief has been given post-demonetisation, the expectations were far greater. New Delhi: Several ministers on Wednesday hailed the Union Budget as "inspiring" and "transformational", contending that it will give a strong push to infrastructure sector, bring about electoral reforms and benefit the farmers, poor and the middle class. The ministers also lauded Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for offering "many" concessions to honest taxpayers, while tightening the noose around those evading taxes and fleeing the country. They said the big push given to the infrastructure sector will transform rural India. With the Budget announcing an electoral reform wherein political parties can receive a maximum of Rs 2,000 in cash from one source as donations, the ministers took an apparent dig at the Opposition saying those parties running on black money will become "extremely poor". "It's a fine exercise taken up by the finance minister. It's very inspiring, bold steps has been announced. Particularly the political funding has been made transparent. People will be happy. Some political parties will become poor. That is why our opponents are saying the Budget is anti-poor. The Congress and other leaders said this budget is anti-poor. It means that these parties which were being run on black money, they will become extremely poor," Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters outside Parliament. He said that the highlight of this budget is that one cannot contribute in cash more than Rs 2,000 to a political party and honest people who want to donate to honest parties, political bonds have been allowed which he termed as a "big reform". He said that highest allocation in the history of the country has been given to MNREGA and honest taxpayers have been rewarded. He said that with more people coming under tax net, the tax rates are coming down. "More money coming into the system means more money will be available for spending on welfare measures for the poor. The housing sector which has been asking for infrastructure status for years and I have been asking the finance minister for two-and-a-half years, by personally talking to him and writing to him, finance minister has agreed to give the infrastructure status," Naidu said. He said that infrastructure and agriculture has been given maximum priority by the prime minister and the Budget gives priority to villages, farmers, poor, women, youth and middle class. Union minister Kiren Rijiju said that the budget is focused on rural infrastructure, housing and roads. "It will transform rural India and urban as well in terms enhancing the capacity of building infrastructure. It is a great relief to the common masses and it will transform the economy of the nation. At the same time, the reform in taxation is great. From the point of view of electoral reforms, this budget has shown a clear way. Political parties have to transform itself. In democracy, political parties are the essence of the whole system. The transparency in which the political parties have to manage their funding system, has been given a great lift in this budget," he said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said this Budget clearly shows and proves BJP's agenda of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'. "On one side the Budget focuses on development in rural areas and farmers. At the same time, measures have also been announced to make small businesses to become competitive in the global market. Transparency, development, nation building are keystones of this historic budget. It again shows our government's commitment to eliminate corruption and black money from the system," Kumar said. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the electoral reforms is a very important step in bringing transparency in political funding. "But more importantly finance minister has ensured many concessions to honest tax payers. Now it's only five percent tax, it is the lowest bracket we have ever imagined. And so (those earning) up to Rs five lakh, all should come and declare their income that is the intent of this revolutionary step. Demonetisation has resulted in bringing all the money into various accounts. Therefore, we can all track, issue notices. So things are on the move. Thirty five percent advance tax increase is the success of demonetisation," he said. Union minister Smriti Irani described the Budget to be "multi-dimensional". The push given to the infrastructure sector with the highest ever allocation is a testimony to the government's commitment to ensure that 'Make in India' is complimented by the success of infrastructure sector. "The push given to agriculture and allied sector by enhanced allocation is also an indication that with the strengthening of the rural economy we will see prosperous families and homes across the nation. Additionally, the push given to the SC plan and the enhancement of allocation of SC plan is an indicative that the government is ensuring the strengthening of opportunities for those who are under privileged," she said. Irani said being a woman, she was "extremely buoyant" with the fact that Mudra Yojana had 70 percent beneficiaries as women and the finance minister's announcement that its allocation is also being doubled is an indication that women who want to be entrepreneurs in their own right will have substantial support from the government. "It (reform in political funding) is an additional chapter in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by prime minister, the electoral bonds announcement is indicative of the fact that the government is committed to ensuring transparency in even donations given to political parties," Irani said. Asked about the finance minister's statement that legislative changes will be made to confiscate economic assets of those who flee the country after evading taxes, she said it is a reference to every individual who tested the government's patience. "On issues of propriety, the government gave ample opportunities to those who evaded the law. The very fact that the government is coming down strongly on those who have evaded the system, those who have bolstered corruption, I think for us today, budget in itself is a clear message that if you evade the system the government will through law will prevail upon you and ensure justice to those who have been rendered injustice by such elements," she said. Praising the Budget, Union minister Ramvilas Paswan said it was "very positive" and cited measures taken on election funding, affordable housing besides tax benefits for middle class and social security schemes to praise. "Budget fulfills aspirations of farmers, youth, poor, women and weaker sections. It will create balance between rural India and urban India. It is focused on nation building and infrastructure growth and is full of commitment to socio-economic political reforms," he said. Dubbing the Budget as a "gazette of empowerment of poor and weaker sections", Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the "constructive and transformative" financial plan is full of commitment to socio-economic educational reforms. Commenting on Rahul Gandhi's remark on Tuesday that the Centre has been a failure on the job creation front, Union minister Rijiju said the Congress vice-president does not understand how jobs are created. "There is a massive increase in funding for rural infrastructure. That will create jobs. Jobs will not come without these activities being enhanced. This budget is there to provide employment opportunities to youth, women especially in the rural areas," he said. While several experts have hailed the Narendra Modi-led government's budget as populist, Yogendra Yadav is not happy with its treatment of farmers' issues. Incidentally, Yadav and his party had submitted a special krishi budget with a list of 15 demands that could help resolve the issues faced by farmers' in the country. But the Union Budget 2017 met none of those demands, and that seems to have irked Yadav and his party members. The leader of the political party Swaraj Abhiyan criticised finance minister Arun Jaitley for not meeting the expectations of the farmers, stating that the budget was supposed to mitigate the pains caused by demonetisation, but it failed to do so. Taking a jibe at the Narendra-Modi government, Yadav said, "It is a tradition followed by the Government of India to initiate measures to compensate the farmers hit by natural calamities. But there was no support extended to the farmers who suffered due to fund crunch caused by demonetisation even though demonetisation was a calamity caused by the government itself. He was speaking at a gathering of farmers in a meeting named "Krishak Sansad" at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Wednesday. Yadav also criticised the prime minister stating how Modi had said that demonetisation would bear good results in the long term, thus raising dreams among the farmers that long-term issues related to their income, cost of production, natural calamities and loans would be dealt with in the budget. "It was expected that a minimum income would be guaranteed to them by a special law. The cultivators across the country also expected subsidies in the cost of production along with better compensation policy for farmers hit by natural calamities and loans, he maintained. However, according to Yadav, the budget did not do anything about these issues. Yadav also criticised the finance minister for offering no roadmap to achieve the target of doubling the farmers income that Jaitley reiterated in the budget. He also lamented that no steps were taken to increase the minimum support price or to guarantee farmers income in the budget at a time when nearly 12,000 farmers are committing suicide every year. He also said that the finance minister remained silent on a subsidy on seeds, manure, water and electricity. Taking on the government on the issue of crop insurance, Yadav said that though the finance minister spoke about the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the reach of this scheme has been dismal. "The government declared last year that the 30 percent of the farmers in the country would be covered by this insurance scheme in the first year of its implementation and would cover 50 percent of them in the third year, he reminded. "But after the passage of a year, it is seen that farmers covered by this insurance have increased only by 3 percentage points. Only 24 percent of the farmers are covered in the first year of its implementation," he said adding that the insurance companies have turned out to be major benefactors of this scheme meant for the farmers. Quoting the finance minister, he said, "In his speech, it was said that Rs 12,000 crores have been spent in insurance whereas only Rs 5,500 crores were allocated for the purpose. "Since the number of insurance claimants has not increased notably, the phenomenal increase in expenditure can safely be assumed as an outcome of profiteering of the insurance companies, he added. He also said that the budget proposed neither to ensure that loans meant for farmers reach the poorest and needy ones nor to decrease the loan burden on them by any means of waivers. Yadav also mentioned that the proposal of allocating Rs 10 lakh crores for agricultural loans is a routine one. "Last year this allocation was already Rs 9.5 lakh crores. Moreover, this money is not going to be paid by the government, but by the banks." Earlier in the day, the Swaraj Abhiyan had demanded a series of reforms in the agriculture sector by presenting a "krishi budget" consisting of demands like guaranteeing a minimum income for farmers by way of constituting a National Farmer Income Commission to ensure that each family of cultivators earn it. The "krishi budget" also demanded a novel scheme to ensure that the minimum support price is fixed 50 percent above the cost of production as advised by the MS Swaminathan Commission apart from initiating a market intervention scheme for the kind of agricultural produce which do not fall in the minimum support price scheme. The "krishi budget" included 15 demands, which Yadav said were handed over to the government prior to the ongoing session of the Parliament. British MPs are expected on Wednesday to approve the first stage of a bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union. The House of Commons will hold its first vote on legislation allowing the government to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which would begin two years of exit negotiations. The opposition Labour party has said it will not block the bill and, although dozens of its MPs could rebel, it should easily pass the next debate stage scheduled for next week. May is under intense pressure to push the bill through quickly, having promised EU leaders that she will trigger Article 50 by the end of March. The government had sought to exclude parliament, insisting it had the power to trigger Article 50 on its own, but the Supreme Court last week ruled it must consult lawmakers. The majority of MPs campaigned to stay in the EU ahead of last June's referendum, but during the first day of debate on the bill Tuesday, many said they would, however reluctantly, bow to the result. The bill could be delayed in the upper House of Lords, where May's Conservative party does not have a majority and where the unelected peers have no fear of a public backlash. A new survey revealed that MPs who campaigned to leave the EU are relatively united in what they want whereas those who were on the other side of the referendum have more diverse views. Some 72 percent of "Leavers" prioritise controlling immigration or not paying into the EU budget over retaining access to Europe's single market. This reflects May's own position. She has said she wants to end free movement of people from the EU, a demand she acknowledges is incompatible with maintaining membership of the single market. "Remainers are much more divided over what to prioritise which may well make them less able to shape the debate," said Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe research programme. The vast majority of Leavers (86 percent) also believe Britain will be able to compensate for any loss in trade with the EU through other deals, whereas 71 percent of Remainers believe it cannot. Ken Clarke, who may be the only Conservative MP to vote against the Brexit bill, echoed this in his speech Tuesday, accusing Leavers of pursuing a fantasy "wonderland". At just 143 words, the "European Union Notification of Withdrawal Bill" has been tightly drafted, making it difficult to amend either to delay the government's plans or to tie its hands in the talks. But May's opponents are still trying, and dozens of amendments are scheduled for debate over three days in the House of Commons starting on Monday. The bill will then move to the Lords for debate from February 20, with the government hoping for their approval by 7 March. London: Britain's Parliament on Tuesday said it would debate whether to revoke US President Donald Trump's invitation to a State visit after a petition calling for it to be canceled garnered almost 1.7 million signatures. The debate was scheduled to take place on February 20, after the petition, created by Briton Graham Guest, received almost seventeen times the number of signatures it needed to qualify as a topic for parliamentary consideration, Efe news reported. "Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen," said the petition statement, referring to Elizabeth II. The petition was launched in response to Trump's controversial executive order to withhold US visas from the citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations. Another petition in favour of Trump's State visit also surpassed 100,000 signatories. British Prime Minister Theresa May invited the newly-appointed US president to visit Britain following a visit to the White House. She was the first foreign leader to visit Trump since he took office on January 20. By Scott Malone and Dan Levine | BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO Legal challenges to President Donald Trump's first moves on immigration spread on Tuesday, with three states suing over his executive order banning travel into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries.Massachusetts, New York and Virginia joined the legal battle against the travel ban, which the White House deems necessary to improve national security.The challenges contend the order violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of religious freedom.San Francisco became the first U.S. city to sue to challenge a Trump directive to withhold federal money from U.S. cities that have adopted sanctuary policies toward undocumented immigrants, which local officials argue help local police by making those immigrants more willing to report crimes.The legal manoeuvres were the latest acts of defiance against executive orders signed by Trump last week that sparked a wave of protests in major U.S. cities, where thousands of people decried the new president's actions as discriminatory.Both policies are in line with campaign promises by Republican businessman-turned-politician Trump, who vowed to build a wall on the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration and to take hard-line steps to prevent terrorist attacks in the United States.The restrictions on the seven Muslim-majority countries and new limits on refugees have won the support of many Americans, with 49 percent of respondents to a Reuters poll conducted Monday and Tuesday saying they agreed with the order, while 41 percent disagreed.Massachusetts contended the restrictions run afoul of the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits religious preference. "At bottom, what this is about is a violation of the Constitution," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said of the order halting travel by people with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. The order also barred resettlement of refugees for 120 days and indefinitely banned Syrian refugees."It discriminates against people because of their religion, it discriminates against people because of their country of origin," Healey said at a Boston press conference, flanked by leaders from the tech, healthcare and education sectors who said that the order could limit their ability to attract and retain highly educated workers.Massachusetts will be backing a lawsuit filed over the weekend in Boston federal court by two Iranian men who teach the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. A federal judge blocked the government from expelling those men from the country and halted enforcement of the order for seven days, following similar but more limited moves in four other states.The attorneys general of New York and Virginia also said their states were joining similar lawsuits filed in their respective federal courts challenging the ban. "As we speak, there are students at our colleges and universities who are unable to return to Virginia," Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring told reporters. "This is not an action I take lightly, but it is one I take with confidence in our legal analysis."Multiple foreign nationals have also filed lawsuits challenging the ban. They included one filed in Colorado on Tuesday by a Libyan college student and one in Chicago filed on Monday by an Iranian father of three children all living in Illinois.SANCTUARY CHALLENGE San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit over Trump's order cutting funds to cities with sanctuary policies, a move that could stop the flow of billions of dollars in aid to major U.S. population centres also including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago."If allowed to be implemented this executive order would make our communities less safe. It would make our residents less prosperous, and it would split families apart," Herrera said.Sanctuary cities adopt policies that limit cooperation, such as refusing to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests. Advocates of the policies say that, beyond helping police with crime reporting, they make undocumented immigrants more willing to serve as witnesses if they do not fear that contact with law enforcement will lead to their deportation.Both the San Francisco and Massachusetts actions contend that Trump's orders in question violate the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that powers not granted to the federal government should fall to the states.Michael Hethmon, senior counsel with the conservative Immigration Reform Law Institute in Washington, called the San Francisco lawsuit a "silly political gesture," noting that prior federal court decisions make clear that the U.S. government "can prohibit a policy that essentially impedes legitimate federal programs." (Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg, Curtis Skinner, Timothy McLaughlin, Ian Simpson and Keith Coffman; Editing by Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, once considered front-runner to be the next South Korean president, ruled out a run for the job on Wednesday, saying he was "disappointed at the selfish ways" of some politicians and complaining of "fake news".Ban told reporters at parliament, after meeting conservative party leaders, that he had been subject to "malign slander akin to character assassination" in the media and had given up his "patriotic" plan to lead political change."With all kinds of fake news, my intention for political change was nowhere to be seen and all that was left was grave scars to my family and myself, and to the honour of the U.N., where I spent the past 10 years," he said.South Korea has been gripped by political crisis for months amid a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. If the impeachment vote is upheld by the Constitutional Court, she will have to quit and an election would be held two months later.A ruling is expected as soon as late this month.Ban, 72, returned to South Korea on Jan. 12 after serving 10 years as U.N. secretary-general. He was unable to capitalise on his much-anticipated homecoming, cutting a sometimes-irritable figure in public and mired in a series of perceived PR gaffes and a scandal involving family members.The media leapt on a series of minor blunders, for instance when he took the airport express train instead of a limo on his return to South Korea, but didn't know how to buy a ticket.Two days later, Ban visited a care home where he fed porridge to an old woman. He was criticized for wearing a bib when the old woman was not - and for feeding someone lying flat on their back. Even without announcing his intention to run, his support ratings in opinion polls had slipped to second place behind the presidential candidate for the main opposition Democratic Party, Moon Jae-in, after peaking at nearly 30 percent last year.Ban had been expected to run as a conservative but was unable to secure any party affiliation."STILL HAS A ROLE TO PLAY" Ban's clean image and his international profile were dealt a blow with the indictment of his brother, Ban Ki-sang, and a nephew in the United States in a bribery scheme involving a Vietnamese development project.Ban's announcement appeared to take the four main political parties aiming to field candidates by surprise, including Moon's Democratic Party."I was looking forward to a good race, so it is disappointing," he told reporters.A poll or 1,147 people by R&Search released on Wednesday showed Ban's support continuing to slip to 16.5 percent from 18 percent a week ago, compared to 35.2 percent for Moon, up from 34.8 percent a week ago. Ban's decision could boost the chances of minor candidates such as Ahn Cheol-soo of the progressive People's Party, said Kim Jun-seok, a political science professor at Dongguk University in Seoul.There had been little to propel Ban's chances for the presidency in the absence of a political base and the lack of a clear message after his return from New York, Kim said."He has hit a wall with nothing but his high profile as the U.N. Secretary-General," Kim said."While his support ratings did not rise ... he kept making mistakes. And people felt that Ban should not be a president."Ban was South Korea's foreign minister from 2004 to 2006, helping to implement a policy of engagement with North Korea, before taking the top job at the United Nations. (Reporting by Jack Kim and Ju-min Park; Editing by Nick Macfie and Bill Tarrant) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: The US Federal Department is considering bringing child pornography charges against former Democrat Anthony Weiner that could send him to prison for 15 years, a media report has said. Weiner has been under investigation since a 2016 report revealed that he had exchanged lewd messages with an underage girl in North Carolina. His lawyers have been meeting with Manhattan federal prosecutors in a bid to minimise his potential punishment, the New York Post reported Tuesday. Weiner could be charged with production of child porn for allegedly soliciting explicit photos of the teen, the Post said. He was forced to resign his House seat in the scandal that derailed his 2013 comeback campaign for mayor by sending lewd texts under the pseudonym "Carlos Danger". The crime carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years, and a maximum of 30. Other charges under consideration include receipt of child pornography, which carries a five-year mandatory minimum, and possession of child pornography, the report added. The laptop Weiner used to communicate with the girl was seized by the feds and helped derail Hillary Clinton's presidential bid when FBI Director James Comey announced in October 2016 that some of her emails to Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, had been found on it. In August, Abedin announced she was leaving Weiner after The Post exclusively revealed he had sent a woman a lewd photo of himself wearing white underpants with their four-year-old son lying next to him. Weiner was forced to resign from the Congress in 2011 after accidentally tweeting a crotch shot that he initially tried to blame on a hack of his account. A spokesman for Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara and a lawyer representing Weiner declined to comment on the case. By Patricia Uhlig and Michelle Martin | WIESBADEN, Germany/BERLIN WIESBADEN, Germany/BERLIN A Tunisian asylum-seeker arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of planning an attack in Germany was also wanted in Tunis in connection with a deadly assault on the Bardo Museum there, German officials said.The 36-year-old is suspected of recruiting for Islamic State in Germany since August 2015, and building up a network of supporters with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said in statement.The Tunisian had entered Germany as an asylum seeker that August, it said, five months after Islamist militant gunmen stormed the Bardo Museum and killed 21 foreign tourists. Tunisia suspects he was involved in that assault, it added.The attack was the first major militant attack against Tunisia in the wake of the country's 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising. Three months later, gunmen targeted a beachfront hotel, shooting dead 39 people, mostly British holidaymakers.The German newspaper Die Welt identified the Tunisian as Haikel S. and said he had been known to German security agencies as a radical Salafist for the past decade. "The main suspect is a 36-year-old Tunisian citizen strongly suspected of working for the foreign terrorist organisation that calls itself 'Islamic State' as a recruiter ... with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack in Germany," the statement said.Tunisia suspected him "of having been involved in planning and carrying out the attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis" and an attack last year on a border town, it added. According to Die Welt, investigators said he had been in contact with an Islamic State cell responsible for "external operations" and had planned attacks in Europe. Reuters could not immediately independently verify the report.Frankfurt's prosecutor general said the suspect, who was arrested in Germany's financial capital, had lived in Germany between 2003 and 2013 before leaving for two years. How a Tunisian known to the intelligence agencies could return to Germany undetected will raise further questions for Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of September's federal elections.Merkel, who is seeking re-election, has come under heavy fire from right-wing opponents for allowing more than a million asylum-seekers into the country over the past two years.A failed asylum-seeker ploughed his truck into a Berlin Christmas market in December, killing 12 people.On Wednesday, the German cabinet approved allowing federal police to fit suspected militants with electronic tags, a step that will need final consent from the Bundestag lower house. WANTED IN TUNISIA A Tunisian magistrate issued an arrest warrant for the suspect in June last year in connection with the attack on the Bardo Museum, a major tourist attraction, and an Islamic State attack in March on the border town of Ben Guerdan that killed at least 55 people.Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere declined to say when authorities became aware that he was back in Germany.The arrest was part of a major operation in which more than 1,100 German police raided 54 premises including homes, businesses and mosques in Frankfurt and other towns in the western state of Hesse. It came after four months of investigations. Peter Beuth, interior minister of Hesse, said there had not been any immediate danger. "It was not about preventing an imminent attack - rather security forces in Hesse intervened early to protect citizens from the threat of harm," he said.Beuth said the raids had managed to "destroy an extensive Salafist network". Salafism is an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam.The Tunisian was seized in Germany in August last year in connection with a 2008 conviction for bodily harm, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said.He was held in custody for extradition to Tunisia, but the transfer fell through when Tunisian authorities failed to provide the necessary paperwork. He was released in November and had been under surveillance since then, the prosecutor said. Die Welt reported that he was arrested on suspicion of being an Islamist militant but was released due to insufficient evidence that he was a member of Islamic State. (Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr; Writing by Michelle Martin and Richard Lough; Editing by Tom Heneghan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Patricia Uhlig and Michelle Martin | WIESBADEN, Germany/BERLIN WIESBADEN, Germany/BERLIN A 36-year-old Tunisian asylum-seeker arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of planning an Islamist attack in Germany is also wanted in his homeland over a deadly 2015 assault on a Tunis museum favoured by Western tourists, German officials said.The Tunisian is suspected of recruiting for Islamic State in Germany since August 2015 and building up a network of supporters with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack, the Frankfurt prosecutor's office said in a statement.He had lived in Germany for a decade until 2013, before re-entering the country to seek asylum in August 2015, it said, five months after Islamist militants stormed the Bardo Museum and killed 21 foreign tourists."The main suspect is a...Tunisian citizen strongly suspected of working as a recruiter for the foreign terrorist organisation that calls itself 'Islamic State'...with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack in Germany," the statement said.The German newspaper Die Welt identified the Tunisian as Haikel S. and said he had been known to German security agencies as an adherent of the ultra-conservative Salafist branch of Sunni Islam for the past decade. Die Welt quoted investigators as saying he had been in contact with an Islamic State cell responsible for "external operations" and had planned attacks in Europe. Reuters could not immediately independently verify the report.Germany is on edge over Islamist violence after a spate of attacks last year, and how a Tunisian who had been on spy agencies' radar could re-enter the country undetected may heighten public doubts about Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door immigration policy ahead of September's federal elections.Merkel, seeking a fourth term in office, has come under heavy fire from right-wing opponents for allowing more than a million asylum-seekers into the country over the past two years. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere declined to say when authorities became aware that the Tunisian suspect was back in Germany.His arrest was part of a security sweep in which more than 1,100 German police raided 54 homes, businesses and mosques in Frankfurt and other towns in the western state of Hesse.Peter Beuth, interior minister of Hesse, said there had been no immediate danger and the arrests were pre-emptive. The raids followed four months of investigations and destroyed "an extensive Salafist network", he said.CONNECTION TO TUNISIA ATTACKS The museum attack was the first major militant strike in Tunisia since the country's pro-democracy uprising in 2011. In June 2015, an Islamist gunmen shot dead 39 people, mostly British holidaymakers, in the Tunisian seaside town of Sousse.Tunisian investigators suspect the Tunisian asylum seeker was involved in "planning and carrying out" the Bardo Museum assault and had issued a warrant for his arrest in June 2016, the prosecutors' statement said. He was also suspected of a role in an attack on a Tunisian border town in 2016, it said.German authorities had no immediate comment on a report by German news agency dpa that Tunisia was seeking his extradition. The Tunisian suspect was detained in Germany in August 2016 in connection with a 2008 conviction for bodily harm, but his extradition to Tunisia fell through when Tunisian authorities failed to provide the necessary paperwork. He had been under surveillance since his release in November, the prosecutor said. Die Welt reported that he was arrested on suspicion of being an Islamist militant but was released due to insufficient evidence that he was a member of Islamic State. Authorities are investigating 15 other suspects aged between 16 and 46, of whom 13 are suspected of preparing "a serious act of violent subversion," the Frankfurt prosecutor general said.Among those being investigated are a 17-year-old German-Iraqi man and a 16-year-old German-Afghan on suspicion of taking lessons from an Islamist militant group in how to use firearms and explosive devices.In an unrelated case, a 31-year-old German man was arrested near Nuremberg on suspicion of belonging to "a radical Islamist terrorist militia" in Syria in 2013 and 2014, according to the state prosecutor's office in Duesseldorf.German has been on high alert since a failed Tunisian asylum-seeker ploughed his truck into a Berlin Christmas market, in December, killing 12 people. He was later shot dead by police in northern Italy.On Wednesday, the German cabinet approved allowing federal police to fit suspected militants with electronic tags, a step that will need final consent from the Bundestag (lower house of parliament). (Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr and Andrea Shalal; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Mark Heinrich) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Mahmoud Mourad | CAIRO CAIRO A Syrian opposition figure who says he controls 3,000 Arab fighters has told Reuters they are training with U.S.-led coalition forces in preparation to help drive Islamic State from its de facto capital in the city of Raqqa.Ahmad Jarba commands the Syrian Elite Forces, described by the U.S. military as a significant component of the coalition assembled against Islamic State.Its involvement in the battle for Raqqa, alongside the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is welcomed by Washington, which is keen to broaden the political base of the opposition forces in the area."Now we are preparing for the battle of Raqqa," Jarba said in an interview in Cairo. "There is a training programme with the coalition forces. We will be ready to enter this battle in force and we are in the process of preparing for it to liberate our lands."The SDF launched an operation in Raqqa province in November aimed ultimately at seizing the northern city from Islamic State. The first two phases captured territory to the north and west of Raqqa and the third will seek to take remaining areas. One decision awaiting U.S. President Donald Trump is whether to directly provide weapons to Kurdish fighters as they push toward Raqqa. Trump has made defeating Islamic State a key aim and ordered his joint chiefs of staff to devise a plan in 30 days to defeat the group. ARAB CONTINGENT The United States considers the Kurds allies in Syria but has said the Raqqa operation should be predominantly Arab, the ethnicity of most of its residents. The SDF already includes an Arab contingent, the Syrian Arab Coalition, but recruiting Arab allies has been a priority to ease ethnic concerns locally and in neighbouring Turkey.Jarba said he had struck a deal with the U.S.-led coalition in December to deploy his all-Arab force in the fight for Raqqa. "In the last two months there have been meetings with senior officials of the American army and the international coalition forces against terrorism," he said.Colonel John Dorrian, spokesman for the U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve, described Jarba's men in December as a "notable" force, and said the Syrian was an influential player in the region. The SDF also confirmed in December that Jarba's forces would be joining it from the second phase of the attack on Raqqa.'FEUD WITH TERRORISTS' Jarba enjoys strong ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and commands what he says is a force of 3,000, currently deployed between Deir al-Zor to the east, Raqqa to the north and Hasaka in the northeastern corner of Syria. He aims to attract new recruits among locals who helped expel President Bashar al-Assad's army from northeastern Syria in 2011-12 before losing ground to Islamic State, which swept through the area in 2014. "There is a feud between us and this terrorist organisation," said Jarba, who hails from northeastern Syria.He welcomed Trump's move to heal differences with Russia, a key Assad ally whose military support has swung the six-year civil war in favour of the government."What we are hoping for is that there will be a American-Russian agreement, because the differences between America and Russia are what have harmed us as Syrians," he said.Jarba said he would likely visit the United States in the coming months and may also travel to Russia. (Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Jerusalem: Israel's president has apologised to Mexico for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to endorse US President Donald Trump's proposed border wall. A statement from President Reuven Rivlin's office on Wednesday says he told Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in a phone call that there has been a misunderstanding. It says Pena Nieto said the tweet hurt Israel-Mexico ties. Netanyahu tweeted on Saturday that Israel's barrier along its border with Egypt had stemmed a swell of African migrants. By Nate Raymond | NEW YORK NEW YORK A New York art dealer avoided prison for her role in a scheme that led two Manhattan galleries to buy dozens of fake paintings that they then sold for $80 million, after a federal judge ruled on Tuesday she was coerced by her abusive ex-boyfriend.Glafira Rosales, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan to nine months of home detention after pleading guilty in 2013 to charges that included conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.Failla, who said the sentence would be served as part of the Long Island resident's three years of supervised release, cited defence arguments that Rosales' conduct stemmed from abuse she suffered at the hands of her boyfriend, the scheme's mastermind."I do believe that you did a lot of what you did because of concern for your daughter being harmed or taken away from you," Failla said.Rosales, who served three months in prison following her initial arrest, cried in court, saying she was "truly, truly sorry for what I have done." Rosales is the only one of four defendants in the case to be sentenced over a scheme to sell over 60 fake paintings promoted as works by artists including Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning to the two galleries for $33.2 million.Around 40 counterfeits were sold to Knoedler & Co, which before closing in 2011 was New York City's oldest art gallery, while the rest were sold to Manhattan art dealer Julian Weissman. Prosecutors said the paintings were created by a Chinese artist, Pei-Shen Qian, who after meeting Rosales' former boyfriend, Jose Carlos Bergantinos Diaz, at his behest began creating fakes that Diaz sold to several galleries.Rosales' lawyers said she became the scheme's face after people began questioning the authenticity of art sold by Diaz. Prosecutors said in selling the paintings, she claimed to represent a Swiss client or a Spanish art collector.In court papers, Rosales' lawyers said on many occasions, she told Diaz she no longer wanted to sell the counterfeits, only to be threatened. Diaz and his brother, Jesus Angel Bergantinos Diaz, were indicted along with Qian in 2014 connection with the scheme after Rosales began cooperating with authorities.The Diaz brothers were arrested in Spain in 2014, but the U.S. government's extradition requests were denied. Qian is considered a fugitive and is believed to be in China. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Islamabad: Two days after Pakistan placed UN sanctioned militant leader, Hafiz Saeed, under house arrest in Lahore, the Interior Ministry on Wednesday banned the JuD chief from travelling out of the country. The ministry has forwarded a letter to all provincial governments and the Federal Investigation Agency, which included Saeed among 38 others placed on the Exit Control List. All of them were said to be affiliated with the Jamaat-ud-Dawah or Lashkar-e-Taiba, which he is said to have founded. On Monday, authorities had placed Saeed under house arrest along with four other individuals, namely Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz, in Lahore. On Wednesday, pro-JuD protests escalated demanding the release of Saeed. Hizb-ul Mujhadeen chief Syed Salahuddin also called upon Islamabad to reverse its detention order, which he termed "painful and cowardly". Salahuddin, chairman of United Jihad Council (UJC), said in a statement: "Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has not only been urging the international community to break its criminal silence on Kashmir, but he has also been exposing the atrocities of India's imperialistic regime." Demonstrators in Lahore also held an effigy, on which portraits of US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and flags of the US and India were affixed. The effigy and a banner with portraits of the duo and flags of both countries were torched afterwards. Protesters also carried banners and placards, inscribed with slogans in favour of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief. "House arrest of Hafiz Saeed to please India is unacceptable," read a big banner. The JuD leaders also warned the government of launch of a protest movement if Saeed was not released immediately. They said the responsibility would lie with the Nawaz Sharif government if the Kashmir movement suffered any disruption or weakness as result of Saeed's arrest. The protesters promised to take out a nationwide rally on 5 February on the instruction of Hafiz Saeed. On Tuesday, Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor stated that putting restrictions on the JuD chief was a policy decision. "This was a policy decision taken by the state in the national interest and several institutions will have to play their role. This news came yesterday and in the coming days more details will be available," he said. Ghafoor emphasised that there was no foreign pressure behind the decision and it was taken in national interest. The move came after years of pressure on Pakistan from neighbour India, the US and the UN to put the Jamaat-ud-Dawah leader on trial. New Delhi, which blames Saeed for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has voiced scepticism, and demanded a "credible crack down on the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attack and terrorist organizations involved in cross border terrorism would be proof of Pakistan's sincerity". In 2012, the US placed a $10 million bounty for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Saeed. Though the LeT has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Indian security forces and civilians, Saeed has distanced himself from the group, and maintains he only runs the JuD as a charity. He has also denied involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The United Nations and the United States have listed the JuD as a front for the LeT. Both organisations, as well as Saeed as an individual, are under international sanctions. His being allowed to roam free in Pakistan has been a source of continuing friction between New Delhi and Islamabad, and also pointed out by the US. Peshawar: Pakistan has refused to grant identity cards to the family of Shakeel Afridi, the jailed doctor who helped the CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden, his lawyer said, effectively denying them passports and voting rights. Afridi has been languishing in prison for more than five years after his fake vaccination programme helped the CIA track and kill the Al Qaeda leader. His lawyer Qamar Nadim told AFP on Wednesday that officials are refusing to renew Afridi's wife's ID card, which expired in December, because her husband's card had lapsed in 2014. He has also been denied a new card. Officials are similarly refusing to grant new cards to his two children, said Nadim, who has been denied access to his client for more than two years. ID cards in Pakistan are a key proof of citizenship. Without one, Pakistanis cannot get passports or vote, register for a phone number or get utilities installed, buy property or enrol children in school, and could face delays at security checkpoints, among other things. "Why are they punishing the entire family? It's not justice, it's cruelty," Nadim said, adding he will challenge the decision in court in the northwestern city of Peshawar this week. Officials from the interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The refusal to grant ID cards means Afridi's son and daughter are now facing problems getting admission to college, the doctor's brother Jamil told AFP. "So the family can't go abroad and the children are facing difficulties in continuing their education," he said. Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of ties to militants, a charge he has always denied. Some US lawmakers said the case was revenge for his help in the search for the Al Qaeda chief. Last year a US threat to cut aid to Pakistan saw a tribunal slice 10 years off his sentence but since then US pressure for his release has tapered off. US President Donald Trump vowed during his election campaign in May last year that he would order Pakistan to free Afridi. "I'm sure they would let them (him) out. Because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan," Trump told Fox News at the time, adding that Pakistan "takes advantage like everybody else". The comments sparked a blistering rebuttal from Pakistan, whose interior minister at the time branded Trump "ignorant" and stated the "government of Pakistan and not Donald Trump" would decide Afridi's fate. By Pawel Sobczak, Lidia Kelly and Justyna Pawlak | WARSAW WARSAW Poland is trying to improve relations with its eastern neighbour Belarus in the hope of also reviving the European Union's dormant Eastern Partnership initiative that targets six former Soviet republics, its deputy foreign minister said.The Eastern Partnership offered money, technical assistance and market access to the six countries - but without the prospect of EU membership - in return for their adoption of European democratic, administrative and economic norms.The initiative is widely seen as having failed, due partly to Russia's attempts to reassert its influence in regions it has traditionally dominated.Five of the countries involved - Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan - are weakened by "frozen conflicts" in which Moscow has a hand, while the sixth, Belarus, remains under the firm control of its veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko.Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Krzysztof Szymanski said much greater flexibility was required to revive the Partnership. Critics say it had been hobbled by the EU's 'one-size-fits-all' approach to a diverse group of countries."Today one thing is certain - the Partnership will mean something if (the EU) comes up with diverse paths for these neighbouring states," Szymanski said in an interview authorised for publication on Wednesday. Poland has held a series of diplomatic and business contacts with Belarus in recent months."KIND OF A TEST" "It's a kind of a test, an attempt to open the door to see whether it could bring effects because there needs to be a will on both sides," said Szymanski. A Belarussian parliamentary delegation is visiting Poland this week. In December the speaker of Poland's upper chamber held talks with Lukashenko in Minsk.Polish media have reported that Belarus's largest state bank Belarusbank and energy firms Mozyr and Naftan are considering IPOs (initial public offerings) on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In a move likely to have pleased Lukashenko, who brooks little dissent in a country he has ruled since 1994, Poland has also announced a substantial cut in subsidies to Belsat TV, a Warsaw-based satellite channel that has provided Belarussians with an alternative to state-run television for the past decade. The EU, which last year ended five years of sanctions against Belarus, is likely to welcome any rapprochement between Poland, its largest eastern member state, and Belarus as the bloc confronts a more assertive Russia on its eastern borders.EU officials rule out any breakthrough in relations while Minsk retains the death penalty, but Lukashenko has become more open to Western overtures following Russia's actions in Belarus's southern neighbour Ukraine.The Belarussian leader criticised Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014 and has also sought to lessen his country's traditional economic reliance on Russia, which has been locked in a protracted recession."Even if (the Eastern Partnership) does not get revived it would still be good if bilateral ties between Poland and Belarus improve," said Szymanski. (Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Gareth Jones) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Tom Finn | DOHA DOHA The rich Arab monarchies of the Gulf have been conspicuously absent from the chorus of international condemnation of the U.S. ban on travel from seven mainly Muslim countries, hoping for warmer ties with Donald Trump than with his predecessor.Saudi Arabia and its wealthy neighbours, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, have traditionally been close U.S. allies, and all were left off the travel ban, which instead included their main regional rivals: Iran, Iraq and Syria.The travel ban has been sharply criticised even by close American allies in Europe. The Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference have denounced it.But of the five major oil monarchies, the only one to express even mild disapproval in public was Qatar, whose foreign minister was quoted during a visit to Serbia as saying he hoped Washington would reassess it.Saudi Arabia's King Salman spoke to Trump by telephone on Sunday but neither side said whether the travel ban was discussed.United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said on Wednesday it was a "sovereign decision" for the United States and not directed at any religion.Some Gulf officials even backed it openly. Dhahi Khalfan, a senior Dubai police official, tweeted on Monday "complete support" for Trump's ban. "Every country has the right to protect its security ... Trump, what you're doing is right." FIRMER ON IRAN The Gulf states, ruled by Sunni Muslim monarchs and protected by the U.S. Fifth Fleet, had troubled relations with President Barack Obama, who they believed was too soft on their chief rival, Shi'ite Iran.In Trump, who repeatedly called Obama "weak" on Iran and disparaged the outgoing administration's agreement to lift sanctions in return for curbs on Tehran's nuclear programme, they hope for a leader who will take their side more robustly."The Obama administration adopted a policy of indifference ... Trumps government says it is ready to engage in the process of stopping chaos and defeating terrorism," wrote Abdulrahman al-Rashed, a veteran columnist, in Saudi Arabia's Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. "We shouldn't be influenced by others positions toward Trump, his administration, and internal policies. Our vision should be formed through solutions offered by his administration for our region."Tarik Yousef, director of the Brookings Doha Centre think tank, said the Gulf countries were still "in a cautious wait and see mode given the uncertainty about the direction of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East under the new administration." "Isolating Iran and ultimately containing its regional ambitions will trump their reservations over the restriction of Muslim entry into the U.S.," he said.To the extent that the travel ban increases tension between the United States and the Shi'ite-led governments in Iran, Iraq and Syria, the Gulf rulers could see it as a boon. They have been waging proxy wars against Iran in Yemen and Syria. Some of the other steps the Trump administration has discussed, such as declaring Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, would also please the Saudis, who oppose the decades-old underground movement that held power in Cairo for a year after President Hosni Mubarak was toppled.The Brotherhood advocates Islamist political parties winning power through elections, which Saudi Arabia considers a threat to its system of absolute power through inherited rule.Saudi Arabia backed Egypt's military coup to topple an elected Brotherhood member as president in 2013. Qatar in the past has backed the Brotherhood, although it has moderated its support since the group was ousted from power in Cairo. Mohammed al-Misned, a Qatari businessman writing in the Wall Street Journal in January, said respect for American leadership in the region had declined under Obama, who was perceived as being indecisive, and there was hope for a more muscular policy from Trump. "With the support of a Republican Congress, Mr. Trump can help reverse the current course in the Middle East. The regionneeds unapologetic American guidance... to help diversify and modernize our economies. Rather than react to regional events, the U.S. must set the agenda," he wrote. (Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi and William Maclean in DUBAI; Editing by Peter Graff) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Cristina Munoz | QUITO QUITO U.S. President Donald Trump's migration policy and trade protectionism are threats to South America and the region must take a stand against them instead of appeasing him, the head of Unasur regional bloc said on Tuesday. Latin America has warily watched as Trump insisted he would force Mexico to pay for a wall between the United States and Mexico to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He has also threatened to tax Mexican imports and tear up the regional trade deal NAFTA if he cannot renegotiate it to gain more benefits for the United States."This is a wall that will separate us Latin Americans from the United States because if you affect Mexico you affect Latin America," Ernesto Samper, a former centrist Colombian president, said in a farewell speech to the South American bloc at Unasur headquarters in Ecuador. His term at the helm of Unasur formally ends on Tuesday. "Let's be honest, the first announcements and executive orders of the new U.S. administration have to make us think, without hysteria, that we are facing a complex strategic threat," he said. Samper called on Latin America to seek strategies and not fall into "appeasement syndrome" as they seek to deal with Trump, who has no experience in office. Last week Peru and Colombia vowed to stand with Mexico, but otherwise the region has been largely quiet about Trump's early days in office. "We need a prompt, serene, proportional and sovereign reaction and we need it now because tomorrow it could be too late," said Samper. (Reporting by Cristina Munoz; Additional reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Toni Reinhold) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said the United States was officially putting Iran on notice on Wednesday over its "destabilising activity" after it test-fired a ballistic missile over the weekend."As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice," Flynn told a White House briefing, without explaining exactly what that meant.Flynn said the ballistic missile launch on Sunday was in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution that called on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Doina Chiacu) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Ned Parker | UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS The next round of United Nations-based peace talks on Syria have been scheduled for Feb. 20, diplomats told reporters on Tuesday.The talks had been planned to begin in Geneva on Feb. 8 but Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that they had been postponed. The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Tuesday that he had decided to delay the UN-sponsored talks in order to take advantage of last week's negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition in Astana, Kazakhstan, hosted by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran. The Astana talks ended with Moscow, Ankara and Tehran agreeing to monitor Syrian government and opposition compliance with a Dec. 30 truce."We want to give a chance to this Astana initiative to actually implement itself," de Mistura told reporters outside the Security Council. "If the ceasefire becomes as solid as we hope, that will only help the serious talk to achieve the concrete." He added invitations for the UN-sponsored talks in Geneva would go out on Feb. 8. If the Syrian opposition cannot agree on its delegates, de Mistura said the UN would choose the opposition's representatives "in order to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible." De Mistura said the United Nations would be attending a follow up technical meeting on Feb. 6 of the Russia, Iran and Turkey backed talks in Astana on the implementation and monitoring of the Syria ceasefire. (Reporting by Ned Parker; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Rome: The Vatican on Wednesday voiced "concern" over US president Donald Trump's executive orders to build a wall on the US-Mexican border and impose a travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries "Naturally, there is a concern," the Holy See's number three, Angelo Becciu, said on the Catholic TV channel TV2000, in response to a question. "We are builders of bridges, far less of walls, and all Christians should emphatically reaffirm this message." Becciu noted that Pope Francis had repeatedly stressed the need "to integrate those who arrive, who come into our society, into our culture". Trump has run into a storm of criticism since signing orders to build an anti-migrant frontier wall with Mexico and temporarily ban nationals from seven countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Washington: Though Donald Trump's first week in office has ignited nationwide protests and condemnation from elected officials at home and abroad, the Republican's initial moves have left one group all smiles. The conservative base that launched the new US president to his shock November victory has by and large voiced satisfaction with Trump's bold executive actions including his controversial decree that closed United States borders to refugees and barred entry to travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. "I couldn't be happier," said Josette White, a 44-year-old owner of an online crafting business from West Virginia. "He's doing exactly what he said he was going to do." "Except for convicting Hillary, but I understand that," she added, referring to Trump's Democratic former rival. Last May, White waited in line more than six hours to attend one of the billionaire's campaign rallies. And she remains convinced that the CEO-turned-commander-in-chief will change business as usual in Washington. "Most politicians promise, promise, promise," said the Republican voter, whose father and grandfather worked in coal mines. "But right now, he's still speaking to the working men." Interviews with several voters across the nation back up what polls indicate: more than 80 percent of Republicans approve of Trump's initial presidential performance, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll. Nearly three-quarters of Republicans said they believe it is "strongly" or "somewhat" necessary to ban those from Muslim-majority countries to prevent terrorism, showed a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Just 19 percent of Democrats agreed. Other studies also indicate a stark division among US voters: Republicans support the president, and Democrats roundly reject him. "We need to keep our country safe, whatever it takes," said Milan Davich, a 66-year-old Pennsylvanian who considers himself a political independent. For Davich, that includes Trump's order to build a wall on the US-Mexico border: "they should electrify the damn thing, and put machine guns and barbed wire on top of it." And when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets in outcry over the new president's policies, Davich has little patience. "They'll protest every damn thing he does for the next four years." 'Give him a chance' Don Krepps, a retired construction worker from rural Ohio, remains convinced that Trump likely is doing "a better job than Hillary (Clinton) would have done. "It seems he's doing the things he said he was going to do." Krepps, who enjoys watching television news, is exasperated by Trump's vocal opposition: "If they would leave him alone, I think he would do okay." "But Democrats and the movie people in Hollywood complain about everything he does." Retired Fedex courier Dan Wallace, who said he watches both cable television rivals CNN and Fox News, is fed up with the media's coverage of Trump. "There's no doubt about it," the 62-year-old said. "It's quite obvious they don't give this man a chance." The supposed blunders -- a very public fight with Mexico, the chaotic roll-out of his migration order, Twitter wars are for them mere blips. "The media takes what it wants and blows it out of proportion," Wallace said. "He's on the right track people just need to give him a chance." 'He's already running' Republican members of Congress express private concern about the president's first steps and a number of them have criticized Trump's executive order on immigration. But in general the Republican majority is hoping it can weather the storm and stick to their original agenda. By partnering with the president, Republican leaders can finally push through conservative reforms former President Barack Obama systematically vetoed. Trump's move on Tuesday to nominate Neil Gorsuch a staunchly conservative judge to a vacant seat on the Supreme Court drew cheers from the American right. House Republicans will "be very patient," said one congress member on the condition that he remain anonymous, warning that Democrats "will hammer the shit out of us and we've got to be prepared." When it comes to Trump, political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia sees no signs that the new president will extend his hand across the political aisle. "He is the first president, at least in the modern period, to make not even gestures in the direction of the 54 percent who didn't vote for him," Sabato said. "Everything he does is for the base." The president's strategy, Sabato said, is to "please the 46 percent who voted for him" in his bid for reelection. "He's already running." A new rumor about Samsung Galaxy S8 suggests it will also come in a 6GB RAM variant. Previous reports had said that the flagship will have 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage. [HTML1] The latest rumor comes from a Chinese tipster who says the Galaxy S8 will come with 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage. However, this variant is said to be limited only to China and South Korea while the 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage will be released in Europe and North America. A separate report in December had said that the Galaxy S8 could sport 8GB RAM. It must be noted that this is just a speculation and nothing is confirmed as of now. Samsung Galaxy S8 rumored specification 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch QHD AMOLED display Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Samsung Exynos processor 4GB, 64GB and 6GB RAM, 128GB internal memory, expandable with microSD Android 7.0 Nougat Fingerprint sensor, iris scanner 12-megapixel f/1.7 rear camera 8-megapixel f/1.7 front camera 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C, water resistance 3000mAh (5.8-inch model) or 3500mAh (6.2-inch model) Samsung Galaxy S8 will be launched on March 29 in New York. The 5.8-inch model will retail for 799 and the 6.2-inch model at 899 and both the phones will go on sale on April 21. Via In the Jan. 12 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its 2017 projected prices for all classes of milk, nonfat dry milk, dry whey, butter and cheese despite the expected largest increase in milk production since 2014. Milk production in 2017 was forecast at 217.1 billion lbs, up 300 million lbs from the December projection and up 4.6 billion lbs, or 2.2%, from an estimated 212.5 billion lbs in 2016. If realized, the increase from 2016 would be the largest year-over-year increase since 4.8 billion lbs, or 2.4%, in 2014 from 2013. Output also would be a record, although it has been record high every year since 2009 when it took a rare annual decline from the prior year. The U.S.D.A. raised its 2017 projected prices for all classes of milk. The 2017 milk production forecast is raised from last month as improved returns support increases in both cow numbers and milk per cow, the U.S.D.A. said. In its latest Milk Production report, the U.S.D.A. estimated the number of milk cows in the 23 largest producing states at 8,673,000 in November, up 33,000 head from November 2015, while milk per cow averaged 1,851 lbs in November, up 40 lbs from a year earlier. November milk output at 16,057 million lbs was up 2.6% from the prior November. Despite the increase in production, the U.S.D.A. raised from December its projections of average prices of milk received by farmers. Class III milk (used to make hard cheese) was forecast to average $16.75 a cwt (midpoint of range), up 50c from December, Class IV milk (used for butter and dry products) $15.70 a cwt, up $1.05, and all milk (includes Class I used for fluid milk, Class II used for soft products as well as Classes III and IV) $18 a cwt, up 75c. The midpoints of forecast 2017 prices were up $1.80 to $1.93 a cwt, or 11% to 14%, from 2016 and were up 85c to $1.35 a cwt from 2015, but were down $5.59 to $6.39 a cwt, or about 25% to 30%, from record highs posted in 2014 when all milk averaged $24 a cwt. Prices of the four products used to determine milk prices all were raised from December and from 2016 levels. Nonfat dry milk was forecast to average $1.02 a lb (midpoint of price range), up 4c from December and up 19c from 2016 but down 75c, or 42%, from 2014. Dry whey was forecast to average 43c a lb, up 3c from December and up 14c from 2016 but down 22c, or 34%, from 2014. Butter prices were forecast to average $2.15 a lb this year, up 17c from December, up 7c from 2016 and up just over 1c from 2014. Cheese prices were forecast to average $1.71 a lb, up 2c from December and up 11c from 2016 but down 44c, or 20%, from 2014. For 2017, butter, cheese, nonfat dry milk and whey prices are raised from last month on demand strength, the U.S.D.A. said. Recent strength in international dairy product prices, partly the result of stronger import activity by China, has been supportive to U.S. dairy product prices. The U.S.D.A. in its WASDE forecast U.S. imports of products unchanged from December, while exports for 2016 were raised on both fat (butter and cheese) and skim-solids (dry products) bases. For 2017, the U.S.D.A. slightly reduced from December its forecast for exports on a fat basis but raised exports on a skim-solids basis. Still, U.S. dairy products face significant challenges in the global marketplace, the U.S.D.A. said in its December Dairy: World Markets and Trade report. A key issue facing the U.S. dairy industry is the sharp strengthening of the U.S. dollar vis-a-vis the euro, which has been undermining the competitiveness of U.S. exporters. In addition, Russia maintains a ban on imports of dairy products from the United States. No bank is more globally interconnected than Citigroup. Image source: iStock/Thinkstock. It was about a century ago that Citigroup (NYSE: C) decided to chart a separate course from the rest of the bank industry. It continued to build its domestic operations, but shifted much of its focus to creating a vast network of banking offices around the world. That decision has defined Citigroup ever since. It also represent the biggest risk facing Citigroup today, as the clamor for heightened protectionism and trade wars is beginning to reach a fevered pitch. A vast global network Citigroup's strategy of looking abroad for growth propelled the New York City-based bank in the postwar period to the top of the industry in terms of size. A mere decade ago, it was the biggest bank in America. The downside to Citigroup's strategy, however, was that ratcheted up its operational risk -- or, more specifically, its so-called "country risk." Citigroup's investments in Cuba and other Latin American countries at various times in history nearly drove it out of business on multiple occasions. A steep drop in sugar and other commodity prices after World War I caused countries and companies throughout Latin America to default on their bank loans. Volatile energy prices in the 1970s and 80s triggered a similar wave of defaults. Citigroup nearly failed both times. It was the third time that Citigroup was nearly driven asunder that it decided to retreat from this business model. Following the financial crisis it sold off major pieces of its international operations. These weren't the main source of Citigroup's problems in 2008 and afterward, but they served as a source of capital and unloading them was consistent with current CEO Michael Corbat's strategy to slim down and simplify the New York City-based bank. But even though it's taken considerable steps in this regard, Citigroup remains the most internationally focused universal bank in the United States. Given the threats of protectionism and trade wars coming from the White House under the new administration, this will present the bank with a unique set of challenges, as any move that would clamp down on trade would almost certainly weigh on cross-border capital flows. Charts showing Citigroup's global exposure To get a sense for just how much more Citigroup is exposed to these trends, I dug around in its financial filings in an effort to gauge its cross-border exposure. What I found reaffirms the fact that the $1.8 trillion bank's greatest vulnerability continues to be its vast international operations. This first chart compares Citigroup's exposure to its 20 largest international markets compared to the same figure at its two closest competitors: JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Data source: Company regulatory filings. Chart by author. As you can see, despite the vastness of both of these other banks' own global operations, neither of them comes close to Citigroup. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America each have less than $300 billion worth of exposure to their 20 largest foreign markets. Meanwhile, Citigroup's is nearly twice that, at $525 billion. These figures relate loans made to foreign governments and companies, as well as investment securities and trading account assets emanating from abroad. It isn't a precise estimate, in other words, of precisely how much revenue these banks earn by facilitating international capital flows. At the same time, however, the comparison serves as a helpful proxy to gauge the relative risk of a trade war to each of these three banks. The second chart is a derivation of the first. It shows the percentage of Citigroup's international exposure relative to its total assets. Data source: Citigroup's 3Q16 10-Q. Chart by author. As you can see, Citigroup's $525 billion in international exposure equates to just under a third of its total assets. That's a healthy chuck. To put it in perspective, the same figure at JPMorgan Chase is 11.6% and at Bank of America it's 9.7%. This obviously confirms the takeaway from the first chart i.e., that Citigroup remains the most globally oriented big bank in the United States. This isn't necessarily good or bad, but it could very well mean that Citigroup will be impacted more than its peers in the event that higher protectionism or even a trade war were to break out. 10 stocks we like better than Citigroup When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Citigroup wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017 John Maxfield owns shares of Bank of America. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Image source: Getty Images. During 2016,Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP) invested more than $2.8 billion in capital across several growth projects and strategic acquisitions, fueling double-digit year-over-year earnings growth. That growth enabled the company to announce an 11% increase in its distribution for 2017, marking seven straight years of double-digit increases. The company expects to continue growing in 2017 and beyond thanks to a rich pipeline of investment opportunities. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners results: The raw numbers Data source: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. FFO = funds from operations. YOY = year over year. What happened with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners this quarter? Energy and transportation continued to drive results: Brookfield's energy segment fueled growth this quarter, with funds from operations rocketing 160% to $52 million. Powering those results was the company's partnership with natural gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) to increase its stake in the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, which boosted its share of that system's earnings. In addition, the Kinder Morgan-Brookfield partnership invested capital to de-lever the business and expand its reach, which provided additional earnings during the quarter. Brookfield's energy segment also benefited from the recent acquisition of a natural gas storage business. Overall, full-year energy segment earnings jumped 94.4% thanks to those investments, and the company saw a 16% increase in same-store earnings across its various entities. (NYSE: KMI) to increase its stake in the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, which boosted its share of that system's earnings. In addition, the Kinder Morgan-Brookfield partnership invested capital to de-lever the business and expand its reach, which provided additional earnings during the quarter. Brookfield's energy segment also benefited from the recent acquisition of a natural gas storage business. Overall, full-year energy segment earnings jumped 94.4% thanks to those investments, and the company saw a 16% increase in same-store earnings across its various entities. Brookfield's transportation segment was the other driver of FFO growth during the quarter, with its FFO rising 21.1% to $115 million. Several transactions propelled that growth, including an incremental investment in its Brazilian toll road business, new toll road investments in India and Peru, and the acquisition of an Australian ports business. These acquisitions, as well as higher tariffs and volumes across its other operations, drove a 12% increase in full-year FFO to $423 million. Utilities segment FFO slipped during the quarter, falling 3% to $97 million primarily thanks to the sale of two transmission businesses. However, full-year FFO increased 8% to $399 million, benefiting from inflation indexation and the commissioning of several growth projects. Finally, FFO in the communications segment remained steady at $20 million. For the full year, FFO increased 28.3% to $77 million, although that's because Brookfield did not acquire this business until March of 2015. What management had to say CEO Sam Pollock commented on the company's full-year results, noting: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners spent about $850 million on growth projects in 2016, which not only increased FFO last year, but will supply steady earnings for years to come. One project worth noting was the completion of the Chicago market expansion project within its Kinder Morgan joint venture. The project cost just $75 million, which was 10% below budget, and it will increase Brookfield's FFO by $10 million on an annual basis. Overall, the company delivered organic full-year FFO growth of 10% supported by growth projects, improving volumes, and higher rates. Acquisitions supplied the rest of the company's growth last year. While it completed several deals across its portfolio, the transportation segment was particularly active. The company not only boosted its Brazilian toll roads stake, it also added new toll road businesses in Peru and India. Brookfield has focused muchof its attention on those three geographies over the past year, which has added new acquisitionopportunities to its pipeline. Looking forward The largest-scale investment in that pipeline is the company's pending purchase of a stake in a natural gas transmission system in Brazil from oil giant Petrobras (NYSE: PBR). Brookfield will invest $1.3 billion to acquire about 28% of the Petrobras system, which is up from the 20% stake it initially expected to buy. Brookfield also plans to invest up to $200 million to acquire an interest in a telecom tower business in India. It's participating in a consortium to buy an entity that currently controls 10% of that nation's towers. The company is also exploring several other opportunities to expand its global tower business over the next year. Finally, Brookfield expects to close the acquisition of a water irrigation system in Peru shortly. While it's only investing $15 million in the transaction, it is acquiring a high-quality business for a good value as it continues to expand its water business. In addition to these transactions, Brookfield has its eye on two trends that could lead to additional deals over the next few years. First, it sees the potential to invest in Mexico thanks to the increased uncertainty in that nation as a result of the wave of protectionism in America. That situation caused the Mexican peso to drop to its lowest level since 1994, and it has slowed down foreign investment, which could open up the door for Brookfield to make acquisitions in the country on a value basis. Second, it sees corporations increasingly likely to sell non-core infrastructure assets so they can fund their capital program, similar to its deal for Petrobras' gas transmission business. In particular, it sees the likelihood for additional corporate carve-outs in the North American energy and Indian telecom sectors. Needless to say, Brookfield sees no shortage of opportunities to expand its global infrastructure portfolio. 10 stocks we like better than Brookfield Infrastructure Partners When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now...and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017. Matt DiLallo owns shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Kinder Morgan and has the following options: short January 2018 $30 puts on Kinder Morgan and long January 2018 $30 calls on Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Regulators in European countries competing for post-Brexit banking business are offering London-based banks a range of short-term workarounds to help them relocate, bankers, regulators and lawyers say. Global banks have warned they might have to move their European bases from Britain if its departure from the European Union means they lose "passporting" rights to operate across the bloc under the supervision of just one member state's regulator. Brexit negotiations have yet to start and will take years but big centers like Frankfurt and Paris, as well as smaller ones like Dublin, Amsterdam and Luxembourg, are encouraging banks, insurers and fund managers to consider moving to them. Financial watchdogs have told banks they will need to create more than so-called brass plate operations; they will have to have a certain amount of capital, senior staff on the ground and approved risk models to get a license to operate across the EU. They are looking at ways to make the transition easier, however by allowing institutions which typically have very complex operations to move fewer jobs and assets over from Britain in the near term. Proposals outlined to Reuters by people involved in talks between regulators and banks include 'back-to-back' trades, where a deal done on the continent could be processed in London, and licensing certain activities more quickly than usual. "Various jurisdictions are going to try to make it as attractive as possible to set up there," said Mark Compton, a financial services lawyer at Mayer Brown in London. "They will try to be as flexible and accommodating where they can. But it will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the appetite of the regulator and the constraints put on them by central authorities." DISCRETION While the European Central Bank is chiefly responsible for supervising big banks in the euro zone, national authorities such as Bafin do much of the day-to-day supervision, especially of smaller lenders. The ECB must first grant the license for, say, a London-based bank that wants to move operations to Frankfurt. Bafin could afterwards show some flexibility in its supervision, so long as this is in line with European rules. German regulator Bafin met about 50 envoys from roughly 25 foreign banks on Monday to explain how they could move business to Europe's biggest economy after Britain leaves the European Union. Many asked how large a German operation should be to win the regulator's blessing. Bafin's Peter Lutz, who met the banks, said after the gathering that it would take into account that a bank was gradually building up its business, as long as the plan was to eventually establish a substantial operation. Bafin could adjust its demands, for example, as to how many people must be based in, say, Frankfurt or how much capital is needed at the outset. "We are talking about big internationally active banks," he told reporters, adding that he was open to arrangements during a gradual transition from London to Germany. "Naturally, we can talk about transitional arrangements." One official said one such possibility is the limited and temporary use of so-called 'back-to-back' arrangements, where a bank in Germany gives, say, a loan on the continent but processes it through its London head office. "Part of the new strategy (of Bafin) is to show banks that the regulator is open to speak and discuss new policy tools for foreign banks," the official familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The overall question with regulators is how far can services be outsourced to London initially." This could help banks in London stagger the migration of staff and systems. INTERIM FIX French regulators have also spoken to banks about simplifying and accelerating the licensing process for financial institutions considering moving operations due to Brexit. "Banks are doing contingency planning, which means that in a very short period of time they will need to transfer some quite significant operational and IT teams," a source at a French financial regulator said. "It is logical that it will happen in a progressive way and that technical constraints are taken into account (by a regulator)." Irish regulators, too, are considering the practical and logistical constraints firms face in having to do a number of things in a relatively short time frame, Gerry Cross, Director of Policy and Risk at Ireland's Central Bank said last week. "We are open to thinking constructively about how this practical sequencing challenge might be addressed, how things might be arranged so that the various objectives can be met, without of course undermining our commitment to our responsibilities," Cross said. European regulators need to clarify which transitional arrangements will be approved and offer flexibility on an 'interim fix' at the onset of the Brexit process or risk disruption to financial markets, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) industry body said in report this week. "Some banks are also considering migration to a short-term or transitional way of operating in order to be ready for Brexit," the report, which analyzed the Brexit planning measures of 15 banks of varying sizes and from different home regions. "Their plans are therefore dependent upon regulatory approvals for transitional operating arrangements." Investment banks with large sales and trading operations, which buy and sell foreign exchange, debt, equities and other financial instruments for clients across Europe, require specialized talent and regulators who are familiar with sometimes esoteric financial instruments. Approving for example, complex internal risk models used by banks to calculate risk on their balance sheets, requires expertise and can have an impact on how much capital needs to be held to back risky assets. This is another area regulators could initially be flexible on, lawyers say, given that some regulators need to build up their own expertise on the issue. If these workarounds are approved, it would mean more banking staff and assets would stay in Britain for the short-term and UK regulators, used to supervising complex investment banks, would continue to have an influential role over the EU's financial markets. The banks are making the most of the competition. "Lots of member states are very keen to have financial firms," said one banking source speaking on condition of anonymity as discussions are private. "We are doing a lot of work with different regulators on accepting various solutions and interim arrangements. Regulators are having to be a little imaginative. For now, regulators say they will require senior risk managers in situ as well as some infrastructure, but staffing could be built up over time whilst banks scout for offices and local staff. "There is the expectation by regulators of substance on the ground," said one legal source. "The million dollar question is how much substance does there need to be." (Additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva in Paris and Padraic Halpin in Dublin, editing by Philippa Fletcher) Fitch Ratings on Wednesday downgraded Illinois ratings by one notch to BBB and said it remains on negative watch, meaning it could downgrade the state's debt rating again in the near term. The BBB rating is just two notches above speculative, or "junk," status. The action "reflects the unprecedented failure of the state to enact a full budget for two consecutive years and the financial implications of spending far in excess of available revenues, which has resulted in increased accumulated liabilities and reduced financial flexibility," the agency said in a statement. Even if a resolution is reached soon, the failure to act before now has weakened the state's financial profile, Fitch said. The decision to keep the rating on review for another possible downgrade reflects Fitch's expectation that Illinois will struggle to find a temporary or permanent solution and will continue to delay and defer payments instead of balancing the budget. Also: Chicago tied for highest unemployment rate among big cities. Copyright 2017 MarketWatch, Inc. Social media, TV stations and newspapers in Egypt are abuzz after reports that the parliament speaker and his two deputies are using state funds to get flashy cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The scandal comes at a time when Egyptians are being constantly called upon to do with less to weather the country's worst economic crisis in decades. Only last week, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi told a youth conference that Egypt was "poor, very, very poor." Adding fuel to the fire, a prominent lawmaker has reportedly been referred to the 596-seat chamber's disciplinary committee for publicly criticizing the purchase of the cars. The furor has spread to include criticism of el-Sissi, with some accusing his government of professing poverty while spending lavishly on the luxurious comfort of its members. One industry that has a possibility of seeing the largest changes under the Trump administration is the refining business. Tax rates, border adjustment taxes, oil pipelines, and EPA renewable fuels regulations are all on the table. For Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO), that's a lot of change to address. Of course, analysts had lots of questions about these issues on Valero's most recent conference call. Here's what management had to say. Image source: Getty Images. Ensuring a return of capital to shareholders One of the things that Valero did take a bit of flack for this past quarter was its very high payout ratio. The amount paid in dividends and share repurchases for the year was well above its total net income. While that may be a concern for some shorter-term thinking, CEO Joseph Gorder wanted to remind everyone that this past year was exceptional and that the company's operational abilities still support its payout to shareholders: Could a border adjustment tax impact the bottom line? Something else that is very much at the forefront of investors' minds is the Trump administration's proposed policies on trade, especially those related to border adjustment taxes. For a company like Valero that imports a decent amount of Mexican crude oil, this could be a concern. As Gorder pointed out, though, Valero has the option to buy from other places other than just Mexico, and having that flexibility should be able to offset any huge changes in that regard. He said: Restarting the pipeline debate Another question asked was the potential impact the company could see from the Keystone XL pipeline getting approval. When originally developed, Valero was considered an anchor customer for the pipeline, as it would take a large volume commitment for the project. Gary Simmons, senior VP of supply, international operations and systems optimization, reiterated the benefits this could mean for Valero and how it's not expecting for the project to be completed, but would certainly be happy if it is. Said Simmons: Buying opportunities? The refining business has been a hotbed of merger and acquisition activity lately as the industry goes through a big wave of consolidation. So far, Valero has been pretty quiet on this front. It sniffed at aLyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) refinery in the Houston area that was taking offers, but Lyondell decided to hold onto it. So when asked about some other opportunities it's looking at, Gorder talked about how the company may go in a different direction: We actually saw this play out in January when Valero used its subsidiary partnership Valero Energy Partners (NYSE: VLP) to acquire an interest in a crude oil pipeline from Plains All American Pipeline. This is a different strategy than most refiner-related MLPs because they have historically been used to drop down midstream assets from the parent company. It appears, though, that Valero may be looking to use midstream to really grow the business efficiently. Unleash the capital Valero has some refining assets overseas, and as a result the company has quite a bit of cash sitting abroad. This, of course, raised the question among analysts during the call about repatriation taxes and how the company could benefit. While there would be some obvious benefits, Gorder was quick to point out that the company didn't see getting that cash back quickly changing much: 10 stocks we like better than Valero Energy When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Valero Energy wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017 Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Chocolate maker Nestle is moving its U.S. headquarters from California to Virginia, relocating to a part of the country where the company says it has more customers. Nestle USA, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle S.A., announced the move Wednesday in the Rosslyn section of Arlington County at an event with Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Nestle USA is currently based in Glendale, California. Lisa Gibby, a Nestle representative, said there are about 1,200 employees at the existing headquarters. About 750 jobs are moving to Virginia and the others will head to the company's divisions in Ohio and Missouri. Nestle expects to complete the move by the end of 2018. The Rosslyn headquarters will occupy more than 200,000 square feet of office space in the tallest building in the D.C. region. That building has been vacant since its 2013 opening. The Rosslyn area, just across the Potomac River from the nation's capital, has suffered from a slowdown in federal job growth. McAuliffe has been working to diversify northern Virginia's job base and reduce its reliance on federal spending. "I am particularly proud that this great company will locate in a property that has sat empty as the area and our entire state grappled with defense cuts and sequestration." McAuliffe said in a statement. To lure the company, the state approved a $10 million in economic incentives and grants, and Arlington County contributed $6 million. Nestle USA said 85 percent of its top customers and 75 percent of its factories are in the eastern U.S. In addition to candy, Nestle USA brands include Purina pet care, Perrier sparkling water, Hot Pockets frozen food and Edy's ice cream. Pork industry experts say U.S. consumers shouldn't worry about a bacon shortage. The reassurance comes amid news that demand for bacon depleted frozen pork belly supplies in the U.S. to a record low for December. Pork bellies are the cut of the hog from which bacon is derived. But the industry is confident it can boost hog production enough to avoid any serious shortages. Steve Meyer is a pork industry economist for Express Markets Inc., which tracks industry trends for retailers and foodservice companies. He expects pork production to increase about 3 percent this year. So if prices do climb, they should stabilize once the industry catches up. Bottom line: A pound of bacon may cost a little more as winter wears on, but prices should stabilize by summer. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that Judge Neil Gorsuch is his pick to assume the ninth seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. With a record demonstrating a strong commitment to traditional Republican values, Gorsuch was appointed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush. At 49 years old, Gorsuch would be the youngest Supreme Court Justice on the court in 25 years. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was the first female head of the Environmental Protection Agency, serving under President Ronald Reagan. While his mother was a well-known critic of the federal government for being too big and restrictive of business, Gorsuch is a strong proponent of limiting the amount of deference granted to federal agencies by courts. In Gorsuchs expressed opinion, allowing government agencies to interpret the law means allowing them to change their minds. This, he believes, forces citizens to not only act in accordance with the agencys current interpretation of the law, but also remain alert to the possibility that the agency will reverse its current view 180 degrees anytime based merely on the shift of political winds. He favors states rights and limited federal government and strict separation of powers, lawyer Wendy Murphy told FOX Business. Murphy points out this could be bad news for Trumps executive order authority because such an ideology disfavors executive orders. This perspective aligns Gorsuch with traditional conservative views of small government, perhaps even more so than Scalia. However, Gorsuch is a lot like Scalia in one important way, Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, told FOX Business. [Gorsuch] has a well thought out conception of Constitutional interpretation and the way that structure protects liberty. Hes most known for his opinions supporting religious liberty and pushing back on the administrative state, he said. Gorsuch is a protector of religious liberty. In Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. v. Sebelius, Judge Gorsuch ruled against the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive mandate, which requires private employers to provide employees with insurance to cover contraceptive costs. Gorsuch sided with the companies, which argued the mandate violated their religious beliefs. The big unknown is whether Senate Democrats will put up a fight during Gorsuchs confirmation process, which requires a 60-vote majority. President Obama nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court nearly one year ago when Scalia passed. Republicans refused to consider Garland at the time. Constitutional law expert at Pate & Johnson, Page Pate, said he expects Democrats will make an effort to block Gorsuch, and wouldve tried to block any Trump pick. Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has promised on multiple occasions to keep Scalias seat open indefinitely if Trumps nominee is not bipartisan and mainstream. For the last three successful Supreme Court appointments, the confirmation process took an average of 78 days from the time of nomination. As previously reported by FOX Business, Trumps mark on the Supreme Court could extend well beyond this singular vacancy. Since 1960, the average age of a Justice who has left the bench is 78. Currently there are three sitting members of the court who are at least 78; Ruth Bader Ginsburg (83), Anthony Kennedy (80) and Stephen Breyer (78). Dr. James Mitchell, who formerly interrogated 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, said the U.S. needs to adopt tougher techniques. Some form of legal coercion needs to be necessary, Mitchell said during an interview on the FOX Business Networks Mornings with Maria. Mitchell said standard law enforcement techniques should be made available to the intelligence community instead of the current Army Fuel Manual, which is not enough to grill detainees. Its basically a manual on how to defeat our interrogations of detainees, he said. He went on to add that the Army Fuel Manual makes it clear that they are only seeking voluntary statements. The only thing standing between us and another 9/11 attack is whether or not the person we are questioning volunteers to tell us that information, he said. Germany's BMW will stick to its investment plans for Mexico and the United States despite warnings from President Donald Trump to impose border taxes on cars imported into the United States, the luxury carmaker's CEO said. "We need free world trade," BMW Chief Executive Harald Krueger told an automotive congress in Bochum on Wednesday, adding that BMW would also continue to invest in its U.S. Spartanburg plant. Krueger said that BMW exported 70 percent of annual production at its Spartanburg plant, where it makes more than 400,000 cars a year, making it the country's biggest net-exporter. Trump last month warned the United States would impose a border tax of 35 percent on imported cars. Germany's three leading carmakers, Volkswagen , Daimler and BMW, have invested heavily in Mexico where production costs are lower than in the United States, with an eye to exporting smaller vehicles to the world's No.2 car market. (Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Christoph Steitz) Trump announced Judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee late Tuesday, and while the decision was celebrated among conservatives, it has quickly become a source of distress within the Democratic Party. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), called Trumps nominee a hostile appointment, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressed very serious doubts about Gorsuchs record. As the likelihood of attaining the necessary 60-vote majority in the Senate to confirm Gorsuch diminishes, Trump encouraged Senate Republicans to explore going nuclear, on Wednesday, an option opposed by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D). The nuclear option would allow Senate Republicans to overrule the Democrats with a simple majority vote of 51 votes. You have a situation now saying well well do the nuclear option now. If they do it now, it will be nuclear option forever. The Republicans and Democrats both have been around here long enough to understand whatever you do today might not be what you want tomorrow, Manchin told the FOX Business Networks Neil Cavuto. He went on to explain why the nuclear option may actually create more Congressional gridlock. I would like to see the 60-vote rule apply to everything...It has to make us start working together. People will not stand for gridlock, Manchin said. Manchin also weighed in on Trumps executive order to temporality ban refugees from seven predominately Muslim countries. The history on the ban goes back to 2011[President Obama] did it for one country of Iraq and then looked and saw six other countries were not only harboring but promoting terrorism. And so they put it on the seven. And then President Trump, wisely picked up those same seven. That is how they come to being. However, he said the main difference between Trump and Obamas policies is that while Trumps order targets green card holders, Obamas did not. Senior White House officials are moving to deny Wall Street hedge fund impresario Anthony Scaramucci a much coveted advisory post to President Donald Trump amid a continued lengthy review of his business dealings, the FOX Business Network has learned. Officials with direct knowledge of the matter, who could only speak on the condition of anonymity, say the likely denial is not the result of finding improprieties related to Scaramuccis past life as a hedge fund executive and the recent sale of his firm, SkyBridge Capital, to a privately held Chinese conglomerate. Rather, they say, its a matter of timing: The sale of SkyBridge to the HNA Group, a holding company controlled by Chinese billionaire Chen Feng, has yet to officially close. The deal also needs to pass government ethics muster, and the entire process may take as long as three months. Senior White House officials say White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior adviser Steve Bannon have recently concluded that they need to fill the job Scarammuci was slated to takean important liaison between the administration and the business communityimmediately rather than waiting for such an extended period of time. Hicks, the White House spokeswoman, had no comment. Scaramucci didnt return FOX Business calls or emails for comment. FOX Business was first to report the unusual delay in Scaramuccis appointment as the director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs. White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks citied possible business conflicts but declined to elaborate. Even as late as Tuesday, senior White House officials said Scaramucci was on track to receive the appointment and was slated to be officially sworn in as early as this week. Scaramucci was at the White House on Tuesday, a sign to some people inside the administration that his swearing in was imminent. As of the time of publication of this report, Scaramucci continues to refer to himself as the director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Indeed, the likely decision to deny Scaramucci the job has not been made official and senior people inside the White House say it may ultimately be reversed by the President himself, who remains fond of Scaramucci. But both Priebus and Bannontwo of President Trumps most powerful aides-- are said to be in agreement that the liaison job should be filled immediately and that Scaramucci should get another possible White House post, or an ambassadorship. Washington insiders have speculated that the delay in Scaramuccis appointment was the result of an internal feud between Priebus and Bannon with Priebus looking to deny the post to Scaramucci who is seen as a Bannon ally. However, several senior White House officials call such speculation overwrought; Priebus and Bannon are said to meet daily on various matters and have been focusing on getting major players in the Trump administration confirmed by the Senate, including Trumps nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin. Scaramucci is a long-time fixture on Wall Street and a prolific fundraiser mainly for GOP candidates, including Trump. He may be best known for his role as creator and moderator of the popular SALT Conference a yearly confab that brings together leaders of business and Wall Street with top politicians and celebrities. During his 30-year career, he has worked at Goldman Sachs (GS), Lehman Brothers and more recently, he started his own hedge fund-related business SkyBridge Capital. In order to join the Trump White House and overcome conflict of interest regulations, Scaramucci needed to unload SkyBridge, which has $12 billion in assets and recently suffered from poor returns. The hedge fund executive helped Trump raise millions of dollars from his contacts on Wall Street during the long campaign and has been a steadfast supporter on cable television shows. Until recently, he was a FOX contributor. He had also been a daily presence at Trump Tower in Manhattan during the transition, advising the then President-elect on various high-level appointments. HNA controls HNA Capital, one of the two entities that will directly own SkyBridge along with the a separate private company, RON Transatlantic . Terms of the deal were not disclosed but people with direct knowledge of the sale say the price tag is nearly $200 million. The nature of the sale and the entity behind the sale has raised some eyebrows given President Trump's criticism of China as a currency manipulator and its alleged use of unfair trade practices. Meanwhile, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have called for an investigation into Scaramuccis meeting with the Russian businessman who appears on the Treasury Departments sanctions list. That said, Trump is said to still be in favor of Scaramucci's appointment to another role in the White House. He will be given other options(Scaramucci) will likely be part of the administration, this official said. Breaking up wasnt hard to do for Russell Simmons. Hip-hops most enterprising entrepreneur is revealing he's cut ties to his former friend President Donald Trump. He wrote the foreword to my first two books I know him very well, the 59-year-old told The Daily News at New York Citys Cipriani 42nd St. on Monday night. Not anymore, he said. Im sure he doesnt consider me a friend after some of the statements Ive made. According to the news publication, Simmons has been critical of the fellow Queens native since Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015. However, the Def Jam founders most damning attack came during a taped interview where he compared Trump to another famous reality TV personality. We havent been friends since the day he announced and I said, Id rather Kim Kardashian be President so he called the office and that was the end of our friendship, he said. Simmons also added that he didnt take Trumps call. I didnt pick the phone up, said Simmons, stating he had an assistant tell Trump to Google the interview himself if he had any questions. I said, Its on video! Tell him its on video! And we didnt speak after that. The realtionship between the pair wasnt always so sour. Simmons claimed that he previously would spend every weekend with Trump at his Mar-a-lago resort in Florida. I was with him on his first date with Melania, he said. We were friends for many years. These days, Simmons doesnt seem saddened by the friendship being officially over. The Daily News is also reporting that Simmons is planning to spearhead a resistance to his former friends recent executive order that impacts immigrants and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. Well, you know, all of our friends have issues I have issues, said Simmons. I accept people as they are as long as theyre not running for president. Walmart has been selling its own line of "craft" beers since 2016. Since the six-and 12-can variety packs debuted, the discount retailer has been scaling the alcoholic offering and the beers are now available in 3,000 stores across 45 states. But should brews like Walmarts Cats Away IPA, After Party Pale Ale and Pack of Trouble really be considered craft? According to the Brewers Association, an American craft brewer is defined as a small, independent and traditional. 5 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MILLER LITE How small is "small?" The Association says to be considered craft, a brewer must have an annual production of six million barrels of beer or less. To be independent, fewer than 25 percent of the brewery should be owned or controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. And traditional means that the brewers product is mostly derived from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. So, does Walmart, which opereates over 11,000 stores around the globe, qualify? According to a new Washington Post analysis, its debatable. The chain collaborates with a company called Trouble Brewing to brew its signature beers. But, according to the Post, "Trouble Brewing" doesn't really exist. Instead, the applicant listed on the filings with the Treasury Departments Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is Winery Exchange, Inc. That company has since turned into WX Brands. WX Brands develops exclusive brands of wine, beer and spirits for retailers around the world, according to its website. But under the brewery address section of the TTB filings, Genesee Brewings business office in Rochester, N.Y. is listed instead. Genesee is owned by another company that brews Costa Rican lager amid other industrial brands-- i.e. they produce well over the prescribed amount that would be considered "small." FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK Though the name "Walmart" doesn't appear anywhere on its beer cans, Walmart insists they arent trying to trick customers. We were intentional about designing a package that conveyed a look and feel youd expect of craft beer, Teresa Budd, a senior buyer for Walmarts adult beverage team, told The Post. Whether or not it passes your definition of craft, Walmart's beer has a leg up on its competition when it comes to price. The beer retails for $7.96 for a six-pack and $13.86 for the variety pack with 12 beers. Itchy balls can be a bummer. But scratching only makes the situation worse. In order to soothe that sensitive skin, you need to figure out whats behind the itching in the first place. There are a number of causes, says dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital. Some of these can be innocentsay, a new laundry detergentbut others, like infections, can be more serious. Here, your cheat sheet on 7 conditions that could be behind your itchy undercarriageand what you can do to stop the scratching, stat. Itchy Crotch Cause: Fungal Infections How you know you have it: Youll likely develop a rash along with the itching, though its appearance varies depending on the type of fungus causing it. For instance, if a yeast infection is responsible, you may notice moist, shiny areas of skin on your penis, and possibly some white stuff in the skin folds, along with the red, itchy rash, according to the Mayo Clinic. Yeast is normally present in small amounts on your skin, but an overgrowth of it can cause an infection. This tends to occur in moist places that dont get much light, says Jason Reichenberg, M.D., director of dermatology at the University of Texas Austin. So it usually shows up on the sides of your groin, between your genitals and thighs. Other fungal infections look a little different: They appear dry and flaky, and usually crop up on your thighs, Dr. Reichenberg says. How to treat it: Whatever the type of fungus responsible for your itching, an antifungal cream like Lotrimin AF should do the trick. The cream attacks the fungal cells that cause the infection, while leaving your healthy skin cells unscathed. Pat the region dry before rubbing on the cream. That will help get rid moisture, keeping the fungus from growing and allowing the cream to work better, Dr. Reichenberg says. Itchy Crotch Cause: Chafing How you know you have it: Chafing occurs when your skin rubs togethercommonly your thighs. It usually develops when youre doing an activity that involves a lot of friction, like running. The rubbing can disturb your skin barrier, causing tiny cracks and inflammation on your outer layers of skin. This causes a red, irritated rash that burns and itches. Your skin can also grow scaly, too, Dr. Zeichner says. How to treat it: Your goal is to protect your irritated skin and prevent any additional rubbing. A moisturizer like Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Cream will help repair the skin. It also contains colloidal oatmeal, which works to soothe irritation, Dr. Zeichner says. Pair that with a zinc cream, like Destin, which protects your skin from future rubbing by adding a protective barrier. And then use a cream that contains petroleum, like CeraVe Healing Ointment, which helps hydrate and restore your skin. Itchy Crotch Cause: Intertrigo How you know you have it: Youll develop a raw, red rash that itches and stings, usually in areas that contain lots of moisture from sweating, Dr. Zeichner saysso, like your groin, between the folds of your stomach, under your arms, or between your toes, according to the Mayo Clinic. That moisture can spur an overgrowth of bacteria and fungus. How to treat it: Antibacterial creams like Neosporin and antifungal creams, like Lotrimin, can take care of the bacteria and fungus. And a zinc cream, like Destin, shields your skin from more rubbing. If the rash persists for one to two weeks, head to your dermatologist. He or she will likely prescribe stronger versions of these medications to smooth over the irritation, Dr. Zeichner says. Itchy Crotch Cause: Contact Dermatitis How you know you have it: Contact dermatitis occurs when your skin comes in contact with something its allergic to. Youll likely develop a super itchy, red rash that looks bumpy. It might even ooze a clear or yellowish fluid, which shows that the top layer of your skin has been disrupted, says Dr. Reichenberg. Contact dermatitis is likely the cause if you notice that itchy rash and youve recently changed something in your routinesay, you tried a new laundry detergent or fabric softener, or even bought a new couch made of a different materialright before you noticed it, says Dr. Reichenberg. Youll usually start to notice a reaction hours or even a few days later. Youll also probably experience itching on other body parts that were exposed to the allergen, too, he says. Your itchy balls will likely bother you more, though, since their thin skin is more sensitive to allergens. How to treat it: Stop using the chemical or material you think may be responsible. If its clothing washed in a new detergent, rewash it a few times with your previous brand, says Dr. Reichenberg. If contact dermatitis was responsible, the reaction should disappear in about two weeks. Itchy Crotch Cause: Pubic lice How you know you have it: If you start to notice intense itching, irritation, and tiny specks in your pubic hair, you might have contracted a type of parasite called pubic lice, also known as crabs. You may see tiny white or yellowish specks near the roots of your pubic hair. Those are the lice eggs, says Dennis Fortenberry, M.D., a professor of adolescent medicine at Indiana University. You might also spot the lice themselves crawlingtheyre tan or grayish-white, and if youre brave enough to look at one through a magnifying glass, itd resemble a mini crab, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How to treat it: Head to your doctorhe or she will confirm that your problem actually is lice, and send you home with a shampoo or lotion containing either permethrin or pyrethrins with piperonyl butoxide, which will kill the lice Dr. Fortenberry says. Itchy Crotch Cause: Herpes How you know you have it: For some guys, itching can be the first symptom of this sexually transmitted infection (STI), which is caused by the herpes virus, Dr. Fortenberry says. That itch will usually turn to burning, and within about a day, a blister or cluster of blisters can form. Then, the blisters can break, leading to painful sores. If youve experienced those symptoms in the past and they keep cropping back up, that might point to herpes, since the infection usually causes recurrent outbreaks. How to treat it: This is another case where youll head to your doctor. He or she will diagnose you, either by simply looking at the appearance of your blisters or by performing a blood test or culture of the lesion, reports the CDC. Theres no cure for herpes, but your doctor can provide some treatment. Antiviral meds, like Valtrex, Zovirax, or Famvir, can shorten the outbreak or prevent one from occurring. They also may reduce the chances of passing on the virus to your partner. Itchy Crotch Cause: Genital Warts How you know you have it: Genital warts are a common symptom of the STI human papillomavirus (HPV). They are typically soft to the touch and skin colored, and some may even resemble a cauliflower. You might notice just one, or they could crop up in a cluster, Dr. Fortenberry says. But other than some itching, the warts dont feel like anything. How to treat it: If you think you have genital warts, check in with your doctor, Dr. Fortenberry says. He or she will likely prescribe a medication that contains Imiquimod, Podofilox, or Sinecatechins, which will stimulate your bodys immune system to clear up the warts. Or, she may apply liquid nitrogen to the growth, which will freeze it off. However, even though you can get rid of the wart, you cant eliminate the virus from your systemmeaning more warts could crop up down the road, and you can still spread it to others if you dont have a visible wart. This article originally appeared on MensHealth.com. Forty-eight-year-old Christine Jagde thought she had tried everything to relieve her debilitating migraines, until she stumbled upon a simple holistic therapy: floating in a tank. "When I walked out of the float the first time, I felt relaxed, my headache felt better, and I thought, OK this is something that I can do as a practice," Jagde, who works as an attorney in New York City, told FoxNews.com. Floating, or flotation therapy, is one of the latest alternative medicine trends, and it works by depriving the senses to ease stress and aches. Over the past few years, more businesses that offer the therapy have emerged, and some companies are now selling personal tanks that can be used at home. At Lift Floats in New York, clients float naked for one hour in a water tank filled with 250 gallons of water at body temperature and 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt. [Its] a concentration of salt greater than the Dead Sea so clients float effortlessly, Lift Floats co-owner David Leventhal, told FoxNews.com. "Most of our clients have the sensation of not being able to feel hot or cold. They literally can't tell if their limbs are above or below the water line." While growing in popularity, floatation therapy isnt exactly new. Behavioral scientist John C. Lilly started experimenting with an isolation tank in 1954. In 1972, the first commercial tanks hit the market thanks to computer system programmer Glenn Perry. Dr. Paul Hokemeyer, a psychotherapist based in New York City and Malibu, said when the mind is deprived of senses, it goes into a state of hyper-arousal. It generates a barrage of thoughts, feelings and emotions that emanate from both the conscious and unconscious state of being, Hokemeyer told FoxNews.com. Questions that an individual may have during this heightened state of awareness include Where am I, Why am I doing this? as well as questions with deeper conflicts of being like Who am I?, and Am I safe, loved and lovable? Research on floatation therapy has been limited to small study groups, but some reports suggest floating can relieve muscle tension, enhance creativity and induce instant relaxation. Dr. Teo Mendez, an orthopedic surgeon from Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, has floated three times before and said he was skeptical about its mental health benefits at first. "For about 20 minutes, I was pretty bored, but then I started to get a little bit in-tune with my body, Mendez told FoxNews.com. I felt very creative afterwards, like I was easily able to solve problems. A lot of times in surgery, what were doing is trying to solve problems, and being able to think outside the box and think of new ways to do things is critically important, so its helped me in that way. Some floaters have reported the pitch-black and sound-proof environment can put them into a deep meditative state. Its really allowed me to become more self-aware and to visualize things, Jagde said. Ive been able to visualize things from my past, from wonderful childhood experiences. Busy professionals and entrepreneurs have also flocked to float centers across the nation in hopes of finding new ways to relieve stress. Mackie Yakaitis, founder of 11lemons.com, an on-demand dry cleaning and virtual closet app he launched last month, went to Cloud Aquatic Float Parlor in Waldwick, New Jersey, for a chance to get away and refocus. Launching a business can be stressful. It required me to be connected around the clock, so I was really looking forward to being able to completely unplug and disconnect from my devices for a bit," Yakaitis told FoxNews.com. An hour without interruption felt extremely relaxing. Even famous athletes like Tom Brady and Stephen Curry reportedly float for muscle recovery, and a boost of focus and concentration. I get asked a lot by athletes and by patients about this, and I think the thing that really benefits them first and foremost is the lukewarm water that loosens up your muscles, Mendez said. Magnesium also the Epsom salts dissolves into magnesium and sulfate, and magnesium is extremely important for your body. Theres a theory that some of the magnesium gets absorbed into your skin when youre floating, and this can potentially aid recovery [and] decrease muscle soreness, whether its from working out or just from low back pain, stress, [or] tension in your shoulders. A study published in May 2006 in the International Journal of Stress Management found that participants with stress-related pain who floated for 12 sessions showed a decrease in pain, stress, anxiety and depression. Float center owners suggest that people with certain mental illnesses or medical conditions like epilepsy, infectious diseases or open skin wounds talk to their doctor before floating. It holds the potential to traumatize people who suffer from a host of chronic to acute mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Hokemeyer said. In addition, for people who struggle with an active borderline personality disorder, it holds the potential to cause great stress and is counter indicated. An hourlong float session typically costs between $60 to $100. At Lift Floats, a single session costs $99. A Pennsylvania couple is facing charges over their two-year-old daughters November death after authorities said they indicated that they do not believe in medications or doctors for religious regions. Jonathan and Grace Fosters daughter Ella died of pneumonia at the familys Berks County home, Fox 29 reported. Authorities charged the Fosters with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with Ellas Nov. 8 death. A press conference with Pennsylvania state police and the district attorney further detailing the charges is expected Wednesday. Pediatric cases of pneumonia are typically caused by viruses and often begin after an upper respiratory tract infection, according to KidsHealth.org. The infection then travels to the lungs with symptoms possibly presenting as fever, shaking chills, cough, stuffy nose, rapid or trouble breathing, chest pain, vomiting, abdominal pain and possibly loss of appetite. Children who contract pneumonia caused by bacteria becoming sick very quickly and present high fevers. It was not clear which Ella had before her death. An Oregon womans post about how her pet snakes curiosity landed her in the emergency room has quickly gained steam on social media. Ashley Glawe, who has since recovered from the January incident, shared that she was playing with her pet snake when it poked its head through her stretched earlobe and became stuck. Glawe said the Ball Python snake, named Bart, was too big to fit all the way through her lobe, and she was unable to extract it on her own. Glawe further explained that she wears gages in her earlobes but had taken them out. BY FAR one of my #CRAZIEST life moments! Glawe wrote in the Jan. 23 Facebook post. Went to the #EmergencyRoom because my #BallPython #Python #Snake decided to get #STUCK in my #Gauged earlobe! A friend informed concerned commenters that doctors at Portland Adventist Hospital made a slight cut in Glawes ear and used Vaseline while further stretching the lobe with a plastic tool so that the snake could wiggle out. Glawe told another commenter that her ear was numbed before the procedure and that the experience hurt a little, but Bart was unharmed. Glawes original post has been shared more than 32,000 times, and has gained more than 23,000 likes. A California long-haul trucker died early Monday after a tooth infection spread to his lungs, Fox 40 reported. Vadim Kondratyuk Anatoliyevich, 26, was the father of two small children. He started to complain of a toothache a few weeks ago, before a drive to New York. He visited a dentist in Oklahoma and had his tooth cleaned and was prescribed antibiotics. The medication reportedly did little to help the man, and his face began to swell. His brother went out to meet him because he was too weak to drive back, and they checked in to a hospital in Utah. His wife, Nataliya, told the station she received a call from doctors. They said tonight is the night hes going to die, she said. They told her that they were unable to stop the infection. "I know he's in heaven. He's a happy person right now. He's gonna be my angel for the rest of my life and he's gonna help me through this whole time without a dad and without a husband," Nataliya said. A GoFundMe set up on behalf of the family described Anatoliyevich as a "humble and calm person." A post on the fundraising website said all proceeds will help the family cover medical expenses and the cost of transporting his body back to California. Listen to Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, a leading voice among liberal Democrats, as he explains why he plans to filibuster President Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court: "This is a stolen seat. This is the first time a Senate majority has stolen a seat, Merkley told reporters. We will use every lever in our power to stop this. Merkley and other Democrats are still fuming over the successful strategy of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP Conference to deny President Obama his right to fill the for nearly a year after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the seat. Top Republicans, acting solely out of political anger, blocked Garland's nomination for 10 months. That is the all-time record any Supreme Court nominee has had to wait for a hearing. The GOP refused to schedule hearings, much less a vote on Garland. McConnell even rudely refused him a customary courtesy meeting. They treated Garland with disrespect, bordering on a public shunning. Their goal was to prevent a non-Republican nominee from getting a seat on the high court and potentially conservative majority dominance of the nine-member bench. Now with Trump in charge of nominating the next justice, the New York Times reported on the stakes this way: "A new justice appointed by President Trump would revitalize the courts conservative bloc. The balance of power would then return to the one in place since 2006: leaning right, but tempered by the occasional liberal votes of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy." Keep in mind Garland was no extreme candidate. He is widely respected by conservatives and liberals. He is viewed as a middle-of-the road jurist who was eminently qualified and respected by his peers. In fact, Garlands unimpeachable credentials won him praise from Senate Republicans when he was nominated to the D.C. Court of the Appeals, regarded as the nations second highest court. Back then, Sen. Hatch hailed Garland as a fine man, and a consensus nominee. He boldly predicted there would be "no question" that Garland would be confirmed if Obama nominated him for the vacancy that went to Elena Kagan in 2010. So you can imagine Democrats' disgust when McConnell took to the Senate floor last week to warn them that Democrats must give "careful consideration followed by an up-or-down vote" to Trump's nominee, not a filibuster. Garland was never allowed to get to the point where anyone could filibuster. Turnabout is fair play, acted on with glee in these politically polarized times. This is especially true after President Trump fired the acting Attorney General for refusing to defend the legal basis for his plan to halt acceptance of refugees and immigration from select countries. Lawyers for several states are already preparing to send challenges to Trumps executive order to a future Supreme Court. Just before the November election, when it looked like a Democrat might win the White House, Senators John McCain [R-Arizona] and Ted Cruz [R-Texas] said they might never consider a Democrat nominee for the Supreme Court and allow the court operate with 8 justices. In this difficult, tit-for-tat atmosphere Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is prepared to lead his troops to the barricades against Trump's pick. Even before knowing the name of Trumps nominee, Sen. Schumer focused his opposition on stopping a right-wing extremist from getting on the court. "If the nominee is not bipartisan and mainstream we absolutely will keep the seat open," Schumer said in an interview last week. "I'm hopeful that maybe President Trump will nominate someone that will get bipartisan support but, yes, we'll fight it tooth-and-nail as long as we have to." Schumer's resolve on this point could force McConnell to invoke the so-called Nuclear Option that would destroy the filibuster as a means to block a Supreme Court nominee. It would lower the vote threshold in the Senate from 60 votes to 51 votes. The GOP has 52 senate seats. President Trump has said he would favor such a move. Schumer's predecessor as Senate Minority Leader, Former Senator Harry Reid (D NV), used the nuclear option for lower-level federal judicial appointments being blocked by Senate Republicans. But he was careful to avoid applying the simple majority rule to Supreme Court nominees. Sen. McConnell also seems to want to avoid that move which could lock the Senate in a state of dysfunction for years to come. Supreme Court nomination fights are always marquee political fights, commanding tremendous media attention. Think back to how President Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court was derailed. Think of the damaging political spectacle that occurred when Democrats tried to derail Justice Clarence Thomas nomination with salacious charges of sexual harassment. It is possible that Democrats will decide it is smart politics to allow a mainstream Trump nominee to be approved this time. But if a liberal now sitting on the court retires or dies and Trump has another nomination, get ready for fireworks if not all out war on the nomination. The polarizing politics of the Trump presidential brand coupled with the very real prospect that Democrats could use the filibuster make for a toxic combination. The institutional norms of the Senate, political decorum and the public's fraying faith in government may just end up as collateral damage after the dust settles on a fight that will go on as long as Trump is in the White House. It wasnt flashy or sensational. Instead, President Donald Trump delivered a somber and solemn Supreme Court nomination is less time than it takes to drive a few blocks in D.C. during rush hour. And most of the media ate it up. Even US Weekly was paying attention. Damon Linker, senior correspondent for The Week, summed up what for many was reluctant praise: That was the most presidential seven minutes of Donald Trump's presidency so far, and most normal. Politico called the pick Antonin Scalia 2.0, hardly a phrasing designed to appease the left. That positivity was a huge departure from what CNNs Jim Acosta was expecting. Acosta, who had a big league run-in with the president, was denied a question at Trumps first big post-election press conference. Here the CNN senior white house correspondent summed up what was probably a popular media view: We were expecting something a little bit more reality TV event here. Commentators were obviously impressed with what actually happened. This is how its supposed to be done. I mean this is done to the T, commented CNNs Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash. New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor even noted that, Barack Obama and Neil Gorsuch were in the same Harvard Law School class, graduating in 1991. Another CNN Political Analyst, David Gregory, was so complimentary that he got four-lettered Twitter pushback, which he then retweeted. Tonight represents a stroke of genius/obstruction by Senator McConnell who saw to it Judge Garland never got a hearing, he wrote. His response to the F-bomb tweet was quick. All you haters on twitter need to get out of your bubbles - not everyone thinks like you. I provide analysis. Take it or leave it. Naturally, the left was unhappy. Still smarting after the Merrick Garland snub, many liberals were glum or angry. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Will Bunch was both. 2017: The year America became a dictatorship but the optics were great, he lamented, retweeting a comment from Erik Wemple of The Washington Post. CNN political commentator Keith Boykin couldnt get past the Garland nomination. It doesn't matter if Neil Gorsuch is qualified. Merrick Garland was too. Confirming Gorsuch would reward @GOP's unprecedented obstruction, he complained. Lefty movie director Michael Moore reflected the Hollywood reaction, mocking Trumps planned announcement: Oh no! Really?! What could it be? Youre stepping down? Former Star Trek actor George Takei blasted the nominee for his views, saying that Religious based discrimination and abortion foes just got a boost. Funny or Die host Billy Eichner hammered the Garland connection. Gorsuch is extremely anti-LGBTQ and this is a #StolenSeat that belonged to Merrick Garland, he tweeted. Many others in the media simply used the high-profile event for sport, with the British press winning the day. The Guardians Ben Jacobs noted how Trumps other likely choice hadnt won much of anything. Congratulations to Thomas Hardiman on winning a set of steak knives. David Martosko, of The Daily Mail, joked about the speed of the announcement. The bounce rate from these livestreams is going to be astronomical. Times Ryan Teague Beckwith gave the American snark, lamenting the lost effort writing up Hardiman stories. There's a newspaper in heaven where your profile of Thomas Hardiman will be published. Dear Senator Schumer, It was quite a weekend for you. When you werent wallowing in your 15 minutes of self-induced fame with endless tirades against President Trump and his executive order, you flooded the airwaves with enough Crocodile Tears to fill the Hudson. If that wasnt enough you posed with an Islamic version of the Walton family on Sunday -- they looked like nothing more than props -- to show us how we can teach the world to sing in peaceful harmony. You referred to President Trumps executive order, which indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the United States, suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, refugees or otherwise, from entering the United States for 90 days: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, as mean-spirited and a moral outrage, yet they bear a resemblance to an executive order issued by President Obama in 2011 and orders issued by the Department of Homeland Security last year. In 2011, President Obama placed a six-month ban on all refugees from Iraq after a refugee was linked to the deaths of US soldiers in Iraq. According to a DHS press release, dated, February 18, 2016: The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that Libya, Somalia, and Yemen be included as countries of concern, specifically for individuals who have traveled to these countries since March 1, 2011. DHS continues to consult with the Department of State and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to develop further criteria to determine whether other countries would be added to this list. Last month, the United States began implementing changes under the Act. The three additional countries designated today join Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria as countries subject to restrictions for Visa Waiver Program travel for certain individuals. Sure sounds like the same countries listed on President Trumps executive order, doesnt it, Senator? Strangely, you, nor your colleagues in dishonesty and deception from the liberal media ever uttered so much as a peep about those orders signed by Mr. Obama and authorized by the DHS. As you well know, Senator Schumer, the presidents first constitutional duty is to protect the nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is not his duty to bow to the neurotic, loony whims of women on "The View," naive, airhead actors at an awards ceremony or the anarchists your party has unleashed once again in big cities across the country. The examples of terrorists who have infiltrated into the US under the guise of the refugee or visa programs are numerous. Here are just a few examples out of many: On November 18, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Issa Doreh was sentenced to ten years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorist, conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and providing material support to foreign terrorist organization. Doreh was admitted to the United States as a refugee from Somalia . On January 31, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Ahmed Nasir Taalil Mohamud was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Mohamud was admitted to the United States as a refugee from Somalia. On April 20, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Abdurahman Yasin Daud, a Somalian refugee was charged (along with six others) with conspiracy and attempt to provide material support to ISIS. On February 18, 2015, Al-Hazmah Mohammed Jawad was arrested as he attempted to boarda flight to Jordan to join and fight with ISIS in Iraq. Jawad was admitted to the United States in 2013 as an Iraqi refugee and he subsequently obtained a green card. On January 29, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi was sentenced to life in prison for a number of offenses related to terrorism. Hammadi is a native of Iraq who was admitted to the United States as a refugee in 2009. In 2009, Ramadan Alwan, an al Qaeda-Iraq terrorist living as a refugee in Bowling Green, Kentucky later admitted in court that theyd attacked U.S. soldiers in Iraq. An ABC News investigation of the flawed U.S. refugee screening system, which was overhauled two years ago, showed that the men were mistakenly allowed into the U.S. and resettled in the leafy southern town of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Sudan was designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1993 due to concerns about support to international terrorist groups. Elements of al-Qaida-inspired terrorist groups remain in Sudan. Groups continue to operate in Sudan and there are frequent reports of Sudanese nationals participating in terrorist organizations. Iran has been a financier and supporter of international terrorism since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, financing such groups as Hezbollah. Iran was implicated in the 2011 plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir. Iran consistently taunts and threatens the US military in the Persian Gulf. Libya is a failed state that has become a training ground and recruitment center for ISIS and especially for ISIS members infiltrating into Western Europe under the cover of the EU refugee programs. The war torn country of Syria is not only a haven for ISIS, but a training ground for future terrorists and ISIS operatives in North America and Western Europe. In a recent interviewwith the UK Express, an ISIS operative boasted that the group has infiltrated 4,000 people into Western Europe under the guise of posing as refugees. In fact, one of the gunmen during the Paris attacks in 2015 had a Syrian passport on him when he was killed during the terrorist operation. In July 2016 Mohammad Daleel, 27, blew himself up outside a wine bar in Ansbach, Germany. Fifteen people were injured. Daleel was a refugee from Syria who had arrived in Germany in 2014 seeking asylum. You dont know who these people are, or where theyre going, or what their motivations are, do you Senator Schumer? How is the government supposed to scrutinize the backgrounds of refugees, when laws prohibit officials from examining the social media pages of those who wish to settle in the USA? You do know one thing though, Senator Schumer; they will eventually vote Democrat and thats all that counts, national security be damned. Liberals claim that the US refugee program is as solid as steel. Its more than obvious that the US refugee program is another inept federal government operation, a house of cards ready to collapse on the nation. Mean spirited and a moral outrage Senator? Mean spirited is a Jihadi firing a couple hundred rounds into innocent men and women in a crowded Paris theater. Moral outrage is an Al Qaeda operative roaming freely around the US, with a shiny new green card and a carload of C4. Mean-spirited is a Jihadi driving over people with a semi-truck in downtown Nice. Moral outrage is a Somali refugee stabbing a dozen people at Ohio State University. Mean spirited are the constant threats by Iran against the United States. Moral outrage is a series of ISIS suicide bombs detonating in the Brussels airport, killing 32 innocent civilians. NO ONE has a constitutional right to be here who is not an American citizen. Those who come here do so at the discretion of the president and the Congress, which represents we the people. You might want to explain that to your shrieking, naive, delusional fellow Democrats, Senator Schumer. The president of the United States is the leader of this nation. Like all leaders, he must make decisions that are sometimes unpopular among certain groups, for the greater good of America. Strength is a trait that has all but vanished among liberals and national security is anathema to the lefts obscene world view. It is more than obvious that Democrats are willing to gamble with the lives of the American people in order to be politically correct. Your actions this past weekend, Senator Schumer, have clearly demonstrated once again that the simplest equation in the world is LIBERALISM = ABSOLUTE WEAKNESS. Sincerely, Ray Starmann President Trump's choice of Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the late, great Justice Antonin Scalias seat on the Supreme Court is yet another example of the new commander-in-chief keeping promises to the American people. Trump announced the choice in a prime time appearance, and noted that Gorsuchs impeccable resume and originalist approach to the Constitution showed he was following through on his campaign pledge, a novel concept in Washington. When Justice Scalia passed away suddenly last February, I made a promise to the American people, Trump said. If I were elected president, I would find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court. Today, I am keeping another promise to the American people by nominating Judge Neil Gorsuchm he also said. During the campaign, I asked then-candidate Trump several times what he was looking for in a justice. He said above all, he wanted a justice who will strictly adhere to the original meaning of the words of the Constitution. And he offered up a list of several accomplished jurists who fit that bill and checked other boxes he believed were crucial. I want great intellect, he said. These people are all of very high, high intellect. They're pro-life. President Trump was adamant about nominating a justice who believes in coequal branches of government, separation of powers, not somebody who will legislate from the bench, who will read and interpret the U.S. Constitution the way our Founding Fathers and framers intended. Judge Gorsuch is only 49 years old. He clerked for several prominent judges, including Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy. In 2006, he was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, where he currently serves, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a unanimous voice vote. Judge Gorsuch is also known for being a strong defender of religious liberty. In his key rulings, he sided with Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor in their case against the Obama administration's contraception mandate. Consider what he said on originalism during a lecture about Justice Antonin Scalia just last year. It seems to me that an assiduous focus on text, structure and history is essential to being a good judge, he told law students at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. That, yes, judges should be in the business of declaring what the law is using the traditional tools of interpretation, rather than pronouncing the law as they might wish it to be in light of their own views, always with an eye on the outcome, engaged, perhaps, in some Benthamite calculation of pleasures and pains along the way. An originalist, intellectual and patriot for the Supreme Court. And a home run for President Trump. Adapted from Sean Hannity's monologue on "Hannity," Jan. 31, 2017 I am in the lucky position of being someone who has both a lot of conservative friends and a lot of liberal friends. I value these friendships greatly both because I like my friends and because I benefit from hearing both sides off all issues. Right now many of my liberal friends are in a state of near hysteria over President Trumps victory in the 2016 presidential election. My friend Erwin Chemerinsky sincerely believes that Donald Trump is anti semitic even though his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism, Trump has given a key White House appointment to his Jewish son-in-law with whom he is very close, and Trump has adopted the most pro-Israel foreign policy of any president in American history. Martha Minow, the Dean of the Harvard Law School, is worried Trump will interfere with academic independence even though he has said exactly nothing that would suggest to anyone that he plans to do that. Trumps cabinet is better than any of Ronald Reagans cabinets or of the cabinets of those who have served in the presidency since Reagan left office in 1989. Liberals are hysterical over Trumps ban on immigration from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya and the Sudan while overlooking the fact that there are violent civil wars going on in those countries. The vast majority of Muslim countries are not affect by Trump's ban including: Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf states, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and many parts of North Africa including the Northern half of Nigeria. I would have excluded Green Card holders and Iraqis who helped us during thee war as troops or spies from Trumps ban, and I assume the ban will be amended to address these concerns, but the bottom line is that anyone who visits these war zones including American citizens should be interviewed by a customs officer to find out what the purpose of their visit was before they are allowed back into the United States. I have pointed out to these liberal friends that there are all sorts of checks and balances built into the Constitution that would prevent Trump from doing to Muslims or Hispanics what President Franklin D. Roosevelt did with Japanese-Americans during World War II, which was to round them all up and put them in a concentration camp another worry a liberal friend has expressed to me. It is time to look at President Trumps actual record of accomplishments since he was nominated by the Republican party. Trump picked a superb mainstream conservative to be his running mate. Former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is so good that even my liberal friends think he won the vice presidential debate last fall with Democratic rival Tim Kaine. Trump made a truly inspired choice when he picked Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State. Tillerson has tons of experience in dealing with foreign leaders including Vladimir Putin with whom we want to be very careful not to stumble into a nuclear war in the way the world stumbled into World War I in 1914. Trumps pick of Steven Mnuchin to be Secretary of the Treasury is also brilliant. Mnuchin understands supply side economics and the way in which real tax reform could jump start our largely stalled economy. Trumps pick of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General is also outstanding. Unlike Bobby Kennedy, who was President Kennedys brother, or John Mitchell, who was President Nixons campaign manager, Senator Sessions is a man of independent accomplishments one of which is 22 highly successful years in the U.S. Senate during which he worked with Senator Ted Kennedy to pass a bill providing relief to crime victims. I think Jeff Sessions is the best pick any president has made since President Reagan appointed Ed Meese. Betsy DeVos is in my opinion the best pick for Secretary of Education in the history of the Department of Education. Her support for school choice and vouchers is essential if we are ever to repair our failing public schools. Rick Perry is a superb pick for Secretary of Energy. He was hugely successful as Governor of Texas in boosting that states oil and gas production while also making Texas first in the nation as the state that generates wind power. He is an ideal pick for those like me who favor an "all of the above" approach to energy production. Cheap energy leads to manufacturing growth, which leads to permanent and good paying jobs. Perrys knowledge of the nuclear fuel industry will stand him in good stead as the custodian of all our nuclear missiles. The pick of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to be ambassador to the United Nations is yet another very wise Trump choice. Haley is first East Indian-American to serve in that job, and she reflects both the excellence and the diversity that characterizes the United States. I could go on and on, but all the other cabinet picks are of very high quality and share my own conservative outlook. President Donald Trump has appointed the best incoming cabinet of any president since Abraham Lincolns famous Team of Rivals in 1861. Most recently, on January 31, President Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court in an absolutely brilliant and superb move. Judge Gorsuch is an originalist and a textualist like Justicee Scalia, who he would replace, but he is much les likely to put bitter language in dissenting opinions that Justice Kennedy hates. Gorsuch clerked for Kennedy who loves him! If Gorsuch is confirmed, as he deserves to be, it will mark the first time in U.S. history that a Supreme Court justice will have served on the bench with one of hiss law clerks. Trumps cabinet is better than any of Ronald Reagans cabinets or of the cabinets of those who have served in the presidency since Reagan left office in 1989. His Supreme Court nominee is as good as was Justice Scalia, who was Reagans best Supreme Court appointment out of four tries. Donald Trump is a genius at hiring highly talented and well credentialed officials. It is high time that liberals give Trump credit for what he has done since he was elected president and stop tilting at windmills about various horrible things Trump might do, but which I predict he will not do. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is not happy about the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, and he has decided to strike back at the two members of Congress who were major forces behind the legislation that called for implementing them. Ortega said he is banning U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both Florida Republicans, from visiting Nicaragua. "Just like they [U.S. officials] have their lists, we can make our own lists in Latin America of those who shouldnt enter our country, Ortega said to reporters during a meeting with Venezuelan officials who were in Nicaragua, according to the Miami Herald. Rubio and Ros-Lehtinen, two of the most vocal members in Congress on human rights violations in Venezuela and Cuba which are close allies of Nicaragua made light of the travel ban. Rubio tweeted: "Oh no! My summer vacation plans are ruined!" Ros-Lehtinen said she was proud to elicit such a response from Ortega, whose Sandinista government has received about $3 billion in aid from Venezuela since 2007, according to The Herald. "It's a badge of honor to be banned by a thug like Ortega. These authoritarian heads of state like Ortega, Maduro and the Castro brothers like to intimidate those who disagree with them and they use their power randomly and ruthlessly," Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement quoted by the Herald. "I'm not worried about being banned in Nicaragua. What frightens me is the erosion of fundamental human rights throughout our hemisphere. I'm proud of the law that Marco, [Sen.] Bob [Menendez] and I wrote that penalizes human rights violators in Venezuela and we'll work to place violators on that list, ban or no ban." Last week, Congress cleared and sent to President Barack Obama legislation directing him to levy sanctions against Venezuelan government officials involved in a crackdown on anti-government protesters. The Senate passed a bill Monday evening and the House approved the measure by voice vote Wednesday evening. It authorizes sanctions that would freeze the assets and ban visas of individuals accused of perpetrating acts of violence or violating the human rights of those opposing the South American country's socialist government. During the summer, the State Department imposed a travel ban on Venezuelan officials accused of abuses during a months-long street protest movement in the winter and spring that left dozens of people dead. Moves such as the travel ban by Ortega are hardly unusual against U.S. lawmakers. In March, Russia banned U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and five other federal lawmakers from traveling there in retaliation for U.S. economic sanctions imposed against that nation for actions against the Crimea region in Ukraine. Menendez said the ban meant little to him compared with the unjust actions by Russia against the Ukraine and Crimea. Like Rubio did over the Nicaragua ban, Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, mocked Putins declaration that he could not visit Russia. "I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off, my Gazprom stock is lost, and my secret bank account in Moscow is frozen," he said in the statement posted to his website. Sen. Dan Coats, a Republican from Indiana, said the ban would not affect his life. "While I'm disappointed that I won't be able to go on vacation with my family in Siberia this summer, I am honored to be on this list," said Coats in a statement to the website Slate. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino The conservative group Judicial Crisis Network on Tuesday night launched a $10 million, multi-media ad campaign in support of President Trumps Supreme Court nominee -- getting a jump on the looming Senate fight as progressive and liberal-leaning groups gear up to oppose Trumps pick. This is the type of partisan politics the American people just rejected in November, said JCN chief counsel Carrie Severino. The group will begin by spending $2 million-plus on TV and online ads in Washington, D.C., and in Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Montana, states that Trump won by at least 19 percent. JCN, started in 2005 to promote the judicial appointees of then-president George W. Bush, is also launching a website with information about nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch, along with pictures, videos and other related material. The groups efforts are part of larger and broader center-right campaign including roughly 50 other groups representing Second Amendment advocates, anti-abortion organizations and the Tea Party movement, said Severino, a former legal clerk for conservative Justice Clarence Thomas. With Gorsuch, Trump is trying to fill the high court seat left open by conservative Justice Antoni Scalias death in February 2016. Gorsuch is a federal appeals court judge from the Denver-based 10th Circuit. Severino made clear Tuesday that the JCNs effort will include targeting Senate Democrats determined to block any Trump Supreme Court nomination, particular those seeking reelection in 2018. Our campaign will be holding the Senate Democrats accountable for their choice," she said in a written statement. She said after Trump named Gorsuch that he is "exceptionally qualified -- a fair and independent judge who bases his decisions on the Constitution, and he is widely respected on both sides of the aisle. Meanwhile, People for the American Way and several other liberal-leaning groups are raising money and preparing campaigns against any Trump nominee and congressional Republicans who support the pick. American Way is launching a media campaign that will include mobilizing activists, holding rallies, buying ads and all of the components of campaign, Marge Baker, the groups executive vice president for policy and program, told Fox News on Tuesday night. She also said the group is opposed to all of the roughly 20 nominees that Trump has considered because of their allegedly extreme views. We take this very, very seriously, Baker said. This is a lifetime appointment that affects all of the land, not just the rich and powerful. Other similar groups purportedly ready to oppose Trump nominations include the Alliance for Justice and Americans United for Change. Beyond opposing any Trump nomination, such groups remain upset that Senate Republicans last year blocked President Obamas high court nominee, Merrick Garland. Republican lawmakers and conservative groups hailed President Trump's nomination of federal appeals judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court Tuesday night, even as Democrats questioned whether the nominee has sufficient "respect for constitutional values of liberty, equality and justice for all." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who kept the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat open through the presidential election, said Trump had made "an outstanding decision." "Like Justice Scalia, [Gorsuch] understands the constitutional limits on the authority of a federal judge and that the duty of a judge is to apply the law even-handedly, without fear or favor, and not to rule based on ones empathy with a party in a case," McConnell said in a statement. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Trump had "fulfilled his [campaign] pledge to nominate a judge who has a demonstrated loyalty to the Constitution and a strong commitment to life." Ryan added that Gorsuch was a "phemonenal" choice by the president. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the Republican nomination last year, echoed the speaker, saying that Trump had satisifed his promise, "and the rule of law will be all the better for it." Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a frequent critic of Trump, tweeted his approval of the nomination, calling Gorsuch "a tremendous pick." By contrast, and in an apparent preview of the bitter confirmation fight ahead, the Democratic National Committee said Gorsuch's nomination "raises some very serious questions about whether he would be a Supreme Court Justice who believes the Constitution protects all of us, not just the wealthy, and whether he can approach each case with an open mind to make fair decisions based on the merits." The DNC statement questioned whether the nominee has the "utmost respect" for constitutional values. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was "skeptical that [Gorsuch] can be a strong, independent Justice on the Court." Schumer added that Gorsuch had previously "sided with corporations over working people [and] demonstrated a hostility toward womens rights." Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., went even further, saying Gorsuch's nomination was "a breathtaking retreat from the notion that Americans have a fundamental right to Constitutional liberties, and harkens back to the days when politicians restricted a peoples rights on a whim. "No Senator who believes that individual rights are reserved to the people, and not the government, can support this nomination," Wyden added. The nomination of Gorsuch was also praised by several conservative groups. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, described the judge as "distinguished jurist with a strong record of protecting life and religious liberty, as evidenced by his opinions in the Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor cases." Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin added that Gorsuch "has a distinguished record that demonstrates he will be fair to all Americans, no matter their background or beliefs." President Trump nominated federal Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, choosing a jurist widely seen by conservatives as a fitting successor to the late Antonin Scalia and touching off what is sure to be a fierce confirmation battle with Senate Democrats already vowing resistance. Touting his nominee's credentials and legal mind, the president said he was living up to his own vow during the campaign to nominate someone who respects the law and "loves" the Constitution. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said, noting he was confirmed unanimously to his current judicial post. He quipped: "Does that happen anymore?" Gorsuch, 49, has served on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver for more than a decade. Trump's move to elevate Gorsuch was hailed by a range of conservative groups and Republican lawmakers late Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the judge an "outstanding" pick who "understands the constitutional limits on the authority of a federal judge." Trumps choice, if confirmed to the high court, would take the seat that has remained vacant since Justice Scalia died nearly a year ago. The nominee was among Trumps original list of 21 potential choices circulated during the presidential campaign. But Democrats are still smarting over Republicans refusal to consider then-President Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland, and some have vowed to retaliate by opposing Trumps pick. Late Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer raised the potential threat of a filibuster, saying the Senate "must insist" the nominee garner 60 votes. If Schumer or any of his colleagues take the procedural step to require 60 votes, Trump would need to find at least eight Democrats to join Republicans in supporting his pick. "The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the Executive branch and protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all Americans," Schumer said in a statement. "Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuch's ability to meet this standard." Trump, though, said his nominee's qualifications "are beyond dispute." He added, "I only hope that both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once, for the good of the country. Trump spoke for less than eight minutes before turning the podium over to Gorsuch, during the brief rollout in the East Room of the White House. Youve entrusted me with a most solemn assignment, Gorsuch said, vowing if confirmed to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and the law. He also honored Scalia as a lion of the law, saying all his colleagues cherished the late justices wisdom and humor. He added, Like them, I miss him. Gorsuch, showing flashes of humor himself, is in many ways similar to the man whose seat he hopes to fill. Like Scalia, he is an originalist who believes judges should follow the text and original meaning of the Constitution. He also has a record of standing up for religious liberty, having written in favor of Hobby Lobby and The Little Sisters of the Poor when they challenged the ObamaCare contraception mandate. He attended Columbia, Harvard and Oxford universities, an academic background lauded by Trump in Tuesday's announcement. The president originally was planning to name his Supreme Court choice on Thursday, but he moved up the announcement amid a bipartisan backlash over Fridays executive order on refugee and immigration policies. He now turns Washingtons focus to the debate over his high court pick, one sure to draw advocacy groups on both sides into the fray. Conservative groups will fight hard for Gorsuch's confirmation, against expected Democratic and liberal opposition. Schumer and his Democratic colleagues have been increasingly at odds with the Trump administration in the wake of the immigration executive order. If Democrats do follow through on a filibuster, it could spur conservative senators to try overhauling Senate rules to lower the threshold from 60 votes to 51 the so-called nuclear option. McConnell called earlier Tuesday for the nominee to be treated fairly. "What I would expect from our Democratic friends is the nominee be handled similarly to President Clinton's two nominees in his first term and President Obama's two nominees in his first term, McConnell said. But Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley has signaled he's ready to fight, telling supporters the seat was stolen from Obama since his pick never got a vote, saying he wont be complicit in this theft. The vacancy on the Supreme Court was a major factor for many voters in the 2016 presidential election. According to the Fox News exit poll, more than one-in-five voters said nominations for the high court were the most important factor in casting their vote and those voters went for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton 56-41 percent. Fox News' Bill Mears, Shannon Bream and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report. Judge Neil Gorsuch enters his Supreme Court confirming hearings Monday with legal credentials lauded by conservatives, but open to attack by liberals eager to undermine President Trumps pick for the high court. However, his personal and academic histories are widely admired across the political spectrum. Trump has described Gorsuch as "perfect in almost every way" for the high court. Gorsuch, who goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, is roundly described by colleagues and friends as a combination of wicked smarts, down-to-earth modesty, disarming warmth and careful deliberation. Critics largely agree. But they don't think he belongs on the court, saying he's too quick to side with conservative and business interests at the expense of working Americans and the poor. The 49-year-old Gorsuch has already served more than 10 years as an appellate judge in Colorado, styling himself in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, the conservative powerhouse whom he would replace. Gorsuch is known for his plainly written opinions and his approach as a "textualist" who sticks within the boundaries of established law and precedent. But some of his rulings and outside writings have led critics to say he tends to favor powerful interests over ordinary Americans. They cite the case of a truck driver fired for leaving his trailer of meat on the side of an Illinois road after breaking down on a frigid night in 2009, fearing he'd freeze to death. Among their other concerns is Gorsuchs view on assisted suicide and euthanasia. He made clear in his 2006 book and other writings that he's not a fan. Doctors, insurance companies and the healthiest in society, he argues, might wind up looking for ways to shorten the lives of the frail and the elderly to preserve resources for those with more promising futures. His views on other controversial subjects, such as how widely the Second Amendment applies or whether abortion should be legal, are less known. Gorsuch has not had a lot to say about abortion, either in his book or as a federal appeals court judge. However, he noted in the book that in the seminal Supreme Court abortion decision, Roe v. Wade, "a fetus does not qualify as a person." Still, Gorsuch has academic credentials nearly beyond reproach, having attended Columbia University, Harvard Law School and Oxford University. In his writings and lectures, Gorsuch presents himself as a "workaday judge," one wearing "honest, unadorned black polyester" robes from a uniform supply store. He is described as the dad whose standing birthday present from his family is an agreement to watch a Western with him. He's the sports nut who jogs with his law clerks, teaches them the Zen of fly fishing and waits at the top of the ski slopes to see which of them he'll need to help up after a fall. "He's someone who knows the names of the security guards at the courthouse and gets to know who their families are," says former law clerk Theresa Wardon. Luis Reyes, a former Gorsuch colleague at the Justice Department, says he a glass-half-full kind of guy." From his boyhood in Colorado, Gorsuch was a dutiful student, "always on the brainy side," says younger brother J.J. Gorsuch. Theirs was a typical Western childhood, filled with family outings to go hiking, skiing and fishing. He attended Georgetown Prep, an all-boys school in suburban Washington, after President Ronald Reagan chose his mother, Anne Gorsuch, a state legislator, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. She brought her three children east while her husband stayed in Colorado, as their marriage dissolved. Gorsuch's friends at the Jesuit high school included Bill Hughes, whose father was a Democratic congressman from New Jersey. Both felt pressure to protect his family name. "We were all very cognizant of the responsibility we had to our parents not to screw up," Hughes remembers. Gorsuch led schoolmates to the Capitol to attend a rally for insurgents opposing the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. His yearbook entry includes a joking reference to founding the "Fascism Forever" club, a dig at left-leaning teachers. Most significant, he watched his mother's stormy 22-month tenure at EPA end with her forced resignation after being cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over subpoenaed documents. After high school, Gorsuch was in and out of Columbia in three years, though still found time to co-found a conservative newspaper and magazine. He then went to Harvard Law without a break, before going off to Oxford to study legal philosophy, ducking out in the middle for a clerkship with Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy. In 1995, Gorsuch passed up job offers from big firms to work for a start-up, diving into "the muck and mess of real-life litigation," representing both plaintiffs and defendants, recalls former partner Mark Hansen. He credits Gorsuch with a dogged work ethic -- billing an average 2,400-3,000 hours a year as partner -- but also an easygoing temperament. After a decade in private practice, Gorsuch in 2005 joined the Justice Department, where he was deeply involved in lawsuits and legislative proposals supporting the George W. Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program and its treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. From Justice, Gorsuch made a quick leap to the judiciary when Bush nominated him in 2006 for the 10th Circuit, a lifetime appointment and chance to get back to Colorado. Fox News Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi launched into a blistering attack on President Trumps Supreme Court pick Tuesday, accusing Judge Neil Gorsuch of being hostile to everything from clean air to children with autism a hint of likely Democratic resistance, as some Republicans eye a potential nuclear option. Trump nominated Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, choosing an originalist judge seen by supporters to be in the mold of the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, whose death in February 2016 opened up the spot Gorsuch is now seeking to fill. Pelosi made her pointed remarks during a CNN town hall, in which she called Gorsuch a very hostile appointment and well outside the mainstream of American legal thought. "If you breathe air, drink water, eat food, take medicine or in any other way interact with the courts, this is a very bad decision," she said. What saddens me the most as a mom and a grandmother, though, is his hostility toward children in school, children with autism, Pelosi said. He has ruled that they dont have the same rights under the [Individuals With Disabilities Education Act] that they could reach their intellectual and social advancement under the law he has said that doesnt apply to them. Pelosi does not get a say in Gorsuchs confirmation, which is handled by the Senate, but her scathing remarks are a possible indicator of the hostility Gorsuch is likely to face. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have already expressed their opposition to the pick. The potential Democratic opposition to the pick has some Senate Republicans digging in for a tough confirmation fight, including a possible change of Senate rules to lower the threshold for confirmation, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warning that all procedural options are on the table. "The Democrats are not going to succeed in filibustering the Supreme Court nominee," Cruz told Politico. On "Fox & Friends" Wednesday, Cruz said that a Gorsuch pick was exactly what the American people wanted. This election was in a very real sense a referendum on this seat, he said. I think the American people made that decision on Election Day and theres a mandate coming out of the election. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who will be key in deciding if there is an effort to block Gorsuch, said Tuesday that the burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the Executive branch and protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all Americans. However, he added he has serious doubts as to whether Gorsuch can do this, as he called for setting a 60-vote bar for confirmation. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate, meaning if Democrats filibuster, Republicans may struggle to find the eight Democrats needed to get the 60 votes needed to break it. But this opens Democrats up to accusations of obstructionism, and also could push the Republicans to use the nuclear option to change the rules to blunt the filibuster something then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., did for lower court nominees in 2013. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did not say whether he'd use the "nuclear option" in an interview with Fox News, but said: Were going to get the judge confirmed. While Republicans did not block President Barack Obamas nominations of Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, they did refuse to hold hearings for Judge Merrick Garland, whom Obama picked to fill the Scalia seat in 2016. They argued that a Supreme Court pick should not be made in an election year. This has, in turn, led some Democrats to call for outright obstructionism to Gorsuch in response. Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama adviser, tweeted late Tuesday that Dems should treat Trumps SCOTUS pick with the exact same courtesy they showed Garland. Dont flinch, dont back down he said. The New York Times editorial board also cited the Garland controversy in its opinion piece, calling Gorsuch the nominee for a stolen seat. Other Democrats have urged caution, with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., noting that we have a responsibility to do our jobs as elected officials. Just as I have all along, I urge my colleagues to put partisan politics aside and allow the vetting process to proceed, he said in a statement. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Tuesday she will personally cover the cost of her recent trip to Syria. Gabbard, a Democrat, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad while on the trip. A release sent out by her office late Tuesday said she will reimburse a group called AACCESS-Ohio, or the Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services, for the expenses "because it has become a distraction." She said the important issue at hand is whether Americans "want their taxpayer dollars to continue to be used in support of militant groups" that she said are working with Al Qaeda and ISIS to overthrow the Syrian government. Critics had questioned the source of funding for the trip, and little is known about the group. Gabbard has come under intense criticism for meeting with Assad. But she said there's no possibility of a viable peace agreement unless Assad is part of the conversation. Lawmakers have accused the Assad government of war crimes and even genocide as the number of people killed during the violence in Syria continues to mount. The war, now in its sixth year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II and given ISIS room to grow into a global terror threat. Rebel groups in Syria are bitter over a string of territorial losses, including last month's defeat in Aleppo, Syria's largest city. Russia, with its massive air power, and Iran, with thousands of Shiite militiamen in Syria, turned the war unequivocally in Assad's favor. Gabbard said her trip included stops in Aleppo and Damascus, Syria's capital. She also visited Beirut during the trip, which began in mid-January. Gabbard said she also met with refugees, Syrian opposition leaders, widows and family members of Syrians fighting alongside groups like al-Qaida, and Syrians aligned with the Assad regime. Gabbard's office said the trip met "every requirement" of the House Ethics Committee. "Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is beholden to no one in the region, her views on the situation are her own, and her determination to seek peace is beyond question," the release said. Gabbard, a major in the Army National Guard, met last November with Donald Trump shortly after the presidential election. She backed Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, for the Democratic nomination. She said at the time that she took the meeting with Trump over concern that a wing of the Republican Party known as the neocons would grow in influence once Trump took office. She feared that could push the U.S. more deeply into Syria, which could lead to a direct conflict with Russia. National Security Adviser Mike Flynn said Wednesday the Trump administration is putting Iran on notice after it tested a ballistic missile and Tehran-backed militants attacked a Saudi naval vessel. The implications of the warning are unclear, but Flynn pointedly criticized the Obama administration for failing "to respond adequately" to Irans provocative behavior. He seemed to reference the Iran nuclear deal, saying the regime is now feeling emboldened instead of being thankful to the U.S. for various agreements. As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice, Flynn said, speaking to reporters in the White House briefing and also issuing a written statement. At a press briefing later Wednesday, a senior administration official declined to elaborate on how Iran would be held accountable, saying, "there are a large range of options available to the administration, from financial and economic...to pursuing other options related to support for those that are challenging and opposing Iranian malign activity in the region." Asked if that would include a military option, the official replied, "we are considering a whole range of options. We're in a deliberative process." Flynn blasted Irans destabilizing behavior, saying the recent missile launch defied a U.N. Security Council resolution. The Obama Administration failed to respond adequately to Tehrans malign actionsincluding weapons transfers, support for terrorism, and other violations of international norms, Flynn said. The Trump Administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity, and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East and place American lives at risk. A defense official said this week that the missile test ended with a "failed" re-entry into the earth's atmosphere. The attack on a Saudi vessel, meanwhile, was carried out by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. Two Saudi sailors were killed and three were wounded. Fox News reported earlier this week that, according to two defense officials, the attack may have been meant for an American warship. In audio heard on a video of the attack, a voice narrating the attack shouts in Arabic, "Allahu akbar [God is great], death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews and victory for Islam." U.S. defense analysts believe those behind the attack either thought the bomber was striking an American warship or that this was a dress rehearsal similar to the attack on the USS Cole, according to one official. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News Tuesday that President Donald Trump's nomination of federal appeals judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court was "a home run" and a "big, big deal." "His academic record, his background is extraordinary," Cruz told "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "He was a law clerk to Byron White, who is John F. Kennedys only Supreme Court nomination he was a Democrat himself, Byron White and Judge Gorsuchs record is such that he has demonstrated the intelligence, the humility, the faithfulness to law that I think Republicans are going to vote for, but I also hope and believe a number of Democrats will as well." Cruz, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in 2016, vowed that Senate Democrats would not be able to derail Gorsuch's nomination, telling Carlson that "one way or another, I believe the Senate will confirm Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court." The senator pointed out that Gorsuch was confirmed by voice vote when nominated to the federal bench in 2006 by then-President George W. Bush. "The question I would ask Senate Democrats now is Whats changed?" Cruz said. "What has changed? A decade ago, you were willing to confirm him to the Court of Appeals and the only thing thats changed is [that] he has a decade of an exemplary record." "The Democrats are not going to succeed in filibustering this nomination," Cruz vowed, "and President Trump is going to meet his promise to the American people." The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Rex Tillerson as secretary of State, as part of a fast-paced day for majority Republicans who also pushed past Democratic resistance to advance three other President Trump Cabinet picks to a final vote. The vote to confirm the former ExxonMobil executive as the country's top diplomat was 56-43. Trump, during Tillerson's swearing in in the Oval Office, said that it is "time to bring a clear-eyed focus to foreign affairs." He also praised Tillerson's background, telling him, "Your whole life has prepared you for this moment." Earlier in the day, Senate Republicans, frustrated by Democrats attempts to delay other Cabinet confirmations, moved swiftly to advance three nominees to a final vote. On the most contentious nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines, 11-to-9, to approve Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., for U.S. attorney general. The move came after Democrats dragged out proceedings a day earlier. The committee advanced Sessions to the floor on an 11-9 vote. No doubt we have the votes to confirm Sessions, said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a committee member. Its going to get done. Senate Democrats have attempted to hold up several of Trumps Cabinet picks over concerns about their records, as well as Trump's new policies and recent executive orders on immigration. Also on Wednesday, the Republican-led Senate Finance Committee sidestepped Senate Democrats' efforts to slow Trumps picks for secretaries of Treasury and Health and Human Services by boycotting the votes. Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, suspended committee rules on the number of members required to vote, to allow Republican members to vote in favor of Steve Mnuchin as Treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to serve as Health and Human Services secretary. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the committees top Democrat, argued that Hatch broke the rules. What you had was a rump group that met in violation of Democratic values to confirm two ethically-challenged nominees, he told Fox News. Theres no question about that. Mnuchin, Price and Sessions will almost certainly get the required simple majority needed for confirmation because Republicans have 52 senators and Democrats have 48. Still, Democrats temporarily thwarted a Senate confirmation vote on Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, by again boycotting a key committee meeting. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee rules require at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held. Committee Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., called the move political theatre and vowed to "do what is necessary" to advance Pruitt's nomination, raising the possibility the GOP majority may seek a rules change like the one Hatch got to push a vote before the full Senate. Republicans created their own challenges Wednesday toward confirming Besty DeVos as Education secretary. GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, and Susan Collins, Maine, said they won't vote for DeVos in the final Senate vote. That would create a 50-to-50 tied. But Republicans remain optimistic, considering GOP Vice President Mike Pence would cast the deciding vote in favor of DeVos. On Tuesday, Democrats had refused to attend the meeting to consider Mnuchin and Price, demanding more information about the nominees. Hatch called the Democrats decision to boycott the vote the most pathetic thing. We took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues, he also said Wednesday. The rule requires at least one Democrat be present for a vote. With the rules lifted, the committee advanced the nominations to the floor. They should be ashamed, he said. The only thing missing was a member from the minority side, Hatch continued. But, as I noted, they, on their own accord, refused to participate in this exercise. Hatch said he made the move after getting an OK from the Senate Parliamentarian Office and that every Republican member of the committee was present and voting, exceeding the one-third requirement for a so-called quorum. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The first question asked by a reporter with a Skype seat at Wednesdays White House press briefing may not go down as legendary: Can you hear me okay? But after Press Secretary Sean Spicer assured her he could, WPRIs Kimberly Kalunian followed up with a question about sanctuary cities and the briefing quickly flipped from novelty back to business as usual. Kalunian, Natalie Herbick from FOX8 in Cleveland, radio host Lars Larson and Jeff Jobe of Kentuckys Jobe Publishing were chosen as the inaugural panelists to try out the cyber seats. The White House hasnt released a detailed description of how the panelists are chosen, except that anyone applying must live at least 50 miles from Washington, D.C. Kalunian was given the first question at Wednesdays briefing, following Spicers practice of calling on non-traditional outlets at the top of the daily session. REPUBLICANS ADVANCE SESSIONS, MNUCHIN, PRICE TO FINAL VOTE While the questions were substantive Herbick asked about economic recovery in Cleveland, Larson asked about land management and Jobe raised the topic of coal the interactions were far more collegial than some of the tense exchanges seen between Spicer and members of the press corps in the early days of the Trump administration. Herbick at one point thanked "Secretary Spicer" for the rare opportunity. In the briefing room, several of the reporters chuckled at the title typically reserved for Cabinet secretaries, not the press secretary. You're coming back! Spicer said, as the reporter continued with her question. Larson addressed Spicer as Commander Spicer, a nod to Spicers rank in the Navy Reserve. The panelists were shown on a pair of televisions located behind and on either side of Spicer and were only on screen while asking a question. Otherwise the TV screen showed a White House logo. Spicer typically turned slightly towards the television screen on his right while the question was being asked but otherwise stared out at the briefing room when answering a question, creating a slightly awkward visual. The freshness of the technology was also on display in the relaxed reactions of reporters. Early on during the briefing, Spicer called on a reporter who wasnt in the room. Someone shot back: Davids not here maybe hes on Skype! Fox News' Serafin Gomez contributed to this report. Assuming the somber duties of commander in chief, President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip Wednesday to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in a weekend raid in Yemen. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. More than half a dozen militant suspects were also killed in the raid on an Al Qaeda compound and three other U.S. service members were wounded. More than a dozen civilians were also killed in the operation, including the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and U.S. citizen who was targeted and killed by a drone strike in 2011. Trump's trip to Delaware's Dover Air Base was shrouded in secrecy. The president and his daughter, Ivanka, departed the White House in the presidential helicopter with their destination unannounced. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported until his arrival. After returning to the White House, Trump commented on the trip at the swearing-in of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. "I just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at Dover," Trump said. "It is something very sad, very beautiful. Ryan, a great man." Marine One landed at Dover shortly before a C-17 believed to be carrying Owens' remains touched down. The president met with Owens' family during a two-hour visit to the base. The sailor's family had requested that Trump's visit and the return of Owens' remains be private. Former President Barack Obama lifted a ban on media coverage of the casualty returns, though families may still request privacy. A spokeswoman at Dover said about half of families choose to allow media coverage. Owens joined the Navy in 1998 and was the recipient of two Bronze stars, a Joint Service Commendation and an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, among other honors. In a statement following his death, the Navy Special Command called Owens a "devoted father, a true professional and a wonderful husband." His death underscores the human costs of the military campaigns Trump now oversees. Far fewer troops are serving in combat now than in the wars Trump's predecessors led in Afghanistan and Iraq, but thousands of Americans remain in hotspots around the world. In Afghanistan, where America's longest war continues, about 8,400 U.S. troops are training and advising local forces. More than U.S. 5,100 troops in Iraq and about 500 in Syria are involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group. The U.S. also engages in counterterrorism operations mainly drone strikes in Yemen, where Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has exploited the chaos of the country's civil war. Sunday's pre-dawn raid which a defense official said was planned by the Obama administration but authorized by Trump could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in Yemen. As a candidate, Trump said he would be willing to "take out" the families of terrorists in order to root out extremism. On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said no Americans "will ever be targeted" in raids against terror suspects. The president's trip to Dover comes as he begins weighing whether to reshape U.S. military activities around the world. As a candidate, he vowed to be tougher on the Islamic State and at one point said he would be willing to send up to 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. Last week, Trump gave the Pentagon and other agencies 30 days to submit a plan for defeating the Islamic State. Trump has said little about his approach to Afghanistan. Obama had pledged to end the war there on his watch, but continuing security concerns prompted him to extend the U.S. military campaign, handing the war off to a third American president. Trump, who never served in the armed forces and received student and medical deferments during the Vietnam War, had an uneven relationship with the military community during the presidential campaign. About 60 percent of voters who served in the military supported Trump in the presidential election, compared with 34 percent who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. But Trump was also criticized by military groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, for his feud with the Khan family, whose Muslim-American son was killed while serving in Iraq. The White House has restored its Twitter account in Spanish and will soon have an official website in that language, an administration official told EFE Wednesday. The previous Spanish Twitter account and website were deleted when Donald Trump was sworn in as US president. "Hello Welcome to @LaCasaBlanca! Follow us to keep updated on the latest news about @POTUS Trump and his administration!" the first post said. "La Casa Blanca" is Spanish for the White House and @POTUS is the Twitter handle for the president of the United States. WHITE HOUSE TAKES DOWN ALL SPANISH-LANGUAGE CONTENT FROM ITS WEBSITE On Wednesday morning, the White House Spanish-language Twitter account, which currently has about 122,000 followers, posted another message reporting Trump's nomination Tuesday night of Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. "Promised and done. @POTUS Trump has nominated a judge who will defend Constitution," the post read. The page in Spanish, a language spoken by more than 50 million people in the United States and roughly 700 million around the world, vanished from the White House website after Trump was sworn in as the 45th president on Jan. 20. The Spanish-language website was established soon after Barack Obama took office in January 2009 and, although it was still unavailable on Wednesday, the White House official said that it would "definitely" be restored. The removal of the Spanish-language website was criticized by Hispanics, Spanish government officials and even high-ranking Spanish Royal Academy members. The White House has still not appointed a press contact for Spanish-language media, a post occupied by Gabriela Chojkier in the last months of the Obama administration. As he completed his list of nominees for Cabinet posts last week, Trump did not appoint any Hispanics to top jobs in the administration. Minutes after President Trump fired the acting attorney general, I was on Tucker Carlsons show and suddenly had to deal with the breaking news. At that very moment, I said, Trump critics were undoubtedly comparing the firing of Sally Yates for refusing to defend the presidents immigration order to Richard Nixons Saturday Night Massacreand that would be a totally wrong-headed move. When I looked at the New York Times yesterday morning, there it was in the fifth paragraph: Ms. Yatess order was a remarkable rebuke by a government official to a sitting president, and it recalled the so-called Saturday Night Massacre in 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon fired his attorney general and deputy attorney general for refusing to dismiss the special prosecutor in the Watergate case. Not until the last paragraph of the piece did the Times note that by the way, Ms. Yates, a career prosecutor, is different because she is a holdover from the Obama administration. And other cable news channels were using "Monday Night Massacre" banners. Well return to that in a moment, but heres a telling comment from Alan Dershowitz, the liberal Harvard lawyer who personally opposes Trumps order of a temporary ban on refugees and on all travel from Iran, Iraq and five other predominantly Muslim countries. Sally Yates has made a serious mistake here, he told CNN. This is holdover heroism. Its so easy to be a heroine when youre not appointed by this president and when youre on the other side. By not offering an analysis of which parts of the ban she believes to be unconstitutional, Yates has made a political decision rather than a legal one. The firing was dramatic, no question about it. Whether you agree or disagree with Trumps policybased on one of his most prominent campaign pledgesthe rollout raised all kinds of questions. Why was there chaos at some airports? Why were some green-card holders detained? Why did it take hours to publicly identify the seven countries? Why did some House Republican staffers work on the issue without telling their boss? Which officials saw the final version of the order before it was signed? (Homeland Security chief John Kelly told reporters yesterday that he didnt but was aware of earlier drafts.) But there really shouldnt be any question about the presidents right to order such immigration changes. And executive branch officials like Yates are supposed to carry out the presidents directives. So Trump dumped her and named a U.S. attorney in Virginia as acting head of the Justice Department. Yes, Sally Yates is entitled to refuse to carry out the order as a matter of conscience, but then she should have resigned. Yates undoubtedly knew that she would be fired, but that was not such a risk, given that she was slated to leave office within days anyway once Senate Democrats ended their delay in confirming Jeff Sessions. Whats also been lost, according to Stephen Miller, the White House official who played a key role on the order, is that Justices Office of Legal Counsel approved the order. As a onetime Justice Department reporter, I know that is crucial. But Yates said in one meeting that she had to consider comments from the president that indicated his intent to single out Muslims, according to the Times. In other words, she took it upon herself to evaluate whether the order was just, as opposed to legally sound. The result, according to this Times piece: Ms. Yates, 56, a relative newcomer to Washington, has become a hero to many on the left and the face of a simmering resistance inside the government to Mr. Trumps administration. Sean Spicer yesterday called Yates actions bewildering as well as defiant. Now for the comparison to 1973. Nixon had ordered his Justice Department to fire Archibald Cox, the first Watergate special prosecutor. Attorney General Eliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus refused and resigned, and Nixon named an acting AG to carry out the order. His name was Robert Bork. Nixon forced out his own appointees, while Trump dismissed an acting official appointed by Barack Obama. Whats equally important is that Cox was conducting a criminal investigation of the involvement of Nixons White House officials and campaign aides in the Watergate scandalsa probe that would eventually topple the president himself. Yates was simply dissenting on a matter of policy. Still, the liberal Huffington Post ran this headline: Monday Night Meltdown: Acting Attorney General Fired for Having a Spine. National Review says Yates chose insubordination and that now shell be a left-wing hero, influential beyond her heretofore status as a nameless bureaucrat. But she had to go. The conservative magazine offered this analogy: There are many federal judges who oppose abortion. They apply Roe v. Wade even though they disagree with it intensely, because their duty is to obey superior courts. Heres another example in which liberal pundits took a strikingly different position. After the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis refused to issue licenses to gay couples, garnering nationwide publicity by saying this would violate her religious views. She also blocked her office from doing so. Some conservatives hailed her stance, but Davis was briefly jailed for contempt of court. One case involves a judicial order and the other a presidential directive, of course. And theres nothing wrong with dissent. But executive branch officials serve at the pleasure of the president. Theres plenty of room for criticism and analysis here. But in this particular case, Donald Trump is not Richard Nixon. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Democratic colleagues wasted no time Tuesday night voicing serious doubts about President Trumps Supreme Court nominee, signaling a tough battle ahead for Judge Neil Gorsuch as the New York senator insisted he garner 60 votes for confirmation. The Senate must insist upon 60 votes for any Supreme Court nominee, Schumer said. Make no mistake, Senate Democrats will not simply allow but require an exhaustive, robust and comprehensive debate on Judge Gorsuch's fitness to be a Supreme Court justice. The statement raises the specter of a filibuster, though its not yet clear whether Schumer or any of his fellow Democrats would take the procedural step to force Gorsuch to clear the 60-vote hurdle. If they do, Gorsuch would need at least eight Democrats to join Republicans in supporting him, unless GOP leaders take the potentially risky step of lowering the threshold for confirmation. Republicans have 52 senators and Democrats have 48. If confirmed to the court, Gorsuch would restore the 5-4 conservative tilt that existed before Justice Antonin Scalias death in early 2016. The court has been split along ideological lines for nearly a year. But after Republicans refused to consider then-President Barack Obamas nominee, some Democrats are already vowing to oppose Gorsuch. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement that Trump failed to pick a consensus nominee. Based on the long and well-established record of Judge Gorsuch, I will oppose his nomination," she said. The call by Schumer -- the top Democrat in the Republican-controlled Senate that will vote on Gorsuchs nomination -- to insist on a 60-vote bar extends the rising backlash to what Trump critics consider his extreme policies, namely last weeks executive order on refugee and immigration policies. A little more than a week into the Trump presidency, the new administration has violated our core values, challenged the separation of powers and tested the very fabric of our Constitution in unprecedented fashion, Schumer said. It is clear that the Supreme Court will be tried in ways that few courts have been tested since the earliest days of the Republic. Gorsuch, an appeals judge in the Denver-based 10th Circuit, would fill the seat left open by Scalias death. The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute, Trump said in announcing his nominee. The high-stakes Washington fight over a Trump pick began well before the Republican president announced Gorsuch. The conservative group Judicial Crisis Network said Tuesday night that it has already started a $10 million, multi-media ad campaign in support of Gorsuch. Meanwhile, several progressive groups, including People for the American Way, in the days and weeks ahead of Trumps announcement touted campaigns to oppose any of his nominations. The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream, Schumer also said. Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuch's ability to meet this standard. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who has already been critical of Trumps Cabinet nominees, said the Gorsuch nomination represents a breathtaking retreat from the notion that Americans have a fundamental right to constitutional liberties and harkens back to the days when politicians restricted a peoples rights on a whim. He argued in part that Gorsuchs opposition to so-called right to die or death with dignity laws suggests that his Supreme Court decisions will further erode Americans individual rights. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, though, joined numerous other GOP senators in hailing the presidents choice -- as he called on Democrats to treat him fairly. He has an impressive background and a long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution, said McConnell, R-Ky. I hope members of the Senate will show him fair consideration with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama. Wednesday marks the 14th anniversary of the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, in which seven astronauts lost their lives as the craft broke up during reentry on February 1, 2003. Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut and the brother of astronaut Scott Kelly both of whom are known for NASAs Twin Study took to Twitter to commemorate the tragic anniversary. Remembering the 7 astronauts lost aboard Columbia 14 years ago today, he wrote. They were brave explorers and really good people. The Columbia Shuttle was the second time the space agency lost a vehicle in a catastrophic accident: the first, of course, was Challenger, in 1986. NASA recently marked another very sad occasion, with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 capsule fire, in which three astronauts died. Remembering the 7 astronauts lost aboard Columbia 14 years ago today. They were brave explorers and really good people. pic.twitter.com/2yIQPGcuNG Mark Kelly (@ShuttleCDRKelly) February 1, 2017 Kelly was joined by others in paying their respects for the loss of Columbia on Wednesday. Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia took to Twitter as well, to share three tweets on the tragedies, which, stitched together, read: The 3rd of 3 tragedies whose anniversaries fall in 1 tough week for @NASA - today is the anniversary of #Columbia 1/ Take some thought today for seven Americans lost in the space shuttle #Columbia disaster, for those lost on Challenger and Apollo I, and 2/ for men and women from around the world who have made the ultimate sacrifice for science and exploration 3/3 The 3rd of 3 tragedies whose anniversaries fall in 1 tough week for @NASA - today is the anniversary of #Columbia 1/ https://t.co/YUmyaJz94x Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) February 1, 2017 NASA ultimately determined the loss of the vehicle stemmed from a foam strike on the Shuttles wing during takeoff that impact created a hole and fatally compromised Columbia while it was reentering the Earths atmosphere. A young man who made a religious pilgrimage in England sometime during the late 11th or early 12th century ultimately died of leprosy and was buried in a hospital cemetery. Now, scientists studying his remains have found, at least in his death, he was not treated as an outcast but was given a traditional pilgrim burial. "The wider implication of our research, ultimately, is that it can help challenge long-held and false notions of leprosy sufferers being traditionally outcast," lead researcher Simon Roffey, a lecturer in archaeology the University of Winchester in the United Kingdom, told Live Science. The excavated man received a pilgrim's burial meaning he was interred with a scallop shell, a symbol of a pilgrim who has made the journey to the shrine of St. James in Spain. The burial challenges modern misconceptions that leprosy sufferers were outcast and the disease was linked to sinfulness, Roffey said. [6 Strange Facts About Leprosy] Leprosy genetics Leprosy is a bacterial disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin lesions and nerve damage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The disease is not all that contagious ; a person needs repeated contact with nose or mouth fluids from an infected person to contract leprosy, the CDC said. However, many people feared the condition in the past, seeing it as an incurable, contagious threat, the CDC said. Leprosy dates back almost 4,000 years, and other studies suggest that the genome of the bacteria that cause it, Mycobacterium leprae, has not changed significantly in that time , the researchers said in the new study. This might explain the decline in the incidence of leprosy since its peak in the medieval period, as people gradually adapted to the disease, the researchers added. To learn more about leprosy's genetic history, Roffey and his colleagues examined the pilgrim's skeleton. The man had been buried in the cemetery of the leprosy hospital St. Mary Magdalen, Winchester. The scientists said they found that the man, who was between 18 and 25 years old when he died, lived during a time when religious pilgrimages were at their height in Europe. He likely didn't live in Winchester, and may have traveled because he wanted to die there, they said. The pilgrim's skeleton showed minimal signs of leprosy, with the lesions mostly confined to the bones of his legs. However, he likely suffered from multiple tumors in his tissues caused by inflammation and infection, the study researchers said. The man might have also suffered from facial paralysis as a result of nerve damage associated with the disease, they said. Leprosy strains The majority of strains of leprosy found in remains in the cemetery at St. Mary Magdalen were from a genetic strain called 31. However, the particular strain found in the pilgrim's remains belonged to what's called the 2F lineage, a type of leprosy associated today with cases from south-central and western Asia. Though other excavated remains at the site also contained 2F M. leprae strains, the strain from this pilgrim was genetically distinct from others at this site, the scientists said. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases] "This would suggest that the individual was quite widely traveled and came into contact with a diverse range of ethnic groups," Roffey said. The man's travels may have included trips to Spain, the scallop shell that he was buried with suggests. The presence of two different leprosy strain types, 31 and 2F, in the cemetery may indicate that the disease was introduced at multiple times into southern Britain by the movement of pilgrims and settlers, the researchers wrote in their study. The site is also one of earliest excavated examples of leprosy from Western Europe, with about 86 percent of the burials there showing skeletal signs of leprosy. Researchers noted, however, that they are still not sure of the man's origins, or whether he contracted the disease abroad or in Winchester. They also aren't sure when he contracted the disease, before or during his pilgrimage, they said. The study was published Jan. 26 in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Originally published on Live Science . President Donald Trump's executive order putting a temporary hold on U.S. entry for citizens from seven predominantly Muslim nations sparked protests at aiports nationwide as dozens of foreign travelers were immediately detained over the weekend. But not everyone traveling to the U.S. comes via plane. Many cruise lines say the impact from the president's exectuive order is likely to be minimal but they are now working to accommodate guests that may be affected. Carnival Cruise Line's Chief Communications Officer Roger Frizzell told Fox News that his company "didn't see any impact over the weekend and didnt foresee any real impact going forward. THE 4 BEST NEW LUXURY CRUISES A spokeswoman for Norwegian, which operates Oceania and Regent Seven Seas, told Fox News that its lines are all "reviewing the recent executive order on immigration and will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, as well as local and regional authorities, in order to comply with all governmental policies." So far, no Norwegian guests or crew members have been impacted by the ban but each line is encouraging guests to thoroughly review current State Department visa and travel documentation requirements. The lines are offering affected guests the chance to cancel without penalty. But at least one cruiser was caught off guard by the measure. Maysam Sodagari, a chemical engineer from Iran who lives in San Francisco, was nearing the end of a seven-day cruise in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico on Friday when he learned about Trumps travel ban. Sodagari, who holds a valid green card, was unsure if hed be able to go back home and when the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sunday, he was taken to the Customs and Border Protection office and held for three hours. Late in the day, after the White House clarified that permanent residents with green cards would be permitted to re-enter the U.S., he was released to go home to California. Sodagaris story may be disconcerting to cruise industry leaders who want to ensure passengers have a fun and safe time at sea, but even Royal Caribbean says the travel ban is unlikely to have a major impact on business. FOR THE LATEST TRAVEL FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK Our records indicate only a minimal number of our guests are citizens of the countries affected by the executive order and its apparent requirements, said Owen Torres, global corporate communications representative for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. We are reaching out to those guests individually to discuss their options. But others appear more concerned. Were hearing from cruise lines and airports in our state, the tourism sector, concerned with the visa waiver interview process," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told reporters Monday night. "And there arent a lot of answers as of today. In fact, my staff was told the State Department, as of today, was ordered not to talk to Congress about this issue. Travel and Leisure, which has put together a list of tips for travelers, suggests green card and visa holders should take extra precautions to ensure they have all their documentation in order when re-entering the U.S., including a passport from their home country and their U.S. residence card. Disney Cruise Line and Holland America Line did not immediately respond to requests for comments. Americans curious to see First Lady Melania Trumps native land are helping spur a tourism boom in Slovenia, officials said Tuesday. Theres been a 10-percent bump in U.S. travelers booking overnight stays in the Central European nation in 2016 compared to the previous year, according to its Statistics Bureau. And the mountainous country known mostly as a good place to ski is capitalizing on its newfound moment in the spotlight. Slovenias official website now bills itself as the homeland of the new First Lady of the United States of America! FOR THE LATEST TRAVEL FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK There are even tours that now give visitors a glimpse of her life there, offering on the footsteps of Melania Trump jaunts, which include stops at her childhood homes in Sevnica, her high school and her job that she had in her early 20s when she was just beginning her modeling career. Her small hometown of 5,000 began cheering for the 46-year-old during the presidential campaign decorating their homes with American flags. This article originally appeared in the New York Post. Lawyers for the widow of the man who staged a deadly terrorist attack at a Florida nightclub had no advance knowledge of the plot and did not know ahead of time that her husband planned to buy ammunition while they were on a trip to Walmart. Noor Salman's attorneys said Tuesday in court filings arguing for her release from jail that she had no involvement or knowledge of her husband Omar Mateen's plan to attack the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on June 12. Mateen shot to death 49 people and wounded 53 others before police killed him. Salman was arrested in November and will appear in an Oakland, California, federal court Wednesday seeking her release from jail. Four Texas State fraternities were suspended, including one for five years, following so-called alcohol-related policy violations, a university official said. University spokesman Matt Flores told the San Antonio Express-News on Tuesday that Pi Kappa Alpha, Alpha Tau Omega, Kappa Alpha and Delta Tau Delta were suspended for two, three, four and five years. The discipline came earlier this month after a review conducted by a student justice panel. Flores told the newspaper that the fraternities are banned from conducting business or hosting social gatherings. Flores said the violations came on Oct. 28, 2016, but he stopped short of connecting it to the death of an Alpha Delta Pi sorority member. Jordan Taylor was found on Oct. 29, at least 12 hours after she was dragged by a bus about 500 feet. Guadalupe County Sheriff Arnold Zwicke said there was a party being hosted near Cool River Ranch, near where the 20-year-old Taylor was found. Social media activity indicated Taylor may have attended the off-campus social event hosted by the aforementioned suspended fraternities. Zwicke said in a news release that one of the shuttle buses that were used to bring tubers to and from the river suffered a mechanical issue and forced the driver to leave the vehicle where it was stopped. He added that Taylors injuries were consistent with being struck and dragged by the bus. Taylors death was ruled an accident. Click for more from the San Antonio Express-News. Click for more from Fox 7 Austin. Republicans now hold sway on Capitol Hill, but on college campuses across the country many conservatives say they are increasingly under threat and being shut out of the political dialogue with tensions only escalating as President Trump unveils controversial measures. Allison Coukos, director of public relations for the George Washington College Republicans and a junior majoring in political science, told Fox News that after the president signed a slew of executive orders last week, the political tension on campus intensified. She said the hostility toward her group became so extreme that this week it sent out an open invitation to everyone on campus to join them in a friendly discussion. While it is nothing new for Republicans to feel alienated on typically liberal-minded campuses, Trumps election has seemingly ushered in a new level of enmity for conservative students and professors. Coukos said she has basically had to stop discussing politics altogether. Students have told me of instances of harassment. We had a member spat on when they were wearing a Make America Great Again hat, Coukos said. On a liberal campus, it is not necessarily easy being a Republican. Students who dont know you are more inclined to hold negative views toward you. Last week, video surfaced of a left-leaning college student physically and verbally assaulting a conservative leader at West Virginia University during a meeting to organize a joint debate. Many GOPers claim that they are subject to sexist, racist and bigot accusations from strangers, and that the animosity is hindering healthy debate, friendships and even ones ability to get good grades. Jordan Martinez, a 24-year-old U.S Army combat veteran who is now a graduate student at the University of Southern Californias School of Cinematic Arts, said he has been shocked with the extreme shutdown of political discourse that doesnt seem to fit the liberal narrative. Students are constantly told that we live in troubled times since we have Trump as our president. I have had professors constantly show their biases and even felt they have graded me different based upon their knowledge of my political philosophy, he said. USC has consistently pushed its political agenda, while often humiliating anyone else who has a different opinion. I would never have guessed they would be so against free thinking. Two days prior to the inauguration, according to Martinez, professors introduced a documentary filmmaker who said that he was part of an anti-Trump movement and invited students to join the protests in Downtown Los Angeles. He gave each student two forms which were delegitimizing Trump's election and stated that he and Pence were fascist. Later on in the day, from a student assistant from another class, I received a mass email with a similar message stating that it is unbelievable that we have Trump as a president, Martinez said. It invited students to participate using any of their skills to help with the protests. The email invited students to meet in a room on campus to prepare for the protests. Protests around the inauguration subsequently erupted around the nation some peaceful, but some leading to intense physical and verbal confrontations. There are still some impassioned protests throughout the country. PROTESTS ERUPT AT AIRPORTS FOLLOWING TRUMP TRAVEL RESTRICTION Martinez observed that the past week of executive orders has brought about more epithets toward Trump followers and professors continuing to compare Trump to Hitler. But Lily Vaughn vice president of USCs College Democrats said that she has never observed a professor attempt to deliberately convince others of his or her political beliefs, and said the situation at USC was far from tense. However, she stressed that if one wants to be involved in politics, then disagreements or heated rancor simply come with the territory. If some community members choose not to associate with someone who holds beliefs based on ignorance, prejudice, or intolerance, Vaughn said with regards to those who dismiss Trump supporters, that is a perfectly valid choice to make. But Republican students arent the only ones embroiled in the furor of political disputes. So are college professors. In November, University of Rochesters Ted Pawlicki was forced to resign, which he did, as undergraduate program director of the Department of Computer Science a position he held for 18 years after posting some comedic Trump support on an anti-Trump Facebook page after the election. Pawlicki came under fire after the post and was accused of being insensitive to his students. On our campus, Republicans and conservatives certainly feel that they are a minority, but we dont feel excluded, Pawlicki, who still works at the university, told Fox News over email. One positive development is that the protests are taking on a more practical and less angry character. While students are still venting frustration, we have seen more thoughtful action develop letter writing, petition drives, informational workshops. SERIOUSLY? SCHOOLS REPORTEDLY TO BLACK OUT TRUMP'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS Daniel Bonevac, a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, noted that while the university has a strong tradition of respectful disagreement, Trump supporters have chosen to stay quiet because it is so politically incorrect to support him. But Bonevac bucked the trend and made his stance known even before Trump became president. When he did, some students stopped coming to class and a few others attempted to stir up trouble, he said. Ultimately though, he said he was shocked by the support he received. I had expected to encounter more hostility than I did, Bonevac said. I got no nasty reactions in person. Herman Gabaldon, an Air Force combat veteran now enrolled at Central New Mexico University, told Fox News that his campus experience as a recently retired military man and a conservative so far has garnered mixed reactions. Yet, he is optimistic that the school will remain a platform for free speech. One student said he was offended by the Glock sticker on my planner, so I told him I felt the same about his Megadeath band sticker, Gabaldon said, adding that others have been more open to his points of view. Some students wear safety pins in class, so some of us veterans wear firing pins. A sociology professor asked me about it and shook my hand. To him, it is all about healthy debate so long as you can back up your argument. Thats what it is all about. Two Delaware Department of Correction (DOC) employees were being held hostage at a maximum-security prison Wednesday night as inmates remained locked in an hours-long standoff with authorities. DOC Commissioner Perry Phelps told reporters that four staff members at the the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna were taken hostage at around 10:30 a.m. ET after a correctional officer inside Building C, which houses over 100 inmates, radioed for immediate assistance. One DOC employee was released approximately four hours later, while a second was released shortly before 8 p.m., Phelps said. The first hostage was taken to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries and Delaware Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Rob Coupe said the second freed hostage was being examined by medical personnel. Earlier Wednesday, authorities said that five prison employees, not four, were being held by inmates. Officials did not specify whether any of the hostages were guards or prison counselors. MAN WHO STABBED 3 IN HOLLYWOOD RESTAURANT KILLED BY POLICE In addition to the staff members, 27 inmates had left Building C. Authorities said they didn't know whether the inmates had been held against their will. It was not immediately clear how many inmates were holding the hostages or whether they were armed. Inmates reached out to The News Journal in Wilmington in two phone calls to explain their actions and make demands. Prisoners funneled the calls to the paper with the help of one inmate's fiancee and another person's mother. The mother told the paper her son was among the hostages. In that call, an inmate said their reasons "for doing what we're doing" included "Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that he's doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse." That caller said education for prisoners was the inmates' priority. They also said they want effective rehabilitation for all prisoners and information about how money is allocated to prisons. Officials said they had no knowledge of the phone calls during a Wednesday evening news conference and did not discuss whether the inmates had made any demands. We are looking for more O blood type and platelet donations to go to Smyrna. Please RT https://t.co/J0wsbXvlkk Blood Bank Delmarva (@DelmarvaBlood) February 1, 2017 POSSIBLE PLEA DEAL DISCUSSED IN MURDER OF TENN. STUDENT HOLLY BOBO Video from above the prison showed uniformed officers gathered in two groups along fences near an entrance to the prison. Later, video showed several people surrounding a stretcher and running as they pushed it across the compound. It wasn't clear if a person was on the stretcher. People could be seen standing near a set of doors with an empty stretcher and wheelchair. Gravell said firefighters were called to the scene after reports of smoke and were being held on standby. According to the department's website, the prison is Delaware's largest correctional facility for men, housing about 2,500 inmates. It houses minimum, medium, and maximum security inmates, and also houses Kent County detainees awaiting trial. It is also the site of the state's death row and where executions were carried out. The prison opened in 1971. In 2004, an inmate raped a counselor and took her hostage for nearly seven hours at the Smyrna prison, according to an Associated Press report at the time. A department sharpshooter later shot and killed 45-year-old Scott Miller, according to the report, ending the standoff. Fox News' Tamara Gitt and The Associated Press contributed to this report. An Internal Revenue Service attorney is facing charges he shipped methamphetamine from his Washington, D.C., apartment to a recipient in suburban New York. Federal prosecutors say Jack Vitayanon was arrested Wednesday in Washington. The plot allegedly involved unidentified co-conspirators in Arizona and on Long Island. Prosecutors say they have recordings that they say show Vitayanon smoking methamphetamine and discussing shipments of drugs. They say the alleged scheme lasted from September 2014 until last month. They say suspected methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, packaging materials and drug ledgers were recovered from his apartment. Vitayanon will be prosecuted in federal court on Long Island, but his initial court appearance was not announced. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney representing him. The IRS says it can't comment on specific personnel matters. A federal judge in California declined Wednesday to release the wife of the man who killed dozens of people at a Florida nightclub and ordered a psychiatric evaluation after prosecutors said she accompanied her husband on scouting trips for potential targets. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu in Oakland said she wanted a psychiatric evaluation done of Noor Salman, 31, before deciding whether to release her from jail pending a trial on charges of supporting her husband's attack and then lying to investigators about it. Salmon has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Salman was arrested by federal authorities last month at her mother's home in suburban San Francisco, where she moved with her 4-year-old son after her husband Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 53 others on June 12 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Mateen pledged allegiance to several terror organizations, including ISIS, during the attack before police shot and killed him. Federal prosecutor Sara Sweeney divulged some details of the allegations for the first time in court Wednesday while arguing against the release of Salman. Sweeney said Mateen asked Salman about "what would make more people upset an attack at downtown Disney, or at a club?" In addition to accompanying her husband on scouting trips, Salman watched him leave their apartment with a gun and a backpack full of ammunition on the night of the shooting, Sweeney said. Authorities say Salman initially said she didn't know anything about the attack but later told investigators Mateen abused steroids, was "pumped up" on the night of the attack, and said "this is the one day" as he walked out the door, Sweeney said in court. "I knew when he left he was going to commit the attack," Sweeney said Salman told investigators. Sweeney also told the court the couple ran up $25,000 in credit card debt and spent $5,000 in cash in the days before the shooting. Among the purchases was an $8,000 diamond ring for Salman. In addition, Mateen and Salman made her the death beneficiary of his bank account. Salman's attorney, Charles Swift, told reporters outside the court that Salman made those statements without a lawyer present during an 18-hour interrogation immediately after the attack, and that he hasn't yet received a transcript or recording of the interrogation to determine the context of her statements and accuracy of the allegations. Swift argued that prosecutors were charging Salman with the crimes of her husband. Mateen physically abused Salman, according to Swift, and never told her about his plans to carry out the killings. Her defense team told the court she was a special education student and couldn't concort a plan. Swift pointed out that Mateen was a security guard and left the couple's home hundreds of times with a gun and ammunition. In addition, the defense claimed Mateen watched ISIS videos with his son, and was "bulked up" due to being on steroids at the time of the shooting. It was the first time Salman's legal team heard details of the allegations. "We frankly expected more," attorney Linda Moreno said outside court. Salman's mother and uncle have pledged to put up their homes as collateral to secure her release from jail pending trial. Federal prosecutors are seeking to transfer Salman to Florida to face the charges that could bring a sentence of life in prison. Fox News' Claudia Cowan, Mike Lundin and the Associated Press contributed to this report. A man suspected of killing his ex-wife in Phoenix while their two young children were present was embroiled in an acrimonious divorce in which he was accused of domestic violence and voiced concerns that she would flee to Mexico with their children. Josiah English III, 40, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death Tuesday morning of 35-year-old Blanca Gutierrez-Calzoncit. Police say the two children were present but unharmed during the attack in the parking lot of Gutierrez-Calzoncit's apartment complex. It's not known whether English has been assigned an attorney. The shooting occurred on the same day that the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against English in his appeal of the divorce case. The court sent an email to English informing him of the decision more than three hours after the shooting. The appeals court upheld rulings that gave Gutierrez-Calzoncit sole legal decision-making power for the children and granted parenting time to English. The Court of Appeals also backed up a ruling that required English, who isn't a lawyer but represented himself in the divorce case, to pay $22,000 in attorney fees for making court filings that were superficially plausible but actually wrong. The lower court had found that English had verbally abused and struck Gutierrez-Calzoncit in the nose. English said the domestic violence claims were fabricated by Gutierrez-Calzoncit and accused her of denying him access to his children. Earlier in his divorce case, English alleged that Gutierrez-Calzoncit was at risk of fleeing the United States because she was Mexican citizen and had visited the Mexican embassy. He also had unsuccessfully sought an order to forbid Gutierrez-Calzoncit from taking the children to Mexico. Earlier in the divorce case, Gutierrez-Calzoncit had denied she wanted to leave the country with her children. The trial judge concluded that English and Gutierrez-Calzoncit needed mental health counseling and parenting classes. The appeals court said Gutierrez-Calzoncit attended group therapy and parenting classes at a domestic violence shelter. English contended that there was no evidence that he needed counseling. ___ Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report. ___ Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud. By visiting Japan and South Korea on his first official overseas trip, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is seeking to reinforce longstanding alliances after President Donald Trump's campaign-trail complaints that defense treaties with the Asian allies disadvantaged the United States. The visits also reflect the urgency of concerns on both sides of the Pacific about North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Mattis inherited a North Korea problem that has grown more worrisome as the communist nation's leader, Kim Jong Un, claims progress toward fielding a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the United States. Mattis is due in Seoul on Thursday. Later in the week he is to hold talks in Tokyo. At both stops, China also is expected to be a key topic. A lawyer has raised the possibility of a plea deal for one of three men charged with killing a Tennessee nursing student. Michael Scholl, who represents Jason Autry, said in court Wednesday that he called Judge C. Creed McGinley about the procedure for approving a plea agreement in the case. Neither Scholl nor the judge discussed further details. Scholl made the statement during a status hearing on charges against Autry in the death Holly Bobo. WITNESSES SAW SUSPECTS WITH HOLLY BOBO AFTER KIDNAPPING Autry is charged with kidnapping, rape and murder. Bobo was 20 when she disappeared from her home in Parsons in April 2011. Authorities say two men found her skull in a wooded area in Decatur County in September 2014. Two brothers, Zachary Adams and John Dylan Adams, are also charged with kidnapping, rape and murder. One morning last semester at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School, freshman Peyton Klein noticed her new classmate Khawla and their homeroom teacher looking defeated as they struggled to communicate. Khawla and her family had fled Aleppo, Syria, over the summer and settled in Highland Park, and the 16-year-old entered Allderdice in the ninth grade. Peyton said she'd seen similarly pained interactions more often as the Pittsburgh Public Schools' immigrant and refugee population grew. Smiles spread across the girls' faces Tuesday as Peyton told Khawla for the first time how she inspired her. "You made me want to do this whole thing," Peyton said. "I like that so much," Khawla said, beaming. That experience last year culminated in Global Minds, a weekly after-school program at the Squirrel Hill high school that aims to help those new students and their native English-speaking peers better understand each other through discussions and activities centering on human rights, diversity, sustainable development and international relations. Amid the fallout from President Donald Trump's recent executive order putting a temporary hold on admitting refugees and visa holders from seven Muslim-majority nations, Peyton said she's doubling down on her goal of encouraging cultural tolerance. "There's all this stuff going on in the world, and I think it's so important that our ESL students feel safe and comfortable and have the academic resources that they need to succeed," she said. "I'm even more motivated to make this possible and to engage people in educated dialogue." About 25 students representing at least seven countries sat on the floor of a fourth-floor classroom Tuesday watching, over snacks, a video about advocacy, before moving to a hallway for small-group chats. At earlier meetings, they had designed posters highlighting positive things about their native countries and learned words in each other's languages. Peyton asked a reporter not to use the last names of the immigrant and refugee students. Mjdoleen, a 17-year-old senior from Saudi Arabia who now lives in Squirrel Hill, said Global Minds has helped her adjust to life in Pittsburgh. "I'm expecting to make friends and learn more about other cultures," she said. "In a lot of places right now, I feel like refugees or immigrants aren't feeling welcome," said Ali Axtman, 16, of Squirrel Hill. "And I want our school to be a place where we can be connected and everyone can feel welcomed." Pittsburgh Allderdice freshman Chloe, center, 14, of Squirrel Hill talks with fellow freshman Khawla, right, 17, of Highland Park and a small group of their fellow students during Global Minds' weekly after-school club meeting on Tuesday. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette) Under the guidance of Allderdice English as a second language teacher Jane Valinsky, Peyton first spoke with two ESL classes for feedback before launching Global Minds. Near the end of the fall semester, she applied for a grant from the Sprout Fund's "100 Days of US," an incentive supporting community-led projects during the first 100 days of the new presidential administration. Though already underway, Global Minds was one of 25 winning proposals out of the more than 150 applicants. The selection committee was especially struck by Peyton's effort to rally youth voices around important topics, said Sprout program officer Ryan Coon. "We're proud to be a supporter," he said. The $4,500 award from Sprout will go in part toward inviting speakers to talk with Global Minds students and for field trips, Peyton said. She's working with Pittsburgh Cares, where she's on the youth advisory committee, on a student mural project Downtown. Global Minds also has received $1,000 from the Awesome Pittsburgh foundation and $2,500 from the Vert Charitable Trust, she said, and is seeking other grants. Some of money will go toward tutoring materials and Smart boards for immigrant and refugee students. The program also serves as her service project for the school district. "I think it's awesome," Allderdice principal Melissa Friez said of the club. "Having kids that are like, 'Hey, we're thankful that you're here, we're happy to have you,' (is) very valuable." Global Minds has emerged as the English-language-learner population in the school system has increased. Of the district's 24,000 students, about 1,020 are ELL students representing 57 countries. That's up from 877 at the end of May, a fact that English as a second language director Jonathan Covel attributes in part to refugee resettlement and secondary migration when an immigrant already settled in the U.S. moves to another state. Spanish is the native tongue for most of these students in city schools, and the district is seeing growth in Arabic-speaking students from several countries. Peyton wants to expand the program to other schools, including Brashear High School, which has 270 English language learners, and Colfax K-8, which has 94. Two University of Pittsburgh students will help her with curriculum. "There's all this stuff going on in the world, and I think it's so important that our ESL students feel safe and comfortable and have the academic resources that they need to succeed," said Allderdice freshman Peyton Klein, 15, of Squirrel Hill. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette) Peyton can't vote and she can't drive, she wrote in her Sprout Fund application, but she's intent on making a change while managing Global Minds, tutoring Khawla and her brother, completing her own classwork and serving on several boards. She got all A's last semester, she noted. When she was 11, she asked her grandmother, who had run a literacy nonprofit in Philadelphia for 20 years, to teach her how to write a grant. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding me, Peyton?'" Margie Klein recalled. "She said, 'There's so many things I'm interested in. Maybe one day I'm gonna write a grant for something I believe in.' I knew it wouldn't be long. She had that fire from the time she was a kid." ___ Online: http://bit.ly/2kVDSFP next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 President Donald Trump is making an unannounced trip to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a weekend raid on an al-Qaida base in Yemen. Trump was to arrive Wednesday afternoon at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. Three other Americans were wounded in the operation, which was planned by former President Barack Obama's administration but approved by Trump. Trump was expected to join Owens' family for a private ceremony. The trip was not on Trump's public schedule. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported in advance. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department says wide-scale firings or dismantling the beleaguered agency isn't the way to meet the health care needs of millions of veterans. Trump tapped David Shulkin, the VA's current top health official, to be VA secretary after a presidential campaign in which the Republican described the agency as "probably the most incompetently run." As Shulkin prepares to face a Senate panel Wednesday, the 57-year-old physician is pledging more modest changes. In prepared testimony, Shulkin says there will be better access and expanded care options. But he adds: "The Department of Veterans Affairs will not be privatized under my watch." Shulkin is in line to be the lone ex-Obama administration official serving in Trump's Cabinet. Thousands of Christians have been forced to flee their homes in Western Ethiopia after Muslim extremists set fire to roughly 50 churches and dozens of Christian homes. At least one Christian has been killed, many more have been injured and anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 have been displaced in the attacks that began March 2 after a Christian in the community of Asendabo was accused of desecrating the Koran. The violence escalated to the point that federal police forces sent to the area two weeks ago were initially overwhelmed by the mobs. Government spokesman Shimelis Kemal told Voice of America police reinforcements had since restored order and 130 suspects had been arrested and charged with instigating religious hatred and violence. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the Islamist group Kawarja is believed to have incited the violence. "We believe there are elements of the Kawarja sect and other extremists who have been preaching religious intolerance in the area, he said at a Saturday press conference. In previous times, we have cracked down on Kawarja because they were involved in violence. Since then they have changed their tactics and they have been able to camouflage their activities through legal channels." The string of attacks comes on the heels of several reports of growing anti-Christian tension and violence around the country where Muslims make up roughly one-third of the total population but more than 90 percent of the population in certain areas, 2007 Census data shows. One of those areas is Besheno where, on November 9, all the Christians in the city woke up to find notes on their doors warning them to convert to Islam, leave the city or face death, a Christian from Besheno told FoxNews.com on condition of anonymity. Under the Ethiopian constitution we are supposed to have freedom of religion, but Muslim leaders in our town dont allow us that right, the source said. Later that month three Christians in Besheno were assaulted in religiously-motivated attacks and three others were forced to flee the city after being told that Muslim leaders had commissioned hit men to kill them, one of the exiled Christians told FoxNews.com. We were told by some Muslims that live in the city that there was already a plan to kill us and that the people who were assigned to kill us had already come from another city to do it. A witness to the three attacks was then assaulted in January after testifying about them in court, International Christian Concern (ICC), an organization that aims to fight Christian persecution, reported. In the southern town of Moyale, a Christian was sentenced to three years in prison in November for allegedly writing "Jesus is the Lord" in a copy of the Koran, Compass Direct News reported. Christians from the area told the website he had actually written the phrase on a piece of cloth. Sources also told Compass authorities had offered to release the man, Tamirat Woldegorgis, if he would convert to Islam, but he refused. Additionally, two of his friends were fined for visiting him in prison and taking him food, Compass Direct reported. And in Oma Village on February 26 a Muslim mob with rocks and rods assaulted and wounded 17 Christian college students who were distributing Bibles during a mission trip, ICC reported. The mob overwhelmed government security forces that attempted to protect the students, but the students eventually fled, the ICC website said. "The violence against Christians in Ethiopia is alarming because Ethiopian Muslims and Christians used to live together peacefully. Besides, its extremely disconcerting that in Ethiopia, where Christians are the majority, they are also the victims of persecution," Jonathan Racho, ICC's Regional Manager of Africa and South Asia, told FoxNews.com. Meles said that the government is doing everything it can to stop religious violence. "We knew that they were peddling this ideology of intolerance, but it was not possible for us to stop them administratively because they are within their rights," he said. "If we can find some association between what they are doing by way of preaching and what happened by way of violence, then of course we can take them to court." Racho, originally from Ethiopia, said the fact that the government waited a full week before sending troops to Asendabo shows that its not doing enough. Going forward, he said he hopes the government "will take measures to ensure that such attacks will not happen in the future," including bringing all responsible parties to justice to show this will not be tolerated. "The Ethiopian government has arrested around 130 of the perpetrators, and we hope they will be prosecuted according to the law." Michael McCabes job as a filmmaker has taken him to unsafe corners of the globe, places where being interrogated by local authorities, and detained for obscure reasons, is no rarity. McCabe, 45, said he's had his share of dicey moments the suspicious looks by authorities, probing questions, a shotgun put to his head, arrest and a brief detention. They always let you go, he said with a shrug and a what-can-you-do-about-it look. But Honduras, where six Americans have been detained for the past month on weapons charges, was different. He went to the Central American country in early May to film the work of the small crew of the vessel Aqua Quest. The captain, Robert Mayne, the CEO of Florida-based Aqua Quest International, describes his company as one that focuses on the search for, and archeological recovery of the worlds lost shipwreck resources." The crew arrived near the Ahuas region to remove mahogany logs. McCabe had traveled to the area with Mayne in February, and was looking forward to the second visit to Honduras, which has had the highest murder rate in the world for several years. The U.S. State Department warns about kidnappings, robberies, rapes and other crimes. The crew, nonetheless, was focused on its mission. But not long after the crew arrived on the 65-foot vessel, things started going awry. Mayne, who had encountered criminals along his trips who had tried to rob him and his crew, carried weapons for protection. Their concern was traveling from Florida to the Caribbean through Honduras, McCabe said. The area has a lot of narcotics trade, theres piracy, the captain has dealt with piracy before. A security team was set up for the crew in Honduras, aware of the dangers, and how much a U.S. vessel rarely seen in the area would attract attention. Mayne said the captain had carefully reviewed the regulations for carrying weapons, and was sure that everything was in order and pre-approved. They encountered Navy officials, who were helpful and accommodating, McCabe said, as well other town officials who were equally hospitable and supportive. But local police authorities were a different story. They boarded the vessel, found the weapons several firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, two shotguns and two handguns, according to published reports -- and arrested the captain and five crew members based on allegations that they were in possession of illegal arms. McCabe was held aboard a ship for a week, but was not kept there and was allowed to leave. The captain and rest of the crew, however, have been in jail in Honduras since May 5. U.S. officials have been vague about what efforts they are undertaking to get their release. Officials from the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa went to visit the men in jail on May 16. In a statement to Fox News Latino, they said they are closely monitoring the situation and offering the appropriate consular assistance. Word got around the town that there are gringos who have guns, McCabe said. It seemed the police felt they had to do something. It just started so slowly, and gradually just got worse, he said of the situation. McCabe visited the crew in jail, and said they were growing increasingly hopeless. Theyve been told twice that theyre getting out tomorrow, but tomorrow comes and theyre kept in jail, he said. U.S. publications cite a Honduran newspaper, El Heraldo, as quoting the commander of the Honduran Navy as saying the crew was arrested because they carried five weapons, one of which is prohibited, and they did not have a permit to carry weapons in Honduran territory. On May 13, a judge ordered the crew to remain in custody indefinitely. The staff of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Florida Republican, has been calling U.S. officials to pressure them to take action to secure the crews release. Meanwhile, McCabe is trying to do his part from the U.S. to raise awareness about the crews detention. I understand weapons are a big deal, he said. But its a shame. This crew was excited to help these people in Honduras. The town of Ahuas was excited, they thought it might bring some economic help to the region. I want to believe they will be able to get out of jail. The American freelance photographer kidnapped by Al Qaeda militants in Yemen in 2013 was 'murdered' Friday during a U.S. special operations rescue mission inside the country after it was learned that his life was in imminent danger, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in a statement. Luke Somers was still alive, but badly injured when the team reached him, a Yemeni national security official told Fox News. The official said Somers was shot by militants. None of the special forces members were injured. Hagel said in the statement that the rescue bid was conducted in partnership with the Yemen's government and its security forces.Ten militants were killed between the rescue attempt and the drone strike prior to the mission, the Yemeni official confirmed. South African hostage Pierre Korkie was the other hostage killed in the operation, the Gift of the Givers, a South African aid group confirmed. President Obama, who ordered the mission, released a statement early Saturday morning condemning the "barbaric murder" of Somers. Lucy Somers, the photojournalist's sister, told The Associated Press that she and her father learned of her 33-year-old brother's death from FBI agents at 12 a.m. ET Saturday. "We ask that all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace," Lucy Somers said from London. Yemen's national security chief, Maj. Gen. Ali al-Ahmadi, said the militants planned to kill Luke Somers on Saturday. "Al Qaeda promised to conduct the execution (of Somers) today so there was an attempt to save them but unfortunately they shot the hostage before or during the attack," al-Ahmadi said at a conference in Manama, Bahrain. "He was freed but unfortunately he was dead." Yemen's local Al Qaeda branch, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, posted a video Thursday that showed Somers, threatening to kill him in three days if the United States didn't meet the group's demands, which weren't specified. He was kidnapped in September 2013 from Sanaa. The news of the failed rescue comes after a suspected U.S. drone strike in Yemen killed nine alleged Al Qaeda militants early Saturday, a Yemeni security official said before news of Somers' death. The drone struck at dawn in Yemen's southern Shabwa province, hitting a suspected militant hideout, the official said. The official did not elaborate and spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to brief journalists. Later Saturday, tribal leaders said they saw helicopters flying over an area called Wadi Abdan in Shabwa province. American authorities rarely discuss their drone strike campaign in Yemen. The strikes are despised by many in Yemen due to civilian casualties, legitimizing for many the attacks on American interests. At least six suspected militants were killed in an airstrike in the same province last month. Before her brother's death, Lucy Somers released an online video describing him as a romantic who "always believes the best in people." She ended with the plea: "Please let him live." In a statement, Somers' father, Michael, also called his son "a good friend of Yemen and the Yemeni people" and asked for his safe release. Korkie was kidnapped in the Yemeni city of Taiz in May 2013, along with his wife Yolande. His wife later was released returned to South Africa. A non-governmental group, Gift of the Givers, helped mediate her release. Those close to Korkie said al-Qaida militants demanded a $3 million ransom for his release. "The psychological and emotional devastation to Yolande and her family will be compounded by the knowledge that Pierre was to be released by Al Qaeda tomorrow," Gift of Givers said in a statement Saturday. "A team of Abyan leaders met in Aden this morning and were preparing the final security and logistical arrangements, related to hostage release mechanisms, to bring Pierre to safety and freedom. It is even more tragic that the words we used in a conversation with Yolande at 5.59 this morning was `The wait is almost over."' In a statement Thursday, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby acknowledged for the first time that a mysterious U.S. raid last month had sought to rescue Somers but that he turned out not to be at the site. The U.S. considers Yemen's Al Qaeda branch to be the world's most dangerous arm of the group as it has been linked to several failed attacks on the U.S. homeland. Kirby did not elaborate on the joint U.S-Yemeni operation to free Somers, saying details remained classified. However, officials have said the raid targeted a remote Al Qaeda safe haven in a desert region near the Saudi border. Eight captives -- including Yemenis, a Saudi and an Ethiopian -- were freed. Somers, a Briton and four others had been moved days earlier. Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 as he left a supermarket in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, said Fakhri al-Arashi, chief editor of the National Yemen, where Somers worked as a copy editor and a freelance photographer during the 2011 uprising in Yemen. Somers, who was born in Britain, earned a bachelor's degree in creative writing while attending Beloit College in Wisconsin from 2004 through 2007. "He really wanted to understand the world," said Shawn Gillen, an English professor and chairman of Beloit College's journalism program who had Gillen as a student. The Associated Press contributed to this report A raid targeting senior Al Qaeda leaders in Yemen over the weekend yielded a large amount of potential intelligence, military sources tell Fox News. IRAN LAUNCHED ANOTHER BALLISTIC MISSILE IN SECRET IN DECEMBER, OFFICIALS SAY The sources told Fox that the intelligence haul from the compound is "almost as good as Abbottabad," a reference to the 2011 raid that killed Usama bin Laden. One source described the information as a "treasure trove." Navy SEALs managed to grab a laptop, about 10 cell phones, thumb drives, documents, and "a couple bags full" of material, according to officials with knowledge of the debriefing. IRAN HALTS VISAS TO AMERICANS AS IRAQ KEEPS DOOR OPEN Navy Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens was killed and at least three other U.S. service members were wounded in the raid. Three more service members were injured when an MV-22 Osprey sent in to evacuate the wounded made a crash landing. It was a hard target. They made a tough call on the ground and went in the hard way. This was not a stand-off operation, a senior military source told Fox News. If they had not gone in on the target, they might not have lost anyone, but they also might not have gathered what they did from the compound. Intelligence analysts are said to be still sifting through all of the material collected, which included computer hard drives. Only way to judge the missions success will be the final analysis of the materials gathered, a source said. According to the Associated Press, Sunday's raid left nearly 30 others dead, including more than half a dozen militant suspects. Several more children were also reportedly killed, including the 8-year-old daughter of radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Two defense sources told Fox News that the team did not know in advance that the girl was present at the time of the raid. Fox News has also learned that the mission had been presented to the Obama administration, but no decision was taken. Then-President Obama did not want to box in the new administration by approving a mission before Trump was sworn in Jan. 20. Other sources told Fox Sunday's raid would not have been approved by the Obama administration for fear of placing boots on the ground in Yemen. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Australia's prime minister on Wednesday would not say how many refugees from Pacific Island camps would be resettled in the United States after President Donald Trump's administration said "extreme vetting" would be used to check their cases. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that during a weekend call Trump had agreed to keep a promise by the Obama administration resettling an undisclosed number of mostly Muslim refugees. Australia refused to accept the refugees and instead pays for them to be housed on the nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. More than 1,200 asylum seekers are held on Papua New Guinea and Nauru. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that the refugees would have extreme vetting applied to all of them in hopes of reducing the threat posed to the U.S. by terrorism. Turnbull would not say how many refugees the U.S. could end up accepting. "We don't cut corners or compromise on keeping Australians safe and the U.S. government has exactly the same attitude," Turnbull told reporters. "They will do their own extremely rigorous vetting of people that are the subject, or potentially the subject of the agreement. Australia is under mounting criticism over the plight of desperate asylum seekers, some who have been on the islands for more than three years. Almost 400 who came to Australia for medical treatment and then refused to return to the islands are also eligible for resettlement to the U.S. Australia has all but stopped refugee boat arrivals by refusing to allow any to stay. But Iran won't take back its citizens unless they return voluntarily and most refugees have refused Australia's offer to resettle permanently in Cambodia or Papua New Guinea. The United States is an attractive option for most asylum seekers who would otherwise prefer to languish in island camps in the hope that Australia will eventually relent and take them in. The Associated Press contributed to this report. In the past year, the persecution of Christians has not only increased, but it has also spread to more corners of the globe with incidents occurring on every continent, according to a new report. The advocacy group Open Doors USA recently released the latest edition of its annual World Watch List, which ranks countries based on the treatment of their Christian populations. The group said the increase in incidents considered persecution was alarming and only getting worse. "It is appalling that Open Doors has to report that persecution has increased again in 2016 and we are still at the worst levels of persecution in modern times," David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, said to Fox News. "The spread of persecution has gotten worse, now hitting nearly every continent in the world. There were 23 Christians killed in Mexico specifically because of their faith. CHRISTIANS THE MOST PERSECUTED GROUP IN WORLD FOR SECOND YEAR: STUDY The report comes on the heels of another study by the Center for Studies on New Religions that showed nearly 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016 and that as many as 600 million were prevented from practicing their faith through intimidation, forced conversions, bodily harm or even death. These numbers underscore what we already know," Robert Nicholson of the Philos Project, an advocacy group for Christianity in the Middle East, told Fox News at the time of the reports release. "There are many places on Earth where being a Christian is the most dangerous thing you can be. Those who think of Christianity as a religion of the powerful need to see that in many places its a religion of the powerless. And the powerless deserve to be protected. Open Doors said in its new report that some 215 million Christians around the globe are facing some degree of persecution. But that number, it noted, could actually be much higher. Our report is conservative because it only calculates incidents that are reported and can be validated, Curry told Fox News. It is likely that there are thousands of incidents that are never reported and nobody knows because Christians are often fearful to tell anyone even their own family members." Curry said the group has seen an uptick in persecution in various countries throughout Asia, driven by governments and Islamic extremism. Christians in that part of the world have been targeted by nationalist religious movements -- Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist -- in such countries as Pakistan, India and Myanmar. Governmental raids increased, church membership requirements were suddenly doubled overnight resulting in churches being regarded as now illegal, among other things, Curry told Fox News. This is one area of the world that we are keeping a careful eye on because of the dramatic rise in persecution. Many of these groups increasingly view Christianity as a foreign, "colonial" import, and believe its practitioners are doing the bidding of the West, experts say. India saw some of the highest increase in incidents as Hindu nationalists battered Christian churches ever since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014. Since he has been in office, Modi has instilled Hindu nationalism, and experts say that has had devastating consequences for Christians in India. There was an average of 40 incidents per month of Christian persecution last year in the subcontinent, including pastors beaten, churches burned and Christians harassed. Eight Christians were killed for their faith. Of the 64 million Christians in India, approximately 39 million experience direct persecution, according to the Open Doors study. While Christians continue to be targeted by ISIS radicals in Syria and Iraq, the religion is also under threat in other sections of the Middle East with incidents of Christian persecution on the rise in Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations. Surprisingly, North, Central and South America are also seeing increases of Christian persecution even though Christianity is by far the most practiced religion in the region. In all, 23 Christian leaders in Mexico and another four in Colombia were killed specifically for their faith. While Mexico is considered more than 80 percent Catholic, a number of priests have come under attack and killed in the country the past few years. MEXICOS CHRISTIANS FACE BEATINGS, FORCED CONVERSIONS AT HANDS OF HYBRID FAITHS In January of last year, some 30 evangelical Christians in the state of Chiapas were banished by village elders who then destroyed their homes, according to supporters. Curry said he hopes the Open Doors list will bring more attention to the global epidemic. "It is vital to remember that the Open Doors World Watch List is not just about numbers. Rather, this represents a real life that was either taken or harmed. It is someone's mother, father, brother, sister, friend, etc., he said. This is one of those issues that really are about life and death. It matters what we do as Americans and it is time that we took a stand and said that we will not allow this to happen anymore." Scores of Cubans meet every day at the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge in Nuevo Laredo on the U.S. border after an odyssey through 10 countries, never knowing if they would achieve their dream of entering the United States, but with the conviction that returning to the island is "not an option." As more groups of Cubans keep arriving to Nuevo Laredo, approximately 400 are staying at "migrant houses" set up by several churches. OBAMA ANNOUNCES END TO 'WET FOOT, DRY FOOT' POLICY FOR CUBAN REFUGEES Every day the Cubans gather there, just steps away from Laredo, Texas, hoping for news about the border being opened to receive them. "We've been here 16 days and Mexican migration authorities have never bothered us," Yamira Gonzalez, who left Cuba with her sister and a minor, told EFE. Gonzalez said that local authorities offer them medical care and ask whether there is anybody with chronic illnesses so they can see to their medication. "They make everything normal while we're resolving our status with the United States," she said. Most of them left Cuba with tourist visas for Guyana and roundtrip tickets that cost them $259 (240 euros) each. They sold everything they owned to finance the trip, paying a series of "coyotes" (people traffickers) along the way. CUBAN-AMERICANS BOTH CELEBRATE, DEPLORE END OF 'WET FOOT, DRY FOOT' POLICY Their odyssey took them through 10 countries, dangerous rivers, dense jungles and the threat of criminal gangs. Those who arrived after Jan. 12 were unable to achieve their dream of reaching the "promised land," since that day the government of then-US President Barack Obama eliminated the "wet-foot, dry-foot" statute that permitted them legal asylum. "Why did we come here? In Cuba we have no rights," said Yeleni Diaz, who left the island because she found the system of government unbearable. "My husband spent three years in jail and I could never agree with the Cuban president because of his disgusting policies. Fidel passed the presidency on to his brother, and Raul will pass it on to his sons. In what country have we ever seen the same president for 60 years?" she said. Diaz said that Cubans who left after "wet-foot, dry-foot" was revoked are in a state of extreme anxiety. More than 11,000 Cubans arrived in Mexico during the last three months of 2016. Since last Friday the Mexican government began deporting dozens from the 21st Century Migration Station in Tapachula, Chiapas state. "Returning to Cuba is not an option," said Lester Diaz, who lived in Havana. "It's unfair what is happening to us." About their prospects after a possible deportation, Sara Ramos said "Cuba supposedly has no political prisoners, but they pin other charges on you to put you in jail." Others who were interviewed asked to remain anonymous in case they are deported to Cuba, while all agreed that economic conditions on the island are insupportable and are what forced them to leave their country. The European Union and Mexico have set two new rounds of trade talks in the first half of 2017, an acceleration of negotiations to deepen economic ties in the wake of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president. The European Commission said on Wednesday that EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo had scheduled subsequent rounds for April 3-7 and June 26-29. "Together, we are witnessing the worrying rise of protectionism around the world. Side by side, as like-minded partners, we must now stand up for the idea of global, open cooperation," the two said in a joint statement. US-MEXICO TRADE WAR COULD HIT MEXICO ECONOMY, SPUR MIGRATION European leaders have said Brussels should take advantage of a more protectionist U.S. leader, who has already withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, to step up negotiations with would-be partners. Mexico faces the prospect of a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and possibly higher U.S. import duties. The EU and Mexico have a free trade pact dating from 2000 that they began to update last year, holding talks in June and November. The EU has said a new deal would seek to include public tenders, trade in energy products and raw materials, broader protection of intellectual property, more flexible rules on what products can benefit from lower customs tariffs and greater benefits for smaller companies. MEXICO REVEALS STICKING POINTS IN POTENTIAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH TRUMP It could also lead to more liberalized trade in meat, dairy products, cereals and certain fruits and vegetables. The European Union is Mexico's third largest trading partner after the United States and China. EU-Mexico trade in goods more than doubled from 2000 to 53 billion euros ($57.23 billion) in 2015. The EU is particularly focused on trade deals with Asian countries, including those that had signed up to the TPP before Trump entered office. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Locked inside a tiny cell, Imam Alhagie Ousman Sawaneh was only allowed out an hour each day. For one year, three months and nearly 10 days he sought the answer to one simple question: "What have I done?" Like so many others who disappeared in the dead of night in Gambia, Sawaneh had few answers as to why he had been targeted and imprisoned by dictator Yahya Jammeh's regime. The 65-year-old had been picked up as he led volunteers clearing grass in the local cemetery in October 2015 and held at a prison in the Central River Region. While he had helped present a petition calling for the release of arrested rice farmers, he never dreamt that would cost him his freedom. Now he, like so many others in a new Gambia, can only look forward. "For 22 years, there has been suffering, killing," Sawaneh said with pain and conviction in his eyes. "Jammeh has gone. Gambia is here ... Let's work on the country for us." Sawaneh was released Jan. 24, just days after Jammeh fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea under an arrangement brokered by fellow West African leaders. It was the end to a political crisis sparked by Jammeh's refusal to cede power after losing December's presidential election to opposition candidate Adama Barrow. In the final days of Jammeh's rule, political prisoners started to be released. An untold number, though, are believed to still be held at the notorious Mile Two prison. Rights groups are calling on the new government to open the doors to release them all and start investigating what happened to those who disappeared and are feared dead. Barrow is already talking about putting together a truth and reconciliation commission similar to the one put into place after apartheid in South Africa. Barrow is adamant that talk of prosecutions is premature, and that the focus must remain on investigating the human rights abuses under Jammeh's rule. Since his release, Sawaneh has been receiving community members from before sunrise to well after sunset. He said people have called from Japan, China and countries in Europe to send their thoughts and prayers to him and Gambia. Sawaneh sits tall and gestures widely, with energy and enthusiasm. He welcomes people into his low-lit sitting room, while his grandchildren run around. He is surrounded by the family and friends who had feared the worst for months. They can now rest easy, despite the dark circles under their eyes. "His return will help people heal," said his daughter Fatoumata Sawaneh. "We heard so many bad things. Some people said he might be dead. Now he is back healthy, and everybody is happy." Imam Sawaneh is determined that Gambia's future will be bright if Gambians on all sides join together and Barrow works for the people who elected him. "Allah has given me the chance to be freed by the new elected president," he said. "I'm the happiest person now." ___ Associated Press writer Mustapha Jallow in Banjul, Gambia contributed to this report. German police have arrested a suspect in connection with a bombing at a train station 17 years ago in which 10 immigrants were wounded, six of them Jewish. Police in the western city of Duesseldorf say the 50-year-old man, who wasn't named, was arrested in the nearby town of Ratingen. In a statement, they said further details would be announced at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Following the explosion at the Duesseldorf-Wehrhahn train station in July 2000 suspicion quickly fell on far-right extremists, because those hurt were recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The victims were on their way home from a German-language class at the time. Among the seriously wounded was a pregnant 26-year-old woman from Ukraine who suffered a miscarriage. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Hundreds of Yemenis with U.S. visas are stranded in the tiny African state of Djibouti because of President Donald Trump's ban on entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, an American lawyer there said Wednesday. "These are all children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens," lawyer Julie Goldberg told The Associated Press, emphasizing that those stranded are not refugees. They received visas last week, she said. More than half of the 200-plus Yemenis are children, including a 3-year-old whose parents are permanent residents in the U.S. and has never seen her father in person, said Goldberg, an immigration lawyer. She has obtained a court order dated Tuesday from the U.S. District Court in California's central district instructing the U.S. government to not enforce Trump's executive order and allow the Yemenis to fly to the United States. The court order calls on the U.S. government to not cancel "validly obtained and issued immigrant visas" and to return passports containing those visas so people can travel to the U.S. Goldberg is now seeking an airline that will comply with the court order. "It's super frustrating," she said of the Yemenis' plight. "They're running out of money. Djibouti is very expensive. They can't go back to Yemen, they would be killed." Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States, has been carrying out an air campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for nearly two years. Djibouti and Yemen lie on opposite sides of the narrow Bab al-Mandab Arabic for "the gates of grief" straits at the mouth of the Red Sea. Mohamed Mosleh Jeran is one of the Yemenis waiting in Djibouti. After his family's home was blown up in Yemen's conflict, he and his wife and two young children spent two years in Djibouti. Last month, the younger son died during what should have been a routine surgery. On Thursday, the family received their U.S. visas and looked forward to joining Jeran's father, a U.S. citizen, in New York City. Jeran has been accepted to the University of Toledo to begin a masters' program, said Goldberg. But on Saturday, they were turned away at the Turkish Airlines check-in counter, Goldberg said. A spokesman for the airline did not respond to a call for comment Wednesday. "Finally I am leaving Djibouti, but in my heart I was upset, I lost one of my kids," Jeran recalled to the AP. "But what can you do. This is life. I was happy my wife and son were leaving Djibouti, finally." But when they were turned away, "my wife, she was like a child, crying, my son, too.'" In the United States, Esam Molhi and his wife, both green card holders, now fear leaving for Djibouti to reunite with their 3-year-old daughter because Trump's order might keep them from returning home. The girl was born in Yemen, and the U.S. Embassy there refused to let her fly with her mother to join Molhi in the U.S., Goldberg said. The family has been pursuing a U.S. visa for her since then. The child is staying in a rented room in Djibouti with her Yemeni grandfather, Molhi told the AP from his home in San Francisco. He has not yet seen her in person, and his wife has not seen her since she was a month and a half old, said Molhi, who works as an Uber driver. The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti has posted an urgent notice online telling people, including those with dual nationalities, from the seven countries affected Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to not schedule visa appointments or even attend existing visa appointments. ___ Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Zimbabwean judges recently filed into court for the official beginning of their 2017 duties, wearing long red robes and horsehair wigs, a throwback to an era of British colonial rule,. President Robert Mugabe has sparred with Britain for decades and denounces the West for what he calls a neo-colonial attitude, but he has a soft spot for a traditional etiquette and a dress code in the courts that even Britain has partly dropped. Judges in Britain now must wear wigs only when hearing criminal matters as part of dress code reforms in 2008, ending a centuries-old tradition. Some Commonwealth countries such as Kenya and South Africa have also moved away from wearing wigs in the courts. In 2003, Zimbabwe pulled out of the Commonwealth, a group made up mostly of former British colonies. In Zimbabwe, there have been no such curbs on the old fashion. "It's an archaic and unnecessary practice that has even been abandoned by those who exported it to us as a nation. It does not improve jurisprudence or enhance the thinking capacity of judges," said Arnold Tsunga, a Zimbabwean lawyer and International Commission of Jurists regional program director for Africa. Scrapping the traditional dress code could save money in financially troubled Zimbabwe, Tsunga said. In 2013, Zimbabwean judges appealed for new regalia to replace worn-out, secondhand robes and wigs given to them by retired judges. "Mugabe gives an impression that he hates the British; he is really fond of their culture and traditions," said Alex Magaisa, a law lecturer at Britain's University of Kent. Israel announced plans Tuesday to build 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank settlements, marking the third time the country announced similar plans since President Trump was sworn in. While Trump has signaled that he will be far more tolerant of Israeli settlement construction than his predecessors, he also has expressed a desire to broker a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, and siding closely with Israel on such a contentious matter could hurt U.S. credibility. The United Nations released a statement expressing concern over Israel's new West Bank settlement construction Wednesday. NETANYAHU: UNITED STATES SHOULD MOVE EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM "We once again warn against any unilateral actions that can be an obstacle to a negotiated two-state solution and call on both parties to return to meaningful negotiations on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions and in accordance with international law, in order to address all final status issues," a spokesman for the United Nations' Secretary General said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly clashed with President Obama over settlement construction. COMMOTION AS ISRAELI SECURITY FORCES CLEAR WEST BANK SETTLEMENT Tensions boiled over last month when the Obama White House allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution condemning settlements on occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians as illegal. Trump harshly criticized Obama for going against Israel and promised a new approach after taking office, raising hopes inside Israel's nationalist government for a new era in relations. Trump has already invited Netanyahu to visit the White House next month, and both men, after speaking on the phone Sunday, promised close coordination on a range of sensitive matters, including settlements. Netanyahu's office would not say whether he had consulted with the White House before Tuesday's announcement, but just a day earlier, the prime minister told a meeting of his Likud Party that there should be no surprises for the new president. The construction plans were announced by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said in a statement that he and Netanyahu agreed on the approval "in response to housing needs." He said most of the housing units will be built in settlement "blocs," densely populated areas where most settlers already live and which Israel wants to keep under its control under any future peace deal with the Palestinians. Some 100 homes were slated for two smaller settlements. The approvals were for early stages of home development, meaning construction is not expected to begin anytime soon. "This decision destroys the two-state solution," said Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official in the West Bank. "We call on the international community to hold Israel accountable immediately." He said the Israeli government had been encouraged by what it heard from Trump. The Palestinians want the West Bank and east Jerusalem areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war for their hoped-for state, a position that has wide international backing. Trump has signaled a softer approach to the settlements. Earlier this week, he did not react to an Israeli announcement to build over 560 new homes in east Jerusalem. Oded Revivi, the chief foreign envoy of the Yesha settlers' council, said recently that he hopes Tuesday's announcement "is just the beginning of a wave of new building." Revivi led the delegation to the inauguration, the first time the movement has received such an invitation. Fox News' Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 The Latest on the global reaction to President Donald Trump's temporary suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries (all times local): 2: 05 p.m. Five U.N. human rights experts say President Donald Trump's move to bar entry to the United States to citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries violates U.S. obligations on human rights. The five, who are commissioned by the United Nations, said in a statement issued in Geneva on Wednesday that Trump's executive order signed last week is "clearly discriminatory" and leads to greater stigmatization of Muslims. The order bars nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from U.S. entry for 90 days. The five U.N. special rapporteurs are Francois Crepeau on migrants; Mutuma Ruteere on racism; Ben Emmerson on human rights and counter-terrorism; Nils Melzer on torture and Ahmed Shaheed on freedom of religion. They cited U.S. obligations to protect the principles of "non-refoulement" or not chasing away people who have a right to protection and nondiscrimination based on race, nationality or religion. They said the United States' responsibility "must extend to offering refuge" to people fleeing Iraq and Syria, citing U.S. participation in conflicts in those countries. ___ 12:45 p.m. The United Arab Emirates' top diplomat has come out in defense of President Donald Trump's order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Wednesday that the United States was within its rights to take what he said was a "sovereign decision" concerning immigration. He says he does not believe the move was based on religion, and noted that the majority of the world's Muslim-majority countries were not covered by the order. Sheikh Abdullah spoke following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Abu Dhabi. The Emirates is one of the United States' closest Arab allies. It is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group and hosts American troops and warplanes taking part. ___ 11:45 a.m. Iran's state TV is reporting that President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at the recent executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump to suspend immigration and visa processes for nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Iran. Rouhani described Trump and his administration as newcomers who don't understand politics, saying, "A man had been living in another world and now has entered the world of politics." Rouhani also said that Trump would end up harming not only his own nation but other countries as well. Rouhani called the American administration dishonest for claiming to be on the side of the Iranian people, but then banning them. The governor of Nigeria's most populous state has signed a law authorizing the death penalty for anyone convicted in a kidnapping where the victim dies. Lagos state Gov. Akinwunmi Abode says the law he signed Wednesday will help halt a spate of kidnappings for ransom. Victims have included schoolchildren, officials and foreign workers. Nigeria seven years ago signed a moratorium to stop executions. But that has been breached in Edo state, where three men convicted of armed robbery were hanged in December and four convicted criminals were hanged in 2013. Nigeria has more than 1,000 prisoners on death row. The Prohibition of the Act of Kidnapping Law of Lagos state imposes a mandatory life sentence for kidnapping and a death sentence if a victim dies in the act. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 A visit by President Vladimir Putin to Hungary this week reveals the vastly different reactions to Putin's Russia in countries formerly under Moscow's yoke, and highlights the very different challenges those countries will face in working with the new U.S. administration. On one end of the spectrum is Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government is treating Putin's visit Thursday as a major event, and where a refurbished memorial to Soviet soldiers who died in World War II was unveiled ahead of his visit. On the other is Poland, which is fearful of Russia's resurgence and welcoming in troops from the NATO western military alliance. Officials there are tearing down memorials to the Soviet soldiers, adding to Moscow's anger. And the country's most powerful politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, accuses Putin of being behind the 2010 plane crash that killed his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski. But then add to the mix a new U.S. president, Donald Trump. His political ideology is much closer to the leaders of both Hungary and Poland than his predecessor, Barack Obama, but his position on Russia he has praised Putin and belittled NATO as "obsolete" is causing very different reactions in each country. For Hungary, a pro-Russian leader in the White House offers hope the Western world might end the sanctions imposed over Russia's annexation of Crimea and its role in eastern Ukraine. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said last week that Hungary has lost some $6.5 billion in export opportunities because of the sanctions. He said the "timing is perfect" for Putin's visit because for the first time, "as we try to further improve our relationship with Russia, there will be no American pressure not to do it." Many Poles, however, fear a U.S-Russian rapprochement under Trump could threaten their security interests. To them, NATO is anything but obsolete and still represents the best guarantee for an enduring independent state in a difficult geographical neighborhood. Trump's stance on Russia and NATO "bodes very badly" for Poland and some others in the region, including the Baltic states, with the biggest fear being that the region's interests could be traded as pawns in a bigger deal, said Lukasz Kulesa, the Warsaw-based research director for the European Leadership Network, a think tank focused on security and defense. It's not clear what the expected rapprochement will include, but two programs that Putin strongly opposes and wants scrapped are a U.S. armored brigade of 3,500 U.S. troops that was deployed to Poland recently and a U.S. ballistic missile defense site under construction which is due to become operational in 2018. "It's been our historical experience that whenever a deal was made above our heads by the bigger powers, we got a bad deal and sometimes a bloody deal," said Ryszard Schnepf, Polish ambassador to the United States from 2012-2016. "It looks like Trump wants to maintain dialogue with the biggest countries and dictate conditions to the smaller and weaker ones. From my perspective, and that of many Polish people, this is unacceptable." The approach to Russia in the two countries hasn't always been so different. In 1989, when communism crumbled, both Orban and Kaczynski opposed Soviet control of their nations. Orban rose to prominence with a fiery speech demanding the Soviet troops leave Hungary, while Kaczynski belonged to the anti-communist Solidarity movement. "'Russians go home' was Viktor Orban's ace card for reaching power and he expressed a strong right-wing opinion," said Maria Farkas, a resident of Esztergom, where the Hungarian memorial to the Soviet soldiers was recently refurbished and unveiled. "Times change and opinions change. With a politician, that's no surprise." Even today, Orban and Kaczynski have much in common. Both are imposing nationalistic and authoritarian systems on their people, undermining democratic norms and finding common ground in their condemnation of the European Union, with Orban even comparing it to the Soviet Union. Both leaders have cheered Trump, whose anti-migrant and nationalist views echo their own. Kaczynski recently voiced hope that Trump will end the U.S. "interference in Polish internal affairs" an apparent reference to the Obama administration's criticism of his party's violations of rule of law. Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has said he has been reassured by U.S. promises that better ties with Russia won't harm Poland. But while that may work for Hungary, it's hard to see how Trump can simultaneously benefit both Poland and Russia. "There is a fundamental conflict of interests," said Edward Lucas, author of "The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West" and a leading Western commentator on Russia. "Do we believe that Russia's former colonies have the right to be independent countries or not? It's a clash of interests which can't be reconciled just with diplomacy." Former Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said his definition of an "acceptable" deal on removing EU sanctions would include "a repeat referendum in the Crimea under international supervision, restoring the control of the international border between Ukraine and Russia to the rightful authorities of Ukraine and then normalization of relations including business opportunities with Russia." Dropping sanctions without anything substantial in return would give the impression Trump has been "taken advantage of," Sikorski said. Poland's precarious situation is made worse by strained ties with Germany, France, the EU and other Western partners. "To have bad relations with Russia and Europe simultaneously and an American president who is sympathetic to the Russian president is not a good position to be in," Sikorski said. Lucas said Trump's presidency should prompt Poland to cooperate much more on security with the Baltic states and particularly the Scandinavian countries. "It can no longer rely on America to be a one-size-fits-all solution to its security problems," Lucas said. _____ Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report. The Taliban have shot dead a woman accused of adultery in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. Ahmad Naweed Frotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, said Amir Begum was killed late Tuesday in the remote Yumgan district after being accused of having an affair. "We strongly condemned the brutal killing of Amir Begum in front of the eyes of her family members," said Frotan. He said if there was any truth to the allegations they should be taken up by a court, not armed men. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, an insurgent rocket attack killed a civilian in the southern Helmand province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months. Ghulam Nabi Charkhi, head of the provincial counterterrorism department in Helmand, said three others, including a small child, were wounded in the attack in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. The attack took place as Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah was about to leave Lashkar Gah with other officials after a visit to assess security in the province. None of the officials were harmed. In the eastern Khost province, five police and three small children were wounded when a police vehicle hit a remotely detonated roadside bomb, said Ghani-ul Rahman, the deputy provincial police chief. The Taliban have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, leaving a smaller contingent of troops behind to focus on training and counterterrorism. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 A Tunisian man suspected of being a recruiter for the Islamic State group and building a network of supporters to carry out an attack in Germany was arrested Wednesday in Frankfurt as authorities raided dozens of locations. Authorities said that Tunisian officials also suspect the man of involvement in a deadly attack on a museum in his homeland in 2015. Frankfurt prosecutors said their investigation focused on 16 people aged between 16 and 46. The main suspect, a 36-year-old Tunisian whom authorities didn't identify, was arrested on suspicion of supporting a foreign terrorist organization. HOSPITAL: TURKISH POLICEMAN TRIES TO KILL SELF, CAUSES PANIC Investigators believe that he had been a recruiter and smuggler for the ISIS group since August 2015. They suspect that he had built up a network of supporters with the aim, among other things, of carrying out an attack in Germany. However, they say that plans for an attack were at an early stage and no specific target had been chosen. The main suspect was in Germany from 2003 to 2013, then returned in August 2015 as an asylum-seeker using a different name, authorities said. He was arrested a year later in Frankfurt, because he had not finished serving a 2008 sentence for bodily harm. Tunisia was also seeking his extradition at the time the man was under investigation for alleged involvement in planning and carrying out the March 2015 attack on the Bardo museum in Tunis, as well as a March 2016 attack on the border town of Ben Guerdane. AT LEAST 8 DEAD AS FIGHTING BETWEEN UKRAINE TROOPS, RUSSIA-BACKED REBELS FLARES In November, he was released again because he had served out his previous sentence and Tunisia had failed to provide full documentation to support his extradition within the required 40-day deadline, prosecutors said. However, he was kept under round-the-clock surveillance until Wednesday's arrest. The spokesman for Tunisia's national prosecutor, Sofiane Selliti, said Wednesday that authorities were awaiting formal identification from Germany to confirm that the suspect is the man sought and to begin formal extradition proceedings. Wednesday's raids covered 54 apartments, business premises and mosques in Frankfurt and the surrounding region. Officials said the raids followed a four-month investigation. In a separate case, prosecutors in Berlin said that they arrested three people Tuesday night suspected of planning to travel to Syria or Iraq to undergo explosives and weapons training with IS. All three were associated with the Fussilet mosque in Berlin, known as a gathering point for radicals, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for prosecutors. Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri a Tunisian who used multiple identities and whose asylum request had been rejected visited the mosque shortly before his Dec. 19 rampage, in which 12 people were killed. On Wednesday, Germany's Cabinet approved a plan that will allow authorities to make extremists deemed to pose a possible security threat wear electronic ankle monitors part of a package of measures meant to avoid a repeat of mistakes made in keeping track of Amri. The Russian navy is denying Ukraine's claim that one of its aircraft came under fire from a Russian gas rig in the Black Sea. Ukrainian presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko said the aircraft was fired upon Wednesday while flying near two Russian offshore gas rigs. He posted a picture on Facebook showing a hole in the plane but added that the crew was not hurt. Russia's Black Sea Fleet rejected the claim. It said the Ukrainian plane made two "provocatively" low runs over the Russian rigs, and a security officer fired a flare gun four times to drive it away and prevent a crash. It said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the flares posed no danger to the plane. The incident reflects the high tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors. The United Nations is strongly condemning an attack along Cameroon's border with Nigeria that killed a U.N. independent contractor and four others. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for West Africa, said in a statement Wednesday that the attack took place near Kontcha, Cameroon. The contractor's nationality was not released. Three Nigerians and one Cameroonian also were killed in the Tuesday afternoon attack. Several others were wounded. The U.N. says the group was part of a technical monitoring team carrying out a field mission related to border demarcation. There are no immediate claims of responsibility, and it is not known which armed group was responsible. The Nigeria-based Boko Haram Islamic insurgency has spilled across borders into neighboring countries including Cameroon. 9 Images Israeli settlers removed from West Bank outpost Israeli forces began an operation to evacuate settlers from a West Bank outpost on Wednesday whose slated destruction could rupture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's narrow coalition, dominated by ultranationalists who support settlements. bds Mongolian Grill Celebrates 25 Years of Stir It Up, Your Way Popular Stir Fry Restaurant Celebrates Anniversary with New Menu and Beaches Resorts Sweepstakes February 01, 2017 // Franchising.com // Burnsville, Minn. - In a culture where guests demand a completely customizable, personalized dining experience, popular create-your-own stir fry restaurant, bds Mongolian Grill, has stayed on top by embracing their Stir It Up, Your Way philosophy for the past 25 years. The grill is the heart of the restaurant at bds, with grill masters preparing stir fry creations right in front of them using their signature swords. The Stir it Up, Your Way philosophy encourages customers to take ownership of a fun and customized dining experience through its Create-Your-Own stir fry options and the made-to-order menu. To celebrate 25 years of endless creations, bds Mongolian Grill is kicking off a new limited-time menu beginning February 1. The new menu offerings will include: Coconut Shrimp Tacos: This tropical appetizer is the perfect combination of Caribbean flavors, all wrapped up in a warm corn tortilla. This tropical appetizer is the perfect combination of Caribbean flavors, all wrapped up in a warm corn tortilla. The Painkiller: Youll feel like youre on the beach with this drink made of coconut, pineapple and orange flavors blended with the Original Royal Navy Pussers Rum. Youll feel like youre on the beach with this drink made of coconut, pineapple and orange flavors blended with the Original Royal Navy Pussers Rum. SMores Quesadilla: To top it all off with a dessert, the SMores Quesadilla has graham cracker, marshmallow and Hersheys chocolate melted to perfection in a flour tortilla. Looking back on bds past 25 years, its rewarding to see the brands development and continuous commitment to giving back to our guests, said Joe Phraner, President and COO of bds Mongolian Grill. Our 25th anniversary menu is a perfect reflection of bds putting an adventurous spin on fresh flavors to keep our loyal customers returning for more. To celebrate its loyal customers, bds will be offering prizes February 1 through March 31, with the grand prize being a Luxury Included Vacation for four to one of three Beaches Resorts in the Caribbean, including airfare. Guests will be eligible to win prizes when dining at any bds location and texting in the weekly code word displayed in the restaurants. Other prizes available during the sweepstakes including two free airfare vouchers, a Dr. Pepper Fat Tire cruiser bike, tickets to a regional amusement park, and free appetizers and desserts from bd's. See official rules and entry details at participating bds locations and www.gomongo.com. About bds Mongolian Grill bds Mongolian Grill first opened in 1992 in Royal Oak, Michigan, offering a fun and unique dining experience. bd's encourages guests to Stir It Up, Your Way allowing guests to build their own stir-fry with Always Market Fresh ingredients. bds offers a variety of choice meats and seafood, veggies & flavor-packed sauces, all freshly cooked (Mongolian-style) on a large, flat top grill. The chain has 26 restaurants, with 25 located domestically and one franchise location in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. To learn more about bd's Mongolian Grill, visit www.GoMongo.com. About Beaches Resorts With three spectacular locations in Turks & Caicos and Jamaica, Beaches Resorts is the ultimate getaway for every member of the family. With outrageous waterparks, XBOX Play Lounge, the Scratch DJ Academy, exclusive Kids Camps, teen nightclubs, Certified Nannies, Butler service, Red Lane Spas, Aqua Centers with expert PADI certification and training; and free Wi-Fi, Beaches Resorts provides more quality inclusions than any other resort company on the planet. As a proud sponsor of Sesame Street, Beaches Resorts also offers the Caribbean Adventure with Sesame Street, where kids can spend their vacation with their favorite friends from the Sesame Street gang with daily activities and weekly stage shows. Beaches Resorts are also the perfect place for family gatherings from reunions and special birthdays to FamilyMoons, Beaches signature destination wedding and vow renewal program. Beaches Resorts is part of family-owned Sandals Resorts International (SRI), which includes Luxury-Included Sandals Resorts and is the Caribbeans leading all-inclusive resort company. For more information about the Beaches Resorts difference, visit www.beaches.com. SOURCE bds Mongolian Grill Media Contact: Katherine Boncher (847) 945-1300 kboncher@fishmanpr.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Marcos Pizza Reigns as Top Pizza Franchise on Annual Franchise 500 List Nations Fastest Growing Pizza Company Shows No Signs of Slowing, Sets Sights on 1,500th Store February 01, 2017 // Franchising.com // TOLEDO, Ohio - After closing out the year with 779 open stores and almost half a billion dollars in system-wide sales, Marcos Pizza recently secured its place as the top franchise in the pizza segment in the Entrepreneur Franchise 500. The fastest-growing pizza franchise in the United States ranked No. 38 overall on the notable annual list of franchise brands. The ranking represents a jump of 43 spots from last year, a testament to Marcos ability to sustain exponential year-over-growth while remaining committed to Best in Class customer service. With 12 consecutive quarters of positive same store-sales growth, expanding the franchise system at an average rate of 23 percent over the past five years, Marcos Pizza is poised for continued market dominance in 2017. We reached several growth milestones in 2016, but at the same time focused significant energy to enhance operations and support our franchisees, said Bryon Stephens, president of Marcos Pizza. All of the accomplishments have been a collaborative effort of our incredible franchise partners, home office team, store employees and superior vendors. It all happens within a culture of accountability. In addition to growth and operational improvements, Marcos Pizza also invested resources in philanthropy, such as the creation of the Slice of Support foundation. The foundation is designed to provide financial support for Marcos Pizza team members who are facing personal or family hardship and raises funds for a variety of external charitable causes in local communities. The company also rolled out a Veterans Recruitment Program designed to create paths of opportunity for aspiring military veteran entrepreneurs. Opening a new store every three days, Marcos Pizza is on track to add over 150 new locations this year and aims to have 1,500 locations open by 2020. Marcos Pizzas rapid growth is a result of its strong corporate backing, ability to take market share, unit-level profitability, high Italian food standards as well as capability to attract top talent among its franchisees and corporate staff. As the only national franchise chain founded by a native Italian, Marcos Pizza has carved out a niche in the industry as the expert in authentic Italian pizza, known for its fresh never-frozen dough made daily on site, a proprietary cheese blend that is fresh never-frozen and a secret pizza sauce recipe. For more information on Marcos Pizza franchising opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 800-836-2074. About Marcos Pizza Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marcos Pizza is the fastest-growing pizza company in the United States (based on the number of stores signed into development since 2007). Marcos was founded in 1978 by Italian born, Pasquale (Pat) Giammarco and thrives by making Italian Pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate more than 750 stores in over 30 states, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and India. Most recently, Marcos Pizza was ranked No. 2 on Forbes Top 10 Franchises to Invest In in the medium investment range and the No. 2 fastest growing U.S. chain on the Nations Restaurant News Top 100 report. To inquire about franchise opportunities with Marcos Pizza visit marcosfranchising.com. SOURCE Marcos Pizza Contact: Alissa Stevens Fishman PR 847-945-1300 astevens@fishmanpr.com ### Add to Request List Added Request Information Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus The lure of the five-ingredient recipe seems irresistible. Short list means simple, right? With a possible three out of five already in your pantry. That single recipe subcategory accounts for a lot of scrolling through the websites of All Recipes, Eating Well, Good Housekeeping and Rachael Ray, Southern Living, Food Networkyou name it. I am scratching my head about this, though, because I see five-ingredient recipes that should have asterisks. They are the culinary equivalent of fake news. With notable exceptions, the recipes dont count water, basic seasonings, oil. Why? I am looking at a five-ingredient recipe for Simple Roast Chicken With Garlic and Lemon at JustATaste.com: the bird, a lemon, butter, rosemary sprigs, garlic. Except any cook worth her salt and pepper knows whats missing from that lineup. The S&P are in the directions, however. I have the Quick-Shop-and-Prep 5 Ingredient Baking book from a couple years back, and its Spiced Chess Pie calls for 13 ingredients. Milk, cornmeal and ground allspice are in boldface, signaling to those who read the foreword that those items need to be purchased; the premise of the book relies on your stock of flour, sugar, butter, ice water, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt and nutmeg. The five-ingredient phenomenon makes me wonder what home cooks really want when they type the phrase into their search fields. It feels like a scam, a little, says Suzanne Rafer, executive editor and director of cookbook publishing for Workman. Im not a believer in limiting . . . . If its going to take six or seven or eight ingredients, so be it. Our deal is, no matter how many you put in, you want it to taste good in the end. Not a scam for everyone, perhaps. There is cooking for sustenance, and there is cooking for satisfaction. Overlap is desirable, but often, someone who has to get weeknight meals on the table will look at the clock, do the math and try to reduce the effort one way or another. The five-ingredient mode is hardly a stretch for drinks, fruit-and-yogurt desserts, sides. Seasonal produce at its peak doesnt need bells and whistles or magical transformation. Keeping main-dish recipes ingredient-simple, on the other hand, typically relies on using very good components, or it can mean a missed opportunity to enhance flavors. People are looking for quicker and easier shortcuts all the time, says Lisa Ekus, the force behind her eponymous literary agency, which launched Ronni Lundys well-received Victuals last year. But you cant have cheapmeaning economicaland fast and good. Somethings got to give. What often gives is a pronouncement of delicious. Or the complexity that multiple and complementary spices can bring. Or the control over sodium or fat in the shortcut, store-bought products the recipe calls for, such as a pasta sauce, marinade or frozen pie dough. A short list doesnt necessarily translate to quick or uncomplicated: Think slow cooker or sous vide or a range of required knife skills. Ekus echoes Rafers bottom line: The question in the end is, is it good? Rozanne Gold is one of the few who did it really well. Yes, she did. The New York chefs Recipes 1-2-3 won a James Beard award in 1996 and forecast a two-decade trend. (Fun fact: It gave rise to the Minimalist column in the New York Times food section, which Gold had to pass on writing because she was revamping the Windows on the World menu at the time.) She followed up with another eight books in the 1-2-3 vein that were translated into several languages. Her Mahogany Short Ribs in WaPo Foods Recipe Finder continue to be a revelation for readers every time we happen to mention it in a Free Range chat. But none of those recipesincluding the ribslisted water, salt and pepper as ingredients. The idea of ingredients you can count on the fingers of one hand has to do with cooks not being intimidated, says Gold, now 63 and working on her masters in poetry. Its code. Her three-ingredient recipes were, in part, a reaction to an era of pile-up on restaurant plates that masked true flavors, she says, as well as a personal challenge to exploit an ingredient to the maxan exploration of all the ways, say, asparagus can taste in raw and cooked forms. What matters is how the ingredients interact, Gold says. There needs to be some experience and knowledge in that guiding hand, and she is heartened that its the mettle of a chef to cook more simply these days. She recently produced a collection of balanced, incredibly complex (in flavor) five-ingredient recipes for Cooking Light that did not count the water, oil, salt and pepper used. Would 9-Ingredient Recipes! sound as appealing? Which brings me to the accompanying recipes. All of them contain five ingredientsplus a few more. None of them are complicated; some are downright quirky. Each offers flavors that are true to their ingredients. If you like even one or two of the dishes, the lesson might be: Look beyond the sheer numbers of ingredients, with an eye on the total sum. A former deputy in Culpeper and Rappahannock counties is free on bond after being indicted on a charge of molesting an Orange County girl. An Orange County grand jury handed down a felony charge of object sexual penetration Jan. 23 against Ryan Mathew McCormack, 26, of Amissville, according to court records. According to the indictment, the charge stems from a Dec. 15 incident involving a child younger than 13. McCormack previously worked in law enforcement for the Culpeper County Sheriffs Office and, more recently, the Rappahannock County Sheriffs Office for six months, according to Rappahannock Sheriff Connie Compton. McCormack is no longer employed by the department and the Rappahannock Sheriffs Office there has and will continue to cooperate with the Virginia State Police since learning of its investigation into the allegation, she said in a news release. The state police investigation led to the indictment and the agency arrested McCormack without incident the same day the indictment was returned, according to state police spokesman Sgt. Les Tyler. He said the investigation continues. On Jan. 26, McCormack was released from jail on a $15,000 personal recognizance bond following a bail hearing in Orange County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court. Per the terms of his bond, he cannot leave Virginia or have any unsupervised contact with minor children. The defendant was ordered to avoid all contact with the child in the case and her family, to not use drugs or alcohol and to submit to drug and alcohol screening, according to court documents. McCormack was ordered to live with his parents in Culpeper County and to notify the court of any changes in his residency. In 2014, McCormack was found guilty in Culpeper County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court of misdemeanor assault of his former girlfriend on St. Patricks Day of that year, according to court documents. He was sentenced to two years probation. McCormack resigned from the Culpeper County Sheriffs Office shortly after his the assault conviction. He was ordered to receive substance abuse and mental health evaluations. State Police handled that investigation, as well. McCormack is due back in Orange County Circuit Court for arraignment March 3. Orange attorney Amy Harper is representing him. She declined comment Wednesday. Spotsylvania County resident Stefanie Fell did not know much about President Donald Trumps nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court until Tuesday nights announcement. But after reading up on Judge Neil Gorsuch, she said she is confident he would adhere to the Constitution. And theres nothing in the Constitution that says a woman has the right to an abortion, added Fell. What is wrong with protecting peoples right to life? she asked. I dont understand why people are so upset about that. She said she volunteered in the 1980s for Birthright of Fredericksburga crisis pregnancy center that believes it is the right of every pregnant woman to give birth, and the right of every child to be born. Anti-abortion advocates have rallied behind Gorsuch, while pro-abortion rights groups have signaled their opposition to the nominee. The left-leaning ProgressVA, which held a rally to oppose Gorsuchs nomination, stated that the majority of Americans voted for equality, for reproductive rights and civil rights, for workplace protections. Virginias Democratic U.S. senators each released statements promising to carefully review Gorsuchs record, and the Fredericksburg areas Republican congressmen expressed support for the nominee. Gorsuch would succeed the conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last year. Sen. Tim Kaine said Supreme Court nominees demand a higher threshold for confirmation than for any other appointee. The Trump administrations actions over the last week raised the stakes even more, he added in a reference to Trumps 90-day ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. In considering Judge Gorsuchs nomination and observing his confirmation hearing, I intend to carefully scrutinize his temperament and record, particularly on civil rights and other Constitutional guarantees, Kaine stated. Sen. Mark Warner said Gorsuch boasts an impressive resume, though he said he wished Trump had not limited his consideration to candidates recommended by conservative advocacy organizations. His record must be thoroughly vetted to ensure his views and judicial philosophy are not out of the mainstream, Warner said. Rep. Rob Wittman, R1st District, said he hoped the Senate would quickly confirm Gorsuch, who he said will uphold a legal philosophy putting life, liberty, and the words of the Constitution above all else. Rep. Dave Brat, R7th District, echoed Wittmans comments, saying Gorsuchs resume puts all of us to shame. At this time of heightened political tension, it is important that justices of our highest court be committed to following the law as it is written and not push personal, political agendas, he stated. Judge Gorsuch is that type of jurist: fair and unbiased. University of Mary Washington political science professor Stephen Farnsworth described Gorsuch as a highly credentialed, consistently conservative choice, but said he would not change the balance of power on the Supreme Court. Justice Anthony Kennedy would continue to be the deciding vote, as he was before Scalias death, he said. If Donald Trump has the opportunity to nominate a second justice over the next four years, that may be where things change, Farnsworth said. If one of the Democratic appointees leaves the court, things may change a great deal. Last year, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill Scalias seat, but the Republican Senate refused to even consider the nominee. Some Democrats have vowed to return the favor this year. If they do as was done unto them, this nominee may languish for some time, maybe even 10 months, as Democrats try to get even, Farnsworth said. Spotsylvania Democratic Committee Chairman Al Durante said it is absolutely ludicrous for Republicans to pretend to hold the moral high ground, given their treatment of Obamas nominee. And he said Gorsuch should not be considered status quo, adding: With the current hostile environment towards womens rights and religious freedom its anything but that. Meanwhile, Fell said Gorsuch impressed her with his humility. But the mother of threewho also has seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildrensaid shes not sure whether his appointment would be enough to undo Roe v. Wade. We dont know how those people think, she said. Theyre always surprising us. Psycho. Mental. Bipolar. OCD. Crazy. These are the words many teenagers use to describe people struggling with real or perceived mental health issues, according to participants in a Mental Health First Aid training session hosted last week by the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board. The training, offered in youth and adult versions, is an eight-hour course that teaches participants to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and drug abuseincluding temporary or undiagnosed mental health concerns and crises. Last weeks training was the youth version, concentrating on how teachers and parents can identify and respond to young peoples behaviorand even teach children and teenagers to respond better to each other. The RACSB regularly offers both classes to the public, and will host them by arrangement for businesses, schools or other groups, as well. Teenagers dont want any kind of label, even boy, girl, participant Erin Brallier said during a discussion of the stigma often attached to any mental health issue. So the terms people tend to uselike psychodistance people from helping others or admitting their own challenges, she said. And its not just children, either, Brallier added. Adults use the same terms, and have the same fears. If teachers, teenagers or anyone else saw someone break an arm, they likely would have some idea of how to react, even if it were just to find help. But what if, instead of an accidental injury, they saw marks of self-harm on someones arm? Some people dont want to get involved at all. Others are just afraid theyll make things worse. Mental Health First Aid provides tools for those situations, particularly ALGEE, a five-step, triage-style response plan for nonprofessionals. It teaches people to assess for risk of suicide or harm; listen nonjudgmentally; give reassurance and information; encourage appropriate professional help; and encourage self-help and other support strategies. The training breaks down and explains those steps and explores situations where they might be needed. Its a new approach, created in Australia in 2001 and introduced in the United States in 2008 by the National Council for Behavioral Health, according to Joan Gillis, one of the session leaders. The training includes recognizing and responding to potential drug abuse because addiction is often connected with mental health, said Glenda Knight, who co-led the training. It is about obsession and behavior, Knight told the group, made up mostly of community members. Mental health problems appear to be on the rise, but its possible that society has just learned to recognize them. Problems such as opioid or alcohol abuse have existed for centuries, Knight said, but only in recent decades have substance abuse problems started to be effectively recognized and treated. Recognition of the connection between mental health and the brains need for the rewards it can find in addictionfrom drugs to gambling to shoppingis even more recent. I think people are afraid of it, Gillis said, referring to mental health problems. This is giving you a step-by-step method. People will be less afraid of mental health issues. The training can be particularly useful for teachers because of the increasing struggles to manage behavior in classrooms, she said. It protects both the student and the teacher, because it gives teachers consistent, professionally developed ways to respond to potential trouble signs, without forcing them to choose between ignoring a problem or venturing into professionally and emotionally dangerous territory. They can do one thing, and thats take care of the crisis, Gillis said. Teachers are really criticized and dont get the support they need. Mental Health First Aid doesnt call on the bystander to diagnose, it just gives them a variety of tools to respond, from ways to offer help to when, how and where to go for help, Gillis said. Outside of classrooms, she feels the youth and adult sessions can prepare parents to respond to their childrens behavior, employees to handle customers, or even a bystander in any public place to respond to a person who seems to be having a crisis. Like first aid, every person should take it, Gillis said. How many times can a scammer sell the same truck that he doesnt have in the first place? Winona Southard knows there is at least one group that is making a living pulling this scam. She learned the hard way and is warning others to be wary. The Culpeper woman said that back in the fall, she and her husband were looking for a used truck for her son when they came across a classified ad in The Culpeper StarExponent. The vehicle was advertised for about $3,000, right in Southards price range, and seemed to be a good buy. So she called on her cellphone, but left her home phone number for the seller to call back. Instead, the seller sent a text to her cellphone explaining that the truck belonged to his aunt and that further negotiations should go through her. At this point, Southard said she turned everything over to her son. After all, it would be his truck. At some point, the son talked to the aunt and a deal was made for about the $3,000 asking price. The seller said the truck was on eBay Motors, but that he wouldnt accept a PayPal payment, only a moneygram. I admit I dont know much about internet dealings so I agreed to wire the money, Southard said. But the scammer wasnt finished. The aunt got back in touch with Southards son and said she would need an extra $1,000 for insurance, money the buyer would eventually get back. When she got the payment and insurance money, the truck, which supposedly was in Massachusetts, would be delivered to Southards door. Southard said she wired the money to the sellers address on Wednesday with the understanding that the vehicle would show up at her house the next day. It never did. That was not the last time she heard from the scammer, however. Since my son had handled the negotiations, the guy apparently got confused and thought there were two different inquiries, she said. So he sent me a text saying he still had the truck and asking me if I was still interested. Southard reported the incident to the Sheriffs Office, but was told that there was little that could be done. These scammers are almost always out of state and out of the country, often in Nigeria, Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins explained. It is out of our jurisdiction. Jenkins said he found himself heading into one such scam himself. There was a truck and a tractor advertised and when I called they put me in touch with a woman who said she was in the military, he said. I knew right away it was a scam, a pretty elaborate scam. Jenkins said that after getting Southards complaint, his office called the StarExponent, which pulled the ad. But that wasnt the end of the deal. I was looking through the classifieds last week and I came across another ad that was similar to the one I fell for, Southard said. The truck advertised was a different color and the price had been lowered to $2,100. Out of curiosity I called. It was the same guy with the same aunt. Southard said she again reported the incident to the StarExponent (the ad was again pulled) and to the Sheriffs Office. But knowing this scammer was still at work, she wanted to get the word out to the public. It cost me $4,000 that I couldnt afford to lose and I dont want somebody else to fall for the same scam, she said. I dont want to see other people get hurt. Jenkins said his office is constantly warning the public about scams that involve wiring money. Most of that money ends up out of the country and there is little we can do about it, he said. Just be careful. Editors note: BH Media, which owns The Free LanceStar and Culpeper StarExponent, has given employees handling classified advertisements a list of red flags to watch for that often indicate possible scams, including billing phone numbers that do not match the phone numbers listed in the ad, or ads that offer only an email address for responses. Because scammers sometimes find ways around these efforts, buyers should be wary about making payments before goods are seen or received. University of Mary Washington President Troy Paino addressed the campus in an email Tuesday about the immigration ban executive order signed by President Donald Trump Friday, assuring members of the college community that the school is doing all it can to support its international members and strives to include all students, staff and faculty regardless of background. Here is the text of the email: "To the UMW community: As you probably are aware, the White House issued an executive order last Friday barring entrance into the United States for at least 90 days by citizens of seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The same order suspends the United States refugee resettlement program for 120 days. In the days following, multiple federal courts acted to temporarily stay certain portions of the executive order and enable some of those affected to enter the country. At the present time, there remains much uncertainty and confusion regarding the ultimate impact of this executive action. Please know that the University of Mary Washington is doing all within its power to provide support to any students, staff, and faculty who might be affected by this order. The Center for International Education has been in direct contact with any citizens of the named countries who are attending or working at UMW. Other community members with specific questions may also contact the Center, located on the fourth floor of Lee Hall (654-1434 or jsainz@umw.edu). For any students experiencing anxiety, the Talley Center on the first floor of Lee Hall is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays (540-654-1053). Our university will always strive to support the interests of our students, faculty, and staff, and we will work to ensure that our communitys values and mission are respected and maintained. Regardless of background, faith, nationality, identity, or political perspective, all members of our UMW community are valued and help to make Mary Washington the inclusive, vibrant, and intellectually engaging community that it is. Sincerely, Troy D. Paino, J.D., Ph.D. President" With her 14-year-old son Dante Herrera bundled up in his wheelchair next to her, Marlo Dean asked a couple of hundred people to put their fists in the air as they protested an 11,000-person waiting list for disability services. What do we do? Dean said to the crowd gathered outside the Capitol of Virginia in the cold morning air on Tuesday. We fight, they said in reply. We fight to have what? Dean said to cheers. A life like yours. Dean was among a long line of parents, advocates and lawmakers who implored the crowd to keep fighting for services for people with disabilities. Herrera, who has Batten disease, a rare and fatal brain disease, has been on the waiting list since he was 3 years old, Dean said. Government should be helping people that have problems, that have challenges, that have difficulties, said Del. Timothy D. Hugo, R-Fairfax. Were all Gods children and government has an obligation and a necessity to step up and try to help everybody, to make sure everybody can live life to the best of their capabilities. Virginia has for far too long relied on institutionalized care for people with disabilities, said Jamie Liban, executive director of the Arc of Virginia, an advocacy organization. Even after the federal government intervened and required the state to provide care in the least restrictive settings possibleat home, if possible, rather than in institutionsthe waiting list for services has been growing. Advocates have urged the state to spend more money on disability waivers, or slots, which provide a variety of services to families in need, such as respite care or home modifications. Caroline Conner, 7, has been waiting for a waiver slot to get adaptations in her home, additional nursing, a case manager and extra therapy to keep her muscles from stiffening in certain positions, her mother Marta Conner told the crowd. Caroline has Rett Syndrome, a brain disorder that makes it impossible for her to walk, talk, sit without assistance or use her hands. Marta Conner said her daughter still wears diapers and has to eat her food pureed. She had 85 seizures last year. Caroline has a lower level waiver that pays for her respiratory equipment, but a more intensive waiver would improve the length and quality of Carolines life and also allow us to continue to care for her in our home, Marta Conner said. Sen. Barbara A. Favola, D-Arlington, said its shameful that the waiting list is so long, and she vowed to reduce it. Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, a pediatric neurologist in Norfolk, said 70 percent of the children he cares for have disabilities. He said they should have the same educational opportunities as other students in school, and they should be educated in the least restrictive environments possible. Adults with disabilities should have the same opportunities for employment and access to affordable housing, he said, as he put in a plug for his run for governor. I can tell you as the next governor of the commonwealth of Virginia, Im going to stand up for all of you with disabilities, Northam said. I will be your friend, and I hope you will be my friend. Chemical recipes used in fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas and oil by high-pressure ground injections, could be kept secret under legislation that passed the Virginia House of Delegates Monday. The House voted 5937 in favor of legislation to exempt information about chemical concentrations from disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act as trade secrets of the companies seeking permits from the state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, involves a combination of water, chemicals and sand shot into the ground to release energy resources from hard-to-reach deposits inaccessible by other drilling methods. Though not heavily used in Virginia, the procedure has stirred controversy and concerns about water contamination in other states, including Pennsylvania and North Dakota. The issue could be coming to Virginia within a few years. Companies have shown interest in the area known as the Taylorsville basin east of Fredericksburg, stirring concerns in Caroline and King George counties. Since 2010, Texas-based Shore Exploration & Production Corp. acquired 86,000 acres in the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck areas. Del. Roxann L. Robinson, R-Chesterfield, the sponsor of House Bill 1678, said on the House floor last week that the legislation had become a transparency bill after it was amended to only cover information about chemical concentrations, not the chemicals themselves. By protecting that actual recipe it will foster more efficient and more advancements in the fracking industry, Robinson said Friday during debate on the bill. Companies that want to protect their fracking recipes would have to invoke the public-records exemption and make a case why their information should be kept confidential. The state would have final say over whether the exemption applies. Some lawmakers argued that the chemical concentrations alone can hold information vital to public safety. Del. David L. Bulova, D-Fairfax, drew an analogy to a chemical used in swimming pools. A little bit of chlorine in that water is great, Bulova said. If you put in too much chlorine, that can be exceptionally dangerous. Bulova said he was concerned that Virginians who sense something amiss with their water could be blocked from investigating what might be in it. What this is about is the family who might notice a change in the smell or taste of their water who then contacts the Virginia Department of Health, Bulova said. This bill doesnt prevent our state agencies from talking to each other, Robinson replied. If theres any kind of problem, they definitely can coordinate with each other. Robinson noted that she has a separate bill that explicitly authorizes the energy department to share information with other agencies and local officials in emergencies. Five RepublicansDels. Les R. Adams, R-Pittsylvania, Peter F. Farrell, R-Henrico, Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, Brenda L. Pogge, R-James City, and David E. Yancey, R-Newport Newsjoined most of the chambers Democrats in opposing the bill. Three other Republicans did not vote. Del. Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax, joined with the Republican majority in support of the bill. Similar legislation on fracking chemicals is pending in a Senate subcommittee. Before becoming law, the measure would have to pass both chambers and be signed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. School districts across the state could soon have a point person in place to deal with students with dyslexia. Legislation pending in the House of Delegates, and approved by House Appropriations Subcommittee on Elementary & Secondary Education Tuesday, would require every School Board to employ a dyslexia adviser. The bill, HB2395, would make sure that districts had a reading specialist in place trained in how to identify and the address the condition. The specialist would also be trained in accommodations and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder and to serve as an adviser on dyslexia and related disorders. The subcommittee approved the measure unanimously. This is going to ensure that they have the training in dyslexia to be the point of contact for parents and teachers who have questions, said Del. Benjamin L. Cline, R-Rockbridge, the bills sponsor. The new legislation follows a bill last year that required new teachers to receive training in identifying and dealing with dyslexia. This years bill is an extension of that and is meant to give parents and teachers someone to talk to. A lot of people are confused about whether they are seeing signs or not, Cline said. Lorraine Hightower, a parent advocate with Decoding Dyslexia Virginia and chair of Loudoun County Public Schools Special Education Advisory Commission, said some larger school districts already have dyslexia specialists on staff. These specialists advise the districts on appropriate interventions, accommodations, she said. And thats just what were trying to do, is to create those opportunities for other school districts. The Dyslexia Research Institute says 10 to 15 percent of the U.S. population has dyslexia, yet only five out of every 100 dyslexics are recognized and receive assistance. According to the Mayo Clinic, dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words. It is common in children and occurs in kids who have with normal eyesight and intelligence. Students with dyslexia can succeed in school with tutoring or special education programs, according to the clinic. A House of Delegates bill that would have required Virginia school districts to employ a nurse on every campus, or one for every 550 students, died Tuesday. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Elementary & Secondary Education voted unanimously to kill House Bill 1757, citing, in part, placing too many mandates and the costs on local school divisions. The bill would have hit districts with low enrollment the hardest, because theyd have to match state funds to meet the requirement despite the number of students, according to a fiscal impact statement. Del. M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, said he was uncomfortable dictating ratios to school districts. The Virginia Association of Superintendents said the bill would be difficult to implement because of nursing shortages in some areas. The bill was defeated despite a push by school nurses from across Virginia who said children needed the service of trained professionals to deal with a host of medical conditions. As a parent in the state of Virginia, I am asking and I am begging. The appropriate care is not there, Dana Hollifield, a former school nurse whose son is dealing with medical issues, told the subcommittee. And I speak as a professional who has experienced it firsthand. Its not if you lose a child, its when you lose the next one. The bill called for every school board to employ at least one nurse at every elementary, middle and high school, or one for every 550 students. Supporters said nurses are essential given all the ailments students face, such as Type 1 diabetes, seizures, severe allergies and asthma. According to the Virginia Association of School Nurses, the state has one school nurse for every 829.7 students. Hanover and Henrico counties have a nurse in each school. Chesterfield County has 42 nurses serving the systems 62 schools. But the county School Boards five-year plan calls for a nurse in every school within four years the proposal adds nine more nurses to schools next year. The proposal also would reduce clinic aide positions by not replacing positions that become vacant. The additional nine full-time nurses will cost $728,700. Richmond Public Schools has 31 nurses serving 42 schools and other programs in the city. To address the issue, Richmond Superintendent Dana Bedden has included $702,000 in his annual budget to hire 12 nurses, with the goal of having one for each school. Nurses argue that not having what they deem adequate care puts children at risk. Del. L. Mark Dudenhefer, R-Stafford, who sponsored House Bill 1757, echoed that sentiment Tuesday. He said the number of state schools that share or dont have nurses is unacceptable given the issues that students face. And not having trained medical personnel on hand puts students in danger. Were in a different world than when you and I went to school, he said. A much different world. SIR Isaac Newtons Third Law of Motion stating, For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction applies to the political reality of the opposition over funding President Donald Trumps controversial southern border wall thats soon to begin construction. Elections have consequences and the touted wall should and will be built. My internal rage after a godson was murdered by an undocumented criminal protected in a sanctuary city will ease once the wall is constructed and immigration laws are finally enforced. Im sure the family of Sister Denise Mosier wishes the Trump crackdown on illegals had been enacted in 2010. Perhaps then Carlos A. Martinelly-Montano, who illegally entered the country, would not have crashed into Mosiers vehicle in Prince William County and killed her. To add insult to injury, Martinelly-Montano had twice been convicted of drunken driving and had not been deported. Then theres Roberto Carlos Flores Sibrian, whos being held on a charge of raping an area woman in southern Stafford last Halloween. After reportedly ramming his SUV into the victims car, he is accused of savagely attacking her for two hours after dragging her into a ditch along State Route 3. Trump officials perhaps acted hastily in the presidents desire to live up to campaign promises, and did not acknowledge the reaction to paying for the border wall. But to those of us who have suffered from the terror of illegal immigrant crime, the wall cant come soon enough. Some have suggested a possible 20 percent tax on Mexican imports as the way to finance the structure would simply be passed on to American consumers. The large and attentive Hispanic voting community locally and nationally should be of primary concern to Trump and ambitious conservative candidates such as leading Virginia Republican gubernatorial contender Ed Gillespie before making blanket statements about Latinos. Whether its over construction of the wall, the Dreamer issue, voter IDs, driver licenses or undocumented immigrants seeking to serve in our armed forces if qualified; the critical Latin voter base becomes apoplectic when theyre not even consulted before politicos speak on such sensitive issues. Had they consulted someone like Virginia Hispanic businessman Luis Quinonez, president of MAQ Diversified, which provides health services to the government and the private sector, he would have suggested a more palatable way to pay for the wall. Such a tariff on import goods by Trump would simply be a tax on the U.S. consumer, Quinonez said in an interview. The more expedient way to pay for the wall is by adding an across-the-board tax of at least 10 percent to all funds sent from immigrants to their home countries. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, agreed in a recent Fox News interview that the funding proposal suggested by Quinonez could be a major source of revenue. And it clearly would be less controversial. Nevertheless, what remains incredible, but not unexpected, is the intense scrutiny of the first week and a half of the Trump administration. Virginia Democrats, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe, joined protesters at Dulles International Airport to criticize the presidents ban on seven Muslim countries who harbor terrorist regimes and his plan to proceed with the wall. What the opposition conveniently forgets to acknowledge is 8 U.S. Code 1182 on inadmissible aliens. It states: Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interest of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. But Democrats are out of power and, keeping with Isaac Newtons words, will continue to find an equal and opposite reaction any way they can. Daniel P. Cortez of Stafford is a political writer and broadcaster. He is active in veteran and minority affairs. He may be reached at dpcortez1969@yahoo.com. Stafford school redistricting needs impartial input I guess Stafford County likes to repeat history. Two years ago, the community was engaged in a heated battle over middle school redistricting. Parents got up in meetings and said, Dont move my child and students said, Dont take me from my friends. Some parents took the School Board to court, saying the plan was unfair and favored loud, mobilized constituents over the best needs of the county. (The court didnt disagree with the parents, but the judge ruled that the School Board had the authority to make whatever decision it wanted to.) Didnt we learn? I guess not. Once again, parents are going to meetings saying, Dont move my kid, move someone elses kid. Its time to bring in an impartial committee to make up the redistricting plans. Parents are too biased. School Board members are too worried about being re-elected. This decision needs to be made based on the needs of Stafford County, not on the needs of parents, School Board members and certainly not developers who market their houses promising zoning to Colonial Forge High. Are we a community or a conglomerate of individual neighborhoods out for our own self-interest? Change starts at home. Lets come together Stafford, not push our neighborhoods and schools further apart. The court affirmed that the School Board has the authority to make redistricting decisions. Will it be the best one this time? Sharon Foley Stafford At this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbians are not without good options for takeout. Indeed, I for one have subsisted (more than my wallet would like) on delectable bowls from Freshe Poke, gratifying pizzas from Village Idiot and Il Focolare, baleadas from Cabanas and Chinese feasts Read moreThe dine-in experiences Free Times food writers have missed during COVID-19 Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. Story Highlights Hawaii has highest well-being scores in three of five well-being elements Alaska among top two well-being states for third straight year West Virginia is lowest well-being state for eighth straight year WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hawaii residents had the highest well-being in the nation in 2016, with the state reaching the top spot for the sixth time since Gallup and Healthways began tracking well-being in 2008. Alaska finished in the top two for the third consecutive year, while Colorado finished in the top 10 for the ninth straight year and joins Hawaii as the only two states to earn this distinction. States With 10 Highest Well-Being Scores, 2016 State Well-Being Index Score Hawaii 65.2 Alaska 64.0 South Dakota 63.7 Maine 63.6 Colorado 63.5 Vermont 63.5 Arizona 63.4 Montana 63.2 Minnesota 63.2 Texas 63.1 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index West Virginia and Kentucky residents have the lowest and second-lowest well-being, respectively, for the eighth year in a row. Ohio, Arkansas and Mississippi join West Virginia and Kentucky as the five states that have placed in the bottom 10 in all nine years of tracking. Alabama and Louisiana have appeared in the bottom 10 seven times, while Oklahoma and Indiana are in the bottom 10 for the fourth time in the last five years. Rhode Island, usually somewhat higher, appears in the bottom 10 for the first time. States With 10 Lowest Well-Being Scores, 2016 State Well-Being Index Score West Virginia 58.9 Kentucky 60.5 Oklahoma 60.5 Indiana 60.5 Arkansas 60.8 Ohio 60.9 Alabama 61.0 Louisiana 61.0 Rhode Island 61.3 Mississippi 61.3 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index These state-level data are based on more than 177,000 interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states, conducted from January to December 2016. The Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest possible well-being and 100 represents the highest possible well-being. In most cases, a difference of 0.5 to 1.0 points in the Well-Being Index score between any two states represents a statistically significant gap. For the nation overall, the Well-Being Index score was 62.1 in 2016, a statistically meaningful improvement from the 61.7 and the 61.6 measured in 2015 and 2014, respectively. As in prior years, well-being follows a regional pattern. Outside of Hawaii and Alaska, the states with the highest well-being are located in the Northern Plains and the Mountain West, in addition to pockets of the Northeast and Southwest. The states with the lowest well-being are found in the South and the industrial Midwest. Florida bucks the low well-being trend in the South, ranking among the top 12 states in well-being for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, Nevada has lower well-being (33rd highest) than other states in the West. Alaska Has Best Social Well-Being Score; Texas Highest in Purpose The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index comprises questions measuring five specific elements of well-being: Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life having supportive relationships and love in your life Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security Community: liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily Hawaii residents lead the nation in the financial, community and physical elements, while Alaska leads in social well-being and Texas leads in purpose well-being. Arizona is among the top three states in social and purpose well-being. West Virginians have the lowest well-being in three of the five elements: physical, financial and purpose. Rhode Island has the lowest well-being in the remaining two elements: community and social well-being. In addition to West Virginia and Rhode Island, Oklahoma ranks among the bottom five states in three elements of well-being, and Arkansas, Indiana and Alabama do so for two elements each. Implications Nationally, many aspects of well-being improved last year to their best levels since Gallup-Healthways measurement began in 2008. For example, the percentage of Americans rating their lives well enough to be classified as "thriving" reached a record high of 55.4% in 2016. The percentage of Americans without health insurance fell to 10.9%, its lowest measured level. The adult smoking rate dropped to 18.0%, down from 21.1% at the onset of the Well-Being Index in 2008. And the Gallup Standard of Living Index reached a high of +50. But not all trends have been positive. Americans' assessments of their own health have worsened, while the percentages of adults who are obese or who have been diagnosed with diabetes are at new highs. The percentage of Americans who have been diagnosed with depression, too, has reached its highest level in 2016. Improvements in well-being at the national level are driven by improvements at the state and local levels. Hawaii, Alaska, South Dakota, Colorado, Montana and Minnesota have consistently been among the highest well-being states and thus set a standard for the rest of the states to follow. Other states like California, Texas and Florida have had much stronger showings in the last few years, demonstrating that improvement over time is possible. States and local communities can focus on the five elements of well-being when designing and implementing initiatives to improve residents' overall well-being. For example, leaders in California, Oregon, Iowa, Texas, Florida and Hawaii have launched Blue Zones Project Initiatives designed to improve many key aspects of well-being. These initiatives include working with restaurants and grocery stores to make it easier for residents to select healthy choices. Leaders can also commit to investing in building infrastructure that promotes active living in their communities. Gallup and Healthways research shows that communities that invest in active living initiatives have healthier residents. These types of interventions can help individuals in their pursuit of a life well-lived. These data are available in Gallup Analytics. Read more about national and state well-being trends in the 2016 State of American Well-Being report. Readers, we need your help to prove a merry Christmas for victims of domestic violence. This log includes incidents in which there might have been a public disturbance or a risk to the public. Information comes from the Corvallis Police Department, the Benton County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police. It does not include all calls for service. The status of incidents might change after further investigation. Locations are approximate. People arrested or suspected in crimes are considered innocent until proven otherwise. Corvallis Police Department MONDAY, JAN. 30 DUII DRUGS: 11:09 p.m., Northwest Van Buren Avenue and 15th Street. An officer reported that Lucas Jeffrey-Pierce, 30, no address listed, passed him on Van Buren Avenue traveling about 70 mph. The officer reportedly activated his lights, but Jeffrey-Pierce continued at a high speed, before the officer finally caught up to him and took Jeffrey-Pierce into custody. He was charged with attempt to elude, reckless driving and DUII-Drugs. Benton County Sheriff's Office MONDAY, JAN. 30 JAIL ASSAULT: 9:25 a.m., 190 N.W. Fourth St. Deputies responded to the Benton County Jail for a reported assault. Jail deputies reported that Sergio Manuel Rodriguez, 24, of Corvallis, had punched Ali Habib Almahal, 19, of Corvallis. Rodriguez was charged with fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct. Almahal was charged with harassment and second-degree disorderly conduct. SUNDAY, JAN. 29 METH: 10:23 p.m., 345 N.W. Second St. A deputy contacted Dustin Ray Delk, 33, of Lebanon, on confirmed warrants. The deputy reportedly discovered methamphetamine in Delk's possession. Delk was charged with possession of methamphetamine and booked in the Benton County Jail. Around 150 members of the Oregon State University community crammed into a cultural center for international students on Tuesday afternoon to voice concerns about the new federal travel ban and express their support for people impacted by the new policy. An executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Friday closed U.S. borders to entry by any refugees for the next 120 days and to immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations for 90 days. The action fulfilled a campaign promise for Trump but caused consternation among immigrants and sparked protests around the country. OSU has 142 students from six of the countries targeted by the travel ban, including 91 from Iran, 31 from Iraq, 14 from Libya and smaller numbers from Yemen, Sudan and Syria. Amarah Khan, who manages the Ettihad Cultural Center, said international students rarely speak out on controversial issues and only a handful of students directly affected by the ban attended the meeting. But those who came or streamed the event live on their computers heard words of encouragement and support. It was mostly people who see themselves as allies and wanting to offer comfort, Khan said. The meeting was closed to the press, but several participants met with a Gazette-Times reporter afterward to talk about the travel ban. All were U.S. citizens with strong family ties to the Middle East and strong feelings about the issue. Despite their citizenship status, several expressed concerns that they could have trouble re-entering the country if they left to visit relatives abroad. They also worried about what they see as a climate of intolerance against Muslims that arose from the overheated rhetoric of the presidential campaign. Mehra Shirazi, an OSU professor of women, gender and sexuality studies who was born in Iran, noted there has been an increase in hate crimes against Muslims since Trumps election and said shes worried things could get worse. So thats a signal, she said. People who are racist are acting on their racism, where they couldnt do that before. Shirazis daughter Maysa Shakibnia and son Mohammed Shakibnia, both students at OSU, also attended the event. Like their mother, they have dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, so theyre not directly affected by the travel ban. But Maysa Shakibnia, a senior majoring in public health, said that could change, noting that some Iranian lawmakers are moving to enact a travel ban on U.S. citizens in retaliation for Trumps executive order. Can I leave the U.S. and come back in as a citizen? she wondered. This is my home. Her brother, a freshman in pre-law, raised another issue. What really sticks out to me is how we can turn a blind eye to refugees when we are complicit in what happens in the Middle East, Mohammed Shakibnia said. Omar Mohamed, a doctoral student in chemical engineering, said his family is from Egypt, which is not covered by the travel ban. But hes worried the Trump administration could extend sanctions to cover additional countries and add further fuel to anti-Muslim sentiments in the U.S. Its where does it stop, right? he said. This seems to be us accepting some kinds of people and not other kinds of people. At its core, this is terrifying. OSU employee and Corvallis School Board member Sami Al-AbdRabbuh, who was born in the U.S. to a Syrian mother and Saudi Arabian father, spoke out strongly against the travel ban during a protest at the Benton County Courthouse on Monday. After attending Tuesdays meeting at the Ettihad Cultural Center, he said the presidents action will backfire by undermining American values and damaging the economy. We are harming our nation. We are harming our country, he said. This will impact us if not today, then maybe tomorrow. OSU President Ed Ray, who has pledged that the university will do its best to shield students and employees from immigration enforcement actions without violating the law, was one of several top administrators who attended Tuesdays meeting. He said he went to learn more about the specific concerns of students, faculty and staff affected by the ban and to let them know that OSU is working to provide clear information about just what the new federal restrictions mean. Theres a lot of emotion, a lot of concern and very few answers, Ray said. My message to people was that the hardest problems I have to solve are the ones I dont know about. Watching log trucks rumble through town is nothing new to longtime Philomath residents. The trucks are a part of life in the small community and serve as a reminder about the products that come out of nearby forests. Their importance to Philomath can be seen every summer during the Philomath Frolic & Rodeo parade with the truck lineup being one of the top traditions. But for those who notice such things, there has been an increase in the number of trucks going through town. Its all part of the opening of an improved section of U.S. Highway 20. Wider travel lanes and safety shoulders have translated into the lifting of restrictions on big rigs moving through the region. In the past because that road was so windy and had such tight turns, not all sized trucks were allowed on that road, ODOT project manager Jerry Wolcott said. Its the large trucks with sleeper cabs that are too big to make those turns and not allowed to go down there. Now, there are no more restrictions and theyre making this their preferred route. U.S. 20 has always been an important stretch of highway to link Philomath to Newport. Beyond commercial trucks, it also serves recreationists and other passenger traffic for those headed to the Oregon Coast. The mill is a daily destination for hundreds of vehicles and U.S. 20 is the primary way to get here, said C.J. Drake, communications and public affairs manager for Georgia-Pacific out of Toledo. The realignment has saved much time and expense for employees, truckers and contractors. Its also made the highway much safer. Before the upgraded highway opened, more than 100 trucks per day were detouring around Eddyville to impact time and fuel costs. Due to ODOT size restrictions that were imposed prior to the realignment of U.S. 20, some trucks were not able to connect to Interstate 5 via Highway 20 and vice versa, Drake said. Those trucks were obliged to take a lengthy detour via Salem, Lincoln City and Newport. To reach the Georgia-Pacific facility from I-5, truckers had to use Oregon 22 west out of Salem and then to Oregon 18 to reach U.S. 101 north of Lincoln City, which goes south to Newport. Georgia-Pacific built the Toledo mill in the late 1950s and employs nearly 400 people in the production of containerboard the material used to make cardboard boxes. Drake said approximately 350 to 500 commercial trucks serve the mill daily around the clock. Trucks access the mill from both ends of U.S. 20 east and west of Toledo. Beyond forest products, Highway 20 has become a major route for seafood thats headed inward from the coast. Based on 2015 numbers, 65 million pounds of seafood landed in Newport with a $32 million value to anglers. Kevin Greenwood, Port of Newport general manager, said the majority of those pounds are being trucked out of Newport. Its much safer to use U.S. Highway 20 now, Greenwood said. It has sped up the travel time. One of the big advantages of the improvement was the lifting of truck restrictions. In the future, a financial factor that will emerge as part of the overall transportation picture involves the opening of an international terminal shipping facility at Newport. Such a facility, when leased to a terminal operator, will facilitate exports coming in from the mid-Willamette Valley. We anticipate there being increased transportation savings to timberland owners when we open up the shipping facility, Greenwood said. Thatll actually increase opportunities for some of the woodland owners. Philomath Mayor Rocky Sloan said more trucks obviously impact the community, but its really nothing new. Theres always been heavy truck traffic since I was kid sitting out in front of the old IGA, Sloan said. Id sit on a brick planter out there and see log truck after log truck after chip truck. To me, its always been there. ODOT is responsible for the highways road bed and surface in Philomath while the city is responsible for the medians and pipes that run underneath. This upcoming summer, we have a project coming where well repave it from the west end of Philomath all the way out to Burnt Woods Road, Wolcott said. Burnt Woods is located between Blodgett and Eddyville. The city plans to do water and sewer pipe work this coming summer on Main and Applegate streets in preparation for a later couplet expansion project. Highway 20s upgrades are now well-known among those towing loads. We have an online network that we let people know and we have annual permits and single-trip permits, Wolcott said. Our motor carrier division communicates with the trucking industry through that and their trade organizations. Philomath Chief of Police Ken Rueben said, our officers have seen a large increase, no doubt about it. Although more truck traffic going through town could impact safety in terms of things like visibility, the primary issue involving law enforcement comes down to officer training. Currently, Philomath police has one officer with weighmaster training, a requirement in Oregon for enforcement purposes. For us to stop a truck, we have to have our guys specially trained to identify safety issues, Rueben said. You have to go through special ODOT training. Philomaths lone officer with those credentials is Grant Moser. If he stops a truck, he can look at the brakes, identify if the weight is proper or not, ask to see their manifest or log, Rueben said. If we dont have a guy trained on that, we cant do that. Rueben said a second officer on his force will be going through the training. There seems to be no real advantages to the increased truck traffic for locals. Unlike tourists, who may stop at local businesses, truckers are usually just passing through. As far as interstate traffic goes, theyre not stopping, Sloan said. So there are no pros to it. Theyre just rumbling through town. Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Membership in a terrorist organization : Bonn returnee from Syria is arrested BONN Police officers from Bonn arrested a returnee from Syria on Tuesday in Nuremberg. He is accused of membership in a terrorist organization as well as preparing for a violent act. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken 31-year-old Pascal O. from Bonn was arrested by officials on Tuesday in Burgthann near Nuremberg. According to the NRW Attorney General, he is accused of being a member of the terrorist organization Junud al-Sham. He is said to have resided in Syria from December 2013 until January 2014, where he received training in weaponry and served as a guard in the Syrian civil war. Bonn city : Retailers fear increasing rents Bonn Many businesses see the new building project at the Bonn central train station as a new chance for the inner city. But retailers fear increasing rents. GA went into the city to talk to those affected. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Book store owner Alfred Bottger will close down his store on Maximilianstrae and move away, worried about a loss of business during the building phase and then higher rents when it is completed. But he says there are plenty of landlords who are more concerned about variety than profit. Bonn City Marketing also sees variety as necessary to attract customers to the city. At the moment, we have a healthy mix of large stores and small owner-operated shops, says Maike Reinhardt, the managing director of the retail group. While large chains offer goods for the masses, small shops occupy little niches and allow for individuality and personality. The problem is rising rents: We are not happy about that, because that makes it difficult for retailers to survive, she says. Thats why the City Marketing Association seeks out real estate brokers and owners for regular talks to create awareness of the situation. "The Maximilian Center will enhance the area, so the rents could also rise," explains Reinhardt. In principle, however, the redesign is the right way to go. For much too long there was nothing happening there. While Bottger and his bookstore move away, his neighbor Raad Andraws Hanna is looking forward to the demolition. Then I will have the only internet cafe here," he says. He is sure to have customers. But he is still afraid of rising rents. He could not afford a high rent location, even with more clientele. Online commerce puts stores under pressure In the top locations such as Remigiusstrae and Sternstrae, it is very difficult for small business owners to make it. For a space of around 50 square meters, one pays between 75 and 120 euros per square meter in rent, meaning an average rental cost of about 5,000 euro a month - something only larger companies can afford. Because of the flourishing online business, classic retailers in the city are under increasing pressure. Similar to City Marketing, Bonns deputy press speaker, Marc Hoffman sees versatility as an opportunity to keep the city attractive. We have hardly any empty spaces, he says. But the administration can only set up a framework of conditions for land use, it has no influence on individual landlords. No room for individuality Bonn central train station : Temporary move for city police Bonn Police in Bonns inner city have had to move from their old building as it will be torn down. They are in a temporary new location not far away on Maximilianstrae 32 and open daily for the public. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken At the end of January, Bonn city police had to move out of their old headquarters. The building which housed them will be torn down in the construction project surrounding the Bonn central train station. Their temporary new home is in a more than century old building on Maximilian Strae. It is open to the public on a walk-in basis from 7 am until 1 am daily. The temporary police station is not far from the old one, only around 100 meters if you make a bee-line. Some steps lead down to the police offices and there is a sign above. Both police and the Ordnungsamt (public order officers) are headquartered here for the time being. A new headquarters for city police is expected to be completed in September at Cassius-Bastei. There, a former book store is being converted into the new police station. Officers say people have already made their way to the temporary headquarters during their one-and-a-half days of moving. They came with complaints of small crimes such as pickpocketing. For those who want to file a complaint, they start at ground level and then they need to go up one floor higher. NRW public employees : Trade union Verdi plans protests Dusseldorf German trade union Verdi says it is preparing for warning strikes in the next weeks in NRW. Universities, courts and other public sector institutions could be affected. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Citizens may have to brace for warning strikes and protests from state employees of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The trade union Verdi is planning in-house activities for the next days to prepare for warning strikes in the next weeks. A spokesperson from Verdi NRW made the announcement in Dusseldorf on Tuesday. Affected are universities, courts, tax bureaus, state road works, state workers and district governments. Through protest actions and warning strikes, the union wants to increase pressure in tariff negotiations on behalf of public service employees in NRW. The second round of negotiations, which took place on Tuesday in Potsdam, ended without a result. Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Vu Van Dung (Photo: VNA) Dung had a meeting with leaders of South Africas Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on January 30th to discuss issues related to cooperation between Vietnam and South Africa as well as the embassy and the DCCI. The Vietnamese diplomat held that Vietnam and South Africa - a large economy of Africa and the world still hold great potential for stronger trade cooperation although two-way trade reached only USD1.2 billion in 2016. Vietnam will host the APEC Year 2017 with about 200 activities along with the APEC High-level Week at the end of the year, which is a good chance for enterprises from Durban and South Africa in general to tighten connections with their partners in Asia-Pacific region, he said. Dao Manh Duc, head of the Vietnamese Embassys office for trade affairs, said that although Vietnamese products are suitable to the South African market, they have yet been popular among South African consumers and businesses due to a lack of information as well as business exchange channels. Meanwhile, South Africas strong products such as beef, fruits, wine and mineral products have yet to successfully enter the Vietnamese market, said Duc. He also asked the DCCI to enhance the sharing of information and partnership opportunities through trade promotion events hosted by the DCCI and increase meetings between trade delegations of both sides. Alta Keyter, DCCI Director for Marketing and Communications, said that in the future, the DCCI will promptly update information about Vietnams goods, tourism and trade fairs and exhibitions in its news bulletins, while actively exchange information with the Vietnamese Embassy to provide South African businesses with chances to study the market, products and tourism of Vietnam. Durban is the largest port city in South Africa as well as a major container port of the South Hemisphere. It is an economic hub of South Africa with diverse sectors including production, tourism, transportation, finance and import-export activities. With long beaches, warm weather and unique culture, the locality is also an attractive tourist destination. The DCCI was established in 1856, grouping over 2,800 firms. It is one of the largest and most prestigious commerce and industry chambers of South Africa./. It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the clarajancita at 1-02-2017 10:50 AM (5 years ago) (f) Former Delta state governor James Ibori, could return to Nigeria, after being cleared by a London court. He told Reuters he would return within days to Nigeria. Initially, James Ibori was set free from London Prison but kept under 'house arrest' in London. With this clearance, James Ibori is now a free man. The politician who has already signalled a possible political comeback in Nigeria -was spotted in an elated mood with his close friends; Chief Senator Ighoyota Amori, Chief Talib, Chief Ighoyota and others at his residence in London. Former Delta state governor James Ibori, could return to Nigeria, after being cleared by a London court. He told Reuters he would return within days to Nigeria. Initially, James Ibori was set free from London Prison but kept underin London. With this clearance, James Ibori is now a free man.The politician who has already signalled a possible political comeback in Nigeria -was spotted in an elated mood with his close friends; Chief Senator Ighoyota Amori, Chief Talib, Chief Ighoyota and others at his residence in London. Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 1-02-2017 10:50 AM (5 years ago) | Hero WhatsApp sued for collecting and sharing data with Facebook News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu WhatsApp has been sued! WhatsApp has been sued in Germany for sharing user data with Facebook. Lately, the messaging platform enabled end-to-end encryption that earned applause from many. But, this lawsuit has been filed due to a change made to the terms and privacy policy, claims a report. As per the changes made in August 2016, WhatsApp would coordinate with Facebook to a higher level letting the latter track the basic metric of how often people make use of the service and help the fight spam in a better way. WhatsApp also mentioned that if the phone number of the user is connected to his or her Facebook account, the latter would offer better friend suggestions and display more relevant ads. These changes caused an uproar among users and privacy advocates. In September, Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information had ordered the social network to stop compiling and storing data from all the German users of WhatsApp. WhatsApp will now send notifications to your friends if you change your status Now the situation has taken a turn as the Federation of German Consumer Organization has filed a lawsuit looking to end the data sharing. Also, they are looking forward to force Facebook to delete the data that it has received from WhatsApp earlier. WhatsApp seems to feel that it has complied with the laws and that its updates comply with the EU (European Union) guidelines. We are yet to see what the court will decide. Will it favor WhatsApp and Facebook or turn against them? Only time can answer this question. Source Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Nokia Android smartphones to get latest and safest Android OS updates, says HMD Global News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Nokia Android smartphones will receive timely updates. Nokia Android smartphones including the Nokia 6 and the ones those will be announced at the MWC 2017 late this month in Barcelona are among the most talked about and highly anticipated devices across the globe for now. Most Nokia fans have questions about the Android OS updates that these Nokia branded Android phones will receive and the maximum support that HMD Global will render to these phones post their launch. It remains unknown if these Nokia branded phones will support the Android Beta program. Nokia P1 concept video shows how gorgeous the flagship would look like Understanding these questions that Nokia fans have in mind, the folks at NokiaPowerUser has asked the questions to the communications team at HMD Global. Though the team failed to answer all the questions, they had given a positive response. Going by the report, it appears like the Nokia Android phones that will be released by HMD Global will receive timely updates. Also, HMD Global has assured that these smartphones will receive the latest and safest Android OS updates on a timely basis. We can expect more about the support that these phones will receive at the launch event to happen on February 26. Nokia D1C specs and price leaked ahead of launch at MWC 2017 Meantime, we would like to remind you that the Nokia 6 was announced with Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box and is expected to receive the Android 7.1.1 Nougat update soon. As Google has already pushed the Android 7.1.2 Beta to the Nexus devices, we can expect the upcoming Nokia Android phones, especially the flagship Nokia P1 to be launched with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out-of-the-box. Best Mobiles in India Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy. 'Another Nail in the Coffin' for Human Rights: Bahrain Restores Intel Powers Sputnik News 17:09 31.01.2017(updated 17:12 31.01.2017) Critics have slammed Bahrain's decision to restore arrest and investigatory powers to an intelligence agency found guilty of torturing anti-government protestors, describing the move as "another nail in the coffin" for the country's Western-backed reform process. Bahrain's National Security Agency (NSA) once again has the power to arrest and detain people suspected of being involved in terrorism offenses, after a new decree reversed a 2011 decision to strip the agency of such rights. The NSA's powers were stripped following a recommendation from an independent inquiry looking into the violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011, which aimed to reform the country's law enforcement practices. The decision to restore the powers came after 10 inmates broke out of Bahrain's Jaw prison earlier this month, with Bahrain's senior advocate general, Ahmed al-Dossary, saying the changes were made "in view of the high risk of terror crimes, which necessitates prompt action to thwart plots, halt their impact, gather evidence, and arrest the culprits." 'No Guarantee of Protection' However critics say restoring powers to the agency will leave people exposed to abuse. "Returning arrest powers to an intelligence agency that terrorized families and tortured detainees is yet another nail in the coffin for Bahrain's post-2011 reform process," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Detainees will not be safe in NSA custody and Bahrain's oversight mechanisms are no guarantee of protection," he added. According to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, the NSA arrested 179 anti-government protestors after demonstrations in February 2011, with officers among those involved in "terror-inspiring behavior" that included night time house raids. The commission found that the NSA was among agencies that "followed a systematic practice of physical and psychological mistreatment, which in many cases amounted to torture, with respect to a large number of detainees in their custody." Questions Over Western Support The criticism of the decision to restore the NSA's powers has also raised questions over the future of the country's reform process, which has the aim of increasing transparency and promoting human rights. Two bodies set up to overlook the process the Ombudsman of the Ministry of Interior and the Special Investigations Unit have been described by Western allies as a sign of Bahrain's progress on the matter, with former UK Foreign Minister Philip Hammond last year claiming the Middle-Eastern country was "making significant reform," telling the House of Commons that it "is a country which is traveling in the right direction." However campaigners have rubbished these British assertions, with an Amnesty International investigation describing the institutions as "woefully inadequate," while accusing Britain of acting like an "over-excited cheerleader" in support of Bahraini officials. AI said it had been "utterly disingenuous" of the UK government to "pretend" that the bodies had been making significant human rights reform, instead calling on London to confront the "awkward reality that these UK-backed institutions are seriously flawed and widely seen as a PR tool of the Bahraini authorities." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dunford: Speed of Military Decision-Making Must Exceed Speed of War By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2017 Military decision-making needs to exceed the speed of events, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff wrote recently in Joint Forces Quarterly. Since Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford became the chairman in September 2015, he has emphasized innovations and changes that speed the military's ability to respond to rapidly changing situations. While America's joint force is the best in the world, he said, it must continue to innovate to stay ahead of potential foes and to adapt to constantly changing strategies. "As I reflect back on four decades of service in uniform, it is clear that the pace of change has accelerated significantly," Dunford said. He noted that when he entered the Marine Corps in the 1970s, he used much the same equipment that his father used during the Korean War. "I used the same cold-weather gear my dad had in Korea 27 years earlier," he said. "The radios I used as a platoon commander were the same uncovered PRC-25s from Vietnam. The jeeps we drove would have been familiar to veterans of World War II, and to be honest, so would the tactics." Marine units, he added, fought much the same way their fathers did at Peleliu, Okinawa or the Chosin Reservoir. Accelerated Pace of Change Today, "there are very few things that have not changed dramatically in the joint force since I was a lieutenant," Dunford said. He spoke of visiting a Marine platoon in Farah province, Afghanistan. "This platoon commander and his 60 Marines were 40 miles from the adjacent platoons on their left and right," he said. "His Marines were wearing state-of-the-art protective equipment and driving vehicles unrecognizable to Marines or soldiers discharged just five years earlier. They were supported by the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which provided precision fires at a range of 60 kilometers." The platoon, Dunford recalled, received and transmitted voice, data and imagery via satellite in real time, something only possible at division headquarters just five years before his visit. These changes are mirrored across the services and combatant commands, the chairman said, giving commanders amazing capabilities, but also posing challenges to commanders on how to best use these new capabilities. "Leaders at lower and lower levels utilize enabling capabilities once reserved for the highest echelons of command," Dunford said in the article. "Tactics, techniques and procedures are adapted from one deployment cycle to the next." This accelerated pace of change is inextricably linked to the speed of war today, the general said. "Proliferation of advanced technologies that transcend geographic boundaries and span multiple domains makes the character of conflict extraordinarily dynamic," the chairman said. "Information operations, space and cyber capabilities and ballistic missile technology have accelerated the speed of war, making conflict today faster and more complex than at any point in history." Shortened Decision-Space Adds New Risks The American military must stay ahead of this pace because the United States will not have time to marshal the immense strength at its command as it did in World War I and II and during Korea, Dunford said. "Today, the ability to recover from early missteps is greatly reduced," he said. "The speed of war has changed, and the nature of these changes makes the global security environment even more unpredictable, dangerous and unforgiving. Decision space has collapsed and so our processes must adapt to keep pace with the speed of war." The situation on the Korean Peninsula is a case in point, the chairman said. In the past, he said, officials believed any war on the peninsula could be contained to the area. However, with the development of ballistic missile technology, the North Korean nuclear program and new cyber capabilities that is no longer possible, Dunford said. A war that once would have been limited would now spiral, almost immediately, with regional and global implications, he said. "Deterring, and if necessary, defeating, a threat from North Korea requires the joint force to be capable of nearly instant integration across regions, domains and functions," Dunford said. "Keeping pace with the speed of war means changing the way we approach challenges, build strategy, make decisions and develop leaders." This means seamlessly integrating capabilities such as information operations, space and cyber into battle plans, the chairman said. "These essential aspects of today's dynamic environment cannot be laminated onto the plans we have already developed," he said. "They must be mainstreamed in all we do, and built into our thinking from the ground up." Integrated Strategies Improve Responsiveness Dunford said the joint force must also develop integrated strategies that address transregional, multidomain and multifunctional threats. "By viewing challenges holistically, we can identify gaps and seams early and develop strategies to mitigate risk before the onset of a crisis," he said. "We have adapted the next version of the National Military Strategy to guide these initiatives." The military must make the most of its decision space, so military leaders can present options at the speed of war, Dunford said. "This begins with developing a common understanding of the threat, providing a clear understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the joint force, and then establishing a framework that enables senior leaders to make decisions in a timely manner," the chairman said. Leadership is essential, said the chairman, noting the joint force depends on leaders who anticipate change, recognize opportunity and adapt to meet new challenges. "That is why we continue to prioritize leader development by adapting doctrine, integrating exercise plans, revising training guidance and retooling the learning continuum," Dunford said. "These efforts are designed to change the face of military learning and develop leaders capable of thriving at the speed of war." Adaptation and innovation are the imperatives for the Joint Force, the chairman said. "The character of war in the 21st century has changed, and if we fail to keep pace with the speed of war, we will lose the ability to compete," he said. "The joint force is full of the most talented men and women in the world, and it is our responsibility as leaders to unleash their initiative to adapt and innovate to meet tomorrow's challenges," Dunford said. "We will get no credit tomorrow for what we did yesterday." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 completes exercise Kamoshika Wrath 17-1 US Marine Corps News By Cpl. Donato Maffin | January 31, 2017 U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 concluded exercise Kamoshika Wrath 17-1, Jan. 28, 2017, after training for a week at Japan Self-Defense Force's Haramura Maneuver Area in Hiroshima, Japan. The exercise marked the completion of Phase II of the squadron's annual training plan, focusing on establishing forward operating locations and providing airfield operation services. "We've separated our annual training plan into five different phases and this was our second phase capstone event," said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Kevin Wheeler, operations officer for MWSS-171. "MWSS has a large number of different military occupational specialties and jobs, and throughout the year the phases will give us an opportunity to test all those different skills." Marines with Headquarters and Service, Motor Transport, Engineering, and Air Operations companies worked on their specific tasks to complete the exercise. "We had our companies split off into separate sites," said Wheeler. "They ran their own sites, but they were able to support themselves out in an austere environment. The Marines set up everything from food service, field laundry and showers to a 96-foot by 96-foot expeditionary vertical takeoff and landing pad, something we haven't done here with field preparation." Different companies from within MWSS-171 came together and saw how their job affected the mission as a whole. "We built survivability positions with heavy equipment company," said U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Anthony Cornman, a combat engineer with MWSS-171. "We had to have a lot of cooperation with all the other sections in the squadron to be able to build a forward operating base, defensive positions and be able to run patrols out of it." Conducting the exercise at Haramura Maneuver Area allowed the Marines to operate in a scenario-based, realistic training environment. "We can't build survivability positions a lot in garrison," said Cornman. "There's no place to dig up dirt, cut down trees that we need and lay everything out. It was a good experience there because a lot of us haven't done this since the school house." The exercise increased the squadron's state of readiness and acted as a building block for increasing proficiency in command and control. "I was looking forward to seeing the staff work together during the exercise," said Wheeler. "In garrison there are a lot of conflicting interests, priorities and tasks that we need to accomplish. Out here we are solely focused on supporting our Marines, the Marine aircraft group, aviators and making sure they have everything they need to take the fight to the enemy." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA, Kyiv) and state-run postal enterprise Ukrposhta have signed a memorandum of cooperation envisaging the development of international mail and parcels transit. An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that the memo was signed by Ukrposhta Director General Ihor Smeliansky and UIA President Yuriy Miroshnykov on January 31 in the premises of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine in the presence of Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan and acting Director General of Boryspil International Airport Yevhen Dykhne. According to a press release issued at the even, UIA and Ukrposhta introduced a joint solution to transport and handle international parcels and other mail that are transited via Boryspil. The project started in November 2016 after the signing of the relevant agreement. Today around 50 tonnes of international mail and parcels from China to five countries were transported: Lithuania, Latvia, Armenia, Cyprus and Israel. In January 2017 mail delivery from the Czech Republic via Kyiv to China was launched. In February 2017 UIA starts delivering transit mail from Switzerland to the CIS using planes servicing own flights. "There are no doubts in the importance of developing transit potential of the main airport of Ukraine Boryspil for our state. Transit opportunities are not only transportation of passenger and cargo, but also delivery of parcels and other mail that allow attracting additional income in foreign currency to Ukraine," Miroshnykov said. He said that the new stage of cooperation would allow UIA to transit over 1,000 tonnes of mail via Ukraine in 2017. Smeliansky added that cooperation aims at increasing transit from 36 to 150 tonnes a month on average. "The Boryspil airport has a large transit potential that could be effectively used by other economic entities. Our cooperation with Ukrposhta and UIA airline in developing aviation mail transit has large prospects. First of all, we are creating a joint aviation product which is of great demand on the international market," Dykhne said. According to a presentation of Ukrposhta spread among journalists, in 2016 ePacket small parcel delivery from China soared by 7.8 times, outgoing mail grew by 24.8% and incoming mail rose by 20.8% in international deliveries of Ukrposhta. Customs clearance of mail and parcels was reduced from 10 days in 2015 to three or six days in 2016. Average term for transporting mail from the Boryspil airport to the sorting center of Ukrposhta decreased from five to one and a half days. It takes three days on average to deliver international parcels and mail to regional centers and four to district centers. Some 35% of total international mail handled by Ukrposhta was transported by KLM Cargo, AirBaltic, Belavia and other airlines and UIA carried 65% of it. Omelyan expressed hope that with development of international mail transit UIA will be able to increase cargo fleet (now the airline has one cargo aircraft). Miroshnykov added that all aircraft in the UIA fleet can carry mail to all destinations where the airline flies. Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 31 Jan. 2017 (As delivered) President Rumen Radev, Welcome so much to NATO Headquarters. And congratulations on your appointment as President. And I'd also like to say "welcome back" to NATO Headquarters because you told me that you have been working here many years ago, and that just underlines your personal commitment and understanding of the importance of NATO. And in your previous role as commander of the Bulgarian Air Force, you helped to keep our airspace safe. And I know that you will remain committed to NATO and to our shared security now in your new role as President. For almost 13 years, Bulgaria has been a valued Ally, making many important contributions to our collective defence. You provide ships to NATO patrols in the Black Sea. And you play a key role in the security of your region, through your contributions to NATO presence in Kosovo, your support for the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans, and your assistance to Ukraine where you lead the NATO Trust Fund on medical rehabilitation. I am also very grateful for your strong commitment to NATO's presence in Afghanistan, helping to fight terrorism and to prevent that Afghanistan once again becomes a safe haven for international terrorism. I met Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan and it's great to be able to tell you that they were very professional, very committed and we are proud to have Bulgarian troops as part of our presence in Afghanistan. The security environment which surrounds us is changing. We see a more assertive Russia. We see the turmoil and the violence to the South - terrorism. And we see cyber-attacks and hybrid warfare. NATO is responding. We are responding by increasing our presence both in the south east of the Alliance, and in the Baltic countries and in Poland. We are strengthening our presence in the Black Sea region, with a package of measures on land, at sea and in the air. And we will finalise this work at our meeting of defence ministers in February. And several Allies have already indicated they will contribute to this presence. A strong sign of NATO solidarity. But security does not come for free. Therefore we have to increase defence spending and I welcome that Bulgaria has now started to increase its investments in defence. I think this just underscores the commitment of Bulgaria to NATO and to NATO decisions to strengthen our collective defence and to increase defence spending. NATO does not want confrontation with Russia. We don't seek confrontation with Russia. We don't want a new Cold War so our response is measured. It is transparent and it is defensive. But it sends a clear signal that we stand together. That all Allies are ready to protect each other. Defending one another. So President, welcome once again to NATO Headquarters. It's great to see you and I look forward to working with you. Welcome once again. OANA LUNGESCU [NATO Spokesperson]: Okay, any questions? BTV there. Q: [Interpreted] Hi, hello dear Secretary General and Mr. President, my question is related to the policy concerning Russia that will be led by the new President of the United State Donald Trump and how do you think, what aspect do you think this policy will affect the most strength the biggest reinforcement along the eastern flank of NATO which is the biggest reinforcement that we've had since the end of the Second World War? How will Donald Trump's policies affect us? JENS STOLTENBERG (NATO Secretary General): I spoke with then President-elect Donald Trump after he was elected in November and I've also spoken with Secretary of Defense Mattis recently and they have all conveyed the same message that United States will remain committed to NATO to the Trans-Atlantic bond and that it's not only something that they say but we also see now that the United States is actually increasing its presence in Europe. There is a strong bi-partisan support in the Congress and the Congress has quadrupled funding for the European Reassurance Initiative which is funding increased military presence of the United States in Europe with a new brigade, with more training, with more exercises and with more pre-positioned equipment and supplies. So this is a strong political commitment but it's also followed with more presence in Europe. And when it comes to the relationship to Russia I would like to underline that our increased presence in Europe is a measured and proportionate response to the behaviour of Russia and a more assertive Russia which has implemented a significant military buildup over many years and which has used military force against a neighbour, against Ukraine. NATO is responding but we are responding in a defensive way, in a measured way. We don't want confrontation, we don't want a new Cold War so we are keeping the channels for political dialogue open with Russia and the message from the incoming administration is that, the new U.S. Administration, is that they also want dialogue with Russia but it's based on strength and I think that's exactly the same message that we are conveying from the whole Alliance and we agreed in Warsaw at our Summit that we need strong defense but also political dialogue with Russia and I look forward to work together with the new President and his security team on exactly on how to implement and how to follow up that message. OANA LUNGESCU: Bulgarian National Radio just behind right there. Q: [Interpreted]: Will Bulgaria this year take part in more large scale operations or trainings with the Allies? And what do you think will be the greatest challenge to NATO in the coming months? JENS STOLTENBERG: Bulgaria is participating in many different kinds of training and exercises in NATO and with NATO Allies. Actually tomorrow there will be a new multi-national exercise that will start in the Black Sea - a Maritime exercise with the participation of Bulgaria but also with ships from Canada, from the United States, from Turkey and from other NATO Allied countries. So it just illustrates that there are several exercises, different kinds of training activities where Bulgaria participate. And this is a part of the increased presence in the southeast of Europe with more patrols in the Black Sea and also with more exercises and Bulgaria is part of that. RUMEN RADEV (President of Bulgaria): [Interpreted]: If I can just add our participation in NATO is very important for us not only because it increases the security in our region; it's extremely important because it enhances the military capability of our armed forces because in each such exercise we acquire new tactics, new techniques and new procedures. OANA LUNGESCU: Okay, one very last quick question, Wall Street Journal. Q: JULIAN BARNES [Wall Street Journal]: Maybe not quick. To the President I wonder if you think it's time for sanctions against Russia to be eased and whether you think more broadly NATO should pursue improved relationship with Russia given Mr. Trump's desires for cooperation on counter-terrorism? To the Secretary General I wonder if you could comment on the sanctions issue but also the Iranian's test fired a ballistic missile, I wonder if this, what do you think this says about relevance of NATO missile defense and whether missile defense systems should be on the table in discussions with Russia? RUMEN RADEV: [Interpreted]: First of all the increase of the defense and deterrence posture of NATO should be hand in hand as Secretary General said with deepening the political dialogue with Russia in order to avoid confrontation and misunderstandings and to lower the risks. And as President Trump also shared the main challenges and threats today come from international terrorism, countering the Islamic State - these are all threats that cannot be tackled unless NATO and Russia have common efforts on this, both in the Middle East and in the global fight against terrorism. JENS STOLTENBERG: We are looking into the nature of what happened and the details surrounding the ballistic missile launch. So I cannot comment on the details of that incident. But what I can say is that NATO continues to develop its ballistic missile defense system because we see that several nations including Iran are developing different kinds of ballistic missiles and are testing and strengthening their systems. And that just underlines that NATO has to continue to develop a ballistic missile defense system. Our BMD, or ballistic missile defense, is not directed against Russia, it's directed against threats coming from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. We have previously offered Russia to work together with them on this, then Russia rejected and NATO has continued to develop our system which is a defensive system and it's a way to protect Europe against missile threats. OANA LUNGESCU: Thank you very much. This concludes this press point. JENS STOLTENBERG: Oh, sorry sanctions. Sanctions is part of the response from many countries to the aggressive actions of Russia against Ukraine. The sanctions are decided by the European Union, the United States and other countries, it's not a NATO decision but I have supported and welcomed the sanctions. What NATO has done is that we have responded by increasing our military presence in the Eastern part of the Alliance and we are continuing to do exactly that by implementing the decisions on enhanced and tailored forward presence. Thank you. OANA LUNGESCU: Thank you very much. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS Olympia Arrives in Pacific Northwest for Namesake Visit Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170131-08 Release Date: 1/31/2017 8:58:00 AM By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Amanda R. Gray, Commander, Submarine Group 9 Public Affairs BREMERTON, Wash. (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Olympia (SSN 717) concluded a visit to the Pacific northwest, Jan. 30, following a series of engagements with key civic and community leaders as well as with locally-based organizations. The namesake visit provided an opportunity for the crew of Olympia to demonstrate the quality of naval personnel to the citizens of the Pacific northwest, particularly the city of Olympia and surrounding areas. Olympia arrived at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Jan. 27, and was greeted on the pier by community leaders and supporters, including former Secretary of State Ralph Munro. "We want to give you a very warm welcome," said Munro. "I had the privilege of speaking at the commissioning of the boat many, many, many years ago before you all were born and it's an honor and a pleasure to have the boat back here in our waters. I'm one proud American with this boat out there defending my liberty and defending all of us, so we can't say thank you enough." Tours of the submarine were given to various groups to include the Sea Cadets, the Navy League, the Submarine League, and government officials. Over 60 crew members boarded buses in Bremerton and traveled to the city of Olympia, Jan. 28. During their visit, they performed community relations projects, toured the capital and surrounding attractions, and met with community members. A lunch was also held for the crew by the Olympia Yacht Club and the boat performed an awards ceremony in front of the large audience. Four Sailors were pinned with their submarine enlisted warfare "dolphins," four Sailors were presented with Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and the Sailor of the Quarter and Blue Jacket of the Quarter Sailors were announced. "The opportunity for the crew to visit Olympia is somewhat rare, and it is a true privilege to see the fantastic support that the city gives to her submarine and her crew," said Cmdr. Benjamin Selph, commanding officer of Olympia, from Prescott, Arizona. "I think that it is important for the citizens of Olympia to see that the Navy is all about being not for self, but for country, and that the Sailors on Olympia are happy and willing to serve." Sailors helped the community by painting and organizing the Salvation Army transitional housing center, stuffing backpacks with the Gateway Rotary Club for the Homeless Backpacks nonprofit organization, and making and handing out sandwiches at the Interfaith Works Winter Warming Center. "I am glad that we were given the opportunity to come to Olympia and help out," said Machinist's Mate (Auxiliary) 1st Class Brandon Brown, from Long View, Texas. "I like giving back to the community because it shows people another side to Navy Sailors." The final day of their visit, the crew enjoyed liberty in Bremerton. The Navy League and Submarine League hosted a dinner for the crew at a local restaurant called the Horse and Cow. "It was an honor and a pleasure to support the weekend namesake city visit of the USS Olympia," said retired Capt. Alan Beam, northwest coastal area president of the Navy League. "The city of Olympia and its citizens went out of their way to welcome the submarine and its Sailors, and make them feel at home. This visit enabled the crew to see their city firsthand. The link between the namesake city and the submarine is a vital source of crew identity and morale. I am glad everyone had a great time." Olympia is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after Olympia, Washington. Commissioned Nov. 17, 1984, Olympia is the 29th ship of the Los Angeles-class, nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines. The submarine is 362 feet long, displaces 6,900 tons, and can be armed with sophisticated Mark-48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Coronado Completes Maintenance Availability, Heads Back Out to Sea Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170131-01 Release Date: 1/31/2017 8:00:00 AM By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Amy M. Ressler, USS Coronado (LCS 4) Public Affairs CHANGI NAVAL BASE, Singapore (NNS) -- Littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) headed out to sea from Changi Naval Base in Singapore, Jan. 31, after completing an in-port maintenance availability. While at sea, Coronado Sailors will conduct flight operations, small-caliber action team training, and engineering operational testing. The underway follows a successful maintenance availability where the ship conducted corrective maintenance, as well as more than 900 preventive maintenance checks throughout the ship. The crew will conduct training in multiple warfare areas while underway in preparation for operations, theater security cooperation exercises, and maritime security engagements scheduled during the ship's rotational deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific in 2017. "We will use this underway period to capitalize on the opportunity to flex the ship and all of its systems across multiple mission areas, ensuring technical and tactical proficiency," said Cmdr. Scott Larson, commanding officer, Coronado. "These Sailors have risen to meet and overcome every challenge put in front of them. I couldn't be more proud of the positive energy and focus that this team continues to bring to their jobs on a daily basis." The ship's maintenance availability began in December and included a D-phase maintenance procedure and a Material Condition Inspection (MCI) on the embarked MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter. Lt. Cmdr. Thanh Nguyen, officer in charge, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 Det. 5, talked about the importance of the procedure, which looks at all aspects of the helicopter including the engines and rotors. "The maintenance is important to ensure we have an up and ready aircraft for any tasking that may come," said Nguyen. "The D-phase is very time consuming and requires a lot of tools and parts. By doing it in port, it allowed us to maximize the space in the hangar and gave us a more stable platform to perform the work." Currently on its maiden deployment, Coronado is a fast and agile warship tailor-made to patrol the region's littorals and work hull-to-hull with partner navies, providing 7th Fleet with the flexible capabilities it needs now and in the future. On behalf of Commander, Task Force 73, Destroyer Squadron 7 conducts advanced planning, organizes resources, and directly supports the execution of maritime engagements such as the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series, the Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) with Vietnam, and the multilateral Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) exercise with Bangladesh, Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS Antietam Damaged During Anchoring Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170131-15 Release Date: 1/31/2017 2:57:00 PM From U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) damaged its propellers while anchoring in Tokyo Bay in the vicinity of Yokosuka, Japan, Jan. 31. An investigation is underway to assess the full extent of the damage. The ship safely returned to Fleet Activities Yokosuka with the help of tugs. There were no injuries to U.S. or Japanese personnel. The incident did result in the discharge of hydraulic oil into the water. The Navy is cooperating with the Government of Japan and Japanese Coast Guard in response to this issue and is taking appropriate measures to minimize impacts to the environment. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Operation Deep Freeze: Cargo Handling, Not for the Faint of Heart Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170131-17 Release Date: 1/31/2017 3:11:00 PM From Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Public Affairs MCMURDO STATION, Antarctica (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to Navy Cargo Handling Battalion (NCHB) 1 have commenced cargo-handling operations at McMurdo Station in Antarctica in support of the U.S. Antarctic Program, which is managed by the National Science Foundation. Upon arrival into Antarctica, Sailors assigned to NCHB 1 are provided time to acclimate to the harsh conditions so they can safely begin on-loading and off-loading equipment in extreme weather conditions. NCHB 1 is part of Operation Deep Freeze, the U.S. military's logistical support for the Antarctic Program. "These Sailors are working in minus 20 degree Fahrenheit, which is minus 29 degrees Celsius weather, with sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusting to 40," said Chief Logistics Specialist James Hawley, who is assigned to NCHB 1. Hawley added Sailors have been acclimating to the weather and harsh environmental conditions with physical training and team-building activities, allowing Sailors to settle into a routine and prepare for the start of cargo operations. Prior to arriving in Antarctica, Sailors received extreme cold weather gear in Christchurch, New Zealand, to prepare for the mission. The significant time change -- 18 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time -- coupled with 24 hours of daylight create challenges for acclimatization. The annual mission, which NCHB 1 has been participating in for more than 60 years, resupplies the U.S. Antarctic Program's largest research station on the most remote continent. The supplies delivered also keep Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, 800 air miles from McMurdo, as well as remote field camps operational. The successful cargo operation, in short, allows NSF to meet its presidential mandate to run three year-round Antarctic research stations. "Sailors working with civilian mariners and scientists off-load supplies and equipment to support the research conducted by the National Science Foundation and the United States Antarctic Program," said Hawley. Sailors will continue to off-load roughly 500 containers aboard Military Sealift Command-chartered ship MV Ocean Giant, and on-load another 500 containers which will return to the United States. NCHB 1 is the U.S. Navy's only active component cargo handling battalion homeported in Williamsburg, Virginia. NCHB 1 is supported by Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (NAVELSG). NAVELSG delivers expeditionary logistics and equipment to NCHB-1 and the Reserve component cargo handling battalions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Two bomb attacks hit Nigeria as officials blame Boko Haram Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 5:57PM Two bomb attacks have hit separate locations in northern Nigeria in what officials believe were attempts by Boko Haram terrorist group to make up for its recent losses in the face of the Nigerian army. A civilian vigilante in Banki, near the Cameroon border in the northeastern state of Borno, said on Tuesday that an attack earlier in the day nearly rattled a camp of people displaced by Boko Haram violence. Musa Ahmad, who works with the military against Boko Haram, said the attack was carried out by a 10-year-old girl about noon local time, adding that the minor was killed after she detonated her explosives near the camp for internally-displaced people. "She was asked to stop by soldiers. But she ignored them. They threatened to shoot her if she didn't stop. She obeyed and she was asked to lift up her hijab," said Ahmad, adding, "She did and explosives were found to be strapped on her. Suddenly she pulled on the trigger and exploded." The vigilante said the death of the girl was the sole casualty of the incident, adding that the attack bore the hallmarks of similar attacks by Boko Haram as the Takfiri group has repeatedly used minors and women to carry out assaults against civilians and security forces. Ahmad said Boko Haram has been desperately seeking to make up for the losses it has suffered at the hands of the Nigerian army in the recent time. Earlier on Tuesday, at least two people, including the attacker, were killed in another act of terror, where the assailant targeted people performing morning prayers inside a mosque in Dalori, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Residents and authorities said the blast happened at about 5:30 a.m. and the attacker was trying to enter the mosque but a guard stopped him. "One of the worshippers, who was apparently on guard, grabbed him and the explosives went off, killing both of them. Worshippers were saved," said a resident. Nigeria has been at war with Boko Haram since the group started an insurgency in Borno state about eight years ago. Almost 15,000 people have been killed while the violence has displaced more than two million. Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Daesh, another Takfiri terrorist group, which has been wreaking havoc in the Middle East and North Africa over the past few years. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tusk: Trump Administration's 'Worrying Declarations' Part Of 'Threat' To EU RFE/RL January 31, 2017 European Council President Donald Tusk says that "worrying declarations" from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration constitute part of an external threat faced by the European Union. In a letter to EU heads of state and government published on January 31, ahead of a summit on February 3, Tusk called for unity in dealing with challenges he said were "more dangerous than ever before" in the history of the bloc. He cited three threats, including an external one he said was "related to the new geopolitical situation in the world and around Europe." Tusk said that an increasingly assertive China, "Russia's aggressive policy towards Ukraine and its neighbors, wars, terror and anarchy in the Middle East and in Africa, with radical Islam playing a major role, as well as worrying declarations by the new American administration all make our future highly unpredictable." "For the first time in our history, in an increasingly multipolar external world, so many are becoming openly anti-European, or Euroskeptic at best," Tusk said in the letter. "Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy." "We cannot surrender to those who want to weaken or invalidate the transatlantic bond, without which global order and peace cannot survive," he said. "We should remind our American friends of their own motto: United we stand, divided we fall." Tusk also warned of an "internal threat" to the bloc, citing rising anti-EU, nationalist, and xenophobic sentiment in Europe. The third threat identified by Tusk was the "state of mind of the pro-European elites" and "a decline of faith in political integration." Trump has made numerous statements in recent months that have raised alarm in Europe. He supported the Brexit movement to take the United Kingdom out of the EU, a move that Trump described as "a tremendous asset." "I do believe others will leave," he told The Times of London newspaper. "I do think keeping [the EU] together is not going to be as easy as a lot of people think." Theodore Malloch, an economist who is widely expected to be Trump's choice for ambassador to the EU, said earlier this month that the euro common currency "could collapse" within 18 months. He also compared the EU to the Soviet Union. "I had, in a previous career, a diplomatic post where I helped to bring down the Soviet Union," he told the BBC. "So maybe there's another union that needs a little taming." Tusk's letter urged EU leaders to "take assertive and spectacular steps that would change the collective emotions and revive the aspiration to raise European integration to the next level." Leaders of 27 European Union member states are scheduled to meet in Malta on February 3. A British delegation will only attend some sessions. With reporting by AP, Huffington Post, Reuters, and AFP Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/eu-tusk-us-trump-administration -part-of-threat/28270171.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Troika Statement Welcoming AU, IGAD, and UN Declaration on South Sudan Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC January 31, 2017 The text of the following statement was issued jointly by the Governments of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Norway. Begin Text: The members of the Troika (United States, United Kingdom, and Norway) welcome the January 29 joint declaration of the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the United Nations (UN), on South Sudan. It expresses deep concern about the continuing spread of fighting and the risk of inter-communal violence escalating into mass atrocities, and the dire humanitarian situation in the country. We too call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in South Sudan. We applaud the declaration's call for a political solution emphasizing inclusivity and an active role for the AU High Representative toward ensuring that result. We echo the commitment of the AU, IGAD, and the UN to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), and to further strengthen and enhance international cooperation in support of the South Sudan peace process. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Cut off by fighting, thousands of Yemenis urgently need aid and protection - UN official says 31 January 2017 The senior United Nations humanitarian official in Yemen voiced extreme concern today about the safety and well-being of citizens in the south-eastern part of the country, where military operations are cutting off services and causing harm to civilians. "A halt to the fighting is required to facilitate the delivery of assistance to Al Mokha and enable the free movement of civilians," said Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, in reference to the port city on the Red Sea coast of the country. Up to 30,000 people are estimated to be trapped in Mokha, roughly one-third of the population, and in need of immediate protection and relief assistance, Mr. McGoldrick said. He noted also that scores of civilians have been injured by repeated airstrikes, shelling and sniper attacks in and around Mokha, which has also ground most services, including the main market and the water supply system. Meanwhile, in Dhubab, also a district of Taiz Governorate, tens of thousands of civilians are being forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting. Mr. McGoldrick warned that some are using mined roads, and many have already been previously displaced or lost livelihoods in the fighting. "I call on all parties to the conflict to meet their obligations under the international humanitarian law," he said, urging all parties to ensure the humanitarian organizations have "rapid, safe and unimpeded access to reach the people in need in the town of Al Mokha and the wider affected region." In addition to concerns for civilians, the UN aid official expressed concern about recent damage to roads and bridges connecting the port city of Al Hudaydah with other governorates. Noting that infrastructure is vital for moving humanitarian and commercial supplies, Mr. McGoldrick said he deplored such actions "as they risk further isolating Yemeni communities and aggravate the already alarming food security situation." UN agencies and partners are mobilizing food, water, shelter and medicines for those in need, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Over 1,000 State Department Personnel Officially Dissent to Immigration Order By Steve Herman, Nike Ching January 31, 2017 More than 1,000 foreign service officers and civil service personnel of the U.S. State Department have now signed a dissent document about the president's recent order on refugees' travel restrictions, sources told VOA on Tuesday. The number of signatures, if it does total some 1,000, is "unprecedented" and about 20 times the number of dissenters for last year's memo from diplomats sharply criticizing the Obama administration's Syria policy, said former U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. The huge numbers for the immigration memo and its early leaking "are clear indicators of the widespread concern within the department over this specific policy step and unease over the broad direction of foreign policy," said Laura Kennedy, former deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs. "These are extraordinary times," she added. The Dissent Channel memo, which warns that the administration's move "will not achieve its aims and will likely be counterproductive," has yet to be formally submitted, according to the State Department, which says it cannot comment on its substance, how many have signed it or the ranks of the signatories. Those at the State Department who oppose President Donald Trump's immigration order "should either get with the program or they can go," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday. "This is about the safety of America." Former diplomats bristled at what is being perceived as a implicit threat against the foreign service community. "The Dissent Channel is an entirely appropriate means of expressing opposition to the top leadership of the Department of State," Ford told VOA. "The Trump people shouldn't take it so personally." "I was appalled by (Spicer's) comment," said Kennedy, also a former ambassador to Turkmenistan, told VOA. "It either implied a complete misunderstanding of the dissent channel or the legal protections there are, or it's intended to send a signal that dissent, whether private or public, will not be tolerated." "The time-honored tradition of respectful dissent at State is supported by the very American and constitutional values that this cable honors and that the executive order tramples," Yale University Law School professor Harold Hongju Koh, a former assistant secretary of state and State Department legal adviser, told VOA. President Trump last Friday signed an executive order prohibiting entry to refugees and people from seven Muslim majority countries. The order includes a 120-day suspension of refugee admissions and a 90-day entry ban for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Spicer added from the podium Wednesday the order is "about the safety of Americans" and the steps the president ordered are "common sense." According to a draft seen by VOA, the dissent memo expresses grave concerns that the travel ban will not achieve its goal "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States." It also warns that the action will "immediately sour relations" with key allies in the fight against terrorism, given many of the nations whose citizens are now restricted from traveling to U.S. soil. The memo suggests alternatives, including improving visa and immigration screening. The Dissent Channel was established in 1971, amid disputes about Vietnam War policies, to allow U.S. diplomats to speak freely about foreign policy matters. Typically four to five Dissent Channel messages are received each year, according to the State Department. Last year's Syria Dissent Channel memo had 51 signatures, according to diplomats. When State Department or U.S. Agency for International Development employees believe their voices are not heard by supervisors, they may use the Dissent Channel. At the State Department, the policy planning staff is supposed to review it, circulate it to authorized people and reply in substance to the dissenters within 60 days. Those utilizing the Dissent Channel are protected from reprisals, disciplinary action or unauthorized disclosure of its use, according to the government's Foreign Affairs Manual. Ford, who was a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, predicted that if the White House tries to retaliate "they'll end up with lawsuits." But Ford added that after expressing their opinion through the proper channels,foreign service officers are obligated to implement administration policy. "It is their job to implement what the president and his team decide," explained Ford. " If they can't implement it then, frankly, they should think whether they should be in a government job." Ford, currently a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, acknowledged the challenge of U.S. diplomats in Baghdad having to explain "why this policy is a good policy" to their counterparts who fought alongside U.S. forces against terrorist elements. "I can't imagine anything more difficult," Ford said. Without proper guidance from Washington "they have to wing it which is even harder." Officials on Monday also revealed that the State Department is receiving multiple cables from its embassies about foreign anger concerning the restrictions on travel to the U.S. from the predominately Muslim countries in the executive order. "As is standard, the State Department remains in contact with its embassies around the world on foreign policy issues," a department official, speaking on condition of not being named, told VOA when asked about the cable. "We will not comment on internal communications." The president's nominee to be secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. A vote on Tillerson, a recently retired oil and gas company executive, is expected this week. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has authorized acting Health Minister Ulana Suprun to sign the amicable agreement with .S. pharmaceutical manufacturer Gilead Sciences Inc., the manufacturer of the medicine to treat Hepatitis C. Government resolution No. 45-r dated January 25, 2016 was posted on the ministry's website. "The decision would help to ensure the implementation of agreement to amicably settle claims of Gilead Sciences Inc. against Ukraine and prevent large expenses of the state during the investment arbitration," reads an explanatory note to the draft. The agreement would positively influence the development of cooperation between the ministry and Gilead in the introduction of effective programs to treat Hepatitis C and make it affordable for Ukrainian patients. Amnesty: Philippine Police Killings Possible 'Crime Against Humanity By Henry Ridgwell January 31, 2017 Amnesty International claims the Philippine government has ordered the police to kill thousands of alleged drug offenders in a wave of executions that may amount to crimes against humanity. President Rodrigo Duterte this week ordered all police anti-drug units to be disbanded in the wake of the killing of a South Korean man, allegedly by corrupt officers. The scale of Amnesty's accusations is shocking. The group claims up to 7,000 people have been killed in the last seven months, since President Rodrigo Duterte took office. "The government, at the highest levels, has ordered the police and the police working in concert with armed hit men who are essentially acting as hit squads and executing people," . Tirana Hassan, Amnesty's Crisis Response director said. Amnesty says the police often act with no evidence and target the poorest sections of Philippine society. "What we found is police are being paid for individual hits," Hassan said. "They're working in cahoots with the actual funeral homes, where they're being paid for each body they deliver to the funeral home. We've seen police who have planted evidence to actually cover up extrajudicial executions." Duterte has made the war on drugs a central tenet of his leadership even claiming in December that he personally killed suspected criminals when he was mayor of Davao City. But this week the president ordered all police anti-drug units disbanded, following the killing of a South Korean businessman by corrupt officers allegedly involved in a kidnapping ring. But in a news conference Monday, he said the war on drugs would go on. "The drug war? I will extend it to the last day of my term," Duterte announced. The Philippine government has yet to respond directly to Amnesty's report. President Duterte has repeatedly said he was elected on a mandate to eliminate illegal drugs. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ban Ki-moon Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon came back to Korea with what seemed like presidential ambitions. But on 01 February 2017, Ban told reporters that he has decided not to run. In the latest opinion polls of potential presidential contenders, Ban was found to have fallen behind the approval ratings of former Democratic Party chairman Moon Jae-in. "I will give up my aspirations to achieve a change in politics and unify the country under my leadership." Ban said he was disappointed by the unchanged attitudes and selfishness of some politicians and came to realize that it is meaningless to walk the same path with them. He also said that his genuine patriotism and the cause for his "change in politics" have been lost due to the malign slander close to character murder, which he also said tainted the honor of the UN. He added that he is sorry for disappointing many people. Instead, Ban said he would devote his experiences from the UN to doing what he can for the country as a Korean citizen. The ruling Saenuri Party has expressed shock over former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons decision to drop out of the presidential race. Saenuri spokesman Kim Sung-won said that Bans decision is regrettable, but added the party hopes he will now make contributions to the people with his experience as the chief of the UN. The Bareun Party, the breakaway group of the ruling party, said Ban's withdrawal is unfortunate. Party spokesman Chang Je-won said that although his decision was embarrassing, it respects his aspirations for political reform and hopes he will still stand by them in their efforts to seek new politics. The former career diplomat Ban Ki-moon, who had no political base in Korea, was expected to meet with leaders from all walks of life before making a final decision on a run for the presidency. The right-leaning parties have welcomed Ban's possible bid for the presidency while the opposition parties have said they will set up a taskforce to verify Ban's qualifications. Ban had also not elaborated on whom he would team up with for a presidential run but he did hint that in general he would be open to working with various political groups. Ban could form an alliance with lawmakers who've broken away from the ruling Saenuri Party or he could align with the second largest opposition group, the People's Party, for the election currently scheduled for December 2017. By mid-2016 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the front-runner to become the next president of South Korea if he decided to run, Ban has been expected to join the conservative Saenuri Party of President Park Geun-hye if he runs for the top post in the election scheduled in December 2017, although the UN chief had yet to declare he is considering a run. Despite spending the past decade outside his country, he enjoys high popularity ratings in the East Asian nation. Results of a survey by Gallup Korea unveiled on 10 June 2016 showed that Ban was the most preferred choice among potential presidential candidates for next year's presidential election. Over 26-percent of respondents choosing Ban as their preferred presidential hopeful, while 16-percent answered they would like to see former chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Moon Jae-in, become the next president of the country. Other answers included founding co-leader of the People's Party Ahn Cheol-soo, and current Seoul mayor Park Won-soon. Later polls put him in second place behind Moon Jae-in, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party. A poll suggested he had slipped to second place in public support amid a political crisis engulfing the current leader. Support for Ban slipped to 17.1 percent in an opinion poll conducted in November 2016 according to Realmeter, the first time he had dropped from first place since June when South Korean pollsters began including him among potential candidates. Even the most committed secretary general of the United Nations is limited by the structures of the organization and its member states. But criticism about his ineffectiveness aside, Ban was able to give impetus to a range of initiatives. If Ban seeks and wins his countrys presidency, he would be the second former U.N. chief to do so. In 1986, Kurt Waldheim became president of Austria after serving as the world bodys fourth secretary-general. Ban Ki-moon, was elected as Secretary-General of the United Nations on 13 October 2006. Ban took office on 01 January 2007. On 21 June 2011, he was unanimously re-elected by the General Assembly and continueed to serve until 31 December 2016. At the time of his election as Secretary-General, Ban was his country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His 37 years of service with the Ministry included postings in New Delhi, Washington D.C. and Vienna, and responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including Foreign Policy Adviser to the President, Chief National Security Adviser to the President, Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and Director-General of American Affairs. Bans ties to the United Nations date back to 1975, when he worked for the Foreign Ministry's United Nations Division. That work expanded over the years, with assignments that included service as Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization and Chef de Cabinet during the Republic of Korea's 2001-2002 presidency of the UN General Assembly. Ban has also been actively involved in issues relating to inter-Korean relations. Ban ki-moon was born in the Republic of Korea in Eumseong at a small farming village in North Chungcheong, on 13 June 1944. His family moved to the nearby town of Chungju, where he grew up. During Ban's childhood, his father had a business, but it went bankrupt and the family lost its main income. When Ban was six, his family fled to a remote mountain during the Korean War. After the war ended, his family returned to Chungju. In secondary school (Chungju High School), Ban Ki-moon was a star pupil, particularly in the study of English. According to local stories, every day Ban walked 6 miles (10 km) to the fertilizer plant to practice English with advisors from American factories. In 1952, he was selected by the school to send a message to UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, but he never knew whether the message was sent. In 1962, Ban won an essay contest sponsored by the Red Cross, and so was educated to the United States where he lived in San Francisco with a host family for several months. As part of the education, Ban met US President John F. Kennedy. When a journalist asked Ban what he wanted when he grew up, he said, "I want to be a diplomat." Ban Ki-moon received a BA in International Relations from Seoul National University in 1970, and earned a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985. At Harvard, he studied with Joseph Nye. Ban Ki-moon speaks English, French and Korean. He has repeatedly tried to answer questions in French from journalists, but acknowledged limitations repeatedly in French. He and his wife, Madam Yoo (Ban) Soon-taek, whom he met in high school in 1962, have one son, two daughters and three grandchildren. Since 2007, Mrs. Ban has devoted her attention to womens and childrens health, including autism, the elimination of violence against women, and the campaign to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. In February 2006, Ban Ki-moon declared his candidacy to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General at the end of 2006. Though Ban was the first to announce his candidacy, he was not originally considered a serious contender. Ban was seen as a contrast from Kofi Annan, who is considered as charismatic, yet regarded as a weak manager because of problems surrounding the UN oil-for-food program in Iraq. Ban Ki-moon was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His priorities were to mobilize world leaders around a set of new global challenges, from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy and water. He sought to be a bridge-builder, to give voice to the worlds poorest and most vulnerable people, and to strengthen the Organization itself. "I grew up in war", the Secretary-General has said, "and saw the United Nations help my country to recover and rebuild. That experience was a big part of what led me to pursue a career in public service. As Secretary-General, I am determined to see this Organization deliver tangible, meaningful results that advance peace, development and human rights." One of the Secretary-Generals first major initiatives was the 2007 Climate Change Summit, followed by extensive diplomatic efforts that have helped put the issue at the forefront of the global agenda. Subsequent efforts to focus on the worlds main anti-poverty targets, the Millennium Development Goals, have generated more than $60 billion in pledges, with a special emphasis on Africa and the new Global Strategy on Womens and Childrens Health. At the height of the food, energy and economic crises in 2008, the Secretary-General successfully appealed to the G20 for a $1 trillion financing package for developing countries and took other steps to guide the international response and protect the vulnerable and poor. Ban Ki-moon pressed successfully for the creation of UN Women, a major new agency that consolidates the UNs work in this area. His advocacy for womens rights and gender equality has also included the "Unite to End Violence against Women" campaign, the "Stop Rape Now" initiative, the creation of a "Network of Men Leaders" and the establishment of a new Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Within the UN itself, the Secretary-General has increased the number of women in senior management positions by more than 40 per cent, reaching the highest level in the Organizations history. Ban Ki-moon sought to strengthen UN peace efforts, including through the New Horizons peacekeeping initiative, the Global Field Support Strategy and the Civilian Capacity Review, a package of steps to improve the impact of the 120,000 United Nations "blue helmets" operating in the worlds conflict zones. A mediation support unit, along with new capacity to carry out the Secretary-Generals good offices, were set up to help prevent, manage and resolve tensions, conflicts and crises. Accountability for violations of human rights has received high-level attention through inquiries related to Gaza, Guinea, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, legal processes in Lebanon and Cambodia, and advocacy for the "responsibility to protect," the new United Nations norm aimed at prevent and halt genocide and other grave crimes. He has also sought to strengthen humanitarian response in the aftermath of mega-disasters in Myanmar (2008), Haiti (2010) and Pakistan (2010), and mobilized UN support for the democratic transitions in North Africa and the Middle East. Ban Ki-moon sought to rejuvenate the disarmament agenda through a five-point plan, efforts to break the deadlock at the Conference on Disarmament and renewed attention to nuclear safety and security in the aftermath of the tragedy at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Ban Ki-moon introduced new measures aimed at making the United Nations more transparent, effective and efficient. These include heightened financial disclosure requirements, compacts with senior managers, harmonization of business practices and conditions of service, the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards, and continued investments in information technology and staff development. In New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who had widely been considered a top contender to replace Park before the scandal erupted, said 02 December 2016 that he had been closely following the situation and watching the protesters. "I know that they are very much frustrated and angry about this lack of good governance," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 2017 The war in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced 1.7 million people in three years. Between January and November 2017 the conflict resulted in at least 450 civilian deaths. President Petro Poroshenko was stalling on the Minsk agreement in the face of opposition by Ukrainian nationalists. In January 2017 President Poroshenko said that Kiev would not take a single step to implement the political aspects of the Minsk Agreements until its security requests are fulfilled, including the establishment of Ukrainian control over the entire length of the Russian-Ukrainian border. This was said in public by a president who signed the Minsk Agreements, which state clearly that control over the border will be re-established in full only after Kiev honours all its political commitments, such as amnesty, local elections and the approval of a special status for Donetsk and Lugansk and its formalisation in the Ukrainian constitution. In Kyiv, Trumps election prompted fears that the United States could sacrifice support for Ukraine for better relations with Russia. That would make the country even more vulnerable to influence and interference from Moscow, which has also backed separatists in a war against government forces that has killed more than 9,750 people. On 16 January 2017, Ukraine instituted proceedings against the Russian Federation with regard to alleged violations of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of 9 December 1999 and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 21 December 1965. Both States are parties to these two instruments. In particular, Ukraine contends that, following the Orange Revolution of 2004, it had been subjected to increasing degrees of Russian pressure and intimidation. According to Ukraine, since 2014 the Russian Federation has escalated its interference in Ukrainian affairs to dangerous new levels, intervening militarily in Ukraine, financing acts of terrorism, and violating the human rights of millions of Ukraines citizens, including, for all too many, their right to life. It stated that in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Federation has instigated and sustained an armed insurrection against the authority of the Ukrainian State. Ukraine considers that, by its actions, the Russian Federation was in violation of fundamental principles of international law, including those enshrined in the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (Terrorism Financing Convention). Frustrated by the stalemate in this 33-month war of attrition, concerned that Western support is waning, and sensing that U.S. President Donald Trump could cut Kyiv out of any peace negotiations as he tries to improve fraught relations with Moscow, by mid-December 2016 Ukrainian forces anxious to show their newfound strength went on what many called a "creeping offensive." Observers said the Ukrainians appeared to be trying to create new facts on the ground, while officials and commanders insisted they were fighting to stop the flow of contraband into separatist-controlled territories and fending off attempts by separatist groups that called themselves the Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics" to seize more territory. Ukraine's armed forces edged farther into parts of the gray zone in or near the war-worn cities of Avdiivka, Debaltseve, Dokuchaievsk, Horlivka, and Mariupol, shrinking the space between them and the separatist fighters. In doing so, the pro-Kyiv troops have sparked bloody clashes with their enemy, which has reportedly made advances of its own -- or tried to. The direct result of forward moves is escalation in tension, which often turns to violence. Battlefield advances by both sides make implementing the 2015 peace deal, known as the Minsk agreement, more difficult. Ukrainian authorities insist their moves do not endanger the peace process and are not in violation of the Minsk deal because they did not cross in separatist-controlled territory. Ukraine suffered two devastating defeats -- in Ilovaisk in August 2014 and in Debaltseve in February 2015 -- that left hundreds of troops dead after Russia-backed forces encircled them and pounded their positions with heavy artillery. The battle changed the Ukrainians' calculus and gave the separatist side the clear upper hand. By 2017 Russia had constructed several military bases and camps close to Ukraine's border, which allows Russia to deploy thousands of its troops within a matter of hours. Moreover, 5,000 regular soldiers of the Russian armed forces are already on separatist-held territory, along with 40,000 Russian nationals fighting in separatist militias. In addition to personnel, Russia deployed to eastern Ukraine more than 600 main battle tanks, more than 1,300 armored vehicles, more than 700 pieces of artillery, and more than 450 multiple-launch rocket systems. In the last days of January 2017 tensions in eastern Ukraine suddenly and unexpectedly escalated, with Kiev and the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) accusing each other of starting the shelling on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30. Whatever the truth, dozens are dead and the outskirts of Donetsk have been left without electricity. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko cut short his visit to Germany and urgently convened an emergency meeting of the Contact Group for the settlement of the Donbass conflict, as well as appealed to the United Nations. The fighting began on the day following the 28 January 2017 telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and newly-elected U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly stated his desire to distance himself from the Ukrainian conflict. During their phone conversation on January 28, Trump and President Vladimir Putin were on the same page with regard to Ukraine insofar as both wanted an end to the conflict and neither wanted it to "turn into a long-standing crisis". The Kremlin spokesman Dmirty Peskov later highlighted this approvingly. Trump is on record that no vital American interests are at stake in Ukraine. He has even sounded conciliatory on the hugely controversial issue of Russia's annexation of Crimea. Some experts saw the latest fighting as part of Ukraine's desire to put Donbass back on the international agenda, while others said that it reflected the Ukrainians' unwillingness to implement the Minsk accords. A cease-fire in eastern Ukraine aimed at halting fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Moscow-backed separatists went into effect 20 February 2017. Ukrainian officials, however, warn it is at risk of falling apart. Under the cease-fire announced in Munich by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, both sides were supposed to abide by the two-year-old Minsk agreement and withdraw heavy weaponry from the front lines. Analysts said the cease-fire was unlikely to hold, given that the underlying causes for the conflict remained unaddressed. In December 2016, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov urged a complete cutoff of the separatist-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk from the rest of Ukraine. Shortly afterward, veterans set up the first blockades, stopping trains crisscrossing the front line, erecting tent camps atop the tracks, and in some places welding wagon wheels to them. A group of "blockaders" -- on the surface, a motley crew of staunchly pro-Kyiv activists and military veterans, some armed -- started in February 2017 installing new barriers and checkpoints on an almost weekly basis that slow traffic and interrupt the flow of goods across the front line of a conflict. They demanded that Kyiv stop a perceived "trade in blood" that helps the breakaway groups finance their self-proclaimed "people's republics" in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Doing so, they argue, could force cash-strapped Moscow to foot a heavier bill to sustain its alleged intervention in those places and ease the burden on Kyiv at the same time. The Ukrainian government opposed the blockaders' stand, but law enforcement and the military are hesitant to disperse them by force and risk images of the authorities beating on military heroes. The result is a standstill in nearly all rail traffic and crucial shipments of coal to fuel power plants and heavy industry across the country, which despite the warring sides' differences had continued almost unimpeded until early 2017. More than 12,000 Ukrainian army soldiers had been either killed or injured in the conflict with independence-seeking insurgents in the country's eastern regions, the Ukrainian military said 16 June 2017. The confrontation, which had been underway since April 2014, had claimed the lives of at least 2,696 government servicemen and left 9,903 others wounded, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters during a media briefing. Last month, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 2,000 civilians were killed and 7,000 to 9,000 others injured in the confrontation. The casualty number among members of the armed groups remained unknown. The conflict in eastern Ukraine started after the government army launched offensives to regain control over the cities and towns seized by insurgents, who declared independence from Kiev. More than 30 rounds of ceasefire have led to a reduction in hostilities over the past two years, but clashes between the conflicting sides. The European Union's sanctions on Russia were set to expire in the summer of 2017, and what happens next - including whether President Trump unilaterally lifts the US's own measures - remained unclear. EU nations such as Hungary, Italy and Austria had all sought to ease the sanctions in order to better allow them to do business with Russia. However, new fighting in eastern Ukraine appeared to show that the game was not yet over for Russia. On 28 June 2017, the EU Council prolonged economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 January 2018. They target the financial, energy and defence sectors, and the area of dual-use goods. In addition to these economic sanctions, several EU measures are also in place in response to the crisis in Ukraine including targeted individual restrictive measures, namely a visa ban and an asset freeze, currently against 150 people and 37 entities until 15 September 2017; and restrictive measures in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, currently in place until 23 June 2018. Kurt Volker, the new US special envoy for Ukraine peace negotiations, said he was stunned by the number of cease-fire violations in the ex-Soviet nations war-torn east after making his first visit to the region. He made the comment in a 23 July 2017 interview after spending the day at the front lines of the conflict. "The level of cease-fire violations on daily basis is astonishing," Volker told RFE/RL. The German government said Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine had agreed on a number of "immediate measures" to push forward with a peace deal brokered in 2015 to end the bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine. The government in Berlin said 24 July 2017 that the so-called Normandy Group called for the immediate halt to all violations of the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine. According to Ukrainian Security Service chief Vasyl Hrytsak, in a meeting of top Russian officials in May 2017, Vladimir Putin " set a new task - to achieve in the shortest possible term the so-called, verbatim, 'reset of the ruling regime in Ukraine.'" The claim, of course, is hard to verify. But what is clear is that the next months witnessed a marked increase in tensions in Ukraine. Ukraine was the target of a massive cyberattack and two of its military intelligence officers were assassinated in June 2017. Moreover, the Observer Mission in Ukraine for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said that there was a 20 percent increase in cease-fire violations during the second week of July. And according to the Ukrainian military, Moscow-backed separatists launched 27 attacks from July 24 to July 25 alone. Additionally, Ukraine's General Staff saids Russia increased its troop presence on Ukraine's border, amassing three divisions of motorized rifle troops capable of conducting rapid offensive operations. The US State Department said on 22 December 2017 the United States will provide Ukraine with "enhanced defensive capabilities" as the country battles Russian-backed separatists in the east. Russian officials said a US decision to supply weapons to Ukraine is dangerous and will encourage Kiev to use force in eastern Ukraine. The new weapons, if approved by the US Congress, include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles that Ukraine has long sought to boost its defences against the rebels, who have rolled through eastern Ukraine in tanks since 2014. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump sacks acting attorney general for refusing to enforce immigration order - White House People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 13:39, January 31, 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates, hours after she ordered the Justice Department not to defend his temporary ban on refugee and immigration that sparked nationwide protests and worldwide criticism. "Ms. Yates is an Obama administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration," said a White House statement. Trump appointed Dana Boente, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to replace Yates until his nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions, is confirmed by the Senate, local media reported. Yates had been deputy attorney general before serving as acting chief of the Justice Department from Jan. 20, when Trump was sworn in. "Consequently, for as long as I am the acting Attorney General, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the Executive Order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so," Yates said in a letter to the department on Monday. "My responsibility is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is after consideration of all the facts," she said. "At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the Executive Order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the Executive Order is lawful," she added. Her remarks echoed Democratic lawmakers' ongoing fight aimed to urge Trump to rescind his executive order temporarily barring U.S. entry to refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries. On Monday evening, House and Senate Democrats, holding up candles, gathered at the Supreme Court with thousands of supporters in protest against the controversial order. Afterwards, Senate Democrats kicked off a talkathon of floor speeches, urging Trump to rescind the ban, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called counterproductive, dangerous and evil, noting Trump's move "raises serious doubts" about his competence. In response, Trump on Twitter attacked the Democrats "have nothing going but to obstruct," calling Yates an "Obama A.G." Earlier on Monday, former President Barack Obama also voiced his support for the protests against Trump's controversial immigration ban. "President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country," Kevin Lewis, Obama's spokesman said. Trump has compared his order to Obama's 2011 moves to restrict entries from Iraq after two Iraqis were arrested in the United States on terrorism charges. "With regard to comparisons to President Obama's foreign policy decisions, as we've heard before, the President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion," said Lewis. Trump tweeted early Monday that "only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning" due to his execution order, blaming "protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer" for chaos across U.S. airports in the past two days. Schumer tweeted Friday that "Tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty" over the ban. On Sunday, attorneys general from 15 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, all Democrats, condemned Trump's ban as "unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful." In a joint statement, they vowed to "use all of the tools of our offices to fight this unconstitutional order and preserve our nation's national security and core values." Under the executive order Trump signed Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days while all immigration from the so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump travel ban punishes those fighting terrorism, says Iraqi premier Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:56PM Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says a controversial decision by the administration of US President Donald Trump to restrict arrivals from Iraq punishes people who are "fighting terrorism." The premier said on Tuesday that the ban, which prevents Iraqis, along with citizens from six other Muslim-majority countries, from entering the United States, punishes those people who have rendered sacrifices in combating terrorism. "You come to the victim to hold him accountable, to the people who are sacrificing, who are fighting terrorism, to punish them," Abadi stated. The move by Trump's administration has sparked a growing backlash in Iraq, whose forces are fighting against the Daesh Takfiri terrorists. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Sunday described Trump's travel ban as a "wrong" decision, calling on the US administration to mitigate the impact of restrictions on Iraqi travelers. Iraqi legislators have also voted to call on the government to enact a retaliatory measure to block American citizens from entering the country if the US does not withdraw the visa ban against Iraqi travelers. Prominent Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr earlier called for the expulsion of American nationals from Iraq in a tit-for-tat move. The pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha'abi, have urged Iraqi authorities to ban Americans in response to Trump's order. There are already American military personnel, non-government and aid workers, workers from energy companies and American businessmen present in Iraq. In a move that sparked widespread censure, the new US president signed a sweeping executive order on January 27 to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Czech Top Diplomat Believes Foreign State Behind Ministry E-Mail Hack January 31, 2017 Hackers have breached dozens of e-mail accounts at the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic in an attack that was similar to the 2016 hacking of the U.S. Democratic Party during the U.S. presidential campaign, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek has said. "Our best experts told me that the attack was so very sophisticated that it is believed to have been conducted by a foreign country," Zaoralek said. "It looked similar to the attack conducted against the Internet system of the U.S. Democratic Party." Zaoralek also said that no confidential material from the ministry was compromised in the attacks and assured journalists that the ministry's online system was currently secure. U.S. officials accused Russia last year of meddling in the November 8 U.S. election by leaking the e-mails of top Democratic Party officials. In October, Czech authorities arrested a Russian man wanted in the United States for allegedly hacking into U.S. computer systems. Based on reporting by CTK and Reuters Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/czech-ministry- hacked-foreign-state/28270239.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump Fires Defiant Acting Attorney General Over Travel Ban RFE/RL January 31, 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump has fired the acting head of the Justice Department after she questioned the legality of his order to temporarily bar citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. In a January 30 statement, the White House accused Sally Yates of having "betrayed" the department "by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States." The statement also described her as "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration." Earlier on January 30, Yates said she was instructing Justice Department lawyers not to defend the president's executive order in court. "I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution's solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right," she wrote in a letter. "At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful," Yates added. She was replaced by Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. In a statement issued after his appointment as acting attorney general, Boente directed the Justice Department to defend "the lawful orders of our president." Yates, who was appointed by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, was expected to remain the acting chief until the Senate confirms a successor. Trump's nominee, Jeff Sessions, is considered likely to be confirmed soon. Vowing to protect the United States from "foreign terrorists," Trump signed an executive order on January 27 halting the entire U.S. refugee program for 120 days, indefinitely banning Syrian refugees, and suspending all immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days. The seven countries involved in the order are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen. The move led to street protests and legal challenges in the United States as well as wide criticism abroad. A spokesman for Obama said on January 30 the former president "fundamentally disagrees" with any policy that discriminates on the basis of religion, adding that "American values are at stake." He also said Obama was "heartened" by the engagement of U.S. citizens in protesting the policy. Also on January 30, Trump replaced the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Daniel Ragsdale, who had been in the post since January 20. He was replaced by Thomas Homan, who has served as the executive director of the ICE's enforcement and removal operations. In that role, Homan led the agency's efforts "to identify, arrest, detain, and remove illegal aliens, including those who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety," said a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. It did not explain the reason for the change. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/trump-fires- us-justice-chief-who-wouldnt-defend- muslim-travel-curbs-/28269063.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Homeland Secretary Defends Immigration Ban, Denies Targeting Muslims By VOA News January 31, 2017 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has defended the implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration, saying "we cannot gamble with American lives." "This is not a travel ban, this is a temporary pause that allows us to review the existing refugee and vetting visa system." Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. He said the new order is aimed at keeping terrorists out of the country but stressed that it is not a "Muslim ban." Officials say 872 refugees will be admitted to the country because of hardship concerns, despite the order. Trump wasted no time Monday night in firing an acting attorney general who earlier in the day ordered the Justice Department not to defend his executive order temporarily banning travelers from seven mostly Muslim countries. A White House statement said Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration, "betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States." The statement also called Yates "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration." It said Trump relieved her of her duties and named Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general. The president's nominee for attorney general, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, is likely to be confirmed soon by his Senate colleagues. Earlier Monday, Yates wrote a letter to Justice Department lawyers saying, "I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution's solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right." Then-President Barack Obama appointed Yates to be deputy attorney general in 2015, and she was asked to stay on by the Trump administration until a new attorney general is confirmed by the Senate. After Trump relieved Yates of her duties, the White House said, "Calling for tougher vetting for individuals traveling from seven dangerous places is not extreme. It is reasonable and necessary." At the White House briefing Monday, spokesman Sean Spicer launched a fresh defense of Trump's sweeping travel ban, saying only a tiny fraction of those entering U.S. territory since Friday have been affected. Spicer told reporters that 109 people have so far been stopped from entering the United States, out of 325,000 foreign nationals who have entered the country in a single 24-hour period since the ban was imposed. He said those 109 individuals had been "temporarily inconvenienced," and characterized those detentions as a small price to pay to ensure the safety of all Americans. Trump took to Twitter earlier Monday to defend his executive order, which suspends U.S. entry to all refugees for 120 days, and bans Syrian refugees indefinitely. The decree further blocks citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia from entering U.S. territory for a period of three months. Trump has insisted the ban is not a religious measure targeting Muslims, instead calling it a series of precautionary steps needed to keep America safe. However, the national litigation director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Lena Masri, on Monday called the ban a "Muslim exclusion order" and said her organization was filing two lawsuits challenging the executive orders. The ban was initially described as blocking green card holders from Iran and the six other Muslim majority nations from reentering U.S. territory, but the Trump administration has since sought to clarify the directive, saying green card holders and non-citizen visa holders will no longer be automatically blocked. Top lawmakers bristle, call for reversal Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer continued to attack the travel restrictions Monday, saying the ban should be reversed immediately "because it is un-American." On the floor of the Senate, he warned colleagues that Islamic State extremists stand to gain the most from the travel ban, saying they "want nothing more than to paint the United States as a country at war with Islam." He also reminded his audience that America was founded "by the descendants of asylum seekers, and that the country has been "constantly invigorated by immigrants." Senior Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized Trump's order Sunday, saying the confusion at airports showed the measure was "not properly vetted." Trump responded to McCain and Graham on Twitter, calling them "weak on immigration" and saying they should be focused on Islamic State, illegal immigration and border security. Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also blasted the travel ban. In comments to VOA's Urdu service, he said Trump "did not convince any of us that he has sound legal or national security concerns. For example, the Syrian refugees are subjected to at least two years of scrutiny and extreme vetting already, and once they come here they are safe, they are vetted. There is no terrorist attack that happened at the hands of a Syrian refugee, or any refugee, that we know," Awad said. "So for him to base all his executive order on [that] false notion is un-American, unethical." Confusion reigns at airports The ban's implementation led to a weekend of confusion, particularly at the nation's airports, where in some cases people holding green cards as permanent legal residents were detained for extra questioning before being allowed entry. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly issued a statement Sunday seeking to clarify the policy, saying he deems "the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest." Separately Monday, State Department employees and U.S. diplomats opposed to Trump's order circulated a "dissent channel memo" that said the administration's move "will not achieve its aims and will likely be counterproductive." The State Department says it is aware of the memo. The Dissent Channel is a longstanding official vehicle for State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues. Signs are seen strewn about the ground as protesters rally at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, Jan. 29, 2017. Right to revoke visas In a separate statement Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security said the government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if necessary for national security. That followed an emergency order by a federal court in New York temporarily barring the deportation of people who arrive at U.S. airports with a valid visa or an approved refugee application. Judge Ann Donnelly wrote, "There is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations" who are subject to the president's order. Trump has repeatedly called for stricter screening of refugees, and the senior administration official who briefed reporters Sunday described the previous system as "woefully inadequate." State Department correspondents Steve Herman and Nike Ching, and reporters Mohamad Olad, James Butty and Saqib Islam contributed to this report NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Despite Public Backlash, US Security Officials Defend Trump Travel Restrictions By William Gallo January 31, 2017 Three of the top U.S. immigration law enforcers on Tuesday defended the White House executive order last week that has sparked fierce public criticism, multiple lawsuits and nationwide protests. At a news conference, Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledged miscommunication over President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration order, but denied reports of widespread confusion over its implementation. Homeland Security chief John Kelly also downplayed the impact of the travel restrictions, insisting the move does not represent a travel ban, but a "temporary pause that allows us to review the existing refugee and vetting system." "It is not, I repeat, it is not a ban on Muslims," Kelly added. "The Homeland Security mission is to safeguard the American people, our homeland, our values. And religious liberty is one of our most fundamental and treasured values." Trump's order blocks visitors for 90 days from seven Muslim majority countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump officials have said more countries could be added. It also bars entry to refugees from anywhere in the world for 120 days, and indefinitely bans Syrian refugees. After reports that hundreds were detained upon entering the U.S., spontaneous mass protests broke out at airports across the country. Many demonstrators say the move amounts to a thinly disguised attempt to implement part of Trump's controversial campaign promise to ban Muslim immigration. Who is Affected? There has been confusion about which travelers are affected by the order, and Tuesday's news conference offered some clarification. DHS officials reaffirmed that permanent legal residents, or green card holders, are exempt from the restrictions. They also said dual citizens will be judged based on which passport they present to customs officials. Kelly insisted that DHS was adequately consulted ahead of the rollout, and that his agency was not taken by surprise by what he called a "fairly clear" executive order. But some officials at DHS have told VOA they are still unclear about how to implement the order. A state of "confusion" prevails inside DHS, according to a staffer involved in the refugee vetting process. "Many terms within the executive order remain undefined, ambiguous and vague," said the staffer, speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity. Other aspects remain undetermined, including Trump's proposed "extreme vetting" of immigrants. According to Kelly, "various options" are being considered, including examining social media postings, cell phone contacts and website browsing history. Kelly also suggested that many of the countries on the list from where immigrants are banned may not be taken off after 120 days. "I'd be less than honest if I told you that some of the countries that are currently on the list may or may not be taken off the list anytime soon," he said. Federal judges already have halted parts of the executive order. But some civil rights groups and members of Congress have said Customs and Border Protection agents at some airports have refused to comply with the rulings, including those that require detainees access to legal representation. Kelly on Tuesday disputed those charges. "To the best of our knowledge, no CBP officers knowingly, intentionally, violated a court order," he said. After the news conference, the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed many of the lawsuits against the order, said in a Twitter message: "Failure by government to comply is unacceptable. First ensure those threatening noncompliance are aware of the orders, then call the ACLU." More lawsuits, including some that challenge the entire law, have been filed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Democrats Denounce Trump Immigration Order as Unconstitutional By Katherine Gypson January 31, 2017 Congressional Democrats pushed back Tuesday against President Donald Trump, declaring his controversial executive order on immigration "unconstitutional," just hours after he fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates for refusing to enforce the ban. Democrats, already outraged by the order temporarily limiting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, hailed Yates as "a patriot." The former acting attorney general had told Department of Justice employees in written guidance that she did not think a defense of the order was legal. The surprise firing increased Democratic ire on both sides of the Hill, sparking partisan battles as many Republicans continued to defend the goals and the legality of the order. The White House defended the president's decision to fire Yates, saying she was "not only responsible but required to execute lawful orders." Press secretary Sean Spicer described Yates' decision not to execute the order after it had gone through the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Compliance as "bewildering and defiant." But Democrats pointed to Yates' firing as further proof the executive order would not stand up in court because of numerous alleged violations of the Constitution. "The executive order discriminates by design. It's wrong. I believe it is illegal," Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Several federal courts have already found that President Trump's order is very likely unconstitutional." Senate Democrats retaliated for Yates' removal by derailing the expected confirmation of Trump's attorney general nominee, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, citing concerns that his closeness to Trump would impede his ability to make independent decisions in the role. "The attorney general is the people's attorney, not the president's attorney," Leahy said. "Ms. Yates' willingness to defend the rule of law, instead of defending President Trump's political whims, demonstrates exactly why having an independent attorney general is so important and why we have to be so careful in selecting our next attorney general." First lawsuits Democrats lined up on the House floor Tuesday in an ultimately failed attempt to bring legislation rescinding the president's executive order up for a vote. Representative Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who joined several others in introducing the legislation, said, "The president's executive order of Friday violates the law, it violates the Constitution and it violates good sense." Lofgren argued that the order violates the law based on language in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which specifically prohibits nationality-based discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas and other visas. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland took to the floor earlier in the day to argue that while the president has a duty to protect the nation, Congress is required to play a role in protecting the Constitution. "This Congress has a sacred duty to hold the president accountable and ourselves, doing so in a way that respects our Constitution and our values," Hoyer said. The efforts on the House floor followed a Monday night rally of House and Senate Democrats on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, surrounded by hundreds of opponents of the ban who chanted to the lawmakers, "Do your job!" "What the president did is not constitutional. Indeed, the view of many of us is it is immoral," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California told the crowd. But Representative Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican who has practiced immigration law, said, "The law specifically states that the president of the United States for national interest reasons can stop the entry of any immigrant or non-immigrants the law's actually really clear on that." Labrador told reporters he thought Yates' decision lacked a legal basis. "On her own, she decided this was illegal, and there is no case law out there that says it's illegal," he said. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin did not comment on the firing of Yates but told reporters Tuesday that the order was "something we support." Ryan who had strongly criticized candidate Trump's proposal for a ban back in 2015, citing the cooperation of Muslims as a key element in combating terrorism said he did not want to debate the order. Upcoming lawsuits The legality of the executive order will ultimately be tested in a longer-term battle fought in the courts. "It's a threat to our Constitution," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey told reporters Tuesday, announcing her state would be among the first to join a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Trump's executive order. According to Healey's office, the order violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment by discriminating against people on the basis of their country of origin or religion without sufficient justification. The lawsuit also alleges violations of the Establishment Clause and the due process guarantee in the Fifth Amendment, among others, as reasons for the unconstitutionality of the order. Healey was one of 17 Democratic state attorneys general to sign a letter pledging to work "to ensure the federal government obeys the Constitution, respects our history as a nation of immigrants, and does not unlawfully target anyone because of their national origin or faith." VOA's Michael Bowman contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Infrastructure minister: conflict with Ukrzaliznytsia head would lead to dismissal of one of them A conflict between Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan and Ukrzaliznytsia Board Chairman Wojciech Balczun would end with the appointment of a new minister of new head of Ukrzaliznytsia, Omelyan has said. "Someone will be new either a new minister or a new head of Ukrzaliznytsia," the minister said at a meeting with members of the European Business Association (EBA) on Tuesday. Omelyan said that the current work of Balczun on the post of Ukrzaliznytsia Board Chairman discredits the idea of tenders and giving large salaries to managers of state-run companies. The minister said that the chapter of the discussion to deprive the infrastructure minister of powers to manage Ukrzaliznytsia has not been closed and the government resolution has not been implemented. The minister welcomed a statement of Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman that independent audit should be conducted at Ukrzaliznytsia. He expressed hope that this audit would not delay the solving of the problem. Omelyan confirmed the fact that he submitted an application asking to dismiss his first deputy Yevhen Kravtsov and advised EBA members to speak to him as non-official. Rouhani: US angry with JCPOA IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Karaj, Alborz prov, Jan 31, IRNA -- President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday the main reason the US President, Donald Trump, is angry with the JCPOA is that it recognizes Iran's right of enrichment. The president made the remarks during a meeting with a number of people and elite in the northern Province of Alborz. One year after the JCPOA conclusion, Iran has gained good success, said the president, adding, 'Today after one year from the JCPOA, enrichment has been possible in Iran using the IR8 centrifuges running with a speed 20 times more than that in the past,' Rouhani said. Underlining significance of boosting economic growth, creating jobs and attracting domestic and foreign investment, the president said creation of hope for the future is of special importance under current condition of the country. Referring to two elections due to be held in the country next year, Rouhani said, "We want glorious elections in which the high turnout of the nation would once again shock the world." 9341**1420 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address French FM: Paris opposed to JCPOA talks' resumption IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 31, IRNA -- Visiting French Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said on Tuesday that Paris is opposed to any initiative being against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and in case of resumption of talks, Paris will not absolutely accept it. French foreign minister made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Javad Zarif, in Tehran on Tuesday. The US President, Donald Trump, raised a number of concerning issues during and after his presidential campaign but 'we have to wait to see what will happen in the future and remain cautious,' French foreign minister said. He explicitly declared that the US stands should be crystal clear and their unilateral stands under the pretext to fight against terrorism through putting ban on visa issuance is source of concern and very untimely, French foreign minister said. He added that rational wisdom rules for Americans' backdown. "We are concerned about the security of our citizens and mind to control borders but the deeds of those countries doing so should not run counter to international commitments regarding refugees and avoiding discriminations among citizens," he said. What happened was blatant discrimination against all countries and 'we would like to see principles are respected and any measure taken with respect, while being free from any vain tension.' "We are not alone and many countries approve our path, he said, adding that France has entered talks with the European Union as they have common goals." "Prospects of cooperation with French banks should be positive and we should expect more advancement in the sector," he said. Since some of the big banks have been punished by the US government in the past, they are more cautious, he said. "I would like to once again express condolences to Iranian government and nation for disastrous incident claiming lives of some 20 people," he said. The JCPOA was a historical achievement for Iran and human society and proves that diplomatic means can work and should not be ignored, he said. France hopes the JCPOA will be continued to be implemented and solutions can be found to the problems which might put it at risk, he said. Iran and France are to broaden cooperation in connection with the regional and international developments, said French foreign minister. 'No one is safe from terrorism and it is among our duties to fight with all these threats and find answers to the raised questions,' he said. The region is in dire need of peace, stability, development and welfare and it is time for big countries in the region to find a new formula for Syria, Yemen and Iraq, he said. There is no military solution for the crises but a peaceful solution provides the room for the countries in the region to maintain their sovereignty and territorial integrity with full respect, said the French minister. French foreign minister, heading a politico-economic delegation, arrived in Tehran on Monday evening to confer with the country's officials on issues of mutual interest and regional and global developments. 1430**1420 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Respecting JCPOA of high importance to France: French FM IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 31, IRNA -- Visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says that respecting the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is very important to Paris. After signing the deal in Vienna, it was very important to France that the JCPOA as an international deal be respected, Ayrault said at the Iran-France joint economic commission underway in Tehran. After the deal signed between Iran and the major world powers, France did immediately resume all-out ties with Iran, said the visiting foreign minister. Bilateral ties, particularly the economic relations, will be of benefit to the both, Ayrault noted. French foreign minister heading a 60-member delegation arrived in the Iranian capital on Monday evening. During his two-day stay here, Ayrault is to meet with President Hassan Rouhani, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani. According to reports, the volume of exchanges between Iran and France has been 1.5 billion euros in the past ten months, but the figure is planned to triple. 1483**1771 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Signatories' commitment key to JCPOA implementation IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 31, IRNA -- Continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) depends on commitment of the signatories to the deal, according to an Iranian senior official. Supreme Leader's Representative and Secretary for Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said on Tuesday that continued JCPOA implementation depends on the parties' carrying out their duties and avoiding to bring any excuse leading to counter measures. Shamkhani made the remarks in a meeting with visiting French Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, in Tehran on Tuesday. In the meeting, Shamkhani welcomed expansion of political and economic cooperation between the two countries after implementation of the JCPOA and called for removal of remaining issues, mainly in the banking sector. Referring to various terrorist operations in France, that have claimed lives of innocent civilians, Shamkhani called for taking timely action in dealing with terrorism. Adopting double-standards in fight against terrorism and classifying terrorists into good and bad will lead to escalation of violence and increase in number of crimes, Shamkhani said. All should take common and practical steps to cut terrorists' financial, human, media and weaponry resources round the globe, he said. The criminal acts of the MKO and their direct cooperation with former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during eight years of imposed war have never been removed from the memory of the Iranian nation and any support to the terrorist grouplet will bear unfriendly messages for the Islamic Republic of Iran, Shamkhani said. Diplomacy and dialogue should be used as unavoidable means in dealing with regional crisis, he said. Recent political achievements in Syria had roots in escalation and continued activities of a legal government in the country, he said. Raising issues such as safe haven will lead to the country's disintegration and in fact bolsters terrorism and continued crisis in the region, he said. Lauding the act of French government in setting up Paris conference to condemn Zionist's construction of Jewish settlements and putting an end to Gaza siege, he said limiting and confronting the occupation and crimes of the Zionist regime requires an international pressure and Europe should act on its responsibility through dispatch of clear and strong messages, he said. Experiences gained in recent decades indicate that the only way to restore calm and tranquility to the occupied Palestine is awarding legal and real rights of Palestinian people, he said. Expressing concern over military action and carnage of innocent people in Yemen by Saudi army, he sharply criticized the silence of European countries and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in dealing with such issues. Some European countries through continued sales of arms to Saudi Arabia and remaining indifferent towards carnage of innocent people in Yemen and destruction of the country's infrastructures in fact have a share in the unprecedented crimes, committed by Saudi Arabia in the poor country, he said. French foreign minister said for his part that after implementation of the JCPOA, prospects of political and economic cooperation between Iran and France is very promising. Exchange of visits between the two sides' officials leave positive impacts in broadening of economic relations and cooperation, he said. Thanking Iran for its very active role in sound implementation of the JCOPA, the French minister said the path will undoubtedly meet both sides' interests in political and economic fields. 1430**1420 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's defense program not subject to other parties' permission: Zarif IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 31, IRNA -- The Islamic Republic of Iran does not wait for other's permission to go on with its defense program, says Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif, attending a joint news conference on Tuesday with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, told reporters that Iran's defense program is out the scope of the UN Resolution 2231 and the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Iran's top diplomat expressed hope that the country's defense program would not be used as a pretext for fomenting fresh political matchups. "The new administration in the United States, presently facing unfortunate international situation following the imposition of the visa ban, may capitalize on the issue to provoke a new tension," he said. Iran paid a heavy price standing up against foreign aggressions for eight years, Zarif said. "Eight years of an Iraqi imposed war against the Islamic Republic set a dark precedent regarding the treatment it received from the international community," he said. The people of Iran are not going to wait for other parties to let them defend themselves, the foreign minister said. Iran has repeatedly declared that it is not going to use its weapons against others unless in self defense, Zarif said. "Iran has proved that it has not started any war during the past 250 years," he said. But the country remains to courageously defend its dignity, territorial integrity and independence against foreign invasions." 2044**1771 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address France committed to defend JCPOA: French FM IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 31, IRNA -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Monday that Paris is committed to defend the nuclear deal known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached between Iran and G5+1(US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany). France's foreign minister said upon arrival in Tehran that being bound to the JCPOA benefits all. Underling his country's commitment to defend the JCPOA, he said it is necessary that Iran remains committed to the deal, too. There are real concerns about the US government stance towards the nuclear deal, the French foreign minister added. 'I'm coming as the defender of the accord, but to be vigilant and explain that they (the Iranians) must be irreproachable,' Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters after landing in Tehran, according to Reuters. 'We harbor real concerns about the U.S. administration's attitude towards this agreement,' he said. Ayrault said that Tehran had 'largely' kept to the terms of the nuclear deal. 'We want this agreement to be respected.' Commenting on the visa ban imposed by the US on seven Muslim-majority nations, including Iran, allegedly to protect Americans from terrorist attacks, the French top diplomat said the measures were 'dangerous' and amounted to 'discrimination'. 'This has nothing to do with fighting terrorism,' Ayrault told reporters. According to Associated Press, Ayrault said the nuclear deal is 'already bearing fruit' with economic deals and giving new impetus to Franco-Iranian exchanges between business people, students and tourists. Ayrault, leading a politico-economic delegation arrived in Iran on Monday evening for a two-day visit. During his two-day official visit, French foreign minister is to confer with President Hassan Rouhani, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani on issues of mutual interest along with regional and global developments. Tehran-Paris Joint Economic Commission meeting is to be held at the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran. A number of local French officials, representatives of about 60 French companies and some media persons accompany French foreign minister during the visit. 9191**1771 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address JCPOA showed diplomacy is successful: Ayrault ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Tue / 31 January 2017 / 14:45 Tehran (ISNA) French foreign minister following the meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, defend Iran's nuclear deal as an indication of diplomacy's success. "14 July is an important day for both of us.Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) showed that diplomacy is successful and Paris wants the implementation of the nuclear deal to continue," French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a press conference here, pointing to 14 July which is the Bastille Day (French National Day) and coincident with the achievement ofJCPOA in Vienna. "France has been committed to defend JCPOA and we want this agreement to be respected," he added. "Tehran and Paris can cooperate in security and regional areas and exchange views over human rights issues." "We believed the region need for peace and the time has come that big regional countries find a solution. From our point of view, the only efficient solution is reconciliation compliance with preserving theethnic and religious diversity," Ayrault continued regarding to fighting against terrorism. He insisted that there is no military solution in this regard. French foreign minister in this press conference also expressed condolence over the heart-wrenching death of firefighters during the collapse of Plasco. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address All parties to nuclear deal must comply with commitments: Iran official Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 7:14PM The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council has underscored the need for the complete implementation of the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, noting that all signatories must respect their obligations. "The endurance of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is contingent upon the commitment of all parties to the fulfillment of [their] obligations. Drifting away from this process, based on any pretext and approach, will lead to a reciprocal measure," Ali Shamkhani said in a Tuesday meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Tehran. Shamkhani hailed the boost in Tehran-Paris diplomatic and economic ties in the post-JCPOA era and stressed the need to expedite the removal of the existing obstacles, particularly with regard to banking transactions. Heading a senior politico-economic delegation, the French foreign minister arrived in the Iranian capital on Monday for a two-day official visit. Ayrault, for his part, expressed satisfaction over his meetings with Iranian officials and described the prospect of Tehran-Paris relations in the post-JCPOA era as highly promising. He hailed Iran's on-time implementation of its obligations under the nuclear deal and noted that the existing process will guarantee the two countries' interests in different political and economic spheres. Upon his arrival in Tehran, Ayrault told reporters that he had traveled to Iran as a "defender" of the nuclear deal, amid concerns that the US may scrap it. France was one of the six countries that, with European Union (EU) coordination, negotiated the deal with Iran. Although France on several occasions adopted a hard line against Iran during the course of the negotiations, giving the impression that it was putting diplomatic attempts for a deal in jeopardy, Paris has been a staunch supporter of the agreement since its signing in July 2015. Under the JCPOA, all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were terminated, and Iran in return agreed to apply certain limits to its nuclear program and provide enhanced access to international monitors to its nuclear facilities. But there has been concern recently that the US, under President Donald Trump, would violate the deal or stop implementing Washington's commitments under the accord altogether. A self-admitted non-politician, Trump had previously threatened to rip up the deal and called it "the worst accord ever" and "one of the dumbest" ones he had come across. On Saturday, French President Francois Hollande said he had warned Trump to respect the historic nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries. Anti-Terror campaign Also at the meeting, Shamkhani pointed to the terrorists attacks in France over the past two years which have claimed the lives of several French citizens and underscored the need for an all-out campaign against terrorism. "Adopting double standards in fighting terrorism and dividing terrorism into good and bad, leads nowhere but to the spread of the wave of violence and crime," he added. Shamkhani criticized Paris for allowing the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) to be freely active in France, despite the group's terrorist actions against the Iranian citizens and officials and its cooperation with the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. "Any support for this terrorist group will send non-friendly messages to the Islamic Republic of Iran," he noted. The terrorist group had to flee Iran shortly after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 after carrying out a spate of assassinations and bombings which took the lives of many top officials and civilians. The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and has committed numerous terrorist acts against Iranians and Iraqis. Political Solutions key to Syrian crisis Elsewhere in his remarks, Shamkhani elaborated on the ongoing cooperation among Iran, Russia and Turkey to set out a political framework to resolve the Syrian crisis and noted that the efforts have led to the most successful ceasefire and direct dialogue between Damascus and the foreign-backed armed opposition groups over the past six years. "Political solution and dialogue should be considered as the unavoidable strategy to resolve the regional crises and it should replace use of terrorism as a tool to meet political ends," he added. Last week, Syria's warring sides held direct talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the mediation of Iran, Russia and Turkey. At the end of Astana talks on January 26, Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed on the establishment of a trilateral mechanism to support the ceasefire in Syria and monitor possible violations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address All JCPOA signatories must remain committed to obligations: Rouhani Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:0PM Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says all signatories to the landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries must completely fulfill their commitments under the deal. In a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Tehran on Tuesday, Rouhani said the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was an "important event on the international scene," adding, "The message of this deal for the world was much more important than its text." "The JCPOA carried the message that complex international issues can be solved through dialogue and within the framework of a win-win approach," the Iranian president stated. He urged all countries to protect and promote the deal "because any damage to it can convey this dangerous message to the world that diplomacy is not capable of solving problems." Rouhani said the JCPOA created an appropriate opportunity for bilateral cooperation and regional and international interaction. "As verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has fulfilled all its obligations [under the JCPOA] and all [other] sides must also make efforts to implement its contents without any lapse or delay," he pointed out. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China - plus Germany signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016. Under the nuclear agreement, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran. Since the implementation of the JCPOA, the IAEA has confirmed Iran's compliance with its obligations under the nuclear agreement in several reports. Need for global cooperation on terror fight The Iranian president further stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation among all countries across the world in the fight against terrorism. Iran, as a victim of terrorism, is at the forefront of the battle against this vicious phenomenon in the region, he said, adding that France can also play a key role in this regard and help promote stability in the region. Referring to the campaign of the Syrian government and nation against terrorist groups, Rouhani said, "As we have emphasized since the outset of the Syrian crisis, it has no military solution and must only be settled through political approaches." He called for dispatching humanitarian aid to Syria, reconstructing the war-ravaged country and fighting terrorist groups, particularly Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, and Daesh Takfiri groups while safeguarding Syria's territorial integrity. The Iranian chief executive said Syria also needed a political change, which should be carried out only by its own people. The Syrian army troops and allied fighters have been fighting against different terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the Middle Eastern country since 2011, and have made sweeping gains against Takfiri elements across the country. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday hailed the will of his countrymen as one of the major factors helping the Arab country survive the foreign-sponsored conflict over the past six years. The French foreign minister, for his part, stressed the importance of looking after the JCPOA as an international accomplishment. Ayrault said the European Union is pursuing a single strategy to safeguarding the JCPOA achievements. He hailed Iran's positive role on regional and international issues and expressed hope that the country would continue such a policy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump angry with recognition of Iran's right to enrichment: Rouhani Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 4:25PM Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his American counterpart is angry with the world's recognition of Iran's uranium enrichment right under the 2015 nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries. "The most important reason behind [US President Donald] Trump's anger at the JCPOA (the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is the recognition of Iran's enrichment right in this deal," Rouhani said in an address to a group of people and the elite in the province of Alborz on Tuesday. He added that the nuclear deal was the outcome of the Iranian nation's resistance and guidelines offered by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Iran's chief executive went on to note that the Islamic Republic has made good achievements after the implementation of the JCPOA started on January 16, 2016. The Iranian president said the country is capable of enriching uranium 20 times faster than the previous speeds with the use of the advanced domestically-manufactured centrifuge machines, known as IR-8, one year after the JCPOA went into effect. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said in a statement on Saturday that the Islamic Republic had started injecting uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into the IR-8 machines. According to the statement, the IR-8 centrifuge machines are among the most advanced machines, which have been completely designed and manufactured by the Iranian scientists. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany - signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it last January. Under the nuclear agreement, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address One of Turkish airlines is mulling the possibility of launching a subsidiary in Ukraine to organize domestic regional flights, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan said at a meeting with members of the European Business Association (EBA) in Kyiv on Tuesday. "Now we are working with a Turkish airline that wants to open its subsidiary for regional transportation in Ukraine," he said, not disclosing its name. The minister also said that this year one of the popular European airlines will start flying to Ukraine this year. "It is for sure to Lviv, maybe to Boryspil or Zhyliany," he said. Earlier the Infrastructure Ministry confirmed holding talks on flights to Ukraine by Kyiv and Lviv airports with one of the largest low cost airlines Ryanair. In addition, Omelyan announced February talks with a carrier that in theory could bring five or seven planes to Ukraine to launch regular domestic flights. At present four Turkish airlines fly to Ukraine: Turkish Airlines, Onur Air, Pegasus Airlines and Atlasglobal. The latter created Atlasjet Ukraine in 2013 that considered servicing domestic flights, but not it services only flights abroad. Ayrault in Iran: I come as defender of N-deal Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:37AM In Iran with a crucial message, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says he is a "defender" of the nuclear deal between Iran and six other countries, amid concerns that one of those countries, namely the United States, may act to breach it. "I'm coming as the defender of the accord," Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters after landing in Tehran, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is known. "We want this agreement to be respected," he said, emphasizing that it was a "common interest" to sustain the accord. Heading a senior politico-economic delegation, the French foreign minister arrived in the Iranian capital on Monday for a two-day official visit. His country was one of the six world countries that, with European Union (EU) coordination, negotiated the deal with Iran. While France several times adopted a hard line against Iran during the course of the negotiations, giving the impression that it was putting diplomatic attempts for a deal in jeopardy, Paris has been a staunch supporter of the agreement since its conclusion in July 2015. Under the JCPOA, all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were terminated, and Iran in return agreed to apply certain limits to its nuclear program and provide enhanced access to international monitors to its nuclear facilities. But there has been concern recently that the US, under President Donald Trump, would violate the deal or stop implementing American commitments under the accord altogether. A self-admitted non-politician, Trump has previously threatened to rip up the deal and called it "the worst accord ever" and "one of the dumbest" ones he has come across. In an interview with The Times, conducted after his inauguration as president, Trump, however, refused to say what he would want to do regarding the deal. The other countries that negotiated the deal with Iran France, the UK, Russia, China, and Germany as well as the EU have on the other hand reaffirmed their commitment to the deal, which took some 23 months and hard diplomatic work to negotiate. The French foreign minister also noted, "We harbor real concerns about the US administration's attitude toward this agreement." France's stakes are particularly high. French industrial behemoths Airbus, Total, Peugeot, and Renault have all signed cooperation agreements with Iran following the deal. Ayrault's visit now is also expected to feature the signing of more economic accords. In a rare stance taken toward the new US administration, the French foreign minister also denounced recent US bans on nationals from Iran and six other countries and said Paris would be doubling the visa quota for Iranians. Trump on Friday signed an executive order banning the entry of citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen into the United States for 90 days over purported security concerns. "This has nothing to do with fighting terrorism," Ayrault told the reporters. He said he thought the order was "dangerous," amounted to "discrimination," and had to be revoked. Discussing Syria on agenda Further explaining his agenda in Tehran, he said, "We will discuss our disagreements, notably on Syria." During his stay, Ayrault plans to sit down with President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian forces make further gains across the country Iran Press TV Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:49PM Syrian government forces have killed a large number of terrorists during their operations to purge the country's western province of Homs and the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr from Daesh. According to Syria's official news agency, SANA, the areas of Boyout Jarbou al-Izzo and Abu Tawala, located in the T4 region in Homs, were liberated following heavy clashes with the terrorists on Monday. Following the operations, which were backed by the Syrian air force, the area was also cleansed of mines and IEDs (improvised explosive device.) Several strategically-located hills overlooking a major oil pumping station in the region were also retaken from the terrorists. Meanwhile in Dayr al-Zawr, Syrian forces launched a major operation against terrorist-held positions in the al-Maqaber area located to the south of the city, killing a large number of them and destroying their equipment. Several armed drones and a piece of heavy artillery belonging to the terrorists was also annihilated. During operations in the city's southwestern area of Panorama, a large amount of armed vehicles belonging to the terrorists was also destroyed. Syrian air force strikes on the militant held villages of al-Salehiya and al-Bogheilia and in the neighborhoods of al-Ummal and al-Mohandiseen also killed a large number of terrorists and destroyed their equipment. An all-Syria ceasefire, which has been brokered by Russia and Turkey, forbids fighting across the Arab country's territory. However, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and its fellow Takfiri terror group of Daesh have been excluded from the agreement due to the barbarity of their actions and their refusal to fall into step with any pacification efforts. Russian TU-22M3s bomb Daesh in Dayr al-Zawr Also on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that several Daesh-held positions in the city were also targeted and destroyed. "On January 30, 2017, six strategic Tu-22M3 bombers took off in Russia, flew over Iraq and Iran, and carried out a group air attack on new Daesh targets in the Dayr al-Zawr province," read a statement. It added that during the strikes two command centers, an amount of weapons and ammunition depots and a large number of military equipment and terrorists were destroyed. "The destruction of all designated targets has been confirmed by the means of objective monitoringSu-30SM and Su-35S fighters, which had taken off from the Hmeimim airbase in Syria, provided air cover for the bombers," it added. Moscow launched its campaign against Daesh and other terror outfits in Syria at the Damascus government's request in September 2015. Over the past almost six years, Syria has been fighting foreign-sponsored militancy. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated in August last year that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the Syrian crisis until then. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria warns of unilateral attempts to establish safe zones in northern Syria People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:11, January 31, 2017 Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem warned on Monday of any attempt by foreign powers to establish safe zones in northern Syria, state news agency SANA reported. Al-Moallem made the remarks at a meeting with visiting United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, where both agreed that imposing safe zones, as proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, would be "unsafe" and violate the sovereignty of Syria, if without coordination with the Syrian government. On Wednesday, Trump said he "will absolutely do safe zones in Syria" for refugees fleeing the war in the country, amid reports that he will task the Pentagon to prepare a plan for setting up safe zones in northern Syria. Turkey agreed on the idea, as Ankara has long been seeking to create such zones in northern Syria, especially when it has forces there fighting the Islamic State (IS) group and Kurdish-backed militias. In separate phone calls with Trump on Sunday, Saudi King Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Muhammad agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemento help refugees "displaced by the ongoing conflicts," the White Housesaid in a press release. Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country may support the U.S. initiative to establish safe zones for refugees in Syria, noting that the plan would require close cooperation with the UN and approval from the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Intra-Syrian Geneva talks delayed until Feb. 20: Diplomats Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:30PM The new round of negotiations between Syria's warring sides, which were scheduled to begin early next month, has been postponed until February 20, say sources at the United Nations. Two unnamed diplomats said UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, had announced the delay in the Geneva talks during a closed meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday. The delay would give the Syria opposition time to prepare and ensure that the discussions are as inclusive as possible, the diplomats quoted the envoy as saying. Invitations to the Syria peace talks will be sent out on February 8, De Mistura was further cited as saying. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a meeting with Syrian opposition groups that the UN-led peace talks would be postponed, without providing any reasons. Speaking ahead of the Security Council session, British Ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, said, "We have been concerned that the Geneva talks have been delayed and we would be concerned if there were any watering down of the basis of those talks. Swedish Ambassador to the UN, Olof Skoog, also attached importance to "the confirmation that the UN will lead the next round of talks. Organized by Iran, Russia, and Turkey, the latest round of Syria peace talks wrapped up in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on January 24. The three countries agreed on the establishment of a mechanism to support a ceasefire in Syria. The Syria-wide truce, which excludes Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist groups, has been in place since December 30, 2016. The trio further underlined the importance of maintaining the national sovereignty of Syria and stressed that there was no military solution to the conflict in the Arab country. Over the past almost six years, Syria has been gripped by a militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump administration sending armored vehicles for Syria opposition Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 5:21PM The US has provided a Syria militant group with armored vehicles in defiance of warnings that the equipment may end up in the hands of Takfiri militants waging a campaign of death in the Arab country. The so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a multi-ethnic anti-government alliance, said on Tuesday that the contingent had arrived in the Arab country without elaborating on the exact number of the armored vehicles. "American armored vehicles have arrived for the Syrian Democratic Forces for the first time. This happened after the new US administration came to power," said SDF spokesman, Talal Sello. The administration of US President Donald Trump has taken the decision to supply the SDF with the vehicles, Sello said, adding, "Before we used to receive light weapons, ammunition.... With these armored vehicles we've entered a new phase in the [US] support. It's a sign." The official further noted that the SDF had held meetings with representatives of the new US government, "who had promised extra support" for the militant group. Washington confirms sending armed vehicles to Syria opposition Meanwhile, Washington confirmed that it had for the first time supplied armored Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to the SDF's Arab component, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition. "The decision was made by military commanders and has been in the works for some time," said US military spokesman, Colonel John Dorrian. Founded in October 2015, the US-backed SDF is comprised mostly of Syrian Kurds, numbering at least 25,000. Washington has been sponsoring anti-Damascus groups operating in Syria by labeling them as moderate militants. Earlier this month, General Carlton Everhart, a commander of the Air Mobility Command, said that the US Air Force was increasing airdrops of weapons, ammunition and other equipment to militant groups closing in on the Daesh-held Syrian city of Raqqah. According to reports, weapons and ammunition supplied to the so-called moderate opposition groups in Syria have frequently fell into the hands of Takfiri terrorist groups such as Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, an affiliate of al-Qaeda formerly known as al-Nusra Front. In December 2016, the then US president, Barack Obama, waived prohibitions in the US Arms Export Control Act, allowing the country to arm Syria militant groups. The Kremlin denounced the move as risky and warned that the US weapons might end up in the hands of terrorists. Washington, itself, admitted that it could not guarantee that the weapons it sends to militants in Syria will not end up in the hands of Daesh terrorist group. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Delivers Only Up-Armored Vehicles to Syrian Arab Coalition - Pentagon Sputnik News 18:23 31.01.2017(updated 21:11 31.01.2017) The United States has supplied the Syrian Arab Coalition with up-armored vehicles to aid in the offensive to liberate Raqqa, US Department of Defense spokesperson Adrian Rankine-Galloway told Sputnik on Tuesday. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The Syrian Democratic Forces are a rebel group predominantly consisting of Kurdish fighters, as well as of Arabic and Turkmen forces, who are jointly fighting against the Daesh terrorist group. The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) are the main force of the SDF group. The SDF has long been supported by a United States-led coalition. "Up-armored vehicles have been delivered to the Syrian Arab Coalition as part of our existing authorities to enable them. Specifically, these vehicles will help them contend with ISIL's [Daesh's] IED [improvised explosive device] threat as they move toward Raqqa." At the same time, the spokesperson underscored that there have been no changes to current US policy on assistance to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include the Syrian Arab Coalition. "The Department of Defense only provides training and materiel support to the Syrian Arab Coalition," Rankine-Galloway said. Since early-November, SDF forces have been involved in a coalition-led operation to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Daesh self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq. The operation was criticized by Turkey as Ankara sees the SDF as an enemy because of the fact that Kurds make up the backbone of the group. Turkey considers the YPG to be an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), labelled as a terrorist group and outlawed in the country. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address East Ukraine hit by bloodiest clashes since truce Iran Press TV Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:30AM Clashes have escalated between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russia forces further, with the Kremlin accusing Kiev of undermining a peace deal over the country's volatile eastern regions. Fresh fighting took place in the town of Avdiivka on the outskirts of Ukraine's eastern restive region of Donetsk on Tuesday, claiming the lives of seven Ukrainian soldiers and leaving 20 more wounded. An unspecified number of civilian casualties were also reported, with some 200 coal miners trapped underground. The unrest was the result of heavy artillery shelling and gunfire in the same area that had killed five government troops a day earlier. It brought the overall death toll for the past two days to 12 in the bloodiest outburst of violence since a ceasefire brokered last month. Placing the blame on Kiev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was extremely concerned by the incident, which he said would undermine efforts to implement the Minsk peace accords. "We regret that as a result of this attack ... people were killed on both sides," said Peskov. "Such aggressive actions supported by the armed forces of Ukraine undermine the aims and the task of realizing the Minsk accords." The spokesman also accused Ukrainian authorities of launching the attack as a ploy to distract attention away from domestic and other problems. Peace observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed an upsurge of violence in eastern Ukraine. The monitors said that the European peace forces stationed in eastern Ukraine were "saddened to see how little had changed since the conflicting sides agreed on an "indefinite truce in late December last year. The OSCE says the two sides no longer respect clauses in the deal. The armed conflict between government troops and pro-Russia forces has killed more than 9,600 since it began in 2014, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kiev's Actions Threaten Donbass, Ukrainian Soldiers Russian OSCE Mission Sputnik News 21:22 31.01.2017(updated 21:25 31.01.2017) Kiev authorities' actions in the eastern region of Donbass pose a threat to both local residents and Ukrainian servicemen, Russia's Permanent Representative at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Alexander Lukashevich said on Tuesday. VIENNA (Sputnik) The OSCE official pointed out that Russia was worried by the sharp increase of hostilities in Donbass. "Kiev's actions pose a growing threat to the people of Donbass and Ukrainian Army's servicemen," Lukashevich said, as quoted by the Twitter page of the Russian Mission to OSCE. "We urge Kiev to stop making the people of Donbass hostages of the policy aimed at keeping constant tensions Kiev should stop military operations, attempts to seize additional territories, shelling of DPR [Donetsk People's Republic] positions & residential areas," Lukashevich stressed. Lukashevich added that it was important to make Ukraine cease attempts to gain military victories in Donbass giving up the Minsk agreements. The situation near the industrial town of Avdiivka has been tense for several days with civilians being deprived of running water, central heating and electricity under the temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit). Both parties are accusing each other of being responsible for escalation of fighting. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kiev's Aggression in Donbass Derails Minsk Deal - Kremlin Sputnik News 12:50 31.01.2017(updated 13:17 31.01.2017) Kiev's aggressive actions along the contact line in the southeast of the country are derailing the ceasefire regime and showcase the Ukrainian leadership's reluctance to abide by the deals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) He noted that the latest deadly escalation in fighting "clearly indicate the Ukrainian leadership and President [Petro] Poroshenko's reluctance, unwillingness to carry out these Minsk agreements." "These aggressive actions with the participation of the Ukrainian armed forces undermine the goals and objectives of the implementation of the Minsk agreements," Peskov told reporters. Peskov said Moscow's position has remained steadfast in that the Minsk accords, signed in February 2015, remain "the only possible way to resolve the Ukrainian conflict." The Kremlin is extremely concerned over the situation on the contact line in Donbas, where the Ukrainian side has committed aggression against the local militia, Peskov said. "The Kremlin is extremely concerned about what is happening on the contact line," Peskov said. "There is currently no alternative to this political-diplomatic settlement in the form which has been laid out in the Minsk agreements," he said. He also said that no high-level contacts in the "Normandy format" are planned in connection with the aggravation of the situation in Donbass. "Not yet," Peskov told journalists, responding to the question whether contacts with the German and French sides were planned due to the worsening situation in Donbass. He also gave a negative answer to the question if phone talks or personal meetings were planned. Peskov said Moscow, Paris and Berlin should put pressure on Kiev to make it implement the Minsk agreements. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Cease-Fire Violations in Eastern Ukraine Press Statement Mark C. Toner Acting Spokesperson Washington, DC January 31, 2017 The United States is deeply concerned with the recent spike in violence in eastern Ukraine around Avdiivka-Yasynuvata. Since January 28, the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission has reported a dramatic increase in fighting, including with heavy artillery and other weapons proscribed by the Minsk agreements. The fighting has caused dozens of Ukrainian military casualties and 10 civilian casualties. It has also left 17,000 civilians, including 2,500 children, without water, heat, or electricity. To avert a larger humanitarian crisis, we call for an immediate, sustained ceasefire and full and unfettered access for OSCE monitors. We also reaffirm U.S. support for full implementation of the Minsk agreements. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address State-run Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) is technically ready for arrival of private investors to its capital, but the situation on the market does not allow finding the buyer, Deputy Finance Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Butsa has said. "Ukrgasbank is the bank that is ready for arrival of private investors most of all. The only issue that every product has its market We are ready from the technical point of view, but the question is in availiblity of the market for selling it," Butsa told reporters on Wednesday. He did not disclose information if international financial institutions (IFIs) preliminary appraise state-run banks. Butsa also said that in medium term outlook state-run banks could be fully or partially privatized. "Any arrival of a high-quality foreign investor always adds value to an asset even if the state owns a part of it," he said. EU Condemns Ukraine Clashes By VOA News January 31, 2017 The European Union on Tuesday condemned recent clashes in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and government forces, calling the fighting a "blatant violation of the Minsk truce. "The intense fighting around Avdiivka in the last few days, involving heavy shelling with proscribed weapons and leading to a considerable number of casualties, is a blatant violation of the cease-fire, as stipulated by the Minsk agreements," the EU said in a statement. The rebels and government troops began fighting three days ago around the town of Avdiivka. The confrontation escalated Monday night into Tuesday morning with the heaviest shelling seen in months. Both sides say at least eight people have died in the reignited conflict. The shelling Monday night damaged an electricity substation in nearby Donetsk, disabling the elevator at the Zasyadko coal mine and temporarily trapping more than 200 mine workers underground. The miners were freed several hours later when local authorities were able to power the elevator with a back-up generator. The renewed conflict has cut off water for most of Avdiivka and the town was left without heat in the dead of winter. Government authorities in Donetsk are reportedly planning an evacuation of 12,000 residents in Avdiivka, though no official plan has been put in place. In 2015, both sides in the conflict signed a cease-fire and agreed pull back heavy weaponry, but both sides have violated the agreement several times since then. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Sounds Warning Over Ukraine Clashes, Which Claim Top Separatist By VOA News January 31, 2017 The U.S. State Department is voicing "deep concern" about renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and government troops, saying the fighting near the Russian border has caused dozens of military and civilian casualties. A statement Tuesday said the fighting, which erupted Sunday at the Promzona industrial park outside Avdiivka, near the rebel stronghold city of Donetsk, has left 17,000 civilians, including 2,500 children, without water, heat or electricity. It also called for an immediate cease-fire. Hours earlier, the European Union called the fighting a "blatant violation" of the so-called 2015 "Minsk Protocols"a truce negotiated with the help of German and French leaders that was designed to include the pullback of heavy weaponry from frontlines. Since then, there have been reports of numerous truce violations, leading to several new negotiations and new cease-fires. The latest such deal was brokered in the Belarussian capital last August, after a spike in frontline firefights. Both sides blame the other for the current violence, with Kyiv accusing rebels of using tanks and Grad multiple grenade launchers against government troops. Grad launchers were among the heavy caliber weapons that were to have been withdrawn from frontlines under the original deal. For their part, rebel leaders in Donetsk, who have battled for autonomy from Kyiv since 2014, are reporting major damage to civilian infrastructure, in media dispatches that mirror the U.S. assessment released Tuesday. Multiple Ukrainian and Russian news outlets are reporting that a top rebel deputy commanderIvan Balakai, call sign "Greek," of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DNR)was killed by Ukrainian forces during intense fighting on Sunday. "The situation in the area of Avdiivka greatly deteriorated," said Ukrainian news site 112.ua. "[Pro-Russian] militants attempted to storm the industrial zone and killed seven Ukrainian servicemen. [Ukrainian] forces managed to eliminate the commander of the DNR battalion with the call sign 'Greek' and to occupy strategically important positions. The fight for the city has continued for a third day." Speaking by video-chat from the frontlines near Avdiivka, Anastasia Stanko of the Kyiv-based Hromadske Internet television described the fighting as constant. "It's been ongoing since Sunday, it hasn't stopped," she told VOA's Ukrainian Service. "But the fighting is localized. The thousands of people in Avdiivka are leading more or less normal lives. They don't have water, they don't have electricity and it's 16 degrees Celsius, but they're not totally evacuating, because the fighting is outside of town in the special industrial zone. People aren't underground yet." Nearly 10,000 peoplemore than half of them civilianshave been killed in fighting that erupted in April 2014, a month after Russia unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, and two months after lengthy pro-Western protests in Kyiv forced Ukraine's pro-Russian president into exile. Moscow repeatedly has been accused of arming and supplying the rebel force, and in 2015 was accused of sending Russian forces across the border and into battle. Russian President Vladimir Putin discounted those claims, saying any Russian troops found on Ukrainian soil were there as volunteers. The 2014 annexation sparked widespread protests from Western governments and the United Nations and led to a series of crippling economic sanctions against Moscow by the West that remain in effect nearly three years later. Ukraine has in recent weeks voiced increasing concern that international pressure on Moscow to end its support for rebels could weaken under the leadership of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly voiced support for a thaw in U.S.-Russian relations. This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Ukrainian Service. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Edge data centres will account for most of the telecom server market growth and is projected to reach US$14 billion by 2026 according to a new report from DellOro Group. The Trilateral Contact Group for Donbas will converge in Minsk on Wednesday, Darka Olifer, press secretary of Ukrainian representative to the Trilateral Contact Group and former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, said. "The Trilateral Contact Group failed to hold a videoconference yesterday due to the absence of representatives of the individual districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and Russia. A meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group is due to take place in Minsk at 3 p.m. today," Olifer told Interfax. Ukraine has discussed the escalated tensions near Avdiyivka with Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine and security subgroup coordinator Ertugrul Apakan, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office to the Contact Group Martin Sajdik, and Ukrainian and Russian military representatives to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination, she said. The exterior of Mortara Instruments seen on Tuesday morning in Milwaukee. The business was acquired by Hill-Rom Holdings. John Ehlke/Daily News A local Muslim leader criticized President Donald Trumps executive order restricting entrance of refugees into the United States on Tuesday, saying the policy stokes hostilities toward the U.S. and endangers American soldiers fighting against ISIS overseas. Its sort of fanning the flames of discontent of those who hate this country, said Hakim Abdullah, chairman of Muslim Men in Action in Virginia, during a news conference in front of the Danville Municipal Building on Tuesday afternoon. The order, signed by Trump on Jan. 27, also puts soldiers fighting ISIS in greater harm, said Abdullah, a U.S. military veteran. He also has a brother as well as nieces and nephews serving overseas in the military. Abdullah said he hopes Trumps actions will not lead to American soldiers in other countries being harmed. Trumps executive order suspends the entry of refugees into the United States for 120 days and directs officials to determine additional screening to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States, The New York Times reported. The order also indefinitely ceases the admission of Syrian refugees into the country, and bars entry of those from seven predominantly Muslim countries into the United States for 90 days. Those countries linked to concerns of terrorism are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. A federal judge in New York blocked part of the order Saturday, ruling that authorities could not remove citizens from those countries who had arrived in U.S. airports after the order had been issued. Protests erupted at airports across the country after those travelers were detained by authorities over the weekend. Abdullah urged Muslims in Southside Virginia to not live in fear but become active in the nations political system. Many Muslims voted for Trump with the understanding he would remove obstacles to enjoying life and liberty in the U.S., Abdullah said. Instead, he has made it harder, he said. Abdullah said he was heartened by the protests at airports from people who will not stand for bigotry and fear. They gave him a warm-hearted feeling, he said. I always knew that most Americans are God-conscious people, Abdullah said. After traveling in the Deep South, he said Muslims there are afraid to visit relatives overseas because they may not be able to re-enter the country. There are others already overseas waiting to see if they can come back home, he added. All eyes and hearts are waiting to see whats going to happen, Abdullah said. His wife, Sonia Congo-Abdullah, said she was worried about how the order affects those families, especially children, who could become separated. When youre a child, you dont understand what is happening, she said. It does make it harder on the children. The situation makes her angry and sad, Congo-Abdullah, vice president of Muslim Women in Action, said. We should be able to go where we want to go without worrying about those things, she said. U.S. Rep. Tom Garrett, R-Fifth District, expressed support for the executive order in a prepared statement Monday. A temporary pause to review vetting criteria of refugees from regions with ongoing radical Islamic bloodshed is prudent in lieu of the FBI directors statement that such individuals could not be properly vetted, Garrett said. It is noteworthy that this pause is half as long as a similar action taken by President Obama. Refugee-initiated violence manifested itself in a very real manner at a Berlin Christmas market just over a month ago, Garrett added. While radical terrorists in Orlando, San Bernardino, Chattanooga and Boston were either second generation or non-refugee first generation arrivals, the threats posed by radical Islam are nonetheless real. ISIS has indicated its wishes to use the refugee stream to infiltrate western nations. Our office has received information to substantiate these claims. With this in mind, a temporary pause for further review of the program only serves to fulfill the United States government's first responsibility to protect its citizens. Terror attacks by immigrants or second generation radical Islamists in Boston, San Bernardino, Orlando and Chattanooga have killed over seventy and left over three hundred Americans injured in the last few years alone, Garrett added. However, a September 2016 study by the Cato Institute a libertarian public policy research organization found that the chance of an American being murdered in a terrorist attack caused by a refugee is one in 3.64 billion per year. The chances of being killed in a terrorist attack by an illegal immigrant are one in 10.9 billion per year, according to the study. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have co-sponsored a bill to rescind President Trumps executive order barring immigrants from Muslim-majority countries and suspending the U.S. refugee program. Crane reports for the Danville Register & Bee. The UN Security Council has urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. "The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime," the UN Security Council said in a press statement. The UN Security Council "expressed grave concern today about the 'dangerous deterioration' of the situation in the country's eastern region and its severe impact on the local civilian population," it said. "Council members condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements along the contact line in Donetsk region that lead to deaths and injuries, including among civilians," the statement said. The Security Council "expressed their full support of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and underlined the need for strict compliance with resolution 2202 (2015), which endorsed the Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements," it said. In turn, the UN expressed profound concern about the escalation of hostilities near Avdiivka, Yasynuvata and Donetsk Airport in eastern Ukraine. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said the UN was particularly concerned about the future of civilians in the conflict zone and described the escalating violence as a direct violation of the Minsk agreements. The UN called on all sides to immediately cease the hostilities, to fully comply with the truce, to provide immediate and unhampered humanitarian access for international humanitarian organizations so that they could help the affected population, and to enable the OSCE mission to observe and report the situation. The UN Security Council has scheduled an open session for Thursday to address the situation in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian ambassador, who will become the UN Security Council President on February 1 for a month, will be chairing the meeting. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan 31, 2017) - Dynasty Metals & Mining Inc. ("Dynasty" or the "Company") (TSX:DMM)(OTCQX:DMMIF) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of secured convertible debentures of the Company in the aggregate principal amount of US$1,000,000 (the "Debenture") to Credipresto S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R. ("Credipresto"). The Debenture matures two (2) years from the date of issuance, bears interest at a rate of 12% per annum payable quarterly in cash and is fully secured through a pledge of all the issued and outstanding share capital of Elipe S.A., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, ranking behind the outstanding loans from Vertex Managed Value Portfolio and Vertex Enhanced Income Fund. The principal amount of the Debenture is convertible at any time at the option of the holder into common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at a price of CAD$0.25 per Common Share, based on a Canadian dollar/US dollar exchange rate of 1.3104. An aggregate of up to 5,241,600 Common Shares are issuable by the Company on conversion of the Debenture, representing approximately 5.97% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on completion of the Private Placement. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement, which has been pre-funded to the Company, for working capital and general corporate purposes. In connection with the Private Placement, Dynasty has agreed to pay Credipresto a corporate finance fee of CAD$50,000. About Dynasty Metals & Mining Inc. Dynasty Metals & Mining Inc. is a Canadian based mining company involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties in Ecuador. The Company is currently focused on gold production and continued development at its Zaruma Gold Project. The Company also owns the Dynasty Goldfield Project, a permitted property 180km southwest of the Zaruma project, and the Jerusalem Project, an exploration property immediately south of the Fruta del Norte project. For further information please visit the Company's website at www.dynastymining.com. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking information" which are prospective in nature. Such information in this news release includes statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Private Placement. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Dynasty's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Important risks that could cause Dynasty's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to differ materially from Dynasty's expectations include, among other things, risks found in Dynasty's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Other than in accordance with regulatory obligations, Dynasty is not under any obligation and Dynasty expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Vancouver, February 1, 2017 - In anticipation of a scheduled summer 2017 drill program, Jaxon Minerals Inc. (TSXV: JAX) (FSE: 0U3) ("Jaxon" or the "Company") continues to review recent and historic data on the Price Creek volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) property. Highly anomalous precious and base metal values were recorded from surface samples over a widespread area within the Max target, one of several prospective targets on the property, with mineralization exposed over a vertical extent of 750 metres within a one square kilometre area. Surface Rock Chip and Grab Samples 112 mineralized rock chip-grab samples were collected from the property. Of these: The highest recorded silver value was 3,398 g/t Ag. Sixteen samples recorded silver values in excess of 250 g/t Ag. The highest recorded lead value was 39.46% Pb. Ten samples recorded lead values in excess of 10% Pb. The highest recorded zinc value was 18% Zn. Six samples recorded zinc values in excess of 10% Zn. The highest recorded gold value was 12.7 g/t. Twenty samples recorded gold values in excess of 1 g/t. The ten highest silver equivalent values are summarized in the table below. Sample # Ag (g/t) Pb (%) Zn (%) Au (g/t) Ag Eq g/t* 1050803 419 14.0 11.6 2.6 1,404.0 1050804 347 6.5 7.0 1.3 860.8 1050807 469 39.5 9.8 0.6 2,053.1 1050808 480 26.8 6.5 2.9 1,722.5 1050809 481 27.2 6.4 3.4 1,767.5 1050811 353 30.6 0.5 2.0 1,453.7 1050812 3398 15.1 11.9 2.3 4,403.2 1050814 233 7.5 10.1 1.2 869.5 1050815 286 16.2 12.1 0.4 1201.4 1050818 1231 5.8 9.6 0.4 1744.9 Channel Samples Over 175 metres of cut channel samples were collected from 6 trenches. Each channel sample represents a 1 metre long interval and averaged 10 kilograms in weight. A total of 174 cut channel samples were taken and preliminary assaying indicates high quantities of Ag and Au, and multi-percent values of Pb and Zn. However, a significant number of samples assayed for silver, zinc and lead exceeded the maximum threshold for the assay method used (see table below). These over-limit samples may be re-assayed to determine their true metal content. Metal # Over-limit Samples Max Threshold Silver 32/174 > 100 g/t Lead 51/174 > 1% Zinc 75/174 > 1% Manganese 91/174 > 1% "We're very excited to see these kinds of bonanza silver and base metals grades distributed over a large surface area and a vertical extent of 750 metres," said Jason Cubitt, Jaxon's president and CEO. "Price Creek is obviously mineral-rich at surface-but what's most interesting to us is that, although the property bears all the hallmarks of an Eskay Creek style precious and base metals rich VMS deposit, it's never been explored as such." Jaxon continues to review data from recent and historic work on the Price Creek property. This data will inform the planned spring / summer drill program and further results will be released as appropriate. Jaxon also advises that it has elected not to pursue the Hot Bath property in northern British Columbia. * For the purposes of silver equivalent calculation, the following metals prices were used in the table above: US$18.2/oz silver, US$1,240/oz gold, US$0.91/lbs lead and US$0.94/lbs zinc. This news release has been reviewed by Glen Macdonald, P.Geo. (a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, Standards and Disclosure for Mineral Projects). About Jaxon Jaxon is a base and precious metals exploration company with a regional focus on western Canada. The company is currently advancing its optioned Price Creek Property in north-central British Columbia in the Skeena Arch. The property has seen considerable historic exploration work and presents a VMS-style target with reported potential for Eskay Creek Mine / Equity Silver Mine style mineralization. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Signed "Jason Cubitt" Jason Cubitt, President and Director For further information regarding Jaxon Minerals Inc., please contact Jason Cubitt at 604-608-0400, Toll free: 1-877-608-0007. This news release may contain forward-looking information, which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release may include, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither TSX Venture exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Vancouver, BC (FSCwire) - Equitas Resources Corp. (TSXV: EQT) (FSE: T6UP) (USA: EQTRF) (Equitas or the Company) announces that it proposes to raise up to $2,520,000 through a non-brokered private placement of up to 14,000,000 units (Units) at a price of $0.18 per Unit. Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one non-transferable share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.27 per warrant share for a period of twenty-four months from the issue date. All the securities will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of closing. The private placement is expected to close on or about February 15, 2017 and is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Equitas intends to use the net proceeds for a drilling program on the Company's mineral properties in Brazil, and for general working capital purposes. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, EQUITAS RESOURCES CORP. Alan Carter Alan Carter President Tel: 604.676.5660 info@equitasresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor it Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Companys actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements in this news release include the proposal to raise funds and the intended use of proceeds, assuming that the private placement is completed. Risks and uncertainties include the state of the markets and the market for the Companys securities. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include that Equitas is unable to complete all or a portion of the financing. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update these forward looking statements. To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/equitas02012017_0.pdfSource: Equitas Resources Corp. (TSX Venture:EQT, FWB:T6UP) To follow Equitas Resources Corp. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below. Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 Filing Services Canada Inc. TSXV: ZON HALIFAX, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Zonte Metals Inc. (TSXV: ZON) ("Zonte" or the "Company") has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement offering of units (the "Offering"). The Company issued 13,500,000 units at a price of $0.10 per unit for gross proceeds of $1,350,000. Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half () of one share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to acquire one additional common share upon payment of the exercise price of $0.18 on or before July 31, 2018. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering for working capital purposes. The Company will also issue 280,250 Finder Warrants and pay cash finders' fees aggregating $68,635 on the closing of the Offering. Each Finder Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.18 per share at any time prior to July 31, 2018. The securities issued pursuant to the Offering (including the Units and Finder Warrants) are subject to a four-month and one day statutory hold period that will expire on June 1, 2017. Following the closing of the Offering, Zonte will have 40,124,426 shares issued and outstanding. About Zonte Zonte Metals Inc. is a junior explorer focused on gold and copper. The Company holds the Wings Point Gold Project which is a drill ready project in Newfoundland and Labrador and has signed an Option Agreement to acquire 100% of the McConnells Jest project, in the Tintina Gold Belt, located in the Yukon Territory, which is composed of 172 claims totaling approximately 3371 hectares. In addition, the Company and a Colombian partner have an application over open areas sitting on top of the open pit outline of the Gramalote Deposit in Colombia, which is held by AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) and B2Gold (TSX: BTO) (NYSE: BTG). The title issuance is being contested by the state governing the application and the Company has started legal action to protect its rights. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements which include statements regarding the Company's future plans, as well as statements regarding financial and business prospects and the Company's future plans, objectives or economic performance and financial outlooks. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in this news release are reasonable but actual results may be affected by a variety of variables and may be materially different from the results or events predicted in the forward-looking statements. Readers are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In evaluating forward-looking statements readers should consider the risk factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not intend nor does it undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Zonte Metals Inc. ZUG, Feb. 1, 2017 - Katanga Mining Limited (TSX: KAT) ("Katanga" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its ore reserve and mineral resource estimates as at December 31, 2016. Key Updates: Mineral Resources Overall, the measured and indicated mineral resource for Kamoto Copper Company SA ("KCC") (in which the Company has a 75% interest) increased by 68.5 million tonnes since December 31, 2015, consisting of the following: Change in the measured mineral resource for KTO is an increase of 2.7 million tonnes due to new drilling, stope mapping, validation and incorporation of historical drillholes, and reclassification methodology resulting in an updated geological model. Changes in the indicated mineral resource for KTO, KOV Open Pit and Mashamba East Open Pit is a decrease of 7.0 million tonnes at KTO, an increase of 39.1 million tonnes at KOV Open Pit and an increase of 33.8 million tonnes at Mashamba East Open Pit based on new drilling, validation and incorporation of historical drillholes, and reclassification methodology resulting in an updated geological model. Changes in the inferred mineral resource for KTO, KOV Open Pit and Mashamba East Open Pit is a decrease of 0.7 million tonnes at KTO, a decrease of 12.8 million tonnes at KOV Open Pit and a decrease of 18.9 million tonnes at Mashamba East Open Pit based on new geological models being developed due to additional drilling and reclassification of resources. There are no changes in the measured, indicated or inferred mineral resources reported for T-17 Open Pit / T-17 Underground Mine, Kananga Mine and Tilwezembe Open Pit Mine, as no mining and no geological work was undertaken in these areas in 2016. A reconciliation table comparing the 2015 and 2016 mineral resource estimates is set out in Annexure A. Key Updates: Ore Reserves The result of the December 31, 2016 ore reserve estimate is a net increase of 26.2 million tonnes of ore reserves since December 31, 2015, the entirety of which increase is attributable to Mashamba East Open Pit. The net increase in ore reserves is based on an updated resource model and completion of a prefeasibility study of the Mashamba East Open Pit. A reconciliation table comparing the 2015 and 2016 ore reserves is set out in Annexure B and the key mining parameters which inform the ore reserve estimates are set out in Annexure C Katanga Mining Ltd. CONSOLIDATED ORE RESERVES AND MINERAL RESOURCES 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 as at December 31, 2016 Ore Reserves Mt %TCu %TCo Proved 10.4 3.62 0.40 Probable 114.3 3.50 0.53 Proved & Probable 124.7 3.51 0.52 Mineral Resources Measured 16.4 3.58 0.57 Indicated 259.4 3.66 0.54 Measured & Indicated 275.8 3.66 0.55 Inferred 168.0 3.78 0.44 More detailed ore reserve and mineral resource estimates are as follows: Katanga Mining Ltd. PROVED AND PROBABLE ORE RESERVES 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9 as at December 31, 2016 Ore Reserves Mt %TCu %TCo KTO 25.5 3.60 0.47 T-17 Underground 11.3 3.65 0.62 T-17 Open Pit 0.0 0.00 0.00 Mashamba East Open Pit 32.1 2.13 0.60 KOV Open Pit 55.9 4.23 0.47 TOTAL 124.7 3.51 0.52 Katanga Mining Ltd. MEASURED AND INDICATED MINERAL RESOURCES 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 as at December 31, 2016 Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources Mt %TCu %TCo KTO 78.1 3.92 0.48 Mashamba East Open Pit 60.0 1.68 0.62 T-17 Open Pit/T-17 Underground 13.6 3.89 0.61 KOV Open Pit/KOV Underground/KTE Underground 110.5 4.75 0.53 Kananga Mine 4.1 1.61 0.79 Tilwezembe Open Pit 9.5 1.89 0.60 TOTAL 275.8 3.66 0.55 Katanga Mining Ltd. INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCES 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 as at December 31, 2016 Inferred Mineral Resources Mt %TCu %TCo KTO 48.5 3.8 0.38 Mashamba East Open Pit 18.3 2.85 0.47 T-17 Open Pit/T-17 Underground 5.2 4.21 0.98 KOV Open Pit/KOV Underground/KTE Underground 78.2 4.39 0.38 Kananga Mine 4.0 2.00 0.98 Tilwezembe Open Pit 13.8 1.75 0.60 TOTAL 168.0 3.78 0.44 Notes: 1. The ore reserve and mineral resource estimates have been prepared in accordance with the classification criteria of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves prepared by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia, as amended ("JORC Code"). If the definitions and classification standards adopted by the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") had been used instead of those of the JORC Code, the estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources would be substantially similar to the estimates of ore reserves and mineral resources presented here. 2. The mineral resource estimates have been prepared by, or under the supervision of, Christiano Santos Goncalves, (MAusIMM CP (Geo) 306 079) and the ore reserve estimates have been prepared by, or under the supervision of, Jacobus Lotheringen, PrEng each of Golder Associates Africa Pty Ltd, who are each a qualified person under NI 43-101. 3. Mineral resources are inclusive of ore reserves. 4. Mineral resources which are not ore reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 5. The ore reserve and mineral resource estimates are for KCC's entire interest in such ore reserves and mineral resources, whereas the Company owns 75% of KCC. La Generale des Carrieres et des Mines and La Societe Immobiliere du Congo, state-owned mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, own the remaining 25% of KCC. 6. Numbers may not add due to rounding. 7. Unless otherwise noted, the Company's ore reserves are estimated using appropriate cut-off grades based on an assumed long term price of $6,750 per tonne of copper and long term price of $30,000 per tonne of cobalt. Ore reserves are estimated using appropriate process recoveries, operating costs and mine plans that are unique to each property and include estimated allowances for dilution and mining recovery. 8. Unless otherwise noted, the Company's mineral resources are estimated using appropriate lithological interpretations, grade compositing and grade estimation techniques for copper and cobalt. 9. The Company's normal data verification procedures have been used in collecting, compiling, interpreting and processing the data used to estimate ore reserves and mineral resources. Independent data verification has not been performed. However the data has been independently validated. Qualified Person and Technical Report This press release was prepared under the supervision of Tim Henderson, Technical Consultant, Katanga and a 'qualified person' as such term is defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Henderson has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release. The Company's technical report entitled "An Independent Technical Report on the Material Assets of Katanga Mining Ltd., Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo" dated March 30, 2012 prepared by Golder Associates Africa (Pty) Ltd under the supervision of Mr. Willem van der Schyff as the "qualified person" is in compliance with NI 43-101 is filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Cautionary Note to US Investors concerning estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources The above tables use the terms "Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources" in accordance with the ore reserves and mineral resource categories of the JORC Code. We advise US investors that while these terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the US Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of inferred mineral resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. In accordance with Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. Unless otherwise specified, all $ amounts referred to in this press release are U.S. dollars. About Katanga Mining Limited Katanga Mining Ltd. operates a major mine complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo producing refined copper and cobalt. The Company has the potential to become Africa's largest copper producer and the world's largest cobalt producer. Katanga is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol KAT. Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements concerning the mineral resources and ore reserves of the company, economic feasibility thereof, and the overall expected improvement of recoveries and grades. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. All forward-looking statements reflect the Company's beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statements were made. Actual results or events may differ from those predicted in these forward-looking statements. All of the Company's forward-looking statements are qualified by the assumptions that are stated or inherent in such forward-looking statements, including the assumptions listed below. Although the Company believes that these assumptions are reasonable, this list is not exhaustive of factors that may affect any of the forward-looking statements. The key assumptions that have been made in connection with the forward-looking statements include the following: the operations of the Company during the production suspension and timeline for the recommencement of operations remaining consistent with management's expectations, there being no significant disruptions affecting the operations of the Company whether due to labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, rollout of new equipment, damage to equipment or otherwise; permitting, development, operations, expansion and acquisitions at the Project being consistent with the Company's current expectations; continued recognition of the Company's mining concessions and other assets, rights, titles and interests in the DRC; political and legal developments in the DRC being consistent with its current expectations; the continued provision or procurement of additional funding from Glencore for operations; the completion of the T17 Underground Mine, the Whole Ore Leach Project ("WOL Project") and the Power Project (as defined in the Annual Information Form of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2015 dated March 30, 2015); that new equipment performs to expectations; the exchange rate between the US dollar, South African rand, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, Congolese franc and Euro being approximately consistent with current levels; certain price assumptions for copper and cobalt; prices for diesel, natural gas, fuel oil, electricity and other key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; production and cost of sales forecasts for the Company meeting expectations; the accuracy of the current ore reserve and mineral resource estimates of the Company (including but not limited to ore tonnage and ore grade estimates); and labour and material costs increasing on a basis consistent with the Company's current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, future events, conditions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, prediction, projection, forecast, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the actual results of current exploration activities; actual results and interpretation of current reclamation activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of copper and cobalt; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, development or construction activities, delays due to strikes or other work stoppage, both internal and external to the Company as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's current annual information form and other publicly filed documents. Although Katanga has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Annexure A Katanga Mining Ltd. Mineral Resource Reconciliation at December 31, 2016 and 2015 Classification Project Area 2016 2015 Variance Mt %TCu %TCo Mt %TCu %TCo Mt Measured KTO 12.2 3.90 0.59 9.5 3.91 0.48 2.7 Mashamba East Open Pit 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 T-17 Open Pit/T-17 Underground 4.2 2.66 0.51 4.2 2.66 0.51 0.0 KOV Open Pit/KOV Underground/KTE Underground 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 Kananga Mine 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 Tilwezembe Open Pit 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0 Subtotal 16.4 3.58 0.57 13.7 3.53 0.49 2.7 Indicated KTO 65.9 3.92 0.46 72.9 3.84 0.43 (7.0) Mashamba East Open Pit 60.0 1.68 0.62 26.2 1.51 0.71 33.8 T-17 Open Pit/T-17 Underground 9.4 4.44 0.65 9.4 4.44 0.65 0.0 KOV Open Pit/KOV Underground/KTE Underground 110.5 4.75 0.53 71.4 4.16 0.51 39.1 Kananga Mine 4.1 1.61 0.79 4.1 1.61 0.79 0.0 Tilwezembe Open Pit 9.5 1.89 0.60 9.5 1.89 0.60 0.0 Subtotal 259.4 3.66 0.54 193.6 3.53 0.52 65.8 Measured and Indicated KTO 78.1 3.92 0.48 82.4 3.85 0.43 (4.3) Mashamba East Open Pit 60.0 1.68 0.62 26.2 1.51 0.71 33.8 T-17 Open Pit/T-17 Underground 13.6 3.89 0.61 13.6 3.89 0.61 0.0 KOV Open Pit/KOV Underground/KTE Underground 110.5 4.75 0.53 71.4 4.16 0.51 39.1 Kananga Mine 4.1 1.61 0.79 4.1 1.61 0.79 0.0 Tilwezembe Open Pit 9.5 1.89 0.60 9.5 1.89 0.60 0.0 TOTAL 275.8 3.66 0.55 207.3 3.53 0.52 68.5 Inferred KTO 48.5 3.83 0.38 49.2 4.44 0.34 (0.7) Mashamba East Open Pit 18.3 2.85 0.47 37.2 2.33 0.53 (18.9) T-17 Open Pit/T-17 Underground 5.2 4.21 0.98 5.2 4.21 0.98 0.0 KOV Open Pit/KOV Underground/KTE Underground 78.2 4.39 0.38 91.0 4.44 0.36 (12.8) Kananga Mine 4.0 2.00 0.98 4.0 2.00 0.98 0.0 Tilwezembe Open Pit 13.8 1.75 0.60 13.8 1.75 0.60 0.0 TOTAL 168.0 3.78 0.44 200.3 3.81 0.43 (32.3) Notes: See the footnotes on page 3-4 of this press release. Annexure B Katanga Mining Ltd. Ore Reserve Reconciliation as at December 31, 2016 and 2015 Mining operation 2016 Reserve Estimate 2015 Reserve Estimate Variance Mt %TCu %TCo Mt %TCu %TCo Mt KTO 25.5 3.60 0.47 25.5 3.60 0.47 0.0 T-17 Underground 11.3 3.65 0.62 11.3 3.65 0.62 0.0 Mashamba East Open pit 32.1 2.13 0.60 5.8 2.68 0.37 26.2 KOV Open Pit 55.9 4.23 0.47 55.9 4.23 0.47 0.0 Total 124.7 3.51 0.52 98.5 3.91 0.48 26.2 Notes: See the footnotes on page 3-4 of this press release. Annexure C Ore Reserve Estimation: Key Mining Parameters Reference Mining Costs Open Pit (USD $/t) 4.7 Reference Mining Costs Mashamba East Open Pit (USD $/t) 3.5 Reference Mining Costs Underground (USD $/t) 61.8 Reference Oxide Ore Processing (USD $/t) 66.9 Reference Sulphide Ore Processing (USD $/t) 12.2 Reference Mining Metal Price for Cu (USD $/t) 6,750 Reference Mining Metal Price for Co (USD $/t) 30,000 Operation Mining Dilutions Mining and Pillar Losses Geological Losses Cut-off Grade (Cu) Processing Recoveries (Cu) Processing Recoveries (Co) KTO 5% to 10% 5% 5% 1.50% 76.2% 65% KOV 8% 5% 0% 0.65% 85% 65% T17 Underground 8% 8% 8% 1.20% 85% 65% T17 Open Pit Converted to underground Mashamba East 7.9% 5% 0% 0.65% 85% 65% SOURCE Katanga Mining Ltd. ContactJohnny Blizzard, CEO, Tel: +41 (041) 766 71 10; Jacques Lubbe, CFO, Tel:+41 (041) 766 71 10 The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has reported an increase in the number of hostile takeovers with the use of the state register of ownership rights by way of meddling, and plans to address the situation jointly with the Justice Ministry, which keeps the register, NABU head Artem Sytnyk has said. "There are massive hostile takeovers due to meddling into the register of ownership rights: we have started receiving requests on a massive scale that a legal owner is deleted and replaced by a Cyprus-based company [This is] a new form of a hostile takeover," he said at a press conference on Tuesday. Sytnyk cited an example with the seizure of a building in the center of Kyiv with the involvement men with automatic weapons. "A representative of a Cyprus-based company appeared, saying: 'Look, we're new owners because we're in the register,'" he described the incident. Sytnyk said he would meet with Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko to address the issue. "The NABU has authorities to put forth a motion to eliminate causes and conditions that contribute to corruption. We'll examine that issue and submit our proposals to the Justice Ministry," he said. The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an attempt by Gov. Christie to reopen the landmark Abbott v. Burke case that directed resources to urban school districts, denying his administration the power to freeze funding and break union contracts.Christie had sought to override teacher tenure laws and collectively negotiated agreements in the former Abbott districts if the state determines those rules impede the delivery of a thorough and efficient education as promised by the New Jersey Constitution.That clause has underpinned the Abbott rulings, which required the state to send additional resources to special-needs districts.But tenure laws and union agreements have not been the subject of prior litigation in the case, the court said in a two-page order Tuesday. It declined to take up those issues but said the Republican governors administration could pursue them at the trial court level.Addressing reporters at a news conference Tuesday in Newark, Christie declined to comment on whether he would take the matter to a trial court, saying he hadnt yet reviewed the Supreme Court order.As he has in the past, the governor panned the courts school-funding rulings, attributing the state school-funding formula to seven people in black robes who have no business doing what theyve done. Gov. Greg Abbott detailed his vision for Texas on Tuesday, imploring lawmakers to approve "emergency" legislation on child protection, ethics and so-called sanctuary cities, ordering a hiring freeze for most state agencies and proposing a budget that would cut business franchise taxes by $250 million."Let's keep Texas the most exceptional state in America," the first-term Republican said in his State of the State speech to lawmakers.The ambitious agenda, which included calls for lawmakers to criminalize the donation of organs of aborted fetuses, increase funding for pre-kindergarten and approve a resolution for a constitutional Convention of the States, is expected to kickstart the legislative session.Some legislative leaders quickly pushed back on Abbott's proposals, saying they were misguided and potentially unaffordable for a state with many more fundamental needs and an economy weighed down by an oil downturn.Others complained about what was not mentioned, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's plan to force people to use the bathroom of their birth gender in government bathrooms, House Speaker Joe Straus's proposal to boost funding for mental health programs, controversial cuts in Medicaid therapy rates and a longtime special education enrollment benchmark that has denied services to thousands of disabled kids.Abbott made his priorities known by opening with a call for $500 million more for Child Protective Services, more than either the House or Senate has proposed in their draft budgets."Last year, more than 100 children died in our Child Protective System," Abbott said, calling the system "rickety." "You can vote to end that."If ever we had an emergency situation, this is it," said Abbott, whose emergency tag -- put on child protection, sanctuary cities, ethics and the convention of states -- will let lawmakers pass bills quicker than otherwise allowed.Child advocacy groups cheered Abbott's proposal for additional funding to effect the sweeping reforms they contend are necessary to fix a system that has been plagued for decades by high employee turnover, a lack of permanent placements for foster children and deaths of children under state supervision. The state's foster care system has been declared unconstitutional by a federal judge."This may be a tight budget session, but failure to heed his call to 'Do it right' will only result in worse budget woes -- and damaged lives -- down the line," said Madeline McClure of TexProtects, an Austin advocacy group.On so-called "sanctuary cities," Abbott noted that some Texas law enforcement officials "are openly refusing the enforce existing law" regarding their cooperation with federal immigration detainers, a reference to his ongoing fight with Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez.Hernandez has announced she will decline some federal detention requests of undocumented immigrants who are jailed.Abbott has given Hernandez until Wednesday to rescind her policy or face sanctions, including a cutoff of grant funding. He also has said he wants the law changed to allow for her removal from office."To protect Texans from deadly danger, we must insist that laws be followed," said Abbott, citing a crime spree involving an immigrant in the country illegally who previously had been deported three times.The governor got a lengthy ovation after reiterating his support for Texas to join in a national call for a Convention of States, allowed under the U.S. Constitution, to propose amendments to impose term limits on officeholders, reduce regulations and to mandate a balanced federal budget.Without specifying details, Abbott endorsed passage of a so-called "school choice" law to create education savings account that allow parents to use public money for private schools. That proposal is a priority of Patrick, but less popular in the House.Abbott stopped short of declaring education an emergency item, however.Regarding border security, Abbott said he intends to maintain $800 million in state-funded security along the Texas-Mexico border for now, despite questions about effectiveness from critics and a promise by the federal government to step up its efforts. The governor said he plans Wednesday to meet in the Rio Grande Valley with new Homeland Security Chief John Kelly to discuss efforts that President Trump has said will include thousands of additional federal agents and the construction of a border wall.Abbott also called for full funding of the state's Enterprise Fund, which would allow him to continue to use tax incentives to attract businesses.He also said additional funding is needed for high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, faulting lawmakers for "turning a blind eye" to the issue."Let's do this right or don't do it at all," said Abbott, who said he was "absolutely perplexed" by the House and Senate budget proposals for pre-K.The governor also called for cuts in property and business taxes.He said lawmakers should eliminate the business franchise tax and pass legislation that "prevents cities from raising property taxes without voter approval," a controversial suggestion that is sure to be opposed by local governments."As far as I'm concerned, the only good tax is a dead tax," Abbott said.The speech did not offer many specifics about how to pay for the proposals other than the hiring freeze, which Abbott said would last until August and save $200 million.The freeze would exempt Child Protective Services caseworkers and other employees related to public safety, according to a memo sent to agencies.Critics said the move could hurt vulnerable Texans."The intellectually and physically disabled, the mentally ill, the recently incarcerated, youth felony offenders, Food Stamp recipients, and Medicaid enrollees are just some of the millions of Texans who work with and depend on state employees everyday across the state," said Seth Hutchinson, a spokesman for the State Employees Union. "In agencies with already critical staffing shortages, a hiring freeze, no matter how long, would cripple their ability to function."All together, the governor's budget proposal allocates about $300 million less in state funds than the Senate draft budget and about $5 billion less than the plan put forward by the House. Despite the difficult economic climate, the plan would not tap the state's Rainy Day Fund.Lawmakers, including some Republicans, said they were not sure if all of the governor's priorities could be funded.Several House and Senate members said it could be tough to come up with the additional funding for Child Protective Services and pre-kindergarten while maintaining fundamental services."The numbers are the numbers, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe said. "We'd have to study the math on much of what he laid out in his speech because, at the end of the day, there's a lot of expense tied to the pre-K request and also some of the other items that he mentioned."Rep. Drew Darby, a leader on budgeting issues in the House, agreed."We are left to cope with the reality that we have revenue that is not available and we have increasing priority needs in the state." he said.Still, the San Angelo Republican said he was glad Abbott gave a clear vision.Democrats criticized Abbott's speech as overly partisan and too focused on "distractions," such as "sanctuary cities" and "fetal remains.""Gov. Abbott spent his speech largely on partisan and divisive issues that will hurt, not help, the people of Texas," said House Minority Leader Chris Turner. "New barriers to women's health care, attacks on local elected officials, telling Texans how they can and cannot spend their paycheck and denying homeowners the right to hold their insurance company accountable do nothing to move our state forward.""There wasn't much in the governor's speech that gave me hope," added state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, in a news conference called by Democrats.Still, some found reason for optimism in Abbott's omission of the lieutenant governor's restroom proposal, which has been criticized by many in the business community as discriminatory and likely to cause some businesses to avoid Texas."You notice the governor didn't mention the bathroom bill," said Senate Leader Jose Rodriguez of El Paso. "Maybe that's a good thing." Following on the heels of lasts week threatened retaliation against Florida ports that sign agreements with Cuba, Gov. Rick Scott has tucked another anti-Cuba provision into his proposed state budget that is even more far-reaching.Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach backed off plans to sign whats known as a memorandum of understanding with the National Port Administration of Cuba last week after Scott tweeted that he would ask state legislators to cut off funding for any Florida ports that enter into any agreement with [the] Cuban dictatorship.In a Twitter post, the governor said he had Serious security/human rights concerns about Cuba.The two ports received visits from a high-level maritime and business delegation from Cuba last week, but both port directors put plans to sign any MOU with Cuba on hold.However, that didnt prevent Scott from putting wording in his new budget, released Tuesday, that says no money can be allocated to infrastructure projects that result in the expansion of trade with the Cuban dictatorship because of their continued human rights abuses. The reference can be found on page 221 of Scotts 362-page 2017-2018 budget recommendations. Attorney General Mark Herring and Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday that the state is bringing legal action against President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration."This is not the United States of America we know," McAuliffe said.Herring said the president's order is "unlawful, unconstitutional and un-American, and action is required."Virginia is asking to join a pending case, Aziz v. Trump et al., in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.The New York Times reported that Tareq Aqel Mohammed Aziz, 21, and his brother Ammar, 19, landed at Dulles International Airport on Saturday morning and were connecting to Flint, Mich., to join their father, a U.S. citizen. The Yemeni brothers were taken off the plane, handcuffed and told their visas had been canceled. They were sent on a return flight to Ethiopia, The Times reported.The two had immigrant visas, meaning they were approved for legal permanent residency, because their father is a U.S. citizen, according to The Times.Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, legal director of the Immigrant Advocacy Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center, filed a petition on behalf of them and 60 or so other people detained at the airport. The petition asks for a temporary injunction stopping the effect of the president's order.A hearing on the case is expected next week.Trump's order banning entry to the United States for individuals from certain countries, even those who are lawful permanent residents or entering the United States on valid work or student visas, is degrading and unlawful treatment, Herring said."The commonwealth has substantial interests justifying its intervention, and make no mistake, the commonwealth of Virginia, and our people, are already being harmed by this executive order," Herring said.Herring said students and faculty of Virginia colleges are unable to leave and some are unable to return to the United States.The order will hamper schools' ability to attract and retain foreign students, prevent students and faculty members from traveling abroad, and may affect research and grant projects and hurt tuition revenue, Herring said."This is not theoretical," Herring said. "It's happening as we speak."We've got 100 students at Virginia Commonwealth University unable to leave to see families or come back -- and there's identical stories across all campuses."McAuliffe said employers are concerned for employees who are affected.Brian Coy, a spokesman for the governor, said businesses looking to relocate to Virginia were asking what the state planned to do.McAuliffe and Herring, both Democrats, were at Dulles in Northern Virginia over the weekend to join protests over the immigration ban.Herring and McAuliffe did not take questions Tuesday because the state's motion is pending in court, they said.Trump signed his order Friday, saying it was to protect the U.S. from potential terrorists who could travel to the U.S. while his administration works to strengthen vetting procedures.It suspended refugee resettlement in the U.S. for 120 days and Syrian refugee resettlement indefinitely. It also suspended entry for citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- on immigrant or non-immigrant visas for three months.Herring's office said it has been working since Friday to try to dissect the order and its implications. The Trump administration has not responded to letters sent by Virginia officials seeking more information on the ban.Herring said he's still unclear on the full impact of Trump's order.Attorneys general from New York, Washington and Massachusetts have filed lawsuits challenging the order. More than a dozen attorneys general released a joint statement over the weekend denouncing Trump's actions. Ukraine at UNSC to use every opportunity to counter Russian aggression Ukraine, which takes over the UN Security Council presidency on February 1 for a month-long period, will use this opportunity to counter Russian aggression, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said. "Ukraine takes on new important responsibilities at UN Security Council as of today - as President of the Council for the month of February [...] At UN we'll continue using every opportunity to defend Ukraine against Russia's military aggression," he said on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Ukraine's Mission to the United Nations tweeted on Tuesday evening that Ukraine called for an open session on Donbas on Thursday, February 2. The session is to start at 22:00 Kyiv time. On Monday, in the morning, at the Anglican Church Grammar School, East Brisbane, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC attended the funeral service for Mr Peter Fardoulys AM. In the afternoon, at the Jewish Chapel, Mt Gravatt Cemetery, Macgregor, the Governor and Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended the funeral service for Mrs Eva Klug. In the evening, at Government House, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey hosted a reception to celebrate the 150th birthday of the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital where His Excellency addressed guests. (TNS) -- On Tuesday morning, large trucks reduced traffic to one lane along Bluff Road in Illinois' Signal Hill area as workers hoisted a 1,000-pound piece of equipment onto an electricity pole.The gray device, called an IntelliRupter, was bolted in by a J.F. Electric worker. Later another crew is slated to come by to make sure the device used to help re-route power in the case of a power outage, is working correctly.The installation is part of the ongoing work to upgrade and modernize the electricity grid, which was authorized as part of the smart grid or the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act that passed in 2011.Senior Director of Division Operations for Ameren Illinois John Barud said about $400 million of the $650 million program has been spent so far.Since 2012 Ameren has been installing storm-hardened utility poles, outage detection technology and stronger power lines as part of its grid modernization work, which has improved reliability by 17 percent, the utility said.The devices, like the one installed on Tuesday, re-route electricity when there is a problem, and minimize how many customers are affected by a power outage.Its virtually instantaneous, Barud said. Our customers will see a brief blink, but the communications between them is very fast.The devices send signals to each other, and to an Ameren dispatch center in Decatur so the utility can monitor any issues.When we have guys come out to troubleshoot, it will take less time to troubleshoot, so it will reduce the length of the outage for the customers that are out, Barud said.The outage sensors have helped Ameren restore electricity to an affected area 18 percent faster, said Brian Bretsch, an Ameren spokesman.About 120 of the IntelliRupters have been installed in the metro-east from Alton to Columbia, including 42 in the Belleville area, Bretsch said.Barud said Ameren Illinois previously installed another Intellirupter in the Signal Hill area to work with the one installed on Tuesday. Another is being installed in conjunction with a new substation being built to support the new commercial development near the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.The substation is scheduled to be up and running in the spring and will meet the energy needs of the new Hofbrauhaus restaurant and brewery and hotel and conference center, which itself is under construction, but has no opening date scheduled. The substation will serve more than 2,000 customers in the area. I've become a fan of Hidden Brain, a podcast about how we think as people. They have had a wide variety of topics on the list of shows. One back from November 2016 is titledAs a former history major in college, I think the past is important to the future and the present. The linked episode was terrific in giving that perspective on how we as Americans have viewed immigrants over the years. It is noted that Benjamin Franklin looked down on the German immigrants who had moved to Pennsylvania back in the 1700s. We have had "issues" with every wave of immigrants who have crossed the great waters in the past. The Irish, Poles, Japanese, Jews, Russians, Mexicans and now Muslims ... being in the news.The most surprising piece of information I learned from listening to the podcast is how after a couple of generations, the immigrants who were discriminated against and looked down on, assume the "American perspective" of looking down on other waves of immigrants, even if they are coming from their native country. Zow!It is not surprising then that we see the debate and recent furor that has erupted in the last few days. You would think that in the 21st century we'd be more enlightened, but people don't seem to change through the ages.My immigrant background comes from a Mennonite migration from Germany, first into Canada (they were welcoming even back then) and then the Holdemans must have sneaked across the Canadian/United States border and settled as farmers into Wisconsin and when no one was looking, into northern Illinois. Grandpa Holdeman met a Norwegian girl and he "fell away," and the family was raised Lutheran.A few thoughts about the assimilation of Germans into the United States. It wasn't until World War I that Missouri Synod Lutheran church services in German were widely discontinued (for some reason). The last Lutheran church service I can remember in my lifetime was a Good Friday Service that was conducted by a pastor who could speak the language and there were a few people of German ancestry who attended that was 1984. So, it took about 200 years from the time of Ben Franklin for the Germans to finally let go of their mother tongue.For the record, the only foreign language that I do speak (only a little) is German. Just trying to keep the flame alive! (TNS) BETHEL A new kind of government with a singular purpose is being proposed for the poorest part of Alaska.This novel borough would have broad taxing power for one stated end: to build energy infrastructure such as wind turbines, new electricity lines, a natural gas pipeline or whatever else could help bring down what are now extraordinarily high energy costs.A bill filed in the Legislature to accomplish that instantly caused an uproar. An Alaska Native corporation for villages along the middle Kuskokwim River says the measure has troublesome ramifications. A Bethel resident thinks it could rip the region apart."Absolute shock," is how Maver Carey, chief executive of The Kuskokwim Corp., summed up her reaction.Wording in the six-page measure about education and air quality may be prompting unnecessary worry, said the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Democrat from Bethel who is co-chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. He doesn't intend to change existing law in those areas and plans a rewrite. An aide called the bill "messy.""That is my fault," Hoffman said this week. "I did not want to wait for a perfect bill to be drafted, which might be a month or a month and a half down the road, then submit it and lose all this time."Instead, he filed Senate Bill 18 just before the Jan. 17 start of the new legislative session so lawmakers could fully study and debate it.The measure will be fine-tuned as it moves through committees, Hoffman said.The goal, he said, is to create "a borough with energy powers" in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, one financed by an as-yet-undeveloped gold mine. Its boundaries would match those of the region served by Calista Corp., an Alaska Native corporation."We're not talking about full-blown government," Hoffman said. "We're talking about trying to address the high cost of energy, from a resource that the people of the Calista region can all benefit from."But some think a regionwide borough would be too big and disjointed. It would encompass villages and areas with competing interests, those that fight now over salmon and those with lingering resentments from wars of long ago, said Grant Fairbanks, a Bethel resident with a homestead on the Holitna River. Villages midway up the Kuskokwim River wouldn't want a borough headquartered in Bethel, he said.He emailed Hoffman that it would be "the most harmful piece of legislation."One big worry is that low-income people could lose homes if they couldn't pay property taxes, Fairbanks said. There's no intent to levy taxes on private homeowners, Hoffman said, although that option is in the bill as filed.Hoffman said this latest version of a borough, like others that have been discussed and studied, would rely on revenue from the Donlin Gold mine prospect near the village of Crooked Creek, up the Kuskokwim River from Bethel.The project which some call a monster deposit, with the potential extraction of a million ounces of gold a year is under federal environmental review. The Kuskokwim Corp. owns the land and Calista owns the mineral rights leased to the developers. The Donlin Gold development company is jointly owned by Barrick Gold Corp., the world's biggest gold mining company, and NovaGold, a new player focused on Donlin.The mine developers are evaluating SB 18. Donlin has stayed out of borough debates so far but expects that some type of government could form if the mine is built, said Kurt Parkan, Donlin's external affairs manager.High taxes, however, could hurt the mine's viability."Any extra cost is a cost to the bottom line and affects the feasibility of the project altogether," Parkan said.This new third-class borough would be allowed very limited powers. While Haines used to be organized as a third-class borough, it had authority over schools, unlike what is being proposed by Hoffman. Haines voters in 2002 switched over to a more standard, home-rule borough. Now there aren't any third-class boroughs among the 19 that function as Alaska's version of a county."This new bill creates a kind of borough that has never existed anywhere before," said Marty McGee, state tax assessor and supervisor over the staff of the Local Boundary Commission, which must approve any new borough.The borough could levy property taxes. It could collect payments instead of taxes, the way the Northwest Arctic Borough receives its revenue from Red Dog Mine. And it could leverage that money by investing in bonds "to finance an energy infrastructure project in the borough," the bill says.That's it."It's very creative," said Lamar Cotten, who has worked as an administrator in various rural boroughs and as a consultant to those considering a borough government.The desire to lower energy costs is understandable, he said.But: "Is that the right vehicle to achieve those goals?" he asked. "I think that is a fair public policy question." State corporations already exist as a financial mechanism for public projects, he said.The legislation blindsided The Kuskokwim Corp., Carey said. That is the for-profit Alaska Native corporation for 10 mid-river villages, from Lower Kalskag to Stony River.Its board voted Thursday to oppose SB 18. The legislation is rushed, flawed and jarring, TKC leaders said.It had set up a framework for its villages to study a small, traditional borough with authority over schools, planning and taxes. It wanted to be sure residents would be ready if and when Donlin is a go, said Carey, TKC chief executive."That process was a very public process with years of meetings in our communities under the existing framework of state law," said Andrea Gusty, vice president of corporate affairs.Its effort was focused on a borough that would be voter-initiated and voter-approved. A draft charter was written.The project was put on hold while Donlin works its way through environmental reviews and government permissions. Donlin's decision on whether the mine will be built won't come until 2019 or after, Parkan said.Hoffman said his vision of a borough also would need voter approval. His bill just sets up a mechanism.Calista represents 56 tribes, or about 50 occupied villages including the hub of Bethel. Its region includes six school districts. TKC's section just includes one, Kuspuk School District.Villages in the Y-K Delta are some of the poorest in Alaska. Most people live off wild animals and fish, birds and berries, greens and roots harvested from the land and water.In the Bethel area, about one-quarter of the people live in poverty. Farther west, it's closer to one-third. Statewide, about one in 10 Alaskans live in poverty.The Kuskokwim Corp. doesn't want a Calista-wide borough because Donlin won't generate enough to support that, its leaders said.TKC leaders don't understand why Hoffman is pushing a borough focused only on energy in a region that has many needs including education and water and sewer services."When we look at this bill, it is very clear that it has the potential to impact generations of residents in the region. It really feels like it deserves a much more thoughtful, measured, inclusive approach," said Sam Boyle, chief operating officer of The Kuskokwim Corp. "Where are the town hall meetings? Where is the public discussion? Where is the input?"People can voice concerns during the legislative debate, Hoffman said.He said he is presenting an option that would spread revenue from Donlin throughout the region, not just to some villages.TKC says the bill would create a Calista borough that its residents don't want. The anxiety level is heightened because Calista has been talking about improving efficiencies between villages by clustering services and has raised the possibility of regionalized high schools.But Calista didn't propose the bill and isn't pushing a borough, spokesman Thom Leonard said. Back in 2014 and 2015, it led an effort to examine a borough or regional tribe. Shareholders, tribal leaders and others didn't want a borough, and the project was shelved after two meetings, Leonard said.Calista is studying the new bill and hasn't yet taken a position on it, Leonard said.The bill includes multiple references to rural education. That is only to ensure the new borough conforms with the way things already are run, Hoffman said. School operations wouldn't change, he said. Neither would control over air quality, also addressed in the bill.Hoffman said he presented the idea of an energy borough to Calista chief executive Andrew Guy last year, not the other way around.What kind of energy projects could result? That is not defined in the bill but Hoffman's office said it could include wind power and new technologies.The biggest might use the natural gas capacity that Donlin will bring to the region, Hoffman said. The mine developers plan a $1 billion-plus, 300-plus-mile, natural gas pipeline from Cook Inlet to the mine site.The borough wouldn't pay for Donlin's pipeline, because that is already part of the mine plan, Hoffman said. Instead, Donlin could pay to bring cheaper power to the borough, the senator said. The borough's ability to finance projects with low-cost bonds will be key, he said.Maybe the mine power plant could generate electricity for the region. Maybe excess gas could be distributed throughout villages of the delta. Maybe the region could be wired so that cheap electricity could heat homes.The region now relies on barged-in heating oil, diesel-fueled power plants and other expensive energy sources.The proposal is not specific to Calista or the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. If the bill becomes law, it could be used to carve out a limited borough elsewhere in rural Alaska or perhaps even change the function of an existing borough.No hearing has yet been set. California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (PDF) While Trump has promised to bring hundreds of jobs back to America, some remain skeptical about how much the administration will actually work to protect low income or minimum wage earners. Chao has received bipartisan support, but some pushback came from labor unions. While the head of the Labor Department, the Government Accountability Office released an audit (PDF) stating that the Wage and Hour Division frequently responded inadequately to complaints, leaving low-wage workers vulnerable to wage theft. What that means for input and complaints regarding autonomous vehicles and other emerging transportation technologies remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain: The next secretary of transportation will not simply work on building roads and bridges and ensuring safe travel, Foxx said in his outgoing cabinet memo. "The next administration is entering a period of advanced automated technologies in transportation, an infrastructure system that continues to work for some and against others in society, dramatic demographic shifts, an increase in extreme weather events in a changing climate, and a backlog of projects needed across the country with not enough resources to address it," he said. "Future administrations should, if the United States is to remain competitive in the global economy, devote significant time and energy to securing the resources needed to keep America competitive." Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Print Email Ryan McCauley Ryan McCauley was a staff writer for Government Technology magazine from October 2016 through July 2017, and previously served as the publication's editorial assistant. See More Stories by Ryan McCauley Tweets by Cisco IIJA & ARP Broadband Funding Cisco is helping communities like yours bridge the digital divide to power a more inclusive future for all. Our experts in mass scale infrastructure, community broadband, and security can help you get started today at www.cisco.com/go/digitaldivide. Never miss a story with the GovTech Today newsletter. SUBSCRIBE Few, if any, who based their predictions on data analysis and modelling expected the events of election night to play out they way they did. While Donald Trump by all means will serve as an unconventional president, few concrete policies were espoused on the campaign trail.Trump relied on coercive, often-combative language while campaigning, avoiding detailed plans about policy positions. Using broad language of "getting tough" or "something needs to change," the new administration has promised to turn Washington on its head. But how will his administration impact an infrastructure system in dire need of repair and a budding self-driving vehicle market?During his campaign, Trump frequently mentioned the nation's crumbling infrastructure and called for an investment into widespread repairs. Now, nearly three months after being elected and two weeks into his presidency, we have some more clues about where the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is headed and how the agency's next leader, Elaine Chao , will run the department.Chao, who served as the Secretary of Labor for George W. Bush, was confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 31 in a 93-6 vote.During her Jan. 11 confirmation hearing with the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Chao said that the DOT has, a unique opportunity to address the exciting new technologies transforming travel and commerce, which no doubt includes autonomous vehicles and hooking up roads with sensors to enable smarter transportation infrastructure.And when it comes to transportation technologies, Chao will have large shoes to fill, as former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx has built a legacy on recognizing pockets of innovation in the country and working with them to extend the benefits nationwide. In his outgoing cabinet memo (PDF) , Foxx noted that we must continue to take advantage of technology. "The department has already established a strong foundation for utilizing technology to further our transportation goals by supporting innovation within a culture of safety.Chao echoed these sentiments during her confirmation hearing. The U.S. Department of Transportation has a rare opportunity to shape the transformation of our critical infrastructure and the chance to lead the department at this pivotal historic time is a great honor," she said in her opening remarks. "First and foremost, safety will continue to be the primary objective.On the mind of many is the advent of autonomous vehicles, which are consistently making their way to the front page given their potential to decrease roadway fatalities, increase livable space and connect the disabled community to a reliable source of transportation.The private sector is driving this innovation, Chao said during her hearing. We want to work with Congress to position the federal government as a catalyst for safe, efficient technologies, not as an implement and not as an impediment.This is not dissimilar to how the regulations have looked thus far; the autonomous vehicle regulations released by the DOT under Foxx's leadership were not issued as a strict guidance, but as a working, living document.One thought from a professor who focuses on the economics of transportation with an emphasis on autonomous vehicle integration is that Chao will begin to regulate outcomes around safety rather than technologies, like requiring a gas pedal. This is a good thing, said Jeffrey Funk of the National University of Singapore. We need to encourage private companies to come up with new and innovative designs.As for how Chao will keep regulations going, she said during her confirmation hearing that once confirmed, she would request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provide a full demonstration and briefing regarding state and federal laws and regulations related to autonomous vehicles."States retain the right to regulate on many issues related to motor vehicles, such as driver licensing requirements," she said, "but a 'patchwork' of laws could present challenges for the Department as well as the automobile and insurance industries."And according to American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear, who worked with Chao during her time in the Department of Labor, Chao has a propensity to go to great lengths to listen to everybody, in order to create a federal framework that will work for everyone. Spear also called Chao a natural who has so much depth and experience.One of the toughest challenges for the DOT in moving forward with implementing autonomous vehicles (AVs), Funk said, will be working across departments. Connected AVs are about cellular and Wi-Fi and other IT infrastructure that will be important over time, he said. We also need to get telecom operators, infrastructure suppliers, and hardware and software suppliers involved.Much of what Chao said during her confirmation hearing kept with a theme of having the government step out of the way to allow for private-sector innovation. (And it's worth noting that Uber Founder and CEO Travis Kalanick and Tesla Chairman and CEO Elon Musk are both a part of Trumps economic advisory team, and both companies have continued to push the envelope in the autonomous vehicle market.) But in answering a question from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., about whether an infrastructure package would include direct federal funds, however, Chao replied, I believe the answer is yes.As the new Transportation secretary, Chao will be charged with installing Trump's purported $1 trillion infrastructure proposal (PDF) , which according to a Washington Post analysis , doesnt directly fund new roads, bridges, water systems or airports. Instead, Trumps plan provides tax breaks to private-sector investors who back profitable construction projects.In a document acquired by McClatchy that outlines the proposed top 50 infrastructure projects the Trump administration will focus on, however, it appears such projects will be 50 percent publiclly funded and 50 percent privately funded.And while we are in the midst of the next revolution in mobility, Funk suggests that the basic groundwork must be set before autonomous vehicles integrate with public roadways.We should be thinking of infrastructure that will facilitate the implementation of AVs as we build roads and bridges, he said. Smart sensors and fiber lines are good ideas.As for working through these public-private partnerships (P3), Jonathan Kilman, a partner at Foley & Lardner who has represented transportation clients in Florida public policy, said he believes that Trumps background in business will bode well.Modern transportation relies on technology, said Kilman. That will only increase in the future I'd recommend the Trump administration continue to engage the leading P3 companies in the country in conversation; I suspect the solutions they are looking for would quickly be delivered.If the federal government were to utilize P3s, it would continue to own the pieces of infrastructure. If the agreements are not properly crafted, however, there is a danger that it could look more like privatization than a partnership.While both P3s and privatization avoid major public funding for projects, privatization is a much more hands-off approach. And according to a report done by In the Public Interest (PDF) , a research and policy center on privatization and responsible contracting, Privatization weakens democratic control over public goods and services and increases economic, political, and racial inequality.Foxx led the department with a vision that responsibly designed infrastructure can help break down barriers in society and bridge lower income neighborhoods and job centers. The state of Illinois announced another step in the evolution of its smart state initiative with the release of an RFP that will ultimately allow local government to leverage the benefits of connected street lighting.Gov. Bruce Rauner made the announcement in conjunction with the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) Jan. 31. Under the RFP, known as Smart Street Lighting for Illinois Municipalities, companies are encouraged to bid on the statewide master contract, the benefits of which would be passed along for local government organizations to leverage.In a press release , officials said the end product would allow smaller cities and towns to reap the benefits of connected infrastructure that it will level the playing field for small and medium cities, villages and townships in the state, which is something Illinois CIO Hardik Bhatt spoke withabout in November of 2016.By making resources available and providing access to infrastructure, Bhatt said small government in Illinois can share the same opportunities for smarter cities as their larger more technologically advanced neighbors.So, every town in Illinois can easily become part of the smart cities movement and apply these smart city solutions. They dont really have to go through their own procurement, etc., he said. Now, we are creating an equalizing opportunity for Sandwich, Ill., Peoria, Rockford, they can be as smart as Chicago.On the whole, LED lighting can improve efficiency and advance innovation for Illinois through energy savings and adaptive controls, according to the press release, which also states that smart street lighting "enables real-time control of lighting levels, based on external factors such as pedestrian activity and traffic patterns. (TNS) -- ONTARIO, Calif. -- They charge six-figure cars, and now in response to natural gas shortages following a catastrophic gas leak in the San Fernando Valley in 2015-16 an Ontario field of super-sized Tesla lithium batteries powers homes.On Monday, the public got its first peek at the new installation at Southern California Edisons Mira Loma Substation in Ontario, which has been operational since the end of the 2016 and was built in 88 days.The 20 megawatt lithium ion battery system a combination of two identical systems sitting side by side comprised of 400 modular power pack battery units neatly lined in rows along 1.5 acres can store up to 80 megawatt-hours and power 15,000 homes for 4 hours, Paul Griffo, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, said.Tesla Motors Chief Technical Officer J.B. Straubel, who was on hand to speak at the grand opening, told reporters each of the energy storage systems white, rectangular power pack units carries about 16 lithium ion pods, and the batteries can be charged on a daily basis and last for 10 years, he said.This battery is actually more rugged and robust and designed for that kind of industrial usage, whereas the vehicle batteries are designed to last the life of the vehicle, but you dont need to take your vehicle at a full cycle every single day, Straubel said.Redundancy is built in, so theres always a backup supply for the grid, he added.Another, albeit smaller, field of Tesla batteries is being built on the Hawaiian island of Kauai The speed at which the project came about was prompted by the closure of the Aliso Canyon natural gas reservoir in late 2015, after a major leak released more than 1.6 million pounds of methane and displaced more than 8,000 residents in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley.Because natural gas powers electricity generating stations, the Aliso Canyon facility had been a major source of energy for the region, particularly during the winter months for the regions heating needs. But without a key source of energy, Southern California was at greater risk of rolling blackouts Because of the loss, the California Public Utilities Commission ordered energy providers last May to begin building and utilizing more energy storage systems for use during peak times.Enter Tesla Motors, which won the bid to provide an energy storage system to Southern California Edison. Unlike traditional electric generators, the batteries can be deployed quickly at scale and do not require any water or gas pipelines, according to Tesla.Under normal circumstances, a project like the one at Mira Loma, could have taken two years to procure, officials said.SCE and Tesla just signed the contract for this project in mid-September of last year, and it was operational by the end of the year, SCE CEO Kevin Payne said. It represents a big step forward in deploying battery technology and an incredible achievement for the SCE and Tesla team.The Ontario project could not have also come without the arrival in early 2016 of Teslas Gigafactory in Nevada , Grant Davis, an SCE engineer, said. The factory, which produces the heavy-duty lithium ion batteries used for their cars and for industrial energy storage power pack systems, finally became operational a year ago. Beyond its promise of transparency and accountability, open data has become a hallmark of good government because of its well documented return on investment for the public. In New York, where I work on implementing the city's vision of "Open Data for All" , it is proving to be valuable information resource helping local small businesses compete with large companies.Government data is an asset whose value otherwise is capped at the operational value it produces internally. Opening it to the public redeploys this asset to encourage entrepreneurialism and innovation outside the four corners of city hall. Recently, the city of Copenhagen used the same logic to drive the value proposition of its open data program to the next level. The city is moving beyond simply making government-collected data available toward spurring the Danish capital's residents, businesses and universities to monetize their own latent information assets.The Copenhagen Solutions Lab (CSL), which oversees the city's open data project, invested last year in the "City Data Exchange, " an online data marketplace modeled after the city's open data portal. In 2014, the city issued an RFP offering $1.2 million in development capital for a vendor to create a sustainable business model for the online marketplace. Hitachi, a Japan-based technology company, had the winning bid, and the Data Exchange launched last May.Selling one company's data to another is no new phenomenon; third-party data brokers have thrived for decades. Copenhagen's Data Exchange, however, is unique in making these transactions transparent and centralized around the inherently "local" space of a specific city. In the RFP, CSL articulated a clear set of expectations for the project -- namely, that the winning bid needed to cater to the unique needs of Copenhagen's startups and academic researchers in addition to more established industry data consumers.As this project unfolds, it will test how successfully a public institution can draw on third-party vendors like Hitachi to amplify the data-analytics potential of local organizations while advancing other city responsibilities, such as ensuring equity and privacy protections. But while it is still too early to tell whether the City Data Exchange can be called a success -- to date, it contains only 2 gigabytes of data -- it certainly presents a promising model for spurring third-party innovation by leveraging an existing public-sector asset -- in this case, the infrastructure of open data.We've certainly seen how this can work in the evolution of the sharing economy. Companies like Uber and Airbnb are successful not because the product or service itself is radical but because they build on ubiquitous technological infrastructure to configure new and scalable ways of accessing and monetizing familiar things. Uber leverages existing road infrastructure and vehicles to give prospective riders an efficient way to access rides. Airbnb locates it business model in making homeowners' idle spaces rentable to outsiders. As a recent article in theput it, "The sharing economy isn't really a 'sharing' economy at all; it's an access economy."What Copenhagen is pioneering amounts to an effort to enable that access economy in a way that is both efficient and maintains high standards. Creating a "smart" city is more than outfitting roads with sensors and government employees with the latest gadgets. It also means using simple technologies and good policy to create novel ways for local institutions to leverage the public and private assets that can allow them to thrive. Almis Udrys is director of San Diegos Performance and Analytics Department, an agency which he helped develop and launch nearly three years ago.As director, Udrys is credited with helping deploy the citys Get It Done Web and mobile application, overseeing implementation of operational improvements, re-engineering San Diegos Strategic Plan, and a variety of other initiatives. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and statewide policy and operations, most recently serving as San Diegos director of Government Affairs. During the course of his career, Udrys also worked for the California State Auditor's Office and was a health-care policy consultant for the Legislature.In an interview with TechWire , sister publication to, Udrys discussed his role with the city and trends he sees in both state and local IT.Its about having somebody who can talk to the top-level decision-maker, take some of the ideas, the buzzwords if you will, and be able to translate that to the folks that actually have to do the work.My observation of how successful cities have done it is that you have people within the organization doing stuff thats really not sexy, finding ways to make it so and being able to communicate whats going on to the residents, to the decision-makers and to the people doing the work. There are a lot of tools from my experience with Legislature that I can apply, in terms of being able to build a coalition, grassroots and all that you need to deploy to get these types of initiatives off the ground.A lot of us do run in the same circles. Well run into each other at conferences and talk about what everybody is doing. I know that we certainly looked at a variety of different cities when we put together what our strategic plan was going to look like, and of course we take pride in thinking that we came together with the right balance of different things in one place.There is dialog. Theres the Civic Analytics Network, which has chief data officers from I believe what is now up to 15 cities or so. Theres the White House Police Data Initiative, which were a member of. We just posted some data from our portal into that. There are definitely some existing networks out there, but it depends on what position youre in. The chief data officer was the first-out-of-the-gate position that everybody thought was going to be really cool, but now there are all sorts of chiefs all over the place. Were less focused on the chiefs and more on embedding the whole culture into our entire team at the city.I think the speed in the work weve done is the most surprising. I mentioned that I had helped write the open data policy. I was working for a council member before they gave me the reins of the department. I didnt necessarily think I would be the one doing it, but then actually rolling up the sleeves, hiring the first data officer and starting to produce, its been incredible how much I feel like weve been able to do in the two years that the department has been up and running.We have a pretty broad mandate and vision that support us in prioritizing.San Diego has about 11,000 employees. The state, last I checked, is in the neighborhood of 200,000 plus. Youre talking about a factor 20 times what we have. Just mathematically speaking, it should take them about 40 years to do what we did in two. But Im a believer in forced multiplication and exponential math, so I do think it can happen. I think it is a question of engagement with the people that are using it that has to exist, and there are pockets of that happening.I think the other challenge for the state, and weve experienced this in San Diego as well, is you do need to have coordination throughout your organization. Ive seen cities that have multiple data platforms and they may not talk to each other, paying multiple vendors potentially for a similar product. Thats not to say that everything has to be centralized and run the exact same way, but I think the talking needs to happen. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced the appointment of longtime public servant and technologist John Dunlap to one of the states leading C-suite roles Jan. 30. Dunlap will replace CTO Gale Given, who has served in the post since 2012 . Given's last day was Jan. 26.The newly minted CTO has served more than 30 years in state government and said he hopes his experiences to this point will help him to better West Virginias overall quality of life with technology.Prior to his appointment as state CTO, Dunlap served as the West Virginia Office of Technology's director of infrastructure, and formerly served as the network manager for the states Department of Environmental Protection.Ive been in information technology for 30-plus years. I am a 32-year vet of working in state government, so I have the advantage of understanding state government, how it operates from a budget perspective and from a daily operations perspective," Dunlap told. "I hope by having that internal knowledge that we can look at where we can gain efficiencies, such as through consolidation efforts."Dunlap said one of the first orders of business will be to look at how to optimize efficiencies through potential consolidation efforts. From software contracts to administrative and operational overhead, he said there are opportunities to scale back and centralize state efforts.Though the state consolidated some of its IT resources in 2006, Dunlap said there are still areas worth focusing on.There are a multitude of software maintenance contracts we can consolidate, there are still several agency data centers I think we can consolidate, he explained. Also, there are various print shop and mail room operations that I think we can gain so much efficiency by consolidating and cutting the administrative overhead that goes with day-to-day operations such as that.Drawing from his early conversations about the governors priorities, Dunlap said creating jobs, empowering education and bolstering tourism rank high on the administrations to-do list. He is hopeful he will be able to play his part in assisting those efforts with technology.Of course, technology can play a big role in that, Dunlap said. Weve got to find a way to do things better, more cost-efficient and I think especially with job creation, technology is a way to do that, to show that the state of West Virginia has a lot to offer.In the long term, he will be looking for other opportunities to reduce redundancy and maximize state services under financial limitations.We need to deploy better, more efficient enterprise solutions that all state government benefits from, that we dont spend repetitive dollars [on], he said. Ill be honest with you, one of the things Im looking at right now is cost containment. Everyone in todays time is expected to do more with less. Again, I want to ensure that we maximize the resources we have. If we have dollars that we are spending them wisely. If we have personnel resources, were using them effectively and efficiently. Some 77 residents from the Ukrainian-controlled town of Avdiyivka, which has come under massive militant attacks in the past five days, were evacuated on Wednesday morning, head of the Donetsk regional military and civilian administration Pavlo Zhebrivsky has said. "As of 10:00 a.m., seventy-seven people had been evacuated. At total of 180 people are on the list, however, they plan to reschedule their departure either for the evening or for tomorrow," he told journalists on Wednesday morning after a meeting of the Avdiyivka emergency response center. He also gave an update on the aftermath of the attacks. In his words, up to 20 houses near Avdiyivka's Old Town area have been destroyed by shelling. One house has completely been burnt down. One local resident has been wounded and taken to hospital. A water pipeline was damaged somewhere near Avdiyivka, the village of Opytne or Pisky, he said. Up to three days are needed to identify the site and repair the pipe, moreover, the operation is complicated by ongoing attacks by militants, he said. On Wednesday morning, militants continued using proscribed heavy weapons, namely Grad multiple rocket launchers, to shell Avdiyivka. Doctors from Avdiyivka's municipal hospital reported that four wounded Ukrainian soldiers had been admitted between 08:00 to 10:00. One of them is undergoing surgery. (TNS) -- The U.S. technology industry spent the weekend pushing back against President Trump's executive order banning citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.Tech companies may have a tougher fight coming, with high stakes for thousands of Puget Sound-area workers: reform of guest-worker visa programs that the likes of Microsoft, Amazon.com, Google and a host of Indian outsourcing firms rely on.Those programs may be Trump's next target as he inserts a more nationalistic bent to the country's immigration laws. A draft executive order, obtained by Bloomberg News, would direct immigration authorities to give priority to ensuring jobs are held by Americans."Our country's immigration policies should be designed and implemented to serve, first and foremost, the U.S. national interest," the draft proposal reads, according to a copy reviewed by Bloomberg.Large technology companies have broadly stood up for immigration in the past few days but have been reluctant to stake out policy positions ahead of potential guest-worker proposals from the new administration. But they'd likely oppose an order that rolled back current programs."We would come out against it, and advocate every branch of government on the stupidity of the action," said Michael Schutzler, chief of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) lobbying group. "We would hope the state would pursue that with the same kind of legal fervor."It is unclear what force an executive order would carry. Guest-worker programs are governed by acts of Congress and federal rule-making procedures, and the legislative branch would likely have to step in to accomplish major changes, immigration lawyers say.The order targets the alphabet soup of programs, H-1B, L-1, E-2 and B1 among them, that determine who among the hundreds of thousands applicants annually receive clearance to live and work in the U.S.The most popular of those programs, H-1B, is used predominantly by software makers and other high-tech firms. Congress caps the program at 65,000 visas a year, while an additional 20,000 are set aside for those graduating from U.S. universities with high-level degrees.The program was built to address what companies say is a chronic shortage of skilled workers graduating from U.S. universities, particularly in the so-called STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and mathematics."There is a large, well- documented workforce shortage at America's home-grown leading-edge information technology companies," said Ed Lazowska, who holds the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington.There are more than 500,000 open computer- science jobs in the nation, and fewer than 43,000 people graduated with computer-science degrees last year, according to Seattle nonprofit Code.org.Avvo, a Seattle company that operates an online marketplace for those seeking legal help, has hired one or two employees through H-1B visas each year for the past several years, said Chief Legal Officer Josh King. Most of those are software developers.Sometimes finding a local employee just isn't possible, King said."It's a very tight market for talent," he said.Still, the H-1B program has come under fire from across the political spectrum, as a result in part from the rise of Indian outsourcing firms, which are now the largest individual recipients of such visas.Companies such as Infosys, Tata and Wipro largely exist as on-demand information technology departments. They have occasionally been the target of charges that American companies are slashing their own head count in favor of immigrant workers employed by those firms.Ron Hira, an associate professor at Howard University who has studied guest- worker visas, says wage data suggests that outsourcing companies are going after cheaper talent than U.S. technology companies who use the same program."All of the evidence makes it abundantly clear that the H-1B visa is being used to displace U.S. workers employed in decent-paying middle-class STEM jobs," he said in a blog post.The wage disparity shows up in applications from the largest users of H-1B visas in Washington state.Microsoft and Amazon, the two largest applicants to the program seeking workers in Washington, offered starting average salaries of $124,000 to potential guest workers in the most recent fiscal year, Labor Department data show.Infosys, the No. 3 applicant for workers to be placed in Washington, offered an average salary of $88,000.Part of the disparity is likely related to the skills required for the positions being filled."High-skilled immigration has been a fundamental driver of innovation and economic growth in Puget Sound for decades," Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith said in a statement. "We appreciate its continued importance to our employees, we're monitoring the situation closely, and will act aggressively to advocate for their needs."Amazon didn't respond to a request for comment, and Infosys declined to comment.Trump and his surrogates have given mixed messages on guest-worker programs.During the presidential campaign, Trump's campaign website called for companies to hire workers who are Americans. But in subsequent interviews, and in a conversation with technology-industry chiefs last month, Trump indicated some willingness to work with the industry to draw skilled workers to the U.S.Meanwhile, Trump's pick for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, has advocated curtailing the ability of outsourcing companies to use H-1B visas."Who knows?" said Abby Loomis, a Seattle immigration attorney. "Those are the two key words."Potential reforms floated in the past would replace the H-1B's current lottery system with an auction system. A program that awarded the limited number of visas to the highest bidders might better fulfill the goal of filling gaps in high-skilled roles, advocates say.The WTIA's Schutzler says his member companies wouldn't be opposed to reforms that target offshoring firms. "It would make for more visas for those of us doing it the proper way," he said.Schutzler said the WTIA estimates that about 8,000 of the 200,000 technology workers in Washington state are holders of H-1B visas.Technology companies and the lobbyists and attorneys who work on immigration issues caution against wholesale removal of the H-1B program."Silicon Valley, and we'll call it Silicon Valley north, and Silicon Valley east, those places really need this program," said Greg McCall, an immigration attorney and partner with Perkins Coie in Seattle. "For that to be eliminated or reduced would be bad for the economy."Information from Bloomberg News and Seattle Times business reporter Angel Gonzalez is included in this report. Embattled F1 backmarker Manor's hopes may still be faintly alive. Actually, it appears that only 10 teams will line up on the 2017 grid, after Manor's administrator FRP recently announced the out-of-money team must "close its doors". But Luis Vasconcelos, a correspondent for the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, said hopes may still be faintly alive. That is because, while former US grand prix founder Tavo Hellmund's bid to buy Manor fell apart, an Indonesian group may still be interested. Vasconcelos said that bid is headed by Ricardo Gelael. Indeed, we reported recently that Gelael's Jangonya Ayam company - which is the Indonesian branch of global fast food giant KFC - was interested in investing in Manor. Already in 2016, a GP2 team with a KFC livery was sponsored by Gelael, featuring his son Sean Gelael at the wheel. Turun Sanomat now reports that Gelael's Manor takeover bid failed over concerns about hidden team debts. "Although FRP announced the factory closure, it does not necessarily stop Ricardo Gelael from buying," said Vasconcelos. "In fact, he now has the opportunity to buy the team for a considerably lower price." (GMM) Militants in Donbas continue shelling Ukrainian army positions in all the sectors of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone, as a result of which one Ukrainian soldier was killed in action (KIA), nine were wounded in action (WIA) in the last day. Another nine suffered trauma, the ATO Headquarters press service has said. "There were 86 attacks in total. One our soldier died, nine have wounds and nine have trauma," the ATO HQ press center wrote on Facebook on Wednesday morning. The villages of Vodiane, Pavlopil, Talakivka, and Berdianske in the Mariupol sector came under fire from 122mm artillery systems, while 120mm mortars were used to attack the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Novohryhorivka, Pavlopil, Talakivka, Novotroyitske and Vodiane. Militants also fired small arms on Shyrokyne and Novohryhorivka. A sniper was working on the village of Chermalyk, while Shyrokyne was attacked by infantry fighting vehicles. The occupiers actively used Grad multiple rocket launchers in the Donetsk sector, the ATO HQ said. They lobbed about 100 Grad shells on Ukrainian positions near the town of Avdiyivka. They also used 152mm artillery systems against ATO forces there. Further, enemy tanks repeatedly attacked the town. The proscribed 152mm artillery systems were used to shell the village of Tonenke. Avdiyivka, and the villages of Luhanske, Troyitske, Opytne and Verkhniotoretske also came under 120mm mortar fire. What is more, enemy tanks and infantry fighting vehicles attacked Verkhniotoretske. Militants in the Luhansk sector repeatedly fired 152mm and 122mm artillery systems, 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various systems and small arms on Ukrainian troops stationed near the villages of Krymske, Troyitske, Zhovte, Novo-Oleksandrivka, Stanytsia Luhanska, and Novozvanivka. Rescue workers from Ukraine's Emergency Situations Service (ESS) continue assistance to residents of Avdiyivka, despite the failure of combined Russian and separatist forces to stop shelling the Ukrainian city and abide by a ceasefire as of 07:00 on February 1. "On January 31, the Avdiyivka-Ocheretyne railway line was damaged. Some four ESS pyrotechnic teams are ready to commence demining work when shooting stops. There are two more in reserve," the ESS press service reported on Wednesday morning. ESS has deployed 11 heating stations (7 mobile points from ESS stock, 3 regular ones and 1 donated by a charity organization), which have helped about 900 people. Three field kitchens have also been set up. Some 260 individuals have been deployed for repair works, as well as 60 pieces of equipment, including 120 ESS personnel and 35 ESS pieces of equipment. The National Police of Ukraine have provided 63 people and three pieces of equipment. The Avdivyivka municipality has made 54 workers and 15 pieces equipment available, and the Avdivyivka Coke Plant has sent its 23 workers and seven pieces of equipment to join the operation. The ESS press service notes the city inhabited by 22,000 residents utilizes a centralized heating system from the [Avdivyivka coke] plant's natural gas feeder. The temperature in the feeder is 50 degrees Celsius above zero, while apartment temperatures are reportedly around 15 degrees Celsius. The city also uses a centralized water-supply system from reserve supplies. If necessary, water will be delivered to the city. Central electricity supplies have been cut off. Municipal and social offices without backup electricity supplies are being powered by electricity generated by five ESS generators (12 generators of various capacity are in reserve and three powerful mobile electricity generators are available). Air temperature is currently 15 degrees Celsius below zero. Evacuation plans for the elderly and about 12,000 results if the situation worsens have been prepared. Some 140 residents have already asked to be evacuated. Emergency coordination services have been organized under the supervision of ESS. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has sent a note to Russia's Foreign Ministry protesting against the announced plans of Crimean and Simferopol eparchy of Moscow Patriarchy to seize some buildings of Ancient City Chersonesos Taurica and its Chora, belonging to Ukraine. The city is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. "We again demand from Russia as the state that temporarily and unlawfully occupies Ukrainian territories to provide for the implementation of its liabilities under international law," the press service of the ministry reported on Tuesday. The ministry said that being on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the Ukrainian facility Ancient City Chersonesos Taurica and its Chora require special protection regime foreseen in the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention, which was signed by Russia. The note also pays attention to the provisions of the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The occupying state is obliged to ensure the proper protection of cultural property and respect them. One Ukrainian soldier was killed in action (KIA) and another 18 were wounded in action (WIA) in Donbas hostilities in the past day, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesperson for Anti-Terrorist Operation issues Oleksandr Motuzianyk has said. "In the past day, the Ukrainian army's casualties were one KIA and 18 WIA's," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday. The serviceman was killed amid an enemy artillery attack on the village of Tonenke, Motuzianyk elaborated. Fifteen out of 18 KIA's were wounded near the town of Avdiyivka, he said. The agreement would settle the claims of consumers and dealers of used vehicles against Robert Bosch GmbH, its affiliates, employees, and directors concerning Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles with 2.0L engines for model years 2009 through 2015 and Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche diesel vehicles with 3.0L engines for model years 2009 through 2016. For this purpose, Bosch will pay a total amount of US$327.5 million (approx. 304 million). By entering into the settlement, Bosch neither acknowledges the facts as alleged by the plaintiffs nor does Bosch accept any liability. Bosch has entered into a settlement agreement with private claimants in the US in order to settle the most substantial part of the civil law proceedings pending in connection with Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles that were sold in the US. The corresponding documents have been filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The settlement agreement was concluded with the Plaintiffs Steering Committee (PSC) on behalf of proposed settlement classes. Upon careful consideration of all relevant aspects, we have in this case decided to enter into a settlement agreement. Bosch is currently undergoing the biggest transformation process in its company history. We wish to devote our attention and our resources to the transition in mobility and in other areas of activity. Dr. Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Management Board of Robert Bosch GmbH The settlement agreement now reached requires the approval by Judge Charles R. Breyer, who conducts the nationwide multi-district proceedings in which numerous civil law actions have been combined. In a hearing scheduled for 14 February 2017, the Court will consider to grant preliminary approval of the settlement agreement. The class members will then be informed of their rights and options. It is proposed that the Court considers final approval of the settlement agreement in early May. The settlement agreement concerns only civil law claims. As it has done since allegations have first been made public, Bosch will continue to defend its interests in all other civil and criminal law proceedings and to cooperate comprehensively with the investigating authorities in Germany and in other countries. The new generation of electric vehicles will be based on a scalable architecture developed specifically for battery-electric models; it is suitable for all model series as well as sub-models, such as SUVs, saloons and coupes. Wheelbase and track are variable. The Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant will produce electric vehicles in the new electric EQ brand ( earlier post ), according to an agreement the company and works council have signed after intensive negotiations. Mercedes-Benz earlier announced that its Bremen plant will build the first production EQ model by the end of this decade. ( Earlier post .) The Sindelfingen site plays an important role in the electric offensive of Mercedes-Benz Cars and is being advanced into a competence center for EV of the upper range and luxury class. Markus Schafer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management Mercedes-Benz three German car plants Bremen, Rastatt and Sindelfingen will all play a key role for electric mobility in the global production network. Since April 2014, the B-Class Electric Drive has been produced at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt on the same line as vehicles with combustion engines. Mercedes-Benz Cars is setting the strategic course for the production of electric vehicles within the global production network. In this way, we are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by electric mobility and are significantly limiting the required investment. We have invested worldwide at an early stage in flexibility and technical equipment with groundbreaking Industry 4.0 solutions. With our plants in Bremen, Rastatt and Sindelfingen as well as the smart plant in Hambach, France, we now have four competence centers for the production of electric vehicles. Markus Schafer, Member of the Divisional Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management The new EQ EVs are to be integrated into normal series production as additional drive versions at the existing plants. Innovative and future-oriented production technology places new requirements on the employees, for which they are receiving intensive training. Special qualification programs are planned, for example in the area of high-voltage technology under production conditions. Junior management staff members are also being prepared in their training for working with the technologies of the future. To further improve workforce flexibility and increase efficiency in production, the company and the Sindelfingen works council decided to create innovative working schemes. A comprehensive qualification program will prepare employees for the integration of new electric vehicles in series production. In addition, the employment of 125 temporary workers has been extended for another year. EQ and CASE. Mercedes-Benz Cars is consolidating all activities in connection with electric mobility under the new product brand EQ, and the Concept EQ gives a clear outlook onto a completely new generation of vehicles. Mercedes-Benz Cars plans to launch more than ten electric vehicles by 2025: in all segments from smart to large SUVs. The company assumes that the proportion of electric vehicles in the total unit sales of Mercedes-Benz will be between 15 and 25 percent. This is dependent on on the development of infrastructure and client preferences. The EQ product brand is an basic component of the corporate strategy for the mobility of the future, which is summarized under the acronym CASE. The four letters stand for the strategic pillars of connectivity, autonomous driving, flexible use and electric drive, which Daimler is systematically developing and intelligently linking. ( Earlier post .) The Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant is the most traditional vehicle plant of Daimler and the center of excellence for passenger cars of the upper range and luxury class in the global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars. Together with the central production organization for Mercedes-Benz Cars, the plant employs more than 25,000 people. Mercedes-Benz manufactures the E-Class (sedan and T-model), the CLS and the CLS Shooting Brake, the S-Class (sedan, coupe and convertible), the Mercedes-Maybach and the Mercedes-AMG GT at the site. In Sindelfingens Mercedes-Benz customer center, around 200 vehicles are delivered every day. The agreement between the company and the works council further allocates the production of the next generation E-Class to the Sindelfingen plant. In this context, Sindelfingen will be appointed as lead plant for the S- and E-Class production within the global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars. TecFactory and Electric Integration Center (EIC). In order to play a leading role with future products and production technologies, Mercedes-Benz has established the TecFactory to link up its departments for design, development, procurement, sales, and production. The various departments cooperate closely already at a very early stage of product development. A major role is played by thorough digitization: It creates the right conditions for highly flexible production and the increasing individualization of cars in accordance with customers wishes. In the context of Industry 4.0 and the smart factory, all Mercedes-Benz plants are connected with each other, allowing central access to data and process control. Another joint initiative of production and development is the new Electric/Electronic Integration Center (EIC). The goal here is to prepare the electric/electronic architecture of Mercedes-Benz vehicles for future challenges arising from electric drive, connected vehicles, autonomous driving and flexible usage concepts. For this purpose, mixed teams will move into the EIC, which is to be located at the Sindelfingen site. With the digital change and the orientation towards future technologies, the working culture in production will also change. The diversity of vehicle versions due to the various drivetrain technologies will require a highly flexible production system focused on humans with their tactile and cognitive abilities. Mercedes-Benz plans that through intelligent human-robot cooperation, the degree of automation will be reduced and workplaces in production will be ergonomically optimized. Two Ukrainian troops killed, two wounded as of 14:00 on Wed Russian-backed militants continue shelling Ukrainian positions in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone in the east of Ukraine, using proscribed weapons, resulting in two killed and two wounded Ukrainian soldiers, the ATO HQ said. "The Russian occupation troops continue neglecting agreements on the ceasefire," the ATO HQ wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. Militants continue shelling of the Ukrainian positions in the town of Avdiyivka, near Butivka coal mine, the villages of Pisky and Vodiane, the towns of Maryinka and Krasnohorivka, and the village of Novohryhorivka, using multiple rocket launchers, tanks, artillery systems, mortars, and small arms. "According to early reports, there had been casualties among Ukrainian soldiers as of 14:00 local time on Wednesday. Two servicemen were killed, and two were wounded," the ATO HQ said. Volkswagen submitted two agreements to the Court for approval: (1) a proposed class settlement with private plaintiffs represented by a Court-appointed Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (PSC) on behalf of a nationwide class of current and certain former owners and lessees of eligible 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles; and (2) a proposed Consent Order submitted by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Volkswagen AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (together, Volkswagen) has reached proposed agreements to resolve outstanding civil claims regarding approximately 78,000 affected 3.0L TDI V6 diesel engine vehicles in the United States. Under the 3.0L TDI settlement program, Volkswagen has agreed, among other terms, to provide cash payments to all eligible members of the class, and take the following specific actions: Recall and repair, free of charge to the customer, approximately 58,000 affected 2013-2016 Model Year Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles (Generation 2 vehicles) to bring them into compliance with the emissions standards to which they were originally certified, if an appropriate Emissions Compliant Repair is approved by US regulators. Buy back or offer trade-in credit of equal value for, or terminate the leases of, approximately 20,000 eligible 2009-2012 Model Year Volkswagen and Audi 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles (Generation 1 vehicles) or, if approved by US regulators, modify the vehicles to substantially reduce their nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions so as to allow eligible owners and lessees to keep them. Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to approximately $1.2 billion in benefits for the 3.0L TDI settlement program, assuming 100% participation in the program, a 100% buyback of all eligible Generation 1 vehicles and availability of an Emissions Compliant Repair for Generation 2 vehicles. Volkswagen expects to be able to bring affected Generation 2 vehicles to the same emissions standards to which the vehicles were originally certified. However, if an Emissions Compliant Repair foes not become available by deadlines detailed in the settlement, Volkswagen has agreed to pay approximately $4.04 billion dollars. Volkswagen will begin the 3.0L TDI settlement program as soon as the Court grants final approval to the settlement agreements. At the earliest, approval will occur in May 2017. Potential claimants under the class settlement do not need to take any action at this time. Individual class members will receive extensive notification of their rights and options (including the option to opt out of the settlement agreement) if the Court grants preliminary approval of the proposed class settlement at a hearing scheduled to take place on February 14, 2017. The proposed settlement applies to all 3.0L TDI V6 diesel engine vehicles that Volkswagen, Audi, or Porsche marketed or sold in the United States for Model Years 2009 through 2016. If Volkswagen is unable to obtain a timely approved Emissions Compliant Repair for eligible Generation 2 vehicles, it will offer to buy back or provide trade-in credit of equal value for, or terminate the leases of, eligible Generation 2 vehicles and may also seek approval by US regulators to offer customers a modification to substantially reduce their NO x emissions. The 3.0L TDI settlement program also includes a proposed Consent Decree reached with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a proposed agreement with the State of California by and through the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Attorney General on 20 December 2016. The program is subject to the approval of Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, who presides over federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) proceedings related to the diesel matter. As announced previously, under its proposed Consent Decree with the DOJ, Volkswagen will contribute $225 million to the environmental remediation trust that is being established under Volkswagens 2.0L TDI settlement program in the United States to fully mitigate the excess, lifetime NO x emissions of the affected 3.0L TDI V6 vehicles. As part of its agreement with the State of California, Volkswagen will also pay $25 million to CARB to support the use of zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in the State. Two years after states around the country passed an unprecedented number of police reforms after the killing of George Floyd, some are struggling to make the new policies stick. The momentum for change has slowed from its earlier frenetic pace. Some of the reforms have been rolled back or at least tweaked after police complained that the new policies were hindering their ability to catch criminals. Legal experts say police killings of Black people over the last decade epitomized by Floyds killing have altered the trajectory of policing. But change has come about unevenly in thousands of police departments across the U.S. The nuclear option would mean unilaterally lowering the threshold needed to approve Gorsuch from 60 to 50 votes, so that Republicans could use their 52-vote majority to put him on the court without Democrats' consent. The lower chamber of the Dutch Parliament, the House of Representatives, has registered a bill that recommends the ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. This bill was registered on January 27, 2017, the website of the House of Representatives said. The bill is accompanied by the Royal Message by the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and the advice from the Council of State of the Netherlands. The bill says that the law dated July 8, 2015, which approved the ratification of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, should be enacted since the moment of the adoption of the bill. In keeping with the procedure, the bill should be also approved by the upper chamber of the Dutch parliament, the Senate. Neither facts nor appeals to humanity seem to reach our new president. The man who ran on a promise to ban Muslims from entering the United States until we know what the hell is going on, essentially made good on his promise last week. President Donald Trumps executive order, signed Friday, halted refugee entry into the U.S. for 120 days and barred all citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations (but not those with which Trump does business) from entering the U.S. for 3 months. Now, while it is not an overall Muslim ban in the strictest terms, Trump did say priority would be given to Christians trying to enter the U.S. The stated goal of this order is to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States. Lets start with facts. The claim that the government doesnt know who these people are or where they are once they enter the country is false. As I pointed out in November, when then Gov. Pat McCrory made such a claim about Syrian refugees who have settled in North Carolina, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and many professionals who deal with refugees have all that information, including names, addresses and phone numbers. The claim that refugees arent properly vetted is false. Refugees are vetted heavily before they enter this country, far more than tourists and students. Politifact and others have outlined that process, which typically takes two years and often takes far longer. The State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department, the National Counterterrorism Center and the FBI are involved in the vetting. The claim that this is necessary to protect U.S. national security is false. Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, the executive order states. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, of the 180 people charged with jihadist terrorism-related crimes or who died before being charged, only 11 were identified as being from the nations specified in the ban, and none of the 11 were involved in any major U.S. plot resulting in the deaths of Americans, including the Sept. 11 attacks. In fact, the majority (approximately 85 percent) of all suspects planning or engaging in terrorist-related violence inside the U.S. since Sept. 11 were U.S. citizens or legal residents, and about half were born U.S. citizens. In terms of overall crime, studies conducted for several years show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the U.S. The whole premise for this ban is a sham, and it runs contrary to our principles as a nation something articulated loudly and clearly this past weekend and in the days since by protesters at international airports, including RDU in Raleigh and PTI in Greensboro. Those detained trying to enter the country this past weekend included scientists, scholars, an 11-month-old baby and Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an Iraqi translator working with U.S. troops. Some were sent back to their countries of origin or were forbidden to board flights to the U.S. from abroad. Nazanin Zinouri, a 7-year resident of the U.S. who earned a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University in 2016 and works Greenville, S.C., was barred from returning to the U.S. after visiting her family in Iran. No one cared what will happen to my dog or my job or my life there. No one told me what I should do with my car that is still parked at the airport parking. Or what to do with my house and all my belongings, she wrote in a Facebook post. They are real people whose lives are being wrecked by this policy. For those who still support this ban, meet Doha Al Taki. She spoke at a press conference at Governmental Plaza on Friday, where Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan and representatives of numerous faith organizations and nonprofits spoke in support of refugees and immigrants. Maybe my words will go from my heart to your heart, said the short, quiet woman in a white headscarf. Its not my choice to leave my country. Because, you know, there is war in Syria. Many people are killed in Syria. Everything is destroyed in Syria ... When I arrive here, I (am) finally breathing. She has been in Greensboro for six months. Her English isnt perfect, but her words were eloquent. Because I am Syrian, I am not terrorist, she said. Because I am Muslim, I am not terrorist. Because I am wearing scarf, I am not terrorist. I am human being. I want to be a part of this community, she said. We are happy to be in America, in Greensboro, to live in peace. To live in peace, she repeated. Our dream to live in peace. We are brother and sister. We are human beings. I want to be a part of you. I want to be at peace with you. If those words dont go to your heart, maybe nothing will. A country cant be great if its not good. President Donald Trump is working hard to remake our national character to reflect his personal character, and we should worry about that. Before he was elected, Trump wasnt known for kindness, generosity, compassion or being respectful of others. He was a hard-nosed businessman who hammered out great deals for himself and his companies. As president, hes set a policy of America first. America will start winning again, winning like never before, he said in his inaugural address. The line drew cheers, of course, but the following week or so fleshed out its meaning. The next day, the new president visited the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency. Among other statements, he repeated his view that the U.S., when it invaded Iraq, should have kept the oil. But OK, he added. Maybe well have another chance. Lets be clear: It would violate international law for the U.S. to take Iraqs oil no less so than when Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait for its oil, prompting then-President George H.W. Bushs declaration that This will not stand and sparking the first Persian Gulf War. Americans gave their lives to stop one country from taking anothers oil. Now, Iraq is a partner in the battle against the Islamic State. U.S. troops are embedded with Iraqi forces. Would we betray an ally, using our partnership as a pretext to plunder its oil? Is that how we would put America first? This was no slip of Trumps tongue. Asked days later to clarify, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said: I think what the president has been very clear about in foreign policy is too often the United States is going in with a lot of money, a lot of manpower ... I think he wants to make sure that America is getting something out of it for the commitment and the sacrifice that were making. So the new ethic is established: If we help a country fight terrorists, or maybe provide disaster assistance after an earthquake, or send medical teams to deal with an Ebola outbreak, we expect payback. Were going to take something to compensate for our trouble and expense. If Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman had driven a bargain like that, no telling what the U.S. could have gotten from our friends and enemies after World War II. Britain would have given us oh, I dont know maybe India in return for saving it from the Nazis. On to the wall. Trump wants to fortify our southern border at a cost of billions of dollars but make Mexico pay for it. Hes doing his best to bully a weaker, poorer country. That does not translate to me as Love your neighbor as yourself. Trump can have his wall. In no way should Mexico be obligated to give us a peso for it. The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, arrived there last week by announcing a new policy: Taking names of countries that dont support the U.S. in the international forum. Tough talk. Bully talk. If Haley cant persuade other countries to our side of an issue, shell use intimidation no doubt with backing from the White House. There likely will be many such occasions as Trumps America takes contrary positions on any number of issues, possibly starting with climate change. Withdrawing from the historic Paris agreement and refusing to meet our countrys funding obligations will keep Haley very busy taking names. And there was even tougher talk from Trump last week: He reiterated his support for the use of torture. Fortunately, he also said hed defer to the better judgment of his defense secretary, James Mattis, a decent man who must have been mortified when he heard the president of the United States openly embrace the use of illegal interrogation methods. Finally, at least for now, was Trumps executive order temporarily stopping refugee resettlement and blocking entry into the U.S. by people from seven Muslim countries. Weve all seen the heartbreaking images of people fleeing the violence in Syria or of those, including children, who didnt make it. The Western world has been moved to open its doors to these poor victims of war and terrorism. Now the wealthiest nation in the world has shut its doors to Syrian refugees, among others. Our country says America first. Only America first. Immediately, the leader of our neighbor to the north, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said his country will take every one of the Syrian refugees rejected by the U.S. Is Canada a great country? Maybe not. But its a good one. I hold out hope, however, that Americans will prove themselves, once again, to be good people, and that our presidents character will not rub off on us. GREENSBORO When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town for the last time from Feb. 8 to 12, a local animal-rights group will be there, too. At first, Speak Out for Circus Animals said it no longer planned to protest, since the circus had announced that it will close in May after 146 years. But after further reflection, the group has decided to assemble after all, co-founder Martha Cecil said. It will gather from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the corner of West Gate City Boulevard and Patterson Street, near the Greensboro Coliseum that will host the circus. It wont be a protest, but more of an informational demonstration, Cecil said. This is an opportunity and befitting for Speak Out for Circus Animals to stand together again where we protested Ringling every year and every show for four years, Cecil said via email. Earlier this month, the circus said that it will close because of declining attendance combined with high operating costs, changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal-rights groups. Cecil applauded the move. Her group aims to educate the public about the public safety risk and the plight of wild animals in circuses and traveling zoos. It wants circuses to feature only human performers. Circuses dont have to close, Cecil said. We just want them to be animal-free. On Feb. 8, Speak Out for Circus Animals will be outside the coliseum with signs. The group wants to convey that animal-rights groups can make a difference, Cecil said. It wants Ringling to retire wild and exotic animals to true sanctuaries, not conservation centers. We will never stop until all circuses are animal-free, and all traveling zoos and roadside zoos are closed, Cecil said. For more information, contact Cecil at mcecil3@att.net. GREENSBORO The Greensboro City Council will hold its annual meeting with local members of the N.C. House and N.C. Senate today. The meeting will be at 4 p.m. at Union Square Campus, 124 E. Gate City Blvd. The meetings historically have been a time where council members lobby for new legislation that they think will benefit Greensboro residents. Heres an excerpt of some ideas the council wants the delegation to consider: Police video footage: Last year, state legislators passed one of the countrys most restrictive laws on who can see footage from the body and dashboard cameras police officers use. A person who appears in the video can ask a law enforcement agency to view the recording. But the agency can say no, citing concerns about safety, reputation or an ongoing investigation. If that happens, then a judge would decide whether the person can watch. The law overturned the Greensboro City Councils policy, which let the city manager decide who could view such footage and how much they could see. Though less restrictive than the states law, the citys policy didnt treat the footage as a public record. Many council members want the state law amended. City attorneys are talking to people in other major North Carolina cities to find common concerns and suggest amendments. Age of juveniles: North Carolina is one of two states where courts consider 16- and 17-year-olds to be adults when theyre meting out justice. The city wants state legislators to treat anyone under 18 as a juvenile except those who commit the most serious felonies. N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin came to the same conclusion after he convened an independent commission to study this issue. Parking fine collection: The city wants to collect unpaid parking tickets by linking fines to the annual vehicle registration software maintained by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles. Greensboro wants the authority to use such software to collect the money. Tuition for residents who lack legal permission to live in the U.S.: The city is asking for legislation to let them pay in-state college tuition, rather than the more expensive out-of-state tuition. They would have to have attended school in North Carolina for at least three straight years before graduating, and have received a diploma or a GED certificate. Meanwhile, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce has its own set of priorities to give state legislators. They include: Setting aside $50 million to promote such sites as the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite as site ready. Adding $2.95 million for the High Point Market to the 2017-19 budget and making it a recurring item. GREENSBORO Beavers who were building dams near a neighborhood playground will have to find a new home. The city has removed one of the dams, and destroyed part of the second one. Some neighbors were happy with the eviction Wednesday. Im glad its gone, because it could have caused a problem, said Ginny Hotchkiss, who lives in a house across from Coronado Park playground in the 500 block of Coronado Drive. Ginny and Dan Hotchkiss watched the beavers build the dams, and they admit it was fun seeing the animals progress. But the couple had concerns, especially since the dams caused the water to back up in the creek. A kid could have fallen in and drowned, Dan Hotchkiss said. Or it could have caused flooding in a heavy rain. The dams were on a creek about 50 yards from Coronado Park with swings, a slide, tunnel and several things for children to climb on. The creek is down a steep embankment. The citys stormwater maintenance department went to Coronado Drive on Tuesday and destroyed the dams, said David Phlegar, the storm water manager for the Water Resources Department. The department responded after getting a complaint from Steve Brown, 72, who lives in the neighborhood. At first I thought it was pretty cool and my granddaughter might like to see them, Brown said. However, after he did some preliminary research on the animal, Brown said he had some concerns that having beavers in a neighborhood with children. Thats when he contacted the citys Parks and Recreation Department about destroying the dams. A lot of kids play down there, Brown said. Phlegar said beavers are prevalent throughout the city, not just on Coronado Drive. Almost every stream or natural area has some beavers, he said. Phlegar was unable to estimate how many there may be in the city. Theyre not a danger or a concern, theyre more of a nuisance, for backing up water, Phlegar said. Most citizens either find them a nuisance or cute. The city has a beaver management policy, which includes removing dams that obstruct water flow or cause a problem. If the dams are rebuilt, they may be removed more than once, Phlegar said. Stepped-up management includes wrapping chicken wire around some trees to discourage beavers. Beaver dams can clog storm drains and culverts, and beavers damage trees. Phlegar said there are about six sites the city is monitoring, and three where some steps are being taken, including Twin Lakes near Four Seasons Mall and two environmental projects on South Buffalo Creek. The city acted on Coronado Drive because a resident called and expressed concerns about safety and reported that water from the dams was backing up into the park, Phlegar said. He said the city would keep an eye out to make sure beavers dont rebuild the dams. In honor of Black History Month, which starts today, here is a look at some of the people and places that helped shape Guilford Countys place in history: A is for ... Agricultural and Mechanical College (now N.C. A&T), a historically black college and university that opened in 1893. B is for ... Dr. Alvin Blount, one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that desegregated Moses Cone and other hospitals. Blount was the first black doctor to operate at Moses Cone. He was still seeing patients shortly before his death Jan. 6. Benjamin Benson, a slave, who won his freedom in Guilford County Superior Court in 1820. Bennett College, a private college for black women that opened in Greensboro in 1873. C is for ... Jazz saxophone icon John Coltrane, who grew up in High Point. He played with other jazz legends, such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. In 2011, High Point started the annual John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival. Colored Municipal Park, the original name of High Points Washington Terrace Park. The name was changed in the 1950s. D is for ... Desegregation. Greensboro became the first city in the Southeast to desegregate its all-white public schools when in 1957 five black children enrolled at Gillespie Park School: Harold Davis, Brenda Florence, Jimmy Florence, Daniel Herring and Elijah Herring Jr. The children endured heckling and screaming from spectators. The next day, Dudley Hight student Josephine Boyd (Bradley) integrated Greensboro Senior High (now Grimsley High) when she transferred. In High Point, school desegregation came in 1959, when Lynn Fountain integrated High Point Central High School and her sister, Brenda, enrolled at what was then Ferndale Junior High. Dudley Brands hair products, founded in 1967 by Dr. Joe L. Dudley Sr. and Dr. Eunice M. Dudley. Today, Ursula Dudley Oglesby, their oldest daughter, is the president of Dudley Beauty Corp., which distributes products directly to cosmetologists, barbers and beauty schools nationally and internationally. E is for ... Edward Edmonds, a Bennett College sociology professor who in the 1950s led delegations of parents to the school board to protest inferior educational facilities. He also demanded the whites-only swimming pool at Lindley Park be opened to blacks. Edward Greenlee, who in 1938 became the first African-American bus driver for Greensboros transit system. The former mechanic served with the city transit system until his retirement in 1992. Elizabeth McKinnon became the first black female bus operator for the city in 1981. F is for ... Greensboro lawyer Henry Frye, who in 1968 became the first black person in the 20th century to serve in the N.C. House of Representatives. In 1983, he was sworn in as an associate justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, becoming the first black justice in the courts 164-year history. He was appointed the first black chief justice in 1999, but only served until 2000 when he was defeated for a full term by Associate Justice I. Beverly Lake. G is for ... Guilford Colleges Carnegie Room at the Hege Library. Its a central research facility for the Underground Railroad and a National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program passport stamp site. The Greensboro Six and Gillespie Golf Course. Six African Americans Dr. George S. Simkins Jr., Leon Wolfe, Joseph Sturdivant, Samuel Murray, Philip Cook and Elijah H. Herring were arrested Dec. 7, 1955, after playing at Gillespie Park Golf course and charged with trespassing. H is for ... Sweet Lou Hudson, a four-sport star at Dudley High and one of three basketball recruits to break the color barrier at the University of Minnesota in 1963. He was a six-time NBA All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks. William Hampton, who in 1951 became the first African American elected to the Greensboro City Council. I is for ... Integration, which followed the 1960 sit-ins at Woolworths when four black employees Geneva Tisdale, Susie Morrison, Anetha Jones and Charles Best became the first to be served on July 25, 1960, when F.W. Woolworth agreed to integrate its Greensboro store. International Civil Rights Center & Museum, which opened in 2010 in the former Woolworth store downtown where four N.C. A&T students helped spark the sit-ins movement in the South. In 1993, Melvin Skip Alston and Earl Jones founded Sit-in Movement Inc. to renovate and reopen the store as a civil rights museum. J is for ... Jesse Jackson, the N.C. A&T student body president who in June 1963 was arrested for inciting a riot when hundreds of demonstrators sat down in the street at Jefferson Square (Elm and Market streets) to protest segregated public accommodations. (Jackson went on to become an icon in the civil rights movement.) K is for ... The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who visited Greensboro on July 11, 1963, to show his support for the civil rights protests begun by N.C. A&T students. L is for ... Lawyer Elreta Alexander-Ralston, a Greensboro resident who was the first African American woman to be admitted to the Columbia University School of Law and became the states first African American woman judge when she was elected a state District Court judge in 1968. M is for ... Ronald McNair, one of N.C. A&Ts most famous alumni, a 1971 graduate who died aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it exploded in 1986. After graduating from A&T, McNair earned his doctorate in physics at MIT. In 1978, he became the nations second black astronaut. A&T named its engineering building after McNair, and Guilford County Schools named an elementary school after him. Clarence McAden, a dry cleaner, who joined the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce in 1948, becoming the first black chamber member in the South. When chamber officials discover he was black, they asked him to surrender his membership. McAden refused. Some 15 years passed before another black member was admitted. N is for ... Greensboro native Fred Curly Neal, who dribbled his way into history as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters exhibition team for 22 years. He was inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. The Globetrotters retired No. 22 that same year. O is for ... Ossie Davis, who was the first black principal of a High Point city-owned public school, a colored probation officer, published the first black community newspaper and was the first supervisor of the Negro Recreation Department in High Point. Otis Hairston Jr., professional photographer whose subjects included Nelson Mandela, Coretta Scott King and Pope John Paul II. He founded Warnersville Community Coalition. P is for ... The Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia founded in 1902 by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins to educate upper class African Americans. It was the nations first college preparatory school for black students. The former campus is part of the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, a state historic site that explores African American history, womens history, social history, education, and the contributions African Americans have made in North Carolina. William Penn High, High Points black high school until 1968. Q is for ... Quakers, who played an active role in freeing slaves through the Underground Railroad, which included a route through Guilford County that began in a cave near a creek on what is now the Guilford College campus. R is for ... John Russell, a High Point school administrator who in 1970 became the first black referee to officiate games in the ACC, and later spent 10 years as the president of the ACC Officials Association. S is for ... Sit-ins. N.C. A&T students Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), the late David Richmond, Joseph McNeil and the late Franklin McCain started the Greensboro sit-ins on Feb. 1, 1960. In just two months, the sit-in movement spread to 54 cities in nine states. Charlie Sifford, who broke the PGA Tours color barrier when he became the first black golfer to play a Tour event in the South at the 1961 Greater Greensboro Open at Sedgefield Country Club in Jamestown. Gloria Randle Scott, former president of Bennett College, who was the first African American woman to serve as the national president of the Girl Scouts in 1975. T is for ... The Hayes-Taylor YMCA, which opened in 1939 on East Market Street as the first Y in Greensboro open to nonwhite residents. Caesar Cone II donated $50,000 for the YMCA, named in honor of his butler, Andrew Taylor, and his cook, Sallie Hayes. The YMCA outgrew the original site and in 2015 moved to a new facility next to Barber Park. David Taylor, who in 1999 became the first black fire chief in High Point. U is for ... The first route of the Underground Railroad, a network of trails and hiding places that led fleeing slaves to the North, began in a cave near a creek on what is now the Guilford College campus. A slave from Guilford County, John Dimrey, was the first to follow the Underground Railroad to freedom in 1819. Harmon A. Unthank, a co-founder of Warnersville, who became director of the Peoples Five-Cent Savings Bank in Greensboro in 1886, making him the first black bank director in the South. V is for ... Stahle Vincent, a three-sport star at Dudley High who became the first black quarterback in the Southwest Conference in 1969. He now works for Cone Denim. W is for ... Warnersville, Greensboros first suburb, which was developed near Ashe Street after the Civil War for recently freed, homeless and impoverished former slaves. Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), a future sit-in participant, grew up in this community. Alfreda Webb was the first African American woman licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the United States. But she never actually practiced, preferring to teach anatomy and coordinate the animal science program at N.C. A&T. She also was the first black female member of the N.C. House of Representatives. X is for ... Malcolm X Liberation University, which moved to Greensboro from Durham in 1970. Activist Howard Fuller created the alternative college committed to Black Power and culture. The school closed in 1973, in part due to funding issues. Y is for ... Yvonne Johnson, who in 2007 was elected the first black mayor of Greensboro. Johnson served on the City Council from 1993 to 2009, when she lost to Republican Bill Knight. She returned to the council as an at-large member in 2011. Z is for ... Zoe Barbee, who in 1974 became the first black person elected to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners. She died in an auto accident soon afterward and was replaced by Bert Hall, a black agricultural extension agent. WINSTON-SALEM A volunteer for a local feral cat rescue group was convicted of several animal-cruelty charges after 15 dead cats were found on her property last year. Melissa Zimmerman, 49, pleaded guilty Jan. 19 in Forsyth County District Court to 15 counts of felony animal cruelty and five misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, according to court papers. The charges came after Forsyth County Animal Control officers discovered the bodies of 15 cats on Snyder Ridge Lane on April 13. A number of living feral cats and two dogs were also found on the property. Tim Jennings, Forsyth Countys animal control director, said Tuesday that none of the living feral cats were euthanized. He said two of the cats were adopted and four cats and two dogs were transferred to a rescue group in Virginia. Judge David Sipprell of Forsyth District Court gave Zimmerman three consecutive suspended sentences of five to 15 months in prison. He also placed her on 18 months of intensive supervised probation. If she violates probation, she could serve a maximum of 45 months in prison. Sipprell also ordered Zimmerman to perform 100 hours of community service. Zimmerman didnt have malicious intent in neglecting the cats, her attorney, Chris Beechler, and Assistant District Attorney Matt Breeding said. She is mortified about how this came about, Beechler said. According to Breeding and a search warrant in the case, Deputy J.M. Angel of the Forsyth County Animal Control got an anonymous tip that a house on Snyder Ridge Lane was abandoned and that there were dead cats on the property. Angel knocked on the door and then tried unsuccessfully to reach the owner by phone. Another animal control officer arrived, and the two officers walked around the property. Angel eventually got a search warrant for the inside of the house. The officers found at least 15 dead cats, Breeding said. Its unclear what killed the cats because the bodies were too decomposed to conduct necropsies, Breeding said. Zimmerman had volunteered for a Forsyth County rescue group that took feral, or undomesticated, cats to veterinarian offices to have them spayed and neutered. Zimmerman decided to take some of the cats into her home and care for them, Breeding said. It wasnt clear which feral cat rescue group she volunteered for. A year before the cats were found, Breeding said, Zimmerman moved out of the house. Beechler said Zimmerman moved out because there was no running water, but she continued to shuttle back and forth from her new home and the old house to provide food and water for the cats. Then Zimmerman lost one of her jobs, Beechler said. She no longer could financially provide support, and she did what she could, but it wasnt enough, he said. Zimmerman has never before been convicted of animal cruelty, and Breeding said she has significant mental-health issues. The pictures taken at the scene are horrifying, Breeding said, but it is fairly clear that she didnt intentionally neglect the cats. Breeding said Zimmerman can continue to volunteer for the rescue group but cannot own or take in cats while she is on probation. Militants opened fire on the brigades of energy workers and pyrotechnic groups accompanying them of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, thus violating the cease fire regime declared by them until 17:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said. "Pyrotechnic groups of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and brigades of power engineers near Avdiyivka are being shelled. People are lying on the ground. There are no wounded and killed people. Nasty provocateurs [!]," Avakov wrote on his Twitter about 15:20 p.m. GREENSBORO The United States has plenty of challenges in front of it these days. The issue of greatest concern to perhaps one of the nations most well-known scientists, Neil deGrasse Tyson: Americans know far too little about science. Americans overall are bad at science. Scared of math. Poor at physics and engineering. Resistant to evolution. This science illiteracy, Tyson told a nearly sold-out crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum on Tuesday night, is a threat to the nation. The consequence of that is that you breed a generation of people who do not know what science is nor how and why it works, he said. You have mortgaged the future financial security of your nation. Innovations in science and technology are the (basis) of tomorrows economy. Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, author of 10 books and star of TV and radio shows about science, was the guest of the Guilford College Bryan Series. Almost 3,400 people turned out to hear Tyson speak for nearly two hours about science and science literacy. Americas decline isnt unprecedented, Tyson said. Just look back 1,000 years ago at the Middle East, where math and science flourished in Baghdad. Algebra and algorithms were invented in the Middle East. So were Arabic numerals the numbers we still use today. But when a new cleric emerged during the 12th century, he declared math and science to be earthly pursuits, Tyson said, and good Muslims should be concerned about spiritual affairs. The scientists drifted away, and scientific literacy faded from that part of the world. Of 655 Nobel Prizes awarded in the sciences since 1900, Tyson said, only three have been awarded to Muslims. Things that seem harmless can have devastating effects, he said. Europe dominated science in the centuries that followed. You can see its influence today, Tyson said. Just look at currency: European paper money has carried the pictures of famous scientists. The former German currency bore the picture of the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss and his most famous contribution, the bell curve. It is a not-so-subtle message from the government that math matters, Tyson said. If its on your currency, it is part of your culture. You think it. You feel it. Whether or not youre a scientist or a mathematician, youre not going to be the person to stand in their way when theyre trying to get math and science done. The United States had its own scientific golden age in the last half of the 20th century. The space race and the Cold War drove scientific invention. Popular culture was full of flying cars, monorails, cities of tomorrow and world fairs that celebrated progress and invention. You didnt need special programs to try to convince people that they should like science, Tyson said. It was already writ large in headlines. You dont do that without science, technology, engineering and math. And everybody knew it. Today, Tyson said, too many Americans mistake clouds for UFOs, believe in alien abductions, reject evolution (known to scientists as the foundation of biology), fear the number 13 and negative numbers, and freak out about supermoons that really arent any bigger than regular old full moons. If national leaders and local school boards want to ignore science, Tyson said thats fine with him. But, he said, lets say hes the chief executive officer of a corporation thats looking for a site for its headquarters. Its not going to be in your state, Tyson said. The future companies need science literacy for their R&D, for advancements, for innovation. And so your state will fade among the 50. Thats a consequence. North Carolinas labor market ended 2016 on a strong note. Total employment in the state hit 4,360,200 jobs in December, up 2 percent from the December 2015 figure. That exceeds the average national rate of job creation (1.5 percent) and the average for the 12-state Southeastern region (1.7 percent). If you measure the labor market from the other direction, emphasizing joblessness rather than jobs gained, North Carolinas so-called headline unemployment rate went up slightly during the last few months of 2016, from 4.6 percent in August to 5.1 percent in December. But, given the small size of the survey involved, this is not a meaningful trend. In fact, given the margin of sampling error, North Carolinas rate in December was not statistically significant from the national headline rate of 4.7 percent. More importantly, North Carolinas uptick in that headline number, called the U-3 rate, mostly reflects previously sidelined workers now returning to a healthier labor market. The U-3 rate only counts people who are actively looking for jobs but cant find one. It leaves out discouraged workers whove given up looking, those who suspend their job search for other reasons (such as relocating to another state or going back to school), and part-time workers who would rather be working full-time but cant find a full-time job (often called the underemployed). Fortunately, the federal government counts all those who arent captured in the headline rate. Its broadest measure, called the U-6 rate, is available in 12-month averages, updated every quarter. When it comes to gauging the health of the labor market, its arguably the best tool for the job. North Carolinas U-6 rate for 2016 was 9.4 percent. Thats a dramatic drop from the 2015 rate of 11.3 percent the fourth-largest drop in the nation, in fact, and the largest in the Southeast. During the Great Recession and its immediate aftermath, North Carolina greatly exceeded the national and regional averages in U-6 unemployment and underemployment. Now, we dont. The national rate is 9.6 percent. Since 2012, North Carolinas U-6 rate fell by 6.9 points also the largest labor-market improvement in the Southeast, and the countrys fifth-largest. As longtime readers of this column know, I dont think economic performance is entirely or even mostly determined by public policy. Geography matters, for example. In recent years, states on or near the Pacific Rim and the South Atlantic Coast (from the Carolinas to Florida) have often dominated national lists of top economic performers. Both are regions that have benefitted from major trade flows of goods and people. But if you adjust for other factors, public policies do influence state economies. Hundreds of peer-reviewed academic studies demonstrate the effects, which are largely consistent with what fiscal conservatives would predict. States with lower taxes, lower regulatory burdens, higher educational performance and higher-quality infrastructure tend to post higher rates of growth in jobs, incomes, and gross domestic product. What doesnt correlate with state economic growth? Most government expenditures, with two interesting exceptions: spending on welfare and other public assistance programs, which is usually associated with lower subsequent economic performance, and spending on courts and public safety, which is usually associated with higher subsequent performance. Using the last 12 months of data for each, North Carolina is outperforming the national and regional averages in job creation, overall labor-market gains, growth in per-capita income, and growth in GDP. In some cases, the differences are large. In others, the differences are modest. And on one measure, median household income, the comparison isnt so favorable. On balance, then, Republican lawmakers and others who have helped to craft North Carolinas economic policies over the past few years have good reasons to believe their decisions were wise. Theyll want to build on that momentum, not to halt or reverse the states progress on regulatory relief, tax reduction, unemployment-insurance reform and other fronts. Progressives do want to halt and reverse that progress. I know its confusing, but dont blame me. I didnt invent the political labels currently in vogue. When they came through the arrivals gate at John F. Kennedy Internationl Airport in 1968, my parents could have been seen as a threat. It was the middle of the Cold War, and my parents my mom was 21 and my dad was 23 had spent their entire lives behind the Iron Curtain in a communist country. And 1968 was the bloodiest year yet for American troops in a war being fought to contain communism. Nearly 17,000 Americans died that year in Vietnam. And here came my parents through the airport gates in the middle of all of that, in the fanciest clothes they owned, two people with paperwork Czechoslovakian passports that linked them to communism. They were not detained, they were not questioned. They were allowed into a country symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. That was the America of 1968. It is not the America of today. My parents watched this weekend, in horror, by the scenes unfolding across this 2017 America, as people like them refugees with nothing more than suitcases and dreams were treated so differently when they walked through those airport gates. It was the second weekend of Donald Trumps presidency, and, once again, hed generated a wave of protests in Washington and around the country. This time the outrage was aimed at his decision to sign an executive order banning immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Trumps Muslim ban, basically. At the White House, up Massachusetts Avenue to the Islamic Center of Washington, outside the Trump International Hotel and at airport arrival gates across the region and the nation, thousands of people gathered to show support for refugees, green card holders and even American citizens who were suddenly banned from America. My mom imagined what would have happened if, back then, President Lyndon B. Johnson had signed an executive order banning all citizens of communist countries from entering America. A chunk of Americans would have bought that, for sure. Fear sells. Communists were the enemy. But reason, empathy and humanity won. Because when my parents left everything in Czechoslavakia behind, when they got green cards, and when they raised their hands to pledge allegiance to America, the immigrants of my parents era were seen as dissidents, heroes, even. Of course, it helped that my mother and father are white and from a Christian country. And it helped that our confrontations with communism didnt take place on American soil, for the most part. So they were celebrated for rejecting the enemy and embracing America. America 2, Communism 0. USA! This weekend, we became a country that detained a 5-year-old Bethesda, Md., boy at Dulles International Airport, kept him from his Iranian-born mother for hours to make sure he wasnt a terrorist threat. Artiman Jalali was born in the United States and has dual citizenship with Iran. He was traveling back from visiting relatives with his 25-year-old cousin. Both were detained. His mother, Shohreh Rahnama, said she waited for him hours, until he and his cousin were finally released around midnight. He was hungry and he was thirsty, and I could not see him, she said. How can a 5-year-old be banned? Just because his parents are Iranian? We are American, too, she told my colleague, Michael Alison Chandler, at a protest outside the White House. I almost died in that airport. I can say it was the worst day of my life. We became the kind of place that treated Hameed Khalid Darweesh, who had a valid U.S. visa and worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army in Iraq, like a criminal when he flew into JFK airport. Overnight, America reneged on promises of citizenship and sanctuary to hundreds of people translators, engineers, IT specialists, fixers. Some of them risked their lives for our military. A friend of mine who has worked in Afghanistan and Indonesia was stunned by this development. Over time, hes helped five people come to the U.S. from Afghanistan. All of them risked their lives helping fight terrorism in their home nation and in turn, he helped them find new lives here. He marched on Sunday, and as the crowd went past the Islamic Center of Washington, a woman handed out water bottles to the marchers and thanked them for their support. One of the marchers hugged her. And she buried her head in (the marchers) shoulder and began crying about how scared she is, he said. It is tragic to see the human toll on people who are already part of the fabric of America. This executive order is a shameful stain on our country, yanking the American dream out from under families who have been here for decades and from families in dangerous parts of the world who sold everything and endured years of vetting to join us. Why a sudden executive order? To stop terrorism , Trump said. There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Trump tweeted Monday morning. It was wrong as part of his campaign, and its wrong now. America knows better than this. The American Lung Association ranks five states as worst in the nation on its 2017 Tobacco Control report: Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, Virginia and ... North Carolina. A big reason why is North Carolinas failure to provide or support tobacco prevention and cessation programs despite the availability of millions of dollars intended for that purpose. The bottom-of-the barrel ranking is disappointing but not surprising, said Morgan Wittman Gramann, executive director of the North Carolina Alliance for Health, an independent coalition of health organizations. Despite receiving $140 million annually from tobacco companies through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, North Carolina stopped funding smoking-prevention programs aimed at teens in 2012, Gramann said Friday. For several years prior to that, it had devoted $17 million a year to those efforts, which included hard-hitting TV ads showing adults who had been disfigured or killed by smoking. Those campaigns were extremely successful, she said. The state provides just $1.1 million for tobacco-cessation programs, according to the ALA report. With $3.3 million from federal sources, the total allocated is just $4.4 million or 4 percent of what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. This is short-sighted, Gramann said: You pay now or pay later. Future payment comes in medical costs and mortality rates. North Carolina already ranks among the states with the highest lung cancer rates, the CDC reports, and exceeds the national average for heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids estimates that smoking-related diseases cost North Carolina nearly $4 billion a year. Our youth smoking rate is 13.1 percent, compared to the national average of 10.8 percent, the same organization notes. It projects that 180,000 North Carolina children alive today eventually will die from smoking-related diseases. Isnt it worth spending a few million dollars to try to save some of those lives? In addition to the $140 million in tobacco settlement money available, the state earns $300 million in annual tobacco tax revenue. The problem is not a lack of money; its a lack of desire to address this problem. The tobacco tax is one way to do that. Higher taxes discourage young smokers. North Carolinas tax on cigarettes is a low 45 cents per pack. The American Lung Association recommends a dollar increase to make it cost-prohibitive for kids to take up an unhealthy habit. Kids also need honest warnings about the consequences of smoking from an early age. Adults might assume everyone knows smoking is dangerous, but kids may not. Weve stopped telling them as often or graphically as might be necessary. Its not just embarrassing that North Carolina ranks at the bottom for tobacco prevention; its a death sentence for too many kids. At a meeting in Vinnytsia on Tuesday, Ukrainian and American military discussed the participation of the Air Forces of Ukraine in international drills and other areas of bilateral military cooperation, the press-center of Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. "During a meeting with a foreign delegation, the Ukrainian side held a series of briefings, in particular regarding the participation of forces and means of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in international drills Rapid Traident-2017 and Clear Sky-2018, the promising directions of development of unmanned aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other areas of bilateral military cooperation of mutual interest," a message says posted on the website of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine on Tuesday. Colonel Serhiy Pototsky acted as head of the working group of the Ukrainian side, while a foreign group of representatives of the U.S. Defense Attache apparatus under the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine was headed by military and air attache of Defense apparatus Attache Major Michael Beard. In addition, the sides discussed the issues of the exchange program of officers and cadets, proposals of the Ukrainian side regarding the material and technical and consultative and advisory assistance on the part of the U.S. for the needs of search and rescue provision of flights of the Ukrainian Armed Forces aviation. In a week in which Connecticut lawmakers considered a major new tax on hedge fund manager earnings, a new study estimates that the Westport-based titan Bridgewater Associates made $4.9 billion for its clients last year. LCH Investments ranks the top 20 hedge funds annually for their returns, with none approaching the $117.8 billion asset base and by extension the wealth generated by Bridgewater, the worlds largest, according to a preview of the LCH report published by Bloomberg. The Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), which mediates the situation in Donbas, has called for full ceasefire and all weapons to be removed to the line designated by the September 19, 2014 Memorandum, Darka Olifer, press secretary for Leonid Kuchma who represents Ukraine in the Group, said. "The Ukrainian side stresses once again: the Memorandum of September 19, 2014 is a crucial component of the bloc of security issues," Olifer wrote on Facebook after a Contact Group meeting in Minsk on Wednesday. Representatives from the breakaway districts of Donbas must ensure safe working conditions for maintenance teams who are restoring water, gas and power supplies in the Avdiyivka area, the spokeswoman said. "The town is on the brink of a humanitarian and man-made disaster, the entire responsibility for how events evolve will lie with representatives of the breakaway parts of Donetsk region," Olifer said. The Special Monitoring Group of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe must be given full access to Donbas for comprehensive monitoring, she said. Here are complete transcripts of the last two presidential Black History Month speeches at the White House: President Donald J. Trump on Feb. 1, 2017: Well, the election, it came out really well. Next time we'll triple the number or quadruple it. We want to get it over 51, right? At least 51. Well this is Black History Month, so this is our little breakfast, our little get-together. Hi Lynn, how are you? Just a few notes. During this month, we honor the tremendous history of African-Americans throughout our country. Throughout the world, if you really think about it, right? And their story is one of unimaginable sacrifice, hard work, and faith in America. I've gotten a real glimpseduring the campaign, I'd go around with Ben to a lot of different places I wasn't so familiar with. They're incredible people. And I want to thank Ben Carson, who's gonna be heading up HUD. That's a big job. That's a job that's not only housing, but it's mind and spirit. Right, Ben? And you understand, nobody's gonna be better than Ben. Last month, we celebrated the life of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., whose incredible example is unique in American history. You read all about Dr. Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office. It turned out that that was fake news. Fake news. The statue is cherished, it's one of the favorite things in theand we have some good ones. We have Lincoln, and we have Jefferson, and we have Dr. Martin Luther King. But they said the statue, the bust of Martin Luther King, was taken out of the office. And it was never even touched. So I think it was a disgrace, but that's the way the press is. Very unfortunate. I am very proud now that we have a museum on the National Mall where people can learn about Reverend King, so many other things. Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I noticed. Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and millions more black Americans who made America what it is today. Big impact. I'm proud to honor this heritage and will be honoring it more and more. The folks at the table in almost all cases have been great friends and supporters. DarrellI met Darrell when he was defending me on television. And the people that were on the other side of the argument didn't have a chance, right? And Paris has done an amazing job in a very hostile CNN community. He's all by himself. You'll have seven people, and Paris. And I'll take Paris over the seven. But I don't watch CNN, so I don't get to see you as much as I used to. I don't like watching fake news. But Fox has treated me very nice. Wherever Fox is, thank you. We're gonna need better schools and we need them soon. We need more jobs, we need better wages, a lot better wages. We're gonna work very hard on the inner city. Ben is gonna be doing that, big league. That's one of the big things that you're gonna be looking at. We need safer communities and we're going to do that with law enforcement. We're gonna make it safe. We're gonna make it much better than it is right now. Right now it's terrible, and I saw you talking about it the other night, Paris, on something else that was reallyyou did a fantastic job the other night on a very unrelated show. I'm ready to do my part, and I will say this: We're gonna work together. This is a great group, this is a group that's been so special to me. You really helped me a lot. If you remember I wasn't going to do well with the African-American community, and after they heard me speaking and talking about the inner city and lots of other things, we ended up gettingand I won't go into detailsbut we ended up getting substantially more than other candidates who had run in the past years. And now we're gonna take that to new levels. I want to thank my television star over hereOmarosa's actually a very nice person, nobody knows that. I don't want to destroy her reputation but she's a very good person, and she's been helpful right from the beginning of the campaign, and I appreciate it. I really do. Very special. So I want to thank everybody for being here. President Barack Obama on Jan. 29, 2016: America's greatness is a testament to generations of courageous individuals who, in the face of uncomfortable truths, accepted that the work of perfecting our Nation is unending and strived to expand the reach of freedom to all. For too long, our most basic liberties had been denied to African Americans, and today, we pay tribute to countless good-hearted citizens -- along the Underground Railroad, aboard a bus in Alabama, and all across our country -- who stood up and sat in to help right the wrongs of our past and extend the promise of America to all our people. During National African American History Month, we recognize these champions of justice and the sacrifices they made to bring us to this point, we honor the contributions of African Americans since our country's beginning, and we recommit to reaching for a day when no person is judged by anything but the content of their character. From the Revolutionary War through the abolitionist movement, to marches from Selma to Montgomery and across America today, African Americans have remained devoted to the proposition that all of us are created equal, even when their own rights were denied. As we rejoice in the victories won by men and women who believed in the idea of a just and fair America, we remember that, throughout history, our success has been driven by bold individuals who were willing to speak out and change the status quo. Refusing to accept our Nation's original sin, African Americans bound by the chains of slavery broke free and headed North, and many others who knew slavery was antithetical to our country's conception of human rights and dignity fought to bring their moral imagination to life. When Jim Crow mocked the advances made by the 13th Amendment, a new generation of men and women galvanized and organized with the same force of faith as their enslaved ancestors. Our Nation's young people still echo the call for equality, bringing attention to disparities that continue to plague our society in ways that mirror the non-violent tactics of the civil rights movement while adapting to modern times. Let us also not forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could make our voices heard by exercising our right to vote. Even in the face of legal challenges, every eligible voter should not take for granted what is our right to shape our democracy. We have made great progress on the journey toward ensuring our ideals ring true for all people. Today, African American high school graduation and college enrollment rates are at an all-time high. The African-American unemployment rate has been halved since its Great Recession peak. More than 2 million African Americans gained health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. The incarceration rates for African-American men and women fell during each year of this Administration and are at their lowest points in over two decades. Yet challenges persist and obstacles still stand in the way of becoming the country envisioned at our founding, and we would do a disservice to all who came before us if we remained blind to the way past injustices shape the present. The United States is home to 5 percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the world's prisoners -- a disproportionate number of whom are African American -- so we must find ways to reform our criminal justice system and ensure that it is fairer and more effective. While we've seen unemployment rates decrease, many communities, particularly those of color, continue to experience significant gaps in educational and employment opportunities, causing too many young men and women to feel like no matter how hard they try, they may never achieve their dreams. Our responsibility as citizens is to address the inequalities and injustices that linger, and we must secure our birthright freedoms for all people. As we mark the 40th year of National African American History Month, let us reflect on the sacrifices and contributions made by generations of African Americans, and let us resolve to continue our march toward a day when every person knows the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2016 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth. Source: Obama White House archives An Antonov An-26 transport aircraft of the Ukrainian Navy came under a small arms attack over the Black Sea, near the Odesa gas deposit, the crew were not injured, the plane was damaged by a bullet, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said. "On February 1, during a practice flight in Ukraine's exclusive (maritime) economic zone, near the Odesa gas deposit, an An-26 of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Navy came under a small arms attack from the oil rigs previously seized by the Russian Federation," Poltorak wrote on his Facebook page. "As a result of the shelling, the aircraft was damaged," he said. "The aircraft crew were not injured, the An-26 continued executing the flight mission," Poltorak said. Russia has not yet commented on the incident. Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images For the man with discerning taste in chicken wings, but who cannot stand the thought of forcing a woman to don clothes that objectify her at the workplace, there is finally a restaurant in which you can feel comfortable. Its called Hoots. Perhaps recognizing the abundance of men who arent interested in looking at a womans chest area until at least the fourth date, beloved breastaurant Hooters has a new fast-casual chain coming. At Hoots, female and male servers will not wear revealing clothing, and an abbreviated one-page menu will get you in and out of there before you can say, uh, Hoot Hoot. The first Hoots will open in Cicero, Illinois, in February. Photo: slgckgc/CC/flickr Bet that was a pretty chill church social hour. Police in Bloomington, Indiana, arrested an elderly man this week who says he fed people at his church THC-laced cookies without telling anybody. Brian Jones, a 74-year-old member of St. Johns the Apostle Catholic Church, was the target of a six-month-long investigation after half a dozen congregants went to the ER following Mass at the church last May. At the time, they said they started experiencing adverse effects that ranged from nausea and lethargy to paranoia after eating cookies that tasted saltier than usual. When their urine tests came back positive for cannabinoids, doctors had to explain to a group of parishioners, age 12 to 70, that this is what the kids these days might call the wacky tobacky. The Indy Star says Jones at first admitted hed baked the cookies, but couldnt explain why an illegal substance [had been] added to them. Investigators got a warrant anyways and found a pill bottle at his home that contained a brown, oily substance that tested positive for marijuana. At this point, Jones apparently realized the ruse was up and turned himself in. He faces charges of criminal recklessness and possession of hash oil. We are praying for Mr. Jones, St. Johns pastor, Father Daniel Mahan, tells the local news. We are keeping in prayer those who took ill that Sunday, and we are praying for justice with mercy. Downtown favorite Mothers Ruin recently started serving fried-fish sliders. Photo: Melissa Hom Every month in New York, theres bound to be a bewildering number of new dishes to eat, drinks to imbibe, and food-themed events to attend. It would be impossible to pack in every single thing each month, and the hardest part often is just figuring out whats really worth your limited time. So Grub kicks off each month with a curated collection of dishes, drinks, and events that should absolutely be on your agenda. Make your plans now. 1. Check Out New Yorks Newest Vietnamese Hotspots Finding good Vietnamese food in New York hasnt been easy, but that might be changing. One of the citys better restaurants serving the cuisine, Bunker, recently relocated to a more accessible and spacious location that still maintains the originals ramshackle aesthetic. Best of all, theres a more expansive menu with new dishes like bun cha, pork belly, and sausage steeped in fish sauce and other seasonings, vermicelli noodles, and herbs and greens for wrapping. Across the river, two new restaurants specializing in the cuisine have opened up in the East Village: Madame Vo and Hanoi House. The former serves a solid pho ($16), made with meatballs and rare flank steak, thats on the sweet side. Head to Hanoi House for crispy spring rolls ($8), a refreshing shrimp and pomelo salad ($14), and an exemplary pho ($13). 2. Head to Queens for Outstanding Chongqing Chicken Northern Queens is out of the way for most New Yorkers, but its home to a small but growing mala belt that constitutes some of the citys finest Sichuan restaurants. It stretches from College Point, home to Little Pepper, to Little Neck, where Grain House is located, to, now, Whitestone. Late last year, the residential neighborhood saw the opening of Legend of Taste, which occupies a squat building not far from the Throgs Neck Bridge. Inside, theres a large and pleasantly decorated dining room that could easily be the home of a Chinese-American General Tsos factory in the suburbs. The food immediately stands out, particularly the nubbins of diced rabbit ($9) served in a fragrant slurry of sauce and a standout version of chongqing chicken ($15), well-fried and bracingly hot. 3. For Your Next Lunch, Eat a Lamb Sandwich at Colonia Verde or Hot Roast Beef at Rider The power lunch might be dead, but you can still eat well during the day. Fort Greenes Colonia Verde recently launched it for the first time, serving the meal from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The menu includes some standby dishes, as well as brand new ones like a lamb sandwich with mint, aji amarillo, and labne spread as well as a lighter lunch salad with mixed greens, roasted fennel, caramelized pepitas, and passion-fruit dressing. Across the river, the Williamsburg restaurant Rider has extended its hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. During the morning there will be doughnuts in flavors like lemon and fennel, granola with apples and nigella crumble, and more. Come lunchtime, the restaurant will offer the sweet deal of two courses for $18 with options like hot roasted beef with bagna cauda griddled bread and kohlrabi, celery, and broccoli salad with cilantro vinaigrette. 4. Have Fish Cheeks Garlic Pepper Shrimp for Lunch on Saturday, Then Head to Houseman for Brunch on Sunday Tribeca restaurant Houseman has launched Sunday brunch, serving the meal from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On the menu: sweets like an orange and pistachio pound cake, French onion sandwiches, and steak and eggs. For a more tropical bent Fridays through Sunday, head to Fish Cheeks for braised duck leg with egg noodles in a five-spice broth, garlic pepper shrimp, and more. Theyre open from noon to 4 p.m. Pho and suon kho, or caramelized spare ribs, at Madame Vo. Photo: Melissa Hom 5. Eat Fried Squash Blossom Dumplings and Other New Dishes at Oiji Oijis honey butter chips are the only excuse youll need to head back to the restaurant again (and again). But the menu keeps evolving, and in January chefs Brian Kim and Tae Kyung Ku rolled out some new dishes to kick off the new year. Theres scallop hwe ($19) with cucumber, jellyfish, and snow crab in a spicy Korean mustard dressing; kabocha porridge and deep-fried squash blossoms ($17) stuffed with a traditional Korean dumpling filling; and a sea urchin gamtae gimbap ($25), the seaweed rice roll. 6. Eat Angry Pasta for Planned Parenthood, and Oysters for the ACLU President Trump and the Republican Party have threatened to defund Planned Parenthood, so for the entire month of February, Andrew Tarlows Romans in Fort Greene will serve a special of penne allArrabbiata ($24) literally, angry pasta and donate all of the proceeds to the womens-health-services provider. The penne itself is donated by Bronx importing company Gustiamo; then its sauced with the traditional garlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. And on February 7, its sister restaurant Marlow & Sons will donate all proceeds from sales of Fishers Island oysters to the ACLU. 7. Jam Out to Jazz While Eating Lamb at Mintons Harlems legendary jazz club Mintons has expanded, absorbing the space that was previously occupied by its sister-restaurant the Cecil. Chef Joseph J J Johnson still helms the kitchen, with chef de cuisine Tiffany Minter, and the new menu includes dishes like a chicken liver mousse ($14) served on skillet corn bread and topped with a sweet fruit jam and lamb top rounds ($29) with escovitch plantains, azuki red beans, and the crispy rice called concon. 8. Eat Fried Tripe With House HP Sauce at Otway, the Successor to Clinton Hills Tilda All Day Claire Welle garnered a local following last year courtesy, in large part, of the creative pastries she baked at the briefly lived Tilda All Day. Fans were disappointed when that restaurant closed, but now shes back in the kitchen in that same Clinton Hill space. Together with Samantha Safer, a partner in Tilda, shes opened Otway. This time, shes serving dishes like fried tripe with house HP sauce ($10), squab with mincemeat and a root vegetable tart ($30), and desserts including a buckwheat cake ($9) with chocolate and herbs. 9. Eat Spicy Fish Sliders at Mothers Ruin The fried fish is the unsung hero of the sandwich world. At the Soho bar Mothers Ruin, theyve gotten in on the action with their McFish sliders. The fish is Atlantic cod breaded with red hot crumbs and then flash fried, and served as a trio of mini-sandwiches ($14) with red hot tartare sauce, shaved iceberg lettuce, and sliced pickles on a brioche bun. 10. Drink Some of the Countrys Rarest Beers at Threes Brewing Gowanus brewery Threes Brewing will team up with beer writer (and sometime New York contributor) Joshua Bernstein for a second edition of its Can Jam. This time the focus is on the United States biggest and rarest cult beers, from breweries including Modern Times, Bunker, and New York favorites like Finback and Other Half. It goes down on February 19, from noon to 6 p.m., and entrance is free. Beers, of course, are not. All the desserts at the recently opened Otway. Photo: Melissa Hom 11. Learn How to Bake Danish Breads at Meyers Bageri Next month, Meyers Bageri will relaunch its baking classes ($110). School starts on February 25, when head baker Rhonda Crosson will kick off the semester with a pair of Kanelsnurrer 101 courses. Youll learn how to make Danish cinnamon rolls, from mixing the filling to kneading and twisting the bread. After, youll leave with your baked goods, raw dough, a recipe booklet, and some goods from the bakery. 12. Theres a New Chef at New Yorks Best Beer Bar Last month, Noma and Momofuku alum Daniel Burns announced the unexpected closing of Luksus, his Nordic restaurant inside the Greenpoint beer-geek haven Trst. Burns also departed from that bar, which has now announced its new chef: Jesus Chuy Cervantes, a former sous chef at Cosme who has worked for Burns for the last two years. Cervantes will be joined by sous chef Michael Goessman (Luksus and Prune), and Max Blachman-Gentile (Robertas, Emily, and Luksus) will bake the bread. The new menu sounds less New Nordic though theres a sea buckthorn dessert, a nod to the bars Scandinavian origins and more bar food. Take the crispy chicken skin with Chiriboga blue and Crystal hot sauce ($12), country ham with a seaweed roll and pimento cheese ($16), a fast-food style burger ($12) with chipotle mayo, and a black-bean torta ($12). 13. Eat Sunday Supper, Staten IslandStyle Barano chef Albert Di Meglio hails from Staten Island, New Yorks fortress of Italian-American culture. Starting February 8, hell start exploring the tradition of Sunday Suppers ($45 for the prix fixe) on Sunday and Wednesday. The dinner includes an antipasto board featuring warmed ricotta with olive oil and sea salt; dishes like a cast-iron ragu with meatballs, Calabrian sausage, and lamb spare ribs; and, for dessert, the restaurants top-tier cannoli. 14. Have Your First Ice Cream Sandwich of the Year Some might say its too cold for ice cream, but those who know know that theres no such thing as ice cream season. To that end, Mexican sweets queen Fany Gerson has introduced ice cream sandwiches ($9.50) at her West Village sugar shop. In the La Newyorkina shop, theyre made with vanilla or chocolate conchas, the shell-shaped Mexican sweet bread, split open and stuffed with three scoops of ice cream (your choice), cajeta, and up to two toppings. One of New Yorks many Yemeni-owned bodegas. Photo: Google President Donald Trumps Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries has been met with a swift (if divided) response. Protests erupted in 20 cities, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance went on a general strike at JFK Airport, and since its announcement theres been chatter of a nationwide general strike. One of the countries included in the ban is Yemen, where American-backed Saudi forces have been accused of possibly committing war crimes. In response to Trumps Muslim ban, Yemeni bodega and grocery-store owners across New York City will shut down 1,000 stores from noon to 8 p.m. tomorrow. Bodegas are part of the cultural identity of New York City, and a disproportionate amount of them are owned by individuals of Yemeni heritage. One of the citys best known bodegas is the deli informally known as Hajjis, which contributed to the citys culinary cannon with its creation of the hyper-regional sandwich called the chopped cheese. The shutdown, the Facebook event page for the strike says, is intended as a public show of the vital role these grocers and their players in New Yorks economic and social fabric. Along with the strike, there will be a rally tomorrow evening at 5:15 p.m. at the Brooklyn Borough Hall. After a Muslim call for prayer and sundown prayer by those who prescribe to the Muslim faith, select grocers will share the immediate impact of the ban on their lives as well as stories from families afraid to come forward. The Pixel C the first Pixel device to come from Google running Android, proper. It was first rumored to run Chrome OS, to succeed the Chromebook Pixel. In the end, it launched with Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 back in December of 2015. The Pixel C is just over a year old at this point, and it appears Google has stopped stocking an entry-level model with 32GB of storage. At this time, only the 64GB version of the Android tablet remains for sale from Google for $599, that raises the entry-level price by $100 from $499. As the Pixel C reaches this far in its life-cycle, theres no knowing if Google plans to launch a successor in the future. But given that the Google Pixel phones have been selling generally well, perhaps Google should consider a Pixel-branded tablet lineup that rivals the iPad, then again, the tablet market has been on a slow but steady decline in sales with cheaper windows 2-in-1 PCs rivaling tablet sales. Source | Via These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Are you looking to jumpstart your creative juices? You might want to try playing around in a different tuning, such as open D. This particular tuning has been hailed as [] Job Archive July 2021 (524) June 2021 (681) May 2021 (698) April 2021 (659) March 2021 (688) February 2021 (615) January 2021 (699) December 2020 (714) November 2020 (671) October 2020 (631) September 2020 (690) August 2020 (713) July 2020 (713) June 2020 (690) May 2020 (713) April 2020 (690) March 2020 (713) February 2020 (667) January 2020 (713) December 2019 (713) November 2019 (687) October 2019 (711) September 2019 (689) August 2019 (711) July 2019 (707) June 2019 (688) May 2019 (2002) April 2019 (1978) March 2019 (2039) February 2019 (1688) January 2019 (2253) December 2018 (2098) November 2018 (1932) October 2018 (1986) September 2018 (1915) August 2018 (39) July 2018 (72) June 2018 (44) May 2018 (76) April 2018 (65) March 2018 (16) February 2018 (32) January 2018 (201) December 2017 (352) November 2017 (381) October 2017 (600) September 2017 (1211) August 2017 (1655) July 2017 (1590) June 2017 (1506) May 2017 (1902) April 2017 (1965) March 2017 (1417) February 2017 (1808) January 2017 (1807) December 2016 (1593) November 2016 (1376) October 2016 (1408) September 2016 (1317) August 2016 (1499) July 2016 (1505) June 2016 (1421) May 2016 (1391) April 2016 (1340) March 2016 (1476) February 2016 (1396) January 2016 (1474) December 2015 (1409) November 2015 (1367) October 2015 (1478) September 2015 (1441) August 2015 (1467) July 2015 (1465) June 2015 (1410) May 2015 (1057) April 2015 (1269) March 2015 (1132) February 2015 (1151) January 2015 (1152) December 2014 (1156) November 2014 (1267) October 2014 (81) As many as 132 civilian residents, including 70 children, were evacuated from the Avdiyivka town, Donetsk region, as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said on its official website on Wednesday. In particular, 20 people from an elderly home were evacuated to the Biletske town, Dobropillia district, 86 people (including 62 children) were accommodated in the Pearl of the Donetsk region and Emerald Town holiday homes in the Sviatohorsk town, Slovyansk district, 11 people (including four children) were delivered to the Mariupol town. Furthermore, 13 people (including three children) were evacuated by a chaplain of the Good Message church to the Pokrivsk town, two people (including a child) to the Kostiantynivka town. The State Emergency Service confirmed that there are neither killed nor injured people in the State Emergency Service bomb disposal teams and emergency brigades of electric technicians, who came under fire during the restoration operations at about 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the bomb disposal experts and electric technicians are on the way back to Avdiyivka. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone conversation have identified priority areas for deepening cooperation between the two countries. "The two sides stressed on the need to enhance economic cooperation between Ukraine and Israel and agreed to take steps for the completion of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement," the press service of the Ukrainian president said following the conversation. It was also agreed on mutual support within international organizations on the basis of common interests, taking into account Ukraine's membership in the UN Security Council. The head of the Israeli government greeted Ukraine on the beginning of its presidency in the UN Security Council. Both sides confirmed their willingness to closely work in order to strengthen the fight against terrorism, promote peaceful settlement in the Middle East and restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. "Within the framework of strengthening the friendship and partnership between the peoples of Ukraine and Israel, it was agreed upon the visit of Ukrainian premier to Israel," a message says. By William Schwartz | Published on 2017/01/31 So apparently "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" is still in the basic exposition stage. That's the only explanation I can come up with for why it's taking so long for Gil-dong to grow up and become a major force to be reckoned with. To date Amogae (played by Kim Sang-joong) is the main lower class character showing any kind of agency. Now granted, while Amogae is Gil-dong's father, Hong Gil-dong is the legendary historical figure who's headlining the drama. Advertisement The set-up would probably bother me a lot less if we were actually learning more significant background. So far "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" is still dealing with small-scale corruption. I can see now why King Yeonsangun had to show up in the first episode in such an out of place way. Who knows how long we're going to have to wait for Amogae to move on from the local aristocratic thugs and start waging war on the people who embolden these guys in the first place. Small character building moments are effective, although they remain few and far between. Take the big scene where the next generation of horrible aristocracy has to practice his Chinese pensmanship. We can tell that the little guy isn't all that bad, but he's clearly being set up to be a sadistic jerk to lower class people because that's how everyone treats them for the mildest possible slights. This also works as good background, explaining why Amogae and Gil-dong are eventually going to have to take arms. The material's all relevant, and effectively sets up the worldbuilding. I'm just...getting a little bored at the moment because the very first few scenes of "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" clearly set up this massively brutal war and ever since then I've been wondering. Who are these allies? Where did Gil-dong find them? What did they do to make King Yeonsangun so angry that he sent the literal army after them? It's admittedly a pretty tough line to toe for a commercial product. The first episode has to sell us on things getting epic eventually, but in general "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" is doing the standard extended historical drama set-up. I don't think this episode is bad so much as I'm just being impatient. Sooner or later we're going to have to get to the main plot, so for now, these mysteries aren't that big a deal. Review by William Schwartz "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" is directed by Jin Chang-gyoo (), Kim Jin-man, written by Hwang Jin-yeong and features Kim Sang-joong, Yoon Kyun-sang, Kim Ji-suk, Lee Hanee and Chae Soo-bin. Watch on Viki Published on 2017/01/31 | Source The revenge towards the rich has started. Advertisement The second episode of the MBC drama "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" was broadcast on the 31st of January. Hong Gil-dong (Lee Ro-woon) stood by his father's words not to use force at any chance and his father Amoge (Kim Sang-joong) satisfied Jo Cham-bong (Son Jong-hak) with expensive items. He was so happy when he found out his wife was pregnant. Soon, So Bu-ri (Park Jun-gyu) suggested something new to Amoge. Amoge had to leave once again but he came back safe and sound with more precious items and thought of a way to increase in status. He thought of bribing someone with his precious items, get them to buy himself and his family and launder their status. It seemed as if his plan was working, but Jo Cham-bong's wife became suspicious and planned to rob Amoge of his riches. Jo Chang-bong's uncle seduced Amoge's pregnant wife and stimulated Amoge. Hong Gil-dong saw this and became furious. He threw rocks at the lords and told them to get lost. He hurt one of them and was taken away instead of Hong Gil-dong. Amoge got down to his knees and begged, "I will do anything if you just spare me my life!" Jo Cham-bong took everything Amoge had and Amoge couldn't help but be furious as a new life was just a step away from him. Amoge's wife died after she gave birth to a girl. Amoge hit himself in the face in front of her grave and said, "I am sorry. Forgive me". In the end, Amoge approached Jo Cham-bong in secret with a sickle in his hand. In the final scene, Amoge walked out with blood all over him. The number of independent contractors would continue to rise above 1 million people, despite the potential of a lack of stable income and difficulties finding work; That companies might opt for staffing models that included a smaller number of core employees, with many other roles being provided by freelancers; and That jobs of the future were likely to be more flexible, agile, networked and connected. Nearly 1 in 3 Australians (4.1 million people) were performing freelance work; The majority (Millennials and Baby Boomers) commenced freelancing by choice rather than necessity and were principally driven by flexibility and freedom; The reasons for freelancing included flexibility and freedom in relation to location and schedules particularly from Gen X and those with children under the age of 18; 79% of non-freelancers were open to freelancing; Nearly half of the freelancers were young workers (under 35 years of age) and almost 20% were over 55 years of age; and The top three freelance categories were web, mobile and software development (44%), design and creative (14%) and customer and administrative support (13%). A UK Employment Tribunal was recently asked to consider whether Uber drivers were workers and not independent contractors, for the purposes of its Employment Rights Act, National Minimum Wage Act and Working Time Regulation. The Tribunal determined the drivers to be workers and therefore were entitled to minimum wages, holiday pay, sick pay and breaks and concluded that the terms of the contract between Uber and its drivers did not correctly reflect the relationship, describing it to be fiction and unrealistic. The UK decision could impact on a number of companies in the Australian market that rely on similar business models (gig economy) to Uber, such as Deliveroo, Foodora and Airtasker. The employee or independent contractor argument in relation to Uber has not yet been tested in Australia. This will require a detailed analysis of the multiple indicia test a common law test used by courts to establish whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The test involves assessing a range of factors and weighing them against each other to reach a conclusion about a workers classification. There is no set list of factors and hence the factors considered will be different for every case (Stevens & Gray v. Brodribb Sawmilling Company Pty Limited (1986) 160 CLR 16). Some of the factors that a court might consider in a delivery driver test case include who decides when and for how long the drivers work, do the drivers invoice the company for their services rather than being paid wages, whether the drivers wear a uniform, whether the drivers provide all their own equipment and who pays for insurance (Jiang Shen Cai trading as French Accent v Michael Anthony Do Rozario [2011] FWAFB 8307). >The rise of the 'gig' economy brings with it some key legal considerations for employers, as Athena Koelmeyer outlinesThe emergence of what is known as the 'gig' economy is challenging existing labour institutions and the traditional workforce.Although the word 'gig' has historically applied to musicians, it is presently used to describe the increasing trend of workers who choose to earn their living doing gigs performing flexible and diversified work, as opposed to typical employment models, for example, working 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.The gig economy provides expanded work opportunities for individuals that are either disenchanted with the rigidity of full-time work or who are unable to obtain secure employment.Gig workers are predominantly independent contractors and freelancers. The growing interest in freelancing is largely driven by individuals who desire work flexibility particularly younger workers.The rise of flexible employment practices, freelance work and the sharing economy is steadily changing how we work and the nature of what constitutes 'work'. For example, the current world of work embraces the selling of merchandise on Ebay and Etsy, the provision of transport services through Uber , the provision of accommodation through Airbnb and the delivery of restaurant-quality food using Deliveroo and Foodora. These developments exemplify the gig economy, through which individuals can earn or enhance their income through the online trading of goods and services.The following report and survey provides significant and relevant information about the gig economy in Australia.In January 2016, the CSIROs report, Tomorrow's Digitally Enabled Workforce determined:Between 17 and 23 August 2015, Upwork, a global freelancing platform whereby businesses and professionals connect and collaborate remotely, conducted an online survey on 1.000 Australian adults (324 freelancers and 676 non-freelancers) over the age of 18 and who have undertaken paid work in the 12 months prior. Some of the results of the survey were:The benefits to employers of on-demand labour include the ability to swiftly adjust the size of the workforce in response to work requirements, having a smaller number of permanent employees, having access to a wider range of specialised and talented individuals and increased productivity.A fundamental component lacking in the gig economy is the satisfaction that permanent workers derive from feeling part of a companys culture and values on a daily basis.The benefits to individuals include flexibility, an improved work-life balance and the ability to select only the specific jobs they are interested in.In Australia, the rise of the gig economy is not without risks. One of the risks centres on the question of whether a worker is an employee or a contractor.Sham contracting occurs when an employer tells a worker that they are not an employee but a contractor. Effectively, the employer misrepresents the employment relationship to the worker, which results in the worker having no entitlement to the standard employment benefits, when in fact they are and which could result in breaches of the provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ().In Australia, workers engaged as contractors are not entitled to the same minimum safety net of conditions of employment that employees are entitled to.So, in classifying an employee as a contractor, the contractor is denied entitlement to the minimum wage, annual leave and other basic employee entitlements.Another potential risk is whether affiliated businesses and individuals could be held accountable under the accessorial liability provisions of the FW Act.Section 550 of the FW Act provides that a person involved in the contravention of a civil remedy provision of the FW Act will be taken to have contravened that provision, with potential liability extending to businesses and individuals for their contribution to the contravention (Cerin v ACI Operations Pty Ltd & Ors [2015] FCCA 1654).The UK decision highlights that employers who engage independent contractors should focus on the reality of how the work is actually being performed and to not assume that contractual provisions describing the relationship will be accepted.Athena Koelmeyer is the Principal and Director of Workplace Law. For further information phone +61 2 9256 7500 or visit workplacelaw.com.au Poor mental health costs the economy about $11 billion a year and workers compensation is just a minor part of that. Other factors at play include absenteeism and presenteeism, resulting in staff performing well below their potential. Thats one of many reasons why performance bonuses of chief executives should be partially tied to the mental wellbeing of their employees, said Jeff Kennett, CEO of Beyondblue. The former Victorian Premier told HC that the initiative makes good business sense because if you have a mentally healthy workplace you can lift your productivity by up to 4%. This is quite a considerable outcome for such little effort, he said. He added that it is also good for the morale of the staff to know that everyone from the CEO down is concerned about their welfare. Moreover, in many companies, there is a growing drift between those who are at the coalface, as opposed to those who sit in the CEOs office. And that is just often talked about in terms of a difference in pay level, said Kennett. For instance, the CEO of a bank might be getting millions of dollars, but the frontline teller may be on $60,000. Yet the latter are the ones that have to put up with the frustration of queues and abuse from time to time, he said. So for the CEO to have his or her salary tied in part to the mental health of their organisations is good commercial sense, its good social sense and its also an important ingredient in ensuring you have a happy workforce. Kennett added that in addition to chief executives, other positions should also have similar KPIs to ensure mental health is improved. I think all direct reports to the CEO should also have in their KPIs the mental health of those who are their responsibility, he said. Im a great believer that bonuses should only be paid when budgets are met and when the mental health of the staff is in good shape. In other words, I only believe a CEO and direct report should have only five KPIs, the first of which would be the mental health of staff. The Commonwealth Bank recently had a KPI for their CEO voted against by Australian superannuation funds because they thought the non-financial target (including the mental health of the staff) was a soft target. Certainly, we have got to make sure that the method by which you measure the mental health of your staff is a real and well-designed measuring device, Kennett said. Kennett said he hopes the Australian superannuation funds that voted this down in future will have reason to support it. It is interesting the overseas superfunds that invested in the Commonwealth Bank did support the measurements and the welfare of the staff, but the Australian superannuation funds did not, he added. To me this indicates that the American superannuation organisations have a much better appreciation of the quality of the health of the people that work for these organisations. The following information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Compiled by Katie Benfield Jan. 23Breaking and entering a motor vehicle and larceny from a motor vehicle were reported at 180 Parkwood Circle in Boone.Jan. 24Incident: Larceny was reported at 4468 U.S. Highway 421 N. in Vilas.Incident: Communicating threats was reported at 484 Kellersville Rd. in Banner Elk.Incident: Fraud impersonation was reported at 1078 Mountain Dale Rd. in Vilas.Arrest: A male suspect, 22, of 150 Water St, #6, in Boone was charged with assault and battery. Trial date: Feb. 14.Arrest: A female suspect, 22, of 175 Dovick Dr. in Banner Elk, was charged with OFA/FTA on misdemeanor larceny. Secured bond: $2,500. Trial date: Feb. 8.Jan. 25Incident: Credit card fraud was reported at 160 Locust Ln. in Boone.Arrest: A male suspect, 35, of 235 Meadowhill Dr., #507, in Boone, was charged with OFA-FTA. Secured bond: $20,000. Trial date: Mar. 20.Arrest: A male suspect, 30, of 3520 Drawbridge Pkwy, Apt. 102H., in Greensboro, was charged with having a concealed weapon, marijuana paraphernalia and OFAspeeding. Secured bond: $1,300. Trail date: Feb. 27. Jan. 26 Incident: Simple possession of schedule IV and possession of marijuana paraphernalia were reported at 892 Fallview Ln., Unit 1, in Boone. Arrest: A male suspect, 17, of 254 Silverwood Dr. in Boone, was charged with FTA consume alcohol bv 19 year old. Secured bond: $1,000. Trial date: Apr. 6. Arrest: A female suspect, 27, of 923 Joe Little Rd. in Jefferson, was charged with FTA-DWLR and stop sign violation. Secured bond: $1,000. Trial date: Mar. 9. Arrest: A male suspect, 62, of 293 Sumpter Cabin Creek Rd. in Blowing Rock, was charged with DV protective order violation and absconder. No bond. Trial date: Feb. 27. Arrest: A male suspect, 17, of 6830 Harry Ct. in Whitsett, was charged with felony obtaining property by false pretenses. Secured bond: $5,000. Trial date: Feb. 23. Arrest: A female suspect, 35, of 111 Yonah Court in Boone, was charged with felony aggravated assault inflicting serious injury and all other offenses against familyfelony child abuse. Secured bond: $75,000. Trial date: Mar. 1. Jan. 27 Incident: Misdemeanor larceny was reported at 4546 U.S. Highway 421 N. in Vilas. Incident: All other larceny was reported at 1399 NC Highway 105 Bypass, Apt. 3 in Boone. Incident: Simple physical assault was reported at 1425 Stoney Brook Ln. in Boone. Incident: Drug violations was reported at Casey & Casey Law Office on West King St. in Boone. Incident: Calls for service was reported at 1033 New River Hills in Boone. Arrest: A male suspect, 37, of 282 Tyler St. in Boone, was charged with drug violationsall other drug violations and drug violationsequipment/paraphernalia. Secured bond: $5,000. Trial date: Feb. 27. Arrest: A female suspect, 43, of 1425 Stoney Brook Ln. in Boone, was charged with simple assault. No bond. Trial date: Feb. 27. Arrest: A male suspect, 30, of 3520 Drawbridge Pkwy, Apt. 102H, in Greensboro, was charged with felony breaking and entering a motor vehicle, felony burglary and felony attempted burglary. Secured bond: $85,000. Trial date: Feb. 27. Jan. 28 Incident: Assault on a female was reported at Appalachian Ski Mountain on 940 Ski Mountain Rd. Incident: Breaking and entering and damage to real property were reported at 2872 Old 421 S. in Boone. Incident: Marijuana drug paraphernalia, possession of schedule VI and FTA WFA were reported at 506 George Wilson Rd. in Boone. Incident: Breaking and entering was reported at 2653 Stone Mountain Rd. in Vilas. Incident: Breaking and entering and larceny from buildings were reported at 140 H. Stanley Miller Rd., Unit B8 in Deep Gap. Arrest: A male suspect, 24, of 506 George Wilson Rd. in Deep Gap, was charged with FTA OFA. Secured bond: $500. Trial date: Mar. 13. Jan. 29 Incident: Simple physical assault and calls for service were reported at 5500 Castle Ford Rd. in Todd. Incident: Suspicious activity was reported at 150 Farmer Brown Rd. in Vilas. Jan. 30 Incident: Breaking and entering a motor vehicle and larceny from a motor vehicle were reported at 854 Fallview Ln, Unit 2, in Boone. Arrest: A male suspect, 46, of 142 James Parsons Rd. in Deep Gap, was charged with all other offenses. Secured bond: $500. Trial date: Mar. 1. Rev. Dr. David Mielke to Speak at Public Library on Feb. 7th Audience: Adults (18+) Location: Watauga County Public Library Meeting Room The Watauga County Public Library would like to invite you to join the Rev. Dr. David Mielke on Tuesday, February 7th from 10:00 am 12:30 pm for the first in a four part film and lecture series on the portrayal of African-Americans in early 20th century cinema. In part 1 of the series, Dr. Mielke will be showing director Oscar Micheauxs 1920 silent film, Within Our Gates which tells the story of Sylvia Landry who, after visiting her cousin in the north, is abandoned by her fiance. Disheartened, she returns to the small southern town of Piney Woods to help a reverend running a school for young African-Americans. Oscar Micheaux, a pioneer of independent film, was the first African-American director to produce a feature length film and Within Our Gates was his response to D.W. Griffiths The Birth of a Nation, a film that had glorified the Ku Klux Klan and justified the violent oppression of African-Americans to prevent miscegenation. This film has an MPAA rating of Unrated and an approximate run-time of 79 minutes. For more information please call (828) 264-8784 ext. 2 Also, be sure to check out Dr. Mielkes African-American and segregationist display at the library! It will run from 1/23/2017 3/17/2017. Visit our libguide: http://arlibrary.beta.libguide s.com/african_american The Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild to Hold Monthly Meeting on Feb. 2 The Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, February 2nd at 1:00 PM. We meet in the conference room on the second floor of the Senior Center on Poplar Grove Connector in Boone. Patty Blanton, a local quilter from Sew Original, will present our program. She will introduce us to a trendy art form at its simplest: Zentagle Coasters. Come join the fun and learn how to make these unique items. Call Dolores at 295-6148 if you have any questions. New Publix Will Be Holding a Job Fair from Feb. 15-18 The new Publix at Three Creeks will be holding a job fair from Feb.15-18 at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on Blowing Rock Rd. The job fair will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but if you prefer to apply ahead of time, you can visit the website and either begin your application or make an appointment. Watauga Women in Leadership to Host February Fun Night On Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 5-8 p.m., the Watauga Women in Leadership will host a night full of fun at 10 High Country Lanes. Beat the winter doldrums with bowling, trivia and networking with other professional women. Food will be provided and a cash bar available. Be sure to enter the raffle for a chance to win prizes from local businesses! Its $10 per person, and they ask anyone who wishes to attend to register by Feb. 17. You can register online here. Here is the schedule for the night: 5-5:30pm: Networking/Check-in 5:30pm-7:30pm: Bowling/Trivia 7:30-8pm: Networking/Close Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Beech Mountains own Ward Family is set to be honored with the Community Traditions Award by the NC Folklore Society, on Saturday, February 4, at the 9th annual Fiddlers Convention. They are being recognized for their dedication to the traditions and engagement of folklore culture in the high country. This engagement is somewhat of a family tradition, as several generations of the Ward family, which settled on Beech Mountain around the time of the Revolutionary War, have been documented by local folklorists who recorded their talents for ballad singing, storytelling, playing music, dancing, herbalism, textile arts, woodworking, and even making instruments. Today, ninth-generation local family member Rick Ward is known in the Boone area as a bearer of several of the familys skills, including his grandfather N.T. Tab Wards double-knock banjo style playing. Since 1970, the NCFS Brown-Hudson Folklore Award has recognized individuals who make significant contributions to the transmission, appreciation, and observance of traditional culture and folklife in North Carolina. In 1992 the NC Folklore Society gave out the first of its Community Traditions Awards, and now it is being recognized years later in the High Country. This award, in particular, honors the organizations and groups who engage in or support folklife and traditional culture in North Carolina. The 2016 BHFA recipients Max Woody of Marion and Fred Douglas Parnell of Tyro and Lexington were recently recognized at events in their home communities, and NCFS stated that they were looking forward to presenting the 2016 CTA for the Ward Family of Beech Mountain at the 2017 Fiddlers Convention in Boone. Anyone can attend this event and support the Ward Family, and if you do, make sure to stay and check out the other family-friendly events going on! The 9th Annual Fiddlers Convention will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2017, from 10:00am-5:00 pm in the Plemmons Student Union with an evening concert at Legends starting at 7:30 pm. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket The Watauga County Arts Council, a Designated County Partner of the North Carolina Arts Council, is offering grant funding for qualified projects in Watauga County. Projects which are eligible for this grant program are those artistic and cultural activities sponsored by any non-profit community based organization. Under state guidelines, emphasis will be placed upon the projects of qualified arts organizations (e.g. theaters, galleries, art guilds, choral societies, musical organizations, dance companies, writers groups, arts festivals), the support of arts in education programs conducted by qualified artists which take place in school settings, after school, or through summer programs (however, grassroots funds may not be used for activities associated with a schools internal arts programs such as in-school student performances, the purchase of art supplies, or student arts competitions and publications), and arts programs provided to the community by other community organizations. These programs should be conducted by qualified artists. All projects which receive funding must take place between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. All grant awards must be matched by at least an equal cash match from the applicant organization and may not be matched by state funds. Criteria for selection will include: 1) strong community support; 2) involvement of racial and ethnic minorities and other traditionally underserved segments of the community; 3) responsiveness to community cultural needs; 4) involvement of local professional artists; 5) the organizations administrative ability and financial stability, and 6) the organizations ability to develop sufficient funding for the project. Application Process: 1) Complete NCAC Subgrantee Application Form (available from the Watauga County Arts Council website or office) and return it along with the Application Cover Page and Budget Worksheet to the WCAC office by the published deadline. Applications which do not have all three underlined components will not be considered. 2) The NCAC now requires that all subgrant applicants have on file (with the local arts council) their current Conflict of Interest (this needs to updated annually, approved by your board, and signed by the board chairperson) and a current copy of the states No Overdue Tax Debt Form. 3) Applications are reviewed by a panel of county representatives. 4) The recommendations of the panel are presented for approval by the Watauga County Arts Councils Board of Directors. 5) Applicants are notified by mail of their acceptance into the program. With this notification, all report forms will be sent to them, along with a list of instructions and a contract which is to be signed and returned upon receipt. It is advisable to read carefully through all these materials before proceeding. 6) Applicants carry out their event, being CERTAIN to include the required credit line in ALL written and oral publicity. 7) Applicants complete the NCAC Subgrantee Report Form immediately following their event and return it to the WCAC along with sample publicity and any publications which include the credit lines. Prior to turning in the Report Form it is advisable to use the checklist provided with your notification packet to ensure that you have included all required materials. 8) The Report Form and all required attachments must be complete and pass review by the Executive Director or Panel Chairperson before payment of the grant award can be made. All forms are available at www.watauga-arts.org. The amount of money available for each grant is dependent on the total Grassroots allotment from the North Carolina State Arts Council to Watauga Countys Designated County Partner, the Watauga County Arts Council. Grant amounts generally range from $100 to $500 per project but may be considered for up to $1000. The application deadline is Friday, February 24th. A free workshop will be held at the Blue Ridge ArtSpace from 4-5 pm on Thursday, February 16th where the WCAC Executive Director will discuss the grants process and advise applicants on how to create a successful application. Pre-registration via email would be greatly appreciated. For additional information contact the Watauga County Arts Council by email at [email protected], by mail at 377 Shadowline Drive, Boone, NC 28607, or by telephone at 828-264-1789. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket The public broadcasting company reveals that it has been granted access to the classified guidelines that also detail changes to the training of conscripts with dual Finnish-Russian citizenship in order to ensure they cannot advance to positions with access to classified or sensitive security information. The Finnish Defence Forces has adopted new guidelines to prevent personnel with dual Finnish-Russian citizenship from advancing to certain senior positions, reports YLE . YLE also writes that dual Finnish-Russian citizens have for some time been ineligible for positions in the Defence Forces. The report has provoked a response from Russia. Sputnik News, a Russian state-controlled news agency, argued yesterday that the guidelines are discriminatory towards dual citizenship holders. All Finnish citizens are equal, but some of them are still less equal than others, it wrote YLE's report has been refuted by Jussi Niinisto (PS), the Minister of Defence. He estimated in an interview with STT on Tuesday that it may be part of a sophisticated disinformation campaign. Niinisto did, on the other hand, confirm to the public broadcaster that he intends to launch a legislative project to prevent dual citizenship holders from securing positions in the Defence Forces. I'm personally of the opinion that there are weighty grounds for excluding dual citizens when it comes to military positions. This possibility will be explored during the project, he said. YLE points out that the possibility of restricting or entirely suspending the access of dual Finnish-Russian citizens to certain positions in the central administration has been under consideration for some time in Finland due to the increasingly strained relationship between Russia and the European Union. A legislative amendment to accomplish that, it adds, is currently being prepared by the Ministry of Finance. The Defence Forces, however, opted not to wait for the completion of the legislative work and adopted its own guidelines with respect to dual citizens. Finland is currently home to approximately 60,000 Russian citizens, one-third of whom hold dual Finnish-Russian citizenship, the public broadcasting company reported last year. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi Economic inequalities persist and continue to grow globally. If socialism is understood as addressing social inequalities, which constitutes the basis of the Nordic welfare state, a new version of it is needed, he says to Uusi Suomi. I believe the country must provide businesses with all of the preconditions needed to succeed. Timo Harakka (SDP), one of three candidates vying for the leadership of the Social Democratic Party, has refuted suggestions that socialism is dead but conceded that it may have to reinvent itself to remain relevant in the 21st century. The Social Democratic Party, he underscores, must re-establish itself as a party for the future by offering citizens answers to the pressing questions of the next decades in the parliamentary elections of 2019. How will the working life change? How will industries change [to adapt to] the digital world economy? How should the social security system be changed? he lists. The Social Democratic Party must shed light on its views on such questions if it is to convince voters that it is the right party to lead the country safely to the next decade. Harakka estimates that trade unions have retained their relevance amidst momentous changes in the nature of employment and working life. The trade unions' role in the society is greater than simply hammering out collective agreements for specific sectors. They've also had their share of accomplishments, such as the pension agreement reached by labour market organisations, he argues. The Government of Prime Minister Alexander Stubb (NCP) and labour market organisations agreed on a comprehensive overhaul of the national pension system in the second half of 2014, raising the retirement age gradually to 65 and tying it to life expectancy. The reform was implemented at the beginning of 2017. It was the greatest and only accomplishment of Stubb's Government, says Harakka. It'll contribute substantially to narrowing the sustainability deficit in the long term, more so than any of the measures of the Government of [Prime Minister] Juha Sipila (Centre). Harakka indicates that the pension deal is evidence of the merits of the bargaining system of Finland. It's all but impossible to imagine that earners in any other European country would voluntarily cut their pension benefits. France would probably still be dealing with a general strike. Cars would be on fire in the suburbs of Rome, he says. Harakka also expresses his disapproval with the education spending cuts introduced by the Government of Sipila. Its successor, he believes, should commit to investing one billion euros in all levels of the education system in early-childhood education, basic education, general upper-secondary education, vocational education, higher education, and in research, product development and innovation. The Social Democratic Party will convene to select its next chairperson in Lahti on 35 February. The other two candidates in the leadership race are incumbent chairperson Antti Rinne and Tytti Tuppurainen. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Kalle Parkkinen Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi U.S. announces to charge China's large washing machines with punitive duties U.S. International Trade Commission has announced hefty tariffs on certain large residential washing machines made in China. The ITC has been accusing Chinese manufacturers of dumping washing machines into the U.S. market at artificially low prices. As such, they are now being hit with punitive duties ranging from 32 to 52 percent. Chinese companies exported some 1.1 billion US dollars worth of large residential washing machines to the U.S. in 2015. Chinas Ministry of Commerce has since responded, saying the U.S. side should be moving to avoid trade protectionism. An artist's impression of Saccorhytus coronarius, a sea creature that lived 540 million years ago [Photo provided by Jian Han, Northwest University] Researchers have discovered traces of what may be the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of human beings, calling into question decades of research into human evolution. 45 fossilized sand-dwelling microorganisms were found in Shaanxi Province, northwest China, during a study carried out by an international team of academics, including researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK and Northwest University in Xi'an, China. It was named and introduced in the journal "Nature" on Monday. The scientists decided to name it "Saccaorhytus," which essentially means "wrinkled bag," explained Conway Morris, a paleobiologist at the University of Cambridge in the UK to NPR. Saccaorhytus is a microscopic sea creature, no bigger than a grain of rice that is believed to have lived 540 million years ago. It is a sack-like creature with a large hole resembling a mouth, and spikes resembling teeth. Conway Morris and his colleagues think that it's a really important find, that the animals could be a distant link to our own human evolution, reports NPR. "What we have here is an animal which we would suggest is in fact the earliest known deuterostome," Morris says. Deuterostomes are a huge group of organisms that, over the next millions of years would come to include starfish, sea squirts and anything with a spine. This means it may be an ancestor of a major animal group that includes humans. Imran Rahman, a paleontologist at Oxford University Museum of Natural History in the UK, explains another reason why this find is so interesting. He suggests this rare fossil find indicates that diversity could have gotten started earlier than fossils suggest. Most other early deuterostome groups are from about 510 to 520 million years ago, but Saccaorhytus is believed to be 540 million years old. "Perhaps one of the reasons we didn't see so many animals in the fossil record is because the animals were really small," Rahman says. UN hopes to see temporary U.S. refugee ban "lifted as soon as possible" The United Nations on Tuesday said that the world body hopes to see that the temporary U.S. ban on the entry of refugees into the country "will be lifted as soon as possible." "We hope it will be lifted as soon as possible," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here in response to a press question. Thousands of protesters rallied in front of the White House in Washington D.C. on Sunday while demonstrations continued across more than 30 American airports after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily barring all refugees and seven Mideast and North African countries' citizens from entering the United States. Under the order, refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days while all immigration from so-called "countries with terrorism concerns" will be suspended for 90 days. Countries included in the ban are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Earlier Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on his way back from Ethiopia which is the largest refugee holding country in Africa, issued a statement which said that any country's border control over refugee entry "cannot be based on any form of discrimination related to religion, ethnicity or nationality," Dujarric said. While acknowledging that "countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations," the UN chief made the statement because the ban "is gainst the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based." Meanwhile, the ban also "triggers widespread anxiety and anger that may facilitate the propaganda of the very terrorist organisations we all want to fight against," Guterres said in the statement read by Dujarric to reporters here. "Blind measures, not based on solid intelligence, tend to be ineffective as they risk being bypassed by what are today sophisticated global terrorist movements," the statement said. "I am also particularly concerned by the decisions that around the world have been undermining the integrity of the international refugee protection regime," Guterres said. "Refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are finding more and more borders closed and increasingly restricted access to the protection they need and are entitled to receive, according to international refugee law," he added. The secretary-general, while in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, on Monday commended African countries for opening their borders to refugees and people fleeing violence while other parts of the world, including the developed West, close boundaries and build walls. Guterres was in Addis Ababa to attend the summit of the African Union, which attracted several dozen African leaders. A rescuer searches for missing people off Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Jan. 31, 2017. Search efforts continued on Tuesday for the missing people in a boat accident off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo. (Xinhua) Search efforts continued on Tuesday for the missing people in a boat accident off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said the operations would cover 3,000 square nautical miles with planes and ships from the agency as well as Malaysian navy and air force, as neighboring Brunei also sent planes and ships to search its waters. Adam Aziz, a regional official of the agency, said the search and rescue personnel were rushing the golden hours of finding the missing. "We will continue the operation and step up the search efforts," he said. Sabah police chief Ramli Din said the latest investigation put the figure of the missing at six, including five tourists and one crewman. One survivor had brought his wife and daughter but only his name were registered, he said. The two remained unaccounted for. Police also found that one passenger was listed twice, he said. It was first reported that the boat was carrying 28 Chinese tourists and three crew members, when the boat sank off Sabah on Saturday. Twenty tourists and two crew members have been rescued so far. Police said Monday that one tourist had registered for the trip but didn't get on board. There's possibilities of more changes on the number of the missing, Ramli said. China's Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu said they were notified but the new figure needed to be further verified. Washington County football: Wildcats, Warriors open playoffs with victories Williamsport and Boonsboro will play in the second round of the Class 2A-1A West playoffs after victories Friday night. Starbucks has announced a plan to hire 10,000 refugees over five years in 75 countries in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban. "There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business," Haward Schultz, the coffee retailer's chairman and CEO, said in a letter to employees on Sunday. "And we will start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support," Schultz added. Under the executive order Trump signed Friday, refugees from all over the world will be suspended U.S. entry for 120 days while all immigration from the so-called "countries with terrorism concerns will be suspended for 90 days." Moreover, Schultz committed to offer Starbucks employees the access to health insurance even if the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, is repealed causing them to lose their healthcare coverage. In open defiance against Trump's proposal to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, Schultz said the company is "building bridges, not walls, with Mexico," noting that "we will continue to invest in this critically important market all the same." This is not the first time that the outspoken CEO took aim at some of Trump's agenda, including asking customers not to bring guns into stores. Schultz is among CEOs of some of the world' s biggest companies who are fighting back against the controversial travel ban. The heads of Apple, Ford and Goldman Sachs also said they don't support Trump's executive order. The Starbucks decision also caused a stir on social media, with #BoycottStarbucks became a trending topic on Twitter immediately after the company's announcement. Twitter user named "The Trump Train" tweeted that "Black American unemployment rate is double the national average but Starbucks is looking to hire refugees." The post has got more than 5,500 likes and 3,300 retweets as of Tuesday. Still, there are many more Starbucks supporters including actress Jessica Chastain. Chastain tweeted that "#Starbucks plans to hire 10,000 refugees #buyStarbucks." Another Twitter user named "The Vocal Majority" posted a photo showing a hand holding a cup of Starbucks coffee and said "doing my part to support Starbucks in the face of #boycottstarbucks." Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 21 times violated the ceasefire in various directions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend Feb. 1. The Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns. The Azerbaijani army positions located in Qizilhajili village and on the nameless heights of Azerbaijans Gazakh district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in Berkaber village and on the nameless heights of the Ijevan district of Armenia. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani army positions located in Aghdam, Alibayli, Kokhanabi villages of Azerbaijans Tovuz district were shelled from the Armenian army positions located in Chinari, Mosesqekh villages of Armenias Berd district. Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Chilaburt village of the Tartar district, Shikhlar village of the Aghdam district, Horadiz, Ashagi Seyidahmadli villages of the Fuzuli district, Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district, as well as on nameless heights of the Fuzuli district. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Anakhanum Hidayatova Trend: OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairs are working to organize the next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Richard Hoagland, US interim co-chair of the OSCE MG, told Trend. My fellow co-chairs and I are currently discussing in principle when the ministers might next meet in the future and the most appropriate time for our next co-chair trip to the region, he said. I look forward to the opportunity, added Hoagland. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has earlier said there is a plan to hold a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs at the Munich Security Conference, to be held Feb. 17-19. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 Trend: As a result of the Armenian provocation on the contact line between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, an Azerbaijani serviceman was wounded, the press service of Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said Feb. 1. On Feb. 1, the Armenian military units again violated the ceasefire on the contact line using automatic firearms and grenade launchers, according to the Defense Ministry. While preventing the enemys provocation, Azerbaijani Armed Forces Sergeant Rauf Isayev was wounded as a result of shelling by the Armenian side, said the Defense Ministry. He received emergency medical aid. Currently, Isayevs condition is stable and there is no threat to his life. Necessary retaliatory measures will be taken against such actions of Armenia, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. The case of the Wilmington Ten amounts to one of the most egregious instances of injustice and political repression from the postWorld War II black freedom struggle. It took legions of people working over the course of the 1970s to right the wrong. These opening words from Kenneth Jankens book, The Wilmington Ten: Violence, Injustice, and the Rise of Black Politics in the 1970s, alert readers to the importance of the story he tells and to the passionate viewpoint from which he writes. In todays times of Black Lives Matter and the Womens March on Washington, why is the Wilmington Ten story important for us? One reason according to the Wilmington StarNews journalist Ben Steelman is the Wilmington Ten case still divides Wilmington like an ugly scar. That story begins in 1971 when the treatment of black students in Wilmingtons newly integrated high schools prompted a boycott and demonstrations, followed by violent confrontations and the burning of small businesses. It ended only on December 31, 2012 when Governor Beverly Perdue issued a pardon of innocence for 10 people who had been charged and convicted of arson and related crimes in connection with the 1971 burnings. Janken sets out the tortured story that took place between those two dates. *Since no other nearby black church was willing to host the boycotters potentially inflammatory demonstrations, they established their headquarters at a mixed race United Church of Christ church led by white pastor, Eugene Templeton. *When boycott and protest efforts were faltering, Templeton asked his denomination to send someone to provide leadership training for the protesting students. The person they sent was the charismatic Ben Chavis, who had been active in demonstrations in Oxford and in other eastern North Carolina towns. *After Chavis arrived, confrontations among demonstrators, white power groups, and law enforcement officials accelerated. On the night of February 6-7, 1971, Mike's Grocery was destroyed by fire. *A year later in March, 1972, Chavis and others associated with the boycotts and demonstrations were arrested and charged with arson. *Using perjured testimony that he helped develop, the prosecutor secured a conviction of the 10 defendants known as the Wilmington Ten. The group was sentenced to a cumulative total of 282 years. *Janken asserts that the prosecution had broad support from political and community leaders who wanted to prevent Chavis from stirring up more demonstrations in Wilmington and other parts of the state. *Early appeals of the conviction and sentencing on the grounds of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct were unsuccessful. *Many in North Carolina believed that Chavis and others in the group were guilty of something, even if they did not put a match to Mike's Grocery. But people in other parts of the country and in many other lands took up the cause of the Wilmington Ten. These groups pummeled North Carolina with petitions and demonstrations. They cast a negative shadow on our state, something similar to the one cast today by House Bill 2. These activities also mobilized and provided an organizational vehicle for supporters of other progressive causes just as the Womens March on Washington did this year on January 21. *In January 1979, Gov. Jim Hunt shortened the sentences of the Wilmington Ten, leaving some of them still in prison. *In 1980 a federal appeals court threw out all convictions. Janken believes the memories of the 1898 Wilmington violent political revolution that ousted black officials had an impact on the activities of 1971, and particularly the unwillingness of some leading members of the black community to support the student boycott. Similarly, the Wilmington Ten story is for many, a flashpoint of history that will burn for many years to come. D.G. Martin hosts North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Sundays at noon and Thursdays at 5 p.m. on UNC-TV. On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted along party lines, 12-11, in favor of President Donald Trumps nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education, bringing her one step closer to final approval by the full senate. DeVoss nomination has been a contentious one for Trump, centering on her support of private and charter schools while pushing for reform of what she calls, Americas broken education system, on her website, betsydevos.com. She supports public funding of vouchers to subsidize the cost of a private school education and helped fund the West Michigan Aviation Academy charter school in her home state. Charter schools are public schools of choice that are authorized by a State Board of Education and operated by independent nonprofit boards. DeVos also serves as chairman of the American Federation for Children, a national choice advocacy group. These positions have put her on the opposite side of the education coin of most public school educators and administrators. It could be devastating to public education, if we have that kind of migration towards privatization, Hickory Public Schools Superintendent Robbie Adell told the Hickory Daily Record earlier this month. The senate committee actually voted in favor of DeVos twice after the Democratic ranking member Sen. Patty Murray raised procedural concerns after the first vote. The attempt to delay the proceedings failed and the second vote was the same as the first. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah wasnt present and voted by proxy. His absence would have made it an 11-to-11 tie. He made it for the second vote though and again it was a victory for DeVos, 12-11, with the Democrats objecting because of the lack of a formal notice of a vote. Prior to the vote, DeVos was plagued by accusations of possible plagiarism of an administration civil rights official of President Barack Obama in a response to additional written questions sent to DeVos the day before the committee meeting. Checking Charters Democrats on the senate committee were concerned with tax payer dollars in the form of vouchers being used on charter schools which are not held as accountable as their public counterparts. There are no charter schools in Catawba County, and while Adell is a proponent of choice, his opinion on charter schools mirrors that of Murray. I can tell you the accountability for a charter is somewhat different than a public school and that public schools are held more accountable in terms of student outcomes, Adell said. Adell said as a parent himself, he would want his children to be at a school where there was more accountability. In North Carolina, charter schools are required to design their programs to at least meet the student performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education and the student performance standards contained in its own charter (ncpublicschools.org). Teachers not licensed Another issue for Adell is the higher expectations of credentials for teachers in public schools versus charter schools. According to the North Carolina General Assemblys Article 14A on charter schools, An employee of a charter school is not an employee of the local school administrative unit in which the charter school is locatedat least fifty percent of these teachers shall hold teacher licenses. All teachers who are teaching in the core subject areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts shall be college graduates. (The state) elected to fund schools that dont have the same type of requirements, and it just doesnt seem equitable, Adell said. The other piece to that, most of the charters that Im aware of dont provide transportation. A charter school, may provide transportation for students enrolled at the school, according to Article 14A. The charter school shall develop a transportation plan so that transportation is not a barrier to any student who resides in the local school administrative unit in which the school is located. The charter school is not required to provide transportation to any student who lives within one and one-half miles of the school. With the future of public education, well just have to wait and see. Well continue to do the best we canbut it is worrisome to those of us in public education, Adell said. Public offers choices The superintendent pointed to several options Hickory Public Schools offers to make the district competitive with any charter or private school. We have open enrollment for our elementary schools, which is a really cool thing. You dont find that in every district, Adell said. You have an option of taking your kid to whatever elementary school we have as long as space is available. He also mentioned the International Baccalaureate program college prep at an accelerated pace for high school students and the orchestra program at the school. Adell also talked about the options in fields like the culinary arts, fire fighter technology or forensics students can find at the Hickory Career and Arts Magnet School. State and local tax dollars are the primary funding sources for charter schools, which have open enrollment and cannot discriminate in admissions, associate with any religion or religious group, or charge-tuition (ncpublicschools.org). HICKORY A local Muslim active in interfaith movements is speaking out about what he sees as the destructive impact of the travel ban on both Muslims and core principles of American society. Duston Barto, a native of Lincolnton who converted to Islam in 1999, is the co-director of the Foothills Interfaith Assembly and also has worked with the Catawba Valley Interfaith Council. Barto has a number of concerns about President Donald Trumps recent executive order instituting a travel and refugee ban that affects people in seven Muslim-majority countries. The ban is a betrayal of key American principles that is distinct from previous presidential actions, Barto said. Previous administrations have taken actions either slowing down or temporarily blocking new entrants to the country, including President Jimmy Carters policy toward visa holders from Iran in 1980, Barto said. Trumps actions differ from those of some of his predecessors in an important way, Barto said. What Trumps issue did is problematic because it revoked the legal status of existing visa holders, and thats what makes it unprecedented, Barto said. These people have constitutional rights; these people have constitutional protections, and thats stripped away. Trumps actions may jeopardize the nations promise of liberty and opportunity to those fleeing oppression. Barto said his own heritage includes French Huguenots who came to America as a result of religious persecution. Americans must resist the fearful us vs. them mentality that is behind the ban in order to maintain America's values, Barto said. If we are going to allow fear to override our faith, and if we are going to allow that fear to erode the foundational elements of our nation, then we might as well tear down the Statue of Liberty, because at that moment we have betrayed the proclamation, and the promise, it represents, Barto said. America's promise of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is universal, Barto said. "So, if we are truly a nation where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is maintained, then that must be for all people," Barto said. Fear also is behind much of the hostility that many Muslims have faced for more than a decade, Barto said. Many Muslims, particularly immigrants, in and around Catawba County choose to keep low profiles after decades of political and societal bombardment, Barto said. From Bush to Obama to Trump, nothing has changed, Barto said. The way to counter that fear is by forming relationships, Barto said. All dialogue starts with friendship, Barto said. Barto sees the interfaith movement as a key force in promoting that type of understanding by working to attain coexistence rather than merely tolerance. We have to go into the point to where, I dont agree with you, I dont like your beliefs, but I have found things within your beliefs that I can agree with, Barto said. Muslims have much in common with both Christians and Jews, including belief in a single God and the importance of charity, Barto said. Many Muslims in Catawba County are business owners and physicians and are in a position to be strong community builders, Barto said. Barto also would like to see more Muslims in the area increase their own visibility in the community to help overcome the fear and mistrust. Fear is what is killing everything, Barto said. Fear is what is preventing us from living up to the promises that our Founding Fathers established. Making a connection The Rev. Susan Walker, who is a member of the Catawba Valley Interfaith Council, said in a phone interview that she believes a sense of solidarity will develop between religious groups over the issue of the ban as these groups have more time to process it and organize. The interfaith community in the area is interested in making connections with Muslims, Walker said. If Muslim people are here and want our support, we want to know them, Walker said. Walker welcomed those Muslims in the community who wanted to connect to reach out to her and the interfaith council. Walker can be reached at 828-962-8196, and more information on the Catawba Valley Interfaith Council is available at https://catawbavalleyinterfaithcouncil.wordpress.com. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs order on the restoration of the Jojug Marjanli village of the Jabrayil district means that the country will liberate all its lands from the occupation, Samad Seyidov, the chairman of the international and interparliamentary relations committee in Azerbaijans Parliament, told Trend. This is already a serious message to Armenia, Seyidov noted. Armenia itself realizes that it wont be able to continue occupying Azerbaijani lands. During the April fighting, the Armenians saw the power of the Azerbaijani army, so they are well aware that if such fights take place again, Armenia will be doomed. Thats why the sooner the Armenians leave the territories of Azerbaijan, the better for them. President Ilham Aliyev signed an order Jan. 24 on measures to restore the Jabrayil districts Jojug Marjanli village, liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016. The State Committee of Azerbaijan for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs will receive 4 million manats from the Presidential Reserve Fund for 2017 for construction of 50 houses, a school building and the relevant infrastructure at the first stage, according to the order. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. HICKORY Students from St. Stephens High Schools Beta Club have been helping a local rescue find homes for numerous dogs in need. I came to Petco one day and I saw these Great Pyrenees puppies, and who doesnt like puppies? Carson Bailey, a senior at St. Stephens, said. I fell in love with them and thats when I met Charlie. Charlie Fisher operates a dog rescue that specializes in Great Pyrenees, which is a large breed of dog. I did this by myself for 10 years and I could rescue about one or two dogs a month, but with the help of these students, I can rescue four or five a month, Fisher said. Bailey and Fisher identified the need for more volunteers and found a way to get Baileys school involved with volunteering. We have a lot of people from the Beta Club signing up to do their volunteer hours at the rescue, which is really great, Bailey said. This has really brought all of Beta Club closer together through this service project. Since its inception, the service project has sparked the interest of about 200 St. Stephens students, but one student stands out in particular. Hope is at the rescue every day and she probably has close to 100 hours of volunteer work just in the past two months, Fisher said. Hope Teague, a Beta Club member and junior at St. Stephens, has demonstrated her passion for not only the project, but for the dogs themselves. I volunteered one time, fell in love with the dogs and just kept coming back to help with them, Teague said. Eventually, I actually adopted one of the dogs from Charlie. Fisher takes a few of the eligible dogs for adoption every Saturday to Petco in Hickory. Its so good to have a successful adoption day, because most people dont think they can take care of such a big dog in their home, Bailey said. When you find the people that want to take a chance or have experience with big dogs, they fall in love with them. Students who volunteer are able to help with the adoption day or with the day-to-day routine of caring for the gentle giants. The volunteers will brush and groom the dogs, play with them and just show them some love, Bailey said. These dogs are super sweet. The students that have volunteered for the rescue have a better understanding of how dog rescues work and the adoption process. Its really sad for people to bring the dogs in, but its nice to have a rescue like this to help find them a good home, Teague said. A lot of these dogs are surrendered and left as strays, because people will get them as puppies and not realize how big they can get, Bailey said. Weve helped a lot of dogs. The service project has had great success at St. Stephens and has encouraged many students to reach out and help with the rescue. This has brought the Beta Club closer together and our classmates are doing more than what is required of them, which is great, Bailey said. Since the service project began, Fisher has been able to not only take more dogs in, but also have more than 60 successful adoptions. With the volunteers working with me, I dont have to turn any dogs away and it is a great feeling, Fisher said. Fisher says he hopes this service project has set an example for other schools in the area to get involved with this type of volunteer work in the future. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ Details added (first version posted on 10:37) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received the Chairman of the Board of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Fredrik Reinfeldt Feb. 1. The president noted that the visit of Reinfeldt to the country paves the way for broad discussion of the Azerbaijan-EITI cooperation issues. He said that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join this initiative. President Aliyev recalled with pleasure his participation in the first EITI meeting which was held in London. The president pointed to the fact that Azerbaijan had made a decision to join this process years before the country achieved significant financial resources from the oil sector. President Aliyev noted with satisfaction that the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan received the 2007 UN Public Service Award in the category of "Improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the Public Service". Reinfeldt emphasized that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. He hailed the country's long-term cooperation with this organization and its great achievements in this sphere. Reinfeldt noted that reports announced by the country meet the requirements of the organization. Azerbaijan's commitment to the continuation of the cooperation with Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was once again hailed. They exchanged views on implementation of all the necessary measures to restore Azerbaijan's status of a full-fledged member of this organization in the coming years. US President Donald Trumps executive order that halted immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries kindled great outrage on Indian social media. Forewarned by Pastor Niemoller and haunted by visions of rejected H-1B applications and useless green cards, Indians expressed solidarity with the American protesters. Their emotions were stirred as they watched the American Dream being defended at its very portals: JFK, EWR, SFO, ORD, the airport codes stamped onto the boarding card of every NRI. News that a federal judge in Brooklyn had stayed the most odious parts of Trumps order produced an outpouring of relieved likes and smileys. This principled stance seems to fade closer home: the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which openly discriminates among illegal migrants on religious grounds, has drawn little more passion than a handful of edits and op-eds. Currently pending with a joint parliamentary committee whose report is to be presented in the coming Budget session the bill seeks to make it easier for certain religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to become Indian citizens by naturalization. In its current form, the bill will make illegal Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants eligible for citizenship after six years of residence; Muslims from those countries will still need to wait the full 11 years. This means that if a Sikh and a Hazara family fled the Taliban together, and are living in India without documentation, the Sikh family will become eligible for Indian citizenship five years before the Hazara family does, the only difference being their religious affiliations. Read: The government must compensate for the demonetisation setback to migrants mobility Lets be clear: Trumps executive order refusing entry to thousands of travellers who hold valid visas or residency papers is much crueller than an amendment that simply shortens the time taken for certain classes of illegal migrant to become eligible for Indian citizenship. But Trumps decision, which many Americans see as discriminating on the basis of religion, does so only implicitly. Muslims are still permitted to enter from countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and the order does not actually name any religious groups. Indias citizenship amendment bill, on the other hand, openly discriminates against Muslim immigrants from the three specified countries. In doing so, it potentially violates the right to equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution, one that is guaranteed to both citizens and foreigners. It is therefore ironic that the main opposition to the bill so far comes from Assamese nationalists who see it as a dilution of their strong nativist stance against Bengali migration, be it Hindu or Muslim. Read: Two crore illegal migrants from Bangladesh living in India: Rijiju India actually has a solid record of taking in refugees and immigrants, and in 2009 was said by the UN to be the eighth-biggest recipient of refugees worldwide, with around 5 million (including around 3 million of Bangladeshi origin). But compare our discourse on immigration with that of the supposedly intolerant Trump: our government officially refers to illegal Bangladeshi migrants as infiltrators, and in the past four years shot dead 68 of them as they attempted to cross over. Even as Trump insists that he will get Mexico to pay for his border wall, and is ridiculed for it, India has already completed 82% of a planned 3,326 km-long fence along the Bangladesh border, supported by all political parties, scheduled to be finished in 2019. Illegal migration is a legitimate object of political debate, and in places like Assam it has produced instability and fundamentally shaped the states politics. But its one thing for a state to restrict immigration for social or economic reasons, and quite another to overtly discriminate against specific religious groups. It would be appropriate to rethink this bill. Amitabh Dubey is an analyst of politics and economic policy. The views expressed are personal. The Delhi high court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea seeking to restrain all political parties from making promises of offering freebies to people if they are voted to power. A bench headed by chief justice G Rohini fixed the public interest litigation (PIL) for consideration on February 2. The plea alleged that the promise of offering freebies to people is now a common feature during elections in India. The plea by Delhi resident Ashok Sharma has sought direction to the Election Commission of India to restrain all political parties from distributing free goods (freebies) as are being allegedly offered in the upcoming state Assembly elections in the five states, scheduled to be held in February and March. Assembly polls are to be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The petition has said that ECI has not taken necessary steps to stop political parties, in the upcoming Assembly elections in the five states, from distributing freebies at the expense of the government exchequer. It said the poll panel in its recent guidelines has nullified the Supreme Courts directions, which had directed the ECI to frame guidelines in consultation with all recognised parties. The apex court in its July 2013 verdict had observed that, although the law is obvious that promises made in an election manifesto cannot be construed as a corrupt practice under section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, the reality is that distribution of freebies of any kind undoubtedly influences all people and it affects the level-playing field. Alleging that the ECI has no desire to comply with the apex courts verdict, the plea has sought quashing/modifying of ECIs recent guidelines on election manifesto as the same is in contravention of directions under Article 142 of Constitution of India. The plea alleged that promise and distribution of freebies amounts to corrupt practise and nowadays all political parties are adopting these type of tactics for winning elections. It said that the political parties are utilising public money for their political benefits, which vitiates free and fair elections. The plea said the government raises funds through taxation and money can be used by the state only in discharge of public duties. An ugly war of words broke out on Wednesday between Punjabs frontline political parties over the twin bomb blasts that rocked Maur Mandi in Bathinda on Tuesday night. High-intensity explosives are suspected to have been used in the blasts, which took place immediately after Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi wrapped up his election meeting. The death toll in this suspected terror attack, ahead of February 4 assembly elections, rose to six. The explosion has sparking-off a no-holds-barred blame game with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress accusing the Aam Admi Party (AAP) for the incident. The AAP, however, demanded interrogation of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for the blasts. Read More | AAP blames SAD for Maur explosion, seeks Sukhbirs arrest Linking the forces behind the blasts with the AAP, the ruling Badals alleged that the Khalistani separatist groups were supporting the AAP to form the next government and disturb peace in the state. Sukhbir said chief minister Parkash Singh Badals rival candidate from Lambi, AAPs Jarnail Singh, had addressed a public meeting of the Khalistani groups in London a year back. The forces behind Tuesdays blast are siding with the AAP, the senior Badal later said at a public meeting. In Patiala, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh blamed Kejriwal for promoting extremist forces such as the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF). Maur bomb blast showed that the inoperative terror cells of the Khalistanis were again getting active, Amarinder said. Kejriwal, who had stayed at a KCF extremists house in Punjab, was fanning terror forces. Even if AAP is not directly involved in the bomb explosion, Amarinder said, it was clearly promoting extremist ideology and forces. Kejriwal does not care who lives or dies, Amarinder said. Meanwhile, demanding Sukhbirs arrest, the AAP said Amarinder speaks the language of Sukhbir. AAP national general secretary and Punjab in-charge of party affairs in Punjab Sanjay Singh said the AAP gave a complaint against Sukhbir to the Election Commission, seeking his arrest and interrogation. Frustrated Akalis and Congress are behind incidents of violence and they can commit any heinous crime to disturb the election process, the AAP leader said, adding Amarinder and Sukhbir are hand-in-glove and creating an atmosphere of terror in the state. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had a role in a blast near Bathinda that killed three persons, and called for his arrest. To ensure peaceful elections, Sukhbir Badal should be immediately arrested. His role in yesterdays (Tuesdays) blast be probed. Hell cause more violence, Kejriwal said in a tweet. At least three persons were killed in a powerful blast in a car close to a rally of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi in Maur Mandi. At least 11 people were also injured in the blast. Sukhbir Badal is a hardened criminal who will go to any extent to ruin Punjab and its peace. Election Commission must arrest him to ensure peaceful elections, Kejriwal added. Kejriwal had soon after the blast made a similar appeal to the Election Commission and said: BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress are capable of anything. Police must act firm, nab culprits. Blast just three days before elections?... EC must ensure peaceful elections, he tweeted on Tuesday. Polling for the 117-seat Punjab assembly will be held on Saturday. Last year was eventful and busy for both Rishi Kapoor and his son Ranbir Kapoor . Ask the senior actor if films have always been the most discussed subject at his house, and he says, We are normal people. I can talk to you about any topic. I am well aware of what is happening in the world. We dont discuss films as much as we watch them. I like to watch them in theatres with audiences, because thats when you get the right reactions. Kapoor maintains that he has been a strict father in certain way. Neetu (Kapoor; wife) was much closer to the kids. I never wanted to be a backslapping kind of father. I felt there should be some distance; its debatable if that is right or not, says the Kapoor & Sons (2016) actor, who had a similar relationship with his own father, the late Raj Kapoor. I now feel that I could have been a little easier [on my children]. But Ranbir is a sensitive and caring boy. He understands my predicament. So, I guess I will try and make up for it, he adds. Ask Kapoor if he is in favour of the film choices Ranbir has made so far, and he says, He has done films off the curve and has also been appreciated for them. He is a good actor. It is credible for him to set that trend. It is not about only taking up easy subjects. You must do something that is based on [good] content. Thank you but it's me only! pic.twitter.com/zYwPFV6gXp Rishi Kapoor -"Book" (@chintskap) 29 January 2017 But does the senior Kapoor reprimand Ranbir Kapoor often? I dont. He is a good boy. Its just that he hasnt been staying with us. He has never given me a chance to reprimand him, the veteran actor says. However, it seems Ranbirs childhood days were different. He always scored poorly. But when I think about it, I realise that I didnt score good marks either, he says with a laugh. When he lived in New York (USA) as a student, he shared an apartment with his best friend. He was not a spoilt boy. Even in those days, he lived a frugal lifestyle. I didnt want to spoil him. He would get a certain amount of pocket money per month. Of course, his house was paid for. But he learnt to not be like spoilt kids whose fathers can afford everything, says the actor. Jaipur Lit. Festival with Gulzar sahab this afternoon! The man whom I have never worked with in my 44 years career. Unbelievable feat! pic.twitter.com/xHnJnnAMBR Rishi Kapoor -"Book" (@chintskap) 20 January 2017 However, Kapoor is glad that both his kids, Ranbir and Riddhima Kapoor, have made it. We taught them the value of money. They realised the value of whatever they got. They have been nice children. The credit for this goes to Neetu (Kapoor), he says. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Though her last release, Pink, released in September last year, the accolades havent stopped for Taapsee Pannu. The actor also regularly gets invited to awards shows and events, where she has been talking about women empowerment, as it is a cause she believes in. However, a source says that Taapsee turned down an invitation to one such event in Jaipur because it was sponsored by a fairness cream brand. A source says, Taapsee was to go for an event in Jaipur that highlighted women empowerment issues. The actor was supposed to talk about women in cinema and their changing roles. However, she withdrew from the event, because she learnt that the title sponsor of the event was a fairness cream brand. She didnt want to support something she did not believe in and wasnt genuine. She pulled out of the commitment at the last minute, and though she was apologetic about not being able to make it, she condemns any kind of discrimination. Speaking about the development, Taapsee says, I agree it was a last-minute call, but, when found out that I would have to pose at the event with the fairness brand in the background, I decided to take my name off the event. I have actually lost out on a few films because of being fair, so I will not propagate fairness in any way. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Seba Aghayeva Trend: Trend Agencys interview with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov Foreign Minister of Armenia once again spoke with lies and slanders against Azerbaijan at a press conference yesterday. How would you comment on that? Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov: Armenian foreign ministers statements are out of diplomatic ethics and distort the essence of the negotiations process. His contemptuous and insulting statements are also contradictory. These warmongering and aggressive statements are only aimed at the consumption of internal auditorium. In his groundless accusations and slanders there is no positive attitude in regard with ensuring peace in the region, future development of the region, as well as the perspectives of conflict settlement. These emotional and destructive statements are out of any reasonable logic and serve for the escalation of the situation in a deliberate manner and consequently, the attempts of undermining the negotiations. With such destructive view and behavior inherent to the political leadership of Armenia, it seems very difficult to ensure the sustainable peace in the region and to achieve the settlement of the conflict. The people of Armenia and the international community have to give proper assessment to such actions of the leadership of Armenia and draw necessary conclusions. Foreign Minister of Armenia also distorts the issues related to incident investigation mechanism, the OSCE office in Yerevan, A. Lapshin case and other matters. Although he has broken the meeting at the ministerial in 2+3 format in the framework of OSCE meeting in Hamburg, Edward Nalbandian now claims that the meeting in Hamburg took place at the level of co-chairs. Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov: The well-substantiated position of Azerbaijan on the incident investigation mechanism, the OSCE office in Yerevan and the case of A. Lapshin has been repeatedly brought to the attention of international community. Armenia intentionally attempts to make these issues the object of political speculations. Presenting the farewell dinner organized for James Warlick, the former co-chair from the United States in the framework of OSCE Ministerial in Hamburg as a meeting by Armenias foreign minister is the zenith of absurdity. Probably, foreign minister of Armenia by these means attempts to present himself as constructive. But you can draw conclusions yourselves. The IT lobby warned on Tuesday that a bill before the US Congress aimed at imposing tougher visa rules unfairly targets some of its members and will not solve a US labour shortage in technology and engineering. Industry lobby group Nasscom was responding to a bill introduced by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California, that would double the minimum salary required for holders of H-1B visas to $130,000 and determine how many of the visas were allocated, based on factors such as overall wages. The $150 billion information technology sector, led by Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd, uses the H-1B visas to fly engineers and developers to service clients in the US, their biggest market, but opponents say they are using the visas to replace US workers. Concerns about President Donald Trumps immigration policies were heightened by his ban on refugees on Friday. The Lofgren Bill contains provisions that may prove challenging for the Indian IT sector and will also leave loopholes that will nullify the objective of saving American jobs, Nasscom said. The industry body said the bill did not address the shortage of skilled STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers in the US, adding that its provisions were biased against H-1B dependent companies. The chief executive of Tech Mahindra, the countrys fourth-biggest software services exporter, said the Indian IT sector was already looking for alternatives. We will have to wait and watch for any impact felt on us after a few quarters, CP Gurnani said in a statement. Indian IT is already creating jobs and have been investing in form of setting up delivery centers and local hiring. In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry of external affairs said it had expressed its concerns to the US government, without providing further details. Indias interests and concerns have been conveyed both to the US Administration and the US Congress at senior levels, Vikas Swarup, the ministry spokesperson, said. Shares in the IT firms have tumbled in recent days on worries about the impact of the bill. The Nifty IT index fell 3.2% on Tuesday after earlier hitting its lowest since November 24. Analysts have said the bill would push the software services exporters to ramp up automation, reducing the need for workers, although IT firms would still need to hire more workers in the US, including university graduates, increasing costs. All companies will have to bear higher expenditure if this bill gets passed, and the impact can be quite severe, Dipen Shah, senior vice president of the Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities, said. There will be a severe hit (to) profitability. TCS, Infosys and Wipro declined comment, while smaller rival HCL Tech did not respond to requests for comment. Independent candidate Om Gopal Rawat and BJPs Subodh Uniyal will clash for the third time in Narendra Nagar, where Congress Himanshu Bijalwan may queer the pitch for Uniyal in case of caste polarisation. Largely a hill-locked constituency, Narendra Nagar falls in Tehri district. Both BJP and Congress nominated Brahmin candidates whereas the Independent candidate is a Rajput. Congress strategists admit they fielded Bijalwan to cut into Brahmin vote bank of BJP. Analysts feel the odds will be heavily stacked against Uniyal, if Brahmin votes get divided, and benefit the Independent candidate. Rawat, a BJP rebel, filed his nomination as an Independent after the opposition party gave ticket to Uniyal. The Narendra Nagar MLA joined BJP in the wake of the political crisis that gripped the state last year. In fact, Uniyal along with eight other former Congress legislators switched sides to join BJP. The going will not be easy for him (Uniyal) in case of caste polarisation. The defector tag he carries after quitting Congress to join the opposition may also damage his electoral prospects, Devendra Dumoga, a veteran journalist based in Tehri, said. It was due to caste polarisation that Uniyal lost Narendra Nagar to Rawat by just four votes in 2007, he said. Although Rawat was then a member of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, he contested on a BJP ticket, which he joined subsequently. In the next (2012) assembly election, Rawat lost to Uniyal, then a Congress candidate, by a narrow margin of some 300 votes, or, so, Dumoga said. Rawat is said to have a good hold over the voters in hilly areas of Narendra Nagar whereas Uniyal enjoys a sizeable following among the voters in foothills. A swing among outside voters may also make or mar electoral prospects of candidates, Dumoga said, referring to denizens of the Ghansali-Muni-Ki-Reti stretch. Most of these residents hail from different areas of Tehri district and other states like Bihar. But Dumoga maintained that the caste polarisation happens only occasionally. Many analysts agreed to that and said in such a case, Uniyal would have a clear edge on the basis of the work he did for this constituency. He got sanctioned and implemented a number of development schemes for the constituency after he was elected five years ago, another Tehri-based journalist Arvind Nautiyal said. Most these projects were sanctioned and implemented during a little over two-year duration when he was a part of the ruling Congress. Nautiyal said Uniyals main rival Rawat enjoys following among the youths. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the national capital had been again deprived of its due share in the Union budget, which was presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament on Wednesday. An allocation of Rs 758 crore was made to Delhi for the financial year 2017-18, which is the same as 2016-17. Read more| Finance minister Arun Jaitleys philosophy for Budget 2017: Spend more on success stories Delhi has been deprived of its due from Central share in this years budget too. Delhis share in central taxes remains stagnant for the 17th year at Rs 325 crore, Sisodia, who is also the finance minister of Delhi, said. In the pre-budget consultations of the Centre with the finance ministers, Sisodia had demanded that its share in central taxes be raised to Rs 5,000 crore, besides suggesting that the Centre compensate the state governments for their revenue losses due to demonetisation. Read more| Budget 2017: Can lower cash limit make political funding transparent? Critics mixed The Budget of NCT of Delhi has increased from 8,739 crore in the year 2001-02 to 46,600 crore in 2016-17, whereas the share in central taxes has remained frozen at 325 crore since 2001-02. However, states are getting a share in central taxes every year based on the annual increase in collection of central taxes, an official said, adding that Delhis contribution in central taxes is currently over 1 lakh crore. The AAP government also criticised the Centre for not providing any separate allocation for the local bodies in the Capital. Citys municipal corporations, especially the east and north civic bodies, have been facing acute cash crunch leading to regular strikes by the municipal staff over delay in payment of salary and arrears. Both the Delhi government and the BJP-ruled civic bodies have been engaged in war of words over disbursal of adequate funds to the municipal corporations. The allocation under share of Central taxes has not changed for Delhi for close to two decades. The AAP government has been vocal about an increase in the Central share, even as the Arvind Kejriwal government has been on the warpath with the BJP government at the Centreover a host of issues. Read more| Budget 2017: Jaitley halves income tax for those earning Rs 2.5L-Rs 5L The state government said not a single rupee has been enhanced in the Budget 2017-18 for Delhi by the Centre. The government of India has not earmarked any funds to local bodies in NCT of Delhi, although we had requested for allocation of 4,087 crore for the same, the government said in a statement. Officials said the government had requested an increase in the normal central assistance to at least Rs 1,000 crore as revised estimate in the current year and 1,500 crore in 2017-18s budget estimate. However, Rs 412.99 crore has been proposed by the Centre under its normal central assistance, which is same as it is in the current year 2016-17. Sisodia also criticised the decision to cap cash donations to all political parties at 2,000. Post-demonetisation, even vegetable vendors have had to go cashless for transactions as small as 20. Why should political parties get a relaxation of up to Rs 2,000? the deputy CM said. It will not be possible to achieve target of tax revenue in the current financial year and as a result all developmental works may suffer, Sisodia had said. WITHDRAW CENTRAL EXCISE DUTY ON BUSES Deputy chief minister Sisodia had also suggested withdrawal of service tax at 15% which is applicable on 40% of the total revenue collected from air conditioned bus service imposed by the government of India. The three-month car-free Connaught Place trial run, which was slated to kick off on February 1, will take a couple of weeks to start as the stakeholders are yet to agree on how to proceed. The pedestrian-only Connaught Place plan, which was given the go-ahead by the Union urban development ministry after extensive talks with New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and traffic police officials in early January, aims to decongest the Central Delhi hotspot. However, it can be called off earlier, and not continue for three full months, based on its response. We have to be pragmatic. If the situation goes haywire, then we might have to call it off earlier. Execution is definitely a challenge. However, we are hopeful it will work. We are in talks with all the stakeholders. No decision has been taken yet on when to start, a senior NDMC official said, adding that it may take nearly a month for the modalities to be worked out. Read: Vehicle-free Connaught Place: A much-needed angiography for Delhi In a meeting on Tuesday morning with all stakeholders at the NDMC office in Palika Bhawan, two plans were proposed by the council. According to the first, cars will be allowed to enter from Janpath, people will alight at Palika Bazar or Palika Parking and take an exit from Baba Khadak Singh Marg. The second plan proposes that cars will be allowed in the Middle Circle but only for visitors and shoppers to be dropped. Parking will be allowed only on the radial roads. This will be about 20 each on the seven radial roads, a member of the New Delhi Traders Association, who was at the meeting, said. Once the plan is implemented, nearly 2,000 parking spaces will be removed. These include 1,500 from the Inner Circle and 400-500 from the Middle Circle. The NDMC officials asked us to look into the plan. There will be another meeting after 2-3 days. They, however, said these are the two options, take it or leave it. We, all the stakeholders, have categorically said no, Atul Bhargava of the New Delhi Traders Association said. Traders have opposed the vehicle-free plan saying it would choke the Outer Circle even more and hit business. Instead of making things better, it would lead to traffic jams in the Outer Circle, going all the way to Mandi House, India Gate and other areas. Connaught Place is a traffic nightmare on most days. The situation worsens on weekends and public holidays. Pedestrian-only zone is a popular concept abroad. London, Montreal in Canada, and Copenhagen, the Danish capital, have areas where no vehicles are allowed. Many cities in Europe and Asia also have car-free zones. Back home in Puducherry, Goubert Avenue that runs along the picturesque French Quarters is closed to motorised vehicles after 5pm. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Delhi government will start disability clinics in five hospitals to offer physical and brain stimulation for newborns and children with developmental delays and disabilities. In high-risk pregnancies that usually come to big hospitals, 20-30% births are pre-term and around half of them require some kind of intervention to ensure a better life, said Dr Krishan Chugh, director of paediatrics at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon. These interventions will include physiotherapy for physical stimulation and various activities for mental stimulation in pre-term babies with developmental disabilities and babies with birth asphyxia, a condition in which babies are deprived of oxygen after birth for long enough to cause physical and mental disability. In children with mental disability, we have to act fast because the brain development happens during the first year of the birth. If the child receives early intervention, their quality of life may improve. After the first year, the disabilities are unlikely to be reversed, said Dr JP Kapoor, Delhis director of health services, who is also a pediatrician. Delhi govt to start disability clinics for newborns #DelGovFlash pic.twitter.com/csOEJwgXBG DelGovNewsFlash (@DGNewsFlash) January 30, 2017 The clinics will screen and the attached hospitals will provide treatment for ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity), a condition which causes life-long vision impairment or blindness in premature infants. The condition is caused by abnormal growth of blood vessels on the retina, which then leak and scar the retina. The condition can be treated by using laser treatment to destroy these abnormal vessels, before the scarring starts. The clinics will also screen children born with hearing disabilities and provide treatment in cases where cochlear implant might help. A cochlear implant is a medical device that can partially restore hearing ability in patients with inner ear defect. The device is surgically inserted into the inner ear and another paired device which is worn on the ear transmits outside sound to the earpiece inside. These are the kids who also never learn to speak because they cannot hear. For the cochlear implant to be effective, the surgery has to be performed before the age of five, the earlier the better, as the speech centre starts losing its function after that, said Dr Kapoor. Read More: Making education accessible for children with special needs The children born at these hospitals Lok Nayak, Guru Gobind Singh, Swami Dayanand and Ambedkar Nagar will be screened after birth and treated at the clinics. But, we will encourage all our hospitals to screen children and refer them to these clinics, said Dr Kapoor. The government later plans to build a network that will allow anganwadis to refer children with disabilities to these clinics. These clinics will be very helpful in reducing dependency of children with disabilities on their parents or the society. However, the clinics would need to have qualified professionals from several disciplines and there are not too many of them, said Dr Chugh. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Delhi Police seized over 15,000 quarter bottles of illicit liquor in south west Delhis Dwarka Sector 2 on Wednesday morning. The liquor was being transported to poll-bound Uttar Pradesh in a tempo. The police received a tip-off after which they started checking vehicles in the area. The tempo was intercepted around 5 am. The tempo was coming from Dwarka mor side. On searching it, we found at least 300 cartons each containing 50 quarter bottles of Haryana-made illicit liquor. The tempo driver was arrested, said a senior police officer. The driver was identified as Naresh (22), a resident of Budh Vihar in Delhi, who is already involved in three cases of bootlegging. During interrogation, Naresh told police that the liquor from Haryana was being transported to supply in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly polls begin on February 11. A case under relevant sections has been registered at Dwarka South police station and further investigation is in progress. Read: EC seizes 1.2 lakh bottles of illicit liquor in Bathinda SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Goods worth crores of rupees were gutted in a fire at Moti Bazar market in Chandni Chowk in the early hours of Wednesday. Since there was barely anybody in the market at that time, the blaze did not claim any casualty. The market usually witnesses a heavy footfall. The trigger for the fire needs to be probed, said fire department officials, but suspected short-circuit had caused it. A police probe has been initiated into the incident. We sent 25 fire tenders to the market immediately after we received the call at around 3.30 am, said Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Services. Private security guards deployed at the market noticed flames coming out of a shop. Before the fire tenders reached the spot, the fire had spread to neighbouring shops. Read: Fire breaks out at Parliament in Delhi day before Union Budget presentation The fire pumps were able to reach the market quickly because traffic was scarce. It took the fire tenders almost three hours to bring the fire under control. The shops damaged in the fire sold confectionary, sarees and other items. Fifteen shops were totally destroyed and a few others damaged partially because of the fire. The exact worth of destroyed goods has not been estimated yet but local traders said they suffered losses to the tunes of crores of rupees, said a fire officer. This was the third fire incident since Tuesday. On Tuesday afternoon, a fire in the kitchen of a restaurant in Outer Delhis Rohini left a waiter charred beyond recognition. A fire official also sustained burns in the rescue operations. Later, a fire was reported from room number 50 of Parliament. The fire was triggered from a UPS and more than a dozen fire tenders were dispatched to the spot. However, the situation was controlled quickly preventing damage to life or property. Successful implementation of water taxi project on Yamuna in Delhi will pave way for the revival of navigation in the 143-year-old Agra Canal stretching from Okhla to Agra. Two years ago, road transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari ordered a study to check feasibility of waterway between the two cities. An IWAI official said that an assessment is being done and the project may take time to materialise. The water taxi project is being seen as a pilot project. Based on the response, further course of action will be decided. The problem with steamer service between Delhi and Agra is non-availability of adequate water in the canal. It is also being assessed whether this plan will be viable in terms of investment and travellers will give preference to waterway route, while the Yamuna expressway is more convenient and time saving, said an official from Inland Waterways Authority of India. Read | Delhi: Yamuna will be dredged for water taxi service, debris to be used to construct roads A Netherlands-based agency was roped in to work out a technical report on developing infrastructure on Yamuna to facilitate goods and passenger traffic. At present, initiation of cargo service on this route does not seem practical, he said. However, low water level in Yamuna poses a bigger challenge for the government. There are stretches from Delhi to Agra that remain dry during the summer. The study was also ordered to find out solution for retaining water on those stretches round the year. Meanwhile, water conservationist Rajendra Singh lauded the proposal but said that authorities must find out a solution to maintain water level required for ferrying steamers. Read | Delhi: Yamuna will be dredged for water taxi service, debris to be used to construct roads Principally, there is no harm if the rivers are used for transportation. But, they should ensure adequate flow of the river. However, it seems their plan is not to restore the river but to get monetary advantages out of it. They will prevent water by constructing more barrages, Singh said. Environmentalist Manoj Misra said that Delhi government is trying to replicate the British model, which has been a failure in India. The British planned the Agra Canal primarily for irrigation based on a concept from the West, where availability of water in the river was not an issue, but realised their folly soon after. Surprisingly our government wants to revisit their folly. The fact is that the river has no water, Misra said. Facts The British administration planned Agra Canal for irrigation, following a series of famines in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh regions in the 19th century. The canal starts from Okhla Head, passes through Faridabad and Mathura, and carries water to Agra. A small portion of Bharatpur also gets water from this. An excavation started in 1868 and the canal was officially opened in 1874 by Sir William Muir. Initially, the channel was available for traffic, but was closed in 1904 in the absence of adequate number of users and the cost of working expenses were higher than the receipts. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON For those wanting to celebrate and soak in the heritage Indian crafts there is good news. The 31st edition of Surajkund International Crafts Mela starts from Wednesday amid tight security. To be inaugurated by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the carnival is a 15-day affair. Artistes from Haryana performing during the press preview of Surajkund Mela at Faridabad on Tuesday. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo) Over 20 countries are participating in the event with Egypt as a partner country this year and Jharkhand as the theme state. Every year, one country becomes the partner country and an Indian state is selected to set the theme of the mela. The Surajkund Crafts Mela was upgraded to an international level in 2013. This year more than 20 countries are participating. Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Tunisia, Mongolia and South Africa are the first timers, said VS Kundu, additional chief secretary, Haryana Tourism and chairman of the Surajkund Mela Authority said at a press conference on Tuesday. Artistes from Jharkhand perform during the press preview of Surajkund Mela at Faridabad on Tuesday. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo) With Jharkhand being the theme state, it will showcase its unique culture and rich heritage, said Rahul Sharma, secretary Jharkhand Tourism. Artists from Jharkhand have constructed a permanent commemorative gate replicating the Maluti Temple in the state. Apart from it, there are five temporary gates displaying the state symbols of Jharkhand. Hundreds of artists from Haryana, Jharkhand and countries such as Egypt, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will enliven the mood of the visitors with their performances. Preparations for the 15-day Surajkund Mela at Faridabad. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo) Preparations on for Surajkund Mela at Faridabad. Over 20 countries will be participating in the event. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo) The mela ground is spread over 40.5 acres and houses about 1,010 work huts for craftspersons and multi-cuisine food court consisting of 36 food stalls, said Sameer Pal, managing director of Haryana Tourism Corporation. Pal said the visitors can relish mouthwatering cuisines, including authentic flavours from Jharkhand, Haryana, and Punjab along with Lebanese and Chienese food. We are expecting about 15 lakh visitors at the mela, Pal said. For those short on cash too, there is reason to cheer. To ensure 100% cashless transactions, Dena Bank, the official banking partner has been asked to provide 100 point-of-sale machines, a dedicated bank branch with two ATMs and 6 mobile ATM vans. E-wallets have also been roped in to ensure hassle-free transactions this year, Kundu said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Details added (first version posted on 11:27) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 Trend: As a result of a special operation carried out Jan. 31 by State Security Service of Azerbaijan, four members of a terrorist group were eliminated, the service said in a message. The message further said that the group consisted of Azerbaijani citizens suspected of committing grave crimes linked to religious extremism. The service said in the message that the terrorists were killed after giving an armed resistance. One more person was detained. The investigation confirmed the information received by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan that the group of people, who pledged loyalty to a terrorist organization operating outside Azerbaijan, acquired explosives and weapons to carry out terror acts in different parts of the country. Operational and investigative activities on the case are underway. Reforms in education regulation agency UGC, more autonomy for colleges and universities, emphasis on science with a big push to innovation were the highlights of Budget 2017 for education, announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday. A national testing agency will conduct all examinations in higher education, reducing burden on the Central Board of Secondary Education and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) etc. Systems to measure annual learning outcomes will also be introduced for improving standards in education. Jaitley said reforms will be introduced in UGC, autonomy (given) to colleges and institutions with the introduction of a new system of measuring annual learning. About a 100 skill centres will be started around the country and more than 3 crore young people will benefit through a programme on skills acquisition called Sankalp. Giving a major push to the study of science in schools, the government also pledged to encourage creativity and innovation. Parents of Amity International School in sector 43 on Wednesday held a meeting and discussed the issue of transportation of students, following the fire incident on Monday. Parents said that they will not send their children in private transport buses that dont follow the colour code and other norms. A school bus of Amity International School caught fire on Monday morning in Gurgaon. Thirty-five students and four staff members had a narrow escape. We are paying the full fees for transportation. Why should we compromise the safety of our children? We want yellow colour buses that adhere to all norms, else we will not pay fees for the next quarter, a parent said. Another parent said, If the schools have no budget to buy buses, they should not ask for the transportation fees. They are overcharging parents and in return, are risking the safety of the students. If any mishap takes place they would have blamed the contractor. A group of 25 parents will meet the principal and school management on Saturday. The parents have decided to demand more women attendants in the buses, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and GPS (global positioning system) be fitted and an active parents association be set up. The parents said that many times, they have seen that the staff and drivers are not in uniform and have a casual approach to their job. It is only when an incident (such as the fire) takes place they come into action, a parent said. We will meet the school authorities on Saturday and give them a memorandum of our demands to ensure safety and security of children in schools. We will request them to implement them in the interest of our wards, a parent said. Parents also said that the school must run its own buses and not hire buses from a contractor. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON After shooting his Oscar-nominated directorial, Lion, in India, Garth Davis says he feels a deep connect with the country and already misses working here. In an interview with HT Cafe, the Australian director says he was glad to find Hollywood actors such as Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman who were passionate enough to be part of the film. And though he is disappointed that the movie wasnt nominated for the Best Director award at the Oscars, Garth feels that none of nominations could have happened without him, and thats enough. Did you expect Lion to get multiple Oscar nominations? Its incredible to see how well the film has been received. I am happy that the Academy has recognised the [crews] passion. I am proud of the fact that through the nominations, the film will have a chance to reach more people and get a wider release. To me, that is the real benefit of the nominations. Were you disappointed on missing out on the best director category? A part of me is probably disappointed (laughs), but who can be disappointed when your film gets nominated for Best Picture award? None of the nominations would have happened without me, so, I feel like I am in those nominations. I get my joy from mothers and fathers and refugees who write to me saying how much the film has moved them. They are my nominations (laughs). How hard was it to make a film based on real-life events? Its a catch-22, as on one hand, this story was so amazing, and you had access to real people who could add to the script and add dimension to the characters. But you also have a huge responsibility to present their lives in a way that is respectful and honest. Nicole Kidman and Sunny Pawar in a still from the film Lion. What was your impression of India before and after shooting here? I love India. I had shot a few TV commercials in Mumbai and Pune before shooting for this film. I love that the country is a melting pot of humanity. I feel life in a very deep way in India. We shot the film in Kolkata and in Saroos (Brierley) home town area in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. I have such deep affection for the people here. I felt connected with everyone I worked with here. I miss the experience (laughs). Have you seen Bollywood films? Yes, but havent seen any recently. Please dont ask me the names [of the films] (laughs). One of the challenges of making Lion was that it is a social-realist film, and Bollywood films are larger than life expressions of true stories. It was a challenge to find actors who would be more real. I loved the way they [Indians] express themselves, and find the culture very vibrant. Dev Patel in a still from the film. What was it about Dev Patel that made you cast him as the older Saroo? My challenge was how to get Dev Patel to deliver a social-realist performance. As a person, he is amazing. He was keen to do a different role and didnt want to be typecast as the funny Indian. He wanted to play a real role. I think we met at the right time, and he worked hard on the role as well. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Johnny Depps lavish spending -- including $3 million to blast author Hunter S. Thompsons ashes from a cannon -- led him to the brink of financial ruin, according to an explosive lawsuit filed Tuesday. Over the best part of two decades, the 53-year-old actor has been spending $2 million a month, according to The Management Group (TMG), which is suing the star in Los Angeles for an unpaid loan. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is alleged to have forked out $75 million on 14 homes, including a 45-acre (18-hectare) French castle, a chain of Bahaman islands, several Hollywood homes, penthouse lofts in downtown LA and a horse farm in Kentucky. Johnny Depp poses on the red carpet at the 2016 Classic Rock Roll of Honour awards in Tokyo, Japan. (REUTERS) Since 2000, the Oscar-nominated actor has spent $18 million on a yacht, bought 45 luxury cars and shelled out almost $700,000 a month on wine, private planes and a staff of 40 people, according to the lawsuit. Beverly Hills-based TMG says Depp has accrued more than 200 artworks by Warhol, Klimt and other masters, 70 collectible guitars and a Hollywood memorabilia collection so extensive it is stored in 12 locations. Depp filed his own $25 million suit on January 13 accusing TMG of mismanaging his finances, taking out loans without his approval, and concealing his ruinous finances. Over 17 years, The Management Group did everything possible to protect the actor from himself, TMG attorney Michael Kump said in a statement. In fact, when Depps bank demanded repayment of a multimillion-dollar loan and Depp didnt have the money, the company loaned it to him so that he would avoid a humiliating financial crisis. TMG says it repeatedly warned Depp over his wanton overspending, but he responded by rebuking his business managers, increasing his spending and demanding they find some way to pay for it. The firm, fired by Depp last year, says it is owed $4.2 million and was forced to launch foreclosure proceedings on Depps property. Cast member Johnny Depp and his actress wife Amber Heard arrive for the British premiere of the film Black Mass. The only reason Depp filed this lawsuit was to interfere with TMGs ongoing efforts to be repaid on the loan they had made to bail him out, TMG said. Depp and actress Amber Heard, 30, reached an out-of-court settlement in August to end their 18-month marriage, agreeing that he would pay her $7 million. Follow @htshowbiz for more Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condoled the death of IUML MP E Ahamed, saying he served the country with great diligence. Saddened by the demise of E Ahamed, a veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence. My condolences, Modi tweeted. The continuous efforts of Mr. E Ahamed for the empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 E Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Keralas progress. His role in deepening Indias ties with west Asia was notable, the prime minister said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to E Ahamed. President Pranab Mukherjee also condoled the death of Ahamed saying he was a tireless campaigner for welfare of the underprivileged. Heartfelt condolences over the sad demise of IUML president, former minister and MP, E Ahamed, Mukherjee tweeted addressing him as a long-time friend and colleague. #EAhamed was a tireless campaigner for welfare of underprivileged, his services to the nation will be long remembered #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) February 1, 2017 Union finance minister Arun Jaitley prayed that Ahameds soul rests in peace. Condolences on the sad demise of Mr E Ahamed, a veteran parliamentarian & former Union minister. May the departed soul rest in peace, Jaitley tweeted. Read: India has lost an outstanding parliamentarian: Sonia, Rahul condole demise of Ahamed Ahamed, a former minister in the UPA government and a longtime Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP from Kerala, was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest in parliaments Central Hall during President Pranab Mukherjees address on Tuesday. The leaders mortal remains will be taken to his residence in New Delhi so the public can pay their homage, post which his remains will be flown to Kannur, his hometown. Also read: E Ahamed, consummate politician, skilled negotiator and football fan The 78-year-old leader served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the UPA government and has been a Lok Sabha member from Malappuram in Kerala since 1991. On a visit to Kashmir for the second time since January 23, army chief General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday urged soldiers to uphold human rights at all times. He also stressed upon the need of keeping a track of weather patterns in the Valley to avoid any loss of lives in natural disasters. General Rawat arrived in Srinagar on Tuesday in the aftermath of deaths of 20 soldiers including an officer and a JCO in different incidents of snow avalanches mostly along line of control (LoC) in north Kashmir. An army spokesman said that the chief was briefed by the Corps Commander Lt Gen JS Sandhu on security as also the measures to meet the challenges posed by weather as were highlighted in the recent incidents of avalanches in the higher reaches of north Kashmir. Paying his tributes to the martyrs, Gen Rawat laid emphasis on the need to be constantly aware of the weather patterns prevailing in the area and take all necessary precautions to avoid any untoward incidents, the spokesman said. Accompanied by the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen D Anbu and Lt Gen JS Sandhu, the army chief on Wednesday visited LoC in north Kashmir where he was briefed on the operational and logistical preparedness. Commending the alertness of all troops deployed along the LC in foiling the nefarious designs of inimical forces, he stressed upon the need to continue our endeavours in maintaining a high degree of vigil, the army spokesman said. The general also visited the Victor Force Headquarters at Awantipora where he was apprised of the latest situation in south Kashmir. He appreciated the professionalism with which the troops had been operating in full synergy with other security and civil agencies to keep the situation under control and impressed upon everyone to uphold human rights at all times, the spokesman said. Since taking over as army chief on December 31, this is General Rawats second visit to Kashmir and third to the state. His first visit to Siachen, Leh and the Valley since taking charge was on January 23 when he paid his respects to the soldiers killed in action at the Siachen war memorial. Immediately after taking charge, he had visited the Udhampur based Northern Command in Jammu province. General Rawat earlier served in Kashmir in various capacities including commanding the Dagger Division in 20112012 and an RR Sector in Sopore - Bandipora in 2006-2007. Followers of Dera Sacha Sauda will support candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance in the February 4 Punjab assembly elections. After a meeting with the the sadh-sangat (followers), we have decided to support the SAD-BJP, Ram Singh, chairman of the political affairs committee of the Sirsa (Haryana)-headquartered sect, said. Followers of the dera headed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh have major presence in 27 segments, especially in the Malwa region that accounts for 69 of the 117 seats. In the last election, the dera had thrown its weight behind the Congress, and the SAD-BJP was thus routed in its Malwa stronghold, even as the alliance got a simple majority. Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh from his new movie. (Photo: Twitter) Now our block members and 45-member committee will start sending text messages to our followers to vote for candidates of the SAD and BJP, Ram Singh added. The decision was taken after a closed-door meeting of the political wing members on Tuesday night in Sangrur. The dera claims to have 5 crore followers across India, of which 35 lakh are said to be from Punjab. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the Haryana assembly polls after that, the dera had backed the BJP Leaders from across parties had been visiting the dera to meet Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh who faces cases of rape and murder over the past few weeks, but he maintains that the political wing takes the decision. Also read | 3 killed in twin blasts during Congress road show in Bathinda town Maur Also read | Maur blasts: Amarinder says conspiracy against Cong, Sukhbir accuses AAP The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the police not to harass the family members of protesters against whom cases have been registered in connection with the violent incidents during the pro-Jallikattu protests here. The Court also directed the government pleader to inform all the police stations that people against whom the cases have been filed alone should be called and not any other member of their family, who do not have any connection with the incident. Justice R Mahadevan gave the direction on a petition filed by one Selvam of Arumbakkam, who is disabled and father of a student who was booked in connection with the protests last week. The petitioner sought a direction to the police not to harass him under the guise of enquiry. When the matter came up, the judge said the Arumbakkam Police should not summon any of the family members of the protesters against whom FIRs have been filed. The petitioner submitted that Arumbakkam Police had registered a case against his son Sreenivasan, a college student and came in search of him. When he told the police that his son had never participated in the agitation and gone to attend the NCC camp, he was asked to come and stay at the police station till the arrival of his son, he said. Former Delhi Police commissioner Alok Verma on Wednesday took over the reins of Central Bureau of Investigation becoming the 25th chief of the agency. An IPS officer of 1979 Batch (AGMUT Cadre), Verma has served in various capacities in a career spanning 37 years. After taking over, Verma went to North Block to call on home minister Rajnath Singh. His successor in Delhi Police, Amulya Patnaik also called on Singh. Speaking to CBI officials, Verma said his top most priority will be to conduct fair, impartial and conclusive enquiries and investigate with utmost courage and conviction to bring out the truth. He emphasised that officers of CBI need to keep themselves abreast of changes in legal landscape, especially in respect of economic offences and cyber crime domains. Verma also underlined the urgent need to ensure timely promotions and redressal of grievances which are essential for the morale of the organisation. The former commissioner, who came under criticism for poor handling of the case of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed who had gone missing from his hostel on October 15, 2016 following an altercation with ABVP cadre, asked the officials of CBI to work as a team with a spirit of mutual trust so that the faith of common people and judiciary in the organisation is sustained. Prior to assuming the office of Delhi police chief, Verma was director general of prisons, Delhi; director general of police in Mizoram; DGP, Puducherry and IGP, Andaman and Nicobar Islands besides holding several important positions in UT Cadre in vigilance, intelligence, crime and railways, administration as special commissioner, joint commissioner range and deputy commissioner, South District. Though originally slated to retire on July 31 this year, Verma will get a fixed tenure of two years as the CBI chief . He has no prior experience of working in the CBI. Verma has also served as FRRO, New Delhi. He is known for ensuring early adoption of technology in policing. Read| Meet Alok Verma, the new Central Bureau of Investigation director Former Union minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader E Ahamed was declared dead in Delhi early on Wednesday, triggering confusion about the scheduled budget presentation in Parliament. Ahamed, a sitting Lok Sabha lawmaker from Mallapuram, had suffered a cardiac arrest, news agency PTI quoting a senior doctor said. He had collapsed on Tuesday in Parliament at the time President Pranab Mukherjee was addressing a joint sitting of the two houses. Around 2.15pm, the Indian Union Muslim League leader was shifted to Delhis RML hospitals trauma centres Intensive Care Unit where he was put on ventilator. E Ahamed has passed away at 2:15am. His body has been taken to AIIMS hospital for embalming (a method to preserve a corpse from decaying) as the facility is not available at RML, a senior RML doctor said. Ahameds body will be taken to Kerala later on Wednesday. Expressing condolence on the demise of Ahamed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the formers empowerment of the Muslim community would be remembered. Saddened by the demise of Mr. E Ahamed, a veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence. My condolences, Prime Minister Modi tweeted. Saddened by the demise of Mr. E Ahamed, a veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence. My condolences. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 Mr. E Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala's progress. His role in deepening India's ties with West Asia was notable. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 The continuous efforts of Mr. E Ahamed for the empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders, including Leader of the Oposition in Rajya Sabha, rushed to the hospital late on Tuesday night amid commotion at the hospital and allegations from Ahameds family that they were not being allowed to meet the ailing lawmaker. Preceding the announcement, the social media erupted with allegations of secrecy over Ahameds condition linking it to the budget presentation on Wednesday. (With agency inputs) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: President Ilham Aliyevs order to restore the Jojug Marjanli village of Azerbaijans Jabrayil District is a document that has historic and political significance, MP Bakhtiyar Aliyev told Trend Feb. 1. In the near future we will witness the construction of a new, very modern settlement in the Jojug Marjanli village, the MP said. At the same time, it is a message to Armenia, the OSCE Minsk Group and other international organizations that Azerbaijan will ensure its territorial integrity, sovereignty, security and rights of its citizens to live on the lands of their ancestors. He added that Azerbaijani people highly appreciate and support this order of the countrys president. President Ilham Aliyev signed an order Jan. 24 on measures to restore the Jabrayil districts Jojug Marjanli village, liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016. The State Committee of Azerbaijan for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs will receive 4 million manats from the Presidential Reserve Fund for 2017 for construction of 50 houses, a school building and the relevant infrastructure at the first stage, according to the order. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. A jilted lover set his former girlfriend on fire inside a medical college classroom in Keralas Kottayam town on Wednesday, and later immolated himself, police said. Suffering serious burns, both of them later succumbed to their injuries at a hospital. According to police, the accused barged into the classroom at the School of Medical Education (SME) with a bottle of petrol and before the girls classmates could react, he poured the fuel on her and set her ablaze. The attacker, who also studied in the same medical school and completed his course two years ago, then rushed out of the classroom and set himself on fire. Both the girl -- who was a fourth semester student of physiotherapy -- and the accused were admitted to the Kottayam medical college hospital with serious burns. Both of them later succumbed to their injuries. Two classmates who tried to save them also suffered minor burn injuries. According to girls friends, the two were in love for some time but the girl backed out after her parents opposed their relationship. After this, the accused -- identified as Adarsh (25), a resident of Kollam -- stalked and threatened her on several occasions, they said. The incident took place in just a few seconds. The girl tried to escape but he followed her and lit her with a lighter, said Ashwin, her classmate who was injured while trying to save her. The School of Medical Education (SME) is a constituent college of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON At least seven people, most of them labourers, were killed and more than 30 injured when an under-construction building in Kanpurs Jajmau area collapsed on Wednesday, officials said. Three people were rescued from the debris and rushed to the Kanshi Ram Memorial Trauma Centre for treatment. Doctors said they were in critical condition. Kanpurs deputy inspector general of police Rajesh Modak said the number of dead and injured may rise. The incident took place at the Kanpur Development Authority colony in the afternoon, when top floors of the seven-storey under-construction building started falling, Modak said. Union home minister Rajnath Singh said he spoke to senior officials about the incident. Spoke to DG NDRF regarding the news of an under construction building collapse in Kanpur. Two teams are rushing to the spot for rescue ops, the minister tweeted. Spoke to DG NDRF regarding the news of an under construction building collapse in Kanpur. Two teams are rushing to the spot for rescue ops Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) February 1, 2017 I offer my condolences to those who lost their loved ones in Kanpur building collapse. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured, he said in a second tweet. Army personnel were assisting the civil defence and policemen engaged in the rescue operation. Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been called to assist in the rescue operation, said Kanpur district magistrate Kaushal Raj. A team of experts will be set up to investigate the incident, the district magistrate added. Police carry out rescue work at the site of the under-construction building which collapsed in Kanpur on Wednesday. (PTI) The building, adjacent to the famous Allah-o-Akbar Masjid, was being constructed for the last one year. It is part of a housing project of former district Samajwadi Party president Mehtab Alam. A weak foundation is said to be the possible reason behind the building collapse. Eyewitnesses said they were watching the budget proceedings when they heard a loud noise. Nothing was visible because of dust around, said Taj Hussain, who lives close to the site. The workers hired for construction were living on different floors of the structure. They were at least 40 in number, Hussain added. Initially, locals tried to clear the debris to pull out people but failed. Earth-moving machines on the Kanpur-Lucknow highway were then called in to help in rescue operations. (With inputs from PTI and ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modis much-anticipated visit to Israel could take place in mid-2017 in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, as the two countries mark 25 years of their diplomatic ties. Indias Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told news portal Ynet about the visit and mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel, which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under Make in India initiative. Informed sources told PTI the dates for Modis visit have not been finalised but it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017. Modis visit is being discussed amid talks of a close chemistry between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. India-Israel ties have steadily progressed since the two countries established diplomatic relations in January 1992 but India has shied away from such high-level visits in the past. However, BJP-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to Israel. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejees invitation. It was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi, coming after a gap of almost 20 years. The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003, when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Yet, bilateral ties have been on an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. The two leaders have met twice on foreign soil on the sidelines of UN-related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. During their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015, Modi had told Netanyahu: I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted the nation on the occasion of Basant Panchami. Greetings on the special occasion of Basant Panchami, Prime Minister Modi tweeted. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also greeted the nation on this occasion. Heartiest greetings to all on the occasion of Saraswati Pujo, Mamata tweeted. Basant Panchami marks the beginning of the spring season. The festival is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the month of Magha. Basant means spring and Panchami means the fifth day. On this day, the Hindus wearing yellow clothes visit temples and pray to Goddess Saraswati - the goddess of knowledge, and celebrate the day as Saraswati Puja. Schools and educational institutes celebrate Saraswati Puja. In Allahabad, Basant Panchami bathing, one of the important occasions of magh mela will take place today at sangam and other Ghats of holy rivers. Large number of devotees who are staying in magh mela area and kalpwasis will take holy dip at the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna. Elaborate security arrangements have been made at the sangam area. Besides police and paramilitary forces, drone camera and CCTV cameras will also keep close vigil in the magh mela area. Three more children, who were grievously hurt in the high-intensity twin explosions that occurred during a political road show at Maur in Punjabs Bathinda district on Tuesday night, have succumbed to their injuries at the Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. These deaths which occurred early on Wednesday have taken the toll in the suspected terror attack, ahead of the states February 4 assembly elections, to six Ten critically injured people are still undergoing treatment at government and private hospitals in Bathinda. A team of forensic and explosive experts has reached Maur, where three people including a Congress worker were killed and nearly a dozen injured in the explosion that occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday. The road show was being taken out by Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi, after he had addressed a public meeting. The three people who died last night have been identified as Harpal Singh, Jassis personal assistant; Ashok Kumar, a beggar; and his 10-year-old daughter, Barkha. The blast took place a few seconds after the Congress nominees vehicle crossed an abandoned car in which the explosives were placed. Though shrapnel hit Jassis vehicle, he escaped unhurt. Jassi is a close relative of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The religious leader has been provided Z-plus security because he is on the hit-list of Sikh extremists. An initial police investigation indicated that the twin IED (improvised explosive device) blasts were set off through remote control. The IEDs were planted in an abandoned car and a scooter parked near the election meeting venue as well as the route taken by Jassi after the rally. Nothing can be ruled out. Its also possible that a pressure cooker was used to trigger the blast, a senior police officer said on the condition of anonymity. A pressure cooker was found near the white Alto, which was ripped apart in the blast. Moments before the incident, announcements were made to move the car because it was disrupting traffic movement. Both the vehicles sported fake number plates. Even their chassis and engine numbers had been struck off, the officer said. A close aide of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal told HT that it was presumably an act of terror. Read More | AAP blames SAD for Maur explosion, seeks Sukhbirs arrest The blast has kicked off a blame game, with the Akali Dal as well as the Congress pointing fingers at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). We have been asking the Election Commission to take note of AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal mingling with extremists. This blast proves that our fears werent unfounded. Radical elements have infiltrated Punjab in league with the AAP, said Sukhbir Singh Badal, deputy chief minister and Akali Dal president. The Congress also expressed similar suspicions. The situation here is volatile, with the entry of AAP-sponsored outsiders. Whats more, the criminal gangs have been given a free hand by the Badal government to create mayhem during the polls, said party president Captain Amarinder Singh. The assistant director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata, whose photos and videos with the wife of the Rose Valley scam prime accused has gone viral, was suspended and sent back to his home cadre on Wednesday. ED officials in Delhi said a special team would scrutinise all investigations Manoj Kumar was linked to in the past. Kumar said he was framed by someone who wanted him to be removed from the probe, sources said. The ED on Tuesday removed Kumar from the 17,000 crore Rose Valley chit fund scam investigation after CCTV footages and photos, showing him with Subhra Kundu the wife of Rose Valley CEO Gautam Kundu was leaked to the media. The evidence was found by Kolkata Police from a computer seized from a Rose Valley office at Mangoe Lane in December last year. The police had gone there to conduct a raid and found two people with Rs 1.5 crore in banned banknotes, a Kolkata Police officer said. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the investigation arm of the Union ministry of corporate affairs, too, has filed a case against Rose Valley in court, slapping a charge of forgery to the tune of Rs 1.18 crore. Read| Rose Valley chit fund scam: Trinamool Congress MPs tried to influence officials The Patna police on Tuesday arrested two youths from Saguna More area under Danapur police station for allegedly selling stolen goods on OLX portal, an online portal for buying and selling of goods. The police recovered three stolen motorcycles, six cell phones, a computer set, one printer and many fake voter ID cards from their possession. The arrested persons were identified as Saros Akhter alias Baba of Pirabhore locality in Patna and Luvkush Kumar of Nalanda. Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP), Manu Maharaaj, said: The gang would steal and upload photographs of the stolen goods on OLX. They would pitch for a higher of the stolen goods, which earlier they used to sell for a pittance. They would also prepare fake documents of the stolen products so as to make the buyer believe that the product was genuine. He said the police had earlier got a complaint that a gang was selling stolen cell phones and motorcycles at high prices on OLX website in the state capital. Following the complaint, a case was lodged with the Danapur police station and a probe initiated, he added. Maharaaj said the police on Tuesday got information that five members of the gang were meeting at Saguna More to strike a deal. A special police team, which was dispatched arrested two youths, Saros Akhter and Luvkush Kumar from there, he said. Police recovered stolen cell phones and motorcycles from their possession. During interrogation they disclosed names of two more members of the gang - Amir Faiz alias Faizi and Pinku alias Suraj. Pinku had killed Amir over money-sharing at his house under Khajekalan police station on January 15, he added. The SSP, however, clarified that the onus would not be on buyers who bought the stolen products from the accused on OLX. We will not target the buyers but during the course of our investigation we may ask them to depose as witness, Maharaaj signed off. Nagaland continued to remain tense on Wednesday following deaths of two youths in police firing on Tuesday night in violence against the state governments decision to hold election to urban local bodies (ULBs). The situation continues to be tense but under control. Indefinite curfew is still on in Dimapur and Chumukedima, Nagaland police spokesperson Shouka Kakheto told Hindustan Times. On Wednesday, Nagaland cabinet decided to set up a judicial inquiry commission to inquire into the deaths and injuries sustained by protesters in Dimapur and Longleng districts. Keeping in view sentiments of the people and the prevailing situation, the cabinet decided to ask the state election commission to withhold the ongoing process of elections to the ULBs, said a statement issued by Chief Minister TR Zeliangs media cell. Union home minister Rajnath Singh called Zeliang on Wednesday and inquired about the law and order situation. I am deeply anguished by the unfortunate turn of events last night. It is most lamentable that two precious lives have been lost, Zeliang stated in a condolence message. Two persons were killed and two others were injured in the states commercial hub of Dimpaur when police fired on a mob comprising hundreds of armed youths trying to enter the private residence of the CM on Tuesday night. Angry with the state government for deciding to hold polls on February 1 despite an earlier deal to postpone election by two months, youths armed with spears and machetes had come out to the streets in protest. Seven others also got injured in Longleng district on in police firing. We had called a day-long bandh on Wednesday to ensure polling doesnt take place anywhere. There was no violence on Wednesday, but people are still angry, Kevichatha Sechi, vice-president of Angami Youth Organisation said. Bodies of the two youths killed in police firing were taken on Wednesday to the state capital Kohima where more protests are expected on Thursday. There are no confirmed reports yet on whether polling took place in the 12 ULBs where the state government had decided to hold election on Wednesday. On Monday, the state government had signed a deal with Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), the umbrella organization representing tribal bodies opposed to holding the ULB polls with 33% reservation for women, to postpone the election by two months. But following a Gauhati High Court order on Tuesday directing the government to hold elections, the state government decided to have polls in 12 of the 32 municipal bodies in the state. As soon as news of this development spread, JCC and many other tribal bodies, who had earlier called of their bandh following the deal, called for enforcing total strike to prevent holding of the polls. Due to a boycott call and threat of ex-communication by JCC, no candidate had filed nomination in 10 municipalities and in 3 urban bodies candidates had won unopposed. Following the state governments request to the state election commission to postpone polls in seven ULBs including Dimapur for fear of law and order problems, election to those civic bodies have been postponed by two months. Polls for ULBs in Nagaland havent been held for more than 10 years due to opposition from traditional tribal bodies who are against reservation for women in local administration. Nagalands tribal bodies are opposed to reservation against women as they say it will infringe on customary laws and also violate Article 371A of the constitution that grants special status to Nagaland and guarantees preservation of such laws. Nagaland has never elected a women legislator to the assembly since it gained statehood in 1963. The lone woman MP from the state was late Rano M Shaiza, who got elected in 1977. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A day after an abandoned Pakistani fishing boat was seized from Sir Creek in Kutch district on the Indo-Pak border, two more boats from the neighbouring country were seized on Wednesday by the Border Security Force (BSF) from the same area, officials said. These two boats were abandoned in Pabewari Creek near Sir Creek by Pakistani fishermen, who fled into Pak territory after being chased by a BSF patrol party, a senior BSF official said. During the operation, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deployed there by the Indian Air Force (IAF), spotted the presence of these Pakistani fishermen in the Indian territory of the creek, following which BSF was alerted about it, the official added. Though BSF patrol boats chased them for a considerable distance, these fishermen eventually managed to flee into their territory after abandoning two of their boats that have been seized by BSF for further investigation, the official added. The search operation in the area was launched by BSF after five to six Pakistani fishermen fled away after abandoning their boats in Sir Creek area last evening, although nothing suspicious was found in that boat, the official said. Pakistani fishing boats are found in creek area at regular intervals. Earlier, such abandoned boats were found in Padala Creek and Haraminala area by the BSF. Hailing the budget presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje termed it as Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision and Jaitleys agenda to transform, energise and clean India. Doing away with plan & non-plan classification of expenditure is a reform oriented towards optimal allocation of resources, she tweeted. In another tweet, the CM said massive increase in capital expenditure would lead to infra growth and in turn create more jobs for the youth. The Rajasthan industry, too, cheered the budget and said it would boost employment, encourage infrastructure and increase transparency. Rajat Agarwal, Confederation of Indian Industry Rajasthan state council chairman, termed the budget as excellent. The budget will boost MSME, infrastructure and affordable housing sectors, he said. Sanjay Ghiya, a chartered accountant, welcomed 5% reduction in income tax. Tax reduction by 5% from 30% to 25% is a good step, overall its a good budget, he said. The big announcement in this budget, he felt, was political reforms. Now, political parties cannot accept more than 2000 in cash and will have to file income tax returns. Reacting to the finance ministers announcement of creation of five special tourism zones in the next financial year, Khalid Khan, president of the Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators, hoped that the state is included in the zones. Every third tourist comes to Rajasthan. Except beaches, the desert state has all other attractions, he said. Abhishek Mishra, director Trimurti Colonisers, was happy with Jaitleys announcement of increasing the timeframe of completing affordable housing projects from three years to five years. The government aims to build houses for all by 2022. Rajasthan needs 25,000 houses and in such a situation increasing super built up area from 30-60 square m to 60-90 square m is a good decision. Prateem Tamboli, zonal director of Fortis Hospital Rajasthan, said the announcement to increase 5000 post graduate seats is praiseworthy. There are very few specialists in rural areas and this will help. The announcement to eradicate tuberculosis by 2025 and Leprosy by 2018 shows that we will move from developing to developed country. The budget provides a directional approach that aims at inclusion, formalisation and transparency said Ashok Kajaria, chairman, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Rajasthan State Council. The impetus on agriculture and allied areas would go a long way in stimulating domestic demand and overall economic development, he added. Providing infrastructure status to affordable housing would provide fresh impetus to the initiative said Randhir Vikram Singh, co-chairman, FICCI Rajasthan State Council. Reduction of income tax by 5% for companies having turnover up to Rs 50 crore would benefit majority of industries in Rajasthan, he added. Jaipur Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ashok Dhoot and honorary secretary Ajay Kala called the budget encouraging and development oriented. They said this budget would strengthen basic infrastructure which in turn will encourage trade and industry. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Ilhama Isabalayeva Trend: Azerbaijan was visited by 2,242,783 tourists in 2016 that is by 11.7 percent more than in 2015, the countrys Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend Feb. 1. A majority of foreign tourists arrived in Azerbaijan during the period accounted for Russia (33 percent), Georgia (22.5 percent), Turkey (13.9 percent) and Iran (10.9 percent). By simplifying the visa issuance procedure in 2016 at the airport for citizens of several countries, including Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan from these countries increased significantly. In 2016, the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan from Jordan increased by twofold as compared to 2015, from Kuwait increased by 3.2 times, from Qatar by 5.5 times, from Saudi Arabia and Oman by 10 times, from the UAE by 22 times and from Iran by 30 times. Meanwhile, an increase was also observed in the number of tourists arriving from the countries of Persian Gulf and Middle East, Asia, Africa, US and Australia. In a short span of six months, Swati Singhs life has been an amazing transformation from a typical housewife to a firebrand politician. On Tuesday, she filed nomination papers as a BJP candidate from Sarojini Nagar assembly seat a constituency from where BJP has never won. However, Swatis electoral foray would not be a cakewalk. She is pitted against Samajwadi Party candidate Anurag Yadav, nephew of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Swatis political journey began in July last year when her husband and UP BJP vice-president Daya Shankar Singh was expelled from the party for his derogatory remark against BSP chief Mayawati. The turning point in Swatis life came on July 21, 2016, when a BSP rally in Lucknow, demanding arrest of Daya Shankar took an ugly turn. At the rally, agitators raised derogatory slogans against Daya Shankars wife and daughter. Swati demanded FIR and arrest of BSP leaders for passing derogatory statement against her family. The fierce verbal duel that ensued between Swati Singh and BSP leaders catapulted her to the national political scene. Swati Singhs back-to-the-wall fight salvaged BJP from an unwarranted situation. You are contesting from a seat from where BJP has never won? BJP will create history from Sarojini Nagar assembly constituency. I may be a late entrant into the political arena in Sarojini Nagar, but people of the constituency know me very well. I might not be able to reach out to every constituent in the assembly but I promise to meet every one personally after the election. Your fight is against SPs Anurag Yadav, who is Mulayam Singh Yadavs nephew. How do you plan to face the challenge? SPs pariwarvad has now travelled to Lucknow from Etawah, Saifai, Mainpuri and Kannauj. It seems no seat (assembly constituency) is left vacant in the Samajwadi familys pocket-borough. All family members have already announced their candidature from the SP stronghold. With no option left, he (Anurag Yadav) has to contest from Sarojini Nagar. People are smart enough to realise all this and will send him (Anurag) back to Etawah. You had often expressed your desire to contest against BSP chief Mayawati? I always wanted to contest against Mayawati. It would have been an interesting contest. But never mind. Now, I am fighting against pariwarvad of Samajwadi family. What will be your major issues during campaigning? During the five-year SP rule, law and order in UP came to its lowest. Incidents of rape increased manifold. I will definitely raise this issue (law and order) and good works of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In two-and-a-half years, the BJP government at the Centre has done a lot for poor and underprivileged section of the society. I will highlight the Modi governments achievements. Your husbands political career seems to have come to a standstill how does he feel? My husband has been very supportive in my political journey. Today, also he is with me. Pitching in between, Daya Shankar, who was standing next to Swati, said: In my 15-year political career, my wife has always stood like a rock with me. Now, I will try to do for her in the next 15 days what she did for me in the last 15 years. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Hindu, Muslim and Sikh religious leaders shared a platform at the Islamic centre in Aishbagh Eidgah here on Tuesday to raise voter awareness and to help increase the voter turnout in Lucknow which goes to polls in the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election on February 19. Cameras focused on the saffron-clad Mankameshwar temple Mahant (head priest) Devya Giri as she reached the Islamic centre where prominent Muslim cleric Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali and Rajendra Singh Bagga, president of Lucknow Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, received her. The three religious leaders addressed students of the Islamic centre and told them why it was important for people to exercise their franchise. The students held placards with the slogan Pehle Matdan, Phir Jal Paan (Voting first, breakfast later). In his address, Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali said, We dont believe in giving a call to citizens on whom they should vote for in this election. We collectively appeal to citizens to vote and they should also encourage their family members to exercise their voting rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Read more| UP election: Dont vote for SP-Congress alliance, Shia cleric appeals to Muslims He made the remark without naming Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad who on Monday had appealed Muslims not to vote for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in the UP elections. Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, a Sunni cleric, said appealing voters to vote for a political party was against the secular spirit of the country. Lucknow has not seen anything like this in the past where religious leaders have formed an alliance and appealed to masses to vote for a party or candidate that they think is good for the development of the state. We are dead against influencing voters on whom they should vote fore, said Rajendra Singh Bagga. Mahant Devya Giri administered a pledge to everyone present that they will vote and will sensitise others on the importance of exercising their franchise. Religious leaders have expressed concern over low voter turnout during elections in the state. Over 40% voters in the state did not cast their votes in the 2012 assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, they said. Out of total 12.74 crore voters in the state, only 59.52% voters used their voting rights in the 2012 Vidhan Sabha polls. Similarly, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, out of 13.88 crore voters, only 58.27% voted. This means more than 40% UP voters did not cast their votes in the last two elections, they said. This year 24 lakh new voters were added to the list. The religious leaders called upon all eligible voters to reach the polling booths in the Vidhan Sabha elections and create awareness among other people. Read more| UP elections: Is there a Muslim vote factor in Uttar Pradesh? SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A generational shift in politics was evident in Lucknow on Sunday when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav shared a common platform to launch their battle against common rival -- Bharatiya Janata Party. Away from the state capital, a silent generational shift and rise of small dynasties is underway. Young and energetic sons and daughters of political families are making their debut in politics to carry forward the legacy of their father and grandfather in various constituencies of west UP. Barring one candidate, all of them are highly qualified and are capitalising on youth factor to expand their base to nurture political legacy of their families. They are graduates from St Stephens, Leeds University (UK), Swiss diploma in hotel management , MBA, M Tech and LLB. Leaving behind the traditional politics of their fathers and forefathers, these next generation politicians are well versed of new technologies, use of social media and playing with data to feel the mood of voters in their respective constituencies. They have teams of their confidantes and friends from college and school to formulate election strategies mixing it with inputs of vast political experience of their fathers and grandfathers who were considered champion of traditional politics.These new crop of politicians are unleashing a fusion of new and traditional politics. A 63-year-old man was killed following a fight over parking space inside a housing society in Andheri (West) on Tuesday morning. The Amboli police said the incident took place around 10am at the Bheem Chaya society. Subhash Mane, 63, and the accused, Kishore Shirke, 50, are residents of the same society. The police said they got into a fight in the societys parking area. Mane and Shirke both pulled out knives and assaulted each other. Mane was stabbed in the stomach and succumbed to his injuries around 6pm during treatment. READ MORE 26-year old murdered over parking row in Mumbai, 1 arrested In 2002, the Shiv Sena wooed Mumbaiites with its Mee Mumbaikar campaign. Now, ally-turned-rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has given it a spin. Its campaigns tagline, Mee khara Mumbaikar, or, I am the real Mumbaikar, has started appearing on billboards in some parts of the city, and the battle for the nations richest civic body has turned into a fight over who owns the city and its residents. This new look of the campaign is likely to also appear in print and television advertisements from next week. The campaign, which the BJP said has been ground-tested with all sections of the city, is an attempt to capture Mumbais spirit and BJPs vision for it. It also challenges the Senas claim of being connected to the city with an umblical chord and its notion that the first right of the city goes to the Marathi manoos. Our campaign addresses every citizen living in the city, whether its is fisherfolk or north Indians. It is an aim to capture the spirit of the city that is inclusive and cosmopolitan. The campaign will showcase the chief ministers vision for Mumbai and our PM Narendra Modis central tenet of Sab ka saath Sab ka Vikas (development for all), said Shweta Shalini, BJP spokesperson, also in charge of the partys election war room. All posters and advertisement material will be headlined by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They will also feature party president Amit Shah, state president Raosaheb Danve and city chief Ashish Shelar . Other buzz words for the BJPs campaign are transparency and transformation. The party has started a Twitter handle BJP4MCCGM, a Facebook page and a website, all solely to target young voters during the campaign. In short, if the campaign material is anything to go by, the real Mumbaiite is one who will vote for performance and development. The campaign will showcase the proposed metro network, Shivaji memorial, coastal road, CCTV cameras and the host of other projects that were proposed and implemented over the past two years by the Fadnavis government. The BJP has also appropriated Maratha king Shivaji in a big way in its campaign, in a direct challenge to the Sena which has so far claimed rights over his legacy. In October, Mumbai city chief Shelar had first released the partys Mee Mumbai campaign, which has now been developed further. The party has carefully cultivated non-Maharashtrian votes in its favour for the upcoming polls and is now focussing on making a dent in the traditional Marathi votebank of the Sena. Fadnavis, in the partys rally, last week, made it clear that Mumbais common citizen was his partys target audience, irrespective of his community. But, he also pointed out that it was his government, which got redevelopment of the BDD chawls off the ground besides `koliwadas fisherfolk colonies, to ensure affordable houses for citys Marathi manoos and original residents. The campaign for all the remaining municipal corporations would highlight transparency with a tag line that says : Our BJP, Transparent Municipal Corporations. The campaign for Zilla Parishad polls lays claim on the warrior king, Shivaji asking people to vote for BJP to create a Maharashtra that will run on the foremost Maratha rulers tenet of good governance. Read: Uddhavs go solo plan: Calculated risk or gamble? BJP, Sena partners-in-crime: NCP leader Supriya Sule SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In his first reaction to the union budget 2017-18, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi remarked, We were expecting fireworks, instead got a damp squib and added that the budget lacked vision. The context is different but a similar assessment can be made of the Congress party in Mumbai, the city where it was formed in December 1888 and where some of its significant leaders hailed from. In election after election, Mumbais voters hope that the Congress will shake off its self-induced stupor, be an aggressive opposition party to the Shiv Sena-BJP, and present a vision for the citys comprehensive development. Instead, the party appears a dysfunctional and faction-driven organisation with little imagination for Mumbais future, and no political appetite to take on the saffron alliance. The Sena-BJP alliance has enjoyed a majority in the Municipal Corporation for 20 years, uninterrupted. This is why Congresss charge-sheet against the Sena-BJP and former union minister Shashi Tharoors comments on Mondayare both laughable and disingenuous. Tharoor lamented that the Asias richest civic corporation had collapsed under the Sena-BJP rule owing to corruption and mismanagement. City Congress president Sanjay Nirupam listed the lacunae on every front roads, water supply, solid waste disposal, healthcare and blamed chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for the sorry state of affairs. Of course, urban governance in Mumbai has all but collapsed, but Tharoor-Nirupams party must share the blame too. The larger point is that despite the appalling incompetence and corruption that marked Sena-BJPs rule, the Congress is not seen as a viable alternative, either on its own strength or with its sometime-ally, the Nationalist Congress Party. There are historical as well as contemporary reasons. Through the 70s, 80s and 90s, as the Sena spread its network and politics of fear, the Congress was content to sit back and watch the polarisation of the political landscape in Mumbai, besides, of course, covertly encouraging the fledgling Sena. More lately, factions within its Mumbai unit have meant that the party cannot be a strong and cohesive unit. This election too is marred by factional differences and ego clashes between Nirupam and older leaders such as Gurudas Kamat. Later, the Congress-led governments in Maharashtra gradually but surely put in a place a system of governance by which the BMCs powers would be checked by the chief minister acting in his capacity as the urban development minister. This meant a slew of autonomous organisations planned and executed mega projects with hardly a nod to the BMC. It was either a devious way for the Congress-NCP to retain some hold over Mumbai despite the Sena-BJP rule in the BMC or a mutually convenient way for all parties to share the spoils of power. If Fadnavis and Thackeray must share the blame for the poor state of Mumbai which they must then blame must be laid at the doors of Fadnaviss predecessors too: Congress CMs Prithviraj Chavan, Ashok Chavan, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, and Sharad Pawar who as urban development ministers could have taken more meaningful and far-reaching decisions for Mumbai. None made Mumbais all-round development a priority. In the last two civic elections of 2007 and 2012, the Congress secured 75 seats (25.3% vote share) and 52 seats (21.7% vote share) respectively. In the 2012 election, its vote share combined with the NCP was 28% while that of the winning Sena-BJP was a mere 2% more. Indeed, the Congress still enjoys a presence and goodwill in Mumbai but does not have the organisation or appetite to grab power in the BMC. But for its leaders to ignore its role in the collapse of the BMC and Mumbai would be disingenuous. Read: Congress charge-sheets Sena-BJPs BMC rule Mumbai civic polls: Congress releases first list of 115 candidates SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The police claimed a major breakthrough in the murder of a 24-year-old physiotherapist at her Vile Parle home in December, with the arrest of a 27-year-old man whose identity, they say, matched with the prime suspect captured on a CCTV camera. Deputy commissioner of police Virendra Mishra told HT on Tuesday that Debasis Dhara was arrested from his village in West Bengal. Dhara was arrested on suspicion. Things will become clear once we interrogate him. Mishra refused to divulge details. Earlier this month, the police got footage from a camera attached to a doctors house near the victims residence. Sources said despite getting the video a month ago, the police were unable to ascertain the mans identity as he rarely showed up outside. The breakthrough finally came from a drug addict, who identified Dhara, also a drug addict. Highly placed sources said the footage showed that around 1.18am on the day of the murder, a man wearing a white shirt and black trousers was seen walking towards the womans house, and 20 minutes later, he was caught walking past the camera in the opposite direction. His movements matched perfectly with the timings when the woman was murdered, said sources, adding, that made him the prime suspect in the case. Mishra said Dhara lived near the Saibaba Temple, not far from the victims house. Police sources claimed the police narrowed in on him from among 175 people they picked up for questioning after the murder came to light on December 6. Dhara is from the Midnapore district in West Bengal, sources said. He was produced in a court that sent him to police custody till February 3. In the wee hours of December 6, residents at Leelabai Chawl had noticed smoke emanating from the mezzanine floor of Shraddha Panchal, the victims house. She used to sleep alone on the mezzanine floor while her family slept on the ground floor. The door of the house was found ajar and she was strangled with her own jeans. The accused apparently tried to burn her as several burn marks were found on the body. Read: 24-year-old physiotherapist found dead in Mumbai Vile Parle physiotherapist was assaulted by more than one person: post mortem report SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Shiv Sena praises Donald Trumps immigration ban, says India should learn from him The Shiv Sena on Wednesday praised US President Donald Trumps recent contentious immigration ban, saying Indian administrators have a lot to learn from him. Read Mumbais Dalal Street divided on Union Budget 2017 As finance minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2017 on Wednesday, scores of people lined up in front of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Dalal Street. Read Mumbai monorail turns three, fare hike on the cards As the countrys first monorail corridor completed three years on Wednesday, a hike in the fare is expected. Mumbaikars could have to shell out more for a ride on the monorail once the second phase of the project is opened to public in May. Read Where is murdered Pune Infosys techies mobile phone? Family members of the murdered techie, who worked with Infosys in Pune, said the police told them that the mobile phone of the victim had been missing. She was allegedly murdered by the offices security guard on Sunday afternoon. Read Kingpin in Ephedrine haul brought to Thane The kingpin in the Ephedrine drug haul case who was arrested by the Gujarat police on January 9, was brought to Thane on Wednesday and would be produced in court by afternoon. Read The kingpin in the Ephedrine drug haul case who was arrested by the Gujarat police on January 9, was brought to Thane on Wednesday and would be produced in court by afternoon. The kingpin identified as Kishoresingh Bhavsingh Rathod was absconding soon after the Thane police raided Avon Pharma life sciences limited at Solapur. Soon after his arrest, his driver, Bharat Kathiya, 38, too was caught on January 24 from Gujarat. As per police sources, Kishoresingh Rathod was in continuos contact with international drug baron Vicky Goswami who was arrested on Sunday by US- DEA from Kenya and later taken to USA for investigation. A police officer from Thane commissionerate said, Kishoresingh Rathod has played a vital role in the drug cartel. He was the main link to transport ephedrine drug from Solapur to Gujarat and from there to Kenya. The driver too helped with arranging trucks from Gujarat to Solapur for the transport. Rathod was on the run along with his driver and they used to be in touch with their relatives and other friends to know the police action and accordingly they change hiding locations. We have gathered all the evidence against them and Rathod will be produced in court on Wednesday afternoon, ACP Bharat Shelkhe. Also read Mumbai ephedrine haul kingpin Vicky Goswami held in Kenya, taken to US Ephedrine haul: Kingpins driver held SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 24-year-old gang rape convict, who had jumped parole and was absconding for six months, was traced and arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch. The accused was awarded life imprisonment in a gang-rape case. According to the ANC Ghatkopar unit, one of their constables received a tip off about the accused Suraj Lalsingh Chand alias Suraj Nepali coming to the city to meet his friend around 1pm-2 pm on Tuesday. Accordingly a trap was laid below the Asalfa metro bridge on the Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road. When Suraj arrived there the team nabbed him. He was handed over to the Kurar police station where the gang rape case was filed in 2011 when Suraj was an 18-year-old. Last year he was granted parole. After completing his one month parole period Suraj did not return to jail. He has now been booked under section 224 (Resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code. Also read Maharashtra tops list of convicts jumping parole, reveals NCRB data Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Elena Kosolapova Trend: Kazakh Samruk-Energy company plans to sharply increase electricity export to Russia in 2017. On February 1 the company started exporting electricity from electricity power plant Ekibastuz GRES-1 named after Bulat Nurzhanov to Russia, the company said in a message. It is planned to supply 4 billion kWh of electricity from this power plant to Russia till the yearend. In 2016 Samruk-Energy exported 1.8 billion KWh of electricity to Russia. In 2015 electricity export to Russia hit 1.9 billion KWh. Spare capacity of Ekibastuz GRES-1 plant in the amount of 500 MW will be used to insure supplies to Russia. Samruk-Energy brings together the biggest power plants in Kazakhstan. The installed capacity of Samruk-Energys power plants hits 6,774 MW, which is about 32 percent of the total installed capacity of Kazakhstans power plants. Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova At least four people were injured after a 30-year-old businessman driving drunk crashed into vehicles in Borivli (East) on Tuesday night. According to officials at the Kasturba Marg police station, the accused, Mukesh Jain, was driving a Maruti Brezza along Carter Road in Borivli. He was under the influence of alcohol when he took to the wheel. As he was speeding along the stretch, around 9.45 pm, he crashed into four to five vehicles that were parked along the road, said Satish Raorane, senior inspector at the Kasturba Marg police station. The police have registered a case of drink driving and causing hurt under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicles Act against Jain following the accident. Jain is a resident of Nallasopara and runs a garment business, said officials. Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that Jain was headed home from Borivli and was speeding. Of the four pedestrians injured, one of them suffered a knee fracture. Officials added that three other people suffered minor injuries. During interrogation, Jain claimed that he had borrowed the car from a friend. Officials have seized the car, and said they will cross check the details of its ownership to verify his claims. Jain was subsequently placed under arrest. He was, however, released on a cash bail of Rs10,000. Read: Dip in drunk driving cases this year suggest Mumbai is driving responsibly Drunk-driving: Car rams night shelter in Lucknows Hazratganj, 5 killed SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Pandals and homes in Mumbai were lit up on Tuesday and Wednesday as the city celebrated Ganesh Jayanti, popularly known as Maaghi Ganesh Chaturthi to welcome its favourite god again. Ganesh Jayanti is celebrated on the shukla paksha chaturthi (fourth day of the bright fortnight) in the month of Maagh, as per almanac. Even though the celebrations were nowhere as big as Ganesh Chaturthi, believers made no distinction between the two days. Naresh Dahibavkar, head of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshostsav Samanvay Samiti, the umbrella organisation of Ganesh mandals in the city, said that unlike Ganesh Chaturthi, Jayanti was celebrated for one-and- half days. The festival is gaining popularity, said Dahibavkar. Around 18 years back, there were hardly 50 houses which celebrated it. Now, there are more than 1,500 idols that reach individual households. The number will keep increasing in the coming years, he said, adding that the festival has been more visible as the municipal corporation elections are scheduled this month. On Tuesday, the Siddhivinayak temple had an early morning puja followed by aartis (prayers) and shlokas in the presence of a massive crowd. At Borivalis Svayambhu Siddhivinayak Temple., devotees gathered for puja on both days. Sharda Pancholi, a Borivli resident, had waited for long to touch the feet of the deity), said, We left for Pune immediately after we sought blessings here. We go to Moreshwar Temple (one of the eight Ashtavinayak temples in Morgaon, Pune district) along with the whole family every year. This day is very auspicious to us. Some Ganesha devotees consider the day to be more important than Ganesh Chaturthi. This is the day the lord was born. And besides, it is today when His actual followers and believers are seen, said Sandhya Mishra, a 77-year-old Mahim resident who had come to the Siddhivinayak temple to seek blessings. Meanwhile, many pandals were set up across the city where organisers will be celebrating the festival on the lines of Ganesh Chaturthi with 10 days of puja, cultural programmes and other activities. Political parties, too, clinched the opportunity and conducted rallies with party flags in popular belts of the city chanting prayers on their way. At 1.25pm on Wednesday, as he walked into his office in one of the old buildings beside the sessions court, 60-year-old Rakesh Maria looked worn out. He had just spent a part of his last day as a police officer correcting a journalist who had misquoted him in a report on the last case he investigated as Mumbai police commissioner the Sheena Bora murder case. It seems that my 36-year has been boiled down to just one case. How does a Sheena Bora or a Peter Mukerjea matter to me? he asked rhetorically, appearing irritated by the controversy surrounding his investigation of the murder, which led to his removal as police commissioner. Nobody wants to talk about the cases I have investigated in the past. And I am not interested in talking about Sheena Bora, he said. Maria said he had written a letter to the government on August 28, 2015. In it, he warned that as the suspects in the case were wealthy and influential and would hire the best available lawyers to defend themselves, the state should employ a competent prosecutor to assist the police. Speaking about his refusal to do interviews, he said, I have learnt this the hard way. I will say something and the media will twist it to suit their convenience. I have had enough controversy and I have had enough share of the limelight. I just want to get away, with no more phone calls or messages from anyone. Maria has made a special request to record his depositions in the numerous cases he has investigated so that he can make a clean break with policing. He now plans to write a book for which he has been conducting research for the past year. For the past year or so, I have been going through my diaries about the various cases I have investigated and court records and newspaper clippings connected to them. My research is complete. I will take a 10-day break and get into writing the book, said Maria. Asked what he plans to do after that, he said, Policing was what I was passionate about, and now I would like to concentrate on sports. We need to produce sportsmen who can reach the Olympic level, and I would like to contribute do this. Read: Influential people suppressed Sheena Bora murder for three years: Rakesh Maria Five things you should know about Mumbai top cop Rakesh Maria SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON To ascertain the role of a prime accused arrested in the rape-cum-murder of a 25-year-old physiotherapist, the Vile Parle police have sent his DNA samples to the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory at Kalina and conducted a medical test on him. The forensic test will confirm if DNA of the accused, Debasis Dhara, match with that of an unidentified person collected from the crime spot. Nearly two months after the incident, a special team of Vile Parle police arrested Dhara, 27, after tracing him to West Bengal and brought him back to the city on Monday. Dhara and the victim were known to each other but they were not in a relationship, a police source said. The police had zeroed down on Dhara, said to be an alcoholic, just a week before tracing him, said the source. The special team formed by DCP Virendra Mishra questioned more than 500 people before narrowing down on the accused. Dhara, who is from the Midnapore district in West Bengal, has been remanded in police custody till February 3. A school drop-out, Dhara had been living in the city for the past seven years. He stayed alone in an area near the victims residence at Leelabai chawl. The unmarried accused used to do jewellery work, the source said. He was arrested based on footage from a CCTV camera installed at Minoo Apartments, near victims residence at Leelabai chawl. He was identified by a person known to him. Dharas profile matched with that of a person shown in the footage and the time of the crime also tallied, said the police Dr Kamal Parikh, who runs a clinic on the ground floor of the Minoo Apartment, said, All credit goes to the police. Its heartening to note that the society cameras have helped the police. The family members of the victim refused to comment. In the wee hours of December 6, residents at Leelabai Chawl had noticed smoke emanating from the mezzanine floor of the victims house. She used to sleep alone on the mezzanine floor while her family slept on the ground floor. The door of the house was found ajar and she was strangled with her own jeans. The accused apparently tried to burn her as several burn marks were found on the body. READ Drug addict arrested in Mumbais physiotherapist murder case SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Major political parties have now started relocating their offices out of Nariman Point with construction of the Metro-3 project set to begin. Earlier, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) had issued notices to eight political parties asking them to temporarily vacate their party offices by December 26 as it plans to start work on the underground metro corridor that will link Colaba and SEEPZ in Andheri (East). The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) will spend more than Rs33 lakh a month for the new offices. The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena, Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh, PWP, Peoples Republican Party of India, Republican Party of India (Democratic) and Samajwadi Party, which had their offices alloted by the state government at the barracks on Free Press Journal Road, Nariman Point, along with 25 government offices have started relocating to their new premises. The Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) was the first to shift to its new place allotted at Thackersey House in Ballard Estate at Fort recently and the rest are expected to follow suit in the coming days except the Congress. The Congress partys office will be relocated to Apeejay House near KC College. The decision was taken after the party requested for space near Nariman Point , according to an official. Responding to the notice, the PWP has shifted its office. We are now expecting the Samajwadi Party (SP) to shift by this week and the rest of the parties in the coming weeks, said a senior official. All these party offices will be at the Thackersey House, Ballard Estate at Fort for the next three years until work on Metro-3 is completed, he added. However, Congress will be the only party that will have its office at Apeejay House near Kishinchand Chellaram (KC) College instead of Ballard Estate as it had requested for space near Nariman Point, the official said. We have decided to relocate Congress office to Apeejay House on the condition that the excess amount in rent is to be paid by them, a source confirmed. A senior Congress leader too said they will shift to Apeejay House once the renovation work over there is completed. We had told the government that the space at Ballard Estate will be inconvenient and hence requested for space near Nariman Point, said the leader. To relocate all the offices, the state government had taken two floors of Thackersey House on a monthly rent at Rs200 a square foot from the Mumbai Port Trust. Once Metro-3 work is completed, the offices of the political parties will be relocated back to Nariman Point, but in two towers to be developed by the MMRC. The offices of all political parties and the other government offices will be accommodated in one tower, while the second one will be used for commercial purposes, sources in the government said. Read 5,012 trees will make way for Metro-3 project in Mumbai SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Family members of the murdered techie, who worked with Infosys in Pune, said the police told them that the mobile phone of the victim had been missing. She was allegedly murdered by the offices security guard on Sunday afternoon. When the family members, who landed in Pune after the incident, asked the police about the mobile phone they were told that it was missing after the security guard Bhaben Saikia allegedly strangulated Rasila Raju OP using a cable wire near her workstation on Infosys campus located in phase II of Hinjewadi IT park. According to family members, the police recovered Rasilas purse, coffee mug and other personal belongings. However, the mobile phone was missing from the spot. Meanwhile senior police claimed that license of the security firm providing service to Infosys had lapsed last year. According to an official, the firm had applied for renewal of the security license but the police had not extended the period while seeking explanation on certain points. The official said, the firm Terrier Security Services continued to operate even as the license was not renewed. Officials added they received the techies post mortem report which suggested that she died due to strangulation. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Pune court has sentenced a man to 12 years rigorous imprisonment and Rs10,000 fine for sexually assaulting his minor daughter and son. The convicts wife had filed a police complaint against him in March 2015. Sessions judge P Y Ladekar examined the children, their mother and eight witnesses before anbnouncing the verdict. The accused used to stay in Pashan area of Pune, in a rented house along with his mother, two children and wife, who works as a house help. His daughter is eighth standard student while son studies in class 11. According to the prosecution, the accuseds wife saw her husband sexually assault their son when she returned home after completing a days work in March 2015. Mother had noticed her husband sexually assaulting the daughter a year back but kept silent expecting that her husband would improve. The woman also told court that she and her children were threatened by the accused. Also read Grandfather arrested for sexually assaulting 14-year-old grand-daughter in Pune Pune: Man booked for raping his 12-year-old daughter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the state to place on record the charge sheet and all adverse evidence against the main accused in the murder of Pune techie Mohsin Shaikh. The HC is hearing a plea filed by the accused, Hindu Rashtra Sena leader Dhananjay Desai, asking for the charges of murder and attempt to murder charges against him be dropped. The case generated much furore recently, when another bench of the high court granted bail to the other men accused in the case, saying they had been provoked in the name of religion. IT professional Shaikh was attacked on June 2, 2014, by a mob in Punes Hadapsar during violence that erupted over a social media post. Around half-an-hour before the attack, Desai was allegedly addressing a meeting that instigated the audience to violence. Desai, challenging a Pune sessions courts order of June 2016 that rejected his discharge plea, argued he had no connection to the murder and that his name had come up in the charge sheet only four times. He said he did not dispute that he had given some speeches, but added that these were not provocative. He argued he had given these speeches in January and March 2014, but Mohsin was murdered in June. It wasnt even the prosecutions case that he was present at the spot where Mohsin was killed, Desai said, and said there was no evidence to show he was in contact with the other people accused of the attack. In the entire charge sheet, there are only two pieces of evidence against me. One is that I was part of two meetings in January and March and I made speeches in the meetings. I am admitting there were such meetings and I was a part of them, but I can only be charged for being a part of them; not for the murder that occurred months later, he told the court. Desais counsel, advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, said there already existed an FIR against Desai for having delivered those speeches and while he was willing to face trial in that case, he could not be tried on the same charge or on exaggerated charges in another case. The court is likely to take up the matter for further hearing in a weeks time. Read: Mohsin Shaikh murder case: Bombay HC grants bail to three Hindu Rashtra Sena men Maharashtra govt may ban Hindu Rashtra Sena HRS chief Desai arrested for Pune techies murder SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Shiv Sena on Wednesday praised US President Donald Trumps recent contentious immigration ban, saying Indian administrators have a lot to learn from him. In an editorial in the partys mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena said Trump didnt care about what the world will say, and only looked out for his own country. There is no one like Trump. Several ridiculed him when he was elected as the American president. Even we questioned his ability to walk the talk on his promises. But he has started implementing his promises. He has taken tough decisions against Pakistan, the party said in the editorial. Trump has banned immigration for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya Sudan, Yemen and Somalia. While Pakistan is not part of the list, the White House has indicated that it may include Pakistan in the travel ban list. The Sena added that the decisions to have strict checks for Pakistani nationals entering the US, and the short-term ban on entry of residents from seven Muslim-dominated nations are only for Americas internal security. It is now an open truth that Pakistan provides for terrorist activities around the world, so the US has taken this decision at least for itself and has indirectly tagged the country as a terrorist state. A country that gets a president like Trump will never have any Pakistani terrorists on its soil. Indian administrators should learn from this decision, the Saamana editorial said. The party said, the Narendra Modi government is still unsure of what treatment to mete out to Pakistan. On November 8, instead of notebandi (demonetisation) that branded common people as thieves and criminals, if the Modi government had taken a decision to have Pakistan-bandi (ban on Pakistan), the public would have been happier, the Shiv Sena said. But the BJP government thinks such a decision will not go down well with the countrys Muslim population and will mar its chances in the Uttar Pradesh elections as it will tarnish the partys secular reputation, the Sena taunted. Also read Corruption in BMC? What about dirt in PM Modis pet Swachh Bharat mission, Sena asks BJP Mumbai civic polls hasten Aaditya Thackerays rise in Shiv Sena politics SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Oval Maidan precinct could get a world heritage tag by mid-2018,as the centre has selected the site as its nomination for a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) accreditation. The centre has communicated its nomination to the Paris-based UNESCO, setting the ball in motion. Abha Narain Lambah, a heritage conservationist, said that with centre informing UNESCO about its nomination, a mission from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) will visit Mumbai to review the site. They will interact with the state government, visit the site, its surroundings, cultural significance, etc, and compile a report that will be discussed at the next session of the world heritage committee, which might be in June 2018, she said. Lambah prepared the Oval Maidan dossier for submission with the help of several citizens groups. The precinct comprises buildings of the Victorian neo-gothic architecture of the 19th century and art deco structures from the 20th century. As per the dossier, the precinct extends from the Bombay gothic buildings on one side of the Maidan to the other side, stretching all the way till Marine Drive. These boundaries hold the largest cluster of art deco buildings after Miami. A world heritage site tag will catapult the precinct to international fame, attracting more tourists. The site will also receive more funding from global bodies for conservation and upkeep. Residents groups and heritage activists have been pursuing for the Oval Maidan to be nominated since 2013. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis even wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pushing for the site to be picked as Indias nomination for a world heritage tag. Read: Fadnavis joins citizens to pitch Mumbais architecture for a world heritage tag Art Deco-ded: Explore south Mumbais timeless architecture SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Irans services exports were materialized by 73 percent during the first nine months of current fiscal year (March 20-Dec. 20, 2016). The country exported $10.288 billion worth of services during the period, while the figure was planed to hit $14.081 billion, Irans Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) reported. Irans service exports registered a rise by 2 percent compared to the same period of preceding year (March 20-Dec. 20, 2015). Tourism sector revenues stood at $6.24 billion, while the country exported $2.083 billion worth of technical and engineering services in the nine-month term. The countrys revenues through road transportation and transit stood at $1.446 billion, followed by air transportation ($235 million), marine ($92 million) and railway ($57 million) transportation. The IT sector services export hit $135 million during the nine-month period. Iran is expected to export $18.775 billion worth of services during the current fiscal year (started March 20, 2016), according to the report. The value of the services provided to other countries is planned to reach $30 billion by 2021, Mojtaba Khosrotaj, head of the TPO, said last year. The value of Irans annual technical and engineering exports stood at $2.257 billion during the fiscal year to March 2016, 154 percent more year-on-year. Tourism and transportation revenues stood at $8.5 billion and $2.784 billion, respectively, during the same 12-month period. The first combined railway and financial budget of the Modi government did not have any major announcement to improve the travelling experience of the 75 lakh train commuters in Mumbai. The Indian Railways budget worth Rs1.31lakh crore was presented in the Parliament by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley as a part of the entire Union budget. In his speech, which spanned over an hour, Jaitley covered the railway-related budget components within a few minutes without mentioning suburban Mumbai. Unlike the past railway budgets, there was no announcement about introduction of new trains, surveys, projects or fund allocation for ongoing projects. Railway officials said that they would come to know about details included for the citys suburban section after reading the budgets fine print. A senior railway official said that the finance minister is expected to table the budget documents in the Parliament on February 3 and after which it would be made available to them too. How much money is allocated to the suburban trains in Mumbai will be revealed only when the pink book (railway revenue and expenditure book) is presented in the Parliament, said the official. According to him, the station redevelopment project that railway minister Suresh Prabhu had announced last year is expected to gain momentum as Jaitley said that tenders would be awarded for the redevelopment of 25 stations during 2017-18. Officials from both Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) said that they are ready to float tenders within 10 days for their stations redevelopment. Documents for redeveloping stations is finalised and will be uploaded soon. Then offers will be invited within a week or so, said CRs general manager DK Sharma. Under the scheme, CR wants to redevelop Thane, LTT and Pune while WRs list contains Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Borivali and Indore. Also, WR general manager GC Agarwal said that they are likely to induct two prototype Medha trains built as part of the Made in India initiative within a month, as the trains have already received all clearances from the chief commissioner railway safety (CCRS). Depending on the performance of these two rakes in suburban sections the further decision of whether to procure more such trains or not, will be taken, said Agarwal. However, expressing disappointment, commuter activists said that the budget lacked vision for the citys lifeline. This budget has no clarity and there is nothing to offer to the city. There is no road map as how to improve the suburban operations, said Kailash Verma, zonal railway users consultative committee member (WR). Another commuter activist Rajeev Singhal said, Over 3,000 people die on the tracks in a year but no attention has been paid to the matter in the budget. It shows the governments insensitivity to Mumbai. Also read: Budget 2017: Here are four takeaways for you and me SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Officers from Kalachowkie police station arrested a 32-year-old woman for murdering her two children by spiking their cold drinks with rat poison. She then tried to commit suicide by consuming the same drink, but survived. Police officers said Sushma Chile was arrested on Tuesday, 20 days after she was discharged from the hospital on January 10. A resident of Jeejamata Nagar in Parel, Sushma had poisoned her daughter Tanuja, 14, and son Anuj, 9, on November 29. Tanuja died on December 3 followed by Anuj on December 7. Both children succumbed to multiple organ failure. While the police had initially registered an accidental death report (ADR), Sushma was booked for murder after the childrens autopsy report revealed presence of rat poison in their digestive system . An officer from Kalachowkie police station said, After the children returned home from school, around 1pm on November 29, Sushma asked them to study. But the kids refused to obey and this infuriated her. In a fit of rage, she gave them cold drinks spiked with rat poison. During investigation, Sushma said the children were unruly and always disobeyed her. Hence, she decided to take the step. Even the mother [Sushma] consumed the poisoned cold drink. Around 6pm, Tanuja complained of stomachache to her father Sanjay. However, he pacified her by saying that it must be due to overeating. Later, Tanuja and Anuj complained of severe stomachache. Upon inquiring what the kids had eaten for lunch, Sushma told Sanjay that she had given them poisoned cold drinks and had consumed it herself, the officer said . Sanjay then rushed all three to KEM hospital. However, both the children died following which Kalachowkie police were informed. Sushma, who was still undergoing treatment, was arrested following her discharge on January 10. Senior inspector Dilip Ughle from Kalachowkie police station said, Statements of the woman and the two kids, before they died, were recorded. We arrested the mother after receiving the autopsy report . She has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Also read: Jilted lover gets brother to inject poison into beloveds husband SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The new Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the demonetization move in an election rally at the Muslim dominated area of Masuri in Ghaziabad. He also accused the BJP of copying SPs manifesto for the 2017 assembly elections. The area was in the limelight in September 2012, when a mob had torched the Masuri police station after finding abusive words scribbled on pages of their religious book near the railway tracks. Six were killed in the incident. They (BJP) have shown a dangerous path to people. They have not undertaken any important work in the last three years. The only big move was the scrapping of 500, 1,000 notes. Those who earned money honestly and through hard work died when they went to withdraw their money. Only the SP helped them and gave their families 2 lakh compensation, Akhilesh said. He also questioned the amount of black money that was retrieved and said that the poor, daily wage workers and youngsters do not know much about black money. It (demonetization) only pained people. There were many who lost their jobs and labourers returned home without work. The effect will be seen in one-two years. They (the BJP) have brought the countrys economy to a standstill, he said. He also accused the BJP of copying the SPs manifesto, which includes pre-poll promises of 24-hour electricity, free education to girls and free laptop distribution. The BJP has released its manifesto with similar promises to youngsters, farmers, women, girls, industries. You should be cautious with those who talk to you about Mann ki Baat. They (BJP) prepared their manifesto, not with their heart but just to woo voters. The BJP and its allies want to divide the society and they will be finished this election. This election will also change the national scenario, Akhilesh said. Akhilesh also attacked the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for spending lavishly on statues. He also cited instances of BJP and BSP alliance and said that the BSP could not win a single vote in the 2014 general elections. He said that the BSP cadres played vote bank politics to help the BJP, which won 71 Lok Sabha seats. SP won five and Congress, two. This time, the SP-Congress alliance is in direct contest with the BSP to garner votes from minorities. The BSPs strategy, on the other hand, is to gather as much minority votes along with its traditional vote bank. A couple of days ago, in Ghaziabad, BJPs Yogi Adityanath had accused other parties, including the SP and Congress, of indulging in vote bank politics with regard to minority communities. Our alliance (with the Congress) is not a matter of one-two days. We are both committed to beating BJP and its allies. They are afraid of the SP-Congress alliance. So, this election is vital and will change the political scenario of the state and the country, Akhilesh said. A major setback for Akhilesh has been the lack of support from Mulayam Singh Yadav, who refused to support the alliance with Congress. His uncle Shiv Pal also announced that he will float a new party. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The matriculation and intermediate examinations in February-March this year will put to test the efficacy of digital practices put in place by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) to minimize the errors and rid the examinations of unfair practices. More than 30 lakh students are expected to appear in the two examinations. The BSEB has introduced a series of corrective measures since its credibility took a hit when interviews last May by TV news channels of persons declared toppers in various streams of its intermediate examination did not possess even basic knowledge of subjects in which they had topped. It was also revealed that 222 rank holders belonged to one college. Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor, who took charge of BSEB after the scam surfaced, embarked on a digitalisation drive, the efficacy of which was successfully tested in the compartmental examinations of 2016, in which the results were declared in a record time of one month. Said BSEB chairman Kishor: We have introduced changes to make the processes free of errors and unfair practices. The board is fully prepared to face the challenges ahead. If all goes well, the BSEB will become the first board in the country to have everything go digital, from registration, form filling, evaluation and declaration of results. The BSEB has introduced online form filling to replace manual, hard copy filling through schools, which saves time and minimises errors. Other measures introduced include:- Pre & post exam software: These have been developed to shift several examination-related works from manual to computers. This came into force from the compartmental examinations held in November 2016. OMR sheet: The board has introduced barcode in answer sheets and OMR sheets on top of it. Earlier, copies sent to evaluation centres bore roll numbers and roll codes, which left scope for malpractices. Now, the OMR sheet, which has two parts, contains name of the examinees and roll numbers, at the left while the right side remains blank, so that copies cannot be identified. Chief secrecy officer: The BSEB has nominated an ADM rank officer as chief secrecy officer in each district. S/He appoints secrecy officers to oversee barcode related work of the answersheets. After completion of the bar-coding process, secrecy officers tear the OMR sheet into two halves and send them to the board office in separate packets. Digital scanning: The BSEB has stopped physical movement of answersheets for evaluation. It has copies and flying slips (half portion of the OMR sheet) scanned through high-speed scanners at the board office, as tried during compartmental examinations. Digital marking: Under this, scanned copies were uploaded on 2,000 computers in 25 districts for evaluation. Prior to this, teachers were given training on digital marking system. The new system ended the possibility of error in totaling of marks. Online verification: The BSEB has changed the format of marksheet and certificate, adding security features like M-sign (digital signature) and QR (quick response) code, so that any one from any part of the globe can verify their originality through internet. Digital locker: The board has linked registration and form filling up with examinees Aadhaar cards. Though this is optional till now, the BSEB has also provided facility to students to transfer their marksheets, provisional certificates, final certificates and transfer certificates to digital locker free of cost. It will enable students to keep their valuable documents safe in digital locker and allow them to be accessed from any part of the world through internet. Affiliations gone: The BSEB has also cancelled affiliation of 147 schools/colleges for not fulfilling the affiliation criteria. Some of the colleges were running in only one room. TOPPERS SCAM CHRONOLOGY May 10, 2016: BSEB declares Inter Science result. 67.06% students pass. Some of the students who qualified for IIT-JEE fail to clear the hurdle. May 11: Students hold demonstration opposite board office, alleging irregularities in answersheet evaluation. May 28: Inter arts results out with 56.73% pass. May 31: Scam surfaces when inter toppers TV interviews show they know little about subjects they had topped in. Scam picked up by social media. June 1: Revelation that 222 students of Vishun Roy College figure in toppers list; probe shows same handwriting in many answersheets. June 2: Board withholds the result of arts topper and orders re-evaluation. June 3: Toppers called to appear in a test in board office. Ruby does not turn up. June 4: Board cancels the results of arts and science toppers and also cancels the affiliation of Vishun Roy College. June 5: Chief minister Nitish Kumar says FIRs will be lodged and criminal cases filed against culprits. June 6: An FIR is lodged at Kotwali police station in Patna and a special investigation team is formed under the leadership of senior superintendent of police-Patna. June 7: The police call then board chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh for questioning and also seize his laptop. June 8: Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh sacked and Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor given additional charge as new BSEB chief. June 9: Police lodge FIRs against Lalkeshwar, Bachcha Roy of Vishun Roy College and seal it. June 10: Vaishali district education officer taken into custody and five accused sent to jail. June 11: Police arrest Bachcha Roy June 12: FIR lodged against Usha Sinha, a former MLA and wife of Lalkeshwar, for her alleged involvement in the scam. Bachcha Roy and two others sent to jail. Chief minister announces operation clean. June 13: 24 bank accounts of Bachcha Roy frozen. June 15: Look notice for Lalkeshwar, Usha. June 16: Bachcha house raided, Rs 20 lakh cash, gold and silver ornaments seized. June 19: RBBM College principal Shakuntala and Meera Jha arrested. June 20: Lalkeshwar, Usha arrested in Varanasi. June 21: Lalkeshwar, Usha, five others sent to jail. June 22: Couple taken on remand; Magadh varsity ex-VC Arun Kumars residence raided. June 25: Arts topper appears at BSEB aptitude test, arrested. Arrest warrants against three other toppers. June 26: Arts topper sent to jail instead of remand home despite being minor. Board ex-secretary Harihar Nath Jha arrested. December 9: Usha Singh gets bail from court. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON After the largest such seizure ahead of the Punjab assembly elections 19,300 boxes (1.7 lakh litres) of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) from his farmhouse in Ramsara village near Abohar on Tuesday night, liquor magnate Shiv Lal Doda is yet again in the spotlight. Behind bars on charges of conspiracy for murder of 27-year-old Dalit man Bhim Sain Tank in 2015, Doda is backing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Arun Narang from Abohar segment. This comes less than a week after 10,000 boxes of liquor were seized from two godowns in Bathinda district. On a tip-off, a police team led by Davinder Kumar, station house officer of Bahawala, raided the farmhouse, 7 km from Abohar and 32 km from district headquarters Fazilka, around midnight and seized 20 trucks loaded with the boxes inside and just outside it. Five men were arrested and presented on Wednesday before a local court that sent them to two days police remand. Booked under the Excise Act, the five were identified as Parshotam of Dera Bassi (SAS Nagar), Harinder Pal and Naresh Kumar of Abohar, Robin from Hardoi district (UP), and Shahid of Saharanpur (UP). Doda, who owed allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) SAD and was also considered close to some leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had finished second as an independent candidate in 2012 against Sunil Jakhar of the Congress. This time, he filed papers again and was later unable to technically withdraw his nomination because he is lodged in the Amritsar jail. But he has announced support to the BJP candidate. He was shifted from the Fazilka prison only last month after his supporters including SAD circle president Ashok Ahuja were found inside the jail holding an illegal meeting with him ahead of his plans to contest the polls. Jakhar was quick to point out how it is ironical that despite so many checkpoints of the state police with assistance of paramilitary forces, liquor in such a huge quantity reached Abohar. When contacted, Ketan Baliram Patil, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Fazilka, acknowledged the seizure but expressed inability to reveal further information: The matter is under investigation. In a shocking incident in Chandigarh, a lady was stabbed outside her house after a failed attempt to snatch her gold chain, late Tuesday night in Milk Colony, Dhanas. Victim was identified as Jasbir Kaur (60), a teacher at government school Sector 23, Chandigarh and has suffered 16 stitches on her right thigh. The victim, Jasbir Kaur. (HT Photo) Talking to HT, the victim said that she came out to retrieve some important documents from a car parked opposite her house. As she was about to enter the house, unidentified miscreant held her from rear and covered her mouth. She added that when she resisted, he stabbed her twice. The miscreant fled from the spot following which victim was rushed to GMSH-16. A case was registered at Sarangpur police station. Politics is a dirty game, it is said. Nobody will believe in this epithet more than families of three boys who succumbed to their injuries at a hospital here on Wednesday, a day after being injured in the bomb blast at Maur in Bathinda district. The boys aged 10, 13 and 14 breathed their last at the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) on Wednesday, taking the toll to six. Three people had died in the blast on Tuesday. They have been identified as 10-year-old Ripandeep Singh, 13-year-old Saurabh Singla and 14-year-old Japsimran, all of whom had suffered severe burns. The only sons of their parents, the three victims were in the narrow lane MC Wali Gali near their houses at the time of the blast. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the hospital here as the bodies were handed over to the families. Saurabhs father runs a kiryana store in the area, Ripandeeps father runs an auto spare parts shop and Japsimran is the son of a former soldier who was killed in an accidental firing years ago. Also Read | Maur twin blasts targeted terrorist attack, says DGP Japsimran was watching the rally from a distance when the blast took off. On fire, he ran towards his house and we poured water and clothes over him. We took him to a hospital in Ludhiana, where he died, said his aunt Balpreet Kaur. We have no political affiliations but this election just took away our kid, she said . The mother of Ripandeep has not been informed about her sons death. Ripandeep was the only son, who was born after a gap of 10 years. His father served in the army and had had died years ago in an accidental firing, said his uncle Kala Singh. The children were chatting in the lane when we heard an explosion. We rushed outside and perceived it to be a LPG cylinder blast. But soon we realised it was something more grave. There were balls of fire and debris of damaged vehicles all around. Before we could make out what had happened, my 11- year- old son Ankush, bruised and clothes on fire, came rushing and collapsed, said Jaan Chand, who works at a school in Maur. Ankush, a Class 8 student, is battling for life in the ICU of DMCH here with 60% burns . Two other injured Jaskiran and Amrik Singh, both 26 are also being treated in the burns ICU of the same hospital. Also Read | Maur blasts: Survivors recall moment of horror Farm labourer Jaskiran was passing by the area when the blast took place. He had lost his parents some time ago in an accident and is being looked after by his relatives. With 70% burns, Jaskirans head and eyes have severe injuries, said a relative. Amrik runs an auto spare outlet shop near the blast site and also reside on the first floor of the shop. He was caught in the life-threatening range of the bomb, said Amriks relative Gagandeep. Daughters marriage on Feb 5, teacher battles for life Another injured, Darshan Singh, a teacher at Government High school in Maur, who is admitted to a hospital in Bathinda, suffers more than 50% burns. His daughter is scheduled to get married on February 5. He was so excited and busy in preparations, but destiny had something else in store, said one of his relatives. The death toll in the twin bomb blasts at Maur Mandi in Punjabs Bathinda rose to six on Wednesday even as the state director general of police (DGP) called it a targeted terrorist crime. Punjab DGP Suresh Arora told Hindustan Times that it was an organised terror act in which bombs were planted in a vehicle with fake number plate. However, the police probe has failed to make any headway a day after the explosion. They are still not sure of the type of explosive used in the blast. No individual or outfit has owned up the crime so far. Tuesdays blast was the second terror incident in poll-bound Punjab in the past three weeks. On January 14, Amit Sharma, a right-wing Hindu leader, was shot dead in Ludhiana by unidentified gunmen. In his briefings to the Election Commission, Arora had flagged credible intelligence reports suggesting that certain foreign-based militant may stage a terror attack to create communal rift and chaos ahead of the polling day on February 4. Read More | Maur blasts: Amarinder says conspiracy against Cong, Sukhbir accuses AAP Meanwhile, the toll in the twin blasts rose to six as three children Japsimran Singh, 14, Ritamdeep Singh, 9, and Saurabh Singla, 13, died on Wednesday. Three persons Harpal Singh, Ashok Kumar, a beggar, and his daughter Barkha, 10 were killed on Tuesday in the explosion near the poll campaign venue of Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi. Harpal is Jassis personal assistant. Nine injured are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Bathinda and Ludhiana. The DGP, who visited the blast site earlier in the day, also said that two improvised explosive devices including a pressure cooker that did not explode were recovered. The state government has sent a report to the Union home ministry about the blasts and a team of NSG will arrive to help police in the probe. Read More | Probe Sukhbir Badals role in Bathinda blast: Arvind Kejriwal The blasts took place a few seconds after the Congress nominee Jassis vehicle crossed an abandoned car in which the explosive was placed. Though shrapnel hit Jassis vehicle, he escaped unhurt. Jassi is a close relative of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The religious leader has been provided Z-plus security because he is on the hit-list of Sikh extremists. The terror attack has vitiated the poll atmosphere in the poll-bound state, triggering an ugly war of words between top leaders of the frontline political parties. The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the opposition Congress have targeted the rookie Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for seeking support of the radicals ahead of the February 4 polling. Read More | Badals link forces behind Maur blast to AAP IEDs planted to inflict maximum casualty Police sources said the car in which the IEDs were planted was parked at a strategic location to inflict maximum casualty. The vehicle was parked between two trees, which means that the operator was positioned close by and used a remote to explode the device. We are trying to identify the driver of the car, they said. Forensic experts from the state department also examined the blast site this morning and collected samples of the half-burnt car. Police have registered a case under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the Explosives Act. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his ally Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday termed the Union budget a big disappointment with no roadmap for the states development. Kumar, who backed Centres move to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as part of a broader plan to curb black money, said finance minister Arun Jaitley did not announce anything new in his budget proposals for 2017-18. He said the budget was silent on how to take forward the second green revolution in Bihar and other eastern Indian states. Bihar has already launched its roadmap for development of agriculture sector, but nothing was offer to the state in the budget, he said. Kumar said BJP-led government at the Centre was only doing sloganeering without paying heed to ground realities. Lalu Prasad said the budget lacked any concrete scheme for the poor and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of retarding the countrys growth by undertaking faulty policies such as demonetisation of high-value currency. Read: Budget 2017: Jaitley bets on rural, infra spending to beat demonetisation blues JD (U) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Yadav said the governments move to clean up political system by restricting cash- donation limit to the political parties to Rs 2000 from a single source would not yield result unless people elect clean leaders. The government must first bring back tax and loan defaulters, who fled to foreign countries, he said. Bihar finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui flayed the Centre for going back on its promise of giving a special financial package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore to Bihar for the development of core sectors. The union budget reflected how the Centre is meting out step-motherly treatment to Bihar with the finance minister not even mentioning anything about the region in his budget speech, he said. The states key demands include a special package to tide over its economic backwardness, release of remaining Rs 5483 crore, out of Rs 11000 crore, under the backward region grant fund (BRGF) in 2017-18 fiscal, and changing the formula for devolutions of central taxes under the 14th finance commission. Read: Budget 2017: Jaitley halves income tax for those earning Rs 2.5L-Rs 5L Siddiqui said none of these had been addressed in the budget. It seems Bihar is now out of the cognitive world of the budget, with no mention of financial package or special category status demands of the state. It did not get even a token project like Jharkhand, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Even the railway component left Bihar completely high and dry for the first time, pointed out Shaibal Gupta, economist and founder member secretary of the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI). Read the full Budget 2017 coverage here Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.1 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The municipality of Swedens Karlshamn gave green light to the storage of pipes for Russian-initiated Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. It was decided to sign an agreement with the Dutch company Wasco Coatings Europe BV on the storage of pipes for Nord Stream 2 in Karlshamn harbor, according to the official website of Karlshamn municipality. The deal means that the port can recruit around 30 full-time employees during the period of the projects implementation. In December 2016, Sweden's strategic Baltic Sea island of Gotland turned down a Russian request to rent harbor space after the government warned it could harm the Scandinavian country's defense and political interests. In an 11-0 vote, Gotland's technical board declined Dec.15 to allow Russia's energy giant Gazprom to store pipes in the Slite harbor for Nord Stream 2. The Nord Stream 2 project envisages construction of two pipelines from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. The project plans to use the original Nord Stream pipeline for 86-percent of the route before branching off. The capacity of the Nord Stream 2 will reach 55 billion cubic meters - the same as the capacity of the Nord Stream project. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday termed the Budget 2017 as a vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and agenda of finance minister Arun Jaitley to transform, energise and clean India. Doing away with plan & non-plan classification of expenditure is a reform oriented towards optimal allocation of resources, she said in a tweet. I whole-heartedly support PM @Narendramodi jis vision & FM @Arunjaitley jis agenda to transform, energize and clean India - #TECIndia. Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) 1 February 2017 In another tweet, the CM said massive increase in capital expenditure would lead towards infra growth and, in turn, create more jobs for the youth. Massive increase in capital expenditure shall lead towards infra growth & in turn create more jobs for our Youth. #BudgetForBetterIndia Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) 1 February 2017 The Rajasthan industry also hailed the budget, saying it will boost employment, encourage infrastructure and increase transparency. Rajat Agarwal, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Rajasthan state council, termed the budget as excellent. He said the budget would give a boost to the MSME, infrastructure and affordable housing sectors. Sanjay Ghiya, a chartered accountant, welcomed the reduction in income tax by 5 per cent. Tax reduction by 5% from 30% to 25% is a good step, overall its a good budget, he said. The big announcement, he felt, was political reforms. Now, political parties cannot accept more than Rs 2,000 in cash and will have to file income tax returns, which have been made compulsory. On the finance ministers announcement of five special tourism zones, Khalid Khan, president of the Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators, hoped the desert state was also included. Every third tourist comes to Rajasthan and except for beaches, our state has all the attractions. Abhishek Mishra, director of Trimurti Colonisers, was happy with Jaitleys announcement of increasing the period of completion from three years to five years for affordable housing projects. The government targets houses for all by 2022. Rajasthan needs 25,000 houses and in such a situation, increasing the super built-up area from 30-60 sq metres to 60-90 sq metres is a good decision, he said. Prateem Tamboli, zonal director of Fortis Hospital Rajasthan, said the announcement to increase 5000 postgraduate seats was praiseworthy. There are very few specialists in rural areas and this will help get more specialists in villages. Announcing to eradicate tuberculosis by 2025 and leprosy by 2018 shows that we will be moving to developed country from developing country, he said. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the fourth budget of the Narendra Modi government has come but the BJP has still not succeeded in bringing achhe din as promised by the party. The fourth budget of the BJP government has come but the party has still not succeeded in bringing achhe din, Yadav said at an election rally in Sambhal. Attacking the BJP over demonetisation, Yadav said the move has caused a lot of inconvenience to the people and many of them died and no one helped them. Our government had given compensation of Rs 2 lakh to each of those who died in queues for withdrawing their own money, he said. Claiming that his partys alliance with the Congress will get majority, Yadav said that he would form the government again and the alliance will get over 300 seats in the assembly polls. Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday gave marginal relief to the countrys taxpayers in the 2017 budget but disappointed those who expected big breaks to cushion the demonetisation blow. Jaitleys biggest tax announcement was halving of the lowest rate of personal tax to 5% for annual incomes between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. This would reduce the tax liability of all persons below Rs 5 lakh income either to zero (with rebate) or 50% of their existing liability, said Jaitley. He left the exemption limit unchanged at Rs 2.5 lakh. With the reduction, those earning Rs 3 lakh will continue to be exempt from paying taxes, as the government provides Rs 5,000 rebate under the income tax act to all those earning up to Rs 5 lakh. As of now, the tax on Rs 3 lakh income is Rs 5,000 but after the rebate of Rs 5000 the effective tax is nil. With the reduction in the slab, all taxpayers earning more than Rs 5 lakh will get a benefit of Rs 12,500. While the taxation liability of people with income upto Rs 5 lakh is being reduced to half, all the other categories of tax payers in the subsequent slabs will also get a uniform benefit of Rs 12,500 per person, he said. But, those earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore will now have to pay a surcharge of 10%. The surcharge of 15% will continue for people with an income of Rs 1 crore and above. This is likely to give the exchequer an additional Rs 2,700 crore, Jaitley said. Fiscal prudence has prevailed over populism budget continues the agenda of growth for all and focus on global and India realities, Sonu Iyer, tax partner and people advisory services leader, EY India, said. Jaitley recognised the contribution of the salaried class to the tax revenues but didnt meet the expectation of standard deduction of tax payers, he said. Stressing on the need to widen the tax base, Jaitley said India was largely a tax non-compliant society. To simplify the procedure and encourage compliance, he announced a simple one-page form for individuals with taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh. Those with a taxable income of Rs 5 lakh and filing returns for the first time would be exempt from scrutiny in the first year unless there is specific information available with the (IT) department regarding his high value transaction, the minister said. In India only about 1% out of 1.25 billion people pay taxes. Among the 37 million individuals who filed tax returns in 2015-16, 9.9 million showed income below the exemption limit of Rs 2.5 lakh. Around two 19.5 million showed income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. While 5.2 million showed income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, and only 2.4 million declared income above Rs 10 lakh. Of the 7.6 million individual who declared income of above Rs 5 lakh, 5.6 million are the salaried class. The number of people showing income more than Rs 50 lakh in the country was only 172,000, Jaitley said. We can contrast this with the fact that in the last five years, more than 1.25 crore cars have been sold, and number of Indian citizens who flew abroad, either for business or tourism, is 2 crore in the year 2015, he said. The minister said data received post-demonetisation would be used to expand the tax base. After demonetisation, the preliminary analysis of data received in respect of deposits made by people in old currency presents a revealing picture. This data mining will help us immensely in expanding the tax net as well as increasing the revenues, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Congress demanded on Wednesday that the presentation of the Union budget be postponed by a day following the death of sitting Lok Sabha member and former minister E Ahamed. Congress Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI that several opposition parties, including the Janata Dal (United) and the Janata Dal (Secular), wanted the budget to be postponed. Usually, when a sitting member of a House dies, the House adjourns for the day after obituary references. Government sources say they are discussing all possible options with opposition parties and a final decision would be taken by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Read | E Ahameds death casts shadow over Budget 2017 presentation, Speaker to decide Kharge also alleged that the government had tried to delay the announcement of Ahamads death. Im going to Kerala to meet MPs to discuss how to raise this issue in the House, ANI quoted Kharge as saying. Government sources have said there is precedent for continuing with proceedings after obituary references. At least three factors make this years budget somewhat unusual. This is the first budget to have been presented a full month in advance, on the first rather than the last day in February. Secondly, there has been no separate rail budget this year, a tradition that went back to 1924, and this years rail budget was subsumed within the general budget. Finally, the budget comes in the aftermath of the demonetisation drive that brought about a serious break in the growth momentum. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley covered a very wide ground in his long budget speech in the Lok Sabha . There was a sense of purposive action on several fronts. Jaitley has focused specially on farmers, rural employment, poverty alleviation and infrastructure development. A large number of initiatives have been proposed. Like in the past years budget, the government has again stated its commitment to double farm incomes in five years time. The coverage under the crop insurance scheme is to be increased. The highest ever allocation of Rs 48,000 crore has been made for MGNREGA. All of these measures should be welcome, especially in a situation where there continues to be reports of considerable distress in the farm sector. Read: Budget 2017: Jaitley halves income tax for those earning Rs 2.5L-Rs 5L Coming to the tax proposals, the minister has proposed a tax cut for small and medium scale enterprises to 25%. This is expected to benefit 96% of the Indian SMSEs. Personal income tax rates in the Rs 2.5-5 lakh slab has been cut to 5%, but there is a surcharge of 10% for those with income between Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 1 crore. The 15% surcharge for those with incomes above Rs 1 crore remains. All of these measures indicate a degree of populism, and the only justification could be that it would help the bulk of the low end income tax assesses. It is also possible to argue that the smaller companies needed some relief in a setting where the performance of the industrial sector has been lacklustre in recent times. There had been a lot of hype before the budget for a lowering of personal income tax rates across the whole income range. Contrary to popular opinion, Indias personal income tax rates, with a 30% top marginal rate, are not particularly high by international standards. The top marginal tax rates in the US, UK and major European countries are higher. As is well-known from public finance theory, what one should aim for is moderation in tax rates and a widening of the base. From the figures of car purchases and foreign trips made by Indians last year as mentioned by the minister, one should expect much higher numbers of potential income tax assesses from the 3.7 crore we have at the moment. The need of the hour in the Indian context is base widening. It is therefore good that Jaitley has not pandered to any reduction in the top marginal tax rates. We now come to the overall growth picture. It is already apparent that the GDP growth rate would be less than the rate of 7.1% forecast earlier by the Central Statistical Organisation. The Economic Survey observes that the demonetisation measure could possibly reduce the 2016-17 growth rate by 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points compared to the baseline of 7%. This could take the present years growth rate to as low as 6.5%. Read: Budget 2017: Arun Jaitley announces sops for demonetisation-hit MSME Last years figure of 7.6% had placed India as the fastest growing major economy of the world. Why the prime minister should have dragged the economy onto the demonetisation path, bringing in its wake job losses and a serious slowdown of the economy must remain a deep conundrum. Both the Survey and the budget speech try to offer a rationalisation of the measure, but they lack conviction. The demonetisation measure was originally supposed to bring out the black income and counterfeit currency. It was soon found that this rationalisation was untenable, and the discourse was altered to argue for a cashless economy. There appears to be a delusional presumption that going cashless is inherently better than having a normal cash based economy. There is nothing in economic theory that suggests that having a cash economy is in any sense problematic. Adam Smith believed that the propensity to truck, barter and exchange is inherent in human nature. If cash facilitates this process there can be no case for discouraging its use. It is important to state here that budget making is a mammoth and complex exercise in which a huge amount of effort goes in by the varied arms of the government. A perusal of the Economic Survey reveals a substantial and commendable effort at analysing the key developmental issues confronting the Indian economy. There is, for example, an interesting analysis of internal migration in India using railway passenger data. It is shown that almost 9 million workers migrate each year in search of better job opportunities. The Survey also shows that there is a high level of internal trade in goods, and contrary to expectations, India trades more than China.There are major issues pertaining to poverty alleviation and expenditure on the social sector. Public expenditure on health continues to be a paltry 1.3% of GDP. The investment scenario in the private sector is weak and there is a major need for the government to step up public investment, particularly on rural infrastructure. At the end of the day it would be important to see how the budget is able to make a difference to the sagging industrial sector, and the alarmingly low rate of job creation. The budget appears to be weak on these issues. Pulin Nayak is a former professor of economics, Delhi School of Economics The views expressed are personal The 2017-18 budget laid emphasis on boosting rural infrastructure with more public spending in key areas like housing and electrification. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said these measures would enhance employment, a key concern of the government after demonetization slowed down the economy. The rural housing scheme, a revamped version of the UPAs Indira Awas Yojna, got more than Rs 9,000 crore than last years budget. The renewed emphasis comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his December 31 speech, increased the target of constructing rural houses by 33%. We propose to complete 1 crore houses by 2019 for the houseless and those living in kutcha houses. I have stepped up the allocation for Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin from Rs 15,000 crore to 23,000 crore, Jaitley said. Jaitley proposed increasing allocation to the rural electrification scheme, named after BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay by Rs 4,814 crore. We are well on our way to achieving 100% village electrification by May 1, 2018, he said. I have also proposed to increase the allocations for Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission for promotion of skill development and livelihood opportunities for people in rural areas to Rs 4,500 in 2017-18. The allocation for Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and credit support schemes has been increased more than 3 times, said Jaitley. The PMs rural road scheme under which 133 km roads were built daily in 2016-17, has been allocated Rs 19,000 crore. The government hopes that with the states contribution, a total fund of Rs 27,000 crore will be available for building roads to connect villages. We have also taken up the task of connecting habitations with more than 100 persons in left wing extremism affected Blocks. We have committed to complete the current target under PMGSY by 2019, Jaitley said. The government maintained that Modis Swachh Bharat Mission has made tremendous progress with sanitation coverage in rural India going up from 42% in October 2014 to 60%. Open defecation-free villages are now being given priority for piped water supply. We propose to provide safe drinking water to over 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations in the next four years. This will be a submission of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), Jaitley added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Andhra Pradeshs main opposition YSR Congress party said on Wednesday it was disappointed after the budget presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley did not mention the special financial package announced by the Centre. The Centre assured a special category status to the state during the passage of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act in February 2014. The Narendra Modi-led government, however, backtracked on its promise on technical grounds and instead, announced a special financial package last year. Many hoped the allocations would be announced in the budget this year. We were looking forward to allocations for the special package in the budget, without which it doesnt mean anything, YSR Congress MP V Vijay Sai Reddy said. The only mention Jaitley made about Andhra Pradesh in the budget was an exemption of capital gains tax on the first sale of plots allotted to farmers in the new capital region of Amaravati by the state government in return to the agriculture land they had surrendered under the land pooling system for constructions of the new capital. Under the land pooling system, the AP government acquired nearly 33,000 acre from farmers. In return, each farmer was allotted a residential plot of 1,000 square yards and a commercial plot ranging from 250 to 450 square yards. Read| What has the government done with the most important budget schemes? The government assured that the cost of the plots would go up manifold with the construction of the new capital. Since the sale of residential and commercial plots would invite capital gains tax, the farmers were worried that they might have to pay a heavy tax in case they wanted to make money by selling their plots. During Jaitleys recent visit to Vijayawada, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu took up the issue with him and he agreed to consider it. This will benefit 24,000 farmers who gave away their land voluntarily to the government for the capital. The entire credit goes to Naidu, state agriculture minister Prattipati Pulla Rao said. However, YSR Congress described it as yet another attempt to fool the farmers of Amaravati, who it says were coerced to surrender their lands for the capital. It is primarily an agriculture land and as such, any transaction of agriculture land is exempt from capital gains tax. This is being projected as a big boon to farmers. It is nothing but cheating, party legislator Reddy alleged. The creation of a separate railway zone for Visakhapatnam or Vijayawada was another major promise made by the Centre while announcing the special financial package. There is absolutely no mention of it in the budget, Reddy said. The only other promise fulfilled as part of the AP Reorganisation Act was the allocation of Rs 7 crore to the central university proposed to be set up at Anantapur in Rayalaseema region. Read| Budget 2017: Jaitley halves income tax for those earning Rs 2.5L-Rs 5L SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The union budget was very disappointing for minorities, Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Wednesday. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader said the budget looks hardly inspiring, with nothing worthwhile for any section the society and for every sector of the economy. The Hyderabad MP pointed out that though minorities account for 20% of the countrys population (24.17 crore out of 121.08 crore), they were allocated only Rs 4,515 crores in the budget which envisages total expenditure of Rs 21,46,735 crores. The outlay for minorities comes to just 0.21% though they account for 20% of the population, he said. Owaisi said that per capita outlay for minorities comes to only Rs 187 per capita, and there is an increase of only Rs 368 crore in the allocation for minorities over the previous year. He said though the AIMIM had demanded scrapping the Haj subsidy on chartered flights and instead allocating this money for the education of Muslim girls, this was not done. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Union budget on Wednesday, saying finance minister Arun Jaitleys proposals contained little for farmers or the youth. This is a budget of sher-o-shayari (poetry), there is nothing for farmers or the youth. We were expecting fireworks, instead got a damp squib, Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament. Gandhi asked whether Jaitley had unveiled any measures to check a spate of rail accidents and said any steps to clean up political funding would be supported by the Congress. The Congress is up against the BJP in elections in five states that start on Saturday. The budget numbers dont seem to add up, as there is huge expansion on government spending on schemes. The budget is rhetorical, but in actually creating jobs there is precious little, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said. Read | Budget 2017 a betrayal: SP ups ante against Modi-led NDA ahead of UP elections Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das termed Union budget 2017-18 a growth-oriented and pro-poor budget. Amid challenges, it is an encouraging budget aimed at strengthening rural India, said Das, who also holds the finance portfolio in the BJP-ruled state. State finance secretary Amit Khare said the budget proposals would give a boost to Jharkhands focused sectors such as rural development, agriculture and infrastructure growth, as they are aligned with the state budget proposals for fiscal 2017-18 tabled on January 23. Khare said the states health sector would improve with setting up of the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Deoghar, as proposed in the budget. We are happy that budget deficit has been kept under control. The states deficit is already under control below 3%, which will boost the economy, he added. Harishwar Dayal, director of Institute for Human Developments eastern regional centre, said, Best part of this budget is government has tried to identify issues that are proving to be hurdles in countrys growth and suggested measures to deal with the problems. He added, Salaried class people have been given tax relief and an attempt has also been made to include non-salaried people in the tax bracket. Focus on growth of small and medium scale industries is also visible in the budget, he said, adding, Tax relaxation for these industries will help ensuring growth. Jharkhand could be a major gainer, as growth opportunity of medium scale industry is high here. Dayal said, Overall the budget could be termed good and I would like to give eight marks out of ten. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.1 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Russian Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly, has ratified the agreement with Turkey on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project, RIA Novosti reported. State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly ratified the deal on Jan.20. Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement October 10 on the implementation of the Turkish Stream project. The agreement involves construction of two branches of the main gas pipeline under the Black Sea, the power of each branch being 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas. One branch is provided to supply gas directly to the Turkish market, the other for the supply of gas by transit through Turkey to Europe. The intergovernmental agreement also stipulates that these two offshore branches should be built by December 2019. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn The sudden death of sitting Lok Sabha member E Ahamed on Wednesday has created a situation where the Union budget presentation is caught between the rule book and Oppositions pressure. The House gets adjourned if a sitting member passes away. In this case, the member died while performing his duty as MP. He was in the Central Hall listening to the Presidents speech when he collapsed, said Md. Salim, CPI(M) leader, demanding that the budget be rescheduled. But senior officials in the Lok Sabha speakers office told HT that adjournment due to demise of a sitting member is only a convention and not a rule, which has to be strictly followed. Read | E Ahameds death casts shadow over Budget 2017 presentation, Speaker to decide Finance minister Arun Jaitley is set to place the budget at 11 am in Lok Sabha. He will later present the budget in Rajya Sabha. Earlier, even if former members died, the House would be adjourned for the day as a mark of respect. But when Somnath Chatterjee became the speaker, he decided that only if a sitting member dies, the days business will be closed, said a senior official. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee told HT, The members will have to decide what they want to do. Budget is a very solemn occasion but as a mark of respect to a very senior member of the House, there is no problem if it is presented on Thursday instead of Wednesday. Let the speaker decide. According to Chatterjee and Lok Sabha officials, this is the first time when a member has passed away on the day of the budget. Lok Sabha officials also point out that since there is no rule on obituary reference, the budget can be placed and then the House can be adjourned. Former Lok Sabha secretary general TK Vishwanathan told HT, This is a constitutional requirement. Since there are no rules, the budget can be placed and the House can be adjourned on an obituary reference on Ahamed. The presentation of the budget has already led to confrontation between the Opposition and the government. The Opposition even went to the Election Commission to stop the Modi administration from presenting an early budget as polls are due in five states, including Uttar Pradesh. Read | Union Budget 2017: Can Arun Jaitley balance populism and math? Here are top 5 things to expect SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Once upon a time, directors whose movies were rejected for the Indian Panorama of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) would screen their works in theatres outside the festival venue. Their shows would defiantly go on along with the festival screenings. Believe it or not, some of these movies were far better than the ones in the Panorama. One still remembers these rebel shows in cities like Thiruvananthapuram - where the travelling IFFI used to set up its camp before it got a permanent venue at Panaji in Goa. It now seems that some of the top cinema personalities in the UK have taken a leaf out of the India chapter, and are now planning to screen the Oscar nominated work, The Salesman, by the Iranian auteur, Asghar Farhadi, in London. He is one among those affected by the recent travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump. The London rebel show - as a mark of protest against Trumps ban on refugees and visitors from seven Islamic states (Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen) - is likely to take place on the very night the Academy Awards are announced in Los Angeles - which is February 26. The Salesman stars Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti. Actors and filmmakers -- including Julie Christie, Kevin Macdonald, Kiera Knightley and Terry Gilliam -- have sought the permission of the Duke of Westminster to screen The Salesman at Londons Grosvenor Square. The group also includes Oscar winners and nominees like Mike Leigh, Glen Close and Andrea Arnold. (Strangely, a brilliant work like I, Daniel Blake by Leigh on the cruel social security system in Britain was given a miss by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). The letter to the Duke quoted by The Guardian reads: As an open expression of peaceful civic protest at this critical time, we wish to screen Mr Farhadis movie in Grosvenor Square; directly opposite the United States embassy building. We believe it is our duty as members of the filmmaking community, in a city renowned for its values of tolerance, compassion and multiculturalism, to make an important public expression of protest to the United States Government that will resonate nationally and globally. The Academy has also been upset with the Trump order. A spokeswoman said: As supporters of moviemakers - and the human rights of all people - around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran, A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this years Oscar-nominated movie, The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin. American stars have also been quite livid. Michael Moore, whose documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, famously bashed President George Bush and won the Palm d Or at Cannes, tweeted: To our Muslim neighbours in the world: I & tens of millions of others are so very sorry. The majority of Americans did not vote 4 this man. (File) Asghar Farhadis film A Separation won an Oscar. (AP) In fact, Hollywood had never expected Trump to win. In a frank statement that actor George Clooney made during a press conference at Cannes last May, he said: There will not be a President Donald Trump. The Salesman is one of the five films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. The other four are Toni Erdmann from Germany, Land of Mine (Denmark), Swedish title A Man Called Ove and Australias Tanna. Indias Visaaranai by Vetrimaaran - an excellent take on police brutality on hapless migrant workers - missed the boat. It did not even make it to the first list of nine movies. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop An Afghan official says that a woman accused of adultery has been shot to death by insurgents in northeastern Badakhshan province. Ahmad Naweed Frotan, spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, said Wednesday that Amir Begum was killed by Taliban insurgents late Tuesday night in Yumgan district. He added that the insurgents accused Begum of having sexual relations with a man and killed her. Meanwhile one civilian was reportedly killed by a rocket fired by the insurgents in southern Helmand province. Ghulam Nabi Charkhi, head of the provincial counter-terrorism department, said three others, including a small child, were wounded in the attack in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. India and the enigmatic Tory Enoch Powell of rivers of blood fame figured prominently in the House of Commons as MPs sat until midnight on Tuesday to debate the bill authorising the Theresa May government to initiate the process of exiting the European Union. The bill is expected to be passed late on Wednesday evening, but the debate highlighted deep divisions among and within parties. It is later expected to face an even rougher ride in the House of Lords, where the ruling Conservatives do not have a majority. One of the most passionate speeches was by the veteran Conservative leader, Ken Clarke, who is opposed to the bill brought by his party's government. May has announced her intention to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to exit the EU by the end of March. Admitting to some cynicism, Clarke reiterated his long-held position that EU membership was good, and questioned the presumption that countries were lining up to initiate free trade after Britain leaves the EU. He regretted the situation the Conservative Party found itself in now. In a speech that saw the house breaking convention and applauding it, Clarke said: I feel the spirit of my former colleague, Enoch Powell I rather respected him, aside from one or two of his extreme views who was probably the best speaker for the Eurosceptic cause I ever heard in this House of Commons. If he were here, he would probably find it amazing that his party had become Eurosceptic and rather mildly anti-immigrant, in a very strange way, in 2016. Well, I am afraid that, on that issue, I have not followed it, and I do not intend to do so. Powells 1968 rivers of blood speech is considered the most controversial political address in contemporary Britain, delivered in Birmingham in the context of rising immigration from India and other Commonwealth countries. Debunking claims made during the campaign by the Brexit camp, Clarke said: Apparently, when we follow the rabbit down the hole, we will emerge in a wonderland where, suddenly, countries throughout the world are queuing up to give us trading advantages and access to their markets that we were never able to achieve as part of the European Union. Nice men like President (Donald) Trump and President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan are impatient to abandon their normal protectionism and give us access. Let me not be too cynical; I hope that that is right. I do want the best outcome for the United Kingdom from this process. No doubt somewhere a hatter is holding a tea party with a dormouse in the teapot. Clarke, who held several cabinet positions in Conservative governments over the years, recalled that his political career coincided with British involvement with the EU. I started over 50 years ago, supporting Harold Macmillans application to join. I helped to get the majority cross-party vote for the European Communities Act 1972, before we joined in 1973, and it looks like my last Parliament is going to be the Parliament in which we leave, but I do not look back with any regret, he said. Mentioning India, MPs such as Margeret Beckett and Emma Reynolds recalled that during Mays recent visit, Indian interlocutors were keener to talk about visa and immigration than free trade. The government was wrong to assume that free trade deals are only about trade, Reynolds said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON US President Donald Trump as a dinosaur with a concrete wall for a tail and Trump as a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan with the slogan The Un-Islamic State of America -- are among the cartoons posted by Middle East artists on social media in protest against the US administrations visa ban on seven Muslim major countries. Expressing their anger against Trumps visa ban on Muslim countries, many artists depicted him as a leader who discriminates against people on racial and regional basis, Dunya News reported on Wednesday. The artists in their cartoons suggested that Trump was exploiting the people having Islamic beliefs. A toon tweeted by Emad Hajjaj Cartoons depicts Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as driving a tank towards the disputed Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem towing the US embassy in Tel Aviv with Trump sitting atop it, and controlling the start-and stop-lever -- in a reference to the controversial proposal to shift the US embassy to Jerusalem. They tweeted political cartoons showing links between Trump and freemasonry, not to mention his unpopular urge to form wall between the United States and Mexico, it said, adding that the cartoonists left no stone unturned to displease the American President. Read: Donald Trumps travel ban: Cartoons supporting refugees flood social media Another cartoon shows Trump, with his blonde mane shaped like a gun -pointing at the world. Irans President Hassan Rouhani dismissed his US counterpart Donald Trump as a political novice on Wednesday, stepping up criticism of the Republicans immigration policies including a temporary travel ban on Iranians. Tehran has already said it will take legal, political and reciprocal measures in response to Trumps order suspending the entry of people from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. Rouhani turned the focus on Trump himself in a live address on state television, saying: He (Trump) is new to politics. He has been in a different world. Its a totally new environment to him. It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world, added Rouhani, who led a rapprochement with Washington under Trumps predecessor Barack Obama. Read: Iran says will respond in kind to Trumps insulting ban Trumps has said his travel order, signed on Friday, is needed to protect national security. He has also promised a sharp shift in policy on Iran, calling the nuclear pact that Tehran signed with Washington and other world powers the worst deal ever negotiated. The renewed impasse may further weaken Rouhanis efforts to attract foreign investors to Iran, particularly if it slows the implementation of the deals for 80 Boeing jets and 100 Airbus struck last year. Today is not a time for separating nations by walls, Rouhani said, in an apparent reference to Trumps promise to build a barrier along the US border with Mexico. Read: Trump, Saudi king back rigorously enforcing Iran nuclear deal Opposition to President Donald Trumps immigration moves spread inside the United States on Tuesday, with Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington state joining others suing the administration over the travel ban. France vowed on Monday to defend Irans nuclear deal, strengthen trade ties with Tehran, and double the number of visas available to Iranians. US President Donald Trumps defense secretary is expected to underscore US security commitments to key allies South Korea and Japan on his debut trip to Asia this week as concerns mount over North Koreas missile program and tensions with China. The trip is the first for retired Marine General James Mattis since becoming Trumps Pentagon chief and is also the first foreign trip by any of Trumps cabinet secretaries. Officials say the fact that Mattis is first heading to Asia - as opposed to perhaps visiting troops in Iraq or Afghanistan - is meant to reaffirm ties with two Asian allies hosting nearly 80,000 American troops and the importance of the region overall. Read: Donald Trump, South Korea agree to strengthen defenses against North Korea That US reaffirmation could be critical after Trump appeared to question the cost of such US alliances during the election campaign. He also jolted the region by pulling Washington out of an Asia-Pacific trade deal that Japan had championed. Its a reassurance message, said one Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. This is for all of the people who were concerned during the campaign that then-candidate, now-president, Trump was skeptical of our alliances and was somehow going to retreat from our traditional leadership role in the region. Trump himself has spoken with the leaders of both Japan and South Korea in recent days and will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on February 10. Read: North Korea likely to launch mid-range missile: Seoul Mattis leaves the United States on February 1, heading first to Seoul before continuing to Tokyo on February 3. DEFENSE SPENDING Trump singled out both South Korea and Japan on the campaign trail, suggesting they were benefiting from the US security umbrella without sharing enough of the costs. In one 2016 television interview, Trump said of the 28,500 US troops deployed to South Korea: We get practically nothing compared to the cost of this. Why are we doing this? Mattis, in his confirmation hearing, appeared to play down those remarks, noting that there was a long history of US presidents and even defense secretaries calling on allies to pay their fair share of defense costs. But his visit to the region comes amid concerns North Korea may be readying to test a new ballistic missile, in what could be an early challenge for Trumps administration. Speaking with South Korean defense minister Han Min-koo ahead of his trip, Mattis reaffirmed a US commitment to defend the country and provide extended deterrence using the full range of US capabilities. Analysts expect Mattis to seek an update on South Koreas early moves to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which, once in place sometime in 2017, would defend against North Koreas nuclear and ballistic capabilities. Still, a South Korean military official played down expectations of any big announcements during the trip, saying Mattis first visit would likely be an ice-breaking session for both countries. In Tokyo, Mattis is to meet defense minister Tomomi Inada, who has repeatedly said Japan is bearing its fair share of the costs for US troops stationed there and has stressed that the alliance is good for both nations. Japans defense spending remains around 1 percent of GDP, far behind China, which is locked in a dispute with Japan over a group of East China Sea islets 220 km northeast of Taiwan known as the Senkakus in Tokyo and the Diaoyus in Beijing. The trip also comes amid growing concern about Chinas military moves in the South China Sea. Tension with Beijing escalated last week when Trumps White House vowed to defend international territories there. Read: Trump effect? War with the US has become practical reality, China army official China responded by saying it had irrefutable sovereignty over disputed islands in the strategic waterway. What US military people say is that considering the pace of Chinas military build-up such as anti-ship missiles and fighters, there are worries about Japans capabilities, said a senior Japanese defense ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Harvard Medical School professor Thomas Michel was so excited about recruiting Iranian researcher Soheil Saravi, he put Saravis name on the door of his Boston lab when his new hire got his visa. Then President Donald Trumps travel ban took effect, blocking Saravi from entering the US Its interesting. This is a door. Its open, Michel said on Tuesday. But he added this lament: He cant walk through the door into this country to walk into this laboratory. Trumps ban on people from Iran and six other predominantly Muslim countries has frustrated academics like Michel, who feel like they have been robbed of a brain trust. Boston and other US cities have long prided themselves on attracting the worlds best and brightest. Many have been immigrants, and over the past half-century, their work has contributed to numerous Nobel Prizes. But the ban and the legal tussles it has touched off have cloaked all that in uncertainty. Another Harvard researcher Soumya Raychaudhuri is impatiently awaiting the fate of a new hire Samira Asgari. Read: From a doctor to US military cook, Trumps immigration ban upends many lives Asgari, also Iranian, said last weekend that she was not allowed to board a flight in Switzerland bound for her new job in Boston because of the ban even though she already had been issued a J-1 visa allowing her to work in the US. Feeling safer? she tweeted. Its a major setback, Raychaudhuri said. She has expertise in infectious disease, as well as expertise in computational approaches. That combination is very rare. To find someone with that skill set is really a challenge. Saravi was to have worked on a research project examining the contractions of heart muscle cells and blood vessels. His chances and Asgaris prospects of being allowed to enter the US remained unclear. The Trump administration insists the order is necessary to keep potential terrorists out of the country until security procedures are improved. This is turning away the best and the brightest who want to come here, who see this as the land of opportunity, Michel said. America will become less great as a consequence of these policies. Im not a politician, Im a scientist. Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon, once considered front-runner to be the next South Korean president, ruled out a run for the job on Wednesday, saying he was disappointed at the selfish ways of some politicians and complaining of fake news. Ban told reporters at parliament, after meeting conservative party leaders, that he had been subject to malign slander akin to character assassination in the media and had given up his patriotic plan to lead political change. With all kinds of fake news, my intention for political change was nowhere to be seen and all that was left was grave scars to my family and myself, and to the honour of the UN, where I spent the past 10 years, he said. Read: North Korea mocks UN chief Ban Ki-Moon for hollow, silly presidential dreams South Korea has been gripped by political crisis for months amid a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. If the impeachment vote is upheld by the Constitutional Court, she will have to quit and an election would be held two months later. A ruling is expected as soon as late this month. Ban, 72, returned to South Korea on January 12 after serving for 10 years as UN secretary-general. He was unable to capitalise on his much-anticipated homecoming, cutting a sometimes-irritable figure in public and mired in a series of perceived PR gaffes and a scandal involving family members. The media leapt on a series of minor blunders, for instance when he took the airport express train instead of a limo on his return to South Korea, but didnt know how to buy a ticket. Read: South Korea ruling party to change its name as it seeks to dissociate from corruption scandal Two days later, Ban visited a care home where he fed porridge to an old woman. He was criticised for wearing a bib when the old woman was not - and for feeding someone lying flat on their back. Even without announcing his intention to run, his support ratings in opinion polls had slipped to second place behind the presidential candidate for the main opposition Democratic Party, Moon Jae-in, after peaking at nearly 30% last year. Ban had been expected to run as a conservative but was unable to secure any party affiliation. STILL HAS A ROLE TO PLAY Bans clean image and his international profile were dealt a blow with the indictment of his brother, Ban Ki-sang, and a nephew in the United States in a bribery scheme involving a Vietnamese development project. Bans announcement appeared to take the four main political parties aiming to field candidates by surprise, including Moons Democratic Party. I was looking forward to a good race, so it is disappointing, he told reporters. Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon bows during a news conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday. (Reuters photo) A poll or 1,147 people by R&Search released on Wednesday showed Bans support continuing to slip to 16.5% from 18% a week ago, compared to 35.2% for Moon, up from 34.8% a week ago. Bans decision could boost the chances of minor candidates such as Ahn Cheol-soo of the progressive Peoples Party, said Kim Jun-seok, a political science professor at Dongguk University in Seoul. There had been little to propel Bans chances for the presidency in the absence of a political base and the lack of a clear message after his return from New York, Kim said. He has hit a wall with nothing but his high profile as the UN secretary-general, Kim said. While his support ratings did not rise ... he kept making mistakes. And people felt that Ban should not be a president. Ban was South Koreas foreign minister from 2004 to 2006, helping to implement a policy of engagement with North Korea, before taking the top job at the United Nations. Four Democrat-ruled states have sued the Trump administration over the US Presidents controversial executive order, banning all refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the country. Trumps order suspends the entry of refugees from all over the world for 120 days indefinitely for those from Syria and to all citizens of Muslim-majority nations Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya for 90 days. The attorneys general of New York, Massachusetts and Virginia announced their lawsuits separately on Tuesday. Washington state was the first to start, launching its case in an announcement on Monday. The city of San Francisco has also sued the administration for a directive withholding federal money for cities that grant sanctuary to undocumented immigrants from deportation and other penal actions. Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey said the order was a violation of the Constitution and it discriminates against people because of their religion, it discriminates against people because of their country of origin. The order is also being opposed in a dissent note going around the US state department. It had gathered more than 1,000 signatures from personnel serving in the US and in diplomatic missions all around the world. And the President, who has been trying to defend the order in every way he can, tried one more time on Wednesday, arguing on Twitter, Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! The president has said the aim was to combat terrorism and keep out the bad dudes, but critics argue the order, apart from being un-American and discriminatory, could have the opposite effect, and fuel radicalisation and hostility against the US. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend: The second stage of development of Azerbaijan's largest Shah Deniz gas field is of fundamental importance for Georgia, said Georgias Deputy Energy Minister Mariam Valishvili in an interview with Business Time Georgia. One of the main issues in the development of Georgias energy market in the next few years is the launch of the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline as part of Shah Deniz 2 and construction of an underground gas storage facility, according to her. In response to the increased consumption [of gas], we already have a 10-year plan for infrastructure development. It is necessary to build a gas storage facility. Gas storage facilities allow flexibly regulating supply volumes, she said. According to the contract signed with the Shah Deniz consortium, there is a restriction, under which in case Georgia is unable to use the supplied gas, it will lose those gas volumes, and at the same time, we have no re-export opportunity. Valishvili added that in summer, when consumption is not high, Georgia will be able to accumulate these volumes in the gas storage facility and use them in peak season. Reserves of the Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. Shah Deniz Stage 2 will add a further 16 billion cubic meters per year of gas production to the approximately 9 billion cubic meters per year produced by Shah Deniz Stage 1. The gas will be exported to Georgia, Turkey and European markets through expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. Hillary Clinton has a lot of plans for 2017, including some reflections on her stunning loss to Donald Trump. The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is working on a collection of personal essays that will touch on the 2016 presidential campaign, Simon & Schuster told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The book, currently untitled, is scheduled for this fall and will be inspired by favourite quotations she has drawn upon. Clinton also will reissue her best-selling It Takes a Village in an illustrated edition for young people. She will also resume her relationship with the Harry Walker Agency, the speakers bureau through which she made the paid talks that were criticised by Senator Bernie Sanders and others during the election race. Israeli forces and West Bank settlers on Wednesday braced for the looming evacuation of an outpost whose slated destruction could rupture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus narrow coalition, dominated by ultranationalists who support settlements. The military issued eviction orders the day before telling residents to evacuate Amona within 48 hours and blocked roads leading to the outpost. It was unclear when that deadline expires. Thousands of soldiers and police gathered around Amona early Wednesday morning. A few dozen settlers set fire to tires at the entrance to the outpost and threw stones at Israeli forces. Israeli police and military had no immediate comment. Bilha Schwarts, 24, came along with her husband and nine-month-old daughter to support the residents. If they want it they can take it, we will not fight. We will leave but we will come back, she told The Associated Press On the hilltop, youngsters smashed tiles, gathered rusty metal bars and large rocks to erect makeshift barricades to slow the advance of forces when the evacuation begins. Media showed footage of activists gathered in homes, singing religious songs and dancing. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that as part of the dialogue with residents ahead of the evacuation, one of the families handed over to officers a bag of stun grenades and other munitions of that caliber. She called on residents and settler leaders to exercise restraint. Channel 2 TV said some families began leaving at about 10:30 a.m. local time. Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected in the West Bank without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government. Israels Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Amona was built on private Palestinian land and must be demolished. It has set Feb. 8 as the final date for it to be destroyed. The outpost, built in the 1990s, stretches out over a rugged, grassy hilltop and looks out across the valley onto Palestinian villages. In 2006, Israeli police demolished nine homes at Amona, setting off clashes pitting settlers and their supporters against police and soldiers. Several dozen trailers have remained and the outpost has become a symbol for the settlement movement. About 50 families, some 250 people, live in Amona now. In recent weeks dozens of supporters have arrived to face off against Israeli forces. Residents have said they plan to resist their evacuation peacefully. This is a dark day for us, for Zionism, for the state and for the great vision of the Jewish people returning to its homeland, Avichay Buaron, a spokesman for Amona, told Channel 2 TV. The fate of Amona has threatened to destabilize Netanyahus narrow coalition that includes the pro-settler party Jewish Home and other hardliners. Netanyahu has struggled to find a balance between appeasing his settler constituents and respecting Israels Supreme Court, which has drawn the ire of hard-liners by ruling against the settlers. Bezalel Smotrich, a lawmaker from the Jewish Home party, was one of several politicians who went to Amona to show support. There is a great pain, a huge disappointment. They are uprooting a community in Israel. It is a terrible thing, he told Channel 2 TV. While readying to evacuate Amona, Israel announced plans to build 3,000 homes in the West Bank late Tuesday. The Palestinians claim the territory along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as parts of a future independent state a position that has wide international backing. The election of Donald Trump, who has promised to be far more supportive of Israel than his predecessor, has emboldened Israels settlement movement. His campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, a cornerstone of two decades of international diplomacy in the region, and he has signalled that he will be far more tolerant of Israeli settlement construction. The Jamaat-ud-Dawah warned on Wednesday it will launch a nationwide protest if its chief Hafiz Saeed is not freed from house arrest even as some political parties accused the government bowing to pressure from the US to detain him. The JuD said its protest will begin on Friday after congregational prayers. It added that it will challenge the detention of Saeed and four other JuD leaders in the Lahore high court. The JuD and its partners in the Defa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) also said they would organise rallies across the country on February 5, which is observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day in Pakistan, on the instructions of Saeed. Saeed and his aides were placed in preventive detention on Monday night. Reports have suggested the governments decision was prompted by possible action against Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force for not doing enough to curb the financing of terror groups such as the JuD, declared a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba by the US and the UN. Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the Jamaat-e-Islami were among parties that condemned Saeeds detention, saying the PML-N government had given in to pressure from the US and western powers. Senior PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Saeeds house arrest was unwarranted because he did not pose a threat to anyone in Pakistan. DPC chief Samiul Haq claimed Saeed was detained to please India. Shortly before he was detained, Saeed told his supporters the order for his arrest was issued from Delhi and Washington. In a series of tweets late on Tuesday, Saeed said he was detained for his stance on Kashmir and that the Trump-Modi nexus had put great pressure on Pakistan. However, chief military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said Saeeds house arrest was the result of a policy decision taken in the national interest, suggesting a convergence between civilian and military authorities on the issue. A column in the influential Dawn newspaper noted that if any external pressure compelled Pakistan to place Saeed under house arrest, it was more likely to have come from Beijing than Washington. The piece argued that China has for long leaned on Pakistan to tackle terror more robustly, and its arguably gotten results. There was also speculation about the steps the JuD would take in the coming days. Senior journalist Mujibur Rehman Shami said the JuD was looking at re-branding itself and its front organisation, the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF). The work of FIF will continue. It cannot get entangled with the political agenda of the JuD, he said. Dismayed by the Trump administrations first days, former President Barack Obamas loyalists, former aides and even his spokesman are speaking out and even actively resisting the new American leader. Its a warning to President Donald Trump that his actions wont go unchallenged by those who occupied the White House before him. While it doesnt appear that anyone is coordinating the flurry of tweets, public statements and direct challenges to Trump, former Obama administration officials said theyre taking cues from their longtime boss. In his final weeks, Obama pledged to be an unobtrusive and deferential ex-president, but pointedly reserved the right to protest if Trump violated what Obama considered core American values. It took Trump barely a week to cross Obamas threshold, with an executive order cracking down on refugee admissions and a ban on travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. Obama, on a post-presidential vacation in California, broke his silence this week through a spokesman. Obama fundamentally disagrees with religious discrimination, the spokesman said. Obamas loyalists already were weighing in. His UN ambassador, Samantha Power, tweeted the day Trump was inaugurated: Raise your hand if youre ready to defend everything we have built together these last 8 years at home and abroad! A week later Obamas national security adviser, Susan Rice, called Trumps restructuring of the National Security Council stone cold crazy. Yet Obama, who polls showed had left office popular and trusted, had appeared more cautious about diluting his influence by quickly second-guessing Trump. Doing so could make it easier for Trump to dismiss critiques as predictable partisan nitpicking. And becoming the face of Trumps opposition could make it harder for the next generation of Democratic leaders to emerge. So Obama said nothing Monday when Trump fired his former appointee Sally Yates, who was serving as acting attorney general. He also wont opine on Trumps announcement of a Supreme Court nominee, former White House aides in touch with Obama said. Following his lead, Team Obama is applying what former aides call a Mitt Romney-John McCain test to Trump. If Trumps actions seem like something the former GOP presidential nominees might have done, Obama wont criticize. Actions outside the Republican mainstream are fair game. Dan Pfeiffer, Obamas senior White House adviser, and three other former aides have launched a podcast called Pod Save America, a kind of public group therapy session for despondent Obama loyalists. Their latest episode decried Trumps unconscionable Muslim ban and discussed Trumps Supreme Court deliberations with a former White House lawyer. The Trump administration says the travel order doesnt target Muslims, and focuses on terrorism-prone countries. The perspective we bring is as people who have sat in those offices and understand the seriousness and the decisions that cross the presidents desk, and we are deeply concerned about what is happening, Pfeiffer said in an interview. Denunciations reached a fever pitch after Trumps order on refugees and travel to the U.S by people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Obamas former national security spokesman, Ned Price, said the Trump administrations claim that it only affected a minority of travellers was absurd and un-American. Price added: Nearly every racist & xenophobic movement in history could be said 2 target a minor portion of a population. When Trumps White House claimed Obama, too, temporarily banned Iraqi refugees, the ex-presidents deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes shot back: This is a lie. Obama loyalists said the expressions of opposition arent part of an organized campaign. They reported being energized by a series of group text messages, Facebook groups and email chains in which some of the thousands of one-time Obama staffers are sharing their dismay. One notably silent figure: Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to criticize Trump since leaving office. An aide said Biden planned to speak out on matters he cares most about, such as foreign policy and womens issues. The aide wasnt authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity. A few who served in Obamas administration have registered objections formally. Hundreds of diplomats signed a memo to State Department leadership this week criticizing Trumps immigration order, defying a White House warning that they should get with the program or resign. The move was striking because the diplomatic corps is comprised mostly of career diplomats who serve presidents of both parties. It was Yates, Obamas deputy attorney general, who mounted the boldest act of resistance. She directed the Justice Department to stop defending Trumps immigration order in court. Trump had elevated Yates to acting attorney general until his own nominee could be confirmed. After her protest, Trump quickly fired her and called her weak on immigration. Obamas own attorney general, Loretta Lynch, rushed to Yates defense. She called the decision to defy Trump courageous. Officials of Saarc states gathered in the Nepalese capital on Wednesday to discuss budget allocations for regional centres, raising hopes that the meeting could pave the way for the revival of the grouping which has been hit by India-Pakistan tensions. The Saarc process hit a snag after the summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad last November was indefinitely postponed when India expressed its inability to participate. Officials of the eight member states are participating in a two-day meeting of the Saarc Programming Committee to discuss the budget allocations for five regional centre and specialised bodies and their annual programmes. Though officials of the rank of joint secretary are participating in the meeting, it is expected to help ease tensions between India and Pakistan and lead to the resumption of the Saarc process, sources said. They added there was also hope that the meet will pave the way for more meetings at a higher level. One diplomat participating in the meeting told Hindustan Times that officials from India and Pakistan were very positive, accommodative and flexible on the first day. A call from the political level is very important to ease tensions and take forward the Saarc process, the diplomat added. After India announced in September that it was pulling out of the Islamabad summit in the wake of the cross-border terror attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka followed suit, leaving the fate of the bloc hanging in the balance. Pakistan then announced the postponement of the summit, throwing Nepal, the current chair of Saarc, into a quandary. Earlier, the Programming Committee was supposed to meet ahead of the Saarc Summit. The Programming Committee is the lowest mechanism in Saarc after the Standing Committee, which comprises foreign secretaries, and Council of Ministers. The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State has boosted support for its Syrian allies, supplying armoured vehicles for the first time as they prepare for a new phase in their campaign to capture Raqqa, a spokesman for the militia said on Tuesday. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, is waging a campaign to capture Islamic States base of operations in Raqqa. A Kurdish military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the next phase of the Raqqa campaign would aim to seal off all remaining roads to the city, including the route to Deir al-Zor province, another IS stronghold. The SDF is likely to figure prominently in US President Donald Trumps strategy for fighting Islamic State in Syria, where the jihadist group still holds large areas of territory stretching to the Iraqi border. SDF spokesman Talal Silo said the delivery of the armoured vehicles marked a significant improvement in US support and attributed the change to the new administration. Trump says eradicating Islamic State will be one of his biggest priorities. Previously we didnt get support in this form, we would get light weapons and ammunition, Silo told Reuters. There are signs of full support from the new American leadership -- more than before -- for our forces. A Pentagon spokesman said the vehicles had been supplied to the Syrian Arab Coalition - part of the SDF - and would help it contend with the threat posed by improvised explosive devices used by Islamic State as they advance towards Raqqa. He said there had been no change of policy. The Department of Defense only provides training and materiel support to the Syrian Arab Coalition, Major Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway said in a statement. Euphrates dam still Islamic State hands The US strategy towards fighting Islamic State in Syria has generated tension with NATO ally Turkey, which views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group that has waged a three-decade insurgency in southeast Turkey. The YPG forms the military backbone of autonomous regions set up by Kurdish groups and their allies in northern Syria since the onset of the war in 2011. Trump, who pledged in his inaugural address to wipe Islamic State and like-minded groups from the face of the Earth, signed an executive order on Saturday asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days. Islamic State is being fought in Syria by three sets of enemies: the Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria, the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian-backed militia allies in central and eastern Syria, and the Turkish army and its Syrian rebel allies in a strip of land near the border. The SDF launched a campaign with the ultimate aim of capturing Raqqa in November. The first two phases focused on capturing areas to the north and west of Raqqa, part of a strategy to encircle the city. The Kurdish military source said the third phase would focus on capturing remaining areas, including the road between Raqqa city and Deir al-Zor. Cutting off Raqqa city from IS strongholds in Deir al-Zor would be a major blow against the group. The coming phase of the campaign aims to isolate Raqqa completely, said the Kurdish military source, who declined to be named. Accomplishing this requires reaching the Raqqa-Deir al-Zor road, the source said. It will be difficult because Raqqa is not a place Daesh will easily give up, said the source, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Silo of the SDF said preparations were underway for new action starting in a few days, but gave no further details. SDF forces had advanced to within 1 km (half a mile) of the Islamic State-held Euphrates Dam to the west of Raqqa, but have yet to capture it, Silo said, adding that air power could not be used there in case the dam was damaged. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war, said the SDFs progress near the dam had come to a halt due to IS resistance. Islamic State has been fighting hard in recent weeks to try to capture the last remaining pockets of Syrian government-held territory in Deir al-Zor city, prompting Russia to dispatch long-range bombers to repel its assault. A senior official in Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government blasted US television network Fox News on Tuesday for a false tweet claiming a Moroccan was the suspect in the Quebec mosque mass shooting. Kate Purchase, Trudeaus communications director, demanded that Fox News retract or fix the Twitter message, noting that police had released that suspect Monday after they determined he had not been an accomplice in Sundays attack. The Fox News tweet posted at midday Monday on Twitter contains false and misleading language relating to the identity of the suspect in the Quebec mosque terror attack, Purchase said in a letter to Fox News co-president Bill Shine obtained by AFP. Over the course of the day, this proved to be false information. In fact, the suspect was identified as a 27-year-old French Canadian -- not someone of Moroccan origin, she wrote. Sadly, this misleading information has been left to stand on the Fox News Channels twitter account and continued to circulate online even now. Amid the uproar, Fox News later deleted the tweet. Six people were killed in the attack at the Sainte-Foy mosque during evening prayers and eight were wounded. The suspect in the shooting spree, Alexandre Bissonnette, was arrested after surrendering to authorities. He was charged Monday with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder. These tweets by Fox News dishonour the memory of the six victims and their families by spreading misinformation, playing identity politics, and perpetuating fear and division within our communities, Purchase said in the letter. The Canadian government spokeswoman also appeared to criticize US President Donald Trump, who issued a controversial executive order temporarily halting refugee arrivals and blocking immigrants from seven Muslim nations as part of an effort to stop radical Islamic terrorism. We need to remain focused on keeping our communities safe and united instead of trying to build walls and scapegoat communities, Purchase said, noting that Muslims are the group most victimized by terrorist acts around the world. To paint terrorists with a broad brush that extends to all Muslims is not just ignorant -- it is irresponsible, she said. For all of these reasons, we ask that Fox News either retract or update the tweet to reflect the suspects actual identity. By 0030 GMT, the network had deleted the tweet, saying: we regret the error. Thank You, Purchase tweeted. We appreciate it. British Prime Minister Theresa May has told Parliament that her government will be publishing a White Paper on its Brexit strategy on Thursday. In response to a query by Conservative MP Maria Miller, May told the House of Commons, I can inform my Right Hon Friend and the House that White Paper will be published tomorrow. Her remarks came ahead of a vote by British MPs to approve the first stage of a bill empowering May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union. The government is expected to win, with most Conservative and Labour MPs set to back its European Union Bill. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faces a rebellion by some on his side, while the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats are also promising to oppose ministers. Speaking during Prime Ministers Questions, May confirmed the White Paper setting out her Brexit strategy would be published tomorrow. The official document, which will include a desire to secure the status of EU nationals in the UK and Britons abroad, is separate to the Brexit bill which will allow May to begin formal talks under trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. On Monday, politicians made impassioned speeches for and against the bill. Brexit Secretary David Davis said MPs had to implement a decision made by the people in last Junes referendum, which the Leave campaign won by 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent. Doing otherwise would be viewed dimly, he warned. Corbyn has imposed a three-line whip -- the strongest possible sanction -- on his MPs to back the bill. Two shadow ministers have quit Labours front bench in order to oppose the bill, while MPs Stephen Timms and Lyn Brown told the Commons they would also vote against it. If the vote goes the governments way, the bill will return to the Commons next week for the committee stage, when opposition parties will try to push through a series of amendments. The bill was published last week, after the Supreme Court decided MPs and peers must have a say before Article 50 could be triggered. It rejected the governments argument that May had sufficient powers to trigger Brexit without consulting Parliament. President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the US Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the courts conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the US Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obamas nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch is the youngest nominee to the nations highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. Announcing the selection at the White House flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuchs resume is as good as it gets. Trump said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous disciple, and has earned bipartisan support, Trump said. Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent, Trump added. Gorsuch is a judge on the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W Bush in 2006. Some Democrats in the US Senate, which votes on whether to confirm judicial nominees, have already said they would seek to block whoever Trump nominates. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. I respect ... the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws, Gorsuch said, as Trump looked on. It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the peoples representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official described Gorsuch as a mainstream judge who should easily be confirmed by the Senate. The official noted that the Senate confirmed him for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said that the Senate owes the American people a thorough and unsparing examination of this nomination, saying Trump outsourced this process to far-right interest groups. The liberal advocacy group People for the American Way immediately opposed the nomination, with its president, Michael Keegan, describing Gorsuch as an ideological warrior who puts his own right-wing politics above the Constitution. The administration official said the White House feels Gorsuch has the qualities that Democratic senators said they wanted to see in a justice during visits with senior Trump officials about filling the vacancy. He plays it straight. He sticks to principles, and his opinions reflect a consistency regardless of who is in his courtroom, the official said of Gorsuch. Trump made his choice between two US appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. Gorsuch became the youngest US Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. He is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the US Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagans administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPAs use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trumps selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on February 13, 2016. Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, got the opportunity to name Scalias replacement only because the Republican-led U.S. Senate, in an action with little precedent in US history, refused to consider Obamas nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the November 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasising the importance of the pick during the campaign. Trump last week said evangelical Christians would love his nominee. Trumps fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate. The minority Democrats, irate over Garlands rebuff, potentially could try to block the nomination with procedural hurdles. The new appointee would expand the courts conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Kennedy long has been considered the courts pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The courts restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalias replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch has strong academic qualifications, with an Ivy League education: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bushs Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many U.S. conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the courts longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixons presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the US Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Some Democrats have threatened to pursue a procedural hurdle called a filibuster, meaning 60 votes would be needed in the 100-seat Senate unless its long-standing rules are changed. Trumps fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick. Trump said last week he would favor Senate Republicans eliminating the filibuster, a change dubbed the nuclear option, for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. Trump during his presidency may get to make additional appointments to the Supreme Court. Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him a faker, is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. If any of those three is replaced by a Trump appointee, conservatives would be eager to bring cases challenging the Roe v. Wade ruling in the hope it would be overturned, long a goal for many Christian conservatives. Mexicans are replacing profile pictures on social media with their countrys flag. Others are calling for boycotts of American products like Coca-Cola and Starbucks. US President Donald Trumps vow to make Mexicans pay for a massive border wall has not only caused a diplomatic row, it has sparked patriotic fervour south of the border. On Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, people are using the hashtag #WeAreAllMexico, punctuating anti-Trump tweets with cries of Viva Mexico! and boasting that they live in the best country in the world. President Enrique Pena Nietos spokesman, his foreign and finance ministers, and government departments have made the countrys green, white and red flag their profile photo on Twitter. A slew of hashtags encourage Mexicans to stay away from American goods: #AdiosProductosGringos (goodbye gringo products), #AdiosStarbucks, #AdiosMcDonalds and #AdiosCocaCola. Telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, the worlds fourth richest man, called a rare news conference to express his great pleasure at the burst of national pride and support for the president, even though Pena Nietos economic reforms have chipped away at the billionaires telephone empire. This is the most surprising display of national unity that I have seen in my life, Slim said, urging Mexicans to support Pena Nietos negotiations with the US administration. Proud to be Mexican Pena Nieto, whose popularity fell to 12 percent earlier in January after protests erupted over an increase in gasoline prices, has seized on the renewed patriotic pride. In a video message late Monday, he touted this national unity and said it must be the cornerstone of our strategy and our actions inside and outside the country. He boasted: Today like never before, I feel proud to be Mexican. Pena Nieto vowed to be firm in his defense of Mexicos dignity and independence from the US government, though he said that his phone conversation with Trump on Friday opened spaces for the two governments to continue their dialogue. Jesus Velasco, an expert on US-Mexico relations at Tarleton State University in Texas, said that fixing ties will take a while because the damage has been done. Mexicans praised Pena Nieto for canceling a meeting with Trump in Washington scheduled for this week, after the US president ordered the construction of the wall and insisted that Mexico pay for it. Opposition leaders rallied behind Pena Nieto and even his longtime rival, two-time leftist presidential election runnerup Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, applauded the move. But Pena Nietos popularity appears to have had a limited bounce. An opinion poll published in the daily Excelsior on Tuesday showed his approval rating rising by a handful of points to 16 percent -- though the survey was conducted only among 400 Mexicans and had a five-point margin of error. Wrapped in flag Mexico tends to be a nationalist country when it is attacked from outside, said Damaso Morales, a foreign relations expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Throughout our history, we have wrapped ourselves in the flag and thrown ourselves into a nationalism that could even be irrational, Morales said. Morales was referring to the story -- some say legend -- of a cadet who draped himself with the Mexican flag and jumped to his death from the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City rather than live to see US forces grab it during a war in 1847. But Javier Oliva, a Mexican political and security expert at the London School of Economics, said Mexicos nationalism is merely reactive and does not pose a threat. One of the things that we have to thank Trump for is that the world now knows where Mexico is, Oliva said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR exported 99,035 tons of oil products in January 2017 as compared to 131,530 tons in January 2016, SOCAR said in a message Feb. 1. SOCAR exported 1.14 million tons of oil products in 2016 as compared to 1.23 million tons in 2015. Oil products are manufactured at Azerbaijans Heydar Aliyev Baku Oil Refinery, which is a part of SOCAR. A significant part of Azerbaijani oil products is exported to Georgia. Data on exported oil products: The White House said Tuesday that no American citizen will ever be targeted in raids against terror suspects, a blanket statement that appeared to signal a break from the Obama administrations strategy for pursuing and targeting suspects in counterterrorism operations overseas. Under former President Barack Obama, the Justice Department had issued a legal opinion giving the US the authority to target Americans who are working with terrorists abroad. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters the Trump administration will lean on the guidance of Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, but he added that no American citizen will ever be targeted. It was not immediately clear whether Spicers intended to recalibrate US policy. The US specifically targeted and killed American Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric, in Yemen in 2011. Other Americans, including suspected terrorists, have been killed in US drone strikes, but they were not specifically targeted. A US service member and an American child died in a ground raid authorized by President Donald Trump last week. The child was the 8-year-old daughter of al-Awlaki. Al-Awlakis 16-year-old American son was killed in a US drone strike in 2012. Sundays raid left nearly 30 others dead, including more than half a dozen militant suspects. Several more children were also killed. Whether the US should target its own citizens in drone strikes has been the subject of much debate. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump discussed going after the families of suspected terrorists, but he did not specify what that meant. The US has been striking al-Qaida in Yemen from the air for more than 15 years, mostly using drones. Sundays surprise pre-dawn raid could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in the poor but strategically located country. Last week, the Trump administration imposed an immigration and travel ban on people from seven countries, including Yemen, citing terrorism concerns. Obama said in 2013 that he did not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any US citizen with a drone, or with a shotgun without due process, nor should any President deploy armed drones over US soil. He added, however, that if that citizen wages war against America or is actively plotting to kill Americans, his citizenship should no more serve as a shield than a sniper shooting down on an innocent crowd. Later that same year, the Obama administration triggered a fiery debate on Capitol Hill over the limits of its drone program following the death of al-Awlakis teenage son, an American citizen. Sixteen-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, an American citizen at the time of the 2012 strike that killed him, hadnt seen his father in two years when he was killed. He had no known links to al-Qaida and is said to have lived the life of an ordinary teenage boy. Half Moon Bay, CA (94019) Today Cloudy with occasional light rain during the afternoon. High 59F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Elena Kosolapova Trend: Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) received request for pumping of 10.4 million tons of Kashagan oil in 2017, the consortium said in a message. Currently Kashagan oil is pumped to export by CPC pipeline system to Russian Novorosiysk port on the Black Sea and by Atyrau-Samara pipeline to Russian Ust Luga port in the Gulf of Finland. From these ports oil is exported to European countries by tankers. In the future when oil output volume at Kashagan increases, the project shareholders consider possibility of oil export by Atyrau Alashankou pipeline to China and by Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System to Baku and further by pipelines connecting Baku and Black sea ports. Kashagan is a large oil and gas field in Kazakhstan, located in the north of the Caspian Sea. Its total oil reserves amount to 38 billion barrels. Some 10 billion out of them are recoverable reserves. Kashagans natural gas reserve exceeds one trillion cubic meters. Oil production at Kashagan was launched in autumn 2016. The project participants are KMG Kashagan BV (16.88 percent), AGIP Caspian Sea BV (nearly 16.81 percent), CNPC Kazakhstan BV (8.33 percent), Exxon Mobil Kazakhstan Inc. (nearly 16.81 percent), INPEX North Caspian Sea Ltd. (nearly 16.81 percent), Shell Kazakhstan Development BV (nearly 16.81 percent), and Total E&P Kazakhstan (nearly 16.81 percent). The field is operated by North Caspian Operating Company BV (NCOC). Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home Four Seasons Resort Nevis welcomes the appointment of Max Loayza to Director of Food and Beverage of the Caribbean resort. Since taking on the position, Max has overseen the Resorts top-rated gourmet culinary program, focusing on fresh, locally sourced ingredients and creativity.Max grew up in Ecuador in a family of restaurateurs, where he learned marinades, grilling and restaurant management principles at a very early age. Max left Ecuador for Switzerland to attend Les Roches Hotel Management School and from there, his international career took off. Max has held positions at various hotels and resorts throughout the world including St. Barths, Doha, Shanghai, Mexico, Maldives, and the former Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma in the Bahamas, for which he trained on Nevis for that resorts opening as a young Food and Beverage Manager.Since his appointment, Loayza has helped develop the new beach bar called Kastawey, a relaxing and eclectic space that was inspired by the laid-back vibes of the Caribbean. At Kastawey, guests can enjoy delicious gourmet seafood inspired dishes and refreshing cocktails including the Kastawey Smash rum punch. For the 2017 Spring/Summer season LA brand Diamond Supply Co. decided to draw inspiration from the Vietnam war-time era, however this theme does not seem to carry itself throughout the rest of the collection. While many spring collections this year are featuring strong political messaging about banding together and uniting, like JoeFreshGoods Fuck Trump, or one of many Supreme shirts, or even Palaces Palestine, long sleeve logo tee, Diamond decided to follow the state of our country by going back in time. Diamonds spring/summer collection has one piece that stood out in particular, the South Pacific Tour, jacket states When I Die Bury Me Face Down So The Whole World Can Kiss My Ass, featuring a graphic of a skull with a snake intertwined. Dedicated to the war-time era and meant to be reminiscent of souvenir items, (wot?), the rest of the line doesnt really seem to tie into the Vietnam theme. From hoodies to trackpants, the rest of the line takes an activewear approach marked by Diamond League, and Hardware Heavy Weights, on a variety of pieces. Theres also a random graphic tee featuring Jimi Hendrix. Call me overly sensitive, but with the current state of America this collection could not have come at a worse time. What streetwear enthusiasts call a respectful salute to the war-torn past, is really incredibly distasteful and the same old crap Diamond has been trying to push for years. Just my two cents but start digging your grave Diamond Supply. You can find this collection at GoodWill locations near you. Let us know what you think below in the comments. Diamond Supply Co. In celebration of Black History Month, brands like Nike, Jordan, Adidas, Reebok and Under Armour will all be unveiling special edition Black History Month sneakers including exclusive pairs for their signature athletes. Today, Nike and Jordan Brand have officially unveiled their BHM Collections which include the LeBron 14, KD9 and Kyrie 3, as well as Serena Williams Nike Flare, an Air Force 1 Hi for men, an AF1 Upstep for women and special-edition Air Jordan 1s. Per Nike: Nikes annual Nike Black History Month collection has evolved from a single Nike Air Force 1 to an extensive product assortment. Over the past decade plus, the message has also evolved from a tribute to African-American athlete achievement to a wider celebration of Black heritage and the power of sport to fuel community action to create positive change. In that vein, the limited edition 2017 collection incorporates a decorative marbling blending black and white in reference to the strength of harmonious movement. Each design in the collection is also punctuated by gold accents, reminders of the power of coming together and the aspiration of unity. Jordan Brands trio of shoes, including the Air Jordan 1 with velcro patches, will launch February 11th. The 2017 Nike BHM collection releases February 16th at Nike.com and select retailers in North America. Check out each of the BHM sneakers in the gallery above, as well as some of the apparel pieces below. BHM Collection Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 1 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: The Central Commission for Election and Referenda of Turkmenistan has adopted a resolution according to which early voting at the countrys presidential election will start Feb. 2, 2017. The early voting will be carried out daily from 08:00 (GMT +5 hours) to 18:00. In accordance with the article 73 of the Electoral Code of Turkmenistan, those, who are unable to be at their place of residence on the election day, have the right for early voting at a polling station. Presidential election in Turkmenistan is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2017. Nine presidential candidates were officially registered in Turkmenistan. The Democratic Party nominated the incumbent head of state Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan nominated chairman of the Commercial Bank Rysgal, Bekmyrat Atalyev, and the Agrarian Party nominated chairman of the Mary province committee Durdygylych Orazov. Deputy Chairman of Turkmen state association of food industry Maksat Annanepesov, Deputy Head of the Mary province of Turkmenistan Jumanazar Annayev; Director of Seydi oil refinery, MP Ramazan Durdyyev; Deputy Head of Dashoguz district Meretdurdy Gurbanov; Head of the Economic Department of Akhal province Serdar Jelilov; Director General of Garabogazsulfat association Suleymannepes Nurnepesov and are among the candidates nominated by initiative groups of Turkmen citizens. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has been elected twice as the countrys president. During the presidential election in 2012, 97.4 percent of voters cast their ballots for Berdimuhamedov. Turkmen president is elected for a period of seven years, according to new amendments to the countrys Constitution. Blondie will release their first album in three years this May, wit new single 'Fun' being released today. Pollinator, which is out on May 5, has been co-written by the likes of Sia, Dev Hynes and Charli XCX, and features contributions from The Smith's Johnny Marr and Nick Valensi from The Strokes. The New York band recorded Pollinator in Manhattan's famous recording studio, The Magic Shop, where David Bowie also laid down his last two albums. Pollinator is the last album to be recorded there, after The Magic Shop closed in the wake of rising rents. The album is produced by John Congleton, known for his work with St. Vincent, War On Drugs and David Byrne, who said of working with Blondie: "Their agenda was the best agenda: they still love each other, they like playing music, so let's have fun. At the end of the day Blondie doesn't have anything to prove. My agenda was more dogmatic. I didn't wanna make a pastiche lifestyle record or a modern pop record that sounded like Blondie being influenced by what's happening now. I wanted Debbie to sing and sound like a woman who's older. I wanted to know what it's like to be Blondie at this age." Advertisement Pollinator will be the 11th studio album from the band, and the latest since Ghosts of Download in 2014. Listen to 'Fun' here: Colin Farrell is in talks to join Denzel Washington in the upcoming thriller Inner City. Washington plays a lawyer who is recruited by a firm run by Farrell's character. That's all we know about the plot so far. Inner City will begin filming in March, and comes from the filmmakers behind Nightcrawler, such as screenwriter Dan Gilroy. This should be yet another opportunity for Farrell to broaden his acting horizons. As Farrell himself told Hot Press back in November, "When I'm choosing roles, it's more fun when you change it up. It's more challenging, and it staves off any apathy that may creep in. I mean, this is an amazing job, but you can get apathetic about anything. So for me it's nice to play characters who are from different backgrounds." Advertisement Mary Robinson has joined the chorus of senior international voices condemning Donald Trumps ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East. Speaking on RTEs Morning Ireland, Mrs Robinson said that the ban causes global imbalance. Mrs Robinson, a member of the Elders - a group of international public figures brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007 to promote peace and human rights - said it is chilling that Mr Trump is delivering on his election rhetoric, saying his actions will not make the US safer. She also said that she feared the influence of Trump's chief strategist and former Editor of Brietbart, Steve Bannon. Mrs. Robinson refused to comment on on whether she thought it was right that the Taoiseach should travel to Washington for St Patrick's Day. Advertisement Enda Kenny will go ahead with the traditional 17 March visit to the White House, despite some political criticism. Asked whether Trump would pay heed to anything that anyone else had to say about him, Mrs. Robinson said: "He's a bit of a bully, and you have to stand up to bullies." Irish author Sebastian Barry made history last night by becoming the first ever writer to win the prestigious Costa Book of the Year award on two occasions. The Dublin-born author was announced the winner last night for his brilliant historical novel, 'Days Without End'. He also won the same award - which was previously known as the Whitbread Book Award, which was set-up to honour Irish and British authors - back in 2008 for his critically acclaimed novel, 'The Secret Scripture'. It was a great night for Irish writers, with Jess Kidd and Billy OCallaghan taking first and second place in the Costa Short Story Competition, and Irish-based author Brian Conaghan winning the 2016 Costa Childrens Book Award. Accepting the main award last night, Sebastian Barry said: "You nearly had the first instance of a posthumous winner - I got such a fright! "It's often said about the shortlists of prizes that any of them could have won, and I think the judges would agree on this occasion that any of these amazing, amazing books could have won - leaving aside my own!" On the night, Barry was competing against authors Francis Spufford, Keggie Carew, Brian Conaghan, and Alice Oswald. He added, "I do want to thank the judges; you've made me 'crazy happy' from the top of my head to my toes in a way that is a little bit improper at 61!" Sebastian Barry's latest novel was described by the award's judges as "a miracle of a book both epic and intimate that manages to create spaces for love and safety in the noise and chaos of history." After the award ceremony, Sebastian Barry told the BBC: "I was completely gobsmacked, if you're familiar with that good Irish word! There's a word I tried to get back into usage in the book which means 'the bee's knees' and it's the 'sockdolager'. That was the sockdolager of amazing outcomes, I have to say." He also revealed that he was inspired to write the book after his own son came out. "My beautiful and incredible son Toby, who came out when he was 16 in Ireland - in a rural part of Ireland - and has spent the last few years giving me a university training in what it means to be gay and has opened my eyes to this wondrous condition of being. "I thought in the book if I could go back to a time in America, despite the great maelstrom of the nation being born... If I could find this place where a man could love another lad and not be bothered with it by other people, and just have their lives and progress in their lives, then I was making a little secret prayer in the future where somebody as immaculate as my boy would never have to be bothered by prejudice or the comments of the ignorant. Because I did conclude it was a magnificent state of being. So in the book I'm trying to describe their love in a sort of unremarkable way, because it's a normal and natural part of being a human creature." He jokingly said that his son had taken "ages" to read the novel. Laughing, he added: "None of my children read my books! They just want me to be 'Stupid Old Dad', driving them 'round like a taxi man and buying them shoes when they need them! "And I understand all that but I did feel he should read it; he did read it and he said quietly to me a couple of months ago, 'Dad two things: first, you're not gay, but you're an ally'. And then he said, 'And I like your book'. Those three words [sic] were precious and wonderful to me." The Arts Council has congratulated the Wicklow-based author on his historic win, which includes a cash prize of 30,000. "Sebastian Barry is a writer of tremendous talent. Days Without End is as compelling as it is moving, as lyrical as it is inventive," commented the Arts Council Chairperson, Sheila Pratschke. Barrys commitment to the craft of writing has long been recognised in Ireland and abroad, and it is a thrill to see his latest novel win such acclaim. The Arts Council said it was also delighted that other Irish writers had done exceptionally well on the night too. "The Arts Council was also delighted to see Irish writers Jess Kidd and Billy OCallaghan taking first and second place in the Costa Short Story Competition, and Irish-based author Brian Conaghan winning the 2016 Costa Childrens Book Award. All further proof, as if it were needed, of the wealth of contemporary Irish writing talent," added Sheila Pratschke. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON - Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's confirmation as energy secretary cleared committee Tuesday as the veteran politician continues to avoid the partisan fights tying up other Cabinet nominations. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved Perry and Interior Secretary nominee Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., for consideration by the full Senate in an as-yet-unscheduled final vote. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska and chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, said she expects quick action because the pair had drawn "less controversy" than other nominees. "The bipartisan support will be attractive," she told reporters. The relative quiet of Perry's confirmation comes during a raucous week at the Capitol as Democrats declared open war on some of President Donald Trump's nominees after an executive order last week to temporarily ban citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. On Tuesday, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee held up confirmation of Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Price when the entire caucus did not show up for a scheduled vote. Later in the day, Democrats took to the Senate floor to rail against the nomination of former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state. A vote on Tillerson is expected Wednesday. In his confirmation hearing in January, Perry backed off from some of his more controversial positions, while highlighting what he described as his "all of the above" energy strategy that promotes wind turbines, oil and gas and all forms of energy that create American jobs. The three-term governor even offered a mea culpa for his proposal during a failed presidential bid in 2011, to eliminate the agency he is expected to lead. He told committee members that he regretted it, "after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy." Perry, who once described climate science as a "contrived, phony mess," also offered a stark turnaround from those and other statements made during his 14-year tenure as governor. "I believe the climate is changing," Perry said. "I believe some of it is naturally occurring, but some of it is also caused by man-made activity." Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, issued a supportive statement on Tuesday. "Under Rick Perry's leadership, Texas experienced innovative growth in our energy sector, which translated to more jobs and lower prices for families across our state," Cornyn said. "I'm confident he'll replicate this success at a national level and help launch the next great era in American energy production." Perry won the support of four members of the Democratic caucus, but he failed to convince seven others, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Al Franken, D-Minn. At issue was Perry's response when questioned about a report that Trump intended to cut funding for Department of Energy research into areas like energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. The former governor quipped in the hearing, "maybe they'll have the same experience I had and forget that they said that." It was a reference to his infamous "oops" moment when he could not remember the Energy Department as the third of three federal agencies he proposed abolishing during a presidential debate. Ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was not amused. "It left me wondering whether he would stand up and fight the White Houses approach," Cantwell said Tuesday. BISMARCK, N.D. - The Army Corps of Engineers was ordered to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline to proceed under a disputed Missouri River crossing, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said on Tuesday, the latest twist in a months-long legal battle over the $3.8 billion project. The Standing Rock Sioux, whose opposition to the project attracted thousands of supporters from around the country to North Dakota, immediately vowed to again go to court to stop it. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Months after its acquisition by South African conglomerate Steinhoff International Holdings, Mattress Firm is losing some of its most popular product lines. Tempur Sealy International plans to terminate its contract with the Houston-based mattress retailer, a potential blow to the company as it works under new ownership to streamline its sprawling operations. Tempur Sealy announced the decision in a statement Monday after Mattress Firm demanded "considerable changes to their agreements, including significant economic concessions." Scott Thompson, Tempur Sealy's chairman and CEO, said in the statement that the decision would allow the company to reorient its support for retailers that "exhibit a long-term commitment" to its brands. The mattress manufacturer expects it will stop doing business with the bedding retailer during the first quarter of this year. A person familiar with Tempur Sealy's decision said Tuesday that negotiations ultimately failed after Mattress Firm surprised the company with a hard-line contract proposal during an industry conference last month in Las Vegas. The person added that Mattress Firm must immediately begin phasing out Tempur Sealy products and signs, a process expected to take about 60 days. Analysts said the decision will likely undermine both Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm, which have for years relied on each other for brand promotion and sales. Mattress Firm has historically carried Sealy mattresses, and Tempur-Pedic, which acquired Sealy in 2013, has sold mattresses through the retailer for more than 10 years. For Mattress Firm, the contract termination means the loss of one of its largest suppliers. Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons together accounted for about 80 percent of the company's mattress costs in fiscal 2015, according to securities filings. It also means the loss of higher-margin Tempur-Pedic mattresses, a memory foam line that drives premium sales. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Keith Hughes wrote in a note to investors Monday that Mattress Firm, the largest retailer of Tempur-Pedic products, has for years been the brand's "most vocal proponent." Mattress Firm president CEO Ken Murphy said in a statement that the company is planning to "revitalize" its stores this year with new products from manufacturers including Serta Simmons, which affirmed its commitment to the bedding retailer in light of the Tempur Sealy decision. He said the new offerings will showcase "innovations in sleep health." The company declined further comment Tuesday. The Tempur Sealy termination comes about four months after Steinhoff completed its acquisition of Mattress Firm for $3.8 billion, including debt. Mattress Firm in recent years bought up many of its competitors, including Sleepy's, boosting its store count to more than 3,500 nationwide. The company is now the largest mattress retailer in the U.S., with more than 20 percent market share. It is working to consolidate its various nameplates under a single banner. Steinhoff, an international retail conglomerate, manufactures and sells a range of furniture and household products, including mattresses. Wedbush analyst Seth Basham wrote in a note to investors Tuesday that the contract termination could advance the company's "private label strategy." Mattress Firm offers a lower-priced mattress line through its private label Hampton & Rhodes. Basham added that Mattress Firm's relationship with Tempur Sealy had shown signs of instability for months as the bedding retailer shuffled product offerings. He noted that Mattress Firm pulled the Sealy Stearns & Foster line from stores last spring and then brought it back late last year under new terms. The contract termination is also a blow to Tempur Sealy, which sells a substantial number of its products through Mattress Firm. The retailer accounted for 21 percent of Tempur Sealy sales last year, the manufacturer reported, though that total declined 11 percent from 2015. Basham wrote in his note that the companies have a "low probability" of reaching a new deal in the near term. He added that Tempur Sealy's decision will likely diminish the company's sales volume and perhaps the value of its brand amid heightening competition from bed-in-a-box manufacturers. Every Friday morning, Cynthia Sanford gets to work early. She's not there to sell more midcentury Danish furniture - although that's what shoppers can find at the Kensington, Md., branch of Modern Mobler, where Sanford is store manager. Instead, she enjoys some quiet time with a friend before opening up for the day. They drink coffee and knit among handcrafted teak sideboards, splayed-leg coffee tables and never-let-you-go lounge chairs. In other words, Sanford explains, "we're having hygge." It's a term she hadn't heard until about a year ago. Almost no one had - except for the people of Denmark, who use it incessantly, according to Danish Ambassador Lars Gert Lose. "Hygge is part of our DNA," he said. Roughly translated into English, hygge means coziness. But, Lose adds, "it's as hard to define as it is to pronounce." ("HOO-gah" gets you close enough.) To him, hygge is a combination of three factors: the space you're in, the people you're with and the intention "to create a sanctuary." Nail the details, and it adds up to an all-encompassing sense of comfort and well-being. In Denmark, which boasts eight months of weather forecasts that might make you want to stay in bed, hygge has served as the ultimate coping strategy. Now the secret's out. Hygge has been anointed the latest lifestyle trend, inspiring luxury tea blends (hooglytea.com), designer wallpapers (hyggeandwest.com) and a Philly brewpub (barhygge.com). It's also the subject of an entire library of new books, which is fitting, given how hyggelig it is to curl up and read, preferably by the glow of a fireplace while wearing woolen socks and sipping something steaming. Blame the buzz on current events, says food writer Signe Johansen, author of "How to Hygge," which explains how she maintains her Nordic traditions while living in London. "People are worried and anxious about the future - 2016 was a discombobulating year for many reasons," she says. That's certainly true here, where the recent spike in political divisiveness is palpable. Some hygge-style socializing could help, Lose says. "It's almost like meditation, but it's a collective exercise rather than an individual one," he explains. Distractions such as phones are shut off. Topics that could devolve into shouting matches are shelved. "The point would be to say: 'This is all about having a good time now. It's time to talk about what we enjoy about life.' " A conducive environment is key to experiencing hygge, says Lose. In Washington, there's the Danish Embassy, which is hygge by design. The building was the work of Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen, who inserted hygge-friendly touches, such as the chandeliers that hang throughout the residence. Their playful circles of bulbs, each inside a glass, can be dimmed to adjust the mood. As Happiness Research Institute chief executive Meik Wiking points out in "The Little Book of Hygge," proper lighting is essential. That means there should be several light sources, scattering pools of warm light throughout a space. When in doubt about how to achieve that, he says, just add candles. Kira Fortune, a Dane who now lives in Chevy Chase, Md., with her family, frequently finds herself fielding questions about candles. There are 14 in her living space at the moment, not counting the ones inside lanterns in her yard. She lights all of them. To her, that's hygge, which demands that "you go out of your way to be uber-cozy," she says. When she has the time, Fortune lights not only the candles but also her two Morso wood-burning stoves. She prepares hot chocolate and glogg, or mulled wine, and bakes rye bread from scratch. Then she savors sitting around with no real plans - just board games, books and blankets. Setting up such a hyggelig scene requires energy and attention, but it's a process she enjoys because she knows how wonderful the result will feel. "We work long hours. This is one way to switch off, go down in gears," Fortune says. That seems like a good thing to know how to do, even if you can't pronounce it. Here are some ways to hygge at home: Keep it simple Nordic interiors are minimalist. So to prep for going hygge, you might want to try the KonMari Method, Modern Mobler's Sanford says. The goal is to tame clutter by keeping only things that "spark joy." To Sanford, a sleek sideboard fits that bill - you can use it to display items and tuck away a few of your favorite things for easy access. "I always want my knitting and yarn near me," she says. Go green Bring nature home with a houseplant. "How to Hygge" author Johansen recommends aloe vera - they're a funky shape, they're low-maintenance and they're useful. "It's the best thing for applying on a burn," she says. If you're picking up a bouquet from the florist, go monochromatic. "Too many colors can feel hectic," she explains. Add a personal touch "The Little Book of Hygge" author Wiking promotes a hands-on approach to furniture shopping. "Consider not only how things look but how they feel," says Wiking, who prefers the touch of wood over steel and glass. Danish-style decorating doesn't have to be pricey, he adds, noting that his favorite pieces are a pair of stools he made with his uncle. Their value comes from his memories. You can attach stories to your belongings even if they're purchased. Just consider the source, Wiking says: "You're in a flea market in Paris. It's already different from Bed Bath & Beyond." Use candles, with caution A few flickering candles on a table is fine, but for a cozier effect, use surfaces at varying heights, Johansen says. Experiment with window ledges and bookshelves. Always use candleholders, and be careful: Johansen's dress caught on fire at a party when she accidentally brushed up against a tea light on a low shelf. Find your sources Fortune's strategy for creating "a Copenhagen house" involves knowing where to shop. She hits up Ikea every two weeks to restock her candle supply. (Only plain white ones are acceptable. "We're very much into less is more," Fortune says.) The Swedish store also sells rye bread mix and holiday foodstuffs. For Kahler-brand striped vases and other ceramic accessories, she orders from royaldesign.com. And when she's desperate for other goodies from home, she turns to design emporium Illums Bolighus (illumsbolighus.com), which ships to the United States. We are experiencing a time of rancor and division in our nation unseen in generations. Even people of faith and goodwill are conflicted, and admittedly, Holy Scripture often offers counsel in more than one direction. On at least one issue, however, the witness of Holy Scripture is consistent and unequivocal: the treatment of immigrants and refugees. Early in the Old Testament, God reminds the people of Israel of their own formative experience as immigrants and refugees in Egypt and of the suffering they received at Pharaoh's hand. God delivered the Israelites into the Promised Land, and God commands them to redeem their worst experience by embracing those in similar circumstances: When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Leviticus 19:33-34 God's people were human, as we are all human, and they often failed to follow God's command to offer sanctuary to aliens in their land. They were faithful to come together and worship together, proclaiming loudly, "This is the house of the Lord!" but they neglected God's call for grace toward immigrants and refugees. The prophet Jeremiah reminded the people that worship is pleasing to God only as an outgrowth of empathy and justice. And in what does God's justice consist? Through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7: 5-7,11), God says: "If you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place." God ends this injunction ominously: "I am watching, says the Lord." Jesus himself likewise commands his followers to care for the vulnerable. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus gives us the model for how to care for the sojourner in need. In Matthew 25, Jesus proclaims that those who welcome the stranger in their midst actually welcome Jesus himself and have a place in God's kingdom, while those who do not will be cast out. And the author of the Letter to the Hebrews makes the point most eloquently, "Show hospitality to the stranger, for by so doing some have entertained angels unaware." Finally, the Book of Ruth chronicles the story of the widowed Moabite Ruth, an immigrant who moves to Israel with her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth offers a poignant speech of loyalty and commitment to her mother-in-law and her newly adopted country. In later centuries, rabbis constructed a Jewish catechism from Ruth's speech. In other words, Ruth the immigrant became the very model for what it meant to be a faithful Jew. Just so, we who are ourselves a nation of immigrants can learn lessons of fortitude and faith from today's immigrants and refugees who seek shelter in our great land. Like Ruth and like our forebears, they hope for a new life of safety and prosperity for their families. Like Ruth and like our forebears, they wish to work hard and contribute to our communities. They can remind us of our best selves, but first we must receive them with grace and compassion. The Rev. Hannah E. Atkins, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church The Rev. Dr. Jim Birchfield, Senior Pastor, First Presbyterian Church The Rev. Harvey Clemons, Senior Pastor, Pleasant Hills Baptist Church The Rev. John Ogletree, Senior Pastor, First Metropolitan Baptist Church The Very Rev. Barkley Thompson, Dean, Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) The Rev. Dr. Steve Wells, Senior Pastor, South Main Baptist Church The Rev. Dr. Ralph D. West, Founder and Senior Pastor, The Church Without Walls The Rev. Neil Alan Willard, Rector, Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church The Rev. Tommy Williams, Senior Pastor, St. Paul's United Methodist Church National data shows 42 percent of high schools have sworn law enforcement officers, the U.S. Department of Education reports. That number grows, however, when looking at high schools with larger populations of black and Latino students. The data shows that 51 percent of minority-majority high schools have officers on campus. And, black students are 2.2 times more likely than white students to be disciplined at school via law enforcement. Public schools in the United States are required by federal law to provide equal opportunity to all students. To that end, the Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection tracks various demographics related to student success in each district. The demographics of students facing harsh disciplinary actions has garnered more attention across Texas in recent years, as school districts work to reform policies that disproportionately target black children. TOUGHER ACTION: New Texas bill targets teacher-student sex crimes Last year, Houston ISD was the first large district in Texas to ban school suspensions for children in pre-K through second grade, partly to curb such discipline, HoustonChronicle.com reports. The question of when it is appropriate to use law enforcement in a school setting has also come up for debate. A Texas law passed in 2015 required any police officer in a large school district to complete a training course on empathizing with students and avoiding the use of force, the Texas Observer reported. The data above, released in 2016, compares Houston-area school districts' overall demographics with the demographics of students referred to law enforcement. Additional data, including student suspensions and expulsions, is available through this search. Several area school districts do not show any law enforcement referrals for the 2013-14 school year, the latest data available. Click through the slideshow to see the demographics for your district. that 24 percent of elementary schools and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Feb. 1 By Demir Azizov Trend: Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and South Korean acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn exchanged congratulatory messages in connection with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said. In those messages, President Mirziyoyev and President Kyo-ahn confirmed the commitment to the principles of trust. "Uzbekistan aims at further strengthening of the trade, economic, financial, investment and technological cooperation with the Republic of Korea, President Mirziyoyev said. The large-scale joint high-tech investment projects in energy, chemical industry, textile industry, automotive industry, infrastructure, transport, e-government and telecommunications testify to the well-developed relations between Uzbekistan and South Korea, President Mirziyoyev added. President Mirziyoyev said that South Korea has become one of the most reliable partners of Uzbekistan. "Uzbekistan supports a peaceful and balanced foreign policy of the Republic of Korea, its efforts to ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," the message said. President Kyo-ahn said that the successful implementation of the construction project of the Ustyurt Gas Chemical Complex on the base of Surgil gas field in Uzbekistan can be cited as an example of fruitful cooperation. "I hope that other ongoing joint projects in the petrochemical industry, as well as new projects in the future, will become another example of effective cooperation between the two countries," President Kyo-ahn said. South Korea invested more than $7 billion in the Uzbek economy. Currently, around 450 enterprises established with the participation of South Korean investors successfully operate in Uzbekistan. More than 70 South Korean companies opened the representative offices in Uzbekistan. Katy Visual and Performing Arts Center Encore Players are returning to the Biennial Texas competition at the American Association of Community Theatre Quad IV Southeast Texas with the one-act play, "Answers," by Tom Topor. In 2015, KVPAC Encore Players won first place at the Quad IV Southeast Texas competition and in the Texas competition and represented Texas in the regional competition (Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana), winning second place. Gregory J. Magyar, KVPAC's executive artistic director who was in the show that won in 2015 and received an "All Star Cast" award is returning this year with Trenton Stephenson and James Duncan under the direction of Joshua Schorejs, a director and teacher at KVPAC, who won the Excellence in Directing Award in 2015. "Answers" is a short play about a man (James Duncan) detained for questioning, in a crime about which he claims to know nothing. He is grilled by two persistent police officers (Gregory Magyar and Trenton Stephenson). Ultimately, in a scene of shattering intensity, they succeed in getting him to confess, but disturbing questions linger. Have justice and truth indeed been served? Or has another hapless victim been sacrificed to society's inexorable need for retribution at any cost? The Quad IV Festival is Saturday, Feb. 4, at Lee College Performing Arts Center, 805 W. Texas Ave., Baytown. Tickets are available online at https://squareup.com/store/texas-nonprofit-theatres/item/quad-iv-festival-tickets, the All Festival pass is $25 and a single show is $15.50. KVPAC seeks tax-deductible contributions to support the Encore Players and make it possible for them to continue to represent Katy at competitions. Payments can be made by visiting www.gofundme/kvpac or mailing contribution to KVPAC, 2501 S. Mason Road No. 290, Katy. Katy High School teacher Katie Allen was surprised Monday when Mohammad Abu Khadra was absent from her class. She knew the 16-year-old had traveled to his native Jordan to renew his visa but thought he would be back in time for her Monday morning class. Another student told Allen the news: Mohammad had been detained since Saturday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. She detailed the situation and her concerns to a Facebook post published Monday night, but would not respond to the Chronicle's requests for comment. "Thinking of a minor in a detention center without family is enough to make me sick to my stomach," wrote the U.S. history and English as a Second Language teacher. "They have taken his cell phone from him. Now he really is all alone." Mohammad was transferred Monday evening to a shelter in Chicago Monday evening operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, even though Mohammad is not a refugee. But no one, including his family or the attorney working with his family, seems to know why Mohammad has not been freed in more than three days. Rami Abu Khadra, Mohammad's brother and a 37-year-old green card holder who has been in the United States for five years, said he feels helpless. He said his brother's detention is likely the result of a sweeping immigration executive order signed by President Trump on Friday, even though the order does not ban immigrants or visa holders from Jordan. "My country is not one of seven countries on the list," Rami said. "It's like because he's from the Middle East, he gets detained." Mohammad is among dozens of visa holders and immigrants to be detained at U.S. airports since Trump signed an executive order Friday indefinitely barring all Syrian refugees from entering the United States and suspending all refugee admissions for 120 days. It also prohibits citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days, whether they are refugees or not. Those countries include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. An official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services referred a Chronicle reporter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for more information. A spokeswoman for CBP said the office could not comment because Mohammad is a minor. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said it was the only case its knows of where a minor has been detained for more than 24 hours since the executive order was signed. Rami's attorney, Ali Zakaria, said he is filing a family reunification document with the shelter so the Office of Refugee Resettlement can release him to his brother's custody in Texas. He said he has not yet heard back from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about why Mohammad was detained or how long his detention could last. Zakaria estimated Mohammad could be in custody anywhere from two weeks to two months. He did not know Mohammad's visa status or which type of visa Mohammad tried to renew in Jordan. "Obviously Mohammad's case is extraordinary," Zakaria said. "For a kid to be detained at an airport for 48 hours is unconscionable." Rami said he hoped to hear from Mohammad Tuesday, but that his little brother is only allowed to call once a week for 30 minutes. Mohammad is not the only minor to be detained by immigration authorities at airports since the order was signed, but his detention appears to be among the longest. A 5-year-old was allegedly separated from his Iranian mother and detained at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C., for more than four hours Saturday before the two were reunited, according to multiple media reports. A Somali woman and her two young children were detained at the same airport for 18 hours due to the executive order, according to local media. Mohammad is also not the first foreign citizen from a country other than the seven mentioned in the executive order to be detained. The Los Angeles Times reported that an Afghan national who helped US troops as an interpreter was held briefly at the San Francisco International Airport on Friday after his wife and children were allowed through. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that a Lebanese man with an American passport was detained for more than three hours at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on Sunday before being released. Rami said he was able to visit Mohammad briefly Sunday at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport after he was peppered with questions from immigration officials curious about his relationships and his allegiances. He said his brother was exhausted after a 16-hour flight from Jordan and spending the night sleeping in an airport chair. "He was very afraid," Rami said. "Before I saw him, he was on a flight for 15 or 16 hours, then was at the airport for days. He was very tired and frustrated. When he took the flight to Chicago, he called me, but he doesn't know anything. He doesn't know what's going on." Zakaria said he spent the weekend volunteering with the ACLU and working with other immigrants, visa holders, citizens and refugees at IAH airport. He said after that work and speaking with colleagues across the country, he's convinced immigration officials are not just barring or delaying citizens from the seven countries listed on Trump's executive order. "It's a lot of Muslims from other countries, too," Zakaria said. "I think Mohammad is a prime example. Jordan is not on the list, but he's still enduring this treatment. People say it's not a Muslim ban, but they need to look at the facts on the ground and not the spin coming from the White House." Rami said his parents, who still live in Jordan, are inconsolable over their son's detention. He wished the U.S. government would just send Mohammad back to Jordan rather than have him languish in a bureaucratic limbo. "I'm trying to fly out to Chicago, trying to reach out people. I just want to see him," Rami said. "I'm trying very hard to just see him or hear from him or anything. I need to see if he needs money or anything." Zakaria said keeping Mohammad in detention does nothing to keep Americans safe. "It's OK to enforce the law, it's OK to be vigilant for terrorism, but stopping a kid at an airport for days does not accomplish that objective," Zakaria said. Texans have to be 18 years old to vote, join the military or buy a lottery ticket. But when arrested for any crime from misdemeanor to felony, 17-year-olds are treated like adults, an inconsistency some legislators, judges and religious leaders hope to change. Several members of Houston's faith community will gather with criminal justice experts and youth advocates Wednesday to support several bills filed in the state Legislature seeking to raise the age of criminal jurisdiction from 17 to 18. "The idea that someone is not mature enough to buy a can of Copenhagen but is mature enough to go to the adult jail facility for committing such an infraction is crazy," said Jay Jenkins, an attorney for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, which is pushing to raise the age. "This group of ministers and interfaith leaders consider it more than just a financial issue. They consider it a moral issue, in the way that we are treating some of our most vulnerable citizens." Texas is one of only seven states that still view a 17-year-old as an adult - forcing sheriffs across the state to make special, sometimes costly, accommodations to house 17-year-olds separately from older offenders. If 17-year-olds were classified as juveniles, they would get more educational services and treatment, be confined in juvenile detention facilities and might be able to get their records sealed, advocates say. But critics worry the charge would explode juvenile jail budgets and strain courtroom resources for the same reason that advocates want it: youths behind bars get more assistance and are treated more individually. The difference is exponential - it costs $30,000 to jail an adult for a year and $150,000 for a juvenile, according to state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. He said it would cost Harris County an additional $50 million to implement, which makes it unlikely to gain support among certain lawmakers. "The bottom line is that it can't pass the Senate right now," Whitmire said. Tom Brooks, who oversees Harris County's juvenile jail system, also worries about overcrowded facilities. "I have concerns about the lack of funding and the cost to move these 17-year-olds into the juvenile justice system as well as lack of space in our facilities," he said. Advocates say the initiative would save more than it costs by reducing recidivism and therefore putting fewer people behind bars. "Sen. Whitmire's concerns are valid, and certainly the costs need to be taken into account," Jenkins said. "But the long-term savings would very much cancel out the up-front spending." Everyone benefits Other states that have raised the age have not seen the expected increase in costs, Jenkins said. "In other states, we've heard this line that it's going to cause a massive boom in spending and a massive spike in population and an influx of violence in juvenile facilities," he said. "And no states have experienced any of that." And, he said, there were benefits across the board. "The state, the county, all save money, and the kids get a second chance," he said. Jenkins said he expects Wednesday's gathering of ministers and youth advocates to focus more on issues of unfairness surrounding jailing 17-year-olds, especially for minor crimes. He pointed to a 17-year-old who ended up in the Harris County jail last year for possession of tobacco. The issue is getting more attention than in past legislative sessions because of a federal mandate to separate 17-year-olds from the rest of the jail population "by sight and sound" under the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Federal auditors began inspecting the nation's prisons and jails in recent years to make sure they are in compliance with PREA. The Harris County Sheriff's Office was cited last year because the jail complex did not have room in its overcrowded facility to carve out a separate space for inmates under 18. The department responded with measures to try to comply: hiring a PREA manager, establishing a 24-hour hotline for inmates to report sexual assaults, investigating possible threats to inmates, separating individuals believed to be especially vulnerable to potential abuse or harassment and providing counseling to victims. All told, the department's jails hold more than 9,000 inmates, of which about 150 at any given time are 17. Issues go away Newly elected Sheriff Ed Gonzalez could not be reached for comment Tuesday about the proposals to raise the age. State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, who has authored a bill to raise the age, said he knows there is substantial cost in trying to comply with the mandate because of his meetings with sheriffs. He is worried about the even bigger cost of not making the change. "What's going to be even more expensive is if anyone decides to sue," he said. "Every time I have a sheriff come into a committee meeting, I ask them if they are PREA compliant and almost universally, the answer is no. They are trying to be but they can't afford it." He noted that taking more time to address 17-year-olds who are in trouble with the law pays dividends beyond a lower chance of re-offending. The ability to get their criminal record sealed means that if they stay out of trouble, a youth will not have to go through life as a felon with limited options for employment and housing. And, he noted, it does not affect the certification process for the worst offenders who can still face trial as an adult. Mike Schneider, a state district judge who presides over a juvenile court and supports raising the age, said the legislation would end the problem of PREA compliance in Harris County, which has several juvenile jail facilities. "The whole issue of combining 17-year-olds with 18-year-olds goes away if you raise the age," he said. He said the number of 17-year-olds behind bars would likely decrease, because a youth might earn easy release from the juvenile system for a minor offense but might have trouble raising bail in the adult system. A San Antonio judge has removed the lawyer of the president of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club from a federal racketeering case aimed at gutting the national leadership of the organization. U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad agreed with prosecutors who argued that lead defense attorney Kent Schaffer of Houston might have a conflict of interest representing Bandidos president Jeffrey Fay Pike of Conroe. While stopping short of saying that Schaffer did anything criminal, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Fuchs and Joey Contreras had asked Bemporad to disqualify Schaffer, saying he might be forced to be a witness to refute the allegations of two of his former clients at Pikes trial According to the prosecutors, Schaffer once represented two then-Bandidos members who are now government witnesses, and who have alleged that Pike and Bandidos vice president John Xavier Portillo ordered Bandidos to turn over their court documents when they got arrested so Schaffer could review the papers and see who might be cooperating against the organization. Bemporads order also disqualifies Schaffers co-counsel on the Pike case, James Kennedy, because he also was Schaffers co-counsel on the cases of the Bandidos-turned-government witnesses. The order says Schaffer and Kennedy represented the two Bandidos in a substantially related matter. In light of the previous representations, the continued representation by Mr. Schaffer and Mr. Kennedy of Defendant Pike in this case presents either an actual conflict of interest, or a serious potential conflict of interest, the judge wrote in a six-page order that was unsealed late Monday. Mr. Schaffer and Mr. Kennedy must be disqualified from representing Defendant Pike in this case. The order comes after a pair of hearings in San Antonio during which Schaffer denied the prosecutors allegations. Unless Schaffer is able to reverse the order on appeal, Pike must look for another attorney. Pike and Portillo, of San Antonio, face trial later this year on charges that they sanctioned or ordered a host of crimes in furtherance of the Bandidos racketeering, including drug-dealing, violent attacks on rivals and murder. Im a little disappointed, but not totally surprised, Schaffer said Tuesday, adding he believes the lead prosecutor fears him. Im sure hed rather face an inexperienced lawyer. Were looking at our options, Schaffer said, adding that they might appeal. We have to look at it, strategically, to see whats best to do. Schaffer, considered one of Texas best defense lawyers, said hes represented about 12 Bandidos in individual cases but has never been an attorney for the organization. He also said the government has not identified who the witnesses are, and argued that there hasnt been any solid evidence requiring his disqualification. Ive never represented anybody on a substantially related matter, Schaffer said. The two Im thinking of I represented on assault cases in bar fights but they have nothing to do with this case. And he has firmly told the judge during the hearings: Nobodys brought papers to me to see if anyones cooperating or not. If they did, I wouldnt do it. The Bandidos are considered by authorities to be Texas ruling motorcycle gang, though members say they are not a gang, but a club that likes motorcycles, particularly Harleys, and the biker lifestyle. gcontreras@express-news.net Twitter: @gmaninfedland This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SEATTLE - Washington, Massachusetts and New York are becoming the first states to sue the Trump administration with filings announced this week over the executive order restricting refugees and immigration. They likely won't be standing alone for long. Since Donald Trump was elected president, Democratic state attorneys general have been forming a coordinated wall of legal resistance over immigration, environmental protections, health care and other major issues. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that lawyers, including attorneys general, are having an "awakening" regarding the Trump administration. "This is a president who does not have respect for the rule of the law," Schneiderman said. "That's something that bothers a lot of people." On Tuesday, Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced separately that their offices were joining legal challenges to Trump already filed in their states by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. The state officials' plan for legal pushback has precedent: Several Republican attorneys general made it a practice to routinely file lawsuits against the policies of former President Barack Obama. Unlike groups taking up fights on behalf of individuals, attorneys general -the chief lawyers for state governments - can sue more broadly on behalf of their states. Most are elected and thus can act independently of their state legislatures or governors. "It's my responsibility as attorney general to defend the rule of law, to uphold the Constitution on behalf of the people of this state. And that's what we're doing," Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday when announcing his lawsuit against Trump's executive order. He said other states could join the lawsuit, which asks a judge to throw out key provisions of the order Trump issued Friday to temporarily closes the U.S. to all refugees and all people from seven majority-Muslim countries and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely. Healey, who has held town hall meetings around Massachusetts on responding to Trump, called the policy "harmful, discriminatory and unconstitutional." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump selected Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday, opting for a highly credentialed favorite of the conservative legal establishment to fill the opening created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch prevailed over the other finalist, Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, also a federal appeals court judge, and Trump announced the nomination at a televised prime-time event at the White House. Gorsuch, 49, and Hardiman, 51, emerged from a list of 21 as Trump's most likely choices. A third person on the shortlist - U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor Jr. of Alabama - saw his chances diminish as some Senate Republican leaders have said his confirmation would be difficult. By comparison, Gorsuch was confirmed a decade ago to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver on a voice vote. Gorsuch is seen as a less bombastic version of Scalia; he also believes in an "originalist" interpretation of the Constitution and would seem destined to be a solidly conservative vote on the ideologically split court. But friends and supporters describe Gorsuch as being more interested in persuasion than Scalia, who was just as likely to go it alone as to compromise. Gorsuch won praise from both Texas Republicans in the Senate. "In November, the people spoke, clearly," said Sen. Ted Cruz, who made the balance of the Supreme Court a major marker in his decision to support Trump's candidacy, however reluctantly. "They elected President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly promised to nominate a justice firmly committed to the following the law and the original understanding of the Constitution," Cruz said. "Today, with the nomination of the Honorable Neil Gorsuch from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, President Trump has fulfilled that promise, and the rule of law will be all the better for it." Though conservatives cheered, Sen. John Cornyn described Gorsuch as a jurist who should overcome partisanship. "The president has picked a mainstream nominee unanimously supported by Democrats in the past," Cornyn said. "I hope my colleagues across the aisle will allow an up-or-down vote on this bipartisan, highly qualified nominee." Senate Democrats have promised a vigorous battle, believing that Republican colleagues "stole" the court opening by refusing to hold even a hearing on former president Barack Obama's nominee for Scalia's seat, Judge Merrick Garland. His nomination withered. Some Democrats have pledged to try to block a vote on Trump's nominee. "I won't be complicit in this theft," Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., wrote in an email to supporters. "There is only one person in America who is a legitimate selection: Judge Merrick Garland." Other Democrats aren't likely to take such a bold move. But there were already signs that things won't be particularly cozy: Trump invited senior Democratic senators to the White House for a reception to meet his Supreme Court pick, but they declined the invitation, according to senior aides. Youngest since Thomas Gorsuch would be the youngest Supreme Court justice since Clarence Thomas was confirmed in 1991. But Gorsuch has been on the bench for a decade, and at his 2006 investiture ceremony, friends joked that his prematurely gray hair was fitting. "When Neil came to our firm in 1995 he had gray hair," said one of his law partners, Mark Hansen. "In fact, he was born with silver hair, as well as an inexhaustible store of Winston Churchill quotes." Indeed, Gorsuch came equipped for the ultimate judicial elevation. There is a family connection to Republican establishment politics, and service in the administration of George W. Bush. There is a glittery Ivy League resume Columbia undergrad, Harvard Law - along with a Marshall scholarship to Oxford. There is a partnership at one of Washington's top litigation law firms and a string of successful cases. There is a Supreme Court clerkship; Gorsuch was hired by Justice Byron White, a fellow Colorado native, who shared him with Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy stood by that day in Denver to administer the judicial oath, and if Gorsuch is confirmed, Kennedy would become the first justice to sit with a former clerk on the Supreme Court's mahogany bench. But those who know Gorsuch and have studied his decade of solidly conservative opinions on the Court of Appeals say he more resembles the man he would replace - the late Justice Scalia - than the more moderate Kennedy. Like Scalia, Gorsuch is a proponent of originalism - meaning that judges should attempt to interpret the words of the Constitution as they were understood at the time they were written - and a textualist who considers only the words of the law being reviewed, not legislators' intent or the consequences of the decision. Critics say that those neutral considerations inevitably lead Gorsuch to conservative outcomes, a criticism that was also leveled at Scalia. Gorsuch would like to curb the deference that courts give to federal agencies and is most noted for a strong defense of religious liberty in cases brought by private companies and religious nonprofit groups objecting to the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. Gorsuch said in a speech last spring that as a judge he had tried to follow Scalia's path. "The great project of Justice Scalia's career was to remind us of the differences between judges and legislators," Gorsuch told an audience at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland. Legislators "may appeal to their own moral convictions and to claims about social utility to reshape the law as they think it should be in the future," Gorsuch said. But "judges should do none of these things in a democratic society." 'Treats people well' Instead, they should use "text, structure and history" to understand what the law is, "not to decide cases based on their own moral convictions or the policy consequences they believe might serve society best." Two recent studies have identified Gorsuch as the federal judge on Trump's list of potential nominees most in tune with Scalia. And liberal Justice Elena Kagan is among many who have praised Gorsuch's lucid and occasionally lyrical writing style. But those who know him say he lacks Scalia's combustible, combative style. "He has very strong opinions, but he just treats people well in every context," said Melissa Hart, a University of Colorado law professor. She is a Democrat who clerked for former Justice John Paul Stevens and knows Gorsuch because he has taught judicial ethics, legal writing and antitrust law at the school. Kevin Diaz contributed to this report. AUSTIN - Gov. Greg Abbott detailed his vision for Texas on Tuesday, imploring lawmakers to approve "emergency" legislation on child protection, ethics and so-called sanctuary cities, ordering a hiring freeze for most state agencies and proposing a budget that would cut business franchise taxes by $250 million. "Let's keep Texas the most exceptional state in America," the first-term Republican said in his State of the State speech to lawmakers. The ambitious agenda, which included calls for lawmakers to criminalize the donation of organs of aborted fetuses, increase funding for pre-kindergarten and approve a resolution for a constitutional Convention of the States, is expected to kickstart the legislative session. Some legislative leaders quickly pushed back on Abbott's proposals, saying they were misguided and potentially unaffordable for a state with many more fundamental needs and an economy weighed down by an oil downturn. Others complained about what was not mentioned, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's plan to force people to use the bathroom of their birth gender in government bathrooms, House Speaker Joe Straus's proposal to boost funding for mental health programs, controversial cuts in Medicaid therapy rates and a longtime special education enrollment benchmark that has denied services to thousands of disabled kids. Abbott made his priorities known by opening with a call for $500 million more for Child Protective Services, more than either the House or Senate has proposed in their draft budgets. "Last year, more than 100 children died in our Child Protective System," Abbott said, calling the system "rickety." "You can vote to end that. "If ever we had an emergency situation, this is it," said Abbott, whose emergency tag - put on child protection, sanctuary cities, ethics and the convention of states - will let lawmakers pass bills quicker than otherwise allowed. Child advocacy groups cheered Abbott's proposal for additional funding to effect the sweeping reforms they contend are necessary to fix a system that has been plagued for decades by high employee turnover, a lack of permanent placements for foster children and deaths of children under state supervision. The state's foster care system has been declared unconstitutional by a federal judge. "This may be a tight budget session, but failure to heed his call to 'Do it right' will only result in worse budget woes - and damaged lives - down the line," said Madeline McClure of TexProtects, an Austin advocacy group. On so-called "sanctuary cities," Abbott noted that some Texas law enforcement officials "are openly refusing the enforce existing law" regarding their cooperation with federal immigration detainers, a reference to his ongoing fight with Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez. Hernandez has announced she will decline some federal detention requests of undocumented immigrants who are jailed. Abbott has given Hernandez until Wednesday to rescind her policy or face sanctions, including a cutoff of grant funding. He also has said he wants the law changed to allow for her removal from office. "To protect Texans from deadly danger, we must insist that laws be followed," said Abbott, citing a crime spree involving an immigrant in the country illegally who previously had been deported three times. The governor got a lengthy ovation after reiterating his support for Texas to join in a national call for a Convention of States, allowed under the U.S. Constitution, to propose amendments to impose term limits on officeholders, reduce regulations and to mandate a balanced federal budget. Without specifying details, Abbott endorsed passage of a so-called "school choice" law to create education savings account that allow parents to use public money for private schools. That proposal is a priority of Patrick, but less popular in the House. Abbott stopped short of declaring education an emergency item, however. Regarding border security, Abbott said he intends to maintain $800 million in state-funded security along the Texas-Mexico border for now, despite questions about effectiveness from critics and a promise by the federal government to step up its efforts. The governor said he plans Wednesday to meet in the Rio Grande Valley with new Homeland Security Chief John Kelly to discuss efforts that President Trump has said will include thousands of additional federal agents and the construction of a border wall. Abbott also called for full funding of the state's Enterprise Fund, which would allow him to continue to use tax incentives to attract businesses. He also said additional funding is needed for high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, faulting lawmakers for "turning a blind eye" to the issue. "Let's do this right or don't do it at all," said Abbott, who said he was "absolutely perplexed" by the House and Senate budget proposals for pre-K. The governor also called for cuts in property and business taxes. He said lawmakers should eliminate the business franchise tax and pass legislation that "prevents cities from raising property taxes without voter approval," a controversial suggestion that is sure to be opposed by local governments. "As far as I'm concerned, the only good tax is a dead tax," Abbott said. The speech did not offer many specifics about how to pay for the proposals other than the hiring freeze, which Abbott said would last until August and save $200 million. The freeze would exempt Child Protective Services caseworkers and other employees related to public safety, according to a memo sent to agencies. Critics said the move could hurt vulnerable Texans. "The intellectually and physically disabled, the mentally ill, the recently incarcerated, youth felony offenders, Food Stamp recipients, and Medicaid enrollees are just some of the millions of Texans who work with and depend on state employees everyday across the state," said Seth Hutchinson, a spokesman for the State Employees Union. "In agencies with already critical staffing shortages, a hiring freeze, no matter how long, would cripple their ability to function." All together, the governor's budget proposal allocates about $300 million less in state funds than the Senate draft budget and about $5 billion less than the plan put forward by the House. Despite the difficult economic climate, the plan would not tap the state's Rainy Day Fund. Lawmakers, including some Republicans, said they were not sure if all of the governor's priorities could be funded. Several House and Senate members said it could be tough to come up with the additional funding for Child Protective Services and pre-kindergarten while maintaining fundamental services. "The numbers are the numbers, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe said. "We'd have to study the math on much of what he laid out in his speech because, at the end of the day, there's a lot of expense tied to the pre-K request and also some of the other items that he mentioned." Rep. Drew Darby, a leader on budgeting issues in the House, agreed. "We are left to cope with the reality that we have revenue that is not available and we have increasing priority needs in the state." he said. Still, the San Angelo Republican said he was glad Abbott gave a clear vision. Democrats criticized Abbott's speech as overly partisan and too focused on "distractions," such as "sanctuary cities" and "fetal remains." "Gov. Abbott spent his speech largely on partisan and divisive issues that will hurt, not help, the people of Texas," said House Minority Leader Chris Turner. "New barriers to women's health care, attacks on local elected officials, telling Texans how they can and cannot spend their paycheck and denying homeowners the right to hold their insurance company accountable do nothing to move our state forward." "There wasn't much in the governor's speech that gave me hope," added state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, in a news conference called by Democrats. Still, some found reason for optimism in Abbott's omission of the lieutenant governor's restroom proposal, which has been criticized by many in the business community as discriminatory and likely to cause some businesses to avoid Texas. "You notice the governor didn't mention the bathroom bill," said Senate Leader Jose Rodriguez of El Paso. "Maybe that's a good thing." AUSTIN - Samiyah Hossain could see a large crowd of people standing outside the state Capitol from her seat on the bus. Nervousness overtook the 18-year-old as she walked toward it with dozens of fellow Houston Muslims, wondering if she was approaching a horde of angry protesters emboldened by political tensions across the country. Instead, she was "completely blown away." Hundreds of people gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday morning to welcome Muslims from across the state rallying at the seat of government to engage their local lawmakers. The largely non-Muslim crowd linked arms, standing several rows deep, to encircle Muslims outside of the Capitol as a sign of protection and to create a human shield against protesters thinking of trying to hijack the event. "I've never seen a sight like that, complete solidarity," Hossain said as she sat in the rotunda of the Capitol building, smiling. "It was really an enveloping feeling that these people who I don't even know, who don't know me or us who have come from far away, are here for us anyway and to show solidarity and uniformity with us." Hundreds of Muslims drove or bused in from Houston, San Antonio and Dallas for Texas Muslim Capitol Day, a biennial gathering hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations to link the Muslim Texans with their local lawmakers and familiarize themselves with state government. Organizers said nearly 2,000 people attended the rally, making it the largest Capitol Day in its 14-year history. 'Fingers of same hand' This year's event followed a tense few weeks. President Donald Trump last weekend temporarily barred people from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, sparking protests at airports across the country. Earlier this month, state Rep. Kyle Biedermann, R-Fredericksburg, asked Muslim leaders in Texas to fill out surveys attesting to their beliefs, a poll critics said amounted to asking for a loyalty oath. Biedermann last week hosted a homeland security forum about "defending against radical Islamic terrorism in Texas" and said he plans to file legislation on the matter. As people linking arms stood in the warm sun outside the pink granite Capitol, speakers encouraged the crowd to spread love at a time when many are filled with fear. "As my mother used to tell me, you all are like fingers of the same hand," Sarwat Husain, founder of the San Antonio chapter and a member of the national board of CAIR, told the crowd. "If one bleeds, the whole hand hurts. If the hand hurts, the whole body hurts. We have to take care of the bleeding finger now." The event attracted people from several religious affiliations, many of whom donned T-shirts that read, "I stand with my Muslim neighbors." Together they formed a barrier to protect speakers and the podium from protesters and broke their bonds only to clap for Muslims as they walked up to the Capitol. Two years ago, a woman cut through the crowd gathered for Texas Muslim Capitol Day and grabbed the microphone, declaring, "Islam will never dominate the United States, and by the grace of God, it will not dominate Texas." That same year, then-state Rep. Molly White, a Belton Republican, told her staff to require Muslims visiting her office that day to "renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our law," adding, "We will see how long they stay in my office." No mention from Abbott Few protesters gathered at this year's event, leaving one man to yell from the back of the crowd, "Islam is a lie." Inside the Capitol building, Gov. Greg Abbott gave his State of the State address and made no mention to the crowd outside or whether the state should pass laws focused on Muslims. "It seems unfortunate there's too many things to come and protest," said Dora Elias McAllister, of Austin, who said she came to the rally because she did not want to see another protester steal the microphone from the speakers. "I normally would just write a check, but I think it's important to show up." Some 500 Muslims from Houston traveled to Austin, according to Dr. Magdy Attia, treasurer of CAIR's Houston chapter, who moved to the United States from Cairo in 1995. "The power of the people is stronger than the people in power," he said. "We are part of this fabric of this society. We are here. Our kids are born here. Our businesses are here. Our life is here. This is our country. It's our right to come and show support for our representatives and get them to support us and our causes." Many of the Muslims participating in the event, including schoolchildren, spent much of the afternoon walking the Capitol building and meeting with their local lawmakers. Their agendas included speaking against attempts to ban Sharia Law, as well as broader issues such as reducing cyber bullying and stopping Texas' criminal courts from trying juveniles as adults. 'Community builders' Mariam Ladapo, a social studies teacher at Iman Academy in Houston, brought about 60 of her middle- and high school students to the state Capitol to talk to their local lawmakers about issues such as texting and driving. She said she hoped her students came away with a sense of citizenship and "how to be community builders." More than anything, Ladapo said, her students left the Capitol surprised to see citizens of different faiths unified to support them. "They felt welcomed and loved," she said. Alia Salem, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of CAIR, echoed that sentiment as she concluded the rally. "I'd like to thank Kyle Biedermann and I'd like to thank President Donald Trump," Salem said. "They're the ones whose actions have inspired you to be here today, and I am thankful that hate can turn into absolute love." Last week, police apprehended a former caretaker accused of mistreating her 94-year-old charge in her own home. Outraged because the woman was feeding her dog human food, the caretaker can be seen on a graphic video shared by Crime Stoppers verbally abusing and hitting the woman whom she was paid to take care of. This 94-year old woman's heartbreaking story underscores the vulnerability of the elderly. No matter whether the elderly live in private homes or in nursing facilities, most families are unable to be by their loved ones' sides 24-7. When the elderly live in nursing homes, families often put their trust in state regulatory agencies to keep a vigilant watch on these facilities and to cull out the bad operators. This trust can be unfounded. A new report by AARP Texas, titled "Intolerable Care," calls Texas nursing home quality "shamefully poor" and points out that our system was rated last in the nation in a 2015 Kaiser Family Foundation study. Let that sink in: Dead last, behind even Louisiana in nursing home quality. There are many reasons for the poor quality of care at some nursing facilities, but key among them is the state's low rate of Medicaid reimbursement - 49th in the nation, with a $20 per person daily shortfall, according to the web site of the Texas Health Care Association, an industry group representing long-term care facilities. With nursing homes statewide averaging a 70 percent rate of residents in so-called "Medicaid beds," the economics of quality care can be challenging. But lax regulatory enforcement plays a role in the problem, too. As hopefully we all will be old someday, the AARP Texas report's eye-popping statistics concerning violations should alarm every Texan. Texas authorities cited nursing homes for over 17,000 state violations, including those that involved "immediate jeopardy" to residents' health and safety in a 12-month period starting in September 2014. The state took enforcement actions only in 40 cases. With these odds against enforcement, the bad actors need have little fear. This lack of oversight extends to Houston facilities. Despite being cited for 57 violations, the report notes that Windsor Houston Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was not assessed a fine by the state. The facility, which is now under new management, says it has no new violations, according to a report from KTRK Channel 13. Last session, the Legislature approved a "three strikes" bill to clamp down on the worst of the worst nursing home offenders. But more can be done to beef up the laws concerning enforcement actions and sanctions. Lawmakers should repeal the so called "right to correct" law. Currently, if you're a nursing home and you make a mistake that's not life threatening to a patient, state law gives you the right to correct some violations without being assessed an administrative fine. The right to correct prevents Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, the agency in charge of enforcement, from applying penalties against most violators since they get multiple opportunities to correct them before ever facing a penalty, according to a 2015 Sunset Advisory Commission's report. As a result, this right weakens "the integrity of the regulatory process," according to the Commission. The problem of poor quality in nursing home care needs urgent attention. Improving access to resources, namely Medicaid funding, is a significant issue, but so too is ratcheting up our vigilance. Among all states, Texas has the third-largest elderly population, and between 2000 and 2014, the population of older Texans grew by more than 1 million, or 49.5 percent, according to Texas Demographic Center. Our state prides itself on its family values. Our fathers, our mothers, our grandparents and all of us deserve long-term care in facilities that are rated better than last. Indias oil imports from Iran rocketed to a record high in 2016, after the lifting of sanctions against Tehran opened the countrys economy to international trade, Sputnik reported. India's demand for oil is enormous, and Iran had long remained among its top suppliers, but economic relations between the two states were shuttered by sanctions over Iran's nuclear program. Some of India's oil refiners resumed purchasing crude from Iran after the latter returned to the oil market last year, contributing to the collapse of wholesale crude oil prices across the globe. According to data from ship-tracking services, in 2016 India imported some 473,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran to feed the former's expanding refining capacity, a significant rise from the 208,300 bpd in 2015. In December 2016, imports from Iran were shown to have grown sharply, from about 181,200 bpd a year earlier, to a current 546,600 bpd. "In most of 2016 there was a fight among Gulf producers to increase their market share and lifting of sanctions against Iran has intensified that fight," said Ehsan ul Haq, senior analyst at London-based consultancy KBC Energy Economics, cited by Reuters. Iran has returned to the list of India's top oil suppliers, grabbing the fourth-biggest provider slot in April-June 2016. India remains the world's third-largest oil consumer. Overall, the country imported 4.3 million bpd of crude oil in 2016, up 7.4 percent from the previous year. India's growing demand for oil is expected to continue, with energy information provider S&P Global Platts forecasting that New Delhi's consumption of oil will increase by 7 to 8 percent in 2017, outpacing Beijing. Maybe eight is enough. The U.S. Supreme Court has been without a ninth justice ever since Antonin Scalia passed away last year. Republicans blocked Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama's nominee, for an unprecedented 293 days. Why stop now? An eight-member Supreme Court has continued to execute its constitutional duties. The even-number of justices avoids those controversial 5-4 cases. Regional circuit courts have been empowered to set precedents that fit with their states. From this perspective, an eight-member court would be a radical act of federalism. Texas' own U.S. Sen. John Cornyn even attempted a similar move back in 2013 when he called for Congress to eliminate vacant seats on the D.C. Circuit Court. His goal at the time was to maintain the 4-4 tie between liberal and conservative justices on the important federal bench, which has jurisdiction over key regulatory and constitutional issues. Why not take that rationale one step higher on the judicial ladder? Cornyn already has bipartisan support - U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has said that the Garland blockade proved the Supreme Court can function with eight members. The answer, of course, is that Cornyn's argument wasn't about the underlying rationale or logic. It was about power. He and other Republicans wanted to deny Obama the opportunity to influence the partisan balance of the D.C. circuit and were willing to use any means necessary to achieve their goals. Now they'll use that power to fill a spot on the Supreme Court that normally would have gone to an Obama nominee. Republicans didn't block Garland from getting a hearing just to end up with a bunch of ties. The Grand Old Party wants their man on the nation's highest bench, and Tuesday night Trump made his nomination - Judge Neil M. Gorsuch. Gorsuch, who sits on the federal appeals court in the Denver-based 10th circuit, has been praised for his elegant writing. The National Review has described the Harvard Law School graduate as an inheritor to Scalia's judicial philosophy of originalism and textualism. His pedigree is undeniably impressive: Gorsuch clerked on the Supreme Court for Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy and studied for a doctorate of philosophy at Oxford University. But Garland had an impressive resume, too. Expect Democrats to put up their own fight. This showdown follows decades of tit-for-tat over judicial nominations that ostensibly began with Democrats voting down Reagan nominee Robert Bork. The fight reached a fever pitch under Obama when Republican objections left one-tenth of federal judicial seats empty. Democrats responded by eliminating the filibuster for most appointments. Now the Democrats seem willing to borrow from the Republican playbook. If they learned anything from the Obama years up close and personal, it is that there is no political cost for obstruction. There is, however, a cost to the rest of the nation. The U.S. cannot survive without three viable branches of government. The Legislative Branch has ceded far too much authority to the presidency and remains hamstrung by partisanship. Executive Branch career experts are being replaced by a political adviser popular with white supremacists and anti-Semites. And the Judicial Branch is headed by an amputated Supreme Court. Complaining that Republicans, or Democrats, broke some previously existing norms just shines a light on the fragility of our institutions. Politics is about power. The checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution were created to keep that power in check. Anyone worried about an imbalanced federal government should want a fully functioning Supreme Court to play its important role. No, eight is not enough. Immigrant hopes Regarding "The places immigrants build" (Page G2, Sunday), Cort McMurray's story about his great-grandparents is a truthful and historical one about his family. I have enjoyed reading it, and I am thinking about members of my own family that arrived to the United States in the 1800s (another branch of my family tree came even earlier). They left their families and friends in order to come here and create a better life for their families. All of us living here today can give thanks and gratitude to these brave, strong, and resilient individuals. The immigrants continue to come. We are all the same, wanting freedom, opportunities and a better life. Peggy Payne, Houston Repercussions Regarding "Amid confusion, Trump defends refugee ban" (Page A1, Monday), with the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump has presented Islamic terrorists with a better recruiting poster than they ever could have created on their own. It has already shown up on extremist websites as proof that Americans indiscriminately hate Muslims. Beyond that, Trump has betrayed translators and others who supported Americans in conflict zones by putting their lives on the line. Meanwhile on our southern border, Trump has ignored the advice of its GOP Congressman Will Hurd, who knows a thing or two about security from 13 years in the CIA, and authorized the building of a superfluous wall at a time when more Mexicans are leaving than coming into the U.S. Both policies are merely photo-ops that have little or nothing to do with national security. Walter D. Kamphoefner, Bryan Short memories All these protestors around the country at the various airports and downtowns need to be reminded again of 9-11. They all have very short memories. And no one has "a right" to come to this country as a visitor or an immigrant. Let all these protestors be reminded also that we have had periods of time in the last century and before when the federal government prohibited or restricted the entry of immigrants. If these facts were taught in today's schools perhaps we wouldn't have so many out on the streets protesting. Eric Johnson, Houston Alternative facts I was watching a pro and con discussion about President Trump's executive order on the refugee moratorium on the PBS Newshour and heard the attorney general of Kansas defend Trump's position. He offered some valid reasons why it was in the best interests of our nation and also a scholarly defense of its constitutionality. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this executive order seems to be based on another set of alternative facts and not based on a true assessment of the refugee program and its many facets. It is folly to base national policy on untruths. And it is an insult to Americans' intelligence to make us feel a need to fact check the rationale behind each of President Trump's executive orders before we can make an educated decision to support them or oppose them. Dave DiCamillo, Tomball Orders A-OK I think that the president was correct in resisting the flow of immigrants from countries with known terrorist ties. Yes, we are a country of immigrants, and being one myself, I have a lot of respect for the laws of the country, just like most immigrants who land here. But, there are extenuating circumstances that are somewhat different in the cases of certain refugees. Personally, I am happy that President Trump instituted the policies he has, and I believe the country will be far better off and safer because of his decisions. Lawrence Keen, Pearland This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Trump White House is engulfed in a firestorm of its own ignition. The Democrats and the media were only too happy to pour on more gasoline. I am increasingly confident that I'll be able to begin a lot of columns that way over the next four years. That's because the one clear takeaway from his the first days of this presidency is that the Trump we saw during the campaign is the Trump we got. He may move to the center on this policy or that - indeed, I expect he will - but there was never going to be a lasting "pivot." Trump spent his first weekend burning through political capital arguing about crowd sizes. It was foolish but relatively harmless. Trump's actions his second weekend were more worrisome. It's not just the substance of Trump's "Muslim ban" executive order that bothers me - I'm using scare quotes because it's not really a ban on Muslims - but his process, or lack thereof. If Trump had given agency professionals 30 days to review his order on refugees, he could have avoided the confusion at airports, not to mention the media hysteria and the protests. And if his communications team had been given time, they could have pre-empted some of the wild claims made by Democratic detractors. They went another way: The Bannon Way. According to CNN, when lawyers at the Department of Homeland Security concluded that the executive order banning travelers from seven countries did not include legal permanent residents - aka green card holders - senior strategist Steven Bannon led the charge to countermand the ruling. Hence the airport mess. Over the weekend, Bannon also succeeded in getting himself put on the National Security Council's principals committee. This would not be unlike a President Hillary Clinton putting David Brock on the NSC. This is not to say Bannon is to blame for all this. The buck stops with the president. But Bannon leads the "let Trump be Trump" wing of the White House, which relishes sowing chaos and demonizing the press. Actually, "wing" might be the wrong word, given that evidence of a countervailing faction is in short supply. (On "Fox News Sunday," Kellyanne Conway, widely seen as a voice of reason in Trump's inner circle, argued that journalists who didn't show sufficient respect to the president should be fired.) Bannon has said he's a "Leninist" but he's really more of a Trotskyist because he fancies himself the leader of an international populist-nationalist right-wing movement, exporting anti-"globalist" revolution. In that role, his status as an enabler of Trump's instinct to shoot - or tweet - from the hip seems especially ominous. Presumably at Bannon's insistence, Trump didn't even consult his secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, on the grounds that this was a need-to-know operation requiring secrecy, lest the "bad dudes" - Trump's term - find out and rush into the U.S. In other words, two decorated retired generals couldn't be trusted with the information. The Bannon Way might work on the campaign trail, but it doesn't translate into good governance. It's possible - and one must hope - that Trump can learn this fact on the job. But what if he doesn't? He could put the country in serious peril. Consider Russia. In a normal time, the signals being sent by the Trump team would be interpreted as an invitation to Russian aggression. The president waves off concerns about Russia's annexation of Crimea, talks of NATO's obsolescence and hails Vladimir Putin's heroic leadership. During the campaign, Trump surrogate Newt Gingrich belittled Estonia - a NATO ally - as being "in the suburbs of St. Petersburg." (At its closest point, it's 85 miles away, the same distance as Finland.) Putin might well decide to act on Trump's hints. But I don't think Trump would actually welcome an attack on Estonia or another NATO ally. Indeed, I suspect he would feel betrayed by such a move. Then what? Who backs down? Do we abandon Estonia, or do we go to war? In normal times, the essence of statecraft is to avoid getting into such predicaments in the first place - by working carefully and deliberately and consulting with such institutions as the National Security Council. Which is where Trump will find Bannon. Goldberg is an editor-at-large of National Review Online and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. My fiance and I have spent over a year planning our wedding - planning such an event takes extraordinary time, anyway, but our logistical challenges are a bit greater because our family extends well beyond Houston to St. Louis, Toronto, London and even Tehran. This week, as we should be working on putting final touches on our plans, we instead are fraught with worry and concern. With the stroke of his pen last Friday, President Trump's executive order limiting the entry into the U.S. by certain migrants or visitors injected fear and hate into what should be one of the happiest and most love-filled days of our lives. That executive action could well keep my only aunt away from our celebration in my native Houston because she was born in Iran, one of seven countries whose citizens Trump's order has banned from entering the U.S. Sometimes it's difficult to put a face to dryly written, black-and-white legal documents. I understand that as far as these stories go about the impact of the president's order, I have it better than most. But my story is one of many in this country: Americans personally are feeling the impact of Trump's decision. In a misguided attempt to "limit terrorism," the order inhumanely disregards the months and years people spent to get these visas or permanent residencies or vetting process endured to attain refugee status. The injustice and capriciousness of the executive order is self-evident. It invokes the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as the justification for banning certain foreign-born individuals from coming to America. But none of the countries of origin for the 9/11 hijackers are on the list. My family remains closely tied to Iran, one of the countries targeted by Trump's order. Yet Iranian nationals (and nationals from the other six countries) have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015, according to a Cato Institute report. Furthermore, there is indication that this ban would also apply to dual nationals. What does this mean for my British-Iranian relatives who just want to come to America for a wedding? What does this mean for my Canadian-Iranian relatives? With so much confusion about who exactly the executive order allows to come in to the U.S. , and when airport officials themselves still seem to have conflicting and unclear instructions, what are families like mine to do? What does this mean for the untold numbers of those who just want to be with each other as they go through important life events: a wedding, the birth of a child, or being there for the death of a loved one? I understand the concern. I'm also scared of terrorist attacks. I will never forget the horrific events of Sept. 11. But this executive order will not make us safe. It is meaningless and counterproductive. Already it has provoked condemnation from our allies and is being used by extremists and hardliners of these countries as propaganda to further incite anti-American sentiment. This makes us all in America less safe. Rather than turning away visitors and immigrants, we should be welcoming them. They've done a lot for our nation. President Trump, perhaps unknowingly, confirmed this with an image he tweeted out. It was a photo he had been gifted showing a panoramic scene of his inauguration, complete with a heartfelt "Thank You!" He said he would hang it in the upper/lower press hall. The picture was taken by an Iranian immigrant, Abbas Shirmohammadi, who moved to America in 1978, just as the Iranian revolution was heating up and anti-Iranian sentiment was also on the rise here in the U.S. My own father also emigrated to America in 1978, and he moved to Texas in his early 20s. He worked hard to provide for himself and his family, and takes immense pride in this country and the freedoms and opportunities it provides. America is great because of individuals like Mr. Shirmohammadi and my father and the contributions they and other Iranian-Americans have made to our society. Banning people just like them would be foolish. As a Houston-born, Iranian-Texan who is just one of the many thousands of Iranians and Americans of Iranian descent in Texas, I call on my Texas congressional delegation to oppose the order and encourage President Trump to rescind it, and then thoroughly, and alongside the full support of appropriate agencies, conduct his review of our immigration and international tourist policies in a way that doesn't unnecessarily ruin the lives of Americans or our friends and global allies. Trump's executive order breaks my heart to think that some of my family may be missing on a day that my fiance and I will celebrate love and strength in unity. But I also am saddened for the many Texans whose stories are more grievous than my own, those who are forced to endure the unintended consequences of Trump's order. We're American, and we don't deserve this. Taheran, a Houston native, currently lives in Washington, D.C. She is to be married in Houston later this year. Spending last year as president of the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association (MOSEIA) was both a learning experience and step forward for Houston resident Caleb Arthur. Arthur, 30, is the owner and chief executive officer of Missouri Sun Solar, a company he founded in May 2012 that last year was tabbed by Inc. Magazine as the fastest-growing energy company in Missouri and ranked second among companies of all types. The magazine also ranked Sun Solar ninth in the U.S. for fastest energy company growth and 156th on the list of the nations top 5,000 fastest-growing companies in all fields. The MOSEIA (mo-see-uh) website states its mission is to strengthen and expand the solar industry and establish a sustainable energy future for all Missourians. Arthur has been a board member for the organization since it formed in 2009, and as its president, he put in plenty of time and effort helping determine and guide its policies, lobbying for solar in Jefferson City, working with legislators and utility company executives, and generally being a liaison for solar energy interests in Missouri. About 2,500 employees at about 30 solar companies look at MOSEIA as the one voice, Arthur said, and the president kind of has the responsibility of speaking that one voice. Last year, I spent many, many hours talking in front of Senate and House committees and testifying about who I am, what I represent with my company and with MOSEIA, and describing what we would like to see done. Arthur said he was surprisingly welcome in Jeff City. It was shocking how well accepted I was, he said. Before I had a successful company and was MOSEIA president, a lot of those people thought I was just another solar guy. But once they started hearing my story and talking to me, some of the most, what you would consider anti-solar Republicans actually cared what I had to say and would ask great questions. They would even call me later to talk some more. That blew my mind. During a visit last year to the state capitol in Jefferson City, Sun Solar CEO and former Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association (MOSEIA) president Caleb Arthur, left, stands with 7th District Sen. Jason Holsman, center, and new MOSEIA president Mark Walter, who is also a Sun Solar district sales manager. Submitted photo Arthur said people in general would be surprised to find out theyll get the same acceptance from their local legislators. We think of them as these big, scary monsters who dictate our lives, he said. But really, we vote them into power and they actually have to answer to the people who vote them in. The disconnect is that we believe we cant approach the, but I think when most people do Republican or Democrat theyre blown away at the response and heart-felt interaction. I think the moral to that story is that if people really want change, they need to get engaged and meet their legislators face-to-face. Arthur said he has an interest in being a politician, but isnt sure he fits the mold. They have to sacrifice so much, he said. So much family time and so much of their lives. Theyll be up at one in the morning debating bills, and they havent even eaten in 10 hours. I end up wondering, how do you guys for the amount you get paid do that? Typically, MOSEIA presidents serve two-year terms. But Arthur decided to step down half way though his stint primarily due to time constraints. I felt like I was spread too thin, he said. I felt like the pressure of being Sun Solar CEO and then doing everything else was just too much at times. Sun Solar Kansas City district manager Mark Walter took Arthurs place for 2017, with approval of the MOSEIA board. Walter formerly headed Renew Missouri, the states largest renewable energy non-profit group that deals not only with solar issues, but all aspects of the renewable energy realm. MARK WALTER I struggled with walking away, Arthur said, because I think we accomplished so much in a year. But Im really glad Mark took my place; he has everything it takes to be in the position. Those accomplishments included having five pro-solar bills introduced in a state Arthur said is 83-percent coal-dependent with regard to energy. Even as a board member, Arthur represents a change of pace for MOSEIA. For what was normally a liberal, left-wing solar association, I was the first conservative Republican to ever be on the board, he said. While I was president last year, the thing MOSEIA had a big win on was getting the conservative voice coming from me into a message legislators understood was non-partisan but was coming from the other side for once. It really helped with Republicans get a better understanding of the job creation aspect and other positive aspects of solar. Arthur said his experience in dealing with state legislators opened his eyes to their feelings about attempts for them to be bought. I learned that they are really burned out on lobbyists from all these big corporations being paid full time to wine and dine them, give them a gift and play the whole you scratch my back and Ill scratch yours game, he said. Deep inside, our legislators are sick of that way of doing business. So when a guy like me walks in who actually has a family, owns his own business and has employees, theyre very receptive. Its refreshing for them to see a guy from Houston who doesnt have huge political ties or money, huge corporate money or whos there to say, heres what I want you to do to hurt my competitor. Arthur said he now knows that legislative change doesnt come easily or swiftly. CALEB ARTHUR I learned that getting laws changed is a very long, messy and frustrating process, he said, both for we who want it changed and they who want it for us. All the committee meetings and hearings, getting it on the floor, and then voting three times before it can pass; I mean, Im surprised they can get any bills passed the way its set up. Some people would say thats a good thing because it prevents too many things changing too fast. But our states energy laws are over 100 years old. So a lot of my frustration with utility companies not doing the right thing fast enough for the solar industry is mostly rooted in them having their hands tied behind their backs from our states ancient laws. Can you imagine trying to run a business on a 100-year old law without having the updates you needed? Its maddening. Next up for MOSEIA, Arthur said, is to continue its momentum in promoting solar energy as a viable alternative for Missouri. I think MOSEIA is in a great position to get more pro-solar bills introduced and prevent anti-solar bills from being introduced, he said. Last year, 38 states changed their solar laws, but Missouri didnt. Theres an old saying that sometimes certain things are better left untouched than to touch them and open Pandoras Box. What we at MOSEIA have to do is figure out how to open that box and get something good out of it without rolling something back. MOSEIA Arthur said his motivation goes beyond success in business. The reason Im doing all this is because I know how much clean, renewable energy benefits everyone, he said. Its better for our environment, its better for the planet and its better for the budget. But more than that, everyone should have the right to choose whats best for them. I would love to see a time in which every person can realize the benefits of clean energy, not to mention the environmental benefits that would result if we stop plundering our natural resources. FIVE YEARS OF SUN SOLAR Arthur will celebrate Sun Solars fifth anniversary in May. I think its pretty humbling to see the support thats been pouring in from our community, he said, and even the statewide community that knows something about Sun Solar. Seeing so many people I know and grew up with who have gone solar means so much to me, because I had relationships with them. It makes me feel very good that Ive had so much support from the local newspaper, the school board, city council members and even people at the local utilities congratulating me on things. When those things happen, it gives me that drive to go to the next step. Arthur said Sun Solars production that led to the high ranking in 2015 was tripled in 2016. We went from something like $8 or 9 million in revenues in 2015 to a little under $28 million in 2016, he said. And our goal for 2017 is $40 million. That means more job growth and we have 135 employees now. Sun Solars operation in Columbia, S.C., is going well, Arthur said, as is the firms recent expansion to Kansas City. Plans are in place for the company to soon enter the Illinois market. I really want people to know that if you have a dream, you need to focus and believe in yourself and follow that dream, Arthur said, and dont listen to anybody who tells you that you cant do it. Five years ago, there were a lot of close friends and even family who told me solar was just an unsustainable, unknown technology that costs too much and people werent going to do it and I was wasting my time. I decided at that point that I was going to focus on my dream. I took a leap of faith with my brother, working as my own sales rep, installer and financial department. I think now I can look back and say Ive proven all those people wrong. And even more than that, that Ive proven myself right, and that there was a market for it. Arthur believes the public can make a difference in promoting the future of solar energy. I think weve seen time and again that whoever bands together and creates a loud voice gets stuff done, he said. So I want to encourage people that no matter what side of the aisle youre on, if you just team up with like-minded people, have honest discussions and work for things, you can help solar move forward. As President Donald Trump rolls out plans to build a wall on the Mexican border and considers blocking refugees, Missouri lawmakers are trying again to pass a bill aimed at cracking down on deported immigrants who come back and commit crimes. MIKE CUNNINGHAM Under a proposal pitched last Thursday by 33RD District Sen. Mike Cunningham, a Republican, immigrants who are deported but come back and commit any assault or felony offense would face up to 10 years in prison for illegal re-entry. The bill directs those inmates to be transferred to federal immigration authorities as soon as possible. The proposal died in the House after passing the Senate when it was introduced last year, but Trumps election could add momentum to such efforts in Missouri and elsewhere. Missouri appears to be the first and only state to consider such a proposal, said Nick Bullock, spokesman for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Earlier this week, a bill moved forward in Floridas Senate that seeks to increase sentences for crimes committed by immigrants living in the country illegally. It proposes immigrants who commit felonies and misdemeanors face charges that are a degree higher so the sentences are harsher. Cunningham proposed the Missouri bill last year amid frustration among some lawmakers over former Democratic president Barack Obamas handling of immigration issues. In arguing for the bill, Cunningham has cited Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino, a Mexican national charged last year with the high-profile fatal shootings of five men in Missouri and Kansas. Cunningham called Serrano-Vitorino the scum of the earth. Weve had some egregious crimes committed by these people, Republican Sen. Brian Munzlinger said Thursday. Hopefully the feds will step up so we wont ever have to use this law. But until they do, it gives us another alternative. ASSOCIATED PRESS An online exclusive is an article or story that does not run in the print edition of the Houston Herald. Typically 2-3 are posted online every Wednesday morning. Its another feature designed for users who purchase full web access from the Herald. Click here to subscribe for print, digital or both. Family. Relationships. Dr. Jennifer Groner, of Texas County Memorial Hospital, will tell you that those things are very important to her. Groners early memories involve family spending time with her dad caring for cattle on her grandparents farm in Westphalia. I was the youngest of four girls, so even though I was a girl, my dad decided he was going to do everything with me that he would have done with a son, said Groner, who signed a three-year contract with TCMH in August. Cattle farming, fishing, outdoor activities in the Ozarks, were all part of Groners childhood. She grew up in Jefferson City. Her extended family still lives in the area today. In high school, Groner was a candy striper, volunteering at her community hospital. So a career in medicine was something that she considered upon graduating from high school. But Groners path to doctor was more adventurous than the usual undergraduate degree to medical school to residency. Groner went to Notre Dame University, planning to pursue a career in medicine. But she was disenchanted with the people she met also pursuing the same degrees. She ended up with a degree in fine arts. Groners education led her to jobs in Chicago and other parts of the nation as she experienced working for small businesses and managing projects and people on her own, gaining a perspective on the business world that is a benefit in her job today as a doctor. She circled back around to the University of Missouri in Columbia to take required classes for medical school a few years later and attended medical school at AT Still University in Kirksville. Groner thought she wanted to be a family doctor, taking care of people of all ages and delivering babies. A doctor in my program said, You have to go to Appalachia to do that, discouraging me from that field at first, Groner said. Groner considered post medical school residencies in obstetrics/gynecology and general surgery. She matched with a surgery residency and spent an internship year at Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, Mich. General surgery was not for me, Groner said. I knew I wanted to have a connection with my patient that went beyond performing a surgery. Groners thoughts went back to family medicine, and she had the opportunity to join the family medicine residency program at Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City. Groner was able to be close to home at a time when her family needed her while her mom battled cancer. While I was in Jefferson City, I found a program in Kansas City where I could do some extra training and be the family medicine doctor that delivered babies that I always wanted to be, Groner said. After completing residency, Groner went to the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Medicine for fellowship training in surgical obstetrics. A one-year program actually turned into seven years in Kansas City because Groner was offered a dream job as attending physician in the department of community and family medicine and assistant professor at the UMKC family medicine and obstetrics program. In Kansas City, I was doing what I wanted to do, Groner said. She described the position as mini obstetrician. I loved working with the residents in the program, Groner said. Watching the residents grow was gratifying, and the people I worked with were fun. In Kansas City, Groner delivered and oversaw the delivery of hundreds of babies. She had the opportunity to provide care for women and families of many different cultures and backgrounds. Groner also grew her own little familyMatthew was born in 2012 and Sarah was born in 2015. I always knew that at some point in time, I wanted to practice traditional family medicine, Groner said. In 2016 Groner began looking for a new opportunity, and UMKC resident, Cory Offutt, MD, told her about the position he was taking at Texas County Memorial Hospital. I love the rural setting, and folks around here are familiar to me, Groner said about her visit to TCMH. Groner wanted a safe place and a small town to raise her young children. She sought a place not too far from her extended family in Jefferson City. She said taking the job with TCMH felt right to her. When Groner was initially recruited to TCMH, it was not to work full-time at the Mountain Grove Clinic because TCMH had difficulty recruiting physicians doing obstetrics to work full-time at a clinic 25 miles from the hospital. Groner visited the clinic and the community and requested to work full-time in Mountain Grove. I want to build relationships with the people here, Groner said. She said recognized the opportunity to be the physician leader of a clinic in a small town. Groner envisions growing the clinic practice while working alongside Sara Openshaw, the established family nurse practitioner at the TCMH Mountain Grove Clinic, providing the full gamut of care for all age ranges and delivering babies and providing hospital inpatient care at TCMH. The best part of family medicine is being able to provide that ongoing care, Groner said. You start with one aspect of the patients care, and you continue taking care of that patient for many years. So, Groners second dream job began in Mountain Grove. Groner wants to take care of mom while shes pregnant, deliver the moms baby and continue to provide care for mom and the baby after delivery. Groner wants to provide school physicals and immunizations for those children as they grow. She wants the clinic door to be open to walk-in patients as well as patients that need regularly scheduled medical care for chronic conditions. Groner wants mom and dad, the kids, and grandma and grandpa to find a medical home with her. I love the variety in rural family medicine, Groner said, noting that sometimes the care is very routine and sometimes the care is very unusual. Again, Groner circles back around to the importance of family. As a woman and as a single mom, Groner understands the demands placed on women in the workplace, calling them a challenge. We all go to work to support our families, and theres the push and pull of family while we are trying to make a living, Groner said. So many women I talk to are making decisions for their family daily because their spouse has a job on an oil rig or with the railroad. I know that feeling. Groner hopes that the area moms and all the patients that utilize the TCMH Mountain Grove Clinic will find a home with her and the clinic staff. I am looking for a family-feel in our clinic, Groner said. I hope everyone here enjoys their job and the people they work with, so we are able to share that good feeling with our patients. Dr. Jennifer Groner is accepting new patients at the TCMH Mountain Grove Clinic. Walk-in patients are welcome, although appointments are preferred. The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 7:40 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 417-926-1770 for additional information or to schedule an appointment. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 31 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Most of Irans future energy potential actually lies in gas rather than oil, Homayoun Falakshahi, senior Iran analyst at Wood Mackenzie, has said. "Iran is the worlds third largest producer of gas, but it barely plays any role in the global gas trade, with only limited amounts sent primarily to Turkey. Although Iran sits on the second largest reserve of gas in the world, its share in the global gas trade is less than 1%," he told Iranian daily Jahan-e Sanat. Iran exports about 27 million cubic meters per day of gas to Turkey. "Iran historically has had a very important role in world oil markets. It is still one of the main contributors to global oil production with a current share of around 4%," he said. Iran is producing over 3.7 million barrels per day (mb/d) of oil, 560,000 b/d of gas condensate as well as 700 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) of gas. Falakshahi also said Wood Mackenzie estimates total global oil production capacity to be 108 million b/d by 2030. "There is certainly scope for Tehran to play a much bigger role in the oil and gas markets, but this will depend on investing in building new production capacity, and finding viable export options for gas." Iran plans to invest $100 billion in upstream oil and gas sector by 2021 to increase the oil and gas condensate production to about 5.1 mb/d and gas output to about 1.25 bcm/d. Falakshahi said the policies set by the current administration and Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh are spot on as they target some of Irans most urgent needs: developing the shared fields, including South Pars, and improving mature oil fields recovery rates. "Iran is lagging behind most of its neighbours on the development of shared fields, including the massive Azadegan oil field (shared with Iraq) and Farzad B gas field (shared with Saudi Arabia). Moreover, the average recovery rate from its main oil fields is typically around 20-25% while on average this rate is around 30-40% elsewhere in the Middle East". He said that tens of billions of capital investment will be needed in order to succeed on these policies. We estimate the capital investment needs to develop the 49 development projects (based on newly designed oil contract model, called Iran Petroleum Contract, or IPC) that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) selected at the Tehran Summit in November 2015 to be around $150 billion. "The NIOC will also need technical expertise. Therefore, being able to attract foreign capital and expertise appears key to fulfilling these targets," he added. "The IPC appears much improved from the previous fiscal regime, the buy-backs, while keeping many aspects of it. The buy-backs were so difficult to foreign investors that most of them will not accept to come back under such hard terms again. The buy-backs were short-term, very rigid contracts, with no incentive for foreign companies to go beyond the target production," the Wood Mackenzie expert said. "The IPC tries to tackle many of the buy-backs issues: they are signed for a period of 20-25 years, which should make transfer of technology and knowledge much easier to local Iranian companies. Foreign companies will be able to participate in the fields production phase which is also very important in order to improve the fields recovery rates based on the reservoirs reactions. At the same time, Irans constitution is respected as contractors do not own a single barrel or mcf of Iranian oil and gas." Falakshahi added that in fact, the IPC is very similar to the Iraqi technical service contract, with the exception that the IPCs remuneration fee will be floating while this is fixed in Iraq. "International companies typically like this exposure to oil prices," he said. "In Iraq, some projects are making fair returns while others are struggling. It depends on many factors such as the exact negotiated/bid terms, or whether the field is a brownfield or a greenfield, etc. In Iran, it is likely to be similar: some projects will make positive returns while others may be very difficult for foreign firms. Each project will be different." The upstream industry is now much more competitive than 20 years ago when the first buy-backs were signed, added Falakshahi. "Companies have more investment options available such as deepwater Brazil, shale oil, West or East Africa to name a few. These places are geologically more difficult than Iran, but companies are able to make much higher returns there compared to Iran." "Therefore, the IPC looks like a positive first step towards attracting investment and expertise, something that Iran crucially needs as soon as possible," he said. Falakshahi added that the worlds biggest companies are very seriously looking at Iran as a major investment opportunity. "However, not all of them will decide to enter the country. Their decision will be based on many factors of which the most important is the attractiveness of the IPC and projects on offer. It is possible that some companies could be willing to enter even with difficult terms, either for security of oil supply they could be paid in crude oil and lift it for their own refineries or to improve relations between their own government and the Iranian government." He also said that one advantage that Iran has compared to other places is that most of its upstream assets are relatively low-cost to develop. "Companies are cutting budgets in the current oil price environment so this fact could attract some of them." He however said many political obstacles remain in place. "International oil companies will wait to see whether Hassan Rouhani gets re-elected next year, before committing to long-term deals with Tehran. Many will also be very cautious as per the nuclear deals provision that sanctions can get snapped back on Iran if it does not respect its nuclear commitments. Even though this should not have a retrospective effect, the perceived risks could slow down the decision to enter Iran." Falakshahi said international banks are also in need of more assurance regarding what they can and cannot do with Iran. "The big fines that some of them had to face over the last few years is adding to their level of anxiety. Their concern appears even more difficult to appease as it is a judiciary issue as well as a political one." As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Recent years have seen the role of the HR professional evolve. Job descriptions have expanded, remits changed and priorities shifted. But despite these changes, compliance with legislation has maintained a steadfast presence on any HR professionals radar. With stricter legislation coming in, impacting employees and the businesses alike, it falls to the HR team to ensure adherence to the ever-moving targets. Are you prepared? At GBG, we recently undertook some research asking HR professionals their thoughts on legislation changes. Startlingly, 41% are struggling to keep up with changes that directly impact their employees and organizations. Changes to UK law, such as those made to the Right To Work in the Immigration Act and Modern Day Slavery Act are met with anxiety by a third of respondents. Only 26% feel prepared, and just 4% feel optimistic that the changes will be advantageous for their organization. However, despite nearly half of HR professionals not feeling prepared to handle legislation changes, a majority (62%) believe its their primary responsibility. Legislation changes are evidentially making HR professionals feel unprepared. We still dont know what the full impact of Brexit will be, which will add further complexity to the situation. HR professionals may have to report on the nationalities of every member of the workforce, and manage multiple country legislation requirements to ensure compliance. The Home Office i... Amid calls to give the Labour Court in Singapore more power to go after errant employers, the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) said that most employers obey Labour Court orders to pay their workers. MWC chairman Yeo Guat Kwang said that employers who are unable to comply with salary or injury compensation disputes often do not have the proper funds to do so. "These employers harbour little or no wilful intention to short- change or exploit their workers," he told The Straits Times. The companies they are most concerned about, however, are the very small group of employers with the means to pay workers, but who are wilfully non-compliant. Yeo called on the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to take a stern action against these companies, adding that the MWC is working closely with authorities on how best to improve the system to better protect migrant workers. He also said that they have called on MOM to widely publicise successful prosecutions of errant employers, so that a strong example is made of offenders and a firm message of non-tolerance of such behaviour is sent to all employers. The group further suggested that MOM make improvements on how they monitor and enforce work injury compensation insurance to ensure that injured workers get paid. It is important to note that while our system addresses the needs of most workers, there... remain cases such as that of worker Sujan Ahmed that fall through the cracks, he said. Migrant worker Sujan Ahmeds case caught the publics attention when it was reported that his employer was ordered by the Labour Court to pay him more than $9,000 as compensation for a work-related injury but was unable to do so. ew report by PwC is offering insight into the future of work and it seems employers should be bracing themselves for some serious change.Research conducted by the global consulting firm indicates that 46 per cent of HR professionals believe that at least 20 per cent of their workforce will be made up of temporary workers by 2022.While the figure may seem modest, its actually a sharp contrast to 2012, when Statistics NZ data showed that just 10 per cent of the workforce was made up of temporary workers.Simon Hall, business manager of Temp Market , acknowledges that the sudden uptake may come as a surprise to some but says its actually been on the horizon for some time.When we consider the subtle paradigm shifts that have been steadily occurring over time, its a logical and appropriate next step, he says.Auckland-based Hall says there two trends in particular are driving the push towards temporary workers.Technology has been steadily bridging the gap between work and home life, creating a sense of increased flexibility and autonomy. Now, this attitude is filtering through to careers on a wider level, says Hall.Professionals will position themselves as freelancers, taking on temporary projects to add new skills to their repertoires and fill holes in their learning.Rather than being considered job-hoppers, Hall says these workers will actually be considered career-savvy.Each new project is a tightly-calculated next step towards a sharper, higher-performing future, he explains.With this creeping invasion of work into private life, comes the consequent value shift towards work-life balance. Money is precious, but so is time and in many cases, an employee with a multi-faceted life will struggle to fit his or her many increasing demands into a traditional 9-to-5 structure, says Hall.The ability to be flexible with working days and times inherent in taking temporary assignments will be a rapidly-growing drawcard.As a result of the inevitable changes, Hall says businesses will have to develop highly-targeted recruitment strategies which follow a B2B approach.With candidates in the talent pool losing the mantle of job seeker and replacing it with contractor, to attract key talent to fill a gap in your team, you will need to position it as more of a mutually-beneficial partnership, he advises.A potential employees personal brand will have increased impetus when it comes to recruiting talent, and attempts to connect with potential future employees will need to follow a finely targeted approach, as candidates diversify and add new skills to their portfolios.Ultimately, Hall claims employers will have little choice but to embrace temporary workers.Rather than viewing your workforce as an office full of career temps, you would do better to think of yourself as a project manager, recruiting teams of highly-specialised individuals that allow you to react to industry changes and diversify as per your needs, he says. Temp Market is a high tech job matching platform cutting out the middle man to bring employers and temporary workers together.Skills tests, ratings from previous employers and video introductions help you choose your ideal candidate. We have checked and screened temps with admin, customer service and IT Programming skills available now, all for one low cost fee. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Five countries including China, UAE, Iraq, Turkey, and South Korea imported 64 percent of Iran's total non-oil goods in terms of value in the first ten months of current Iranian fiscal year (March 20, 2016-Jan. 20). China was the main importer of goods from Iran in the mentioned period. The country's imports accounted for 18.6 percent of Iran's total exports in terms of value, according to the latest statistics released by Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI). Iran exported $6.543 billion worth of goods to China during the 10-month period, indicating a rise by 10 percent year-on-year. Iran also exported $5.665 billion worth of goods to the UAE (7 percent fall), which marks 16.1 percent of Iran's total exports value. Iraq ($5.039 billion), Turkey (with $2.817 billion), South Korea ($2.567 billion), India ($2.312 billion), Afghanistan ($2.081 billion), Japan ($998 million), Pakistan ($657 million) and Oman ($482 million) were other top importers of Iranian goods. Iran's exports to South Korea registered a rise by 383 percent in the period, meanwhile the country's exports to Turkey decreased by 9 percent. Tehran's exports to India and Oman increased by 8 and 60 percent respectively compared with the 10-month period of preceding year. Meanwhile Afghanistan and Japan imports from Iran witnessed fall by 2 and 8 percent respectively during the same period. Irans exports to Pakistan registered a rise by 26 percent, meanwhile exports to Iraq marked no change in terms of value year on year. Irans total non-oil exports (including the gas condensate) stood at $35.27 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year, which indicates an 8-percent increase. An economic study released on the first day of Safari Club Internationals (SCI) annual convention in Las Vegas finds that trophy hunters have grossly overstated the contribution of big game hunting to eight African economies and that overall tourism in Africa dwarfs trophy hunting as a source of revenue. The new report, commissioned by Humane Society International and conducted by Economists at Large, finds that in Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, trophy hunting brings in just 0.78 percent or less of the overall tourism spending and has only a marginal impact on employment in those countries, providing approximately 0.76 percent or less of overall tourism jobs. The total economic contribution of trophy hunters is at most an estimated 0.03 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). As the trophy hunting advocacy group gathers in Las Vegas this week for its 2017 Annual Hunters Convention, the Economists at Large/Humane Society International analysis directly refutes a 2015 report commissioned by SCI that vastly exaggerated the economic contribution of trophy hunting in Sub-Saharan Africa, and has often been cited by trophy hunters attempting to defend their pay to slay activities. The analysis from Economists at Large identifies serious methodological flaws in SCIs previous claims. Masha Kalinina, international trade policy specialist for Humane Society International, says: For too long, trophy hunters have tried to justify their activity by falsely claiming that their killing helps local economies. As this new report shows, those claims are a sham. In the African countries studied, trophy hunting contributes virtually nothing to local economies or jobs, and is dwarfed in comparison to tourism overall, including eco-safaris reliant on the very animal species whose populations hunters decimate. Its time to stop pretending that slaughtering big game and posing for morbid selfies by their slain bodies is anything more than killing for kicks. Findings from the report include: While overall tourism in the eight study countries is between 2.8 percent and 5.1 percent of GDP, the total economic contribution of trophy hunters is, at most, an estimated 0.03 percent of GDP. As the reports author explains: In terms of the wider tourism economy, which relies heavily on wildlife resources, trophy hunting is relatively insignificant. Trophy hunting brings in less than $132 million in tourism spending to the eight study countries out of $17 billion annual tourism spending, or just 0.78 percent. SCI wrongly alleged that trophy hunting-related tourism contributes $426 million annually. Trophy hunting has only a marginal impact on employment in the eight countries, estimated between 7,500-15,500 jobs. Even when using inflated SCI estimates of direct employment contribution from trophy hunting (19,733 jobs), this is still only 0.76 percent of 2,589,000 average jobs generated by overall tourism. Non-hunting tourism industry is growing much faster and has a much brighter future in Africa. Between 2000 and 2014, overall tourism spending in the eight study countries grew every four months by as much as the annual claimed direct value of the entire trophy hunting industry ($326 million). Foreign trophy hunters make up less than 0.1 percent of tourists in the studied region. Non-trophy hunting tourism employs 132 times more people than trophy hunting. The average increase in tourist arrivals over 54 days in Namibia and 60 days in South Africa exceeded the total annual foreign trophy hunter arrivals. The growth over a year in general tourist numbers is about six times larger than a years worth of hunting tourists. Because trophy hunting is a tiny part of overall tourism sector, with little scope for sustained future growth, even a small effect of trophy hunting deterring growth in other tourism uses (like eco-tourism) may overwhelm its own economic benefits. Facts: As well as being cruel, trophy hunting is detrimental to conservation because: hunters kill the strongest animals that are critical to strengthening the gene pool hunting quotas are frequently set without a solid scientific basis age restrictions for hunted animals are ignored so that, for example, lions are killed as juveniles before they can contribute to the genetic pool corruption prevents trophy hunting funds from making it to conservation U.S.-based SCI is one of worlds largest pro-trophy hunting organizations with 50,000 members. It keeps a record book of kills and offers awards in dozens of categories, such as Bears of the World, South American Indigenous Animals, and the World Hunter of the Year for which a hunter must kill more than 300 animals across the globe. SCIs 2017 convention features more than 900 international hunting outfitters and will auction off almost 1,000 mammals in global hunts valued at over US$5.3 million. In 2015, this convention brought in nearly US$14.4 million. Some of the most shocking SCI 2017 auction items offer up a Canadian polar bear (hunt valued at USD $72,000) and two Namibian elephants (hunts valued at USD $25,000 and USD $35,000) for the slaughter. Media contacts: UK: Wendy Higgins, whiggins@hsi.org +44 (0)7989 972 423 US: Raul Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org +1 301-721-6440 Scientists, and others who fear Donald Trump's administration could spur the loss of crucial data, are turning to Canadian companies and academics to store their findings. Trump has called global warming a hoax, and one of his top advisors says he plans to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, according to Reuters. Advertisement On Jan. 20, the day Trump became president of the U.S., the White House website's page on climate change suddenly read "Page Not Found." Now, a search on the site turns up no mentions of the phrase "climate change" at all. David Doniger, director of the climate program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, is worried by the disappearing U.S. government pages. They are all saying, The climate is changing, we just dont know whether it is human influence or how much.' That still amounts to climate denial," Doniger told National Geographic. Advertisement DataRefuge is a public project that is working to safeguard, manage and distribute copies of climate and environmental data for researchers. In December, the collective began hosting urgent DataRescue events, where volunteers rush to download pages off of government websites (mostly pages on climate change and environmental science) before the information might disappear. DataRefuge explains the current plight of climate data on its website: "Any data produced by the government, it turns out, belongs to the public but access and survival are different issues. There's data that's available, even now, if you follow due process, but the quiet disappearance of data, either because of financial plug-pulling, or because of interference, is the worry now at the threshold between institutional science and the public." A Vancouver archiving company offered its services to help DataRefuge with its mission, to make sure there would be a copy of the company's vulnerable data outside of the U.S. "I reached out to them and told them we have this complete web crawling archive infrastructure in place, and I believe what you are doing is important, and I want to provide our platform," Page Freezer CEO Michael Riedijk told CBC Radio's "Spark." Advertisement "On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration ... it means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions." DataRefuge isn't alone in hoping Canada will provide a safe digital space. Archive.org, a library that indexes old versions of websites, is creating a backup copy of its entire collection that will be hosted on Canadian servers. On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change. For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions," the company wrote in a blog post. In December, students at the University of Toronto met for a "Guerrilla Archiving" project, where they spent hours capturing data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and saving it to San Francisco-based company The Internet Archive. The event was able to save 3,142 pages to the archive, including 192 programs and datasets that were identified as vulnerable. Advertisement The University of Toronto is also one of the groups behind Climate Mirror, an online volunteer effort that allows anyone to help back up climate data. The issue of disappearing data isn't a foreign one to Canadian researchers. DataRefuge writes in a blog post that its members "met with a group of researchers in Canada who witnessed first-hand how having a climate denier in office impacted accessibility to climate and environmental data." In 2014, Canadian researchers watched in shock as environmental science libraries, forced to shut down by budget cuts from former prime minister Stephen Harper's government, filled dumpsters with books and periodicals, The Toronto Star reported. Our recorded Webinar on how to host a #DataRescue event is available now here: https://t.co/YUImW9R2Ua#DataRefuge DataRefuge (@DataRefuge) January 30, 2017 Now, these organizations aren't just storing the data to protect it from budget cuts they also want to look at what changes. Advertisement Page Freezer will be crawling government pages on a weekly basis, and volunteers at the University of Pennsylvania will be doing the same to compare any differences changes made by Trump's administration with the pre-Trump archived versions. Well be letting people know what the changes exactly are. We hope to produce a weekly report on changes, said Bethany Wiggin, one of the data-rescuing organizers, to Quartz. Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to rule out the possibility Tuesday that the Liberals will increase government revenues by taxing private health and dental plans in the upcoming federal budget. Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose said in question period that there were only two ways the Liberals could achieve balance: increase taxes or curb their spending. Advertisement UPDATE: A day after he refused to rule it out, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the Commons on Wednesday the Liberals will not push forward with a tax on health and dental benefits provided to employees by their employers. After a series of stories in The National Post suggested the Finance department is targeting benefits, Ambrose demanded to know whether Trudeau was seriously considering a new tax on drug, vision, and dental plans that would affect millions of Canadians. That proposed new health tax means that most families will pay an additional $1,000 in taxes, many will lose their benefits entirely, and they will be left vulnerable, she said in the House of Commons. Advertisement Trudeau responded with his usual chorus, saying that the government is focused on helping the middle class and those working hard to join it. We are looking at how we are going to help Canadian families get through the challenges that they are facing and create opportunities for their children and their grandchildren to thrive and succeed, the prime minister said. Ambrose tried again. People rely on these for prescriptions and much-needed health programs, she said. "That proposed new health tax means that most families will pay an additional $1,000 in taxes, many will lose their benefits entirely, and they will be left vulnerable." Interim Tory Leader Rona Ambrose Could the prime minister focus on the economy and answer the question? Is he seriously going to put a tax on the health and dental plans of millions of Canadians? Advertisement Trudeau sidestepped again, saying: Budget 2017 is coming up and we are looking at ways within that budget to help Canadians invest in their future, to lower the costs of everyday goods and pharmaceuticals they need. If the Liberals push forward with a tax on health and dental benefits, the government will likely argue that well-paid employees need to pay their fair share. Currently, employees without benefits often lower-wage workers are subsidizing those who receive them, a senior Liberal recently told HuffPost. Quebec already taxes such benefits. Professional associations urge Canadians to fight back Several professional associations, from dentists to chiropractors to optometrists, have joined forces to urge Canadians to fight back against the proposed tax hike. The DontTaxMyHealthBenefits.ca campaign suggests many Canadians might find themselves without health benefits if employers can't afford to keep them insured. When Quebec introduced a health tax in 1997, 20 per cent of employers stopped offering health and dental benefits, the coalition states on its website. Advertisement Without proper health care benefits, more Canadians will enter the public system with greater health needs, driving up the costs, they wrote. Taking needed care away from millions of Canadians is not the way to address fairness and equity." Study shines light on potential costs Two years ago, the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation struck by the Conservative government suggested employer-paid premiums on employer-sponsored health and dental benefits should be made a taxable benefit to the employee. The panel recommended employees be allowed to claim the expense as part of a refundable health tax credit. Thats not to say employees with benefits wont feel any pain. The Post cited a soon-to-be-released study by the Conference Board suggesting someone in Ontario making $45,000 a year with family coverage would pay an extra $1,167 in taxes. Those earning $90,000 would pay $1,277 more. Families with dual incomes would pay twice that amount. Last fall, the Grits announced that the size of the deficit is projected to be $25.1 billion for this year. The Liberals offered no timeline for when the federal governments books might return to balance. Also on HuffPost How Much Are Federal Politicians Making? (2016) See Gallery The U.S. tech sector relies heavily on foreign-born talent, and after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that threatened the future of tech employees in that country, some companies are looking to Canada. Trump's order bars refugees, as well as immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen all Muslim-majority countries, from entering the U.S. Advertisement A Vancouver immigration lawyer told The Globe and Mail that on the weekend Trump signed the order, he met with a dozen clients, including engineers and PhD students, who were interested in moving to Canada. And it's not just refugees or workers from those seven countries who might want to pack up shop. Immigration rules up in the air Currently, the U.S. allows 85,000 workers to cross its borders every year through H-1B visas, a lottery-based temporary foreign workers permit for employees with specialized skills. Immigrants are a big part of the tech industry companies including Tesla, Microsoft, Google, eBay, Yahoo and Apple were either founded by or are currently run by newcomers to the U.S. This week, a draft of a proposed executive order to revamp the visa program was leaked from the White House. If approved, the order could revoke the right of current workers to remain in the U.S. or prevent more workers from entering the country. Advertisement All the unknowns are making Canada look like an attractive alternative. Silicon Valley consultant and entrepreneur Scott Rafer launched a startup to help workers and companies struggling with that uncertainty. Truth North offers a US$6,000 package to fly employees to Vancouver, where they can meet with immigration experts and hear about how to set up their current jobs under a Canadian subsidiary. Rafer told Tech Crunch that they "arent saying to move on spec but to have a ripcord." He explained that British Columbia has the infrastructure to be a major tech hub, and that his plan won't disadvantage Canadian-born workers. Advertisement Its not highly educated immigrants coming in and taking anything thats even remotely considered a Canadian job, Rafer told The Globe and Mail. Its high-income foreigners coming in and bringing their job with them. It looks like the Canadian tech community is ready to welcome employees with open arms. Since Sunday, over 3,000 members of Canada's tech community have signed an open letter calling on Ottawa to give temporary residence to anyone displaced by the ban (something Canada has since announced it will do). "Canadian tech companies understand the power of inclusion and diversity of thought, and that talent and skill know no borders," the letter reads. "Its high-income foreigners coming in and bringing their job with them." Canada recently introduced new visa measures that make it even easier for tech companies to recruit foreign talent. "This utterly foolish action by the U.S. government is an opportunity 100 times greater to build Canada," startup co-founder Daniel Debow told Business Insider. Advertisement Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost In any other year, a beer ad depicting an immigrant sailing across the sea to find the American dream would not be controversial. This is not any other year. Budweiser's new Super Bowl ad portrays the 1857 journey of its co-founder Adolphus Busch from Germany to St Louis. Upon arrival, he's welcomed with xenophobia as an angry American yells, "You're not wanted here! Go back home!" Advertisement He eventually meets Eberhard Anheuser, another German immigrant and together they create Budweiser, a brand so ingrained in the United States psyche that it literally renamed itself "America" during last year's election. "You're not wanted here! Go back home!" Now most brands don't want to admit to being political in this day and age, and so a company spokesperson told AdWeek there was "no correlation with anything else that's happening in the country." But that wasn't enough for Breitbart readers, who threatened to boycott the brand over the ad which they considered anti-Trump. They were especially angry because Anheuser-Busch is owned by the European conglomerate InBev. Advertisement Days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning Syrian refugees from the United States, Air Canada also released a new ad focused on immigration, reuniting a family from the war-torn region. You can watch that ad below: On Monday, Racked's Cheryl Wischhover wrote an article with the headline "There Has Been Radio Silence From Beauty Companies About the Immigration Ban." As she noted, there was no discussion or statement about Trump's ban from global companies like Estee Lauder or LOreal Paris; no word from high fashion beauty brands; and no word from CoverGirl, who recently named Nura Afia its first ever hijab-wearing Muslim ambassador. Advertisement But finally, one beauty giant decided it was time to respond and throw a little shade at President Donald Trump's administration. Enter Dove. They company decided it was time to poke fun at presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway's catch phrase alternative facts," which are in fact falsehoods, not facts at all. Published in various U.K. newspapers and immediately posted online, the two-page advert cheekily unveils a series of dramatic lies surrounding Dove's new antiperspirant deodorant. Advertisement Among the brand's "alternative facts"? That the sweat-proof deodorant "increases your IQ by 40 points;" that it "knows a guy who can get you on the guest list;" and that it can even "boost your Wi-Fi signal." And of course, the page of lies finishes off with the Orwellian hashtag coined by Conway to gloss over Sean Spicer's inauguration number fabrications, #AlternativeFacts. But wait. Flip the page over, and the ad continues. This time, it containts an image of the product with the message, New Dove antiperspirant cares for your skin like never before along with the hashtag #RealFacts. Now this is how you do a smart campaign. Also on HuffPost Dove "Real Beauty Sketches" Campaign See Gallery From Ellen DeGeneres to Mahershala Ali, many Hollywood celebrities have spoken out on President Donald Trump's immigration travel ban which was signed on Friday. James Corden protested the ban without even saying a word. On Monday night's episode of "The Late Late Show," the British host, who moved to the United States in 2014, was shown recording his experience of travelling out of Los Angeles airport. Advertisement In the video titled "Post-Ban Trip Through LAX," we see the 38-year-old arriving by car to the airport. As he enters the building, he spots protesters with signs. Corden then proceeds to check in and go through security and the screening area ... easily. Even before his flight, James has time to order a grilled cheese sandwich. He exchanges pleasantries with a boarding agent, and off he goes to board his flight. The video ends with text notifying viewers that Corden's shows for the week have been pre-taped as he is away from Los Angeles. "Freedom of movement should be this easy for all legal immigrants," the video explained. "Not just the white and Christian ones." Advertisement Trump's executive order banned citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from travelling to the U.S. for 120 days, and blocked the entry of Syrian refugees to the country. Corden also took to Twitter to show his support for the people of Liverpool by sharing a picture of their anti-Trump protest. Proud of the people of Liverpool for this. X pic.twitter.com/RRJeRNZ8iC James Corden (@JKCorden) January 31, 2017 Corden is set to host the Grammy Awards on February 12, After a powerful statement like this, it leaves us to wonder if the British comedian will use the opportunity to address Trump live on television too. Advertisement Also on HuffPost An Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful wants Muslim Canadians to know they have and will always be welcome in Alberta but the message has some wondering when Jason Kenney changed his tune. The former federal immigration minister posted a video to YouTube Tuesday, condemning Sunday's shooting attack at a Quebec mosque that left six people dead and 19 injured. (Watch the video embedded above.) Advertisement Kenney highlights how Alberta was home to Canada's first mosque and that current Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is the first Muslim to lead a major Canadian city. "Let us all find ways to embrace our Muslim friends and all people of faith to ensure that this continues to be a place of freedom and security for generations to come," he said. He also thanked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his "thoughtful and compassionate words" following the attack. Advertisement Thank-you to Prime Minister Trudeau for his thoughtful & compassionate words responding to the Quebec terror attack: https://t.co/Gu20sycUQ5 Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 31, 2017 However, it's a stance that's confusing for Canadians who recall Kenney's 2011 directive forbidding Muslim women from wearing niqabs while taking the oath of citizenship. @jkenney niqab ban, snitch lines, fake citizen ceremonies don't sound welcoming to me. officialdoubter (@polycan6632) February 1, 2017 It wasn't Trump who tried to ban the Niqab at Canadian citizenship ceremonies. No. that was Harper and Kenney. #cdnpoli Kathleen Smith (@KikkiPlanet) January 30, 2017 Advertisement Kenney was serving as immigration minister at the time when the ban was imposed. At the time, Kenney said the niqab represented a view of women unacceptable in Canada. The Conservatives fought a hard battle to uphold the ban after a Muslim woman from Mississauga, Ont. launched a lawsuit against the government after she objected to unveiling her face in public for the official oath-taking ceremony. The government lost in Federal Court and again at the Federal Court of Appeal before going all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada to try to reinstate its ban. In the end, the government lost the fight, which cost them more than $400,000. Despite Kenney's complicated past with the Canadian Muslim community, some see his recent support of religious freedoms as a welcome change. @asifintoronto Actually, I think that @jkenney deserves some credit for his recent statements. 1/2 Kevin Burke (@kevinjamesburke) January 31, 2017 @asifintoronto While other @CPC_HQ voices have been noticeably silent, @jkenney's been a voice of moderation, and principle. Kevin Burke (@kevinjamesburke) January 31, 2017 Advertisement @HappyintheWest I disagree with @jkenney on most issues of policy / governance. But you are wrong here and I thank Mr. Kenney for his words. Ryan Wright (@ryanwright) January 31, 2017 Kenney took to Twitter over the weekend urging the Canadian government to welcome those stranded in the U.S. after President Donald Trump banned Syrian refugees and anyone with a passport from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country. Canada should offer temporary permits to welcome those stranded by the executive order, Kenney said. A move he called a "brutal, ham-fisted act of demagogic political theatre." He also also shared a clip of his last words in the House of Commons as an MP, where he praised the role of immigrants and refugees in shaping Canada. In light of the Executive Order, posting my last words in the House of Commons, where I talked about the refugees who helped to build Canada https://t.co/2t3lMhF5PV Jason Kenney (@jkenney) January 29, 2017 Advertisement Also on HuffPost: A banner listing the names of the six men killed in a mass shooting at a Quebec City mosque this week was hung from the constituency office of Conservative MP and leadership candidate Kellie Leitch. Images of Leitchs office in Collingwood, Ont. surfaced online early Wednesday. Hate puts us all at risk, the banner reads, before citing the six people who were gunned down Sunday night during evening prayers: Advertisement Azzeddine Soufiane, 57 Khaled Belkacemi, 60 Aboubaker Thabti, 44 Abdelkrim Hassane, 41 Ibrahima Barry, 39 Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42. This was hung on Kellie Leitch's office overnight in Collingwood @NewsBayshorepic.twitter.com/yHa87dtsIz Ally G (@algibbons) February 1, 2017 Leitch has called for immigrants, refugees, and visitors to screened for so-called anti-Canadian values and raised eyebrows by lauding the election of Donald Trump last November. Advertisement Though she has long denied that the controversial policy is directed at Muslims, fellow Tory leadership rival Michael Chong dismissed it as dog-whistle politicsand xenophobic. Leitch not backing down Leitch told The Globe and Mails Laura Stone Tuesday that it is ridiculous for anyone try to link her proposal to the attack, arguing her policy could also apply to white supremacists. Though Leitchs campaign has been endorsed by two white nationalist groups, she suggested during a previous interview that she was not overly concerned about racists gravitating to her. Im not one [a racist] myself, she told AM640 in November. It is not for me to speak about other individuals. Statement after mosque attack did not mention Muslims Like other Tory leadership candidates, Leitch released a statement Monday condemning the shooting, but her remarks notably did not mention that the attack took place in a mosque or that the victims were Muslims. Advertisement Colin Walmsley, a University of Oxford student, later took to Twitter with an edited version of Leitch's statement that created a splash on social media. Chong also released a fiery statementthis week, saying it was time to root out politicians who are playing footsie with hate. His release did not mention Leitch, but noted that one of his leadership rivals has been endorsed by white supremacist groups. Proposals to add an additional screen for immigrants based on anti-Canadian values is not a practical solution, and frankly, is playing to fears and prejudices, Chong said in the statement. Advertisement Demagogues and wannabe demagogues, playing to fears and prejudices, have created the space for hate to grow. The politicians espousing these policies may do it in a genteel fashion that sounds acceptable, but check out the comments on their social media platforms and you will find cesspools of hate. This mosque attack is no accident: It's a direct result of demagogues and wannabe demagogues playing to fears and prejudices 1/3 Michael Chong (@MichaelChongMP) January 30, 2017 Chong also wrote on Twitter that, yes, he was angry: "This is Canada. This was an attack on real Canadian values enshrined in the Charter: religious freedom." The Huffington Post Canada has reached out to Leitch for comment. Also on HuffPost Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.1 By Dalga Khatinoglu Trend: Iran has signed contracts with South Korean and Chinese companies to upgrade its refineries, while a new contract with Japanese companies worth $3.6 billion is expected to be sealed soon, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Abbas Kazemi said Feb.1. He added that China has opened a credit line worth $1.3 billion for developing Irans Abadan refinery and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) would start this $3-billion project this month. The project is aimed to reduce the share of fuel oil in the final products basket from the current 40 percent to about 20-22 percent. He also said that Iran has signed a $2-billion agreement with South Korean Daelim company to develop the Isfahan refinery and its expected that Japanese Marubeni, Mitsui and Chiyoda Corporation will sign agreements worth $3.6 billion with Iran to upgrade its refineries. In total, Iran plans to renew and build refineries to boost its oil refining capacity from the current 1.8 mb/d to above 3.1 mb/d. For renewing the existing refineries, Iran needs some $14 billion worth of investment. The main goal is to increase the products standards as well as decrease the fuel oil output ratio from the current 24 percent to 10 percent in average. Coming to new projects, Iran plans to complete four refineries, with overall capacity of 1.290 mb/d, and inaugurate them. The Persian Gulf Star Refinery will add 360,000 b/d, while Siraf Complex, Anahita and Bahman Geno refineries will add 480,000 b/d, 150,000 b/d and 300,000 b/d to Irans current refining capacity. Kazemi said that the first phase of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery with 120,000 b/d capacity would become operational in spring. He said that Iran imported 11.8 million liters of gasoline per day during 10 months of the current fiscal year, but the imports would stop by inaugurating the first phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery. The second phase of updating Abadan refinery also would finish by summer. Currently Iran exports 12.88 million liters of gas oil per day as well. Liquid fuels Mar. 21, 2016/Oct. 22, 2016 million liters per day (ml/d) 2015/2016 (ml/d) 2014/2015 (ml/d) 2013/2014 (ml/d) Gasoline production 65.84 67.02 64.91 67.52 Gasoline imports 10.8 9.99 4.57 3.7 Petrochemical plants gasoline output 1.4 1.39 2.16 1.7 Gas oil production 90.96 89.39 96.01 97.69 Gas oil export 12.88 5.52 0.03 0.71 Iran plans to start gasoline export and increase gas oil export level in the coming years, as demonstrated in the chart below: For at least 116 years of Canadas 150-year history, indigenous children were taken from their parents. When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training mode of thought are Indian, Canadas first prime minister said in 1879. He is simply a savage who can read and write. Advertisement Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, Sir John A. Macdonald told the House of Commons, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men. At the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Macdonalds words hang across from a seven-foot by 11-foot painting of RCMP officers, nuns, and priests wrestling children from their mothers arms. The paintings title is The Scream. I wanted to reflect on the last 150 years. What has it meant to indigenous people? Kent Monkman, the Cree artist who made the painting, told The Huffington Post Canada in an interview. I wanted to offer an alternate perspective ... alternate facts, he said with a chuckle. Advertisement Monkmans new exhibit, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, will be shown across the country in conjunction with Canadas 150th birthday. It takes viewers through 300 years of history from 150 years before Confederation to present day through the eyes of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Monkmans artistic alter ego. Massive paintings and historical artifacts present some of Canadas most tragic chapters: The establishment of reserves and residential schools The near-extinction of bison The illness, violence, and poverty that came along with colonization. Monkman wanted to walk us back through time and stitch together a counter-narrative that reflected on indigenous experience, he said. Advertisement One of the things that I wanted to achieve was to make history paintings that are reflective of events that have never been authorized to art history. Death of the Virgin (After Caravaggio) takes its title from a 1606 painting commissioned by monks in Rome. Rather than depicting the Virgin Mary surrounded by apostles, Monkmans version shows an indigenous woman dying in a modern-day hospital bed, surrounded by loved ones. If you go to hospitals in places like Regina or Winnipeg or Saskatoon, theyre full of indigenous people, Monkman said. For me, the fact that so many indigenous people are sick is a direct result of the poor conditions on reserves and various other social problems that stem from intergenerational trauma from residential schools. The reaction that Shame and Prejudice has already evoked shows how vital indigenous perspectives are, Monkman said. Advertisement I couldnt have predicted it would have had that kind of effect. A photo of The Scream posted to Facebook elicited thousands of shares in a matter of days. The fact that people responded so viscerally and emotionally to a scene of children being removed from their families, it really represented ... an important part of our history that has never been authorized to our official, dominant art history, he said. I couldnt have predicted it would have had that kind of effect. He hopes the works will not only educate Canadians about our countrys past, but also leave an impact on future generations. I wanted my message to reach 150 years into the future as well and communicate things on a deep, human level. Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience is on view at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto for free until March 4, 2017. The exhibit will also be shown at galleries in Calgary, Kingston, Ont., Charlottetown, Halifax, Montreal, Owen Sound, Ont., Winnipeg and Vancouver. For more details, visit Kent Monkmans website. Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost 11 Facts About Canada's First Nations See Gallery A Canadian CEO has offered to cover funeral costs for all six victims of Sunday's Quebec City mosque attack. Helping those affected by the shooting, which left another 19 injured, is just part of being a Muslim, Paramount Fine Foods owner Mohamad Fakih told CP24. Advertisement "Thats what Islam taught me and thats what Canada taught me, he said Tuesday. "We believe as Muslims that when youre blessed with money, success or knowledge that you share it." The restaurant and grocery chain owner is also offering to pay for any repairs the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec may need, according to CTV News. "Thats what Islam taught me and thats what Canada taught me." Fakih said news of the attack shook his family, much like the larger Muslim community. I was heartbroken. So were my wife and my boys I had to explain what happened to them in the morning. Its not easy to explain to children," he told CP24. Advertisement The businessman said helping with costs is one way he can be "part of the solution." Fakih reached out to Islamic Relief Canada, one of the country's largest faith-based charities, with his offer. Charities also collecting donations The charity has already collected more than $100,000 through a LaunchGood campaign to help the Muslim community in Quebec City's Sainte-Foy neighbourhood. Islamic Relief Canada thanked Fakih for his generosity in a news release Tuesday. "This commitment from Mohamad Fakih will go a long way in rebuilding the mosque and keeping the community together after such as tragedy." The organization also praised Canadians, saying it is "overwhelmed" by the outpouring of support. Another GoFundMe page, collecting donations to be distributed by a non-profit organization called Canada Zakat, had collected $200,000 by Tuesday afternoon. Paramount hired Syrian refugees Ontario-based Paramount Fine Foods, which has locations in Alberta, the United States and Lebanon, is known for its community service in times of need. Last year, the chain pledged to hire Syrian refugees at all of its Canadian locations. Fakih told The Huffington Post Canada at the time that he felt sponsoring refugees was not enough. Advertisement "Thats cutting a cheque, but we can do more by [making a] real, hands-on effort." Follow Huffington Post Canada Living on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter! Also on HuffPost A shooting at a Quebec City mosque that killed six men and injured 19 others has shone an uncomfortable spotlight on the xenophobic rhetoric coming across Quebec's airwaves. "Radio poubelle" or "trash radio" hosts have been singled out by some critics for their provocative speech. Advertisement "The real danger of this kind of radio is that they play with the line between news, opinion and demagoguery," Laval University professor Louis-Philippe Lampron told The Washington Post. There is no evidence that the accused shooter, 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette, a student at Laval University, listened to "trash radio." But he was known as an online troll who would often make hateful comments about refugees. After the attack, FM 93 reported without any verification that the attacker shouted "Allahu akbar," according to The Economist. Advertisement Stephane Leman-Langlois, another professor at Laval, recalled a right-wing talk radio episode from 2016 that suggested Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was working on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood. "There is really an examination of conscience to do on the part of these radio stations," Leman-Langlois told AFP. There's even a Twitter account and website dedicated to chronicling sexism, racism, homophobia and hate speech from such shows in Quebec City. "Sortons les poubelles" roughly, "take out the trash" has accused shock jocks of having blood on their hands after the attack. A recent blog post on the site reminds viewers that in September, a Radio X host said (translated from French), "They [Muslims] abhor Western values, freedom, democracy, gender equality. They want to destroy this civilization that is ours. " Advertisement "The real danger of this kind of radio is that they play with the line between news, opinion and demagoguery." In 2015, Laval communications professor Dominique Payette wrote a report warning of the danger of rhetoric spread by radio stations like Radio X and FM 93. She wrote that the stations were regularly targeting Muslims, feminists, indigenous people, students, artists and people with disabilities, according to La Presse. A 2016 survey by Forum Research found that Muslims were the target of the most racial bias or unfavourable feelings in Quebec out of anywhere in Canada, where 48 per cent of those surveyed saw Muslims in a negative light. Advertisement Radio shock jocks might not be the only ones cultivating that bias. Parti Quebecois Leader Jean-Francois Lisee has admitted his language may have gone too far sometimes like that time he suggested burkas could conceal jihadi attackers. It wasnt a good idea to bring that idea into the Quebec debate, Lisee told The Globe and Mail. Its not easy to be Muslim in the 21st century. We could turn down our language while still debating our values. On Tuesday evening, someone hung a banner on Ontario Conservative MP Kellie Leitch's office that listed the names of the mosque shooting victims. The banner read "Hate puts us all at risk." Leitch has called for immigrants to be screened for so-called "anti-Canadian values." At a memorial Monday night for the victims, Lisee stood on stage as speakers mourned those lost. But Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume took the opportunity to make a statement, saying the killings, "were an opportunity to reject those who enrich themselves through hate," Maclean's reported. Advertisement Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost A U.K. couple has been fined for taking their 10-year-old son out of school to attend a family wedding. Ross and Samantha Woodland, of Lincolnshire, took their son Ewan to two family functions in Scotlands Orkney Islands last year, causing him to miss seven days of school. The couple has now been fined 1,000 (roughly C$1,600) for their sons unauthorized absence, the Sun reports. Advertisement Originally, the parents were given a statutory fine of 60 for taking Ewan out of class at Reynolds Primary Academy; however, they refused to pay. A wedding is part of life that schools cannot teach, the father told The Daily Mail. We put in the relevant paperwork for approval for leave of absence. But they did not see it as an exceptional circumstance. They say absence will only be authorized if it is rare, significant, unavoidable and short. I expect weddings to come under that context as there is no way we can decide when our relatives hold their weddings. The Woodlands first received a penalty notice last July, followed by a letter of intention to prosecute. They are now expected to appear in court on Friday. Advertisement Being fined for a childs school absence is nothing new in the U.K. In 2013, the Department for Education introduced new regulations stating that only the school can authorize absences in exceptional circumstances. This includes if a death in the family occurs or if a student observes a religious holiday. BBC reports that between September 2013 and August 2014, nearly 64,000 parents were fined after their kids missed class. Despite this, the Woodlands do not believe we have done anything wrong, especially considering that last year another father, Jon Platt, refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter on vacation during the school term and won the dispute in High Court. The courts reasoning was that there was no proof that Platts six-year-old failed to attend class regularly. Government plans law change after dad fined for taking daughter on term-time holiday wins at High Court. #HeartNewspic.twitter.com/nNns2W4lSX Heart London News (@HeartLondonNews) May 13, 2016 A petition was also launched in support of the the couple's refusal to pay the fine, and now has more than 200 signatures. Advertisement A wedding is an important event, Ross said in his and his wifes defence. It is not like we are taking him away on a cheap holiday. This was a one off. Nonetheless, a spokesperson at Tollbar Multi Academy Trust, which Reynolds Academy is a part of, said: Parents or carers do not have the right to withdraw a student from the Academy to go on holiday or for any other reason during term-time. We, therefore, ask for parents' support by ensuring that requests for leave of absence in term-time are made only in truly exceptional circumstances. Tollbar Multi Academy Trust believes that there is a strong link between student absence and the results that they achieve. Every lesson matters and children who have time off often find it difficult to catch up. Also on HuffPost When U.S. President Donald Trump met with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House last week their "special relationship" raised many eyebrows. But now that May has invited Trump to the U.K. for a formal state visit people are speaking out. Advertisement British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump walk along The Colonnade of the West Wing at The White House on January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. An online petition calling for a cancellation of the trip has surpassed 1.7 million signatures, posing a predicament for the Queen. "It would have been far wiser to wait to see what sort of president he would turn out to be before advising the Queen to invite him," Lord Ricketts, the former head of the Foreign Office, said in a letter to The Times. "Now the Queen is put in a very difficult position." Since his inauguration anti-Trump protests have been popping up around the world. In the past week 10 Downing Street the official residence of the British Prime Minister was flooded with thousands of protestors demanding no state visit in light of the president's controversial travel ban. Advertisement Protestors take to the streets to show that they do not support American President Donald Trump following his controversial Muslim ban. According to representatives for May the invitation was made on behalf of the Queen: "To be clear, the Prime Minister extended an invitation on behalf of the Queen and she was very happy to do so. The USA is one of this country's closest allies, and we look forward to hosting the president later this year." While Buckingham Palace has remained quiet on the matter, Ricketts notes the Queen makes her decisions based on the advice of the government, which includes the Prime Minister. Advertisement Theresa May meets the Queen after being sworn in as Prime Minister. Though no date has been set for the visit, a spokesperson for May says it is months away. An official state visit is a lavish affair with luxe banquets and red carpets. During their eight years in power former presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan did not make a state visit to the U.K. and Barack Obama didn't receive a state visit until 28 months into his presidency, Sky News reports. Also on HuffPost As of Wednesday, traders on the Toronto Stock Exchange can buy and sell "WEED." Thats the new stock ticker symbol for Canopy Growth, an Ontario-based medical marijuana company that bills itself as the largest legal cannabis business in the world. "Patients, investors and Canadians as a whole are more accepting of the cannabis sector today than ever before," Canopy CEO Bruce Linton said in a statement. Advertisement "This is owed to a lot of factors, but we are proud to have played our part in introducing a once-stigmatized topic into Main Street and Bay Street conversations. Canopy has done more than help reduce the stigma around weed -- it has made some people rich. The company became the worlds first marijuana unicorn last fall -- a term referring to a startup that reaches $1 billion in value. Advertisement An employee inspects medicinal marijuana plants inside the flowering room at Tweed Inc., in Smith Falls, Ontario, on Monday December 5, 2016. Tweed is a subsidiary of Canopy Growth, and operates in an abandoned Hershey chocolate factory. (Photo: Lars Hagberg via Getty Images) Canopy hit that mark in November amid a frenzy of trading following the U.S. election, when four states California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. Traders drove up the prices of Canadian marijuana stocks, betting that these companies will get into the growing U.S. pot market. The companys stock ticker change came after it completed its purchase of rival pot grower Mettrum, creating a marijuana giant whose nearly 40,000 customers account for around half of medical marijuana patients in Canada. Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost DOELAN Yann via Getty Images It was my mother's university degree in computer science that opened the doors to Canada. My parents left Cuba to pursue a better life. That may sound like a really simplified way of saying it, but it's what so many immigrant families are in search of when they come to Canada. They made a sacrifice and turned away from everything they knew -- their language, customs and their family and friends. They placed my brother and me before all of these things because for them we were worth it. Advertisement I was five years old when we left Cuba. I wish I could say I have vivid memories about coming to Canada, but the truth is I hardly remember getting on the plane. I grew up in Toronto, but just before I began high school we moved further north to a small but growing suburban town. Growing up in the city, I was witness to a multicultural landscape and it wasn't uncommon to hear other languages in the classroom. High school was an entirely different environment, the majority of students were white and the strong lack of ethnic groups made whiteness seem like the standard. On the first day of high school, first period geography, the teacher wanted to know if there were any students in the class not born in Canada. I casually raise my hand, but when my eyes drifted around the room, I discovered my hand was the only one in the air. I was the only immigrant in a room of 30 students. Advertisement The teacher asked where I was born. I told him I was born in Cuba. He smiled and said he's been to Cuba and that the beaches are beautiful. At that moment, I could feel the gazes of each of my classmates. I even remember feeling my cheeks heat up because everyone was looking at me. I didn't like the way I was being looked at, like I was different because I came from another country. That's the first time I can remember being ashamed of where I came from. I started to hide and reject my Cuban identity. My white skin and fluent English made it easy for me to blend into the setting. I remember wanting to change where I was born. I think back on this and I hate myself for being so impressionable and intimidated. Other factors that influenced my perspective were the harmful narratives surrounding immigrants. One of the common filters used to view immigrants is that we're "anti-Canadian" and should work harder to assimilate. Immigrants are often perceived as the "other" or the "alien." It seemed that being an immigrant established you as an inferior non-citizen. As a result, I had a difficult time accepting this part of my identity when the word seemed to be tainted, carrying a deeply ingrained negative connotation. "It felt like I was juggling two acts, two polar identities, and I didn't know which one I wanted to be." The long years of communist leadership in Cuba and the violation of human rights, specifically the attacks on freedom, have pushed many to pursue a life elsewhere. The way I saw it, there weren't any reasons to be proud. Advertisement I think I really disappointed my parents by rejecting my culture, maybe they felt like I was rejecting them too, rejecting the culture they fought so hard to keep alive within the four walls of our home. I wonder who they saw exactly when they looked at me. Not only was I absorbed with a fear of being seen as the "other" because of where I was born, but I was also struggling to get in balance with both halves of my identity. It felt like I was juggling two acts, two polar identities, and I didn't know which one I wanted to be. At times, it was like I was wearing a mask for each side of my identity and regardless of the mask I chose, the conclusion was always the same: I'm too foreign for either side. Advertisement I would feel ashamed for not trying harder to conform to "Canadian values" and for not relating to the experiences of my white-Canadian friends. In front of Cuban family and friends, I would feel guilty for appearing too Canadian, una gringa, or whitewashed. While in my mind I could only be one, for my mother I didn't have to choose. She didn't believe it was a conflict between two sides. She saw these two identities as a privilege, a blend of two cultures and two languages that created a mold of who I am. In hindsight, I regret shutting out this part of me. By casting it aside, I was erasing a part of my identity and allowing Cuba's turbulent history and current immigration narratives to dictate the way I approached my identity. Instead of battling the differences between the two cultures, I needed to work towards embracing them. My Cuban and Canadian identity is complex, but it gave me two lenses for looking at the world. As I've grown older, I've developed a stronger foundation for my self-identity and realized that only I'm in control of what defines me. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Alex Wong via Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 24: (L-R) Resident fellow Thomas Miller of American Enterprise Institute, senior fellow John Graham of the National Center for Policy Analysis, and Professor of Practice Dr. John McDonough of Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, testify during a hearing before the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee January 24, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held a hearing on 'Examining the Effectiveness of the Individual Mandate under the Affordable Care Act.' (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) There's nothing like an American health care debate to make Canadians feel lucky. As his first act in office, Donald Trump signed an executive order, taking the first step to repeal the Affordable Care Act. With the stroke of a pen, 20 million Americans may soon find themselves without health insurance. It wasn't that long ago that many Canadians faced the same challenge. When my grandparents Jacques and Sarah arrived in Montreal in 1951, they had left behind everything and everyone they knew in Egypt. The burden of building a new life in this new country fell heavily on Jacques' shoulders. It was a role he assumed dutifully. Until, a year later, when he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for nine weeks. Advertisement The ordeal diminished him -- physically and otherwise. Respiratory symptoms and other complications lingered. The cost of drugs and visits to the doctor were as crippling as the pain in his legs and he was barely able to work. For my grandmother, the twin pressures of caring for an ailing husband and holding the family together became overwhelming. It was, to say the least, a grinding existence. The story ends with my grandfather's death at the age of 54 in 1966 -- the same year that Parliament passed legislation to create Medicare. Had it been in place, how different might my grandparents' lives have been? Our system of health care is about more than money and medicine. It is about the values that define us as a society -- are we there for one another when we're at our must vulnerable? Do we place well-being above wealth? Do we believe that good health leads to good outcomes -- like a stronger economy, more cohesive communities and more fulfilling lives? And in the setting of the debates taking place today south of our border, we should never take the answers to these questions for granted. But let's be honest. There are a variety of problems with our health care system in Canada. Advertisement People struggle to find a family doctor. They wait too long for specialist consultations and elective surgeries. Service could be better. Outcomes should be boosted. Spending must be sufficient, but it must also be sustainable. We need, in a word, to make health care in Canada better. For that reason, it's time to shift the debate. Let's quit bickering over whether we can sustain public health care in Canada and in Quebec. Let's focus on how to sustain it. The solutions are neither magical, nor beyond our grasp. And most of them don't actually require more money - in fact, some of them will produce savings. In my book, Better Now, I highlight six such ideas that, if implemented, could produce important and wide-ranging transformation. For example, there is no reason we can't ensure that every Canadian has access to a family doctor with whom they enjoy a trusting relationship. In fact, by working together in teams with nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacists, we could deliver truly patient-centred care. Wait times for surgeries could be brought down by pooling lists among specialists. We can do a better job of protecting patients from adverse effects and outright harm by reducing unnecessary tests and procedures. And if we were to bring prescription medicines into medicare by creating a national pharmacare system, we could save money and provide everyone with access to life-saving drugs. Advertisement Ideas like these could unleash dramatic improvements in Canadian health care right away. All that's required is the political and popular will. And, perhaps even more fundamentally, a commitment to maintaining the principle of universal access that underpins our system and which seems to, once again, be under fire in the United States. Our system of universal health care is a fundamental expression of our values and a testament to Canadians' commitment to fairness. It is a system built upon the basic principle that care should be based upon need, not ability to pay. That's not a value that goes out of style. But if we believe that medicare is a worthy endeavour then we must also live up to those values and accept the responsibility to make that system work - and work well. It's time to make it better. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Tehran, Iran, Feb. 1 By Mehdi Sepahvand Trend: Afghanistans Minister of Transport Mohammadullah Batash is to visit Tehran, Iran, IRNA news agency reported February 1. Leading a high-ranking delegation, Batash will discuss with Iranian officials a trilateral agreement between Iran, Afghanistan, and India. The Afghan transport minister is slated to meet with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Akhondi to discuss the development of Chabahar Special Economic Zone, which is situated in southeastern Iran by the Gulf of Oman. In May, the three countries signed an agreement to develop a transit corridor via Chabahar. Afghanistan deems the project as a measure to open a way to international waters. The country is surrounded by land on all sides. In the 1990s, the David Suzuki Foundation embarked on a program to develop community economic projects with coastal First Nations. Between 1998 and 2003, my wife and foundation co-founder, Tara Cullis, established relationships with 11 coastal communities from the tip of Vancouver Island to Haida Gwaii and Alaska, visiting each several times. She encountered unemployment and a desperate need for jobs and economic development in every community. Then came pressure for pipeline projects and court-mandated consultation with First Nations. Federal and provincial governments began offering huge financial incentives for pipeline approvals. But opposition remained strong because some things are more important than money. Nothing is more sacred than that which provides life and health: clean air, safe water, healthy soil, photosynthesis. By 2012, people along the B.C. coast were alarmed at the prospect of oil tankers plying their waters if the Northern Gateway pipeline were to be built. When the National Energy Board scheduled a meeting with the Heiltsuk people of Bella Bella, community members greeted them on arrival, drumming, singing and protesting peacefully. Rather than hear concerns from those with the most at stake, frightened board members cancelled the meeting. Fossil fuel industry executives, chamber of commerce members and politicians promote pipelines for their supposed economic benefits. I often hear that one CEO or another is a good man who goes to church, takes his family camping and loves nature. Many are. But the economic system they operate in places no value on anything "sacred." Nothing is more sacred than that which provides life and health: clean air, safe water, healthy soil, photosynthesis. Yet damaging natural systems on which those conditions depend is seen as irrelevant, external to economic considerations. Thoughtful, sensitive corporate executives can't let their love of children or nature affect their decisions because consequences like pollution and habitat degradation are simply the "costs of doing business." Advertisement Canada's prime minister and environment minister are parents. They must understand what scientists are saying about climate change, so they know their children's future could hold climate chaos and catastrophe. Indigenous people speak of the responsibility to remember and honour lessons from ancestors and consider what we will leave for children and future generations. It's something every politician should heed, but political reality leads to different priorities and actions. In 2013, Mi'kmaq activists built a camp near Elsipogtog, New Brunswick, to oppose fracking as a threat to water, which it has proven to be. Authorities responded with shocking levels of force. For years, farmers and Indigenous people have opposed the Peace River Site C dam, saying it's unnecessary for B.C. energy needs, which could be better met with conservation, geothermal and other renewable energy. They argue the dam would desecrate sacred First Nations sites and flood priceless farmland. Although the B.C. government rejected the dam decades earlier, its proponents never gave up, and the government eventually resurrected the plan, without considering what many regard as sacred. Many First Nations oppose open-net salmon farms on the B.C. coast as threats to wild salmon that have fed them and shaped their culture for millennia. Rather than demanding improved aquaculture methods, politicians choose to ignore the pleas of First Nations, abrogating their responsibility to protect wild marine species in order to accept the profit imperative of transnational corporations. Advertisement A fundamental problem is that governments represent people, so ministers of forests, fisheries, oceans or the environment don't act on behalf of forests, fish, oceans or the environment. They put human use of those resources first, seemingly blind to the bigger picture. The Occupy and Idle No More movements were about values and world views. Now, dedicated Sioux people have galvanized tens of thousands of supporters worldwide with their defence of water against the U.S. Dakota Access pipeline project. It's ironic that after a history of facing genocidal policies, North America's original peoples are leading a struggle on behalf of us all. They're objecting to economic and political agendas that fail to elevate the sacred as one of our most important values so our constructs and institutions (economy, market and corporations) respect the natural systems we depend on. We must enshrine nature as the source of our lives, livelihoods and happiness. Recent protests are about securing and protecting the most elemental needs of all people. Many Indigenous peoples are on the front lines, for everyone. I support them, with gratitude. Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Urilux via Getty Images It's Eating Disorders Awareness Week in Canada (Feb.1-7, 2017). It has taken me about 15 years to ADMIT that I had an eating disorder (anorexia nervosa) as a child and teenager. I never knew there was such a thing as Eating Disorder Awareness Week or that there were resources that could have helped me. I felt alone and ashamed. Advertisement When I recovered after my 10-year battle with anorexia, I made the choice to brush that part of my life under the rug. I never spoke about it until recently and always felt shame. I wish I knew more about eating disorders at the time and spoke to others and allowed myself to heal properly. There is a constant battle in your mind that never seems to go away. If you know someone with an eating disorder, here are a few things to be aware of: 1. There are different types of eating disorders a.Anorexia Nervosa - People eat very little and therefore have a low body weight b.Bulimia Nervosa - People eat a lot and then try to rid themselves of the food (vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, stimulants or excessive exercise) c.Binge Eating Disorder - People eat large amounts of food in a short time period and is associated with negative psychological and social problems but without purging d.Diabulimia - Deliberately taking less insulin in people with Type 1 diabetes for the purpose of controlling weight Advertisement e.Avoidant/Restrictive Food Behaviour - This is more than just "picky eating" in children. They do not grow out of it and often become malnourished 2.Myths & Truths a.Only young girls are affected - FALSE! Eating disorders affect people of all genders, ages, races, ethnicities, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status b.Eating disorders are a choice - FALSE! Eating disorders are a biologically-influenced mental illness. c.Only environmental factors are to blame for an eating disorder - FALSE! Genes play a role in eating disorders but environment also influences their development. 3. Some Scary Statistics (Taken from http://nedic.ca): a.Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness -- it is estimated that 10 per cent of those with anorexia will die within 10 years of the onset of the disorder Advertisement b.1.5 per cent of Canadian women aged 15 to 24 had an eating disorder c.4 per cent of boys in Grade 9 to 10 reported anabolic steroid use d.28 per cent of girls in Grade 9 and 29 per cent in Grade 10 engaged in weight-loss behaviour 4.Eating Disorders are a Mental Illness No one wakes up wishing they had an eating disorder. It is SO painful on every level: a.Mental - There is a constant battle in your mind that never seems to go away. I would try to silence the voice in my head that told me "You are fat," "That piece of bread has 80 calories," "Go run another mile or bad things will happen." There is NEVER peace of mind. b.Physical - Whether my organs were shutting down or I'd faint on a daily basis or I twisted my ankle on my third workout of the day because my body had no fuel, I'd push myself to keep moving. My body NEVER got a break. c.Emotional - A voice in my head CONSTANTLY told me, "You are not good enough, you are not worth it, you deserve to die, you are ugly and fat." This voice held more power over me than any person. My emotional health took a beating and LOVE of myself was a foreign concept. 5.Stigma, Shame and Isolation There is still a huge stigma and shame around having an eating disorder. It is easy to feel alone and isolated from the rest of the world. I still remember when my best friend at the age of 12 told me "Can you just get over this non-eating thing." My eyes still well up with tears when I think about it because of how alone I felt. I felt like I was living all by myself with no one to turn to. I didn't have a friend that was going through the same thing and understood how I felt. Advertisement Instead I saw people passing judgement and uttering phrases like "Eat cake, you're too thin." "Gosh, you're going to run again -- you're a stick!" which only makes a person with eating disorders feel even more distanced. Please don't judge someone with an eating disorder or condemn them for not doing things according to your timeline. When you say things such as "I love you" or "You are a beautiful person, inside and out" or "I am always here for you" or "I'm just a phone call away", you are helping someone with an eating disorder to feel welcome and that they are not alone. When you treat someone with an eating disorder with kindness and compassion, you help them know they can turn to you if and when they are ready without judgment. I encourage you or your loved one to visit NEDIC's website for more information or call their toll-free help line because Talking and sharing helps! Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: shutterstock montreal's downtown by night The City of Saints begins to feel a lot more like Sin City when you're searching for a place to grab a drink after a long day of sightseeing. As the second most populous city in Canada, Montreal is home to so many bars and eateries it can be difficult for visitors to find those laid-back, hole-in-the-wall establishments where the locals hang. These eight must-visit Montreal dive bars are ones where the workers and patrons may not know your name yet, but they probably will before you leave. Mad Hatter The Mad Hatter looks more like a townhome than a boozing establishment, but it has been a staple stop for Concordia University students for roughly two decades. A small, quirky pub with an inviting rooftop patio, The Hatter, as it's known among locals, is one of the best places in the city to find affordable drinks and cheap (but tasty) eats in a laid-back atmosphere. Advertisement Andrew's Pub Visitors commonly pass by Andrew's Pub while cruising along Guy, but few ever go inside. However, those who know to enter this unassuming bar across from the Faubourg building are always in for a good time. A popular spot among art students, there's no better place in the neighbourhood to drink tall boys on the cheap, challenge a stranger in a game of pool and feel 100-percent accept, whether you're wearing pajamas or a business suit. Le Saint-Ciboire Some dive bars are made even more special by their surroundings. Found in the city's Latin quarter, Le Saint-Ciboire is known for its welcoming employees, live music, spacious terrace, and cheap drinks. The unpretentious atmosphere is a breathe of fresh air in a city plagued by nightclubs and dress codes. Cock 'n Bull The Cock 'n Bull is probably the most famous of Montreal's dive bars, but don't let the weekend crowds steer you away from the ultra cheap pitchers (four liters for $20), live music and welcoming bartenders and locals. Find out when they're hosting happy hour, and you can get those dirt-cheap beers for even less. Pub Saint-Charles Bartenders typically know the best places in town to grab a cheap drink and have a good time, so when they chose the Pub Saint-Charles as one of their favourite hot spots when interviewed by Montreal Eater, we knew it was a gem. Located in the historically working-class borough of Pointe-Saint-Charles, part of the enjoyment of this pub is the local crowd and low-key neighborhood. Advertisement Pub Griffin Another Point-Saint-Charles gem, Pub Griffin attracts the neighborhood's most interesting characters. It's a place where you can chat for hours with the locals, the legendary bartender, or fellow visitors who have been clued into this cozy, off-the-beaten-path watering hole. Start your evening at Pub Griffin, and you never know what will happen next. Bar le Tunnel Local cooks know Montreal's hole-in-the-walls as well as the bartenders, and Bar le Tunnel, at 4599 Parce Ave., is one of their favourites. Duck into the discreet front door, and you'll enjoy a local late-night hangout that's rarely discovered by tourists. Bar Vol de Nuit When the crowd at Cafe Campus is just too much the bear, head across the street to Bar Vol De Nuit. Found on the historic,cobblestone streets of Prince Arthur, this hangout has been a favourite among regulars and students for nearly 20 years. Known for affordable pints, a friendly staff, and a terrace that's ideal for sunning while you sip in the summer months, Bar Vol de Nuit is an alluring hole-in-the-wall in the heart of it all. In the past few days, business leaders across the U.S. have spoken out against President Trump's executive order on immigration. From Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google to Ford, Starbucks and Goldman Sachs, CEOs have reinforced that diversity is a strength. The Canadian tech community also wrote an open letter in support of diversity. Indeed, the business case for diversity is compelling. Having different opinions at the table is critical for innovation in the information age. Research by McKinsey shows that companies with more diverse workforces see greater financial returns. The study found that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity and those in the top quartile for gender diversity are respectively 35 per cent and 15 per cent more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians. This report is one of many pieces of evidence telling us what we already know: Diversity drives innovation and innovation helps drive bottom-line results. Advertisement The World Economic Forum reports that immigrants tend to be among the most entrepreneurial and innovative. "Skilled immigrants account for over half of Silicon Valley start-ups and over half of patents, even though they make up less than 15 per cent of the population," write Khalid Koser and Ratna Omidvar. The world is no longer white and male -- and it's time businesses woke up to this new reality. So how can businesses foster diversity? Let workforce diversity reflect your clients Hire and retain a workforce that reflects your clients so you are able to better understand and serve them. As Zabeen Hirji, chief human resources officer at RBC, once said: "To win in your market, you need to hire the market." She echoes my experience at the Ted Rogers School. When I first started in my role as Dean, I was struck by how diverse the student body was so I made diversity a priority in the school's strategic plans, including the hiring of the Dean's Council. We live in one of the most diverse countries in the world and must leverage this wonderful advantage for better business and more competitive positioning globally. Create a culture where everybody has a fair chance of succeeding, regardless of gender, race, ethnic, sexual orientation or religious belief. The "minorities" in Canada are now the majority, and while it is exciting to see this reality in our downtown Toronto business school, business has yet to fully respond to fundamental hiring issues including implicit bias. Set the tone at the top Make diversity, inclusion and equity part of your organization's core values. Set the attitude at the top and show commitment to diversity at the board and C-suite levels in order to send a clear message to the rest of the organization. If you tolerate a workplace where only a certain type of the population thrives, then that's what you'll get. Women and racialized groups would simply end up leaving your company in search of a better workplace culture, which would eventually hurt the business. We have the talent assets all around us. But change will only occur if we recognize the power of implicit bias and actively work to engage women and racialized groups in all aspects of the business. A glacial rate of change equates to a failing grade. Get them while they're young The Millennial generation is expected to make up 75 per cent of the global workforce by 2025. Talk to your workforce, especially your young employees, about company values. Create a culture where everybody has a fair chance of succeeding, regardless of gender, race, ethnic, sexual orientation or religious belief. Plant the seeds now so future workforce generations may reap the benefits of diversity. In an age where diversity is being threatened by fear, it is critical that Canada be the beacon of gender and cultural equality. To this end, we have much to be proud of, but much work remains to be done. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook CP Not long after I was elected to Parliament, I attended the unveiling of a commemorative plaque acknowledging the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during the First World War. Despite coming to Canada to help build our country, they were considered to be "enemy aliens" and thousands were interned in camps across the country. Just before the war, a ship had sailed into harbour in Vancouver with hundreds of passengers seeking a new life in Canada. Despite the fact that the primarily Sikh passengers were all British subjects, the Komagata Maru was turned away and its passengers had to make the long journey home to face imprisonment and even death. Advertisement A generation later, another ship was refused passage into Halifax in the months before the outbreak of the Second World War. The MS St. Louis was filled with 900 Jews seeking refuge from the Nazi persecutions and had attempted unsuccessfully to flee to Cuba and the United States. They were denied safe haven in Canada in what was the start of the unofficial "None is Too Many" policy towards Jewish immigration. They were forced to return to Europe and, tragically, a quarter of the passengers died in the death camps. Much like in the previous war, Canada once again declared some of our people to be "enemy aliens" because of their ancestry. Thousands of Japanese Canadians were interned and many had their property seized because of fear, uneasiness and prejudice in our country at that time. Canada has not always lived up to its promise as a free, fair and pluralistic society. From No Irish Need Apply signs, to the Chinese Head Tax, to the slurs that met generations of Dutch, Italian and Eastern European immigrants, Canada has not always lived up to its promise as a free, fair and pluralistic society. As each wave of immigration came to our shores, it also brought uneasiness and, in some cases, intolerance. Advertisement In the last few decades, Canadian prime ministers -- from Brian Mulroney to Justin Trudeau -- have apologized for these past transgressions. Our west and east coasts that once turned away ships seeking refuge are now adorned with monuments to commemorate those ships and the tragedies they represent in our history. These formal apologies, symbolic gestures and commemorative markers across the country are intended to show that we have learned from our past. But have we? The terror attack at the Quebec City area mosque that killed innocent people engaged in prayer is one of the most despicable crimes our country has ever seen. Innocent people praying to their God, apparently struck down because of who they were. It was perpetrated by a person filled with ignorance and hate -- and when his hate erupted into violence, it tore through families, a community and our country. While this extreme act is isolated and must be viewed as such, I don't think any serious observer could not acknowledge the undercurrents of intolerance that have bubbled below the surface in recent months and years. Despite our decades of apologizing for the past and despite erecting monuments to show we have learned these lessons, we are collectively allowing another wave of immigrants to face the same uneasiness and intolerance like others before them. This time, they are from the Middle East and North Africa, and primarily from the Muslim faith. We cannot allow indifference or silence to normalize the language of intolerance in political discourse. Thankfully the state can no longer deem someone an "enemy alien" because of their ancestry or beliefs, but one glance at social media shows that this label is being applied to them anyway through the growing language of intolerance online. I have tried to counter some of this uneasiness or intolerance myself in my role as an MP, but I don't think I have been doing enough. I pledge to be forceful in my role as a public figure. I also believe that it is incumbent on all public leaders to adopt the same approach when it comes to some of the intolerance we see online. You can defend Canadian interests and be strong on issues like defence, security, immigration and foreign affairs, while also showing zero tolerance for intolerance. We cannot allow indifference or silence to normalize the language of intolerance in political discourse. I, for one, do not want the next generation of politicians to have to apologize for injustices that I have the ability to prevent. The Honourable Erin O'Toole is the Member of Parliament for Durham, the former Minister of Veterans Affairs, a retired RCAF Captain, and a candidate for Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: Advertisement Jonathan Ernst / Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Senior Advisor Jared Kushner (standing, L-R), Vice President Mike Pence and Staff Secretary Rob Porter welcomes reporters into the Oval Office for him to sign his first executive orders at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY In Elie Wiesel's classic memoir of Holocaust remembrance, Night -- which depicts the horrors of the Auschwitz concentration camp -- the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor wrote that "to forget would not only be dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time." For Wiesel, the compellability -- indeed integrity -- of Holocaust remembrance was a "sacred duty of all people of good will." As he would caution us again and again, "the Holocaust was a war against the Jews in which not all victims were Jews but all Jews were targeted victims." Elie sought to give expression to this truth in his memorable Raoul Wallenberg lectureship in human rights titled Witness at McGill University: Advertisement "No word can contain the solitude, the solitude of the Jewish victim who was more alone and more abandoned and more tragic than all the other victims. Granted, there were other victims as well; we should never forget them either. But the solitude of the Jewish victims remains unparalleled. How many times must we repeat that? Everyone who was not Jewish had family outside. Thus, the non-Jewish prisoner could cling to hope: 'If I die, my son will live. My parents will have more children. My sister will remarry.' The Jewish prisoner knew that he or she was alone, maybe the last, for his or her entire family had been condemned to extinction. An entire people was sentenced to death for being." Indeed, 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz -- 1.1 million of them were Jews -- of which Elie Wiesel was one. One million of them were murdered, including Elie's parents and sister. But let there be no mistake about it: as Elie would remind us, Jews were murdered at Auschwitz because of anti-Semitism, but anti-Semitism itself did not die at Auschwitz. As we have learned only too tragically, and all too well, while it begins with Jews it does not end with Jews. Jew-hatred remains the canary in the mineshaft of global evil that threatens us all. Elie's voice and message were missed when the White House statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day did not mention Jews or anti-Semitism. And while this omission may have first appeared to be one of inadvertent error, Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks acknowledged -- indeed affirmed -- that the wording was intentional "as we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered," with "inclusivity" becoming a gateway for "alternative facts" and revisionist history. Advertisement As Holocaust historian Professor Deborah Lipstadt put it, "what we saw from the White House was classic softcore denial. The Holocaust was de-Judaized." But it did not end there. On the same International Holocaust Remembrance Day, president Trump issued an executive order which, first, barred entry of citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries to the United States for 90 days; second, indefinitely banned the admissibility of Syrian refugees; and third, halted the admission of all refugees to the United States for four months. Clearly, the U.S., like any other country, has the legal authority to regulate admission to its borders and the responsibility to protect its national security. As the executive order put it, the U.S. seeks to "protect its citizens from foreign nationals who intend to commit terrorist attacks in the United States." Advertisement But the Trump executive order has turned fact and law on its head. First, between 1975 and 2015, foreign nationals from the seven banned Muslim-majority countries killed exactly zero Americans on U.S. soil. Second, there is no evidence whatsoever that there are any terrorists among the small number of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. Third, the attempt to halt refugee admissions -- where refugees are persons determined to have a well-founded fear of persecution were they to be returned to their country of origin -- falsely presupposes the incidence of terrorism among refugees themselves. Finally, in a cruel irony, Yazidi lawmaker Vian Dakhil -- who became famous for her 2014 speech to Iraq's parliament as her people faced genocide -- will not be allowed as an Iraqi citizen to attend the ceremony next week in Washington to receive the Human Rights Lantos Prize, named for Holocaust survivor and former congressman Tom Lantos. As Katrina Lantos-Swett, the president of the Lantos Foundation put it, "it's hard to imagine a more ironic and powerful illustrative example of how wrongheaded this executive order has been conceived." And this is but one of many absurd and abusive examples. "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time where we fail to protest against injustice." - Elie Wiesel, 1985 Moreover, the perceived xenophobic -- if not Islamophobic -- character of the executive order may achieve the exact opposite of what it purportedly intends to do, i.e. it may serve as a recruitment tool for Islamic State rather than as a protection against international terrorism. Indeed, we also miss not only the particularity of Elie Wiesel's voice in the matter of Holocaust remembrance, but the universality of his message in the face of these executive orders. As he put it in his 1985 Nobel Prize lecture on the imperative of standing up against injustice: "Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views that place must -- at that moment -- become the centre of the universe." And he added: "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time where we fail to protest against injustice." Advertisement This is such a time. A Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Hon. Irwin Cotler is the Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human rights, where Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel served as Founding Honourary Chair. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: These are just a few of the exasperating regulations singled out for ridicule by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) during this year's eighth annual Red Tape Awareness Week. The CFIB also issued a challenge to each of the provincial governments: One rule in, one rule out. In other words, for every new strand of red tape a government introduces, it would commit itself to eliminating an equivalent amount of existing red tape. Advertisement No sooner was the glove thrown down than it was picked up by the government of Manitoba, which is proposing just such a "one-for-one" rule for the province. In fact, it will adopt an even stricter two-for-one rule until 2021 to help kick-start the process, according to deputy premier and Justice Minister Heather Stefanson. Manitoba is not the first to make cutting regulations a priority. The Harper government adopted a federal one-for-one rule in 2015, although it was narrower in scope than what the province of Manitoba is proposing. The Quebec government, for its part, adopted an action plan in the fall aiming for a 10 per cent reduction in the cost of regulation by 2018. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, this follows a previous reduction of the cost of regulation for businesses of 20 per cent from 2004 to 2014. Advertisement Most impressively, the government of British Columbia has been counting and publicly reporting on the number of regulatory requirements for citizens and businesses since 2001. By 2004, it had reduced the number of such requirements by 40 per cent, and has reduced it a further 12 per cent from the 2004 baseline, for a reduction of over 47 per cent since 2001. This lightening of the regulatory burden has likely contributed to B.C.'s strong economic growth in recent years. President Donald Trump promised last week to "cut regulations by 75 per cent, maybe more," not in order to endanger workers or the environment, but to make it easier to run companies and build factories in the United States. This week, he added some specifics to this promise with an executive order requiring agencies to cut two existing regulations for every new rule introduced. Red Tape Awareness Week may be over now on this side of the border, but that doesn't mean we should forget about this problem for another year. Other provinces should follow the lead of Manitoba, Quebec and British Columbia and reduce their needlessly heavy regulatory burdens. They should do so for the sake of all Canadians, from the owners of businesses large and small, on down to little girls who just want to run a lemonade stand without being harassed. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: In a context where "fake news" is catching the attention of everyone from U.S. President Trump to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the pursuit of truth, and who defines it, seems to matter more than ever. One frontline in the battle over facts is playing out in the public arena of Wikipedia, where history is catalogued in real-time and where each of us have the opportunity to act as historians, contributing to editorial decisions. But what happens when government officials take to the web to edit this public resource? And what are the implications of allowing elected officials and bureaucrats to shape the narrative -- often without the knowledge of the public? Advertisement Although university professors may disagree, Wikipedia is viewed by many as a legitimate source of information -- with more than 5.3 million articles, it adds 800 new articles every day. Wikipedia operates on the basis that anyone can edit its pages -- even unregistered users -- and edits happen on a mass scale. At a rate of over 10 edits per second, the mind starts to boggle in coming to terms with what it means for the public as we try to keep truth on the table. Wikipedia's model is a positive example of the power of crowdsourcing -- a place where, with proper sourcing, anyone can provide additional clarity or add new information to articles. It's what gives this medium a real advantage over legacy encyclopedias -- Wikipedia can be edited and updated on the fly, and changes with the changing world around us. Of course, this can be alarming when it comes to individuals or groups editing pages in which they have a personal, professional, or political interest -- including members of government departments as a part of re-information campaigns. Advertisement It's enough of a concern that efforts to catalogue and publicize potentially-controversial edits have spontaneously arisen. The best examples are Twitter bots that create a public inventory of anonymous edits from known government IP addresses -- since 2014 bots for the Government of Canada, UK Parliament, and U.S. Congress have appeared. Examples range from the perplexing -- recently, an anonymous edit was made by a Canadian Department of National Defence IP address on the article listing Pepsi variations -- to the concerning. One such example was highlighted by The Tyee journalist Jeremy Nuttall, showing that someone at a government IP address had anonymously edited a page about the political magazine Blacklock's Reporter, which currently has an ongoing legal dispute with the Canadian Department of Finance. "How do we ensure that our digital book of knowledge maintains its standards for accuracy and neutrality?" Not only has the Internet community noticed, but Wikipedia itself has taken action to combat problematic editing -- in one case briefly restricting U.S. Congress IP addresses from making edits, but also through implementing clear policies around "conflict of interest editing", and regularly banning accounts that violate the rules. When so many people view Wikipedia as a public record, the threat is obvious, especially when it comes to governments looking to "correct" that public record. And although we may have Twitter bots to shine a light on edits that happen from known government addresses, there is nothing to stop those same staffers from going home to their computers and typing up a storm. Advertisement So how do we ensure that our digital book of knowledge maintains its standards for accuracy and neutrality? Like the evolving conversation on fake news, the answer isn't simple, and involves a lot of individual vigilance to keep us honest. Wikipedia is already home to thousands of admins and hundreds of thousands of active users. Admins and editors are not paid -- a policy that is intended to keep money from changing hands in exchange for favourable or biased articles. This team catches the majority of obviously problematic edits and there are tools for individuals to flag bias or content that is improperly sourced. In this way, part of the solution comes down to trust and community. But because we know that this process can be abused, it's critical that there is enforceable internal policy restricting staffers, bureaucrats, and government officials from making edits to Wikipedia pages in which they have a clear conflict of interest. This move would be to the benefit of both the public and the government, as the mere appearance of impropriety can undermine trust in our democratic institutions. This way, official communication on issues of public interest happen out in the open, where debate and discussion are welcome, and individuals can be assured the conversation isn't being steered by an invisible hand. Advertisement The final piece of the puzzle is good, old-fashioned sunlight. Initiatives like Twitter bots and investigative journalism fill the gap where good faith fails -- opening the door for citizens to be critical about actions taken by their governments. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook With little fanfare, Canada's Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans released a report this week on Wild Salmon in Eastern Canada. Between Trump and terror attacks, the report is unlikely to receive much media attention. But it is worth noting how despite Liberal promises of "Real Change" and "treating science with respect," when it comes to the political proclivity for killing seals the song remains the same. The report begins sensibly, acknowledging that the best scientific information suggests an increasing abundance of grey seals is not impacting the recovery of salmon. It then -- illogically -- goes on to recommend a seal cull, stating that the Committee "agrees with the majority of witnesses, and believes that predation is an issue" [emphasis added]. Advertisement Specifically, the Committee recommended that "Fisheries and Oceans Canada support a grey seal harvest program that emphasizes full utilization of the seal to provide economic opportunities with an aim to significantly reduce the seal populations and enhance the recovery of wild Atlantic salmon populations." This recommendation shows a blatant and complete disregard for the scientific evidence presented to the Committee concerning the impact of grey seal predation on salmon. Whether or not a politician "believes" in the science should be irrelevant when it comes to responsible fisheries management. Although the Committee does not quantify how many animals it believes would need to be killed to "significantly reduce the seal populations," there is absolutely no credible argument to suggest that doing so would enhance recovery of wild salmon. There is neither scientific evidence that grey seals are impacting salmon stocks, nor anything to indicate that a seal cull would improve salmon recovery. In fact, scientists warn that killing off top predators such as seals could make the situation worse, resulting in unexpected and undesired consequences on salmon and other species. Advertisement If fisheries policy is to be based on the best available science, whether or not our politicians "believe" the science should not be a factor. In some respects, the recommendation that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) support a commercial grey seal harvest is immaterial; DFO has already been supporting a grey seal hunt for decades. But despite a current allowable catch of 60,000 animals and ongoing financial support to the industry to develop new products, the reality is there are no markets for dead grey seals and fewer than a thousand animals are killed each year. It's not for lack of trying. Millions of dollars have been invested, and countless studies conducted, in attempt to appease the fishing industry's demand to kill seals. But three decades of effort to find markets for grey seal products have failed. A recent proposal under consideration by DFO suggested that the most viable market for grey seals was to kill them for their penis and testicles, to be "dried and sold as sexual enhancement products, primarily to Asian buyers." An earlier study commissioned by the government suggested shooting 220,000 grey seals at a taxpayer cost of $35 million, and burning their bodies in incinerators. If fisheries policy is to be based on the best available science, whether or not our politicians "believe" the science should not be a factor. The recommendation for a cull of grey seals is not supported by any scientific evidence, and to suggest that killing seals will enhance salmon recovery is dishonest. Seals, salmon, and science will all suffer if the a grey seal cull is implemented. It will now be up to Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc to uphold his government's commitment to science by rejecting the recommendation for a grey seal cull. The question is, will he? Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook NurPhoto via Getty Images Protesters gather at the International Terminal Arrival Hall of San Francisco International Airport on January 29, 2017 against President Donald Trump's Muslim ban. (Photo by Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images) At the Women's March in Washington last weekend, an activist handed my friend a sticker against fascism. She took it. But then said, I don't want this. I said, give it to me. I'm against fascism. But my friend planted a seed which I've seen echoed in D.C., NYC and back here in TO. To be against something, no matter how vile, means that I am putting my energy and attention into a brick wall. Into a stand-off. To be against is to lend energy to that which I do not support. Let me explain. Advertisement Almost every moment these days seems like a moment of decision. Are we going to move for or against? Whichever way we choose shapes us as individuals and as a civilized people. Life has a way of landing us in these moments. Getting spat upon by our government seems like such a moment. Today, I'm calling on myself to resist for. To be 'for' is a paradox of my resistance. Being for some things implies that I am not 'for' some other things. That's true. I am not for a few things: demonization, sexual assault, white supremacy, gross inequalities of wealth and power. I'm for civilized society, human rights and dignity, self-determination, access to health care, a living wage, redistribution of wealth, responsible custodians of the public's wealth and the body politic. I'm for certain values: compassion, trust, generosity and mutual support. And I expect our government to defend these publicly-held and shared values. The current U.S. government, like others before it in that country and others (Canada's Stephen Harper, anyone?) holds as its values that we take our eyes off of each other and the concerns we share and stay tuned for the latest outrage. We are to stay repeatedly outraged. Advertisement A week before the Inauguration, the terrific Andrew Solomon, President of PEN AMERICA asked the gathered hundreds to pledge to remain shocked throughout the regime's reign of terror (see around 1:18). I refuse. I will not be shocked by the latest outrage. I accept and resist what is happening. It is playing out exactly as was described in the campaigns, conjecture and so on. There are no surprises. Solomon was asking us to not let the outrages be normalized -- as is happening through the corporate media filters of clicks-for-cash. I'm not the leftie that eats its own but the use of 'shock' was ill-chosen. There's a reason that George W. Bush wished to attack the Iraqi's in a campaign of 'shock and awe.' It's a saw as old as the fascist hills. Ask Mussolini. Ask Hitler. Ask Stalin. Ask Pol Pot. Their populations were driven to exhaustion and paralysis by a constant barrage of attacks of that held most dear. Left stunned and disbelieving by the dizzying spin of hatred, demonization and battles seemingly lost, we're supposed to give up. Or fight a little less. So the old saw says. To be against means that there are two opposing forces usually at a standstill as they press against each other. To be 'against' misses the site of actual strength and resilience. Of actual power. You might think that the 'for' in my resistance is 'against'. That would be a misunderstanding. This is not just semantics. It's practical. And there is another way. To be 'for' is to lend energy and support to that which we wish to thrive. It doesn't expend scarce resources into the brick wall stand-off of opposing forces. Life moves in one direction: forward. To be for allows us to draw from the infinite sources of Life-giving sustenance. To be for is the water drop of resistance. Advertisement It may not look like much but when gathered together, it's tidal. Turning our backs. Walking around an obstacle. Governing our attention and saying no. Putting the hand up and the foot down. Drawing a line in the sand and saying "not on my watch." To be 'for' isn't about winning. It's about Life evolving, progress- moving on. It maintains the flow of attention and energy. Energy, attention, enthusiasm and action supports an idea, a concept, a policy, an activity or even a person. And, it lasts. Energy is created when we are 'for' the people in our lives and the communities in which we are embedded. To be 'for' implies a sustainable resistance. It is using one's energy and attention in support of -- not to eliminate or destroy anything. We are going to have to maintain a tsunami-like force on this regime, and what comes after, for years. Probably decades. We have to pace ourselves. The regime is going to be lobbing fireballs at us from just about every quarter. Imagine a wave or current heading for a shoreline. A wave swamps whatever it washes over. It moves around and behind as it subsumes whatever is in its path. It undermines and displaces things long-held in place. Its sheer breadth and force has the laws of physics behind it. Which is good for those of us facing a science-denying regime. By keeping our attention on what we are for resistance will strengthen. Take heart, to be 'for' science and critical discourse ensures that we will prevail. To be 'for' that which amplifies and celebrates the human's capacity to thrive means our story ain't never going to be over. We aren't going anywhere. We will not back down. The fundamental paradox of being 'for' while in fierce resistance guarantees it. Advertisement Go for it. Tehran, Iran, February 1 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: The present day is not a day when one would separate nations, Irans President Hassan Rouhani said, adding that cancelling visas of other nations is a political newbies job. The US government is only against Irans government but in favor of the Iranian people - that is a lie, Rouhani said, Tasnim news agency reported February 1. The US have revealed their sense of discrimination and lack of regard for all international norms, he added. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough control on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Iran on Jan. 29 summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests, to protest the measure. patronestaff via Getty Images Gorgeous woman portrait wearing blue dress and sunglasses with reflection I've been modelling a little over a decade now and working in Education. I've constantly felt the need to investigate Body Image because I know how much it affects young men and women and I also know from personal experiences I know that the fashion industry plays an important role in how we perceive our bodies. Who are behind the images we see in the media? I found reaching out to the plus size models in the fashion industry revealed a lot more to me than what meets the eye. I would soon discover that although looking flawless in their Instagram posts many of these Canadian models have been on and are still going on journeys with their bodies. Everyone experiences negative and positive body images right throughout life. 1. Christina Schmidt #mood #tbt @jaclynlockephoto @sheristroh @sheahurley A photo posted by Christina Schmidt (@christinalovesthiscity) on Oct 20, 2016 at 1:39pm PDT Advertisement How Did You Get Into Plus Size Modeling? I acted on the show Degrassi: The Next Generation, and I actually played a plus size model. I didn't even know there was such an industry. After the show I was asked to shoot a campaign for a clothing company in LA, and everything went from there. I got signed with a modelling agency in LA, NYC, Miami and Toronto and am so lucky to still be doing this today. What does body Image Mean to You? Body Image means a lot to me, because it defines self-love, acceptance and loving myself from within. I believe in being healthy and happy and accepting myself ay whatever MY best is, and not what other people expect me to be. 2.Geneve Benatar How Did You Become A Plus Size Model? It was completely serendipity for me, I never aspired to be a model, I loved fashion and the industry and I wanted to be a part of it, but I never knew modeling was going to be my way in. When I was 16, I interned at a fashion agency. I always thought models were tall and slim and beautiful and I never saw myself in that sort of way. One day the phone rang asking for plus size models, and my boss at the time looked at me and said, "You'll be at it soon." A year later I signed to my current agency. Advertisement What does body Image Mean to You? Body image to me is loving yourself from the inside out. Body image is not just your physical appearance, it's how you present yourself and carry yourself and how you're perceived; it's the way you look and feel at the world. Positive body image is so important! It's means that the person on the interior is as beautiful as the person on the exterior. 3. Karyn Inder How Did You Get Into Plus Size Modeling? When I was 9 years old in Newfoundland, I did a mother-daughter runway show for a local store and fell in love. In 2014, I packed my bags and sold everything I owned and moved to Toronto to pursue it. Is being curvy important to you? It's not necessarily something I find important. I never really think about it to be honest! It's who I am and I love how I feel, how I look and how I fill out a dress! I love how when I dance, I can feel a bit of a jiggle; I would definitely miss the jiggle. I think it's sexy. It's important, for young men and women to see more representation of diverse bodies in the media. It helps with self-love and care but this mentality begins at home at a very young age. It is not solely up to the media! 4. Sarah De Melo Advertisement Do you have another career/profession other than modelling? Yes, I work in the legal field. I have always been very interested and passionate about the law. It is really awesome being able to pursue two professions that I love. Why is being curvy important to you? I've always been curvy. I've always had big thighs and a bum, I even underwent a breast reduction because my breasts were too big, that it was negatively affecting my back. Being curvy is important to me because that's who I am, this is the body I own and it's all I know and have learned to love. I no longer mind the fact that I have cellulite because it's my cellulite. I love being able to share my body modelling alongside other woman who have different shapes so that society can see that we are all built different and it's beautiful. 5. Meredith Shaw How Did You Get Into Plus Size Modeling? I was scouted while I was waiting in a line for a concert but I wasn't sure that modelling was something I wanted to do - especially PLUS (at the time that word still totally scared me). But then I was doing a photoshoot for my music career and the make-up artist said I should really get into plus size modelling (there was that word again, this time it didn't scare me as much). So I gave it a shot and I've been busy ever since - now even signed in New York. And PS I am now PROUDLY PLUS What Does Body Image Mean To You? Having a positive relationship with your body allows you to fully realize your potential. It wasn't until I decided to change my body image, to get on my own team that I really started becoming all of who I am meant to be. Having a positive body image is powerful, and way more fun. Advertisement 5. Hourglass Cath How Did You Get Into Plus Size Modeling? About 5 years ago I replied to a tweet for an upcoming plus size shoot and a few months later I heard back from the CEO of the company. I was blown away. It's an odd experience to go into a store where everything fits you like a glove, when for your entire life you've struggled to find a pair of jeans that actually fit. I have painful memories of having to try on millions of pairs of pants to find the right size. After meeting the CEO of this plus size store I was hired to do my first shoot of what became a five year relationship that I am so grateful for today. Is Being Curvy Important to You? I wouldn't say being curvy is important to me, I would say being curvy and confident is important. I am not defined by how I look; I am defined by how I feel. This is a significant difference that is important to educate others on. Owning and embracing my curves has been the most difficult challenge in my life to date. On the other hand it has been the most rewarding. Andrea Chu via Getty Images It is no surprise that student mental health is something which needs to be taken extremely seriously- it affects not only their mental well-being but also their learning, resulting in drop-outs and failed assignments. Negative mental health is unfortunately very common and concerning in university students- as recent studies reveal that over 1 in 10 students have suicidal thoughts. Mental health regarding students is rarely spoken about however it is a serious issue in the UK with a huge 92% of students feeling slight to severe mental distress and 30,000 young people experiencing an anxiety disorder. So why are students not seeking help? According to survey conducted by the NUS (National Union of Students), cited in the Guardian (2015), More than half of those who took part in the survey and reported having experienced mental health problems said they did not seek support. A third said they would not know where to get mental health support from at their college or university if they needed it, while 40% reported being nervous about the support they would receive from their institution. Another factor resulting in students shying away from traditional methods is that a lot of teenagers aren't willing to accept they are experiencing a mental health issue and do not feel they are at that point in severity in which treatment is needed. Advertisement Yet, with one third of students having considered suicide by the age of 16, it is so important to ensure students feel stable during a particularly vulnerable age. Education is so important in life. It gives you the ability to build the skills to progress in whichever career you choose and it is the foundation of building a life. As such, it can put students under a lot of pressure. 1 in 6 students will actually experience panic attacks. Although measures are being taken to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health, there are still significant factors that need to be addressed. With student stress increasing yet with the majority of people refusing to seek treatment, individuals have recently begun to explore alternative options in comparison to visiting their university therapist or support team. Some students have resulted in turning to technology to feel the benefits of improved mental health. Mobile mental health has allowed the public, doctors and even researchers new ways to assist their (patients) mental health. This includes monitoring progress, access to helplines, stress relieving applications and further understanding of mental wellbeing through websites and social media. There are a variety apps which have been suggested to improve mental health. These range from mindfulness apps, quote apps, support forums and apps allowing you to contact a professional. Should students turn to their mobile phones for support?- Here are some of the benefits. Convenience: Individuals, especially those within university age ranges, tend to have their mobile phones with them constantly and therefore if one was feeling stressed or down and they could easily access support simply from taking their phone out of their pocket- this would be a huge benefit. Help is with you at all times. Advertisement 24/7: The majority of psychiatrists/psychologists will work normal working hours (monday-friday, 9-5). You would also need to book appointments if they are needed. However, if you are feeling particularly stressed or anxious in the evening or there are no available spaces for days- you can access help and support instantly, anytime of the day. Anonymous: Within an app, your identity can remain anonymous, there is no need to fill out forms or speak to somebody about your problems face to face (which some may find difficult) Available to more people: There are numerous reasons why students do not typically receive help from professionals including price, availability, those living in rural area's and more. Apps are available for everybody to use, no matter their location, income and severity etc. Cheaper: Traditionally, visiting a therapist costs between 40-100 per session (imagine the cost of one session per week) however apps cost a lot more- even if there is a subscription involved. Something that works won't usually be free. As prior stated, there are numerous benefits to using technology to improve your mental well-being however there are also a few cons. These include: Advertisement Effectiveness: Though some apps state they 'really do work', the effectiveness of them is not necessarily proven. If you are going to try an app, at least ensure the techniques within the app are clinically proven to reduce your symptoms. Privacy: Apps monitoring mental health usually contain sensitive and personal information. Ensure any mental health apps you download protect your privacy. The five things you need to know on Wednesday, February 1 1) 50 WAYS TO LEAVE A BROTHER The historic The EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill is set to get its second reading tonight and the vote is a foregone conclusion. Ken Clarke, plus a tranche of Labour MPs from Remain constituencies, will vote against. Advertisement MPs staged 11 hours of debate on the bill last night, ending four minutes to midnight. With the bars still open until the House rose at 12.26am, its unclear whether MPs on dry January ended their abstinence with a few swift jars to see in February. But while Tory MPs had plenty of reason to raise a glass, splits in Labour meant they were more likely to simply want to drown their sorrows in a pint of warm bitter or a G&T. Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmers funereal tone yesterday spoke volumes. The HuffPost blog by fellow shadow minister Matthew Pennycook certainly took off, with the Mail and Sun seizing on his line that there could be civil unrest if Labour defied the result of the EU referendum. Labour's Ruth Smeeth, who is working hard on the Stoke by-election, tells us that it would be 'unacceptable' to vote down the bill. (She also thinks Stoke voters won't like UKIP's backing for Trump's travel ban - but I wouldn't be as sure myself.) And the vote tonight will see Labour frontbenchers forced to quit or be sacked for defying the partys three-line whip to back the bill triggering Article 50. Whips like Thangam Debbonaire and Jeff Smith could quit, and frontbenchers like Rupa Huq also look set to part company with brother Jeremy. Advertisement A new poll of MPs conducted for The UK in a Changing Europe and Queen Mary University of London has found Leave MPs are united in what they want from Brexit: immigration control and no EU budget payments are more important than the single marke. But Remain MPs are deeply split: under half prioritise the single market over immigration, the rest are all over the shop. The Tory Remainers look like they want to keep their powder dry for the bigger battle over the shape of the Brexit deal May comes up with. Although Anna Soubry and Dominic Grieve hinted at backing Labours amendment on this, the main action will not be on this bill. As for the White Paper, it could come today or tomorrow. It has certainly been worked on for some time in Whitehall, Im told. The insider joke is that it will have a Union Flag on the front and coloured pages to open each of three sections: one red, one white and one blue. 2) DON ROAMIN Its PMQs today and it will be fascinating to see just how Jeremy Corbyn tries to tackle the Donald Trump travel ban. After an opener about the general issue, will Corbyn use his remaining questions to hone in on the key point of what Theresa May knew, and when? Were you told in the White House that there would be an executive order on travel to the US, and what was your response? The PM would duck it (as No.10 did yesterday), but if Corbyn asked exactly the same question three more times, her refusal to answer could be a PR win. Another Trump bruise that Corbyn can press on is the nature of his visit to the UK. The idea of May rescinding her invite for a State Visit is for the birds, but there is real mileage in the unease on her own side at the idea of granting Trump the honour of addressing both Houses of Parliament. The Early Day Motion barring the US President from speaking in Parliament now has 115 signatures this morning, up from 73 yesterday. Tory ministers and MPs chat off the record that its too soon to let Trump have such an honour - not least as it risks an embarrassing protest from several MPs (can you imagine a clutch of Labour, Lib Dem and SNP backbechers unfurling a banner, or donning sombreros?) When asked if the PM wanted to allow Trump to speak to Parliament, her spokeswoman was careful to say: That will all need to be worked out in due course, the elements of that, and to look at it all, it is months away. Note Boriss quote from Monday too: I am sure that the mood of the Chamber of the House of Commons will be reflected in all discussions about how the visit is to go ahead. Advertisement As for Amber Rudds line to the Home Affairs Committee, that the US travel ban is a propaganda opportunity for ISIL, No10 had a strange line that any policy can be used by ISIL for propaganda. But it wasnt any policy Rudd was referring to, it was the executive order. 3) DADDY DACRE Would the EU referendum result have been any different if the Daily Mail had cut some slack to David Cameron over the downsides of Brexit? As influential as the paper is, Im pretty sure the answer to that is No. Which makes it all the more bizarre that the former PM is alleged to have asked fellow Remainer and Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere to sack the papers long-standing editor, Paul Dacre. BBCs Newsnight reported last night that Dacre was incandescent when told about the plot last March, and stiffened his resolve to make the Mail even more pro-Brexit. Politicians trying to get rid of editors has a long and tawdry history (I remember a certain Peter Mandelson dangling threats about journalists he didnt like to their bosses). Whats notable is the non-denial denial from Camerons spokesman: "It is wrong to suggest that David Cameron believed he could determine who edits the Daily Mail. Why not simply deny hed asked Rothermere to can Dacre? Alastair Campbell has long argued the Daily Mail is a malign influence on public life (and unlike the Sun, it failed to be wooed by his Fleet St charm offensive). But speculation is mounting that the Mails political editor James Slack is set to become Theresa Mays very own Alastair Campbell. PoliticoEurope's Tom McTague reports that the hugely respected Slack is the front runner to take over as the PMs official spokesman (a civil servant, not a special adviser), following the departure of Helen Bower to the Foreign Office. His predecessor at the Mail and another highly regarded Dacre protege, James Chapman, went on to run George Osbornes comms and is now chief of staff to David Davis. BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR Watch a grandma make a snow angel for the first time. 4) AT POINT OF DELIVERY Last week, Jeremy Hunt quietly broke the news to the Health Select Committee that a planned bill to tackle health tourism was being shelved, despite having been in the Queens Speech. Fast-forward to today and the Public Accounts Committee is pretty scathing about the chaotic attempts by the NHS to tackle the issue. Advertisement Out of the 154 hospitals for which there is data, just ten accounted for half of the charges to visitors not entitled to free NHS care. British patients were losing out because other parts of the health service were not doing enough to recoup costs, the PAC said. Still, the committee is not too keen on a pilot scheme in which patients are asked to show two forms of identification before receiving NHS treatment, saying it could compromise access to care. The Sun splashes on an exclusive about a Nigerian woman who flew into the UK while pregnant with quads. Two of her babies died after she went into labour prematurely, but the paper says her care will cost 500,000 and shes told a BBC documentary she has no way of settling the bill. 5) CARBON COPY The FT reports that a member of Trumps transition team, Myron Ebell, met Theresa Mays advisers in Downing Street yesterday. Ebell is controversial because he says fears about global warming have been exaggerated by a climate-industrial complex, and he has pushed hard for the President to carry out his pledge not to sign the Paris climate change deal. Climate change was not discussed, No10 says, though it declines to say what was talked about. Trump said on the campaign stump that climate change was a Chinese hoax but he has softened slightly since, saying he believes there is some connectivity between human actions and climate change. That hasnt stopped him removing all reference to the issue on the White House website. But thinkers on the right as well as the left are trying to address the issue. Warwick Lightfoot and Jonathan Dupont, of the Policy Exchange think tank, have blogged for us today on why a carbon tax could be a key part of a new UK-US trade deal. And they point out that Trumps new Secretary of State and former oil man Rex Tillerson is keen on the idea. Advertisement If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox. I'm worried. To anyone that knows me, my admission will cause few eyebrows to be raised as I am known as someone who worries. Myriad worries cloud my day - some feel all encompassing whilst others are of the rather more prosaic and mundane worry grouping. But right now I am not worrying over the self-imposed deadline to finish my novel or whether I should switch my energy supplier, no I am worried about The World. On the scale of worry, if treading on an ant and feeling bad is at one end of the scale and accidently pressing the button that launches a nuclear strike is at the other, I think worrying about the world is up there with the big guys of worrydom. It is akin to buying a house and setting down roots in Worryville. Why worry about the world? Well, with the rise of extreme politics at both ends of the spectrum; terrorism; large swathes of people that seem to feel dissatisfied, disaffected and defeated by globalisation; raging inequalities on the basis of everything from gender to religion to wealth and an increasingly ugly tone in much public debate, it feels like a world that I didn't choose and it feels like a world I have little or no power to shape. It feels like a world that has lost the ability and more worryingly, the desire, to act with empathy, compassion and reason. Advertisement Brexit and Trump, far to say, two big events marking change in 2016. I didn't choose either. The Dutch, French and German elections coming up in 2017, I won't have a choice in. But all have the potential to unsettle and destabilise Europe and indeed, the world. We don't yet know if they will, to what extent and where that will lead but things certainly feel shaky. But the crux being, people did vote and will have a vote. All were and will be democratic processes in established democracies. I am a passionate advocate of democracy, but true democracy must be based on respect on all sides. I've heard many who say that the 'losers' (re both Brexit and Trump) need to just get on board with it or even, get over it. But what is that attitude saying about us? What is the near gloating of some on the 'winning side' and reluctance on the part of some, though not all of course, to still listen and care about the views of others, saying about us as people and as a country? Just because there is disagreement doesn't mean there needs to be disrespect and derision. Just because something is popular, doesn't make it right. Just because someone or something wins, doesn't make them the best. Of course one person's out of kilter is another person's brave new world. What may seem strange to one person may seem perfectly understandable to someone else. Perspective and perception is of course subjective and surely that is a strength of a diverse democratic country. What is surely a weakness however is any country in which grown-ups get away with tantrums in place of intelligent, reasoned, respectful argument. I was prompted to write this as I went to bed watching the demonstrations against Trump's new immigration policy. I woke up to hear President Trump had fired his acting Attorney General, Sally Yates. Parallels are already being drawn with Nixon's desire to fire Archibald Cox in the early 1970's and the strength both displayed in defying a President. It remains to be seen if parallels will continue to be appropriate, with the repercussions not yet known. It also remains to be seen if parallels will be drawn between Ms Yates and Mrs May and whether our Prime Minister will show similar integrity and strength on both the national and international stage in these times of flux and uncertainty. Advertisement Along with being a worrier I am also a hopeful person. No matter how bleak and bad things seem, I always hope that they can be better. If there is a problem, I hope there is a solution. If the world is in an unstable state, I hope that it can be ordered. I don't think this is naivety or inexperience or lack of intelligence or delusional. More, I believe it is a hope that is borne out by history and experience. Cox and Yates are just two examples of people who it would appear are able to act with integrity, in spite of potential personal or professional cost. Moreover, history is littered with examples of people who have stood up to oppression, resisted unfairness and raged against inequality. Maybe it won't be as bad as I worry. Hopefully there are still plenty of people who will act with integrity and reason. Hopefully policies that are carefully considered and thoroughly evidence-based with aims that are reasonable and fair will be enacted and hopefully we will all realise that humanity, decency and compassion lay within us all and we will let that rise to the surface and shine. Hopefully... So how did you do with your 2017 resolutions? Did you make it to February? If the economics of gym memberships are to be trusted, the answer for many of you is.. .probably not. As a New York Times column pointed out, 4 out of 5 people who made resolutions on December 31st will have broken them before the end of January. Why? Because we tend to set ourselves all-or-nothing goals that we can't possibly keep and, frankly, don't expect ourselves to keep. How many of you were the proud recipients of wearable devices for Christmas? And so, armed with a new found ability to monitor energy expended, calories burned and steps climbed, did you vow to 'get fit' in 2017? While I think these devices serve a purpose and can be useful in terms of an overall approach to fitness, I think there's a much simpler solution to driving a better health outcome for life, rather than for January. The answer? Stop sitting down so much. That's right, it's that simple! Stop sitting down quite so much and commit to being more mobile in 2017. And guess what, it's a resolution you can keep for life, too! Advertisement It's an obvious point but one that few are heeding. Don't believe me? Well, when the world's eminent physicist, Stephen Hawking, decides to advise us to be more active, maybe we should start listening. His speech at the end of last year about the future of the human race was immensely thought provoking but his comment that "for what it's worth, how being sedentary has been a major health problem is beyond my understanding" really resonated with me. While moderate to vigorous activity is important and necessary, it doesn't, however, offset the effects of a sedentary lifestyle. Indeed, explains Genevieve Healy, PhD "We've become so sedentary, that 30 minutes a day at the gym may not counteract the detrimental effects of 8, 9 or 10 hours of sitting." But if, like the majority of the nation, you have an office-based job, it's not an easy issue to address! So, what's the answer? Adopting a "movement mindset" throughout the day, rather than short bursts of vigorous activity, can have significant positive impact on your health. You don't have to interrupt your work day to exercise, only interrupt sedentary time with low-intensity movement, like standing up more. Intense workouts can happen outside of the workday or on weekends. Here are some simple, yet sustainable tips for adopting a 'movement mindset' in 2017 and beyond: -Walk more at work: try parking your car further away from the office, take the stairs rather than the lift, take the long route to the bathroom Advertisement -Keep movement going throughout the day by rotating postures at the office and sit-stand desks. -Try a sit-stand desk! The American Medical Association (AMA) adopted policy recognising potential risks of prolonged sitting and encourage making alternatives to sitting available, such as standing work stations or adjustable desks. Standing is like walking: It increases energy, burns extra calories, tones muscles, improves posture, increases blood flow and ramps up metabolism. -While computing, set a timer for every 30-45 minutes to remind you to stand up and stretch. Use this time to clear your work area -Stand up to make phone calls. This can often result in a better outcome on the call as standing can lead to better decision making in this authoritative stance! -Avoid sitting on long commutes - try standing on the bus or train -Don't send email to someone sitting near you; go over and talk to them! -Stand or exercise while you watch TV, or at least walk around during the commercial breaks Donald Trump's latest initiative to appease his supporters is not going to solve the war on terror or strengthen his relationship with the Muslim world. His 90 day ban for refugees and green card holders from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan has taken America back into the dark ages. The ban is divisive as his plan to build the wall in Mexico. It's full blown discrimination. Trump's latest plan sounds like a failed advertising campaign directed by the KKK or any far right movement. He has failed to highlight what good will come out of it. If there was a ban applied to other religion or faith groups there would be uproar it wouldn't happen but in this instance it has been applied. It's prejudice to the highest core as it will prohibit genuine refugees, children in need of help, women fleeing persecution and families from seeing loved ones along with business and creatives from conducting their daily activities. The enforced ban depicts playground bullying conducted by an out of touch billionaire President who simply wants to implore his authority and power to discriminate against Muslim led countries for no apparent reason. Advertisement Iraqi born MP Nadhim Zahawi told Andrew Marr on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show "For the first time in my life last night, I felt discriminated against". Anyone with dual nationality will be affected by this ban. Imagine if you were born or affiliated to those countries, had to attend a funeral or planning a weekend trip to New York, you simply wouldn't be allowed to enter the US not because you committed a crime or did something wrong but based purely on your faith and religion. For anyone with a surname that originates from those countries no doubt they will also face interrogation by authorities. It simply goes against moral values and building a cohesive society. How will we be able to eradicate the war on terror? It simply opens the door for extremists and terrorists to promote their ethos of fear, hatred and discrimination. There are stories of green card holders being handcuffed, asked their views on Trump and interrogated along with screenings of their social media accounts. Trump's ban has taken us back to the 1930's with his unorthodox rhetoric. If Muslims are banned from entering the US what next? If the US will ban Muslims will this be adopted by other countries. No doubt this will be applied by other nations. A poll conducted by a national UK news network revealed 34% support the ban. It has already got people thinking on whether the ban should be applied here in the UK and elsewhere. PM Theresa May should have condemned his actions but she has firmly distanced herself as we are placed in muddy waters with Brexit. For May it's imperative to build relationships, seek those all important deals to strengthen our US relationship that's far more superior than interfering in faith bans. It seems Trade is vital than international affairs concerning another country or helping displaced people from war torn or deprived countries. Advertisement Have we failed those countries by not condemning the ban? It has united the nation as thousands protested over May's decision to go ahead with Trump's state visit. The anti ban movement may have made some noise but has it prompted Trump to change his mind? Nope the ban is still in place. The whole situation is murky there are stories of people being detained and sent back on planes against their will. Yet again Muslims are being targeted for no apparent reason. Not all Muslims are terrorists. But Trump has been selective, he hasn't singled out Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia as those countries have probably dealt with him previously so they are exempt. Maybe more Trump Hotels in the pipeline. Is it a wide spread Muslim ban? What is this all about? American values are on the line here and it certainly hasn't been blown out of proportion. Is it another Islamophobic attack or dislike towards particular countries? The ban clearly forms that mindset. It certainly doesn't bode well with strengthening relationships with Iran. Obama's hard work to restore relationships has now been set back by at least ten years. But this was on the cards, according to Seth Frantzman, Obama's administration selected those seven countries. We are Elena & Sid. We're Kicking the Kyriarchy, the intersectional feminist podcast. Like most people (us included to begin with), we've probably lost you with that sentence, so let's begin with unpacking what all of that means. Intersectionality is a term first coined by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989 that argues people can experience varying levels of oppression and marginalisation based on their multiple identities i.e. ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, faith, age, mental and physical ability, mental and physical health and so on. Therefore, intersectional feminism takes all of this into consideration. A good example of this is how black women experience the world markedly different to white women. So when naming the podcast it was important to us that it was intersectional from the get-go, hence the term 'kyriarchy'. Although a catchy phrase, smashing the patriarchy was too simplistic for us as it only focuses on gender inequality, which isn't very intersectional. Kyriarchy is a term that describes all the ways in which an individual can be discriminated against, so therefore we want to not only smash the patriarchy, but also kick the kyriarchy. Advertisement No topic better demonstrates this than mental health. This topic is filled with breadth and depth, but it also means that this episode in no way does justice the amount of areas mental health covers. For the purpose of this episode (and your attention span) we're covering a very limited area of mental health, with a view to do more episodes on this topic in the future. So for now, let us introduce the guests and try understand some of the many identities intersecting with mental health. Up first is Chama, a black man who is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. We invited Chama to talk to us so we could try and understand a little more about masculinity and mental health and how this intersects with his identity as a black man. Mental health isn't talked about enough, and due to societal pressures, mental health within men isn't talked about enough. It's been widely reported that of the men who take their lives, 76% of them are under the age of 45. Another intersection is that mental health within the black community is poorly understood, and in Chama's case, he explains that this is partially down to his strong African background. Second is Carl, the first international guest to join us from across the pond! Carl is a trans man, and though homosexuality is no longer considered a mental health issue, being trans, believe it or not, still is. However, that's not the end of Carl's story. When Carl was 15 years old, before his transition, his parents made him attend conversion therapy for being queer. Despite the fact that conversion therapy is blacklisted by every credible health care organisation, it is still legal throughout most of the US and still happens in the UK today. Let's get one thing clear; being trans is not a mental health issue. We invited Carl on to learn more about what it's like to be 'treated' for a part of your identity as though it's a curable illness. Advertisement Last but certainly not least is Nicolle. After seven suicide attempts and being in and out of hospitalisation for years, Nicolle was finally diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She tells us what it's like to be forcibly sectioned in the UK today, the types of care that are available and the hurdles one has to jump through in order to access it. We all have mental health and keeping well is a challenge. Many of the people closest to us have battles with theirs that we could never even imagine, but being an ally when we are able to, can help stop those feelings of darkness in others. We are so often much stronger than we think we are. In this podcast, we hope to start those conversations. Subscribe to us on iTunes to listen to our other episodes! Follow us on Twitter: @KickKyriarchy Facebook: Kicking the Kyriarchy Bastiaan Slabbers via Getty Images The Times was understandably cock-a-hoop a couple of weeks ago when it landed the first wide-ranging print interview with President Trump ahead of his Inauguration. The Donald's trenchant comments about the state of the EU, the obsolescent nature of NATO and his desire to do a rapid trade deal with the UK set of a chain reaction across politics and financial markets. It was a Grade One scoop, albeit shared with Kai Diekmann from the German paper Bild. Which of course meant lots of other newspapers immediately rubbished it. Grumbling editors, columnists and star interviewers dismissed the interview as a shallow fireside chat. Where were the tough questions? Why didn't Gove put Mr Trump on the rack? What's the point in getting that type of access if you're just going to let him rant? Advertisement Years and years ago I secured the first joint interview with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown after 20 months of negotiating with Alastair Campbell. I was the political editor of the News of the World and everyone had wanted this. The stakes were high. Books by James Naughtie and Andrew Rawnsley had lifted the lid on the dysfunctional relationship at the heart of New Labour. Could I actually get them to talk about it? I tried. However, as soon as the first "Don't you really hate each other?" question tripped off the tongue I saw I was going nowhere. Tony Blair stared at me with those ice-filled eyes, Gordon Brown started shuffling his papers and both slipped out prepared answers. The interview ground to a halt. I quickly realised I was on the verge of wasting a golden opportunity. Forty minutes of this and I would end up with nothing. Glancing at my questions in desperation I flipped the interview on its head. "What unites you? What can you agree on? What's your vision for the future?" Patsy questions maybe, but I got enough material and saved my own bacon. The point is this - these politicians are not shrinking violets. They're not going to roll over and say "Know what, you're right. I do hate him and here's why..." Advertisement It might work well and look good to ask tough questions on the telly, as the BBC Laura Kuennsberg ably demonstrated at the first May-Trump press conference last week. But in newspapers, stony silence or a stock answer doesn't give you anything to work with. If you get the right interview at the right time, listening to them expound is frequently all you need to do. The smart interviewer steers the conversation. There is a time and a place to put someone on the rack, but it wasn't in Donald Trump's Manhattan office. The waves the interview caused proved that. The story behind the interview is almost as interesting as the material it produced. For months at the end of 2015, Rupert Murdoch's Fox News and Donald Trump had been conducting a bitter and public feud which culminated in January 2016, when he refused to appear in Fox's Presidential debate. After that the relationship stabilised, with Fox News predictably cheerleading for the Republican candidate. In their meeting at Trump Tower in the wake of his stunning victory a couple of weeks ago, Rupert Murdoch told Donald Trump he needed a strategy to reach out to the international media. President Trump's staff were sceptical - what's the point when the BBC and most of the European media described him as a joke? But Mr Murdoch had an ace up his sleeve - The Times' global reputation and an interviewer who was one of the few people President Trump would see as more than a mere journalist - a politician who helped orchestrate the Brexit victory. Advertisement That's why Mr Murdoch secured one of the biggest scoops of recent times. That's why he brought Michael Gove back to The Times. Yui Mok/PA Archive It's another one of those weeks in Parliament when a big vote will occur. Like with the Syria air assault vote the days preceding the event mean that, for MPs like me, my inbox and social media flood with demands on both sides of the fence. I don't mind this, people have little other recourse than to contact MPs. I would ask that people focused on contacting their own MP. I know those sending me emails from their homes in the south with sign offs like, "please listen to me, kind regards, Mrs A Smith, Rose Cottage, Sussex" perhaps don't realise how jarring it is when pitted against hundreds and hundreds of emails with an opposite view from people in my own community. I want to say that there are few things more maddening than when people demand that I use my conscience to vote. As if I wouldn't. What people mean when they say this is: "agree with my conscience because I am right." Doing the right thing is not an absolute state. People will tell me that things are simple, that there is a simple answer, there isn't. People say that they wish they had my privilege, they know what they would do. Except with my privilege comes everything else: the clamour, the desperate pleading, the threats, the worry and thousands of opinions and presented evidence, none are the same. Also, if we are completely honest, my vote won't make the blindest bit of difference, the government have a majority and the Labour Party has a number of actual Brexiteers. Advertisement I campaigned to remain in the EU. My heart is with all of those worried by the result. I wanted to stay in the EU. I want a Labour government. I don't always get what I want, frequently great swathes of the country don't agree with me. Unlike David Cameron I don't just walk away when things don't go my way. I've got a backbone. As a passionate Remainer I can say with some certainty that had remain won the referendum and the Leave MPs had used their votes to vote down the result, I would be first in line to take to the streets and join a revolution. How can I ignore how my constituents and the country voted and not expect the same from them? I'm not surprised some of them feel a bit revolutionary when some of the emails I've received basically call them stupid. My constituents voted to Leave. They didn't vote Leave because they hate migrants, after all I live in Birmingham. I believe they voted Leave because it was anti-politics. A moment of rare agency to speak up. Imagine if I ignore that. All I'll do is remind them why they feel so disenfranchised. The triggering of Article 50 and my say in it is something hundreds and hundreds of them have written to me to urge me to do. No, I wouldn't vote to ban abortion or bring back hanging if they all did (which I am absolutely certain they wouldn't). I find these straw man arguments tiresome and that they miss the fundamentals of the debate, like when a child steals a biscuit because their brother did, and we all say "would you jump off a cliff if he did". Its' a weak argument because jumping off a cliff is nothing like stealing a biscuit, so obviously not. I'm not voting because they bullied me, I'm voting because I have to listen. My opponents are the Lib Dems, so the argument that I might vote to trigger Article 50 as an election strategy to save my own skin would be a poor one for me. My vote will create a clear line in the sand, so it does me no favours - although I note with some hilarity that some of the Lib Dem MPs are rumoured to be defying their whip and voting to trigger Article 50. Who would have thought the Lib Dems might say one thing to win votes then do the exact opposite? Shocker. Advertisement My constituents wanted to Leave, but they didn't vote to make themselves poorer, threaten their jobs, challenge the car industry where many of them work. So I will not vote for any final deal that does them out of any of that. Nor will I vote on any deal that doesn't allow full citizenship rights to non-UK EU nationals already resident in this country or, in fact, UK citizens living in the EU. I will not sign up to Theresa May's "no deal" that leaves us paying WTO-level tariffs. I have put my name to a number of amendments to this effect for the Bill Committee next week and I will continue to speak up. I will speak to those I represent throughout the process - each and every house has already had a letter and a survey on their priorities for our exit and this will be the first of many over the next two or so years. Every single one of my constituents who have been in touch from the Remain side (less than 10) have done so with courtesy and no demands. They have suggested amendments, asked me to be aware of certain amendments and expressed concerns on the details and mistrust in the Tories priorities. Their thoughtful nature makes me proud to be their MP. I have the utmost respect for my colleagues who are voting the other way. I think the ones who gave up their jobs to commit to this deserve praise and support. What saddens me deeply is that I think each member of Parliament has had to make this decision alone, thanks to the complete vacuum of political leadership in the UK today. This situation began with weak leadership and so it continues. I'm not surprised people are so exasperated by politics that they kicked back, I know how they feel. Bring on all the messages I'll get after I vote about how I'm weak and feeble. Send me letters telling me I sold you out, gave in to the man. Nothing anyone can say will be close to how I've tortured myself over this. Let me assure you my conscience has been exercised. scarletsails via Getty Images During the early period of the Obama presidency, there was a prevalent word that went around news cycles and administration officials; the word "unprecedented". The same word cannot mean the same today as it did in 2008. We cannot define this new America as simply unprecedented. This is a dangerously unprecedented America. From the outside, what we have seen is a country that has gotten reluctant to lead and is weary with the onslaught of obligations it has on its head. If America was a human being, it would probably be dead from the obligations placed on its head; not to mention the daunting task of leading the planet into the future. This is just too much for one nation that put a man on the moon, brought us Alexander Hamilton and Michael Jackson. Much of every success America has recorded has one way or another been through the help of immigrants. In fact much of what every western civilization has recorded has been through the help of immigrants. To be fair to History, 'help' may be too kind a word to use; a better explanation would be through the enslavement and forceful submission of immigrants. Today's message is somewhat different from 1776, today "Mr. Immigrant, you have served your purpose, we cannot accommodate you any longer but many thanks for helping in advancing science, thanks for fighting for our democracy and shaping our ideals, thanks for your wisdom". This very moment, Mr. Immigrant you have transformed into too much of a looming disaster and terror carrier. Our budget cannot support or accommodate you anymore. Advertisement The very reason why I did not bother applying to the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship was because I knew President Trump was going to win the election. The whole point of the fellowship is the exact opposite of the current administration's posture and I did not see a reason why I should be part of that dichotomy. You do not have to be a genius to understand that the current American climate will bend towards more anti-immigration rhetoric. This is dangerous because stoking fear as a means to winning an election causes far irreparable damage that seeps on through generations. You would see more arsons on Mosques, more emboldening of hate and racial discrimination. I learnt a popular phrase 'whenever you feel lost, just remember your values'. The values that has made America great up till this point need to be remembered to take America to the next level. I am not in any position to teach you how to run your country but one thing I do know is that it is better not to have been great in the first place than to experience the fall from greatness. I'm sorry Mr. America, but with this rhetoric, policies of alienation, protectionism, anti-globalization, anti-immigration and going it all alone, you will probably experience it. This is new territory, no one has ever been here before. It has only been imagined in Nik Gowing's Thinking the unthinkable series. Advertisement Freedom is not one man, Freedom is a belief and that belief is what strengthens institutions and builds the force that 'bends that arc'. Once we start having different definitions of what freedom means, we have tampered with the very ideal that millions have fought and died for. Freedom is the very essence of diversity. Diversity is most pronounced through immigration. Is America the country we look to as a pinnacle of freedom, morals and justice. The answer is still yes but what we are witnessing today is an affront on the American values most of us around the world have come to know America for. What the administration tells us now is "We are the land of the free and home of the brave so long as you are not an immigrant". The fastest way to lose leadership is simply to watch things go by. It's the notion that silence will get us to the promise land and the simplistic deduction that everything must be about the bottom-line. Staying out of the global dialogues, defunding the United Nations, doubting the importance of treaties, inciting a global nuclear arms-race. There is so much wrong with the voices we are hearing from this vantage point. I am a Nigerian and trust me, I have never been prouder of being a citizen of the greatest country on Earth - Nigeria. This is what I learnt during the 2016 US Election cycle. Every country has their own sets of 'crazy', stop looking up to another country for your solutions. America is tired of leading the world and the body language of the new administration has downright told us that. As with every empire that loses the willingly gives out their number 1 position, there would always be a number 2 eagerly waiting to take the top spot. China is wide awake, Russia is wide awake and on the North American horizon, Canada is wide awake. Mr. America wants to be alone, let him be. When you turn your back on the foundations that brought you to your current position, there is really no other direction to go to but to decline. Advertisement The issue with Mexico and the wall is another affront on international law. I disagree with the diplomatic and brown-nosing answer Theresa May gave to John Roberts' question about Mexico and the USA in the first UK/US special farce news conference of the Trump Administration. The growth in tensions between USA and Mexico is not a regional tension issue, it has far reaching global effects about the new American discourse which has been ushered in with this administration. The discussion is simply "we would bully you until you submit". Mexico is being bullied on an international scale and the only thing left will be for America to invade Mexico as a result for being recalcitrant and choosing not to donate to the 'Great Wall Funds of the Southern USA'. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Irans Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan confirmed that Iran has recently carried out a ballistic missile test. The recent missile test is in line with our plans and we will not let any foreign intervention into our defense issues, Dehqan said, Tasnim news agency reported Feb. 1. He further said that Irans ballistic missile tests are against neither the nuclear deal between Tehran and the six world powers, nor the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear deal. Iran will continue its defense programs in order to defend its national interests, Dehqan said, adding that nothing can affect the Defense Ministrys plans and objectives. The United States has warned Iran that its ballistic missile test, which was carried on Jan. 29, was "absolutely unacceptable" and said it violated Tehran's nuclear accord with world powers. The US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley issued the warning on Jan. 31 after a closed-door UN Security Council meeting that the United States had called to discuss the missile launch. She said the missile launched on Jan. 29 was capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload and had a range of 300 kilometers, putting it in violation of the nuclear accord. That is more than enough to be able to deliver a nuclear weapon, she said. The UN Security Council has requested a report on the missile launch from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and a UN committee dealing with Iranian issues. Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif earlier refused to confirm the missile launch, but said that Iran's missile tests are not related to the nuclear deal. The UN Human Rights Act, laws on marriage, laws on religious freedom, the workplace - they all pretty much accept and welcome the LGBT community. So why why why in 2017 of all years is the Church of England still facing the same, rugged old battle it was decades and centuries ago? When I say the Church of England, I mean the General Synod - the group of bosses and bishops tasked with legislating and providing a moral example for vicars and congregations to follow. Advertisement They're set to meet in February to discuss the ongoing debate around faith and sexuality. Two and a bit years after I came out and Vicky Beeching did the same, we've seen the publication of an interim report on the 'shared discussions' the CofE has had on the issue. Next to no changes, acceptances or even considerations have been made in that report. Keep to the status quo, don't change, ignore any concerns and bravery from those who said 'Yes, I'm gay and I love God. So what.' You can tell that's annoyed me, a lot... What I will give them is that they've called for greater understanding and welcoming of the LGBT community, but they won't officially recognise same-sex unions, love and even biology as not sinful. That I continually try to accept and understand at a local level, where people can disagree on the issue but love and accept and bless the person for being happy and living out as who they are. But on a national, senior leadership level, I brand it disgraceful. Advertisement If any of the board members on the Synod who've blissfully beaten down the cries, anguish and commended bravery of those who've said they have same-sex attraction would like to listen to the stories of those who've lived facing this battle for 10,20 even 30 years be my guest. Until you've seen it through the eyes of people who've lived through it, you won't be able to understand it. Yes, yes there is theology, but as perfectly knowledgeable theologians like Vicky Beeching will tell you, the Bible wasn't created for hatred, condemnation and witty comebacks. It was made for love, teaching, guidance and support. Now I want to make something very clear. People brandish the church as one big gay hating body - it simply is not. 99.99999% of churches out there love and accept LGBT people. Yes, many will disagree on certain theological points, they may not be there yet on embracing equal marriage like some others are, but on the bare minimum they'll invite the LGBT community to be a full part of the weekly life of the community. Advertisement So to the authors of this so-called blessed report, I'd like you to go back to the fundamentals of why you're in this line of work. Love your neighbour as yourself. Take that, take the feelings of the LGBT person you're thinking your slaying for their sinful behaviour, consider their emotions, consider their biological attractions, and think again. Newsletter sign-up HuffPost UK Daily Brief Sign up and we will email you daily with the best of our political and news coverage while also giving you a taste of our most-popular lifestyle, opinion and personal blogs. Carlo Allegri / Reuters But majority oppose new president's migrant ban New YouGov data shows that just under half (49%) of Britons believe Donald Trump's proposed state visit later this year should go ahead, while over a third (36%) want it cancelled. The visit, which will see the new president meet with the Queen, has provoked mass protests in the UK and has seen nearly 1.7million people sign the petition calling for the plug to be pulled on Trump's trip. It follows the president's controversial order banning refugees from various countries entering the US. Advertisement Ukip (81%) and Conservative (76%) voters are most likely to support the president's visit while those who voted Labour in 2015 (51%) and young people (53%) are the only groups where a majority want to cancel the trip. Men are strongly in favour of the visit (60% versus 29%) while women are evenly split on the matter, with 39% in favour and 43% against. Trump's migrant ban Half (50%) of Britons believe the migrant ban signed by President Trump is a bad idea, whilst 29% think it is a good one. A further 20% don't know. Advertisement The data shows that should Theresa May adopt a similar ban in the UK, the reaction among British voters would be broadly similar. Almost half (49%) would be appalled or disappointed compared to just over a quarter (27%) who would be delighted or pleased. See the results here and here There have been some voices today, from the usual quarters, pointing out past occasions when the Queen has been forced to endure the company of odious tyrants. The point they're trying to make, of course, is that Donald Trump should be allowed to have his state visit. Conservative apologist Iain Dale lists Nicolae Ceausescu in 1978, Robert Mugabe in 1994, Bashar al-Assad in 2002, Vladimir Putin in 2003, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2007 and China's Xi Jinping in 2015. He neglects to mention the ex-IRA commander Gerry Adams in 2015. The argument seems to be that the Queen has met monsters before, what's one more? First let me say I'm glad to hear conservative voices putting Trump among the company he deserves -- it's an admission, of sorts, of what he is. Now let me point out why this occasion is different. Many of these past visits were attempts to build bridges with countries we've not traditionally enjoyed good relations with, or whose values don't resemble our own; democracy, tolerance and free speech. I don't necessarily agree that this is a good idea, but that's the aim. Advertisement The United States, however, is a country with which we have long had good relations. It's a country whose values have long been recognisable to us as similar to our own. Under Donald Trump, that is changing. He is a tyrant ruling by executive order, flouting the judiciary and openly lying to his people. He has vowed to demolish the constitution he pledged to defend. He's a self-confessed sex pest, so soaked in tawdry allegations that we've ceased to notice the stench. A thin-skinned vainglorious idiot who blacklists whole peoples from the land where "huddled masses" have long aspired to freedom. And don't get me started on his cabinet. His state visit will be no bridge-building exercise, comparable to the examples above. We have no hope of affecting a positive change by our good example. This man is running roughshod over the values our countries have long shared and, by inviting him now -- in record time for a post-war president -- we are endorsing him. This is made abundantly clear by the deafening silence from Downing Street about his de-facto Muslim ban. It's not what we would do, they pathetically mewl. They promise UK exemption from the ban, even as the US embassy in London denies it. There's a reason for this: Theresa May is in a position of weakness unusual for a UK Prime Minister and it all comes down to Brexit. This calamitous decision to leave the European Union, the world's largest economy and our biggest trading partner, has forced us to drag our begging bowl across the pond to this Toytown Hitler. Is this taking back control? I note also that Nigel Farage, the privately-educated ex-stockbroker who crusaded for Brexit while moaning (hilariously) about the elite, is now calling for a similar "Muslim ban" here. This sort of politics is the baggage of Brexit and we will hear more of it as this madcap scheme continues. I think we can also safely dispatch with the notion that the driving principle of UKIP is some sort of libertarian streak; no, it's the same old bigotry we all thought it was. Advertisement "They think the Queen can't cope with Trump," says Mr Dale. Nonsense, the Queen has coped with fascists all her life. But we should have enough respect for ourselves and the USA, that she shouldn't be exposed to a fascist American president. As the old saying goes, it's always darkest just before the dawn. After the roller coaster ride of 2016, most people thought 2017 couldn't possibly be worse. But it's trying its best. At the time of writing, President Donald Trump has issued an immediate travel ban on people travelling from predominantly Muslim countries into the US (while maintaining that it isn't racially or religiously motivated), after also recently signing an Executive Order to defund international abortions that use US dollars. Writing the President's Executive Orders we have Steve Bannon, a man who looks the way a burnt out bus station smells. This Neo-Nazi is the perfect villain for a movie retelling of the real life horror story we're living in. Were he alive Philip Seymour-Hoffman would have been the perfect fit visually, although arguably his decomposing corpse could provide even more of an uncanny physical resemblance. In Brexit-Britain we have the increasingly frantic and skittish Theresa May leading the charge. Our dear leader appears to be taking Conservative austerity measures so closely to heart that she refuses to even use public resources such as "oxygen", such is her parsimony with saying anything of actual substance. "Brexit means Brexit", anyone? Advertisement With this in mind, the dawn seems a long way off, but if the Left can heal their divisions and unify, it needn't be. The very idea of a divided Left seems to run counter to the binary portrayal of the sociopolitical landscape that the media presents. So often it's "The Right VS The Left", with some centrism thrown in to give the illusion of diversity. But this is far from the truth. The liberal Left take the limelight when it comes to opposition politics in the mainstream. They want to offer an alternative to the "Establishment", with seemingly progressive social policy. Simultaneously, and almost counter intuitively, they want offer it in a populist way, to reach across the aisle so to speak, and "win the opposition over". For most on the Right, this is where the political spectrum ends. The radical Left aren't even a blip on their radar, and if they are they exist as some kind of joke fringe group obsessed with enforcing communism and arable farming. For the liberal Left, the radical can often appear divisive, aggressive and exclusionary. But this sorely misses the point. Advertisement The radical Left want fundamental change to the superstructures that control us. They believe that the liberal approach amounts to nothing more than appeasement and acceptance of a terminally oppressive and injurious elite. Rather than trying to find a compromise within capitalism and a flawed democratic process, their aim is to deconstruct and replace it with something that functions for the needs of everybody. The tension this causes among the Left is tangible. The divisions run the gamut, ranging from the political - whether we need to 'engage with the democratic process and respect it VS overhauling it and starting again'; to the social - see the 'Sex Wars' among Feminists; through to the economic - whether capitalism can truly be reformed to something resembling a fair meritocracy, or whether it needs to be stripped away and replaced with a more socialist distribution of resources. Simultaneously, cyberbalkanization has further segregated Left from Right, and consequently Left from Left even more, creating a never ending, separatist Generation-Y echo chamber where debate is limited at best. These divisions are where the Left falters. The Right have been so consistently successful because of one overarching reason. They rally around the party and the idea of strong government. The details can be worked out later. As long as the party are in power, the specifics come with time. Just look at the Republicans that spoke out against Trump, but ultimately supported him in an effort to maintain the party unity. If the Left want to affect real change, they need to bridge these gaps and unify in a similar way. Indeed, everybody's favourite Marxist Slavoj Zizek posited that voting for Trump would encourage this, akin to some kind of Robber's Cave experiment. Give society a common cause to rally around (Trump), and together they could enact immense change with much more efficiency than if they were to do it in increments by condoning the "absolute inertia" of Hillary Clinton (politically speaking). This is not to say the disputes of the Left should be ignored, but the movement needs to prioritise. Shulamith Firestone described something similar in her revolutionary Radical Feminist manifesto 'The Dialectic of Sex', where she pointed out that "...with the granting of the vote the Establishment co-opted the woman's movement". This can be extrapolated from the uniquely female perspective to our current system, where a vote for the Establishment regardless of where they sit on the political spectrum is still just that - a vote for the Establishment. With that comes the ingrained oppression and populism that career politicians embrace with unnerving zeal, consequently never affecting real, long term change. Advertisement But it would be dogmatic to assume the radical Left have all the answers. Great change cannot occur without access to power. Indeed, Andrea Dworkin spent her life arguing for radical change, but agreed that "You always need women [...] who have access to power". Again, let's extrapolate this to society as a whole. The "bottom line" is no good without the people in place that can realise those goals. The radical Left might provide the bedrock, but the liberal Left are the ones that engage with the system in an effort to change things. Whether the engagement of the liberal Left is truly progressive is a debate for another time, but I digress... Needless to say, the Left spend as much time infighting as they do combating the ever more frequent ruthlessness of the Right. With more focus, an amalgamation of thought and a unification of direction, so much more could be accomplished. The liberal Left still need to reach across the aisle, but they need to do it in the opposite direction. Reach out to the radical Left, and recognise that their goals are for the betterment of everybody, not just for upholding the status quo. The radical Left need to take this olive branch and recognise that with a greater access to power they can enact their desired change, and through pedagogy also increase the liberal Left's political and social vision. A new style icon has been crowned: she's the 21-year-old new queen of Bhutan, a tiny country tucked between India and China in the Himalayas. Last week Bhutan's 31-year-old king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck wed Jetsun Pema, a student ten years his junior. Pema is a commoner whose father is an airline pilot, but the king doesn't mind jettisoning tradition by marrying her; he says he fell in love with Pema after meeting her when she was 7, when he promised himself that if he still had romantic feelings for Pema when he was older, he would marry her. The gorgeous newlywed queen wore royal dress for the ceremony: a local garment called a kira, which took three years to weave. She's been spotted during the past month in a variety of vibrant-colored outfits that reflect the local culture in textile and pattern. Advertisement As queen, Pema will be expected to dress in the colors that reflect her kham (birth element), in accordance with Tibetan astrology, reports Business Bhutan. The king is no stranger to style, either: he's known in Bhutan as the "Asian Elvis" because of his hair style, reports ABC. Interest in fashion is growing in Bhutan, a nation with a historically isolated culture. The site Bhutan Street Fashion , which posts picture of street fashion and magazine photo shoots, recently launched, and comments on the site are buzzing on posts like this one, which shows a Bhutanese girl posing in a pair of UGGs. Check out some of Her Majesty's outfits from her wedding below. We can't wait to see more of Pema's regal style soon! Panama's Senafront (National Border Service) soldiers parade during commemorations of the 112th anniversary of Panama's independence of Colombia on November 3, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Rodrigo ARANGUA (Photo credit should read RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images) Feliz Dia de la Independencia, Panama! Colorful polleras and intricate headdresses filled the streets of Panama City this month as dancers wearing the national folk dress joined the military procession celebrating their independence from not one, but two countries. November 3, 1903 may be held as the beginning of the countrys sovereignty but, 82 years before the celebrated date, Panama obtained its first independence--their liberation from the Spanish crown. Panamanians strike up the band and cue the military procession each Nov. 3 to commemorate their separation from Colombia. Once part of Gran Colombia, (which consisted of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador) Panama seceded in 1903, soon after the end of the Thousand Days War. Advertisement Interest in the Panama Canal, and failure to ratify the Herran-Hay treaty in the Colombian senate, prompted the United States to support Panamas separation from Gran Colombia. Separatist in Panama, unlike Colombia, eventually did come to an agreement with the US, and on February 23, 1904 the new Republic of Panama gave President Theodore Roosevelt control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million US dollars. Then there's November 28th, the date on which Panama commemorates its independence from Spain. To celebrate these two important days in Panama's history, take this tour of the central american country that offers visitors vast ocean views of both the Atlantic and the Pacific, eco-tourism through its lush rain forests, cultural encounters with traditional wear and indigenous people that call this literal bridge of the americas home. Start the adventure below!: Welcome to the Blue Lagoon, a steamy geothermal spa on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland. It's a beautifully blissful place to spend this Travel Tuesday. The Blue Lagoon was formed by accident in 1976, when water from a nearby power plant formed a pool. People realized the pool was kind of magical when the silica in it eased the symptoms of psoriasis, a painful skin condition. The lagoon officially opened as a geothermal spa in 1992, and visitors were welcomed into its crystal blue waters, which range from 98 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Advertisement Bliss-seekers lounge on chairs, enjoy massages in the pool, and rub silica masks on their faces to deep clean and exfoliate. The Blue Lagoon also makes a prime party venue, of course. Iceland Airwaves, an annual music festival, hosts self-proclaimed "hipster" parties in the warm waters each year. Whether you come to rage or relax, the Blue Lagoon is a spot you'll be glad exists. There's not much that gets us excited over here at HuffPost Travel quite like an abandoned place in some part of the world. While the idea of an abandoned structure is certainly saddening and often times a bit eerie, there is still something magical about a venue, home or even full-on town left exactly as it was, preserved in time... sorta. This certainly can be said for Plaza de toros Real de San Carlos in Uruguay. The bullring once saw fights from the famous Torres brothers of Spain, Ricardo and Manual, more affectionately known as Bombita Grande and Bombita Chico. Colonia del Sacramento, a relaxing vacation-esque town along the Rio de la Plata, is where the bullring was erected in the early 1900s only to be abandoned two years after it first opened, when the government banned bullfighting in Uruguay. There were only eight fights held prior to it being shut down. The structure is really quite breathtaking, even with its crumbling bricks and dilapidated facade. Unfortunately, going inside the bullring is forbidden for safety reasons and there is a fence with barbed wire surrounding the Moorish style structure that prevents you from getting an up close and personal look. You can still peek inside and let your imagination run a little wild for a moment during your full 360 degree view of the arena, as it's plopped down in the middle of a driving circle. Advertisement Donald Trump ran his campaign on implicit, and sometimes explicit ("drain the swamp," anyone?) promises of an "anti-establishment" presidency. As we see more and more though, his biggest departure from the status quo thus far has been his flair for the fanciful. Instead of releasing a statement through his Press Secretary or addressing the public during daylight hours, Trump made sure that his pick for the current vacancy in the United States Supreme Court would be another prime-time affair. At 7pm CST, my speculations were confirmed, and Trump announced that Judge Neil Gorsuch would be his pick for the lifetime post on the highest court in the United States of America. Advertisement Honestly, this did not come as a surprise to many who have had their collective ears to the ground. To be fair, Gorsuch was NOT included on Trump's first list of potential nominees. In fact, no one from Harvard or any other Ivy League law school was included on that list -- probably due to Trump's campaign promises to shake up the status quo -- which would have been a great departure for a Supreme Court roster of Justices that currently does not include one single jurist who attended anything but an Ivy League law school. But, as with many more potential rebuffs on his previous campaign promises, Trump presented a second list of potential nominees prior to polling. This list included multiple individuals from both Yale and Harvard law schools. As such, instead of breaking with the status quo, we will still have a high court composed only of Ivy League law grads if and when Gorsuch is confirmed. So much for throwing a wrench in things... Now, don't get me wrong; I have a great deal of respect for Judge Gorsuch. I might not agree with all of his opinions or legal reasoning, but I do believe the man is a scholar who takes his academic and judicial responsibilities very seriously. His opinions are more enjoyable to read (as far as legal opinions go) than some of the regularly regurgitated legal analysis that many other judges and jurists produce. Some judges like to write textbooks. Some judges just like to write, and that is refreshing. I'm an Oklahoma criminal defense attorney. Gorsuch has been a judge on my state's federal appellate circuit court (the 10th Circuit) for the last decade. His opinions are at least well-reasoned, and colleagues who have argued in front of him have noted that he is a fine jurist and a respected thinker in regards to constitutional issues. Some of his opinions have been controversial, and some of them have been overturned, but that was going to be the case from someone's perspective no matter who Trump picked. Advertisement As far as Gorsuch's confirmation chances go, there will likely be one single hurdle in his path, so long as he doesn't pull a "Douglas Ginsburg" and get outed for inhaling the devil's weed. The only realistic roadblock to Senate approval will be a potential (and long-threatened) filibuster by the Democratic members of the Senate. Still, there are processes that could play out in which the Senate Republicans could unilaterally eliminate the potential filibuster rule, which currently requires 60 votes, versus 51 votes, to advance a Supreme Court nominee. Remember though, it was the Democrats that originally started this unilateral precedent when they got rid of the 60-vote rule for lower-court nominees back in 2013. So...sounds like a potential return to the status quo. Truth be told, the number of Supreme Court nominees rejected by the Senate after confirmation hearings is low. It has been far more likely in the relatively recent past that a nominee would withdraw his or her name from consideration prior to risking rejection after tens of hours of grueling questions. Call me crazy, but unless some skeleton jumps out of a birthday cake hidden in Gorsuch's closet on live television, he won't be withdrawing his nomination. So, what will the Supreme Court look like if Gorsuch is confirmed and takes Justice Scalia's seat? By all accounts, it will look a lot like the status quo. Much has been made of Gorsuch being an originalist, meaning that he tries to interpret the Constitution from the viewpoint of the men who wrote it. The recently deceased Justice Antonin Scalia was an originalist also. That can lead to a conservative view on personal rights, but an expansive approach to those rights which protect the people from a potentially intrusive government. Advertisement Logically, Justice Scalia was something of a torch-bearer, a legal "lion" in his jungle, when the case involved an enumerated constitutional right (something written out clearly in the Constitution) such as the Fourth and Sixth Amendments. These hallmarks are judicially enforced protections -- for the people, by the people -- against a potentially oppressive and tyrannical government. These rights, along with the Second Amendment, need to be preserved and revered by a nation in the midst of uncertainty, untrust, and potential conflict. Also remember that Gorsuch clerked for Justice Kennedy ("the swing vote") of the current Court. Consequently, Gorsuch may be more moderately conservative than some might hope or even expect. It's entirely possible that we could see a relatively stable court...conceivably a three-way, three-person split: in equal parts conservative, moderate, and liberal. After all, this would be the first time a former clerk became a colleague on the Court with the Justice he clerked for. That could create an interesting dynamic. Frankly, that's the way it is supposed to be. Our entire government is supposed to be made of checks and balances. With an even distribution of political ideologies in the Court, there could be more balance. Most importantly though, it may allow our highest court to stay impartial and independent...not only from the other branches, but also within itself. Details added (first version posted on 11:24) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Iran has unveiled two new domestically-made satellites on the National Day of Space Technology Feb. 1, Iran's state-run IRINN TV reported. The satellites dubbed "Nahid 1" and "Payam Amirkabir", were unveiled during a ceremony attended by President Hassan Rouhani and Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan. "Nahid 1" satellite is designed and manufactured by Iran University of Science and Technology. It is a solar-powered telecommunication satellite, ready for launching. Another satellite which was unveiled in the ceremony, Payam Amirkabir, is designed by Amirkabir University of Technology. Iran marks the anniversary of launching Omid satellite as national day of space technology. Omid was Irans first domestically made satellite which is a data-processing satellite for research and telecommunications and was successfully launched on February 2, 2009. Recently Japanese carmaker Nissan announced that it would use London as the first European city for real-world trials of self-driving cars. The company will be testing a version of the electric LEAF car that has been modified to be autonomous. "With future models secured and cutting-edge innovation being developed right here in the UK, we're looking forward to a strong future of designing, engineering and manufacturing in the country for customers right across the world," said Nissan Europe Chairman Paul Willcox. Initial speedbumps Of course, whilst these kind of trials are undoubtedly fascinating, there remain a number of issues that need to be resolved before driverless cars take to the roads. Advertisement For instance, studies have examined how pedestrians might respond in a world where they know that the autonomous vehicle will always cede to them in the interests of safety. It posits that because driverless vehicles are designed to be risk averse, it will create an environment where pedestrians can largely act with impunity, which in turn is likely to make neighborhoods much more pedestrian-oriented. Whilst this clearly benefits pedestrians, it may have implications for the speed with which vehicles traverse our towns and cities. Those in the industry have voiced similar concerns with regards to other motorists. If they know that the autonomous vehicle will always play it safe, it may encourage reckless driving from other drivers. Taking back control There are also concerns surrounding the control of driverless vehicles, or more aptly, whether human drivers are in any position to regain control from the vehicle should it be required. Advertisement A recent Stanford study examined the issue in depth, and found the transition was nothing if not complicated. The study placed a number of test drivers on a track to find out, and the results suggest the transition isn't as smooth as we might think. "Many people have been doing research on paying attention and situation awareness. That's very important," the authors say. "But, in addition, there is this physical change and we need to acknowledge that people's performance might not be at its peak if they haven't actively been participating in the driving." It's worth remembering that this is in a scenario where people were still paying attention, albeit not to the full extent required when physically controlling the car, but they certainly weren't tuned out doing some work or reading the news. "Even knowing about the change, being able to make a plan and do some explicit motor planning for how to compensate, you still saw a very different steering behavior and compromised performance," the authors continue. If we're to assume that most instances whereby humans will be required to re-take control of the vehicle are likely to be ones that demand a swift and appropriate response, it does represent a hurdle for the industry to overcome. Advertisement Humble beginnings Of course, this isn't to say that such hurdles are insurmountable, but nonetheless, the early iterations of driverless technology are likely to be rather humble affairs. Indeed, a recent paper argued that we need to carefully manage the expectations of the public so that when driverless technology does become more mainstream, they aren't left rather disappointed. The paper examined how people felt about the technology when they were given a slightly more realistic picture of what will emerge than what they have been led to believe by many hyperbolic media stories. "A lot of the public discourse to date about the capabilities of vehicle automation has been based on unrealistic expectations about the role of the human operator," the authors say. The earliest examples of driverless technology to date have been in quite controlled environments. For instance, an automated device is installed in the tunnels at CERN to perform various inspections. Or you have the automated shuttle bus developed by French start-up Navya that was recently demoed at Heathrow airport's Compass Centre. The vehicles, which were first launched in France in 2015, have already been deployed around the world, and have transported over 100,000 people in that time. The vehicle, which can carry up to 15 people, can travel at up to 30mph, but because it is often deployed on corporate or university campuses, it seldom surpasses 15mph. It's designed for journeys that are too short for cars, but too long for walking. Advertisement The company, which is supported by the EIT Digital Accelerator, carried in excess of 100,000 people last year for a combined distance of over 50,000km. [Japan's communications satellite Kirameki-2 was launched on Jan. 24./ Source: AFP, Yonhap News] By AsiaToday reporter Jina Koh - The "satellite data" war is heating up in Southeast Asia. It's because they desperately need satellite data to prepare for natural disasters, internet infrastructure construction and more. Telkom, the largest telecom company in Indonesia, is about to launch a new satellite this month. Dubbed 'Telkom-3S', the $200 million satellite will be supporting Telkom's voice and data services. Next year, a fourth satellite named Telkom-4 will be ready for launch. The satellite, which will replace the Telkom-1, is equipped with 49 transponders that can transmit 100 Gbps mobile broadband across Indonesia, India and Southeast Asia. Advertisement The main purpose of Telkom's satellite launching is to build an internet infrastructure. Indonesia, a nation made up of thousands of islands, is addressing its lack of broadband internet connectivity by building communication infrastructure in space instead of installing cables on the ground. Satellites can help predict and monitor potential natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions. They can be very useful tools for managing disasters in near real time. For this reason, Thailand approved the launch of the second Earth observation satellite THEOS-2 in 2015. The satellite is used for disaster management and infrastructure and earth observation. THEOS-2 will be launched to replace the existing THEOS-1, which ends its five-year mission. The Thai government plans to use the transmitted images of its second satellite by 2020. Vietnam launched its first micro satellite, Pico Dragon, four years ago. The satellite collects space environment data and transmit images to Earth. Southeast Asia's satellite launching is changing the existing concept of space utilization. "A paradigm shift is happening in the field of space utilization," said Shuzo Takada, director-general of Japan's National Space Policy Secretariat, in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review. Advertisement He explained that reduced costs of manufacturing satellites and launching rockets have changed the way governments think about space development. Launching a rocket and owning a satellite is no longer a national pride. Instead, practical uses of data gathered from space has become more important. "You should pay attention not only to the traditional hardware aspects, like rockets and satellites, but also the services and software that are connected," said Takada. In other words, countries that are lagging behind in technology have a chance to become leaders at any time. In particular, Southeast Asia is catching up rapidly in the space development race. The Philippines is one of the most enthusiastic players in this field. In March 2016, it launched micro satellite Diwata-1 to collect agricultural data. At an altitude of over 400 km, the Diwata-1 passes four times a day over the Philippines. It captures 3,600 images per day and transmits images and data to the Philippine Earth Data Resources and Observation (PEDRO) Center through its sensor. Advertisement Just days after a global outpouring of support for a movement demanding protection for the rights of women and other advances promoted by civil society, Donald Trump has fully turned back the clock. On Jan. 23, with a stroke of his presidential pen, he banned all official American aid to any global organization that provides abortions or even information about the procedure. This move might satisfy the Republican right and religious opponents of abortion in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as some evangelical Protestant churches. But worldwide, it amounts to an attack on the health and rights of millions of women in the poorest nations, conflict zones, refugee camps and ad hoc settlements thrown together after catastrophic natural disasters, where rape and other abuse -- usually perpetrated by men -- become daily experiences on a large scale. Moreover, the US policy, dating back to 1984 and enforced by only Republican presidents since then, undermines a decision by the former UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, to allow abortion in UN facilities. The Trump directive will pose serious dilemmas for both nongovernmental organizations and UN officials in the field, who often work with the relief groups receiving US funds. Advertisement To be clear, the so-called Mexico City policy targeting abortion -- which the Reagan administration shocked even its own USAID experts by announcing at an international conference on population and development in the Mexican capital -- is not aimed strictly at abortion providers but at a wide range of relief and health organizations working in scores of countries. Under the policy, known popularly as the global gag rule, the functioning of multipurpose health facilities for girls and women is threatened, even if they provide only non-promotional information. The blanket condemnation, which not only the aid agency but also the State Department has been ordered to enforce, enables abortion critics to accuse and report on countries or organizations that they claim are offering abortions. China was targeted under this rule during the administration of President George W. Bush, leading to a cutoff of US funds to the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, the largest provider of family planning assistance worldwide and the one to be most affected by the ban. Bush ignored a report by his own investigation team sent to China, which confirmed UNFPA's insistence that it had no programs in Chinese clinics where abortion was forced on women, often brutally. Presidents Clinton in the 1990s and, more recently, Obama lifted the policy, which has now been reinstated as of Jan. 23. Advocates for women's reproductive health rights faulted both those Democratic presidents for not overturning the 1973 legislative amendment that provides the basis for anti-abortion movements. Advertisement The amendment was the work of the late Senator Jesse Helms, a social conservative and an ideologue contemptuous of the UN. That legislation, attached to the 1961 landmark US Foreign Assistance Act, has remained in place for more than four decades while public opinion and court rulings in mostly developed countries have remarkably changed positions on the issue. They now accept women's rights to choose or at least how many children women want as well as to have access to contraceptives. The picture has been bleaker, however, for women in poverty or conflict areas around the world, starting from the "rape centers" in Bosnia in the 1990s, where imprisoned Muslim and Croat women were sexually abused by ethnic Serb forces repeatedly, to the current barbaric treatment of women by Boko Haram and the Islamic State. It is well documented by the UN and women's health organizations that in conflict areas and among refugee flows, rapists target the most vulnerable women and girls. In Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, women who with their children in tow had congregated in pop-up slums, told me that they were afraid to leave their flimsy shelters to use communal toilets. (Some women still live in such setups.) A Haitian middle-class university student whose family home was among the many thousands destroyed spoke of young women preyed on if they tried to use the barely concealed shower stalls set up by relief groups. In 2013, Secretary-General Ban, bucking strong opposition among UN members, recommended that emergency contraception -- the "morning after" pill -- and abortion should be offered as part of an international response to the rape of women in conflict zones and other disasters. In a report to the UN Security Council, Ban said: "Sexual attacks are almost universally under-reported for various reasons, and women and girls who lack access to help after rape are often forced to either carry out unwanted pregnancies . . . or undergo dangerous abortions." The UN and the UNFPA, in particular, stress that abortion is never condoned as a method of birth control and should be accepted only as a last resort in a crisis, and only where it is safe and legal.Janet Benshoof, president of the Global Justice Center, led a campaign of civil society, legal, faith-based, human-rights and development organizations in the US and abroad to permanently end the restrictions on American reproductive health assistance. She said in an interview in 2015 that Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions on the rules of war entitles all victims, including civilian rape victims, to nondiscriminatory medical care of all kinds. Advertisement "The Geneva Conventions have their own medical protocols that nobody questions as absolute law," Benshoof said, adding that the protocols override local laws and restrictions in conflict areas. "That is probably the most fundamental international law." It is too early to measure the broad fallout from Trump's decision to restore the ban on US government funds to any involvement with abortion, but nongovernmental organizations and major private foundations were expecting this move to happen from the political right. The outcry has been loud and universal. Human Rights Watch called the reinstatement of the gag rule "a destructive policy that threatens women's lives around the world." Marie Stopes International, a voluntary organization working globally to provided family planning and other services to poor women, is among several major women's health services, along with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, that have decided to forgo US financial assistance rather than abide by the Trump directive. In his public life, my father was a pediatrician and well liked by his patients. In his private life, he was introverted and isolated. Growing up, I observed these polarities and desperately wanted to please him, crack that shell, and reach his joy. As a teenager, I spent much of time away from the house, witnessed my parents separation when I was 17, and when it was time to go to college, I couldn't get there fast enough. In November of my sophomore year, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My freedom seemed to come to an abrupt end and for the next 3 years I would struggle; mentally and emotionally filled with guilt, remorse, and self-doubt around my choices (he was, after all, at home all alone); physically as my health was compromised from stress; and spiritually empty. Advertisement I graduated from college in May 1991 and moved back home. My father was nearly bedridden by then and refused to leave the house. I can't say I was there to take care of him as I neither knew what to do, nor did I really want to. I was 22. What I wanted was to travel and live my life independent from my parents. On July 17, 1991, my father passed away. He was 59 years old. And with his death, I slowly began to know his life. I would come to understand that his life had been too painful a story for him to share, and I began to understood why my intuition had always guided me not to ask. And this is where the story truly begins. David Zylberman was born on June 4, 1932 in Hotel de Dieu ("Hospital of God") in Paris, France. The youngest of 5, he was born to an uneducated seamstress and an alcoholic, mostly unemployed father. They lived in the Jewish ghetto of Paris known as "Le Marais" where they survived on the earnings from my grandmother's sewing. Raised by a single mother, occasionally beaten and abused by a mostly absent father. In 1939, the Nazis invaded Paris and the lives of my father, his family, and his community were changed forever. Many life altering events happened during this time including the fate of his twin brothers - one died in the first month of the war fighting for the French army, and the other, also a solider, was captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war only to be "liberated" by the Russians and then held as their prisoner. Though he physically survived the war/genocide, he struggled with mental illness the rest of his life. Advertisement My grandmother was arrested and sent to a detainment center to await transport to a concentration camp. Risking her own arrest, her 17-year old daughter courageously went to the detainment center to present papers documenting that her mother had 2 sons and husband in the French Army. My grandmother was released. Meanwhile, my father was put on a train with his 11-year old sister with only an address on a slip of paper, and sent to Vichy, France, the southern area unoccupied by the Nazis. Their mother would eventually join them and together, they would hide in a barn for 3 years. My father was 7 years old. In 1945, with a ticket paid for by cousins living in the US who had arrived sometime around World War I, my father (age 13) arrived in New York with the clothes on his back. He learned English and graduated high school at the top of his class at the age of 16. He was accepted to New York University to study pre-med, took out school loans where he could, and worked nights to pay the rest of his way. To my knowledge, he received little to no government assistance. Shortly before his college graduation date, not yet an American citizen, he was drafted to fight in the Korean War for the United States. After completing his military duty, he finished college, medical school and his medical training, and would go on to become a United States citizen and create a private medical practice in a small town in Upstate New York. He served children for the next 20 years until his cancer diagnosis prevented him from working any longer. As a doctor and humanitarian, he provided free services for families who had no health insurance. During his career he saved more than a few lives, and was on call more nights than not, ever ready to be at a mother's bedside as she birthed her child. My father committed his life to creating opportunities in the land of opportunities. My father escaped almost certain death, to promote life. My father fought for a country that gave him refuge, but little else. He understood that once in the United States, his life would be what he made of it. And with that awareness, he lived a life that impacted thousands. And though I rarely witnessed his joy, I am grateful and inspired to have witnessed his life. A life he may never have lived had it not been for that ticket in 1945, and the open arms of a country that believed his life was worth saving. And because his life was saved, so was mine. Advertisement But his story is not unique, and it is not his story alone. It is the story of millions of men, women, and children, from all around the world, who came to the United States seeking refuge, who are knocking at our door today for their very survival. And the opportunity to have life. Mr. Trump, are you courageous enough to look into your heart, hear the call, and answer the door? Bree Langemo was a first generation college student who learned early on that an entrepreneurial mindset was necessary to achieving her goals. Langemo earned her undergraduate degree in Accounting from Minnesota State University - Moorhead and later earned her law degree from Ohio Northern University. After spending over a decade working in higher education, she is now the President of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative (ELI), a global thought leader dedicated to expanding human potential through entrepreneurial mindset education. Bree will be speaking at the GlobalMindED conference this year. I recently sat down with Bree to learn about her journey: You are a first generation to college student. What inspired you to go to university? I was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota to a stay-at-home mother and a father who worked for 30+ years for the United States Postal Service. Growing up, my father set the expectation that I would go to college, and he saved money to support me. In addition, I was fortunate enough to have teachers who believed in me, and that grew my confidence in my ability to do anything. I remember the first time I received straight A's and brought my report card home, my family was so proud, and that positive response was encouraging as well. It's important to have good mentorship and to build self-esteem in first generation to college students. It gives them the confidence that their goals are within reach, as my family and teachers did for me. What influenced you to work in higher education? My time as a teaching assistant in law school instilled a love of teaching in me, and I quickly became fascinated with individual students and how I could engage them in the classroom to support student success and learning. I fell in love with teaching and learning and helping individuals achieve their goals. I consider myself a lifelong-learner, and I firmly believe that, when teaching, you should be learning as much from the students as they are learning from you. Great teachers consider themselves facilitators of learning, not experts in classroom instructing. Advertisement Another thing that influenced me to work in higher education, specifically community colleges, was the access to education. I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to have an education and better their lives; therefore, accessibility is vital. Community colleges open the door for students to work toward their dreams. Working in higher education is not just a job; it is a huge responsibility to help those students fulfill their dreams. When you were the Dean of Business, Public Service and Social Sciences at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, what did you do differently to assure the success of the students? Pikes Peak Community College took a leap of faith in requiring an entrepreneurial mindset for developmental education students to help them succeed, without having the data to know if it worked. They were early adopters, and I had the pleasure of helping coordinate the first rollout of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program at PPCC. After years of leading or supporting student success initiatives, from mandating orientation, to redesigning academic advising, to being a co-campus lead for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Completion by Design grant, I came to believe that we could more quickly move the needle on student success if we could find a way to truly engage students from the onset of their education by focusing on their mindset and how to be entrepreneurial in their academics and in their lives. We saw immediate success, and that led to my transition to the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative. My career has always shifted to where I felt I could make the most impact. I came to believe that an entrepreneurial mindset is the foundation for student success, and I am now dedicating my career to working with educational institutions from K-12 to higher education around the world to instill this mindset in students. As the World Economic Forum states, we need to move entrepreneurship from the perimeter to the core of education, as all students will need entrepreneurship to thrive in the 21st Century. Advertisement What piqued your interest in GlobalMindED? When I met you, it became clear to me that our organizations had a clear mission alignment, and the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative was a natural fit for GlobalMindED's entrepreneurial track. Both of our organizations understand that entrepreneurship is foundational to individual empowerment and growth and that bringing a global perspective into the mix is essential. After living in Colorado for five years, I believe that Colorado needs to be a global magnet for talent. GlobalMindED attracts people from the local, national, and international communities and brings them here to Colorado, which can drive economic development in our State. I think that the people of Colorado should support and care about the mission of GlobalMindED in effect to grow their own economy. I also was interested in GlobalMindED because my entire career has been focused on student success initiatives, especially with potentially at-risk students and first generation to college students. So, my interest was a combination of mission alignment between ELI and GlobalMindED, the potential for economic development in our State, and alignment with my own passion. What unique challenges did you face in your academic career that you feel your non-first-gen peers did not? I was fortunate enough to have financial support for my education from my father. Other first generation to college students may not be so lucky. That being said, when you are not exposed to higher education in the people around you, you really don't know what to expect. It is such a different world than high school. You walk into lecture halls with two hundred students, and a professor who may never know your existence, and that's hard. It can feel very impersonal. The large lecture halls, in my opinion, are a disservice to new students--to first generation college students, and to all students really. It does not promote a culture of connection, but rather one of isolation. Luckily, some universities lately have been focusing on cultivating a sense of belonging for students, which is critical to student success and persistence in those beginning days of college. Having been in higher education, and now working in higher education, what opportunity for change do you see in higher education institutions? The World Economic Forum has stated the need for entrepreneurship to move from the perimeter to the core of education. A lot of ELI's work right now is to empower higher education to do just that. At a time when entrepreneurship can feel like a fad, but when the world policy is wanting it at the core, higher education needs to do more than house it in the business department where students self-select in. It needs to be embedded in the thinking of the leadership, the faculty and the staff, and the students in order to truly see a shift. Furthermore, we need to redefine entrepreneurship in a way that anyone can embrace, because people don't understand what entrepreneurship is. If we can redefine it as a mindset, then we will have a common ground to start from. Ultimately, you will not see innovation in higher education unless you have entrepreneurial people to drive it. ELI works to cultivate entrepreneurial cultures by developing entrepreneurial mindsets at all levels of education - administrators, staff, faculty, and students. You've achieved a lot in your career so far. Is there any advice you would like to give to first generation to college students? Part of the entrepreneurial mindset is creating an intentional community of positive influence, which is the focus of Lesson 7: Community in the Ice House Program. You have to be intentional about creating a community of people that care about your success and help you thrive. Don't sit back and wait for them to come to you. There are going to be adversity and challenges, and that community of people will help you through those challenges. When I started college, I didn't have a sense of belonging. I wish I had been more intentional about creating that type community for myself earlier on. Advertisement In addition, first generation college students can be surrounded by negativity or unhelpful messages that may challenge why they are going to college. Creating a community of positive influence is even more important for first generation college students because they can be up against more adversity than the average student. So you have to put yourself out there and approach people. It will be scary at first, yes, but you will build the confidence you need. In the end, it is hugely rewarding because, ultimately, human connection is what helps us thrive. Any closing thoughts you would like to address? According to Gallup, 87% of employees are not engaged in their work--a colossal waste of human potential. The engagement issue starts long before graduates enter the workforce. From elementary to high school, student engagement will drop by 35%, which Gallup calls the student engagement cliff. If you can reach that untapped human potential early on, that is where students and employees will thrive and where they will flourish in school, work, and their lives. I hope one day the world will put all of us at ELI out of a job, because that means individuals, organizations, and communities are flourishing, and they will no longer need us. That is the world I want to live in, a world with highly engaged students, workers, and citizens. Just over one hundred years ago, on December 30, 1916, Grigori Rasputin was assassinated in St. Petersburg, courtesy of incompetent monarchists. A few months later, the Bolshevik Revolution occurred; we know the rest of the story. A century later, Stephen Bannon does not have the ear of the president. He is, effectively, the president. Bannon is not merely a senior counselor or chief strategist as his formal or informal titles imply. Rather, he is Trump's mind and minder. Jared Kushner listens a la a confidant to his father-in-law and is thus close - but by no means a rival to Bannon. Priebus and Conway are window dressing to parade before cameras, by comparison. Vice President Pence is straight-laced and dutiful. The Cabinet is still largely unformed, uninformed, or antithetical to the posts to which they are appointed; the executive branch is on unguided autopilot. And, despite their experience and majorities, Congressional Republican leaders have been flummoxed by a flurry of presidential executive orders. Advertisement That Trump first anointed Bannon as a senior counselor first among equals in the inner circle of the presidency is now followed by a coup of the unelected. Confirmation of the coup came in several forms. The mouthing of Bannon's words regarding the press (as the "opposition party") by Trump and Bannon's warning via the New York Times that the media should shut up evoked the NSC changes that were promulgated over last weekend. Placing Bannon among NSC "Principals" and demoting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Director of National Intelligence was not just unprecedented or as Susan Rice opined "stone cold crazy". Instead, this action was carefully crafted by the beneficiary, and embodies Bannon's Rasputinesque role vis-a-vis the presidency. Bannon's lock on executive power is due to his control of Trump's thoughts. Unlike the mad monk in the early twentieth century, Bannon captured the presidency not through mysticism or the women around, groped or hired by Trump; instead the "senior counselor" manufactures information and massages a very insecure ego that requires repeated reassurance and frequent enlargement. As this presidency commences, its violent and abrupt movements seem to please those who care not for Constitutional norms and hope to disrupt federal government. In one of his rare non-profanity laced quotes that does not attack women, Jews, Muslims, blacks, the LGBTQ community, or gun control advocates, Bannon said to the Daily Beast, "I'm a Leninist ... Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that's my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today's establishment." Advertisement What further ought one to expect in Bannon's presidency? We can anticipate many more Breitbart-like early AM tweets from the White House, Spicer "briefings" and Priebus-Conway appearances that spew out falsehoods to feign and deceive. We can gird ourselves for lurching executive orders and presidential memoranda that avoid Congressional retort and soon will be immune from Supreme Court rebuke. Such orders and memoranda will endeavor to destroy "the establishment" that Bannon so despises - rule of law, an accepting and tolerant society, and an international law and alliances that have for decades been a bulwark against global disorder he wishes to impose. Purges, pogroms, and disinformation. All are omens of internecine chaos that Bannon seeks to engender. Rasputin is smiling. Hench (Lucas Hedges), 16, and Bobbie (Justice Smith), 14, are brothers living alone in what looks like a sparsely furnished suburban London council flat. Their mother, Maggie (Ari Graynor), lives elsewhere with an abusive boyfriend who sounds like her most recent boyfriend but definitely not the father of either Hench or Bobbie. Given the circumstances, the somewhat contained Hench is charged on a daily basis with bringing up Bobbie, who would likely be diagnosed as an extreme case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. That's if anyone in proper authority were to be in the position to offer a diagnosis. Indeed, Bobbie could easily qualify as in the top ranks of relentless hyperactivity. When first viewed in Anna Jordan's Yen, at the Lucille Lortel, the brothers are watching porn on the flat screen television that, along with a bed and a chair, is the only notable object in this gloomy living room. Mark Wendland is the designer and appears to have intended to create a desolate environment that can also work as a metaphor for the boys' despair. Advertisement Unseen on stage but definitely heard barking from time to time in an offstage room is their hyperactive dog Taliban. (Sound designer Fitz Patton takes care of the barking.) It's explained that Taliban is named that way because he's "fierce." Clearly, playwright Jordan is intent on bringing attention to current English affairs where children are left on their own to cope with living as best they can. She does so extremely effectively by zeroing in on these two lost boys who have no Peter Pan to rescue them. She quite ably shows the destructive results that follow from their virtual abandonment. Yes, Maggie drops by occasionally to give lip service to her maternal role, but she's obviously more in thrall to the men in her life than she is to the boys in her life. The couple of times she rises to defend them don't register as unadulterated commitment. During the few months that Yen unfolds, a catalyst for change does arrives--16-year-old Jennifer (Stefania LaVie Owen), who's visiting the neighborhood confine. Hench invites her to spend time with Bobbie and him, and over the hours she does, she shows herself to be uncommonly wise. Totally forthcoming about her feelings, she falls for Hench and he for her, although while she openly declares her feelings, he's initially unable to respond in kind. In one of Jordan's most touching scenes, Hench does get up the gumption to ask Jennifer to teach him how to touch. Advertisement Because, however, Hench and Bobbie are so emotionally arrested by their circumstances, Jennifer's presence has eventual repercussions that negatively affect not only the progress Hench has begun to make but exacerbates Bobbie's unrestrained adolescent behavior. Detailing how this plays out would spoil the Yen developments that are both disturbing and, from a few perspectives, all but inevitable. Again, that's got to be playwright Jordan's aim in calling attention to ingrained societal deficiencies. Director Trip Cullman pulls no punches as, among other things, Hench and Bobbie indulge in typical sibling rivalry that often start as horseplay but can turn too quickly into more physically damaging punches. (The fight direction is by J. David Brimmer.) In Yen, sequence after sequence in is extremely moving. The Hench-Jennifer exchange mentioned above is one, but they're abundant. Another is a late-in-play talk Maggie and Bobbie have when he's gotten himself into a situation that causes him at long last to stop his all-but-constant pogoing. The acting, under Cullman's eye, is praise-worthy. Hedges, making a stage debut and currently Oscar-nominated for Manchester by the Sea, conveys the confusion Hench experiences as a child having to raise a younger child. His longing to mature while not knowing how that's accomplished is heart-tugging. There's also a smartly-staged late back-and-forth between Hench and Jennifer when their relationship has undergone an unfortunate transition. Advertisement Owen, as Jennifer, gives a clear-eyed performance that seems beyond the character's years. Her unusual talent is hard to miss. Playing Maggie, Graynor is a mother uncertain of her abilities. Furthermore, she cleverly gets across that whenever Maggie visits, she's under the influence of drugs as well as under the thumb of a tyrannical partner. As for Smith, his has the full impact of a breakout performance. It's not every day that youthful exuberance is displayed with quite so little restraint. His carrying-on goes so far that--and this has to be Jordan's demand--he starts to wear out the audience. If so, he's only instilling in patrons the fatigue that Hench registers. U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order he said would impose tighter vetting to prevent foreign terrorists from entering the United States at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2017. The executive order signed by Trump imposes a four-month travel ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria, Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY What is an executive order and what can presidents such as Trump do with them? Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution describes the process for how a bill becomes a law. The process requires both houses of Congress to pass legislation with identical language and for it to be signed by the president. In the alternative, Congress by two-thirds majorities in both Houses can override a presidential veto to make something a law, and in some cases bills the president has not signed but not vetoed and returned to Congress may also become a law (if the president refuses to return a bill adopted in the last 10 days of a session, the president has exercised what is known as a pocket veto). Once a bill becomes a law it is legally binding, enforceable by the executive branch. Yet the congressional route is not the only way law is created. Orders by the courts become binding and enforceable as law by the courts. In some circumstances, orders issued by the President of the United States too carry the force of law. These executive orders have been issued by presidents since the time George Washington became president, and over time they have been used by almost every president, often either with support or controversy. Advertisement The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has several sources. The first is in Article II, Section I, Clause 1, which vests in the president the executive power, and Article II, Section 3, which requires that presidents "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." While lacking precise definition, the executive power gives presidents broad enforcement authority to use their discretion to determine how to enforce the law or to otherwise manage the resources and staff of the executive department. Second, executive orders have a legal basis in power delegated by Congress to the president or executive department agencies. Congress may delegate to the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, authority to make determinations about what constitutes clean air or water under the Clean Water Act of 1972 or Clean Air Act of 1973. This delegation power is subject to the constitutional limits outlined by a host of Supreme Court decision. Third, since the adoption of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) in 1946, there is a complex process and structure for how administrative agencies and members of the executive branch can make rules and have then become legally binding. Taken together, these constitutional clauses, specific congressional delegation, and the rule-making process of the APA form the legal basis of presidential executive orders. With the exception of President William Henry Harrison, who died barely a month after being sworn into office, every president has issued executive orders. George Washington issued the first one, directing officers of the Articles of Confederation government to compose a report for his administration on the status or state of affairs of America. Other famous orders included Thomas Jefferson ordering the Louisiana Purchase, James Knox Polk ordering the annexation of Texas, Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Franklin Roosevelt ordering the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and John Kennedy creating the Peace Corps. The numbering of executive orders began in 1907, and not until the Federal Registration Act of 1936 was there a formal process for recording executive orders. Prior to 1936 and 1907 executive orders were issued less formally. Advertisement From 1789 to the end of the Obama presidency there have been nearly 14,000 executive orders. Franklin Roosevelt holds the record with 3,721 orders, with second place going to Woodrow Wilson at 1,803, and third place to Calvin Coolidge with 1,203. Among recent presidents, Bill Clinton issued 364, George Bush 291, and Barack Obama 276. The American Presidency Project at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/orders.php maintains a list of all executive orders. In the last several years, partisan and political gridlock between Congress and the president has led the latter into using executive orders as a way of addressing issues or creating rules of laws in the absence of explicit congressional action. The Obama Administration through the EPA issued rules regulating carbon emissions. Yet in Murray Energy Company v. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.;136 S.Ct. 999; 194 L.Ed.2d 18 (2016) in a suit brought by more than two dozen states and several utility companies, the Supreme Court in a 5-3 vote issued a stay on the rules pending review by the Court of Appeals. In United States v. Texas, U.S.; 136 S.Ct. 2271 (2016), the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 and issued a per curiam decision that upheld a lower decision that issued an injunction to prevent enforcement of an executive order or program entitled Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), which would provide legal presence for illegal immigrants who were parents of citizens or lawful permanent residents. This decision effectively ended President Obama's effort to use an executive order to effect immigration reform. The lower court decision is provided in this book. While many criticize executive orders as a way to circumvent Congress and the separation of powers process, there is no question that these orders are a major part of federal executive power that is unlikely to disappear in the future. However, as should be clear, presidents are not kings and do not have any inherent power to issue orders. Their authority must come from the Constitution or law, subject to limits. Nor are presidents like Captain Picard able simply to say "make it so" and it will happen. Once presidents do issue executive orders they carry the binding force of law and they are hard to repeal or undue. This will make it difficult for Trump to undo except a very few of Obama's recent executive orders. Conversely, moving forward, any of Trump's orders will have to follow a specific process to have the force of law, and there are many things he simply cannot order. Advertisement I have two groups of friends, and they don't intersect. The first group are my fellow Amherst College alumni--intellectual, career-oriented, hard-working, and thriving in the most prestigious positions. The second group are perpetual travelers, bicycle-tourists, and digital nomads--unrooted, non-materialistic, free-wheeling, and content in their unconventional careers. I belong in both--and neither. I find intellectual discussions about social theory more gripping than travel tales. I am a minimalist who prefers to spend his money on adventure. I strive towards the passion and productivity of my New Yorker friends. I revel in the unpredictability of the road. I'm not special. In my contradictions, I am not particularly different from any other inhabitant of modernity. All of us contain such fragmented identities, which we pick up as we work our way through a complex and ever-changing world. - At the turn of the twentieth century, only 13% of the world's population lived in urban areas. Most people would die not far from the place that they were born. In your village everyone would know you, for a long time, and across many different contexts. The worldviews of everyone around you would tend to be very similar, usually organized around religion. Advertisement This all changed with modernity. As urbanization, industrialization and capitalism swept across the globe, our lives have become increasingly diverse and fragmented. As Austrian-American sociologist Peter L. Berger writes in his book The Homeless Mind, "Different sectors of ... everyday life relate ... to vastly different and often severely discrepant worlds of meaning and experience. Modern life is typically segmented to a very high degree." In our daily lives, we step in and out of many different settings, each with its own worldview and system of knowledge. You go to work, hang out with friends from college, join online communities, call family back home, visit the doctor... As modernity fragments, these different settings increasingly do not overlap. AS THE CULTURAL AND SOCIAL WORLDS IN WHICH WE ROOT OUR IDENTITIES SPLINTER AND DRIFT APART, OUR IDENTITIES MOVE WITH THEM. The fragmentation of our daily lives has fragmented the communities we live in. In that village a hundred years ago, people would know you across multiple contexts, understanding you as a complex, multifaceted being. In modernity, people might only come to know specific sides of you, from within specific contexts. Thus, each small group of friends may only be able to fulfill a small slice of your personal totality. Advertisement Georg Simmel, the classical German sociologist, describes this well in his book , "The modern type of feeling inclines more to differentiated friendships; that is, to those which have their territory only upon one side of the personality at a time, and in which the rest of the personality plays no part. ... These differentiated friendships ... bind us to one man from the side of sympathy, to another from the side of intellectual community, to a third on account of religious impulses, to a fourth because of common experiences." Berger posits that modernity's fragmentation goes beyond social relationships, "It is important to understand that this segmentation ... is not only manifest on the level of observable social conduct but also has important manifestations on the level of consciousness." This view of identity is consistent with the postmodern turn in social theory. As the cultural and social worlds in which we root our identities splinter and drift apart, our identities move with them. Stuart Hall, one of the founders of the field of cultural studies, writes, "The subject, previously experienced as having a unified and stable identity, is becoming fragmented; composed, not of a single, but of several, sometimes contradictory or unresolved, identities. ... Identity becomes a "moveable feast": formed and transformed continuously in relation to the ways we are represented or addressed in the cultural systems which surround us." "IT SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE THAT MODERN MAN IS AFFLICTED WITH A PERMANENT IDENTITY CRISIS" - PETER L. BERGER Hall scoffs at the idea of a core self, writing, "If we feel we have a unified identity from birth to death, it is only because we construct a comforting story or 'narrative of the self' about ourselves. The fully unified, completed, secure, and coherent identity is a fantasy." In the end, this all leads to an existential crisis. As modern society becomes more fragmented, more complex, and more unstable and fluid, the individual turns inwards to look for consistency. The Greek aphorism "Know Thyself" is waved vigorously in our faces, as the first step to successful careers, authentic passions, fulfilling relationships, and just happiness in general. Advertisement But, as Berger writes in The Homeless Mind, "On the one hand, modern identity is open-ended, transitory, liable to ongoing change. On the other hand, a subjective realm of identity is the individual's main foothold in reality. Something that is constantly changing is supposed to be the ens realissimum. Consequently it should not be a surprise that modern man is afflicted with a permanent identity crisis, a condition conducive to considerable nervousness." That's pretty bleak. Or is it? Must our identities splinter with our social worlds? The fact that we behave differently in front of different groups of people, might not be contradictory to an integrated inner self. danah boyd, author of It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, protests in her MIT Master's thesis, "These theories fail to recognize the agency of the individual to separate their internal and social identities, fragmenting only the latter without creating a crisis for the former. Suggesting that an individual is inherently fragmented and undergoing an identity crises is problematic. In a society where people play many different roles and must constantly adjust for different social contexts, their presentation may appear to be fragmented, but this does not imply that they are." Georg Simmel (1858-1918) Ultimately, the coherence of your identity may come down to your story telling skills. Our identities could be seen as self-constructed narratives that weave together the disparate events of our lives. While Hall might scoff that these narratives are 'fantasies' and 'comforting stories', as Dumbledore told Harry Potter, "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" Identities portrayed as such are indeed inventions, but all social institutions and systems are inventions in the same way. Being inventions though, do not mean that these institutions do not have real impacts on the people they interact with. Additionally, it does not mean these institutions are completely within our control, or even that we create them intentionally. Through external interactions with a complex world, and the inner turmoil of our own subconscious, we can easily lose control of our identities. Advertisement IDENTITY FRAGMENTATION MIGHT NOT ACTUALLY BE THAT BIG OF A DEAL. The reality of the situation then, probably lies somewhere between Hall and boyd. We must admit that in modernity, developing an integrated identity is increasingly difficult. As the characters and settings of our lives multiple and become more diverse, weaving a coherent narrative that reconciles all of them might be impossible. Slowly, we are all becoming Third-Culture Kids, as we are forced to straddle multiple cultures and locales. Hopefully though, depending on the skills of the story-teller, there can be varying degrees of narrative coherence. It could also be true that identity fragmentation might not actually be that big of a deal. The generation that has grown up in this complex world is increasingly used to fragmentation and change, and more readily tolerate complexity within their worlds and within themselves. As Japanese cultural theorist Hiroki Azuma writes in his book Otaku, "The younger generations that grew up within the postmodern world image ... do not need a perspective on the entire world that surveys all." Indeed, many now embrace internal complexity and contradiction, seeing them as signs of uniqueness and maturity. Personally, I don't see my two divergent friend groups, and identities, as a big deal either. The two groups were born of disparate passions, in social theory and in perpetual travel, which both stem from the same root--curiosity. In my daily life, I attempt to conjoin these two passions by applying the lens of the former towards the experiences of the latter, writing articles such as . - Nonetheless, Georg Simmel's problem remains--the differentiated, specialized friendship. That in modernity, each friend may only understand and fulfill a fragment of your inner complexity. Simmel remains hopeful of the differentiated friendship's potential, writing that it "leads ideally toward the same depths of sentiment, and to the same capacity to sacrifice, which undifferentiated epochs and persons associate only with a community of the total circumference of life." From personal experience, I wholeheartedly agree. Still, I sometimes wish that I knew more people who sit at the intersection between my two selves. Drop me a mail if you are a world-traveling postmodernist, would you? Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) this morning wrote to the office of the Trump EPA nominee, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, to renew his demand for information about Pruitt's communications with fossil fuel companies -- and to suggest that Pruitt may be deliberately concealing information from senators weighing his confirmation. In response to a written question from Whitehouse regarding such records, which have been the subject of requests under Oklahoma's Open Records Act for more than two years, Pruitt wrote that he was not familiar with the pending requests and referred Whitehouse to the Oklahoma attorney general's office. Whitehouse, in his letter today, responds, "I find Mr. Pruitt's claims that he is not aware of pending open records requests at his office and is apparently powerless to provide that information to the Committee on his own accord, hard to believe, and suggestive of an effort to hide information from the Senate before his confirmation." Advertisement This morning, Whitehouse and the other Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee boycotted a committee vote on the Pruitt nomination, stalling action, at least temporarily. Whitehouse cites reporting that at least 52 Open Records requests remain unfulfilled by Pruitt's office. Six of those are from the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). One, dating back to January 5, 2015, seeks communications between Pruitt and his top staff and Koch Industries, Devon Energy, Peabody Coal, and other entities. Another, from November 2015, seeks records relating to the Republican Attorney Generals Association, a group for which Mr. Pruitt has raised money and which has paid for Pruitt's travel expenses. Other requests are for emails between Pruitt and the industry-supported groups ALEC, Competitive Enterprise Institute, State Policy Network, and AG's United for Clean Power. Whitehouse charges that Pruitt's relationship with these groups "could present conflicts of interest should he be confirmed as Administrator of EPA." Whitehouse has a point. Obviously, fossil fuel companies have a strong interest in EPA decisions and regulations. Senators, and the public, are entitled to learn more about the relationship between Attorney General Pruitt and these companies before the Senate votes on whether Pruitt should run the EPA. Advertisement As Pruitt has declined to provide the Senate with these records, or information about these records, Whitehouse's letter asks the Oklahoma attorney general's office to provide, by Thursday, a list of pending Open Records Act requests and information about the office's progress in fulfilling them. Nick Surgey of the Center for Media and Democracy provided me with a January 17, 2017, letter to CMD from Pruitt's general counsel, Sarah Greenwalt, stating that Pruitt's office had identified more than 3000 documents in response to CMD's January 5, 2015, request for records regarding Pruitt's communications with fossil fuel companies. Addressing concerns about the delay, Greenwalt wrote that Pruitt's office processes requests "in the order in which they are received" and that the CMD's request was now "second from the top." If that representation is correct, Surgey sensibly concludes, Pruitt's office has not responded to a single Open Records Act request in more than two years. The January 17 letter to CMD from Pruitt's office concludes, "I unfortunately do not have an expected response date to give to you at this time." Others have in the past complained about long delays in getting responses from Pruitt's office under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, whose stated purpose is to "ensure and facilitate the public's right of access to and review of government records so they may efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power." But I haven't seen complaints from others that requests were taking more than two years. Pruitt's two-year failure to respond to public records requests concerning his ties to fossil fuel interests would seem to undermine the purpose of the Oklahoma law. Pruitt's present unwillingness to assist in providing these records to the U.S. senators considering his confirmation suggests he may indeed have something to hide. Advertisement Relationships with Israel have always been used by official Baku to demonstrate its uniqueness among other Muslim nations, including those which are as secular as Azerbaijan. These relationships, sometimes called special relationships, sometimes even alliance, are based to a certain on the strong cultural ground. There are tens of thousands of Jews living in Azerbaijan since ancient times. And there is almost equal amount of citizen in Israel with Jewish Azerbaijani origin. Nevertheless, it is cold pragmatism and Realpolitik that make military element of this partnership so strongly articulated. In the last decade Israel officially sold to Baku broad variety of nonlethal and lethal weapons - from small firearms, armoured vehicles, and mortars, to UAVs of various sorts, radars and air defense systems or rocket artillery systems. To certain degree this cooperation has evolutionized also some of the weapon systems initially purchased by Baku now are being produced independently under licenses granted by Israeli military industry. But there is one thing about pragmatic relationships in foreign policy of any kind it is that they are pragmatic. In other words, their perspectives are closely tied to the context and cost/benefit rationale of decision-making on alliances and alignment. And in case of the alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan, it is the very pragmatism that potentially can undermine the relationship. There is no doubt that problematics around Iran has been the cornerstone of the issue for both Israel and Azerbaijan in designing mutual cooperation. This is quite well covered in works of Ariel Cohen, Alexander Murinson, Gallia Lindenstrauss, Brenda Schaffer, and other less prominent experts. In short Iran has been the sum of all fears for Jerusalem since Tehrans nuclear ambitions added up to anti-Israeli rhetoric of its leaders; and on the other side, relationships between Iran and Azerbaijan have always been full of at least mutual suspicion. But the recent years were marked with considerable positive changes in Azerbaijani Iranian relations. It all started with series of preliminary mutual visits of personal envoy category figures. Then President Ilham Aliyev has visited the Islamic Republic in April 2014. During this visit President Ilham Aliyev was accompanied by several Azerbaijani ministers, a number of other high-ranking officials and business people. He met high-ranking Iranian officials, including president Hassan Rouhani and the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Although the bilateral documents signed were not of a high significance, Presiden's administration was quite positive and optimistic. And indeed, November 2014 it was Tehrans turn - Hassan Rouhani visited Baku. It was the first official visit of an Iranian leader in Azerbaijan since four years. And the atmosphere was extremely warm. Besides meeting president Aliyev, Rouhani made also a speech in the Azerbaijani parliament. And another bunch of bilateral documents was signed. April 2015 was marked by another visit, this time Iranian defense minister, Brig. Gen. Houssein Dehqan visited Baku and conducted meetings on high level, including president Aliyev. Uniqueness of the visit was in the statements made - Dehqan voiced Iran's readiness to start military cooperation with Baku, and underlined that Iran is ready to enhance the level of defense and provide required military equipment to the Azerbaijani army. The major result of the visit was establishment of joint commission on cooperation in military are between the states. Iranian ministers statement could be considered as pure intent or sign of goodwill at that moment. But year later, on April 2 5, 2016 the Azerbaijani Armed Forces conducted a successful three-day offensive operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, having regained control over 20 km2 (according to the Armenian side only 8 km2) of land and number of strategic heights and outposts controlled by Armenians since the 1994 ceasefire agreements. It was the former Azerbaijani general and war veteran Yashar Aydemirov who initially (immediately after the operation ended) gave the leak that there had been some sort of military cooperation between Baku and Iran. Presumably in the form of weapon sales. But a few weeks later proof came from the highest level President Ilham Aliyev himself mentioned Iran as one of the actual military partners of Azerbaijan (together with Russia, Turkey, and Israel) whose cooperation played role in the April success. Of course, those who remember the hostile rhetoric between Baku and Tehran on the eve of the Eurovision song context in Azerbaijan in May 2012 could hardly anticipate anything like that in less than five years. Finally, the ambiguous role that Baku played in Russo Iranian cooperation on Syria and Russian military transit to the Syrian battlefields through the Caspian Sea and Iran, adds up to the issue. At least in one or two cases, reportedly, Russian airplanes flew through the Azerbaijani airspace on their way to Syria. There was also unconfirmed information that in early October 2015 Russian warships launched missiles on targets in Syria from the Azerbaijani waters in the southern sector of the Caspian Sea. The peak was the trilateral summit of Vladimir Putin, Hassan Rouhani, and President Ilham Aliyev in Baku in August 2016 event instrumentalized by official Baku to demonstrate the countrys regional weight and role. There were many issues of mutual interest discussed, including transport and infrastructural cooperation along the North South axis through the territory of Azerbaijan. But supposedly not only that. So, what is going on and what sort of implications should one wait in terms of Azerbaijans alliance with Israel? There are number of reasons to the changes in Azerbaijans attitude toward Iran and none of them are surprising, bearing in mind that the South Caucasus, although with its own problematics and dynamics, is, in Barry Buzans terms, just a subsystem of a broader geopolitical space the post-Soviet regional security complex. A security complex is defined as a group of states whose primary security concerns are linked together sufficiently closely that their national securities cannot realistically be considered apart from one another. The links, which ties together a security complex may be of many types geographical, political, strategic, historic, economic, or cultural. States outside the complex may play a major role within it, without the complex itself being central to their security concern. Azerbaijan although economic and military leader of the South Caucasus as a subsystem of the post-Soviet space, is at the same time just one of the minor actors here, while those who play the major role are Russia, and to lesser degree Turkey and Iran. And from the Russo-Georgian war of 2008 to the current war in the Ukraine, from the early days of the Arab Spring in 2010 to the current battles under Mosul, there were just too many events with too many implications for the regional security in the South Caucasus and alignment behaviour of Baku. The ultimate problem is that the Western presence in the region at the moment is limited to occasional comments on democracy and human rights problems in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and symbolic military exercises with Georgians once a year. Azerbaijan had to give realistic and cool headed evaluations to security guaranties of the West in the South Caucasus. Bearing in mind that the West is much more preoccupied with war in Syria, ISIS terror, and refugee crisis in the Central and Western Europe, these evaluations were not in favour of going for integration with NATO and the European Union. Moscows growing one man show abilities in the post-Soviet regional security complex, initially demonstrated during the Russo Georgian war of August 2008, became even more obvious after the start of war in the Eastern Ukraine. And the West was not able to support the victims territorial integrity by any reasonable and effective means. Similar threats are faced by Baku in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, but after the war of 1988 1994 is controlled by Armenia - member of the Moscow-centered Collective Security Treaty Organization. On the other side, the Arab Spring, civil war in Syria, birth and rapid growth of ISIS all these factors considerably increased the role of militant Sunni factor in the Middle East. Azerbaijan is a secular, nevertheless still a Muslim country, predominantly Shia. At the same time, along with militants from other Muslim and non-Muslim countries there are also several hundreds of Azerbaijani fighters in ISIS. There is a strong opinion among number of Azerbaijani officials and analysts that potential risks of spread of radical Sunni Islam can be successfully hedged for Baku only in the framework of regional security cooperation, first of all with Russia, which has a relevant experience in Northern Caucasus and Iran, which is a Shia stronghold. There is also some degree of Shia inspired political Islam in Azerbaijan and it would be naive to frame the danger of Islamic fundamentalism in the South Caucasus around the Sunnis only. But in most of the cases these are in this or another way linked to Tehran. And in case Baku has decent level of relationships with its southern neighbour, there may be hope for conservation of Iranian Shia networks political activity in Azerbaijan. The U.S. Iranian rapprochement is also important. For years Baku has been using Irans tensions with the West as a considerable element of its own positioning in the region. With perspective of rapid improvement in Irans relations with the U.S. and EU, Baku had nothing to do but to go proactive and improve its relations with Tehran. Finally, Azerbaijan is a close military ally of Turkey. Current unnatural honeymoon between Ankara and Moscow has foggy perspectives, but it is still there, at least for the nearest perspective. Besides that, there are strong synergies between Russian and Iranian interests in Syria. Bearing in mind that Russia is actor Number One in the South Caucasus, all that creates such a unique set of circumstances for the region in general and Azerbaijan in particular, that at least short- and midterm bandwagoning with this huge force becomes inevitable for Baku. These are realities of local geography. And in this geography big and strong neighbours sometimes dont ask before coming through your yard. Sure, Israel is not quite the West and it is not NATO or the European Union. There are number of issues in the Middle East and the South Caucasus where their interests are very different. But current trends increase Azerbaijans rationale to concentrate on cooperation with the immediate neighbours only this can minimize the eminent risks. Some of these neighbours, at least Iran, and in serious degree also Turkey, have their own views on perspectives of military and political cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel. Despite of this fact Azerbaijani government invited the Israeli prime minister Netanyahu to visit the country in December 2016. Military cooperation between two countries was one of the main topics of the negotiations in Baku. But it is not only about military cooperation. Azerbaijan considers Israel as a key player that can help the country establish a confident relationship to the administration of Donald Trump. The reaction from Iran on Netanyahus visit to Azerbaijan was critical as expected. Nevertheless there was no more threatening towards Azerbaijan by any high ranked Iranian military officer like it was the case on the eve of the visit of Shimon Peres to Baku in 2009. The security circumstances in the region changed since that time, and the relations between Baku and Tel Aviv are not to be considered by Iran as planning of Israeli military actions against Iran any more. Azerbaijans military cooperation with Israel already proved its effectiveness. During successful Azerbaijani offensive in April this year only four of eighteen destroyed Armenian tanks and BMPs were destroyed by fire from Azerbaijani machines all the rest were destroyed by Azerbaijani infantry armed with Israeli made SPIKE-LR anti-tank missile systems. Israeli made HAROP kamikaze-drones were not less effective tested first time in real war situation they destroyed seven Armenian targets, including a command post, self-propelled artillery squadron, a runway on an airfield, and a bus with Armenian volunteers moving to the frontline. Thus so far it is very early to question perspectives of current alliance between Jerusalem and Baku. Azerbaijani diplomacy has traditionally been skilful in balancing and counterbalancing the fact that Baku manages to purchase weapons from and develop military cooperation with Russia, which is Armenias ally and security guarantor, Turkey, Iran, Israel, and Pakistan speaks for itself. Nevertheless, time will show how much space there is left for manoeuvring, provided pragmatic character of military cooperation between Baku and Jerusalem. Heydar Mirza is an expert in foreign policy and security studies with focus on the South Caucasus and Caspian region. In 2003 he graduated with MBA degree from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. In 2010 2014 he worked as a leading research fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies under the president of Azerbaijan. Currently Heydar is a PhD candidate at the Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany. Dr.des. Orkhan Sattarov worked in 2008 - 2011 as political assistant at the German Embassy in Baku and was a scholar of the German Parliament. 2016 he defended his PhD thesis on the topic of Iranian soft power in Azerbaijan at the Berlin Center for Caspian Region Studies, Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany. Sattarov publishes articles with focus on the Caucasus and Iran in diverse regional news agencies and is a co-founder of a political consulting firm in Berlin. U.S. President Donald Trump talks to senior staff Steve Bannon during a swearing in ceremony for senior staff at the White House in Washington, DC January 22, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria The Reichstag fire in February 1933 destroyed the German parliament building a month after Hitler's ascension to power. It is generally believed to have been caused by a lone arsonist, but falsely characterized by the Nazis as a Communist Party plot against the new regime, providing the pretext for the rapid destruction of civil liberties and democracy in Germany. Donald Trump, the impatient aspiring autocrat, has perhaps decided, though probably ignorant of history, to create what one might consider a 'Reichstag' incident -- massive voter fraud produced Hillary Clinton's popular vote victory -- until something better comes along. After all, when he eventually meets Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he would want to have proven his capacity to join their club: elected leaders who subvert their nation's democratic institutions. Advertisement Although serious journalists scoff and others play stenographer, Trump continues to contend his embarrassing three-million-vote loss of the popular vote to Clinton was a mirage. In his view, millions of illegal immigrants voted against him. While this "plot" to defeat him failed, he is still obsessed, angry and in denial that his triumph was not a reflection of the popular will; one can only imagine his reaction had Clinton won. Ironically, given his fan base, Trump's ticket to the White House -- the Electoral College -- was created by the Founding Fathers to thwart the potentially unruly passions of small landholders begrudgingly entitled to the franchise. While Trump is delusional about voter fraud, he is a cunning opportunist. Moreover, his Machiavellian chief strategist and senior counselor, Steve Bannon, formerly head of Breitbart News, and the renowned political dirty trickster, Roger Stone, a longtime intimate, are masters of the art of propaganda. This troika appreciates that claims regarding voter fraud could be exploited to justify mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, limit legal immigration, and the suppression of non-white, largely Democratic, voters for 2018, 2020 and beyond. Trump's designs to re-shape the electorate would, of course, require implementation by Congress and state governments. Even if legislators and governors know voter fraud is a fiction they also realize a sizable segment of their constituents believe the propaganda. The public positions and decisions of government officials, if not based on their own "drinking the Kool-Aid" or wealthy donor preferences, are invariably pragmatic, reflecting what they must pretend to believe to appease an aroused base. Regarding voter suppression, some might have benefited from it already, or believe they have or will. They need little prompting to make it even more cumbersome for those likely to be supporting Democrats to cast ballots. Therefore, it is not enough for the media to expose the fallacious claims of Trump's latest outburst. They also need to consider what may be his more ambitious goal: de facto autocratic rule built upon and promoting white supremacy. Autocratic rule, or at least, a severely compromised form of democracy as one finds in Russia and Turkey, would require compliant legislative and judicial branches of government and an intimidated or weakened news media. Advertisement Efforts to decrease the potential number of Democratic-leaning voters are also required to sustain the sweeping Trump and GOP victories already accomplished. Therefore, enacting effective policies to disenfranchise non-whites, along with college students, while justifying them in the name of race-neutral "voter integrity," is perceived as critically important. Evidence suggests, however, that voter suppression now -- when non-Hispanic whites still make up about 62 percent of the population and Hispanic self-identifying whites another 8 percent -- is a less significant factor than the general demoralization of poor non-white citizens. Likely due to non-existent or ineffectual government programs, their perception is that voting makes little tangible difference in their lives. The malign neglect of this population by the Trump Administration's expected gutting of social services and health care, will probably have an even greater "selective" voter discouragement payoff. The potential caveat, however, is if the Ayn Rand devotees in the GOP Congress overreach and crush large swaths of their white supporters by taking away their safety net as well. Racism -- the "dark-side" face of Trumpism -- might be an excellent "means to an end" for achieving autocratic rule; but, it could be an "end" as well. Trump has a long record of racist and ethnocentric words and deeds. Technically, "nationalism" -- the preferred term of those, like Trump and Bannon, who claim that they simply seek to support beleaguered and marginalized whites, not white domination -- is not as objectionable as its bedfellows -- "alt-right," "white nationalism," or, "white supremacy." However, given the enormous economic, political and cultural dominance of "whiteness" in the demographically inter-connected, largely urban, American economy, it is a fairy tale to deny their fundamental equivalence. There is no alternate reality in which "separate but equal" will ever exist in the United States or defending traditional white skin privileges won't disadvantage non-whites. There will be many more opportunities for a future Reichstag pretext. Many will fail, but there will be others based upon imagined or exaggerated threats. Only a few need to succeed and correctly identifying them as such -- not merely as the reflection of a deranged personality -- is essential for those who would seek to defend our vulnerable democratic institutions. Congratulations to my good friend and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who was confirmed with ease as Ambassador to the United Nations. This appointment says a lot about Nikki Haley, but it also says a lot about President Trump. Remember, before eventually endorsing the President, Governor Haley endorsed Marco Rubio during the Republican primary and said she was "not a fan" of Trump's, even calling him "everything a governor doesn't want in a president." But President Trump overlooked that, because he realized that personal grievances aside, Nikki Haley was uniquely qualified to be our country's Ambassador to the United Nations. Advertisement And indeed, she IS uniquely qualified for the job, largely on the basis of her background and experience. After all, who better to send to the United Nations as an Ambassador and symbol of our nation's incredible diversity than a woman who was born to two immigrants from Punjab, India. She rose all the way to the South Carolina House of Representatives and from there, she became the first Indian-American female to ever become governor of a state. And while she has stood up for conservative values throughout her career, she has also shown a tremendous ability to be a force for unity. Following the disgusting mass shooting at a black church by Dylan Roof in South Carolina, Governor Haley saw to it that the confederate flag be taken down at the statehouse. On this issue, she took a stand against some people in her own party and, in the process, brought together people of all races and creeds to do what was right. She will no question continue to do what is right as UN Ambassador, including her continued vocal support of the nation of Israel. While Governor Haley has said a two state solution is ideal, she has also made it clear that America will stand firm and proud at Israel's side. Advertisement Said Haley during her confirmation hearings, "Nowhere, has the U.N.'s failure been more consistent, and more outrageous, than its bias against our close ally, Israel." While she did praise the UN overall, she was upfront about the fact that she will let them know when they are wrong, like in the case of the UN's Human Rights' Council, which has condemned Israel numerous times with no rebukes given to Syria and North Korea. Last Friday, I went to the Craft & Folk Art Museum for the opening of an exhibition of contemporary Iranian video and photography. As coincidence would have it, that was the very day President Trump signed an executive order closing the nation's borders to refugees and people from 7 predominately Muslim countries -- including Iran. If you believe in the timeless wisdom of the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words", this is certainly an exhibition that will open your mind; every image provides a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of Iranian people. I urge you to go and see this important exhibition for yourself. This exhibition, titled FOCUS IRAN 2, is actually the second biennial exhibition with a focus on Iranian culture and heritage. An international jury panel selected works by several dozen artists living both in and out of Iran, thus providing diverse visions from inside and outside of the country. Advertisement In her statement, the Craft & Folk Art Museum director Suzanne Isken says that "in an era where xenophobic rhetoric has taken center stage, [the promotion of cross-cultural understanding through our exhibitions and programs] has taken on a new urgency". It's been only a year since the Los Angeles County Museum of Art had an exhibition of contemporary Islamic artists -- primarily photographers, and most of them women. I was impressed by the diversity and edginess of many of these images. At a time when most of the news coming from the Middle East is -- to put it mildly -- rather negative, seeing the artworks produced by contemporary artists there reminds us that we have much more in common with people in the Middle East than we might otherwise realize. All of the above brings back the memory of another extremely important museum exhibition, Manzanar: the Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams, shown at the Skirball Cultural Center in 2015. It dealt with the political paranoia of the time, when President Roosevelt, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, issued an executive order leading to the forced evacuation of 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry into ten internment camps, Manzanar one of them. Since visiting this exhibition, I've been haunted by the information I read in one of museum's wall texts, that "in the entire course of the war, [only] ten people in the United States were convicted of spying for Japan. All of them were Caucasian." It was courageous of the Skirball to present this exhibition about this shameful chapter in our nation's history -- a lesson that we mustn't forget. Advertisement ___________ Edward Goldman is an art critic and the host of Art Talk, a program on art and culture for NPR affiliate KCRW 89.9 FM. To listen to the complete show and hear Edward's charming Russian accent, click here. In preliminary looks at the record of Neil Gorsuch, President Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court, reports have already suggested that he is more conservative than Justice Scalia was on the so-called Chevron doctrine. Sounds like a technical issue just for lawyers, right? Not so. In fact, Gorsuchs radical stance on this issue helps show why his confirmation would jeopardize the health, safety, and rights of all Americans. The Chevron doctrine is named after a case decided unanimously by the Supreme Court in the 1980s concerning the Chevron energy company. The doctrine, or rule of interpretation that came out of that case, says that courts should generally defer to administrative agencies interpretation of laws that Congress has charged them with enforcing--particularly when the laws are ambiguous--unless the regulation or other interpretation is unreasonable. As a result, courts in numerous cases have upheld agency rules that protect health, safety, the environment, and other key subjects. As Ranking House Judiciary Member John Conyers has commented, the Chevron doctrine is crucial to the ability of federal regulatory agencies to protect public health and safety. For example, application of the Chevron doctrine was very important to courts upholding Department of Labor regulations that ensured that more coal miners suffering from black lung disease would receive adequate compensation from coal mining companies. The companies tried to contest the agencys rule, but relying on the Chevron doctrine, the corporations argument was rejected. In another case, industry challenged an important EPA rule that toughened lead-based paint hazard requirements for home renovations under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Relying on cases decided under the Chevron doctrine, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the amended rule. It specifically noted that the amendment would help protect against dangers to families with young children, including approximately 23,000 children under age 6. Advertisement But Judge Gorsuch is a firm opponent of the Chevron doctrine. In fact, in a case that did not even specifically raise the issue, he wrote a long concurring opinion, commenting on the opinion that he himself wrote for the court majority, and argued that the Chevron doctrine should essentially be overruled, claiming that it represents abdication of the judicial duty. Of course under the Trump administration, federal agencies may well not enact rules that impose reasonable limits on corporations and help consumers. But over the long run, as Rep. Hank Johnson has explained, eliminating the Chevron doctrine would shield entrenched economic interests from liability and make it harder for agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency to deal with emerging public health threats. Both Johnson and Conyers spoke in opposition to a House Republican bill that would have attempted through legislation to eliminate the Chevron doctrine. The fact that Gorsuchs views accord with those of House Republicans is no surprise. Both are concerned with protecting corporations and not the interests of ordinary people. This is already clear from Gorsuchs record, and eliminating the Chevron doctrine would do more of the same. Advertisement In contrast, while sometimes criticizing specific decisions, Justice Scalia defended the Chevron doctrine, explaining that [i]n the long run, Chevron will endure and be given its full scope because it more accurately reflects the reality of government, and thus more adequately serves its needs. Thus Judge Gorsuch is clearly to the right of Justice Scalia on this issue, in a way that would ultimately help big business and harm ordinary Americans. People place candles near a mosque that was the location of a shooting spree in Quebec City, Quebec on January 31, 2017.Alexandre Bissonnette cut a low profile as a shy, withdrawn political science student, keen on far-right ideas. The Canadian political science student known to have nationalist sympathies was charged January 30, 2017 with six counts of murder over a shooting spree at a Quebec mosque -- one of the worst attacks ever to target Muslims in a western country.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned as a 'terrorist attack' Sunday night's assault on the Islamic Cultural Center in a busy district of Quebec City, which sent terrified worshippers fleeing barefoot in the snow. / AFP / Alice Chiche (Photo credit should read ALICE CHICHE/AFP/Getty Images) It's not true that the accused gunman who entered the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City on Sunday night and opened fire on dozens of defenseless worshippers was "of Moroccan origin." And it's also not true that the gunman, who was later apprehended with two rifles in his Mitsubishi, was part of a "false flag" operation, connected to a larger, Muslim-led "insurrection" movement. Instead, the gunman who killed six Muslims and wounded many more over the weekend in an "unprecedented" (for Canada) attack on a place of worship is named Alexandre Bissonnette. He's white. He's 27 years old. He was born in Canada. And he's a poster boy for today's dangerous alt-right movement: a radicalized extremist whose hate apparently sparked a barbaric gun rampage. Advertisement He's been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an act of terror against Muslims. The accused killer's connection to the far right is not a tangential one. Bissonnette is a white nationalist who, according to Canadian press accounts, has been described by friends and acquaintances as: - "an online troll"; - inspired by "extreme right-wing" politics; - "a xenophobe" who's "against immigration," "especially by Muslims"; - "enthralled by a borderline racist nationalist movement"; - "very right and (an) ultra nationalist white supremacist"; - "sharing anti-immigration sentiment, especially toward Muslim refugees; - having "right-wing political ideas"; and - "obviously pro-Trump." And then there was this description, from a Canadian refugee activist [emphasis added]: "He was someone who made frequent extreme comments in social media denigrating refugees and feminism. It wasn't outright hate, rather part of this new nationalist conservative identity movement that is more intolerant than hateful." In other words, he's not a "lone wolf" gunman. He's an alt-right assassin who seemingly became deeply immersed in a radical movement in search of cultural and ethnic purity. (One family member thinks Bissonnette "fell under the influence" of someone who radicalized him.) Advertisement In the wake of the deadly attack, Fox News viewers were told virtually none of that about the gunman. In fact, they were fed misinformation about the identity of the shooter, thanks to the network's claim on Twitter that a second gunman on the scene was "of Moroccan origin." (Though police initially arrested two suspects, including one who is of Moroccan descent, they quickly realized he was a witness to the attack and that there was only one shooter, the Canadian native Bissonnette. Fox did not correct its tweet for more than 24 hours, until a spokesperson for the Canadian prime minister called on the network to "either retract or update" its false claim.) Alt-right outlet Breitbart.com did the same thing, hyping the Morocco angle, and then limply updating the incorrect report. During all of Fox News' prime-time coverage on Monday night, the Quebec massacre came up exactly twice, according to a transcript search via Nexis. One of those references came from Bill O'Reilly, who, rather than acknowledge the shooter's alt-right roots, instead tried to portray the massacre as part the larger war on terror narrative: "Continuing now with our lead story, extreme vetting to prevent terrorism in the U.S.A. As you know may know, six people are dead, 17 others hurt after a college student allegedly shot up a mosque in Quebec, Canada." O'Reilly never explained how "extreme vetting" would have stopped a homegrown white nationalist gunman from killing Muslims. Fox News' hands-off Quebec coverage fits the channel's long-established pattern of downplaying acts of right-wing, white supremacist violence, and treating them as rogue, isolated events. This, while Fox News hypes beyond proportion and common sense attacks by Muslims in America. Advertisement In terms of the timing of Quebec's alt-right massacre, it's difficult to separate the targeted, and likely political, killings from the hotbed of international controversy set off by President Donald Trump's decision to sign an executive order temporarily barring individuals from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States. Having been elected after running an openly Islamophobic campaign, Trump has repeatedly defended the ban as a way to protect American from "bad dudes" coming into the country and committing acts of terror in the name of radical Islam. It's a deeply white nationalist message. Using that context, White House press secretary Sean Spicer tried to politicize the Quebec massacre by weirdly suggesting it proves the need for the president's get-tough-on-terror agenda (emphasis added): "We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. It's a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nation's safety and security." To repeat, the arrested gunman is reportedly a white nationalist Trump supporter. Meanwhile, as Media Matters has noted, white nationalists in the press are "ecstatic" over Trump's travel ban, and they are expressing their glee in openly hateful and bigoted ways: "These virulently racist writers are praising Trump for stopping 'these disgusting animals' and 'sneaky sand-people' from entering the country and are also calling on Trump to arrest or impeach federal judges who oppose the ban. A neo-Nazi writer even suggested killing those protesting the ban." Advertisement For the extreme alt-right movement, Trump has arrived as its Oval Office savior, as the two sides team join forces to wage war on jihadists supposedly pouring across America's borders. Fox News personalities like Sean Hannity have also joined the on-air pep rallies to tout the anti-Muslim ban. This is the same Fox News that has advocated for bugging mosques and eliminating other constitutional rights, the same Fox News that once told its viewers, "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims." For years, Fox News and other conservative media have stoked dangerous Islamophic fires with runaway hate rhetoric. (See the mob they whipped into a frenzy during the so-called "9/11 mosque" hysteria in 2010.) Trump is now trying to harness that hate to push his anti-Muslim agenda. What's new and different is the emergence of the international alt-right, white nationalist movement and the violence, or the threat of violence, that never seems to be far from the surface. Tragically, Quebec witnessed that violence this week. The pressing question going forward: How high can Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media dial up their Muslim disdain during the Trump era, without inspiring gun rampages? Advertisement Photography Credit: Osman Siddiqi In late 2010, the region of East Africa experienced one of its worst natural disasters, drought. The most affected countries were Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. The drought, dubbed as 'the worst in over 60 years', plunged the region into the worst food security crises Africa had faced in decades. Somalia was pigeonholed as a 'famine zone' and was the hardest hit. Fatalities in Somalia were estimated between 50 000-100 000 people. Pundits and scholars alike have all opined that low levels of rains, high food prices, and regional conflict all contributed to the disaster that led to the fatalities in Somalia. Ethiopia and Kenya, both also subjected to the same conditions as Somalia, experienced lower aggregates of fatalities. Largely, this is due to the presence of the first-line responders to the droughts and the impending famine at the time; the diasporic communities and their networks. Vast networks of diasporic communities with strong ties to their local families provided aid in the form of nutrition, medicines, and monetary values. These networks extended beyond the autonomous individual sending remittances for relief to their homeland, but they were also proactive, getting involved by working with some of the traditional organizations that acted as secondary responders to the drought relief efforts. In 2013 the World Health Organization (WHO) drafted a strategic plan that emphasized the need to highlight the role of the diasporic community in providing aid relief in places such as Somalia and Djibouti. Advertisement The story of Lucia Musembi, from Kenya, illustrates how these networks from the diaspora act as first-line respondents in moments of crises, despite the scope of crisis, for their families especially when the state fails to respond quickly or adequately. These remittances become a saving grace. Lucia Musembi from Nairobi, Kenya, has also had her life greatly impacted by the safety net that is provided by remittances. A businesswoman by trade with a small shop in Kibera, Lucia had her son's life unexpectedly usurped when he got into a car accident in 2011. Living in a country where systems of governance in the health sector are weak and at times unresponsive, she faced the all-too-familiar crises of having to pay out of pocket for her son's care. 'The bill was too high' she exclaims, further adding that she 'could not afford to pay the bill nor raise the funds' needed. This is where the importance of the safety net that is provided by the remittances from families living in the diaspora became important as her sister became her first-line of response to her son's crises and the ever-rising costs of the medical aid needed. Lucia goes on to further elaborate that being able to use micro-financing institutions such as Western Union, who 'sent the money very quickly', was critical for her son to get the care he needed. According to a report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2013, remittances sent to the world's poorest countries including 33 African countries have increased to US $27 billion in 2011 from US $3.5 billion in 1990. The UNCTAD report and studies by the African Development Bank Group (Afdb) further point out that migrant remittances in Africa constitute about 3% of Africa's total GDP. Across the continent, and especially in countries like Nigeria, remittances act as a key tool for social transformation. In the conflict-affected area Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, migrant remittances have proven to be crucial as first-respondents to the loss of healthcare facilities. According to the WHO, '743 health facilities in Borno State, of which 35% have been completely destroyed, and another 29% partially damaged and only 34% intact. About 100 temporary health facilities have been set up to support the response, of which 49 are emergency clinics for displaced people living in camps.' The establishment of temporary facilities by the WHO was preceded by the establishment of 'safety nets' that were only made possible by the migrant remittances through micro-finance institutions such as Western Union. Advertisement In the face of weak state institutions and an ever-growing informal market, the role of micro-financing institutions such as Western Union are crucial in acting as an intermediary for migrants in the diaspora in Nigeria. Once again, as is being witnessed in the crises of the conflict in the Borno-state, migrant remittances are playing a crucial role in enabling locals to be the first-respondents of relief in the face of potential disaster. Moreover, micro-financing institutions such as Western Union play a vital role in the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Nigeria, such as Lucky Imomotimi. Lucky is a mother of five and she is also a full-time housewife. Her husband is currently living in the U.S and works as a producer of materials in the fashion industry; remittances from him are a crucial mechanism of support for Lucky and her five children. Money transfers are made via the services offered by Western Union. Through these remittances Lucky is able to afford school fees for her children, pay rent, and meet the daily household and living needs. Most importantly, in this way migrant remittances enable social reproduction, which in turn ensures that labor supply for the diaspora is possible. This is evident in the historical analyses of migrant labor, especially within the mining sector. In Southern Africa for instance, migrant remittances have historically occupied an important place in society. With the largest employer being the gold and mining sectors in South Africa, and today, the platinum sector, labor is drawn from migrant mine workers that come from Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo. The nature of mine work is displacing. It relocates workers and resides them on-site. Migrant mine workers thus historically used micro-financing institutions such as Western Union to support their households back home. In the face of the 2000-01 floods in Mozambique, the droughts in Zimbabwe, the Nyiragongo Volcano Eruption 2002 in the DRC, etc. it was the mine workers remittances that ploughed back to the locals empowering them to be the first-line respondents to these disasters. I suspect Shusaku Endo's 1966 novel and Martin Scorsese's cinematic adaptation, Silence, will never be blockbusters in sales, even though they are both masterpieces of religious messaging. Both the book and the film penetrate to the heart of the alchemical mystery of faith, where it almost does not look like faith at all--and even like its opposite, especially for those of us born after the mystical balancing act of knowing and not knowing was largely lost during the Enlightenment. Only the older tradition understood darkness as the heart of the matter, and not the later glib certainties which still do not pass for illuminating "light." To most, it might appear that two of the Jesuit protagonists in the story apostatized, or rejected their faith, in the presence of immense human suffering and the maddening silence of God. But Endo knew the older tradition, which honored silence and not knowing as a different kind of knowing and not needing to know as spiritual freedom. This is rare in our time, which is one thing that makes this film so potentially life-changing. I will offer you my conclusion here and can do that best in the brilliant language of Christian Wiman, from his book My Bright Abyss. Wiman writes, "Faith itself sometimes needs to be stripped of its social and historical encrustations and returned to its first, churchless incarnation in the human heart" (pp. 93-94). Advertisement I believe that to strip faith of its "social and historical encrustations," and to excavate its deeper and almost blind foundation in hope and love, is precisely what Endo was trying to communicate. Scorsese's film powerfully succeeds at the same. However, I deeply fear that many will miss this, because it is done with such subtlety, character development, and simple brilliance. Perhaps one needs to see it twice to capture every important line and symbol--down to the very last surprising and shocking scene. I suspect that the American version of Christianity has never been known for much subtlety, nor has it been taught how to recognize symbol in either literature or Scripture--which, of course, is where all the power for transformation is held. We were, nevertheless, taught in Catholic theology that the "theological virtues" of faith, hope, and love were not foundationally learned, chosen, or even practiced, but were instead an actual "participation in the life of God" and, first of all, given as a pure, divine gift. So daring! Once we could access this indwelling presence, we ourselves could practice, develop, and participate in these divine virtues--but the initiative was always from God. This is why the profound nature of faith, hope, and love is not fully subject to rational analysis, and also why they overlap and fulfill one another. This was obvious in both the book and the film, at least for me. Each virtue must contain the other two to be fully a virtue! Simply stated: faith cannot be understood or lived without hope and love, hope cannot be understood or lived without love and faith, and love cannot be understood or lived without faith and hope. You might need to read that several times because your mind should be spinning, just as it spins while watching scene after scene in Silence. So as not to steal the thunder--and it is indeed thunder--from your experience of the film, know that Shusaku Endo (1923-1996), a Japanese Catholic, was a master of moral ambiguity, similar to Graham Greene (1994-1991) in the West. They both represent the best of Catholic moral imagination, as does Scorsese in this film that took him nearly thirty years to make. I personally would consider it the most effective religious film I have ever seen. Advertisement Although there are many wonderful sub-characters and plots, Fr. Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) is led, step by step, to give up his own heroics, and desire for martyrdom, in order to free other human beings from their suffering. I could almost hear him offering Meister Eckhart's prayer, "I pray God to rid me of God!" And Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka), a crypto Japanese Christian and Judas-like figure, might end up being the most sincere and utterly tried Christian of all, who chases after forgiveness the entire time. The Case for Tackling Climate Change - Why America, and the World, need the Paris Agreement Ensuring that the Paris Agreement on climate change is implemented and that countries meet their commitments is in the national interest of all countries around the world. After all, we owe our children and grandchildren the prospect of a safe place to live that is free from the damages of climate change. This agreement benefits Americans. It is in our interest to stay in the agreement and ensure that all countries live up to their commitments. The United States' National Climate Assessment documents the dramatic changes already occurring in the U.S. as a result of climate change. Residents of some coastal cities have seen streets flood more regularly during storms and high tides. So have communities near large rivers, especially in the Midwest and Northeast. This has led to higher insurance rates as our communities become more vulnerable to climate-fueled disasters. Hotter and drier weather mean more intense wildfires that burn more acres closer to more people's homes. Erosion could cause more communities to relocate. The historic commitments secured from all countries by the Paris Agreement are essential for reducing these and many other risks to the U.S. prosperity. The Paris Agreement significantly lowered global projected temperature rise from 7 Fahrenheit to 5 Fahrenheit (3.9 Celsius to 2.8Celsius). Less climate devastation will occur thanks to this agreement. While more action is needed, this agreement can further limit disastrous climate damage thanks to the climate commitments it secured. Advertisement Tackling a Global Threat No nation can deal with the effects of climate change alone. The Paris Agreement secured commitments from nearly every nation on earth to address climate change. It is a truly global endeavor. Countries put forward their climate commitments - ensuring that all nations are doing their part to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. The commitments cover emissions from 190 countries - 97 percent of global greenhouse emissions. The agreement secures, for the first time, commitments from all key emitters - including China, India, Mexico, Europe, Japan, and the US - to reduce their emissions. And since our action helps to spur others to act, we can't protect Americans from the damages of climate change unless we act at home and help secure action from other countries. A large majority of Americans want the United States to participate in the Paris Agreement. Americans understand that global action protects us and that American leadership is critical for securing global action. Walking away would mean shooting ourselves in the foot. Making sure that others are acting - Accountability and Transparency The Paris Agreement provides the framework for transparency and clear evidence of what is happening across the globe. The Paris Agreement's reporting and review mechanisms provide assurances that other nations are doing their part, through comprehensive guidelines to hold countries such as China, India, and Mexico accountable for their commitments. The Paris Agreement includes an "enhanced transparency framework" that uses a common set of rules for both developed and developing countries (see here). These systems strengthen the international system by: (a) requiring that countries regularly report national emissions inventories at least every two years; (b) requiring that at least every two years countries report "information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving" its emissions reduction target; (c) subjecting these national reports to a "technical expert review" by a set of independent reviewers; and (d) conducting a public session where countries consider the progress countries are making towards their targets. Advertisement A powerful domestic motivation for countries to follow through on their new commitments as a part of the Paris agreement is built on the nature of these commitments - these targets are based upon delivering actions that are in their own self-interest. Politicians in these countries will need to follow through on their commitments as their citizens are demanding the actions necessary to meet the Paris Agreement since those measures meet pressing domestic needs such as air pollution, job creation, poverty alleviation, and reduced climate impacts. For example, China will continue to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as part of its strategic plan to reduce air pollution and coal consumption. And India will continue to move forward with its massive renewable energy deployment to address energy poverty, and because renewable energy is the most cost-effective option. We can't ensure progress is being made towards commitments of major countries if the U.S. is sitting on the sidelines and not showing leadership. Why Americans Support the Paris Agreement The goal of the Paris Agreement is the same as that of the majority of Americans. The Paris Agreement is the first international climate agreement to include commitments from developed and developing nations to tackle climate change. That is why the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 71 percent of Americans surveyed (57 percent of Republicans and 87 percent of Democrats) said that the US should continue participating in the Paris agreement. The Paris Agreement calls for low emissions development and a shift to clean energy. Meeting the U.S. target as a part of this agreement will mean continuing the trend towards more wind, solar, and energy efficiency - in line with the majority of Americans who support renewable portfolio standards and clean energy use, according to a 2016 post-election poll for the Conservative Energy Network. This is consistent with other polls about the need to transition toward a cleaner, more energy-efficient economy and the economic, security, and health benefits provided by clean energy. Advertisement Good for American Jobs and Good for Business The Paris Agreement has spurred momentum and investments in clean energy, a rapidly growing area for American jobs and businesses. Environmental Entrepreneurs' analysis of clean energy and clean transportation jobs across America found that there are more than 2.5 million Americans working in clean energy in all 50 states. This includes 1.9 million jobs in energy efficiency and nearly 414,000 people in renewable energy generation, (about 300,000 in solar energy and 77,000 in wind energy), and about 170,000 in advanced hybrid and electric vehicles. This includes nearly 570,000 workers in the Midwest, over 85,000 workers in New York, and 66,000 workers in Pennsylvania, as just a few examples. America's innovation and leadership in clean technology can benefit from the Paris Agreement. The International Energy Agency projects that the global clean energy market will total over $60 trillion in the next two-and-a-half decades, as countries tackle climate change. As more countries commit to low carbon development, the more opportunities there will be for America's clean energy exports. Not taking advantage of the market for clean energy means companies and workers in other countries will dominate the market for clean energy resources and technology for the foreseeable future. China already plans to build a nationwide charging network for five million electric cars and has signaled that it will spend $360 billion on renewable energy by 2020 which will create over 13 million jobs. Businesses know that pulling out of the Paris Agreement would hurt the US economy while opening up the country to greater risks from severe climate impacts. That's why over 600 businesses and investors such as DuPont, Gap, General Mills, Hewlett Packard, NIKE, Mars, PG&E, and hundreds of small business issued a statement to the new administration urging it to implement the Paris Agreement. American companies also know that failure to act on climate change implies huge financial risks as the damages take a greater toll. Some of the largest insurance companies in the world such as Liberty Mutual and USAA are already warning that not addressing climate change "needlessly exposes Americans to greater risks to life and property and results in much higher costs to the federal government." The head of the Reinsurance Association of America has said that addressing climate change is sound public policy. The Paris Agreement creates opportunities for U.S. companies and workers to tap into growing markets for innovative technologies and services - areas in which America can excel. Advertisement Good for Communities, Good for Cities and States The Paris Agreement has increased ambition among cities and states across the globe to accelerate climate action. This includes city- and state-level commitments that will help us realize national commitments even faster. These are cities that recognize that climate action means more than just, clean, renewable energy. It also means more livable, healthier, and resilient cities. Dozens of American mayors - spread throughout the U.S. - sent an open letter calling on the President to continue being an active participant in the Paris Agreement. These local elected officials know that their constituents want more action on climate and that global action is needed. The 90 cities at the Global Mayor's Climate Summit in 2016 represented a quarter of the world's GDP - and American cities stand to benefit from working with counterparts to carry forward the Paris Agreement. States and provinces around the world also benefit from the mechanisms of cooperation that the Paris Agreement has built. State, provincial and local governments in the Under2 Coalition, led by California, have secured commitments to reduce emissions 80 percent by 2050 across 165 different jurisdictions. These areas represent close to $26 trillion, or one-third of global GDP. As local leaders closest to the citizenry, these local elected officials understand that acting on climate change is in the interest of their constituents and local business. Helping the Most Vulnerable and Ensuring Stability Staying in the Paris Agreement recognizes U.S. responsibilities as the largest economy in the world and biggest historical contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. The United States from 1990 to 2012 was responsible for 18 percent of global emissions, but with less than 5 percent of the global population. Through the Paris Agreement the U.S. has worked with other wealthy nations to ramp up climate finance for the most vulnerable countries already suffering the harshest impacts from climate change. The Paris Agreement helps the most vulnerable - the ones that have contributed the least to climate change. It helps them address the impacts of climate change that they are already feeling -- and which will only get worse -- if countries do not deliver on the emissions reductions enshrined in the Paris Agreement. This is one of the reasons that leading faith-based and religious organizations have supported the Paris Agreement. As these organizations recently said: "Addressing the harmful impacts of climate change upon the most vulnerable peoples and the future of all God's creation is the moral responsibility of our nation, and our sacred task as people of faith." Advertisement Security concerns, exacerbated by climate change, can make fragile situations even worse. It is in America's interest to secure global emissions reductions through the Paris Agreement because it will reduce the threats to security abroad. Dealing with climate change and assisting nations to establish adaptation efforts helps maintain stable domestic environments. On the other hand, allowing rampant climate change will cause even greater climate disruptions. These disruptions can have potentially destabilizing impacts such as mass migration - creating more climate refugees. As one Iraq war veteran and Special Advisor on Energy to the US Army put it, the Paris Agreement "is a significant step toward increasing our national security by addressing the causes, consequences, and risks associated with climate change." The Paris Agreement Benefits America flag of country of Iran in official colors. Iran is one of seven countries whose citizens have been prohibited from arriving in the U.S. for the next three months by an executive order aimed at "Protection of the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry." Refugees seeking asylum from discrimination and persecution by the Islamic Republic's authorities, including Christians, Jews, Bahais, and Zoroastrians, are on hold for 120 days as well. Even Iranians holding U.S. permanent residency can be subject to extra vetting and admitted or rejected on a case-by-case basis by the Department of Homeland Security when they seek re-entry to their American homeland. Probably seeking to exacerbate the situation, Iranian armed forces tested a short-range ballistic missile -- which they are called upon in the nuclear deal not to do for 8 years. Iran's Islamic government, designated by the Department of State as a as a state sponsor of terrorism, has been active in targeting Americans outside the U.S. mainland. U.S. diplomats were held hostage in Tehran for 444 days between 1979 and 1981. Through its terrorist proxies like Hezbollah the Iranian government took American lives at Beirut in 1983 and 1984, at Khobar in 1996, and across Iraq since 2003. Iranian operatives were associated with the TWA flight 847 hijacking in 1985 and the U.S. embassy bombings at Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1988. Advertisement The U.S. has not been Tehran's sole target. Iran's regime has aided Hezbollah and Hamas in attacks on Israel, on Israel's embassy at Buenos Aires in 1992 and on a Jewish community center there in 1994. Iran's government has been linked to terrorism in Germany, Bulgaria, and Panama. Now its armed forces and paramilitaries are involved in the civil wars of Iraq and Syria, while it is suspected of aiding Houthi rebels in Yemen. The vast majority of Iranians cannot be held accountable for the terrorist deeds of a few fundamentalist clerics, anti-western politicians, and fanatical fighters. But it is unfair and unwise to equate an authoritarian state to its citizens. The vast majority of Iranians cannot be held accountable for the terrorist deeds of a few fundamentalist clerics, anti-western politicians, and fanatical fighters. The entry restrictions are playing in favor of Iran's hardliners who portray it as evidence the U.S. remains hostile to all Iranians. In Iran more than 60 percent of the population was born after the Islamic Revolution. Although 85 percent are literate, according to United Nations agencies, between 12 percent (official figure) and 30 percent (unofficial estimate) are unemployed. They push for liberty and opportunity. Many women wear the latest western fashions rather than the state-prescribed hijab despite harassment from state-paid morals squads. Others produce music, graffiti, and internet media denouncing the radicalism of ayatollahs. They attempt to vote progressive politicians into office. They circumvent their government's control over information via the internet using smart phones. They travel to the U.S. to gain education and to benefit from our principles and norms. Advertisement Whereas approximately 1,500 Iranians entered the U.S. annually between 1950 and 1977, mainly as students, 65 percent have arrived since the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79. They come for freedom from social, political, and religious oppression rather than financial gain and especially not to undermine American values, stability, and security. Moreover, loathing the fanaticism and militancy of Iran's post-revolution leaders, Iranian visitors and Iranian-American permanent residents and citizens harken back to their cultured heritage by calling themselves "Persians." The US Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated 486,994 Iranians living in this country during 2015. Iranian-American organizations broadly estimate the current number on U.S. soil at between 450,000 to over 1,000,000 individuals--attributing the Census Bureau's lower number to limited self-identification owing to fear of discrimination. Those Iranians include Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Armenians, Balochis, Assyrians, and Turkmen who are Shiites, Sunnis, Bahais, Armenian and Assyrian or Nestorian Christians, Zoroastrians, and Jews by faith. Their median household income averages $72,345 versus $51,939 for the general American population, and Iranian women in the U.S. earn 31 percent more than their counterparts in similar employment situations. The community's poverty rate was 4 percent less than the average U.S. level of 13.5 percent in 2015 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Higher income and lower dependence should not be surprising because 62 percent (including 56 percent of Iranian-American women) have bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees. A George Mason University study in 2013 indicates 30 percent had travelled back to Iran during the previous three years to visit family members, while 66 percent of Iranians communicate via telephone, email, and internet with family and friends inside Iran several times each month. They transmit American values of individual rights to Iranians taking on the oppressive regime in Tehran rather than become terrorists and lawbreakers themselves. Now they fear being regarded, without reasonable cause, as threats to their adopted country's security. Yet Iranians within the U.S. are rarely associated with acts of terror. One case emphasizes how exceptional terrorism is among the community here: a single Iranian-American citizen was sentenced to 25 years for plotting in 2011 to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington. Another 2 dozen or so Iranians have been convicted for violating sanctions imposed by the U.S. against Iran. Indeed refugees and other immigrants and visitors are only a miniscule risk to public safety as demonstrated by data collected by the Cato Institute. Advertisement The reality is that most domestic violence victims are women. State ex rel. Hope House, Inc. v. Merrigan, 133 S.W.3d 44, 47 (Mo. 2004). Such women are often blamed for remaining in abusive environments since "one of the common myths, apparently believed by most people, is that battered [women] are free to leave." State v. Kelly, 97 N.J. 178, 205, (1984). Community members, as well as medical and social service professionals, frequently lack sympathy for women who stay with their abusers. These same women are sometimes treated poorly by the criminal justice system, too. For example, in State v. Kelly, id. at 199, Kelly claimed self-defense, which required proving that she subjectively believed in the necessity of using deadly force against her abuser and that this belief was objectively reasonable. Kelly's failure to leave her partner after multiple violent incidents, however, indicated to many that the beatings "could not have been too bad," and therefore, that deadly force in self-defense was not reasonable. Id. at 205. The Court eventually ruled to allow an expert to testify on Battered Woman's Syndrome (BWS), who could explain why battered women fail to leave even the deadliest batterers. Id. at 204. Advertisement Perhaps it would be helpful to explore some of these reasons. Believing there is no escape. A battered woman develops certain characteristics as a result of abuse for an extended period of time by the dominant male figure in her life. Id. at 191. "These characteristics include fear, hyper-suggestibility, isolation, guilt, and emotional dependency, which culminate in a woman's belief that she [...] cannot escape her batterer." Robinson v. State, 308 S.C. 74, 76 (1992). Similarly, BWS "is characterized by such abuse and degradation that the battered [woman] [...] believe[s] she is unable to help herself and cannot expect help from anyone else. She believes that she cannot escape the complete control of her [partner] and that he is invulnerable to law enforcement and other sources of help." State v. Norman, 324 N.C. 253, 258 (1989). Such beliefs make avenues of escape unthinkable. Hindered by love. BWS develops from a 3-phase cycle: Phase one includes rising tension and minor abuse. Phase two presents the battering. Phase 3 involves the victim forgiving the batterer. During this last phase, the batterer ceases violent behavior and displays affection; often he even promises that the violence will not recur. The cycle then repeats itself. Id. at 77. During the third phase, many women develop hope that the lovingness will endure and consequently find it difficult to leave. Advertisement Fear of retaliation. Perhaps more often, though, victims are too afraid to leave. In State v. Norman, Norman faced criminal charges for killing her abuser. She testified that she had previously attempted to leave her husband, but that he had always found her, forced her to come home, and then beat her. Norman, 324 N.C. at 257. When she discussed possibly filing charges against him, he threatened to "cut her throat before [law enforcement] got to him." Id. When occasionally victims of abuse do involve the authorities, many "backpedal on [their] initial complaints," afraid that involving the criminal justice system will demonstrate betrayal and endanger them further. United States v. Williams, No. CRIM. 1999-25, 2000 WL 1739214, at *8 (D.V.I. May 10, 2000). Law enforcement's reluctance to intervene. Often battered women hesitate to press charges not only out of fear of their husbands' lawlessness, but also because of the criminal justice system's historic apathy towards "private matters." In 1868, a court stated, "We will not inflict [...] the greater evil of raising the curtain upon domestic privacy, to punish the lesser evil of trifling violence." State v. Rhodes, 61 N.C. (Phil. Law) 453, 459 (1868). It was not until 1979 that a court established that women have a right to enforcement against assault. This was after officers responding to a victim's complaint supported her assaulter, one even remarking, "Maybe if I beat my wife, she'd act right too". Bruno v. Codd, 90 Misc. 2d 1047, 1050 (1979). The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was passed largely in response to these issues. The Obama Administration conveyed that VAWA has led to "more victims [...] reporting domestic [...] violence to police, [which] are resulting in more arrests." Fact Sheet: The Violence Against Women Act, https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vawa_factsheet.pdf. Advertisement While VAWA is one step toward a culture that no longer trivializes "private matters," cultural change requires far more legislation, and most importantly, attitudinal shifts at the local and national levels. Learned helplessness. The principle of "learned helplessness" was developed when Penn psychologist Martin Seligman discovered that dogs receiving unavoidable electric shocks failed to take action in subsequent situations, even when avoidance became possible. Learned Helplessness, Encyclopedia Britannica (2016), available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/learned-helplessness. Battered women experience this same learned helplessness. The "repeated batterings, like electrical shocks, diminish [their] motivation to respond." Robinson, 308 S.C. at 77. Failure to leave may be less of a rational decision and more of a psychological impairment. Additional factors. Other reasons why battered women fail to leave their batterers include a stigma of being a victim of abuse, low self-esteem caused by repeated torture, and forced isolation (abusers are "often highly possessive and excessively jealous") that makes it implausible to communicate danger to others. Why Doesn't She Just Leave?, New Choices, Inc., http://www.newchoicesinc.org/educated/abuse/DV/whynotleave. Additionally, many women stay in abusive environments out of commitment to their relationships and the belief that keeping the family together is best for the children. Id. Necessary steps for progress. With a better understanding of why battered women do not escape their batterers, hopefully we can learn to stop blaming the victim. Even today, victims encounter some "doctors [who] prescribe Valium for coping, ministers [who] recommend more accommodating behaviors of the victim, and therapists [who] advise better communication with the abuser." Id. Advertisement This is simply unacceptable. First and foremost, domestic violence needs to be treated more seriously. When friends, agencies, or law enforcement possess knowledge of an abusive environment, they should feel compelled to help remove the battered woman from a situation she believes is inescapable. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva Trend: The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) poses a growing threat to a number of US policy interests, reads a declassified CIA document. The US Central Intelligence Agency document RDP85T00283R000400030009-2, dated 1983, is one of the 13,000 documents declassified in January. The document says ASALAs development has ominous implications for international cooperation against terrorism. Recent fragmentation within ASALA and Armenian political groups, in our estimation, increases the risk of terrorist violence, particularly in Western Europe, as the various splinter groups vie for the attention of the Armenian community, CIA said. According to the document, Armenian terrorist groups ostensibly wanted to create an independent Armenian homeland. The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) terrorist group operated actively in 1973-1985. Forty-two Turkish diplomats were killed in ASALA attacks. On the heels of President Trump's inauguration and historic women's marches all over the world, the New York Asian Women's Center changed its name to Womankind, and they say their new name has even more significance in Trump's New America: "We have been considering changing our name for a while now to create an identity that speaks to the power of our unique ways of thinking and doing - changing paradigms, building and healing," said Larry Lee, executive director of Womankind. "And to show that we are more inclusive and transforming." The inspiring new logo. Image: Courtesy of Womankind. The organization has been a leader in providing innovative and award-winning multilingual and culturally responsive services to survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual violence and later in life abuse for the past 35 years. Womankind has helped Asian women and their children rise above trauma and build a path to healing through counseling, safe and confidential emergency housing, immigration and legal services, economic empowerment programs and so much more. Board Chair Karen Elizaga put the rebranding's purpose into perspective during the organization's press conference on Tuesday. "The new name, Womankind, signifies universal values of equality, fairness, justice and compassion. It allows us to position our work as equally relevant to a broader audience, strengthening our advocacy for women and other survivors of violence. In this way, Womankind represents Asian leadership in the mainstream. As we look ahead, our mission and commitment to Asian communities remain. Our determination to improve the lives of Asian women and their families is ever stronger. In fact, the rebranding compelled us to carefully scrutinize our mission, thoroughly contemplate our vision for the future and unify ourselves toward a crystal clear direction. With this rebranding, we dug deep. We clarified our purpose, by which we are more strongly anchored as an organization." Advertisement Womankind Staff and Board Members. Photo: Hannah Bae. Representatives from the organization also revealed the trailer of a short film co-directed by Benjamin Ross and Brittany Neff of Co.Reality called "Rise Above," which premiered during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, last month. The virtual reality (VR) film focuses on Brittany D, a young South Asian survivor of sexual violence and was produced by Oculus' "VR For Good" initiative, which selected 10 non-profits from around the world to participate. Facebook, who now owns Oculus, has provided marketing support through social media advertising dollars. Co-Directors Benjamin Ross & Brittany Neff outside the Oculus House at Sundance. Photo: JINGO Media. "It was great to be able to tell my story of abuse through the medium of virtual reality and to be able to share the film through social media," said Brittany D. "I hope the film encourages more people from my generation to report abuse and speak out against violence." The "VR for Good" initiative will make its rounds through the film festival circuit and will, eventually, be available to view in its entirety on the organization's recently revamped web site, www.iamwomankind.org(click on link to web site to watch the film's trailer). "Rise Above," a short film that premiered at Sundance, features a young South Asian survivor of sexual violence. Photo: JINGO Media. Advertisement The organization also announced the opening of a new community office in Brooklyn, which will now allow advocates to provide services for double the number of victims from that community. The Brooklyn Center makes for a total of THREE community offices and TWO emergency residences that Womankind manages in New York. The new Community Center in Brooklyn. Photo: Courtesy of Womankind. In a soulful and pitch-perfect performance, Indie rock artist Queen V ended the press conference on a high note by singing and strumming her rendition of "Broken Wings," which is now available on Itunes for download. Proceeds from the sales will benefit Womankind. Queen V's performance performed at the press conference. Photo: Yinan Xia. I know well the anguish caused by sexual abuse from my own personal journey. Womankind allows those abused to begin the transformation of healing immediately. The press conference and subsequent interviews with their dedicated staff brought up a complex mix of emotions as I remembered my childhood suffering. I am personally thankful that Womankind allows those abused to not wait half a century for closure as I did. We should all applaud Womankind's resilience and persistence for tackling the issue of violence against women within a culture that is taught to remain silent about abuse because of shame and social stigma. We can only hope there will not be a need for Womankind another 35 years from now. Today, the GOP-led South Dakota legislature completed a brazen plot to use emergency powers to repeal a landmark Anti-Corruption Act passed into law by voter referendum less than three months ago. If you're one of the countless Americans fretting over our decaying democratic institutions, buckle up for another story of politicians hitting new lows. South Dakota voters ran a passionate grassroots campaign to pass a ballot initiative mandating basic anti-corruption and ethics guidelines for their elected officials -- in a state ranked 47th in the nation in government integrity, according to the Center for Public Integrity. In response, state lawmakers have responded by condescendingly insisting that their constituents didn't understand what they were voting for, and have used procedures traditionally reserved for genuine catastrophes as a way to fast-track a deeply unpopular repeal proposal as quickly and quietly as possible. By including an "emergency clause" in the repeal bill, the state legislature has denied voters their right to another vote to overturn the repeal of the South Dakota Government Accountability and Anti-Corruption Act. The only "emergency" here, as it turns out, is the legislature's desire to both kill the law and prevent voters from doing anything so sensible ever again. Advertisement The backlash has been swift and furious. State lawmakers have been flooded with calls from outraged constituents. Republican State Sen. Stace Nelson called the repeal "a disrespectful bums rush" and a "hypocritical assault on the will of South Dakotans." The conservative American Enterprise Institute's Norman Ornstein took to Twitter to describe the repeal effort as "disgusting, appalling fascist behavior." But the vast majority of state lawmakers, however, remained undeterred. The repeal bill passed the house two weeks ago, and the state finished the job today. The governor has promised to quickly sign it into law. Many South Dakotans who flooded town hall style events over the weekend to demand answers from their state legislators were met with outright hostility, with one state senator reportedly telling a constituent that if she didn't like the repeal, she could "move to Hawaii." Today, a standing room only Senate viewing gallery was packed with angry voters yelling "respect our vote." What did the people of South Dakota vote for that so frightened lawmakers that they felt compelled to immediately and permanently get rid of it? Legislators and their immediate family members would be prohibited from accepting gifts from lobbyists worth more than $100 per year. South Dakota is the only state that lets lawmakers accept unlimited, undisclosed gifts from lobbyists. Bribing a state lawmaker would be a felony, not a misdemeanor. When a lobbyist tries to influence the governor's office, it would actually count as lobbying and have to be disclosed. An independent state ethics commission would be created to investigate and enforce anti-corruption and ethics laws. South Dakota remains one of a handful of states without any independent ethics enforcement agency. Transparency requirements would increase, with more frequent fundraising and lobbying disclosures through a modern, searchable website. Now the press and public have to dig through reams of hand-written forms scanned and uploaded to an aging state website to know where their politicians get their funding will have to continue. Advertisement These are the kinds of common sense reforms elected officials are so afraid of. Our broken system thrives on quid pro quo campaign contributions, Super PAC expenditures and lobbyist schmoozing that are little more than legalized bribery. When American voters tire of politicians sitting on their hands, and try to fix the system on their own, as they did in South Dakota, it is disgusting that lawmakers would exploit powers reserved for true emergencies to spit in voters' faces. The repeal of South Dakota's Anti-Corruption Act is deeply unpopular, and makes a mockery of the state motto, "Under God, The People Rule." The people of South Dakota are outraged today, and they will not forget quickly. The anti-establishment fervor that won Donald Trump twice the number of votes than Hillary Clinton in the Rushmore State is alive and well, and will come back to haunt repeal proponents in the next election. To: The next governor of Illinois From: Keith Kelleher, president, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Well, ladies and gentlemen who want to replace Bruce Rauner as governor, this week could represent a big chance for you. For years, we have worked in coalition with partners across the state to advocate for a living wage and now, somewhat unexpectedly, the issue of income inequality has inserted itself into the talks over the so-called "grand bargain" being hashed out in the Senate. Forgetting for a moment how we got here (Rauner's unwillingness to follow his constitutional duty of presenting the General Assembly with a balanced budget), let's embrace this opportunity to "Fight for $15." It's a battle that's been won in places like California, New York and Seattle, sending 20 million workers on a path out of poverty, with lawmakers in other blue states like New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Nevada well on their way to victory. Potential candidates, don't you want to make your voices heard on an issue that has everything to do with the economic well-being of workers in Illinois? Wouldn't it set you apart from the current governor, who has done everything he can to block any pathways into the middle class for working women and men? Advertisement The issue of the minimum wage was a bold ballot issue in 2014 and voters expressed an overwhelming preference for raising the wage. But after Rauner won HIS slender victory, the issue seemed to wither on the vine. Imagine that. It's not THAT surprising, since Rauner and his billionaire pals have opposed ANY minimum wage. Lawmakers have since shied from the issue, so I give the Illinois Senate great credit for kickstarting the conversation that seemed all but dead on a state level two years ago. While we are looking for the House now to provide its own leadership, we know that it will be up to the governor to sign it into law. This week, discussion continues on Senate Bill, the minimum wage bill. Will it be part of the compromise package? Will it be withdrawn altogether? Will leaders raise the floor to $15? Since the last go-round on the minimum wage in Illinois, costs of living for workers have only risen. Diapers, milk, rent, gas, cough syrup, electric, you name it, all of these have gotten more expensive while wages for so many have stayed the same, amounting to a pay CUT. More than 41 percent of Illinois workers earn less than $15 per hour, including a vast majority of our workforce, and this means being at or below poverty. This isn't right, especially when someone like Rauner is making $158 million doing a whole lot of nothing. Advertisement Just think what a raise could do for the workers of Illinois-and how YOU could lead by advocating for it. Research shows that even in places like Carbondale, a single worker would need to earn more than $31,000-per-year by 2021 to cover basic housing, food and transportation costs. An $8.25- or even $11-per-hour wage just won't cut it and more and more of our citizens will fall further and further behind. The answer? Well, I'm glad you asked: Let's Fight for $15! Where the $15 minimum wage floor has been instituted across the country in places like California and New York, models are showing positive results. Instead of hindering economies, as the usual suspects have argued, the increase is poised to spur growth. But more importantly, the wage increase is expected to help families crawl up out of poverty and gain a real shot at the middle class for their labor. Isn't that a great vision for Illinois? Bruce Rauner has said he believes in no minimum wage at all, and I believe him: His actions as governor have shown he is supportive of a low-wage economy where wages and benefits are low and corporate profits are high. Now, YOU are running to replace Rauner and I KNOW the working families want to know where you stand on this important issue. Advertisement So, I ask you, will you Fight for $15? With the world's response to the refugee crisis dominating news headlines, many misconceptions are questions are arising. What is the definition of a refugee? How many refugees are there around the world? What causes people to become refugees? Here are 8 facts about refugees: 1. Refugees have fled persecution or war In order to officially be considered a refugee, a person must have suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, because they are part of a persecuted social group, or because they're fleeing war. Those people who claim to be refugees, but whose cases haven't been fully evaluated may instead be defined as "asylum seekers." Advertisement 2. Refugees have crossed an international border There are lots of people who are forced to leave their home because of persecution or war. But not all of them are considered refugees. People who have fled their home, but stayed within their own country are considered "internally displaced," or "internally displaced persons" (IDPs). In 2014, it was estimated that there were 38 million IDPs around the world. [source] 3. Both Lutheran World Relief and the UNHCR began in response to World War II, with the intent of disbanding shortly after Lutheran World Relief was founded in 1945 as a way for Lutherans in the United States to send aid and relief to their (often literal) brothers and sisters in Europe affected by the War. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was formed in 1950 to help the 40 million refugees across Europe. Both organizations had the intention of closing up shop within a few years, but have continued their missions over the past sixty years as new needs have arisen. [source] 4. Almost half of all refugees are children Many of these children may spend their entire life away from home. And these children are far more vulnerable to abuse, neglect, or other types of violence. [source] Advertisement 5. There are currently 21 million refugees worldwide The UNHCR estimates that, as of 2015, there were just over 21 million refugees around the world. [source] This is higher than the year before. Which brings us to our next fact... 6. There are currently nearly 5 million Syrian refugees The UNHCR currently has registered 4.8 million Syrian refugees, and, as of November 2016, predicts 8.7 million to be displaced inside Syria in 2016. [source] Other countries in the region have also been affected by conflict. In Yemen, over 2 million people have been internally displaced. [source] 7. There are nearly 2.5 million refugees in Southwest Asia The conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan over the past decade have caused millions of people to flee their countries. But many are also beginning to return home. Over the past ten years, nearly 6 million refugees have moved back into Afghanistan and in the 2016, 117,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Pakistan. However, there is still a huge concern for the safety and wellbeing of people moving in and out of this region, and humanitarian access is limited. [source] 8. Churches have provided sanctuary for refugees for centuries The speech "Humane Evolution" that I delivered at the 28th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on March 13, 2015: Torture is a global epidemic. This viral practice has infected and defiled international culture to the extent that a mere quarantine simply will not suffice; what is needed is an aggressive purification, a relentless purge, a cleansing that is intolerant of corruption. The injustice system worldwide must be reformed. The ends do not justify the means. We cannot justify criminal means to fight crime; we cannot terrorize to fight terrorism. We cannot devalue human life in the name of preserving it. Information and evidence gathered by unethical means may be admissible in a court of law, but is unacceptable in the Court of Life. The global power elite subscribe to an amoral philosophy that it is right to do wrong as long as one theorizes that good will come of the evil done. But what good can come of evil? It is never right to do wrong. They are only concerned with the consequences of their behavior, not whether their actions are right or wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right. Advertisement The spiritual bedrock of all enlightened beings, is not just the philosophy that one should always do what is right; it is also the philosophy that one should do what is right, right now; for the illuminated individual lives and acts in the present moment, and with the present moment alone is he concerned. When one acts righteously, one needn't concern oneself with the consequences of one's actions: doing the right thing is always the right thing to do. Agencies, institutions, installations, and entities, inclusive of those clandestine, bureaucratic, military, and corporate almost unilaterally function from a consequentialist point of view, espousing a philosophy that denotes that their goals--professedly good--be accomplished by any means necessary, even if those means are themselves evil. To torture and terrorize in the name of fighting terrorism and torture is the most ironic hypocrisy. When we succumb to utilizing the tactics and methodologies of opponents to peace in order to counter terror, what then separates us from those we oppose? What have we become? If we descend to their moral level, we become what we hate. And we also contribute to the becoming of those we oppose; torture radicalizes the radicals, to terrorize a person generate the terrorist; when we adopt the strategies of our enemies, we don't just hate them--we create them. Thus, we are faced with a vicious cycle: torture breeds terrorism, and terrorism breeds torture. However, I am merely patronizing for the sake of argument by entertaining the idea that those who harm in order to help, really intend to help at all, but to maintain--and extend the boundaries of--an insidious imperial order: those fearful of losing power will do anything to retain it; those greedy for more power will do everything to attain it. Advertisement We, the people, are told that secrecy is justified by security, when, in fact, more often than not, it is truly a means by which to conceal unspeakable wrongdoings. Furthermore, as disturbing as the leaked reports of secret torture are, it can only be imagined what covert tortures are yet unknown to us; accordingly, it is insufficient that we solely scrutinize the heinous activities we know of; it is also our responsibility to investigate those acts which we are unaware of. Militaries, intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, and detention facilities must be held accountable. And they mustn't be merely forthcoming, but profoundly ethical; they must be more than translucent--they must be translucid. Endless preoccupation with, scrutiny of, and debate over policies and politics is both futile and foolish; this has not worked so far, and will never work; these are matters of the mind, and we must get to the heart of the matter--which is the human heart. In the course of human evolution, have we undergone humane evolution? Has there been spiritual evolution parallel to the development of our intellect? It is not enough that we be revolutionaries; we must be evolutionaries. I call not just for a global revolution--I call for a global evolution. It's not your average art gallery, its location isn't exactly associated with avant-garde works, and the person running it is from another country. Mention Kuwait and you elicit talk of oil wealth, desert sands, and Iraq's invasion of the emirate in 1990. Interestingly, it's been a center for art and culture since before the aggression. It should come as no surprise to connoisseurs that this Arab Gulf state is home to some of the world's richest contemporary works and Islamic art collections. Advertisement What also helped it come along in recent years was Lucia Topalian -- Lucy to friends -- a transplanted Lebanese of Armenian origin who has enriched the scene and encouraged up and coming artists. Lucia Topalian (Abu-Fadil) "I'm always introducing new artists from new countries, using diverse materials," she told me while on a visit to Kuwait. "I've brought some unknown artists to the market." Her headquarters is Dar Al Funoun (Arabic for House of Arts) in Kuwait City where she's promoted, exhibited, and sold, works of artists from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. While focusing on the Middle East/North Africa region, Topalian has also exhibited the works of artists from France, Italy, Spain and Greece. Advertisement "I find their works interesting. In four years I've done four Italians and four Spaniards," she noted amidst a wealth of modern paintings, sculptures and mixed media pieces. Polished iron piece by Iraqi artist Ahmad Al Bahrani (Abu-Fadil) The interest began in Lebanon, where Topalian had majored in child education and where she bought works by paying in installments - $10 a month - until it grew on her. She often visited the Alec Manoogian Club in Beirut that included a gallery where she spent a lot of her time meeting artists. By 1976 she decided to move to Kuwait, a year after Lebanon's 15-year civil war broke out, and held different jobs in sales at a computer company, working up to deputy managing director. Iraqi artist Sinan Hussein's acrylic on canvas (Abu-Fadil) The civil war was a nasty interruption to her life in Lebanon so she decided to wait out the conflict in the emirate. Advertisement "I had friends. They said come. I couldn't go anywhere without a visa," she recounted. Her three-week wait for an end to the internecine conflict turned to a few months, after which she decided to work. But computers were moving too fast for her, so Topalian eventually shifted gears to art. "Being from Lebanon, there were major Lebanese artists who came to exhibit in Kuwait in the late 1970s and early 1980s and I started buying works," she said. When visitors to her house expressed interest in buying the works, she decided to either buy herself or purchase art from an American consultant in London who'd lived in Lebanon and wanted to introduce Arab artists to the Gulf region. In 1997 she plunged into the dynamic art milieu and became managing partner in a gallery with Sheikha Hissah Saad Al Sabah, an old college friend and member of the Kuwaiti ruling family. Since then, Dar Al Funoun, a charming two-story house with a central courtyard and fountain built in the 1940s, has hosted 7-8 exhibitions a year. Advertisement Bahraini artist Jamal Abdel Rahim's petals, wood shaving on canvas (Abu-Fadil) "We used to do exhibitions to attract people to the gallery," Topalian said, adding that she often changed shows monthly. Over time, art fairs and auctions took away the urge from people who frequented galleries and discovered new artists, she lamented. "The whole art scene has become art to be consumed." But that has not deterred Topalian, who still receives traditional clients and newcomers with warmth and grace, while taking the time to explain each piece's history and the artist behind it. Egyptian Mohammad Abou El Naga's mixed media on canvas (Abu-Fadil) Since she was restricted in what she could, or could not, show -- no sex, eroticism, nudity, and religion -- given the conservative nature of Kuwaiti society, the art lover had to be creative. "I was bored with landscapes," she said. There was enough variety and creativity for a market as far as she was concerned, but she also had to be excited about things. Advertisement So she experimented with fun concepts like video and conceptual art, although they're impossible to sell, she explained. Water, for example, was the theme of a show in which she had 500 sardine cans dripping from a tank perched atop the terrace of the house onto the lower gallery's floor. Although it cost a bundle and left her exhausted, Topalian said the exhibition created the kind of buzz she sought. Despite the recent economic downturn, Topalian has been able to keep it going and remains a purist. She refuses to mix paintings and sculptures with furniture and clothes. News of a U.S. travel ban on citizens from mostly Muslim countries, revved-up populist rhetoric and anti-migrant/refugee campaigns snowballed as an international symposium tagged #SpreadNoHate offered an opposing scenario with recommendations to fight the venom. "When one minority comes under attack, everyone's freedom is at stake," said Federica Mogherini to a symposium in Brussels last week hours before the travel ban took effect. "When people are discriminated (against) because they look different, it's not only a violation of their human rights, but an attack against the very fabric of our societies." Federica Mogherini's video message on hate speech (Abu-Fadil) Mogherini, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, told conferees in a video message that the rise of hate speech was a global phenomenon requiring global awareness and local mobilization. Advertisement The event organized by the European Union External Action and United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) focused on hate speech against migrants and refugees in the media and grouped experts, journalists, academics, government officials and members of NGOs from across the globe. "Hate speech is a violation of freedom of expression," noted Cecile Kyenge, a member of the European Parliament and a former minister of integration in Italy, adding that freedom was a pillar of all democratic societies. MEP Cecile Kyenge (courtesy Virginie van Elbmt) Kyenge, an ophthalmologist who was born in the Congo, has experienced racism and hate speech first hand. A former government minister called her an orangutan and detractors tossed bananas at her while on a podium to speak, according media reports. The UNAOC symposium was organized within the framework of its #SpreadNoHate initiative given the rising rhetoric of hate speech and incitement against migrants and refugees across Europe and elsewhere. Advertisement UNAOC said anger and polarization characterize domestic politics with harsh measures targeting migrant and refugee communities, which is partly due to misconceptions and prejudice where natives are confronted with challenges related to the arrival of refugees and migrants from diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions. Spread No Hate publications (Abu-Fadil) In this context, the media plays a major role in shaping perceptions about migrants and refugees. Every day, information from the media is influencing people's thoughts, perceptions and opinions. The media is well placed to inform, communicate and connect citizens across the globe. Instead, in many cases, it acts as a powerful platform for discrimination, exclusion and incitement to hatred and violence. Carlos Latuff cartoon on Trump travel ban (courtesy Latuff) The daylong event's themes were: media and the rise of populism; triggers and mechanisms of hate speech against migrants and refugees; improving the quality of media coverage about migrants and refugees; promoting ethical journalism; strengthening partnerships between media and civil society to promote balanced narratives; and providing recommendations on next steps to sustain the initiative. Hate speech debated at Brussels symposium (Abu-Fadil) While some participants emphasized the need for integration in host communities, Moawia Ahmed, a journalist and coordinator of the Greek Forum of Migrants, said stakeholders should focus on inclusion and participation of migrants, rather than getting hung up on integration. Journalist Moawia Ahmed (left), coordinator of Greek Forum of Migrants (Abu-Fadil) Greece hosts thousands of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan crossing in rickety boats and dinghies or walking from Turkey and elsewhere, hoping to make it to Germany and West European countries, but countless numbers are stuck on islands like Lesbos. Advertisement "We're not judges," said Google's public policy counsel Marco Pancini explaining his company's stand on hate speech against migrants and refugees. "We simply apply guidelines that are shared by our users." Search engines and social media have often been blamed for fanning the flames of racism and populist discourse, or, of stifling free speech by deleting what users consider their right to express their opinions at the expense of others. "We're working hard to find solutions that are not worse than the problems," said Richard Allen, Facebook's vice president of public policy. #SpreadNoHate was trending in Belgium Not to be overlooked is the key issue of media ethics, or the lack thereof, in covering hate speech and migrants/refugees. Aidan White, director of the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), said independence and impartiality may not apply to social media users, but that accuracy, humanity and transparency were a must. Advertisement "We should not use the freedom we have to incite hate speech or violence," he added. White distributed copies of EJN's recently published "Ethics in the News" booklet. As moderator of the first session, I asked if media and information literacy could mitigate the damage of hate speech and if so, how? I also stirred the debate pot by wondering whether governments, Internet service providers, and social media should control the message, if legacy media should be restrained in what they publish once offensive content has gone viral on social media, and, who else was to blame for fanning the flames of populism. Participants agreed on the need for media and information literacy, with Professor Divina Frau-Meigs of France's Sorbonne Nouvelle University saying she worked on massive open online courses (MOOCs) as an efficient way to reach online communities and combat hate speech online. Professor Debra Mason of the Missouri University School of Journalism pointed to the need for religious literacy as part of the solution to the problem of hate speech in the media. "We know hate speech sells; we must find ways to make it less lucrative," said Patrick Butler, vice president of the Washington-based International Center for Journalists, wrapping up the event, adding that media literacy should be firmly embedded in educational curricula. Advertisement UNAOC High Representative Nassir Al Nasser addresses #SpreadNoHate confab (Abu-Fadil) Monday was Fred Korematsu's birthday. The brave twenty-three year old who in 1942 refused to be interned by the U.S. government alongside 120,000 other Japanese Americans has been on my mind. It is not simply because he was the featured doodle for Google. And not just because Trump's executive orders to ban individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries-- evoking Executive Order 9066 challenged by Korematsu -- have been in the news. I have been thinking about him because an incident from my own past has been haunting me. In my Advanced Placement (AP) American History class at my magnet high school in Montgomery, Alabama in 1986, twenty-four of my twenty-five classmates voted to intern a fellow Indian-American student and me. Our teacher--my favorite--asked the class of eleventh graders whether we two girls should be jailed if the U.S. were at war with India simply because of our ethnicity. And, mind you, she did not ask it in order to instill in her students sympathy or critical thinking skills. She did it to justify what was done to Japanese Americans by their own government forty-four years earlier. She thought it was the right move in a dangerous time. And all except one, my African American friend Wanda, agreed with her. Definition of BANALITY [Merriam-Webster] plural banalities 1.1: something that lacks originality, freshness, or novelty : something banal : COMMONPLACE 2.2: the quality or state of lacking new or interesting qualities : the quality or state of being banal Advertisement The Banality of Evil. It is the time and place in which we are living. And it is critical phrasing of the subtitle of Hannah Arendt's book, Eichmann in Jerusalem, about the man who coordinated the deportations of the Jews from throughout Europe to the killing centers we call concentration camps. Arendt gives us a detailed account of Adolph Eichmann's life and in doing so, shows us that he was not a psychopath or sociopath, but an average man who assumed extraordinary power to bring about tremendous destruction and loss of life. In his defense, Eichmann said only, "I was only following orders." It is likely that Donald J. Trump is neither a psychopath nor a sociopath. He and Steve Bannon are ordinary men who now have extraordinary power to bring about tremendous destruction. And Reince Priebus, the Chief of Staff, is simply following orders. Jeff Sessions (but not Sally Yates) and Rex Tillerson and James Mattis and John Kelly are also only following orders as they work diligently to refuse entry into the U.S to hundreds, if not thousands of Muslims with green cards and student visas and refugee clearance. Evil has become banal. Can resistance be? Can we make activism commonplace? We MUST. After only the first week of the Trump administration, many of us are already tired and weary. But, we cannot rest. We must hold our elected officials accountable. As the must-read toolkit Indivisible: The Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda tells us, we absolutely can make a difference through strategic, targeted actions. This includes targeting both Democrats and Republicans; none should feel secure in their current positions of power, not even if they reside in safe districts or states. They should know we are watching them and planning to run candidates who oppose them if they vote against our communities and our interests. The 2014 defeat of Eric Cantor, Republican House Majority Leader, is evidence that no member of Congress is immune to challenge and defeat by a loud electorate. And we should remind them that populism--support for the concerns of ordinary people-- comes not only from the Right, but also from the Left. Advertisement And it is time that our supposed leaders follow us. For too long, we have been constrained by their procedures, their DC decorum, and their traditions, which were created to keep many of us--women, people of color, LGBTQ, and immigrants-- powerless. Meanwhile, we have been consumed, out of necessity, with our careers, our children, our families. But, now, as we do our jobs, feed our kids (and our pets) and take care of our parents, let us also be consumed by our futures. In that classroom in Montgomery, Alabama thirty-one years ago, the vast majority of my fellow students had no problem supporting the commission of inhumane acts and unconstitutional policies in a hypothetical vote. It is likely that they and perhaps even a majority of Americans would now support a real life internment of Indian Americans, or Mexican Americans, or _____ (fill in the blank). And they may support mass deportations of immigrants. And a Muslim registry. Unless each and every one of us resists, these atrocities will surely become a reality. The proposal to create a new elite police unit in Honduras called TIGRES (Tropa de Inteligencia y Grupos de Respuesta Especial de Seguridad) is a really bad idea. The acronym stands for Intelligence Troop and Special Security Response Groups, or "Tigers." Clever acronym, but dumb concept. Who comes up with this stuff, anyway. On July 26, 2012, legislation was introduced in the Honduran Congress to create an elite police force aimed at strengthening the National Police. It was expected that the bill would be approved within a week or two. It wasn't. (The bill is being debated by Congress this week.) At the time, the director of the National Police, Juan Carlos "El Tigre" Bonilla, said he was planning to fire some 4,000 of Honduras' approximately 12,000 police officers. The plan was that the TIGRES would fill some of the lost positions within the police with highly-trained and better disciplined (styled after the military) officers, thus gradually improving the level of professionalism of the National Police. Of course, the 4,000 officers were not fired. So now the plan supposedly would be for the TIGRES to be an addition to the current force. President Lobo has said he wants to have about 20,000 police officers. So the question is, "Where does Mr. Lobo and Congress expect to get the money to fund the TIGRES?" The answer seems to be from an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan valued at $57 million. Fine, more debt for a country already broke and severely behind on its salary payments to its public employees, including its police -- most of whom receive the minimum wage of $350 per month or less (as low as $170) and are poorly trained, equipped, supplied, and housed... and overworked. It is also unclear why the TIGRES are needed when Honduras already has an elite police force called the "Cobras" (trained by U.S. SWAT teams)... unless the Cobras, like the regular police, are believed to be infiltrated by criminal elements as well. If so, then a central question that must be addressed by the Lobo administration and Congress is, "If the Cobras can be corrupted, what's to prevent the TIGRES from also being corrupted? Are the TIGRES going to be a super elite police force immune to bribes, threats, and manipulation? There is legitimate concern in Honduras that the TIGRES could be tailored after the infamous Battalion 3-16 unit, which was responsible for countless human rights violations, including hundreds of "disappeared people" during the 1980s. Do you truly want a commando force -- posing as police -- on the streets of Honduras? One that might just as easily be turned against the Honduran people as on criminals. Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is slated to vote on President Trump's nominee Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. If the committee gives Pruitt the green light he'll move one step closer to overseeing the federal agency empowered to ensure clean air and clean water for all Americans. Unfortunately, the EPA is also the agency that Mr. Pruitt has worked diligently to undermine. President Trump's selection of Scott Pruitt may be good politics, but his appointment would create a public health disaster. Our bedrock environmental laws passed congress decades ago with broad bipartisan support. The Clean Air Act passed in 1970 unanimously, save one vote. The Clean Water Act was wildly popular when it passed. Republican president Richard Nixon established the EPA to enforce these and other environmental protections. Years later the agency's authority was strengthened by another Republican president, George H.W. Bush. Today, as in the past 4 decades, protecting our air and water and ensuring the health of our families enjoys strong support not only from elected officials but also by a majority of Americans regardless of party affiliation. Advertisement Scott Pruitt's track record as Oklahoma Attorney General paints a bleak picture of what his leadership of the agency would mean for American families and our environment. Pruitt joined polluters in a staggering 14 lawsuits against the very agency he is hoping to lead. These suits aimed to dismantle critical public health safeguards including the Clean Water Rule that would protect drinking water sources for 117 million Americans and the Mercury and Air Toxic rule that protects our kids and other vulnerable citizens from highly damaging pollution. As Attorney General, Pruitt delayed legal action to clean up major poultry pollution plaguing his state's waterways. He led the opposition to EPA's Clean Power Plan which set the first ever national limits on carbon pollution. AG Pruitt even dismantled the environmental control unit in his own office. And these are only examples. Pruitt's tenure as attorney general set environmental protections backwards not forward. Shockingly it has been difficult to find anything AG Pruitt did to protect the health of the Oklahomans during his time in that office. As Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey noted during Pruitt's confirmation hearing, Oklahoma has been ground zero for asthma problems, which affect 1 in every 10 kids in the state. Pruitt couldn't name one time that he filed a case in support of kids with asthma. Mr. Pruitt's knowledge of science --- which should underpin all decisions made by the EPA --- is lacking as is his familiarity with some of the most basic and pressing issues facing the agency he hopes to direct. He has said human caused climate change is a matter of "continuing debate." He had no comment on how much lead in drinking water could harm humans nor on the potential health impacts of exercising outdoors on a day with poor air quality. In fact, Scott Pruitt could not identify one EPA safeguard that he actually supports. Advertisement Ironically, Scott Pruitt's loyalty to fossil fuel interests is easy to identify. Pruitt accepted approximately $350,000 from the fossil fuel industry including the infamous Koch Brothers. And more than once he put his official attorney general letterhead and his signature on letters objecting to EPA policy written by oil companies and sent them to the agency he is now hoping to oversee. Scott Pruitt is outside the mainstream in his actions and views on protecting our air and water, stopping the worst impacts of climate change and keeping our families healthy. The vast majority of Americans support a clean and healthy environment and the rules and laws designed to keep it that way. Americans deserve an EPA administrator who will fight to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we love. Scott Pruitt fails on all these accounts. We're calling on our Senators to stand with science, our families' health, clean water and clean air. The Senate must reject President Trump's nomination of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Orkhan Quluzade Trend: Turkey's export increased by 15 percent in January 2017, which is the highest growth rate over the past 49 months, says the report of the Turkish Exporters Assembly. The country exported goods worth $10.5 billion in January 2017. In January 2017, Turkish export to Russia amounted to $105 million, which is 57 percent more than in January 2016. The report says $27 million of the total amount of Turkeys exports to Russia in January 2017 accounted for fresh fruits and vegetables. In January, Turkey exported cars, accessories and spare parts worth $2 billion, clothing and textile worth $1.253 billion and chemical products worth $1.234 billion. The highest growth rates were recorded in the export of olive oil (increase by 146 percent), ships and yachts (increase by 57 percent) and fresh fruits and vegetables (increase by 46 percent). The volume of Turkeys foreign trade amounted to $341.2 billion in 2016, which is 2.8 percent less than in 2015, said the report of the Turkish Statistical Institute. Anyone wishing to define the term 'fiasco' need only look at the events of the last several days around President Trump's effort to restrict immigration from several Muslim countries. Calling the implementation and reaction reminiscent of a banana republic is a grievous insult of bona fide banana republics. Let us count the ways: Knowledgeable observers can and should disagree in good faith about whether the policies are desirable for America. In the face of the numerous attacks on Americans (and others in Europe and elsewhere) in the name of various radical Muslim groups, and explicit expressions of evil intent from many, admittedly not all, Muslim institutions, it is far from absurd to seek to limit admittance to the US of those having a connection to such places. On the other hand, those concerned with the civil liberties ramifications of an exclusionary policy tied to religion or national origin must be taken seriously in order to maintain our constitutional protections. Debate over the merits of these policies is healthy for democracy. What is not at issue is the botched implementation of these policies. It is great that the President is serious about keeping his campaign promises, but this can be achieved with deliberation as well. This back of the envelope approach with zero attention paid to legitimate reliance interests of those in or about to be in transit or holding green cards or having familial or other connections to such persons was simply inexcusably inept. The airport chaos and major inconvenience for so many is not surprising. Advertisement By the same token, one wonders if the sensible aspects of the policy go far enough. It is wrong to state, as Fareed Zakaria has done, that the designated countries have never been involved in attacks on the US. For example, Somalia was used as the training base for the 9-11 plotters and Yemen was the site of the Cole attack on a naval vessel. These failed states are no friend of the US and the Administration is right to be wary of those coming from there. However, it is true that Saudi Arabia has at least as much of a connection to US attacks, especially, but not only 9-11, and it is curious that it was not included. We can only speculate as to the rationale for the seemingly specious distinction. What we have is a botched implementation of a questionable policy. What we do not have is a repetition of Watergate or a constitutional crisis, as Sen. Warren has referred to the situation in her customary understated manner, as she referred to Republicans as not merely wrong on this issue, but "cowards." As one who closely followed Watergate as it transpired during the 1970's, let me note key differences. On several levels, President Nixon was credibly accused of involvement in criminal activity. However misguided his policies may (or may not) be, this is not the case with President Trump. Even if the policies are determined in court to be unconstitutional, this does not make any of the President's actions criminal or even an effort to usurp the authority of other branches of government. Advertisement More fundamentally, Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, the firing of whom triggered many memorable events, was tasked with investigating and, if necessary prosecuting the Watergate-related actions. His firing was an attempt to obstruct such investigation. Former interim AG Sally Yates was not tasked with anything in that capacity except serving as a very short-term administrative caretaker for DOJ until a successor is in place. A successor, Sen. Sessions, has been designated and confirmation is pending. No matter what, she will leave office within the next several days (or weeks at most). As such, nothing President Trump did should be seen as any effort to obstruct anything. Under the circumstances, her order to DOJ lawyers to not defend the President's Order should be seen as just a publicity stunt intended to impede the efforts of the administration. Rep. Conyers is correct that the Administration's approach is more reminiscent of a reality show than a serious approach to governance. However, this does not make it criminal or "Nixonian." McLean Hospital Guest Blogger Blaise Aguirre, MD So you think you know about borderline personality disorder? Think again. Many of us have seen Fatal Attraction where the lead female character is described as having borderline personality disorder (BPD), but the diagnosis is not that Hollywood portrayal. In fact, despite great efforts through a number of organizations, including McLean Hospital, Project 375, and the Linehan Institute, there are still many misconceptions about BPD. And unfortunately, along with misconceptions, comes stigma. I was previously interviewed on W5, a popular weekly Canadian television program, where I discussed BPD. My colleagues and I are deeply committed to working with the media and talking with the public about BPD in an effort to set the record straight about this disorder. We know that people suffer in silence because of lack of awareness, because they don't have the right information or are afraid of stigma. Below, I outline fact from fiction regarding some common myths surrounding BPD. MYTH: BPD Does Not Occur In People Younger Than Eighteen FACT: This remains one of the most persistent myths and misconceptions about BPD. Neither the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) nor the older versions of the DSM prohibit the diagnosis of BPD in people younger than 18. It is unconscionable for a clinician to not diagnose BPD when a person is seventeen years and 364 days old and then diagnose it the next day when he or she turns eighteen. The sooner the diagnosis is made, the sooner treatment can begin. Advertisement MYTH: BPD is a Rare Condition FACT: BPD is not a rare condition. Many people have heard of schizophrenia, which occurs in more than 2 million people in the United States alone. BPD is more common than not only schizophrenia, but bipolar disorder as well. It is estimated that more than 14 million Americans have BPD, extrapolated from a large study performed in 2008. An estimated 11 percent of psychiatric outpatients, 20 percent of psychiatric inpatients, and 6 percent of people visiting their primary health care provider have BPD. MYTH: Bad Parenting Causes BPD FACT: Parents are all too often blamed for all kinds of problems in their children, but there is absolutely no evidence that bad parenting causes BPD. I don't doubt at all that there are individual cases in which parents have aggravated their child's underlying vulnerability. Nevertheless, the vast majority of parents we meet are loving, caring people who are at a loss for what to do in order to help their children. In the absence of any research data or clinical experience to support this idea, it is time to stop blaming parents for causing BPD in their children. MYTH: BPD Only Affects Women FACT: This is simply not true. In early studies of BPD, research found that women were disproportionately affected by a ratio of 3:1. More recent studies have shown the distribution between men and women to be about equal. Part of the reason this myth persists is that there is little research on BPD in men. One attempt at explaining the gender difference is that research on BPD is often conducted in psychiatric settings, and because women tend to seek help more frequently than men do, there tend to be more women than men with BPD in mental health settings, and so make it appear that more women suffer from this disorder. Nevertheless we need to make the diagnosis when appropriate regardless of gender and then provide effective treatments to both men and women. BPD is a serious but highly treatable illness. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with BPD and requires help, there is no better time to start the healing process than right now. Advertisement - - - At age 35, Alan "Patric" McClure voluntarily enrolled in an organic chemistry class. For nine years, his company, Patric Chocolate, had been widely accepted as one of the best in America. It had won accolades from Gourmet, The New Yorker, and Food & Wine, among others, and a slew of awards at the Northwest Chocolate Festival, the International Chocolate Awards, and Good Food Awards (more than any artisan in any category), captivating chocolate lovers everywhere. Yet Alan wasn't satisfied. He'd been scouring chemistry books on his own, trying to learn more about flavor formation and texture in chocolate, but he was frustrated at the slow going. So he sought out a professor in flavor chemistry at the University of Missouri to explain a few things. The professor helped quite a bit, but he didn't know much about chocolate. Rather than give up, Alan went all in: he enrolled in a master's program in food science with an emphasis in flavor chemistry. "I thought, what if I could bring both worlds together? That would create a monster in a positive way in understanding how to tweak chocolate so that the result is even more delicious than anything that's existed before," he said. On Sunday, I joined more than a thousand demonstrators at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to oppose an unconstitutional executive order signed by President Donald Trump last week. The order attempts to block refugees from entering the United States for 120 days (or if they're Syrian, indefinitely) and to prohibit U.S. entry to nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) for 90 days. Thankfully, the night before our demonstration and many similar demonstrations at airports around the country, a federal district court judge in New York ordered a temporary nationwide stay on portions of Trump's executive order, and at least four other judges have since followed suit. Nonetheless, certain Customs and Border Protection officers have been slow to comply with court orders, and these stays are neither complete nor permanent. Thus, many Americans remain outraged at the prospect of targeted discrimination as formal American foreign policy. I am one such American, which is why I spent my Sunday afternoon standing outside of an airport terminal holding a sign that read: "THIS PROUD IRANIAN-AMERICAN MUSLIM WILL NOT HIDE OR SHUT UP! I WILL RESIST!" Advertisement As a writer, I tend to avoid excessive capitalization and exclamation points, but this was a day for emphatic fonts and passionate punctuation. I was born in the United States, and I have lived in this country nearly my entire life. I want it to be safe from extremists of all stripes. But increasingly, I see our leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike in many cases, supporting religious fundamentalism--the evangelical, misogynistic American Christian variety at home and the sectarian, misogynistic Saudi Wahhabi variety abroad--without question. As a result, I worry for the future of this country I hold so dear. As an Iranian-American Muslim, I also worry for myself, for my family and for my community. Personally, I have never felt so targeted by the country I call home, nor have I ever felt so obligated to defend it. I have no choice but to resist. This isn't merely political for me. This is personal. And I'm not just talking about wrecked travel plans or the inability to see loved-ones. I'm talking about my soul and my psyche. Like many Muslim Americans, I have spent the past year feeling like the unwilling object of intense psychological warfare. My very identity has been under attack, and all the hate and hostility is beginning to take a toll. Advertisement When I first arrived at Sunday's protest, for about ten minutes before my husband and friends arrived to join me, I sat alone on a concrete barrier along the edge of the crowd and wept behind my sunglasses. A bus full of fellow protesters arrived, and the crowd began to cheer, visibly jubilant. But as heartened as I felt by their support and solidarity, I couldn't cheer. I was too disheartened by the cumulative effect of more than a year (and in some respects, more than a decade) of constant attacks on my identity to cheer for anything. All I could do was cry, and for a moment, I caught myself--a seasoned activist who had never wept this profusely at any protest before--feeling guilty for not joining in on all the chants the way I normally do. I regretted not being able to stage the loud resistance that the sign hanging around my neck-- with all its bright red capital letters and exclamation points--suggested I should. But then it struck me: tears too are a form of resistance, of expressing what you feel when you need to feel it, a healthy emotional demonstration of radical self-love and self-recognition, an appreciation for one of the most potent natural sedatives available to us as human beings, and an entirely valid and powerful form of protest. Patriarchal Western societies tend to disdain crying, particularly in public, as a hallmark of femininity and therefore an indication of weakness. But it's no secret that patriarchal Western societies have often been and continue to be oppressively and abysmally wrong about quite a lot, and when it comes to shedding tears, they get it all wrong. In truth, crying can serve as a healthy self-care strategy. It has been shown to improve mood and alleviate stress, and personally, it has helped make the last year far more tolerable for me. Crying is a kind of natural self-defense, and on today's field, defense may well be the best offense. My tears serve as both protest and protection. What others see as weakness, I know as strength. My emotions, my faith, my ancestry, my femininity--all these things that may make others think less of me--they lift me up. They allow me to bear the burdens of oppression without being broken by them. Advertisement When my kids were in Montessori elementary school, I used to teach yoga as part of PE. But when I heard that yoga expert Louise Goldberg advocates for short, mini yoga breaks once or more in the school day, I knew she was onto something even better. Yoga movements help kids focus, relax, and feel good about themselves, so of course kids should do a few each day. Now, Louise has made it easy for teachers to give students basic direction. Her new book, Classroom Yoga Breaks: Brief Exercises to Create Calm, features photos of poses, clear instructions--and lots of research about why teachers should want to do this. The book makes a great gift for your own children's teachers, because it will not only assist your child now, it will be a gift that keeps giving for years to come. I spoke to Louise to get her insights on this wonderful idea: Why is yoga helpful for kids in school? Kids spend a lot of time sitting in class. That's not only bad for their bodies, it affects their ability to focus. Introducing yoga to the classroom has been shown in research to reduce stress, improve behavior and academic performance, increase time on task, reduce hostility, and ease students' transitions between activities. It can even boost class participation for kids with emotional and behavioral difficulties. This is the reason a growing number of teachers are implementing yoga breaks. Tell me more about helping kids focus. Yoga is a practice of paying attention. Teachers always tell kids to focus, but we don't often teach them how. Yoga gives students a first-hand demonstration of the power of focused concentration. Here's an example: Ask a child to stand on one foot while looking around the room, looking at his phone, or even thinking about what's for lunch. Then ask him to balance the same way while focusing on a spot on the floor a few feet in front of him and noticing his breath gently coming in and out. Because his mind is focused, his balance will improve. Even being aware of taking a few slow, deep breaths while sitting can improve concentration. Advertisement Are any yoga props or mats needed? Classroom yoga adapts classic yoga poses for schools, where kids are wearing regular street clothes and shoes and don't have mats or props. Desks make a good support for some poses, and others can be done while sitting in the chair. Is it hard for teachers with no yoga training to learn? No. There are plenty of simple techniques teachers can do. Before yoga became my passion and profession, I was an English teacher, and with no formal training I used to do one-minute yoga breaks in my classes all the time. What are some simple sitting poses teachers can have kids do? In their seats, children can do shoulder shrugs, where they elevate their shoulders with an inhalation and drop them with an exhalation a few times. For chest openers, they either lace their fingers behind their chair or hold the side of the seat while leaning back gently. And of course there are breathing poses like soft belly breathing. This is done by lightly interlacing your fingers over your abdomen, and as you breath in deeply through the nose you feel the fingers slightly separate, and as you exhale the fingers come together. Good standing poses? One of my favorites is a desk-supported warrior pose, because kids feel very powerful and grounded in this pose. Kids stand next to their desk and place a hand on it, then take a big step forward with one foot, flexing the knee a bit. The free arm is raised overhead and held while taking a few breaths. Then step back and repeat the pose with the opposite foot. Another is a standing twist, where you put your hands on your hips and slowly twist the body in one direction and the head to the other, then, after holding a moment, switch a few times. Cross-patterning the body in this way helps wake up the brain. Advertisement Are there certain ages that are best for classroom yoga? I've done yoga in classes of 2 year olds all the way through college. That's the great thing about yoga--poses can be easily adapted. If you're doing a balancing pose like a tree pose, for example, smaller kids can raise just the heel of one foot an inch or so off the floor, while older kids can make it more challenging by placing the raised foot as high as the opposite inner thigh. Can kids with special needs do yoga? Absolutely. Yoga is so valuable for special needs kids--this is what my entire first book, Yoga Therapy for Children With Autism and Special Needs, was about. Yoga is calming for these kids. And while they might not understand the directive to slow their breath down, when you have them lean back with their arms clasped behind their chair, it automatically slows their breath--and brain--down. Teachers of special needs kids do need to use a little more caution, though. Forward bends, for example, should be avoided for kids prone to seizures. In your experience, is yoga something teachers want in their classrooms? As a former teacher, I can attest that teachers are always looking for ways to get kids to calm down and focus. I've heard from a teacher who implemented my yoga mini-breaks that her kids grasp complex math concepts more readily after a yoga break. Others find it helps with test anxiety--which can start weeks before a big test. And when a school counselor recently introduced a district-wide professional development program to reduce anxiety using my book as the text, she filled up the 50 open slots almost immediately. Classrooms today are more stressful than ever, so a tool that's free and simple and requires little preparation is a wonderful gift for teachers. Learn more about Louise and her work at CreativeRelaxation.net. President Donald Trump would be hard-pressed to find a worse candidate to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) than Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.). Throughout his career in Congress, Price consistently has championed policies that are incompatible with the fundamental mission of HHS, which is to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans. Most troubling have been Prices relentless efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), legislation that extended health insurance coverage to 20 million more people and reduced the uninsured rate from 16 percent to 9 percent.[1] In 2009, he introduced the misleadingly named Empowering Patients First Act, one of the first bills proposed to replace the ACA. The bill would implement a package of discredited policies, such as high-risk patient pools and individual tax credits for health insurance costs. The legislation also would allow insurers to once again deny coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions and would eliminate billions of dollars provided to states to expand Medicaid eligibility.[2] The bill, which Price reintroduced in 2011, 2013 and 2015, would cause millions of people to suddenly lose their health insurance coverage. And the cruel result would be widespread, preventable suffering and deaths among the many people who could no longer afford health care. Advertisement In addition to the harming the poorest and most vulnerable patients in this country, Prices legislation to repeal the ACA also would reward the wealthy physician specialists who have contributed more than $3 million to him since he was elected to Congress in 2004. For example, one section of the bill, titled Lawsuit Abuse Reform, would make it more difficult for patients injured by negligent physicians to obtain compensation through malpractice lawsuits. During his contentious initial confirmation hearing on Jan. 18 before the Senate committee that oversees health issues, Price himself a physician who should know better than anyone the importance of ensuring health care for all was pressed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) regarding whether he believed all Americans, both rich and poor, have a right to health care. Price refused to reply yes or no, but instead said he believed all Americans should have access to the highest-quality care and coverage that is possible. Such a statement is a far cry from affirming that people have a right to health care. Indeed, as Sanders quipped, Has access to does not mean that they are guaranteed health care: I have access to buying a $10 million home; I dont have the money to do that. In addition to seeking the dismantling of the ACA, Price also wants to effectively destroy traditional Medicare, a lifesaving program for Americas seniors. He has been a staunch proponent of House Speaker Paul Ryans (R-Wis.) plan to privatize Medicare by converting it to a premium support voucher program. This change would dramatically increase out-of-pocket health care costs for seniors, making medical care unaffordable for many, while at the same time bolstering the profits of the private insurance corporations. The Senate must reject the nomination of Price for Secretary of Health and Human Services. His policy prescriptions would be toxic for millions of Americans and would move the nations health care system backward. Advertisement References [1] Obama B. United States health care reform. JAMA. 2016;27(6):1718-1727. "In Christ the false lords of history, the principalities, are shown to be false; at the same time, in Christ the true Lord of history is made known." -William Stringfellow* The votes are in. According to many lexicographers last year's "Word of the Year" was "post-truth." The word seems unnecessary to me. We already had a perfectly good word for what it describes: falsehood. Or, if you prefer an even more basic word: lie. For that matter, we have a perfectly good commandment against it, one of the top ten: "Thou shalt not bear false witness," (Exodus 20:16). One columnist, commenting on the word "post-truth" noted that we are in an era when "anything goes" so long as it gets attention. So long as we have a 24-hour news cycle with a voracious appetite for marketable "content," the more sensational the better, (and that, sadly, is here to stay because the 24-hour news cycle makes lots and lots of money), we are in for a great deal more of what we have seen in the past year. Advertisement If we live in a time when lies and falsehoods have become acceptable, when anything goes as long as it gets attention, then we have no way of knowing where we are anymore, not only morally and ethically, but also in the most essential human relationships. If people, including politicians and public figures, are not just occasionally wrong about their facts, but are just making them up entirely; and, if in the name of "balanced reporting," facts, opinions and lies are all treated alike, we are not just in an uncomfortable spot, we are in a very dangerous place as a society. Again, if we really are in a post-truth era, then we have no idea where we are anymore. Popular media and, apparently, a great many of us are willing to substitute the word "post-truth" for "lies," as though we had "matured" to the point that we have simply outgrown the truth.** Prophetically the Christian thinker William Stringfellow decades ago encountered a similar dynamic and responded to the problem from the perspective of biblical faith. In an essay Stringfellow wrote in 1984 in response to Seymour Hersh's book, The Price of Power, Stringfellow reflects on a certain glib disregard for truth that fits right in with many of the discussions we are having (whatever our party affiliations) around water-coolers and watering holes these days. Stringfellow asks how in the world politicians and other public figures can possibly retain credibility when they exhibit virtually no respect for truth. He writes: "The answer is that each [of the public figures about whom he is speaking] has succeeded in shifting credibility from a connection with truth to a dependence upon marketing technics. The shift is from that which is credible because it derives somehow from truth to that which is credible because people can be coerced, induced, conditioned, or programmed to believe it whether or not it has any significant relationship with the truth. Often, in the present U.S. culture, especially in the commercial realm, credibility is achieved simply by the technics of repetition, redundancy, and volume." [Bill Wylie-Kellermann, editor, A Keeper of the Word: Selected Writings of William Stringfellow (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), p. 291.] It is easy enough, of course, to say to some politicians and public figures, "Shame on you for lying!" But what happens when we allow ourselves to become complicit in their lies, either because we allow ourselves to be manipulated, treat the falsehoods as "business as usual," or dismiss the untruths as irrelevant? In any of these cases, we are essentially saying, not only that we have no moral obligation regarding the truthfulness of statements, but that there are no social consequences for lying. There are, however, real consequences. In fact, lies are among the most consequential of social acts. Lies are corrosive, eating through the fabric of relationships and society like sulfuric acid burning through cloth or skin. Our active or passive complicity with lies only lends them force, creating a culture in which human relationships become a fiction and the fundamental social contract making possible our life together is rendered void. One of my all-time favorite plays is Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Since first seeing the play, my respect for Williams' understanding of the corrosiveness of mendacity has only grown. For Williams, lies are a vile and ugly violation of everything that promises life and the possibility of love. Indeed, for Williams, mendacity is the language and tool of death, a malignant tumor eating away at all human relationships that indulge in it. Unless the lies are exposed, cut away and burned out whenever they appear, unless the body politic learns to attack the cells of duplicity and dishonesty within it every time they return, mendacity will threaten our society's life and future. What is really required is a social body with a robust enough immune system that it can discern and resist the empty promises of untruth. This is a serious spiritual issue. This is a serious biblical issue. It's an issue which Christians and other people of faith cannot afford to ignore for the sake of short-term political gains. Only by realizing that lies represent the death of human society can we understand why in our Christian tradition Satan is described as "the father of lies." Whatever the intent of the ancient maxim, vox populi, vox dei, in fact "the voice of the people" may not be God's voice at all, but the devil talking, as perhaps the earliest written record of this saying, in a letter from Alcuin to Charlemagne, clearly indicates. Alcuin wrote: "Those people should be ignored who say that the voice of the people is the voice of God because the mob is always close to madness." Advertisement I don't think I had really taken note, until recently, of the significance of the fact that the person who asks Jesus, "What is truth?" was Pontius Pilate, a Roman political figure, a person who, in the end, had Jesus crucified either because he became convinced that Jesus was a threat to the imperial power of Rome or simply because it was easier to crucify a person he knew to be innocent than to resist the mob. I somehow doubt that Pilate was sincere even in asking the question, "What is truth?" I suspect he knew what the truth was. And his life became a lie as he conspired with death (John 18:28-19:16; Luke 23:1-5). It's ironic that the only reason Pilate's name is familiar today is because of his association with Jesus of Nazareth. The cynic, of course, will say that only a fool believes what a public figure says, much less gives credence to the word of a politician, but the cynic is wrong. The Proverbs have it right when they say: "Truthful lips endure forever, the lying tongue, only for a moment," (Proverbs 12:19). The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) fervently condemns the so-called "Muslim Ban" disgrace capriciously imposed by Donald Trump. Nothing could be further from the democratic ideals of American freedom, liberty, generosity, compassion, sympathy and empathy. Trump and his bigotry-spewing advisors have been revealed to be what they tragically are; wretchedly bereft, on an international scale, of these very same democratic ideals of national virtue. Barring human beings, especially war ravaged refugees, from entry to America based solely upon their "wrong choice" of practicing the Islamic religious faith is bitterly anathema to not merely the American way, but the Human Way. It is deplorable. It is disgraceful. It is un-American. It is inhuman. It is illegal. It must not be allowed to stand. MRFF presently represents 722 proud Muslim-American members of the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Navy and Air Force. They are military pilots, gunners, Rangers, submariners, doctors, lawyers, scientists, Green Berets, Navy SEALS and Marine Force Recon. They are everywhere as well they should be. They are deeply intertwined into the very fabric of our nation's armed forces and we are all the stronger for it. Many of them have family and friends who live in the seven countries currently carrying the "scarlet letter" of banishment by Trump and his complicit enforcers of this repugnant evil. They cry out for their American brothers and sisters. They cry out for us to hear their pleas for help, support and recognition. They cry out for us to recognize that they and their faith are NOT "the enemy" of this country they so proudly are prepared to sacrifice their lives for. They cry out for us to validate the foundational bedrock principle that honorable diversity is America's deepest strength. Advertisement E Pluribus Unum. Out of Many, One. We at MRFF hear their entreaties and supplications and we implore our fellow Americans to likewise glean the ugly truth of this illicit and unconstitutional Muslim banishment. Stand up for this truth. Stand up for our Constitution. Stand up for the 722. Stand up for the nearly two billion other Muslims in this world. The day will come when our children and grandchildren will ask us what we did in the face of such blatant, racist darkness. They WILL ask. What will you tell them? What will you do? The time is short for you to decide. As the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. so boldly stated in his famous Letter from the Birmingham Jail, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We are ALL Muslims today, my friends. Advertisement Help MRFF resist this fetid and ignoble injustice. Do whatever you can to be heard loudly in resistive, resilient and robust protest. As the celebrated author and historian Howard Zinn urged us all to remember, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." Be American patriots today. Be human race patriots forever. (MRFF is a civil rights advocacy charity which protects the separation of church and state in our American armed forces. MRFF currently represents approximately 50,000 United States military officers, enlisted, civilian personnel and veterans. About 96 percent of MRFF's clients are Christians who are being persecuted for not being "Christian enough' by their chains of command.) (TOP ROW IN ABOVE IMAGE LEFT TO RIGHT) Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein, Esq., Military Religious Freedom Foundation Founder & President. Ambassador Joe Wilson, MRFF Board Member; (United States Foreign Service, Retired). Lawrence Wilkerson, MRFF Advisory Board Member; former Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff, Colonel US Army (Retired). Reza Aslan, MRFF Advisory Board Member; Author and Scholar of Religion. Gary Johnson, MRFF Advisory Board Member; Businessman, Author, Politician, Governor of New Mexico (1995- 2003), Libertarian Party Nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 & 2016 Elections. Advertisement Pedro Luis Irigonegaray, Esq., MRFF Advisory Board Member; Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers and Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Bobby Muller, MRFF Advisory Board Member; Nobel Peace Prize (1997), Int'l Campaign Co-Founder; to Ban Land Mines. (BOTTOM ROW IN ABOVE IMAGE LEFT TO RIGHT) John Compere, MRFF Advisory Board Member; Brigadier General, Judge Advocate General's Corps, US Army (Retired); former Chief Judge, US Army Court of Military Review; disabled American veteran (Vietnam); and Texas rancher. President Trump and his senior advisors have sought to downplay the significance of the sweeping restrictions on refugees and immigrants from selected Muslim-majority countries. They have claimed that it only directly affected 109 people traveling to the United States, and have insisted that it is "not a Muslim ban" in one statement, while claiming that it was the enactment of a campaign promise to impose a Muslim ban, in another. What is beyond doubt is that the executive order represents the United States turning its back on the worst global refugee crisis since the Second World War. The Trump Administration's unilateral actions suspending the U.S. government's refugee resettlement program and slashing the annual rate of refugee admissions, even when refugees do not and have never constituted a security threat, can only undermine multilateral efforts to respond to the migration crisis. Ultimately, it will be self-defeating and harmful to the United States. Advertisement Take for example the ongoing migration crisis in Europe. After the massive influx of migrants from Turkey to Greece in 2015 and early 2016, the European Union announced a plan to resettle up to 160,000 refugees from Greece and Italy. This plan has resulted in the resettlement of only a few thousand refugees to date and left tens of thousands stranded in Greece living in harsh conditions. E.U. negotiations with Turkey stemmed the flow of migrants into Greece from Turkey, but the Turkish government may revoke that agreement. The failure of the European Union to implement a plan to address the migration crisis in an orderly manner, in accordance with international law, and responsive to the humanitarian needs of refugees is an indication of institutional failure. This failure carries many adverse consequences: Refugees are held in inhumane conditions without access to adequate educational opportunities for children or employment opportunities for adults.Stranded, without prospects, the migrant populations are ripe targets for radicalization by violent extremist groups, including ISIS.The inhumane treatment of mainly Muslim migrants in Europe fuels Islamist extremist narratives that conflict between Muslims and the West is inevitable and necessary.In the absence of safe, legal paths to permanent resettlement in other E.U. countries, smugglers and traffickers continue to prey on migrants and refugees.The uncertain fate of tens of thousands of refugees and hundreds of thousands more in Turkey fuels popular fears in Europe that the E.U. and national governments have lost control over their borders. The need to "take back control" is a potent rallying call for far-right, nationalist xenophobic movements in many parts of the European Union.Why should the United States care? A stable and prosperous Europe enhances U.S. national security, provides the United States with a major affluent trading partner, and facilitates multilateral cooperation on a broad range of transnational challenges, from controlling epidemic diseases to combating terrorism. Heightened tensions between minority Muslim populations and the broader societies in which they live will likely fuel extremism and thereby contribute to more political violence and terrorism, including the "extremist Islamic terrorism" the Trump Administration has pledged to eradicate. Advertisement Russia is taking advantage of the migration crisis in Europe to destabilize E.U. governments that have opposed Russian aggression in Ukraine, and to undermine the European Union, which provides an attractive alternative for many to life within Russia's sphere of influence. President Donald Trump reportedly wants to temporarily stop most refugees from entering the country and halt immigration from 'terror-prone areas'. In other words, he wants to ban Muslims. So what's new? He told us precisely who he was during the campaign cycle and what his lofty plans were. Trump however, is not alone. All across Europe and the Western world, white power is on the rise and their number one target appears to be Muslims, Islam and immigrants. Trump is slated to hold his first meeting with a foreign leader, the Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa May, on Friday. May, the Conservative rabble-rouser who took the helm after the UK's shocking Brexit vote last year, enjoys the same nationalistic support at home that Trump does here so it's only fitting that they would have a sit down during his first full week in office. In France, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party, is now apparently ahead in a survey of voters' intentions for the first round of the Presidential election (http://bloom.bg/2jr7bRc). A run-off vote will be held in May. Advertisement She recently stated: "2016 was the year when the Anglo-Saxon world woke up; 2017 will be the year where the population of continental Europe wakes up. It is no longer a question about possibility, it is a question of time." She was photographed at Trump Towers in New York earlier this month, though Trump's team insists there were no meetings between the two. Le Pen has also apparently tweeted her support for Frauke Petry, the leader of the anti-immigration Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party in Germany. According to polls in December, if elections were held now, the AfD would receive approximately 12 percent of the national vote, making it Germany's third largest political party (http://nbcnews.to/2hpgyCY). That is no small feat. Trump's triumph in the 2016 election was praised by everyone from open Islamophobe Geert Wilders in the Netherlands to the far-right Golden Dawn party in Greece who hailed his win as a victory against illegal immigration and in favor of ethnically "clean" nations (http://n.pr/2eDx1xq). The rise of these extreme right-wing, nationalist movements is not only alarming because of the sheer number of followers they have, but also how quickly they have come to prominence. While Trump aligned himself with the Republican Party, there's no question that he threw plenty of red meat to white supremacists here at home. Advertisement Whether it was coming down the infamous escalator and calling Mexicans rapists and drug dealers (oh, 'some' were good people), or stating he would ban Muslims and later changed it to 'extreme vetting', chanting things like "build the wall" and the list goes on. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why former KKK leader David Duke, and people like Richard Spencer and other neo-Nazis aligned themselves with Trump. In the fog of xenophobia, coded language, PR stunts, deceit and political theater, it's sometimes hard to see beyond an individual's outrageous comments and policy proposals. It's important to remember that this isn't about whether or not Trump is a racist; that frankly is irrelevant. It's rather that his words and ideas resonated with so many that he ascended to the highest office in the land. What people fail to realize though is that he is yet another piece of the puzzle of white power trying to maintain world order - yet again. Throughout history, western nations invaded, occupied and took the resources of countries predominantly populated by people of color. Colonialism was perfected for centuries by the British Empire, France and others. More recently, it is us, the United States of America (followed by other western nations), that has been the dominant force roaming the earth and either openly invading sovereign countries, running covert programs, or putting leaders in place that we prefer. This system worked well for us and the West in general because the ramifications of war, coups, dictators and unrest overall in those nations was really never felt directly by us. The ones who suffered were the innocent citizens of those countries; that is, until now. When the calamity in Syria began, hardly anyone was paying attention. In fact, Muslim countries like Turkey were already taking in scores of refugees while the world turned a blind eye. It wasn't until those refugees began knocking on Europe's doors that it became a crisis demanding intense press coverage and some sort of solution. Trump's expected order on a 'temporary ban' on refugees, and, as widely reported, a suspension of visas for people from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen is just a politically correct way to ban Muslims. To further illustrate this point, one need only look at reports that there is also likely to be an exception in refugee stoppage for people fleeing religious persecution if their religion is a minority in that country - in other words, Christians fleeing Muslim nations. Advertisement Many were utterly shocked when Trump won this unprecedented election. I was not among them. When the U.S. is separated from the rest of the world by large bodies of water and then further isolated from a lack of global news and information, it's easy to scare the public into thinking that 'those bad people' from 'over there' need to be kept out. They're all a bunch of savages that are killing each other and that's fine, but don't come here. What's lost in this highly ignorant and ill-informed thinking is our contribution to destabilizing those societies either with bombs and war, or other mechanisms. There is no other era where we have been more engaged globally and yet simultaneously isolated intellectually and otherwise. That is an utterly dangerous dynamic. It allows for propaganda and fear-mongering to spread like wildfire and elect unqualified candidates to office. It allows for despicable bans against 'undesirables' to pass with many looking the other way. And it keeps the public from seeing the larger global movement afoot right now. While there were very real economic concerns as to why people voted for Trump, May and others, their existence solidifies the notion that white power wants to maintain and keep white power in place. Not every Trump supporter is a racist, nor do they all hate Muslims and immigrants, but many are ok with staying silent on those issues if it means that their own quality of life may improve. Ignoring oppression, discrimination, bigotry and injustice is itself privilege. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1 By Orkhan Quluzade Trend: An official with the Turkish Red Crescent has claimed that the US aircraft bombed a Red Crescent headquarters in the Syrian city of Idlib. We strongly condemn hideous air attack led by US coalition on Idlib Red Crescent HQ, Kerem Kinik, head of the Turkish Red Crescent, tweeted Feb. 1. It is clear war crime and international humanitarian law violation, he tweeted. Mr. Obama, I've written you from this space on more than one occasion to thank, beg, and plead for your support for school counselors when you were President Obama, and the profession of college counseling received more support from The White House than ever before. Since I just received a letter from you to thank me for writing, it's an honor to know you listened. More important, it's a privilege to be part of a profession that has grown in depth and breadth of service in ways that simply wouldn't have been possible without your and Mrs. Obama's support. I am grateful; much more important, the families I serve have greater hopes and lives, thanks to all you've done. I couldn't help but notice that you've now started a foundation, and you're asking for answers on where the foundation should devote its energies, by having individuals answer the question, what makes a good citizen? At the risk of running afoul of a request of the former leader of the free world, I answered the question by urging the foundation to continue the work started in The White House through the ReachHigher Initiative. I know much of this work is being taken up by BetterMakeRoom, but there's more than enough work to be done in college access to keep dozens of foundations and non-profits busy for quite some time--and, to be honest, the profession would be greatly enhanced with the active presence of the very caring couple who brought school counselors to The White House for the First. Time. Ever. Advertisement As it turns out, there's a college access project that would be a great first step back into the field of college access. The state of Colorado has developed a pilot project to add more counselors to schools in need, and given the high number of students most counselors serve, that need is fairly big. These four year grants allowed schools to train these new counselors and get them familiar with the building. After four years, the dropout rate fell from 5.5 percent to 3.7 percent; college access increased at a double-digit rate, and participation in career and technical education programs more than doubled, according to one report. The change in the dropout rate meant that each school received more money in their budgets, so the counseling positions more than paid for themselves. In addition, since these students are completing high school, Colorado saved more than $300 million in social costs--far more than the $20 million they invested in the program. Several other states are looking at this model to see if it would work for their schools, including Michigan. We certainly get the attention of legislators when we tell them we have a program that makes the state money, but something tells me they might pay even more attention if this information was being provided by, say, a more familiar face. Advertisement I can't guarantee that every state will realize the success Colorado has, Mr. Obama, but I can tell you that having more counselors is the issue in our profession. Now that we've found a way for those positions to pay for themselves, all we need is help spreading the word. Can we count on you, sir? Oh, one more thing. After I sort of hijacked the question on your foundation's Website to advocate for college advising, I urged a few colleagues to do the same thing. Some told me they did, and others have said once they hear you're on board, they're game to offer support. There was a moment at the start of the Seattle Women's March that demonstrated why we were there. A little girl got separated from her mother as the crowd turned to hear the event's opening speeches. Our wonderful Mistress of Ceremonies announced that 10-year-old Campbell was missing, and asked the crowd to look for her. Just then, hundreds of us started calling her name, beckoning her to the stage where her worrisome mom was awaiting. We went on to listen to amazingly fired up speeches, but as they were ending, we learned that Campbell was still lost in the crowd that covered every inch of the park. Some people started to march towards the route, but a chorus of voices started chanting, "Not without Campbell! Not without Campbell!" The crowd erupted into cheers when a minute later, we saw this little girl run to the stage to hug her mom tight. In a civilized society, we look out for others, and we care about people, especially our children. At the biggest protest march in U.S. history, empathy and action were on full display. This wasn't just in Seattle's 175,000-person march, but in hundreds of others--in all 50 states on all seven continents with a reported five million participants. People marched for human rights, human decency, and the future of the planet. The crowd size was indeed breathtaking, but it was the energy that made this day uplifting. Beyond the actual attendees, there were many others who were there in spirit--people whose ideas and actions inspired us along the way. Here are a few of my favorites: Please, who doesn't love this lady? Michelle Obama has been the country's soulful cheerleader for the last eight years, a model of grace and strength. As a momma of feisty and beautiful twin girls, I know that role models matter and it is my righteous duty to showcase respect and kindness. I thank for the first lady for always doing that. Advertisement When my husband, our girls and I arrived at the park early this misty morning, we started seeing those pink pussycat hats everywhere. (Nowhere in sight were the angry red MAGA caps, made in China.) "It's a wonderland of kitties!" said one of our girls, oozing with excitement. A few minutes later, a lady offered us our very own hats. We were also offered sweet, fresh roses. This feeling of warmth and generosity--while not uniquely female--was contagious. People greeted us with beaming smiles and said things like, "Thank you for bringing your kids" and "I'm so glad you're here with your family." What's new pussycat? New hats! We didn't have to walk far to see representatives for many non-profit organizations. They all knew that marching is not the end goal; education and activism are needed. Whether the marchers were Hillary voters, remorseful Trump voters, or non-voters seeking redemption, I suspect we are all now aware of the mid-term elections Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Make Empathy Great Again, (MEGA) We saw giant puppets of women who'd changed history like Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education. Mala: "One teacher, one child, one book and one pen can change the world." There were also puppets of that infamous bromance, rife with espionage and greed. This crowd was pretty woke, as they say. The "fake news" and cyber warfare that marred this election has prompted many of us to follow the facts in a relentless pursuit for truth. And we're not stopping now. Advertisement Oh Maya, wish you were here. People were smiling and connecting with others beautifully, and in a way uncharacteristic of Seattle in January. Gone were the typical dark rain hoodies, today was about colorful expressions. There were girls and boys, women and men of different ethnicities from all over the community. Our solidarity was palpable, and for some, it felt like salvation from the deep disappointed of an election that rewarded the unqualified dude who lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. Maya Angelou's spirit loomed over us, just as her words did when "Still I Rise" was spoken on stage with unwavering conviction. Other stirring speeches touted the rights of women, Muslims, and Native Americans, giving us food for the soul with accompanying action items. A friend who participated in the L.A. march told me that her 7-year-old son Kiran was inspired by Gandhi. He took it upon himself to make his own sign marked by the word "Satyagraha." This means "insistence on truth" or "truth force," which is a form of nonviolent resistance. Thankfully, Kiran is the future. Meryl Streep, who is arguably as talented as any Jedi Master, quoted Carrie Fisher: "As my friend, the dear departed Princess Leia, said to me once, take your broken heart, make it into art." Art abided in leaps and bounds. I hope these signs end up in a museum one day. They were heartbreaking, poignant, witty, and wise. Some signs called for protecting access to healthcare. Others proclaimed their respect for our planet. Many had pussycats on them (more about that in a sec). One of our girls is a huge animal lover, so she made a sign for the penguins, whose habitat could be threatened by this science-denying administration. Polar Bears in the melting Arctic were a close second. Some signs were sincere. Some satirical in all the right ways. Even if it does defund the National Endowment for the Arts, this administration can be credited for inspiring a new wave of creativity across the world. Advertisement Hands so small, you can barely see them! Want to see more badasss signs? Enjoy. And what would a woman's march be without a feminist anthem? Helen Reddy, I'm talking about you and that song from the '70s. We're still roaring, Helen. I learned that Helen Reddy herself performed this song at the L.A. march, because L.A. gets the sun and the stars, naturally. Here in Seattle? Well, we had a far better chance of running into our friends, even as our march was packed to the gills. The streets were so crowded, people shuffled more than they marched. Still, I heard zero complaints. Congestion that would normally make you want to rip your hair out in a car was actually invigorating on this day. Why? Because this turnout was about citizenship, democracy, and the First Amendment in full, fleshy view. The United State of Friends Even as the marching route was packed, everyone was polite and patient. My favorite moment was when an avalanche of sound started rolling towards us from the back of the crowd. A group cheer was making its way in a vocal tidal wave of joy. It gives me goosebumps even as I write about it. Sigh...This guy. He was at the march too. His angry tweets were on display and many of his countless insults to [insert any minority here] were documented. Mostly, everything he stands for was repudiated resoundingly. Advertisement "Make America Think Again" "Pussy Grabs Back" "Girls Just Wanna Have FUN-damental Rights" Indeed, the Reality TV star turned president was the catalyst behind all these pussy references. Reluctant though I was, I had to explain this to my girls. This wonderland of kitties was actually a themed response to this man's repulsive bragging about sexual assault. "Would you like it if someone grabbed you by the vagina?" I asked the girls. "Ewwww. No!" one said. "That's inappropriate," said the other. So now they know that the president is a sexual predator. Thanks, 'Murica. No doubt, the one thing that unified the crowd was a rebuke of this man's degrading attitude. Our president should speak for us, not disparagingly about us. Every man, woman, and child in attendance vehemently agreed. But while the march certainly had that element of resistance to the predator-in-chief, it wasn't just against him. It was for issues we believed in. Which brings me to this statesman, an esteemed Republican, a great progressive, and one of my favorite figures in American history.... Teddy Roosevelt was a man of great intellect and character, wit and wisdom. A man who valued America, not just as a political entity but as a natural wonder, enshrined in the National Parks that he promoted for future for generations. Teddy Roosevelt knew how sacred our union was, and he understood that freedom is worth fighting for. This march was a fierce way to cope with a new administration that wants to take America back to some antique notion of gender, white power, repression and regression, fueled by greed and arrogance (and insecurity about size). No, say the majority. "We the People" hear the call of democracy and we want progress. This first march was a moment in a movement forward. Still wondering why so many millions of us marched? Because we patriots care about others and the planet we call home. Advertisement WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: President Trump shakes the hand of Judge Neil Gorsuch during a Supreme Court of the United States nominee announcement in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) The 45th President of the United States just handled one of his gravest responsibilities, the selection of a Supreme Court justice, with typically vulgar and vaudevillian vapidity. Only eleven days into his presidency, Donald Trump's shtick has become as boring as it is dangerous. If a president's only duty were to entertain his audience, Trump would already be facing impeachment. Despite his best efforts, there was no suspense in Trump's announcement. As predicted, he nominated someone for the Supreme Court whose right-wing notions of "originalism" would suspend our living Constitution in ancient prejudices of race, ethnicity, religion, class and gender. Advertisement But cheap tricks like Trump's live, prime-time Supreme Court announcement do serve a purpose: they distract the public from everything else he's doing. It's government by three-card monte, and in this case it draws attention away from the most important fact of all about this Supreme Court seat: It's not rightfully Trump's to fill. Meet our finalists According to unnamed and presumably well-placed sources, Trump asked two finalists to come to Washington, DC. Multiple outlets carried the story, which was presumably crafted to keep the public in suspense about his final choice. CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jeff Zeleny even tweeted that the "White House is setting up (the) Supreme Court announcement as a prime-time contest" by creating "@JusticeGorsuch and @JusticeHardiman identical Twitter pages." This routine is common in the world of beauty pageants, which is undoubtedly more familiar to Trump than that of governance. It's a ritual there: The lucky winner, having survived the final swimsuit and evening gown competitions, accepts her crown as the runner-up offers stoic congratulations. This is just the beginning, so get used to it: Donald Trump will make every historic moment look like a cheap animatronic re-enactment of itself. Advertisement But we're talking about a seat on a divided Supreme Court, not a year as a "goodwill ambassador," and the nation is entering a period of chaos and challenge. Trump's erratic behavior, his sweeping and ill-framed executive orders, and the firing of acting Attorney General Sally Yates have provoked a crisis of confidence and governance; a full-blown constitutional crisis is probably not far behind. As Law360 reports, Trump told Breitbart News last June that his judicial nominees would be "all picked by (the) Federalist Society," the far-right legal group that has worked for decades to populate the judicial system with anti-government extremists. Even before we knew the nominee's name, we knew a lot about him. And the winner is ... The theatrics should have worked. The crowd murmured expectantly as the hour approached. Flags flanked the entranceway where a gold-trimmed red carpet led to the presidential podium. Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus, the twin lobes of Trump's Republicanism, gave the appearance of chatting amiably until the new president took his place before the cameras. "This may be the most transparent selection process in history," Trump boasted. In an echo of Steve Harvey's Miss Universe blooper last year, Trump then mangled the actual announcement, saying that he was "nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch of the United States Supreme Court to be of the United States Supreme Court." (Gorsuch currently serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.) "Was that a surprise?" Trump asked, trying to drum up enthusiasm like the toastmaster at a junior high school spelling bee. "Was it?" Advertisement (Apparently it wasn't. A reporter at the scene tweeted that Gorsuch's name was visible on the teleprompter before Trump took the podium.) Judge Gorsuch did his best to restore some dignity to the proceedings when he came to the podium, but it was a losing battle. Gorsuch is telegenic, with silver hair and rugged good looks, and that's reportedly very important to Donald Trump. He is a hard-core right-winger in the tradition of the late Antonin Scalia. The well-known SCOTUSblog wrote, "some of the parallels (between Scalia's jurisprudence and Gorsuch's) can be downright eerie." In Gorsuch's best-known ruling, he upheld the ability of corporations to restrict their employees' contraceptive and other health coverage on religious grounds. Gorsuch wants to limit the power of federal regulators and has reportedly "criticized liberals" for seeking to address important issues through the court system. Under normal circumstances, a Republican president could expect a relatively easy confirmation process, even for an ideologically-charged candidate like Gorsuch. But these aren't normal circumstances. Advertisement The Stolen Seat This seat should have been filled by President Obama a year ago. But Senate Republicans, led by a cynical Mitch McConnell, robbed him of his appointment right while falsely claiming to serve a "principle." "This vacancy should not be filled by this lame duck president," McConnell said last March, adding: "The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on this issue, so let's give them a voice. Let's let the American people decide." And yet, when Hillary Clinton looked like the likely winner of last November's election, at least one Republican senator said that he intended to prevent her from filling that seat. McConnell never explained his "principle" very clearly. At what point does a president become a "lame duck" and lose the right to fully execute his or her duties? Barack Obama had completed about 75 percent of his second term when McConnell invoked this "principle." So is it 60 percent of the way through a term? 50 percent? Maybe it happens after ten days. Since McConnell never said, perhaps the Senate should wait until 2020 and "let the American people decide." Advertisement They did decide, of course. Barack Obama was elected with a clear majority, winning 51.1 percent of the vote. Trump failed to clear that bar, winning only 46.1 percent of the vote. And while it's not always useful to point out that Clinton won the popular vote - Democrats knew the rules going in, after all - she did win nearly three million more votes than Trump. McConnell's "principle" certainly can't be popularity. When Obama appointed Merrick Garland he had a 50 percent approval rating, with only 46 percent of voters disapproving of his performance. Only four days into his presidency, during what is normally a "honeymoon period" for the new head of state, Trump had already set a new record for public disapproval. Trump's disapproval rating have continued to skyrocket - sad! - and now 51 percent of voters disapprove of Trump's performance, while only about 42 percent approve. The Resistance "A Political Brawl Is Certain," says a New York Times headline. Sen. Jeff Merkley knows where he stands. "This is a stolen seat," Merkley told Politico, adding: "This is the first time a Senate majority has stolen a seat. We will use every lever in our power to stop this." Advertisement Merkley said he would filibuster, in the words of Politico's Burgess Everett, "any pick that is not Merrick Garland." If 41 Democrats agree with him, it will take a Senate rule change to confirm Gorsuch. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Trump's pick "a very hostile appointment" and "a very bad decision, well outside the mainstream of American legal thought." Gorsuch's nomination now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where ranking Democrat Patrick Leahy says Trump "outsourced this process to far-right interest groups" and Sen. Sherrod Brown had expressed hope for a moderate nominee to show Trump's "willingness to be bipartisan for somebody that lost the popular vote." Ronald TierskyJanuary 2017 About Trump: to the Gods all things are beautiful Thus said Heraclitus, "To the Divinity, all things are beautiful, good and right, but men, on the other hand, deem some things right and others wrong." This is not a usual American way of thinking. But the ancient Greek philosopher, a pagan not a Judeo-Christian, is wise counsel in orienting oneself during these first weeks of the Trump administration. At ground zero in American politics, that weird planet called Washington, D.C., President Trump is a whirlwind, the Congress, especially Republicans, hangs on for dear life in the storm, while in the country at large, an unprecedented wave of opposition to a new president could become a tsunami. Advertisement This is the world of men. The Great Trump Experiment has quickly become a matter of right and wrong, good and evil, truth and untruth. There is consternation in the land. Astonishingly for American politics, it's the effect of a single individual, Donald Trump alone, not some clique or cabal or even the Republicans' double majority in Congress. The arrival in the highest office of a single oddball neurotic individual, half-disengaged even from his supporters, has upended everything. It's just as he intended. Suddenly we have a kind of monarch. He's just what the Founding Fathers didn't intend. But so far it's arguably within the Constitution. The fact is he's the president, legitimate by election and with all the authority of the office. In terms of policy, the Excellent Experiment of Donald Trump is a combination of the ludicrous, the ominous and the plausible. Analysis should not, in other words, be ideological. It's not all bad or all good. Advertisement It's possible that a president with the bullying instincts of New York real estate could promote American economic interests by tilting a balance. Using tariffs, perhaps only threatened, as a cudgel against countries such as Mexico and China with huge trade surpluses with the U.S. Conceiving of foreign and trade policy in general as discrete deals rather than multilateralist doctrine--transactional policymaking--could produce results. Drop the TPP in favor of bilateral trade deals in which America's huge economy always gives it the advantage. Pressure and shame American companies to produce at home ("buy American, hire American"). Geopolitically, abandon the idea that American power and global reach means that the country always has to lead in every major international crisis. In the intractable Middle East, for example, let the regional big powers pacify Syria since the Obama administration was either unable or unwilling to do the dirtiest work. Instead, participate in creating safe zones and bank on the contradictory interests among Russia, Turkey and Iran to create a postwar balance of power. Trump's instinctual, half-formed and poorly expressed conception of international affairs may well coalesce into a comprehensible strategic approach as his presidency settles in. If it needed a name now, it might be called No more Mr. Nice Guy, a crude formulation that he might endorse. But go back to Heraclitus, the pagan pre-Judeo-Christian conception of human affairs. Seen by the Greek Gods, who are not moralistic deities, the Trump Experiment, rich and rattling around, is already beautiful. It's a fascinating aesthetic experience, original, some combination of courageousness and recklessness. The Human Comedy is always a mad spectacle of our species' appetites and frailties. Read the Bible, or Dante, Shakespeare or our own pagan, Tom Wolfe, whose books detail what he calls the lurid carnival of American life. Advertisement From such a viewpoint, how beautiful to see fundamental mechanisms of the American political life suddenly in motion, basic premises questioned, the strutting actors on our political stage obliged to inspect and defend their usual ways of doing and saying things. Suddenly Washington is no longer humdrum, no longer the normal self-interested humming of politicians, bureaucrats and lobbyists playing their parts. From this regard, compare Trump and Obama. Objectively, Trump is both the anti-Obama and the return of Obama. Unlike the latter, Trump is uncouth and hard-nosed, but also charismatic and wanting to write his name huge in the history books. Objectively speaking, not making a moral judgment, the international demonstrations against Trump are equivalent to those in favor of Obama eight years ago. People around the world are, ipso facto, mesmerized by America's presidential elections. And rightly so because the U.S. is the world's Superpower and other countries always have a stake in our presidencies. The potential of America's power is felt everywhere. Even as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and the Ayatollahs of the world flex their muscles, they keep a wary eye on Washington. Because Trump is unpredictable and a force. Secretly, they must be quickened to face this new player at the table. At home, Trump's actions have sharpened the contradictions. Hundreds of thousands of protesters thronged the streets in the days after the inauguration and hundreds of protestors still show up at a thousand places around the country, calling themselves The Resistance. Thomas Jefferson's often-quoted words naturally come to mind: "...what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion." Advertisement Jefferson might have added, what government preserves legitimacy if it does not resist the protests against it, if it does not defend its right to govern by virtue of election? If resistance to power is praiseworthy so is resistance to the resistance. Trump loves to mix it up. The protestors, the Democratic Party and the courts should stay the course. The Gods are of course delighted. Even the gaffes are beautiful. Sean Spicer's hilarious press briefing arguing the size of the inauguration crowd. The lie that millions of people voted illegally. The flurry of half-baked executive orders such as the travel ban, sprung on the country, not excluding the government officials supposed to enforce them. But notice this: the war between Trump and his opposition is anything but nihilism. From the point of view of the Gods--and indeed from the contestants' point of view as well--it's thrilling. This is real politics, not the feeling that nothing matters, that no fight is worth making. In fact, America is once again energized. And this energy, chaotic as it can be, is a kind of optimism. Ask Senator Bernie Sanders. We teamed up again with Mike Malaro with Flying Mutts Rescue and transported 11 dogs this past weekend from rescues in North and South Carolina to rescues in Rhode Island. Mike first contacted us about transporting Dutchess and her 6 week old puppies about 2 weeks ago. Due to weather we were unable to transport them until Friday, January 27th. Dutchess had been brought into a local shelter near Wilmington, NC by her owner who surrendered her because she wasn't feeding her puppies and they didn't know what to do. Advertisement The shelter contacted Benji at Anchor Your Heart Education & Rescue and Benji brought Dutchess and her puppies to her home to foster them and see if she could get Dutchess to nurse again. Dutchess was emaciated and not lactating so Benji gave her electrolytes and let her eat round the clock and within 24 hours Dutchess was back to nursing her puppies. Tammy and Karen at The East Greenwich Animal Protection League agreed to take Dutchess and her puppies and find them new homes. The news was out that we were flying dogs to Rhode Island and Mike was contacted by FairyDogMother Rescue and was asked if we could bring up Festus with the Dutchess and her puppies. Festus is an older dog believed to be close to 15-years-old. His owners were displaced by Hurricane Matthew and could no longer afford to keep him and had some other issues brewing as well. Foster's Glenda and Ken stepped up to take Festus until a transport arrangement could be made for him to Rhode Island. What could we say? A 15-year-old-dog with no home?!?!?! The FairyDogMother herself was going to adopt Festus and he would have a wonderful life. We added Festus to our list of dogs flying north. Right before the flight Mike was contacted again by the FairyDogMother who asked if we could please bring up a 12-week-old German Shepherd puppy that was partially blind due to an overdose of flea treatment medication purchased from a local hardware store by the owner. This poor little puppy named Poppy was originally purchased for $800 and the owner didn't know how to take care of her. She was brought her into the vets and the owner wanted to put her down immediately. Poppy had a really bad flea infestation was emaciated, blind and just a mess. The vet sat the owner down and talked to him about signing over the dog to the vet. Nope, he just wanted her to be put down. The vet begged to have this little girl turned over to them. Finally the owner did surrender her and the veterinarian's office started working on her immediately. After Poppy, Pam said not more dogs to fly, there's no more room. Advertisement At 6:45 the morning of January 27th we left home to go and pick up all of these precious dogs and fly them to their new journeys in life. We left Raleigh, NC and flew to Goldsboro, NC to pick up Festus. Glenda and Ken met us at the airport where they said a tearful goodbye. Fetus was such a wonderful boy to have around. His back leg was a little stiff, where he might have been hit by a car at sometime in the past but he was just a great dog! He's one of those once in a lifetime dogs. Since we were flying so many dogs that day, Festus got to be our co-pilot next to Steve. He loved every minute of it. Every once in awhile he'd tilt his head back to see if Pam was still in the back and she'd scratch his head then he'd go back to helping out Steve. Our next stop was Wilmington, NC where we were to pick up Poppy, Dutchess and the 9 puppies. We got there a few minutes early which is always nice. It gives us a chance to breathe before everyone gets there. Pam went in while Steve stayed with Festus in the plane. The first to get there was Brad from DogGone Shelter Intervention with Poppy. Oh my goodness what a beautiful dog! Her fur was so soft and she was so mild mannered, a puppy owner's dream! She has her sight back with no damage to her eyes. She and Festus both would make such great therapy dogs! Poppy and Festus both were going to the FairyDogMother Rescue in Rhode Island and I've been told that the she wants to keep them both for herself! She's one lucky Dog Mother!! Advertisement Next came Benji with Dutchess and her puppies. We found out that one of the puppies had died a few days before flight so there were only going to be 8 puppies. With the help of Benji's kids we all loaded up the plane with puppies and Dutchess. Everyone was carrying puppies. Even the youngest had a puppy in his stroller. We put the puppies in a big dog crate that we have in the back of the plane behind the back seat. It's a wire crate that we've taken the top off so that Pam can have access to the puppies in flight. With that many puppies it's the safest way for them to travel. We have quilts lining the crate, with a dog cushion at the bottom covered with a flannel sheet that under the top level of the sheet are eight hand warmers to keep it warm. On top of that we have puppy pads in case of a mess. Wrapped around the entire outside of the crate is a space blanket to keep any cold air out and the warm air in. It's the crate Poppy jumped in before the puppies boarded. We said our goodbye's to Benji and her boys and off we were to Georgetown, DE where we would meet Mike and Karen with Flying Mutts Rescue and transfer all of the dogs for them to fly the rest of the way to Rhode Island then back to Mike's home base in Massachusetts. It was a great flight and everyone settled down to sleep. Pam sat in the back and rubbed the heads and backs of Poppy and Dutchess during the flight. Every now and then a puppy would wake up and she'd bring it up with me and cuddle with it for a little while. But most of them slept the entire way. Festus was upfront with Steve and they bonded over flying. We think he would make a really great flight dog! Advertisement We landed in Georgetown, DE about 12:30. Jerry from Georgetown Air Services came out to fill our tanks with gas but before he left he helped us transfer all of the puppies to Mike's plane which is smaller inside than ours. Mike had two crates so I made sure the more subdued puppies went in one crate and the more rambunctious ones in another. Soon it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Dutchess and her babies in crates, Festus flying behind Mike on the backseat and Karen got to hold dear sweet Poppy. I think if she could have Karen would have loved to take Poppy home with her. After eating lunch at the airport, we took off for our flight back to Raleigh. We listened to music on the way back and at one point Steve noticed our heads were bopping to the same beat! There's not a lot to do going home. We had a good laugh over that. You can see us in the video. Last week, as Donald Trump became President of the United States, we entered a new era of alternative facts, unconventional politics and above all - the rise of an 'America First' policy both domestically and internationally. In a discourse that is often dominated by the complex geopolitical relationship between US and China, I would argue that Trump and his administration needs to be paying more attention to North Korea. Not only does the Korean peninsula have one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world with nearly 25,000 US troops ready to defend the Republic of Korea, North Korea has been establishing itself as a nuclear power with over 5 nuclear tests - 2 in just the last year. In fact, one of the latest reports indicates that North Korea has recently placed two new intercontinental ballistic missiles into position near Pyongyang. Advertisement Anti-China rhetoric may have policy analysts hypothesizing about economic and military impacts. But there is no hypothesis about North Korea that does not end in serious military ramifications that could destabilize the entire Asia Pacific region. Despite all jests of Trump echoing North Korea propaganda or the constant media temptation to mock North Korea's leader, there should be no doubt that North Korea is a serious threat to both national security and international human rights that requires critical consideration by Trump and his administration. Let us also not forget that North Korea is the only country in the world which today, in 2017, still has concentration camps with reports of horrific human rights abuses that "shock the conscience of humanity". By James Smith UCF Forum columnist Even though they have the best of intentions, about this time of year many people start setting aside their New Year's resolutions - if they haven't already. Do you have any left or have they all been abandoned for another try in 2018? For me, there are the usual resolutions of losing weight, eating better, spending more time with the family, helping others more, cleaning out the garage, landscaping around the house, renovating the kitchen, etc. To help me try to be successful and accomplish my goals, I keep in mind a simple quote by Scottish minister and hymnist George Matheson: "We conquer by continuing." This direct approach by Matheson, who lived from 1842 to 1906, can be an encouragement for each of us. Advertisement This year, I decided to follow through with two resolutions that have eluded me for years. On the health front, I want to lose weight and start eating better. To accomplish this, I have purchased a wearable device that tracks my activities and have started the logging process of exercise and daily life, including my food intake. The other resolution is to learn a new language. The Hebrew and Greek languages have long fascinated me, so this year I am resolved to learn a Greek word every day with the help of a desktop calendar that focuses on Greek word studies. My goal is to learn enough Greek to start reading more of the original Greek texts from the early Christian church and expand my overall understanding of that particular period of time. There are other benefits of keeping resolutions. I hope to develop new habits for daily reading, study and other routines. Working on better time management can have a positive effect on other areas of your life that you may not realize. And eating better leads to exercise, which then leads to wanting to get more/better sleep. If you feel better and have more energy, those long-lost "honey do" list projects seem achievable. Can I complete my "honey do" list in 2017? Only time will tell. Advertisement As we move deeper into 2017, I hope your resolutions are still intact and you are making progress on accomplishing the goals you have set for the year. Keep George Matheson's quote about perseverance in mind. The Scotsman attended Glasgow Academy and the University of Glasgow, where he graduated first in classics, logic and philosophy. Then at age 20, he became blind, but persevered to enter the ministry. He dedicated the remainder of his life to theological and historical studies. So, whatever you have resolved to accomplish, just like Matheson you can conquer by continuing. The suspicious death of former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Jan. 8 brings to mind words spoken by gangster Bugsy Siegel when he downplayed the Mafia's lethal ways amid the corruption of 1940's Las Vegas. He said: "Don't worry, we only kill each other." The same might be true in the murderous government of 21st-Century Iran. In a kleptocratic oligarchy, the government communicates with its subjects via official, state-sponsored distortion and illusion. For example, when a public figure dies by assisted drowning, poisoning or "falling off a cliff," it may be reported as suicide or a heart attack. Former president Rafsanjani's "heart attack" is rumored to have occurred after he met with commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and claims have surfaced that he was poisoned and/or drowned in a swimming pool. This version is being circulated by Iranian exiles as well as commentators on social media and Iran diaspora TV programs. Advertisement Iran's state-sponsored media offered conflicting details about the time and place of his death, and skeptics ask why no autopsy was done. Rafsanjani's son, Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, stood in front of the hospital where his father allegedly died and repeatedly screamed to a large crowd, "They killed my father!" Rafsanjani's son, it should be pointed out, was convicted of corruption by the Tehran Revolutionary Court in 2015. He is an enemy of the state. In Iran, it's difficult for an outsider to tell the good guys from the bad guys. While it's possible the elder Rafsanjani was assassinated because he was seen as a moderate who opposed the regime and sought rapprochement with the west, his own record wouldn't sound very good during a funeral service reading. During his term as president (1989-97), thousands were executed in Iran for alleged anti-Islamic beliefs or behaviors, all without legal due process. As deputy commander-in-chief of the regime's armed forces in 1988, he played a dominant role in the massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners in jails across the country. Advertisement Rafsanjani began his rise to power by accusing the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran of corruption, but as president, he didn't hesitate to feather his own family's nest. According to Forbes Magazine, the 1979 revolution transformed the Rafsanjani clan into a commercial conglomerate. One brother headed the country's largest copper mine; another took control of the state-owned TV network; a brother-in-law became governor of Kerman province, while a cousin ran an outfit that dominated Iran's $400 million pistachio export business; a nephew and one of Rafsanjani's sons took key positions in the Ministry of Oil; another son headed the $700 million Tehran Metro construction project. Political conflict in Iran is less about ideology and policy than it is about fear of any enemy's ascent and how that could lead to death for the current regime - actual, physical death. We have an Afghan saying that goes something like this: "There isn't a good man among the living, and no bad men among the dead." This explains why, in death, Rafsanjani can be painted as a martyr for a cause, rather than a thief and butcher. But perhaps Rafsanjani's death serves as a harbinger of change, as it sheds light on potential deep fractures within the power structure of Iran. It seems the Ayatollahs' grip on Iran's populace could be weakening. Advertisement Rafsanjani challenged Iran Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, accusing him of putting himself above the will of the people. By that, he meant Khamenei elevated himself above the popularly elected president. Rafsanjani argued that the Islamic Republic should be transformed into a people's republic. He also proposed that the president preside over all, including the Ayatollahs and their Supreme Leader. Khamenei opposed Rafsanjani's bid for the presidency in 2013, and perhaps Rafsanjani is dead today because Khamenei didn't want him to run for president this spring or support the moderate Hassan Rouhani for reelection. Three other candidates have already announced they will challenge Rouhani for the presidency. On the other hand, perhaps Rafsanjani is dead today because he was 82 years old and had a heart attack. Unfortunately, Iran's state-run media is so untrustworthy, we may never know. US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with leaders of conservative groups to discuss the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2017. / AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) By the time you read this post and if the rumor mill is correct, President Donald Trump may have taken steps to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. If he has, or if he does, he will pull America out of the biggest business and jobs opportunity in U.S. and world history. We all should hope he's a smarter businessman than that. The big opportunity I'm referring to is the world's growing demand for clean renewable energy. It will be driven in large part by the Paris deal, in which nearly 200 nations promised to reduce their carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels. Trump's objective, and the nation's, should be to lead the world in capturing and serving that market. Advertisement As I have written before, if Trump or Congress manage to pull the United States out of the Paris accord or if they simply ignore it, they might as well send pink slips to the millions of blue-collar, white-collar and pink-collar Americans who could be employed in the renewable energy sector. He might as well send condolence messages to their children, too, who will want good jobs in the future. Many of the emerging renewable energy jobs would go instead to countries like China, as would dominance in the international clean energy sector. More than 8 million people are employed in the global renewable energy sector today. Fewer than 10% of them are in the United States. International energy experts project that by 2030, 24 million people worldwide will work in renewable energy. Trump and his successors in the White House should make sure that many if not most of those jobs are here. So far, the signs are not good. Since last November's election, the Pew Research Center has found that 65% of Americans including all but the most conservative Republicans prefer alternative energy over fossil fuels and most Americans (59%) believe that strict environmental regulations are worth the cost. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University have found since the election that 70% of American adults agree that global warming is underway, 55% agree that it is caused by human activities, 78% of registered voters favor taxing or regulating carbon pollution, and 69% want the United States to support the Paris deal. Yet the accumulating evidence is that Trump wants his government and the American people to bury their heads in the sand on climate change -- that official U.S. policy should be to ignore if not deny that the weather disasters most climate scientists said would happen have begun, giving us tragic evidence of growing risks to the health and safety of the American people. There are reports of gag orders against federal scientists and employees at EPA, climate information disappearing from federal websites, and rollbacks of the actions President Obama took to make the U.S. the world leader in the fight against climate change. Advertisement Instead, Trump should show that he knows a great business opportunity when he sees one, and renewable energy is it. He should mobilize the titans of American enterprise he has assembled for his Cabinet to make American first in the world's transition to clean energy as well as the world's preferred provider of advanced solar, wind, geothermal and other sustainable energy technologies. U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Libya, from entering the US has triggered legal challenges, protests and travel chaos across the world. One of the many who experienced the chaos first hand is Najwa Elyazgi, a student from Tripoli studying International Relations at George Mason University in Virginia. She holds an F-1 visa and left the country on a transit ticket to Istanbul Friday evening. Security in Ataturk International Airport said she was clear to travel but when she arrived at the gate they said a new update on her case was made and the U.S. Department of Immigration banned her from coming back to America.She is now in Turkey trying to apply for a National Interest Waiver in the hopes of finishing up her last semester at school. "In the last four years, I have re-entered the U.S. seven times without any concerns," says Elyazgi expressing her frustration with the current ban. Advertisement According to The United Nations, there are 10,000 Libyan students in America. Some of them with families and children that are stuck. Others fear going back to Libya to visit family knowing they may not be able to return to the United States. Youssef Tarhouni is getting his Masters in Business and Administration at The University of Washington. He is on an F-1 visa and was planning to visit Libya in the summer. He had plans to secure an internship after his masters but is worried that is no longer an option. Tarhouni said he received an email from Optional Program Training informing him that internship may no longer be an option for students from countries affected by the ban. "The whole idea of interning with companies is for both parties to see if they are a match, but if the company knows that you cannot work full time after finishing the program then they'll avoid hiring you, said Tarhouni. "I am meeting up with a lawyer next week to see what my options are. I believe the ban will definitely be extended (past 90 days) in which case I won't risk traveling outside the U.S." Another Libyan student who attends college in Chicago and wishes to remain anonymous says he feels the order is discriminatory towards Muslims. Advertisement "I think the order is under the guise of protecting the U.S. and its citizens against terrorism is misguidedly targeting Muslim countries. The order feels heavy-handed and punitive to people of the Muslim faith," he says. "I've followed the laws of this country and followed a lawful process to be here." Hani Shennib, founder and chairman of the board on The National Council on U.S.- Libya Relations says his organization was looking forward to a more engaged new administration. They organized a conference titled "Libya-U.S. Relations 2017 New Vision, Hope, And Opportunities" scheduled to take place on Feb 16, where Libyan officials from outside of the U.S. were booked to attend. "Over 200 people from business, law firms, investment, security, and politics were looking forward to this meeting here in Washington," he said. "But now with no visas issued to our speakers and participants we are extremely disappointed." The seven Muslim-majority countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump in his executive order on immigration were initially identified as "countries of concern" under the Obama administration. The UN Security Council acknowledged the importance of Astana talks on Syria and is looking forward to their resumption in Geneva, urging the Syrian sides to participate without preconditions, according to a Security Council statement, Sputnik reported. Representatives of the Syrian government and opposition factions met in Astana for talks brokered by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran on January 23-24. "The members of the Security Council look forward to the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations, encouraged in the context the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Staffan de Mistura to reconvene the negotiations as soon as possible in Geneva and urged the Syrian parties to participate in the negotiations in good faith and without preconditions," the statement said. On Tuesday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that he asked the Security Council to postpone the intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva the talks until the 20th of February. Initially the talks were slated for February 8th. De Mistura stressed that the Syrian government will have an opportunity to engage in serious discussions on the issue and opposition groups, in their turn, will be given a chance to come to the Geneva talks as one unified group. Hutchinson's 14-7 win over Bishop Carroll sets up rematch against Maize Hutchinson's Mason Jones scooped up a Bishop Carroll fumble at the Eagles 7-yard line and scored the game-deciding touchdown in a 14-7 victory Friday British MPs on Wednesday approved the first stage of a bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to start pulling Britain out of the European Union, AFP reported. MPs approved the bill, which would allow the government to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty and formally begin two years of exit negotiations, by a margin of 498 to 114. It was the first Brexit-related vote in the House of Commons, with a second and final vote in the lower house set for next week. The opposition Labour party ordered MPs not block the bill, but dozens rebelled. May is under intense pressure to push the bill through quickly, having promised EU leaders she would trigger Article 50 by the end of March. She told MPs she would publish a long-awaited Brexit strategy paper on Thursday, opening it to parliamentary scrutiny while the Article 50 legislation makes its way through parliament. "It will reflect the government's plan for Brexit," May's spokeswoman told reporters. The government had sought to exclude parliament, insisting it had the power to trigger Article 50 on its own, but the Supreme Court last week ruled it must consult lawmakers. Most MPs campaigned to stay in the EU ahead of last June's referendum, but as debate on the bill began Tuesday, many said they would accept the result, however reluctantly. The bill could be delayed in the upper House of Lords, where May's Conservative Party does not have a majority -- and where the unelected peers have no fear of a public backlash. Bandcamp Joins Anti-Trump Immigration Fight, Will Donate 100% Of Fridays Profit To ACLU Indie music powerhouse Bandcamp is joining the growing protests against President Trump anti-Muslim immigration ban. This Friday, Bandcamp will donate 100% of their share of all sales to the American Civil Liberties Union. __________________________________________ This Friday, February 3rd, starting at 12:01am Pacific Time, Bandcamp will donate 100% of their share of the proceeds of every sale to the American Civil Liberties Union as a protest against the Trump administration's recent anti-immigration actions.The ACLU is fighting to combat The Trump administrations discriminatory and unconstitutional actions. "Like 98% of U.S. citizens (including the President), I am the descendant of immigrants my great-grandparents came to America from Russia and Lithuania as teenagers and worked in sweatshops until they were able to afford to bring the rest of their families over," wrote Bandcamp co-founder Ethan Diamond. "Most everyone you speak to in this country has a similar story to tell, because we are, in fact, a nation of immigrants, bound together by a shared belief in justice, equality, and the freedom to pursue a better life. In this context, last weeks Executive Order barring immigrants and refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States is not simply immoral, it violates the very spirit and foundation of America." "This is not who we are, and it is not what we believe in," he concluded. "We at Bandcamp oppose the ban wholeheartedly, and extend our support to those whose lives have been upended." To show solidarity with the immigrants and refugees from the seven banned countries, as well as those impacted by the construction of the Mexican border wall, Bandcamp also compiled a list of albums made by artists from the affected countries. Share on: As the insurance industry stares at a looming workforce gap over the next five to 10 years, leaders are taking steps to promote a career in the industry to young professionals.One initiative is the Insurance Careers Month, which started last year and has transitioned to a broader campaign called the Insurance Careers Movement.Insurance Careers Month kicks off today as an industry wide mobilization of carriers, brokers, agents and trade associations to spread awareness of the diverse career options in insurance, according to a Yahoo Finance report.The event picks up from a virtual Town Hall held last December, which was led by Hamilton chairman and chief executive Brian Duperreault, where head honchos positioned an insurance career as stable, rewarding, and limitless especially given the emerging trends and adoption of technology in industry systems and processes.A post event survey revealed that 73% of respondents are actively promoting the insurance profession among their peers while 93% take pride in their current career in the industry.Another 57% noted the lack of awareness and understanding as the main obstacle hindering high school and university students from considering a career path in insurance. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has criticized the international community on Wednesday over its inadequate support for the Syrian refugees, saying it is "not enough to just appreciate" Turkey's efforts, Anadolu reported. Speaking during an award ceremony at the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Partys headquarters in Ankara, Yildirim said: "The international community should remember its responsibilities. We will do whatever we should[but] we want other countries to take some of the burden." He said the international community had contributed $700 million so far, which was inadequate to meet the needs of the refugees. He said Turkey was voluntarily hosting more than 3 million refugees, majority of whom were Syrians. "They are our neighbors, our brothers of the same religion, [but] first of all, they are human beings," the premier said. Citing a traditional saying in Turkish, Yildirim said: "Let man flourish and the state will also flourish." Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world, and has so far spent around $25 billion helping and sheltering them since the beginning of the Syrian war. Among them, over 1 million are child refugees, making Turkey the top child refugee-hosting country in the world. It states that the claims are unproven and it is not accepting any liability, but Manulife s insurance policy will dole out $69 million to its shareholders in Ontario and Quebec.The payout covers the settlement Manulife reached with the companys investors after they filed a class lawsuit against Manulife and certain of its former officers involving allegedly hiding information about risks around investment funds and annuities.These matters date back to 2009. The agreement to settle the Ontario and Quebec class actions avoids the potential cost of two separate trials and brings to an efficient conclusion the remaining disclosure litigation, Manulife said in a written statement sent to Insurance Business.Manulifes settlement is subject to court approval and doesnt cover legal expenses.The claims are unproven, and the settlement is made without any admission of liability. Manulife continues to firmly believe that its disclosure satisfied applicable disclosure requirements and defended itself vigorously in these actions, Manulifes email said.In its press release, Manulife said a Federal Court in New York dismissed a similar class action lawsuit.In April 2011, Manulife disclosed that staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) informed Manulife that it would not be seeking any orders from the OSC in connection with the enforcement notice delivered in June 2009, the release said.Earlier in January, Insurance Business reported on the Consumer Federation of America accusing major life insurers of portraying themselves as financial advisors when they were in fact, salespeople. One of the life insurers the Consumer Federation of America accused was Manulifes US subsidiary, John Hancock. CHESHIRE, Mass. The Selectmen are disappointed in Adams' "premature statements" about closing an elementary school. "The Cheshire Board of Selectmen is disappointed with the pre-emptive and premature statements from the Adams town government regarding the potential closing of one of the district's elementary schools," Chairman Paul Astorino said Tuesday. "We prefer to hold comment until Feb. 8 when the Collins report is released." Town officials in two recent letters outlined their arguments for closing Cheshire Elementary School and maintaining C.T. Plunkett Elementary in the town of Adams. The two towns belong to the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, which commissioned a report on the district's future options from University of Massachusetts at Boston's Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management. Cheshire officials have chosen to withhold their comments until the report is released, likely next week, because they felt it was inappropriate to add prejudgment to the process. "We gladly signed on with the town of Adams and the school district to participate in this important study," Astorino read from a statement. "Furthermore, we trust the process that was agreed to and have no intention of prejudicing the report beforehand." Adams Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco emailed his letter to the chairman of the school committee, the superintendent, and the Collins Center in mid-January explaining that Adams would not be in favor of renovating Cheshire Elementary School. Adams Selectmen Chairman Jeffery Snoonian submitted a letter to the editor that ran Monday. Mazzucco's letter was coupled with a 2014 Massachusetts School Building Authority statement of interest for the renovation of Cheshire Elementary. He cited the statement in saying the school was outdated and beyond its working life. Mazzucco wrote that Adams cannot afford to fund the renovation of Cheshire and recommended that the district keep Plunkett open until the school population shrinks to a point where the entire district can be housed at Hoosac Valley High School. The school district has been considering closing or restructuring the elementary schools for more than a year. It's been hit with catastrophic budgets while its enrollment population continues to decline. Astorino said he had nothing further to add on the matter. "That is our comment on the whole sorrowful matter," he said. The Collins Center will make a recommendations to the School Committee on Feb. 8. The school committee will then hold public input sessions before making a decision that will affect the 2017-2018 school year. MCLA to Present Student Leadership Conference NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will present the 22nd annual Leadership Conference, "100 Yards of Leadership," on Sunday, Feb. 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Amsler Campus Center Gym, when MCLA will welcome AJ Adams, an award-winning speaker, author and entrepreneur, as the keynote speaker. Registration for this event, open to college and high school students, will remain open through Thursday, Feb. 2. This event is free to all members of the MCLA community, and $40 for those from other campuses. The cost includes breakfast, lunch and a snack. "This conference is a place where students whether they are emerging leaders or experienced leaders all can gain some great leadership skills," said Jenn Craig, director of student activities at MCLA. "Some might be working on honing their skills by presenting a session, while others will use this experience to find their leadership potential." Many of the days sessions will be led by MCLA students, faculty and staff, with other sessions being offered by those from other institutions. Topics will range from diversity to communication and careers in student affairs. Lyssa Richards of Monument Mountain Regional High School, 'Pure Joy' High School Art Show Opens at Norman Rockwell Museum STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. The annual Berkshire County High School Art Show returns for its 31st year at Norman Rockwell Museum with a special exhibit opening to be held on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 2 to 4 p.m. Visitors can celebrate the creative talent on display from Berkshire County high schools, and meet the artists; original works in all media from painting and drawing to photography, ceramics, three-dimensional assemblage, and digital art will be on view. Participating schools include: BArT Charter School, Berkshire School, Berkshire Waldorf School, Drury High School, Lee High School, Lenox Memorial High School, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Mount Everett Regional High School, and Wahconah Regional High School. We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector ADS ADS Carbon fibre has been used as a material for watch cases for a number of years, facilitating the trends for all-black and stealth-look watches. Three new watches launched at the SIHH this year take things a step further, using carbon fibre composites inside the movement to replace more traditional alloys. Each does so in a different way, once again highlighting the creativity within the watch industry. Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Carbon The use of carbon fibre as a case material is part of Roger Dubuis strategy of diversification away from the use of precious metals. Whereas around 80% of the brands production was in precious metal just two years ago, Roger Dubuis CEO Jean-Marc Pontroue told WorldTempus that the majority of models produced this year will have non-precious metal cases. In the case of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Carbon, the extra lightness and robustness offered by carbon fibre composites has also been used for the main plate, bridges and even the upper part of the tourbillon cage. The result is a structure on the movement that matches that on the case and is complemented by a honeycomb on the dial that resembles the radiator grilles on performance cars. The use of carbon fibre composites inside the movement poses an additional challenge to Roger Dubuis, however, since the brand certifies the overwhelming majority of its watches with the Geneva Hallmark. This imposes certain conditions on the decoration of movement components, including hand finishing. Carbon fibre composites are difficult enough to work by machine, so their hand finishing adds an extra layer of complexity. The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Carbon is the most limited of the three models discussed here, with just 28 pieces available. But even at a cool 180,000 Swiss francs it is by no means the most expensive of the three watches we are presenting here. Richard Mille RM 50-03 McLaren F1 The first product born of the new relationship between Richard Mille and McLaren, the RM 50-03 is fitted with a movement that weighs just 7 grammes. The baseplate and some of the bridges are made from grade 5 titanium, while other bridges (some of the split-seconds chronograph bridges, as well as the barrel bridge and the tourbillon bridge) are made from CarbonTPTTM. The same material is used in a carriage that supports the entire calibre and is attached directly to the caseband. This innovative movement construction is, however, trumped by the watch case in the brand-new GraphTPTTMmaterial, which is the result of joint work between the University of Manchester, McLaren Applied Technologies and North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT). This new material is an evolution of the Carbon TPTTM already used by Richard Mille, since the 600 layers, each just 30 microns thick, that make up the composite have been impregnated with a resin containing graphene. The result is a split-seconds chronograph tourbillon that weighs less than 40 grammes (including the strap), making it the lightest chronograph ever made. The price of the RM 50-03 McLaren F1 is, however, inversely proportional to its weight. Richard Mille will be making 75 of these watches, each costing around a million euros just half a million less than the McLaren P1 hypercar, whose production run of 375 sold out easily. Panerai LAB-ID Watch aficionados may recall the Cartier IDTWO watch, presented in 2012, which was the first watch with a movement that did not need any lubrication. There is a definite similarity in name and concept with the new Panerai LAB-ID, but the important difference is that, while Cartiers watch was just a concept, Panerais is a limited-edition production model that is guaranteed for 50 years! In the PAM700 (or to give the watch its full name, the Luminor 1950 CarbotechTM 3 Days 49mm), it is the properties of carbon, rather than the material itself, that are exploited within the movement to completely eradicate the need for lubrication. This major accomplishment relies on the use of a DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating on the silicon escapement components, the mainspring barrels and the jewels. In fact, there are just just four jewels on the movement, since the high percentage of carbon in the new material used for the mainplate and bridges (a low-friction composite of tantalum-based ceramic) helps to minimize friction from pivots, making lubrication unnecessary. The standard version of the same P.3001 calibre has no fewer than 60 different points of lubrication. Panerai marries this ground-breaking technology with its proprietary CarbotechTM case and a deep-black dial that has a coating of carbon nanotubes. Blue SuperLuminova indications and blue stitching on the strap add a colourful contrast to the watch. This technological marvel comes as a limited edition of 50 and the boast of a 50-year warranty (unsurprisingly linked to small print in the warranty booklet) for a price tag of 50,000 euros which, when looked at over the long term, seems an attractive investment. Chinese men toast each other while drinking thier locally made wine called baijiu at dinner on the Chishui River, on Sept. 23, 2016 in Maotai, Guizhou Province, China. (Photo : Getty Images) While baijiu is a traditional drink enjoyed by the Chinese for any occasion, it has finally found its way outside the Great Wall. The Chinese alcohol has recently been gaining popularity with Western drinkers. The grain-based drink is fermented in large earthen pits or jars that is made from clay or stone. Baijiu has an alcohol content between 40 to 60 percent and is distinguished by its bold and pungent aroma and flavor. It is usually taken with plenty of food and served in neat small glasses, offered as a toast and swallowed quickly. Advertisement Despite its seemingly unappealing aroma and flavor profile, baijiu is an expensive alcoholic drink, with prices recently skyrocketing during the Chinese New Year. Because of its unusual taste, baijiu might not be that attractive to Western drinkers. But for those who have lived in China for some time like author Derek Sandhaus, the love for baijiu was developed through acquired taste. In his book entitled "Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits," Sandhaus describes the drink's complex flavors and aromas which are classified into three which are strong, light and sauce. "A strong aroma tends to be bold in its flavors, with prominent notes of overripe tropical fruit and licorice, with a touch of spicy pepper. A light aroma is usually more subdued, with crisp floral flavors and a mellow sweetness typified by preserved fruit. "A sauce aroma--name for soy sauce--is the most complex and umami of the bunch, with tastes that evoke mushroom, fermented bean, Chinese medicinal herbs and caramel." To entice more people to get acquainted with the Chinese drink, mixologist and bar owner Paul Mathew believes that the drink's particular flavor profile requires imagination when designing a baijiu-based cocktail. "I use the sauce aroma baijiu in small quantities. Umami notes are unusual in the cocktail world so you have to think differently about how to leverage them. This baijiu could work with tomato juice in a Bloody Mary or a Red Snapper," shares Mathew. Meanwhile, he teams light aroma baijiu with citrus flavors to complement the fruity and floral notes of the spirit. And with a strong aroma baijiu, he tones it down with a twist of citrus zest over the drink or a dash of bitters, to make it more approachable. London's Baijiu Cocktail Week has helped boost the popularity of the Chinese alcohol in the Western world. Five years ago, only a handful of bars in the U.S. and Europe would have stocked baijiu. But now, it can be found in hundreds of bars. This year's Baijiu Cocktail Week is sponsored by Moutai and runs until Feb. 12. In China, around 20 million people are Muslims, including people who belong to the Uyghur tribe residing in Xinjiangs far western area. (Photo : Getty Images) Immigration policy is every state's sovereign right. This was the gist of China's official statement on Monday, concerning the executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, halting entry to its country from seven Islam-dominated countries. However, the exercise of issuing immigration policy must be done with "reasonable concerns," China's official statement added. Advertisement Sent through its Foreign Ministry to Reuters, the statement noted reports regarding the United States administration's decision. "China believes that adjusting immigration and entry and exit policy is an act within each country's sovereignty," the statement read. "At the same time, relevant moves must also consider the reasonable concerns of relevant countries." President Trump has been true to his campaign promise that he would be stiff when he became the country's next president. Among the changes he wanted to take effect is in immigration, especially when it concerns the Muslims scattered throughout the globe. Despite criticisms from leaders from different states, whether ally or not, President Trump has remained consistent. He justified his ban order as a way to "stop bad dudes" from entering the United States, said a report from The Telegraph. In China, around 20 million people are Muslims, including people who belong to the Uyghur tribe residing in Xinjiang's far western area, said a report. It was said that China has been struggling with unrest from the ethnic tribe. Ethnic people in Xinjiang are reportedly resisting repressive policies of the Chinese government, which denied the same saying they implement freedom of religion on their territories. China is conducting diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and has maintained good ties with Sudan and Iran, both countries being included on President Trump's immigration ban policy. A prediction by analysts IDTechEx is turning out to be true.The window of opportunity is closing for fuel cell on-road vehicles to become mainstream. Hydrogen infrastructure is headed for adequate levels in a few hydrogen friendly territories like Japan, Germany and California but FC vehicle output is badly behind plan. "As those planning expensive battery-swapping road stations learned to their cost, in the next stage you fix the vehicle not the infrastructure. Stations supplying what is still fossil fuel hydrogen are extremely expensive compared to battery chargers and even these battery chargers will be needed less as we progress to better batteries and sometimes energy independent vehicles as with the Nanowinn microbus today. There are plenty of battery cars and buses with over 150 miles range already being delivered. Indeed, as private cars are increasingly discouraged and even banned in cities, the autonomous electric taxis and buses that take over will not wrestle with a hydrogen nozzle: they will be contactlessly charged." Canadian fuel cell company Ballard Power Systems has just taken an order from the Zhuhai Yinlong Energy Group to equip ten buses with its fuel cell modules FCveloCity-MD 30. In contrast, Zhuhai Yinlong intends to build no less than 35,000 battery -electric buses this year though Yutong leads in these. IDTechEx believes FC buses and cars are turning out to be minority products offered into favorable territories. IDTechEx CEO Raghu Das says, The largest joint hydrogen vehicle project kicked off in Germany in January. The project JIVE will see the purchase of about 140 fuel cell buses from 2018, while project MEHRLIN will focus on setting up seven H2 fuelling stations for fuel cell buses. The buses will go in to service in Germany (near Cologne, Wuppertal, and Frankfurt area), the UK (London, Birmingham, Dundee, and Aberdeen), Italy (South Tirol), Latvia (Riga), as well as Denmark (Slagelse). Contrast these territories taken together purchasing thousands of pure electric battery buses at that time. The globally leading bus companies and some car companies are offering FC versions to complete their ranges, serving territories and operators favoring them. Top image: JIVE Chinese President Xi Jinping at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jan. 17, 2017. (Photo : Getty Images) Two great forces have swept the world in 2016 and 2017, which ushered China into the global leadership role, Dr Kadira Pethiyagoda, a fellow with the Brookings Institution researching Asia-Middle East relations said in an article in The Independent. Advertisement According to Pethiyagoda, the rise of anti-establishment sentiment and the resurgence of Asia have pushed China to its new role as global leader. The end of the "American Century" was symbolized by Donald Trump's inauguration, the expert said. At the conference in Davos, China's role as a leader became more evident with its involvement to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict, which was seconded by British Prime Minister Theresa May's statement that the U.S. and the U.K. will no longer invade foreign countries "to remake the world in their own image." The expert said this indicates the end of century-long American dominance as well as half a millennia of Western influence. In Davos, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged for the establishment of a Palestine state, with its capital in East Jerusalem, while the U.S. discussed about moving its embassy in Israel to the disputed city. Economic Relations and Strategic Alliance Over the years, China has strengthened its economic relations in the Middle East, which enabled it to have diplomatic and geopolitical influence. China is the Middle East's largest foreign business partner, even exceeding the U.S., in oil imports. The country's trade with the region reached about $115 billion. China has also embarked on a strategic alliance with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are both U.S. allies. The country has persuaded Saudi Arabia to engage in its "One Bet, One Road" initiative and join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Last year, the two countries announced a five-year plan for security cooperation as Saudi Arabia showed its interest in Chinese defense technology. Pethiyagoda said that unlike the U.S., China believes in the non-interventionist approach, which means that countries in the Middle East must be allowed to choose and decide on their own path to development. China pledged support for Qatar on issues such as sovereignty, independence, stability and national security. In addition, China is not part of old alliances and animosities in the region. This gives China more flexibility and provides leverage for its foreign policy in dealing with countries in the region. Maritime Silk Road The country looks at the region as an energy source where it can continue the trade routes that it wants to secure from East Asia, going through the Indian Ocean, to the Middle East, Africa and Europe. China's ties with the Middle East also allows it leverage over the energy supplies of its rival, Japan, but more importantly it could be part of its "Maritime Silk Road" initiative, which India fears. Further, stability in the region is being prioritized more consistently by China than the U.S., the expert said. According to Pethiyagoda, China's rising role in the Middle East is a step toward its own "manifest destiny." As a rising Asian power, its growing influence in the region is an indication of the end of Western interventionism. The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: This Isnt Our Last Love Letter Dear Don Don, Way back in 92 I walked into the room and knew Never felt this way before I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes And the feeling grew As I took a seat I knew A love that would have my heart Forever I knew Way back in 92 They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true We were the exception to that rule Our love had no where to hide A spark set fire As if this is how the universe started I never doubted our love or what we could do Together we grew Forming a bond everlasting That became our glue My euphoria was YOU Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared For how fortunate we were : to have and to hold through sickness and in health Til death do us part Until we are together again This isnt our last love letter I love you with all my heart and soul Yours forever, Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow) Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus. A True American Hero I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus. I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years. I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years. But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us. In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about. Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle. I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life. I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life. No one will ever do what he did. I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO David Jurist IMUS IN THE MORNING FIRST DAY BACK! Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Irish writer Sebastian Barry has become the first novelist to win the Costa Book of the Year award for the second time. Mr Barry, 61, who won in 2008 with The Secret Scripture, claimed the award for his novel Days Without End, which is set in 1850s America. The Dublin-born author and playwright, who lives in County Wicklow with his wife and three children, was inspired to write about a gay relationship after his son came out. Judges' chairman Professor Kate Williams said Mr Barry was the unanimous choice for his "searing, magnificent and incredibly moving description of how the West was won". The book centres on teenager Thomas McNulty and his brother-in-arms John Cole, who fight in the Indian Wars and the Civil War. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA Professor Williams noted: "Sebastian Barry said his son came out and he wanted to write about a gay relationship. "These two men find engagement and beauty in each other. "I think that is what is so wonderful about the book it takes you to the most brutal moments of humanity... and yet you have these moments of love, friendship and redemption. "It is just such beautiful characterisations and brilliant writing." Mr Barry is the first novelist to win the coveted award twice, a feat which has also been achieved by poets Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. The book was probably the most political of this year's five finalists, who had been whittled down from 596 entries. Each writer who made the final had won the top honour, and 5,000, in the qualifying Costa Book Awards. They won in book categories including the First Novel, Novel Biography, Poetry and Children's awards. Mr Barry takes home another 30,000 for scooping the overall prize and being named as Book of the Year award winner. Professor Williams said of the winning book: "It is very striking we are thinking and looking so much about American history and life at the moment and here is this book about the founding of America." She said the book touches on "how power corrupts, what power does to you" and also on whether "it is possible to have power over others and still retain your humanity". The other shortlisted finalists included non-fiction writer Francis Spufford for her debut work of fiction Golden Hill, which scooped the First Novel Award, and debut non-fiction writer Keggie Carew, who won the Costa Biography Award for Dadland. It was her attempt to learn about her father's past as he slips into dementia. Alice Oswald was named winner of the Costa Poetry Award for Falling Awake, a collection of poems written to be read aloud. Brian Conaghan took the Costa Children's Book Award for The Bombs That Brought Us Together. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} If youve always thought there was something of the comic book villain about Donald Trump, then youre not alone. Artist Robert Sikoryak is reimagining the 45th US president as the star of a series of illustrations riffing off classic comic book covers for an internet project, each one based around a direct quote from the man himself during his 2016 presidential campaign. And if youre one of those people who always considered comic book dialogue to be too unrealistic, bombastic or plain silly, then real life has nothing on art when it comes to the utterances of Donald J Trump. In a take on Mike Mignolas Hellboy comic (twice filmed with Ron Perlman in the lead role) rebranded as Hellguy, Trump stands amid the tentacular horror of some ancient evil and pleads, I mean, why do I have to repent? Why do I have to ask for forgiveness if youre not making mistakes? A gigantic Trump fends off the attack of Marvels finest heroes, including the Avengers, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, who throw his own words back at him: This American carnage stops right here and stops right now! Be afraid: by portraying Trump as a comic-book villain, the horror of his real-life pronouncements appears even more stark And a nod to the first issue of the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons Eighties classic Watchmen has the iconic smiley-face badge Trumpified with a flowing fringe of hair and the ominous caption, Dont be afraid. We are going to bring our country back. But certainly, dont be afraid. There are many, many more examples of Sikoryak marrying Trump quotes with comic book imagery at unquotabletrump.tumblr.com, ranging from Speedy Gonzales getting the rough end of Donalds Mexico-beating stick, Doctor Strange becoming Doctor Science while Trump espouses his climate change denial, and, a personal favourite, Wonder Woman recast as Nasty Woman and socking Donald one on the jaw. Given the wealth of material from the past year, and Trumps continuing love affair with Twitter, Sikoryak probably has enough quotes to keep his Tumblr going for easily the length of Trumps term of office, however long that might be. But the 52-year-old New Jersey-ite, now living in New York, has another, equally imaginative project about to hit fruition as a book: a graphic novel based on Apples terms and conditions. Yes, you read that right. Over 94 pages, Sikoryak presents the entire legal agreement that anyone whos ever had an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook has agreed to sign, the in the words of publishers Drawn & Quarterly, who are bringing out the graphic novel in March monstrously and infamously dense legal document iTunes Terms and Conditions, the contract everyone agrees to but no one reads. I liked the idea of doing it precisely because it seemed so mad, says Sikoryak. I was very interested in doing a long-form graphic novel, and I cast around for a long text to adapt. And then it occurred to me that the iTunes Terms and Conditions were famous (or infamous) for their length. All of my literary adaptations are absurd, to one extent or another, and they often highlight the arbitrariness and impossibility of converting pure text into comics. Just the Jobs: each page of Sikoryaks latest sees a classic comic-book character subtly altered to become an image of the Apple founder Like The Unquotable Trump, Terms and Conditions (the title under which Montreal-based graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly is releasing the book) began life as a Tumblr project, Sikoryak putting up a page at a time. Each page is a loving tribute to a comic book that Sikoryak loves or respects, taking in all kinds of styles from the recognisable superhero output of Marvel and DC through the well-known American newspaper strips to some more obscure or cult graphic novels It begins with a homage to a US government-issued comic book from 1980, Rex Morgan, MD, Talks About Your Unborn Child and the words, The legal agreements set out below govern your use of the iTunes store. It ends spoiler alert! with an undeniably poignant page where the sun goes down on syndicated newspaper strip star Ziggy and his pet dog, and the closing legal disclaimers of the contract. Each page is redrawn by Sikoryak in the relevant style, with the main character subtly altered to become an image of Apple founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011. Sikoryak says, I was excited to realise that I could use Steve Jobss clothing and hairstyle on my main characters, to link the pages together. If Id chosen to use Amazons Terms and Conditions, for instance, I wouldnt have had such an iconic visual style in the appearance of Jeff Bezos. For me, that made the project possible. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters And rather bizarrely, it all works. Sikoryak hasnt just thrown the text at random pictures; he appears to have actually read this thing through and selected from the vast historic tapestry of comic book imagery a highly appropriate sequence that seems to suit the relevant quoted words perfectly. He says, I have a good knowledge of comics history, but I also spent a large amount of time looking for specific pages and searching for different, popular strips to include. The book was drawn in groups of 10 to 14 pages, and then that artwork as paired to the text. Occasionally I would shuffle the pages to match specific lines of the text, but for the most part, the way the words and pictures came together was arbitrary. As readers, I think were inclined to find coincidental connections, and I was happy to see them myself. So the chunk of text about not using Apple products to post harassing or abusive material online fits in rather neatly with Sikoryaks take on Scooby-Doo and a Jobs-alike Shaggy fleeing all manner of cartoon nasties and trolls; paragraphs about copyright of logos and symbols accompany Tintin and Snowy through a hieroglyph-ridden pyramid from Herges Cigars of the Pharaoh, and images from Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenbergs Sandman and its Endless immortal siblings go rather well with the instructions on setting up Family Organisations on Apple products. But ultimately just a novelty, an artistic conceit? Well, possibly. Theres no denying Sikoryaks artistic talent, and it does extend well beyond the mimicry of comic book styles exhibited in both Terms and Conditions and The Unquotable Trump, though that style has served him well with his previous book for Drawn & Quarterly, Masterpiece Comics, which adapted classic literary works in contemporary comic homages. But his work has also appeared in GQ, The New Yorker and satirical website The Onion, and he teaches illustration at New Yorks Parsons School of Design. I was excited that I could use Steve Jobss hair and clothing to link the characters, Sikoryak says That said, though, Terms and Conditions is curiously readable, and thats doubtless due to the presentation of what is inescapably boring and mundane text with bright visuals. And thats something that schoolchildren from previous generations learnt very well thanks to the old Classics Illustrated comics, a series that adapted great works of literature, which ran between 1941 and 1971 and which many an American students book report would doubtless have been based upon. Perhaps Sikoryaks trying to prove the point that context is everything. Hands up if youve actually read the iTunes terms and conditions? Now all those who work at Apples legal department put your hands down. Should we even care that not one of us has bothered to read it? Well, yes. Its a legal and biding contract, and we happily sign it without a second thought. Thats a pretty bad habit to get into, especially in a world where executive orders from the Oval Office are flurrying like snow and our lives are governed by reports and papers and legislation. What if we just never bothered to read the small print, ever? What freedoms might we consign to history? I think thats what Sikoryak is trying to do here, and the message is never more strongly driven home when the artists two current projects, Terms and Conditions and The Unquotable Trump, are taken side by side, as two faces of the same coin. Sometimes it needs us to look at things with fresh eyes to see exactly what they are, and using the venerable, honourable and vital medium of comics, Robert Sikoryak might well be giving us the tools to see that perhaps only by considering Donald Trump as a comic book villain might we truly see the real-world implications of words that even the most trashy comic hack of yore might have balked at putting in the mouth of a made-up bad guy. I suppose the two projects are very linked, says Sikoryak. But Terms was meant as a grand statement of comics, and I wasnt interested in making any overt commentary. On the other hand, The Unquotable Trump is really responding to an immediate situation and a more emotional one. I've never felt that Trump was hiding behind small print! Hes been very overt all along. The impressive readability of the project suggests that more impenetrable documents might benefit from the graphic novel treatment perhaps all those government white papers that we generally find so dull? Sikoryak agrees, but the experience of wading through Apples contract might be enough for him personally. I would love to see more, he smiles. But I dont think Ill be doing it. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Sure, fans can celebrate their love of Harry Potter on any given night of the year, but Thursday, 2 February calls for something special. It's the night Bloomsbury are holding their annual Harry Potter Book Night, launching a host of literary events across the world, all centered on this year's theme: The Professors of Hogwarts. Each event will be held using a special kit sent out by the publisher, filled with magical activities and ideas connected to the likes of Gilderoy Lockhart, Severus Snape, or Minerva McGonagall. Unfortunately, registration for the kits has now closed; Bloomsbury, however, has provided a useful map of all the events globally taking place, from the UK to Malaysia. Events are being held in a vast variety of venues: from bookshops, libraries, to universities. The site also features an archive of past activities from previous years; packed with games, activities, and facts about the book series. Alongside Harry Potter Book Night, Bloomsbury is also holding a national schools competition; asking students to invent their own professor, with the chance to win their entire class a trip to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches Show all 7 1 /7 JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches Harry and the Dursleys, by J.K. Rowling JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches Quidditch, by JK Rowling JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches Peeves, by JK Rowling JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches Snape, by JK Rowling JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches Outside Privet Drive, by J.K. Rowling JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches MIrror of Erised, by J.K. Rowling JK Rowling's hidden Harry Potter sketches The Weasleys, by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter Book Night takes place 2 February. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} When former Catholic priest Charlie Hardy returned to Wyoming after working among the poor in Venezuela, he did not much like what he saw. There, too, was homelessness and hunger, poverty and despair. He decided to try and fix things by running for the US Senate. If he could get elected, he figured, he could really change peoples lives. The only trouble was that red state Wyoming had not elected a Democratic senator since 1970, and the current Republican incumbent, Mike Enzi, was supported by a huge campaign chest bolstered by corporate donations something Hardy had rejected. That unequal contest, when Hardy and a handful of unpaid volunteers took on Enzi and his corporate donors, is the subject of Charlie vs Goliath, a feature-length documentary that is nominally about one mans battle to take on the political establishment and show you can win in politics without discarding your values. Lindsay spent months following Hardy's campaign as it traversed Wyoming (Reed Lindsay) But the film, directed and produced by Reed Lindsay with assistance from Jihan Hafiz, is more than that; it is also a rich meditation on whether simply trying to achieve the seemingly impossible Hardy was defeated by a record margin can have a positive impact by itself. The movie is powerful, passionate, and frequently very funny. You are not cut out to be a politician Youre too decent, too honest, Lindsay told Hardy at a recent private screening of the film in New York, as he explained why he decided to make it. Ive covered politics for a long time, in lots of countries. But I thought, if he was serious about the issue of getting the money out of politics, thats a story. He added: The other central issue is about trying to do something positive, even if you dont think you are making a difference. Hardy, who was born in 1939, is a compelling character. From the moment we meet him running past the wind farms of Wyoming against a huge sky the image of Don Quixote and his windmills presumably in his mind it is clear he has not fully cast off his priests robes. In his interactions with potential supporters and backers, he laughs and jokes, and offers humble insights. He believes the level of support for him is much larger than the polls show, and that if he can simply meet its estimated 445,830 citizens of voting age, that he will be able to win them over simply by his cheer, good heart and common sense views. Frequently, senior Democrats tell him he ought to focus on raising money for television adverts and radio spots. He tells them he is trying to get money out of politics, not put it in. Most of the 750 or so letters his team mails out are to people he knows. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Hardy ignored suggestions from other Democrats to spend more time raising money (Jihan Hafiz) (Reed Lindsay) As a result, the donations arrive in drips. A $10 (8) donation here, a $5 donation there. Somebody sends $1. A 100-year-old woman donates $100, along with a bag of freshly dug carrots for the volunteers. Hardys sister makes tuna sandwiches for everyone. In the end, Hardy raises around $50,000, his opponent around $3m. People have called me the Bernie Sanders of Wyoming, Hardy joked to his New York audience. But I like to think of Bernie as the Charlie Hardy of all America. The film, which is to have its world premiere at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, Montana, on 19 February, follows Hardy and his team of four volunteers as their campaign tour makes its way around Wyoming, from the Tetons to Casper. Sometimes the campaign barely had enough money for fuel for its bus (Julia Muldavin) (Reed Lindsay) Lindsay spent months accompanying them, and like Hardys grassroots campaign, the documentary was funded largely by Kickstarter donations. That Hardy lost the 2014 Senate race, securing barely 17 per cent of the the vote, surprised nobody, except perhaps him. But two years later he is back, challenging for the 2016 House race, with a different van, a new colour for his T-shirts, and a much larger group of volunteers, inspired to be there because of what their candidate is trying to do. This time, he loses again, but his share of the vote leaps to more than 40 per cent. Hardy said he believed the message was to keep on trying to do good. There was no greater thing somebody could do, than to walk alongside another human being, to support them, to accompany them. As for his solution for shaking up the political system, We need to talk to young people. We need to get them involved, he said. And then we need to clear out of the way. Dr. Robert Jastrow holds models of man's brain, showing its smaller size of 2 million years ago and the modern brain. (Photo : Getty Images) Chinese researchers may have just found out why the average Asian brain is significantly larger than the average African or European brain. A study from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Kunming Institute of Zoology indicates that the answer to this question may lie with Darwinian selection in East Asian populations. Advertisement The study was published late last month in the journal Human Genetics. It indicates that genetic mutations may have led to bigger brains in the group due to natural selection. The discovery was first put forth three decades ago by a team of American researchers after they have studied more than 20,000 present-day human skulls coming from different parts of the world. It was considered the largest survey of brain sizes. The survey revealed that the cranial capacity of East Asians was 1,314 cubic centimeters, which was bigger compared to the Europeans averaging at 1,362 and Africans averaging at 1,268. A gene called CASC5 was identified by the Chinese research team. This is one of eight genes that regulate the human brain size, and may be the key on solving the puzzle regarding cranial sizes. The gene's genetic mutations in humans are relatively new, which makes it unique. The researchers found a "high frequency" of four mutations that increased the brain sizes among East Asians after isolating and comparing CASC5 mutations. The researchers wrote in the paper: At the population level, our results suggest a selection of CASC5 in East Asian populations, which seems to favor a larger grey matter volume of the brain. By contrast, no signal of selection was detected in Europeans and Africans. Scientists, however, points out that the drivers behind such change are still unclear for the time being. Su Bing, the team lead of the research team, said: Scientific research has found no evidence, none at all, to support the existence of intellectual difference among races." Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The civil trial between Terry Hulk Hogan Bollea and blog network Gawker Media was sleazy and salacious. The case revolved around a sex tape, featuring the former wrestler and the wife of his best friend Bubba the Love Sponge, so naturally some preferred to look away. The suit might have seemed like another vile byproduct of internet culture, but if you weren't paying attention, you might have missed the broader point. The suit was one of the most important first amendment cases in US history, according to one expert who appears in the documentary Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press, and the movie makes a frightening argument that the trials outcome could undermine Americas first amendment rights guaranteeing freedom of speech and of the press. Director Brian Knappenbergers movie, which premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival, walks us through the case with the help of Gawkers founder Nick Denton, various media journalists and first amendment scholars. Bollea chose not to participate. Terry Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan, successfully sued Gawker after they published a sex tape in which he featured (Getty) Not everyone took Gawker seriously as a media organisation. After all, some of its reporting could be flip or cruel, poking fun at celebrities and publishing unverified rumours. It broke the rules set by mainstream publications to verify facts. The late New York Times reporter David Carr compared the company to high school mean girls, bullying people for fun. And yet, some of the blogs in the Gawker empire broke news, including stories about disgraced Toronto mayor Rob Ford and the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby. When Bollea decided to sue Gawker after the site posted a clip of a sex tape he claimed he didn't know about, some people applauded the news. A site that revelled in schadenfreude was finally getting its comeuppance, especially when Hogan's win caused it to go bankrupt. But, looking at the bigger picture, was that a good thing? Renowned constitutional law expert Floyd Abrams finds the case problematic. We don't get to pick and choose what sorts of publications are permissible, Abrams says in the documentary. If one is ruined through a law case, others become vulnerable, too. Normally such a case would be fairly easy for a news company to win, because Hulk Hogan is not only a public figure meaning he'd have to prove that Gawker had malicious intent but one who had discussed his sexual prowess, opening up the door for a sex tape to be newsworthy. But he came up with a crazy scheme that worked. His attorneys argued that the sex tape didnt violate the privacy of Hulk Hogan, but it did infringe on the rights of Bollea the private man behind the brash character. The fact that Bollea won was a blow for journalists. Not only did he bankrupt Gawker and Denton, but the case also did something unheard of: it targeted the reporter who published the story. AJ Daulerio is now hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. What was even more alarming was the fact that Bollea didnt pay for his lawyer. After the verdict, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel admitted to bankrolling the case. As it turned out, Thiel had a vendetta against Gawker dating back to a story with the headline Peter Thiel is totally gay, people. And with one civil case, Thiel had his revenge. Thiel brushed off his detractors by claiming that he is actually a champion of journalism. I refuse to believe that journalism means massive privacy violations, he told The New York Times after his involvement was revealed. I think much more highly of journalists than that. Its precisely because I respect journalists that I do not believe they are endangered by fighting back against Gawker. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up The big problem, the movie explains, is that Thiels tactic has now opened the door for other rich people, or wealthy corporations, to follow his lead. The rich keep getting richer, but journalistic organisations, which hold the wealthy and powerful accountable for their misdeeds, are becoming more fragmented and vulnerable. Meanwhile, the US now has a President who has waged war on the media, calling reporters even those who write factual accounts of events, such as his inauguration crowd numbers dishonest. Trump, who is close with Thiel, is also famously litigious. The outcome of Hulk Hogan's trial could could undermine first amendment rights (Getty) So what does all this mean for the USs first amendment rights and the ability of reporters to do their jobs? We don't know yet, and the director of the documentary isn't helping to allay anyone's fears. I think it's legitimate to be scared about it, Knappenberger said during a post-screening discussion. [Trumps] rise was the result of an assault on the press. The question is what the President and other people who don't like what's being reported will do about it. Washington Post Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Already this awards season, numerous actors have used their platforms to speak out against the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. At the Golden Globes, for instance, Meryl Streep called out Trump for mocking a disabled reporter. Then, just days after the so-called Muslim Ban was announced, actors began calling for unity at the SAG Awards. Organisers of the BAFTAs are reportedly panicking that Trumps impact on their ceremony could be detrimental to the overall event. "Having 15 back-to-back Trump speeches would be a disaster and would take complete attention away from the films," a source told Mail Online. "Nobody wants to tell the stars what they should or shouldn't say and bosses expect the odd reference. But the last thing they want is a string of political rants, particularly with Trump's UK visit and his Muslim ban in full flow. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The BAFTAs air with a two-hour delay, meaning bosses can edit speeches if they overrun, the insider warning that - if speeches go beyond a brief comment - they will be edited. An official BAFTA spokesman said in response: "We respectfully ask all winners to keep their acceptance speech short." Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Life moves at a slower pace in the seaside Yorkshire town of Whitby, with headlines on the Whitby Gazette homepage at the time of writing including My Yorkshire-themed dish in battle for Golden Apron and Five things we learned from Workington v Whitby Town. It must have come as a surprise, then, when a reporter from the local paper stumbled upon shooting for one of the most highly-anticipated films out there. The Whitby Gazette was the unlikely publication with the scoop that principal photography is now underway for Paul Thomas Anderson's as-yet-untitled new film (bunch of pics here). This project is a BIG DEAL , not only because it sees Anderson and Day-Lewis reunite for the first time since There Will Be Blood but because DDL hasnt actually made a movie since 2012s Lincoln. (Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock (Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock) We know next to nothing about the plot yet, but it will be very different from 19th-century oil-prospecting in New Mexico, being set in the fashion/couture world in London in the 1950s. Universal and Focus Features are behind it, reportedly winning the deal after a fierce bidding war with Fox Searchlight. The movie has a $35 million budget, PTAs biggest since Magnolia ($37m). According to Focus, the as-yet-untitled new film will see Anderson 'once again explore a distinctive and surging milieu of the 20th century through the new movie the couture world of 1950s London.' Paul Thomas Anderson is a singular storyteller who has the ability to mesmerize audiences by creating complex and fascinating characters," Focus chairman Peter Kujawski commented. "It is our privilege to bring Daniel Day-Lewis reteaming with Paul to movie lovers who have long hoped for their reunion. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The New Celebrity Apprentice host Arnold Schwarzenegger is the latest public figure to take aim at Donald Trump's Muslim ban. The actor was pretty vocal against the new President during his campaign trail but advised Americans to stop whining following Trump's election in November. It seems the new ruling has thankfully given the actor a change of heart. You go in there new, you have a new team, and mistakes are made; I hope this is a wake-up call for them, the former Governor of California stated to Extra (via Variety). Schwarzenegger recently took over from Trump as host of the Celebrity Apprentice, a role the new US President held for 14 seasons. Trump recently took time off from wall-chat and judging people based on their religion to slam Schwarznegger's less-than-impressive ratings. 'You're Hired!' Arnold Schwarzenegger New Host of Celebrity Apprentice The actor - an Austrian immigrant who came to the US in 1968 - branded Trump's decision as hasty, adding: I think the real problem is that it was vetted badly ht way. To go and ban people who have a green card, that means that the United States of America has given you permission to work here permanently and you are on the way to permanent citizenship -I was in that position - Its crazy. Its crazy and makes us look stupid when the White House is ill-prepared to put this kind of executive order out there. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Despite saying this, Schwarzenegger went on to say he understood the administration's goal of attempting to prevent entry of suspected terrorists. Following Trump's ban, a wave of criticism swept Hollywood with Stranger Things actor David Harbour, Moonlight's Mahershala Ali and Ashton Kutcher addressing the ruling at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday night (29 January). Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up It was revealed at the weekend that Asghar Farhadi, the director of Oscar-nominated foreign language film The Salesman, would not be able to attend the ceremony due to the new ruling. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} "I think for a lot of people it seems like we disappeared for quite a long time," Brian King - one-half of Canadian rock duo Japandroids - tells me. They'd be forgiven for thinking so; it's been four years since the duo blessed fans with their fusion of classic rock and post-punk in 2012 record Celebration Rock. "I think because we were silent on social media it seems like we've been living in the shadows. People are like, 'Now your hiatus is over, are you excited to be back?' and its like 'What hiatus? We played 250 shows and then wrote and recorded a new album!'" That new record is Near to the Wild Heart of Life, a less raw, more polished but just as successful record to add to their reputable discography. We spoke to King about his writing process with bandmate David Prowse, their musical inspirations and how this record is unlike anything they've done before. How's it all going? It's a very overwhelming time to be in the band, thats for sure. When youre working on an album, youre just in your own little world, going at your own pace. But once its finished, you hand it in and all the type of machinery - your schedule and your time - theyre out of your hands. You hold onto the ride and try to make the most of it. Is that a liberating feeling for you? Its not necessarily a new feeling. It was a new feeling for us on our first album - that was unlike anything we ever experienced before; we very quickly went from being a local band in Vancouver to a band that toured the world. With each album, it just gets a little bit more out of control, a little bit bigger. Why the four-year wait between albums? I think for a lot of people it seems like we disappeared for quite a long time, and that is certainly the perception largely due to the fact we weren't on social media updating people. But we've actually been very busy in that time. We released the last record in 2012 and toured all of that year and almost all of the next year - something like 20-22 months straight. When we got home, we were just totally destroyed, really burnt out both physically and mentally to the point that despite how much we love playing in the band, we just needed a break; at that point, we hadnt taken a serious break from the band in five years. So we took about six months off - the first half of 2014 - and decided to dedicate that time to ourselves and our personal lives, to try and lead a normal life even just for a little bit. After six months off, we both started to miss it and that's when we started writing. We probably wrote for about one year and then recorded the album by the end of 2015. We really wanted [record producer] Peter Katis, whos well known for working with bands like The National and Interpol, to mix our record so we had a little waiting around to be able to work with him. As soon as the record was done we turned our attention back to playing live, started to get our bodies back in the groove of playing live, which takes us to about now. I think because we were silent on social media it seems like we've been living in the shadows. People are like, Now your hiatus is over, are you excited to be back? and its like what hiatus? We played 250 shows and then wrote and recorded a new album! So yeah, thats kind of like the short version of where the hell we've been these last few years. The record sounds more polished. Was that a deliberate move? It is more polished and its like that by design. When we started the band ten years ago, we were really into a lot of raw and live sounding records by garage rock band where the record sounded like you were going to a show. Thats the kind of band we wanted to start and that's the kind of records we wanted to make. I think when we finished [second album] Celebration Rock, we felt like wed achieved that; when we were working on it, we thought of all the ways we could do it better than the first one,' but when it came to talking about this record we didnt really feel like we could push the songs or the band anymore in that direction; we felt like we'd done that and there was nowhere left to go. And, of course, we could have just continued doing the same thing which I know a lot of our fans would love because they really like that record, but it didnt interest us that much. Like, Oh, weve figured out what to do, lets just keep doing it indefinitely. So we very consciously decided to do something different - to actually try and make a real studio album. We didn't worry about it sounding live or only performing the songs in a way exactly like we would on stage; we worried about the whole live performance elements afterward. And thats uncharted territory for us. So, although it's number three, this record is kind of our first attempt to make a proper studio album; the first time we considered Japandroids on record not exactly the same thing as Japandroids on the stage. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Your vibrant live performances are one of the many reasons fans love you so much. Is it hard to create that sound with just the two of you? I think it was in the beginning. There was precedence for two piece bands when we first started [The White Stripes, Death from Above, The Kills] but we were more interested in songs from five piece bands. Maybe the biggest influence in the early days was a band called The Constantines from Canada. They had intense live shows - not just screaming-their-heads-off-and-flailing-about intense, but it really felt like they meant what they were saying and cared about every song. They had that working class blue-collar Springsteen vibe meets a Fugazi post-punk vibe. At the time there was nothing in the world we loved as much as them. We were trying to emulate bands like them when we started - which is impossible to do when youre a duo; youve got to try and figure out how to get that sound and put on a show like them but with half the people. That's actually what shaped the band into what we are now - the fact that we're a duo but were always trying to sound like bands that had four or five people. I think a lot of people associate duos with minimalism - very simple, very direct. The White Stripes are an example of a band that can do an incredible amount with very little - and we love them but thats not what we were trying to do. Now weve been doing it for so long, I don't think about those bands anymore when we're performing, I think about us. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys at Primavera this summer. Oh man. A lot of people will say this, and I'm one of them, but Primavera is the greatest music festival in the world. We've played it twice before and both of those shows stand out to me as two of my favourites that we've ever played. Great crowd, great vibe, great location - its a great weekend. Which records were you listening to while writing and recording the new album? Well, for this record - more than any of the other ones - we were both listening to music that was not in the same genre of music we make. In the early years of the band, we were listening to a lot of music that was very similar to the music we were trying to make, just a lot of rock n roll, a lot of the bands you probably imagined that we were listening to. I think as we've gotten older and as our music tastes have changed, the music that we listen to has changed quite a bit. So for me, by far the artist I've listened to most in the last two years is Tom Waits which you probably wouldnt associate with influencing Japandroids. He's got a really big discography and I got really into them so feel like they were especially quite influential to me lyrically and thematically. When you're listening to great songwriters who know how to build a story and have characters in songs that you care about, you cant help but be influenced by it and I definitely noticed a shift in the way I wrote lyrics on this record. That artist played a really big role in that. How do you feel about the current political climate from the position of an observant Canadian? It's an interesting question. In terms of our record, it happened to come out exactly one week after Donald Trump was sworn in as President. A lot of people have not quite understood that we actually wrote this record in 2014/15 and so was done before a lot of the big political changes in the world had actually happened - before Trump announced he was running for President, before Brexit - so there just is no link in that particular sense. More generally as a Canadian, its a very weird time. It seems like the two countries in the world that Canada is closest to - the UK and the US - are both trending in one direction while at the same time Canada is trending in the opposite direction. So while the UK is leaving Europe and Trump is becoming President, Canada actually elected last year a very young liberal leader [Justin Trudeau] whos already taking us far to the left from where it was 20 years before when we had a conservative Prime Minister. After a while, Canadians flatly rejected that and went in totally the opposite direction last year. It feels very weird to be on the other side in a way. I like to assume that most people who come to Japandroids shows are actually fighting against these things. Let's check in at Primavera and see if the worlds gone to shit or not! Near to the Wild Heart of Life is out now; kingsroadmerch.com. Primavera Sound takes place in Barcelona from 31 May-4 June; Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Section Boyz have responded after the Daily Mail used one of their photos to illustrate an unrelated story about gang violence in Australia. Media Watch drew attention to the image on Twitter, writing: "Hey @DailyMailAU - your APEX gang pic is actually a UK rap band. Which we also told you about last November." The original article has since been amended but the blurred image of the south London grime collective still shows on Google News for the search: 'Apex gang'. The headline reads: "What's stopping them from killing you? Victims of Apex Gang say they no longer feel safe in their homes - as Melbourne's youth crime epidemic soars." Section Boyz tweeted at @DailyMailAU after the furore around the article caught their attention and wrote: "We are not happy with the way you have used our popular picture to slander another group that has nothing to do with us. FIX UP." Section Boyz made a surprise appearance at Drake's first night at the O2 Arena in London on 30 January, following the Canadian rapper's song 'Successful' with their massive track 'Lock Arff'. Their guest spot came just under a year after Drake and Skepta made a surprise appearance at their Village Underground show in London. The Independent has contacted the Daily Mail for comment. Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} While dining at a fancy restaurant can make anyone feel like a VIP, how a restaurant caters for actual VIPs is often a totally different experience. The preparation for a special guest often starts well ahead of their arrival. There can be security briefings, private room arrangements or bespoke menus which all need to be organised. When the guest has arrived, they can then expect to be greeted by their usual, preferred waiter or waitress, cooked for by a particular chef and seated in a private table away from all the other diners. We asked two restaurants the measures they take to ensure their VIP guest's visit runs smoothly. The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 Show all 30 1 /30 The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 30. Astrid y Gaston, Lima, Peru The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 29. Tickets, Barcelona, Spain The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 28. Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 27. Saison, San Francisco, USA The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 26. The Clove Club, London, UK The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 25. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 24. Le Bernardin, New York, USA The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 23. Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 22. The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 21. Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 20. Amber, Hong Kong, China The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 19. Arpege, Paris, France The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 18. White Rabbit, Moscow, Russia The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 17. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 16. Azurmendi, Larrabetzu, Spain The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 15. Alinea, Chicago, USA The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 14. The Ledbury, London, UK The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 13. Maido, Lima, Peru The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 12. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 11. D.O.M., Sao Paulo, Brazil The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 10. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 9. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 8. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 7. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 6. Mirazur, Menton, France 2013 Anthony Lanneretonne The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 5. Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 4. Central, Lima, Peru The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 3. Eleven Madison Park, New York, USA The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 2. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain The world's 30 best restaurants 2016 1. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy Discretion is key First and foremost it is all about discretion, a spokeswoman for Corrigans restaurant in central London said. There are two secret entrances and of course if the guest requires a completely private space with their party the restaurant works to provide this. An average main at Corrigans costs about 30 and bottles of wine reach close to the 200 mark. Corrigans has two secret entrances which are most often used for people who want to keep a low profile when dining at the restaurant. Though a lot of the famous clientele want to be treated as normal guests, some do want their private space and for no one else to know they are there, she says. This private space can include dining in one of the four private rooms or if they want to sit in the restaurant, there is a table with a curtain shielding them from public view. (Corrigan's of Mayfair (Corrigan's of Mayfair) James Robson, the managing director of Mews of Mayfair, which has previously catered for celebrity clientele such as Elton John and Robert Redford as well as former Prime Ministers and members of the Royal Family also placed discretion as the most important element for a visiting VIP. Here at Mews we have a number of private dining spaces, that are ideal for VIP meetings, and ensuring discreet staff is key - typically a guest that calibre requires friendly service, but above all discretion, he told The Independent. The Brasserie of Mews of Mayfair (Mews of Mayfair) Special touches Mr Robson says the pressure is heightened when somebody high-profile visits the restaurant, where the price for the Chefs menu in the private dining room costs between 60 and 70 per person, so in order to be fully prepared a pre-event briefing and heavy planning is imperative. Little touches, like making sure the preferred bottled water is available, or a particular wine or spirit is on the list, is all part of making sure their visit is flawless," he said. The Chef's Dining Room at Mews of Mayfair (Mews of Mayfair) Likewise, Corrigans offers VIP diners the chance to have a bespoke menu or a certain chef or waiting staff. I guess you can have whatever you want really, she says. However, for anyone thinking celebrities often dine for free, she says this is not the case: They pay like everyone else, she clarifies. Security With VIP guests that come with a level of national security, we will expect a visit from the security forces before the event, for their team's security briefing, Mr Robson said. Typically they will check entrance and exits from the venue, in order for that to be discreetly choreographed on the day, and for some unexplained reason they always check plug sockets. The private Lindsay Room at Corrigan's (Corrigan's of Mayfair) Profiling Across the Atlantic, a guest-tracking software is in place at many of the high-end restaurants. The SevenRooms software allows restaurant staff to profile their guests so they can record anniversaries, allergies or even their favourite bottle of wine. However, Israel Morales, the co-owner of Kachka restaurant in Portland, Oregon said there can be drawbacks to profiling everything about their regular VIP guests. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} In the past 41 years, no American has been killed on US soil by a terrorist from any of the seven countries included in President Donald Trump's controversial executive order on immigration. That's one of the findings of a comprehensive look at foreign terror on US soil analysed by Alex Nowrasteh of the libertarian Cato Institute. Combining data from multiple sources, Nowrasteh found that the actual risk to Americans has been infinitesimal, and some of the terrorists that have been caught on US soil come from surprising places, like Japan. The table below lists the countries of origin of 154 terrorists found on US soil since January 1, 1975. Many of the terrorists were either caught before they committed an act, or failed to kill any Americans in the process. It also lists the number of Americans murdered by terrorists from each country. The large numbers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon are largely from the September 11 attacks. The numbers First, the big picture. According to Nowrasteh's analysis, over the past 41 years (January 1975December 2015), and including the 9/11 attacks: The chance an American would be killed by a foreign-born refugee is 1 in 3.64 billion per year, based on the last 41 years of data. The chance of an American being murdered by an undocumented immigrant is 1 in 10.9 billion per year. The chance an American could be killed by a someone on a typical tourist visa was 1 in 3.9 million. And some other findings: In the US, there hasn't been a single American killed by a terrorist from one of the seven countries included in the ban. There have been zero terrorists from Syria in the US in this period. Meanwhile, there were three terrorists from the UK, one from Japan, and one from South Korea. Of course, this data is backward-looking. Proponents of the ban point out that the seven countries included in the order have a history of violence and unstable leadership, so they could still pose risks. The CATO study also doesn't include terrorism in other countries where Americans were victims. Nowrasteh kept it focused on incidents on US soil as context for immigration policy. He also applied a wide definition of terrorist. Included in the 154 terrorists is a Japanese man arrested at a New Jersey rest stop in 1986 in possession of pipe bombs. Another was a Cuban who assassinated a Chilean dissident on US soil in 1976. "If I was going to make an error, I wanted to err on the side of counting too many people," Nowrasteh said. It was the San Bernardino attack in December 2015 that first got Nowrasteh thinking about the actual likelihood of Americans falling victims to terrorism, he said. Nowrasteh told Business Insider that, going into the research, he was more of a hawk than his colleagues. "9/11 greatly affected me. I was 17. I don't have any good opinions about that part of the world," he said, referring to the Middle East. But the data changed his views. "What shocked me is how small of a threat it really is to American life. I really changed my entire opinion based on this research," he said. Now he believes the US should not block people from the Middle East from entering the US as refugees. "We should not have nearly the security we have," he said. "Terrorism is a much more minor threat than people realise. It is by no means an existential threat." Read more: 11 things unsuccessful people do over the weekend These 30-something school teachers retired with over $1 million after only 8 years of work now they travel the world At one end of Trump's revived Keystone XL pipeline there is a scene you must see to believe Read the original article on Business Insider UK. 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Sales of George Orwells 1984 have apparently surged since Kellyanne Conway introduced the phrase alternative facts into public discourse. For many, the term is reminiscent of Orwells dystopian Newspeak, the imaginary language used by the novels totalitarian government to control the way the population thinks. It also allows for the doublethink of the slogans War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength that also feature in the book. But while Newspeak is fiction, theres at least an element of truth to the way it shows how meaning is shaped. Language is never a register of completely stable meaning. Words are always slippery, always open to manipulation. We may mock how blatant Conway is in her manipulation, but disputing the meanings of words is always part of political debate. In disagreements over linguistic meaning, a usual first move is to consult the dictionary. As the lexicography scholar Howard Jackson wrote: We all take what the dictionary says as authoritative: if the dictionary says so, then it is so. But this is built on a flawed conception both of what a dictionary is and what language is. The dictionary is one of those concepts, like the Bible, which gets talked about as if there were a single canonical version. In the same way, this platonic ideal of the dictionary is seen as the most accurate record of a language. When people complain, for example, that such-and-such a word isnt in the dictionary, theyre questioning the legitimacy of that word and suggesting that it isnt a proper part of the language. In actual fact, of course, there is no one dictionary. There are multiple versions, each of which includes a slightly different set of words, which are defined in slightly different ways. This has always been the case. Early lexicographers such as Dr Samuel Johnson and Pierre Larousse may have aimed at objectivity, but a certain subjectivity still crept into their work. A famous example is Johnsons definition of oats which manages to include a very non-objective sideswipe at his northern neighbours: Grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people. Word definitions can certainly be influenced by author prejudice This subjectivity simply reflects the fact that the meanings of words arent absolute constants that definitions stem from the way language is used. This not only changes over time, but can be contested and fought over. Take the word theory for example. For some it means a generalised scientific explanation of phenomena in the world. For others its a mere guess at how the world might work. The internet, with its pluralism and user-based authorship, brings this clearly into focus. Theres an active online community dedicated to documenting and discussing vocabulary, one of the most popular examples of which is Urban Dictionary. Started in 1999 by Aaron Peckham, the idea behind this is to record ephemeral and everyday spoken language, submitted by users, and to give definitions which are explicitly meant to be personal rather than standardised. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA As Peckham says: Most dictionaries are objective. Urban Dictionary is completely subjective. Its not presented as fact, [but] as opinions. The opinion-led nature of the definitions means that it can be used as an arena for political debate. Here, for example, are two entries for the word Obamacare. A term invented by impoverished, dumb-ass neocons to apply negative connotation to the bi-partisan, congressional healthcare plan. And: Also known as socialism. giving all Americans cheap bull shit healthcare. A plan to destroy the quality of healthcare. All of which brings us to a recent initiative by the website AllSides. As part of their educational remit of exposing bias in the media, they have produced a short dictionary which presents definitions of a number of terms including facts, power and truth which often provoke controversy and end up meaning starkly different things to different people. Their definitions offer perspectives from opposing sides of the political spectrum with the aim being to flag up that until we understand what a term means to others, we dont know the issue and cant effectively communicate. The project foregrounds the possibility of subjectivity in the meaning of words not in the improvised way that Urban Dictionary does, but with greater explicitness than a traditional dictionary does. Acknowledging subjectivity and pluralism isnt to imply that linguistic meaning is a free-for-all. Like Humpty Dumpty in Alice Through the Looking Glass, we can use a word to mean whatever we choose it to mean. Language has the ability to be surprisingly stable, despite its constant evolution and endless variety. But what it does point to is the way that meaning also resides in dialogue and negotiation with other people. That meaning a mixture of both evidence and, importantly, persuasion which is why it can be so politically charged. Philip Seargeant is a senior lecturer in applied linguistics at the Open University. This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com) Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The head of the Central Bank of Ireland said on Tuesday that there will not be a new London in the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc. Philip Lane, who is also a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, said Europe's future financial centres may be more fragmented geographically, even if they were integrated as part of a single market. Cities around Europe are already vying for the potential new business, including financial centres in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Ireland. There is not going to be any new London in the EU 27. History happened in a certain way. You cant just lift institutions and drop then somewhere else, Mr Lane said at an event hosted by the London Irish Business Society in London. You may well have this fragmented but integrated financial system so location X has a cluster of derivatives trading, location Z has a cluster of insurance, etc. Some British-based financial services firms have already decided to relocate at least part of their operations to Ireland, and others are expected to follow in the first half of this year, he said. Eoghan Murphy, Ireland's minister for financial services, said at the event that some financial services firms wanted to keep quiet their plans to move some operations but leave others to avoid antagonising British stakeholders. Some companies are going to be very mindful of the presence they have. They are not going to be coming out and saying Brexit is a disaster, we are moving people to Ireland, he said. So while the decisions have been made and movements will happen they won't necessarily be announced as Brexit decisions, so we can't put numbers on them. Mr Murphy added that after the two years of formal Brexit talks conclude, he expected there would need to be at least a five-year transitional agreement between the EU and Britain before a complete divorce could take effect. Earlier this month Irish finance minister Michael Noonan said his central bank had received more than 100 inquiries from British-based financial firms considering a move. Barclays is preparing to make Dublin its EU headquarters when Britain leaves the European Union, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Reuters A Long March-3B carrier rocket is launched with the Gaofen-4 Satellite in Xichang in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo : Getty Images) Teams at tracking stations are still at work while China is celebrating its week-long Lunar New Year festival. They are monitoring China's various constellations of satellites and activities around the moon. These people are situated at the Kashgar Satellite Control Station. It is part of the Xi'an Satellite Control Center and China Satellite Telemetry, Tracking and Control Network. It is the first station to receive sky-ground contact when Chinese spacecraft enter space above China. Advertisement According to Yeng Shengzhong, an engineer at the station, he and his colleagues are tracking and controlling more than 100 satellites made and sent to orbit the Earth by China. These include the Gaofen high-resolution Earth observation satellites, the Beidou navigation and positioning satellites, the DAMPE dark matter-hunting missions, the QUESS Quantum science satellite and the Fengyun Weather probes. It is reported that China had a total of 181 operational satellites in orbit as of the end of June 2016. The United States is far in the lead with 586 and Russia trailing with 150. According to the Twitter account of ChinaSpaceFlight, the service module of the Chang'e 5-T1 test mission that was launched in 2014 is still active and in orbit around the moon. The Chang'e5 T1 mission was primarily designed in testing the re-entry of a capsule that is traveling at around 11 kilometers-per-second from the moon to Earth. It will need to re-enter to prepare for China's Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission. The capsule is continuing with its objectives. One is to enter a halo orbit at the gravitational balanced second Eath-Moon Lagrange point, which gives an indication that China could be considering a mission to the far side of the moon. It was also used in Moon Imaging in order to help select a near side landing site for the Chang'e-5 confirmed sample return mission. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Miami real estate tycoon Jorge Perez said he declined an invitation by President Donald Trump to help build a wall along the US border with Mexico, describing the plan as idiotic. Perez, a billionaire who has built Trump-branded towers in South Florida, said the president e-mailed him after the inauguration with plans for the wall and asked if hed be interested in working on it. In an interview at the offices of his company, Related Group, the Argentine-born developer said he politely declined and joked about which side of the barrier he would end up on. He spoke in stronger terms during the interview. Financing the wall with a border tax on imports would mean the cost will ultimately be passed on to US consumers, and protectionism could risk triggering a trade war with Mexico, Perez said. Donald Trump's Mexico wall: At what cost, and how long? The wall is the most idiotic thing Ive ever seen or heard in my life, said Perez, who was raised in Colombia by Cuban parents. A wall for what? You think a wall is going to stop people that are hungry? Good employment in Mexico, economic growth in Mexico, equality is going to stop people from coming over the border. The White House press office didnt respond to requests for comment. Perez is developing real estate projects in Mexican cities including Cancun, Zihuatanejo and Mexico City, which he expects may reach a total value of about $2 billion. He said hes considering an initial public offering of Related Group within the next few years as he weighs how to pass on his business. Perez, known in Miami as the Condo King for redefining the citys skyline, is a longtime friend and partner of Trumps. The president wrote the introduction to the Florida developers 2008 book, Powerhouse Principles. Perez said in the interview that he holds Trump in high regard as a businessman and marketer, and praised his successful presidential campaign. Perez said he was approached about a potential position as undersecretary of housing and urban development under Ben Carson, but he declined to be considered. He said hes dramatically opposed to parts of Trumps immigration and trade policies. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The European Union and Mexico will speed up negotiations to seal a free trade pact, as US President Donald Trump threatens to pull out of a deal with its Central American neighbour, hit the country with punitive border taxes and make it pay for a border wall. The move has been triggered by a worrying rise of protectionism around the world, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, and the minister of economy of Mexico, Ildefonso Guajardo said in a statement on Wednesday. The pair said they would hold additional rounds of meetings in April and June as well as further talks in Mexico City. Side by side, as like-minded partners, we must now stand up for the idea of global, open cooperation, the two said. We are already well underway in our joint efforts to deepen openness to trade on both sides. Now, we will accelerate the pace of these talks in order to reap the benefits sooner." Mexico faces the prospect of a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement and higher US import duties which could be disastrous for its economy. Mexico exported $316.4bn (250bn) of goods and services to the US in 2015, according to US government figures. During the TV debates ahead of the 2016 election, Mr Trump called NAFTA the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country. He has repeatedly blamed the agreement for taking US manufacturing jobs and has threatened companies such as Ford and General Motors with punitive border taxes if they continue to produce goods there. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled a planned trip to Washington last week after Mr Trump reiterated his demand that Mexico pay for a wall spanning the border between the two countries. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters European leaders have said Brussels should take advantage of a more protectionist US leader, who has already withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, to step up negotiations with would-be partners. The European Union is Mexico's third largest trading partner after the US and China. Trade between the EU and Mexico more than doubled to 53bn from 26bn between 2005 and 2015, according to the European Commission. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Ikea is planning to sell a line of rugs and textiles made by Syrian refugees in 2019, in an effort to provide jobs to people displaced by the civil war. The move will create jobs for 200 refugees, most of them women, currently living in Jordan, according to CNN. Jesper Brodin, range and supply manager at Ikea, described the situation in Syria as a major tragedy of our time adding that Jordan has taken great responsibility in hosting people displaced by Syrias civil war. We decided to look into how Ikea can contribute, Mr Brodin told CNN. The products will be sold locally and in other Middle Eastern countries with free trade agreements with Jordan. More than 650,000 Syrians are registered as refugees in Jordan, according to the United Nations. Last year the Government of Jordan pledged to issue up to 200,000 works permits for Syrians to allow them to work legally alongside Jordanians. This is not the first time Ikea has responded to the refugee crisis. A flat-pack refugee shelter designed by Ikea, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was crowned design of the year in last year's prestigious Beazley competition. Thousands of flat-pack shelters, intended to last for around three years, were sent to humanitarian crisis points around the world as refugees faced freezing temperatures in Europe this winter. Ikeas latest initiative was reportedly already in development before President Donald Trump released his executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for a period of 90 days as well as temporarily halting the entire US refugee programme. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters In a letter to employees published online on Monday, Ikeas country manager for the US, Lars Petersson, said the company is committed to supporting impacted co-workers and their families by providing free legal advice. Ikea also offered to provide counsellors to help with the emotional toll this situation may take on employees] and their families". Our Ikea values clearly tell us that leadership is taking action and standing up for what we believe in. That is why we are committed to continuing to stand for the dignity and rights of everyone, Mr Petersson said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Europeans will be able to use their phones without fear of racking up huge bills starting from this summer after officials in Brussels confirmed they are on course to put an end to roaming charges. Under the agreement - which still needs to be confirmed by the full European Parliament and all member states - making calls, sending texts and using the internet will now cost the same in any country of the EU, starting from 15 June. The caps on wholesale roaming charges - the amount phone operators charge each other when their customers use their phones abroad - were the last piece of the puzzle of a long-running plan needed to end roaming fees. The removal of that barrier allows the end of roaming charges. "Goodbye roaming," tweeted the EU lawmaker Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, who negotiated the setting of wholesale rates on behalf of the European Parliament. Andrus Ansip, European Commission vice president, said: Today we deliver on our promise. However, UK mobile customers will only be able to benefit from the end of roaming charges up until the spring of 2019, when the country is expected to exit the EU. After that, it will be up to the UK Government to strike a deal to prevent British customers from facing steep mobile bills when travelling in what will then be the 27-member-state bloc. What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Show all 5 1 /5 What's the European Parliament ever done for us? What's the European Parliament ever done for us? A cap on the amount of hours an employer can make you work The Working Time directive provides legal standards to ensure the health and safety of employees in Europe. Among the many rules are a working week of a maximum 48 hours, including overtime, a daily rest period of 11 hours in every 24, a break if a person works for six hours or more, and one day off in every seven. It also includes provisions for paid annual leave of at least four weeks every year Getty Images What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Helping the people of Britain to avoid smoking In 2014 MEPs passed the Tobacco Products Directive strengthening existing rules on the manufacture, production and presentation of tobacco products. This includes things like reduced branding, restrictions on products containing flavoured tobacco, health warnings on cigarette packets and provisions for e-cigarettes to ensure they are safe What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Helping you to make the right choices with your food Thanks to the European Parliament, UK consumers have access to more information than ever about their food and drink. This includes amount of fat, and how much of it is saturated, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and so on. It also includes portion sizes and guideline daily amount information so people can make informed choices about their diet. All facts must be clear and easy to understand What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Two year guarantees and 14-day returns policy for all products Consumers across the EU have access to a number of rights, from things which are potentially very useful, to things which used to be annoying. For example, shoppers in the UK receive a two-year guarantee on all products, and a 14-day period to change their minds and return a purchase, these things are useful www.PeopleImages.com-licence restrictions apply What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Keeping your air nice and fresh (and safe) Believe it or not, although the situation is improving, some areas of the UK have appalling air quality. A report by the Royal College of Physicians released on 23 February says 40,000 deaths are caused by outdoor air pollution in the UK every year. Air pollution is linked to a number of illnesses and conditions, from Asthma to diabetes and dementia. The report estimates the costs to British business and the health service add up to 20 billion every year More than 9 million UK mobile phone users suffer from so-called bill shock from using their phones while holidaying abroad each year, according to research by comparison website uSwitch. People living in Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, currently pay one of the highest rates in Europe for data roaming. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Saudi Arabias energy minister has praised US Presidents Donald Trumps energy policies, saying that he is pleased the US government is planning to pursue a more fossil-fuel oriented strategy. In an interview with the BBC, Khalid Al-Falih, said: President Trump has policies which are good for the oil industries and I think we have to acknowledge it. Recommended Trump advisor and climate change denier Myron Ebell goes to Number 10 He added that the President had steered away from [] unrealistic policies. Asked whether he had concerns about Mr Trump promise to put America first and pursue energy independence, Mr Falih said: "We have no problem with the growth of American indigenous oil supply. I have said it repeatedly, as long as they grow in line with global energy demand, we welcome them. Mr Falih added that the Saudis, the worlds biggest oil exporters, are not foes of the US administration and that there are huge areas of alignment between the two nations. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the US imported about 3 million barrels a day from OPEC members last year, with Saudi Arabia accounting for about a third of that. Mr Trumps America First Energy Plan posted on the White House website after his inauguration on 20 January suggested getting rid of burdensome regulations on our energy industry. Those include the harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the US rule. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan The document indicated Mr Trump environmental policies will join up with his economic ones, by encouraging more spending in the US economy and allowing the US to achieve energy independence from the OPEC. However, Mr Trump also said in his energy plan that assured he will continue to work with countries in the Gulf to develop a positive energy relationship as part of our anti-terrorism strategy. The Climate Action Plan was landmark legislation introduced by Barack Obama in June 2013. It served as a national plan for tackling climate change, according to the government. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Google has snatched Apples title as the worlds most valuable brand, ending the iPhone makers five-year reign. According to a study by valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance, published on Wednesday, the monetary value of Googles brand rose by 24 per cent last year to $109.5bn, propelling it to the top spot for the first time since 2011. Apples value fell from $145.9bn in the previous year to $107.1bn. Recommended Google parent Alphabet shares fall as profit misses targets [Google] remains largely unchallenged in its core search business, which is the mainstay of its advertising income, Brand Finance wrote in its report. David Haigh, chief executive officer of Brand Finance, commented that Apple has recently struggled to maintain its technological advantage over rivals. New iterations of the iPhone have delivered diminishing returns and there are signs that the company has reached a saturation point for its brand, he said. The Chinese market, where Apple has enjoyed a dominant market share, is becoming far more competitive with local players entering the market in a meaningful way. But late Tuesday, before Brand Finances sturdy was published, Apple posted forecast-beating results for the most recent quarter, reclaiming the throne as the worlds top smartphone seller for the first time in five years even beating arch rival Samsung. Alphabet, Googles parent company, reported in January better-than-expected revenue for the most recent quarter thanks to a fast-growing cloud-computing business and booming YouTube video advertising, but profits were hit by a one-off tax payment. The study of 500 brands deemed Amazon the third most valuable, at $106.4bn, followed by AT&T at $87bn and Microsoft at $76.3bn. Facebook claimed the ninth spot in the rankings with a value of a slither under $62bn. In Wednesdays report Brand Finance also crowned Lego the worlds most powerful brand, which is defined as one whose enterprise value is most positively impacted by the strength of its brand. The study found that much of the Danish family-owned companys success is owed to its partnerships with the Star Wars, Harry Potter and Batman franchises. Other brands that made it into the top five powerful ranking included Google, Nike, Ferrari and Visa. Walt Disney, which nabbed the title of most powerful brand last year, fell to sixth place. The worlds most valuable brands Show all 10 1 /10 The worlds most valuable brands The worlds most valuable brands 1st - Google Google replaced Apple as the worlds most valuable brand, with a brand value of $109.5bn, according to Brand Finance The worlds most valuable brands 2nd - Apple Apples brand value declined from $145.9bn to $107.1bn in 2016 The worlds most valuable brands 3rd - Amazon Amazon's brand value rose from $69.6bn to $106.4bn in 2016 Amazon The worlds most valuable brands 4th - At&t Of the 40 telecoms brands in the ranking, AT&T in 2016 overtook Verizon as the most valuable brand rising to $87bn from $59.9bn the year before The worlds most valuable brands 5th - Microsoft Microsoft's brand value rose marginally from $67.3bn to $76.3bn in 2016 The worlds most valuable brands 6th - Samsung Amazon's brand value rose from $58.6bn to $66.2bn The worlds most valuable brands 7th - Verizon Verizon's brand value inched up from $63.1bn to $65.9bn The worlds most valuable brands 8th - Walmart Walmart's brand value rose from $53.6bn to $62.5bn The worlds most valuable brands 9th - Facebook Facebook's brand value increased sharply from $34bn to just shy of $62bn The worlds most valuable brands 10th - ICBC ICBC saw its brand value rise to $47.8bn from $36.3bn. It was the most valuabe financial brand in the world in 2016 replacing Wells Fargo This may be because its 2016 Star Wars release was a spin-off and less successful than 2015s reboot of the main franchise, one of the highest grossing films of all time, Brand Finance wrote in the report. The company noted, however that it remains a hugely powerful brand and will be closely watched during 2017 when the eighth instalment of Star Wars is released and could propel the brand up the rankings again. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The British Government deported up to 100 people to Nigeria and Ghana last night, including at least one bisexual man who activists say will be persecuted in his home country. A gay man was also removed from the flight at the last minute, after a barrister filed an injunction arguing deporting him would be illegal. The charter flight, which deportees have compared to a slave ship, left Stansted Airport for east Africa at around 10.30pm on Tuesday night, following weeks of protests against mass deportations including an 'ad-hack' campaign on the London Underground. Other people onboard the flight had been in the UK for years, and many had family, including children, in the country. Faith Taylor, an activist who was at the airport, told the Independent: It is such a dystopian sight: people being loaded off these buses literally amongst cargo, no one around to witness it, as if their lives can just be cancelled and they can be posted somewhere that many of them have no connection to, and where some are at serious risk." She described the site where charter flights leave from, about ten minutes drive from the main terminal, as "very obscure and hidden" with "lots of industrial sites and cargo delivery sites around" and no other passengers around. One person detained in Colnbrook detention centre said he knew people who would be on the flight. A lot of people have got mums, and aunties and children here in the UK. They have been here all their life. People might get killed because of their sexuality," he said. "They are going to chain them like animals". Speaking to activists at blog Detained Voices, he added that he had been issued a ticket and still did not know whether he was going to be deported. "Im bisexual. Im fearful of my life. Because the LGBT rights in Nigeria are non-existent. I claimed asylum but they didnt believe me. But I have private life here. I went to sixth form college here. He said he did not have a lawyer, and felt his personal life had been "ignored" by the Home Office, who had "made up reasons" to dismiss his story in order to remove him. "Ive got family here. My mum is here. I came here when I was a boy," he said. "I claimed asylum but they didnt believe me. But I have private life here. I went to sixth form college here." Detained Voices said they were no longer able to contact the man on Wednesday and believed he had been deported. "I spoke to a bisexual man yesterday who had a ticket for the charter flight," an activist from the blog told the Independent. "I haven't been able to get in touch with him today so I presume he was on the flight. He was very distressed, not only because he would have to face homophobic violence in Nigeria, but because he was leaving his home of the last 13 years and was being separated from his mother who is living in the UK." Karen Doyle, from campaign group Movement for Justice, said it was difficult to know exactly who was onboard because of the secretive nature of charter flights, but added that LGBT asylum seekers are frequently deported to Nigeria, where same-sex relationships are outlawed and LGBT people are "imprisoned, tortured and persecuted". Oyekunle, a gay Nigerian asylum seeker who asked to be identified by his first name only, was given a ticket for the flight, but was saved from deportation at the last minute when a barrister, alerted by activists on social media, volunteered to act on his behalf without up front payment. The barrister filed a successful injunction on the grounds that deporting Oyekunle, who has been in the UK for four years and claimed asylum when he arrived, would have been illegal because he had never had an asylum interview. The Home Office sent a letter inviting him to meet with immigration officials to the wrong address and he subsequently missed the appointment, his claim then lapsed, according to the Home Office. A Go Fund Me page has now exceeded the 1,500 needed to fund his legal representation. Ms Doyle told the Independent: Oyekunle is just one example of how brutal, arbitrary and unjust these charter flights are. Were it not for the social media outrage we would not have found a barrister prepared to act at the last minute on promise of payment. Oyekunle could never have done that by himself as someone with little English and no family support. "There were many more on that flight in similar impossible situations who now face the almost impossible task of appealing from Nigeria, many just disappear. Activists have condemned the practice of forcibly removing people from the country on charter flights, which take approximately 2000 people out of the UK each year and usually leave in "secret" late at night from Stansted Airport. Many people do not know if they will be onboard the plane, where deportees are routinely handcuffed and outnumbered two-to-one by security staff, until the last minute. Detainees in Yarl's Wood detention centre who tried to organise resistance against Tuesday's charter flight were allegedly separated from other inmates by guards. HM Prison inspectors who accompanied two charter flights in 2011, one to Nigeria and one to Jamaica, condemned the "highly offensive and sometimes racist language" used by guards in their report. Other concerns raised include the use of handcuffs on detainees "who appeared upset, or who were moving too slowly, despite there being no signs of any violent behaviour which might have justified the use of such restraints". Immigrants, including asylum seekers, are also often deported from the UK on commercial flights, but their tickets are sometimes cancelled by the airline, particularly if the pilot, other passengers, or air stewards see or become aware of the detainee distressed and resisting removal and object to their presence on board. In 2010, Jimmy Mubenga died during deportation to Angola, after being restrained by guards on a British Airways flight. Campaigners say charter flights are designed to hide violent and brutal removals from the public. Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Show all 20 1 /20 Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-1 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-2 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-3 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-4 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 28: Demonstrators hold signs during a rally against a ban on Muslim immigration at San Francisco International Airport on January 28, 2017 in San Francisco, California. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends entry of all refugees for 120 days, indefinitely suspends the entries of all Syrian refugees, as well as barring entries from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering for 90 days. Stephen Lam/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-5 A crowd of protesters gathers outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse as a judge hears a challenge against President Donald Trump's executive ban on immigration from several Muslim countries, on January 28, 2017 in Brooklyn. The judge issued an emergency stay on part of Trump's executive order, ruling that sending refugees stopped at U.S. airports back to their countries would be harmful. Yana Paskova/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-6 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-7 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-8 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-9 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-10 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-11 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-12 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-13 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-14 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-15 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-16 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-17 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-18 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-19 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-20 Passengers wait in line to check in at the American Airlines terminal at JFK International Airport August 10, 2006 in the Queens borough of New York City. British authorities arrested 21 people and halted a anallegedly terrorist plot to use liquid explosives concealed in carry-on luggage to blow up airliners traveling between Britain and the U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said that the plot appeared to be directed at U.S. carriers flying out of Heathrow. such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines. Stephen Chernin/Getty Ms Doyle said a campaign in the run-up to the departure of Tuesday's flight had helped highlight charter deportations, but she hoped increased attention on immigration policy would now help end them entirely. "The two weeks of action, the Stop Charter Flights campaign and the connections people have made with the Muslim Ban protests have all helped bring this silent, hidden injustice into the light," she said, "I hope that can continue and we can end the practice of mass deportation charter flights once and for all". Other activists also pointed out the charter flight took off just 24-hours after widespread protests against Donald Trumps "racist and unethical" immigration policy, pointing out that Britain's immigration practices are also "violent and unjust". "It's really important that those who reject Trump and his politics build a movement that opposes the hidden tools of the UK's racist border enforcement - indefinite detention and charter flights," an activist from Detained Voices told the Independent. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Quaker activist who was just metres from allegedly disarming Saudi Arabia-bound fighter planes with a hammer says he is prepared to spend up to 10 years in prison. Sam Walton and Methodist reverend Daniel Woodhouse were arrested on Sunday morning after allegedly breaking into the BAE Systems weapons base in Lancashire. It was the pairs last option in their campaign for the Government to scrap arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the Gulf states bloody involvement in the Yemen civil war. Sam Walton and Dan Woodhouse, on Blackpool beach, after being released from police custody Sam Walton (Sam Walton) It comes before a judicial review next week where judges will decide whether to ban Britains arms export licences for the oil-rich kingdom. We did not want to be arrested, absolutely not, but did we expect to be and were we prepared to be? Absolutely, said Mr Walton, speaking to The Independent. We went in thinking that was a likely outcome, and that we could be sentenced from six months to 10 years if found guilty. We have tried every other means of protest that is less chaotic and less damaging and I really dont want to go to prison but Im absolutely prepared to in order to save the lives of innocent people. The 30-year-old and Mr Woodhouse were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and are on bail until 27 April when they may face charges. The pair managed to get beyond fences, closed doors and sensors at the site in Warton, which they claim is home to four Typhoon jets and eight Hawks. The former Wimbledon schoolboy and Nottingham University graduate said: We were arrested just metres away from where planes bound for Saudi were and we were very disappointed that we couldnt disarm a plane going toward eastern war crimes and almost certainly have saved lives. Boris Johnson: Saudi Arabia is playing proxy wars Symbolically, the pair entered the base precisely 21 years after four women known as the Ploughshare Four caused more than 1.5m in damage to a Hawk warplane at the same site. The Hawk was destined for Indonesia where the women argued it would likely be used to kill civilians in East Timor. The foursome were found not guilty of criminal damage at a Liverpool Crown Court after a jury deemed their action was reasonable under the Genocide Act. In a concerted nod to continuity, Mr Walton says the duo carried one of the hammers used by the women that he borrowed, which has since been confiscated by police. We didnt take the steps lightly but we really didnt have any other option left, said Mr Walton, who has written to MPs and demonstrated in disarmament protests since he was 15. Recommended Date set for court challenge to ban British arms sales to Saudi Arabia Selling arms to Saudi Arabia is a crime against humanity. Mr Walton, who says he does not have any criminal convictions, said: Every time that this case is talked about, Saudi Arabia, Britain and BAE dont like it. It wont be us who are on trial, it will be them on trial and Saudi Arabias actions in Yemen. Mr Walton also participated in a demonstration against the execution of three Shia Muslim men, convicted of killing an Emirati police officer, outside the Bahrain embassy earlier this month. The UN Panel of Experts, the European Parliament and various humanitarian NGOs have condemned the on-going Saudi air strikes on Yemeni rebel areas. The UN panel last year accused Saudi of widespread and systematic attacks on civilian targets. The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) will take its legal challenge, of British arms licences for Saudi Arabia, to the High Court in London on 7, 8, and 10 February. CAAT claims the UK has licensed over 3.3bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since the bombing began in March 2015. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty It claims this includes 2.2bn on aircraft, helicopters and drones, 1.1bn on grenades, bombs, missiles and countermeasures, and 430,000 in armoured vehicles and tanks. The Saudi government has admitted it has used UK-manufactured cluster bombs against Houthi rebels, while Britains foreign office admits that UK typhoons have been used in Yemen. The war has displaced an estimated 2.5m people and killed more than 10,000. Andrew Smith, from CAAT, said: For almost two years, Saudi Arabia has been using UK fighter jets in its bombing campaign in Yemen. The results have been catastrophic. Thousands have been killed and vital infrastructure has been destroyed. Sam and Dan took fully justified action against the UKs complicity in the devastation. How can it be justice when they are facing charges while BAE Systems is making billions of pounds from shifting its deadly weapons to Saudi Arabia, one of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the world, while it bombs one of the poorest countries in the region? If the Government cares about the rights and lives of Yemeni people then it must do what Sam and Dan tried to do, and stop the arms sales. A BAE spokesman said: The incident at our site in Warton is being investigated by Lancashire Police and we are assisting them with their enquiries. A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition, but we do support the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition military intervention, which came at the request of legitimate President Hadi. The UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have a long history of defence cooperation. The UK Government takes its arms export licensing responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. The key test for our continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to international humanitarian law (IHL) is whether there is a clear risk that those items subject to the licence might be used in a serious violation of IHL. The situation is kept under careful and continual review. Through UK aid to Yemen, last year the UK helped treat over 150,000 children under five for severe acute malnutrition and screen 140,000 children for childhood infections. We also helped support and refer displaced children and enabled 3,500 refugee children and Yemeni children from their host communities to resume education. We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to allow and facilitate rapid and safe humanitarian access, and to take all feasible precautions to avoid harming civilians and civilian infrastructure. The Independent has contacted the House of Saud for comment. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britains young people are now more right-wing and authoritarian in their political outlook than the previous generation, undermining the prevailing view that younger people tend to be more progressive in attitude. Research using British Social Attitudes Survey data taken from 1985-2012, found greater appetite among young people for right-wing policy-making on issues including wealth redistribution, welfare and crime. The study, by academics at the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton, discovered a shift further to the right with each of the last three successive generations. The research team attributed the effects to generations of people coming of age under sustained periods of Conservative government, during which time they absorb right-wing values. Those aged 41 58 today, who grew up while Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, or Thatchers Children, were found to have more right-wing views than the generation before. Subsequently, those aged 27 40, or Blairs babies, who came of age while New Labour were in power, were found to have moved even further to the right. Evidence from the British Social Attitudes Survey showed that the proportion of the electorate agreeing that governments ought to redistribute income had fallen from 45 per cent in 1987 to 36 per cent in 2009, while the proportion saying government ought to spend more on benefits fell from 55 per cent in 1987 to 27 per cent in 2009, the study says. One of the papers authors, Professor Stephen Farrall of the University of Sheffield told The Independent: Blair did not really challenge the kind of discourse which Thatcher had set up. Remember his quote about being quite relaxed about people getting rich. Our take is that the younger generations have become increasingly socially and economically liberal. He added: Theyre much less concerned about religious beliefs or whether youre gay, lesbian or straight, which people were previously more concerned about. They are much more accepting of diversity, but they are also much more accepting of economic inequality. But Professor Farrall said the findings did not necessarily herald a limitless march further to the right in terms of economic policy. He said among millennials (those born between the mid-1980s and the early 2000s) and those too young to have appeared in surveys, for whom Thatcher wont mean a thing anyway, could well become much more concerned about economic inequality given the current political climate. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA The deterioration of the NHS and state education services could mean that things could suddenly kick the other way, he said. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Nearly 50 British rabbis have signed a letter urging Theresa May to remind President Donald Trump the lessons of history in the wake of his decision to implement a Muslim ban. Mr Trumps executive order banning immigrants from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days sparked protests at airports across the US at the weekend as people were stopped from entering the country. Protesters took to the streets in cities across the UK on Monday night to demonstrate against the travel ban, while thousands descended on Downing Street. The Presidents executive order also suspended Americas refugee program for four months and banned refugees from Syria indefinitely. A group of 47 Reform and Liberal rabbis and a cantor have now signed a letter condemning Mr Trump for inciting and legalising hatred. The letter, submitted to The Times, said that last weeks Holocaust Memorial Day reminded us what happens when institutionalised hatred goes unchallenged. The signatories include Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism, Rabbi Richard Jacobi, Co-chair of the Liberal Rabbinic Conference and Rabbi Josh Levy, Co-chair of the Reform Rabbinic Assembly. The letter reads: Last week, Holocaust Memorial Day reminded us what happens when institutionalised hatred goes unchallenged. This week, we stand alongside our Muslim cousins as they face the consequences both direct and indirect of President Trumps executive order. Rudy Giuliani explains how he helped Trump put together 'Muslim ban' legally By effectively banning many Muslims from entering the United States, Donald Trump is inciting and legalising hatred. We urge Theresa May to convey to the president the lessons of history, and the potential consequences of deliberately directing the tools of state against a minority. Prince Charles has this week warned of the dangers of forgetting the lessons of the past, while at a fundraiser for the World Jewish Relief (WJR) charity. Speaking at the fundraiser in London was Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who, in talking about how the charity gives people around the world hope, said: Not much hope from the United States of America, of all countries, where President Trump appears to have signed an executive order which seems to discriminate against individuals based totally on their religion or their nationality. We as Jews perhaps more than any others know exactly what it is like to be the victims of such discrimination and it is totally unacceptable. Additional reporting by PA Sony Xperia X and Samsung Galaxy S7 are the freshest faces from two mobile tech giants, but which among these two premium devices is worth having? (Photo : YouTube/ Btekt ) Sony continues to improve its concept firmware for the Xperia X models after its mobile division released a new experimental update, which adds a "Battery Saver" feature and camera app shortcuts on the Xperia X's software. As released by Xperia Blog, Sony Mobile has started rolling out a new experimental update for the Xperia X Concept, which carries the build number of 38.3.A.0.83. One of the highlights in this build is the introduction of "Battery Saver." Advertisement The improved "Battery Saver" feature will revive some of the functionalities of the old Stamina mode that was initially integrated on early operating system of Xperia devices, before being replaced by Doze mode in the introduction of Android Marshmallow update. With Sony fans asking for the Stamina mode to run on Xperia X's upcoming software, the new Battery Saver feature will bring back some of the customizability of STAMINA mode, such as reducing power consumption without slowing down the phone or having a negative impact on performance, Softpedia News reported. Through the "Battery Saver" feature, users can customize how their battery will function below 50 percent of remaining power. It gives several options of squeezing more battery life like turning off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, auto-sync and adjusting brightness/screen timeout. Upon receiving the update, Xperia X users can access this feature by navigating Settings>Battery> Battery Saver. On another note, the said experimental update also brings new improvement on the camera settings, including new quick settings and camera app shortcuts. The new shortcut allows users to record videos or to take selfie picture in a snap. Besides, Sony has also expanded VoLTE support for Spain (Vodafone) and UK (EE/Three) users. Earlier, the Concept update also updated the Experimental track with an improved display setting, dubbed as "Night Light," which will ease reading contents at night. This feature can be activated through the Xperia X's display settings, which will then tint the screen with a pink-ish amber colour during night time. The said update on Xperia X users came in build number 38.3.A.0.66, which also came with security patches, new version of Xperia Home Launcher, and bug fixes. This update is has a download size of 47.4MB. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Journalist Owen Jones hit back at Piers Morgans accusation of hypocrisy on live television in an argument over the anti-Donald Trump protests that brought thousands onto the streets of Britain on Monday night. Mr Jones appeared on ITVs Good Morning Britain, hosted by Piers Morgan, the morning after protests he himself helped organise that called for the UK government to cancel the invitation of a state visit to Donald Trump because of his immigration ban. My issue is the hypocrisy of banning Donald Trump," said Mr. Morgan, "removing his audience with the Queengiven that year after year weve roll out the red carpet for politically expedient reasons for Vladimir Putin, for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.with shocking records of human rights." Where were the mass marches? Mr Morgan asked. Mr Jones had in fact lead marches at the Saudi embassy and written columns for the Guardian criticising the Saudi governments behaviour. This is unfortunate, you could have Google'd this before you came on. I lead the protests, said Mr Jones. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Mr Morgan, who had received attention for attacking the Womens March that brought an estimated 100,000 people onto the streets in Britain alone to protest Donald Trumps inauguration, continued to lambaste mass amounts of people who shout and scream about everything they dont agree with. Actor Ewen MacGregor had previously pulled out of an appearance on Good Morning Britain because Mr Morgan attacked the Womens March as vacuous and attracting rabid feminists. Mr Morgan went on to unpick the size of the anti-Saudi march Mr Jones referred to on Twitter, asking for photos to be shared. Mr Jones in response called for Mr Morgan to share on his feed some of Mr Jones videos and columns attacking the Saudi regime, given his sudden conversion to the cause of opposing Saudi human rights violations. Later in the televised discussion, Mr Jones complained at Mr Morgan speaking for too long, saying this is a monologue, not an interview, before Mr Morgan shot back, with from the monologue king himself! Philip Davies MP, a long-standing campaigner against policies that specifically help women, was also on the show and said he doesnt see the point of the marches. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britain has taken a decisive step towards leaving the European Union after MPs overwhelmingly gave Theresa May their backing to trigger the Article 50 exit clause. In an historic moment after almost 20 hours of debate - the Commons voted by 498 votes to 114 for the legislation to clear its first stage, to raucous cheers from ecstatic Conservative MPs. The vote, a majority of 384, does not guarantee that Brexit will happen, because the Bill must yet be approved at later stages and is certain to be amended when it reaches the House of Lords. Recommended Two Labour Shadow Cabinet members quit ahead of Article 50 vote However, Brexit supporters now believe momentum is firmly behind the Prime Ministers timetable to invoke Article 50 next month and to leave the EU two years later, in 2019. The vote exposed Labours deep divisions over Brexit, with 47 MPs defying Jeremy Corbyns three-line whip to support the Bill. Two of his Shadow Cabinet members resigned and another 15 Labour MPs abstained. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron was hit by his own mini-revolt, when two of the nine Lib Dem MPs failed to oppose Article 50. Just one Conservative Ken Clarke voted against. What is Article 50? Immediately after the vote, a delighted Iain Duncan Smith said: The inevitable has happened. The former Cabinet minister pointed to a succession of treaties which had turned the EU into a federal union, adding: They had left us, it was just a matter of time before the UK realised that was the case. But Mr Clarke said: The battle has only just started we are in a very unreal, silly world since the rather startling result of the referendum. The veteran hinted that many MPs regretted their vote, adding: There are plenty of members of the House that agreed with me about the disastrous nature of the decision that has been taken. How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Show all 8 1 /8 How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nations favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Nescafe The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafe Original at Sainsburys has gone up 40p from 2.75 to 3.15 a 14 per cent risesince the Brexit vote. PA How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterlings slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons customers 2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the lighter way to enjoy chocolate, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto Ms May was forced to draw up the Bill after the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament must give its consent to triggering Article 50 but the vote suggested it will prove little hindrance. An hour before the vote, Jeremy Corbyn was rocked by the twin resignations of two more of his Shadow Cabinet, Rachael Maskell (Environment) and Dawn Butler (Diverse Communities). It means three of his top team have quit over his backing for Article 50 - Jo Stevens (Shadow Wales Secretary) went last week with Clive Lewis (Business) expected to follow. The Labour leader hinted at a quick return for Ms Maskell and Ms Butler, saying: They are great assets to the Labour Party and to our movement. Mr Corbyn said he understood the difficulties for MPs in Remain-voting constituencies, but added: It is right that the Labour Party respects the outcome of the referendum on leaving the European Union. The vote came after Ms May confirmed that a long-promised white paper setting out her Brexit plans in greater detail will finally be published tomorrow. A key demand of pro-EU MPs, Downing Street said it would reflect the Government's plan for Brexit as the PM set out in her speech on our negotiating objectives. Ms May has been criticised for holding the white paper back until after tonights vote and for refusing to say it will fully flesh out her strategy, beyond her speech last month. Earlier, the UK's former ambassador to the EU warned the Brexit negotiations are likely to descend into name-calling and fist-fighting before any agreement can be reached. The other member states believe Brexit will explode a bomb under EU budgets and are determined to extract a large sum from the UK as a key priority in the withdrawal talks, Sir Ivan Rogers told MPs. The EU Commission has already said it will demand an exit bill of 34-51 billion, for outstanding liabilities, before it agrees to talk about future trade. Theresa May announces Brexit white paper During the debate, George Osborne said German and French political leaders have told him they are not interested in making the economy the priority in the agreement they offer the UK. He told MPs: It is absolutely clear that, while they understand that Britain is a very important market for their businesses, their priority is to maintain the integrity of the remaining 27 members of the European Union. They are not interested in a long and complex, hybrid agreement with the United Kingdom. So, therefore, both sides at the moment are heading for a clean break from the European Union for the United Kingdom. A succession of Labour MPs rose to add their names to the list defying Mr Corbyn by voting against the Bills second reading Chris Bryant, Madeleine Moon, Kevin Brennan, Daniel Zeichner and Stella Creasey. One, Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle, was ordered to apologise by the Speaker after saying the Government was full of bastards. Mr Coyle said: Former prime minister John Major referred to the like of the former secretary of state for work and pensions [Iain Duncan Smith] as bastards. He could not have known that his party would become a whole Government full of bastards, who are absolutely causing economic damage for my constituents and for the whole country. Another Labour rebel, Ian Murray, the party's only MP in Scotland, said: "It's with a heavy heart that I will vote against triggering Article 50. But I will do so in the knowledge that I can walk down the streets of Edinburgh South and look at my constituents in the eye, and say to them I've done everything I possibly can to protect their jobs, livelihoods and the future for their family. The vote is far from the end of the process. Next week, there will be three days of line-by-line scrutiny in a Bill committee, at which MPs will attempt to shape the Brexit process. Most important, Labour is demanding a meaningful vote in Parliament on the final Brexit deal early enough for Ms May to seek better terms if hers are rejected by MPs. However, Mr Corbyn has said he will expect his MPs to vote the Bill through its final reading, even if all his amendments are thrown out. It will then go to the House of Lords, with the intention it will receive Royal Assent in early March, allowing the Prime Minister to trigger Article 50 as she heads to an EU summit on March 8 and 9. The Labour leader has not said what action he will take against his junior frontbenchers who rebelled. A source said: Any discipline issues relating to debates and the whipping will be dealt with later. Earlier, MPs rejected an SNP amendment to deny the Bill a second reading because of unanswered questions about the impact of Brexit on Scotland and the devolution settlement by 336 votes to 100. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The SNP suffered a defeat today as MPs voted against an amendment to stop Theresa May from triggering formal Brexit talks. The amendment was defeated by 336 votes to 100, a majority of 236. It called for MPs to refuse to endorse the proposed European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill at its second reading. Theresa May announces Brexit white paper The SNP argued the Government had failed to offer "effective consultation" with the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also said Article 50 should not be backed because the Government had not offered guarantees for the rights of EU nationals or published a White Paper on its Brexit plans. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Following the amendment's defeat, MPs went on to vote for legislation to allow Ms May to start formal Brexit talks. MPs gave the bill a second reading by 498 votes to 114, a majority of 384. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Welcome to The Independents live blog of Prime Ministers Questions and the second day of debates, including a vote, on the Governments EU Withdrawal Bill the legislation needed to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Here are the latest updates: Welcome to The Independents live blog of Prime Ministers Questions and the second day of debates, including a vote, on the Governments EU Withdrawal Bill the legislation needed to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. During the first 12 hours of debates on Tuesday at one point the Speaker John Bercow told MPs to stop asking him am I permitted to eat a biscuit and may I have a cup of tea over 90 MPs gave their views on the Governments Bill and Britains decision to leave the EU in general. But Ken Clarke, the former Conservative Cabinet minister, who was one of the first to speak, probably stole the limelight with an impassioned speech. His 18 minutes in the Commons, without notes, was typically pro-European and as expected he signalled he would vote against invoking Article 50 the only Conservative MP to do so on record. But he also used his speech to criticise his own party, suggesting even Enoch Powell would be surprised by the current state of the Tory party and its anti-immigrant stance. What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty Referencing the anti-immigrant former Tory MP Mr Powell, whom he called the best speaker of the Eurosceptic cause, Mr Clarke said: If he was here he would probably find it amazing to believe that his party had become Eurosceptic and rather mildly anti-immigrant in a very strange way in 2016. Im afraid on that I havent followed them and I dont intend to do so. The Bill is likely to feature in PMQs today but whether Jeremy Corbyn will devote one his questions to it is not certain, considering internal divisions in Labour and resignations over Article 50. He could use Donald Trumps promised state visit and his immigration ban to unite the Labour benches and put the Prime Minister in an uncomfortable situation. He is likely to probe when Ms May first heard news of the Presidents executive order. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britains 26bn legal industry is under threat from post-Brexit restrictions to freedom of movement and exit from the single market, the countrys top lawyers have warned. MPs on the Justice Select Committee, who are gathering evidence on the impact of leaving the EU, were told that there would be little left to salvage of the successful industry if lawyers were stripped of free movement and lost the right to practise in the EU because of differing regulations. The legal services industry contributes 3.6bn of Britains exports and trade. It was reported last year that it grew by 8 per cent in 2015, significantly faster than the rest of the economy. Recommended Record rise in manufacturing input costs in January Without the free movement of lawyers nothing else of much importance is going to be salvaged, Andrew Langdon, chair of the Bar Council told the committee. Thats absolutely fundamental: but I think its important to underline that its not necessarily whether its just important for lawyers. He said that clients ability to use British lawyers in European courts was important for small businesses and individuals, who would still find themselves with a need for legal representation when doing dealings on the continent. Robert Bourns, the president of the law society, said the industrys continued success would require continued free movement for its workers as well as continued harmonisation of rights to practice. Andrew Langdon, the Chair of the Bar Council said there could be little left of value to salvage from the industry (House of Commons) If [leaving the single market] is indeed to be the position then free movement of lawyers, the right to give advice across borders, for the bar, but not only for the bar, rights of audience, all these are pretty fundamental to our continued success, he told the MPs. Theresa May has pledged a hard Brexit of leaving the single market and ending free movement: but the Government has proved quick to grant exceptions when challenged on specifics. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Ministers have already pledged to keep at least part of the UKs car industry in the single market and said that the construction industry will still be able to recruit labourers from abroad as it can now. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One of Jeremy Corbyn's closest allies was not in parliament when MP's voted to trigger Article 50 and begin the negotiations for the UK to leave the European Union. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, did not cast her ballot. A Labour source said she was "taken ill" and left Parliament at about 5pm. They did not elaborate on what was wrong with Ms Abbott. A total of 10 Labour junior shadow ministers and three whips, who are supposed to enforce party discipline, voted against triggering Article 50 in revolt against Mr Corbyn. The frontbenchers were shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan, shadow culture minister Kevin Brennan, shadow police minister Lyn Brown, shadow housing minister Karen Buck, shadow crime minister Rupa Huq, shadow Northern Ireland minister Stephen Pound, shadow housing minister Andy Slaughter, shadow foreign office minister Catherine West, shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead and shadow transport minister Daniel Zeichner. The whips were Thangam Debbonaire, Vicky Foxcroft and Jeff Smith. Ms Abbott suggested last week that Labour rebels on Article 50 would escape punishment, saying there was great sympathy for MPs in pro-Remain constituencies. Defending Mr Corbyn's decision to impose three-line whip to support the legislation, she said: "You have to remember how this looks to people in post-industrial Britain, former mining areas, the North, the Midlands, South Wales. It would look as if elites were refusing to listen to them. It would be wrong. How could MPs vote for a referendum and then turn around and say 'It went the wrong way so we are ignoring it'? She added: Are we going to vote with the Tories come what may? This is a question of opening the process. We will seek to amend and, if we are not able to get any of our amendments through, clearly we will have to review our position. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} David Cameron has been accused of trying to get the editor of the Daily Mail sacked over the paper's strident backing for Brexit. According to BBC Newsnight, the former Prime Minister lobbied to have Paul Dacre removed during a meeting with the paper's proprietor, Lord Rothermere. It is thought Mr Cameron had grown increasingly frustrated with the Mail's vehement anti-EU stance and urged Lord Rothermere to temper the tone of his paper. Mr Cameron is also reported to have met with Mr Dacre on 2 February over his "new settlement" with the EU - the deal Mr Cameron struck with the other 27 EU states in an attempt to change Britain's future in Europe and asked him to "cut him some slack". Instead, the Mail savaged the PM over the deal, describing it as Mr Cameron's "Great Delusion". The paper has also repeatedly attacked Mr Cameron's government over levels of immigration, which it has long claimed are too high. The Mail came out staunchly in favour of Brexit on 21 June, two days before the referendum. In a two-page editorial, it said that "by any calculation" Britain would face higher tariff and economic uncertainty, saying it was "not the time to risk the peace and prosperity" of the UK. Sister publication the Mail on Sunday - which is a separate publication with a different editorial team - urged its readers to vote Remain. The Mail has been fiercely critical of immigration and accused of being entirely anti-immigrant, with headlines including: "Migrants: How many more can we take?" and "Immigration: What a mess!" A spokesman for Lord Rothermere refused to confirm or deny the claims to the BBC, but did say that he has many times been "leant on by more than one prime minister to remove Associated Newspapers' editors". A spokesman for Mr Cameron told the BBC: "It is wrong to suggest that David Cameron believed he could determine who edits the Mail. "It is a matter of public record that he made the case that it was wrong for newspapers to argue that we give up our membership of the EU. "He made this argument privately to the editor of the Mail, Paul Dacre, and its proprietor, Lord Rothermere." In a statement by Mr Dacre, given to The Independent, he said: "For 25 years, I have been given the freedom to edit the Mail on behalf of its readers without interference from Jonathan Rothermere or his father. It has been a great joy and privilege." In March, the Mail and The Sun were singled out in a report on hate speech and discrimination in the UK. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) took aim at some British media outlets, particularly tabloid newspapers, for offensive, discriminatory and provocative terminology The paper also drew widespread condemnation for describing High Court judges as "Enemies of the People". The Independent has reached out to Mr Cameron and approached the Mail for further comment. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A travel ban on Israeli citizens by Muslim countries should be protested as well as Donald Trumps decision to bar people from seven predominantly Islamic countries, a senior Conservative MP has said. Former Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers made the suggestion at Prime Ministers Questions. She asked Theresa May whether she thought opponents of the new US Presidents immigration policy were wrong to overlook similar measures in other countries. In the light of the fact that most of the countries covered by the Trump ban have a total exclusion on the admission of Israeli citizens, shouldnt the protestors also be calling for that ban to be lifted, she said. Theresa May replied that it was absolutely right that this House should be aware of the discrimination and the ban that exists around the world and, as she refers to, particularly for those who are Israeli citizens. She said: Were consistent with our approach, we dont agree with that approach and its not an approach we will be taking. The Prime Minister also suggested that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would be reluctant to condemn the ban on Israeli citizens. I wait for the day when the Right Honourable gentleman opposite actually stands up and condemns it too, she said. A spokesman for Mr Corbyn told The Independent: Jeremy opposes all immigration bans based on religion, ethnicity or country of origin. In relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict, he supports a negotiated settlement based on UN resolutions to bring an end to and resolve all aspects of the conflict. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Israeli citizens are currently banned from entering 16 states including Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. Mr Trumps executive order temporarily barred travel to the US from all of those countries. The other countries which ban Israeli citizens are Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Protests against Mr Trumps policy took place across America and other countries around the world including the UK. Even members of his own Republican Party have expressed doubts about it. Attorney generals in 16 US states have declared the policy illegal and a federal judge ordered the ban be overturned. Three states Washington, New York and Massachusetts are now taking legal action against the Trump Administration over the policy. Mr Trump, meanwhile, has continued to defend the ban. In a recent tweet, he said: Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May has insisted she had no advance notice of Donald Trumps controversial announcement of a ban on refugees entering the US. However, under pressure in the Commons, the Prime Minister insisted everyone was warned that some travel restrictions were coming because the President had said so, in his election campaign. The carefully-phrased answer appeared to leave open the possibility that the controversy was discussed in some form, during the two leaders White House meeting last week. Ms May also failed to answer when Jeremy Corbyn demanded to know whether she had sought to persuade Mr Trump to step back from announcing his travel ban. She told the Labour leader: If he is asking me whether I had advance notice of the ban on refugees, the answer is no. If he is asking me if I had advance notice that the executive order could affect British citizens, the answer is no. If he is asking if I had advance notice of the travel restrictions, the answer is we all did - because President Trump said he was going to do this in his election campaign. The executive order signed by Mr Trump, at the weekend, halted the US refugee programme for 120 days and indefinitely banned all Syrian refugees. However, separately, it also suspended all entry from seven mainly Muslim countries - Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Syria - on national security grounds, the White House said. Ms Mays answer appeared to refer to only the first aspect of the order, not the second - which has triggered the loudest protests. The Prime Minister insisted that, what mattered, was to protect the interests of British citizens and that is exactly what she did. On Monday, Channel 4 News claimed that Ms May was tipped off in advance about the travel ban, something Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson refused to answer questions about. The claim was potentially hugely damaging, after her initial refusal to criticise the announcement on Saturday before, many hours later, No.10 said it was wrong. To the surprise of many MPs, Mr Corbyn did not continue to question Ms May about what was said in the White House including whether she tried to influence Mr Trump on the travel ban. On why she initially failed to condemn the ban, the Prime Minister said: I have made very clear, very clear that we believe that this policy is divisive and wrong, that it is not a policy that we would introduce, and I have also made very clear when asked about this, that this Government has a very different approach to these issues. Mr Corbyn told Ms May: President Trump has torn up international agreements on refugees. He's threatened to dump international agreements on climate change. He's praised the use of torture. He's incited hatred against Muslims. He's directly attacked women's rights. Just what more does President Trump have to do before the Prime Minister will listen to the 1.8m people who have already called for his state visit invitation to be withdrawn? But the Prime Minister insisted Labour would not have achieved what she did an exemption for all British citizens from the travel ban, laying the foundations of a trade deal and a 100 per cent commitment to Nato. She said: That's what Labour has to offer this country - less protection for British citizens, less prosperous, less safe. He can lead a protest, I'm leading a country. Critics point out that, while Ms May claimed Mr Trump had given 100 per cent commitment to Nato, the President made no such public statement. Meanwhile, the petition calling for his state visit to be abandoned will be debated by MPs on February 20, as it nears two million signatures. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Liam Fox has abandoned a long-standing Government target to double UK exports to 1 trillion by 2020, even as he launches post-Brexit trade talks The International Trade Secretary said he no longer believed the ambition was achievable, blaming a slowdown in global trade rather than the challenges of EU withdrawal. I think its unlikely to be achievable by 2020. I think its an achievable target in the years thereafter, Dr Fox told a parliamentary inquiry. The move comes despite Dr Fox insisting Britain will leave the EU with no turbulence and no vacuum, in 2019, under Theresa Mays timetable. The Prime Minister would succeed in striking a full and comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU after Brexit, he told the International Trade Select Committee. The target to double UK exports of goods and services which stood at 515bn in 2015 was set by George Osborne in the last Parliament. Liam Byrne, a Labour MP who sits on the committee, said: Liam Fox confirms to me that Britain's 1 trillion export target will indeed be missed. Jelly Lin (Photo : Weibo) Journey to the West: Demons Strike Back failed to impress moviegoers and critics, but it broke opening day box-office records with earnings of 5.53 million yuan. However, there was one thing in the movie that a lot of the Chinese audience liked a lot the cleavage of actress Jelly Lin, also known as Lin Yun. Lin Yuns breast was the number 1 searched topic on Chinas social media after the weekend, Whats on Weibo reported. Advertisement Movies Highlight Among the comments posted on Weibo were bad reviews of the film but appreciation of Jelly Lins mammary glands. One netizen wrote her breasts were the best part of the film. Another said her cleavage was the movies highlight. One review gave the Stephen Chow movie a 2.5 rating out of 5, while a netizen said, The movie is bad, the cleavage is good. Apparently, Chinese moviegoers love cleavages since the cleavage of actress Fan Bingbing also trended on Chinese social media when she played the starring role in the TV drama The Empress of China. After the incident, the countrys censors temporarily cancelled the show and removed all shots of the actress showing her cleavage. Jelly Lin played Shan, the lead role in Stephen Chows 2016 monster hit The Mermaid, her first movie. In Journey to the West: Demons Strike Back, she is White Bone Spirit, while the 20-year-old actress played Tianshu Youhua in L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties. More of Jelly Lin For 2017, fans of Jelly Lin will likely see more of her cleavage in an upcoming film, The Legend of the Mengol King where she would play the role of Yuan Ertie. She would also star in a new TV drama, Battle Through the Heavens. However, unfortunately for Chinese men who have a crush on Jelly Lin, she appears to be taken since reports say she is dating 37-year-old Feng Shaofeng, her co-star in Journey to the West: Demons Strike Back. There were initial reports that the dating rumors were just publicity for the movie, but a Chinese online media company published photos of the couple together such as when they met Fengs father at his office in Shanghai on Feb. 6, 2016, Straits Times reported. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Labour politician held up a sign that said "HE'S LYING TO YOU" as Nigel Farage spoke in support of Donald Trump's travel ban in the European Parliament. A man in a white bow tie appeared to scold London MEP Seb Dance and tell him to put the handwritten sign down, but Mr Dance proudly owned up to the stunt. Parliament had met to debate US travel and migration policy, after the US President banned people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering America. Mr Farage, who is a vocal supporter of Mr Trump, took to the floor to praise the President, as Mr Dance raised the placard behind him. The South East England MEP, and former UKIP leader, told the EU parliament: "Perhaps what we need to do is to be a little bit more constructive. All of us here say we are democrats. Well, heres a chance to prove it: Let us invite President Trump to come here to this European Parliament." He then appeared to insult other MEPs, saying: "Im sure as democrats you would all agree that we need to have an open dialogue with the newly elected most powerful man in the world. If you throw that rejection back in my face, then you prove yourselves to be the anti-democratic zealots that I always thought you were. Members of the public took to social media to praise the sign, which was shown in the UK in a live BBC broadcast, calling it "the best political heckle ever". But fellow Ukip MEP Bill Etheridge, who was also sitting in the chamber and watched it unfold, hit out at EU officials for letting it happen and called the behaviour disgusting. He has sent a complaint letter to EU officials about the incident and tweeted: Disgusting behaviour by labour Mep Holding defamatory sign up behind Nigel Farage as he spoke today. Pathetic and cowardly. He added: If the British Labour Party want to start making signs to display while people are talking I've got a few for them let's start with sell out. Mr Farage joined Mr Trump on the campaign trail before the US election in November, and the President has previously suggested his crony become Britain's ambassador to the United States. But Mr Trump's policies are unpopular in the EU parliament, with Development and Foreign Affairs MEPs issuing a statement saying the US administrations ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority states entering the country could seriously undermine current global efforts towards a fair international sharing of responsibilities for refugees. The US decision fuels anti-immigration and xenophobic discourses, the statement said, and could seriously undermine current global efforts towards a fair international sharing of responsibilities for refugees. Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Show all 12 1 /12 Nigel Farage's most controversial moments Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he unveiled that 'breaking point' poster during the referendum Mr Farage was accused of deploying Nazi-style propaganda when he unveiled a poster showing Syrian refugees travelling to Europe under the next Breaking point. Users on social media were quick to compare the advert to a Nazi propaganda film with similar visuals and featuring Jewish refugees. The poster was particularly controversial because it was unveiled the morning of the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox Rex Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said hed be concerned if his neighbours were Romanian In May 2014 Mr Farage was accused of a racial slur against Romanians after he suggested he would be concerned living next to a house of them. I was asked if a group of Romanian men moved in next to you, would you be concerned? And if you lived in London, I think you would be, he told LBC radio during an interview. Asked whether he would also object to living next to German children, he said: You know the difference Bongarts/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the EU campaign was won 'without a bullet being fired' Nigel Farage has said the next Prime Minister has to be a Leave supporter AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he resigned as Ukip leader and came back days later After failing to win the seat of South Thanet at the general election, Nigel Farage stepped down as Ukip leader as he had promised to do during the campaign. Days later on 11 May he un-resigned and said he would stay after being convinced by supporters within the party. Well see how long his resignation lasts this time AP/Matt Dunham Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he blamed immigrants for making him late Mr Farage turned up late to a 25-a-head meet the leader style event in Port Talbot, Wales in December 2014. Asked why he was late, he blamed immigrants. It took me six hours and 15 minutes to get here - it should have taken three-and-a-half to four, he said. That has nothing to do with professionalism, what it does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof chiefly because of open-door immigration and the fact that the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he wanted to ban immigrants with HIV from Britain Mr Farage has used his platform as Ukip leader call for people with HIV to be banned from coming to Britain. Asked in an interview with Newsweek Europe in October 2014 who he thought should be allowed to come to the UK, he said: People who do not have HIV, to be frank. Thats a good start. And people with a skill. He also repeated similar comments in the 2015 general election leadership debates Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he defended the use of a racial slur against Chinese people Defending one of Ukips candidates, who used the word ch**ky to describe a Chinese person, Mr Farage said: If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you're going for?" When he was told by the presented that he honestly would not use the slur, Mr Farage replied: A lot would Lintao Zhang/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said parts of Britain were like a foreign land The Ukip leader used his 2014 conference speech to declare parts of Britain as being like a foreign land. He told his audience in Torquay that parts of the country were unrecognisable because of the number of foreigners there. Mr Farage has also previously said he felt uncomfortable when people spoke other language on a train Screengrab Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the British army should be deployed to France At the height of trouble at Britains Calais border Mr Farage proposed a novel solution. The Ukip leader called for the British army to be sent to France to put down a migrant rebellion. In all civil emergencies like this we have an army, we have a bit of a Territorial Army as well and we have a very, very overburdened police force and border agency, he said. If in a crisis to make sure weve actually got the manpower to check lorries coming in, to stop people illegally coming to Britain, if in those circumstances we can use the army or other forces then why not AFP/Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said breastfeeding women should sit in the corner Mr Farage sparked protests from mothers after he told women to sit on the corner if they wanted to breastfeed their children. I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isnt too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that's not openly ostentatious, Mr Farage said. He added: "Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be AFP/Getty Images Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said the gender pay gap exists because women are worth less At a Q&A on the European Union in January 2014 Mr Farage said there was no discrimination against women causing the gender pay gap. Instead, he said, women were paid less because they were simply worth far less than many of their male counterparts. A woman who has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off - she is worth far less to her employer when she comes back than when she went away because that client base won't be stuck as rigidly to her portfolio, he said Getty Nigel Farage's most controversial moments When he said he actually couldnt guarantee 350m to the NHS after Brexit During the EU referendum campaign the Leave side pledged to spend 350 million a week on the National Health Service claiming that this is what the UK sends to Brussels. Nigel Farage didnt speak out against this figure and also pledged to spend EU cash on the health service and other public services himself. Then the day of the election result he suddenly changed his tone, saying he couldnt guarantee the cash for the NHS and that to pledge to do so was a mistake Getty Mr Farage is also thought to be unpopular in the European parliament, where he has frequently insulted other politicians. He also has the second lowest attendance rate of all 746 MEPS, turning up for only 40.7 per cent of all possible votes between July 2014 and May 2016. Despite appearing to do little work, he once boasted his EU salary and expenses were worth 250,000 a year. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Rachael Maskell and Dawn Butler have resigned from Labours Shadow Cabinet following Jeremy Corbyns decision to impose a three-line whip and force his MPs to vote for invoking Article 50. Their decision comes less than an hour ahead of a crucial vote on the second reading in the Commons of the Governments EU Withdrawal Bill the legislation needed to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The Independent understands Ms Maskell, the Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, made her decision after meeting with constituents at two public meetings to hear their concerns over Article 50. The majority lobbied her to defy the three-line whip imposed by the Labour leadership last week. Ms Maskell, who remained loyal to the Labour leader during an attempted coup in the summer of 2016, is the MP for York Central an area the voted overwhelmingly to remain inside the European Union at the referendum in June last year. In a statement, Mr Corbyn said: I would like to thank Dawn and Rachael for their work in the shadow cabinet. They are great assets to the Labour Party and to our movement. MPs have a duty to represent their constituents as well as their party, and I understand the difficulties that MPs for constituencies which voted Remain have in relation to the European Union withdrawal Bill. However, it is right that the Labour Party respects the outcome of the referendum on leaving the European Union. We have said all along that Labour will not frustrate the triggering of Article 50 and to that end we are asking all MPs to vote for the Bill at its second reading tonight. Her decision to stand down comes after Jo Stevens, the Shadow Welsh Secretary, became the first member of the Shadow Cabinet to stand aside, saying she could not reconcile herself to vote to invoke Article 50. It is expected that dozens of Labour MPs could defy the three-line whip especially those in metropolitan constituencies that voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. Frontbenchers Catherine West, Tulip Sidiq and Daniel Zeichner have all said they would vote against the Governments Bill. Rupa Huq, the Labour MP for Ealing Central and shadow home office minister, told The Independent she is also prepared to vote against triggering Article 50 and that her position has been clear since the referendum. Asked whether she was expecting any consequences, she replied: Well cross that bridge when we come to it. In an extraordinary situation, three out of Labours 12 whips, responsible for keeping MPs in line, have vowed publicly to defy the whip and vote against the triggering of Article 50. These include Jeff Smith, the MP for Manchester Withington, Thangam Debbonaire, the MP for Bristol West, and Vicky Foxcroft, the MP for Lewisham. The Independent understands that the positions of members of the Shadow Cabinet and frontbench, who defy the three-line, will be considered untenable after the vote later this week. Asked on ITVs Peston on Sunday whether his MPs would have to resign if they voted against invoking Article 50, Mr Corbyn replied: As of now, nobody has voted on anything. There was no need for anyone to resign at this stage. Its obviously impossible to carry on being in the Shadow Cabinet if you actually vote against a decision made after a very frank and long discussion of the Shadow Cabinet earlier this week. However, we are a party with massive talents I expect and assume, and I think everyone would agree that every Labour MP is going to vote for the amendments that Keir Starmer and I have put before the House this week. Mr Corbyn has made clear for several months that Labour would not seek to frustrate the will of the people and vote with the Government in invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Owen Smith, the former Labour leadership candidate, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme earlier on Tuesday he would also defy Mr Corbyns orders and vote against Article 50, as he accused the Prime Minister of dissembling on the issue. "I fear that we are still being lied to, like during the referendum campaign, and lied to still about how easy this is going to be." Mr Smith was among the 22 Labour MPs to lend their support to a wrecking amendment to the Bill, although it is highly unlikely to pass. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Government will publish its White Paper spelling out its plan for Brexit after MPs have voted on triggering Article 50, the Prime Minister has announced. Theresa May said the detailed document would be published on Thursday. MPs are expected to give the Government the power to start negotiations in a vote Wednesday evening. The timing of the white paper's release means MPs who decide they do not support the proposals will be unable stop the Government going ahead with them in negotiations. Ms May said at Prime Minister's Questions: "I can inform my right honourable friend and the House that that white paper will be put out tomorrow." The approach of putting the vote before the plans are laid out is likely to spare the Government the grief of having to argue in favour of its proposals to MPs once the details become known. It is expected that the white paper will elaborate on the framework outlined by Ms May in a speech in January. In that address the Prime Minister announced that Britain would be leaving the single market, the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, and that she would restrict freedom of movement with the continent. The Government has said that MPs will be given another vote on Brexit in this Parliament: to agree any deal made. What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty However, it has indicated that if MPs reject the deal the only alternative will be no deal and that Britain will crash out of the EU with no special arrangements. Ms May pledged the white paper last week but would not say when it would be published. The Government conceded that it would publish the document after a potential rebellion by Conservative MPs at the start of the year. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Prime Minister Theresa May has reportedly hired The Daily Mail's political editor James Slack as her chief spokesman. Mr Slack will replace Helen Bower, who will go on to work as Boris Johnson's director of communications at the Foreign Office. He will be responsible for No 10's twice daily briefings with political journalists in the Houses of Parliament. Theresa May announces Brexit white paper If his appointment is confirmed, Mr Slack will become the second political editor from the tabloid to work for the Conservative Government. James Chapman left the paper in 2015 to work for forrmer Chancellor George Osborne, as his chief of communications. He is now director of communications for Brexit secretary David Davis. A spokesman for No 10 declined to comment. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May has backed the right of Muslim women to wear a headscarf or hijab without fear. The Prime Minister said she believed that what a woman wears is a womans choice. A number of countries have imposed bans on parts of Muslim religious dress. France bans the Hijab in public buildings such as schools and universities as part of a prohibition on religious symbols. Recommended Catholic primary school bans Muslim girl from wearing a hijab Others, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of Switzerland have passed bans of varying severity on wearing face veils such as the burqa or niquab. In Britain, Ukip leader Paul Nuttal has called for the Muslim face veil to be banned. SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh asked Ms May about the subject during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Today is world hijab day and I wondered if the Prime Minister would join me in recognising the right of Muslim women to wear hijab if they wish without fear indeed the right of all women everywhere to wear what they want when they want, she said. Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban Show all 11 1 /11 Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty The Prime Minister replied that she agreed with Ms Ahmed-Sheikh on the issue. On the issue that she raises about the wearing of the hijab, Im absolutely in line with her: I believe that what a woman wears is a womans choice, she told the House of Commons. In 2013 David Cameron said he would back up schools and courts which asked women to remove veils. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Black History Month is an annual observance that commemorates the history and achievements of members of the black community. In the US where it originated in the early 20th century the month is also known as African-American History Month. Here is everything you need to know about Black History Month: When is it? Black History Month takes place every year in the UK in October. The annual observance is also commemorated in other parts of Europe during October, including Ireland and the Netherlands. In the US, where Black History Month originated, the awareness month is held in February. It is also celebrated in Canada during the month of February, where it became an officially-recognised event in 1995. How did it start? Virginian-born Carter Godwin Woodson, a historian and co-founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History), is credited with being the father of black history. In February 1926, Woodson and his organisation launched Negro History Week, a precursor to Black History Month. The group chose the second week of February for the observance to coincide with the birthdays of 16th US president Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass. Woodson believed that education about black history was vital in the study of race within society, stating: If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated. The week grew in popularity over the years, leading to the creation of black history clubs. Mayors across the country also threw their support behind the week, advocating for it to become an official holiday. Following more than four decades of the week, the first celebration of Black History Month in the US was held at Kent State University in 1970 from 2 January until 28 February. In 1976, US President Gerald Ford recognised Black History Month, urging members of the public to seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history. Black History Month was first celebrated in the UK in 1987, an event that was organised by Ghanaian-born Akyaaba Addai-Sebo. How is it commemorated? Black History Month in the UK is commemorated with various events across the country, including talks, exhibitions and concerts. This years theme is Proud to Be. People of all ages are being encouraged to share what they are proud to be on social media. In London, it is being marked with a three-hour cruise along the River Thames going from Temple to Greenwich and back. The six-mile round trip showcases the thousands of years of African and Caribbean history on display along the river. This includes a closer look at Kings Colleges connection to the Caribbean and Canary Wharfs African roots. The tour is available until 3 October and the tickets cost 36. Also in London, the Zari art gallery in Fitzrovia is displaying the work of Black artists for its Honour, Remember, Inspire exhibition, which is showing until 29 October. The LevelUP Foundation, a small Sheffield-based youth charity, is also hosting an event called Culture Kitchen. Taking place at Sheffield Hallam University on 29 October, the event invites people to come and learn how to make signature dishes from a host of different countries including Jamaica, Nigeria and Guyana. For all the latest news on Black History Month, click here. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man has died from a tooth infection after it spread to his blood and lungs. Lorry driver Vadim Kondratyuk had complained of toothache when he set off for New York from his home in California on 17 January. He stopped at a dentist in Oklahoma City, where he was treated for an infection and prescribed antibiotics, reports KCRA News. But on arrival, he phoned his brother to say he was in too much pain and might struggle to make the 2,700-mile trip back home. Nobody thought that from a tooth something so big can happen and go everywhere, Mr Kondratyuks wife Nataliya told the TV station. I was crying and his brother was like, he will be ok. After making it part of the way home, the 26-year-old was in so much pain his brother took him to hospital in Utah, where doctors said the infection had spread to his lungs. Dentist accused of mutilation His condition quickly deteriorated and he died on Monday with his wife by his side. Mr Kondratyuk leaves behind two daughters, two-year-old Vanessa and 11-month-old Maya. Its going to be hard with both my kids without a husband, said Ms Kondratyuk. Half of me is just taken away. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} California Democrats are considering creating a state-wide sanctuary rule that will prohibit police officers from working with federal immigration authorities in opposition to President Donald Trump's migration policy. A number of cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, already operate such a policy but it does not cover the entire state. It means they do not cooperate with US Immigration and Customs enforcementfor example, by not notifying immigration officials if an illegal immigrant is about to be released from custody. Around 300 US jurisdictions are believed to currently have sanctuary status. Mr Trump issued an executive order threatening to strip federal funding from sanctuary cities if they "harbour illegal immigrants" and San Francisco is already suing him on the basis the order contradicts states' rights provisions under US law. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The new plan, drafted by California Senate president Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, was due for its first airing on Tuesday. The city of San Francisco said the executive order could result in the loss of more than $1bn (794m) in funding. Mr Trump's crackdown was foreshadowed not long after his victory in November's election. Chief of staff Reince Priebus said cities that "ignore federal law" should not expect "federal government to help them in any way". Ending cities' sanctuary rules was a Trump campaign promise. Mr Trump has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by immigrants to "better inform the public regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions". Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has filed paperwork to ensure he is ready to run for President in 2020. The filing with the Federal Elections Commission on Inauguration day does not constitute a formal announcement but it ensures he is compliant for the next race. It is also a tool to begin accepting campaign contributions from day one. The unusually early filing means US nationals could allegedly bribe the incumbent President, according to Jonatan Zunger, a writer and Google engineer. "Given that a sizable fraction of the campaign funds from the previous cycle were paid directly to the Trump Organisation in exchange for building leases, etc., at inflated rates, you can assume that those campaign coffers are a mechanism by which US nationals can easily give cash bribes directly to Trump," he wrote in a Medium blog post. "Non-US nationals can, of course, continue to use Trumps hotels and other businesses as a way to funnel money to him." The White House could not be immediately reached for comment. Mr Trump claimed he self-funded his campaign in 2015 and 2016, and although he did give much more of his own money than other candidates, millions of dollars were given in the form of loans, rather than donations, meaning he could expect to recoup the cash. He was leasing his own office space and using the plane from the Trump Organisation during the campaign, and if he did not use political donations to pay back those expenses, it could have been seen as an illegal corporate contribution. On the flip side, by raising money, he is essentially employing campaign funds to internally subsidise the Trump Organisation. Gary Nordlinger, professional in residence for global advocacy at George Washington University, said Mr Trumps early paperwork "sends a clear message" that he intends to run again. "I cant say its never been done before but I cant recall a candidate doing it quite so soon," he told The Independent. "I can absolutely see the logic here. It sends a very clear message that hes planning to go to a second term and by forming a 2020 committee now he can start raising maximum contributions." Barack Obama announced he was running for his second term on April 2011, just seven months before the election. There are no laws that govern how early the incumbent President should announce his or her intentions for a second term. In the last 64 yrs there have been only two presidents that did not win a second term, Jimmy Carter and George H W Bush. "The odds are pretty good," said Mr Nordlinger. In contrast, the political pendulum is likely to swing back to Democrat after two terms of Mr Trump. There has only been one case of Republican power over three terms, and that was eight years of Ronald Reagan followed by four years of George H W Bush. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Senate committee has approved President Donald Trump's picks for Health and Treasury secretaries after majority Republicans suspended the panel's rules. Republicans faced a second day of sitting in a half-empty hearing chamber as Democrats launched a boycott of Mr Trump's cabinet nominees. The rule they suspended required at least one Democrat to be present for votes, amid the escalation in partisan tensions in the new Congress. We took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues, said Senate Finance Committee chair Orrin Hatch. As I noted earlier, the Senate Finance Committee has traditionally been able to function in even the most divisive political environments. That all changed yesterday. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The Senate Finance Committee approved Georgia GOP Rep Tom Price to become Health secretary and financier Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary by a pair of 14-0 votes. Democrats boycotted the meeting, demanding time to ask more questions about both nominees. Donald Trump sacks acting attorney general over immigration ban Top Senate finance Democrat, Sen Ron Wyden, had concerns about Mr Mnuchin's truthfulness regarding foreclosure practices during his time as the chief executive of a mortgage lending company. Mr Wyden also questioned Mr Price's time in Congress, inquiring about whether or not the HHS nominee used healthcare legislation to his financial advantage. "Despite repeated requests by members of this Committee, both nominees have yet to answer important questions that impact the American people," Democratic committee members said in a letter to Mr Hatch explaining their boycott. Democratic Sen Sheldon Whitehouse issued a statement rebuking the move by Republicans, and expressed his concerns for the future of dealing with an unchecked Trump administration. "With each day of his administration, President Trump has shown us new ways to disregard the Constitution and the basic norms that both parties must respect for our democracy to work. It has become increasingly clear that Senate Republicans won't yet check him," he said. "Stacking and jamming these nominees through is a dark day for the Senate," Mr Whitehouse added. "There will come a time, very soon I fear, that Republicans and Democrats need to work together to keep the excesses of this president in check. "I hope my colleagues do not irrevocably undermine our ability to do so." DF-5B ICBM on parade. (Photo : PLA) China has sought to give a new lease of life to the DF-5, an obsolete and old operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) due to be replaced, with a belated announcement it's tested a MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle) on this aging missile. It's given the latest iteration of this missile the designation DF-5C, which will be armed with 10 MIRVs compared to eight on the DF-5B. U.S. military analysts said the DF-5C tests occurred in December 2016 before Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president but after his election victory on Nov. 8. Advertisement Some analysts, however, contend that making public the news of this test only now means China is again sending a signal to Trump it will defend its patently illegal claim to own the South China Sea, including islands it seized that lie within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on July 12, 2016 declared illegal China claim to own most of the South China Sea based on what it terms "historic rights." The court also brushed aside as illegal the historic rights claim. What's odd is that China is spending resources upgrading the obsolete DF-5 since this missile is due for replacement by the more modern DF-41, a new road mobile ICBM still in the flight test stage. Media reports claim the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) deployed the non-operational DF-41s to Heilongjiang province last week, a claim later denied by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). DF-5 is obsolete, having entered operational service with the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) in 1981. It is probably China's oldest operational ICBM. What makes it a flawed ICBM is its tedious launch process. The missile is stored horizontally in specially built tunnels, trundled out and raised to the vertical to be fired. This cumbersome method plus a refueling process that takes over an hour to complete means the DF-5 can only fire some two hours after receiving the order to launch. Despite its obsolescence, the DF-5 still has a place in the land-based leg of China's nuclear triad. China only had from 50 to 75 operational ICBMs with nuclear warheads on land and on its ballistic missile submarines in 2013, said the U.S. intelligence community. DF-5 has an operational range of 15,000 kilometers and a flight speed of Mach 22 (26,950 km/h). China has only 20 operational DF-5s (single warhead) and the DF-5B variant (8 MIRVs). Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One of the worlds leading climatologists is calling for a rebellion by scientists against Donald Trump. Professor Michael Mann, whose work was key in demonstrating that global temperatures had risen dramatically because of human activity, said academics and researchers were usually reluctant to take to the streets in protests. But Mr Trumps assault on science meant the US was firmly back in the madhouse of climate science denial, he said, and required a response from the community. The new US President dismissed climate change as a Chinese hoax before the US election and since then has appointed a string of people with links to the fossil fuel industry and a track record of global warming scepticism to senior positions in his administration. And, as Professor Mann, of Pennsylvania State University, wrote in an article for The Hill website, Mr Trump has also barred the Environmental Protection Agency from publishing studies or data prior to review by political appointees and has told them to remove mention of climate change from their website. The White Houses own climate webpage has been disappeared for good measure, he added. It is difficult to keep up with this dizzying ongoing assault on science. Following the anti-Trump Womens Marches around the world, there are now plans for a March for Science in Washington and other places next month. We scientists are, in general, a reticent lot who would much rather spend our time in the lab, out in the field, teaching and doing research, Professor Mann wrote. It is only the most unusual of circumstances that gets us marching in the streets. Trumps assault on science is just such a circumstance. And we are seeing a rebellion continue to mount. Professor Mann recently published a book called The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy. He said at the time he was criticised by other well-meaning fellow climate scientists for dignifying denial by writing about it. But he said the book couldnt seem any more prophetic following Mr Trumps election. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan It meant that someone with views largely dismissed by politicians and scientists all over the world is now one of the most powerful people on the planet. The era of climate change denial is over. Rejection of the unequivocal scientific evidence that carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are warming the planet and changing our climate is no longer socially acceptable, Professor Mann said. Only the most fringe of politicians now disputes the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is real and human-caused, and they are largely ignored. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jerry Falwell Jr, the head of the worlds largest Christian college where biblical creationism is taught alongside the theory of evolution, is to lead Donald Trumps taskforce on higher education reform. Mr Falwell, who was an early endorser of Mr Trump and whose backing helped secure the vital support of evangelical Christians, had been mentioned as a possible candidate as Education Secretary. But while Mr Falwell did not feel able to take on that role, he has agreed to head Mr Trumps taskforce. He said that he had spoken with Steve Bannon, Mr Trumps controversial and powerful advisor, about the role. While the precise details of the taskforces mandate are still being worked out, he said, the aim would be to to get the government off the backs of higher education. In the Department of Education, theres too much intrusion into the independent accreditation, Mr Falwell told the Washington Post. Theres too much intrusion into the operation of universities and colleges. Ive got a whole list of concerns. It mainly has to do with deregulation. Donald Trump's closest advisor Steve Bannon thinks there will be war with China in the next few years Liberty University did not immediately respond to enquiries on Wednesday. Mr Falwell was quick to throw his support behind Mr Trump, and the New York tycoon travelled to his university in Virginia and spoke to students, somewhat mangling a bible reference. At a campaign even in Davenport, during the Iowa caucuses, Mr Falwell said he had decided to back Mr Trump because the country is at that point. At Mr Falwells Lynchburg campus, the science hall is reportedly stocked with the latest laboratory equipment, including a gene sequencer and a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. However, faculty members teach evolution alongside biblical creationism. David DeWitt, who holds a doctorate in neurosciences from Case Western Reserve University, chairs Libertys biology and chemistry department. He is also director of its Centre for Creation Studies. Last November, Mr Falwell met with Mr Trump and Mike Pence at Trump Tower in New York I let them know one of my passions is reforming higher education and education in general, Mr Falwell told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I told them Id be willing - I have a lot of responsibilities here - but Id be willing to serve in some capacity that sort of brings education back to some form of sanity. Mr Falwell is a lawyer and the son of the private evangelical college's founder, the Rev Jerry Falwell, co-founder of the Moral Majority and an architect of the conservative Christian political movement that helped propel Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980. Liberty University did not immediately respond to enquiries on Wednesday. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump's administration is considering a plan to deport immigrants who rely on welfare programmes like food stamps, according to a leaked draft of a new executive order. It would follow the new President's decision to place a temporary US travel ban on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries and the suspension of America's refugee programme. Reportedly circulated among senior US government officials, it is unclear whether the new US President has decided to sign the draft order, which was obtained by the Washington Post. Dated 23 January, it sets out how the the country would use potential reliance on welfare programmes as a factor in the decision on whether to admit people into the country. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The White House has yet to confirm the draft order's authenticity, but a memo for Mr Trump attached to it, read: "Our country's immigration laws are designed to protect American taxpayers and promote immigrant self-sufficiency. "Yet, households headed by aliens (legal and illegal) are much more likely than households headed by native-born citizens to use federal means-tested public benefits. Our immigration laws must be enforced in a manner that achieves the goal of protecting our taxpayers and promoting self-sufficiency." The draft order said that past administrations have failed to enforce a US policy of denying entry to "foreigners who are likely to become a public charge" - meaning they would be supported by the state. Under the plan, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly would be asked to propose "a rule that provides standards for determining which aliens are inadmissible or deportable on public-charge grounds, and that specifies that an alien is inadmissible as a public charge if he is likely to receive, and is deportable as a public charge if he does receive, public benefits for which eligibility or amount is determined in any way on the basis of income, resources, or financial need". The matter of whether immigrants rely on welfare at a higher rate than those born in the US has been hotly contested in the past. Recommended EU and Mexico accelerate free trade talks as Trump vows to cut NAFTA A 2015 report by the Centre for Immigration Studies (CIS) concluded they did. Researcher Steven Camarota claimed that in 2012 "51 per cent of households headed by an immigrant (legal or illegal) reported that they used at least one" welfare programme compared to 30 per cent of "native households". The study added: "Many immigrants struggle to support their children, and a large share of welfare is received on behalf of US-born children." The language in the new draft order appears to reflect that used by the CIS paper. But the libertarian Cato Institute think tank has disputed the CIS claims. They said they had compared "apples to elephants", adding that the household metric was "ambiguous" and "poorly defined". The CIS study did not correct for household size and had focused on individual welfare use, they added. Its own 2013 research suggested that "poor immigrants are less likely to use welfare than poor natives." In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which significantly restricted access to welfare for immigrants. Illegal migrants are barred from most federal programmes designed for the poor, while those in the US legally must live there for at least five years to become eligible for a limited set of social aid schemes. "The overwhelming consensus in the economics academic literature is that immigrants add more to the economy than they take, they create more jobs for Americans, and they are a net benefit to the American economy," said Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute. Were it signed in its current form, Mr Kelly would be tasked with identifying any immigration regulations that contravene US law"or are otherwise not in the national interest and should be rescinded"and putting forward a rule for scrapping or modifying them. The Labour Secretary would also be charged with running an 18-month "investigation of the extent of any injury to US workers caused by the employment in the United States of foreign workers admitted under nonimmigrant visa programmes or by the receipt of services from such foreign workers by American employers". The review would include the H-1B visa programme, which allows skilled foreigners to work in the US. CNN reported that India's technology industry suffered a "panic attack" at the news the scheme would be included. "I think with respect to H-1Bs and other visas, it's part of a larger immigration reform effort that the president will continue to talk about," Mr Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters. Meanwhile, a second leaked draft also suggested the Trump administration was mulling a shake-up of the work visa system. The unannounced order claims to protect the jobs and wages of American workers by "strengthening the integrity of foreign worker visa programmes". An accompanying memo stated: "A primary factor driving illegal immigration to the United States is the availability of jobs and benefits. Eliminating this jobs magnet will reduce the flow of illegal entries and visa overstays. "The unlawful employment of aliens has had a devastating impact on the wages and jobs of American workers, especially low-skilled, teenage, and African-American and Hispanic workers." The reforms could change the way companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Apple recruit staff. According to the draft order, "visa programmes for foreign workers ... should be administered in a manner that protects the civil rights of American workers and current lawful residents, and that prioritises the protection of American workers, our forgotten working people, and the jobs they hold." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Texas congressman has joined calls for Donald Trump to be impeached for allegedly exceeding his constitutional authority with a temporary ban on refugees and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat serving in the House of Representatives questioned whether the new President had instructed the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) to disregard court orders against his executive order. If Pres. Trump ordered CBP to ignore a judicial order he should be censured as a warning. If he does it again Congress should remove him, Mr Castro wrote on Twitter. I have tremendous respect for the presidency but our Republic cannot tolerate a President who ignores direct judicial orders.#checksbalances Donald Trump sacks acting attorney general over immigration ban He is one of a number of Democrats calling for Congress to investigate whether Mr Trump intentionally exceeded his constitutional authority to implement the temporary ban, which has sparked global protests. Many demonstrators have called for Mr Trump to be impeached, but the prospect looks almost impossible with his Republican Party in control of both the House of Representatives and Senate. Both houses would have to vote on the move, with the US Constitution requiring a simple majority in the House to impeach a President for treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanours. To be removed from office, he or she must be convicted by the Senate by a two-thirds vote. Congressional elections will be held in 2018, when Democrats will be hoping to re-take control. The executive order suspends the US refugee programme for four months, and Syrian refugees indefinitely, and bars visitors and migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Critics have labelled the policy a Muslim ban an allegation denied by the President, who has called for asylum claims by Christians to be prioritised, earning a warning from the UN. Gillian Christensen, a spokesperson for the CBP, denied the agency was directed to ignore court orders stopping enforcement of the executive order. CBP officers are not detaining anyone, she told Buzzfeed. Green card holders who arrive in the US have to go through secondary screening but that process is working smoothly and relatively quickly. Furthermore, visa holders who would be affected by the executive order are being denied boarding at their point of departure so they are not even making it into the US. Following chaos at airports over the weekend as US residents and visa holders were detained, the Secretary of Homeland Security, John Kelly, issued a clarification saying the entry of lawful permanent residents is in the national interest. Lawyers have accused border agents of ignoring a judges stay against the order in attempts to deport legal visitors to the US, with dozens handcuffed and detained at airports. The acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, was fired for publicly questioning Mr Trumps policy and ordering government lawyers not to defend it, prompting comparisons to the Nixon-era Saturday night massacre. Richard Nixon was on the verge of being impeached when the Attorney General and his deputy quit rather than carrying out orders to fire the prosecutor investigating him over Watergate. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has been forced to cancel a trip to a Harley-Davidson factory due to planned protests. The President was planning to go to Milwaukee on Thursday to do a tour of the factory and sign executive orders relating to US manufacturing. While the trip had not been publicly announced, White House staffers had gone to the Midwestern city, which he won at the election, to prepare for the visit. A White House official told CNN the company had decided it was not comfortable hosting him with protests planned and Mr Trump was no longer expected to travel to the city. Harley-Davidson issued a statement saying they dont have, nor did we have, a scheduled visit from the President this week at any of our facilities". Massive protests were in the pipeline for the event in the wake of the billionaire property developers hardline immigration ban which has sparked chaos and outrage around the world. Mr Trump's plan to sign an executive order about manufacturing in a quintessentially American factory in a key battleground state, which has a large population of white-working class Democrats, would have served a symbolic purpose. The Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump applauded the decision to call off the visit which was set to be one of the President's first press events outside of Washington. Fearing a massive protest, Trump was forced to cancel his event after a massive backlash from the community over his scheduled appearance at Harley-Davidson," their statement read. "The location of Trumps event, which was supposed to remain secret, was leaked by activists and a rally was planned outside the Harley-Davidson plant in Menomonee Falls." The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters "Thousands of people from all walks of life were prepared to protest Trumps visit and condemn his hateful speech and policies. The Milwaukee Coalition Against Trump organised a call-in protest to Harley-Davidson that resulted in a denial from Harley-Davidson, followed by an announcement from the White House that the trip was cancelled. Trumps unpopular policies have ignited an unprecedented resistance movement that will block his every move. We hope our success in Milwaukee sets the tone for the rest of Trumps Presidency, wherever he goes, there will be resistance! Mr Trump was last in Wisconsin in December when he had a stop in the city as part of his thank you tour through key swing states he won. The former reality TV star was the first Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote in Wisconsin since 1984. The eleventh hour decision to cancel the trip is an example of the logistical difficulties the Trump team confronts in the face of mounting protests in an increasingly polarised country. Mr Trump was also forced to cancel a campaign event in Chicago last year due to violent clashes erupting between protesters. Protests have erupted across the US over Mr Trumps Muslim ban which has blocked people from boarding US-bound flights and led to them being detained in American airports. Last week, the President signed an executive order suspending the entire US refugee admissions system for 120 days, halting the Syrian refugee programme indefinitely, and banning entry for people from seven majority-Muslim countries. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Trump and his administration are reportedly considering a plan to deny would-be immigrants and deport legal immigrants living in the country who might need public assistance. The Washington Post obtained two draft executive orders that tightly controls who enters the country and workforce in an attempt to reduce the burden on taxpayers. Its currently unclear when and if the president will sign the orders but they would extend his limits on immigration following his chaotic executive order banning travel to and from seven majority Muslim countries. While the order was created to protect Americans from terror threats, despite around 1,000 State Department officials saying the ban doesnt make the country safer, the new orders have been drafted in the vein of protecting US workers. Our countrys immigration laws are designed to protect American taxpayers and promote immigrant self sufficiency. Yet households headed by aliens are much more likely than those headed by citizens to use Federal means-tested public benefits, the first draft reads, according to The Post. The order, titled Executive Order on Protecting Taxpayer Resources by Ensuring Our Immigration Laws Promote Accountability and Responsibility, provides no evidence that immigrant households use more welfare benefits. The administration would also deny admission to would-be immigrants who might need public assistance and consider whether to deport immigrants who need programs such as Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. A second draft, titled Executive Order on Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs calls for eliminating the so-called jobs magnet that attracts undocumented immigrants to the United States. It also calls for the end of all work visa programs that violate US immigration law. Last week, Vox obtained draft orders that shared similarities to the orders obtained by The Post. In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President-elect Donald Trump acknowledges guests as he arrives on the platform at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump shakes hands with Justice John Roberts after taking the oath at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump raises his fists after his inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama before Trump is inaugurated during ceremonies on the Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump resident-elect Donald Trump arrives on the platform of the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Attendees partake in the inauguration ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump US President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during ceremonies at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump waves with wife Melania during the Inaugural Parade in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. Scores were arrested for trashing property and attacking officers AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A woman holds a sign before the start of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Anti-Trump protesters prepare banners for a protest against the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, in Berlin REUTERS In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators shout slogans against US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators march, block foot traffic and clash with U.S. Capitol Police at the entry checkpoints for the Inauguration of Donald Trump Alamy Live News In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators display a banner as people arrive for US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A man displays a placard as people lineup to get into the National Mall for the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump raise their hands as they are surrounded by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Donald Trump protests outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Demonstrators hold placards as they protest outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush arrive for the Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden share an umbrella as President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address at the inauguration in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. Vice President Mike Pence takes the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Advisors to President-elect Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon depart from services at St. John's Church during the Presidential Inauguration in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump take cover as they are hit by pepper spray by police on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump An activist demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump is helped after being hit by pepper spray on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer tries to tackle a protester demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump Reuters/Adrees Latif In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Police arrest and detain a protester in the street in Washington DC Rex In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump A police officer falls to the ground as another shoots pepper spray at protesters demonstrating against U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the inauguration in Washington DC Reuters Given who is eligible for federal benefits, this is a plan to take benefits from low-income legal immigrants, Jamelle Bouie, a chief political correspondent with Slate, wrote on Twitter. Hes loaded his anti-immigrant Uzi and is firing off another round, Angela Kelley, an immigration expert at the Center for American Progress, told The Post. This time hes aiming at USc citizen kids who have an undocumented parent, and depending how broad the reach of his order, he could deport kids who have received reduced lunches in school. Its stunning the depth of disruption and chaos he seems hell-bent on inflicting on our communities. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One of the worlds largest news agencies has instructed its journalists to "practice skills learned" in hostile countries and warzones while reporting on the Trump administration. In a message to thousands of Reuters reporters and photographers, its editor-in-chief offered advice on how to address the many challenges raised by Donald Trumps presidency. Its not every day that a US President calls journalists among the most dishonest human beings on earth or that his chief strategist dubs the media the opposition party, Steve Adler wrote. We dont know yet how sharp the Trump administrations attacks will be over time or to what extent those attacks will be accompanied by legal restrictions on our news-gathering. Donald Trump attacks 'dishonest' media over CIA speech Mr Adler said that although there had been debate over whether to oppose Mr Trumps administration or boycott its press briefings, Reuters would continue the unbiased style of reporting it uses in countries in which the media is unwelcome and frequently under attack. He cited examples as Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Thailand, China, Zimbabwe and Russia, where journalists have been detained, killed, prosecuted, attacked, threatened, censored and denied visas. Dont take too dark a view of the reporting environment: Its an opportunity for us to practice the skills weve learned in much tougher places around the world, the editor added. Journalists are being advised to become ever more resourceful and worry less about official access, and not to be intimidated. Reuters sources said the email had originally been sent internally to staff but was published in full after being leaked. It came amid continued concern over Mr Trumps treatment of the mainstream media, seeing him repeatedly target outlets including CNN and the New York Times, which have been critical of his policies. His repeated use of the phrase dishonest media has been compared to the Nazi-era term Lugenpresse, meaning lying press, which has been used at right-wing events attended by the Republicans supporters. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Mr Trump has spurned traditional methods of communication, delaying and cancelling press briefings following his election, and granted interviews with sympathetic minor outlets like the Christian Broadcasting Network over larger publications and networks. Last week he accused the press of distorting his words to disparage him, saying he used his Twitter account to get his message across instead. Mr Trumps tweets have become notorious for his attacks on media outlets, which were repeating in speeches and on the campaign trail, where he was lambasted for appearing to mock a disabled reporter last year. The new US Presidents style has earned unfavourable comparisons to his Turkish counterpart, who has seen dozens of journalists detained and newspapers closed in widespread purges since an attempted coup. Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised Mr Trump for putting a CNN reporter in his place after he refused to take questions from the US broadcaster at a pre-inauguration press conference. His pick for chief strategist was Steve Bannon, the chairman of self-declared alt-right website Breitbart, which is accused of propagating fake news with its vehemently anti-immigration agenda. Meanwhile the new White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, has been ridiculed for holding up printed notes at official briefings and appearing to contradict the Presidents own words on his controversial executive order temporarily banning refugees and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. A group of United Nations rights experts warned that the policy breaches the countrys international human rights obligations on Wednesday amid continuing protests and calls to impeach Mr Trump. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump fired Sally Yates after she refused to comply with his executive orders on immigration, making him only the second President in US history to dispense with his Attorney General. The other was Richard Nixon, eight months before he resigned before he was impeached. Commentators have compared Mr Trumps Monday night massacre, as cable networks began calling Ms Yates dismissal, to Nixons famous Saturday night massacre which he carried out during the Watergate crisis of 1973, sparking a chain reaction which ultimately led to Nixons downfall. The Watergate Scandal, portrayed in the film All the Presidents Men, centred around a break-in at the Democratic National Committee in Washington and the attempted cover-up by the Nixon administration of its involvement. Special Report: Watergate - the untold story Show all 4 1 /4 Special Report: Watergate - the untold story Special Report: Watergate - the untold story pg-32-watergate-1-reuters.jpg Reuters Special Report: Watergate - the untold story pg-32-watergate-2-ap.jpg AP Special Report: Watergate - the untold story pg-32-watergate-3-ap.jpg AP Special Report: Watergate - the untold story pg-32-watergate-4-corbis.jpg Corbis In November 1973, Nixon ordered then Attorney-General Eliot Richardson to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox after he was assigned a significant role in the Watergate investigation and subpoenaed the President to hand over the tapes of conversations made in the Oval Office. Mr Richardson refused point-blank to fire Mr Cox and resigned in protest. For good measure, his Deputy Attorney General William Rucklehaus, resigned after he too refused to give Mr Cox his marching orders. The Solicitor General, Robert Bork, then did Nixons bidding, and Mr Cox was duly fired. Federal District Judge Gerhard Gessell ruled the dismissal of Cox was illegal because of the absence of any extraordinary impropriety which would have justified it. Congress was infuriated by Nixons act, which they regarded as a gross abuse of presidential power, and the tide of public opinion seemed to turn against him, with a large number of telegrams flooding into the White House and Congress expressing disgust. In the days that followed, opinion polls showed that for the first time, a majority of American citizens supported the impeachment of their President, and numerous resolutions of impeachment against the President were introduced in Congress. As with Mr Trumps dismissal of Ms Yates and the highly controversial events surrounding it the departure of Mr Richardson was front page news both in the US and internationally. Nixon was compelled to allow the appointment of a new Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski to continue the investigation. He may have hoped the replacement would limit himself to the investigation of the Watergate break-in alone but he took Mr Coxs lead, and looked at the broader activities surrounding it. Jeff Sessions presses Sally Yates on her need for independence from the White House The storm around Watergate continued to gather over the following months, and in the face of mounting pressure and certain removal from office through the impeachment process, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974 the only President in US history to do so. Eliot Richardsons resignation widely viewed as constructive dismissal did him no harm. In 1974, he received the John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official. He later served as ambassador to the UK and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom the nations highest civilian honour. Upon his death on New Years Eve, 1999, he was recognised as a Watergate martyr by major media outlets including CNN for refusing to do the Presidents bidding. Recommended Former acting attorney general Sally Yates did something amazing Those opposed to Mr Trump have been quick to draw parallels between Mr Richardon and Ms Yates, who was appointed by Barack Obama and serving as the Acting Attorney General until Mr Trump has his own pick approved. Outlining her reasons for refusing to support Mr Trump's sweeping immigration ban, Ms Yates said: At present, I am not convinced that the defence of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities of the Department of Justice, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful. In a White House statement, Yates was said to have betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States. Ms Yates actions are already being hailed as heroic, with Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer calling them a profile in courage. Recommended Jeff Sessions pressed Sally Yates on need for independence Democat congressman John Conyers was one of many to criticise her unceremonious dismissal, saying: If dedicated government officials deem [Trump's] directives to be unlawful and unconstitutional, he will simply fire them as if Government is a reality show. But not everyone agrees the comparison between Mr Richardson and Ms Yates bears scrutiny. Watergate journalist, Carl Bernstein, told CNN: Theres a big difference, because the Saturday night massacre was really about firing the Attorney General when Nixon was the target of an investigation and was actively obstructing justice. I think the President is within his rights here to fire the Attorney General, that he has that ability," he said. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} UN human rights experts have warned Donald Trumps travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries contravenes international law and could lead to people being sent home to face torture. The US Presidents executive order curbing immigration has aroused an international outcry, even among US allies, and sown chaos and bewilderment among travellers. Four US states are suing to overturn the order, saying it flouts constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. In a statement, the UN experts urged the Trump administration to protect people fleeing war and persecution and uphold the principle of non-discrimination based on race, nationality and religion. The United States should not force back refugees, a practice known as refoulement, they said. Such an order is clearly discriminatory based on ones nationality and leads to increased stigmatisation of Muslim communities, the experts statement said. Recent US policy on immigration also risks people being returned, without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, to places in which they risk being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in direct contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws which uphold the principle of non-refoulement. The independent experts included the UN special rapporteurs on migrants, Francois Crepeau; on racism, Mutuma Ruteere; on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson; on torture, Nils Melzer; and on freedom of religion, Ahmed Shaheed. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Monday that discriminating against people on the basis of their nationality is illegal. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The UN experts voiced concern that people travelling to the US could be subject to detention for indefinite periods and ultimately deported. They called on Washington to live up to internationally agreed obligations to offer refuge to those fleeing persecution and conflicts. Mr Melzer also urged Mr Trump not to consider returning to waterboarding and other methods of torture that were used during George W Bushs administration but banned by his Democratic successor, Barack Obama. Mr Trump has said he believes waterboarding works but his top defence and security appointees have said they would oppose any use of it. Any tolerance, complacency or acquiescence with such practice, however exceptional and well-argued, will inevitably lead down a slippery slope towards complete arbitrariness and brute force, Mr Melzer said. Reuters Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} While President Donald Trump has been tweeting about the necessity of banning immigrants and refugees to stop an influx of "bad dudes" to the US, he might be shocked to learn that the highest number of domestic terrorist attacks in recent years were carried out by US citizens. Information from Terrorism in America After 9/11 found that 190 US-born citizens have been charged with, or died while carrying out, jihadist terrorism since 2001. That number tops the list and far outstrips illegal immigrants (8) and refugees (12). The executive order, signed Friday, bans nearly all travellers from seven countries - Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen - for 90 days while the US reviews its vetting procedures, which are already at least two years long for Syria. Refugees will be suspended for 120 days, and Syrian refugees will be suspended indefinitely. Christians refugees fleeing persecution would be prioritised. More than 300 terrorist cases were carried out by US citizens or permanent residents (Statsta) The order led to massive protests at airports around the US as green card and visa holders were detained, placed in handcuffs and questioned for hours after flying in from one of the seven countries. Washington became the first state to sue the President over the order, and Massachusetts, Virginia and New York have also filed lawsuits to challenge the constitutionality of the order. Further studies question the logic behind the new immigration policy. In the last 41 years, no American has been killed on their home soil by anyone from the seven Muslim-majority countries affected by Mr Trumps ban, found Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute. A total fof 17 people from the seven countries were charged with attempting to carry out a terrorism attack but nobody was killed. There have been no terrorists from Syria during this period. Based on their analysis, the chance that an American would be killed by a foreign-born refugee is just 1 in 3.64 billion per year. That ratio becomes even more infinitesimal to 1 in 10.9 billion per year in the case of an undocumented immigrant. His study found that the higher numbers of terrorists from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia was due to the 9/11 attacks. Once the ban is lifted, the US will take no more than 50,000 refugees for the fiscal year of 2017. As a testament to this focus on developing Africa, Kenya has been listed by China as a pilot and demonstration country for the expansion of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. (Photo : Getty Images) China is looking forward to further growing its investment partnership networks in Africa. According to a report by the Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Liu Xianfa, is ecstatic about the two countries' commitment to shared prosperity. Advertisement "Joint shouldering of responsibility and promotion of growth is in line with the cooperation trends and the direction between China and other developing countries, especially African nations," said Liu in an article entitled "Share Responsibility For A Better World." It was featured in The Daily Notion, the most sold daily in Kenya. China's remarks is in line with the tone of President Xi Jinping's speech in Davos, where he upheld the benefits of globalization. Liu has taken President Xi's speech as a reminder to the world of the importance of fostering a win-win scenario through innovation and interconnectedness. Africa's Growth and the Global Economy For Liu, the China-Africa initiative will steer the continent into the right direction as it becomes the fastest growing region in the world. "The growth of the African economy in general is dependent on the growth of the rest of the world, and with good economic performance in Africa, this world is assured of becoming a better place," he said. As a testament to this focus on developing Africa, Kenya has been listed by China as a pilot and demonstration country for the expansion of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The key support of leaders on both sides, the level of China-Kenya bilateral relations is at an all-time high. China hopes that this collaboration will become a model for south-south collaboration and be hailed as a crucial stepping stone within the larger China-Africa cooperation initiative. Liu is confident that China and Kenya will continue to support and espouse the benefits of globalization while setting the specifics on implementation and outcomes in the upcoming FOCAC Johannesburg summit. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Immigration agents have been wrongly telling travellers arriving legally in the US that they must sign documents forfeiting their right to enter, according to lawyers and migrants. People holding valid visas were reportedly told to sign a form before being marched back onto flights to countries they had travelled from. Others refused to sign and were held in detention for hours or days, before being allowed into the country, reports the New York Times. It comes after Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday banning people travelling to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries. Lawyers told the newspaper that some immigration agents did not explain the content of the documents they were telling their clients to sign, and threatened barring them for years if they refused. The people affected are all from countries whose citizens are subject to the 90-day ban: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Sara Yarjani, an Iranian student doing a masters degree, said she flew back to California after visiting her parents in Austria. James Corden films airport journey in protest at Donald Trump's 'Muslim ban' At Los Angeles International Airport she claims she was questioned, searched, and put in detention for 23 hours before being told she could not enter the country because her visa had expired. Ms Yarjani told the New York Times an officer said: Either you comply and agree to leave voluntarily, by signing a document, or if you do not comply we will have to forcibly deport you, which will face you with a re-entry ban to the United States of one to five years or longer. Another Iranian student, known only as Saba, told the newspaper she was returning from Europe when an immigration officer said she could not enter. Her visa expires in 2018. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters She claims an officer said to sign a document without knowing what it stated. When she was given a copy, she was told she had voluntarily withdrawn her application to enter the US. There is still confusion over whether Mr Trumps banning order applies to people with temporary visas. The US Customs and Border Protection agency has been contacted for a response. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A woman who lived in America since 1995 has died a day after being turned away from the US as a result of Donald Trumps executive order to ban people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, according to reports. (*See update below.) Mike Hager, the womans son, said his sick mother was turned away from boarding a US-bound flight from Iraq, despite showing her green card, after the family decided to return from a visit when the 75-year-old fell ill. One day later, Mr Hager said, his mother died. Iraqi-born Mr Hager described his shock when he had to take his mother away from the airport terminal in her wheelchair the last time he would see her saying the Trump administration had "destroyed" his family. He told Fox 2 Detroit: They destroyed us. I went with my family, I came back by myself. They destroyed our family. "The immigration [official] told us that the President of the United States put an order right now - you guys cannot go. "I was just shocked. I had to put my mum back on the wheelchair and take her back and call the ambulance and she was very, very upset. She knew right there if we send her back to the hospital she's going to pass away she's not going to make it." Mr Hager was born in Iraq and fled with his family during the Gulf War, at which point they lived in a refugee camp for four years before being settled in Detroit in the US, Fox 32 Detroit reported. In the 2000s, Mr Hager returned to Iraq where he worked for the US Special forces between 2003 and 2008 as an interpreter and cultural advisor, while his mother remained in the US. Mr Hager blamed his mothers death on Mr Trump, and said the new policy had made him feel as though he and his family were not wanted anywhere. I really believe this in my heart: if they would have let us in, my mum she would have made it and she would have been sitting right here next to me, he said. Shes gone because of him. This is our home. Weve been here for too long, weve been here since we were kids. If Im not wanted overseas in Iraq and Im not wanted here, then where do I go? What am I supposed to do with my family?" The now business owner added: You put the terrorists on the side, the bad people, but dont mix everybody together. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Since Mr Trump signed the executive order on Friday, America has temporarily suspended immigration from seven majority Muslim countries, and placed a four-month suspension on the countrys refugee programme. More than four million people across the globe have signed an open letter addressed to the US President over the so-called ban, accusing him of fear, hate mongering and bigotry. However, a recent poll found that more Americans support the Muslim ban than oppose it, with 49 per cent of American adults saying they either strongly or somewhat agreed with the order, while 41 per cent strongly or somewhat disagreed. * It has subsequently been reported by Fox 2 Detroit that Mr Hagars mother died on 22 January, several days before President Trump instituted his travel ban. The outlet has quoted a local Imam in Dearborn, Michigan, as confirming this information. It also reports that it has seen a post from Mr Hagars Facebook account dated 22 January, now deleted, which memorialises his mother. Mr Hagar, when asked by Fox 2 about the apparent discrepancies is reported to have said: I did not make anything up. Update added 2 February 2017. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} For all of Donald Trumps claims that his travel ban affecting seven countries is to make Americans safer, less than a third of people believe it will do so. Mr Trumps executive order, signed 27 January, bars immigrants from the seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for three months. The order sparked protests this weekend, when hundreds of travellers were detained at airports around the country. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting, Mr Trump responded in a statement. This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. But polling results show few Americans believe the ban will actually protect them. A Reuters/Ipsos poll, carried out between January 30 and 31, found just 31 per cent of people felt more safe due to the ban. Twenty-six per cent said the ban made them feel less safe, while 33 per cent said it would make no difference. More than 900 US State Department employees have signed on to a letter claiming the ban would not improve national security. According to the letter, obtained by The Intercept, officers abroad witnessed significant frustration and confusion upon implementing the travel ban. The letter describes one embassy as inundated with frustrated green-card holders, visa holders, and applicants. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country, Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said in a statement. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security. Meanwhile, New America found only 12 refugees have been charged with, or killed in, acts of jihadist terrorism in the US since 2001. Almost 200 US-born citizens were charged with similar crimes over the same period. Less than half of the Reuters poll respondents said they agreed with the order, although results were heavily divided by party. Fifty-three per cent of Democrats said they strongly disagree while the order, with 51 per cent of Republicans said they strongly agree. The party divide continues all the way to Congress, where only 16 of the 293 Republicans spoke out against the ban. The Democratic Party, meanwhile, released a statement condemning it. The United States was built by immigrants and refugees, the official Democratic Party account tweeted January 28. Donald Trump's Muslim ban is immoral and illegal. The GOP should be ashamed. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump's closest advisor thinks that the US will be at war with China in the next few years. The far-right figure, who has been given unprecedented power in the White House and has suggested in the past that he supports white supremacy, suggested that the two countries are headed towards war over the South China Sea. Were going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years, arent we? Mr Bannon said on his radio show in March 2016. Theres no doubt about that. Theyre taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those. They come here to the United States in front of our face and you understand how important face is and say its an ancient territorial sea. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Tensions between the China and the US and Japan, as well as other countries, have increased in recent years over a dispute about who exactly owns the part of the Pacific Ocean. China has been asserting its ownership of the sea by building huge islands in it on which it has put military installations. Since Donald Trump's election, and the anti-Chinese rhetoric that marked the campaign that preceded it, the relationship between China and the US has become increasingly fraught. Last week a senior Chinese military official said that war with the US is "not just a slogan" and that it was becoming a "practical reality". The same official called for increased military deployments in the East and South China Seas to guard the area, according to the South China Morning Post. Mr Bannon's views are coming under increased scrutiny as he ascends to power within the White House. Over the weekend it emerged that Mr Bannon had been appointed to a committee on which only senior generals usually sit a move that journalist Michael Moore seemed to suggest a coup was underway. The ex-head of Breitbart has in the past likened himself to Lenin, for instance. The Russian leader "wanted to destroy the state, and thats my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of todays establishment," he told a reporter from The Daily Beast. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump is being sued by a Chicago-based doctor who has been stranded in the Middle East because of the new US president's travel ban. Dr Amer al Homssi has been stuck in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since Sunday, after US officials prevented him from boarding his flight home. In a copy of his lawsuit, seen by The Independent, he alleges that he was barred from travelling after they found an Islamic prayer app on his phone. The 24-year-old, who had travelled to the UAE to get married, is a Syrian citizen but has never lived there and holds residency in the UAE. He had been living in America under a J-1 student visa while he continued with his medical studies. His lawsuit, filed at a district court in the US state of Illinois, says that he voluntarily turned over his mobile phone and other personal belongings after he was asked to take part in a secondary screening. Despite his cooperation, US officials did not let him board his flight, citing Donald Trump's executive order which banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from travelling to the US. Syria is among the countries whose citizens have been barred from entering America. His lawsuit alleges that officials then crossed out his visa with black pen and annotated it with: Cancelled E.O. 59447v.8. Dr al Homssi believes he has become collateral damage in the Presidents discriminatory ban. The "dreadful consequences...are the result of his being a member of the Muslim faith that is now being treated differently in the United States, the lawsuit says. Abdulaziz Galadari, a colleague of Dr al Homssis, said he was one of the top students in his class. He told The Independent: He is one of the most hardworking people I had the pleasure to meet. He worked so hard to finish his US licensing exams and with hard work he finally earned a spot in one of the most esteemed residency programs in Chicago, If Dr al Homssis visa is not reinstated, he could face deportation to Syria, where he has never lived and has not visited for seven years. His UAE passport is dependent on his place in medical school which is now in jeopardy because of the travel ban. Dr al Homssis attorney Thomas Durkin, described his predicament as classic insanity. Its just so ignorant and stupid. I don't understand it. I'm just embarrassed that my country would do something like that," he told the NBC7 television station. The Independent contacted the Trump administration for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Trump has selected Judge Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court pick to fill the vacant seat open by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. I am proud to announce the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for Justice of the Supreme Court, the president said in a statement. This has been the most transparent and most important Supreme Court selection process in the history of our country and I wanted the American people to have a voice in this nomination." "Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education," he continued, "and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text. He will make an incredible Justice as soon as the Senate confirms him. Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Show all 20 1 /20 Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-1 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-2 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-3 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-4 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 28: Demonstrators hold signs during a rally against a ban on Muslim immigration at San Francisco International Airport on January 28, 2017 in San Francisco, California. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends entry of all refugees for 120 days, indefinitely suspends the entries of all Syrian refugees, as well as barring entries from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering for 90 days. Stephen Lam/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-5 A crowd of protesters gathers outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse as a judge hears a challenge against President Donald Trump's executive ban on immigration from several Muslim countries, on January 28, 2017 in Brooklyn. The judge issued an emergency stay on part of Trump's executive order, ruling that sending refugees stopped at U.S. airports back to their countries would be harmful. Yana Paskova/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-6 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-7 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-8 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the new immigration ban issued by President Donald Trump at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-9 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-10 Getty Images Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-11 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-12 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-13 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-14 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-15 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-16 Protestors rally during a demonstration against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-17 NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-18 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-19 Protestors rally during a protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 28, 2017 in New York City. President Trump singed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Protestors rally at JFK Airport against Muslim immigration ban jfk-protest-muslim-ban-20 Passengers wait in line to check in at the American Airlines terminal at JFK International Airport August 10, 2006 in the Queens borough of New York City. British authorities arrested 21 people and halted a anallegedly terrorist plot to use liquid explosives concealed in carry-on luggage to blow up airliners traveling between Britain and the U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said that the plot appeared to be directed at U.S. carriers flying out of Heathrow. such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines. Stephen Chernin/Getty The selection likely kickstarts a bitter political battle between Democrats and Republicans, who last year refused to confirm President Barack Obama's selection, Judge Merrick Garland. Protesters demonstrated outside the US Supreme Court Building on Tuesday, repeatedly chanting "not my America." Judge Gorsuch was nominated to the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver by President George W Bush in 2006. He was confirmed by the Senate by a voice vote. At 49-years-old, Judge Gorsuch is the youngest nominee for the seat in 25 years. If he's confirmed, the court would be split 5-to-4 between Republicans and Democrats, respectively. I am honoured and humbled to receive this nomination, Judge Gorsuch told reporters. I look forward to meeting with Senators over the coming weeks as we begin this process. Over the years, the Colorado native established himself as a reliably conservative judge by his rulings. Hes most widely known for defending Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor in court battles against the Affordable Care Act, which required them to pay for contraceptive coverage for employees. The court sided with the companies with a divided vote in 2014. Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Only one thing is certain about Donald Trumps nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the seat on the Supreme Court that has been vacant for almost a year. It sets up an almighty confirmation fight with Democrats that could result in a momentous change in Senate rules. In normal circumstances, Judge Gorsuch, who is a federal appeals court judge based in Denver, Colorado, with a glittering Ivy League resume and experience at one of Washingtons top law firms, would be a conventional conservative nominee in whom Democrats, a minority in the Senate, would grudgingly acquiesce. But these are not normal times. In the 12 days Mr Trump has been in the White House, relations between the two parties on Capitol Hill have descended into open warfare, with Democrats now delaying some of the Presidents most important nominees. Their resistance has only been stiffened by the massive popular demonstrations nationwide against the edict barring refugees from seven Muslim countries into the US. That resistance turned to anger when Mr Trump this week sacked the acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, after she defied the presidential order. On top of that is lingering Democratic bitterness over how the Republican Senate majority, in breach of all precedent, refused to even consider Merrick Garland, the moderate judge whom President Obama nominated to the Court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in mid-February 2016. Had the Garland appointment gone through, it would have tilted the Court in a somewhat more liberal direction. But the Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell, claiming it was for the people to decide at the November election, held the seat open. His gamble paid off when Mr Trump (who on the campaign trail had loudly promised a thoroughly conservative nominee) against all the odds won. Judge Gorsuch fits that bill perfectly, as a protege and close doctrinal follower of Justice Scalia. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters For many Democrats though, the Scalia seat has simply been stolen. They now seem all but committed to staging a filibuster to block the nomination and that raises the possibility of a procedural earthquake in the Senate. Judge Gorsuch will be fiercely grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But the Committee vote is certain to break along party lines, and a Republican majority (11 against 9 in the last Congress) will send his nomination to the full Senate for the decisive confirmation vote. At this point, if Democratic tempers do not cool over the next few weeks, the filibuster drama would begin. Republicans have a slender 52-48 majority in the Senate, far short of the 60 needed to override a filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee. If the deadlock persists (and some Democrats have vowed a four year filibuster), Mr McConnell will have to make a historic decision: whether to invoke the so-called nuclear option and change Senate rules to permit a Supreme Court nominee to be voted through by a simple majority. The change would be deemed pure hypocrisy by many, given how Mr McConnell, as Republican leader used the filibuster ruthlessly to block Obama legislation and Obama nominees. It would also destroy the last shreds of the Senates reputation as a place of calm and sober deliberation, in which the filibuster was a weapon of last, rather than first, resort. But Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, must also make a fine calculation. If Democrats push Mr McConnell into invoking the nuclear option the filibuster will no longer be available to them for future and even more important Supreme Court nominations. In fact, confirmation of Judge Gorsuch to the high court would merely signal a return to the status quo ante, before Justice Scalias sudden death during a hunting trip to Texas. The really important nomination will be the next one, that would probably follow the retirement of one of the three oldest members of the Court the veteran liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83, and Stephen Breyer, 78, and the current swing vote on theCourt, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is 80. The replacement of the departing Justice by a conservative would ensure a right-wing Court, perhaps for a generation. That is a consideration that Democrats have to weigh as they dig in for what will surely be a long and ill-tempered struggle. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Neil Gorsuch, named as President Donald Trump's nominee to the US Supreme Court, has a solidly conservative pedigree that has earned him comparison to the combative justice he would replace, Antonin Scalia. Judge Gorsuch clerked for two Supreme Court justices and worked in President George W Bush's Justice Department before being appointed to the federal bench and authoring a series of sharply written, conservative opinions. His mother, Anne, ran President Ronald Reagan's Environmental Protection Agency. But Judge Gorsuch has also won praise among liberals and others in the Colorado legal community for his fair-mindedness and defence of the underdog. He is a very, very smart man. His leanings are very conservative, but he's qualified to be on the Supreme Court, said Denver plaintiff's attorney David Lane. I don't know that Judge Gorsuch has a political agenda and he is sincere and honest and believes what he writes. A judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Judge Gorsuch lives in the hyper-liberal college town of Boulder and teaches at the University of Colorado's law school there, also a progressive bastion. I think this should be Merrick Garland's seat, said Jordan Henry, one of Judge Gorsuch's students there and a self-described liberal, referring to President Obama's nominee for the vacancy last year who was never considered by the Republican-controlled US Senate. But she described Judge Gorsuch as an eager mentor, always solicitous of students' opinions and with a brilliant mind. He's dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the justice system, said Ms Henry, 29. I do take some comfort that he can be a Trump choice. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Judge Gorsuch is a Colorado native who earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then earned a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington DC law firm. He served for two years in George W Bush's Justice Department before President Bush appointed him to a seat on the 10th Circuit in 2006. His mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, served as administrator of the EPA, but she was forced to resign 1983 amid a scandal involving the mismanagement of a $1.6 billion program to clean up hazardous waste dumps. Ms Burford was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over Superfund records, which she claimed were protected by executive privilege. Neil Gorsuch has contended that courts give too much deference to government agencies' interpretations of statutes, a deference that stems from a Supreme Court ruling in a 1984 case. More recently, he sided with two groups that successfully challenged the Obama administration's requirements that employers provide health insurance that includes contraception. Judge Gorsuch summed up his minimalist judicial philosophy and focus on impartial judgement on Tuesday evening. A judge who reaches every outcome he wishes is likely a very bad judge, he said after Mr Trump introduced him from the East Room of the White House in a primetime televised address. Judge Gorsuch has also drawn attention for siding with religious employers against the Obama administration's requirement that they provide health insurance that covers contraception. He also wrote a book arguing against assisted suicide. Marcy Glenn, a Denver attorney and Democrat, recalls two cases before Judge Goresuch in which she represented underdogs - a college student facing criminal libel charges for mocking a professor, which Judge Gorsuch said should be dropped, and homeowners suing over illnesses stemming from an old nuclear weapons facility outside Denver whose class action lawsuit Judge Gorsuch revived in a novelistic, 52-page ruling that begins: Harnessing nuclear energy is a delicate business. He issued a decision that most certainly focused on the little guy, Ms Glenn said. Rebecca Love Kourlis, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice, said Judge Gorsuch has written 175 majority opinions and 65 concurrences or dissents in his decade on the 10th Circuit. He's really earned his stripes, she said. Ms Kourlis said Judge Gorsuch is also a notable advocate for simplifying the justice system to make it more accessible. Legal services in this country are so expensive that the United States ranks near the bottom of developed nations when it comes to access to counsel in civil cases, Judge Gorsuch wrote in a journal article last year. The real question is what to do about it. The article is written in Judge Gorsuch's characteristic, straightforward style. He thinks it's really important for people other than lawyers to understand what he's writing, Ms Kourlis said. Judge Gorsuch is also an avid skier, fly fisherman and horseback rider, Ms Kourlis said. He teaches at the University of Colorado's law school in Boulder. He is humble, he is extremely articulate and he is extraordinarily hard-working, Ms Kourlis said. In his financial disclosure report for 2015, he reported assets ranging from $3.1 million to $7.25 million. He earned $26,000 for his law school duties and another $5,300 in book royalties that year. Associated Press Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Democrats are planning to challenge Donald Trumps nomination of conservative judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court amid protests against the extreme candidate. The President hailed the Harvard and Oxford graduate as the man who our country really needs to ensure the rule of law and justice, but critics accuse him of attacking womens rights and upholding a fundamentalist interpretation of American law. Judge Gorsuch, who has been on the US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals since 2006, has family connections to the Republican party and has argued against euthanasia and liberal addiction to the courtroom in his writings. Demonstrators gather outside the US Supreme Court after Donald Trump announced Neil Gorsuch as his nominee to fill the seat Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on 31 January (AFP/Getty Images) (AFP/Getty) Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, accused the judge of repeatedly siding with corporations over working people, demonstrating a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, is hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me sceptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court. He said the US needs an independent Supreme Court judge who will preserve our democracy, protect fundamental rights and will stand up to a President who has already shown a willingness to bend the Constitution. Hundreds protested outside Mr Schumers home in Brooklyn after Mr Trump announced his nomination on Tuesday, calling on him to block his confirmation and vote against the Presidents picks for cabinet. Judge Gorsuch is expected to fill a seat left vacant for 10 months after Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland, was not granted a hearing or vote by Republicans. His confirmation would restore Supreme Court to nine justices, with the swing vote between conservatives and liberals on Justice Anthony M Kennedy, whose rulings have fallen on both sides of the political spectrum. Judge Gorsuchs mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was the first female director of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Reagan administration. Donald Trump sacks acting attorney general over immigration ban Democratic senator Jeff Merkley described the appointment as a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, pledging to do everything in his power to stand up against this assault on the court. Mr Merkley suggested he will hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 needed votes for confirmation, with the party already holding a 52-48 majority in the Senate. Several other Democrats came out in immediate opposition to Judge Gorsuch, including Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who said he has sided with large companies over workers. Sherrod Brown, the senior senator for Ohio, said his rulings had not favoured American workers or women's rights, while Oregon senator Ron Wyden cited his stand against laws that allow terminally ill people to end their lives. The judge set out his argument in his 2006 book The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, writing: All human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong. Judge Gorsuch, a Protestant, has sided with groups that successfully challenged the Obama administration's requirements for employers to provide health insurance including contraception in the Hobby Lobby Stores v Sebelius case. "As they understand it, ordering their companies to provide insurance coverage for drugs or devices whose use is inconsistent with their faith itself violates their faith, representing a degree of complicity their religion disallows, he wrote of the claimants. Planned Parenthood is among the groups opposing his nomination, issuing a statement saying: Nominees to the highest court in the land must make clear that they will protect our fundamental rights, including the right of a woman to control her body. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The judge has never ruled on abortion and he is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on the issue, same-sex marriage or interfere in a case currently before the Supreme Court on the rights of transgender students. In 2013, he upheld a lower court's ruling that a police officer could not be prosecuted after using a taser on a 22-year-old student, who died from the incident. He has also railed against American liberals have becoming addicted to the courtroom to effect their social agenda in an article for the National Review in 2005. Like Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court justice who died suddenly last year, Judge Gorsuch supports support textualism, the interpretation of law according to its plain text, and maintains a strict interpretation of the US Constitution as understood by the Founding Fathers. Several Democrats could vote for Judge Gorsuchs appointment, with Montana senator Jon Tester saying he could share our values. He has been praised by Republicans, who are bracing for a potentially long struggle to have the 49-year-old judge confirmed as the courts youngest justice in decades. Five judges in the Supreme Court have voted to preserve abortion and gay rights, meaning Judge Gorsuchs views on the issues are unlikely to have a major effect unless one of its liberal members leaves. Upon his appointment, he vowed to "do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country". Additional reporting by AP Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The policing costs alone for Donald Trumps trip to the UK could exceed 10 million, security planners have said, making it potentially the most expensive state visit in British history. The presidential visit is expected to attract even larger, angrier crowds than seen at two major demonstrations since the inauguration the Womens March and protests over Mr Trump's travel ban, which between them brought more than 100,000 people to the streets of London. Controlling protesters would require a police deployment similar to the G20 Summit in 2009, which cost the Metropolitan Police more than 7.5 million, a source told The Times. A petition to cancel the visit has reached nearly two million signatures, and a parliamentary debate on the subject has been tabled for later this month. But so far Downing Street has not indicated it is seriously considering revoking the invitation to Mr Trump, saying: We look forward to hosting the president later this year. A YouGov poll for The Times found that despite widespread disapproval of the president and his policies, 49 per cent of voters think the visit should go ahead because Britain has to deal with the elected leader of the US. It found 36 per cent of voters in favour of withdrawing the invitation. Buckingham Palace has expressed more unease at the prospect of the visit than Downing Street. Prince Charles in particular has clashed with the new President over climate change. He also warned the lessons of the Second World War are in increasing danger of being forgotten at a fundraiser for World Jewish Relief, held shortly after Mr Trump's travel and immigration ban on people from seven majority-Muslim countries, including refugees, was implemented. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Members of the President's staff have warned that Prince Charles should not lecture him on climate change during the visit in case the fiery politician erupts in return, The Sunday Times reported. Mr Trump has reportedly expressed a preference that the younger generation of royals, such as Prince Charles sons William and Harry, meet him instead. Although this could also be awkward: an old tweet Mr Trump sent about Kate Middleton, Prince William's wife, in 2012 has recently resurfaced. The former reality TV star weighed in on the furore around the publication of topless photos of Kate Middleton, saying the Duchess of Cambridge only had herself to blame for the photos being taken. The last major state visit, by President Xi of China in 2015, cost the Metropolitan Police 1.1 million. Protests against his presence mainly involved small Free Tibet groups and were easily contained. Andy Hayman, former head of counter-terrorism at Scotland Yard, told the Times: We might expect demonstrations on the scale we saw at G20 it is not far-fetched to estimate that this will cost the taxpayer several million pounds in policing alone. Australia is one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year. (Photo : Getty Images) True to form, plenty of Chinese spilled out into different parts the nation and even out of the country in celebration of the Chinese New Year. According to Forbes, the following trends were the most observed during the recently concluded holiday. Advertisement Travelling with Family Family travel is one of the most anticipated segments to boost outbound travel in China, according to ForwardKeys. In Dec. 2016 alone, family bookings have risen by 18 percent. The increase in family travel is attributed to two factors. First, rather than flying home, young professionals nowadays are more likely to fly their family over to their current location. Other young workers are also taking the chance to treat their families on holidays or overseas travel. "Young professionals living away from home are willing to spend more money to ensure their ageing parents especially travel in comfort by booking full service flights for them," said James Huang, market development manager for Wego North Asia, in an interview with Forbes. Outbound Travel to Europe According to ForwardKeys, bookings for a European travel tour were up by 56 percent for this year's Chinese New Year holiday. Central/Eastern and Northern Europe were particularly popular, while bookings to Turkey was exceptionally low--a fact attributed by the current political climate in the country. Some of the top destinations among Chinese travelers include Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, and even France, despite having suffered numerous terrorist attacks in the past few months. Asian Holidays Still Popular While bookings to Europe have significantly increased for Chinese New Year, Asian destinations still remain the top choice for Chinese travelers. In fact, nine of the top 10 overseas destinations favored by the Chinese are all found within the Asia-Pacific region, based on data from travel portal Ctrip. Thailand and Japan rank the highest, while the United States ranked third. Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam complete the list. Outbound Travel Spending Remain Strong Chinese travelers are known as some of the biggest spenders in the tourism industry. Ctrip estimated those who went on overseas travel (of which there are about 6 million) spent an approximate total of 100 billion yuan, which is roughly $14.5 billion. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A bill to completely abolish the Environmental Protection Agency has been drafted that would close the main arm of the US Government responsible for fighting climate change by the end of next year. Matt Gaetz, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, has written to other politicians who might support his bill, according to an email obtained by The Huffington Post. He claimed the American people are drowning in rules and regulations imposed by unelected bureaucrats. And the EPA, he added, was an extraordinary offender. Donald Trump has appointed a known climate change sceptic, Scott Pruitt, to head the EPA, an organisation he has regularly take legal action against as Oklahomas attorney-general. According to reports, the EPA is facing major budget cuts under the new administration. Its staff have also been ordered not to use official social media accounts or speak to journalists without permission. But, in his email, Mr Gaetz called for the abolition of the EPA. Our small businesses cannot afford to cover the costs associated with compliance, too often leading to closed doors and unemployed Americans, he said. Recommended Every mention of global warming deleted from White House website It is time to take back our legislative power from the EPA and abolish it permanently. Today, the American people are drowning in rules and regulations promulgated by unelected bureaucrats and the Environmental Protection Agency has become an extraordinary offender. The EPA, which was created in 1970 by Republican President Richard Nixon, has a mission to ensure the US plays a leadership role in working with other nations to protect the global environment among other goals. Despite its origins, Mr Gaetz said those on the political right should support his bill. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan As conservatives, we must understand that states and local communities are best positioned to responsibly regulate the environmental assets within their jurisdictions, he said. This legislation abolishes the EPA effective December 31, 2018, to allow our state and local government partners to implement responsible policies in the interim. I ask for your support in eliminating this abusive and costly agency. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} More than 1,700 residents living in the Flint-area in Michigan are suing the the US Environmental Protection Agency for the handling of its man-made water crisis. Residents and property owners filed a lawsuit on Monday at the US District Court in Michigan, the Associated Press reports. Theyre seeking $722.4 million in health and property damages claiming the EPA failed to follow specific agency mandates and directives. The suit also claims the EPA did not hold local and state officials accountable so they would take immediate steps to fix the toxic water. Last week, the city reached its 1,000th day without safe drinking water. Its been nearly two years since high-levels of lead were discovered in the citys water supply and the lead content has finally fallen below the federal limit. Still, state authorities are urging residents to refrain from drinking the water and to use filtered water when drinking and cooking. In pictures: Flint water crisis Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Flint water crisis In pictures: Flint water crisis Anthony Fordham picks up bottled water from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to deliver to a school after elevated lead levels were found in the city's water in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Michigan National Guard Staff Sergeant William Phillips (L) assists a Flint resident with bottled water at a fire station in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents Arthur Woodson, left, and Tony Palladino Jr. protest the arrival of Flint native and filmmaker Michael Moore as Moore accuses Gov.Rick Snyder of poisoning Flint water during a rally outside of city hall in Flint AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents pick up bottled water and water filters at a fire station in Flint. Michigan National Guard members were set to arrive in Flint to join door-to-door efforts to distribute bottled water and other supplies to residents coping with the city's crisis over lead-contaminated drinking water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard Flint prepare to give Flint residents bottled water at a fire station in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis Justin Roberson (L), age 6, of Flint, Michigan and Mychal Adams, age 1, of Flint wait on a stack of bottled water at a rally where the Rev. Jesse Jackson was speaking about about the water crises at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis A man sits next to a stack of bottled water at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint 2016 Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis The top of a water tower is seen at the Flint Water Plant. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Michigan and ordered federal aid to be used to help state and local response efforts to an area affected by contaminated water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Rosie Wright, center, rallies with the crowd over Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Rick Catherman participates in a rally around Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP It is nowhere near the end of the story, Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who helped expose the lead crisis, recently told the Washington Post, adding the city still needs to replace thousands of lead pipes that could take years to address. Once those lead pipes are replaced, she added, then hopefully the people of Flint will regain the trust that has been shattered in their drinking water. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Four US states are suing Donald Trumps administration over his hardline immigration ban and its violation of the constitution. Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington have joined the lawsuit against the White House. The 70-year-old business magnate, turned leader of the free world, has already fired his acting Attorney General Sally Yates over the order which restricts the travel of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. At bottom, what this is about is a violation of the constitution, said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, at a Boston press conference, flanked by leaders from tech, healthcare and education sectors. It discriminates against people because of their religion [and] it discriminates against people because of their country of origin. Liberal-leaning Washington state became the first US state on Monday to have its attorney general initiate a lawsuit against the travel ban. New York and Virginia attorneys general followed up saying their states were joining similar lawsuits. As we speak, there are students at our colleges and universities who are unable to return to Virginia, said the state's attorney general Mark Herring. This is not an action I take lightly, but it is one I take with confidence in our legal analysis." Eric Schneiderman, the New York state attorney general, described the order as unconstitutional, unlawful, and fundamentally un-American. San Francisco meanwhile this week became the first city to sue Mr Trumps team over the defunding of sanctuaries for refugees. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters We are seeing progressive states that want to stand up for their communities and its a really powerful action, added Melissa Keaney of the National Immigration Law Center. Mr Trumps ban, signed on Friday, suspends admission of all refugees for 120 days, imposes an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees, and bars admission for 90 days of all immigrants and visa-holders from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. An online Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,201 people across the 50 states including 453 Democrats and 478 Republicans found 49 per cent agreed with the order and 41 per cent disagreed. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Fox News has deleted a false and misleading tweet that claimed the suspect in the Quebec mosque terror attack was of Moroccan origin, following a call from the office of the Canadian Prime Minister for the network to remove the post. Six people were killed and a further 19 injured in the attack on the mosque in Quebec City during evening prayers on Sunday. More than 50 people were at the mosque when the attack took place. The man alleged to have carried out the attack is French-Canadian Alexandre Bissonnette, a 27-year-old student who is charged with six counts of murder. Recommended Quebec Mosque shooting suspect was a fan of Donald Trump The tweet, which was sent on Monday, stated: Suspect in Quebec mosque terror attack was of Moroccan origin, reports show. The message was accompanied by a picture of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a quote from him, which said: We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge. Early reports of the shooting suggested two men had been arrested following, one of whom was of Moroccan origin, though the man was found to have been a witness and later released by police without charge. Mr Trudeaus spokeswoman, Kate Purchase, on Tuesday demanded that Fox News either retract or update the tweet to reflect the suspects French-Canadian nationality. Ms Purchase said the false and misleading tweet dishonoured the victims by spreading misinformation, playing identity politics, and perpetuating fear and division within our communities. Fox News did not immediately delete the tweet, but later complied. Refet Kaplan, managing director at FoxNews.com, said in a statement on Tuesday: FoxNews.com initially corrected the misreported information with a tweet and an update to the story on Monday. The earlier tweets have now been deleted, CNN reported. We regret the error. Ms Purchase responded to Fox News by tweeting: Thank you @FoxNews for deleting the tweet. We appreciate it. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} After a few months of relative obscurity, Hillary Clinton is back with lots of plans for 2017. The former presidential candidate has resumed her relationship with the Harry Walker Agency, the bureau through which she gave paid speeches before the election. Ms Clinton was frequently criticised for being paid to talk, including earning $675,000 at Goldman Sachs, which raised questions over her links to Wall Street. She was called on for months to release the transcripts of the closed-door speeches, and they were ultimately revealed by WikiLeaks. She reportedly earned around $3m (2.3m) from speeches after she left the state department. Recommended Hillary Clinton plots comeback after US Presidential defeat Therefore it is likely Ms Clinton will earn a lot more money than Mr Trump this year, as the President claimed that he would turn down the salary of $400,000 (316,680) and that he would step back from his real estate empire. The Democrat, who lost the election despite winning around 3 million more votes than Donald Trump, is also working on a book of personal essays, reflecting on the 18-month campaign. Publisher Simon & Schuster said the book will use inspirational quotes that Ms Clinton has drawn upon and it will be released this autumn. The book does not yet have a title. The same publisher came under fire this year after feminist author Roxane Gay pulled out of a book deal in protest after a lucrative book deal was offered to Breitbart writer and white supremacist Milo Yiannopoulos. Ms Clinton was last seen in public at Donald Trumps inauguration, which she attended with her husband. Hillary's first speech since presidential defeat A powerful video captured the moment she waited in the wings, taking a deep breath, before walking out onto the podium. At the ceremony she shook hands with Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the committee on oversight and government reform. Mr Chaffetz later tweeted that his "investigation continues", regarding his desire to look further into her alleged misuse of her personal email server when she was secretary of state. She has been seen more rarely in public over the last few months, delighting her supporters when they caught glimpses of her taking walks near her home in upstate New York, or visiting the local book store. Ms Clinton has also agreed to be the 2017 commencement speaker at her alma mater, Wellesley, from where she graduated in 1969. The New York Post reported that she was considering running for New York mayor, but the reports were unable to be confirmed by The Independent. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The mayor of a small town in Texas has come out as a transgender woman. Jess Herbst, the Mayor of a town in Collin County called New Hope, is believed to be the states first openly transgender official. Herbst, who been mayor for seven months, came out as trans in an open letter to residents on the towns website. She has also been documenting her personal journey through transition on her own website. As your Mayor I must tell you about something that has been with me since my earliest memories. I am transgender, she said in the open letter. Two years ago, with the support of my wife, daughters and son-in-law, I began Hormone Replacement Therapy. At the time, I did not imagine I would hold the Mayors position, but here I am. Herbst commended the progress transgender people had made in recent years, naming both Olympic gold medallist Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox from series Orange is the new Black. Society finally has a chance to see and learn about who we are, she said. It is gender identity not sexual preference that applies to me. I love my wife, and she loves me, we have no intention of change. My daughters have been adamant supporters of me and are proud to tell people their father is transgender. Transgender in Pakistan Show all 16 1 /16 Transgender in Pakistan Transgender in Pakistan Dancing at Shakeela's party, an event to celebrate a transgender life in middle-age Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Venue staff members watch people dance at Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Security searches guests as people arrive at Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Members of the transgender community dance at Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Shakeela, a member of the transgender community, works in the kitchen at home in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan 'It's the first time a transgender party has been held openly,' says activist Farzana Jan Transgender in Pakistan Farzana Jan, a member of the transgender community, poses for a photographer ahead of Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Guests at Shakeela's party Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Money thrown by the guests is used by people to help them start a new business or project Transgender in Pakistan Rani smiles from behind her make-up as she prepares for the party Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Shakeela resting at her home in Peshawar Reuters Transgender in Pakistan A photo hangs on the wall in the home of members of the transgender community in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Make up lies on the floor as members of the transgender community prepare for Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan A guest counts money she plans to throw at Shakeela's party Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Bubbly helps Shakeela with her dress as members of her own family watch on Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Chahat, a member of the transgender community, prepares for Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Herbst said she would be living her life as a female now and performing duties to her town as such, explaining she would be using the name Jess instead of Jeff. She said people had been understanding and supportive towards her. According to the Texas Observer, Herbst is the first transgender person to hold office in the state. In 2010, Houstons Phyllis Frye became Texas's first openly transgender judge. In a post on her website last year, Herbst condemned the Bathroom Bill as transphobic. The controversial Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, which some argue legalises discrimination against the LGBT community, forces transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificate. Top Republicans in Texas are now keen to follow North Carolinas lead on the bill and ban transgender people from using the bathrooms of the gender they identify with. Last year, Texas was one of almost a dozen states that sued the Obama administration over federal guidance directing schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms which correspond to their gender identities. LGBTQ people face a number of legal challenges and discrimination in Texas which is a staunchly Republican state. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The man behind a pro-free-speech petition in favour of a Donald Trump state visit to the UK has spoken out for the first timeto say his 13-year-old daughter drafted the document. Alan Brown, 68, said he disagreed with the more than 1.7 million people who want to block Mr Trump's visit on the grounds it would embarrass the Queen, and who signed a Parliament petition to say so. He wanted to put his own side, he said, but did not know how to go about it. His teenage daughter offered to step in, he told BBC Radio 5 Live. The rival petition states Mr Trump should be allowed to visit because he is "the leader of a free world and UK is a country that supports free speech". Opposing views should not be "gagged", it says. The Dover businessman said: "I felt that the opposite point of view should be felt, so it's known that not all of us decry free speech. "I was having the discussion with my daughter about this and she said, 'Well, if you feel so strongly, why don't you do your own petition?' So I said I wouldn't know how and she said, 'OK, I'll do it for you.' "So in fact my daughter actually raised the petition." The petition has now gained more than 200,000 signatures and will be debated on 20 February, alongside the opposing one. Mr Brown said he was "very proud". He added: "My daughter is over the moon about it. One girl can make a difference." Mr Trump should be allowed into the country, the opposing petitioners say, but blocked from meeting the Queen. Prime Minister Theresa May has said she was "very happy" to extend an invitation to Mr Trump to visit the UK on a state visit, despite growing backlash. She has faced strong opposition to her decision to invite the US President to visit Britain, amid growing criticism of his ban on refugees entering the country. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested Ms May should refuse to allow Mr Trump to enter the UK until he ceases the travel ban. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trumps hardline immigration ban has caused almost as much chaos in airports as it has caused outrage among critics. The Murdoch brothers have now become the latest Hollywood figures to weigh in on the Presidents Muslim ban. The 21st Century Fox chiefs, James and Lachlan Murdoch, who are CEO and chairman respectively, sent a memo to employees on Monday pitting their ideals against Mr Trump's controversial immigration ban. Their firm owns Fox News which has been criticised for its overly favourable coverage of Mr Trump. The company expressed support for diversity and immigration and informed staff the company was doing all it could to help those employees and their families affected by the ban, acknowledging it was a time of uncertainty for their workers around the world. Last week, the President signed an executive order suspending the entire US refugee admissions system for 120 days, halting the Syrian refugee programme indefinitely, and banning entry for people from seven majority-Muslim countries. People have been blocked from boarding US-bound flights and detained in US airports. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters 21st Century Fox is a global company, proudly headquartered in the US, founded by - and comprising at all levels of the business immigrants, the memo stated. We deeply value diversity and believe immigration is an essential part of Americas strength. Moreover, as a company that is driven by creativity and innovation, we recognise the unique perspective offered by our many people who came to the US in search of the opportunity for unfettered self-expression. We will continue to monitor developments in what is still a fluid situation. While the statement is implicitly critical it is far more diluted in tone than the remarks made by other industry leaders such as Google's Sergey Brin and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. This might be because the brother's father, Rupert Murdoch, has links with Mr Trump. Their father, who has overall ownership of the company, has not commented on the immigration ban and his name was not included in the memo. Despite the fact the senior Murdoch said he thought Mr Trump was wrong about immigrants in 2015, he later warmed to him, deciding to back him during the presidential elections. This alliance is reported to have been partially instigated and eased by Mr Trumps son-in-law and senior aide, Jared Kushner, who is friends with the media mogul. Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump (Reuters) A day after the Brexit result, Mr Trump dined with Murdoch and the President recently tweeted his support for Murdoch, saying: Rupert Murdoch is a great guy who likes me much better as a very successful candidate than he ever did as a very successful developer! The pair, who were both media celebrities in New York, have known each other for decades. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Donald Trumps national security adviser says the administration is putting Iran on notice after it tested a ballistic missile - allegedly in contravention of a UN resolution. Michael Flynn told reporters that the Trump administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East that puts American lives at risk. The Obama administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran's malign actions -including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violation of international norms, he said. The Trump administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East and place American lives at risk. The US and Israel claimed that Sundays test launch, the first by Iran since Mr Trump become president, was in breach of UN resolution 2231. The resolution, put in place days after the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015, calls on the Islamic Republic not to conduct such tests. The Associated Press said that Irans missile test, occurred at a well-known site outside Semnan, about 140 miles east of Tehran. The Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile flew 600 miles before exploding, in a failed test of a reentry vehicle, officials said. Irans defence minister Brigadier Gen Hossein Dehqan said in September that Iran would start production of the missile. Mr Flynn said that Iran was feeling emboldened. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US was looking into whether the ballistic missile test violated the US Security Council resolution. When actions are taken that violate or are inconsistent with the resolution, we will act to hold Iran accountable and urge other countries to do so as well, Mr Toner said. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned Iran. No longer will Iran be given a pass for its repeated ballistic missile violations, continued support of terrorism, human rights abuses and other hostile activities that threaten international peace and security, said Mr Corker. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Vatican has said it is worried about Donald Trump's moves on immigration, in the Holy See's first comment since his executive order banning travel into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. Certainly there is worry because we are messengers of another culture, that of openness, the Vatican's deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, told an Italian Catholic television station in answer to a question about Mr Trump's order. Archbishop Becciu, who ranks third in the Vatican hierarchy, was asked about the executive order as well as Mr Trump's promise to build a wall on the US border with Mexico. Pope Francis, in fact, insists on the ability to integrate those who arrive in our societies and cultures, he told TV2000. Some Roman Catholic leaders in the United States have criticised Mr Trump's executive order. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said on Sunday it was a dark moment in U.S. history and that it was contrary to both Catholic and American values. Last February, while returning from a trip to Mexico, Pope Francis said then-candidate Trump's view about building walls was not Christian. Rupert Murdoch's sons were among the latest Hollywood figures to condemn the President's so-called Muslim ban. The 21st Century Fox chiefs, James and Lachlan Murdoch, who are CEO and chairman respectively, sent a memo to employees on Monday condemning Mr Trump's controversial immigration ban. Their firm owns Fox News which has been criticised for its overly favourable coverage of Mr Trump. The company expressed support for diversity and immigration and informed staff the company was doing all it could to help those employees and their families affected by the ban, acknowledging it was a time of uncertainty for their workers around the world. Visitor takes a selfie with cosplayers dressed as 'One Piece' characters during the Bangkok Comic Con 2016 Festival at Bitec Exhibition Centre in Bangkok, Thailand on April 29, 2016. (Photo : Getty Images/Anadolu Agency) Spoilers for the upcoming chapter of "One Piece" suggest that Sanji will fight with his entire family as he stays in the Whole Cake Island. Chapter 853 is also rumored to feature a battle between the Vinsmokes and the Charlottes. According to The Classical Arts, Sanji will remain in the Whole Cake Island to be with his family. Since there are rumors that a battle is set to happen between the Charlottes and Vinsmokes, the idea of being away from his family will weigh him down. Ultimately, he will decide to stay and fight with them. Advertisement Spoilers also suggest that the upcoming chapter will follow Carrot as she deals with her personal challenges now that she is already in the mirror world. The character will reportedly find it hard to draw the faces of the other Straw Hats. Unfortunately, this is the only way for her to find her friends. Meanwhile, spoilers also claim that Luffy will escape and bump into Sanji as he finds his way out. Some speculate that as the two cross paths, they will come up with a plan to take down Big Mom and the Charlottes. If they succeed, then Sanji no longer has to marry Pudding and worry about his family in case the battle ensues. In other news, "One Piece" fans will be in for a treat as series creator Eiichiro Oda releases a "One Piece" spinoff magazine. This magazine aims to commemorate "One Piece" and will see the return of Ace. It can be recalled that in the popular manga series, Ace is one of the oldest characters and is also known as Fire Fist. Rumor has it that Ace will be portrayed as the brother of Luffy who died after giving up his life for his sibling. Also, as reported by Latin Post, "One Piece" comic book is already 65% complete and will soon move to the Dressrosa arc. The manga will also introduce a new storyline, featuring the Reverie Council of Kings and Wano Land of the Samurai. "One Piece" fans have yet to know when Chapter 853 will be released. Watch this fan-made compilation of other Chapter 853 theories here: Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jewish people in a small Texas city handed Muslim worshippers the keys to their synagogue after the town's only mosque was destroyed in a fire. The Victoria Islamic Centre burned down on Saturday and had previously been burgledthe cause is being investigated by federal officials. But the town's Muslim population will not be without a place to worship while their building is reconstructed, thanks to their Jewish neighbours. Recommended Trump considers deporting immigrants who may need public assistance Robert Loeb, the president of Temple Bnai Israel, told Forward: "Everyone knows everybody, I know several members of the mosque, and we felt for them. When a calamity like this happens, we have to stand together. "We have probably 25 to 30 Jewish people in Victoria, and they probably have 100 Muslims. We got a lot of building for a small amount of Jews." One of the mosque's founders, Shahid Hashmi, said: "Jewish community members walked into my home and gave me a key to the synagogue." The centre was built in 2000. Donations and an online fundraising campaign have raised more than $900,000 (717,000) for reconstruction. The blaze was discovered at at about 2am on Saturday by a clerk at a convenience store, who called the fire department. It took around four hours to bring it under control and no injuries were reported. Rudy Giuliani explains how he helped Trump put together 'Muslim ban' legally The fire took place just hours after President Donald Trump announced he would ban citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, and halted the countrys refugee program for 120 days. Omar Rachid, who created the GoFundMe campaign, said: "Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the tremendous support weve received. The outpouring of love, kind words, hugs, helping hands and the financial contributions are examples of the true American spirit." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Indonesias highest Muslim authority is to issue a fatwa declaring the spread of fake news to be un-Islamic amid concern over sectarian tensions. The Indonesia Ulema Councils chairman, Maaruf Amin, said: We will issue it as soon as possible, because the situation is worrying. Hopefully, at least Muslims wont be involved any more in hoaxes. Trump calls leak "fake news" and "something that Nazi Germany would have done" The religious edict, which is not legally binding, is expected to be issued before the elections for the governor of Jakarta on 15 February, which have been rife with religious tension. Incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as Ahok, is running against two Muslim candidates to become the first elected non-Muslim governor in Indonesia. Ahok, a Christian of Chinese ethnicity, was promoted to his post after his predecessor, Joko Widodo, won the 2014 presidential election and has not yet been tested by a vote. Right-wing Islamic groups have claimed voters in the worlds largest Muslim country should not vote for non-believers and Ahok has been embroiled in a blasphemy trial in which he stands accused of insulting the Koran. The case was prompted by an incorrectly subtitled video of the politicians comments on his opponents use of the holy book in political campaigning, which went viral on social media last year. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims, led by the hardline Islam Defenders Front, descended on Jakarta twice to protest against Ahok and call for him to be jailed, sparking international alarm over the protection of religious minorities. It is the latest incident where fake news has been linked to social tensions, following the Pizzagate scandal in the US and false stories about Muslim migrants across Europe, which have prompted a court case in Germany. Debunked myths and fake news stories Show all 25 1 /25 Debunked myths and fake news stories Debunked myths and fake news stories Nasa releases statement over rumours that asteroid will destroy Earth Nasa has just debunked a recent rumour of a giant asteroid due to crash into the Earth in September. Internet conspiracy theorists have been saying that an asteroid will hit our planet sometime between September 15 and 28, destroying the American continents. Acting in its role as space-news fact-checker, Nasa has issued a statement refuting the lot of it. "Thats the rumor that has gone viral now here are the facts," it said in a press release entitled 'NASA: There is No Asteroid Threatening Earth' Alamy Debunked myths and fake news stories Video of scorned lover who cut ex's belongings in half was actually an advert for a law firm Revenge is a dish best served cold, or viral on YouTube as seemed to be the case for one German ex-husband who uploaded a video of himself using power tools to saw his possessions in half so he could literally give his former wife half of everything owned. The video, titled For Laura, quickly went viral reaching nearly 5.8 million views with the description Thank you for 12 'beautiful' years, Laura! You've really earned half. Although the course of true love never did run smooth, it did seem that the jilted lover was taking revenge to a whole new level with the angst-ridden video. Now, however, all has been explained. The video was not created by a jealous ex, but filmed by a media-savvy legal company looking to expand its customer base Youtube Debunked myths and fake news stories McDonald's claims the 'secret menu' is fake The rebuttal comes following an amusing spoof article, published by the Lucky Peach, seemingly offering a smorgasbord of hidden options for the discerning customer. Among the delights apparently on offer are the Mommie Dearest (five burgers speared through with coat hangers) and the Burmese Python (complete with sock). Other options include the the Derrida a postmodern confection consisting of a raw potato and the remains of a few chips and a partially eaten bun PA Debunked myths and fake news stories Dead shark pictures might be fake Photographs of an enormous Tiger shark fished off the eastern Australian coast have emerged on social media. NSW newspaper The Northern Star claims the four metre catch was made by a local fisherman known only as Matthew. The images first emerged after Byron Bay resident Geoff Brooks posted them to his Facebook timeline. However, Mr Brooks has subsequently admitted he did not take the images but continued to claim that the photographs are real. Social media users have criticised the images, with some claiming they are fake Geoff Brooks, via Facebook Debunked myths and fake news stories A fried rat had been served in KFC Facebook went into full "wtfffffffffffff" mode after a man posted a picture of what he claims was a fried rat he had been served in KFC. As news of the supposed Kentucky Fried rat was reported and spread, the incident took a dramatic turn with Dixon sealing it in a bag and freezing it as evidence. KFC has denied it is in the business of plunging rats into boiling hot oil however, and claims the whole thing is a 'hoax'. A DNA test followed, and shows that the nugget, although distinctly rodent-shaped, was just chicken all along. Devorise Dixon/Facebook Debunked myths and fake news stories British scientists clone dinosaur An extraordinary story of the worlds first cloned dinosaur got a lot of traction on Twitter and inspired alarmist comparisons to Jurassic Park in March this year. It was also, not unexpectedly, a complete fake, including completely fabricated quotations from 'experts' and a picture that is actually of a very young kangaroo. Debunked myths and fake news stories Mohammed Islam - A boy who 'made $72m' in his lunch break A New York schoolboy who reportedly made $72 million (46 million) by trading stocks during his lunch breaks has admitted making the whole story up. Mohammed Islam, from Queens, originally told the New York Magazine he started dabbling in penny stocks aged just nine and developed a life-long passion for trading that was paying off. But in a later interview with the New York Observer, he said the whole story was fake and he had not made any money at all. Debunked myths and fake news stories Worlds oldest tree has been accidentally chopped down by loggers in Peru Several websites carried the news, seemingly without realising the entire story appears to be a hoax. It first appeared on the World News Daily Report a fake news website carrying articles including Isis launches satellite and Pterodactyl sighting in New Guinea terrorises villagers. Debunked myths and fake news stories Alex from Target has teenage girls swooning Alex from Target went from being a cute, Bieber-esque cashier to an Internet sensation in less than 24 hours with a little help from social media. The internet memes featuring the Texas teenager in his Target uniform flooded Twitter and the hashtag #AlexFromTarget, a reference to his employee tag, began trending as teen girls swooned over the 16-year old. The "cute checkout guy" photograph earned him 500,000 new Twitter followers and landed him an interview with the popular talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Alex from Target, his full name is actually Alex Laboeuf, said he was overwhelmed and was surprised by his new found fame. But a Los Angeles start-up known as Breakr has claimed responsibility for the Alex from Target phenomenon that has taken the internet by storm - insisting it was part of an intricate marketing experiment. Debunked myths and fake news stories Ryan Gosling adopted a baby A Father's Day Facebook post from "Ryan Gosling" detailing how he adopted an orphaned baby for a year attracted Likes from almost one million users. This was despite it having all the hallmarks of a hoax, including a link for users to "save thousands of children and meet me while doing it" actually redirecting to the purchase page for a Gosling t-shirt. Facebook Debunked myths and fake news stories Macaulay Culkin dead hoax How to reassure the world youre still alive after the internet reports that youre dead? Fake your own murder on Instagram, like Macaulay Culkin. The actor posted the above image via his band Pizza Undergrounds account yesterday, following several false rumours that hed passed away. One particularly misleading story, originally posted on MSNBC.website (not to be confused with the real MSNBC), read: Sources are reporting that Macaulay Culkin, best known for his role as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, has been found dead at the age of 34. Debunked myths and fake news stories 'Crabzilla' - A fifty-foot crab dwelling somewhere off the English coast A satellite picture of the so-called crab, aptly dubbed Crabzilla, has gone viral after first surfacing on Weird Whitstable, a website for the supernatural curated by illustrator Quinton Winter, which deals in phantoms, mysteries, tall tales, and artefacts. The shadowy figure of a colossal crustacean, apparently spotted in the murky waters of Whistable, in Kent, dwarfs boats and cars on the pier it lurks besides. The invertebrate expert Paul Clark at the Natural History Museum in London has branded the photo a hoax. Photo courtesy of Weird Whitstable http://www.weirdwhitstable.co.uk Debunked myths and fake news stories Ebola 'risen from the dead' zombie story The story of dead Ebola victims rising from the dead, with the first "picture" of one of the zombies that has gone viral, (if it weren't glaringly obvious) is a hoax. The image on the article, while impressive, is in fact doctored picture of a zombie from the film World War Z. It appears to have taken an image of one of the films lab-zombies, and merged it with this picture of a realistic movie sculpture from Schell Studios, which the messageboard 8chan pointed out. Debunked myths and fake news stories 'Nasa Confirms Six Days of Darkness in December 2014' Satirical news site Huzlers.com has been spreading fake story about upcoming six days of darkness, far and wide on the web, taking in numerous Facebook and Twitter users and encouraging them to post about what theyre going to be up to during the six days of darkness. The story on the vaguely official looking website titled Nasa Confirms Earth Will Experience 6 Days of Total Darkness in December 2014! claims that an incoming solar storm is to blame, causing "dust and space debris to become plentiful and thus block 90% sunlight. This is false. Although solar storms certainly are real phenomena (they occur due to fluctuations in the Suns magnetic field) theyre not like terrestrial storms that can blow up dust and dirt. Reuters Debunked myths and fake news stories Meet Thea, Norway's 12-year-old child bride A Norwegian campaign highlighting the issue of child marriage has gained global attention after a blog seemingly written by a child bride-to-be went viral. The blog, apparently written by 12-year-old girl 'Thea', charts her thoughts and feelings towards her impending marriage to 37-year-old Geir. However, the blog was carefully created by Plan, an international aid organisation working on strengthening the girls rights, to bring home the issue of child brides. Courtesy of Plan Debunked myths and fake news stories Obsessive selfie-taking classified as a mental disorder An article claimed that the American Psychiatric Association (a real body) had classified new mental disorder selfitis as the obsessive compulsive desire to take photos of ones self and post them on social media. The origin of the article should have tipped off readers, however - it first appeared on a site whose owners admit that when writing [...] we spice it up with figments of our imagination. Debunked myths and fake news stories Shipwrecked British woman saved by Google Earth The extraordinary story of Gemma Sheridan, a woman from Liverpool saved by Google Earth after seven years stranded on a desert island, whipped up a storm among social media users. Aside from the fairly incredible details involved in the story, a wide range of issues showed it is quite clearly a hoax - including pictures and whole swathes of text borrowed from other (real) reports. Digital Globe via Waffles at Noon Debunked myths and fake news stories Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is dead The Rock became the latest victim of a death hoax this month after rumours circulated that the action star had died while filming a dangerous stunt for the upcoming Fast and Furious 7 on Thursday. The bogus report was created by Global Associated News, a website responsible for some of the most outlandish recent fake celebrity deaths, and went viral on Twitter and Facebook. Getty Images Debunked myths and fake news stories Vaccines can cause autism A serious myth, this, and one which has repeatedly been rejected by scientific studies. The latest of these came earlier this year when a study that examined brain tissue samples donated by children who had died showed autism may actually develop in the womb during pregnancy. One scientist said the findings 'call sharply into questions other popular notions about autism'. Rex Features Debunked myths and fake news stories Homeopathic remedies have medicinal properties Proponents of homeopathy claim that it stimulates the body to heal itself, and is based on the principle of like cures like. But an Australian scientific body became the latest earlier this year to carry out a study showing that it actually works no better than a placebo. That story came after a homeopathic 'remedy' was actually recalled in the US because it contained traces of real medicine. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Debunked myths and fake news stories Chinese child ruined father's passport This picture of a Chinese passport apparently defaced by a four-year-old boy went viral around the world, despite the fact that it seems to clearly be a hoax. The picture was originally posted on Chinese social networking site Weibo by a person claiming to be the father, known as Chen, with a plea for help. But from the uniform thickness of the lines (which actually go off the page to the right) to the covering-up of identifying details, the 'drawing' looks a lot like an adults handiwork on Photoshop or MS Paint Weibo Debunked myths and fake news stories MH370 was caused by aliens/Snowden/the Bermuda Triangle Since the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished on 8 March with 239 people on board, the story has sparked a host of myths and conspiracy theories. While some of these theories as to how the flight could have just disappeared have not been discounted by authorities, others have tended towards the unusual, bizarre and downright ridiculous. One Malaysian politician claimed the Bermuda Triangle must have moved to Vietnam. A 'citizen reporter' said radar picked up a UFO. Another said there was a complicated link to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. None are likely to be true. Reuters Debunked myths and fake news stories Chayson Basinio, 2, snatched from French supermarket Police in France investigated a report in April that a two-year-old boy had been kidnapped in the French town of Moulins. But they later called off their search operation after they discovered he only existed on social media. The 'aunt' who reported the disappearance of 'Chayson Basinio' was arrested for 'reporting an imaginary crime or offence'. AFP/Getty Images Debunked myths and fake news stories Morrissey joined Twitter Morrissey fans rejoiced earlier this week when the verified Twitter account @itsmorrissey posted its first tweet since joining in 2009, saying: 'Hello. Testing, 1, 2, 3. Planet Earth, are you there? One can only hope...' It seems that the Twitter blue tick seal of approval doesnt mean as much as it used to, after Morrissey confirmed in a statement that he does not have an account on the social media site. Getty Images Debunked myths and fake news stories Chinese people ate doves at wedding, sued ugly wives and only sing numbers from takeaway menus In November last year, the western media was bombarded by a host of stories involving Chinese misrepresentations. One involved a Chinese man suing his wife 'because he was ugly' and winning - but was later debunked by an expat magazine in Shanghai. Here, Nyima Pratten writes about how our media depict Chinese people in an unreasonably negative way Getty Images President Widodo has repeatedly urged social media users to refrain from spreading false posts and the government has invited executives from Facebook for talks to help combat the problem. Communications minister Rudiantara is to put the Indonesian governments request for false information to be removed with leaders of Facebook Asia-Pacific at a meeting next week. The Ulema Council, including representatives from the countrys main moderate and conservative Muslim groups, frequently issues fatwas but they usually have little immediate impact. An edict was issued last year against clearing land for plantations by burning vegetation, in an effort to prevent pollution. In December, the council defended another fatwa trying to ban companies from forcing Muslim employees to wear Santa hats and other Christmas-related attire, the Jakarta Post reported. Additional reporting by Reuters For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Taiwan is on the verge of becoming the first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage, according to the politician who tabled the new law. A legislative committee approved an amendment to the civil code on 26 December, beginning a process that is expected to last until the middle of the year. "We're almost close to passing it," Yu Mei-nu, the politician who introduced the marriage equality bill, told digital news company Global Post. Recommended Trump risks angering China by inviting Taiwan to inauguration Campaigners are pushing to have the bill made into law ahead of Taiwan's 2018 elections, which could stall their efforts. Ms Yu said she was cautiously optimistic about the bill, with 54 of Taiwan's 113 politicians sitting in the Legislative Yuan one of the five branches of the Island nation's government backing marriage equality. Yet she added that she was concerned some of those in favour may "flake", since they face pressure to change their vote. Popular opinion in Taiwan is still split on the issue, with Taipei's streets hosting demonstrations from both sides of the debate. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty A previous attempt to pass a marriage equality bill failed in 2013, but the current political climate in Taiwan has encouraged campaigners to try to pass the bill once more. President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office in May, has spoken in favour of same-sex marriage. Her Democratic Progressive Party, largely seen as sympathetic to LGBT rights holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, Some cities have also acted to recognise gay rights, with Koashiung and Taipei starting to register same-sex couples in 2016. Taiwan would be the first Asian country to legalise equal marriage, with homosexual acts illegal in some Asian countries, including Brunei. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A trade union which represents hundreds of Air France staff, has urged its members to boycott Donald Trumps travel ban by refusing to work on US-bound flight The Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT), which means the General Confederation of Labour when translated into English, said Air France had a duty to support its passengers of all religions and nationalities. Their members were within their rights to refuse to be involved with the ban, it said. It also called into question the legality of the US Presidents executive order, which temporarily barred refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. Mr Trump's measures also suspended refugee resettlement in the US for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. The CGT called them "discriminatory and racist" in a statement. "To dare associate nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries with terrorism is a provocation and incitement to hatred unworthy of a nation built on diversity," it said. Air France has an obligation to support its passengers, of all religions and nationalities, and must express clearly its refusal to implement illegal measures." It came as the company was heavily criticised over the weekend for preventing passengers from boarding as a result of the rules. The carrier said it had to abide by immigration requirements of the countries that it flies to. However the CGT questioned whether this was the right action to take. Why did we bar them from boarding? Why should we apply American law on our soil to the detriment of our legitimate passengers? To inform and forewarn our passengers of the measures taken by the US Government is one thing, but to refuse them boarding on our planes is another thing that CGT, Air France and its staff cannot tolerate, it said. We invite all staff that are offended by these anti-humanist practices to refuse to work on US-bound flights under these conditions. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents travel industry executives, said suspending travel based only on a person's nationality or origin was wrong and called on the Trump administration to reconsider the ban. "None of the shocking domestic incidents in the US since 2001 have been attributed to external terrorists who have specifically flown into the country to commit an atrocity," WTTC president and CEO David Scowsill said. "Preventing 'aliens' from entering the US for legitimate business or leisure purposes is misguided and counter-productive for the American economy." The United Nations also condemned the ban as mean-spirited and illegal under human rights law. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A self-proclaimed anti-theist has stabbed his Christian housemate to death in Germany after demanding her opinion on same-sex marriage. Daniel E, 25, was jailed for life at a court in Freiburg on Monday for killing the 31-year-old at their flat in August. The pair did not meet until they moved into the student apartment in the summer, with Daniel E swiftly angered by his victims Christianity. The woman was an active member of her local parish and aspired to work in a prayer house, the DPA news agency reported. Just 10 days after moving in together, Daniel stormed into his victims room and asked to hear her position was on same-sex marriage, prosecutors said. When she rejected it, he withdrew a knife hidden in his pocket and stabbed her as she sat on the bed. The woman managed to reach the stairwell but was wounded several times in the back and died at the scene. Daniel, whose name was not released because of German privacy laws, attempted to kill himself but was unsuccessful and was arrested. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The court heard that the man described the murder to police as if it were a school trip after being arrested. He said the attack was motivated by his hatred of religion, which was detailed in a manifesto discovered on his computer by investigators, Focus reported. Defence lawyers argued that Daniel suffered from a personality disorder and shunned contact with others, while spending time in his room playing video games. An expert testified that he named Hannibal Lecter, the fictional cannibalistic serial killer from The Silence of the Lambs, as a role model. Judge Eva Kleine-Cosack told the court Daniel had not been negatively affected by his flatmates faith and did not know her well, adding: He killed her as a representative of her religion because he could not kill all believers. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Turkish hospital official said an armed police officer receiving psychiatric treatment at an Istanbul hospital barricaded himself into a room and attempted to kill himself. Earlier reports had said a gunman was holding doctors and other members of staff hostage at Cerrahpasa hospital, but the spokesman, shown in a Dogan news agency video, said all staff had been evacuated from the psychiatry unit. Police have been dispatched to the scene and negotiators are attempting to persuade the man not to kill himself. The hospital official who initially spoke to journalists outside the building, reporting a hostage situation and causing panic, has not been identified. The incident comes amid tension in Istanbul following several attacks in crowded areas, including the deadly assault on the Reina nightclub on New Year's Eve which left 39 people dead. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Trumps of Freinsheim have never made much of their distant connection with the new US President while running their family bakery in the small German town. Ursula Trump's husband shares great-great-great-great-great-grandparents with Donald Trump, whose grandfather was born in nearby Kallstadt before emigrating to the US. After months of their distant relative stealing their limelight, the couple decided to make a special cake as a bit of a joke at their namesake to mark his inauguration. The creation is comprised of a traditional Donauwelle sponge cake topped with cream and icing shaped like the US flag, with edible photographs of Mr Trump delivering a speech on top. Mrs Trump told public broadcaster SWR the 2.50 (2) cake was an initial success, selling more than 150 slices of Trump-Schnitten to customers. One man brought a cake for his wife, who wanted to put a photograph online, while another woman visiting the Trump Bakery joked: For me its a bit greasy, like the man himself. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters But not all were amused by the concoction amid outrage over the new US Presidents policies, including a temporary ban on refugees. One woman said, tomorrow I will not come into the shop in protest because Im promoting such an idiot, such a prat, said MrsTrump. Im not a fan of him either, but I did it for myself and for the bakery. Yesterday there was a man who said he would boycott my shop because I have the Trump slices." The baker said that in light of poor sales and unexpected controversy, the cake was cut within a week. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} French presidential hopeful and long-time front-runner Francois Fillon could be eliminated in the first round of the election, according to new polling, following allegations he paid close to 1m most of it allegedly taxpayer-funded to his wife and children as parliamentary aides with little evidence of work. Less than three months before the vote, the right-wing candidate in the French elections is embroiled in a damaging scandal, which could yet dash his presidential hopes. Mr Fillon has denounced the allegations, saying that the work was genuine. Conservative Mr Fillon has dropped below 20 per cent in the polls, paving the way for National Front (FN) candidate Marine Le Pen to extend her lead. Far-right candidate Ms Le Pen is now leading the latest polls by Elabe and published in Les Echos with up to 27 per cent of voting intentions in the first round, which she is set to win. She is followed on 23 per cent by independent candidate Emmanuel Macron who is expected to win the presidential race in a head-to head with Ms Le Pen in a second round. The allegations surrounding Mr Fillons use of public money to pay his wife and hire two of his children has crushed the 62-year-olds support from voters in one of the countrys most unpredictable elections yet. Francois Fillon is the subject of an embezzlement probe following allegations in a French newspaper (Getty) Satirical newspaper Le Canard enchaine revealed Mr Fillons Welsh wife Penelope Fillon was paid more than 830,000 between 1998 and 2007 for work the paper alleges she may never have done. The newspaper previously reported she earned 500,000. Ms Fillon earned the money for her job as her husbands assistant and pocketed up to 7,000 a month besides from her work at a literary review owned by a family friend. New allegations by Le Canard enchaine also claim two of the couples five children earned 84,000 after being hired by their father as parliamentary aides. French anti-corruption investigators launched a preliminary probe into the allegations of embezzlement and abuse of public funds and the couple were questioned separately on Monday. Mr Fillons parliamentary office was also raided. Le Monde newspaper also claims the lack of transparency of Mr Fillons consultant firm, which paid him 750,000 between 2012 and 2015, could be the topic of the next explosive revelation. But Mr Fillon hit back at the allegations and accused the left of having orchestrated an institutional coup detat. He called on his supporters to remain loyal to him and warned the results of the investigation will clear him. Nobody will stop Francois Fillon and the right from being present in the first round of the presidential election and the second round of the presidential election, Mr Fillons spokesman added. Calls for Mr Fillon, a devout Christian, to quit the presidential race over the allegations are mounting and critics have already named the allegations as Penelope-gate. Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Show all 9 1 /9 Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Nikolaos Michaloliakos, leader of the Golden Dawn party, addresses supporters in front of the party's offices in Athens during the commemoration of the death of three officers in 1996 during the Imia crisis that brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war Getty Images Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Supporters of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party lift torches and wave national and party flags during an annual rally to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Imia dispute, in Athens, Greece Reuters Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Golden Dawn supporters wave flags and chant slogans in front of the party's offices in Athens to commemorate the death of three officers in 1996 during the Imia crisis that brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war Getty Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Supporters of Greek ultra nationalist party Golden Dawn hold Greek national flags and torches during a gathering of Greek nationalists in central Athens, to commemorate the death of three Greek military officers Getty Images Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Supporters of the Greek ultra nationalist party Golden Dawn hold Greek national flags and torches during a gathering of Greek nationalists in central Athens, to commemorate the death of three Greek military officers Getty Images Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Protesters hold banners in a march to the US Embassy and to the offices of far-right wing party Golden Dawn, during an anti-fascist rally organized by leftist movements in Athens, Greece EPA Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Protesters hold banners in a march to the US Embassy and to the offices of far-right wing party Golden Dawn, during an anti-fascist rally organized by leftist movements in Athens, Greece EPA Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Supporters of Greece's extreme right Golden Dawn party raise torches during a rally commemorating a 1996 military incident which cost the lives of three Greek navy officers and brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war, in Athens AP Golden Dawn rally in Athens, Greece Supporters of Greece's extreme right party Golden Dawn attend a rally in Athens AP While FN candidate Ms Le Pen has reinforced her popularity in the polls, independent candidate Emmanuel Macron is also well-placed. The 39-year-old, who resigned from the Socialist government in August last year to launch his own movement En Marche!, is trailing Ms Le Pen. He is appealing to young generations from right and left because he appears not to have a defined place on the political spectrum, having never stood for elected office before. The left-wing candidate Benoit Hamon swept to victory at the Socialist Party (PS) primary election but in the latest polls he is sitting at 16 per cent. The first round of the French election is due to take place on 23 April. If no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the votes, the two candidates with the most votes will battle it out in a second round. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A new terror attack plot has been thwarted in Germany after mass police raids resulted in the arrest of a prolific Tunisian Isis recruiter. Police stormed 54 homes, mosques and businesses in the state of Hesse in the early hours of the morning in an operation targeting extremists planning serious state-threatening violence. According to evidence gathered so far, attack plans were still in an early phase and had not selected a specific target, said a spokesperson for the Hesse state criminal investigation office. Officials said the main suspect arrested was a 26-year-old Tunisian man who has been wanted since August 2015 as a recruiter and people smuggler for Isis. Muslim men and women stand outside the Bilal mosque in Griesheim district of Frankfurt during a police raid on 1 February (Getty) (Getty Images) The unnamed suspect has allegedly established a network of supporters with the aim, among other things, of committing a terrorist attack in Germany. He was present in Germany from 2003 to 2013, then returned during the refugee crisis of 2015 posing as an asylum seeker. He was arrested shortly afterwards over a previous conviction for bodily harm in 2008, for which he needed to serve 43 days in prison, and Tunisian authorities had also requested his extradition. They suspect the jihadi of involvement in the attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunisia in March 2015, which left 20 tourists dead, and an assault by Isis insurgents on the border town of Ben Guerdane last year. German authorities said the man was freed from prison in September, and because Tunisia had not submitted the required extradition documents, he had to be released from temporary custody in November after the maximum period allowed under German law. Paperwork delays also prevented the deportation of the Isis supporter who carried out the Berlin Christmas market attack, with the revelation sparking anger at German and Tunisian authorities as Angela Merkel pledged reforms. Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Show all 18 1 /18 Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Several people have been killed after a lorry drove into crowds at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Berlin Christmas market lorry attack 'At least nine' people have been killed and more than 50 injured. AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency Services rush a Berlin market victim to an ambulance Associated Press Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Police cordoned off the square at Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church following the incident REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers inspect the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market close to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church in Berlin EPA Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency crews inspect the lorry that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing at least nine people AFP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Fire crews attend the scene of the attack AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Armed police secure the site of a lorry attack at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Crushed debris is visible beneath the wheels of the vehicle REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack An injured man is pushed to an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Medics attend an injured person after the lorry attack which killed at least nine and injured more than 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters examine the lorry which was rammed into a Berlin Christmas market REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack A person is carried into an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack View of the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least nine and injuring at least 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher to an ambulance Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters assess the damage after the lorry rammed the Christmas market, killing 'at least nine', and injuring more than 50 people AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters stand beside a toppled Christmas tree at the site of the suspected terrorist attack in a Berlin Christmas market AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Damaged stalls at the scene of the incident at a Berlin Christmas market where at least nine people have been killed EPA From immediately after his release until his arrest on 1 February, the main suspect was watched around the clock, a spokesperson for Frankfurt police said. The man did not resist his arrest, which was delayed to avoid jeopardising the ongoing investigation into a wider terror network, he added. He is one of 16 suspected Isis supporters aged between 16 and 46 targeted in the four-month investigation. In a separate case, prosecutors in Berlin said that they arrested three people on Tuesday night who were suspected of planning to travel to Syria or Iraq to undergo explosives and weapons training with Isis. All three were associated with the Fussilet mosque in Berlin, known as a gathering point for radicals, prosecutors said. Anis Amri, the Berlin Christmas market attacker, visited the mosque shortly before he ploughed a lorry into crowds on 19 December, killing 12 people. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Germany's centre-left chancellor candidate Martin Schulz has criticised Donald Trump's policies as "un-American" and warned against lifting sanctions imposed against Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. In one of the sharpest remarks yet by a senior German politician since the new American leader took office, Schulz told the Funke media group in an interview published on Wednesday that Europe had to stand up to defend liberal values. "What Trump is doing is un-American," Schulz said, adding that the United States like no other country in the world stood for enlightenment, democracy and freedom. "If Trump is now driving a wrecking ball through this set of values, then I will tell him as chancellor: That's not the policy of Germany and Europe," Schulz added. Germany's Social Democrats last week nominated former European Parliament president Schulz to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel in a federal election in September, and the surprise move has boosted popular support for the centre-left party. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Merkel said on Monday the global fight against terrorism does not warrant putting groups of people under suspicion, adding Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States violates the spirit of international cooperation. Turning to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine conflict, Schulz said that sanctions imposed against Russia could only be lifted after both sides had implemented the so-called Minsk peace plan. "As long as the Minsk peace agreement is not fully implemented, the sanctions cannot be lifted. We must tell Putin very clearly that Russia is obliged to respect and defend international law," Schulz said. Schulz' comments bring more clarity about his stance on Russia after some leading Social Democrats have voiced support for a partial lifting of sanctions as long as Russia is implementing some aspects of the plan. Merkel, one of the architects of the peace deal, has repeatedly said that sanctions against Russia can only be lifted once the Minsk agreement has been fully implemented. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by James Dalgleish) Xiao Jianhua (Photo : NewsBeat Social/YouTube) Xiao Jianhua, a billionaire born in China but a Canadian citizen with an Antiguan diplomatic passport, is missing. He reportedly was seized by police from China while staying at a Four Seasons Hotel apartment in Hong Kong on Friday and is now in China. Someone close to Xiao Jianhua said the billionaire is held by the police in China but is safe. On Sunday, one of his family members said the billionaire is safe and asked the Hong Kong police to withdraw his files from the missing persons list. According to the Hong Kong police, Xiao Jianhua entered mainland China on Friday by crossing the border, the New York Times reported. Advertisement Source of Wealth The 45-year-old billionaires wealth is estimated at 40 billion yuan or $5.8 billion through shares in Tomorrow Group which holds stocks in banks, coal, cement, insurance companies and properties. His dealings have helped influential people in China financially such as when he paid $2.4 million in 2013 to purchase stocks in an investment company held by the brother-in-law and sister of Chinese President Xi Jingping. He posted on Tuesday on the WeChat account of Tomorrow Group two notices that he was not abducted from Hong Kong to China. Rather, Xiao Jianhua claims to be recovering overseas and would meet soon with the press. But the two posts, which a person close to the billionaire said were false, had been removed from the messenger service. No Publicity The billionaire posted it to cut speculations about his situation since Beijing did not want publicity on his whereabouts. Four Seasons Hotel, which had been the billionaires residence for years, and Chinas Ministry of Public Security have been silent on Xiao Jianhuas case. A spokesman for Canadas Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said that Canada is aware of the reports that the Canadian billionaire is missing. He added consular officials are in touch with Chinese authorities to acquire more information and provide assistance to Xiao Jianhua, Globe and Mail reported. It is the third missing prominent Chinese given widespread publicity. In late 2015, Lee Bo, a bookseller, also disappeared from Hong Kong and turned up in China. In 2016, Zhou Chenjian, the 65th richest person in China and founder of Metersbonwe, a fashion brand in China, was also picked up by Chinese police. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Marine Le Pen has refused to pay nearly 300,000 of EU funds that she allegedly misspent. A European parliament watchdog claimed the National Front leader illicitly paid her partys staff between 2011 and 2012, using money that should only be used for MEPs to pay for legislative tasks. The far-right presidential candidate had until the end of Tuesday to repay the money, but refused to do so, claiming she was the victim of a politically motivated vendetta. I will not submit to the persecution, a unilateral decision taken by political opponents [...] without proof and without waiting for a judgment from the court action I have started, Ms Le Pen told Reuters on Tuesday. If the Front National leader does not repay the money, the parliament could now respond by withholding as much as half of her salary and allowances, which her opponents say amount to almost 11,000 (9,406) a month. The money was used to pay the salary of Catherine Griset, a close friend of Ms Le Pen and her cabinet director, on the condition that Ms Griset spent most of her working hours in Brussels of Strausbourg. But the watchdog reports that most of her time was spent working in the National Fronts headquarters in Paris. The party is also said to be facing a demand for 41,554 (35,532) in wages paid to her bodyguard. It comes as Conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon was accused of paying his wife Penelope hundreds of thousands of euros in pay when she wasnt doing any work, prompting an official inquiry.. Asked if she would pay back the money, Marine Le Pen told AFP: To pay the money back, I'd have had to have received the funds, but my name isn't Francois Fillon. It is not the first time Me Le Pen has been embroiled in financial complications and attributed it to being a victim of politically motivated bias. In December, it emerged French banks were refusing to give Ms Le Pen loans to help fund her presidential campaign, which a senior party official described as discrimination based on political opinion. Ms Le Pen appears to be retaining her lead in the polls ahead of Frances presidential elections in April. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty A poll by Kantar Sofres on Sunday put Ms Le Pen on 25 per cent, ahead of Mr Fillon and independent candidate Emmanuel Macron, who were neck-and-neck. Front National has grown rapidly since Mr Le Pen was expelled from the party in 2015 and is now considered one of the largest political forces in France. The first round of the French presidential election will be held on 23 April 2017, and if no candidate wins an outright m For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Madrids mayor has compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler after he implemented an executive order banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. Manuela Carmena said while she accepted he had been elected democratically, she denounced the US President's ban as a violation of rights and urged others to fight against the complicity of silence". "We know that his government has been legitimately elected and has the popular support of a large number of citizens," she told a council session. "But in the 20th century, we experienced one of the greatest violations of human rights by a government that also initially enjoyed popular support. Ms Carmena is not the first to reference Nazi Germany or Hitler when referring to Mr Trump. Former New Jersey Republican Governor, Christine Todd Whitman, told CNN: If you read your history in the lead-up to the Second World War this is the kind of rhetoric that allowed Hitler to move forward. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter also accused Mr Trump of taking a page from the play book of Hitler" accusing him of using rhetoric that "engenders a level of fear mongering that we have not seen literally since the 1930s and 1940s". Ms Carmena, from the left-wing Ahora Madrid party, said: "I find it difficult to take the floor for a council plenary session without first making reference to the protests that have taken place across the world against the human rights violation being carried out by the current President of the United States. Global condemnation followed the announcement of the real-estate mogul's 'Muslim ban' over the weekend. The measure bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US for a period of 90 days. Titled Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States, it also banned Syrian refugees indefinitely until significant changes are made, and halved the annual cap on refugees to 50,000. Mr Trump defended the measure claiming it would keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US. He has also repeatedly insisted the order is not a 'Muslim ban'. Spains conservative government has yet to officially comment on the policy, despite other European leaders calling for the measures to be scrapped. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Israel has begun the evacuation of settlers from the outpost of Amona, which the Israeli Supreme Court ruled is illegally built on private Palestinian land. Groups of young protesters borrowed the Palestinian tactic of setting fire to tires to block unarmed police and erecting makeshift barricades while throwing stones at officers and bulldozers as they advanced on Wednesday. Other members of the 50 or so families and their supporters in the wildcat settlement, built without government permission, resisted peacefully, singing religious songs or chaining themselves to large objects. Some packed up their belongings and carried their children out of their homes towards cars. One protester who chained himself to the foundations of a house told Channel 2 TV that the demonstrators would not use violence, but we will hold on to the ground and not give up because this is our land that God promised to the people of Israel. Bilha Schwarts, 24, came along with her husband and nine-month-old daughter to support the residents. If they want it they can take it, we will not fight. We will leave but we will come back, she told The Associated Press. Amona, constructed in the 1990s northeast of Ramallah, is the largest of around 100 so-called outpost settlements built in the West Bank without Israeli government approval. The international community views all Israeli building over the 1967 Green Line as illegal. Barack Obama uses final interview as President to slam Israeli policy on settlements In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled Amona must be demolished, but evacuations have been delayed several times. The final date for the settlement to be vacated is February 8. The decision has caused fury in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has struggled to appease politicians in his coalition government as well as voters in favour of settlements while respecting the Supreme Court. While Amona is being emptied of settlers, the Israeli government has boldly announced the creation of thousands of new Israeli homes in the West Bank since US President Donald Trump took office last month. Mr Trump is far more sympathetic to Israeli interests than his predecessor Barack Obama. While the move comes too late for Amona, on Tuesday, the Knesset began debating a bill which would legalise 3,900 homes in 54 other wildcat outposts. The legislation which is expected to pass promises generous financial compensation for Palestinian owners, or land elsewhere. The Associated Press contributed to this report Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A spokesperson for BA said: To enable all customers to travel we will be merging a very small number of short-haul flights at Heathrow less than one per cent of total flights planned. This will mean some customers will travel slightly earlier or later in the day than originally booked. We are contacting those customers with the options available to them. The Independent has identified some cancelled flights, such as an early evening round-trip from Heathrow to Dusseldorf on 7 February. In addition, British Airways is likely to charter in capacity from other airlines to cover for flights grounded by the strike. The striking cabin crew are employed by BAs Mixed Fleet operation, which serves around 50 domestic, European and long-haul routes. They have all been recruited since the last cabin-crew dispute ended in 2010, and are employed on less favourable terms than longer-serving staff. Their union, Unite, said: Despite promises that pay would be 10 per cent above the market rate, basic pay starts at just 12,192 with 3 an hour flying pay. The union claims cabin crew earn an average of 16,000, including allowances, a year. BA does not recognise this figure, saying that the lowest paid full-time member of Mixed Fleet earned over 21,000 last year. Unites national officer, Oliver Richardson, said: Rather than addressing poverty pay, British Airways is spending money hand over fist on chartering in aircraft to cover striking cabin crew. If it can afford to waste money in such a manner then British Airways can clearly afford to address pay levels which are among the lowest in the industry. A BA spokesperson said: Our pay offer for Mixed Fleet cabin crew is consistent with deals agreed with more than 90 per cent of British Airways colleagues, including many Unite members. More than 9,000 cabin crew, represented by a different Unite branch, today voted overwhelmingly to accept the deal. The offer also reflects pay awards given by other companies in the UK and will ensure that rewards for Mixed Fleet remain in line with those for cabin crew at our airline competitors. Another three-day stoppage is planned from 9 to 11 February. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The court is hearing evidence in a case which began with a disagreement over a term-time holiday to Florida. The local council fined Jon Platt, a businessman, 120 for taking his six-year-old daughter out of school for a family trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando. He refused to pay, and Isle of Wight Magistrates said he had no case to answer. Last May, the High Court ruled in Mr Platts favour. But Isle of Wight Council, supported by the Department for Education, took the case to the Supreme Court, arguing that a childs overall attendance is not relevant. Recommended What the High Court holidays judgement means for you Flight and holiday prices typically rise by 50 to 100 per cent when schools are out, and increases in air fares tend to be more extreme, with some prices multiplying three or four-fold. For example, the morning flight on easyJet from Manchester to Geneva on Saturday 18 February the start of half-term for most schools costs a family of four over 1,200. A week later, the price for the same seats on the same plane fall to less than 300. Until 2013, head teachers in England were able to grant up to two weeks a year for family holidays in "special circumstances". But the then-Education Secretary Michael Gove cracked down on parents taking children out of school during term-time. A fixed-penalty fine of 60 is imposed for unauthorised absences; this is doubled if not paid promptly. The High Court, though, concluded that if a childs overall attendance is at least 90 per cent, a parent should be able to take them out of school for a holiday. A decision is expected in several weeks. If the Supreme Court sides with Mr Platt and confirms the High Court verdict, the effect would be for a child with a 100 per cent attendance record to be able to take a holiday for the last 19 days of school of the academic year typically covering the last week of June and most of July. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Pity the poor traveller who turns up at London St Pancras station and tries to buy an off-peak return ticket to Sheffield, at the end of the East Midlands line, from a machine. The ticket machine is programmed to offer a bewildering selection of options: for East Midlands Trains only (which is first-class only, at 190); Any Permitted Route (150); a bizarre combination of Hull Trains and Trans-Pennine Express (125); and the correct answer for the next available fast, direct train Via Chesterfield (115). To counter such confusion and complexity, the rail industry is promising the most radical overhaul of train fares for more than 30 years. The move also aims to remove some of the absurdities of ticket prices, and the tricks that some travellers use to cut fares. The result should be greater clarity, with cheaper deals for many passengers whose journeys involve a change of trains. Travellers between the capital and Scotlands two biggest cities should be able to access rail fares that are presented as clearly as air fares. The fares regime across the UK was established in the mid-1980s. At the time far fewer people travelled by train, there was no competition from budget airlines and the main discount tickets were Savers, the predecessors of todays Off-Peak Returns. Fares arrangements were frozen in at the time of privatisation, a policy intended to protect the travelling public against excessive fares rises or disadvantageous changes to conditions. But the result is a system riddled with inconsistency. For many journeys, a traveller is incentivised to use split tickets covering a journey with two or more tickets to obtain a lower fare. Current rules require operators to set and maintain a through price even where there are cheaper deals. On a trip from Penzance in Cornwall to Kyle of Lochalsh in north-west Scotland, the cheapest through fare a month from today is 233.70. It is a simple matter almost to halve that fare by splitting the journey at Edinburgh, but a determined traveller can save still more with the judicious use of further split-tickets. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train companies and Network Rail, is promising a best value end-to-end through fare on some test routes, combining the cheapest fares for each leg of the journey. The spurious through fares will be removed from the system, signalling a fundamental change. At present train operators are able only to add fares to the existing options, with no mechanism for removing fares for older, less relevant routes which passengers do not use. The RDG calculates that between Britains 2,500 stations, there are more than 16 million different train fares many of which nobody buys, according to Jacqueline Starr, the organisations Managing Director of Customer Experience. We know customers can find it hard to get the right ticket for their journey due to complex rules and regulations built up by governments over decades. This also makes it more difficult to give passengers the right, simple options on ticket machines, she said. Working with government, were determined to overhaul the system to cut out red-tape, jargon and complication to make it easier for customers to buy fares they can trust, including from ticket machines. The East Midlands route has been chosen as a testbed because services have improved so dramatically since privatisation, yet the ticket options remain bewildering. Between London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, the budget airlines have shown how to present fares in a straightforward manner. But anyone consulting the National Rail website for tickets between the English and Scottish capitals a week from today will be offered Return from 138 and 2 Singles from 87.50. The former is a flexible, walk-up off-peak return, the latter a combination of two Advance tickets. The vision of the RDG is that the prospective traveller would be presented with a simpler message Best price 87.50 with more options available if required. Change will not happen quickly, but it is hoped the initial trial will begin in May. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} You know the drill: the trek to the airport, check-in queues, security lines, overpriced food and drink before the rush to the gate and the boarding scrum. Flyings long had the glamour sucked out of it unless youre royalty, a celeb or happen to own a private jet. But there is a third way and its by no means out of reach. Imagine: no queues, passport control comes to you, and youre whisked to the aircraft in a fancy car without even setting foot in a terminal. This is the VIP-suite service offered by most major airports. When travel company owner Dennis Wilde and his partner flew BA from Heathrow to Las Vegas last year they never even set foot in Terminal 5. Instead they were picked up and taken straight to a private suite where they cleared passport control. Then they were driven directly to the aircraft in a BMW 7 Series it was parked away from the terminal so their fellow passengers had to take a bus. Recommended Airline pilot reveals what frightens him most about flying They held the buses back while we went up the stairs, says Wilde. And then everyone else followed us on to the aircraft. It really was an experience. His company, Wilde Private Travel, arranges high-end trips for clients who include business people, celebs and diplomats but he says anyone can access the VIP-suite experience of separate boarding and security, clearing passport control and customs while supping champagne. In fact, it can cost as little as 250 per head. In some places its an absolute steal, he says, citing the Maldives spectacular international airport as the best-value. For around 250 per person travellers are met at the aircraft door, then its a short walk or a 40-second drive to a private suite where passport control and customs officials arrive. Then its just a quick walk to the boat, or a drive to your seaplane. There your luggage, which is usually stored separately in the hold, will be waiting. The whole process can take as little as 15 minutes, says Wilde. After a long-haul flight, it sounds just the ticket. Not everywhere is so affordable, of course at Heathrow, the VIP experience costs around 3,000 for up to three people, while at Gatwick it starts at around 700 for one person. It gets cheaper the more people there are in a group. At all airports offering the VIP suite service, however, the experience is roughly the same. Youre taken from a pre-arranged meeting point directly to a private suite where passport checks and paperwork are taken care of. From there its on through a private security channel and into a dedicated car to the aircraft steps where youre boarded before the hoi polloi. But speaking of hoi polloi, you cant book something like this direct with the airport you have to be using a high-end travel consultant, wholl sort everything out. Recommended Man chartered private jet to fly from one side of London to the other Wilde stresses that the VIP experience isnt always rocknroll. General airline lounges are all about luxury they may have spa treatments and fantastic food. VIP suites are all about privacy and convenience. There may not be a shower, and in some places it may be tea, coffee and sandwiches. Whether you get your preferred brand of water or a specific meal depends on the airport. Heathrow, Gatwick and the Gulf states, he says, are superb, but smaller set-ups might find it trickier. For his Vegas trip, Heathrow staff had Pret A Manger sandwiches waiting for him, which he then took on the plane (he may fly First Class but as a vegetarian, he always travels with back-up). Bedlam at the boarding gate: A thing of the past, if you choose the suite life (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images) More people opt for the VIP suite experience than youd think, says Gaynor Pickard, a self-styled travel fixer based in Yorkshire who arranges high-end travel via her website TheTravelFixer.com. And not just for the private jet crowd, either her clients range from celebrities wanting to avoid queuing with the plebs at passport control to stressed-out families. Its for anyone wanting a smoother experience at the airport, she says. Even if theyre flying economy. As well as the full-on private suite experience, Pickard also champions a cheaper concierge service. With this youre met at the airport by porters who take your luggage and a concierge who, sometimes in a buggy, sweeps you through security into the lounge and then to the gate where you can decide to board first or last. One of my regular clients recently travelled to Madrid with a group of three others, she says. They were on a tight schedule, so we arranged for them to be met at the aircraft door and escorted to a private lounge where all the formalities were taken care of while they relaxed. Porters went to collect their bags, and then they were taken to their car. Its not just the elite who do this its for everyone wanting a much more personal service. Prices vary wildly, she says but a straight concierge service without suite access starts from around 150 per person. Pickard is also on hand to do legwork in case there are problems or delays with flights, she says, citing a family with a young baby whose recent flight was cancelled. She had one of her contacts pick them up from the gate and whisk them to a lounge while she rebooked them on to another flight. Of course, flying commercial is never going to have the cachet of going private but Pickard and Wilde are adamant that the VIP suite experience comes in a close second. There are just two problems. One is if youre flying to an airport that doesnt offer the service bizarrely, LAX doesnt for international flights, and neither does JFK. In these airports, celebs have to make do with the generic first class check-in and regular lounges, which explains all those paparazzi shots of A-listers going through security. The other stumbling block is more pedestrian: you need a spare few hundred quid at least to do it. I have to remember I dont live the life of my clients, says Wilde. Sometimes I get to do the VIP suite but often I dont. Its fine, of course, but sometimes standing in a 40-minute queue you do think, last time we were through in 15. In the meantime he should probably brush up on his suite etiquette. We were a little English and embarrassed, he says about pre-boarding that Vegas flight in full view of his other passengers. We ran up the steps very quickly. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The result of tonights vote is not in doubt. The Prime Minister has the support of the Leader of the Opposition. So the main interest is in the size of the Labour vote against the EU withdrawal Bill, and what it means for Jeremy Corbyns future as Labour leader. The benchmark for tonights vote is the vote in December calling on the Government to start the Article 50 process by the end of March. Only 23 Labour MPs voted against that time, but a lot of Labour MPs 56 of them didnt vote. So there will be more this time, but all the same at least two thirds of Labour MPs will vote in favour of the Bill. Not all of them will be quite as blunt as Margaret Beckett, the former foreign secretary, who said yesterday: I will vote for Brexit bill though I fear the consequences will be catastrophic. But all but 10 of them supported Remain in the referendum. The most united opposition to the Bill will come from the Scottish National Party. Its 54 MPs will probably all vote against it. Even the Liberal Democrats, rebranded as the anti-Brexit party despite their past enthusiasm for referendums, are divided, with at least two of their nine MPs Norman Lamb and Greg Mulholland intending to abstain. How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Show all 8 1 /8 How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nations favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Nescafe The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafe Original at Sainsburys has gone up 40p from 2.75 to 3.15 a 14 per cent risesince the Brexit vote. PA How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterlings slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons customers 2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the lighter way to enjoy chocolate, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto But tonight the main event is the Labour rebellion, although that is not really the right word under Jeremy Corbyns non-disciplinarian leadership. He has said that MPs cannot remain in the shadow cabinet if they vote against the Bill, but he hasnt said anything about frontbench posts outside the shadow cabinet. So let us see what happens to Daniel Zeichner, a shadow transport minister, and to Vicky Foxcroft, Jeff Smith and Thangam Debbonaire, who are Labour whips. They are frontbenchers whose job is to persuade fellow Labour MPs to follow the shadow cabinets instructions on how to vote, but they intend to disobey themselves. Nor is tonights vote the end of the Labour split story. Clive Lewis, the shadow Business Secretary increasingly mentioned as a possible successor to Corbyn, said last week he will vote against the Bill on the final vote next week if Labour fails to secure its amendments to the Bill. That means he would have to resign from the shadow cabinet, although Diane Abbott, the shadow Home Secretary who is close to Corbyn, points out that the shadow cabinet has not yet decided its line if as seems likely Labour fails to amend the Bill. Even so, the shadow cabinet, with Corbyn adopting a passive role as leader, is almost certain to ask Labour MPs to support the Bill or at least not to vote against it in the final vote next Wednesday. Late MP Tom Dalyell says MPs should have 'the balls' to block Brexit Lewiss stand places him precisely on the faultline in the party, voting in favour of the referendum decision, but against the terms of Tory Brexit. His announcement is notable against the background of rising disquiet among Corbyns supporters about the leaders European policy. This week alone George Monbiot, the campaigning green journalist, and Derek Hatton, the former Militant leader of Liverpool, both expressed their disappointment with the left-wing leader they had recently and enthusiastically supported. This is surprising, given that Corbyn made it clear on 24 June last year that he accepted the result of the referendum. It has taken a long time for his supporters to realise what this means. He was re-elected last year by large numbers of people who felt he hadnt been given a fair chance as leader, and who imagined that there might be a way of influencing the Government to achieve a soft Brexit. Recommended Senior Labour MP warns of riots if MPs fail to trigger Article 50 Since then, it has become increasingly clear that the negotiations that will follow the invoking of Article 50 next month will present this country with a narrow range of varieties of hard Brexit, and that Corbyn wont try very hard to stop it. After the failure of last years challenge to Corbyns leadership, it was widely agreed that no one in the Labour Party would want to try that again this year. It would seem that Lewis has other ideas. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} As an American, Ive witnessed the news of protests and riots across the US. Ive seen students speak out on university campuses and Ive heard the echoing chant of not my president over and over again. When I came to the UK, it didnt stop. Thousands gathered in central London on Monday outside Downing Street, with crowds filling the length of Whitehall, from Parliament to Trafalgar Square, to protest against the UKs silence in the face of President Donald Trumps travel ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim majority countries. This was the second demonstration held in the capital against Trumps policies in less a fortnight. Ive never attended any kind of demonstration in my life. Ive never felt that anything could be accomplished by marching or chanting. I always found it better just to talk about issues in person over going out in a large crowd with the potential of danger. Caroline Lucas: Trump is a 'racist bigot' Curiosity got the better of me this time; I wanted to see the British reaction to the Muslim ban. People from every nationality and religion were in attendance with chants against Prime Minister Theresa Mays invitation for Trump to visit the UK. Signs ranged from calls to open borders to ones against Americas brand of capitalism. Two placards stuck out in particular: one was a blown up statement tweeted out by Vice President Mike Pence when he was governor that read, Calls to ban Muslims from entering the US are offensive and unconstitutional, an example of the hypocrisy that has become the norm in American politics. The other was a simple black and white photograph of Anne Frank, a silent but strong reminder of the terrifying logical end point of the prejudice present in Trumps executive order. I was moved by the size of the crowd in attendance and the unity shown from one nation to another. Though Ive become aware of the vast differences in American and British culture, many people on both sides of the world are still committed to the values of tolerance, acceptance and open-mindedness. The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Attending the demonstration didnt change my life. I dont think Ive become a converted protester. I cant see myself going out with signs and chanting, but I do feel empowered to take action against things I cannot accept myself in positive ways like volunteering with refugees and migrants in my own community. Im glad that my first attendance in a political protest was in the UK over the US. Im not a British citizen and I dont have a say in their PMs policies, but I felt I had the right to be there just as anyone else. I may be a guest in the UK, but Ive been treated as one of their own as everyone should wherever they go. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last year. (Photo : Getty Images) Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte has requested China to patrol in international waters leading to Malacca Strait and the Sulu Sea, following the threat of terrorism and piracy. By the way, I also asked China, if they can patrol the international waters without necessarily intruding into the territorial waters of countries. We would be glad to have their presence there, said Duterte in his speech during an oath-taking ceremony for the Armed Forces of the Philippines officers in Manila recently. Advertisement Duterte revealed that international cargo ships are looking for other sea routes despite added expense due to the piracy and kidnapping incidents in Sulu Sea and Malacca Strait. He said if trade routes become more dangerous or are blocked, international trade routes will shift, it will become more expensive, and companies could pay higher insurances rates such as consumers paying higher prices for services and goods. Either they go up to the north, and if theyre headed for Mexico, down south, or here where it would be neared, which would mean higher costs, higher rate, higher insurance, it adds up to the good and the services there, governs the world, its always goods and services, said Duterte. He said China could patrol international waters similarly to how they did off coast of Somalia, referring to Chinese ships protecting trade routes from pirates as part of an international effort. He cited Beijing could deploy its coast guard cutters, not its gray ships or naval assets. This move was supported by Hermogenes Esperon Jr., national security adviser, who said that the President is just expressing his serious concerns on the series of kidnapping activities in Mindanao. Terrorism is an international concern, thats what he meant. If he may have mentioned one country, all countries are also concerned on terrorism, said Esperon. Five builders who have asked the European Commission to investigate whether Nama is distorting competition in the market are depending on the Government for the case to progress quickly. That's according to EU Competition Commissioner Margarethe Vestager, who told TDs and senators yesterday that it was up to the Government to say if it wants an investigation by her Commission speeded up. In December 2015, developers David Daly, Paddy McKillen, Pat Crean, Michael O'Flynn and MKN Properties filed a formal complaint with the European Commission, objecting to the Government's plans to use Nama as part of its efforts to address the housing crisis. The five asked the Commission to investigate whether State provision of funding for property development through Nama breaches State Aid rules, which prohibit governments handing any business an advantage not available to its rivals. The Government has asked Nama to provide finance to builders in order to deliver 20,000 new homes in a bid to alleviate the housing crisis. Lawyers for the five developers opposed to the scheme described the case as "extremely urgent" in their latest correspondence to the Commission at the end of last year. They say the Nama scheme could give an advantage to developers whose loans are in Nama and those working with the agency over rivals who operate without its support. Reacting to Ms Vestager's comments to the Dail's Finance Committee, Michael O'Flynn said: "It's very concerning. This complaint has been with the Commission for 14 months now. We understood it was being given priority treatment, so I'm surprised by Ms Vestager's remarks. "We thought the complaint was being given priority, but obviously its progress is now dependent on the State against which the complaint has been made, and that's quite extraordinary." However, Ms Vestager indicated that the complaint from the five developers is not currently a priority for her department - noting that current cases it is considering include Deutsche Boerse's massive planned takeover of the London Stock Exchange Group. The Commission was "still in the process of looking at the Nama case," and she could not give a deadline for any actions, she told the committee. "If the Government wants to prioritise the case we can put more effort into it," she said. In a letter to the Commission in December, the developers sought clarity from on the status of their complaint, noting that over a year had passed since they submitted it. Referring to a meeting with the competition directorate on June 2 last, where they were advised it was receiving "priority treatment", the developers' lawyers said this had yet to be communicated in a formal letter to them. The letter warned that their complaint may now be brought to the General Court of the European Union to vindicate the developers' rights to obtain a decision. Work has commenced on a new state-of-the-art pig farm in Northern Ireland, which is set to become one of the largest in Britain and Ireland. Diggers have moved on site to start the construction of the controversial pig farm in Newtownabbey, just outside Belfast, that will house 15,000 animals. Enabling work commenced last Monday this week as lorry loads of hardcore arrived at the Rea Hill Road to construct a laneway into the site. Once that is completed, a hardcore area will be laid out for the yard before any buildings are started. Much to the dismay of local protesters, the pig farm received planning permission back in November last year following months of talks. The new farm will be home to 15,000 pigs from around a weaning weight of 7kg upwards, while the sows will remain on the existing home farm. Plans were originally drawn up by farmer Derek Hall for the new farm to house 30,000 pigs, but planning permission was granted for half that number in the end. Mr Hall hopes that the farm will be completed around September time if everything goes to plan. "The enabling work has started on the farm. A hardcore lane and yard are in the process of being built before any work on the buildings starts," Hall said. Local residents strongly opposed the development, claiming that the unit would produce too much slurry and smell. Celebrities including Queen guitarist and animal welfare campaigner Brian May, as well as actors Martin Shaw and Jenny Seagrove, have also opposed the pig unit. The planning permission was passed by councillors, some of them farmers, at a sitting of Antrim and Newtown- abbey Borough Council Planning Committee in November 2016, where nine councillors voted in favour and two opposed the development. "The site where the farm is being built extends to 30ac but we are actually only building on around 20pc of that. The remainder will be left as a greenfield site and a water attenuation pond," Hall explained. "The farm itself is being built at the back of the site with the pond visible from the road. Four sheds each measuring around 110m by 38m are being built there. "We aim to house 15,000 pigs from weaning age, or around 7kg upwards, at the new farm. A third of the total pigs there will be small pigs producing very little slurry. "Currently, we have 900 sows and these will be kept at our existing farm. When the new farm is completed, there is the potential to increase the sow herd to 1,500, but only if it is required," he added. "We are building a 500 kilowatt anaerobic digester, which will take the odour-emitting gases from the slurry, thereby significantly reducing odour, and convert them into energy. "This energy base will be used to power the farm. The digester also produces heat, which will be used in the pig houses in order to create a better environment for the animals. "It is hoped all the works will be completed by September or earlier if everything goes to plan," he added. Ulster Unionist Party councillor Roderick Swann is also a farmer and he backed the proposal. He said he was "quite satisfied" that all the necessary welfare issues that had been raised by objectors were addressed. Asked if he understood the strong opposition both from locals and those not so local, Mr Swann said, "I can and I can't. There was an awful lot of 'not in my backyard', with lots of emails flying through. "But these people are all farm-quality assured; the pigs are well looked after. To get a quality-assurance accreditation is very tight." As part of their campaign against the project, opponents said that they had huge issues with excessive noise and smell. But Mr Swann rejected these objections. "I myself was in Germany to see the system, and I can tell you I was standing six inches from the external wall and could only smell wood. I also put my ear to the wall and only heard an odd snort," he said. He also dismissed the involvement of celebrities in the campaign against the unit, advising them to keep their noses out of the matter. Two DUP councillors were the only local representatives to vote against the new pig farm being built on a greenfield site. Councillor John Smyth and his fellow party colleague Thomas Hogg voted against the motion. "I felt the experts weren't always right," Councillor Smyth said. "Bringing such a large development of slurry to the side of a hill I think is going to be dangerous for the future," he added. "I wouldn't like it on my front door, and a lot of people are concerned. It will definitely smell. People say it will be odour-free, but there's no such thing as an odour-free system. There are animal- welfare concerns." Dawn Farms has signed a deal worth 850m to supply 4,000 Subway restaurants across Europe. The deal will mean that Dawn Farms is providing meat into 30 countries across Europe, where Subway is located, including the UK. The contract will run for seven years to 2024 and continues a long relationship between the Subway organisation and Dawn Farms. Larry Murrin, CEO of Dawn Farms, said the deal was a testament of Dawn Farms continued investment in product innovation, our strengths in supply chain consistency and food security, and our vigilance in relation to competitiveness. The Subway organisation has ambitious growth plans for new restaurant openings in Ireland, the UK, and across Europe and with this strategic supply agreement these can translate into significant additional export sales for Ireland. Founded in Milford Connecticut in 1965, Subway is the worlds largest with more than 44,000 restaurants worldwide. Dawn Farms is one of the leading suppliers of cooked and fermented meat for pizza, sandwich, ready meals & snacks, to international foodservice chains and food manufacturers. The company was a founding member of Bord Bias Origin Green sustainability programme and is the current Irish Exporters Association Food and Drink Exporter of the Year. Subway already has supply links with Ireland sourcing dairy, bread and confectionery products from Irish companies as well as its sandwich meats from Dawn Farms. This contract demonstrates that Ireland and the Irish agri-food sector is held in high regard internationally and has the potential to expand its global reach, if we can achieve the right mix of competitiveness and market led innovation said Larry Murrin. The big switch from fossil fuels to renewable heat systems is set to provide financial opportunities for farmers, a rural TD has claimed. As the final consultation for the Governments Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme aimed at encouraging industrial and commercial heat users to switch to greener technologies gets under way, Denis Naughten, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, says the move will provide commercial opportunities to farmers nationwide. It will bring new markets. As these convert, it will create a demand for more biomass supply and fresh opportunities for local farmers for biomass and potentially biogas producers, he said. The scheme, which is required if Ireland is to meet its energy and climate change obligations, will cover additional costs of generating heat from renewable sources by providing a payment on a per unit of energy produced basis. The Roscommon-Galway East TD asked the public to provide feedback to his department on the design options for the scheme before March 3. To date, farmers have been reluctant to pursue potential opportunities in the bioenergy space until the market developed further. The rural-based TD is confident that the RHI scheme will encourage farmers to take the next step. For this intervention to be successful, it is critical that supply-side policies must be aligned with the demand-side measure that my department is developing, he said. The scheme will be designed so it ensures value for money for the taxpayers, who are being asked to pay the cost of the RHI subsidy, he added. Minister Naughten is proposing that a budget cap mechanism should be built into the scheme from the start, ensuring that the more an applicant burns, the lower the incentive. I hope this public consultation will stimulate the widest possible feedback and suggestions on support, payments, sustainability and efficiency criteria, said the Minister. The world is changing and we have to change with it. I am convinced we can create new opportunities and markets for farmers the length and breadth of this country, while at the same time meet our energy and climate change goals. Thousands of farmers have received GLAS paymnets in the last few days, according to An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. Speaking in the Dail, the Taosieach said further payments of 4.2 million have been issued to just under 1,200 participants in the past few days. However, he said approximately 8,900 cases remain outstanding and, starting immediately, further payments will be made on a weekly basis as cases are cleared. Last year, 2016, was the first full year of payments under the GLAS scheme. At the end of December 2016, there were 37,500 active participants in the GLAS scheme, of which 27,400 received 85% of their 2016 payment. The Taoiseach said payments can only issue when all of the required validation checks have been successfully passed. Farmers have taken to the streets to highlight the continued delays in payments. IFA led a protest of farmers outside the Department of Agriculture offices on Kildare Street, as 30pc of farmers are still waiting on payments from the environmental scheme GLAS, worth an estimated 35m. IFA President Joe Healy said payments under the scheme were due in October, however more than 9,000 farmers have yet to be paid, despite having completed the actions required, incurring significant costs and planning fees in doing so. Expand Close IFA President Joe Healy leads farmers on a protest at the Department of Agriculture on Kildare Street. Picture: Finbarr O'Rourke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp IFA President Joe Healy leads farmers on a protest at the Department of Agriculture on Kildare Street. Picture: Finbarr O'Rourke It is absolutely unacceptable that farmers who joined the GLAS scheme almost two years ago, and who were promised payments last October are still waiting with no definite answers as to when they can expect to get paid." While 28,000 farmers were paid in December, he said there has been virtually no movement on payments since then, leaving 35m due to farmers. Louth farmer Eoin White who was at the IFA protest said his family qualified for 2,500 under the Scheme and while neighbours of his had been paid, they were still waiting on 80pc of their payment. "We paid a planner 950 so we could join the scheme last year. Bills come in all the time and that money is spent and we are still waiting to be fully paid. "Every time we've rang the Department we're given a different excuse," he said. Meanwhile, in the Taoiseach's home town of Castlebar, over 200 members of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association protested at the Department of Agriculture's office over the delay in GLAS payments. Vincent Roddy National Chair of INHFA said that if necessary "experts in IT systems must be outsourced to sort out this mess,farmers cannot wait any longer for their wages, what other sector in Irish society would put up with this." The Department said that because all GLAS applications must pass regulatory controls and validations the outstanding cases are being reviewed on a case-by-case basis to resolve the individual issues in each instance. It also said that 27,400 of the 37,500 participants in the scheme received 85pc of their payment totalling almost 100m before the end of last year and said that every effort is being made to issue the outstanding payments. Dublin Airport's passenger numbers would immediately slump by three million if a third runway opened with two onerous planning conditions still in place, DAA ceo Kevin Toland has warned. He also cautioned that airfares out of the capital would probably rise and connectivity would decline. The airport boss insisted it would be a "huge disaster" and claimed that, if the two planning conditions remain, the impact would be "horrific", and the cumulative passenger loss over the next 20 years at the airport would be about 80 million. The two conditions currently attached to the existing planning permission for the planned parallel runway include one that would prohibit its use between 11pm and 7am - a period that includes the airport's busy morning operations. The second condition would cap the number of total flights at the airport between 11pm and 7am to 65. The airport currently handles 100 flights during that time. "That's been one of the key factors that has let us develop Dublin Airport so well over the past couple of years - building the long-haul business, which tends to come in early in the morning through to mid-morning," said Mr Toland, who was speaking at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin yesterday. "If you look at our position today, there are absolutely no restrictions on our business and nor should there be," he said, describing the two conditions imposed by An Bord Pleanala as "hugely problematic". The former senior Glanbia executive said a new environmental impact study is being prepared by the DAA, the semi state company that controls Dublin and Cork airports, and that this will be submitted to the relevant authority within a couple of months. Removed "We will be making a very firm, clear case for those conditions to be removed," he said. A number of local groups want the two planning conditions attached to the runway project retained. Dublin Airport handled just under a record 28 million passengers last year, and is one of the fastest-growing large airports in Europe. Last year, it revived plans for a third runway to cope with anticipated increases in passenger traffic in coming years. Airlines are broadly welcoming of a new runway. But Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has claimed that at 3.1km long, it would be about 500m too long for what's needed at Dublin. Aer Lingus has expressed concerns at the anticipated cost of the project - 320m - which includes taxiways, enhanced safety elements and other associated infrastructure. The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR), which regulates passenger charges at Dublin Airport, has provisionally given the DAA a 247m budget for the runway. Preparatory work for the project has already begun. The scheme is out to tender and the DAA expects that construction will fully commence in the summer. The runway is due to open in 2020. Mr Toland also said that he did not believe that new European directive related to aircraft noise management would impact Dublin Airport. The existing planning permission for the new runway expires this year. Last month, the DAA applied to Fingal County Council for a time extension to that original permission, which was granted in 2007. "It was not possible to implement the permission due to the severe economic, commercial and financial recession which hit the global economy and Ireland in 2008," the DAA said. Helsinki Gets a Taste of China's Intangible Cultural Heritage for Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year is commemorated around the globe through different cultural celebrations. (Photo : Getty Images) Approximately 50,000 spectators in Helsinki, Finland, got a taste of Chinese culture in celebration of the Chinese New Year. As the Year of the Rooster was celebrated Friday night, local Finns took part in the Temple Fair, which featured intangible culture heritages including "paper cutting, straw plaiting, Dragon-phoenix calligraphy and Taiping drum dance," Xinhua News Agency enumerated in its report. Advertisement One of the highlights of the occasion was the Taiping drum dance, receiving a warm applause from the enthusiastic crowd. The commemoration of the 2017 Chinese New Year also comes with a festive revelry of the thousand-year-old Chinese folk art where performers donning vibrant attires conquered the stage with their lively dance numbers. Not only did the Finnish crowd enjoy the celebration, the Chinese artists who took part in the event also savored their stay in the country. Zhuo Mo, a member of the Jingxi Taiping Drum Folk Art Troupe, told Xinhua about her experience. "We hope that the jubilant Taiping dram dance could bring festive atmosphere to the sparsely populated country," the first-timer in Finland said. Meanwhile, Deputy Director Yu Longjiang of the Beijing Shuimo Nianhua Painting and Calligraphy Studio led in showing some of the intangible cultural heritages of China before the Helsinki locals. A practitioner of the dragon-phoenix calligraphy for 20 years now, Yu recounted how he learned about this art form. "I started to learn the art when I was 20 years old. I met my master by accident at that time. I fell in love with the art when I first observed it," Yu said, adding that they are looking for apprentices, and maybe young people who would like to learn the art. Annually, the Chinese New Year is culminated in the area in different means, according to Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen. "Because this is a Chinese New Year, the program must be with Chinese heritage about Chinese tradition," Pajunen explained. Profits at the company that operates Knock Ireland West Airport increased ninefold in 2015 to 112,206. Airport operator, Connaught Airport Development enjoyed the sharp rise in profits in spite of revenues at the firm reducing by 12pc from 14m in 2014 to 12.3m in 2015. The profit of 112,206 followed a modest profit of 12,441 recorded in 2014. A spokesman for Knock Ireland West Airport said yesterday that the drop in revenues arose from a reduction in fuel prices and fuel sales. He said that margins improved from 56pc to 63pc on revenues during the period. He said that the 2015 profit included a State Public Policy Remit (PPR-O) operational funding of 598,000 and would have recorded a net loss of 486,000 only for that payment. The spokesman said that 2015 was the first year of the new regional airport's Public Policy Remit (PPR-O) operational funding scheme 2015-2019 which partly reimbursed the airport costs expensed in relation to fire, security and ATC costs. He said that the airport achieved a 7pc increase in passenger numbers during 2016 to a record-breaking 734,000 using the facility. "New services commenced to Birmingham and Edinburgh with Flybe and also a season summer charter service to Costa Dorada with Falcon Holidays." he said. "The airport also welcomed the first ever charter from Boston with Aer Lingus in 2016. This passenger increase and further improvement in the commercial areas is expected to result in an improved financial position." On the prospects for 2017, he added: "The airport expects to achieve further passenger growth during 2017 from its main markets of the UK and Europe. "It is focused on expanding its route network following the investment by seven local authorities and working closely with the main tourism agencies to promote the West and North West of Ireland overseas." The profit in 2015 reduced the accumulated losses at Connaught Airport Development reducing from 1.66m to 1.54m. The company's shareholder funds at the end of December 2015 stood at 2.3m after taking into account 'other reserves' of 3.86m. The company's cash pile during the year increased from 1.08m to 1.49m Numbers employed by the company in 2015 increased marginally by one from 115 to 116 made up of 75 in operations; 25 in retail and catering and 15 in administration and marketing. Staff costs for the year increased from 4.84m to 4.99m. Directors' remuneration totalled 174,705, including pension payments of 12,462. The firm's loans reduced from 8.8m to 8.17m. The value of the company's assets reduced from 29.96m to 29m. Last year proved to be an eventful one as the airport celebrated a number of milestones, including celebrating the 30th anniversary of the official opening of the airport in May, and a special visit by then US Vice President Joe Biden as he traced his Irish roots the following month. Commenting on the 2016 performance, Ireland West Airport managing director Joe Gilmore said: "We are delighted to have had a record year in 2016, with passenger numbers exceeding 730,000 for the first time in the airport's history which is good news for the regional economy, for tourism, and for job creation, both at the airport and in the wider economy. It was a memorable year ... and having a record year in the year of our 30th anniversary was a fitting end to it." In addition, last year the airport welcomed an investment by seven local authorities for an equity shareholding. US President Donald Trump with pharma industry representatives at the White House in Washington. Photo: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas Ireland Inc is now actively targeting business, investment and recruitment from the Middle East as a result of the US travel ban on Muslims. US President Donald Trump's controversial immigration policy is sparking a rethink across the Muslim world. Middle Eastern businesses and wealthy families have traditionally targeted the US for investment and education. But the ban and associated anti-Muslim sentiment is forcing them to look elsewhere in the West. Tech companies are already actively looking to recruit highly skilled professionals from Muslim backgrounds. The State's key investment agency also says Irish business and education institutions can take advantage of the turmoil. Expand Close People participate in a protest against President Trumps travel ban at Columbia University in New York City. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Keith / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People participate in a protest against President Trumps travel ban at Columbia University in New York City. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Keith Irish-American tech company Intercom has already intervened in the current US immigration controversy by offering to pay the legal fees of Muslim tech workers thinking of moving to Dublin. In a move that will enhance Dublin's reputation as a global tech skills capital, the software firm is offering to pay legal fees of up to 250,000 for "at least" 50 Muslim tech workers if they consider Dublin as their next career destination. And Enterprise Ireland's (EI) senior official in the Middle East says European companies could follow suit and may soon be vying for business in the region. EI's Middle East and North Africa regional manager Joe Breslin also pinpointed education as a sector in which Ireland could benefit. Mr Breslin said Irish companies in areas such as healthcare and FinTech (financial technology) all have US competitors in the Middle East. "If your product is able to compete... and you come down to the last three or four and decisions are being made, the fact that it's a US company versus a European company, I think the European companies have on balance a greater potential to win that business now," he said. Mr Breslin, who is based in the United Arab Emirates, said students from countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates come to Ireland to study medicine and engineering, although the US is by far the largest destination from the region. "A lot of people in this region are now seriously worried about their children going to the US to study because all of the media here in the Middle East is negative against the United States in terms of the reaction there is to Muslims in particular," he said. "This is an area that we would see as a potential because those people are now going to be looking at alternatives in terms of where their children go internationally for third-level education, and that's an area of opportunity." Junior Enterprise Minister Pat Breen is this week leading an Enterprise Ireland trade delegation to a healthcare exhibition and conference in Dubai. The visit is focussing on boosting business opportunities for 20 Irish companies attending the conference. Meanwhile, Intercom's move was announced by its chief executive Eoghan McCabe. "If you're in tech and you're from one of the newly unfavoured countries, or even if you're not, but you're feeling persecuted for being Muslim, we'd like to help you consider Dublin as a place to live and work," the firm's co-founder said. "If you decide you want to look into moving seriously, we'll retain our Dublin immigration attorneys for you and pay your legal bills with them, up to 5,000. We'll do this for as many as we can afford. We should be able to do this for at least 50 people." Mr McCabe said the offer was not meant as an opportunistic recruitment drive to take advantage of the current instability around migration policy in the US. "We will explicitly not be pitching anyone on working for Intercom," he said. "This is not a recruitment drive for Intercom." Intercom's move comes after Limerick-born Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison announced that he would match donations of up to $50,000 (46,350) to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has pledged to fight Mr Trump's new immigration policy. A Dublin-based photographer who sold a photo of a potato for 1m last year has unveiled a series of portraits of Irish women in technology. Kevin Aboschs exhibition called Women: Tech features portraits of female workers and executives who work for Intel in Ireland. Mr Abosch, who is also the creator of an iPhone camera app called Lenka and the data security company Kwikdesk, said that the idea for the female portraits came from a conversation with James Whelton, the founder of youth-coding organisation, CoderDojo. Mr Whelton said that participation by girls in Coderdojo classes fell sharply at the age of 12. Expand Close Anita Early / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anita Early Something happens culturally to cause these young women to fall out from technology at a young age, said Mr Abosch. He said that his portrait images, which depict those that persevered in technology and who happen to be women, is an important celebration and acknowledgement of the part that these people went on to play in their respective fields. The images seek to role model the path of women in technology and in doing so may inspire young people to one day see themselves in those roles. The portraits are to be displayed for a number of months in one of the buildings at Intels giant campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare. Expand Close Ciara Loftus / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ciara Loftus I hope that by sharing these images here onsite that we can create a conversation and think differently about where we work, why we are here and how we value everyone in our workforce, said Intel Irelands HR director, Anne Kelleher. These images are role models for other technical women and for those that will come to work here in the years ahead. Kevin Aboschs work can be found in many global private and public collections of contemporary art, including the National Museum of Ireland which acquired three of his works for their permanent collection. From 2010 to 2014, Mr Abosch exhibited 250 large portraits at Dublin Airport. In 2013, his work was exhibited across 24 electronic billboards in New York Citys Times Square. In 2016, his portrait of an Irish potato ("Potato #345") made headlines across the world as one of the most expensive photos ever purchased. It was bought by a private collector for 1m. Budget airline Wizz Air has cut its full year profit guidance by 8pc attributing the drop to low prices and extreme weather conditions. The Eastern European-focussed firm has downgraded from an income range of 245-255m to 225-235m. "Although the current financial year is looking like a very good year for Wizz Air and we remain excited about our prospects for the next financial year, lower fuel prices continue to feed through to lower airfares, and this downward trend looks likely to continue well into 2017," chief executive Jozsef Varadi said. Wizz Air, is listed on the London stock exchange and a FTSE-250 company. It is the biggest carrier in central and eastern Europe, competing with Ryanair in many markets. Read More In an exclusive interview with the Irish Independent last month, CEO said the airline will eventually enter the Dublin market, but doesn't plan to engage in a frontal assault on Ryanair just yet. "I recognise that we are not flying to Ireland, but I'm sure that we will be at some point," said Mr Varadi. Wizz Air reported a Q3 underlying net income of 13.5m, down from 17.2m in the prior year, and behind our estimate of 21.5m. According to the firm, capacity was up 20.8pc and it had started operating 26 new routes in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank has been fined $629m (583m) by UK and US authorities for compliance failures that saw the bank help wealthy Russians move $10bn (9.2bn) out of the country using transactions that were likely thinly veiled attempts to cover up financial crime. The UK Financial Conduct Authority issued a 163m fine yesterday, hours after New York's Department of Financial Services fined the bank $425m, for failures over the so-called "mirror-trades". A criminal investigation by the US Justice Department is ongoing into the trades, which were used to convert roubles into dollars and transfer the money out of Russia. The deals come after Deutsche Bank agreed to a $7.2bn (6.6bn) settlement to resolve a US investigation into its sales of toxic mortgage debt. While the bank has been pressing to wrap up regulatory reviews, investigations into whether it manipulated foreign-currency rates and precious metals prices haven't been resolved. From April 2012 to October 2014, mirror trades were used by Deutsche Bank customers to transfer more than $6bn (5.5bn) from Russia, through the German lender's arm in the UK, to overseas bank accounts including in Cyprus, Estonia, and Latvia, the FCA said. Another nearly $4bn (3.7bn) in suspicious "one-sided trades" were also carried out. Deutsche Bank chief administrative officer Karl von Rohr said in a memo to staff that the bank is "making progress" toward resolving the investigations. "We are co-operating with other regulators and law enforcement authorities, which have their own ongoing investigations into these securities trades," Von Rohr said in the memo, on the bank's website. "We have some way to go until we can put our major legacy legal matters behind us, but we continue to pursue their resolution step-by-step." The mirror trades allowed clients to buy local blue-chip shares for roubles, while the same stocks would be sold in London for dollars, in order to obtain the US currency. Although such trades can be legal, there were a lack of controls in place at Deutsche Bank to prevent money laundering and other offences. The New York regulator said on Monday that it also appeared a close relative of a Deutsche Bank supervisor in Moscow received bribes worth a quarter million dollars so that the supervisor would clear the trades. "Financial crime is a risk to the UK financial system," Mark Steward, director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said in a statement. "We have repeatedly told firms how to comply with our anti-money laundering requirements and the failings of Deutsche Bank are simply unacceptable." Fines to settle the probes into Russian securities trades were "materially reflected in existing litigation reserves," Deutsche Bank said. The bank received the FCA's standard 30pc discount on the penalty for cooperating with the probe. (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, before signing an executive order. Photo: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais President Donald Trump has said his administration has been able to cut some $600m (556m) from the latest US deal to buy about 90 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters - the jet fighter which he has criticised for cost overruns. Mr Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said that Lockheed Martin had been responsive to his concerns about the high cost of the stealthy, high-tech warplane. "We cut approximately $600m off the F-35 fighter, and that only amounts to 90 planes out of close to 3,000 planes," Trump said, attributing that figure to Lockheed ceo Marillyn Hewson. Negotiations for the 10th batch of F-35 aircraft - about 90 planes - have been under way, with a deal expected by the end of the month. The contract was expected to be around $9bn (8.3bn), with the price per plane falling below $100m (92.6m). Mr Trump said he became involved in the discussions over the cost of the aircraft about a month ago when he was still President-elect because the negotiations were not progressing. "They were having a lot of difficulty. There was no movement and I was able to get $600m approximately off those planes. So I think that was a great achievement," Mr Trump said, suggesting the savings would be even larger as more planes are bought and as the administration looks at other contracts. "We will be savings billions and billions and billions of dollars on contracts," he said. The United States is expected to spend some $391bn (362bn) over 15 years to buy about 2,443 F-35 aircraft, which are being built in different versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. The price of the F-35 has typically been dropping with each new batch as Lockheed and the US government ramp up production of the aircraft, which helps to lower overall costs. While Mr Trump and other US officials have criticized the F-35 programme for delays, cost overruns and high aircraft costs, the program has been stabilising in recent years and the costs have been coming down. "There were great delays, about seven years of delays, tremendous cost overruns," Trump told reporters. "We've ended all of that and we've got that programme really, really now in good shape, so I'm very proud of that." Financial results a week ago show Lockheed Martin beat estimates for fourth-quarter revenue and earnings, but delivered fewer-than-forecast F-35 jets in the previous year. It also said internal controls for financial reporting were ineffective at its Sikorsky helicopter business. Lockheed could not validate the accuracy of financial information, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Lockheed delivered 46 F-35s in 2016, fewer than the 53 it had expected. Still, net sales for the F-35 business unit, Aeronautics, were up 14pc from 2015 due to increased production of the stealthy F-35 fighter jets. The company is the Pentagon's number one weapons supplier. Lockheed Martin's ceo Marillyn Hewson said the defence contractor plans to "drive affordability" in 2017, when the results were announced. She said that she had met Mr Trump four times and discussed lowering costs of Lockheed's products including the F-35. (Reuters) Owners who opt for a buyback will get $7,500 on top of the value of the vehicle Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $1.22bn to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting US 3.0 liter diesel-engine vehicles to settle claims it fitted illegal emissions-cheating software to the cars. German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH also agreed to pay $327.5m to US diesel VW owners, according to the documents filed late Tuesday. Volkswagen could be forced to pay up to $4.04bn if regulators don't approve fixes for all vehicles. In December, VW said it had agreed to buy back 20,000 vehicles and expected to win approval to fix another 60,000. The settlement is the last major hurdle to Volkswagen moving beyond the scandal over its installation of secret software in hundreds of thousands of U.S. diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests, although it still faces suits from some U.S. states and investors. Volkswagen has already announced 18.2bn of provisions to cover the costs of "Dieselgate" and a source familiar with the matter said last month that its total bill was likely to remain below 20bn. Volkswagen's luxury car unit Audi said on Wednesday it was reviewing whether it needed to put aside more provisions to cover the costs of a U.S. settlement of the scandal, on top of the 980m it already set aside. "We are using the court documents to review what we still need to set aside for the annual accounts," an Audi spokesman said in Germany. Under the VW settlement that must be approved by a US judge, owners of 3.0 liter vehicles who opt for fixes will get compensation of between $7,000 and $16,000 from Volkswagen if emissions fixes are approved in a timely fashion -- and the automaker will pay another $500 if the fix affects a vehicle's performance. Owners who opt for a buyback will get $7,500 on top of the value of the vehicle. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which had sued VW, voted unanimously to back the deal. Volkswagen Group of America chief executive Hinrich Woebcken said, with the agreement, all owners of polluting diesels "will have a resolution available to them. We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders." VW has been barred from selling diesel vehicles in the United States since late 2015. VW has agreed to repurchase the 2009-2012 Volkswagen and Audi 3.0 liter vehicles, but believes it will be able to fix the 2013-2016 Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche 3.0 liter vehicles. Read More VW previously agreed to spend up to $10.03bn to buy back up to 475,000 polluting 2.0 liter vehicles after it admitted it installed secret software to evade emissions controls. The settlement marked the largest ever automotive buyback offer in U.S. history and costliest auto industry scandal. Diesel car owners sued Bosch in 2015 claiming the company helped design secret "defeat device" software that allowed VW to evade emissions rules and alleged Bosch was a "knowing and active participant" in Volkswagen's decade-long scheme. Under its settlement, Bosch will pay $163.3m to address 2.0 liter VW vehicle claims, with most owners getting $350 each, while 3.0 liter owners will split $113.3m. Most 3.0 liter owners will receive $1,500 from Bosch. Bosch said in a statement it didn't admit wrongdoing or accept liability but had decided to settle so it could focus on an extensive "transformation process" the company has embarked on. A federal judge in San Francisco will hold a February 14 hearing on whether to grant preliminary approval for the settlements. The lead lawyer for the vehicle owners, Elizabeth Cabraser, said in statement the settlement provides "substantial benefits to both consumers and the environment." VW earlier agreed to pay $225m to offset the excess pollution from the 3.0 liter vehicles, on top of $2.7bn it agreed to pay to offset 2.0 liter pollution. The automaker is set to plead guilty on February 24 in Detroit to three felony counts as part of a plea agreement with the US Justice Department to resolve charges it installed secret software in US vehicles to allow them to emit up to 40 times the amount of legally permitted pollution. As part of a $4.3bn settlement with U.S. regulators, the German automaker has agreed to sweeping reforms, new audits and oversight by an independent monitor for three years to resolve diesel emissions-cheating investigations. The United States has also charged seven current and former VW executives with wrongdoing. In total, VW has now agreed to spend up to $25bn in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, U.S. states and dealers, and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting vehicles. This week, Volkswagen topped Toyota Motor Corp as the world's largest automaker by sales. Actor Aaron Paul attends the 'Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV' New York Premiere at AMC Empire 25 theater on August 18, 2016 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Mike Coppola) It seems like "Breaking Bad " Season 6 will remain as a dream for many fans. It is said that the series creator and producer Vince Gilligan has already hinted at the end of the show. Earlier this week, rumors were afloat that Gilligan has decided to continue with the popular crime drama series. The sixth season has reportedly started shooting last December 2016. It even intensified when several fan-made trailers were uploaded on YouTube. Advertisement Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman on the AMC series, finally shed some light on the matter. In a recent interview with Conan O'Brien, as cited by Mangum Star News, the 37-year-old actor wryly said that the reports had him almost believing that the creators are considering for "Breaking Bad" Season 6. It intensified when he saw one of the mock-up posters that said, "some bad things don't come to an end" and "Premieres 2017 AMC" below the picture. While many are happy about it, Paul reiterated that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is still dead, adding that the AMC crime drama is done and not coming back. Nonetheless, fans can still watch Paul in the upcoming third season of "Better Call Saul," which serve as a prequel to "Breaking Bad." The 10-episode third season is scheduled to premiere on April 10. At the recent Television Critics Association press tour, as cited by Variety, Paul assured that his return to the prequel would be satisfying to the viewers. He then revealed that he has long been in talks with Gilligan about his highly anticipated return. "All I can say is I do know is there are some very exciting surprises coming up in the second season in 'Better Call Saul'," Paul added. "So, I highly, highly recommend watching the show." While waiting, check out Paul as Jesse Pinkman in AMC's "Breaking Bad" here: Author Sebastian Barry celebrates his win at the 2016 Costa Book of the Year Award in London. Photo: REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Irish writer Sebastian Barry has emulated the feat of Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney in winning the Costa Book of the Year twice. The Dublin-born writer won the 35,000 (30,000) prize after his novel 'Days Without End' was named the 2016 Costa Book of the Year at a gala awards ceremony in London last night. It follows his winning of the 2008 Costa Book of the Year award for his novel 'The Secret Scripture'. That novel was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He joins poets Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes as the only other writers to have won the award - regarded as the UK's most prestigious literary award - twice. His novel was described by author Kate Williams, chair of the judging panel - which included Cork comedian and author Graham Norton - as "an absolutely magnificent, incredible book". The novel, which the author said was inspired by his son's coming out as a gay man, is set during the Famine when Irish migrant Thomas McNulty flees Ireland for America in the 1850s and fights as a soldier in the US Civil War. The story of McNulty's gay relationship with fellow soldier John Cole was described by one of the judges as "one of the most wonderful depictions of love in the whole of fiction". Mr Barry (61), who lives in Co Wicklow, was buoyant when he was announced as the overall winner. "You have made me crazy happy from the top of my head to my toes in a way that is a little bit improper at 61," he told the judges at the ceremony. Mr Barry beat out fellow nominees Keggie Carew for her biography of her father Tom Carew in 'Dadland' as well as poet Alice Oswald for 'Falling Awake'. Other contenders for the overall prize were children's writer Brian Conaghan for 'The Bombs That Brought Us Together' and non-fiction writer Francis Spufford for his debut novel 'Golden Hill'. Scriptwriter Asghar Farhadi, winner of the award for Best Script for the movie The Salesman , attends the Palme D'Or Winner Press Conference on May 22, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) President Donald Trump smiles after signing three executive actions in the Oval Office, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Hala Kamil speaking at the United Nations' World Humanitarian Day event in New York last year. Image: YouTube A Syrian refugee featured in an Oscar-nominated film may miss the ceremony due to President Donald Trump's immigration ban. The film, Watani: My Homeland, is nominated in the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category and follows the journey of a Syrian family over three years as they try to escape war-torn Aleppo and start a new life in Germany. However, following the introduction of Trump's "extreme vetting" order, Hala Kamil, the mother of the family, may not be able to travel to the US to attend the Academy Awards in February. A spokesperson for the film told People that the director of the film, Marcel Mettelsiefen, invited Hala to accompany him to the Oscars, although now it remains unclear if she will be able to attend. Expand Close President Donald Trump smiles after signing three executive actions in the Oval Office, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump smiles after signing three executive actions in the Oval Office, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) It is currently unclear if Hala, the courageous mother in the film, will be able to attend the ceremony due to President Trumps travel ban. If she is able to enter the country, she plans to attend with the filmmaking team. This is a fluid situation and many people are working diligently in the hopes that Hala may attend the ceremony, added the spokesperson. Mettelsiefen said in a statement that the travel ban is "another devastating blow to refugees who have already suffered so much." "As Trump seeks to demonize refugees and Muslim people in general, films such as Watani: My Homeland, which tell the human story of refugees, become ever more important," he said. "We must reconnect with the common humanity of the refugee experience and we must all remember that the founding story of America is dependent upon people who have fled war, hunger and poverty in search of a better life. Watani: My Homeland is at least one of three nominated films affected by the ban, as Oscar-nominated director Asghar Farhadi, from Iran, is also unable to attend the ceremony. Farhadi is a multi-award winning Iranian director and writer. His film, The Salesman, is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film representing Iran. He was nominated for a screenwriting Oscar for A Separation, which won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2012. The film made history by becoming the first Iranian film to win an Academy Award. Expand Close Scriptwriter Asghar Farhadi, winner of the award for Best Script for the movie The Salesman , attends the Palme D'Or Winner Press Conference on May 22, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Scriptwriter Asghar Farhadi, winner of the award for Best Script for the movie The Salesman , attends the Palme D'Or Winner Press Conference on May 22, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images) Video of the Day One of the stars of the film, Taraneh Alidoosti, had previously announced she would boycott the Oscars due to the impending visa restrictions placed on Iran. The order bars the entry of foreign nationals from certain countries for 90 days. While no countries are specifically named in the order, it refers to a statute that would apply to seven Muslim-majority nations: Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq and a 120-day suspension of the US refugee programme. Travellers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights or detained at US airports after they landed, including tourists, foreign students and people trying to visit friends and family. Making A Murder lawyer, Dean Strang has strongly defended the documentary amid criticism that it was angled in favour of his former client, Steven Avery. The hit Netflix series had come in for criticism in some quarters that the 10-part documentary produced was 'advocacy journalism' and that sides were taken in the series. Operating from the Innocence Project in Wisconsin, Mr Strang worked as a trial lawyer for Steven Avery. Speaking to the Independent.ie at the launch of the 2017 Innocence Project Scholarships at the Bar Council of Ireland, Mr Strang said that anyone who has an issue with it "should go make his or her own movie". "I don't think it's fair. I think the editorial decisions that the filmmakers made were reasonable," Mr Strang said. "You would have made different ones, I would have made different ones, everyone would have, given the mass of material they had. Distilling it required editorial judgement, I think their judgement was fair. "They exercised that judgement patently by looking at what the lawyers themselves, during the trial and before the trial, were claiming was most important on both sides. "I think the criticism has been misplaced in the main. The filmmakers gave more than three hours of actual footage of one trial Steven Avery trial and probably another hour plus to actual footage of the Dassey trial. "Anybody who's not satisfied with that length of treatment, not fictionalised, not re-created but actual footage, should go make his or her own movie," he added. The Innocence Project is dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals in the US through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system. As part of the scholarship scheme, the Bar of Ireland will provide scholarships to five junior members to travel to the States this summer and volunteer in Cincinnati, Wisconsin and Florida at the end of May, and Duke and Washington at the start of August. First Dates contestant Kayleigh Coleman has said her heart goes out to her date Ian Cleary, who has been subjected to taunts from trolls since the show aired. The 23-year-old described waitress Kayleigh as "beaut- iful" and suggested they go to the bathroom so he could look at her bum. Kayleigh (25), from Blanchardstown, admitted she was "so nervous" ahead of her episode airing, but was thrilled with how she came across. However, the same could not be said of her date. "I was so nervous because it was done in August, so you're talking six months of not knowing what they'll put into it, but I was delighted with how it turned out," she said. Expand Close First Dates Ian / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp First Dates Ian "Poor Ian, he got the s***ty end of the stick, didn't he? People have been giving him grief." Kayleigh and Ian did not hit it off romantically on their date, but they kept in touch after meeting and have become good friends. "He's getting a hard time, and I wouldn't mind but we're actually best pals now. I feel protective of him, God love him. I bumped into him over Christmas and we went for a few drinks," she said. Kayleigh said she would be up for going back to the First Dates restaurant again. Expand Close Kayleigh and Ian on First Dates Ireland. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kayleigh and Ian on First Dates Ireland. "Yeah, I'd do it. I thought they'd put me with someone that I would just chew up and spit out, but they gave me someone that was well able for it," she said. Kayleigh impressed producers with her sense of humour and was one of four First Date participants invited on to The Ray D'Arcy Show last weekend for another shot at love. "The four of us, the first daters, were on for about 15 minutes chatting away and then the next 15 minutes was me trying to choose between eight blokes," she said. "I've never had eight blokes after me. They did it kind of like Tinder. They had these guys' profile pictures up on the screen and I had to say yes or no." Video of the Day A 23-year-old Cork man named Eugene caught Kayleigh's eye, and they went to Copper Face Jacks after the show. "When we met up again, there wasn't really a spark there. He lives down in Cork, it's never going to happen. We'll just be pals," said Kayleigh. "He was lovely, but a bit young. There were so many of us in Coppers, I lost him." Kayleigh felt guilty at having to reject so many men on TV and apologised to them all individually when they went backstage. "All the lads I rejected were in the green room and I went around and said sorry to them. They were great craic," she said. A still image from Paul Williamss documentary State of Fear shows John Gilligan as he was confronted by the journalist at Jessbrook Equestrian Centre in Co Kildare. Photo: TV3 John Gilligan arrives at court to hear if CAB can seize his three properties Members of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) have been praised for their "determination and dedication" after drug dealer John Gilligan and his family lost a Supreme Court appeal in which they challenged proceeds of crime orders in relation to some of their assets. The five judge court said the Gilligans had not established that a previous Supreme Court decision of 2008 came within rare or exceptional circumstance in which a final judgment may be set aside. To do so, it would have been necessary to show that through no fault of their own, they had been the subject of a breach of constitutional rights, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne said on behalf of the court. "There is nothing extraneous in the circumstances of this case going to the very root of the fair and constitutional administration of justice which would necessitate the setting aside of the judgment of the Supreme Court of 2008", she said. The court's decision followed a hearing last year in which the Gilligans claim they did not receive a proper trial when assets were frozen by the State in 1996. Subsequent court rulings based on that decision were flawed or invalid, they argued. The property included an equestrian centre in Enfield, Co Meath, which Gilligan had bought and developed before he spent 17 years in prison for drug trafficking. Other property owned by his former wife Geraldine, daughter Tracy and son Darren, was also found to be the proceeds of crime. The Gilligans claimed the properties were bought from legitimate earnings. They also included two houses in Lucan, Dublin, one belonging to Tracy, and another house in Blanchardstown, Dublin, belonging to Darren. The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), rejected claims they did not get a proper hearing. The 1996 freezing orders, confirmed in a High Court decision in July 1997, were obtained in accordance with legal requirements, it was argued. The Gilligans did not take the opportunity to challenge those orders because they took the view that they would await the next stage provided for under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 which was an application by CAB to forfeit the property to the State, Ben O'Floinn BL for CAB had argued. Michael Bromley Martin QC, for the Gilligans, disagreed with this characterisation about their approach to the freezing orders. They were assured by the authorities that the orders were of a temporary nature, he said. Counsel also said at no time leading up to the final freezing orders had the family been represented. This was because John Gilligan applied for an order under Section 6 of the Proceeds of Crime Act to allow a charge be placed on the property or to have funds released so that he could fund legal aid. That application was strongly resisted by CAB and while the High Court granted an order subject to certain conditions, on appeal the order was quashed, counsel said. The Gilligans also alleged breaches of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Act 2003, in that they did not receive a fair determination of the proceeds of crime case. In a statement, released this afternoon, gardai said: "The Criminal Assets Bureau notes with satisfaction the judgment of the Supreme Court today, 1st February, 2017 which now brings these lengthy proceedings to a conclusion. "The Bureau disposed of a significant amount of the properties relating to this matter in 2014 (including the former equestrian centre) and is now free to proceed to dispose of the remaining residential property (house in Lucan, a house in Corduff and a house in Jessbrook). "The Bureau acknowledges the dedication, throughout the years, of the officers and staff, solicitor and counsel, and those who have contributed to finalising this issue. This case shows the determination and dedication of the Criminal Assets Bureau to deny and deprive people of the proceeds of crime." It was earlier incorrectly reported that John Gilligan had been successful in his appeal Ms Kerins had claimed 'bullying, harassment and persecution' led by members of the PAC during two committee hearings forced her to attempt suicide. Photo: Collins Courts Former Rehab Group chief executive Angela Kerins is facing the prospect of a massive legal bill after failing in a High Court action against the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC). A hearing next month will determine who should bear the costs of the case, which could amount to at least 500,000 after 10 days of hearings last year. Ms Kerins had claimed "bullying, harassment and persecution" led by members of the PAC during two committee hearings forced her to attempt suicide. She sued for damages and sought declarations that the PAC's activities were unlawful and tainted by bias, alleging it pursued a vendetta, or 'witch-hunt', against her. Ms Kerins (58) claimed the committee acted outside its jurisdiction and sought a direction from the court that all references to her be removed from the PAC record. She claimed she lost her job as chief executive of the charity and commercial group, and that her Constitutional rights were breached as a result of the committee's conduct. In a ruling yesterday, a three-judge divisional court comprising High Court President Peter Kelly, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and Mr Justice Seamus Nooan accepted many things were said that were damaging to her personal and professional reputation. "It would appear that almost every facet of Ms Kerins's involvement with the Rehab Group was subjected to criticism," their judgment said. However, the court found these did not amount to findings of fact against her. It also ruled that it could not interfere with free speech in parliament, which is protected by Article 15.13 of the Constitution. Ms Kerins was not in court for the ruling but in a statement she said she was "very disappointed by the decision". She thanked her family, friends and legal team for their support. Ms Kerins said she would not make any decision on what to do next until she had reviewed the judgment with her legal advisers. The high-profile case arose out of two PAC hearings in 2014, when the committee was investigating the State-funded charity sector. Ms Kerins attended the first one, a seven-hour hearing on February 27, but was too ill to go to the second one on April 10. Much of the questioning at the first hearing focused on her 240,000 salary, her pension and other benefits, including a car. The court said she was not given advance notice of much of what was put to her. But it found - contrary to protestations Ms Kerins felt compelled to attend - that she had gone to the committee voluntarily. The court said during the first hearing Ms Kerins was "accused of being stubborn in maintaining a position that the PAC was not to meddle, interfere or ask questions that Rehab deemed inappropriate." It said questions were put to her which implied she had "no concept of accountability or responsibility". Ms Kerins had claimed that comments made by TDs were "some form of adjudication or determination" against her. However, the court found comments made by TDs were in reality clear expressions of opinion devoid of any legal force. "They were no more than utterances and as such Article 15.13 has the effect of ousting the court's jurisdiction," the court said. "The essence of the applicant's case is a claim for damages arising from those utterances which seeks to make the Oireachtas respondents amenable to the jurisdiction of the court. That cannot be done." The judgment said the Constitution guaranteed freedom of speech in parliament, not to protect parliamentarians, but the democratic process itself. The court will hear submissions on costs and what orders, if any, it needs to make on February 21. Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun star in the tvN fantasy drama 'Goblin.' (Photo : YouTube/tvN Drama) The immense popularity of "Goblin" catapulted Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun to the top spot of a brand reputation chart. The two lead stars ranked first and second in the brand power reputation chart for the month of January. Earlier this week, Korea Institute of Corporate Reputation released its brand value index that covers the period of Dec. 19, 2016 until January 20, according to Korean newsoutlet My Daily Korea, as cited by Soompi. With a total brand reputation index of 7.2 million, Gong ranked first on the list, pushing Kim to the second spot with only 7.1 million. Advertisement Park Bo Gum, who rose to fame after portraying Crown Prince Lee Yeong in KBS 2TV's "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds," landed third with a total reputation index of 4.5 million. Following them are Yoo Jae Suk, Song Joong Ki, Jun Ji Hyun, Baek Jong Won, Kim Tae Hee, Kang Dong Won and Lee Min Ho. The news comes as no surprise considering "Goblin's" popularity at home and abroad. Gong and Kim have enjoyed a resurgence in their popularity after portraying Kim Shin and Ji Eun Tak in the 16-episode fantasy drama. Also known as "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," its final episode recorded viewership ratings of 20.5 percent, breaking the previous record posted by the 2015-2016 drama "Reply 1988." The fantasy drama is now the most-watch television show in the premium cable network's history. In order to show appreciation for the huge amount of love and support the fantasy drama has received, "Goblin" has decided to air two special episodes on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4, Korea Boo reported. It will feature several unseen footages, behind-the-scenes clips, blooper reels and cast interviews. Raising anticipation, Gong, Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na recently released two teasers urging viewers to watch the special episodes. Some of the clips to be released will reportedly include Ji Eun Tak and Kim Shin's movie date scene, where they watched the global hit zombie film "Train to Busan." Check it out below: The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has seized 125 cows from a Co Kilkenny farmer after he ran up a 4m bill in outstanding taxes. The cows were seized by the Sheriff on behalf of the CAB following a High Court judgment obtained by the Bureau for the unpaid taxes. The bureau commenced its investigation relating to Thomas McDonnell of Pollough, Skeoughvosteen, Co Kilkenny, in 2006. It said the tax liability covered the years 1991/2 to 2006 (a total of 16 tax years) based on assessments made in 2008 giving rise to a tax liability of 1.2m (tax only). Gardai said Mr McDonnell failed to discharge his tax liability. Accordingly the Bureau commenced High Court Revenue proceedings for the collection of the unpaid taxes in November 2009. According to a Garda statement, Mr McDonnell defended these proceedings with the assistance of a solicitor and counsel. Ultimately, however, the bureau obtained judgment in May 2013 and has in the intervening period sought to collect the sums outstanding, the statement said. Hope With accrued interest, the tax liability inclusive of interest was in excess of 4m, gardai have said. Gardai said the action, which has been one of a number of actions by the Bureau since obtaining judgment in the High Court, had resulted in approximately 125 cattle being seized. The bureau said it will continue its work in the hope of engaging fully with Mr McDonnell to discharge his tax obligations. Dozens of tenants who were ordered by a judge to get out of an overcrowded private house by noon today have been given a 24 hour reprieve so they will have a bed to sleep in tonight. Judge Jacqueline Linnane was told in the Circuit Civil Court that many of the 70 South Americans and east Europeans living in cramped, dangerous and unhealthy conditions still had no alternative accommodation to go to. The court last week had directed the immediate ending of the use of The Pines, Lehaunstown, Cabinteely, Co Dublin, as an unauthorised hostel and ordered the tenants to leave by noon today. Judge Linnane had been told that the property was owned by an elderly man, Richard Stanley, whose son, currently living in London, had rented the house for 4,000 a month to Christian Carter who has addresses at Dunedin Drive, Monkstown, Co Dublin, and Grove Park, Rathmines, Dublin. She heard that Carter was renting on the house to about 70 tenants for 50 a week and netting a 10,000 monthly profit from the arrangement. He is due to appear before Judge Linnane tomorrow to deal with public safety concerns of Dunlaoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the court. Barrister Alan D. Brady told Judge Linnane today that he represented a group of 25 tenants who still had to find alternative accommodation but by order of the court should be vacating the property by noon. He said the Co Councils proceedings were due before the court again tomorrow and he asked that the deadline for leaving the house be extended until then. Judge Linnane said she would allow a further 24 hours but warned that the serious issue before the court would have to be addressed. Earlier Michael Binchy BL, for Mr Stanley, told the court his client was in his 80s and in poor health and, while the house had been rented to Mr Carter for 4,000 a month, he had been unaware of the situation that had arisen. Barrister Liam OConnell, counsel for the local authority, told the judge that up to 17 individuals were being housed in one room and that 36 had been given bunk and single bed accommodation in the basement. Mr OConnell said the county council had become aware of reports that up to 70 people were being accommodated in the house and the council would be seeking a permanent injunction restraining the continued use of the house as a multi-occupancy dormitory property. Armed gardai and the Criminal Assets Bureau carrying out searches on homes and businesses in Dublin A new generation of gangland criminals is being targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau. The aim is to hit the group, who are already very active, and seize their assets before they graduate from the second level to the top tier of the crime league. Many are already displaying their ill-gotten wealth through the purchase of high-end cars and expensive jewellery. Bureau head Det Chief Supt Pat Clavin believes now is the time to tackle them financially before they can become role models for other wannabe criminals in their neighbourhoods. "We are targeting these lads before they get the opportunities to become big players and be part of the next generation of major criminals," he said. Retaliation Mr Clavin was speaking as gardai prepare for the first anniversary at the weekend of the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel on the northside of Dublin. That shooting was in retaliation for the murder of Gary Hutch in Marbella in Spain the previous September and sparked off the savage Kinahan-Hutch feud, which has so far claimed 10 lives. Read more: Under the gun: Paul Williams on the Hutch-Kinahan feud, one year on from the Regency shootings The bureau is also expanding its reach by training more local asset profilers around the country. The divisional profiler network already has 210 members trained in proceeds of crime investigations, mainly gardai, but also including personnel from Customs and Social Welfare. Two new training programmes are planned for the new year with candidates recommended by regional assistant commissioners and divisional chiefs. The bureau has also become heavily involved in the special task force, set up under the control of the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and six extra gardai were seconded to the CAB to focus on the assets of thugs linked to organised crime gangs (OCGs) in the Dublin area. This work is being carried out in addition to seven specific operations targeting a range of criminal suspects: Gardai have issued an appeal for help after a woman was assaulted in South Dublin on Monday evening. The woman, who is in her early 40s, was assaulted by a man close to the entrance of Bayview in Killiney at approximately 5.45pm. She suffered minor injuries in the attack. Gardai said the culprit is believed to have fled the scene on foot in the direction of Killiney Hill Road. Expand Close Gardai are currently attempting to establish if the attacker followed the woman a short distance before the attack, or if she was targeted as she walk in his direction. (stock photo) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai are currently attempting to establish if the attacker followed the woman a short distance before the attack, or if she was targeted as she walk in his direction. (stock photo) Gardai said they are anxious to speak with any members of the public that were in the vicinity of Killiney Dart Station, Seafield Road, Killiney Hill Road, Military Road and Bayview anytime between 5pm and 6.30pm on the evening. Read More They are also appealling to taxi drivers and any members of the public who were travelling by car in that vicinity and whose vehicle was fitted with a recordable dash camera system. Witnesses are asked to contact Dun Laoghaire Garda Station 01-6665000, the Garda Confidential Telephone line 1 800 666 111 or any Garda Station. U.S. President Donald Trump announces his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque President Trump's ban on refugees entering the US was sharply criticised as "extraordinarily disappointing" and "morally, totally questionable" by Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald today. The Justice Minister said "We've never needed an international response to refugees more than the world needs it at present. "So in that context, what's happened in America is extraordinarily disappointing. I think it's morally, totally questionable. "I think Ireland has reacted very quickly. We've sent our foreign minister immediately (to the US) to make our views known on this issue." The Tanaiste was speaking as she arrived at a seminar in Dublin on Ireland's response to the global refugee and migration crisis. The seminar was organised by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The refugee crisis has never needed a comprehensive response as much as it is needed now, she said. "We have 65 million people who are refugees around the world and we see the tragic situation in Syria," she said. The Tanaiste was deeply concerned about the complete ban on refugees "in a country that has always been so welcoming of immigrants, including Irish immigrants, it's been there in our hour of need and you'd like to think it would be there in the hour of need of so many refugees internationally." She said the ban will be challenged in the US courts. She said a review concerning preclearance services by US officials at two Irish airports will be done very quickly and having the facility was a benefit to Ireland and Irish people. "At all times, people who are in the preclearance facility are in Irish territory, obviously, and the Constitution, the laws of Ireland apply. "But if we want to use the preclearance facility, people go into that of their own free will under American immigration laws. And American immigration laws can only and will be tested in the American courts. "But it's a facility that is beneficial for Irish people and international travellers. "It's the American immigration laws that we are so concerned about and once you go into preclearance, that's what applies," she said. She said Ireland should discuss those laws politically and act on them politically and deal with the matter through diplomatic channels. Ireland should make its views known widely. The focus should be on challenging the US immigration laws, not on the preclearance issue, she said. Asked about pressure on the Taoiseach from some quarters that he should not accept any invitation to visit the White House on St Patrick's Day, she said Ireland has very strong Constitutional protection on freedom in relation to religion and was very clear about international obligations about equality and refugees. She said "I think it is very important that the Taoiseach goes to America. And that our minister has already gone and is already making our views known. "I don't believe in standing aside. I believe in being there, expressing our views and continuing to engage. "We have all sorts of links with America. As a good friend of America we need to speak out and give our views on this. At the end of the day it is American courts, it is international public opinion, it is international human rights that are going to determine the final outcome of this," she said. Matters are now becoming clearer. Already, the passport and green card situations have been clarified, she said. Mr Trump's actions on refugees and immigrants were done "far too quickly without proper preparation. "We've seen the confusion at airports around the world," she said. She said this issue and the issue of undocumented Irish in the US needs to be dealt with. Jason OConnor has survived several attempts on his life A dangerous criminal involved in a bitter west Dublin feud is suspected of carrying out a savage assault on a young woman because she fell out with a close female associate of his. Jason 'Jay' O'Connor (38) is believed to have carried out the attack on the innocent victim after she had a minor disagreement with a woman known to him. The under-threat gangster has survived several attempts on his life and is leading a group of criminals in a bitter dispute with his former associates from the 'Westies' gang. Gardai are aware of the brutal assault, which happened recently, but a campaign of intimidation against the woman has left her terrified to make an official complaint. Dangerous "He gave her a savage hiding and left her with bad injuries. She didn't require hospital treatment and won't make a statement to gardai because she is living in absolute fear," a source claimed. "O'Connor is a dangerous man and has ensured, with the help of his associates that this poor woman doesn't take the matter any further by making a statement." The assault is believed to have resulted from a row the victim had with a close female associate of O'Connor. Following the disagreement, the thug called at the woman's Blanchardstown home where he carried out the attack. Armed detectives are constantly monitoring the activities of O'Connor due to his volatile nature and to keep a lid on the feud. The latest serious attack linked to the feud occurred in December when Charlie Cooper (38) was shot 12 times in the stomach by a gunman. The father-of-two is believed to have been targeted because he is friendly with criminals who use taxis to transport guns and drugs across the city. The gang war centres on the two criminals who were formerly members of the infamous 'Westies' gang who terrorised Dublin well over a decade ago. Gardai have identified a chief suspect in the case but no arrests have yet been made. Since the shooting in Parslickstown Green on December 3, gardai have been carrying out rolling checkpoints to prevent any further shootings. Mr Cooper was shot through the kitchen window of his home while his wife and two young children were there. He managed to get out the front door but was followed by the gunman, who fired a number of further shots. The attacker then left in what was described by witnesses as a medium-sized black car. Gardai managed to speak to Mr Cooper following the attack. The injured man does not have any criminal convictions and is not known to gardai for involvement in crime. In the immediate aftermath of the attempted murder, members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) raided O'Connor's home but found no evidence of any wrongdoing. O'Connor was also a suspect in the murder of Lithuanian crime boss Gintaras Zelvys in 2013 and was arrested in relation to the hit. Horrific O'Connor's bitter enemy survived an assassination attempt last year when a gunman attempted to take him out. He survived at least two assassination attempts in 2015 and, in the aftermath of one of these incidents, the criminal reacted with a rant to a newspaper reporter. "I'll tell you a story, there's going to be a f***ing war in Blanchardstown - they are f***ing dead, stone f***ing dead," he said. O'Connor was previously in the headlines when he had two fingers chopped off with an axe in a horrific attack by Real IRA members. This is believed to have been carried out under the direction of their slain boss Alan Ryan in May 2012. Gardai have seized more drugs in January than in the previous 15 months. The seizures were made as officers mounted an unprecedented crackdown on drug traffickers. Most of the hauls confiscated by the gardai have been linked to the Kinahan crime cartel and stem from the intensive inquiries into the organisation's feud with the Hutch group. This feud has so far claimed ten lives, senior officers confirmed today. Associates of the Kinahan gang have been blamed for nine of the murders. Gardai revealed details of their seizures at a press briefing today as they prepared for the first anniversary of the murder of Kinahan gang member, David Byrne at the Regency hotel on the northside of Dublin on February 5. The garda successes have dealt a series of heavy financial and operational blows to the cartel and created internal panic in the organisation as gang leaders try to find out the sources of the garda intelligence that led to the seizures. Officers warned the feuding gangs to "think twice" about seeking retribution. Det Supt Tony Howard, of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, said that nobody should attempt to take the law into own their hands. He said : "Our role is to investigate these crimes and bring suspects before the courts. It is then up to the judiciary to decide on their guilt. "There should be no summary retribution and I would urge anybody looking in that direction to think twice", he added. Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan revealed that officers had seized drugs worth more than 44m in January, compared to over 23m last year and 44m since the formation of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau in March 2015. The latest hauls included the seizure of cannabis herb worth 3m in Ashbourne yesterday. Ms O'Sullivan also outlined the efforts being made to strength the already close co-operation between the Garda and the PSNI as well as other police forces and security agencies in the UK and mainland Europe. She said last year had seen the deployment of members of La Guardia Civil here while gardai were in Spain for joint inquiries into the feuding gangs and this type of co-operation would continue into the future. The methods of gathering and distributing intelligence had also been strengthened and this would be hugely beneficial both at home and in co-operation overseas. Deputy Commissioner John Twomey said a total of 456 firearms had been seized, including 36 "serious" firearms such as sub machine guns and assault rifles while 2.2m had been seized in cash with another 3.8m frozen in accounts and a further 2m recovered in taxes. He said that more than 22,000 armed checkpoints had been set up under Operation Hybrid and these had resulted in lives being saved. Actor Stephen Amell listens onstage to the panel discussion during the 'Arrow' and 'The Flash' panel as part of The CW 2015 Winter Television Critics Association press tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa on January 11, 2015 in Pasadena, California. (Photo : Getty Images/ Frederick M. Brown) "Arrow" Season 5 episode 12 airs Feb. 8, Wednesday. The upcoming segment is titled "Bratva" and it is expected to reveal Oliver Queen's (Stephen Amell) connection to Russian mafia organization Bratva. Here are a few spoilers for the next chapter of the series. Read on to find out what happens next. Advertisement [Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for "Arrow" Season 5 episode 12 "Bratva." Do not read further if you don't wish to know more about it.] "Arrow" Season 5 episode 12 is expected to tie some loose ends and reveal the answers to some big burning questions. According to Spoiler TV's description for "Bratva," Oliver, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Arrow team head to Russia for a new mission. There, they meet up with Oliver's old friend Anatoly Knyazev. In the comics, Anatoly happens to be one of the leaders of powerful Russian organization Solntsevskaya Bratva. Oliver Queen was made one of the premiere members of the organization because he saved Anatoly from his enemy. According to idigitaltimes, Oliver's connection to Bratva, Oliver's knowledge of Russian language and why is he a member of Russian mafia will be revealed in "Arrow" Season 5 when he visits Russia. In addition, "Arrow" Season 5 episode 12 will see Lance (Paul Blackthorne) comes out of rehab and returns to his job in mayor's office. Susan (Carly Pope) approaches Lance for an interview and wants him to talk about his addiction. However, Lance is not ready to open up about it yet and it's up to Rene (Rick Gonzalez) to help keep things on track. Promo video for "Arrow" Season 5 episode 12 is yet to be released. It is expected to be out after the broadcast of episode 11 airing on Feb. 1. Stay tuned, it will be updated soon. "Arrow" Season 5 episode 12 airs Feb. 8 at 8:00 pm on The CW. More spoilers and updates are expected soon UPDATE A promo video for Arrow episode 5X12 is out. Scroll down to get a glimpse of what happens in "Bratva." Gardai are currently attempting to establish if the attacker followed the woman a short distance before the attack, or if she was targeted as she walk in his direction. (stock photo) Gardai near the Bayview Estate in Killiney. Photo: Mark Condren Gardai near the Bayview Estate in Killiney. Photo: Mark Condren Gardai near the Bayview Estate in Killiney. Photo: Mark Condren Gardai are using CCTV footage in their investigation into a sexual assault on a woman in Dublin on Monday night. Investigators are hopeful that cameras located near the front of a housing estate in Killiney - where the incident took place - will have captured the incident, and are currently examining footage in an incident room at Shankhill garda station. The woman, in her 40s, was sexually assaulted at 5.45pm at the front of the Bayview housing estate but managed to fight off the victim before escaping. She had been walking from the nearby Killiney dart station. The attacker is understood to have fled the scene by foot, running in the direction of the Killiney Hill Road. Gardai are currently attempting to establish if the attacker followed the woman a short distance before the attack, or if she was targeted as she walk in his direction. Expand Close Gardai near the Bayview Estate in Killiney. Photo: Mark Condren / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai near the Bayview Estate in Killiney. Photo: Mark Condren The man has been described as tall and thin. He was wearing white runners. The incident took place a short distance from where a female American tourist was assaulted three weeks ago. Expand Close Gardai near the Bayview Estate in Killiney. Photo: Mark Condren / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai near the Bayview Estate in Killiney. Photo: Mark Condren It is understood that garda patrols will be upped in the area since the latest incident. Read More Fearful Local representative for the area, Cormac Devlin said the latest incidents have left locals fearful - particularly women walking home alone. "I would ask the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the Gardai," Mr Devlin said. "In light of these incidents, I have asked council management to review lighting in the Killiney/ Shankill area to ensure it is fit for purpose," he added. Council officials have since pledged to replace lighting on six lamps around the area where the attack took place, while also trimming down trees to give added visibility in the estate. The relamping will take place over the coming days. One mother told the Irish Independent the attack has left locals feeling worried. "I used to jog in the evenings, but I'm much more wary now. My children used to be able to walk around on their own too, but now I have more concerns," she said. The matter is set to be discussed at a neighbourhood watch meeting tomorrow night, where gardai will be present. Claudine Harnesse from Co Sligo with her young daughter A waitress from Co Sligo is still awaiting compensation from one of the richest men in Ireland, after she was unfairly dismissed because the company wanted a "fresh face". Claudine Harnesse from Co Sligo took a case to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) after being unfairly dismissed from Source Sligo, a renowned restaurant and wine bar owed by Ray and Eileen Monahan. Claudine told Joe Duffy on RTE's Liveline that she started working for the restaurant in 2010 as a head waitress and was told in 2013 that she was being dismissed. "I was told that John Monahan was taking over the business and wanted a fresh face and I was no longer required. I was told on Wednesday that Saturday would be my last day. "Me and two other girls were dismissed because they wanted a fresh face and a new team put into the restaurant and I was no longer required." The restaurant was owned by Eileen and Ray Monahan who have portfolio of properties nationally and internationally. Claudine told Independent.ie that she cried when management told her they wanted a "fresh face". "It was horrendous and insulting. My initial reaction was to cry. I asked my manager did I do anything wrong and he said no." Claudine went to the EAT in 2014 and filed a case for unfair dismissal. "The Monahans failed to show up at the Tribunal even they were given many correspondences from solicitors and the Tribunal but they never showed up. If you did something you're happy with, why not show up and defend your actions?" Claudine told Independent.ie. The tribunal was heard by three judges and Claudine was awarded 16, 340 on the basis of unfair dismissal in July 2014. "It was appalling on a personal level as a woman, it was appalling that we had no contract with our terms and conditions and it was appalling the time frame of the dismissal. "That was in July 2014 and I still haven't got paid. No correspondence at all from the solictors." Claudine said that she's shocked that "one of the richest men in Ireland" wont pay her what he owes. "I have a child and I'm married. My husband was involved in a car crash and has been out of work for a year. We really need the money that I'm owed. "The money would allow us to stop renting our home and get a mortgage. It would mean very little to them but would mean the world to us." Shortly after Claudine was dismissed, the restaurant was wound down with all staff let go. "The owners since went on and applied for a voluntary strike off, a legal document claiming they had no liabilities in excess of 150 considering the outstanding tribunal money had never been paid. "I put through a objection against this and it was approved so they couldn't voluntarily strike off the business. "The business is still operating as usual, so they haven't wound up the business, they haven't gone into receivership or liquidation. If they had I got have applied to the liquidator and got the money that way." Claudine said that her next step is to take the Monahans to court. "If the settlement still isn't paid, I'll have to go to court." Ray Monahan issued a statement to Liveline saying his son negotiated an agreement with three members of staff making them redundant on November 6, 2013. He said it would have included monies owned plus a top-up where the employees would have collected a cheque. He also issued a statement to Independent.ie, saying; "I acknowledge that an award made by the Employment Appeals Tribunal to Claudine Harnesse relating to her employment at Source Sligo, which closed in September 2011, is outstanding. "The award will now be paid in full to Claudine. "I apologise to Claudine for the delay in paying this Employment Appeals Tribunal award and for the inconvenience this may have caused her. Sisters Calla and Saylor Burke at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain for representatives of the Peruvian community in Ireland to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. Picture; Gerry Mooney President Higgins meets members of the Peruvian community in Ireland at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. Picture; Gerry Mooney President Higgins signs a book for 8 year old Saylor Burke at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain for representatives of the Peruvian community in Ireland to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. Picture; Gerry Mooney Sisters Calla and Saylor Burke at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain for representatives of the Peruvian community in Ireland to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. Picture; Gerry Mooney Jully Nevado pictured in cultural dress at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain for representatives of the Peruvian community in Ireland to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. Picture; Gerry Mooney Sisters Calla and Saylor Burke at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain for representatives of the Peruvian community in Ireland to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. Picture; Gerry Mooney President Higgins signs a book for 8 year old Saylor Burke at a reception in Aras an Uachtarain for representatives of the Peruvian community in Ireland to celebrate the 195th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. Picture; Gerry Mooney The Peruvian Irish Community met with President Michael D Higgins to mark the Irish centenary and 195 years of Peruvian independence. The meeting came ahead of the President's visit to Peru next week - his first official trip to the South American country. The community spoke to the President about our similar cultures, histories and values. Some dressed in typical dress from the three regions of Peru - the coast (Marinera), the highlands (Nusta) and the jungle (Ashaninka). The community presented him with a token to mark the occasion and some symbols of the connection between the two countries - a selection of Peruvian potatoes grown in Ireland and a book about Irish revolutionary Roger Casement, who also defended human rights in Putumayo, the Amazonas region of Peru. Mr Hickey, who is facing charges of ticket touting in connection with the Rio Olympics, held the role of OCI president for the past 28 years. Photo: Justin Farrelly The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) has reversed its decision to install a media ban at its upcoming meeting to select the successor to controversial president Pat Hickey. The unprecedented ban was planned for the upcoming EGM and was announced just days after invitations were sent out to media representatives. OCI elections have traditionally been open to the press and assurances were given last week that the meeting, where a new executive committee will be voted on, would be open to the media "in the interests of transparency". However, a letter then issued to participants last night by the OCI's honorary secretary, Dermot Henihan, said that security would be in place at the meeting and that only the individuals on the list would be permitted entry to the meeting room. Now, OCI Media Attache Jack McGouran told Newstalk Sport this morning that the decision has been reversed overnight and media will be allowed at the meeting. The OCI are expected to release a statement later today. Ministers are fearful of a 'Trump backlash' against Ireland if they are overly critical of the new US president's administration. A Cabinet discussion on the appropriate response to Donald Trump's immigration policies heard the priority is to protect the undocumented Irish, visa arrangements, jobs and trade. While Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he will raise the concerns of Irish people with Mr Trump during his St Patrick's Day visit to the White House, he is likely to choose his words carefully. In the Dail yesterday, he condemned torture and said: "Blanket bans on any country on the basis of religion are not morally acceptable and I disagree entirely with the policy that has been laid out." However, sources said the Government is "very worried" that undermining Ireland's relationship with the US would come "at a heavy cost, not just financially but also in terms of the effect on people". "He's so volatile. We could push him too far and next thing he's targeting the 50,000 undocumented Irish," said one minister. It is understood the Cabinet meeting heard from a variety of ministers who said the undocumented should be a number one priority, along with the retention of visa schemes such as the J1 student programme. Read more: 'Don't offer a shamrock to Donald Trump' - protesters gather at US Embassy in Dublin The threat posed by Mr Trump's policies to trade and jobs in Ireland was also cited. The only dissenting voice was Transport Minister Shane Ross, who said the Taoiseach should boycott the traditional St Patrick's Day festivities in order to make a statement against Mr Trump's support of torture. His comments echoed the views of his his wife, former RTE presenter Ruth Buchanan. In a letter written by her to the 'Irish Times', she expressed trenchant criticism of the President for his views on torture, climate change and refugees and asked Enda Kenny to cancel the White House visit. Constitution His Independent Alliance colleague Finian McGrath sided with Fine Gael ministers who argued it was important for the Government to meet with the president face-to-face. Attorney General Marie Whelan told the Cabinet that in her view Ireland was in compliance with all human rights legislation and our own Constitution - despite the enforcement of the Executive Order at Dublin Airport. She said the overall legality of the policy was a mater for the US courts. A review of pre-clearance arrangements at Dublin and Shannon airport is to go ahead, but senior Government sources said last night that it was unlikely "to come up with anything we don't already know". Children's Minister Katherine Zappone, who demanded the review, is satisfied it will look at the operation and legal situation pertaining to pre-clearance facilities. Her spokesperson told the Irish Independent it would "need to be a swift review" that takes account of international law. Read more: Charlie Flanagan: Ireland's relationship with the US is unique - and runs deeper than politics The first major diplomatic response from the Government will come today when Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan attends a series of engagements on Capitol Hill. His agenda includes a meeting with the most senior Republican in Congress, speaker Paul Ryan. He will also meet Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leaders in Congress, who Mr Trump mocked on Twitter yesterday. In the Dail yesterday, Mr Kenny said: "Ireland will continue to consider any immigration matters arising from the executive order in line with Irish law. "I fully agree that it is not righteous or correct policy to ban on the basis of country, nationality or creed. I have said that publicly already." Opposition party leaders went further, with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin saying the travel ban "stigmatises an entire religion and associates it with terrorism and mayhem. "It is also dangerous in that it emboldens others to act against people of the Muslim faith. "The ban contravenes the Geneva Convention and offends our concept of human decency, our values and religious liberty." Tomb Raider is getting a much-awaited reboot with Alicia Vikander taking over the role of Lara Croft, which was previously played by Angelina Jolie. (Photo : Getty Images/John Phillips / Stringer) Warner Bros. upcoming "Tomb Raider" reboot is slowly completing its ensemble. Reports confirm that actor Dominic West has been cast to play the father of Alicia Vikander's Lara Croft. "The Wire" alum Dominic West will play Lord Richard Croft, Lara's father, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. He is an aristocrat and archeologist just like his daughter, and plays a key role in the movie. The role was previously played by Jon Voight in Angelina Jolie's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." Advertisement This is the second time West is playing a father to Vikander's character, the first being the 2014 World War I drama "Testament of Youth." "The Hateful Eight" star Walton Goggins is also joining Vikander and West in the "Tomb Raider" reboot as the main antagonist. The name of the villain has not been revealed yet, but Goggins assures fans it is someone who will take viewers by surprise. "Is he a villain? Sure, that is an easy description. An antagonist, for sure," Goggins tells Yahoo about his mysterious character. "There are real reasons behind his antagonism, and it's not what you'd expect. He is very complicated, and his motivations are pure." The "Tomb Raider" reboot is said to return to the beginnings of Lara Croft's story. In the film, the female heroine "sets out on her first expedition to finish her father's research and uncover ancient secrets in order to clear his disgraced name." While the movie will have an emotional thread stemming from the father-daughter relationship, Goggins also teases that the reboot is a mash-up between "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and Joseph Conrad's novel "Victory: An Island Tale." As for Vikander, her portrayal of the iconic female character will be different from Jolie's take in the earlier movies. The Academy Award-winning actress revealed that she wants to do "something fresh and new" in order to give a "different take" on the titular role. Vikander beat out notable young actress for the role, including "Star Wars" actress Daisy Ridley, "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke and model Cara Delevigne. The "Tomb Raider" reboot is expected to hit theaters on March 16, 2018. The selection of Ms ONeill as the embodiment of a new Sinn Fein in the North, has sparked much debate about the partys election strategy. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire A few weeks before Christmas, rumours started to circulate that Martin McGuinness's health might force him to take a step back from politics. It was unnerving speculation for many in Sinn Fein who found it difficult to see the future without the former IRA commander at the helm. Reality began to hit though when Mr McGuinness pulled out of a trade mission to China with DUP first minister Arlene Foster - and it seems it was around this stage that the deputy first minister and Gerry Adams anointed Michelle O'Neill as the future of Sinn Fein. The party's new leader in the North was incredibly coy about the process that led to her coronation when questioned on radio yesterday. "The party has internal processes and we went through the Ard Chomhairle and the officer board and Martin and Gerry spoke to me and asked me to take on the position," she told RTE's Sean O'Rourke, offering little detail on the election process or whether there was even another contender. "They talked about generational change and I think my new appointment now obviously signifies that. For me, it's a very important role, it's something that I'm going to run at very, very hard, it's something that I'm very, very passionate about," the Mid-Ulster MLA said. The selection of Ms O'Neill as the embodiment of a 'new Sinn Fein' in the North, combined with Mary Lou McDonald's openness to be a junior coalition partner in the Republic, has sparked much debate about the party's election strategy. However, the mother-of-two's family is steeped in IRA history. Her father Brendan was an IRA prisoner known for confrontations with prison officers at various stages in Crumlin Road Jail, Armagh Jail, Long Kesh and Magilligan. A cousin, Tony Doris, was shot dead in an SAS ambush in 1991 and her uncle, Paul, is president of an organisation that raised funds for the republican movement in the US. Controversially, the Tyrone woman previously unveiled a plaque honouring Martin McCaughey, a known IRA operator. At the ceremony, she said there was "a relentless loyalist campaign, funded and directed by the state, and which resulted in the murders of many of our activists, their family members and friends". Asked about her family connections to the Troubles yesterday, she expressed "regret that the conflict happened". "Obviously I do have a family background steeped in republican history and that's something I'm very proud of: my family and who I am and where I come from. "I very much don't think that should define the future and who I am. That doesn't make me closed off to any one section of society. I'm somebody who lived through that, who has grown up through it." On McCaughey, she said: "Yes, I did unveil a plaque to him in memory of a Sinn Fein councillor, a man that actually, again like many other republican leaders, that took us from a society that was in conflict for all the reasons which we're all aware of . . . but took us from a society and wanted to work towards a society coming from conflict into a society that was full of peace, and he, like many others, was part of that journey." Asked whether she could work with Arlene Foster after the upcoming election, she said: "Yes, I can work with anybody. It's just the nature of the person that I am." Mr Kenny said March 17 was not just about a visit to the US president. Photo: Damien Eagers Taoiseach Enda Kenny has insisted he will publicly face down the new US president on St Patrick's Day. Amid a growing clamour for the Government to pull out of the traditional 'shamrock ceremony', Mr Kenny told the Dail he would not "abandon" the Irish-American community. He has not had any contact with Donald Trump's administration since the travel ban came into force at the weekend, but he said he intended "to visit him in the Oval Office in the White House and say my piece publicly - both before and then". "President Trump is well used to disagreements and will obviously have many more in the time ahead," Mr Kenny said. In response to questions from Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, he said March 17 was not just about a visit to the US president. "We have very long-established traditions with the United States. We were those emigrants who first saw Ms Liberty appearing out of the Hudson fog and said we had realised our ambition to be able to go to the United States." Read more: 'Does anyone really believe Enda Kenny is going to stick it to Donald Trump?' - Taoiseach faces growing calls to abandon White House visit Mr Martin said there was "no logic to the ban" and while he supported Mr Kenny travelling to Washington, he believed a letter outlining the Irish Government's view should be sent in advance. "The Irish Government should make it crystal clear to President Trump that it opposes it," he said. Other Opposition parties went further, with Paul Murphy of the AAA-PBP asking: "Does anyone really believe that Enda Kenny is going to go and stick it to Donald Trump and tell him what he really thinks?" Labour party leader Brendan Howlin said the visit should be called off if it was going to be "a happy, clappy, shamrockery event that has no political content but has enormous emotional content". "I don't think anybody can stick it to Donald Trump because he doesn't listen," Mr Howlin added. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities at Dublin Airport are "critically important" for the country, according to the chief executive of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) Kevin Toland. Mr Toland said he was "very confident" that the services provided by US officials at the biggest gateway to the country would not be removed or downgraded. "US business is critically important for our airport and for the country. It's been growing very, very strongly. That's very well understood," said Mr Toland. "It's a source of growth. It's one of the reasons that US FDI [foreign direct investment] is in this country." Mr Toland was speaking yesterday at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin. Asked if he would have concerns that if the CBP service at Dublin was downgraded or removed, it would damage Dublin Airport's strategy of building a transatlantic hub, Mr Toland insisted it would not be an issue. "I'd be very confident that that won't happen. US pre-clearance is critically important for this country, critically important for the Government, critically important for our airport, and critically important for the US," he said. Expand Close Kevin Toland / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kevin Toland The DAA has been helping to transform Dublin Airport into a European transatlantic hub, with airlines such as Aer Lingus using the CBP pre-clearance facility as a marketing tool for passengers it lures from the UK and other countries in Europe, such as France and Italy. Last year, Dublin Airport handled a record of just under 28 million passengers. Almost three million of those were transatlantic passengers, the bulk of them travelling to and from the United States. Mr Toland said the pre-clearance facility at Dublin was a "critical point of competitive advantage for Ireland and Dublin Airport". Shannon Airport - now independent of the DAA - also has a US pre-clearance facility. In 2013, the DAA received planning permission to refurbish and extend the existing US CBP facility at Dublin Airport, adding an extra 487 sqm of space. Mr Toland declined to comment on the review of US CBP facilities here that is planned by the Government. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said there is a full process underway, headed up by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), regarding the potential sale of the Celtic Media group to Independent News & Media. Mr Kenny made his comments in response to a query by a TD in the Dail today. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is examining the deal but Brid Smith, of the People Before Profit/Anti-Austerity Alliance, complained that the time-frame for the Committee on Communications to make a submission about the proposed deal is extraordinarily tight. The Celtic Media group, which employs around 100 staff, is made up of seven regional titles, including the Connaught Telegraph, Anglo-Celt and Meath Chronicle. Ms Smith told the Dail the committee wants to quiz representatives from INM, the National Union of Journalists and academics about what the merger would mean for plurality of media in the country. Once upon a time in the 40s the Skibbereen Eagle said it would be keeping an eye on the Kremlin. We will have no Skibbereen Eagles left if this merger goes through, she said. In response, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Committee was perfectly entitled to engage about this particular application. So while the timescale might be tight I think the members of the Committee are fully entitled to have their public engagement and public interaction with the bodies that you mentioned and anybody else as well in regard to this particular proposition. He added: But I think it should be clearly understood that there is a process here and thats underway. Submissions to the BAI have to made in the next short period and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland will make their view on that. Mr Kenny said the Minister for Communications Denis Naughten will oversee the outcome of the BAI ruling. I dont want to pre-empt what the recommendations or the view or the analysis of the BAI are, he said. Former President of Ireland and human rights campaigner Mary Robinson has said the world must stand up to Donald Trump, whom she branded a bully. Ms Robinson, who is a member of independent global leaders group The Elders, said they are extremely concerned about a number of orders introduced by Trump since he was inaugurated. Hes got a big ego, as we know and hes a bit of a bully. And you have to stand up to bullies, she said. Ms Robinson said she believed Trump would be influenced by reaction from the public to his policies. She spoke to RTE Radio One's Morning Ireland about the orders halting the entry of all refugees and banning immigrants from seven Muslim majority countries. The Trump administration has insisted the restrictions are designed to allow the Government time to draw up extreme vetting measures. However, Ms Robinson said during her work with the Elders group she had witnessed extreme vetting of all refugees in New York. The trouble is that this ban on all refugees from Syria and the ban on seven largely Muslim countries has really upset a balance globally. As well, its very un-American, she said. We saw the extreme vetting of all refugees including those coming from Syria so the idea that you have a global ban now at a time when Syria really flexible support and allowing in of refugees This issue is being discussed at the international level more seriously than I ever remember. Last Sept there was a major meeting on refugees and mass migration and the world committed itself to two global contracts, one on migration one on refugees, she added. This executive order cuts through all of that in a way thats very disturbing. When reminded that Trump campaigned on many of the issues he was not taking steps to address, Ms Robinson said it was chilling to watch his campaign promises come to fruition. I think a lot of people believed what he was saying was just to gain votes. It is chilling that so much of it is now becoming a reality it is also worrying because its not going to make America safer, she added. I certainly think that they are anti-Muslim, she said. Ms Robinson also said the Elders group were concerned about the so-called gag rule executive order which relates to access to maternity and health-care which was also signed by President Trump. Ms Robinson refused to be drawn on whether Taoiseach Enda Kenny should travel to the White House in March to meet with the US President as per tradition. New technique: An egg containing genetic material from three parents has now been used to allow an infertile couple to have a baby The doctor who helped to pioneer the procedure has hailed it as the "opening of a new era" for couples struggling to conceive a baby. An egg containing the genetic material from three parents has been used for the first time to allow an infertile couple to have a baby. Previously, the technique has only been used to prevent genetically transmitted diseases. The successful birth, announced earlier this month by Dr Valery Zikin and a team in Ukraine, potentially offers hope for thousands of Irish couples who are having difficulties in producing viable embryos. But it also raises a whole panoply of questions about the parenthood of the baby, and whether children born using the technique could carry genetic defects. Other fertility experts, including those carrying out IVF in Ireland, are sceptical. Expand Close Professor Simon Fishel. Photo: Mark Condren / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Professor Simon Fishel. Photo: Mark Condren As well as a biological mother and father, the baby girl carries a small amount of genetic material from a second woman. Could we see "three-parent" babies here as Irish clinics move to copy the technique? And would the resulting children have the right to trace the identity of the donor? While this procedure has recently been approved for infertile couples in the UK, there is no law governing the technique here. Legislators in Ireland have struggled to keep pace with developments in IVF. New laws which permit the child produced from a donor sperm or a donor egg to trace their biological parent have been enacted, but have not yet come into force. Professor Simon Fishel, who was part of the team that produced the world's first IVF "test tube" baby in 1978, tells the Irish Independent: "In theory the procedure (that produced the baby in Ukraine) could be done in Ireland, but I don't think any responsible practitioner would do it at the moment." Dr Lynne O'Shea, a leading fertility researcher at UCD, agrees. She says: "It's a very interesting technique and has a lot of merit scientifically from work that has been done on animals. "But it is still highly experimental and until it is subjected to the full scientific trials, we don't know the potential dangers. It is the unknown element that is the worrying factor at the moment." The girl is thought to be the world's second "three-parent baby" after another child was created using a slightly different technique in Mexico last year. The Kiev team fertilised the mother's egg with her partner's sperm and then transferred the combined genes into an egg taken from a donor. The child has the genetic identity of its parents, combined with small amounts of DNA from the second woman. While this latest "three-parent" birth was the first designed to remedy infertility, the method employed last year in Mexico was intended as a way of preventing inherited genetic disease. The genetic material which causes these disorders is mainly found in a cell's mitochondria, while the nucleus contains the genes that pass on a baby's main characteristics and appearance. It is hoped that by transplanting the nucleus into healthy mitochondria of a third person, parents can avoid passing on disease to their offspring. Professor Fishel, who is director of Beacon Care Fertility in Dublin, says: "If the technique is being used for mitochondrial disease, there is very good evidence that this will help families. "It will mean future children are at far lower risk of transferring the disease of their parents to their own children. That is good positive medicine." However, he adds: "If one is doing it for the improvement of egg quality for general infertility treatment purposes, there is no good evidence that it would even work." Despite sharing some of these reservations, Dr John Kennedy, medical director of Sims IVF Clinic in Dublin, predicts that in the long term a procedure such as this is likely to be available in Ireland to treat infertility. "Couples have a very strong desire to have families and they don't want to have to wait. If there is evidence from other reputable countries that they are doing it successfully, there will be enormous pressure on us to follow suit. "There are pros and cons to it. As human beings we are only supposed to have the genetic material from two people. These people will have three genetic codes. "Theoretically they all may look fine and healthy, but we don't know what the impact will be down the line." So how many characteristics would the baby inherit from their parents - and how much from the donor? Almost all of the DNA will come from the mother and father. That's because most of our genes are found in the cell's nucleus; and a small number are found in the mitochondria. Dr O'Shea says the child would inherit less than 1pc of the donor's genes. Professor Fishel likens the genetic make-up of these "three-parent" babies to a car. "It would be like putting a BMW battery in a Rolls Royce. You would still call the car a Rolls Royce." Under new laws, which are set to be implemented shortly, children will be able to trace the identity of egg or sperm donors once they reach the age of 18. But when the legislation was drawn up, it did not take into account the use of mitochondrial tissue in an egg from a third party. UCC law Professor Deirdre Madden, an authority in this area, says in Britain, children born using this technique in the future will not be entitled to trace the identity of the donor. "It is hard for legislators to keep up with the developments, because science moves at a much quicker pace than the law," she says. The Kiev technique has been dubbed "pronuclear transfer" and was administered after the couple underwent four failed cycles of IVF. Dr Zikin, head of the team at the Nadiya clinic in Kiev, has said the treatment could assist women whose embryos stop growing before they can be implanted in a womb. This affects around one in 150 IVF patients, but the doctors hope to broaden its use. Dr Zikin said: "Before, we could only increase the selection of embryos, but for us this moment opens up the possibility of augmenting embryos." The clinic is also trying to use the method to revitalise the eggs of women in their 40s. Kiera, centre, pictured with her siblings Caoimhe (15) and Colm (19), left, son Riley (8), partner John. centre right, and brother Kieran, right, at Conor's christening. A young mum who stepped up to parent her brother and sister at the age of 23 was shocked to be diagnosed with cervical cancer after going for her routine smear. Kiera Coyle (31) became an official guardian to Caoimhe and Colm, then aged 9 and 13, after their father's death four years ago and said her recent cancer diagnosis brought up familiar feelings of panic for her siblings, who had lost both of their parents at a young age. Derry City woman Kiera, who is also mum to Riley (8), Conor (2) and Quinn (1), was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October after a routine smear prompted doctors to carry out a biopsy. Speaking to Independent.ie, Kiera said: "My mum died when my youngest, Riley, was just six-months-old. After that my younger brother and sister Colm and Caoimhe, continued to live with my dad but he struggled. Expand Close Kiera, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, has three kids Riley (8), Quinn (1) and Conor (2) with her partner John / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kiera, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, has three kids Riley (8), Quinn (1) and Conor (2) with her partner John "He was suffering from renal failure and as his health declined he became unable to cope with the children. Social Services became involved because they were missing days as school and we had to decide what was best for them. It was decided that they would live with me. "After my Daddy died, my brother Kieran and I went for a guardianship order for the kids and luckily that was granted in the High Court in Belfast." Clerical worker Kiera and her partner John welcomed daughter Quinn in October 2015, just 14 months after her second son Conor (2). Although she had been due a cervical smear in between the births, the mum became caught up with the two new babies and put off going for her appointment until August 2016. The routine smear picked up abnormal results and Kiera went on to have a biopsy. In October, Kiera was asked to come into the hospital for the results of the test, which she knew was unusual. Expand Close Kiera (31) was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2016. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kiera (31) was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2016. "My smear did show that I had abnormal cells, but it was something that a few of my aunties had been diagnosed with before and I knew the procedure to get rid of them was relatively simple. I wasn't told a biopsy had been done, so when they called me in for an appointment I knew that something was up. When they asked me if I was on my own I knew something was really wrong," she said. Kiera was diagnosed with stage one B one cervical cancer and doctors advised her to undergo a radical hysterectomy to prevent the spread of the disease to her other vital organs. A radical hysterectomy involves the removal of the uterus, the tissues that hold it in place, the cervix and inches of the upper vagina, a surgery Kiera underwent in December. Kiera said that although everyone was telling her she was "lucky" to already have three children of her own she did not feel that way. The mum said her diagnosis had a deep impact on her siblings who had already experienced the loss of their parents, and the news panicked Caoimhe, now aged 15. "All people could say was how lucky I was, 'Oh youre so lucky you already have kids', 'Youre lucky this was caught when it was', but I didnt feel so lucky. I felt like if one more person told me how lucky I was I was going to scream 'I HAVE CANCER'. "Yes I had kids, but I wasnt sure I was finished having them yet and I didnt feel lucky at all. Expand Close Kiera, centre, pictured with her siblings Caoimhe (15) and Colm (19), left, son Riley (8), partner John. centre right, and brother Kieran, right, at Conor's christening. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kiera, centre, pictured with her siblings Caoimhe (15) and Colm (19), left, son Riley (8), partner John. centre right, and brother Kieran, right, at Conor's christening. "I was also so afraid of telling Caoimhe and Colm particularly because anyone who has ever been close to them has died. When I told Caoimhe, she really panicked but I just told her that it was just an operation and everything would be fine afterwards. I didn't know that myself but it's what I had to say. I couldn't tell my little boy, hes only eight and I didnt want to scare him. I just told him Mummy had to get an operation on her tummy." Although Kieras operation went to plan, she suffered complications in the weeks afterwards when her bowel twisted on New Year's Eve as a result of a stomach bug. Fortunately, Kiera avoided another massive surgery, but was forced to spend a week in St Vincents Hospital in Dublin. While she admits the last few months have been very difficult, the mum-of-three and her family are celebrating the news that she is free from cancer and does not need to undergo chemotherapy or radiation. Kiera will have to attend check-ups every three months to ensure the cancer does not return, however she could experience other side effects from the surgery. "I could go into menopause earlier now and Im at a high risk of lymphodema, which means I cant shave, exfoliate or even take a hot shower. After my surgery I was told I couldn't lift anything heavier than 2L of milk, which was so hard considering I have two small babies at home," she said. Kiera hopes her story will encourage other women to keep on top of their routine smears, which she said saved her life. "Yes, its a bit embarrassing, its a bit uncomfortable but its something you just have to do, isn't it? I didn't have any symptoms and I was diagnosed with cancer. It's so important to be aware of whats going on in your body and the smear allows you to do that," said Kiera. For more information on national screening programme CervicalCheck visit cervicalcheck.ie. The time at which we eat is important, the study says Skipping breakfast or eating late in the day could raise the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity according to a new study. The study from a group of American researchers suggests that the time we eat our meal is equally as important as what we eat. Writing in the American Heart Association journal 'Circulation', researchers from Columbia University said both meal timing and frequency were linked to risk factors for a variety of conditions including heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, blood glucose levels, obesity, and reduced insulin sensitivity. The researchers reviewed other current scientific studies concerning breakfast and heart disease and found that those who eat breakfast daily are less likely to have high cholesterol and blood pressure, while those who skip breakfast and instead snack and graze throughout the day are more likely to be obese, have poor nutrition, or be diagnosed with diabetes. They analysed other studies that found people who skip breakfast have a 27pc increased risk of suffering from a heart attack, and are 18pc more likely to have a stroke. "Meal timing may affect health due to its impact on the body's internal clock," said Professor Marie-Pierre St-Onge, lead author of the study. "In animal studies, it appears that when animals receive food while in an inactive phase, such as when they are sleeping, their internal clocks are reset in a way that can alter nutrient metabolism, resulting in greater weight gain, insulin resistance and inflammation. "However, more research would need to be done in humans before that can be stated as a fact." There is still some debate in the scientific community about the benefits of eating breakfast. In a 2016 study, research suggested that claims breakfast is the most important meal of the day have very little scientific basis. Dr James Betts, a senior lecturer in nutrition at the University of Bath said the idea breakfast was inherently good for us might stem from marketing campaigns designed to sell us cereals, eggs and bacon, and the 'benefits' of eating early hadn't actually been scrutinised properly. "The problem is that these benefits, although logical sounding, are largely assumptions based on observational studies and had never actually been tested," he said. "As soon as doctors find out that an overweight patient skips breakfast they'll often tell them to make sure they eat it every day. But should we not know more about the health effects? We try not to give other health advice without evidence, so why are we more lax with breakfast?" ( Daily Telegraph London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] At Curalate, we constantly dream up big ideas for new products and services. Big ideas that require lots of work. Lots of boring, repetitive, simple work that we honestly do not want to do ourselves. In situations like this we turn to the industry standard for getting other people to do work for you, Amazon Mechanical Turk. Amazons Artificial Artificial Intelligence service connects requesters to people from across the globe (known as Turkers) to complete a set of Human Intelligence Tasks or HITs. Weve used Mechanical Turk in the past to create labeled datasets for use in our machine learning models to tackle various deep learning problems here at Curalate (such as the Emojini 3000 and Intelligent Product Tagging). In the process we have learned a few lessons that would have saved us a lot of time if known beforehand, so here they are to help if you want to get the most out of your valuable Turk time. Turkers are surprisingly cost effective So why use Mechanical Turk in the first place? Turkers will work for a single penny in many cases. Even with Amazons additional fees such as a 20% service fee and additional fees for premium qualifications, you can get a lot of work done for very little investment. Because of this low upfront cost, its beneficial to test your HITs on smaller data sets first to work out any issues. Maybe the instructions for your task are not clear enough for the Turkers or maybe your job has a poor conversion rate (workers finding your HIT, but not wanting to do it). More on avoiding some of these issues later. Now you will have to tune the reward for your HITs a bit. Too much and your HIT will get done very quick, but you will be wasting money. Too little and no one will want to do your HIT. Once again this is where you can set up multiple versions of your HIT at different price points to find the sweet spot. Master turkers are worth it To help avoid some of the possible quality issues associated with using Mechanical Turk, we use Masters Turkers on all of our HITs. These are Turkers who have a history of giving good results. There is a cost associated with using them however and they are harder to attract to a job, but their answers are more consistent compared to non-masters. Setting up a job is easy If you are reading this engineering dev blog you likely know everything you need to set up a Mechanical Turk job. The HIT layout and questions are in standard HTML. HITs are generally unstyled (were talking 1995 era web styling here), so you can largely forgo any fancy CSS. You really just need to know how to make lists, tables, and standard input fields. The online editor is clunky and will not automatically save work if you accidentally go back a page or something, so save your work often. Your jobs are uploaded as a CSV file, 1 HIT per row. Each column containing string variables that are replaced with placeholders in the HTML source of your HIT. You can use this for various things like setting variable addresses for hosted images or links to external pages, or custom text or strings per task for the user, but be aware that Mechanical Turk does not support full UTF-8 and will complain if you try to upload a CSV file containing your favorite emojis Less is more A problem that we ran into early on was having a poor conversion rate with the Turkers. They were viewing our job and then leaving and our best guess as to why was because they didnt feel it was worth their time. The problem was we were either asking too many questions, even if they are very simple questions, or were presenting the Turkers a massive wall of text that they did not want to read. Our advice Have them answer as little questions as possible. Try and keep them yes/no style questions if possible. Hide your instructions for the task in a drop-down drawer, the example HITs provided by Amazon do this as well, since a Turker really only needs to see this once. Make sure the instructions are not annoyingly long to read. Make sure your HIT is short enough that the Turker does not have to scroll to view it all. To help track our conversion rate of Turkers we embedded an HTML only tracking pixel in our HIT template. There are many free tracking pixels available, but this is the one that we use. Just use the basic anchor tag tracking pixel, stick it at the bottom of your hit template HTML, and everything shouldTM work fine. Standing out from the crowd When your HIT goes live, it is going to be placed in a pool with all of the other current HITs available. You have to stand out from the crowd and make your job easy to find for the Turkers who would want to complete it. In our past experience, short and catchy titles and keywords increase the amount of new Turkers finding your HIT, which in turn increases the rate at which your overall job gets completed. Likewise, Turkers do judge a book by its cover, so try to not include words in the title that would make the Turker think that the job would take too long or contain content that is boring or uninteresting to work on. At the same time, if your HIT contains NSFW content you do have to properly mark it as such when creating the HIT in the dashboard. Dont assume background knowledge Overall Turkers are largely from the US and India. Amazon is slowly expanding into other markets around the world, but you can expect to get citizens of these two countries on your HIT. Therefore its important that your HIT makes sense to non-native English speakers or those who may be unfamiliar with certain cultural knowledge. For example, Instagrams active user base is largely in American and European markets. This would mean that a question like Which Instagram filter best describes you? would make zero sense to a lot of Turkers. Turkers do not want to waste time trying to figure out your crazy HIT. Keep an elementary difficulty level in the task and provide simple examples over explanations when possible. The faster a Turker can complete your HIT / the more straightforward it is to understand, the more likely youll see completed HITs and repeat workers. Repeat visitors is a good sign If your HITs are good in terms of a price to difficulty ratio, you will see many repeat workers. This is generally a good thing as having the same workers on your tasks will result in faster results and more consistent answers. The tracking pixel also comes into use here for tracking the unique visitors. Manual checking of your results Even after all of this you will still get bad answers. We have had plenty of Turkers who would just answer all of the same option. To help avoid this we would have multiple, preferably an odd number, Turkers take multiple passes on each HIT. The results from your HITs will be returned in a CSV which links a Turkers ID to their answers, so we also wrote scripts to do some basic analysis of the answers given by each worker to see if their answers met some red flag criteria. This could include them always answering largely the same pattern or answer, or always disagreeing with the other Turkers assigned to the same HIT. Even then, we still felt the need to manually check the HITs that returned results on the border of our problem space (i.e. an almost even amount of Turkers answering yes or no on a HIT). We would go through and manually check these answers to solidify the result. And thats it! At least its all of the general, not-too-specific things we have figured out. By no means is this everything that you need to know to successfully use Amazon Mechanical Turk, but it should make your experience as a requester a bit smoother. The new Suzuki Ignis brings a couple of important elements to the fore. Obviously, it's a new baby crossover entrant which leans heavily on its unusual looks, interior room and standard spec at a decent price. But it is also among the first cars in the 16,500 price bracket with a system that detects pedestrians/children and can automatically apply emergency breaking so you don't hit them. It is called Dual Camera Brake Support and comes with the top-spec grade. Two cameras work from the top of the windscreen and if they detect potential obstacles, the system alerts you. If you don't react it applies the brakes. It costs 750 to fit on lower-spec versions (plus a three-month wait). It is a timely, sad, reminder of how drivers need all the help they can get especially on dark evenings and roads when people are walking. Expand Close The two rear seats can slide to create more bootroom / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The two rear seats can slide to create more bootroom But it needn't cost as much if our government didn't charge VAT and VRT on it as well. To put it bluntly, we are taxing safety. Meantime I and two others took to the roads around Druid's Glen in this unusual looking Ignis. We had oceans of room; exceptional knee and head space at the back. The first few kilometres of driving were less impressive. Over poor, twisty roads the suspension felt clunky. They were bad roads. On better ones, it felt better and we were happy with the 90bhp 1.2-litre 4cyl engine. We subsequently drove a mild-hybrid version. Both worked quite well. The former got the longer drive and showed itself to be lively and flexible. Ideal for tipping around. The cabin is relatively straightforward. I'm not sure whether it is smart or just cheap and cheerful. What do you expect for a car that starts at 12,995 (for the SZ-3 version)? I think that's real value when you look at the equipment and space. There is a 1,500 step to the SZ-T grade, the one they expect to be most popular. And then it is 2,000 more for the top-of-range SZ-5 which has the Dual Camera system. Automatic (AGS) costs 1,500 and the AllGrip SZ-5 version (4WD) is 17,995. The new arrival slots in between Suzuki's Celerio and Swift (brand new one by mid-year). The FIAT 500, Toyota Aygo, FIAT Panda (in 4x4 guise) are key rivals. Yes, it is most definitely different to look at; I'm not mad about the grooves on the rear flanks or the look overall. Fair dues to them, though, for going for strong, vibrant colours. No silver; no grey. Orange I liked. There is a big range of personalisation options; they can be fitted at dealer level. So you can choose something such as colour panels around air vents or door handles and change them a year later if you get bored. On SZ-T and SZ-5 models, you have two rear seats that individually slide by about 16cms - for a bigger boot or more legroom. The SZ-3 grade has air con and Bluetooth as standard - for a car under 13,000! SZ-T adds black alloys, roof rails, side mouldings, sliding rear seats, sat nav etc. And the biggie on SZ-5 is the dual camera braking - it should be on every car. Beckham Brand Holdings looks after Victoria's fashion sales and David's image rights David and Victoria Beckham pay the taxman the equivalent of nearly 22,000 a day after their global business empire notched up more than 47 million in sales. The firm owned by the ex-England captain and his fashion designer and former Spice Girl wife made pre-tax profits of 39.5 million on sales of 47.2 million in 2015, according to figures at Companies House. That landed them with a 7.9 million tax bill, which works out at nearly 22,000 a day or 152,000 a week. Beckham Brand Holdings Ltd looks after Victoria's fashion sales and David's image rights. Its pre-tax profits surged from 10 million in 2014 despite an 8.3% fall in sales. David, once nicknamed "Golden Balls" by Victoria, made 10.2 million in sales from his brand image rights, while Victoria's fashion business made 36.9 million in turnover. David revealed earlier this week that mistakes made during his time at Manchester United and sudden rise to global fame led to a rift with manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, he said his celebrity status and marriage to Victoria cast doubts over his professionalism. He also said he and Victoria used to have dates in restaurant car parks in the early days of their relationship to keep it a secret. U.S. President Donald Trump announces his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (Left to right) The Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive for the annual evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace, London. The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at St Paul's Cathedral in London for a national service of thanksgiving to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II Carol Middleton, Michael Middleton and James Middleton (right) leaving after attending the morning church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk. U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to announce his nomination of Neil Gorsuch for the empty associate justice seat of the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the annual Royal Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London The Duchess of Cambridge arriving at East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) in Quidenham, Norwich, as it continues fundraising for a new purpose-built hospice in Norfolk. Photo: Adrian Dennis/PA Wire The Duchess of Cambridge leaves The Scout and Guide Hut at North Wootton, near King's Lynn, after attending an event to celebrate the to celebrate 100 years of the Cub Scout movement. The Duchess of Cambridge leaving after a visit to The Mix in London, where she attended the youth charity's Christmas party. Well that's set to be one very awkward dinner. Ahead of US President Donald Trump's upcoming state visit to Britain, there might be very awkward dinner party conversation now than an old tweet he wrote supporting the publication of topless photos of Kate Middleton has resurfaced. Pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless on private property while on holidays with her husband Prince William in France were published in 2012 and Trump was quick to blame her for posing topless to begin with, which unsurprisingly brought criticism. "Kate Middleton is great - but she shouldn't be sunbathing in the nude - only herself to blame," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter at the time. Who wouldn't take Kate's picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing. Come on Kate! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2012 The invasion of privacy and complicity case is still ongoing and the trial of six media representatives over the publication of the photos was recently delayed until May. A number of publications around the world published the images including the French edition of Closer, which was banned from re-publishing the images and forced to hand over the originals, as well as Italian magazine Chi among others. The couple are incredibly protective of their privacy (just this week they began building an 820 foot wall hedge around their Kensington Palace home to ensure privacy) and at the time, they issued a statement condemning the pictures. Expand Close (Left to right) The Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive for the annual evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace, London. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (Left to right) The Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive for the annual evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace, London. "The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the duke and duchess for being so," a a statement in 2012 said. Video of the Day On Friday, Theresa May invited Mr Trump on an official state visit on behalf of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, which has sparked protests around the UK. "I have today been able to convey Her Majesty the Queen's hope that President Trump and the First Lady would pay a state visit to the United Kingdom later this year. I'm delighted he's accepted that invitation," Ms May said. Neil Gorsuch (centre) is joined by Vice President Mike Pence (right) as they meet Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Capitol Hill (AP) US President Donald Trump has said he will tell the Senate's Republican leader to consider the option to "go nuclear" if political gridlock stalls his Supreme Court pick. Such a move would mean changing Senate rules to make it impossible to filibuster a high court nominee. The president told reporters that if Senate Democrats try to block Neil Gorsuch's nomination, he would tell Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell: "If you can, Mitch, go nuclear, because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web." Mr McConnell has not said whether he might invoke the nuclear option if minority Democrats block Mr Gorsuch's confirmation, as several already are threatening to do. But the Senate leader has said repeatedly that, one way or another, Mr Gorsuch will be confirmed. The nuclear option would mean unilaterally lowering the threshold needed to approve Mr Gorsuch from 60 to 50 votes, so that Republicans could use their 52-vote majority to put him on the court without Democrats' consent. Speaking on the Senate floor around the same time as President Trump made his views known, Mr McConnell said he expects to see Democrats "giving the new nominee a fair consideration and up-or-down vote just as we did for past presidents of both parties". What Mr McConnell did not say was that he refused last year to allow even a hearing for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's pick to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Instead, the seat remained empty for 10 months and the court operated with eight justices as Mr McConnell maintained that only the next president should make the nomination. Democrats remain furious over Mr Garland's treatment. But their divisions were already on display even as Mr Gorsuch made the rounds on Capitol Hill accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, earning warm praise from Mr McConnell and other Senate Republicans. A handful of Democrats did announce their opposition to the 49-year-old Denver-based judge on the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals whose conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of Mr Scalia. They argued that the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan administration official is outside the mainstream. "This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court," said Sen Jeff Merkley. Sen Merkley said even before the nominee was announced that he would hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 votes for confirmation, a position that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has endorsed. But other Democrats were holding off, saying Mr Gorsuch deserved a fair hearing. AP A surge in fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 10 people and injured dozens more since the weekend. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko cut short a visit to Germany because of the fighting, the first significant violence in the war zone since Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president, and which could be seen as a key test of the new administration's stance on the crisis. Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic have blamed one another for sparking a frenzy of shelling by heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers at flash points up and down the line of contact, including near Donetsk and the Azov-sea port of Mariupol. The worst violence has been seen near Avdiivka, an industrial town north of Donetsk, where at least four Ukrainian soldiers were killed on Monday. Three more soldiers were killed and 23 injured in overnight shelling in the same area, Oleksandr Turchynov, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Defence Council, said yesterday. Donetsk News Agency, an outlet run by the separatist authorities, said four fighters died and seven were injured overnight, as well as three civilians. One civilian was killed, the separatist authorities said. Eduard Basurin, a military spokesman for the separatists, said 207 miners were trapped underground after Ukrainian shelling knocked out an electricity substation. The miners trapped in the Zasyadko mine in Donetsk, which has a notorious safety record, had been brought to the surface by yesterday afternoon. Ukrainian officials said separatist artillery hit central Avdiivka, damaging several civilian homes and also part of the town's vast coking plant. The factory's director said the plant may have to suspend production if the level of violence continues. Pavlo Zhebrivsky, governor of the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region, said he would evacuate the roughly 12,000 civilians from Avdiivka. Both sides accused one another of attempting to break through front line positions that have generally been fixed since a peace agreement was signed in February 2015. Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said "massive attacks by Russian occupying forces across the contact line" had prevented him and Anders Samuelsen, the Danish foreign minister, from visiting the front line near Mariupol. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused the Ukrainian government of provoking the crisis. The Kremlin has "reliable information" Ukrainian volunteer battalions crossed the front line on Monday and tried to capture rebel territory, he said. Nigel Farage has been embarrassed by a fellow Member of the European Parliament (MEP) during a speech in which the former Ukip leader defended Donald Trumps Muslim travel ban. The other MEP sat behind Mr Farage and held up a sign reading Hes lying to you with an arrow pointing towards him. The Ukip MEP used his speech to praise Donald Trump and attack those criticising the Republicans ban on immigration to the US from seven Muslim countries. 'Nigel Farage? He's the biggest waste of money in the EU' He suggested the new President was invited to speak at the European Parliament, saying: All of us here say were democrats - well heres a chance to prove it. Let us invite President Trump to come here to this European Parliament. Im sure as democrats youd all agree that we need to do is have an open dialogue with the newly-elected, most powerful man in the world. And if you throw that rejection back in your face then you prove yourself to be the anti-democratic zealots that I always thought you were. Egyptian authorities allowed goods to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing during the past four days, including shipments of cement, iron, wheat, food and medical supplies, the German News Agency DPA quoted Gaza's Economy Minister Abdel-Fattah Abu Moussa as saying. The step came one day after a delegation from Gaza's Ministry of Interior, under the control of Hamas since 2007, arrived in Cairo to discuss border control with Egyptian officials. Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing on Saturday for four days for humanitarian purposes. A media official with the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, Wael Abu-Omar, said that Egyptian authorities allowed during the past days the crossing of 2,624 Palestinians for humanitarian reasons and Egyptian passport holders. Abu Omar called on Egyptian authorities to allow more goods to enter Gaza to help alleviate the effects of the Israeli blockade imposed on the Strip since 2006. The Rafah crossing has been closed by Egypt for several years for security reasons, though it is periodically opened for humanitarian purposes. On Friday, senior Hamas official Ismail Haniya hailed what he described as improving ties with Egypt. Hamas released a statement on Saturday describing the visit by the Gazan delegation to Egypt as "successful," adding that the delegation had a series of "fruitful meetings" with Egyptian officials, including the head of General Intelligence Khaled Fawzy. Last week, Hamas leader Mahmoud El-Zahar said that the group's relations with Cairo have improved, evidenced by the reaching of an agreement on border control between the Gaza Strip and Sinai, state news agency MENA reported. El-Zahar said in statements published by the Palestinian El-Ra'i news website that a delegation of Hamas representatives met with Egyptian officials in Cairo earlier last week, including deputy head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh. Relations between Egypt and the Palestinian Islamist group became strained after the ousting of Egyptian Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Marine Le Pen, the far-right Front National leader, intends to exit the euro and enact a raft of unorthodox economic policies from money printing to import taxes if she becomes France's next president. Ms Le Pen (inset) is due to detail 140 "presidential commitments" this weekend in Lyon, south-eastern France. She will confirm that she plans to open six months of negotiations to take France out of the euro, and to leave the European Union unless it agrees to become a very loose co-operation of nations. "Our preferred scenario would be to agree jointly on the dismantling of the eurozone," said Jean Messiha, who co-ordinates the drafting of Ms Le Pen's election platform. If that did not work, an FN government would seek a unilateral exit from the single currency by putting it to a referendum. Polls suggest the French would probably reject a "Frexit". ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Residents watch a wildfire in Portezuelo, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced that the country will continue with its various measures to deal with wild fires, one of the biggest natural disasters in the country for decades, according to a government report released on Sunday. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced that the country will continue with its various measures to deal with wild fires, one of the biggest natural disasters in the country for decades, according to a government report released on Sunday. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) Residents evacuate a home as a wildfire burns in Portezuelo, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced that the country will continue with its various measures to deal with wild fires, one of the biggest natural disasters in the country for decades, according to a government report released on Sunday. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) Horses run away from wildfires in Chile's central-south regions, in Portezuelo, Chile January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez Firefighters try to stop wildfires in Chile's central-south regions, in Portezuelo, Chile January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez A firefighter tries to stop wildfires in Chile's central-south regions, in Portezuelo, Chile January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez A firefighter is seen next to wildfires in Chile's central-south regions, in Portezuelo, Chile January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez Firefighters are seen next to wildfires in Chile's central-south regions, in Portezuelo, Chile January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez A forest fire rages in the mountains above Portezuelo, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Flames from raging wildfires in Chile continued to spread, destroying forests, livestock and entire towns. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) A wildfire burns close to homes in Chile's Dichato community, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. Flames from raging wildfires in Chile continued to spread, destroying forests, livestock and entire towns. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Monday, Jan. 30, 2017 photo, wildfires straddle Chile's Dichato community. Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) In this Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 photo, a mare and her foal are led to safety as wildfires burn in Portezuelo, Chile. The fires have consumed forests, livestock and entire towns, leading President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) Strong winds are continuing to stoke the flames of raging wildfires in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato. Firefighters and residents fought the fast-spreading blazes on the ground on Tuesday, while a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules have dumped thousands of gallons of water on the area. A Boeing 747-400 supertanker from the United States also assisted local emergency crews on Tuesday. More than 100 fires have consumed forests, livestock and entire towns, prompting President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help. In all, more than 20,000 people, including firefighters and experts from more than a dozen countries, have fought wildfires that Ms Bachelet has called the worst forest disaster in Chile's history. At least 11 deaths have been blamed on the fires. The national forestry agency says the blazes have destroyed nearly 904,000 acres since January 15. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau place flowers at a makeshift memorial during a vigil in Quebec City. Alexandre Bissonnette is escorted after appearing in court. Photos: The Canadian Press via AP The university student charged with killing six Muslim men during evening prayers at a mosque in Canada was known for far-right, nationalist views and his support of the French Front National party led by Marine Le Pen. Alexandre Bissonnette was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder over the shooting rampage at a Quebec City mosque that Canada's prime minister called an act of terrorism against Muslims. Mr Bissonnette, a French Canadian student, made a brief court appearance and did not enter a plea over the attack staged during evening prayers on Sunday. Wearing a white prisoner jump suit, his hands and feet shackled, he stared down at the floor and fidgeted, but did not speak. The 27-year-old suspect, who has espoused support for Ms Le Pen and US President Donald Trump on his Facebook page, was known to those who monitor extremist groups in Quebec, Francois Deschamps, an official with a refugee advocacy group, said. "It's with pain and anger that we learn the identity of terrorist Alexandre Bissonnette, unfortunately known to many activists in Quebec for taking nationalist, pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions at Laval University and on social media," Mr Deschamps wrote on the Facebook page of the group, Bienvenues Aux Refugies, or Welcome To Refugees. An anthropology and political science major at Laval University in Quebec City, Mr Bissonnette had also expressed support on his Facebook profile for Generation Nationale, a group whose manifesto includes the rejection of "multiculturalism". Authorities said Mr Bissonnette was unknown to police. The grandson of a decorated World War II veteran, Mr Bissonnette appears in a Facebook photo as a boy dressed as an army cadet, a military leadership programme for Canadian youths. But cadets are not members of the Canadian Armed Forces and do not receive military training. For Ms Le Pen and her supporters, "massive migration", notably from Muslim North Africa, is supplanting French civilisation and is at the root of many of France's modern woes. Her views have won the endorsement from white supremacists. More than 50 people were at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre when the shooting began, and witnesses described a scene of chaos as worshippers scrambled to find friends and loved ones. In addition to the six dead, 19 people were wounded - all men. Of the five victims who remained in hospital, two were in critical condition, authorities said. The dead ranged in age from 39 to 60. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec premier Philippe Couillard both characterised the attack as a terrorist act, which came amid strong criticism around the world over Mr Trump's temporary travel ban for people from seven Muslim countries. Canada is generally welcoming toward immigrants and all religions, but the French-speaking province of Quebec has had a long-simmering debate about race and religious accommodation. The previous separatist government of the province called for a ban on ostentatious religious symbols, such as the hijab, in public institutions. Mr Trudeau said in parliament the victims were targeted simply because of their religion. Vigil Speaking directly to the more than one million Muslims who live in Canada, he said: "We are with you." "Thirty-six million hearts are breaking with yours." Mr Trudeau later attended a vigil along with thousands of people wrapped up in winter clothes in front of Notre-Dame-de-Foy Church, just around the corner from the mosque that was attacked. It was one of many vigils in Canada, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris was darkened in respect to the victims, as was the CN Tower in Toronto. The suspect was arrested in his car on a bridge, after he called 911 to say he wanted to co-operate with police. Authorities, who initially named two suspects, said the other man taken into custody was a witness to the attack and was released. Officials said they did not believe there were others involved but were investigating. Donald Trump's travel ban risks becoming a "propaganda opportunity" for Isil and may not be effective in combating terrorism, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said. In a strong criticism of the US president's policy, Ms Rudd warned it could be exploited by Isil militants who would use "any opportunity they can to make difficulties". Ms Rudd said the president's measure did not amount to a "Muslim ban" but people would "draw their own conclusions" about the nations that had been picked. The seven mainly Muslim countries covered by Mr Trump's travel ban are Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Questioning the effectiveness of the measure, she told British MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee: "The sources of terrorism are not to be found in the sources where the president is necessarily looking for them." Amid fears that Isil may seek to portray the ban as a sign of Islamophobia in the West, Ms Rudd said the terror group would "use any opportunity they can to make difficulties, to create the environment they want to radicalise people, to bring them over to their side". She added: "So it is a propaganda opportunity for them, potentially." Donald Trump's administration launched a new attack on the EU last night, accusing Germany of profiting from a "grossly undervalued" euro to boost exports at the expense of America. Peter Navarro, the president's chief trade adviser, said Angela Merkel's government was using its dominant position in the currency union to unfairly exploit its European neighbours. The incendiary remarks - 24 hours after the German chancellor criticised Mr Trump's immigrant travel ban - represent a new front in the president's assault on the EU. He has frequently criticised Brussels and last week told Theresa May that Brexit presented a "fantastic" opportunity for Britain. Mr Navarro's words cap an extraordinary first 10 days of the new administration, that now puts Washington at loggerheads with Paris, Brussels and Berlin. Speaking to the 'Financial Times', the head of the new National Trade Council confirmed that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the trade deal started by the Obama administration, was now effectively dead. And he accused Germany of continuing "to exploit other countries in the EU as well as the US with an 'implicit Deutsche Mark' that is grossly undervalued". The attack sent jitters through the currency markets. The assault on the weak euro effectively sees Germany being lumped together with China and Japan as "currency manipulators" that Mr Trump vowed to confront to protect US jobs and industry. "We sit there like a bunch of dummies," Mr Trump said after a meeting with pharmaceutical executives yesterday, as he emphasised the need to bring drug manufacturing back to the US. The trenchant anti-EU rhetoric from Washington was greeted with alarm in EU capitals. Ms Merkel rejected Mr Navarro's claims, saying Berlin had no influence over exchange rates and supported an independent European Central Bank. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] A woman accused of adultery has been shot to death by insurgents in north-eastern Afghanistan, according to provincial officials. Ahmad Naweed Frotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, said that Amir Begum was killed by Taliban insurgents late on Tuesday night in Yumgan district. He added that the insurgents accused the woman of having sexual relations with a man and killed her. Meanwhile, one civilian was reportedly killed by a rocket fired by the insurgents in southern Helmand province. Ghulam Nabi Charkhi, head of the provincial counter-terrorism department, said three others, including a small child, were injured in the attack in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. AP The Lashkar Gah attack took place as Afghanistan's chief executive Abdullah Abdullah was about to leave the city with other officials after a visit to assess security in the province. None of the officials were harmed. Meanwhile, in the eastern Khost province five police and three small children were injured when a police vehicle hit a remotely-detonated roadside bomb, said Ghani-ul Rahman, the deputy provincial police chief. The Taliban have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan since the US and Nato formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, leaving a smaller contingent of troops behind to focus on training and counter-terrorism. AP Egypt's State Council rejected on Wednesday a draft law presented by parliament's Constitutional and Legislative Committee giving the president the right to appoint the heads of the country's judiciary councils. The draft law, presented in December, stated that the president of the republic would pick from three candidates nominated by each council. Egypt's Judges Club said that it considers the draft law a major violation of the Egyptian judicial system, saying it completely ignores seniority among judges, on the basis of which the heads of judicial council are appointed. The judicial councils mentioned in the rejected draft law are the Administrative Prosecution, the State Lawsuits Authority, the Court of Cassation and the State Council. In December, the Judges Club said in a statement that the proposed law violated the separation of powers between the branches of government. A Ukrainian soldier shows pieces of shrapnel in a crater left by an explosion in Avdiivka (AP Photo/Inna Varenytsia) At least one Ukrainian soldier has been killed and more injured in the country's east as heavy fighting between government troops and Russia-backed rebels continues, reports say. The reports came as heavy shelling was heard in the centre of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Wednesday morning. The flare-up in eastern Ukraine, which began over the weekend, killed eight people including civilians late on Monday and early on Tuesday. The Ukrainian government's press office for the operation in the east said the latest death occurred later on Tuesday. Fighting is concentrated around the suburb of Avdiivka, on the northern outskirts of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, where residents have been without electricity for days. The UN Security Council has urged "an immediate return to the ceasefire". Council members, including Ukraine which is serving a two-year term, expressed "grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in the eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population". The council condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements on ending the conflict and called for their implementation. Members expressed "full support" for the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine". Fighting around Avdiivka has cut water and power supplies for most of the town and it was left without heating in the dead of winter. Temperatures have plunged to minus 18C (0F). The warring sides blamed each other for the spike in hostilities, the worst in months. The Ukrainian government was considering evacuating 12,000 residents from Avdiivka, said Pavlo Zhebrivsky, head of the administration in charge of the government-controlled parts of the Donetsk region. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused the Ukrainian government of provoking the hostilities to distract public attention from domestic issues. He said the Kremlin has "reliable information" that Ukrainian volunteer battalions crossed the front line on Monday night and tried to capture rebel-controlled territory. He added that Kiev's "aggressive actions" threaten to derail a 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany. The agreement obliging the warring sides to hold fire and pull back heavy weaponry has been regularly violated. Kiev is worried that Donald Trump's administration could ease some sanctions on Russia that the US imposed for the annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and support for the insurgency in the east. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the escalation of hostilities proves the sanctions must be kept in place "to bring the aggressor to justice". CONCORD Cannon School will welcome Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Child for Success, on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. on our Poplar Tent Road campus in Concord. This event, presented by the Maria DeHaas Speaker Series, is free and open to the public. Ms. Lythcott-Haims spent a decade at Stanford University as the Dean of Freshmen, where she noticed a troubling trendthe rise of helicopter parenting- parents who were overly involved in the day-to-day life of their children. She used that experience, as well as research and insight from raising two children of her own, to write a book of advice about how to raise successful kids without over parenting. Due to the overwhelming popularity of the book, Cannon School expects that this will be a packed event. We ask that you RSVP at www.cannonschool.org/speakerseries. The Kannapolis City School District is now accepting applications for three new magnet programs that will open in August 2017. Two of the new programs, A+ Arts and Global Studies, are open to rising kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The third program, Spanish Language Immersion, is open to rising kindergarten students. Applications must be received by Tuesday, Feb. 28. All families of rising elementary-age children that live within the Kannapolis City School District are eligible to applyeven families whose children currently attend charter schools or home schools. In order to attend a KCS magnet program, students must apply for the magnet program and be accepted. If students are not already enrolled in Kannapolis City Schools, they must register in KCS no later than June 30 in order to attend a magnet program. Families that live outside the Kannapolis City School District must submit the form, http://bit.ly/2kocTpt, and successfully complete the release and acceptance process in order to attend a KCS magnet program. The A+ Arts program will be located at G.W. Carver Elementary, currently Kannapolis Intermediate School. It will be the only A+ Arts program in Cabarrus or Rowan counties. The Global Studies and Spanish Language Immersion programs will be located at Fred L. Wilson Elementary. Students in magnet programs will learn the same standard curriculum that is taught in all North Carolina public schools. However, the magnet programs will allow students to learn the material by putting an emphasis on the special areas highlighted by the magnet programs: arts, global studies, or learning subjects in both English and Spanish. Students that live within the G.W. Carver attendance zone will automatically attend G.W. Carver Elementary and will not need to apply for the A+ Arts program. Students that live within the Fred L. Wilson attendance zone will automatically attend Fred L. Wilson. They will not need to apply for the Global Studies program. However, if G.W. Carver or Fred L. Wilson students wish to attend a magnet program other than the one located at their assigned school, their families will need to complete the application below. In addition, all rising kindergarten students that want to be included in the Spanish Language Immersion programeven rising kindergarten students assigned to Fred L. Wilsonwill need to complete an application. Fred L. Wilson will have traditional kindergarten classes as well as Spanish Language Immersion kindergarten classes. Therefore, if rising kindergarten students assigned to Fred L. Wilson are interested in joining the Spanish Language Immersion program, their families will need to complete the magnet application. With the opening of the new magnet programs, KCS elementary attendance boundaries will change for the 2017-2018 school year. To see the new attendance zones, go to http://gis.cabarruscounty.us/kcs. KCS will hold a magnet school open house on Thursday, Feb. 9, from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. where families can tour the new magnet schools, meet staff and get more information about the magnet programs. Students that apply for magnet programs will be accepted as long as there is enough room in the programs. If KCS receives more magnet applications than it has space available, the district will hold a lottery to select students at random to fill the available magnet slots. Students that are not selected will be placed onto a waiting list in the order that their names are drawn in the lottery. All students that are accepted into KCS magnet programs will be able to receive bus transportation from Kannapolis City Schools. Students that are not accepted into magnet programs will attend the KCS elementary school in their assigned attendance zone unless they are later admitted into a magnet program from the waiting list. Kannapolis City Schools will send letters to all families that apply for magnet programs to let them know if their children have been selected for magnet programs or have been put onto a waiting list. KCS will admit students from the waiting list in the order that they were selected in the lottery as magnet program slots become available. KCS will fill open magnet program slots through the 10th day of school in the 2017-2018 school year. After the 10th day of school, no more magnet slots will be filled for the remainder of the school year. A new application process will begin next January for the 2018-2019 school year. To apply for the new KCS magnet programs, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffDgl4NjhAxeMX2_aly2dKzcU5dpV9QiXcUmb07pasW6bxcw/viewform?c=0&w=1, and complete an application no later than Feb. 28. CONCORD- Every January, America honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his incredible dedication to racial equality, justice and his firm belief in building up the beloved community. Each year thousands across the United States help celebrate Dr. Kings birthday by participating in an annual national day of service. This day not only keeps Dr. Kings legacy alive but also challenges people to make service a part of their daily lives, not just once a year. Schools are the perfect place to engage young people in community service, both locally and globally. On Monday, Jan. 23 Rocky River Elementary Schools fifth-grade held its first annual day of service. The full day of service provided a rich opportunity for students and teachers to work together, embodying leadership and philanthropy. Upon arriving at school the students embarked on a journey of service. The morning lesson taught the values of the three Ts of philanthropy (time, talent and treasure) and how they are just as essential as the three Rs in academics (reading, writing and arithmetic). Guest speaker, Ashley Garcia-Rivera, 20, founder of Suitcase of Hope and former AmeriCorps/City Year member shared her story on why she started a charity for foster youth. She was in the foster care system until adoption at age 16. Staff of the school said students were riveted by her story and astounded to learn that she was recognized by President Obama with the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and had earned a college scholarship for her year of service with City Year. After the presentation, students moved back to their homerooms to watch ABCs Secret Millionaire where millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities, volunteer their time and talents and donate their treasures. The day culminated with four different service projects; homemade dogs biscuits, dog pull toys repurposed out of old towels, kitty nip toys created from baby socks and adoption posters for the Humane Society of Concord/Cabarrus County. Egyptian MP Mohamed Fouad filed an inquiry with parliament regarding the hunting of endangered species of marine animals, including baby sharks and sea turtles, which puts them under threat of extinction. Fouad, who is a member of the Local Administration Committee, said in a statement on Tuesday that fishermen catch this marine life off the coast of Alexandria to be sold for food at local markets, according to Ahram Arabic website. "This is a blatant violation that is a result of a lack of supervision by the concerned authorities and bodies, which has led to an increase in this phenomenon and the exacerbation of its negative effects," Fouad said, adding that these practices not only threaten endangered species, but can also negatively affect the health and safety of citizens. In late January, a social media campaign against fishing for endangered marine life was launched under the title "protect sea turtles from extinction." On 26 January, a post went viral on Facebook showing pictures of four endangered turtles sold in Alexandria's Midan market, calling on concerned authorities to take action. The post said that the four turtles are female all of which were carrying eggs that weighed up to 250 kilogrammes. According to the Ministry of Environmental Affairs website, Egyptian law prohibits the hunting, killing or trading of any endangered living organisms. Search Keywords: Short link: Two others were handed life sentences and four were given five-year terms in the same case Giza Criminal Court sentenced Wednesday two defendants to death over violence that dates back to the aftermath of the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a judicial source said. They face charges including "murder or attempted murder, possessing firearms" and "belonging to an illegal organisation," in reference to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group, from which Morsi hails. Two others were sentenced over the same charges to life imprisonment and four to five years in jail. One defendant was acquitted. The case dates back to violence unleashed by Morsi's ouster in the summer of 2013 in El-Waraq district in Giza governorate. The sentences can still be appealed. Morsi, along with most of the Brotherhood's upper echelons, is in jail facing numerous violence-related charges in a series of trials. The former president was handed the first final court ruling, a 20-year prison term, in October 2016. Search Keywords: Short link: Israel has unveiled plans for 3,000 new homes for settlers in the occupied West Bank, the fourth such announcement in the less than two weeks since US President Donald Trump took office. The late Tuesday announcement came as security forces were preparing to evict the hardline occupants of a wildcat settlement outpost in line with a High Court ruling that determined the homes were built on private Palestinian land. The planned eviction has been deeply unpopular with hardliners within the government, widely regarded as Israel's most right-wing ever, and the new building plans were widely seen as a sop to their supporters. Dozens of security personnel were seen approaching the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, early on Wednesday in readiness to move out its residents. Hundreds of hardline sympathisers, who had slipped past army roadblocks on foot, lit tyres around the outpost, an AFP correspondent reported. Some threw stones at the media as residents started packing their belongings. The former US administration of Barack Obama despaired of Israel's accelerating settlement expansion and, in a sharp break with longstanding policy, withheld its veto on a critical UN Security Council resolution in its final days. But since Trump took office with top aides sympathetic to the settlement enterprise, the government has announced a string of new projects that will add more than 6,000 homes for Jewish settlers. "Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorise the construction of 3,000 new housing units," the defence ministry said in a statement. According to the statement, 2,000 of the units are ready to be put on the market, while the rest are in various stages of planning. "We're in a new era where life in Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank) is returning to its natural course," said Lieberman, who himself has long lived in a West Bank settlement. Since the January 20 inauguration of Trump, Israel has approved the construction of 566 housing units in three settlement neighbourhoods of the occupied east Jerusalem and 5,502 more elsewhere in the West Bank. On Thursday last week, Israeli officials gave final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem. They had been frozen under pressure from the Obama administration, which had warned that settlements could derail hopes of a negotiated two-state solution. Far-right lawmaker Moti Yogev, whose Jewish Home party is part of Israel's governing coalition, was quite open about the trade-off between the Amona eviction and the new settler homes. Speaking to AFP at the outpost where he had joined residents in a show of solidarity, Yogev said that while evacuating Amona was "a bad decision" which he opposed -- "We will go." "Yes, Amona will be destroyed, but against Amona we are going to build 3,000 new homes." Trump has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage. "We are building and we will continue building," Netanyahu said last week. The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Obama. The accelerated settlement expansion has deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The international community considers all Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land as illegal and regards their construction as the biggest obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict. But in a significant break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned any of the four settlement expansions announced by Israel since he took office. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: Syria opposition officials Wednesday criticised UN envoy Staffan de Mistura after he said he could pick the opposition delegation representatives to UN-led talks in Geneva if they failed to do so. De Mistura on Tuesday said the talks previously scheduled for February 8 had been postponed to February 20 in part to give the opposition more time to present a united delegation. And he warned that if they had not done so by February 8, he would "select the delegation in order to make sure that it can be as inclusive as possible". The opposition rejected the comments as "unacceptable." "Selecting the Syrian opposition delegation is not the business... of de Mistura," wrote Riad Hijab, head of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, on his Twitter account. Salem Muslet, a spokesman for the opposition umbrella group, said de Mistura's comments were "unacceptable" and showed a "disregard for the ability of the representatives of the Syrian people". De Mistura announced that the UN-led talks were being delayed to "give a chance both to the government to become seriously engaged in discussions and the opposition... to actually be able to be given a chance to come with one unified opposition". But Muslet rejected the suggestion that the opposition was responsible for the delay, which he said was "not in the interests of the Syrian people". The delay was "a response to the demands of the regime's allies", he argued. He also asked whether de Mistura would "intervene in the formation of (President Bashar al-)Assad's delegation". The Geneva talks will be the first since a round of negotiations sponsored by Assad allies Russia and Iran, and rebel backer Turkey, held in the Kazakh capital Astana last month. Those talks ended without any major breakthrough, though a nationwide Syria truce brokered by Russia and Turkey has largely held since it began on December 30. More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict erupted with anti-government protests in March 2011. Search Keywords: Short link: When Alec McGails younger brother was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison, he didnt know itd spark a unique business idea: magazines customized to inmates individual interests, delivered monthly to each subscriber. Since my brother Patrick first went to jail in 2014, our parents have been constantly printing and sending him resources from the internet. Theyd find and mail him full books that were available for free, articles about finance, definitions of words, puzzles, lyrics to songs, guitar tabs and anything else they could find, McGail writes on his website. You can imagine that this has been very helpful to him. McGail collaborated with his brother, whom he calls his man on the inside, to create CheckIt Publications. He was the one who told me there was this demand, McGail told the Recorder, explaining the limits inmates face when trying to keep up with the outside world. Subscriptions start around $10 per month, and McGail said theres a variety of content available. New subscribers receive a 150-question survey to gauge their interests, so each issue of the magazine can be individually tailored. McGail said hes currently limited by copyright laws, but hes able to offer Wikipedia articles, flashcards, puzzles, literature thats in the public domain, photos from Flickr and more. Puzzles and flashcards are available in different levels of difficulty, and many of the components are available in languages besides English. As the company grows, McGail plans to use revenue to acquire rights to more content that can be published in the magazines. McGail said so far, the inmates who are receiving the magazines have responded positively, but he is still working to get the word out. Inmates cant subscribe themselves someone on the outside has to sign them up McGail said, which has slowed subscriptions. In fact, he said enough money has been donated to fund a couple dozen free trials, but he hasnt been able to match those trials to interested inmates yet. Family members and friends can subscribe their incarcerated loved ones at checkitpublications.com, and anyone who wants to contribute but doesnt have a specific inmate in mind can donate funds toward subscriptions. Financial aid professionals will be volunteering at various sites across the city to help college-bound students and their families open the door to financial aid during College Goal Sunday. The event is set for 2 p.m. on Feb. 12. The free program assists Indiana students in filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA form is required for students to be considered for federal and state grants, scholarships and student loans at most colleges, universities and vocational/technical schools nationwide. The FAFSA must be filed by March 10 to be eligible for Indiana financial aid. Now in its 28th year, College Goal Sunday has helped more than 90,000 Indiana students and families complete the FAFSA properly and on time. College Goal Sunday is a charitable program of the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA). Students should attend College Goal Sunday with their parent(s) or guardian(s), and parents should bring completed 2015 IRS 1040 tax returns, W-2 Forms and other 2015 income and benefits information. Students who worked last year should bring their income information as well. Students 24 years of age or older may attend alone and bring their own completed 2015 IRS 1040 tax return, W-2 Form or other 2015 income and benefits information. Students and parents are encouraged to apply for their U.S. Department of Education FSA IDs at fsaid.ed.gov before coming to the event. Volunteers will walk through the online form line-by-line and answer families individual questions as needed. All sites offer FAFSA online capabilities and many have Spanish interpreters. A complete list of sites is available at CollegeGoalSunday.org. 1. AbRam & Dad SRK's Adorable Moments Have Made The Internet A Wonderful Place, Here's Proof Isn't this the cutest? #ShahRukhKhan & #AbRam offer prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. A photo posted by Filmfare (@filmfare) on Jan 31, 2017 at 8:30am PST Their pictures and videos that fill our social media timelines are, no doubt, winning the Internet. Here are some our most favourite father-son moments that made us smile. The father-son duo visited the Golden Temple to seek blessings and the pictures are heartwarming. 2. TV Actress Nia Sharma Gives It Back To Trolls Who 'Slut-Shamed' Her For A Dance Video Giving a loud and clear message to all her haters, she captioned the post as, "Oops! Here's one more from the photoshoot. Ready to slut-shame a girl again? Go ahead... I'll post five more... Coz that's exactly (why) I got this shoot done....! And that's exactly how I'll post pictures from the same. I appreciate everyone who took out time from their absolutely worthless lives to write filthy long comments on my previous video...! I got you job again!" 3. 'I Will Try And Fulfill My Fathers Dream Now,' Bigg Boss 10 Winner Manveer Gurjar Reveals Future Plans Family time.. after so long 3months of silence thanku so much for supporting me keep supporting #manveergurjar #banij #rohanmehra #lopamudraraut #nitibhakaul #biggboss10 A photo posted by Manveer Gujjar (@manveergujjar_offical) on Jan 31, 2017 at 6:40pm PST A media report quoted the actor saying, "I will try and fulfill my fathers dream now, but will not go anywhere without my family. They will have to move to Mumbai with me, or else I will stay in Delhi and try my hand at acting from there. I am not an actor. But if I get desi guy type roles, which suit my personality, I will definitely give it a shot. But Im not interested in doing just about anything." 4. Next Up On 'The Koffee With Karan' Couch, Rangoon co-stars Saif Ali Khan And Kangana Ranaut An Indian express report claims that Saif Ali Khan will make an appearance with his Rangoon co-star Kangana Ranaut on the next episode of Koffee With Karan. The report also claims that both the stars will be shooting for their episode on 3 February, while the episode will be aired a week prior to the release of Rangoon. 5. Voicing His Support For Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shah Rukh Reminds Us Of One Very Important Fact BCCL Citing 'discussions' as the only plausible means to sort issues out, Shah Rukh said art and creativity should initiate conversations. An ANI report quotes the actor as saying, "As far as art and creativity are concerned, everybody wants to do something new, say something new. Art should start conversations, discussions. A person might like a painting or a poem. Another person might not. So, it should be a discussion. And a discussion should be an exchange of knowledge. If anybody should have a disagreement or an issue with a form of art, they should sit down and have a discussion. There are no other means that's plausible to sort issues out." Netflix and chill just got a whole lot meta. By hacking a Muse headband, which is a brain activity detector, Netflix engineers developed a unique way for any wearer of the headband to scroll through Netflixs directory, select a title and play it -- by merely thinking about it. The Muse-Netflix headband cleverly titled Mindflix was showcased at Netflixs recent Hack Day event, where Netflix employees are encouraged to present the next big idea for the company to chase. The Mindflix headband isnt flawless, but for a hacked device its limited success was promising enough to demonstrate the possibilities of controlling Netflix simply with the users mind power -- come to think of it, the Mindflix headband is the ultimate lazy binge-watching Netflix accompaniment. The Mindflix headband works by reading brain activity and using that data to feed it into a predetermined list of functions applicable for Netflix. As we can see in the video above, Mindflix wearers can not only move their heads to navigate screens and menus, but they can also start a show by simply thinking of "Play". Woah! While theres no word if this Mindflix headband is the basis for a serious product in the future, its still a neat idea for Netflix to explore, because it blends in well with its mantra of chilling. The Muse Headband reads electrical brain activity through electroencephalography waves We have just two issues with the idea. No one in the history of headbands -- be it Muse, VR goggles, Google Glass, etc -- has ever looked cool wearing one. Also, what happens when a Mindflix users thoughts go astray? What if they look at a steamy Netflix show poster and start to think of porn? What happens then? Does the system malfunction and shut down follow the embarrassment? How do you reign in the wearers thought? Too many questions, very few answers... There are a number of contesting stories about Rani Padmini. While on the one hand, the Rajput community maintains the sanctity of everything related to her, historians often say that her life was nothing but a poet's imagination. Wikipedia Commons Padmavat, a poem in Awadhi was written 1540, more than two hundred years after Khiljis death (1316). Before Padmavat, none of the historical annals, whether the annals of Rajput history or the Islamic rulers history in India had the mention of Padmavati or any figure like her. The Rajasthani folklore songs about Padmavati are believed to be derived from the 16th Century 'Gora Badal Padmini Chaupai', a Rajput adaption of the Padmavat which presented it as a true tale. Read more: Rani Padminis Life Has Been Shown In A Wrong Manner In Padmavati, Claims Queens Descendant As the debate whether Rani Padmavati ever existed or she was just the imagination of Mallik Muhammed Jayasi - who wrote Padmavat an epic poem about the siege of Chittor by Delhi Sultan Allauddin Khilji in 1303 - continues, lets us take a look at some of the lesser known things about her. 1. Padmavati was a Sri Lankan The Flowers of Indus Valley The poem Padmavat, begins with a fanciful description of the kingdom of Simhala-dvipa, where a princess named Padmani lived. Simhala (Sinhala)-dvipa falls in the Ceylon of yesteryears and present day Sri Lanka. Padamavati, according to Jayasi, was a perfect woman whose beauty was such that even goddess would envy of. Read more: Besides Padmavati, Here Are 9 Other Beliefs About Rajput Pride We All Have Grown Up With 2. Rani Padmavati had a talking parrot Jayasi writes that Padmavati had a talking parrot named Hira-mani who was one of the closest confidantes of the princess. Not only Jayasis Padamvat, but many epics or love poems, including Miltons Paradise Lost and the Arab poem of Hateem Tai have shown animals or birds speaking the language of the main characters. Hira-mani narrated Padmavati's beauty to Chittor King, Ratan Singh. Being completely mesmerised by Hira-manis account of Padmini, the king longed to marry the princess and managed to do so after a long series of dramatic battles and adventurous trials. 3. King Rana Ratan Singh went to Simhal-dvipa and won her Padmavat explains at length that how Rana Ratan Singh, who might not have known about the existence of Simhala-dvipa before the parrot told him went to participate in Swayamvar of Princess Padmavati. There he defeated many princess and kings who also sought Padmavati hands on several competitions and won the hand of Padmavati. 4. Raghav Chaitanya, the sorcerer who instigated Khilji Raghav Chaitanya served in Rana Ratans Singhs court as Raj Purohit. But he was a sorcerer in real who had a great hold on black magic. After Ratan Singh came to know about his reality, he banished Raghav after insulting him. To avenge his insult, Raghav reached Delhi and told Alauddin Khilji about the beauty of Rani Padmini. Initially, Khilji didnt buy his story as he had plenty of women already in his harem. But the poetic description of Padminis as the most beautiful forced Khilji to think otherwise and he, according to Jayasi, thought of attacking Chittor. 5. Padmavati wasnt the only reason behind Khilji attacking Chittor A 1990s documentary serial, Bharat, Ek Khoj talks about five ratnas at length. The episode is loosely based on Khilji siege of Chittor to get Padmavati as told by Jayasi in Padmavat. These five ratnas were: A Swan who could sing poems, a gem filled with nectar, a stone called Paras which could turn anything into gold, one hunter named Shardul who could kill any animal at kings behest and one large yet royal bird Lagna who could kill small animals and birds with ease. 6. King Rawal Ratan Singh died fighting another Rajput king Jayasi's Padmavat also says that King Rawal Ratan Singh didn't die fighting Allauddin. He died fighting Kumbalner King Devpal who was also pursuing Padmavati. read more: It Took 200 Craftsmen, 600 Days & 400 Kg Of Gold To Create Deepika's Jewelry For 'Padmavati'! Following up on US President Donald Trump's pledge to put America first and increasing oversight of H-1B visas, which are central to the business models of the Indian IT industry, a legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives mandating that the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders should be doubled. This is meant as a disincentive to hire foreign workers. Harmeet Dhillon, a noted Republican National Convention committeewoman from California spoke to Rohit E David on what changing US policies would mean for Indian workers, China and the changing global power system: Reuters The US is moving to change its H-1B visa norms, which will impact the entire outsourcing model of India's IT industry. Your views. The president does not generally unilaterally make policies and change the law. President Barack Obama's frequent habit of issuing executive orders was an anomaly that we do not expect to see repeated with President Donald Trump. So our new president will have to work hand in hand with Congress to change this and other laws. Some of the changes proposed to the H-1B worker programme include increasing the prevailing wage for such workers, which will only benefit them while making American workers more competitive for similar jobs.The demand is so high for skilled tech workers that I would still expect o see similar numbers come to the US from India, only at higher wages. Every country puts its own workers first, and America should be no exception. Reuters China's President Xi Jinping cautioned against a trade war in his Davos speech. Isn't that what President Trump is threatening ? China has benefitted from lax enforcement of existing legislation and agreements it has agreed to, some of which include sanctions for failure to honour these agreements.China can avoid a trade war by its own actions - honouring its agreements and honouring existing laws by not dumping on our markets, not violating international agreements. Whether or not there are sanctions, is entirely in China's hands. Won't a US-China trade conflict be harmful to global trade? Our president's first goal needs to be protecting American trade and American interests, and the baseline for that is to insist on the enforcement and honouring of existing laws.We cannot continue to allow foreign countries to cheat on trade agreements, to copy our products with impunity, break the law, and benefit their own economies at the expense of American markets. We are entitled to insist on a level playing field. BCCL Trump has moved to put curbs on immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim countries. What impact will his tough attitude to immigrants have on the immigrant population in the US? Ours is a nation of immigrants - legal and illegal. I am a proud immigrant and United States citizen. A country that cannot control its own borders, is no longer a nation, but rather just an exploited thoroughfare.India carefully controls its borders. Proper border enforcement will stem the influx of illegal - not legal - immigrants, as well as the drug crime, human trafficking, and substantial welfare burdens imposed by many in these undocumented populations. Reuters Will we see Trump becoming flexible now that he is in office? Trump has shown his ability to change his mind on issues when persuaded that a prior viewpoint was incorrect or inconsistent with other goals. I fully expect that he will do the same as president. What are some of the major steps you expect Trump to focus on immediately? We expect to see him, in conjunction with Congress, take immediate action on immigration (deportation of illegal alien criminals, border enforcement, crackdowns on sanctuary cities that flout federal law); work to repeal and replace Obamacare; institute tax reform for businesses and individuals to stimulate jobs growth and GDP; and undertake to identify and eliminate job-killing. New Pentagon chief James Mattis agreed in a telephone call with his Saudi counterpart to oppose Iranian "interventions" in the Middle East, Saudi state media reported on Wednesday. Mattis and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed "their full rejection of the suspicious activities and interventions by the Iranian regime and its agents", the Saudi Press Agency said. The two ministers spoke on Tuesday. Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia regularly accuses Shia Iran of interference in the region, while some of President Donald Trump's picks for cabinet have adopted an anti-Iran stance. Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, has described Iran as "the biggest destabilising force in the Middle East". Trump has opposed an July 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran that saw the lifting of international sanctions in exchange for guarantees that it will not pursue a nuclear weapons capability. On Sunday, the White House said Trump and King Salman, Prince Mohammed's father, agreed on "rigorously" enforcing the Iran deal. Also during Tuesday's call, Prince Mohammed said he "looked forward to working together to serve the interests of both countries and the fight against terrorism," SPA said. It is the latest hopeful comment issued by the longtime US ally about the administration of Trump, who took office on January 20. Prince Mohammed, one of the most powerful figures in Saudi Arabia, "underscored the US secretary of defence's experience in the region", SPA said. Mattis, 66, commanded a Marine battalion during the First Gulf War and a division in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2010, he became head of US Central Command which covers the Middle East and Afghanistan. The United States and Saudi Arabia have a decades-old relationship based on the exchange of American security for Saudi oil. But ties between Riyadh and Washington became increasingly frayed during the administration of president Barack Obama. Saudi leaders felt Obama was reluctant to get involved in the civil war in Syria and was tilting towards its rival Iran. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has expressed optimism that the Trump administration will be more engaged in the region, particularly in containing Iran. Saudi Arabia is part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria, while US forces provide aerial refuelling and intelligence support to Saudi military operations against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen. Search Keywords: Short link: Prime Minister Narendra Modis much-anticipated visit to Israel could take place in mid-2017 in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, as the two countries mark 25 years of their diplomatic ties. BCCL Indias Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told news portal Ynet about the visit and mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel, which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under Make in India initiative. Informed sources told PTI the dates for Modis visit have not been finalised but it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017. Modis visit is being discussed amid talks of a close chemistry between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. PTI India-Israel ties have steadily progressed since the two countries established diplomatic relations in January 1992 but India has shied away from such high-level visits in the past. However, BJP-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to Israel. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejees invitation. It was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi, coming after a gap of almost 20 years. BCCL The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003, when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Yet, bilateral ties have been on an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. The two leaders have met twice on foreign soil on the sidelines of UN-related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. During their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015, Modi had told Netanyahu: I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened. The families of the 9/11 terrorist attack victims have strongly condemned Donald Trump's Muslim ban. They feel that the memory of those who were killed in the World Trade Centre attack should not be used to justify the Muslim ban on immigrants and refugees. getty "This is totally unacceptable," said John Sigmund, whose sister Johanna Sigmund was killed inside the Twin Towers in New York, in 2001. youtube The relatives of the victims also highlighted the fact that the terrorists behind the attack did not belong to any of the seven countries Trump has banned - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The families also believe that by banning immigrants and refugees, Trump is sowing mistrust among them and irrevocably hurting the refugees fleeing from war. getty Another relative of a 9/11 victim, Terry McGovern, "I am actually sickened by President Trump's use of 9/11 in this executive order. Don't use our loved ones, and specifically my mother, to turn away refugees." McGovern lost her mother in the attack. An Indian-origin woman travelling alone from Frankfurt to Paris faced humiliation after security asked her to squeeze her breast to prove she was lactating. asian age Gayathiri Bose, 33, from Singapore is now considering file a lawsuit. She told BBC airport security became suspicious when they saw her carrying a breast pump but no baby. On January 26, she was stopped and checked after her breast pump passed through the X-ray machine. A female officer took her to a room for questioning and according to Gayathiri, the officer spoke to her in an incredulous tone. The mother of two told the BBC, She asked me to open up my blouse and show her my breast. She then asked how come I didn't have anything attached to my breast, if I was lactating and expressing breast milk. CNN/representational image And I said, there is no such thing that is [permanently] attached, we usually place the pump to our nipple and the machine does the job. She wanted me to show her by hand-expressing a little. Gayathiris passport was ultimately given back to her and she was let go but remains terribly upset. She added, The officer just said, 'OK, it is over now, please go.' She was totally nonchalant, she didn't seem very remorseful or empathetic. A Frankfurt airport spokesman affirmed that Gayathiri was stopped but denied that she was asked to squeeze her breast. Cover images are for representational purposes only. Indonesias Muslim clerical council is going to issue a fatwa declaring the dissemination of fake information as un-Islamic. Representational image/Reuters The south-east Asian country has both the largest Muslim population and the highest number of Facebook and Twitter users. Leaders are concerned that fake news is causing a strain between different ethnic and religious groups. Maaruf Amin, chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council, said, We will issue it as soon as possible, because the situation is worrying. "Hopefully, at least Muslims won't be involved anymore in hoaxes." It must be noted that fatwas are not legally binding. Reuters The countrys President, Joko Widodo, has on many different occasions urged people to use social media for the good instead of using the platform to spread fake news. He even called executives from Facebook to help solve this problem. It could only be seen as the biggest irony of our times because when many of the US citizens are opposing ban on immigrants from Middle East, most of the rich Gulf monarchies have remained tight-lipped on the issue. According to a recent survey held by Reuters, only one-third of American people believe that US President Donald Trumps ban makes them feel safer. Reuters The poll said around 31 per cent felt the ban made them feel safer, 26 per cent said it made them feel less safe, 33 per cent said it wouldnt make any difference and the rest said they werent sure. Reuters When Trump penned the strokes of his signature on that executive order, he placed a ban on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees from entering America. In a statement following the ban, he said, This is not about religion. This is about terror and keeping our country safe. There has been conspicuous silence on the matter from the leaders of some Muslim-majority countries, which includes Saudi Arabia and Jordan. While these two countries have kept mum, Dubais head of security, Dhahi Khalfan Tamim has not only supported Trumps action but also called people belonging to list of banned nations, undeveloped. UAE interact He said, It is not necessary for America to accept underdeveloped people. It has accepted enough. Unproductive groups do not deserve to be in America. Iran, however, has blatantly condemned the issuing of this order by US President and said the ban is a great gift to extremists. #MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.1/7 Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 28, 2017 Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks, he said in a statement. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, Today is not the time to erect walls between nations. They have forgotten that the Berlin wall fell years ago." Mimicking the silence of Saudi Arabia, Jordans leader has also kept quiet but Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj, has expressed himself through cartoons. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Wednesday for Syria's return to the Arab League, saying its membership would allow the organisation to help find a political solution to the country's conflict. "The League could play a more important, more effective role if the Syrian government was part of the organisation," Lavrov, whose country is a key ally of the Damascus regime and also a broker in peace efforts, told a press conference in the Emirati capital. He said Syria was a "legitimate" member of the United Nations and yet "cannot take part in discussions inside the Arab League". "This does not help our joint (peace) efforts," said Lavrov. But Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, speaking at the same press conference, ruled out an early return of Syria to the Cairo-based organisation. Any decision was up to the League's 21 other members, he said, adding that the issue was not on the current agenda and would only be raised when "a political settlement" was in sight for Syria's almost six-year-old civil war. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership at the end of 2011 following months of brutal repression of anti-regime demonstrations and an opposition movement supported by Gulf monarchies. Turning to new US President Donald Trump's proposal of establishing safe zones for refugees in Syria and Yemen, another war-torn Arab nation, Lavrov expressed scepticism. "The Trump administration still has to work out a concrete approach. The idea of safe zones was studied at the onset of the Syrian crisis, something that would reproduce the sad experience of Libya," he said. "Everyone understood this when Libya was destroyed," the Russian foreign minister said. But Lavrov said he remained convinced that Russia could "re-establish a complete and regular dialogue with the United States to lead to pragmatic results towards settling the situation in Syria, Libya and Yemen". He said such cooperation would "not be dictated by the ideology of democratisation for example", referring to the role of past US administrations in the overthrow of dictators such as Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Search Keywords: Short link: Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. An administrative first instance court in Athens on Wednesday ruled that the continued detention of eight Turkish servicemen, who have requested asylum in the country, is legal, essentially approving of a recent decision by law enforcement authorities to extend their remand. Fighting between Yemeni government forces and rebels has trapped tens of thousands of civilians in and around the port town of Mokha, where over 30 fighters were killed Wednesday, residents and the UN said. "We fear the (Shia) Houthi (rebel) snipers who have taken up positions on rooftops but also the firing from the other (government) side," said Majed Mukaibar, a 32-year-old fisherman and father in the Red Sea town of southwest Yemen. Ibrahim Saleh, a tradesman who works in southern Yemen's main city of Aden, told AFP that he has been trying since last week to evacuate his family from Mokha but has been thwarted by incessant gunfire. The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, said in a statement released Tuesday that he was "extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of civilians" in Mokha and nearby Dhubab. "Information from the field indicates that military operations in the coastal region have forced most residents of Dhubab to flee the area," he said. McGoldrick said "an estimated 20,000-30,000 people, almost one third of the population, are trapped in the town (of Mokha) and require immediate protection and relief assistance". Constant air strikes, shelling and sniper fire around the town had "killed and injured scores of civilians and have ground most services to a halt", including water supplies. The UN official appealed for a halt to fighting "to facilitate the delivery of assistance to Mokha and enable the free movement of civilians". Military and medical sources said 25 rebels and six soldiers on the government side, which is being supported by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, were killed in the latest clashes on Wednesday for control of Mokha. Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have been battling on three fronts but so far failed to penetrate the centre of Mokha, according to residents and military sources. Before government forces launched a major offensive on January 7, Houthi rebels controlled virtually all of Yemen's 450-kilometre (280-mile) Red Sea coastline. Soldiers have since thrust north from the Bab al-Mandab strait where the Red Sea joins the Indian Ocean, overrunning Dhubab district and entering the historic port of Mokha in their biggest advance in months. Conflict in Yemen escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched air raids against the Houthi rebels, who had taken over the capital and seized swathes of the country's centre and north. The war has cost more than 7,400 lives in the past two years, according to the UN's World Health Organisation. Search Keywords: Short link: Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has called on those wishing President Muhamamdu Buhari dead to go and confront God. He stated this Monday night when he paid a solidarity visit to the Acting president, Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa, Abuja. Ortom is the first governor to publicly declare his support to the Acting President in a manner so unusual since President Buhari jetted out on January 19, 2017 for holiday. While condemning the rumored death of president Buhari, Ortom also believed it was the Will of God for the president to be in charge of Nigerias affairs at this time. He said: Well, today is to pay solidarity to the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to pledge my loyalty and best wishes to him and to wish Mr. President, who is on vacation, good health and safe return back to continue to lead us. And we pray that God will continue to help this administration that came at a time that Nigeria is passing through recession occasioned by bad leadership by past administration. And to say that those that are wishing Mr. President death should go and confront God who brought Mr. President to be President of Nigeria. It wasnt his making. Source: Metro Naija While speaking at a stakeholders meeting with registrars and pro-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has made some revelations on students seeking admissions. The Federal Government says it has henceforth banned the admission of students who do not have farming interests into its Universities of Agriculture. Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this at a stakeholders meeting with registrars and pro-Chancellors of the universities in Abuja on Tuesday. He said the decision was to reposition the institutions with a view to involving youths in agriculture, training them to proffer solutions to the multi-faceted problems in the sector. The minister, who expressed regrets that non-agriculture-based courses like engineering was being thought in the schools, directed that only agriculture-related disciplines be thought. Ogbeh said the Federal Governments decision to relocate its three Universities of Agriculture from the Federal Ministry of Education to Agriculture, was to refocus the schools as globally acclaimed citadels to move the agriculture sector forward. He assured the universities that the government would actively support them by providing funds and grants to assist in research to move the agriculture sector forward. The domiciliation of the universities in this ministry is a commendable effort by the Federal Government based on sound reasoning and logic. Your return will effectively help us to reposition the three universities of agriculture as centres of excellence for the rapid development of the agriculture sector. There is no place where the competence and capacity to drive agriculture resides outside the Universities of Agriculture. We need to achieve a hunger-free Nigeria. Henceforth, students who are not interested in becoming farmers should be made to seek admission elsewhere. We are determined to offer you the necessary support for your transformation, for research for a healthier realm of discovery and self-actualisation, the minister said. Mr Mohammed Munguno, the Chairman, House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, advocated a bill to establish the National Universities Agricultural Commission to regulate operations of the Universities of Agriculture. He said that the National Assembly would amend their rules to make sure that the universities were adequately domiciled in the ministry for effective monitoring by the assembly. There is need either through an executive bill or bill to be sponsored by the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture for the establishment of the National Universities of Agricultural Commission. The commission will be charged with the responsibility of regulating the universities of agriculture to effectively perform their statutory roles in tandem with the laws establishing them, Munguno said. Prof. Anya O. Anya, the Pro-Chancellor of the Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia, applauded the Federal Government for the relocation. Anya, who raised concern over disconnect with the science and practice of agriculture in the country, expressed hope that the domiciliation of the universities in the ministry would reposition the sector. The Federal Government on Tuesday in Abuja appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), to suspend it 5-day warning strike. Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment made the appeal in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria. The minister noted that it was imperative for the union to suspend the strike in the interest of the nation and the students. According to him, the Federal Government is ready and willing to fully dialogue with the members of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). The union had declared its intention to embark on a 5day warning strike, effective from Jan. 31, 2017. Government will open an unhindered channel of communication with all stakeholders and shall maintain this. Moreover, the Federal Ministry of Education has been discussing issues with ASUP on the concerns raised. Therefore, it is important for Trade Unions to embrace social dialogue in the pursuit and attainment of the economic and social interests of their members anchored on equity, natural justice and agreed procedures I wish to remind the Trade Unions that there is nothing like a Warning Strike in our National Industrial Relations System (NIRS), he said. Ngige added that a strike is a strike and is subject to all the rules governing strike in the world of work. The minister, however, noted that Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act, CAP. T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004, would be applied regarding the law of No Work No Pay. He said this includes workers and employees notwithstanding any other circumstances in any section of the Act. The minister, therefore, appealed to the trade unions to embrace dialogue as the Federal Government is fully committed to peaceful resolution of all the issues at stake The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, on Wednesday said Federal Government had assured of full settlement of all debts owed on importation of petroleum products. The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Obafemi Olawore, told the reporters in Lagos on Wednesday that the government had demonstrated positive disposition to defray the N660 billion owed to oil marketers. Mr. Olawore said that government and MOMAN officials had been holding meetings on how to reconcile the debt figure to enable payment to be made, adding that solution was in sight. He lauded the government for convening the stakeholders forum to discuss pertinent issues that would support effective distribution of petroleum products across the country. He said that the meeting considered various frameworks and options for the reconciliation and resolution of outstanding subsidy claims from previous years. Mr. Olawore added that the meeting also discussed foreign exchange differentials, delayed payments interest and bridging claims which were expected to boost and sustain the fuel supplies. The government has stressed the importance of continued private sector participation in the entire downstream sector value chain and as such, find lasting solution to the outstanding debt. Government is trying its best; we are going to give them full support. They have told us their challenges which we are aware of and they are making all effort to pay all outstanding debts. They have promised that at the end of the reconciliation everything will be settled, he said, adding that there were some areas where the marketers would pay some money to the government. He explained that the recent payment of N150 billion to the marketers through the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) was for bridging of products. According to Olawore, the N150 billion was money owed marketers on transportation of products from one destination to the other outside a particular region. He said that the debts comprised bridging arrangement, products importation arrangement and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) arrangement on cost of products. It will be recalled that on January 18, oil marketers appealed to the government to settle subsidy arrears of over N660 billion to enable them to strengthen their capacities for importation of petroleum products. However, on January 26, the government ordered immediate payment of N150 billion to independent oil marketers across the country. It was intended to check the threat to steady supply of the products Source: NAN Following a contract dispute with record label, 5-star music, Harrysong was arrested and detained by men of the Nigerian Police Force. 5-star music alleged that he had breached the terms of his contract and had withheld some money from the record label. However, sources now say the label executives are in a meeting with Harrysongs former management company and he will be released later today. He is expected to hold a press conference after his release and one of the conditions to releasing him from his contract is a public apology to 5-star music. Mixed reactions yesterday trailed the comment by Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha urging the South-East to wait till 2023 for the Presidency. Okorocha said the Presidency has been zoned to the North for two terms of eight years (2015-2023), hence, Ndigbo should exercise patience till 2023. His comment followed former President Olusegun Obasanjos advice that Ndigbo should go for the slot in 2019. Okorocha bared his mind on the Presidency when he visited Acting President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on Monday. Prominent Igbos took on the governor, some condemned the statement, while others saw nothing wrong in his opinion. Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Anambra State, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, said the position of the socio-cultural group would be unveiled by the National President, Chief John Nwodo on the issue. He said Okorocha was speaking for himself and not the entire opinion of Ndigbo, noting that Igbo presidency was overdue. For me, the Igbo presidency is overdue, Okorochas statement was his personal opinion. How were sure that 2023 will be guaranteed. I believed in the assertion of the former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that Igbos should position themselves for the presidency in 2019 and he gave reasons for his opinion. But a Board of Trustees member of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Remmy Ezeonwuka, supported Okorocha, saying President Muhammadu Buhari should be allowed to finish his second term then, an Igbo man should be the next President after him. Im supporting the idea of Rochas Okorocha that President Buhari be allowed to finish his second term. Then, an Igbo man should be the next president. A former Minister for Power and Steel, Chief Goddy Ogbaga, said Ndigbo will be ready to take a shot at the Presidency in 2019, describing Okorochas statement as anti-South-East. He said Ndigbo would be most honoured to take a shot at the presidency by coming together to form a formidable block that would enable them succeed in the project. Supporting Okorocha is the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu. Okechukwu backed the governor while addressing party faithful at the ongoing registration and revalidation of All Progressives Congress (APC) membership at Iwollo Oghe, Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State. He said Okorochas comment was strategic. President of Frank Worpet Inc, Prince Frank Okoye, in disagreeing with Okorocha, said: It is unfortunate that Obasanjo, who is from another tribe is encouraging Igbos for the Presidency in 2019, while Okorocha is talking about 2023. Okorocha has always been on his own. As an Igbo man and a governor, how can he be saying something like that. How many years after the war, Igbos have not had a shot at the presidency and he is now saying we should wait till 2023, he said. On his part, Chief Alphonsus E.Udeigbo, President-General of Aba Landlords Association, had said: I dont know the basis under which Okorocha is saying so, if it is as a result of an understanding the Igbos have with the North, one can say that it should be considered, but if it just for the Igbos to wait endlessly as we have been waiting since after the civil war, it does not worth it. Reacting, former Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly and APC chieftain, Stanley Ohajuruka, said: Okorochas call is a consensus position of the Igbos as it is, that we should support the second tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, so that by 2023, he will also support us. That will be a reciprocal gesture from the North, having given them all the support they needed from us as Igbo people in 2019. Meanwhile, the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) yesterday berated Okorocha. Speaking through its Founder, Evang. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, the IYM said the governor has not shown any evidence of good leadership. Leaders advance the wishes and the good of their people like Ojukwu, M.I. Okpara and Nnamdi Kalu. Leaders live in the heart of their people, nobody takes Okorocha serious in Igboland. Ndigbo, like 80 per cent of Nigerians, want to see a restructured Nigeria anchored on regional autonomy and true fiscal federation built on justice and equity, the group said. Source: TheSun A Nollywood actress has revealed her desire to have an affair with veteran actor, Pete Edochie, adding that she has been nurturing a passionate desire to bury herself in the arms of the iconic actor. Liberian-born Nollywood actress, Blessing Brown, has revealed that she is so much in love with legendary actor, Pete Edochie, as she described him as her dream husband. Blessing who has featured in over 10 Nigerian movies after she relocated to Nigeria 6 months ago, admitted that she has been longing to meet the veteran actor, adding that she has always admired him since she was a child, and appreciated everything about him both the way he talks, walks,and acts. While speaking in an exclusive interview with The Sun, Blessing stated that although Pete Edochie he is married, but she does not mind getting married to him and no one can take his place in her heart not even his son, Yul Edochie. The budding actress who revealed that in Liberia, Nigerian actors and actresses are held in high esteem and are seen as gods, said; Since I was a child, I have been crushing on him. I still look forward to seeing myself in the arms of Pete Edochie. I dont mind the fact that he is married; he is my dream husband. I like the way he talks, walks and acts. Nobody else can substitute him in my life right now. Not even his younger version, Yul Edochie; he doesnt entice me. All I want is Pete and not his sons or look alike! I love him regardless of his age. Older men make good husbands. Age is just a number. If I love a 70-year old man, I dont see why I shouldnt marry him. I dont have time for small boys still running around and wearing studs in their ears with lots of chains hanging around their necks. She also added that aside being old, her lover must be wealthy as well. Any man that wants to date or marry me must be tall. I cant date a short man because I will always be looking at him like he is my child. I want someone that I would look up to. He has to be rich and caring too. Handsomeness is an added advantage. On the reasons she came to Nigeria to pursue her acting career, Ms Brown said that back in her country, Nigerian actors were seen as gods and everyone looked forward to acting alongside them. In Liberia we see Nigerian actors as gods. That is why the likes of Frank Artus, Juliet Ibrahim, and Van Vicker among a host of others moved over to Nigeria. Now I am here and I look forward to taking over from Yvonne Nelson and Ini Edo among others, she stated. The residents of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, that has been severely affected by the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents on Wednesday came out in large numbers to celebrate the decimation of the terrorists. The people who are celebrating renewed security condition after suffering for years gathered at the Ramat Square with high military presence. Present at the event are, Major General Leo Irabor, Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole and other officers and men of the military, government officials, religious leaders, traditional heads, students, groups, traders and residents. An woman from Oregon, USA went to the emergency room after her pet ball python crawled into the hole in her ear. Ashley Glawe shared a photo of her pet ball python, Bart, dangling from her ear as she waited inside a emergency room. It all happened so fast that before I even knew what was going on it was already too late, Glawe said. Glawe said Bart was resting on her shoulder when he suddenly sprung toward her ear, and became trapped in the large hole created by her gauges. One of Glawes friends said doctors at the local hospital made a slight cut into her ear and used vaseline and a plastic tool to allow the snake to wriggle itself free, according to Fox News. Her ear was numbed before doctors attempted to pull the snake out. She experienced some pain, but the snake was unharmed. Italy's Muslim community signed a pact with the government Wednesday pledging to "reject all forms of violence and terrorism", with prayers in mosques to be held in Italian. "It's a very important document which concerns the present and future of our country through inter-religious dialogue, starting from a basic principle: We may have different religions... but we are all Italian," said Interior Minister Marco Minniti. He added: "One of the essential points is that all the signatories have committed to reject all forms of violence and terrorism." Only a handful of Italian residents are known to have joined militant groups abroad and the country is not seen as having a significant problem with homegrown Islamist militancy. But the case of suspected Berlin truck bomber Anis Amri, believed to have radicalised in a Sicilian jail, focused attention on the issue in December. Under the deal, community groups representing around 70 percent of Italy's Muslims have pledged to hold Friday prayers in their mosques in Italian, or at least have them translated. The Italian Islamic Confederation, one of the signatories, hailed it as a "historic step for the formation of an Italian Islam", representing "a community that is open and integrated". It added the pact was important "at a difficult time marked by Islamophobic prejudice and the myth of... the incompatibility of Western culture with the Islamic faith". Italy is home to an estimated one to two million Muslims, mostly from immigrant communities. "I think the equation of immigration and terrorism is a grave mistake, but we cannot say there is no link between integration and terrorism -- we have seen this since Charlie Hebdo," Minniti said in reference to the 2015 militant attack on the French satirical magazine. In largely Catholic Italy, other religious groups often find it difficult to make their voices heard, but Muslims face a particularly complicated relationship with authorities as there is no single body representing the faith. Search Keywords: Short link: In an effort to reduce the school dropout rate among young girls, South Africas KwaZulu-Natal province will give out free sanitary pads to girls on their periods. Millions of South Africas poorest female students miss school because many of them cannot afford to buy sanitary pads. 3,000 schools in the province will receive the free sanitary pads as a spokesperson said, We dont want aunties and other women to use these sanitary pads because they are there to help our female learners and to ensure that they dont have to miss classes because they cannot afford these pads. Well-meaning Nigerians have been called upon to help locate a missing teenager who disappeared after withdrawing N50,000 from her fathers account. A girl has gone missing after withdrawing money from her dads account. According to a Twitter user, the girl, identified as Latifat Ayodele went missing on the 28th of January 2017. She was said to have gone to Kola bus stop, Lagos State where she withdrew N50,000 before disappearing. Anyone with useful information is advised to contact the nearest police station or call 08078029214. For six hours, 19-year-old Rilwanu Akintunde was beaten, handcuffed and locked inside a teargased room for allegedly stealing N90,000. His torturers were his mother, Mrs. Akintunde, her brother Kayode and a policeman identified as Titus. Rilwanu alias Rado denied collecting the money said to belong to his mother, a hawker, but his attackers didnt believe him. Unable to bear the torture, the teenager passed out and was rushed to Richland Hospital, Arepo, where he was confirmed dead on Sunday evening. His torturers secretly buried him at his mothers site at Sotel, not knowing that their action would draw the wrath of the residents of Oriola Street, Ibafo and environs. The youths in the area went berserk after discovering that the money, for which Rilwanu was tortured to death, was later found in his mothers closet. Wielding cutlasses, bottles sticks and fire, the mob, it was gathered stormed Kayodes residence; chased all the tenants away and vandalized his properties. Inscriptions such as Rado was a good son born by a stupid mother were seen on the walls of the building whose roofs, doors and windows have been destroyed. When The Nation visited the Ogun communityTuesday, residents were clamouring for jungle justice to all the culprits. It was gathered that Kayode and his police friend Titus have since fled the neighbourhood, while the deceaseds mother and Kayodes wife were arrested by policemen from Ibafo Division, who visited the place Tuesday. According to residents, Rilwanus killers might have had another motive for their action because the teenager was neither a thief nor troublesome. His friends, it was gathered produced an obituary for him, which they pasted not far from the community mosque. The deceaseds wife, Damilola Owoigbe, who had their eight-month-old son on her arms, demanded justice against his killers. She said: I want all those responsible for my husbands death to be arrested and jailed for life. They killed him for nothing. Rado was never a thief. Everyone in Ibafo love him. He was a peaceful person. He was an apprentice at a tailoring shop because he wanted to make life better for us and for his two siblings. Their father is dead. Their mother sells bottled water in traffic. She was the one who went and told her brother on Sunday morning that Rilwanu stole her N90, 000. Then, her brother, Kayode sent his wife to call his police friend, Titus and they all tortured him to death. I was not there. I was in my mothers house. But I was told that the policeman brought handcuffs and teargas, which they used on him. I was also told that blood was all over his body. Now, I am confused because I dont know who would take care of our son. A source who refused to be named told The Nation that the said policeman works at Area G Command, Ogba, Lagos. Contacted, the Ogun command spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident, but said he was unaware if Titus was a policeman. He said: The information I got is that the woman, the boys stepfather and his friend tortured him to death. They said the woman complained that her N90,000 was missing and she accused her son. Then, she told the boys stepfather, who sent his wife to contact a friend of his. They all tortured the boy to death and secretly buried him. The woman later saw the money At the moment, the two men involved are on the run but the women have been arrested. They have been transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID). The Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu has ordered that the fleeing suspects be arrested. I am not aware that one of them is a policeman. But be assured that they will be fished out and dealt in accordance with the law. Source: The Nation Zimbabwes ruling party, ZANU-PF has called for donations of cows from citizens ahead of the 93rd birthday celebration of long time President, Robert Mugabe. The party, in an advertorial in the New Herald newspaper disclosed that 150 head of cow was needed to feed the Presidents visitors. Although donations are voluntary, large scale farmers in in Matabeleland South, where the celebrations will be held, must donate a cow to show appreciation for Mugabe. An excerpt of the ad reads, We have set a target to raise 150 cattle for the event. We are appealing to well-wishers to do so willingly and not to come again tomorrow and say we were forced. All A2 farmers who got offer letters must donate a beast each for this event and those that will fail we will take it that they dont appreciate what the president has done for them. I spent the end of last week at Monki Gras, a London developer conference focused on the craft of software development. It's a fascinating event, and this year focused on how to package software. Not surprising, many of the speakers talked about the role of containers in devops and continuous delivery. But there was a general misconception of Windows' support for containers, generally characterized as support for Docker running in Linux VMs. [ Dig into the the red-hot open source framework in InfoWorld's beginner's guide to Docker. Pick it up today! | From IDEs to test frameworks: Must-have devops tools for Windows admins. ] That's not true: Windows has its own container technologies, building on Docker but giving it a uniquely Microsoft spin. That's probably the source of the confusion, with Windows 10 adding support for a Linux subsystem and Microsoft adding Docker tools to Windows Server 2016 around the same time. Both are part of Microsoft's approach to cloud-native application development, which is a key element of its Azure platform going forward. Microsoft's commitment to containers, one of the more important cross-industry developments of the last few years, shouldn't be surprising. Perhaps best thought of as a way of encapsulating an entire user land of processes and namespaces to isolate it from other instances running on the same server, containers have rapidly become a key component of devops and continuous-integration implementations. Microsoft has been a quick adopter of these approaches internally, and as always, its tools reflect how Redmond is using software and how it builds applications. Understanding containers By separating the services an application uses from the services an OS needs, modern containers have become a powerful tool for packaging and deploying applications on servers. Containers offer portability among development, on-premises datacenters, and private, hybrid, and public clouds. Applications wrapped in a container are independent of the host OS, and they can run on any similar container host without changes. Wrapping an application in a container means that the application is easy to deploy alongside all the appropriate configuration files and dependencies: If a container runs on a development machine or passes all your integration tests, then it'll run on a server without any changes. You can change out a container for a new version without affecting the underlying OS, and you can move a container from server to server without affecting your code. It's the logical endpoint of a devops model, allowing you to deploy infrastructure and applications separately -- and manage them separately. Originally a mainframe technology, containers (or at least similar forms of namespace and process isolation) could be found in many Unix OSes, including Linux and Solaris. Inside Windows containers Now, with the release of Windows Server 2016, Windows has its own container technology. It's based around the popular open source Docker container service, but it adds support for using the PowerShell command line and for additional isolation with the combination of the thin container-focused Nano Server and Hyper-V Containers. Docker remains at the heart of Microsoft's container strategy. Its tools, like Swarm and Machine, are widely used, and its Data Center product can manage both Windows and Linux containers. You can even use Docker's client from the Bash shell that's part of Windows 10, installing it in the Windows subsystem for Linux. That approach does require you juggle certificates, so you may prefer to use Docker's Windows app as a development and basic management tool for both your Windows and Linux containers. Windows containers are, like many Windows Server features, a role that can be installed either via the familiar Windows features dialog or via PowerShell. Taking the PowerShell route makes the most sense because there's a OneGet PowerShell module that installs both the Windows containers feature and Docker, with only one reboot needed to get started. (You'll also need to enable Hyper-V virtualization if you want to use Hyper-V containers.) There's a surprising amount of enthusiasm for Windows containers from both developers and ops teams; Microsoft has reported more than 1 million downloads of the base Windows images from Docker's Hub container library since Windows Server 2016 went into general availability. Building and deploying containers on Windows Containers aren't only a server tool; the Professional and Enterprise versions of Windows 10 Anniversary Edition also support containers. You'll need to enable them from the Windows Features dialog, but once they're enabled you can install and manage Windows containers on a development PC using PowerShell. Because Windows 10 only supports Hyper-V containers, you'll need to install Hyper-V as well. Once the Windows containers have been enabled, you'll need to download and install the Docker Engine and Docker client, and install the base images you'll need to configure for your application. Microsoft's suggested base image for new-build Windows containers is Nano Server, its low-footprint cloud-focused server implementation. Nano Server makes a lot of sense as a container base: It's small and fast, with no UI, so it's quick to deploy and relatively secure. One important note: Although you can use it to host runtimes like Node.js, Nano Server is intended to host .Net Core applications, including ASP.Net Core, so you won't get all the .Net features you're used to. There's enough of a difference from the familiar Windows Server that it's perhaps best to think of Nano Server-hosted Windows containers as a tool for new applications rather than as a host for existing code. Those differences explain why many businesses are using Windows Server Core as a base image. Although it is larger and takes longer to deploy than Nano Server, Windows Server Core offers support for current Windows SDKs and a full .Net implementation. It's a lot easier to quickly move existing code to Server Core, giving you the option to, as Lead Program Manager for Windows Server and Hyper-V Containers Taylor Brown calls it, "lift and shift" from existing servers to containers, so they're deployable wherever you want. Once the application is in a container, developers can decompose it further; for example, moving API connectors to their own Nano Server-based containers to simplify application maintenance. Container support is being built into Windows tools at the very lowest level, with Windows containers now a deployment target for Visual Studio 2017. You can build and deliver applications as a container, ready for test. Making containers a simple mouse click away is an important step. With Windows Azure soon to support nested virtualization, the ability to add more isolation in the public cloud will help regulated industries justify a move to both containers and to the cloud. A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has arrived in Egypt to prepare for a review required before disbursing the second installment of a three-year $12-billion loan, sources at the Finance Ministry told Reuters on Tuesday. The IMF said earlier this month that Egypt was on track to receive the second tranche, expected to be $1.25 billion, pending a visit at the end of February to review progress on its economic reform programme. The IMF originally approved the loan, intended to jumpstart an economy battered by years of turmoil that have driven away investors and tourists, in November when it released the first $2.75 billion installment. "There are currently two delegations from the International Monetary Fund in Egypt. The first arrived on Sunday and will stay until February 9, and this is a delegation providing technical support and training in budget preparation and government programs," one of the sources said. "The second delegation arrived yesterday, Monday, and is staying two or three days to deal with procedures for the Fund's final review before the second tranche is received," the source added. The reforms include a raft of measures including loosening capital controls, ending energy subsidies, reforming public enterprises and overhauling monetary policy in a bid to restore economic stability and long-term growth. Search Keywords: Short link: A soon-to-be-published study finds no evidence that requiring companies to report earnings every quarter leads to short-term thinking, despite criticism of the practice. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, famed Wall Street lawyer Marty Lipton, and even former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton are among the high-profile critics of quarterly corporate earnings reports, which detractors contend lead companies to focus too much on the short-term. But a forthcoming report finds there is no evidence that quarterly study push company executives to think in terms of short-term profits at the expense of longer-term initiatives. Critics of so-called quarterly capitalism say it leads to companies failing to plan for the long-term giving short shrift to research and development, the building of new plants and factories and developing employees. These critics say a move to semi-annual reporting would lessen profit pressure from shareholders. Robert Pozen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former president of Fidelity Management and Research, will soon publish the results of his recent research, co-authored with Suresh Nallareddy and Shivaram Rajgopal, that disputes the notion that quarterly reporting leads to short-termism. The research will be published in an upcoming issue of the CFA Institute Financial Analysts Journal. Pozen, who is also a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and a former executive chairman of MFS Investment Management, saw what he calls a natural experiment on earnings in Europe. In 2007, the European Commission required public companies to report earnings on a quarterly basis, rather than semi-annually. In the U.K., the country Pozen studied, 515 companies started reporting earnings quarterly, joining 224 that had already been voluntarily providing this information to the market. The European Commission dropped the requirement in 2014. Pozen found that companies that started reporting earnings more frequently did not change the amount that they spent on capital expenditures, research and development, property, plants and equipment. Pozen studied the companies activities for three years after the change and then again after six years and found no statistically significant modifications to their long-term spending. There is so much clamor against quarterly reporting, as if that is the thing that is forcing companies to take a short-term approach and not a long-term one, says Pozen. We looked pretty hard, but couldnt find evidence of all these bad things that were supposed to happen because of the move from semi-annual to quarterly reporting. This is not to say that companies dont prioritize short-term profits at the expense of long-term goals, Pozen acknowledges. There is probably a legitimate short-term, long-term issue, but youre kidding yourself if you think youre going to solve it by letting companies extend reporting by three months, he adds. Pozen thinks the focus on quarterly reporting obscures more important steps that companies could take to promote long-term thinking. Among them: compensating executives based on the performance of the previous three years, rather than the most recent year, which is the tack taken by most companies. We did that at Fidelity and MFS. I figured anybody could be lucky for a year, but I wanted to see a longer term approach, he says. Its not easy, but it makes a big difference. The study also found that quarterly reporting was associated with an increase in analyst coverage, and more companies published more qualitative than quantitative reports and gave guidance about future company earnings or sales. At the same time, analyst forecasts of company earnings became more accurate. In 2014, when the quarterly requirement was dropped, less than 10 percent of companies stopped issuing quarterly reports by the end of 2015. Pozen and his co-authors also found that there was a general decline in the analyst coverage of stoppers versus companies continuing to report quarterly. In their legendary Daily Observations, Dalio and co-CIO Bob Prince write of fears over nationalism, protectionism and militarism under President Donald Trump. Ray Dalio, CEO and founder of Bridgewater Associates the worlds largest hedge fund has become the first major hedge fund manager to publically come out against President Donald Trumps recent immigration order. Trumps America First policy, his executive order on immigration, and trade protectionist views are evocative of the policies of populist governments in the 1930s, Dalio and co-CIO Bob Prince wrote in Bridgewater Associates Daily Observations note to clients on Tuesday. The note was first reported by Bloomberg. Dalios statement comes after Trump, in his first week in office, issued two controversial executive orders: to build a wall with Mexico that would likely be paid for with an import tax, and a travel ban on those coming into the US from seven mostly-Muslim countries. Nationalism, protectionism and militarism increase global tensions and the risks of conflict, the two wrote. For these reasons, while we remain open-minded, we are increasingly concerned about the emerging policies of the Trump administration. The 67-year-old hedge fund manager, whose economic treatises are read by central bankers and investors around the world, has gone back and forth on Trump. One week after Trumps election, Dalio wrote on his LinkedIn page that Donald Trump is moving forcefully to policies that put the stimulation of traditional domestic manufacturing above all else, that are far more pro-business. His initial post-election embrace of Trump was common among investors, who believed tax cuts and deregulation being proposed would be a boost to business and the economy. In December, as the stock market continued to advance, Dalio showed even more optimism, writing on LinkedIn that the Trump administration could have a much bigger impact on the US economy than one would calculate on the basis of changes in tax and spending policies alone because it could ignite animal spirits and attract productive capital. But Trumps tough talk on trade and protectionism had always been a concern, and Dalio, a longtime Republican, had been skeptical of Trump during primary season. But at an event for the David Lynch Foundation for Transcendental Meditation in late May, Dalio was asked what he thought of then-presumptive Republican presidential candidate Trump. In answering, according to an individual in attendance, he appeared annoyed. Why are you asking me this question? What is there to say about this guy? Hes an imbecile, he reportedly said. By mid-January, Dalio appeared to be reverting to his initial skepticism of Trump. Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said the rise of populism threatens multinational corporations and is the biggest force in the world today. Globalism is threatened, Dalio told Bloomberg Televisions Erik Schatzker. The multinational corporation is in jeopardy. Emerging countries are threatened. At the time, he said it was uncertain whether Trump is aggressive and thoughtful, or aggressive and reckless. The first week of Trumps presidency seems to have answered that question for the Bridgewater executives and reckless seems to have won out. On Tuesday, Dalio and Prince said the current investment environment is marked by exceptional uncertainty. While there is a lot of potential to improve fiscal policies and make beneficial structural reforms (to enhance the business friendly environment, reduce regulatory inefficiencies, etc.), there is also significant risk that his populist policies could hurt the world economy (and worse), they wrote. Fitzpatrick, one of the most high-profile women in the hedge fund industry, is taking one of the most high-profile jobs in asset management. Dawn Fitzpatrick, who headed up UBS Asset Managements OConnor hedge fund business, as well as the divisions global equities and mulitasset businesses, is leaving the Swiss bank to become chief investment officer for Soros Fund Management, George Soross $30 billion family office, according to an internal memo. Fitzpatrick had been a rising star at UBS Asset Management, taking over OConnor in 2013 and promoted from chief investment officer to her current role in November 2015. At the time, UBS Asset Management combined a number of operations under Fitzpatrick as its parent bank sought to cut costs and increase profits. UBS declined to comment on her departure. "After 25 years with the firm, Dawn Fitzpatrick has informed me of her decision to leave UBS to take up a role as CIO of the investment arm of George Soros' Open Society Foundations," wrote Ulrich Koerner, head of UBS's asset management, in a memo to employees. Koerner said in the memo that Fitzpatrick will remain with the firm until the end of March, and a successor will be announced at a later date. UBS, like other Swiss banks, has been under pressure from Swiss regulators as they saddled banks with tougher capital requirements and other rules. Fitzpatricks departure is a blow to UBS, which has recently lost a number of senior executives. Blake Moore, head of UBS Asset Managements Americas business, is leaving the firm early this year. Phil Casparius, head of retail distribution for the Americas; Curt Custard, head of global investment solutions; Ana-Ibis Seebrath, head of human resources for asset management; and Bob McGowan, head of third-party and intermediary distribution all left last year. Fitzpatrick will be the seventh CIO for Soros since April 2000. Scott Bessent, his CIO since 2011, left to form his own hedge fund. In April, two portfolio managers staged a team lift-out after a disagreement with Bessents successor, Ted Burdick. Burdick then left in August. Perhaps the best-known CIO for Soros was Stanely Druckenmiller, who quit in 2000 to form Duquesne Capital Management, which he shuttered in 2010. The 86-year-old Soros has had a tough year. He bet big against various stocks and also bought gold. His bearish outlook reportedly cost the firm $1 billion. Sorry, hedge funds and public equity managers: the KIA is focusing on infrastructure and technology this year. One of the worlds largest sovereign wealth funds has announced where its looking to find alpha in the coming year and its not in the public markets. In what is likely a calculated move to drum up deal flow, the $592 billion Kuwait Investment Authority has broken from its characteristic silence in recent weeks with a clear statement of intent. This week Anas Al Saleh, Kuwaits finance minister and the KIAs chairman, told Reuters the sovereign wealth fund plans to ramp up investment in infrastructure and pre-IPO technology companies in 2017. Like many asset allocators in recent years, the KIA the worlds fourth-biggest sovereign wealth fund, as ranked by the Sovereign Wealth Center has been expanding into private market investments and building its internal management capabilities to find yield and save on fees. In a Bloomberg television interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, KIAs managing director Bader Al Saad expressed frustration with returns in public markets and said he didnt think the KIA could repeat its returns for the last 10 years without plunging into unlisted investments. I have no choice, Al Saad said in the interview. The alpha is there. Three years ago the KIA established a $2 billion portfolio to make direct investments in venture capital, Al Saad stated, though he noted that the fund would not participate in initial fundraising rounds but would instead seek out later rounds of investing, after [the company raising money] stabilizes and has positive cash flow. Currently 1-2 percent of the KIAs assets are managed in-house, but Al Saad said he would like to see that grow to 7 or 8 percent (over $40 billion). The KIA has invested about $3 billion in infrastructure since it first tiptoed into the asset class three years ago, Al Saad said. Thats when KIA started to invest in infrastructure in the U.K., Spain, and Australia; it has since invested about $3 billion in projects including airports, seaports, and power distribution. While Al Saad is bullish on alternative investments, he has some bad news for hedge funds: The KIA is unlikely to increase its allocation to the asset class any time soon. I dont think there is big alpha in hedge funds, he said in the interview. President Donald Trumps proposed border adjustment isnt the only big tax risk right now. The entire global taxation system is in transition, and its not entirely clear how it will play out. But instead of just looking to Washington for clues, multinational corporations are also keeping a close eye on Brussels, where the European Commission has jumped into an ongoing reform process and in the process is making taxation a much larger risk than usual. Im hearing about tax on every earnings call, says Diane Jaffee, a senior portfolio manager at TCW Group. Tax is one of the top issues affecting stocks right now. Ordering Ireland to collect another $14 billion or so in taxes from Apple was not the first example, and probably wont be the last. The EC is the executive branch of the European Union. Before the 2016 Apple ruling, it ordered Starbucks and Fiat in 2015 to pay roughly $25 million more in taxes in 2015. Investigations into Luxembourgs tax deals with McDonalds, Amazon.com, and the French energy company Engie are also ongoing. These probes werent part of the plan: Global leaders picked other organizations to lead tax reform, and the ECs abrupt involvement is one reason why tax reform is suddenly controversial. States are now fighting each other over tax reform as well as clashing with international organizations they formally control. The tax reform narrative starts with the 200708 financial crisis, which sapped state revenues. World leaders agreed at a Group of 20 summit in 2012 to ask the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for a solution. A year later they approved the OECDs Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), a phased plan with future steps to come and open to any country that wanted to participate. One of two main outcomes so far is a commitment to stop offering tax incentives or customized deals to specific companies and instead competing for investment only by lowering headline rates. The second is that multinationals should pay taxes where they generate their profits or have real economic activity, rather than shifting income to holding companies in low-tax jurisdictions to reduce tax bills. That is what Apple was accused of doing in Ireland. The plan gives tax inspectors new leverage to make sure profit declarations are aligned to real economic activity. Starting with the current tax cycle, multinationals with annual revenue of 750 million euros ($807.79 million) or more must share far more information with tax inspectors than before a complete picture of global operations, rather than just a view within the borders of a particular country. If tax inspectors arent convinced companies are following the rules, they can use the extra data to start auditing. Multinationals dont like the new compliance burden, but the underlying concepts arent controversial. In Washington, for example, the tax reform mantra is Broaden the base, and lower the rate. And ending incentives and sweetheart deals is something the International Monetary Fund urges on countries that receive its technical advice. But politicians who approved the Action Plan havent stuck with the script. Some have introduced new tax policies that contradict its principles, such as the U.K.s version of Irelands low-tax regime for patents. After objections from other countries however, the U.K., Ireland, and others changed the rules to comply with the OECD plan. The EU joined the fray in 2013 with what it calls state aid investigations. There are just seven of them either completed or ongoing, but the impact has been significant enough to elicit a lengthy objection from former Treasury secretary Jack Lew to EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. The EU applies the OECDs new rules about profit shifting retroactively, and, as Lew wrote in his letter, all but two of the companies involved are American. The explanation for that traces back to the current U.S. tax code. Corporate profits formally generated and held outside the U.S. arent taxed until they are repatriated, which has led to an estimated $2.6 trillion in untaxed American income beyond the reach of the IRS. The EU went after Apples billions because the U.S. wasnt taking it, TCWs Jaffee says. The U.S. government can respond to the EU with tax reform of its own. Proposals from President Trump and Congress include a repatriation clause offering multinationals a one-time, low tax rate, which would take at least some of that income off the table. A common expectation is that companies will use that cash to finance a wave of share buybacks in 2017, because thats what happened the last time amnesty was offered, as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. But that offer expired after two years, and the next repatriation may not come with such a deadline. Companies could wait to find the most productive use of the funds in the U.S., says Cathy Koch, Americas tax policy leader for EY. That is, unless Brussels comes calling first. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm headquartered in Itasca, Ill., has announced the acquisition of Eagle Insurance Agency LLC (Eagle) in Syracuse, N.Y. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Formed in 2001, Eagle is a retail insurance broker and consultant providing a range of property/casualty coverages and services to risk management clients throughout New York and Massachusetts, with a focus on the healthcare, energy, technology and manufacturing industries. Founder Timothy George and his associates will continue to operate from their current location as a satellite of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.s Albany office under the direction of Douglas Brown, head of Gallaghers Northeastern retail property/casualty brokerage operations. Eagles demonstrated niche expertise, strong market relationships and team approach to client-service excellence will be great assets as we continue to expand our Gallagher footprint, said J. Patrick Gallagher Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., in a company press release. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has operations in 33 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. Source: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions New York A.J. Gallagher USI Insurance Services (USI), a local and national insurance brokerage and consulting firm headquartered in Valhalla, N.Y., has hired Christopher Callahan as vice president of the employee benefits practice for the Warwick, R.I., office. In his role at USI, Callahan will help clients develop competitive and cost effective benefit programs, including group medical, dental, life, disability, voluntary and wellness initiatives, for both fully-insured and self-funded arrangements. He also will be responsible for executive and strategic oversight of marketing processes and negotiations with carriers on behalf of his clients. Prior to USI, Callahan was an account executive and producer for Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage and Citizens Union Insurance Agency. He has a B.S. in marketing from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., and holds a CICS designation. Callahan is also a member of the Community Advisory Board and Young Leaders Circle for the United Way of Rhode Island. Source: USI Insurance Services The first tangible results of state voters decision to legalize marijuana are being felt as possession and home growth of marijuana becomes legal in Maine. Voters narrowly passed the ballot question in November, and the waiting period between the vote and legalization has expired. Contentious aspects linger, including what rules should govern businesses that will sell marijuana, such as retail stores and social clubs. The Legislature has been hammering out those details, and they will take months to fully craft, meaning it will be months before marijuana businesses open in the state. But its legal to smoke it as of Monday. Its also legal to gift it, grow it and possess up to 2.5 ounces of it. Its huge. No longer will we be punishing adults for using a safer substance than alcohol, said David Boyer, campaign manager for the ballot question. Were not making criminals out of thousands of Mainers who choose to use marijuana. The marijuana legalization vote was close, passing by only about 4,000 votes, and opponents of the spread of marijuana have vowed to continue to push for restrictions in the state. Legalization also sparked a row between legislators and Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Lawmakers on Jan. 26 unanimously approved legislation delaying the retail sale of marijuana until February 2018. But LePage at first declined to sign off on such a delay because of concerns he has about funding and oversight. He ended up signing it on Jan. 27. LePages signing of the bill also closed a loophole that could have allowed Mainers under 21 to possess pot. Cities and towns have also considered moratoriums on the establishment of marijuana businesses, and some have already approved such temporary bans. Many local officials have said they dont want to get into the business of issuing marijuana licenses until the state rules are firmly in place. Scott Gagnon, chairman of Mainers Protecting Our Youth and Communities, has said that legalization will bring a huge cultural change for Maine and that cities and towns are right to be cautious about whether they will allow sales within their borders. Massachusetts, California and Nevada also legalized recreational marijuana with a referendum last year. Maine also has a long-standing medical marijuana program, and supporters of recreational pot have vowed that broader legalization will not interfere with it. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Cannabis Maine The jury for the Berlinale Glashutte Original Documentary Award includes Iraqi filmmaker Samir. Two Arab films will also compete for the award This year, the Berlinale film festival has launched a new award, the Glashutte Original Documentary Award. The three-member jury designated to choose the winner consists of Mexican film critic Daniela Michel, American filmmaker Laura Poitras and Swiss-Iraqi screenwriter and director Samir. Born in Baghdad in 1955, Samir moved to Switzerland with his family at the age of seven. He went on to study at Zurich University of the Arts in the 1980s, where he trained to be a typesetter. It was then that he began working in cinema as cameraman, director and screenwriter. He has since created over 40 short and full length films, including his documentary Iraqi Odyssey which was screened in the Berlinale Panorama in 2015, and submitted by Switzerland for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The Glashutte Original Documentary Award is funded by watch manufacturer Glashutte Original, and is endowed to 50,000 Euros. Sixteen documentaries from the Competition, Berlinale Special, Panorama, Forum, Generation and Perspektive Deutsches Kino sections are competing for the award. Among them are two Arab films. The first is the French-Swiss-Palestinian co-production Istiyad Ashbah (Ghost Hunting), directed by Raed Andoni. The film follows a group of ex-prisoners from Israeli detention centres shooting a film within the film, in which they re-enact some of their experiences. Ghost Hunting is also taking part in the Panorama section of the festival. The second is the Moroccan/Qatari co-production Tigmi N Igren (House in the Fields). The film, which was directed by Tala Hadid, chronicles life in an isolated rural Amazigh (Berber) community in the High Atlas Mountain. It follows two villagers in particular, two teenage sisters, one of who must leave school in order to get married, and the other who dreams of becoming a judge. House in the Fields is taking part in the Forum section of the festival. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: RSA Insurance has made its first external investment in a fintech company, Pitpatpet Ltd., the Cambridge, England-based creator of the PitPat dog activity monitor and dog care intelligence data platform. PitPat attaches quickly and securely to a dogs collar where it has a battery life of over a year. Owners download the free iOS or Android app, and create a profile for their pet, based on the dogs age, breed and weight, explained London-based RSA. PitPat then suggests a daily activity goal to help owners keep their pet fit and healthy by making informed lifestyle choices, RSA added. Owners can view daily updates on their pets activity levels, noting how much walking, running, playing and resting theyve been doing and seeing a daily count of calories burned. The UK Kennel Club estimates between 30 percent 60 percent of Britains 8.5 million dogs are obese, with that figure rising annually, RSA noted. RSA said it insures more than one million cats and dogs in the UK making it the largest insurer of the UKs favorite household pets. The really clever element here is that owners can for the first time use real-time data to monitor how their pet is behaving and how that behavior might affect their health, explained Kenny Leitch, global connected insurance director, RSA. This information is designed to help owners make smart decisions to prevent disease. We want to help our customers give their dogs the best and healthiest life possible, he added. We have been looking for the right partner to work with us and our customers. PitPat offers us a powerful and practical way of generating lots of secure and robust data [for] about 200 breeds of dogs that is both incredibly easy for us and valuable for our customers, Leitch went on to say. Topics InsurTech Missouri consumers and small businesses received an additional $29 million from their insurance companies in 2016, exceeding the insurance departments previous record of $27.4 million set in 2014. The monies were returned as a result of the Consumer Affairs Divisions mediation work on complaints filed by consumers as well as the efforts of the Market Conduct Section that examines insurance company operations and practices to ensure compliance with Missouri insurance law. In 2016, the Consumer Affairs Division, which was established by the Missouri Constitution, handled approximately 37,000 consumer contacts and received 3,908 formal complaints. Health complaints were the largest portion of the complaints with 1,371. Those included complaints like an insurance company that had denied coverage for a medication to treat a chronic condition. The insurance company argued that a different medication should be prescribed, but that drug interfered with the consumers other prescribed medications. Because of the divisions intervention, the company conducted an additional review. The company overturned their original denial and provided coverage for the preferred drug, which resulted in a $74,797 recovery for the consumer. The departments Market Conduct Section had a number of actions focused on workers compensation insurance in 2016. Market Conduct found many instances where employers were overcharged for workers compensation insurance by insurance companies failing to give premium credits to employers that were owed and through the use of incorrect classification codes and experience modification factors. A comprehensive list of enforcement and market conduct actions taken by the department is available on the departments website. Source: Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration Topics Missouri The Missouri Supreme Court has denied Johnson & Johnsons bid to move out of a St. Louis state court thousands of lawsuits alleging the companys talc-based products can increase the risk of ovarian cancer. The state high court in late January rejected an appeal by J&J seeking to transfer most of the 2,500 lawsuits pending in state court in St. Louis to courts across the country where the plaintiffs are located. The plaintiffs are women and their families who claim studies show J&Js Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products increase the risk of ovarian cancer when used in the vaginal area. J&J has said more comprehensive studies show no such link. St. Louis has become the main destination for talc lawsuits nationally, and J&J has been hit with three straight jury verdicts there, totaling $195 million. The company had hoped to reverse that trend by changing the venues for the cases to potentially friendlier jurisdictions. In September, a state court judge in New Jersey, where J&J is based, dismissed two talc lawsuits against the company. J&J spokeswoman Carol Goodrich declined to comment on the Missouri Supreme Courts decision. The company had argued in court filings that plaintiffs attorneys tainted the St. Louis jury pool by spending nearly $10 million on television commercials in the last year, with a disproportionate amount running in St. Louis. Plaintiffs lawyers have denied the allegation. Ted Meadows, one of the plaintiffs lawyers, said in a statement that the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed plaintiffs right to file their claims in a single location. The next trial is slated to start on Feb. 6 in St. Louis. In that case, Nora Daniels of Columbia, Tennessee, alleges she used J&J Baby Powder for 36 years and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2013. Topics Lawsuits Missouri A long-awaited framework for allowing drone flights over people a key step in the growth of the industry has been put on hold because of security concerns, prompting fears that the standards will get caught up in the Trump administrations anti-regulatory push. The dreams of companies such as Amazon.com Inc. to deliver packages via drone or of mobile-phone companies to check their towers in urban areas with them depends on the Federal Aviation Administration crafting this new rule. The FAA failed to meet a promised deadline of issuing the rules by the end of 2016 as the agency encountered objections from law enforcement. Industry now may face further delay as President Donald Trump put a hold on all new regulations pending a review by the White House. There was a lot of frustration, Lisa Ellman, a lawyer at Hogan Lovells US LLP who co-directs the Commercial Drone Alliance, which represents companies including Time Warner Inc.s CNN cable network. Its counter intuitive to think that rules will create economic activity, but in this case it does. While business groups often oppose regulations because they impose what are seen as costs or burdensome requirements on companies, the drone industry has done the opposite. It broadly supports new regulations from the FAA. Without new regulations to expand how drones can be used, the industry cant grow and may lose its competitive edge to non-U.S. companies, they argue. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a trade show this month that the proposed rules release was postponed while officials worked with other agencies over issues related to law enforcement. Currently, almost all drone flights over peoples heads are prohibited because of fears that the craft arent reliable enough to ensure that they wont plummet into crowds and cause injuries. A regulation allowing flights over people is needed before they could be used for a wide range of commercial activities in populated areas. None of this makes any sense to me, said Michael Drobac, head of the Washington-based Small UAV Coalition, a drone advocacy group that includes Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Intel Corp. among its members. UAV refers to unmanned aerial vehicle. The FAA plans to release a proposed rule, which would would have given national security and law enforcement agencies a chance to raise their concerns before the rule became final, he said. Drone-advocacy groups have been in contact with officials associated with the Trump administration to urge them to move forward, Drobac and Ellman said. Regulations Welcomed The worlds largest drone manufacturer, Chinas SZ DJI Technology Co., believes new regulations are very welcome, Brendan Schulman, the companys vice president for policy and legal affairs in the U.S., said in an interview. While the proposed new regulations arent expected to immediately darken the skies with hovering drones, they would lay the ground work for expanded flights by companies like Amazon that are trying to perfect automated unmanned package delivery and other businesses such as utilities and the news media. An advisory panel of drone and aviation industry representatives last year recommended that the FAA adopt a tiered approach to unmanned flights over people. The group suggested creating a category of micro drones weighing no more than about a half pound (250 grams) that could fly near people because they were so light they couldnt harm anyone. Close Encounters Larger drones would be permitted over people under a variety of arrangements designed to ensure no one could be hurt, such as by setting impact standards, limiting how close they can come to crowds and ensuring reliability, the group recommended. Speaking Jan. 6 at the consumer electronics show CES 2017, the FAAs Huerta said security issues were chiefly the reason for the rules delay. As drone flights over people become more and more common place, imagine the challenge of a local police officer who is trying to determine which drones are properly there to photograph the festivities and which might be being operated by individuals with more nefarious purposes, he said. Working with other U.S. agencies to iron out these issues is taking time, he said. In addition, meetings with people in the unmanned industry had raised unspecified additional issues that needed ironing out, he said. The FAA is working as quickly as it can to get the rules published, Huerta says. The FAA didnt respond to requests for further comment this week. Related: Topics USA Legislation Aviation The second annual Insurance Careers Month kicks off today, Feb. 1, with organizers hoping to rally young insurance professionals around the world to share pride in their careers and stimulate interest in the industry among their peers. First organized in 2016, the objective of Insurance Careers Month is to encourage carriers, brokers, agents and industry associations to plan their own outreach to young people to help spread awareness of the diverse career options that insurance offers. Last years inaugural event saw hundreds of companies participate and the monthly observance has transitioned to a year-round campaign called the Insurance Careers Movement. This past December, Hamilton Chairman and CEO Brian Duperreault was joined by other industry CEOs in a virtual town hall in which they called on young professionals to take an active role in spreading the word to friends and relatives that insurance is the careers trifecta: stable, rewarding and limitless. Industry representatives from 10 countries joined the call, a development that Duperreault called unprecedented. According to organizers, close to 2,000 people took part in the webinar, with millennials and others logging in from the U.S., U.K., Turkey, Switzerland, Mexico, Ireland, India, France, Canada and Bermuda. Insurance Industry Rethinking Recruitment Strategies The Insurance Careers Movement has designated February as its second annual insurance careers month. Overall, the Insurance Careers Movement includes more than 600 insurance carriers, agents/brokers, trade associations and industry partners. A survey conducted among town hall participants found that 93 percent said they were proud to work in the insurance industry. Fifty seven percent of respondents cited lack of awareness and understanding as the main issue preventing high school and university students from considering insurance. Organizers of the Insurance Careers Movement also ran a contest among young insurance professionals, asking them to respond in 200 words or less to the question Why should other young professionals explore a career in insurance? The winners included: Ashley Fitzsimmons, a licensed agent and insurance specialist from Fitzsimmons Insurance Agency in Forest City, Pennsylvania, who stated: As a little kid, we dream about being firefighters, policemen, superheroes all occupations that help people. Protect people. Save people. Take a step back and look at insurance agents. We help. We protect. We save. We ARE superheroes. We are the superheroes putting a blanket over our clients shoulders as they stand outside their home after a fire. We are the superheroes helping them put their lives back together after a loss. This industry is so much more than writing policies. Dont get me wrong if you have passion and work hard, this can be a very lucrative industry financially. But the relationships I have gained both with clients and other young professionals in the world of insurance have proven to be priceless. You cant put a price on a sincere thank you from someone you helped. We may not look like your everyday superhero but were here. Ready to jump into action. Besides have you ever seen Batman and your agent in the same room? Thats what I thought Laura Peterson, marketing assistant with OneBeacon Government Risks in Parker, Colorado, who stated: Never in a million years did I think I would end up in the insurance industry. I had the misperception, like many, that insurance was boring. Yet, four years later, here I am. Why? Three words: stability, growth, opportunity. I, like many professionals in the industry, did not go to school with the intention of working in insurance. Because of that, every day is a new challenge. I am constantly learning new things, which is by far the most rewarding part of my career. I am challenged to lead new projects, understand the materials and topics, bring new ideas and be a part of the process. I am challenged daily to think like an owner and to do and be more. 50% of the industrys workforce is over 45 years of age. With that being said, in 5 to 10 years many of those people will be retiring, and who will take their place? The answer is me and you! Because of this, my career is more stable than most. There is more to insurance than you know. Take a chance; opportunity is knocking. Donovan Burgess, junior underwriter with XL Catlin in Bermuda, who stated: A career in insurance is the TOTAL PACKAGE! Its reputable, being a staple of the global economy, and its dynamic. You can easily find yourself dealing with the best companies in the world, exposed to international employment and networking opportunities, or providing a viable source of assistance after a catastrophic event. It offers a great work-life balance and provides abundant channels for growth. Its suitable for everyone. You can channel into the industry from almost any educational background, personality type, or prior career focus as it connects and incorporates an array of professions: actuaries, data analyst, accountants, relationship managers, software developers, lawyers, etc. This further fosters amazing collaboration opportunities and allows for the potential broadening of your own career prospective. Also, there are many senior insurance leaders who are passionate about developing the next generation of professionals. A career in insurance can be prosperous for you. Hamilton Insurance Group; MyPath, run by The Institutes; Valen Analytics; The Jacobson Group; InVEST; and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) have designated each February for a month-long focus on careers in insurance. The campaign promotes insurance as the career trifecta, a phrase chosen to capture three key attributes: its stable, its rewarding, and its limitless. Editors Note: Are you a young insurance professional? What are your thoughts about the career you have chosen? In what ways is your career stable, rewarding, and limitless? Share your views in the comments section today. Source: To learn more and get involved, visit insurancecareertrifecta. Related: Topics Agencies Talent Market The use of prescription drug coupon cards has been on the rise in response high prescription drug prices. The Louisiana Department of Insurance is offering guidance on these cards and also urging patients to always ask their pharmacist whether a coupon, insurance or cash will offer the most savings. There are two main types of coupon cards offered to patients. The first are copay cards that are issued by pharmaceutical companies for brand-name drugs. These copay cards are given to healthcare providers to distribute to patients. Pharmacies process patients insurance first and then treat the co-pay coupon as another form of payment. The second type of card is a savings card issued by a third party (not the drug manufacturer) and is different from the copay cards. In order to use this type of card, the consumer must be paying the cash price for the medicine and cannot also use their insurance coverage. In nearly every instance, a patient with health insurance will save money using their insurance coverage to pay for medication instead of a savings card. Also remember that if you have insurance and use a savings card instead, the money you spent will not count toward your insurance deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. High prescription drug prices are a real challenge nationally and while these savings cards may seem like a better deal, we advise patients to first ask their pharmacist whether using their insurance or prescription drug coupon card will result in a savings, said Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. I always advise consumers to shop around and ask questions when it comes to using their insurance and paying for prescription drugs is no exception. Commissioner Donelon urges consumers who feel uneasy about any insurance related transaction to call the Fraud Division of the Louisiana Department of Insurance at 225-342-4956 or 1-800-259-5300. Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance Topics Louisiana Drugs A Texas truck driver accused of causing a 2014 crash in Oklahoma that killed four college softball players has died by suicide at his home. The prosecutor in the Oklahoma case, Murray County District Attorney Craig Ladd, confirmed to The Oklahoman that 55-year-old Russell Staley died just days before a scheduled court hearing. Staley, of Saginaw, Texas, was headed north on Interstate 35 in Oklahoma at night on Sept. 26, 2014, when his 18-wheel tractor-trailer veered into a median and into the southbound lanes near Davis, Oklahoma. It crashed into a bus carrying 15 softball players from North Central Texas College. Tarrant County medical examiners office records show Staley died on Jan. 27 of a gunshot wound at his home north of Fort Worth, Texas. Staley was scheduled for trial in March on four counts of manslaughter in the deaths of the softball players. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Ronnie Hampton said Staley was driving alone on his way from North Texas to Oklahoma. He didnt have any freight aboard the tractor-trailer. Staley drove an estimated 950 feet through the median and off the highway before wrecking the trailer in the middle of several trees, National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Texas Personal Auto Oklahoma Two pedestrians were killed and seven others injured after police say a drunken driver whose blood-alcohol content was five times the legal limit lost control of his vehicle and plowed into a crowd standing near a food truck in a Kentucky parking lot. Louisville Metro police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley told news outlets that 37-year-old Chad Erdley was speeding when he struck a parked car and continued into the parking lot just before 1 a.m. Sunday, hitting nine people. Two unidentified pedestrians were pronounced dead at the scene. Seven others were hospitalized with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening. Police say Erdley had slurred speech, smelled of alcohol, and fell asleep several times after he was arrested. Court records show Erdleys blood-alcohol level after the crash was 0.40. Thats five times the legal limit of 0.08 in Kentucky. He is facing numerous charges including two counts of murder and seven counts of first-degree assault. Its unclear whether he has an attorney. Stephanie Roby lives nearby and was among the first to arrive at the scene and offer help to those who were injured. She said the crowd was standing at a taco truck, which shows up on the weekends for customers of the nightclubs La Movida and ODollys. They were trying to have a good night, have something to eat, and tragedy happened, she said. It was total chaos. Roby told reporters that injured people were lying everywhere. It was very, very traumatic, she said. An arrest citation says Erdley denied driving the car that plowed into the crowd, though he admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana on Saturday evening. Witnesses told police he was driving the vehicle. During an arraignment Monday, a judge set a $500,000 cash bond. Roby said she attempted to perform CPR on a man who later died and that 10 to 15 others also were giving CPR and calling first responders. I tried to help, she said. There were several other people that tried to help and Im so sorry that we could not save them. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Personal Auto Kentucky North Carolina has been officially awarded nearly $200 million from the federal government for Hurricane Matthew relief that Congress approved last month in a larger spending agreement. Gov. Roy Coopers office says the $198 million grant was awarded last week. Eighty percent of the money will go to four counties Robeson, Cumberland, Edgecombe and Wayne among the hardest hit during the October storm and historic flooding. The remaining money will be sent to more than 40 other counties. These recovery funds can be used to repair buildings and homes, provide financial help for homebuyers and build government infrastructure like streets and sewer systems. The congressional package was expected to bring more than $300 million to North Carolina. The legislature separately approved another $201 million in aid in December. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Hurricane North Carolina Obamacare looks like its going away. Until that happens, big health insurers arent sure what to do with it. Republicans and President Donald Trump havent given details on how theyll repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Uncertainty about the law, which covers millions of Americans, has left companies trying to figure out if theyre better off stuck in limbo or just quitting entirely. Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini warned Tuesday that the company wont sell Obamacare plans again in states where it has pulled out, and may continue shrinking its participation, given the unclear nature of where regulations headed. On Wednesday, Anthem Inc. said its ACA business is stabilizing, but its carefully watching Washington while developing 2018 plans. We will make the right decisions to protect the business, CEO Joseph Swedish told Wall Street analysts in a conference call. If we cant see stability going into 2018, with respect to either pricing, product, or the overall rules of engagement, then we will begin making some very conscious decisions with respect to extracting ourselves. Congressional Republicans face a dilemma, too. They want to paint Obamacare as collapsing to help justify its repeal. Yet they need to keep its markets humming this year, and probably into 2018, or take the blame for millions of people who might lose coverage. That will be the topic of hearings Wednesday in the Senate and Thursday in the House. Markets need clarity, Tennessees insurance regulator, Julie Mix McPeak, will tell the Senates health committee, according to prepared remarks provided before the hearing. If insurers dont get answers, some will quit the market, and Tennesseans could be left with nowhere to buy coverage, she says in her remarks. Mixed Signs Insurers also have their eyes on Trump for signs of whether his administration will stabilize markets or undermine them. So far, the record is mixed. Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to minimize Obamacares burdens, though its not clear what actions theyll take. And the Department of Health and Human Services briefly halted efforts to encourage people to sign up for ACA health plans, before resuming them. When the industrys main lobby group, Americas Health Insurance Plans, testifies Wednesday, itll propose quick actions to keep the laws markets working and lay out longer-term principles for a replacement, many of which align with Republican plans. And though CEO Marilyn Tavenner, a former top Obamacare official, will note the laws big expansion of insurance coverage, AHIP wont defend the ACA, according to prepared remarks. For now, AHIP wants to keep federal funds flowing, saying subsidies should continue along with promised government payments to health insurers. AHIP also wants an end to the ACAs health insurance tax and is asking for extra government funds to help cover the costs of caring for the sickest patients. Over the longer term -- AHIP says any transition will take at least 18 months -- the lobby group says policies that encourage people to stay insured can replace Obamacares oft-bashed requirement that people buy insurance. Its seeking more flexibility for states to determine which benefits are offered and how premiums are set. The group also backs tax credits, linked to income and perhaps age , to help individuals buy their plans. Any new coverage options will be meaningless if consumers cannot afford them, Tavenner said in prepared remarks. Those who live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to make ends meet should have more generous tax credits and be protected from excessive out-of-pocket costs. Some insurers, including Centene Corp., have fared well with Obamacare. CEO Michael Neidorff says the company will keep offering coverage, as long as the markets dont look markedly worse come September or October. Its business as usual, until we hear otherwise, he said. We just take calculated risks, and on this one, theyre not going to leave 20 million people uninsured. However, most of the industry will face challenges to stay in Obamacare marketplaces. Plans must be filed with state and federal officials starting in April. Republicans are saying their proposals for Obamacare replacements may come the same month, if not later, and insurers may not have the information they need to participate. Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, accused Republicans on Tuesday of sowing crippling doubts about the health law. They create a lack of confidence and then they point and say, See, the ACA is failing, Hoyer said. The chaos and uncertainty that this administration has created over the last 10 days has led to the very thing that they say is the problem. Replacement Plans Congressional Republicans have proposed four amendments to shore up Obamacare, which will be discussed at the Thursday hearing. One change would allow insurers to charge older people more while lowering costs for young people to buy plans. Another would tighten rules for buying coverage outside normal enrollment periods. This is a repair element, which provides some interim relief to the huge premium increases that insurance buyers have faced, said Representative Bill Flores, a Texas Republican who proposed one of the tweaks. These should become a permanent part of the replacement moving forward. Steve Beshear, the former Democratic governor of Kentucky, is playing the role of the ACAs defender at Wednesdays hearing. Beshear, who implemented the states Obamacare rollout and expansion of Medicaid, will put the stakes in stark terms. The ACA has saved lives, led millions to gain coverage, and benefited every American, according to his prepared remarks. Repeal without a broad, comprehensive replacement will cause millions to lose their insurance, and many will die. Egyptian film critic and author Samir Farid will be awarded the Berlinale Camera at this year's Berlinale Renowned Egyptian film critic, writer and film historian Samir Farid will be given the Berlinale Camera Award on 15 February at the yearly Berlin International Film Festival. The award is given to film institutions or figures that have significantly contributed to the festival or the industry. Farid is one of three people to be given the award this year, the other two being Hong Kong film distributor and producer Nansun Shi as well as Australian actor Geoffrey Rush The author and translator of over sixty books, Farid is widely recognised as one of the most prominent film personalities of the Arab world and has been contributing to the Berlinale as a film critic for decades. Born in 1943, Farid initially studied film at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts at the Academy of Arts in Cairo. He began his career working as a film critic for the Egyptian publication Al-Gomhoreya in 1965, continuing to work there for 38 years before moving on to Al-Masry Al-Youm in 2004. Farid also worked as a correspondent for Variety magazine during the 1980s. In the 1970s, he became a member of the International Federation of Film Critics. During this period, he co-founded a number of festivals and institutions, including the National Festival of Short and Documentary Films in 1970, the National Festival of Feature Films in 1971, as well as the Egyptian Film Critics Association in 1972. Throughout his life, Farid served as a jury member in many international festivals, including the Oberhausen Film Festival, the Torino Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival. His achievements and extensive contributions to the world of cinema were rewarded with the Cannes Film Festival Gold Medal in both 1997 and 2000, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Osians Cinefan Festival in New Delhi in 2012 and at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2013. Farid has also published a number of his works in Al-Ahram Weekly. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: What are the most popular retirement states to relocate to in the United States? Well, before we get to that question, let's look at some broader migration trends across the country. If you live in Vermont, Oregon, or Idaho, it's possible you've had to make room for more neighbors. These states were among the nation's top moving destinations overall, according to the 2021 United Van Lines' National Movers Study, which tracks state-to-state migration patterns over the previous year. In Vermont, which topped the list as the most popular moving destination of 2021 (the most recent available data, as of March 19, 2022), nearly 74% of moves in or out of the state were inbound. The Northeast continues to lose people. New Jersey had the greatest percentage of outbound moves for 2021 at almost 71%, and it was followed closely by midwestern state Illinois (67%). The 2021 survey marked the 45th year that United Van Lines released results tracking which states people moved to and from and their motivations for moving. "As the nations largest household goods mover, the data we collect is reflective of national migration trends," Melissa Sullivan, the company's director of marketing communications, said. Zooming in on the movers who are retired, the survey showed a trend toward retirees moving to the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West regions, as well as relocating to southern states. Key Takeaways Florida, South Carolina, and Arizona are the top three states people are retiring to. New Jersey had the greatest percentage of outbound moves last year at almost 71%. The Mountain West area is one of the most popular regions for retirees. Most Popular States to Retire To Below is a list of the top 10 states where retirement was cited as the main reason for the highest percentage of inbound moves: Florida (39%) South Carolina (37%) Arizona (36%) Delaware (34%) Idaho (29%) Nevada (29%) Wyoming (28%) Mississippi (28%) New Mexico (27%) Maine (27%) While the southern states of Florida and South Carolina represented the top two retirement relocation destinations, United Van Lines noted that the Mountain West was one of the top four popular regions for retirees to embrace. United Van Lines also noted that the popular retirement locations in the Western United States tend to offer a plethora of outdoor activities, along with art and educational opportunities, making them ideal for active retirees. The Bottom Line While these studies point to where retirees may be likely to move, it is worth noting that most people end up staying in place when they retire. Only 1.6% of retirees between the ages of 55 and 65 moved across state lines, according to an analysis of 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data by Richard W. Johnson, director of the Urban Institute's Program on Retirement Policy. The vast majority of retirees either stayed in their existing homes or made in-state moves. Those retirees who do venture out of their home states, often do so to settle in locations that have favorable taxes, better weather, and plenty of cultural and recreational opportunities. Top News - Investor Idea A Boat-full of Potential - Renewed Interest in the Cruise Industry Bolsters Luxury Markets (OTC: MASN) (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) (NYSE: RCL) (NYSE: NCLH) Vancouver, Kelowna, Delta, BC - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering luxury goods and cruise ship stocks releases a special report featuring Maison Luxe, Inc. (OTC: MASN), a company that offers luxury retail consumer items. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents. Top Health and Wellness News - Investor Idea Health and Wellness Stock News - Endexx (OTCBB: EDXC) Secures $3.8M Order for Non-Nicotine Vape Product HYLA from Italy CAVE CREEK, Az. - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Endexx Corporation (OTCBB:EDXC), a provider of innovative, plant-based, and sustainable health and skincare products, today announces it has secured a new $3.8 million USD order for its newly acquired, non-nicotine based vape product, HYLA from customers in Italy. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire The run, which will start in Zamalek, comes within Egypt's efforts to mark World Cancer Day and raise awareness on the plight of cancer patients Marking World Cancer Day, Egypt will see runners take to the streets in the early hours of 3 February. Events and campaigns that focus on the multifaceted experience that Egyptian cancer patients and their relatives endure has become a tradition that began a few years ago and was an instant success, reaching more and more women, spreading awareness and shedding light on stories of bravery and hope along the journey of treatment. The main goal is to raise awareness on cancer around the world, inspiring people to become part of the movement to increase public awareness, build a community, and give voice to those who are fighting cancer and address the challenges they face. The run is hosted by the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt (BCFE) and Zamalek Runners in collaboration with the private sector pharmaceutical company Novartis. The gathering point will be in front of the Imperial Boat in Zamalek at 7:30 am. The run will start promptly at 8:00am. Cancer cases in Egypt, registered according to National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP), see an incidence of 166 cases for every 100,000 citizens. Liver cancer comes on top, at 23.8 percent, followed by breast cancer at 15.4 percent and bladder cancer at 6.9 percent. Search Keywords: Short link: Bravo Blog to dish on last week's episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Sheree Whitfield comments on Kenya Moore's shade about her fundraising and her friendship with Marlo Hampton. Check it out! Sheree Whitfield is taking to herto dish on last week's episode of. Sheree Whitfield comments on Kenya Moore's shade about her fundraising and her friendship with Marlo Hampton. Check it out! Sheree Whitfield: Marlo and I are friendly and have been for a quite some time now. Atlanta is a small city, and we run into each other often and speak to each other.SW: Marlo definitely has great taste and an eye for fashion, design, and is always on trend. You can definitely see throughout her time with some of the ladies she has definitely upgraded and inspired some of their style choices.SW: I'm proud of the funds that our booth raised for Phaedra's foundation. Kenya was so quick to diminish the effort of me and my family that day, and she contributed the least to the charity. Maybe if Kenya would have focused more on her booth instead of what She by Sheree was contributing, she would have been able to raise more for the city of Detroit (her home town). She could have saved some of the money she spent on piping and draping her booth and redirected her funds to what really matters: the charity. Sometimes less is MOORE, but then again we are talking about Kenya.What do you think about Sherees blog?airs Sunday nights at 8/7c only on Bravo. For International TV ListingsSource/Photo Credit: Bravo This season on, Sheree Whitfield and Kenya Moore have feuded over their homes, Chateau Sheree and Moore Manor. However, most recently the two reality stars had a heated discussion that involved allegations of being in abusive relationships and whether Kenya did anything to provoke then-boyfriend Matt Jordan, who has had a few outbursts this season.After that conversation aired on the Bravo hit reality series, Kenya headed to Instagram to say that Sheree used "#alternativefacts" during the argument, adding, "No woman should be blamed for a man being violent or accused of provoking a man." Now, Sheree is defending her comments regarding Moore's former romance."Now let's be clear, I said because she in this whole meeting [about Porsha's anger management said] that she's afraid of Porsha; she does provoke people. Kenya has provoked a lot of the ladies," Sheree told. "I'm not saying that she provoked Matt, but maybe you should worry about why he's breaking your windows instead of sitting here claiming that you're afraid of Porsha ... Kenya getting up from the table, following her you can't keep poking the bear. But on the Matt situation, now that has nothing to do with me saying she provoked him. I'm saying, 'You should find out why, but I do know in this group you have provoked a lot of people.'"Still, Sheree notes that abuse is not a topic that should be taken or discussed lightly. "You know you never want to see a woman go through abuse. I've been a victim to it and so many other women have, so even when she came to me [and said], 'Well, you've had someone beat you,' ... that was so inappropriate," she said. "It was inappropriate and it was selfish. And it was shows that she really has no compassion to say something like that, because women get abused all the time and that's nothing that you make fun of or say in a joking manner or try to hurt somebody with. Watching her and Matt, it was... I don't wish that on anyone."Source/Photo Credit: Bravo The Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has expressed the concern of the Irish people at Donald Trump's immigration controls in a meeting at the White House. Charlie Flanagan met the President's National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, as part of his three-day visit to the US. According to the Irish Times, the minister said he pointed out the "damaging consequences in humanitarian terms" of the executive order. Today, the minister is also scheduled to meet speaker of the House of Representative Paul Ryan, the most senior Republican in Capital Hill. He will also meet Nancy Pelosi for the Democrats. Other issues that are expected to be raised include the peace process, the case of the 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US and Irelands concerns about Brexit. Meanwhile, overnight, Donald Trump announced his nominee to fill a gap in the US Supreme Court. Larry Donnelly is a Law Lecturer at NUI Galway, and he says Neil Gorsuch is a conservative figure. At 49, he is the youngest nominee in 25 years and could help shape America's legal landscape for decades to come, and his appointment would restore the conservative five-to-four majority on the nine-seat court. Mr Donnelly said: "Make no mistake, this is one of the reasons why Donald Trump was able to capture the support of people on the right wing in the Republic Party and the evangelical movement. "It was because he pledged to them that very early on he would appoint very conservative judges, and certainly Neil Gorsuch fits that mould." By Sarah Slater An incident room has been set-up by gardai following a sexual assault on a woman in Dublin. Officers are seeking the public's assistance in relation to the assault which occurred at Bayview, in the Killiney/Shankhill south Co Dublin area on Monday night. The incident occurred at 17.45pm, but details are only now emerging. A man on his own approached a woman while walking in Bayview and viciously attacked her. It is understood the woman raised the alarm with passersby after the incident, and was immediately rushed to hospital. Gardai would not comment on whether the woman is still in hospital, but a source added: "The woman was badly shaken up after the sexual assault and required urgent treatment." A number of statements have been taken and a number of lines of inquiry are being conducted. CCTV footage from the area and house-to-house inquiries are being carried out. Gardai are asking any witnesses or persons with information to contact them at Shankill Station on 01-6665900 or the Garda Confidential Line on 18000-666-111. Caothairleach of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council Cllr Cormac Devlin said: This is the second serious incident in the Killiney area this year. I welcome the setting up of an incident room to investigate the attack. I would ask the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the Gardai. In light of these incidents, I have asked Council management to review lighting in the Killiney/Shankill area to ensure it is fit for purpose. I have also asked Garda management to step up patrols particularly mountain bike patrols around Killiney Hill and the adjacent DART stations. The most recent attack is similar to other similar incidents in the area which took place last year. It is understood gardai are investigating the possibility that there may be a link between four different sexual attacks on young women in south Dublin suburb - all carried out by a man acting alone. A further two instances of suspicious approaches were also reported. Sources revealed at the time that despite gardai receiving two varying descriptions of the alleged perpetrator, detectives are satisfied the same individual is behind all of the attacks. The first incident on December 2, 2015 happened close to Shankill Dart Station. The second was on January 3, last year at the entrance to the nearby Holly Park estate. Two further assaults were reported on February 9 and 10 last on Quinn's Road in Shankill, and Military Road near Killiney Dart Station. Locals at the time said the presence of a garda helicopter has helped ease some fears of locals. A total of 872 refugees will be allowed into the United States this week despite a presidential order suspending the US refugees programme, the Trump administration said. Kevin McAleenan, the acting head of Customs and Border Protection, said that the refugees were already travelling and stopping them would cause "undue hardship". Their admission comes despite President Donald Trump's warnings that refugees like these, vetted under the Obama administration, were not adequately screened to ensure they are not potential terrorists. The refugee ban was part of an executive order signed by Mr Trump on Friday which has stoked outrage and protests. Besides the 120-day ban for refugees, the order also bans entry to the United States for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries and indefinitely bars travel by Syrians to the US. At a news briefing with Mr McAleenan, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the travel ban for the seven countries may be extended and other countries could also be added to the list. "I would be less than honest if I told you that some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon," Mr Kelly said. "They're countries that are in various states of collapse" and may not be able to verify that people applying to come to the United States are who they say they are, he added. In his first briefing with reporters since he was confirmed, Mr Kelly defended Mr Trump's order and said its intention is to keep would-be terrorists out of the United States and not serve as a ban on Muslims. Early in his campaign, Mr Trump had called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Mr Kelly said "the vast majority of the 1.7 billion Muslims that live on this planet, the vast majority of them have, all other things being equal, have access to the United States". The retired Marine general also said the order was "not a travel ban" but a "temporary pause that allows us to better review the existing refugee and visa-vetting system". White House spokesman Sean Spicer made that point too in his daily briefing to reporters. However, Mr Trump referred to it as a "ban" in a tweet on Tuesday defending the decision not to provide advanced notice to travellers. Mr Spicer also called it a ban on Monday. "If the ban were announced with a one-week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our country during that week," Mr Trump wrote. "A lot of bad 'dudes' out there!" The roll-out of the order has been widely criticised, a point Mr McAlleenan conceded, saying communication among government agencies had "not been the best". However, he said the refugees' waivers were being done in concert with the State Department. He said the refugees would be processed through the end of the week. According to guidance provided to some refugee aid agencies by the State Department, none of the refugees are from the seven countries singled out for an all-out travel ban. Those countries are Syria, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya. Mr Kelly denied reports that he had been out of the loop in the White House planning for the immigration restrictions. He told reporters he looked at two drafts of the order before the Friday signing and that high-level government lawyers and agency officials were involved in drafting it. He did not provide names of who was involved in the initial planning, but said the group included people from Mr Trump's transition team. Mr Kelly also said he knew the order was coming because Mr Trump had long talked about it as a candidate. People who know Mr Kelly, however, told The Associated Press that he was not aware of the details in the directive until around the time that Mr Trump signed it. AP President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge, to the Supreme Court, setting up a clash with Democrats. At 49, he is the youngest nominee in 25 years and could help shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. He is known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for advocacy for court review of government regulations, defence of religious freedom and scepticism toward law enforcement. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Mr Trump declared, announcing the nomination in his first televised prime-time address from the White House. The nomination was praised by conservatives wary of Mr Trump's own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the right's most powerful voice on the high court. Judge Gorsuch thanked Mr Trump for entrusting him with "a most solemn assignment". Outlining his legal philosophy, he said: "It is the rule of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." Some Democrats, still smarting over Mr Trump's unexpected victory in the presidential election, had vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's "stolen seat". President Barack Obama had nominated US Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy, but Senate Republicans refused to consider the choice, saying the seat should be filled only after the November election. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said he has "serious doubts" that Judge Gorsuch is within what Democrats consider the legal mainstream. For some Republicans, the prospect of filling one or more Supreme Court seats over the next four years has helped ease their concerns about Mr Trump's experience and temperament. Three justices are in their late 70s and early 80s, and a retirement would offer Mr Trump the opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for many years. The nominee's writings outside the court offer insight into his conservative leanings. He lashed out at liberals in a 2005 opinion piece for National Review, written before he became a federal judge. "American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means for effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education," he wrote. Like the other eight justices on the court, he has an Ivy League law degree. The Colorado native earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then a law degree from Harvard and a philosophy degree at Oxford University. He served for two years in George W Bush's Department of Justice, and his mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Reagan administration. Judge Gorsuch was among the 21 possible choices for the court Mr Trump released during the campaign. AP The workshop targets young journalists ages 20 to 25 interested in improving their arts and culture writing The Swiss Arts Council in Egypt (Pro Helvetia) will host an arts and culture journalistic writing workshop led by Swiss writer and journalist Sussan Schanda and Egyptian journalist and author Ahmed Shawqi Ali. The workshop will run from 5 to 9 February at Doum cultural center in downtown Cairo, in cooperation with the Cairo Literature Festival. The workshop targets aspiring journalists between 20 and 25 years old interested in improving their arts and culture journalistic writing. Susanne Schanda was born in 1960 in the Netherlands, and resides in Switzerland. In 1989 she gained a Master of Arts in German and Philosophy at the University of Bern, and has worked as a literature and theatre critic. Ahmed Shawqy Ali, is an Egyptian writer and journalist born in 1988. He is currently the culture editor at Al-Ahram and released his first book The Cats also Draw Pictures - a collection of short stories - in 2010. He has published articles and creative pieces in multiple literary magazines and periodicals. Search Keywords: Short link: Eugene McErlean said any plan would help banks from Italy to Ireland to realise the losses sitting on their balance sheets that are holding back normal lending and reining in EU growth. A eurozone bad bank would boost banking markets and thus help the prospects for a start to selling down AIB shares, he said. Finance Minister Michael Noonan last week said an initial public offering of AIB shares could be launched in May or June. EU policymakers have said in recent days that the EU should create a bloc-wide bad bank to help tackle the 1.2 trillion of soured loans on lenders books. Andrea Enria, chairman of the European Banking Authority, proposed setting up a common asset management company to take over and manage the sell-off of the loans. The bad bank would bridge the gap between the banks bad loans and the price investors are willing to pay. The entity would pay the seller the transfer price and seek to realise it, and would be entitled to claw back the difference if it failed to do so. Mr Regling, managing director of the European Stability Mechanism, said the target is to move up to 250bn of non-performing loans to the bad bank. This means you would have to transfer millions of loans, he said. In Greece alone, there are more than half a million corporate and small-business soured loans, he said. The ECB has ramped up efforts to help eurozone banks get out from under a mountain of doubtful and non-performing loans. The ECB said in September it expects banks with high levels of non-performing loans to implement realistic and ambitious targets for reducing those loans. The European Commission has also taken a crack at easing banks bad-loan burdens by overhauling insolvency rules as part of an effort to develop the blocs capital markets. Additional reporting: Bloomberg However, some projects will face an acid test of proving they can create an income stream to effectively pay for themselves over time, potentially leading to new transport tolls and fares for already struggling members of the public. Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed the moves at the launch of a review of the Governments 2016-2021 capital project plan yesterday, during which they also revealed extra money will be sought from the European Investment Bank this year. Under plans previously announced by the former Fine Gael-Labour government, the State is to spend 27bn on road, rail, and building improvements by 2021, with the figure rising to 42bn when semi-state and public private partnerships are taken into account. While the vast majority of this money has already been allocated, just over 5.1bn was added as part of last years summer economic statement, of which 2.5bn has already been ring-fenced for housing developments. The remaining 2.6bn was due to be reviewed at the end of 2018, but Brexit and the need to entice British-based companies to Ireland, have seen Mr Noonan and Mr Donohoe fast-track the review to this year. Mr Donohoe said he has told his cabinet colleagues to provide a list of their priorities to him by the end of February on how the 2.6bn should be spent before Octobers budget. Mr Donohoe said he was reluctant to become involved in speculation over which projects would be prioritised, but he name-checked improvements at Dublin Airport, the Metro North Luas line from the airport to the city centre, deepening Dublin and Corks ports, and wide-scale road developments that could prove vital to enticing Brexit-fleeing firms to Ireland. Citing the need to spend the money so Ireland can have competitive advantages in a competitive world, Mr Donohoe stressed capital investment is even more important than it has been in previous years and that the plan is as much to do with a preventative eye on what may happen in the future as to what is happening now. Asked about the reason for the fast-tracking of decisions on how the unallocated money will be spent, Mr Donohoe said: Brexit will have an impact on our economy and that is the reason for the review now. Mr Noonan supported the remarks, and said he will seek extra off-balance-sheet funding from the European Investment Bank in the coming months to ensure additional money is made available for further capital projects. However, sounding a clear note of caution, he said on three separate occasions that projects which can create their own income streams, such as tolls and fares, will be prioritised as part of any EIB funding scheme, potentially resulting in extra costs for the public. That is the acid test: Can the project generate income flow. We need to identify projects of that nature, but were only at the exploratory phase, he said. Yet whenever the name of Ann Lovett comes up, the words used to describe her are heavy with tragedy, and, 30 years on from her death, little has changed in the way her story can be told. It remains a painful, shameful episode in the countrys social history. Just 15 years old, Ann left class at the Mercy College in Granard, Co Longford, during a wet and windy lunchtime on Jan 31, 1984, made her way to the local grotto and gave birth to a baby boy under the watch of a statue of the Virgin Mary. She was found several hours later by some boys on their way home from school, the stillborn infant wrapped in his mothers coat and Ann near death from cold and shock. She died shortly after being brought to hospital, was buried a few days later and became an international news story before the flowers on her grave had begun to wither. Everyone wanted to know how a girl from a family of nine siblings in a town of barely a 1,000 people could have carried a baby to term without anyone finding out, if indeed her pregnancy was the secret the community claimed it to be. Questions were asked about what kind of society made a bright girl feel unable to ask for help or undeserving of support at what must have been the most frightening time of her life. Demands were made for action to ensure nothing like it happened again. Three decades on, Ireland is a different country to the one in which Ann Lovett lived and died. Much of the secretive, subservient nature of society has been cast off by the child abuse scandals that shamed Church and State. There is a far greater openness to discussion of sex and sexuality, and a far less judgmental attitude to unplanned pregnancy. Children of unmarried parents are no longer denigrated as illegitimate since the Status of Children Act abolished the term and the legal inferiority it conferred. The Unmarried Mothers Allowance, and the antipathy it attracted, has vanished, to be replaced by the One Parent Family Payment. The complexities of relationships, relationship failure, and the right to move on from it, has been acknowledged by the introduction of divorce. It is compulsory for schools to provide sex education, same-sex couples can be legally recognised through civil partnerships, the morning-after pill is available over the counter in pharmacies, and GAA stars and aspirants to Aras an Uachtarain can let the world know theyre gay. There are also far fewer teenagers having babies than there were in 1984. According to the HSEs Crisis Pregnancy Programme, the fertility rate among girls aged 15-19 was around 23 for every 1,000 in that age group, a figure that has fallen to 12. In the years 2001 to 2012, the actual number of births in this age group fell from 3,087 to 1,639 a drop of 47%. The reduction is not, as some might presume, made up for by a rise in the number of abortions, as the number of Irish teenagers opting for termination has always been very low and halved over the 10 years to 2012. Thats the good news. However, a fertility rate of 12 is still quite high by OECD standards. The Netherlands, which has the lowest rate, is at just 3.5. And there were still 115 births to girls aged 16 or under in 2012 one every three days and 36 of those were to girls aged 15 or under. A report published this week by the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland on alcohol, sexual activity, and consent also found worrying evidence that teenagers struggle to assert themselves in resisting pressure to have sex, have a poor understanding of what constitutes consent, and are made extremely vulnerable by their overwhelming tendency to link sex with alcohol. The findings moved Youth Affairs Minister Frances Fitzgerald to say: The RCNI research questions whether we are giving our young people the skills to negotiate their adult relationships. Is the education system reaching out to them enough so that they can make informed choices about their sexual activity, as opposed to uninformed or pressurised choices, which in some cases, as the report examines, leads to sexual violence and rape? Niall Behan, CEO of the Irish Family Planning Association, echoes those concerns, particularly around sex education which, while mandatory in schools, is of varying quality. There are serious issues around sex education, in that its so inconsistent and so uneven in terms of how and where its implemented, he says. You can have schools in the same town taking very different approaches to sexuality education. There is a very good programme there but the word that keeps coming up about how its implemented is patchy. What teachers will say is that its a crowded curriculum, they will say its difficult to teach, and it certainly needs a different approach to teaching standard subjects. The other concern is access to contraception. We know that access to contraception has improved immensely but, for young people in particular, there are two stand-out issues. One issue is the cost its expensive. The other issue is the law. Its still very unclear for young people what the reaction of a doctor or a pharmacy might be if they go to access contraceptive services. The age of consent for sex is 17, so medics must use discretion if a person under 17 seeks contraception, using health professional guidelines that have no legal basis to assess whether the youth is mature enough and is making decisions of their own free will. Thats unfair on both parties, says Behan, and discourages teenagers from making wise choices around contraception, because they fear both being refused and having parents notified. What weve done is weve used the criminal law to try to regulate the behaviour of young people and its so unclear at the moment that young people dont know where they stand, says Behan. Another focus of the IFPAs work is helping parents educate their children about sex and sexuality. Despite all the changes over the past 30 years, todays parents can still find themselves utterly unprepared to tackle the subject, and the IFPA has set up the Speakeasy programme to try to tool them up for the job. For a lot of us, even though we feel that this is the right thing to do to talk to our children we werent brought up with the language or the tools or the confidence to be able to do it, says Behan. But when you look at the countries with low rates of teenage pregnancy, they are relying on good conversations with parents, and with young people feeling confident and being empowered to know when they are ready for sex and the consequences of sex so thats the bit we really need to focus on. One change the IFPA has noticed over the years is that teenagers now come to crisis pregnancy counselling sessions and more importantly, they come with a parent. In fact, it would be very rare for a teenager to come without a parent, says Behan. That often means the parents have a view on what should be done, so it can be a challenge ensuring the young persons preferences are heard. But at least theyre talking, at least theyre open, at least theyre committed to working together. In Granard, however, people who lived through the turmoil that followed Ann Lovetts death are still reluctant to talk about her. The feeling that the town is still being judged remains and there is a strong instinct to protect Anns mother, Patricia, who still lives there. Patricia Lovett lost another daughter, 14-year-old Patricia, to an overdose of prescription drugs just three months after she buried Ann, and her husband, Diarmuid, died of a stroke three years later, so local people are loathe to add to her suffering. Sean Howard taught in the local boys school in 1984 and remembers the upset. Now retired and a member of Granard Town Council, he believes the towns reputation suffered unfairly. Granard was no different from any town at the time, he says. I dont see that we were all backwards men in Granard. I know very little about the situation personally. That was a thing a lot of people said at the time but it was true. Its not that small a town and we dont all know everything about each other and we didnt then either. Thats all I could say really. I know Mrs Lovett to talk to and I know its very traumatic for her to have to live through this again and again every time theres an anniversary and I dont want to add to her trauma. Retired community worker Sr Maeve Brady, a member of the Mercy Order in Granard and a friend of Mrs Lovett, expresses much the same view. She has never said much publicly about the tragedy, but spoke out on the 20th anniversary of Anns death in a letter to a newspaper in which she referred to Granards feelings of immense loss and sadness and criticised the insensitive comment the town and its people had endured. She wrote: The reality for us is that loyalty, solidarity, friendship, respect and, above all, hope, have undergirded and strengthened our living. Let no-one assume otherwise or call our response a hostile silence. Asked for comment for this current anniversary, she declined and urged a re-reading of her 2004 remarks. I thought long and hard about writing that letter. It said everything I wanted to say and it still does. Mr Reilly, aged 36, sustained serious injuries during a row in the early hours of January 18 after his car came to a halt and he was attacked and stabbed in the Esker Glebe area in Lucan, not far from his home at St Finians Close. Earlier, shots had been fired at a house in west Dublin. He was rushed to James Connolly Memorial Hospital where the father of two was pronounced dead a short time later. Gardai seized a number of cars for technical examination and on Monday, four males ranging in ages from late teens to 50s were arrested. They were detained at Finglas, Lucan, and Blanchardstown Garda Stations, where they were charged and held overnight before they faced court hearings. They are all charged with the murder of Mr Reilly at The Glebe, Esker, Lucan, on January 18. The three men and the 17-year-old were brought to appear before Judge David McHugh at Blanchardstown District Court. The teenage boy cannot be named because he is a minor. Detective Sergeant Sean Cosgrove told Judge McHugh that the youth was charged at 4.38am yesterday and he made no reply. The district court cannot grant bail in murder cases. Judge McHugh remanded him in custody to appear again at Blanchardstown Childrens Court on February 6. The boy, dressed in a grey tracksuit, remained silent during the brief hearing. He was accompanied to the hearing by an adult female and his solicitor, Tracy Horan. Remanding him in custody, Judge McHugh directed that the boy is to be afforded all necessary support in detention. After the teenagers hearing ended, the adults cases began. Paul Bradley, aged 52, and his sons Jason Bradley, aged 18, and Dean Bradley, aged 22, of Liscarne Gardens, Ronanstown, west Dublin, were remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Friday. Garda Thomas Doyle told the court that Paul Bradley, who was wearing a wine- coloured fleece top, blue tracksuit bottoms, and black runners, was charged at Blanchardstown station at 5.10am, after which he was cautioned and he had no reply. He sat silently as a statement of his means was furnished to the court in an application for legal aid and he was remanded in custody. His younger son, Jason Bradley, dressed in black shorts and a blue zipped jacket and runners, was next to go before the judge. Garda Sergeant Maeve Ward told the court that he replied No when he was charged at 4.39am. A statement of his means was handed in to court by Ms Horan. His brother, Dean Bradley, who was wearing a grey and red hoody, navy tracksuit bottoms, and black runners, was charged at 4.38am. Defence solicitor John Wood provided the court with a statement of his clients means. Dean Bradley made no reply to the charge, Garda Damian Gannon told the court. Legal aid was granted to all four. The defendants, because they are charged with murder, will have to make an application in the High Court to get released on bail. A book of evidence has yet to be prepared. Irish Prison Service (IPS) figures show that the number of prisoners on 22/23 hour lock-up in Mountjoy jumped eightfold, from six last October to 47 last month. Prison sources believe that the bloody Kinahan-Hutch feud is behind much of that rise and has increased tensions in the prison. There have been up to 11 murders in that feud since September 2015. All but one linked to the Kinahan cartel. Eight occurred between February and August, with a lull in successful attacks until last December, when Noel Kirwan was gunned down in west Dublin. Tensions have been mounting since then, rising further this year in the run-up to the anniversary of the Regency Hotel attack on February 5, 2016, in which Kinahan cartel lieutenant David Byrne was shot dead. Two assault rifles and a submachine gun were among 16 firearms linked to the cartel seized in the last week by gardai. IPS figures show that 428 prisoners are on some form of restricted regime, compared to 424 last October. Of those, 397 prisoners (11% of the prison population) were on protection on a selected day in January 2017 389 on them at their own request. There were 72 prisoners on the most isolated of regimes 22/23-hour lock-up (seven on 23-hour, 65 on 22-hour), compared to 31 last October. This represents an increase of 41 (132%) on last October. The IPS points out that the figure of 72 is a drop of 65% since 2013. At that stage, the IPS director general set up a high-level group to reduce numbers on restricted regimes and ensure, at a minimum, three hours of out-of-cell time per day. The figures show that 147 of the 428 people on restricted regimes are incarcerated in Mountjoy Prison and that 141 of them sought the protection. Of the 72 prisoners on 22/23-hour lock-up, 47 of them are in Mountjoy, up from six last October. A further 14 people are on 22/23-hour lock-up in Cloverhill Remand Prison, similar to previous years. The Irish Penal Reform Trust said 22/23-hour lock-up is a short-term solution with long term negative consequences. Acting executive director Fiona Ni Chinneide said: The damaging effects on prisoner mental health have been found to be irreversible after just two weeks in solitary confinement. Yet Ireland continues to hold men on 22- and 23-hour lock-up sometimes for more than a year. This practice makes prisons less safe, and will inevitably impact on reintegration post-release. Thanking her family and friends, Ms Kerins said it was an enormous decision to take the case and she will now review the decision. I am currently reviewing the written judgment of the High Court with my legal advisers. I will not be making any decision or making any further comment in this matter until that review is complete, she said in a statement. She was not in court for the judgment yesterday. John McGuinness, the then chairman of PAC, has defended the robust treatment of Ms Kerins, denying it amounted to a with hunt. He said he was delighted with the result and that it was a good day for democracy. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr McGuinness said: It is a great result for democracy and freedom of speech. I am glad that the courts have found that the work of all committees, not just the PAC, is invaluable to democracy. In evidence, Ms Kerins had described a seven-hour meeting of the PAC in February 2014 as a witch hunt. She claimed she ended up in hospital because of the trauma she was put through and ultimately tried to take her own life. Defending what he called a robust encounter with Ms Kerins, Mr McGuinness insisted the probe was nothing less than what the public expected from them as members of the Dails spending watchdog. It is not personal, not personal at all. This was about taxpayers money at the end of the day and the public expect us to be robust in our investigations and we were, he said. Mr McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald, and Shane Ross, then members of PAC, stood accused of being the most aggressive in their questioning of Ms Kerins. The court found Ms Kerins was probed on a wide range of issues, many of which went far beyond those of which she had been notified in previous correspondence. Mary Lou McDonald welcomed the High Court judgement. She said: This is a significant decision as it clarifies the right of members of the Oireachtas to act in the public interest and to do the job that we are elected to do. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission said it welcomed the judgment and that it will take time to consider the full implications of it. Mr Ross declined to comment on the court victory when contacted by the Irish Examiner last night. Tomas Mikalajunas, aged 36, was hit by a single bullet which caused serious head and spinal injuries after he and another Lithuanian man were confronted by armed gardai near Shanagolden, Co Limerick, late on the night of June 27/28 last. It was initially feared that he would be paralysed, but has made a near-complete recovery and is expected to be discharged from University Hospital Limerick shortly. Reports at the time claimed that a garda weapon was accidentally discharged when members of a specialist unit ran towards the Lithuanian mans car after they had forced it to halt on a dark narrow country road. Mr Mikalajunas, a long haul lorry driver, has instructed solicitor Michael ODonnell to sue the State, and the Irish Examiner has learned that the legal process for damages, which will initially involve the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, is ready to commence. One legal source said: It may end up in the High Court and take years. The Garda Ombudsman Commission carried out a comprehensive investigation into the shooting. Mr Mikalajunas, who was driving a rented car accompanied by another Lithuanian man, was wounded as he sat in the car, which had been followed from Co Cork. Mr Mikalajunas was taken to University Hospital Limerick with life-threatening injures and it was initially feared he would be paralysed due to a fragment of a bullet which lodged near his upper spine. His wife, Gintare, travelled from Lithuania and spent weeks at his bedside. One medical report states he needs further surgery to his jaw, which was shattered by the bullet. Gardai from Cork want to question him about his movements on the night of the incident, but have been waiting until he was deemed medically fit. This part of the investigation will proceed on his release from hospital which is due within weeks. Mr Mikalajunas arrived in Ireland just a few weeks previous to the incident and met up with the man he was travelling with. The garda operation on the night of the shooting was part of a surveillance of Eastern Europeans suspected of carrying out night time raids in which pharmacies in Munster were targeted and expensive, high-end brand cosmetic products were stolen. A community spokesman in the Ardglass area, near Midleton, said the Bord Pleanala decision was one of relief. Prior to the appeal Cork County Council had modified the proposals by Ardglass Windfarm Ltd to construct seven 110KV turbines, 140m high at Hogans Wood, Ardglass. The location is between the villages of Dungourney, Castlelyons, Lisgoold and Ballynoe on the outskirts of Midleton. The council had granted a 10-year permission for five of the seven turbines. The company, an associate of Lissarda-based Enerco Energy Ltd, appealed the councils modified approval but the Bord dismissed the entire project. The planning appeals body ruled the development would seriously injure the visual and residential amenities of the area, set an undesirable precedent for other such development and would be visible from a designated scenic route. It also said the proposed development would seriously injure existing residential amenities. The application followed a review of a 2013 proposal to construct 11 turbines, 156.5m high which would have been the highest land-based turbines in Ireland or Britain. A second proposal was modified. Community group Ardglass Wind Turbine Awareness Action group had mounted a four-year campaign against turbines. Spokesman Stephen Doyle said: It was obvious from the outset the area was totally unsuitable for turbines. Outside of the proximity to a very large local population, it is basically a raised plateau with the Blackwater valley on one side and little or no landscaping to offset the presentation of such huge structures. They would have been visible from Co Waterford. He also believed noise from the turbines would have impacted significantly. Mr Doyle called for an upgrading of noise guidelines, laid down in 2006, which he described as a joke and a one-size-fits all approach. You cant just impose huge developments like this on top of rural communities like ours. Guidelines need to be more specifically tailored. Responding to questions from Labour leader Brendan Howlin, Mr Kenny said redacted versions of the report will be made available, which will pave the way for a full commission of inquiry to be established. Despite promises that the terms of reference for the commission would be brought to Cabinet yesterday, they were not. Instead, it now looks like they will not be brought by Minister Finian McGrath until next week or the following week. In the Dail, Mr Kenny accepted the issue has run for some time and that, following meetings between the HSE and gardai, redacted versions of the reports by Conal Devine and Resilience Ireland can be published. Mr Howlin said he has been calling for the immediate publication of the expert reports into the Grace foster care scandal. It is time the public knew exactly who was responsible for the horrific litany of abuse against Grace and more than 40 other children and young people and how this came about, he said. This is an issue that has been highlighted by many journalists, in particular in the Irish Examiner. Will the Taoiseach provide all parties with draft terms of reference for an inquiry and provide an indication of when that inquiry might begin its work, Mr Howlin asked of the Taoiseach. Mr Kenny said Mr McGrath has consistently stated his view that the HSE-commissioned reports should be published as soon as possible. This will now happen, he said. Why so long, asked Mr Howlin, who praised Waterford TD John Deasys work in exposing this scandal. Mr Kenny said arrangements will be put in place to ensure the contents of the reports are conveyed in a meaningful way to service users with varying degrees of disability. A communications plan is also being developed given the potential impact of the reports on service users, their families, and the employees of relevant agencies. Dedicated teams will be put in place to provide all necessary assistance and support to those impacted, he added. The students at Mount Mercy College in Cork organised consent workshops for school friends. Usually, third-level institutions hold workshops of that nature. Director of the Cork Sexual Violence Centre Mary Crilly lauded the project. I think what Mount Mercy is doing, highlighting and raising the issue, is great. I see this age group as being the future. [The classes are about] letting young girls know, if a guy buys you a drink or is nice to you, it does not mean that they are entitled to use their body, she said. The Government is making moves to address gaps in the law involving cases of sexual violence and consent, but, as part of their vitally important Young Social Innovators (YSI) project, students in the transition-year class invited local gardai, victim-rights groups, and self-defence experts to give talks on the topic of consent and sexual assault. They felt so passionately about the consent issue, it was the natural choice when it came to selecting the topic for their project, said some of the students involved: Cara Desmond, Aoife Layzell, Aoife Casey, and Emma Crowley. Cork Sexual Violence Centre director Mary Crilly speaks to transition-year pupils during a consent workshop at Mount Mercy College, Model Farm Road, Cork. Theres a lot of victim-blaming and it was topical at the time. We felt it was really something that affected girls our age, as well, said Cara. Asking For It, a novel by Clonakilty author and Irish Examiner columnist Louise ONeill about victim-blaming following a sexual assault, also influenced their class, said Aoife: We felt like it was a very important topic. Currently, there is no clear definition of consent under Irish law, something sexual violence victim groups campaigned to highlight in recent years. Last week, Tanaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald addressed this gap by bringing forward a proposal to provide a definition of sexual consent in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill. The bill is in its final stage. The Mount Mercy pupils strongly support the amendment. After we had started the project, we read an article on the definition of consent being brought into law and that really motivated us to get into the political side of it, as well, said Aoife. Emma said: It has to be brought in. Theres such a grey area in the Constitution. It affects so many people, in Ireland and globally. Consent classes need to be introduced into more secondary schools, said Aoife, adding its also important the classes were available for boys. Usually, its just girls who are taught about it so much, but I think its important boys understand it, as well, said Aoife. Their teacher Mary Brosnan said she was impressed by the girls determination to undertake the project. Sophie Coughlan with Andrew Quinlan from Carrigtwohill JH Kim Taekwando during their self-defence class. Once I listened to the girls, it was valid and you have to work with whats valid. YSI is a great platform for giving a voice to these concerns, she said. It was stuff I wouldnt even consider, because, thankfully, I dont have to, but Im a mother, so Ill be thinking of my children and their lives and [whether theyre] in a safe place, and that they know their rights. Consent classes are vitally important for young people, said Garda Brian Walsh, who spoke to the students. They give these young fellows and young ladies information about whats going on; in relation to what they can do, what consent is, and how the law works in relation to crimes of indecency and sexual assault. He fears being likened to John Waynes Sean Thornton in The Quiet Man but it is more than an accent that Patrick OShea brings home from the US to the presidents office at University College Cork. After 37 years away from his alma mater, the former vice-president and head of research at University of Maryland sees little reason why some of the philosophies underlying American higher education can not be applied here. A key one is the idea that those students whose financial circumstances might otherwise rule them out of attending university should be funded directly by colleges themselves. It may sound ambitious, even in the middle of an economic recovery on paper, but the physicist who once worked on programmes to support Ronald Reagans Star Wars nuclear defence system thinks it should not take rocket science to figure out ways of doing it. A big piece that seems to be missing from the Irish debate is corporate and private philanthropy, says Prof OShea. It can make a huge difference, particularly in support of disadvantaged students. It might not happen overnight, but he advocates something like the need-blind admission system that operates at many US universities (whereby the institution does not consider an applicants financial situation when deciding admission). Driven largely by scholarships and philanthropic support, those whose families earn below a certain threshold get to study for free, with increasing percentages of fees charged as family income rises. The possibility goes far beyond the options under political consideration at present. One proposal would make undergraduate students liable for higher annual fees than the current 3,000. But they would be offered loans to cover the cost, to be paid back only after graduates reach an agreed minimum annual earning figure. But, unlike for many current Irish university presidents, such a system is not Prof OSheas top preference. Im highly opposed to student debt, he says. You do not want young people from disadvantaged communities starting off and being in debt. Thats the worst possible situation. So you have to create an environment where youre not mortgaging your future in that way. He identifies himself as one of those emigrants who has done well enough to give something back. After a local education at Colaiste Chriost Ri in Turners Cross on Cork Citys southside, he parlayedhis 1979 science degree in experimental physics from UCC into an early career developing electron and ion beams at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. After four years at Duke University, he was a senior figure in research and an electrical and computer engineering professor at University of Maryland, and its chief research officer from 2011. Even Marylands 2015 external research budget of over 500m in 2015 dwarfs the expected total income this year of around 300m at UCC, where Prof OShea takes over as president this morning from Michael Murphy. He should be ready to hit the ground running after making regular visits and establishing a semi-permanent presence on campus since late November. Around the same time, the Oireachtas education committee began pondering the study now, pay later model and other options presented in Peter Cassells 2016 report on funding higher education. Education Minister Richard Bruton has not formally declared a preference, but the main choices are a system that is entirely State-funded; a retention of the status quo; or combining increased input from Government, employers and students themselves in the form of the loan system. Dr Murphy has already set the ball rolling on UCCs efforts to at least treble private fundraising income from corporations and alumni to 30m-40m a year. But, unlike his predecessor, Prof OShea sees these sources potentially representing more than a small proportion of the universitys total income. Im coming in from the outside and saying lets be optimistic, he says. Lets not make this a zero-sum game where third-level institutions are competing with the health services or the gardai for resources. By his reckoning, the 50% of university funding that comes directly from the taxpayer here would be the envy of similar institutions in the US. He envisages a symbiotic relationship between third-level institutions, Government, and industry to support a strong economy that generates a surplus that can be used to support students: That will keep people from going to Australia and America, in effect. In fact, given the politics in some places, were likely to be able to attract people back. UCCs governing body chairwoman, Catherine Day, recently told the Oireachtas education committee that Brexit could lead to British universities only becoming more competitive in terms of research funding, rather than leading to greater opportunities in that arena for Irish institutions. Prof OShea is very conscious of the increased need to reduce our dependency on foreign investment by promoting innovation at home and developing indigenous intellectual property, or IP. Like many Cork people, he knows from personal experience how overseas employers can just pick up and leave. His wife Miriams father was made redundant at 55, and an inner tube of a Dunlops tyre with his name on it is now an artefact of the citys industrial heritage in the Cork Public Museum. Foreign companies are wonderful, but we need to make sure the people and the IP that comes out of our third-level institutions are pumped into companies that [start] here, he says. That creates a much more robust situation and gets us away from being victims, which could happen. He is also confident of attracting international research and teaching talent of the kind that brings not just prestige, but who can also create value for Irish people for the investment; not just in financial investment, but in technology and services that improve lives. Thats the lens through which we have to look at that, he says. This is what its about the people. Its not just for the academic community; I mean the people of Cork, Munster, and Ireland. The awarding of lucrative contracts to lure international researchers without going through proper sanctioning procedures prompted political and public anger at a time when the worst effects of austerity budgets were being felt in Ireland. But, with restrictions around such matters starting to ease and budget autonomy being gradually returned to universities, there may be opportunities to take advantage of global political uncertainties. Prof OShea is already aware of many contacts to UCC from people in the US and in Britain who are exploring opportunities here in Ireland. So if you have a hard Brexit, you can be sure that those who have strong EU funding will want to continue it, says Prof OShea. Thats why Ireland has an advantage. We actually have a Brexit committee here on campus and Im going to broaden it now to the US, to look at how we can take advantage of these crises. Even when this interview was conducted early last week, before newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump announced immigration restrictions that have caused concerns among European and US academics, Prof OShea cited economist Paul Romers saying, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Within a crisis are the seeds of opportunity, he says. So we have to be proactive about going out and getting more EU funding, getting the potential Nobel prize winners here in Cork or Dublin, or wherever. Irelands stronger form for Nobel prizes in the arts also reflects his own thinking on how to attract international students, academics, and investors; but also the need to support arts and humanities strongly. Many people come here because of the arts and culture, he offers. Were famous as poets and raconteurs; you think about the Wild Atlantic Way, you think about the arts, the history, Newgrange, all this stuff its our secret sauce. Its really important and it absolutely creates jobs. It makes a place worth living in. Foreigners come here because of the culture, the food, the camaraderie, the ceoil, going down to Dingle. As well as the standalone benefits of the social sciences and arts disciplines, he believes they can add value to those in his own fields of science, technology, engineering and maths, collectively categorised as Stem. A lot of the rhetoric is that we should invest more in Stem but you have to add the A to make it Steam, says Prof OShea, a self-confessed closet historian. I view the arts as really valuable, its critically important because it makes the country what it is. Under his leadership in Maryland, discussions about drone technology research included people from the arts faculties with an interest in the related ethics. Similar interaction may be extended to Cork, where he plans to get scientists better able to explain to the public and those in charge of the public purse strings how they spend their taxes. I learnt from my father working in sales that you have to be a good communicator, he says. But we academics have a tendency to communicate to ourselves and to others like us and to use language that people dont understand. Prof OShea recently brought in a team of actors to train scientific colleagues at University of Maryland to have a stage presence: This is another example of how the arts can help: Weve people from an arts background, theatre, music, coming in and talking with the scientists about how to communicate. The idea seems to be to explain to the woman or man on the street that the work going on in universities is ultimately for their benefit. When asked, as University of Marylands vice-president for research, about the latest hot topic being worked on, he often replied that the answer has not changed in centuries: If you were to go down to Macroom 1,000 years ago and ask people whats important, theyd say they want to be housed, healed, fed, and fuelled, and to have a just society thats secure and free. This appears to underpin his vision of the role of a university. What we do is the discovery and understanding of knowledge, its dissemination through education, and its application for the good of people, says Prof OShea. Thats not my idea, its enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, that people have a human right to enjoy the arts and to benefit from the fruits of scientific discovery. Take the scenic route through Cork with new UCC president, Patrick O'Shea ARE we too complacent in Ireland about the threat of radical Islam? An illegal immigrant scam at Dublin airport suggests so. On this, World Hijab Day, it is apposite to examine the degree to which we appreciate the conflicting versions of Islam, and whether we care sufficiently about the (often deadly) consequences of Islamic extremism. It might be that for the vast majority of Muslims in Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe, Islam is a religion of peace. But if that were universally true, there wouldnt be a problem. But this manifestly is not the case. We need only look at the example of Saudi Arabia, a country that is not only a major exporter of oil (hence the Wests acquiescence; it is noteworthy that the ban imposed on immigrants from a list of countries specified by US president Donald Trump does not include the Saudi kingdom), but also an exporter of a deadly version of Islam. This is known as Wahhabism (after its founder), an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam that is the official state religion of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia spends billions of petro-dollars promoting Wahhabism in countries in, and far beyond, the Middle East. We shouldnt forget, either, that 17 of the 19 hijackers responsible for the 9/11 attacks were Saudis. We dont know to what extent radical Islam has taken roots here, but it would be naive to believe given all that has happened in the world since 9/11 that some followers of the Prophet Muhammad have not been radicalised by external events. Just before Christmas, a leading Irish imam called on the Government to regulate Islamic affairs in Ireland to prevent unqualified imams radicalising Muslims. Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, chairman of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, said the Government should set up a Muslim council to regulate all affairs in Ireland, such as how mosques are being run and what education they are providing. He said this council should be supervised by the Government and should provide accreditation, without which imams would not be allowed to operate. Dr Al-Qadri, who runs a mosque in Clonee, Dublin, said that although the Government monitored individuals it suspected of having extremist links, it also needed to monitor levels of radicalisation and to promote integration. According to the 2011 Census, there are 49,204 Muslims in Ireland. Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri World Hijab Day fosters good relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. As the Economist magazine said: Women around the world are encouraged to experience what its like to wear a headscarf on World Hijab Day. But the hijab itself it is a scarf used to cover the hair and head of a Muslim woman, while leaving the face fully exposed is a symbol of fierce debate and division within Islam itself. But it isnt just within Islam that the female body is burdened with modesty codes and protocols this is true also of the two other great monotheistic religions, Judaism and Christianity. Whether covered and veiled or stripped and commodified, womens bodies are still largely controlled by, and for, others, says Tina Beattie, professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Roehampton, in London. Feminist endeavours to reclaim womens moral autonomy and bodily integrity have to navigate an ugly path of mockery emanating from religious and secular sources alike. The task of navigating and balancing the sometimes conflicting values of freedom of expression and respect for others is especially tortuous when it comes to attitudes within Islam to womens bodies. This is highlighted by debates and conflicts over the hijab (and by the more extreme forms of dress used by Muslim women, such as the niqab, a veil, usually black, that covers all of the face, apart from the eyes; and the burka, the head-to-toe body-covering that has slits in the face veil for the eyes). In her book, Headscarves and Hymens, Mona Eltahawy, an award-winning journalist and commentator on Arab and Muslim issues, says Wearing the hijab is far from simple it is burdened with meanings. She says that hijab is an Arabic word, meaning barrier or partition, but it has come to represent complex principles of modesty and dress. Ms Eltahawy, who was born in Egypt and wore a hijab until she was 25, traces the tradition of imposed veiling to misogyny and points to the power of the morality police, in places such as Sudan and Saudi Arabia, to punish women for going unveiled or for wearing trousers. I know that nothing frightens Islamists, and the equally misogynistic secular men of our society, more than the demand for womens rights and sexual freedom, she says. She admits that choosing to wear the hijab is much easier than choosing to take it off. But she poses this key question for those insisting that the headscarf must be worn. Why were women alone responsible for sheltering men from the sexual desires women supposedly elicited in men?, she asks. Why could men not control themselves? Why, if men were the ones being tempted, were they not the ones being policed? For Ms Eltahawy, who lives in Cairo and New York and who was named by Newsweek as one of its 150 Fearless Women of 2012, the controversies over the hijab have convinced her that the battle over womens bodies can only be won by a revolution of the mind. She, along with the Canadian Muslim feminist, Irshad Manji, believes that this must be part of a wider reform movement, one that prioritises Islams need to find a way to accommodate itself to the 21st century. Making the case in her book, The Trouble With Islam Today, Ms Manji says she is seeking to update Islamic interpretations of the Koran for the 21st century, not the 16th.. Beattie, in an article entitled What, or What Not, to Wear, in the English Catholic weekly, The Tablet, recounted an incident in Rome. For all this 21st century debate, nothing much has changed at the heart of the Catholic Church, in its view of the female form, she said. A friend recently celebrated her 60th birthday by attending Mass in St Peters Basilica. Her daughter had bought an elegant new dress for the occasion, but she was refused entry, because her dress was too short. This woman was returning to the Church for the first time in 20 years. She will not be back... If Pope Francis wants a Church with arms open to the world, he might start by ensuring that the millions of women who visit the Vatican every year are spared such humiliation. Yesterday gave them that chance with the appearance of the meticulous competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Politicians of all hues went to take her on. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael joined forces to accuse Brussels of interfering in Irish tax laws and of using state aid rules as a veil for their own ends. Those on the left, though took to defending the EU ruling, a bizarre situation given they are usually strong critics of the bureaucracy in Brussels. AAA-PBP TD Richard Boyd Barrett noted the irony of the situation, at one stage complimenting Ms Vestager: Thank you so much. I commend you for your work. The greater conversation revolved around whether the EU was ultimately trying to dabble in Irelands tax affairs, namely our 12.5% corporation tax rate and dealings with multinationals. Ms Vestager was having none of it. She stressed time and again that it was about ensuring a level playing field in Europe for business, about monitoring state aid in member states. The commissioner dealt with pushy TDs by emphasising she had sworn to uphold EU treaties. The Apple case was not about pointing fingers, she insisted. Some Government TDs raised legitimate concerns. Fine Gael TD Peter Burke said given the Revenue agreement with Apple had been found against by the EU, this may cause problems for other companies coming here seeking an understanding of their tax obligations. Fine Gael senator Kieran ODonnell said the EU had taken the decision to put out the ruling, leading to repercussions for Ireland this was not based on the breaking of any laws or international agreements, he claimed. Ms Vestager disagreed. Ms Vestager told AAA-PBP TD Paul Murphy she could not say if the Apple money would have to be used to pay down state debt, as argued by the Government. Again and again, committee members tried to get the answers they wanted. It proved a futile exercise, as Labours Sean Sherlock at one stage told Mr Murphy: Shes too good for you. Mr Boyd Barrett hit back with: You guys as well. Ultimately, Ms Vestager told the committee Apple had not paid the standard 12.5% corporate tax rates, a level agreed by the Dail. While we didnt learn too much new yesterday from the commissioner about how the Apple case might play out, she and her EU officials look confident about seeing off Irelands appeal and ultimately forcing Apple to pay the 13bn in taxes. Features Taxi Driver U Nay Win, A True Citizen Fellow taxi drivers attend U Nay Win's funeral on Tuesday at Yayway Cemetery in Rangoon. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy U Ko Ni, prominent lawyer and legal advisor to National League for Democracy (NLD), was assassinated by a gunman who shot him in the head at close range in front of CCTV cameras, security police and crowds of people outside Rangoon International Airport Sunday evening. Taxi drivers who saw the shooting chased after the assassin, and they managed to catch him, but at a costa life. U Nay Win, 48, knew the assassin had a gun. But, he was at the front of the crowd chasing after him. Not many men would do this when they have a wife and three children waiting for them at home, the youngest just 45 days old. But U Nay Win did, and when the fleeing gunman turned around and fired at him, it cost him his life. He is survived by his family in Mingalardon Townships Kyan Kin Su ward: a wife and three boys, aged seven, four, and an infant whose name had not yet been decided. U Nay Wins widow, Ma Su Thet Khaing, is grief-stricken and sad for her boys who are fatherless now, but proud of what her husband did and what he died for. Ill impress upon my children the spirit of their fatherto be helpful to anyone and to be good citizens, she said. U Nay Win was born in Rangoons Latha Township and third son in a family of Chinese descent. He married Ma Su Thet Khaing eight years ago. He was quick-tempered when faced with injustice and was not hesitant to intervene in such cases, a tendency from which his family had to frequently dissuade him. The gunman was running and aiming back [at the crowd chasing after him]. Ko Nay Win joined us and I warned him that he had a gun, said Ko Thiha, one of those who involved in the chase. As Ko Nay Win threw a brick at him, [the gunman] turned around and shot him, and he was hit, he said. When the gunman started running, I, a taxi driver and a lieutenant [from the Burma Army] chased after him. He was not far from us. I saw the lieutenant aiming at the gunman with his gun. Then the gunman aimed him back and said, I will shoot back. I dont know why that lieutenant didnt shoot him, he added. The gunman stopped a taxi at gunpoint, and got in. But the other taxi drivers in pursuit surrounded the car and stopped it from moving. As the gunman got in the taxi, one of us threw a stone at him. He was hit in the face. We pulled him out and punched him. Then, police arrived, fired two shots in the air and asked us to disperse, said Ko Thiha. U Nay Win was shot in the bladder, and died on the way to the hospital. Ma Su Thet Khaing was in shock once she was informed of the shooting. I didnt believe he was shot. I thought, how it could be? I could not find a reason he would get shot at place like the airport, and in daytime. I went to [the hospitals] emergency unit, and I was told that he had died, said Ma Su Thet Khaing, weeping. U Nay Win was known to speak abruptly, but was helpful and loved joking around, said Ma Pan Ei Mon, his sister-in-law. U Nay Win worked as a volunteer for the Yangon Bus Service, offering free rides for commuters. He was also a member of Mingalardon Townships local National League for Democracy chapter. He was the familys primary breadwinner, and his death comes as a harsh blow to them. I think his death was untimely. I have a long way to go for my children. Ill sell things [to make a living] and struggle for the childrens sake, said Ma Su Thet Khaing. Government authorities, including the Rangoon Division chief minister U Phyo Min Thein, the divisional parliament speaker and commander of Rangoon Command Maj-Gen Myo Zaw Thein, comforted the victims family. Maj-Gen Myo Zaw Thein told Ma Su Thet Khaing: We are proud of his actions. You may regard me as your brother and if you need any help, please let me know. Civil society organizations, businessmen and individual donors have visited Ma Su Thet Khaing and made contributions for the family since Sunday night. Banks have opened accounts for donation and on Tuesday afternoon, donations had amounted to more than 40 million kyats (US$29,700). The Free Funeral Service Society (FFSS) has said it would take responsibility for schooling of U Nay Wins three children. When asked about the killer, Ma Su Thet Khaing said she had nothing to say, but added that he would reap what he had sowed. I wont intervene in the government authorities response regarding the gunman. And I am not in a position to intervene. The authorities will find the truth. I think they will pay greater attention since it was not a personal case, and it happened in a public place, she said. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko From the Archive Dateline Irrawaddy: Corruption Is Still Rampant Despite The Anti-Corruption Law The Irrawaddy speaks with lawyer U Ko Ni and former Lower House lawmaker U Ye Htun to discuss the State Counselor Bill and Burmas history of corruption. Following the death of U Ko Ni, we republish this Dateline video program from 2016, in which The Irrawaddys English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe talks to U Ko Ni and ex-lawmaker U Ye Htun about aspects of the Constitution and laws related to stopping bribery and corruption. Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, well discuss the State Counselor Bill, which the National League for Democracy (NLD) submitted to Parliament last week, as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyis guidelines for civil servants accepting gifts. Lawyer U Ko Ni and former Lower House lawmaker U Ye Htun, from Hsipaw Township, will join me for the discussion. Im Irrawaddy English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe. U Ko Ni, the military representatives have objected to the State Counselor Bill in Parliament. But I think this bill may have been debated and passed today. How important is this law for Daw Aung Suu Kyi, her NLD party and also for the people? Why is the military so opposed to it? Ko Ni: By studying the objectives of this law, we can know its importance. We can also study the preamble, which explains why this law was enacted. The text of the law also states the four objectives of the law. Our country is failing and deteriorating in all aspects. We lag behind our neighbors in development. So, to bring rapid development to our country, which is declining and deteriorating in all aspects, good leadership is necessary; and this leadership must be provided by the person who people truly trust and rely on. As everyone knows, the majority of people, especially the ethnic groups, overwhelmingly supported the NLD in the November election. It is not strange that the Bamar people supported the NLD, but ethnicities such as Chin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Shan in their respective states also supported Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, out of a deep respect and a belief that she could really initiate change. So, what is the aspiration of the people? It is Daw Aung San Suu Kyis leadership. On the other hand, the 2008 Constitution, which was drafted high-handedly without the consensus of people, does not allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to assume a leadership role in politics, because Article 59(f) [of the 2008 Constitution] bars her from doing so. KZM: This law was drafted because of constitutional restraints like Article 59(f), wasnt it? KN: Yes it was. Because Daw Aung San Suu Kyis leadership was restricted, we were trying to appoint her as the counselor, referring to provisions in the Constitution and in other lawsso that she could provide de facto leadership. KZM: As far as I understand, Article 217 of the Constitution [stating that nothing shall prevent Parliament from conferring functions and powers upon any authoritative body or person] is related to this law. The NLD seems to have drafted this law based on this Article. KN: Yes, it is. Besides Article 217, there are other provisions in the Constitution that can be referred to as well. KZM: The State Counselor Bill clearly states that the Union Parliament assigns Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as State Counselor. What do the different ethnic groups think about this unusual law [written with one specific person in mind]? Ye Htun: What the ethnic groups want most is a true federal union. This is one objective of the State Counselor Bill. This is the part that ethnic groups welcome. As U Ko Ni has said, this law has emerged mainly because of Article 59(f). Because this Article bars Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency, the NLD tried to find another way out, and found this law. This discovery will help them more than if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the president. Suppose Article 59(f) was amended, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the president. Then, she would not be able to communicate with the NLD or NLD lawmakers because of constitutional restrictions [Article 64 states that if the president is a member of a political party, they cannot take part in party activities during their term]. But now, she can join the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) as the foreign affairs minister, manage the cabinet as the presidents office minister, and under this law, she can also interact with members of organizations and agencies. She can meet the secretarial body of her party legitimately and can provide recommendations to prominent lawmakers, including parliamentary committee chairpersons. But, it is important to note that she is not supposed to give instructions to her party members and lawmakers, since the Constitution states that the three branches of power must be exercised separately. So, she would give advice. And everyone understands what advice means. Kyaw Zwa Moe: Ok, lets talk about another important topic. Yesterday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi issued a set of guidelines regarding accepting gifts. Myanmar is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. [The country] finds these guidelines appealing. The question is how effectively those guidelines will be enforced. The guidelines are just about accepting gifts, and do not deal with bribes. So, U Ko Ni, how do you assess these guidelines? KN: We already have laws regarding briberyChapter(9) of Burmas Penal Code, regarding the offenses of civil servants, was enacted before 1948; and, the Anti-Corruption Act was enacted in the post-independence period. In this act, the punishment for taking bribes was increased to a ten-year jail sentence. The most recent one is the Anti-Corruption Law, enacted in 2013. This law is very good. It is up to date, and it seems that lawmakers studied related international laws before enacting this law, as it is fairly comprehensive. But there are difficulties in implementation. It is fairly difficult to enforce it. The problem is that corruption is still rampant in Myanmar despite the Anti-Corruption Law. There is corruption at each level of the [government] hierarchy. But punitive actions are rarely taken. There were only four or five corruption cases that were punished in the past three or four years. [Civil servants] take bribes one way or another. This problem was the worst when U Thein Seins government officially allowed taking gifts that were valued at less than $US250, and said that it would not be treated as taking a bribe. Cartoonists responded to this with satirical cartoons. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi noticed it and therefore adopted these guidelines. As a legalist, I would say that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has differentiated between bribes and gifts. Her guidelines concern taking gifts. Everything that is taken within the framework of her instructions will be considered a gift, and anything out of the framework of her instructions will be considered a bribe. If [bribes are taken], it will be treated as corruption and punitive actions will be taken. KZM: The 2013 Anti-Corruption Law could not be enforced properly. The government failed to implement the law. Why? YH: As far as I have studied, in countries with clean, corruption-free governments, the top leader, president or prime minister, he himself must be clean and dedicated to forming a clean cabinet. KZM: He himself must be clean? YH: Yes. There is a Burmese saying that says, the roof must not leak [if a leader is bad, his subordinates will also be bad]. In a country where the roof is leaking, implementation will not happen, no matter what laws are enacted, or how good they are. I was encouraged by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi asking her lawmakers and ministerial nominees to avoid corruption before she had even formed the government. Because she spoke out publicly against corruption, hopefully her anti-graft efforts will be successful. KZM: How effectively will [the guidelines] be implemented? Over the past 40-50 years, the society and the successive governments of Myanmar were used to giving and taking bribes. They did not even view the bribe for what it was. [High-ranking officials] received about US$400-800 to cut a ribbon [at the opening ceremonies of private companies]. There are still, more or less, some of the same ministers and authorities in the current government. How can this be tackled using the 2013 Anti-Corruption Law as a guideline? YH: Personally, I think it will be best if the guidelines can be as clear as possible. Under the new guidelines in our country, you can accept a gift valued at less than $21, and give gifts that are worth more than that to the government. KZM: Yes, the guidelines state those details. The guidelines set the maximum price of the gift at $21. KN: And [civil servants] can only [accept a gift] a maximum of four times. KZM: Yes, [civil servants] are not allowed to accept gifts of $21 from the same person or organization more than four times per year. So, the maximum they are allowed to take is $84 per year. It is quite detailed, but I think such details are justifiable. YH: [Vested interests] will take advantage of this weak point in the law and give gifts worth $21 several times. KZM: We have heard that some people give cars as wedding gifts at the wedding receptions of the children of high-ranking officials. It is very likely that they give these gifts in their own future interest. Most of the people I talked to yesterday like Daw Aung San Suu Kyis guidelines. But what is the mechanism to expose corruption? There will be people who continue to take bribes under the table. We have not yet seen the complaint mechanism. So, U Ko Ni, what do you think Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her government will do regarding this? KN: A mechanism is of course needed to enforce a law on the people. So, we have two points to discuss here. There will be a separate mechanism for guidelines issued by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, through the Ministry of the Presidents Office. The guidelines are not related to the Anti-Corruption Law, but to gifts that civil servants are allowed to take. She had to issue these guidelines because of Burmese customs. In our country, there are customs such as paying respects to elderly people on religious and culturally significant days like Thadingyut and Tazaungmone, giving wedding gifts, and giving gifts to visitors who come to your home. These are the part of our culture. So, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has issued these guidelines in fear of [civil servants] taking advantage of this part of our culture, and taking bribesin other words, taking bribes under the cover of culture and customs. Violating these guidelines is not a big offense, and violators will be punished according to the code of conduct for civil servants. The violators, ministers or staff will be disciplined depending on the extent of the violations; however, the scope of these guidelines is limited. In the case of the Anti-Corruption Law, the scope is wide because it intends to prevent the abuse of power by those in positions of power in the judiciary and legislative departments. If you ask me how to implement the law, we need to categorize [corruption into different groups]. U Ye Htun has stressed that the leadership must be clean, and it is very likely that our current leadership will be. The leadership is usually only a few people, it is easy to check them and it is noticeable [if they do something wrong]. The middle level will be a larger number of peopleby middle level I mean civil servants in power, for example, director-generals and directors. They may abuse their power and take bribes. And finally, there are low-level staff members. For some, their salaries simply do not suffice for them to make ends meet. So, some have to take tips or small amounts of money given [by customers] of their own volition. Those in authority cant treat this equally as an abuse of power. The NLD government needs to adopt, in cooperation with experts, a mechanism to punish people accordingly. Good by-laws and procedures also need to be adopted. KZM: U Ko Ni, U Ye Htun, thank you for your contribution. In Person Bertil Lintner Recalls Slain NLD Lawyer Bertil Lintner at the Irrawaddy Office. / The Irrawaddy RANGOON Burma expert and journalist Bertil Lintner has known U Ko Ni by name for a long time, ever since he became acquainted with the network of NLD lawyers that U Ko Ni belonged to. The two finally met in person in 2012, when the Swedish journalist was allowed to legally re-enter Burma for the first time since 1989. But their friendship was tragically interrupted on Sunday, when a single gunman assassinated U Ko Ni outside Rangoon International Airport. Following U Ko Nis death, Bertil Lintner spoke to The Irrawaddys Kyaw Phyo Tha about what kind of person the NLD legal expert was. He also described his views about whether the killing was linked to the Rohingya crisis or if it was politically motivated. Kyaw Phyo Tha: There are some people who want to link the assassination with the Rohingya issue. What do you think? Bertil Lintner: No, thats utter nonsense. U Ko Ni was a Muslim, yes, but he was a Burmese Muslim to begin with. And secondly, I knew U Ko Ni for years, and he never mixed [his own] religion with his political activism. His main concern was what he considered the highly undemocratic 2008 Constitution. He never talked about [his own] religion [overtly]; that was not an issue. For him, that was his personal faith, nothing else. And no one else can actually link it to the Rohingya; thats absurd. KPT: From your point of view, what kind of person was U Ko Ni? BL: A man of high integrity whose main devotion was to make this country more democratic than it is. He was an expert on legal matters. I have organized media workshops here for a couple of years now, and U Ko Ni came to most of those workshops to talk about media law. He talked about laws that can be used against journalists like defamation, libel, trespassing, and so on. [He would] tell the journalists that, because the 2008 Constitution says there is freedom of the pressor freedom of expressionit doesnt mean that you can get away with writing anything you want. And he was very professional. KPT: There were 21 members on the study trip to Indonesia. Out of the 21, U Ko Ni was the only one who was gunned down. What do you think of the assassinationwas it politically motivated? BL: We can only speculate because we dont have all the details yet, but so far, from what we know, he was targeted. The very fact that the gunman was waiting outside the airport for him to come out indicates that whoever ordered the gunman to kill U Ko Ni knew that he was coming back on the flight from overseas, and they knew the time of the flight. This points to a high degree of organization behind it. It was not a random shooting. It had nothing to do with religion. It had nothing to do with the Rohingya. It was a politically motivated assassination. KPT: So there were some people or associations behind this assassination? BL: Definitely, yes. Its hard to imagine this gunman was acting alone. Theres always a group who form a conspiracy, you can say. We can look at other political assassinations in this countrys history. Theres never been a lone gunman. This was a politically motivated murder, and it should viewed as exactly that. And we should try to find out which group was behind it. Lifestyle Burma Wins Costume Award at Miss Universe Competition Miss Burma dances at the Miss Universe 2016 competition. / Missosology Myanmar / Facebook RANGOON For the first time in the pageants history, a contestant from Burma won the award for best national costume at the Miss Universe beauty pageant. Miss Burma Htet Htet Htun won the award at the Miss Universe 2016the 65th annual eventwhich was held on Monday in Manila, the Philippines. Her costume theme was a puppet princess, and it was inspired by a traditional Burmese puppet show. Kachin dressmaker Lazing Gam Htoi, who has worked as a fashion designer for more than a decade, designed Miss Burmas national costume. In fact, he designed most of the dresses that Htet Htet Htun wore throughout the contest. The Miss Myanmar pageant national director, Daw Soe Yu Wai, asked me to design a costume that resembled a traditional puppet. But I thought there were some limitations in making a costume that looked like a puppet. Of course, I could copy what others have done and add my own embellishments, but I didnt want that, he said. Instead, Lazing Gam Htoi had the idea to combine a puppet stage with the dress. So he designed a small puppet stage that was light enough to wear. I wanted to put a Burmese puppet show, our real heritage, onto the international stage. I wanted people to realize that the thing being shown on the stage, it exists in real life, he explained. During the beauty pageant, Htet Htet Htun stepped out carrying her small puppet stage which bore paintings of Shwedagon Pagoda and Bagan in the background. She opened the small curtain and performed a puppet-style dance, earning big cheers from the audience. Other countries have their own style of puppet shows. So I put Shwedagon Pagoda and Bagan in the background of my stage so that people will recognize this comes from Burma once the curtain is opened, said Lazing Gam Htoi. The entire costumethe traditional dress and the small puppet stageweighed around 35 kilograms (77 pounds). I am proud of this win for my country. I am thankful to Htet Htet Htun, that she was able to do what I told her to do on the stage. I am grateful to those who congratulate me as well as to those who criticize me, said the designer. France won the overall title of Miss Universe. Haiti finished as first runner up, and Columbia was second runner up. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko Asia Asia Targets Tourism Boost Following Trump Travel Ban People gather to protest against US President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), California, US, Jan. 31. / Reuters KUALA LUMPUR/NEW DELHI Seeking to capitalize on US President Donald Trumps controversial new travel restrictions, companies and officials in Asia said they would target greater tourism and education ties with Muslims worried about the curbs. Trumps Friday directive put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In Muslim-majority Malaysia, the group CEO of Asias largest budget airline, AirAsia, suggested countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) could cash in. With the world now getting more isolationist its time for Asean to start making it easier for tourists to come, Tony Fernandes said in a tweet on Tuesday. Malaysia is a popular destination for tourists from the Middle East, with nearly 200,000 arriving in 2016 from countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Qatar. The country is also a key destination for medical tourism and halal tourism, with food and other products largely halal-certified. In neighboring Thailand, tourism officials said the US ban could lift visitor numbers. The Middle East is a big market for us, especially in the medical tourism sector. They may choose to visit Thailand more and this may also boost our sector, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters. Safety and Security Trump has presented his ban as a way to protect the United States from Islamist militants, but it has been condemned by a growing list of foreign leaders and drawn protests of tens of thousands in American cities. With concerns about safety and security building, some Asians were reconsidering US travel plans and seeking alternatives, even though their countries were not subject to the restrictions. When you want to travel, especially for leisure, then you want peace of mind, said Alicia Seah, director of public relations and communications at Singapores Dynasty Travel. S.M. Tareque, managing director of Orchid, a travel agency in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, said he had cancelled his own trip fearing harassment at US airports. He said he knew of five people who were emigrating to the United States who had put their plans on hold. Tougher Vetting Trump has argued tougher vetting of immigrants is needed to protect America from attacks, but critics complain that his order unfairly singles out Muslims and defiles Americas historic reputation as a welcoming place for immigrants. Keysar Trad, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said Trumps travel restrictions were not only hurting innocent people but were bringing great damage to his own economy and to the standings of Americans internationally. Everyone who has relatives in America, whether they are from the countries listed or not, they are petrified of what this man is going to do to America and to their relatives, Trad told Reuters. Some education providers had seen early signs of an impact. Ajay Mital, director at International Placewell Consultants in New Delhi, which places Indian students in universities abroad, said Germany and Singapore had stepped up efforts to recruit students. Prospective students were worried that, even if they were able to go to the United States for education, they would not get a job at the end of their studies with the tighter work visa rules that the new administration has said it may bring in. Trump has created panic here, Mital said. Of particular concern are plans to review the Optional Practical Training [OPT] program which gives foreign graduates in fields like science, technology, engineering or math the right to find jobs in the US for up to 36 months. Tomorrow he may end the OPT. Looking Elsewhere Delhi-based IT professional Kanishk Singh had applied to more than a dozen US universities for a masters course in creative writing. He received an email from Indiana University warning him that visa processing for international students was going to be hit after President Trumps latest orders. If I dont get to the US, I will apply for UK, he said. Rod Jones, CEO of Australian-listed education firm Navitas Ltd, said the company had seen a downturn in inquiries for their US-based English language courses. We have started to see students back off from the US because of their concerns about potential issues they may face, Jones told analysts on an earnings call. But they still want to go somewhere, Jones added, identifying Canada and Australia as important alternatives. The Canadian Prime Minister has come out and said if the U.S. doesnt want you, wed love to have you and I think it is the approach of Australia too. Aulia Adila, 24, a young professional in the media industry in Jakarta, had been considering the United States as an option for postgraduate study. When Trump had a chance of winning the election this made me reconsider going to the States to study. Now that he won, and with the Muslim ban and the new migrant policy, its becoming even more impossible and unsafe to be in America, Adila said. Im considering another country where Ill feel safe. Asia Bangladesh Resurrects Plan to Move Burma Refugees to Flooded Island Security personnel check an auto-rickshaw to identify a refugee in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, Nov. 21, 2016. / Reuters DHAKA, Bangladesh Bangladesh has resurrected a plan to relocate thousands of Muslim refugees fleeing violence in Burmas northwestern Arakan State to a flooded island in the Bay of Bengal to prevent them from intermingling with Bangladeshi citizens. The United Nations says about 65,000 people have fled the Muslim-majority northern part of Arakan to Bangladesh since attacks that killed nine Burmese border police on Oct. 9, sparking a heavy-handed security response in which scores were killed. Bangladesh first proposed the idea of sending the refugees to Thengar Char, which floods at high tide, in 2015, prompting anger among rights groups. A notice dated Jan. 26 and posted on the website of the Bangladesh governments cabinet says several committees had been formed to look at the influx of Rohingya Muslims, which the country fears could lead to law and order issues as they mix with local residents. Dhaka was preparing a list of the people who would be temporarily moved to Thengar Char before being sent back to Burma, the notice said. A senior official at Bangladeshs home ministry said the process to shift the refugees to the island would take time and that if that place is not livable, the government will make it livable. Asia Migrants Push for Better Pay, Benefits at Thai Seafood Firm Migrant workers from Burma sort fish after unloading the catch from a boat at the port of Mahachai, near Bangkok September 24, 2011. / Reuters BANGKOK More than 2,000 migrant workers at a major Thai seafood exporting company have called for bigger bonuses and better welfare benefits, a rare demand in a country that bars foreigners from forming trade unions, a rights group said. Seven migrant workers from Burma submitted the request on behalf of more than 2,000 migrant workers to the governments labor protection and welfare office and to Unicord PCL, a leading tuna processor, said the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN), which supported the effort. We believe this negotiation will be successful and lead to a trickle-down effect where other employees will be empowered and feel confident to organise and collectively bargain to make demands of their employers, said Andy Hall, co-founder of MWRN. They will realize the power they have as employees. Workers are powerful human beings. Thailand has come under fire in recent years for worker exploitation and abuses against its migrant laborers the vast majority from neighboring Burma. Many workers pay exorbitant agent fees to be smuggled into Thailand for dangerous and demeaning jobs, earning salaries below the minimum wage. Thailand has pushed through policies in an effort to combat human trafficking and forced labor, particularly in its seafood industry. The workers demands to Unicord a subsidiary of the Sea Value Group include increased bonuses and benefits, such as benefits for workers with no absences over a two-week stretch. Their demands aim to match the benefits provided to workers by other major seafood processors in Thailand, MWRN said. Officials from Unicord could not immediately be reached by telephone for comment. A 2015 report by a Finnish advocacy organisation found that Unicord had improved working conditions since the group began monitoring the company in 2012, but said its workers paid high recruitment fees. Unicord reduced the recruitment fees last year after 200 workers protested outside the factory, Hall said, adding that their success emboldened them to submit the current demands. Chanintr Chalisarapong, president of the Thai Tuna Industry Association and senior vice president of Sea Value, declined to comment on the negotiation. They just submitted it. It takes time to do this. They called for a lot of things. We cant comment right now. They [the company] are doing everything according to law now, Chanintr said by telephone. Jason Judd, the International Labor Organizations program manager focused on work conditions in the Thai seafood industry, said unions and civil society have repeatedly raised the issue of full organizing and bargaining rights for workers in Thailand regardless of their country of origin. Demands to improve wage protection, working conditions and working time by migrant workers are not uncommon, but we are hopeful that this new effort is one of several to advance dialogue between firms and workers in Thailands large food and agriculture industry, Judd said by email. Burma District Courts Ordered to Try More Child Rape Cases An event to protest child rape was held in Rangoon on Nov. 27, 2016. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYIDAW The Supreme Court of Burma has ordered district courtsnot township courtsto administer trials for child rape cases in an effort to better tackle the rising number of cases reported across the country. Supreme Court judge U Soe Nyunt told Upper House lawmakers about the order on Monday. When there is clear evidence, child rape trials will be held and justice will be dispensed at the district court level and not by township courts, the judge said. During Mondays Upper House session, lawmaker Daw Nwe Nwe Aung asked if authorities would take urgent measuressuch as assigning life imprisonment, the maximum penaltyto deter child molesters and protect children from sexual abuse. Daw Nwe Nwe Aung, who represents Mon State Constituency 2, complained that child molesters were typically given less than seven years imprisonment. Judge U Soe Nyunt explained that township court judges and magistrates could not assign penalties greater than seven years. The township judges can only impose sentences that are within their judicial authority, said U Soe Nyunt. Therefore, we need to make sure that child rape cases will be tried in the district courts, which can assign longer jail terms. Lawmaker Daw Nwe Nwe Aung welcomed the changes that the Supreme Court had ordered. District courts can hand down a sentence of up to 20 years in prison if the rape case includes a completed medical report, she told reporters. The problem of child rape came under intense scrutiny in 2016 following a significant rise in the number of reported cases. Some womens organizations and civil society organizations (CSOs) called for imposing the death penalty on child molesters. The Supreme Court also instructed township courts to turn over any child rape cases which were currently on trial to the district courts. And the district courts are supposed to impose a heavy penalty on criminals if they are found guilty, said U Soe Nyunt. The judge called sexual abuse of children a sinful crime that tarnishes society. He said there were 671 reported child rape cases with strong evidence in 2016, and district courts tried 587 of those cases. The courts assigned life imprisonment in 36 cases, 10 years in jail for 240 cases, and 7 to 9 years for 237 cases. There were 72 cases that received a sentence of less than seven years. Two cases involving rape and murder resulted in death sentences. The victims of rape usually file complaints in the township courts, which have limited powers. Once the district courts take on more child rape cases, this will help to deter potential rapists, judge U Soe Nyunt said. The Supreme Court has also instructed the district courts to give timely reports on their rulings in child rape cases. Burma Election Commission Requests 10 Billion Kyats Budget A woman walks past the voter lists on display in Hlaing Tharyar Township, Rangoon Division, Feb. 1, 2017. / Chan Son / The Irrawaddy RANGOON Burmas Union Election Commission (UEC) has requested more than 10 billion kyats (US$7.4 million) from Parliament for election-related expenditures in the upcoming 2017-18 fiscal year, which will start April 1. U Soe Reh, a member of the electoral body, presented the proposal to the Union Parliament on Tuesday. The commission requested a total annual budget of 10.85 billion kyats ($8 million), of which 2.2 billion ($1.6 million) will be allocated for conducting by-elections. Another 7.2 billion kyats ($5.3 million) would be allocated to operations in sub-commissions across the country; 1.2 billion kyats ($0.9 million) would be spent to build new commission offices in 38 townships; and 64.5 million kyats ($48,000) would be spent on vehicle repairs, explained U Soe Reh. On Wednesday, the UEC published voter lists for the by-elections slated for April 1. The lists will remain on display from Feb. 1-14. A total of 95 candidates, including 24 political parties and 7 independent candidates, will compete in the upcoming polls. The by-elections will take place in Rangoon, Sagaing and Bago divisions, as well as in Shan, Karenni, Mon, Chin and Arakan states, in order to fill 19 vacant positions. About 2.2 billion kyats that we requested would potentially be spent on by-elections in the 2017-18 fiscal year, if the Parliament decides those are necessary. But this money is not for the upcoming by-election on April 1, 2017, UEC director general U Tin Tun told The Irrawaddy. An amendment to Burmas election law mandates that the Union Election Commission (UEC) organize by-elections within six months once the chambers speaker informs lawmakers of a seat opening. On Tuesday, U Soe Reh told lawmakers that the commission has requested a smaller budget compared to the previous 2016-17 fiscal year. The previous UEC budget totaled 15.3 billion kyats ($11.3 million) and was approved under the previous government. Burma Journalists Weigh in on Front Page Omission of U Ko Nis Death in State Media Front pages of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar contrasted with private daily papers on Jan. 30. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON As editors of Burmas private daily news outlets decided to run the killing of the ruling partys legal advisor on their front pages, their counterparts from the state-run English paper removed the news from page one at the last minute, with its editor stating that they cant make decisions the way that private dailies do. U Ko Ni, 65, was shot by a gunman outside Rangoon International Airport on Sunday afternoon. He had been advising the National League for Democracy (NLD) on legal matters for years. He conducted legal trainings for the partys lawmakers, and was also an expert on the countrys controversial 2008 Constitution, which the NLD has been trying to amend. He is believed to one of persons who created the position of State Counselor for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is barred in the Constitution from holding the Presidency. The Global New Light of Myanmar regularly uploads their paper for the following day in PDF format late at night on the website of the Ministry of Information, which owns the outlet. The initial electronic version of the Global New Light of Myanmar for Jan. 30 displayed a story on the assassination of the Muslim lawyer on the front page. It featured just below the news and a photo of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attending a ceremonial planting of Japanese cherry blossom trees in Naypyidaw on Sunday. But readers awoke on Monday morning to see nothing about the shooting on the papers front page. Instead, it was featured as a part of the banner referred to on the third page. The same applied to the electronic version. Other state-run Burmese-language media outlets, including The Mirror and Myanma Alin, ran the story on their back pages. The editorial team for the Global New Light of Myanmar appeared to have changed the storys placement at the last minute. U Aye Min Soe, the papers chief editor, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that one of his staff mistakenly uploaded the initial PDF draft to the website before the final version had been approved. We didnt take out the news. It was referred to in the banner, he said, adding that the storys placement had been decided by top level officials. He explained that while private papers enjoyed more freedom, government papers had to take the consequences of its publication choices more seriously. He said that readers tend to take it for granted that everything published in the papereven outside contributors piecesreflect the governments opinions. We have that kind of pressure. We cant make decisions the way that private dailies do, he said. But the Global New Light of Myanmars decision to remove the news from the front page was not immune to criticism, especially as sympathy for U Ko Ni poured in and the public demanded justice for him. U Swe Win, editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now, said that the removal of the story on U Ko Ni from the front page reflected a lack of editorial independence in government newspapers and proof they still serve as loudspeakers for those in power. It shows that when it comes to a story about people from other religions, the papers treat the news very carefully. The government officials are reluctant to stand for truth, he said. U Myint Kyaw from the Myanmar Press Council said every professional editor in Burma should have run the assassination of U Ko Ni as front page news. I think that the Global New Light of Myanmar still doesnt have full editorial independence, he said, referring to U Ko Nis story. For freelance journalist Ko Nyunt Win, scrubbing the assassination story from page one suggested that state-run media outlets have run their course in Burma. The idea that they are running a mouthpiece newspaper in a time where there are an abundance of independent media outlets in the country is crap. What a waste of public money! he said. Burma KNU Chairman: Aims of Karen Resistance Not Yet Achieved The KNU commemorates Karen Resistance Day at its headquarters Law Khee Lar in Karen State at proceedings attended by leaders and soldiers of the KNU and KNLA on Tuesday. / KNU Headquarters / Facebook The ethnic Karen armed resistance movement commemorated 68 years of struggle on Tuesday. On the occasion, Saw Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), called for all Karen people to participate in the cause, stating that the goal of the resistance had yet to be achieved. At the present time, the political aims and objectives of the Karen people have not been completed yet. They still have not gotten their legitimate rights, said Saw Mutu Say Poe in his speech on Karen Revolutionary Resistance Day. We must work on, confidently and with firm determination, until our Karen peoples aims, aspirations and needs are achieved. At the same time, in performing future work, we must always maintain revolutionary alertness, he added. Ceremonies of the Karen Resistance Day are traditionally observed in the KNUs headquarters, Law Khee Lar, and in KNUs Brigade 5 area in Papun District as well as in other KNU territories and areas home to large Karen communities. The occasion is celebrated every year on Jan. 31. The Karen armed resistance was officially recognized in 1949 when the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the military wing of KNU, was founded. Yet its structures existed earlier, when the Karen fought alongside British troops during World War II in Burma, and conducting underground activities. After almost 70 years of armed struggle, the KNU now is trying to adapt to the dynamic political environment unfolding in Burma, where the majority of its leaders are engaged closely with the Burma Army in the peace process. Saw Mutu Say Poe said that resolving political problems through political means remains the best and most appropriate way to address the countrys conflict. He also said that the recently held Karen National Political Conference in Hpa-an, the capital of Karen State, has served as an illustration of Karen national unity and it has further strengthened the Karen national political aspirations. He said that the time was right for the Karen people to discuss the KNUs political aims, which are national equality, self-determination and the establishment of a democratic federal Union. The aim of the KNU and the Karen people is the establishment of a federal system based on freedom, equality and justice, said Saw Mutu Say Poe. He also urged all Karen people to work for education, health, land ownership and other rights with unity in the wake of the recently held political dialogue. For the fulfilment of the Karen peoples political aims, objectives and aspirations, all Karen nationals must work in the respective arena they are in, according to the skill, wisdom and strength they possess, said Saw Mutu Say Poe. The KNU chairman also said that he would respect and honor all those Karen leaders and soldiers who have sacrificed for the resistance, adding that the organization inevitably had to take up armed struggle as a form of self-defense, as their demands and rights were denied by successive governments. Yet there have been many setbacks in the history of the Karen armed struggle, including divisions, factional battles and assassinations. Karen political bodies such as the Karen Central Organization (KCO) and its youth branch, the Karen Youth Organization (KYO), emerged in 1945 to contest Burmas general elections in 1947, the year the KNU was founded and in which Burma earned its independence from Britain. Disagreements over who should represent Karen interests in Parliament, however, led to the resignation of several KNU and KCO leaders. Since the beginning of its armed struggle, the KNU has suffered great losses of territory in Insein, Rangoon Division; Taungoo, Pegu Division; Papun in northern Karen State; and Manerplaw on the Thai-Burma border. In 1995, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) split from the KNU, resentful that Buddhist Karens had not been allocated more senior positions in the organizations leadership. The resulting battle between the two forces led to massive losses on both sides, while the Burmese military made huge territorial gains. In 2007, more bloodshed unfolded as a result of Karen disunity: a breakaway group calling itself the KNU/KNLA Peace Council split from the KNU, leading to assassinations on both sides, including the killing of the late KNU general secretary Padoh Mahn Sha in 2008. KNU leaders are once again facing internal problems. The KNU Central Executive Committee is currently divided between those who want to move more quickly with the peace process and those who are urging caution. Saw Mutu Say Poe said, There have been some colleagues who have become worn-out, lost faith in the victory of the revolution and parted ways from cooperation. He said that he remains optimistic about the political dialogue being carried out under the peacemaking initiatives. He said, Our revolutionary resistance still stand firm, because our national leaders, armed forces members and patriots are standing unwaveringly for our revolutionary resistance. Burma KNU Readies Policy Recommendations A group photo after concluding the Karen national dialogue in Law Khee Lar. / Karen National Union Headquarters / Facebook The Karen National Union (KNU) is prepared to submit its policy recommendations on federalism at the upcoming Panglong Peace Conference after holding the first round of Karen national-level political dialogue in Law Khee Lar, Hpa-An township on Monday. Nearly 300 participants from Karen ethnic armed groupsthat signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement in Oct. 2015political parties, and civil society groups representing youth, women and academics, participated in the three-day dialogue. Policy papers for a federal Constitution to establish a federal Union and regarding the sectors of politics, socio-economics, land and the environment were compiled from the Karen national dialogue. Karen National Union executive committee member Padoh Saw Ta Doh Moo said the KNU made concise recommendations on key topics. He added that the KNU held a three-day public consultation in Hpa-An from Jan. 18-20, and took those recommendations into consideration when drafting policy papers. The dialogue is only in its first round. Saw Ta Doh Moo added that similar talks would be held until at least 2020, as the National League for Democracy government said it would hold a peace conference every six months. The participants told the Irrawaddy that as it was a public consultation, the process went well and there was no debate on the issues. The Karen also prepared their stance on national security sector issues. Refugee repatriation and resettlement were discussed under the social sector. But Saw Ta Doh Moo said the KNU could not handle these issues alone as civil society groups like the Karen Refugee Committee and the government collaborate in these efforts. National dialogues will be held covering ethnicity, regional issues, and certain other themes. The eight ethnic armed groups that signed the NCA and the government will hold national dialogues regarding ethnicity and regional issues. So far, public consultations for these national dialogues have been held in Karen and Shan states, as well as Rangoon, Bago, Irrawaddy, Magwe, Tenasserim and Mandalay divisions by the KNU, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) and All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF). In Tenasserim Division, the government-led region-based national dialogue was completed last week. The RCSS is also holding its pre-national dialogue public consultations in 14 townships in Shan, Karenni and Kachin states, as well as Mandalay and Sagaing divisionswhere many ethnic Shan live. The Shan national dialogue will be held in the coming weeks in Taunggyi, said Col Sai La of the RCSS. We started public consultations on Jan. 22, and we will complete 14 places this week so we are ready for the Shan national dialogue, he added. Civil society groups will hold a national dialogue covering thematic issues. Burma Myitsone Residents Protest World Banks Hydropower Assessment Workshop Protesters gather outside the Palm Spring Hotel in Myitkyina on Tuesday, while representatives from Burmas government, China Power Investment Corporation and the World Banks International Finance Corporation were holding a workshop on hydropower dam projects. / KDNG Kachin / Facebook Myitsone residents demonstrated in Myitkyina, Kachin State on Tuesday against assessment workshops for future hydropower projects financed by the World Banks International Finance Corporation (IFC). More than 50 protesters gathered in front of the Palm Spring Resort Hotel, where representatives from Burmas government, the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) and the IFC were holding the workshop. They said they feared a resumption of the multi-billion dollar Myitsone hydropower dam construction on the confluence of Irrawaddy River in Kachin State, highlighting displacement which could be caused by potential flooding, and environmental and social consequences for residents along Burmas major waterway nationwide. We do not want those dams, therefore we protested, explained Ja Hkawng, from the local organization Mungthying Rawng Jat, which translates to the Grassroots Peoples Development Group. Demonstrators urged the civilian-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government to honor locals desires and called for support from citizens across the country in objecting to dam construction. In September 2011, former President U Thein Sein postponed the China-backed Myitsone dam project following the publics widespread call to halt it. We have been protesting against mega hydropower dam projects for a long time, and we will continue until it stops, Ja Hkawng told The Irrawaddy. But the government has not acted decisively on it yet. It seems more like they are backing the companies. A bloc of Kachin political partiesthe Kachin Political Parties Coordination Committee (KPCC)shared their letter with the IFC stating that they want no dam construction in the Myitsone area, as it is a conflict zone. We explained that as there is still fighting in the area [between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army], as well as the presence of tens of thousands of internally displaced people, there must be a moratorium on all such large projects, said Jaw San Naw, the secretary of both the Kachin Democratic Party and the KPCC. Therefore, we call on international banks and companies not to promote such projects until there is peace in our country, read their statement. Jaw San Naw added that now it is not the right time for companies to sponsor large-scale investment projects, particularly while ignoring the Kachin peoples suffering and their lack of constitutional rights to make decisions regarding natural resources in their homeland. Citing CPIs visit to Myitkyina in 2016 to discuss a potential restart of the Myitsone dam project, locals said they were worried that the World Banks IFC-sponsored workshops in the Kachin State capital, and in other cities, could be pushing for the postponed dam projects to resume. The NLD government formed the Irrawaddy Myitsone Inquiry Commission last August, tasked with evaluating the hydropower project on the Irrawaddy River. The commission submitted its first assessment to President U Htin Kyaw in November, meeting its projected deadline. Committee members have said they will come up with a full report at a later date, as field studies are ongoing, but no update was available at the time of reporting. Burma Partial Police Document Shows Conspiracy Behind U Ko Ni Killing Kyi Lin was arrested by police on Sunday after he attempted to escape. / Facebook RANGOON The gunman who shot and killed National League for Democracy (NLD) lawyer U Ko Ni on Sunday was hired by a person named Myint Swe, according to a leaked police document. The document was leaked when it was shared among police officers on Viber, admitted a senior police official, who confirmed that the information in the document was accurate. The police document contains a five-page statement made by 54-year-old gunman Kyi Lin, who told police that he was approached by a man named Myint Swe, whom he met for the first time in September in Mae Sot. He asked me to kill a Kalar for a car, Kyi Lin is quoted in the police document, using a derogatory term for a Muslim person. He added that Myint Swe showed him a photograph of U Ko Ni that was published in a weekly magazine. But two pages were missing from the police document that could explain the motive behind the killing. The document also confirms that Kyi Lin shot U Ko Ni at close range on Sunday just outside the Rangoon International Airport, as the lawyer was returning from an official visit to Indonesia along with other officials and lawmakers. I followed him, Kyi Lin said. I shot him in the back of his head while he was holding a child. Who is Myint Swe? The police document says that Myint Swe comes from the Tampawaddy quarter in Mandalay. Following the 1988 uprising, he fled to Myawaddy, a border town close to Mae Sot in Thailand. In the past, he was arrested in Myawaddy. The reason for his arrest was not mentioned in the leaked document. Kyi Lin described Myint Swe as a man in his early fifties, soft-spoken, and with curly hair. He said Myint Swe was about 1.63 meters (5 feet 4 inches) tall. Myint Swe is an expert in bronze casting, which is a common profession in the Tampawaddy neighborhood, according to local residents who spoke to The Irrawaddy. He also has a great interest in antiquities. Myint Swe was infamous for his ability to imitate ancient bronze materials, and he was known as a smuggler of ancient artifacts. Residents said he was arrested several times for smuggling ancient materials. If he received any ancient bronze materials, he would copy them. He used acid to wear down the newly casted material to make it look older, and then he sold it. He is an expert in copying ancient artifacts, said U Win Maung, who is an expert in ancient Burmese art and who also is a native of Tamppawaddy quarter. U Win Maung said that in the past, he taught ancient Burmese art to Myint Swe. If he got caught forging, he would give away the imitation, but not the real ancient one. He is a guy who would do anything for money, said U Win Maung. According to other residents, Myint Swe traveled to Myawaddy in 1990 and was not seen for many years. His wife believed he was dead or assassinated, and she searched for him with the help of police. His wife received no information, and later she remarried one of the police officers who helped her search. Myint Swes ex-wife still lives in the Tampawaddy area with her husband. Until Sunday, no one from Tampawaddy had any idea whether or not Myint Swe was still alive. The Gunman Kyi Lin The leaked police document says Kyi Lin was arrested in 2003 for smuggling religious antiquities, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He spent seven years at Mandalays Obo Prison before he was moved to a hard labor camp in 2010. In 2014, President Thein Sein issued a general amnesty order, so Kyi Lin was released early, after only 11 years. The gunman was a professional antiquity thief, according to an inmate who spent time in Obo prison alongside Kyi Lin. The former inmate spoke to The Irrawaddy on the condition that he remain anonymous, given the sensitivity of the current murder case. He knows a lot about history and about the styles of Buddha statues. Whenever he talked about them, we were mesmerized, said the former inmate. Initial police reports described Kyi Lin as being from Kyaukme Township in Shan State, and he was believed to be Chinese or Shan ethnicity. But in his statement to the police, the 54-year-old gunman said he is a Bamar (Burman ethnicity) and a Buddhist from Sai Hlya village in Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Division. He was not reluctant to smuggle Buddha statues despite being a Buddhist, the former inmate said. So, I think there would be nothing that he doesnt dare to do. Burma South Koreas Envoy to Burma Summoned Home Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of the South Korean political scandal and long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye, arrives for a hearing for South Korean President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, January 16, 2017. / Reuters Rangoon Burma has surfaced in the latest news headlines relating to the massive corruption scandal that has gripped South Korea over recent months. South Koreas ambassador to Burma Yoo Jae-kyung was summoned home to address questions over alleged links with Choi Soon-sil, confidante of President Park Geun-hye, Korean media reported this week. President Park Geun-hye is currently suspended from duties amid impeachment proceedings over alleged corruption, centering around her relationship with Choi Soon-sil who is accused of influence-peddling and extortion. Among the latest developments, Choi Soon-sil is alleged to have sought personal gain through an unidentified company connected to a Korean government-backed development assistance project in Burma, prosecutors said in Seoul on Monday. The mooted US$65 million project in north Rangoon called Myanmar K-Town was initially spearheaded jointly by the foreign and trade ministries [of Korea], but in the second half of 2016 the project was scrapped under the aegis of overseas aid agency KOICA, due to a lack of viability, according to The Korea Times. Korean media reported that prosecutors said on Tuesday that Ambassador Yoo Jae-kyung told investigators that Choi Soon-sil had tapped the former Samsung executive for the diplomatic appointment in around March last year. The appointment was announced in late May. Prosecutors in the ongoing corruption probes are also investigating whether big businesses including Samsung were pressured to donate to foundations backing the presidents policy initiatives. President Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-il have denied all wrongdoing. A spokesperson for the South Korean embassy in Rangoon confirmed that the ambassador had traveled to Korea but was not authorized to provide further information. Burma Thousands Attend Rangoon Funeral for U Ko Ni Funeral attendees carry the casket of assassinated lawyer U Ko Ni on Monday afternoon at Yayway Cemetery in North Okkalapa Township in Rangoon. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy RANGOON Thousands came to the Rangoon funeral of U Ko Ni, a legal advisor to the National League for Democracy (NLD), who was shot yesterday outside the commercial capitals international airport. The traditional Muslim ceremony at Yayway Cemetery in North Okkalapa Township was attended by U Ko Nis friends and supporters of many faiths. Mourners included NLD leaders U Tin Oo, U Nyan Win, 88 Generation leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, as well as other authorities, including staff members from foreign embassies. This was a political assassination. How could they do something like this? alleged one woman, a relative of U Ko Ni, who was present at the funeral. U Ko Ni was killed by a lone gunman at close range at Yangon International Airport after returning from a trip to Indonesia. The suspect in the murder has been identified as U Kyi Lin, a resident of Mandalay who police say hails from northern Shan State. Also killed in the incident was taxi driver U Nay Win, 48, who attempted to apprehend the shooter and was also shot. U Kyi Lin is in police custody. Local Muslims said that U Ko Nis absence would be felt not only by their own religious community, but by Burma as a whole. He was an educated person. It is a loss for the country, not only for Muslims, said Aung Kyi, a Muslim leader from Pabedan Township who attended the funeral. One paper sign at the funeral read that the bullet that killed U Ko Ni hit the Constitution, but not him, a reference to the late lawyers commitment to amending Burmas controversial, military-drafted 2008 charter. U Ne Latt, also a lawyer, commended U Ko Nis work toward constitutional reform. He added that while lawyers would continue in his footsteps, he did not think anyone could match the contributions U Ko Ni had made in his lifetime. Burma U Ko Ni: In His Own Words NLD legal advisor U Ko Ni was murdered Sunday at Rangoon International Airport. / The Irrawaddy On Article 59(f), which bans anyone with a foreign spouse or children from becoming president: There is an informal way [to amend the constitution] in which we have to enact a special law to temporarily suspend the provision in 59(f). This law can be enacted by 51 percent of votes at the Union Parliament. (Reuters, February 2, 2016). U Ko Ni made this comment before the NLD government came into office and before the new position of State Counselor was created in April 2016. On controlling hate speech: Given the current circumstances in our country, it is very necessary to enact a law to see effective action on hate speech and discrimination. (DVB, July 22, 2016) On rescinding the repressive 1975 State Protection Law: Such a law is absolutely unnecessary for the current governments multi-party democratic system. (The Irrawaddy, 28 April, 2016). On calls for reform of the centralized civil service under the ministry of Home Affairs: The control of General Administration Department on all the government procedures is contrary to the federal system and should be abolished. (Myanmar Now, February 1, 2016). On proposals to enact laws restricting interfaith marriage: The law seems to favor the protection of Buddhist womens rights. What about women of other faiths? A law should cover everyone, and now it seems to totally neglect women from other religions living in the same country. (The Irrawaddy, September 2, 2015) On a proposal for an interfaith law that would promote the equal rights of all religions: There are two main purposes one is to promote the aspect of living harmoniously among religions, and the second is to take effective action against those who try to disturb the status of harmony. The government has the duty to act in the interest of all religions. They should not pay attention only to Buddhists but also to other religions, as the constitution says everyone has the right to religious freedom. (Myanmar Times, May 20, 2016) On avoiding discrimination in citizenship laws: If someone is born in Burma and lives there all their lives, we have to regard them as a citizen of Burma It is harmful if people are divided into classes. (The Irrawaddy, 12 May 2016) On calls to ban the formation of a Myanmar Muslim Lawyers Association: I dont understand why people criticize us when they hear the term Muslim. We dont cause any trouble to others. We just want to give assistance to our Muslim minority people who have long suffered under military rule. (Myanmar Times, 21 June 2016) On bribery and corruption The problem is that corruption is still rampant in Myanmar despite the Anti-Corruption Law. There is corruption at each level of the [government] hierarchy. But punitive actions are rarely taken. (The Irrawaddy, 9 April 2016) Burma Vox Pop: Lawmakers and Advocates Respond to U Ko Nis Death Funeral of lawyer U Ko Ni at Yayway Cemetery on Monday, attended by thousands of people. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy RANGOON Legal advisor to Burmas ruling party and one of the most prominent lawyers U Ko Ni was gunned down at Rangoon International Airport on Sunday as he returned from an official visit to Indonesia. The assassins agenda and purpose remain unknown and authorities are still searching for the full story behind U Ko Nis assassination. The 65-year-old Muslim lawyer was consistently outspoken concerning the countrys Constitution enacted by the then-military government in 2008, and frequently described as undemocratic. U Ko Ni lobbied to re-draft or amend the charter. He was also believed to have advised the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party to create the position of State Counselor for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is barred from the Presidency by the Constitution. As a constitutional expert and a legal commentator who frequently appeared in the media, U Ko Ni was also involved in public campaigns urging law reformssuch as to the ward and village tract administration law which required citizens to report overnight visitors to the authorities. The assassination of such a prominent person, in a public area, no less, has unveiled vulnerabilities regarding the rule of law in Burma. The Irrawaddy spoke to NLD lawmakers and human rights advocates about the impact of U Ko Nis murder on the countrys political activism and the ruling civilian government. Daw Zin Mar Aung NLD Lawmaker, Lower House of Parliament The fact that the incident happened in plain sight makes me wonder if anyone can easily possess a gun. It makes people feel insecure. On the other hand, our society has proven that we dont accept such a violent act. I dont think political activists will become silent because of this act. The attitude and courage of the activists to voice out the truth and what should be said will not be stopped by this kind of violence. The loss of such a legal expert during a period of reforms in the country is a great loss, especially in Burma where the rule of law was and is still in a state of collapse. Its a message to democratic activists that [we] havent achieved the goal and [we] have to continue fighting. Daw May Sabe Phyu Human Rights Advocate, Gender Equality Network The incident threatens the security of us all. Assassinating someone who is close to [the party of] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and who is respected by the public shows that [perpetrators] can do whatever they want to those who are bravely outspoken about human rights, politics and legal affairs. But if we stop speaking out because we are afraid of that, there will be no change in our country. We must continue doing what should be done for our country and people. In the past, innocent people have been raped and killed in conflict areas, and now such violent acts have arrived on our doorstep in the cities. If we all are going to continue neglecting such incidents, the truth and justice will move further away. Daw Nyo Nyo Thin Former Rangoon Regional Lawmaker By having a controversial Article like 66(d) [of the Telecommunications Law] to prosecute withsuch a violent incident will have an impact on outspoken political critics who had no hesitation to voice out. Its shocking because it challenged the states rule of law to carry out such an unlawful violence against a legal advisor of the countrys ruling party. The act of killing him in that area, in plain sight, reflects the situation of the rule of law in this country. Naw Suzanna Hla Hla Soe NLD Lawmaker, Upper House of Parliament Political activism must continue even though the incident has an impact on activists. The public is watching how the rule of law will deliver justice [for U Ko Ni]. World Trumps Refugee Ban Leaves Separated Burmese Families in Limbo US President Donald Trump signs an executive order to impose tighter vetting of travelers entering the United States, at the Pentagon in Washington on January 27, 2017. The executive order signed by Trump imposes a four-month travel ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria, Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries. / Carlos Barria / Reuters US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday initiating a temporary ban on refugee arrivals for at least four months, officially halting all refugee admission and resettlement schemes in the US. Also banned from entering the country are nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The move has raised eyebrows among refugees from Burmanow in camps on the Thai-Burma borderwho have been awaiting resettlement in the US, joining around 100,000 others already stateside. Duncan McArthur, Burma program director of The Border Consortium (TBC), a humanitarian agency that has facilitated the distribution of aid for Burmese refugees for more than two decades, told The Irrawaddy that even though the US ended refugee resettlement programs from the Thai border in 2014, pending cases will be impacted by Trumps order. Others affected include those who have applied for resettlement due to special protection concerns or for family reunification in the US. This pending caseload for resettlement from Thailands border camps are the people most likely to be affected under an executive order includes a temporary ban on refugees, said Duncan, adding that there has historically been strong bi-partisan support in the US for refugees, democracy, human rights and ethnic minorities in Burma. Saw Honest, chairman of Mae La refugee camp, the most populous camp on the Thai border, told The Irrawaddy that international nongovernmental organizations such as International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had informed camp committee leaders on Sunday that the processing of refugee resettlement cases would be temporarily stopped. No exact date for resumed processing has reportedly been announced. In a meeting yesterday, the IOM and the UNHCR told us that resettlement for refugees who applied to reunite with their families will be halted. Other additional resettlement cases will likely end. But we were not told the exact date, said Saw Honest. Some of those refugees who applied for resettlement based on family reunification have already raised their concerns with the Karen Refugee Committee. Even though Trump appeared to have singled out nationals of Muslim-majority countries in the order, his policies will also have an impact on refugees of other faiths, including Buddhists and Christians from Burma, Saw Honest added. Catholic Charities, an organization that assists refugees resettling in Syracuse, New York, reported that Trumps order had already affected some 220 refugees who had been previously approved for a move to the city, according to local media in the US. Among them were Burmese refugees. Vivian Tan, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, told The Irrawaddy that a suspension of resettlement programs could be risky for those Burmese refugees who are considered particularly vulnerable. For many, a suspension will mean they will remain in dangerous situations. UNHCR hopes that this review can proceed expeditiously, and that the resettlement program can restart quickly, she said. The resettlement places that the US provides are vital, she added, pointing out that the millions of refugees who have been resettled over the decades have shown that they can contribute positively to the economic, cultural, and civic vitality of the US. We remain committed to working with the US administration to address any outstanding concerns during its planned review. Resettlement aims to help the most vulnerable refugees, Tan said. Editorial A Hero to Remember A man pays his respects outside the home of lawyer U Ko Ni who was assassinated on Sunday. / Chan Son / The Irrawaddy One of Burmas most prominent lawyers was gunned down at Yangon International Airport on Sunday as he returned from an overseas trip. The assassin knew that U Ko Ni was returning from an official visit to Indonesia where he had held meetings with Buddhist and Muslim religious figures who were involved in addressing tensions in Arakan State. The group aimed to draw on lessons from Indonesias past that could be applied to the current ethnic and religious tension in Burma. As U Ko Ni waited on the sidewalk for a car to pick him up, the assassin approached from behind and shot him. The assassin tried to run away but was subsequently caught by a group of brave taxi drivers. Police have named the suspect as Kyi Lin and said that he is from Kyaukme in Shan State and previously served seven years in prison. He is now in police custody. The assassins precise motives remain unknown, and it is unclear if the gunman had any external support, or whether he simply worked alone. But it is clear that this assassination of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis legal advisor was deliberate and politically motivated. Now the country will require a transparent and credible investigation. U Ko Ni was a prominent Muslim lawyer and close to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Moreover, he was a constitutional expert and strong advocate to amend or replace the 2008 Constitution. That document, which was drafted under the former military government of Burma, grants the army at least 25 percent of all seats in Parliament and control over key ministries. U Ko Ni consistently spoke out to change the Constitution. He is also believed to have played a key role in advising the NLD party to create the position of State Counselor for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after the NLDs landslide victory in the 2015 election. He was regarded as a rational voice on many sensitive issues including the turmoil in northern Arakan State. He was also behind a push to amend the Race and Religion Protection laws, and it is believed that he received death threats. U Ko Nis visit to Indonesia was believed to have been a successful one. The trip was aimed at sharing the experiences of overcoming inter-religious tensions. In fact, since the NLD came into power in 2016, U Ko Ni played a key role in addressing the growing issue of hate speech and religious discrimination. He recently described the possibility that there could be a new law introduced to curtail hate speech. Until his untimely death, U Ko Ni was a fearless fighter who spoke up for his views, and he was a strong force in the democratic movement. Indeed, he was one of the most high profile Muslim voices in the country, and many admired him. U Ko Ni will be remembered as a friend of many activists and democratshe was a friend of many rational voices who believed in diversity and equality. But some might have found his views uncomfortable, and perhaps they felt that silencing him was their only option. Prominent officials reacted online to Sundays dramatic killing. The UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, spoke out on Twitter to condemn the assassination. Not only those responsible for [the] death of U Ko Ni [will be] brought to justice but all those killing, torturing, raping innocent people in #Myanmar! she wrote. Former US ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell shared his condolences on Facebook and said that U Ko Ni was a good friend and a great man. Derek Mitchell urged U Ko Nis cause be our own, everywhere, and said may this awful tragedy inspire rather than incite so his death ultimately will not have been in vain. Friends of democracy across the world learned of U Ko Nis death with great sadness, but remain determined. They salute his work and will remember him as a hero. Guest Column The Long History of Burmese Pussy Power Demonstrators wore pink pussy hats and carried signs that promote female empowerment during the Womens March in Washington DC. / Seinenu Thein-Lemelson Last week, as I peered over a sea of pink hats at the Womens March in Washington DC, one poster caught my eye. Next to a gigantic papier-mache earth was a sign, distant, but discernable, hoisted high into the air by a fellow demonstrator whose face I could not see. It read: Power to the Pussy. The United States is still reeling from the misogyny that came fully to the surface in reaction to its first female presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In one meme that was circulated during the election, a picture of Clinton was placed on a large bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. It read: Hillary Meal Deal; 2 fat thighs; 2 small breasts and a bunch of left wings. Feminists pointed out that Clintons candidacy had resulted in a sexist backlash, bringing into bold light the internalized misogyny that still existed in the US. The sea of pink pussy hats that I swam through during the Womens March was meant to reclaim that wordand its power. The history of gender equality and womens empowermentor pussy powerin Burma is long and complex. Christian missionaries and colonial administrators were impressed by the liberated Burmese woman and her high status. Melford Spiro, the famous anthropologist, wrote: Burmese women are not only among the freest in Asia, but until the relatively recent emancipation of women in the West, they enjoyed much greater freedom and equality with men than did Western women. Burmese women enjoy social and legal equality with men, including property, inheritance, divorce, and voting rights. The representation of the Burmese woman as high status was overturned only in the last two decades. Historian, Chie Ikeya, claimed that accentuating Burmese womens privileged status was an anti-colonial strategy. Progressive thinkers emphasized Burmese womens high status so that they could then point to its erosion under colonialism. Ikeya went on to interpret the status of Burmese women in relation to other colonial and orientalized subjectsmainly East and South Asian women. Ikeya positions Burmese women such that they are understood entirely through the lens of others. Rather than acknowledging the legal and social equality enjoyed by Burmese women as historical factsworthy of analysis in their own rightshe dismissed the very representation of the free Burmese woman as a form of fetishistic orientalism. The image of empowered Burmese womenequal to their men in most ways that matteredwas buried. What emerges as even more puzzling than the dismissal of native forms of gender egalitarianism and female empowerment by scholars like Ikeya is the reintroduction of both these concepts by international NGOs. From 2011 to 2015, foreign NGOs led hundreds of workshops in Burma on womens empowerment. One womens conference in Rangoon kicked off with a video message by Angelina Jolie, offering words of encouragement to Burmese women. Participants at another workshop drew pictures of their own vaginas. That Burmese women have always enjoyed legal rights for which millions of women on this globe are still fighting was not discussed. They had rendered the notion of the equal and independent Burmese woman to be untruerecasting her as oppressedso that she could then be re-liberated by white women. The same observations can be made of the Wests relationship with Aung San Suu Kyi. If the test of true female empowerment in a society is how peopleboth men and womenemote towards their female leaders, then Burma passes with flying colors. Even after Clinton had won the presidential nomination and the public was dependent upon her victory to overthrow Trump, Democrats were still wondering out loud whether Hillary was likable. With Aung San Suu Kyi, there is very little ambivalence. An unwavering majority of the Burmese public feel a deep sense of love and awe towards her. That awesustained for twenty-seven yearsresulted in a landslide victory for her political party last November. Western journalists embraced Aung San Suu Kyi as a prisoner of conscience; but since her release in 2010, she has been represented in Western media in the same disparaging manner as Clinton. Aung San Suu Kyis image survived the juntas propaganda machine, but was being immolated by Western misogyny. Even the Burmese word for pussy was buried by the deluge of overly general and largely inadequate observations made by foreign NGOs and journalists. In 2015, the Guardian published an article declaring: In Myanmar there are no vaginas. They went on to explain that there was no word for vagina in the Burmese language. The author claimed that this verbal taboo hampered progress towards gender equality. While it is true that there is no direct translation for the medicalized term vagina (the closest word is borrowed from the Pali term yoni or yoni magga), Burmese women have always spoken about their pussies. Indeed, the Burmese word sauk (derived from saukpat, translated as pussy) is widely and frequently used in colloquial Burmese. Sauk is impolite, most often used as a profanity, but it is no more vulgar than the English terms pussy or cunt. Burmese speakers use sauk more often and apply it more broadly than English speakers use the word pussy. The term sauk is more flexible than the word pussy because it can be used as both an adjective and adverb, much in the same manner that the f-word can be placed as a modifier in front of other words in American English. Unlike pussy, which is only used in the States to belittle females or to belittle males who are thought to behave effeminately or cowardly, sauk is applied across situations and persons. The two most common insults that you can direct at someone is to call them a sauk-kaung or sauk-kaungma (translated literally as pussy-man or pussy-woman). The Burmese favor this insult over jerk or bitch. Women do not skirt around the word either; they own it. During his fieldwork in Burma during the 1960s, Spiro observed that women used the term freely. He describes an elderly woman telling a neighbor to eat (her) pussy because he took a piece of jaggery; and when a girl was teased about a sweetheart by a group of young men, she retorted: I wouldnt rub him with my pussy. An insult that only women can use is: I will raise my skirt as a flag. Brown wrote in 1915 that it was normal for Burmese women to drop their sarongs (tameins) during verbal altercations, grab their crotch and hurl a rude invitation at (their) adversary. We can only delve into deeper discussions about gender and power in Burmese society when we move past the idea that Burmese womens experiences parallel those of white women. Along with this realization, it is time we unearthed the buried image of the high status, liberated Burmese woman, not because we should valorize or romanticize any one culture, but because more than evernot only in Burma, but in the USwe need new models of how men and women should emote towards female power. And for Burmese women, unearthing that buried image can perhaps help them to realize that rather than trying to create a Burmese word for vagina, they should continueas they always haveto talk about their pussies. Seinenu Thein-Lemelson, Ph.D. is a Burmese-American psychological anthropologist and postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. You can follow her on Twitter @SeinenuTL Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 (10:51 am) - Score 3,941 Over the past week or so Gigaclears ultrafast fibre optic FTTP broadband network, which is focused on connecting tens of thousands of premises in various rural areas across England, has suffered a string of network outages and Internet connectivity disruption. Network problems are of course quite normal for every broadband ISP and theyre usually location specific, with the worst issues often being caused by third-party contractors cutting through major cables or serious hardware failures. However over the past week or two a seemingly noticeable number of Gigaclears normally happy customers have become increasingly frustrated after being hit by a spate of service disruptions, one after the other. The main problems appear to have started on 23rd January 2017 when a general outage (i.e. NOT area specific) impacted their core network and then another one hit a few days later on 26th January. Much like other ISPs Gigaclear chose not to elaborate on the cause of these problems. Unfortunately yesterday (31st Jan) saw Gigaclear being hit by yet another major outage, which affected their network for much of the afternoon and into the night. This time around the ISP offered a little bit more detail and pointed the finger at a major problem in a national trunk network. The service has now been restored and Gigaclear said they sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. However the disruption, which comes at an awkward time because Gigaclear is currently in the running for several major state aid supported broadband contracts, has raised questions about the resilience of their growing network. We have requested further information on the recent outages from Gigaclear and are awaiting their response, which hopefully will offer a bit more detail than weve seen over the past week or two. In the meantime we note that Gigaclears main national trunk network providers have just scheduled essential maintenance to take place between 6th (22:00) and 7th (07:00) of February, which may also result in a few outages but this should at least be restricted to their infrastructure in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire areas. Customers will otherwise be hoping for more stability going forwards. However its worth remembering that no ISP is immune to major disruption, with BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and others all having plenty of experience with similarly significant events. UPDATE 2nd Feb 2017 Sadly were still waiting for a comment from Gigaclears PR team, although one of their customers has kindly forwarded us an apology message that has just been sent out by the CEO. The letter includes a lot more information on the most recent problem. Last month, I wrote a post about Stan Black, chief security officer at Citrix Systems, who argued that just treating the symptoms of your cybersecurity ills wont cure them, and that instead, you need to address the cause. Whats worth elaborating upon in this follow-up is what Black had to say about how he addressed Citrixs own IT security issues. I opened this portion of my interview with Black by asking him what he has had to fix at Citrix since joining the company as CSO a little over three years ago. His response: A lot of things. Well, I dont know that fixing is the right term. Im Citrixs first CSO, and what we have implemented is a more consistent and uniform approach to how every function at Citrix consistently protects the business. Many businesses, whether theyre a technology company or a heavily regulated institution, have varying levels of protection. Its my opinion that we are part of our customers supply chain, and therefore every facet of our business needs to be consistently protected. Now, some items are far more sensitive than others, so you need levels. But I wouldnt say its what I have fixed its consistency that we have established, whether its product security, operational security or cloud security. We also do geopolitical and threat risk modeling; we make sure our people around the globe are safe, and that we have the ability to reach out to them in the event of an incident. So its a fairly broad spectrum. Im responsible for product security, operational security, and the safety of our people. In his keynote at the 2016 Citrix Security Summit for Government last June, Black said he had removed 30 percent of the security technologies in Citrixs infrastructure since he got there. I asked him to elaborate on that, and he said it was an exercise in virtualization: Essentially, our own technologies eliminated the need to add on security layers. Virtualized data doesnt leave the building; I dont have to protect it. If inside a container, youre only allowed to go to authorized locations and communicate with authorized people in other words, whitelist then I dont have to worry about blacklist, do I? So the 30 percent actually 30-plus percent now is simplification. There are technologies that do detection, but I prefer prevention. So the detection type of technology, I have greatly reduced. In January, Black wrote a blog post in response to media reports that a Russian hacker had compromised Citrixs content management system, noting that the content management server that was accessed contained no customer, employee or other sensitive or confidential information. I asked Black what he learned from that experience, and he indicated that he learned a lesson about fake news: Make sure that we keep all systems at Citrix protected in a consistent fashion it goes back to simplification. But do you want to know what I really learned from that? That truth in some media forms is not necessarily important to what they print or communicate. Because that event was about as benign as they come, but those reports significantly increased the amount of cyber-attention I received globally, to the tune of over 330 percent. Black shared some additional insights stemming from the findings of a newly released IT security survey, commissioned by Citrix and conducted by the Ponemon Institute. For one thing, he spoke to how the concerns of respondents in the United States differed from those of respondents in other parts of the world: Especially throughout Europe, how security is looked at is actually tied more consistently to privacy. Many of my counterparts throughout Europe look at security and privacy hand-in-hand. So really, its not that they are different, but the perception is a little bit different in how they are measured, and what is critical privacy being top of mind throughout much of Europe. My view on that is, its my opinion that the world privacy incorporates security, it incorporates compliance. So it protects the business, it protects the technology, and it protects identities and accounts and things of that nature. So I dont see how they can be bifurcated. The survey found that 80 percent of the respondents cited attacks from nation-states as what they consider to be the No. 1 security risk. I asked Black if he believes that nation-states are indeed the No. 1 risk, or if that was just top of mind with the respondents because theres been so much in the press about it recently. He indicated that whats important is that the focus on nation-states doesnt blind anyone to the harm generated by the criminal element: Nation-states have the most resources; organized crime has the highest aptitude for highly targeted activities. So theyre in it for profit; nation-states are in it not necessarily for profit, but for disruption, and for intelligence-gathering, whether its an aircraft design or highly cleared people in the government, or whatever the data may be. So thats why if you look at the 56 billion unauthorized probes that hit my perimeter every quarter, much of the traffic comes from sources that would be put into the category of nation-state probably 75 percent is a rough estimate. But I would also say that another significant percentage is a mix that goes across the nation-states, that is a mix of government-driven and criminal entity-driven. A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant. Google is donating $4 million to support causes related to immigration. This is a response to the United States President Donald Trump's executive order which bans citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days. Google co-founder and current president of Alphabet Sergei Brin even joined protesters against the order at the San Francisco International Airport. Sometime in 1979, Brin's family previously traveled to the United States from the Soviet Union to escape Jewish persecution. $2 million is said to come from the company itself while its employees supported the remaining amount. The money is going to four organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), International Rescue Committee (IRC) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees / UN Refugee Agency (UNHR). Google's crisis campaign is the company's largest fund. ACLU has revealed it has received 6 times as much money as it usually receives in a whole year over the weekend. According to a spokesperson, the civil liberties group received more than $24 million in online donations from 356,306 people. The transportation network Lyft has also pledged to give $1 million to ACLU over the next four years. The immigration ban will also affect citizens with valid visas. Sundar Pichai, an Indian immigrant who just so happens to be the CEO of the tech giant Google sent a memo to recall employees who were on vacation or business abroad to fly back to the US immediately. According to the memo, 187 Google employees were directly affected by the Trump order. A lot of them tried to get back into the country before the order was made official, however, not everyone made it back in time. "We're upset about the impact of this order," says Pichai in a company-wide email. "We've always made our views on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so." With its goal of resurging to the top and gaining its trust back to the people, Samsung will definitely be coming out with new handsets this year, assuredly later. One single particular handset that people are looking forward to is the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Samsung making bold moves There is no doubting that branding the latest phablet in line with its disastrous Note 7 predecessor is a bold move for Samsung. Some people have even suggested they should scrap the Note series from its roster after a very small fraction of its Galaxy Note 7 exploded. But it seems Samsung is taking the risk and decided it will continue on with its Note lines with the coming of Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Samsung to have different battery supplier for its Note 8 Now that it has been finally revealed that the main cause of the Note 7's explosions is its ill-fitted battery in its cramped-up casing, Samsung is now taking extra precautions of sourcing its battery from a new supplier, UniversityHerald reported. Reports are saying that Samsung has contracted LG's subsidiary, LG Chem, to provide batteries for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Therefore, the Galaxy Note 8 is indeed happening and is a surefire thing to hit this year. The Note 8 will be better, safer, and more innovative True to the promise of making the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 a very impressive handset, it has been speculated that Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be outfitted with a 4K display to further maximize the Note 8's VR capabilities. ValueWalk has reported that it will also feature a processing power bump, a new dual-camera technology, and quite possibly, more RAM to top it off. It will also receive an updated S-pen stylus, and the most awaited AI feature, Bixby. Bixby is Samsung's new Artificial Intelligence technology after officially purchased Viv Labs, the creators of Siri. The Galaxy S8 is Samsung's first flagship release this 2017 and it is also the company's first flagship to follow the discontinued Note 7 phablet. With that, this phone has become more widely talked about than its predecessors and it has also become highly anticipated for the past months. Needless to say, the Galaxy S8's arrival is coming soon and it is greatly evidenced by the discount given to the Galaxy S7 Edge. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Price 2017 The S7 Edge is now starting to get better prices as its successor awaits launch. Although the discount mentioned by Phone Arena isn't directly from Samsung, it's also from a giant third-party seller. Apparently, Amazon had listed a deal for the Galaxy S7 Edge that offered it for just $587 instead of the usual $739. This is a solid 20 percent discount that's pretty much a big deal. Of course, this deal isn't perfect as it refers to an international S7 Edge version, so it doesn't have a warranty. It is also powered by an Exynos processor instead of a Snapdragon 820. Nevertheless, even though it runs Android Marshmallow from the box, it is also eligible for a Nougat update. Hopefully, though, this phone will be given a discount by other sellers as well especially as the Galaxy S8's arrival draws near. Samsung Galaxy S8 Release According to the most recent leaks and details, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be unveiled March 29. It has already been confirmed earlier that this device won't be showcased at the Mobile World Congress 2017 event, but initially, no solid info was shared regarding the exact release schedule of the Galaxy S8. Eventually, though, a reliable source has spread the word that the new Samsung Galaxy phone will be launched by the end of March and will be released globally on April 21. Ford Vox, a physician-journalist specializing in rehabilitation medicine, warned that the ban implemented by US President Donald Trump against seven majority-Muslim countries will take a detrimental impact on the countrys American health care. He said that the said travel ban is a blunt instrument that's already wreaking havoc, and the impact is already being disproportionately felt throughout the countrys health care system. The travel ban was implemented because the Trump administration wants to emphasize that it is prohibiting a "small percentage" of foreign travelers from entering or leaving the U.S. However, local hospitals have always relied on a steady influx of international physicians to keep the health care system running. Vox also underlined that throughout his medical career, he has benefitted from working and collaborating with medical graduates from different countries. He even claimed that he was able to establish professional relationships with Canadians, Iranians, Russians, Israelis, Saudis, Canadians, Israelis, and Italians whom he has worked with in various medical centers located in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, and Massachusetts. Vox also explained that he was able to analyze and study different medical systems and approaches in managing several health conditions, not to mention enjoying their camaraderie. CNN reports that President Trump's new order succeeded despite the failed interventions of two federal courts. This means that if someone from the seven majority-Muslim countries went abroad regardless of reason, she is in danger of being locked out until such ban is suspended. Furthermore, Vox also said that their training hospitals only comprised 18,668 American medical graduates out of the 27,860, which means that international physicians permeate the entire medical system. According to Voxcs, Trumps ban will affect more than 500,000 green card holders. About 30% of American transplant surgeons began their careers in medical schools abroad. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that their country will have a shortage of up to 94,700 doctors by 2025. Online network sharing service AirBnB offered free accommodation to all victims of Trumps immigration ban. After the Nokia 6 sold out in under a minute during its first flash sale, more people are looking forward to the company's flagship phone the Nokia P1. The device is rumored to be one of the highlights of the Mobile World Congress 2017. While there has been no confirmation from HMD Global, many consumers are still looking forward that there is some truth to the rumors circulating that Nokia will launch two new phones during the MWC. Nokia P1 Features News that Nokia is planning to release a new breed of smartphones sparked renewed interest especially after HMD released Nokia 6 in China. Many people are looking forward to the company's flagship phone, which has been dubbed as the Nokia P1. This phone supposedly runs on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat. Other features of the phone are rumored to be nothing special except for the 22.3 MP camera. Reports also suggest that Nokia P1 comes with a 6GB RAM and a 256GB internal storage. One concept video for the Nokia P1, which has been making rounds online depicts the phone as a higher end Nokia 6 model. The midrange phone that has already been released in China comes with an all-metal body. The video seems to be inspired by the rumors that are making rounds on the web. Nokia P1 Leaks Reports that Nokia is not only set on launching Nokia 6 has been around for some time. There were rumors that the company's flagship phone was displayed at the CES 2017 but it has been ignored by most people in the venue. The phones sparked much controversy online. Now that the MWC 2017 is drawing near, rumors are becoming even stronger that Nokia has more tricks on its sleeve. It remains to be seen if the company will unveil the flagship phone Nokia P1 during the event on Feb. 26. Rumors suggest that Nvidia's next generation Volta GPU will be launched this year and speculations surrounding the upcoming architecture are ramping up. Nvidia Volta GPUs Lineup According to Segment Next, we will be seeing the upcoming next-generation Volta architecture in 30 series Nvidia GPUs. It is highly likely that the 20 series GPUs will still be based on Nvidia Pascal refresh versions featuring more overclocking headroom and marginally better performance. According to speculations, the upcoming Nvidia Volta GPUs will be based on the 12 nm FinFET process recently devised by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The 12nm FinFET process will allow that the upcoming GPUs will be more powerful as well as more efficient. Tech experts expect that Nvidia Volta GPUs will be coming out for supercomputers this year. However, the general public and especially gamers are more interested in gaming GPUs rather than deep learning or artificial intelligence. For them, the good news is that we can expect to see Nvidia Volta gaming GPUs in 2018. The first Volta gaming GPUs will be the 30 series Nvidia GPUs, including their flagship GTX 3080. The GTX 3080 will feature a much faster memory called HBMs. We can also expect to see the GTX 3080 Ti at the high end of the 30 series GPUs lineup. When it comes to the mid-range, Nvidia is expected to launch the GTX 3070 that targets this GPU market. All these Nvidia GPUs are expected to come on the market only in 2018. The 20 series GPUs that will include the GTX 2070 and the GTX 2080 will come in 2017. According to speculations, these will be priced lower than current GPUs but will be slightly better performing GPUs. Volta GPUs' Features According to Top 500, the supercomputing community is highly anticipating the introduction of NVIDIA's Volta GPU architecture. TSMC's 12 nm technology is a refinement of their 16 nm process used to manufacture NVIDIA's current Pascal GPUs. The next major process node is 10 nm and this is the process node that NVIDIA would certainly have wished to use for its upcoming Voltas. Compared to its 16 nm process, TSMC is promising a 20 percent performance increase for the 10 nm technology. Only about half of that would probably be achieved with the 12 nm node. However, it is expected that future renditions of Volta GPUs will be manufactured on 10 nm or perhaps even 7 nm technology. The next-generation Volta architecture isn't all about silicon shrinkage. It will also come with a reworked design with regard to its computational engine that powers all NVIDIA's GPUs, the streaming multiprocessor (SM). Irrespective of transistor size, the SM update is expected to deliver better power efficiency and performance than its Pascal predecessor. Tech experts speculate that the design difference between Volta and Pascal will be much more significant than the one between Pascal and Maxwell. The Volta GPU is going to be the computational heart of two of the upcoming pre-exascale supercomputers, the Summit and Sierra. These are machines deployed by the US Department of Energy under the agency's CORAL (Collaboration of Oak Ridge, Argonne, and Lawrence Livermore) program. The idea of autonomous driving is no longer a thing of the past, but it is going to take some time for the technology to be perfected and correspondingly distributed. But in a recent announcement made by Uber, it is evident that the general public will have an easier time getting access to the same. The ride-hailing company has partnered up with German automaker Daimler to provide autonomous rides to customers. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick made the announcement of its new partnership with Daimler via an official blog post, which praised the automaker for its years and expertise in car manufacturing. He also clarified that while the partnership has begun, it will take some time before the fruits of the same are made available to the public. "In the coming years," the post said. "Daimler has planned to introduce and operate their own self-driving cars on Uber's ride-sharing network." The delay, as The Verge notes, will largely be because Daimler is still developing its autonomous technology. The publication claims that the German company is close to releasing its first semi-autonomous vehicle, which could even rival Tesla's Autopilot system. The first model to get the new self-driving tech will be the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Kalanick went on to state that the partnership will only help the company reach its goal of providing reliable transportation to everyone. Autonomous driving, he reasoned, will only help reduce the possibility of traffic accidents as well as minimize road congestion. Daimler is thereby important in this as Uber has no experience in the production of cars. By molding Daimler's auto know-how and Uber's global network, both companies hope to provide individuals with a great yet safe transportation experience. The partnership, as Kalanick claims, will only help all parties get to that goal faster. Moreover, the end picture is going to be a "future in which our cities and roads will be safer, cleaner and more accessible." The new deal with Daimler is only the next chapter in Uber's story of making autonomous driving an everyday experience. The company first launched its autonomous driving program in September 2016. At that time, the company was limited to using Ford Focus vehicles, before Volvo SUVs were added to the roster. However, the program was forced to shut down in California as the DMV shut it down. The newly announced partnership, as ideal as it may seem, is not an exclusive one. It is possible that Daimler will opt to provide other ride-hailing companies its autonomous vehicles. On the other hand, Uber still has the right to work with other auto manufacturers, which is a likely situation considering the company's history. By dealing directly with these automakers benefits Uber two-fold. By participating in the industry with Daimler, the company reduces the image that Uber is reducing the sales of motor vehicles around the world. What is arguably more important, however, is that it will allow the company to connect with a steady stream of riders. Deals between raid hailing companies and automakers have been making headlines recently, as more and more parties are investing into the autonomous driving trend. Lyft, one of Uber's largest competitors, has been working with General Motors. GM has likewise been working on producing self-driving vehicles for Lyft. Lily Robotic's problems continue to pile up as a recent report says that authorities raided the company's headquarters and that it may face a criminal investigation. There are reports that the company's headquarters in San Francisco was supposedly raided by a team of law enforcement agents early this year. Forbes got hold of Henry Bradlow, co-founder and chief technology officer of the recently folded startup company, to get his side of the story but was told that he would not remark on "rumors". Forbes also contacted the San Francisco District Attorney's office about the supposed raid but a spokesperson for the DA neither confirmed nor denied it. Despite the lack of confirmation on the raid, one fact that holds true is that the company is in trouble. The owners of Lily Robotics, Bradlow and Antoine Balaresque, released a statement last Jan. 12 saying that the "adventure comes to an end" and that it was closing shop. The company came to the decision after it failed to gather enough funds to continue its highly-anticipated drone project. Lily Robotics is now facing a possible criminal investigation after it was discovered that the company's highly successful launch video proved to be a fraud. The San Francisco DA's office accused the company of false promotion. As it turns out, the camera used in the video was not of the Lily drone but of another drone from a different company. An email sent to the filmmaker behind the video revealed that a GoPro was used to shoot it and that Balaresque wanted to be "extremely careful if we decide to lie publicly". Additionally, CMI Productions was not fully paid for the video. The Lily drone was introduced back in May 2015 and instantly created a following. The concept of a remote control-free camera drone that could be thrown in the air and will fly and shoot videos on its own while following the user with the help of a wristwatch-like tracking device impressed many people so much that it quickly received a total of $15 million in funds. When pre-ordering commenced, more than $34 million worth of Lily drone orders were placed. Lily Robotics did promise to refund its customers within 60 days from the date of the announcement. There are high expectations this year for Apple, as 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone - a device that arguably revolutionized how the public uses and understands smartphones. And while there has been a lot of talks about the upcoming iPhone 8, there is another aspect that should be discussed. The Cupertino-based company is expected to roll out its next major operating system update as well, which will introduce exciting new features to the iPhone experience. Though nothing has been made official, Forbes reports that iOS 11 is expected to roll out to the public in September. The actual announcement, however, may be made as early as June, during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. And since the iPhone 8 is expected to launch within the same time frame, the releases will complement each other nicely. The speculations regarding the iOS 11 features have been going around for quite some time now and have been highly anticipated by the public. However, the Cupertino-based company is estimated to be saving its best ideas for the anniversary iPhone. This would mean that there is no better time to truly welcome several innovations than now. One of the biggest possible features is extending iMessaging to Android. This would allow Apple users to interact with Android users in a way that has until now been restricted. There are several features in iMessage that have not been copied by other messaging apps, so the idea of this extension is a welcome one. It might be argued that this will not work as iMessage is exclusive to iOS. However, the publication notes that BlackBerry previously released BBM for both iOS and Android. Furthermore, it is possible to set Google Hangouts as the default messaging application for Android. The possibility of inputting iMessage into a Samsung, LG or Google device is not an impossible one. The next possible feature is not foreign to Apple. For a while now, educational institutions have been using Managed Apple IDs, which allow several people to use just one Apple device - the most common of which are iPads. The guest mode may be extended to the iPhone 8 this year via iOS 11, which would allow owners more privacy despite lending their devices to other people. The guest mode will theoretically provide non-owners access to basic functions such as calling or surfing the web. However, it will not provide details it would normally provide the owner such as call history or browser history. It can also be extended to text messages and saved passwords. Siri is also slated to get an upgrade this year. Apple has invested a lot into its version of a virtual assistant, even setting up a separate team in Cambridge, England, that works solely to improve her. The team is reportedly working on making Siri sound more nature, as well as providing the same with the skills to control popular third-party applications such as Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat. But while iOS 11 will undoubtedly introduce the market to several new features and improvements, it will also mean the end of 32-bit applications. As 9to5Mac reports, iOS 9 already included a warning to users that 32-bit apps would slow down the device's performance. The same support might no longer be seen with Apple's next major OS update. Aliens on the moon is believed to need liquid water, energy and organic material to live like mankind. It is believed to be impossible for a life form live on the moon. However, a new research of a top scientist claims otherwise. The research discovered that oxygen could be transported from earth to the moon. This is during oxygen ions blasts from Earth in a five-day period monthly. Solarwinds cover the moon with oxygen ions when it passes the Earth's magnetic shield. Astrophysicist Kentaro Terada, from Osaka University in Japan said that their new findings suggest that the Earth-Moon system do not only involve physical terms but also chemical elements as well. During the study of lunar rocks in 2006, oxygen content was not consistent to support life. But now scientists suggest that oxygen ions that travel from Earth to the Moon could explain the chemical imbalance. The Earths upper atmosphere is said to contain oxygen ions that are easily lifted by the solar wind and brought to the moon. Scientists suggest that aliens on the moon could possibly exist if the presence of oxygen ion is found there. According to the Daily Star, these are claims of a top scientist that oxygen transported to the moon could show life. Terrada added that maybe some of the oxygen ion that was transported reach the Moon while some of it lost in the interplanetary space. According to the Daily Express, scientist has given up on looking for aliens on the moon, but this new research shows hope to reopen the investigation. On Earth oxygen and water are the key ingredients to life. During a short period of each time the Moon passes through the Earths Magnetic Shield. During this time, the Moon is littered with oxygen from the Earths atmosphere. Whether there could possibly be aliens on the Moon, scientists may be close to unveiling it. Donald Trumps bitter relationship with the tech world doesn't seem to get a near end as the giant firms strongly criticized him for the Muslim ban, by considering this decision as a radical move that is denigrating millions of immigrants. However, even when IBM was the latest to do so, this company has been blasted for not showing a strong stance on this delicate issue. Apple Had A Much Stronger Stance Over The Muslim Ban Just two days after the major tech firms spoke out against the Muslim ban, IBM said that the company long believed in diversity, inclusion and tolerance, and that the path for prosperity, innovation and civil society is the path of engagement and openness to the world. In fact, IBMs statement over the Muslim ban didn't make any direct mention of the issue or president Donald Trump. Of course this is a quite different stance as the one taken by Apple, which clearly show its position through its CEO Tim Cooks words, in which he explicitly said that this company would remain open to every person in the world, no matter where they come from, since the Cupertino giant would exist without immigration. In response to IBMs statement over the Muslim ban, cryptographer expert at the Johns Hopkins University, Matthew Green, tweeted that he has read technical manuals with more content than IBMs statement. In fact, many other people also criticized the companys position, remembering how it collaborated with the Nazis in the past. IBMs Chief Executive Works With Trump In any case, it is believed that IBMs weak stance on Trumps Muslim ban might be because its chief executive Ginni Rometty is currently one of over a dozen high-profile figures advising the president on his Strategic and Policy Forum, in which other major figures in tech world as Uber boss Travis Kalanick and tech-pioneer Elon Musk also participates. Although it is not known how the tech world will position against Trump because of the Muslim ban, it is quite possible that IBM enters into a dangerous downward spiral because of this issue. Nevertheless, it remains unknown if this could also happen with Uber and Tesla. A new documentary on legendary investor Warren Buffett sheds light on just how his spending habits may have made him wealthy. In the documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett," which airs on HBO, the billionaire said he never spends more than $3.17 for breakfast most days. "I tell my wife, as I shave in the morning, I say, 'Either $2.61, $2.95 or $3.17.' And she puts that amount in the little cup by me here [in the car]," he explains in HBO's documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett," which first aired Monday. Despite the global approval of FDA to certain drugs that could supposedly help cure Multiple Sclerosis, the US Food & Drug Administration has recently warned patients and healthcare professionals of a potential link between the multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera and liver injuries. Experts from Biogen Inc. says that Tecfidera use, the company's huge-selling oral multiple sclerosis drug, have seen a possible occurrence of liver injury that could require hospitalization. On the other hand, on its updated label, it was found that signs of liver injury were resolved when those patients stopped taking the medicine. Tecfidera Can Cause Severe Liver Injuries According to reports revealed by Reuters, Tecfidera is known to be the world's top-selling oral MS treatment. According to some reports, it was because of the said MS drug why the company had astounding sales of $1.03 billion in the third quarter. It was found that with regards to the liver injury information, the company claims that it is indicated in a warning section under prescribing information on Tecfidera's website. As of the press time, a Biogen spokeswoman has revealed that there have been 14 cases of liver injury reported out of some 230,000 patients treated with Tecfidera. Biogen's Take On Liver Injury And Hospitalization Meanwhile, as per Legal Herald, although the patients were said to have recovered, it was found that a number of patients' health condition have really required hospitalization. Furthermore, Biogen has even added that none of the liver problems led to liver failure, transplant or death. Accordingly, the warning indicated on the warning section under prescribing information, it notes that symptoms of liver injury can include significant increases in the serum level of aminotransferases and bilirubin. It was found that the warning has allegedly stated that clinically significant cases of liver injury have been reported in patients treated with Tecfidera in the postmarketing phase of the study. Scientists were able to unearth a piece of crust under the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. This helped them confirm the existence of a long lost continent known as Gondwana. This started out about 200 million years ago. The crust was covered by young lava during volcanic eruptions within the vicinity of the island. This tiny fraction of ancient continent broke off from Madagascar after Africa, India, Antarctica and Australia split up to form the Indian Ocean. The study was led by Wits geologist Professor Lewis Ashwal. He also served as the lead author of their paper entitled "Archaean zircons in Miocene oceanic hotspot rocks establish ancient continental crust beneath Mauritius." He said that thei group s studying the break-up process of the continents to trace the geological history of our planet. His study was published in Nature Communications, one of the most revered publications that feature studies of celebrated authors and researchers. Live Science revealed that Ashwal and his colleagues from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) and Trond Torsvik from the University of Oslo and other agencies studied the mineral and zircon found in rocks spewed up by lava during volcanic eruptions. He discussed that the earth was made of two parts like old continents and young oceans. Rocks over four billion years old were also found on the continents. According to eurekart.org, one of the dominant minerals found in the crust is Zircons. These are minerals that occur mainly in granites, and contain traces of uranium, thorium and lead. Due to their geological survival process, Zircons contain a rich record of geological processes and can be dated extremely accurately. Almost one decade ago, a team of University of Oslo scientists led by Trond Torsvik, discovered a lost continent dubbed as Mauritia. This area separates India up to the northern part of Madagascar. The continent was reported to have sank beneath the ocean surface. Last summer at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference, the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge pitted automated systems against one another, trying to find weaknesses in the others' code and exploit them. "This is a great example of how easily machines can find and exploit new vulnerabilities, something we'll likely see increase and become more sophisticated over time," said David Gibson, vice president of strategy and market development at Varonis Systems. His company hasn't seen any examples of hackers leveraging artificial intelligence technology or machine learning, but nobody adopts new technologies faster than the sin and hacking industries, he said. "So it's safe to assume that hackers are already using AI for their evil purposes," he said. The genie is out of the bottle. "It has never been easier for white hats and black hats to obtain and learn the tools of the machine learning trade," said Don Maclean, chief cybersecurity technologist at DLT Solutions. "Software is readily available at little or no cost, and machine learning tutorials are just as easy to obtain." Take, for example, image recognition. It was once considered a key focus of artificial intelligence research. Today, tools such as optical character recognition are so widely available and commonly used that they're not even considered to be artificial intelligence anymore, said Shuman Ghosemajumder, CTO at Shape Security. "People don't see them as having the same type of magic as it has before," he said. "Artificial intelligence is always what's coming in the future, as opposed to what we have right now." Today, for example, computer vision is good enough to allow self-driving cars to navigate busy streets. And image recognition is also good enough to solve the puzzles routinely presented to website users to prove that they are human, he added. For example, last spring, Vinay Shet, the product manager for Google's Captcha team, told Google I/O conference attendees that in 2014, they had a distorted text Captcha that only 33 percent of humans could solve. By comparison, the state-of-the-art OCR systems at the time could already solve it with 99.8 percent accuracy. The criminals are already using image recognition technology, in combination with "Captcha farms," to by-pass this security measure, said Ghosemajumder. The popular Sentry MBA credential stuffing tool has it built right in, he added. So far, he said, he hasn't seen any publicly available tool kits based on machine learning that are designed to bypass other security mechanisms. But there are indirect indicators that criminals are starting to use this technology, he added. For example, companies already know that if there's an unnaturally large amount of traffic from one IP address, that there's a high chance it's malicious, so criminals use botnets to bypass those filters, and the defenders look for more subtle indications that the traffic is automated and not human, he said. They can't just add in more randomness since human behavior is not actually random, he said. Spotting subtle patterns in large amount of data is exactly what machine learning is good at -- and what the criminals need to do in order to effectively mimic human behavior. Smarter email scams According to the McAfee Labs 2017 Threats Predictions report, cyber-criminals are already using machine learning to target victims for Business Email Compromise scams, which have been escalating since early 2015. What artificial intelligence does is it lets them automate the tailoring of content to the victim. Steve Grobman, Intel Security CTO at Intel "What artificial intelligence does is it lets them automate the tailoring of content to the victim," said Steve Grobman, Intel Security CTO at Intel, which produced the report. "Another key area where bad actors are able to use AI is in classification problems. AI is very good at classifying things into categories." For example, the hackers can automate the process of finding the most likely victims. The technology can also be used to help attackers stay hidden inside corporate networks, and to find vulnerable assets. Identifying specific cases where AI or machine learning is used can be tricky, however. "The criminals aren't too open about explaining exactly what their methodology is," he said. And he isn't aware of hard evidence, such as computers running machine learning models that were confiscated by law authorities. "But we've seen indicators that this sort of work is happening," he said. "There are clear indications that bad actors are starting to move in this direction." Sneaker malware and fake domains Security providers are increasingly using machine learning to tell good software from bad, good domains from bad. Now, there are signs that the bad guys are using machine learning themselves to figure out what patterns the defending systems are looking for, said Evan Wright, principal data scientist at Anomali. "They'll test a lot of good software and bad software through anti-virus, and see the patterns in what the [antivirus] engines spot," he said. Similarly, security systems look for patterns in domain generation algorithms, so that they can better spot malicious domains. "They try to model what the good guys are doing, and have their machine learning model generate exceptions to those rules," he said. Again, there's little hard evidence that this is actually happening. "We've seen intentional design in the domain generation algorithms to make it harder to detect it," he said. "But they could have done that in a few different ways. It could be experiential. They tried a few different ways, and this worked." Or they could have been particularly intuitive, he said, or hired people who previously worked for the security firms. One indicator that an attack is coming from a machine, and not a clever -- or corrupt -- human being, is the scale of the attack. Take, for example, a common scam in which fake dating accounts are created in order to lure victims to prostitution services. The clever part isn't so much the automated conversation that the bot has with the victim, but the way that the profiles are created in the first place. "It needs to create a profile dynamically, with a very attractive picture from Facebook, and an attractive occupation, like flight attendant or school teacher," said Omri Iluz, CEO and co-founder at PerimeterX. Each profile is unique, yet appealing, he said. "We know that it's not just automation because it's really hard," he said. "We ruled out manual processes just by sheer volume. And we also don't think they're rolling out millions of profiles and doing natural selection because it would be identified by the dating platform. These are very smart pieces of software." Scalpers do something similar when they automatically buy tickets to resell at a profit. "They need to pick the item that they know will get them a high value on the secondary market," he said. "And they can't do it manually because there's no time. And it can't be a numbers game because they can't simply buy all the inventories because then they'll be losing money. There's intelligence behind it." The profits from these activities more than pay for the research and development, he said. "When we look at the revenues these fraudsters generated, it's bigger than many real companies," he said. "And they don't need to kill anyone, or do something risky like deal drugs." Getting ready for the Turing Test In limited, specific applications, computers are already passing the Turing Test -- the classic thought experiment in which humans try to decide whether they're talking to another human, or to a machine. The best defense against these kinds of attacks, said Intel's Grobman, is a focus on fundamentals. "Most companies are still struggling with even moderate attack scenarios," he said. "Right now, the most important thing that companies can do is ensure they have a strong technical infrastructure and continue practicing simulations and red team attacks." Some tech companies are taking a stand against President Donald Trump's immigration ban. The order, issued on Friday, temporarily bars citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, as well as all refugees from entering the United States. The Trump administration has said the ban is temporary and has been put in place to protect the country from terrorist attacks. The executive order, though, has been met with protests around the country and around the world, with religious leaders taking a stand; U.S. State Department officers signing a document saying the move makes the country less safe, and people gathering to protest at major airports where some travelers into the U.S. were being detained. [ Further reading: Trump immigration ban means a war with tech ] Some companies in the high-tech community, which hire and work with people from around the world, are taking a stand as well, raising money for organizations fighting the ban, issuing statements against it and vowing to support their employees, no matter where they live. According to a report from Reuters, software development company GitHub has organized a meeting of tech companies today to discuss supporting a lawsuit challenging the executive order. GitHub has not yet responded to a request for comment. Google, which reportedly has been invited to the GitHub meeting, confirmed to Computerworld today that executives there have created a $2 million crisis fund that can be matched with up to $2 million in employee donations. [ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ] The money will go to four organizations -- the American Civil Liberties Union, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the International Rescue Committee and The UN Refugee Agency -- which are providing legal assistance and support services for immigrants. And using the hashtag #GooglersUnite on Twitter, Google employees held a protest rally outside the company campus in Mountain View, Calif. yesterday. At Facebook, co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post last Friday that he's concerned about the ban. "We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here," Zuckerberg wrote, though he added he's glad to hear that Trump said he believes the U.S. should continue to benefit from "people of great talent coming into the country." Today, a Facebook spokesperson wrote in an email to Computerworld, "We are assessing the impact on our workforce and determining how best to protect our people and their families from any adverse effects." Intel is looking into ways to protect its employees as well. "We are providing support to potentially impacted employees, all of whom are in this country lawfully," a spokesperson said today. "As a company co-founded by an immigrant, we continue to support lawful immigration. We will continue to provide any impacted employees with Intel's full support." The spokesperson declined to clarify what the company's full support might entail. In a tweet last Friday, IBM noted the importance of balancing the responsible flow of people, ideas, commerce and information with the needs of security. "As IBMers, we have learned, through era after era, that the path forward -- for innovation, for prosperity and for civil society -- is the path of engagement and openness to the world," the company tweeted. Microsoft also has made statements opposing the ban. On Sunday, the company issued a statement saying, "We believe the executive order is misguided and a fundamental step backwards. There are more effective ways to protect public safety without creating so much collateral damage to the country's reputation and values." Then yesterday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who was born in India, hosted an employee Q&A where he said, "There is no place for bias or bigotry in any society, in any context... It is the enlightened immigration policy of this country that even made it possible for me to come here in the first place, and gave me all this opportunity." A Microsoft spokesperson said the company will provide legal and other assistance to employees affected by the immigration ban, while advocating about the issue with the Trump administration and Congress. Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, told employees in a memo on Monday that a handful of their co-workers appear to be directly affected by the president's executive order and executives are working to understand the impact to them, their families and to business travel. Amazon, which has not yet responded to Computerworld, is reportedly backing a lawsuit filed by Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson against the Trump administration's order. The company also reportedly is working on other legal options. Google has created a crisis fund that could raise up to $4 million for four immigrant rights organizations. Google has confirmed a USA Today report that it is funding an initial $2 million for the fund that can be matched with up to $2 million in donations from employees. The money will go toward the American Civil Liberties Union, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the International Rescue Committee and the UN Refugee Agency. Apple is behind with its taxes, but the tax inspector doesn't mind. Last August, the European Commission closed a three-year investigation of Apple's tax affairs with an order to the Irish government that it should recover about 13 billion (US$14.5 billion) in taxes that it believed Apple had underpaid over the last decade. Ireland has missed the deadline for recovering the billions, but Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who gave the Irish government four months to collect the taxes, is proving very understanding about the delay. "The recovering is not done yet but we have been working with the Irish authorities and we can see that they are moving forward to do the recovery of the unpaid taxes," she said at a news conference in Dublin on Tuesday. "It's a tricky thing to do because it's a large sum, so of course you have to figure out how to do that. It's not an escrow account as in some of the other cases where it's 25 million or 30 million or something like that," she said. "I do respect that it's a complicated matter and it may take a little more time than being within the deadline." Apple, naturally, is appealing the Commission's decision, which its CEO Tim Cook famously described as "total political crap" -- but the Irish government is appealing too, even as it pursues Apple for payment. When those appeals will be heard by the European Court of Justice remains to be seen. "The calendar is completely within the hands of the court, so I know nothing of the timing of when it will be decided upon," Vestager said. In its investigation, the Commission found that Apple's effective tax rate on profits funneled through two Irish subsidiaries was around 0.05 percent, falling to 0.005 percent in 2014. Apple's U.S. parent company expects that for the first quarter of its 2017 fiscal year, which it will report later Tuesday, it will pay tax at the rate of around 26 percent. U.S. President Donald Trump called on government agencies to better protect their networks, but he delayed signing an executive order to kick-start a government-wide review of cybersecurity policy. A draft copy of the order, leaked earlier, would give the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security 60 days to submit a list of recommendations to protect U.S. government and private networks. Trump had been scheduled to sign the executive order Tuesday but canceled shortly before it was due to happen. Instead of signing the executive order, Trump told reporters he'll hold cabinet secretaries and agency heads "totally accountable" for the security of their networks. US. agencies "certainly" don't have as much cybersecurity protections as they need, he said during a short briefing Tuesday. "We must protect federal networks and data," Trump added. "We operate these networks on behalf of the American people and they are very important. We will empower these agencies to modernize their IT systems for better security and other uses." The cybersecurity plan will also focus on protecting U.S. critical infrastructure, such as power plants and electrical grids, Trump said. Electrical grid security is a problem, "but we'll have it solved relatively soon," he promised. During the briefing, Trump took a shot at the Democratic National Committee, which hackers infiltrated during the presidential campaign. "Despite how they spent hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars more money than we did, the Democratic National Committee was hacked successfully, very successfully, and terribly successfully," he said. "And the Republican National Committee was not hacked. Meaning it was hacked, but they failed. We had a very strong defense system against hacking." Cisco has rolled out a second release of its Tetration Analytics package with features such as a smaller footprint and a cloud service that will go a long way toward making the system alluring to more data center customers. Announced in June of last year, Ciscos Tetration Analytics is a turnkey analytics package that gathers information from hardware and software sensors and analyzes the information using big data and machine learning. Tetration software sensors support Linux and Windows server hosts, while hardware sensors are embedded in Cisco network switch ASICS: Nexus 9200, Nexus 9300-EX and Nexus 9500-EX, to collect flow data at line rate from all the ports. Per Cisco once in place, the Tetration platform learns its enterprise environment and any policies IT has in place. From there it can learn which applications are dependent on each other throughout their data center and into the cloud. It can monitor server behavior patterns and group servers more efficiently. +More on Network World: + For policy setting, customers can validate new policies by running them through Tetration first to see what their impact would be on the enterprise. Users can also use this information for regulatory compliance applications. In the first release of the platform it was largely looking and listening to customer networks and applications and now with release 2 it can act on what it has found automatically enforcing policies, securing the enterprise and continuing to help customers get a better handle on their data centers, said Cisco senior director, product management Yogesh Kaushik. Security was always a key part of Tetration and the second release builds more options onto the system. Kaushik said customers are moving toward a zero trust policy which locks down all access to applications but with highly distributed applications, like cloud apps, that have many components and are multitiered it can be complex to implement, Kaushik stated. +More on Network World: Cisco CEO: Spin-in technologies arent dead at Cisco+ Cisco says Tetration Analytics policy recommendation and enforcement engine can now take micro-segmentation -- a security technique enabling workload separation -- a leap further by delivering application segmentation, which drives policies across the application layer, regardless of where the application resides: virtualized, bare metal, physical servers, or in the cloud. Policies can be pushed to any vendor's firewall, and can be orchestrated at the network layer as well, Cisco said. Cisco says Tetration can capture a million events per second and make decisions behavior analysis of billions of flows, processes, and workload characteristics allowing for realtime policy enforcement. The idea is that as customers move towards a more devops environment where apps are rapidly brought online and off, Tetration can implement security policies quickly. +More on Network World: Cisco says traffic from wireless and mobile devices will account for two-thirds of total IP traffic by 2020+ "As organizations undergo digital transformation and embrace the DevOps model, they're investing in new technologies with infrastructure that's becoming more dynamic and distributed, and as a result security must become more dynamic as well," said Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst at ZK Research and Network World blogger, said in a statement. "Although 80% of security spending is focused on the perimeter, only 20% of the breaches occur there. With Tetration's security policy enforcement, organizations could probably pay for the platform by heading off a single breach." In addition to the software improvements, Cisco added a smaller footprint version and a cloud option. The small-scale Cisco Tetration-M is aimed at deployments supporting up to 1,000 workloads. The Tetration-M package includes eight 1RU servers (Six UCS C-220 servers and two Nexus 9300 servers) compared to the larger version which requires 39 1RU servers. Jim Duffy, a senior analyst with the 451 Research group, noted that Cisco said last summer at Cisco Live they they'd be scaling Tetration down, even to the chip level. So smaller footprints and more digestible packaging and pricing makes much sense. For the cloud, Cisco has also announced an appliance with Tetration software deployed in the public cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Tetration Cloud also supports up to 1,000 workloads. Tetration can monitor workloads in private as well as public clouds, Cisco stated. Cisco also bolstered the number of third-party vendors that can now utilize Tetration to build its data into their systems AlgoSec, Citrix, F5, Infoblox, ServiceNow Tufin and the Dell Converged Infrastructure Group (previously known as VCE). The Tetration upgrade comes on the heels of Ciscos purchase of AppDynamics and its application performance monitoring technology which could end up being a component for feeding Tetration all manner of application performance information, experts said. The information collected from AppDynamics is an ideal fit in Tetration, said Dennis Drogseth vice president, Enterprise Management Associates. During a press event for the AppDynamics buy, Ciscos Senior Vice President and General Manager Rowan Trollope said of a possible AppDynamics integration with Tetration: We have been looking at our analytics strategy more broadly in the past year and a big part of the value that we bring especially with the Tetration product, is the ability to deeply instrument and report on the infrastructure whats happening from UCS all the way to the network and getting that broad view from the security perspective. But taking all of that data and making sense of it being able to connect the dots on all these parts of the enterprise hasnt really been possible...you could see us making moves that we would tie these things together." President Donald Trump is schedule to meet Thursday with executives from Harley-Davidson to talk about job creation. This is also a company that has shifted IT jobs to Infosys, the large offshore outsourcing firm based in India. Harley-Davidson is an American icon and its motorcycles are part of the cultural fabric. But it is also a modern corporation that benefitted from tariffs in the 1980s to protect it from overseas motorcycle makers, and it has globalized its IT operations. In 2012, the company entered into a long-term "partnership" with Infosys, which is a major user of H-1B visa workers. The president has been critical of the use of visa workers by offshore outsourcing firms, but Sean Spicer, Trump's press secretary, didn't mention outsourcing today when discussing the meeting with Harley-Davidson executives. "Were concerned about American jobs, moving this economy forward, and we're excited to welcome them (Harley-Davidson executives) here to Washington to talk about the great work that they do and the many thousands of people that they employ," Spicer said at a press briefing. Harley-Davidson hired Infosys to outsource its IT under a $200 million, five-year agreement. About 125 Harley IT employees lost their jobs, although they were eligible to apply for new jobs at Infosys and Harley, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported at the time. Infosys now faces a discrimination lawsuit that includes two employees who were rejected for Infosys jobs related to the Harley-Davidson IT work. The lawsuit, filed in 2013, broadly alleges that Infosys favors the hiring of South Asian workers over those in the U.S. [ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's H-1B and IT Outsourcing Facebook group. ] The plaintiffs hired an economist, David Neumark, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who analyzed Infosys' U.S. workforce. He called it "remarkably disproportionate" because of its South Asian hiring. In court papers, he alleged that from 2009 through 2015, more than 89% of Infosys' U.S. workforce was South Asian. Efforts to reach Harley-Davidson officials were unsuccessful, so it could not be immediately learned what has happened to IT employment at the motorcycle maker since the Infosys agreement was signed. According to that agreement, which is part of the federal court record, business objectives included "redeploying Harley-Davidson employees to higher value roles that allow for career enhancement opportunities and improved focus on the capabilities essential to the achievement of Harley-Davidson's strategic objectives." Infosys has denied the discrimination claims and has been defending itself in court. Trump is threatening to impose tariffs to help keep manufacturing in the U.S. Specifically, he is warning U.S. firms that if they make products overseas for sale in the U.S. he may impose a tariff on those imported goods. That threat only applies to manufactured goods, not to IT services delivered over the Internet. Trump is considering H-1B reforms, however, that may disadvantage offshore outsourcing firms. The Harley situation offers an example of how tariffs can be used to protect home-grown industry in the U.S. In the early 1980s, imported Japanese motorcycles created a glut on the market in the U.S., depressing prices. According to a U.S. government summary: the "U.S. International Trade Commission found in 1983 that increased imports of heavyweight motorcycles threatened serious injury to the domestic industry. This finding gave the president authority to impose temporary import relief to allow the industry time to adjust. A 45% tariff surcharge was imposed with a scheduled phase-out of five years." Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. "We are ensuring that those who have demonstrated their commitment tangibly to fight alongside us and support us, that those names are known in whatever process there is going forward," Davis said. Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters Monday that there are a "number of people in Iraq" who have worked alongside U.S. troops, "often doing so at great peril to themselves." The Pentagon says it is compiling a list of Iraqi nationals who have aided the U.S. military, in an attempt to exempt them from President Donald Trump's 90-day ban on immigration from seven countries identified by the White House as "sources of terror." The White House offered the Pentagon a chance to submit Iraqi names for exemption from the immigration ban over the weekend, Davis said. He added that the list would include names of Iraqis who have helped U.S. forces in the "past and present." Nationals from the other six countries -- Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia -- are not included in the exemption list. The executive order, signed Friday afternoon, bans travelers from the identified Muslim majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days, while Syrian refugees have been banned indefinitely. When asked how soon the exemptions could be presented to the White House, Davis said the Pentagon is "still in the process of assessing the EO [executive order] and compiling this list." He also declined to estimate the number of names that would be on such a list. Pentagon officials would not comment on whether Secretary of Defense James Mattis had asked for the exemptions, saying that the nature of his counsel to the president is "private." Among the concerns raised by the immigration ban is the fate of Iraqi pilots trying to enter the U.S. for training at U.S. bases. Davis told reporters that his understanding is that the pilots enter the U.S. "on a different kind of visa that isn't affected by this" executive order. The U.S. tech industry has warned that a temporary entry suspension on certain foreign nationals introduced on Friday by the administration of President Donald Trump will impact these companies' operations that are dependent on foreign workers. The Internet Association, which has a number of tech companies including Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft as its members, said that Trumps executive order limiting immigration and movement into the U.S. has troubling implications as its member companies and firms in many other industries include legal immigrant employees who are covered by the orders and will not be able to return back to their jobs and families in the U.S. Their work benefits our economy and creates jobs here in the United States, said Internet Association President and CEO Michael Beckerman in a statement over the weekend. Executives of a number of tech companies like Twitter, Microsoft and Netflix have expressed concern about the executive order signed by Trump, which suspended for 90 days entry into the U.S. of persons from seven Muslim-majority countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - as immigrants and non-immigrants. The Trump administration has described the order as a move to prevent foreign terrorist entry into the U.S. Tech companies like Uber, Apple, Microsoft and Google are in touch with employees affected by the order, according to reports. Uber is working on a scheme to compensate some of its drivers who come from the listed countries and had taken long breaks to see their extended families and are now unable to come back to the U.S., wrote CEO Travis Kalanick, who is a member of Trump's business advisory group. As an immigrant and as a CEO, Ive both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world, wrote Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, in an online post over the weekend. We will continue to advocate on this important topic. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wrote in a Facebook post that "Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. The tech industry is also concerned about further moves by the government on immigration policy that could place restrictions on visas for the entry of people who help these companies run their operations and develop products and services. The H-1B visa program have been criticized for replacing U.S. workers. Microsofts Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said in a note to employees on Saturday that the company believes in a strong and balanced high-skilled immigration system. Souring relations with Beijing have put the brakes on a project to repatriate the remains of Chinese soldiers who were killed in the 1950-53 Korean War. The project was a symbol of bilateral military cooperation between Seoul and Beijing. Beijing still seems eager despite resentment over Korea's decision to let the U.S. station an anti-missile battery here. But Seoul is stalling as Korea suffers various kinds of subtle and not-so-subtle economic retaliation from China. China told Seoul last week that it wants to send officials soon for talks on the repatriation of the remains, but Seoul has yet to respond. The project was launched by President Park Geun-hye when she met Chinese leaders during her first visit to Beijing in June 2013. Afterwards, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed "heartfelt gratitude." Since then, the two countries held talks in late January or early February every year, and Korea repatriated a batch of remains in late March each year. A government source here said, "There's a controversy over repatriating the remains of Chinese soldiers because China has unilaterally suspended military cooperation and other bilateral projects that the leaders of the two countries agreed to implement at past summits." "But discussion continues because we may not benefit from suspending the project," the source added. Despite Israels 5th election in four years, it remains a beacon of democracy and freedom The Israeli elections are fast approaching. On November 1, Israelis go back to the polls for the fifth round of elections in less than four... What is a Jew? Israeli museum attempts an answer JERUSALEMI was on a short visit to Israel and spent time with a friend with whom I have been engaged in a 30-year argument. Elli... Park Han-chul, the outgoing chief of the Constitutional Court, insisted Tuesday that the impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye should end as soon as possible. "In light of the gravity of the situation, with the president suspended from duties for nearly two months, the entire nation is united in the view that a conclusion must come as soon as possible," he said at a ceremony marking the end of his six-year tenure. Park last week said the court should rule on President Park Geun-hye's impeachment no later than March 13, when another judge retires. Delta Air Lines Inc. suffered from system outage for two-and-a-half hours, leading to a huge monetary loss for the airline giant. The airline company had to deal with and compensate angry passengers whose flights had been delayed and/or canceled because of the technical issue. On Monday, about 170 flights had been grounded when Delta Air Lines experienced a computer system breakdown. The company announced that it is anticipating that 80 more flights and counting had been canceled because of the outage, The Boston Globe reported. Only flights within the United States were affected. International flights were business as usual. Despite the company's claim that its international flights were not affected by the outage, some customers are saying that their flights have been delayed as a result of it. There has been no confirmation whether the customers' claims are true. The disruption in Delta Airlines' domestic operations was reportedly due to "automation issues," according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The announcement threw out speculations that hackers caused the outage. CBS 4 Indy reported that Delta Airlines also experienced some significant IT issues in 2016 that led to angry passengers. The more recent issue also affected the airlines' website and mobile apps, which means that customers could not get in touch with the company online while the disruption was ongoing. To appease angry passengers, Delta Air Lines will not charge its normal fee to change flights for customers who will travel Sunday and Monday. The airline also decided not to charge its customers for rebooking their flights by Friday. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has expressed his apology to passengers who were negatively impacted by the outage. However, he did not give any other details as to what exactly caused the outage. Jobs & Hire previously reported that Delta Air Lines enjoyed steady demand for U.S. travel in 2016. General Motors Corp. has decided to move some of its jobs in Canada to Mexico. Unions claim that the car maker has made the decision because it aims to take advantage of the cheaper labor in Mexico. As reported by New Kerala, 625 General Motors workers in Ontario will have to find a new job following the car maker's decision to let them go. The decision is closely related to General Motors' move to stop the production of its Chevrolet Equinox sport-utility vehicle. To replace its Chevrolet Equinox sport-utility vehicle, General Motors is planning to produce a new SUV model. The new product will be manufactured in Mexico, so the 625 workers who previously worked on the Chevrolet Equinox sport-utility vehicle will be laid off. WKBN reported that the affected workers will lose their job in July. Unions are helping the workers fight the decision. However, GM Canada said its management already notified its three Ontario plants that workers will be laid off as part of the operational changes that it will implement. Unifor National President Jerry Dias criticized General Motors' decision, saying that there is no basis for the layoffs and the cessation of production of the Equinox because the sale of the model has been going strong. Dias claims that General Motors' decision was mainly fueled by its desire to take advantage of the cheap labor in Mexico. The decision of the car maker also has some Canadian unions ranting against the North American Free Trade Agreement and its impact on the workers of the country. There are those who are calling for the renegotiation of the trade agreement, while others believe that it is doing good as it is. Some industry leaders are also worried that United States President Donald Trump's stance regarding trade would further hurt the automotive industry in Canada. However, there are also some who are optimistic that Trump could help boost the industry. Jobs & Hire previously reported that General Motors promised to invest $1 billion in the United States after Trump criticized car makers that announced their expansion plans outside of the country. The tech industry is one of the most booming sectors in the United States. Donald Trumps promise of America First entails more jobs. However, will President Trumps administration affect the status of the tech industry? A survey was conducted wherein recruiters from different companies, firms, and even government agencies were asked if Trumps presidency could affect the hiring in the tech industry. Based on the results, 77 percent of the respondents believe that there will be no change in hiring for tech companies this 2017. While 12 percent said that there will be more hiring because of the new administration. However, 11 percent think that the new president will cause less hiring due to some problems such as immigration issues. Michael Durney, President and CEO of DHI Group, Inc., said that "Tech is an industry that is consistently in need of highly skilled talent and will source far and wide to ensure the best talent is hired. He added, "Having the ability to recruit from the widest talent pool is a key driver of the ability to innovate for companies with tech needs. We've long said programs like H-1B visas are necessary as long as companies are not exploiting the system and the program is leveraged as intended, which is to bring access to the best and brightest to American employers." Meanwhile, USA Today reported that the CEOs of Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Uber, Airbnb and Tesla Motors condemned Trump's immigration ban. They strongly believe that their employees who are already working legally in the U.S. will be affected. Aside from that, it will also have an impact on their quest for looking for more talented and skilled workers. Netflix CEO and founder Reed Hastings even posted on his Facebook, Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity. It was just last January 23 that CEO of the largest companies in the United States sat down with President Trump for the first big meeting in the White House, says Jobs & Hire. Starbucks has decided to stood up against the president of the United States, Donald Trump. The president recently signed an executive order that suspended the influx of Syrian refugees in the country and bans several travelers from certain countries, an action that the coffee retailer does not agree with. As reported by CBS Local, Starbucks promised to give jobs to 10,000 refugees within five years in solidarity of the people who are negatively impacted by the president's executive order. Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz announced the plan in a letter a few days after the executive order has been signed. The hiring will be a worldwide initiative, and all Starbucks stores must participate. The program will initially focus on immigrants who have helped the U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in wars abroad. Schultz has reassured Starbucks employees that he knows about their issues and will be working with them to mitigate the impact. Regarding the impact of Trump's trade-related actions on Mexico, the Starbucks CEO expressed solidarity with its Mexican customers and partners along with their loved ones, KIOS reported. The Starbucks CEO also reassured employees that the coffee retailer will shoulder their health insurance expenses should the Trump administration succeeds in repealing former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. In addition, Schultz said he supports Obama's plan to give young immigrants a two-year reprieve from deportation and a work permit. Schultz has supported Hillary Clinton during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Aside from Starbucks, Airbnb also opened its doors to refugees who were immediately impacted by Trump's executive order. Uber and Lyft also decided to support refugees against the executive order. Jobs & Hire previously reported that Apple and Microsoft are also among the companies that promised to support their employees who might be affected by the executive order. An initiative between the United States and Japan may lead to a thousand jobs being added to the US economy in five sectors, revealed a "US-Japan Growth and Employment Initiative" draft that was read to Reuters. According to a news article published by Reuters, an early draft of a collaboration between the United States and Japan known as the "US-Japan Growth and Employment Initiative" focuses on adding US jobs by focusing on five sectors. One sector that was stated was infrastructure. Contained in the document was the plan to purchase infrastructure bonds that are dollar-denominated. Reuters reported that this could be the manner in which Japan would be able to be involved in the infrastructure upgrade that was promised by Donald Trump. What was not included in the draft, however, was the scope of investment as well as the number of jobs that can be created through the initiative. However, an unidentified government source told Reuters that the US economy could be looking at several hundred thousand additional jobs. Neither was automotive trade included in the document. This is reportedly due to the fact that Trump has previously called the trade in vehicles to be unfair. This news comes ahead of the Abe-Trump Summit which will occur this month, February 10, Friday. Leaders of both countries will meet in Washington to discuss a two-way trade, US jobs, and infrastructure, reports Bloomberg. During a phone call, Trump reiterated to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the former's promise to create US jobs and told the Prime Minister that he would like for the automobile industry to contribute to that endeavor. According to Bloomberg, among the suggestions made by the Prime Minister to improve ties were creating jobs in the US, improving industrial productivity and competitiveness in the US, as well as cooperating on infrastructure plans. Defense Minister Han Min-goo and his new U.S. counterpart James Mattis on Tuesday reaffirmed plans to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here. The 30-minute phone conversation came ahead of talks between the two officials in Seoul on Friday. Han and Mattis voiced "strong concerns" over the increasing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, the Defense Ministry said. They said there is a chance that North Korea will launch a provocation by seeking to take advantage of the transitional period both in the U.S. and in South Korea, where President Park Geun-hye faces impeachment. Email Links to our top local news stories of the day, Monday through Saturday. President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil wrangled a crony into the ambassadorial post in Burma and then tried to arrange a dodgy official deal with the country to benefit one of her many business interests. Ambassador to Burma Yoo Jae-kyung on Tuesday reluctantly admitted that Choi recommended him for the posting. Yoo was summoned back from Naypyidaw after the independent counsel investigating the Cheong Wa Dae corruption scandal found another cache of a dozen diaries in a fresh raid on the home of former presidential secretary An Chong-bum last week. A former executive at Samsung Electro-Mechanics without diplomatic experience, Yoo told reporters on arrival at the independent counsel's office, "I still do not know who recommended me as ambassador." But a few hours later he admitted he owed his job to Choi. Fresh evidence shows that Yoo arranged a visit to Korea by the Burmese minister of commerce last July, and that Choi prepared a list of topics that Park was to discuss with him. Investigators said the topics contained a pledge to build a Koreatown in Burma with W76 billion in Official Development Assistance (US$1=W1,165). It was to be used to promote Korean pop culture, with which both Choi and Park were obsessed. A company in which Choi owned a 15-percent stake had already been selected to supervise the project. The project suddenly gained momentum after Park and the Burmese Minister, Than Myint, met on July 4 last year. But it was eventually scrapped when the Korea International Cooperation Agency insisted it was a dud. A KOICA staffer said, "We were pressured several times from higher up to support the project, but we held our ground." The independent counsel has obtained yet another arrest warrant for Choi, who has been in custody since late last year, on charges of accepting bribes. Evidence for a direct link between Choi, Cheong Wa Dae and Yoo's appointment includes a diary entry by Ahn saying "Samsung agrement." "Agrement" -- not "agreement" -- refers to a government's official approval of a foreign diplomat. Former ambassador to Burma Lee Baek-soon told the Chosun Ilbo, "I was originally to be replaced with someone else and was surprised when the candidate suddenly changed." Caterpillars headquarters headed to Chicago area Caterpillar Inc. is moving its headquarters to the Chicago area and wont build a previously announced new complex in its current location in Peoria, Ill. Caterpillar said Tuesday that the change will involve shifting about 300 senior management officials and support staff to a leased headquarters building in the Chicago area to be close to a global transportation hub. Jim Umpleby, the companys chief executive, said in a statement that locating our headquarters in Chicago means we can meet with our global customers, dealers and employees more easily and frequently. It is also an opportunity to add to our talented team while improving the productivity of our senior leaders. Umpleby said the vast majority of our people will remain in this important region (Peoria and central Illinois) where we have many essential facilities and functions. The company operates a $426 million plant in Winston-Salem. Caterpillar officials said Jan. 20 that the plant has 140 full- and part-time employees with its Progress Rail subsidiary that took over operations Jan. 1. The local workforce is down from a peak of 438 and a pledge of 510 full- and part-time employees. Richard Craver Home-furnishings orders climb 8% in November Orders for home furnishings rose 8 percent in November compared with a year earlier, according to a survey released Tuesday by Smith Leonard, a financial-services company in High Point. The orders, however, were down 2.9 percent from October. Orders placed with manufacturers totaled slightly less than $2.3 billion. By comparison, retail furniture sales in December rose 3.1 percent from a year ago, to $9.23 billion, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. That was up 0.5 percent from $9.19 billion in November. About 61 percent of those surveyed reported an increase in orders year over year, up from 52 percent in October. PNC board OKs expanding share-buyback programs The board of directors of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. announced on Monday a $300 million increase, to $2.3 billion, in its common stock share-repurchase programs, which end June 30. The Pittsburgh bank is the nations seventh-largest bank with total assets of $366.4 billion as of Dec. 31. It has 148 branches in North Carolina, including 18 in the Triad, as the result of buying RBC Bank of Raleigh. N.C. to get $226,000 from Western Union settlement N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein said Tuesday that North Carolina will receive $226,000 from a national $5 million settlement with Western Union, A coalition of 49 attorneys general accused Western Union of defrauding consumers who used its wire-transfer service to send money to third parties. The agreement requires Western Union to develop and put into action a comprehensive anti-fraud program. It includes: requiring anti-fraud warnings on send forms that people use to wire money; mandatory and appropriate training and education for all Western Union agents about fraud; heightened anti-fraud procedures when needed, such as when fraud complaints increase; due diligence checks on Western Union agents who process money transfers; and monitoring of Western Union agent activities related to fraud prevention. Western Union also settled claims with the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Justice Department. It agreed to pay $586 million to a fund that Justice officials will administer to provide refunds to fraud victims, including those in North Carolina. Several nights of rain and fog didnt dampen enthusiasm for the annual Festival of Lights at Tanglewood Park. More than 294,000 attended the light show, one of the highest turnouts in the festivals 25-year history. The record is 300,000 set in 2001. The 2016 mark is about 14,000 higher than 2015 and 2014, according to estimates from the Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department. Ronda Tatum, the assistant county manager, said the number of vehicles coming through the park increased about 5 percent from last year, to 49,000 from 46,000. The county is still calculating how much it made from the festival, but net profits increased by about 4.4 percent, Tatum said. In 2015, the county made a profit of about $289,000, according to the countys budget department. More vehicles in the park meant more vehicles in the roads leading up to the entrance. Snarled traffic has long been an issue for people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. After frustration boiled over last year, Clemmons issued placards for people living in the neighborhoods of Westridge, Asbury Place, Old Meadowbrook and Tanglewood Farms to put in their windshields. That allowed traffic deputies with the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office to move residents of those neighborhoods through the line quicker. I think that helped tremendously and I applaud Clemmons for doing that for citizens, Tatum said. We did not get the calls like we did last year from folks who live in the area. Residents who live in those neighborhoods have requested that the village make more placards available next year for people to use in multiple cars. The sheriffs department also changed some traffic patterns to make the route safer, blocking ramps to Interstate 40 at Harper Road when traffic backed up. Drivers were then forced to use the next exit, either at N.C. 801 or Lewisville-Clemmons Road. Tatum said the county continues to look at ways to get more vehicles off the roads surrounding the park entrance. Those roads are owned by the state, leaving the village of Clemmons with little control over the traffic flow. We had the normal long lines, and there are only so many folks you can get in that park, Tatum said. At some point, we hope to get traffic off U.S. 158 and Harper Road. Until we see some road improvements at the park, its going to be a challenge. Michelle Barson, the president of the homeowners association of Asbury Place, said the signs seemed to make a little difference but the presence of more traffic officers earlier in the evening seemed to be the biggest help. Things were a lot better this year, she said. The traffic officers were stationed there early on in the evening, which was nice, so they could get a handle on things. Many residents of the neighborhood found it easier to shop and pick up food from Tanglewood Commons, usually an hourlong adventure, Barson said. It was still congested, but not the way that it was before, she said. The detainment of two Iraqis at JFK International Airport in New York last weekend serves as an example of how President Donald Trumps executive order targeting refugees and certain predominately Muslim countries can make the United States less safe, according to a bipartisan trio of U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee members. Citing national security and a need to review the federal governments vetting of refugees, President Donald Trump signed an order last week that freezes the U.S. refugee program for four months, indefinitely bans Syrian refugees and freezes for three months immigration from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Democratic U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Claire McCaskill of Missouri sent a letter Monday to Defense Secretary James Mattis expressing concerns about the executive order. Given your strong support for programs that offer refuge to vetted Iraqis and Afghans whose lives are in danger because of the critical assistance they provide to our soldiers and diplomats, we want to raise one specific example of the danger the Executive Order poses to our national security, the senators said in the letter. Among those detained at JFK were Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, both Iraqi citizens. The letter does not refer specifically to them, but their stories have been widely reported. Over the weekend, two Iraqis who supported the U.S. armed forces and who, after years of vetting, received special immigrant visas to enter the U.S. were detained at New Yorks John F. Kennedy Airport after the executive order was put into place, the senators said to Mattis. One of the Iraqis, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army after it invaded Iraq in 2003. After he emerged from custody to cheers from a crowd at the airport, he said the U.S. was the land of freedom home to the greatest people in the world. The other Iraqi, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, had been trying to reunite with his wife in Texas. She had come to the U.S. because she feared for her life after having worked for a U.S. security contractor. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Monday said of Trumps order that it regrets such a decision against a country that the U.S. considers an ally and a strategic partner. It is a surprise that Iraq is covered with this order because it is not among the countries that export terrorists or Takfiri ideology, the ministry said in a news release, using an Arabic term that refers to Sunni extremists. Referring to the detention of the Iraqi allies at the airport, the senators said the situation is unacceptable, and we fear the United States will pay significant moral and strategic costs if it continues, particularly in terms of our ability to obtain necessary local support for U.S. military missions abroad. As such, we respectfully request that you encourage the President to immediately ensure that properly vetted Iraqis who supported the U.S. mission in their country can continue to enter the U.S., they said. Mattis said during a confirmation hearing that he supports the Special Immigrant Visa program, the senators said in a news release. Mattis said he would work to ensure that these programs have sufficient visas that those who provided critical support and whose lives are threatened are not left behind. The Pentagon is compiling a list of Iraqis who have supported U.S. and coalition personnel to help exempt them from Trumps ban, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. The list will include those who have tangibly demonstrated their commitment to supporting U.S. forces, such as translators, drivers and Iraqi forces who may be training in the U.S., he said. In a White House statement Sunday, Trump defended the executive order, My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months, he said. But thats not exactly what happened. According to State Department data, 9,388 Iraqi refugees were admitted to the United States during the 2011 budget year. The data also show that Iraqi refugees were admitted every month during the 2011 calendar year. The Obama administration did slow processing for Iraqi nationals seeking refuge in the U.S. under the governments Special Immigrant Visa program for translators and interpreters who worked with American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. That happened after two Iraqi nationals were arrested on terrorism-related charges. But that year, 618 Iraqis were allowed to enter the U.S. with that special visa. Government data show that during the 2011 budget year, more than 7,800 Iraqis were allowed into the United States on non-immigrant visas, including tourists. Authorities have identified a pedestrian who died Tuesday evening after being hit by a truck in Kernersville. Israel Aguilar, 39, of Kernersville died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center after being hit at 7:13 p.m., according to a news release from Kernersville police. Lynwood Henson Jr., 31, of Kernersville, was driving a 2004 Ford F-150 truck west in the in the 300 block of East Bodenhamer Street when the vehicle struck Aguilar in the road. The Kernersville Police Department's Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kernersville Police Department. This is the first fatality in Kernersville this year. There were no fatal crashes in Kernersville during the same period last year. European Union President Donald Tusk says China, Russia and the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump are among the top external threats facing the bloc. His remarks came in a letter to 27 EU leaders before a summit Friday in Malta. "Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. Trump has insisted on policies that put the United States first, and has questioned whether NATO members are contributing their fair share to the alliance. Tusk laid out a defense of the European Union, saying it has never faced more dangerous challenges and needs "courage, determination and political solidarity." He said the European Union must stand up for its dignity in talks with the United States, Russia, China or Turkey, and must not give in to populist arguments and xenophobic sentiments that go against European integration. "It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent," Tusk wrote. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump urged the Senate's Republican leader on Wednesday to resort to the "nuclear option" of scrapping longstanding chamber rules if needed to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, an aggressive opening to what's shaping up as a ferocious clash over the future of the high court. At the White House a day after nominating Gorsuch, Trump endorsed a scenario that would involve majority Republicans unilaterally changing Senate rules over the objections of the Democratic minority. It could come into play if Democrats try to block Gorsuch's confirmation with a filibuster, as the liberal base is demanding, and would allow the GOP to confirm Gorsuch with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes now needed. Addressing GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell from the White House, Trump said, "If we end up with that gridlock I would say, 'If you can, Mitch, go nuclear.'" He said of Gorsuch that it "would be a absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web." Trump made his comments as Gorsuch traversed Capitol Hill, escorted by Vice President Mike Pence and winning extravagant praise from Republican senators. Democratic divisions were on display. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced intense opposition from base voters to Trump's nominee, while political risks confronted a half-dozen Democratic senators representing red states who are up for re-election next year and may feel pressure to support Gorsuch. "The president made an outstanding appointment; we're all thrilled and looking forward to getting the confirmation process started," McConnell said as he stood with a smiling Gorsuch in the senator's ceremonial office in the Capitol. McConnell has not said whether he might invoke the nuclear option if minority Democrats block Gorsuch's confirmation, but the Senate leader has said repeatedly that, one way or another, Gorsuch will be confirmed. Democrats are still smarting over the treatment of Judge Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama's nominee to the court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a year ago. McConnell never allowed even a hearing on Garland over 10 months, asserting that the decision was up to the next president. Now some on the left are demanding payback. "This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court," said Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon. Schumer reiterated Wednesday that Democrats would insist on a 60-vote threshold for Garland in the 100-member Senate, "not because they did it to us or we did it to them, but because 60 votes produces a mainstream candidate." But as Schumer and other Democrats made clear, for many the fight was less about the mild-mannered 49-year-old appeals court judge than about Trump himself. Schumer said that "this Supreme Court will be tried in ways that few courts have been tested since the earliest days of the Republic." The rules change for Supreme Court nominees would be a momentous departure for the Senate, which traditionally operates day-to-day via deliberation and bipartisan consent. There is concern by some that it could begin to unravel Senate traditions at a hyperpartisan moment in politics and perhaps end up in the complete elimination of the filibuster resulting in an entirely different Senate from the one that's existed for decades Gorsuch is a Denver-based judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan administration official. His conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of Scalia. Gorsuch would restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench, but Trump's choice "makes it very difficult for Democrats to contest this nomination because he is so qualified," said Melissa Murray, interim dean of the University of California at Berkeley law school. Republicans were quick to highlight the political risks to Democrats in conservative-leaning states. There are 23 Senate Democrats up for election next year, 10 in states Trump won. "The minority needs to decide whether or not they want to go to states like North Dakota and Montana and Missouri and Indiana and West Virginia where Mr. Trump won by 17 points or more and talk to the real people there and say 'we're going to stop what was clearly your will,'" said GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. One of those senators, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, was meeting with Gorsuch late Wednesday. "I'm anxious to hear his views. I'm anxious to read more about him. I will make a decision," Manchin told The Associated Press ahead of the meeting. For Democrats, there was debate about whether Gorsuch's nomination to replace the like-minded Scalia was the right time to launch an all-out fight over the court. Or, would Democrats be better off waiting to wage that battle for another possible high court opening during Trump's presidency, one that could shift the court markedly to the right. Republican members of Congress met in Philadelphia last weekend for what was called a retreat. It might have been more accurately labeled an advance. Perhaps not since the days of Franklin Roosevelts first term has so much been done by so few that will potentially impact so many (to paraphrase Winston Churchill in a completely different context). Writing on CNNs politics page, Stephen Collinson commented: Forget the first 100 days. Its only been a week and Donald Trump is reinventing the presidency. Given what conservatives consider CNNs hostility toward Trump, Collinson may not have meant it as a compliment. There are so many issues from abortion (The March for Life featured Vice President Mike Pence, the highest-ranking White House official to address the march), reinstatement of the Mexico City policy, which forbids the U.S. from funding any group that provides or promotes abortion overseas, an executive order reviving the Keystone XL and Dakota pipelines, beginning the process of building the border wall, focusing on Christian refugees fleeing persecution and performing extreme vetting on people coming from countries that promote and even export terrorism (Saudi Arabia apparently excepted for some reason), ordering the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, increasing the number of border agents, instituting a government hiring freeze, a stop order on new regulations until they can be evaluated, initial steps to repeal Obamacare, withdrawing from the Trans Pacific Partnership, meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May and placing a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin. With the mayors of so many sanctuary cities vowing not to turn over illegal immigrants to federal law enforcement, it is worth noting that the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Carlos Gimenez, has reversed a 2013 resolution by the county commission, which refused to indefinitely detain illegal immigrants without reimbursement. As The Wall Street Journal reported, the Obama administration subsequently designated Miami-Dade a sanctuary city, even though the county challenged the label. Mayor Gimenez has now ordered county jails to comply with federal requests to hold immigrants, citing President Trumps executive order. It is a small victory for the president, who has threatened to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with the law, something some mayors swear to do when they take their oaths of office. While Republicans were advancing in Philadelphia, Senate Democrats were retreating in Shepherdstown, W.Va., where they assembled to figure out how they lost to Trump and what they need to do to win over his voters. If Democrats return to Washington with the same failed ideas, they can count on further defeat. Then the president encountered his first speed bump. The first court challenge to his executive orders came Saturday, reports The New York Times, when Federal District Court Judge Ann M. Donnelly blocked part of the presidents actions, preventing the government from deporting some arrivals who found themselves ensnared by the presidential order. It stopped short of letting them in or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trumps actions. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia also issued a temporary restraining order affecting 63 people detained at Dulles International Airport... It ordered authorities to permit lawyers access to all legal permanent residents being detained .../and said authorities are forbidden from removing the permanent residents for seven days. Responding to the judges orders, the Department of Homeland Security issued this statement: President Trumps Executive Orders remain in place prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety. This week, President Trump will nominate someone to the Supreme Court. He told David Brody of CBN News that it is a person Evangelical Christians will love. It will be difficult to top Trumps first week, but dont bet against him. He isnt retreating. With his latest executive order and immigration ban, President Trump has shut the door on thousands of foreign interpreters, our wartime allies, who have served alongside our military since 2001. As a combat veteran who has served in the U.S. Army, this action deeply disappoints and angers me. I shouldnt be alive today. I am only here writing this piece because of my Afghan Muslim translator, Janis. He shot and killed two Taliban fighters who nearly ambushed me in a firefight in Afghanistan in 2008. The presidents actions on Friday are troubling for so many reasons. First, the sweeping ban doesnt take into account that our allied military translators are quite possibly the most vetted individuals aligned with our military. The stringent background checks begin long before they are cleared to work alongside Americans in a combat zone. Then the process for granting the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), which allows them to resettle in the United States, is even more painstaking. To even apply for the SIV, one must meet all of the following criteria: Be a national of Iraq or Afghanistan; and Have worked directly with U.S. armed forces or under Chief of Missions authority as an interpreter for at least 12 months; and Have obtained a favorable, written recommendation from a military or civilian member of the U.S. government. All this to simply apply for the SIV. To be approved, the interpreter must clear these additional hurdles: Receive the written nomination; Prove he or she provided at least 12 to 24 months of honorable and valuable service to the United States war effort; Prove he or she is under immediate duress due to that service; And, lastly, pass the most extreme form of vetting the United States can muster a comprehensive national security background investigation completed by every single component of the U.S. national security apparatus (the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency, etc.). All agencies conduct separate investigations and do not coordinate cross-agency. The decision from the national security apparatus must be unanimous, meaning that all the agencies involved must approve the application package. If even one agency dissents on a visa approval, that applicant is barred from entry to the United States and placed on the no-fly list forever. These men and women have served our country honorably in some cases, for more than a decade. A decade of combat service to America, fighting alongside Americans, wearing the same uniforms, bleeding their blood for our country. Is that not the most American thing one could do fight for the ideals they believe in to better ones country? These wartime allies are true-blooded Americans, though they were born half a world away. Would we deny a man who was injured in multiple improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, repeatedly led U.S. service members through enemy territory safely and fostered local relations? Would we deny a man who is credited with saving five American soldiers lives, including mine? Remember, this mans name is Janis, and if he were an American-born veteran, wed pin medals to his chest and call him a hero. This ban leaves thousands of our wartime allies to fend for themselves against the very enemies we asked them to fight. Veterans of the Vietnam War speak often of their half-century injury at having abandoned so many of our Vietnamese allies. Friday, the president cast the same injury upon our newest generation of American veterans and we didnt get a say. Many of our wartime allies have already been waiting on their visas for years and some, with approved visa in hand, will simply not be able to make it to safety because of the presidents decision. We are permanently harming the fabric of U.S. national security. Our credibility is forever tarnished, if not eroded. Why would any potential ally trust the United States to keep its word again? It pains me to think how many U.S. service-members will die in future conflicts because we were unable to recruit the local, on-the-ground support that is often the difference between life and death. These men and women have sacrificed so much for the United States. Fridays order means the enemy wins, and we have turned our backs on our own ideals. On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order that signaled a significant change to the long-standing tradition in the United States of welcoming persecuted refugees from around the world. This includes a temporary ban on the arrival of all refugees, indefinitely restricting access to refugees from Syria and other countries, and a reduction in the number of refugees to be considered for resettlement to the United States. At a time when the world is facing what is perhaps the greatest refugee crisis in recorded history, this deeply saddens me as an evangelical pastor. Many churches in our community, including my own, have been active in welcoming the arrival and resettlement of refugees in partnership with World Relief, and we are praying for wisdom to know how to deal with these changes. My personal commitment to welcome refugees is rooted in my Christian faith, and it is informed by what the Bible teaches regarding the stranger and the alien in your midst. Both the Old and New Testaments clearly teach that God has a concern for refugees and those who are vulnerable. In the Old Testament, Gods commands to the people of Israel regarding the treatment of foreigners is tied to their own history when they themselves lived as refugees in the land of Egypt during a famine. Jesus was also a refugee when he and his family had to leave Bethlehem and flee to Egypt because Herod sought to kill the child. I personally believe the president is right to make the security of American citizens a high priority as he formulates policy, and we need to secure our borders. As a Christian, I believe God has ordained government in part for this purpose. However, I also believe that it is false to presume we must choose between compassion and security. Each of these is an important American value, and there is a way to accomplish both. An extremely thorough and highly effective vetting process is already in place in the resettlement of refugees in America. That process is conducted overseas, and it generally takes between 18 months and 3 years to complete. It is coordinated by the U.S. departments of State, Homeland Security and Defense, as well as the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center. It involves in-person interviews with carefully trained officers of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, biographic and biometric background checks, forensic document testing and a medical screening. If there is any doubt about a persons identity, he or she is not allowed to come to the United States. Since the Refugee Act was passed in 1980, not a single act of terrorism has been committed by someone who came to the U.S. through the refugee resettlement program. Are the values of compassion and hospitality that have marked this great country since its founding worth the very limited risk involved in welcoming refugees? I believe so. My congregation has recently been engaged in welcoming a refugee family from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and we are helping them get settled in our community. It has been one of the most humbling and satisfying experiences our congregation has ever had in coming alongside this dear family of seven to help them get started in their new life in this country. They are so grateful to be here, and they want to do everything they can to make the most of this wonderful opportunity for a better life. This family has relatives who have also applied to come to the U.S., and they have thought that any day they would hear word that they, too, have been given permission to come. But now with the temporary ban, this familys hopes have been dashed. Seeing the refugee crisis through one familys eyes makes it all so real. Refugees are no longer just a number to me. They are real people who are experiencing real suffering, and it breaks my heart to learn that my country isnt willing to welcome these hurting people regardless of the merits of their case. I know these are complicated matters, and we live in challenging times. And I appreciate the fact that the threat of terror by radical extremists makes us all afraid. But I pray that we will somehow find a way to push past our fears as a nation and find workable solutions to hold in tension the need for security and the call to compassion. My faith urges me to be willing to take the risk and press into these thorny issues even when they are hard. About 200 bags of diapers, hygiene essentials and other related products will be available free-of-charge to expecting moms, who register for the "Shower for Life" event being held on Nov. 5, from 1-3 p.m., at St. Paul's Anglican Church, located at 316 W. Carolina Ave in Summerville. Read more'Shower for Life' calls all expecting mothers 02/01/2017 The JSU Student Government Association is hosting a LifeSouth Blood Drive on Feb. 1-2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Theron Montgomery Building auditorium. Every donor will receive pizza, a t-shirt and a cholesterol screening. Donors must be at least 17 years old (or 16 with written parental consent), weigh 110 pounds or more, and must present photo ID. Learn more about blood donation here. LifeSouth is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community blood supplier for more than 100 hospitals in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. LifeSouth collects blood from donors directly serving the needs of patients in our community. The blood donated here will stay here for local patient transfusions. Each year, nearly five million Americans need a blood transfusion. One blood donation can save up to three lives. Reddit Email 97 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | In 2016, the US birthrate fell to 59.6 births per 1,000 women, the lowest ever recorded. Birth rates rise and fall over time, so the rate may not stay stuck at that level. It seems clear, however, that white nationalists like Trumps evil genius Steve Bannon are doomed to be disappointed if they think that white birth rates can fuel the countrys economic and demographic growth. Birth rates tend to level off in wealthy, industrial societies. The number of children per woman falls with urbanization and rising womens status and education. Rural birth rates are often higher. Children are free farm labor, for instance, and farmers have lots of room for a family. Farmers have no retirement fund for the most part, and lots of children will support them in their old age. In the worlds farming towns and villages, women often marry early, dropping out of school if they were ever in school in the first place. That they are poorly educated and often lacking in societal esteem means that their husbands can keep them barefoot and pregnant. I have seen these conditions in rural areas of the global South. But Im also the grandson of Appalachian farmers and my great-aunts had 12 and even 16 children. The countries with the highest birth rates in the world still have large rural sectors. Egypt is over 50% rural. India is an astonishing 70% rural. Although China is 40% rural, fairly high, its government instituted a one-child policy decades ago, with some success. As a result of this artificial intervention, China is now declining in population and faces the prospect of greying. But city people most often have social security, so they dont need lots of children to support them in their old age. Urbanites most often are not involved in forms of economic activity that benefit from child labor. In the city, apartments are cramped and there is no place for very large families. Urban children are expensive, requiring post-secondary education to make it in the complex and varied urban economy. Urban women are much more likely to be educated, to work outside the home, and to have the sort of status where they can tell their husbands that no, they dont want that 5th child. Highly urbanized societies such as Japan often now face the prospect of a declining population. Japan has lost a million people in the past 5 years, which is unheard of in its recorded history. It is down to 127 million. Japan is expected to shrink from 127 million to 82 million over the next 80 years. This is an experiment that has never been run. Who will work in Japanese factories? Who will pay into social security to support all those elderly people? Germany, Sweden, and Italy face a similar conundrum. The great powers of the 21st century will be demographically large countries. China, India, Indonesia and Brazil have a shot at that status. Innovative youth increasing productivity will be important to their fortunes. There is a strong possibility that Japan and the other shrinking, greying states will decline in standard of living and in global importance. Based on the birth rate of whites, the US would join this club of the amazing shrinking and aging countries if it did not take in immigrants. And so it would lose its global position, economically and geo-strategically. The reason for which the US has continued to grow and to remain politically competitive with the big boys is not the birth rate of the groups who consider themselves white. It is because since 1965 the US has let in about 1 million immigrants a year. About a third of those nowadays are from Latin America and about a third are from Asia. (Trumps obsession with Latinos reflects an earlier period when they were are larger proportion of immigrants). Although within a generation these immigrants birth rates fall to the same levels as the native born, they initially still have large families, since many of them had been rural back home. Immigrants dont typically compete for jobs with the native born, since they dont have the language skills or technical training to do so in the main. The small towns in the rural stretches of some states have been revived because of Latin ranchers and farm hands willing to do work that locals no longer will. I dont have strong confidence that the white nationalists will be able to get this through their heads, but making and keeping America great requires an open door to immigrants. Otherwise the US population will start falling and spiraling down, and the country wont be able to retain its economic and political advantages. In other countries, offering women tax breaks or money grants to have more children hasnt usually worked, and anyway the Republican Party would never go for such handouts. Another thing that would help the US birth rate is strengthening, not abolishing the Affordable Care Act, and adopting policies that reduce income inequality, so that young people have well-paying jobs and feel they can afford to have children. Very large numbers of Millennials have faced chronic under-employment and been forced to move back home. Of course, I hasten to add, the US can only really benefit from these immigrants if it moves quickly to sustainable policies and net carbon zero. Over time, the world will likely move to robotics for most labor and so we will need a basic income and some way to distribute the profits generated by robots. In the meantime, demographics is still of great geo-political significance. None of the policies the Trump administration is adopting is pro-natal, and if it begins reducing immigration, as Bannon is said to favor, then the country will be set on the same path as Japan is presently on, of facing the likelihood of dramatic decline and a crisis of an inverted age pyramid. And that is why we should be welcoming young, on-the-ball immigrants, including, yes, Muslims. Nor can you hope for white immigrants the population in many European countries is falling, and people have a fairly high standard of living. It is from the global south that youd get these volunteers. Immigrants are twice as likely to found a company as the native-born. Contrary to Trumps fearmongering, most immigrants, including Muslim ones, are extremely law-abiding, and you are thousands of times more likely to slip and hit your head in the shower than you are ever to be menaced by an immigrant terrorist. Ironically, it is white nationalists, with their hatred of foreigners and xenophobia who are endangering American competitiveness in the new century. Related video: Newsy: US birth rate falls Reddit Email 6 Shares IMEMC News | US president-elect Donald Trump made a $10,000 donation to the West Bank settlement of Beit El in 2003, Washington Post Newspaper revealed, Sunday. The newspaper said that Trumps gift was made in honor of his friend David Friedman, who went on to become his adviser and whom Trump, last week, nominated as the next US ambassador to Israel. Al Ray reports that, according to a tax filing, the Donald J. Trump Foundation made the donation to the American Friends of Bet El Institutions of which Friedman serves as president a group that raises funds for Beit Els seminary, a news organization affiliated with the settler movement, and other activities in the settlement. Unlike President Barack Obama, who made Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank a fundamental issue of criticism throughout his presidency, Friedman said Trump would not dictate to Israel where it can and cannot build in the occupied West Bank. Friedmans appointment, last week, drew praise from right-wing Israeli politicians, as well as furious condemnations by American Jewish groups J Street, the National Jewish Democratic Council and Americans for Peace Now. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, on Friday, warned that Friedmans appointment would destroy prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Trump team was already planning the relocation, including undertaking advance work on the project, after his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said that it was a very big priority for him. Via IMEMC - Related video added by Juan Cole: Euronews: Israel: rally ahead of vote on legalising West Bank settlements JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING : How do you make the perfect place into the setting for a murder? Don't ask me - I chose an economically failing town in upstate New York plagued by rotten weather. Who needs the challenge of creating bad deeds in a perfect part of the world? Tracee de Hahn does. Her debut novel, SWISS VENDETTA , introduces readers to Detective Agnes Luthi, new to widowhood and to the Violent Crimes Unit in Lausanne. I know what you're thinking, because I thought the same thing: There are violent crimes in Switzerland? Land of the sweet baby cheeses and wooden clocks? Country of cow-dotted meadows beneath majestic alps? Nation famous for its precision, discretion, and high standards? Today, Tracee tells us about the Switzerland she's come to know and love; the good, the bad, and...we can't say ugly, can we. How about...questionable? Thanks Reds for inviting me to come and hang out and chat. We are deep in the heart of winter a season I love and Im enjoying the snow, although I do dream of bigger and better snow in Switzerland. My husband is Swiss and I was fortunate to live there for several years. Was it idyllic? Absolutely. We moved to Lausanne from another European city, which I wont name it is farther south and built on water where things didnt always work perfectly. In Switzerland, all was perfection, from the views, to the food, to the people on the streets. Well, maybe not absolutely perfect. First off, even getting the name right is hard. There are four official languages - French, German, Italian and Romansh - resulting in four informal names for the country: Suisse, Schweiz, Svizzera, and Svizra. The official name is Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (Swiss Confederation in English), although the literal translation is more like the brotherhood of men who stood in a field and swore an oath of eternal cooperation and friendship. To cause more confusion, the government chose another name for the international registration code: The Confederatio Helvetica, derived from the Helvetii, one of the local pre-Roman tribes. Masters of compromise, and why you see CH stickers on cars across the country. At roughly twice the size of New Jersey, Switzerland is a big, diverse village. The natural beauty of the country was discovered by the English in the 19th century and worldwide tourism was born. This happened in 1863, which was a good year. The Red Cross was founded in Geneva and Mr. Thomas Cook of Great Britain conducted the first package tour of the country. The Brits climbed the mountains and sailed the lakes, leaving five star hotels and restaurants in their wake. In addition to its natural beauty, Switzerland is a land of trust. People expect their neighbors to follow the laws. They trust each other to make important national decisions together. Including one memorable vote on whether or not to purchase new fighter planes AND whether or not to disband the carrier pigeon corps. It was yes to both. The US sold them F-16s and the pigeons were put out to pasture, so to speak. Of course, even in a perfect world not everyone behaves correctly. This often means that when the Swiss are faced with dishonesty or deceit they are alarmingly innocent. Or perhaps they have been turning a blind eye for so long they dont want to admit it? Their role in World War II? In certain banking practices? Hmmm. Secrecy is a national pastime. Hidden amongst the mountains and lakes are dozens of deep tunnels created as army bunkers during World War II. Today, many are open to the public as hotels, museums and restaurants, while others store cheese and mushrooms. Most had concealed entrances (fake boulders, castle ruins), but a few were hidden in plain sight, including one bright pink house near the small town of Gland. There, the garage doors open to reveal a cannon and array of machine guns in case the enemy made it over the mountains. My husband attended boarding school at the Institut La Gruyere and the village and castle of the counts of Gruyere remain a favorite vacation spot. The landscape is bucolic, and at the foot of the hill is the Maison du Gruyere where the famous cheese is created. Cheese is one of the friendly and wholesome associations with Switzerland until you read about the cheese mafia . Who knew that those fondue parties of the 1970s were the result of a masterplan! Of course, writers have made their mark with figures ranging from Lord Byron and the Shelleys, to Nietzsche and Rousseau. Byron brought his personal physician with him and the man was inspired to write The Vampyre (progenitor of the romantic vampire novels of today) while, of course, Mary Shelley was inspired to create Frankenstein . All in an idyllic summer setting! With its beauty and diversity, its history and geography, Ive always found Switzerland inspiring and wonder what places inspire others? And why? JULIA: Fondue the result of Swiss plotting. It all begins to make sense, now. What do you think, dear readers? One lucky commentor will win a copy of SWISS VENDETTA On the eve of the worst blizzard Lausanne has seen in centuries, Inspector Agnes Luthi is called out to investigate her very first homicide case. On the lawn of Chateau Vallotton, at the edge of Lac Leman, a young art dealer has been found stabbed to death. Agnes finds it difficult to draw answers out of anyonethe tight-lipped Swiss family living in the chateau, the servants who have been loyal to the family for generations, the aging World War II survivor who lives in the neighboring mansion, even the American history student studying at the chateaus library. As the storm rages on, the roads become impassable, the power goes out and Agnes finds herself trapped in the candlelit halls with all the players of the mystery, out of her depth in her first murder case and still struggling to stay afloat after the death of her husband. JURIST Guest Columnist Joyce Lee Malcolm of George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School discusses the impact that a recent court opinion will have on Chicago residents and their Second Amendment rights This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereofshall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. US Constitution, Article VI Nearly seven years after the US Supreme Court overturned Chicagos strict ban on handguns and affirmed the Second Amendment right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear guns for their protection, few of the people of Chicago are able to exercise their right. In the face of the appalling violence in Chicago before and since that rulingover 3800 people shot last year and a 58% increase in homicidesChicagos mayor and City Council continue to defy the landmark Second Amendment cases of District of Columbia v. Heller, and McDonald v. City of Chicago and permit residents to keep guns for protection. On January 18, 2017, however, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Ezell v. City of Chicago (Ezell II), put the people of Chicago one small step closer to gaining their constitutional right to be armed. This has been a long, and costly struggle for petitioners, for the city and especially for all its law-abiding residents. Just four days after the Supreme Court overturned the citys strict ban on handguns in McDonald, Mayor Daley and the Council issued regulations designed to make it as difficult as possible for a resident to have a gun. Added to the requirement for an Illinois firearms permit the new Chicago regulations required that the applicant pass a police background check, a 4-hour class, and spend one hour at a gun range, although ranges were banned in Chicago. Gun shops were also banned in the city as were all firearm sales. When transported, every firearm had to be broken down, unloaded and in a case, making it useless for self-defense. Only one working gun could be kept in the home. The gun had to be registered within 5 days of purchase with payment of a $100 fee and needed to be re-registered annually with seizure and fines for any failure to re-register. Should a resident manage to negotiate these hurdles, he or she could not take the gun outside their home, even to their garage or porch. A long series of law suits have followed in an effort to gain Chicago residents the constitutional right that the Supreme Court claimed was theirs. The first round of the present case, Ezell v. Chicago, was decided a year after McDonald, when the Seventh Circuit reversed the ban on shooting ranges in the City of Chicago, refuting the citys claim that the ban was lawful since gun ranges existed outside the city. The Court pointed out that Chicago could not infringe Second Amendment rights on the grounds that they could be exercised elsewhere any more than it could infringe the right to freedom of speech on the grounds that citizens could speak elsewhere. In Moore v. Madison in December, 2012, the Court of Appeals forced Illinois to allow law-abiding residents to carry a concealed weapon. In 2014 District Judge Edmond Chang found Chicagos ban on gun shops and on the sale and transfer of firearms unconstitutional. While conceding the government has a duty to protect its citizens, the judge insisted it is also obligated to protect constitutional rights, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. Now comes an opinion in Ezell II. After the ban on gun ranges was struck down in 2011, the city amended its scheme four times, ultimately crafting a zoning rule that no range could be within 100 feet of another range or 500 feet of any district zoned for residential use or planned residential use, or any preschool, day-care facility, place of worship, liquor retailer, childrens activities facility, library, museum or hospital. That left only about 2.2% of the citys total area, small manufacturing districts, even theoretically available. Further, no one under 18 was to enter a shooting range, should one actually be established. The city argued that firing ranges attract gun thieves, cause airborne lead contamination and carry a risk of fire. Judge Sykes writing for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out in its January reversal, that the city provided no evidentiary support for these claims. Indeed their own witness admitted she had not conducted an investigation, or consulted any expert or knew of any evidence to support the citys assertions. The judges concluded that she essentially did no research at all. In fact, law-enforcement and private-security firing ranges are operating throughout Chicago quite safely. Nor did the city fare better with the age restriction to meet its burden that a person under the age of 18 be prohibited from a range. That rule, Judge Sykes explained, extinguishes even the right of older adolescents and teens to receive adult-supervised firearm instruction in the controlled setting of a firing range. The citys witness, Commissioner Krimbel, agreed that shooting ranges are a good place to teach a youngster how to fire a rifle, adding that his son had taken a shooting class when he was 12. In striking down restrictions making it practically impossible to establish a shooting range in Chicago and the age restriction on entering a shooting range, Judge Sykes reminded the Chicago government of Justice Alitos caution in McDonald, against treating the Second Amendment as a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of rights Guarantees. The law-abiding people of Chicago have been ill served by the city governments insistence on flaunting the Supreme Court opinions, attempting to circumvent the Appeals Court decisions, and effectively denying residents their constitutional right and ability to protect themselves in the lawless environment in which they live. Joyce Lee Malcolm is a Patrick Henry Professor of Constitutional Law and the Second Amendment. Professor Malcolm is is a historian and constitutional scholar active in the area of constitutional history, focusing on the development of individual rights in Great Britain and America. She has written many books and articles on gun control, the Second Amendment, and individual rights. Her work was cited several times in the recent US Supreme Court opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller. Suggested citation: Joyce Lee Malcolm, Chicago Residents Closer to Getting Second Amendment Rights, JURIST Academic Commentary, Jan. 31, 2017, http://jurist.org/forum/2017/1/Joyce-Lee-Malcolm-chicago-residents-closer-to-getting-second-amendment-rights-Chicago.php [JURIST] US and UK regulators fined [press release] Deutsche Bank [corporate website] a combined $630 million in connection with a Russian money laundering scheme. Clients illegally moved [Reuters report] over $10 billion from Russia via shares that were bought and sold through Deutsche Banks offices in Moscow, London and New York, and regulators assert that bank officials repeatedly missed opportunities and to catch and stop the operations. Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo [official profile] of the New York Department of Financial Services [official website] supported the US fine by stating, In todays interconnected financial network, global financial institutions must be ever vigilant in the war against money laundering and other activities that can contribute to cybercrime and international terrorism. These fines come less than a month after Deutsche Bank announced a $7.2 billion settlement [JURIST report] with the US Department of Justice regarding the sale of toxic mortgage securities that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. Several banks have faced legal challenges [JURIST backgrounder] stemming from the financial crisis of 2008. In September the US National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) [official website] said that the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) [official website] will pay $1.1 billion [JURIST report] after it allegedly solid toxic mortgaged-backed securities. In July 2014 Citigroup, Inc. agreed to pay $7 billion to settle a federal inquiry [JURIST report] into mortgage-backed securities sold by the bank prior to the countrys financial crisis. In November 2013 the DOJ announced that a $13 billion civil settlement [JURIST report] with JPMorgan & Co. has been finalized, resolving federal and state claims arising from the banks risky mortgage practices which helped lead to the 2008 financial crisis. In August 2013 the DOJ filed suit [JURIST report] against Bank of America (BOA) in the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, claiming the corporation misled investors about securitized loans worth more than $850 million. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [court website] on Monday upheld an order [text, PDF] that refugee students in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, be allowed to attend the public high school, even with limited English skills. The students had been placed by the school district in Phoenix Academy, which is an accelerated credit recovery high school. The refugees sued, alleging that the school district was in violation of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA) [text, PDF] and requested to be allowed to attend McCaskey High Schools International School. The court upheld a district court ruling, finding the school district in violation of the EEOA, but not state law. Maura McInerney, attorney at Philadelphia-based Education Law Center representing the students said in a statement [ACLU report] The decision sends a clear and unequivocal message to all public schools that they have a duty to provide sound and effective English language services. The School District says that it is proud to serve its immigrant community, serving more than 600 refugee students. This ruling will allow this case go to full trial, where the students are suing for damages against the school district. Education remains a controversial issue in the US. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District [SCOTUSblog materials] the Supreme Court recently heard arguments [JURIST report] on required education benefits for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [text, PDF]. In November 2016,the Supreme Court declined to review [JURIST report] a Kansas educational case in which a group was alleging that teaching scientific evolution was skewed, leading students to anti-religious tendencies. More than 1,700 residents of Flint, Michigan, on Monday filed [complaint, PDF] a class action lawsuit against the US, claiming that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] has failed to respond to damage claims arising from the Flint water crisis. The claims total $722 million. The suit alleges that the EPA has failed to fulfill its responsibilities under the Federal Tort Claims Act [text], which allows federal agencies to settle claims against the US. The claim notes that Flint residents were exposed to dangerously high lead contents for nearly 18 months, and that as of November 25, 2016, the two and one half year anniversary [of the Flint water crisis], the water delivered to the people of Flint remains unsafe to drink, use for cooking or use for bathing. These claims are some of the myriad of legal actions taken in response to the Flint water crisis. In December Michigans Attorney General announced [JURIST report] that felony charges were filed against four former state officials connected with the Flint water crisis, with maximum prison sentences of 46 years available to the prosecutors. That same month a federal court affirmed [JURIST report] a lower court decision requiring the state of Michigan to provide bottled water to Flint residents. Last September the US Senate approved legislation to provide $100 million in emergency funding to repair pipes in cities suffering from lead contamination. [JURIST] Pakistani authorities on Monday placed militant leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed under house arrest for his connection to the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) [CFR profile] and the charity known as Jamaat-ud-Dawa [BBC profile]. Saeed has been accused of orchestrating the infamous Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 [CNN backgrounder]. Though the US has set [NYT report] a $10 million reward for help with his arrest and conviction, Saeed has been living openly in Pakistan since the attacks. While having undergone house arrests before, he has been successful in avoiding detention or legal charges and has continued to deny his connection to the LeT. Despite pressures from the US and India, Pakistan has consistently avoided taking actions against Saeed due to a lack of evidence regarding his role in the Mumbai attacks. Pakistan moved forward with Mondays house arrest after the Obama administration reportedly threatened the country with sanctions and penalties. Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is expected to make an announcement on Tuesday regarding how the country will address Saeeds charity, which has been accused of establishing an independent judiciary system [JURIST report] and serving as a front for the LeT. Mumbai has suffered a number of terrorist attacks allegedly linked to the LeT in recent years, leading the government to consider controversial terrorism laws and to institute special courts [JURIST reports] to try suspects. A Pakistani antiterrorism court is currently trying six suspects allegedly connected to the 2008 attacks. Cross-examination [JURIST report] of the Pakistani-based businessman responsible for selling the boat engine used by the LeT in the attacks began in November 2013. The year prior, India executed the sole surviving gunman from the attacks, Mohammad Ajmal Kasab [WSJ backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. In August 2009 India sentenced three terrorists to death for their part in similar attacks in 2003 [JURIST report]. In July of that year India announced that it would continue the trial [JURIST report] of a man suspected in a 2008 hotel attack that killed more than 100 people, despite his mid-trial confession [JURIST report]. Mitzie Perez and the California League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) [advocacy website] on Monday filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] against Wells Fargo alleging that the bank refused to extend Perez and other similarly situated students loans solely because of their immigration status. Perez is a junior at the University of California, Riverside, and is one of many undocumented immigrants, or Dreamers, allowed to remain in the US under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) [official website]. The suit seeks a court order requiring Wells Fargo to amend its student loan policies, as well as monetary damages for undocumented immigrants who were denied loans by Wells Fargo because of their immigration status. DACA has been a contentious issue in recent weeks. A Georgia state court refused [JURIST report] this month to back down from its earlier ruling granting in-state tuition to Georgia university students protected by DACA. Also in January the US House of Representatives [official website] passed a funding bill [JURIST report] that included amendments designed to repeal key elements of DACA. A collection of mayors from major US cities, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, warned [JURIST report] then president-elect Donald Trump in December about potential negative economic consequences of repealing DACA. [JURIST] US President Donald Trump [official website] vowed [statement] on Tuesday to continue to enforce the executive order instated by Barack Obama that protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people working in federal institutions and contracts. A statement [NYT report] was issued by the White House to address growing concerns that Trump would reverse previous policy. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The president is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression. Concern remains despite White House statements. Human Rights Campaign [advocacy website] President Chad Griffin said [press release] Claiming ally status for not overturning the progress of your predecessor is a rather low bar. Donald Trump has done nothing but undermine equality since he set foot in the White House. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been controversial in the US. North Carolina has faced national focus for its bathroom bill [JURIST report] that requires individuals to use the public bathroom associated with the sex listed on their birth certificate. In November a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled [JURIST report] that Title VIIs protection from employment discrimination based on sex extends to sexual orientation. In June two gay men filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging a Tennessee law that protects counselors who refuse to provide services to individuals based on their religious beliefs. [JURIST] A judge for the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals on Tuesday ordered the release [press release] of Turkish judge Aydin Sefa Akay who was detained in July. The order stresses that the Turkish government should release Akay and cease all legal proceedings against the judge before February 14 so that he can resume his role in a Rwandan genocide case. The court held that pursuant to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations [text, PDF] judges serving on the Mechanism receive certain immunities during their time in service. Denying the proposal that Akay be replaced, the court stated that doing so would be a rejection of judicial independence, justice, [and] what is right. Since the failed coup in Turkey in July, where Turkish military forces tried to overthrow the government, the Turkish government has taken several controversial steps to strengthen its power. Earlier this month the Turkish Parliament approved a plan [JURIST report], which, if approved by vote later this year, would increase presidential power within the country and would allow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stay in office until 2029. In November Turkey significantly restricted the activities of NGOs like human rights organizations and childrens groups and arrested opposition party leaders [JURIST reports] alleging they were connected to terror organizations. In October Human Rights Watch warned [JURIST report] that the emergency decrees put in place after the failed coup, had resulted in serious human rights violations. In July Amnesty International condemned [JURIST report] Turkey for attacking the freedom of the press by issuing arrest warrants for 42 journalists. The Arkansas House of Representatives [official website] approved a proposal [HB 1047 materials] on Tuesday that would reinstate a voter identification law that was struck down over two years ago. This bill, which was passed 74-21, is nearly identical to a law the republican majority legislature enacted in 2013 that required voters to show ID before voting. That law was unanimously struck down [JURIST report] by the state Supreme Court, which found that it was unconstitutional because it added a qualification to voting. However, Republican lawmakers are hopeful for a different outcome [AP report] this time with a new state Supreme Court roster. The proposal will also need to overcome another hurdle the court has previously mentioned, getting two-thirds of the vote in both chambers. The plan is now heading to the Senate [official website] for approval after receiving the necessary votes in the House. The right to vote has become a contentious issue over the past year. In November the Supreme Court rejected [JURIST report] a vote counting appeal to block state election rules that they claimed could disqualify certain absentee ballots. In October a New York law prohibiting a person from showing the contents of her prepared voting ballot was challenged as unconstitutional [JURIST report] by state voters for violating their First Amendment rights. The complaint alleges that the law infringes on voters freedom of speech and freedom of expression under the US Constitution as well as the New York state Constitution. Also in October a federal court denied an emergency motion [JURIST report] from North Carolina counties to extend the hours of early voting. In September a district court judge granted [JURIST report] a motion blocking Illinois from allowing voter registration on election day in the states most populated counties. Israel authorized the construction of 3,000 housing units in the West Bank Tuesday, despite criticism from the international community, who argue that the land is seen by Palestinians as the site of their future state. This is the fourth and largest approval for West Bank expansion since US President Donald Trump assumed office in January. Israel had halted the expansion [Al Jazeera report] under the administration of Barack Obama, who condemned their settlements in the West Bank. Many in the international community believe that the Israeli settlements violate international law. Hours after the announcement, Israeli forces began evacuating [NYT report] the outpost of Amona. Recent conflicts between Israel and Palestine [HRW backgrounder] over settlements in the occupied West Bank have raised concerns over possible human rights violations. Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will be lifting restrictions [JURIST report] on Israelis building settlements in East Jerusalem. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated [JURIST report] that the latest Israeli settlement plans creates an obstacle to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, which is a great concern to the Secretary-General. The UN rights chief stated [JURIST report] in December that the Israeli settlement legislation violated international law. In November, the Israel High Court of Justice ruled that the controversial Amona settlement in the West Bank must be dismantled [JURIST report] by December 25. Earlier the same month Israels Ministerial Committee for Legislation unanimously approved [JURIST report] the Formalization Bill to legalize the West Bank outposts, which was intended in part to stop the evacuation of Amona outpost. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy websites] have criticized the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines as part of the war on drugs in the country. AI released [AI report, PDF; press release] a report on Tuesday related to AIs investigation into the killings. HRW called Monday for the UN to begin an investigation [press release] into the killings, which have so far claimed more than 7,000 lives in the Philippines since July. According to the groups, Philippines police have not provided any evidence regarding claims that the 2,551 suspected drug dealers and users that were killed by the police resisted arrest or shot at the police. There are also no investigations into the thousands of other deaths related to death squads, which are believed to include police in civilian clothes. AI has called the killings a war on the poor. Most of those killed are poor and their names are typically sent to police on unverified lists. Many are reported to have been killed while attempting to surrender and many witnesses have also reported valuables being stolen from the houses of those killed by the police. Police are reportedly awarded between $161 and $302 for each suspected drug user or dealer that is killed. Some contract killers are reportedly paid $100 for each drug user killed and $200-$300 for each drug pusher killed. The anti-drug campaign was put on hold on Monday to investigate corruption within the police, but this investigation is meant to only purge police officers involved in the illegal drug trade, and is not meant to provide any accountability into the killings. During Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes campaign last year, he had stated 100,000 people would die [Guardian report] in his crackdown on crime. In December the UN rights chief urged [JURIST report] a murder investigation into Duterte after Duterte stated that he had killed three suspected criminals while he was mayor. In October the International Criminal Court [official website] expressed concern [JURIST report] over the rising occurrence of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines in connection with the ongoing war on drugs. In September Duterte declared a state of lawlessness [JURIST report] in the Philippines, which would allow police and military personnel to frisk individuals and search cars. In August Duterte named [JURIST report] 150 serving and former state officials connected to the nations illegal drug trade and ordered them to either surrender to the authorities or risk being hunted down. Duterte has stated that he disregards criticisms from the UN and human rights groups. Also in August Duterte threatened to withdraw [JURIST report] the country from the UN following criticisms against his controversial crackdown on illegal drugs. The government of Romania [official website] passed an emergency law on Tuesday decriminalizing corruption offenses and official misconduct in which the damages is less than 44,000. The measure is effective immediately and will also be applied [Romania-Insider report] to cases that were already charged or currently being tried in court. Some provisions will lead to pardons or reduced sentences [DW report] for many who were previously convicted and are expected to affect about 2,500 prisoners. Some critics of the law believe it was enacted in part to help members of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) who were accused of similar crimes. However, Justice Minister Florin Iordache, whose office drafted the measure, denied this and claimed that the changes were made because the Constitutional Court ruled that some provisions were unconstitutional. An estimated 4,500 peaceful protesters filled the Victoriei Square [Romania-Insider report] near the government building in Bucharest following the announcement. That number later grew to an estimated 12,000 protestors and demonstrations sprang in other cities throughout the country as well. The ordinance was first drafted by the Justice Ministry on January 18. The following day, the government published a draft of a plan to lower prison overcrowding [JURIST report] that involves pardons for thousands of prisoners, but the plan was met with protests around the country. Last week Romanian President Klaus Iohannis insisted that a referendum on the governments plan to pardon thousands of prisoners was needed [JURIST report] despite protests. In 2015 Romanias Superior Magistrates Council rejected 22 proposals that would have made it harder to fight top-level corruption [JURIST report]. Former Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta faced legal trouble of his own for alleged corruption. He was charged with fraud, tax evasion and money laundering in July 2015 and indicted [JURIST reports] on the charges in September of that year. The City of San Francisco [official website] filed a lawsuit [press release] on Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] against the Trump administration over the executive order to withhold federal funding from designated sanctuary cities [text]. The lawsuit [complaint, PDF] is the first of its kind in which the city is arguing the federal government does not have a right to force cities to assist in their immigration efforts as a requirement for funding. The Executive Order undermines San Franciscos ability to provide critical services not just to undocumented immigrants, but to all residents. When witnesses and crime victims will not talk to the police, law enforcement suffers and the entire community is less safe. When children are not vaccinated or the sick are not treated for communicable diseases, illness spreads throughout the community. The United States Constitution guarantees states and local governments, such as San Francisco, that they may make those decisions and do not have to carry out the Federal governments immigration programs. The lawsuit seeks a declaration that San Francisco is in compliance with federal law and an order blocking enforcement of the executive order. The immigration debate continues as various government entities are conflicted over immigration policies. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released a memo [JURIST report] this month that provides model language to be used for immigration laws and policies in so-called sanctuary cities nationally. Pedro Figueroa Zarceno filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] earlier this month against the city of San Francisco, the Police Department and the Sheriffs Department for violating San Franciscos sanctuary city law. In December JURIST Guest Columnist Hugh D. Spitzer of the University of Washington School of Law discussed [JURIST op-ed] US Supreme Court decisions that could derail the anticipated efforts by president-elect Trump to punish so-called sanctuary cities US President Donald Trump [official website] on Tuesday nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch [WH materials, POLITICO profile] of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit [official website] to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia [JURIST report] on the US Supreme Court [official website]. Trump stated [NYT transcript]: Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support. The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute. He is the man of our country and a man who our country really needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice. In response, Gorsuch thanked the president for entrust[ing] me with a most solemn assignment. Gorsuch honored the late Justice Scalia, whose widow was in attendance, calling him a lion of the law. Gorsuch now must wait for the Senate to initiate confirmation hearings. He stated that he looked forward to speaking with members from both side of the aisle and that he considers the US Senate to be the greatest deliberative body in the world. Gorsuch was nominated to the Tenth Circuit by President George W. Bush on May 10, 2006. He was confirmed by voice vote on July 20, 2006, 95-0. He had previously gone to Columbia University for his undergrad where he graduated with honors. He then attended Harvard Law School as a Truman Scholar, where he also graduated with honors. He also received a Doctorate from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. Gorsuch was a law clerk on the US Supreme Court for Justice Byron White and Justice Anthony Kennedy. The UK announced [press release] Tuesday that thousands of gay and bisexual men who were convicted of sexual offenses received a posthumous pardon as their actions are no longer deemed illegal under British law. The pardon is part of the policing and crime bill [official summary], which acknowledges thousands of individuals were convicted of offenses because they were engaged in consensual same-sex relationships. As well as posthumously pardoning gay and bisexual men, this law will also provide pardons for the living in cases where convictions have been deleted through the disregard process. This will ensure that due diligence is carried out and prevent people from claiming to be cleared of offences that are still crimesincluding sex with a minor and non-consensual sexual activity. The pardons are expected to impact 15,000 living individuals in addition to the 50,000 [Telegraph report] posthumous pardons. Rights for LGBT individuals continues to change. The Texas Supreme Court last Friday reversed its previous 8-1 decision [JURIST report], choosing to review a lower court ruling in which that court held cities are required to offer the same benefits to same-sex spouses of employees as to opposite-sex spouses. A UN human rights expert provided a report [JURIST report] to an international conference in Thailand in November regarding discrimination of the lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and intersex community. Also in November the Ontario legislature passed the All Families are Equal Act [text], recognizing same-sex couples as parents when they utilize assisted reproduction. Track product launches by FMCG companies to get an understanding of the product-level strategies including geographic concentrations, innovation types, product claim, category focus and more Monitoring the advertising strategies of various brands and gain insights into channel focus, regional focus, and more Perform company-level analysis to understand business model, size, and geographic focus Unilever product advertising is mainly through mainstream TV channels. Out of the products advertised so far at least 50% (over 850) of ads have been run on TV, while print media comes second with 496 ads. Unilever also utilizes social media platforms for advertisement. Unilever products are categorized by innovation ratings and tags in our product launch database. The North American region consists of almost 74 products with innovations related to the formulation of the product. Europe and other regions also have more products categorized under formulation-related innovation, followed by the packaging and positioning of the products. Most Unilever products are tagged with High Vitamins, Recyclable, and Natural tags to understand what the product differentiator is from other products available in the market. The majority of products belong to the personal care industry with a total of 5,788 products to date. This report, through the Unilever Example, illustrates how GlobalData Explorer enables you to:Dont miss out on key market insights that can help optimize your next investment read the report now. NEWSLETTER Sign up Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Just Drinks Daily News The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday. Just Drinks Weekly News A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Monday. Just Drinks Magazine The industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every quarter NEWSLETTER Sign up Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Just Style Daily Update The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday. Just Style Weekly Update A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Monday. Just Style Magazine The industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every quarter. Its little wonder that with an exceptional attitude such as this, Mario Mandzukic has earned an important place in the hearts of Juventus fans as well as a consistent starting berth in Massimiliano Allegris line-ups this season. Mario doesnt know any other way than to give 100 per cent, whether its in training or matches and the end result is a player that, without exception, helps to improve the overall performance of the team. A forward by trade, Mandzukic is a rare breed in his sheer willingness to track back and make those crucial blocks, tackles and interceptions when the Bianconeri defence needs him most. The Croatia international is blessed with brawn alright, but he also has the brains to make the difference going forwards. It was his sublime backheel flick that released Alex Sandro down the left to cross for Gonzalo Higuains goal against Sassuolo. It was also his neatly threaded pass into Paulo Dybalas path for the opener at home to Lazio the weekend before. Furthermore, it was his deft chip into the far corner that helped the Old Lady overcome Atalanta in the Coppa Italia last 16. Make no bones about it, Mandzukic brings plenty to the party and his MVP award for January is thoroughly deserved for his unrelenting efforts in the black and white stripes. Mario will pick up his prize just before kick-off against Inter this Sunday evening at Juventus Stadium and doing the honours will be a J-Member for a moment he/she will surely not forget in a hurry. LINCOLN (AP) Companies that gain access to students personal information in schools would be barred from using it for targeted ads under a bill presented to Nebraska lawmakers Tuesday. Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln pitched the measure to a legislative committee as a way to protect students online privacy in schools. The proposal would apply to companies such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft that are used in schools for educational purposes. It also would prevent companies from creating student profiles for non-educational purposes, such as providing credit or insurance. Companies could collect and use data only for educational purposes. Students today are very tech savvy, but they are also very vulnerable to targeted advertising, Morfeld said in testimony to the Legislatures Education Committee. A similar bill received unanimous support from the committee last year but died because no senator designated it as a priority. If the measure passes this year, Nebraska would join more than 30 other states that have passed similar laws. Personal information could include email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, disciplinary records, test results, grades, health records, food purchases, political affiliations and other data. Microsoft lobbyist Anthony Wilson said the bill sets clear ground rules for companies to protect students who increasingly rely on computers, smartphones and other technology to finish schoolwork. This imposes the obligation on the companies not the state, not the schools, said Wilson, who worked with other companies to draft a bill they all support. It tells the companies how were going to treat (student) data. The issue has surfaced in other states as schools increasingly use online learning services and cloud computing. Mississippis attorney general filed a lawsuit in January against Google, alleging that the company is violating his states consumer protections law by selling ads using data from services it provides to schools. Google has not yet responded to the claim. Nebraskas schools rely more than ever on electronic records to store information about students, said Renee Hyde, a representative for the Nebraska Council of School Administrators. Student information is not in a shoebox. Its not in a file cabinet, said Hyde, the assistant superintendent for the Papillion-La Vista School District. This operational protection is extremely important for our kids. Lawmakers may consider an exemption for Nebraskas community colleges, which frequently collect data from high school students. Greg Adams, a former state senator and lobbyist for the Nebraska Community College Association, said community colleges use data to recruit new students and promote dual enrollment programs for high school students. ___ Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto during the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016. Trudeau has had a phone conversation with his Mexican counterpart in which they discussed trade, job creation and competitiveness in North America. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick In this handout photo made on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, provided by the Israeli Government Press Office, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hand with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York. NetanyahuAos upcoming White House visit aims to cement ties to a surprisingly supportive U.S. president _ but it also presents a political minefield. IsraelAos nationalist leader this week upset Mexico with a tweet supporting President TrumpAos border wall, stayed sheepishly silent while American Jewish groups condemned an awkward White House statement ignoring the Jewish element of the Holocaust, and saw many Mideast-born Israelis fret the controversial U.S. new refugee ban might affect them as well. (Kobi Gideon,GPO via AP) New Year Wishes 2017 from Mexico Source:english.eastday.com Date:2017-01-25 New Year Wishes from Arturo Puente Ortega, Consul General of Mexico in Shanghai Consul General of Mexico in Shanghai Arturo Puente Ortega, Vice President of Shanghai Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries Jing Ying and Deputy Party Secretary of Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, Xu Jianqun unveiled the exhibition "Twin Cites - Photographic stories of Metro" in Shanghai on September 14, 2016. "In 2017 we are celebrating the 45th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Mexico and the Peoples Republic of China. To commemorate this milestone, the Consulate General of Mexico will present the exhibition "Mexican Trilogy" from February 14th to March 13th at the Duolun Museum of Modern Art. This exhibition features the artwork of three Mexican artists in different times and generations. From the contemporary scene we will present Brenda Francos series "Walking Blind", ink on rice paper. We will also showcase a collection of the most creative posters by the multifaceted architect, photographer and graphic artist Daniel Nierman. Last but not least, we will present reproduction prints by the Mexican artist, illustrator and engraver Jose Guadalupe Posada, whose iconic images have become associated with the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Over the course of 2017 we will host many other events and activities aiming at enhancing the presence of Mexico in Shanghai. Please join us!" The importance of voting cannot be understated On Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters will head to the polls to choose who will serve as governor, lieutenant governor, state comptroller, attorney general, state Assembly... Spindle Items ..CRASH DETECTION The much-touted crash detection feature of the new iPhone 14 automatically dials 911 if it calculates that the vehicle has been in... Out of the Past 25 Years AgoNov. 5, 1997 The Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Board of Education began the planning stages of hiring a new superintendent Monday. Dr. Donald Ogilvie... Community engagement through ThoughtExchange The Sweet Home Central School District is in the early stages of building and implementing a new strategic plan designed to ensure relevancy in our... 2K Shares Share Bashing the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system has become a familiar pursuit following the 2014 expose regarding concealed wait times and concerns for substandard care. In the aftermath of the ensuing national scandal, Congress passed reformative legislation, and President Obama appointed Robert McDonald Secretary of the VA. A 2016 report from the Harvard Business School indicates that the Secretary has made impressive progress over the past year. Numerous veterans groups called for his retention under the new administration. My forty-seven-year-old, 100 percent disabled veteran husband, Matt, agrees. He has been in the VA system since 2007, when he left the Navy after fifteen years, but did not really need it until 2015, when he became quadriplegic. He is, like me, a Yale Medical School-educated physician. Matt was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when he was a twenty-eight-year-old general medical officer caring for Marines. While his disability is from disease, and not from stepping on an IED in Iraq, this medical doctor and former U.S. Navy Commander, and I, by extension as his caretaker, have a unique perspective on the navigation of the sometimes turbulent waters of the VA health care system. We have yet to meet an undedicated or unskilled clinician at the Washington, DC VA. (Though you might think the VA in the nations capital caters to the elite, thats not the case. Military brass with twenty years or more of service go to Walter Reed Medical Center; our VA serves predominantly the rank and file.) Matt has been admitted for a total of twenty-four weeks and due to his complicated course has been seen by specialists from neurology, infectious disease, hematology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, urology, and gastroenterology. I recall a doctor calling me regarding my husbands care at 9 p.m. on Friday night as she rounded on him. The nurse from neurology has stopped by our house a half dozen times to draw blood, aware of the difficulty of transporting Matt to the lab. The hematologist texted me to make sure I was giving his medicine. We are aware that Matts status as a physician may enhance his care. Yet he has had countless roommates (the VA is not where you go if you need a single) and has observed his peers from all walks of life be treated well by medical staff, even under humbling conditions like diaper changes. As an employed physician in a well-regarded health care system, I am aware that non-government health care can be labyrinthine. I help my patients obtain insurance coverage for medically necessary procedures, and they take 20 percent copays for granted. Yet my husbands nine surgeries, two motorized wheelchairs, thirty-five daily pills, and prolonged admissions have cost nothing with no effort. Im struggling to work full time, to care for our two daughters and to support Matt what a relief that I do not have to fight for his health care by submitting paperwork and enduring 1-800 calls. Through my job, we have access to private insurance. Aware of its flaws we have chosen the VA for Matts care. Yes, there are problems in the VA. We have experienced delays in receiving grants towards a handicapped van, payments for his daily aides, and funds to put in a first-floor bedroom and ADA bathroom. We are lucky to have saved for Matts decline and have resources to dedicate towards keeping Matt safe at home. (Other veterans would have been forced to stay in a VA nursing home until their benefits came through but they would still have care.) We have encountered poor accessibility. It is physically difficult for my husband to initiate a call for an appointment and to be hung up on after waiting 30 minutes is particularly irritating. I became frustrated trying to reach the workers who controlled benefits, and I started showing up at their offices. Establishing face-to-face contact enhanced empathy of the workers, and accountability as well. As we worked our way through the system, I had my children and mother-in-law write heartfelt letters on Matts behalf to the bureaucrats I identified as key paper-pushers. I distributed some home-baked cookies along the way. Anyone who did a reasonably prompt job I rewarded with a note of commendation to their supervisor. But a year into this drastic change in health we had received every benefit to which Matt was entitled. Our VA can get colorful: Once we took home the wrong patient belongings bag and found Matts roommates crack pipe, not that we had ever seen one before, but we used context clues like the accompanying white rock, razor and lighter to make an ID. Matt jokes that some of his roommates are so crusty they must be from the Spanish-American War. In truth there is a palpable culture of friendliness and respect at our VA. In the elevators everyone patients and staff makes eye contact and says hello. During Matts most recent admission the man who changed his garbage can called him Doc as he made his daily visits. The social worker thanked Matt for his service. On discharge we exited the fancy lobby with its atrium, grand piano and coffee bar. Prominently displayed was a photograph of Secretary McDonald. He has been replaced, in our opinion prematurely, by VA Undersecretary Dr. David Shulkin by President Trump. Dr. Shulkin is the first VA Secretary without a military background, but perhaps, more importantly, he has a medical one. Lets hope he can continue the good work Secretary McDonald initiated. Sarah Poggi is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 545 Shares Share Longtime readers know of my fascination with the affect heuristic. Simply stated, we overvalue the benefits of a concept that we like, and underestimate the problems or vice versa. This article about direct primary care induces conflicting analyses: Here is the PCP crisis solution, and its simple. I like the idea based on this reasoning. Primary care in 2017 has several problems. Both physicians and patients have dissatisfaction with direct face time. Primary care physicians suffer high levels of burnout because the financial model requires them to see patients too quickly to do their job properly. These quick visits likely induce physicians to order more tests and consultations than they would if they could spend more time on history and physical examination. Direct primary care allows physicians to spend more time with patients because they decrease their panel size from greater than 2000 to 800 or less. These physicians have more time to communicate with their patients using telephone and email. But the panel size decrease waves a red flag for opponents of this movement. They always ask who will care for the patients? When primary care physicians burnout, they often leave their practice becoming hospitalists, urgent care physicians or subspecialists or retirees. If direct primary care keeps them practicing, even with fewer patients, at least they are providing important primary care. Currently, medical students and residents find primary care unappealing because of the work conditions. I often argue that direct primary care may induce students and residents to choose primary care and work with a reasonable number of patients. This debate has no solution. My arguments are not based on data, but rather on anecdotal observation. I worry about primary care because the current model often leads to more expensive substandard care. You cannot rush visits and provide the highest quality primary care. You must take shortcuts to shrink your visit times. This debate is philosophically interesting and, in my opinion, a great example of that affect heuristic. We cannot resolve this question with data because the factors are multiple. And too often, you do not understand the underlying motivations for doing primary care, leaving primary care or moving to direct primary care. So we will likely continue to debate this issue with no clear conclusion. But of course, I am correct. Robert Centor is an internal medicine physician who blogs at DBs Medical Rants. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 1 of 7 7 Most dangerous cities around the world Traveling around the world is a great way to spend your vacation time, but not all cities are as charming as the ones in the travel brochures. While every large city has its problems, some are a little worse than others. Here are list of most dangerous cities in the world. Kabul, Afghanistan No amount of US intervention and troops on the ground has rescued Afghanistan and its capital Kabul, the world's most dangerous place in our list. Today we can observe such problems as insurgent activities and kidnapping. They can be really dangerous for those who intend to spend holiday in this country. Read More... Latest figures of the value of stud farms to the national economy estimate it at well over 1 billion - and Kilkenny has more than its fair share of that particular pie. Last Friday and Saturday, four of the county's stud farms opened their doors and took part in the country's third consecutive Stallion Trail. It's an industry that locally has made a significant and telling impact on our local area. Across the Barrow in Carlow, stud farms also opened their doors to the public. Currently seven of the top ten sires in Europe are standing in Ireland and the Stallion Trail offered breeders the opportunity to see these great stallions, right before the covering season. The stud farms in Kilkenny which opened were Annshoon Stud in Mullinavat; Ballylinch in Thomastown; Knockhouse stud in Kilmacow and Whytemount stud in Kells. All local stud farms give valuable employment to their respective areas and are very much a key part of Ireland's rural economy. One of those stud farms, Knockhouse Stud in Kilmacow, is a third generation, family run 450 acre stud farm. Overlooking the Suir Valley, Knockhouse Stud has a long tradition of producing quality National Hunt stock. Sean Kinsella, who succeeded his grandfather and father in running the family farm, has guided the careers of Roselier, Remainder Man, Beneficial and Taipan amongst others. The 450 acre farm is now home to a team of stallions including Notnowcato, Libertarian and Prince Flori which offer breeders pedigree, performance and considerable return on investment. This trio of stallions will be joined by sensational Group 1 Investec Derby and Group 1 Prix de lArc de Triomphe winner Workforce, who was trained by Sir Michael Stoute and also proven sire September Storm, for the 2017 breeding season. Ten year old Workforce is out of Soviet Moon, an unraced sister to Saint Ledger winner Brian Boru and a threeparts sister to the multiple Group 2 winner Sea Moon. It is also the family of Grade 1 Alabama Stakes and Kentucky Oaks winner Flute and Qualify who is the winner of the 2015 Oaks. It is a Juddmonte family full of quality and with plenty of appeal to breeders. Workforce was a topclass race horse, and a horse with a race record and pedigree which is very scarce for National Hunt breeders, Kinsella revealed Workforce will be joining triple Group 1 winner and dual Group 3 winner Notnowcato, who won the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Coral-Eclipse Stakes and the Juddmonte International Stakes during his racing career. Notnowcato is the sire of Group winning Custom Cut, Redkirk Warrior, Cornet Obolensky and Grade winning Old Guard and Long Dog. Knockhouse Stud is also home to Group 1 winner Prince Flori. Kinsella said Prince Flori is a lovely looking horse and gets good-looking foals. He has great action and is a fantastic mover with a scopey, long walk that he appears to be passing onto his foals. Group 2 Dante winner and Derby runner-up Libertarian, whose first crop are now yearlings is the son of New Approach and is the youngest sire at Knockhouse. Libertarian is a gorgeous big horse who is really filling out and coming to himself now Sean has commented. The fifth sire to take up duties at the stud this season is September Storm, a son of Monsun with a distinguished pedigree. The great Monsun is an assured source of stamina as his progeny Almandin, Protectionist and Fiorente have won the highly sought after Melbourne Cup. September Storm is a brother to Shirocco, sire of Champion Hurdle winner Annie Power. Three generations on, Sean runs a busy farm with his wife Geraldine and daughters Janet, Rachel, Susan as well as son-in-law James and Alan. Sarah Gavin of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing said: The Irish stallion trail has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2015. It was fantastic to see such large numbers turn out and we would like to thank all the studs and their staff for taking part and providing visitors with a wonderful insight into an industry we are so proud to promote. St. Canice's credit union held their AGM in the Skyline room last night in Hotel Kilkenny. Whilst the overall figures from the account books were positive, members had issues with paying a fee of 58,000 towards the collapse of Rush Credit Union, Dublin at the end of 2016. Members of the credit union questioned the bill in which the board of directors replied that they were unaware of the bill till the central bank imposed it upon them. and that St. Canices was not the only credit union that had to pay the fee. The members also brought up issues with the credit union being over regulated and reserved by the Central Bank. One member stated that people were almost afraid to apply for a loan with the long list of questions being asked by the credit union. The Chairman Micheal O'Reilly said that it was all part in parcel of being in the financial sector, the credit union has to prove its professionalism" The board was very pleased though to announce their surplus figure of 5.8 million due to the five mergers of Ballyragget, Durrow, Mountrath, Rathdowney, Graignamanagh and Dunamaggin, that occurred in 2016. These mergers brought 44 million to the account books between loans and investments. The plans for 2017 are adventurous but necessary, these include the extension of their High Street branch in Kilkenny, to allow privacy for loan applications, becoming a part of the pilot programme in mortgage lending and the development of current account and debit card system for its members. The CU is also planning on continuing talk with Callan CU on a merger, the talks were halted last year due to the sudden death of Callan's Chairman Colm McGrath An inspiring Kilkenny woman has been recognised forgiving cancer the chop. Breast cancer survivor Martha Tiernan from Threecastles, three miles outside the city, has been named as the Irish Global Hero of Hope by the American Cancer Society. After being diagnosed she took up karate in a bid to remain positive. Heroes of Hope are cancer survivors or caregivers who inspire others in their community who have been touched by cancer. Martha was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago at the age of 42. The mother of four underwent a mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. Martha was determined to remain positive and active throughout her treatment and trained for her green belt in the martial arts discipline. A year after her diagnosis Martha got involved in the Irish Cancer Society's Relay for Life in Kilkenny, a 24 hour event that brings together the local community to celebrate lives of cancer survivors, remember those who have died from cancer, and fight back against the disease by raising money to fund vital research and services to support those affected by cancer. Martha has been a Relay For Life Kilkenny Team Captain for two years in a row and the hope for a cure and the need for services in local communities drives her to continue her support of the Irish Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Relay for Life is such a special and poignant event and one Im very proud to be associated with, Martha said. Not only is it an opportunity to remember those we have lost to cancer and celebrate survivors, but it is a chance to raise awareness and fund important support services provided by the Irish Cancer Society. My message to other women out there is to be aware of your body and attend whatever screening is available to you. There was no history of breast cancer in my family and when I initially went to the doctor they didnt think it was anything serious but sent me for further tests. Im so glad I went and would encourage anyone who has any concerns about their health to attend their local GP, she said. Mary Quinn, Relay for Life Fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society said Martha was a very deserving Global Hero of Hope. We are thrilled that she has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to Relay for Life. Marthas positive attitude is so inspiring, and it gives hope to the thousands of women who will get a breast cancer diagnosis in Ireland this year, she said. Over 40,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer this year in Ireland. The Irish Cancer Societys Relay For Life events, of which there are 17 nationwide, help fund the Societys services for people affected by cancer, including the freephone Cancer Nurseline 1800 200 700, and the Societys Night Nursing Service which cares for cancer patients in their home at the end of their cancer journey. The Society is also the largest voluntary funder of cancer research in Ireland, working to find better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. Relay for Life was started by The American Cancer Society and now Global Relay For Life events are held in more than 20 countries worldwide. This years Relay for Life Kilkenny takes place on July 15 and 16 in Kilkenny Rugby Club. Internationally known psychologist Dr. Fergus Heffernan returns to Kilkenny next week for a rare speaking event in his native city. His presentation, entitled The Blue Zone, the Key to Resilience, will bring you on a fascinating journey on how the mind controls the brain at St Fiacres Church, Loughboy, Kilkenny at 8 pm on Wednesday, February 8. Admission is 10 and tickets will be available at the door Using new cutting edge neuroscience in a fun way, Dr. Heffernan will highlight how each one of us can have a fulfilling and personal working life by having a better understanding of what happens in our heads and how we can tap into our own potential. The Blue Zone Showing us how we can live in The Blue Zone Dr. Heffernan, who regularly contributes to national and local media and makes presentations to some of the worlds leading public and private businesses, will lead us to uncover, discover and recover our lives and to become more resilient in dealing with lifes difficult situations. During the evening the very popular and accessible speaker who is well known for his presentations to school management, teachers, parents, and pupils, will show new and exciting ways of teaching emotional intelligence to children by helping them to self-regulate their own emotions. Dr. Heffernan has been described by those who have attended his talks as a wonderful speaker whose presentations are powerful and life changing. Others have said his talks are well worth hearing and that he should keep on voicing his truth it is well worth hearing. Tickets will be available at the door. All proceeds will go to the Carlow/Kilkenny Group of The Irish Pilgrimage Trust who bring local children with special needs to Lourdes each Easter. The Air Amnbulance may not have landed at its proposed destination in Nowlan Park, Kilkenny and Inistioge, but the local first responders got to launch their invaluable Irish Community Air Ambulance. Covering Munster and South Leinster, the air ambulance has been described as a mobile intensive care unit. Kilkenny city is within thirty minutes of its Cork base, and the air ambulance brings doctors and consultants to the scene of an incident. Local director of Irish Community Rapid Response, Adrian O'Keeffe said that the new service has attracted the volunteer efforts of over 100 GP's and consultants in the region. It's a great addition to our first response, and it is the only service that brings doctors trained in trauma to the scene of an accident, this is so crucial in so many ways. And the helicopter can land in areas, like motorways, that other search and rescue helicopters can't. And that's vital with head injuries, a fast smooth transport to the appropriate hospitals, said Mr O'Keeffe. A presentation was made by CEO of Irish Community Air Ambulance, John Kearney. Mr Kearney spoke to members of the emergency services here in Kilkenny at Nowlan Park, including gardai and medical personnel. The air ambulance has been on a tour of the region it covers, and last week landed in Limerick and Kerry. As the service now extends to Kilkenny, Mr Kearney stressed the importance of the service, and the need for local fundraising. The air ambulance is completely voluntary, though the government do support the doctors and consultants who are on call, at five minutes notice, to attend scenes where they are needed. Mr Kearney stagted that the air ambulance can only be provided for Kilkenny with the support and goodwill of the local area - in particular in the line of fund raising. He urged everyone to log on to www.communityairambulance.ie to donate to the serivce, or text FLIGHT to 50300 to donate 4. At present the Air Ambulance has one helicopter - in both Northern Ireland and Wales, lesser areas and with less population, there are four helicopters in operation. Dara Quane from Castlecomer Road in Kilkenny is in New York as one of 20 Bord Bia Marketing Fellows representing leading Irish and international food, drink and horticultural brands in overseas markets. The programme, run in conjunction with UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, supports the growth of the Irish food, drink and horticultural industry on a global scale, while honing the strategic business development, marketing and professional skills of the participants. Dara completed his Leaving Certificate at Kilkenny College before moving to Scotland where he graduated with a degree in Marketing Management & French from Edinburgh University. After graduating he secured a place on the graduate scheme at Tesco Bank where he worked in brand management and digital marketing roles. He then worked as an international online marketing executive for Tesco in London before applying for the Fellowship programme. For quite some time I had wanted to change lanes in my career as a marketer and I felt the Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship was the ideal opportunity to do so. I always had an interest and passion for the Irish food and drink industry, and felt that it was by far one of strongest offerings we as a country have on the world stage. Furthermore, the opportunity to continue my education in the form of a MSc in international marketing practice in UCD Smurfit, and apply that education in real time, on the job in New York was second to none, said Dara. Question: Is it too late for me to contribute to my IRA and health savings account for 2016? Answer: No, its not too late. Even though you had to make 401(k) contributions for 2016 by December 31, you still have until April 18, 2017, to contribute to an IRA, HSA and several other types of tax-advantaged accounts for 2016. Contribute to an IRA, even if you earned just a little in 2016. If you earned any income from a job, you can contribute. Even part-timers and people who are partially retired can make IRA contributions. Contributions are limited to the amount you earned from working for the year, with a $5,500 maximum (or $6,500 if 50 or older in 2016). And even if youre a dedicated saver who has maxed out your 401(k), you can still contribute to an IRA. Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up You can contribute to a Roth IRA if your adjusted gross income was below $132,000 if single or $194,000 if married filing jointly in 2016 (although the contribution amount starts to phase out if you earned more than $117,000 if single or $184,000 if married filing jointly). You can make traditional IRA contributions only if youre younger than 70, but theres no maximum age to contribute to a Roth. See Retirement Plan Contribution Limits for 2016 for more information. Also see Even Retirees Working Part-Time Can Contribute to a Roth IRA. Contribute to a spousal IRA. There is an exception to the earned income rule for IRA contributions: If you didnt have earned income in 2016 but your spouse did, he or she can contribute up to $5,500 (or $6,500 if youre 50 or older) to a spousal IRA on your behalf. The total combined amount a couple can contribute to both spouses IRAs cannot be more than the total amount of money both of you earned for the year. See Contributing to a Spouses IRA for more information. Contribute to a Roth for your kid. Children of any age who earned income from a job in 2016 can contribute up to $5,500 (or the amount they earned in 2016, if less) to a Roth IRA, too. You can even give them the money to contribute. Not all IRA administrators let minors contribute to IRAs, but several brokerage firms, such as Fidelity, Schwab and TD Ameritrade, offer custodial Roth IRAs with low investment minimums and no IRA administrative fees. Contributing to a Roth IRA can give your kids a huge head start on building tax-free savings for retirement. See Roth IRAs Are for Kids, Too for more information. Contribute to a self-employed retirement account. If you had any freelance or consulting income in 2016, you have until April 18 to open and contribute to a Simplified Employee Pension. Your contributions are tax-deductible, and the money grows tax-deferred until retirement. If you already have a solo 401(k) account, you have until April 18 to make your 2016 contribution, but you must have opened the account by December 31. See How Self-Employed Workers Can Save for Retirement for more information. Contribute to a health savings account. If you had a high-deductible health insurance policy in 2016 (with a deductible of at least $1,300 for individual coverage or $2,600 for family coverage), you can make tax-deductible contributions to an HSA. You can contribute the full $3,350 for single coverage or $6,750 for family coverage if you had an HSA-eligible health insurance policy for all of 2016. You can also contribute the full amount if you didnt have the HSA-eligible policy for the full year but did have it on December 1 (in that case, you need to keep an HSA-eligible policy for all of 2017). If you had an HSA-eligible policy only for the first few months of 2016, your contribution limit is based on the number of months you had an eligible policy. See HSA FAQs for more information. Contribute to a 529 college-savings plan. Most states that offer an income-tax deduction for 529 contributions required you to contribute by December 31 to get a tax break for 2016. But a few states give residents until the tax-filing deadline in April 2017 to make tax-deductible contributions for 2016, including Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Wisconsin. For details about each states rules and deadlines, see our Find the Best 529 Plan for You (opens in new tab) tool. Also see SavingforCollege.com (opens in new tab). (Repeats Jan. 31 column, no change to text. John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own) By John Kemp LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have accounted for almost all the production cuts delivered by OPEC so far as the kingdom resumes its familiar role as swing producer. Saudi Arabia cut production by 564,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January, or 16 percent more than the 486,000 bpd reduction it pledged in November. But the organisation's members as a whole have cut output by just 958,000 bpd, or 18 percent less than promised cuts totalling 1.164 million bpd, according to the monthly Reuters survey. As a result, Saudi Arabia has shouldered almost 60 percent of the output cuts so far, compared with a pledged share of just over 40 percent. Saudi Arabia and its allies Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have contributed 82 percent of all the cuts made by the organisation's members, compared with a planned share of 68 percent. Compliance rates among other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have generally been much lower ("OPEC oil output falls 1.07 million bpd in Jan", Reuters, Jan 31) . Algeria and Venezuela have delivered just 18 percent of their promised cuts and Iraq's compliance has not been much higher at 24 percent. Strictly speaking, the cuts are meant to be averaged across the first half of 2017 so no OPEC member has yet broken its promises. Poor performers could still make deeper cuts in the months ahead to make up for the low level of compliance in January, though this seems unlikely. OPEC has returned to its traditional behaviour ("OPEC and other commodity cartels", Alhajji and Huettner, 2000). By cutting their own output deeply, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have masked the low level of compliance across the rest of the organisation. Compliance excluding Saudi Arabia and Kuwait averaged just 50 percent in January. The pattern of behaviour is similar to 1999 when Saudi Arabia did most of the deliberate cutting, with some help from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia and its allies have once again voluntarily cut output to reduce excess crude inventories and stabilise prices, leaving other members to produce as much as they can. (Editing by Greg Mahlich) PRAGUE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial markets on Wednesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 1 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================== Real-time economic data releases.................... Summary of economic data and forecasts........... Recently released economic data.................. Previous stories on Czech data............. **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: ==========================NEWS================================== CEZ: Czech electricity producer CEZ and energy group Czech Coal have started talks on the sale of CEZ's Pocerady coal-fired plant, Mlada Fronta Dnes reports, citing unnamed sources. Story: Related stories: MONETA: Moneta Money Bank has received an investment grade rating from Moody's agency, the Czech lender said on Tuesday. It also said it got an investment grade rating from Standard & Poor's. Story: Related stories: HACK: Hackers have breached dozens of email accounts at the Czech Foreign Ministry in an attack resembling one against the U.S. Democratic Party that the former Obama administration blamed on Russia, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said on Tuesday. Story: Related stories: CENBANK: Czech President Milos Zeman appointed Oldrich Dedek and Marek Mora to the board of the central bank (CNB) on Tuesday, replacing two outgoing members of the seven-strong board as the bank approaches exit from its weak-crown policy. Story: Related stories: O2: O2 Czech Republic said its share premium distribution mid-term intention, not one-off Story: Related stories: CEE MARKETS: Warsaw led a rebound of Central European stocks on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to the first quarter earnings season, focusing on expectations that results will show that some Polish stocks are undervalued. Story: Related stories: ---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------ Index/Crown Currency Latest Prev Pct change Pct change close on day in 2017 vs Euro 27.019 27.002 -0.06 -0.04 vs Dollar 25.031 25.098 0.27 2.41 Czech Equities 932.46 932.46 0.18 1.18 U.S. Equities 19,864.09 19,971.13 -0.54 0.51 Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1600 GMT ==========================PRESS DIGEST======================== TESLA: Industry Minister Jan Mladek said he was aiming to convince Tesla Motors to build a factory in the Czech Republic but declined to give more details. He plans to meet with the firm during a May visit to the United States. Hospodarske Noviny, page 5 DEBT: Household bank debt rose by 7.2 percent in 2016 to 1.419 trillion crowns ($56.68 billion). Household deposits rose by 8.4 percent to 2.206 trillion crowns. Hospodarske Noviny, page 16 (Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy.) For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX For updates on CEE currencies TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets Prague Newsroom: +420 224 190 477 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com ($1 = 25.0350 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Prague Newsroom) Gold futures are back above the 20-day moving average, getting help from a softer tone in the U.S. dollar in recent days, says optionsXpress. Precious-metals bulls have had something to smile about the past several trading sessions, as recent U.S. dollar weakening and an apparent move by some investors out of risk assets have benefited both gold and silver prices, says Mike Zarembski, senior commodity analyst with optionsXpress. The metal once again climbed above $1,200 an ounce Tuesday on concerns about how quickly the Trump administration will be able to implement economic policies in the U.S., given divisions among political leaders over executive actions so far, he says. In addition, we have seen the value of the U.S. dollar index decline since multi-year highs were made at the start of the month, Zarembski says, adding that further greenback weakness occurred Tuesday after a decline in the January reading for the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index. Silver appears to be the stronger of the two major precious metals, Zarembski says, pointing out the metal hit its highest level in 2 months. He says this may be a signal that the buying interest is coming from speculative traders rather than those looking for flight-to-safety assets. Gold reclaimed the 20-day moving average Tuesday, which Zarembski says could trigger additional buying interest by short-term momentum traders hoping to see gold prices make a run to test the recent highs. Just before 9 a.m. EST, Comex April gold was down $3.70 for the day to $1,207.70 an ounce but above the 20-day average of $1,198.90. The metal previously oscillated on either side of this average for a few days in a row before gaining traction above it on Tuesday. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Commerzbank: Gold ETFs Post Net Inflows During January Global gold exchange-traded funds posted collectively posted a net inflow of 8.8 tonnes in January, Commerzbank reports. The full-month tally included a modest inflow of one tonne on the final day of January. The ETFs trade like a stock but track the price of the commodity, with metal put into storage to back the shares. During January, gold gained 5% for its best monthly price performance since June, Commerzbank adds. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com HSBC: Any Zimbabwe Attempts To Seize Mining Claims Would Support Platinum Developments in Zimbabwe may provide support to platinum prices, says James Steel, chief precious-metals analyst with HSBC. He cites news reports in which Zimplats said that Zimbabwes government recently made a new attempt to appropriate more than half of the companys land, with a letter giving the company 30 days to lodge an objection. This is the third time since February 2012 that the government has issued a notice to seize 27,948 hectares of mining ground from Zimplats, the country's biggest platinum producer, HSBC says. Zimplats is mostly owned by South Africa's Impala Platinum. Zimbabwe has the second-richest PGM (platinum-group-metals) reserves after South Africa, and any development likely to interfere with production may be construed as bullish, Steel concludes. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com MOSCOW, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Russia's TMK the country's largest maker of steel pipes for the oil and gas industry, said it was selling a 13.44 percent stake to raise funds to purchase its own shares from lender VTB . TMK said it was offering up to 138,888,888 ordinary shares in the secondary public offering (SPO), the same number of shares it intends to buy back from VTB, Russia's second largest lender. The shares will be offered at between 74.5 roubles ($1.24) and the market price, the company said in a statement, suggesting it would raise around 10 billion roubles ($165.79 million). Banking sources told Reuters in December that TMK was aiming to raise around $200 million from the SPO. It was unclear at what price VTB would agree to sell its stake and the lender declined to comment. Two banking sources said TMK plans to close the book on Thursday. TMK's shares fell sharply following the announcement and were down 6 percent by 0800 GMT at 78 roubles per a share, making its stock the second worst performer on the Moscow Exchange's Metal and Mining Index. "There could be pressure on TMK shares as a result of this news. In the longer run, the placement should positively affect the liquidity of TMK's shares," Aton analysts said in a note. Aton is acting as a bookrunner on the offering, together with Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and VTB, TMK said. Recent fund raising efforts by Russian steelmakers have pointed to increased confidence in the sector, buoyed by an improvement in the national economy and higher steel prices. Russia's largest steel producer, NLMK said in December it could issue Eurobonds this year and competitor Evraz is considering a convertible bond issue. ($1 = 60.3190 roubles) (Reporting by Jack Stubbs; additional reporting by Olga Popova and Kira Zavyalova; Editing by Katya Golubkova and Louise Heavens) Cat de bine le merge celor 7 administratori din Pilonul II de pensii: Cine e pe plus, cine are pierderi si ce cheltuieli au cu salariile A poster of "Uncontrollably Fond" / Courtesy of KBS By Park Jin-hai Whether it is the formulaic romantic comedies from local broadcasters or the viewers becoming increasingly bored with familiar material, TV stations have been suffering from falling viewership rates for years. Diversified broadcasting channels have aggravated the situation and now anything over 10 percent in viewership is considered a success. Throughout last year, among the weekday dramas, SBS medical thriller "Yong-pal" was the only one that narrowly topped the 20 percent rating mark. 2016 has been a year that has put an end to this. The year opened with the famous "Reply" series. Somehow success was expected for the third installment of the popular family drama the highly acclaimed "Reply 1988" was a milestone, the final episode of which recorded almost a 20 percent viewership, the highest rate in Korean cable television history. But what really made a phenomenal change was the KBS wartime romance "Descendants of the Sun." The drama, starring Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, was aired almost simultaneously in Korea and China and it captivated both countries when it aired from February through April. The drama premiered with 14.3 percent viewership and ended with a nearly miraculous 40 percent rating, a record that other K-dramas have yet to break. The show revived hallyu, or the Korean pop culture craze, that was in decline over recent years. Overall, 2016 has been richer than ever with well-made quality dramas. Based on solid plots, beautiful cinematography and great performances of actors, various dramas, including KBS's fantasy period "Love in the Moonlight," SBS's "Doctors" and the tvN romantic comedy "Another Oh Hae-young," have succeeded in the viewership rankings. Star writers returned to the small screen this year, adding excitement for drama fans. Park Ji-eun, who wrote the 2014 megahit drama "My Love from the Star," returned with the on-going SBS fantasy romance "The Legend of the Blue Sea," featuring two big name hallyu stars Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Min-ho. "Descendants" writer Kim Eun-sook came back with "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," while Song Jae-jung, who wrote the sci-fi romance "Nine: Nine Time Travels" came back with "W Two Worlds." Screen writer Kim Eun-hee of "Sign" wrote the crime drama "Signal" and won acclaim as a master of the genre. A scene from fantasy drama "Legend of the Blue Sea" / Courtesy of SBS Pre-filmed dramas This year has seen the sudden rise of dramas that finished shooting entirely before official broadcast. Following the success of "Descendants" many other drama producers have tried to adopt this film-style, in contract to the common practice here where scripts are handed over to directors and actors on the day of the shoot and editing is completed just hours before an episode goes on-air. The new production style, in part because of the Chinese government regulations that all dramas have to be screened prior to airing, has raised great expectations for other such dramas but none of them came near the success of "Descendants." "Uncontrollably Fond," a pre-recorded SBS drama that was largely expected to become the next hallyu drama hit, with heartthrob Kim Woo-bin and Bae Suzy, flopped, while the star-studded SBS drama "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" also suffered with poor ratings. "Uncontrollably Fond" was criticized that the production company hired Chinese market friendly handsome cast members whose acting performances didn't live up to their names. TvN's ambitious star-studded drama "Entourage," a remake of HBO's popular show, joined the ranks of losers. Despite the initial hype prior to the broadcast, the drama's viewership posted 0.6 percent. The new system has been implemented to increase drama exports to China, but the political dispute between Korea and China surrounding the Seoul's deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system have cast a shadow over the K-drama industry this year. Amid the reports that Beijing had issued a tacit ban on all Korean cultural content, "Saimdang, the Herstory," which was originally to air this fall, was postponed. "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" and "Legend of the Blue Sea," which could have earned at least 10 billion won each from Chinese buyers due to the popularity of their writers and cast, instead let pirated versions enjoy popularity in China's online social networking platforms. tvN's rise Cable channel tvN's success has been noteworthy this year fresh story material and different genres have led its popularity. Many A-rated actors and actresses including actress Jeon Do-yeon and actor Gong Yoo have chosen to return to the small screen with cable dramas, while star writers prefer cable for their creator-friendly environment and more leeway for story-telling. A time travel crime series "Signal" earned huge success, concluding with a solid 12.5 percent viewership on the cable channel, where anything above 3 percent is considered successful. Romantic comedy "Another Oh Hye-young" staved off the typical Cinderella story and tells the love story of an unlucky woman named Oh Hae-young who keeps suffering mishaps due to her charming colleague of the same name and a sound director who has the ability to see the future, making the less known lead actress Seo Hyun-jin shoot to instant fame. TvN's "Dear My Friends," dealt with rarely told stories of friendship in the last years of life, while "The Good Wife," the Korean adaption of the popular CBS series of the same name, and action thriller "The K2" have earned critical acclaim. The on-going fantasy romance "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" is dominating the scene with its movie-like cinematography and unprecedented love story between an immortal goblin and his search for a human bride. As soon as "Guardian" debuted, it topped the TV drama chart, even surpassing Descendants of the Sun. The poems which were included in the lines of Gong's character in the drama, have gained renewed attention, while the drama's original soundtrack including Crush's "Beautiful" is dominating the local music charts. The War Within Michael (Brett Varvel) finds out that the members of his Soul, Mind, Memory, Emotion, Will, Conscience, and Heart, are waging a war against each other. His relationships with others run into trouble because of the war within himself. Directed by Brett Varvel. Jackie First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman) faces deep sorrow and trauma after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, she tries to fight her grief to preserve her husband's accomplishments. Directed by Pablo Larrain. It's Only the End of the World A famous author Louis (Gaspard Ulliel) returns home after 12 years of absence, to tell his family that he is terminally ill. The family welcomes him joyfully, but even before he begins to tell his secret, there is conflict. Directed by Xavier Dolan. The King Tae-soo (Zo In-sung) craves to climb the social ladder, and Gang-sik (Jung Woo-sung) tries to control the power structure of Korean society. They collaborate to seize more power, but face an unexpected crisis instead. Directed by Han Jae-rim. Confidential Assignment To catch a criminal who fled to the South, North Korea dispatches a detective, Cheol-lyeong (Hyun-bin) to Seoul. Jin-tae (Yoo Hae-jin), a South Korean detective, gets to keep an eye on him under the government's order. Directed by Kim Sung-hoon. A scene from "The Orphan of Zhao." / Courtesy of National Theater Company of Korea By Kwon Mee-yoo "The Orphan of Zhao," a play highly acclaimed for its impressive directing intersecting comedy and tragedy, and its absorbing performances by polished actors, returned to the Myeongdong Theater in downtown Seoul for a second run. The play, produced by the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK), attracted unexpected publicity earlier this year as its director Koh Sun-woong was associated with the notorious blacklist allegedly created by President Park Geun-hye to list artists critical of her administration. During a hearing on the blacklist, it was revealed that Koh was originally included on the list, but Park Min-kwon, former vice minister of culture, asked for clemency for Koh because his play was too good. Park's request was denied and he was replaced as vice minister of culture. The mention immediately evoked curiosity over the play, which was already highly anticipated after its award-winning premiere in 2015. The play is based on Chinese author Ji Junxiang's 13th century script of the same name and director Koh adapted the play focusing on Cheng Ying, the man who gives up his only child to save the "seed of revenge." The first act revolves around the tragic fate that strikes Cheng Ying. The second act is on Cheng raising the orphan of Zhao and shepherding the boy to avenge his family's enemy. Koh uses a handful of symbolic objects _ a tree, a wheel, a moon, a chair and clubs of different sizes _ to progress the story. The original play often referred to as the Chinese "Hamlet" due to its revenge nature, but director Koh was more interested in the human nature behind the vengeance. In the end when the orphan of Zhao completes his revenge, Duke Ling suggests he and Cheng Ying annihilate Tu'an Gu's entire family and relatives to be fair. However, Cheng Ying, who devoted 20 years of his life to the revenge plot, looks rather empty and hollow instead of being overwhelmed by joy. Cheng Ying faces the ghosts of those related to this long-time reprisal behind the curtain, but they just slide by Cheng Ying, intensifying his loneliness and vanity. The futility expressed in the face of actor Ha Sung-kwang, playing Cheng Ying epitomizes what the play wants to convey. The play centers around the meaning of revenge and the vanity behind vengeance, but it also questions what makes a good leader. "All of the problems are rooted in poor judgment," director Koh said. "When General Tu'an Gu remonstrated Duke Ling to annihilate the entire family of Zhao Dun, Duke Ling could think wisely and make a different decision, which could have prevented the ravages of the vengeance." The play runs through Feb. 12. Tickets cost from 20,000 to 50,000 won. It is performed in Korean with Chinese subtitles on Thursday and Sunday, and with English subtitles on Friday. For more information, visit www.ntck.or.kr or call 1644-2003. By Yoon Ja-young The government will speed up talks to reach free trade agreements (FTA) with Japan, Mexico and other countries to cope with increasing protectionism, according to officials. It will also import more products from the United States such as aircraft and industrial machinery to cut Korea's trade surplus with the country. These measures are part of the 2017 external economic policy directives, which the government revealed Thursday. According to the finance ministry, Korea will focus on signing bilateral FTAs with more countries to open up new markets. While multilateral FTAs involving regional economic blocs were the norm a few years ago, protectionism is becoming a new dominant trend in global trade, especially with the inauguration of the Donald Trump administration in the U.S. Washington has said it will focus on bilateral trade agreements based on its "America First" policy, while deserting multilateral agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Korea also has to reflect the changes in its global trade surroundings, shifting its focus to bilateral deals. The government said it will strengthen cooperation with the remaining TPP member countries that haven't signed FTAs with Korea, such as Mexico and Japan. "We will seek to sign an FTA with Mexico, as well as a three-way deal with China and Japan," said Jin Seoung-ho, director in charge of the ministry's international economic affairs bureau. Korea and Mexico recently agreed to start preliminary negotiations for a bilateral trade deal. In addition, it will complete ongoing FTA negotiations with Ecuador and Israel, on top of seeking FTAs with entities like Mercosur and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Also included in the plan is increasing imports from the U.S. Korea, whose trade surplus with America has been over $20 billion annually, is facing complaints from the Trump administration over the imbalance. The government thus announced last year it will import more resources from the United States, including 2.8 million tons of shale gas. In addition, the government also plans to import more industrial machinery and aircraft from the United States to lessen the surplus. To encourage economic cooperation between the two countries, the government will actively seek investment opportunities in the United States. It also aims at attaining $510 billion in exports this year, up 2.9 percent from 2016. The government plans to encourage the development of huge exporters of consumer goods such as cosmetics, medicine, food and fashion, on top of nurturing more globally popular brands. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at the Chairman's Global Dinner aimed at introducing foreign diplomats to the team tasked with implementing his "America First" policies in Washington, D.C., Jan. 17. Trump has aggressively executed his disputed campaign promises. However, analysts say that the policies may be a major stumbling block to the U.S. achieving sustainable growth and maintaining its global leadership over the long term. / AFP-Yonhap Trump's protectionist measures to increase China's clout in Asia By Kim Jae-kyoung The United States will become the biggest victim of Donald Trump's protectionism-based "America first" policy, analysts said Monday. The warning came as Trump wasted no time fulfilling his campaign promises aimed at "making America great again" after he was sworn in as the 45th president. Trump has dropped many key projects implemented by his predecessor Barack Obama by signing executive orders to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and to scrap Obama's health care reform. His administration also abruptly banned citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., and is seeking to impose large tariffs on foreign goods and combat alleged currency manipulation by China and Korea in a bid to support American companies. Trump's policies may help produce more jobs and boost business activities in the short term, but in the long term they will be a major stumbling block to the U.S. achieving sustainable growth and maintaining global leadership, the analysts said. The nerves of the U.S. economy are innovation and global leadership. Many of Trump's policies are destined to destroy these core values of the world's largest economy over the long term, they added. In other words, protectionism will discourage innovation and America will gradually lose its economic and political clout in the world. "I think the biggest victim of footloose protectionism will be the U.S economy," Mauro Guillen, director of the Lauder Institute at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, told The Korea Times. "Its strength is innovation. With protection, innovativeness will decline," he said. "China could be a winner if it exploits the opportunity to enhance its influence in the world and to develop its internal market." It seems that Trump does not fully understand China and how the dynamics of the global economy will unfold in the coming decade, the analysts said. Tearing up trade deals, including TPP, and levying larger tariffs will not help the U.S. solve its trade deficit problem, bring back more jobs to Americans and sell American products abroad. Such measures could reduce imports, but might also lower exports via multiple channels, including retaliatory tariffs from major trading partners, particularly China. Given China is emerging as the world's biggest consumer market, the U.S. may take the bigger brunt in a trade dispute. More importantly, the likely trade frictions with China and other Asian countries, such as Korea and Japan, imply that the U.S. may lose its leading role in reshaping economic integration in Asia, thus giving China more influence in the region. This is also likely to end up tipping the balance of regional security alignments in favor of China. Hurting American producers, consumers James Rooney, chairman of Advanced Capital Partners, said that much of Trump's trade and globalization rhetoric is in danger of being reflections of the past rather than observations of the present and anticipations of the future. "An old China is already fading into the past and low labor cost jobs are increasingly migrating to other countries like Vietnam as China's per capita income and labor costs rise along with the increasing experience, skills, and education of its workforce," he said. Rooney, also an international finance professor at Sogang University, pointed out that the real issue with trade and globalization for the U.S. will be its own failure to take advantage of the myriad of additional opportunities available to it in the form of 7.4 billion consumers worldwide. "The truth is that foolish actions on their part are more likely to hurt American producers and consumers with higher product costs and tariffs than to create more jobs in the U.S.," he said. "The U.S. actually needs more globalization to create new jobs and strengthen its economy, but that increase of globalization is hardly dependent on trade legislation and instead is heavily dependent on the leadership and entrepreneurial skills of American businessmen." Trump's picks for key cabinet posts are also raising questions about the possibility of creating more jobs for Americans. For example, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is known as a vulture investor specializing in restructuring distressed firms. His turnaround tactics have been controversial as in many cases he took over ailing firms and made a fortune by selling them after cutting jobs and pensions. Finally, Trump's lopsided policies only in favor of the U.S., such as combating currency devaluation, could dent the country's credibility in the global business community. The Trump administration is seeking to name some Asian export-oriented countries with huge trade surpluses with the U.S, including China and Korea, as currency manipulators. "I dislike the artificial labeling of other countries by the U.S. when we have spent the last eight years or so watching the U.S. print vast amounts of dollars which to me equates to currency manipulation and the wallpapering-over of many other original sins," Rooney said. By Nam Hyun-woo Dongwha Duty Free Shop, Korea's first downtown duty free outlet, is on the verge of collapse as it lacks the funds to pay back debt of over 70 billion won ($60.14 million). According to industry sources, the duty free outlet failed to pay 71.5 billion won incurred by Hotel Shilla's exercise of a put option. A put option is an option contract which gives the buyer the right to sell a specified amount of underlying securities at a specified price. In May 2013, Hotel Shilla acquired 19.9 percent of Dongwha shares for 60 billion won and placed the put option to reclaim its investment. As the hotel exercised its right in June last year, Dongwha was obliged to pay 60 billion won in principal and 11.5 billion won in interest. The amount increased to 78.8 billion won as Dongwha failed to repay the investment by the due date in December last year. However, the outlet is seemingly unable to come up with the amount due by the Feb. 23 expiration date. Also, Dongwha has to give Hotel Shilla its 30.2 percent stake or 576,000 shares as it mortgaged the shares in the contract under which Dongwha pledged to hand over the shares to Hotel Shilla if it failed to pay the 71.5 billion won by December. The shares are owned by Lotte Tour Chairman Kim Ki-byung, who is the largest shareholder with 41.66 percent. Kim reportedly used the 60 billion won for a capital increase for Lotte Tour. However, the debt is a huge burden to Dongwha, whose business outlook is not so bright. In the past several years, conglomerates entered the downtown duty free market in Seoul, threatening outlets run by small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as Dongwha. In 2015, there were six duty free shops in Seoul, but the number will increase to 13 this year, heralding a fiercer competition. Donghwa's operating profit has decreased from 7.03 billion won in 2014 to 1.54 billion won in 2015. On a more negative note, luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Montblanc recently withdrew from Dongwha Duty Free. This apparently forced Kim to give up control of the outlet. A domestic economy news outlet e-Daily quoted a close aide to Kim as saying: "Kim informed Hotel Shilla, Dec. 18, that he would give up his managerial rights as well as handing over his shares." Should Hotel Shilla accept that, its stake in Dongwha will surge to 50.1 percent. With rumors of putting the duty free shop up for sale spreading, possible moves by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) are gaining attention. It remains to be seen whether the customs agency, which has the authority to allow a firm to operate duty free shops, will allow a trade of Dongwha's license. "Theoretically, it is possible to trade the license if the potential buyer is an SME," said a KCS official. "Should the license be traded, the KCS will have to screen the buyer. However, if the buyer is a conglomerate, the KCS will not allow the trade." By Park Hyong-ki Kang Bong-kyun, former finance minister, passed away on January 31, 2017. He was 74. Not many young people might remember him. But for those who lived through and experienced the difficult times of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, Kang would be most remembered then as the country's top fiscal policymaker. Faced with the biggest economic crisis in the country when the value of the won depreciated beyond 2,200 won and the governance of family-run conglomerates were at their worst, Kang was appointed as the finance minister to fix the broken system. Under heavy debt and scrutiny from the global financial community including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which exercised harsh conditions on Korea in exchange for providing bailout funds, it was highly likely that Kang did not want the job. No economic bureaucrats or politicians did, other than pointing fingers at one another and playing the blame game. Kang, nevertheless, took the helm as former President Kim Dae-jung's finance minister, trying to reform the economy by correcting malpractices of chaebol and the banking sector's reckless borrowing and lending. New and harsh regulations were set up during this period with the aim of mitigating the so-called Korea Discount against Korea Inc. Higher standards of financial accounting were established against listed and privately-held conglomerates under Kang's policy direction. He was and has been recognized as a key figure who guided the economy through one of the most turbulent and difficult times in the country, setting the stage for the Korean economy to weather the storm. After serving less than a year as the finance minister, Kang stepped down just as Korea was preparing to pay back its debt to the IMF in August 2001. Kang went off to become the head of the state-run Korea Development Institute. Korea faced yet another downturn _ the credit card crisis, which former President Kim's progressive successor Roh Moo-hyun tried to fix with Kang again providing his expertise as a lawmaker affiliated with the ruling Uri Party. There were some criticisms then in the late 1990s that former President Kim and his economic team tried to overcome the crisis by incautiously promoting credit card spending. This led to more debt trouble later on as the market similarly witnesses today with soaring household borrowing. This is another story. Despite the endless political blame game, Kang -- may he rest in peace -- will be foremost remembered as a bureaucrat who tried to save the country from the crisis and the IMF shackles when no one else dared to go down the risky path. By Park Jin-hai The missionary radio station Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) Korea held a forum on the unification of Korea, Tuesday. At the 41st Far East Forum under the theme "Christian Responsibilities for the Reunification of Korea" in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, former Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik gave a special lecture on what the faithful should do to unite the two Koreas into one nation. Kim said the fast and sudden unification of Germany would not have been possible if the church had not been at the center. "The biggest locomotive for the German unification has come from the Monday demonstrations, which were also called a religious protest. It began with the Christians in East Germany leading Monday prayers and then taking to the street to conduct peaceful political protests against the government," he said. "Hundreds grew into hundreds of thousands German unification proceeded, gathering momentum at an unrelenting rate, breaking down the Berlin Wall in 1989 and finally bringing unification to Germany the following year." Over 500 people, including ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Lee Jung-hyun and People's Party leader Park Ji-won, attended the forum. Calling German unification not the work of humans but that of the God, Kim drew parallels between the economic woes of North Korea of today and those of East Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Kim said reunification requires consistent policies aimed to win the hearts of North Koreans. "Once we figure out in detail what our compatriots in the North are confronting, we should continue the dialogue with the North, and push forward the unification policies consistently, instead of blowing hot and cold depending on administration changes. That way we can win the hearts of North Koreans and inch ourselves closer to unification," he said. Kim closed the lecture asking the audience not to become too conscious of the costs of unification but to think what it did for the good of East Germany, which experienced a sharp decline in its suicide rate and over a five-year period following unification extended the average lifespan. "We Christians should pray for the agonizing North Korean citizens and do what we can to extend our help. Germany did it and we can make it happen, too," said Kim. FEBC Korea has been hosting the forum since 2003 to discuss the issues of the times in the perspective of Christianity, inviting experts from politics, economy and international relations. Beginning with the former USFK Commanding General Leon LaPorte, renowned guests including the late President Kim Young-sam and former President Lee Myung-bak have given speeches at the forum. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses for a group photo during his tour of a company under the Korean People's Army's Unit 233. The Korean Central News Agency reported Kim's first inspection of the military unit in the new year, Thursday, saying he stressed the need to boost the country's combat readiness. / Yonhap By Jun Ji-hye North Korea is apparently ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at any time and from any location once its leadership decides to do so, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday. The comment came after intelligence sources said the North has probably built two missiles, presumed to be the new ICBMs, and placed them on transport erector launchers (TELs), apparently for the test-firing. Military authorities are paying attention to the possibility that the isolated state may launch the missiles very soon to show off its nuclear and missile capabilities to the incoming government of Donald Trump who takes office today. They believe the North has intentionally leaked the existence of the new missiles to send a "strategic message" to the United States, as several nominees for the foreign affairs and security posts of the Trump administration, including the nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, have made tough remarks about the North. "We remain vigilant as North Korea could fire the ICBM at any time and place determined by its leadership," a JCS official said. "South Korea and the United States are jointly operating their intelligence surveillance assets to monitor any movements in the North." The official added, "There is no imminent sign of provocation." The North's ICBM is believed to have a range of more than 10,000 kilometers, which is capable of hitting targets on the U.S. mainland. Since 2012, the North has shown off ICBMs such as the KN-08 and the KN-14 several times without testing them. Intelligence sources said the new missiles are estimated to not exceed 15 meters in length, making them shorter than the 19-20 meters long KN-08 and the 17-18 meters long KN-14. The sources did not provide the exact date for when the new missiles were detected, but it is believed they were picked up around Jan. 9 when the U.S. hurriedly moved its sea-based X-band radar system to the western part of the Pacific Ocean from seas off Hawaii. In his New Year's message, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made it clear his country has no plans to abandon its nuclear and missile ambitions, claiming Pyongyang was in the final stages of preparations for a test-launch of an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The North's state media has also claimed the ICBM will be test-fired in the near future, saying this will contribute to peace in the region. A spokesman of the North's foreign ministry said, Jan. 8, "The intercontinental ballistic rocket will be fired at any place and time upon the order of our leadership." Military experts raised the possibility that the new missiles would be equipped with a new type of high-powered engine, unveiled by the North during a ground test in April last year. But they also expressed skepticism about the completeness of the North's ICBM capability. Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES), a research arm of Kyungnam University, said if the North test-fires the ICBM this year, it is expected to deliberately reduce its range by igniting the first-stage propellants only and then claim that it has succeeded in launching the ICBM. "It would take about two to three years more for the North to complete the ICBM development and five years to operationally deploy it," he said. North Korea is ready to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile "at any time, at any place," a senior diplomat in Pyongyang was quoted as saying Wednesday. Choe Kang-il, deputy director general for North American affairs at the North's foreign ministry, made the threat in an interview in Pyongyang with NBC Television, repeating Pyongyang's long-running claims its nuclear and missile programs are for self-defense purposes. "Our measures to bolster our nuclear arsenal are all defensive in nature -- to defend our sovereignty and to cope with the persistent nuclear blackmail and threats by the United States against our country," Choe was quoted as saying, according to the report. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in his New Year's Day address that the country has entered the final stage of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, an apparent threat that the North is close to developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the continental U.S. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to stop the North from mastering such ICBM capabilities, saying that the North's development of a nuclear missile capable of striking the U.S. "won't happen," though he didn't elaborate how he would stop it. Last week, officials said that the South and the U.S. have picked up indications that the North has placed two ICBMs on mobile launchers for apparent test-firing, an indication that the threatened test could come earlier than expected. Choe claimed the U.S. has posed threats to the North, riling against the annual U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises that the communist nation has long denounced as a rehearsal for invasion of the country. "Imagine if our troops went to Canada and Mexico to carry out a nuclear exercise aimed at invading the U.S. What kind of response would you expect from the American people?" Choe said. "As long as the U.S. conducts these joint military exercises we will increase our nuclear deterrent forces and our preemptive strike forces." The North's diplomat also denounced the White House's plan to build a state-of-the-art missile defense system against North Korean missile threats. "It's a provocation. If the U.S. wants to develop the system, it should not use our country as an issue or an excuse. The U.S. is intentionally aggravating the tensions on the Korean peninsula in order to realize its ambition of dominating Asia," he said. Choe said the North's leader is willing to improve relations with Washington if "the U.S. becomes friendlier to us." During the campaign, Trump said he is willing to hold direct nuclear negotiations with the North's leader while eating "hamburgers." Choe said the North "will wait and see the difference between his campaign rhetoric and his policy as president." "We're not worried who is president, but whoever is president should recognize that North Korea is a nuclear power and a military giant. We hope the new president will recognize that position and will drop America's hostile policy towards our country. He would be well advised to secure a new way of thinking," Choe said. Choe also said sanctions can't force the North to give up its nuclear program. (Yonhap) North Korean officials turned out in force for the Lunar New Year reception at the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang last week, diplomatic sources in Beijing said Monday. According to insiders that cited the homepage of China's Embassy in North Korea, some 70 senior officials from the reclusive country's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the government and the military were present at the event held Tuesday. They said Kim Yong-dae, the vice president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly was present, as well as several vice ministers and representatives from the armed forces and security ministries. "Traditionally, North Korean officials made appearances at Chinese Embassy gatherings, but it is rare that so many showed up when relations have been hurt by Beijing's support of U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang," a source who declined to be identified said. China supported stringent sanctions against its neighbor twice following the North's two nuclear tests and launch of various ballistic missiles, that violated the current ban on such activities. He hinted that the latest move shows how desperate North Korea has become to improve strained relations with its main ally. At the gathering, Li Jinjun, Beijing's top diplomat to Pyongyang, said that despite challenges, two-way relations endured in 2016 and made notable headway in certain areas. He then called for more progress in the new year and that all sides should try to convert obstacles into opportunities. In response Kim stressed to assembled guests that North Korea-China relations have been forged in blood and further strengthened by a long shared history and closeness of its leaders. China fought on the side of the North in the Korean War (1950-53). "It is the firm stance of the WPK and the government to nurture and build strong relations and fuel exchanges and cooperation," the vice president of the people's assembly was quoted as saying at the reception. (Yonhap) North Korea looks set to launch a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) instead of a long-range one as it still has to master the related technologies, military officials said Monday. "There are no signs of an imminent test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by North Korea. But we are closely monitoring any new military activities in the country as it could launch an IRBM at any time if leader Kim Jong-un gives the order," an official at the defense ministry said. This year, North Korea has said that it is ready to fire off an ICBM. In his New Year's Day address, Kim said that the country has entered the final stage of preparations to test-fire an ICBM, an apparent threat that the communist state is close to developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the continental U.S. Last week, the South and the U.S. picked up indications that the North has placed two ICBMs on mobile launchers, an indication that the test could come earlier than expected. But the ministry interpreted the move as part of the North's efforts to draw attention from the new Donald Trump administration. It added that any launch will probably be aimed at mastering know-how linked to the Musudan. Pyongyang test-fired a total of eight Musudan missiles between April and October last year, with only one flying any distance. Experts said Pyongyang's first test of an ICBM, whose main engine has only recently been seen on the ground, will almost certainly end in failure, referring to the two mobile ICBMs. The predictions are based on North Korea's past track record and the fact that Pyongyang has never flight-tested the KN-08 or KN-14 long-range missiles. (Yonhap) North Korea may not test fire ICBM soon By Kim Jae-kyoung SINGAPORE North Korea will not test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the near future, said William Brown, a professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. The prediction came as growing jitters after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said early this month that the reclusive country is in the final stages of developing an ICBM able to mount a small nuclear warhead. The Washington-based North Korea expert said Monday that Pyongyang still has to go through numerous tests to make sure that its launch will be successful. "There are a lot of tests that Pyongyang needs to undertake before it can prove an ICBM with a nuclear attack capability and the U.S. will have plenty of chances, I suspect, to interrupt that process if it is determined to do so," Brown said in an interview. He believes that at the moment, the unpredictable North Korean leader will not try to test U.S. President Donald Trump because of the volatile billionaire's unpredictability. "Kim is likely unsure of how Trump will react, and thus may be a little afraid to push his ICBM technology too fast, risking an embarrassing failure or even a U.S. or Japanese attack on his rocket," he said. Brown, who previously worked for the CIA, the Commerce Department and the National Intelligence Council for North Korean issues, thinks that Kim might play a "waiting game," seeing how politics in the U.S. and South Korea works out. "He probably thinks there is some chance he will be able to engage the Trump administration, and a new South Korean government, and perhaps come up with some deal that confirms his nuclear power status, something his father was unable to do," he said. He said that there is no doubt Kim is working on his missile and weapons technology and is increasing his supply of fissile material to make more weapons. The professor stressed that the South Korean government should ensure that it will put its voice in Trump administration's decision on how to respond to North Korea's possible launch of long-range missiles. "As his technology advances, Kim will feel he must do something to prove his long-range missiles and Trump will then have to decide whether and how to follow through," he said. "Korea needs to have a voice in that decision." Regarding his plan to build a "state-of-the-art" missile defense system announced on the webpage of the White House, he said that what Trump is suggesting is the U.S. will speed up the development of its defense technology. He said that U.S. strategy against North Korea is to intercept a missile in mid-flight, high in space, using missiles fired from Aegis cruisers, noting that many U.S. and Japanese ships have these systems and are improving their missiles. "These systems have had some success against practice targets but are continuing to evolve," he said. "I do keep wondering if the U.S. or Japan will ever use a live North Korean missile as target practice." "Over the past three decades the U.S. has developed an arguably credible defense against certain types of attacks on the U.S. mainland, including what North Korea is likely to be able to produce in the next few years," he added. Brown expressed concerns that all the talk of ICBMs ignores the more dangerous current threat of North Korea's short- and medium-range missiles. "Missile defense against hundreds of these weapons might help defend particular locations but I expect a pre-emptive capability is the only thing that can really deter this kind of North Korean mischief," he said. Special prosecutors raided the home of a former top presidential aide Monday as part of their investigation into a corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her confidante. The team visited the home of Kim Ki-choon, 77, who served as presidential chief of staff from 2013 to 2015. He is suspected of overlooking and even protecting the confidante Choi Soon-sil as she meddled in state affairs without any government post. The team said it raided Kim's home in central Seoul around 7 a.m., securing documents related with his duty at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. Sources said the team is also investigating homes of several figures at South Korea's cultural ministry, as Kim is suspected of ordering the ministry to layoff six high-ranking officials, which can be charged with abuse of power. While three of them actually left the ministry, observers suspect the request came in line with the steps to establish the Mir and K-Sports Foundations. The two foundations, virtually controlled by Choi, collected large-sum donations from local conglomerates. Investigators suspect Choi attempted to take control of the foundations' assets. Kim Chong, a former vice culture minister under custody, is also suspected of requesting the former top presidential aide provide a favor to an executive at the ministry who will be designated to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympics. Kim Ki-choon has a long history in Korean politics. He served Park Chung-hee, who was president for 18 years after seizing power in a military coup in 1961. Park, the father of President Park Geun-hye, was assassinated in 1979. Kim's close ties with the Park family led to allegations that he was aware of Choi's meddling in state affairs. While Kim has insisted he does not know Choi personally, he later revised the statement after the parliamentary committee came up with evidence that showed he was at least aware of the confidante. (Yonhap) Members of the Community Chest of Korea, the nation's largest charity organization, express gratitude to donors on their last day of fundraising this year in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul, Wednesday. A total of 387.8 billion won ($334 million) was raised between Nov. 21 last year and Jan. 31. / Yonhap Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a presidential hopeful from the second-largest opposition People's Party, talks with street vendors at Seomun Market in Daegu, Wednesday. The city's largest traditional market was hit by a huge fire in November, gutting 840 shops and injuring two firefighters. / Yonhap U.S. Presidnet Donald Trump (left) and Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn held telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday morning for the first time since the latter took office earlier this month, officials here said. Hwang and Trump were expected to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral alliance and exchange their views on a series of pending issues, such as North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile programs. Observers said the two sides were also likely to discuss the planned deployment of a U.S. missile defense system to the Korean Peninsula, which China, along with local liberal politicians, has strenuously opposed. Hwang has been serving as the acting president since President Park Geun-hye was impeached by parliament over corruption allegations on Dec. 9. Trump already had a phone conversation with Park on Nov. 10 (Korea time), days after his election victory. During the conversation, the Republican leader said the United States will be "steadfast and strong" in defending against a provocative North Korea. Alarmed by a series of campaign remarks by Trump that were skeptical of military alliances and trade deals with American allies and partners, Seoul has been trying to maintain close ties with Washington, its top security ally. Out on the stump, Trump made a host of speeches that questioned the economic value of U.S. security partnerships with allies like South Korea and Japan, and disparaged the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement as a "job-killing" deal. (Yonhap) Demonstrators gather outside Tom Bradley International Terminal as protests against President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries continue at Los Angeles International Airport, Sunday. / AP-Yonhap By Jane Han DALLAS As U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt immigration ban sparks protests across the nation and throws major airports into chaos, Koreans here are anxious and concerned as to whether their lives, too, may be disrupted in what many call the "new America." "Under the Trump government, even a legal and valid green card could instantly mean nothing," said Julie Kim, an immigration lawyer based in San Francisco. "This was unimaginable in the U.S. But in a matter of one week, we're now living in a very different, uncertain and unpredictable country." On Friday, Trump signed an executive order immediately banning U.S. entry for individuals from seven mostly Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya for 90 days. Amid confusion, the order initially impacted even people with a lawful permanent U.S. residence, also known as the green card. The White House, however, overruled the controversial guidance overnight, stating that green card holders will be allowed entry on a "case by case" basis after a thorough screening procedure. As the travel ban reverberates across the country and around the world, Koreans without U.S. citizenship are beginning to ask if they should be worried. "We all remember the Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui," said Kim Chang-joo, a member of the Korean American Coalition in Los Angeles. "Cho was a Korean, so what if Trump suddenly feels like barring Koreans from entering the country?" In 2007, Cho shot and killed 32 people and himself on the Virginia Tech campus, making it the second deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. "It sounds outrageous, doesn't it? But what's happening now in America is equally outrageous," said Kim. Jina Kim, a Boston area post doctoral candidate, said Trump's latest decision is hurting people right before her eyes. "It's not just people you see and hear in the news. My co-worker's wife from Iran may not be able to return home because of the ban. My friend's grandparents from Iraq made plans for months to come to the U.S., but not anymore," she said. "Families I know and love are being separated. This is all feeling very real to me now." John Choi, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said he has already received at least a dozen phone calls inquiring whether it would be safe to travel out of the country at this time. "I have many corporate clients asking if their Korean employees without U.S. citizenship should refrain from going on business trips,'' said Choi. "We know that the current ban is limited to the seven countries the executive order has identified, but we still advise clients to be sure their employees have all the proper paperwork in place before any overseas trip." Not long after Trump's ban made headlines, dozens of questions flooded some of the most popular online forums used by Koreans in the U.S. "My wedding is scheduled in Korea next month, but my green card is expiring in three months. I'm afraid that I'll get denied entry back to the U.S.," one user wrote on HeyKorean.com, a large portal site. Confusion and anxiety are expected to spread as long as the travel ban is in place. Despite the outrage over the weekend, the White House stands firm. "America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days,"' Trump said in a statement issued late Sunday afternoon. Nguyet Thi Thanh, one of the survivors of a Vietnam War massacre committed by South Korean soldiers, speaks at a weekly demonstration by former comfort women in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, during her first visit to Korea last April. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul 'Peace is possible when putting myself in the shoes of an assailant' By Choi Ha-young Koreans usually see themselves from the point of view of the victims, for example, of wartime sex slavery under Japanese imperialism. So, more than 40 years after the Vietnam War ended, it is difficult to find any feelings of guilt here over Korea's role in that war, even if the nation sent over 300,000 soldiers to Vietnam. There, 11,000 of them died and some still suffer long-term effects from exposure to defoliants. According to a Vietnamese military report published in the 1980s, South Korean soldiers killed about 5,000 Vietnamese civilians. Some researchers speculate the number could be as high as 9,000. In September 1964, South Korean soldiers landed in civil war-ravaged Vietnam to support U.S. attacks on communist forces. Then President Park Chung-hee, President Park Geun-hye's father, signed a deal with the U.S. to get long-term loans for economic growth. The troops were dedicated to building humanitarian facilities and providing necessities, but also were involved in battles. From Dec. 3 to 6, 1966, the 2nd Marine Division of Korea killed about 430 civilians in Binh Hoa, in Vietnam's south. Reportedly, more than half the victims were women and seven were pregnant. Among them were 166 children. "The sin, enough to reach the sky, will be remembered eternally," a monument erected in the village reads. Across Vietnam, around 80 monuments recall the wartime crime committed by Koreans. Scholars and journalists investigated the tragedy, and it came to light in 1999 through media reports. But Seoul has never apologized officially. Former President Kim Dae-jung expressed regret in 1998 during a visit to Hanoi, but no progress has been made since. Only civic groups have continued medical volunteer activities in Vietnam to offer an apology and some activists campaigned to build a museum to inform the Korean public about the issue. However, the Korean government recently set back the clock. One of President Park's flagship policies, state-authored textbooks, justified the nation's participation in the war, omitting descriptions of the anti-war movement of the time. And most textbooks don't mention the massacres. Instead, Korean students would learn of the war's economic benefits. So, many Koreans are unaware that the country' soldiers were "assailants." Vietnam's change of view Originally, Vietnam demonstrated the rule of "shutting out past affairs and opening to the future." But Ku Su-jeong a master's degree and Ph.D. holder from the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City says the phrase doesn't mean the Vietnamese will cover up the memories forever. "Rather, the Vietnamese government has investigated the atrocities, published booklets and designated the massacre sites as historical remains and organized events to commemorate," said Ku, who exposed the massacres in Korea for the first time as a correspondent of a local media outlet, Hankyoreh. In December, a documentary titled "The Last Lullaby," which dealt with the Binh Hoa massacre, won an honorable mention from Vietnamese state-run broadcaster VTV. "Above all, it is shameful not to recognize wrongdoings citing that victims don't demand an apology," the longtime observer told The Korea Times by email. A local resident looks at a monument inscribed with 74 victims' names, which was erected in a village in Hoi An. / Korea Times files Chain of brutality Interestingly, she pointed out that looking back on the tragedy will help Korea reflect on its own unresolved historical issues. "There are considerable connections between the massacres that occurred around the Korean War, those during the Vietnam War and those during the May 18 Democratization Movement in Gwangju in 1980," Ku said. In 1948, two years before the Korean War, government forces killed Jeju residents who protested the nation's division. In 1980, a military government ordered the shootings of civilians in Gwangju, which also involved torture and sexual assaults. Chae Myung-shin, then commanding officer of the Republic of Korea forces in Vietnam, is the thread that connects the consecutive atrocities, Ku said. "Chae's first post was Jeju Island in 1948 and he conducted sweep-up operations against suspected communists," she said. "The achievements during the Vietnam War gave a chance for advancement to the soldiers, who formed a strong bond. This is the beginning of Hanahoe which means Group of One the unofficial private group in the military." Two leading members of Hanahoe former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and his right-hand man Roh Tae-woo approved atrocities against the Gwangju Democratization Movement to strengthen their grip on power. There were similarities in the murders across the massacres: cutting off females' breasts after rape, killing children and senior citizens and incinerating all after the brutalities. "Korea has a long history of ideological conflicts," Ku said. "The experiences on Jeju and massacres during the Korean War would be a background of the orchestrated atrocities under stern anti-communism education." Additionally, she said the soldiers' panic, caused by an unfamiliar environment and the language barrier, would be a further reason for the cruelty. How to apologize Ku calls for an unlimited apology to Vietnamese victims first and also recognition of what happened, fact finding, an official apology, legal compensation, punishment of offenders, documentation in textbooks and the erection of memorials. "This is what Korean civil society has urged of Japan," she said. "If Korea treads in Japan's steps like the so-called Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, this would be a secondary victimization. Above all, the most important thing is a sincere apology and self-reflection." Recently, Ku led a group trip to the massacre sites in Vietnam, on the 50th anniversary of the Binh Hoa massacre. The participants paid their respects at the memorial and met the survivors. Among the participants were a conscientious objector, who has rejected mandatory military service because of their belief in peace. The phrase "Peace is possible when putting myself in the shoes of an assailant" has inspired Ku and her longtime movement to build peace between Vietnam and Korea. Now she is preparing the establishment of the Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation, based in Seoul, to push for a public awareness campaign on the issue. Along with the preparation, she has to deal with a lawsuit filed by 831 Korean veterans who deny all allegations about all massacres. By Yi Whan-woo A series of high-level security talks and crucial conferences that may affect the geopolitics surrounding the Korean Peninsula will take place here and abroad in February. The meetings come as the Donald Trump administration and the Kim Jong-un regime ratchet up rhetoric against each other with the latter's additional missile and nuclear tests looking imminent. First, there will be the defense ministerial talks between South Korea and the United States in Seoul, Friday, which will provide a glimpse of how the Trump administration will deal with North Korea and its provocations. The North's possible test-firing of a long-range missile to mark the 75th anniversary of its late leader Kim Jong-il's birth on Feb. 16 could also affect the new U.S. government's red line on Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction, according to analysts. "February and March will be critical months for security on the peninsula considering the Trump administration is in its early phase," said Korea National Diplomatic Academy Chancellor Yuk Duk-min. "South Korea, the U.S. and Japan should sit down together and come up with a roadmap to counter North Korea's cycle of military provocations and peace overtures." In the first defense ministerial meeting between the two allies after Trump was inaugurated, Jan. 20, Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis are anticipated to confirm the Seoul-Washington alliance. Some military sources said they may send a warning to Pyongyang as well over its pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programs. During his two-day South Korea visit, Mattis is also scheduled to visit a South Korean-U.S. combined division in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province as well as the newly-built U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. He will be in Japan from Friday to Saturday and meet Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. Diplomatic sources said Foreign Minister Yun Byun-se will fly to the U.S. and meet James Tillerson, Trump's nominee as U.S. secretary of state, if Tillerson is confirmed. Tillerson awaits a final confirmation vote from the U.S. Senate this week, most likely to be held Wednesday. In separate efforts, Yun is scheduled to join the Meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers in Bonn, Germany on Feb 16 and 17. He will then attend the annual Munich Security Conference from Feb. 17 to 19, during which South Korea plans to hold foreign ministerial talks with the U.S., China, and Japan, respectively. The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are pushing to meet in Washington D.C. to discuss issues related to the dormant six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. The three envoys are Kim Hong-kyun, center, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun and Japan's Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau Director-General Kenji Kanasugi. By Kim Tae-gyu When former U.S. President Harry Truman sought advice from economic experts, they tended to respond, "on the one hand and on the other hand," instead of giving clear and definitive resolutions. Frustrated by such ambiguity, Truman asked his aides to bring "one-handed economists." As the famous anecdote shows, economists hardly agree on any issues including the minimum wage, taxation, government subsidies, regulations, fiscal stimuli and monetary policies. Very atypically for them, however, a vast majority agree on the significant topic of free trade they have consistently nodded at doing away with trade barriers like tariffs and quotas. They believe eliminations of such obstacles would facilitate cross-border transactions of goods and services to benefit all players involved including exporters and importers. The time-honored belief took firm root thanks in no small part to U.S. economists who put forth efforts to convince less-developed economies of the mutually beneficial effects of free trade. The U.S. government also fully accepted the rare agreement of economists to urge foreign countries to get on board, sometimes drawing criticisms that it was overly aggressive in pursuing free trade and globalization. That's why Washington signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with its neighbors Canada and Mexico in the mid-1990s and brought China into the world trade system in the early 2000s, as well as striking the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) five years ago. The world's only superpower also has meticulously pushed over the past decade for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a large trade deal encompassing a dozen Pacific Rim countries. With Trump's inauguration last month, however, things changed abruptly. Following his anti-trade rhetoric during the election campaign, he seems to be undoing what his predecessors worked so long to achieve. He has already scrapped the TPP, and the renegotiation of the terms of NAFTA is likely to begin in the not-so-distant future. Trump threatened to withdraw from the three-way deal if Mexico and Canada stick to the status quo. Calling the landmark deal between Washington and Seoul a "job killer" several times while campaigning, Trump is feared to force renegotiations of the five-year-old KORUS FTA, too. He also criticized his predecessors responsible for getting China to join the World Trade Organization. Along the same lines, Trump pressed enterprises from around the world to shift factories to U.S. soil so as to create more jobs in the country. All such maneuvers may help U.S. job creation to boost its economy in the years to come, which could help Trump grab a second term. But Americans have to think about long-term ripple effects of such controversial measures. Didn't the U.S. repeatedly chant the benefits of free trade and globalization? U.S. enterprises have the right to build factories overseas to take advantage of cheap labor in emerging economies for win-win results. The enterprises enhance their bottom lines, benefiting workers of less-developed nations at the same time. U.S. consumers are also able to purchase inexpensive products compared to when they are churned out in the U.S. U.S. workers would be losers in the near term because some of them would lose their jobs. But as the world economy progresses in line with free trade and globalization, they would be able to get fresh jobs with newly created businesses. The world has been brainwashed by this rationale seamlessly presented by advanced economies, especially the U.S., which now all of a sudden has changed its stance for few legitimate reasons other than its own interests. With such a reversal, the U.S. might win short-term economic gains over the next four years before the next presidential election but it would suffer a long-term loss and the biggest blow would be dealt to its trustworthiness. What Trump is trying to do by undermining the building blocks of free trade is like killing one-handed economists. In fact, he is massacring them. And the results will be disastrous as precedents show. In the wake of the Great Depression in the 1930s, countries including the U.S. resorted to wholesale protectionism with more import tariffs and quotas as well as foreign exchange controls. As a result, the world trade volume plummeted to definitely delay the recovery from the Great Depression. By neglecting the consensus of economists in favor of free trade, the world had to go through an unprecedentedly long economic recession. Likewise, successors to Trump will have to struggle to deal with the aftermath of the deaths of one-handed economists because the global economy will have been negatively affected. Worse, the world will not trust the U.S. How would international leaders respond if the next U.S. president asks for new free trade deals and full-fledged globalization by suggesting a new version of the TPP? How could they be certain that another persona non grata like Trump won't take charge of the U.S. once again to spoil all free trade agreements? J.P. of the one-man "kraken roll" band Octopoulpe eats takoyaki while on tour in Japan. / Courtesy of Octopoulpe By Jon Dunbar Octopoulpe, "a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers," approaches Korea's shores this weekend to spread madness and fast punk music. J.P., the man behind the tentacle mask, returns to Korea after touring his one-man "kraken roll" band Octopoulpe through Japan. "The tour is really good so far!" J.P. wrote to The Korea Times while on tour. "Every time I go to Japan, I know more people than my previous visits. It's especially because of the recent strong connection in the punk and hardcore scene between Japan and Korea. So every time I tour in Japan, I feel like the shows and the parties are funnier and better." He started his 10-date Japan tour Jan. 24, with industrial noise act Klaus Legal, run by a fellow Frenchman. Last December, the two played 13 shows throughout China with Le Crabe, a French expat based there. J.P., who has also drummed for Korean hardcore punk bands MyManMike and Arryam, may just be Korea's most-well-traveled musician, having toured Asia, Europe and the Americas extensively. Although MyManMike toured abroad frequently, with Octopoulpe J.P. has much more freedom of movement. "I'm a freelancer so I can work when I'm on tour," he explained. "I don't have to ask any other member about taking holidays for touring, so I try to play outside Korea as much as possible." This Friday, Octopoulpe and Klaus Legal will land in Busan for a show at Vinyl Underground, and Saturday they will be in Seoul for a show at Salon Nomad, near Hongik University in western Seoul. Octopoulpe is an intensely memorable act. J.P., wearing only his tentacle mask and briefs, plays drums, accompanied only by an interactive screen playing prerecorded instrumental and vocal tracks. Some songs feature guest vocals by members of Korean bands including the Kitsches, MyManMike, Yuppie Killer and Billy Carter. Despite the eldritch imagery of Octopoulpe, the songs are fun and J.P. is lighthearted and friendly on stage. Once he winds up touring, J.P. plans to finish recording Octopoulpe's first album. He also hopes to take Arryam on its first overseas tour to Okinawa and Australia, and possibly return to Europe for another Octopoulpe tour later this year. Visit facebook.com/octopoulpes for show details. Russia's "Million Roses," event at Gwanghwamun square on Oct. 23, 2016. / Courtesy of Seoul Global Center By Lee Han-soo The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is offering money to support foreign communities' cultural events. The city wants to promote the communities in Seoul and give local residents and foreign visitors a taste of diverse cultures. Up to 6 million won ($5,200) is available for each event. Last year, Seoul spent over 105 million won supporting 21 foreign cultural events such as Russia's "Million Roses," Ireland's "St. Patrick's Day," Mongolia's "Children's Naadam Festival," Thailand's "Loi Krathong in Seoul" and Vietnam's "Vietnam culture day." Application forms can be downloaded at the city's homepage or the Seoul Global Center homepage and can be submitted to happygoods@seoul.go.kr between Feb. 8 and Feb. 17. The events will be graded for content, performance ability and effectiveness. The results will be announced early next month. This photo shows the final version of state-authored history textbooks unveiled at the government complex in Sejong, south of Seoul, Tuesdsay. The government has said that middle and high school students will learn Korean history through state-published textbooks starting in 2018, which critics call an attempt to stamp out diverse interpretations of history. / Yonhap By Kim Bo-eun The education ministry's flip-flops on its plans for history textbooks are fueling confusion. One of the most controversial parts of the state-authored history textbook, the draft of which was unveiled last November, was that it stated Aug. 15, 1948 three years after Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 occupation as the date for the "foundation of the nation." This part remained unchanged in the final version presented Tuesday. Liberal historians protest that this dismisses the importance of independence movements which took place under Japan's colonial rule, as well as the establishment of a provisional government in Shanghai in 1919. They claim the date should be recognized as the day of the Korean government's establishment instead. Along with unveiling the final version of the state-authored textbook, the ministry said it would leave it to private publishers' discretion to choose which view to adopt regarding the date. This is a shift from an earlier stance that it would apply the same guidelines for private publishers' textbooks as it did to the state-authored one. "We revised the guidelines to allow the date to be interpreted as the establishment of the Korean government as a means to respect various opinions on the matter," Education Vice Minister Lee Young said at a briefing held at the Sejong Government Complex. The finalized state-authored textbook will be used at selected middle and high schools under a pilot project starting in March. However, not many schools are expected to incorporate the books due to opposition from regional education offices. The plan was criticized as an attempt by the Park Geun-hye administration to glorify the achievements of her father, former President Park Chung-hee, a controversial leader whose administration saw profound economic growth but committed many human rights abuses. Out of 17 education offices, 13 have vowed not to cooperate with the ministry in introducing the state-authored books in schools. Even after reflecting 760 proposals for revisions to the draft of the state-authored textbook, the part depicting Park Chung-hee's rule remained mostly the same. The final version added that the movement pushed by the military strongman to develop the country's economy "received criticism as an attempt to reform people's minds as a means to maintain (Park's) dictatorship." But the number of pages dedicated to Park's rule remained unchanged. "It was difficult to reduce the section on Park's rule because of the length of his 18-year term," said Keum Yong-han, an assistant minister at the ministry's school policy office. In November 2015, the ministry had originally planned on changing the system by allowing history textbooks of multiple publishers to only having a single state-authored textbook starting in 2017. However, due to a fierce backlash, the ministry said in December it would allow both state-authored and private publishers' textbooks starting in 2018. In the meantime, it is the ministry's plan for schools to use the state-authored textbook on a voluntary basis, as a pilot project this year. Because private publishers' textbooks based on the revised curriculum are yet to be compiled, schools which do not adopt the state-authored textbook will use existing ones from the private sector. Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers are pushing for a bill which will ban the use of state-authored textbooks. There are also forecasts that the plan for schools to adopt state-authored textbooks, one of President Park's key plans, may end up being discarded because Park is awaiting her impeachment ruling by the Constitutional Court. Expert gives advice for learning a foreign language faster and more effectively By Chung Hyun-chae Cho's recent book "Fluent" Language learning expert Cho Seung-yeon "How to Study English" was published in April 2016. Foreign language learners should create an "immersive environment" in which they can be exposed to the new language all the time. Such a situation can be uncomfortable for them at first, but it is necessary for the learners' mastery of the language, foreign language-learning expert Cho Seung-yeon said. "When I was studying Chinese, I never watched Korean movies or Korean news. But I did everything in Chinese," he said. In the same way, the 35-year-old author of 19 books, most of them about studying foreign languages, learned German and Japanese by himself. He is also fluent in English, Italian, French and Korean. "It is natural to feel frustrated when you cannot understand subtitles in movies and news. But it is part of the process toward progress. You need to get over the inconveniences to improve your language capabilities," he said. According to Cho, the same approach applies to studying foreign languages abroad. "You'd better put yourself in challenging situations such as negotiating prices to buy a used car or drafting a lease contract in order to master a foreign language in a short period of time," he said, citing his own experience in France. Cho moved to the United States in 1993. He enrolled at New York University in 1999 to get a bachelor's degree in business administration and graduated in 2004. He then moved to France in May 2005, where he studied art history at Ecole du Louvre from 2006 to 2008. "I went to France to attend graduate school because my parents could not afford tuition in the U.S. due to their financial difficulties in the wake of the IMF crisis in 1997," Cho said. "Then I visited government offices several times in France to get welfare money, an experience that I believe improved my French a lot." He noted that one's language skills do not improve much if one lives a comfortable life in a foreign country and does not face any difficulties. The purpose of learning a foreign language Cho stressed that one needs to have a desire to see more of the world to learn a foreign language faster and more effectively. "When you speak Korean, you can communicate with 50 million Korean people, but English allows you to communicate with almost everyone around the world," Cho said, explaining what he believes should be the purpose of learning English. He lamented that Korean people have the wrong motivations for learning English. "English has been considered as one of the specs (specifications or qualifications) and the most crucial factor in winning the job war, but not as a means of communication," Cho said. "This is why many Korean people struggle to learn English." The author believes that powerful motivation helps learners master a new language. "For example, those who are interested in automobiles might want to read English magazines that describe foreign cars, and those who love hip-hop might want to follow American rappers' rhymes," Cho said. "In doing so, they will quickly attain proficiency in English," Cho said. The importance of grammar Cho pointed out the biggest problem with the nation's public education of English is its focus on grammar. "The reason we have to study grammar is it enables us to find patterns in phrases and sentences so that we can understand both local dialects and the standard language," Cho said. "Koreans, however, study grammar only to speak standard English." He emphasized that there is no one correct answer in grammar. "For example, in Texas, people say I be going' instead of I am going,' while people living near the Appalachian Mountains in North America say I done gone' instead of I have gone,' which are technically incorrect grammar but are nonetheless commonly used there," he said. Last October, Cho wrote "Fluent," a book in which he explains why people need to understand their way of thinking when they a foreign language. "Being fluent doesn't mean that one's grammar is perfect but that a person can think like a native speaker of the language," Cho said. Defense Minister Han Min-koo, left, and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis By Jun Ji-hye Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis agreed Tuesday to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here as planned. In a 30-minute phone conversation, the top defense officials said the deployment of the anti-missile system will go forward despite China's protests and retaliatory measures, according to the Ministry of National Defense. China strongly opposes the THAAD deployment in the belief that its X-band radar could be used to spy on its missile capabilities despite Seoul and Washington's assurances that the system is only to defend against the North's ballistic missiles. The allies have agreed to deploy the advanced U.S. anti-missile defense unit here by July. The phone conservation took place ahead of the U.S. official's two-day visit to South Korea, beginning Thursday, on his first overseas trip after being appointed to head the Pentagon. He will meet with acting president, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and Minister Han to discuss the North's missile threats and other bilateral challenges, the ministry said. Mattis said he chose South Korea as his first destination as the Seoul-Washington alliance is significant amid growing North Korean threats. Firm readiness posture against North Korea In their phone call, Han and Mattis also agreed to maintain a firm readiness posture so the allies can immediately and overwhelmingly respond to possible provocations from Pyongyang. The ministry said Mattis vowed to offer extended deterrence, which refers to Washington's stated commitment to defend its ally by mobilizing all military capabilities nuclear and conventional to deal with the North's aggression. "The defense chiefs of the two countries assessed that there is a greater possibility of the North pushing forward with strategic and tactical provocations amid power transitions in the U.S. and South Korea," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. The comment came as the reclusive state has ratcheted up military threats with its leader Kim Jong-un claiming in his New Year address that the North has entered the final stages of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of about 10,000 kilometers, capable of hitting targets on the U.S. mainland. Expressing their concerns over the North's missile threats, Han and Mattis shared the need to consistently improve the Seoul-Washington alliance and strengthen their cooperation in coping with the repressive state, the ministry said. The agreement was in line with one made Sunday between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Hwang in a phone conversation, during which they reaffirmed the importance of the alliance and agreed to strengthen joint military capabilities. The ministry added that the two defense chiefs did not discuss issues related to cost-sharing for the upkeep of the U.S. Forces Korea, downplaying speculation that the newly inaugurated U.S. administration may demand Seoul pay more for its protection. During the presidential campaign, Trump argued that it made no sense for the U.S. to pay to defend prosperous allies like Japan and South Korea, and should consider pulling out of these countries unless they pay more. The ministry said Mattis will have bilateral defense talks with Han, Friday, after paying courtesy calls on Hwang and Kim, Thursday. The defense chiefs are reportedly planning to announce a strong warning message against the North after their talks. Mattis will leave for Japan after wrapping up his trip here. South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will meet U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis this week to discuss joint efforts to counter North Korea's growing military threats and enhance the bilateral alliance, Hwang's office said Tuesday. The meeting will be held at Hwang's office in Seoul at 5 p.m. Thursday. Mattis will begin his two-day visit to South Korea that runs through Friday as part of his first overseas trip since taking office on Jan. 20. During a telephone conversation between Hwang and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, the two leaders discussed Mattis' upcoming trip to South Korea and noted the trip "reflects the close friendship between our two countries and demonstrates the importance of the U.S.-ROK (Republic of Korea) alliance," the White House said in a statement. Observers said that Hwang and Mattis could touch on a series of pending issues, including the planned deployment of a U.S. missile defense system to the Korean Peninsula, which has faced strong opposition from China, Russia and some local politicians. On Friday, Mattis will fly to Japan for talks with his counterpart Tomomi Inada. (Yonhap) The United States plans to deploy 12 F-16 fighter planes to South Korea this month, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces Command said Wednesday, Washington's first deployment of military assets since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump. "Approximately 200 airmen and 12 F-16 Fighting Falcons with the 119th Fighter Squadron from Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, New Jersey, are set to deploy in February to Osan Air Base" in South Korea, the command said on its website. The U.S. Pacific Air Forces routinely deploys a unit to the region in a bid to counter North Korea's growing threats and bolster the Seoul-Washington alliance since 2004. The move is part of its "theater security packages", which aims to help "maintain a deterrent against threats to regional security and stability," the command said. The planned action would mark the first deployment of military assets by the U.S. to South Korea since Trump took office last month. New U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis plans to visit South Korea on Thursday and Friday on his first trip since he took office in a bid to underscore the U.S. commitment to the Seoul-Washington alliance. Topics for talks between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Mattis reportedly include the issue of whether Washington would deploy its strategic military assets to South Korea on a regular and rotational basis. The U.S. has temporarily sent strategic assets, such as nuclear-capable B-52 and B-1B bombers, to South Korea last year following Pyongyang's two nuclear tests and missile launches. But there are growing calls among South Koreans for the U.S. to permanently station key military hardware on the peninsula as one-off actions are not sufficient enough to counter North Korea's military threats. (Yonhap) By Jun Ji-hye Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin asked Washington, Wednesday, to strengthen its deterrence against North Korea, including deploying U.S. strategic assets in South Korea. During a 20-minute phone call with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Joseph Dunford, Lee stressed the importance of implementing measures agreed to in December during the inaugural meeting of the allies' Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) in Washington. At the time, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to regularly deploying strategic weapons, such as nuclear-capable bombers, to South Korea to better deter Pyongyang's growing nuclear and missile threats. This is the first time that Seoul brought up the issue of the deployment of strategic weapons since the inauguration of President Donald Trump's administration, Jan. 20. The telephone conversation took place a day after talks between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, during which the latter vowed to offer extended deterrence, which refers to Washington's stated commitment to defend its ally by mobilizing all military capabilities nuclear and conventional to deal with the North's aggression. "During their phone conversation, the two generals also reaffirmed the allies' commitment to forming a strong joint defensive posture against the North," the JCS said, adding that the two agreed on the greater possibility of the isolated state pushing forward with strategic and tactical provocations to show off its advanced nuclear capability around major events in the isolated state. Lee cited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's birthday on Feb. 16, the allies' Key Resolve exercise in March and the North's late founder Kim Il-sung's birthday on April 15 as possible days for such provocations, according to the JCS. The young leader claimed in his New Year address that the North has entered the final stages of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of about 10,000 kilometers, capable of hitting targets on the U.S. mainland. Following the talks, expectations are growing that Han and Mattis will discuss whether Washington will deploy U.S. strategic assets to South Korea on a regular rotational basis during their upcoming meeting scheduled for Friday in Seoul. Mattis will arrive here today for a two-day visit on his first overseas trip after being appointed to head the Pentagon. He said he chose South Korea as his first destination as the Seoul-Washington alliance is significant amid growing North Korean threats. During the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in October, Minister Han and former U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter agreed to conduct a review of whether to deploy strategic military assets to the South on a rotational basis. The U.S. armed forces temporarily dispatched strategic assets such as B-52 and B-1B bombers to Seoul last year in response to Pyongyang's two nuclear tests and missile launches. Observers raised the likelihood that the bombers and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers could participate in the Key Resolve exercise. Meanwhile, the United States plans to deploy 12 F-16 fighter planes to South Korea this month, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces Command said. "Approximately 200 airmen and 12 F-16 Fighting Falcons with the 119th Fighter Squadron from Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, New Jersey, are set to deploy in February to Osan Air Base" in South Korea, the command said on its website. The U.S. Pacific Air Forces routinely deploys a unit to the region in a bid to counter North Korea's growing threats and bolster the Seoul-Washington alliance since 2004. The move is part of its "theater security packages", which aims to help "maintain a deterrent against threats to regional security and stability," the command said. The planned action would mark the first deployment of military assets by the U.S. to South Korea since Trump took office last month. By Lee Han-soo A woman has been found guilty of falsely accusing a man of raping her. On Monday, Ulsan District Court sentenced the woman to eight months' jail, suspended for two years, and 120 hours of community service. According to the court, the woman falsely accused a man of raping her when she was drunk last year. But the court found that the woman had consented to having sexual intercourse. When her boyfriend found out that she cheated on him, she falsely told police the man had raped her. "Sexual crimes often have no objective evidence other than the statement of the victims," the court said in a ruling statement. "Therefore a false claim can greatly hinder the justice system and needs to be severely punished." Korean Ambassador to Myanmar Yoo Jae-kyung answers reporters on his way to the special prosecution team's office in southern Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap By Lee Kyung-min Korean Ambassador to Myanmar Yoo Jae-kyung, 58, has admitted that President Park Geun-hye's confidant Choi Soon-sil helped him obtain the diplomatic post last May, prosecutors said Tuesday. The independent counsel team looking into the corruption allegations involving Choi said that it secured a statement from the former executive of Samsung Electro-Mechanics that Choi recommended him to the President. Choi met with Yoo in March, two months before he was appointed as ambassador, the team added. While Yoo initially neither confirmed nor denied that he knew, or met with Choi, he confessed to the prosecutors after hours of questioning in the team's building in Daechi, southern Seoul. "I met with Choi many times and I was made ambassador following her recommendation," Yoo was quoted as admitting to the team. Earlier, Yoo said that he believed President Park when she told him that her administration preferred someone with ample sales experience to be a diplomat, as she expected a substantial increase in trade with Myanmar. However, the appointment of Yoo, who had no diplomatic experience, triggered mounting speculation not only from diplomatic circles but from the business sector that a powerful figure was behind the surprise decision. His admission came a day after the team filed an additional charge against Choi for seeking personal gain in state business worth 76 billion won ($65 million) in Myanmar. The team believes that Choi received shares from a company in exchange for helping it participate in an Official Development Assistance (ODA) project last year. The amount of the shares and the identity of the company have yet to be disclosed. According to the team, the state project called "Myanmar K-Town" was spearheaded jointly by the foreign and trade ministries but was later scrapped due to a lack of viability and on-site inspection reports that expected little profit. The team is looking into whether Choi sought to influence any decision to benefit herself or the Mir Foundation, one of the two organizations she set up, alongside the K-Sports Foundation. In addition to Yoo, Jun Dae-joo, 69, a former ambassador to Vietnam and Park Noh-wan, a former consul general to Ho Chi Minh City, came under similar suspicions in 2013. Allegations then were that Choi helped the two get their posts in exchange for granting business favors to her nephew surnamed Jang. The son of her older sister Choi Soon-deuk, was running a kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh City. Jun was a former chairman of a small business association in Vietnam. The team plans to ask a district court to issue a second warrant that will enable it to detain Choi for up to 48 hours of questioning. The first such warrant was issued and executed last week. Meanwhile, at the eighth trial hearing of Choi and former presidential secretary An Chong-bum at the Seoul Central District Court, a former mid-level executive of the Mir Foundation, Kim Seong-hyun, said directions from Choi and her former associate Cha Eun-taek were almost always the same. Kim's testimony dealt a severe blow to Choi who has been maintaining that she was never involved in the establishment and management of the Mir Foundation. Choi has been claiming that Cha, with the help of his friends, exercised sole control over the foundation's business plans. By Ko Dong-hwan Jeong Il-seon Lee Hae-wook A court has punished executives from Korean chaebol family-controlled conglomerates for abusing their chauffeurs and forcing them to work excessive hours. Hyundai BNG Steel CEO Jeong Il-seon, 46, was fined 3 million won ($2,600) on Jan. 12 for abusing 61 chauffeurs he had hired in the past three years, according to the Seoul Central District Court Tuesday. Jeong, who is the grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-young, forced his victims to memorize a 140-page "guidebook for chauffeurs" that he wrote. He also made them work 80 hours a week, on average, far exceeding the maximum 56 hours. Jeong physically harassed one of the victims. The Seoul branch of the labor office under the Ministry of Labor and Employment referred the case to the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office with a recommendation of indictment on charges of violating labor laws. Daelim Industrial Vice Chairman Lee Hae-wook, also charged with abuse of his drivers, has been sent to trial after the court determined he deserves a penalty greater than the 10 million won fine imposed last year. In March 2016, one of two chauffeurs who worked for Lee accused him of abuse. The victim claimed the executive verbally and physically abused him, demanding that he speed with the side mirrors folded. Lee gave no explanation, other than "Because I told you so." The following month, MPK Group Chairman Jung Woo-hyun, 68, owner of domestic pizza chain Mr. Pizza, was questioned after surveillance video showed him punching a night watchman twice in the face for locking a building's front doors while Jung was still inside. Investigators fixing date to question President By Jung Min-ho Special investigators investigating a massive influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil will search Cheong Wa Dae as early as Friday, sources said Wednesday. Questioning the President is expected to ensue. Investigators are already in talks with the presidential office to fix the date to do so. According to legal sources, the investigation team led by independent counsel Park Young-soo plans to carry out a search of Cheong Wa Dae, which many see as the root of the scandal-related crimes. Speaking to reporters, Wednesday, Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman for the special prosecutor, said a search of Cheong Wa Dae was necessary, but he noted how to do so is still under discussion. While investigators want to search Cheong Wa Dae at their discretion, the presidential office says it won't allow it "because of national security reasons." When prosecutors tried to search Cheong Wa Dae last year before passing the baton to the independent counsel, Cheong Wa Dae rejected their request for the same reason, which successfully warded off the prosecutors' attempt. Lee believes that investigators still can gain much from a search, while some question the effectiveness of the belated effort. When asked about the possible destruction of evidence within Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said it would be hard to remove all evidence due to requirements to protect presidential records. "If they indeed destroyed evidence, we can find that out," he noted. If Cheong Wa Dae continues to refuse to cooperate, investigators may request a search and seizure warrant for specific places, which do not have to be protected for national security reasons. However, if the two sides fail to agree on law interpretation, a search may be delayed until judges decide on the matter. Given that special investigators must wrap up their work by Feb. 28, according to the special law, concerns have been raised. Soon after searching the presidential office in one way or another, investigators will question Park, who faces allegations of bribery, abuse of power and mishandling of state information among others. This too will be challenging, if the President continues to resist behind the walls of Cheong Wa Dae. Given the Constitution that states "a sitting President cannot be indicted," it may still prove difficult to question Park or even obtain an arrest warrant for her. Park is accused of colluding with her friend Choi and other top-ranking government officials in committing many crimes, including creating an "artist blacklist" to discriminate against them and receiving bribes from conglomerates in return for business favors. Among other allegations include letting Choi meddle in state affairs and neglecting her presidential duties on the day the ferry Sewol sank in 2014 killing more than 300 people. Park has so far rejected most of the allegations, suggesting that she will fight tooth and nail to prove her innocence. / Yonhap By Park Si-soo A fire erupted at the open-air Namdaemun Market, one of Seoul's biggest, Tuesday. The blaze was extinguished after burning stores on the third floor of a four-story building dominated by shops selling children's clothes. The exact cause of the blaze and amount of damage were unknown as of 3 p.m. There were no reports of casualties. "The fire was first detected at 2:17 p.m.," a fire department official said. "An investigation is under way to find the exact cause of the fire." / Yonhap / Yonhap Yeongdeungpo-gu office will provide a free job consulting service to migrant housewives from Wednesday. / Courtesy of Multicultural Family Support Center By Lee Jin-a Seoul's Yeongdeungpo-gu district will start a free job consulting service for migrant housewives who face difficulties getting work in Korea. The district said two professional consultants will work at its multicultural family support center from Wednesday to provide the employment service. The consultants will find companies that are looking for foreign workers and give the information to women who match more than 50 percent of the company's job criteria. They will also accompany applicants to job interviews. "Migrant housewives often suffer from financial difficulties in this country," a district official said. "We hope many foreign housewives can be economically independent and settle well in this country through our personalized job consulting program." Migrant housewives looking for a job can request the service by calling the Yeongdeungpo-gu Multicultural Family Support Center on 02-845-5433. By Kim Se-jeong A member of a pro-President Park Geun-hye group killed himself over the weekend in Seoul, but the way the group handled his death has raised many eyebrows. According to police in Nowon-gu, northeastern Seoul, the 60-year-old jumped from his sixth-floor apartment in an apparent suicide Saturday evening. The victim was holding two Korean flags with the message: "If the impeachment is confirmed, I will stop recognizing the Constitutional Court." No suicide note was found. The police said they were looking into the death, Tuesday. On Sunday, the pro-government group, against the will of the man's bereaved family, attempted to set up a memorial altar at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall. They described him as a "martyr" for democracy. Their attempt even led to a clash with the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), which had refused to give permission for the altar. "The tent with a memorial altar is illegal because the group didn't obtain approval from the city in advance," SMG spokesman Kang Tae-woong said on Tuesday. The city asked the activists to remove the altar and leave the site empty. Members of the conservative group have been camping out at the plaza since Jan. 21 protest Park's impeachment. Park was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 9 for her involvement in a corruption scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil. Despite the city's order, the group went ahead with erecting the memorial altar Tuesday morning. As the altar largely remained unvisited, the activists showed extreme hostility to anti-Park activists. They even turned away journalists from liberal media outlets who approached them to ask questions. "We won't allow you here. You're pro-North Korea and are ruining this great country," they shouted. The conservative activists have been demonstrating to against anti-President protesters who have gathered every Saturday since the end of October. They are strong supporters of the impeached President and her father Park Chung-hee. Also, they label anyone opposing the President and the conservative party as communists. By Yi Whan-woo Speculation is rampant that former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took the U.N.'s opinion into account in his abrupt decision to withdraw his bid for presidency, Wednesday. Upon his return home on Jan. 12, Ban said he is awaiting the U.N's opinion about whether it is a violation of a U.N. rule if he runs for the presidential race here. "It's possible that Ban abruptly decided to pull out from the presidential race after listening to the U.N." a political commentator said on condition of anonymity. His critics had claimed that it would be a breach of the U.N. Resolution on Terms of Appointment of Secretary-General for Ban to make a presidential bid shortly after his U.N. tenure ended in December. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gets in his car after holding a press conference at the National Assembly, Wednesday, to announce he will not run in the presidential race. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han Surprise pullout shakes up race for presidency By Kim Hyo-jin Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave up his presidential bid in a surprise announcement, Wednesday, amid stagnant approval ratings since his return from New York, Jan. 12. "I have decided to give up my pure dream of changing politics and achieving national unity," he said in a press conference at the National Assembly. Blaming existing politics, he said, "I was deeply disappointed with some politicians who showed an old-fashioned and narrow-minded attitude, and I reached the conclusion that it would be meaningless to join with them." This came as a shock to his supporters as well as his aides who had not expected him to quit so abruptly because he had been increasing his contacts with voters, and actively meeting politicians. The former U.N. chief had been the center of attention with rising public expectation that he would run in the presidential election, possibly slated for early this year, as a potential candidate of the conservative bloc. The announcement was made as he had a hard time expanding his influence by forming alliances with other political forces. Ban, the political newcomer, sought to join hands with existing politicians as an effort to gain momentum for his presidential bid. He hinted that he could join an existing political party, only to receive the cold shoulder from the minor opposition People's Party. Another possible option, the conservative Bareun Party, had welcomed him before but recently turned lukewarm as his popularity in opinion polls withered. The career diplomat has struggled to impress voters amid criticism that he has few ideas about how to revive the country and has ambiguous stances on politically sensitive issues. He has touted the need for "political reform" in a bid to present a contending slogan against leading presidential hopeful Moon Jae-in's "change of government" but he failed to give any details. By Kim Se-jeong Yoon is a resident of Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, and a college senior majoring in convergence of engineering and management. The 27-year-old man who only disclosed his family name has been busy looking for a job for some time. "Even though I have one semester left at school, I feel time is running out," Yoon told The Korea Times. He wants to get a job in IT. Samsung Electronics was one of the places he applied to, but nothing has panned out so far. The first thing he will do when he gets a job is to move from his parents' flat. "My dad retired recently. My mom is still working, but they barely get by. They need to save for themselves but can't because of me. That will only be possible when I become financially independent," he said. Every day, he reads newspapers and magazines to update himself. He also polishes his resume and spends hours in front of a computer looking for job openings. Yoon is among many in their 20s and 30s who are desperate for work while youth unemployment is at its worst. According to Statistics Korea, last year's youth unemployment rate for those aged between 15 and 29 was 9.8 percent, the highest ever. Korea's job market has not been good since the IMF crisis in 1997. In the post-crisis era, companies in fear of uncertainties, stopped offering jobs as they did before the crisis. Companies also came up with "irregular employment," a new type of work that only lasts two or three years without benefits. The Korean economy's structure also added problems. Built strongly on manufacturing, the economy lost its momentum and lags behind China and other rising countries. Sung Jae-min from the Korea Labor Institute said the consequences of youth unemployment are dire "because they are the ones who will pay taxes and buy TVs and houses." He added, "Young people lacking spending power will affect the country's economy, as well." Korea's birthrate is already feeling the effects. It went down to 1.2 children per woman in recent years, not enough to maintain the nation's population without immigration. Couples lament they can't afford to raise children with the money they earn. It also fueled "Hell Joseon," an anti-Korea sentiment among the young, driving this desperate generation to migrate from Korea. Joseon is a former Korean kingdom lasting from 1392 to 1910. The massive protests against the ongoing corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her confidant also reflect their frustrations. Regional and central governments rushed to help. The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently began a support program for young jobseekers. At 41 locations through the metropolitan area, the city coordinates self-empowerment workshops, counseling sessions and suit rentals. Yoon is among the service recipients. Last month, the central government announced it would create 25,000 additional public jobs in addition to cash support for new startups founded by young people. "We need more public jobs to solve the problem," Kim Ju-ho, a coordinator from civic group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, said in criticizing the central government's announcement. Speaking about the support for startups, Kim said, "Previous policies have shown that only helping young people to start a new business doesn't help. Businesses went bankrupt fast and young entrepreneurs were heavily indebted." Both Kim and Sung called for enhanced social safety measures. "That will help them relax and sustain their lives while unemployed," Kim said. Last year, Seoul and Seongnam, a city south of Seoul, began handing out cash allowances to young residents. Although politically controversial, the program drew many supporters. Gyeonggi Province is leading a project to train people over 60 as school bus safety officers. / Yonhap By Hong Dam-young Gyeonggi Province is leading a project to train people over 60 as school bus safety officers. The province is working with three private organizations including the Korean Labor Force Development Institute for the Aged. The seniors will work on buses run by private educational institutes or hagwon. Two hundred and fifty people will receive training on safety regulations, how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and traffic accident rules. Participants in the two-day training course that begins in June will receive certificates from the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training allowing them to work as bus safety officers. Their jobs include monitoring traffic violations and checking the vehicle's condition. The officers will ride the buses between 2 and 7 p.m. and receive up to 900,000 won ($774) a month. "We hope the new project becomes a leading precedent that opens more jobs to seniors," Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil said. A revised traffic law that went into effect on Dec. 29 requires guardians to accompany children riding the buses from private institutions that carry fewer than 15 passengers. According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority, 11 children were killed in commute bus accidents between 2011 and 2015. The number of Chinese tourists arriving in South Korea during the long Lunar New Year holiday significantly decreased compared to last year, local travel agencies said Wednesday. The number of Chinese visitors opting for South Korea as a tourist destination during the holiday season from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 is forecast to have decreased between 20 and 50 percent compared to last year, the agencies said. "There are internal talks that the number of Chinese tourists decreased between 20 and 30 percent compared to last year's Lunar New Year," said an agency official asking not to be named. Local agencies attributed the falling popularity of South Korea to the soured relations between the two countries over Seoul's decision to install the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system on the Korean Peninsula. Earlier, the Chinese government rejected South Korean airlines' plan to operate chartered flights that were largely designed to ship large groups of Chinese tourists to South Korea. South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, one of the most popular destinations among tourist groups, was dealt a more severe blow, they said. The number of Chinese visitors to Jeju is expected to reach 42,800 during the holiday, down 16.6 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the Jeju Special Self-governing Provincial Tourism Association. Despite the downturn, some agencies reported that a growing number of independent Chinese tourists will eventually have positive effects on the tourism sector. "The number of Chinese group tourists has significantly decreased but independent tourists increased," said another tourist agency official. Earlier, the Seoul government announced that it will develop what it called tailor-made tour programs that will target individual tourists or small groups. The government said it will also continue to crack down on low-priced, low-quality tour programs that have long been accused of swindling money out of Chinese tourists. Industry experts said the country's foreign tourism sector got back on track last year due to various favorable factors, such as a weakening Korean currency. In 2016, Chinese accounted for nearly half of all foreign tourists here at 8.04 million. (Yonhap) A jump in China's coal imports from North Korea in December is probably attributed to Pyongyang's push to increase shipments ahead of Beijing's decision to temporarily suspend the purchase of the energy resource from its neighbor, a Seoul official said Wednesday. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on Monday that China imported 2 million tons of North Korean coal in December, up 13 percent from a year earlier, citing China's customs data. The shipments surged even though China's commerce ministry imposed a three-week-long ban on imports of North Korean coal to implement the latest sanctions by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Seoul's unification ministry believes North Korea might have boosted its outbound shipments to China in early December before the temporary ban was put in place, a spokesman said. "Also, export prices of coal have been on the rise, which might have served as a factor (in boosting North Korea's coal exports)," said Jeong Joon-hee, ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing. On Nov. 30, the UNSC adopted a set of sanctions over North Korea's September nuclear test, including a significant cap on Pyongyang's exports of coal. The move is aimed at cutting North Korea's annual coal outbound shipments by more than 60 percent or around $700 million each year. Under the March resolution, North Korea's coal exports for "livelihood" purposes were allowed, an exception that was exploited by the country. (Yonhap) By Park Hyong-ki Kang Bong-kyun Kang Bong-kyun, former finance minister, passed away on January 31, 2017. He was 74. Not many young people might remember him. But for those who lived through and experienced the difficult times of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, Kang would be most remembered then as the country's top fiscal policymaker. Faced with the biggest economic crisis in the country when the value of the won depreciated beyond 2,200 won and the governance of family-run conglomerates were at their worst, Kang was appointed as the finance minister to fix the broken system. Under heavy debt and scrutiny from the global financial community including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which exercised harsh conditions on Korea in exchange for providing bailout funds, it was highly likely that Kang did not want the job. No economic bureaucrats or politicians did, other than pointing fingers at one another and playing the blame game. Kang, nevertheless, took the helm as former President Kim Dae-jung's finance minister, trying to reform the economy by correcting malpractices of chaebol and the banking sector's reckless borrowing and lending. New and harsh regulations were set up during this period with the aim of mitigating the so-called Korea Discount against Korea Inc. Higher standards of financial accounting were established against listed and privately-held conglomerates under Kang's policy direction. He was and has been recognized as a key figure who guided the economy through one of the most turbulent and difficult times in the country, setting the stage for the Korean economy to weather the storm. After serving less than a year as the finance minister, Kang stepped down just as Korea was preparing to pay back its debt to the IMF in August 2001. Kang went off to become the head of the state-run Korea Development Institute. Korea faced yet another downturn the credit card crisis, which former President Kim's progressive successor Roh Moo-hyun tried to fix with Kang again providing his expertise as a lawmaker affiliated with the ruling Uri Party. There were some criticisms then in the late 1990s that former President Kim and his economic team tried to overcome the crisis by incautiously promoting credit card spending. This led to more debt trouble later on as the market similarly witnesses today with soaring household borrowing. This is another story. Despite the endless political blame game, Kang -- may he rest in peace -- will be foremost remembered as a bureaucrat who tried to save the country from the crisis and the IMF shackles when no one else dared to go down the risky path. The military chiefs of South Korea and the United States on Wednesday reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to forming a strong joint defense posture against North Korea's provocations, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. Gen. Lee Sun-jin, the chairman of the JCS, stressed the need to strengthen deterrence against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats during his phone talks with his U.S. counterpart Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the military said. "They determined that an acute security situation exists like North Korea's nuclear and missile program," the JCS said. "The talks were also aimed at reaffirming the strong commitment of the two countries to building up a joint defense posture as the new U.S. administration takes control." The military said that Lee stressed the importance of implementing goals set by the first Seoul-Washington joint defense cooperation talks held in December. South Korea and the U.S. held their first meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) in Washington last year, a move aimed at pressuring North Korea. During the talks, they reaffirmed the commitment of the U.S. to regularly deploy U.S. strategic assets to South Korea to better counter North Korea's threats. The JCS did not clarify whether Lee made an appeal for the U.S. to send strategic assets to the South. But there is speculation that the issue might have been touched on ahead of new U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis' planned visit to South Korea this week. Mattis, who will visit Seoul on Thursday and Friday, chose South Korea as his first overseas trip since he took office. Topics for talks between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Mattis reportedly include the issue of whether Washington will deploy its strategic military assets to South Korea on a regular rotational basis. The U.S. temporarily sent strategic assets, such as nuclear-capable B-52 and B-1B bombers, to South Korea last year following Pyongyang's two nuclear tests and missile launches. But there are calls among South Koreans for the permanent deployment of U.S. strategic arms as they believe one-off deployments are not sufficient enough to counter the North's threats. During the last EDSCG meeting, Seoul raised the need for permanent deployment of key strategic assets, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the point, according to sources. North Korea has bolstered its war rhetoric as its leader Kim Jong-un said in his New Year's message that Pyongyang has entered the final stage of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile. The two military chiefs then assessed that North Korea could carry out strategic provocations in an effort to advance its nuclear capabilities, according to the JCS. Pyongyang may stage provocative acts around Feb. 16, the 75th birthday of late former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and April 15, the 105th birthday of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung, it said. The military also estimated as a possible timeframe sometime in March and April when Seoul and Washington hold their annual joint military drills, which Pyongyang has denounced as a rehearsal for a northern invasion. "As North Korea is not likely to change its course in 2017, there is the need to maintain strong pressure against it," the JCS said. (Yonhap) By Lee Seong-hyon With "Trump America" in place now, one of the areas that the East Asian geopolitical analysts pay attention to is how the Trump variable would enter into Sino-North Korea relations. First, China is wary that the tough-talking Trump may take a much harder line toward North Korea that may, in turn, "destabilize" China's strategic neighborhood environment. Beijing has a habit of suspecting that Washington gets tougher on North Korea when it wants to warn China. This might sound odd to outside observers, but "this pattern" is a well-entertained item among regional strategists. It also reveals how China identifies its geopolitical vulnerability more aligned with North Korea, than with the United States. At the extension of the logic, it also underscores the potential limitation of cooperation Washington wants to have from China, so as to jointly deal with the regional pariah. That won't happen, however, to borrow Trump's New Year's resolution on North Korea. In fact, when Trump blurted "That won't happen" as a reaction to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's threat of test-launching an ICBM (with an obvious connotation that its reach could hit continental America), it was China that was also alarmed. Trump's swift Twitter warning against North Korea's seemingly unstoppable ICBM libido was perceived by China as a firm deterrence posture by Washington on the matter. A North Korea-fired ICBM landing on American soil is tantamount to hurting U.S. "core interest," a Chinese analyst observed. The term, "core interest," is jargon with a specific definition when it is used in the Chinese security context. According to the Chinese Communist Party, "core interest" is the top-level national interest among the three interests (core, major and general). Specifically, it is an interest the "nation's survival" (guojia de shengcun) depends on, and therefore there can be "no room for compromise" (burong tuoxie). So, China's perception of attaching a cardinal graveness to North Korea's possible ICBM launch and America's possible retaliation makes Beijing jittery, as it destabilizes China's backyard. Furthermore, this warning came from the mouth of Trump a human being China finds inhumanly challenging to pin down, let alone predict. China expects the Trumpian push on Beijing to restrain Pyongyang, to be more demanding than Obama's. Trump said China has "total control" over North Korea. "China should solve that problem," he declared. Whether China really has that level of leverage over North Korea is debatable, but what matters is Trump's "thinking" on the matter. He is now the president of the United States (despite some Americans' denial). Trump's thinking will have decisive policy implications regarding how the U.S. government will approach the topic from now on. Supportive of this interpretation, Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said China can "make magic" on the North Korean issue. The question is, will China make that magic? As things stand now, and based on how China has been implementing the latest U.N. sanctions, China appears to be on a course that cannot afford to meet American expectations. The latest U.N.-approved sanctions, which China also signed, have been rolling in the aftermath of North Korea's successful fifth nuclear test reportedly its biggest yet. While giving its nod behind the international body's move, China yet insisted the sanctions not hurt the North Korean people's "livelihood" (minsheng). The defining feature of "minsheng" is that, it is China that defines it, and it is China that enforces it. When the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was asked to define it, Wang circumscribed it by saying: "People know what it means when they hear it," during a press conference last year. Wang's Zen-like answer was masterful, but the "minsheng" clause serves to remain as one of the two main challenges to the task of implementing the sanctions, in both spirit and flesh. The other challenge in the sanctions scheme is the so-called "conflict of interest" between the local governments and the central government. The local economy of a city such as Dandong, a Chinese city that borders North Korea, relies largely on its trade with North Korea. Sanctions naturally hurt the city's economy. Therefore, enforcing sanctions goes against the local interests. Moreover, the provincial officials' job evaluation is also significantly based on the local economy's growth. The official's local popularity also suffers when he strictly enforces the sanctions. "So, what would you do about the sanctions if you were the mayor of Dandong?" a Chinese interlocutor asked. China also bemoans the lack of "incentives" from the United States for Beijing's enforcing the sanctions. As the U.S.-China relations are expected to enter into a "conflict phase" under the Trump administration, China may find itself much less enthused to play the role of a "hit man" against its problematic neighbor. On the contrary, as North Korea is one of the few countries in the world that openly challenges the U.S. leadership, China will find Pyongyang more useful than before, in corroborating China's geopolitical interests. Taken together, Sino-North Korea relations in 2017 will not only depend on their mutual mojo (a topic we'll cover later), but also largely leveraged by the U.S.-China relationship. Lee Seong-hyon, Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Sejong Institute. Reach him at sunnybbsfs@gmail.com By Choi Sung-jin While Koreans have been absorbed in an unprecedented presidential scandal and its aftermath for months, there were two developments overseas that might affect their lives enormously. One was the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. The "America first" slogan of the real estate tycoon-turned-politician calls for maximizing U.S. national interests even at the expense of its allies and risks reverting to an isolationist policy similar to the 1930s and the beginning of the1940s. The other was the first fruition of the "one belt, one road" project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the first cargo train that left the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang arriving in London after running 12,500 km in 17 days. The new Silk Road project encompassing 65 percent of the global population and one-third of the world's GDP symbolizes China's advance in the world. Of course there is still considerable uncertainty in China's ambition to bring the Eurasian continent together by land and sea. And the Trump administration's strategic interests in Northeast Asia leave no doubt, as seen by the visit to Seoul and Tokyo this week by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, less than a fortnight after he and his boss took office. The new U.S. defense chief will invariably reaffirm the trilateral alliance to keep a resurgent China in check. As Washington and Beijing ratchet up their rivalry over regional hegemony, Korea which has to rely on America for national security and on China for economic prosperity can't help being on pins and needles. Currently, Seoul is pressurized by both. The new U.S. government, while reaffirming its "ironclad alliance," is calling for South Korea to pick up more of its defense bills. China, miffed by Seoul's decision to deploy a U.S. missile shield, is pursuing economic retaliation, setting up higher nontariff barriers and severing cultural links. Tokyo is giving Seoul no rest diplomatically, either. Nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, riding on the U.S. anxiety to bind its two Northeast Asian allies in a NATO-like resistance to China, has successfully turned itself into a nation that can start a war, letting itself off the hook over the "comfort women" issue and signing a military intelligence accord with Seoul. Add to these the escalating nuclear threat from Pyongyang, South Korea is surrounded by diplomatic rivals on all sides, as it was during the latter era of the Joseon Kingdom more than a century ago. South Korea must find a way out of this situation and the sooner the better. And this shows why the nation must oust President Park Geun-hye impeached by the National Assembly as early as possible and pick a new leader. What type of president should South Korean voters elect with respect to foreign policy then? Can they find a new leader as shrewd as Trump and Abe and as strong as Xi and Vladimir Putin? That would be hard to expect not least because diplomatic ability comes less from individual leaders than from their national power. No amount of ability to walk the tight diplomatic rope can keep Seoul safe from the rising tension between the U.S. and China. That is, as long as South Korea and its political leaders accept rising rivalries and confrontation among major regional powers as an established fact that they cannot change. The next leader here should be the one who can keep Korea safe economically and diplomatically at least for another couple of decades. He or she should keep this country from playing, once again, the role of a tinder box that ignites another regional or global military conflict but turn it into the origin of lasting peace and prosperity in this part of the world. And that is for the millions of Koreans who gathered in the plaza at the heart of Seoul every Saturday over the past few months, astounding foreigners with their peaceful demonstrations and resolute but orderly calls. The next South Korean president should be a person who can transform the citizens' revolution for peace into the nation's foreign policy keynote. First of all, he or she should be able to minimize internal splits, the ideological schism in particular. In a less dichotomous society the new leader should work toward, those who oppose or rethink the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system should not necessarily be called "followers of North Korea." It should be our long-term national interests not whether one likes Washington or Pyongyang or Beijing better that decide the introduction of a weapons system based on strict calculation of diplomatic costs and benefits. The anti-missile system would be of little use if a big if Seoul manages to persuade Pyongyang to freeze its nuclear programs. Many, in and outside of this country, think such efforts would get nowhere, given Pyongyang's adherence to its nuclear and missile ambitions as the only lifeline for the isolationist regime. Some, including the U.S. military-industrial complex and some Chinese leaders, may like the status quo better. Yet South Korea must find a diplomatic way out in the northern half of this divided peninsula. North Korea is also the solution for the South's economy stuck with a dwindling population and market. The new leader, based on improved inter-Korean relations, should make Washington and Beijing solve the North Korean nuclear crisis through dialogue. Armed with the initiatives of peace and human rights, Seoul should also be able to maintain moral superiority over Tokyo and Beijing. The next leader should have the ability or a will at the least to make the Korean Peninsula the "peninsula of peace" for this country, the region and the world. Choi Sung-jin is a contributing writer to The Korea Times. Contact him at choisj1955@naver.com. By Ted Gover North Korea's advancing nuclear weapons program and recent stated intentions to test launch intercontinental ballistic missiles demonstrate the rising urgency of Pyongyang's threat and the need for Washington, Seoul and Beijing to devote planning for an outbreak of hostilities on the Korean peninsula. While a diplomatic breakthrough with Pyongyang is preferable, the prospect of the North's new capability to conduct a nuclear strike on the U.S. west coast presents an unacceptable risk to a growing number of policymakers in Washington, raising the chance of preemptive U.S. military action. Given this development, Washington, Seoul and Beijing must begin planning for agreed parameters relating to armed conflict with Pyongyang and for what would ensue after a collapse of Kim Jong-un's regime. Complicating the need for joint planning are the strained relations between Washington and Beijing. Despite their growing differences, the prospect of war with Pyongyang demand that Washington and Beijing work together with Seoul in these ways: Establishing military objectives: A breakout of hostilities would necessarily involve U.S. and ROK forces. Given China's preference for maintaining a North Korean buffer state on its own border due to territorial sovereignty concerns, Washington, Seoul and Beijing must coordinate a framework that clarifies objectives and each other's respective areas of operation during a conflict with Pyongyang. In order to lower chances of a U.S.-China clash, both sides must implement measures to ensure clear communications before and during hostilities. Additionally, discussions should work towards an agreement on the areas in the North where U.S., ROK and Chinese forces will be permitted following the North's collapse. Securing North Korea's weapons programs: Pre-conflict discussions must focus on measures for securing the North's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons stockpiles. Failure to do so would increase prospects for terrorist organizations getting their hands on the weapons through the black market or by other means. Restoring order: Restoring order after the fall of a government is a complicated endeavor and pre-conflict planning is often inadequate. Subduing surviving regime elements, implementing a stabilization force of necessary size, deciding who is imprisoned and who is granted amnesty are just a few of the many necessary considerations. Washington, Seoul and, to a lesser extent, Beijing, must devote discussions on agreed approaches. Human rights: Pyongyang is known for its extensive system of gulags where political prisoners are raped, tortured, starved and subjected to forced labor and executions. Surviving political prisoners must be freed and placed under the care of the South. Washington and Seoul cannot abandon their obligations to these political prisoners and must be firm on this issue in their deliberations with Beijing. Beyond this, refugees will need shelter and medical care, and the impending famine in the North must be addressed. This commitment needs to be shared by regional partners (Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo), the U.S. and the international community. There are clearly other policy areas that merit discussion. Yet, by working through their mutual distrust and growing rivalry, Washington and Beijing must partner together and work with Seoul to plan for future hostilities during this time of elevated tensions with Pyongyang. Failure to do so would invite a repeat of past tragedies on the Korean peninsula. Ted Gover, Ph.D. is instructor of political science at Central Texas College, U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Write to amberjack_shoal@yahoo.com. By Michael Bergmann We have to be really tough now, says the tough guy in the White House. And I nearly believe it, with all his tough enemy-friends around the globe feeling the wind at their back. Hot air on all channels, Twitter burping, "troops in, troops out, more nukes, walls for protection, meeting Kim okay, he's going to pay for his hamburger," hard-stuff strategists in martial excitement, "brave" journalists indulging in verbal flatulence, The Korea Times at the front. Presidential candidates here in Korea have learned the trick quickly: Tweets are the new standard for political statements. Short and tough, "nice" popularity up. There might be one or two thoughtful pragmatists in the race, and I worry about their chances. But let's try to go against the trend and start with some verbal and mental disarmament. Last year, I was granted a slightly controversial and very friendly exchange with the American policy analyst Stephen Costello concerning the interpretation and application of "The Wind and the Sun," Aesop's famous fable which associates sunshine with strength. We agreed on the point that the wind and the sun compete over their relative potential, not to defeat the traveler, but to take off or make him take off his coat. We interpreted the coat, creatively of course, as the man's armor which he will cling to when exposed to the "wind." But what if the man, knowing that as a brutal tyrant he could not survive without his armor, were determined rather to suffocate than to relax in the sun? Costello convinced me that my question was based on an unproven assumption promoted by sunshine's opponents: a presumed determination never to cooperate from the other side. But Wind-policy, or as he called it, Dark-Cloud-policy toward North Korea has dramatically demonstrated its failure for 15 years, so the central argument in many of his highly recommendable analyses, whereas Sunshine-policy had already unfolded some of its potential when it was abruptly abandoned. I hope I am exaggerating to say that the civilized world is about to abandon "sunshine" on a far more general level. The potential and strength of cooperation, dialogue and engagement are being flatly denied, together with all the positive developments the world has seen over the last 70 years thanks to such multilateral efforts. As development comes gradually, and never without persistent work, "wind" seems suddenly more attractive, and "hot air" even more. No one knows how the man in Aesop's fable will react confronted with hot air and dark clouds instead of cold wind or sunshine. Should we do the dangerous experiment, vaguely hoping for some "constructive destruction"? Oppressive darkness and confusion instead of enlightenment and clear horizons? If we are still proud enough to feel that we have something to lose, and if we still believe in rational human progress - let's think once more before we abandon the powerful potential of sunshine. Michael Bergmann is a teacher in Seoul. Write to bergmann2473@yahoo.de. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By James Kim On Jan. 20, we inaugurated the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. We will also have a new president in South Korea before the end of 2017. And given the departure of U.S. Amb. Mark Lippert, we will also have a new United States ambassador to South Korea, yet to be named. We are now entering an uncertain and potentially transformative new era between the United States and Korea. President Trump has already executed on some of his campaign pledges, including the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, announced the building of the "wall" with Mexico along with renegotiating NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), instituted major immigration reforms and has actually succeeded in convincing major companies to change their manufacturing footprint in favor of the United States. Everyone has to take President Trump very seriously. The KoreaUnited States relationship has also been prominently mentioned by President Trump, of which the KORUS FTA (Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement) and the $23 billion trade deficit has been deemed a "negative" for the United States. Now is the time for the key stakeholders in Korea to truly sell the value of the KORUS FTA on a factual basis and support the key economic initiatives of President Trump, namely, $1 billion in infrastructure improvements (roads, bridges, airports and tunnels) and bringing back manufacturing jobs to the United States. In addition, we need to ensure that the American multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in Korea must have conviction that Korea is and can be an attractive country to continue with its foreign direct investment. We all know that the KORUS FTA has been called a "Gold Standard" by numerous leaders. Korea is the sixth largest trading partner of the United States generating $350 billion in total volume. Evidence clearly shows that the FTA is benefiting both sides despite the $23 billion trade deficit in Korea's favor. Two-way trade has increased 84 percent over the last decade and reached $115 billion in 2015. Actually, exports to the United States on non-FTA benefited products such as steel, semi-conductors and autos rose by 7.9 percent while those with tariff concessions rose by 6.9 percent. At the same time, the United States actually enjoyed a trade surplus in services, with tourism and IT leading the way. Korea also has the lowest deficit compared to China, Japan, Mexico, Germany and India. If we were to successfully defend the win-win partnership between Korea and the United States, I believe both American MNCs operating in Korea and the many Korean companies with a significant presence in the United States should work together and "sell" the value proposition to the Trump administration. In the United States, Korean companies employ more than 45,000 citizens and furthermore, average salaries are higher than other companies based there. Companies such as CJ employ 180 Americans in Fort Dodge, Iowa; Lotte Chemical has 2,000 in Lake Charles, Louisiana: and Hankook Tire with 1,800 in Clarksville, Tennessee. I am sure these smaller, lesser known cities all value the Korean investment. By Stefan Halusa During a nationally televised roundtable in March 2014, President Park Geun-hye announced a "War on Regulation," introducing various measures in different industries to tackle some of the most urgent regulatory obstacles for businesses in Korea. The Park administration initiated efforts to concentrate deregulation especially in sectors such as education, healthcare, finance, tourism, and information and communication technology (ICT). Although regulatory reforms were introduced in the following years, the recently published 2016 Business Confidence Survey has shown that many European businesses in Korea are still not fully satisfied with the government's policy regarding regulations. Fifty-four percent of European companies in Korea stated that the reforms implemented in 2016 did not help their businesses and only 5 percent are confident the Korean government will start to implement meaningful reforms. The government's responsibility and obligation to define the regulatory framework to ensure safety, security and health of consumers and to protect the environment is unquestioned. But when regulations become obstacles, by restricting rather than enabling companies to develop and to create new job opportunities, they lead to higher costs for consumers and reduced consumer choice and influence in the competition for the best solution or product. This is especially true when regulators impose different local standards, instead of applying global ones. Or when new standards are defined, and applied retroactively to already delivered products, making them obsolete. There are examples in various industries where this is the case in Korea: The international standard for car window washing fluid is that it needs to operate down to minus 23 degree Celsius in winter. The Korean regulation is minus 25 degrees Celsius, all year round. This also causes tons of antifreeze to be released into the environment. By Christoph Heider In the recent months, chaebol, respectively its representatives, have been hit hard in the media. For me a crisis is not necessarily bad. A crisis is a start to reflect, review and to change. Instead of being pessimistic, I am more optimistic that the right lessons are learned from these recent incidents. People perceive the Korean chaebol rightly as innovative and powerful global players. Chaebol undoubtedly have contributed to the impressive economic development of Korea since the 1960s. It can even be stated that without chaebol and their impressive business extension, Korea would not be there where it is today. It is true that politics and business have to work hand-in-hand politics cannot do without business and business cannot do without politics. The tight alignment of government and business targets in the 1960s was right so that Korea was able to generate highly needed economic growth. The question now is if this intense relation still fits to our time? Is the corporate structure of chaebol still the right business model to operate? The initiative proposed in 2012 by the current government to somehow restructure the underlying landscape for chaebol was a good and wise decision; unfortunately, that initiative somehow never got up to full speed. Diversification is key! Politics have to provide a framework where businesses can develop. Businesses mean small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as bigger corporations. Korea is very much dependent on the conglomerates. In corporate business, you rather reduce the dependency on too dominant customers and instead develop a diversified customer portfolio. This is the direction Korea needs to go. We need an economic policy which is focusing more on nurturing SMEs and allow them to develop into auspicious companies. A healthy economic landscape allows SMEs to interact with other corporations in a fair and transparent way, on an arms-length principle, and on even terms. It also allows SMEs to develop from start-ups to "Hidden Champions." Compliance is key! Non-compliant behavior by company representative is a considerable business risk. It is not only that company representative might be indicted or penalties need to be paid the overall risk is much higher. The anti-graft law was a good start but actually what is even more needed, is management change. If we believe company homepages, each has implemented effective compliance systems to ensure compliance with applicable laws. The question rather is: Why doesn't it work? First and foremost, the message must come from the top. The CEO of a corporation must be a role model and must stand for "zero-tolerance." There is no way to be partly compliant. Compliance is a 100 percent commitment and must be part of every CEO's skill set it must be in his or her DNA. It is quite obvious that we cannot expect employees to be compliant if a leader doesn't send the right message. Compliance needs to become natural behavior in daily business life. Transparency is key! Transparency is a prerequisite for corporate governance. What is needed is a transparent corporate shareholder structure. It is somehow surprising that efficient processes have made inroads into production but somehow have been completely neglected in group structures. The fact is that the organizational set up with cross-shareholdings is a nontransparent construct. Instead a simple holding-affiliates-organization is much more transparent as it is very clear who owns the company, who has management influence over whom, and what revenue and profit is generated overall. The holding's supervisory board is then in the position to supervise company executives and group companies in a common and standardized way. To end: Every crisis is a new start. "Team Korea" which means politics and businesses together has to make the right decisions. By doing so, Korea will develop further toward a fair and transparent business environment. Christoph Heider is president of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea. US defense secretary's visit to determine status of alliance U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis will visit Korea this week on the first stop of his foreign tour after being confirmed for the job Jan. 20. His reputation precedes this visit fitting his nickname "Mad Dog," the retired marine general is known for his toughness and fairness. Ahead of him is a task he can only make a success of by using both of his characteristics well. His toughness should be shown toward North Korea. Mattis should reconfirm the ROK-U.S. alliance to be as intact as before the inauguration of his boss, President Donald Trump, and will be strengthened to deter the North from invading, and defeating it if it attacks. This show of unity between the two allies will be pivotal in keeping the North's nuclear and missile challenges at bay. This also would help the U.S. tailor its strategy of countering China's risky hegemonic endeavors. The North has vowed to test another intercontinental ballistic missile with reports that preparations are in the final stages. The U.S. should closely consult South Korea and Japan, and if the projectile overflies the latter, respond in a way that undercuts the North and leaves it with little room to pit the two allies against each other. Mattis would be right to ask Seoul to hasten the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptor or THAAD, which is being held up amid the leadership vacuum created by the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Acting leader Hwang Kyo-ahn is widely seen to lack the political authority to push it ahead in the face of popular opposition and pressure from Beijing, which wrongly claims that THAAD's powerful radar system will spy not just on the North but on China's interior military facilities. Perhaps the bigger job for Secretary Mattis is about mending ties. Trump ruffled a lot of feathers here, calling Korea a "freeloader" for passing its own defense bill onto the U.S. and encouraging a small and dangerous group of nuclear armament supporters. This is interpreted as his willingness to withdraw the vaguely defined "extended deterrence," a supposed successor to the "nuclear umbrella," the Cold War U.S. guarantee of protection. Seoul may increase its share in the cost of maintaining U.S. forces because its ally Washington feels its burden is too heavy, not because it is a free rider as Trump claimed. Mattis should use his sense of fairness. If he threatens Seoul merely as a messenger of his boss and forces it to pay more, he would do so at the risk of poisoning the 70-year military alliance and turning U.S. soldiers, sailors and marines into mercenaries. That would be an affront to the long proud U.S. military tradition that he is a part of. The International Monetary Fund's warnings that Korea may be following in the footsteps of Japan, which suffered "the lost decades," have been repeated and therefore are not new. But it is worth noting that the global funding agency has raised the possibility that the two economies may be showing similar movements with a lag of about 20 years by comparing various data from each. In its recent working paper, the IMF said Korea's demographic trends are seemingly tracking Japan's, reflecting large gains in longevity, low birthrates and limited immigration. "After peaking at 63 percent in 1995, Japan's working-age population ratio declined to about 56 percent in 2015, while Korea's working-age population is projected to peak at 66.5 percent in 2017, and then fall quickly to 56 percent in less than 20 years," the report said. According to the paper, Japan's potential growth plunged from an average 4 percent in the late 1980s to less than 1 percent in the 2000s. In Korea, its potential growth dropped quite dramatically as well from a record high of 8 percent in 1991 to 2.9 percent in 2015. The IMF also took note of strong similarities in the labor markets between the neighbors, which "has created a two-tiered workforce and contributed to inequality." The report said both Korea and Japan grapple with balance sheet weaknesses. But given its strong fiscal balance, "Korea can afford using fiscal policy actively to incentivize corporate restructuring and structural reforms," it said. As useful policy lessons from Japan's experience, the IMF urged Korea to progress with the restructuring of nonviable companies and address low productivity in the services sector and labor market duality with structural reforms. All these measures have already been suggested, meaning that Korea will not follow in Japan's footsteps only if they are carried out faithfully. The problem is that we know the answer but are failing to heed the IMF's warnings fully. In fact, it's not easy to expect speedy corporate restructuring this year, given the upcoming presidential election. Rather, there are fears that the warnings might be translated into reality amid an outpouring of populist pledges from presidential candidates. Whoever becomes president, he or she should accept these policy suggestions humbly and endeavor to revive the vitality of Korea Inc. Phone conversation reassures strong bilateral alliance Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn and U.S. President Donald Trump talked on the phone for the first time Sunday and reaffirmed the importance of the alliance between the two countries. In a statement, the White House said that President Trump reiterated an "ironclad commitment" to defend South Korea. They also agreed to take steps to strengthen joint defense capabilities to defend against the North Korean threat. Trump ended the conversation by wishing Koreans a prosperous Lunar New Year. The phone call came at a time of high anxiety among Koreans about the future of Korea-U.S. relations with the Trump White House. Such concerns are not unfounded, given his negative views about his country's security commitments overseas and his former remarks about Korea paying "peanuts" for U.S. troops stationed here while he was campaigning. He has also criticized the Korea-U.S. FTA as a "job-killing deal." Although the phone conversation was reassuring on the close Korea-U.S. alliance, there are lingering concerns here regarding how the two countries will work through complex bilateral issues in the coming months. The Trump-Hwang phone talks seemed cursory and lacked urgency or content in comparison to the phone conversation between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Trump-Abe call was held earlier and the two leaders concluded the conversation by setting a date for a bilateral summit, with Abe accepting an invitation from Washington. Abe, who was the first head of state to meet Trump after his stunning election victory, will be meeting the new U.S. President on Feb. 10 The two leaders are expected to consult on ways to cooperate on the North Korean threat, according to a statement by the Japanese foreign ministry. Since President Park Geun-hye is undergoing impeachment procedures, she is unable to carry out her proper diplomatic function. It is very unfortunate that political circumstances have hampered Korea's diplomatic capacity amid huge changes in the U.S. administration. A major diplomatic event such as a bilateral summit is likely to be held off until the domestic situation is settled. Hwang reportedly invited Trump to visit Korea, but the White House did not mention the invitation in its statement about the phone talks. In contrast, the White House posted in a Twitter message that POTUS had invited Abe to Washington and announced the date of their upcoming meeting. Despite domestic political circumstances and the limitations of an acting president, Korea-U.S. relations should move forward based on mutual trust and an all-weather friendship. The leaders of the two countries should meet soon to get to know each other better. Washington should also swiftly name a successor to former U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert. Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president on Jan. 20 with an inaugural address giving a poignant "America-first" message. Korea's foreign ministry should prepare meticulous strategies to deal with a Trump's America, one that will pursue its own interests at the risk of possibly hurting others. President Park Geun-hye's shadowy confidant Choi Soon-sil's involvement in the appointment of cultural figures has been revealed through investigations by the state prosecution and more recently by an independent counsel team. But it is surprising indeed that the team has confirmed that Choi wire-pulled in the appointment of an ambassador who represents the country abroad. According to the independent counsel team, Ambassador to Myanmar Yoo Jae-kyung admitted Tuesday that he had met with Choi several times and she had recommended him to President Park. Yoo returned home early Tuesday morning and immediately turned himself in for questioning. A former executive of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Yoo reportedly even had an interview with Choi, the woman at the center of the political scandal involving impeached President Park, before being appointed as the top envoy to Myanmar last May. Choi is suspected of gaining illicit profits from a Seoul-sponsored aid program in the Southeast Asian country. The Myanmar K-Town project envisioned building a 76 billion won ($65 million) convention center that would host Korean businesses related to the Korean wave, or hallyu. Choi is suspected of trying to get stakes in the Korean businesses under borrowed names to eventually earn illicit gains. On Wednesday, investigators went to the detention center near Seoul to compel Choi to undergo questioning over her interference in the Myanmar aid project. The project fell through ultimately, but the fact that she affected Park's appointment of top diplomats makes one feel acutely her power behind the nation's female head of state. All of this raises the possibility that Park's recent explanations could be untrue. During her interview with an internet podcast channel last week, the President said Choi got involved in personnel matters only in the culture ministry. But given the latest revelations, one cannot help calling into question Park's statements. As things stand now, no one can rule out the possibility that Choi may have been involved in more diplomatic appointments. In fact, there are already suspicions that Choi may have been implicated in Park's appointment of Seoul's top envoy to Vietnam. The independent counsel team should get to the bottom of the presidential corruption scandal to hold President Park and Choi accountable for their wrongdoings. Korean Firms should react to injustice at top There is a gulf of difference between Korean firms and U.S. firms in responding to an act of injustice committed by their presidents. Reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-Muslim executive order, top American companies openly rebelled. Google created a fund for refugees with its cofounder Sergey Brin participating in an anti-Trump rally. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg issued a condemnation statement; Apple CEO Tim Cook stressed that the U.S. is a country of immigrants and without them it couldn't be what it is; and Starbucks' outgoing CEO Howard Shultz vowed to provide 10,000 jobs for refugees around the world. In Korea, chaebol leaders have succumbed to the beck and call of power President Park Geun-hye and her partner Choi Soon-sil and did whatever they demanded with few questions asked. Samsung, SK, LG, Hyundai, Lotte and the like paid billions of won to fund foundations under Choi's control after a meeting with President Park, the ultimate solicitor of bribes. Samsung's de facto leader Lee Jae-yong has been accused of bribing Park in return for her help in moving the state pension to use its stakes in the company's affiliates to approve an inter-subsidiary merger, solidifying his management control. Samsung claims it had no other choice but to heed Park's demand and it is unfair to try and punish Lee for that. It's hard to dismiss Samsung's claim. Park had pressured CJ Group to "exile" its Vice Chairman Lee Mi-kyung for bankrolling movies that were critical of her government. The Park-Choi combo proved extremely efficient in their extortion racket, offering help to firms in trouble Lotte ahead of a probe in the middle of a nasty sibling power struggle, and SK over a pardon for its owner. This food-chain relationship with power as the apex predator and chaebol as the prey has a long history dating back to the era of "dictatorship development" in the 1960s and 1970s when the current president's father, Park Chung-hee, poured scarce resources into a few select businesses in the name of industrialization. In this sense, the chaebol plea for innocence has a point but still only a tenuous one. They have become incomparably big enough to compete squarely with the world's best in some areas with Korea having been catapulted from being the world's poorest country into the ranks of most industrialized nations. This changed environment weakens the validity of their argument for victimhood. Chaebol should live up to the zeitgeist of our time with great power comes great responsibility. That should start with the realization that they are not just money-making machines and are required to play their roles as responsible corporate citizens by standing up against injustice together with the rest of society. It is a matter of course that they should put their acts together first. By Bernard Rowan An early memory of visiting Korea is images of turtles I saw in various places such as palaces and temples. I think the Korean symbol of turtles shows us wisdom about life. Let's consider anew the meaning of Korean turtles. Koreans respect turtles as symbols of long life, good life, and knowledge of the future. Many Buddhist temples have stele or tablet turtle monuments that commemorate a monk's life. When considering Buddhism and the work of Buddhist monks and temples, it's wonderful to reflect on turtle images and to read the stele. The turtle stands as a prayer, wish, and hope that life's meaning will endure. I also think it means that life finds expression in what a monk gives to others. Life begets life in its wonder and variety. In the distant past, turtle shells had the use of fortune-telling. The shells provided a way to see the future. I'm not so sure how reliable they've proved. However, I like the image of the turtle's shell standing for heaven and the square below the turtle the earth. Turtles hold up the universe in this Taoist way of thinking. A popular example is the baby turtle sitting on its parent's back. Long life also includes the life cycle and giving life to the next age. Korean turtles show these important meanings about life. I read that Korean monks release fish and turtles into their native habitats as a sign of giving life and respecting it. Chinese and Japanese cultures also revere turtles and consider them in similar ways. A turtle shows the relations between heaven, earth, humanity and nature. It tells us that we are microcosms of the infinite. We mightn't be infinite ourselves, but we share in it and can carry such understanding into living as a way of survival, of coping, and of finding happiness and contentment. A Japanese mythology and folklore website tells the story of a man, Urashima Taro, who protected a sea turtle from abuse. The grateful turtle takes the man to see the king of the sea who allows him to marry his daughter, the princess. The man then returns to his hometown and finds he has traveled into the future. This story says respect for turtles brings life and understanding beyond one's years. In another sense, turtles call us to understand the sea, freshwater, and all nature, on which human life depends. Life, the great chain of being, reveals interconnectedness everywhere, but many struggle to admit this truth. Humans shouldn't wish to distinguish themselves too strongly from other parts of nature. The turtle stands as a reminder of universal interdependence. Thoughts, words, and deeds that disrupt the balance of heaven and earth threaten life, good living, humanity, and nature. In Western culture, Aesop's story of the turtle and the rabbit stands for patience. The turtle moves slowly in a race, but it defeats the rabbit. The rabbit has speed but lacks understanding and constancy. Its rapid, changing movement makes it slower than the slow. The story's meanings include avoiding hubris and cultivating prudence. On a different level, it shows a path of wisdom related to love, faith, and reaching a goal in life. I also have seen displays about Korea's famous naval general, Yi Sun-shin, and the "turtle ships." Yi achieved great victories over the Japanese in the Imjin Wars, but his success owes more to superior design of cannons and the speed of his vessels. The Choson Korea website suggests the ships weren't like turtles, unless one compares their size or design to a turtle's back. However, their military design achieved turtle thinking through balancing force and speed efficiently. These days, Korea faces many challenges, perhaps unlike any other time. Nonetheless, Korean turtles remind us that impeached presidents, corrupt business and political leaders, THAAD, Hell Korea, and Kim Jong-un are temporary. None last forever. What stands forever is turtle thinking, seeking balance and harmony for real life and good living. Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at HanyangUniversity. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com By Richard McLean Richard McLean One of the big topics that was discussed in financial technology (fintech) circles at length in 2016 and will continue to be discussed at even greater length as we enter 2017 is artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning is emerging as the field within AI that is seeing the most amount of real-world applications and use cases among financial institutions, especially in the area of fraud. Take, for example, a historic event that unfolded in March 2016 that demonstrated the power of machine learning: the victory of program AlphaGo of Google DeepMind over professional gamer Lee Se-dol. This exciting technological breakthrough demonstrates how far AI has come, even in just the past year, and how it is now able to catch humans out. It's true, though, that the idea of computers learning autonomously has been around for decades. So what has changed as we enter 2017? Why has machine learning gained so much ground in recent years and why does it continue to surprise us? As we all know, technology predictions over multiple decades are hard to make. According to 1970s forecasts, mankind should have settled the moon and mars by now. But those who extrapolated from the first moon landings could not foresee inflection points like personal computing, the internet, smartphones and the sharing economy. Current machine learning technology holds great potential to improve the way humans and machines work together. Machine learning can increasingly free us from many narrowly defined, repetitive, transactional tasks in a steady state. This enables us to focus on higher-value, complex tasks in dynamic environments. While we used to have to monitor for fraud manually, now machines do almost all of the work. In recent years, machine learning has gained ground. The technology now exists to deliver enterprise software systems for the financial services sector that can learn how to fully automate business processes at unprecedented levels, react to real-time changes and provide the best possible results for today's digital business. The market for AI systems for enterprise applications is expected to increase from just $202.5 million in 2015 to $11.1 billion by 2024. Soon, machine learning will be an integral part of enterprise solutions, making machines our digital co-workers. However, even today's most advanced machine learning algorithms learn in a very different way than humans learn. Without additional inflection points, extrapolating current machine learning technology to human-equivalent general intelligence would be a stretch. As we enter 2017, this will continue to be a challenge for the top computer scientists. Incorporating AI into banks' enterprise software, for example, opens the opportunity to simplify employee's everyday lives and allows them to focus on higher value tasks. This is necessary to move industry into the next stages of growth and innovation at a global level. From my own perspective, the highest potential lies in back-office functions and customer service, especially in shared service centers use cases beyond just fraud mitigation. As a priority and first step in 2017, businesses and the AI community should focus on automation of repetitive tasks in transactional knowledge work. Subsequently we should tackle use cases that have not been possible before, particularly based on speech, image or video recognition. The question for banks and other financial services institution shouldn't be whether to "AI or not," but rather how to ensure that the world's leading fintech companies come together as a community to take on the heavy lifting today for the benefit of the generations of tomorrow. While it is unlikely that machines will exhibit broadly-applicable intelligence comparable to or exceeding that of humans in the next 20 years, rapid progress in the field of specialized AI will continue. It's a fantastic time to be betting on the field and its fruit. The writer is regional chief financial officer at SAP Asia Pacific Japan By Kang Seung-woo The U.S. government has imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on imports of dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) from Korea. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Friday, a preliminarily investigation found that dumping was committed by mandatory respondents LG Chem and Aekyung Petrochemical, and tariffs of 5.75 percent and 3.96 percent were imposed on them, respectively. The commerce department also said it had levied a preliminary tariff margin of 4.47 percent on several other unidentified Korean producers and exporters of DOTP. The chemical product is primarily used as a plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In 2015, Korean companies exported 25,800 metric tons of DOTP to the United States, worth $31.2 million (36.7 billion won). Although it was the first anti-dumping decision on Korean exports under the new Donald Trump administration, it has nothing to do with the protectionist stance on trade of the new U.S. president, who took office on Jan. 20. The U.S. government launched the anti-dumping investigation into DOTP imports from Korea in July 2016 following a petition from American DOTP producer Eastman Chemical Company the previous month. At the time, alleged dumping margins were estimated between 23.7 percent and 47.86 percent. Along with the commerce department, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) also determined, Aug. 12, 2016, that there was a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry was materially injured "by reason of imports of DOTP" from Korea that were allegedly sold in the United States at "less than fair value." If the commerce department makes an affirmative final determination, and the ITC makes an affirmative final determination, the former will issue an anti-dumping order. However, if either of their final decisions is negative, no orders will be issued. The commerce department is scheduled to announce its final determination on June 12 this year, followed by the ITC on July 25. "Although there will be little impact on us due to our small export volume, we plan to actively respond until the final determination is made," said an official at LG Chem, which usually exports 4,000 to 6,000 tons of DOTP to the U.S. 120,000 still using jumbo smartphones By Kang Seung-woo Galaxy Note 7 Samsung Electronics is going all-out to make Galaxy Note 7 users give up the discontinued smartphone as some 120,000 users, including 40,000 in Korea, are still in possession of the devices prone to catching fire. However, it remains to be seen if its efforts will pay off as there are few handsets on the market to lure the holdouts away from the exploding jumbo phone along with its much-touted features. Although Samsung adopted a series of measures like capping the maximum battery life to encourage its users to return them, some learned how to avoid the software update. Pundits even claim users can get the battery back to 100 percent capacity even after the software update. The world's largest smartphone maker started selling the Note 7 here on Aug. 19, but halted sales and conducted two rounds of global recalls following reports of some of the devices catching fire while charging. It finally killed off the Note 7 altogether in early October. On Jan. 23, Samsung blamed the poorly designed and manufactured batteries for the overheating problem. "It has to do with consumer safety, so we are making full-fledged efforts to retrieve as many Note 7s as possible," an official of Samsung Electronics said. The firm has once again extended the deadline for refunds and exchanges to the end of this month. "During the period, those who will turn in the Note 7s do not have to pay any cancellation fees," the official added. According to Samsung, the Note 7 return rates for global and domestic users both reached 96 percent as of Jan. 23, which translates into 120,000 and 40,000, respectively. In order to boost the return rate to 100 percent, the company issued a software upgrade last month to cap battery charging to 15 percent for Note 7 users. The measure also began in Europe on Tuesday. However, Samsung said it has no further plans yet to make the Korean Note 7 lovers return their phones. Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., unveiled its plan last month, to divert all calls made from Note 7s to its customer service team, according to Forbes. Despite the company's efforts, Note 7 users remain resistant, bypassing software updates. Rather, they are set to hang on to their ill-fated handsets until Samsung launches its next-generation flagship Galaxy S8 that is expected to debut in late March or early April. Members of an internet cafe of Note 7 users demand that Samsung allow them to use their smartphones freely until the S8 release. "As faulty batteries are the root cause of the Note 7 disaster, we hope Samsung will replace them with safe batteries so we can continue using them," a Note 7 user said. A cellphone vendor said a lack of competitive replacements also prevents them from turning in their Note 7s. "Many consumers have used them because they believe other devices are not as attractive as the Note 7, so they are likely to wait for Samsung to launch the Galaxy S8," the seller said. By Park Jae-hyuk U.S. President Donald Trump's recent declaration of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) seems to be dealing a severe blow to Korean firms that established factories and refineries in Mexico to benefit from the country's low customs duties with the U.S. Industry officials said Wednesday that Kia Motors, GS Caltex and other Korean firms which have manufacturing plants in the Latin American country are mulling over countermeasures against all possible results. "We've heard that the renegotiation of NAFTA has yet to get underway," an official of Kia said. "So we will wait and see the result of the renegotiation." Since last May, the nation's second largest automaker has been operating a car manufacturing plant in Mexico, where about 1 trillion won ($858 million) has been invested. The plant annually produces 200,000 vehicles. About 70 percent of its production is built to export to the U.S. and Canada. By Kim Tae-gyu Hyundai Motor's new office in southern Seoul will become the country's tallest structure as the automaker is set to raise its height to 569 meters, up by 16 meters from the original plan. The change was reflected in the company's report to the Seoul Metropolitan City for a review of the skyscraper's effects on the environment, disclosed Wednesday. To be dethroned is the 123-story Lotte World Tower in southeastern Seoul, whose height is 555 meters. "To raise the speed of elevators, we need some extra space and that's why the 105-story building's height has been extended to 569 meters," a Hyundai Motor official said. After getting the necessary approvals, Hyundai Motor's affiliates including Hyundai Engineering and Construction will start construction of the landmark building late this year at the earliest. It will cost 2.56 trillion won. When the construction is completed in the early 2020s, Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors will move into the building along with other subsidiaries. In the meantime, Hyundai Motor said Wednesday that it managed a 1.3-percent increase in global sales in January from a year ago while its performance at home slackened. Hyundai sold 342,607 cars in the month, including 297,507 overseas and 45,100 domestically. The figures represent a 3.1-percent hike overseas but a 9.5 percent slide at home. Of the cars sold abroad, 56,200 were manufactured in the country and 241,307 at plants abroad. By Lee Hyo-sik Park Sam-koo, Kumho Asiana Group chairman Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo is attracting keen attention from investors and business circles about whether he will exercise his right to buy back a 42.1 percent stake in the group's tire unit, according to industry analysts Thursday. To take back control of Kumho Tire, Park must pay more than what Double Star Tyres said it would pay. The Chinese tire maker reportedly offered to pay between 950 billion won ($819 million) and 1 trillion won for a controlling stake. Given the firm's market capitalization of 1.33 trillion won, the 42.1 percent stake is valued at about 560 billion won. But including management premiums, creditors had expected the stake sale could reach as high as 1 trillion won. But the chairman appears to be short of cash as he already spent tens of billions of won in personal wealth to buy back control of Kumho Industrial and to increase his shares in other group units. Park won't be able to acquire the stake through a third party because the creditors decided not to permit Park to transfer a prior stock purchase right to a third party. He cannot mobilize Asiana Airlines or other group units either to reacquire the tire unit, meaning that he has to use his personal funds to take back Kumho Tire. On Jan. 17, the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other creditors selected Double Star Tyres as a preferred negotiator, which outbid two other Chinese contenders; Shanghai Aerospace Industry Corp. (SAIC) and Jiangsu GPRO Group. The creditors plan to sign a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with Double Star Tyres in late February, and inform the Kumho chairman of the sales price and other conditions. Park will then have to let the creditors know whether he will pay a higher price or give up his right within 30 days. The banks acquired the stake in a debt-to-equity swap in 2010 when the company suffered a severe liquidity shortage. At the time, they signed an agreement that they would first negotiate with the Kumho chief when unloading their Kumho Tire stake. He has consistently been saying that he will take all possible measures to buy back the 42.1 percent stake in Kumho Tire. But he has declined to elaborate on how he would raise funds. "Our stance has always been that Chairman Park will take concrete action to take back the tire unit when the creditors sell their stake," a Kumho Asiana Group official said. "The chairman will make thorough preparations. But nothing has been decided yet as to how he would reacquire the stake." An industry analyst, who declined to be named, said Park will likely set up a wholly-owned special purpose company (SPC) to attract funds from banks and other financial investors, as well as from his business associates. "I think establishing the SPC is the most viable plan for the chairman to buy the Kumho Tire stake because it does not breach the rules set by the creditors," the analyst said. "The question is whether he will be able to attract investments amounting to 1 trillion won within three months after expressing his intent to buy back the stake. My guess is that Park has already begun contacting multiple institutional and individual investors to raise funds." Double Star also seems to be determined to acquire Korea's second-largest tire maker. "We are the perfect partner and investor that Kumho Tire has been looking for," Double Star said in a press release on Jan. 20. "If our production capabilities are combined with Kumho's technological prowess, together we will become China's largest tire maker and one of the world's leading producers." Double Star, which ranks 30th in worldwide tire production with two plants in Qingdao and Xian, could rise to 10th place after acquiring Kumho, which runs four plants in Nanjing and Tianjin in China. Besides China, Kumho Tire operates three plants in Korea, and one each in Vietnam and the United States. In 2015, the company earned 3.04 trillion won in sales, while posting a 39.1 billion won operating profit. By Park Jae-hyuk Banana Milk Jelly, which has been embroiled in a lawsuit since last December over alleged trademark infringement of Binggrae's signature Banana Flavored Milk beverage, will not be manufactured or sold from now on, in line with a court's recent decision. According to Binggrae, Wednesday, the Seoul Central District Court decided to prohibit Dai Food from manufacturing the jelly snack, and Korea GTC and Jun International from distributing the product. "Binggrae Banana Flavored Milk has featured its own unique pot-shaped bottle design since 1974 and the beverage has occupied the largest sales volume among Binggrae's products," the judgment reads. "Banana Milk Jelly's wrapper and jellies are enough to be seen as imitations of Banana Flavored Milk, which may have damaged Binggrae's credibility." Feng shui master Priscilla Lam And the news is no better for Hong Kong investors, says Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple's Priscilla Lam, with dark clouds looming over the same month By Julia Hollingsworth The feng shui master who correctly foresaw Donald Trump winning the US presidency believes his run of good luck will continue in the Year of the Rooster but only until September, when she says his "nightmare" will start. The feng shui master who correctly foresaw Donald Trump winning the US presidency believes his run of good luck will continue in the Year of the Rooster but only until September, when she says his "nightmare" will start. Hong Kong is expected to meet a similar fate, with good fortune in the first half of the year before the economy takes a turn for the worse, she said. Priscilla Lam, who counts actor Jackie Chan among her former clients, said President Trump would face difficulties in September, as protestors aired their grievances and the country became divided. "In the first half of the year America will be OK, no problem. But in the second half, the nightmare will start," Lam said from her office at Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple in New Kowloon, where she has been telling fortunes for 20 years. "Trump has made so many people upset or irritated, so when his luck runs out in the second half of the year, problems or challenges will go with it. "In business he's definitely a successful person, but in politics it's another thing." Despite polls last year leaning towards a Hillary Clinton victory, Lam tipped Trump to win in February 2016, telling CNN, that "his fire is stronger than Hillary's". Lam forms her predictions by first studying the person in question, and combining that information with astrology and feng shui techniques. Trump was born in the Year of the Dog, and is an earth sign, meaning he can rapidly change his mind or break his word depending on the environment, Lam told South China Morning Post. U.S. President Donald Trump / AFP-Yonhap "He's says he's a protectionist," she said. "Maybe he will not keep his word." This means he could soften his stance on China in the second half of the year, but press ahead with his proposed border wall with Mexico, Lam said. Lam expected Trump to remain president for a four-year term, but wasn't expecting him try for a re-election. "He's still a lucky person," Lam said, adding that it would be a "bit difficult" for him to be re-elected as his luck was not so good from 2021. As for Trump's relationship with wife Melania? "No time to talk about love. When the honeymoon time has passed, he faces a lot of things," she said. "Maybe there will be no time to go home." And any health issues? "Maybe just bone problems." Unfortunately for Hong Kong, the city's fate looks set to be largely the same as the new president's, said Lam. "In 2017, only the first half is looking good. In the second half, the stock market does not look good, the housing market [in Hong Kong], also, not so good." "If you are an investor, better take your money out in September," she added. "The stock market will drop, so it'll be difficult to make big money." As for Hong Kong's chief executive race in March, Lam said she couldn't comment as she didn't know enough background information. But after some bad times in 2017, the Year of the Dog in 2018 is set to be a lot better, she said. Lam said she had told fortunes to 20 clients on Saturday, but they had stayed away from politics, mainly asking about family and money issues. Wong Tai Sin Temple launched automatic fortune-telling booths to cope with the crowds this year, but the new machines had to be taken away on Saturday as there were too many visitors, a temple spokeswoman said. The automatic booths which scan Kau Chim fortune telling sticks will be available sporadically until mid-February. East Asian brains are generally bigger than European or African ones. Chinese scientists discover natural selection played a role By Stephen Chen Natural selection in East Asian populations has favoured genetic mutations leading to bigger brains, according to a new study by Chinese researchers that did not find a similar preference in Europe or Africa. Natural selection in East Asian populations has favoured genetic mutations leading to bigger brains, according to a new study by Chinese researchers that did not find a similar preference in Europe or Africa. The study has shed new light on a controversial issue that has puzzled scientists for decades: why is the average Asian brain bigger than the average European or African one? The world's largest survey of brain sizes, conducted by American scientists three decades ago using more than 20,000 modern human skulls from around the globe, found that the average cranial volume among East Asians was 1,415 cubic centimetres, compared with 1,362 for Europeans and 1,268 for Africans. Subsequent studies have confirmed those results. Among them was a magnetic resonance imaging survey last year which found that East Asians had a higher cranial vault, which allowed their skulls to house a bigger brain. Researchers proposed a range of hypotheses to explain the differences, with some suggesting that living in a cold climate could lead to a boost in brain size because in such conditions a bigger brain would be better at maintaining a constant temperature at its core, where most thinking took place. But the climate theory could not fully explain differences in the brain sizes of people living in the same latitudes, such as Chinese and Europeans. The Chinese researchers said a gene called CASC5 one of eight regulating human brain size might provide more clues. Unlike most of the other genes, which also regulated the brain sizes of monkeys or early human species such as Denisovans and Neanderthals, genetic mutations of CASC5 in Homo sapiens are relatively young, only occurring after our species left Africa between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago. The researchers, led by Professor Su Bing, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Kunming Institute of Zoology, compared CASC5 mutations in different populations for the first time. They found a "high frequency" of four mutations closely related to increased brain size among East Asian populations including Chinese, Japanese and Mongolians. But such mutations rarely occurred in Europe or Africa. "At the population level, our results suggest a selection of CASC5 in East Asian populations, which seems to favour a larger grey matter volume of the brain," the researchers said in a paper published in the journal Human Genetics late last month. "By contrast, no signal of selection was detected in Europeans and Africans." "Precisely why this occurred is not entirely clear," they added. Besides climate, other forces that might drive such selection included social structure and cultural preference, Su told the South China Morning Post this week, while adding that such theories were pure speculation at this stage. "Precise answers require further studies," he said. Su said the study in no way suggested that Asians were smarter than other humans. "Scientific research has found no evidence, none at all, to support the existence of intellectual difference among races," he said. However, scientists generally agreed that humans had made significant sacrifices in return for increased brain size, Su said. The brain consumed lots of energy, and a bigger brain made birth more difficult and drained resources from the rest of the body, resulting in many issues such as decreased physical strength. Europeans were generally bigger and stronger than Asians, Su said, but whether the physical difference was associated with brain size required further investigation. "The Darwinian selection may still be going on today, but I think the brain size difference among races will eventually disappear due to the widespread genetic exchange occurring around the world today," he said. An anthropologist based in Beijing said the study tackled an important but sensitive issue in human evolution. "The findings may fuel racist debate," said the anthropologist, who requested anonymity. Data in the study also showed a high frequency of genetic mutations occurring in South Asian populations, who lived in a warmer climate, and the anthropologist said it would be interesting to investigate whether Darwinian positive selection favouring bigger brains had also occurred there. If so, it might suggest that brains grew bigger as humans spread further from Africa. The advert in Time Square in New York wishing U.S. President Donald Trump and Americans a happy Lunar New Year. A hundred firms sponsor advert offering holiday greetings to America and its president By Nectar Gan While Donald Trump is drawing waves of criticism only a week into his U.S. presidency, a group of Chinese companies have gone against the tide and seized the opportunity of the Lunar New Year to express their goodwill to the leader, who has vowed to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports. A large billboard sponsored by 100 Chinese companies is up and shining in New York's Times Square, wishing Trump and the American people a "happy Chinese new year". The advertising campaign was launched by a Chinese media platform named "huashangtaolue", which focuses on the Chinese business community and has cooperations with various media outlets affiliated with the government. A similar holiday advert was carried last year. The world-famous commercial intersection is a stone's throw from Trump Tower on the prestigious Fifth Avenue, where Trump's wife and youngest son remain after Trump moved to the White House following his inauguration. Companies that sponsored this year's greeting include state-controlled real estate giant Greenland Group, which acquired a 70 per cent stake in a US$5 billion project to develop residential property in Brooklyn. Other sponsors include Mengniu Dairy, home appliance manufacturer Galanz and air conditioner maker AUX. Times Square in New York is home to some of the most expensive outdoor advertising in the world, with premium digital spots costing up to US$4 million a year. Trump, a real estate mogul-turned-politician, has long sought to bring his brand to China. He also has Chinese business ties in the US, with state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China the biggest tenant of Trump Tower. But he has lashed out at China for being a currency manipulator and vowed during his election campaign to levy a flat 45 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports. Many observers, as well as some Chinese business leaders, have warned that trade friction between the US and China is inevitable. There are also concerns that a trade war between the world's two large economies might be looming on the horizon. In recent years, many Chinese companies have sought to increase their global presence by leasing the big electronic billboards in Times Square, one of the most popular attractions in the world, drawing nearly 40 million visitors a year. Xinhua leased a billboard there in 2011 and various Chinese businesses have followed suit, including online shopping sites and internet companies. Apart from businesses, state propaganda has also sought a presence. Last summer, the square saw a three-minute video asserting China's claim to the South China Sea that played 120 times a day for 12 straight days, after an international tribunal ruled against Beijing in a case brought by the Philippines. Hiking conditions can be tough in the Ngong Ping area. Accident happened as weather deteriorated over the city By Danny Lee A man has died after falling down a cliff while hiking on Lantau, police said. A search and rescue operation was launched by the police and the Government Flying Service at noon on Monday after it received a report that a man had fallen down a cliff along a rough trailin the Ngong Ping area. Rescue teamsand police eventually found the 59-year-old hiker, surnamed Chan,who was unconscious and had sustained multiple injuries. A helicopter sent to airlift the man to hospital encountered challenging weather conditions. Around a dozen rescue workers walked along the trail with a stretcher to help the man but he was later certified dead at the scene. Conditions around Hong Kong deteriorated at lunchtime, but it is unclear if the rain or other weather conditions were a factor in the hiker's fall. Police confirmed they received a "request for assistance" around noon time. They added: "A man reported to police that he saw another man fall down from a remote location called Fung Yu Pik. Later on a man was found unconscious and subsequently certified dead." Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and that the hiker had fallen from a height of 60 metres. Experienced hiker Steve Pheby, who runs the amateur group, Hong Kong Hikers, said some of the trails on Lantau which were off the main hiking routes were "treacherous". Pheby said he cancelled a hike planned for Kowloon Peak on Monday due to heavy rain, saying hiking on rock surfaces was extremely slippery and tricky. "For anyone going out hiking, you have to consider the time of year. If you are planning anything treacherous and it's been raining you should think again. "Be aware of your surroundings and have the right equipment. Just having a normal pair of running shoes is not good enough. They don't have the grip and are not made for that terrain. "If you are hiking on your own it is not recommended going off the main trail ... Let people know where you're going," Pheby added. With hiking becoming more popular, the number of mountain search and rescue cases has more than doubled, rising from 138 in 2005 to 340 in 2015, according to figures from the Fire Services Department, which conducts search and rescue missions on hiking trails. Calls to the Civil Aid Service, which also carries out rescues, have doubled to 133 over the same 10-year period. Zhang is dragged away by one of the tigers in the compound. Four visitors who tried sneaking into the same zoo in 2006 were nearly killed by lions By Kinling Lo A man who was mauled to death by a tiger at a zoo in eastern China on Sunday was found to have climbed two three-metre walls to avoid paying the entrance fee, according to the official announcement by the zoo. A video taken on Sunday showing a tiger dragging the man covered in blood around in its compound at the Ningbo Youngor Zoo in Zhejiang province went viral on the internet. One tiger was shot and killed while zoo staff tried various methods to save the man, including setting off firecrackers to drive it and its companions away. The badly injured Zhang was rescued more than an hour later, but was later declared dead in hospital The zoo was evacuated as investigators tried to find out how the man entered the tiger enclosure that is separated from visitors by a moat and a stone wall. Late on Sunday, the Ningbo Oriental Fortune Lake Tourism District Management Group, which is in charge of the zoo, issued a statement on its Weibo account saying that the dead man, surnamed Zhang, and a friend, surnamed Li, had not bought entrance tickets. Zhang was declared dead soon after arriving at a nearby hospital. "Zhang and Li climbed over a three-metre wall from the northwest side of the zoo, ignoring warning signs along the wire fence, before scaling over another three-meter into the tiger enclosure. Zhang entered the pen. Li did not." According to the statement, the men brought their wives as well as Zhang's two children to the zoo. The children and the two wives paid the entrance fee. The adult entrance fee to the zoo costs up to 130 yuan (HK$147) while children pay 70 yuan. Four visitors who also tried sneaking into the same zoo in 2006 were nearly killed by lions. Zhang, 40, was from Hubei, his family said. He had worked in Ningbo since 2000 and earned several thousand yuan a month. His family described him as an "underprivileged employee". Many Weibo users, however, appeared unsympathetic towards the dead man. "The tiger is so innocent, it is not his fault. Why did they shoot it?" said a comment that was liked nearly 48,000 times by noon on Monday. "This man jumped to his own death, who can he blame? If he does not follow the rules set by men then of course the rule of nature will take over," said another comment. Kodo Nishimura is a monk and also a makeup artist. / Courtesy of Hankook Ilbo By Ko Dong-hwan Japanese monk Kodo Nishimura believes all people are equal. This typical message, however, carries more weight because Nishimura is a transvestite who works during daytime as a renowned makeup artist. The seemingly weird mixture of professions started from a pre-teen identity crisis, which was overcome by self-enlightenment and matured into discovering a destiny of helping others look good while reminding them not to deny their natural appearances. Nishimura, 27, says cosmetic artists and monks have something in common in that they "make others happy." "Each person carries a unique hue," he says. "My hands and heart make it shine brighter." Nishimura has been travelling Tokyo and New York putting colorful touches on celebrities. His coming-out in 2013 did not solve his deep questions of "why do people live" or "why should people do good things." This situation led him to train to be a monk, which he did two years later. He had pondered whether to give up either of the two worlds because being a cosmetic artist violates the rules of becoming a monastery member. But his makeup teacher encouraged him that "when you go outside and grab attention, you are spreading Buddhism's message that all living creatures are equal." Nishimura's Instagram page vividly portrays his life as a makeup artist. Outside the monastery, Nishimura lives an exotic life. His Outside the monastery, Nishimura lives an exotic life. His Instagram pages are filled with selfies of himself as a woman wearing different makeup styles and wigs; and photos of him with other models in glamorous outfits. Offline, he gives makeup lessons to other sexual minority celebrities in Japan. "Transgender people still have men's skin, which cannot be the same as that of biological women," he says. "Transgender people need makeup techniques that can enliven their unique skin tone. When their confidence grows, I become happy too." Realizing that his sexual orientation was unlike that of other boys when he was eight years old, he hid the fact throughout the teenage years and went to the U.S. to study fine arts after graduating from high school. But with a different skin color than that of Caucasians, his ethnicity-based psychological exploration continued, until Japanese model Mori Riyo won Miss Universe in 2007. Her typical Asian look, which did not have double eyelids or a sharp nose, became the champion's look with the help of makeup that accentuated such traits instead of hiding them. Riyo's make-up artist then taught him cosmetic techniques. Nishimura considers the world as a kaleidoscope, where everyone has unique beauty. "Whatever people say about your skin color, you go ahead and cultivate your own self,"he says. This is what he teaches. "I apologize for the death of your compatriot," said Rodrigo Duterte during his speech on Thursday. / Yonhap By Lee Han-soo Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has officially apologized over the assassination of a Korean businessman and vowed to capture the police officers responsible. Jee Ick-joo was murdered in the headquarters of the Philippines National Police in Quezon City after being abducted from his home last October. "I apologize for the death of your compatriot," Duterte said. "We are very sorry that it had to happen, but I can assure you, those responsible are known to us already and they will go to prison. I will see to it that they will be sentenced to the maximum. I am very sorry for that sordid incident ... Police XXXXX, I won't let you get away with it. You will suffer." Duterte said he was embarrassed by the killing. Only Ricky Santa Isabel, the alleged killer of Jee, is in custody. Duterte said other suspects have 48 hours to turn themselves in or face a dead or alive bounty of 5 million pesos ($100,000). In response to the assassination, police chief Ronald dela Rosa said he will disband the anti-drugs unit and rebuild it from scratch. Japan has started hiring foreign housekeepers for the first time to encourage Japanese housewives to work outside their homes. A scene from "The Housemaid" By Ko Dong-hwan Japan has begun hiring foreign housekeepers for the first time starting with Filipinos in a bid to boost Japanese housewives' re-entry to the workforce. Housekeeping service providers will start sending the foreigners to designated areas of Kanagawa Prefecture and the city of Osaka as early as March, according to The Japan Times. The workers must be 18 or over, need at least a year of housekeeping work experience and have basic Japanese language skills. After about 200 hours of training, the housekeepers will help with cooking, laundry, cleaning, shopping and child care (not nursing care, which they are not allowed to do). About 50 Filipinos are expected to arrive in Japan this month for training and be hired by housekeeping staffing firms and child-care centers, including Duskin, Pasona, Bears and Poppins. Bears reportedly wants to hire 10 to 15 people and Poppins 12. Major nursing care company Nichiigakkan has applied for 30 additional foreign workers for the summer. The workers are full-time while their Japanese counterparts are part-timers and can stay in Japan for up to three years. Tokyo also has started searching for foreign workers to provide a similar service. Japan's move comes after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision in 2015 to resolve a workforce shortage and change laws that prohibited foreign housekeepers working in Japanese households, except foreign diplomats' homes. By Park Si-soo Confusion, worry and outrage are growing worldwide after U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) endorsed a sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the United States and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. The immediate fallout from Trump's order meant that an untold number of foreign-born U.S. residents now traveling outside the U.S. could be stuck overseas for at least 90 days -- despite holding permanent residency ''green cards'' or other visas, according to the Associated Press. Some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed were being detained at U.S. airports, told they were no longer welcome, it reported. The seven Muslim countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump said the ban would protect Americans from terrorism. Included in the measure is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. "It's working out very nicely," Trump said of the implementation of his order. "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years." Trump's order singled out Syrians for the most aggressive ban, indefinitely blocking entry for anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war. International backlash The order drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers and officials around the globe. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said while Trump is right to focus on border security, the order is "too broad." "If we send a signal to the Middle East that the U.S. sees all Muslims as jihadis, the terrorist recruiters win by telling kids that America is banning Muslims and that this is America versus one religion," Sasse was quoted as saying in reports. "Our generational fight against jihadism requires wisdom." The ban sparked widespread criticism in even U.S. Western allies including France and Germany, Arab American groups, human rights organizations. "This is a stupid, terrible decision which will hurt the American people more than us or anybody else, because it shows that this President can't manage people, politics or global relationships," said Najeed Haidari, a Yemeni-American security manager for an oil company in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. In Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stop issuing new visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's ban, but that anyone already with a visa to Iran wouldn't be turned away. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to say that refugees were welcome in Canada, "regardless of your faith." According to AP, the U.S. government can exempt foreign nationals from the ban if their entry is deemed in the national interest. But it was not immediately clear how that exemption might be applied. Diplomats from the seven countries singled out by Trump's order would still be allowed into the U.S. Last year the U.S. resettled 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice, including more than 12,000 Syrians. Before leaving office President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would accept 110,000 refugees in the coming year, but Trump's order cut that by more than half to 50,000. The Korea Times has set many records in Korean journalism. It is the longest-serving English-language daily in the nation, publishing its first edition on Nov. 1, 1950, four months after the outbreak of the Korean War. In 2015, it became the nation's first English-language daily to publish its 20,000th edition. It is also the first independent English-language daily in Korea, a mass publication not affiliated with the government. It is the first English-language daily to represent the voices of global citizens, to adhere to industry standards and practices and to be completely impartial - to be neither conservative nor liberal. It is the first daily to introduce informed opinion pieces through its daily column, "Thoughts of the Times," in 1964. The column provides a platform for citizens in Korea and worldwide to contribute articles about a wide range of topics, as long as they are in line with the daily's ethical standards. It is the first daily to recognize and promote Korean literature throughout the world, introducing the Modern Literature Translation Awards in 1970. It is also the first English-language daily to recognize the importance of newspapers in English language education, by introducing the English Newspaper in Education (ENIE) guide for both teachers and students. The sixteen-page guide to current English-language news aims to help Koreans easily learn English. It is also the first English-language daily to promote multiculturalism, awarding outstanding students from multicultural families annually. Finally, it publishes 20 or so pages of news and editorials daily for readers nationwide and worldwide. The Korea Times never sleeps, providing news around the clock through its website, www.koreatimes.co.kr. Although it is the oldest English-language daily in Korea, it remains dynamic and up-to-date by encouraging reporters and editors to write fresh stories that appeal to a broad range of readers here and abroad. As in the past, The Korea Times will go through good times and bad with the readers, serving as a beacon of truth and a bridge between Korea and the world. As the newspaper's CEO and publisher, it is my duty to ensure that The Korea Times does not rest on its laurels despite its many achievements. There are no words to express how much I value the readers' feedback to our articles over the years. I believe your feedback helps us improve the newspaper, and I welcome any constructive criticisms and suggestions. Feel free to contact me at belee@koreatimes.co.kr. My door is always open. With warm regards, President & Publisher Lee Byeong-eon Customs nabbed Ibrahim Masood who had landed at Mangaluru from Dubai with four dated phones. Irans President Hassan Rouhani dismissed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump as a political novice on Wednesday, stepping up criticism of the Republicans immigration policies including a temporary travel ban on Iranians. Tehran has already said it will take legal, political and reciprocal measures in response to Trumps order suspending the entry of people from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. Rouhani turned the focus on Trump himself in a live address on state television, saying: He (Trump) is new to politics. He has been in a different world. Its a totally new environment to him. It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world, added Rouhani, who led a rapprochement with Washington under Trumps predecessor Barack Obama. Trumps has said his travel order, signed on Friday, is needed to protect national security. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The National Emergency Management Agency has said that about 85 Nigerians were to be deported by the United Kingdom today. The agency spokesperson said the deportees are expected to be in Nigeria at 5am today. NEMAs Ibrahim Farinloye speaking to reporters said the deportees were expected to be in the country at 5am and that the information was that the deportees from the United Kingdom were about 85 Nigerians. Some of them he said were Nigerians who havent completed their prison sentences in the UK. They would be taken to Nigerian prisons to complete their terms, he said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Feb. 8, 2017 marks the start of the 27th annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival (SDJFF), presented by the Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. This years 12-day festival, Feb. 8-19, features 60 films from 21 countries at five venues around the county, and is expected to attract thousands of viewers, Jews and non-Jews alike. One of the highlights is the Joyce Forum, a full day of short films on Monday, Feb. 13, at ArcLight Cinemas in Westfield UTC Mall. The forum, which includes four 90-minute programs of films, each 2-30 minutes long, was named for SDJFF founder Joyce Axelrod. Axelrods life began in Espanola, a small town outside Santa Fe, where her father owned a furniture store and she was known as the little Jew girl. My father came from Lithuania, he spoke Spanish better than English, and we were the only Jews in town, she said. His customers were Hispanics and Indians from the nearby reservations. When I was in third grade, we moved to Albuquerque, and later I went to college in Tucson, where I met my husband, Bob Axelrod, and started teaching school. Widowed young, Axelrod took a job teaching in Japan, on an American airbase. It was a fabulous experience, and when I came home, I was anxious to start a new job and a new life, she said. In 1970, I went to San Diego, loved it, and found a job teaching special education in El Cajon. The program she developed for teaching simple skills to her students was so successful that school administrators asked her to make a video to show their progress. They handed me a camcorder, assured me they wouldnt judge me on my cinematography, and I did a short piece that was good enough to use as a teaching tool. In 1972, she met Joe Fisch, a local attorney, and fell in love. They bought a house together, but didnt get married until 1991, in a surprise wedding. Among their other unconventional choices: every few years, theyd close up their house and live somewhere else for several months: Manhattan, Jerusalem, London, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Seattle. People look at me and think they know who I am, Axelrod said. Theyre always surprised to hear about all my adventures. On the more traditional side, she joined the boards of various organizations, including the JCCs Center for Jewish Culture, La Jolla Athenaeum, Playwrights Project and the local branch of the United Jewish Federation, who asked her to create a slide presentation for their 50th anniversary in 1987. Then Lynette Allen, Director of Cultural Arts at the JCC, invited her to help start a film festival there. At first, we set up 60 folding chairs in the gym and showed four films a year, Axelrod remembered. Then someone said: why dont you have a real festival, in a real theater? So in 1990, we rented Sherwood Auditorium (at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla), which holds 500 people, put up posters for the First Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival, and showed four films in 10 days, with capacity crowds every time. And what about shorts? Back in the day, festivals only used shorts as filler, she said. If a feature ran under 90 minutes, wed fill in with a couple of short subjects. Sometimes they were better than the feature films! In 2003, for her birthday, Axelrods husband made a donation in her name to the SDJFF, to do something special and so the Joyce Forum was born. We now have a 16-person committee that screens about 150 films from all over the world, she explained. This year, were showing 23 shorts from six different countries, and its really a forum we have a lunchtime panel discussion with some of the filmmakers, led by KBPS film critic Beth Accomando. From their modest beginnings, Axelrod and her shorts have come a long way. IF YOU GO: Joyce Forum: A Day of Short Films, starts at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 13 at ArcLight Cinemas, 4425 La Jolla Village Drive, Westfield UTC Mall. For tickets, call (858) 362-1348 or visit sdjff.org The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (LJS&C) will present the third concert of its 62nd season, a program of extremes from the singular focus of Beethovens Violin Concerto to the post-modern pastiche of Luciano Berios Sinfonia, Feb. 11-12 in Mandeville Auditorium on the UC San Diego campus. Music Director Steven Schick will conduct the orchestra and guest artists, violinist David Bowlin and vocal octet Kallisti, in a concert that begins with Gioachino Rossinis overture to the Barber of Seville. From its premiere in Rome on Feb. 20, 1816, the Barber overture with its witty music and comic intrigue, is one of the most popular parts of the opera. Beethovens Violin Concerto (premiered Dec. 23, 1806) is one of the composers most regal works, full of majesty and relaxed nobility. Though Beethoven is not normally thought of as a melodist, in this concerto he makes full use of the violins lyric capabilities. Soloist Bowlin, a faculty member at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, will perform Schneiderhans rarely-heard arrangement of the cadenza, complete with the fiery duet between soloist and timpanis in the first movement and brilliant outburst in the finale. In 1969, the 44-year-old Berio confronted the imposing heritage of Beethoven and Mahler and composed his Sinfonia. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for its 125th anniversary. The year was 1968, a turbulent time with Vietnam War protests at their most intense, the assassinations of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and the riots at the Democratic convention in Chicago. As these events challenged the established order, Berio consciously re-thought classical form. He made Sinfonia the vehicle by which he could evoke and question the ideas and symphonic tradition of Western civilization. Using the full resources of a large modern symphony orchestra, Berio added an important role for eight amplified vocal soloists, performed here by the UCSD vocal octet, Kallisti. IF YOU GO: Concert times are 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 and 2 p.m. on Sunday at Mandeville Auditorium, on UCSD campus. Parking is free. A pre-concert lecture by Schick is offered one hour prior. Tickets are $15-$29 at (858) 534-4637 or lajollasymphony.com The world of Paris 1904 as seen through Steve Martins Picasso at the Lapin Agile awaits The Old Globe Theatre playgoers Feb. 4 to March 12, 2017. Those who saw Martins previous Globe productions the world premiere of the musical Bright Star, which earned five Tony Award nominations on Broadway or the world premiere of the comedy Meteor Shower will not want to miss his exciting take on this classic. Back in the day, Lapin Agile was a treasured cabaret for struggling artists, comedians, writers and intellectuals. Portraying them in this cast are Philippe Bowgen as Pablo Picasso; Donald Faison as Freddy; Kevin Hafso-Koppman as Visitor; Liza Lapira as Suzanne, Countess and Female Admirer; Hal Linden as Gaston; Ron Orbach as Sagot; Marcel Spears as Charles Dabernow Schmendiman; and Luna Velez as Germaine. Justin Long stars as Albert Einstein. You may remember Long as actor, producer, director and writer (Dodgeball, Hes Just Not That Into You, New Girl, Ed). Im a huge fan of Steve Martins comedy and writing, Long said. I enjoyed reading this play years ago, and thought how fun it would be to do it. My friend, Justin Waldman, who is part of The Old Globe, and I did a play together a few years ago, so it was an easy choice. We want to bring some happiness to this world, and Im fortunate I can participate in some of that. Einstein was one of several characters who strolled into the Lapin Agile where the regulars would gather and talk about their work. I liked how Hal (Linden) said it was a bit like an episode of Cheers, and if Einstein was part of that show he would be Frasier Crane because he loved to argue, Long said. Some of these characters end up being very important figures of the 20th century. They debate love, life and art to a heightened reality that is so fun. No one has a better ear for comedy than Steve Martin, so it has great dialogue rhythmic, cerebral and sometimes stupid in the best way of joy and fun. There are moments that are more profound and theres a pee joke its quintessential Steve Martin. Long said he did some research about the historical figures in the play. That research made it easier for me to inhabit the parts about Einsteins shoes and mustache, and get an overview of his theory of relativity. I have to speak in scientific terms and see scientific abstracts in a beautiful way. I remember the character Professor Ludwig Von Drake in Walt Disneys cartoons, and comic book characters ... that was my first introduction to Einstein, but it was a little over the top with the accents and Einstein has to be clear. There are moments in the show that are kind of like Marx Brothers-esque; the lines are very rhythmic and remind me of Groucho. Long said he agrees that Martins work is forefront on the American stage, and he likes the humanity he puts forth in this script. The way he frames ideas and stories with humor and depth creates so much meaning, and yet he keeps it funny, Long said. I think thats a difficult marriage and thats why Ive always been a fan. Anyone with a profound fondness for art and life, and who is curious about how science figures into that, will enjoy this comedy. I find it fascinating to see these humans mix, and to imagine how they drank a beer, talked, carried themselves, sat at a bar, danced ..... or tried to hook up with the same girl. IF YOU GO: Picasso at the Lapin Agile, runs Feb. 4 through March 12 on The Old Globe Theatres Shiley Stage, 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park, San Diego. Tickets from $29. (619) 234-5623. theoldglobe.org Concerned residents from La Jolla, Mission Beach and Pacific Beach gathered at La Jolla Community Center Jan. 30 to unanimously speak out against DecoBike, the Citys bike share program. DecoBike kiosks have not been installed in 92037, but the plan is to place 12-14 stands throughout La Jolla, Bird Rock and La Jolla Shores. The installation date is pending. Led by Cindy Greatrex, president of La Jolla Community Planning Association, and Debbie Watkins of the Mission Beach Precise Planning Committee, the meeting included a presentation outlining what DecoBike is, why it is not appropriate for La Jolla, how it has impacted communities where its kiosks have been installed, why these communities oppose it, and where opposition organizers would like to go from here. The presentation is available by e-mailing: cindy.greatrex@diplomats.com Meeting attendees and others who do not want DecoBike in La Jolla, were encouraged to write their concerns to each San Diego City Council member, to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and sign a soon-to-be-circulated petition. Some attendees suggested using the hashtag #nodecobike in social media posts on the topic. Two representatives from District 1 City Council member Barbara Brys office were on hand to hear the public outcry, along with a representative from District 2 City Council member Lori Zapfs office. If there was representation from DecoBike, its supporters, or the Mayors office, they did not make their presence known. Bike share plan history The City of San Diegos 2013 Bicycle Master Plan calls for a bikesharing program to offer cyclists the opportunity to rent a bicycle from an unattended docking station, ride it wherever they want within the network, and return it to any station with an open dock. To meet the terms of this plan, the City entered into a Corporate Partnership Agreement in 2013 with DecoBike LLC, which provided approximately $8 million in infrastructure investment in return for the ability to sell advertising on the bikes and kiosks. San Diego receives a commission on the gross advertising and bike rental revenues. DecoBike receives no public funds. Listing the reasons DecoBike does not work in San Diego (and specifically La Jolla), Greatrex said the DecoBike company: 1) has a series of negative reviews online (ranging from complaints about multiple credit card charges, issues with getting bikes in and out of kiosks, and difficulty reaching customer service); 2) does not provide locks or helmets to its users; 3) offers bikes that are not recommended for the hilly topography found in La Jolla; and 4) is not practical as a non-car alternative because there is no large public transit stations in La Jolla. Among other problems, several meeting attendees cited DecoBikes perceived lack of community consideration, which has led to the bike rental kiosks blocking views in Pacific Beach and competing with local, tax-paying bike rental businesses near Mission Beach. Watkins said, A (San Diego) Grand Jury report regarding DecoBikes was produced May 19, 2016. DecoBike went before the Grand Jury and said we need to tap into the coastal communities and the jury came back and found that in order to be financially successful, DecoBike needed kiosks in tourist areas, including beach communities. The Grand Jury report also demanded community outreach, and that request has been ignored. Brian Curry, president of the Pacific Beach Community Planning Committee, said when it came for the City to install more than a dozen kiosks, it presented the plans to his group and negotiations were never considered. We gave them suggestions as to where they could go, but then they went dark, and then suddenly they put up these kiosks in locations that were in direct competition with local small businesses. When they came before us again, this time with locations on the boardwalk, we all voted against it and wrote to our City officials. We were told the kiosks might go in the following Monday, or a few weeks down the line. Instead, they snuck out one early morning that week and put two on the boardwalk, despite all the input (against it) they had from us, Curry reported. Soon after the boardwalk kiosks were in place, concerned PB residents scheduled a meeting with the City. When they agreed to meet with us, we saw it as an olive branch but we noticed the City and DecoBike were on one side of the table, and we were on the other. We asked Who is representing us here? The public has been ignored. We made the mistake of letting them in, now we want them out. By embedding these kiosks against community wishes, Curry said, it gives the impression that the City is not listening to us, a sentiment echoed by others throughout the evening. (Reporters note: Although not in attendance, Council member Bry later e-mailed La Jolla Light stating, I understand that there are many concerns in the community regarding the installation of DecoBikes. Before any plans for a future site move forward, I will work to ensure that the City listens to the residents of District 1 and addresses their concerns. Hopeful for a different result, and that a dialogue in a well-attended public forum would be hard to ignore, Greatrex added she has repeatedly requested presentations about DecoBike and its proposed locations, but no one has gotten back to us in three months. City spokesperson Katie Keach previously told La Jolla Light presentations were planned starting in February, but she could not specify when or where. At the end of the presentation, a seven-point list of requests was shown that will be forwarded to the City. The requests were for: 1) a moratorium on any future DecoBike expansion into coastal communities; 2) DecoBike to install kiosks at transit locations and shopping areas, in school corridors and communities that have requested installations before more kiosks are located and installed in coastal communities; 3) local bike rental businesses to be included in the Citys Bicycle Master Plan and Climate Action Plan; 4) adherence to the Grand Jury report for community discussion on unsuccessful charging stations in Pacific Beach and removal of kiosks on the boardwalk; 5) review of alternate climate control strategies; 6) review of requests made by City Heights and North Park, which have public transportation, for DecoBike use between transportation hubs; and 7) to note that the agreement between DecoBike and the City is for two, five-year options and the City does not have to exercise its option at the end of year five. The City can release DecoBike as a partner, send out another Request for Proposal and find a different bike-share program that will work with small businesses and the citizens of San Diego not just rent bikes to tourists, Greatrex elaborated. But the City Council has to be involved. They voted DecoBike in, they can vote them out. Curry stressed the importance of writing to the Mayor. We have strong-mayor form of government. If he says something is not going to happen, its not going to happen. Watkins added that a petition was started in Pacific Beach to remove the kiosks on the boardwalk, and another would be created to prevent kiosks from coming to La Jolla. The petitions will be sent out via email, possibly with e-mailable and printable versions, and distributed to community groups for signatures. As an author of popular books for children and young teens, he is not what one might expect. Alan St. Jean of Battle Creek, Michigan, has a business degree from The Ohio State University. In his last real job, he was in purchasing and accounting for a doll manufacturing company. But now, he happily writes books during the summer and, during the school year, he travels the country, bringing to youngsters the message that creating their own stories and writing them down is fun. On Wednesday, St. Jean came to Lake Geneva. He spent that afternoon talking to students at Eastview School, and that evening he talked to some students and parents, as well. Mary Jo Fessenmaier, Eastview School librarian, said she suggested him as a visiting author in 2004. Not knowing anything about him, Fessenmaier said his prices for his books and his presentations were reasonable. And it turns out, the teachers and students loved him. St. Jean has returned to Lake Geneva schools about every three years since. A trip, he said, he enjoys making. He was scheduled to be at Lake Geneva elementary schools Wednesday through Friday. On Wednesday, St. Jean faced about 120 fourth graders in the first go around, and then about the same number of fifth graders in the second session. While many might quail at such an assignment, for St. Jean, it was no problem. He had them in the palm of his hand almost from the start. He loves talking to kids. It brings out the kid in him, which, truth be told, probably bubbles not too far below that adult surface. Im 12 years old, said St. Jean, 53. I never got past 12 years old. He tells the youngsters that stories are, in effect, problems and solutions, or conflict and resolution. And he tells them about when he went to see Walt Disneys Snow White when he was a kid. Snow White I had my big tub of popcorn and the movie started and the music was beautiful and Snow White was beautiful. And she was singing, (fake singing) la-la-la, and the birds were singing, (fake tweeting) tweety, tweet, tweet. And then, poof, the queen shows up. (Deadly serious): Bring me my huntsman. Huntsman, find Snow White (dramatic pause) and kill her. Eyes become suddenly big and round. What? Wait a minute, Im just a little kid! But that, he said, is the key to Disney movies and Disney storytelling. To show the good, you must show the evil, he said. More importantly, that sets off the conflict and gets the story rolling. Did you write anything before you wrote your first book? asked Tom Sinclair, a special education teacher, during question-and-answer time. That is the first time I have ever been asked that question, said St. Jean. In fact, he hadnt written anything before that first book, he said. I dont think of myself as a writer, he said. I think of myself as a storyteller. Later, Sinclair said he wanted to make it clear to the kids that they can write. They dont need any special experience, he said. Later, to adults, St. Jean said his family moved around a lot. He was born in Pittsburgh but grew up around the country, attending schools in Texas and Ohio. At Ohio State, he wanted to be a physician. He then tried engineering. Finally, he graduated with a degree in business. American Girl St. Jean said he did a dissertation on the American Girl dolls by Pleasant Co. The American Doll concept was simple: design a doll and write a story about her and then sell it for a lot of money. He went to work for a doll company in purchasing. There he tried to transplant the American Girl concept. He came up with the idea of three children living in the medieval period. They would be based on a book which he would write. It almost worked right up to when the boss asked if he had ever written a book before. Well no, St. Jean replied. End of that story. So, St. Jean started his own doll company. He created four models, Aiden, McKenzie, Lillith and a baby dragon with its own egg. He said he worked with an artist in Sheboygan to design the dolls and then had them manufactured. The big kick off for the Aiden of Oren series was at a toy fair in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. We went to market with dolls that cost $150 each, he said. But after 9/11, nobody was buying dolls. His start-up company died before it was born. A case full of the dolls are in storage, he said. What was left, however, was a back story for Aiden of Oren. Aiden of Oren St. Jean said he wrote his first book about Aiden of Oren when he was 40. He said he always wanted to write a novel, but he kept putting it off. One February evening, he decided it would be now or never. Overcoming writers block and fatigue, he finished it in short order. He submitted it to a publisher. And then he had to rewrite it five more times before it satisfied the editors, and, finally himself. He is the author of Aidan of Oren: The Journey Begins, Aidan of Oren: The Elf Princess and Aidan of Oren: Valley of the Dragons, aimed at fourth through seventh graders. Hes also penned a prequel called The Chronicles of Oren. St. Jean has also authored picture books for kids kindergarten through grade three, a group he refers to as tater tots. Those titles include: The Legend of OinkAdoodleMoo; Alyssa and the Spider; Spooky Mooky and Big Fella. The book illustrators are Libby Carruth Krock and Judith Freidman-Nagel, whom he credits with creating images that fit the words. He confesses he is not a book person I cant retain what I read, he said. And when Im reading, I always think I can do it better. He said he couldnt follow J.K Rowlings Harry Potter. Shes too descriptive, he said. The Aiden of Oren tales are action and motivation centered. And theyre scary. Well, theyre supposed to be scary. He acts hurt when the kids tell him that his books arent that scary. But, he replies with a smile: Im a teddy bear. I try to be scary. Born on Christmas Day, St. Jean has always had a fascination with Santa Claus. And his next book will be The True Story of Santa Claus. He promises it will be scary. His readers will be the judge of that. BLOOMFIELD A new plan for McKay Park may soon take shape. Recently, Village President Ken Monroe asked the Geneva Lake Conservancy to place the park in a conservation easement. An easement would protect the 13-plus acres off Lake Geneva Highway, Monroe said in a Jan. 25 interview, as well as enhance park features and rehabilitate the land. So I think its a very good idea, he said. At least something can be done with it. Currently, the park is being used by Alliant Energy to store equipment for its utility pole replacement project. There are also large mounds of dirt and asphalt on the property. Monroe said the park sign means nothing now, because not much has been done with the land since it was donated to Bloomfield in 1995. In an email Friday, Conservancy Executive Director Karen Yancey said the proposed easement would protect the property as a park with a wetland forever. By placing a conservation easement on the property, the municipality asks us to enforce the rules that we agree to in the completed easement, Yancey said. She also said the conservancy would develop a management plan with the village that recommends restoration of the property, usually by removing invasive plant species, and work to obtain grants for the restoration. Yancey believes almost half of the 50 plant species reported in the park are invasive, and they would need a plan to remove them to allow the native plants to return and thrive. A nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving environmentally sensitive lands in Walworth County, the conservancy has worked with the city of Lake Geneva, village of Williams Bay and the towns of Lyons and Linn. While we have several more steps to complete before we reach an agreement on the McKay Park conservation easement, we are excited about this opportunity that supports our mission of preserving and advocating for the waterways, natural areas and working lands of Walworth County, said Yancey. One of those steps is to approve an easement. The village attorney is currently reviewing a sample agreement with the conservancy. How trustees feel Bloomfield trustees were asked how they feel about it. Trustees Natalie Alvarez and Ken Bauman did not reply to emailed questions by press time. Trustee Susan Bernstein said she was hesitant at first, but after learning the conservancy does not charge to conduct a park study or seek grants, she supports the easement idea. For as long as I can remember, this property has been used as a dumping area for the highway department, and adding to that, we allowed the electric company use of our land as a holding area for their material, Bernstein said. I am looking forward to having the highway department level the dirt piles and getting rid of the asphalt hill. Trustee Gary Grolle said hes undecided about the idea. He wants to knows how much control the village would retain over the park, and what terms and conditions would be placed so the village can implement plans made for the park years ago. Grolle said he also wants to know what tangible benefits there are to the village paying upfront fees to the conservancy, and granting a forever easement to the conservancy, with extensive restrictions on village use of the land. Monroe said Bloomfield would pay the conservancy $5,000, if it agrees to enter into the agreement. Yancey said the conservancy asks easement donors for a one-time donation toward its legal defense and stewardship funds. Monroe said the town of Bloomfield agreed to split the cost of the $5,000 donation, but in a Jan. 26 email, Town Chairman Dan Schoonover said his board has taken no action on the matter. How does Schoonover feel about the proposed easement? He said theyre also waiting for more information, but if they could write into the agreement what we as a municipality need for the park, then he believes its a good idea. This will guarantee that the park stays as a park, said Schoonover. Also, the conservancy provides help and some volunteers to improve the park. Confusion Monroe said there has been some confusion about the proposed easement, and some accusations. Ive heard Im going to get paid for this, he said, adding that people have also told him the easement would increase his property value by $300,000 to $400,000. Monroe lives near the park. Well, if thats the case, I should have did it about five years ago, he said. Some also think the easement means transferring ownership of the park to the conservancy, said Monroe. Yancey said the village of Bloomfield would still own McKay Park, if the easement is adopted, and would still be responsible for routine maintenance. To the Editor: As a city of Lake Geneva downtown property owner and homeowner I willing pay my fair share of property taxes. I feel I am well served by the city for all their services rendered. It has come to my attention that some of the Big Boxes within the city limits have hired high powered attorneys and have been successful in finding a loophole in getting their clients tax bills reduced. Example: neighbor Best Buy dropped its assessed value by $2.2 million in 2016 from $6.2 million to $4 million. The short explanation: Dark Store Theory. They argue that the assessed value of a thriving store should be based on comparing their building to a nearby, vacant, or abandoned building and from a different market segment. The trend will continue with other big box retailers applying the loophole The money they save will come out of your pocket as a resident or nonresident property taxpayer. Your tax bills will rise. I feel a duty to my fellow property taxpayers to bring this to your attention. City officials have put forth Resolution 16-R44 to urge Legislatures to stop the loophole. The Indiana state Legislature in the last two years overwhelmingly passed legislation prohibiting reassessment. Michigan state house overwhelmingly passed similar legislation May 2016. Soon our local officials will be meeting with legislators who are in a position to enact Lake Genevas resolution at a state level. I ask that you assist them by signing a petition created in support of this cause. Your voice has an opportunity to be heard. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/950/143/096/ Or email me at: beverly@delaneystreet.com Beverly Leonard Lake Geneva City wants more public restrooms, was the headline that appeared in our Jan. 12 edition on our front page. We could exchange the word city with downtown business owners and visitors and it would have been equally accurate. The local tourism industry works hard to bring visitors to our community, but we also need an effort to ensure they are comfortable when they get here. The proposal to upgrade the VISIT Lake Geneva building near the lakefront to better accommodate the need for more public restrooms is a step in the right direction. It wont completely solve the problem, and more public restrooms will be needed in the near future. Downtown business owners are constantly asked by customers (and noncustomers) for access to their restrooms. Even at our location, which is a block north of the traditional downtown area, we are occasionally asked by visitors for access to our facilities. It is seemingly a sign of desperation to walk into an office setting and ask to use the restroom. Unfortunately, our experience hasnt been great when opening our doors to the public. We have been surprised at the mess we have been left. We cant image what its like for the downtown shops. Their frustration with the lack of public bathrooms is justified. It would be an improvement if a store clerk could direct a customer, or just a visitor, to a public restroom. The mayor has said the city is considering keeping the Riviera and Library Park restrooms open-year round. This is another step in the right direction. The current proposals, keeping the public bathrooms open year round and revamping the VISIT Lake Geneva building, are a nice start, but wont be enough. The Regional News editorial board consists of General Manager and Editor Rob Ireland, Resorter Editor and Special Projects Coordinator Jessica Franzene, Production Manager and Graphic Art Director Michael Reinsissel and Office Manager Sue Hinske. LAKE GENEVA Sometimes, learning how to put out a fire means you have to start one. That was the case for the Lake Geneva Fire Department, whose members practiced fire training techniques last Saturday on an old barn they purposefully engulfed in flames. It gives an opportunity for both newer firefighter recruits and people who are still learning to get a chance for live fire training, Capt. Mark Moller-Gunderson said. You know, Ive been around for a long time, and its always good to train under realistic circumstances. And opportunities to practice like this only come up a few times a year. Its dependent upon people who want to get rid of a house, or a barn or a building, and if its in an area where that can be done carefully or safely, then we take advantage of that, Moller-Gunderson said. So when the opportunity came to burn down an old barn right off of the intersection of South Edwards Boulevard and Bloomfield Road, the department wasted no time in preparing for the big event. Theres always a preplan for it, Moller-Gunderson said. So everybody knows what their job is. This includes having a large water supply, a backup water supply, people who know how to handle the flames and backup for those people, he said. Once everything is established, the day of the fire is about practicing various techniques until its no longer possible, he said. After that, the barn is burned to the ground and the fire is put out. But no matter how much preplanning goes into the event, one of the main concepts that new firefighters walk away with is that fires are unpredictable. Fickle flames Lt. Ryan Derrick said that working with real flames allows firefighters to learn how real fire behaves. Guys really get to work, they get to feel the heat of the fire, he said. Some of our younger people get to go in, and they get to really see how the fire builds, how it spreads throughout a building. And attitudes toward fires often change once a firefighter has had a chance to see one in person, Derrick said. Theyre all gung ho to get there, but its also mesmerizing to kind of stand there and watch it, he said. See how it builds and see how it constructs itself before we actually go in and put it out. Though the Lake Geneva department and other local agencies hoped to get a few hours of practice in before putting out the fire, the fire had other ideas. By roughly 8:30 a.m. the building had collapsed, making it impossible to continue running drills inside. It went good, Derrick said in regards to the training they did get in. It went a lot faster than what we wanted it to be ... We really wanted to go in and do a bunch of rotations before we actually let it go, but due to the construction of the building and the age of the building, we had to pull everybody out. And though they wanted to do more, the more experienced firefighters knew that they had to let the fire have its way. It was just safe, Derrick said as a fire truck sprayed a long torrent of water down on the barn. We always work on the safe side. PRESS RELEASE Obama War Machine Rolls On in Europe, Targeting Russia Jan. 31, 2017 (EIRNS)The U.S. military will continue to roll on under the last set of orders it received under President Obama, until it receives a new set of orders from President Trump. This is especially true in Europe, where the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division is now in Poland, engaging in live fire exercises in a combat range in Zagan, Poland, and "sending messages" to an allegedly aggressive Russia. The Polish leadership was quite delighted, yesterday, for the opening of these exercises. U.S. Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges promised that this sort of U.S. military presence in eastern Europe will continue. "I dont see, and I have not heard, anything that would lead me to think that this could be curtailed," Hodges said. "Our president has spoken with Prime Minister [Theresa May, Chancellor [Angela] Merkel and President [Francois] Hollande, and what I have heard is the affirmation of the importance of NATO and the United States commitment to NATO," Hodges said of Trumps phone calls and Mays trip to Washington. Note that Hodges only assumes that Trump will continue the military deployments on Russias borders. After Poland, the U.S. brigade, with its M1A1 tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and heavy artillery, will move on to the Baltic states, even closer to the Russian border. And its not just in northeast Europe where NATO is making its big stand. Standing Maritime Group 2, which consist of 8 vessels from 8 NATO member states, is heading into the Black Sea for Exercise Sea Shield off the Romanian coast. "This is a demonstration of the alliances resolve to defend all allies against any threat, and to enhance maritime security in the region," a NATO official told CNN. PRESS RELEASE Russian Advisor to UN on Potentials of Russian-U.S. Military Cooperation in Syria Jan. 31, 2017 (EIRNS)Vitaky Naumkin, the Russian advisor to UN Special Envoy Steffan de Mistura, told reporters in Moscow yesterday, that he expects that U.S. President Trump will "soon" make a decision on U.S. policy towards Syria, reports Tass. This may or may not happen after a G20 summit or after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Trump "has clearly formulated a bid to cooperate not only with Russia, but also with all who can fight against terrorists." Naumkin noted that at present, however, there is no clarity on the matter, particularly with respect to whether or not such cooperation will include direct engagement with the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Complicating things will be the "serious opposition" that Trump will face from the U.S. Congress. Naumkin believes, however, that U.S.-Russian cooperation in Syria is inevitable. "I hope that the Russia-U.S. cooperation is inevitable and will occur some time later. Maybe it will concern only Al Bab or only Raqqa, Deir ez-Zorwe will see. I am absolutely sure that this cooperation will inevitably take place if [U.S. President Donald] Trump continues to implement his pre-election promises," Naumkin said. Naumkin also called for a joint effort to liberate Palmyra. "This requires serious efforts, unification of forces of all actors who are at odds with each other in the vision of Syrias future, but who should unite efforts to liberate the city and not only the city, but cleanse Syria of terrorist filth," he said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during a joint press conference with the foreign minister of Eritrea yesterday, also discussed the potentials of U.S.-Russian military cooperation where the U.S. and its allies already have special forces on the ground in Syria. "If our American partners capabilities could be coordinated," said Lavrov, Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $1.2 billion in buybacks and compensation to settle claims from U.S. owners of cars with larger diesel engines that the company rigged to cheat on emissions tests. And the German automaker could pay even more as much as $4 billion if it cant repair many of the cars in a way that satisfies regulators. The proposed settlement filed late Tuesday before Judge Charles R. Breyer in U.S. District Court in San Francisco covers owners of some 78,000 Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche cars with 3.0-liter diesel engines. Advertisement Volkswagen has already agreed on a $15-billion settlement with owners of some 500,000 smaller, 2.0-liter diesel engines. Volkswagen has now settled most U.S. consumer claims as it tries to repair a tarnished reputation. All of our customers with affected vehicles in the United States will have a resolution available to them, Hinrich J. Woebcken, head of Volkswagen Group of America, said in a statement. The company still faces lawsuits from fewer than 5,000 owners of 2-liter diesels who opted out of the settlement, as well as some shareholder suits and numerous lawsuits filed by states for violating pollution laws. VW also has settled a U.S. criminal investigation by agreeing to pay $4.3 billion, but a probe of employee behavior continues with seven people charged in the U.S. In all, VW will pay more than $20 billion to settle civil and criminal claims in the U.S. alone. Also pending is whether VW can adequately fix some older 2.0-liter engines. If it cant, it will have to buy back all vehicles with the smaller diesel engines. A March 3 deadline is approaching. Legal issues also remain in Europe. Former Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn and 36 others are under criminal investigation in Germany, where investors also are suing the company. Volkswagen shares plunged after the scandal broke in September 2015. Under Tuesdays proposed settlement, owners of 20,000 older 3.0-liter models dating back to 2009-2012, which cannot be fixed to meet pollution standards, would be offered buybacks or trade-ins. In addition, they would receive compensation ranging from $7,755 to $13,880, according to a statement from owners attorneys. People who bought 58,000 newer cars from model years 2013-2016 would get compensation of $7,039 to $16,114. Volkswagen says those cars can be fixed so they comply with pollution limits. VWs proposed repair must win approval from U.S. environmental authorities by an agreed deadline. If it does not, buybacks could push the cost as high as the $4.04 billion laid out in court documents. The deal still needs court approval. Volkswagen said final approval would take at least until May. Also Tuesday, parts supplier Robert Bosch agreed to pay $327.5 million to settle claims from consumers and dealers regarding 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter engines, without saying it was at fault. Civil plaintiffs say Bosch made the defeat device that enabled the cheating. CEO Volkmar Denner said the company settled so it could focus on its business. Volkswagen has admitted it equipped diesel engines with software that detected when the vehicle was undergoing pollution tests and then turned the emissions controls off during everyday driving. The result was cars that emitted some 40 times the U.S. limits of nitrogen oxides, a pollutant that can harm peoples health. Some 11 million cars worldwide have the deceptive software. Despite the hit to its reputation, VW surpassed Toyota last year to become the worlds largest carmaker by sales. VW sold 10.3 million vehicles in 2016; Toyota sold 10.2 million. President Trumps meeting Tuesday with pharmaceutical executives was a theatrical display of chumminess in which all the parties seemed to share deep regret over high and soaring drug prices. It also was a one-stop shop of misconceptions and misinformation about the causes of high drug prices, and therefore a mishmash of solutions, most of which are a lot more complicated than Trump thinks, some of which wont work, and some of which are disguised handouts to the drug industry. Weve addressed some of these complexities here, here and here. But lets focus for the moment on one of the most glaring misconceptions about the cause of high drug prices, which is the cost of pharmaceutical research and development. With the press watching before the meeting formally began, Trump addressed the cost of bringing a new drug to market thusly: Advertisement I read where it costs sometimes $2.5 billion on average, actually to come up with a new product. Fifteen years, $2.5 billion to come up with a product where theres not even a safety problem. So its crazy. Leaving aside the fact that a major part of R&D is aimed at determining whether theres a safety problem, Trump didnt say where he got that figure. But we know: He got it from the pharmaceutical industry, via the Tufts University Center for the Study of Drug Development, which is heavily funded by the industry itself. A series of studies led by Joseph A. DiMasi, the centers director of economic analysis, has tracked Big Pharmas purported R&D going back to the 1990s. The latest version, published last year, put the figure of $2.5 billion actually $2.556 billion in 2013 dollars on the cost of bringing a drug to market. But there are several issues with these studies that have been raised by critics of the industry. One is that the raw data are confidential. The latest study is based on the R&D costs of 106 drugs made by 10 multinational companies but, in common with the previous studies, neither the drugs whose costs are analyzed nor the companies in the sample are revealed. The paper says only that five were among the top 10 in global sales, seven are in the top 25 and three are outside the top 25. Obviously, this makes any assessment of the accuracy of the Tufts estimate impossible. A study that doesnt reveal what it measured or provide a way for outsiders to reproduce its findings is hopelessly flawed, and must be judged useless as the basis for any policymaking. When I queried DiMasi about this in 2011, he assured me that the drugs he examined were representative of the industry in terms of the risk and expense of their R&D. He also asserted that his findings had been validated by a 2006 Federal Trade Commission study using a separate, public drug database. But the authors of that study, who were researchers at the Federal Trade Commission, stated in their paper that they couldnt really be sure that their data were comparable. In any event, we have to take Tufts word for the accuracy of its findings, and why should we? Because we cannot know which compounds were studied, it is hard to evaluate the key assumption that more than 80% of new compounds are abandoned at some point during their development, wrote Jerry Avorn of Harvard Medical School. Thats important because the high rate of failure is a key driver of the findings, he observed. I read where it costs sometimes $2.5 billion on average, actually to come up with a new product ... where theres not even a safety problem. So its crazy. President Trump gets the cost of drug R&D wrong Another commonly cited flaw is that the Tufts papers include in their cost estimates the opportunity cost of R&D over the years during which a drug is being developed. In fact, this cost, which includes the cost of capital, accounts for nearly half of the total $2.6 billion. Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and a critic of the industry, considers the inclusion of this cost to be absurd. Its one thing for outside investors to think about Big Pharmas capital costs when deciding whether to put their money there or somewhere else; but quite another for the industry to tack it on to its own accounting, as if Merck or Pfizer can just decide to convert themselves into smartphone manufacturers or mutual funds. They have no choice but to spend money on R&D if they wish to be in the pharmaceutical business, she wrote in her 2004 book The Truth About the Drug Companies. Nor is there any accounting in the Tufts papers for the subsidies the drug companies get from taxpayers. Avorn and two colleagues observed in a 2015 paper that research at nonprofit, publicly funded universities gave rise to more than half of the most transformative drugs developed in recent decades. The pharmaceutical industrys poormouthing and whining about its drug development costs should be taken with heaps of salt, given that it still ranks among the most profitable industries in the world, with profit margins consistently in the mid- to high-20% range. Research and development is seldom the biggest cost item for major drug companies its often outpaced by marketing. Merck, for instance, spent $6.7 billion on R&D in 2015, about 17% of its $39.5 billion in revenues. But it spent $10.3 billion on marketing and administrative overhead. How much of the cost of drug R&D results from regulations, of the type Trump could theoretically affect by ordering the Food and Drug Administration to loosen its rules on testing and safety? Not as much as hed like to think. The FTC researchers found that for one large firm in their sample the cost of developing a new drug penciled out at $521 million, but for another it was $2.1 billion. That suggested that at least some of the cost was the product of the companies own strategic decisions. And how much do we want drug testing rules liberalized, anyway? The annals of drug research are punctuated by compounds that got approved too hastily thalidomide and Vioxx come instantly to mind and were taken off the market only after they were found to cause horrible birth defects, death or other problems. Thalidomide was widely prescribed as a morning sickness drug in Europe but blocked in the U.S. by the same FDA that now gets pilloried in Washington for being too strict. Sometimes, the cost of regulation is worth it. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. MORE FROM HILTZIK With deceit and arrogance, Uber keeps finding new ways to shoot itself in the foot A reminder that Apples 1984' ad is the only great Super Bowl commercial ever and its now 33 years old NAFTA doesnt count for much economically, but its still a huge political football. Heres why Mastercard and the company that sells RushCard-brand prepaid debit cards will pay $13 million in fines and customer restitution over a 2015 system failure that left thousands of customers unable to access money in their accounts. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday announced the enforcement action against Mastercard and card issuer UniRush which is being acquired by Pasadenas Green Dot Corp. saying the problems were caused by a lack of preparation and coordination by the companies before UniRush started using Mastercard as its main payment processor. Problems with the October 2015 changeover sparked confusion and outrage among RushCard users and highlighted the financial vulnerability of many prepaid card users, many of whom use prepaid accounts in place of a checking account at a bank because they cant open a bank account. Advertisement Over the course of several days and in some cases weeks, thousands of customers were unable to withdraw cash, make purchases, get accurate account balance information or receive direct deposits. Wednesdays enforcement action settles the CFPBs investigation into the outage. The companies must pay a total of $3 million in fines and $10 million in customer restitution, though the agency left it up to the companies to come to an agreement on how much each will pay. As part of the settlement, neither Mastercard nor UniRush admitted or denied wrongdoing, something UniRush spokeswoman Kaitlin Stewart reiterated in a statement emailed to The Times. We maintain that our company did not engage in any wrongdoing, and do not admit to such in our Consent Order with the CFPB, she said. Since the event in 2015, we believe we have fully compensated all of our customers for any inconvenience they may have suffered. The company, founded in 2003 by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, canceled all card fees for four months following the incident and in May settled a class-action lawsuit over the outage, agreeing to pay $19 million to about 300,000 affected customers. Mastercard spokesman Seth Eisen said the company is pleased to bring this matter to a close, allowing us to further enhance the best practices, policies and procedures for prepaid cards at our payments transactions services business. The government action comes as UniRush prepares to sell itself to Green Dot, a pioneer in the prepaid card industry. Green Dot said Monday it will buy UniRush for $167 million in a deal that would expand the companys reach online and add a new brand to Green Dots stable of prepaid cards. Green Dot sells some prepaid cards online, but most of its cards are sold at retail stores Wal-Mart in particular. Most RushCards are sold online. The acquisition, which is expected to close in the next few months, is aimed in part at expanding Green Dots direct-to-consumer sales. In a news release announcing the planned acquisition, Green Dot noted that cost of any regulatory action against UniRush would be borne by the companys current owners and would not affect the sale price. Last year, Green Dot, too, had an outage that left many customers unable to access their money. Like the RushCard outage, Green Dots May 2016 problem started when the company switched to Mastercard from another payment processing firm. Many of the customers who complained of account access problems were users of a Wal-Mart-branded debit card issued by Green Dot. Its not clear how many Green Dot customers ultimately were affected by the outage, but it was likely much smaller than the number affected by the RushCard outage. The CFPB noted that more than 800 RushCard users filed complaints with the bureau after the October 2015 outage. A review of the bureaus complaint database shows no complaints against Green Dot or Wal-Mart in May or June of last year. Green Dot, through a spokesman, declined to comment on Wednesdays settlement. james.koren@latimes.com Follow me: @jrkoren UPDATES: 12:40 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from UniRush. This article was originally published at 12:15 p.m. If you cant get a membership to Disneylands uber-exclusive Club 33, the House of Mouse is dangling another swanky dining option: 21 Royal. The name refers to the address in New Orleans Square, above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, where the park has expanded a private apartment to include a dining room that is now available for rent. But the price is pirate-trove steep: For $15,000, up to 12 people get a seven-course meal, paired with fine wine and a balcony that offers a prime viewing spot for a nighttime extravaganza. Advertisement We are always looking for new ways for our guests to experience the park, Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said. The new dining room may be a way for the park to attract big-spending visitors who cant get into Club 33, the members-only restaurant that has a years-long waiting list, said Robert Niles, a theme park expert and founder of Themeparkinsider.com. They can leverage this to appeal to new people, he said. This allows them to grow the luxury market. Browns description of 21 Royal as a new luxury experience is borne out by the exclusive first look given to the Robb Report, a magazine that touts itself as the definitive authority on connoisseurship for ultra-affluent consumers. The dining room is decorated in aqua blue with gold trimming, a fireplace and paintings that depict old New Orleans life. The dining room is connected to a two-bedroom suite, dubbed the Dream Suite. The suite was the brainchild of Walt Disney himself, who had a small apartment built above the fire station on Main Street. But Disney envisioned a larger apartment where he could entertain VIP guests. He died in 1966 before the project was completed. From 1987 to 2007, the space was turned into the Disney Gallery and used to display Disney Imagineering artwork. In 2008, the gallery was overhauled to realize Disneys idea of a luxury apartment, which was offered to guests as part of special promotions. The 21 Royal dining room includes a balcony that overlooks Rivers of America, offering a prime spot for watching the Fantasmic water and light show. The food, served on gold-trimmed plates, is prepared by two master chefs and accompanied by wine chosen by a dedicated sommelier. The dining room represents only one of several high-priced options at the theme park. Also located in New Orleans Square is Club 33, an exclusive club conceived by Walt Disney as a place to entertain dignitaries, investors and other VIPs at a cost to most members of more than $11,000 a year. Disney officials refuse to divulge how many members are allowed into the club, but Disney experts say the waiting list is probably several years long. The park also offers VIP tours that start at $2,400, plus the price of admission. The deal includes a private tour guide who chaperones up to 10 guests around the park, getting them into more than 30 attractions without waiting in long lines. VIP seating for shows and parades is included. hugo.martin@latimes.com To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter. As President Trump and Republican members of Congress charge full speed ahead with repealing and replacing Obamacare, Ira asks: What is the current state of congressional reps coverage? Another way of phrasing that might be: Arent these guys shooting themselves in the foot? Members of Congress are free to buy any health insurance they choose, or to be covered through a spouses employer. But if they want federal subsidies to help pay the cost of coverage, theyre required under the Affordable Care Act to purchase insurance through the Washington exchange set up by the law. Advertisement If they use Obamacare, theyre eligible for an employer contribution thanks, taxpayers! of up to 75% of the cost of their plans premiums. But thats not all. According to a report last month from the Congressional Research Service, lawmakers are eligible to receive limited services from the Office of the Attending Physician in the U.S. Capitol for an annual fee. Basically, thats an in-house clinic available to members of Congress for an extra $600 or so a year. Its staffed by Navy doctors, nurses, technicians and a pharmacist. All treatment, including the services of specialists, is covered by that dirt-cheap annual fee. If more advanced treatment is required, Congress members have access to military facilities. There is no charge for outpatient care if it is provided in the National Capital Region, the report says. Inpatient care is at rates set by the Department of Defense, which almost certainly are lower than what a private hospital would charge. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, one might think members of Congress would be giving all this up. But thats probably not the case. What likely would happen is that lawmakers healthcare would go back to how it was before Obamacare was passed, when insurance was provided through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. If so, up to 75% of premiums would still be subsidized by taxpayers, there would be no exclusions for preexisting conditions, and all those extra perks, such as the special clinic and access to military hospitals, would remain. The bottom line, Ira, is that members of Congress currently get a really sweet deal on healthcare. If Obamacare is repealed and replaced with something else, theyll likely still get a really sweet deal. Got a question? Email me at AskLaz@latimes.com. And follow me on Twitter @Davidlaz. MORE FROM LAZARUS Former officials deride Trumps mindless 2-for-1 deregulation plan Trump has a plan a pretty good one for tackling student debt New FCC boss doesnt look great for consumers: Seems like prices go up every time you deregulate The Senate Finance Committee advanced Steve Mnuchins nomination for Treasury secretary Wednesday after Republicans changed rules to stymie a boycott by Democrats. The panel approved Mnuchin despite sharp objections from Democrats about the wealthy Wall Street executives tenure as head of Pasadenas OneWest Bank and a dispute over whether he misled the panel in answering questions about foreclosures. The committee approved Mnuchins nomination by a 14-0 tally; the next step for him is a vote by the full Republican-controlled Senate. The committee also voted 14-0 on Wednesday to approve the nomination of Tom Price to be secretary of Health and Human Services. The two are among President Trumps most controversial Cabinet nominees. And the votes came after Republicans changed committee rules allowing the vote to take place with no Democrats present. Advertisement Democrats had boycotted a Tuesday committee meeting, scuttling plans for votes on Mnuchin and Price because of allegations they gave false answers to senators questions. The boycott was cheered by liberal activists but infuriated Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who called the tactic pathetic and Democrats idiots. Committee rules require at least one member from each party to be present for a meeting. But the committees Republicans changed the rules Wednesday to allow for confirmation votes, Hatch said. We took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues, Hatch said. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the committee, said the decision to change the rules was deeply troubling in the face of strong evidence of two nominees serious ethical problems. Democrats wrote to Hatch on Wednesday requesting Mnuchin and Price submit complete, accurate responses to repeated requests for information. Democratic senators said Mnuchin misled the committee in his response to written questions about foreclosures after his contentious Jan. 19 confirmation hearing. They cited a report Sunday by the Columbus Dispatch that said Mnuchin denied OneWest engaged in robo-signing of mortgage documents. The paper said its analysis of nearly four dozen foreclosure cases in Ohios Franklin County in 2010 showed that the bank frequently used robo-signers. The practice, prevalent throughout the mortgage industry in the aftermath of the financial crisis, involved employees at financial firms signing foreclosure documents en masse without properly reviewing them. The Columbus Dispatch cited a foreclosure involving a mortgage signed by Erica Johnson-Seck, a OneWest vice president who said in a deposition in a 2009 Florida case that she signed an average of 750 documents a week. Barney Keller, a spokesman for Mnuchin, said Monday that several courts had dismissed cases involving allegations of robo-signing by Johnson-Seck. The media is picking on a hard-working bank employee whose reputation has been maligned but whose work has been upheld by numerous courts all around the country in the face of scurrilous and false allegations, Keller said. Hatch said Wednesday that Mnuchin provided an honest answer because there is no fixed definition as to what constitutes robo-signing. It is a vague label casually thrown around to refer to a broad set of practices, Hatch said. Therefore, any question that simply throws out the term without specifically explaining what is meant by it is not only poorly written, it is inherently vague. In their request to Hatch for more information from Mnuchin, they referred to a regulatory definition of robo-signing. Democrats have accused Mnuchin of foreclosing on the homes of thousands of struggling Americans while he was the head of OneWest from 2009 to 2015 while at the same time helping rich hedge fund clients shelter their wealth offshore. Democrats complained that Mnuchin has failed to provide senators with detailed foreclosure information. Mnuchin has blamed the large amount of foreclosures on bad loans inherited from IndyMac Bank. Mnuchin and other investors put up nearly $1.6 billion to buy IndyMac and renamed it OneWest. They sold the bank to CIT Group in 2015 for $3.4 billion. Mnuchin, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. before going into the hedge fund business, would be the third former executive of the prominent Wall Street firm to become Treasury secretary in recent years, following Robert Rubin under President Clinton and Henry M. Paulson under President George W. Bush. Mnuchin also would join other Goldman alumni in the Trump administration, including Steve Bannon, the presidents chief strategist, Anthonoy Scaramucci, a senior White House advisor, and Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council. The 54-year-old hedge fund manager and former Hollywood movie producer served as Trumps campaign finance chairman. If confirmed, he would be a key player in the administrations plans to boost economic growth by reducing taxes and regulations. Democrats also have problems with Health and Human Services nominee Price, a six-term congressman and former orthopedic surgeon who has distinguished himself in conservative circles for his staunch opposition to the Affordable Care Act and his plans to slash federal healthcare spending. His nomination has become among Trumps most controversial, in part because of his hostility to government safety net programs, including Medicaid and Medicare. Democrats have also been critical of Prices extensive trading in healthcare stocks while he has been in Congress, and in some cases while he has pushed legislation that would benefit his portfolio. Price has denied any wrongdoing. Also drawing criticism was Prices purchase of discounted shares in an Australian biotech firm, Innate Immunotherapeutics, which the Wall Street Journal says he was offered through a private deal not available to general shareholders. Price denied that his purchase of the shares was improper, and Senate Republicans have rallied to his side, saying he did not violate any ethics rules. Staff writer Noam Levey contributed to this report. jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera ALSO Democrats see opening in Trumps stumble on travel ban, move to block Cabinet votes Scalias views mixed with Kennedys style: Meet Neil Gorsuch, Trumps pick for the Supreme Court Travel order and firing of acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates roils Justice Department Los Angeles startup Flipagram developed a cheap and popular tool to turn photos and videos into slick slideshows of memories. But it struggled to take the app to the next level. In recent months of trans-Pacific travel, Chief Executive Farhad Mohit laid out the issues to his counterpart at Toutiao, a Chinese online news service likened to BuzzFeed. Yiming Zhang immediately spotted the challenges and opportunities, Mohit said. What took Flipagram testing to understand, Zhang grasped instinctively. Hes one of these quiet, incredibly thoughtful and young entrepreneurs, Mohit said. Advertisement Now, Mohit is counting on Zhang lending the resources needed to keep Flipagram going. Toutiao acquired Flipagram for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced Wednesday. Flipagram will operate as an independent subsidiary, giving Toutiao a line to people in the U.S. and Flipagram access to recommendation software and other key technologies. Flipagram plans to keep all of its employees. Integrating an overseas acquisition is no easy task, but Mohit noted that Toutiao has had success with the strategy albeit with smaller companies in India and Indonesia. Founded in 2012, privately held Toutiao is known for aggregating news, viral videos and advertising and using algorithms to show people the stories they presumably would find most interesting. About 175 million people use Toutiaos service each month. Flipagram users produce 10 million videos each month, and many could end up on Toutiao now. Flipagram wants to use the same customization technology to serve its users videos that captivate them. Mohit thinks thats crucial to Flipagram becoming a major player in social media and advertising. The company discussed developing tools internally, but it would have had a hard time keeping up with Facebook, Google, Apple, Snap and other larger firms. Thats why Mohit began talking to potential buyers last year. Sequoia Capital, an investor in Flipagram and Toutiao, connected the two companies. It was a match made in heaven, Mohit said. Among initial goals is to help Flipagram users get more views on videos that they share publicly. If all goes well with the personalization tools, users who draw big followings could end up receiving a portion of Flipagrams advertising revenue, Mohit speculated. The road to get there in the next couple of years will mark one of the first big tests in the U.S. of Chinese technological might. We think 2017 will be a critical year for the development of short-form video in the U.S. and the globe, Zhang said in a statement. We are positive on the prospect of user-generated video market and we see the potential of Fliapagram with our recommendation technology. paresh.dave@latimes.com / PGP Twitter: @peard33 More than two dozen strikingly beautiful and previously unpublished fashion photographs taken by Len Steckler in the mid-1960s will be on public display for the first time at a pop-up exhibition in West Los Angeles from Thursday through Saturday before moving on to Palm Springs. Steckler, who died in 2016, was an accomplished director and cinematographer best known for his work on the 1974 childrens television special Free to Be You and Me, (and less-known for his work on the Joe Namath Beautymist pantyhose commercial) who also worked as a painter, illustrator and photographer. It was in the last of those categories that he made a name for himself in the 60s and 70s, shooting beauty campaigns for the likes of Revlon and CoverGirl, with his fashion photography appearing in magazines like Redbook, McCalls, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. Advertisement Now 28 fashion-focused photos, taken between 1960 and 1965, will be making their public debut in an exhibition titled Len Steckler: Reflections of the Man Behind the Mirror that will pop up for two full days only at TheMattress Art Gallery, 10545 West Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. The free exhibition kicks off Thursday with an evening premiere party from 6 to 9 and will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Numbered, limited-edition prints (each with an estate signature on the verso) will be available for purchase exclusively online at www.limitedruns.com. After that, the photos head to the Palm Springs Convention Center where theyll be on display as part of the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale, Feb. 18 to 20. adam.tschorn@latimes.com For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me at @ARTschorn. ALSO: Fashionably feather your nest for the Year of the Rooster 2017 SAG Awards fashion: Black and white and red (and pink) all over Inauguration fashion: from Ralph Laurens two-fer to Kellyanne Conways military cats Amgen Chief Executive Robert Bradway told President Trump on Tuesday that the company would soon be adding 1,600 jobs. The news of hiring by the Southern California biotech giant came as the president met with a group of pharmaceutical executives at the White House, where he told them their pricing has been astronomical. You folks have done a very great job over the years, Trump told the executives, but we have to get the prices down. Advertisement Kristen Davis, an Amgen spokeswoman, confirmed that the Thousand Oaks company plans to hire 1,600 skilled workers across the U.S. this year. This includes both workers who will bring new skills to Amgen, as well as those required to address attrition and other needs, she said. We look forward to working collaboratively with the new administration. In 2014, Amgen said it was eliminating as many as 4,000 jobs, or about 20% of its global workforce. The stock of many pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, had slumped in January after Trump said at a news conference that they were getting away with murder by repeatedly raising their prescription drug prices. Amgen shares rose after the meeting, closing Wednesday at $159.67, up nearly 2% for the day. melody.petersen@latimes.com Follow @melodypetersen on Twitter UPDATES: 1:20 p.m., Feb. 1: This article has been updated with Amgens Wednesday closing stock price. The article was originally published on Jan. 31 at 6:50 p.m. In issuing his ban on immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries, President Trump relied on a 65-year-old provision of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. The provision gives presidents broad authority to ban individual immigrants or groups of immigrants. Presidents havent hesitated to use it. Barack Obama invoked it 19 times, Bill Clinton 12 times, George W. Bush six times and Ronald Reagan five times. George H.W. Bush invoked it once. Advertisement Its not hard to interpret the provision as a license for a president to do whatever he wants when it comes to keeping out certain people. Heres the text: Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. As the bipartisan Congressional Research Service pointed out in a report this year, the law does not place any firm legal limits on how it can be used. It doesnt say what factors should be considered in deciding who would be detrimental to U.S. interests or what constitutes appropriate restrictions. There are also few court cases testing the limits of the law. That is about to change. Trumps executive order which blocks nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days is facing numerous lawsuits from civil rights groups who contend that it discriminates against Muslims, violates another provision of immigration law by targeting certain nationalities and denies due process to people who already have been vetted to enter the U.S. There are also questions about whether the order, which also keeps out refugees from around the world for 120 days and those from Syria indefinitely, actually serves its stated purpose of national security. On Monday, U.S. Acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates, who was appointed by Obama, told Justice Department lawyers not to defend Trumps order, arguing that she was not convinced it was lawful. Trump quickly fired her. Supporters of President Trumps orders on immigration and refugees rally outside the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park in Farmington, N.M. (Hannah Grover / Associated Press) (Hannah Grover / Associated Press) What is clear is that Trumps use of the law goes far beyond that of any past president. Heres how recent presidents have used it: Obama He turned to the provision more than any other recent president, using it to bar people who conducted certain transactions with North Korea, engaged in cyberattacks aimed at undermining democracy or contributed to the destabilization of Libya, Burundi, Central African Republic or Ukraine. His broadest application of the law came in 2011, when he suspended entry of foreigners who participate in serious human rights and humanitarian law violations and other abuses, including widespread or systemic violence against any civilian population based on, among other factors, race, color, disability, language, religion, ethnicity, political opinion, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity. Obama has also used the law to block anybody involved in grave human rights abuses by the governments of Iran and Syria through the use of communications technology to disrupt computer networks or provide monitoring or tracking. George W. Bush He temporarily barred foreign government officials who were responsible for failing to combat human trafficking. He also blocked those whose actions threatened Zimbabwes democratic institutions and transition to a multiparty democracy. Amid concerns that Syria was fomenting instability in Lebanon, Syrian and Lebanese officials deemed responsible for policies or actions that threatened Lebanons sovereignty were also barred from entering the U.S. Clinton He used the law to block perpetrators in the ethnic conflicts that erupted in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, targeting people responsible for the repression of civilians in Kosovo, along with those obstructing democracy in Yugoslavia or lending support to the Yugoslav government and the Republic of Serbia. In 1994, he also suspended individuals and their immediate family members who were said to formulate, implement, or benefit from policies that impeded war-torn Liberias transition to democracy. Similar suspensions were imposed on conflict-ravaged Sierra Leone in 2000. George H.W. Bush His sole use of the provision followed a 1991 a coup in Haiti that spurred thousands of people to flee on rickety boats and head for the U.S. Hundreds died at sea, but many were rescued, overwhelming processing centers set up at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and aboard Coast Guard cutters. Rather than allow Haitians to enter the United States and be screened, Bush issued an order to enforce the suspension of the entry of undocumented aliens by sea and the interdiction of any covered vessel carrying such aliens, allowing the U.S. to intercept the boats and send the migrants back. Reagan In October 1985, he temporarily barred entry to officers or employees of the Cuban government or the Communist Party of Cuba who held diplomatic or official passports. Focused on stamping out communism, he also targeted officers of the Cuban-backed Nicaraguan government and the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front. Demonstrators gather in solidarity outside Cincinnati City Hall against President Trumps executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. (John Minchillo / Associated Press) (John Minchillo / Associated Press) Carter On April 7, 1980, following the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the capture of 52 Americans who were held hostage for 444 days, he took several steps in breaking off diplomatic relations with the government of Iran. Among them was an order to ban all Iranians from entering the country. We will not reissue visas, nor will we issue new visas, except for compelling and proven humanitarian reasons or where the national interest of our own country requires, Carter announced. Prior to Trumps order last week, it was the broadest use of presidential authority to block a group from entering the U.S. ann.simmons@latimes.com For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter alan.zarembo@latimes.com Twitter: @AlanZarembo Where should we begin? With the FBI raid of a charter school company that has a $471,000-a-year honcho, or with the alternative facts political mailers smearing an L.A. Unified school board member? Well, lets start with math, then move on to civics. Last week, federal agents stormed the headquarters of Celerity Educational Group, which manages seven schools in Southern California. The LAUSD inspector general, meanwhile, has been looking into allegations of fraud and financial mismanagement. My colleague Anna M. Phillips reported that a teacher at Celerity Dyad Charter School in South Los Angeles remembers spending her own money for supplies, because the school didnt provide them to students, nor did it have a library, cafeteria or gym. Advertisement But Celerity funded primarily with public money went all out for a staff party in Hollywood, with open bars, casino tables, karaoke and limos. And in 2013, Celerity CEO Vielka McFarlane was paid $471,842. How could this happen? Its easy. Charter schools have public money and private management, with fewer regulations and often lesser union representation than traditional schools. But do all of them open their doors to all students, including those with learning challenges? If the charters do a little better in testing than traditional schools, as Celerity has, is it because they teach to the test or because students have more family support? You could argue endlessly about the pros and cons of charters and never get within five miles of common ground. The topic is toxic, and inclined to get even more so. President Trumps Education secretary nominee, charter and voucher backer Betsy DeVos, is hailed as a savior by some, but denounced by critics as an enemy of public education, of teachers, and of children who will get left behind when public money is drained from already-struggling schools. My standing rules on the subject are as follows: First, some charter schools are great, some arent, and the same can be said of traditional public schools. Second, parents dont care if the school is traditional, or a magnet or a charter. They want whats best for their children. And third, an FBI raid is always a good thing when a charter administrator is pulling down nearly half a million dollars, much of it paid by you and me. Now let me move on to a somewhat related topic the attack on LAUSD school board President Steve Zimmer, who is running for reelection in March. Voter turnout for school board races is generally abominable, but campaign spending is astronomical. On the one side, youve got big bucks from the teachers union, and on the other side youve got millionaires spending even more money to either support so-called reform candidates or to torpedo candidates seen as union allies. Zimmer, a longtime LAUSD teacher and counselor before his election to the board in 2009, is a thoughtful guy who digs deep on complicated matters and deliberates sometimes forever. You cant always predict where hell end up, a commendable quality if you ask me. But he is a repeat target of the reformers, in part because the teachers union supports him and recently kicked $150,000 into a campaign on Zimmers behalf. Four years ago, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came after Zimmer, donating $1 million to an independent group that wanted to dump him. This time around, former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan has coughed up $1 million, a good portion of which is funding a group called LA Students for Change, Opposing Steve Zimmer for School Board 2017. This is not surprising. Riordan, as he told me Tuesday, has long believed the teachers union stands in the way of reform. And he said he doesnt think Zimmer has done much of anything on the school board. Riordan has every right to feel that way and spend his money as he wishes. But you get the distinct impression from reading the mailers sent out by LA Students for Change that Zimmer is a vile human being whose crimes against children and humanity are unlimited. The mailers would have you believe Zimmer fired good teachers while protecting bad teachers, single-handedly drove the district into the ground financially, and covered for child molesters, ruining childrens lives in the process and costing the district $300 million in payouts. He also was the mastermind behind the planned $1-billion iPad debacle, according to the mailers. It was a scandal, says one flier, that began behind a closed door. Zimmers door. Actually, no. Thats not even remotely the case. I spent a lot of time writing about the iPad and software debacle, and I can assure you the iPad plan was spawned by former Supt. John Deasy. Period. Deasy was working on it before anyone knew that he was working on it. He was determined to charge ahead, pummel anyone in his way, and take his bows before a cheering crowd of admiring school reformers. Instead, the iPad crashed, Deasy left, and an investigation was launched. Zimmer initially supported the iPad scheme, but says he did so based in part on incomplete information provided by the administration. Zimmer later said he regretted wanting so urgently to give disadvantaged students a boost that he didnt initially apply enough scrutiny to Deasys botched plan. By the way, Riordan didnt know much about the recipients of his $1-million donation, except to say that LA Students for Change was affiliated with the California Charter Schools Assn. Gary Borden, the vice president of California Charter Schools, defended the accuracy of the Zimmer mailers. And he said the teachers union had put out a misleading and unfair mailer attacking reform candidates. My advice is the same as it has always been. This election season, when mailers arrive in your mailbox, shred them, burn them, throw the ashes in the street and run over them with your car. Twice. Youll be much better informed come election day. To read the article in Spanish, click here Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez MORE FROM STEVE LOPEZ LAPD Chief Beck explains why he doesnt want his officers to be immigration cops Advice for California Democrats on handling Trump: Remove the leash and let him run Beware the politician with simple answers: Trump still divides, and theres a lot at stake Scientists were alarmed last year when they found that a woman in Pennsylvania had been infected with bacteria that was resistant to colistin, an antibiotic that is considered the last line of defense against particularly nasty illnesses. It was a scary reminder that bacteria are increasingly able to survive antibiotics, making some infections extremely difficult or even impossible to treat. Now California is on a list of six states where patients have been infected with bacteria that contains a gene known as mcr-1, which makes it resistant to colistin. Los Angeles County health officials announced Tuesday that a resident who died last year had been infected with E. coli bacteria carrying the mcr-1 gene. Advertisement This just poses another threat that could make infections more difficult to treat, said Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, acting director of the acute communicable disease program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Schwartz said the patient didnt die from the E. coli infection but from a different medical condition. He said public health officials believe the man had been infected with E. coli in Asia, where hed traveled shortly before falling ill, and that it hadnt spread locally. The mcr-1 gene was first discovered in China in November 2015. The rise of drug-resistant bacteria has led to strains of tuberculosis and gonorrhea that arent susceptible to antibiotics. Colistin is often the only antibiotic to which many of these highly resistant bacteria succumb. But in May last year, researchers tested a urine sample of a Pennsylvania woman with a urinary tract infection and found E. coli with the mcr-1 gene that made it resistant to colistin. It was the first time the gene had ever been detected in the United States. Public health officials were especially concerned because mcr-1 is on a plasmid, a piece of DNA that can be transferred from one organism to another. They worry that the gene could jump onto other bacteria that are already highly resistant to antibiotics, like carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, or CRE. An outbreak of CRE that began in late 2014 at UCLAs Ronald Reagan Medical Center killed three people. When the first colistin-resistant superbug was reported last year, Dr. Tom Frieden, then-director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that it is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently. Experts say that the increase in drug-resistant bacteria is worsened by physicians over-prescribing antibiotics and that hospitals and doctors need to focus on only using the medicines when necessary. To read the article in Spanish, click here soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com Twitter: @skarlamangla ALSO A slow catastrophe unfolds as the golden age of antibiotics comes to an end Obamacare repeal would also affect your employer health insurance Measles outbreak grows in L.A.'s Orthodox Jewish community despite Californias strict new vaccination law California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White, in the annual state of the CSU address Wednesday, spoke of his ongoing commitment to protect vulnerable immigrant students and said access to education is a universal right. We will go as far as state and federal laws allow to ensure all students have that opportunity, White said. Why? Because, we know that a persons intelligence their capacity for learning and advancing human progress in no way depends on what side of a border they were born on. We know that an empowered person does not take opportunity from others. Rather, they create opportunity for those who surround them. Whites remarks came at the close of a two-day board of trustees meeting in Long Beach, where university leaders debated whether to increase tuition as a way to fill a looming gap in state funding. Advertisement More than a dozen students spoke during the public comment period, calling on administrators to consider the hardship a hike would cause their families. They echoed the sentiments of classmates rallying at multiple campuses across the state. We cannot keep putting this burden on our students. The state needs to understand that were a public institution that should be funded by the state and not by student tuition, California State Student Assn. President David Lopez told the trustees. Our students are already working two part-time jobs. Our students are the sole income providers for their families. Our students are starting families. Our students arent being raised in two-parent households. Our students are barely making ends meet. White said that of the 470,000 students who attend the nations largest public university system, 94% are from California, a third are the first in their families to attend college, and more than 60% are supported by financial aid and come from families earning less than $70,000, he said. A Cal State degree has helped countless students make it to the middle class and beyond, he said. We must understand whom we serve as we talk to the public and lawmakers, he said. For many, their idea of a college student is still a stylized version from television or film often a person of family wealth and privilege. White highlighted Cal States efforts in the past year to improve graduation rates the systems top priority. University officials have mapped out a multiyear plan to hire more tenure-track faculty, offer 3,000 additional courses and expand academic advising and programs offered during winter and summer breaks. We must ensure all students are able to enroll in the courses they need, when they need them, he said. At the end of his speech, White addressed the heightened anxiety and the divisive political and social rhetoric in the country. Universities are often centers of these movements, places of learning but also debate . Todays out-of-place belief may become commonplace tomorrow, as they did through the suffragette, civil rights and LGBT rights movements, he said. Some conflict is inevitable, even welcome, so long as it is respectful . A person who hears only things they already believe learns nothing new. rosanna.xia@latimes.com Follow @RosannaXia for more education news MORE EDUCATION NEWS Cal State students rally in protest across California as trustees debate increasing tuition Heres what would it take to give California students a debt-free college education Few school supplies but a lavish party: At charter school, teachers saw a clash between scarcity and extravagance In a lively discussion that ran almost an hour longer than scheduled, California State Universitys Board of Trustees debated the controversial possibility of increasing tuition as a way to fill a looming gap in state funding. They made it clear that theyd hoped Gov. Jerry Browns budget proposal would provide what was necessary to preserve the quality of the nations largest public university system. Instead, the amount he allocated in additional state funding is less than half what Cal State requested. Hugo Morales was one of numerous trustees who peppered university officials with detailed questions about possible alternatives and financial aid for low-income students. Advertisement He received applause from more than two dozen students and faculty members at the meeting in Long Beach when he said that he found it unsettling to consider passing on the shortfall in state funding to students. Hanging over the debate was the University of California regents 16 to 4 vote last week to end their six-year freeze on tuition and approve a 2.5%, or $282, increase next school year because of a similar funding bind. At Cal State, Chancellor Timothy P. White has proposed an increase of about 5%, which could amount to as much as $270 for in-state students. Tuition for out-of-state students as well as graduate and teacher credential programs would also see increases. The tuition increases, White said, would generate $77.5 million in crucial net revenue. The more than 60% of Cal State students whose tuition is fully covered by grants and waivers would not be affected. The trustees wont vote on the proposed increase until March. Even then, they agreed to reconsider if necessary after the governors budget is set in June. University officials have launched a website, www.calstate.edu/tuition-increase, for students and families to review the details and share their concerns, which will be presented to the trustees in March. On Tuesday, students already were speaking out, rallying on campuses across the state. Cal State tuition more than doubled, to $5,472, from 2006 to 2011. Sofia Lopez, a political science student at Cal State L.A., said a hike would be hard. She gives her mother $500 each month toward the rent, which continues to go up, she said. To earn money, she tutors 30 hours a week at a community college on top of a full course load. The proposed increase, she said, is money that could be used for books, gas, Internet bills. Patrick Dorsey, president of Sacramento States Associated Students, asked university leaders to remember Cal States mission to help more Californians reach the middle class and beyond. He said he has collected thousands of signatures from struggling students. We must emphasize to our legislators and our governor that their investment in education, and their investment in us, is an investment in California, he said. State funding covers about half of Cal States operating costs, compared with 80% in the 1990s, administrators said. The system relies on tuition and fees from its 470,000 students to cover the rest. The state slashed nearly one-third of its support to Cal State during the recession but has steadily restored funding in the last six years. For those years, Brown pledged annual increases in exchange for a tuition freeze. Cal State officials described the need for more faculty and the pressure they are under to increase enrollment and graduation rates all with a smaller share of state dollars than in years past. The system remains committed to doubling its four-year graduation rate, from 19% to 40%, by 2025. The additional funding that Cal State had requested from the state to improve graduation rates would have paid for 400 new faculty, 3,000 classes and increased tutoring support for students, said Loren J. Blanchard, executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. Not having it, he said, might mean losing some momentum. Cal State also is trying to increase enrollment so all who are qualified can attend. Even though its campuses have enrolled 20,000 additional students since the recession, White said, last year 30,000 qualified applicants had to be turned away. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last week opposed the UC tuition increase because it would put a growing burden on students, voiced the same concerns at Tuesdays Cal State meeting. He also spoke about Browns proposal to phase out the states middle-class scholarship program, which would increase some students costs. Browns January budget proposal allocates about $157.2 million in additional funding for the next fiscal year and would raise total state support for the university system to about $3.6 billion. Cal State had estimated it needed an extra $324.9 million. We are responsible as a community for many things that we have to factor. But the rub is, we are not the decision makers on all of the elements that have to come together, White said, in closing Tuesdays discussion. Thats why were having this conversation today. rosanna.xia@latimes.com Follow @RosannaXia for more education news Witnesses described a chaotic scene Tuesday when a knife-wielding man went on a rampage in Hollywood, stabbing three people before being fatally shot by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department. The assailant described only as a man in his 30s stabbed a bicyclist about 2 p.m. along the north side of Sunset Boulevard near Ivar Avenue, said Sgt. Frank Preciado, an LAPD spokesman. Officials said the man carried no identification. Video posted on social media from inside a Jack in the Box on Sunset Boulevard shows a person calling for a makeshift tourniquet for a victim, seen sitting in a chair with a pool of blood on the floor. Advertisement Moans can be heard in the video. As an officer reports shots fired, another can be seen kneeling over a person face-down on the ground, holding the persons arm. Korvyn Gomez, 27, said he was leaving the nearby Los Angeles Film School to get some French fries when he saw a man near the restaurants door carrying a bloody butcher knife. Gomez ran across the street, where a police car was waiting to make a turn. He told the officers in the vehicle what he saw. Soon after, he said, a man with what appeared to be stab wounds to the rib cage emerged from the restaurant, yelling: He stabbed me! He stabbed me! Gomez said he then heard two or three gunshots, which he assumed were fired by police. Other witnesses said they desperately called police during the incident while trying to tend to the injured. As I was calling 911, cops were just swarming and coming out of nowhere, witness Rabisia Cook-Roberts told KABC-TV. I just made sure that guy who got stabbed was OK. Terrell Bradford told KNBC-TV he was riding his bike when the attacker tried to stab him. I told him to back away as he tried to come after me, he told the station. Bradford said he was able to get away, but the attacker then stabbed a friend in the arm, The attack occurred on a popular corridor along Sunset Boulevard near the ArcLight Cinemas, Amoeba Music and the Los Angeles offices of CNN. After the first stabbing, the assailant ran down Sunset Boulevard and tried to get into a coffee shop, but employees held the door shut, Preciado said. The man continued eastbound and walked into the Jack in the Box, where he stabbed another man, Preciado said. As the second victim fled the fast-food restaurant, police officers rushed inside. The man then knifed a third person. Officers confronted the attacker and shot him an unknown number of times. Preciado said police also attempted to use a Taser. The man died at the scene. Authorities did not release his name, and investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the attacks, Preciado said. Roger Robertson, 53, lives in Hollywood and walks to the Los Angeles Film School, where he is a student, three days a week. He described the nearby Jack in the Box as having a bad atmosphere where many transients hang out and ask passing tourists for money, sometimes leading to confrontations. It gets bad, Robertson told The Times. Robertson said he once saw a patron jump over the restaurants counter and attack an employee. Its worst at night, he said, adding that the fast-food restaurant is open 24 hours and is sometimes staffed by a security guard. City Councilman Mitch OFarrell, whose district includes Hollywood and East Hollywood, commended LAPD officers for their swift response to the stabbings. It saved lives, OFarrell said at a news conference Tuesday night. Investigators were unsure if the assailant knew the three victims, or if they were otherwise connected, police said. For the inquiry into the shooting, authorities were planning to review surveillance video. Preciado said there was no footage from body-worn cameras. All three victims were taken to hospitals with stab wounds. Two were initially listed in critical condition and were undergoing surgery late Tuesday, according to Josh Rubenstein, a spokesman for the LAPD. Both were considered medically stable. The third man was expected to be released from the hospital Wednesday. ALSO Shops vandalized on Melrose Place in Beverly Grove Suspect charged in double killing at Chinatown social club How detectives traced a man with dementia found alone in England back to Southern California UPDATES: 4:10 p.m.: This story was updated with details from people at the scene. This story was originally published at 10:45 a.m. With the city election five weeks away, Los Angeles elected officials launched a series of offensives Tuesday against Measure S, the ballot proposal that would impose new restrictions on many large-scale real estate developments. Mayor Eric Garcetti, appearing with the opposition campaign in Little Tokyo, warned that passage of Measure S would undermine efforts to house the homeless using funds from Measure HHH, a $1.2-billion bond measure approved by 77% of voters in November. Garcetti said affordable housing developers, looking to cut costs, frequently seek to build on land that is not zoned for homes. Those projects require a type of planning approval that would be barred under Measure S for at least two years and possibly up to a decade, he said. Advertisement We wont be able to spend the money that voters authorized for homeless housing, Garcetti said. We wont be able to find the sites. In another part of downtown, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to oppose Measure S. And at City Hall, Councilman Jose Huizar released a plan for updating the citys 35 neighborhood planning documents an issue that has been central in the Measure S debate. The citys community plans spell out what can be built in L.A. on a block-by-block basis. But the vast majority of them are more than 15 years old and, in the eyes of housing advocates, woefully behind changing real estate patterns and transportation initiatives. Measure S, which is on the March 7 municipal ballot, would impose a two-year ban on real estate projects that require special planning approvals, such as increases in height or density. The moratorium would end sooner, however, if the city shows it has updated all of its community plans a goal city officials say is impossible. Jill Stewart, campaign manager for Yes on S, praised Huizar for waking up to pressure from citizens seeking more rapid approval of community plans. But she said such efforts should not dissuade voters from backing Measure S. The city, unfortunately, has a track record of saying theyre going to fix something, having a hearing, backing the reform and then it doesnt happen, she said. Because of their disastrous track record, theres a lack of trust that any of this is going to happen. Stewart also disputed the assertions by Garcetti and others that homeless housing projects are threatened by Measure S. Officials could move quickly to house homeless residents, she said, if they focus on developing projects on city-owned sites where homes are already permitted. The Yes on S campaign, a group heavily backed by the Hollywood-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, has spent more than a year highlighting the citys frequent practice of changing planning rules for individual development projects. Those decisions, say Measure S supporters, are heavily influenced by campaign contributors and have helped to make neighborhoods unaffordable. Business leaders, labor unions and the citys affordable housing groups say Measure S would trigger a dramatic slowdown in housing production, pushing already high rents even higher. They argue that the homelessness crisis would grow worse, with nonprofit developers unable to use long-established planning tools to win approval for their projects. Because community plans are so out of date, development projects regularly need zoning changes, height increases and other changes in planning rules, foes of Measures S say. Gary Toebben, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, said he fears Measure S would push thousands of construction workers into unemployment. Appearing with Garcetti, he called on city leaders to acknowledge that the lack of up-to-date community plans is a city emergency. Huizar called for each of those plans to be updated every six years, making each document current by 2024. The councils Planning and Land Use Management Committee endorsed that strategy, which is expected to cost $10 million annually, sending the idea to the full council for consideration. Huizar praised Measure S supporters for raising the need for updated community plans. But he thinks even a two-year moratorium would put a stop to much of the citys construction activity. That will bring the city of L.A.s economy to a halt, Huizar said. Stewart sharply disagreed, saying plenty of construction work will be provided by Measure HHH and Measure M, a half-cent transportation tax approved two months ago for rail and other transportation projects. Opponents of Measure S, she said, have to say something to stop the fact that were ahead and theyre in trouble. david.zahniser@latimes.com Twitter: @DavidZahniser Emotions ran high at the Police Commissions weekly meeting Tuesday, where dozens of people waited hours to hear the board rule that officers were not substantially involved in the death of a woman inside a Los Angeles jail cell. For months, activists have criticized the Los Angeles Police Department over Wakiesha Wilsons death, chanting her name at the commissions weekly meetings and demanding to know more about how she died. Coroners officials said Wilson committed suicide by hanging herself in the cell, though her family almost immediately questioned the account. Say her name! people in the packed room shouted Tuesday. No justice, no peace! Advertisement That evening, the 10-month investigation into Wilsons death came to a close after the commission which reviews all deaths that occur in LAPD custody unanimously determined officers did not use force against Wilson. The board, however, directed its inspector general to review all deaths at LAPD jails within the last five years, looking for any trends or recurrent issues. The inspector general was also assigned the task of reviewing the LAPDs policies for screening inmates to determine whether existing procedures sufficiently identify those who may have mental or physical issues. As Matt Johnson, the commissions president, announced the findings and expressed condolences to Wilsons family, her mother sobbed in the audience. Activists enveloped Lisa Hines in a hug as her sister shouted profanities. Hines later fainted. They killed my baby, she cried. Lisa Hines, center, is comforted outside LAPD headquarters prior to a Police Commission meeting on the death of her daughter. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) The commission uses every case we review as an opportunity to identify ways we can improve the department, Johnson said after the meeting. We are using this incident as a catalyst to review other issues related to in-custody deaths to see if there are other areas we can identify for improvement. LAPD officers arrested Wilson early March 26, after the 36-year-old was accused of punching a patient at a downtown hospital. Wilson had checked herself into the hospital earlier for back and chest pain, according to a redacted copy of a report LAPD Chief Charlie Beck submitted to the Police Commission. Officers initially took Wilson to an LAPD station, Becks report said. When asked whether she felt suicidal or felt like hurting herself, Wilson said no, the report said. A medical form completed at the station indicated that Wilson said she had mental health issues, though Beck said officers did not know details of those reported issues when they later booked her. Officers then took Wilson to the LAPDs Metropolitan Detention Center just a few blocks from the police station. Again, Wilson denied having suicidal thoughts, according to Becks report. The woman who shared a cell with Wilson later told investigators that Wilson was aggressive and just wanted to get out, according to Becks report. Wilson wrapped her shirt around her neck, the inmate added, and said, Let me out. Let me out. Im suicidal. Becks report said the inmate did not report Wilsons actions or comments to jail staff. Meanwhile, one detention officer told another to keep an eye on Wilson because she seemed to be kind of out of it and was acting a little strange but did not elaborate, Becks report said. When it came time to move the inmates back to a cellblock, the report said, officers decided to keep Wilson alone in her cell because she was uncooperative. About 35 minutes later, a detention officer spotted Wilson on the floor. Wilson had tied a piece of clothing around the cord of a telephone in the cell, investigators said, and hanged herself. Wilsons family has questioned why she would commit suicide, saying there were no signs that she was distraught when she spoke to relatives on the phone after her arrest. Becks report said the LAPD launched two internal investigations into the actions of some of the detention officers who had contact with Wilson: one who decided to keep Wilson alone in the cell without getting proper approval, and two officers who didnt immediately try to resuscitate Wilson when they found her. The names of those detention officers were redacted from the copy of Becks report made public Tuesday. The LAPD is replacing the phones in most of its jail cells this year with phones that dont have cords, Becks report said. The department is also reviewing its policy outlining when jail staff should contact a specially trained mental health unit about an inmate. In the months after Wilsons death, officials were repeatedly criticized for their handling of the case, particularly the delay in notifying Wilsons mother of her death. Hines said she learned Wilson had died only after she didnt appear in court days later. Hines regularly attended Police Commission meetings, where she and others have demanded to see any video from inside the jail cell where Wilson died. On Tuesday, activists and others echoed that plea. If there is a video, whatever it shows please release it, said Pastor Mike Cummings, a community activist who works in Watts. Give Mama some closure. Give Lisa Hines some closure. kate.mather@latimes.com @katemather ALSO 2 shot to death in Americas safest big city Irvine; family member in custody California father, 12-year-old daughter stuck in Africa following Trump travel ban, lawyer says Police kill man whose stabbing rampage injured 3 on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood An investigator with the Los Angeles County district attorneys office has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Sheriff Jim McDonnell and a group of deputies, alleging he was beaten and unlawfully detained while working last year. Maurice Lallemand contends in his lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was battered and held by deputies in a patrol car despite his status as one of about 300 sworn investigators with the district attorneys office. His complaint in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California calls the experience an inexcusable, despicable and intolerable episode of government-gone-wild. Advertisement The suit is a rare public account of one peace officer alleging he was brutalized and unlawfully apprehended by a group of other officers. Representatives from the district attorneys office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to the suit, the incident began about 6 a.m. on May 13, 2016, outside a home in Bellflower. Lallemand was in his county-issued police car and trying to serve a robbery victim a subpoena. Lallemand used his police radio to notify his department command center which shares the same radio frequency as the Sheriffs Department that he was at the location. He got out of his car wearing a police badge, a radio and a lanyard with police written on his identification card. At some point, four L.A. County sheriffs deputies arrived and despite Lallemand identifying himself as a sworn peace officer, he was assaulted, battered, detained and searched, according to the suit. Lallemand says he was retaliated against for his comments to the deputies, including, You guys are inexperienced and incompetent, according to the suit. Deputies locked Lallemand in their patrol car with a person who appeared to be a drug addict; the lawsuit claims the detention was unnecessary. Two months later, Lallemand and a colleague tried to submit a complaint against the deputies at the Sheriffs Departments Lakewood Station, but they were rebuffed. A supervisor allegedly ordered a desk sergeant not to accept the complaint. Lallemand contends the refusal was part of a scheme by the deputies to conceal the alleged wrongdoing. The lawsuit seeks damages for violations of civil rights, humiliation, and emotional and physical injuries. The Sheriffs Department said in a statement that its employees were dispatched to a call on that day about a man in civilian clothing who was knocking on doors saying he was a police officer. The plaintiffs complaint regarding Sheriff Department personnel was brought to our attention the same day, and the Sheriffs Department arranged a conflict resolution meeting between the parties and their respective supervisors four days after the incident occurred, the department said in the statement sent by agency spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. Nishida said the department conducted a thorough inquiry into Lallemands allegations but could not comment on the outcome of any probes. Citing peace officer confidentiality laws, Nishida said she could not provide information about whether any deputies were placed on leave or disciplined as a result. She said as of Thursday the department had not received Lallemands lawsuit. Lallemand is represented by attorney Olu K. Orange. Times staff writer Maya Lau contributed to this report. matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno MORE LOCAL NEWS Suspect charged in double killing at Chinatown social club Tiny hummingbird egg stalls project to upgrade a Bay Area bridge 2 shot to death in Americas safest big city Irvine; family member in custody L.A. elected officials make new push against Measure S UPDATES: 2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the Sheriffs Department. This article was originally published at 5 a.m. on Feb. 1. Two years ago, an elderly man with an American accent was found wandering around a British bus station parking lot disoriented. It took much detective work, but authorities now say that man is Earl Roger Curry, a 76-year-old Whittier man suffering from dementia. The case has generated intense interest in England this week after the BBC aired a documentary examining how Curry appears to have been abandoned so far from home. Advertisement Curry was returned to the United States by British authorities last year and is now in a Los Angeles-area nursing home. According to documents filed by the L.A. County Public Guardian, the county is seeking conservancy of Curry. No one in his family is prepared to accept responsibility for him, the document states. The BBC documentary alleged that Currys family simply left him in England, though no charges have been filed against them. The BBC interviewed Currys son, who denied he had anything to do with abandoning him, The Times could not reach family members. The Public Guardian documents note these allegations. For months, Curry sat in a nursing home in the heart of England as British police scoured the world with Interpols help. All he could recall was his name was Roger Curry, according to the BBC documentary. He was found wearing newly purchased clothes from British retailer Tesco. With few clues, investigators made an international public appeal last March for help identifying the man. Web sleuths around the globe began searching for answers. One woman came forward to say she had gone to high school with Curry. Authorities eventually figured out that Curry lived in Whittier, where some neighbors told the BBC that he often roamed the neighborhood in a disoriented state. The L.A. County Public Guardian said it is examining the circumstances of how Curry came to be abandoned in Britian. richard.winton@latimes.com Twitter: @lacrimes ALSO Suspect charged in double killing at Chinatown social club D.A. investigators lawsuit says he was beaten and unlawfully detained by L.A. sheriffs deputies Police kill man whose stabbing rampage injured 3 on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood Abraham Amanios younger brother Isaac was killed in 2015 when a husband and wife stormed into the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino and opened fire. The terrorist attack, which left 14 people dead, was cited by President Trump as one reason for his controversial travel restriction policy that temporarily bars refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations. Amanios, 74, wants to prevent terrorism, but he also identifies with many of the people barred under the new policy. He came to the U.S. from Sudan in 1980, after having fled violence and political persecution in northern Ethiopia during the fight for secession by the modern-day nation of Eritrea. His brother Isaac, who had fought for Eritrean independence, sought asylum in the U.S. with his family in 2000. Isaac had worked in Sudan as an interpreter at a United States resettlement camp for refugees. Advertisement The main reason that we even came here to this country, Eritreans, is because of the unstable Middle East, Abraham Amanios said, adding that he saw the Trump policy as misguided. None of the people involved in terrorism or other things came from these countries. None of them. Abraham Amanios None of the people involved in terrorism or other things came from these countries, Amanios said of those included in the ban. None of them. The victims of the San Bernardino terror attack represented a cross-section of America. They were Christian, Muslim and Jewish, both immigrants and people born in the United States. One woman who was killed came to the U.S. after fleeing religious persecution in Iran. Another had fled Vietnam as a child. Their tragedy became fuel for Trumps executive order, which has roiled airports around the nation over the last week. Now, some of the attacks victims and their families are asking themselves whether the ban is the right way to keep others from suffering, as they have, the devastation of a terrorist attack. Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democrat whose congressional district includes San Bernardino, has strongly denounced the ban and Trumps repeated mention of the terrorist attack as a motivation for it. The presidents consistent exploitation of San Bernardino is both incorrect and shameful, Aguilar said. To use a tragedy in my community, a tragedy were still reeling from, as a political talking point is just despicable. Hal Houser, who witnessed the attack and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, said he voted for Trump and supports the order but was critical of how it was implemented. Full coverage: San Bernardino terror attack He said he did not agree with green card holders being banned from the country. Since the order was announced, there have been mixed signals about whether it would apply to green card holders, or lawful permanent residents. On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said he deemed the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest. Houser also said he was angered that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, where the San Bernardino attackers had ties, were not on the list of countries affected by the travel ban. I dont know why he has rushed so quickly to implement this policy when it needed so much careful consideration, he said. But Houser, 55, said it was unfair to call Trumps executive order a Muslim ban. One of my Muslim coworkers got shot. I dont want to have a Muslim ban, absolutely not, he said. My office was staffed by Muslims who love America and Syed. This punctuates how Muslims cant be broad-brushed, he said, referring to Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the attackers. Five days after the Dec. 2, 2015, attack, Trump initially proposed a total and complete ban on Muslims entering the country. In recent days, his administration has repeatedly referred to San Bernardino, along with other recent terror attacks, as a motivation for the order approved last week, though the policy would not have affected its perpetrators. Farook was born in the U.S. His wife, Tashfeen Malik, immigrated to the country from Pakistan on a K-1 fiancee visa and had lived in Saudi Arabia for a time. The executive order issued Friday suspends new refugee entries into the United States for 120 days and restricts for 90 days immigration from seven -Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. It also bars indefinitely the admission of Syrian refugees. Bennetta Betbadal, who was killed in the San Bernardino attack, fled to America from Iran to escape religious persecution of Christians, her family has said. In a written statement provided to The Times by family friend Mark Russell, her husband, Arlen Verdehyou, said the family is in full support of what is needed to make [and] keep America safe. Verdehyou said the president should be mindful of Christians, like his wife, looking to come to the U.S. from -Muslim-majority countries. Trump has said he intends to prioritize Christian refugees over others seeking to enter the United States. We hope America [and] President Trump can do this without violating our core values; however, we also recognize that this is no small task, Verdehyou said. John Ramos, who was injured in the attack, said hes still working to mentally recover from what happened that day at the Inland Regional Center. When Trump proposed a Muslim ban just days after the San Bernardino shootings, he didnt hear about it. I had other things on my mind, he said. At the time, he was still recovering from his injuries it would take weeks for shattered asphalt to come out of his hands. On Friday, Ramos saw online that Trump had signed the immigration ban and he felt a complete betrayal, he said. Trump is wrong for assuming a ban will prevent violence, he said. While those seeking to enter the country should be vetted and screened, Ramos doesnt see a need for more extreme vetting. The person who carried out [the Dec. 2] attack was born in the U.S. and only went overseas to get a wife, Ramos, 58, said. Its ill-conceived. The way he sees it, Trump has used San Bernardino as fodder for a policy rooted in religious discrimination. I dont think he cares about any terror victims. Theres so much confusion I dont think they know what theyre doing, he said. Basically, this is a religious test, Ramos said. And its wrong. Milka Amanios, the 20-year-old daughter of the late Isaac Amanios, has been following the news closely since the executive order was announced and has been angered by each mention of the attack that killed her father. Its been egregious; its been ridiculous, she said. I dont think people realize my family are refugees to begin with, so its disheartening to see the rhetoric thats used. They love to use the San Bernardino attack as an example, but it was done by a U.S. citizen who killed a refugee. Amanios, a finance student at the University of San Francisco, was a toddler when she and her father came to the U.S. from Eritrea on travel visas in 2000 to attend her mothers graduation from nursing school. While they were here, she said, the political situation in her native country changed rapidly, and they sought asylum in this country. Amanios became a U.S. citizen about four years ago, following in her fathers footsteps. She now worries whether her mother, a green card holder and longtime resident, will be able to do the same, and she said she feels for the refugees stuck in the crosshairs of the travel ban. This is not something you do for fun, she said. You cant just hop across the ocean. You cant just hop a fence somewhere. It takes many, many years. Its a last resort. Nobody wants to leave their country of origin. sarah.parvini@latimes.com Twitter: @sarahparvini hailey.branson@latimes.com Twitter: @haileybranson paloma.esquivel@latimes.com Twitter: @palomaesquivel ALSO Also barred by Trumps executive order: These heavily vetted kids from Central America Trump administration signals that some bans on U.S. entry could be extended indefinitely San Francisco sues Trump over executive order targeting sanctuary cities UPDATES: 12:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the daughter of one of the victims of the San Bernardino attack. This article was originally published at 11:20 a.m. If not for a flat tire, Marta Becket may never have come across the abandoned hotel and social hall in the desert that would come to be her lifelong stage. While her husband looked for help with the tire, Becket peered into the hall. The floors were warped, the paint was peeling, a set of broken benches looked lost in the gloom. But she saw something brighter. My life split in two at this junction, she told the Los Angeles Times in 1999. I looked at the stage and knew it was my future. I knew Id perform here the rest of my life. Advertisement And she did. Becket, who died Monday at 92, spent decades presenting self-written, one-woman shows at the Amargosa Opera House, first in front of only empty seats and then full houses as fans drove deep into the desert to watch her perform. Fans at the Amargosa Opera House in 2005. (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times) The opera house in Death Valley Junction, a former mining hub seven miles from the Nevada state line, was at once a classic desert curiosity and a cultural beacon in the middle of nowhere. A classically trained dancer who grew up in New York and danced at Radio City Music Hall, Becket made her debut at the opera house in 1968. By her estimation, the population of Death Valley Junction was two she and her husband. When he left her, the population shrank to one. Aside from the occasional drifter, nobody arrived to see her performances. So she painted a large and festive audience on the walls and a Renaissance-style explosion of billowy clouds, cherubs and musicians in an ocean of blue on the ceiling. People asked why I did it, and I said Well, I have to be ready when they do show up, she said in a 2008 interview. Initially she rented the opera house for $45 a month, and then bought the place outright along with an adjoining hotel, which she fixed up each of its 14 rooms with murals of peacocks, clowns, ballerinas. She lived in a small shack behind the opera house with a dozen or so cats, two burros, a rooster and a flock of peacocks, including one named Vladimir. An out-of-work chemical plant worker from Trona another tired-out desert mining town arrived in Death Valley Junction in the early 80s to work as a handyman. Like Becket, Thomas Willett would never leave. A sellout crowd fills the Amargosa Opera House in 2005. (Sam Morris / Associated Press) He helped with repairs, bolted down all 114 seats in the opera house, sold tickets at the door, became her stage manager and in 1983 made his stage debut with Becket. His role in The Second Mortgage, which dramatized Beckets struggle to hang on to the theater, called for him to recline in a lounge chair and leaf through a copy of Variety. Willett died in 2005, and Becket continued to perform asking the audience to pretend that he was still there, tromping across stage. Sometimes shed step off the stage and leave the theater in silence, urging the audience to use its imagination to see her old partner. National Geographic wrote about the opera house. TV crews arrived. And a 2000 documentary about Becket won an Emmy. Shows sold out. Fans showed up just to meet her. She typically created two new shows each year and performed from October to May, when the blistering temperatures would begin to thin out the crowds. Screenwriter Todd Robinson, who directed the documentary Amargosa, told The Times in 2000 that he was overwhelmed when he first caught a performance. To me, she made Amargosa more than a place. Its a state of mind about pure creative spirit. By the time she was 87, Beckets knees and hips had given out from decades of dancing. Unwilling to retire completely, she performed a show she called Sitting Down, singing but not moving around. She quit performing altogether in 2012, but was a presence sometimes in the front row, sometimes scooting through the hotel lobby in a motorized wheelchair as others stepped in and performed. In 2006, she wrote an autobiography, To Dance on Sands, a story of art blooming in unexpected places. Out here, she told The Times in 1999, waving to the great emptiness and shifting sands outside the opera house, anything seemed possible. steve.marble@latimes.com twitter.com/stephenmarble Newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillersons most urgent task at the State Department isnt necessarily to manage the threat from Iran and North Korea, to recast relations with Russia and China, or to calm nervous allies in Europe and the Far East. It will be to quell mass dissent among the State Departments vast staff and to counter a growing sense of demoralization by the nations diplomats. In a largely party-line vote, the former Exxon Mobil chief executive won Senate approval Wednesday by 56 to 43. Only three Democrats and one independent crossed party lines to join Senate Republicans, a sign of how divisive Tillersons nomination has been. Hours later, he was sworn in as the new secretary of State. Advertisement Tillerson, 64, takes over a normally staid department that has been roiled by President Trumps efforts to shake up the U.S. foreign policy and national security establishment in pursuit of what Trump has called an America First policy. Trumps critics describe confusion and concern at State as career diplomats and civil servants struggle with what they see as worrying overtures to Russia and seeming snubs of NATO allies, as well as an early dispute with Mexico and an executive order temporarily barring entry to visitors and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. It has been head-spinning, said the U.S. ambassador to one of the nations affected by the Trump policy changes. The envoy did not want to be identified publicly criticizing the new administration. Most of States top political appointees have departed, as often happens when a new administration arrives. But so many Republican foreign policy veterans criticized Trump during the campaign, and now find themselves on the outs with the White House, that dozens of senior positions may remain empty for months. Selecting replacements for those positions may put the former Texas oil man at odds with the White House, which already has taken heat for sweeping executive orders that government agencies say were issued without input from them. Like Trump, Tillerson has no government or military experience. During a rocky Senate confirmation hearing last month, he faced sharp questions from Democrats about his personal friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his refusal to condemn Saudi Arabia and the Philippines for human rights abuses, and his views on efforts to ease global warming. Theres a new level of alarm, said Antony Blinken, who was deputy secretary of State under President Obama. He commented after the chaotic start of Trumps travel suspension Friday, which saw hundreds of people with valid U.S. visas and green cards suddenly detained at U.S. airports or stranded around the globe. The State Department was not consulted before the order was issued, sources said, even though it is responsible for issuing visas and vetting refugees. The concerns boiled over Tuesday when more than 800 U.S. diplomats, consular officers and other Foreign Service employees formally submitted a signed cable of dissent to Trumps order restricting travel from seven countries in an effort to prevent terrorism. The dissent channel is a rarely used but time-honored system that allows State Department officials to offer signed opinions on foreign policy that diverge from the White House. The dissents are usually confidential, but this one the largest ever by far was circulated to U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. A policy which closes our doors to over 200 million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans ... will not achieve its aim of making our country safer, it states. Such a policy runs counter to core American values of nondiscrimination, fair play and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants. When reports of the diplomats mass dissent first emerged, Trumps team reacted sharply. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that career bureaucrats should either get with the program or they can go. Trumps critics viewed that as a veiled threat, noting that the dissent channel is designed to protect from retribution those employees who use it. This is antithetical to the culture of the State Department and the whole purpose of the dissent channel, said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank). Those who signed, he said, may now fear they are blacklisted, their careers damaged. Angst at the State Department was exacerbated by the abrupt ouster last week of several senior officials, including the undersecretary for management, Patrick Kennedy, and four members of his team. Kennedys departure was not unexpected. He had been a staunch defender of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trumps presidential rival, especially over her handling of the attacks that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. But the abrupt removals left State rudderless in several essential areas of operations and security. As a career diplomat, I experienced many transitions and never saw anything like this dangerous purge of public servants now underway at State, Laura Kennedy, a former deputy secretary of State for Eurasia, said via Twitter. Among those who resigned was Victoria Nuland, a career ambassador, assistant secretary of State and highly regarded hawk on Russia. Trump has openly praised Putin and has vowed to seek a friendlier relationship with Moscow. Jon Finer, who served as chief of staff to former Secretary of State John F. Kerry, said it could take months to fill so many high-level positions, leaving a gaping hole in diplomacy as the new administration is tested around the globe. Department veterans also decried what they described as a no need to know approach by Trumps aides, who they said had declined briefings by outgoing diplomats and had ignored policy papers prepared for the transition team. Consultation with State might have spared the Trump administration its latest dust-up with Mexico. As Mexican officials worked with the White House to prepare for President Enrique Pena Nietos planned visit to Washington, Trump ordered construction to start on a border wall and repeated his campaign promise to force Mexico to pay for it. His aides proposed slapping a 20% tariff on Mexican imports. Pena Nieto, who has repeatedly said Mexico will not pay for the barrier, canceled his trip in response. The two leaders have since spoken on the telephone. Afterward they issued nearly identical statements, but Pena Nietos said the two leaders agreed not to publicly discuss the wall, a detail not included in Trumps version. Mexican sources said the U.S. president continued to insist that Mexico pay for building the wall, a nonstarter for Pena Nieto. tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter ALSO Democrats see opening in Trumps stumble on travel ban, move to block Cabinet votes Travel order and firing of acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates roils Justice Department Scalias views mixed with Kennedys style: Meet Neil Gorsuch, Trumps pick for the Supreme Court UPDATES: 6:30 p.m.: This article has been updated to reflect Tillersons swearing-in and additional editing for clarity. 2:35 p.m.: This article has been updated with Tillersons confirmation by the Senate. This article was originally published at 11:15 a.m. The Oregon state leadership of the American Legion has threatened to shut down a renegade post in northeast Portland for opening its bar to the general public and breaking other rules of the 97-year-old veterans organization. Post 134 stands out as young and feisty compared with others around the country, playing host to indie-rock shows, sexual assault survivor groups and trivia nights catering to gay, lesbian and transgender people, regardless of whether they are veterans or not. It was the subject of a recent Times article. The post commander, 43-year-old Sean Davis, believes that opening the doors to nonveterans can breathe new life into the organization and help bridge the gap between the shrinking number of veterans and the rest of society. Advertisement But in a Jan. 11 letter to Davis, the Legions judge advocate for Oregon, Gerald Shorey, said that based on The Times article, the post appeared to be flouting the organizations constitution and bylaws. The American Legion is not in the bar business, he wrote, suggesting that opening the bar to guests not accompanied by members not only violated Legion rules but also the posts liquor license. A spokesperson for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission said welcoming nonmembers to the bar was perfectly legal. The letter also said the post was being placed under investigation for Davis plan to stop acknowledging the Sons of the American Legion and the Womens Auxiliary groups for relatives of members and instead refer to those relatives with the gender-neutral term allies. Finally, the letter suggested that the post had ignored Legion restrictions on promoting political candidates a concern that 79-year-old Shorey said arose because The Times story described a meeting of artists opposed to Donald Trump. Because of the serious nature of these allegations, you are requested to cease and desist all activities in violation of the above mentioned until an investigation can be completed, the letter said. The state organization plans to send a team of investigators to meet with Davis, who was wounded in Iraq and awarded a Purple Heart. Davis denied that the post had broken any bylaws but said he would like to work with state leaders to make sure it remains open and continues to fulfill his inclusive vision. He said the post maintains a sign-up sheet for guests that adheres to Legion standards and reserves some times exclusively for veterans. Were not just trying to be another bar, he said. He also said that he would now recognize the Sons of the American Legion and the Womens Auxiliary: I respect that tradition. Id just like to let people who dont identify with a gender binary be part of the American Legion. The new allies classification would be for people who dont have family members who are veterans but want to be formally affiliated with the post, he said. As for the anti-Trump artists, Davis said: Were not a political place. If it was a group of anybody who wanted to do good in the community, we would have had them here and helped them out. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs projects that over the next 25 years, the veteran population will fall from 21 million to 15 million. The Legion has 14,000 posts, but its national membership has declined from a peak of 3.3 million in 1947 to 2 million today. Only about 30,000 are veterans under the age of 40. Davis said his post has attracted many younger veterans. Im proud of what weve done, he said. Weve inspired the people around us and weve helped many young veterans find purpose. Seely is a special correspondent. ALSO Guards taken hostage by inmates at Delaware prison, official says Prosecutors: Pulse gunmans wife helped scout potential targets, including Disney Burglars stole from Seattle-areas rich and famous, but left a few too many clues behind It was a forceful condemnation a vow to wipe out a serious crime. I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, President Trump boomed on Twitter last week. But Trumps social media decree missed a crucial fact: Its not illegal to be registered to vote in multiple states. It is, however, a felony to cast ballots in more than one state yet it rarely happens. Advertisement Trumps tweet storm about voter registration and his unfounded claim that millions of illegal votes were cast for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in November has cast a spotlight on voting procedures nationwide. That spotlight has revealed some ironies. Trumps son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, is registered in more than one state. The same is true for some of the presidents senior officials, including his pick to lead the Treasury Department, Steven Mnuchin, along with senior advisor Stephen K. Bannon and Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Even Gregg Phillips, creator of the app VoteStand which helps Americans report perceived voter fraud and who Trump has boasted is a guru on the issue, appears to be registered in Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, according to the Associated Press. We need a national voter ID number that travels with us from state to state, Phillips tweeted on Monday in response to the AP story. This double and triple registration problem would end quickly. A 2012 Pew Charitable Trusts study found that 2.75 million people were registered to vote in multiple states, usually because they had recently moved. Kay Stimson, a spokeswoman for the National Assn. of Secretaries of State, says election officials strive to keep voter registration rolls accurate and up-to-date. Sometimes a voter who has moved or has died ends up on more than one list until the jurisdiction receives notification of the change and can legally remove the voter from their list, Stimson said. The National Voter Registration Act, passed by Congress in 1993, leaves purging voter rolls up to state officials. Following the close presidential race in 2000 a battle centered on ballots in Florida the Help America Vote Act was passed, requiring that each state keep a centralized voter registration database. The new law didnt, however, require states to share data with one another. In 2005, a report by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent government agency, recommended that states coordinate by using certain federal databases, such as the U.S. Postal Services change-of-address system. (Some states heeded the recommendation; others did not.) But keeping track of voters isnt easy. The Pew study found that in Clark County, Nev. home to Las Vegas more than 150,000 people moved from the addresses they had on file with the county election office between 2009 and 2010. That means more than 20% of the countys 700,000 active registered voters relocated within a year. Efforts to reduce the number of people registered in different states is noted on the federal governments voting help website, which tells users that when they register to vote in a new location, youll be asked for your previous address. The site suggests that the new election office will notify the old one. Still, that does not always happen. Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, says the issue of voters registering in more than one state is a serious concern. Were a mobile society and maintaining accurate lists is critical, he said. We get updates from the DMV and from the post office, but nothing is always certain. Despite millions of people perhaps being registered in more than one state, voter fraud is not widespread. In fact, reports have shown that, for the most part, it is nonexistent. Danielle Lang, deputy director of voting rights for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, says Trumps effort is trying to conflate two separate issues. It has sought to draw a link between the unsurprising notion that our voter registration lists are not always up-to-date and voter fraud a link that does not exist, Lang said. People move; people die. The bureaucracy doesnt always catch up with those daily facts. That does not mean there is widespread voter fraud. The evidence shows that there is not. Indeed, a recent comprehensive report into voter fraud, conducted by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, found 31 credible instances between 2000 and 2014 of voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion votes cast. The report examined every federal election in that time frame. To some, Trumps claims of election fraud show a president who cannot accept that he won the electoral college but lost the popular vote by 2.9 million. This is all ego, and its extremely detrimental to our democracy, said Todd Eisenstadt, a professor of government at American University in Washington, D.C. He added, Its an excuse for a bad popular-vote loss. kurtis.lee@latimes.com Twitter: @kurtisalee ALSO Trump administration signals that some bans on U.S. entry could be extended indefinitely California father, 12-year-old daughter stuck in Africa following Trump travel ban, lawyer says Neil Gorsuch could fall somewhere between his hero, Justice Scalia, and former boss, centrist Justice Kennedy Inmates at a Delaware prison took four Department of Correction workers hostage Wednesday, a move the inmates told a local newspaper was due to concerns about their treatment and the leadership of the United States. The hostage situation drew dozens of officers and law enforcement vehicles to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna and prompted a statewide lockdown of all prisons. One hostage was released Wednesday afternoon, and another was released hours later, leaving authorities negotiating into the evening for the last two being held. A preliminary investigation suggests the incident began about 10:30 a.m. when a correctional officer inside Building C, which houses more than 100 inmates, radioed for immediate assistance, Delaware State Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz said at a news conference. Other officers responded to help, and Department of Correction employees were taken hostage, he said. Advertisement Bratz initially said five employees were taken hostage, but authorities at a later news conference said the number had been revised to four after one person thought to be among the hostages was found in another part of the prison. Robert Coupe, secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said 27 inmates also had left the building over the course of the evening. Authorities dont know the dynamics of the takeover or whether those inmates had been held against their will, Coupe said. One of the freed employees was taken to a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said. The condition of the second wasnt immediately available. Earlier in the day, inmates reached out to the News Journal in Wilmington in two phone calls to explain their actions and make demands. Prisoners funneled the calls to the paper with the help of one inmates fiancee and another persons mother. The mother told the paper her son was among the hostages. In that call, an inmate said their reasons for doing what were doing included Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that hes doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse. That caller said education for prisoners was the inmates priority. They also said they want effective rehabilitation for all prisoners and information about how money is allocated to prisons. Coupe said authorities had been communicating with the hostage takers via radio. He also noted that inmates in Building C have access to television and could be watching the news conference live. Wed like to tell them we want to resolve this peacefully, he said. Coupe declined to comment when asked about the phone calls to the News Journal. but said a dialogue about issues at the prison could happen later. Once this matter is resolved safely, then that will be the time to talk if the inmates want to talk about conditions, privileges, those types of things, he said. Delaware Gov. John Carney spoke briefly, saying he had talked with the hostages families. As you can imagine, its been very difficult for them as well, the new Democratic governor said. According to the departments website, the prison is Delawares largest correctional facility for men, with about 2,500 inmates. It houses minimum, medium and maximum security inmates and also houses Kent County detainees awaiting trial. It employs 1,500 corrections officers, said Bruce Rogers, counsel for the Correctional Officers Assn. of Delaware. In 2004, an inmate raped a counselor and took her hostage for nearly seven hours at the Smyrna prison, according to an Associated Press report at the time. A department sharpshooter later shot and killed Scott Miller, 45, according to the report, ending the standoff. Dover attorney Stephen Hampton, who has represented state inmates in civil rights cases, said complaints have increased in the last year from inmates systemwide about substandard medical care and poor record-keeping. Hampton also said that pretrial inmates at Vaughn and other facilities are locked up for much of the day, without access to gyms or libraries, because rules prohibit mixing pretrial and sentenced inmates. There gets to be a tremendous pressure on these inmates, who sometimes make deals just to get out, Hampton said. ALSO You can build a wall -- except here, a river runs through it Senator says Army Corps has been told to approve Dakota pipeline easement Boy Scouts to allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll UPDATES: 7:40 p.m.: The story was updated with information about a hostage release. 5:30 p.m.: The story was updated with information about the inmates phone call. 3:10 p.m.: The story was updated with news that one hostage had been released. 2:25 p.m.: The story was updated with the number of people taken hostage and more details from the scene. 11:25 a.m.: The story was updated with new details from video taken at the scene and background information on the prison. The story was originally published at 11:10 a.m. It is one thing for the Trump administration to take aim at Broadway shows, Hollywood actresses, Democrats and even the media. It is quite another for the administration only 12 days after taking power to direct aggressive, belligerent threats at other nations. Yet thats exactly what National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (long known for his hot-headed lack of judgment) did Wednesday in response to recent Iranian actions. In a brief statement citing Irans ballistic missile launch over the weekend and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported militants, Flynn charged that the Obama administration had failed to respond adequately to Tehrans malign actions, called the Iran nuclear deal weak and ineffective and announced that as of today we are officially putting Iran on notice. On notice? What does that mean? A senior Trump administration official later said a whole range of options were being considered, and repeatedly refused to rule out military action. Advertisement Flynns statement contained a clear threat, but is it just more Trumpian bravado? A lone-wolf warning by Flynn, a longtime anti-Islamist hawk, just because he was in the mood? Or was it part of a coordinated strategy designed to make the Iranians think twice about provoking the U.S. but if so, could it backfire and pave the way to war? Its impossible to know. Were accustomed to President Trumps bullying, shoot-from-the-lip attacks on anyone he thinks has slighted him. But an administration cant conduct foreign policy that way. If elections have consequences, so, too, do words, and when the presidents top national security advisor issues such a hostile statement menacing another nation, its not just another Twitterstorm. The administration has already put its ineptness on display. (Exhibit one: rolling out a new immigration and refugee policy without consulting the people charged with enforcing it.) But it is beyond reckless to threaten other countries before youve even figured out where the White House bathroom is. If elections have consequences, so, too, do words. Of course, policy change was inevitable under the new administration. Trump ran against Obamas foreign policy record, calling it too weak and accommodating. He took particular umbrage at the agreement under which Iran pledged to dismantle much of its nuclear infrastructure in return for an end to sanctions a deal Trump threatened to undo. But a new president and his top aides, most of them lacking foreign policy experience, should be extremely careful before they begin issuing threats to other sovereign nations. Fortunately, it will be hard for Trump to kill the Iran nuclear deal too quickly or on his own: It was reached through negotiations that included the United Kingdom, Russia, France, China and Germany. And while far from perfect, the agreement has achieved its prime goal of throttling Irans ability to create nuclear weapons for at least 10 years. The U.N. Security Council embraced the agreement with a resolution that limits the kinds of missile testing Iran could undertake. Iran claims its test Sunday did not violate the resolution; Flynn says it did. Whether it was a violation is not for the Trump administration to determine, but for the Security Council, which discussed the matter Tuesday. And its still unclear whether Iran was testing a missile or testing Trump. If the latter, Iran got its answer: The new president is easily, and perhaps dangerously, baited. Its telling that Flynns statement came just before the Senate approved former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of State. So having ousted top career diplomats at Foggy Bottom, Trump pushed toward a potential international crisis before he even had his own diplomatic team in place. This irony appeared completely lost on the senior officials who briefed reporters after Flynn issued his statement. We are in the second week, one of the officials said. We do not want to be premature or rash or take any action that would foreclose options or unnecessarily contribute to a negative response. Too late for that. For the sake of the nation, we hope Trump quickly readjusts his approach to international affairs from what seems to be a threaten-first framework to one that relies on diplomacy. He must remember that other nations have their own interests, and an insult or ill-considered threat can lead to more than a headline-generating spat. For example, if Iran tests another missile, would Trump and Flynn feel their warning had been ignored and launch a military strike outside the framework of the United Nations? How would Russia respond, or the Iraqi government, which is relying on Iranian troops to combat the Islamic State? This is a dangerous game. And its unclear that Trump or Flynn even know how to play it. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook UPDATES: 4:00 p.m.: This editorial was updated with additional details from the Trump administration and new commentary. John McCain has long prided himself on his reputation as a maverick, a Republican willing to buck his partys leaders. Now he faces what may be the biggest maverick moment of his career and he sounds like a man whos ready for a fight. The conservative senator from Arizona has warned President Trump against cozying up to Russias Vladimir Putin (a thug). Hes criticized Trumps order banning U.S. entry to people from seven mostly-Muslim countries (harmful). Hes denounced Trumps decision to withdraw from a trade deal with Asia (a serious mistake) and his proposal to tax imports from Mexico (insane). Thats not all. Asked about Trumps suggestion that the U.S. resume using torture on suspected terrorists, he said: I dont give a damn what the president of the United States wants to do. We will not torture. The law is the law. Advertisement Other Republicans have objected to some of Trumps actions. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has echoed McCain on Russia. Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was one of half a dozen who criticized last weeks immigration order. But ... will Republicans in Congress act as a serious check against Trump? Despite McCains outlier dissents, it still looks unlikely. But none have taken on the White House on so many issues as the 80-year-old McCain. If there is to be any kind of loyal Republican opposition on Capitol Hill, hes already its de facto leader. I feel, frankly, a greater burden of responsibility, he told the Wall Street Journal recently. The worlds on fire. We have more challenges than any time in the last 70 years. Whatever influence I have, I need to exercise it. The differences between McCain and Trump are substantive. McCain is a Ronald Reagan conservative, a product of his partys history. Trump ran against the GOP establishment and has abandoned large parts of the Reagan legacy. The starkest contrasts are on foreign policy. McCain views Putins Russia as a major threat to the United States and its allies; Trump hopes to make Putin a strategic partner, and has dismissed criticism of Russias invasion of Ukraine. But theres personal history here too. Early in his presidential campaign, Trump belittled McCains six years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. Hes not a war hero, candidate Trump said. I like people that werent captured, OK? After Trump won the presidential nomination, McCain endorsed him barely. (The senator said he supported the nominee of my party, without uttering his name.) But after a tape surfaced of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women, McCain withdrew his support drawing an angry response. The very foul-mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks! Trump tweeted. In November, McCain won Arizona by a bigger margin than Trump. Now, with a six-year term ahead, he is free to go his own way. After 34 years in Congress and two presidential campaigns of his own, hes a hard man to intimidate. But this is getting ahead of the larger story. Will Republicans in Congress act as a serious check against Trump? Despite McCains outlier dissents, it still looks unlikely. The normal impulse, especially for a party that has won control of every branch of government, is to rally around the president. And Republicans in the Senate are fragmented. Some are unabashed Trump supporters. Others are quietly critical, but mostly on individual issues Russia, immigration, trade. Trumps refugee ban drew more criticism than anything else he has done, but most of it was pragmatic, aimed at the chaotic rollout of the policy as much as any substantive demerits. GOP senators, moreover, want to enact the big tax cuts the president has promised plus repeal and replace Obamas healthcare law. One more problem: Some Republican senators worry that if they appear disloyal, theyll face a primary challenge from Trump supporters. So far, the president remains hugely popular among Republican voters. If the Republican establishment decides to push back, it probably wont take the form of open rebellion. It will look more like guerrilla warfare, with lawmakers doing tax reform and Obamacare their way, not Trumps, and slow-walking proposals they dislike (a costly infrastructure plan, for example). The battle for the soul of the Republican Party has long been underway. Trumps arrival in the White House didnt end it; it merely sent it spinning in new directions. doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com Twitter: @doylemcmanus Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Weve seen states fight the federal government before. In 1860 and 1861, it was the states that set off the conflict, taking up arms to oppose the new president. Today, its the new president who has initiated the break, vowing to punish states and cities that treat immigrants with respect and the environment with care, and against California and Los Angeles most of all. In his first weeks in office, Donald Trump took dead aim at the policies that state and local governments have put in place to enhance public health and safety. He threatened them with withdrawal of federal funds if they remain sanctuary cities and no major city has claimed that status longer than Los Angeles, which has barred its police from cooperating in deportation operations since 1979. Trump also has pledged to abolish regulations that he claims hamper business, and he is almost certain to go after Californias ability to impose emission standards on cars and trucks that are stricter than federal requirements. Since the day after the election, when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and State Senate leader Kevin de Leon announced they would resist Trumps attempts to impose nativist and racist policies on California, state leaders have almost welcomed the confrontation. Certainly they havent dodged it. Gov. Jerry Brown, in his State of the State address, said he would oppose the presidents oppressive initiatives. Mayors up and down the coast have promised to preserve their cities sanctuary status, even in the face of Trumps threats to reduce their federal funding. Advertisement Californias defenses against the presidents policies will have to be just as extraordinary as Trumps attacks. Any such reductions will encounter a multitude of court challenges, many of them focusing on the question of which federal funds the administration can withhold. Cutting funds that bolster police work will likely pass muster with the courts, though the amount the feds currently devote to such work isnt all that large. Eliminating the more considerable funds that go to cities for other purposes say, community development grants may not be legal. In South Dakota v. Dole, the Supreme Court ruled that conditions on federal spending might be illegitimate if they are unrelated to the purpose for which the funds are designated. That could pose a problem for Trump, since deportation efforts seem distinctly unrelated to, for instance, road building or research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge. The logic behind sanctuary cities couldnt be more clear. Contrary to Trumps alternative facts, the great wave of immigration over the last 30 years coincides with an epochal decline in crime. The numbers of murders in Los Angeles County fell from 1,944 in 1993 to 681 last year. As a study from the National Academy of Sciences concluded, Immigrants are in fact much less likely to commit crime than natives, and the presence of large numbers of immigrants seems to lower crime rates. One way to ensure that crime rates rise in a city like Los Angeles is to make many of its residents afraid to report dangerous behavior to the police, which, as LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has stated, is exactly what compelling the police to engage in deportation activities would do. Trumps efforts to weaken the states fuel emission standards could be more difficult to forestall than his assault on sanctuary cities. Should the state fail to blunt that attack in the courts, the legislature could devise a way around it by, say, enacting a higher sales tax on any new cars that exceed what the state standards would have been. Calling it the Trump Tax wouldnt be a bad idea. Ultimately Californias defenses against the presidents policies will have to be just as extraordinary as Trumps attacks. Lets say the courts grant the administration the authority to withhold all manner of federal funds from sanctuary states and cities. The most devastating move Trump could make would be to hold back Californias share of Medicaid and Childrens Health Insurance funding, which in 2015 came to roughly $55 billion, and today helps cover the health costs of more than 12 million state residents. California could then redirect tax payments from Washington to Sacramento that is, by increasing state taxes to cover the federal shortfall. Simultaneously, millions of Californians could decline to pay a commensurate amount on their federal income taxes (on the admittedly untested theory that massive coordinated tax evasion provides a level of safety-in-numbers that individual tax evasion does not). An extreme response, to be sure, to an extreme provocation. But when it comes to dividing the nation in two, Trumps only peer as an American president note I didnt say a president of the United States is Jefferson Davis. Harold Meyerson is executive editor of the American Prospect. He is a contributing writer to Opinion. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook President Trump nominated Neil M. Gorsuch as the next Supreme Court justice Tuesday, and Senate Democrats are already lined up to oppose the nomination. Despite the super-heated political rhetoric, the nomination of another conservative jurist to replace Justice Antonin Scalia wont move the courts center of gravity. If Trump wants to have a lasting effect on the law, he should be working with the Republican Congress to make changes in not on the Supreme Court. As an institution, the nations highest court is anachronistic, dysfunctional and long-overdue for an overhaul. Real change could be accomplished with just three basic reforms. First, the court is too small. When the first Supreme Court convened in 1790, at the Royal Exchange Building in New York City, only two of the then six-member court showed up. For many years, the size of the court was set by the number of circuits the regional appellate courts in the country. In 1869, that number was nine. While we currently have 13 such circuits, the court remained frozen at nine justices. Advertisement We never have had a national debate on the ideal size of this key institution, but we can be certain nine isnt it. We never have had a national debate on the ideal size of this key institution, but we can be certain nine isnt it. That configuration concentrates authority in too small a group. Indeed, it is often in the hands of only one person the perennial problem of the swing justice on a divided court. For years, the court was effectively just Sandra Day OConnor. Now, Anthony M. Kennedy plays the swing role. A better size is 19. The increase could occur slowly with no president filling more than two new positions per term. That would bring the U.S. high court in line with those of other countries, which have purposefully avoided our courts concentration of power (and swing justice) problems. Germanys high court has 16 members; Japans, 15; the United Kingdoms, 12; Indias, 31; and Israels, 15. On a 19-member Supreme Court, two justices (rotated by order of seniority) would sit each year on lower courts a tradition from the early days of the Republic that should be resumed. When riding circuit was abandoned, it produced a Supreme Court too easily seen as arrogant and out of touch with real-world issues. A larger court would also give more presidents more nominees and give the court a greater diversity of views. A larger court might even reduce our continual confirmation spasms whenever one of the few positions becomes vacant. And with more seats to fill, the quality of the jurists might rise. Although it seems counterintuitive, seats on the court come up so rarely now, and are so contentious, that presidents often pick nominees who are not particularly outstanding or distinctive in their field in order to make confirmation easier. A larger court would decrease each justices power, but it would probably increase the high courts overall expertise. Next, cameras should be allowed into the Supreme Court. The framers were such great believers in the need for justice to be done in public that they put it into the Constitution. The 6th Amendment guarantees public trials, and yet the justices currently make people wait in line (the wealthy hire line sitters) for days to get one of the relatively small number of seats in the courtroom. In an effort to fend off cameras, the court agreed in 1999 to release audio, in addition to transcripts, in some cases. That has simply made the situation more bizarre its as if the courts communication technology stopped with the advent of radio. The objection some justices have made to video isnt that the lawyers will grandstand, but that their fellow justices will. In 2007, Justice Kennedy suggested that if the proceedings were televised it would be human nature for me to suspect that one of my colleagues is saying something for a soundbite. Protecting justices from temptation is hardly a compelling argument for denying the public access to their highest court. Congress should order the cameras to start rolling, and any judges who feel they must retire should be thanked for their service. Finally, the Supreme Court is not just an island protected from modern technology but also judicial ethics. With self-serving logic, the justices insist that they alone can judge their conduct. They have voluntarily agreed to refer to the Code of Judicial Conduct for guidance. Often it appears to be honored primarily in the breach. Justices have given public speeches in which they have discussed pending issues and cases, attended political fundraisers, and ruled in cases where they or their spouses have financial interests. Congress should require the Supreme Court to adopt a formal code of ethics, including a process by which citizens can file complaints against justices. In the Federalist Papers, James Madison observed that no man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause. However, the nine justices on the Supreme Court demand precisely that unilateral power when it comes to their behavior. Jonathan Turley is a constitutional law professor at George Washington University. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook MORE FROM OPINION How California can fight the extreme provocations of Donald Trump Jeff Sessions isnt the attorney general we need Question for Democrats: Is Gorsuch illegitimate or extreme? When the GOP stole Merrick Garlands Supreme Court seat, they set the stage for a miserable battle The last votes were still being counted in California last November, and the political gurus were already talking about seeing Democrat Kamala Harris name on a 2020 for president bumper sticker. The states former attorney general has been Californias junior U.S. senator for only a month, and already shes been navigating through the most contentious presidential debut in modern times. Harris has also been out, outspoken and visible. She ran into her mothers best friend at the January womens march, and on Monday, protesting what she called a Muslim ban, she joined protesters in front of the White House. Since this interview, shes pledged a no vote to President Trump s education secretary nominee, and more cabinet votes are yet to come. Nothing like plunging right into the deep end. Find the full archive of "Patt Morrison Asks" podcasts here or search for "Patt Morrison Asks" on iTunes. To read this weeks column, click here. Want unlimited digital access to the L.A. Times? Patt Morrison listeners can sign up here for eight free weeks. MORE PATT MORRISON ASKS Mike Judge: The election is over, but our idiocracy is here to stay The tweets that Donald Trump and other politicians don't want you to read Stanford linguistics professor John Rickford on the legacy of Ebonics Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook The last votes were still being counted in California last November, and the political gurus were already talking about seeing Democrat Kamala Harris name on a 2020 for president bumper sticker. The states former attorney general has been Californias junior U.S. senator for only a month, and already shes been navigating through the most contentious presidential debut in modern times. Harris has also been out, outspoken and visible. She ran into her mothers best friend at the January womens march, and on Monday, protesting what she called a Muslim ban, she joined protesters in front of the White House. Since this interview, shes pledged a no vote to President Trumps Education secretary nominee, and more cabinet votes are yet to come. Nothing like plunging right into the deep end. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW ON THE PATT MORRISON ASKS PODCAST What about the events of this weekend Advertisement This administration, in its first 10 days, has shown that this president has no desire to reach out and work with anyone to make progress. Just think about the last 10 days: He has threatened healthcare for millions of Californians, much less tens of millions of people around the country, in terms of his desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This action [last] Friday has created incredible uncertainty and pain for refugees who are trying to flee harm. He wants to stick taxpayers with the tab for a border wall. He has implemented measures that will make it difficult for women to access healthcare around the world with this global gag rule. He is doing exactly what he told us he would do. You know, youve got to love Maya Angelou. She said it years ago youve got to listen to people when they tell you who they are the first time. He told us who he is. Some people wanted to dismiss it as campaign rhetoric. Well, it turns out it wasnt just campaign rhetoric. He meant it, and hes doing it. And that means we have to fight, and we have to stand up. And we have to fight for the best of who we are as a country. What does that mean for Senate Democrats? Do you fight on every front or do you pick your battles? I think that where we can work together we should do that but on these issues I see no opportunity to work together: I refuse to work with an administration thats going to shut our borders to people who are fleeing harm. I refuse to work and cooperate with the idea that we are going to break our promise to the tens of thousands of Dreamers who we promised, if you sign up for this, we will defer deportation and we will not share that information. I dont plan on going back on that word. We have to keep our word. There are just some things we cannot cooperate on when the premise and the starting point are so utterly unreasonable, not to mention probably in some of these cases unconstitutional. Does that mean unless X is changed, you and maybe some of your Senate colleagues will simply say no to whatever comes down? So far, yeah. So far Im saying no simply, no. Lets look at the issue of what were doing around repealing the Affordable Care Act without any plan for replacement. Im not going to work with repeal without replacement. There is no way that we can work with an administration that is going to shut off borders to immigrants, period, because they come from Mexico. I cant work with that. Cant work with anyone whos going to deny that climate change is a scientific fact. Where we can work together I hope to do that. You talked to Homeland Security secretary John Kelly and said this [travel ban] goes against our values. What did he say? Im not going to talk about the details of my conversation with him, but I will tell you that the bottom line is that I insisted that we would comply with the court order. There are three court orders at this point: Collectively they have ordered a stay on the executive order. However, the Department of Homeland Security continues to detain people, which is in violation of that stay. The second is an order that the Department of Homeland Security release the names of anyone who can be impacted by the order. The Department of Homeland Security has failed to comply with that. And thats outrageous. Its a court of law. Courts of law in the United States of America have issued rulings based on the Constitution, based on the law. And those rulings must be complied with. And failure to do so, in my opinion, invites sanctions. Want to talk about sanctions? As a lawyer, as a former attorney general of California, when you fail to comply with a court order, there should be some kind of repercussions. People have talked already about a constitutional crisis this early. Do you see that? I think we could be headed toward a constitutional crisis, certainly. Its about the fundamental principles that were the basis for the founding of our country. Those words spoken in 1776, that we are all and should be treated as equals those words that were behind freedom of association, freedom of religion. We have to fight for who we are as a country. And this administration is veering away from all of those fundamental principles, ideals that make us great. This is a time to fight for the ideals of our country. I say that fight we must. You want to talk about make America great again? The way you make America great is you fight for our ideals. And right now our ideals are under attack. Youre on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs committees, the select committee on intelligence. What would you like to see your committees do vis a vis the question of Russian involvement in the election? What we need to do through the select committee on intelligence in terms of a thorough and fact-based investigation on the role that was played in our elections. As the intelligence community has concluded, Russia deliberately attempted to undermine public faith in our democratic process. That should be something that causes everyone in our country concern. Nominees for cabinet positions still must be confirmed. Talk about who you have voted against and why. Off the top of my head, the list of nominees that have come before me in terms of my committees have included [Mike] Pompeo, who has been confirmed as the new director of the CIA. I did not vote in favor of his nomination. We also had before my committee Gen. Kelly for Department of Homeland Security. I voted against his nomination for a number of reasons, but specifically because I asked him a number of times in various ways on the record to indicate that he would honor our countrys promise to the DACA kids, our Dreamers, and he failed to commit to keeping our promise and I could not vote for his confirmation for that reason. Scott Pruitt has been up for head of the EPA, and I ask him very pointed questions about his belief in the science of climate change, and also if he would honor Californias laws where we have received exemptions from federal standards, because our standards are higher and he could not make a promise to me that he would comply with those going forward. What about Steven Mnuchin, the Goldman Sachs executive and Treasury secretary-designate? Your attorney generals office here declined to sue him over his OneWest bank and its foreclosure practices. We are hearing from a lot of Californians about that. I intend to definitely do a critical analysis of him as a candidate. California was hit harder than any state in terms of the numbers on the foreclosure crisis. Ive traveled up and down the state meeting with homeowners who lost their homes and were horribly impacted by that crisis. And Im concerned about and critical, frankly, of what his role might have been in that process. Some of your Republican colleagues have denounced the idea of reintroducing torture, and parts of the travel ban. Sen. John Thune said the torture ban is settled law, and Sen. Jeff Flake says its unacceptable when even permanent legal residents are turned away. Is this perhaps an opening to a realignment of alliances that is not Republicans versus Democrats, but one branch of government, the legislative, standing in opposition to another, the executive branch? I think youre presenting a really interesting possibility. Ive been heartened to see in the last few days that some prominent Republicans have spoken out: John McCain, Lindsey Graham have been I think quite honest and courageous. Some of these issues really are about who we are as a country and they shouldnt be thought of as partisan issues. Certainly it would be wonderful to get to a point where Democrats and Republicans can stand together in solidarity around the importance of certain principles, and the ideals of who we are as a country which should transcend party affiliation or any one administration. That would be I think a very strong statement to the people of our country and the people around the world that we have certain lines that when theyre crossed were all going to stand together, regardless of party affiliation. President Trumps nominee for the Supreme Court wont be happening until after you and I talk, but are there any guidelines you have in mind as far as confirmation or rejection are concerned? As a former attorney general of our state, I actually had a role and responsibility to review the governors appointment of judges and members of the judiciary. Based on my experience of doing this, Im going to look at the nominees background, both in terms of life experience, in terms of any opinions they have written and what they have written, and their orientation in terms of the issues. I am certainly going to look at where they have taken a position on issues like choice and Roe v. Wade, issues like immigration and DACA, issues like climate change, issues that relate to collective bargaining rights, issues that relate to financing elections and Citizens United. Heres the one thing I know: had the United States Supreme Court not decided Brown v. Board of Education, I would not be on the phone with you right now. I would not have been district attorney of San Francisco, or attorney general of California. The decisions that are made by the United States Supreme Court have a profound impact in real lives in a very substantial and significant way. I can think of nothing more important than the importance of evaluating the nominees for United States Supreme Court, and weighing in in a very loud and strong way, because whoever ends up on this court could have impacts on our country for generations, truly for generations. After the Nov. 8 elections, the Democrats were gobsmacked by the results. What does it say about the state of the party that, within a week or two of presidential election 2016, your name was being bandied election for the presidential election of 2020? There was a lot that happened during the course of the election. Ill leave it to the pundits to analyze exactly what it all meant. But in terms of the state of the Democratic party, I strongly believe that the commitment that we are all making as we go forward post-11/8 which is what I call it in this post-11/8 world, we have to recommit ourselves to some of the fundamental principles and priorities of the Democratic party, including coalition building, which means bringing all of who we are as Americans together, by bringing together Latinos and African Americans and women and people who care about choice and people who care about the environment and people who care about labor and people who care about childrens issues. When people wake up at 3 oclock in the morning concerned about something, it is never through the lens of them being a Democrat or a Republican. In fact, it always has something to do with their health, the health of their children, can they keep a roof over their heads, are they going to be able to retire with dignity. Were going to have to get back to really all of us remembering that, and we have to speak to where they are, and we have to see them and understand the lives they are actually living. So why your name in that context? I dont know why my name is in that context. Im focused on being the junior senator from California and very proud to be representing our beautiful state. Did you have any advice for your successor as attorney general, Xavier Becerra, apart from things like, Dont open the window after 4 oclock because the traffic noise is terrible? Weve had many conversations and meetings. And again, in this post-11/8 world, the role of the attorney general of California, as its always been, is going to be about being a voice for California, but also a voice for the country around all of these issues that weve discussed, whether it be immigration, whether it be criminal justice reform, whether it be climate change. All of those responsibilities rightly fall on the shoulders of the attorney general of California. You were a college intern mail clerk in the office you now work in. This is like Hollywood the mailroom to the executive suite. I was a sophomore at Howard University and I applied with a lot of kids to be what was considered a really prestige job, to be a summer United States Senate intern. And I got accepted. I started by working in the mailroom of then-senior senator from California, Alan Cranston. And whod-a thunk it: I am now the U.S. senator from California. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam starrer Kaabil becomes the solo film to be releasing in Pakistan post the ban on screening of Bollywood movies in Pakistan is lifted. Rakesh Roshan told to a daily, "I got a call from one of my distributors in Pakistan, Satish Anand, who is currently in India, saying that they all liked Kaabil so much there that they got ONLY Kaabil cleared at the censors." Roshan Sir adds, "It will be a solo release in Pakistan from tomorrow or day after. They wanted the message of Kaabil given by Hrithik and Yami to spread and reach everyone in Pakistan. It's a very nice step and a historic one towards increasing the friendship between the two countries. I hope it grows bigger every day!" Satish Anand, the Pakistani distributor told to the tabloid that, "It gives us great pleasure to restart screening of film and showing Indian films in Pakistan .This week it will be Kaabil's that will spearhead the process. Indeed it would be a historic moment for our people and the film fraternities. Kaabil wakai hi iss Kaabil hai, kay chiragh dobara say Roshan kar sakey! Great film from your banner once again. A difficult subject intelligently executed. Kudos to your entire team!" Also Read: Sara Ali Khan will not debut opposite Hrithik Roshan The team of Kaabil will celebrate the success of film with 'The Kapil Sharma Show' Once Salman has told to Hrithik 'You will be unstoppable' In choosing Judge Neil Gorsuch a credentialed and cerebral conservative for the Supreme Court, President Trump probably assured himself of success in the Senate even if Democrats remain united in opposition to the nominee. If the Democrats successfully filibustered the nomination, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell always could engineer a rules change that would allow the nomination to be approved by a simple majority. But within an hour of Trumps uncharacteristically concise introduction of Gorsuch to the nation, it seemed unlikely that there would be a solid wall of Democratic opposition to Gorsuchs nomination. True, some Democratic senators declared their immediate opposition in unyielding terms. But even among the opponents there was a divergence between those who asserted that Gorsuch was extreme or far outside the judicial mainstream, as Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio put it and those who echoed the argument that the Gorsuch nomination shouldnt even be given the time of day because the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia should have been filled by President Obama. Advertisement Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon enunciated the latter position even before he knew whom Trump would nominate, telling Politico: This is a stolen seat. This is the first time a Senate majority has stolen a seat. We will use every lever in our power to stop this. (After Trump picked Gorsuch, Merkley issued a statement repeating the stolen seat charge and suggesting that Trump should have renominated Judge Merrick Garland, Obamas centrist nominee. But Merkley also chose from Column B, calling Gorsuch ideological and extreme.) But once Democrats focus on whether Gorsuch is extreme, they are conceding that his record is up for discussion. That inevitably normalizes the nomination. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he had deep, serious concerns about Judge Gorsuch, and specifically mentioned privacy rights including womens healthcare, an allusion to abortion rights. The notion that Gorsuch harbors the intention of overturning Roe vs. Wade seems to be based mostly on an inference from his writings about assisted suicide and the fact that Trump promised to appoint pro-life judges. But Blumenthal said that Democrats should give Gorsuch the hearing that Republicans denied Garland so that they can take his measure. Its likely that Gorsuch will be just as nimble in parrying questions about Roe as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was at his confirmation hearings. Other Democrats were even more welcoming. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he looked forward to meeting with Gorsuch and urged his colleagues to put partisan politics aside and allow the vetting process to proceed. Thats another way of saying the nomination, while it might turn out to be extreme, isnt illegitimate. (My guess is that several Democratic senators will decide in the end that its neither extreme nor illegitimate and vote for Gorsuchs confirmation.) It would take only a handful of Democrats to decide that Gorsuch is not, after all, outside the mainstream to make him a Supreme Court justice and without the need to do away with the filibuster. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook ALSO Battling over Neil Gorsuch is beside the point: The Supreme Court needs an institutional overhaul Editorial: When the GOP stole Merrick Garlands Supreme Court seat, they set the stage for a miserable battle How California can fight the extreme provocations of Donald Trump To the editor: Vice President Mike Pence was quoted as saying at the antiabortion March for Life in Washington on Friday, Life is winning in America, and today is a celebration of that progress. (Trump makes for an odd champion for abortion foes, but his latest moves give them reason for optimism, Jan. 27) While I do not dispute that an unborn child is life, I cannot understand or support a group of pro-lifers or leaders who deny that our Earth, home to the human race and all life, is in grave danger due to climate change. Nor can I support pro-lifers who agree with suspending the acceptance of refugee children from war-torn Syria. This is only a partial list of contradictions for those who boast of being pro-life. Indeed, under the ignorant leadership of President Trump and Pence, life is losing, not winning. Advertisement Kathleen Brown, Santa Clarita .. To the editor: Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, as well as all Americans have cause to celebrate 2014 (the latest year reported) for having the lowest abortion rates since 1973. We can attribute this progress to more women looking for life-preserving solutions and programs available to help them with a new baby. But we might also applaud social changes that reduce the stigma of having babies out of wedlock, improvement in sex education and expanded availability of birth control. So what are we trying to fix by defunding Planned Parenthood and reversing Roe vs. Wade? Given the pro-life excitement over these two possibilities, just how will we measure future progress if all abortions go underground? Eugene Francis Mullaly, San Diego .. To the editor: On Page A3 of Sundays paper was a photo of antiabortion advocates, one of whom was holding a sign reading, Pro-woman, pro-child, pro-life. On the very next page was an article on the drought in Ethiopia, which included a photo of a mother holding her starving baby. I couldnt help but notice the striking contrast. James Cannon, Valley Village Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Former President George W. Bush says his recent remarks have been misconstrued as criticism of Trump (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday pushed back at the notion that his recent remarks about the media were criticisms of President Trump. Im asked the question, Do I believe in free press? and the answer is absolutely, I believe in free press because the press holds people to account, he said. Power is very addictive and its corrosive if it becomes central to your life and therefore there needs to be an independent group of people who hold you to account. And so I answered that question and of course the headlines were, Bush criticizes Trump. And so therefore I needed to say, There should be a free and independent press, but it ought to be accurate. Bush made the remarks at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley during an hourlong question-and-answer session promoting Portraits of Courage, his new book that features his paintings of veterans. While doing media interviews about the book in recent days, he has raised eyebrows by making comments about the media, immigrants and allegations of Russian interference in the November presidential election that were widely viewed as criticisms of the new president. He said that he decided once he left the office not to second-guess his successor, former President Obama, and that the same holds true for Trump. Doing so would undermine the office, Bush said, adding that he wants all of his successors to succeed because it is good for the nation. I dont want to make the presidents job worse, no matter what political party it is. Its a hard job, Bush said. Sometimes my remarks can be construed as criticism. Theyre certainly not meant to be, and after I finish this book tour you probably wont hear from me for a while. But he was willing to offer advice to those who follow him. Know what you dont know and find people who do know what you dont know and listen to them, he said. My advice is that the job is different once you get in. It looks one way and then you get in the Oval Office and it looks different. Trust me. Bush also made an implicit criticism of Obamas foreign policy when asked whether the world is more dangerous than it was four years ago. This may be taken as criticism of one of my successors and I dont really mean it to be. There is a lesson however when the United States decides not to take the lead and withdraw, he said. Vacuums can be created when U.S. presence recedes and that vacuum is generally filed with people who dont share the ideology, the same sense of human rights and human dignity and freedom that we do. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Aside from a handful of serious moments, Bush was jovial and self-effacing as he described how he became an oil painter after leaving the White House. Seeking ways to fill his time, he said he read an essay by Winston Churchill about painting. I basically said, What the hell, this guy can paint, I can paint, Bush said. He hired an instructor and started painting a cube and a watermelon before moving on to portraits. Former First Lady Laura Bush was not pleased with his depiction of her, so when he painted his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, he decided to depict her from behind. Barbara Bush and former President George H.W. Bush are doing well despite their recent hospitalizations, the younger Bush said. Theyre both great given their limitations. Dad cant walk, hes confined to a wheelchair and yet his spirit is joyful, Bush said. Moms doing fine. Shes shrinking, and as she does, her voice gets louder. But shes a, shes a piece of work is what she is. Bush has been reclusive since leaving office, but said he wrote the book and is publicizing it to raise money for veterans and to draw attention to the invisible wounds many of them suffer. I think when you read [their stories] youll be moved by stories of courage, injury, recovery willingness to help others, he said. Ive got a platform its not as big as it once was and I intend to use it to help our veterans for the rest of my life, and this is one way to do so. Seizing on President Trumps early missteps and the wave of protests his executive actions have triggered, Democrats are feeling more emboldened to confront the new administration head-on. Democrats are the still minority in Congress, lacking the votes to stop Trumps agenda. But they have the ability to jam it up. And Tuesday they did just that. First they temporarily stopped the clock on Rex Tillersons nomination for secretary of State, arguing that his views on Trumps refugee and travel ban must be made public before lawmakers can make a decision. Advertisement Next they staged a walkout at the Senate Finance Committee, preventing votes on Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as Health and Human Services secretary and Steve Mnuchin as secretary of Treasury. And they forced a delay of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general after Trump abruptly fired acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates for refusing to enforce his travel ban. Earlier, they kept the Senate in session until midnight Monday and protested on the steps of the Supreme Court, ahead of what is now likely to be a rigorous confirmation battle over Trumps pick to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalias seat. People across our country are looking at what President Trump is doing, they are appalled, and they are looking to us in Congress to fight back, said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the No. 3 Democrat, whose office received so many voicemails of concern 10,000 it shut down the system. Democrats are fighting back with every tool we have. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said he would oppose every one of Trumps nominees until they fully answered new questions raised by Trumps executive actions. Democrats were initially divided in the aftermath of Trumps stunning electoral victory over whether to work with the new president or battle him. Many remain crushed over Democratic losses and confused by the nationalist and populist enthusiasm for Trump that siphoned off some of their traditional voters. But Democrats quickly found an answer in the protests erupting across the country as Americans poured into the streets after Trumps inauguration, and again last weekend at airports in response to the travel order. President Obama kind of set the tone when he left saying to everybody, If you want to make an impact, stay engaged, said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.). The publics very engaged. Even some Democratic organizers were pleasantly surprised by the scale of the impromptu rallies of liberals, carrying homemade signs and showing up to protest the presidents actions. To some, the uprisings have been reminiscent of the tea party protests that sprung up early in Obamas presidency. Senate leaders say that their reasons for stalling Trumps Cabinet choices are based on policy, not politics. They note that the Senate easily confirmed Elaine Chao as the new Transportation secretary Tuesday while committees advanced Rick Perry as Energy secretary and Ryan Zinke as head of Interior. But some of Trumps nominees remain controversial because they have not completed the necessary paperwork, including ethics disclosures, or they face fresh questions as new information emerges. Democrats have said Mnuchin, a wealthy Wall Street executive, misled the committee in his response to a written question about foreclosures at Pasadenas OneWest Bank while he ran it from 2009 to 2015. They have also been increasingly critical of Prices extensive trading in healthcare stocks while he has been in Congress, in some cases while he has pushed legislation that would benefit his portfolio. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) denounced the Democratic walkout Tuesday as he sat with only Republicans on the dais. They ought to be embarrassed. Its the most pathetic treatment Ive seen in my 40 years in the United States Senate, Hatch said. I think they should stop posturing and acting like idiots. But even Democrats who did not participate in the boycott Tuesday said their colleagues had the right to protest for more information. People are concerned, said Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who communicated with protesters via Skype at his Charleston office. For Democrats the unresolved tension between the partys liberal base and its more moderate wing remains a potentially troublesome political divide. The rise of the tea party, for example, may have reenergized the GOP, but it also fueled deep divisions that continue today. Liberal favorite Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) encountered pushback from liberal activists after she voted to advance Ben Carsons nomination for Housing and Urban Development secretary. There are various gradations within the opposition, and some [advocate] scorched-earth, said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant leader. Some of my folks in the base dont want me to vote yes for anyone. But Im not going to take that position. After Democrats gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court on Monday night in an emotional protest over the refugee and travel ban, Trump tweeted dismissively about them. He made fun of the trouble they had getting the microphones to work. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) cautioned his colleagues against becoming too polarized as they confront Trump, lest they meet the same fate of Republicans whose party became overrun by far-right forces and turned Trump into the first tea party president. The radical nature of this government is radicalizing Democrats, and thats going to pose a real challenge to the Democratic Party, Schiff said. The more radical the administration is, the more radicalized our base becomes, which just feeds the [arch-conservative] Breitbart crowd, and who knows where that ends. lisa.mascaro@latimes.com @LisaMascaro Times staff writers Jim Puzzanghera and Sarah D. Wire contributed to this report. ALSO Analysis: Trumps early missteps threaten impressions of presidential competence Senate Republicans approve Price and Mnuchin nominations after changing the rules to stymie Democrats boycott Scalias views mixed with Kennedys style: Meet Neil Gorsuch, Trumps pick for the Supreme Court President Trumps decision late Monday to fire acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates over her decision to not defend his immigration order has split the Justice Department, with some lawyers hailing the longtime federal prosecutor for taking a courageous stand and others calling it an act of political grandstanding. The firing left Justice Department officials grappling with the legal and political fallout, and anxious over the agencys future in a Trump administration. Trumps travel and refugee ban, rolled out haphazardly on Friday, sparked chaos and protests at the nations airports over the weekend as customs officials detained dozens of refugees and legal permanent residents shocked to land in a country that was now seeking to turn them away. The executive order temporarily halted all refugees and barred entry into the U.S. of people from seven majority-Muslim countries. Advertisement Yates was blindsided by the order. By Monday night, she had issued her own, taking the extraordinary step of telling Justice Department attorneys to cease defending the ban in lawsuits brought by affected individuals and civil rights groups. Former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch issued a statement saying Yates had displayed the fierce intellect, unshakable integrity and deep commitment to the rule of law in standing up to Trump. Her courageous leadership embodies the highest traditions of the Department of Justice, whose first duty is always to the American people, and to the Constitution that protects our rights and safeguards our liberties, said Lynch, echoing the comments of several Justice Department lawyers interviewed on condition of anonymity. But other lawyers, including former Obama administration appointees and current Justice Department officials, questioned her orders legal underpinnings and described it as a gesture designed to allow her to leave office on a high note. Yates and Lynch had been criticized by Democrats and former Justice Department officials for not halting FBI Director James B. Comey in October from issuing a letter to Congress announcing that his agents were reviewing new emails potentially related to the investigation of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server while secretary of State. Democrats blamed Clintons electoral defeat, in part, on the negative attention generated by the letter and a subsequent one clearing her of wrongdoing. The Justice Department lawyers said they wondered whether Yates was hoping to cleanse herself from the stigma associated with the Comey matter. In particular, some lawyers were perplexed that Yates didnt take other, less confrontational actions. They said she could have written Trump a letter outlining her concerns or slow walked the process during her last few days in office, or even resigned. They saw little point in her issuing an order that would quickly be reversed, which it was. There is no doubt she disagreed with the executive order. But that is kind of a policy question. And most lawyers here believe it was defensible in court. That is the standard, said a Justice Department official who requested anonymity to candidly discuss the orders. And this makes you wonder about the motivation. Legal experts agreed that Yates did not seem to properly justify her actions in her statement. Jack Goldsmith, a respected former top Justice Department official who resigned his post in 2004 after sparring with the George W. Bush White House about the legality of torture and other matters, wrote in a blog that Yates justification for not defending the executive order was extraordinarily weak. Yates declined to comment through a former department spokeswoman, who called the allegations that Yates, a career prosecutor, had acted for political reasons preposterous. Yates, 56, served as U.S. attorney in Atlanta when she was tapped by President Obama to be the deputy attorney general. She agreed to serve as acting attorney general under Trump to help shepherd the institution through the transition, a former aide said. The first week had gone relatively well, according to the aide and another Justice Department official, with Yates even deferring actions on legal matters so they could be handled by the new administration. On Friday, however, Yates was caught off guard by Trumps order, and her lawyers began scrambling to fend off lawsuits seeking to block its enforcement. She did not believe she could defer a decision on defending the order in court and concluded it was likely a veiled attempt to enact the Muslim ban promised by Trump during the contentious campaign. In particular, she told aides she was perturbed by statements made by Trump and one of his surrogates, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, that indicated that their real intent was to block immigration by Muslims, which would be against the law. In her own order, Yates wrote that it was her duty to ensure the department took positions consistent with this institutions solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right. In light of that standard, she wrote, she was not convinced the executive order is lawful. The firing sparked immediate comparisons to the Watergate-era Saturday Night Massacre, a defining chapter in the Justice Departments history when Atty. Gen. Elliot Richardson and Deputy Atty. Gen. William Ruckelshaus resigned rather than follow orders by President Nixon to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who was investigating Watergate misdeeds. As in the case of her predecessors, Yates lost her job while standing up for principle in response to circumstances foisted upon her, said Richard Ben-Veniste, a lawyer who worked with Cox at the time. Obviously they are very different circumstances, Ben-Veniste said. But they share the similarity of having highly respected officials of the Department of Justice take principled stands at the pain of being discharged from their office. Follow @delwilber on Twitter del.wilber@latimes.com ALSO: Tracking down guns used in crimes and terror attacks is still surprisingly low-tech Aspiring agents learn from mistakes of FBIs shameful investigation of Martin Luther King Jr. How these Brooklyn prosecutors work to get innocent convicts out of prison The Trump administration signaled Tuesday that some of the temporary bans on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries are likely to be extended indefinitely and elevated a deportations official to run the nations top immigration enforcement agency as it pushed further to dramatically restrict U.S. immigration policy. Top immigration officials, led by newly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, moved to allay the havoc that marked the rollout of the bans over the weekend. They visited Capitol Hill to reach out to Republican lawmakers upset over being excluded while the order was being developed and separately briefed reporters on adjustments to the program. They also acknowledged that the disruption was more widespread than previously known, saying 721 travelers were denied boarding on flights to the U.S. But some 872 refugees were exempted from the ban because of undue hardships and will be arriving in the U.S. this week, said Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. Advertisement The vast majority of the 1.7 billion Muslims that live on this planet, the vast majority of them have, all other things being equal, have access to the United States, Kelly told reporters. And a relatively small number right now are being held up for a period of time until we can take a look at what their procedures are. Kelly pressed forward with Trumps plans to transform U.S. border policy, saying for the first time that some of the restrictions that caused confusion and sparked protests over the weekend could be extended well into the future. Among the countries on the banned list Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen many are in various states of collapse, Kelly said, and have poor record-keeping or unreliable police forces that undermine U.S. border officials efforts to determine travelers identities and criminal histories. Some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon, while federal officials review screening procedures for visa applicants from those countries, he said. Trump ordered all travelers from those nations prohibited from entering the U.S. for 90 days; in addition, refugees from Syria are blocked indefinitely and those from any other country are barred for 120 days. The list of banned countries may expand; Trumps order directed Kelly to submit within 60 days a list of additional nations whose citizens should be prohibited from traveling to the U.S. as well. The moves signaled that the White House remained committed to remaking border law enforcement while trying to combat the widespread condemnation brought on by Trumps orders. White House officials were under fire for not giving clear instructions to border officials, which sowed confusion at airports across the country. Senior Trump aides decided to circulate the draft of the order only among a small, tightly controlled group of experts and Cabinet secretaries. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that runs hundreds of immigration checkpoints at the countrys airports and ports of entry, did not prepare instructions for border officials in advance of the order being signed Friday evening. Changes to who would be allowed in the country were made on the spot over the weekend, as were new procedures for awarding waivers from the travel bans while travelers were detained inside airports. The notion that the operators who have to implement this across hundreds of ports of entry would first see this order at 5 p.m. on a Friday is shocking, said John Sandweg, a former senior immigration official under President Obama. It looks to me like they have only now become aware of the impacts of the policy the drafters didnt foresee or the White House didnt foresee, he said. The rollout of this executive order was terrible, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican and a Trump supporter, blaming the presidents staff for not doing more to predict potential problems. GOP senators, who were inundated with requests from constituents for assistance, aired their complaints to Vice President Mike Pence, a guest at their weekly lunch at the Capitol on Tuesday. White House officials understood that they risk their relationships with Republican lawmakers over how the order was executed, said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. What I dont know yet is whether its a concern or not on their end, he said. It may be the way they want to roll right now. When asked whether the executive order is legal, Corker responded: I dont know yet. Kelly, McAleenan and other top Homeland Security officials conceded some problems as implementation began, including poor communication. But they maintained that all court orders were followed, rebutted reports that some legal residents were denied access to attorneys at airports and said everyone detained by border agents was treated with dignity and respect. The White House, which has contended that the presidents order was not aimed at Muslims despite Trump promising such a move during his campaign, even backed off from the term ban, as did Kelly. Trump used the term as recently as Monday, but facing backlash from many directions, the White House adamantly insisted Tuesday that the word is verboten. This is not a ban, Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters in a fiery news briefing. When we use words like travel ban, he said later, that misrepresents what it is. Its seven countries previously identified by the Obama administration, where, frankly, we dont get the information that we need for people coming into this country. Spicer appeared to be making a renewed effort to distinguish the order from the all-out ban on Muslims entering the country that Trump proposed during the campaign, but many around the world see the newest policy as an outgrowth of that proposal. Trump himself conceded a religious connection when he said in an interview Friday that he wanted to make it easier for Syrian Christians to enter the country. Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a leading Trump surrogate and advisor during the campaign, told Fox News that the order sprang from a group he formed at Trumps request to create a legal framework that would accomplish the campaign goal of a Muslim ban. And Kelly traced his knowledge of the issue to Trumps campaign call for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what is going on. White House officials have asserted that the ban has wide support, but a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Monday and Tuesday found that 49% of Americans said they either strongly or somewhat agreed with Trumps order, and 41% strongly or somewhat disagreed, with the divide split along party lines. Another 10% said they didnt know. Trump also named a longtime deportation officer, Thomas Homan, as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he will oversee the execution of the presidents immigration enforcement orders issued last week. Those orders widened the targets for deportation beyond those convicted of crimes to include people in the U.S. illegally who are charged with or simply suspected of crimes. And longtime agent Ronald Vitiello was named to run the Border Patrol, after former chief Mark Morgan, who had been brought in from the FBI to reform the agency, was pushed out by Trump officials. Vitiello is a favorite of the Border Patrol union that endorsed Trump and has been given large sway over department decisions. Times staff writers Noah Bierman and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. brian.bennett@latimes.com Twitter: @ByBrianBennett ALSO When Trump says he wants to deport criminals, he means something starkly different than Obama Yes, Trump can boost deportations and gut the Dreamer program for young immigrants An outsider takes charge of the Border Patrol and yes, hell wear the green uniform Interest groups spent $309 million on lobbying California government officials last year, with new records showing the oil industry, environmental groups, labor unions and the health industry poured the greatest amounts into legislative and regulatory battles. It is the second time in the states history that more than $300 million has been spent in a year, just short of the record $314 million paid out for lobbying in 2015. Seeing such large amounts spent by moneyed interests is a concern, public advocates say, because it reflects an effort to exert heavy influence on government officials that average citizens may not be able to match. Advertisement Lobbying expenses, which must be reported to the state, include money that goes directly to individual lobbyists as well as other payments to influence, which can include cash spent on research, organizing public rallies, and television and radio ads that urge voters to contact their lawmaker on specific bills. The biggest spender was the Western States Petroleum Assn., which reported $7.7 million in payments for work, including a big push against Senate Bill 32, which requires greenhouse gas emissions to be 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. It was the battle of the year, said Jamie Court, executive director of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. The oil companies spent a ton of money. The oil group said the measure puts accessible and reliable energy at risk. Expenses reported by the petroleum group included a total $721 spent on dinner at the Spago restaurant in Maui for eight lawmakers, including state Sen. Tom Berryhill (R-Twain Harte) and Democratic Assemblymen Miguel Santiago and Reggie Jones-Sawyer, both of Los Angeles. The group also picked up a $1,599 tab for Assemblyman Rudy Salas Jr. (D-Bakersfield) to stay at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay. The associations president, Cathy Reheis-Boyd, said her groups expenditures for lobbying activities are a direct reflection of the enormous number of issues confronting the energy industry in California, and the potential impact those issues have on energy producers, refiners, consumers and businesses. Updates from Sacramento Chevron Corp., a member of the petroleum association, was the fourth biggest spender on lobbying last year, paying out $3 million. The oil industry did battle with the second biggest spender on lobbying last year, NextGen Climate Action, an environmental activism group founded by billionaire Tom Steyer. NextGen reported $7.4 million spent on lobbying, including support for SB 32. The spending included $19,608 for a legislative reception attended by 25 lawmakers and legislative staffers at an upscale Sacramento hotel. The vast majority of NextGens lobbying spending went to pay for television advertisements supporting SB 32 and other clean air laws, urging voters to contact their lawmakers and ask for a positive vote. Tell your legislator to stand up to the oil companies and protect our clean air laws, Steyer said in one of the ads. Steyer, who has been considering a run for governor, was seeking to counter the lobbying effort of the oil industry, a representative said. We ran clean air ads this summer that served as a counterweight to the oil industrys entrenched influence and helped pass historic legislation to combat pollution, said Andrew Santana, a spokesman for NextGen. The third biggest spender on lobbying in 2016 was the California State Council of Service Employees, which put $5.6 million into its advocacy efforts at a time when many state employee bargaining units were negotiating new contracts. Laphonza Butler, president of SEIU California, said its spending should not be compared to that of corporations like Exxon or R.J. Reynolds. It comes from small donors everyday working people, who contribute a small portion of their earnings to standing up for themselves and every other California family who is not a member of SEIU to fight corporate power by increasing the minimum wage or protecting women at work against sexual assault, Butler said in a statement. Health industry firms and groups and activists for accessible healthcare spent a combined $34 million last year getting their message to state officials. Two of the most lobbied bills included a failed measure providing prescription drug pricing transparency and a successful measure protecting patients who go to in-network hospitals from surprise, high bills from out-of-network physicians. The latter bill drew opposition lobbying from several physicians groups, including the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons and the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, who combined spent more than $600,000 on lobbying last year. The term World War III was invoked on both of the bills in terms of there was lots of lobbying on both sides, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, a consumer advocacy group. In both cases, you saw a specific part of the industry pull out the stops in terms of money and lobbying to at least slow it down, if not stop it. Spending on lobbying does not always pay off. Tobacco industry groups, including giant tobacco firm Altria and RAI Services Company spent $1.1 million on lobbying last year, but failed to defeat bills that raised the smoking age to 21 and banned use of electronic cigarettes in many public places, including restaurants and theaters. The American Cancer Society and American Heart Assn. spent a combined $447,000 lobbying for the package of anti-tobacco bills. The tobacco industry spends a lot of money at the State Capitol to protect profits, but they do it at the expense of public health, said Lindsey Freitas, a senior director for the American Lung Assn. of California. patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com Twitter: @mcgreevy99 ALSO: Political Road Map: Revamped primaries changed California politics, but not like everyone thought Political Road Map: That love-hate relationship with California ballot initiatives Updates from Sacramento As the healthcare vote looms, Trump sees opposition from conservatives, both on Capitol Hill and in the media By Kurtis Lee Its a really important vote in President Trumps fledgling first term. Will House Republicans pass a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act a promise from Trump on the campaign trail or reject it? (House Speaker Paul D. Ryan rushed to the White House on Friday morning for a last-minute meeting with Trump as both attempted to corral enough votes.) Trump spent much of the week trying to win support from members of the Freedom Caucus, among the most conservative lawmakers, some of whom are holdouts because they believe the bill does not go far enough. After seven horrible years of ObamaCare (skyrocketing premiums & deductibles, bad healthcare), this is finally your chance for a great plan! Trump tweeted Friday. But even some in conservative media arent all that thrilled about the bill. Here are some of Fridays headlines: Polls: Ryancare even more unpopular than Obamacare and Hillarycare (Breitbart) So, its been clear in recent weeks that the right-wing website Breitbart does not like the new healthcare proposal. The news site has dubbed the current bill Obamacare-lite or Ryancare an homage of sorts to Ryan, who helped craft the legislation and argued it does not go far enough in its overhaul. Most conservatives want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare, they just differ on what the replacement should look like. For example, some on the far right want to see so-called essential health benefits, such as maternity and newborn care, stripped from the bill.) This piece highlights several of the dismal polls the legislation has received. Among them: A recent Fox News survey that showed 54% oppose the bill, compared with 34% who support it. The article also references an analysis of polling and data by FiveThirtyEight.com, which shows the GOP legislation is more unpopular than Obamacare and President Bill Clintons healthcare reform bill were when they were first introduced. A modest immigration proposal (Weekly Standard) Trumps recent immigration orders have left many immigrants on edge. Through social media and pop-up legal clinics, immigrant rights groups have doled out around-the-clock assistance, as families fear being separated. In this piece, Irwin Stelzer notes that at some point, our border will be secure, resistance to deporting felons will collapse, and we will have accepted the fact that Dreamers will be allowed to stay in this country, probably on a path to citizenship. He lays out his views of immigration reform, citing, among other things, setting an annual immigration limit and adopting a system that has the effect of enriching our citizens by filling that annual quota with immigrants who are likely to increase the well-being of the existing citizenry. Jeff Sessions is Rip Van Winkle on drug policy (American Conservative) Its clear from polls that most Republicans oppose marijuana legalization, while Democrats support it. However, libertarian-leaning Republicans often tend to support legalization. This piece highlights Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions recent comments in opposition to states legalizing pot. The attorney general regurgitates simplistic cliches right out of the 1970s and 1980s about marijuana use. I dont think America is going to be a better place when people of all ages, and particularly young people, are smoking pot, Sessions told reporters on February 26, the author, Ted Galen Carpenter, writes. He adds, Such comments confirm that critics may be right when they label him a drug war dinosaur. He seems either oblivious or scornful about the trend in public opinion regarding marijuana. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print FCC Chairman Pai wants to halt Internet privacy rules before they begin taking effect this week By Jim Puzzanghera (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) The nations new top telecommunications regulator wants to halt tough Internet privacy rules before they begin taking effect this week, arguing they would unfairly impose tougher requirements on broadband providers than on websites and social networks. Privacy advocates and a key Senate Democrat vowed Monday to fight the move as well as a separate effort in Congress to overturn the regulations, which were approved in October on a party-line vote by the Federal Communications Commission when it was controlled by Democrats under President Obama. Following President Trumps inauguration, control of the commission passed to Republicans and Ajit Pai took over as chairman. All actors in the online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government shouldnt favor one set of companies over another, a spokesman for Pai said Friday. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump says Hollywoods obsession with him led to best picture Oscar gaffe By Michael A. Memoli (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) President Trump is often loath to accept responsibility when things go wrong, but in the case of Sundays Oscars broadcast, he made an exception. As he explained it Monday, it was Hollywoods obsession with attacking him that contributed to the botched best picture announcement, calling the embarrassing episode sad, of course. Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has apologized for the mix-up that led Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to announce La La Land as the winner of the top Academy Award prize, instead of Moonlight. But in Trumps eyes, the blame falls more broadly on an entertainment industry so preoccupied with politics that they didnt get the act together, he told Breitbart News. It took away from the glamour of the Oscars, Trump told a reporter from the website, which was once led by his chief White House strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. It didnt feel like a very glamorous evening. Ive been to the Oscars. There was something very special missing, and then to end that way was sad, he added. The ceremony did contain a number of slights at Trump during its telecast, some more subtle than others. Host Jimmy Kimmel openly at one point begged the president to weigh in by tweeting at him. Trump spent part of Sunday night hosting a black-tie dinner at the White House honoring the nations governors, who were visiting Washington for their annual winter meeting. But it appears from excerpts of the Breitbart interview that he may have spent at least part of the evening watching. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Justice Department shifts course in closely watched Texas voter ID case By Del Quentin Wilber The Trump administration has scaled back its assault on a strict Texas voter identification law that federal courts have ruled discriminated against minorities, portending a shift in how the Justice Department plans to pursue allegations of voter suppression. The government revealed its decision in court papers filed in federal court Monday, dealing a blow to civil rights advocates who have relied on federal support to help them knock down the controversial Texas statute. Its a very concerning signal to American voters about the Department of Justices commitment to enforcing the Voting Rights Act, said Danielle Lang, deputy director of the voting rights unit of the Campaign Legal Center, which is suing Texas in the case. The administrations partial retreat in the dispute highlights how Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, a conservative Republican who has championed voter identification measures, is expected to handle such cases. The Obama administration had joined civil rights groups in aggressively challenging the Texas law and other such measures around the country. At issue in the case was how the Justice Department would proceed in a federal lawsuit that alleged the Texas legislature discriminated against minority voters when it enacted the strict voter identification law in 2011. Known as SB 14, the measure requires voters to present a specific form of government-issued photo identification - such as a drivers license, military ID card, U.S. passport or citizenship certificate - to be permitted to cast a ballot. The Obama administration and civil rights groups argued the state pushed the law, in part, to suppress the power of the states minority voters, who frequently dont drive or have a passport. State officials and lawmakers countered that the law was aimed at preventing voter fraud, though there is scant evidence that the problem exists. The law was challenged in court by civil rights groups and the Justice Department under provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was intended to help overcome legal barriers erected at the local and state level to keep African-Americans from the polls. Last July, a federal appeals court ruled that the Texas law had a discriminatory impact on minority voters. It told U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to craft a temporary remedy in time for the November elections. Ramos subsequently ordered Texas to permit voters to present other forms of documentation to verify their identities. The judges order is expected to remain in force until she imposes a permanent remedy or Texas addresses the judges concerns. According to the court papers filed Monday, the Justice Department will continue to work with civil rights groups to address those issues but will seek to withdraw from another important aspect of the suit. In the same decision that found the Texas law had a discriminatory impact, the appeals court reversed Ramos finding that Texas legislators had intended to harm minority voters. It ordered Ramos to reconsider the evidence of that finding. If the judge determines discriminatory intent in crafting the voter ID requirements, she could throw out the entire law. Civil rights groups will continue to press that claim. In its court filing, the Justice Department asked Ramos to permit it to withdraw its claim that Texas acted with intent, arguing that it is best to give the Texas legislature time to address the matter. With the loss of their key ally in court, civil rights groups will argue on their own in an effort to prove that Texas acted with a discriminatory purpose in passing the law. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Voting advocates complained that the Trump administration was backing away from a key safeguard of voting rights. The Justice Department decision defies rationality and stands diametrically opposed to positions they have taken at every stage of this litigation, Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a statement. This reversal of position was taken despite years of work and effort that the government has invested in fighting the Texas Voter ID law, one of the most discriminatory voting restriction of its kind. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes warns against witch hunt over Trump-Russia ties By Sarah D. Wire House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) talks to reporters about his committees Russia investigation. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said on Monday he has seen no evidence from the intelligence community that there was contact between Russia and the Trump campaign. I want to be very careful, we cant just go on a witch hunt against Americans because they appear in a news story, said Nunes (R-Tulare). We still dont have any evidence of them talking to Russia. He said the committee has been briefed on the highlights of what the intelligence community has found, but is still collecting evidence. The committees ranking Democrat, Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), quickly responded, saying the committees investigation is in its infancy and its too soon to reach conclusions about the evidence. We havent obtained any of the evidence yet, so its premature for us to be saying weve reached any conclusion about the issue of collusion, Schiff said. The most that weve had are private conversations, the chair and I with intelligence officials. Thats not a substitute for an investigation. The House and Senate Select Intelligence Committees are conducting separate investigations into Russias reported attempts to influence voters in 2016 in an effort to curtail Hillary Clintons chances and boost Donald Trumps. A leaked U.S. intelligence report on the attempts did not look at whether the effort succeeded. The House committee has expanded a previous ongoing investigation of Russia cyberhacking to include a look at efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, Nunes told reporters Monday. Though it is still in its early stages the leaders of the committee are still discussing the investigations scope Nunes said he expects the findings to be made public. Schiff and Nunes spoke separately to reporters Monday. Schiff said the two agreed privately that they would jointly address reporters about the investigation going forward. Nunes, who served as a member of Trumps transition team, said he continues to be concerned about leaks of classified and sensitive information from the White House and intelligence communities. The leaks one of which resulted in a report about the FBI investigating Trump campaign officials will be part of the committees investigation. A government cant function with massive leaks at the highest level, Nunes said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Appeals court denies Justice Department request to put appeal of travel ban on hold By Jaweed Kaleem (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the Justice Departments request to pause proceedings in an appeal of President Trumps travel ban. The court in a filing Monday said its schedule for the governments appeal of a lower courts halt on the travel ban will proceed, with the first brief due to the appeals court on March 10. In early February, the Justice Department appealed a Seattle-based federal district judges order blocking enforcement of Trumps executive action. which established a series of immigration and refugee restrictions aimed at preventing potential terrorists from entering the country. Last week, government lawyers asked the appeals court to stop proceedings in the case because the president planned to issue a new executive order and rescind the original one. A three-judge panel of the court previously denied a request from the government to reverse a nationwide stay on the travel ban. The same panel on Monday ruled that the appeal will proceed. Trump has said he will sign a new executive order tailored to deal with court decisions that have largely gone against him. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he expected the order to be issued mid-week. Spicer has said Trump wants to fight for the current order while also issuing a new one, but the Justice Department has said in multiple court filings that the the current order will be undone after a new one is issued. The states of Washington and Minnesota, which brought the case in Seattle now under review, have pushed for courts to move forward on a review of the constitutional issues. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print No random ICE stops on streets of America, Homeland Security chief tells governor By Lisa Mascaro Gov holds closing media briefing on Capitol Hill to wrap up @NatlGovsAssoc Winter Meeting. pic.twitter.com/3mZMBA4S0o Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) February 27, 2017 President Trump received some unsolicited advice at dinner with the nations governors when Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe told him he needs to do a better job explaining his policies regarding deportations. McAuliffe, a Democrat and chairman of the National Governors Assn., told the president that there has been a chilling effect going on as businesses stay away from his state and as immigrants fear being rounded up. If theyre not going to be deported, we need to hear that from the president, McAuliffe said, recounting his conversation from the governors Sunday night dinner with Trump. What I told the president is these actions are hurting us. McAuliffe, a longtime ally of Hillary Clinton, said Trump agreed in large part. McAuliffe also met privately with Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, and said the secretary assured him during an hourlong talk that Trumps enforcement actions were only targeting criminals -- despite widespread reports of otherwise law-abiding immigrants being detained for being in the U.S. illegally. He assured me there will be no random ICE stops on the streets of the United States of America, McAuliffe said, referring to the raids being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. If thats the case, McAuliffe said, Trumps policy does not sound much different than the operations under former President Obama, whose administration deported more immigrants than its predecessors. Obama, however, explicitly put a priority on deportations of criminals, a distinction the Trump administration has done away with as part of the presidents executive action. My advice to him was he needs to let the American public know what theyre doing, McAuliffe said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump: I havent called Russia in 10 years By Brian Bennett President Trump rejected calls for an independent investigation of his ties to Russia, telling a group of business leaders Monday that he hasnt called Russia in a decade. At the start of a White House meeting with healthcare executives, a reporter asked Trump whether a special prosecutor should be assigned to investigate allegations of Russian meddling during the election. In response, Trump mouthed the word no to the executives. As reporters were led out of the room, Trump said: I havent called Russia in 10 years. Democratic lawmakers have ramped up their calls for additional investigations into allegations that Trump allies had been in contact with Russian officials during the election and inappropriately discussed U.S. sanctions against the Moscow regime during the transition. White House officials have denied reports that Trump associates were frequently in touch with senior Russian intelligence officials during the election. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had authorized an operation to damage Hillary Clintons campaign and tilt the 2016 election in Trumps favor. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump: Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated By Michael A. Memoli View Twitter post President Trump promised the nations governors Monday that his yet-to-be-revealed replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act would give states greater flexibility and thanked some Republicans in the room who advised him on healthcare. Its an unbelievably complex subject, he said. Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated. The remark likely surprised state leaders; spending on Medicaid alone was the second-biggest driver of increased state general fund spending, according to the 2016 Fiscal Survey of States conducted by the National Assn. of State Budget Officers. And it was just eight years ago that Washington dove head-first into a raging debate over healthcare reform under President Obama, which simmered long after his signature health law was enacted. But the finer points of healthcare policy are likely new to Trump, who is immersed in discussions with Republican leaders and his senior staff on that and other subjects ahead of his high-profile address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress. Trump offered no hint as to the details. Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, but their effort has stalled as they debate how to do so and await word from the White House on what Trump wants to do. The president seemed keenly aware of the political ramifications of whatever steps he takes. As soon as we touch it, if we do the most minute thing, just a tiny little change, whats going to happen? Theyre going to say its the Republicans problem, Trump said after telling the governors the easiest thing for him to do would be nothing, and, in his view, watch Obamacare collapse. But we have to do whats right because Obamacare is a failed disaster. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump wants to add $54 billion to defense budget while slashing domestic spending and foreign aid By Brian Bennett President Trump is proposing a massive increase in defense spending of $54 billion while cutting domestic spending and foreign aid by the same amount, the White House said Monday. Trumps spending blueprint previewed a major address that he will give Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress, laying out his vision for what he called a public safety and national security budget with a nearly 10% increase in defense spending. We never win a war. We never win. And we dont fight to win. We dont fight to win, Trump said Monday in remarks to the nations governors. So we either got to win or dont fight it at all. Trump noted that the U.S. has spent nearly $6 trillion on fighting wars since the Sept. 11 attacks but said that cutting military spending was not the answer. Instead, the increase he is proposing would be offset by cuts to unspecified domestic programs and to foreign aid, which would in turn be made up for in part by demanding that other countries pay more for security alliances that have historically been underwritten by the U.S. This budget expects the rest of the world to step up in some of the programs that this country has been so generous in funding in the past, an official from the Office of Management and Budget said, demanding anonymity to discuss the presidents spending plans. Foreign aid makes up about 1% of the budget. This budget speaks for itself, the official said. I dont think this budget has anything to do other than putting Americans first. Trumps call for deep cuts to spending at home is likely to set up major battles on Capitol Hill, where Democrats and even House Republicans will likely be reluctant to pass a spending bill that includes such major reductions in programs for their constituents. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump says businesses cant borrow because of Dodd-Frank. The numbers tell another story By Jim Puzzanghera President Trump was preparing the first step in a key campaign promise dismantling the 2010 DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act when he repeated a frequent criticism of the law. We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank because, frankly, I have so many people, friends of mine that had nice businesses, they cant borrow money, Trump told leading corporate chief executives, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Larry Fink of money management giant BlackRock Inc., meeting at the White House earlier this month They just cant get any money because the banks just wont let them borrow it because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank, Trump said. Shortly afterward, he ordered a wholesale review of the landmark act, which was passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But a main reason for dismantling Dodd-Frank often cited by Trump and critics of the law that its slew of tougher financial regulations have significantly restricted bank lending isnt borne out by the data. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Another Trump nominee withdraws nomination to top national security post due to business interests By W.J. Hennigan Philip M. Bilden, President Trumps pick for Navy secretary, withdrew from consideration late Sunday, becoming the second White House nominee to bail on a top Pentagon position due to problems untangling his financial investments. After an extensive review process, I have determined that I will not be able to satisfy the Office of Government Ethics requirements without undue disruption and materially adverse divestment of my familys private financial interests, Bilden said in a statement. He did not detail the issues but he said he fully supported the presidents agenda to modernize and rebuild our Navy and Marine Corps. Bildens withdrawal comes after billionaire investor Vincent Viola dropped out from becoming Army secretary after he decided his extensive financial holdings would hamper his ability to win Senate confirmation. The White House shot down reports that surfaced two weeks ago that Bilden was considering stepping down. Just spoke with him and he is 100% commited [sic] to being the next SECNAV pending Senate confirm, White House spokesman Sean Spicer tweeted on Feb. 18. Bilden, a venture capitalist and Army veteran, was a surprise selection from Trump but had the backing of Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. This was a personal decision driven by privacy concerns and significant challenges he faced in separating himself from his business interests, Mattis said in a statement. While I am disappointed, I understand and his respect his decision, and know that he will continue to support our nation in other ways. Bilden served ten years in the U.S. Army Reserve as a military intelligence officer from 1986 to 1996. He then co-founded private equity firm HarbourVest Partners LLC and spent 25 years there, mainly in the companys Hong Kong headquarters. He also serves on the board of directors of the United States Naval Academy Foundation and the board of trustees of the Naval War College Foundation. Mattis said he intends on recommending a replacement nominee to Trump in the coming days. The withdrawal marks another setback for Trumps national security team, which has struggled to find its footing since the fledgling administration began. Earlier this month, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was forced to resign after it became public that he held secret talks with a Russian ambassador and then misled Vice President Mike Pence about it. Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster took the job last week after Trumps first choice to replace Flynn, retired Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, passed on the opportunity. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement New DNC chairman Tom Perez ridicules Trump tweet over rigged vote By Laura King Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez was chosen to lead the Democratic Party over a congressman backed by the progressive wing. (Branden Camp / Associated Press) President Trump claimed Sunday that the race for Democratic National Committee chairman had been rigged -- drawing a quick riposte from Tom Perez, who narrowly won the partys leadership race. Trump insinuated that Perezs DNC victory on the second ballot at a party conference in Atlanta on Saturday was because Hillary Clinton had backed Perez, a former Labor secretary in the Obama administration who was seen as representing the partys establishment forces. Clinton did not make a formal endorsement, but Perezs rival, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the partys more liberal wing. Bernies guy, like Bernie himself, never had a chance, Trump tweeted early Sunday morning. Clinton demanded Perez! Perez, appearing on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday, told host Jake Tapper that he and Ellison got a good kick out of that, adding: Donald Trump, up in the morning tweeting about us. Sanders, appearing on the same show, said Trump doesnt have a point about the DNC vote. Moments after Perez beat Ellison by 35 votes out of 435 cast, he named Ellison as the deputy chairman of the party, leading to widespread applause. Perez is the first Latino to lead the Democratic Party, and he faces the challenge of trying to rebuild a party that suffered devastating losses in the 2016 election. Republicans now control not only the White House and Congress, but 33 governorships and dozens of state legislatures. In his CNN interview, Perez sarcastically suggested that Trump should address questions about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign rather than concerning himself with the DNC leadership battle. Frankly, what we need to be looking at is whether this election was rigged by Donald Trump and his buddy Vladimir Putin, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House again bats away call for special prosecutor on Russia By Laura King A White House spokeswoman said Sunday that it was too soon to say whether a special prosecutor should look into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, while President Trump again inveighed against coverage of Russia-related queries as FAKE NEWS. Calls have grown louder from Democrats in Congress for U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the issue because of his role as a prominent Trump supporter during the campaign, and to appoint an independent special prosecutor to carry out a Russia probe. A few Republicans have joined in that chorus some reluctantly. Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista, appearing on HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher, voiced support Friday for naming of a special prosecutor to probe the Russian connection, though he also said congressional intelligence committees should continue their work. He also said he considered Sessions a friend, but pointed to his role as a political appointee who had worked on the Trump campaign. Issa, who narrowly won reelection, was a vociferous critic of the Obama administration during his former tenure as head of the House Oversight Committee. In that post, he spearheaded an array of investigations on topics from Benghazi to bank bailouts. Some Republicans pushed back against the notion of Sessions needing to recuse himself. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on NBCs Meet the Press that he had seen no credible information about contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians and no allegations that rose to the level of criminal activity. If we get down that road, thats a decision that Attorney General Sessions can make at the time, said Cotton, who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian intelligence agencies hacked Democratic Party computers and used other tactics last year to interfere with the election. The FBI is separately investigating whether anyone on Trumps campaign had improper contacts with Russian authorities during the campaign. On Sunday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said congressional investigations on Russia and the campaign should be allowed to go forward before a special prosecutor appointment was considered. I dont think were there yet, Sanders said on ABCs This Week. Lets work through this process. Echoing the previously stated White House stance, Sanders said the Trump campaign had not colluded in any Russian meddling. We had no involvement in this, she said. The president is known to keep a close eye on surrogates performances on the talk shows, and Sanders repeated a prime administration talking point: that questions about possible Trump campaign contacts with Russia amounted to Democratic excuses for losing the election. If Democrats want to continue to relive their loss every single day, by doing an investigation or review after review, thats fine by us, she said. We know why we won this race. Its because we had the better candidate with the better message. Trump himself underscored that notion with an afternoon tweet denouncing media coverage of the ongoing Russia investigations as FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks! Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Whose news is fake? Heres the latest in Trumps war with the press By Kurtis Lee Every president since 1981 has attended the annual White House Correspondents Assn. dinner. That year, President Reagan missed out. The reason? He needed to recover after a would-be assassin fired a bullet into his chest a few weeks earlier. On Saturday, President Trump announced he will not be attending the annual dinner in April, long considered the premier social event of the Washington press corps and typically an evening of good-natured bantering between presidents and the Fourth Estate. Trumps announcement added to the ratcheting tensions between his administration and the media. Almost daily, in speeches or on Twitter, he calls particular news outlets fake, disgusting or dishonest and news organizations have responded by digging in, standing united and devoting more resources to covering a president who has branded the press the enemy. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Crucial group of Americans like Trumps stands, not him, poll finds By David Lauter Trump still gets dismal ratings on temperament but is above water on economy, decision-making, promises of change. pic.twitter.com/Md0H096n9m Carrie Dann (@CarrieNBCNews) February 26, 2017 With the public deeply split in its views of President Trump, one potentially key group stands out -- those who dislike the man, but approve of the direction in which hes moving. Thats a central finding of a new nationwide survey by NBC News and the Wall St. Journal. The new poll confirms what other major surveys have shown: Trump starts his administration with less support than any president in the seven decades of presidential polling. Asked if they approve or disapprove of the job Trump is doing, 44% approve, 48% disapprove. No previous president has begun his tenure with a net negative job approval. Trump has held onto the support of his ardent backers. At the other end of the spectrum, he gets almost no approval from Democrats. In the middle, the poll found, are many Americans -- just over a third of those polled -- who either voted for Trump with reservations, voted for a third party candidate or did not vote at all in 2016. Just over half of that group gives Trump positive marks, the poll found. Their support is enough, currently, to keep Trumps standing from collapsing, and holding them is likely key to his future. Just under one third of Americans say they like Trump and approve of his policies, the poll found. Another one in six approve of most of his policies even though they dislike him. Well over half, 59%, said they did not like him personally. On a separate question, only 43% of those surveyed have a positive view of Trump -- up from the low points of the campaign, but still far below the standing of most new presidents. By contrast, 86% agreed with one of the central lines of Trumps inaugural speech, that government insiders had reaped the rewards of government, while the people have borne the cost. On other issues, the public is more closely divided. The public splits evenly, for example, on Trumps proposed temporary ban on travel from seven mostly Muslim countries. Just over half of those surveyed, 52%, said that the problems Trump has encountered in his first month were unique to this administration and suggest real problems; 43% said they were growing pains similar to those other administrations have had. And by 51%-41%, the public thinks the press has been too hard on the new administration. The NBC/WSJ poll, run by a bipartisan team of two polling firms, was taken by phone, using cell phones and landlines, Feb. 18-22 among 1,000 American adults. It has a margin of error for the full sample of 3.1 percentage points in either direction. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump appears to think Perez at head of Democratic National Committee is good news for Republicans By Evan Halper Congratulations to Thomas Perez, who has just been named Chairman of the DNC. I could not be happier for him, or for the Republican Party! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 The Democratic Party put its faith in its old guard Saturday to guide it out of the political wilderness, choosing as its new leader an Obama-era Cabinet secretary over the charismatic congressman backed by the progressive wing of the party. Tom Perez, a former secretary of Labor with strong ties to unions, persuaded the spirited assembly of party delegates in Atlanta that he can best help harness a grass-roots outpouring of anti-Trump protest and anger into a Democratic resurgence at the ballot box. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump to Washington reporters: Not going to your dinner By Kurtis Lee I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 The annual White House Correspondents Assn. dinner will be missing a key guest this year: President Trump. On Saturday, Trump tweeted he will not attend the April 29 dinner, considered the premier social event of the Washington press corps -- and typically an evening of good-natured bantering between presidents and reporters with a mix of celebrities watching. His announcement comes amid growing tensions between his administration and the media. Trump has decried stories he doesnt like as fake news, and described unnamed news groups as an enemy of the people. A day earlier, the White House barred reporters from several major news organizations, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, CNN and Politico, from attending an off-camera press briefing. In a sign of the growing rift, several media organizations that traditionally sponsor lavish parties around the black-tie dinner had announced they would not do so this year. At the annual dinner, the president usually delivers self-deprecating jokes and often is roasted by a high-profile comedian. The president also greets students who win journalism scholarships and awards, a major part of the evening. Trump has been a frequent guest of media organizations at the dinner in the past, but he always sat at a table in the crowded ballroom, not up at the front dias. President Obama singled Trump out during the dinner several years ago, mocking Trump for raising doubts about whether Obama was born in the United States. This year, as we do every year, we will celebrate the First Amendment and the role an independent press plays in a healthy republic, the White House Correspondents Assn. said in a statement earlier this month about the upcoming dinner. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez named Democratic Party leader By Evan Halper Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez (Branden Camp/Associated Press) The Democratic Party put its faith in its old guard Saturday to guide it out of the political wilderness, choosing as its new leader an Obama-era Cabinet secretary over the charismatic congressman backed by the progressive wing of the party. Tom Perez, a former secretary of Labor with strong ties to labor unions, persuaded the spirited assembly of party delegates in Atlanta that he can best help harness a grass-roots outpouring of anti-Trump protest and anger into a Democratic resurgence at the ballot box. We are suffering from a crisis of confidence, a crisis of relevance, Perez told delegates before they chose him in a down-to-the-wire contest with Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, whom the Bernie Sanders wing of the party had rallied round. We need a chair who can not only take the fight to Donald Trump. We also need a chair who can lead a turnaround and change the culture of the Democratic Party, Perez said. The ascendance of an establishment liberal is certain to renew tension between veteran party stalwarts and the unruly progressive movement aligned with Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, both of whom backed Ellison. Some Ellison supporters erupted in protest as the final vote was announced. Perez quickly sought to unite the party by naming Ellison his deputy chair, a move unanimously approved by the 435 assembled delegates, who had supported Perez 235-200. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump chastises media for not reporting minor dip in national debt By Del Quentin Wilber President Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to blast the news media for not highlighting a minor dip in the national debt. The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo., he tweeted at 8:19 a.m. The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017 Trumps tweet came shortly after Herman Cain, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, made a similar comment on Fox News. While the numbers are accurate, Trumps tweet suggests he deserves credit for something that is largely beyond his control, especially since he hasnt yet given Congress any proposals to change tax laws or the financial industry. Considering that Trump hasnt enacted any fiscal legislation, its a bit of a stretch for him to take credit for any changes in debt levels, Dan Mitchell, a libertarian economist at the Cato Institute, told the fact-checking website Politifact. President Obamas first month in office in 2009 was largely taken up with spending bills aimed at easing the massive recession that he had inherited. Trump inherited an economy with low inflation, low unemployment and a booming stock market. The national debt, which stands at just under $20 trillion, is expected to rise by more than $500 billion in the fiscal year ending in September. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Mexico rejects U.S. plan to deport Central Americans to Mexico By Patrick J. McDonnell Mexico has informed the Trump administration that it cannot accept non-Mexican nationals whom U.S. authorities arrest along the border and seek to remove from U.S. territory, the nations internal security chief said Friday. Earlier this week, the Trump administration rolled out a broad immigration crackdown that included a proposal to send non-Mexican detainees apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico while their immigration cases were pending in the United States. The vast majority of non-Mexican nationals detained along the U.S.-Mexico border are Central Americans. They often travel overland through Mexico to reach the United States. In a fact sheet released Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said that releasing detained, third-country nationals to the foreign contiguous territory from which they arrived would save on detention and adjudication resources. The idea would be to keep them out pending their hearings on deportation, the fact sheet said. However, Mexican authorities have reacted coolly from the outset to the notion. Now, they appear to have formally nixed the idea. On Friday, Mexicos interior secretary, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, told a radio interviewer than Mexican authorities had informed a pair of visiting U.S. Cabinet officers Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly that Mexico could not oblige the U.S. request. We told them that our legal framework doesnt allow this, Osorio Chong told Radio Formula, referring to the visit this week of the two Trump Cabinet officials. We told them it is impossible. There is no way, legally, nor is there capacity. In recent years, non-Mexicans, mostly Central Americans, have become a larger proportion of illegal immigrants apprehended along the Southwest border as the relative number of Mexican nationals has declined. In fiscal year 2016, according to U.S. Border Patrol statistics, agents recorded apprehensions of almost 191,000 undocumented Mexican citizens along the Southwest frontier. In the same fiscal year, the Border Patrol said it registered 218,000 detentions of non-Mexican nationals, most of them Central Americans. Cecilia Sanchez of The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report. An earlier version of this blog post misspelled Miguel Angel Osorio Chongs name as Osorio Chung. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump blasts FBI over Russia leaks after a brief Twitter hiatus By Kurtis Lee (Alex Wong / Getty Images ) After several days of relative silence on Twitter, President Trumps feed came alive Friday with a direct attack on the FBI. Yes, hes done this before. But recent news reports that suggest his administration pressed the FBI to quell claims that members of his campaign had contact with Russians throughout the 2016 election appear to have inspired a response. The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security leakers that have permeated our government for a long time, he tweeted. And conservative news was all over it. Here are some of todays headlines: Trump blasts FBI leakers (Fox News) Trump has assailed everyone from Democrats to intelligence officials for the leaks which he often refers to as fake news about his ties to Russia. Reports from several news outlets this week, citing anonymous sources, claim Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, asked FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to publicly dispute media reports that Trumps campaign advisors frequently were in touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election. While some reports made it appear Priebus had contacted McCabe, this piece disputes that. Fox News has learned that McCabe indeed had initiated the conversation, asking to speak with Priebus for a few minutes at the end of an intelligence meeting last week, their article reports. Ed Schultz at CPAC: Trump promised Americas heartland a deal (Daily Caller) He was once among the top liberal voices in the country. Now, Ed Schultz, the former MSNBC anchor, is speaking glowingly about President Trump. Between covering high-profile speeches at the Conservative Political Action Conference from Trump and his aides, the Daily Caller popped into a panel at which Schultz provided commentary. Shultz, who now works with the Russian government-funded RT television network, blasted the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, asserting that Trumps claim that it would cost U.S. jobs was a game changer in the 2016 election. Trump went into Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin and he took down the progressive firewall, because he talked to the American people about a deal, Schultz said. It was a Wall Street deal, it was not a Main Street deal, he said, referring to the TPP. Trump is about blowing up Washington as it exists (Rush Limbaugh) Remember when Trump talked about draining the swamp? Since he entered the White House, some conservatives have wondered if Trump means business. Many members of his cabinet including Priebus and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions are the ultimate Washington insiders. Still, Rush Limbaugh, one of the firebrand conservatives out there, is certain the president will blow up traditional Washington. Whats Trumps No. 1 obstacle? I have concluded that the media is the No. 1 obstacle because of the success they have, he said on his radio show this week. The people in Washington, media is every bit as big a part of the establishment as anybody else is. He added: The media is creating this narrative, if you will, and this picture this series of pictures, this overall image that Trump is stalled, that everybodys opposing him, that his agenda is backlogged. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print After Trump calls media an enemy of the people, White House bars many news outlets from briefing By Noah Bierman Fridays White House press briefing, normally an on-camera affair open to all reporters with press credentials, was turned into an exclusive event for certain outlets hand-picked by the administration. The action came after President Trump on Friday described the media and what he terms fake news as the enemy of the people."On the list were Trump-friendly outlets such as Breitbart News, the Washington Times and OANN, a conservative television network that employs former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski as a commentator. Off the list were some of Trumps favorite targets, including the New York Times and CNN. The Los Angeles Times was also excluded. The off-camera briefing with Sean Spicer, the press secretary, was not solely for conservative outlets. Several mainstream reporters were also allowed in, including the three major broadcast networks and wire services, such as Bloomberg News. Also allowed in were pool representatives who transmit news events to a far larger group of reporters. The Associated Press and Time magazine were also invited but declined to participate in solidarity with other news organizations that were denied entry. The White House Correspondents Assn. protested, as did editors at several of the organizations that were excluded. In a statement, Times editor Davan Maharaj said that it was unfortunate that the Los Angeles Times has been excluded from a White House press briefing today. The public has a right to know, and that means being informed by a variety of news sources, not just those filtered by the White House press office in hopes of getting friendly coverage, Maharaj said. Regardless of access, The Times will continue to report on the Trump administration without fear or favor, he added. 12:30 p.m.: This post was updated with a statement from Times editor Davan Maharaj. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Its a Russian flag! Trickster strikes CPAC before Trumps speech By Matt Pearce Crowd at CPAC waving these little pro-Trump flags that look exactly like the Russian flag. Staffers quickly come around to confiscate them. pic.twitter.com/YhPpkwFCNc Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) February 24, 2017 As the crowd waited to hear President Trump speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, little red-white-and-blue flags appeared without warning, handed down the aisles by a man with a green bag, according to a witness. The flags said Trump. They also happened to be the flag of the Russian Federation. He was dressed like any one of us, said Tyler Dever, 20, a student at the University of South Florida in Tampa, who was wearing a suit. He passed them to me and was like, Pass them down, pass them down. Dever, caught up in the moment, passed them down, before someone sitting next to him said, Oh, its a Russian flag! CPAC staff quickly recollected the flags. If it was just a red-white-and-blue flag, I would have picked it out, Dever said. He said it was his first time attending an event like CPAC and was surprised to see a provocateur in the audience, especially beyond the cordon set up by the Secret Service. Someone tried to victimize me, Dever said. You have Secret Service out here, and Id expect it to be fully screened. ... Thank God someone noticed. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump still loves the USC/L.A. Times poll: What it got right and what it got wrong By David Lauter Throughout the fall campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump and his allies loved the USC/L.A. Times Daybreak poll -- the only major survey that consistently showed him winning. A couple polls got it right. I must say Los Angeles Times did a great job, shocking because, you know, they did a great job, Trump declared in his speech this morning at CPAC, the annual gathering of conservative activists. But did the poll get it right? In the simplest terms, no, and after considerble analysis, we know why. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print A celebration, and wake, for a campaign legend and a Republican Party that is no more By Mark Z. Barabak (Steve Lopez/Los Angeles Times) It was a cool and rainy day when elders of the Republican tribe recently gathered to honor one of their own. The honoree, Stuart K. Spencer, was unmistakable in his white duck pants and a lime-green sport coat so bright it almost hurt to see. A reformed chain-smoker, he snapped merrily away on a wad of chewing gum. The event marked Spencers 90th birthday, but the mood beneath the surface conviviality was unsettled and gray, like the clouds fringing the mountains outside. If the occasion was intended as a personal celebration, it also had the feel of a wake for a time in politics long passed. Along with former Vice President Dick Cheney and former California Gov. Pete Wilson, veterans of the Reagan years turned out in force. It was Spencer, more than anyone, who took a political long shot and washed-up B-movie actor and helped transform him into the Reagan of legend. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print CPACs reaction to President Trumps speech: Two thumbs up By Matt Pearce Supporters cheer President Trump as he speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., on Friday. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump loves CPAC, and CPAC loves Trump. As hundreds of Conservative Political Action Conference attendees spilled out into the hallways Friday after Trumps speech to the group, they had glowing reviews of the man who has been tormenting Democrats and the media and transforming the Republican Party. It was fantastic, unbelievable, absolute truth, said Shia L. Lome, 84, a retired Air Force colonel from Deerfield Beach, Fla., appraising Trumps remarks. If he carries through [his promises], this will be the greatest country ever. Lome added that there is no question about it, Trump is his own type of Republican. Whether its conservative or whatever you want to call it, Lome said he is happy as long as [Trump] causes the Democrats heartaches. Kayne Robinson, 73, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, said Trump was simply taking the party in the direction that people want it to go. I think the party is every bit as united behind him as it was behind either of the Bushes, Robinson said. Trump led a revolution in the party, very much like Reagan. ... I think Trump is doing just fine. Frank March, a 50-year-old Army retiree from Fairfax County, Va., emerged from the ballroom at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center wearing a red Make America Great Again cap, which carried Trumps jagged signature on the bill. Marchs daughter had gotten the hat signed when she previously met Trump, and he proudly showed off photos of that event. I recognize the signature! a woman exclaimed as she saw the hat. March praised Trumps follow-through and his commitment to workers as incredible. Hes bringing in new people to the party, March said. The hope is, by his follow-through, doing what he said he was going to do, then the non-Republicans who voted for Trump will stick. Helping workers will be one of the ways Trump can make that happen, he said. In politics, youre supposed to help people, March said. Workers are the people. Theyre people who earn money to take care of their families. Republicans should support those people because theyre the ones who make America run. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Donald Trump shows up at conservatives most prominent gathering and defines a new GOP By Noah Bierman President Trump shows up at conservatives most prominent gathering and defines a new GOP. President Trump made one of his strongest pitches Friday to unite the Republican Party and the conservative movement behind a nationalist, anti-globalist ideology that until recently would have been unthinkable for many Republicans. There is no such thing as a global anthem, a global currency or a global flag, Trump said to great applause from thousands of conservatives. Im not representing the globe. Im representing your country. He echoed ideas he has espoused in the past -- denouncing trade deals as the antithesis of economic freedom, warning that the great cities of Europe have been ruined by mass immigration, denouncing intervention in the Middle East by both parties. But while many of the words were familiar, the venue and the passion made Fridays speech remarkable. The comments came at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, just outside of Washington, D.C., the most prominent gathering of right-leaning groups and activists in the country. Such a speech would have been shocking from a conservative, much less the president, at almost any other time in the conferences history. Trump has been popular at CPAC in the past. He credits a speech there with launching his political career. But he snubbed last years event amid a heated primary in which many conservatives rejected his tone and the direction he was trying to move the GOP. I would have come last year, but I was worried that I would be at that time too controversial, Trump said in his speech, which lasted nearly an hour. Trump, the first president since Ronald Reagan to address the group during his first year in office, made clear that he is moving those once controversial ideas to the movements center. In addition to his usual critiques of the media and frequent references to his electoral success, Trump spoke directly of his ambition for reshaping the Republican Party to attract blue-collar voters, the forgotten men and women who helped propel his electoral victory. Im here today to tell you what this movement means for the future of the Republican Party and for the future of America, Trump said. The core conviction of our movement is that we are a nation that [must] put and will put its own citizens first. Later, he added that the GOP will be from now on also the party of the American worker. While Trump tried to unite conservatives, the speech made little effort to bridge the countrys larger political divide. For example, Trump dismissed people who have shown up at town halls around the country to protest reversal of Obamacare. Theyre not you, he said. Theyre the side that lost. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Justice Department rescinds order phasing out use of private prisons By Del Quentin Wilber Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has jettisoned an Obama administration order to phase out the use of private prisons to hold federal inmates. The new order reverses one issued by former Deputy Atty. Gen. Sally Yates in August that sought to eliminate the departments use of private for-profit prisons, which hold just over 10% of the current prison population. The Obama administration order changed long-standing policy and practice, and impaired the bureaus ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system, Sessions wrote Thursday to announce the reversal. Civil rights and prisoner rights groups decried the Sessions decision, saying private prisons are not as cost-effective or as safe as government-run facilities, citing numerous abuses in the past. The Bureau of Prisons houses about 21,000 of its 190,000 inmates in a dozen private prisons, including one near Bakersfield. Atty. Gen. Sessions has shown that he is not taking the mass incarceration crisis seriously, said Wade Henderson, who heads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Continuing to rely on private prisons for federal inmates is neither humane nor budget conscious, Henderson added. We need a justice system that can work better for all people. Yates order did not affect facilities used to detain people in the country illegally. The use of private prisons is expected to surge under President Trumps promised crackdown on illegal immigration. Trump has signed an executive order calling for expansion of immigrant detention facilities and authorized the use of private contractors to construct, operate, or control facilities. Stocks in private prison companies have jumped on Wall Street since Trump won the presidential election, and they continued their rise on news of Sessions order. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print CPAC and conservative media prepare for Trump By Kurtis Lee The future path of the Republican Party is being debated in the halls of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland this week. Will it be the party of Donald Trump, an outsider of the GOP establishment, or House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, the definition of establishment? Or, perhaps, of Richard Spencer, a white nationalist leader of the so-called alt-right movement? (Spencer was kicked out of CPAC on Thursday.) Trump is set to address the conference on Friday, and the conservative media are ready for the much-anticipated address. Tomorrow it will be TPAC when hes here, Kellyanne Conway, a senior advisor to Trump told reporters Thursday. Here are some of todays headlines: Go Big, Go Bold: Walker, at CPAC, pushes GOP to carry out agenda as party controls Congress, White House (Fox News) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, once a Trump foe, is urging conservatives to use the November election as a mandate. Do what you said you were going to do, Walker said to attendees. In the Fox News piece, which leads its website, it notes that leaders at the conference are hoping to use it to strategize about what they can accomplish and to better articulate their values at a time when the very definition of conservatism has seemed to waver. Sweden Democrats: Trump was right (Fox News) Remember last weekend when everyone including many Swedish politicians were really confused about Trumps comments at a recent rally? You look at whats happening last night in Sweden, Trump, at a rally in Florida on Saturday, said about the Scandinavian country that has accepted large numbers of refugees. Sweden. They took in large numbers. Theyre having problems like they never thought possible. Actually, not much happened in Sweden on Friday night. Trump said later that he had been referring to a broadcast on Fox News on that night. Still, recent riots in the country were covered extensively by conservative media. This post notes a recent op-ed penned by Jimmie Akesson and Mattias Karlsson, both leaders of the Sweden Democrats, in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday supporting Trumps characterization of a Muslim immigrant-led crime crisis in Sweden. In it they write, Trump did not exaggerate Swedens current problems. If anything, he understated them. Trump Is Letting DREAMers Stay, And Rush Is Fine With That (Daily Caller) Hes an immigration hard liner, and, apparently, hes OK with Trump allowing DREAMERs to remain in the country. This piece highlights comments by Rush Limbaugh this week. A lot of people think that Trumps caving because if you allow the DREAMers to stay, were talking 750,000 DREAMers, kids, who each have two parents who could come in. Look, this is a-no-win, Limbaugh said this week. Nobodys gonna win anything by deporting a bunch of kids that we let in. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump advisor Steve Bannon rails at corporatist, globalist media By Noah Bierman Steve Bannon to the #CPAC crowd: "If you think they're going to give you your country back without a fight, you're sadly mistaken" pic.twitter.com/ryw7iO0Snr POLITICO (@politico) February 23, 2017 The two men with the most heavily dissected relationship in President Trumps White House held a rare public appearance together Thursday and agreed on one common enemy: the media. Reince Priebus, the chief of staff who is often described as embattled, said he has grown conditioned to the media counting Trump out: during the presidential campaign, the transition and the first month of the presidency. The biggest misconception is everything that youre reading, Priebus said. Steve Bannon, Trumps chief strategist, framed his complaint as an ideological war. He consistently called the media the opposition party throughout a 20-minute joint interview on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference just outside of Washington. Its not only not going to get better, it gets worse every day, Bannon said. Theyre corporatist, globalist media that are adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda like Donald Trump has. If you think theyre going to give you your country back without a fight, he added. You are sadly mistaken. Bannon, former executive chairman of the far-right Breitbart News, seldom speaks in public. His nationalist rendering of Republican ideology is often seen in contrast to Priebus, the former chairman of the GOP, who is viewed as the more mainstream conservative advocate within the White House. The two men said the tension between them portrayed in the media is inaccurate. But as they praised each other, the men made clear that Bannon sees his role as dominant in shaping Trumps policy. Bannon praised Priebus for doggedly keeping the trains running -- one of the toughest jobs Ive ever seen in my life. Bannon talked about being in the first inning of shaping a new political order and beginning the deconstruction of the administrative state. Priebus used more prosaic language and spoke of Bannon as the one who pushes Trump to maintain his bold vision. He is very dogged in making sure that every day the promises that President Trump made are the promises were working on, Priebus said of Bannon. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print In Mexico, Homeland Security chief says there will be no mass deportations of people in U.S. illegally By Patrick J. McDonnell Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, left, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Mexico City on Thursday. (Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP/Getty Images) Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, on a visit to Mexico, said Thursday that there will be no mass deportations of people living in the U.S. illegally. Kelly also said U.S. military forces would not be used in deportation efforts and that any deportation cases would go through the U.S. legal system. No. Repeat, no use of military force in immigration operations, Kelly said at a news conference at the Foreign Relations Ministry in Mexico City. None. Well approach this operation systematically, in an organized way, in a results-oriented way, in an operation and and in a human dignity way. Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are in Mexico City to discuss a wide variety of issues, including immigration and security, with Mexican government officials. Kellys remarks came the same day President Trump called recent raids in the U.S. an unprecedented enforcement effort. You see whats happening at the border. All of a sudden for the first time, were getting gang members out, he said. Were getting really bad dudes out of this country, and at a rate that nobodys ever seen before. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Mexico bracing for long battle with Trump administration, foreign minister tells lawmakers By Patrick J. McDonnell Mexico Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray (Brian Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images) Mexico is preparing for a long battle with the administration of President Trump, its foreign minister reportedly told lawmakers in private comments, adding that the country was prepared to retaliate with new tariffs if necessary. We are here preparing for a battle that is going to be long, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray told federal deputies Wednesday, according to the newspaper La Jornada, which said it had obtained a copy of the comments. This is not going to be resolved in three days. In the reported remarks, Videgaray said Mexico was prepared to retaliate with new tariffs on U.S.-made goods should the Trump administration follow up on its threats to slap an export tax of 20% or more of goods imported from Mexico to the United States. There was no official response from the Mexican Foreign Ministry on Videgarays reported remarks. Videgaray was among the Mexican officials, including President Enrique Pena Nieto, who met this week with a pair of visiting White House Cabinet members, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly. The private remarks were apparently made on Wednesday, when the two Trump envoys were scheduled to arrive in Mexico City. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Homeland Security tried to downplay immigration raids as routine. Now Trump says theyre unprecedented By Michael A. Memoli (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) After nationwide immigration raids this month in which more than 680 people were arrested, the Department of Homeland Security issued a nothing-to-see-here statement downplaying the sweeps as strictly ordinary. ICE conducts these kind of targeted enforcement operations regularly and has for many years, the agency said last week, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But President Trump had a different take Thursday, labeling the raids an unprecedented enforcement effort. You see whats happening at the border. All of a sudden for the first time, were getting gang members out, he said before a roundtable on manufacturing. Were getting really bad dudes out of this country, and at a rate that nobodys ever seen before. Under President Obama, deportations peaked at 400,000 people in 2012, touching off widespread criticism from immigration advocates, which prompted Homeland Security to scale back deportations. Last year, deportations fell to 240,000 as the Obama administration focused on targets similar to what Trump described in the raids conducted under his authority: criminals, repeat immigration violators and recent arrivals. Trump also called the sweeps this month a military operation, even though no military resources were involved and the White House has pushed back aggressively on reports that the administration was considering seeking National Guard forces to assist in deportations. Homeland Security said the raids were conducted by ICE agents, U.S. marshals and state and local law enforcement agencies. What has been allowed to come into our country, when you see gang violence that youve read about like never before, and all of the things much of that is people that are here illegally, Trump said. Theyre rough and theyre tough, but theyre not tough like our people. So were getting them out. Of the 680 arrests last week, 161 occurred in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Three-quarters of those detained in the Los Angeles-area sweeps were from Mexico. Trump noted that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly traveled to Mexico this week on a tough trip. We have to be treated fairly by Mexico, Trump said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White nationalist leader Richard Spencer booted from Conservative Political Action Conference By Matt Pearce Reporters surround white supremacist Richard Spencer during the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 23, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) One of Americas most prominent white nationalists, Richard Spencer, was kicked out of the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday after conference organizers gave him credentials to attend and then wavered on whether to let him stay. Spencer, who coined the term alternative right to describe his far-right views on separating the races, came to CPAC to attend a speech that was critical of the alt-right. CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp took pains to distance CPAC from the fringe Spencer represents. The alt-right does not have a legitimate voice in the conservative movement, said Schlapp, adding that nobody from that movement is speaking at CPAC. Read More Just talked to CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp. Said he didn't endorse Richard Spencer's ideas but won't kick him out of the conference. Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) February 23, 2017 Basically their line on this is, if they actually agreed with his ideas, they'd put him on stage, but they don't, and it's a free country. Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) February 23, 2017 Change of plans. Richard Spencer just got kicked out of CPAC. Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) February 23, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obamacare 101: Are health insurance marketplaces in a death spiral? By Noam N. Levey (Don Ryan / Associated Press) Its been a rocky few months for the health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. Even if youre not one of the roughly 11 million Americans who rely on these online markets to get your health insurance, youve probably seen the headlines about rising premiums and insurance companies pulling out of the system. Last week, national insurance giant Humana announced it would stop selling plans on the marketplace. Aetnas chief executive claimed the marketplaces are in a death spiral. Republicans say the marketplaces are Exhibit A that Obamacare is collapsing. So whats the real story? Are these things really kaput or can they be fixed? Heres a rundown of where things stand. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump administration wants tax reform done by August, Mnuchin says By Jim Puzzanghera The Trump administration wants to overhaul the tax code by August, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday, laying out an aggressive timetable in his first significant public comments since taking office last week. Our economic agenda, the No. 1 issue is growth, and the first most important thing that will impact growth is a tax plan, Mnuchin said in an interview with CNBC. So we are committed to pass tax reform, he said. We want to get this done by the August recess. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Loud and angry, protesters turn congressional town halls into must-see political TV By Mark Z. Barabak (Bill Pugliano / Getty Images) They came by the hundreds, in big cities and rural hamlets, to heckle, plead, badger and, in some instances, to protest the protests themselves. Congress is in recess this week, and a citizenry suddenly spurred to action used the opportunity to let their returning lawmakers know just how they feel about the tempestuous last month in Washington. Winners make policy and losers go home, a taunting Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, told an invitation-only gathering in his home state of Kentucky, as about 1,000 protesters gathered outside. Not exactly. The town hall meeting, a throwback to a time of more intimate connection, has become a political organizing tool in the social media age a piece of performance theater and a worldwide stage. Obamacare, immigration, environmental regulation, Social Security, Russian meddling in the 2016 election and Trump, Trump, Trump all poured forth this week in the form of questions, loudly and heatedly. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump administration rescinds guidelines on protections for transgender students By Michael A. Memoli The Trump administration rescinded an Obama-era directive Wednesday aimed at protecting transgender students rights, questioning its legal grounding. Under the guidelines, schools had been required to treat transgender students according to their stated gender identity, and either allow access to restrooms and locker rooms for the gender they identify with or provide private facilities if requested. The Obama administration had said that students gender identities were protected under Title IX requirements, which prohibit federally funded schools from discriminating on the basis of sex. But officials in the Education and Justice departments said that their predecessors failed to make their case, citing significant litigation spurred by the policy. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Americans in Mexico protest Trumps inflammatory rhetoric during Tillerson visit By Kate Linthicum A group of Americans living in Mexico is planning a protest Thursday to send a message to visiting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Their gripe? President Trumps inflammatory rhetoric. Thats according to a draft of a letter that several groups organizing the protest hope to deliver to Tillerson, who is in town along with Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly for talks with top Mexican officials. The letter, which will be cosigned by the Mexican chapter of Democrats Abroad, as well as other groups, complains about Trumps hostile attitude toward Mexico, which it says is engendering nationalistic sentiments in Mexico. Among Trumps hostile acts, the letter says, is Trumps vow to build a border wall and force Mexico to pay for it. The idea of building a wall ... frames Mexico and Mexicans as foreign invaders, the letter says. It also criticizes Trump for pledging to renegotiate NAFTA, saying, The U.S. and Mexico are deeply connected economies and it is in the interest of the United States to strengthen the regional production network to boost manufacturing employment in the U.S. and ensure the long-run competitiveness of manufacturing in the region. There are more than a million U.S. citizens living in Mexico, and many have been vocal since Trumps election. Last month, thousands turned out for a womens march outside the American Embassy that saw crowds chanting anti-Trump slogans. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Mexico will never accept unilateral American immigration rules, foreign secretary says By Patrick McDonnell Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray said defending the rights of Mexican immigrants is the first point in the agenda for talks with U.S. officials. (Christian Palma / Associated Press) Mexico will reject any unilateral effort from the United States to impose immigration or other policies on the Mexican government, the countrys foreign secretary said Wednesday. I want to make clear, in the most emphatic way, that the government of Mexico and the Mexican people do not have to accept measures that, in a unilateral way, one government wants to impose on another, Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray said in public comments. That we are not going to accept. He spoke a day after the Trump administration unveiled tough new measures to enforce immigration laws and deport people who are in the country illegally proposals that were widely portrayed in the Mexican media as a prelude to massive deportations. On Wednesday, two top Trump administration cabinet members Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly were arriving in Mexico for talks with that nations officials, including Videgaray. Immigration, trade and law enforcement issues were expected to be discussed at a tense moment in U.S.-Mexican relations. In his reported comments, the Mexican secretary did not single out any specific U.S. proposal as objectionable. Mexican officials have acknowledged there is little they can do to counter U.S. immigration policies. Among other things, the Trump administration has proposed sending non-Mexican citizens detained along the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico. Mexican officials would presumably have to sign off on such a plan. Mexico already detains and deports thousands of Central Americans annually who cross Mexican territory with the hope of entering the United States illegally via the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. authorities have worked with their Mexican counterparts to halt the Central American influx. The Mexican foreign secretary made it clear that immigration would be at the top of the list of items to be discussed during meetings with the U.S. Cabinet secretaries. Defending the rights of Mexican immigrants is the first point in the agenda, said Videgaray. He also said Mexico could take the issue of the rights of Mexican immigrants to the United Nations and other international agencies. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Both in power and in turmoil, conservatives head to Conservative Political Action Conference to see whats next By Matt Pearce Josh Platillero (Matt Pearce / Los Angeles Times) The eyes of men in crisp blazers darted toward passing faces and identification badges, looking for a familiar face, a famous name. As Fox News host Sean Hannity prepared to broadcast a live show from a ballroom, a brief chant burst out from the audience: U-S-A! U-S-A! Its that time of year again: Hundreds of Republicans began arriving Wednesday at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md., just south of Washington, for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. CPAC, as its best known, is a place for conservative political figures and activists to gather, schmooze, hammer out new ideas and audition for starring roles in the Republican Party. And this year, CPAC attendees have a lot to talk about. Their party is in control of Congress, the White House and dozens of state governments across America, and yet not at all at peace with itself. President Trump is expected to address the conference later in the week after winning on a platform of populist nationalism that some conservatives have accused of not being conservative at all. Breitbart News, the brash rising star of right-wing media, is one of the conferences top promoters, but one of its staffers, Milo Yiannopoulos, lost his speaking slot at CPAC and resigned from the news organization after video circulated showing him appearing to promote pedophilia. Some conservatives had backed Yiannopoulos and cried censorship when the provocateur offended liberals at college speaking events, but now they had become offended themselves. Still, as CPAC began on Wednesday, the mood was upbeat. This was a victorious movement, after all. Many new guests were greeted by the sight of Josh Platillero, 23, wearing a cartoonishly large stovepipe hat and a suit the colors of the American flag. I love networking, said Platillero, who recently lived in Knoxville, Tenn., before moving to the D.C. area to work with a conservative nonprofit, the Leadership Institute. Its his second year attending CPAC, and he was excited about the lineup of speakers, which include some of the White House staff. I think our new president is not perfect, but I think hes doing good things, he said. Ariel Kohane, 45, who came from the Upper West Side in Manhattan, stood in the lobby holding signs that read, Jews for Trump, in both English and Hebrew. I love the fact that I can get together with many of my fellow conservative friends and colleagues and we can all be very proud of ourselves with all our accomplishments and the fact that we get to strategize and plan ways to further expand conservatism across America and across the whole world, Kohane said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Pence condemns Jewish center bomb threats and visits desecrated cemetery in Missouri By Jaweed Kaleem (Michael Conroy / Associated Press) Visiting Fenton, Mo., on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence condemned a string of bomb threats against Jewish community centers around the nation and the desecration of a St. Louis-area Jewish cemetery over the weekend. Speaking just yesterday, President Trump called this a horrible and painful act. And so it was. That along with other recent threats to the Jewish community centers around the country, said Pence, who was visiting the headquarters of the Fabick Cat machinery company. He declared it all a sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil. We condemn this vile act of vandalism and those who perpetuate it in the strongest possible terms. The vice president said it was inspiring how the people of Missouri have rallied around the Jewish community with compassion and support. Among those showing solidarity with the Jewish community is a group of Muslims who launched an online fundraising campaign to help repair the cemetery. Donors had pledged more than $90,000 by Wednesday afternoon. Pence later visited the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City, Mo., where nearly 200 tombstones had been toppled over the weekend. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trumps move on transgender bathroom access sparks interest By Kurtis Lee (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) For President Trump, commenting on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion has never seemed much of a priority. Indeed, throughout the campaign, Trump hardly discussed the topics. When asked about transgender bathroom access at a town hall in April 2016, Trump said people should be able to use whichever bathroom they choose. He then moved on from the question, offering little else. Now it appears his administration is set to wade into the controversy. Its a topic the conservative media loves to explore. Here are some of todays headlines: Return to normalcy: Trump readies reversal of transgender bathroom lunacy in public schools (Daily Caller) What will the Trump administration do about transgender bathroom access? The Caller highlights White House Press Secretary Sean Spicers pronouncement on the issue: This is a states rights issue and not one for the federal government, Spicer told reporters. The lunacy referred to is the federal guidance President Obama issued prior to leaving office directing schools that receive federal funding to allow transgender students to use restrooms and other facilities that match their gender identities. Several states filed suit to overturn the directive, and a federal judge issued a temporary injunction barring its enforcement, which remains in place. Several states, following the lead of North Carolina, are seeking to implement legislation that bans transgender people from using the bathrooms of the gender with which they identify. 66 percent of Trump voters change the channel when awards shows get too political (Daily Caller) When Meryl Streep criticized President Trump last month in her Golden Globes speech, he replied quickly. Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesnt know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes, Trump tweeted. Well, Trump can probably expect more barbs as actors (in overwhelmingly liberal Hollywood) take the stage at the Oscars on Sunday. Lots of Trump voters can be expected to change the channel, according to this piece, which highlights a new poll on the subject. The Hollywood Reporter says that 66% of Trump voters said they have stopped watching an awards show because a celebrity started talking about politics while accepting an award. By contrast, only 19% of Hillary Clintons supporters have done so. Trump talks tolerance, decries anti-Semitism, but media remain skeptical (Fox News) Well, Trump finally did say something to condemn the anti-Semitic vandalism and threats that have taken place since his presidential victory. Anti-Semitism is horrible, Trump said in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday. In the Fox News piece, Howard Kurtz argues the media should give the president more credit for speaking out. I always think its unfair to blame a political leader for violence or vandalism carried out by people who support him, he writes. I felt the same way about critics who blamed Barack Obama for urban riots or shootings of police officers. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Among Republicans, Trump is more popular than congressional leaders By David Lauter Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) walk together. (Matt Rourke / Associated Press) Amid strain between the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress, the White House holds the high ground, a new survey indicates. Among Republicans, President Trump has greater popularity than the partys congressional leaders. Asked specifically who they would trust if the two sides disagreed, most Republicans chose Trump over their partys leadership. The findings, from a new survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center underscore Trumps continued sway with the Republican congressional majority. Although the president has historically low job approval ratings among the public at large, he remains highly popular among Republican partisans and in Republican districts. As for Democrats, theyre strongly in an oppositional mood. Asked if they were more worried that Democrats in Congress would go too far in opposing Trump or not go far enough, more than 70% of Democrats said they feared their party would not go far enough. Only 20% said they worried the party would go too far. Republicans in Congress have eyed Trump warily on several fronts. His positions on trade and entitlement reform break with years of the partys positions. His reluctance to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin has generated tension. And the administrations lack of clarity on healthcare and tax policy have Republican leaders guessing which way to turn on major issues. But Republican partisans have fewer reservations than their elected representatives. Eighty-six percent to 13%, those who identify as Republicans or as independents who lean Republican have a favorable view of Trump, the Pew survey found. By comparison, 57% have a favorable view of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, with 22% unfavorable and 21% having no opinion. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is slightly better known, with 65% of Republicans holding a favorable view, 23% an unfavorable view and 13% having no opinion. Asked who they would trust if the two sides disagreed, 52% of Republicans said they would side with Trump and 34% with the Republicans in Congress. Republicans younger than 40 were the only major exception; 52% to 36%, they said they would side with Congress. At the same time, Republican partisans now have a warmer opinion of their party leadership than they had during most of President Obamas tenure. Republicans' approval of their congressional leaders has more than doubled since 2015 https://t.co/KSo1hRMhJj pic.twitter.com/WHTHxCNEFq Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) February 22, 2017 During the Obama years, GOP partisans tended to be frustrated that their side could not reverse the presidents initiatives, even with a majority in the House, starting in 2010, and then in the Senate for Obamas last two years. Their view of the GOP leadership has rebounded strongly since the election. Democrats view of their congressional leadership has been more stable. And both sides widely dislike the other partys leaders. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Supreme Court rejects use of racial stereotypes in death penalty cases By David Savage The Supreme Court rejected the use of racial stereotypes in death penalty cases Wednesday, reopening the case of a black man in Texas who was sentenced to die after his jury was told African Americans are more likely than whites to commit crimes. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said this testimony had no place in a sentencing hearing and appealed to the racial stereotype that black men are prone to violence. Our laws punish people for what they do, not for who they are, the chief justice said in the courtroom. The 6-2 decision faults Texas authorities for refusing to give a new sentencing hearing to Duane Buck, a Houston man who was convicted of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and seriously injuring her new boyfriend in 1995. Buck was found guilty of murder, but when his jury was debating his fate, his court-appointed defense attorney put on the witness stand an expert who cited statistics showing blacks are more likely to commit future crimes than whites. After hearing this testimony, the jury decided to sentence Buck to death. Years later, Texas state attorneys set aside the death sentences for six other black defendants whose juries heard similar testimony, but they refused to reopen Bucks case. In Buck vs. Davis, the high court said that was a mistake. The jury was deciding the question of life or death, and this is no place for the introduction of a particularly noxious strain of racial prejudice, Roberts said. The court sent the case back to judges in Texas to reconsider the death sentence. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, along with Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Thomas said Buck was properly sentenced to die for a brutal murder, and he insisted the court should not have heard the case for procedural reasons. Having settled on a desired outcome, the court bulldozes procedural obstacles and misapplies settled law to justify it, he wrote. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print At Rep. Tony Cardenas town hall, Democrats worry about what Donald Trump may do By Kurtis Lee (Kurtis Lee/Los Angeles Times ) They arrived with soggy jackets, hats and umbrellas. The topic was supposed to be the Affordable Care Act. But many who attended Democratic Rep. Tony Cardenas town hall meeting Tuesday night in a crammed auditorium at the Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies came with a question: What can we -- as Democrats -- do to help you? Show up and vote, said Cardenas, who represents a slice of the staunchly liberal San Fernando Valley. (Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in this district by nearly 60-percentage points in the fall election.) Sign people up, get people involved, he said. At times the meeting had the feel of a therapy session for Democrats, wondering aloud how to function under a Trump administration. Where is the anger among Democrats? asked one man. I want to see more anger. Cardenas, standing at a lectern on an elevated stage, offered a stern look and nodded in agreement as rain could be heard splattering on the roof above. The complaints included Republicans efforts to repeal Obamacare and Trumps new immigration mandates. Trust me, Im pissed. Im upset, Cardenas said. But we have to act constructively. We have to be responsible. Last month, Trump signed executive orders directing the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize the removal of people in the U.S. illegally who have criminal convictions. In addition to speeding up the deportation of convicts, Trumps orders also call for quick removal of people in the country illegally who are charged with crimes and waiting for adjudication. And in recent days, a handful of people who have received protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nationwide. Cardenas said that for him, the issue is personal. His parents were immigrants from Mexico, who lived in the San Fernando Valley for decades, raising 11 children, he said. Today his district is nearly 70% Latino. Im going to fight for you, he said. Im going to fight for the people who are my immigrant father. When a young man, a DACA recipient, asked him, via Twitter, if hell be safe in the weeks ahead, Cardenas seemed at a loss. I pray that [Trump] doesnt go after you, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Killing with kindness, GOPs McClintock faces down hostile questioners as town hall goes into overti Neil Gorsuch could fall somewhere between his hero, Justice Scalia, and former boss, centrist Justice Kennedy By David Savage Judge Neil M. Gorsuch was resting midway down a Colorado ski slope last year when his cellphone rang with the news that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had died. I immediately lost what breath I had left, Gorsuch recalled in an April speech, and I am not embarrassed to admit that I couldnt see the rest of the way down the mountain for the tears. Now, as President Trumps pick to replace Scalia on the high court, Gorsuch is seen by many on the right as a fitting replacement for the iconic jurist that Gorsuch considered a lion of the law. Like Scalia, Gorsuch, 49, who serves on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, is a well-respected conservative who believes judges should decide cases based on the law as it was understood when passed, not on how they think it should be. Hes a clear, impassioned writer, albeit without Scalias flare for biting sarcasm. But Gorsuch also evokes the qualities of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch worked as a law clerk. (If confirmed, Gorsuch would join three justices who previously clerked on the high court, but he would be the first ever to serve alongside the justice he or she worked for.) Like Kennedy, 80, Gorsuch is a Westerner with a polite, congenial manner who at times has won praise from liberals. He may be more conservative than Kennedy when it comes to expanding individual rights, but he seems to lack Scalias fervor for overturning liberal precedents from decades past. Which way Gorsuch skews could be pivotal for the future of the court. Conservatives clearly hope hell be more like Scalia than Kennedy, a centrist swing vote who has often joined liberals on issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Some conservatives have even expressed hope that Gorsuchs personal history with Kennedy might enable him to draw the Reagan-appointee back toward the right. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump chooses Neil Gorsuch, a conservative seen as likely to be confirmed, for Supreme Court By Michael A. Memoli President Trump nominated federal Judge Neil M. Gorsuch on Tuesday to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of the late Antonin Scalia, choosing from his short list an appeals court judge from Denver seen as most likely to win Senate confirmation. Because Scalia was a stalwart conservative, Trumps choice is not likely to change the balance of the court. But it does set the stage for a bruising partisan fight over a man who could help determine law on gun rights, immigration, police use of force and transgender rights. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump administration is radicalizing Democratic voters, creating a challenge for the party, Rep. Adam Schiff says By Sarah D. Wire (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) As protests spread over policy announcements from the Trump administration, Democrats must work to encourage participation in politics, but face a danger of the party becoming too radicalized, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said Tuesday. The radical nature of this government is radicalizing Democrats, and thats going to pose a real challenge to the Democratic Party, which is to draw on the energy and the activism and the passion that is out there, but not let it turn us into what we despised about the tea party, Schiff said. During a meeting with reporters and editors in the Los Angeles Times Washington bureau, Schiff also discussed his role as the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Select Intelligence Committee under a Trump administration and how Democrats will manage in the minority. Ever since the election, party leaders have been debating: Did we lose because we were too far to the left and we had too small a tent, or did we lose because we are too mainstream and didnt energize the base? Schiff asked. We are obviously having that debate, but theres a whole new element, which is the reaction to the Trump administration that makes this different in kind, certainly different in intensity, than I think weve ever seen after an election, he said. The more radical the administration is, the more radicalized our base becomes, which just feeds the Breitbart crowd, and who knows where that ends. Democratic leaders have to channel public reaction to Trumps actions into progress, rather than deadlock, Schiff said. Reaction to Democrats seen as working with the Trump administration has been strong. Monday night, for example, protesters marched on Sen. Dianne Feinsteins home and office voicing fears she would back Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general. The senator from California announced Tuesday that she would oppose Sessions. Several groups calling themselves indivisible have popped up in cities across the country as focal points for efforts to organize. We have two of the most capable strategists as the head of our House and Senate Democrats, Schiff added, referring to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Senate Democratic leader Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York. If anybody can grapple with this, they can, but its going to be a challenging and moving target day to day. I just hope that we can channel that energy in a way where we can provide a check on this administration because Ive never been more worried about the countrys future than I am right now, he said. Schiff said part of his role as the ranking Democrat on the House Select Intelligence Committee will be pushing back when the Trump administration puts out inaccurate information about the intelligence community and its findings. Trump has repeatedly dismissed or sought to minimize the intelligence communitys findings that Russia sought to intervene in the 2016 election to benefit him. Schiff said hes concerned about what else the administration might be willing to dismiss. I think that will be kind of a new frontier, he said. How do we contradict a president making representations about what the intelligence community has to say when the information is classified? Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump administration signals that some temporary bans on entry into the U.S. could become permanent By Brian Bennett Trumps orders put a greater emphasis on deporting those convicted of crimes and those in the country illegally who were charged with crimes not yet adjudicated The Trump administration doubled down Tuesday on its commitment to transforming the nations border law enforcement, signaling that some of the temporary bans on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries are likely to be made permanent and elevating a deportations official to run the top immigration enforcement agency. Administration officials, led by newly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, moved to allay the havoc that marked the roll-out of the ban and another on refugees. They briefed reporters and planned to head to Capitol Hill later today in an apparent effort to smooth relations after reports that lawmakers and other stakeholders were left out of the crafting of the executive order on toughened vetting at border entry points. In a news conference, Kelly and other top Homeland Security officials conceded some problems, including poor communication. But they insisted that all court orders were followed over the weekend, rebutted reports that some legal residents were denied access to attorneys at airports and said they everyone detained by border agents was treated with dignity and respect. The vast majority of the 1.7 billion Muslims that live on this planet, the vast majority of them have, all other things being equal, have access to the United States, Kelly told reporters. And a relatively small number right now are being held up for a period of time until we can take a look at what their procedures are, he said, seeming to acknowledge that mostly Muslims have been affected by the ban. The moves signaled that the White House remained committed to remaking border law enforcement even in the face of widespread confusion and condemnation of President Trumps order. Kelly said for the first time that the some of the restrictions that caused confusion and sparked protests over the weekend could be extended well into the future. Some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon, he said. Trump also named a longtime deportation officer, Thomas D. Homan, as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homan, who will oversee the execution of Trumps immigration enforcement order, was most recently in charge of the agencys 5,000 deportation officers, a force Trump said he would triple to 15,000. Trumps orders put a greater emphasis on deporting not only those convicted of crimes, but also people in the country illegally who were charged with crimes not yet adjudicated, those who receive an improper welfare benefit and even those who have not been charged but are believed to have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House tries to ban the word ban, hours after president uses it himself By Noah Bierman This is not a ban, spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters in a fiery news briefing. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) President Trump used the word ban in a tweet as recently as Monday to describe his new executive order suspending travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the refugee program for several months. But facing backlash from many directions, the White House adamantly insisted Tuesday that the word is verboten. This is not a ban, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters in a fiery news briefing. When we use words like travel ban, he said later, that misrepresents what it is. Its seven countries previously identified by the Obama administration, where, frankly, we dont get the information that we need for people coming into this country. In fact, people from the seven banned countries Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya cannot enter the United States under the order. Spicer appeared to be making a renewed effort to distinguish the order from the all-out ban on Muslims entering the country that Trump proposed during the campaign. Many around the world see the newest policy as an outgrowth of that proposal. Trump himself conceded a religious connection when he said in an interview on Friday that he wanted to make it easier for Syrian Christians to enter the country. And former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News that the order sprang from a group he formed at Trumps request to create a legal framework that would accomplish the campaign goal of a Muslim ban. But amid confusion and worldwide criticism in recent days, the Trump administration has tried to temper some of the more incendiary rhetoric around the proposal. Even the words extreme vetting, a favorite Trump slogan, were called into question by Spicer on Tuesday. Calling for tougher vetting [of] individual travelers from seven nations is not extreme, he said. It is reasonable and necessary to protect our country. But changing the ban branding around the program at this point will be difficult. Heres Trumps tweet from Monday: If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017 And Spicer himself used the term ban as recently as Sunday: Sean Spiceer today: This is not a Muslim ban. It is not a travel ban. Sean Spicer in White House press release, Jan. 29: pic.twitter.com/axTM1m66nM Dominic Holden (@dominicholden) January 31, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Senate confirms Elaine Chao as secretary of Transportation By Associated Press Elaine Chao testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Jan. 11, 2017. (Zach Gibson / AP) The Senate has confirmed Elaine Chao to serve as Transportation secretary in the Trump administration. The vote was 93 to 6 on Tuesday. Chao is an experienced Washington hand. She was Labor secretary under President George W. Bush and is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Chao would be a lead actor in pursuing Trumps promise to invest $1 trillion to improve highways, rail service and other infrastructure projects. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Speaker Paul Ryan defends Trumps immigrant and refugee ban, as Congress grumbles about being left out By Lisa Mascaro "What is happening is something we support... we need to make sure that the vetting standards are up to snuff," Paul Ryan says of travel ban pic.twitter.com/iX6YkOLkLl CBS News (@CBSNews) January 31, 2017 House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday stood by President Trumps temporary ban on refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations and indicated that he was confident the administration could fix the confusing rollout without action from Congress. What is happening is something we support, said Ryan, whose office was the target of a sit-in by protesters opposed to Trumps order. We need to pause and we need to make sure that the vetting standards are up to snuff so we can guarantee the safety and security of our country. Congress was blindsided by Trumps executive action -- Ryan learned about it as the public did when the White House announced it Friday afternoon. Many GOP lawmakers have raised concerns. During a private meeting in the Capitol basement Tuesday, Republican lawmakers were counseled on how to handle protesters and office sit-ins happening across the country. Its regrettable that there was some confusion on the rollout of this, Ryan said. No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this. Ryan also said he was concerned the ban could be used as propaganda by terrorist groups. The rhetoric surrounding this could be used as a recruiting tool, and I think thats dangerous, he said. Still, Republicans leaders as well as rank-and-file GOP lawmakers largely agreed with the presidents move to halt refugee admissions for 120 days, and to temporarily ban citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, unless they are Christians or other religious minorities. The president was well within his right to issue an executive order, said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), chairman of the House Rules Committee. Do I feel let out? I feel like everybody was left out, he said. I wish they communicated it. I wish they had gotten more information to people. I wish they had measured three times and sawed once. Lawmakers have shown little appetite for Congress to get involved, and suggested the chaos that erupted at airports over the weekend was just part of a learning curve at the White House. I support the thrust of the executive order, said Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), who nevertheless said the administration should have been better prepared and will need to get your act together. Last year, Ryan had strongly condemned Trumps campaign-trail call for a Muslim ban. In recent days, Ryan, like other congressional leaders, was forced to dial up the administration with his questions and concerns about the order, conferring Monday with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. I am very pleased and confident that he is, on a going-forward basis, going to make sure that things are done correctly, Ryan said. Pressed on whether Congress would have a role, Ryan did not indicate any immediate legislative action. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrats boycott Senate committee votes on Price, Mnuchin By Jim Puzzanghera Senate Democrats speak with reporters after boycotting Finance Committee confirmation votes. (JIM WATSON / AFP/Getty Images) Senate Democrats on Tuesday boycotted a committee vote on two of President Trumps top Cabinet nominees -- Tom Price to lead Health and Human Services and Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary. Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) blasted the Democratic move as he sat in a hearing room with only Republicans on the dais. They ought to be embarrassed. Its the most pathetic treatment Ive seen in my 40 years in the United States Senate, Hatch said. I think they should stop posturing and acting like idiots, he said. At least one Democrat needs to be present for the committee to vote on the nominations, Hatch said. He recessed the hearing until further notice, saying he hoped a vote could take place later Tuesday. But asked mid-afternoon if he thought the committee would be able to meet Tuesday, Hatch said it doesnt look like it. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the committees top Democrat, said Price and Mnuchin have misled the public and held back important information about their backgrounds. Until questions are answered, Democrats believe the committee should not move forward with either nomination, Wyden said. This is about getting answers to questions, plain and simple, he said. Ethics laws are not optional, and nominees do not have a right to treat disclosure like a shell game. Today @SenateFinance Democrats refused to move forward with nominations of Mnuchin & Price. Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 31, 2017 The litany of ethics revelations regarding @RepTomPrice are strong evidence that he cannot be allowed to have control of #Medicare. Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 31, 2017 Mr. Mnuchin continued to fail to come clean on shady foreclosure practices that hurt Americans. Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) January 31, 2017 Liberal groups cheered the boycott while Senate Republican leaders decried it as Democratic obstructionism. They are manufacturing issues on a daily basis to drag this process out, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) said of the confirmations of Trumps nominees. I dont see how they can explain to the American people how it is appropriate to prevent the administration from getting up and getting started, he said. Democrats have said Mnuchin, a wealthy Wall Street executive, misled the committee in his response to a written question about foreclosures at Pasadenas OneWest Bank while he ran it from 2009-15. Democrats pointed to a report Sunday by the Columbus Dispatch that Mnuchin denied that OneWest engaged in so-called robo-signing of mortgage documents. The paper said its analysis of nearly four dozen foreclosure cases in Ohios Franklin County in 2010 showed that the bank frequently used robo-signers. The Columbus Dispatch cited a foreclosure involving a mortgage signed by Erica Johnson-Seck, a OneWest vice president who said in a deposition in a 2009 Florida case that she signed an average of 750 documents a week. Barney Keller, a spokesman for Mnuchin, said Monday that several courts had dismissed cases involving allegations of robo-signing by Johnson-Seck. The media is picking on a hardworking bank employee whose reputation has been maligned but whose work has been upheld by numerous courts all around the country in the face of scurrilous and false allegations, Keller said. Democrats also have problems with Price, a six-term congressman and former orthopedic surgeon who has distinguished himself in conservative circles for his staunch opposition to the Affordable Care Act and his plans to slash federal healthcare spending. His nomination has become among Trumps most controversial, in part because of his hostility to government safety net programs, including Medicaid and Medicare. Democrats have also been increasingly critical of Prices extensive trading in healthcare stocks while he has been in Congress, and in some cases while he has pushed legislation that would benefit his portfolio. Price has denied any wrongdoing. Also drawing criticism is Prices purchase of discounted shares in an Australian biotech firm, Innate Immunotherapeutics, which he was offered through a private deal not available to general shareholders. Price also denied that this was improper, and Senate Republicans have rallied to his side, saying he did not violate any ethics rules. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he and the other Democrats on the committee want Mnuchin and Price to explain their lies either in person before the committee or in new written answers. I want them to disclose this information that they seem not to want to disclose, Brown said. 12:10 p.m.: This post was updated with additional comments from Hatch as well as from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Sherrod Brown. 8:00 a.m.: This post has been updated with additional information and background. 8:07 a.m.: This post has been updated with additional information. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House aides who wrote Trumps travel ban see it as just the start By Brian Bennett (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Even as confusion, internal dissent and widespread condemnation greeted President Trumps travel ban and crackdown on refugees this weekend, senior White House aides say they are only getting started. Trump and his aides justified Fridays executive order, which blocked travel from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days and halted refugees from around the world for 120, on security grounds an issue that they say they take seriously. But their ultimate goal is far broader. Trumps top advisors on immigration, including chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior advisor Stephen Miller, see themselves as launching a radical experiment to fundamentally transform how the U.S. decides who is allowed into the country and to block a generation of people who, in their view, wont assimilate into American society. That project may live or die in the next three months, as the Trump administration reviews whether and how to expand the visa ban and alter vetting procedures. White House aides are considering new, onerous security checks that could effectively limit travel into the U.S. by people from majority-Muslim countries to a trickle. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Why corporations cant risk keeping silent about Trumps immigration ban By David Pierson Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz said the Seattle coffee company is developing plans to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years. (Richard Drew / Associated Press) Corporate America generally prefers to stay quiet about partisan politics. Pick one side of a hot-button issue, the thinking goes, and youll risk losing customers on the other side. But like so many norms before it, President Trump has turned this one on its head. A growing number of companies are deciding its a bigger risk to their investors and bottom line to stay quiet than it is to protest Trumps ban on refugees and travel from seven Muslim-majority nations, betting vocal opposition to the executive order scores them a moral and fiscal victory. While it was possible for companies to take a wait-and-see approach leading up to Trumps inauguration, many firms can no longer ignore the White Houses policy given the effect the order is already having on employees either stranded or fearful of traveling. Only a week ago it seemed foolish to speak out against a president who has admonished individual companies on social media such as Carrier, Boeing and General Motors. Now the pendulum has swung the other way. Companies, mostly in technology but increasingly in other sectors, have decided that its not enough just to speak out against the immigration order. They believe that they must also take headline-grabbing action. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Op-Ed: Trump is taking the Bannon Way, and it will end in disaster By Jonah Goldberg Bannon has said hes a Leninist' but hes really more of a Trotskyist because he fancies himself the leader of an international populist-nationalist right wing movement, exporting anti-'globalist' revolution. In that role, his status as an enabler of Trumps instinct to shoot or tweet from the hip seems especially ominous. The Bannon way might work on the campaign trail, but it doesnt translate into good governance. Its possible and one must hope that Trump can learn this fact on the job. But what if he doesnt? He could put the country in serious peril. Jonah Goldberg Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump will leave LGBTQ protections in place By Associated Press (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The White House says President Trump will leave intact a 2014 executive order that protects federal workers from anti-LGBTQ discrimination. In a statement released early Tuesday, the White House said Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community and that he continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The Trump administration has vowed to roll back much of President Obamas work from the last eight years and had been scrutinizing the 2014 order. The directive protects people from LGBTQ discrimination while working for federal contractors. The recent statement says the protections will remain intact at the direction of Trump. Here is the text of Obamas executive order, signed on July 21, 2014: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 40 U.S.C. 121, and in order to provide for a uniform policy for the Federal Government to prohibit discrimination and take further steps to promote economy and efficiency in Federal Government procurement by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Amending Executive Order 11478 . The first sentence of section 1 of Executive Order 11478 of August 8, 1969, as amended, is revised by substituting sexual orientation, gender identity for sexual orientation. Sec. 2. Amending Executive Order 11246 . Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows: (a) The first sentence of numbered paragraph (1) of section 202 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex, or national origin. (b) The second sentence of numbered paragraph (1) of section 202 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex or national origin. (c) Numbered paragraph (2) of section 202 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex or national origin. (d) Paragraph (d) of section 203 is revised by substituting sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin for sex or national origin. Sec. 3. Regulations . Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Labor shall prepare regulations to implement the requirements of section 2 of this order. Sec. 4. General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an agency or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. Sec. 5. Effective Date . This order shall become effective immediately, and section 2 of this order shall apply to contracts entered into on or after the effective date of the rules promulgated by the Department of Labor under section 3 of this order. Update 6:45 a.m.: This article was updated with the text of the 2014 executive order. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump fires Justice Departments top official after she refuses to defend his refugee ban By David Lauter Sally Yates. (J. David Ake / Associated Press) President Trump fired acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates on Monday, just hours after she announced that the department would not defend his controversial executive order banning refugees and travelers from certain countries. Yates has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States, the White House said in a statement. It is time to get serious about protecting our country. The move came after Yates sent a letter to Justice Department lawyers saying that she questioned the lawfulness of Trumps executive order. My responsibility is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is after consideration of all the facts, Yates wrote. At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful, she wrote. Consequently, for as long as I am the acting attorney general, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the executive order unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so. Yates was a holdover from the Obama administration. But because Trumps nominee for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, has not been confirmed and no other senior Justice Department officials have been appointed, firing her was expected to cause significant problems within the department. Among other issues, Yates is the only person in the department currently authorized to sign warrants for wiretapping in foreign espionage cases involving the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Trump replaced Yates with Dana J. Boente, a three-decade veteran of the Justice Department who was appointed in 2015 by former President Obama as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. 6:37 p.m.: The story was updated with Trumps decision to fire Yates. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print U.S. service member killed in Yemen identified as Navy SEAL from Illinois By Jeanette Steele The Pentagon on Sunday confirmed the death of a U.S. servicemember in a raid in Yemen targeting al-Qaeda, marking the first American combat death under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. A Navy SEAL from the Virginia-based elite unit known as SEAL Team 6 was killed Sunday during an unusual nighttime raid that put U.S. troops on the ground against Al Qaeda leaders in the middle of war-torn Yemen. The fallen sailor was identified Monday as Chief Special Warfare Operator William Ryan Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill.. Three other Americans were wounded in the raid and an MV-22 Osprey had to be destroyed after the aircraft suffered a hard landing and couldnt fly. Another U.S. service member was injured in that crash. The raid marked the first known counter-terrorism operation and first confirmed combat fatality under President Trump. Steele writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Protests against Trumps ban on certain immigrants continue across the country By Ann M. Simmons Protesters rally at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, demonstrating against the immigration ban imposed by President Trump. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) After a weekend of turmoil at many of the nations airports following President Trumps executive order to suspend the U.S. refugee program and temporarily prohibit entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations, federal officials said all people being detained on arrival to the U.S. had been released. But that hasnt put a stop to demands to lift the travel ban. Protests continued to be held and organized throughout the country incluidng in New York, New Orleans, Colorado and Connecticut. According to Ground Game, an online platform for organizing, at least a dozen demonstrations were planned for this week in what the group described as a fight against Islamophobia and Fascism. Calls to rally, demonstrate and protest swept social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. In Louisville, Ky., a rally was planned for Monday evening at the Muhammad Ali Center, in what organizers said would be a gathering for American values and to voice support for our nation and our city, which was founded and is strengthened by immigrants. In Hattiesburg, Miss., there was call to join a peaceful vigil in solidarity with refugees, immigrants, and Muslims on the University of Southern Mississippi campus on Monday evening. Declaring that Jersey City stands with our Muslim and immigrant community, organizers in that New Jersey city called on people to come to a pedestrian mall on Monday to stand in solidarity and peace as we show our strength in diversity as one of the most diverse cities in the nation. Other demonstrations were planned for later in the week in cities nationwide, including Tuesday in Tuscon, where organizers encouraged people to stand in solidarity with Senator (John) McCains strong public statement opposing the executive order banning refugees and Legal Permanent Residents from Muslim countries! Similar actions were planned on Tuesday at the South Carolina State House in Columbia and at the Worchester City Hall and Common in Massachusetts, while organizers in San Francisco, under the banner #NoBanNoWallSF, urged residents to join the resistance against Donald Trumps racist and exclusionary Executive Orders on Saturday. We will not allow our country to be divided by hate and religious persecution, read a statement from #NoBanNoWallSF posted on Facebook. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obama carefully weighs in on refugee ban, says he is heartened by public response By Michael A. Memoli (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images) Former President Obama has offered his first public comment on the conduct of his successor, saying through a spokesman that he is heartened by public demonstrations against the Trump administrations controversial move to temporarily ban refugees and block all admissions from seven countries. President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country, Kevin Lewis, a spokesperson for the former president, said in a statement emailed to reporters Monday. In his final official speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizen and how all Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy--not just during an election but every day. Citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake. Lewis also said in the statement that Obama fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion. Trump aides deny that his executive order, released Friday, involves religious discrimination. The order temporarily blocked travel to the U.S. by residents of seven predominantly Muslim nations, but left many of the Islamic worlds largest population centers unaffected, they note. The order also included an exception for believers of minority religions in those countries, a provision that Trump explicitly said would help Christians. Obamas statement is notable less for its content than for the fact that it was issued at all. It reflected the delicate balance he feels he must strike between showing a degree of deference to the new president and speaking out on issues he sees as critically important. The statement tiptoed around the content of the order, focusing more on the former presidents interest in citizen engagement. Obama said before leaving office that he expected to choose carefully when to comment on the actions of his successor and would focus less on normal functioning of politics and more on certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake, as he put it in his final news conference. Mondays statement did point, though, to comments Obama made at a news conference in November 2015, when he called the idea of a religious test for immigration policy shameful and not American. We dont have religious tests to our compassion, he said at the time. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement GOP-led Congress worries about its role in the Trump era By Lisa Mascaro Its what congressional Republicans had long dreamed about: a majority in both chambers to advance conservative policies and a president from the same party to sign them into law. But the Trump White House isnt turning out exactly the way they envisioned. The GOP establishment is experiencing whiplash after a week of President Trump bulldozing through the norms of policy and protocol dashing off executive orders without warning, escalating a diplomatic crisis with the countrys closest southern neighbor, triggering global confusion with a new refugee policy and generally hijacking party leaders agenda and replacing it with his own. Rather than the hoped-for collaborative new relationship between the White House and Congress, GOP officials complain that Trump is brushing aside their advice, failing to fully engage on drafting tough legislative packages like tax reform and Obamacare, and bypassing Congress by relying on executive actions, something they frequently complained about under President Obama. At the same time, Trumps unilateral moves continue to blindside Republicans and direct the national focus toward topics many in the party would rather avoid, whether thats how to pay for building the border wall with Mexico, warming ties with Russia, investigating false claims about voter fraud or, most recently, implementing sweeping new policies on refugees and visas. In the name of party unity, many Republicans so far have refrained from publicly attacking the new president. But for some, the new refugee policy crossed the line, signaling the first major rift in their already fraught partnership. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Washington state sues Trump over immigration order By Mark Z. Barabak President Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends all immigration for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Opening a new legal front, lawyers for the state of Washington filed suit Monday seeking to block President Trumps executive order temporarily banning foreign refugees from entering the United States. No one is above the law, not even the president, Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson said in announcing the federal lawsuit. And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. Its the Constitution. Over the weekend, a federal judge in Brooklyn issued an order curtailing portions of Trumps executive order, issued Friday, which temporary halts migration from seven predominantly Muslim countries for at least 90 days and also closed the nation to refugees for at least the next four months. Other challenges are pending. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle was the first taken by a state attorney general, and its provenance was no surprise. Washington state and others along the West Coast voted overwhelmingly for Democrat Hillary Clinton in November and have emerged as a hotbed of anti-Trump sentiment. We will not yield, said Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who joined Ferguson at a Seattle news conference. We will not be leveraged. We will not be threatened. We will not be intimidated. We will not be bullied by this. Trumps order, which has sparked demonstrations across the country, brought an outpouring of objection from Insleys Democratic colleagues around the country. President Trumps recent executive orders that divide and discriminate do not reflect the values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution or the principles we stand for as Oregonians, said Gov. Kate Brown. A single executive order does not define who we are as a country, said Connecticut Gov. Daniel P. Malloy. We are a nation of immigrants and must continue to fight for the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to breath free. In Massachusetts, another state that voted overwhelmingly for Clinton, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker joined the chorus of Democratic criticism, saying the travel ban would undermine the international relations forged by the states business, academic and healthcare communities. The confusion for families is real. The unexpected disruption for law-abiding people is real, Baker said. Thankfully, the federal courts will have an opportunity to straighten this out and it is my hope they do so, and do so quickly. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print How a top conservative radio host took on Trump, lost his audience and faith, but gained a new perspective By Mark Z. Barabak Charlie Sykes, right, interviews Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) before Wisconsins 2016 primary (Morry Gash/Associated Press) For nearly 25 years, Charlie Sykes was one of the most powerful and influential voices in Wisconsin. He cheer-led policies that turned this historically progressive state into a model of conservative governance. He made and destroyed political careers, using his perch on Milwaukee talk radio to help vault figures such as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker to national prominence. But for the moment Sykes was speechless. He sank into the brown leather banquette of a suburban steakhouse. He stammered. He sighed. When youve devoted your whole life to certain beliefs and you think now they have been undermined and that you might have been deluded about things, he began. So. So. Um... In 2016 Sykes emerged as one of Donald Trumps most prominent critics, a stance that outraged listeners, strained longstanding friendships and left him questioning much of what he once held true. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Pentagon compiling a list of Iraqis who aided the U.S. military and wants them shielded from Trumps travel ban By W.J. Hennigan The Pentagon is compiling a list of Iraqi citizens who have worked with the U.S. military and is recommending that they be exempt from President Trumps temporary ban on entry to the U.S. by people from Iraq and six other predominantly Muslim countries, according to the U.S. military. The move could potentially shield tens of thousands of Iraqi interpreters, advisors, and others who have assisted the American military from the presidents controversial executive action that blocked visitors from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Monday that the list will include names of individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to helping the United States. Even people that are doing seemingly benign things in support of us whether as a linguist, a driver, anything else they often do that at great personal risk, he said. So people who take these risks are really making a tangible signal of support to the United States, and thats something that will, and should be, recognized. The list would not require any changes to the presidents order, but rather serve as guidance to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House in implementing the new policy. White House spokesman Sean Spicer later pushed back against blanket exemptions. We recognize that people have served this country, we should make sure that in those cases theyre helped out, he said. But that doesnt mean that we just give them a pass. Trump, who signed the order at the Pentagon on Friday, did not consult Defense Secretary James N. Mattis or Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the temporary suspensions of entry to visitors from the seven nations, according to U.S. officials. The executive action put the U.S. military in a difficult position because it works closely with the Iraqi government on a range of issues, including the fight against Islamic State, which necessitates travel between the two countries. For instance, Iraqi military pilots train to fly F-16 fighter jets at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Its not clear those pilots, who are active in the fight against Islamic State, could arrive in the U.S. for the training. 1:10 p.m.: This post was updated with White House response. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump signs order on rulemaking: For every regulation added, agencies have to cut 2 others By Noah Bierman (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump signed an executive order Monday designed to fulfill his campaign pledge reduce red tape for businesses. The two-page order requires that when a federal agency proposes new regulations, it shall identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed. We want to make the life easier for small businesses and big business, Trump said Monday from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, where he met with nine representatives of the small-business sector. Trump said he hoped to see up to 75% of federal regulations eliminated during his presidency. Regulation has been horrible for big business, but its been worse for small business, Trump said. He also reiterated his promise to gut the Dodd-Frank Act, the financial regulatory overhaul that was passed after the financial crisis. Dodd-Frank is a disaster, he said. Were going to be doing a big number on Dodd-Frank. Consumer advocates who backed the law say that eliminating it would help Wall Street and other players in the financial sector at the expense of consumers. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print U.S. diplomats to protest Trumps travel ban order By Tracy Wilkinson Protesters of President Trumps immigration order block traffic at LAX. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) A number of U.S. diplomats are condemning President Trumps ban on some Muslim immigrants and visitors, saying the abrupt order does not make the U.S. safer and will only stoke anti-American fervor overseas. The complaint, being made through the State Departments so-called dissent channel, echoes criticism coming from human rights attorneys, legal experts and lawmakers from both political parties, as well as world leaders. It is significant because it represents the viewpoint of the men and women who must carry out Trumps unconventional and often provocative foreign policy. A policy which closes our doors to over 200-million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans ... will not achieve its aim of making our country safer, said a draft version of the memo that was circulating Monday and was reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. It was first reported by ABC News. Moreover, such a policy runs counter to core American values of non-discrimination, fair play and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants. The White House was quickly dismissive of the dissent and seemed to suggest the diplomats should quit if they disagree with a policy. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the diplomats raising of opposition does call into question whether or not they should continue to work in the State Department. It was not clear how many officials would sign the memo. Dissent channel memos are in theory not made public. The mechanism is designed to allow diplomats to offer an alternative policy without fear of retaliation. Acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner confirmed the existence of the memo but declined to comment on its contents. The dissent channel is a longstanding official vehicle for State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues, he said. "... It allows State employees to express divergent policy views candidly and privately to senior leadership. The agency is still waiting for a boss. Trumps pick for secretary of State, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate this week. The last time a dissent-channel memo was reported publicly was last year, when about 50 diplomats protested Obama administration policy in Syria, which they described as inaction. 12:20 p.m.: This story was updated with White House comment. 8:40 a.m.: This story was updated with comment from a State Department spokesman. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump to announce his Supreme Court choice Tuesday -- in prime time By Michael A. Memoli (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump will announce his first Supreme Court nomination in prime time on Tuesday, he tweeted this morning. I have made my decision on who I will nominate for The United States Supreme Court. It will be announced live on Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. (W.H.) Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017 The announcement was moved up two days amid the continued fallout from the executive action Trump signed temporarily banning refugee admissions from some countries. Trump had tweeted last week that he would announce his high-court decision Thursday. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday, Trump said his administration was doing some final vetting of his choice to replace the late Antonin Scalia, and that the pick would be from among the list of 20 names he issued during the election campaign. I think the person I pick will be big, big, he said. I think people are going to love it. I think evangelicals, Christians will love my pick. And will be represented very fairly. Times Supreme Court reporter David Savage profiled each of the leading contenders: Judge Thomas Hardiman of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge William H. Pryor Jr. from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The move could prompt a major clash with Senate Democrats, who have warned the president against a choice outside what they consider the mainstream. Some are threatening to block any choice in retaliation for Senate Republicans refusal to even hold hearings on President Obamas choice to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland. Democrats 2013 change to Senate rules that allowed most nominations to advance with a simple majority vote exempted Supreme Court nominations, meaning that Democrats could potentially filibuster the choice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to rule out any further rule change in an interview last week, though Trump urged him to consider doing so. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print As Hollywood gathered at the SAG Awards, some entertainers joined LAX protest Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Advertisement This New York doctor went to visit family in Sudan, and now hes stuck By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Dr. Kamal Fadlalla (Dr. Kamal Fadlalla / For The Times) Dr. Kamal Fadlalla, a hospital resident who has been working in New York for the last 20 months, was stuck in Sudan on Sunday, having gone there to see his family earlier this month. He had left Jan. 13, was due to return Feb. 4 but tried to return on Friday after hearing about President Trumps executive order on immigration, which suspended entry for people from seven countries, including Sudan. He made it past passport control, all the way to the gate at the airport in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. One hour before departure they called my name, he said, and summoned him to the ticket counter, along with other New York-bound Sudanese passengers. When I got to the counter, they said there was a notice from Customs and Border Protection that ... they had to offload us from the flight. I was shocked. Fadlalla, 33, hoped for a reprieve as other passengers gathered, all stuck. One family, they came back from Dubai, she was a mother of three or four kids. She was waiting overnight at the Dubai airport. There were also two passengers turned back from New York, he said. It was a very tough night on me, He stayed for several hours, then returned to his mothers home in Madani, two hours south. Fadlalla is a second-year resident in internal medicine at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn. He is hoping to specialize in hematology and oncology. The Committee for Interns and Residents found an attorney to represent him, he said, but he had not received any news about how a New York federal judges ruling late Saturday, which halted the deportations of people who had arrived in the U.S. with valid visas, could affect him. I dont know what Im going to do. My vacation is going to end and I have to join the hospital next week. Its going to be tough on me, Fadlalla said. I dont know for how long Im going to stay here. I dont know what Im going to do. My visa is valid for three months. Im really stuck. I have my house there, my utilities, my work, my patients, my colleagues. It was my life for the past 20 months. And Im stuck here. Fadlalla is from northern Sudan, and describes himself as a moderate Muslim. He said the executive order wont make the U.S. safer by barring valid visa holders like him because, Ive been through the whole process of visa interviews. He had planned to take board exams next year, and if he misses them, his schooling will be delayed. He had wanted to stay and work in New York, too. All my life is there. Now Im stuck here. I dont know what to do, he said. Its going to really affect my life, my patients, my colleagues and their work schedule. He said the executive order has shocked others in Sudan, too. Theyre talking about human rights. Everybody knows the United States is about freedom, he said. Everybody knows America is a free country, a country of chances for everybody. Still, people have hope in those protesting at airports all over the United States and attorneys who have volunteered to help immigrants and refugees, he said. He said the order is especially worrying for aspiring Sudanese medical residents who have been preparing to match with a hospital in March to study in the United States. A lot of my colleagues who are preparing for exams are really, really worried about this, Fadlalla said. Im really worried about the future of these young people. They study a lot and spend a lot of money, a lot of effort to enter the United States. Im concerned about my future and my colleagues future. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Californias congressional Republicans hold their fire on Trumps refugee order By Sarah D. Wire Only a few of the states 14 Republican representatives have publicly commented on an executive order signed by President Trump on Friday that barred refugees and green card holders from seven countries from entering the country. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) released a statement Sunday night saying that some tweaks are needed, but that his background as chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee leads him to support the executive order. In light of attempts by jihadist groups to infiltrate fighters into refugee flows to the West, along with Europes tragic experience coping with this problem, the Trump administrations executive order on refugees is a common-sense security measure to prevent terror attacks on the homeland, Nunes said. While accommodations should be made for green card holders and those whove assisted the U.S. armed forces, this is a useful temporary measure on seven nations of concern until we can verify who is entering the United States. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) told the Washington Post that the executive order is the right call to keep America safe, but he hopes the cases of people traveling on visas who were prevented from reentering the country are resolved quickly. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) said Sunday on Twitter that the rollout has created confusion, and that executive orders arent the way to fix the countrys long-term problems. View Twitter post View Twitter post Several of Californias 38 Democratic congressional representatives and the states two senators were out in force over the weekend demanding the release of refugees and green card holders as well as an end to the executive order. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced she would file two pieces of legislation in response. One would immediately rescind the presidents order. The second would limit executive authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent a president from unilaterally banning groups of immigrants. Its clear that the president gave little consideration to the chaos and heartbreak that would result from this order, she said in a statement. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) joined protesters outside the White House on Sunday afternoon. We will fight against racism. We will fight against anti-Muslim rhetoric. We will fight against those who will marginalize who we are. pic.twitter.com/R54f3MDhvo Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 29, 2017 In Los Angeles, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) joined protesters at Los Angeles International Airport. On Saturday, Reps. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), Nanette Barragan (D-San Pedro) and Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) joined the initial protests at the airport, and worked to get some of those being held released. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) accompanied protesters at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday. Congresswoman @MaxineWaters is here at LAX protest leading the crowd in the chant "no ban, no wall, you build it up we'll tear it down" pic.twitter.com/iNEmkVVkmW Javier Panzar (@jpanzar) January 29, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Legal moves come too late for Iranian man who arrived at LAX after Trumps order By Matt Hamilton Ali Vayeghan arrived at 7:15 p.m. Friday from Tehran. He was going to stay with relatives, then go to Indiana, to join his wife, who arrived in the U.S. four months ahead of him, and his son. But he never emerged from customs. His niece said he was put on a plane to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. The ACLU was trying to prevent his deportation but arrived with paperwork 45 minutes too late. The family spoke to him by phone after he landed in Dubai, where he was waiting to be put on a flight to Tehran. Hes literally crying in the airport in Dubai, Ali Vayeghans niece, Marjan Vayghan, said. On Sunday afternoon, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered authorities to transport Vayeghan back to the U.S. and admit him under the terms of his visa, which is set to expire Feb. 14. U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee said in her order that Vayeghan had demonstrated a strong likelihood of success in establishing that removal violates the Establishment Clause, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and his rights to Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution. But by the time the order came down, Vayeghan was on a plane bound for Tehran. Federal judge in LA has issued order allowing Iranian man deported from LAX yesterday to be admitted to US pic.twitter.com/yPth0xEQpv Matt Hamilton (@MattHjourno) January 29, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print The political climate is a hot topic at the Screen Actors Guild awards The Actor statue watches over the red carpet at the Shrine Auditorium. (Matt Sayles / Invision / Associated Press) Stars on the red carpet and at the winners podium tonight in Los Angeles are not keeping their mouths shut on current affairs. The 23rd Screen Actors Guild awards are being held at the Shrine Auditorium. Heres what they have had to say so far: I want you all to know that I am the daughter of an immigrant. My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France, and Im an American patriot, and I love this country, and because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes and this immigrant ban is a blemish and it is un-American. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, accepting her award for her role in Veep We need to vote. Had we all voted, we wouldnt be here. You dont like it, you dont have nothing to say if you didnt vote. Get a clipboard, get organized and get in it. Dont sit back on the sidelines. Get in it. This is a fight for the country right now. Its worth fighting for. Courtney B. Vance, nominated for his performance in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story For the first time ever in my lifetime, Ive been concerned about where its going to go. It doesnt seem to be that its going to go in a very positive direction. Claire Foy, nominated for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the Netflix series The Crown Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Green card holders will not be blocked by Trumps order, Homeland Security says By David Lauter (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times) The Trump administration backed away from one of the most controversial parts of its new executive order on immigration Sunday evening, saying that permanent U.S. residents in most cases will not be affected by the new rules. Since the president issued the order Friday, confusion has been rampant over the effects on permanent residents, noncitizens who hold so-called green cards that allow them to live and work legally in the U.S. Many were stopped and detained at airports for many hours on Friday and Saturday and, in some cases, reported that they had been threatened with being returned to their home countries. An undetermined number of other green card holders were stopped from boarding U.S.-bound planes. Late Sunday, however, the secretary of Homeland Security, retired Gen. John Kelly, issued a statement changing the policy. Statement By Secretary John Kelly On The Entry Of Lawful Permanent Residents Into The United States https://t.co/Es1qivoR3J pic.twitter.com/hffMK2MOQC Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 29, 2017 I hereby deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest, Kelly wrote. Green card holders from one of the seven countries covered by the 90-day ban will still need to request a waiver to gain reentry to the U.S. if they have traveled abroad. But unless officials have significant derogatory information about a green card holder that indicates a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in deciding the case, Kellys statement said. A White House official, briefing reporters about the change in policy, said that about 170 people have applied for a waiver to the ban so far, and all 170 have received a waiver and have been allowed to enter the U.S. The seven countries affected by the ban are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Uber fights immigration order -- and #DeleteUber hashtag -- with $3-million legal fund for drivers By Tracey Lien Hours after Lyfts co-founders announced a $1-million donation to the American Civil Liberties Union to defend the Constitution, Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick pulled out his pocket book as well. Kalanick promised in a Facebook post that the company would create a $3-million legal defense fund to help drivers affected by the Trump administrations move to restrict immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. The fund will help drivers with immigration and translation services. Kalanick also said the San Francisco ride-hailing company will provide 24/7 legal support to drivers stuck outside the country and compensate them for lost earnings. Drivers eligible for assistance were directed to contact the company via an online form. Although the announcement was greeted with some support on Facebook and Twitter, many saw it as too little too late. The company had come under fire a day earlier for advertising on Twitter that it was operating at New Yorks Kennedy International Airport during a taxi strike protesting the executive order. That gaffe, coupled with Kalanicks involvement in a panel advising President Trump on economic issues, helped spawn the Twitter hashtag #DeleteUber, which encouraged customers to delete the app from their phones in protest. You are 20 hours too late, one person wrote in response to Kalanicks Facebook post. Still deleted my account today, wrote another. Though Kalanick issued a statement on Saturday opposing the executive order, it didnt stop thousands of Twitter users from adopting the trending the #DeleteUber hashtag to decry Ubers actions. They accused the company of attempting to profit from the strike and prioritizing business interests over a moral imperative. Celebrities also jumped on the bandwagon, with actor and activist George Takei on Sunday tweeting to his 2.9 million followers: Lyft donates $1mil to ACLU while Uber doubles down on its support for Trump. #DeleteUber. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 75-year-old grandmother from Iran tells the story of her detention at LAX By Alene Tchekmedyian Siavosh Naji-Talakar of Phoenix hugs his grandmother Marzieh Moosavizadeh after she was released from detention at LAX early Sunday morning. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Marzieh Moosavizadeh and her grandson follow a routine when she visits almost every year from Iran. The 75-year-old, who travels in a wheelchair and speaks little English, struggles to find direct flights to Phoenix, where he and his family live. So they meet in Los Angeles and he escorts her on the last leg of her trip. This time was different. Moosavizadeh landed at Los Angeles International Airport a day after President Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, from entering the United States. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement GOP senators call executive order a self-inflicted wound. Trump calls them wrong and weak By Matt Ballinger McCain and Graham in 2013. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona released a statement Sunday saying that confusion at U.S. airports shows that President Trumps executive order on immigration was not properly vetted. Such a hasty process risks harmful results, the Republicans statement read. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation. It went on: Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. The president responded on Twitter: The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong - they are sadly weak on immigration. The two... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017 ...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print At least 600 people wait to greet Syrians arriving in Phoenix By Nigel Duara Elijah Chavez and Brandi Hernandez protest in Phoenix (Nigel Duara/Los Angeles Times) A Phoenix-bound British Airways flight was scheduled to arrive from London at Sunday evening carrying several Syrians. A protest of about 600 people was waiting at a Phoenix international airport terminal for the flight to arrive. The outcome when these people arrive is uncertain at best, said Tanveer Shah, an Arizona attorney in private practice who volunteers with the ACLU. Shah said Syrians on board the flight would, in the best case, walk off the plane without a problem. But given the outcomes in other cities on Saturday and Sunday, Shah said it was incumbent on civil liberties attorneys to be there when the plane arrives. We have staff attorneys here ... who are prepared to file emergency pleadings, Shah said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print When Muslims got blocked at American airports, U.S. veterans rushed to help By Matt Pearce (G. Morty Ortega / Getty Images) Jeffrey Buchalter was reflooring his foyer in Chesapeake Beach, Md., and listening to MSNBC over the weekend when he heard the news: An Iraqi who had worked with American forces as an interpreter had been stopped from entering the U.S. under a new executive order on immigration from President Trump. The story stopped him cold. Buchalter, an Army veteran who works as a law-enforcement instructor at the Department of Homeland Security, had served multiple tours of duty as a military policeman in Iraq, service that cost him dearly. He was decorated for injuries sustained from gunfire and improvised explosive devices. Exams revealed hed suffered herniated discs, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and he spent 2 years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center trying to get right. But he was still alive, and now the married father of two children. And he believes thats thanks in part to the work of Iraqi interpreters who acted as guides during his work in their country. So he told his younger daughter and son they were going to take a trip: a two-hour drive to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., where, for the first time in his life, Buchalter would join a protest. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Demonstrators against Trumps immigration limits and a few who like them surge through LAX By Javier Panzar The crowd at LAX is getting bigger and bigger. pic.twitter.com/dJ281TETXj Javier Panzar (@jpanzar) January 29, 2017 Thousands of people filled the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday afternoon to call for the release of an unknown number of people being detained by immigration authorities. Filling the arrivals section of the terminal and spilling into the street outside, the throng chanted, Let them in, and Love, not hate, makes America great. Jacob Kemper, a 35-year-old Army veteran who fought two tours in Iraq, said he was infuriated to think soldiers he fought alongside might be denied entry to the country. I really dont care about religion, but I really hate oppression, he said, holding a sign that read, I Fought Next To Muslims. Shay Soltani, a network engineer, fled the Iranian revolution 40 years ago and still has family members in Iran. She doesnt know if she will be able to see them again. As she and hundreds of others marched through the airport, she said she was horrified by Trumps order. I am so hurt by this, she said. He is against freedom of speech and the constitution and everything I believe in as an American. Meanwhile, about a dozen counter-protesters popped up on the other side of the street, holding signs that said X-treme vetting and Keep Refugees Out. They said they were tired of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally, which they said jeopardizes the safety of American citizens. Chanell Temple, 63, of Los Angeles said she was sick of watching immigrants here illegally steal benefits and services from American citizens, specifically veterans and homeless people who need aid. I worked out here for 40 years and they are coming here and taking everything away, said Temple, a former bookkeeper who said she lost her job and healthcare after she was fired for an inability to speak Spanish. Raul Rodriguez Jr., coordinator of a group called America First Latinos, said he was concerned about what he considers a surge in crimes committed against Americans by those who are in the country illegally. They are lawbreakers. They have violated federal law and they need to be deported, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Silicon Valley execs speak out against immigration ban By Tracey Lien Technology executives are speaking out against President Trumps executive order on immigration, highlighting how the ban hurts their businesses. Leaders of companies that include Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Dropbox and Twitter denounced it over the weekend. Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do, said Apple chief executive Tim Cook in a memo to employees. In my conversations with officials here in Washington this week, Ive made it clear that Apple believes deeply in the importance of immigration both to our company and to our nations future. General Electric Co. chief executive Jeff Immelt said Sunday that businesses with global operations must balance working with the new administration while also supporting their workers and partners. We have many employees from the named countries and we do business all over the region, Immelt said in a statement. These employees and customers are critical to our success and they are our friends and partners. We stand with them and will work with the U.S. administration to strive to find the balance between the need for security and the movement of law abiding people. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print LAX protest grows as families wait Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a Shame sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement L.A. city attorney barred from seeing detainees at LAX By James Queally Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said he was repeatedly denied access to federal detainees or an attorney who could discuss the situation with him at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Federal officials have declined to discuss the LAX detentions or respond to Feuers criticisms. While he was at the airport, Feuer said he was approached by a woman who claimed her father, suffering from Parkinsons disease, was among the detainees. It is those kind of real stories that are at stake because of this outrageous action by the feds. It is time not only for officials in my position, but all Americans, should find this a breathtaking violation of rights. Mike Feuer Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democratic attorneys general from 15 states condemn Trump immigration order By Ann M. Simmons California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general from states across the country have condemned the Trump administrations executive order suspending acceptance of refugees and have vowed to oppose it to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created. In a communique Sunday, the group said: As the chief legal officers for over 130 million Americans and foreign residents of our states, we condemn President Trumps unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful Executive Order and will work together to ensure the federal government obeys the Constitution, respects our history as a nation of immigrants, and does not unlawfully target anyone because of their national origin or faith. The executive order places an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and prohibits citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering as refugees for four months. It also places a suspension on admissions of other citizens of those countries. The legal officials represent 15 states. They include California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and his contemporaries in Washington, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia. Religious liberty has been, and always will be, a bedrock principle of our country, and no president can change that truth, the attorneys general said in the statement. They praised the decision of multiple federal courts to order a stay on some aspects of the order. We are confident that the Executive Order will ultimately be struck down by the courts, the statement said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print 13 people who had been detained at LAX have been released, source says By James Queally Protesters at LAX on Sunday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Thirteen people who were detained Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airports Terminal 2 were eventually released, a law enforcement source told The Times. Each of them held green cards, which grant permanent residency in the U.S. The source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation at the airport, could not provide detention figures for the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which has been the center of protest activity. Thats where protesters were gathering Sunday. Nurse Jamie Shoemaker, 51, of Los Angeles held an American flag in one hand and carried a sign that read, Muslims are welcome here, racists and fascists are not. She called Trumps order un-American. This is not the country I want, she said. This is not the country I grew up in. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrats in Congress drafting legislation to repeal Trumps refugee ban, pressuring GOP for support By Lisa Mascaro Sen. Chuck Schumer becomes emotional speaking against Pres. Trump's immigration order, calling it "mean-spirited and un-American." pic.twitter.com/NkhUdpaNyV ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 29, 2017 Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Democrats will introduce legislation as soon as Monday to stop President Trumps actions temporarily banning refugees and arrivals from certain Muslim countries. House Democrats are taking similar legislative action, and lawmakers from both chambers will rally Monday evening at the Supreme Court to protest Trumps orders. This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American, said Schumer, the New York Democrat, choking up as he stood with immigrants and refugees at a press conference Sunday. It must be reversed immediately. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats are exploring legal options, including an amicus brief in support of the ACLU lawsuit against the actions. The chances of passing a bill through the Republican-controlled Congress are slim, as most GOP leaders and lawmakers have not objected to Trumps ban. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that while he was personally opposed to a religious test on admissions, it was best left to the courts to resolve the issue. Its hopefully going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far, McConnell said on ABCs This Week. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) expressed his support Friday for Trumps action. A handful of Republicans, though, are uneasy with Trumps orders, and have spoken against them. Schumer noted that just few more Republicans would be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold for advancing Senate legislation. Maybe we can pass something in Congress, Schumer said. Its up to Republicans. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Emotional reunion at JFK airport after release of elderly Sudanese man from immigration detention By Barbara Demick Tears and hugs at JFK's international arrivals as a detainee is released, reuniting father with son. More families wait, cheering. pic.twitter.com/WrVpoocWjY Jack Smith IV (@JackSmithIV) January 29, 2017 For those immigrants temporarily detained under a new Trump administration executive order at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport, attorneys have put a priority on getting some of the older detainees released to their families. One small victory for the lawyers was the case of Yassin Abdelrhman, a 76-year-old green card holder from Sudan who had been detained after a trip home to visit family. He was released about noon on Sunday after being detained for 30 hours. Soon, he was reunited with his sons. He is a strong individual, but he has some health challenges, said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who had been working on their case. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will not attend Oscars Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi after winning an Oscar in 2012. ((Allen J. Schaben/ Los Angeles Times) ) In a statement to the New York Times today, Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi said he no longer planned to attend this years ceremony. Farhadis film The Salesman is nominated in the foreign language film category. Farhadi had initially hoped to attend despite the prohibition on visitors from Iran. But he said he had decided the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print How an Iranian Fulbright scholar got into the U.S.: We found a lawyer who found a lawyer who found a lawyer By Barbara Demick Iranian students in front of a makeshift law office in JFKs Terminal 4. (Barbara Demick / Los Angeles Times) Perhaps nothing encapsulates the chaos emanating from President Trumps executive order better than what happened with Ukrainian Airlines Flight 232. The regularly scheduled flight to Kiev had to turn around on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy Airport early Sunday after a federal judge issued a stay of a deportation order of dozens of foreigners, including a 32-year-old Iranian linguist who is a doctoral candidate and former Fulbright scholar. With just minutes to spare, Vahideh Rasekhi -- helped by volunteer lawyers and her smart phone managed to prevent the flight from taking off. She had arrived Saturday afternoon, but was blocked from entering the United States by the executive order barring arrivals of citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Libya. Around midnight, she was put on the Ukrainian Air flight to return to Tehran, via Kiev. We found a lawyer who found a lawyer who found a lawyer, said Mehdi Namazi, 29, a friend who has been waiting for her at the airport. The lawyers were showing officials a copy of the order issued a few hours earlier by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn. It was all very confusing. They were arguing as the plane was taxiing, Namazi said. According to one lawyer, Melissa Trent, Rasekhi herself was walking up and down the aisles arguing for the plane not to take off. She knew that if the plane left she would never get back to the United States again, Trent said. Rasekhi spent most of Sunday in detention with other Iranians, but was released into the United States at around 3 p.m.. A dozen Iranian friends had been waiting inside the airports Terminal 4 amid a clutter of discarded coffee cups and half-eaten donuts in front of a diner that had been turned into a makeshift law office. Another Iranian student was waiting for her parents, who were taken into detention after arriving on another flight I havent seen them in 3-1/2 years. They dont speak English. But Im hopeful, said the student, who gave her name as Sahar. The students were both furious at the way their country had been targeted by Trumps order and touched by the outpouring of support from the volunteer lawyers. We see two different Americas here. There is this order banning us, and than there are all these people here who came to the airport. If it werent for these volunteers, she would have been deported, said Namazi. Im very depressed. We feel betrayed by this country that we invested so much energy and hope into. We are all graduate students, professors, PhDs, engineers. To say this is for national security, it doesnt add up, said Tahmineh Tabrizian, 33, another friend of Rasekhis. She said her own parents had planned to come to the United States and had spent $14,000 on tickets and visas and would now have to cancel their trip. Rasekhi, who has lived in the United States for a decade, was a Fulbright scholar at UC Santa Barbara and received a masters degree at Fresno State University, according to a resume supplied by one of her friends. She had been studying for a PhD at Stony Brook University on Long Island. She had gone to Tehran over the Christmas break to visit her parents and was on her way back to resume her studies when she was detained. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Protests begin again at LAX on Sunday morning By Genaro Molina Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Protesters in Tel Aviv compare Trump immigration order to Israeli refugee policies By Joshua Mitnick Demonstrators in Tel Aviv protest U.S. President Trumps new immigration order. (Joshua Mitnick / Los Angeles Times) Holding signs reading Refugees Welcome and chanting No Ban, No Wall, Sanctuary for All, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on Sunday to join protests in the U.S. against President Trumps new immigration policy. Mia Zur Szpiro, a 36-year-old filmmaker, said she felt compelled to demonstrate because her parents survived the Holocaust. We are a country of immigrants, and to me it was astounding that this [order] was passed on Holocaust Memorial Day, she said. Its wrong to stereotype, and its wrong to send people who are in need back into the face of danger and the risk of death. Elliot Vaisbrub Glassenberg, a protest organizer and migrant rights activist, compared the new U.S. policy to Israeli policies toward tens of thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese migrants who crossed into the country illegally from Egypts Sinai desert. The policies that Trump has enacted are no worse than the policies that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has enacted for years here such as not allowing any non-Jews to be given refugee status in Israel, except for a select few. Togod Omar, a native of Sudan who was at the protest, said he applied for political asylum in Israel three years ago, and is still waiting. He said Sudanese friends hoping to be resettled in the U.S. were upset by the new executive order. Trump doesnt understand whats going on in Sudan, Omar said. You cant punish the Sudanese people for what the Islamic government is doing. You cant banish someone because of their religion. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print President Trump hits majority disapproval in record time, Gallup finds By David Lauter Days until achieving MAJORITY disapproval from @Gallup Reagan: 727 Bush I: 1336 Clinton: 573 Bush II: 1205 Obama: 936 Trump: 8. days. pic.twitter.com/kv2fy0Qsbp Will Jordan (@williamjordann) January 29, 2017 President Trumps actions during his first week in office have appeared to be aimed at the voters who already supported him, not at reaching out to the rest, and thats taken a rapid toll on his support, which was already historically low. Gallup, which has measured job approval for presidents for decades, shows Trumps approval so far at 45%, with 48% disapproving. Thats an average of several days polling. The daily trend lines are not kind to the new administration. As of Saturday, 51% of Americans disapproved of Trumps performance. Thats a record for the speed of getting to majority disapproval. By comparison, President George W. Bush hit majority disapproval six months into his second term, in June 2005, and remained in negative territory for the rest of his tenure. President Obama did not hit 51% disapproval until August of 2011, during the crisis over the federal debt ceiling that summer. His approval rebounded later that year, but he had a second period of majority disapproval during late 2013 and much of 2014. He ended his term with widespread approval and 37% of Americans disapproving. Trump Job Approval: Approve 45% (-1); Disapprove 48% (+3). Get the full trend https://t.co/BjTUhf0NAM. GallupNews (@GallupNews) January 27, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Hundreds of travelers were caught in limbo over rushed visa ban By Brian Bennett (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Hundreds of travelers were blocked from entering the U.S. or prevented from boarding flights in the hours after President Trump signed his order banning arrivals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In the order, Trump temporarily suspended refugee admissions and banned travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Scores of people from those countries were aboard airplanes flying toward the U.S. when Trump signed his executive order on Friday afternoon, setting off waves of confusion among border officials and the traveling public. Upon landing at U.S. airports, 109 people from the listed countries were detained by immigration officials and prevented from entering the U.S., officials said. The department had approved 81 waivers to the new travel ban by Saturday afternoon, the official said, but at least some of the people detained on arrival were sent back to their countries of origin. Court orders issued Saturday evening required U.S. border officials to stop returning people who had already arrived with valid visas. It is unclear how many people were deported before the orders were issued. It is also unclear if the Trump administration has fully complied with those orders. In addition to the people who arrived in the U.S. and were detained, as of 3 p.m. on Saturday, an additional 173 travelers from the listed countries had been stopped from boarding flights to the U.S., a Homeland Security official said in a statement. The department did not make an official available to describe the actions and the agencys response. As many as 3,250 travelers may have been inconvenienced by the new visa restrictions, officials for the department said in a statement Sunday. Yesterday, less than 1% of the more than 325,000 international air travelers who arrive every day were inconvenienced while enhanced security measures were implemented, the statement read. The department will comply with court orders, the statement said. But no evidence was given to confirm this. Lawyers seeking to meet with detainees at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington and at San Francisco have said that they were blocked by officials on Sunday. The Department of Homeland Security will comply with judicial orders, faithfully enforce our immigration laws, and implement President Trumps executive orders to ensure that those entering the United States do not pose a threat to our country or the American people, according to the departments statement. All of the visa holders and travelers from the listed countries blocked from entering the U.S. since Friday already had gone through multiple steps of security screening that checked their biographical information and travel history against U.S. terrorism databases. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House seems to back down on part of new vetting policy By Christi Parsons The White House on Sunday appeared to back down on a key part of President Trumps tough new immigration order, signaling that travelers trying to enter the country from seven banned countries will be allowed in if they hold green cards. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said that these legal permanent residents are exempt from the travel ban moving forward, even though over the weekend other administration officials said the rule did apply to them. The apparent reversal came amid a national controversy over the new Trump order that temporarily halts the entry of all refugees to the U.S. and any traveler from seven majority Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Federal judges across the country have blocked parts of the presidents executive actions since they came down on Friday, mostly preventing the deportation of some travelers who ran into the first wave of implementation over the weekend. The back-and-forth over the green-card holders reflected a generalized confusion about the new order, which also bars Syrian refugees from entering the United States indefinitely. Lawyers for some of the affected immigrants said border agents seemed uncertain about the new rules and were disagreeing with one another about which travelers were affected and which were not. Further complicating the picture was a statement from the Department of Homeland Security asserting that its agents would enforce all of Trumps orders while also complying with judicial orders. As some of the orders block deportation, that left individual officers to try to figure out which priorities to honor. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Op-Ed: Trumps cruel, illegal refugee executive order By Erwin Chemerinsky Protesters demonstrate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Saturday. (Stephanie Keith / Getty Images) Barring individuals fleeing persecution from entering the United States is simply inhumane. Adding irony to injury, Trumps executive order was issued on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which should have been an occasion to atone for turning away refugees during the 1930ssome of whom then died in concentration camps. For example, in 1939, the United States turned away the St. Louis, a boat filled with refugees, many of them German Jews. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 254 passengers from the St. Louis died in the Holocaust. Erwin Chemerinsky Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Lyft pledges to donate $1 million to ACLU following Trumps immigration order By Tracey Lien (Richard Vogel / Associated Press) Tech executives had been mostly quiet for the first week of Donald Trumps presidency but that changed after his controversial executive order restricting refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Executive after executive spent Saturday tweeting and posting messages to Facebook decrying the administrations actions. Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green went a step further: On Sunday, they announced they would donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years. Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft and our nations core values, the co-founders wrote in an email to Lyft customers. We stand firmly against the actions, and will no The Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wished the nation through tweeting on Twitter on the day of Basant Panchami. "Greetings on the special occasion of Basant Panchami" PM Modi tweeted. Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister also greeted the country citizens. She tweeted Heartiest greetings to all on the occasion of Saraswati Pujo, Basant Panchami is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the Magha month. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the demise of E. Ahamed showed his sadness. He tweeted "Saddened by the demise of Mr. E Ahamed, a veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence. My condolences" "Mr. E Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala's progress. His role in deepening India's ties with West Asia was notable" PM Modi wrote in another tweet. In the next one, he wrote "The continuous efforts of Mr. E Ahamed for the empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered" Also Read: Budget 2017: PM Narendra Modi talked to reporters before beginning of Budget Session Highlights of PM Narendra Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' programme PM Modi, Pranab Mukherjee paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi A tiny wrinkled sack with a big mouth and no anus may well be the earliest-known of humans forebears. Meet Saccorhytus coronarius, a 540-million-year-old critter the size of a grain of sand, whose fossil remains were discovered in China. Scientists say Saccorhytus is the most primitive of the known deuterostomes, a group of organisms whose living descendants include a vast array of animals from humans to starfish. The find, described in the journal Nature, sheds new light on the rise of vertebrates and on the reason that certain evolutionary links in their line of descent seem to be missing from the fossil record. When scientists want to study the ancient evolution of humans, they have to study the emergence of vertebrates a diverse group that includes all animals with backbones, from fish and birds to reptiles and mammals (humans included). Advertisement So researchers look to study the oldest deuterostomes a giant branch on the tree of life whose descendants include vertebrates as well as echinoderms (such as starfish and sea urchins) and a few other groups. Scientists have discovered ancient deuterostomes from around 510 million to 520 million years ago, but those fossils are too recent. These specimens typically show signs of already diversifying into vertebrates, tunicates, echinoderms and other lineages. To find something that looked more like a common ancestor, theyd have to find much older remains. By using the average mutation rates of biomolecules and using that to calculate when related species diverged from one another, researchers have developed a pretty good estimate of when those parent deuterostomes gave rise to different lineages. The problem is, scientists havent been able to find any such organisms at the predicted point in the fossil timeline which meant that the ancestor of all these groups had remained a mystery. Part of the problem may have been that those missing ancestors were too small to be readily preserved, the authors wrote. The discrepancy between the known fossil record of early metazoans and their estimated times of divergence as based on molecular clocks suggests that such miniaturized forms could slip through the nets of most fossilization pathways and so help to explain this cryptic history, the study authors wrote. The new Saccorhytus fossils, at long last, help to fill in that gap. Measuring just 1.3 millimeters long, 0.8 of a millimeter wide and 0.9 of a millimeter high, Saccorhytus probably lived between grains of sand on the bed of shallow seas. Such sand would be compressed into sedimentary rock, allowing some of those grain-sized critters to become fossils. This deuterostome had a giant mouth that stretched about 0.3 to 0.5 of a millimeter wide; scientists think it probably ate large food particles or even other tiny animals. Because it was covered with a thin, somewhat flexible skin, scientists think it had some kind of musculature and got around by wriggling its round little body. Saccorhytus doesnt seem to have an anus which means that any waste products might have come back out through the mouth. (Gross as this may sound, its not uncommon: Jellyfish, for example, only have one opening.) But there are also eight cone-line openings, four on either side of its body, which may have allowed all the water that it swallowed while eating with its giant mouth to pass through. These cone openings may have been the precursor of gills, the breathing apparatus eventually used by fish and other marine and aquatic animals. (Lobe-finned fish are thought to have produced the lineage that resulted in humans.) Alien as it may sound, this tiny creature shares at least one key characteristic with its vertebrate and echinoderm descendants: bodies that feature bilateral symmetry. (While five-pointed starfish and other echinoderms feature radial symmetry in adulthood, they actually feature bilateral symmetry in their embryonic stages a holdover from their ancient heritage.) Depending on its exact phylogenetic position, the meiofaunal habit of Saccorhytus may help to explain the major gap between divergence times seen in the fossil record and estimates based on molecular clocks, the authors wrote. The fact that Saccorhytus hails from around 540 million years ago is interesting for another reason: It lived around the time of the Cambrian explosion, a dramatic evolutionary turning point during which small, typically single-celled organisms quickly gave rise to complex multicellular life. amina.khan@latimes.com Follow @aminawrite on Twitter for more science news and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. MORE IN SCIENCE Swarm of underwater robots helps scientists study ocean dynamics Embryos that are human-pig hybrids offer hope for patients who need organ transplants By age 6, girls are less likely than boys to think that they can be brilliant, study shows Easier for some, difficult for others, but everyone was encouraged to Be Yourself at the Philanthropic Educational Organizations Founders Day held on Jan. 21 at the Burbank First United Methodist Church. Attending were more than 60 members from the three chapters that make up the Burbank Reciprocity Bureau. As each chapter is identified by initials, the Burbank chapters are U, EO and ES. Toni Shepherd, reciprocity bureau president and a member of Chapter ES, gave background on the organizations history, noting that it is celebrating 148 years. Join the conversation on Facebook >> The sisterhood was founded in 1869 by seven young women at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Its purpose is to support the educational advancement of women. Students can apply for financial help through loans, scholarships and grants. They also can attend Cottey College in Missouri, which is owned by the sisterhood. There are now 230,000 women in the organization around the world. Each chapter shared in the responsibilities for the Founders Day event. Chapter U, led by President Mary Alvord, created the invitations, name tags and kept track of reservations. Members working on those tasks were Marcia Baroda, Laurie Patterson and Bea Wainwright. Chapter EO, guided by President Donna Michel, handled the decorations and publicity. Serving on that committee were Terry Allen, Deanna Jennings and Connie Trimble. Allen came up with the idea of a photo booth and gathering up several props that encouraged members to Be Yourself by choosing hats and other accessories and posing for cellphone photos with their fellow members. Trimble did double duty providing a delicious Tex-Mex-inspired brunch of enchilada casseroles, Caesar salad, fresh fruit bowl, fiesta rice and assorted breakfast breads. Her parents owned Barrons restaurant in town for many years, and Trimble is keeping the family tradition alive by cooking many of its tasty dishes and some new ones for community events through her Barrons Catering business. Chapter ES, under President Joan Bethanis, worked on the location, program and brunch menu. Making that happen were Nancy Johnson, Laura Lockwood and Elaine Thomas. The theme of the day was inspired by Sara Chatfield, the California State Chapter president, whose motto for the year is In a world where you can be anything Be Yourself. Longtime members attending were Helen von Seggern, who has devoted 70 years to the group, while Jane Shanks has given 50 years. Guest speaker was dancer/author Melinda Marchiano, who gave an inspiring talk about surviving cancer. She was able to attend Pepperdine University through a scholarship from the Philanthropic Educational Organization and received her bachelors degree in creative writing. She is now associate staff director of Pepperdines Dance in Flight. Marchiano culminated her talk by reciting a poem and then performing an impromptu dance. The audience was spellbound. YWCA honors area women at luncheon Two Burbank volunteers are among six women who will be honored during the YWCA of Glendales 20th annual Legacy Luncheon on April 5 at the Oakmont Country Club. The event raises funds for the YWCAs programs for low-income families, including its emergency shelter for women and children who are escaping abuse. The event will honor six women with the Heart and Excellence Award for their commitment to helping women and children in their communities and for their status as role models for all women. JP OConnor, of Burbank, has been training leaders of all ages for decades and has dedicated her life to empowering people through access to education, the arts and health resources. She has spent decades alongside her mother, the late Mary Alice OConnor, supporting many charitable causes through the National Charity League. A cancer survivor, she has worked closely with the American Cancer Society San Fernando Leadership Council to raise funds and awareness for cancer research and education. Nancy Guillen, of Burbank, has volunteered in Burbank and Glendale for more than 32 years, donating her time and money to causes affecting children and raising awareness about cancer. She has served on the boards of the Glendale Latino Assn. and Family Promise of the Verdugos and as a member of the Glendale Kiwanis and the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. Also being honored will be Jeannie Flint of Glendale, Janet Hamilton of La Canada, Nancy Stone of La Crescenta and Georgiana Wu of Glendale. Tickets are $100. For more information, visit glendaleywca.org. Burbank Singing Star contest returns The Music Junction and Kiwanis Club of Burbank are teaming up again to produce the second annual Burbank Singing Star. Young people ages 5 to 14 can submit their video audition to themusicjunction.com/bss. Deadline is March 10. Finalists will perform live on April 9 at Luther Burbank Middle School. Leading up to the evening contest, there will be an outdoor family festival from noon to 6 p.m. with face-painting and food trucks. -- JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com. In the race for two seats on the Burbank Unified School Board, three candidates who participated in a forum Friday addressed the districts budget, their support for foreign-language programs for elementary students and whether or not students should be mandated to take a computer-science course. Residents will cast their votes for the school board in a primary on Feb. 28 and a general election on April 11. Two of the candidates Charlene Tabet and Larry Applebaum are incumbents. Tabet was first elected to the board four years ago, while Applebaum has served for a dozen years. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Newcomer Steve Frintner is immediate past president of the Burbank Council PTA. The forum was hosted by the League of Women Voters of Glendale-Burbank. When moderator Rita Zwern asked why hes running, Frintner said he has the experience to be a good board member. If there were to be change [on the board], I wanted it to be someone who has built up a base of knowledge about our schools through active participation and also someone who has shown passion and dedication to our schools, he said. I feel I qualify on both counts. Tabet said she wants to extend her time on the board to continue to do things that are good for kids. Applebaum is running with a checklist of goals, which include offering foreign-language courses to elementary students, overseeing Measure S bond improvement projects and giving high school students the ability to take courses that count for college credit in whats known as dual-enrollment. Asked whether the candidates favor offering computer science as a required course, there were mixed responses. We need to do more with career- and technical-education programs, and a computer program would definitely fit right into that area, Frintner said. We need to find the jobs that are out there and then find the training that would prepare the students for them. Tabet said a student would need to show interest in the subject. While I think its important, I think it has to be something that a student is interested in, she said. Applebaum said he supports introducing modern technology to students. I think we need to have a robust sequential program that exposes kids to software programs, he said. Coding is an important part of that, but Im not sure everybody needs to take a coding class at this point. In speaking about how to reduce the districts deficit spending, Tabet said school officials have done a good job. Weve been very fiscally responsible in Burbank, saving 6% instead of the required 3%, she said, adding that she would rather spend reserve funds than make cuts. Cuts affect our kids. That is the last thing that we want to do. Cutting teachers is not a benefit to anybody. Cutting staff, cutting programs that weve worked so hard to restore after the last big budget cuts. Even if we have to go into those reserves hopefully things will straighten out. If not, well have to look at making cuts in the following years after next, she said. Applebaum also favored that stance. I support deficit spending until we have no other option, Applebaum said, while Frinter said he wants to keep the districts reserves at a minimum of 3% of the budget. -- Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com Twitter: @kellymcorrigan The South Coast Water District may have room for a larger well system for its proposed desalination facility in Dana Point, meaning that more potable water could be produced for customers. At a meeting last week, consultant Mark Donovan, a senior engineer with GHD, Inc., told South Coasts board that an ancient river channel topped with younger sediment known as a paleo channel at the mouth of San Juan Creek is larger than orginally anticipated. These are positive preliminary findings, Donovan said. Geophysicists used sonar to map the area in October. South Coast is proposing to drill slant wells at Doheny State Beach drilling at an angle to draw water from under the ocean floor as part of the Doheny Ocean Desalination Project. Donovan said initial projections had nine wells around the creeks outfall. It was unclear whether the recent discovery would mean more wells or whether the nine would be expanded. South Coast, which serves customers in South Laguna, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente, is proposing a 5-acre facility on 30 acres of district-owned property near San Juan Creek that would produce 4 million to 5 million gallons of potable water per day, with the possibility of increasing the output to 15 million gallons per day. The district imports 80% of its water from the Colorado River and Northern California. The remaining 20% comes from recycled and groundwater sources. Desalination proponents hail the process as a method of providing a reliable water source during drought years or if an earthquake was to damage pipes that transport water. The project could cost $85 million to $90 million in design and construction. In a letter to South Coast last fall, Boston-based Poseidon Water said it would be interested in pursuing a public-private partnership on the Dana Point facility should South Coast choose that approach. Poseidon also has proposed a highly controversial desalination plant in Huntington Beach. The district board will discuss pros and cons of a public-private partnership during a workshop, expected in May. A draft environmental impact report could be released this summer. In the wake of a series of forceful storms, South Coast board member Rick Erkeneff urged the district to consider pitfalls of the location. There is quite a bit of beach erosion down there, Erkeneff said. It doesnt matter what side you are on. The scenarios for sea-level rise, this area is going to be vulnerable. bryce.alderton@latimes.com Twitter: @AldertonBryce Reports of violent and property crimes inched up in Newport Beach last year compared with 2015, while Laguna Beach saw a bigger spike, according to data compiled by the cities police departments. The so-called Part 1 crimes, as defined by the FBI, increased by 2% overall in Newport Beach, which has a population of 87,127. Reports of Part 1 crimes in Laguna Beach, which has a population of 23,250, jumped 10% overall, data show. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Laguna Beach saw an 18% rise in reports of violent crimes homicide, rape, robbery and assault likely to cause serious injury. The increase was driven mostly by 12 rapes (an increase of four from the previous year) and 15 robberies (an increase of seven). The number of aggravated assaults declined from 28 in 2015 to 25 last year. Laguna has not had a homicide since 2012. In Newport Beach, violent crimes declined nearly 2% in 2016 compared with 2015. Newport had one homicide in 2016 and two in 2015. Newport Beach is a safe city, Police Chief Jon Lewis said. When were talking about a 2% crime increase while we dont necessarily want to see any increase we also understand that theft crimes, especially burglary and auto theft, is whats driving that 2%. Its not violent crime or things that are significant safety concerns. Reports of forcible rape, the only violent crime that increased in Newport Beach in 2016, numbered 34, up from 20 in 2015. Newport Beachs crime and intelligence analyst, Caroline Staub, said the rapes that were reported were cases in which the victim was acquainted with the attacker. I dont think were seeing an actual increase in incidents, Staub said. I think were seeing an increase in reporting because people are finally feeling comfortable and saying, Yes, something wrong did happen to me and Im OK saying so. In the past, I think a lot of rape victims have felt shame and would not come forward. The vast majority of Part 1 incidents last year in Newport Beach, as is typical, were property crimes, which include burglary, theft, auto theft and arson. Reports of those crimes increased about 2% overall, driven mostly by 438 burglaries (up by 44) and 158 motor vehicle thefts (an increase of 23). Property crimes, which also make up the majority of crimes committed in Laguna Beach, increased about 11%, driven by 82 burglaries (up by 23) and 436 thefts (an increase of 31). Seven cases of arson were reported in 2016, an increase of five. Auto theft declined slightly. Lewis said Newport Beachs large number of visitors, especially during the summer, adds to the citys potential victims and can result in an increase in crime. Law enforcement officials have attributed a general crime increase over the past two years partly to more criminals being released as a result of prison realignment and Californias Proposition 47, an initiative passed in November 2014 that reclassified some drug and theft crimes as misdemeanors carrying lesser penalties. However, Richard McCleary, a professor of criminology, law and society at UC Irvine, said its highly unlikely that those who have benefited from prison realignment and Prop. 47 are committing Part 1 crimes. McCleary emphasized that the overall crime increases in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach are slight and that its difficult to draw conclusions about the cause. There is very little a police department can do to reduce the crime rate, he said. One of the things they do, which they dont get a lot of credit for, is they make us feel better about living in society. Its not the crime itself that harms society, but its the fear of crime because people are so afraid of being victimized they dont use parks, they keep their children out of school, they dont shop at certain stores. And the economic cost of that fear is incalculable. hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @HannahFryTCN A judge ruled Friday that the city of Glendale must pay back residents almost $57 million for violating state law when it issued an energy rate hike in 2013 as well as return $1.7 million in illegally transferred monies from Glendale Water & Powers waterworks fund to the citys coffers. In a tentative ruling made last year, L.A. Superior Court Judge James Chalfant stated that Glendale had violated its charter when it transferred $85 million from the electric revenue fund to its General Fund during fiscal years 2010-14. As a result, a 2013 electric rate increase which included the General Fund transfers as an operating cost was ruled in violation of Proposition 26 because the transfer was not related to the cost of providing electric service and required a two-third majority approval by voters. Join the conversation on Facebook >> The transfer cannot fairly be described as cost of providing electric service, Chalfant wrote in the ruling. Any contrary conclusion would defeat the purpose of Proposition 26 by permitting a city to drain monies from its public utility as an alleged cost and then impose that cost on the utilitys customers without a vote from the electorate. The Glendale Coalition for Better Government filed the lawsuit in 2013 and sought the return of all $85 million transferred from the electric works revenue fund, more than $7 million returned to the waterworks revenue fund, as well as a repayment to those who paid into the 2013 electric rate hike. We are vindicated that the judge ruled in our favor on all the issues we have raised, said Roland Kedikian, a coalition board member. We repeatedly told the council that those transfers are improperly being done ... We continuously said, at the time, when they raised the electric rates, those transfers cannot be included in the [cost of service analysis]. The proposed judgment on Friday granted relief only for the Proposition 26 violation, asking that Glendale begin the process of issuing $56,949,600 plus interest in credits to active utility payers over the next three years. Chalfant granted only one years worth of refunds, $1.7 million, to the waterworks revenue fund. The judgment also compels the city to adjust its funding and accounting practices in order to maintain compliance with its charter. The Glendale City Council must first vote on whether or not to file an appeal before residents can expect any electric rate credits. The city is likely to appeal with direction from the council, according to city spokesman Tom Lorenz. -- Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com Twitter: @JeffLanda As it turns 90, the Royal Hawaiian Resort is inviting Honolulu to learn about its storied history during free tours of the beloved pink Spanish-Moorish building. The beachfront hotel welcomed its first guests Feb. 1, 1927. It was, at that time, only the second luxury property along the now-fabled Waikiki Beach. (Moana Surfrider, now now a Westin resort, opened in 1901.) A lot of our travelers at that time were from Europe. They were the well-heeled. They were very affluent, says the hotels historian, Kehaulani Kam. They arrived from ports in California aboard the Matson Navigation Co.s ocean liners. Advertisement As she leads one-hour tours twice a week, Kam discusses how guests would head to their rooms along these little-changed, open-air corridors -- dressed in their finery instead of shorts and sandals of today. The hotel band serenaded new arrivals too. You put yourself into that time, she says. You cant help but do that. Visitors are fascinated by her stories from the 1940s and World War II, when all 384 rooms were occupied by members of the armed forces. Leisure travel had stopped. No was coming over on a vacation, she explains. The Navy leased the entire resort for $17,500 a month to provide sailors with a place to rest and recuperate from the rigors of war. The Monarch [ballroom], which was the fine dining Persian Room prior to Dec. 7, 1941 became the mess hall for the Navy, Kam points out. You can only imagine what that room transformed to. Tours begin 1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Arrive a few minutes before at the concierge desk in the lobby. The hotel is often referred to as the Pink Palace of the Pacific. Kam said its pinkish-peach color is the result of the Portuguese influence on its architectural design. Next month, the Royal Hawaiian will re-create the dinner party held to celebrate its opening in 1927. The 90th Anniversary Gala will be held March 3. It is a fundraiser for the ALS Assn. Wednesday marks the opening of the Royal Hawaiian Bakery, which is known for its banana bread. The bakery sells croissants and Danishes as well as uniquely Hawaiian items, including honey macadamia nut sticky buns and pineapple-roasted coffee cake. Customers may choose to carry their purchases in commemorative tins created to mark the 90th milestone. For those who want to visit for Valentines Day, prices start at $351 a night, excluding fees and taxes, according to an online check. Info: Royal Hawaiian Resort, (808) 923-7311 ALSO Look what the Eurodam is dishing up on this November cruise Tufted puffins, black bears and you: The small-cruise-ship experience in Canadas Haida Gwaii Half-cruise, half-cargo ships provide authenticity in place of cocktails and casinos On a river cruise, make sure the waters deep enough to float your boat travel@latimes.com @latimestravel You wont have to go far to explore two of Wine Enthusiasts top 10 wine travel destinations for 2017. Calistoga, Calif., and Hood River area in Oregon and Washington made the selective list, whose recommended places are pretty European-centric. Spas, dining and wines sell Calistoga, according to the magazine, which recommends tastings at eight wineries, including the smaller T-Vine Winery and Larkmead Vineyards. The magazine also finds the high-adventure area along the Columbia River in the Northwest adds to its wine and dining choices. This too recommends tasting areas and places to stay, including the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel for those who want to splurge. Advertisement Heres the list of wine-worthy 2017 destinations from Wine Enthusiasts editors. Each destination features where to go, where to stay and what to do when you get there. Cafayete, Argentina (primarily for Malbecs) Thracian Lowlands, Bulgaria Canary Islands, Spain Marlborough, New Zealand (primarily Sauvignon Blanc) Provence, France London Calistoga Sicily, Italy Rheingau, Germany Hood River, Oregon and Washington Info: 10 Best Wine Travel Destinations of 2017 ALSO Still room to watch and bet on Super Bowl Sunday at these Las Vegas places You can stalk sloths, turtles and monkeys (but in a nice way) on this trip to Panama How to score a free $100 gift card on your next visit to San Luis Obispo In Idaho, unplug on a raft trip along the Salmon River African leaders have agreed to a plan for a mass withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, amid criticisms its prosecutions focused too heavily on Africans. But the strategy for mass withdrawal agreed on at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is not binding, and individual countries can decide whether to leave. East African countries, particularly Kenya and Uganda, have been campaigning strongly for mass withdrawal, but the court has support among some West African nations. Advertisement Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. (Sayyid Azim / Associated Press) Many African leaders believe the court has unfairly singled out Africa, and question why there has been so little attention focused on other parts of the world where crimes against humanity have taken place. In December, Kenyas president, Uhuru Kenyatta, said the court was not impartial, and was a tool of global power politics. Some African leaders, including Kenyatta, have expressed concern that the court impinges on national sovereignty. Should multiple African countries pull out, the courts credibility would be seriously weakened. There has been talk of a pan-African court to carry out the international courts functions, but such a court would probably offer immunity to sitting presidents, weakening its ability to go after powerful perpetrators of violence. The move to pull out of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, comes as an era of globalism, optimism and internationalism gives way to more inward-looking populist nationalism, exemplified by the election of President Trump and Britains exit from the European Union. The court has been one of the most ambitious symbols of globalism and international cooperation, but has been embroiled in controversy in recent years after it pursued two sitting African leaders. The decision by African leaders to stage a mass exit has been some time in coming, with announced departures of South Africa, Burundi and Gambia from the court last year, after criticisms on the continent that the court is biased and anti-African. Gambias new president, Adama Barrow, has said he will reverse Gambias departure from the court. Anti-ICC sentiment in Africa was led by Kenya, after Kenyatta came to power in 2013 with ICC charges of crimes against humanity hanging over his head. The charges were related to his suspected role in inciting postelection violence in disputed elections in 2008. But the court withdrew the charges after the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, declared that obstruction by Kenyan authorities made it impossible to pursue the case. The court is seen by supporters and human rights groups as a means to ensure that leaders, military commanders and rebel militias who killed and persecuted people would have no place to hide from international law, and that victims, often powerless and impoverished villagers, would get justice. South Africas elder statesman, Nelson Mandela, who died in 2013, was one of the leading proponents of the court before it came into force in 2002, encouraging African leaders to support it. The hope was that the court would lead to a new era, end impunity for the worlds worst criminals, and send a chilling message to discourage politicians and armed figures from committing genocide, war crimes and atrocities against civilians and political opponents. When he signed the Rome Statute founding the court in 1998, Mandela referred to the atrocities that had occurred across Africa as one of his reasons for supporting it. Our own continent has suffered enough horrors emanating from the inhumanity of human beings towards human beings. Who knows, many of these might not have occurred, or at least been minimized, had there been an effectively functioning International Criminal Court, he said at the time, supporting a court with strong independent powers to go after even the most powerful perpetrators. One of the courts stumbling blocks, however, was that the U.S., China, Israel, Russia and others either refused to sign, failed to ratify the treaty, or initially signed but later unsigned it. Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir. (Ashraf Shazly / AFP/Getty Images) All but one of the cases opened by the courts first prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, were in Africa, most of them at the request of African governments. But later, as the court pursued sitting African leaders, including Sudans President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir and Kenyas Kenyatta, African leaders opposition to the court hardened and many of them accused the court of pursuing an imperialist anti-African agenda. More recently, the court has opened investigations in other parts of the world, such as Afghanistan. It was a major blow for the court last year when South Africa announced it would leave. The decision came after the court criticized the government for failing to arrest Bashir when he visited South Africa for an African Union summit. South Africas Supreme Court of Appeal ruled last year the government acted illegally by failing to make the arrest. Bashir has been indicted on charges of genocide and war crimes but numerous African signatories to the Rome Statute in Africa have declined to arrest him. Since the court doesnt have its own police force, it relies on its signatories to enforce its arrest warrants. South African Justice Minister Michael Masutha called into question this key tenet of the courts procedures, telling lawmakers Tuesday that the ICC call for South Africa to arrest Bashir undermined the countrys independence and made it difficult to invite foreign leaders to visit. South Africa is pressing ahead with its withdrawal, in what may become a catalyst for other African nations. Masutha told the parliamentary committee on justice that if you indict a sitting president of another country, you are effectively indicting that state itself. robyn.dixon@latimes.com Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT ALSO In a final insult, Gambias ex-leader looted millions of dollars, his successor says Border walls arent unheard of, but today they increasingly divide friends, not enemies Whos tracking casualties in Iraq? A California high school teacher Britain moved closer to leaving the European Union on Wednesday as lawmakers backed a bill authorizing divorce proceedings and kept alive the governments plan to trigger Brexit talks within weeks. The House of Commons decisively backed the bill by 498 votes to 114, sending it on for committee scrutiny. The result was a victory for the Conservative government, which had fought in court to avert the vote out of fear Parliament would impede its Brexit plans. Lawmakers also defeated a wrecking amendment proposed by the Scottish National Party that sought to delay Britains exit talks with the EU because the British government has not disclosed detailed plans for its negotiations. Advertisement During two days of debate in the House of Commons, many legislators Euroskeptic and Europhile alike said they would back the bill out of respect for voters June 23 decision to leave the EU. But opposition parties will try to insert more amendments during the next stages of the parliamentary process. They are seeking to prevent an economy-shocking hard Brexit, in which Britain loses full access to the EUs single market and faces restrictions or tariffs on trade. After committee consideration, the bill is due to return to the House of Commons for a final vote next week before moving on to Parliaments upper chamber, the House of Lords. The government was forced to introduce the legislation after a Supreme Court ruling last week torpedoed Prime Minister Theresa Mays effort to start the process of leaving the 28-nation bloc without a parliamentary vote. The government wanted to have the bill approved by early March so it could meet a self-imposed March 31 deadline for triggering EU divorce talks. Scores of lawmakers spoke during more than 16 hours of debate over two days. Those who backed the winning leave side in the referendum said they would vote proudly to start the exit process. Others, who voted to remain in the EU, said they would respect the will of the people despite their own reservations. Former Treasury chief George Osborne, a pro-EU Conservative, said to vote against the majority verdict of the largest democratic exercise in British history would set Parliament against the people and provoke a deep constitutional crisis in our country. Still others said they would oppose the start of divorce negotiations, accusing the government of rushing Britain toward the EU exit door with little idea of what is on the other side. The government says it will publish a white paper outlining its strategy for withdrawal on Thursday, but its unclear how many new details it will contain. Voting for departure is not the same as voting for a destination, said Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who called on the government to guarantee a second referendum to approve a final deal with the bloc. Scottish National Party lawmaker Angus MacNeil said that in acting to trigger Brexit, the House of Commons has taken leave of its senses. Its crossing its fingers and hoping for the best, he said. The U.K.'s largest opposition party, Labour, told its lawmakers to back the bill, but says it will try to amend it later. However, 47 of the 229 Labour lawmakers defied party leader Jeremy Corbyn and voted against the bill. I do not believe that the Brexit course we are now set on will make Britain a more prosperous, fairer, more equal, tolerant country, said Owen Smith, one of the Labour rebels. I believe, by contrast, that it will make our politics meaner, and it will make our country poorer. MORE WORLD NEWS: European Council president includes United States as a threat to Europe Boiling over on the border: The reasons behind the gasoline protests in Mexico What Trumps push to limit overseas workers means for Indias army of high-tech migrant labor President Trumps executive order on immigration has halted a government program that allows Central American children to seek refugee status in the United States. More than 11,000 people have applied for the program since 2014, when former President Obama launched it in an attempt to dissuade Central Americans fleeing violence from making risky journeys to the U.S. border. For the record: An earlier version of this story said temporary protected status was granted to immigrants who fled civil wars in Honduras and El Salvador in the 1980s. The status, which allows legal residency in the U.S., actually was granted in the wake of natural disasters in Honduras and El Salvador. The program, which is available only to children who have a parent who is residing in the U.S. legally, and in some cases a childs adult relative, screens applicants in their home countries. Since the effort was launched, more than 2,000 people have been resettled in the U.S., either as refugees or through a process known as humanitarian parole, according to the State Department. Advertisement Trumps executive order, which he signed Friday, called for the immediate suspension of all refugee admissions to the U.S. for 120 days. Although the change affects greater numbers of migrants fleeing war-torn regions of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, who had been resettled in the U.S. by the tens of thousands, advocates say the order could have dangerous consequences for children and their families in countries such as El Salvador and Honduras. This program was an important recognition of the very real violence in these countries, said Maureen Meyer, who advocates for migrant rights with the nonprofit Washington Office on Latin America. Clearly the suspension of this program puts these children at more risk. A lot of people that are in danger could be killed. Trump characterized his immigration order, which also banned travel to the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim countries, as a measure that would make America safe again by protecting the U.S. from foreign threats. But advocates say the children who have applied for the Central America refugee program pose no danger to the U.S. and would be allowed in the country only after careful screening by the Department of Homeland Security. The child has to go through a very extensive security vetting, said Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, a nonprofit organization that advocates for immigrant children. Refugees are the most vetted immigrants in the country. The program came into being in 2014, a year that saw record numbers of Central Americans asking for asylum at the U.S. border. Many of them traveled without guardians, often in the company of human traffickers, and unaccompanied minor joined the lexicon of the immigration debate. Many of the children said they were fleeing violence and forced gang recruitment in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Faced with a mounting humanitarian crisis, Obama enacted several measures to slow the migration. He asked Congress to earmark money to help improve economic and security conditions in Central America, and he enlisted Mexico to dramatically step up deportations along its southern border. The Central American Minors Program allowed young people to apply for refugee status from their home country. Those who faced the biggest threats were allowed to go to Costa Rica, a safer country, as they waited to find out whether their application would be approved. At the time, some advocates argued the program didnt go far enough because it provided protections only for children with a parent who had legal permission to be in the U.S., such as temporary protected status, which was granted in the wake of natural disasters in Honduras and El Salvador. In 2016, the Obama administration expanded the program slightly to allow adult family members of the children to apply for refugee status as well. A spokesman for the Department of State, which administers the program, did not say how many people were affected by the executive order or whether any Central Americans have been granted exemptions and allowed to enter the U.S. Jaime Rivas Castillo, a professor at Don Bosco University in El Salvador, said the suspension of the refugee program means some young migrants may look for other options to leave the country. Some may seek asylum in nearby countries such as Mexico or Panama, he said, and others may still risk the 2,000-mile journey to the U.S. border and try to enter illegally or ask for asylum there. If you close an important valve, another one will open, he said. To read the article in Spanish, click here kate.linthicum@latimes.com Twitter: @katelinthicum ALSO Border walls arent unheard of, but today they increasingly divide friends, not enemies For Mexico, Trumps retreat on NAFTA is like being drenched by a pail of cold water You can build a wall except here, a river runs through it UPDATES: 3:08 p.m., Feb. 1: This article was updated with remarks from Jaime Rivas Castillo. This article was originally published on Jan. 31 at 6:50 p.m. French retailer is in discussions with at least four banks and could spin off the business in May, sources say All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced. 19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc. As U.S. immigration order has been effective 3 days ago, it caused condemnation, confusions, and stranded affected people. In contrary, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada welcomed refugees by announcing to Twitter that their country has open-door policy. According to New York Times, Mr. Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Saturday afternoon that diversity is their strength, thus, those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canada welcomes them. As known, Canada is a country not divided by sea beside United States and so is the closest available refuge for refugees with land area similar in size with U.S. but lesser populated. Syria as one of the countries which nationals are included in ban to enter U.S. saw alternative hope when Mr. Trudeau posted another in Twitter and shared 224,000 times his photo with a child, seems a Syrian refugee who had just arrived with the caption #WelcomeToCanada. Since Mr. Trudeau's taking of office in 2015 his administration has admitted 39,671 refugees as reported by Huffington Post. This was proven positive result with his priority to accelerate the entry from Syria. But as said, U.S. immigration order caused confusion as if those who already living in U.S. and having pertinent documents is included in the ban. Does Canada have any intention to harbor nationalities that were shut out from U.S.? The Prime Minister's press secretary Cameron Ahmad refused to give comments if the Twitter posts mean welcoming also those who are shut out in the U.S. Because if that so, it would create confusion if they would first be accommodated than those in the long line of expectants who already told that they will be allowed to enter Canada. Canada's policy is at odds with Mr. Trump's executive order but still Mr. Trudeau is careful not to criticize Mr. Trump. His government believes that doing so would not give positive consequences. The recent social media announcement was not meant to oppose but only to promote its open-door policy. It was noted that Canada has two cabinets with Muslim country origin, one of which is Ahmed Hussen, the immigration minister, who was born in Somalia. Canada immediately did not allow people with citizenship from the seven countries banned to enter in the U.S. to board in major Canadian Airlines. But on Saturday one passenger was turned away on board from one of its carriers. Newly elected President Donald Trump's executive order that bans citizens from seven countries, namely, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, hits Google, Apple, Uber, Microsoft, and other tech giants. The order bars entry of nationals from the Muslim-majority countries for 90 days sparked reactions from Google, Apple, SpaceX's Elon Musk, Uber, Lyft, Netflix, Microsoft, and all the major companies from the tech world. According to CNET, most US tech industry often relies on foreign engineers as well as the technical experts who work for them. The tech companies have already sent emails to their workforces to attack the president's move to block refugees and other nationals from the seven Muslim-majority countries. According to Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, Apple would not exist without immigration, hence actively do not support Trump's policy. Cook added that the biological father of Steve Jobs who is Apple's co-founder was a Syrian immigrant. Trump's new immigration policies are preventing the tech companies to recruit and retain engineering talent from overseas. As a result of the signed policy, many start-up companies are increasing their branch offices outside the US. "It's painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in an internal memo. According to Financial Times, 200 out of 60,000 workers of Google are affected. However, the company is preparing for a battle on the highly skilled immigration. President Donald Trump criticized the H-1B visa which gives tech companies a chance to bring thousands of software engineers from countries such as India. Despite the banning of the refugees from entering the country, Trump ordered that those who are planning to enter the US will also be granted on a "case-by-case basis" and when they determined that the admission of the individual as a refugee is in the national interest. Donations to humanitarian and rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) amounted to $24 million since Saturday, the first full day after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning immigration from seven majority Muslim countries from entering the US. According to The Insider, it is sharply six times more than the amount usually received by ACLU in a weekend. Records show many of the people who donated to the ACLU had never donated before. The order bars the admission of people from these seven Muslim-majority countries - Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - for 90 days. The order also suspends all refugee admission for 120 days and bars Syrian refugees for an indefinite period. ACLU, a non-profit organization working to protect human rights and liberties guaranteed in the constitution, usually raises about $ 4 million online a year, said ACLU executive director Anthony Romero. Romero admitted that this is a very difficult time in the US. He also added that people are curious to know what they could do to help protect human rights. According to an article on Market Watch, a federal judge in Brooklyn has blockedpart of the ban last Saturday and this has allowed for the release of refugees and immigrants detained at US airports. It further stated the ACLU was one of the organizations that slapped a lawsuit on behalf of two refugees from Iraq detained at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport, prompting the stay. The donation could also have most likely been beefed up by the celebrities who have tweeted their support and offered to match fan's donations-including Sia, Judd Apatow and Rosie O'Donnell who offered to match up to $100,000 in the donation to the ACLU. The ACLU plans to utilize the donation by protecting the rights and liberties of the people across the US and the first thing that they would do is hire about 200 staff members, mostly lawyers. Starbucks is not only famous for its coffee but it has also gained noise on the political side, as for its CEO Howard Schultz, who has remained vocal on his side of the coin. With the new administration's immigration ban to seven Muslim countries, refugees are now stuck up on airports, facing numerous questions from the officials. These and all of President Trump's orders are now dividing the nation as protesters and supporters move forward onto their plans of propaganda. In a letter by Howard Schultz, he has announced his plight and his efforts to help his employees and those who will be affected by these sudden changes. Schultz who has been openly vocal of his political affinity with Hilary Clinton was supposed to be Clinton's pick for secretary of labor had she won the election. Due to his political stand, Trump supporters cannot stand his 'politically influenced' decisions, as this was not the first time Starbucks has caused the distaste of coffee-drinking Republicans. One of which is his decision to hire 10,000 refugees over the span of five years to 75 operating stores worldwide. However, despite having threats of social media bashing and retail store boycotts, Fortune reports that Schultz will extend more of his company in hiring veterans and active duty spouses. The outgoing CEO has assured not only of his current employees but has also expressed his support for immigrants who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The coffee giant company's CEO is currently not the only one who publicizes their concerns as executives from other industries are also indecisive of the new administration's policies. Along with his message on Sunday, Howard Schultz has firmly urged others to be vigilant and vocal to what is happening nowadays. Although the threat of low sales may materialize, there are still no signs of Starbucks boycott as U.S sales are still increasing considering the number of coffee restaurants to compete with. The Iranian suicide boats that attacked a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen may have been implied for an American warship. The said incident was being referred to happened in the southern Red Sea and was executed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that kill two sailors and injuring three. As indicated by audio recording, a voice portraying the attacks said 'Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to the Jews.' A comparative assault style was utilized on the U.S.S. Cole by al Qaeda psychological oppressors in 2000, slaughtering 17 American warriors and injuring 39 others, in the keep running up to the Sept. 11 assaults. Fox News stated that U.S. defense analysts believe that those behind the attacks are either thought the bomber was striking an American warship or this was a 'dress rehearsal' just like the attack on the U.S.S. Cole by al Qaeda terrorists in 2000, slaughtering 17 American soldiers and injuring 39 others. Furthermore, the attack happened close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, where the U.S. Navy Force warships were attacked in October. An American destroyer shot down those approaching missiles - the first successful engagement in battle utilizing an American SM-2 missile. However, an announcement from the state news office SPA from the Saudi-led coalition revealed that a Saudi frigate on patrol west of Hodeidah port went under attack from the three suicide boat inclusion with the Houthi volunteer armies. One of the three vessels crashed into the back of the Saudi boat, which brought the blast and fire that killed two crew members. The attack came only 10 days into the Donald Trump's presidency, as DailyMail reported. This most recent incident came a day after President Trump talked by phone with the Saudi King to tackle about setting up a safe zone for refugees in Syria and Yemen. Senior U.S. defense authorities said that they are worried by this most recent incident, yet are assured that American warships were equipped to defend themselves. Since 2015, the United States has supported the Saudi's crusade against the rebels in Yemen under the past administration of President Barack Obama. Feb 1, 2017, 4:54am ET NEVS to build electric Saab 9-3 in China The battery-powered 9-3 will not wear a Saab emblem. National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS), the company that bought the remains of Saab, will begin building an electric version of the 9-3 in China in the coming months. The Chinese government recently gave NEVS permission to build the electric 9-3 in Tianjin, according to Motor Authority. Assembly will take place in a new factory that's still under construction. The plant will have an annual capacity of 200,000 cars when it's completed by the end of the year. NEVS has agreed to provide 150,000 examples of the battery-powered 9-3 to a Chinese company named Panda New Energy that specializes in leasing electric cars. The model will look like the 9-3 that was sold on our shores until 2011 (pictured), though technical specifications remain unconfirmed. The yet-unnamed EV will not be badged as a Saab, however. NEVS couldn't purchase the griffin logo with the rest of Saab's intellectual property, and it lost the right to use the Saab name in 2014. NEVS flags flying outside of the company's forlorn factory in Trollhattan, Sweden, suggest the Saab name has been sent to the pantheon of automotive history. NEVS wants to focus on the Chinese market. There are no signs that the company plans on re-introducing the aging 9-3 in Europe, let alone in the United States. However, those plans could change if the company manages to build up a full lineup of electric cars in the coming years. Dieruff high school building Dieruff High School in Allentown. (lehighvalleylive.com file photo) ( ) The last of the juvenile defendants was sentenced Wednesday in connection with an after-school melee involving Allentown high school students that left two teens hospitalized. The 17-year-old boy admitted to a felony count of riot and a misdemeanor count of simple assault related to the Oct. 25 attacks that involved a mob of 50 Dieruff High School students, 20 of whom attacked two teen boys. Prosecutors previously sought to have the teenager certified as an adult in his case, meaning the charges would move to adult court. Lehigh County Judge Kelly Banach denied the request, keeping the case in juvenile court. Juvenile hearings are normally closed to the public, but can be open for kids 14 or older who are charged with a felony. The boy, who was 16 at the time of the attack, had just been discharged from a secure juvenile treatment facility in Danville, Pennsylvania, when he was arrested in connection with the assaults. Juvenile probation officials said at the time that Dieruff officials sought to expel the teen, but eventually he was given a second chance. On Wednesday, Banach ordered that the teen be sent to the secure treatment unit at Loysville Youth Development Center in Perry County. The program usually runs nine months to one year. Banach has presided over some of the other Dieruff juvenile cases, and said on Wednesday she did not need to review the "sickening" videos of the assault again. "I saw boys who acted like savages," the judge said. Banach described watching the group of 20 kids actively assaulting the two victims, including hitting, punching and kicking. "But then I saw one boy go down, and it wasn't enough for you, that he went down to the ground," Banach said. The video showed Javien Sabater stomping on the back of the victim's neck, the judge said. "That was really too much for me. I almost had to look away, except I had to watch. It's my job," Banach said. Sabater was originally charged as an adult in his case, but the charges were later moved to juvenile court. He was sent in December to CONCERN treatment unit for boys in Lehighton. Authorities said a female Dieruff student was being mistreated during lunch on Oct. 25, and two 16-year-old boys stood up for her. That led to a confrontation, and the two sides planned to meet after school to fight, according to police. The two 16-year-olds were met by a group of 50 students at North Kearney and East Washington streets, and the victims were assaulted by at least 20 people in the crowd, police said. One victim reported being punched in the head and body by the mob, pistol-whipped with a gun, and kicked in the head and face after falling to the ground, according to police. That victim had a front tooth knocked out and lost consciousness during the assault, and was taken to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill by ambulance for treatment, police said. The second victim said he was also pistol-whipped on the neck, and his next memory was waking up in the hospital, according to investigators. Four of the arrested teens charged as adults are still awaiting trial: Exzavier Raysaun Scales, 17; Isaiah Alarcon, 18; Joushten Rodriguez, 18; and Brian Pearsall, 18. All four face aggravated assault and related charges. Scales, Alarcon and Rodriguez all waived their hearings, sending the charges to Lehigh County court for possible trial. Pearsall, of Whitehall Township, is scheduled to have his preliminary hearing on March 13. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. After years of legal battles, the city of Bethlehem has a court order to allow it to oversee the clean up and redevelopment of the old Goodman Furniture building. Northampton County Judge Anthony S. Beltrami in mid-January named Bethlehem the conservator of the crumbling building and adjacent vacant lot at 30-32 E. Third St. in South Bethlehem. As conservator, the city will act as an owner, caring for the property and overseeing the selection of a court-approved developer, but it will not legally take ownership of the property. Officials hope the designation ends years of legal wrangling between the city and Lehigh University professor Alvin Kanofsky, who has owned the property since 1986, and result in its eventual sale to a developer. The city has a thick code violations file on the properties, which both have been deemed blighted. Kanofksy briefly operated a flea market out of the site but it has sat vacant for more than a decade. It hasn't had electricity or water in years. Beltrami sided with the city's argument that Kanofsky has fought its orders to clean up the properties while making no real effort to repair it or sell it. He found the building poses a danger and risk to public safety. Now, the city is seeking a developer proposal from anyone interested in rehabbing and redeveloping the former furniture building. Proposals are due 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 2. And the city must submit its recommended developer to the courts by April 8, said Alicia Miller Karner, city director of economic development. "We have a very, very, tight time frame to review the applications and proposals," Karner said. The courts will get to weigh in on the selection of the developer, who will eventually purchase the property. The building is located in a historic district and the South Side central business district, which means the first-floor will have to be used as commercial space but the upper two floors could be used for residences. It's exterior will be subject to historic guidelines. The city is open to an addition being built onto the back of the building on the vacant lot, Karner said. "We are very committed to continuing the momentum of redeveloping and reinvesting in the property," Karner said. Interested developers must provide detailed plans about their ideas for revitalizing the site, including construction costs, financing and timeline. And the developer must complete structural repair work estimated at about $263,000. The building's mortar is crumbling, allowing water to infiltrate and its roof leaks extensively, which has caused parts of the interior to collapse. Earlier this year, the city paid $137,000 to make repairs to the building's stucco to prevent it from falling off and hurting anyone. Salvaging the building is a top priority, Karner said. "We'd need a resounding response from the private sector (that it was not possible) before we'd entertain anything other than a salvage," she said. The Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority voted in November to apply for a $500,000 gaming grant to create a revolving loan fund to fix up blighted properties and the old Goodman building would be the top priority. Money repaid from the loans would be reinvested into blight remediation projects. The city has not heard any word on the grant but Karner said she hopes, if awarded, it helps incentivize redevelopment of the property. Officials hope to move aggressively due to the building's deterioration and exposure to the elements through the partial roof collapse. Karner would like to see some of the stabilization work completed in the next construction season. Northampton County Senior Judge Leonard N. Zito fined Kanofsky about $30,700 for failing to maintain the Goodman building, where he once operated a flea market for a short time. The building has no electric or water service now. Zito sentenced the former physics professor to serve five days in prison, but the sentence was postponed because Kanofsky appealed it. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A former St. Luke's University Hospital nurse accused of sexually assaulting a patient is now facing trial in the case. John Spanogle, 31, of the 1700 block of North New Street in Bethlehem, waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday on a single count of indecent assault. The waiver means the charges head to Lehigh County Court, where Spanogle now faces possible trial. Spanogle is free on $10,000 unsecured bail in the case. His attorney, Thomas Carroll did not immediately return a message seeking comment about the accusations. The charge stems from a Dec. 14 incident at St. Luke's in Fountain Hill, prosecutors previously said. At the time of the alleged assault, Spanogle was working as a nurse in the Internal Radiology department at the hospital at 801 Ostrum St. Spanogle is no longer employed at the health network. The patient had a procedure performed that day. After the procedure was complete, Spanogle allegedly made inappropriate comments and then comments of a sexual nature to her. Once they were in the patient's room, Spanogle molested her and exposed himself to her, according to prosecutors. The victim reported the incident, which was investigated by Detective Andrew Millen, a sex abuse investigator for the district attorney's office. "Based on our review of the information, we do not believe Mr. Spanogle had inappropriate contact with any other patient," the hospital previously said. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A burglar on parole for stealing cash and food from a Forks Township restaurant is accused of returning to the same place and breaking in for booze. Maurice Anthony Greene (Courtesy photo) Charged is 31-year-old Maurice Anthony Greene, of the first block of North Sixth Street in Easton. Greene, then homeless, was charged in September with burglarizing deLorenzo's Restaurant, 3417 Sullivan Drive. In that crime, Greene allegedly stole veal chops and shrimp stuffed into plastic bags, as well as additional bottles of liquor, two scissors, a flashlight and prosciutto. He also made off with $194 worth of cash from the register, as well as the key to the register, according to police. The total value stolen was $606, police said. Court records indicate Greene recently was released on parole for the September crime. Police at 12:18 a.m. Wednesday returned to deLorenzo's Restaurant to investigate a burglar alarm. Investigators found an overturned bucket below a partially opened window and fresh footprints in a dusting of snow near a back deck, according to police. A police dog was summoned and a search was conducted inside the restaurant with no one found. Owner Cheryl Yannuzzelli reported to police that nothing was missing from the premises. She was able to determine from the alarm company the burglar entered the restaurant, tripped the motion sensor and left about 14 seconds later through a back door. An officer at 1:46 a.m. Wednesday stopped Greene in the 800 block of Uhler Road. Greene initially denied entering deLorenzo's, but then allegedly admitted to breaking in. Greene said he intended to steal a bottle of alcohol to settle a debt with someone he owed money to, according to police. The alarm spooked Greene and he ran, he allegedly told police. Greene is charged with burglary, criminal trespass and attempted theft in Wednesday's crime. He was arraigned before District Judge Alicia Zito, who set bail at $150,000. In lieu of bail, Greene was taken to Northampton County Prison. The judge ordered Greene to stay away from the restaurant. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Dent wants answers on Syrians blocked from Allentown visit Sarmad Assali, left, accompanied by her son Joseph Assali and Farzaneh Ahmadi Darani, center left, and her sister Shadi Ahmadi Darani, speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, at City Hall in Philadelphia. Family members of both the Ahmadi Darani's and Assali's were denied entry into the United States at the Philadelphia airport over the weekend due to President Donald Trump's temporary ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations. (AP Photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) The Lehigh Valley's Republican congressman wants answers from the new head of Homeland Security about why six people from Syria trying to get to Allentown were ordered denied entry Saturday into the United States. U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent speaks in November 2015 in Allentown. (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo) U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, whose 15th Congressional District covers Lehigh and part of Northampton counties, released a letter Tuesday night he had sent Monday to Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly about the plight of the family. The six were detained at Philadelphia International Airport and subsequently expelled within three hours of arrival, Dent told Kelly, the U.S. Marine Corps general confirmed Jan. 20 to lead the Department of Homeland Security. President Donald Trump late Friday afternoon signed an executive order directing, among other things, the State Department to indefinitely stop issuing visas to Syrian nationals and halts the processing of Syrian refugees. "According to the family, all six individuals were holding valid immigrant visas and the paperwork for their green cards was in order at the time of their landing in Philadelphia," Dent wrote. "It is my understanding that these six individuals were in transit to the United States when President Trump signed his executive order and, as such, they should have been allowed to enter the country under the terms of their previously approved visas." Dent's concerns about the implementation of Friday's order are shared by others in Trump's Republican Party. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., called the order that goes on to restrict travel from seven Muslim-majority nations "too broad and poorly explained." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday called the rollout of the order "terrible." Dent identifies the six people as Bassam Abou Asali, Jozfin Alshahaf, Jurjeet Abou Asali, Hassan Abou Asali, Sara Abou Asali and Mathyo Abou Asali. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the family, alleging Trump's executive order violates several constitutional guarantees. The family planned to settle in Allentown, where family members who are U.S. citizens had sponsored them and bought a home for them. The Asalis -- who were not refugees and had obtained visas after a 13-year effort -- were denied entry and returned to Syria. "They want to be safe," said Sarmad Assali, a naturalized citizen who came to the U.S. when she was 13 who was helping her brothers-in-law and their families relocate. "They want to start a new life. Their kids are looking to build a future here." Assali told "NBC Nightly News" that she and other family members in Allentown voted for Trump, and she understands he wants to make America safe. "We're all on with this," she said. "I definitely want to be in a safe place. But people need us and we need to be there for them." She told the news program she had a question for the new president: "Where is your human side to send somebody to a war zone?" Assali and the Asali family spell their names differently. Dent in his letter calls for "corrective steps to be taken as soon as possible to honor their visas and entry into the United States." He goes on to ask Kelly about the status of the six individuals and the status of their visas and green card applications. "What was the legal rationale behind the decision to expel these six individuals?" Dent continues in the letter. "What corrective actions have been taken thus far to remedy the wrongful expulsion of these six individuals; and what other actions are scheduled to take place to rectify this situation in a timely and just manner?" Dent goes on to ask how judicial actions and new guidance on Trump's order have impacted the status of the six people's visas. "Your assistance is greatly appreciated," Dent closes. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. What Pa.'s senators think of Supreme Court nominee President Donald Trump looks on after introducing Judge Neil Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is "pleased" with President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Supreme Court justice. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is open-minded but has concerns about the court moving further to the right. Judge Neil Gorsuch speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, after President Donald Trump announced Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court. (AP Photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) Trump during prime time Tuesday night presented Neil Gorsuch, 49, as his nominee to succeed the late Justice Antoni Scalia's seat on the nation's high court. Gorsuch is known for his clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement, The Associated Press reports. Gorsuch is a Colorado native who earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then earned a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington, D.C., law firm. He served for two years in President George W. Bush's Justice Department before Bush appointed him to a seat on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2006. He is the son of Anne Gorsuch, who served as EPA administrator during the Reagan administration. Here are the Pennsylvania senators' statements on Trump's choice: Toomey "I was pleased to see President Trump nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. "Crucially, Judge Gorsuch understands the proper role of a judge. He understands that his job is to apply the law and U.S. Constitution as written, not to pick winners and losers based on personal or partisan policy preferences. Judge Gorsuch's record shows that he will treat everyone equally-- regardless of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, political views, influence, or wealth. And I believe that like Justice Scalia, Judge Gorsuch will be a principled justice, will be dedicated to the principles of originalism, and will neutrally apply the law, even when doing so leads to a policy outcome he personally opposes. "Judge Gorsuch's record indicates that he has the character, intellect, and experience to make an excellent addition to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Judge Gorsuch has sterling credentials. He earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, his law degree from Harvard, and a PhD in Law from Oxford University. In 2006, the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Gorsuch to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit without a single Democrat or Republican objecting. "I have long held that when considering judicial nominees, objective qualifications are more important than partisan politics, and Senators should work across the aisle to fill the federal bench with highly qualified jurists. "I have worked on a bipartisan basis with Senator Casey and the Obama White House to fill 16 vacancies on the federal bench in Pennsylvania. And, although I knew I would disagree with many of her decisions, I supported President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I plan to apply the same standard of fairness to the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch. And I hope my fellow Senators will do the same. I hope they will review Judge Gorsuch's record with an open mind. And I hope they will remember that the test is not whether we agree with every decision Judge Gorsuch has rendered, but whether Judge Gorsuch understands the proper role of a judge and has the character, intellect, and experience to merit confirmation. "I look forward to the Judiciary Committee's hearing and meeting Judge Gorsuch in person." Casey "The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Roberts, has moved far outside the mainstream and has too often favored big corporations at the expense of our workers and middle class families. I am concerned that far right groups presented an edict to Donald Trump when he was a candidate, demanding that he select a nominee from their approved list. These same organizations have pushed for legal rulings that rig the system in favor of big corporations and against workers, stacking the deck against everyday Pennsylvanians. The Supreme Court plays a role of unique importance in our democracy and therefore nominees require substantial scrutiny. I will thoroughly review Judge Gorsuch's record, particularly his appellate decisions and his answers to questions during the hearing and those submitted in writing afterward." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. 27 drinks for gambler leads to fine for casino, state says Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Mount Pocono section of Monroe County's Paradise Township is seen in September 2014. (New York Times file photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) The operator of Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine for allowing a visibly drunk patron to gamble, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said. The fine approved Wednesday by the board is in addition to $2,500 in costs related to the investigation into last fall's incident, according to a consent agreement between the casino operator and the state. So far this year, the gaming board has approved a total of $190,000 against five casinos for violations. That includes a $50,000 fine levied against the operator of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem for underage gambling, according to the board. Pennsylvania's 12 casinos took in $3.2 billion in total gaming revenue in 2016, a record since the first slots-only casino opened in November 2006. Table games were added in July 2010. Slots comprised $2.36 billion of the 2016 revenue, in addition to $853.2 million from table games. Total gaming revenue since 2006 in Pennsylvania totals nearly $25.9 billion. The Mount Airy fine stems from an incident Oct. 7 at the casino in Mount Pocono, Paradise Township. Pennsylvania casinos are required to have a compulsive and problem gambling plan with procedures to prevent intoxicated patrons from gambling, the gaming board says. In the incident last fall, the unidentified male patron paid for and was served 27 drinks over a period of about nine hours, the gaming board said. He started out shortly after 1 p.m. that Friday in the casino's Glass Bar, located on the gaming floor. He was served his last drink about 10 p.m. "From approximately 1:09 p.m. until he fell off his barstool at 10:41 p.m., the patron continuously engaged in slots play at table top slot machines located at the Glass Bar," the consent agreement states. Casino staff indicated the patron began displaying signs that he was drunk starting about 3:30 p.m., before being served 18 additional drinks, the gaming board said. Three bartenders who served the man were fired, according to the gaming board. The gaming board did not indicate the patron faced any repercussions. A Mount Airy spokesman was not immediately available for comment Wednesday. This is the first fine assessed against Mount Airy related to intoxicated patrons since its license was last renewed by the gaming board, last August. The Sands fine was announced earlier this month, for an incident in which people under age 21 gained access to the gaming floor, according to the gaming board. The incidents were described as follows: A 19-year-old male gained access onto the gaming floor where he wagered at slot machines and consumed alcohol. A 20-year-old female gained access onto the gaming floor and wagered on slot machines. Two males, ages 19 and 20, gained access onto the gaming floor and wagered at slot machines. A 20-year-old male gained access onto the gaming floor and wagered on slot machines. The other fines approved this year by the gaming board were against the operators of SugarHouse Casino (fined twice) in Philadelphia and Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin in Fayette County. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A recent Northampton County Fugitive of the Week was among three men arrested Friday by the Northampton County Sheriff's Department's Criminal Warrants Division. Joel Perez-Rosario was Northampton County's fugitive of the week for Jan. 14, 2017. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) Joel Perez-Rosario, 35, was picked up by deputies working as part of the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force at his home in the 1900 block of Hillcrest Road in Bethlehem, the sheriff's department said. He pleaded guilty in 2013 to indecent assault and providing liquor to a minor and charges of aggravated indecent assault were withdrawn, records show. There was a bench warrant for his arrest in that case and he was wanted by Pennsylvania state parole agents on an absconding charge, the sheriff's department said. He remained Wednesday morning in Northampton County Prison, records show. He is a Megan's Law offender and his status was listed as "non-compliant," records show. His victim was a minor, Pennsylvania State Police say on the state's Megan's Law site. His sentences of 11 months to 23 months and one month to 12 months were consecutive and began in December 2013, records show. The jail time was to be followed by two years of probation, records show. Deputies on Friday also arrested Malik Jordan, 27, of Lansford, Pennsylvania, the sheriff's department said. Jordan was taken into custody at home on a Northampton County bench warrant involving possession of a controlled dangerous substance. He was also wanted on Allentown police charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a related offense and receiving stolen property, the news release said. He remained Wednesday morning in Lehigh County Jail, records show. Ramon Maldonado-Cruz, 35, was arrested Friday in the 300 block of North Eighth Street in Allentown, the sheriff's department said. He was wanted by Pennsylvania parole agents on original charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and persons not to possess firearms. He was sent to Lehigh County Jail but on Wednesday morning was in the state prison at Frackville, records show. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. President Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court nomination came as no surprise -- federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch was on a list of 21 candidates Trump publicized during his campaign, and he was one of two finalists summoned Tuesday to the White House for the announcement. Judge Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch's conservative credentials, intelligence, writing ability and wit has been recognized by those who dealt with him on the Colorado-based 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Those attributes seem to match up with former Justice Antonin Scalia, whose death last February created the current vacancy on the high court. Senate Democrats are sure put up resistance to Gorsuch's appointment. Given the GOP majority in the chamber, they could attempt a filibuster to try to prevent a full Senate vote, in return for the Senate's refusal to consider the nomination of Merrick Garland by then-President Obama. If that happens, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could change the rules to block a filibuster. The Senate Judiciary Committee will conduct hearings on Gorsuch, considered a constitutional "originalist" -- a jurist who defers to the intent of the writers of the document at the time it was written. One of his notable opinions was a vote on behalf of Hobby Lobby and a Christian bookstore chain that challenged birth-control mandates in the Affordable Care Act. Given the start of the Trump administration, one of the confirmation issues will be his views on the extent of the president's executive powers. What do you think? Is Gorsuch a good choice to replace Scalia? Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to join the conversation in the comments section. It is, no doubt, a question that is troubling Foreign Affairs Minister Charles Flanagan how do you handle Donald Trump, Americans irascible new President? Well, perhaps, the answer was provided in County Hall in Portlaoise on Monday evening (January 23). It came from Cllr John King, Chairman of the Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick Municipal District. He advised Charles: When you meet Donald Trump, let him talk first. You listen, and I am sure you will manage him well. The occasion was a civic reception to honour Charles Flanagan and to recognize his appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Solicitor, former Town Commissioner and County Councillor, Dail Deputy, Minister and barman and glass and delft washer. It was County Council Chairman Tom Mulhall who told of Charless career in the licensing trade. In the 1970s, the then young student worked part-time in the thriving Montague Motel. He washed delft and glasses, Tom recalled. He was doing all kinds of jobs and he was a good man to pull a pint of Guinness as well. (That, maybe, would be a way of taming Trump?). Back to Cllr King. Could Charles increase Mass attendances by revising the habit of having church gate political rallies? he wondered. He noted that the famed Oliver J Flanagan, Charless father, used to get off the train at Ballybrophy, get on a bicycle, and cycle miles to address after-Mass rallies in the area. Staying with Oliver J, Cllr Willie Aird said the redoubtable Mountmellick man had once reprimanded him as follows: Dont come to a meeting on a tractor and get your hair cut! This despite the fact that at the time Olivers own son, Charles, had hair down to his shoulders, Willie mused. Deputy Sean Fleming, a Fianna Failer, described the civic reception as a political ecumenical service. Charles quipped to the gathering that someone had told him the civic reception would entitle him to free parking for life in Portlaoise and Mountmellick. On a more serious note, he said he had met people in their 70s and 80s who had informed him that over the years theyd never marked a ballot paper with a name other than Flanagan. That moved him. Cllr Mulhall presented Minister Flanagan with a citation and with a sample of Mountmellick lace. To Mary Flanagan, Charless wife, he presented a bouquet. There, too, was their daughter Olwyn. Among the large attendance were current and retired public representatives, including Charles McDonald. With him was his wife Lily, an aunt of Charles Flanagan. Also present was his sister Maeve. Senior Executive Officer Carmel McNicholl welcomed everyone to the reception. Also involved in organizing the event were Director of Services Donal Brennan and executive Irene Delaney. Minister Flanagan, in his address, thanked everyone who had helped him in his political career, including office staff Rose Williams, Conor McSweeney and Rosemary Whelan, and legal colleagues John and Robert White. Laois TD and Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has raised the issue of undocumented Irish and President's Donald Trump's controversial decisions with senior staff at the White House. Speaking at the Irish Network AGM during his official visit to Washington the Portlaoise-based TD said he had a substantial meeting in the White House with the US National Security Adviser, General Michael Flynn, and his deputy, K. T. McFarland. "In our discussion I sensitised General Flynn on our continuing concerns in regard to the undocumented Irish community and our hope that this can be addressed by the new Administration and Congress," said Minister Flanagan. He also raised the controversial orders which temporarily ban citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. "I directly conveyed to General Flynn the concern expressed in Ireland, and indeed, across the EU, at the most recent Executive Orders on immigration. In response, General Flynn outlined the rationale for this order while I pointed out its damaging consequences in humanitarian terms, as well as for the international reputation of the United States," said the Mountmellick native. The following is Minister Flanagan's full address to the Irish Network AGM: It is a great pleasure to be here tonight at your AGM, and in particular to have the opportunity to say a few words to you at our Embassy. I am delighted to be back in Washington, D. C., and I want firstly to pay a warm tribute to the work of the Irish Network DC as an energetic chapter of the nationwide Irish Network USA. The success and growth of Irish Network USA has been extraordinary. The connections it has created throughout all of the major cities of the United States has been deeply encouraging. Your collective efforts helping to grow the economic, cultural, and social ties between the United States and Ireland is a real asset to us and I also know that you act as a place of welcome to new Irish and Irish American people moving to this city. I am especially pleased that in recent years my department has provided funding to Irish Network USA in recognition of the important work that it does in promoting so many of the same objectives that are shared by the Embassy and our Consulates. I would like to congratulate the new Board and wish your new co-chairs, Isobel Murray and Donald Tighe, the best of luck in the year ahead. I need hardly mention that I am arriving here in Washington, D. C., as a new Administration and new Congress takes office. Many of you, I know, work for international organizations like the World Bank, the IMF, or in one of the famous think tanks that call this city home, or in the media, on the Hill or on K Street, and are deeply connected with the political pulse of this city. All of you will be watching with great interest, as we have been back home, as this new President and his Administration take office. There has been much written and said about the different tone and style of this new administration but I want to emphasize here this evening that the unique relationship that exists between Ireland and the United States is as strong as ever. Whether one looks at the economic, political, cultural, or any other manifestation of the relationship, one can see the real depth of the ties that bind our two nations together. I would also broaden this out to include the entire Trans-Atlantic relationship between the European Union and the United States. No country played a more pivotal role in encouraging European integration than the United States from the very beginning of the Coal and Steel community as Europe sought to rebuild itself after the Second World War. The EU US relationship remains, in so many ways, the axis on which the world turns. For over seventy years, this Atlantic relationship has helped lead a global response on shared challenges like dismantling trade barriers, engagement with the developing world, support of democracy and human rights and fighting terrorism. I remain hopeful that this close relationship which has existed since the 1940s will continue, not least because it is in the best interests of both the United States and the European Union. During my brief visit here to Washington, D. C., I will be meeting with senior members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, senior members of the new Administration, members of the business community, and the US media. I hope in the course of these engagements to reiterate the emphasis that Ireland places on our relationship with the United States, reminding our contacts of the two way nature of the relationship. As a good example, we are home to over 550 US companies, employing well over 100,000 people directly in Ireland; conversely tens of thousands of Americans are employed in the US in Irish owned companies. We are not blind to the downside to globalisation, but as a small, open, export driven economy, we have seen first-hand the enormous benefits that the removal of trade barriers and reciprocal foreign direct investment can bring. I will also be availing of my contacts with the new Administration and Congress to raise our own interests and concerns in regard to immigration reform. The political context in Washington may have changed but the Irish Governments objectives remain constant achieve some relief for the undocumented and find some legislative pathway for legal immigration. We can only advance those objectives if we engage and build relationships with the key decision makers in the Administration and that is what I will be doing over the next two days. In fact, I have just come from a substantial meeting in the White House with the US National Security Adviser, General Michael Flynn, and his deputy, K. T. McFarland. In our discussion I sensitised General Flynn on our continuing concerns in regard to the undocumented Irish community and our hope that this can be addressed by the new Administration and Congress. In the long history of friendship between our two countries, we have always had the capacity, when needed, to speak frankly to each other. At our earlier meeting, I directly conveyed to General Flynn the concern expressed in Ireland, and indeed, across the EU, at the most recent Executive Orders on immigration. In response, General Flynn outlined the rationale for this order while I pointed out its damaging consequences in humanitarian terms, as well as for the international reputation of the United States. As you are aware, we are currently in an election process in Northern Ireland with the unfortunate possibility of a period of political uncertainty in its aftermath. I believe it is imperative that the power-sharing institutions in Belfast be re-established as quickly as possible after the elections on 2 March. In my meetings in Washington, I will be seeking the active encouragement of the US, in its traditional role as a key supporter of the peace process, to help make sure this happens. Last year we marked the centenary of the Easter Rising and, most appropriately, this anniversary was marked throughout this country with over 300 separate events, many on a considerable scale. I want to thank all of those who took part in the commemorations and particularly the Irish Network DC 2016 speaker series, which served to remind us of the historic role our diaspora here played in securing Irish freedom. Your organisation and your presence here tonight underline the vital role Irish America continues to play in sustaining positive links between our two countries. Thank you all for your great work and I look forward to meeting with as many of you as possible here at the reception. THE creation of a new water pipeline through Kildare to serve the Dublin and eastern region, is moving closer with negotiations with landowners over wayleaves due to start in April. Irish Water representative, Gerry Geoghegan, Irish Water Project Manager, Water Supply Project, has told Kildare County Council that they anticipated that construction on the preferred scheme for the Water Supply Project for the Eastern and Midlands Region, would start in 2021 and run until 2024. He said on January 30 negotiations on wayleave with landowners to bring the pipe through Kildare, mostly north Kildare, would be undertaken between April and October this year. It intends to submit a planning application at the end of this year or early 2018. It will take two years for this process to be completed, including oral hearings. Kildare County Council Chief Executive, Peter Carey, said this would be critical infrastructure for Kildare and essential if we are to attract further investment. KCC Director of Services, Joe Boland, said the pipeline would be of significant strategic importance to county Kildare. Ireland currently has 850 water treatment plants but it should be half this number based on the number in other countries and they planned to reduce it to 400 units for efficiency, said Mr Geoghegan. Regarding wayleaves through private property, 85% have been obtained by consent in the past and of the 15% done the compulsory purchase process, hardly any were challenged, he said. Irish Water the routing of the pipeline through Kildare was more challenging than in other counties. The company has held consultation meetings at Edenderry GAA club, where three people attended, and at the Glenroyal Hotel in Maynooth, where forty attended. Cllr Seamie Moore asked why they have to take so much water from the Shannon estuary when unaccounted for water in the system is between 21-30% and up to 49% in Limerick. Cllr. Brendan Weld said some farmers had contacted him with grave concerns. He asked about the compensation. Mr Geoghegan did not mention figures but said the payment would be related to wayleave legal rights, crop loss and other disturbances to the owner. There would also be a balancing payment to anyone out of pocket for a particular exceptional reason. He said it would be different to the traditional local authority approach to land acquisition. Mr Geoghegan said the Bord Pleanala conditions would provide a community gain element. He said it took 35 year for the UK to reduce its unaccounted for water loss from 40% to 20% and they planned to spend money on reduction here. Michael Garrick, Jacobs Tobin Project Manager, Water Supply Project, also attended. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. La Fheile Bhride - Saint Brigid's Feast Day is celebrated today, Wednesday February 1. The day which has long celebrated the arrival of Spring in Ireland is still alive in Leitrim, with many people recognising the day in various ways. Brigid is one of Irelands patron saints and was known also as a fertility goddess in Celtic mythology. She is also associated with perpetual, sacred flames, and there is also a shrine dedicated to her in Kildare. One of the most common traditions of the day is to make a Saint Brigid's Cross. These crosses are relatively simple to make, and traditionally are usually made from fresh rushes, but can also use straw. They are made in a cross shape with a square shape in the middle and then four arms coming along each side. Some believe that the crosses have the power to protect the owners home from harm. There are two St Brigid's Wells in Leitrim, one is in Inismagrath parish,the other in Oughteragh parish. The wells originate from pagan times and people walk around the wells in a particular order, saying prayers before collecting holy water from the well. The day is also marked with cooking and baking of new foods and meals to celebrate the end of the long dark winter. All water supplies within Leitrim have been removed from the Remedial Action List. This leave no boil water notices around the county. Irish Water has welcomed the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) Remedial Action List (RAL) update published this week which shows that strategic investment by the utility in Co Leitrim has ensured that there are no boil water notices in place in the county and the remaining two schemes have been removed from the RAL. Kiltyclogher Public Water Supply was on the RAL for inadequate treatment for cryptosporidium. A boil water notice was issued on the supply in August 2015 and following extensive works the notice was lifted in December 2016. The works included the construction of a new interconnecting rising mains and new pumping station to extend the North Leitrim Regional Water Supply Scheme to supply the Kiltyclogher Public Water Supply. These works have now been completed and fully treated and compliant water is being supplied to the consumers on the Kiltyclogher scheme. The works also included the construction of a new 4.5km distribution main from Coolodonnell reservoir to supply the village of Rossinver. The South Leitrim Regional Water Supply has also been removed from the RAL. Irish Water improved operations at the plant to ensure its removal for the benefit of the 16,500 people supplied by the scheme. Speaking about the RAL and the ongoing work in Leitrim, Irish Waters Regional Compliance Specialist Pat OSullivan said, The publication of the latest RAL update is a confirmation of the focus and dedication of Irish Water and Leitrim County Council in ensuring the delivery of clean and wholesome water in the county. As a single utility Irish Water is able to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of Irelands drinking water production plants and where serious compliance challenges are found they can be tackled more effectively and efficiently. The decommissioning of smaller water treatment plants and rationalisation of water supply zones across county boundaries as has happened in Leitrim could only be achieved by a single utility. Nationally Irish Water has adopted a prioritised programme of works which will require an investment of 2 billion by 2021. Significant improvements are being achieved year on year by this approach, including in Co Leitrim where there are no boil water notices in place. The RAL is updated quarterly by the EPA for those water supplies where investment in treatment processes is required. Irish Water has a prioritised programme of investment for all schemes on the RAL and the current updated RAL which showed a reduction from 108 to 98 schemes is a reflection of this progress. I am so proud of Nick Clegg who made one of the speeches of his life, and one of the best I have ever heard in Parliament, in the Article 50 Bill yesterday. You would hope that such a momentous decision would bring out the best in our MPs. It certainly did for Nick whose oratory was mature, passionate, honest and searingly critical of a Government acting in its partys, not the national interest, Watch it here. The full text, including the interventions, is below: As this is the formal beginning of a process that will most likely lead to the end of Britains leading role in the heart of Europe and the European Uniona cause I have espoused and defended all my political life both in opposition and in governmentI have to confess that of course I feel sad that we have come to this point, much as I was surprised and saddened, as many people were, by the outcome of the referendum last summer. That sadness is increasingly mixed with a growing sense of anger at what I consider to be the Governments deliberate distortion of the mandate they received from the British people in a way that I think is divisive, damaging and self-serving. Let us be clear: the British people gave the Government a mandate to pull the United Kingdom out of the European Union. The British people did not give this Government a mandate to threaten to turn our country into some tawdry, low-regulation, low-tax, cowboy economy. The British people did not vote to make themselves poorer by pulling out of the greatest free-trading single market the world has ever seenincidentally, that is one of the many reasons why the Liberal Democrats believe that the British people should be given a say at the end of the process, much as they were given a say at the beginning. And the British people most certainly did not give a mandate to the Government to indulge in the ludicrous, sycophantic farce that we have seen in recent days in which this Government, having burned every bridge left with our friends in Europe, rushed across the Atlantic to sidle next to a US President without seeming to be aware that his nativism, isolationism and protectionism is diametrically opposed to the long-term strategic interests of the United Kingdom. Mrs Sheryll Murray Can the right hon. Gentleman explain why my constituents, the majority of whom voted to leave, reject his partys call to hold a second referendum? I really believe it is an insult to the integrity of my constituents to promote that. Mr Clegg The insult was that the Brexit campaigners deliberately withheld from the British people what they meant by Brexit. It was a deliberate, effective but highly cynical tactic. We never received a manifesto with the views of Nigel Farage, the Foreign Secretary or the former Education Secretary, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), explaining what Brexit means. Therefore, when we finally know what Brexit really means in substance, rather than in utopian promise, of course the British people should have their say. No, I wish to make some progress. That is why I believe that this House has not a choice but a duty to withhold from the Government the right to proceed with Brexit in the way they have planned. That would not stop Brexit but would simply urge the Government to go back to the drawing board and to come back to this House with a more sensible and moderate approach to Brexit. Mr Duncan Smith Will the right hon. Gentleman give way? Mr Clegg I really wish to make some progress. I have only four minutes. Some people say that there is no alternative, that we must leave the single market and that there is no remote chance that we could find an accommodation with our European partners. Nonsense. For instance, I confirm to the House that I have recently heard on very good authority that senior German decision makers, shortly after the Prime Minister, no doubt to her surprise, found herself as Prime Minister without a shotor indeed a votebeing fired, were keen to explore ways to deliver her an emergency brake. In return, they hoped for an undisruptive economic Brexit. But what did this Government choose to do? They decided to spurn all friendship links with Europe. They decided to disregard the needs of Scotland, Northern Ireland and, indeed, our great capital London. They decided to placate parts of the Conservative party rather than serve the long-term strategic interests of this country. They decided to pander to the eye-popping vitriol and bile that we see every day from people like Mr Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail, and other members of the moneyed elite who run the Brexit right-wing press in this countryand this Government have become too slavishly preoccupied with their opinions. But, above all, this Government have decided to disregard the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of 16.1 million of our fellow citizens, which is more than have ever voted for a winning party in a general election 242 Westminster constituencies voted to remain. Mr Duncan Smith Will the right hon. Gentleman give way? Mr Clegg No, I have only two minutes. Mr Duncan Smith You will get an extra minute. Mr Clegg All right. Mr Duncan Smith I have a very simple question to ask and the right hon. Gentleman will get the rest of his minute. Does he recall that, during the referendum campaign, the then Prime Minister and many others on the remain side said that if the British people voted to leave the European Union, it would absolutely mean that we leave the single market? Did he agree with that at the time? Mr Clegg It is a novel concept that the winning side in a competition invokes the arguments of the losing side to make a case that it did not make itself. That is ludicrous. The Brexit campaign deliberately did not spell out to the British people what Brexit means, which is why it is right that, when we finally do know what Brexit means, the British people have another say. My final point is that the British Government have taken the mandate of 23 June 2016 and not only disregarded the 16.1 million people and the 242 constituencies that voted to remain but have very deliberately decided to ignore the pleas, the dreams, the aspirations and the plans of the people who should actually count most. It is our children and our grandchildren, the youth of Britain, who will have to live with the fateful consequences more than anybody in this House or anybody on the Government Front Bench andguess what?conventional wisdom says that the youth of today are politically indifferent and do not participate. Sixty-four per cent. of 18 to 24-year-old voters voted. They mobilised in huge, unprecedented numbers, and 73% of them voted for a different future. I know that the vote of a 19-year-old does not weigh any differently in the ballot box from the vote of a 90-year-old but, when we search our consciences, as we have just been asked to do, we should search our consciences most especially about what country we think we are handing on to the next generation. Call me old-fashioned, but when a country decides to go on a radical, uncompromising departure to a new and as yet entirely unpredictable future, and does so against the explicit, stated wishes of those who have to inhabit that future, it is a country embarking on a perilous path, and I hope that our consciences will not pay for it. I have a great sense of foreboding. Notwithstanding my personal admiration for the Secretary of State for Brexit, who will try to conduct his negotiations in good humour, the negotiations are going to get nasty and acrimonious. Just think what will happen in the British tabloid press when the Government first start arguing about money in the next few months. The Governments position is asking for the impossible and the undeliverable. Most especially, it is not possible to say that we will not abide by the rulings of a marketplace and then somehow claim that we will get unfettered access to that marketplace. That is not going to happen. European leaders, many of whom I have spoken to, look at us with increasing dismay and disbelief at the incoherence and the confrontational manner in which this Government are proceeding with Brexit. My final plea is that Members look to the long-term interests of our country and their constituents when voting, not to the short-term interests of this Government. Tim Farron spoke in the Commons debate on Article 50 this afternoon. Here is his speech in full: She is not in her place now, but I want to pay tribute to the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson) for her excellent maiden speech. Liberal Democrats have always been proud internationalists. It was the Liberals who backed Winston Churchills European vision in the 1950s, even when his own party did not do so. Since our foundation, we have been champions of Britains role in the European Union and fought for co-operation and openness with our neighbours and with our allies. We have always believed that the challenges that Britain faces in the 21st centuryclimate change, terrorism and economic instabilityare best tackled working together as a member of the European Union. Being proud Europeans is part of our identity as a party, and it is part of my personal identity too. Personally, I was utterly gutted by the result. Some on the centre left are squeamish about patriotism; I am not. I am very proud of my identity as a northerner, as an Englishman, as a Brit, and as a Europeanall those things are consistent. My identity did not change on 24 June, and neither did my values, my beliefs, or what I believe is right for this country and for future generations. I respect the outcome of the referendum. The vote was clearclose, but clearand I accept it. But voting for departure is not the same as voting for a destination. Yes, a narrow majority voted to leave the EU, but the leave campaign had no plans, no instructions, no prospectus and no vision. No one in this Government, no one in this House and no one in this country has any idea of what the deal the Prime Minister will negotiate with Europe will beit is completely unknown. How, then, can anyone pretend that this undiscussed, unwritten, un-negotiated deal in any way has the backing of the British people? The deal must be put to the British people for them to have their say. That is the only way to hold the Government to account for the monumental decisions they will have to take over the next two years. The deal must be put to the British people for them to have their say. That is the only way to hold the Government to account for the monumental decision they will have to take over the next two years to ensure that the course they choose serves the interests of all the people, however they voted. I will not take any more interventions because other people need to get in. Here is the likelihood: 48% of the people will not like the outcome of the deal, and half of the 52% will feel that they were betrayed by the outcome of the deal. The only way to achieve democracy and closure is for there to be a vote at the end. The fact is that the Prime Minister is the one making the strongest case for giving people a vote on the deal. She had the choice to pursue a form of Brexit that united our country, reflected the closeness of the vote, and sought to heal the divisions between leave and remain. Instead she chose to pursue the hardest, most divisive form of Brexit, which tears us out of the single market and leaves us isolated against the might of world superpowers. Never mind that six months ago she herself argued the case for remaining in the EU. Never mind that numerous leave campaigners championed the Norway and Swiss models and spent the referendum campaign assuring voters that we would not leave the single market. Never mind that 48% of people16 million British peoplewanted to stay in the EU. Never mind that Britains young people, who have more of a stake in our country than most of us here, voted three to one to remain. The Prime Minister has made her choicefine; she has chosen hard Brexitbut if she is so confident that what she is planning is what people voted for, she must give them a vote on the final deal. What started with democracy must not end with a Government stitch-up. When all is said and done, the decision on whether the deal the Prime Minister negotiates is good enough will be decided by someone; someone will make that decision. Should it be the Prime Minister, should it be those privileged to be here, or should it be the British people who have to live with that decision? I say that it should be put to the people in a referendum. That is why the Liberal Democrats are fighting for the British people to have the final vote on the deal that this Government negotiates. Democracy means accepting the will of the people, at the beginning of the process and the end of the process. Democracy means respecting the majority, and democracy means not giving up your beliefs when the going gets tough. February is LGBT History Month, a chance to celebrate those campaigners who have made such a difference for LGBT rights and a chance to remember all those who suffered as a result of repressive attitudes and laws. When I was growing up, I was heartbroken to hear accounts of long-term partners being frozen out of hospital visiting or funeral arrangements by family members who didnt recognise their relationship. You could live with someone for decades and have no rights when they were ill or when they died. It looks as though the US may be about to enter a period when these hard-won rights are cast aside and well have new examples of the effects of harsh and cruel intolerance. There are numerous examples of repressive regimes where LGBT people face death or imprisonment. In this country, hate crime is on the increase. The road to equality across the world is still being built and its important that we all do our bit to help. I am constantly awestruck at the courage of some of my friends, who took risks when same sex sexual activity was still illegal (officially until 1980 in Scotland) to support others and to lay the foundations for the much more welcoming environment we have today. Scotland is one of the best places in the world to be LGBT these days and its due to people like my friend Gregan Crawford, who is now Edinburgh Lib Dems Master of All Things Connect (seriously, he makes the best delivery runs EVER). Anyway, here is his account of an International Gay Rights Congress which took place in Edinburgh in 1974 which ended up with 2000 people marching on the BBC: It was an extremely powerful influence on gay people in Edinburgh, just having the event here. It didnt get very much publicity at the time; the major media ignored it to begin with, and we had 2,000 people from all over the world here! So we decided we were going to do something that they couldnt ignore. This was all taking place at the Edinburgh University Teviot Place Union. There was a big banner that had been draped along the front of the speakers area and this was taken down and we marched down the Bridges, first of all to the Scotsman offices. And then we marched on to the BBC in Queen Street. We forced the BBC Scotland guy, John Gray, to come out and talk to us. So this was actually, in a way, a Pride march 21 years before the first Pride march. In its way it was the first gay march. I was the official photographer for Gay News for this event and I was running down the far side of the Bridges to make sure I got a good vantage point. I remember a policewoman talking into her radio saying Do you know anything about a march? It took people completely by surprise and it caused quite a bit of consternation. I do know of people from Edinburgh who were on the march who were seen by friends from buses and things and they effectively came out this way. It was quite fun. You just got caught up in the whole euphoria of the event. Tim Farron welcomed the start of LGBT History Month: LGBT History Month is a celebration of the LGBT community and a recognition of the countless contributions of campaigners who have been drivers of change in fighting prejudice and hate in all its forms. This year also marks an important milestone in gay British History, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalization of male homosexuality. The LGBT movement has made great progress in the last few decades but we should never become complacent in tackling discrimination and intolerance. I am proud to lead a party that is accepting of anyone, regardless of their race, faith, gender, background or sexual orientation. The Liberal Democrats will always stand with the community in building and safeguarding a society that is open, tolerant and united. Thank you to everyone involved in organising this years celebrations and I wish you all an enjoyable month ahead. If you have an LGBT hero like Gregan you want to celebrate this month, please tell us about them in the usual way. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings THE NUMBER of homeless people in emergency accommodation in Limerick has reached an historic high, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan has stated, following a report published by the Department of Housing. The monthly report shows that there are 257 adults in emergency accommodation in Limerick, and there is an estimated 77 children availing of these services in the city. This is unfortunately a historic high. The Government needs to speed up the delivery of social housing to meet the growing number of people in emergency accommodation, Deputy Quinlivan said on Sunday. In the December report, the Department of Housing recorded 219 homeless adults in Limerick. Deputy Quinlivan, condemning the 40-person jump in the figures, called on the Government to tackle the growing problem by purchasing property offered for sale by AIB and PTSB. To date funding has only been approved for 200 of these units and contracts signed on only 30. Across the State, for the first time since these monthly figures were collated, we now have more than 7,000 people in Department of Housing funded emergency accommodation. These figures are not exhaustive as they dont include adults and children in Tusla funded domestic violence emergency accommodation, non-Irish nationals in emergency accommodation funded by the New Communities Unit of the Department of Social Protection or the 400 families trapped in Direct Provision despite having their Stamp 4 visas. The Minister needs to act and buy these 1,000 units or explain to the Dail the reasons why he has chosen not to take families out of emergency accommodation and put them into houses that are lying empty. A 15-bed winter initiative hostel opened before Christmas, on Lord Edward Street, and will run until March. This is a joint venture by Limerick City and County Councils homeless action team and Novas Initiatives homeless services. The service will be reviewed again in March. MR GAY Limerick is hoping to bring home the Irish title to the city for the first time in the history of the Mr Gay Ireland competition this March. Dr Christian Moretti, 32, an Italian native, author, and a secondary school teacher at Colaiste Ciarain in Croom, is seeking to raise funding in advance of the event for St Jamess hospital in Dublin, to help in their fight against HIV, which is the chosen charity of the event. Im excited and nervous about the competition, but it should be fun, he told the Limerick Chronicle, of the upcoming event on Saturday, March 4, in Chambers Bar, Cork. There have been winners from Dublin and Cork and Galway, but not Limerick to date, so Im hoping to bring home the crown for the first time. It would be an absolute honour, having moved to Ireland seven years ago. I really hope I can do it, and it would be a huge responsibility to be an ambassador, an educator, and create awareness about issues that are important to the gay community. I just hope to make Limerick proud, he said. He said his reign to date as Mr Gay Limerick has afforded him the opportunity to promote equality and kindness, participate in Limerick Pride, and support Pieta House, to raise awareness of mental health issues and suicide. The organisers of the national event confirmed that while Limerick has always had an entrant, there has never been a Limerick winner, though competitors representing the Treaty City have been placed twice. The deadline for applications from other counties is February 12. Twelve years ago Ireland was a different place - we began this not just for HIV, but to find positive rural role models to be visible and to address the unacceptable levels of young male suicide, said the organisers. They stressed that the purpose of the event is to raise funds for St Jamess hospital. In its 12 years to date, over 153,000 has been raised for HIV causes. The winner will receive a prize of an overnight stay in the five-star Gibson Hotel in Dublin and free tickets to see a gig from Aiken Promotions. A bus will travel from Limerick for the event who anyone who wishes to attend and support Dr Moretti. The competition will also be partly judged on an online voting segment from the public in choosing who should take the title. To make a donation to his cause, log on to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Mrgaylimerick2016?utm_id=26 FORMER Mayor of Limerick and long-serving councillor Gus O'Driscoll has died. The well known publican, who ran the Corbally Bar, was Mayor in 1971 and 1989 and a life-long member of the Fine Gael party. Denis 'Gus' O'Driscoll, of Corbally, died peacefully at University Hospital Limerick this Tuesday, surrounded by his loving family. The popular former councillor was elected Limerick's first citizen in 1971, and also served as president of the Munster Branch and a trustee of Shannon RFC. The club said in a post on Facebook: "All in Shannon R.F.C. would like to extend their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Gus ODriscoll on his passing. "Not only was Gus a truly great clubman, he was a Trustee of our club and had a lifelong dedication to Shannon. "He was a former Mayor of Limerick and a proud owner of ODriscolls Bar in Corbally, where plenty of club occasions have been celebrated and many cups filled. He was a stalwart of our club and his presence will be deeply missed by all." Outside of political and sporting circles, Gus was a well-known publican in Limerick city and, together with his family, operated the Corbally Bar, on Corbally Road. He was also a big horse racing fan. During his early years in politics, the former Fine Gael politician was outspoken on Limerick's prospect of establishing a university college. When he was elected Mayor on Monday, July 5, 1971 at the old Town Hall on Rutland Street, he called for a "full-blown" university in Limerick with a powers to "grant degrees in a broad range of faculties", the Limerick Chronicle reported. Gus was one of a small number of former Mayors to attend the final sitting of Limerick City Council in May 2014. The current Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Kieran O'Hanlon said it was with "great sadness" that he had heard of Gus' passing. "I served with Gus on Limerick City Council from 1991 to 1999. I remember him as a dedicated councillor, committed to Limerick," he said. "He came from a business background, adding a good balance to the council. He led the campaign to retain Barringtons Hospital and was instrumental in establishing the Civic Week Festival, which was held for the first time in March 1972. "Gus was very well liked and popular. He was devoted to his family and loved Shannon Rugby. My sympathies and the sympathies of the people of Limerick go to Guss wife Marie, sons Denis and Dermot, daughter Mary, sister Phil and his beloved grandchildren Lauren, Tommy, Cian, Denis, Paddy, Conor, Shane, Emily and Sarah." The Mayor added that the flag would fly at half mast at council offices and a special council meeting will take place this Friday. Labour TD Jan O'Sullivan paid tribute to him "for his dedicated service to Limerick as Mayor and as a member of the City Council for many years. "I represented what was then Ward 2 along with Gus for more than a decade and saw his commitment at close hand, and the leadership he showed on issues that affected the city, the ward and particularly the Corbally area," said the former education minister. "He was an impressive speaker on the Council and wherever he represented the people of Limerick. No issue of concern to his constituents was too big or too small for him to take up and pursue. "Gus passion for sport and particularly Shannon RFC is also well recognised. My sympathy goes to Marie, Mary, Dennis, Dermot and his extended family." On Twitter, Fine Gael councillor Daniel Butler said Gus was "great publican and public servant. A huge loss to us all in @FineGael. Our city was built on people like Gus." A great publican and public servant. A huge loss to us all in @FineGael Our city was built on people like Gus. RIP. #Limerick https://t.co/selgYVvzwU Cllr Daniel Butler (@DanielButlerFG) February 1, 2017 Deeply missed by his loving wife Marie, sons Denis and Dermot, daughter Mary, sister Phil, son-in-law Philip, daughters-in-law Caroline and Louise, adored grandchildren Lauren, Tommy, Cian, Denis, Paddy, Conor, Shane, Emily and Sarah, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and his many friends. Reposing at Thompson's Funeral Home, this Thursday evening from 5pm with removal at 7.30pm to St Mary's Church, Athlunkard Street. Funeral Mass Friday at 11am, with burial afterwards in the Mount St Lawrence Cemetery Limerick. GARDAI have confirmed a pizza delivery man whose car was seized earlier this week faces prosecution for several road traffic offences. According to a post on social media, the vehicle was stopped by gardai attached to Mayorstone station in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Vehicle observed driving in Limerick city at high speed in a 50KPH zone, read the post on an official garda Facebook page. It is alleged the car was observed undertaking other vehicles at speed and that it then failed to stop when gardai activated the blue lights on their marked patrol car. Gardai located the car parked in a housing estate a short distance away. The driver was delivering pizza, he had no tax since June 2016, no insurance and admitted dangerous driving. The driver also admitted trying to evade gardai by hiding in the estate, added the post. It is understood the driver, who was arrested on the night, is due in court later this month to face criminal charges. The car was seized and gardai have apologised to person who's pizza went cold UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick has endured high levels of overcrowding for the third day in a row this week, an Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation report shows. According to the daily report by INMO, there were 48 patients being treated on trolleys in the emergency department, and on additional trolleys and beds in the wards at the Dooradoyle facility this Wednesday morning. It has the highest level of overcrowding in the country, the report shows. Nationally, there are 601 patients being treated on trolleys, which is one of the highest rates of national overcrowding ever recorded by the trade union. This high level of overcrowding comes after the announcement that 36 beds were to be opened between St Johns Hospital, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals. Senator Kieran ODonnell said that these extra beds will help alleviate the A&E crisis" present at UHL. A state-of-the-art emergency department is expected to open this May, subject to a successful recruitment campaign and HSE funding. It will be three times the size of the current facility, and is expected to improve the patient and staff experience at the hospital, a spoeksperson for the UL Hospitals Group said. A witness has told the trial of a man, charged with murdering his flatmate, that he heard an awful noise from their house on the night of the alleged crime. William Neville was giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court this Wednesday morning. Arnis Labunskis, aged 56, with an address at Wolfe Tone Street, Limerick city, denies murdering 39-year-old Dainius Burba at their flat there on April 21 or April 22, 2015. Mr Neville testified that he lived on nearby Bowman Street and went to Bobby Byrnes Bar on Wolfe Tone Street for two drinks on the night of the 21st. The only thing I noticed when I was coming home, there was an awful noise from the house across the road, he recalled. I heard this commotion, a verbal argument. He said it was about 12.30am when he heard the male voices. He explained that the noise continued as he walked home. The jury spent the rest of the morning watching CCTV footage of the area from the early hours of that morning. The jurors were told they could see an individual walking down Wolfe Tone Street shortly before 5am. The person had a white item, similar to a bag. Its lifted up and seems to be deposited into a wheelie bin, said Detective Garda Nick Jones. He also pointed out the movement of an individual and a car earlier that morning, providing their routes on an accompanying map. The jury had heard that, when interviewed, the accused told gardai he had arrived home to find his flatmate with serious injuries and was alarmed that intruders might have caused them. However, Anthony Sammon SC, prosecuting, said he had earlier told his daughter that he had fought with the deceased. The trial continues on Thursday before Ms Justice Deirdre McCarthy and a jury of three women and nine men. Its expected to last until the end of next week. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. International and too close to home, hilarious and horrifying, there is little continuity in Februarys list aside from each film being a must see. Need a laugh? Weve got you. A trip across the border with a burgeoning auteur? Sure. An examination into the dark and prejudiced underbelly of America directed by a comedian? Shockingly enough, yup, that too. Soak them up, or better yet, stockpile them all and spend Valentines day with a good movie (or four). New Theatrical Releases: The Lego Batman Movie Release Date: February 10th Director: Chris McKay Starring: Will Arnett, Jenny Slate, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, the list goes on IMDb Summary: Bruce Wayne must not only deal with the criminals of Gotham City, but also the responsibility of raising a boy he adopted. Why I Am So Excited: The Lego Movie was a huge success, surprisingly winning not only audience praise but critical praise as well. At nearly two hours of clever, self-aware humour its hard to pick out only a few highlights, but man was Lego Batman one of them. From adding Bat to the beginning of all ideas (Batsubmarine, patent pending) to the classic Im Batman, Arnetts vocal performance brought much needed humour to the character and proved to be a scene-stealer. Batmans own Lego movie was inevitable, and I cant to see what other bat-related puns they have in store for the big screen. New Theatrical Releases: Get Out Release Date: February 24th Director: Jordan Peele (of Key & Peele, MADtv, Keanu) Starring: Allison Williams, Daniel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford IMDb Summary: A young African-American man visits his Caucasian girlfriends mysterious family estate. Why I Am So Excited: I have been looking forward to this since the trailer came out in October. The thriller, a Stepford Wives-inspired satire that holds genuine scares, shows Kaluuyas character Chris visiting his white girlfriends parents for the first time. Soon after arriving, an encounter with another young black man ends in Chris being frantically told to Get out. Things take a turn from there. Peele told audiences at Sundance where it received a midnight premiere that It was important to me for this movie not to be about this black guy going to the South, to a red state, where the presumption for a lot of people is that everybodys racist there This was really meant to take a stab at the liberal elite that tends to believe that theyre were above these things. Terrifying, smart and timely, this examination of racism in North America should be on everyones list. New On Blu-Ray: The Eagle Huntress Release Date: February 7th Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93% Director: Otto Bell Starring: Aisholpan Nurgaiv, Rys Nurgaiv, Daisy Ridley IMDb Summary: The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter. Why Its Worth Getting: The spectacularly shot documentary following Aisholpans journey to become the first female eagle hunter is a seamless conversation between the voice of Ridley, the Nurgaiv family and the scenery of Western Mongolia. Inspirational and beautiful, the documentary is a delight and a must see for children and adults alike. Criterion Release of the Month: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Release Date: February 21st Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89% Director: Pedro Almodovar (The Skin I Live In) Starring: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano IMDb Summary: Pepass lover, Ivan, leaves her and she tries to contact him to find out why hes left. In her search for Ivan, she confronts his wife and son, who are as clueless as she is. Meanwhile; Candela, her friend, is afraid the police might be looking for her because of her ex-boyfriend, a muslim terrorist, and his criminal activities. As the plot develops, it is revealed that everyones lives are more intertwined than they could have ever expected. Why Its Worth Getting: The film garnered Oscar, Golden Globes and BAFTA nominations for Almodovar, and though it did not win it set him up in the public eye and international realm. As his career continues to gain momentum, from the similarly nominated Volver (2006) to the BAFTA winning The Skin I Live In (2011), its worth taking a look back at the development of this director (and some may say auteur) and his signature style. North Korea fired four short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) toward the Yellow Sea Saturday, the South Korean military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected th... The South Korean football governing body confirmed on Saturday the men's national team captain Son Heung-min had undergone successful surgery on fractures around his left eye, thou... In a crucial South Korean baseball championship game with his club's title hopes hanging in the balance, Kiwoom Heroes left-hander Lee Seung-ho delivered the best postseason outing... "The Astronaut," the first official single by Jin of the K-pop supergroup BTS, has landed at No. 61 on the British Official Singles Chart Top 100. According to the latest chart ... Groundhog handler Ben Hughes watches Punxsutawney Phil after he did not see his shadow, suggesting an early spring during Groundhog Day festivities on Feb. 2, 2011, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, an early spring is predicted. Of course groundhogs also known as woodchucks don't emerge at this time just to be furry weather predictors. So what's the real reason? Research into groundhog biology shows they have other priorities in early February than mingling with the people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It's Groundhog Day! Groundhog Day appears to have European roots. Early February is midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and throughout history this seasonal crossroads has been celebrated. The ancient Greeks and Romans observed a mid-season festival on February 5th in anticipation of spring. In the Celtic tradition, this period was celebrated as the festival of Imbolog to mark the beginning of spring. Early Christians in Europe embraced this tradition and celebrated Candlemas Day on February 2nd, to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary. Customarily on this day, clergy would bless candles and distribute them to the people in the dark of winter in anticipation of spring. In northern Europe, farmers needed some indication when to start spring planting. They looked for the emergence of hibernators, such as the hedgehog or badger, to signal the coming of spring. Since their emergence occurred in early February, it was believed that if Candlemas Day was sunny, and the hibernator saw its shadow, more wintry weather was ahead. But if it rained or snowed on Candlemas Day, the rest of the winter would be mild. This tradition was brought to America by the Germans who migrated to eastern Pennsylvania. They found groundhogs in profusion in many parts of the state and decided this mammal was a perfect replacement for the hibernators they'd left behind in Europe. Thus, the tradition continued in America. Hibernation helps survival In my study area in southeastern Pennsylvania, the average date groundhogs emerge from their burrows is February 4. This fits the folklore and the timing of Groundhog Day. However, predicting the weather is not their objective. The real reason is related to Darwinian fitness a measure of an organism's ability to contribute its genes to the next generation. The process defines natural selection and is based on an organism's ability to survive and to reproduce successfully. High Darwinian fitness suggests an individual will pass on its genes to many healthy offspring. Hibernation contributes to Darwinian fitness value. It enhances survival by saving energy during times of limited food availability. The ability to hibernate is found in several mammalian groups, including all marmots, many species of ground squirrels, chipmunks, hamsters, badgers, lemurs, bats and even some marsupials and echidnas. Curled up in their burrows, they pass the winter months, when food would be hard to come by. Hibernation: alternating torpor and arousal Hibernation is characterized by a significant drop in body temperature and metabolic function. This process is commonly called torpor. During torpor, body functions including heart rate, breathing rate, and brain activity are reduced. The overall benefit for the animal is saving metabolic energy at a time when it isn't eating. However, for some still unexplained reason, hibernators arouse periodically during their hibernating season. These arousals come at a great energy cost. Therefore, arousing must be critical to survival in some way or animals wouldn't waste the energy on it. Some possibilities include maintaining cellular functions or disposing of bodily wastes. In Pennsylvania, these bouts of torpor and arousal continue throughout the hibernation season, starting on average in mid-November and ending by the beginning of March; a total of about 110 days. In one study, an average of 15 bouts of torpor occurred during this period, with arousals in between. Groundhogs aroused for about 41 hours and then returned to torpor for about 128 hours for males and 153 hours for females. In a 2010 study, we determined that the hibernation periods for groundhogs increase in length with increasing latitude. The hibernation period matches winter's duration. The celebration of Groundhog Day would need to change by latitude in order to perfectly match groundhog emergence. It all boils down to sex One of the drawbacks of hibernation is the reduced time available for reproduction. Thus, hibernators have developed mating strategies to maximize reproductive success. Groundhog mating strategies involve temporary emergence in early February, mating in early March during during their final arousal, and giving birth in early April. This behavior enhances reproductive success because young are born as early as possible (but not too early) and are able to start feeding in May when lots of food is available. That way they have enough time to gain sufficient weight to survive their first winter hibernation. But why do groundhogs emerge in February, when mating won't occur until next month? The answer lies in their social structure. Most of the year, male and female groundhogs are solitary and antagonistic against each other. They aggressively maintain a feeding territory around their burrows and rarely have any contact with each other. February is used to reestablish the bonds necessary for mating and ensures that mating can then proceed without delay in early March. So for the animals themselves, Groundhog Day is more like Valentine's Day. On February 2nd, groundhogs don't emerge to predict the weather, but to predict whether their own mating season will be a success! Stam Zervanos, Emeritus Professor of Biology, Pennsylvania State University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents recently rescued immigrants who entered the country illegally and made several narcotics seizures this past week, the agency announced Monday. On January 24, Laredo North station agents encountered a white tractor towing a white trailer at the I-35 checkpoint. During an immigration inspection of the driver and passenger, a service canine alerted to possible persons and/or narcotics concealed within the tractor. Agents discovered 20 bundles of cocaine inside a duffel bag in the sleeper area of the tractor. The cocaine weighed 51.4 pounds, with an estimated value of $1,644,800. The cocaine, tractor, driver, and passenger were turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration. Also on January 24, Hebbronville station agents working at the checkpoint located on FM 1017 near Hebbronville, Texas encountered a black Toyota Corolla. A service canine alerted to the possible presence of concealed humans and/or narcotics. The vehicle was referred to secondary, where agents discovered 13 bundles of marijuana. The marijuana weighed 167.44 pounds with an estimated value of $133,952. The case was turned over to Jim Hogg County Sheriff's Office. On January 26, Freer Station agents working at the checkpoint on U.S. Highway 59 near Freer, Texas, encountered a tractor-trailer at the primary inspection lane. During an immigration inspection of the driver, a service canine alerted to the presence of concealed humans and/or narcotics. Agents discovered 22 bundles of cocaine concealed inside the front drive axle. The cocaine weighed 53.9 pounds with an estimated value of $1,737,600. The subject, narcotics and vehicle were turned over Drug Enforcement Administration. On January 27, Laredo Border Patrol Marine units received a 911 call from radio dispatch advising of two undocumented immigrants stranded in the Rio Grande on an island near Rio Bravo. Laredo Sector Marine Units responded to the area and safely rescued both subjects from the island. The two Honduran nationals claimed to have been stranded on the island for two days. On January 27, Freer Station agents working at the U.S. Highway 59 traffic checkpoint rescued eleven undocumented immigrants concealed inside a false door compartment of a flatbed trailer. During inspection of the driver, a service canine alerted to the presence of concealed humans and/or narcotics in the flatbed trailer area and referred the driver to secondary. At secondary inspection agents discovered a false compartment in the floorboard of the flatbed trailer. After further inspection, a total of 11undocumented immigrants were rescued from the confined space. None of the subjects required medical treatment. Laredo South station agents observed two subjects make an illegal entry into the United States carrying two large bundles. At encounter, the subjects dropped their bundles and fled back to Mexico. Agents seized both bundles, which contained marijuana totaling 151 lbs. with an estimated value of $120,800. The marijuana was turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration. Protecting our nation from all threats, and helping those in need is at the very core of our mission. Laredo Sector agents are always vigilant in their efforts to secure the homeland and keep our community safe, said Jason Owens, Acting Chief Patrol Agent. To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol using the toll free telephone number at 1-800-343-1994. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Laredo police arrested a man who they say was selling drugs via social media. On Jan. 26, Luis Vargas, 24, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Additionally, authorities said they seized 19 plastic baggies of marijuana weighing 2.2 ounces. This case was a result of an anonymous tip about marijuana sales posted on social media. We appreciate the publics anonymous information about crime in our community, said Investigator Joe E. Baeza, LPD spokesman. Prior to the arrest, LPDs narcotics unit assisted by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force raided a home in the 2200 block of Santa Cleotilde Avenue. There, they detained Vargas and two other people. Vargas confessed to selling marijuana out of the apartment and took full responsibility for the marijuana that was found, states the police report. The other two denied having any knowledge of the marijuana that was found in the apartment and, as a result, they were released. If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. Check out our latest E-Edition Accessible anytime and anywhere on your desktop, tablet and smart phone devices. The Lodi News e-Edition is enhanced with the latest digital tools, including RSS feeds, social networking and much more. Check out our latest E-edition! Here we are at another February 1, St Brigid's Day, the festival of Imbolc, the beginning of Spring. It sprung into my mind that while St Brigid is famously connected to Kildare, that we should explore her links with Longford as she continues to be acknowledged locally by all the churches, schools and clubs that are named after the Patroness of Ireland and by the traditions that are alive in the area. Who is Brigid? The St Brigid everyone knows about is the St Brigid we learned about at school, a slave by birth, born circa 453, in Faughart. Her mother was a Christian woman, Brocessa, slave to a chieftain Dubthach. She was kind and generous and has many miracles to her name, the most famous being that of the original St Brigid's Cross and the one about her cloak covering enough area to claim as a convent in Kildare. Long before Christianity there was another Brigit. In Irish Mythology, Brigit was the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha De Danann, wife of Bres of the Fomorians. She is often seen as a threefold goddess over healing, poetry and smithcraft. (Lebor Gabala Erenn). Many of the stories of the mythological Brigit and the Christian St Brigid have similarities, the Brigit's doll became the St Brigid's Cross, the Brigit's mantle became St Brigid's Cloak and many of the miracles performed by St Brigid mirror the powers of the ancient goddess. What are St Brigid's connections to Longford? The first connection of Brigit to Longford, and not a widely known connection, is Brigit was daughter of the Dagda and so therefore must have been half sister to Midir, son of the Dagda, Midir of the local legend of The wooing of Etain, Midir of Bri Leith, Ardagh and The Bog Road in Corlea, Kenagh. There must be many stories to be uncovered about this half sister and half brother and hopefully by this time next year we will know more. It is interesting, given our history of poets and writers in Longford, that Brigit is the goddess of the poet. St Brigid has strong connections to the county too. By many accounts she came to Ardagh and received the veil at the hands of St Mel. In some writings she is said to have been professed as a nun, in others she was professed as a nun and also received abbatial powers and in others, my favourite, she was 'accidentally' ordained a Bishop by St Mel. While it is widely accepted that St Brigid established her first convent in Kildare there are a number of writings that say otherwise and that her first convent was in Ardagh, Clonbroney or Ballinalee. The Duchas school collection have many stories about St Brigid in Longford. One story in the Duchas collection talks of her first convent being on the north side of Sliabh Galry, another name for Ardagh Hill and another says that St Brigid carried coals two miles and her Holy Well in Ardagh sprung up where she dropped them. Another states carrying the hot coals was a penance given to a local woman for disrespecting St Brigid. However tentative or true the connections to Longford are, we do know that there is a St Brigid's Well in Ardagh that is visited every February 1 by the locals, that there are many schools, churches and clubs called after St Brigid throughout the county and that the tradition of making the St Brigid's Day Cross continues locally. Also see Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events By Long Island News & PR Published: February 01 2017 In response to a devastating fire that affected several families of Bull Calf Landing in Centerport on Jan. 24, a fire donation drive is being held to help support those impacted. Help the Victims of the Fire in Centerport - gift card donations can be dropped off at four different locations thru Sunday, Feb. 26. Centerport, NY - January 31, 2017 - In response to a devastating fire that affected several families of Bull Calf Landing in Centerport on January 24, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson is partnering with Suffolk County Legislator William Doc Spencer, Coldwell Banker of Huntington, the Centerport Fire Department and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Centerport to help support those who have lost so much. The fires devastating impact, which thanks to the brave efforts of our first responders did not result in any loss of life, really takes its toll of those who are directly affected in the hours, days, weeks and months after, stated Councilman Mark Cuthbertson. The residents of Bull Calf Landing truly escaped this disaster with only the clothes on their backs and there is so much help and assistance that is needed, especially since there are several young children involved. Regardless of how well someone is insured, the funds typically do not arrive right away despite the dire and immediate need, added Cuthbertson. This was a devastating fire that wiped out the belongings of five families, but it has not put out the spirit of our caring and generous community. Im thankful to be a part of this team effort, including Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, Coldwell Banker of Huntington, the Centerport Fire Department and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Centerport, to help get the word out to the greater community on how we can all assist in building a bridge for these families, from this time of loss and destruction to a place of renewed stability and security, stated Legislator Spencer. "On the morning of January 24th five families experienced the unimaginable loss of their homes and all their belongings in a fire. While we are all grateful that there was no loss of life, these families now face the task of rebuilding from the ashes. Our parishioners here at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, along with the local community, offer our support in this time of need. The families should know that we are here for them, to listen to them, to pray with them and to walk with them down this difficult road. Father John and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish, Centerport. Members of the Centerport Fire Department possess a deep sense of Community. Please support our neighbors in their time of need, stated Dr. Jack Geffken, Commissioner of the Centerport Fire Department, Also assisting in this humanitarian effort is Joan Reilly who has been a resident of Bull Calf Landing for 30 years and a licensed sales agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Huntington. "My heart goes out to all of my neighbors who have lost not only their homes but their memorabilia, belongings and memories of a beautiful community that has been destroyed by fire. We've become closer and draw strength from each other during this time of rebuilding. Everyone who was there was able to get out and there were no injuries or casualties. Our company, our office, and the local real estate community has been helping and will continue to collect donations, stated Joan Reilly of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Those who would like to assist the victims and children of the fire, are asked to please donate gift cards from Old Navy, Target, Kmart, Value Drugs, CVS, or any local supermarket, kids or adult clothing stores or gift cards to a local restaurant, pizzeria or fast food. American Express gift cards will also be gladly accepted. Gift Card donations can be dropped off at any of the four locations below thru Sunday, February 26: Huntington Town Hall, main lobby, 100 Main Street, Huntington , NY 11743 Legislator William Spencers Office,15 Park Circle, Suite 209, Centerport, NY 11721 Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish, 50 Prospect Street, Centerport, NY 11721 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, 82 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743 It is also important to add that we are currently planning a fundraiser to take place within the month of February in Greenlawn date, time and location will be announced soon, added Mr. Cuthbertson. For more information on how you can help, please call Councilman Mark Cuthbertson at: 631-351-3171, Legislator William Spencer at: 631-854-4500, Maria Ryan with Our Lady Queen of Martyrs at: 631-754-9045, Joan Reilly with Coldwell Banker at: 631-944-8933 or the Centerport Fire Department [for non-emergencies] at: 631-261-5916. Local News, Business & Finance, Travel & Local Attractions, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 01 2017 Budgetary constraints forced Suffolk County to cut several routes last year, and Nassau County is poised to see massive cuts to service this year. Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory stands with elected officials from both Suffolk and Nassau counties, as well as business and community leaders, transportation advocates and bus riders, in asking the state and federal governments to dedicate funding for LIs bus system to restore and stave off cuts. Farmingdale, NY - Janaury 31, 2017 - Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory yesterday joined Suffolk and Nassau County elected officials, small business owners, community leaders, bus riders and transportation advocates to show unity in support of Long Island bus service and to call for increased funding in order to preserve existing routes. Budgetary constraints forced Suffolk County to cut several routes last year, and Nassau County is poised to see massive cuts to service this year. With the federal government planning on spending trillions and New York State spending billions of dollars on transportation and infrastructure, those gathered today implored federal and state representatives to dedicate a funding stream for Suffolk and Nassau bus systems so that the students, working families, seniors and disabled who rely on those services are not left out in the cold. At a press conference organized by Vision Long Island, held at the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College, officials announced a five-point emergency action plan needed to preserve bus service in each county. The plan calls for: 1) an emergency appropriation to be included in the New York State budget to stave off cuts in Nassau and restore recent cuts to Suffolk service; 2) as state officials debate ridesharing legislation and negotiate a final agreement, ensuring that a $0.50 surcharge for each ride on Long Island is directed to local bus systems and not the MTA as originally planned; 3) passing legislation to redirect a portion of the MTA payroll tax to Long Island transportation priorities including NICE bus service in Nassau and Suffolk Transit in Suffolk; 4) as federal infrastructure dollars are debated, seeking to have funding for operating and capital budgets for Long Island bus service; and 5) having both counties review their routes, looking for efficiencies and local offsets if needed to match state or federal assistance for bus service. Communities depend on bus service; it is a necessity in their lives, said Presiding Officer Gregory. Without adequate bus service, young working people, seniors, students and the disabled have no way to make a living or take care of the most basic necessities of a decent life. We cannot let that happen. The state and the federal government have to do their part in providing funding for adequate bus service not only to protect some of our more vulnerable citizens, but also to promote a sustainable future. Multi-modal transportation is critical for building a Long Island that suits the interests and needs of our next generation. Transportation resources in the form of NYS and federal tax dollars and user fees that are derived from Long Island residents should be reinvested back into the community for critical services like NICE bus and Suffolk County Transit, said Eric Alexander, director of Vision Long Island and co-chair of the LI Lobby Coalition. LI bus service transports seniors, disabled, working families and students and is a critical investment for our economic growth, small businesses and local residents. We need an emergency action plan to keep bus service running, and this is a top priority of the 90-organization LI Lobby Coalition. Its time for the state to match its level of commitment and investment to Suffolk County with that of our peers, said Suffolk Legislator Kevin McCaffrey, who represents the 14th District and was also in attendance at the press conference. It is imperative that we secure this investment from the state to allow us to provide basic transportation for our youth, seniors and hardworking residents of Suffolk County to keep our economy growing. We must do our part to find efficiencies and plan for a smart regional approach to public transportation, added Suffolk Legislator Bridget Fleming, who represents the South Fork. Given the current fiscal conditions on Long Island, it is critically important that our efforts are supported by equitable funding from the state and federal government for public transportation. Growing and maintaining bus service that suits our communities is vital to sustaining the economy, and the East End must be appropriately considered during these discussions. Suffolk County buses lack the necessary routes and hours of operation which drastically impacts riders and overall ridership, said Suffolk Legislator Kate Browning, who represents the 3rd District. We don't receive our fair share of state funding, which needs to be addressed through the MTA tax and other transportation monies. We need New York State to provide fair funding to Suffolk riders so that they can have the services they deserve. The bus service in Suffolk County is a lifeline to many of our residents, added Suffolk Legislator William Spencer, who represents the 18th District. For our working families, it is their connection to services and to their livelihood. With NYS budgeting billions for transportation and infrastructure, it is my hope that Suffolk County will get its share to restore and strengthen our vital bus services. I support the advocates gathered today dedicated to making this a top priority for the welfare riders and for our overall economy. Music, Movies & Entertainment By Tom Needham Published: February 01 2017 Tom Needham will be airing an exclusive conversation with BAFTA and Emmy award-winning director, John Pilger, who will be discussing his two latest films, Utopia and The Coming War on China on the Sounds of ... Stony Brook, NY - February 1, 2017 - Tom Needham will be airing an exclusive interview with legendary documentary filmmaker, John Pilger, who will be talking about his films Utopia and The Coming War on China this Thursday at 6 P.M. on the Sounds of Film on WUSB. He is also internationally known for his films about Julian Assange, The War that You Didnt See and his controversial 2007 film, The War on Democracy, which explores U.S. interventions in Latin America. Utopia sheds a light on Aboriginal Australia. The films title is based on Utopia, Northern Territory, one of the poorest areas of Australia. Producer, writer and director, John Pilger, visited Utopia only to discover that Aboriginal families are still living in poor unsanitary conditions without electricity and running water. Utopia raises awareness about the fact that Aboriginal Australians are imprisoned at ten times the rate that South Africans imprisoned black people under apartheid. Pilger also makes the point that Aboriginal Australians land has been exploited for mining purposes, but that none of the tax revenue has been used to end Aboriginal poverty. The film is available on Icarus Films DVD and video-on-demand. Rotary Club of Hicksville South and United Methodist Church of Hempstead Give Their Time and Talents to Serve Families in Need on LI Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 01 2017 Rotary Club of Hicksville South and United Methodist Church will serve food for families in need on the fourth Saturday every month as well as special meals around the holidays. Hempstead / Hicksville, NY - January 31, 2017 - On Saturday, January 28, 2017 while New Yorkers were gathering in protest march against President Donald Trumps Executive orders, a group of concerned Long Islanders were arriving at the Soup Kitchen on 40 Washington Street in Hempstead, NY wearing headgear and Rotary-logo aprons to make some beautiful human connections. Their mission was to serve fresh and hygienic food to families in need. In a newly formed partnership, the Rotary Club of Hicksville South (RCHS) and United Methodist Church will serve food for families in need on the fourth Saturday every month as well as special meals around the holidays. As part of the food for the hungry project, our aim is to enter in partnership with several local soup kitchens across Long island, said Mr. Kamlesh Mehta, Charter President and Past District Governor. Photo by RCHS. Thanking the donors and members, Mr. Dave Sharma, President of the RCHS, said, It was really an amazing eye-opening experience as it creates an opportunity to bond with people. Everyone should try and know what compassion is worth. The Assistant District Governor, Mr. Quddus Mohammed is the project chair with a five-member team of Dr Urmilesh Arya, Roopam Maini, Kalpana Patel, Nilima Madan and Ashok Varshney. Its not just about food, but it is about getting people involved in the issue of hunger, he added. Cooking and serving meals in the soup kitchen is a transformative experience, said Mr. Quddus Mohammed. Our program is the best dialogue and sidesteps traditional interfaith dialogue to get people of faith working together for the common good. The Rotary Club of Hicksville South, a local chapter of Rotary International, provides several local and international humanitarian services, including promoting world peace through dialogue. As part of their local mission this year alone, RCHS has distributed over 600 backpacks filled with school supplies, T-shirts and winter coats for children in foster homes on Long Island. This is the only soup kitchen in the Hempstead area, which is open on Saturday and hence has seen a steady increase in the guests from month-to-month, said Ms. Ruth Robinson who volunteers as the head-chef at the kitchen. The kitchen serves between 60 and 100 guest on a typical day. The board of the UMCH granted a budget of $250 and church volunteers donated anything over the budget. Under the new partnership, the Rotary Club of Hicksville South will not only provide full financial support but its members and volunteers will help in the kitchen prepare, assemble and serve food to the guest. Rotary International: Rotary is a global network of community volunteers. Rotary members are business, professional, and community leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Over 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas initiate service projects to address todays challenges, including illiteracy, disease, hunger, poverty, lack of clean water, and environmental concerns. Rotary Club of Hicksville South: A group, largely Indian American, of like-minded friends started the club in September 2009, drawn by Rotary's diverse, nonpolitical, and nonreligious structure. Our club meets alternate Thursdays at 7:00 PM in Hicksville, Long Island. Mr. Dave Sharma, an Airline Industry Professional, is the current President of the 35-member Hicksville South Rotary Club. Our club participated in a broad range of humanitarian, intercultural, and educational activities designed to improve the human condition. By using their skills and expertise, members also enhance their professional network, career development, and cross-cultural understanding. Local News, National & World News, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 01 2017 U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, will serve as the Democratic Ranking Member on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence (CTI) Subcommittee in the 115th Congress. Washington, DC - January 31, 2017 - U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, will serve as the Democratic Ranking Member on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence (CTI) Subcommittee in the 115th Congress. Rices fellow Long Island delegation-member, Rep. Peter King, serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee, which is responsible for overseeing the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) counterterrorism and information-sharing efforts. Rice has served on the Homeland Security Committee since 2015, when she was first sworn in to represent New Yorks fourth congressional district. Rice previously served as a state and federal prosecutor and as the District Attorney of Nassau County, NY from 2006-2014. Im honored to have the opportunity to lead the Democratic members on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, said Representative Kathleen Rice. This Subcommittee has an important responsibility right now to provide effective oversight of DHS, continue to make our intelligence-sharing efforts more efficient across all levels of government and law enforcement, and ensure that the men and women who keep us safe have the information and resources they need. I look forward to working with Chairman King to fulfill that responsibility in a constructive, bipartisan way. School & Education, Arts & Culture, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events By Long Island News & PR Published: February 01 2017 A two-person exhibition of sculptures by Sarah Bednarek and paintings by Nichole van Beek will be featured at SCCC's Flecker Gallery from February 9 March 7, 2017. Selden, NY - January 31, 2017 - A two-person exhibition of sculptures by Sarah Bednarek and paintings by Nichole van Beek will be featured at Suffolk County Community Colleges Flecker Gallery from February 9 March 7, 2017. The exhibitions opening reception will be on Feb. 16 from 1-3 p.m. (date changed from Feb. 9 due to anticipated weather) Pivotal Axes sets the stage for a dialogue between two artists who are largely concerned with form, geometry, and the abstract, but also who also believe that these concerns carry meaning that has social and political implications. This is a thought provoking exhibition; a collection of exquisitely made objects and images that call into question the role of the hand-made and the individual in a time of extreme consumerism, as well as the role of perception in an age where truth is increasingly elusive. These artists works are imbued with subtle elements and clues, revealing themselves fully only to the sensitive viewer engaging in slow, thoughtful, and contemplative ways of seeing. Nichole van Beek earned her BFA from The Cooper Union in 1998 and her MFA from The University of California, Santa Barbara in 2007. She is represented by Jeff Bailey Gallery in Hudson, NY and has exhibited work at Geoffrey Young Gallery (Great Barrington, MA), Morgan Lehman Gallery (New York, NY), Interstitial (Seattle, WA), and Ortega y Gasset and The Parlour Bushwick in Brooklyn, among other spaces. In 2016 she received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant to attend the Vermont Studio Center. She was also the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant in painting in 2012, and in 2011 she participated in Socrates Sculpture Park Emerging Artist Fellowship. She has taught in the Intensive English Program at Pratt Institute since 2012. She lives and works in Queens, NY. Sarah Bednarek earned her BFA from the University of Minnesota in 2002 and her MFA from the Sculpture and Extended Media program at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2005. Her exhibition record includes solo, curated, and group shows, both nationally and internationally with recent shows at the Thomas Hunter Project Space, Hunter College (New York, NY), ADA Gallery (Richmond, VA), ruSalon (Brooklyn, NY), Yashar Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), The Parlor (Brooklyn, NY), Zurcher Gallery (New York, NY), and Mulherin + Pollard (New York, NY). She has received awards and scholarships in support of her art including recent residencies at Hunter College, and the Sculpture Space Residency (Utica, NY). Bednarek is a cancer survivor and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. The exhibition will feature a full-color catalog with an essay by NewYork-based artist and critic Karen Schiff, as well as an extended dialogue conducted by both artists. Please contact the gallery for directions, to schedule an appointment, or to request a catalog. Flecker Gallery Suffolk County Community College 533 College Road, Selden, NY 11784 www.sunysuffolk.edu 631-451-4093 Monday - Thursday 10 a.m. 4 p.m. and by appointment Tech & Science, School & Education, Local News, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: February 01 2017 SCCC Professor of Chemistry Dr. Candice Foley has been invited to attend the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Gender Equality Congress in Berlin, Germany. Selden, NY - January 31, 2017 - Suffolk County Community College Professor of Chemistry Dr. Candice Foley has been invited to attend the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Gender Equality Congress in Berlin, Germany on June 8 -9. Foley is Suffolks National Science Foundation S-STEM Chair. The STEM Gender Equality congress will be attended by policy makers, equality staff, the private sector, academic staff, government representatives and others for two days of thought-provoking addresses, high-level panel discussions, and in-depth case studies and discussions. Because there remains a persistent gender gap in college degrees in STEM, Suffolks presence at this International Gender Equality Conference will highlight the success of our vast network of collaborations within our college, SUNY, statewide and nationally for connecting underrepresented female STEM students to educational opportunities that prepare them to compete for the highest quality jobs of today and the future, said Dr. Candice Foley, Professor of Chemistry and the Colleges NSF S-STEM PI. Foley explained that Suffolk County Community College is a crucial entry point enabling underrepresented women in STEM to bridge from the community college to the baccalaureate level, on to graduate school and into the STEM workforce. It is no secret that women are underrepresented in STEM fields, said Suffolk County Community College President Dr. Shaun L. McKay. In 2014, nationally, only 29% of the bachelors degrees awarded to women were in science and engineering, compared with 40% for men, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, McKay said. Dr. Foley has been at the forefront of advancing our Colleges STEM students and programs. Suffolk County Community College Board of Trustees Chair Theresa Sanders explained the colleges commitment to STEM programs and successes: Improving Americas STEM education has become a top priority across the nation. At Suffolk, approximately 1,500 students are currently enrolled in STEM majors and the Colleges STEM program has been producing award winning students while providing summer research internships at internationally renowned facilities, including Brookhaven National Laboratory, NASA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory among others, Sanders said. STEM Central, a nationwide forum that connects STEM faculty and administrators with others to learn, share ideas, share resources, and work collaboratively on initiatives recently featured Suffolk County Community College's STEM program on its website: here. Chart created by SIGAR, based on data from USFOR-A. The Afghan government has lost territory to the insurgency and district control continues to decline, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its most recent quarterly report to United States Congress. An estimated 15 percent of Afghanistans districts have slipped from the governments control over that time period. The picture is more bleak than what the Obama administration and top military commanders have let on when looked at from a longer distance. According to SIGAR, the Afghan government controls or influences just 52 percent of the nations districts today compared to 72 percent in Nov. 2015. SIGARs analysis of the most recent data provided by US Forces in Afghanistan (USFOR-A) suggests that the security situation in Afghanistan has not improved this quarter, the watchdog group noted in its most recent assessment of the country. The numbers of the Afghan security forces are decreasing, while both casualties and the number of districts under insurgent control or influence are increasing. [T]he ANDSF [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces] has not yet been capable of securing all of Afghanistan and has lost territory to the insurgency, since the last reporting period. The Afghan government has lost control of more than six percent of Afghanistans 407 districts since SIGAR issued its last report, on Oct. 30. According to SIGAR, the insurgency, which is overwhelmingly made up of the Taliban, now controls nine districts and influences another 32, while 133 districts are contested. USFOR-A defines contested districts as having negligible meaningful impact from insurgents, contending that neither the insurgency nor the Afghan government maintains significant control over these areas. The names of the Taliban controlled and influenced districts, as well as those that are contested, were not disclosed by USFOR-A or SIGAR. However, according to SIGAR: The region with the most districts under insurgent control or influence is centered on northeast Helmand Province and northwestern Kandahar Province, and includes the Helmand/Kandahar border area, Uruzgan Province, and northwestern Zabul. This region alone accounts for 16 of the 41 districts (or 31.7%) under insurgent control or influence. Less strategic importance The US military justified the loss of territory by claiming the Afghan governments new Sustainable Security Strategy calls for abandoning districts that are not important. USFOR-A attributes the loss of government control or influence over territory to the ANDSFs strategic approach to security prioritization, identifying the most important areas that the ANDSF must hold to prevent defeat, and focusing less on areas with less strategic importance, SIGAR reported. Under its new Sustainable Security Strategy, the ANDSF targets disrupt districts for clearance operations when the opportunity arises, but will give first priority to protecting hold and fight districts under its control. This strategy neglects the fact that the Taliban views rural districts or those with less strategic importance as critical to its insurgency. The Taliban uses theses districts to raise funds, recruit and train fighters, and launch attacks on population centers. Additionally, Taliban allies such as al Qaeda run training camps and operate bases in areas under Taliban control. This strategy was explained by Mullah Aminullah Yousuf, the Talibans shadow governor for Uruzgan, in April 2016. The Taliban has utilized its control of the rural districts to directly threaten major population centers. Last year, the Taliban was able to threaten five of Afghanistans 34 provincial capitals. The government lost control of Kunduz for more than a week last fall. US military underestimates Taliban control and contested districts FDDs Long War Journal has maintained that the US militarys assessment of the state of play in Afghanistans districts is flawed. Our study estimates the Taliban controls 42 Afghan districts and contests (or influences) another 55. [Note: USFOR-As definition of influence matches our definition of contested. The term influenced/contested will be used for clarity to describe these districts. LWJ does not assess districts that are defined by USFOR-A as contested, which means neither the Taliban or Afghan government hold sway.] The number of Taliban controlled and influenced/contested districts has risen from 70 in October 2015 to 97 this month. Districts under Taliban command are typically being administered by the group, or the group controls the district center. Additionally, districts where the district center frequently changes hands are considered Taliban-controlled. In influenced/contested districts, the Taliban dominates all of the areas of a district except the administrative center. A map created by LWJ [below] lists the districts thought to be controlled [black] or influenced/contested [red] by the Taliban. LWJ believes that the Taliban controls and contests more districts displayed on the map above, however the districts listed on the map are ones that can be confirmed via independent sources such as Taliban claims, US and Afghan government reports, and news reports. For instance, the Taliban has traditionally held significant sway in many districts in eastern and northeastern Afghanistan, however the status of these districts cannot be properly assessed based on open source information. Without USFOR-As list of Taliban controlled or influenced/contested districts, it is difficult to compare the discrepancies between the US military and LWJs assessments. However, USFOR-A did provide information on one province which reveals that the military is providing a best-case scenario of the situation on the ground. USFOR-A claims, according to SIGAR, that The region with the most districts under insurgent control or influence is centered on northeast Helmand Province and northwestern Kandahar Province, and includes the Helmand/Kandahar border area, Uruzgan Province, and northwestern Zabul. This region alone accounts for 16 of the 41 districts (or 31.7%) under insurgent control or influence. While this geographic area is poorly defined, LWJ estimates that 24 districts are controlled (12) or influenced/contested (12) in the four provinces mentioned (Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Zabul). This means that the Taliban, based on USFOR-As estimate, controls or influences/contests only 17 districts through the remaining 30 provinces. However the Taliban is known to control or influence/contest multiple districts in the provinces of Kunduz, Baghlan, Badghis, Faryan, Sar-i-Pul, Takhar, Jawzjan, Kapisa, Badakhshan, Nuristan, Kunar, Paktia, Paktika, Wardak, Logar, Ghazni, Ghor, Farah, and Herat. Top military commanders have downplayed the Talibans gains over the past year. General John Nicholson, the commander of NATOs Resolute Support and US Forces-Afghanistan, characterized the fact that 30 percent of the Afghan population is controlled or contested by the Taliban as a positive development, as the Taliban is primarily operating in the rural areas of Afghanistan. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, US commander in Afghanistan downplays Taliban control of 10 percent of population.] Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. Julia 21 As the popularity of animation grows around the world, more and more people like to watch anime episodes, movies, and Lifestyle / Travel Feb 01, 2017 | By Vimi Haridasan There are few countries that remain relatively untouched by globalisation, still boasting its natural beauty and splendour. One such area that only started welcoming international visitors in 1974 by invitation only is Bhutan. The kingdom that is situated between Tibet, Assam, West Bengal and Sikkim, is estimated to be about the size of Switzerland and provides what can only be described stunning backdrops. Visitors can now look forward to enjoying the scenic country as it welcomes Six Senses Bhutan, one of many around the world that are set to open in the second half of 2017. Split into five satellite resorts in separate locations within Bhutan, the suites and villas allow visitors to engage their various senses, as the name of the hotel suggests, while they immerse themselves in nature. The first of the five locations is Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan. Here Six Senses places an emphasis on culture through its design. While the interiors are modern and boast clean lines, wood panelling, natural stone and white washing, cultural elements of Bhutan also make an appearance. Contrasting this modern aesthetic are handcrafted objects, intricate weavings, old solid wood that has been turned into table and bench tops. Over at Punakha, which serves as the second stop, sits a traditional farmhouse amongst the fertile land and terraces. Joining the clean lines, are mud brick features in the bathrooms, mason jars that serve as light fixtures and woven bamboo feature walls. This decor theme helps to conserve traditional methods by the people of Bhutan in decorating their homes. The third location, in Gangtey, features uncluttered lines and a neutral palate. Boasting weathered timber floors for some added edge, the interior includes warm leather details that help to bring some contrast. From the comfy armchairs that you may just want to sink into, to the footstools and table tops, the accommodation promises luxury without encroaching on the environment. In fact, the location happens to feature a unique bird watching bridge that brings guests closer to nature. Made from local stone and enclosed with timber-framed windows, Six Senses provides the perfect opportunity for avid bird-watchers to catch a glimpse of their feathered friends. Within a forest in Bumthang, Six Senses has created its own little forest that serves as the fourth location. Nestled amongst green woodland, the interior features large windows that bring the outdoors straight to you. The timber walls are joined by recycled wood that is used to craft the warm floors and furnishings. The final spot for Six Senses Bhutan is Paro. Sitting on a site of old stone ruins, the interior is fitted with hewn stone walls and working fireplaces that are joined by mid-tone vertical timbers. The location in Paro also has community-gathering spots that allow travellers to gather and share tales with fellow travellers while enjoying an open fire. To the Lycoming College community: Like our colleagues at other colleges and universities across the country, the administration at Lycoming has been closely monitoring the impact of the Executive Order, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry, that restricts travel to the United States for persons from seven designated countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. At this point, and after a deliberate review, I can tell you that none of our current international students has been directly affected by the Order. In addition, we have not been notified of any faculty or staff who have been impacted. While members of our alumni community have communicated with the administration about the Executive Order, we have also not heard about any Lycoming alumni whose lives have been directly affected. We should note, however, that there are approximately 17,000 students from the seven countries who are in the United States; and it is likely that many of us know individuals on campuses that have felt a significant impact. In addition, the lives of thousands of other individuals have been disrupted. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected people. I am also aware that some members of our community are strongly opposed to this Executive Order while others see it as something necessary to protect our national security. I encourage all of you to engage in the political process and let your voices be heard because that is how democracy works. It is also important to note that details related to the enforcement of the executive order remain fluid; court rulings and clarifying statements by the White House have already altered some provisions of this action, and so we remain watchful for changes that may affect our students, faculty, staff, alumni and their families. From the earliest days of our institution, we have been committed to the Methodist tradition of welcoming persons of every religious persuasion to our educational institution. In our third century, the College now intentionally seeks to recruit, educate and support a student body that reflects the cultural and religious diversity of the world in which we live and work. We are a global institution in terms of our curriculum, the origins of our student body, and the places that our students study. We value and respect the need to engage and learn about the cultures that occupy our globe. Given the circumstances, however, I must caution members of our community against traveling during the next 90 days to any of the countries named in this Executive Order. If you are contemplating travel, I direct you to the following travel advisory prepared by the global law firm Jackson Lewis: http://www.jacksonlewis.com/publication/travel-advisory-after-trump-executive-order. I am also aware that the issuing of this Executive Order, which fulfills a campaign promise, may cause anxiety among our students who may have refugee or undocumented status or have family members with that status. In this regard, I am encouraged that Senators Durbin and Graham have introduced a bill referred to as the BRIDGE Act, Bar Removal of Individuals Who Dream and Grow Our Economy Act. I have joined more than seventy other Pennsylvania university and college presidents in encouraging US Senators Casey and Toomey to become co-sponsors of the bill. This letter states this bi-partisan legislation offers appropriate protection to hundreds of thousands of young people who strengthen our nation by pursuing educational and employment opportunities currently allowed by the DACA program. It goes on to say that Among those supported by DACA are students who are thriving on our campuses, making significant contributions to our educational missions while preparing to advance our state's and our country's economic and social well-being. As always, Lycoming College remains committed to our core values, which include diversity, inclusion and equality as well as the free exchange of ideas. Please contact me if you have any thoughts or concerns regarding this communication. Sincerely, President Trachte Russian examiners did not favour confectionery. This does not mean that they are diabetics; they simply felt uneasy when an application came seeking protection for a confectionery patent for a utility model. That was application number 2014136036/13. By that time the law had been changed so that the application had to be examined in its substance not only for formal requirements. It was examined and rejected soon after. The applicant appealed against the decision of the examiner. The Board of Appeal of the Patent Office tested (tasted) it for patentability and came to a different conclusion. Why? The original claims of the utility model were worded in the following way: Confectionery article made of chocolate containing a base 3D figurative shape with protrusions and edible colour coating, the colour of the coating being different from the colour of the base characterised in that the edible coating is located on the protrusions, the portions outside the protrusions being free from coating. The article according to claim 1 characterised in that the surface covered by the edible coating constitutes less than 40% of the overall surface of the article. The article according to claim 1 characterised in that the reflection coefficient of the edible colour coating is greater than the reflection coefficient of the base surface. The article according to claim 1 characterised in that each colour coordinate of reflected light from the coated surface is different by more than 10% to the colour coordinates of the base surface. The article according to claim 1 characterised in that the edible colour coating is made adapted to enhance visual perception of the volume of the article and the surface irregularities because of the shade and light pattern by means of applying corrective coating on parts of the surface. The Patent Office examined the patent application and refused the grant of a patent arguing that the proposed solution is not a technical solution referring to a device and thus cannot be protected as a utility model. The applicant did not agree with the examiner and appealed the official action. The appeal board of the Patent Office examined the application again and found that the proposed utility model is different from the prior art in that the base of the shaped article is made with protrusions; the edible colour coating is located on the protrusions; and portions outside the protrusions are free from coating. The appeal board did not agree with the examiner in that the claimed feature "edible colour coating located on the protrusions reduces the consumption of edible colour agent and improves organoleptic properties of the article" is not essential. According to the appeal board the feature "the edible colour coating located on the protrusions" characterises structural elements in the form of protrusions, the portions outside protrusions are free from coating. Those features are essential for achieving a technical result because the coating located on the protrusions is quickly dissolved by the consumer's saliva, etc. The appeal board left without comment the statement of the examiner to the effect that the claimed subject matter is not a technical solution referring to a device. It may be assumed that the board of appeal did recognise the claimed confectionery as a technical device. The Patent Office regulations define a device as an article having no composite parts, or consisting of two or more parts connected by means of assembly operations and being in functional and structural unity. Formally, the confectionery article falls under that definition though the consumer will probably feel awkward realising that he eats a technical device. On the flip side of things and unrelated to the above, there was a patent application consisting of a traffic control camera and a distant computer. Both parts of the device were connected by wires or radio waves. The Patent Office refused to recognise it as an invention because there was no "structural unity" between the parts (in other words they were not in one box) which was somewhat strange. It seems formal considerations sometimes take precedence over common sense. Especially against the background of the confectionery patent. Or, as one of the observers said with regard to this last, members of the appeal board have a sweet tooth and they could not resist temptation. Vladimir Biriulin Gorodissky & Partners Russia 129010, Moscow B. Spasskaya Str 25, stroenie 3 Tel: +7 495 937 6116 / 6109 Fax: +7 495 937 6104 / 6123 pat@gorodissky.ru www.gorodissky.com The European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights carried out a series of studies about the economic impact of counterfeiting in nine economic sectors. It is estimated that over 7.4% of all sales are lost every year in these sectors due to the presence of fake goods in the European market. The average loss of annual sales in the EU is estimated at 7.4% and at 7.9% regarding direct jobs. In Spain the percentages of loss of sales increases significantly over 15% in sectors as significant as cosmetics and perfumes (around 17%), clothing and footwear and sporting goods, being the second European country in total loss of sales and jobs. Despite the fact that fake products come mainly from out of the EU, domestic production seems to be on the rise. The distribution of counterfeit products takes place mainly in street markets, better known as "top manta" markets. Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia are key places but also the tourist towns of the Mediterranean coast are very active. City halls are implementing measures in order to end the presence of "manteros" (illegal street vendor in Spanish common language) in the streets. Madrid city fines the illegal sale of counterfeit products from 150 to 6000. In addition to fines, Barcelona has implemented communication campaigns for tourists with the intention of encouraging visitors to stop buying fake products. Other cities such as Seville and Alicante are implementing similar measures. E-commerce has become another increasingly common tool for selling fake products in Spain. Counterfeiters have taken advantage of the increase of online sales in order to create new digital platforms for illegal trading. The Spanish police are active when fighting against online counterfeiting. They have a specialised unit for fighting against IP crimes (Seccion de delitos contra la propiedad industrial e intelectual) headquartered in Madrid. Any citizen can inform them about a potential IP crime through an online contact form. The Spanish Customs authorities carried out 2,504 actions against counterfeiting in 2015. Almost 2.6 million products were seized. More than 50% of these products were found in ports and almost 75% originated in Asia. In 2015 a total of 50,715 trade marks, 2,882 patents and 1,927 industrial designs were filed at the OEPM, the Spanish trade mark and patent office. IP rights are considered positive and necessary by entrepreneurs. However there is still work to be done to promote IP awareness among citizens and visitors. Spain is interesting for counterfeiters not only because of the market that represents by itself but because of the 72 million of tourists that visit our country every year. IP protection in Spain has evolved positively in the past 10 years but there are still things to do and there will be new challenges to face. Carmen Gonzalez PONS IPGlorieta Ruben Dario, 428010 Madrid SpainTel: +34 917007600Fax: +34 913086103clientes@pons.eswww.ponsip.com If the Republicans get a majority in the US House of Representatives, as is expected, theyll focus on lawsuit investment transparency and Chinas IP practices Vietnam's IP enforcement system has seen great improvements over the past few years. In particular, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has handled many complex disputes in the pharmaceutical sector related to patent infringement, unfair competition and trade mark infringement. Rights holders have generally been quite pleased with the decisions reached by MOST, as well as the expert opinions provided in various cases by the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) and the Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute (VIPRI), which are often a precursor to a MOST administrative enforcement action. Nevertheless, with a few tweaks when Vietnam amends its Law on Intellectual Property this year, the system can be improved even further to help better protect IP in the pharma sector. Below are a few suggestions for improvement. Patent linkage: At present, there is no strong or efficient route to have a marketing authorisation (MA) blocked or withdrawn in the event of patent infringement. Even when the Drug Administration of Vietnam is notified about a drug's potential infringement, an MA for the drug in question may still be approved. An MA may only be ordered withdrawn after a lengthy administrative or civil suit for patent infringement. In this regard, there needs to be stronger coordination between the IP enforcement and health agencies. Preliminary injunctions: So far, preliminary injunctions have not been granted in pharmaceutical patent infringement cases, even in a case where the rights holder submitted to the court three decisions/opinions (from MOST, the NOIP and VIPRI) affirming infringement. The infringer is still being allowed to participate in and win drug tenders at state-owned hospitals, and the rights holder cannot stop the sale despite overwhelming proof that it faces imminent, irreparable damage and will succeed on the merits of the case. Preliminary injunctions should be made available in these situations. Fast-tracking of invalidation actions: In some cases, such as a case involving agrochemical patents, the court has ruled on patent infringement even though an invalidation action was pending. However, in other cases, the filing of a frivolous invalidation action by the defendant has resulted in a stay being imposed on an administrative or civil action. However, such invalidation actions may take years to resolve, while damages continue to be incurred by the rights holder. Vietnam should adopt systems employed in other countries where invalidation actions heard by the patent office are fast-tracked, and/or a stay is not granted if the invalidation action is not considered to have a high chance of success on its merits. Damage calculations: In order to effectively deter patent infringement, Vietnam should adopt a system where patent damages can be trebled in the event that the infringer knowingly infringes a patent (such as by continuing to infringe after receiving a cease-and-desist letter, or after an administrative decision finding patent infringement has been issued). Moreover, the burden of proof of damages in IP cases is higher in Vietnam than in most countries. As mentioned, there are several hurdles in patent litigation in Vietnam, and it is therefore inappropriate that damages should be low if a rights holder can successfully overcome these hurdles and has suffered damages. Specialised IP court: Vietnam would be wise to consider adopting a specialised IP court. When Thailand established its IP Court, a strong message was sent to investors that the country was focusing on improving IP enforcement, and also helped consolidate the best experts in IP jurisprudence under one court for consistent handling of cases. Compulsory licensing: Vietnam is considering draft regulations on compulsory licensing. However, the draft regulations are missing several key components, such as allowing the rights holder to take part in the proceedings, and not requiring failed licence negotiations as a prerequisite to a compulsory licence being granted. Compulsory licensing has not been granted in Thailand since 2007, and has never been granted in Japan; thus, Vietnam should reconsider whether it is truly needed, and in any case needs to ensure that any regulations comply with international commitments. Parallel imports: Vietnam should consider adopting stricter regulations on parallel imports in the pharmaceutical sector. Pharmaceuticals can be imported from countries with different storage conditions (for example, different climates) and other regulatory requirements, or misleading information on origin, which can result in pharmaceuticals being imported into Vietnam that do not meet quality standards, or which mislead consumers. The Market Management Bureau of Hanoi should be commended for its stance against parallel-imported pharmaceuticals when regulatory violations are involved, as demonstrated in one case in 2016 when it raided a pharmacy, seized the medicines and imposed a fine. Special import quotas (SIQ): Many IP-infringing pharmaceuticals are imported via fast-tracked special import quotas. There is rarely any public information available on the application or decision to grant the SIQ. As a result, the rights holder cannot take action until the market has already been flooded by the infringing product, thus adding to the damages to the rights holder. Further transparency is needed. Trade marks incorporating INNs: Vietnam's trade mark registry contains many trade marks that inappropriately incorporate INNs. The registry should adopt a trade mark examination system where objections can be raised automatically in certain circumstances involving INNs, and the burden is placed on the applicant to rebut the inference of non-registrability. Thomas J Treutler Hien Thi Thu Vu Tilleke & GibbinsHAREC Building, 4th Floor4A Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: +84 4 3772 6688Fax: +84 4 3772 5568vietnam@tilleke.comwww.tilleke.com Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP is holding a hartal at Thiruvananthapuram today in protest of the lathi charge by the police against their party workers during the Law Academy protests. The BJP-supported protests included women and were led by leaders K.Surendran and V.V Rajesh. Several people were injured during the lathi charge. Police used lathis and water cannons against the protesters when the road blocking program of BJP at Peroorkada turned violent and the party workers started throwing stones at vehicles. New Delhi: High drama prevailed at government-run RML hospital in New Delhi with top Congress leaders visiting the hospital to enquire about former Union Minister E Ahamed's health and alleging that his family was not being allowed to meet him. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides other party leaders rushed to the hospital late at night and met Ahamed's family. "Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel rushed to the RML hospital because E Ahamed's family, who collapsed today, is not being permitted to meet him or to know about his well being. This is complete high-handedness of the government," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told PTI. He said the government has stopped the blood relatives of the former Union Minister from meeting him or knowing about his critical state at such a time. Sources add that Ahamed's son, daughters and son-in-law were at the hospital and even had an exchange of hot words with the hospital authorities. New Delhi: All dreams and hopes of Kerala for setting up AIIMS (All Indian Institute of Medical Science) were shattered when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Union Budget 2017 announced of setting up premium hospitals in Jharkhand and Gujarat. In 2015 the centre had announced to establish AIIMS in Kerala. Following this, the state government identified land in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Kozhikode districts and it was send to the centre. The centre later on did no announcements in regard to this. The Union Health Minister JP Nadda had informed through a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in December 2016 that the approval will not be given immediately to start AIIMS in Kerala. Ads by Google This post wades into some tumultuous waters, so before we begin, please understand: Nothing we write here is an endorsement or a rejection of any policy measure taken. We are merely assessing the market impact of President Donald Trump's executive orders, pure and simple. As ever, we favor no politician nor any party and advise investors to set politics aside to the greatest degree possible. One of the toughest things to do as an investor is budget your time. There is a huge array of information: Some good, some bad, some merely opinion and forecast. Knowing where to spend time and where you are likely to get caught up in needless noise is crucial. Right now, given all the attention paid to President Trump and his first week-which was likely either chaotic or courageous, depending on your political views-this has even greater importance. The raft of executive actions (executive orders, presidential memoranda and proclamations[i]) he signed last week is stirring big emotions, protests and a slew of headlines, but investors should realize: The scope of executive actions is limited; they are usually sociological and rarely (if ever) have a big or lasting market impact. Markets taught this same lesson throughout President Obama's tenure, when he used executive actions in an effort to push through favored policy ideas. Most of these (his 2012 and 2014 immigration-related actions, for example) are pure sociology. That doesn't mean they are unimportant. But stocks don't move materially on sociological factors, so from the standpoint of thinking about your investments, don't weight these heavily. Those that were economy-related-like the increase to the Federal minimum wage-were much too small and narrow in nature to impact stocks. As for Trump, he had a busy first week-no doubt about it. But from a market perspective, the ramifications of his Executive Orders seem no bigger. Here is a tabular run-down of them. Exhibit 1: Table of Trump Source: The White House, as of 1/30/2017. We're not saying there is no impact. Just that most of the impact is outside of matters pertinent to stocks. Moreover, the ban on refugees and immigrants from seven nations illustrates a further point: Executive orders aren't unassailable. As many readers likely know, a Brooklyn judge issued a stay blocking the immediate implementation of the order on entrants to the US with a previously issued visa. Moreover, the reaction within the Republican party shows how divisive Trump's policies are. He is spending a lot of political capital now, which likely brings much less action than investors generally fear later in 2017. We aren't saying you should ignore the president's actions-that is entirely your decision. We are merely suggesting that, when thinking about your portfolio, they may not carry as much weight as the media furor suggests. Stock Market Melt-up Brings Volatility to Precious Metals Our recent analysis bases on a previous report of the potential for a further run in the US markets based on a number of technical and fundamental factors leads to the question of "what could happen with Gold and Silver". A broad US market rally may put some pressure on the metals markets initially, but, in our opinion, the increase in volatility and uncertainty will likely prompt more potential for upward price action in precious metals. As with most things in the midst of uncertainty and transition, the US Presidential election has caused many traders to rethink positions and potential. As foreign elections continue to play out, wild currency moves are starting to become more of a standard for volatility. Combine this with a new US President and a repositioning of US global and local objectives and we believe we are setting up for one of the most expansive moves in recent years for the US general markets and the metals markets. This week, alone, we have seen a flurry of action in DC and the US markets broke upward on news of the Dakota Pipeline and other Executive actions. As we wrote week or so ago, we believe the US markets will push higher in 2017 a business investment, US strategy and foreign capital runs back into the US equity market chasing opportunity and gains. Additionally, we believe the strength of the US market, paired with continued strength of the US Dollar, will drive a further increase in global volatility and wild swings in foreign markets. This volatility, uncertainty and equity repositioning will likely drive Gold and Silver to continued highs throughout 2017 - possibly much longer if the new trend generates renewed follow-through. Our belief that the US markets will continue to melt-up while certain foreign markets deteriorate relates to our belief that currency variances will become more volatile and excessive over the next few months. This, in combination with a renewed interest in developing US economic solutions, will likely drive the US markets higher while the metals markets will continue to become a safe-haven for US and foreign investors to protect against deflation and foreign market corrections. S&P Futures are setting up a clear bullish pennant/flag formation that will likely prompt an explosive price move within 2~3 weeks. This bullish flag formation is likely to drive the ES price higher by roughly 100+ pts. Currently, strong resistance is just above 2275, so we'll have to wait for this level to be breached before we see any potential for a bigger price move. SP500 Weekly Chart SP500 Daily Chart GOLD is channeling in a very clear and narrow upward price channel and trading in the middle of a support zone. The recent reversal, near the end of 2016, was interesting because GOLD trailed lower after the US election, but then reversed course just before the new year. The interesting fact about this move is that this new upward swing in GOLD correlates with the beginning of the Bullish Flag in the S&P Futures as well as a decrease in volatility. We believe as this Bullish Flag will prompt a jump in volatility and price action that will result in is a strong push higher in GOLD. GOLD Weekly Chart Gold Daily Chart SILVER is setting up in a similar manner as GOLD. Although the SILVER chart provides a clearer picture of the downward price channel that is about to be breached - and likely drive both SILVER and GOLD into a new bullish rally. The support Zone in SILVER, between $16.60 ~ $17.40 is still very much in play. SILVER will likely stay within this zone while the Bullish Flag plays out. Yet, when the breakout begins, a move above $18.00 will be very quick and upside targets are $18.50~18.75 and $19.50~$20.00 (possibly much higher in the long run). Silver Weekly Chart Silver Daily Chart EUR/USD correlation to the US moves should be viewed as measure of strengthening US economy/USD as related to foreign market volatility and potential. As the USD strengthens, this puts pressure on foreign governments and global transactions based in USD. This also puts pressure on the METALS markets because billions of people around the globe consume precious metals as a "safe-haven" related to currency volatility. We expect the EUR/USD levels to fall near "parity" (1.00) again and possibly dip below parity based on future foreign election results. This volatility and uncertainty will translate to increased opportunity for GOLD and SILVER to run much higher over the next few months. EURUSD Daily Chart USDMXN Daily Chart USDGBP Daily Chart Right now is a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of these lower prices. We may see rotation near to the lower support zone levels as price rotates over the next few weeks. The key to any trade in the metals market is to understand the potential moves and watch for confluence and volatility in other markets. We believe the next few weeks/months will be very telling. If we are correct, we'll see new highs in the US markets fairly quickly and we'll see a new potential bullish breakout in GOLD and SILVER. You can follow our weekly analysis and trade ideas at www.TheMarketTrendForecast.com Chris Vermeulen www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com Chris Vermeulen is Founder of the popular trading site TheGoldAndOilGuy.com. There he shares his highly successful, low-risk trading method. For 7 years Chris has been a leader in teaching others to skillfully trade in gold, oil, and silver in both bull and bear markets. Subscribers to his service depend on Chris' uniquely consistent investment opportunities that carry exceptionally low risk and high return. Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. MARTINSVILLE The search for a permanent principal for Patrick Henry Elementary School is expected to begin this spring, according to city schools Superintendent Zeb Talley. Talley, the former principal and a 40-year veteran of the school division, was hired by the Martinsville School Board last fall to replace former superintendent Pam Heath, who retired. The job officially has been vacant since then but Felicia Preston, the divisions director of pupil personnel services, has been serving as interim principal. There was a period of transition after Preston began overseeing Patrick Henry, Talley said, but overall things have been going well with her in that role. Shes a very brilliant young lady, and has been doing an excellent job at the school, he said, which is why the division has not yet started the search for a permanent principal. However, Preston doing two full-time jobs cant last forever, Talley said. He noted that in her administrative job, she oversees many facets of the division, from issues involving pupils with special needs to student health services. Before moving into administration, Preston was principal at Albert Harris Elementary School. Plans are for the Patrick Henry principals job to be advertised and interviews to start in the spring, according to Talley and school board Chairwoman Joan Montgomery. They said they dont know whether Preston plans to apply for the job. Preston could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon. Its possible that someone from outside the division might be hired to lead Patrick Henry. For that reason, Im a little worried, Montgomery admitted. Its my old school, she said, so she especially wants the person hired to be the right fit. Montgomery retired in 2011 after 36 years as an administrator and principal in the division. Her last post was as Patrick Henrys principal. Martinsville City Council appointed her to the school board in 2015, and last year the board elected her to be its chairwoman. Plans also are to hire an assistant principal for Patrick Henry. The school currently does not have one. Division officials have said they want all city schools to have an assistant principal to relieve burdens on principals, who then can spend more time working to find ways to improve the education that their schools provide. In another leadership matter, the division announced that board Vice Chairman Lawrence Mitchell on Jan. 24 attended the Virginia School Boards Associations orientation for recently-appointed chairmen and vice chairmen. Donna Dillard attended a similar session for recently-appointed board members. Topics covered in the orientations included roles and responsibilities of school boards and superintendents, school law, budget and communication matters and parliamentary procedure. The day-long training sessions were held in Richmond. The commonwealth of Virginia on Tuesday filed a motion in federal court asking to join a lawsuit against President Donald Trump over his Friday order restricting immigration. Attorney General Mark R. Herring held a news conference at his office to announce the motion, with Gov. Terry McAuliffe at this side. Herring, a Democrat who is running for re-election this year, called Trump's executive order "unlawful, unconstitutional and un-American" and said the state needed to take action to stop it. The state moved to intervene in Aziz v. Trump, a pending federal lawsuit in Virginia's Eastern District. Trump's executive order sparked outrage among opponents after people were detained at airports across America, including Washington Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County. The order halts the processing of refugees fleeing war in Syria and suspends immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. The administration said the order is to address concerns about terrorism. Herring said the decision to take legal action wasn't one he took lightly, but that the president's executive order violated civil rights. More than 100 Virginia Commonwealth University students can't leave or enter the country because of the order, he said. He declined to answer questions after his announcement. The commonwealth of Virginia originally had its own version of Punxsutawney Phil. It's one of several strange tales surrounding the event known as Groundhog Day. The story of what happened to Virginia's state groundhog was first reported in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 1954 with the headline "Groundhog Dies Before Making Annual Forecast." That story states "the groundhog dropped dead yesterday, but it wasnt because of the balmy weather. The groundhog was caged in Capitol Square so everybody could watch him make his annual Groundhog Day weather prediction. But he killed himself trying to get out of his cage at the State Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Hardly taking notice of his amateur competitor, the Byrd Field weatherman called for rather cloudy weather today, with a chance of a light shower. The high should be near 60. Tonight, he said, will be cloudy and turning colder, with a low in the lower 30s. Thursday should be cloudy and colder too, with a high in the upper 40s. He predicted rain, totally .1 to .3 inch, over the week end. Today probably wont be quite as warm as yesterday when the mean temperature of 53 was 13 degrees above normal for the date. In destroying himself yesterday, the groundhog also destroyed hopes for his annual forecast. The groundhog myth has it that the animal scurries back into his hole; portending 40 more days of Winter, if he sees his shadow on Groundhog Day. The Weatherman, though, went right ahead last night with his 30-day outlook. He said precipitation is expected to exceed normal along the Atlantic seaboard, with much of it in the form of snow from Virginia northward. Temperatures for the month probably will be below seasonal normals, he added. That sounded like 30 more days of Winter, no matter what the groundhog saw." After that incident, the state went away from "official" Virginia groundhogs. Multiple places like Hampton Roads hold their own event each year, but there are no more Groundhog Day celebrations at the state capital. That's not the only odd tale about Groundhog Day. The history of the event is both fascinating and bizarre. 1932: The Bureau of Biological Survey at the U.S. Department of Agriculture issues a statement outlining its exhaustive study of groundhogs. It says the earliest anyone had even seen a groundhog in any year was Feb. 7, and that was down in North Carolina, where it gets warm earlier. The bureau, clumsily exposing its regional biases, goes to say that the groundhog legend is a superstition that must have originated in the Southern States. 1936: A biology professor at the University of Toledo conducts a serious, government study of the groundhogs ability to predict weather. He concludes that the theory is preposterous because changes in the endocrine system are a controlling factor in the hibernation of a groundhog, and everybody knows endocrine systems and weather systems are unrelated. 1939: The Richmond office of the U.S. Weather Bureau announces that it can prove groundhog legend to be false. It produces analysis of six winters showing that three time as much snow fell in the years that the groundhog didnt see its shadow. A close reading shows, however, that the report was fatally flawed. The forecasters didnt determine whether the bulk of the snow came before or after Feb. 2. 1940: After Groundhog Day-related threats to the animal, members of the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries put the groundhog in their list of protected species, drawing the ire of editorial writers in Staunton, one whom opined: In their delightful naivete, they have been victimized by some rare humorist, and predicts that groundhogs will soon overrun the countryside. 1942: Reports of what the groundhog did or did not see are not allowed to be published because of long-range weather forecasting is forbidden by military censors. Writing about Groundhog Day might give aid and comfort to the enemy, a Washington bureaucrat says. Inauguration bigger than politics I enjoyed watching the 2017 presidential inauguration, just as I did watching the 2009 inauguration. What a fine way to start the new year. This is a major event and one of the most powerful traditions of our American republic, that is the smooth transition of power dating back to George Washington. It explains why we are the leaders of the free world and we do it very well. Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way and I am not referring to the few loony protestors who fought with the police. I am referring to Congressman John Lewis of Georgia and the people who followed his lead when they chose to be absent out of spite. These are statesmen who represent people and yet they, in their absence, refused to honor such an important event. I get that John Lewis is a civil rights icon and maybe he gets a pass, except that I dont give out passes to anyone, least of all elected officials in public service. On a more positive note, there is a college in Alabama that bears the name of a famous speedway called Talladega. This colleges student body and faculty are primarily of African-American heritage and they have a very fine student band. These youngsters expressed an earnest desire to perform at the inauguration and perform they did. This happened despite outside pressure not to even show up, but the school administration decided to back their kids. They saw this as an honor and a brilliant opportunity. As far as I am concerned, these youngsters demonstrated more heart, soul and just plain intelligence than those members of Congress that boycotted. I would like to point out that the presidential inauguration is bigger than any one person, including President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama, and certainly bigger than John Lewis. This event is something that we all should be proud of and I believe most Americans are, regardless who they voted for. Wayne Smith Fieldale Bravo on March for Life column Ordinarily, I would not write again so soon after the Bulletin published one of my letters. In this instance, however, I simply cannot refrain from expressing my approval of, and gratitude for, Paul Collins commentary on the March for Life in Fridays edition. It is highly likely that both the Bulletin and Mr. Collins will attract a great deal of antipathy and criticism for his comments. In todays cultural environment, it takes a lot of courage to speak out so openly about such a controversial but important subject. How good it made me feel to learn there are others like myself who place a high value on our freedom of speech. What Mr. Collins wrote contains some spiritual (and natural) truth which will outlive us all. Some of them I have felt and tried to express publicly a number of times. While I very seldom quote from newspaper articles in my ministry, this is one time I will do so with joy and pleasure. I hope Mr. Collins and the Bulletin will not mind. In my judgment, the Bulletin performed a valuable public service by printing this commentary. By all means, give us more of such high quality journalism. John Wingfield Patrick Springs TODAYS WORD is cavil (kav-il). Example: The woman caviled about going to the flea market when it was first suggested, but she enjoyed herself once she got there. TUESDAYS WORD was nocebo (noh-see-boh). It means a detrimental effect on health, produced by psychological or psychosomatic factors such as negative expectations of treatment. Example: Medical researchers know about nocebos but are often at a loss how to deal with them. Stepping Into Freedom Theres a new Bible study group meeting in Martinsville and everyone is welcome to join. The Good News Jail and Prison Ministry has organized two sessions, split up for men and women. The women meet every Wednesday, starting tonight, at 6:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall of First United Methodist Church in Martinsville, 146 E. Main Street. The men meet on Tuesday nights, also at 6:30 p.m., over in the uptown post office in Martinsville, at the corner of Church and Bridge Street. Anyone is welcome to show up. TODAY IS: National Get Up Day, National Freedom Day, National Baked Alaska Day Apparently about everything happens on the first day of the month. Now contrary to how it may sound, Get Up Day isnt about dragging someone out of bed before the sun is up. Its about picking yourself up when youve fallen down or are struggling. How did it start? U.S. Figure Skating started the project this year, to encourage people to keep trying. Baked Alaska Day may sound weird, but its also one of the older celebrations on the list. Its referring to a dessert known as Omelette Norveginne or, as people in the 1800s called it, Baked Alaska. Its made with hard ice cream on a base of sponge cake and covered in a shell of toasted meringue. Where does it come from? The year was 1867 and Secretary of State Williams Seward had just bought Alaska for $7 million. Charles Ranhofer, the chef at Delmonicos Restaurant in New York City, jumped on the controversy over the purchase and created Baked Alaska, which the nation jokingly agreed to honor every Feb. 1. Finally, theres National Freedom Day, which was created to recognize Abraham Lincolns signing of the 13th Amendment on Feb. 1, outlawing slavery. A former slave called Major Richard Robert Wright Sr. came up with the idea, but it took until June 30, 1948 for the federal government to act on the proposal. It was then that President Harry Truman signed a bill officially proclaiming Feb. 1 as National Freedom Day. Fundraiser for hospital auxiliary The Memorial Hospital Auxiliary will host a LuLaRoe fundraiser on Feb. 10, with the proceeds going to help support the organizations Patient Care Fund. Itll run from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the classroom on the main floor of the hospital. LuLaRoe has also promised that theyll give a donation to the fund for every purchase made. TRIVIA QUESTION: Sometimes, the largest producer of an item is a group you wouldnt expect. For example, what company is the largest producer of tires? Hint: Its not Goodyear, Michelin or Bridgestone. The answer will be in tomorrows Stroller. TRIVIA ANSWER: Animals have some interesting tendencies. Sea otters, for example, hold hands while they sleep. Why do they do this? The answer, according to the Smithsonian, is to make sure they dont get lost. Otters go to sleep in a group called a raft, holding hands so the members dont drift away while theyre sleeping. Mainly this happens with different families. In some cases, they even wrap seaweed and other plants around as a way of tying themselves together. In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we receive from other organisations, and keep it safe. This Privacy Policy (Policy) sets out our data collection and processing practices and your options regarding the ways in which your personal information is used. This Policy contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. Please read it carefully to understand how we use your personal data. We may update this Policy from time to time without notice to you, so please check it regularly. The provision of your personal data to us is voluntary. However, without providing us with your personal data, you will be unable to (as appropriate): contact us; subscribe to our mailing list; subscribe to any of our publications; or receive information about In Defence of Marxism. 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Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns whatsoever about the way in which your data is being processed by emailing the Data Protection Manager at webmaster@marxist.com LONGMEADOW Students at St. Mary's Academy saw the aquarium without getting on a bus this month. Staff from Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, visited the school with displays of live sea creatures to teach students about the different animals that live in the ocean. "This was done by first using small stuffed animals and then placing them in groups based on their type," a statement from the school says. "The children enjoyed this activity, but really lit up once the real animals came out to explore." Included in the displays were snails, crabs and a small live alligator. Mystic Aquarium often visits schools in an effort to tie in their resources to schools' science curricula, the statement says. Boston police have two people in custody after reports of a shot fired inside the building that houses the administrative headquarters of the Boston Public Schools. No one appeared to be hurt after the shot was fired on Wednesday morning. Police told the Boston Herald they responded at 9:20 a.m. The incident appeared to stem from two juveniles getting into a back-and-forth, and witnesses tackled them, the newspaper said. The Bruce Bolling Municipal Building, which houses the headquarters of the Boston Public Schools, is in the Dudley Square neighborhood and opened in 2015. AGAWAM -- Two of three Agawam police officers fired for a use-of-force incident involving a disorderly patron at Six Flags New England have been reinstated with back pay, according to John Connor, the lawyer representing the officers. Mayor Richard Cohen fired all three veteran officers in October 2016, after an investigation by an outside firm determined they used inappropriate force while arresting a man at the Agawam amusement park in June 2016. The case was forwarded to Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, whose office did not file charges against the officers, and is now under investigation by the FBI. The Agawam officers returning to work are Anthony Grasso and Edward Connor, both of whom will resume their duties "effective immediately," attorney Connor, who is not related to Officer Connor, told The Republican on Tuesday. The case of the third officer, John Moccio, remains before the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission. All three officers appealed their firings to the commission, claiming they followed department policies and procedures but were unjustly terminated. Testimony was expected to conclude Tuesday, but the state panel scheduled another hearing for Feb. 14. News of Grasso and Connor's reinstatements came to light during Tuesday's hearing, the same day news of the FBI's involvement was revealed by The Republican. The reinstatements were the result of the City of Agawam rescinding termination notices for both officers, not the result of a decision by the state Civil Service Commission, John Connor said. "They're no longer being accused of excessive force," the lawyer said. "It gives us an indication that the case is going very well." Officer Grasso, formerly a sergeant, was demoted and will rejoin the department as a regular officer. Officer Connor was issued a "letter of warning" for failing to secure his weapon in a timely manner. Attorney Connor said he would continue to fight Grasso's demotion through the Civil Service Commission. "We are proceeding with our challenge of that," he said. Connor also said he was unfazed by the FBI taking up the investigation. "We welcome any review of the incident," the lawyer said. "This would be the third law enforcement agency to review the incident, and we are confident the FBI will come to the same conclusion as the district attorney, which is that these officers acted appropriately." All three officers would cooperate fully with any inquiry, said Connor, a partner at Springfield law firm Connor, Morneau & Olin. On Monday, the FBI's Boston bureau sent a letter to Agawam Police Chief Eric Gillis, telling him about the federal investigation and requesting all materials related to the case including paper and electronic documents. Video footage of officers restraining 27-year-old David Desjardins, the man at the center of the disputed case, is among a key piece of evidence federal investigators will review in their probe. "The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, at the request of the US Department of Justice, has initiated a Preliminary Civil Rights of Color of Law investigation into allegations of excessive use of force, police misconduct, and obstruction of justice allegations against officers of the Agawam Police Department," Harold H. Shaw, the agent in charge of the Boston bureau, said in the letter, copies of which were sent to Cohen and Gulluni. Desjardins struggled with officers at the amusement park and at police headquarters, where officers used appropriate force to subdue him, according to attorney Connor. The video shows Desjardins tussling with officers, one of whom strikes him multiple times with a baton. Gillis, Cohen and the independent inquiry concluded the officers used excessive force to control Desjardins, prompting Cohen to fire the officers. SPRINGFIELD -- An Enfield, Connecticut, motorist is being held on $25,000 bail after allegedly ramming two Springfield police cruisers in a failed escape attempt over the weekend. George Dobitsky, 47, returned to Springfield District Court on Tuesday, one day after pleading not guilty to seven charges, including four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a motor vehicle). George Dobitsky Assistant District Attorney Cary Szafranski asked for $25,000 bail, saying Dobitsky "played chicken" with police cruisers pursuing him late Saturday afternoon on Mulberry Street before fleeing south on Interstate 91. Later that night, his red Honda was spotted on School Street. When two cruisers boxed him in, Dobitsky repeatedly rammed them before being arrested at the scene, Szafranski said. One officer's leg was pinned between Dobitsky's car and his cruiser while a second suffered back and neck injuries from the repeated collisions. Both were transported for treatment to Baystate Medical Center and later released, the prosecutor said. "It could have been much worse," she said. Dobitsky has an extensive criminal record beginning in the 1990s with convictions for larceny, forgery, assault and other charges, as well as court defaults and violations of probation, Szafranski said. Judge William Boyle set bail at $25,000 and continued the case for a pretrial hearing next month. rozanskisurvey.jpg Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski. (Republican file) The leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has released a letter calling on President Donald Trump to revoke his executive order suspending the United States' refugee program and temporarily prohibiting travel by citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. In the letter, Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski urged parishioners to show compassion for refugees and welcome them into local communities. "While I can certainly appreciate and recognize the need for our government to maintain polices which safeguard the nation and its citizens, this need not come at the expense of innocent people, many who are families with young children trying the escape unspeakable violence and hardships," Rozanski wrote. "The welcome of immigrants is an integral part of our history as a country and is a core value of our own Catholic teaching," he continued. "It has made us a beacon of hope whose light has shone across our world. We cannot allow ourselves to be frightened unnecessarily into conceding the principles of either our nation or our faith." Rozanski also directed specific criticism at Trump's Jan. 27 order, which prohibits entry to the U.S. from citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days, suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and prohibits the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely. Trump and White House officials have said the restrictions are necessary measures to protect national security and develop stricter methods of vetting immigrants. But Rozanski called on Trump to revoke the order, describing it as not in keeping with American values. "As Christians we must speak out against broad stroke measures that are an affront to the dignity of all human beings. It is part of the very fabric of our pro-life teaching that in each and every person we see the true and living presence of God," Rozanski wrote. "I invite you to join me in prayerfully and respectfully asking President Trump to rescind his Jan. 27 order and engage in a meaningful dialogue with relevant agencies and organizations to be bring about a more humane and compassionate approach to immigration consistent with the values of our great nation." The Springfield Diocese, through its affiliated Catholic Charities Agency, is one of the groups that works with the State Department to resettle refugees in Western Massachusetts. In an interview Wednesday evening, Catholic Charities Agency of Springfield Executive Director Kathryn Buckley-Brawner said that 18 of 51 refugees the agency planned to resettle in Northampton this year had already secured all their permits before the order was issued on Friday. Now that resettlement has been postponed. The first set of Northampton refugees was scheduled to include people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bhutan, Syria and Iraq, and included families with children as young as nine months old. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has also released a statement opposing the refugee program suspension. Boston's MSPCA-Angell humane society and local animal control officers rescued 78 cats from a Fall River animal hoarder on Tuesday, prompting an urgent call for adopters. The cats were removed safely, though many are suffering from eye and ear infections, the MSPCA said in a statement. The owner reached out to the MSPCA for help last week and is not facing charges; five neutered cats have been allowed to stay in the home. "This was a case in which someone was overwhelmed and did the right thing by asking for help," MSPCA Law Enforcement officer Chelsea Weiand said in a statement. 54 cats were taken to MSPCA adoption centers, with another 24 entering the custody of Fall River animal control. The sudden influx of cats has put a strain on the MSPCA adoption centers' resources, and the organization is seeking new homes for the cats. "This is the perfect time to adopt as we now have so many cats to choose from," said Mary Sarah Fairweather of the MSPCA. "The cats are sweet natured and very friendly and will make excellent companions." The MSPCA is seeking to rehome the cats in pairs or into homes that already have cats. People interested in adopting from the MSPCA can reach the organization's Cape Cod adoption center at capeadoption@mspca.org and its Boston center at adoption@mspca.org. The MSPCA has also launched a fundraising page to help pay for the care of the Fall River cats and other animals in its shelters. berk power plant.jpg Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen is asking state lawmakers to file legislation to require cities that host power plants to receive compensation from any future legal financial settlements with facilities that violate emission standards or other environmental regulations. (Don Treeger / The Republican File Photo) AGAWAM -- Mayor Richard A. Cohen is asking state lawmakers to file legislation to require cities that host power plants to receive compensation from any future legal settlements with facilities that violate emission standards or other environmental regulations. Cohen said host cities should receive 25 percent of any financial rewards collected by the state through lawsuits or criminal penalties. Agawam is home to the Berkshire Power Plant, whose owner, manager and operator last year paid a total of $8.5 million in civil and criminal fines for violating the federal Clean Air Act. The plant's monitoring system was tampered with to conceal the actual emission rate, which was higher than allowable standards, according to authorities. Both the federal and state governments benefited from the financial settlement, but not a dime went to the City of Agawam, according to Cohen. "It is only fair and just that Agawam receives compensation for power plant violations, and I ask that you remedy this injustice with the filing of this legislation," Cohen stated in a letter to Sen. Don Humason and Rep. Nick Boldyga. Some Agawam officials knew nothing about the violations at the power plant and the subsequent state and federal investigations until reading about the issue in The Republican and MassLive.com. "This happened in our community and we knew nothing about it," Agawam City Councilor Richard Theroux said in April 2016, shortly after federal and state authorities concluded their joint investigation and announced the settlement. As part of the agreement, the offenders donated $250,000 to the American Lung Association and $200,000 toward the installation of electric vehicle-charging stations in Massachusetts. The legislation Cohen is pushing for would ensure that Agawam benefits from any future payouts related to environmental violations at the plant. "If such a law was already in place, Agawam would have received $325,000," the mayor estimated. In March 2016, Berkshire Power Plant's owner and management company agreed to plead guilty to tampering with emissions equipment and submitting false information to both environmental and energy regulators. The former plant operation and maintenance company also agreed to pay a state civil penalty. AMHERST - Students, staff and faculty at Amherst College are staging a walkout at noon Wednesday calling for the administration to "explicitly condemn" Donald Trump's immigrant executive order and to take concrete measures to protect "our threatened peers to the fullest of the college's ability," according to the press release. The planned walkout is also to show support 'for those who have been singled out by this order and to make a commitment to protecting their rights in the face of this drastic policy," according to the release. Trump on Friday signed an order barring nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. The order also banned refugees from entering the country for 120 days, and halted the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely. College President Carolyn "Biddy" Martin Sunday issued a statement that read in part, "We value every member of this community and are committed to doing everything we can within the limits of the law to protect those who will be affected by this order. "All of higher education will be weaker for the exclusion of talent and the interruption of education and careers." But junior Areej Hasan said this is not enough. In an email, he wrote that her statement "lacks conviction and any specific commitment to the students affected. "President Martin writes largely in abstract terms and offers her sympathy without committing to any specific measures that will be taken to support students affected. He wrote that other college presidents, citing Cornell University have "released a detailed list of commitments including legal consultation and representation and assistance in the case that a community member is detained or prevented from re-entering the country." College spokeswoman Caroline Hanna said about five are effected from campus. Martin in her statement also is advising Amherst students, faculty and staff from the affected countries, including those who are dual citizens or have green cards, not to travel outside of the U.S. Hasan in his email wrote he is expecting about 350 to attend the rally in the quad near Valentine Hall. SPRINGFIELD - The owner of Chef Wayne's Big Mamou restaurant on lower Liberty Street is looking for a new location in the downtown district to provide stability and greater space for his well-known Louisiana cuisine destination. Wayne Hooker, owner and chef, said he has enjoyed being in business nearly 22 years at his current site, which is across the street from the U.S. Post Office and a short distance from the Peter Pan Bus terminal and the nearly completed Union Station redevelopment project. But he has been operating without a lease at 63 Liberty St., and at 62 years old, has no interest in retiring. He intends to stay in Springfield and preferably the downtown dining district, he said. "It's a matter of finding the right place," Hooker said. "Because of the uncertainty, I have to position myself. I'm still working and my employees need their jobs. We're family and we argue like a family. I have them to consider too." Hooker would not reveal if he currently has a preferred site, saying such a decision is "TBA," to be announced. He said he has looked at a lot of potential sites, aided by city officials. The mayor's office has been working closely with Hooker, and he has also been getting information and assistance from the city's Economic Development Office, the Business Improvement District, and MassDevelopment, he said. He currently has a dining capacity for 40 patrons, and would like to expand to 80 to 90 patrons, no more than that, Hooker said. He would like to double the size of his kitchen space. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said Hooker has "a destination restaurant, a great eclectic Louisiana cuisine for people from all walks of life." The city wants to continue working with him to keep him in Springfield and help him thrive, he said. Kevin Kennedy, the city's chief development officer, said the city is actively trying to help Hooker. "We see Chef Wayne and Big Mamou as a Springfield Institution that we want to help," Kennedy said. "It's a great business and a great following and something that is very good for Springfield." Neither Kennedy nor Hooker would rule out Union Station as a possible site. In addition, Hooker said he is open to any suggestions from the city, whether a lease or purchase of a site. Hooker said he would face a major investment in a new site, "and it's got to feel good." Hooker had wanted to finish his career at the current site, but said that "without a lease, it's scary." He has nine part-time employees. There is some uncertainty about what will be happening to some of the buildings in the area of Union Station, including the Peter Pan headquarters. Peter Pan will be moving its bus operations to the $94 million refurbished Union Station. Hooker is hoping that his selected site will have enough land for some outdoor activity such as a crawfish festival, and to be "a little more festive when New Orleans celebrates which is every day." Big Mamou does not have a license to sell beer or alcohol, but patrons can bring their own. SPRINGFIELD -- Devin Roman admitted Wednesday that he fired five shots, three into his victim's back and two into his left elbow. Roman was arrested shortly after the shooting, which happened after the end of the March 19 St. Patrick's Road Race in Holyoke. Large groups of people were still in the area following the event. Roman, 20, of Chicopee, told police he shot the victim because he stole a $13,000 watch and other items from Roman several years earlier, Assistant District Attorney Robert A. Schmidt said. The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Roman expressed happiness and pride after his arrest, according to Schmidt. He told Holyoke police, using lots of profanity, that the victim "deserved to die" and he was "glad I shot that (expletive)." Schmidt said Roman called his mother to tell him he shot the man, then told his mother, "I love you." Hampden Superior Court Judge Daniel Ford agreed to hear sentencing arguments Feb. 6 and sentence Roman then. Schmidt asked Ford to sentence Roman to 14 to 15 years in state prison. Defense lawyer Marissa L. Elkins said she will ask for a sentence of seven to nine years or something similar to that. The charges to which Roman pleaded guilty are: two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number in commission of a felony and carrying a loaded firearm. The shooting happened just before 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of Dwight and Linden streets. The victim was with two other men when he was shot as he walked out of Dwight Market. Schmidt said Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Paul Horgan was driving past the market when he heard shots and saw Roman with a smoking gun. Horgan fired a shot at Roman as he chased him, but did not hit him. He eventually caught up to Roman at Avery Field and arrested him with the help of Holyoke police officers. As Roman was placed in the rear of a cruiser, he heard an officer on the police radio say that the shots fired may have been from a .22-caliber firearm. Roman yelled, "It's a .25, (expletive)!" A bystander told police that Roman had thrown something in the back of a truck. Police recovered the gun from there. AT&T raised a few eyebrows last fall when it announced experimental technology to deliver speedy "multi-gigabit" wireless Internet over existing power lines. Now that potential solution, called Project AirGig, appears much closer to becoming reality, and has moved well beyond the experimental stage. AT&T says it is having "advanced discussions" with power companies to begin field trials of Project AirGig in at least two locations by the fall, and if all goes well, commercial deployment could occur within 9 to 12 months. One of the trials will be in the U.S.; a second could be outside the country. Edward C. Baig , USA TODAY Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2017/01/31/t-plans-deliver-fast-internet-over-power-poles/97260568/ Study confirms overwhelming support for public lands and outdoor recreation Governor Steve Bullock today highlighted a new Colorado College State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll that confirmed overwhelming support for public lands and outdoor recreation in Mountain West states. "The national political winds change direction every few years, but a passion for the outdoors and strong support for American public lands remain constant in the Mountain West," said Montana Governor Steve Bullock. "Public lands drive our economy and define our way of life in Montana and in surrounding states. We have too much to lose if we allow these national treasures to be put at risk." Full Story: https://governor.mt.gov/Newsroom/ArtMID/28487/ArticleID/5620 The new robot, called Handle, gets around on two wheels. You may know Boston Dynamics for its adorable (if slightly clumsy) dog robot Spot or its impressive humanoid Atlas robot. But the robotics company is apparently working on another robot that its founder, Mark Raibert, is calling "nightmare-inducing." The new robot moves around on two wheels, and was announced to investors in a closed meeting. A leaked video of the meeting was uploaded to YouTube on January 31. Amazing videos: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a25000/leaded-video-handle-robot/?src=socialflowFB Heads of state, 17 ministers, high-ranking government officials and prominent business leaders from Africa have confirmed their participation for the fifth edition of the Global Business Forum Africa (GBF Africa), which takes place November 18-19, 2019 in Dubai. Among the high-level dignitaries attending GBF Africa 2019 are H.E. George Weah, President of Liberia; H.E. Danny Faure, President of Seychelles; and 17 ministers from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Namibia, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Senegal, Uganda, Malawi, Congo, Tanzania, Niger and Liberia. Also attending are senior public and private sector stakeholders from across Africa, including former heads of state, CEOs, entrepreneurs, industry experts and economists. Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is organising GBF Africa 2019 under the theme Scale Up Africa in an effort to underline the important role of cross border cooperation in supporting and acceleratings Africas next phase of sustainable economic growth and development. Since its inception, GBF Africa has served as a catalyst for UAE-Africa economic cooperation and business exchange. The upcoming edition of the forum will highlight new high-potential areas where African companies can collaborate with their UAE counterparts to create new business opportunities and capitalise on existing trade and investment potential, said H.E. Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of Dubai Chamber. Non-oil trade between Dubai-Africa has increased steadily in recent years, amounting to $37.2 billion in 2018. The trend reflects the expanding trade ties and growing business confidence between the two regions. Beyond high-level speakers and participants, GBF Africa 2019 offers a comprehensive programme delving into key trends and technologies reshaping African economies, with interactive sessions and panel discussions putting a focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, game-changing partnerships, success stories, opportunities and challenges. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Morgan County Veterans Day Parade slated Nov. 11 Audio Article The Morgan County Veterans Day Parade will be held on Friday, Nov. 11. The parade will form at the Commons, in McConnelsville, at 9:30 a.m. and set out at 10 a.m. The American Legion Post 24 will render honors at the monuments at the Commons, Riecker Building, the Square, at... A concert with two purposes Audio Article Wednesday, Nov. 30, a concert with dual purposes is being held at the Twin City Opera House in McConnelsville, Ohio. Its a thank-you to healthcare workers, who can attend for free, and its a benefit for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. In September 2021, Rick Shriver contracted COVID-19. He collapsed... BOE reminder of early voting hours and polling location change Audio Article Remaining early voting hours at the Morgan County Board of Elections are as follows: from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov, 2 through Friday, Nov. 4; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5; from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6; and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.... Lions Club announces annual Wreaths Across America Audio Article On Saturday, Dec. 17, the Chesterhill Lions Club will be joining with National Wreaths Across America in the laying of wreaths at each of the seven cemeteries located in Marion Township. The mission is to honor the local veterans who have served our nation so their families can rest assured... Governor DeWine awards $6.7 million for domestic violence survivor programs Audio Article Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that he is awarding $6.7 million to support the work of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) to offer mobile and health advocacy services and temporary residential services for domestic violence survivors across the state. The announcement comes during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.... CDC committee vote wont change Ohio school vaccine requirement Audio Article Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA has released the following statement: The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine to be added to the formulary or schedule of vaccines for children does not mandate this vaccine for school children. Ohio law determines... by Sara Guaglione , January 30, 2017 The Dallas Morning News will outsource the design and layout of its print edition to GateHouse Media and cut around 20 jobs from its 50-person print team. Five other positions in the newsroom have been cut as well. In a memo to staff, editor Mike Wilson referred to the papers ongoing declines in print-related revenues and total revenue declines, which are forcing The Dallas Morning News to make difficult but necessary changes...to help the company continue to align its revenues with its expenses. Wilson said he will prioritize reporting and editing over product, and contract GateHouse Media to design its newspaper. The Dallas Morning News will eliminate the roles of copy editor and designer by early June, a total of 20 production jobs. GateHouse has a production hub in Austin called the Center for News and Design, where it produces pages for dozens of newspapers at a lower cost, Wilson wrote. GateHouse copy edits and designs more than 200 newspapers. advertisement advertisement The Dallas Morning News will create a team of multiplatform editors who will produce stories for the Web, as well as copy edit and write headlines for print. Moving forward, we need as many people as possible contributing to our our Web sites, Wilson wrote. For those whose jobs have been eliminated, they will have the opportunity to apply for the new positions, Wilson added. GateHouse Media CEO Kirk Davis told The Dallas Morning News he expects to hire around 50 new people this year at its production center, and Dallas Morning News employees can apply for jobs there. In a post on Dallas Morning News site, the company said it is working to build its marketing services divisions and digital and print subscriptions this year. Earlier this month, the newspaper finalized an agreement to relocate to The Statler Library. The papers chairman, president and CEO Jim Moroney told the Dallas Business Journal the smaller space will encourage more collaboration and communication inside the newsroom. The Dallas Morning News plans to move into its new home by mid-2017. by Aaron Baar , January 31, 2017 For all the benefits of in-home WiFi, consumers are often frustrated with dead spots and slower-than-expected speeds. Cox Communications believes it has a better solution, and its using a big platform to show it off. The regional cable company will use a regional Super Bowl spot this weekend to launch its Panoramic WiFi service in San Diego. We know 45% of consumers have WiFi that theyre unhappy with, Gaston Vaneri, senior vice president of brand for Cox, tells Marketing Daily. The majority of them said they would switch if the new prove gave them the internet that they expected. The spot, from agency Doner, portrays an acrobatic family passing a device from person-to-person and room-to-room. A mom on a patio tosses a tablet to her husband, who catches it in a frying pan and flips it to a child running through the hallways, who passes it to a sister doing a handstand, who gives it to a dog, who takes it upstairs, where the tablet eventually winds up in the moms hands again on a patio. Then, the whole spot runs again in reverse to reinforce the point. advertisement advertisement Consumers know what bad WiFi is. What we have to do is make them believe we can make it better, Vaneri says. If they see that it works, then theyll be convinced. The idea to run the spot in reverse came from director Joseph Kahn, he says. Kahn pitched the idea early in the process and then worked with the agency and actors to bring it to life. The actors rehearsed and filmed the sequence both backward and forwards (there are subtle differences in the two versions) to make it more authentic, he says. It turned the ad from being interesting into something unique, he says. It also gives us the opportunity to walk through the whole product twice. Initially, the spot will run in minute-long segments showing the full backward and forwards sequences together. Eventually, it will be broken up into separate 30-second sequences, Vaneri says. The Panoramic WiFi product is launching first in San Diego, where it is also being supported by print, digital and out-of-home advertising. It will roll into other markets (as will the campaign) throughout the year, he adds. by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, January 31, 2017 The entire online media business is responsible for stamping out the phenomenon of fake news, according to Interactive Advertising Bureau president and CEO Randall Rothenberg, who issued a call for industry-wide coordination at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting on Monday. At the level of simple self-interest, Rothenberg pointed out: Theres a linear connection between fake news and those trolls of digital marketing and media: click fraud, fraudulent non-human traffic, consumer data breaches, privacy violations, and the sources of ad-blocking. "Each represents the failure of our supply chain the same kind of supply chain failure we at IAB and our members have dealt with repeatedly and successfully over the years. However, Rothenberg then went beyond the business impact of fake news, alluding to the role of media in sustaining a democratic society: If you do not seek to address fake news and the systems, processes, technologies, transactions and relationships that allow it to flourish, then you are consciously abdicating responsibility for its outcome the depletion of the truth and trust that undergird democratic capitalism. Thus, he continued, Eliminating fakery, fraudulence, and criminality from the digital ecosystem is the responsibility of all doing business within it. In this case online media companies, civic responsibilities overlap with their business obligations. In an impassioned conclusion, Rothenberg asserted: Dont tell me that its difficult. Dont tell me that it will take a lot of time. Dont tell me that its too complex to resolve quickly. In a multidimensional industry that can invest untold billions on driverless cars, Mars missions, Super Bowl ads, next seasons prime-time lineup and the acquisition of hot programmatic startups, surely we can fix fake news first. However, this is not a purely technical problem, as Rothenberg himself seemed to acknowledge. Without naming names, he appeared to concede the existence of fake news is no accident, as it has played a role in a broader destabilization of factual discourse. We have confronted the terrifying realization that facts and truth and the time-honored processes for establishing them can be turned into relativistic commodities, undermining the will of our citizenry and the ability of our leaders to make the world a better place. This wording hints at the place of fake news in a larger, deliberate campaign of disinformation. In other words, powerful interests far beyond mere petty fraud artists have brought about, and benefited from, the circulation of falsehoods online. They are unlikely to quietly accept the elimination of this potent weapon. by Larissa Faw , February 1, 2017 The Shipyard is acquiring design agency Stream Digital to bolster the independent agency's web design, development and e-commerce capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Stream Digitals founder Todd Cameron will become managing director, digital experience at The Shipyard, and Aaron Cook will continue to serve as creative director. Stream Digital will move into The Shipyard's Columbus, OH office. Deemed as marketing engineering," The Shipyard was founded in 2013 by industry veteran Rick Milenthal, who was CEO of digital agency, Engauge, now a part of Publicis Groupe, and marketing technology pioneer Ben Clarke, who was CEO of People To My Site. The deal is the latest of several recent acquisitions by The Shipyard which purchased West Coast ad agency OLeary and Partners last February. Earlier, it acquired Colorado-based content marketing shop Revolocity. With the Stream Digital acquisition there are now 185 employees in total working across offices in Columbus OH, Newport Beach, CA and Evergreen CO. Clients of the agency include AEP - American Electric Power, Angie's List, Donato's Pizza, Virgin Casino, Tropicana Online, Jibo, Scott's, Fantastic Sam's, WD 40, and Orange County Credit Union. A new study from the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) suggests that sleep deprivation also affects levels of sexual satisfaction among postmenopausal women. The first author of the study is Dr. Juliana M. Kling, and the findings were published in the journal Menopause. Insufficient sleep can cause a variety of health problems . Individuals who are constantly sleep deprived may develop hypertension and heart disease . Additional research has found a link between insufficient sleep, and type 2 diabetes and obesity . Some of the factors contributing to these sleep disturbances range from hormonal changes, hot flushes, and abnormalities of the circadian rhythm, to lifestyle choices or other age-related medical conditions. Women who are either premenopausal or have entered the menopause often have trouble sleeping . Some of the sleep problems they experience include trouble falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, or waking up in the early hours of the morning. Many women who are going through the menopause have trouble sleeping. New research shows that sleep quality can also affect a womans level of sexual satisfaction. Researchers analyzed the data collected by the Womens Health Initiative (WHI) Study, a long-term national health study aiming to prevent a range of diseases among postmenopausal women aged between 50 and 79. For the present study, Dr. Kling and colleagues examined data on sleep quality and sexual satisfaction from 93,668 women enrolled in the WIH. Short sleep duration was defined as fewer than 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Of the women enrolled, 56 percent reported being somewhat or very satisfied with their current sexual activity, while 52 percent reported having partnered sexual activity in the last year. The researchers found a total insomnia prevalence of 31 percent. Overall, women who reported sleeping for under 7-8 hours were less likely to be sexually active and sexually satisfied. After adjusting for potential causes of insomnia, such as depression and chronic disease, there was still an inverse association between insomnia and sexual satisfaction. Higher insomnia scores correlated with lower odds of sexual satisfaction, and short sleep duration was associated with lower odds of partnered sexual activity, as well as lower sexual satisfaction. The observed relationship varied with age. Compared with younger women, older women tended to be less sexually active if they slept for fewer than 7-8 hours. Additionally, women older than 70 who slept fewer than 5 hours were 30 percent less likely to be sexually active than women who slept for 7-8 hours. However, the authors note, this could be due to the presence of more comorbidities. The authors write that, in order to elucidate the relationships between older age, lower sleep duration, and other comorbidities, more prospective, longitudinal studies are needed. Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, the executive director of NAMS, weighs in on the findings: Women and healthcare providers need to recognize the link between menopause symptoms and inadequate sleep and their effects on sexual satisfaction. There are effective treatment options to help with sleep disruption and sexual satisfaction, including hormone therapy, which this study confirmed to be effective at menopause for symptomatic women. Learn how hour-long naps may boost mental ability for older adults. New research strengthens the previously reported link between air pollution and cognitive decline, after finding that exposure to fine particulate matter could significantly raise the risk of developing Alzheimers disease and other dementias. Share on Pinterest Researchers found that older women exposed to high levels of fine particle air pollution were much more likely to develop dementia. The research found that exposure to high levels of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) tiny air pollution particles that are up to 2.5 micrometers in diameter increased older womens risk of dementia by over 90 percent, compared with low PM2.5 exposure. Senior study author Prof. Caleb Finch, of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California (USC), and colleagues say that if their findings apply to the general population, then PM2.5 could account for around a fifth of dementia cases. The researchers recently reported their findings in the journal Translational Psychiatry. PM2.5 are fine particles consisting of solids and liquid droplets that are emitted from sources involving combustion, such as power plants and motor vehicles. PM2.5 are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller. To put their size into perspective, the diameter of a PM2.5 particle is around 30 times smaller than that of a human hair. Because they are so small, PM2.5 are easily inhaled, which can pose numerous problems for health. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to fine air particles can increase the risk of heart attacks, asthma, and reduced lung function, as well as premature death for individuals with heart or lung disease. In recent years, studies have suggested that exposure to such pollution may also raise the risk of dementia. Prof. Finch and team decided to investigate this association further in their new study. The wear and tear of life takes a cumulative toll on our bodies. Our organs gradually stiffen through fibrosis, which is a process that deposits tough collagen in our body tissue. Fibrosis happens little by little, each time we experience illness or injury. Eventually, this causes our health to decline. "As we age, we typically accumulate more fibrosis and our organs become dysfunctional," says Denisa Wagner, PhD, the Edwin Cohn Professor of Pediatrics in the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and a member of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Ironically, fibrosis can stem from our own immune system's attempt to defend us during injury, stress-related illness, environmental factors and even common infections. But a Boston Children's team of scientists thinks preventative therapies could be on the horizon. A study by Wagner and her team, published recently by the Journal of Experimental Medicine, pinpoints a gene responsible for fibrosis and identifies some possible therapeutic solutions. "We've documented in mice how deletion of a single gene, PAD4, has a drastic effect on curbing the complex process of fibrosis," says Kim Martinod, PhD, a former postdoctoral fellow and co-lead author on the study with Thilo Witsch, MD, and Luise Erpenbeck, MD, in Wagner's lab. Their research indicates that an already-FDA-approved drug used by cystic fibrosis patients could shield our organs from fibrosis during acute events, like lung infection or heart attack. And looking to the future, they envision that the development of a once-daily pill, capable of inhibiting PAD4, could one day be used as a preventative measure. PAD4's purpose The PAD4 gene controls an enzyme of the same name. In times of infection or bodily stress, the PAD4 enzyme activates a strange, primitive immune defense that ends up doing more harm than good. White blood cells, called neutrophils, self-combust and eject their own DNA strands outward like javelins. Sacrificing themselves, the exploded neutrophils and their outreaching DNA tentacles form so-called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which nature perhaps intended to use as webs for catching foreign invaders and plugging up injury-related bleeding. Even though NETs try to help us, they counteractively set off a chain reaction that deposits an insidious type of collagen amidst our organs' hard-working cells. This collagen-laced fibrosis keeps piling up each time our body's immune system releases NETs. Over a lifetime, cumulative fibrosis is a far more important factor in health than any possible benefits imparted by NET release. "Suppressing PAD4 activity and therefore blocking NET formation over the course of someone's lifetime could potentially have dramatic effects on overall organ function, we hypothesized," says Wagner. Wagner's team set out to demonstrate the relationship between PAD4, NET release, aging and organ fibrosis. They studied mice, which share very similar immune responses with humans. Implicating PAD4 in age-related organ decline Whereas young hearts in mice and humans contain thin layers of connective tissue, older hearts typically have too much connective collagen built up between heart muscle cells. This reduces the heart's ability to pump blood efficiently. To investigate PAD4's effects on age-related cardiac fibrosis, Wagner's team compared heart tissue of normal mice with another group of mice that had the PAD4 gene deleted. They observed that old mice without PAD4 had much less fibrosis than the normal mice. In fact, these mice had heart tissue that looked strikingly similar to heart tissue of young mice, and they kept up remarkably "young" levels of systolic and diastolic heart function as they aged. Wagner's team then looked at collagen deposition in mouse lungs. They found that deleting the PAD4 gene also significantly reduced lung fibrosis as mice aged. The researchers believe these observations show that deleting the PAD4 gene in mice protected their organs from age-related fibrosis and dysfunction. "If we could inhibit PAD4 or otherwise stop NET release in humans, we might be able to greatly reduce age-related fibrosis and improve our quality of life," says Wagner. For starters, it turns out there's already a drug on the market that can degrade NETs after they've been released. It works by targeting the expelled strands of DNA that characterize NETs. Preventing fibrosis The DNA-destroying enzyme DNase has been developed into a drug used today by cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. CF makes the body's fluid secretions very thick, causing mucus accumulation and frequent lung infection. In the face of the ensuing infection, PAD4 activates prolific NET release in CF patients' lungs. Together with bacteria, this forms a gel-like layer of debris that further debilitates the lungs. To combat this gel, CF patients turn to an inhalable drug form of DNase. "NETs are easily targeted and destroyed by DNase in the lungs of CF patients," says Wagner. "So by extending DNase use to a much wider range of patients experiencing infectious illness or injury, we could potentially clear up NETs elsewhere in the body and prevent subsequent organ fibrosis." Wagner's team tested this approach in an experimental model of mice with cardiac injury leading to heart failure, which activates the PAD4 enzyme and triggers NET release. Within one month, fibrosis and decline in heart function will typically follow. Interestingly, mice that received DNase injections in the next few days after cardiac injury were protected from fibrosis nearly as well as mice that had their PAD4 gene deleted (and therefore never experienced NET release at all). DNase might therefore be a powerful interventional therapy. It could potentially fight off accumulating organ fibrosis caused by a huge variety of infections or acute injuries. To block NET release before it can even happen, Wagner and her team envision a PAD4 inhibitor drug that could stop neutrophils from being activated by the PAD4 enzyme. "The development of orally-administered PAD4 inhibitors intended to be taken like baby aspirin could radically improve our quality of life as we age," Wagner speculates. Article: Peptidylarginine deiminase 4 promotes age-related organ fibrosis, Kimberly Martinod, Thilo Witsch, Luise Erpenbeck, Alexander Savchenko, Hideki Hayashi, Deya Cherpokova, Maureen Gallant, Maximilian Mauler, Stephen M. Cifuni, Denisa D. Wagner, Journal of Experimental Medicine, doi: 10.1084/jem.20160530, published 28 December 2016. The story of Hamlet is no doubt one you have come across if not once than multiple times, having been brought to the big screen by the likes of Kenneth Branagh, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, David Tennant and, more recently, Benedict Cumberbatch. Its been parodied by Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Simpsons, and even provided the plot for one of Disneys most beloved animations, The Lion King. One of the greatest challenges, then, in portraying the tragedy of The Prince of Denmark is to give this four hundred year old story a new and invigorating take. While the Icarus Theatre Collective and Kings Theatre production of Hamlet, showing this week in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, is by no means flawless, it is refreshingly different. The stage that provides the setting for the plays running is a simple yet effective design. It comprises of two thrones, some pillars, a number of steps, and Danish flags draped in the background. The stage direction impressively utilises this backdrop, which is brought to life by the nine person ensemble which provides the main characters as well as the royal guards and chorus. The direction keeps things visually interesting, as challenging as the play can be to follow, this not being only because of the old English dialogue but also because the actors are legging it through the first act of the play, presumably to get to the good stuff. The play has been cut down to a very reasonable running length of two and a half hours and aside from the adapted script, which includes shorter monologues, the exclusion of less necessary scenes, and a few repetitions of the iconic To Be or Not To Be passage, the main change made to the play in this production of Hamlet is the number of gender change-ups. Horatio (played by Camille Marmie) is now a woman, as is Rosencratz (Virginia V. Hartmann), and the guards/chorus have a fair near-equal proportion of men to women. The revision of gender in the play has mixed results. The women, for example, are now represented as just as prepared for battle as the men are. No uncomfortable, impractical dresses here under the female characters flowy skirts, they wear trousers and boots and, most significantly, they are armed. While this gives characters like Ophelia (played here by Kerry Gooderson) an effective empowerment, the bond between the feminised Horatio and Nicholas Limms Hamlet is not all that convincing. The play feels the loss of this pivotal male comradeship. Another interesting change in the new play is the use of the chorus. They alternately repeat lines of the core characters, recite the characters lines instead, or indeed feed the characters their own lines. As a result, they function as kinds of streams of conscience that give added meaning and texture to the play without causing a grave disruption. But onto what is an essential element how convincing is Hamlet himself? Nicholas Limm, who is young but given authority by his height, speaks the lines with purpose and eloquence, reminding us with every syllable of the genius of Shakespeares words. His voice is deep and regal yet also elegantly connotes the distress (and as the play progresses, the increasing hysteria and mental disintegration) of his character. He lets his voice do the majority of the acting for him, and for the first half of the play, Limm gives a refreshingly reserved performance that stands out from the theatricality of those around him. After seeing his fathers ghost Will Harrison-Wallace impressively matches Limms vocal style to accentuate the father-son bond he portrays the character in a hyper yet nuanced way that is loyal to the literary icon. The latter part of the play is also effective in that where many theatrical productions falter in their second half, the narrative now is conveyed at a heart-racing pace and the stylistic aesthetics of the former half are essentially abandoned with the emphasis instead given to development of the story and its characters. It is in this half where Gooderson as Ophelia, Portia Booroff as Gertrude, and Andrew Venning as Laertes are really given the opportunity to shine, and the final, conflict-ridden scene brings the weighty play to a satisfactory conclusion. Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends. Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice. AIIMS and Medical Education Advertisement Poor and Unprivileged Healthcare Generic Drugs Smart Cards for Elderly Views on the Union Budget from the Health Industry The government is committed to undertake structural transformation of the regulator framework for medical education and practice in India. Two new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will be set up, one in Jharkhand and another in Gujarat.The Finance Minister said that adequate availability of specialist doctors is needed to strengthen the secondary and tertiary levels of healthcare. Steps have been taken to create additional 5,000 Post Graduate seats every year. The government has also decided to start DNB (Diplomate National Board) courses in many of the hospitals across the country."In addition, steps will be taken to roll-out DNB courses in big District Hospitals; strengthen PG teaching in select ESI and Municipal Corporation Hospitals, and encourage reputed Private Hospitals to start DNB courses," said Finance Minister Jaitley.A nationwide scheme providing financial aid of Rs 6,000 for pregnant women to cover hospital admission, vaccination, and nutritional food. The government has allocation a sum of Rs. 1,84,632 crore for women and children. About 1.5 lakh Health Sub Centers will be transformed into Health and Wellness Centers. Mahila Shakti Kendras will be set up at the village level in 14 lakh Anganwadi centers with a total allocation of Rs 500 crore.The government will take steps to increase the availability of essential drugs across the country and reduce the cost of life-saving drugs. It has proposed to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules to promote the use of generic drugs New rules will also be formulated for regulating medical devices, which could attract investment in these sectors and reduce the cost of devices.Aadhar-based smart cards will be introduced for senior citizens for their health and well-being. The smart cards would contain health details of senior citizens. The pilot service of these cards would begin in 15 cities initially in India beginning this year.said, "The Finance Minister said that Action Plan has been prepared to eliminate Kala Azar and Filariasis by 2017, Leprosy by 2018 and Measles by 2020 and TB by 2025. Though the intention is laudable, I think the claims are exaggerated especially when it comes to Filariasis, which is mosquito-borne and can only be eliminated when we can achieve a drastic reduction in the mosquito population- a near impossible task even by a lay man's understanding. Similarly eradication TB by 2025 is utopian especially with the advent of MDR strains.""Also, he aims to reduce IMR from 39 to 28 by 2019 and MMR from 167 to 100 by 2020 looks good; but unless we know the blue print it is difficult to go by claims alone. Similarly, renaming 1.5 lakh health sub centers as Health Wellness Centers sounds hollow when a huge number of vacancies exist in sub centers including doctors and trained personnel.Creation of 5,000 postgraduate seats 'every year' is also not very clear, since most of the medical colleges in the country are run by states and it is not clear where these seats are going to be created. He is unclear about restructuring MCI and DNB. Till the problems of MCI and DNB are cleared at the earliest, confusions in the status of MCI offered degrees and NB offered Diplomas will continue," said Dr J.Amalorpavanathan."Creation of AIIMS hospitals is a promise that were not fulfilled in the past. Even Tamil Nadu was offered this in previous years but did not materialize. And AIIMS itself is as we know, beset with several problems, and not the best model to emulate. Lastly, there is not much clarity about 'regulating ' drug prices and cost of medical devices," he concluded.said that the budget could have been more. Increasing the availability of essential drugs for serious illnesses is laudable. However, steps could have been taken to improve early diagnosis of cancer and dedicated programs to treat common conditions like diabetes and hypertension should have been launched.Additional 5,000 postgraduate medical seats is laudable. However, relevant steps should be taken to prevent commercialization of medical seats, he added.said, "I commend the Union Budget's focus on improving the growth trajectory of the economy, its pronounced thrust on rural development alongside ensuring fiscal consolidation. It will certainly have a positive impact in fiscal administration and set the stage for clean and good governance. Furthermore, it is well poised to energize employment, improve existing infrastructure and more importantly alleviate poverty in the country. A nation grows only when it is truly inclusive and the announcements today underscored the Government's commitment to build an inclusive India.""I would reiterate that a healthy India is pivotal for India to retain its position as one of the fastest growing economies. Hence, we are also pleased that the critical determinants of health, i.e. sanitation and clean drinking water have gained greater importance as they are critical to ensure preventable deaths. Furthermore, a target of 2025 has been set for the elimination of Tuberculosis apart from other diseases such as Filiaria, Leprosy, Measles and Kala Azar are all being targeted, which is a key need of the day in addition to addressing the onslaught of NCDs."Source: Medindia I know you think Ill be preaching to you about how February is the month of love and shit like that. Well, no. Honestly, the whole concept of Valentines Day is rather flawed in this modern day. But, Ill leave that rant for a different story. So, Ill just filter the words coming out of my mouth for the moment and give you the lowdown on why February is going to the most culturally happening month ever. There are 8 such reasons. 1. The Great Indian Restaurant Festival 01st February 10th February, 2017 Where: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad & Kolkata Radisson,Punjab Grill, JW Marriott Starting today, that is, 01st February 2017, foodies across the country are going to be shuffling about looking up the best places to dine and wine; courtesy the Great Indian Restaurant Festival. This is Indias first ever restaurant festival that encompasses the best of the best bars, cafes, pubs and clubs in the country under one umbrella; offering the most irresistible deals on food, desserts, buffets, drinks and combos. Its like one big food orgy happening, literally, everywhere. 2. India Art Fair 2017 02nd February 05th February, 2017 Where: New Delhi Facebook As a country that is so rich in art and culture, India is the proud home to South Asias biggest modern and contemporary art fair, where you see everything from a Jitish Kallat to an Anish Kapoor and everyone who is someone in the world of art, stir souls and minds, alike. Happening at the NSIC Grounds, at Okhla, New Delhi, between 02nd and 05th February 2017, the India Art Fair is one of the most enthralling experiences for every creative individual and a great way to spend a weekend. 3. SulaFest 2017 03rd February 05th February, 2017 Where: Nashik SulaFest Its one of the countrys most sought after music, dance and food experiences. This time around, the festival has been extended from two days to three days, with a killer lineup of musicians, performers and areas to binge on food, drinks and frolic, all the same. Picture a weekend getaway in the vineyards of Nashik, complete with a festoon of likeminded individuals making the most of experiences, together. And their big opening artists are the one and only Infected Mushroom! Your attendance defines your creativity and social maturity. 4. Delhi Cocktail Week 04th February 11th February, 2017 Where: New Delhi PCO & Qla The second edition of Delhi Cocktail Week returns to the city from 4th to 11th February, 2017 with to give all Delhiites a reason to have week-long celebrations with award-winning cocktails from over 30 of the citys best bars, master classes, competitions and more! This is the one time when the merry drinkers, pub-trotters and celebrity bartenders come together to do what they do best. This time around, the DCW has put together some activities and workshop to make things interesting; what with a Paws Day Out Pop-Up at Zorba and a tutorial on how to set up a home bar at Social Hauz Khas, and so much more! Not to forget, theres a pyjama theme party you ought to be on the lookout for. 5. Vh1 Supersonic 2017 10th February 12th February, 2017 Where: Pune Vh1 Supersonic The middle of February, that is, 10th to 12th February 2017, looks particularly exciting to all dance music lovers and music festival goers; courtesy of Viacom18s much awaited fourth edition of Vh1 Supersonic powered by Budweiser is a musical experience that seems to have taken an oath to take dance music in India to the next big level, with no comparisons, whatsoever. For the first time in the history of the Indian dance music scene, we have legendary dance music DJ and producer, Eric Prydz gracing the crowds at Pune for his maiden gig in the country. To match with that is the one and only Macklemore and sensational Zedd. It really doesnt get better. 6. Palate Fest Reimagined 2017 10th February 12th February, 2017 Where: New Delhi Palate Fest Yes, our beloved food festival, the Palate Fest is back with a twist. This time around, the Palate Fest is being held in conjunction with the Imagine Fest 2017a NDMC and Incredible India initiative organized by the Ministry of Tourism. The three-day extravaganza is to be held at the Nehru Park, in New Delhi between from 10th to 12th February, 2017. Basically, between 11am to 11pm, your stomach is a vessel for all things good and indulgent. Comprende? 7. Riders Music Festival 18th February 19th February, 2017 Where: New Delhi RMF The weekend of 18th and 19th February 2017 is going to one of mayhem and madness in Delhi. We owe it to the hot wheels and the pied pipers of the country who will come together to give the city its first ever Riders Music Festivala two-day experience that connects creative individualsbikers and non-bikers, alike, via music and bikes. From iconic musicians like Lucky Ali and Amit Trivedi to celebrated bikers like Gaurav Gill and Neharika Yadav and a bevy of scrumptious options for the palate, the Riders Music Festival is going to rev things up. 8. BassFace Festival 2017 24th February 25th February, 2017 Where: Delhi NCR Facebook In its first edition ever, BassFace, as a musical sojourn, promises to transform how we experience music. Set to take place at Zorba, on MG Road, on 24th and 25th February, 2017, the festival will be a platform for all sorts of artists from all over the world with no genre or tempo or bass boundaries and will feature some of the most celebrated indigenous dance musicians in the countryfrom Arjun Vagale to Blot! Were talking two days featuring two stages with more than 30 artists spanned across three genres, happening in the Delhi NCR. Honestly, the capital has always been in dire need of a great music experience that qualifies in levels of comparison with its Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore counterparts. So, this one is definitely not worth missing out for the world. Indian weddings are so dramatic they could be full-length feature films. Weve heard of badass bride entries. Because the boring walk-slowly-to-music entry is just too mainstream now. Everyone wants their wedding to be a memorable affair, something that people talk about for years after that. There have been weddings where the entry of the bridal party was so well choreographed it could put our filmmakers to shame. This Indian wedding in Singapore had the entire family of relatives synchronizing a perfect entry for the bride, while we cant even manage a Sunday without bickering. A couple from south India decided to do away with the usual wedding music and played heavy metal music at their own wedding! Coffee Stains Going a step ahead, an Indian couple entered their wedding on a hoverboard. Smooth AF. Because just dancing to Bollywood music is so passe. Based out of Auckland, the couple just raised the wedding swag bar too high. Of course, this bride who entered her wedding hall riding a bullet still keeps the most badass wedding entry award. YouTube Phew so much pressure to make a grand wedding entry. Thank god we are single. If our demonetisation announcement by Modi had the country rattling for explanation, then the recent Muslim ban proposed and invoked by Donald Trump has stumped and baffled the entire world in shock. Twitter It has affected millions of lives, and a minute of announcement is causing a ruckus that cannot be even measured in terms of emotional damage. Of course, people are opposing it and trying to make their opinions be heard, but it seems like its going to last and spell doom on many more. Something similar has happened to the famous Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi. Twitter For the unenlightened ones, his movie The Salesman is Irans official entry in the best foreign film category and Asghar can now not travel to America to attend the Oscars. Many people are saddened by the consequences and this situation is peaking horror in every heart. Oscar nominee Asghar Farhadi has been banned from entry into the U.S. to attend the ceremony in Feb. This is heartbreaking and unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/2PrwZWyBdw Tribeca (@Tribeca) January 28, 2017 Asghar Farhadi, 2 time Oscar nominee, BAFTA nominee, Golden Bear winner, Palme D'or & Cesar award nominee. BANNED from entering US. ?? Jamie Bell (@1jamiebell) January 28, 2017 It is not about him winning the Oscar, but it is about not attending a coveted event which celebrates your own creation. Wonder what more damage the ban is going to cause in the future. Georgia promoted at tourism exhibition in Lithuania Georgia has been touted as one of Europes hottest travel destinations at a major Lithuanian tourism fair in Vilnius this weekend.Georgia was the guest of honour at Adventur 2017, where it had its own pavilion to showcase the countrys attractions to international tourists. The three-day event was held from January 20-22 at the Lithuanian Exhibition and Convention Centre (LITEXPO) in Vilnius.The Georgian pavilion was visited by Lithuanian officials, including the Economy Minister, the Head of the State Department of Tourism, the Mayors of Vilnius and the Baltic Sea coastal city of Klaipeda and the Head of the Lithuanian Public Broadcaster.Georgias presence at the event was organised by the Georgian Embassy in Lithuania. The event featured Georgian dances and polyphonic songs, culture, landscape, food and wine."The Georgian exhibition stand enjoyed the most visitors during the event, Georgias Government Administration said in a statement.Up to 350 tourism companies and organisations from all over the world participated in the event, which hosted up to 25,000 visitors this year.Georgia participated in the annual event for the third time this year."Georgias popularity as a hot tourist destination is increasing year by year and so does the number of Lithuanian visitors to Georgia, the Government Administrations press release said.The Tourism Department of Adjara said it plans to promote the Georgian coastal area at 20 other international tourism exhibitions by the end of this year. Alternate Foreign Minister G. Katrougalos met today with the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, Dara Murphy. The discussion took place in an excellent climate, and a substantial convergence of views was ascertained regarding current European policy issues. The Irish Minister expressed Ireland's solidarity with the Greek government's efforts to reduce the public debt, noting the Irish people's undivided support for our country. The two Ministers also discussed in depth about the course of Brexit, in regard to which they shared, to a significant degree, similar views. They also expressed readiness to strengthen bilateral cooperation in all sectors, with emphasis, from the Irish side, on enhancing cooperation in the digital technology sector. Deputy Foreign Minister Terens Quick will be in Cyprus on 31 January. Following his arrival, he will be received by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades. Mr. Quick is visiting Cyprus at the invitation of his counterpart, the Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Overseas Cypriots, Fotis Fotiou, with whom he will discuss bilateral cooperation issues. In the context of his visit, Mr. Quick will meet with His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, the President of the House of Representatives, D. Syllouris, Foreign Minister I. Kasoulides, former Foreign Minister I. Iacovou, and representatives of the Association of Greeks of Cyprus. Veteran celebrity TV chef Ken Hom said attitudes toward Chinese food have changed "enormously". Provided to China Daily Whenever Bai Bing relishes the prospect of a good Chinese meal, she will treat herself at HKK, an upmarket Chinese restaurant in London's financial district specializing in regional dishes with a modern touch. "I enjoy dining in restaurants like HKK because not only do they offer authentic regional Chinese cuisine but also provide a pleasant dining experience with quality service and a nice ambience," Bai said. The 29-year-old works for a multinational corporation, and she came to London from China's eastern coastal province of Zhejiang in 2009, first to study and then to work. Authentic Chinese cuisine is becoming increasingly popular in the UK and the dishes on offer have progressed significantly over the last three decades. "The British palate is growing, and people are becoming more interested in new and interesting flavors," said Luo Bing, head chef at Hutong, a Chinese restaurant in London's iconic Shard building, which offers authentic northern Chinese and Sichuan cooking. Luo believes that as people travel more, they are more open to trying new things. As a result, the clientele of the restaurant is very mixed, but around 20 percent of all guests are still Chinese who appreciate the taste of home cooking while far from home. One of the most popular dishes at Hutong is "Red Lantern", crispy soft-shell crab deep-fried with Sichuan chilies and served in a Chinese bamboo basket bedded with more dried chilies. Luo said, because the dish delights customers with its authenticity and unusual presentation, it is well received by both Chinese and Western customers. Veteran celebrity TV chef Ken Hom said attitudes toward Chinese food have changed "enormously". "Chinese food at the beginning of the 80s was sweet and sour pork, mainly. Most Brits had a very stereotypical view of Chinese food. Now you are seeing more regional Chinese food, and it is no longer just Cantonese food," he said. With an increasing number of Chinese people living in the UK, and more arriving, upscale Chinese restaurants are making inroads into British restaurant culture. Hakkasan Group has opened four different Chinese restaurants in the capital to cater for an increasing demand for Chinese fine dining. On average, about 40 percent of their customers are of Asian origin. With modern authenticity at its heart, Hakkasan restaurant has redefined the modern Chinese fine-dining approach, offering a dining experience combining Cantonese cuisine and dramatic interior design. Chef Tong Chee Hwee, executive head chef at Hakkasan and HKK, said: "The presentation of the dish is very important when it comes to authentic Chinese cuisine as every dish has its own character and when each dish is developed, all of the details of presentation are applied accordingly." Tong believes diners nowadays are more health conscious and are more aware of nutritional value. "We are using more organic ingredients than previously, and using more seasonal ingredients to get the best of our dishes at the restaurants," he said, adding there is more emphasis on plating and the restaurant environment, which wasn't, previously, regarded with much importance. HKK is a high-end Chinese restaurant under the Hakkasan Group umbrella. The restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star in 2013, less than a year after opening. In the run-up to the Chinese New Year at the end of January, HKK celebrated Chinese imperial dining for Spring Festival with an interpretation of the ancient and extravagant emperor's feasts, showcasing customs and traditions that took place. As culinary tastes develop in the UK capital, the range of regional flavors is likely to increase and spread across the country, Tong said. The Bad Axe Destination Imagination program is going international. On March 15, eight students accompanied by 10 family members will travel to Poland to compete in an invitational tournament sponsored by the Poland Destination Imagination program. Destination Imagination, also know as DI, is a program for students in elementary grades through college. Currently, Bad Axe is the only school in the Thumb with a DI program. They have 39 students involved, in kindergarten through seventh grade, from 29 different families. Destination Imagination is run for the students of Bad Axe Public School, with parent volunteers, said Heather Miles, a second-grade teacher at Bad Axe Public Schools and fundraising coordinator for the program. DI is not a school function. However, it does involve Bad Axe students, and their families. We dont get any funding from Bad Axe Schools, Miles said. We use their facilities, and it is for the students of the school. But, its a completely parent volunteer-run program. There are eight teams within Bad Axe DI. Each team has between two and seven members. In addition, each team has a manager, a volunteer, and an appraiser. The manager oversees the team with the help of a volunteer. The appraiser is, in essence, a judge. The students choose to be on a team, Miles said. Generally, each team is planned based on age or grade. The idea behind Destination Imagination is for kids to work together to solve a problem, and then present their solution to a group of appraisers. They are judged on creativity and their ability to come up with a solution using a predetermined set of rules. The solution is usually presented as a skit, complete with props constructed by the kids. These are called central challenges. Students pick one of seven central challenges, Miles said. They are given a manual, a rule book or guide book, that tells them the criteria for their challenge; what they have to accomplish. It is very vague, so it can be solved in thousands of different ways. They are told it must include certain things, or cant include certain things. They work on this central challenge for about three months. In order to solve the challenge, the students must decide how they want to proceed, and then gather any material necessary to help with their presentation. Each team, based on the challenge theyve selected, has a budget designated by Destination Imagination, Miles said. It means the kids have to be very mindful of what they can afford. The challenges have to be solved by the kids themselves. If a parent realizes the idea formulated by the kids wont work, they arent allowed to let them know. The kids learn by trial and error. They have to go through the entire creativity process, Miles said. They may come to us and ask how to cut a board at a certain angle: We can teach them how to do it using a different board, but they then have to go and cut another one themselves for the project. Once the teams know what their project is, they have about three months to prepare for the regional competition, which takes place in Mount Pleasant. The top three teams in each age group advance to the state tournament, on the campus of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. Winners at the state level travel to Tennessee in May to take part in the global competition. Bad Axe Destination Imagination has advanced one team to the global tournament in 2017. At each tournament, the teams also are required to do whats called an instant challenge. Thats something they prepare for in their team-building skills, Miles said. But they dont know what will be put before them until theyre actually in the room. The instant challenge is generally in the same category, such as fine art, scientific, technical, etc., as their central challenge, but they only have a short time to prepare for it. The kids have to be really quick on their feet, Miles said. Sometimes theyre asked to build something. Sometimes theyre asked to give a presentation, a skit. And, theyre scored on it. While theyre coming up with the solution, there is a panel of appraisers, three to five adults, hovering around, looking over their shoulder and listening in. So, they cant be intimidated. The appraisers are looking at how they work as a team, whether or not theyre open to each others ideas ... building from each others suggestions. Theyre scored on teamwork, as much as the final product. At the beginning of each school year, the coordinators of Destination Imagination send out information to the students at Bad Axe Schools. Everyone is invited to become part of Bad Axe DI. Bad Axe Destination Imagination holds a number of fundraisers throughout the year to help offset fees and provide money for each team to use for itsr central challenge. The need for volunteers, appraisers, and donations is ongoing. The Michigan Destination Imagination program was invited to have teams participate in the Poland trip, Miles said. When the regional coordinators got together, there was a call for Bad Axe DI to go to Poland. The Bad Axe students have gotten a reputation for having fabulous interpersonal skills within Destination Imagination ... kind and helpful wherever they go. The invitation came, and as parents, we all agreed this was something we wanted our students to participate in ... knowing full well the majority of the cost would have to be covered by the parents. There are two teams traveling to Poland. They are all fifth grade through seventh grade, Miles said. Each kid is going with at least one family member. While theyre there, they arent going to do their central challenge, so we dont have to haul all their stuff over there. Instead, theyre doing whats called an extreme instant challenge. They will be given a problem and have 24 hours to come up with a solution. Theres also going to be a buddy challenge, where they will be paired with another team that may or may not speak English, and given a problem to solve. So, they will have to work through language and cultural barriers. For the trip to Poland a special fundraiser was held recently a traditional Polish Dinner, which took place at Bad Axe Middle School. More than 150 people attended. The coordinator for Bad Axe Destination Imagination is Rikkii Clarent. She has been involved with the Bad Axe DI since its inception, and is thrilled that the students have shown the ingenuity and skill to receive the invitation. The trip will provide once in a lifetime experiences for our students, Clarent said. They will learn hands-on problem solving skills with international students. They will also learn valuable history and cultural lessons by visiting a Polish school, a concentration camp, and various museums, World War II monuments, and Polish communities. Participation in the Poland DI International Tournament is a true honor. The students will not only represent their school and community, but also their state and country. Im confident they will be wonderful young ambassadors who will demonstrate great respect, skills, and a willingness to learn. I hope they return with an even deeper appreciation for the daily gifts that we all tend to take for granted, and an eagerness to share their experiences with others. In advance of their trip, the team members of Bad Axe DI are scheduled to give a presentation at 7 p.m. April 27 at Bad Axe Area District Library. It will be part of the Neighbors on the Go series. CASS CITY Cass Citys police chief was named interim village manager in a 5-2 village council decision Monday night following the resignation of the village manager. Craig Haynes will replace Peter Cristiano, who submitted notice to the council Friday that he would retire, effective 4:30 p.m. Monday. Haynes will remain chief of police, and his pay as interim village manager will cost the village $200 a week until a permanent replacement is found. Village Trustee Tom Herron had urged the council to rehire former village manager Lou LaPonsie temporarily. LaPonsie oversaw village business for 25 years, starting in the late 1970s. About 50 people crowded into the village council chambers, with nearly as many gathering outside the door in the entryway of the municipal building. Tempers flared among audience members, who burst into applause several times throughout the meeting. Clapping first erupted when village President Carl Palmateer finished reading Cristianos letter of resignation. It is with great sadness that I give my notice to retire as village manager of Cass City. I enjoyed every moment of this great community. It has been wonderful working with everyone. All of the employees and the village council have been exceptional people. ... Cristiano had been paid $128,000 a year, including benefits, Herron said in a letter to the editor calling on the residents of Cass City to attend Mondays meeting. Herron and Trustee Steve Erickson voted against hiring Haynes, with trustees Mick Kirn, Jenny Zawilinski, Marilyn Biefer, Mark Karwowski and Palmateer supporting the move. Several audience members spoke in support of hiring LaPonsie until he could train a replacement. LaPonsie, after retiring from Cass City, brought a previously financially troubled Sandusky to a $7 million fund balance, Herron said. He then worked for Marlette and brought the village from the brink of state control to a $2 million fund balance after a few years. The village has a lot of challenges, Herron said, and needs an experienced manager. Herron has been asking village officials what is the fund balance since he took office late last year, and said no one has presented the information. Herron also cited county data that listed Cass City as having the lowest fund balance of any municipality in Tuscola County. He also criticized the council for not discussing business openly. During the first public comment period, resident Al Wright told the council that he likes LaPonsie, but thinks he is too old for the job. I want to say one thing about Lou LaPonsie, and Im saying this about myself also. Were too old for that job. We need some young blood in this place. Young, vibrant men that can get out here and push us to where we need to go. He told the council members that they have done a great job. I dont give a s--- what nobody else says. Thats what I think. Thats all that matters. I would really like to see this town grow. I know the potential that it has, but we dont have the people working on it that should be working on it right now. Pete was a good guy. He got the milk plant. I dont care what you say, he got the milk plant in here. But Pete is too old to push this tire down the highway any longer, Wright said. Lets try to get a good, young man in here thats got some young, good ideas, and lets see if we can get this town moving. ... Residents also made it clear that the town is in dire need of a grocery store. Erickson stated one reason for the delay in the project to be built where the former Fairway Discount store, Rotary Park and the Cass City Antique Mall are located. The state has identified the antique building as historic, so the plans had to be redrawn to keep that building intact, Erickson said. When a member of the public asked about the plans by a Marlette businessman to make the former Croft Clara Lumber site on the west side of town into a grocery store, Palmateer said that this was not going to happen. Officials and the public were also abuzz about the recent announcement of a venture by the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the Michigan Milk Producers Association and others to build a cheese factory in the area. Former Trustee Nancy Barrios questioned officials about whether phase II of the DFA plant in town is in jeopardy, and encouraged village officials to meet with DFA officials to improve relations with the company. Before the two-hour and 15-minute meeting was over, Herron was asking for a recall of his fellow council members when they approved appointing Haynes, The best manager in the state is ready to come in tomorrow, Herron said. Village officials said Haynes appointment would be temporary, and that for now they mainly need someone to sign checks, along with village Clerk Nanette Walsh. Former long-time village president Lambert Althaver chimed in from the audience at that point, stating that its illegal for two employees to sign checks, and that one signer must be an elected official. Palmateer responded, Ill sign the checks. The responsibility of signing checks was then removed from Haynes job description. His duties are as follows: Act as lead manager to continue day-to-day operations Facilitate communications between the staff and council Act as the point of contact representing the department heads of the village to residents and business relations. Christiano told the Tribune in December that he had hoped to retire in February, but said some village officials wanted him to stay until the construction of the new grocery store is underway. The London Symphony Orchestra is deepening its ties with China and will tour the country again this month, with performances in four major Chinese cities. The London Symphony Orchestra. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The six-day tour that starts on Feb 22 will include two concerts in Beijing, two in Shanghai, and single performances in both Wuhan and Macau. Founded in 1904, the LSO has visited China regularly since its first performance there in 2004. The latest tour will be the fourth for Principal Guest Conductor Daniel Harding. Kathryn McDowell, the LSOs managing director, said: "It is wonderful to be returning to China where the LSO has built such a good relationship with audiences over the past 13 years." During past tours, the LSO has worked with a list of famous Chinese classical musicians on stage, including pianist Lang Lang, cellist Wang Jian and pianist Wang Yuja. In recent years, Western classical music has gained traction in China and pundits say there has been a huge growth in interest among Chinese audiences, particularly young audiences that delight in hearing global stars such as Lang Lang and Li Yundi. In addition to the LSO tours of China, other major UK orchestras, including the Halle, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonia have also recently played there. Martin Cullingford, publisher of the London-based music magazine Gramophone, said there is a strong appetite in China for the standard-bearers of British orchestral music. "A commitment to building partnerships between different countries and cultures has arguably never been more important than it is today," he said. Cullingford said the enthusiasm shown in London last weekend for cultural activities surrounding Chinese New Year indicates the interest is reciprocated. The latest LSO tour will be the first to China since the announcement last October that Reignwood Group, a global Chinese enterprise that places great emphasis on building business, economic and cultural bridges between East and West, became a principal partner of the LSO. Ni Songhua, president of Reignwood Group, said the company was pleased to work in partnership with the LSO. "By supporting this tour, we are honored to play a role in deepening the relationship between China and the UK, and look forward to doing so further as principal partners in both the short- and long-term," Ni said. Tour dates: Feb 22-National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing Feb 23- National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing Feb 25-Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai Feb 26-Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall, Wuhan Feb 27-Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai Mar 1-Macau Cultural Center, Macau The Air Force is working closely with the Pentagon and State Department to try to ensure Iraqi fighter pilots training in the U.S. can obtain exemptions under President Donald Trump's executive order to curtail immigration from certain Middle Eastern countries, according to an official. There are approximately 30 Iraqi pilots currently training to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon with the Air National Guard's 162nd Wing at Tucson International Airport, Air Force spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder told reporters Tuesday. "The Iraqi military is obviously a very close partner in the fight against [the Islamic State]," Ryder said at the Pentagon. He said officials are in discussions to ensure "those pilots can get to their training in Arizona." "We'll continue to work very hard to try to make that happen, and I'm confident that we will," Ryder said. "We're fighting in Iraq, helping the Iraqis fight, and so it just makes sense to be able to try to ensure that they get the training they need. "Since the beginning of this fight [against ISIS], we've had pilots coming in and out [of the U.S.] and it's critical training," he said, noting the number of pilots per training group fluctuates depending on the training mission. The 162nd has trained pilots from the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Japan, Turkey and Israel, among other countries. In 2014, for the first time, Iraqi pilots began training on their own F-16s at Tuscon after Iraq purchased 36 aircraft in 2011. Afghanistan Not on the List Notably missing from Trump's executive order -- a temporary ban preventing immigrants or refugees from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia from traveling to the U.S. -- is Afghanistan, where the U.S. has conducted military operations for more than 15 years, and where aerial operations are on an upward trend. Last year, the U.S. Air Force -- under Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the Pentagon's name for missions after the transition from Operation Enduring Freedom -- conducted 1,337 airstrikes against Taliban, al-Qaida and Islamic State militants throughout Afghanistan. Just one month into 2016, the Air Force unleashed the most airstrikes since 2013, according to Air Force Central Command statistics. RELATED: Taliban's deadly onslaught across Afghan provinces draws increased U.S. air power The service relies heavily on aircraft such as F-16s and drones such as the MQ-1 Predator to conduct strikes, but the area of responsibility has more than 750 aircraft at its disposal to "fight the enemy," AFCENT spokesman Maj. Omar Villarreal told Air Force Times last May. Stateside, the Air Force is also responsible for training Afghan pilots. The service last year delivered four A-29 close-air-support aircraft to Afghanistan in January -- one month after the first Afghan pilots and crew for the attack plane completed training at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The program, which began in 2015, will ultimately train 30 pilots and 90 maintainers through 2018 at the base, according to the Air Force. Ryder said it is too soon to say if or how potential exemption orders from the White House may affect the program. "Afghanistan is not on that list at the moment," he said, "[but] there's always a robust dialogue that's going on with our partners around the world to try to make sure that, when we do have training programs, that we can get the folks in and out of the country." Then-Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said earlier this month that while the Air Force mission in Afghanistan continues, political discussions between U.S. and Afghan counterparts will be key. "Unlike the fight against [the Islamic State] where there is steady progress, Afghanistan is much more of a standoff," James told Military.com. "We make gains, the [Taliban or ISIS] makes gains. It goes back and forth. It comes back to the importance of political solutions. Somehow, there is a military solution to [ISIS] to then be followed by political solutions. But when it comes to Afghanistan, my sense is, the political is even more important," she said in an interview at the Pentagon. It is unclear how the Trump administration intends to continue the dialogue as terrorist attacks have claimed hundreds of civilian lives across Afghanistan in recent years -- with no obvious signs of subsiding. Earlier this month, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a double bombing near the Afghan Parliament office compound in Kabul, killing dozens. A second bombing Jan. 10 hit a government guesthouse in the southern province of Kandahar, The New York Times reported, injuring more than 80. Ongoing Mission The U.S. military services have an ongoing train, advise and assist mission in Afghanistan. More than 300 Marines will deploy to Helmand this spring as advisers and trainers for the Afghan National Army and police, Marine Corps officials announced this month. The deployment comes at the request of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Forces Afghanistan in support of the ongoing NATO-led Resolute Support mission, which began after most combat forces pulled out at the end of 2014. Even with the drawdown, the U.S. Army maintains a visible presence in Afghanistan at various population centers such as Kandahar. President Barack Obama last year announced the U.S. would maintain at least 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. He originally had planned to reduce the military's footprint of 9,800 to 5,500 before his term was up. Last month, Army Gen. Joseph Votel praised Obama's decision to keep more troops as a "wise move." "I think it sent a very strong message to the coalition," the commander of U.S. Central Command said. "I certainly think it sent a strong message to the Afghan forces and the people of Afghanistan ... so I am very keen to keep that going into the future." -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go. Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune... The Air Force fears it will face thousands of empty positions in the next few months because of the federal hiring freeze imposed by the White House on Jan. 23. The service said it is working with the Defense Department to provide additional guidance for those in the pipeline for new jobs. "The appointment of federal employees who began work on or before Jan. 23 will not be affected, and those with existing 'firm' offers with effective dates on or before Feb. 22 may proceed," the service's announcement said. Aside from military personnel already exempt from the ruling, the Air Force said other exemptions "may be permitted to meet the national security mission." "Our civilian force is absolutely critical to our readiness and mission; we are taking every step to ensure we get this right," said Lt. Gen. Gina M. Grosso, the deputy chief of staff for Air Force manpower, personnel and services. "Our team has been working closely with [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] to draft clear Air Force guidance on implementation and hiring freeze exemptions," Grosso said in the release. "As of today, we have not received the final DoD guidance memorandum, which we believe will contain some relief in critical mission areas," she said. Civilians make up roughly 26 percent of the total Air Force, with 179,000 positions currently staffed, Air Force spokesman Maj. Bryan Lewis told Military.com. About 96 percent of civilian Air Force jobs are currently filled, he said. But on any given month, the service loses about 1,300 personnel. Between the already vacant positions unable to be filled because of the freeze and the Air Force's historic attrition rate, the civilian workforce could shrink by 3 percent over the next four months, leaving more than 13,000 open positions, officials said. "Once the DoD guidance is released, we will provide the field with detailed guidance on exemption processing to ensure the most swift and effective method to request needed relief," Grosso said. RELATED: Trump's Federal Hiring Freeze Could Hurt Vets: Officials President Donald Trump's memo last week addressed contracting, stating, "Contracting outside the government to circumvent the intent of this memorandum shall not be permitted." The Air Force reiterated that outside contracting will remain blocked for the time being. "The impact of this freeze will likely be felt over time as personnel retire and separate from the Air Force," Grosso said. "Because of the vital role civilians perform, we will work to provide as much information as possible, as quickly as possible with regard to the freeze." -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Defense Secretary James Mattis was leaving Wednesday for South Korea, where a senator warned that he will be "staring down the barrel of a North Korean ICBM." The warning from Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, echoed those of South Korean military officials, who take seriously the threat of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un that the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland could come at "any time." At a committee meeting Tuesday, Corker noted North Korean claims to have miniaturized a nuclear warhead and reports of renewed production of fissionable material by the North. The result is that the U.S. and its allies are now "staring down the barrel of a North Korean ICBM," Corker said. Last week, Adm. Um Hyun-seong, South Korea's chief of naval operations, warned of the potential of North Korean aggression during the prolonged celebrations of the new Lunar Year, which will coincide with Mattis' visit, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. Kim Jong-un said in his New Year Day's address that his country has entered the final stage of preparations to test-fire an ICBM, indicating it is close to developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the U.S. Mattis' choice of the Far East for his first overseas trip as the new defense secretary is intended to underline the enduring commitment of the U.S. to the region. He also will seek to reassure allies increasingly concerned about President Donald Trump's withdrawal of the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal and his complaints about Japan and others not contributing their fair share to defense. Mattis is scheduled to meet Thursday in Seoul with Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and National Security Office Chief Kim Kwan-jin. On Friday, he is to meet with Defense Minister Han Min-goo before leaving for Japan. In Tokyo, Mattis is to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Defense Minister Tomomi Inada on his two-day visit. During his stays in South Korea and Japan, Mattis is not expected to bring up the subject of South Korea and Japan paying more to host U.S. forces, according to U.S. and Japanese sources cited by the Japan Times newspaper. Ahead of Mattis' visit, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford spoke by phone with his South Korean counterpart, Gen. Lee Sun-jin. The two agreed that "an acute security situation" is posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. "The talks were also aimed at reaffirming the strong commitment of the two countries to building up a joint defense posture as the new U.S. administration takes control," Yonhap reported. An Unworkable Strategy In an article Tuesday in Joint Forces Quarterly, Dunford made the blunt assessment that the previous U.S. strategy of containing a conflict with North Korea to the peninsula is no longer possible, given North Korea's military advancements. "There was a time, not long ago, when we planned for a conflict that might be contained to the peninsula. But today, North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile, cyber, and space capabilities could quickly threaten the homeland and our allies in the Asia-Pacific region," Dunford said. "Deterring and, if necessary, defeating a threat from North Korea requires the Joint Force to be capable of nearly instant integration across regions, domains, and functions," he said. In a briefing for Pentagon reporters Monday, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said Mattis does not intend to "roll out any big changes in U.S. policy during his trip." "It will mostly be a chance for him to listen, meet the parties involved there," Davis said, "and make sure we're positioned, going forward, to be able to continue the strong alliances we have. He wants to find out what their concerns are." Anti-Missile Capabilities The South Koreans' concerns have mostly been focused on overcoming China's objections to placement of the THAAD system. The hit-to-kill THAAD system would enhance the U.S. anti-missile capabilities in South Korea that now rely mostly on the Aegis Combat Systems of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers off the coast. Earlier this month, the U.S. deployed out of Pearl Harbor to the western Pacific the huge Sea-Based X-Band Radar platform to track missile launches. The Navy said the deployment of the SBX with a radar dome 280-feet tall "was not based on any credible threat. However, we cannot discuss specifics for this particular mission while it is underway," Outgoing Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said last month that the U.S. would not necessarily attempt to shoot down a North Korean ICBM if it was simply a test or possibly an attempt to place a satellite in space. However, Carter said the U.S. is prepared to act if tracking showed the missile veering to a course that posed a threat to the U.S. or its allies. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. The triumvirate of Marines leading the Pentagon will stay intact longer than had been anticipated, now that Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work has jobs to finish through May. Work, a holdover from the administration of former President Barack Obama, noted in his semi-farewell speech at the Pentagon last month that his staying meant it would be the first time Marines would hold the top three posts of the Defense Department. He meant it as a joke. As deputy secretary, Work -- a retired Marine artillery colonel -- is serving as the top management specialist for new Defense Secretary James Mattis, a retired Marine general, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, who served under Mattis as a regimental commander in the 1st Marine Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. RELATED: Readiness, ISIS Fight Come First for Mattis in Rebuilding Military Work has said that he will stay on temporarily until the new team of President Donald Trump gets up to speed, but Mattis has given him jobs that will keep him at the Defense Department at least through May. On Wednesday, Mattis directed Work to prepare by March 1 an amendment to the fiscal 2017 budget on more funding and also to work up the DoD's fiscal 2018 budget request to be submitted in May. At the Work farewell ceremony in the Pentagon's auditorium Jan. 13, outgoing Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pinned Work with the Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the Pentagon's highest award for a civilian. Carter relied on Work to take on the toughest management assignments -- overseeing the integration of women into all military occupational specialties and coming up with a "Third Offset Strategy" to maintain the military's technological edge. At the Jan. 13 ceremony, Work -- the Defense Department's No. 2 civilian after Mattis -- said, "I'll be staying just a little bit longer to help with the transition until my successor is confirmed." Now it appears that he'll be staying on a little bit longer than a little bit longer. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Elements of the U.S. military supporting Iraqi forces in Mosul are counting on a newly fielded, precision rocket to help destroy enemy targets without causing civilian casualties in the upcoming battle for the western part of the city. After more than three months of heavy fighting, Iraqi Security Forces have liberated the eastern portion of Mosul after killing a "tremendous" number of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria fighters, Air Force Col. John Dorrian, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters Wednesday at a Pentagon briefing. Iraqi forces are poised to launch an assault on the western half of the city, which is more densely populated than eastern Mosul, Dorrian said. "The terrain in west Mosul makes it a challenge to clear," he said. "On the ground, the narrowness of the roads and the density of the buildings set conditions for close fighting." Coalition leaders, however, are confident they can continue to use airstrikes to support Iraqi ground forces "without causing drastically increased civilian casualties or collateral damage," Dorrian said. "Protection of civilian populace is a cornerstone of the Iraqi campaign plan, and our efforts will be consistent with that priority," he said. One advantage the coalition has is the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II, Dorrian said. "This is a laser-guided, high-precision, low-collateral damage weapon that provides the capability to engage targets, including moving targets in dense urban terrain," he said. These precision weapons were "fielded last year, within six months of congressional approval and are now being used for close-air support missions by Air Force A-10s and Marine AV-8B Harriers," Dorrian said. Since June 2016, more than 200 of these munitions have been employed against enemy fighters on targets such as oil tanks and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, he said. More than 60 have been used in and around Mosul. Dorrian would not say when the operation to liberate western Mosul will begin. Coalition forces are helping Iraqi forces with planning; advice; airstrikes; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support. Airstrikes have killed 18 ISIS leaders since last October, forcing the extremist organization to replace these key commanders with less-experienced leaders, Dorrian said. Reports indicate that ISIS forces are displaying desperate behavior as they struggle to hold onto Mosul. "Its leaders are accusing citizens of spying and, tragically, they are executing people who don't cooperate with them in some cases," Dorrian said. "They have also lost trust in some of their fighters, and they have even done executions against their own fighters." After the recent capture of Mosul University, Dorrian said Iraqi forces discovered a chemical weapon production facility ISIS had been using to make mustard agent, a chemical weapon that creates large blisters on the skin and lungs. "We have long known that the enemy has aspired to use chemical weapons," he said. "Mustard agent is one that they have used many times, and the reports that we have are that is what was found in Mosul." While considered rudimentary capabilities, ISIS "does have very capable production facilities, so it is very important that we continue to roll back their control of territory because this is not something that we want to wait and let [ISIS] get good at." Once Mosul has been liberated, it is likely that Iraqi forces will turn their sights on other pockets of ISIS-held territory in the country but, for now, "It's all west Mosul, all the time," Dorrian said. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Description The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is pleased to announce Black History Month 2017 at your Long Island State Parks. The month long celebration highlights some of Americas notable African Americans and their accomplishments through art work and informative posters. We invite you to visit us to learn more about these great Americans and their impact on American history and culture. Displays will be set up for the month of February and admission is free. Please call the park directly to confirm hours. Cultural Displays throughout the month of February are at these Long Island State Parks: LI State Parks Regional Headquarters-Lobby Monday-Friday 10am-4pm 631-321-3510 Jones Beach State Park-Field 4-Central Mall Daily 8:30am-4:30pm 516-785-1600 Nissequogue River State Park-Administration Building Daily 8am-4pm 631-269-4927 Planting Fields Arboretum Historic State Park-Visitor Center Sunday-Thursday 11am-4pm 516-922-8600 For more information please call the park directly or visit us at www.nysparks.com. We are a nation of change makers, a nation of those who stand for equality and freedom. And each February during Black History Month, we honor the black Americans who came before us and still serve now, standing for their dreams and rights, and making a difference for us all. Originally founded as "Negro History Week" in 1926 by Black American historian and author Carter G. Woodson, it recognized the contributions of Black Americans to the country and fostered a better understanding of the Black American experience. In 1976, President Gerald Ford issued the first African-American History Month proclamation, calling upon the American people to celebrate the event each February. Since 1986 "National Black (Afro-American) History Month" has lived as a time set aside by law to recognize the contributions of Blacks to our nation. Military.com stands to celebrate and honor the Black experience and sacrifice. See the videos and features below and help celebrate with us. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for fitness and basic training tips, or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. If you think you have nothing left to learn after all the books you cracked in college, think again. There's a whole set of business skills you probably weren't taught in class, even if you were a business major. So as a new graduate, be sure to brush up on these six essential job skills you'll need to succeed in the workforce. People Skills People skills are incredibly valuable no matter what your job entails. Here are three you'll want to develop. * Public Speaking: "Too many recent grads are not equipped to present the company well over the phone or in person at networking events, new business meetings, etc.," says Graham Chapman, account coordinator/new business director at 919 Marketing, a PR and marketing firm in Holly Springs, North Carolina. "If you can't speak [or] present yourself well, it is hard to help a company drive business." Look for volunteer activities where you can practice public speaking in front of small groups. Attend public meetings and comment. Think about the most important thing you want the audience to know (including two or three key details) and what you want them to do, then speak up. * Handling Tense Interactions: "Tension-filled conversations are served up most days at work, and those who lack the ability to handle them effectively will have a difficult time," says Kerry Patterson, co-author of Crucial Conversations. The key is to focus on results, not emotions. "Try to see others as reasonable, rational and decent human beings -- even if they hold a view that you strongly oppose," he says. "When others feel respected and trust your motives, they let their guard down and begin to listen, even if the topic is unpleasant. [Then] confidently share your views and invite the other person to do so. If you're open to hearing others' points of view, they'll be more open to yours." * Teamwork: "The reality of working with a team, where colleagues have a variety of thoughts and ideas that need to be respected, is often new to grads," says Bettina Seidman, founder of Seidbet Associates, a career-management firm in New York City. "The downside of not having these skills can be very serious, including gaining a poor reputation on the job, and even termination." Accept that you may have to take a junior role to those with more experience. Listen more than you talk, and be respectful of others when you have an opposing view. Most importantly, ask your supervisor who the best team players are in your company or department and make them your role models. Career-Management Skills These career-management skills will help you land your first job and position yourself for a promotion: * Humility and Patience: "Managers want to promote individuals who are willing to prove themselves versus those who expect things to be handed to them right from the start," says Julie Rulis, senior recruiter in Western Union's talent acquisition group. Expecting a big title or salary from the get-go or angling for a promotion too soon is a turnoff and can earn you a reputation for being too big for your britches. Rulis suggests speaking with leaders from organizations you admire so you develop a greater appreciation for how others successfully moved up over time. "In most instances, you will learn how other leaders had to roll up their sleeves and prove themselves just like everyone else," she says. * Staying Informed: "Professors don't emphasize the importance of reading the news," says Tom Gimbel, CEO of The LaSalle Network, a Chicago-area professional staffing and recruiting firm. "Nothing is more impressive than a candidate who can speak knowledgeably about the news and relate current events to their industry or job. After a new grad has secured the job, emailing news stories or cutting out newspaper articles for their boss is beyond impressive." Read an array of publications to broaden your knowledge. "If you're in the business world, read Inc., Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal," he says. Ask your boss what industry publications and blogs are must-reads. * Time Management: "A new grad may feel obligated to say yes to everything, which makes it even more difficult to manage their time," says Susan Fletcher, psychologist and a time-management expert with Smart Zone Solutions in Plano, Texas. You may end up neglecting core activities or stretching yourself to the breaking point, she says. Time-management skills involve managing your energy and attention. Ask your boss to help you set priorities and to advise you on operational goals. "Be intentional about what you commit to," Fletcher says. "Ask yourself if the commitment fits into your overall strategy and focus to get a job, get promoted or advance your professional skills." Proactively assessing skills and addressing any skills deficits make you better qualified and showcase your initiative. Keep your professional development going by asking your manager and others whom you admire what skills they think you should build to be even more successful. Have a story idea or tip about something happening in the East Village? Or maybe a photo? Or several photos? Or video! We'd love to hear about it. Or see it. Or something. Please go here to submit a tip. DETROIT, MI - Big Sean is planning to open his first ever pop-up shops in just four cities in the U.S. One of them will be in his hometown of Detroit. The pop-up shops will coincide with the release of the multi-platinum and Grammy-nominated artist's upcoming album, "I Decided" on February 3, 2017. Location and hours: Detroit's pop-up shop will be at 1441 Woodward Ave. That's between Clifford and Grand River. Along with Detroit, Big Sean will open up shops in New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto. There's no word on if he will pop-up at one of his pop-ups. The shops will be open Friday & Saturday: 5 - 11pm and Sunday: 12pm - 6pm. Merchandise: Available at the shops will be a limited edition variety of t-shirts, hats, hoodies, sweats, bombers and more priced from $30 - $200. Each piece is said to be an extension of his artistic expression and all designs are inspired by his graphic wordplay throughout his new album, "I Decided," as well as the recurring album themes of life and reincarnation. Upcoming tour: Sean is kicking off his "I Decided. Tour" on March 17, 2017 in Houston. He will visit more than 20 cities, including Detroit on April 1, 2017 at the Fox Theatre. All four pop-up locations: DET: 1441 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226 NY: 127 Grand St., New York, NY 10013 TOR: 12 Ossington Ave, Toronto ON M6J 2Y7, Canada LA: 501 N. Fairfax, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Sean was born in California. His family relocated to the west side of Detroit when he was 2 months old. Sean attended the Detroit Waldorf School from kindergarten to eighth grade and later attended Cass Technical High School. CLARKSTON, MI - They are the band a lot of people love to hate. Nickelback is going on tour in 2017 and they are bringing Daughtry with them. The multi-platinum rockers begin their "Feed The Machine Tour" on June 23 in Noblesville, Indiana, with 44 dates across North America. They will be at DTE Energy Music Theatre on Saturday, June 24 with special guests with Daughtry and Shaman's Harvest. Tickets at $125, $89, $69 and $40 in the pavilion, $25 on the United Shore lawn and a limited number of four-packs at $75 on the United Shore lawn go on sale Saturday, February 11 at 10am. Nickelback is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their ninth album, "Feed The Machine." It's set for release on Friday, June 9, 2017. Since forming in Alberta, Canada in 1995, Nickelback has sold more than 50 million units, making them the "eleventh best-selling music act" and second best-selling foreign act in the U.S. of the 21st century, behind only The Beatles. They've also been named Billboard's "Top Rock Group of the Decade" and received nine Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People's Choice Award, 12 JUNO Awards, seven MuchMusic Video Awards, and have been inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame (2007). IMG_0731.JPG Michigan State Police troopers investigate the scene of a pedestrian-involved accident that occurred Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, along Grand River Avenue just outside Howell. (Courtesy) OCEOLA TOWNSHIP, MI - A man is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle early Wednesday, Feb. 1, while walking along Grand River Avenue near University Drive, just outside of Howell. Lucas P. Lawhead, a 33-year-old resident of Howell, was hit by a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee at about 6:10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Michigan State Police, who believe Lawhead was on his way to work at Burger King. Sgt. Chris Pascoe, MSP Brighton Post, reported Lawhead was struck by the Jeep while walking along the eastbound lanes of Grand River Avenue, adding that the driver of the Jeep stopped immediately and dialed 9-1-1. Pascoe said Lawhead was transported by Livingston County EMS to University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, where he is reportedly in critical condition. Troopers from the MSP Brighton Post are investigating the incident and family members of Lawhead have been notified of the accident. Howell Police and Howell Area Fire personnel assisted on scene. Troopers encourage anyone who may have witnessed the crash contact the Brighton Post at 810-227-1051. ANN ARBOR, MI - A University of Michigan panel is expected to address the impact of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy, which has entered the national spotlight this week in wake of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. The forum, "Immigration, DACA-Dreamers, and the University of Michigan," which was scheduled in conjunction with UM's Bicentennial events, is set for 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, inside Haven Hall, Room 3512. The event is open to the public. It is expected to address the impact of the DACA immigration policy at the national level and at the university. Participants include Karma Chavez, associate professor of Mexican American and Latina/o studies at the University of Texas; Silvia Pedraza, UM professor of sociology and American culture; Jorge Delva, UM professor of social work; and UM engineering student Dulce Rios. Lorraine Gutierrez, U-M professor of psychology and social work, is serving as the moderator. The topic surrounding undocumented and DACA students continues to be a hot-button issue at UM and colleges campuses across the country following Trump's executive order, which pauses the United States' entire refugee program for four months, indefinitely bans all those from Syria and temporarily freezes immigration from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Federal judges in New York and several other states issued orders that temporarily block the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trump's travel ban took effect and found themselves in limbo. Because the university doesn't ask for the immigration status of prospective students, UM Spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said he did not know how many undocumented students are enrolled. In 2013, U-M changed its guidelines for in-state tuition, creating a path for undocumented students to quality for in-state tuition. According to the Rackham Graduate School website, in-state residency is determined by the Registrar's Office and may be granted if the student attended Michigan schools and graduated high school in the state of Michigan within the last 28 months, regardless of their citizenship status. Limited financial assistance, primarily stipends, also are available to undocumented students without DACA status. UM President Mark Schlissel issued a statement Saturday reiterating support for international students while reinforcing that that the university's campus police do not inquire about or record immigration status when performing their duties. In accordance with federal law, the enforcement of immigration law rests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection. Schlissel said campus police will not partner with federal, state or other local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law except when required to do so by law. In the letter of support of international students, Schlissel stated that the university is focused on potential changes to immigration laws, policies and practices that could affect the status and safety of U-M students and personnel, particularly international students and those who may be undocumented. The university complies with federal requirements associated with managing its international programs, he said, but the university does not share sensitive information like immigration status. UM students and faculty have petitioned Schlissel and Provost Martha Pollack earlier this month, urging them to protect DACA students and undocumented students. The students' petition called for the restriction of campus police from inquiring about immigration status and collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Collecting more than 2,500 signatures from undergraduates, graduate students and faculty from across the university, the petition asked for university leaders to continue in-state resident tuition to DACA students who have qualified previously and provide confidential counseling services for undocumented students and DACA, among other requests. The list of colleges and universities speaking out in support of international students continues to grow. Eastern Michigan University President James Smith issued a statement on Monday, Jan. 30, in support of the more than 700 international students on campus, noting that the university provides resources that "foster a welcoming and supportive environment." Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon offered similar sentiments to Schlissel, noting that not releasing student immigration status is "just the status quo for the university." In a statement Monday, Western Michigan University President John Dunn emphasized the importance of international students' presence on WMU campus and within the university community. BAY CITY, MI -- For the third time in about as many years, Cafe Cremosi, the Bay City Italian restaurant known for its signature sauce, is on the move again. The restaurant, owned by its chef, Rich Abila, opened Monday, Jan. 30, inside Lumber Barons 804 E. Midland St., after operating out of the former Steamers pub, 108 N. Linn St., and Washington Lanes bowling alley, 1205 Washington Ave. Abila, who has three decades of Italian culinary experience, said the move gives his restaurant more room and exposure in a familiar location. "We needed more room to accommodate all of our customers," he said. "There are weekends where we were packed -- this let's us serve more people." The new space dining space, located to the right of the main entrance, is noticeably larger than its cozy location on Linn Street. The new location is also going to incorporate the bar area of Lumber Barons. Lumber Barons is owned by Bay City businessman Art Dore. Rusty Saw Smokehouse BBQ previously leased out the restaurant space. When the Rusty Saw's lease was up last year, Dore considered giving up Lumber Barons, going as far as posting an ad that someone could take it for free. But when Abila expressed interest in moving his more upscale restaurant into the building, Dore's daughter Wendy felt it was a perfect opportunity to stay put. "Chef Rich and his great restaurant is the perfect complement to Lumber Barons and The Stables (Martini and Cigar Bar)," she said. "We're really excited to have him here." The restaurant has about six people on staff. Abila anticipates to add a few people to his waitstaff in the larger space. While wine plays a big part with Abila's Sicilian-style Italian cuisine -- he said he goes through about $2,000 worth of wine per week -- he hopes to incorporate the craft beers from Lumber Barons microbrewery for special tasting events. BAY CITY, MI -- Richard Gerstenberger, chairman of Bay City-based Michigan Sugar Co., was re-elected vice president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association for 2017 by farmer representatives from across the country. Representatives gathered in Miami, Florida, earlier this month to re-elect Gerstenberger. "It is an honor and a privilege to lead this dedicated and talented group of farmers, and I am excited about the future of our industry," Gerstenberger said. "There are challenges in the U.S. market and major changes in the administration and on Capitol Hill, but sugar growers have always worked hard on both fronts, and will continue to do so. "The sugar industry in Michigan and across this nation is vital to thousands of family farming operations. I look forward to working with the ASGA to preserve the strength of those farms for future generations." Gerstenberger is also serving as the chairman of the association's Biotechnology and Research Committee. He has been a board member for the association since 2008. A third-generation farmer, Gerstenberger, along with his wife, parents, and his brother and his wife, farms sugar beets, wheat, soy beans and corn on 3,000 acres in Sanilac County's Moore Township. you are here: business Union Budget 2017-18: Least volatile; disappointed with no change in corp tax Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC is disappointed that there was nothing on corporate tax, except a proposal to cut corporate tax rate for MSMEs (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) having revenues less than Rs 50 crore to 25 percent. February 01, 2017 Ukraine - Coup Government Tries To Sabotage U.S.-Russia Rapprochement Updated below Fighting in east Ukraine has restarted. This is an attempt by "deep state" forces to prevent any rapprochement between the U.S. and Russia under the new Trump administration. The west-Ukrainian forces under command of the coup government of President Poroshenko started a large attack against the Russian supported Ukrainian self-defense forces in Donetsk and Lugansk governate. A ceasefire arranged after the Minsk II agreement provided for demilitarized zones along a line of separation. The Ukrainian government has so far avoided to fulfill the Minsk II agreement that would allow a reuniting of the country. An OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), which includes officers from NATO countries as well as Russia, is supervising the ceasefire and issues daily reports. On January 26 the SMM reported: The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations [1] in Donetsk region, including about 420 explosions, compared with 228 in the previous reporting period. More than 160 explosions were recorded around the Svitlodarsk area, with exchanges of fire also recorded around Avdiivka and Yasynuvata. ... The Mission revisited a Ukrainian Armed Forces permanent storage site, whose location corresponded with the relevant withdrawal lines and observed that 12 tanks (T-64) and four mortars (2B9 Vasilek, 82mm) were missing, as previously noted. ... The SMM followed up on reports of a blockade of a railway track near government-controlled Hirske. The railway leads towards the LPR-controlled settlements of Donetskyi and Sentianivka (formerly Frunze) (49 and 44km west of Luhansk, respectively). The Mission had observed a train travelling east through Donetskyi on 23 January. The SMM observed that the tracks had been blocked by tree trunks under a bridge on the southern edge of the settlement. About 20 unarmed men wearing camouflage clothing told the Mission that they were veterans from former volunteer battalions. The SMM observed a tent near the blockade site. The observations on the 26th pointed to the preparation of a full attack which was launched on January 28: The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region between the evenings of 27 and 28 January compared with the previous reporting period (including about 330 explosions compared with about 520).[1] In the following 24 hours, however, the SMM recorded over 2,300 explosions, primarily in the Avdiivka-Yasynuvata-Donetsk airport area. The SMM observed that the intense artillery barrage was launched north to south originating from the government held area. The NAZI volunteer battalions from west-Ukrainian Galicia are spearheading the attack. There is ongoing fighting with intense artillery usage on several points along the ceasefire line (map). One main battle ground is the city of Avdeevka in the demilitarized zone north-west of Donetzk city. The U.S. government propaganda site RFERL sees a "creeping offensive" initiated by the government side. Even the belligerent and anti-Russian Washington Post editors have to acknowledge that the Ukrainian government started this round. While unreasonably blaming Russia they observes: Ukrainian commanders acknowledge that in recent weeks their forces had moved some positions forward in the no-mans land between the front lines. During the last two years the Ukrainian army experienced a massive build up. New equipment came in from the U.S. and other NATO countries and U.S. training missions tried to teach some basic fighting tactics. But while the newly conscripted 250,000 men army looks big on paper it still lacks any coherence and will to fight for the coup government and its U.S. overlords. Only the NAZI "volunteer battalions" have some fighting spirit but they are up against people defending their immediate homes. Any large offense from the government side will thus fail. The fight was planned and started just after the inauguration of the new U.S. president Trump. Trump has acknowledged that Crimea is part of Russia as its population is overwhelmingly Russian. He has announced to seek good relations with Moscow. He will likely eliminate sanctions against Russia. For the Ukrainian coup government and its neo-conservative supporters this marks the end of their dreams. If it loses U.S. and NATO support the Ukraine must declare bankruptcy, the government will be kicked out and the country will, over time, move naturally back into the Russian sphere. To prevent that Poroshenko was ordered to launch a new attack while blaming Russia. He did as his mentors told him and traveled to Berlin in the hope of German support. But such is not coming. The German government let it know that it sees through his games and has no interest in them. The government friendly daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung "leaked" (translated here) that Berlin knows that Poroshenko started the fight to influence Trump and to prevent any sanction relief for Russia. But Berlin believes that the gimmick will fail and Merkel fears that Poroshenko will end up losing another round of the war while Russia will still get the better relations it seeks. One would hope so. There is nothing to win for western-Europe, or anyone else, in another fight with Russia. Neither the Trump administration nor the EU has blamed any side for relaunching the conflict. The civil NATO head Stoltenberg stayed within the official line blaming neither side. That surely is not to Poroshenko's favor. The massive buildup of U.S. and NATO troops along the Russian border as well as the renewed fighting in Ukraine are part of the imperial plan initiated under Obama to squeeze Russia into a minor global role. It is an extremely dangerous endeavor. Russian history shows that it will not allow such. Trump will hopefully reverse the Obama plans and, as far as one can currently tell, seeks to arrange friendly cooperation with Russia wherever feasible. The destination of the last official foreign visit of former Vice President Biden was Ukraine. The World War III promoting Senator McCain visited Kiev on New Years eve. Both were heavily involved in the earlier coup against the constitutional Ukrainian government. Biden's son is involved in natural gas business in Ukraine. Did they leave directives or suggestions? The current attempts in Ukraine to sabotage a U.S. Russian rapprochement will probably not be the only ones. Some "accident" in the Baltic or "mistake" in Syria could surely be arranged by "deep state" rogue force. If such happens nether side should fall for it. Update: Politico wrote about the John McCain / Lindsey Graham New Year visit to Ukraine a month ago. Notice what they said: I admire the fact that you will fight for your homeland, Graham told Ukraines 36th Separate Marine Brigade in the town of Shyrokyne, about four kilometers from the line of contact, according to a video released Monday by the Ukrainian presidency. Your fight is our fight, Graham said during the visit on Saturday alongside President Petro Poroshenko. 2017 will be the year of offense, he continued. All of us will go back to Washington and we will push the case against Russia. ..." ... McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate and prisoner of war in Vietnam, said: I believe you will win. I am convinced you will win and we will do everything we can to provide you with what you need to win. ..." That is obviously incitement to start a new war. But with their opposition to Trump McCain and Lindsay are out of the decision circles in Washington DC. They can write as many furious op-eds as they want but no one is going to read them and start a war with Russia. Posted by b on February 1, 2017 at 10:43 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Iredell County sheriff's deputies say no charges will be filed in a Wednesday morning incident in which a Lake Norman High School student reportedly made a threat against the school. "The incident has been investigated and is unfounded, with no crime being committed," Capt. Randy W. Cass told the Tribune Wednesday afternoon. Parents of students had been notified about the incident by school officials via email and phone calls. "A conversation between students involving a threat to the school was overheard by another student and reported to school administration," Assistant Principal Eric Babbitt said in the email. "The parents of the students involved were immediately notified. School officials followed our safe schools plan and notified law enforcement." Since a summer announcement that Buffalo Wild Wings was opening a new restaurant in Morganton, fans of the chain have been waiting patiently for its arrival. For those folks, the good news is that the restaurant still is on schedule to open in June or July of this year. Marlin McClure, a regional manager for Buffalo Wild Wings, said the project has experienced no setbacks and he doesnt anticipate any snags in the timeline. Things are going well, McClure said. Weve broken ground and actually started construction, which is good. I think were planning on opening the end of June or first of July, somewhere in that general area. We dont really have a firm date as of yet, but thats the goal. So, things are going well. The restaurant is being built on the outparcel next to Sams Xpress Car Wash at the Morganton Heights Shopping Center. Though he didnt have exact figures for the Morganton restaurant, McClure said the Buffalo Wild Wings stores generally seat around 300 customers total including the patio, and that the new restaurant should be at or near that figure. Buffalo Wild Wings menu features 21 flavors of its signature Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings. These flavors include 16 signature sauces, ranging from Sweet BBQ to Blazin on the spicy-scale, with flavors like Parmesan Garlic, Jammin Jalapeno and Mango Habanero in between. Five flavors of season wings range from Salt and Vinegar to Desert Heat. McClure said the Morganton Buffalo Wild Wings will be looking to hire more than 100 hourly team members, including cooks, servers, bartenders and cashiers. Certain upper positions already have been posted for hiring, McClure said. We havent begun hiring (general employees yet), McClure said. We probably wont start hiring until Id say the end of April or first of May. (Well be hiring) approximately 120 people for all positions. The one thing we are hiring for right now is managers. We do need to hire four to five managers. That is something that is posted out there that we are hiring for right now. For those who are interested in applying for the BWW Morganton managerial positions, an application can be submitted online by visiting buffalowildwings.com/en/careers. With the grand opening of the Morganton location quickly approaching, McClure said the company is excited to establish its presence in the community. McClure reaffirmed the companys commitment to playing a part in giving back to the community, as well. Were looking forward to being in Morganton, McClure said. I would say just from my initial start of meeting people in Morganton, some of the other local business owners and managers, its been a great, great reception. Were just excited to be in the town and were looking forward to it. I think its going to be a great relationship between Buffalo Wild Wings and the city and the people in that general area. We do a lot with the community. Between me and the managers, well be reaching out to the local schools in the area and making sure theyre included in a lot of our stuff thats in the restaurant jerseys and things like that. We do a lot to sponsor local schools and community activities. That is always a big hit, especially when youre a corporate team but youre coming into the community and spending money in the community and doing what we can to help out Morganton and make it a better city to live in. For more information about Buffalo Wild Wings, visit buffalowildwings.com. Justin Epley can be reached at jepley@morganton.com or 828-432-8943. A death at a home on Zion Road in Morganton is under investigation by the Burke County Sheriff's Office. On Monday evening, authorities were called to 2020 Zion Road. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was called in to help assist in the investigation. After local police, officials with the medical examiner's office and the SBI processed the scene, no apparent cause of death was found, according to a press release from BCSO. A preliminary autopsy at Baptist Hospital in Winston - Salem was completed on Tuesday, but did not reveal any signs of foul play, the release said. The final report, which includes toxicology, will not be ready for approximately three months, but the case is remaining open until all information and needed interviews are conducted, the release said. Additional information will be released when available, the release said. One man was injured after he fell asleep while driving his tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 in Morganton on Tuesday morning . Joshua Stephens, 43, of Jamestown, Tennessee , was charged with failing to maintain his lane after he wrecked his tractor - trailer on I-40 East near the 99 mile marker around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, said State Trooper J. Allen with the North Carolina Highway Patrol. After falling asleep, Stephens ran off the road into the median and hit the guardrail , Allen said. The tractor-trailer traveled 694 feet along the guardrail before coming to a stop. A small diesel fuel spill also occurred . He was transported to Carolinas HealthCare Systems Blue Ridge in Morganton to be treated for a broken arm, he said. NCHP shutdown the left lane for approximately three hours, he said. Total cost of the damages to the guardrail was $39,200, Allen said. Responding agencies were North Carolina Highway Patrol, West End Fire Department, Burke County Fire Marshals Office, Smokeys Wrecker Service, Burke County EMS and Burke County REACT. Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907. The Burke County Health Department has informed officials with Burke County Public Schools of three confirmed cases of Shigella at Mountain Crest Elementary School. Health department and school officials are working together to inform and educate students and parents about the infection. Letters went home to parents explaining Shigella and prevention measures. According to health officials, Shigella is the result of bacteria passing from improperly washed hands of one person to the mouth of another person, often through handling contaminated objects or food. Extra sanitation measures are in place at the school to reduce the spread of the bacteria, including thorough cleanings of the school and reminders from staff to students to wash their hands, according to BCPS Superintendent Dr. Larry Putnam. We are taking these confirmed cases very seriously, but at the same time, we do not want to panic anyone," Putnam said. "We are doing our part in thoroughly cleaning the entire school and thoroughly cleaning the bathrooms at least twice a day. "We cannot stress enough the importance of hand washing with soap and running water to all of our staff and students, especially this time of year in the midst of flu and cold season. We appreciate the health department working with us on this matter. The safety and health of our students remain our top priority. WASHINGTON - A Senate panel on Tuesday narrowly voted in favor of President Donald Trump's nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, sending her nomination to the full Senate for final approval. All 12 Republicans on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted in favor of sending her nomination to the Senate floor, while all 11 Democrats voted against. Democrats immediately challenged the vote, arguing that since one of the Republicans - Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah - voted by proxy, his vote doesn't count under committee rules, and the outcome was really a 11-11 tie. Republicans refuted that point and then revoted with Hatch present - over the objections of Democrats, who said another vote could not happen without official notice. Again, the vote was 12-11. Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, made clear that they have not yet decided how they will vote on the floor, suggesting that DeVos's confirmation is not yet assured. Democrats are seeking to block DeVos's confirmation, but they must convince a handful of Republicans to break with the new president. DeVos is a Michigan billionaire and private school voucher advocate who has become one of Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks. The GOP majority has defended DeVos as a bold reformer who is willing to shrink the federal imprint on education and upend the status quo in the interest of expanding opportunities for disadvantaged children. But Democrats have fiercely opposed DeVos, arguing that she is wholly unqualified for the job. They say that she favors policies that undermine the public schools that serve most U.S. children and that she has not adequately answered questions about potential conflicts of interest related to her investments. The DeVos nomination has driven a partisan wedge into a committee that has managed to find bipartisan compromise on key issues, including sweeping education legislation in 2015. "This is a committee of considerable differences of opinion. But it's also a committee that has on big occasions been able to resolve those differences of opinion, usually in a cordial way. I'm sorry to say that we are not able to do that this time," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the committee chairman. "We're at the point where we have to express those disagreements with a vote." Alexander decided to hold Tuesday's vote over objections from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the committee's ranking Democrat, who sought a delay to ask more questions of DeVos. Alexander, who served as education secretary under George H.W. Bush, argued that DeVos - who fielded more than 1,000 written questions from Democrats - is already "the most questioned education secretary in the history of the senate." Murray countered that DeVos had failed to answer critical questions about her finances, and said she was disappointed in Alexander, calling his decision to go ahead with the vote a "massive break" with the committee's strong bipartisan record. "It will dramatically impact our ability to work together in good faith going forward," she said. "The usual practices are being ignored here . . . This nominee is being jammed through with corners being cut and with the minority being brushed aside, and I think that's wrong." Dozens of observers filled the committee's meeting room on Capitol Hill, from teenagers in khakis to school board members in suits, in town for a National School Boards Association gathering. Tim Stillings, the chairman of the board of Tennessee's Franklin Special School District, said he was deeply concerned about Trump's pick for education secretary. "My concerns are her inexperience and lack of understanding of public education and her support for charter, for-profit schools," said Stillings. DeVos has been a powerful force in pushing to expand charter schools in her home state and taxpayer-funded vouchers for private and religious schools nationwide. But she has no professional experience in public education. During her confirmation hearing this month, she stumbled over basic policy questions, at one point saying that states should be allowed to decide whether to follow a four-decade-old federal civil rights law that protects students with disabilities. Also during the Jan. 17 hearing, DeVos left open the possibility that she might seek to cut education funding or support privatizing public schools. She passed up a chance to reassure senators who are concerned that she intends to scale back the Education Department's efforts to enforce civil rights laws in schools. And she rejected a ban on guns in schools, saying that some schools might need firearms to defend against "potential grizzlies" - a line that became fodder for late-night comics. Some Democrats and their traditional allies - including teachers unions and civil rights groups - have criticized DeVos as unacceptable since she was nominated in late November. But her hearing performance unleashed a broad new wave of opposition, carried along in part by the Women's March on Washington and other anti-Trump resistance efforts. Michael Moore, the liberal filmmaker, urged marchers to call their senators to oppose DeVos. Anti-DeVos petitions circulated widely online, with one, organized by Credo Action, amassing 1.4 million signatures. Senate offices have been swamped with anti-DeVos phone calls and emails. The National Education Association, the nation's largest labor union, alone accounted for more than 1 million emails and 40,000 phone calls. Teachers and parents also have organized protests to oppose DeVos on Capitol Hill and in places, such as Portland, Oregon; Nashville, Tennessee; and Holland, Michigan, DeVos's home town. More than 250 civil rights groups, including those devoted to disability rights, signed a letter of opposition. DeVos's supporters accuse Democrats of bowing to union bosses and defending a status quo that too often consigns poor, African American and Hispanic children to the worst schools. But the opposition to DeVos is broader than unions. It includes groups, such as Democrats for Education Reform, which supports charter schools, and the Education Trust, which has pushed for evaluating teachers in part on standardized test scores. Three cases of shigellosis have been confirmed in students at Mountain Crest Elementary School in Morganton, according to a press release from Burke County Public Schools on Tuesday morning. The Burke County Health Department confirmed the positive cases, the school system said. Health department and school officials are working together to inform and educate students and parents about the infection, according to the release Letters went home to parents explaining the shigella bacterium and prevention measures. Shigellosis is the result of bacteria passing from improperly washed hands of one person to the mouth of another person, often through handling contaminated objects or food, the health department said. It is passed from person to person by direct contact with very small amounts of infected feces. Young children are most likely to be infected with shigella and also are most likely to infect others, the health department said. They usually contract shigellosis by being in a group of children who do not wash their hands properly after having a bowel movement and then handle food or put their fingers in their mouths. Treatment with an antibiotic may shorten the illness, but it is not necessary all the time, according to the health department. The health department recommends that children and staff who have diarrhea, vomiting, fever or stomachaches do not come to school while they are sick. Diarrhea with shigellosis may be bloody and other symptoms include fever, abdominal pain and tenesmus, which is a painful sensation of needing to pass stools even when the bowels are empty, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC says symptoms of shigellosis begin one or two days after infection. In people with healthy immune systems, symptoms typically persist for five to seven days. The CDC says people with mild cases of shigellosis may only need fluids and rest. CDC information says medicines like Pepto-Bismol (bismuth subsalicylate) can be helpful, but Imodium (loperamide) and Lotomil (diphenoxylate with atropine) and similar medicines should be avoided. The letters BCPS and the health department sent home to Mountain Crest parents encourage the following methods to prevent the spread of shigellosis: Carefully washing hands with soap before eating or preparing food and after each visit to the bathroom. Disinfect surfaces at home with a bleach solution of 1/4 cup of bleach mixed with one gallon of water or, for a smaller amount, one tablespoon of bleach mixed with one quart of water. First, clean the area with a mixture of detergent and water and scrub, wash and rinse. Cover the cleaned area with the bleach solution. Leave the solution to air dry for at least two minutes. Wipe dry or let air dry completely. Clean and disinfect toys between uses by children who are likely to put toys in their mouth. Extra sanitation measures are in place at the school to reduce the spread of the bacteria, including thorough cleanings of the school and reminders from staff to students to wash their hands, BCPS Superintendent Dr. Larry Putnam assured in the release. We are taking these confirmed cases very seriously, but at the same time, we do not want to panic anyone, said Putnam. We are doing our part in thoroughly cleaning the entire school and thoroughly cleaning the bathrooms at least twice a day. We cannot stress enough the importance of hand washing with soap and running water to all of our staff and students, especially this time of year in the midst of flu and cold season. We appreciate the health department working with us on this matter. The safety and health of our students remain our top priority. Justin Epley can be reached at jepley@morganton.com or 828-432-8943. WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it would allow more than 800 refugees to enter the United States this week, an announcement that comes amid widespread anger and confusion following President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration order. Trump's order temporarily bans citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States and halts refugee resettlement for a 120-day period. However, officials said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon that they would allow 872 refugees into the country. These refugees were ready to travel and would face "undue hardship" if not able to do so, Kevin K. McAleenan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon. They will be processed with waivers through the end of the week, he said. In the order signed by Trump last week, the temporary suspension of refugee entry to the country allows an exception for refugees "already in transit" and who would face "undue hardship" if denied admission. The immigration order has created chaos and uncertainty around the globe, stranding some people at airports, causing others to be detained and raising questions about its scope. Groups that work with refugees expressed grave concerns about what the entry bans would mean. On Monday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement that 800 refugees "set to make America their new home . . . [found] themselves barred from traveling to the U.S." "Refugees are anxious, confused and heartbroken at this suspension in what is already a lengthy process," the United Nations refugee agency said in a statement. The agency estimated that 20,000 refugees who might have been scheduled in the United States over the 120-day period would be impacted by the ban. Reuters had first reported that federal officials planned to grant waivers to the 872 refugees. At the same Tuesday briefing, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly echoed remarks from Trump in saying that the order is not a "Muslim ban." Trump's sweeping order, signed last Friday, follows his announcement during the presidential campaign that there should be a ban on Muslims entering the United States. In an interview the day after Trump signed the order, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had advised Trump, said he was asked by Trump to find a way to create a Muslim ban "legally." The Trump administration has argued that it selected the seven countries on the travel ban based on the Obama administration's actions identifying those nations as harboring potential terrorism threats. Former president Barack Obama on Monday rejected the contention that the new order was similar to actions taken by his administration. Kelly also said that DHS would comply with judicial orders regarding the travel ban, despite cases where lawyers were prevented from talking to detainees, directly contradicting a court order. "We would not ignore a court order," Kelly said. Kelly said during the briefing that as far as officials knew, no Customs official "knowingly" violated a court order. Donald Trump is the political reincarnation of Tina Turner - he doesnt do anything nice and easy. Also, theyre both Type A personalities who expend a lot of energy, but hardly move at all. And both are famous for high-maintenance hair. Since his January coronation, the New York City real estate developer turned Leader of the Free World has partied like its 1939, issuing polarizing edict after polarizing edict. The surprising thing is Fox News hasnt started to refer to him as Chancellor Trump. Or Gropenfuhrer. Yet. Traditionally, a newly elected, first-time president hits the ground running with hand outstretched in a gesture of sociability, solidarity and camaraderie. Not Donny John. He hit the ground whining, with a fistful of disdain for everyone he slapped upside the head: Democrats, Republicans, the media, Iran, Mexico, Great Britain, the media, his own Cabinet appointments, refugees, the media, the NSC, TSA, and National Park Service. And dont forget the media. Experts theorized the weight of the White House would settle him down but alas, no such luck. Hes still up all hours tweeting out a barrage of alternative facts, choosy truths, questionable ve-racities and marginal actualities that reflect a reality only he can see. As fluid and murky as the Potomac River. What little presidential honeymoon he enjoyed ended long before the cake was cut. The groom ditched the bride and boogied across the floor alone performing a solo victory dance in front of a mirror. As graceful as an angry anvil. You could describe his movements since as jerky, spasmodic and frenzied, like when he ob-sessed over the election being stolen. Ignoring the fact that he won. Even 46s own staff is having problems negotiating his tricky hairpins turns. Not only does the emperor have no clothes, his skin is really thin and kind of blotchy. According to the most aerodynamically coiffed president in history, 3 to 5 million undocumented aliens illegally cast ballots for Hillary Clinton causing him to lose the popular vote. Its the only possible answer. Because how could Donald Trump not be associated with whatever was most popular? Its unthinkable and unpresidented. President Trump loves his invisible people. And theres tons of them. The invisible people who cast fraudulent ballots- totally different than the invisible people who came to Washington to be part of the largest crowd ever to witness an Inauguration but conveniently vanished when aerial photographs were taken. Maybe theyre shy. And neither of those two groups of invisible people should be confused with the thousands of invisible people who celebrated in New Jersey after the World Trade Center came down. Which only he saw. Maybe its a Sixth Sense sort of thing; I see non-existent people. No wonder Bruce Willis supported him. During the rest of his first term, we can expect an expansion of Trumps hallucination theme. Much time will be spent discussing ghosts and leprechauns and sprites and phantoms and pixies and the vast legions of his invisible enemies. Turns out Donald Trump doesnt just have a vision for this country, he has an X- ray vision for this country. Hes like Clark Kent only less buff and way blonder. It was bound to happen: America finally has its first super hero President. Erratic-Man. Will Durst is an award-winning, nationally acclaimed columnist, comedian and former short haul truck diver of plaster molds. For a calendar of personal appearances, visit willdurst.com. To begin with: This was not the Saturday Night Massacre. Donald Trump fired a holdover acting attorney general, who would have been gone soon anyway once Trump's nominated choice is confirmed and sworn in, because she would not support a Trump policy in court. Richard Nixon, in October 1973, ordered his own attorney general to fire a special prosecutor who was investigating the president, his White House, and campaign staff; the attorney general resigned rather than fire the prosecutor, and then Nixon fired the next-in-line, after which the third-in-line was sworn in as the new acting attorney general and carried out the president's orders. What Trump did was orders of magnitude less of a shocking assault on constitutional government. This was a highly unusual situation usually, holdovers from the previous administration don't actively undermine the new administration (in large part because there are rarely similar situations) and Trump was well within his rights to act. Nevertheless. Along with everything else, it's not wrong at all to say that Trump's actions, including this one, continue to add to an atmosphere of chaos and an air of disregard for what Trump talked about all through the campaign: law and order. Firing acting Attorney General Sally Yates can be justified. Doing it at night, and issuing an unprofessional statement accusing her of having "betrayed the Department of Justice," did not reassure anyone that the new president respects the constitution. "Everything else" includes, just on Monday, the White House press secretary trashing State Department officials who signed on to a dissent memo; the news that House Judiciary Committee staff helped draft the refugee/visa/travel executive action while keeping it secret from their boss and signing non-disclosure agreements; and a report that Steve Bannon is stifling national security dissent and proper record-keeping within the White House. And probably two or three things I've forgotten. Meanwhile, factionalism within the White House and more broadly among the executive branch (at least the few positions that have been filled so far) so far is at fever pitch, with leaked stories to match, so more coals are constantly being added to the fire. The president himself seems to have no control over his White House at all. I recommend against anyone guessing how public opinion plays out on any of this. We'll know soon enough. Some are saying that the Yates confrontation, and the refugee/travel issue in general, is exactly what Bannon wants. But that doesn't mean he'll get the reaction he expects. All we know for now is that no president has ever been this unpopular this early in his term, and it's not close. What is supposed to happen in these situations, when the White House is flailing, is for senior members of the party to step in and make sure the president gets his act together. That's what happened after the Iran-Contra affair, when Sen. Howard Baker was brought in as Ronald Reagan's chief of staff. It's basically what happened after Bill Clinton's poorly organized first year and a half, when Leon Panetta took on the same job. That pressure doesn't always have to be applied publicly; after all, it's in the interest of all Republicans to have a functional administration. Or if it's public, it's indirect, with names (Mitch Daniels? Rob Portman?) suddenly starting to be mentioned by loyal partisans. Republicans have plenty of leverage here. If necessary, U.S. senators could threaten to stop confirming Trump's cabinet; Republican members of both houses of Congress could threaten to hold hearings on any number of Trump scandals. They could even threaten to force him to turn over his tax returns. And all they would be asking for should be asking for is for Trump to allow a real manager who knows how the government works to step in and help him, and to get rid of some of the people who are harming his presidency. Sure, they risk the possibility that the Tweeter-in-Chief will lash out at them. And it's certainly possible that Trump can't be made to see how badly he needs help. But there's no reason to think this gets better by itself. A whole lot of Republicans in Congress (and Republican governors and more) absolutely know that. Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg View columnist. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics. Jonathan Miller: Welcome to the Morningstar Manager Check-Up where this week it's about some new funds we've recently added to our coverage. Starting with Capital Group New Perspective Fund which comes straight in at Gold. This fund was launched in October 2015, but it's U.S. sibling has built an impressive multi decade history. Our analyst team State side has been following this strategy for years. So, we've leveraged on their research for this fund. The managers see growth across the globe and aim to profit from changes in global trade patterns. A number of individuals are involved in running sleeves of the portfolio which allows each person to play to his or her strengths. Managers have a history of turning to stay at a group all the way through to retirement. So, we also identify a sense of stability. Their proven ability and the fund's competitive pricing are further positives for us. Next up is the First State Asia Focus Fund which is only launched in August 2015. But has a Gold rating. The manager Martin Lau stands out as a proven China and Asian investor across other funds he runs. For this Asia focus fund he's got the flexibility to invest 20% outside the Asia Pacific region. With around 70 million in assets and fairly competitive fees compared with peers. We see this as an attractive way to access Lau's skills. He's backed by a team of 17 analysts who apply tried and tested bottom up stock selection process, which looks for quality companies that deliver sustainable growth at attractive valuations. The consumption theme is evident in the portfolio with meaningful exposure to the IT and consumer sectors. What you tend to see with Lau's approach is lower volatility than the index and resilience on the downside. We're confident this will stay true paving the way for long-term outperformance. Finally, we have the Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunistic Bond Fund, managed by veteran investors Steve Smith and David Hoffman. This fund has been assigned a Morningstar analyst rating of Silver. Their philosophy disregards indices that are weighted according to the underlying issuer. Instead they identified high real yields and currencies in countries with strong or improving fundamentals. The focus here is on sovereign debt with some flexibility outside this area. But given their process, their significant exposure to emerging markets and little in low yielding developed markets. The duo will also adjust their duration as the macro outlook shifts. This creates higher volatility than global bond peers. So, for patient investor who praise long-term returns over short term downside protection this fund is a compelling choice. Following an amendment to Vancouvers foreign buyer tax, Ontario-based associations discuss the possibility of a similar policy in Toronto. Should Toronto implement a similar foreign buyer tax? The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) doesnt think so. A foreign buyer tax penalizes the international MBA student who will one day start her own business in our province, or the pediatric nurse aspiring to work at Sick Kids, Tim Hudak, OREA CEO said in a release. The lesson here is that we need sustainable, long-term solutions that get to the root of the affordability problem, and it starts with increasing housing supply. OREA referenced a study by the Toronto Real Estate Board, released Tuesday, that found a mere 4.9% of GTA transactions in 2016 involved foreign purchasers. As the foreign buyer conversation unfolded, TREB held steadfast to the view that the provincial and municipal governments should comprehensively and patiently review the issue of foreign purchasers of real estate in Ontario before making any policy decisions and should seek out actual empirical evidence on the level of foreign buying activity in the GTA, the board said in its Market Year in Review. In this regard, TREB decided to take the lead on data collection and commission its own study. TREB commissioned Ipsos, a third party research firm, to survey agents about the level of foreign purchasing activity throughout the GTA. The survey collected over 3,500 responses. As previously mentioned, the survey found an estimated 4.9% of foreign transactions in the GTA with levels as high as 6% in York and Halton regions and as low as 1% in Durham. In Toronto, the share of foreign buyers was 5%. According to the survey responses, 40% of foreign buyers purchased a home as a principal residence; 15% purchased for a family member; 25% purchased as a rental investment; 4% purchased as a non-primary residence; and 3% purchased with the intent of keeping it vacant. These results were in line with recent CMHC findings related to the condominium apartment market. In the fall of 2016, CMHC estimated that 2.3 per cent of condominium apartments in the GTA were foreign-owned. In newer condominium apartment buildings, the share of foreign ownership was slightly higher at 3.9 per cent, TREB said. The results suggest the influence of foreign buyers on the GTA market is minimal and that a similar foreign buyer tax to Vancouvers isn't necessary. Click here to read the entire study. Illegal Kickback Charges Brought Against Prospect Mortgage Prospect Mortgage, a Sherman Oaks, California based lender has been cited by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for paying illegal kickbacks for mortgage business referrals. Two real estate brokers and a mortgage servicer were accused of taking those kickbacks. CFPB said Prospect is one of the largest independent retail mortgage lenders in the country with nearly 100 branches nationwide, offering a range of mortgages to consumers, including conventional, FHA, and VA loans. Also named in the several actions taken were two real estate brokers, RGC Services, Inc., (doing business as ReMax Gold Coast), based in Ventura, California, and Willamette Legacy, LLC, (doing business as Keller Williams Mid-Willamette), based in Corvallis, Oregon, and Planet Home Lending, LLC, a mortgage servicer headquartered in Meriden, Connecticut. The Bureau alleges that, from at least 2011 through 2016, the Prospect used a variety of schemes to pay kickbacks for referrals of mortgage business in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. These included setting up marketing services agreements with other companies, which were framed as payments for advertising or promotional services, but served to disguise payments for referrals. The CFPB's investigation found that ReMax Gold Coast and Keller Williams Mid-Willamette accepted illegal payment for referrals. Both companies were among more than 100 brokers who had marketing services agreements, lead agreements, and desk-license agreements with Prospect, which were, in whole or in part, vehicles to obtain illegal payments for referrals. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act prohibits brokers and agents from exploiting consumers' reliance on these recommendations by accepting payments or kickbacks in return for referrals to particular service providers. Specifically, it is alleged that Prospect: Paid brokers to require consumers - even those who had already prequalified with another lender - to prequalify with Prospect. One method Prospect used to obtain referrals was to have brokers engage in a practice of "writing in" Prospect into their real estate listings. This meant that brokers and their agents required anyone seeking to purchase a listed property to obtain prequalification with Prospect, even consumers who had prequalified for a mortgage with another lender. Split fees with a mortgage servicer to obtain consumer referrals. Prospect and Planet Home Lending had an agreement under which Planet worked to identify and persuade eligible consumers to refinance with Prospect for their Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) mortgages. Prospect compensated Planet by splitting the proceeds of the sale of such loans evenly with Planet and then sent the resulting mortgage servicing rights back to them. Under the terms of the action announced on Wednesday, Prospect will pay a $3.5 million civil penalty for its illegal conduct. and the real estate brokers and servicer will pay a combined $495,000 in consumer relief, repayment of ill-gotten gains, and penalties with ReMax Gold Coast paying $50,000 in civil money penalties, and Keller Williams Mid-Willamette liable for $145,000 in disgorgement and $35,000 in penalties. "Today's action sends a clear message that it is illegal to make or accept payments for mortgage referrals," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "We will hold both sides of these improper arrangements accountable for breaking the law, which skews the real estate market to the disadvantage of consumers and honest businesses." CFPB Enforcement Action - Realtors Take Note About Referral Fees; GSE news; Jumbo Program Trends Although I am now in Phoenix for several days, where house flipping is ramping up again, I was fortunate earlier this week to be able to attend the Texas Mortgage Banker's Secondary Market Conference in Austin. The mood was upbeat, and the attendees were genuinely interested in learning about helping consumers while making sure loans are done in compliant manner. Legal & regulatory news: it doesn't stop...real estate companies beware We all know that $3.5 million isn't chump change. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Prospect Mortgage, LLC, ReMax Gold Coast, and Keller Williams Mid-Willamette for illegal kickbacks relating to mortgage business referrals. Planet Home Lending was also mentioned. We all know that residential lenders and title companies, among others, have been fined before. But folks who pay attention to these things say that this is the first time the CFPB has fined a real estate brokerage for the RESPA violations noting, "we will hold both sides of these improper arrangements accountable for breaking the law..." The RESPA violations arose from the following arrangements which were framed as payments for advertising or promotional services but were actually disguised payments for referrals: 1. The amount of the payments made from Prospect to the real estate agents for marketing were adjusted based on the number of mortgage referrals given to Prospect. 2. The brokers "wrote in" Prospect as the mortgage lender in their listings and required that Prospect pre-qualify all of the purchasers even those who had been pre-qualified with another lender. It appears that Prospect maintained various agreements with over 100 real estate brokers which served primarily as vehicles to deliver payments for referrals of mortgage business. Prospect tracked the number of referrals made by each broker and adjusted the amounts paid accordingly. Prospect also had other, more informal, co-marketing arrangements that operated as vehicles to make payments for referrals. Prospect had brokers engage in a practice of "writing in" Prospect into their real estate listings. "Writing in" meant that brokers and their agents required anyone seeking to purchase a listed property to obtain prequalification with Prospect, even consumers who had prequalified for a mortgage with another lender. The CFPB pointed out that Prospect and Planet Home Lending had an agreement under which Planet worked to identify and persuade eligible consumers to refinance with Prospect for their Home Affordable Refinance Program mortgages. Prospect compensated Planet for the referrals by splitting the proceeds of the sale of such loans evenly with Planet. Prospect also sent the resulting mortgage servicing rights back to Planet. Sure, builders will have a preferred lender where there are discounts, for example, but home-buyers are permitted to use any lender or mortgage company they choose. If a potential home-buyer (i) is required to use the lender whom the real estate agent prefers or (ii) pressured to have the preferred lender pre-qualify them, they can file a complaint online with the CFPB. If successful, in addition to any damages incurred, the person may also receive a percent of the recovery. Recently lawyers & regulators noted that PHH filed a supplemental response to the CFPB's petition for en banc rehearing and a response opposing the motion filed by Democratic Attorneys General of 16 states and the District of Columbia to intervene in the PHH appeal. Supplemental Response. The D.C. Circuit invited the Solicitor General to file a response to... CFPB Director Richard Cordray is showing little sign of easing off the gas as the Trump administration takes hold. Cordray has recently said that he has no intention of stepping down early, despite pressure from Republicans eager to overhaul the 5-year-old agency. "It really shouldn't change the job at all," said Cordray of Trump assuming power. "We have an independent mandate to do what we do and we'll continue to work to protect consumers." Switching gears somewhat, but staying on the regulatory train, the Independent Community Bankers of America issued a statement calling on the Trump administration "to rein in the overzealous application of fair lending laws." Ballard Spahr notes that, "ICBA stated that community banks are threatened by a recent trend of "unwarranted enforcement actions" that "harm community banks and the customers they serve by undermining the availability of credit..." Attorney Phil Stein weighed in on litigation and legal/regulatory issues that will likely be top-of-mind for financial services companies, especially mortgage companies and banks, in 2017. Lawsuits and contractual mortgage buyback claims are still being filed with a higher percentage of mortgage buyback suits now brought by entities. Also, plaintiffs are now more prone to pitch their claims as ones for 'indemnification' rather than 'repurchase.' The CFPB may get its wings clipped to some extent by the incoming Trump administration. At a minimum, its leadership structure will need to be altered unless the PHH case ruling requiring such a change is stayed and then reversed." On the topic of data security & privacy Mr. Stein noted, "For obvious reasons, the financial services industry stands out as one that regulatory agencies believe must be particularly prepared to defend against-and, if necessary, respond to- data breaches." And regarding financial services professionals as fiduciaries, "There is a clear conflict brewing in 2017 toward rules such as The U.S. Department of Labor final rule regarding the "investment advice fiduciary" definition under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The constantly shifting world of Freddie & Fannie (GSEs) The MBA released a briefing paper developed by an MBA Task Force outlining its recommendations for "end state" GSE Reform. "With the new Administration promising to make GSE reform a top priority...MBA's paper outlines an end state GSE reform model that will preserve and enhance the policies that work, while fixing the fundamental flaws in the system that led to their conservatorship. We spent a considerable amount of time with our diverse Task Force developing a model that will work for all market participants, regardless of size or business model." The MBA will be working on a blueprint for the transition process that will be necessary to ensure a smooth conversion and minimize the "switching costs" and developing a proposal to serve the affordable housing mission - a critical step for successful GSE Reform. The complete reform proposal will be ready later this spring. There are changes to investor reporting start February 1st. Review the Fannie Mae Navigation Tips checklist to help you stay on track and ensure your readiness. All servicers should be sure to attend a live forum during the month of February (Tuesdays and Thursdays) -- Register today on the Changes to Investor Reporting page. Jumbo? "Once again Parkside Lending raises the bar with new additions to its superior suite of Jumbo products. Now with four different Jumbo products (Jumbo I, Jumbo III, Expanded Jumbo and Premier Jumbo), we're offering robust guidelines with aggressive pricing. LTVs as high as 95% with or without MI, and both fixed rates and ARMs. These products offer great options for investment properties and are an alternative to High Balance and Super-Conforming products. Please contact your Parkside Account Executive for more information or sales@parksidelending.com." NYCB Mortgage Banking updated its Jumbo Fixed 30 Year and Standard Jumbo 5/1, 7/1 and 10/1 ARM. Self-Employed income requirement includes business tax returns, year-to-date P&L and Balance Sheet are required for all self-employment income sources, regardless if the income/loss from the business is used in qualifying and percentage of ownership. Also, Mixed Use Properties are not eligible including single family dwellings that have businesses operating within the dwelling or where the business rents space inside the home (examples: hair salons, animal groomers, child care services, business pays rent to borrower etc.). PRMG posted various product updates. Changes effect Agency Fixed/Agency ARMs/ Agency High Balance, Agency Portfolio, Du Refi Plus, FHA products, VA/VA High Balance, USDA and Gold Jumbo. Mortgage Credit Availability Increased in December. The MCAI increased 0.6% to 175.2 in December. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. Of the four component indices, the Jumbo MCAI saw the greatest increase in availability over the month (up 1.3%), followed by the Conventional MCAI (up 0.7%), the Government MCAI (up 0.6%), and the Conforming MCAI (up 0.04%). Capital Markets: More corporate debt issuance Agency MBS prices and U.S. Treasuries pushed higher Tuesday. Why? The economic data releases came up light. The Chicago PMI unexpectedly fell to 50.3 for January and the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell by almost two points to 111.8. Consumer confidence is still at relatively high levels, although consumers' outlook was reined in a bit following the post-election surge. Lastly, call it "old news" but the Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.3% y/y in November. (October's rate was 5.1%.) Impacting supply & demand, AT&T announced a debt offering with six tranches of 5, 7, 10, 20, 30, and 40 years following Microsoft's $17 billion announcement Monday. Longer term mortgage rates are set by supply and demand, not pegged directly by the Fed. Yet the New York Fed continues to influence the supply and demand curves by buying $1-2 billion a day of agency MBS. One can argue that these corporate debt deals can soak up money to be invested in fixed-income securities by money managers. Regardless, Tuesday the 10-year closed at 2.45% improving .250 in price whereas the 5-year T-note and MBS prices improved about .125. This morning we've had the MBA's survey of application data said to represent 75% of the retail origination machine. Due in large part to a drop in FHA applications, overall apps were down about 3%, and volume last week was 18 percent lower than the same week one year ago. Refis are 32% lower than where they were last year, and now account for less than 50% of total residential applications, but purchases are up 2%. I have mentioned that some appraisers have told me that their business is down 50% versus late last year. Next up was ADP employment (private payrolls in January were +246k, more than expected). Ahead of us are the Treasury's announcement of next week's quarterly refunding, which is expected to consist of all new issues of 3-year, 10-year, and 30-year risk-free paper, Market Manufacturing PMI, January ISM Manufacturing, and December Construction Spending. Later brings the latest decision from the FOMC, which will be released at 2:00pm ET with the committee expected to keep policy unchanged. With all this going on we start the day with the 10-year chopping around 2.49% with MBS prices worse .125-.250 versus last night. Jobs and Announcements In sales job news, Orange Coast Title Company, "an industry leader since 1974 and one of the largest independently owned title insurance companies, is growing again and has an excellent opportunity for a National Sales Executive. As our National Sales Executive, you will acquire, build, and maintain strong, long-lasting client relationships with the top mortgage lenders in the country. The ideal candidate will possess a broad knowledge of the loan origination and servicing space, have sales experience with a proven track record of exceeding goals, and be self-motivated to succeed in a fast-paced, competitive environment." Interested candidates should send their resumes to Tim Curtis, National Sales Manager. Founded in 2003, Century Lending Company is an experienced wholesale and correspondent lender focused on the highest standard of service. Century combines the personal services of a community lender with the power and reach of a national mortgage banking institution to bring our business partners the fastest and most efficient production environment nationwide. To build upon our success, we are seeking Account Executives (AEs) in the California, Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas regions. Contact President Marla Guillaume for more information. In other parts of the nation, a top well-known correspondent lender & warehouse capital provider is looking for 2 AEs - one to cover the Midwest and one to cover New York/New Jersey. AEs can work with both delegated and non-delegated clients, offering a full product line, including innovative non-QM products, Govies, and Conventional products. If you are looking for an exciting opportunity with huge earning potential, email your resume to me and specify the opportunity. On the education side of things, Sierra Pacific Mortgage's Market Power series is starting the year off with some heavy hitters from the MBA. On Thursday, February 9, Pete Mills and Mike Fratantoni will be discussing the post-election world and how a variety of potential policy shifts are expected to affect the housing market. They will also be sharing what the political and regulatory atmosphere is today, as well as the MBA's goals and focus with the new Trump Administration. You don't want to miss this, so register today for this free webinar. In hiring news, Franklin American Mortgage Company announced the addition of Jennifer Werner as VP, Director of Project Marketing. Ms. Werner has over 20 years of experience in conceiving, developing, implementing, and driving B2B and B2C marketing strategies within financial services, payments, and healthcare industries. Wayfinding - By car or by foot Mt. Pleasant will show the way This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A 16-year-old Jordanian visa holder, who attends Katy High School, has been detained by U.S. immigration officials for more than three days following President Trump's controversial immigration executive order, according to his brother. Mohammad Abu Khadra, who lives in Katy with his brother Rami, traveled to Jordan last week to renew his visa. When he flew into Bush IAH airport Saturday, immigration officials allegedly canceled his visa and detained him at the airport for about 72 hours. He was transferred to a detention center in Chicago Monday and has no access to his cell phone. Mohammad is among dozens of visa holders and immigrants to be detained at U.S. airports since President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday indefinitely barring all Syrian refugees from entering the United states and suspending all refugee admissions for 120 days. It also prohibits citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days, whether they are refugees or not. Those countries include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Mohammad's native Jordan is not on the list. EDUCATED OPPOSITION: Baylor College of Medicine chief slams Trump over ban It is unclear whether immigration officials detained Mohammad because of confusion surrounding the executive order or because of issues with his visa. Rami, a 37-year-old green card holder who has been in the United States for five years, said he feels helpless. "My country is not one of seven countries on the list," Rami said. "It's like because he's from the Middle East, he gets detained." Officials told Rami that Mohammad could be in the Chicago detention center for as long as two months. Rami said he hopes to hear from Mohammad Tuesday, but that his little brother is only allowed to call once a week for 30 minutes. RALLYING FOR IMMIGRANTS: Protests ripple across Houston in wake of Trump's order Rami said he was able to visit Mohammad briefly at Bush IAH airport Sunday after he was peppered with questions from immigration officials curious about his relationships and his allegiances. He said his brother was exhausted after a 16-hour flight from Jordan and spending the night sleeping in an airport chair. "He was very afraid," Rami said. "Before I saw him, he was on a flight for 15 or 16 hours, then was at the airport for 72 hours. He was very tired and frustrated. When he took the flight to Chicago, he called me, but he doesn't know anything. He doesn't know what's going on." Rami said his parents, who still live in Jordan, are inconsolable over their son's detention. He wished the U.S. government would just send Mohammad back to Jordan rather than have him languish in a bureaucratic limbo. "I'm trying to fly out to Chicago, trying to reach out people. I just want to see him," Rami said. "I'm trying very hard to just see him or hear from him or anything. I need to see if he needs money or anything." >>>Click through the above gallery to see images from protests of Donald Trump's immigration ban. Fewer people were on the citys roads and fewer accidents took place in 2016, according to statistics released Wednesday. The number of crashes decreased by 10 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the city in its 2016 traffic crash report. It was the second straight year the city reported a 10-percent decrease -- the number of crashes dropped from an all-time high of 4,013 in 2014 to 3,602 in 2015 to 3,233 last year. The total number of crashes within the city was similar to other comparably sized cities in Texas, according to a press release from the city. There were approximately 24.3 crashes per year per 1,000 residents in Midland, according to the city. Other cities in the comparison were Carrollton (23.41), Waco (29.82), Denton (29.06) and Abilene (27.46). Overall traffic volume counts taken in 2016 were down about 5.5 percent compared to 2015, according to the report. The city did report an increase in fatalities inside the city from 10 in 2015 to 11 last year. There was in contrast to a decrease in the number of fatalities reported on roads inside Midland County which, according to Reporter-Telegram records, went from 30 in 2015 to 18 last year. The most dangerous intersection in Midland, according to the report, was Midland Drive and Wadley Avenue. This was followed by Andrews Highway and the Loop 250 West service road. The third most dangerous intersection was Midkiff Road and Wall Street. These same intersections are also the three intersections with the highest traffic crash rates when volume is taken into account, according to the city. Note: Traffic volumes provided in the annual crash report usually represent data from one day out of the entire year. The variations in daily traffic patterns make it difficult to determine trends at any one location based on these figures. The city of Midlands traffic crash reports can be found at www.midlandtexas.gov/crashreports. Crashes in Midland 2014: 4,013 2015: 3,602 2016: 3,233 Fatalities in Midland 2014: 24 2015: 10 2016: 11 Fatalities on roads inside Midland County 2013: 42 2014: 44 2015: 30 2016: 18 Most crashes by intersection Midland Drive/Wadley Avenue 38 Andrews Highway/Loop 250 WSR 31 Midkiff Road/Wall Street28 Midkiff Road/Wadley Avenue27 Andrews Highway/Midland Drive24 Big Spring Street/Loop 250 SSR24 Big Spring Street/Scharbauer Drive24 Big Spring Street/Wadley Avenue20 Midkiff Road/Loop 250 SSR20 Midland Drive/Loop 250 SSR City Population Crashes Fatalities Crashes Fatalities per 1,000 Pop. per 1,000 Pop. Carrollton 133,168 3,117 4 23.41 0.0300 Midland 132,950 3,233 11 24.32 0.0827 Waco 132,356 3,947 12 29.82 0.0907 Denton 131,044 3,808 23 29.06 0.1755 Abilene 121,721 3,343 12 27.46 0.0986 While the Odessa Police Department reported a double-digit percentage drop in crime in 2016, the 5,130 serious crimes in Odessa were in excess of 1,300 than the number reported in Midland. This week, both Midland and Odessa police departments offered their respective crime statistics reports for 2016. Both showed decreases compared to 2015 -- Midland by 1.1 percent, Odessa by 11.6 percent. OPD reported decreases in all but one part 1 crimes -- those MPD defined as mostly likely to be reported and are serious in nature an/or volume. Minnesota State (7-3, 4-0 NSIC) is set to take the mat against Southwest Minnesota State University at Taylor Center, Thursday, February 2 at 7:00 p.m. before traveling to face St. Cloud State at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 4.The Mavericks are currently riding a four dual win streak, and are undefeated wrestling at Taylor Center this season posting a 4-0 record. Heading into this week's match-ups the Mavericks hold the top spot in the NSIC with a 4-0 record in conference duals. Thursday's match against the Mustangs will conclude a three match home stand that saw the Mavericks pick up victories over the University of Mary, 33-7, and a 25-13 victory over Upper Iowa in their last match. The Mavericks hold the advantage over both of their upcoming opponents in all-time meetings with a 26-9 record against the Mustangs and a 22-21-2 record against the Huskies.(R-Fr., 125 lbs.),(Jr., 141 lbs.), and(Jr., 184 lbs.) enter the week ranked regionally for the Mavericks while(Sr., 174 lbs.) is ranked #3 in the nation boasting a 25-1 record.The Mavericks first opponent of the week, Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs currently hold a season record of 6-11 and are 2-3 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Mustangs most recently picked up two consecutive conference wins over University of Mary and Minot State by scores of 20-16 and 22-16 respectively. The Mustangs have two wrestlers ranked in the region in Sophomore Cortez Arredondo 6th at 149 lbs. and Sophomore Kegen Fingalsen 8th at 165 lbs.On Saturday the Mavericks will travel to compete against the St. Cloud State Huskies. St. Cloud State is currently ranked #1 in the Division II National Rankings and has compiled a 12-1 record this season including a 3-0 record in conference. Their only loss this season came against the University of Indianapolis by a score of 22-17. Prior to facing the Mavericks Saturday, the Huskies will have another conference dual in St. Cloud Friday evening against Minot State. St. Cloud State has nationally ranked wrestlers in nine out of ten weight classes including #1 Austin Goergen at 285 lbs.After the weekend the Mavericks will return to Taylor Center for a final home dual against Northern State University February 9 at 7:00 p.m.For live video vs. Southwest Minnesota State, click HERE For live video vs. St. Cloud State, Click HERE -30- The Singapore-listed energy company Sembcorp has signed a build-operate-transfer agreement with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy for a 225-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Myingyan, near Mandalay. The signing represents a key milestone for the $300 million project, the company said in a statement. Under the deal, the Sembcorp Myingyan Power Company will operate the plant for 22 years before the government takes ownership. Semcorps Executive Vice President, Tan Cheng Guan, signed the deal with U Htein Lwin, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Electricity and Energy on January 18th, the statement added. Last March the company signed a long-term power purchase agreement with the government to sell the plants entire output to the Electric Power Generation Enterprise, an entity under the Ministry of Electricity. The plant, which is due to go into operation next year, will be one of Myanmars largest gas-fired stations and will help to play a key role in meeting the countrys growing demand for electricity, the company said. We thank the government of Myanmar for its support, and we are encouraged by its commitment to accelerate infrastructure development in the country, said Sembcorp Group President & CEO Tang Kin Fei. We are confident that we will be able to deliver this facility on time. This will help to meet the growing need for power particularly in Mandalay, support the nations progress and improve the quality of life for the Myanmar people, the CEO added. Sembcorp employs 7,000 people and operates facilities around the world. Its power facilities have a total capacity of 10,000 megawatts. The company also supplies water solutions to local governments and industrial projects and works in urban development and marine engineering. Source: Myanmar Business Today The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra Nevada above 6,000 feet through 4 AM Saturday. Eight inches to two feet of total snow accumulation is expected above 6,000 feet. Winds of thirty to forty mph will continue with gusts up to sixty-five mph. A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or are occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Strong winds are also possible. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Muslim civil rights groups are lawyering up to defend those affected by President Trump travel order. CAIR filed a lawsuit nationwide against travel order CAIR-Florida held a rally in Orlando Tuesday Citizens say they have been cut off from family members Regardless if its two hours, one week or years, this is offensive, insulting and its separating families," said Rasha Mubarak, the Regional Coordinator for Council on Islamic-American Relations-Florida. The Muslim civil liberties and anti-defamation organization held a rally Tuesday at their Orlando office, bringing together government representatives and activists. On Monday, CAIR filed a lawsuit nationally on behalf of more than 20 plaintiffs. Of the ban, the lawsuit reads in part: "...Has been dubbed uniformly as the 'Muslim Ban' because its apparent and true purpose and underlying motive---which is to ban Muslims from certain Muslim-majority countries..." Those at the rally said the travel ban was unethical and immoral, targeting Muslims and giving permission for Islamophobia and xenophobia. "We have a very rigorous immigrant and refugee system in place. It's the safest and most screened in the world," said Mubarak. "Of the almost 750,000 immigrants and refugees that came into this country post-9/11, only two of them were tied to any terrorist charges." "All marginalized groups stand with you, as you stand with us," said Ida Eskamani, taking to the podium."We're united in this fight for justice and equality." Eskamani, a first generation Iranian-American, said that she has fond memories of her grandmothers yearly visits to Orlando. But the 84-year-old lives in Iran. Ida Eskamani says the travel order cuts her off from her Iranian grandmother, who is a visa holder. And as a result of Iran's new order banning U.S. citizens, Eskamani can't go to Iran to see her either. (Ida Eskamani) Right now she cannot come into the United States. Shes barred because shes a visa holder," she said. That punches you in the heart. As an Iranian-American, it makes me feel unwanted in this country. Its just heart-wrenching. The 90-day ban affects citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order also suspends refugee admissions for 120 days, indefinitely for Syrians. Im weeping for the people who are not allowed to come back," said Zainab Merchant. The daughter of a Somali refugee who fled to Pakistan, Merchant said her Shia Muslim family has faced undue hardships. The U.S. citizen was detained herself, along with her husband and children, twice in the past coming back to the U.S. from Canada. Its very traumatic, especially when they take away your phone, they confiscate your keys for the car. Youre basically in a prison," she said. All I kept thinking at that time was, 'Im a U.S. citizen. They have to let me back in. This is my home.'" The ban is now shelving the family's plans of returning to Iraq and Iran for a pilgrimage. The editor-in-chief of website Zainab Rights said that she wanted to show her three children their Islamic heritage. This is not the country my parents immigrated to. America is built on immigrants," said Eskamani. Eskamani said that she was planning a trip this summer to visit her family in Iran, but worries she won't be able to go. Iran has reciprocated, which is to be expected, saying that no U.S. citizens can come to Iran. So now I am also barred as a U.S. citizen," she said. President Trump ran on a campaign explicitly stating he would support a Muslim ban. This is a Muslim ban, does not matter how you paint it. Despite the executive order, 872 refugees will be allowed into the U.S. this week, according to a senior U.S. government official. Refugees will be granted waivers, in cases where they were ready to travel and keeping them from doing so would cause undue hardship. A family in northwest Orange County said three of their vehicles were damages and hateful message was left on the windshield. Tires slashed, message left on vehicle in Orange County Allen family said they noticed vandalism Monday morning The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating The Allen family noticed the vandalism Monday morning at their home along Oakmore Lane. "The tires were all slashed, like, completely deflated," said Stetia Allen, whose car was damaged. "On top of the car was a note that said, 'N------ lives don't matter.'" Allen thinks her family was targeted because she is heavily involved in different political and social movements. She said this isn't the first time she has heard of this kind of intimidating tactic in the area, but she hopes it is the last time she sees it. "I'm scared," Allen said. "I'm beyond fearful." The Orange County Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation. Investigators on Monday took the message left on the windshield in as evidence with the hope that it could contain some leads. Allen said her family won't be intimidated and hopes the criminal comes forward. "What's wrong is wrong, and justice is justice," Allen said. Homeowners in The Villages are being asked to move white crosses in their yards after anonymous complaints about them. Villages residents asked to remove crosses in their yards Anonymous complaints came in about white wooden crosses Community officials say deed restriction doesn't allow lawn ornaments Officials with the community's standards department say the wooden crosses aren't allowed on lawns because under a residential deed restriction, they're considered a lawn ornament, which aren't allowed unless it's a temporary seasonal ornament, though they can be under the roof line. They said they have gotten 397 lawn ornament complaints within the past year 87 of those being about the crosses. Dick Walsman, 84, has had his cross up for a year. "We're told to be witnesses for Christ, and we could have people that would be influenced positively to know that we're Christians, and we're not ashamed," Walsman said Tuesday. Across the street on Orangedale Terrace in The Villages, three of Walsman's neighbors have crosses too, but some said they had to move them last week after anonymous complaints were made about them. "There are lawn ornaments up and down the same street no one seem to complain about those, but to single out the cross seems to be very much a target," resident Tom McCulloch said. Neighbors said they were disappointed about the situation. "Why someone would be offended by it, if you're not a Christian, I dont why you would object to someone else being it," McCulloch said. Officials with the community standards department said they are a complaint driven department. A 31-year-old Palm Coast man arrested at a Circle K managed to break out of the rear of a deputy's patrol car, fled into woods and was again taken into custody after falling out of a tree, deputies said. Flagler man wanted on out-of-state warrant arrested Tuesday night He was apprehended, then broke out of back of patrol car He led authorities on a chase, climbed tree before being recaptured George Garland Wood, of the P-section, was reportedly involved in an argument at about 9:27 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of a Circle K in Bunnell, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said. According to a report, Wood who was wanted on an out-of-state warrant ignored orders to talk to a deputy, then dove head-first through the open passenger window of a 2006 Chevrolet van and fled by trying to drive from the passenger side. The van crashed into a pole and nearly struck a Bunnell Police officer as the deputy tried to get physical control of Wood. The officer deployed his agency-issued stun gun, reached inside the vehicle and pulled Wood from the van. The Sheriff's Office said Wood continued to resist as he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a deputy's patrol car. While investigating the incident, the deputy found a loaded firearm in the Chevrolet van, a report states. The deputy then saw the Bunnell Police officer running and realized Wood had escaped the patrol car and ran into nearby woods by breaking the vehicle's cage on the rear window. A perimeter was established, and a K-9 team was called out, as well as Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Air One helicopter. Wood was eventually found in a tree. He then either fell out of jumped down, deputies said, and was again taken into custody. He complained of injuries to his back and was taken to Florida Hospital Flagler, where he was treated and medically cleared. He was booked into the Flagler County Jail on no bail. Laura Williams, a spokeswoman with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, said Wood was handcuffed when he broke out of the patrol car. He was then able to move his handcuffs from behind him to in front of him, but he did have handcuffs on the entire time, she said. The Sheriff's Office in a release said it's reviewing the incident to determine how Wood was able to breach the cage in the patrol car. "We're reviewing every aspect so we may take the appropriate action," the agency said. The patrol car is a 2012 Chevrolet Caprice, which doesn't have the solid door panel that are used nowadays. The Sheriff's Office said it is inspecting the remaining seven Caprices. Wood was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aiding escape, felony criminal mischief, being a fugitive from justice, resisting arrest without violence and driving with a suspended driver's license with knowledge. The widow of the Pulse gunman was denied a pretrial release from jail Wednesday on charges of aiding her husband, as new details on her charges were divulged. Instead of allowing Noor Salman's release, the federal judge in the California courtroom ordered a mental health evaluation and said he'd consider her request for release after the evaluation is complete. David Haas, federal criminal defense attorney and partner at NeJame Law, explained the impact of the ruling. Typically federal defendants get one chance at a bond hearing unless there is a substantial change in some issue that resulted in the decision to detain her," Haas said. "But she will remain in custody for the totality of the case until it is resolved. Haas was a federal prosecutor in Florida for a decade. Salman's husband, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 at Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June. Mateen died during a firefight with law enforcement. Haas said Mateens death may complicate the case, but ultimately not have an effect on the outcome. Obviously the fact that hes not there creates a lot of open questions, and thats realistically why the government took so long," Haas said. "They didnt just have somebody else they could go to and question about what happened and who knew about what. Prosecutors argue that Salman, 31, knew about Mateen's plans of carrying out his terror attack on the gay nightclub. In new details divulged during Wednesday's hearing, they said she saw Mateen leave their Fort Pierce home with a gun and backpack full of ammunition on the night of the attack. She moved to suburban San Francisco, where she was arrested last month on charges of aiding and abetting Mateen's support of the Islamic State terror group. She has pleaded not guilty. One of Salman's lawyers, Haitham Amin, argued that she is not a flight risk and says she was a battered spouse who didn't know about Mateen's plans. "This was not a case against Noor Salman," said Linda Moreno, another attorney for Salman. "The government laid out a theoretical, extremely thin prosecution case against Noor that was based on speculation, based on statements they claim she made during an 18-hour interrogation that was conducted without counsel." Salman will be transferred to Florida to face the charges that could bring a life sentence. After a lengthy investigation, Haas said this federal case may be resolved this year. Theres so many people that were killed and traumatized by the events of the Pulse shooting," Haas said. "They were going to make sure that they did everything they possibly could, and with a case involving essentially terrorism, that requires a tremendous amount of work. Information from the Associated Press is used in this story. AUSTIN Gov. Greg Abbott delivered his biennial State of the State address Tuesday and designated four issues as emergency items, clearing the way for fast tracked legislation. The state constitution precludes the passage of any legislation in the first 60 days of session, except for those issues designated as emergencies by the governor. Abbott wants immediate action on bills to ban sanctuary cities, reform Child Protective Services, strengthen state ethics laws for elected officials, and to call a convention of the states to amend the U.S. Constitution. CPS reform was the first emergency issue highlighted in the governor's speech. Abbott referred to the more than 100 children who died last year while in the CPS system, which led to additional funding for the agency at the end of last year. Abbott says that was a necessary action, but wasn't a lasting solution. "We need more workers, better training, smarter strategies, and real accountability in order to safeguard our children," he said. The Senate budget as filed includes $332 million more for CPS in the next two years, and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee will take up a CPS reform bill, SB11 by committee Chair Charles Schwertner of Georgetown, at a hearing on Thursday. Advocates for closing the so-called carried interest tax loophole are hopeful that a change in their approach will garner support from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other critics. A proposal, co-sponsored by more than 40 Democrats, would act to close the loophole only if New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey do the same. Legislatures in those states are also considering proposals. The federal income tax code allows highly compensated hedge fund and private equity managers to pay the corporate gains tax of 20 percent, avoiding the 39.6 percent tax rate for regular income. With federal efforts to close the tax loophole unsuccessful, proponents are pushing for states to do so and collect the additional revenue. Morris Pearl, chairman of the progressive Patriotic Millionaires, said the loophole was created in 1990 to encourage investment. Hedge fund and private equity managers havent invested to the degree intended, though, instead using the loophole to avoid a higher income tax rate, he said. They are no more investors than are the accountants, the lawyers, and, in fact, the cafeteria workers who work in their offices, Pearl said. The Working Families Party projects closing the loophole could produce as much as $530 million in additional revenue at a time when the state is facing a deficit projected as high as $1.5 billion next year. Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, said the legislature wont be able to balance its budget next year solely with cuts, and closing the loophole would significantly reduce the deficit. We must create revenue streams that will foster a budget based on tax fairness, she said. Many proponents focused on fairness, adding the loophole allows high-income earners to pay a lower rate than middle class workers. Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, said he doesnt want to punish the wealthy, but considered it inherently wrong when different rules exist for wealthier residents than those for low- and middle class workers. He also said many residents feel a burden of making ends meet, but the creation of money becomes more like a game for millionaires. Opponents of closing the loophole, including Malloy, have raised concerns that the measure would make Connecticut anti-competitive, resulting in wealthier taxpayers moving away from or avoiding the state. Even with similar efforts in surrounding states, Malloy, who has said his budget proposal will include tax changes that favor businesses, expressed criticism regarding the proposal. Its not a discussion that I think is in the best interest in Connecticut to lead, he said, adding it would be detrimental to the state. Charles Khan, a director with the organization Hedge Clippers, was among those who said the state shouldnt be concerned about businesses and wealthy residents leaving if the whole region employs the same approach, though. He said businesses want to be near high concentrations of both employees and those who provide services, making the region highly attractive to hedge funds. Millionaires and billionaires arent going to move to Idaho, but if theyre in New York theres a chance theyll go to Connecticut, he said. If theyre in Connecticut, theres a possibility theyll move to Massachusetts. msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino An Alameda County Superior Court judge on Tuesday directed lawyers with the countys public defender and district attorneys offices to find a solution to the chaos caused by the installation of a $4.5 million computer program that tracks county criminal records. In the past six months, people have been arrested on warrants that do not exist, told to register as sex offenders when they have committed no such crime, ordered to show up to court with no hearing scheduled or had their rap sheets changed so that misdemeanor convictions appeared as felonies. In a striking example of courtroom unanimity, no one seems to disagree with those facts. All parties involved the public defender, district attorney, probation office, law enforcement and court administration say that the root cause of the problems is a new case management system called Odyssey, which Alameda County Superior Court started using in August. Soon after the initial deployment, it became clear that the Odyssey system was not an efficient case management tool for a court of our size, with the volume of criminal cases that we process on a daily basis, Tracy Wellenkamp, director of the courts criminal operations division, wrote in a declaration. Public Defender Brendon Woods personally took up the issue his first case since being appointed to the top post four years ago and filed motions related to Odyssey issues for about 2,200 clients of his office. There was no other word to describe it other than catastrophic, Woods said in court Tuesday, referring to the rollout of the new system. If youd ask anyone, I think, we all thought this would implode on itself. On Tuesday, Alameda County Presiding Judge Morris Jacobson heard arguments from Woods, Assistant Public Defender Charles Denton and Assistant District Attorney Micheal OConnor though, in a rare courtroom display, the lawyers argued not against each other, but against the software system. Although the 2,200 people whose cases were cited in the proceedings werent required to come to court, some showed up nonetheless. It wasnt clear whether Odyssey was to blame for that, too. Jacobson gave the attorneys a week to come up with a proposal on how they think Odyssey ought to be fixed. But possible solutions are hazy. The court has largely scrapped a 40-year-old computer system called Corpus that preceded Odyssey and commenced the Sisyphean task of digitizing cases, said Chad Finke, Alameda Countys court executive officer. Odyssey, made by the Texas company Tyler Technologies Inc., was purchased to propel Alameda County into the 21st century by replacing the combination of Corpus and paper files with a streamlined database. A representative for the company said it is committed to supporting Alameda County but said problems werent the softwares fault. "The Odyssey system in Alameda is the same software being used successfully across the country, including 23 California counties and large, complex implementations such as Los Angeles County, Calif., Fulton County, Ga., and Miami-Dade County, Fla., the spokesman said in a statement. Woods has suggested going back to the old system until the errors can be fixed, but Finke said it may be too late to turn back and said theres no more money to buy a new system. Odyssey is the wrong size shoe, Finke said. Either we go to a new system, which is unlikely because of costs, or somebody manages to make the shoe fit our foot. Court staff have come up with small fixes to combat the most egregious errors, like using old-fashioned paper memos to communicate to the sheriffs office about changes in warrants or detentions. Clerks who have described Odyssey as cumbersome and time-consuming, with a tricky user interface now have limited public hours, in large part to go through a backlog of cases that need updating. Meanwhile, new problems continue to pop up each week, and its not just defendants or suspected criminals who are being affected. In one recent misfire, a judge elected to the bench in November had dozens of cases he had never seen before transferred to him because he occupied the department in which they had once been heard. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov Former Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson has been confirmed as Secretary of State by a 56-43 vote, with both of Californias senators opposing the move. Shortly after the confirmation, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., tweeted that she voted against Tillerson. Tillerson has no formal diplomatic experience, and was seen as a widely controversial pick for the position. I voted against Rex Tillerson's nomination. We need a Secretary of State who will put America's national security first, she wrote. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also voted against his confirmation, according to a spokesman. She had strongly opposed Tillersons nomination, saying Exxon has a history of undermining American policy. Feinstein said she is particularly troubled by Tillersons response to questions during his confirmation hearing about Exxon Mobils business dealings with Iran, Syria and Sudan: According to public documents, Exxon established a joint venture with Shell to conduct business with state sponsors of terror. That joint venture Infineum sold petroleum products to Iran, Sudan and Syria, when those nations were being sanctioned by the United States. When announcing Tillerson's nomination in December, President Donald Trump said the 64-year-old is among the most accomplished business leaders and international dealmakers in the world. Tillerson was sworn in as Secretary of State Wednesday evening, with Vice President Mike Pence administering the oath of office. Past coverage: Trump nominates Exxon CEO as Secretary of State Who is Rex Tillerson, dark-horse candidate for secretary of state? Mike Pompeo confirmed for CIA, Rex Tillerson passes key vote Russia friend Rex Tillerson adopts tough line on Moscow Exxon's Rex Tillerson and the rise of Big Oil in American politics Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani Alex Wong/Getty Images President Trump in recent days rolled back some of terms of his quickly written order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries including banning residents with green cards. He signed the order Friday without review by members of Congress or top counterterrorism officials. Many saw the order as Trump making good on a campaign promise to ban Muslims from entering the United States. The president has insisted the order is not a Muslim ban. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Toyota Motor Corp.s pickups started off 2017 with a whimper, posting a 4.1 percent sales drop in January. The company which builds Tacoma and Tundra pickups in San Antonio said it sold 19,137 pickups in January, 812 fewer than in January 2016. That drop included 208 fewer midsize Tacoma pickups in January, or a 1.6 percent drop compared with a year ago, with 12,509 Tacomas sold in January. The companys full-size Tundra pickup made exclusively in San Antonio sold 6,628 units in January, a fall of 604 units, or 8.4 percent compared with January 2016. Toyotas U.S. sales saw a 11 percent drop in January as it sold 143,000 vehicles, 18,000 fewer than in January 2016. Kelley Blue Book analyst Michelle Krebs said Toyotas decision to hold discounts relatively steady rather than adjusting them regularly like other automakers may be one of the reasons it saw such a steep drop. The U.S. auto industry is coming off a record year where it sold 17.55 million vehicles, the seventh consecutive year of growth. Toyota ended 2016 selling 2 percent fewer vehicles than in 2015, a nearly 50,000 vehicle drop. It's tricky to use January as a bellwether for how auto sales will trend for the year. It's the lowest volume month and only accounts for 6 percent of annual sales on average, said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds executive director of industry analysis. Caldwell admitted that President Donald Trump is a new X factor in the auto world. Trump used the runup to his inauguration to shame automakers Ford, General Motors and Toyota on Twitter. In a tweet at the beginning of the year, Trump admonished Toyota for building a new Corolla plant in Baja, Mexico. But the new $1 billion Corolla plant is being built in Guanajuato, central Mexico. Toyota has a plant that operates in Baja California, Mexico, but it produces Tacoma pickups. rdruzin@express-news.net @druz_journo InvestorPlace When investors think of tech stocks, they dont often think of dividends. And dividend investors dont often think about tech stocks. However, there are undervalued tech stocks with dividends that are worth focusing on. In fact, there are a handful of tech stocks with low valuations and attractive dividends. Of course, not all tech stocks with nice dividends are worth buying, but a handful of them certainly are. As investors continue to fish for a low in the stock market, many of these stocks ar Technology doesn't always work out the way we want it to, but one server has been running in Michigan since 1993 and it's never had any unplanned downtime. The Stratus Technologies fault tolerant server was booted up 24 years ago by Phil Hogan, an IT application architect at the time, and it continues to run today without any failures, according to Computer World. The King of Country and arguably Texas has somehow landed on a list of the "worst" songs in Lone Star State History. Though George Strait's chart-topper, "All My Ex's Live in Texas," wasn't the absolute most-hated that would be Ashlee Simpson's "LA LA" 12 percent of the 1,000 random Texans surveyed by Super Bash Houston called it a "musical misfire," according to a release. The Lost Cajun, a Colorado-based restaurant that focuses on Cajun food, is opening its first San Antonio location in early March on the city's Northwest Side. The owners of the San Antonio franchise, attorney Eric Bernal and business manager Manuel Monterrey, discovered the chain while on a business trip in Denver. If you've ordered Barry White's "Let's Get It On" or "sexual wellness products" off Amazon recently, you've helped San Antonio earn the title of the "most romantic city" in the country. For the past two years, the Alamo City wasn't even on the list, but local lovers rekindled the 2017 flame just in time for Valentine's Day. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FAIRFIELD - The former president and publisher of Forbes magazine has been charged with attacking a school bus full of young children in a road rage incident. James Berrien, 64, of Sturges Highway, Westport, was charged Tuesday with breach of peace and disorderly conduct after police said he terrified more than a dozen elementary school children. He was released on a promise to appear in court. Berrien did not return calls for comment. His lawyer, Robert Golger, said Berrien strongly disagrees with the police report of the incident and looks forward to his day in court. Police said on Dec. 21, they began receiving calls from angry parents and Danny Castro, the driver of a First Student school bus, regarding an incident with Berrien on Morehouse Lane. Castro later told police he had been driving south on Morehouse Lane with more than a dozen students coming home from Dwight School. As the bus approached the intersection with Cedar Road a silver BMW convertible driven by Berrien approached the intersection. Police said the bus driver told them he waived Berrien to proceed first but despite his motions the car didnt budge. So Castro told police he began to proceed into the intersection. Suddenly the BMW lurched forward into the buss path, police said. Alarmed, Castro slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the car causing several of the children on the bus to be thrust forward into the seat in front of them. Berrien began to get out of his car in front of the bus and police said Castro took evasive action, driving over a lawn to get away from Berrien. But they continued that Berrien began tailgating the bus and when it stopped to let children off at Cedarbrook Lane he blocked it again with his car. Police said Berrien then attempted to force his way into the bus, pushing aside children trying to exit. Castro managed to get the door closed but police said Berrien pried it open, got on the bus and began screaming and waving arms as the children huddled in the back in fear. Castro stood up and physically blocked Berrien from coming further into the bus and police said Berrien left but then began pounding on the buss sides and back. He then drove off. Police said Berrien was identified from the buss surveillance video. They said he claimed he saw the bus was traveling at an excessive speed and stopped it for the childrens protection. However, police said his version was not supported by the video or the buss monitoring system. Letha Coker, operations manager for First Student in Fairfield, said company regulations prevent her from commenting on Berriens arrest. Berrien is also former chairman of the board of Connecticut College. He is currently a principal in an executive search firm in Westport. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he will review Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuchs record as an appeals court judge before coming to a firm decision on the merits of his Senate confirmation bid. But not surprisingly as a Democrat from deep-blue Connecticut, Blumenthals initial impression of the conservative Colorado-based federal appeals court judge is not favorable. Im deeply concerned by a number of his opinions, which I feel reflect hostility to privacy rights including women health care, worker and consumer protections, and public health and safety, he said in an interview Wednesday, the day after President Donald Trump nominated Gorsuch to fill the vacancy left by the death a year ago of Justice Antonin Scalia. His opinions are pro-corporate, and the legal doctrine he advances undermines the rules and standards that protect consumers, workers and others who may be vulnerable, Blumenthal said. I want to scrutinize his record thoroughly. In his first full day as nominee, Gorsuch visited senators on Capitol Hill. A confirmation hearing is likely within six weeks, according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Gorsuch won praise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and White House spokesman Sean Spicer, who called him exceptionally qualified to succeed the late, great Antonin Scalia, who was a conservative icon. Gorsuch is known as a Scalia admirer and believer in Scalias principle of originalism judgments based on the text of the laws and Constitution. At the White House, Trump urged McConnell and Senate Republicans to go nuclear if Democratic resistance amounts to gridlock. He was referring to the so-called nuclear option, an aphorism for changing the current 60-vote Senate threshold on Supreme Court confirmations to a simple 51-vote majority. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate. If Democrats are united against Gorsuch, Republicans could not defeat a filibuster and win confirmation under current rules. But exercising the nuclear option changing the rules to 51 votes would get Gorsuch confirmed and put the nations highest court at full strength for the first time since Scalias death. Blumenthal, however, said he doubted McConnell and the Republicans could win over enough Republican support to overturn the 60-vote rule now in place for Supreme Court confirmations. Email: dan@hearstdc.com Contributed Photo / Contributed Photo RIDGEFIELDA lockdown at Ridgefield High School and Scotts Ridge Middle School was lifted after police located a man involved in a domestic incident in Bedford, New York, who had entered school property. The schools were on lockdown status for about 30 minutes Wednesday while police searched for the 22-year-old man, who police said had left his car on Oneill Court and ran onto school property. A long, long time ago, Mars was a hotbed of volcanic activity, a fact that has long fascinated scientists who study the red planet. Just how long ago Mars' volcanoes were active has been a bit of a mystery. But new research published today by a University of Houston geology professor indicates that Mars was volcanically active for at least two billion years, likely making its volcanoes the longest-lived in the solar system. "People know from looking at surface images of Mars that there's been some recent volcanic activity, in relative terms, and some really old volcanic activity," said UH's Tom Lapen. "What this data does is confirm just how long that early volcanic activity lasted on Mars." Mars is chock full of volcanoes, some that are 10 to 100 times the size of those found on Earth. The largest Martian volcano, Olympus Mons, is nearly 17 miles high. That's almost triple the height of Earth's tallest volcano, Mauna Kea, at 6.25 miles. Scientists know that something slammed into the surface of Mars 1 million years ago, hitting a volcano or lava plain. That impact ejected rocks into space, which fell to Earth as meteorites. To determine the length of the Martian volcanic cycle, Lapen and his team analyzed one of those meteorites. The meteorite, known as Africa 7635, was actually a volcanic rock called a shergottite and discovered in 2012 in Algeria. Eleven of these Martian rocks with similar chemical composition and ejection time have been found. By analyzing the shergottite's isotopes, Lapen's team was able to determine they came from a single ejection site, according to the research published today in the journal Science Advances. "Given that they also have the same ejection time, we can conclude that these come from the same location on Mars," Lapen said. While Lapen's research sheds new light on Mars' geologic past, questions remain about whether the red plant is volcanically extinct or rather has entered a dormant period. Data captured by a European space mission in 2004 suggested Mars' last bit of volcanic activity occurred about two million years ago. Follow-up studies indicated those lava flows were much older, buffering the idea that Mars' volcanoes aren't done yet. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Rotary Club of Kingwood began hosting blood drives in 2008 and has gathered more than 440 pints of blood donated by community members. "One bag of donated blood can save three people," said Carolyn Wise, Kingwood Rotarian. "Blood cannot be manufactured; it must come from an individual." The Kingwood Rotary Club invites the community to give blood at the Valentine's Blood Drive from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12, at Walgreens at Northpark Drive and Woodland Hills Drive in Kingwood. This will be the 19th blood drive hosted by the Kingwood Rotary Club, which likes to liven-up drives with different themes. The last drive held in October 2016 followed a vampire theme and the Rotarians dressed-up like vampires. This drive will follow a Valentine's Day theme. "One of the goals of Rotary International is that they would like each club to have at least two blood drives a year," Wise said. "We have typically done four drives a year, once a quarter." Rotarians will set up signs and some may stand along the intersection to attract donors. Donated blood will go to the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. Walgreens is located at 2240 Northpark Drive in Kingwood. For more information about donating, visit http://www.giveblood.org/. To learn more about the Kingwood Rotary Club, visit http://portal.clubrunner.ca/3939/. CORPUS CHRISTI Dr. Carlos Fernandez, Texas A&M AgriLife Research agronomist, Corpus Christi, said cropland preparations in the area are on target and fields look good amid favorable conditions. Fields are clear and farmers are preparing soil beds for planting, he said. Everything looks to be on or ahead of schedule. Herbicides and tillage have been applied to area fields, he said. Fernandez said soil moisture levels are good following recent rains. There have been several dry, windy days that have depleted topsoil moisture levels, but forecasted rains will further improve conditions before planting begins in the next few weeks. There was a good recharging of the soil with moisture and the post-harvest preparations made by farmers, he said. We expect very good conditions for germination. Grain sorghum is expected to be planted within the next two weeks with cotton to follow, he said. Fernandez said the vast majority of croplands in his area will be planted with sorghum and cotton, though some producers may plant corn because soil moisture recharge was favorable. Milder-than-normal winter weather wont likely change when or how producers scout for pests, said Dr. Robert Bowling, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist, Corpus Christi. Bowling said the area experienced a hard freeze recently, but that overwintering insects are good at insulating themselves. Aside from higher-than-normal temperatures, the last few months have been very dry, which is advantageous for some pests. Sugarcane aphids like dry conditions and have shown an ability to overwinter in South Texas, he said. Thats one that producers around Corpus Christi, the Upper Gulf Coast and the Rio Grande Valley will be watching for because they have a remarkable ability to expand populations in such a short period of time. Bowling said it could be a bumper year for grasshoppers especially in the Rio Grande Valley, but predicting which pests will emerge as a problem going into any season is difficult. There is always something that pops up, he said. Its usually the one you miss even thinking about. AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following summaries: SOUTH PLAINS: Subsoil and topsoil moisture levels continued to drop in some areas due to high winds. Scattered moisture was received with amounts ranging from 1.5-2.5 inches. Temperatures ranged from lows below freezing to highs in the 70s. Lubbock County reported a low of 7 degrees Jan. 7. Pastures and rangeland remained in fair condition, but would benefit from rain. Winter wheat struggled due to cold temperatures, but outlooks were good. Harvest was finished and producers began to prepare land for spring planting. Cotton harvest was complete. Most gins finished their ginning season, but some were still wrapping up. Yields were better than expected. PANHANDLE: Near-normal temperatures were reported. Several counties reported rainfall ranging from 2-4 inches. Some received freezing rain. Rains helped winter wheat. Some fields were still wet. Hutchinson County reported damage to wheat fields from extreme cold. In Lipscomb County, the winter storm took out miles of electric service poles and lines, and repairs were ongoing. Some residents were without electricity for almost two weeks and counting. Reports suggested it could take another three weeks before rural residents and livestock watering facilities have electricity. Many were using generators to water cattle. The cotton crop was all in and being ginned with yields above normal for all areas. Yields of 2-4 bales per acre were reported in many locations. Cattle were doing fair on wheat, but freezing rain was hard on them. Irrigated wheat looked OK, and some dryland wheat has emerged but much hasnt. Before the freezing rain, several producers were strip tilling fields for cotton and corn in the spring. Cattle producers were supplemental feeding. Gains were excellent due to overall mild conditions. Soil preparation work continued with application of fertilizers. A bill from a Conroe lawmaker could increase the penalty for some intoxicated drivers who injure or kill victims in car crashes. House Bill 1327, filed Friday by State Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, would elevate an intoxication manslaughter charge, which is currently a second-degree felony, to a first-degree felony if the victim is under 17 or a first responder on duty. Prosecutors may also use the first degree felony charge if there are multiple victims who die in the crash. Much like intoxication manslaughter, the bill also seeks to upgrade intoxication assault charges, currently third-degree felonies, to second-degree felonies if the victim is under 17 or if the crash causes a traumatic brain injury. The second-degree felony intoxication assault charge could also be used if there are multiple victims. Both upgrades would apply also if the driver was fleeing from police, did not have a driver's license or insurance, or if the driver had previous driving or boating while intoxicated convictions. Intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault charges are used when intoxicated drivers cause crashes that severely injure or kill people. A first-degree felony is punishable by up to life in prison while a second-degree felony is punishable only up to 20 years. Both felonies carry a possible fine up to $10,000. "DWI in Texas continues to be an ongoing issue," Metcalf said. "We need to make it clear that putting innocent lives in danger by being intoxicated will absolutely not be tolerated." First responders, meaning law enforcement officers, firefighters or emergency medical services personnel, must be on duty for the intoxication manslaughter charge to be upgraded, according to the bill. Intoxication assault already had an enhancement on the books upgrading the charge to a second-degree felony when the victim is a first responder. "There have been instances where the police officers are killed while pulling someone over as they were struck by another motorist who turned out to be intoxicated," Metcalf said. "I believe in fully protecting and supporting our law enforcement with every available tool we have." The upgrades would only apply to new intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter cases after Sept. 1 if the bill passes. "We always need to be smart on criminal justice issues to not enhance penalties needlessly," Metcalf said. "But I do see the need in this. Selfishly getting intoxicated and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle is unacceptable and we need to do everything in our power as a state to deter and prevent such behavior. There are too many horror stories of deadly accidents involving intoxicated drivers who have been repeatedly stopped for the same behavior previously." In a statement, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon praised Metcalf for the bill. "Unfortunately, Texas continues to lead the nation in DWI related fatalities and Montgomery County suffers more than its fair share of DWI related crashes," Ligon stated. "We are proud to support it and we are sure that it will help law enforcement and prosecutors throughout the state in the fight against DWI." There were 172 DWI fatalities in Montgomery County from 2010 to 2015, with an average driver's blood-alcohol content being 0.172, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. CUPERTINO, California January 31, 2017 Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2017 first quarter ended December 31, 2016. The Company posted all-time record quarterly revenue of $78.4 billion and all-time record quarterly earnings per diluted share of $3.36. These results compare to revenue of $75.9 billion and earnings per diluted share of $3.28 in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 64 percent of the quarters revenue. Were thrilled to report that our holiday quarter results generated Apples highest quarterly revenue ever, and broke multiple records along the way. We sold more iPhones than ever before and set all-time revenue records for iPhone, Services, Mac and Apple Watch, said Tim Cook, Apples CEO. Revenue from Services grew strongly over last year, led by record customer activity on the App Store, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline. Our outstanding business performance resulted in a new all-time record for earnings per share, and over $27 billion in operating cash flow, said Luca Maestri, Apples CFO. We returned nearly $15 billion to investors through share repurchases and dividends during the quarter, bringing cumulative payments through our capital return program to over $200 billion. Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2017 second quarter: revenue between $51.5 billion and $53.5 billion gross margin between 38 percent and 39 percent operating expenses between $6.5 billion and $6.6 billion other income/(expense) of $400 million tax rate of 26 percent Apples board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.57 per share of the Companys common stock. The dividend is payable on February 16, 2017 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 13, 2017. Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2017 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PST on January 31, 2017 at www.apple.com/investor/earnings-call/. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter. This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Companys estimated revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, other income/(expense), and tax rate. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Companys reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Companys products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Companys gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Companys need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Companys business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Companys dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Companys international operations; the Companys reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Companys dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Companys products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Companys sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Companys financial results is included from time to time in the Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of the Companys public reports filed with the SEC, including the Companys Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 24, 2016 and its Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2016 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates. Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apples four software platforms iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apples more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it. Press Contact: Kristin Huguet Apple khuguet@apple.com (408) 974-2414 Investor Relations Contacts: Nancy Paxton Apple paxton1@apple.com (408) 974-5420 Joan Hoover Apple hoover1@apple.com (408) 974-4570 AUSTIN -- Cities could not adopt policies that prevent police departments from inquiring about immigration status or aiding federal immigration authorities under a bill unveiled at a press conference Wednesday. SB 4 is about strengthening the rule of law in Texas, according to its author, Sen. Charles Perry of Lubbock. "The integrity of our criminal justice system is built on the premise that it applies to everyone equally," he said. "When you undermine that by having individuals decide which laws they will apply, when they will apply them and how they apply them, you begin to create a perception of a double standard that will weaken this nation as we know it." Sanctuary cities, as described by Perry, are any municipalities with a formal or informal policy of discouraging or prohibiting licensed peace officers from asking about a lawfully detained individual's immigration status or cooperating with requests from federal immigration officials. Fellow Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, who was among a number of senators joining Perry in support of the bill, believes this is bad policy. "There have been more than 210,000 criminal illegal aliens processed in Texas jails since June 1 2011," he said. "These criminal aliens have had 559,000 charges applied to them . . . it is completely preposterous public policy to have any entity of local government ignore this reality of public safety." The bill as originally filed would require that a police department inquire about immigration status when booking a suspect as well as checking a federal immigration database to see if the person has been previously identified as a danger to public safety. They would also have to comply with federal immigration authority requests to transfer custody of a person suspected of illegal immigration status. As far as outlawing sanctuary city policies, the bill would prevent any policy, formal or informal, that bans or frowns on inquiring into the immigration status of a person lawfully arrested. They couldn't prevent police officers or departments from sharing immigration status or information with federal authorities, prevent cooperation with federal immigration authorities, or bar them from entering city or county jails to enforce immigration policies. Municipalities violating these rules could lose state grant funding. The bill does prevent officers from stopping or arresting a person solely for the purpose of asking about immigration status. Perry says it also exempts people who are witnesses to or victims of crimes, in an effort to avoid a scenario where people are afraid to come forward due to immigration status. He added that sanctuary city policies that don't violate a federal or state statute, such as a legal defense fund for people facing deportation, would not be prohibited by his bill. Normally, the Legislature can't consider bills in the first two months of session, but Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he's designated the issue as an emergency in his State of the State address Tuesday. That means SB 4 wont be subject to the first 60-day constitutional prohibition. The bill will go before the Senate State Affairs committee Thursday. This issue is highly contentious and senators at today's press conference said they expect the number of witnesses testifying for and against the bill to be in the hundreds. The hearing is slated for 8:30 a.m. in the Senate Chamber. The Senate will reconvene Monday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. MILAN/ROME, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Italy's Atlantia is working on a bid to buy a majority stake in a Mexican toll road operator as the infrastructure group presses ahead with plans to grow outside its home market, three sources close to the matter said. The group may table a joint bid with several Mexican partners to acquire 51 percent of Red de Carreteras de Occidente (RCO) from Goldman Sachs, one of the source said, but added recent tensions between Mexico and the United States could still play a role in the final decision to go ahead. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Mexico have soured fast this month after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted Mexico pay for a new border wall, pushing Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto to cancel a U.S. trip. Trump has also pledged to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement trade deal with Mexico and Canada. If the deal goes through, Atlantia could spend as much as 650 million euros ($699 million) for its part of the stake, the same source said. Atlantia is looking to boost its share of core profit from overseas operations to 50 percent in 2020 from the current 25 percent. In 2015 the company posted earnings before interests, tax, amortization and depreciation of 3.2 billion euros. The group's main assets are Autostrade per l'Italia, Italy's biggest highway network, and Aeroporti di Roma, the company that runs Rome's airports. Last year it bought a majority stake in France's Nice Cote d'Azur airport and a stake in the operator of Venice airport SAVE. ($1 = 0.9304 euros) (Reporting by Francesca Landini and Stefano Bernabei) NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - February 01, 2017) - BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank, and America's fastest growing mobile-first bank, today named Chief Strategy Officer, Luvleen Sidhu as President in addition to her current role. In her new position, she will coordinate operations and strategic initiatives to help push the company through its next growth stage. "We have an excellent management team at BankMobile and a bright future ahead of us and are excited to have Luvleen help lead the charge as we revolutionize consumer banking," stated Richard Ehst, President of Customers Bank. "A typical bank branch is opening only one net new checking account per branch per week and we are on a mission to disrupt this inefficient model using technology. We strive for exponential growth and in the next 12 months: BankMobile hopes to open ~ 500,000 new checking accounts, which puts us among the Top 10 banks in the country in terms of new account openings," said Sidhu. Under Sidhu's management, BankMobile has grown to have approximately two million depositors, which means it is likely in the top 25 banks in the country in terms of number of consumer checking accounts. The bank has also reached many significant milestones, including: the launch of its BankMobilist College Program across 70 campuses nationwide, the establishment of BankMobile Technologies, an in-house innovation and technology development team, and the creation of BankMobile Foundation, which awards an annual Financial Literacy Scholarship. Sidhu is also a member of the BankMobile Board of Directors. Additionally, Luvleen and Jay Sidhu, Chairman and CEO of Customers Bank and BankMobile, released a book in June 2016 entitled, "Why Can't Banks Be as Easy as Uber? BankMobile and The Real Future of Banking." The book offers a window into how the traditional banking system burdens average Americans with billions of dollars of fees, tips on how Americans can save and manage their money within this unfair system, and what the future of banking holds with a disrupter like BankMobile. It reached #1 International Best Seller-status on Amazon as it gained popularity in the USA, Australia and Germany Amazon stores in less than 24 hours. Story continues Sidhu has also been recognized in the industry for her accomplishments. She was named 'Most Innovative Woman in Banking - Greater New York' and 'Best Women Owned Financial Services Company - New York' in Corporate America's 2016 American Businesswoman Elite Awards; one of Philadelphia Business Journal's 'Women to Watch in Banking' in September 2016; Bank Innovation's Top 10 'Innovators to Watch' worldwide in June 2016 and selected as one of the outlet's 'Innovators to Watch' worldwide in June 2015; the Lehigh Valley Business Women of Influence - Woman to Watch Honoree in February 2016; a winner of New York Business Journal's Women of Influence Awards in November 2015; and one of Auto Finance News' '10 Executives to Watch in Auto Finance' in September 2015. Sidhu has been featured regularly in the media including on CNBC, Bloomberg Radio, Fox News Radio and in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, American Banker, among others. She is also a national and international speaker at industry conferences and at undergraduate and graduate programs, where she encourages financial innovation and entrepreneurship. Prior to her current role, Sidhu was a management consultant at Booz & Co. in their financial services practice. Before attending business school at Wharton, she worked as the director of corporate development at Customers Bank. Previously, she was an investment analyst at Neuberger Berman in their hedge fund of funds group. Sidhu holds a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government from Harvard College. About BankMobile Established in 2015, BankMobile, a division of Customers Bank, is America's largest mobile-first bank, offering fee-free checking and savings accounts. It provides target customers -- millennials, the underbanked and middle income households with a digital, effortless, and financially empowering experience. BankMobile offers checking, savings, lines of credit, joint accounts and access to over 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide (BankMobile VIP customers have free access to every ATM in the country, which is more than 400,000 ATMs), a guaranteed higher savings rate than the top four banks in the nation, a personal banker for all customers, and a free financial advisor for VIP customers. BankMobile is operating as the digital banking division of Customers Bank, which is a Federal Reserve regulated and FDIC-insured commercial bank. For more information, please visit www.bankmobile.com. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/1/31/11G128963/Images/luvleen_headshot_2-74c8511769688fd594a5348f3a30e746.jpg Joe and Teresa Longs 59th wedding anniversary is today. But instead of doing something for themselves, the Austin couple treated UT Health San Antonio with a $25 million gift to its medical school. The university announced the gift this morning. The Longs directed $20 million of it toward faculty recruitment. They have now given a total of $61 million to the academic complex, and more than $80 million to UT institutions, as part of their ongoing mission to give back. For San Antonians who dont have a trip to Europe planned this summer, the city will be bringing Europe or at least its traffic circles to you. Starting today, it will detour vehicles around San Pedro Avenue between Quincy and Main avenues, as it builds a traffic roundabout project that is part of the 2012-2017 city bond program. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The second trial witness to a fatal shooting in a South Side driveway in 2014 testified Wednesday that she heard nine gunshots, ducked for cover, then called 911 to report it. Paige Gerber told the jury hearing the murder case against Dustin Lee Osborne that she didnt see who pulled the trigger and just assumed the shooter was her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aguilar. Osborne was 19 when he was arrested in the shooting death of Ralph Michael Lopez, 34, of San Antonio, on Aug. 11, 2014. He is the first of two defendants to go to trial. Aguilar, Osbornes uncle, also is charged with murder and is out on bond, awaiting trial. At the time of the killing, witnesses told police Lopez and Aguilar, now 42, had argued over a woman shortly before the shooting. Gerbers cousin Savannah Hardy told the jury Tuesday that she wanted to leave Lopezs house after an afternoon of drinking and drug use, but Gerber did not, so she called Aguilar to come get them. Gerber still would not leave, Hardy said. After Hardy got in Aguilars pickup with Aguilar, Osborne and another woman, she saw Lopez punch Aguilar through the drivers side window, she testified. Hardy said Aguilar then told Osborne, Shoot him, and that she saw Osborne, now 22, point and shoot a gun from the back seat of the pickup. Lopez was shot multiple times and later died at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Gerber spent most of the morning testifying about drinking beer and snorting methamphetamine in the hours before Lopez was shot. Gerber said although she and Aguilar had broken up, she remained friends with him and Hardy because Aguilar was attracted to Hardy and she was using him to get rides, money and to get high. At times, Gerber and defense attorney Patrick Hancock became combative as he pressed her about her drug use, whether she was addicted to methamphetamine, and if she could accurately remember things from when she was under the influence. Thats it. I dont want to do this. Im done, Gerber said loudly through tears. No, youre not, said state District Court Judge Jefferson Moore, who told Gerber she needed to sit down and answer questions from attorneys on both sides. Questioned by prosecutor Lauren Scott regarding her 911 call, Gerber cried again. I feel I caused a problem, she said. I feel like its my fault because I didnt want to leave. If convicted of murder, Osborne faces a maximum of life in prison. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday during his State of the State address that "real consequences" must occur to quell the uptick in cases of inappropriate relationships between teachers and students. Abbott commended Texas for having some of the best high schools in the nation, but also admitted that Texas has an "unwanted ranking" casting a shadow over its schools. "Texas reportedly leads the nation in teacher-student sexual assaults," Abbott said. "Some of those teachers are not prosecuted ... and worse ... (others) are shuffled off to other schools to continue teaching in other areas threatening other kids. "Teachers who assault children should lose their license and they should go to jail," Abbott said. RELATED: Reports: Texas cheerleader coach charged with improper relationship with student The governor said he also wants to penalize administrators who turn a "blind eye" to teachers involved in inappropriate relationships with students. Prior to his address Tuesday, Abbott called for tougher action on Twitter, linking to a recent case from Dallas where a teacher allegedly paid a student $28,000 to cover up their sexual relationship. While Abbott's words are bringing renewed attention to the issue, a bill tackling teacher-student misconduct has already been filed for this session. State Rep. Tony Dale, R-Cedar Park, filed House Bill 218 to address the growing problem, according to a November news release. Texas Education Agency data show a 42 percent increase in investigations from fiscal year 2011-12 to 2015-16. Click through the slideshow above to see a list of all the changes that HB 218 intends to make, if passed. With Dales bill, significant changes would be made to how educators, principals, superintendents and the TEA tackle improper teacher-student relationships. HB 218 increases penalties and closes loopholes that allow educators who engage in inappropriate relationships to resign and obtain employment in another district, according to a news release. TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson confirmed that it is currently possible for teachers to leave one school district after an accusation and go to another school district and find work. RELATED: Texas teacher accused of starting affair with teen student via Snapchat ahead of wedding Teachers who are under investigation by the TEA have their online certification flagged so that prospective employers may see that they are under investigation by TEA's discipline unit. However, Texas has seen cases where teachers caught in student misconduct resign, move and then get hired at another district before the investigation is complete. HB 218 would require immediate revocation of a teachers certification if an educator is required to register as a sex offender as a result of a case against them. Currently, educators who receive deferred adjudication and must register as sex offenders in cases of teacher-student misconduct can still go to another district or city and become a teacher, said Christie Goodman, Dales chief of staff. If you are registering as a sex offender, you do not need to be in our schools, Goodman said in an interview with mySA.com. The bill also aims to increase responsibility in reporting these incidents by including principals not just superintendents and directors, who are currently required to report as faculty members who have a duty to notify the TEA of misconduct. RELATED: Texas saw boom in teacher-student sex scandals in 2016 There is no current charge for failing to report teacher-student misconduct to the TEA and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), but HB 218 would be made a Class A misdemeanor. A faculty member found actively trying to conceal another teachers inappropriate actions would be charged with a felony. HB 218 also expands criminal liability to target educators to have improper relationships with students in schools and school districts outside of their own. During the past five complete fiscal years, 908 cases of improper relationship between an educator and a student/minor have been investigated by the TEA. 2011-2012: 156 investigations 2012-2013: 163 investigations 2013-2014: 179 investigations 2014-2015: 188 investigations 2015-2016: 222 investigations In the most current fiscal year, between September and December 2016, there have been 78 new cases opened by the TEA. Culbertson said the TEA does not comment on pending legislation, but did attribute the increase in investigations to a greater awareness to the crime and more people coming forward with complaints against teachers. RELATED: Texas student accused of blackmailing teacher after alleged sexual relationship She especially pointed to social media's role in facilitating potential inappropriate relationships, and exposing them. "It gives more avenues of access between teachers and students and can lead to inappropriate behavior," Culbertson said. "Then there are those that are using it as an avenue to exploit and behave inappropriately with students." Aside from HB 218, Goodman said Dale plans to file another bill that would enact a do-not-hire registry, which would create a list for Texas that would help administrators determine if a person should or should not be hired based on prior sexual misconduct. The registry would list teachers who have registered as sex offenders, as well as provide details regarding teachers who have been charged with improper relationship between a teacher and a student/minor. Goodman added that the bill has received praise from some private schools in the state. Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite Bexar County Jail Police arrested a 21-year-old woman on Monday after she allegedly shot a woman while pistol-whipping another woman she was arguing with. Selena Jade Martinez, 21, now faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She was booked into the Bexar County Jail, and her bail has yet to be set. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Caleb Downs Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Caleb Downs Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Caleb Downs Show More Show Less 5 of 5 A 47-year-old veteran fought off two armed robbers Tuesday after they offered to give him a ride to cash his check in the city's East Side and then robbed him. Police said the suspects tried to rob the veteran at knifepoint around 1 p.m. in the 3100 block of East Commerce Street. Police arrested a 22-year-old man last week accused of using the Grindr dating/hookup app in several armed robberies over multiple days, according to court documents. Justin Cameron Carrillo faces first-degree felony charge of aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping, both charges having a penalty of five to 99 years or life in prison. RELATED: BCSO: 3 arrested in revenge robbery of teens, kidnapping at far NW Side park The Austin American-Statesman reports the suspect contacted a man on Jan. 22 in the 1200 block of West Slaughter Lane in Austin at an apartment. The man invited Carrillo to his apartment two days later, at which point Carillo allegedly pulled out a gun and stole the mans phone and laptop. The Austin newspaper also reports Carrillo allegedly forced the man to take him to an ATM and withdraw money. Court documents obtained from Hays County show Carrillo met up with a second man using Grindr on Jan. 26. Carrillo allegedly entered the victims car and displayed a handgun and began cocking it. Carrillo then allegedly told the victim to hand over his wallet and cellphone, and said to drive to a Wells Fargo to withdraw $100. RELATED: Grindr hook-up in a Taylor Lake Village Park ends with child sexual assault charges for La Marque man After going to the bank, Carrillo allegedly forced the victim to drive him to meet a third man. Carillo took the victims keys and went to the other man's apartment. Once he was gone the victim fled the scene on foot and called for help, according to the arrest affidavit obtained by mySA.com. The third man, who's apartment Carillo entered, later called police to say he was robbed by someone he had met on Grindr. Carrillo, using a different name, allegedly entered this mans apartment and pulled a gun, demanding money. The man handed over $20 and Carrillo fled to the vehicle outside before running away on foot, the affidavit said. The third victim created a new account and got a photo of Carrillo to confirm to police that he was the man who robbed him. Police and the third victim arranged to meet Carillo near a Lowes in Kyle. Carrillo said that he needed a ride and would offer gas money, according to the affidavit. RELATED: Midland associate pastor resigns after photos shared on Grindr app Police were able to track Carrillo down and found him in possession of cash, a cellphone that didnt belong to him and a handgun, the affidavit said. Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO As many as five separate accidents caused by thick fog and involving up to 20 cars caused major traffic delays Wednesday morning on the Southeast Side, according to authorities. SAPD Sgt. George Antu said the heavy fog created a "domino effect" and that the accidents were continuing because cars were also speeding. With visibility in Southwest Bexar County at about a quarter mile Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory around 6:45 a.m. that extended to 9 a.m. The crash occurred shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday. Eric Platt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Southeast Bexar County was affected the most, with dense fog stretching from about Interstate 35 down to the Alice and Beeville areas in South Texas, an expanse of about 90 miles. But Platt said this type of fog is not unusual for this time of year, quite common actually. The severity of the wreck on I-37, not so much. RELATED: Major accident involving 18 wheelers, up to 20 vehicles shuts down I-37 heading into downtown "Drive slow, use your low beams and leave plenty of space between you and the car in front of you," Platt said. A surge of moisture from the southeast, mixed with the clear skies overnight created perfect conditions for the fog to roll into Bexar County. East Austin also experienced dense fog Wednesday morning, and the Houston metro area experienced some light fog. Meteorologist Monte Oaks said the fog was pushing up against the Balcones Heights area around 9 a.m., but wasn't rising over it. The rising sun is expected to diminish the density of the fog considerably between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The fog is expected to clear away around 11 a.m. Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com cdowns@mysa.com Twitter: @calebjdowns This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Before he even took the oath of office, President Trump and his tweets were making the markets move. Stocks dipped for Boeing when Trump, as President-elect, tweeted about the cost for the company to build Air Force One, and they slumped again for Lockheed Martin when he called the expenses of its F-35 jet "out of control." Similar stock drops affected automakers Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors and Ford after Trump railed against all three on Twitter about building vehicles in Mexico. From afar, the staff of the Texas-based digital marketing firm The Think Tank (T3) -- like much of Wall Street - has watched in wonder, trying to figure out what to do about the unpredictable Twitter habits of their next commander in chief. Then a staffer in T3's New York office had an idea: What if they found a way to short sell stocks moved by Trump tweets, then used the money for something good? (Short selling means placing a market bet on a share price going down rather than up.) Within days, "Trump & Dump" was born. They created an ultrafast Twitter bot and algorithm that follows @realDonaldTrump, reviewing each tweet he sends. When a publicly-traded company is mentioned, the bot triggers a "sentiment analysis," T3 President Ben Gaddis told The Washington Post, which scans the words surrounding the company name to determine if the tweet has a positive or negative slant. If it leans negative, the algorithm tells a connected E-Trade account to short-sell the stock - which, if done properly, nets T3 a profit. All that happens very quickly. (Think hard before you try this at home. High-frequency traders have reportedly been doing the same thing with automated programs capable of executing thousands of trades in a millisecond. But how effective this could be using a retail platform like E-Trade, which on its website guarantees a 2 second trade execution, is open to question.) But Gaddis said "it's been really successful so far," though he declined to say how much money they had made in the three weeks since it launched. In an explanatory video about the bot, though, T3 described their profit size with a play on one of Trump's favorite words. "YUUUUGE," they said. And early Monday morning, when President Trump started his day with a tweet referencing Delta Air Lines, the algorithm went to work. T3 made a trade before the stock dropped, Gaddis told The Post, then saw a 4.47 percent return when the short sale was completed. "The Trump & Dump bot was all over it," Gaddis said. T3 is far from the first company to capitalize on Trump's targeted tweet-storms, made evident by the almost instantaneous market response to his online remarks, analysts told the LA Times in mid January. "It's in the algorithms," said Joe Gits, chief executive of Social Market Analytics Inc. "They've done it." What likely sets T3's system apart, though, is its beneficiaries. They wanted the money to go toward a cause that would generate minimal controversy, Gaddis said, so T3 settled on one they figured everyone could get behind: puppies. And kittens. And whatever other animals the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is caring for these days. "We didn't want to pick an organization that was really political," Gaddis said, "and who doesn't love dogs and cats?" When a short sale is made, Gaddis and his team are notified through Slack, a corporate messaging service. They can check the trade to be sure it went smoothly, then collect their profits and donate them to ASPCA. "THE RESULTS," T3's website says, "Tweets Analyzed. Stocks Shorted. Puppies Saved." A spokeswoman for ASPCA confirmed that T3 had submitted donations to the animal nonprofit, emphasizing that the organization was not directly involved with the Trump & Dump bot but that "we appreciate their support." T3 is investing company money in the endeavor, Gaddis said, and plans to release tracking data on donations in monthly intervals. Based in Austin, Texas, the company brands itself an "innovation agency," working with Fortune 500 companies like UPS and Allstate to enhance their digital marketing, mobile applications and website development. But T3 also works to make brands work for their users - the precise goal of Trump & Dump. They ask themselves questions like, "how can we make an insight or data like this," -- Trump's tweets and the corresponding stock market dips - "actionable." Thus far, the feedback has been positive, Gaddis said. "I don't think companies love it when he tweets about them," Gaddis told The Post, which is why T3 thought they would try to "use something that most people are upset about and turn it into some kind of good." The algorithm only works - and the puppies are only saved - if the president continues to use his Twitter in ways that move stocks. If that sort of tweeting stops, so do the trades. But, Gaddis said, "our prediction is it probably won't." Robert W. Cook, International Biopharma Finance Expert, Appointed Chief Financial Officer Judith R. Abrams, M.D., Clinical Development Veteran, Appointed Chief Medical Officer BEDMINSTER, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / February 1, 2017 / CorMedix Inc. (NYSE MKT: CRMD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases, today announced the addition of two members to its senior leadership team. Robert W. Cook was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Judith R. Abrams, M.D., FRCPC, was appointed to the new role of Chief Medical Officer. Mr. Cook brings 25 years of international experience in senior financial leadership roles in the healthcare finance, pharmaceutical, and medical technology sectors and will be responsible for the finance function, including budgeting, forecasting, financial compliance, reporting, and business development. Dr. Abrams brings nearly 25 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry to CorMedix and will be responsible for spearheading the development of the Company's internal pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates, including Neutrolin. Khoso Baluch, Chief Executive Officer of CorMedix, said, "We are pleased to welcome Robert and Judith to CorMedix at an important stage in our business progression. Robert brings a wealth of experience as a biopharma public company CFO, while Judith has an outstanding track record in worldwide clinical development. The appointment of these two senior executives brings in powerful additional resources for CorMedix as we continue to advance Neutrolin through its pivotal trials toward potential approval. In addition, I want to thank James Altland, who has served as interim Chief Financial Officer since October 2015, for his contributions to the team." Mr. Cook most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Bioblast Pharma Ltd. His prior pharma experience includes appointments at Strata Skin Sciences, as well as Immune Pharmaceuticals and its predecessor EpiCept Corporation, including one year as Interim President and CEO of EpiCept, in which he completed the reverse merger of EpiCept into Immune. Previously, he served as CFO of publicly-held Pharmos Corporation. Mr. Cook began his career in financial services at Chase Manhattan and he also held a position as a Vice President in the Healthcare Group at General Electric Capital Commercial Finance. Mr. Cook holds a B.S. in Finance, magna cum laude, from The American University, in Washington, DC. Story continues Most recently, Dr. Abrams served as Head of Celgene Corporation's Otezla (Apremilast) Global Clinical Submission Team, where she led all clinical activities supporting the global submission through approval and launch of Otezla. Previously, Dr. Abrams has held positions of increasing responsibility managing the clinical development of a portfolio of products across all phases of clinical development at Novo Nordisk, Inc., NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Johnson & Johnson PRD, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Amgen Inc., and Bristol-Myers Squibb PRI. Dr. Abrams received her M.D. and completed fellowships in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. She completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Immunology, where she subsequently became a member of the clinical faculty. Dr. Abrams is Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine. About CorMedix Inc. CorMedix Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory disease. The Company is focused on developing its lead product Neutrolin, a novel, non-antibiotic antimicrobial solution designed to prevent costly and dangerous bloodstream infections associated with the use of central venous catheters. Such infections cost the U.S. healthcare system approximately $6 billion annually and contribute significantly to increased morbidity and mortality. Neutrolin is currently in a Phase 3 clinical study in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis via a central venous catheter. The company is planning to conduct its second Phase 3 study in patients with cancer receiving IV parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy, and hydration via a chronic central venous catheter, subject to sufficient resources. If successful, the two pivotal studies may be submitted to the FDA for potential approval for both patient populations. Neutrolin has FDA Fast Track status and is designated as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product, contributing to potentially accelerated FDA review and up to 10 years of market exclusivity upon potential U.S. approval. It is already a CE Marked product in Europe and other territories. CorMedix is also seeking to unlock additional value for its taurolidine-based technology by establishing collaborative partnerships in oncology and medical device applications. For more information, visit: www.cormedix.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding management's expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or CorMedix's prospects, future financial position, financing plans, future revenues, and projected costs should be considered forward-looking. Readers are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from projections or estimates due to a variety of important factors, including: the ability to retain and hire necessary personnel to staff our operations appropriately; the cost, timing and results of the ongoing and planned Phase 3 trials for Neutrolin in the U.S. and the resources needed to commence and complete those trials; obtaining additional financing to support CorMedix's research and development and clinical activities and operations; and the risks and uncertainties associated with CorMedix's ability to manage its limited cash resources. These and other risks are described in greater detail in CorMedix's filings with the SEC, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from CorMedix. CorMedix may not actually achieve the goals or plans described in its forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on these statements. CorMedix assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. For Investors & Media: Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc. Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.: jdrumm@tiberend.com; (212) 375-2664 Janine McCargo: jmccargo@tiberend.com; (646) 604-5150 SOURCE: CorMedix Inc. Though he had a degree in animal husbandry, James R. Duke decided to become a doctor after serving during the Korean War. Seldom speaking of his experiences there, Duke seemed most affected by how few of his fellow soldiers came home. When he got back he decided that since God allowed him to come home he needed to do something with his life, his daughter Jennifer Duke Conner said. Thats when he decided to go to medical school. Becoming a pediatrician one of the few in San Antonio at the time Duke over the years treated the children and grandchildren of patients he had when he first went into practice. He had a huge practice for being only one physician, his daughter Joan Duke Olivencia said. Duke died Jan. 17 at 88. Raised in Laredo, Duke spoke Spanish fluently from an early age, a skill that enabled him to work in Mexico after graduating from Texas A&M University in 1949. Enrolling at the University of Texas Medical School at Galveston after being discharged from the Army, Duke met his future wife, a nursing student. The couple married in 1957. Deciding to specialize in pediatrics while doing his residency at what was then White Cross Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, Duke and his wife returned to Texas where he did a pediatric residency at the Baylor University Medical program in Houston. More Information James R. Duke Born: Aug. 10, 1928, Laredo Died: Jan. 17, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Parents Innes and Consuelo Duke; a brother. Survived by: Wife Rosemary Green Duke; daughters Joan Duke Olivencia and son-in-law Juan, Jennifer Duke Conner and son-in-law Bill, Ellen Duke Drury and son-in-law Paul; son James R. Duke Jr. and son-in-law Jeffrey Reid; eight grandchildren; one great-grandchild; a sister. Services: Mass at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 4201 De Zavala Road. See More Collapse Moving to San Antonio in about 1962, Duke established a private practice in Alamo Heights, later moving his office to the South Texas Medical Center. Feeling that it was just as important to educate parents as to care for their children, Duke made himself available at all hours. There was never a stupid question to him, Olivencia recalled. And on the rare occasion he advised a parent to take their child to the emergency room, Duke would meet them there himself. During office hours, Duke was never in any hurry, Conner said. He never cut the visit short, even when he was behind schedule. Loving animals almost as much as he loved his work, Duke raised his family on five acres in Hill Country Village. Growing up we had horses, goats, peacocks, rabbits, chickens and more, Conner said. But nothing beat Dukes love of A&M. He was always an Aggie, before he was anything, Conner said. mheidbrink@express-news.net PUNCAK, Indonesia After getting death threats from al-Shabab militants, Mohamed Dahir Saeed and his wife fled their native Somalia with plans to seek safety in Australia. They arrived in nearby Indonesia, only to be told the sea is closed for anyone attempting to make the perilous boat journey south. That was two years ago. Now another chance may be disappearing for Saeed and thousands of other asylum seekers who have made it to this Southeast Asian country with dreams of finding better lives elsewhere. The majority of people here, the U.S. takes them, Saeed said. Now the U.S. they say no Somalian, no Iraq, no Syrian, no Iran, no Sudan. ... So maybe we will go to another place. I hope, he said Tuesday, seated outside his tiny house perched above the Ciliwung River. For thousands of asylum seekers and refugees from Iraq, Somalia and other conflict-scarred countries, Indonesia is an often years-long hiatus as they wait for the U.S. or another country to accept them. President Trumps travel ban on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries and suspension of the U.S. refugee program has now made their tenuous situation even more uncertain. Indonesia is home to nearly 14,000 men, women and children seeking resettlement in other countries, according to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency. About 7,500 have been recognized as refugees, giving them the prized U.N. card that inches them closer to realizing their dreams of a better life. But last year just 610 were resettled in other countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany and New Zealand. At least 2,700 of those in limbo in Indonesia are from countries listed in Trumps 90-day travel ban: Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya. Asylum seekers in general are affected by his 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program, and by his decision to cut the number of refugees the U.S. accepts this budget year by more than half, to 50,000. Some 3 million refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980, according to the Pew Research Center. Saeed, 31, said that if he had the chance hed tell the U.S. president that as a Somalian hes a peace man. He said he left Somalia after al-Shabab militants fighting the government pressured him to join their group, and that one of the militants wanted Saeeds wife for himself. Now in Somalia there is a war from al-Shabab and government. So these Somalis who run from Somalia, they need peace because they need to work, they need to feed their family. They are looking for a better life. Indonesia, a vast but poor archipelago country of more than 250 million people in Southeast Asia, might seem an unlikely refuge. Initially, many people fled there because they believed it would be a jumping-off point to reach Australia by boat. That possibility no longer exists: Since September 2013, the Australian government has turned back the often barely seaworthy vessels. Stephen Wright is an Associated Press writer. Der Spiegel news weekly reported that Deutsche Boerse chief Carsten Kengeter told a government official of plans to merge with the London Stock Exchange before a large stock purchase was made (AFP Photo/Alexander Heinl) (DPA/AFP/File) Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - German authorities have opened a probe into stock purchases in 2015 by Deutsche Boerse group head Carsten Kengeter, shortly before the announcement of the market's planned merger with the London Stock Exchange, a spokesman said Wednesday. The inquiry centres on the acquisition by Kengeter of Deutsche Boerse shares worth about 4.5 million euros ($4.8 million) on December 14, 2015, the bourse spokesman told AFP. Two months later, in February 2016, Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange unveiled their merger plans, an announcement which sent their share prices shooting upwards. "The investigators are studying if there is a possible suspicion of insider dealing," the Deutsche Boerse spokesman told AFP, adding that Kengeter had "always been transparent" about the operation. In a short English-language statement, Deutsche Boerse said the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office "today investigated at Deutsche Boerse AG in respect of a share purchase by its chief executive officer which was carried out on 14 December 2015". The share purchase was "in implementation of the executive board's remuneration programme as approved by the supervisory board of Deutsche Boerse AG," it said. "Such (a) programme provides for an investment of the executive board members in shares of Deutsche Boerse AG," it added, saying that it was cooperating "fully" with prosecutors. The company spokesman said that the board has asked Kengeter "to act as a real entrepreneur" and acquire shares in the company. "This is what Mr. Kengeter has done," the spokesman stressed, adding the had "always been transparent about his purchase of shares". Deutsche Boerse board chairman Joachim Faber called the accusations against Kengeter "groundless", arguing that discussions around the merger with the London Stock Exchange did not begin until the second half of January 20106. Story continues - Merger plan criticised - Wirtschaftswoche, a German economic weekly, reported that police and prosecutors had carried out searches in relation to the case. The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse merger would create a financial markets behemoth competing with the likes of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and ICE in the United States, as well as the Hong Kong stock exchange in Asia. The planned merger, which has hit turbulence after last year's shock decision by Britain to quit the European Union, would ring up one of the globe's biggest groups for stock listings and market data, tying the Frankfurt-dominated eurozone to a post-Brexit London. The proposed deal has drawn sharp rebukes from France, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, fearful for their own stock exchanges, owned by Euronext. Deep concerns over competition helped scupper two earlier attempts by Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange to merge, in 2000 and 2005. Last month the London Stock Exchange said it had agreed to offload the French arm of clearing house LCH to European rival Euronext in order to ease some of those fears. London hosts roughly 1.3 trillion euros of euro clearing transactions every year, a status that is now in danger with the British vote to leave the EU. Deutsche Boerse operates the Frankfurt exchange, as well as the Luxembourg-based clearing house Clearstream and the derivatives platform Eurex. The Frankfurt prosecutor's office could not be reached Wednesday for comment. By Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Applied Economics, MIT and James Robinson, Professor, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Originally published at VoxEU Editors note: This column first appeared as a chapter in the Vox eBook, The Long Economic and Political Shadow of History, Volume 1, available to download here. The immense economic inequality we observe in the world today didnt happen overnight, or even in the past century. It is the path-dependent outcome of a multitude of historical processes, one of the most important of which has been European colonialism. Retracing our steps 500 years, or back to the verge of this colonial project, we see little inequality and small differences between poor and rich countries (perhaps a factor of four). Now the differences are a factor of more than 40, if we compare the richest to the poorest countries in the world. What role did colonialism play in this? In our research with Simon Johnson we have shown that colonialism has shaped modern inequality in several fundamental, but heterogeneous, ways. In Europe the discovery of the Americas and the emergence of a mass colonial project, first in the Americas, and then, subsequently, in Asia and Africa, potentially helped to spur institutional and economic development, thus setting in motion some of the prerequisites for what was to become the industrial revolution (Acemoglu et al. 2005). But the way this worked was conditional on institutional differences within Europe. In places like Britain, where an early struggle against the monarchy had given parliament and society the upper hand, the discovery of the Americas led to the further empowerment of mercantile and industrial groups, who were able to benefit from the new economic opportunities that the Americas, and soon Asia, presented and to push for improved political and economic institutions. The consequence was economic growth. In other places, such as Spain, where the initial political institutions and balance of power were different, the outcome was different. The monarchy dominated society, trade and economic opportunities, and in consequence, political institutions became weaker and the economy declined. As Marx and Engels put it in the Communist Manifesto, The discovery of America, the rounding of the Cape, opened up fresh ground for the rising bourgeoisie. It did, but only in some circumstances. In others it led to a retardation of the bourgeoisie. In consequence colonialism drove economic development in some parts of Europe and retarded it in others. Colonialism did not, however, merely impact the development of those societies that did the colonising. Most obviously, it also affected the societies that were colonised. In our research (Acemoglu et al. 2001, 2002) we showed that this, again, had heterogeneous effects. This is because colonialism ended up creating very distinct sorts of societies in different places. In particular, colonialism left very different institutional legacies in different parts of the world, with profoundly divergent consequences for economic development. The reason for this is not that the various European powers transplanted different sorts of institutions so that North America succeeded due to an inheritance of British institutions, while Latin America failed because of its Spanish institutions. In fact, the evidence suggests that the intentions and strategies of distinct colonial powers were very similar (Acemoglu and Robinson 2012). The outcomes were very different because of variation in initial conditions in the colonies. For example, in Latin America, where there were dense populations of indigenous people, a colonial society could be created based on the exploitation of these people. In North America where no such populations existed, such a society was infeasible, even though the first British settlers tried to set it up. In response, early North American society went in a completely different direction: early colonising ventures, such as the Virginia Company, needed to attract Europeans and stop them running off into the open frontier and they needed to incentivise them to work and invest. The institutions that did this, such as political rights and access to land, were radically different even from the institutions in the colonising country. When British colonisers found Latin-American-like circumstances, for example in South Africa, Kenya or Zimbabwe, they were perfectly capable of and interested in setting up what we have called extractive institutions, based on the control of and the extraction of rents from indigenous peoples. In Acemoglu and Robinson (2012) we argue that extractive institutions, which strip the vast mass of the population of incentives or opportunities, are associated with poverty. It is also not a coincidence that such African societies are today as unequal as Latin American countries. It wasnt just the density of indigenous peoples that mattered for the type of society that formed. As we showed in Acemoglu et al. (2001), the disease environment facing potential European settlers was also important. Something that encouraged the colonisation of North America was the relatively benign disease environment that facilitated the strategy of creating institutions to guarantee European migration. Something that encouraged the creation of extractive institutions in West Africa was the fact that it was the white mans graveyard, discouraging the creation of the type of inclusive economic institutions which encouraged the settlement and development of North America. These inclusive institutions, in contrast to extractive institutions, did create incentives and opportunities for the vast mass of people. Our focus on the disease environment as a source of variation in colonial societies was not because we considered this to be the only or even the main source of variation in the nature of such societies. It was for a particular scientific reason: we argued that the historical factors that influenced the disease environment for Europeans and therefore their propensity to migrate to a particular colony are not themselves a significant source of variation in economic development today. More technically, this meant that historical measures of European settler mortality could be used as an instrumental variable to estimate the causal effect of economic institutions on economic development (as measured by income per-capita). The main challenge to this approach is that factors which influenced European mortality historically may be persistent and can influence income today, perhaps via effects on health or contemporary life expectancy. There are several reasons why this is not likely to be true however. First, our measures of European mortality in the colonies are from 200 or so years ago, before the founding of modern medicine or the understanding of tropical diseases. Second, they are measures of mortality faced by Europeans with no immunity to tropical diseases, which is something very different from the mortality faced by indigenous people today, which is presumably what is relevant for current economic development in these countries. Just to check, we also showed that our results are robust to the controlling econometrically of various modern measures of health, such as malaria risk and life expectancy. Thus, just as colonialism had heterogeneous effects on development within Europe, promoting it in places like Britain, but retarding it in Spain, so it also had very heterogeneous effects in the colonies. In some places, like North America, it created societies with far more inclusive institutions than in the colonising country itself and planted the seeds for the immense current prosperity of the region. In others, such as Latin America, Africa or South Asia, it created extractive institutions that led to very poor long-run development outcomes. The fact that colonialism had positive effects on development in some contexts does not mean that it did not have devastating negative effects on indigenous populations and society. It did. That colonialism in the early modern and modern periods had heterogeneous effects is made plausible by many other pieces of evidence. For example, Putnam (1994) proposed that it was the Norman conquest of the South of Italy that created the lack of social capital in the region, the dearth of associational life that led to a society that lacked trust or the ability to cooperate. Yet the Normans also colonised England and that led to a society which gave birth to the industrial revolution. Thus Norman colonisation had heterogeneous effects too. Colonialism mattered for development because it shaped the institutions of different societies. But many other things influenced these too, and, at least in the early modern and modern period, there were quite a few places that managed to avoid colonialism. These include China, Iran, Japan, Nepal and Thailand, amongst others, and there is a great deal of variation in development outcomes within these countries, not to mention the great variation within Europe itself. This raises the question of how important, quantitatively, European colonialism was, compared to other factors. Acemoglu et al. (2001) calculate that, according to their estimates, differences in economic institutions account for about two-thirds of the differences in income per-capita in the world. At the same time, Acemoglu et al. (2002) show that, on their own, historical settler mortality and indigenous population density in 1500 explain around 30% of the variation in economic institutions in the world today. If historical urbanisation in 1500, which can also explain variation in the nature of colonial societies, is added, this increases to over 50% of the variation. If this is right, then a third of income inequality in the world today can be explained by the varying impact of European colonialism on different societies. A big deal. That colonialism shaped the historical institutions of colonies might be obviously plausible. For example, we know that, in Peru of the 1570s, the Spanish Viceroy Francisco de Toledo set up a huge system of forced labour to mine the silver of Potosi. But this system, the Potosi mita, was abolished in the 1820s, when Peru and Bolivia became independent. To claim that such an institution, or, more broadly, the institutions created by colonial powers all over the world, influence development today, is to make a claim about how colonialism influenced the political economy of these societies in a way which led these institutions to either directly persist, or to leave a path dependent legacy. The coerced labour of indigenous peoples lasted directly up until at least the 1952 Bolivian Revolution, when the system known as pongueaje was abolished. More generally, Acemoglu and Robinson (2012, Chapters 11 and 12) and Dell (2010) discuss many mechanisms via which this could have taken place. Finally, it is worth observing that our empirical findings have important implications for alterative theories of comparative development. Some argue that geographical differences are dominant in explaining long-run patterns of development. In contradistinction, we showed that once the role of institutions is accounted for, geographical factors are not correlated with development outcomes. The fact that, for instance, there is a correlation between latitude and geography, is not indicative of a causal relationship. It is simply driven by the fact that European colonialism created a pattern of institutions that is correlated with latitude. Once this is controlled for, geographical variables play no causal role. Others argue that cultural differences are paramount in driving development. We found no role at all for cultural differences measured in several ways. First, the religious composition of different populations. Second, as we have emphasised, the identity of the colonial power. Third, the fraction of the population of a country of European descent. It is true, of course, that the United States and Canada filled up with Europeans, but in our argument this was an outcome of the fact that they had good institutions. It is not the numerical dominance of people of European descent today that drives development. See original post for references Originally published at Moyers & Company President Trumps choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency might put it on the endangered species list. In this exclusive web essay, Bill Moyers takes on President Trumps choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has a track record of putting the business interests of the energy sector before the environmental and health interests of the public. He has spent his career fighting the rules and regulations of the agency he is now being nominated to lead. His expected confirmation threatens to make America great for polluters again. Credits: Gail Ablow, Producer; Rebecca Sherwood, Editor TRANSCRIPT Im Bill Moyers, here with a horror story a story of corruption so daring, so devious and so dangerous it could kill you. It could poison your drinking water, contaminate your neighborhood and make your children very, very sick. Lets begin with a television commercial that I chanced to see on CNN during Donald Trumps inaugural weekend. Take a look. ADVERTISEMENT:The US Senate will vote to confirm Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Hes used transparent, smart regulations to protect our air and water without stifling development of Americas abundant natural resources. BILL MOYERS: Thats an ad sponsored by one of the biggest and most powerful trade associations in the country the National Association of Manufacturers. The NAM ran three ads like it during inaugural week, all of them aimed at bringing public pressure to bear on the US Senate to confirm Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. And just who, you might ask, is Scott Pruitt? SCOTT PRUITT: It is an honor and a privilege to be before you today to be considered for the position of EPA administrator. MOYERS: Pruitt is Oklahomas attorney general. His salary of more than $260,000 is paid by taxpayers, but Pruitt really works for the energy industry. Hes a political profiteer whose career in public office is built on taking money from corporations and doing their bidding. SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): It appears that a great deal of your fundraising comes from these organizations who are in the energy sector and devoted to fighting climate change. MOYERS: At Pruitts recent confirmation hearings before Congress, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island tried to unravel the web of corporate influence around Scott Pruitt. WHITEHOUSE: Devon Energy, Koch Industries, ExxonMobil have all maxed out to that account, at various times. PRUITT: Im not aware if they have maxed out or not, Senator, but Im sure that they have given to that committee. MOYERS: Now, take a look at this letter. In 2011 the Environmental Protection Agency was trying to limit methane gas leaking from drilling operations like that of Devon Energy, one of those oil and gas companies that donate to him. Pruitt wrote the EPA on behalf of the company. Turns out the letter was drafted, almost to the word, by lawyers for Devon Energy. PRUITT: That is the letter that is on my letterhead that was sent to the EPA, yes. With respect to the issue SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): Do you acknowledge that 97 percent of the words in that letter came directly from Devon Energy? PRUITT: I have not looked at the percentages, sir. MERKLEY: You used your office as a direct extension of an oil company, rather than a direct extension of the interests of the public health of the people of Oklahoma. MOYERS: Something else: As attorney general Scott Pruitt has sued the Environmental Protection Agency 14 times. The New York Times found that 13 of those lawsuits included co-parties that had given money to Pruitts campaign or to an affiliated PAC. Most of the suits failed. But that didnt deter Pruitt or his donors. According to the publication Energy and Environment News, the more he sued, the more the energy dollars rolled in. So why does Donald Trump want a lackey for the big energy companies to run the agency charged with protecting the public from pollution? And why did the National Association of Manufacturers run ads like this for a man so obviously not a defender of the public interest? Because Trump and the industry can count Pruitt on their side, as his record shows, in preventing the EPA from holding big business accountable for the environment and public safety. After all, when he became attorney general of Oklahoma, he shut down the states environmental enforcement unit. SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): Honestly, people are going to think that its not just the fox guarding the hen house, its the fox destroying the hen house because you havent distanced yourself from the actual litigation that you have initiated on most of the key issues that you are now going to have responsibility for protecting in terms of the public health of the entire country. PRUITT: And Senator, I can say to you unequivocally, I will recuse as directed by EPA ethics counsel. MOYERS: Scott Pruitt fits right into Trumps world. In his first week in office Donald Trump has aimed a sledgehammer at the EPA. Within hours of his swearing in, he ordered a freeze on all new environmental rules pending review, suspended all federal environmental grants and contracts, thus stalling billions of dollars that were heading to key operations like air pollution monitoring, water quality testing and environmental research. Then he ordered all outward communication from the EPA to stop no social media, no conferences, no meetings between the agency and the public. So if you want to know if theres work being done to clean up a superfund site, too bad. If you want to know the role of fracking in Oklahomas earthquakes, sorry. Whether the emissions of an industry in your hometown comply with federal safety laws? Youll have to guess. And theres more. Hes opposed climate science. PRUITT: As I indicated in my opening statement, the climate is changing and human activity contributes to that in some manner. SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): In some manner? Ninety-seven percent of the scientists who wrote articles in peer-reviewed journals believe that human activity is the fundamental reason we are seeing climate change; you disagree with that? PRUITT: I believe the ability to measure with precision the degree of human activities impact on the climate, is subject to more debate on whether the climate is changing or whether human activity contributes to it. MOYERS: We should remember that Richard Nixon, a Republican president, signed the legislation creating the Environmental Protection Agency back in l970. It was part of the movement to restore a country that had been despoiled by industrial abuse. PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON: The environmental agenda before the Congress includes laws to deal with water pollution, pesticide hazards, ocean dumping, excessive noise, careless land development and many other environmental problems. These problems will not stand still for politics or for partisanship. MOYERS: Trumps wrecking crew says environmental regulations impede the progress and profits of companies. But if you think those companies and their so-called free market will, without safety provisions, make America great again. Well heres is what turning back the clock could look like: These are the EPAs own photographs taken for the record as the agency began its work. Rivers were polluted. Lead gasoline threatened the developing brains of children. Trash choked harbors, and illegal dumping leached into groundwater, agricultural run off suffocated marine waterways. Unfettered industries were running our country to ruin. There, before your eyes, is our past. Its no wonder the founders of our government feared corruption in high office. They knew it could lead to bribery, nepotism and the abuse of power by a government aligned with the great monied interests such as the East India Tea Company. They knew it could enable of public officials to neglect their duty to the public and serve instead the design of wealth. At the end of the first week of Donald Trumps first hundred days, those founders must be turning in their graves. Partnership to Raise Awareness and Save Lives Donate Life Tennessee & NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Joey Gase Written By: Unique Hiram for MDR Motorsports Photo by Keith Weiss Date: January 22, 2017 "Never underestimate your ability to make someone elses life better even if you never know it." Greg Louganis Donate Life Tennessee is a 501(c)3 non-profit Organ and Tissue Donor Registry that was established on May 6, 2006 after the State Senate passed a unanimous vote in favor of the Donor Registry Bill. Approximately four years ago, the organization partnered with Joey Gase who competes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The organization signed on to sponsor both the spring and fall races in 2013 at Bristol Motor Speedway. We became connected with Joey through Donate Life America, our umbrella organization, and also Donate Life Iowa where he was originally based. Because of Joeys connection to organ and tissue donation, we started racing on the NASCAR circuit. Both organizations reached out to the different state teams that had races to see about sponsorship levels and thats how we connected with Joey, Sharon Pakis, Donate Life Tennessee Public Education and Relations Manager, shared with MDR Motorsports. Joey Gase has been an advocate for organ donation because of his tragic personal experience. In April 2011, his mother Mary Jo died of a brain aneurysm. At the young age of 18, he had to make the heart wrenching decision about donating her organs that saved the life of over 60 people. As a result of this life experience, he has made it his mission to raise awareness and encourage the public to become organ and tissue donors. His message certainly fits our mission to save and enhance lives through organ and tissue donations and encouraging people to be organ and tissue donors in the State of Tennessee as well as in Virginia since Bristol kind of crosses those states, Pakis said. We will continue to support Joey on his efforts through the coming years. He is awesome to work with and such a delightful young man. He is so passionate about the cause and racing that we couldnt ask for a better spokesperson." Meredith Haga, Donate Life Tennessee Public Education/Public Relations Coordinator, an organ donor recipient herself expressed her pleasure in working with Gase. Its been great working with Joey Gase as well as working the race and everything. I cant think of a better person or advocate for our organization. We get to work with him twice a year for both Bristol races. I know, not only myself, but also the general public look forward to his arrival. He is always one of the favorite drivers." Ms. Haga been working with the organization a little over six months but was actually a volunteer beginning four years prior to her employment. She shared a bit of her life saving story with us. In her junior year of high school, the honor student athlete began having some medical issues that werent readily identified initially. Approximately three months after dealing with lingering symptoms, her diagnosis determined that she had an autoimmune disease that attacked her kidneys. At the age of 17, she had six rounds of chemotherapy to try and combat the disease. One year later, after graduating high school and preparing to attend college, her kidneys failed completely. In October 2011, she began dialysis treatment and that went on for about 11 months. Haga had a living donor kidney transplant when she was 19 years old. People that wait for kidneys can wait for a very long time. Some people never receive transplants because the supply is a lot less than the demand, she shared. I was very lucky because September 4, 2012, my step dad gave me a living donor transplant and that saved my life." There are number of Donate Life Tennessee sponsored events that Joey Gase participates in when competing at Bristol visiting Niswonger Childrens Hospital in the eastern part of the state along with local high schools. One of the most exciting and memorable events last year was Hands for Donation. Registered donors and recipients were invited to the local DMV to attend so that they could have a mold of their handprints taken and placed on the racecar. We had such a great turnout at the DMV. I think it was amazing. The first person to put their handprints on the car was a man who was driving by and saw Joeys car along with the Donate Life Tennessee logo. He saw the flag waving, stopped and asked what was going on. I explained to him who we are, what we do and about our partnership with Joey. He went in to renew his license, came back out and showed me the heart telling me he felt really compelled to go get that heart on his drivers license, Haga said. Donate Life Tennessee is proud to be a sponsor for Joey Gase and they are looking forward to their continued partnership with the young driver as his career grows and flourishes. Related Posts: Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum. A company based at the Questum Enterprise Centre in Ballingarrane, Clonmel, is a finalist in the Small Firms Association (SFA) National Small Business Awards at the RDS in Dublin today, Wednesday. EireChrom, which also has a facility at Mahon in Cork, has grown rapidly to become Irelands recognised market leader in the highly specialised area of mass spectrometry - an advanced separations science technique that has both quantitative and qualitative uses within the chemical analysis and life science sectors. Established in 2013, the company's services include chromatography, column and chemistries, mass spectrometry, method development, sample preparation, training and consultancy, and research and development. The markets it serves include bio-pharmaceuticals, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, clinical diagnostics, drug discovery and development, environmental testing, food and beverage testing and forensic toxicology. Last year it won the Outstanding Small Business in Ireland Award, presented by the Small Firms Association. Its accolades also include Young Leader of the Year at last year's Irish Laboratory Awards. Today's National Small Business Showcase will be officially opened by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell OConnor. Speaking ahead of the event SFA Chair, Sue ONeill said Following an intensive judging process in the SFA National Small Business Awards, the 33 finalist companies are from a wide range of business sectors, from 13 different counties and collectively employ 636 people. These companies are demonstrating best in class entrepreneurship, innovation and achievement within small enterprises in Ireland. She continued, Small companies (which we define as employing less than 50 people) make up 98% of all businesses and we are present in every city, town and village in the country. Together we employ half of the private sector workforce some 800,000 people -highlighting our collective impact. During the Obama administration, U.S. banks were often at loggerheads with the federal government over unwanted automated calls to consumers. But in the early days of Donald Trump's presidency the industry has good reason to believe that some of the existing restrictions will be softened. Such changes could be a source of substantial savings for banks and credit unions, particularly in the realm of consumer debt collection. The rules governing robo-calls to mobile phones which were enacted by the Federal Communications Commission in 2015 are currently being challenged in court. But even if the restrictions survive that lawsuit, they seem likely to be scaled back by either the agency itself, which is now under new management, or by the Republican-controlled Congress. Analysts at Compass Point Research & Trading said in a note Monday that they expect the FCC to pursue a "broad deregulatory agenda" during Trump's presidency, including a softening of the robo-calling rules. Newly installed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai spoke in December about the need to "fire up the weed whacker and remove those rules that are holding back investment, innovation and job creation." Pai, a Republican who joined the commission in 2012, voted against the 2015 robo-calling rules. Those restrictions, which passed 3-2 on a party-line vote, mostly rejected entreaties made by banks and other companies. For example, the rules held that companies can be held liable even if they call a phone number without realizing it has been reassigned to a new customer. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act establishes strict liability for callers $500 for each unsolicited call to a mobile phone, or $1,500 for intentional violations. "This will certainly help trial lawyers update their business model for the digital age," Pai said during a June 2015 hearing. Those comments echoed arguments frequently made by banks, which have paid more than $200 million in recent years to settle robo-calling lawsuits. Shortly after being appointed by President Trump as the FCC's new chairman, Pai gave a speech in which he described prerecorded calls as a "nuisance" and said that he wants to crack down on unscrupulous actors. But those comments were consistent with his earlier remarks, in which he drew a sharp distinction between scam artists and legitimate businesses. The FCC currently has only three members, including Republican Michael O'Rielly, who is also a critic of the agency's current robo-calling rules. Trade groups representing banks and credit unions are viewing the recent change in leadership at the FCC as an opportunity. In a letter to Pai last week, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions asked the agency to reconsider its rules, which it said do not reflect the realities of life in 2017. "Cellphones have largely replaced landlines, and consumers expect to receive the same service from their credit union regardless of the type of phone line they have listed," the trade group's president, Dan Berger, wrote. Kate Larson, a vice president at the Consumer Bankers Association, said in an interview Tuesday that aggressive trial lawyers and U.S. consumers' shift away from landlines has led to a surge in lawsuits. "Litigation risk is deterring banks from communicating with their customers," she said. For banks, looser rules on robo-calls could also yield operational savings, in addition to lower legal costs. During a recent conference call with analysts, Discover Financial Services CEO David Nelms said that the FCC's rules have forced the firm to collect debt in less efficient ways than it would otherwise. "In fact, we've had to spend a lot of money and go to a lot of trouble," Nelms said. Consumer advocates are far less enamored with the prospect of looser rules. "The question really is how much the FCC cares about protecting consumers," said Margot Saunders, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), listens during a Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) meeting at the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. The FSOC today unanimously approved its 2014 annual report, which was developed collaboratively by the members of the Council and their agencies and staffs. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Richard Cordray Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hit Prospect Mortgage with a $3.5 million fine for allegedly paying kickbacks to two real estate brokers and a servicer for referrals of government-backed mortgage loans. The bureau also took action against Keller Williams Realty Mid-Willamette and Remax Gold Coast, which were among more than 100 real estate brokers that had "improper arrangements" with the Sherman Oaks, Calif., firm, the CFPB said. "Today's action sends a clear message that it is illegal to make or accept payments for mortgage referrals," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a press release. "We will hold both sides of these improper arrangements accountable for breaking the law, which skews the real estate market to the disadvantage of consumers and honest businesses." The CFPB said that Prospect created marketing services agreements from 2011 to 2016 and made payments to various companies that were disguised as advertising and promotional services. Prospect paid real estate brokers from $200 to $20,000 a month in return for borrower referrals, the bureau said. Prospect tracked the number of referrals made by each broker and also paid various real estate brokers to locate loan officers at Prospect using desk licensing agreements, the CFPB said. Additionally, Prospect allegedly paid brokers to "prequalify" home loan borrowers with Prospect and to "write in" the lenders name for anyone seeking to purchase a listed property, the CFPB said. The company allegedly split fees with Planet Home Lending, a Connecticut mortgage servicer that it hired to identify and help persuade eligible consumers to refinance into a government-backed loan through Prospect. Under the consent order, Prospect will pay $3.5 million to the CFPBs civil penalty fund. Keller Williams Realty Mid-Willamette will pay $145,000 in disgorgement and $35,000 in penalties and Remax Gold Coast will pay $50,000 in civil money penalties, the CFPB stated. Planet Home Lending, a Meriden, Conn., mortgage servicer, will pay $265,000 in redress to harmed consumers for accepting illegal kickbacks for referrals in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which prohibits making payments or giving kickbacks to anyone in return for a referral to a real estate settlement service provider. Prospect would not confirm or deny the CFPB's charges. "Today's settlement with the CFPB regarding alleged origination practices initiated under the prior management team, closes an important chapter in the company's history," Prospect said in an emailed statement. "Under Prospect Mortgage's new leadership team, the company has rebuilt its legal, regulatory and compliance practices." A manager at Keller Williams Realty Mid-Willamette in Corvalis, Ore., did not return a call seeking comment. The CFPB did not identify the specific office of Remax Gold Coast. Planet Home did not return a call seeking comment. Planet Home had ordered so-called trigger leads from a major consumer reporting agency to identify customers seeking to refinance, which is a prohibited use of credit reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Prospect had run afoul of California regulators in 2015. The lender agreed to pay $10.1 million for inflating settlement service fees charged for more than 70,000 borrowers during a four-year period, according to California's Department of Business Oversight. In November, Prospect, which is backed by the Chicago-based private equity firm Sterling Partners, agreed to sell its sales and operating assets, including 150 retail offices, to Homebridge Financial Services, an Iselin, N.J., lender. Many of the Prospect's executives, including Michael Williams, a former Fannie Mae president and CEO, joined HomeBridge. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Wednesday (1 February 2017) for talks on the security situation in Libya. The Secretary General said he was encouraged by the progress being made in the fight against ISIL in Libya and conveyed NATOs support to the Government of National Accord. During their meeting, the two leaders also discussed how to take cooperation forward. NATO stands ready to assist Libya in building effective security and defence institutions, strengthening your ability to fight terrorism and create conditions for peace, said Mr. Stoltenberg after the meeting. He added that, in the future, NATO could offer advice on establishing a modern Ministry of Defence, a joint military staff, and security and intelligence services under civilian control. If requested, the Alliance could also support the efforts of the European Union to strengthen the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy. Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister al-Sarraj, the Secretary General also addressed the situation in eastern Ukraine. He expressed deep concern over the recent spike in ceasefire violations and violence around Avdiivka. Calling for an immediate return to the ceasefire, the Secretary General stressed that OSCE monitors must be guaranteed free and safe access to the region. He further called on Russia to use its considerable influence over the separatists to bring the violence to an end. (As delivered) Prime Minister al-Sarraj, Welcome to NATO Headquarters. It is a great pleasure to see you again. We last met in the UN in September and its a pleasure to continue the dialogue with you. We just discussed the security situation in Libya. And progress is being made in the fight against radical groups. And ISIL has been driven out of its former stronghold of Sirte. And I welcome that progress. Prime Minister, I commend you for your efforts to ensure an inclusive political process in Libya. This is important for your countrys long-term stability. At the same time, Libya continues to face serious political and security challenges. And we urgently need a political solution to the crisis, based on the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement. NATO supports you and your government as the sole representative of the Libyan people. As you work to stabilise your country, several Allies are already providing military and economic support. And I welcome the support from several NATO Allies. During our meeting today, we discussed how we can take our cooperation forward. NATO stands ready to assist Libya in building effective security and defence institutions. Strengthening your ability to fight terrorism and create conditions for peace. Looking to the future, we could offer advice on establishing a modern Ministry of Defence, a joint military staff, and security and intelligence services under civilian control. NATOs Operation Sea Guardian is already supporting the EUs Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean with logistical support and information sharing. If requested, we could also support the efforts of the European Union to strengthen the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy. This could help keep the Mediterranean free from smuggling and terrorist activity a strategic priority both for NATO and our partners in North Africa. Prime Minister al-Sarraj, I look forward to continuing to work with you. We share a commitment to a stable and prosperous Libya. So that your people can enjoy the peace they deserve. Before I end, let me address the situation in eastern Ukraine. We see the most serious spike in violence in a long time. Especially in and around Avdiivka and we see that the ceasefire is not respected. There have been over 5,600 ceasefire violations in the past week. This is according to the latest updates from the OSCE. The humanitarian situation is dire, with twenty thousand people facing freezing temperatures. Without heat, electricity and water. We call for an immediate return to the ceasefire. And withdrawal of all heavy weapons banned under the Minsk Agreements. OSCE monitors must be guaranteed free and safe access throughout the region. This must include Ukraines border with Russia. We call on Russia to use its considerable influence over the separatists to bring the violence to an end. All parties should implement their commitments under the Minsk Agreements in full. NATO will continue to stand by Ukraine with strong political and practical support. So once again, welcome to NATO Headquarters Prime Minister. Its a great pleasure to meet you and to discuss how NATO can provide support. And support your efforts to stabilise your own country and to implement the political agreement. Welcome. Q: Secretary General you expressed very clearly your political readiness to assist Libya but what, is there any concrete assistance that you can, NATO can provide to the government of Mr. Sarraj nowadays because this is the time when he needs? So, he needs a lot of assistance this time and at the same time his government doesnt control the whole country. I have a question to Mr. Sarraj. [Interpreted]: Mr. Prime Minister with your permission to what extent do you deem this convergence between [inaudible] and Russia will help for a political agreement within Libya? JENS STOLTENBERG (NATO Secretary General): First of all we provide strong political support to Prime Minister Sarraj and the Government of National Accord. Because we strongly support the efforts to try to find an inclusive political solution to the crisis in Libya and we continue to express this strong political support. Second we are ready to also provide the practical support. So the issue we discussed during our meeting today. Of course to provide practical support we need a request from Libya and but we are ready to for instance help Libya with building defence institutions. This is of great importance because you need strong institutions to make sure that you have political control over the armed forces and we see the importance of that especially in a country like Libya. NATO has done that before, we have done it in Bosnia, we have done it Afghanistan, we have done it in other countries where we have helped build strong defence institutions making sure that the political leadership have control over the armed forces. So this is about building a modern ministry of defence, this is about building a joint military staff and security and intelligence services under political control. Then we have the Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean and Operation Sea Guardian already provides support to Operation Sophia, the EU mission there, with logistical support, with information sharing and this is of course also important for Libya. We are also ready to help develop the Libyan navy and coast guard if so requested by Libya. So I think that the key issue now is that NATO allies are ready to provide support. Many or at least several NATO allies already provide support on the bilateral basis but also are ready to provide support through NATO but we have to sit down and discuss exactly how we do this in the best possible way. And NATO has tried and tested structures to do exactly that, to build local capacity and to enable them to take full responsibility for security in their own country. FAYEZ AL-SARRAJ (Prime Minister of Libya): [Interpreted]: Before talking about the relationship with Russia or any other party Id like to record that the main purpose is that we aim at the unification of the military institution, a military institution that will help us combat effectively terrorism. We have very competent military commands but as I said the political divide and the political situation during the five past years have had a heavy impact on this institution. So today the very aim is to unify the institution, after that we will of course talk with the international community, the international parties. It seems to me that all of them are keen on helping Libya and on bringing about stability. But before talking about those relations we have to unify our ranks. OANA LUNGESCU (NATO Spokesperson): Belgian News Agency? Q: Yes, Gerard Gaudin, Belgian News Agency. A question for the Prime Minister. Are you ready to open the territorial Libyan waters to Operation Sophia and possibly to Sea Guardian? FAYEZ AL-SARRAJ: [Interpreted]: Yes we spoke in the past about this topic. Of course its a matter of sovereignty, these are territorial waters. This is something to be carried out jointly between the Libyan Navy and any other party that will be interested in extending a hand to the Libyan Navy; that will be possible. Of course we have to modernize our navy flotilla and to enhance its capacities and it seems to me that NATO or any other friendly nation on a bilateral basis could extend a hand in this. OANA LUNGESCU: This concludes this press point, thank you. (Natural News) There has been all sorts of talk in recent days about the incoming Trump administrations refusal to let other countries continue taking advantage of the United States in unfair trade deals. But what about when other countries decide to stop doing trade with the U.S. because the goods we trade them are toxic and destructive? This is the current situation with the South American country of Brazil, which appears poised to ban all imports of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) from the U.S. because a great number of them have never undergone proper safety approvals. Brazil has rather strict guidelines for GMO approvals that the U.S. does not have, thus there is a major holdup, particularly in the chicken industry. While Brazil currently grows some 29 different varieties of genetically-modified (GM) corn, as well as GM soybeans, there is a shortage of these commodities in the country that is causing chicken producers, who require such grains as feed, to look elsewhere. But the most obvious trade partner, the U.S. which currently has a glut of GM corn ready to ship elsewhere will not be gaining Brazil as a customer. According to reports, there was not a single Brazilian import of U.S. corn in 2016, despite the fact that U.S. stockpiles of GM corn have never been larger. Companies in Brazil are refusing to buy American grain like GM corn because they know it will fail to meet Brazils strict agricultural standards. In recent years, some of the largest commodity trading companies have refused to take certain GMO crops from farmers because the seeds used hadnt received a full array of global approvals, something that can lead to holdups at ports or even the rejection of entire cargoes, Bloomberg recently reported. The writing is on the wall: End the GMO poisoning or lose all relevance in the global agriculture trade Rather than risk importing a potentially dangerous load of U.S.-based GM corn that will likely get rejected by officials monitoring it at ports of entry anyway, chicken producers in particular are instead choosing to simply cut their output in some cases by up to 10 percent and just deal with the losses. It is a problem that the U.S. will continue to face throughout the world market unless it reverses course and starts rejecting the unmitigated spread of GM crops by multinational corporations like Monsanto. The rest of the world wants nothing to do with these contaminated crops laced with glyphosate, which have been linked to chronic diseases like cancer. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, there are currently an astounding 43 different types of GM corn being grown in the U.S., with more coming down the pipeline. This is in addition to the many different types of GM soy, canola, cotton, and other crops that litter the American landscape. Even in Brazil, where many different GM crops are grown, resistance to their use is growing. A labor group recently broke into a laboratory in Sao Paulo where GM prototypes were being grown. Activists destroyed the entire lot of samples, which numbered in the millions, because they contained a chemical pesticide known to cause cancer. Brazil also faces global trade issues itself, as Russia, much of Europe, and various other countries across the globe have definitively rejected the cultivation and use of GM crops. If Brazil, the U.S., and other countries that allow GMOs want to remain relevant in the global agriculture trade, they are going to have to make some tough decisions, and soon. Russia recently banned all U.S. corn and soy imports due to possible GM contamination, explains OrganicAndHealthy.org. Nineteen additional countries in the E.U. also banned all GM crops, and dozens more have banned GM crops for import or growth in their country. Sources for this article include: OrganicAndHealthy.org Bloomberg.com (Natural News) In efforts to avoid offending transgenders, official guidelines issued by the British Medical Association (BMA) are urging doctors to refer to expectant mothers as pregnant people. The controversial advice appeared in a 14-page book focusing on inclusive language in the workplace. The booklet rules that terms like biologically male and biologically female are problematic. Doctors are now instructed to say the individual was assigned male or female at birth. (RELATED: Find more independent media news stories at Censored.news) The unions new guidelines were released just weeks after a British woman in the process of gender transition put her operation on hold to give birth. Hayden Cross, 20, is legally male and had received hormone treatment, but had yet to complete sex change surgery. Out of the 775,000 women who give birth in Britain annually, there are no other known cases of people in the gender transition process being impregnated. Despite the rarity of transgender pregnancy, the British Medical Association is demanding doctors drop the word mother from their vocabulary. The move aims to celebrate diversity and curb offensiveness. A large majority of people that have been pregnant or have given birth identify as women. However, there are some intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant the booklet continues. We can include intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant by saying pregnant people instead of expectant mothers. (RELATED: Find more womens health news at WomensHealth.news) Members are advised not to use male-centric language. This pertains to several terms including family name opposed to surname. Words like Manpower and Mankind are also on the chopping block; the BMA wants them replaced by humanity and personnel. The BMA also suggests the term Christian name be banished from doctors vocabularies, and warns against using the word black in a negative way, like black sheep. The memo goes on to state that prefixes like Prof, Dr, Mr, Mrs, and Miss shouldnt be put in any particular order on forms; to avoid a perceived hierarchy. Terms like Spastic and Mongol should be avoided when referring to a person with cerebral palsy or a person with Downs syndrome. The BMA also aims to avoid offending the elderly, using the word older in its place. Also, Disabled lifts should be called accessible lifts for sensitivities sake. Political correctness on steroids The advice is overreaching and patronizing. The BMA is using politically correct attempts to deny biological reality. Any realistic doctor will be sensitive, respectful, and professional. Doctors treating a transgendered individual must assess the patient on their biology because many disease patterns are gender influenced. Its sad that society is being pushed in this direction. (RELATED: See more examples of twisted P.C. language at Twisted.news) Conservative MP Philip Davies said the guidance is completely ridiculous. If you cant call a pregnant woman an expectant mother, then what is the world coming to? said Davies. Others believe that the ruling will confuse people about the vital role mothers play in raising a child. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth, Right Reverend Philip Egan, said It is Orwellian, isnt it? Another example of people trying to control our thoughts and the way we speak. Sources: Breitbart.com Telegraph.co.uk DailyCaller.com (Natural News) Atrazine is a weedkiller that is quickly becoming one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States. Predominantly sprayed on Midwestern cornfields, the toxins presence is consistently detected in public water supplies. Much research has indicated that the pesticide is in fact capable of significant endocrine disruption, among other ill effects. Atrazine was banned by the European Union in 2003 just shy of 15 years ago due to the ubiquitous and unpreventable water contamination. In 2006, members of the Natural Resources Defense Council authored a paper that presented evidence of Syngentas heavy-handed involvement with US atrazine assessments, and their apparently successful attempts at influencing the approval process. The authors note that Syngenta not only submitted flawed data as evidence that their product didnt cause harm, but the corporate giant also repeatedly held private meetings with the EPA to negotiate the governments regulatory approach. Unsurprisingly, the details of these meetings were withheld from the public. (Related: Keep up with what the EPA is up to at EPA.news) The harmful effects of atrazine Dr. Tyrone Hayes, a scientist from the University of California at Berkeley, has studied the effects of atrazine at length, and has come to some very disturbing conclusions about what this toxic pesticide is capable of. In 2010, research led by Dr. Hayes showed that in amphibians, atrazine is a substantial endocrine diruptor that can even cause chemical castration in males. Forty male tadpoles were exposed to water with atrazine at 2.5 parts per billion, an amount that was well within the EPAs established drinking water standards. Approximately one-tenth of the tadpoles that grew in the atrazine-tainted water became functionally female, according to Hayes. Those frogs, which were born male, reportedly produced eggs. After being exposed to atrazine, many of the 36 male-presenting frogs reportedly showed decreased testosterone, reduced breeding gland size, poor laryngeal development, suppressed mating behavior, and reduced fertility. Similar effects have been seen in other amphibious creatures. On his own website, Atrazinelovers.com, Dr. Hayes presents evidence of other ill effects of atrazine. In rodents, for example, the chemical has been shown to cause a myriad of cancers and immune system failure. He also notes that similar effects have been observed in other species such as fish, reptiles and mammals including humans. According to Hayes, some research has already linked atrazine exposure to reduced sperm count and decreased fertility in humans. Dr. Hayes is not the only one to provide evidence that atrazine is harmful. A 2013 study, published by the journal Toxicology and Industrial Health, also indicated that atrazine is a potent endocrine disruptor. To conduct their research, the team utilized snails that were divided into three groups: exposed to atrazine, exposed to glyphosate, and a control group. The study found that atrazine substantially affected hormone levels, and that it caused degenerative changes to the snails reproductive organs. Glyphosate was also found to be harmful. The researchers concluded, It can be concluded that both herbicides are endocrine disruptors and cause cellular toxicity (Related: Learn more about the harmful effects of glyphosate and other pesticides at Glyphosate.news) Another study, published by a team from Purdue University, found that atrazine caused alterations to reproductive and neuroendocrine genes in fish. Jennifer Freeman, an assistant professor of toxicology in the School of Health Sciences commented, The exact connection to health outcomes is not defined, but we found gene alterations in our animal model when exposed to the level of atrazine that is deemed safe for drinking water. The federally-approved amount of atrazine is a mere 3 parts per billion, but even that amount appears to be problematic. Notably, the research team of this study specifically chose zebra fish to conduct their experiment on because their embryonic development time mirrors human prenatal development. So, there is a strong potential for atrazine to be harmful to humans, even at levels which are currently regarded as safe. Why is atrazine still in use? There is an abundance of evidence from a variety of researchers that indicates atrazine is harmful to wildlife, and probably humans. It is widely known that atrazine contaminates the water supply in fact, it is the most commonly detected crop chemical in drinking water. And yet, the EPA approved the chemical for continued use over ten years ago. The EPA reportedly launched another review of atrazine regulations in the spring of 2016. It is expected that the agency will release its newest report some time during 2017, but will anything actually change? Its hard to say. One can only hope that the EPA will do what is right once they are under new leadership. Follow more news about chemicals and the environment at ENVIRON.news. Sources: AtrazineLovers.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov EcoWatch.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov Wednesday, February 01, 2017 by: Robert Jonathan Tags: environmental hazard , pipeline , toxic spill This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author (Natural News) Worth County, Iowa, has a sticky situation on its hands with a ruptured pipeline that leaked according to original estimates approximately 140,000 gallons of diesel fuel into farmland on Wednesday with about a foot of snow already on the ground. The pipeline near Hanlontown is owned by Magellan Midstream Partners, and an investigation is underway into how the 3,300 barrels of diesel leaked out from the 12-inch, 127-mile long pipeline. A repair crew reported to the scene sometime after the 8 a.m. pipeline break. As reported by the Des Moines Register, an official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources described the leak as a big one  its significant. The responsible party is Magellan, so theyll have to bear the cost of clean up. Enough fuel leaked out to supply 10 gas stations, the official suggested. Although the cause of the environmental incident is as yet unknown, a company spokesperson said the leak has been contained, and the Worth County Sheriff indicated that no public health risk is implicated. No one was harmed, and evacuations were unnecessary, the sheriffs office added. The pipeline runs through six Midwestern states as a transport route for multiple refined oil products, NPR noted. Fortunately, the IDR official said the diesel had not reached nearby Willow Creek or a wildlife protection area. As of Wednesday, clean up crews had already removed about 25,000 gallons of the leaked diesel and a contaminated snow-diesel mixture, the Mason City Globe Gazette explained. The company will also remove the contaminated soil once all the liquid is sucked up. In an update from the Mason City Globe Gazette, the company claimed yesterday that it overestimated the size of the spill, which may not be as bad as originally projected. Under the revised assessment, the pipeline break released about 47,000 gallons of diesel, or 1,115 barrels. Magellan spokesman Bruce Heine said the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company arrived at Mondays lower estimate when it calculated how much diesel had to be pumped back into the pipeline to get it back on line. Magellan reported the revised leak amount to the Iowa agency and the EPA. Both are on the scene monitoring the cleanup. In October 2016, a Magellan-operated pipeline in Nebraska carrying anhydrous ammonia ruptured and resulted in the death of one person and the evacuation of neighboring residents. About seven years ago, Magellan paid $46,200 for Clean Water Act violations elsewhere in Iowa as a result of a diesel spill, as well as a $418,000 fine for an Oklahoma gasoline spill. [Related: learn more about contamination testing here.] Natural News has previously reported that diesel exhaust is linked with the growth of cancerous tumors and raises the risk of heart disease. Sources: NPR.org DesMoinesRegister.com GlobeGazette.com Wednesday, February 01, 2017 by: Vicki Batts Tags: Connecticut , Liberal , white privilege This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author (Natural News) The small, affluent town of Westport, located in Connecticut, recently hosted a controversial essay contest for the towns students: they wanted kids to write about how their white privilege had affected their lives. The notion of white privilege is largely a Leftist construct; its actually surprising that this kind of thing hasnt taken place sooner in a town where Clinton garnered votes at a ratio of 2-to-1. The contests organizers claim that they were quite surprised by the negative responses their idea had garnered from the community. (RELATED: See Twisted.news for more examples of bizarre but true news from our twisted world.) Some say that the question wrongly suggests that race is a determining factor in whether or not one can live in Westport. As 72-year-old resident Bari Reiner commented, Its an open town. There are no barricades here. Nobody says if youre black or whatever, you cant move here. The implication is not just on the town, however. The concept of white privilege also assumes that the people in the town of Westport (or elsewhere) got to where they are in life purely because of the color of their skin; this is a myth. White privilege promotes the idea that because of the color of your skin, you couldnt possibly have earned what you have, or that your parents havent earned what they have provided for you. The chairman of the diversity council, Harold Bailey Jr., claims that the controversy their little contest caused was entirely unexpected, and maintains that the idea behind it was not to promote white guilt but rather to encourage discussion. Bailey, a retired IBM vice president who is black, said, Just the fact it says white and privilege, for some people thats all they need to see, and all of a sudden were race-baiting or trying to get people to feel guilty. Thats not at all what its about. Surely he would be singing a different tune had the words black and privilege been used. One might question what the desired end-goal of such a discussion even looks like to these people. Outside of trying to convince children that they dont deserve the lives their parents worked hard to give them what else is there? Acknowledging your so-called privilege is simply a pacifistic way for the Left to say that, yes, they want you to feel guilty for being a white person in America. There are far too many variables that influence personal success in this country for anyone, of any color, to ascribe race as the sole determining factor in the outcome of a persons life. Bailey himself is a perfect picture of that: a successful black man who chose to move into an affluent, predominantly white town. If he had simply sat back and said, Well Im black, so Im not going to succeed in life thanks to white privilege, do you think hed have become a vice president of IBM? The Left likes to perpetuate this myth of privilege as a political tool to advance their own beliefs and keep their political party afloat. Without the minority vote, the Left has nothing. White privilege is merely their latest term to ensure that racism continues to be alive and well in America. If nothing else, the thought police can declare you irrelevant thanks to your white privilege. Sources: CTPost.com NationalReview.com Gravity's Kiss: The Detection of Gravitational Waves Harry Collins MIT Press: 2017. 9780262036184 | ISBN: 978-0-2620-3618-4 What constitutes a discovery? Is it the moment an instrument records a few blots of revealing data? Is it when the experimenters vet their statistics? Or is it when they persuade peer reviewers that their article is worth publishing? At what stage do discoverers know that they know? A worker inspects equipment at the Large Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Livingston, Louisiana. Credit: LIGO Perhaps no case in recent memory has put these questions into starker relief than the historic first detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), announced on 11 February 2016. In Gravity's Kiss, released on the first anniversary of the big reveal, sociologist of science Harry Collins dissects the singular process of discovery. Collins, officially 'embedded' in LIGO for 43 years, has written three previous books about it (M. de Laet Nature 501, 164165; 2013). Gravity's Kiss is structured as a week-by-week journal of the five months from detection to announcement, written in part as the events unfolded. Collins was privy to all the experiment's internal discussions, starting with an e-mail sent on the morning of 14 September 2015 that flagged up a blip of data from LIGO's two giant detectors in Louisiana and Washington state. Many details including an extraordinary trove of communications have not been made public until now. Although there are several books on the development of LIGO, including Janna Levin's Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space (Alfred Knopf, 2016; see S. Rowan Nature 532, 2829; 2016), this is the first volume on the sensational discovery. The gravity-wave collaboration comprises more than 1,000 researchers, including those at the LIGO observatories and the Virgo interferometer near Pisa, Italy. The two experiments pool their data and publish together. After the detection, the experiment was under incredible pressure. Almost exactly 100 years before, Albert Einstein had predicted the existence of gravitational waves. Two previous claims of detection had been false alarms one starting in the late 1960s and one in 2014 (see Nature http://doi.org/bxhn; 2015). Furthermore, many had doubted that LIGO and Virgo, set up at a combined cost of nearly US$1 billion, would be able to extract what should be remarkably feeble signals from the environmental noise. The team wanted its evidence to be rock solid before it came out with a claim, because a fiasco could have been disastrous for the careers of those involved and for the field. Other factors intensified the predicament. One was the timing. The signal had arrived during an 'engineering run'; LIGO, shut down for five years, was being tested and was due to reopen within days. Thus the signal which seemed to reveal the final 0.2 seconds of the cataclysmic merger of two distant black holes looked uncannily fortuitous. Less than two weeks after the detection, another event cranked up the pressure yet further. The months-long work of vetting a result and preparing it for publication was meant to occur in secrecy. But on 25 September, cosmologist Lawrence Krauss, who was not part of the collaboration, tweeted: Rumor of a gravitational wave detection at LIGO detector. Amazing if true. Will post details if it survives. Soon, reporters started to call (see Nature http://doi.org/bxhp; 2015). The media and the public wanted to know whether the rumour was true. But this question had many possible interpretations, and at least as many answers. Were Krauss's sources reliable? Perhaps. Even so, did that mean that the content of the claim was true? What does 'they have discovered gravitational waves' even mean, without context? A leak, by definition, implies unreadiness to announce a result; rumours usually say nothing about error bars or Bayesian priors. Ultimately, the question was: did the researchers know whether the data blots were real? When Krauss tweeted, the answer was 'it's complicated', as Collins reveals. The gravitational waves had emerged from the background noise so conspicuously that they could be 'eyeballed' revealed without complicated analysis. Still, many in the collaboration urged caution: it is too easy to see what you want to see. The closest thing to a eureka moment, Collins recounts, came on 5 October. By then, the interferometers had recorded enough noise for the team to properly quantify its confidence level. The researchers realized that they would not have to fight too hard to get the scientific community to accept their results. They had a slam dunk. Yet, until the announcement in February (after the paper had been peer reviewed; B. P. Abbott et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102; 2016), their official response to the media was that they could not comment and were analysing data. For Collins, that line was misleading to the point of unethical. His thesis is that science must serve as a model of honesty and integrity for society, and so must avoid secrecy as much as possible. I find this too harsh. As a reporter on the gravitational-wave beat (who often pestered Collins, as he notes in the book), I knew that there were things that team members were better off not telling me. Besides, covering the rumours was just too much fun. Furthermore, the secrecy that shrouded the discovery will lead to greater transparency in the long run. LIGO opened a new window on the cosmos. The gravitational-wave community is gearing up to share data and reveal its findings almost immediately. Detection of black-hole mergers will become routine, and a host of other phenomena may show themselves through gravity ripples. Three Democratic lawmakers based in Massachusetts have proposed a bill that will, if passed, requires the state to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. It even goes as far as to mention that fossil fuels from the heating and transport sectors would have to be eliminated by that time. The proposal, according to Utility Dive, calls for the phasing out in the usage of fossil fuels in the state by 2050, while requiring the transportation sector to run on 50-percent renewables within the same timeframe. The state is already following more simple goals with the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act. This requires the state to reduce greenhouse emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. The new bill will launch the state into the company of states with similar aggressive decarbonization goals. So far, the state has mandated 1,600 MW of offshore wind and is seeking to set an energy storage goal as well. Rep. Sean Garballey, who is one of the bill's sponsors, said in a statement that the measure will be able to provide a bold step in placing everyone on a path to a "cleaner and more sustainable future." However, he added that this signals the country to the commitment of long-term solutions in meeting the very real challenges of climate change.The bill is also sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Decker and Sen. Jamie Elridge. The legislation will require the state's Department of Energy Resources to set binding targets for carbon-free energy growth in major sectors of the economy, as well as issue regulations to ensure that the state stays on track towards 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. The statement, issued via the advocacy group Environment Massachusetts, said the bill will "complement" the Global Warming Solutions Act. Ben Hellerstien, state director for Environment Massachusetts, said the bill will send a clear message to officials in the White House at the advent of a new administrator. Scientists who have been researching gene-editing may be disappointed in the eve of the new administration. A last-minute proposal will be addressing CRISPR and other cutting-edge technologies in the field of medicine. New draft rules released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Jan. 18 will be addressing transformed animals using genome-engineering tools. However, it is still unclear just how the new Trump administration will be carrying the proposals. Of the three proposed regulations, perhaps the one with the most impact is that all animals whose genomes have been "intentionally altered" will be examined for safety and efficacy -- akin to new drugs. According to Scientific American, a lot of researchers have hoped that the FDA will be less strict about "evaluating" organisms with edited genomes using methods such as CRISPR than it is for animals that have been given DNA from different species. Alison van Eenennaam, an animal geneticist at the University of California, Davis, called the proposals "Insane." "The trigger for their regulation is whether the animal was intended to be made, and what does intention have to do with risk?" she says. "The risk has to do with the attributes of the product." She added the proposals may opt businesses, non-profit organizations and universities to abandon the development of genetically-engineered animals. This is similar to a cautionary tale in the genetically-engineered salmon created by AquaBounty Technologies in the early 1990s. According to Nature, the Maynard-based company has spent $60 million in developing the fish. It's an Atlantic salmon with genes from Chinook salmon that would allow it to grow rapidly. However, they had to wait for 20 years for the FDA to review more than 50 studies that demonstrated that the salmon poses no unusual risks before the agency approved them in November 2015. By then, the salmon cannot be sold until the FDA has decided whether it must be genetically modified. Scott Fahrenkrug, the chief scientific officer at gene-editing company Recombinetics in Minnesota, has produced hornless dairy cattle by inserting a gene from naturally hornless beef cattle into a breed of the same species used in milk production. This could help reduce the controversial practice of dehorning. Recombinetics told the FDA last December that it intends to market food from its cows without FDA approval, but with a label that read "generally recognised as safe." This is bolstered by the US Department of Agriculture's announcement last April that it would forego the regulation of a mushroom that has been genetically modified to resist browning. Nature says the agency said the fungus, created using the CRISPR-Cas9 method, did not require approval because it did not contain genes from other species, same with Recombinetics' cattle. Recombinetics plans to protest against the agency's plan to the incoming Trump administration which will oversee finalization of any new regulations. Vadim Kondratyuk Anatoliyevich, a young father from Sacramento, has recently passed away from a deadly infection that started off as a simple toothache. According to the report from New York Daily News, the 26-year-old professional long-haul truck driver experienced pain in his tooth during a routine trip to New York. Vadim visited a dentist during their stop at Oklahoma. The dentist cleaned the infection and gave him antibiotics. Vadim felt better all throughout his travel going to New York. However, the pain in his tooth came back when they reached New York. In addition to the pain, his mouth and face started to swell up. Knowing of Vadim's condition, his older brother Miroslav came to his aid, helping him get home faster. The condition of Vadim worsened during their return trip, forcing Miroslav to rush him to the nearest hospital in Utah, where he was placed on oxygen before being flown to a larger facility at Salt Lake City. The doctors there gave Vadim stronger antibiotics and put him on dialysis. However, the antibiotics are not working and the infection has already spread from his tooth to his lungs and blood. Vadim's heart finally gave out on the morning of Jan. 30, with his wife Nataliya Kondratyuk by his side. "They had him on medication, they tried everything they could," said Nataliya in a report from Sacramento Bee. "We prayed for him that day, that night, hoping he was going to survive. But God has his plan, and we had a talk with the doctors and they told us how this all happened. ... It was just not healing how it was supposed to. It was just getting worse." Vadim left behind two young daughters. As he was the only one working in the family, a GoFundMe page was created to help the Vadim's family with the medical expenses and burial. Donations will also be used to help the family transfer Vadim's body back to Sacramento. Tinder is not just revolutionizing the dating scene for humans -- it's taking over the animal world too. According to a report from Phys Org, an animal reserve in the Netherlands is getting apes to respond to images of other apes in a tablet. It's not quite swiping right just yet, but their reactions speak volumes about their preferences for potential mates. Researchers conducted the study on orangutans and bonobos at the Apenheul Primate Park, in cooperation with Leiden University. The goal of the four-year experiment is to ultimately improve the breeding programs for the animals in the park. The team started out by showing orangutans and bonobos photographs of other apes. They then assessed their responses from neutral to aggressive. Bonobos were shown to react most strongly to images that showed positive behavior including sexual activity or grooming each other for lice. The park pointed out that this indicates that the species recognize emotions through body language. The zoo's behavioral biologist, Thomas Bionda, explained to Dutch publication NOS that the team hopes to learn more about how female apes choose their mates, a report from The Guardian revealed. The "Tinder" program could also increase the success rate of encounters by determining pre-encounter which male the females prefer. "Often, animals have to be taken back to the zoo they came from without mating," Bionda said. "Things don't always go well when a male and a female first meet." Results could also be valuable in determining whether appearance plays a significant role in attraction between two animals. Much like with humans, there are other factors involved that can affect the compatibility of two individuals. Bionda pointed out, "This is completely digital, of course. Usually, smell plays an important role too. But with the orangutans, it will be what you see is what you get." Japan is not just known for their cherry blossoms, but also unique crystal-clear ice blocks that wash up only on their shores. These ice blocks are so tantalizing as they sparkle like diamonds. Most people who have seen these structures refer to them as "jewel ice" or "Tokachi river ice." Science Alert reported that the ice blocks give off an orange or sapphire hue, depending on the time of day and the color of the sky. Where do they come from and how are they formed? Metro UK said these blocks of ice wash up on the shores of Hokkaido every winter, when the mouth of the Tokachi River freezes up, causing chunks of ice to crack and float to Japan's shores. "I had never heard of this type of ice and have never seen any sea ice like it," Peter Wadhams, an ocean physicist at the University of Cambridge who studies polar oceans and sea ice told New York Times. "It's just river ice, which is transparent because it has no salt in it." A photo posted by Tatsuya Izumi (@tatsuya7515) on Jan 8, 2017 at 4:13pm PST Information from Japan's tourism website said there could be two explanations as to why the ice blocks are ethereal clear. First, it could be because the water froze slowly over time giving impurities time to settle out and bubbles to float to the surface. When no impurities or bubbles are trapped, the ice becomes clearer and less opaque. Second, it could simply be because the water of the Tokachi River is clean and very pure. The composition of the jewel ice is similar to snow crystals. Jewel ice has been going on for years, but it was only in 2015 when the natural phenomenon was really hyped up because of a photo posted on social media. Today, tourists flock in the area to see the jewel ice before it melts in the sand. Hokkaido also boasts of an ice drift attraction at the Okhotsk Ryu-hyo Museum and ice drift festival. Researchers have found what they believe to be the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of humans, and it looks scary and ancient as you can imagine. The species was identified from microfossils found in limestones is China. It was named Saccorhytus coronarius because of its sack-like appearance. UPI notes that the species is among the first deuterostomes, which spawned a variety of sub-groups, including vertebrates. It has lived approximately 540 million years ago. Simon Conway Morris, Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology and a Fellow of St John's College, University of Cambridge, said in a statement: "We think that as an early deuterostome this may represent the primitive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including ourselves. To the naked eye, the fossils we studied look like tiny black grains, but under the microscope the level of detail is jaw-dropping. All deuterostomes had a common ancestor, and we think that is what we are looking at here." Degan Shu, from Northwest University, added, " Saccorhytus now gives us remarkable insights into the very first stages of the evolution of a group that led to the fish, and ultimately, to us." The study, which was published in journal Nature, describes Saccorhytus coronaries as about a millimeter in size and probably lived between grains of sand on the seabed. Science Alert further notes that the species had a huge mouth, which allowed it to eat large prey and was covered with thin skin and muscles so it could fit itself easily on the seabed. There was no clear indication the animal had an anus. Rather, it was suspected that it expelled water and waste through its features that resemble eyes and nostrils. The researchers had to examine about three tons of limestones to get the fossil that would allow them to replicate the appearance of Saccorhytus coronaries. The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and Northwest University in Xi'an China, with support from other colleagues at institutions in China and Germany. The commercial spaceflight company owned by businessman Elon Musk is definitely back after a Falcon 9 explosion fiasco last year. The company also announced that it would launch the last reusable rocket in a lift-off that will not be followed by a landing. However, in a recent update, SpaceX delayed the scheduled Falcon 9 launch to mid-February. The changes to SpaceX launch is not due to Falcon 9 glitches but to the availability of the LC-39A pad responsible for lift-offs. SpaceX planned a launch as early as this week, but due to the current circumstances, the launch won't take place until, possibly, mid-February. Reports say that NASA and SpaceX have discussed the matter last week and both decided to delay the EchoStar 23 launch after CRS-10 to allow last-minute modifications to the new pad and avoid delay in Dragon's mission to the ISS. This means Falcon 9 is giving way to what seems to be a more important ISS cargo run, according to a report. Both NASA and SpaceX will be using a repurposed launch pad inside the Kennedy Space Center, as per CBS News. The decision to delay SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch will also give way to Dragon and Cygnus trips to provide the ISS crew more payloads needed to perform more experiments aboard the international space station. Both parties agreed that the ISS missions precede urgency of the launch compared to the EchoStar 23 telecommunications satellite payload that resulted to the reshuffling of launch schedules. "Following the launch of CRS-10, first commercial mission from 39A is currently slated to be EchoStar XXIII. This schedule change allows time for additional testing of ground systems ahead of the CRS-10 mission. The launch vehicles, Dragon, and the EchoStar satellite are all healthy and prepared for launch," according to an official SpaceX document. Despite the delay, the rockets are already placed at the Kennedy Space Center. The new Falcon 9 launch location could be attributed to the damaged SpaceX launch pad inside the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. The International Space Station (ISS) is the home of scientific experiments in space. For the longest time, the ISS managed to produce vital scientific observations that helped shape man's understanding of the universe. However, the space station is about to retire in 2024. Aside from China, there's another company who plans to launch a space station by 2020. A company called Axiom Space want to launch the next space station. Axiom Space allegedly plans to use materials the space station harvested from the atmosphere to help create the new space lab. Axiom Space is collaborating with Made in Space to make their dream happen. Made in Space claims that they can manufacture 3D prints in space. The company aims to build a privately owned and non-sovereign space station, according to Inverse. If this becomes successful, Axiom's space station will be the first private space lab to be launched that will be accessible to the global and international scientific community. The new space station that Axiom wants to launch in 2020 is dubbed as a "historic shift" in spaceflight industry. "We are now deep into conversations with our first nonsovereign astronaut customers," Amir Blachman, vice president of strategic development of Axiom Space, said in an interview with Space.com. Aside from working with Made in Space, the company is also reportedly talking to more than 20 nations about the project. The new space station will host both private companies and government agencies, whose goals are to perform space explorations and research, testing and the potential rise of space tourism. Reports say that the plan is already moving and that this year would be a hectic year for Axiom Space. "The pace is quick," Blachman said in the same interview. "We're answering a demand that's clearly there ... The demand is there; the need is there." Despite the plan to launch a private space station, NASA officials are hoping for a mission extension for the International Space Station (ISS), according to a report. According to news reports, NASA also approved Axiom's plan and is expected a module to attach to the ISS by 2020. Cassini is at it again! From sending never-before-seen images of Saturn's hidden moons, the spacecraft just beamed stunning close-up images of Saturn's rings. The image, taken by Cassini during its recent flyby, is considered to be the most detailed images of the planet's rings. The NASA Cassini mission is currently performing "ring-grazing" to capture images of Saturn, its rings and its moon from a different perspective. The "ring-grazing" is a vital part of the mission and will be completed before Cassini signs off for good. The new images were taken while the spacecraft is close to Saturn's rings; thus, creating stunning and detailed photographs of the rings. The photos taken by Cassini are now considered as the closest-ever images of the outer part of Saturn's main rings. "All planetary rings are made of icy rubble as small as talcum powder all the way up to the size of apartment buildings," planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, Cassini's imaging team leader, said in an interview with iForbes. Notable features were identified using the images like "straw" and "propellers," said NASA. These features have already been spotted before; however, this is the first time they were photographed in great detail. New, incredibly close views of Saturn's rings from our "Ring-Grazing" orbits. https://t.co/SUKjTqg1dX pic.twitter.com/TJkD9TPjyX CassiniSaturn (@CassiniSaturn) January 30, 2017 "Some of the structures seen in recent Cassini images have not been visible at this level of detail since the spacecraft arrived at Saturn in mid-2004," a NASA official said in a statement from the space agency. "At that time, fine details like straw and propellers -- which are caused by clumping ring particles and small, embedded moonlets, respectively -- had never been seen before. Although propellers were present in Cassini's arrival images, they were actually discovered in later analysis, the following year." The images taken by the cameras onboard Cassini have details as small as 0.3 miles (550 meters). Cassini is almost halfway done with the "ring-grazing." The remaining flybys are expected to deliver more stunning images and discoveries about the planet. With a total of 22 orbits that started last November in 2016, the "ring-grazing" will end in April. By April 26, the spacecraft is expected to perform its death dive. It will plunge to its death to signal the end of the mission. A female student was raped in a California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) parking lot in broad daylight Tuesday in what authorities believe was a targeted assault, according to school and police officials. The incident happened at approximately 11 a.m. Tuesday in Lot B on campus, according to an advisory sent to students. The University Police Department is investigating the rape. The suspect and victim first communicated through a social media application that had anonymity features, according to the school's advisory. After meeting on campus, the suspect drove the victim to Lot B, where he raped her, officials said. The suspect then drove the victim back to Craven Circle, where he let her go. The victim notified University police shortly after. Margaret Chantung, Interim Associate Vice President for Communications, told NBC 7 officials believe this was a targeted sexual assault because of previous social media contact, though it is too early to say if the suspect would use the application to target other female students. We do want the students to be aware not to meet up with people they do not know off of a social media app, Chantung said. The suspect is described as a 25- to 30-year-old man who was wearing his hair in a ponytail; his hair was shaved on the sides of his head. He was last seen wearing a dark blue t-shirt with red letters and dark gray pants. Authorities do not have a sketch at the moment and do not know if there is any surveillance footage yet, as the investigation is in its preliminary phases. The investigation is just beginning, Chantung said. So evidence is very preliminary. The car involved in the incident was described as a four-door, older white Honda. University police are asking anyone with information to call them at (760) 750-4567, or use the Universitys SAFE hotline at (760) 750-SAFE. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. A lawyer for the widow of the Orlando nightclub gunman filed court papers on Tuesday seeking that she be allowed to temporarily relocate from the Bay Area with her mom to Florida as she awaits trial for allegedly aiding and abetting her husband, who in June killed 49 people in the worst mass shooting in modern American history. However, the Oakland-based U.S. District Court in Oakland Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu on Wednesday postponed the decision on whether Noor Salman should be allowed to do so, pending a mental evaluation. No future date was set, although both parties thought the test might take about two weeks. Salman cried throughout the hearing, and waved to her family in the courtroom seats, where the defense painted her as a simple-minded pawn and the prosecution painted her as a knowing accomplice, even giving her husband a cover story. The 16-page motion seeking Salmans conditional release for the first time details her background from the defense team's point of view, as an abused wife. The motion explains what she thought was happening in the days and weeks before the massacre, in which her husband, Omar Mateen, was killed by police, and paints her as an unwitting, unloved wife who had no idea what he was up to. Federal prosecutors have charged Salman with obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband, Omar Mateen. They are seeking her extradition to Florida, where the case will be tried. She had plead not guilty. [NATL] Tributes to Orlando Shooting Victims Pour in From Around the World But on Wednesday, Assistant U.S. attorney Sara Sweeney called Salman a "calculated and callous" person. Sweeney said Salman knew about her late husband's plans, cased possible target locations and created a false cover story, saying if your mom calls you, "tell her you're out to dinner with friends." Sweeney said Salman told FBI agents she saw Mateen leave their home with a firearm and backpack full of ammunition. She said Mateen was "pumped up" and told her "this is the day." In an interview with the FBI, Sweeney said Salman said: "I knew when he left he was going to commit the attack." Sweeney also said Salman admitted to "casing activities" before the attack. In fact, the couple went to Pulse in Orlando and to Downtown Disney where she said her husband asked her "what would make more people upset, an attack at Downtown Disney or at a club?" Salman's lawyers, however, countered those charges. Charles D. Swift, a lawyer for the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America in Richardson, Texas, wrote that Mateen was the one who attacked the club on June 12, and that the media have erroneously reported that his widow, Salman, drove him to the club on a purported scouting trip. Instead, Swift said, the evidence will show that the trip actually occurred while the family had been baby-sitting a relative and her husband drove by the nightclub on their way home one night. She didnt have a drivers license and was a reluctant passenger who wanted to go home. The defense also said Salman was present when Mateen was buying ammunition at a local Wal-mart, but only because she thought they were there to make copies of keys for their condo. While they were there, according to the motion, she shopped for a toy for their son while he was in the sporting goods section. When she asked her husband why he was buying ammunition, he said he needed to train for his job as a security guard, according to the motion. Because she was not privy or party to the attack, Swift wants Salman to be released into the custody of her mother, Ekbal Salman, or her uncle, Abdallah Salman. She would be required to live in Florida, and her mother said she is willing to live there temporarily as she awaits trial, according to the motion. The case is being prosecuted there, but is being argued in Oakland, as Salman, a 30-year-old mother of Palestinian descent, was arrested in her mothers Rodeo, California, home on Jan. 16 by FBI agents. The uncle of Noor Salman, who is charged with aiding her husband before he massacred 49 people at an Orlando nightclub, defended her on Tuesday outside a federal court in Oakland. Jodi Hernandez reports. Salman is described in the motion as a woman without strong convictions in her Muslim faith, never fasting, wearing a hijab or studying Islam. She also had no interest in politics. Born in Richmond to a business owner with three other daughters, she struggled with learning disabilities and was enrolled in special education classes, according to her former algebra teacher at John Swett High in Crockett, Heather Hayden. She attended Heald College and earned an associated degree in medical administration. As for work, she has been a baby sitter, a teachers aide and she worked as a cashier in her fathers store. In letters to the court, family described her as simple, obedient and childlike whose favorite character is Hello Kitty. Her cousin, Rana Omar, told the court Salman is as "American as apple pie." Salman had an arranged marriage at age 19 to a man from her fathers home town. He was physically abusive toward her, the court papers allege. In 2009, she divorced him and moved in with her mother, working at K-Mart. In 2011, she met Mateen on an online dating site. They married and moved from California to Fort Pierce, Florida, in a condominium owned by Mateens mother. Six months into the marriage, and while she was pregnant, Mateen became violent and abusive, the defense alleges. He threatened to kill her if she left and he would take their son. He was abusing steroids. Six months after her brother and his longtime partner died in the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Juan Rivera Velazquezs big sister is reopening his beauty salon. At several points during their marriage, Noor witnessed Mateen being questioned by the FBI. She later learned the interview was about statements of support concerning terrorist organizations, which Mateen allegedly made while working as a courthouse security guard, according to defense documents. And she had watched him watching violent videos from the Middle East online. When she asked him about this, he threatened her to stay out of his business, the defense said. In the weeks before the attack, Mateen's behavior suddenly changed, according to the bail motion. For the first time, he agreed to take a family trip to California so she could visit her mother. He allowed her to get a drivers license and bought her an engagement ring and earrings. He gave her spending money. He vowed things would be different. Salman's defense team said that on June 11, Mateen came home from work as a security guard and told her he purchased tickets for the trip and wanted to take their son for a treat. He told her that he was going out for the night but she could use the car; he had rented one. She asked him to stay. He insisted he had to see a friend. After he left, Noor took her son to Applebees and she bought him a Fathers Day card. The next day, Mateen entered the Pulse Night Club with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 49 people and injured dozens more. He reportedly said he was a member of Hezbollah and was inspired by an American suicide bomber with al-Nusra and he was attacking the gay club in the name of ISIS. While he was storming the club, Salman was home, sleeping with her 3-year-old son, her defense team said, describing a confusing few hours as she tried to learn what was going on. Her mother-in-law woke her up. Mateen was supposed to have stopped by their house that night. It was Ramadan. But he never showed up. Did Salman know where he was? Salman said shed call him. She tried, but got no answer. She texted him: Where are you? He replied: Do you see whats happening? She said: No. He replied: I love you babe. That was the last communication they had. Three days after the temporary travel ban involving seven Muslim-majority countries was revised by the White House, an unknown number of travelers are reporting being detained and questioned for hours at time at U.S. airports, lawyers and passengers say. In an interview Wednesday with NBC Bay Area, Banafsheh Akhlaghi, a human and civil rights attorney and former constitutional law professor, said one of her clients, for example, was held in a secondary questioning room for nearly four hours on Monday at San Francisco International Airport. And her client, Ava Kashani, 33, who is a green card holder now living in Oakland, said she wasnt the only one. About 25 to 30 people who looked to be from the Middle East, Mexico and India were in the Customs and Border Protection office with her at SFO, all going through the same thing: Being asked by agents the very same questions she answered when applying for and receiving her green card five years ago. They also were asked to stop using their cell phones and lap tops so that the agents could check out their social media accounts and search histories, Akhlaghi recounted from other witness accounts. Protesters Against Trump's Immigration Policies Take Over SFO Eventually, Kashani, who was born in Iran but visiting her family in Dubai, was released. She has been living in Oakland for 11 years, and received her green card to legally live in the United States five years ago. But it was only after 18 hours of flying and four hours of questioning, simply because she was born in a country on Donald Trumps seven-country travel ban list, Akhlaghi said. Her client has no prior criminal record. This is just the San Francisco airport, Akhlaghi said. But were hearing this in LA, and all ports of interest. The fact that the White House is saying this is not occurring, that is not reality. How many more are we having in this condition that were not hearing about? There is no easy answer. And not everyone thinks it's a bad thing that passengers are geting questioned. John Bryan wrote on Facebook: "Love that our country is finally protecting American citizen. If you don't want to spend the time answering questions. Go BACK!!!" And Eric Jan Green chimed in: A "card is a privilege, not a right.. I guess many of your white guilt liberals did not go through that, huh.. as of customs inspect laptops and cell phones, many Wstern countries have similar rules as well, they can inspect anything they want when crossing borders, no warrant needed to justify the actions. I don't know why liberal medias are crying about." Quantifying the issue is likely not going to be made clear any time soon. Olivia Lee, chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Northern California chapter, told NBC Bay Area: "It's very difficult to provide reliable numbers since we are obtaining our information through individuals who went through secondary inspection." Andre Segura, senior staff attorney with the Immigrants Rights Project at the ACLU, told VICE News that it was impossible to get a complete list of people detained at airports across the U.S. right now. On Friday night, the Department of Homeland Security interpreted the presidents executive order restrictions applying to seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen to mean that the travel ban did not apply to people with lawful permanent residence, generally referred to as green card holders. On Wednesday, NBC Bay Area posed questions to CBP, hoping to get a sense of who is being questioned and why. Why are these green card and visa holders and non-seven-country list travelers being questioned in secondary rooms? How many people across the U.S. are being questioned in secondary rooms a day and for how long? Has everyone been questioned during these secondary interviews been released into the U.S., or have there been any arrests or immigration holds? Has anyone been sent back? The CBP press office did not immediately respond via email. Patience is wearing thin as for a third day, as relatives wait for hours on end as their loved ones are detained by President Trumps temporary travel ban at San Francisco International Airport. Peggy Bunker reports. The ordeal and uncertainly has left Kashani feeling tormented, her lawyer said. Her saga began over the weekend, when she learned of the presidents order and decided she should leave her family visit in Dubai early and return to the Bay Are before her scheduled Feb. 10 return plane ticket. Through friends, she connected to her lawyer on Skype. Akhlaghi urged her to stay calm. CPB agents are not bad guys, she said, theyre just following an edict. Akhlaghi asked her client to fill out an out immigration representation form, called a G28, which they both had to sign via email. Kashanis plane landed Monday at 12:45 p.m. at SFO. She passed the first re-entry machine for reentry. She inserted her passport. The machine spit out a receipt with a big black X on it. The X meant she had to wait in another line. The first agent to see her asked typical questions that any traveler might hear. Did you bring any food with you? What was the purpose of your visit? How long were you there? Then, the agent asked: How long were you in Iran? I wasnt, I was in Dubai, Kashani answered. Still, the young woman who is on medical leave from her job was taken into a secondary customs room. About 30 others were there. A woman from Syria was crying. She was told she couldnt use her phone. Three hours passed. Agents had taken her passport and green card and were presumably running it through a federal database, her lawyer said. Her aunt, waiting outside, was beginning to worry about Kashanis medical condition, which her attorney didnt want to describe in detail. She was allowed to go to the bathroom. She told the agents she was feeling ill. They gave her a choice: She could get on a gurney and go with a paramedic and customs agent to the hospital and then return to SFO to finish the questioning. Or she could sign a waiver saying she didnt need the medical help. She ended up signing the waiver. Twenty minutes later, she was let go. And what was she asked? Every single question she had already answered in getting her documents approved by immigration agents, her lawyer said. Kashani ultimately had a good result: She was let go without harm or arrest, But her lawyer said that the young woman told her that she doesnt feel safe in America anymore. I dont know where I belong anymore, she recalled Kashani telling her. This is inhumane. Protests are expected on Wednesday at the University of California at Berkeley where controversial Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos will be speaking. More than 1,000 people have responded on Facebook that they intend to oppose the sold-out event that will be held at the Pauley Ballroom of the MLK Student Union at 7 p.m. Many are expected to jeer him. But on Wednesday morning, several students said Berkeley is the center of the Free Speech movement. "I say bring him," Samonti Smith said. "Everyone has a free right to speak what's in their mind. This is Cal. That's what makes us so great." Added Anastasia Pyrinis: "I know friends who are attending on both sides just to hear what he has to say. I think that's very important. One part of the culture here at Berkeley is to really understand all points of view. And I'm pretty conservative and for me, being on a liberal campus, that's an important aspect." Last week, Chancellor Nicholas Dirks wrote a letter to the Cal community about Milo Yiannopoulos whom he called a "troll and provocateur who uses odious behavior in part to 'entertain,' but also to deflect any serious engagement with ideas." Protest organizer Ronald Cruz, however, said students plan to express their outrage not because they don't support free speech, but because they are trying to prevent hateful speech. "Hes a neofacist who has notoriously fostered a lynch mob mentality in his audiences," Cruz said of Yiannopoulos. But, despite protests from students, Dirks said Berkeley College Republicans have a right to invite Yiannopoulos to speak. By virtue of the fact that the group is "legally independent of the campus," Berkeley officials had "no decision ... to make," said Assistant Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Dan Mogulof. Dirks reiterated that the campus upholds the values of free speech, even when that speech is intolerant and divisive. His ideas are not endorsed by the university, officials said. "This particular performer, his preference, his perspectives do conflict with this university, but that doesnt mean we are going to abandon our commitment to free speech," Mogulof said. Yiannopoulos also complained on Facebook that UC Berkeley was requiring campus Republicans to pay a security fee for the event. But Dirks insisted that the university typically requires event organizers to pay for basic security a sum that totals up to $10,000. Getty Images Berkeley College Republicans will not be responsible for the added costs of security for protests, which Dirks said the campus would pay. He noted that officials would not stand idly by while laws are violated, no matter who the perpetrators are. Dirks' letter comes after a protester was shot and seriously wounded at the University of Washington Friday night, where Yiannopoulos was speaking. "People are very worried that it is going to get violent and no one wants to see that here," said Rigel Robinson with the university's Senator Student Association. Yiannopoulos is a leading figure in the "alt-right movement," a growing group of white nationalists who often espouse racist and misogynistic views. The Breitbart editor, who was permanently banned from Twitter for his role in a hate campaign directed at actress Leslie Jones, has been touring college campuses as part of his self-described Dangerous F*ggot tour. Yiannopoulos is openly gay. "He has been widely and rightly condemned for engaging in hate speech directed at a wide range of groups and individuals, as well as for disparaging and ridiculing individual audience members, particularly members of the LGBTQ community," Dirks said. Chancellor Dirks wrote a lengthy email to @UCBerkeley students about Milo Yiannopoulos' upcoming campus appearance. Highlights: pic.twitter.com/EKaQKQsxPn Gillian E. (@GillianM925) January 27, 2017 Yiannopoulos's other recent campus appearances have led to tense protests, including a joint appearance with pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli at UC Davis, where protesters blocked the entrances and the event was canceled before the two took stage. "With now a president in office with no respect towards civil discourse and the truth, we have to organize ourselves," said Cruz. An event for Feb. 2 at UCLA was canceled earlier this week because organizers with the Bruin Republicans said they were unable to accommodate the requirements from Yiannopoulos's team. In a response to the UCLA cancellation, Yiannopoulos said, "I travel with bodyguards twenty-four hours a day, and (the tour) is a multimillion-dollar operation with logistical and security requirements like any other celebrity or professional musical tour. We understand some college organizers invite me unaware of this complexity, so we work hard to help them through the process." If it were up to Cal student Jason O'Neal, Yiannopoulos won't face any trouble, at least from him. "So if you're conservative or have opinions that are a little more to the right, I think you can still express those here," he said. An Iraqi lawmaker whos been called ISIS's "most wanted woman" may not travel to the United States to receive a human rights award due to President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration, NBC News reported. Vian Dakhil is set to receive the Lantos Human Rights Prize for 2016 for her work on behalf of the Yazidi people, a religious minority group targeted by the Islamic State. But Dakhil told NBC News that shes unsure whether she'll be able to attend the ceremony. She has a visa, but said shes afraid someone in the airport will tell her she can't enter. The State Department and the foundation recognizing her are working to ensure her a safe trip to the U.S., but Dakhil said she hasnt received any solid answers yet. Dakhil is being recognized for her defense of the Yazidi people, and her "ongoing mission on behalf of enslaved Yazidi women." The bobcat missing from the National Zoo since Monday morning has been found safe on zoo grounds, the zoo said Wednesday. Shortly before 5 p.m., the Zoo issued a press release about their find, including a photo of Ollie the bobcat in a cage. A visitor spotted the bobcat near the zoo's birdhouse and tipped off zoo keepers, zoo staff said at a news conference Wednesday evening. Zoo curator Craig Saffoe said the zoo then set traps in the area. "[We] crossed our fingers, walked away and literally within 15 minutes the birdhouse keepers called us back and told us, 'we have a bobcat in the trap up here,'" Saffoe said. A bobcat who had been missing from the National Zoo for two days was found on zoo grounds. News4s Meagan Fitzgerald reports it was a zoo visitor that spotted the bobcat near a bird exhibit. Saffoe confirmed the bobcat in the trap was "definitely" Ollie. She appears to be well except for a minor scratch on her left front paw, said Dr. Brandie Smith, associate director of animal care sciences for the zoo. Video of bobcat Ollie's arrival at our vet hospital. She was found on Zoo property & ID'd via a transponder chip. https://t.co/RbKM7ns4ko pic.twitter.com/dRbk2duJlx National Zoo (@NationalZoo) February 1, 2017 Saffoe said he believes Ollie followed Rock Creek when she left the zoo and the spottings on Massachusetts Ave. and other areas nearby probably were her. "I think she wanted to go out, have a little bit of fun, see what it was like on the outside," Saffoe said. But after a couple of days of roaming, "I think she was ready to come home," Saffoe said. Smith said Ollie will undergo a complete exam Thursday morning to make sure she's healthy and she didn't catch any diseases from other animals during her adventure. The Smithsonians National Zoo hosts a press conference after they found Ollie the bobcat, who had been missing from a Zoo enclosure since Monday, on the grounds of the Zoo. Speaking is Craig Saffoe, curator of great cats, and Brandie Smith, associate director for animal care sciences. Zoo staff are also going through the bobcat exhibit with "a fine tooth comb" to try to find out how she was able to get out and Smith said they will make sure it's secure before they bring the animals back and reopen the exhibit. "The problem is it looks secure right now, so what can't we see? How was she able to get through that mesh?," Smith said. Earlier in the day, Zoo curators had said that they had stopped searching the northwest Washington neighborhoods of Woodley Park and Cleveland Park neighborhoods for Ollie, though they would continue to respond to tips about sightings of the animal. "We're entering the next phase of our recovery efforts," Saffoe said at the time. He said his nine-person staff needed to be realistic about how they can search for the animal, which is not known to be aggressive to humans. Ollie the bobcat has not returned to her enclosure at the National Zoo in Northwest Washington. Keepers first noticed she was gone on Monday morning. As News4s Meagan Fitzgerald reports, Ollies disappearance is affecting area schools. "My staff works with lions and tigers, so I can't have them out at all hours of the night and then come back at 6:30 in the morning and work with dangerous carnivores," Saffoe said. Zoo curators said they were hopeful that Ollie would be found. They encouraged people who believe they see Ollie to call the zoo. Zoo staff had received a tip late Tuesday that the bobcat was spotted on Massachusetts Avenue. But by the time someone was able to arrive, the animal was gone. They had received mutiple tips about possible sightings of the bobcat in Woodley Park and Cleveland Park. As a result, more than a dozen schools moved activities indoors Tuesday, a D.C. Public Schools spokeswoman said. American University warned students about the bobcat in an emergency text message sent Monday. Neighbors said they weren't worried, exactly, just ... remaining observant. "I wish that it was in its cage, rather than roaming the streets of D.C.," said Drew Montmarquet, who was visiting the zoo Tuesday. Joey Jimenez, who lives near the zoo and in the area where Ollie was reported to have been spotted, said he was looking out while taking his small dog out on walks. "I was kind of alarmed, because I have to walk her out at nighttime," Jimenez said. Ollie, who weighs 25 pounds, was discovered missing Monday when a zookeeper went to feed the bobcats at 10:40 a.m. A female bobcat has escaped. Bobcats are not known to be aggressive to humans. Sighting call 202.633.7362 https://t.co/7Y5cmCEkpp pic.twitter.com/QLM6Im7418 National Zoo (@NationalZoo) January 30, 2017 Dr. Brandie Smith, associate director of animal care sciences for the zoo, said Monday that it looked like one of the ropes that holds the bobcats' mesh enclosure had broken. Smith said it didn't look like a deliberate act, but the break left a gap through which they believe Ollie was able to escape. Saffoe said on Monday that Ollie is a capable hunter and will be able to care for herself while on the loose. "Cats are... they're survivors. This is not like she's out in an area, in an environment that she can't survive," Saffoe said, noting that bobcats are indigenous to the D.C. area, although rare. Saffoe said Ollie was equipped to survive and that bobcats sometimes catch birds that land in their enclosure. He was not completely confident they will be able to find her. "We are doing everything we can to ensure that we can get her back. The likelihood that we get her back? I mean, I'd be lying to you if I said that we're definitely going to get her back," Saffoe said. He said it was more likely that Ollie would return to her enclosure on her own. [NATL] Adorable Zoo Babies: White Lion Cubs Nala and Simba Born in France Smith said zookeepers train for "events like this," so they immediately began a search after discovering Ollie was missing. However, they quickly changed tactics out of fear that they could end up scaring her away. "We actually created a bigger perimeter search so that any looking would drive her toward her exhibit," Smith said. Ollie has a chip for identification purposes but not a tracker. She was born in the wild and is close to 7 years old. "There's food, there's shelter, there's warmth at her exhibit," Smith said. Bobcats can run up to 30 mph and are excellent climbers, according to the zoo's webpage on the animal. At the zoo, they eat prepared meat, mice, rats and chicks. In the wild, they eat rabbits, hares, squirrels and mice. "She is a carnivore, so for small birds, small animals in the area, which could even include small cats and dogs, she could be a threat," Smith said Monday. "I would treat her the same way that I would treat a stray dog. You wouldn't approach a stray dog. And she's the same thing. She's not a threat unless you become a threat to her." The most recent animal to escape the zoo was an agouti, which is a small mammal, in July 2015, a zoo spokeswoman said. The agouti escaped from an exterior habitat but was found on the walkway and was easily recaptured, she said. In 2013, a red panda named Rusty famously escaped from the National Zoo. He was recaptured in D.C.'s Adams Morgan neighborhood the following afternoon. A resident, Ashley Foughty, spotted Rusty and tweeted pictures that helped keepers find him in a tree. Zoo officials said Rusty likely escaped the zoo by "climbing across a 'bridge' created by rain-laden trees and bamboo" -- and he probably did it for a snack of some nearby bamboo, they said. Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story. The NBC Boston Early Warning Weather team has issued an Early Warning Weather Alert through Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. Snow is expected to develop from southwest to northeast across Southern New England Tuesday midday through afternoon, reaching Connecticut during the late morning, Central Massachusetts and Cape Cod around midday and Boston to the Merrimack Valley during the early afternoon. Some schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut have already announced early dismissals on Tuesday due to the approaching storm. As of 1 p.m., snow was already beginning to fall in southwestern Massachusetts, spreading north for the evening commute. Though intensity will mostly be light to moderate, snow falling onto subfreezing road surfaces this evening likely will make for some slick spots particularly away from any chemically pretreated interstates. Police in some Massachusetts communities - including Ashland, Wellesley and Worcester - are already responding to crashes as the roads start to ice up. Rhode Island State Police said they handled 55 accidents between 1 and 7 p.m. No serious injuries were reported. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is urging motorists to use caution, reduce speeds and stay a safe distance away from plows, especially seeing as 13 state plows have been struck by vehicles already this winter. Snow-Covered Roads Cause Crashes Across Massachusetts With the upcoming weather, its important to remember that safety is the greatest priority and we advise all travelers to minimize distractions, give themselves extra time and space, and dont crowd the plow," MassDOT Highway Administrator Thomas J. Tinlin said. Snow continues overnight Tuesday night, slowly drifiting northward overnight Tuesday night, tapering early Wednesday morning in most of Southern New England. Bursts of snow will continue in Northern New England on Wednesday, likely heaviest near Penobscot Bay in Maine. By the time all is said and done, about four inches falls in much of Southern New England with locally higher amounts in Southern Worcester County, near Cape Ann in Eastern Massachusetts, along the Berkshires and Green Mountains, and near Penobscot Bay in Maine. Stay with NBC Boston and necn throughout the day for updates as the storm moves in. [NATL] Extreme Weather Photos: Record Heat Threatens Europe As the Democratic field for the 2018 gubernatorial election continues to take shape, a little-known candidate from Chicagos northern suburbs has already thrown his hat in the ring. Alex Paterakis, a 29-year-old Skokie native, said he decided to run for governor in October as a response to the nations increasingly polarized political landscape. I was getting sick of how politics were being done, how things were being run, partisan politics being everyone against everyone else with no one actually listening to other peoples opinions, Paterakis told Ward Room Tuesday. The political newcomer is campaigning on a progressive platform that includes a minimum wage hike, marijuana legalization, and an agenda to oppose President Donald Trump. Paterakis, who owns a pair of small online retail businesses, hopes his campaign will appeal to middle class Illinoisans. I think people are really reflecting the message, which a lot of Democrats have forgotten, which is the middle class, Paterakis said. They lost the middle class to Donald Trump. Theres some indication that the message is resonating. The Illinois Democratic County Chairmans Association announced the results Monday of their online gubernatorial straw poll. Paterakis received 39 votes as a write-in candidate. Other write-in choices included former Gov. Pat Quinn, who tallied 45 votes, and Sen. Dick Durbin, who received 41 votes. State Sen. Daniel Biss, a prospective candidate, ultimately won the straw poll, earning a quarter of the 5,352 votes. Ald. Ameya Pawar, who has already declared his candidacy in the race, placed second with 15 percent of the vote. Nonetheless, Paterakis likely faces an uphill battle in terms of fundraising. He has self-funded so far, raising about $10,000 to date. Paterakis is now gearing up to challenge a Democratic field that could reportedly include deep-pocketed Democrats, like businessman Chris Kennedy and billionaire J.B. Pritzker, not to mention Gov. Bruce Rauner, who dumped $50 million into his own campaign fund last month. Despite backing some elements of Rauners agenda, like term limits and a property tax freeze, Paterakis criticized the governor for touting himself as an expert negotiator. "Hes called CPS workers incompetent, Paterakis said. Hes called Mike Madigan corrupt. "Theyre not going to be willing to work with you. So his tag of expert negotiator was a fallacy, he added. Paterakis compared Rauners policies to states with Right-to-work laws, where labor employees arent required to join unions. Paterakis, whose grandfathers were union members, claimed unions "drive wages up for other individuals in the state." Bruce Rauners just been ineffective in the fact that hes been heart-strong in some of his policies that ultimately do not reflect the values of Illinois, he said. Even though I dont agree with everything Mike Madigan has done in his career, you know he still served the state and I think hes still trying to protect the worker, which Bruce Rauner is not. To grow Illinois manufacturing jobs, Paterakis proposes spending reforms to control manufacturers overall tax burden, as well as sales tax reform and a property tax freeze. He claimed the state's increasing tax rates are responsible in part for its decreasing population. "If you keep raising taxes like they're doing, there's not going to be anyone left here to tax," Paterakis said. "And your revenues significantly decrease from things like that." President Donald Trump once again criticized Chicagos violence Wednesday during an African American History Month listening session at the White House. During the event, Trump said Chicagos violence is totally out of control." Were gonna have to do something about Chicago because whats happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country, Trump said. Trumps response was prompted by a comment from Darrell Scott, an Ohio pastor who campaigned for the Republican. Scott said some of Chicagos top gang thugs reached out to him due to his ties to Trump, who they respect. They want to have a sit-down about lowering that body count, Scott said, "So in a couple of weeks, were going into Chicago. Theyre gonna commit that if they lower their body count, we'll come in and well do some social programs, he added. Scott told Trump that the Chicago gang bangers want to work with this administration. They believe in this administration," Scott said. "They didnt believe in the prior administration." Trump called Scotts proposal a great idea, but continued to threaten federal intervention in the city. If theyre not gonna solve the problem, and what youre doing is the right thing, then were gonna solve the problem for them, Trump said. Trump repeatedly bemoaned Chicagos violence on the campaign trail and has continued since taking office last month. On Jan. 24, Trump tweeted that he would send in the Feds if local authorities cant get a grip on the city's carnage. Last month, before being sworn-in as president, Trump sent a similar tweet, claiming Mayor Rahm Emanuel should seek federal help if Chicago officials can't get a handle on the city's surging violent crime. On Wednesday, Emanuel urged the president to send in federal aid. "Send more FBI, DEA, ATF agents," Emanuel said during a press conference. "We don't have to talk about it anymore. Just send them." When asked if Emanuel wanted the president to visit the city, he simply said, "No." "What I would really like is the federal resources," Emanuel said. The mayor's comments follow the release of January crime statistics, which showed 51 killed last month alone, an increase over the numbers seen in 2016. Police also reported 234 shooting incidents, with 299 victims, an increase of eight compared to January 2016. NOTE: NBC Chicago will offer a live stream with complete coverage of the announcement beginning at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday right here. President Donald Trump is poised to give an historic address, announcing who he has picked to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court Tuesday night. Whether you're at work, on the go or at home you can watch complete live coverage of his address from the White House on NBC 5 or on the NBC Chicago app. We will offer a live stream with complete coverage beginning with a Special Report at 7 p.m. CT online and on-air. The coverage will continue until Trump's address comes to an end. The president's announcement is one of the most consequential moves of his young administration and will be a decision with ramifications that could long outlast his time in office. Trump is said to have made his selection from a group of three finalists, all federal appeals court judges appointed by former President George W. Bush: Neil Gorsuch, Thomas Hardiman and William Pryor. Each appeared on Trump's list of 21 possible choices that he made public during the campaign, and each has met with Trump to discuss the vacancy that arose when Antonin Scalia died nearly a year ago. The Better Business Bureau issued a warning to consumers Wednesday after a series of complaints surrounding gift cards purchased on Restaurant.com. Restaurant.com, based in Chicago's suburbs, sells gift certificates to more than 20,000 restaurants across the nation. The warning is not to be confused with Restaurants.com, an unassociated company with a similar name, a BBB spokesperson said. BBB received a total of 253 complaints against Restaurant.com in the past three years, according to the warning, with the majority of individuals reporting they were unable to redeem gift certificates they purchased on the website. Many complaints reported the gift certificates they bought were for restaurants that were no longer in business by the date of redemption, according to BBB. In some cases restaurants learned of unauthorized Restaurant.com listings when diners attempted to redeem the unwarranted certificates, the warning said. Restaurant.com is headquartered in suburban Arlington Heights, although most complaints received by the BBB against the business were outside of the Chicago area. "In our internal investigation of 20 restaurants in the Chicagoland area we found 13 who are participating with Restaurant.com; and six that claim they were not aware they were listed and do not accept coupons from the business, BBB president and CEO Steve J. Bernas said. The remaining restaurant is no longer in business but is still on the company's website." The BBB said it initially sent a letter to Restaurant.com on Oct. 5 notifying the company of concerns and complaints against them. A second review on April 15 found the number and nature of complaints had not diminished, according to the BBB. Restaurant.com did not respond to the BBBs notices. If consumers are considering the purchase of a gift certificate from Restaurant.com, the BBB suggests to first contact the specific restaurant before doing so to verify that they are participating in the promotion and will accept the coupon and its terms and conditions. NBC 5 reached out to Restaurant.com for comment, but the company did not immediately respond. President Donald Trumps ill-planned and discriminatory Executive Order has barred a Chicago-area doctor from returning to the United States after he traveled to the United Arab Emirates to get married, a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday alleges. The suit refers to the plaintiff as "collateral damage" of Trump's recent travel order, naming Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its Secretary John Kelly as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its acting Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan as defendants. Dr. Amer Al Homssi, 24, a resident in internal medicine at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn on a J-1 visa, holds citizenship in both Syria and the United Arab Emirates, the suit says, and he was married on Jan. 23 in the UAE. He attempted to return to his residency from Abu Dhabi International Airport to OHare International Airport on Sunday, his attorneys say, but was stopped by U.S. security. Trumps executive order, signed Friday, temporarily bars travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries as well as refugees across the globeincluding Syria. Lawyers for Homssi say it is unmistakably clear that Trumps executive order targets Muslims. Trump in a statement Sunday said the order was not about religion but keeping the country safe from terrorists. The president said the seven countries on the travel ban list were previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting, Trump said. Kelly echoed Trumps stance on the executive order Tuesday at a news conference. "This is not, I repeat, not a ban on Muslims," he said. [NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US The attorneys cite the presidents statements on banning Muslims while on the campaign trail in addition to the selection of Muslim-majority countries for the list in the suit. They also say the language of the executive order implies that, after 120 days, Christian refugees from Muslim-majority countries will be prioritized over Muslims when claiming refugee status. Dr. Al Homssi now finds himself unable to return to his residency program at [the University of Illinois at Chicago], and if he cannot complete this program he faces the risk of being excluded from the UAE and forced to return to war-torn Syriawhere he has not been since he was 17 years old on vacation, and where he has never lived, the suit reads. Homssis passport was seized by a U.S. security officer during pre-clearance, the suit alleges, before he was ordered to undergo a second screening. Homssi voluntarily answered questions and gave his cellphones and personal belongings up for inspection, the suit says. On one of Homssis phones was a Muslim prayer app called Islamona, according to the suit, and at no time was he asked about terrorism or any other conceivable question related to his being someone who should be denied entry to the U.S. because he is suspected of being a terrorist. After being questioned and having his belongings searched, a security officer returned Homssis J-1 and B1/B2 visas with Cancelled E.O. written across them in fat black marker and blue pen, court records show. The U.S. Officers then informed Dr. Al Homssi that he could not board his flight because he was not able to return to the United States based upon President Trumps Executive Order, the suit reads. The officers allegedly told Homssi that it might be 90 days or longer before he could expect to board a flight to the U.S. All of these dreadful consequences, the foregoing Complaint will show, are the result of his being a member of the Muslim faith that is now being treated differently in the United States in stark violation of the First Amendments Establishment Clause, the suit reads. The suit also says Homssis treatment and the executive order violate a number of other constitutional and statutory provisions. The suit seeks to order the defendants to rescind the cancellation of Homssis visas, to allow him to return to his medical residency as well as award him reasonable costs and attorneys fees. The attorneys also seek an injunction "enjoining the enforcement" of the executive order. President Donald Trump will no longer be making a planned trip to Milwaukee this week, sources close to the event confirm. Trump was scheduled to travel to the Milwaukee area on Thursday to deliver a speech on the economy, the White House said Monday. The White House did not immediately confirm the cancellation, and the reason behind the change has not been disclosed. This would have been the president's first trip to Wisconsin since taking office. He last visited the state in December during his "thank you" tour before being inaugurated. In November, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the state's popular vote since 1984. Milwaukees State Fair Park and Harley-Davidson Museum were being considered as potential venues for the event, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. However, a spokesperson for Harley-Davidson told the Milwaukee Business Journal on Tuesday that the company did not have a visit with Trump scheduled at any facilities this week. The president is scheduled to attend the National Prayer Breakfast at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning. Following President Trumps executive order on immigration that sparked protests at airports across the country, stories of heartbreak and confusion continue to emerge from families impacted by the travel ban. Trump's order halts all refugee resettlement into the U.S. for 120 days, imposes an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria, and suspends entry of immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen all Muslim-majority nations for 90 days. Although more than 800 refugees will be given waivers despite these restrictions, thousands are in limbo and some are being told to go back to their war-torn countries where they fear they will be killed. Khaled Haj Khalaf's 25-year-old daughter is one of those refugees, who was supposed to arrive at OHare Airport on Monday with her husband and one-year-old daughter. Now, they have been told they can no longer come to the US, and must return to Syria. She does not have a home and she's in limbo. She doesn't know where to go now, Khalaf said with a translator at a news conference held by non-profit organization RefugeeOne on Tuesday. The group has been assisting his daughter, who was initially supposed to resettle in America last year but was held back by an administrative mistake. Last week, she saw the apartment in north suburban Skokie that was furnished for her family including the crib complete with a stuffed animal and nursery full of toys via FaceTime. Now, her father says they are stranded at a hotel in Istanbul with just $250. [[412346683, C]] This family is sort of stuck with nothing right now, not knowing what their options are, said RefugeeOne volunteer Alisa Wartick. It doesn't seem fair, it doesn't seem right. They're already vetted, background checked, she added. They join more than 300 people that RefugeeOne says may have forever lost their chance at fleeing their countries. Many of those refugees have only been given a small window of time to travel to the US a deadline that is likely to be missed with an indefinite ban on Syrian migration. Refugees who aren't Syrian still have a 120-day travel ban to wait out, though many of their travel deadlines will also expire in that time and they will have to start the vetting process all over again. Imagine what these four months is going to do to those 60,000 plus refugees who perhaps had a window of about three weeks or so to travel, said RefugeeOne executive director Melineh Kano. Refugees already in Chicago also spoke about their fears at the news conference Tuesday, including a woman who arrived in the country just 40 days ago, fulfilling her childhood dream of living in America. I'm afraid not only for me but for my family, okay, because we will be homeless now, said Fatima Bikader, who worries that she and her daughter will be sent back to Syria, to a home that has been reduced to ruins. Where do we go? Why did he ban Syrians? Why? We don't know why, she asked. It saved mine, a refugee from Uganda said of his resettlement in Chicago, adding, and it is my prayer that America will continue to save others like me. When asked about other options these families may have, the organization said some are looking into canceling their resettlement in America altogether and applying to Canada. LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Ghana's sovereign dollar bonds fell as much as two cents in price on Wednesday after the country's finance minister told Reuters he had inherited a budget deficit that was far bigger than the previous government's target. Ken Ofori-Atta said the deficit was "certainly closer to a double-digit" percentage of GDP rather than the 5 percent targeted for 2016, and attributed the overrun to "unchecked overspending". The issue is sensitive because Ghana is following a three-year International Monetary Fund programme aimed at stabilising the economy. The 2023 issue fell 1.3 cent while the 2026 and 2030 bonds fell 1.6 cent and 2.1 cents respectively, Thomson Reuters data showed. (Reporting by Sujata Rao; editing by Claire Milhench) A Wisconsin native living in New York City is offering Trump supporters from his home state the opportunity to cash in on a free weekend trip to the Big Apple. Dan Backhaus, who grew up in West Bend, Wis., extended the invitation in a Facebook post Sunday, offering free room and board to any willing Wisconsinite who backs President Donald Trump. Id like to invite any Wisconsinite who supports Trump to come spend a free weekend with me, my girlfriend and my dog Megabite in Elmhurst, Queens, Backhaus wrote. If anyone should support Trump and fear terrorism, Muslims and refugees, its me. Im a 40 year old, non-college educated white male from the reddest county in Wisconsin. He later amended the post to note that air travel would also likely be included. Backhaus, who has lived in New York City since 2003, told Ward Room Tuesday that he came up with the idea while protesting at New York Citys John F. Kennedy Airport Saturday in response to President Donald Trumps controversial executive order on immigration. After joining a pair of protests this month, Backhaus said he was looking for a more practical response to Trumps policies. The Facebook invitation fit the bill. New York City can be a very intimidating place, which is why I thought that the offer made sense, he said. Come to these places that might be scary to you with someone who can talk to you about Wisconsin." Backhaus said the response to his offer has been overwhelming. Ive gotten a bunch of emails actually, Backhaus said. Very touching, heartfelt emails from people. No negative response from either side, which is great. Ive had a few snarky comments from people on Facebook, but kind of the way I handled it, I kind of ended every response with an offer again to have them come out, he added. Backhaus said his intention isnt to change anyones mind in a weekend, but rather to expose Wisconsin Republicans to a different perspective. Backhaus works five blocks from the World Trade Center, next to a mosque, and his neighborhood in Queens consists mostly of foreign-born residents. "I can hang out in my neighborhood for a week and not hear english spoken, he said. Which is great. I love it. But if youre for whats going on right now, at least kind of have the guts to come out and hang out here with these people for a day." Despite the positive response, Backhaus called the added media attention surrounding his offer bizarre." "Its kind of sad that in 2017, offering to hang out with someone who might not 100 percent agree with you is some type of thing to be praised for, Backhaus told Ward Room. Assuming the somber duties of commander in chief, President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip Wednesday to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in a weekend raid in Yemen. Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. More than half a dozen militant suspects were also killed in the raid on an al-Qaida compound and three other U.S. service members were wounded. More than a dozen civilians were also killed in the operation, including the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric and U.S. citizen who was targeted and killed by a drone strike in 2011. Trump's trip to Delaware's Dover Air Base was shrouded in secrecy. The president and his daughter, Ivanka, departed the White House in the presidential helicopter with their destination unannounced. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported until his arrival. After returning to the White House, Trump commented on the trip at the swearing-in of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. "I just returned from an amazing visit with a great, great family at Dover," Trump said. "It is something very sad, very beautiful. Ryan, a great man." Marine One landed at Dover shortly before a C-17 believed to be carrying Owens' remains touched down. The president met with Owens' family during a two-hour visit to the base. The sailor's family had requested that Trump's visit and the return of Owens' remains be private. Former President Barack Obama lifted a ban on media coverage of the casualty returns, though families may still request privacy. A spokeswoman at Dover said about half of families choose to allow media coverage. Owens joined the Navy in 1998 and was the recipient of two Bronze stars, a Joint Service Commendation and an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, among other honors. In a statement following his death, the Navy Special Command called Owens a "devoted father, a true professional and a wonderful husband." His death underscores the human costs of the military campaigns Trump now oversees. Far fewer troops are serving in combat now than in the wars Trump's predecessors led in Afghanistan and Iraq, but thousands of Americans remain in hotspots around the world. In Afghanistan, where America's longest war continues, about 8,400 U.S. troops are training and advising local forces. More than U.S. 5,100 troops in Iraq and about 500 in Syria are involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group. The U.S. also engages in counterterrorism operations mainly drone strikes in Yemen, where Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has exploited the chaos of the country's civil war. Sunday's pre-dawn raid which a defense official said was planned by the Obama administration but authorized by Trump could signal a new escalation against extremist groups in Yemen. As a candidate, Trump said he would be willing to "take out" the families of terrorists in order to root out extremism. On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said no Americans "will ever be targeted" in raids against terror suspects. The president's trip to Dover comes as he begins weighing whether to reshape U.S. military activities around the world. As a candidate, he vowed to be tougher on the Islamic State and at one point said he would be willing to send up to 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. Last week, Trump gave the Pentagon and other agencies 30 days to submit a plan for defeating the Islamic State. Trump has said little about his approach to Afghanistan. Obama had pledged to end the war there on his watch, but continuing security concerns prompted him to extend the U.S. military campaign, handing the war off to a third American president. Trump, who never served in the armed forces and received student and medical deferments during the Vietnam War, had an uneven relationship with the military community during the presidential campaign. About 60 percent of voters who served in the military supported Trump in the presidential election, compared with 34 percent who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. But Trump was also criticized by military groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, for his feud with the Khan family, whose Muslim-American son was killed while serving in Iraq. Gov. Dannel Malloy is nominating Gregory T. DAuria, of Hebron, to serve as an associate justice on the Connecticut Supreme Court and fill the spot on the bench Associate Justice Peter T. Zarella held until retiring in December. Being nominated to our states highest court is an immense responsibility it has the final say on so many issues that impact all of our lives and must ensure that our valued constitutional principles are upheld with fairness, competence, ethics, and justice. I am pleased to nominate Greg to the Supreme Court and I am confident that his history of public service will continue with distinction on the bench, Malloy said in a statement. DAuria graduated UConn in 1985 with a B.A. in Political Science, and from the UConn School of Law in 1988, where he also served as editor-in-chief of the Connecticut Journal of International Law. He has worked in the Office of the Attorney General for more than 23 years, in a variety of roles, including his current position as Associate Attorney General/Solicitor General, where he has primarily focused on supervising the appellate litigation for the agency and also served in the role of training and assisting other attorneys throughout the agency on state and federal appeals. I am honored by and thankful to Governor Malloy for his trust in me. I have devoted much of my career to practicing before our state Supreme Court and understand fully the tremendous responsibility that accompanies this position, DAuria said in a statement. If the General Assembly confirms me, the governors nomination will allow me the chance to continue to serve the state's citizens, which has been my privilege during 23 years working for the Attorney Generals Office. The governors nomination of DAuria will go to the General Assembly for confirmation. When the town sponsored a student essay contest on the topic of white privilege, it was intended to provoke discussion in this wealthy, overwhelmingly white community on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It did, along with no small amount of outrage. Contest organizers have been surprised by the reaction from some who say the question wrongly suggests race plays into the good life enjoyed in Westport. Residents like Bari Reiner, 72, say the question is offensive because the town welcomes anybody who can afford to live here. "It's an open town," Reiner said. "There are no barricades here. Nobody says if you're black or whatever, you can't move here." The contest , put on by the town's diversity council, asks students to describe the impact white privilege has had on their lives, using a term that refers generally to advantages conferred automatically to whites, and not to minorities. The concept has moved into the mainstream as the nation has discussed race more openly. The chairman of the diversity council, Harold Bailey Jr., said that in addition to the chatter in town, people as far away as Singapore have weighed in online. "There's a lot more controversy around it than many of us expected," said Bailey, a retired IBM vice president who is black. "Just the fact it says 'white' and 'privilege,' for some people that's all they need to see, and all of a sudden we're race-baiting or trying to get people to feel guilty. That's not at all what it's about." Like other New York City suburbs on the Connecticut shoreline, Westport ranks among the country's wealthiest places. Its median family income tops $150,000, and it is home to the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. As of the 2010 census, its 26,000 residents were also 93 percent white. The town has a liberal streak that some attribute to its vibrant arts community, and it voted by more than 2 to 1 for Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump. It also has not been immune to episodes of racism. Dozens of students at the public Staples High School were disciplined for circulating racially offensive memes in a private Facebook group uncovered in November. The diversity council, TEAM Westport, was created more than a decade ago to increase diversity and make the town more welcoming. The winner of the annual contest's $1,000 top prize will be announced April 3. The essay questions are developed by a committee and approved by Staples faculty members. Some parents welcomed the discussion stirred by this year's question as a reminder for local teens that not all places are as affluent and homogeneous as Westport. "I like the idea to get it out there so kids can talk about it and embrace it," said Bert Dovo, a white father of two who are now in college. Janet Samuels, 60, said that her children are now grown but that she believes it is the role of parents to teach what privilege is. "That would upset me very much," Samuels, who is also white, said of the essay question. "I wouldn't go there." UPDATE: The hostage standoff ended Thursday morning with a correction officer dead and another correction worker rescued as crews secured the prison building. A tense hostage situation at a Delaware state prison developed Thursday morning as dozens of inmates appeared to be laying on the ground outside a building as two prison workers remained held against their will overnight as negotiations continued. The hostage situation at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC), a Level 5 maximum security prison in Smyrna, began with four hostages Wednesday morning. In calls to a local newspaper, the hostage takers said they sought better education, effective rehabilitation and more transparency on prison funding. One also linked the action to President Donald Trump "everything that he did." It wasn't clear if the latest flurry of activity indicated a resolution to the standoff. The crisis began just after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, when a corrections officer radioed for help from inside the center's Building C, which houses more than 100 inmates, Delaware State Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz said at a news conference. [[412506593, C]] Officers responded to help and the prison, which houses about 2,500 inmates in all, was placed on lockdown. Bratz initially said five employees were taken hostage, but authorities at a later news conference said the number had been revised to four after one person thought to be among the hostages was found in another part of the prison. Emergency responders, including police from neighboring Pennsylvania and Delaware, converged on the prison Wednesday afternoon. NBC10s Tim Furlong has breaking details on a hostage situation at the James T. Vaughn Correctional center in Smyrna, Delaware Wednesday afternoon. As NBC Philadelphia's SkyForce10 hovered near the correctional facility around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, dozens of law enforcement members could be seen staging near a gate. A short time later, a group of people were seen rushing someone on a stretcher to another building on the sprawling campus. Blood Bank Delmarva appealed to the public for O blood type and platelet donations to be taken to the prison though they did not reveal why. [PHOTOS]Lockdown at Delaware Prison One hostage was released Wednesday around 2:25 p.m. and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. At 5:20 p.m., eight inmates who were also inside Building C during the hostage situation were transferred to authorities. At 7:57 p.m. a second staff member was released and 19 more inmates were transferred to authorities. Around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, 14 more inmates were transferred from the building. Around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, SkyForce10 captured officers appearing to lead someone out of the building and about four dozen people dressed in yellow and white inmate clothing laying on the ground outside -- they appeared to be handcuffed. The prisoners were helped up and then led inside a nearby building one at a time, and by 7:15 almost everyone of them was ushered inside. No official word yet on if any more hostages were released. Earlier, officials had said 82 inmates remained inside the building along with the two hostages. They were unsure whether those 82 inmates or the inmates who were transferred from the building were involved in the hostage situation. They also said they don't know "the dynamics of the takeover." Officials also said they don't know whether anyone other than the first released staff member was injured. The FBI and Delaware State Police continued to negotiate into Thursday morning. Late Wednesday afternoon, Delaware Online received a call from a woman who claimed her fiance is an inmate at the prison. The man on the phone then told the publication a "cop had been stabbed" and that he was asked to relay a list of demands from the inmates, which included better treatment. A man claiming to be an inmate inside James T. Vaughn Correctional Center called in to read a list of demands to news outlet Delaware Online during a hostage situation. Later, Delaware Online received a second phone call from a woman who claimed to be the mother of one of the hostages and two other men who claimed they were inmates at JTVCC. The first man said their reasons "for doing what we're doing" included "Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that he's doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse." The second man said education for prisoners was the inmates' priority. They also said they want effective rehabilitation for all prisoners and information about how money is allocated to prisons. Two men claiming to be inmates called the News Journal/Delaware Online to make a list of demands during a hostage situation at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC) in Smyrna Wednesday. During a news conference shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday officials said they were not aware of the two phone calls Delaware Online received. Officials also said that although negotiations were ongoing, they wouldn't consider the inmates' demands until the hostages are released. Richard Coupe, secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said authorities had been communicating with the hostage-takers via radio. He also noted that inmates in Building C have access to television and may have been watching the news conferences live. "We'd like to tell them we want to resolve this peacefully," he said. While Coupe declined to comment when asked about the phone calls to Delaware Online, he did say a dialogue about issues at the prison could happen later. "Once this matter is resolved safely, then that will be the time to talk if the inmates want to talk about conditions, privileges, those types of things," he said. Delaware Gov. John Carney spoke briefly, saying he had talked with the hostages' families. "As you can imagine, it's been very difficult for them as well," the new Democratic governor said. Family members of prison workers gathered outside the JTVCC Wednesday seeking updates on their loved ones. Staff members of the prison are not allowed to carry cellphones during a lockdown. "I've lived around here my whole life," said Ethan Hunt, the son of a JTVCC worker. "I have friends who have family that works in here. I have other friends actually around my age who work in here. So it's just, it's kind of nerve-wracking." The prison, which dates back to 1971, houses minimum, medium and maximum security prisoners as well as the state's death row inmates, according to the state Bureau of Prisons. The prison employs 1,500 corrections officers, according to Bruce Rogers, counsel for the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware. In 2004, an inmate there raped a counselor and took her hostage for nearly seven hours at the Smyrna prison, according to an Associated Press report at the time. A department sharpshooter later shot and killed 45-year-old Scott Miller, according to the report, ending the standoff. Dover attorney Stephen Hampton, who has represented state inmates in civil rights cases, said complaints have increased in the past year from inmates system wide about substandard medical care and poor record-keeping. Hampton also said that pretrial inmates at Vaughn and other facilities are locked up for much of the day, without access to gyms or libraries, because rules prohibit mixing pretrial and sentenced inmates. "There gets to be a tremendous pressure on these inmates who sometimes make deals just to get out," Hampton said. A former negotiator spoke to NBC10 about the ongoing hostage situation at a state prison in Delaware. NBC10s Randy Gyllenhaal has the details. The department of corrections wouldn't say if the prison is understaffed but did say they are filling vacancies. Gov. Dannel Malloy didn't quite brush aside talk that the Hartford-based insurance company, Aetna, is considering a move to Boston and has already initiated talks with the governor of Massachusetts. We seek to poach from other states and other states seek to poach from us," the governor said during a news conference Tuesday. Aetna has been a stalwart of the Connecticut business community since its founding in 1853. It was founded in Hartford and employs thousands of people in the Greater Hartford metro area. However, Aetna was one of several companies that publicly criticized the Democratic-controlled General Assembly two years ago when it approved a corporate data tax that was aimed at drawing millions from the Connecticut insurance industry. When reached for comment, a spokesman for Aetna said the company would not comment on speculation, and said it remains committed to Hartford. A spokesman for Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker responded in a similar tone, saying, "We are committed to maintaining a pro-growth environment, and creating jobs across the Commonwealth. However, we do not comment on potential business development projects." Losing Aetna would be a colossal blow to the state of Connecticut, especially after losing General Electric last year. Joe Brennan, the CEO of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, describes Aetna as an "anchor tenant of the Connecticut economy." He said the state has done well in the past year to ease concerns from business owners and major employers because of the change of policy course, opting not to raise taxes to fill budget gaps. Brennan said the advantage for cities like Boston and New York is that they're urban centers with more talent than places like Connecticut. Its not something we cant overcome, we just have to make sure we have the environment here thats conducive for these companies and the talent he said. Malloy said the state has secured multiple economic development victories, including the production of a Sikorsky helicopter in Stratford. The governor said Connecticut remains in the hunt for company commitments and to maintain existing corporate footprints. Were going to compete," Malloy said. "We do compete and we have a lot of advantages. Bethenny Frankel and her ex are back to having problems. Jason Hoppy, who was married to the "Real Housewives of New York City" reality star for two years, was arrested on Jan. 27 after he allegedly sent Frankel emails and text messages and showed up at their 6-year-old daughter's school, a court public information officer confirmed to E! News. Hoppy was charged with aggravated harassment in the second degree, stalking in the fourth degree and harassment in the second degree. "The victim stated he made numerous emails and FaceTime calls, which placed her in fear for her safety," the PIO said. "She said the communication was unwanted." According to the complaint, Hoppy approached Frankel and boyfriend Dennis Shields at the school on Jan. 27 and repeatedly stated, "Okay I see. This is how you want to do this. Okay. You can play your game. It doesn't matter. You can get 10 lawyers. There's nothing you can do to stop me. You'll be sorry. You've been warned. I can't help it. She's pure evil. You've been warned. Don't say I didn't warn you." Hoppy's attorney, Robert C. Gottlieb, told The New York Post: "There are no words to express how saddened Mr. Hoppy is over his ex-wife's unjustified actions. His only concern is his daughter and intends to vigorously fight these false charges." Hoppy's divorce lawyer, Bernard Clair, as well as Frankel's attorney and representative, declined to comment. The former couple's relationship has been rocky since they separated in 2012. Their divorce took nearly four years to finalize as they fought over alimony, child custody and Frankel's New York City condo. By July 2016, Hoppy had moved out of the Tribeca home and a few weeks later, their attorneys confirmed the divorce was finished. This is not the first time Frankel has been allegedly flooded with emails from her ex-husband. According to the latest complaint, Frankel accused Hoppy of sending her over 160 emails and several text messages between November and January. She also told police he contacted her via text message and email between August and November, including one message that allegedly read, "I will continue to communicate with you as often as I see fit in hopes that you will stop regardless of any attorney you retain." According to the complaint, her attorney sent Hoppy a cease and desist letter on Nov. 22, 2016. Artist Sedrick Huckaby has traveled the world expanding his knowledge and influence as a painter. From southeast Fort Worth, Huckaby grew up in family that supported his talent. I remember drawing at a young age, said Huckaby. I started painting in high school and I had a desire to get better, he said. Constantly looking for people to paint, Huckabys grandmother became his favorite model. When I was younger I started painting her in series. I was just painting her, and painting her and painting her. She know those paintings were being shown across the U.S. His grandmothers home in Poly Heights, Fort Worth was a centralizing space for his family. She was the place, and her home was where everyone would go and congregate. She was the center and her home was the center. After high school, Huckaby traveled northeast. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston University and his graduate degree from Yale University. He continued his training in Europe. During his travels he continued to be inspired buy history and faith. African-American art and African art have influenced Western art history and culture in so many ways. One of the most prominent artist in Western culture is Pablo Picasso. His period of cubism helped to shift the trajectory of art history, but what people dont know is that Picasso was influenced by his travels to Africa and work from African artists. He saw the work Africans were doing with their masks and their beauty and technique. So his work is heavily influenced by those people and their masks. Huckaby gained influence from several artists in Texas. When speaking of Dallas native Arthello Beck, Huckaby said, he told, We have to tell our story, and thats to say in any profession, we have to take ownership of telling our history. His travels led him back home to Fort Worth. When I was painting, I continued to look for people to paint who reminded me of home, and who reminded me of my family. I dont like painting from photographs. I need the person right there in front of me. Going home was the authentic choice. Huckaby eventually bought his grandmothers home and property. He transformed almost two acres into a gallery and art space. Each room tells a different story of his family history. There is one room that is dedicated to the theme of hope. Huckaby repurposed the pews from his familys church and placed them in the room. He also painted the walls white. This room signifies hope. The hope and faith that my grandmother had. Her faith in God was one of the main legacies she passed down to her family. She was encouraged to know, that no matter what struggles our family had, we were going to make it through. She taught us that there was something better than this life. She taught us to look forward to heaven, he said. History, family, loss and faith are the major themes that Huckaby focuses on. His large scale portraits have been displayed around the United States including cities in Texas, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C and Atlanta. I have done a piece that 80 feet and Ive done portraits that are 8 and 9 feet. To make these portraits really large, its attributing and speaking to their significance, said Huckaby. Currently, his work is on display at the Meadows Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas. He is also a professor of art at the University of Texas at Arlington. Dallas County Schools plans to quickly cut up to 100 jobs after interim-CFO Alan King says the beleaguered bus contractor is $42 million behind budget projections. King said Tuesday during a meeting with the board that the agency's revenue was overstated by a significant amount. King said while he doesn't have a full picture of the problems, the accounting is in bad shape. Rick Sorrels, superintendent of Dallas County Schools, said staff reductions and other efforts are needed to restructure the agency's finances. Additionally, DCS's controversial stop-arm program, which is designed to record and ticket drivers who bypass the stop arms on school buses, has failed to meet revenue expectations and is $20 million behind projections. In 2013 and 2014 NBC 5 Investigates raised serious questions about that camera program. Records we uncovered showed DCS had spent $50 million buying camera equipment not only for school buses in Dallas County, but also for other school districts across the state. DCS would give them cameras in exchange for splitting fines collected when drivers run past the school bus stop arms. After insisting the stop-arm program would pay for itself four years ago, DCS said Tuesday parts of the program will need to be discontinued and that 50 of the layoffs will come from those changes. "We cannot continue the program as is with the funding model in place," King said. Officials have not identified the areas from which the other jobs will be cut. Sorrels would not take questions after Tuesday's board meeting, leaving board president Larry Duncan to answer for how the district could be so far off its projections. "Yes, the buck stops here. We are responsible, that's why we brought in Alan King. We knew there were serious concerns," Duncan said. King was hired in October after NBC 5 Investigates discovered more financial mismanagement at DCS. DCS employees used $80,000 in taxpayer money to pay hundreds of traffic tickets racked up by school bus drivers who ran red lights. Tuesday, King said bookkeeping at DCS was so bad when he arrived, $30 million of transactions do not appear recorded in the districts books. Asked if he is concerned there was fraud involved, Duncan said, "Of course I'm concerned. There's, as we explained, when we started talking about this this fall, there was a systemic failure in the accounting area. That was one of the two areas that was why we brought in Alan King. He has been going through it systematically. He's now got his arms wrapped around the scope." The union that represents some of the employees whose jobs will be cut said it's stunned by the depth of the problems. "I'm really concerned and shocked that this is happening at this time," said Angela Davis, president of the NEA-Dallas. Duncan said Tuesday he has seen no evidence of any criminal activity in the finances at DCS, just bad accounting practices. He also said school bus service will not be affected by the staff cuts. In a few weeks he hopes to have more answers on how to begin digging out of this mess. DCS serves as the bus contractor for the Aledo, Carrollton/Farmers Branch, Cedar Hill, Coppell, DeSoto, Dallas, Highland Park, Irving, Lancaster, Richardson, Weatherford and White Settlement independent school districts. In a statement Tuesday, State Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, said: "Taxpayers deserve answers, which is why I am calling for an in-depth, independent financial audit of Dallas County Schools. With such extreme fiscal mismanagement by Dallas County Schools, it's time that we start to consider whether this rogue and unnecessary bureaucracy has committed crimes against taxpayers. Oversight over Dallas County Schools is virtually non-existent, which will make this audit a challenge. That's all the more reason we need to get to the bottom of what seems to be fraud perpetrated against the taxpaying citizens of Dallas County." Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai address the crowd in Mountain View. Following an outpouring of opposition from tech leaders against US president Donald Trumps divisive immigration ban, Google (Alphabet) employees around the world have staged a walkout. So far, at least 2,000 of the companys 60,000 employees have already walked out of eight offices worldwide, using the Twitter hashtag #GooglersUnite. Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai appeared this afternoon to address the crowd at the companys office in Mountain View, California, two days after Brin joined protesters at San Francisco Airport (SFO) in defiance of Trumps order. There are some values which are really near and dear to your heart, foundational, things you should never compromise on, and the thing that we have been debating for the past three days is one of them, Pichai said. I think we need to stand together. Ive spoken up strongly. Pichai went on to mention Brins appearance at the protest at SFO, pausing when employees broke out in a chant of Sergey! (Ive never gotten so many kudos for doing something that was so easy before, Brin joked.) Brin, now worth close to $40 billion, came to the US at age 6 as a refugee from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was a dire period, he told Googles employees. And yet, even then, the US had the courage to take me and my family in as refugees. Pichai is an Indian immigrant who earlier this month toured his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur, and encouraged students there to pursue their dreams. Pichai said Google spent two hours today discussing Trumps actions on immigration. Both he and Brin urged employees to reach out to and communicate with people from across the country. That means bringing in folks who have some different viewpoints, Brin said. There are many rational, thoughtful people there whomaybe they vote Republican, or Democrat, or Independent, or whateverbut are outraged by these kinds of actions. Its important to be welcoming and reach out to them. In fact, weve been working on doing exactly that. Story continues After weeks of uncharacteristic acquiescence, Silicon Valley finally broke its silence on Trump this weekend. On Jan. 27, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote a post saying the US should celebrate being a nation of immigrants, and Pichai decried Trumps order in an email to employees. By Saturday, a number of tech leaders had chimed in with their own outrage. Still, there is speculation as to how much of a backbone tech CEOs will display when it comes to Trump. A number of them remain silent, and someTesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Uber CEO Travis Kalanickare even serving as advisors in his administration. The walkout is a reminder to Silicon Valley leaders that their employees are watching them closely. Here are some of the tweets from Google employees: So proud that I work for @Google right now. Fight the Muslim Ban. #googlersunite pic.twitter.com/U9uQ69FZV1 Rachel Been (@rachelbeen) January 30, 2017 Even the self driving cars showed up #GooglersUnite pic.twitter.com/3HRYxXr54U Malte Ubl (@cramforce) January 30, 2017 Employees at Googles Nest also staged a walkout today: 9. We had a protest at @nest, also. It was good seeing the leadership be involved. #GooglersUnite We <3 Indivisible https://t.co/R1LDvPLp2W D.Va-chop (@Orkchop) January 30, 2017 Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: The Dallas Police Department is starting off the year with more than two dozen cold-case crimes in just one area. The homicide unit is now asking the community for help with something it's never done before. "We need to get in here, get our hands dirty with this community," said Deputy Dallas Police Chief Tom Castro. He stood before a house of worship in Southeast Dallas that preaches peace and says what better venue to seek help. "You have people within this neighborhood that are robbing people, selling dope, shooting people, and those are the people that don't belong here. That's the message that needs to be sent now and loud and clear," Castro said. Castro has been working hard to work with community leaders to help solve cold cases and spearheaded the idea of bringing department heads out of the office to gain trust. "We're all about partnerships. We know we can't do anything by ourselves," said Pastor Todd Atkins, at Salem Institutional Baptist Church. Atkins said he was inspired by the invitation to meet the homicide unit. He says in his community near Fair Park, there's an apathy when it comes to working with law enforcement and addressing criminal activity on their streets. "People feel as though it's too big to solve, that the problems are just too vast," Atkins said. Castro is hoping the series of planned community meetings will inspire those that might otherwise be afraid to help. He says it imperative, especially in an area where there are 25 unsolved murders just in the past year. "We're only as good of an agency or organization as these citizens allow us to be," Castro said. "If we don't have that trust, citizens giving us information to move forward and solve these cases, we're just at a loss," he added. The meetings are scheduled at various locations, and the public is welcome to attend, as there will be a time set aside for questions and answers. The dates, times and locations are as follows: Dallas police and the FBI are investigating a series of bank robberies, the latest in which gunshots were fired, police say.[[412444393,R]] Officers were called Wednesday to the Bank of Texas on the 4200 block of Live Oak Street shortly after 10 a.m. after two men entered the bank armed with handguns. The men demanded cash and at some point fired shots inside the bank. During a news conference Wednesday afternoon police said that no injuries were reported but that they worry the robbers are getting more dangerous. Dallas police are looking for two men wanted in connection with as many as 10 bank robberies in North Texas and Arkansas. Absolutely, thats why were here today, to make sure that the public is aware of that, Dallas Police Deputy Chief Thomas Castro said. Were working hand in hand with our federal partners. These are federal crimes. The FBI takes the lead on these cases and our task for will supplement our federal partners in any way we can. Investigators believe the men may be responsible for as many as nine other bank robberies -- including one at UMB Bank in Dallas where shots were also fired. Feb. 1 Bank of Texas 4262 Live Oak, Dallas Jan. 24 UMB Bank 4228 N. Central Expressway, Dallas Jan. 23 BBVA Compass 6240 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas Jan. 4 UMB Bank 4228 N. Central Expressway, Dallas Dec. 29, 2016 Bank of Texas 4262 Live Oak Street, Dallas Dec. 20, 2016 Chambers Bank 4418 Towson Avenue, Fort Smith, Arkansas Dec. 16, 2016 Chase Bank 6310 E Mockingbird Lane, Dallas Dec. 14, 2016 Capital One Bank 3647 W Northwest Highway, Dallas Dec. 14, 2016 Wells Fargo Bank 4301 Lovers Lane, University Park Dec. 12, 2016 Bank of America 4023 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas In each of the robberies, police said the men verbally demanded money, obtained an undisclosed amount of money and ran from the bank. In most of the robberies the men displayed handguns. Dallas Police Hunt for Serial Bank Robbers The men are described as follows: Person number one: a white man in his late 20s or early 30s, 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing approximately 210 pounds with a medium build. He has a light complexion and short, blonde hair. He has worn a sweatshirt or jacket in each robbery with a ball cap or sunglasses to conceal his identity. Suspect was armed with a handgun. Person number two: a white man who is about 6 feet tall, wearing a black ball cap, black ski mask only covering the lower part of his face, armed with a revolver. Authorities responded to reports of a robbery inside a Dallas-area bank Wednesday morning. The cases are being investigated by the Dallas FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the Dallas Police Department. Investigators are seeking the publics assistance in identifying the men recorded on surveillance video. North Texas Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of these individuals. Anyone with information on the identity of these suspects are asked to call North Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-877-373-TIPS (8477). All tipsters remain anonymous. NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff contributed to this report. Dramatic changes are coming to South Congress Avenue, setting up a transformation that some Austinites say threatens the funky fabric of one of the city's best-known destinations. The Austin American-Statesman reports a wave of upscale shops, restaurants, offices and boutique hotels is headed to the area -- displacing some of the homegrown businesses that many patrons and merchants say have given South Congress the eclectic character that has become synonymous with the city's identity. The new development is being driven by market forces that include rising property values and higher rents as the area has grown ever more popular with tourists. Two mixed-use projects and two high-end hotels are among the planned projects that signal more change for a street that within a few decades has transformed from a seedy red-light district into a mix of mostly local shops, music venues, hotels and restaurants that have helped give Austin its "weird" vibe. The next stage of evolution is raising questions about whether South Congress can stay true to its roots or whether it will morph into a homogeneous row of high-end national chains. Numerous mom-and-pop businesses have come and gone since 2000 as rents have continued to rise and developers have bought up properties to build new, pricier projects. "The whole feel of that street is definitely changing," said Steve Wertheimer, owner of the Continental Club, a landmark music venue on South Congress for decades. "I hear a sucking sound every day with the soul being slowly drained out of this area. The local folks, who made this street so attractive by breathing new life back in the area, are having a difficult time remaining here. Increasing rents and taxes, along with (parking issues) are taking a toll on merchants' bottom lines and their livelihoods." Those concerns are shared by Jimmy Haddox and Eric Massey, who opened Wet Salon on South Congress 17 years ago. Soon, it will be torn down to make way for a mixed-use project. Haddox said Wet will move to another site farther south on Congress. The investors setting their sights on the area, Haddox said, "will lose the funky and fun integrity of South Congress once they drive the small businesses out." Inez Escamilla owns Ignite Fitnez, a fitness center on South Congress that, along with several other businesses, is being displaced by a planned mixed-use project. "I just feel like everything that has made Congress hip and funky is going to be gone," said Escamilla, who will move her gym to a new project being built on St. Elmo Road south of Ben White Boulevard. The ongoing wave of change on South Congress is just the latest evolution for the avenue. During the 1920s and 1930s, South Congress was a major highway into Austin, and the thoroughfare became home to dozens of tourist stops, diners and service stations. In the 1960s, many of the motor courts closed or fell into disrepair. By the mid-1980s -- when Guero's Taco Bar was still a feed store and the now swank Hotel San Jose was a run-down flophouse - prostitutes and drug dealers were as likely to stroll the avenue as shoppers. There was even an adult movie theater into the 1990s. If the 1980s were a low point for the avenue, the 1990s marked the beginning of its renaissance. Secondhand stores and vintage shops moved in, drawn by affordable rent, and the area became a magnet for out-of-towners in search of the Austin experience. In recent years, the transformation continued, with shopping and dining becoming more upscale, boutique hotels opening and trendy national retailers moving in. Today, the district has something for everyone: The Continental Club, one of the city's top live music venues; casual and fine dining; high-end fashion and jewelry stores; vintage apparel; antiques and rare books; a soda fountain and old-time confections; novelty toys; folk art and curios from around the globe. You'll also find a store with every costume imaginable, from the Addams family to Zorro. Now, an influx of planned projects will further expand the avenue's offerings. The list includes: A mixed-use project including retail, office and restaurant space on South Congress just north of Academy Drive. Several local businesses, including Doc's Motorworks and Wet Salon, will be torn down to make way for the development. A number of the businesses, including Wet, Texas National Outfitters, Ignite Fitnez and Parts & Labour, have already found new homes on South Congress or elsewhere. Saint Vincent, a new three-story project with shops and offices at the former St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop site at South Congress Avenue and East Gibson Street. Kimber Modern, a 34-room hotel that will include retail, event space and parking, being developed on Elizabeth Street, behind Guero's Taco Bar. Rob Lippincott, who co-owns Guero's, also owns the hotel site. Hotel Magdalena, an upscale 89-room hotel at Academy Drive and Music Lane, which will include a restaurant, bar and event space. It's being launched by hotelier Liz Lambert, who also operates the nearby Hotel San Jose, Hotel St. Cecilia and the Austin Motel. Lambert said she wonders about the future of South Congress. "I don't know if the block will be able to retain the unique identity it has had until now, I don't think anyone does," said Lambert, who also owns the neighboring Jo's Coffee known for its "i love you so much" mural. "It's also possible that its identity evolves in a good way. I don't think change is inherently bad." "Obviously some of the future is determined by the real estate market, and that concerns people because we don't always know who the new people are who are coming in," Lambert said. "Coming from a company that's been in this area for close to two decades, I think the most important thing we can do is talk about change, to explore what elements of it are inevitable and what elements we can influence." As the South Congress area has gentrified, it has become more expensive to own or rent commercial property there. Rising rents are leading to departures of some longtime residents, including Hill Country Weavers, a yarn and fiber arts shop that occupied two bungalows at South Congress and East Milton Street for 22 years. "The building sold, and my rent was going to triple," said owner Suzanne Middlebrooks, who recently moved the business to a larger space on Manchaca Road. "I love South Congress -- it's a very creative, inspiring place. But as the rents go up as they are, you need some deep pockets to make sense of it. It's really hard for a small local business to make it work." Matt Green, a local developer, said some rents in the area are topping $60 per square foot. Green, managing partner in Austin for the Kor Group, is developing the planned Saint Vincent mixed-use project on South Congress. Wertheimer has witnessed the avenue's evolution for 30 years and experienced its escalating rents and property values firsthand. "Unless you are an owner-occupant or have a friendly and very understanding landlord, it's going to be really difficult for someone local, in the vein of the type of businesses that have been on South Congress all these years, to survive," Wertheimer said. Wertheimer said his property value soared nearly 40 percent from 2015 to 2016 and his property taxes jumped almost 35 percent, rising to $10,294 from $7,634 in 2015. Wertheimer leased the Continental Club, now a historic landmark, for a decade before buying it 20 years ago. He said he purchased it for $200,000, "and I thought I'd overpaid." The property was valued at $425,735 last year by the Travis Central Appraisal District. Asked if he would ever consider selling the Continental Club, he said: "There's nothing that would make me even think about it. It's precious to me. So much of the fabric of what I fell in love with in this town is disappearing. South Congress to me was the last vestige of what Austin used to look like. I cannot imagine that street without a Continental Club down there. I'm trying to save what I can save." Blair Helgren shares a similar view of South Congress. His family has owned businesses on South Congress Avenue since the mid-1920s, when his great-grandfather opened a barber shop. His grandfather and brother later opened a hardware and paint store, and eventually the family bought the entire block of 1700 South Congress. Today, the block is home to local retailers including Farm to Market Grocery, Big Top Candy Shop, Avenue Barbershop and Monkey See, Monkey Do. "I'm a fourth generation, and we have seen the changes firsthand. In the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s there were spaces on the block I could not lease, and we had problems with prostitutes and drug dealers all the way through the '90s," he said. Today, Helgren faces a different challenge: "How do we keep the local culture? We're not interested in any type of tear down or redevelopment. But as property taxes increase, that's the hardest thing -- finding the right balance to be able to have a local and eclectic tenant that can pay the rental rate. We're doing our best to make that happen." When Helgren's longtime tenant antique store Off the Wall decided late last year to close its storefront, Helgren said national chains were interested in the space. But he said he opted to charge lower rent to enable local artisan boutique Parts & Labour, which is being displaced by a new South Congress development, to take the space. "We were blindsided when we learned our space was being torn down," said Lizelle Villalpando, Parts & Labour co-owner. Helgren, she said, worked with Parts & Labour to make the move work. "He told me, `I want to do everything I can to keep South Congress the South Congress that we love,"' said Villalpando, who is relocating the store in March. "It was the best possible thing that could have happened to us." Will the vibe survive? Despite the ongoing changes, some South Congress business owners say they are optimistic their neighborhood can weather the next stage without losing its character. "I do love the funky, keep-it-weird street South Congress is, but it seems change, gentrification and maturation is inevitable," said Alan Lazarus, co-owner of Vespaio and Enoteca restaurants on the avenue. "I don't think things can ever stay the same. It's just evolving into something else, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's maturing." Lazarus was a pioneer on South Congress when he and two partners opened Vespaio 18 years ago. The changes taking place now on South Congress are part of a natural evolution in a growing city like Austin, Lazarus said -- and a boost for its economy and tax base. Through the years, Vespaio and its sister restaurant have made a livelihood for hundreds of employees, he said. In addition, 40 South Congress businesses alone generated $731,521 last year in property tax revenue for the city and county, according to the Travis Central Appraisal District. That's an increase of 114.7 percent from five years ago, and a 400 percent increase from a decade ago, based on appraisal district values for those properties in 2011 and 2006 respectively. Brandon Hodge, president of the South Congress Merchants Association, said the avenue's future is promising, and said that despite changes over time, it has largely kept its local character and flavor. "We tend to get concerned over short-term changes, but when you step back and look at South Congress as a whole, it is overwhelmingly composed of locally owned businesses. I think you can still count the chains on one hand," Hodge said. Hodge owns a novelty/toy store -- Monkey See, Monkey Do -- and Big Top Candy Shop on South Congress. Hodge said the "unique collaboration" of businesses on South Congress will "continue fighting to maintain that funky flavor that we all established together." Shoppers who frequent South Congress are hopeful Hodge is right, and that the vibe will live on. On a recent weekday afternoon, a steady stream of passers-by paused to snap photos in front of the "i love you so much' mural outside Jo's Coffee. "The locals will keep it funky," said Mary Pat Wehmeyer, 21, a native Austinite. "People are moving here for the funkiness and quirkiness." Taylor Bensel, 21, visiting from New Orleans, said it was the local businesses that stood out to her. "Of all the places I've seen, I'm not going to remember the chains," Bensel said. "I'm going to remember Uncommon Objects and the `Austiny' places. Nobody wants chains. People like it weird." The new Tarrant County sheriff has asked the federal government to train jail detention officers to effectively become immigration agents, a move that will likely lead to more deportations of undocumented immigrants who committed crimes in the county. Sheriff Bill Waybourn, who took office last month, said he's making good on a campaign promise. "Our intent is to tighten up and to make sure if someone is in our country illegally in the first place they forgot to sign the guest book when they came in, and then they had the audacity to violate our criminal laws and enter our jails we hope to hold them fully accountable and maybe ask them to leave," Waybourn said. He's asking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE to certify Tarrant County jailers in federal immigration laws, so they can start the deportation process for those inmates in the country illegally. ICE could accept Tarrant County into the program, known as 287G, in the next few months, an ICE spokesman said. The Carrollton Police Department is the only other agency in North Texas to participate. Tarrant County would be the first such county-run jail. Critics say local law enforcement agencies shouldn't get involved in immigration law. "We shouldn't have officers in the local county level enforcing immigration. That's a federal-level thing to do," said Latina activist Pilar Candia. Fort Worth City Councilman Sal Espino questions who would pay for the program and worries it could damage trust between police and the Latino community. "It shakes up the relationship between our diverse communities and law enforcement," Espino said. "We want to work together to prevent and reduce crime, and this issue of being federal immigration agents only complicates matters." Waybourn said he believes more deportations of criminals will lead to less crime on the street. Two Republican senators announced Wednesday they will vote against confirming Betsy DeVos, imperiling her chances of becoming the next Secretary of Education, NBC News reported. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both said they cannot support DeVos, a charter school and voucher program advocate. Her nomination already has received opposition from Democrats, and Collins and Murkowskis announcements put pressure on other moderate Republican senators to follow their lead as opponents of DeVos continue to inundate phone lines of congressional offices. Republicans hold a 52-seat majority in the senate. In the event of a tie, Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tie-breaking vote. By visiting Japan and South Korea on his first official overseas trip, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is seeking to reinforce key alliances after President Donald Trump's campaign-trail complaints that defense treaties disadvantaged the United States. The visits also reflect the urgency of concerns on both sides of the Pacific about North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, inherited a North Korea problem that has grown more worrisome as the communist nation's leader, Kim Jong Un, claims progress toward fielding a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the United States. Former Secretary of State John Kerry said in early January the U.S. may need "more forceful ways" of dealing with North Korea if it develops a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Mattis, who entered office hours after Trump on Jan. 20, is due to arrive Thursday in Seoul, where he will meet with his counterpart, Defense Minister Han Min Koo, amid a swirl of political turmoil. President Park Geun-hye was impeached in December and the constitutional court is reviewing whether to formally end her rule. Later in the week, Mattis is to hold talks in Tokyo with Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and other senior Japanese government officials. North Korea is expected to be at or near the top of Mattis' agenda. Beyond its long-range missile aspirations, the North already has missiles capable of hitting South Korea as well as U.S. bases in Japan. Trump said during the campaign that while he supports the alliances with Japan and South Korea, he would not rule out abandoning them if they refuse to pay more for their own defense. "It could be that Japan will have to defend itself against North Korea," he told a campaign rally in August. The first foreign leader he met as president-elect was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; they'll meet again in Washington on Feb. 10. Mattis has said little in public since taking office. But he has left no doubt that America's security alliances, including those in Asia, are a top priority. He is the first recently retired military officer to serve as defense secretary since George C. Marshall in 1950-51 during the Korean War. Pentagon chiefs regularly visit South Korea and Japan, reflecting their status as U.S. treaty allies. Chuck Hagel, who visited the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea as defense secretary in September 2013, said in an interview that Mattis is making the right move. "It was a smart decision" to visit these allies early, Hagel said. He believes officials in Tokyo and Seoul are wondering: "Can we rely on the U.S.? What is the future here?" The U.S. has about 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea and about 50,000 in Japan. Hagel said Tokyo and other U.S. allies in Asia have been particularly upset by Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of a Pacific Rim trade initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the centerpiece of former President Barack Obama's effort to strengthen U.S. economic ties in the region. Kent Calder, director of Asia programs at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies, said Mattis could bolster Japan's confidence by explicitly reaffirming that disputed East China Sea islands are covered by the U.S.-Japan defense treaty. The islands are controlled by Japan, which calls them the Senkaku, but also claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyu. China's regional role and military modernization will also loom over Mattis's meetings in Seoul and Tokyo. All are hoping to persuade China to use its influence over North Korea to contain or curtail Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. Mattis said at his Senate confirmation hearing the U.S. should do whatever it takes to stop North Korea from acquiring a nuclear-capable missile of intercontinental range. "It's a serious threat," he said. Anthony Ruggerio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a foreign policy think tank, said Mattis could advance U.S. security interests by encouraging Tokyo and Seoul to improve their bilateral relations, which are strained by disputes. "While the two of them may have issues with each other, they need to be unified against North Korea," Ruggerio said. April 22, 2010, is a date Ghazal Mustafa Ghazal remembers well. It was the day he landed in America from Iraq. "I couldnt sleep. I couldnt do anything," he recalled. "I was so excited, it was the best, craziest day of my life." When the war in Iraq started in 2003, Ghazal signed up to be an interpreter for the U.S. Army, a job he held off and on until he immigrated to America. A room in his Rockwall home is decorated with honors and medals given to him from commanders and sergeants in the U.S. Army. Embedded with American soldiers for years, he said he fell further in love with the freedoms of this country. "That's why I believe the American dream. I supported it before I even saw it," Ghazal said. In September 2016, six years after first legally living in the country, Ghazal became a U.S. citizen. For the last five years, he has been trying to sponsor his brother to join him in living the American dream he has realized. In January, his brother received a letter granting him a second interview at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to move the process forward. However, it is now on hold. "It is not an easy thing to get a U.S. visa," Ghazal said, adding that although he had worked for the government and the military, it took him more than a year to come to the country on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). Despite the uncertainty of when, or if, his brother will join him, Ghazal said he understands the temporary travel ban enacted by President Donald Trump. "I support my president, even if that affects me, my family, because I know what hes thinking," Ghazal said. "Hes thinking for everybodys safety and I agree with him 100 percent, 120 percent." Contra Costa County school board trustee Jeff Belle tweeted his support for President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration, breaking away from a slew of local leaders and educators who have condemned the travel ban. Belle, who serves as vice president of the board and represents District 5s East County schools, retweeted a flurry of messages from pro-Trump, anti-Muslim accounts on Saturday and Sunday. One meme he retweeted said "Sorry illegals, America is closed." He also linked to an anti-Islamic screed titled "My Islam Problem and Yours" and wrote that Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) is "hateful." This is not the first time Belle's tweets have landed him in hot water. In early January, he faced swift backlash after he wrote "Jesus dislikes you" to a detractor. He has also faced legal troubles for lying on election paperwork, practicing respiratory care without a license and for bogus checks. Trumps order, which went into effect Friday, indefinitely suspends Syrian refugees' entry to the United States while also barring entry of individuals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days. The ban's implementation caused widespread chaos and protests at airport terminals across the country, with thousands flocking to San Francisco International Airport to demand the release of detainees. Belle said in an interview with NBC Bay Area that he tweets as a private citizen, not as a representative of the school board, despite his Twitter profile identifying him as a trustee and linking to the board's website. "You dont have to like Trumps policy," Belle said. "But the right thing to do as an elected official is not start crying and whining about the winner." He went on to say that "its a new day in town" and that the election "will turn out to be the best thing to happen to us." Belle is also supportive of Trump's executive order that threatens to slash federal funding for sanctuary cities an action that would have dire consequences for a slew of programs that help children and families across the Bay Area. On Tuesday, San Francisco became the first city to file suit against that order. Belle described Trump's stance on sanctuary cities as being a "reset in America in terms of immigration." "We are going to follow the law," Belle said. "I don't care what (the county's office of education) says. ... We are going to do whatever federal law says." The board distanced itself from Belles remarks in an interview with NBC Bay Area on Monday. "While Mr. Belle certainly has a right to free speech and to his own opinion, he is not acting within the capacity of his role as a board of education member," said an exasperated Terry Koehne, a spokesperson for the Contra Costa County Office of Education. "His views do not reflect the views of this agency, or the board as a whole." Koehne continued: "We are about diversity and inclusion. We are about safe school campuses. We teach tolerance, but we dont tolerate hatred." The board hears appeals on expulsion disputes, approves the budget for the County Office of Education and establishes policies for programs like special education and career development. It has not formally denounced the immigration ban or made any declarations supporting sanctuary campuses or cities. The office did, however, publish a post-election toolkit that includes sample resolutions for districts that would like to implement sanctuary policies. Titled "All Kids Are Our Kids," its safe haven resolutions have been implemented in some county schools, including Pittsburg and Antioch, which are both in Belles district. Belle is up for re-election in 2018. Alameda County sheriff's deputies late Tuesday night were still trying to catch an escaped inmate who bolted in handcuffs while being transported to San Francisco International Airport, and was last seen near Interstate 880 in Hayward. The inmate, who has been identified as 27-year-old Shawn New, was being extradited to Kentucky for violating probation on a credit card and ID fraud conviction. Authorities were transporting him from Dublin-based Santa Rita Jail to SFO, but he managed to escape from the transport vehicle, Sgt. Ray Kelly said. The vehicle came to a stop around 9:45 a.m. near A Street and I-880 in Hayward, according to Kelly. New opened the back doors, which were unlocked at the time, and jumped from the car and took off running. "At some point, the traffic was stopped. Mr. New jumped out of the backseat of the car and ran down the freeway, handcuffed," Kelly said. Officials say the back doors of the rental car didn't have child safety locks and deputies didn't put leg shackles on New because of the long flight ahead. People who live near his escape route are scared. "He could be anywhere," resident Delfino Vasquez said. "He could knock down somebodys door. ... Maybe a little scared to find someone at your door kicking it in or shoving you in and holding you hostage until this thing clears." New was wearing a blue plaid shirt, blue jeans and brown boots at the time of his escape, Kelly said. He has a thin build, stands about 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighs about 165 pounds. Deputies say it's best for residents to keep their doors locked. New is not considered violent, but he should be considered dangerous, Kelly said. "Right now, the ball has fallen in our court to go recapture this guy," he said. Anyone who spots New is asked to contact the Alameda County Sheriff's Department. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 1, 2017 / For Yemen, exporting oil used to make up the bulk of revenue for the country. However, due to the ongoing war, Yemen has not officially exported oil in the past five months. Farmers are suffering since it is harder to obtain diesel to fuel their irrigation pumps. Since the start of the war, many oil producers have been pulling out, leaving farmers in the dark. Without irrigating crops, it is impossible for farmers to produce anything. However, Haitham Alaini believes solar energy could help farmers in Yemen. Alaini is an entrepreneur from Yemen. He has over 20 years of experience and focuses on issues of health, education, and environment, and is always looking for ways to improve the future of Yemen. Alaini says solar powered irrigation pumps could change the future of Yemen. Irrigation pumps are responsible for getting water to the sprinkler heads. In fact, globally 70% of water supports irrigating crops. Irrigating crops assures farmers plant growth. Solar powered irrigation pumps mean farmers can be assured their crops will be irrigated. Solar pumps are already reducing irrigation costs around the world. For example, in Bangladesh, farmers have historically relied on diesel or electricity powered irrigation pumps, much like Yemen. Using solar-powered pumps, costs are cut nearly in half and there is less pollution. Some Yemeni farmers are already starting to realize the benefits of solar-powered irrigation. Earlier this year, an article published by Gulf News featured a Yemen farmer replacing his diesel-fueled pumps with solar-powered pumps. Wadi Dawan is one of many farmers suffering from the diesel shortage in Yemen. Dawan told Gulf News, "Now when the sun shines, the pumps automatically switch on and the water flows into the farm. We do not even bother to look at them." Installing more solar powered pumps will also help Yemen's food shortage. The price of installing solar panels is also dropping, which is good news for anyone looking to switch to solar power. According to Futurism, the cost of solar power has fallen 25% in only 5 months. Story continues For farmers in Yemen, this price drop is promising news. Switching to solar powered irrigation pumps will allow farmers to get rid of diesel and oil prices, as well as upkeep. Other countries are recognizing the need for solar powered irrigation pumps. The EU (European Union) is committed to helping fight food insecurity in Yemen. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations announced the commitment earlier this year. "Farming communities will also learn about proper and efficient irrigation systems to mitigate against the risks of water scarcity, drought, and climate changes. The installation of solar pumps will ensure the provision of power to supply water for farming households suffering acute fuel shortages. Support for the early warning system will include enhancing the collection, analysis, and management of nutrition and food security data, and translating alerts into swift response to any emerging crisis." Alaini believes switching to solar powered irrigation pumps will have a positive impact on the future of Yemen. He works diligently to find innovative ways to improve his native country. Alaini received a degree in economics from George Washington University. He strives to demonstrate his love for his country. To learn more about Haitham Alaini and the Future of Yemen, visit: Haitham Alaini - Website: haithamalaini.org Haitham Alaini (@haitham_alaini) -- Twitter: https://twitter.com/haitham_alaini Haitham Alaini -- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haithammalaini?fref=ts SOURCE: Haitham Alaini Four days after protesters converged on Los Angeles International Airport in opposition to President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, troops of lawyers have set up shop in the airport to help foreign travelers navigate the new process. About 100 volunteer lawyers are working in shifts out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to assist families being detained by customs officials. Attorney Talia Inelender said she's heard of people being detained in groups of 20, 40, and even 100. Inelender, an immigration lawyer with the nonprofit Public Counsel, said her grandfather's resilience surviving the Holocaust encouraged her to volunteer. "My family history is certainly a large part of why I feel an obligation to give back, and also a moral sense of responsibility to heal the world and do what I can to help those in need," she said. Mona Iman, the daughter of immigrants who came to the U.S. from Iran to avoid persecution of their Baha'i faith, volunteered her legal skills as well. "A lot of people now they don't have a place in Iran and now they can't come to the United States. Families are being separated," she said. "It's not good for anyone." "Sex and the City" actress Kristin Davis, a volunteer with the United Nations Refugee Agency, visited the lawyers' makeshift office to offer her support. "The fact that these people have volunteered their time and their actual skills...it's beautiful," she said with tears in her eyes. It isn't too difficult to discern when a rain shower will start or stop. All one needs to do is watch the skies, consult the weather reports, and keep a slicker and umbrella at the ready. But discerning when a rain room, as in the actual, it-exists "Rain Room," will start or stop isn't quite as simple as glancing at the long-range forecast, of course. We do refer here to Random International's incredibly popular art installation, which debuted at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Nov. 1, 2015. Debuted to immediate fanfare, and impressive queues, thanks in large part to its (literally) splashy showings in London and New York (and all the advance word from H2O-loving fans). Devoted fans were soon found here in Southern California, too, over the months, even after "Rain Room" shuttered, and then re-opened, and had its run extended. Now the "it's raining indoors, except where I'm standing" spectacle is in the Los Angeles forecast well, forever, thanks to a donation from Restoration Hardware. But wait: Rain, of course, isn't falling in all places at once, nor will "Rain Room" always be on view. While it is being added to the permanent collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, it closed, for the time being, on Jan. 22. The museum says that "future exhibitions" are "to be determined" down the road, so watching the skies, or rather the LACMA blog, is going to give you a clearer view as to when the indoor rain shall return. An important question often asked about the artwork: Is all of that water ("approximately 528 gallons") recycled and reused? For sure: That's one of the themes of the themeful artwork. "Rain Room" is a major addition to LACMA's collection, one that's whimsical, wonderful, and wetter than most er, all, pretty much famous art pieces. And the chance of you experiencing it, again, or for the first time, is as likely now as another rainstorm on the way into LA. Which, even if we must wait, is always a certainty. A Simi Valley woman got to meet and thank the police dispatcher who helped save her father's life overseas on Christmas Day. Dispatcher Lauren Harkins received a call from Simi Valley resident Pam Shanahan at 11:05 a.m. Shanahan was in desperate need to help her father in Norway, who she believed was suffering a stroke. She initially contacted an ambulance company in Norway, but her call was disconnected. Though she usually doesn't take emergency calls for other countries, Harkins' first response was to help Shanahan. Harkins immediately searched for a telephone number for police in Oslo. Within seconds, Harkins was able to provide the number to Shanahan and ask for her fathers home address. She also told Shanahan to call back if she was unable to place the call. Even after hanging up with Shanahan, Harkins stayed on the case. She called Oslo police and confirmed that Shanahans father was receiving medical help. Early in January, Shanahan stopped by the Simi Valley Police Department, thanking Harkins for her "above and beyond" support. "Dispatcher Harkins saved my fathers life," Shanahan said. After visiting her father in Norway, Shanahan informed the department that he was doing "great." Through tears, Lama Alnagm talks about the wedding vow she and her husband made 14 years ago. "They promised not to leave each other at all," Alnagm's translator told NBC4. This promise is now seemingly impossible to keep. Alnagm and her three young children were granted asylum in the United States after escaping persecution in their native Syria. They now live in Lawndale. Alnagm, however, has been trying to get her husband to come to the United States for over a year. His visa application was approved last week -- just days before President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries. "She built a lot of dreams," Alnagm's translator said. "When this came up, everything got destroyed." Alnagm's husband is one of the thousands waiting in limbo as a result of President Trump's executive order. Alnagm's lawyer is working on a lawsuit against the President's travel ban. Maryam Eslamirasekh, Ph.D candidate at UC Santa Barbara, is stuck in Turkey. She spoke to NBC4 from her hotel room near the U.S. Embassy, where her visa application was also denied. "It was really an exciting time in my life -- and then all of a sudden, all my worries were about to go away. It just all came crashing down," she said. "I'll never be looked at as someone who can have dreams and who deserves to be happy." If you were affected by President Trump's executive order on immigration, email us at tips@nbcla.com. A man was charged Tuesday with capital murder for the stabbing deaths of two men attacked while playing mah-jongg in a private social club in Chinatown last week. Vinh Dao -- whom prosecutors allege has a 2002 conviction for manslaughter -- is accused in last Thursday's stabbing deaths of Tony Young and Kim Kong Yon at the Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association at 428 Gin Ling Way, near the 900 block of North Broadway. The murder charges include the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with the allegation that the 36-year-old defendant personally used a knife in the commission of the crimes. Los Angeles police allege Dao approached Young at the Chinatown club, demanded money from him to pay for vehicle impound fees and then attacked Young with a 6-inch knife when he refused. Young was in his 60s and lived in the Montebello area. When Yun, 64, of Monterey Park, tried to intervene, he was also fatally stabbed, detectives said. Dao, who was quickly identified as the alleged killer, was arrested in Rosemead about 24 hours later. A former member of the private club, he had recently returned to Los Angeles after several years in the Las Vegas area, police said. Coast Guard officials are continuing the search for a Canadian filmmaker who was reported missing while diving off the Florida Keys. Rob Stewart, a native of Toronto, went missing while diving to film sharks in the area near Alligator Reef around 5 p.m. Tuesday, officials said. "It doesn't look great but we got to believe he's the kind of person who can survive," father Brian Stewart said Wednesday. Rob and three others had just finished a dive at the wreck of the Queen of Nassau, about 220 feet below the surface. "Rob has done thousands of dives, dove all over the world with some of the worst equipment," his father said. "This was some of the best state of the art equipment. So something went terribly wrong." Coast Guard crews were joined by officers from the U.S. Navy, FWC and the Monroe County Sheriffs Office in the search. Search for missing Canadian diver Rob Stewart continues w/ @MyFWC, Key Largo Volunteer Fire Dive team assisting @USCG air, boat, & cutters USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) February 1, 2017 The 37-year-old Stewart is known for his documentary films about the creatures, including his latest project called "Sharkwater 2." Stewart's family said Sir Richard Branson has donated a plane to help with the search. "Star Wars: Rogue One" star Diego Luna is set to play iconic Miami drug lord Tony Montana in the remake of "Scarface," according to a new report. Luna, 37, is attached to star in the remake, which will differ from the 1983 film that starred Al Pacino in more ways than one, Variety reported. In the 1983 film Pacino played a Cuban immigrant who rose to power in a Miami drug cartel. The remake will be set in Los Angeles and Luna will play a Mexican immigrant. It's unknown who will tackle the role of Elvira Hancock, played in the 1983 version by Michelle Pfeiffer. A release date hasn't been set. Officials in Florida are considering requiring licenses for kayaks, canoes and other small craft that don't require motors. A citizen panel assembled by state boating authorities are meeting in Orlando Wednesday to discuss the change, which could soon mean registration and fees, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The panel would make a recommendation to the Boating Advisory Council, which reports to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. One member of the panel said the revenue from the licensing of non-motorized boats could help secure federal grants and pay for law enforcement, search and rescue, and other expenses. "I would say it would be pretty darn reasonable: less than $20 a year," William Griswold, a retired Coast Guard officer, told the paper. Others say the registration and fees are unnecessary, adding that compared to motor boats there's little danger, little pollution and almost no harm to wildlife. "It's all about the money," said Brack Barker, a kayaking guide and member of the panel. In a statement Wednesday, FWC executive director Nick Wiley said the organization doesn't want to increase fees for non-motorized boating. "The FWC appreciates the work of this advisory group, but we are not supportive of increasing fees on Floridians or visitors who participate in non-motorized boating," Wiley said. "The FWC greatly values our boating community and will continue to work hard to keep Floridas standing as the boating capital of the world without increasing costs and fees." Newly released 911 calls reveal panic and confusion during the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport shooting that killed five people and left six others wounded. The 10 calls released by the Broward Sheriff's Office Tuesday are just a small sampling of the dozens of call received during the Jan. 6 shooting inside the baggage claim area of Terminal 2. "There are alarms going off, somebody screamed he had a gun," a woman tells a 911 operator in one of the calls. "Everybody's running, we don't know what's going on," another woman says in a second call. "We're hiding in the back of the kitchen in one of the restaurants. We're at Delta." The man charged in the shooting, 26-year-old Esteban Santiago, pleaded not guilty Monday to 22 counts including causing death or bodily harm at an international airport, causing death during a crime of violence and using a firearm during a crime of violence. Authorities say Santiago flew from Anchorage, Alaska, with a handgun in his checked luggage which he loaded in a bathroom before going on the shooting spree. "We're locked in here, we don't know what's going on outside," another woman, who was working at the Delta Sky Club, tells a 911 operator in one of the calls. "We have a lot of passengers inside." Another man calls 911 to let them know he's with a group of flight attendants and pilots in a briefing center. "There's pandemonium going on with guns drawn outside," the man says. One woman said she was part of a Delta crew that was in a lounge and had barricaded the door. "We heard cops yelling and screaming, there's a ruckus outside in the airport," she said. A man in another call says people are panicking and running through the terminal. "I need you to try to hide or get somewhere safe," the dispatcher tells him. "Yes, everybodys hiding, everybodys hiding. Everybody get down, get down! Alright, everybodys following the TSA I guess," he replies. A California woman is mourning the death of her husband after an unexpected death following a tooth infection. Twenty-six-year-old Vadim Kondratyuk was suffering from the bothersome tooth when he left his home near Sacramento on Jan. 17 to begin a truck driving job that would take him to New York. On his return home with his brother along for the ride after Kondratyuk said he couldnt make the trip alone the pain was too much to handle and the two stopped at a hospital in Utah. Doctors said the infection spread to his blood and lungs, killing the father of two days later. "Nobody ever thought that something from a tooth can happen so big and go everywhere, said his widow, Nataliya. It's going to be hard with both my kids without a husband. Half of me is just taken away." Tooth infections can cause serious illness if not treated. Doctors say infections can be prevented by regular dentist appointments and care. Patients should seek medical help immediately if they experience one. Kim Kardashian West is testifying in her Paris robbery case, E! News confirms. The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star met with French authorities in a New York City hotel Wednesday morning about her traumatic experience in October in which she was gagged, bound and held at gunpoint. Kardashian is hoping to help them identify two of the robbers as well as give them a detailed account of what happened. Kardashian West, 36, arrived in Manhattan with her two children, North West and Saint West, after a family trip to Costa Rica. Earlier this month French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche published a transcript of the E! star's verbal statement to French police about the robbery, during which she was robbed for almost $10 million worth of jewelry inside her hotel room during Paris Fashion Week. Khloe Kardashian Gets Candid About Kim's Paris Robbery NBC News confirmed the report was accurate, but neither French police nor Kardashian West commented. French police arrested more than 15 people in connection to the robbery and charged four of them, including the brother of the limo driver she used in Paris. According to the report, the crime took place at 4:30 a.m. local time. She said that while her sister Kourtney Kardashian and her assistant changed clothes, she went to her computer upstairs and worked. She said she then heard noises at the door, "like footsteps," and asked who was there. No one answered and she called her bodyguard just before 3 a.m. She then saw through the sliding door two people, including "a man of the reception who was strapped [or tied up]." She said the robbers were two hooded men wearing jackets that read "Police" and that one of them wore a ski mask. Kardashian West said he spoke to her in French, took her Blackberry and asked where was her ring, which cost $4 million. She told him she did not know but then pointed at the piece of jewelry, which was lying on a bedside table. He then withdrew a weapon and pointed it at her. After scouring her purse and discovering pricey pieces of jewelry, the robbers tied her up with plastic cables and taped her mouth shut before putting her in the bathtub, the report said. Lucas Hedges -- the Brooklyn-born, breakout actor of films Manchester by the Sea -- makes his stage debut this week in MCCs Yen, playing a sensitive teen left to care for his feral younger brother in a squalid U.K. council flat. Hench and Bobbie, the main characters in playwright Anna Jordans thoughtful drama, have been largely abandoned by their fragile mother, who is cavorting around town with a boyfriend. The boys eagerly anticipate her rare visits, even though Maggie (Ari Graynor) is a drunk who cant manage her own diabetes, let alone provide them any clothing. To occupy time, the duo watch porn and purge aggression with video games they play on a big screen TV that is the focal point of the set (and pretty much the only furnishing in the place). For company, they have an unseen, but often-heard dog, Taliban -- so-named, Bobbie explains, Cos hes vicious and hes brown. It is concern for the dogs welfare that brings a knock one-day from fresh-faced neighbor Jennifer (Stefania LaVie Owen, of TVs The Carrie Diaries), a young Welsh girl, who has been observing activity in the apartment from her own home across the way. Her arrival forces Hench (Hedges) to test the limits of his ability to move beyond the confines of his four walls. Jennifers late father called her Yen, and the pet name sums up what she represents to the boy: longing, to escape from his dead-end life, and foreign currency, which would give him the means to do so. Hedges, 20, is the son of screenwriter and director Peter Hedges (Whats Eating Gilbert Grape). Nominated for his turn as a Massachusetts teenager whose father dies early in the film, he is the youngest of this years Oscar contenders, in a supporting actor field that includes veterans Jeff Bridges and Michael Shannon. Hes excellent here as a boy who copes with life by being prickly and snappish, but who is essentially introspective and caring underneath. Justice Smith (The Get Down, on Netflix) is in a constant state of motion as Bobbie, the younger of the brothers, who has an ADHD-like disorder thats never specified. Smith is a gifted actor, who makes us believe his storms of devotion and resentment are coming from the gut. Bobbies adoration for his older, broken family members makes the climax of the two-act play, which might seem vague in lesser hands, thoroughly believable. Graynors Maggie shows her bottomless neediness, without turning us against her. Owen, whose Jennifer is the only truly nice person in the whole piece, stands up for herself and calls out the boys for their bad behavior as necessary. When she suffers, and she will, it seems both genuine and painful. Yen, through Feb. 19 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St. Tickets: $49-$99. Call 212-352-3101. Follow Robert Kahn on Twitter@RobertKahn Federal prosecutors are considering whether to file child pornography charges against disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner after meeting with his attorneys last month, sources tell NBC 4 New York. The potential charges stem from the sexually charged text messages and Skype conversations he allegedly exchanged with a 15-year-old girl for months last year. The messages were revealed when online news outlet DailyMail.com interviewed the girl last September. Weiner's attorneys met with federal prosecutors in December in an attempt to dissuade them from charging him in the case, sources familiar with the investigation told NBC 4. Among the issues discussed at the meeting was whether Weiner should be considered a sexual predator or a man with a non-criminal sexting addiction who engaged with one girl who happened to be underage, according to the sources. The text messages published online showed he clearly was aware the girl was underage. In the exchanges, Weiner asked the girl to undress and touch herself. Weiner, who resigned from Congress in 2011 after revelations he was sending sexually explicit messages to multiple women, acknowledged he communicated online with a girl who accused him of sending sexually explicit messages -- but he also said at the time he'd also been the subject of a hoax. He apologized in the statement, saying he had "repeatedly demonstrated terrible judgment about the people I have communicated with online." But he also said he had "likely been the subject of a hoax" and provided an email, written by the girl to a teacher, in which she recanted her story. State law makes it a felony to knowingly send minors "harmful" online messages or pictures involving nudity or sexual conduct or ask them to engage in sexual acts or performances, and some federal criminal laws also prohibit such behavior. Federal prosecutors in both North Carolina and New York were initially involved in the investigation, but agents in New York subsequently took the lead, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Weiner is separated from Huma Abedin, an aide to then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and they have a young son. When federal prosecutors began investigating Weiner last fall, they found he'd communicated with the 15-year-old girl using a laptop he shared with Abedin, who used the same computer to send emails to Clinton, according to NBC News and the AP. That prompted another round of investigation into Hillary Clinton emails just 11 days before the election. Abedin left Weiner last fall after revelations he had sent more sexually charged messages to another woman. Weiner unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2005. He made another bid for mayor in 2013 and was leading several polls until it was revealed he had continued his questionable behavior after his resignation from Congress. He now works as a pundit and consultant. The mother of a dead prisoner is crying foul after a Westchester County corrections officer said his supervisors asked him to sign a report about the fatality that he says he did not author. "Something is not right. What are they trying to hide?" said Lydia McNulty, whose son Rashad McNulty died of a heart attack while he was behind bars. McNulty, an alleged gang member, was awaiting sentencing on a drug charge in 2013 when he complained of chest pains and dizziness for three hours while locked up at the Westchester County Correctional Facility. In a lawsuit, McNulty's family claims the jail and its private medical contractor, Correct Care Solutions, failed to help the dying inmate. The episode was captured on closed-circuit video. "I've seen the video. To see my son like that, it kills me," said Lydia. During deposition testimony, corrections officer Kevin Grant said he witnessed McNulty repeatedly calling for medical help and wrote two reports about the incident. But two weeks later, Grant said jail supervisors brought him a third report, with different wording, to endorse. "It was brought to my residence," he told lawyers. "They asked me to sign it." Grant, who has filed a disability claim associated with the stress of witnessing McNulty die, said he doesn't know what became of the original report he authored, but he said that document had more detail about McNulty's death than the report supervisors brought to his home two weeks later. When asked why he didn't sign the document delivered to his home, Grant testified that he refused "because it wasn't the Special Report that I submitted." Jared Rice, the attorney representing Rashad McNulty's family, said he was troubled by Grant's testimony. "You would never expect a public official, a corrections officer or anybody, to go lengths of that nature to have somebody sign a report that was not his or hers," Rice said. After the inmate's death, the state's Commission of Corrections, a panel of regulators overseeing all New York jails, issued a scathing report concluding that McNulty might have been saved had jail medical staff not ignored obvious signs of cardiac distress. In court filings, both Westchester County and Correct Care Solutions denied Rashad McNulty received deficient medical care while incarcerated. After learning that one of Grant's original reports describing the death had not been turned over as evidence in the wrongful death case, Rice filed a letter with the court demanding Westchester County cough up the original document and asking the judge to impose penalties if it turns out jail employees destroyed or disposed of it. "We're going to hold those who did this accountable to the fullest extent," Rice said. Hours after the I-Team reached out, a lawyer for Westchester county and its jail medical provider filed a letter with the court expressing concern the publicizing of Grant's deposition could taint the jury pool, and suggesting there had been a misunderstanding that would be cleared up by Wednesday. "There is no 'missing report,'" said the letter. An Internal Revenue Service attorney is facing charges he shipped methamphetamine from his Washington, D.C., apartment to a recipient in suburban New York. Federal prosecutors say Jack Vitayanon was arrested Wednesday in Washington. He will be prosecuted in federal court on Long Island, but his initial court appearance was not announced. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney representing him. The plot allegedly involved unidentified co-conspirators in Arizona and on Long Island. Prosecutors say they have recordings of Vitayanon allegedly smoking methamphetamine during video chats discussing shipments of drugs. They say the alleged scheme lasted from September 2014 until last month. They say suspected methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, packaging materials and drug ledgers were recovered from his apartment. The IRS says it can't comment on specific personnel matters. Police are searching for an assailant who punched, kicked and harassed a man in a possible bias attack that occurred in Jamaica, Queens. The 27-year-old victim was exiting the Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer Avenue subway station Jan. 14 when he encountered an unknown group of perpetrators and an argument between them ensued at around 9:30 p.m., police said. Authorities said one of them perps made a comment about the victim's sexual orientation and the group allegedly followed him up the escalator. The suspect allegedly punched the victim in the face and kicked him before fleeing the scene, police said. Authorities said the victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital for pain, swelling bloody hands and a bloody nose. The suspect is believed to be 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs between 260-280 pounds. He was last seen wearing a green hooded sweater, a burgundy jacket, blue pants and a black du-rag. Anyone with information regarding this attack is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. A 42-year-old man has been charged with murder in the death of a missing 41-year-old New Jersey woman whose body was found in the trunk of her own car. Pedro Lora-Pena, of Belleville, also faces charges of unlawful possession of a handgun and moving or concealing human remains in the death of his girlfriend Diana Boggio. The Belleville woman was found in her Honda Accord on Verona Avenue in Newark Tuesday, three days after she was reported missing. Prosecutors say a preliminary investigation indicates Boggio was killed somewhere else and then brought to Newark. The medical examiner is working to determine how she died. It wasn't immediately clear if Lora-Pena had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A group of FDNY firefighters and paramedics who saved a young girl from a high-rise fire days before Christmas were honored at a special school ceremony Tuesday. The FDNY members got the special thank you for rescuing 7-year-old Emely Hernandez, a student at Success Academy Upper West. Hernandez was one of 23 people hurt, including four firefighters, when flames sparked by a candle set fire to a West 59th Street high-rise on Dec. 22, spewing smoke into apartments. Some residents, including Hernandez, attempted to wait out the dense smoke in a residence in the building. Hernandez was in cardiac arrest when firefighters got to her and pulled her to safety. Hernandez spent several days in intensive care but made a full recovery and has since returned to school. The FDNY members who saved her were honored at the Success Academy ceremony Tuesday, and Hernandez was declared an honorary member of the FDNY. FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro was in attendance and said the rescue was an example of New Yorks bravest doing what they do best. The whole reason the fire department exists is to help the citizens of New York, and especially the most vulnerable, which are our children, Nigro said. What to Know Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, was arrested at a protest outside Trump Tower Carr and 10 other people were arrested for blocking traffic on Fifth Avenue, police said Eric Garner died after being put in a police chokehold back in 2014; his dying words "I can't breathe" became a rallying cry The mother of Eric Garner was among nearly a dozen people arrested outside Trump Tower on Tuesday night. Gwen Carr and a group of about 30 people organized by the National Action Network, a civil rights organization, came out to protest President Donald Trumps executive orders, cabinet picks and pick for Supreme Court justice. The protest lasted about an hour outside Trump Tower, where the president has a penthouse and office. Protesters marched along the sidewalk and in the street, holding signs like Indivisible and A man of quality will never fear equality. He's not representing all of the people and it's a public office, and you can't really have a public office and run it for your own self-profit. It's a public office for all of the people and he needs to represent all of the people, said Kim Kahn of Greenwich Village. Police arrested 11 protesters for allegedly blocking traffic along busy Fifth Avenue. Some of them were seen handcuffed as they were led into a police bus. The youngest daughter of Rev. Al Sharpton, Ashley Sharpton, was another of the people arrested with Carr, a subway operator before the death of her son. Carr has since devoted her time to civil rights activism. Garner, 43, died on July 17, 2014, after being put in a chokehold on a Staten Island street corner by an NYPD officer after he was stopped for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. The chokehold was captured on video, which showed him calling out "I can't breathe" as he was held down. Garner's dying words became a rallying cry at protests nationwide over police killings of black men amid a nationwide debate over police use of force. Sharpton runs the National Action Network and is a talk-show host on MSNBC, which is owned by NBC Universal, the parent company of this site. After White House officials said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel hadn't taken up President Donald Trump on his offer to send federal help to the city amid spiking violence, Emanuel had a strong message for the administration: "Just send them." "Send more FBI, DEA, ATF agents," Emanuel said during a news conference Wednesday. "We don't have to talk about it anymore. Just send them." When asked if Emanuel wanted the president to visit the city, he simply said, "No." "What I would really like is the federal resources," Emanuel said. Last week, Trump vowed in a tweet to send the feds to Chicago if the city does not address its longstanding plague of violence. And on Wednesday, he repeated his criticism of the city's growing violence, saying during an "African American History Month listening session" that "Chicago is totally out of control." If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible "carnage" going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017 White House press secretary Sean Spicer said last week that President Trump met with Emanuel previously and offered up federal resources, if asked for. "That return call for help has not occurred," Spicer said during his daily press briefing. Until now, it appears. I think what the president is upset about is turning on the television and seeing Americans killed by shootings," Spicer said, adding that no American should feel unsafe or fear for their lives while walking down the street, but "too often that's happening in Chicago." The comments follow the release of January crime statistics, which showed 51 people were killed last month alone, an increase over the numbers seen in 2016. Police reported 234 shooting incidents, with 299 victims, an increase of eight compared to January 2016. Police and Emanuel noted that three districts on the city's South and West sides -- the 7th, 11th and 15th -- accounted for about half of the city's murders last month. Emanuel has noted, that while the city would welcome federal assistance, the move must come in partnership with local agencies, and not simply by replacing them. "Chicago, like other cities right now that are dealing with gun violence, wants the partnership with federal law enforcement entities in a more significant way than were having today," Emanuel said last week. Emanuel said the answer to the city's unyielding violence can be found in police training, supervision and pro-active policing. He has repeatedly spoken against the controversial stop-and-frisk tactics promoted by Trump during his campaign. On Wednesday, he also promoted mentoring and summer jobs programs for at-risk youth as a way to keep children out of city gangs. "That gang out there is ready to be a summer and year round job," he said. "We have to decide whether these young men have a job in the summer. That gang out there is ready to be their family that they dont have or their community that they dont see. We as a city have to decide whether they are going to have a family, a community that believes in them. And for too long, and you guys know this, we collectively havent done it." See what the "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" singer posted for her husband President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has been confirmed by the Senate after several Democrats crossed party lines to back the former Exxon Mobil CEO. The vote on Tillerson came as tension continues to build among congressional Republicans and Democrats over Trump's executive order on immigrants and refugees. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declared the order a litmus test for Trump's remaining Cabinet choices. Any that refuse to publicly reject the "horrible" new policy should be opposed, the New York Democrat said. But the Democrats just didn't have the numbers to block Tillerson from becoming the nation's chief diplomat. Republicans held a four-seat advantage in the Senate and three Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Warner of Virginia cast their ballots for Tillerson. Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with the Democrats, also supported Tillerson. The opening days of the Trump administration have seen little of the honeymoon period new presidents usually experience. The chief battleground has been Trump's executive order temporarily blocking refugees worldwide and anyone from seven Muslim-majority nations. With liberal groups pressing them to fight Trump, Democrats used delay tactics on Trump nominees on Tuesday. It's one of their limited weapons as the congressional minority to hamper the GOP. Tillerson was sworn in late Wednesday. Meanwhile, A Senate committee approved President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, in a party-line vote Wednesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to nominate Sessions to serve as attorney general. Democrats had scuttled a planned vote Tuesday in the wake of Trump's decision to fire Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. Several Democrats said they had no confidence Sessions would be able to stand up to Trump. The 11-9 vote was along party lines. All the panel's Democrats voted against the nomination. Sessions is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate. Republicans have been strongly supportive of their colleague, arguing that he will follow the law and maintain traditional independence from Trump, if needed. Several other votes happened Wednesday to get Trump nominees approved by committees, clearing them for confirmation in the full Senate. Republicans pushed two Trump nominees through the Senate Finance Committee, a day after Democrats said both men had lied to Congress about their financial background and blocked those votes. The Senate committee approved both Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., Trump's pick for health secretary, and Steve Mnuchin, Trump's designee for treasury secretary without Democrats present after the GOP changed the panel's rules. The ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, said on Twitter that the rule changes were unprecedented and done on a "partisan basis." Today, for the 1st time in history, Senate Finance Cmte broke the rules to push through, on a partisan basis, 2 nominees who misled the Cmte Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 1, 2017 Price is headed for a post that would place him at the lead of Republican efforts to erase former President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Democrats cited a newspaper report that officials of an Australian biomed company said Price received a special offer to buy their stock at reduced prices, despite Price's congressional testimony that the offer was available to all investors. Democrats said a bank run by Mnuchin used a process for handling home foreclosures that critics have associated with fraud. Both men and congressional Republicans said they'd done nothing wrong. Democrats also temporally thwarted a Senate confirmation vote on Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency by boycotting a key committee meeting. The seats reserved for the 10 Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee were empty as Wednesday's meeting to discuss to nomination of Scott Pruitt was called to order. Committee rules require that at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held. Chairman John Barrasso accused the absent Democrats of engaging in obstruction amounting to nothing more than "political theater." After recessing, the Wyoming Republican pledged to "do what is necessary" to advance Pruitt's nomination, raising the possibility the GOP majority may seek a rules change to push the issue to a vote before the full Senate. Like Trump, Pruitt has previously cast doubt on the extensive body of scientific evidence showing that the planet is warming and man-made carbon emissions are to blame. Pressed by Democrats in his Senate confirmation hearing in January, however, Pruitt said he disagreed with Trump's earlier claims that global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese to harm the economic competitiveness of the United States. "I do not believe climate change is a hoax," Pruitt said. Trump's pick to head the White House Budget Office, tea party Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., faces a vote by the Homeland Security and Government Affairs panel, though veteran Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona a critic of Mulvaney's previous stands on Pentagon spending has yet to commit his support. Police rescued a woman after two men abducted her in Philadelphia Tuesday night, investigators said. The ordeal began around 8 p.m. when plainclothes narcotics officers received a tip about a possible abduction at a shopping plaza on Aramingo Avenue and York Street. As the officers walked toward the shopping center they witnessed a 25-year-old woman leaving work and walking to her car in the parking lot. They then saw a red Jeep Cherokee with four to five people inside pull up near the woman. Two men then jumped out of the SUV and forced the woman into the back seat of her own car, police said. The officers who witnessed the abduction then chased after the suspects as they drove the woman's car. The chase lasted for four blocks until one of the suspects lost control of the vehicle on the 2600 block of Emery Street, according to officials. Police say the suspects then ran off on foot while the woman was still inside her vehicle. [[412370053, C]] "The guy was running," said Michael Kremen, a witness. "I don't know what happened after that." Responding officers captured one suspect and took him into custody. The man, who police later identified as Reginald Carroll, 27, is charged with kidnapping, carjacking, criminal conspiracy, terroristic threats, simple assault and other related offenses. Police continued to search for three to four other suspects they believe were involved in the abduction, including a woman. Sources told NBC10 the suspects planned to hold the victim captive so that they could get money from her boyfriend, who they recently targeted in a home invasion. "We believe that this abduction is also involved in other crimes," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small. The victim spoke with detectives. She was shaken up but was not seriously injured. Police searched the woman's vehicle and cellphones for evidence as the investigation continues. A crash Tuesday night injured three people and left a car overturned in a parking lot along a busy Montgomery County road. A 2010 Ford Fusion and a Honda Accord collided around 7 p.m. along Bethlehem Pike (Route 309) and Line Lexington Road in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, said Hatfield police. The wreck left the Fusion with heavy front-end damage and left the Accord upside down in a nearby parking lot, said investigators. Medics rushed the Ford Fusion driver to Abington Memorial Hospital by ambulance and the passenger of the Accord to Abington by medivac. Medics took the Accord driver to Lehigh Valley Hospital by ambulance, said police. Police didnt immediately identify the crash victim and didnt reveal exact conditions. Crews investigated the crash for hours as investigators attempted to figure out what caused the wreck. Police asked anyone with information concerning this crash to call Cpl. Michael Sloan at 215-855-0903, ext. 245, or Sgt. Jeffrey Boyd at 215-855-0903, ext. 241. [[238427591, C]] A missing 41-year-old New Jersey woman has been found dead in the trunk on her car in Newark, authorities say. The Essex County prosecutor's office says Diana Boggio was killed, though it's not clear where that happened. Boggio's body was found in the trunk of her Honda Accord at about 9 a.m. Tuesday at 25 Verona Ave., the prosecutor's office says. The medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death. Boggio, of Belleville, had been reported missing Saturday afternoon. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact 877-847-7432. Authorities say an explosion that killed the maintenance manager of a northeastern Pennsylvania borough appears to have been accidental. The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that 43-year-old Steve Swift, the Factoryville maintenance manager, was burning items near a municipal shed in neighboring Clinton Township. Officials said Swift was using heavy machinery to move a burning rubbish pile when something exploded about 6:30 p.m. Monday. State police haven't specified what Swift was burning, what exploded or what caused the explosion. Wyoming County District Attorney Jeff Mitchell said his office isn't part of the investigation, but he had spoken to police and the explosion "appears to be accidental." A Philadelphia police officer, whose arm tattoo of an eagle created a social media firestorm in September because some linked it to a Nazi German symbol, has been cleared in a department investigation, police said Tuesday. Mayor Jim Kenney at the time described the photograph of Officer Ian Lichterman posted to Twitter Sept. 1 as "incredibly offensive." "I know many others do as well," he said a day after the photo was tweeted. The photo showed Lichterman, a bike cop, standing with his bicycle and most of a tattoo on his left forearm that appeared to be an eagle below the word "Fatherland." The eagle was drawn in a way some linked to a prominent Nazi German symbol. A police spokesman said Tuesday that the investigation of Lichterman's tattoo cleared the officer last month and that he remains in his post. The police department remains without a tattoo policy, according to Philly.com, which first reported the end of the investigation into Lichterman. He was hired by the department in April 2000, according to city records. Despite the end of the investigation, Kenney said in a statement he believes the tattoo is "completely inappropriate" and that the city will work to foster a "culture of acceptance, diversity and inclusion throughout the police academy and the force." He went on to credit the department's professionalism amid the many protests in Philadelphia during January. Here is Kenney's statement Tuesday after hearing about the conclusion to the Lichterman investigation: "I am deeply offended by the tattoo and I think it is completely inappropriate for any law enforcement officer to have such a tattoo given its impact on those they are sworn to protect and serve. Since the investigation determined that the officer couldn't be dismissed because PPD does not have a policy against tattoos, we will draft such a policy so this cannot happen again. "Additionally, PPD will continue to conduct thorough background checks and psych tests for new recruits. We also work to foster a culture of acceptance, diversity and inclusion throughout the police academy and the force. "That spirit has been on display the past several weeks as officers have protected thousands of individuals right to protest and done so with respect and with dignity, and not a single arrest. I am confident that the actions of this officer is not reflective of our entire force." A police spokesman said the department is working on a tattoo policy to implement in the near future, but details are not yet finalized. Troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police are currently undergoing body inspections by superior officers for any tattoos that are visible to the public, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The administration has even pushed for troopers to have any such tattoos removed, but the demand is now in negotiations between officials and the troopers' union. Pennsylvania is home to the sixth highest amount of hate groups in the country, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights and advocacy organization. The SPLC says they compiled a list of hate groups by using publications, websites, news reports, field sources and law enforcement reports. Based on their data, the SPLC found that Pennsylvania is home to 40 hate groups, the sixth highest number in the country. Their map includes the names of the organizations and their locations. Take a look at their hate map here. The SPLCs selection of hate groups has caused controversy. Some of the selected groups as well as their advocates have rejected the label and questioned the SPLCs criteria. The SPLC defines a hate group as an organization that has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics. The group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing, according to the SPLC. Police in Delaware County praised school administration, fellow students and officers on the scene after a loaded gun was confiscated at Upper Darby High School Wednesday morning. No students at the Lansdowne Avenue school were hurt and Upper Darby police officers arrested two UDHS students, said police. [[412414493, C]] UDHS administration received information about the weapon possession and acted quickly and decisively along with police on scene to administer a safe arrest, said UD police in a Facebook post. The students -- both 17-year-olds -- made no direct threats to do harm, said police. "This morning the department has charged two individuals for weapons violation, drug violations," said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood. Working on a tip, a school security guard grabbed a student carrying a box as he arrived at school by bus Wednesday, said the district. Officers wound up finding a loaded 9-mm handgun and marijuana inside the 17-year-olds box, said Chitwood. The first student tried to hand the gun off to another student, said the school. The second student was non-compliant and became aggressive with school police and security, said the school. Police charged the boys as juveniles, said police. We would like to thank the UDHS for their efforts and for constantly working with police to insure the safety of all students, said police. There are also a number of students that came forward with information and we thank them for their courage. Police hoped that this story will help others come forward when faced with a potentially dangerous situation. About 3,650 children attend UDHS, said officials. We believe this to be an isolated incident and not reflective of the wonderful students we have at UDHS, said police. [[238427591, C]] The body of an 18-year-old San Diego teen was found off a Grand Canyon National Park trail this weekend, the National Park Service (NPS) said. On Saturday at approximately 5 p.m., a witness called the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center to report that a man had fallen off the rim near the South Kaibab Trailhead. The trailhead is located off Highway 64, near the North Rim of the Canyon. Park rangers found the body of an 18-year-old male, but could not get to him because of steep terrain, snow, ice and impending darkness. The following day, rangers used a helicopter to get to the body. The body was later identified as Luis Gonzales, 18, of San Diego. The San Diego Unified School District said Gonzales graduated from Hoover High School last year. The school offered support to any students that needed it on Monday. The incident is under investigation by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner's office. No further information was available. The Navy conducted active shooter drills at NAS North Island Tuesday. The drills were part of an 11-day training exercise involving Naval Base command, Homeland Security, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and the Coronado Police Department. The annual operation was dubbed Exercise Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield. The training was meant to help Navy personnel increase their readiness. In the simulation, a person walked into a building and opened fire. Participants wearing fake blood to signify injuries ran out of buildings. The purpose was to make the training seem as realistic as possible. Fire and rescue personnel were also on-scene. Gunnar Newquist with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said the training focused on eliminating the shooter. Once that threat is neutralized then we go sweep the building and make sure it's safe, Newquist said. In 2013 an active shooter at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. killed 12 people. Newquist said tactics have changed since then. If you go back to some of the other shootings, we were all concerned about getting people out and getting them safe, he said. As long as that person is shooting, we're going to eliminate that threat. The Navy said the operation is not aimed at any specific threat, but rather to enable assessment of the Navy and civilian law enforcements response to attacks. Personnel participating in the training completed online coursework prior to the exercises. The training was expected to cause significant delays around the base, specifically at Naval Medical Center San Diego. The large-scale exercises were part of more than 300 happening across the country. The drills run through Feb. 9. Neighbors and strangers are rallying behind a man who found an anti-Muslim and racial slur spray-painted on his car in the Crown Point area of San Diego. The man, who did not wish to be identified, spoke with NBC 7 on Tuesday, saying the incident is actually bringing everyone together. He said he is African-American, not Muslim, but the incident saddened him. "I dont want to say acceptable because its not acceptable, but its becoming acceptable in the minds that are doing things like this, which I dont agree with," he said. The victim said he didn't know about the vandalism until a friend called him around 10 a.m. Monday, telling him that something was wrong. When he went outside to check, he found the racial slur written on the passenger side of his car. "It catches you off guard," he said. "It opens your eyes with stuff that you try to desensitize yourself with and push to the side." "What in their life is going on that makes them feel like they have to do something like this," he added. Neighbor Nicole Choi said when she first saw the photo, she couldn't believe it had occurred it her neighborhood. "I dont see what the point of it is," Choi said. "How is that helping you feel better, anyone feel better? It's just enraging people and thats what causes people to get mad at each other and then they dont talk to each other." She told NBC 7 that it made her angry and upset but she wanted to share a message with the victim. Along with others in the neighborhood, Choi wrote the victim a letter, expressing her sadness and assuring him that he is welcome. "I just wanted to let him know that I dont know if youre Muslim, I dont know if youre an immigrant--that youre welcome in this neighborhood and that people in this neighborhood feel very ashamed. [We] want to let you know that its fine for you to be here, we want you to be here," she said. The victim said racism is still an issue that won't go away anytime soon, but he hopes it will change. "I dont see a divide between us. I see us you know, all as one. Everybody is from somewhere else," he said. He told NBC 7 that he did file a police report and hopes that sharing his experience could help others. Pretending to be armed with a gun, an unknown man walked into a popular Little Italy restaurant early Tuesday and demanded cash from a bartender, police confirmed. The robbery happened just after 12:15 a.m. at Craft & Commerce located at 675 W. Beech St. According to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD), a man described as thin and in his late 20s, wearing a black hoodie and grey sweatpants, walked up to the bar and, while simulating a handgun, ordered a bartender to give him cash. The bartender pointed to a register on the other side of the bar. The man walked over to it and asked a second bartender for money. The victim gave the man an undisclosed amount of cash and he fled the scene, police said. The robber was last seen walking southbound on India Street; no one was hurt in the incident. Craft & Commerce reopened in early September 2016 after being closed for a year for a large-scale renovation project. The redesigned and expanded restaurant now boasts a second bar, more seating and a wrap-around patio. It also houses a new, hidden tiki bar called False Idol. NBC 7 reached out to Craft & Commerce Tuesday for further details on the incident. During the weekdays, the restaurant opens at 4 p.m. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized approximately $7 million in drugs across the San Diego and Imperial County port of entries over the weekend. The interceptions happened Friday through Sunday and accounted for more than 20,000 pounds of drugs. Officers first intercepted a truck driver coming through the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry on Friday at approximately 4 p.m. when a shipment of cardboard boxes was sent to the port's imaging system. Through the imaging system, officers saw anomalies; when they searched through the shipment, they found 23 large cellophane-wrapped packages of marijuana within the boxes weighing approximately 523 pounds. The street value was an estimated $261,000. Officers seized the truck and marijuana. The same day, at approximately 6:30 p.m., another truck driver carrying a "Organic Sugar Confectionery" shipment arrived at the Otay Mesa cargo port of entry. When the shipment passed through imaging, officers found anomalies. Officers offloaded the truck and found large cellophane-wrapped packages of marijuana. The 350 packages weighed approximately 8,400 pounds and were worth an estimated $4.1 million in street value. Officiers seized the drugs and vehicle. Over the weekend, officers also intercepted a number of different shipments: 272 pounds of marijuana 271 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly 118 pounds of cocaine - worth an estimated street value of $2.6 million. The drugs were found in a fuel tank, inside a dashboard, in a muffler and water panels, in some instances. A large portion of a cliff in Ocean Beach has collapsed at the base of an apartment complex just south of the pier. But the risk to people who live in the building is not yet known. The collapse happened this weekend at the base of Pelican Point Apartments on Narragansett Avenue when a large portion of the cliff gave way under some first floor patios. The compromised section of the cliff is covered with tarps for now but the future of the cliff's integrity is hard to predict. Henry Elloso said he intends to rent an apartment in the complex in March. Concern, just to see if this will affect this patio, Elloso said, speaking of how this incident is impacting him. Pelican Point Apartments is walking distance from the Ocean Beach Pier. Standing on the pier now, one can see the large blue tarps now protecting the soft ground from more rain. Retired San Diego State University Geology Professor Pat Abbott points out the seawall is breached. A section of it has been pushed three feet forward. This is a deep seeded movement. We're not talking about sluffing here, were talking about back down in there several feet, Abbott said. Abbott blames last year's El Nino waves combined with this year's soaking rain for this collapse and other recent ones along the San Diego coast. "I wasn't really thinking about it after all the rain and what happened, Elloso said. He is not alone. The cliffs have the appearance of a fortress to others who live and hangout here. "We live close by so I would hate for that to happen near our building, neighbor Claire Halchak said. The apartment manager is still living on the property along with dozens of other tenants. Meanwhile, Abbott said to enjoy the view for now because the cliff won't last forever. A San Diego City spokesperson told NBC 7, the Parks and Recreation Department is aware of the collapse. But who is responsible for the property and what can be done about it is still being determined. San Diegans looking for new adventures now have three new destinations to pick from when traveling. Frontier Airlines announced the airline will now fly direct to three new cities: Austin, Texas, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cleveland, Ohio. The City of Austin said the direct service between Austin and San Diego will begin on April 23. Flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Travelers have other options when going to Austin (Southwest Airlines), but no other direct options for getting to the two new Ohio destinations. Cleveland has not had a non-stop flight to San Diego since 2008, according to one report, and the service will begin in May. The announcement comes after Southwest Airlines added several new non-stop destinations for San Diego travelers, including Cabo San Lucas, Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah. A Sabre Springs man said he had been trying to get the company behind his washing machine to reimburse him after a bad repair job led to water leaking through his garage ceiling. Ajay Kumar and his wife run a business from home. Recently, Ajay said he feels like hes been run over by the maker of his washing machine. According to him, less than a year after he purchased a new Samsung washing machine, the appliance wasnt cleaning clothes properly. Ajay called Samsung and the company sent out a repair service but unfortunately, Ajay said the repair made things worse. My wife noticed that the washer was leaking from the garage, Ajay said. Within days after the repair, Ajay said water started flowing from under the washing machine in his upstairs utility room and was leaking through the ceiling, into his garage. Ajay said Samsung told him to send pictures and they would look into it. We will take care of it, thats what they said, Ajay said. Ajay said he didnt waste time and hired a restoration company to come in and survey the damage. The restoration company fixed the damaged floor, ceiling and walls but when Ajay sent his receipts to Samsung, he said he couldnt get Samsung to pay him back. Ajay said he went back and forth over the phone with Samsung for over a year and a half with no results. Nobody has the time to spend that much time to call them almost every day, nobody has that time, Ajay said. Ajay turned to NBC 7 Responds. Our team contacted Samsung and told them about Ajays frustration. Samsung agreed to look over all of the paperwork and within a month, Ajay received a full refund for his washer and the company agreed to pay Ajay back for all of the restoration costs. The services like you provide is great for the people, people like us and I'm not the only one, there could be so many other people out there, so you're doing a great job on that one, Ajay said. I would not have resolved it, I would have given up. In an email, a spokesperson for Samsung sent us this statement, We are very sorry about the Chhabras (Ajay Kumars) experience and we have been in contact with them to resolve the issue to their satisfaction. Product quality is a top priority for us, and we strive to deliver the best possible experience for all Samsung customers. We encourage anyone with a product concern to contact us directly at 1-800-SAMSUNG. An Afghan interpreter and San Diego resident who worked with the U.S. Military abroad is speaking out about President Donald Trump's temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Lucky, an Afghan interpreter who worked with the U.S. military overseas, said he risked everything working with the U.S. in combat zones. In the days following the executive order, he and others, including many U.S. combat veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, voiced strong opposition to the temporary ban, which has blocked visas for Iraqi interpreters who risked their lives to help American troops on the battlefield. Thousands of veterans have signed petitions. Many veterans say they feel betrayed by the executive order signed Friday, which also suspends the admission of all refugees to the U.S. for 120 days and all Syrian refugees indefinitely. Some veterans say the fight feels personal because they gave their word to people who aided American troops that the United States would protect them and their families. In an interview with NBC 7 San Diego, Lucky said that he decided to work with the U.S. in hopes of building a better future for his country. "I was thinking, you know, to help the U.S. Army, so that way I can bring peace and prosperity to Afghanistan," he said. He said his work and the work of many other interpreters was, and continues to be, dangerous. "Being with the U.S. Army, U.S. Special Forces, you know, an interpreter, you're like a soldier, because we are armed, we had guns," Lucky explained. He served for eight years, working side-by-side, and many times, out in front of, U.S. Forces. He survived not one, but two, IED explosions - it's how he got his name. "My name got changed," he said. "They keep calling me Lucky, you are Lucky." Lucky's decision to work as an interpreter has come at a price. In one photo, Lucky's car is riddled with bullets. Because he decided to help the U.S., he became a Taliban target. But he has a larger concern. "Because of my job, I have put my family life in danger," he said. The U.S. Military made Lucky a promise: he and his family would be protected. They have kept their part of the bargain. After three years of vetting, Lucky's Visa to the U.S. was granted two months ago. But because of President Trump's executive action, he fears he will not be able to return to Afghanistan to help others in his family. "I am scared, maybe I will not be allowed to come back to USA," Lucky said. Afghanistan is not among the seven countries on the ban list, but suspension of the refugee program is affecting Afghan translators who have been given special immigrant visas for helping U.S. troops. The Pentagon says they are compiling the names of Iraqis who have supported U.S. and coalition personnel to help exempt them from the 90-day immigration ban. The list will include those who have tangibly demonstrated their commitment to supporting U.S. forces, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said. It will contain several categories of people, such as translators, drivers and Iraqi forces who may be training in the U.S. Veterans who have been aiding translators say it would be difficult to get everyone on the list. What's more, they say the ban sends a message to Iraqi soldiers and other Muslims fighting insurgents that the United States does not want them. Lucky says recent actions send a message: that even though people like him put their lives on the line for the military, the U.S. military might not have their back in return. When it comes time to find people like him again, they might be more difficult to find, Lucky says. "The local interpreter will not help them," he said. The former employer of a man whose wife was found dead on a hiking trail in Jamul shared details exclusively with NBC 7 about her former staffer and the strange, painful case. On Jan. 7, hikers stumbled upon the body of Melissa Whitby, 49, on the Skyline Truck Trail in Jamul. The San Diego County Medical Examiners office would later come to determine that Melissas cause of death was trauma to her upper body. Her death was ruled a homicide. Other details of her case were sealed; more than three weeks later, no new information has been released by investigators. On Dec. 31, 2016, a week before Melissas body was found, her husband, Winnie Perry Whitby, had reported Melissa missing to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department (SDSO). At the time, Perry worked at the Childrens Nature Retreat, a new refuge for animals located in Alpine. The owner of the retreat, Agnes Barrelet, spoke with NBC 7 about Perry, saying she had hired him in September 2016 after he responded to an employment ad she placed online. Barrelet said Perry mostly worked as a barn keeper, taking care of the animals. He also did some work on the grounds. The Children's Nature Retreat sits on 20 acres of land, and workers are building new enclosures, fixtures, and landscapes. "He helped to build some walls, a little bit of fences," said Barrelet. The day after Melissas body was found, Perry was scheduled to work at the animal habitat. He was hours late for work that day, and Barrelet said she called Perry several times. Barrelet soon found out Perry was with investigators. He didnt come to work because he was at the police station, and the police called me to let me know what was going on, she recalled. The following day, Jan. 9, Perry returned to work. "In the midst of the investigation, I had to let him go, and I put him on paid leave until we know more what's going on, said Barrelet. So he just left the premises. He didn't get upset. Barrelet said a background check on Perry didnt reveal anything criminal about his past. She was shocked to hear about his wifes death. Barrelet said another revelation that came as a surprise to her and her employees is that Perry was tried and acquitted of a double-murder charge in Maryland in the 1990s. SDSO detectives have not yet made an arrest in Melissas homicide. They have not identified Perry as a suspect or person of interest in the case. NBC 7 did speak briefly to Perry a few days after hikers found his wife's body. He said a few words through the screen door of his home in Jamul, including that he last saw his wife on Dec. 29, 2016. Perry said he had been in contact with Melissa a few times before reporting her missing to the SDSO on Dec. 31, 2016. He also said he had been fully cooperative with police, but declined an interview, adding, [Ive] been through this before and [I] know how this all works. Barrelet said she never had any problems with Perry during the four months that he worked at her animal refuge. She said he pretty much kept to himself and his duties didnt require interaction with visitors to the refuge. Three weeks later, Barrelet is still in disbelief over the mysterious case. "I think it was such terrible news, I'm still trying to process it," she told NBC 7. "It's just a painful story. You cannot really grasp how difficult it can be." Melissa was a nurse who worked at a rehabilitation center in Golden Hill and at a health care center El Cajon. NBC 7 spoke with some of Melissa's friends, who described her as a happy and kind-hearted woman. Its the end of an era for an iconic San Diego restaurant on the Embarcadero, Anthonys Fish Grotto is closing its doors for the final time. After 52 years on Harbor Drive, Anthonys Fish Grotto closed the Embarcadero location at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2017. Hundreds of customers lined up well before the restaurant's opening at 11 a.m., all looking forward to getting one more meal at Anthonys. The big crowds have become the norm as the restaurant counts down its final days at this location. In the last two weeks, well serve in excess of 20,000 people, between 1,500 to 1,800 guests a day, said Anthonys CEO Craig Ghio. Its sad we cant come here anymore, this has always been our favorite restaurant, two diners told NBC 7. Longtime customer Dana Risan told NBC 7, This restaurant means everything to us. Our family has been coming here for years. Its a sad day. Opened in 1965, Anthonys Fish Grottos 52-year lease officially expires at the close of business on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Since its opening, the restaurant has been owned and operated by the Ghio family. I think the emotional part has to do with the staff, we have people whove been working here for 40 to 50 years, we want to make sure they have jobs moving forward," Ghio told NBC 7. Ghi said his family is proud of what this restaurant started when it opened over 50 years ago. There was really nothing happening on the Waterfront when we built this. We can take a sense of pride that we were really the catalysts for energizing the waterfront. So much of what happened was that after Anthonys was established and became so popular, tourists and visitors flocked to this location. With the closing of the Embarcadero location, there is just one Anthonys restaurant remaining in San Diego, Anthonys Fish Grotto La Mesa, located at 9530 Murray Dr. President Donald Trump sent a $10,000 check Monday to a 24-year-old FedEx courier from rural Illinois, the Washington Post reports. The Republican reportedly met with Shane Bouvet, a native of Stonington, Ill., the night before Trumps inauguration. Trump praised Bouvet for his work as a volunteer on his campaign and promised to send him a $10,000 check. The meeting came about after Trump read a Washington Post profile about Bouvet, a struggling single father who spent nights working and days volunteering for the Trump campaign, according to the newspaper. The Illinoisan backed Trump, hoping that he could revitalize his downstate town, as well as other areas affected by the decline in U.S. industry. As promised, Bouvets check arrived in the mail Monday alongside a note from the president. Shane You are a great guy thanks for all of your help, Trump reportedly wrote on presidential stationary. After receiving the check, Bouvet was astonished by his good fortune. Im still just living a dream, Bouvet told the Post. I never thought in a million years this would happen. Bouvet is reportedly planning to use the cash to pay for chemotherapy treatment for his father, who is suffering from bladder cancer. Bouvet told the Post that he was encouraged by Trumps early push to implement his agenda. Hes getting things done, Bouvet said. Hes laying down the law. Im really blessed with that - thats what we need." Christian Hilland, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission, wouldn't comment directly on whether the payment complies with agency regulation. "We don't comment on specific candidates or committees for the potential for the matter to come before the Commission," Hilland told Ward Room in an email. "Disbursements made from a campaign account of a federal candidate committee should be reported on a committee's subsequent FEC report. Financial activity between January 1 and March 30, 2017 should be disclosed in a committee's report due to the FEC by April 15, 2017." "However, monies spent outside of the committee that are not related to campaign activity are not required to be disclosed to the FEC," he added. The White House did not immediately respond to Ward Room's request for comment. Can't get your hands on one of those highly sought-after tickets to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture? Don't worry! There are many black history museums throughout the D.C. area that you can visit in the meantime. We've rounded up 14 museums that you can visit when you can't get to the NMAAHC: MARYLAND Prince George's African American and Cultural Museum Where: North Brentwood Admission: Prices vary from $4 to $20 This museum celebrates the cultural and artistic contributions of African Americans in Prince George's County, Maryland. The museum also hosts tours and workshops for visitors. The museum offers various programs including an after school visual arts program and Museum-In-A-Box, which brings black history lessons into the classroom. Howard County Center of African American Culture Where: Columbia Admission: $4 adults; $2 children Located in Howard County, this museum is "dedicated to the collection, preservation and interpretation of African American history and culture of Howard County, Maryland, and the surrounding region." The museum is home to more than 1,000 artifacts and murals, according to their website. The museum has collections from the early 1900s, and works from modern-day African-American artists from the area. African American Heritage Society Where: La Plata Admission: Donations appreciated This non-profit organization is dedicated to fostering public awareness of the cultural and historical contributions of African Americans in southern Maryland and the United States. The society purchased the African American Heritage House in 1999, which now serves as a museum and educational center. The space is open by appointment only. National Great Blacks in Wax Museum Where: Baltimore Admission: $12-$15 As the first wax museum of African-American history in the United States, this museums life-size, life-like wax statues feature prominent African-American historical figures, including W.E.B. DuBois, Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass and more. There are over 100 figures, a full model salve ship and a room dedicated to Marylanders who made significant contributions to African-American history. There are daily tours, as well as extended tour packages that take visitors outside of the museum and into other historical areas. Reginald F. Lewis Museum Where: Baltimore Admission: $6-$8 Dedicated to being the best resource for information and inspiration about the life of African-American Marylanders, this museum shares the African American experience in the state. The museum focuses on a number of historical topics and issues relevant to the black community today. "Kin Killin Kin," the museum's current exhibition by artist James Pate shows urban youth in Klan garb to draw attention to violence within the black community. The museum is named after Baltimore native Reginald F. Lewis, a businessman and one of the richest African-American men in the 1980s. The museum aims to inspires people to -- in the words of Lewis himself -- "keep going, no matter what." Banneker-Douglass Museum Where: Annapolis Admission: Free You can learn about the contributions African-Americans made in the state at Maryland's official museum of African-American heritage. The museum's permanent collection explores African-American history in Maryland from 1633 to the present, profiling historical figures like Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Banneker. In 2016, there were also a number of temporary exhibitions, including one exploring African Americans in lacrosse, another celebrating African American weddings and a third focused on quilting. Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park Where: Brookville Admission: Free guided tours, April through October The Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park is more than a museum, it's a 19th century historical site. The cabin, which is next to the historic Brookville Road, was "the center of an African American roadside community from Emancipation well into the 20th century," according to their website. The living museum sits on 2-acres of land surrounded by wild plants local people at the time used for eating or medicinal purposes. Visitors may even spot hawks, foxes or deer on their tour. Sandy Spring Slave Museum & African Art Gallery Where: Sandy Spring Admission: $5 for visitors ages 5 and up Founded in 1988, this museum focuses on African-American heritage. Visitors will learn about the Transatlantic passage, the Underground Railroad and the Civil Rights Movement. The museum also aims to "bridge the information gap and inform all ethnic groups." Before you visit, make sure to call ahead. Tours are available by appointment only. VIRGINIA Alexandria Black History Museum Where: Alexandria Admission: Suggested admission $2 Located in Old Town Alexandria, this museum currently explores the day in the life of slaves in Alexandria and issues of preservation in the state. In addition to the main building, the museum also includes the nearby Watson Reading Room and African-American Heritage Park. The Watson Reading Room has over 3,000 books, periodicals, dissertations and videos documenting African American history. The park, which is nine acres, also preserves a 1-acre 19th century African-American cemetery. Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia Where: Richmond Admission: $6-$10 The Black History Museum and Cultural Center celebrates the achievements of prominent black figures in Virginia. Included in their exhibits are photographs, rare books, artifacts and more. The museum aims to become a statewide resource for black history. The museum also collects documents, limited editions, prints, art and photographs for their Black History Archives program. The Legacy Museum of African American History Where: Lynchburg Admission: $2-$5 Visit this museum in Lynchburg to immerse yourself in historical exhibits on local African American history, and take advantage of workshops, lectures and programs offered by the museum. The museum's current exhibit focuses on the history of African American music. The adjourning Legacy Activity Center engages children and youth in educational activities and programs. Washington, D.C. African American Civil War Memorial and Museum Where: 1925 Vermont Ave. NW Admission: Free This museum and memorial highlights the heroism of African-American soldiers during the Civil War through artifacts, photographs, presentations and seminars. The Spirit of Freedom: African American Civil War Memorial and Wall of Honor stands just across the street from the museum and tells the story of the United States Colored Troops. There are 209,145 soldiers names engraved onto the wall. The museum is housed in the Grimke Building, named after one of the most prominent African-American families in Washington, D.C. Group tours are available. Anacostia Community Museum Where: 1901 Fort Place SE Admission: Free The Anacostia Community Museum houses an extensive collection on urban communities, with a focus on African-American history. The museum also hosts talks with artists, film screenings, community appreciation days and more. Can't make it? The museum offers an online exhibit showcasing African-American writers. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Where: 1411 W St. SE Admission: Free for entrance; $1.50 to reserve a guided tour Tour the home where Frederick Douglass lived from 1877 until his death in 1895. Visitors can see original artifacts, watch a film on Douglass' life or tour the grounds. A partnership with Google makes it easy to tour the house from home with a virtual 360-degree, interactive tour. An accountant who sought grant money for a nonprofit he founded is charged with bribing an elected official in Prince George's County, Maryland. Felix Ayala of Rockville bribed Democrat Will Campos, then a County Council member, the U.S. attorney's office said. Campos later joined the House of Delegates. "My client is not guilty," said Ayala's attorney, Richard Finci. Ayala is charged with "bribery and making false statements in connection with a scheme to engage in bribery in order to influence a public official in the performance of his official duties," prosecutors said in a news release. They allege Ayala bribed Campos $5,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015 to receive $25,000 in grants for his organization, which he created to give scholarships to high school and college students. Campos pleaded guilty last month to bribery and conspiracy. His arrest is linked to the Prince George's County liquor board raid that resulted in four initial arrests of elected officials and businessmen. He resigned in 2015 from the legislature. Ayala was arrested the same day as Campos and initially denied payment until the FBI showed him pictures of the meetings. At one point during years of federal investigation, Campos wore a wire and cooperated with the FBI. Ayala's son said his dad is not to blame. The maximum sentence Ayala would face if convicted is 10 years in prison for bribery and five years in prison for false statements. All passes to visit the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in May were snapped up Wednesday within hours. The museum released timed entry passes for May at 9 a.m.; all 114,000 were taken by 2:30 p.m. Due to high demand, some of those trying to get tickets had to reload the museum's website several times. The museum has welcomed more than 868,000 visitors since opening in September. Because of the crowds, new ways of obtaining passes for entry into the museum were released in December. Advance timed passes are released monthly; museum-goers can get up to six passes at a time. There are other options to gain entry into the museum. Non-commercial groups of 10 or more (such as schools, nonprofits and families) can schedule their visits up to one year in advance through links on the website. A limited number of walk-up passes are available weekdays starting at 1 p.m. Up to four same-day timed passes are available online each day at 6:30 a.m. until they run out. If you're looking for a way to celebrate Black History Month outside the D.C. area, several events celebrating the contributions of African-Americans are being held just an hour north in Baltimore, Maryland. From attractions at the National Aquarium to cruises on the Patapsco River, Charm City has a lot of ways to celebrate while you learn something new. We've rounded up a list of five fun things you can do this month: 1. The National Aquarium's Black History Month Celebration On Friday, the National Aquarium is hosting an evening of family fun. From 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., you can watch live performances and learn how African Americans have contributed to the Chesapeake Bays maritime and seafood industries. Youll also learn the role African-Americans play in shaping the industrys future. The event will include hands-on activities like oyster tonging. All of the festivities are included in your half-price Friday night admission ticket. Click here for more information. 2. Bob Marley's Birthday Soul Shakedown Celebrate reggae legand Bob Marley's birthday at a concert in Charm City. The annual dance party will be held Feb. 4 at Creative Alliance on Eastern Avenue. Creative Alliance is a nonprofit that promotes art in the city. See-I, a reggae band founded by two brothers, will perform some of their hit songs. Local DJs Papa WaBe and Papa T will also be at the party. Jamaican food will be available for purchase. Doors open at 8 p.m., and tickets are on sale for $18. If you're a member of Creative Alliance, discount tickets are available for $15. 3. Picturing Frederick Douglass The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is hosting "Picturing Frederick Douglass" as a part of its genealogy and history series. On Feb. 4, John Stauffer of Harvard University will examine Douglass' work and fight for African-American representation through 50 years of photographs. Admission to the event is included with your museum ticket. Tickets to the museum are $8 for general admission and $6 for senior citizens and children. Because the event is on the first weekend of February, you can get in for free if you are a Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit holder by showing your card and ID at the door. 4. Creativity Exchange - Intersection Between Black Artists and Black-Owned Businesses The Baltimore Museum of Art is inviting you to a day of discussion and networking at the Creativity Exchange on Feb. 11 from noon to 5 p.m. Do you own a business? You can learn how to brand yourself and connect with customers during a workshop at 12:30 p.m. Because space for this workshop is limited, you'll need to RSVP in advance. You can also listen to a panel discussion about how to develop innovative projects. Throughout the day, afro-punk jewelry, bath and body products and apparel will be available for purchase at a vendor fair. The event is open to the public. 5. Black History Month Lunch Cruise Cruise the Patapsco River during a 2-hour cruise Feb. 25. Spirit Cruises is hosting the Black History Month lunch cruise. Participants can dine on a delicious buffet and enjoy beautiful river views while learning about important black history moments in the city. Tickets are available for $46.90, but if you want a better view, you can purchase a seat at a window table for $61.90. T These are just some of the Black History Month celebrations happening in Baltimore. Check out other exciting events here! Diageo Beer Company announced its plans to build a U.S. version of Dublins popular Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore County, Maryland. The plan is to build a mid-sized Guinness brewery and a Guinness visitor experience with an innovation microbrewery at the companys existing Relay, Maryland, site. These new additions combined with a packaging and warehousing operation will bring Diageos investment in Relay to approximately $50 million. The new brewery will house the new Guinness beers created for the U.S. market, while the iconic Guinness Stouts will continue to be brewed at St. Jamess Gate in Dublin, Ireland. Visitors will be able to tour the brewery, sample experimental beers brewed on-site and purchase Guinness merchandise at the retail store. Opening a Guinness brewery and visitor center in the U.S. will enable us to collaborate with fellow brewers and interact with the vibrant community of beer drinkers, said Tom Day, president of Diageo Beer Company, USA, in a statement. "Given the success of our Open Gate Brewery in Dublin and the popularity of beer tourism in the U.S., we are confident that Americans will welcome the opportunity to come experience Guinness brewing in Baltimore County. We appreciate the support we have received so far from state and local officials, and look forward to continuing to contribute to the local community." The project will be the first Guinness brewery to open in the U.S. in 63 years. The new addition will become a part of the Calvert Distillery, which opened in 1933. Relay was chosen as the preferred location because of its proximity to major East Coast tourism, availability of skilled employees and space to build and adapt existing structures on the property. "Baltimore County is thrilled that Diageo is reviving an historic building with the iconic Guinness brand. The brewery and tap house has all the hallmarks to become a popular tourist destination and will be a perfect complement to our local craft breweries," said Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz in a statement. It is estimated that the project will generate around 40 jobs in brewing, warehousing and packaging. The visitor experience could create approximately 30 jobs. The company also intends to hire as many local construction firms as possible to conduct the building phase. "Guinness' plan to build a brewery at its historic facility in Relay, Maryland is great news for job creation, manufacturing, and tourism in our state," said Gov. Larry Hogan in a statement. "Beer tourism attracts millions of visitors to towns and communities across the country every year, and I look forward to welcoming Guinness to the roster of excellent breweries we have here in Maryland." Diageo hopes to begin construction this spring with the goal of opening the brewery this fall. The fall will mark the 200th anniversary of Guinness first import into the U.S. Diageos collection of brands includes Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Don Julio among others. The Guinness brand was established in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on St. Jamess Gate Brewery in Dublin. Nestle will move its U.S. headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Monday Properties announced Wednesday. The company, known best for its candy, is set to relocate from Glendale, California. The new Nestle headquarters will be in Rosslyn, the Arlington neighborhood just over the Key Bridge from Georgetown. The company will lease 40 percent of an office building at 1812 N. Moore St., which has sat vacant since construction finished nearly four years ago. Monday Properties Rosslyn will be home to the U.S. headquarters for the company, which has its main headquarters in Switzerland. "[Nestle] will invest $39.5 million and create 750 new, high-paying jobs here in Rosslyn," McAuliffe said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. The company will occupy the 27th through 35th floors, which are the building's highest. Its office space will comprise about 206,000 square feet, with the opportunity to expand, according to a press release. "We found our perfect partner and they found us," Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette said. One of President Donald Trumps executive orders may have an effect on his hotel in Washington, D.C. The presidents threat to cut funding to sanctuary cities may defund inspectors who would oversee the installation of a new generator system at the new Trump Hotel. Like many hotels and large buildings, the hotel is installing a new power system and backup generators. The hotel has been granted permits for the power plants by D.C.s Department of Energy and Environment. The director of the agency said its the first time a president of the United States has applied for a permit of this type, so he knows there will be added scrutiny Its not business as usual, said Tommy Wells, director of the Department of Energy and Environment. But at the same time, it needs to be business as usual, so theyre held to the same standards as everyone else. Wells said the Trump Hotel has gone above and beyond some other D.C. businesses by applying for the permits. However, the recent actions of Trump illustrated how his business dealings could conflict with his responsibilities as president. By signing an executive order threatening to withhold federal funding from governments that are considered sanctuary cities for illegal residents, Trump could defund the D.C. employees who would be responsible for inspecting the Trump Hotels new generators. Air quality is a shared responsibility with the federal government and the federal government helps pay for air quality inspections, Wells said. While the executive order does not threaten the hotels ability to install the generators, if the funding is pulled from the D.C. air quality agency, inspectors would either have to forego the inspections or pay for them from other funds. The mayor is being as thoughtful about that and would never put people at risk, Wells said. Well just have to cross that bridge if that bridge ever comes. While this is the first time a sitting president has requested a permit of this type from the D.C. government, its not the first permit application from the White House. Wells said the Obama White House requested a permit for the first ladys beehives. President Donald Trump has defended his controversial travel ban as being narrowly focused. He has tweeted that "only 109 out of 325,000" people were detained and held for questioning, referring to the first, chaotic day after he signed his executive order. It halts the United States refugee program for four months and stops travellers from entering the country seven majority-Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. But the order seems to affect the tens of thousands of people who were issued visas by the United States from those seven countries. They can't return to the U.S. or fear they won't be able to return if they left, a dramatic change for America's borders that has sparked protests and legal action across the country. Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,..... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017 In 2015, the U.S. issued nearly 90,000 visas to people from the affected countries, the most recent year for which State Department data was available. Over 100,000 visas were issued last year, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. One of those stuck abroad is Khaled Almilaji, a Syrian doctor who has been attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on a scholarship. He's studying ways to rebuild his country's health system after risking his life to provide medical care during Syria's civil war, coordinating a campaign that vaccinated 1.4 million Syrian children. He told The Associated Press that his pregnant wife remains in the United States while he's stuck in Turkey. "It is really sad where the world is going to," Almilaji said. [NATL] Trump Immigration Order Triggers Protests Across US He's not alone. U.S. companies and universities have warned staff members and students not to travel abroad if they are affected by the executive order. Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities, said that it was in the nation's best interest to attract scholars and innovators instead of barring their entry. "The order is stranding students who have been approved to study here and are trying to get back to campus, and threatens to disrupt the education and research of many others," Coleman said in a statement. And the number of visa holders affected by the ban don't take into account the many refugees who also would have come into the country if not for Trump's order. Syrian refugees are barred indefinitely under the order. About 85,000 refugees were admitted to the U.S. in 2016, according to the Department of State's Refugee Processing Center. Actor Diane Guerrero has met with a woman who is seeking refuge from deportation in the basement of a Denver church. Guerrero, who stars in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, met with Jeanette Vizguerra on Thursday and told the woman and her daughters not to make the same mistake she did as a child by remaining silent. Guerrero was 14 when her parents and her older brother were deported to their native Colombia. She decided to stay behind and live with friends. Edward Alden, an immigration expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, said it will be unlikely to get a final count of the number of people affected by the order. "There are a lot of effects that are hard to quantify, and it's going to go way beyond the people from those seven countries," Alden said, suggesting it may change the perception immigrants have of America as a welcoming place. "We also don't know that this is going to be temporary. This could easily turn into something more permanent," he added. Nevertheless, the Trump administration has consistently defended its actions as limited in scope. Defending the action on Monday amid a rocky rollout, presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway called the ban a temporary and mild inconvenience and press secretary Sean Spicer said it was a small price to pay to keep Americans safe. A Customs and Border Patrol official gave updated figures for the number of people affected by the ban on Tuesday: 721 travelers with visas from affected countries weren't allowed onto flights to the United States with three days of the order, while waivers were given to 1,060 lawful permanent residents of the U.S., known as green card holders, and 75 waivers to visa holders. Spicer said Wednesday that waivers would no longer be required for green card holders, the latest change to the implementation of the order. Refugees who had planned travel prior to the executive order from areas where there would otherwise suffer "undue hardship" are still being considered for waivers, officials said. Customs and Border Patrol expects 872 refugees to arrive this week, and waivers will continued to be processed for them. Trump has said that visas will once again be issued to all countries "once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies." An elderly husband and wife died in an apparent murder-suicide in Washington state, and police say they found notes about the couple's struggles to afford needed medical care, NBC News reported. A 77-year-old man called 911 on Wednesday morning saying he planned to die by suicide, the Whatcom County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post. Deputies went to the home of the man in Ferndale, a town about 100 miles north of Seattle near the Canadian border, and set up outside. A crisis negotiator attempted to contact the couple in the home by phone and loudspeaker for about an hour, said the sheriff's office post on Wednesday night. They then found both the man and his wife, 76, dead inside. Authorities are investigating the case as a murder-suicide. But to Alden, the effects of the temporary travel ban will be felt long after it's lifted. "I think we can say for sure that admission numbers are going to be much lower this year," Alden said. "But the impact will be a lot broader than the numbers will indicate." A meeting between Black Lives Matter protesters and police dissolved in Portland, Maine, Wednesday, on what was supposed to be a first step in healing, and a major step in resolving criminal charges. The meeting was one part of a plea agreement the 17 protesters accepted last week. Protesters were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing a public way during a march last July. Last Thursday, all 17 agreed to take part in a restorative justice process, that required them to pay a fine and have a dialogue with Portland Police and the District Attorneys office. In exchange, charges would be dismissed. We want this to be a meaningful discussion, said Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Ackerman. We want everyone to be heard. Ackerman said her office notified the protesters they wanted to meet in two groups before they accepted the deal. But instead of meeting in smaller groups, all of the protesters showed up at once Wednesday morning, and demanded to be heard all at once, according to Ackerman. What we saw was a group that wanted to continue to protest, said Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck. The parties left the meeting without coming to an agreement, and the restorative justice process has broken down. We were willing to participate, and we sat down in a circle, and they just left, said protester Shadiyo Hussain. She denied making any demands of the police or DA. They were out of the gate demanding, and I have to say very hostile, said Ackerman, who said the protesters also demanding the director of the Maine NAACP be removed from observing the meeting. Because the meeting fell through, the District Attorneys office is in the process of filing a motion to return their criminal charges to the docket. Ackerman said its possible these cases could now go to trial, because the conditions of the restorative justice were not met. A customer at a Cumberland Farms in Southborough, Massachusetts, is being credited for saving the day not only for himself but perhaps many others after he found an illegal skimming device inside the store. It said enter your 4-digit code and a light bulb went off and I said, oh let me give it a little jiggle, recalled Brian Murphy. Murphy was about to withdraw money from the ATM inside the Route 9 store when he took a closer look. I gave my little wiggle to the card reader, and there was a little movement to it, said Murphy. The 25-year-old had recently read a post on the website Reddit which taught him to check closely when hes using an ATM. It read thank you Reddit you saved myself from credit card theft. Always jiggle an ATM reader, said Murphy. Skimming devices are used by criminals to steal information from the magnetic stripe on an ATM card. Theyre typically placed on top of the ATMs card reader. Murphy knew something wasnt quite right and summoned a store employee. He watched me rip the credit card skimmer off of the ATM, said Murphy. Investigators say customers who had recently used the ATM should contact their bank or credit card company. Its kind of sickening in a sense to know someones come in and plopping on a little piece of plastic to a machine that has the ability to really negatively impact your life, said Murphy. Cumberland Farms declined to comment. The FBI's Boston division is asking for the publics help in finding an interstate serial bank robber. Chaka J. Meredith is accused of robbing six banks spanning from Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood up to Laconia, New Hampshire. Meredith, 41, has brown eyes and short, black hair. He weighs approximately 200 pounds and is 5 8 tall. His last known address is 461 Elm St. in Laconia. When Meredith allegedly robbed East Boston Savings bank in Jamaica Plain, he is believed to have used a weapon. It is believed he has access to firearms and is accompanied by his girlfriend. The FBI is offering up to $5000 in monetary compensation for tips of his whereabouts. Anyone with information should call 1-857-386-2000. Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov. A Patriots superfan known as the Beadman is getting ready to head to Houston. Its a trip he did not think he would be taking until he walked into a bar in Salem, Massachusetts, on Monday night. John West, of Peabody, is often seen at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro wearing the beads he got when the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans. They just became part of me, West said. Its kind of tradition and superstitious, but I think they are good luck. He and his beads were almost not going to make it to Houston even though Wests friend had offered him a ticket to the big game. He was not sure he could afford the trip to get there. I really wasnt sure. There was some financial stuff that had happened and I kind of almost had given up my dream, West said. On Monday night that dream became a reality when Wests friends decided to surprise him at ONeills Irish Pub in Salem. Through raffle items and donations, they raised $1,300 for West to get to Houston. I threw an email thread together last week and it really wasnt hard because so many people love him, said Wests friend Ryan Dupont. Nobody deserves to be there more than him. West will head to Texas early Thursday morning and said he does not plan to take his beads off the entire time he is there. A Vermont man who admitted to robbing multiple banks in Vermont and New Hampshire in 2015 is headed to prison. The U.S. Attorney's office says 32-year-old Matthew Martin, of Weathersfield, was sentenced Tuesday in Brattleboro to 15 years behind bars. He was also ordered to pay more than $25,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say Martin committed armed robberies of a People's United Bank in Brattleboro and the Heritage Family Credit Union in Ludlow in December 2015 while using a BB gun. Police say Martin robbed two banks in New Hampshire and a pharmacy in Bellows Falls. Martin previously pleaded guilty to an indictment that consolidated eight separate robberies into a single case. Nearly 80 cats were rescued from a home in Fall River, Massachusetts on Tuesday, according to the MSPCA. Fifty-four cats are now at the MSPCA-Angell's animal care and adoption centers in Centerville, and another 24 were taken in by the Fall River Animal Control facility. The cats were surrendered voluntarily by their owner, who reached out to the MSPCA last week after the number of cats in his home ballooned to nearly 80 and he could no longer care for them. This was a case in which someone was overwhelmed and did the right thing by asking for help, MSPCA Law Enforcement Officer Chelsea Weiand said. The majority of the cats currently in the MSPCAs care are being treated for minor health issues like eye and ear infections that are common when a number of cats live together in confined spaces. The MSPCA is now seeking homes for the cats in Boston and Cape Cod. The cats are sweet natured and very friendly and will make excellent companions, said the MSPCA's Mary Sarah Fairweather. "Cats that come from homes like these tend to do better when there are otehr cats already at home - so we'll be placing them in pairs and/or in homes that already have a resident cat in place," added Alyssa Krieger, who oversees operations at the MSPCAs Boston adoption center. For information on how to adopt a cat from the Boston adoption center, email adoption@mspca.org. For questions about cats at the Cape Cod adoption center, email capeadoptions@mspca.org. Police are on the lookout for a man who allegedly tried to lure a child into his vehicle on Friday in Natick, Massachusetts. An elementary school student said the man came up from behind in the area of Pine and Liberty streets just before 3 p.m., slowed down and stopped. The man then allegedly asked the student if they wanted a ride. The child did not answer and quickly moved away from the vehicle, according to police. The man in the vehicle did not follow the child. Residents in the area say they are shocked. "As a mother and grandmother, I'm very upset he's around," said resident Jennifer Wells. Police say the suspect is described as a 55 to 65 year old man, with whitish hair, a whitish goatee and a slim build. He was driving a tan or brown Subaru Forrester. Residents say they want an arrest made soon. "We've lived here awhile and it always feels like it's a safe neighborhood so knowing some idiot like this is around really upsets me," said Wells. Anyone with information on the man's identity is asked to call Natick Police at 508-647-9500. Milford police have arrested a second juvenile from Bridgeport in connection with the carjacking and assault of a Chinese food delivery person last Thursday. Police said they charged another Bridgeport boy and took him into custody. Police previously arrested a 14-year-old Bridgeport boy who they said is suspected of hitting the delivery driver in the head and stealing his car and cell phone. Police received a report of a fight on Noble Avenue, near Broad Street, at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26 and learned that a juvenile hit the delivery driver in the head with a blunt object and robbed him. The delivery driver needed to be taken to the hospital to treat his injuries, according to police. Police then tried to stop a car at Meadowside Road and Seaside Avenue. Two people ran from the scene and the car rolled into a utility pole, police said. During a search, police found the 14-year-old. Both juveniles have been charged with carjacking, first-degree larceny, second-degree assault, second-degree robbery, interfering with arrest and conspiracy to commit. The second person police took into custody is also accused of kicking out a rear window of a Milford police vehicle when he was arrested in Stamford. Maine's Sen. Susan Collins announced she would oppose President Donald Trump's controversial pick to lead the Education Department. Collins became the first Republican to oppose Betsy DeVos' nomination during her announcement Wednesday afternoon. DeVos' nomination passed the Senate Health, Education, Pensions and Labor Committee the day before despite resistance from Democrats. By voting no, Collins is joining Maine's independent Sen. Angus King in opposition. Collins wasn't the only Republican to announce intentions to vote against DeVos; Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also announced she would vote against DeVos' nomination. DeVos is a prominent wealthy GOP donor who has pushed school choice and charter schools and using voucher provided by taxpayers for private and parochial school tuition. During his campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump called the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules a "top-down power grab," leading many observers to expect a quick repeal. Trump's presidency is still in its infancy and it's unclear what his administration will do about the hot-button issue. It's difficult to determine what direction the unpredictable Trump administration will take, said Nathan White, senior legislative manager at Access Now, a digital rights group. "The world is a very complicated place right now," he said. "I don't think we can get too far out front and predict the future." Ajit Pai, Trump's pick for chairman of the FCC, has promised, however, to "fire up the weed whacker" and kill net neutrality and other regulations passed by the FCC during President Barack Obama's administration. But this week, Pai declined to outline a path forward on net neutrality, saying only that he continues to oppose the FCC's 2015 decision to reclassify broadband as a regulated common carrier under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. "We havent made any determinations at this time," Pai said during a press conference Tuesday. "My position is pretty simple. I favor a free and open Internet and I oppose Title II. That's pretty much all I can say about that topic." The Republican-controlled Congress may take a different path than a possible repeal of the rules at the FCC. Lawmakers will likely push for legislation, similar to a proposal from early 2015, that would write basic net neutrality protections into law, Senator John Thune, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said recently. A law passed by Congress would supersede any actions taken at the FCC. Even though the FCC may move to repeal its reclassification, Thune called for a bipartisan agreement on some baseline rules. A Republican-controlled FCC moving to repeal the net neutrality rules "may help inspire some of my Democrat colleagues to embrace the idea that a bipartisan, legislative solution is the best possible outcome," he said in a Jan. 23 speech. Internet companies and users need certainty about long-term rules that won't change every time there's a new party in power, Thune said. "We need clear and reasonable rules for the digital road that Internet companies, broadband providers, and end users can easily understand," he added. "Complex and ambiguous regulations that shift with the political winds arent in anyones best interest." It's unclear, however, if Congress will have "the attention or the political will" to move forward with a bill, said Access Now's White. Meanwhile, supporters of strong net neutrality rules vow to fight any effort to repeal the rules and rescind the classification of broadband as a regulated service. About 4 million people submitted comments to the FCC during its recent net neutrality rulemaking proceeding, with the large majority favoring strong net neutrality rules, supporters noted. Net neutrality advocates will look to fire up that crowd again if Pai or Trump move to kill the rules. Without Title II authority for the rules, broadband providers may be able to change websites for paid traffic prioritization, said Holmes Wilson, co-founder of digital rights group Fight for the Future. Recent court rulings were "pretty clear" that the FCC can't ban paid prioritization without Title II authority, he said by email. "If theyre talking about reclassifying back out of Title II, people should see that as an underhanded way to kill net neutrality and give companies like Comcast free reign to shake down your favorite sites," Wilson added. Pai and the FCC would need to explain a major shift in policy two years after the FCC passed its rules, supporters of the regulations said. "Chairman Pai's FCC cannot move quickly to dismantle protections supported by the vast majority of the American people," said Matt Wood, policy director at digital rights group Free Press. "While Pai's boss, Donald Trump, may have little respect for the rule of law, administrative law still binds the FCC." Congress could pass legislation, but that's not a given, Wood added. That's "assuming this Congress can get anything done, unlike its recent do-nothing predecessors," he said. "But the current rules are the common-sense floor for any new law, not the overreach that members of the current majority in Congress and the FCC preposterously make them out to be." M Rajendran By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Will Finance Minister Arun Jaitley bite the bullet when he presents the Union Budget 2017-18 on Wednesday? The Election Commission has not made his life any easy. No sops for the poll-bound states, is the ECs dictat. The challenge for the FM is to get the economy back on track. Sops and subsidies are not going to help, but people need to spend and manufacturing has to grow, employment has to increase and agriculture sector has to perform. Jaitley and his team of officers in the finance ministry had their task cut out, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of 50 days on November 8, 2016. The Budget is not the only option or platform for the government to announce measures to boost economy, says Aamirullah Khan, a senior economist. Economists and former finance ministry bureaucrats, now advisors with the government, caution against any possible tough economic measures bereft of feel good announcements. There is a general perception that the finance minister will go in for a populist Budget this time. Such expectations, howsoever plausible, might not come true, says an advisor to the government. Relief in personal income tax, reduction in corporate tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent, special provision to push adoption of cashless transactions, bank recapitalisation and lowering fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), while implementing the recommendations of the 7th pay commission payout of Rs 102 lakh crore will be on top of the financial ministers agenda. Oil and gold would require special attention. Rising crude prices would have to be addressed and a roadmap drawn out. Meanwhile, increase in gold imports will also need to be managed, as high foreign exchange outflow would make balancing the trade deficit difficult for the finance minister. Jaitley will become the first finance minister to present the Railways Budget merged with the General Budget. That brings with it new challenges. The Goods and Services Tax is in the process stage and more clarity is expected in the budget, in terms of the governments approach to implement it from July 1, 2017. NEW DELHI: Will Finance Minister Arun Jaitley bite the bullet when he presents the Union Budget 2017-18 on Wednesday? The Election Commission has not made his life any easy. No sops for the poll-bound states, is the ECs dictat. The challenge for the FM is to get the economy back on track. Sops and subsidies are not going to help, but people need to spend and manufacturing has to grow, employment has to increase and agriculture sector has to perform. Jaitley and his team of officers in the finance ministry had their task cut out, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of 50 days on November 8, 2016. The Budget is not the only option or platform for the government to announce measures to boost economy, says Aamirullah Khan, a senior economist. Economists and former finance ministry bureaucrats, now advisors with the government, caution against any possible tough economic measures bereft of feel good announcements. There is a general perception that the finance minister will go in for a populist Budget this time. Such expectations, howsoever plausible, might not come true, says an advisor to the government. Relief in personal income tax, reduction in corporate tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent, special provision to push adoption of cashless transactions, bank recapitalisation and lowering fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), while implementing the recommendations of the 7th pay commission payout of Rs 102 lakh crore will be on top of the financial ministers agenda. Oil and gold would require special attention. Rising crude prices would have to be addressed and a roadmap drawn out. Meanwhile, increase in gold imports will also need to be managed, as high foreign exchange outflow would make balancing the trade deficit difficult for the finance minister. Jaitley will become the first finance minister to present the Railways Budget merged with the General Budget. That brings with it new challenges. The Goods and Services Tax is in the process stage and more clarity is expected in the budget, in terms of the governments approach to implement it from July 1, 2017. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Deadlines have come and gone. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)has come out with yet another warning: Segregate waste, or else your doorstep will be turned into a segregation spot. Starting Wednesday, give segregated waste to garbage collectors who come to your doorstep, or be ready to pay penalty. The pourakarmikas (both contract and permanent) will collect only wet waste from each house. While wet waste will be collected every day, dry waste will be collected twice a week. Speaking to Express, BBMP Joint Commissioner for Solid Waste Management Sarfaraz Khan said, If residents leave mixed waste, they will be asked to segregate and give it. If they still fail to do so, officials, including health inspectors, will levy penalty on the spot, just like the traffic police. This includes for littering too. Similarly, dry waste will be collected by the agency which handles BBMP Dry Waste Collection Centres in each ward. We are making an action plan, according to which these agency personnel will collect dry waste, he added. Collecting dry and wet waste separately will be streamlined in the next 15 days. The Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 2016, was amended to include Penalty clause in the Solid Waste Management by-laws. Since September 2013, assistant executive engineers and assistant engineers of respective wards had been authorised to levy and collect penalty from the offenders. However, it was not strictly implemented then. Khan said meetings were held with all zonal commissioners, chief engineers, engineers, health inspectors and councillors. The BBMP is involving Resident Welfare Associations members too. A senior official from the BBMP who did not wish to be named said Karnataka Compost Development Corporation(KCDC) units, Mavallipura and six other plants were accepting only segregated waste. Hence, it is necessary to segregate the waste at source for scientific processing in these plants, he said. BENGALURU: Deadlines have come and gone. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)has come out with yet another warning: Segregate waste, or else your doorstep will be turned into a segregation spot. Starting Wednesday, give segregated waste to garbage collectors who come to your doorstep, or be ready to pay penalty. The pourakarmikas (both contract and permanent) will collect only wet waste from each house. While wet waste will be collected every day, dry waste will be collected twice a week. Speaking to Express, BBMP Joint Commissioner for Solid Waste Management Sarfaraz Khan said, If residents leave mixed waste, they will be asked to segregate and give it. If they still fail to do so, officials, including health inspectors, will levy penalty on the spot, just like the traffic police. This includes for littering too. Similarly, dry waste will be collected by the agency which handles BBMP Dry Waste Collection Centres in each ward. We are making an action plan, according to which these agency personnel will collect dry waste, he added. Collecting dry and wet waste separately will be streamlined in the next 15 days. The Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 2016, was amended to include Penalty clause in the Solid Waste Management by-laws. Since September 2013, assistant executive engineers and assistant engineers of respective wards had been authorised to levy and collect penalty from the offenders. However, it was not strictly implemented then. Khan said meetings were held with all zonal commissioners, chief engineers, engineers, health inspectors and councillors. The BBMP is involving Resident Welfare Associations members too. A senior official from the BBMP who did not wish to be named said Karnataka Compost Development Corporation(KCDC) units, Mavallipura and six other plants were accepting only segregated waste. Hence, it is necessary to segregate the waste at source for scientific processing in these plants, he said. By Express News Service KOCHI: The ongoing search for UK national James Robert Edward Peirce and his five-year-old son, who went missing from Kerala, reached a turning point after the police received information they have landed in London. The Fort Kochi police had launched a manhunt for James based on a complaint filed by his wife and Kollam-native Anna Mathews that her husband absconded with their five-year-old son Samuel Charles. The search conducted by a team led by Fort Kochi SI Antony Joseph Netto in various places across the country, including Goa, did not yield any result. The police issued lookout notice against James twice, considering the possibility of his leaving the country. We have to obtain permission from the Ministry of External Affairs to continue the inquiry, said Mattancherry AC Vijayan S. Investigators received information that James obtained travel documents by misleading the British High Commission in Chennai. It is suspected that he obtained visa using forged documents as his original passport is with the Kerala High Court. Divorce proceedings of Anna and James began in 2012, and the court had granted Anna permanent custody of Samuel. Last year, James received interim custody of the child for six days. Since then, both of them are missing. The police visited Goa recently in search of the duo, after James lawyer told the court he had moved to an undisclosed location in Goa. Anna in a Facebook post stated, The kidnapping was carefully planned and James lied to several people the Indian/British governments, courts, his unwell landlord and the person who rented car to him. KOCHI: The ongoing search for UK national James Robert Edward Peirce and his five-year-old son, who went missing from Kerala, reached a turning point after the police received information they have landed in London. The Fort Kochi police had launched a manhunt for James based on a complaint filed by his wife and Kollam-native Anna Mathews that her husband absconded with their five-year-old son Samuel Charles. The search conducted by a team led by Fort Kochi SI Antony Joseph Netto in various places across the country, including Goa, did not yield any result. The police issued lookout notice against James twice, considering the possibility of his leaving the country. We have to obtain permission from the Ministry of External Affairs to continue the inquiry, said Mattancherry AC Vijayan S. Investigators received information that James obtained travel documents by misleading the British High Commission in Chennai. It is suspected that he obtained visa using forged documents as his original passport is with the Kerala High Court. Divorce proceedings of Anna and James began in 2012, and the court had granted Anna permanent custody of Samuel. Last year, James received interim custody of the child for six days. Since then, both of them are missing. The police visited Goa recently in search of the duo, after James lawyer told the court he had moved to an undisclosed location in Goa. Anna in a Facebook post stated, The kidnapping was carefully planned and James lied to several people the Indian/British governments, courts, his unwell landlord and the person who rented car to him. By BNS The first schedule of Salman Khan - Katrina Kaif starrer Tiger Zinda Hai will start from 15 March 2017 at Austria. Director Ali Abbas Zafar and his action team have planned a massive action sequence in Austria featuring the two actors. While Ek Tha Tiger was a love story, the second instalment of the franchise is an espionage thriller set against a strong political backdrop. After Austria, the team will fly to Morocco and UAE for two prolonged shooting schedules. The action of the film is designed by Tom Struthers, who is known for his work in Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises and Inception. Produced by YRF, the film is slated to release on 22 December 2017. The first schedule of Salman Khan - Katrina Kaif starrer Tiger Zinda Hai will start from 15 March 2017 at Austria. Director Ali Abbas Zafar and his action team have planned a massive action sequence in Austria featuring the two actors. While Ek Tha Tiger was a love story, the second instalment of the franchise is an espionage thriller set against a strong political backdrop. After Austria, the team will fly to Morocco and UAE for two prolonged shooting schedules. The action of the film is designed by Tom Struthers, who is known for his work in Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises and Inception. Produced by YRF, the film is slated to release on 22 December 2017. By Ange Aboa ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Cocoa grinders in Ivory Coast are holding off on new investments after military and social unrest this month, potentially denting government plans to boost processing of the commodity in the world's top grower. Ivory Coast has emerged from a 2002-2011 political crisis as one the world's fastest growing economies, attracting foreign investment into everything from the cocoa industry to breweries and shopping malls. But soldiers, mostly former rebels, seized control of the country's second biggest city, Bouake, this month, sparking a series of smaller mutinies across Ivory Coast and exposing cracks in its post-war success story. The revolts coincided with a strike by civil servants demanding around $400 million in back wages. "The security, social and political situation these last weeks has indeed opened our eyes to the fact that there is still instability and a lack of visibility in the short to mid-term," the director of an international processing firm told Reuters. Cocoa firms largely remained in Ivory Coast, which has roughly 40 percent of the world's production, during a decade of unrest and armed conflict. However, many companies in other sectors either shuttered operations or relocated. The end of the crisis brought a renewed enthusiasm to invest, allowing Ivory Coast to overtake the Netherlands as the world's leading processing hub. The government aims to process half of Ivory Coast's cocoa output by 2020 - up from around a third currently - and is planning to offer tax breaks and fiscal advantages to companies that help it achieve its goal. However, three companies told Reuters they would now hold off on planned investments. "We're not going to sign for the moment, because we can't invest. The current situation won't allow it. So we're going to take the time to reflect on what we will do after 2020," said the director of another company with grinding operations. The main companies with grinding operations in Ivory Coast include Cargill, Swiss firm Barry Callebaut, France's Cemoi and Singapore-based Olam International. Ivorian companies include Choco Ivoire and Ivory Cocoa Products. Many in the country are concerned that the incidents this month foreshadow more instability. The government was forced to pay bonuses to end the military unrest, while the striking workers agreed to suspend their walkout for a month to allow negotiations. "I can understand cocoa investors who don't want to invest millions in their factories now because, in my opinion, the crisis isn't over," said an agricultural commodities analyst, who asked not to be named. "The situation has just been postponed until later." (Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Alexander Smith) A Sharadhaa By Express News Service Parul Yadav, who was severely injured after being attacked by six dogs, is back home and recovering. She has been advised bed rest and is waiting for the stitches from her head, hands and legs to be removed. In a chat with City Express, she says, It was a traumatic incident and I sincerely believe that this is my rebirth. I nearly died. I was told that there was blood all over the buildings floor. Parul Yadav Parul puts it all to a bad time in her life and says that the six dogs behaved out of character. Apparently, when there is a dog with you, the other dogs just bark and dont come near you, she says. But, I could see them charging towards me. They came to attack my dog and I just pulled her leash towards me and that sent her up in the air. This (keeping Paruls dog out of their reach) seems to have made the other dogs angry and they jumped on me. When they pounced, I fell, hit my head and became unconscious. So the dogs attacked me all over... my left and right leg. They also started eating my flesh. I regained consciousness in a minute and a dog pounced on my face. I tried covering my face but the dog hit against my head giving me a 3-cm deep cut. A housekeeping boy and the buildings watchman rescued her but by then much blood had been lost. They were so scared and didnt know what to do, says Parul. He immediately called my mother and sister, who took me to the hospital... I was given injections, which cost lakhs, because they were worried about me contracting an infection. According to Parul, the municipality of Mumbai has been informed and they have taken away two dogs, but the other three dogs are still around. Parul is struggling to get over her fear and says, I have nothing against strays because they are animals. There is no reason to be angry at them. But BMC does not seem to be doing anything about it. We dont see so many stray dogs in developed countries as many as we do in India. And when we really care for them, it brings down their aggression. I only want the municipality to implement the ABC (Animal Birth Control) plan. I was also reading about stray dogs recently and was shocked to know that there are 9 lakh strays in Delhi alone and they have taken so many peoples lives. It seems that more people have died from dog bites than people died in 9/11 terrorist attack. Parul Yadav, who was severely injured after being attacked by six dogs, is back home and recovering. She has been advised bed rest and is waiting for the stitches from her head, hands and legs to be removed. In a chat with City Express, she says, It was a traumatic incident and I sincerely believe that this is my rebirth. I nearly died. I was told that there was blood all over the buildings floor. Parul YadavParul puts it all to a bad time in her life and says that the six dogs behaved out of character. Apparently, when there is a dog with you, the other dogs just bark and dont come near you, she says. But, I could see them charging towards me. They came to attack my dog and I just pulled her leash towards me and that sent her up in the air. This (keeping Paruls dog out of their reach) seems to have made the other dogs angry and they jumped on me. When they pounced, I fell, hit my head and became unconscious. So the dogs attacked me all over... my left and right leg. They also started eating my flesh. I regained consciousness in a minute and a dog pounced on my face. I tried covering my face but the dog hit against my head giving me a 3-cm deep cut. A housekeeping boy and the buildings watchman rescued her but by then much blood had been lost. They were so scared and didnt know what to do, says Parul. He immediately called my mother and sister, who took me to the hospital... I was given injections, which cost lakhs, because they were worried about me contracting an infection. According to Parul, the municipality of Mumbai has been informed and they have taken away two dogs, but the other three dogs are still around. Parul is struggling to get over her fear and says, I have nothing against strays because they are animals. There is no reason to be angry at them. But BMC does not seem to be doing anything about it. We dont see so many stray dogs in developed countries as many as we do in India. And when we really care for them, it brings down their aggression. I only want the municipality to implement the ABC (Animal Birth Control) plan. I was also reading about stray dogs recently and was shocked to know that there are 9 lakh strays in Delhi alone and they have taken so many peoples lives. It seems that more people have died from dog bites than people died in 9/11 terrorist attack. Harpreet Bajwa By Express News Service CHANDIGARH: Three minors, who were grievously injured in the high-intensity explosion that occurred during a political road show at Maur in Punjabs Bathinda district on Tuesday night, succumbed to their injuries, bringing the death toll of the attack to six. Nearly a dozen people were injured in the suspected terror attack, ahead of the states February 4 assembly elections. The condition of two of the injured is said to critical. The deceased have been identified as Ashok Kumar (35) and his daughter Barkha Rani (7); Harpal Singh Palli (40), office assistant of Congress candidate Jassi; Ripaldeep Singh (9), Japsimran Singh (14) and Saurav Singla (13). According to the police, the initial investigation revealed that the Maruti Alto car which was used in the blast was stolen. Also, the number plate of the car (PB-05-C-8973) was discovered to be originally that of a scooter. The forensics team from the NSG in Delhi arrived at the blast site besides the forensics experts from Chandigarh to determine the nature of explosives used in the blast. Raising the curtain on political blame game, Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh blamed Delhi chief minister and national convener of AAP Arvind Kejriwal for promoting extremist forces such as the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) in the state. He said the Maur bomb blast and the subsequent firing in Bathinda showed that the inoperative terror cells of the Khalistani were back to active mode again. Amarinder said Kejriwal was fanning terror forces through his actions, led by the dangerous mix of the AAP extreme left and extreme right ideologies. He warned that Pakistans ISI was waiting for such opportunities triggered by extremist violence in India, to strike at the nation. AAP blamed SAD president and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal for Maur bomb blast. National general secretary of AAP Sanjay Singh said the party has given a complaint against Sukhbir Badal to the Election Commission, seeking his arrest and interrogation. CHANDIGARH: Three minors, who were grievously injured in the high-intensity explosion that occurred during a political road show at Maur in Punjabs Bathinda district on Tuesday night, succumbed to their injuries, bringing the death toll of the attack to six. Nearly a dozen people were injured in the suspected terror attack, ahead of the states February 4 assembly elections. The condition of two of the injured is said to critical. The deceased have been identified as Ashok Kumar (35) and his daughter Barkha Rani (7); Harpal Singh Palli (40), office assistant of Congress candidate Jassi; Ripaldeep Singh (9), Japsimran Singh (14) and Saurav Singla (13). According to the police, the initial investigation revealed that the Maruti Alto car which was used in the blast was stolen. Also, the number plate of the car (PB-05-C-8973) was discovered to be originally that of a scooter. The forensics team from the NSG in Delhi arrived at the blast site besides the forensics experts from Chandigarh to determine the nature of explosives used in the blast. Raising the curtain on political blame game, Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh blamed Delhi chief minister and national convener of AAP Arvind Kejriwal for promoting extremist forces such as the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) in the state. He said the Maur bomb blast and the subsequent firing in Bathinda showed that the inoperative terror cells of the Khalistani were back to active mode again. Amarinder said Kejriwal was fanning terror forces through his actions, led by the dangerous mix of the AAP extreme left and extreme right ideologies. He warned that Pakistans ISI was waiting for such opportunities triggered by extremist violence in India, to strike at the nation. AAP blamed SAD president and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal for Maur bomb blast. National general secretary of AAP Sanjay Singh said the party has given a complaint against Sukhbir Badal to the Election Commission, seeking his arrest and interrogation. By PTI MUZAFFARNAGAR: Controversial BJP MLA Suresh Rana, earlier booked for hate speech over his remarks that curfew will be imposed in Kairana if he is elected again, has been booked again for violating the Model Code of Conduct at Goherpur village in neighbouring Shamli district. The BJP candidate from Thana Bhawan constituency for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls starting from February 11 was booked after he laid a foundation stone on his name of a newly-built road in the village yesterday, police said today. This is the third case lodged against Rana, also an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, ahead of the polls including the one registered on Monday after the controversial remarks at a public gathering in his constituency on Saturday, evoking criticism from oppositon. "If I emerge as the winner (in UP polls), curfew will be imposed in Kairana, Deoband and Moradabad," he had said on Saturday. Following the remarks, the case was registered against him under IPC Section 505 (Making a statement with intent to incite) and Section 125 (Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of The Representation of the People Act for his controversial remarks, Thana Bhawan circle officer Sunil Kumar Tyagi had said. Rana was also booked in another case for allegedly violating the model code of conduct after he held a public gathering and took out a road show at Hathi Karonda village in Shamli district on Sunday without the permission of the authorities. MUZAFFARNAGAR: Controversial BJP MLA Suresh Rana, earlier booked for hate speech over his remarks that curfew will be imposed in Kairana if he is elected again, has been booked again for violating the Model Code of Conduct at Goherpur village in neighbouring Shamli district. The BJP candidate from Thana Bhawan constituency for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls starting from February 11 was booked after he laid a foundation stone on his name of a newly-built road in the village yesterday, police said today. This is the third case lodged against Rana, also an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, ahead of the polls including the one registered on Monday after the controversial remarks at a public gathering in his constituency on Saturday, evoking criticism from oppositon. "If I emerge as the winner (in UP polls), curfew will be imposed in Kairana, Deoband and Moradabad," he had said on Saturday. Following the remarks, the case was registered against him under IPC Section 505 (Making a statement with intent to incite) and Section 125 (Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of The Representation of the People Act for his controversial remarks, Thana Bhawan circle officer Sunil Kumar Tyagi had said. Rana was also booked in another case for allegedly violating the model code of conduct after he held a public gathering and took out a road show at Hathi Karonda village in Shamli district on Sunday without the permission of the authorities. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Centre today defended in the Delhi High Court its decision to ban controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) saying the order was made after "application of mind" as there was apprehension that youths could be "radicalised" to join terror groups. The government told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who reserved the verdict on IRF's plea challenging the order to immediately ban the organisation, that it has enough material in its possession to take action against IRF. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, also produced before the court the files and materials available with the government on the basis of which the decision was made. The ASG handed over these documents to the court and requested Justice Sachdeva to "have a look at the materials and notings on the basis of which such a decision was taken". IRF, in its plea, has challenged the November 17, 2016, notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which had imposed an immediate ban on the organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). During the hearing today, senior advocate Dinesh Mathur, representing IRF, submitted that the MHA notification gives no reason and cites no material for taking such a step as was required by the law laid down by the Supreme Court. IRF also said the immediate ban was imposed without giving it any show cause notice. However, the Centre countered the submissions and said that the need for taking the urgent step was felt in view of the apprehension that Indian youths could be "radicalised" or "motivated" by the alleged statements and speeches made by IRF and its members, including its President Naik, to join terror groups like ISIS, which is a cause of global concern. Opposing the maintainability of the petition, the ASG said the government did not want to wait for some "catastrophic" incident to happen before taking the decision. Aggrieved by the Centre's stand, IRF's counsel said that whatever has been done by a person in his or her individual capacity does not mean that an organisation can be banned. "IRF is not an accused in the case and the crime report reported against Naik is of 2012-2013," he said, adding, "Why action has been taken after such a long time? Is this the way the government applies its mind?" NEW DELHI: The Centre today defended in the Delhi High Court its decision to ban controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) saying the order was made after "application of mind" as there was apprehension that youths could be "radicalised" to join terror groups. The government told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who reserved the verdict on IRF's plea challenging the order to immediately ban the organisation, that it has enough material in its possession to take action against IRF. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, also produced before the court the files and materials available with the government on the basis of which the decision was made. The ASG handed over these documents to the court and requested Justice Sachdeva to "have a look at the materials and notings on the basis of which such a decision was taken". IRF, in its plea, has challenged the November 17, 2016, notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which had imposed an immediate ban on the organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). During the hearing today, senior advocate Dinesh Mathur, representing IRF, submitted that the MHA notification gives no reason and cites no material for taking such a step as was required by the law laid down by the Supreme Court. IRF also said the immediate ban was imposed without giving it any show cause notice. However, the Centre countered the submissions and said that the need for taking the urgent step was felt in view of the apprehension that Indian youths could be "radicalised" or "motivated" by the alleged statements and speeches made by IRF and its members, including its President Naik, to join terror groups like ISIS, which is a cause of global concern. Opposing the maintainability of the petition, the ASG said the government did not want to wait for some "catastrophic" incident to happen before taking the decision. Aggrieved by the Centre's stand, IRF's counsel said that whatever has been done by a person in his or her individual capacity does not mean that an organisation can be banned. "IRF is not an accused in the case and the crime report reported against Naik is of 2012-2013," he said, adding, "Why action has been taken after such a long time? Is this the way the government applies its mind?" By Express News Service NEW DELHI: A day after he collapsed in Parliament following a heart attack, Kerala MP E Ahamed passed away this morning at 2:15 am at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital where he was admitted yesterday. In an unfortunate turn of events, the 78-year-old Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Ahamed was taken ill during President Pranab Mukherjees address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. Initially, the Parliament staff tried to give Ahmed first aid but when his condition did not improve, he was rushed to the RML hospital. Edappakath Ahamed was the longest serving Parliament member from Kerala after GM Banatwala, he was a member of Lok Sabha for 26 years in seven terms from 1991. During 2004 -2009, he served as the Minister of State for External Affairs. From April 2009 to January 2011, he was Minister of State for Railways. He assumed charge again as Minister of State of External Affairs on 24 January 2011. Ahamed also held the additional charge of the Ministry of Human Resource Development from July 2011 to October 2012. One of the longest Indian representatives to UN from 1991 to 2014, the part he played in the release of hostages from Khandahar in 2004 was widely appreciated. During his tenure in the Parliament, he has been a member of several parliamentary committees including External Affairs, Railways, Civil Aviation and Tourism, Public Undertakings, Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. Ahamed was also the Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee. Nominated by the Government of India as Co-Chairman for the High Level Monitoring Mechanism (HLMM) between India and Qatar in November 2011. His first term to LS was from Manjeri, a fort of Muslim League. He repeated the feat in 1996, 1998 and 1999. He moved to neighbouring Ponnani in 2004 and emerged as the solo member of UDF from Kerala in LS. In 2009 He returned to which was changed to Malappuram and went on to become a member of the UPA cabinet. However, his tryst with parliamentary politics begins with the electoral victory in 1967 from Kannur Assembly Constituency. Then he moved to Koduvally in 1977. Then he represented Tanur thrice, 1980, 1982 and 1987 which bolstered his bond with the Malappuram district. From 1982 to 1987, he served as Cabinet Minister for Industries in the cabinet headed by K Karunakaran in Kerala Government. From 1981 to 1983 he was the Chairman of the Kannur Municipal Council. He moved into the leadership of Muslim League as a founding leader of Muslim Student Federation,its student movement. The first General Secretary of MSF was a reporter and Sub Editor of Muslim League Mouth piece Chandrika during student days. Later, as an advocate he practiced in Thalassery District Court and Kerala High Court. From 1971 to 1977, Ahamed was the founding Chairman of the Kerala State Rural Development Board. From 1979 to 1980 he was the Executive Chairman of the Kerala State Small Scale Industries Development Corporation. Born to Abdul Khadar haji and Edappakath Nafeesa Beevi on April 29, 1938 in Kannur city, Ahamed graduated from Govt. Brennen College in Tellicherry and later obtained a law degree from the Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram. His wife Suhra had preceded him. He is survived by sons Raees and Naseer and daughter Fauza Sherzad. NEW DELHI: A day after he collapsed in Parliament following a heart attack, Kerala MP E Ahamed passed away this morning at 2:15 am at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital where he was admitted yesterday. In an unfortunate turn of events, the 78-year-old Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Ahamed was taken ill during President Pranab Mukherjees address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. Initially, the Parliament staff tried to give Ahmed first aid but when his condition did not improve, he was rushed to the RML hospital. Edappakath Ahamed was the longest serving Parliament member from Kerala after GM Banatwala, he was a member of Lok Sabha for 26 years in seven terms from 1991. During 2004 -2009, he served as the Minister of State for External Affairs. From April 2009 to January 2011, he was Minister of State for Railways. He assumed charge again as Minister of State of External Affairs on 24 January 2011. Ahamed also held the additional charge of the Ministry of Human Resource Development from July 2011 to October 2012. One of the longest Indian representatives to UN from 1991 to 2014, the part he played in the release of hostages from Khandahar in 2004 was widely appreciated. During his tenure in the Parliament, he has been a member of several parliamentary committees including External Affairs, Railways, Civil Aviation and Tourism, Public Undertakings, Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. Ahamed was also the Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee. Nominated by the Government of India as Co-Chairman for the High Level Monitoring Mechanism (HLMM) between India and Qatar in November 2011. His first term to LS was from Manjeri, a fort of Muslim League. He repeated the feat in 1996, 1998 and 1999. He moved to neighbouring Ponnani in 2004 and emerged as the solo member of UDF from Kerala in LS. In 2009 He returned to which was changed to Malappuram and went on to become a member of the UPA cabinet. However, his tryst with parliamentary politics begins with the electoral victory in 1967 from Kannur Assembly Constituency. Then he moved to Koduvally in 1977. Then he represented Tanur thrice, 1980, 1982 and 1987 which bolstered his bond with the Malappuram district. From 1982 to 1987, he served as Cabinet Minister for Industries in the cabinet headed by K Karunakaran in Kerala Government. From 1981 to 1983 he was the Chairman of the Kannur Municipal Council. He moved into the leadership of Muslim League as a founding leader of Muslim Student Federation,its student movement. The first General Secretary of MSF was a reporter and Sub Editor of Muslim League Mouth piece Chandrika during student days. Later, as an advocate he practiced in Thalassery District Court and Kerala High Court. From 1971 to 1977, Ahamed was the founding Chairman of the Kerala State Rural Development Board. From 1979 to 1980 he was the Executive Chairman of the Kerala State Small Scale Industries Development Corporation. Born to Abdul Khadar haji and Edappakath Nafeesa Beevi on April 29, 1938 in Kannur city, Ahamed graduated from Govt. Brennen College in Tellicherry and later obtained a law degree from the Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram. His wife Suhra had preceded him. He is survived by sons Raees and Naseer and daughter Fauza Sherzad. Santwana Bhattacharya By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Addressing the first day of the Budget session of Parliament, Pranab Mukherjee lauds govt policies to address the welfare of the poor, draws parallels between note-bandi and the Mahatmas Champaran movement The air in Delhi is thick with a new buzzword. Another acronym actually UBI (universal basic income) courtesy the Economic Survey. But the next big idea was preceded by President Pranab Mukherjees address to the joint sitting of Parliament replete with the time-honoured mentions of oppressed, depressed, the poor and the downtrodden. Making everyone conclude that Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys Budget on Wednesday would be couched in populism. Though the maximum desk-thumping from the Treasury benches came with President Mukherjees assertions on demonetisation, what stood out was the povertarian slant of the address. The President drew parallels between note-bandi (cast as a poor mans resilient struggle) and the days of the Champaran movement championed by Mahatma Gandhi at the dawn of the Independence struggle. Ahead of the crucial Budget session, President Mukherjee said that Champaran, nearly a century ago, gave a new direction to the Freedom struggle, channelising jana shakti. The implication being, that demonetisation as a fight against corruption has led to a similar awakening of the nation and the people. At the core of all my governments policies is the welfare of the garib, dalit, pidit, shoshit, vanchit, kisan, shramik and yuva, Mukherjee said in his address. Prime Minister Narendra Modis move was highlighted as a movement against the corrupt and the rich, thus earning support from the poor despite their own troubles. This stands out against the Congress-led Oppositions portrayal of demonetisation as an economic disaster. Analysts now expect the Budget would be used to make overtures to the poor for their display of character in the weeks following the November announcement, and to alleviate any pain they may be feeling as a result of cash shortage. Mukherjee, whose term expires later this year, said the government was committed to the welfare of the needy, adding that financial inclusion was key to poverty alleviation. Modis government has pushed hard to bring the unbanked masses into the formal economy through schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana. The President said 260 million Jan Dhan accounts had been opened so far, and 200 million Rupay cards had been issued for cashless payments. While the aim of the demonetization exercise was initially articulated as one meant to stamp out black money, it quickly transformed into a drive to go cashless, and the Rupay cards are expected to play a big part in this drive, along with mobile wallets. Over Rs 16,000 crore had been made available to self-help groups and to take the banking system to the doorstep of the poor and the unbanked, the India Post Payments Bank has been started, the President noted, adding that 130 million poor had been covered under various social security schemes. Data released at the beginning of the month showed that the economy will likely grow at 7.1 per cent in 2016-17, 0.5 percentage points slower than the previous years 7.6 per cent expansion, underlining fears of an economy-wide crunch due to demonetisation. Projections were based on incomplete output and corporate income data, amid signs of faltering investment and weak consumer spending, leading to fears that the actual numbers could be worse. Assuring the farmers about the governments focus on agriculture, Mukherjee said: My government has taken various steps to transform the lives of our farmers. Focus has been on holistic development of the agriculture sector making available affordable credit, ensuring assured supply of seeds and fertilisers, improving irrigation facilities, comprehensive risk coverage, improving productivity through Soil Health Cards, assured market and remunerative prices for the produce through e-NAM (National Agriculture Market). He repeatedly stressed that the government was committed to farmers welfare. The corpus of NABARD funds has been doubled to `41,000 crore to ensure easy credit access to farmers, he said. Mukherjee lauded the performance of female Indian athletes at the Rio Olympics and said the government wants to empower women. Our women deserve equal opportunity. The Rio Olympics, where we took great pride in the performance of P V Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Deepa Karmakar and others, illustrates the strength of our women. The nation is proud of its first three women fighter pilots. This reminds us of what we can achieve, as a nation, if women are fully empowered, and if their skills and talent are optimally utilised." NEW DELHI: Addressing the first day of the Budget session of Parliament, Pranab Mukherjee lauds govt policies to address the welfare of the poor, draws parallels between note-bandi and the Mahatmas Champaran movement The air in Delhi is thick with a new buzzword. Another acronym actually UBI (universal basic income) courtesy the Economic Survey. But the next big idea was preceded by President Pranab Mukherjees address to the joint sitting of Parliament replete with the time-honoured mentions of oppressed, depressed, the poor and the downtrodden. Making everyone conclude that Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys Budget on Wednesday would be couched in populism. Though the maximum desk-thumping from the Treasury benches came with President Mukherjees assertions on demonetisation, what stood out was the povertarian slant of the address. The President drew parallels between note-bandi (cast as a poor mans resilient struggle) and the days of the Champaran movement championed by Mahatma Gandhi at the dawn of the Independence struggle. Ahead of the crucial Budget session, President Mukherjee said that Champaran, nearly a century ago, gave a new direction to the Freedom struggle, channelising jana shakti. The implication being, that demonetisation as a fight against corruption has led to a similar awakening of the nation and the people. At the core of all my governments policies is the welfare of the garib, dalit, pidit, shoshit, vanchit, kisan, shramik and yuva, Mukherjee said in his address. Prime Minister Narendra Modis move was highlighted as a movement against the corrupt and the rich, thus earning support from the poor despite their own troubles. This stands out against the Congress-led Oppositions portrayal of demonetisation as an economic disaster. Analysts now expect the Budget would be used to make overtures to the poor for their display of character in the weeks following the November announcement, and to alleviate any pain they may be feeling as a result of cash shortage. Mukherjee, whose term expires later this year, said the government was committed to the welfare of the needy, adding that financial inclusion was key to poverty alleviation. Modis government has pushed hard to bring the unbanked masses into the formal economy through schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana. The President said 260 million Jan Dhan accounts had been opened so far, and 200 million Rupay cards had been issued for cashless payments. While the aim of the demonetization exercise was initially articulated as one meant to stamp out black money, it quickly transformed into a drive to go cashless, and the Rupay cards are expected to play a big part in this drive, along with mobile wallets. Over Rs 16,000 crore had been made available to self-help groups and to take the banking system to the doorstep of the poor and the unbanked, the India Post Payments Bank has been started, the President noted, adding that 130 million poor had been covered under various social security schemes. Data released at the beginning of the month showed that the economy will likely grow at 7.1 per cent in 2016-17, 0.5 percentage points slower than the previous years 7.6 per cent expansion, underlining fears of an economy-wide crunch due to demonetisation. Projections were based on incomplete output and corporate income data, amid signs of faltering investment and weak consumer spending, leading to fears that the actual numbers could be worse. Assuring the farmers about the governments focus on agriculture, Mukherjee said: My government has taken various steps to transform the lives of our farmers. Focus has been on holistic development of the agriculture sector making available affordable credit, ensuring assured supply of seeds and fertilisers, improving irrigation facilities, comprehensive risk coverage, improving productivity through Soil Health Cards, assured market and remunerative prices for the produce through e-NAM (National Agriculture Market). He repeatedly stressed that the government was committed to farmers welfare. The corpus of NABARD funds has been doubled to `41,000 crore to ensure easy credit access to farmers, he said. Mukherjee lauded the performance of female Indian athletes at the Rio Olympics and said the government wants to empower women. Our women deserve equal opportunity. The Rio Olympics, where we took great pride in the performance of P V Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Deepa Karmakar and others, illustrates the strength of our women. The nation is proud of its first three women fighter pilots. This reminds us of what we can achieve, as a nation, if women are fully empowered, and if their skills and talent are optimally utilised." By PTI NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tonight announced "securing" the release of five Indians who were jailed in Togo. "We have secured the release of 5 Indians from Kerala jailed in Togo. Good work by Indian mission in Accra and Consulate in Togo (sic)," she tweeted. They were in jail since 2013 for their suspected involvement in a piracy attack off the coast of Togo, according to reports. The Indians were employees of a Merchant Navy firm and were sailing on board a ship to South Africa from Mumbai when they were arrested. NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tonight announced "securing" the release of five Indians who were jailed in Togo. "We have secured the release of 5 Indians from Kerala jailed in Togo. Good work by Indian mission in Accra and Consulate in Togo (sic)," she tweeted. They were in jail since 2013 for their suspected involvement in a piracy attack off the coast of Togo, according to reports. The Indians were employees of a Merchant Navy firm and were sailing on board a ship to South Africa from Mumbai when they were arrested. By Express News Service BENGALURU/KOZHIKODE: Infosys has reportedly announced a compensation of `1 crore to the family of Rasila Raju O P, the techie who was killed on Sunday by a security guard on its Pune campus. Rasilas relatives said that Infosys on Monday promised to pay `1 crore as ex-gratia, apart from provident fund and gratuity. The company will also make all efforts to provide an offer of employment to a blood relative based on educational qualification, it said. Sources in the company told Express that as a policy, Infosys does not to disclose further details of the compensation. Even in past incidents of accidents, victims families were compensated, but the company did not announce it officially. However, pictures of an MoU on the compensation, signed by Infosys and Rasilas relatives, were circulating on social media on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the body of the 24-year-old software engineer was brought from Pune to Kozhikode, where it was cremated. Bhaben Saikia, the security guard who was arrested in connection with the murder, allegedly told the police that he tried to commit suicide after the crime, but changed his mind at the last moment. BENGALURU/KOZHIKODE: Infosys has reportedly announced a compensation of `1 crore to the family of Rasila Raju O P, the techie who was killed on Sunday by a security guard on its Pune campus. Rasilas relatives said that Infosys on Monday promised to pay `1 crore as ex-gratia, apart from provident fund and gratuity. The company will also make all efforts to provide an offer of employment to a blood relative based on educational qualification, it said. Sources in the company told Express that as a policy, Infosys does not to disclose further details of the compensation. Even in past incidents of accidents, victims families were compensated, but the company did not announce it officially. However, pictures of an MoU on the compensation, signed by Infosys and Rasilas relatives, were circulating on social media on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the body of the 24-year-old software engineer was brought from Pune to Kozhikode, where it was cremated. Bhaben Saikia, the security guard who was arrested in connection with the murder, allegedly told the police that he tried to commit suicide after the crime, but changed his mind at the last moment. BELAGAVI: A big cat, suspected to be a leopard, strayed into Durganagar in Khanapur town about 25 km from Belagavi, creating panic among residents on Wednesday morning. According to sources, some farmers spotted the carnivore in their field behind Police Training School around 9 am. They informed the schools instructors as well as the residents around, who then informed the Forest Department. The farmers were not sure whether the big cat was a tiger or a leopard. The pug mark traced on the bank of a stream near Durganagar in Khanapur on Wednesday Range Forest Officer (RFO) S S Ningani and team launched a search operation covering a radius of about 15 km. The team had three gunmen in case of emergency. During the search, the officials traced fresh pug marks of a big cat on the bank of a stream, about 1 km away from the spot where it was spotted earlier. Forest Department officials said the animal is a young leopard. Some evidence indicated that the two-and-a-half-year-old leopard returned to the jungle, after which the operation was stopped. Speaking to Express, RFO Ningane suggested that the big cat must have strayed in search of food. He said leopards are very fond of dogs and this might be the reason it entered Durganagar. The Department urged Durganagar residents to remain alert for a few days. The authorities, who suspect that the big cat might return to that area in search of food, have installed camera traps covering the identified spots. A team has been deputed to the area on round-the-clock duty as an precautionary measure. BELAGAVI: A big cat, suspected to be a leopard, strayed into Durganagar in Khanapur town about 25 km from Belagavi, creating panic among residents on Wednesday morning. According to sources, some farmers spotted the carnivore in their field behind Police Training School around 9 am. They informed the schools instructors as well as the residents around, who then informed the Forest Department. The farmers were not sure whether the big cat was a tiger or a leopard. The pug mark traced on the bank of a stream near Durganagar in Khanapur on WednesdayRange Forest Officer (RFO) S S Ningani and team launched a search operation covering a radius of about 15 km. The team had three gunmen in case of emergency. During the search, the officials traced fresh pug marks of a big cat on the bank of a stream, about 1 km away from the spot where it was spotted earlier. Forest Department officials said the animal is a young leopard. Some evidence indicated that the two-and-a-half-year-old leopard returned to the jungle, after which the operation was stopped. Speaking to Express, RFO Ningane suggested that the big cat must have strayed in search of food. He said leopards are very fond of dogs and this might be the reason it entered Durganagar. The Department urged Durganagar residents to remain alert for a few days. The authorities, who suspect that the big cat might return to that area in search of food, have installed camera traps covering the identified spots. A team has been deputed to the area on round-the-clock duty as an precautionary measure. TOKYO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso will explain the government's stance on currencies and monetary policy at a meeting next week between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump, a senior Japanese government source told Reuters on Wednesday. Masatsugu Asakawa, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, will arrive in Washington to make arrangements with U.S. authorities ahead of the Feb. 10 Trump-Abe meeting, another source said. Trump and his trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday took aim at the currency policies of Japan and other trading partners, saying they were engaged in devaluing their currencies to the disadvantage of the United States. (Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; Writing by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Sam Holmes) By Express News Service KOCHI: A stalker who tried to set ablaze a woman for rejecting his advances succumbed to burns himself. The woman is in critical condition at the Government Medical College in Kottayam, after the man tried to immolate both himself and the girl. According to police, the deceased has been identified as Adarsh Suneeran (26), from Neendakara in Kollam, a former Physiotherapy student at the Gandhinagar center of School of Medical Education (SME) Kottayam. According Dr. R P Renjin, RMO of GMC, Kottayam, the condition of K Lakshmi (21), a fourth year student at SME and daughter of Krishnakumar, from Harippad is extremely critical. She is said to have suffered 65 percent burns in the incident. According to the eyewitnesses, Adarsh poured petrol on both Lakshmi and himself at SME campus on Wednesday afternoon after she rejected a proposal made by him. When she tried to run away, Adarsh chased her and set her on fire near library hall in the campus. Adarsh, who had come to the campus for attending a supplementary examination, was reportedly carrying a can of petrol. Two other students, who tried to rescue the girl from the attack, also suffered injuries and were admitted to GMC Hospital. Gandhinagar police registered a case in connection with the incident. KOCHI: A stalker who tried to set ablaze a woman for rejecting his advances succumbed to burns himself. The woman is in critical condition at the Government Medical College in Kottayam, after the man tried to immolate both himself and the girl. According to police, the deceased has been identified as Adarsh Suneeran (26), from Neendakara in Kollam, a former Physiotherapy student at the Gandhinagar center of School of Medical Education (SME) Kottayam. According Dr. R P Renjin, RMO of GMC, Kottayam, the condition of K Lakshmi (21), a fourth year student at SME and daughter of Krishnakumar, from Harippad is extremely critical. She is said to have suffered 65 percent burns in the incident. According to the eyewitnesses, Adarsh poured petrol on both Lakshmi and himself at SME campus on Wednesday afternoon after she rejected a proposal made by him. When she tried to run away, Adarsh chased her and set her on fire near library hall in the campus. Adarsh, who had come to the campus for attending a supplementary examination, was reportedly carrying a can of petrol. Two other students, who tried to rescue the girl from the attack, also suffered injuries and were admitted to GMC Hospital. Gandhinagar police registered a case in connection with the incident. By Express News Service COIMBATORE: Citing poor storage in the reservoirs coming under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP), Tamil Nadu officials on Tuesday told the neighbouring state Kerala that they would be unable to supply water as per the PAP agreement. The officials of the Tamil Nadu water resources, PWD, along with the representatives of other lining departments, conveyed their inability to supply the designated 19.55 TMC of water as per the PAP agreement during the Inter State Water Sharing meet held between the two States at Thiruvanathapuram on Saturday. As per the agreement, Tamil Nadu has to provide 12.30 TMC of water from Sholyar dam and 7.25 TMC of water from Aliyar dam to Kerala every year (water year). The Tamil Nadu officials informed at the meeting that they have shortfall of nearly nine TMC of water in 10 reservoirs coming under the PAP when compared to last years capacity. This was due to poor rainfall during the southwest and northeast monsoon last year. They added that only two TMC of water was available at the reservoirs, while the total storage was about 11 TMC last year. Usually, we would receive a total of 28 TMC of water during rainy season. However, we received a only 17.04 TMC of water last year. We shared a total of 7.13 TMC of water with Kerala and the remaining 9.91 TMC of water was distributed to Tamil Nadu. Currently, we have storage of just two TMC of water. Hence, we have asked the Kerala officials to use the water only for drinking purposes till May and not for irrigation purpose. The water will also be used for only drinking purpose in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, said a senior official who participated in the meeting. The meeting was attended by S K Prabakar, secretary, PWD, K Paneendra Reddy, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply department, M Saikumar Chief Managing Director of TNEB, R Subramanian, Chairman, Cauvery Technical Cell, among others from the Tamil Nadu side. Similarly, V J Kurian Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources, Tinku Biswal, and a few other officials from Kerala participated. COIMBATORE: Citing poor storage in the reservoirs coming under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP), Tamil Nadu officials on Tuesday told the neighbouring state Kerala that they would be unable to supply water as per the PAP agreement. The officials of the Tamil Nadu water resources, PWD, along with the representatives of other lining departments, conveyed their inability to supply the designated 19.55 TMC of water as per the PAP agreement during the Inter State Water Sharing meet held between the two States at Thiruvanathapuram on Saturday. As per the agreement, Tamil Nadu has to provide 12.30 TMC of water from Sholyar dam and 7.25 TMC of water from Aliyar dam to Kerala every year (water year). The Tamil Nadu officials informed at the meeting that they have shortfall of nearly nine TMC of water in 10 reservoirs coming under the PAP when compared to last years capacity. This was due to poor rainfall during the southwest and northeast monsoon last year. They added that only two TMC of water was available at the reservoirs, while the total storage was about 11 TMC last year. Usually, we would receive a total of 28 TMC of water during rainy season. However, we received a only 17.04 TMC of water last year. We shared a total of 7.13 TMC of water with Kerala and the remaining 9.91 TMC of water was distributed to Tamil Nadu. Currently, we have storage of just two TMC of water. Hence, we have asked the Kerala officials to use the water only for drinking purposes till May and not for irrigation purpose. The water will also be used for only drinking purpose in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, said a senior official who participated in the meeting. The meeting was attended by S K Prabakar, secretary, PWD, K Paneendra Reddy, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply department, M Saikumar Chief Managing Director of TNEB, R Subramanian, Chairman, Cauvery Technical Cell, among others from the Tamil Nadu side. Similarly, V J Kurian Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources, Tinku Biswal, and a few other officials from Kerala participated. By Express News Service CHENNAI: The issue of ceding Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka became a point of intense debate once again in the State Assembly on Tuesday with the Treasury and Opposition Benches wrangling over it. While winding up the debate on the Governors address, Leader of Opposition MK Stalin touched upon the plight of Tamil Nadu fishermen and questioned the status of a project relating to deep sea fishing. Making an intervention, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said, The fishermens issue cropped up only after the ceding of Katchatheevu. He recalled that the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had approached the Supreme Court to regain the island, which remains a bone of contention. Seeking to make a point, Deputy Leader of Opposition Durai Murugan said, the Centre had ceded Katchatheevu without the knowledge of the then DMK government. He also noted that J Jayalalithaa had written to AB Vajpayee, when he was the Prime Minister, saying she had no issues with the ceding of the island. CHENNAI: The issue of ceding Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka became a point of intense debate once again in the State Assembly on Tuesday with the Treasury and Opposition Benches wrangling over it. While winding up the debate on the Governors address, Leader of Opposition MK Stalin touched upon the plight of Tamil Nadu fishermen and questioned the status of a project relating to deep sea fishing. Making an intervention, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said, The fishermens issue cropped up only after the ceding of Katchatheevu. He recalled that the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had approached the Supreme Court to regain the island, which remains a bone of contention. Seeking to make a point, Deputy Leader of Opposition Durai Murugan said, the Centre had ceded Katchatheevu without the knowledge of the then DMK government. He also noted that J Jayalalithaa had written to AB Vajpayee, when he was the Prime Minister, saying she had no issues with the ceding of the island. By Express News Service CHENNAI: A PIL has been filed in the Madras High Court for provision of separate toilets and bathrooms for transgenders in the State. The first bench of Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice M Sundar, before which a petition from one Devarajan came up for hearing, appointed R Devaprasad, an advocate, as amicus curiae, to assist the court in the issue. We feel that since a larger issue is involved, the prevalent practice in other parts of the country or any international norms in this behalf can be placed before us and we, thus, appoint Devaprasad as amicus, so that he can also place material before us in this behalf, the bench said. The bench also issued notice, which was taken by Government Pleader MK Subramanian, who prayed for two months time to file the counter. According to petitioner, the 2011 census showed that there were around 10 lakh transgenders in the State. They were identified as third gender in Tamil Nadu. The society often ridiculed and abused them and they were sidelined and treated as untouchables. Apart from other challenges faced by them in education and employment, the important one was toilets exclusively for them. He sent representations in this regard to the government authorities on September 12 and November 16, 2016, but there was no response. Hence the present PIL, he said. CHENNAI: A PIL has been filed in the Madras High Court for provision of separate toilets and bathrooms for transgenders in the State. The first bench of Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice M Sundar, before which a petition from one Devarajan came up for hearing, appointed R Devaprasad, an advocate, as amicus curiae, to assist the court in the issue. We feel that since a larger issue is involved, the prevalent practice in other parts of the country or any international norms in this behalf can be placed before us and we, thus, appoint Devaprasad as amicus, so that he can also place material before us in this behalf, the bench said. The bench also issued notice, which was taken by Government Pleader MK Subramanian, who prayed for two months time to file the counter. According to petitioner, the 2011 census showed that there were around 10 lakh transgenders in the State. They were identified as third gender in Tamil Nadu. The society often ridiculed and abused them and they were sidelined and treated as untouchables. Apart from other challenges faced by them in education and employment, the important one was toilets exclusively for them. He sent representations in this regard to the government authorities on September 12 and November 16, 2016, but there was no response. Hence the present PIL, he said. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Seeking to contain the fall-out of last weeks large scale violence, the State government announced setting up an inquiry commission headed by a retired High Court judge to probe into the reasons and circumstances behind the trouble in Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore. The commission would also investigate allegations of police excesses, and submit the report within three months, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam informed the Assembly on Tuesday. Opposition parties have pressed either for an inquiry commission headed by a sitting judge of the High Court or a probe by the CBI. Making his first ever statement under Rule 110 of the House, he said the government has decided to withdraw cases registered against 36 students immediately considering their future. In all, 312 people were arrested in Chennai in connection with the violent incidents that took place on January 23, while the number was 175 in other districts. The Cyber Crime Wing of the Chennai City Police, under the direct supervision of city police commissioner, is scrutinising the videos showing police personnel setting fire and engaging in violence. If involvement of police personnel in illegal activities are confirmed, stringent action will be taken, Panneerselvam asserted. On the terms of reference for the inquiry commission, the Chief Minister said the panel would go into the reasons and circumstances that led to the law and order problems and the damages caused to public and private properties due to it. The commission would also inquire whether the police personnel used appropriate force required for the situation and whether there were police excesses. If so, the commission would recommend the action to be taken and make recommendations for preventing recurrence of such incidents, added Panneerselvam. CHENNAI: Seeking to contain the fall-out of last weeks large scale violence, the State government announced setting up an inquiry commission headed by a retired High Court judge to probe into the reasons and circumstances behind the trouble in Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore. The commission would also investigate allegations of police excesses, and submit the report within three months, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam informed the Assembly on Tuesday. Opposition parties have pressed either for an inquiry commission headed by a sitting judge of the High Court or a probe by the CBI. Making his first ever statement under Rule 110 of the House, he said the government has decided to withdraw cases registered against 36 students immediately considering their future. In all, 312 people were arrested in Chennai in connection with the violent incidents that took place on January 23, while the number was 175 in other districts. The Cyber Crime Wing of the Chennai City Police, under the direct supervision of city police commissioner, is scrutinising the videos showing police personnel setting fire and engaging in violence. If involvement of police personnel in illegal activities are confirmed, stringent action will be taken, Panneerselvam asserted. On the terms of reference for the inquiry commission, the Chief Minister said the panel would go into the reasons and circumstances that led to the law and order problems and the damages caused to public and private properties due to it. The commission would also inquire whether the police personnel used appropriate force required for the situation and whether there were police excesses. If so, the commission would recommend the action to be taken and make recommendations for preventing recurrence of such incidents, added Panneerselvam. By PTI LAHORE: An FIR will be registered against Jamaat-u-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, a senior Pakistani minister has said, without clarifying under which case the Mumbai attack mastermind would be booked. "Action against Saeed has been taken after taking all institutions on board. The government has put Saeed under house arrest for the time being but an FIR will be registered against him," Federal Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir said. Asked under which case Saeed would be booked, Dastgir said, "It will be known in a few days". Punjab Province Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said more Jamaat-u-Dawa (JuD) and Falaha-i-Insanyat (FIF) activists would be detained in coming days. "We are watching the activities of the suspected workers of the JuD and FIF and more activists will be detained under Fourth Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act," he said. Talking to reporters here, Sanaullah said Saeed's Kahmir policy is completely different from that of the Nawaz Sharif government. "We will not compromise on national interest. Our policy on Kashmir is different from that of JuD's," he said, adding that the government is keeping an eye on the activities of the active workers of the JuD and FIF after placing both organisations on the watch list. Meanwhile, leaders from diverse political spectrum have reacted to Saeed's house arrest. Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's senior leader Mahmoodur Rasheed alleged that the PML-N government had taken action against Saeed because of the US and India. "Action against Saeed shows that the government has succumbed to Indian pressure," said Rasheed, who is also the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly. He claimed that Saeed was being punished for raising voice for the rights of Kashmiris and no one could doubt his "patriotism". Jamaat-i-Islami leader and member Punjab Assembly Wasim Akhtar said Saeed had brought the Kashmir issue alive and there had been a lot of social work to the credit of FIF. He demanded the immediate release of Saeed and other JuD leaders. Defence Council Pakistan (DPC) Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said Saeed's house arrest was aimed at "pleasing India". The DPC threatened to launch a protest movement if Saeed was not released immediately. It said the DPC will take out a nationwide rally on February 5 on the instruction of Saeed. JuD is part of DPC. Saeed has been placed under a 90-day house arrest. There have been reports that Islamabad has immense pressure from new US administration to take action against Saeed and his organisations. Saeed was also put under house arrest after Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but he was freed by court in 2009. LAHORE: An FIR will be registered against Jamaat-u-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, a senior Pakistani minister has said, without clarifying under which case the Mumbai attack mastermind would be booked. "Action against Saeed has been taken after taking all institutions on board. The government has put Saeed under house arrest for the time being but an FIR will be registered against him," Federal Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir said. Asked under which case Saeed would be booked, Dastgir said, "It will be known in a few days". Punjab Province Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said more Jamaat-u-Dawa (JuD) and Falaha-i-Insanyat (FIF) activists would be detained in coming days. "We are watching the activities of the suspected workers of the JuD and FIF and more activists will be detained under Fourth Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act," he said. Talking to reporters here, Sanaullah said Saeed's Kahmir policy is completely different from that of the Nawaz Sharif government. "We will not compromise on national interest. Our policy on Kashmir is different from that of JuD's," he said, adding that the government is keeping an eye on the activities of the active workers of the JuD and FIF after placing both organisations on the watch list. Meanwhile, leaders from diverse political spectrum have reacted to Saeed's house arrest. Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's senior leader Mahmoodur Rasheed alleged that the PML-N government had taken action against Saeed because of the US and India. "Action against Saeed shows that the government has succumbed to Indian pressure," said Rasheed, who is also the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly. He claimed that Saeed was being punished for raising voice for the rights of Kashmiris and no one could doubt his "patriotism". Jamaat-i-Islami leader and member Punjab Assembly Wasim Akhtar said Saeed had brought the Kashmir issue alive and there had been a lot of social work to the credit of FIF. He demanded the immediate release of Saeed and other JuD leaders. Defence Council Pakistan (DPC) Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said Saeed's house arrest was aimed at "pleasing India". The DPC threatened to launch a protest movement if Saeed was not released immediately. It said the DPC will take out a nationwide rally on February 5 on the instruction of Saeed. JuD is part of DPC. Saeed has been placed under a 90-day house arrest. There have been reports that Islamabad has immense pressure from new US administration to take action against Saeed and his organisations. Saeed was also put under house arrest after Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but he was freed by court in 2009. By AFP TEHRAN: Iran confirmed on Wednesday that it had tested a ballistic missile, but denied that was a breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. "The action was in line with boosting Iran's defence power and is not in contradiction with the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) or Resolution 2231," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said. He was referring to a UN Security Council resolution that bans Iran from developing missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. "This test was in line with our ongoing programmes," the ISNA news agency quoted Dehghan as saying. "We have previously announced that we will execute the programmes we have planned in production of defence items meant for our national interests and objectives. Nobody can influence our decision." Tehran on Tuesday warned Washington against fuelling tensions. "We hope that Iran's defence programme is not used by the new US administration... as a pretext to create new tensions," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. His comments came ahead of emergency consultations at the UN Security Council on the missile test convened at Washington's request. US ambassador Nikki Haley told the meeting that the test-firing of the medium-range missile was "absolutely unacceptable". "The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out," she said. The row comes against a backdrop of already strained relations between Washington and Tehran over US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. TEHRAN: Iran confirmed on Wednesday that it had tested a ballistic missile, but denied that was a breach of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. "The action was in line with boosting Iran's defence power and is not in contradiction with the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) or Resolution 2231," Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said. He was referring to a UN Security Council resolution that bans Iran from developing missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. "This test was in line with our ongoing programmes," the ISNA news agency quoted Dehghan as saying. "We have previously announced that we will execute the programmes we have planned in production of defence items meant for our national interests and objectives. Nobody can influence our decision." Tehran on Tuesday warned Washington against fuelling tensions. "We hope that Iran's defence programme is not used by the new US administration... as a pretext to create new tensions," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. His comments came ahead of emergency consultations at the UN Security Council on the missile test convened at Washington's request. US ambassador Nikki Haley told the meeting that the test-firing of the medium-range missile was "absolutely unacceptable". "The United States is not naive. We are not going to stand by. You will see us call them out," she said. The row comes against a backdrop of already strained relations between Washington and Tehran over US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries. By AFP OSLO: Norway on Wednesday summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a formal protest after Moscow refused visas to two senior MPs in a move Oslo denounced as "unjustifiable". "It's unreasonable and unjustifiable that these Norwegian members of parliament have been refused visas," Foreign Minister Borge Brende told reporters. The Norwegian parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, of which the two MPS were members, has cancelled a planned two-day trip to Moscow that was due to start Thursday. The committee has 17 members in all. Moscow said it refused visas to Bard Vegar Solhjell, leader of the Socialist Left party (SV), and Trine Skei Grande, leader of the centre-right Venstre party, over Norway's participation in EU economic sanctions against Russia in response to the Ukraine crisis, although the Nordic nation is not a member of the bloc. "Russia's decision was a response," said Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian parliament's upper house. "Moreover, in some cases, Russian lawmakers wanting to visit Norway have been refused visas," Ria Novosti news agency quoted him as saying. Ties between the neighbouring countries have been fraught recently over the Syrian conflict, the transit of migrants through Russian territory and the deployment of US troops in Norway as well as Ukraine. OSLO: Norway on Wednesday summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a formal protest after Moscow refused visas to two senior MPs in a move Oslo denounced as "unjustifiable". "It's unreasonable and unjustifiable that these Norwegian members of parliament have been refused visas," Foreign Minister Borge Brende told reporters. The Norwegian parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, of which the two MPS were members, has cancelled a planned two-day trip to Moscow that was due to start Thursday. The committee has 17 members in all. Moscow said it refused visas to Bard Vegar Solhjell, leader of the Socialist Left party (SV), and Trine Skei Grande, leader of the centre-right Venstre party, over Norway's participation in EU economic sanctions against Russia in response to the Ukraine crisis, although the Nordic nation is not a member of the bloc. "Russia's decision was a response," said Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian parliament's upper house. "Moreover, in some cases, Russian lawmakers wanting to visit Norway have been refused visas," Ria Novosti news agency quoted him as saying. Ties between the neighbouring countries have been fraught recently over the Syrian conflict, the transit of migrants through Russian territory and the deployment of US troops in Norway as well as Ukraine. By IANS KATHMANDU: The 53rd meeting of SAARC Programming Committee began here on Wednesday and could mark revival of the regional bloc following the postponement of the 19th Summit that was scheduled in Pakistan in November last year after India and some others members expressed their inability to participate. Though the two-day meeting at joint secretary/director general level only entails discussions about the budget allocation of five SAARC regional centres, some specialised bodies and their annual programme, it will definitely set a positive tone to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan and for resumption of the Saarc process, said officials. They also expressed the hope that it will pave the way for meetings at higher levels. One diplomat participating in the meeting said that officials from both India and Pakistan were very positive, accommodative and flexible on the first day of the meeting. After India announced that it was pulling out of the Islamabad summit "in the wake of the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an Indian Army base in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir" -- which New Delhi blamed on terrorists based in Pakistan -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan followed suit, leaving the fate of the regional bloc hanging in the balance. Pakistan, the host nation, then announced postponement of the summit, throwing Nepal, which is the current chair of SAARC, into a quandary. Since the postponement of the summit, member states had almost lost their communications and no meetings or engagements were either planned or convened. Earlier, the Programming Committee meeting was to take place ahead of the 19th SAARC Summit, but following the postponement of the summit, the meeting had failed to convene. The Programming Committee is the lowest level mechanism in SAARC below the SAARC Standing Committee, which is held at the Foreign Secretaries level, and Saarc Council of Ministers held at Foreign Ministers level. Nepal is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the SAARC Chair. KATHMANDU: The 53rd meeting of SAARC Programming Committee began here on Wednesday and could mark revival of the regional bloc following the postponement of the 19th Summit that was scheduled in Pakistan in November last year after India and some others members expressed their inability to participate. Though the two-day meeting at joint secretary/director general level only entails discussions about the budget allocation of five SAARC regional centres, some specialised bodies and their annual programme, it will definitely set a positive tone to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan and for resumption of the Saarc process, said officials. They also expressed the hope that it will pave the way for meetings at higher levels. One diplomat participating in the meeting said that officials from both India and Pakistan were very positive, accommodative and flexible on the first day of the meeting. After India announced that it was pulling out of the Islamabad summit "in the wake of the September 18 cross-border terror attack on an Indian Army base in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir" -- which New Delhi blamed on terrorists based in Pakistan -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan followed suit, leaving the fate of the regional bloc hanging in the balance. Pakistan, the host nation, then announced postponement of the summit, throwing Nepal, which is the current chair of SAARC, into a quandary. Since the postponement of the summit, member states had almost lost their communications and no meetings or engagements were either planned or convened. Earlier, the Programming Committee meeting was to take place ahead of the 19th SAARC Summit, but following the postponement of the summit, the meeting had failed to convene. The Programming Committee is the lowest level mechanism in SAARC below the SAARC Standing Committee, which is held at the Foreign Secretaries level, and Saarc Council of Ministers held at Foreign Ministers level. Nepal is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the SAARC Chair. P K Balachandran By Express News Service JAFFNA: The elected council of Sri Lankas Tamil-majority Northern Province on Tuesday unanimously rejected the Central governments bid to centralize decision making on national economic policy and strategies through the Sustainable Development Strategies Bill. The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) felt that the bill is eating into the already limited powers provinces enjoy under the 13 th. Amendment of the constitution, the Leader of the Opposition in the NPC, Sinnadurai Thavarajah, told Express. Earlier, speaking on the matter, Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran said that the NPC will not allow any such changes to be made before the new constitution is drafted and approved. He feared that the enactment of such laws is a surreptitious way of thwarting efforts to bring about far reaching changes in the Sri Lankan constitution to devolve more power to the provinces. The Sustainable Development Bill has been in the public domain since July 2016 and the cabinet had even approved it. But it has been held up because the majority Sinhalese see it as a bid to hand over all economic policy matters to a Super Minister as it was the case in the Rajapaksa regime. Since Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is in-charge of economic policy, it is assumed that he would be the Super Minister assisted by a Development Council of yes men. However, the Northern Provincial Council has seen the bill from a very different angle from the point of view devolution of power to the provinces. In its view the bill will be an infringement of the provinces rights. The bill envisages the setting up of a Sustainable Development Council with eight members of which three will be representatives of the country nine provinces. But the three places reserved for the provinces will rotate among the nine provinces every three years. Thavarajah said that this will be unfair to the provinces both collectively and individually. This Sustainable Development Council will formulate national policy on all economic matters and the provinces will have no say in it once a policy is formulated . The minister in charge is empowered to issue directions to secure compliance. Where a statute passed by a Provincial Council is inconsistent with the national policy framework, the Secretary to the Ministry can make an application to the Supreme Court for a declaration to invalidate the statute. The Minister is empowered by a Gazette notice to set apart any area which can be developed for economic activities such as manufacturing, tourism, science and technology, finance services, logistics, business and services, and modern fisheries/ agriculture or agro business. The bill envisages large scale manufacture and development when the Northern Province is rooting for small-scale developmental enterprises to benefit large numbers of people. JAFFNA: The elected council of Sri Lankas Tamil-majority Northern Province on Tuesday unanimously rejected the Central governments bid to centralize decision making on national economic policy and strategies through the Sustainable Development Strategies Bill. The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) felt that the bill is eating into the already limited powers provinces enjoy under the 13 th. Amendment of the constitution, the Leader of the Opposition in the NPC, Sinnadurai Thavarajah, told Express. Earlier, speaking on the matter, Northern Province Chief Minister C.V.Wigneswaran said that the NPC will not allow any such changes to be made before the new constitution is drafted and approved. He feared that the enactment of such laws is a surreptitious way of thwarting efforts to bring about far reaching changes in the Sri Lankan constitution to devolve more power to the provinces. The Sustainable Development Bill has been in the public domain since July 2016 and the cabinet had even approved it. But it has been held up because the majority Sinhalese see it as a bid to hand over all economic policy matters to a Super Minister as it was the case in the Rajapaksa regime. Since Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is in-charge of economic policy, it is assumed that he would be the Super Minister assisted by a Development Council of yes men. However, the Northern Provincial Council has seen the bill from a very different angle from the point of view devolution of power to the provinces. In its view the bill will be an infringement of the provinces rights. The bill envisages the setting up of a Sustainable Development Council with eight members of which three will be representatives of the country nine provinces. But the three places reserved for the provinces will rotate among the nine provinces every three years. Thavarajah said that this will be unfair to the provinces both collectively and individually. This Sustainable Development Council will formulate national policy on all economic matters and the provinces will have no say in it once a policy is formulated . The minister in charge is empowered to issue directions to secure compliance. Where a statute passed by a Provincial Council is inconsistent with the national policy framework, the Secretary to the Ministry can make an application to the Supreme Court for a declaration to invalidate the statute. The Minister is empowered by a Gazette notice to set apart any area which can be developed for economic activities such as manufacturing, tourism, science and technology, finance services, logistics, business and services, and modern fisheries/ agriculture or agro business. The bill envisages large scale manufacture and development when the Northern Province is rooting for small-scale developmental enterprises to benefit large numbers of people. TOKYO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Japan's top currency official said on Wednesday that foreign-exchange rates were decided by markets and were not being manipulated, after U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at the currency policies of Japan and other trading partners. Masatsugu Asakawa, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters that Japanese monetary policy was aimed solely at beating deflation. Trump and trade adviser Peter Navarro criticised China, Germany and Japan, saying they were engaged in devaluing their currencies to the disadvantage of the United States. (Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Writing by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) By Associated Press MEDFORD: Harold Hayes, an Army medic and the last survivor of a group of medics and nurses who spent nine weeks evading capture in Nazi-occupied Albania during World War II, has died. He was 94. All 30 men and women in the group eventually made it out, but it was kept secret to protect partisan fighters who helped them. Hayes' daughter, Margaret Bleakley, told The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/2kIvLwo) that he died Jan. 22 in a hospital in Medford, Oregon, following an operation to remove a blood clot from his leg. Hayes was among 13 medics, 13 nurses and four crew members to board a twin-engine cargo plane in Nov. 8, 1943, in Sicily expecting a two-hour flight to help wounded troops in Italy. "It sure wasn't something any of us expected," said Hayes in a 2013 interview with the Medford Mail Tribune. "We thought we would be in Italy for a very short time, then return." Bad weather caused the plane to go off course, and it was attacked by German fighters before ducking back into the clouds, finally running low on fuel and landing 25 miles inland. "The pilot made a skillful landing," Hayes said. "But it came to an abrupt stop when the wheels bogged down in the mud. It turned up on its nose and fell back again." A 23-year-old crew chief was the only casualty, unable to walk with a knee injury, and the others carried him for much of their 600-mile trek out. Along the way they suffered dysentery, lack of food, lice, and the dangers of German patrols and getting caught up in Albania's civil war. "We were caught in the middle of all that," Hayes said. "Some days we walked 24 hours without stopping." They were listed as missing in action and letters went out to their families. In late November, British intelligence in Albania learned the American plane had crashed and those aboard were alive. American and British rescue plans were developed. On Jan. 9, 1943, 10 nurses and 17 medics and crew members boarded a British launch and crossed to Italy. Three nurses who remained behind in the German-occupied city of Berat made it across in March 1944, riding pack mules to the coast and then a torpedo boat across the Adriatic. The escape was kept classified for years because some partisans who helped the Americans were shot by Germans and, after the war, those suspected of helping the Americans were executed by Enver Hoxha, Albania's Communist dictator. He died in 1985. "For many years, I didn't say anything about what happened in Albania," Hayes told The New York Times in a 2015 telephone interview. MEDFORD: Harold Hayes, an Army medic and the last survivor of a group of medics and nurses who spent nine weeks evading capture in Nazi-occupied Albania during World War II, has died. He was 94. All 30 men and women in the group eventually made it out, but it was kept secret to protect partisan fighters who helped them. Hayes' daughter, Margaret Bleakley, told The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/2kIvLwo) that he died Jan. 22 in a hospital in Medford, Oregon, following an operation to remove a blood clot from his leg. Hayes was among 13 medics, 13 nurses and four crew members to board a twin-engine cargo plane in Nov. 8, 1943, in Sicily expecting a two-hour flight to help wounded troops in Italy. "It sure wasn't something any of us expected," said Hayes in a 2013 interview with the Medford Mail Tribune. "We thought we would be in Italy for a very short time, then return." Bad weather caused the plane to go off course, and it was attacked by German fighters before ducking back into the clouds, finally running low on fuel and landing 25 miles inland. "The pilot made a skillful landing," Hayes said. "But it came to an abrupt stop when the wheels bogged down in the mud. It turned up on its nose and fell back again." A 23-year-old crew chief was the only casualty, unable to walk with a knee injury, and the others carried him for much of their 600-mile trek out. Along the way they suffered dysentery, lack of food, lice, and the dangers of German patrols and getting caught up in Albania's civil war. "We were caught in the middle of all that," Hayes said. "Some days we walked 24 hours without stopping." They were listed as missing in action and letters went out to their families. In late November, British intelligence in Albania learned the American plane had crashed and those aboard were alive. American and British rescue plans were developed. On Jan. 9, 1943, 10 nurses and 17 medics and crew members boarded a British launch and crossed to Italy. Three nurses who remained behind in the German-occupied city of Berat made it across in March 1944, riding pack mules to the coast and then a torpedo boat across the Adriatic. The escape was kept classified for years because some partisans who helped the Americans were shot by Germans and, after the war, those suspected of helping the Americans were executed by Enver Hoxha, Albania's Communist dictator. He died in 1985. "For many years, I didn't say anything about what happened in Albania," Hayes told The New York Times in a 2015 telephone interview. By IANS Port of Spain: Mahatma Gandhi's life showed that it was possible to change society without firing a gun, said Alderman Junia Regrello, Mayor of San Fernando city here, as he opened a photographic exhibition to mark the Father of the Indian Nation's death anniversary. The exhibition, "The Life And Times of Mahatma Gandhi", was organised by the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Co-operation and the Indian High Commission, in collaboration with the San Fernando City Corporation at the City Hall on Monday evening. "We are here to celebrate the life of a man who made a significant contribution to the Commonwealth of Nations in particular. His mannerism, his attitude, his approach to politics, without picking a gun, without firing a bullet, he transformed India and transformed the Commonwealth of Nations, and he triggered off a string of Independence across the Commonwealth countries that followed," Regrello said. Gandhi is of the same ilk as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, both of whom preached non-violence as a force for change, he added. Indian High Commissioner Bishwadip Dey said: "Gandhi becomes much more relevant when his teachings of truth, non-violence and co-existence come in when you practice non-violence, when you practice truth, when you practice peace, there can be no crime situation." Scores of people turned up to view the exhibition, including officials of the Indian High Commission. The observance of Gandhi's birth and death has become an annual ritual in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly when more than 44 per cent of the population form the Indian diaspora whose forefathers hailed from what is now Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1845 and 1917 to work in the sugar and cocoa plantations. Port of Spain: Mahatma Gandhi's life showed that it was possible to change society without firing a gun, said Alderman Junia Regrello, Mayor of San Fernando city here, as he opened a photographic exhibition to mark the Father of the Indian Nation's death anniversary. The exhibition, "The Life And Times of Mahatma Gandhi", was organised by the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Co-operation and the Indian High Commission, in collaboration with the San Fernando City Corporation at the City Hall on Monday evening. "We are here to celebrate the life of a man who made a significant contribution to the Commonwealth of Nations in particular. His mannerism, his attitude, his approach to politics, without picking a gun, without firing a bullet, he transformed India and transformed the Commonwealth of Nations, and he triggered off a string of Independence across the Commonwealth countries that followed," Regrello said. Gandhi is of the same ilk as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, both of whom preached non-violence as a force for change, he added. Indian High Commissioner Bishwadip Dey said: "Gandhi becomes much more relevant when his teachings of truth, non-violence and co-existence come in when you practice non-violence, when you practice truth, when you practice peace, there can be no crime situation." Scores of people turned up to view the exhibition, including officials of the Indian High Commission. The observance of Gandhi's birth and death has become an annual ritual in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly when more than 44 per cent of the population form the Indian diaspora whose forefathers hailed from what is now Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1845 and 1917 to work in the sugar and cocoa plantations. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer's flair, to the Supreme Court Tuesday night, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. He's known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump declared, announcing the nomination in his first televised prime-time address from the White House. Gorsuch's nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trump's own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the right's most powerful voice on the high court. With Scalia's wife, Maureen, sitting in the audience, Trump took care to praise the late justice. Gorsuch followed, calling Scalia a "lion of the law." Gorsuch thanked Trump for entrusting him with "a most solemn assignment." Outlining his legal philosophy, he said: "It is the rule of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." Some Democrats, still smarting over Trump's unexpected victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's "stolen seat." President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy after Scalia's death, but Senate Republicans refused to consider the pick, saying the seat should be filled only after the November election. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said he has "serious doubts" that Gorsuch is within what Democrats consider the legal mainstream, saying he "hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court." Trump's choice of Gorsuch marks perhaps the most significant decision of his young presidency, one with ramifications that could last long after he leaves office. After a reality television buildup to Tuesday's announcement including a senior Trump adviser saying more than one court candidate was heading to Washington ahead of the event the actual reveal was traditional and drama-free. For some Republicans, the prospect of filling one or more Supreme Court seats over the next four years has helped ease their concerns about Trump's experience and temperament. Three justices are in their late 70s and early 80s, and a retirement would offer Trump the opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for many years. Gorsuch would restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench. But he is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on abortion, gay marriage and other issues in which the court has been divided 5-4 in recent years. If confirmed, Gorsuch would join the court that is often the final arbiter for presidential policy. Justices upheld Obama's signature health care law in 2012 and could eventually hear arguments over Trump's controversial refugee and immigration executive order. Gorsuch's writings outside the court offer insight into his conservative leanings. He lashed out at liberals in a 2005 opinion piece for National Review, written before he became a federal judge. "American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means for effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education," he wrote. Gorsuch has won praise from conservatives for his defense of religious freedom, including in a case involving the Hobby Lobby craft stores. He voted in favor of privately held for-profit secular corporations, and individuals who owned or controlled them, who raised religious objections to paying for contraception for women covered under their health plans. The judge also has written opinions that question 30 years of Supreme Court rulings that allow federal agencies to interpret laws and regulations. Gorsuch has said that federal bureaucrats have been allowed to accumulate too much power at the expense of Congress and the courts. Like Scalia, Gorsuch identifies himself as a judge who tries to decide cases by interpreting the Constitution and laws as they were understood when written. He also has raised questions about criminal laws in a way that resembles Scalia's approach to criminal law. University of Michigan law professor Richard Primus said Gorsuch "may be the closest thing the new generation of conservative judges has to Antonin Scalia." Gorsuch, like the other eight justices on the court, has an Ivy League law degree. The Colorado native earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington law firm. He served for two years in George W. Bush's Department of Justice before Bush nominated him to the appeals court. His mother was Anne Gorsuch Burford, who was head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Reagan administration. Gorsuch was among the 21 possible choices for the court Trump released during the campaign. Other finalists also came from that list, including Thomas Hardiman, who serves alongside Trump's sister on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Pryor, a federal appeals court judge and Alabama's attorney general from 1997 to 2004. If Democrats decide to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination, his fate could rest in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump has encouraged McConnell to change the rules of the Senate and make it impossible to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee a change known in the Senate as the "nuclear option." A conservative group already has announced plans to begin airing $2 million worth of ads in support of the nominee in Indiana, Missouri, Montana and North Dakota, four states that Trump won and in which Democrats will be defending their Senate seats in 2018. WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer's flair, to the Supreme Court Tuesday night, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America's legal landscape for decades to come. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. He's known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump declared, announcing the nomination in his first televised prime-time address from the White House. Gorsuch's nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trump's own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the right's most powerful voice on the high court. With Scalia's wife, Maureen, sitting in the audience, Trump took care to praise the late justice. Gorsuch followed, calling Scalia a "lion of the law." Gorsuch thanked Trump for entrusting him with "a most solemn assignment." Outlining his legal philosophy, he said: "It is the rule of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." Some Democrats, still smarting over Trump's unexpected victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's "stolen seat." President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy after Scalia's death, but Senate Republicans refused to consider the pick, saying the seat should be filled only after the November election. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said he has "serious doubts" that Gorsuch is within what Democrats consider the legal mainstream, saying he "hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court." Trump's choice of Gorsuch marks perhaps the most significant decision of his young presidency, one with ramifications that could last long after he leaves office. After a reality television buildup to Tuesday's announcement including a senior Trump adviser saying more than one court candidate was heading to Washington ahead of the event the actual reveal was traditional and drama-free. For some Republicans, the prospect of filling one or more Supreme Court seats over the next four years has helped ease their concerns about Trump's experience and temperament. Three justices are in their late 70s and early 80s, and a retirement would offer Trump the opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for many years. Gorsuch would restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench. But he is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on abortion, gay marriage and other issues in which the court has been divided 5-4 in recent years. If confirmed, Gorsuch would join the court that is often the final arbiter for presidential policy. Justices upheld Obama's signature health care law in 2012 and could eventually hear arguments over Trump's controversial refugee and immigration executive order. Gorsuch's writings outside the court offer insight into his conservative leanings. He lashed out at liberals in a 2005 opinion piece for National Review, written before he became a federal judge. "American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means for effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education," he wrote. Gorsuch has won praise from conservatives for his defense of religious freedom, including in a case involving the Hobby Lobby craft stores. He voted in favor of privately held for-profit secular corporations, and individuals who owned or controlled them, who raised religious objections to paying for contraception for women covered under their health plans. The judge also has written opinions that question 30 years of Supreme Court rulings that allow federal agencies to interpret laws and regulations. Gorsuch has said that federal bureaucrats have been allowed to accumulate too much power at the expense of Congress and the courts. Like Scalia, Gorsuch identifies himself as a judge who tries to decide cases by interpreting the Constitution and laws as they were understood when written. He also has raised questions about criminal laws in a way that resembles Scalia's approach to criminal law. University of Michigan law professor Richard Primus said Gorsuch "may be the closest thing the new generation of conservative judges has to Antonin Scalia." Gorsuch, like the other eight justices on the court, has an Ivy League law degree. The Colorado native earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in three years, then a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington law firm. He served for two years in George W. Bush's Department of Justice before Bush nominated him to the appeals court. His mother was Anne Gorsuch Burford, who was head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Reagan administration. Gorsuch was among the 21 possible choices for the court Trump released during the campaign. Other finalists also came from that list, including Thomas Hardiman, who serves alongside Trump's sister on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Pryor, a federal appeals court judge and Alabama's attorney general from 1997 to 2004. If Democrats decide to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination, his fate could rest in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump has encouraged McConnell to change the rules of the Senate and make it impossible to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee a change known in the Senate as the "nuclear option." A conservative group already has announced plans to begin airing $2 million worth of ads in support of the nominee in Indiana, Missouri, Montana and North Dakota, four states that Trump won and in which Democrats will be defending their Senate seats in 2018. By PTI CAIRO: The Latest on the global reaction to President Donald Trump's temporary suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the U.S. ban on travel into the United States and refugee resettlement violates "our basic principles" and is not an effective way to stop would-be terrorists. He told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday that "these measures should be removed sooner rather than later." Guterres, who led the U.N. refugee agency for 10 years, said terrorist organizations have become very sophisticated and would probably use supporters with passports from "developed and credible countries" rather than people from countries "that are hotspots of conflict today." The U.N. chief said measures like those adopted by the Trump administration that spread anxiety and anger "help trigger the kind of recruitment mechanisms that these organizations are now doing everywhere in the world." Guterres said that's why the U.N. has been pushing for strong measures to control borders, but "not to base them in any discrimination link to nationality, religion or ethnicity." ___ 6:55 p.m. A Syrian man who was detained with his family upon arrival in Philadelphia and forced to board a plane back home because of Trump's executive order says he is still in shock. Bassam Abu Assali was turned back over the weekend despite having an immigration visa. He says he would never have made the journey if he knew he would be humiliated this way. Abu Assali also says he would still like to live in the United States if he is allowed and that he believes "America has democracy, freedoms and human rights" despite what happened. He spoke to The Associated Press in the Syrian capital on Wednesday. Abu Assali also said that he believes Trump's ban is an "individual" act that does not reflect the position of the U.S. government. ___ 5:30 p.m. A top European Union official says the U.S. clarifications shielding EU nationals with dual citizenship from the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Trump does not change the bloc's fierce opposition to the order. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told the European Parliament on Wednesday that what made Trump's order even worse was its Jan. 27 release date on the worldwide Holocaust Remembrance Day. She said, beyond commemorating the millions of Jews killed by Nazism, it also was a day "to reject any discrimination and to reflect on our duty to host those fleeing persecution." Mogherini also urged Trump "to pay attention to what is happening in his own country." ___ 5:15 p.m. Iranian-born Swedish actress Bahar Pars, who hopes to share an Oscar for best foreign film, says she and fellow actor Rolf Lassgard "have decided to travel" to the Academy Awards ceremony despite the confusion around U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban. Pars, who got Swedish citizenship in 1995, said by traveling to the prestigious Feb. 26 ceremony in Los Angeles "the effect will be a lot bigger." The 37-year-old actress holds both Swedish and Iranian passports. She tells The Associated Press that "standing there together and holding hands is a statement in itself" on Trump's temporary immigration ban against seven majority-Muslim countries, including her native Iran. Pars stars in Sweden's entry "A Man Called Ove." ____ 3:40 p.m. An American lawyer says hundreds of Yemenis with U.S. visas are stranded in the tiny African state of Djibouti because of President Donald Trump's ban on entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. Lawyer Julie Goldberg told The Associated Press on Wednesday that "these are all the children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens." She says they are not refugees and that more than half of the more than 200 Yemenis are children. Speaking from Djibouti, Goldberg says she obtained a court order dated Tuesday from the U.S. District Court in California's central district instructing the U.S. government to not enforce Trump's executive order and allow the Yemenis to fly to the United States. She seeks an airline that will comply with the order. Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014. ___ 2:40 p.m. British Prime Minister Theresa May says Donald Trump's refugee ban is "divisive and wrong" four days after she insisted it was a matter for the U.S. government. Trump's ban on citizens of seven majority Muslim nations entering the U.S. for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days has sparked protests in Britain, along with calls for Trump's state visit later this year to be scrapped. Asked about the travel ban at a news conference in Turkey on Saturday, May said that "the United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees." But on Wednesday she told lawmakers in the House of Commons that "this government is clear that that policy is wrong. We wouldn't do it ... We believe it is divisive and wrong." ___ 2: 05 p.m. Five U.N. human rights experts say President Donald Trump's move to bar entry to the United States to citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries violates U.S. obligations on human rights. The five, who are commissioned by the United Nations, said in a statement issued in Geneva on Wednesday that Trump's executive order signed last week is "clearly discriminatory" and leads to greater stigmatization of Muslims. The order bars nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from U.S. entry for 90 days. The five U.N. special rapporteurs are Francois Crepeau on migrants; Mutuma Ruteere on racism; Ben Emmerson on human rights and counter-terrorism; Nils Melzer on torture and Ahmed Shaheed on freedom of religion. They cited U.S. obligations to protect the principles of "non-refoulement" or not chasing away people who have a right to protection and nondiscrimination based on race, nationality or religion. They said the United States' responsibility "must extend to offering refuge" to people fleeing Iraq and Syria, citing U.S. participation in conflicts in those countries. ___ 12:45 p.m. The United Arab Emirates' top diplomat has come out in defense of President Donald Trump's order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Wednesday that the United States was within its rights to take what he said was a "sovereign decision" concerning immigration. He says he does not believe the move was based on religion, and noted that the majority of the world's Muslim-majority countries were not covered by the order. Sheikh Abdullah spoke following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Abu Dhabi. The Emirates is one of the United States' closest Arab allies. It is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group and hosts American troops and warplanes taking part. ___ 11:45 a.m. Iran's state TV is reporting that President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at the recent executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump to suspend immigration and visa processes for nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Iran. Rouhani described Trump and his administration as newcomers who don't understand politics, saying, "A man had been living in another world and now has entered the world of politics." Rouhani also said that Trump would end up harming not only his own nation but other countries as well. Rouhani called the American administration dishonest for claiming to be on the side of the Iranian people, but then banning them. CAIRO: The Latest on the global reaction to President Donald Trump's temporary suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the U.S. ban on travel into the United States and refugee resettlement violates "our basic principles" and is not an effective way to stop would-be terrorists. He told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday that "these measures should be removed sooner rather than later." Guterres, who led the U.N. refugee agency for 10 years, said terrorist organizations have become very sophisticated and would probably use supporters with passports from "developed and credible countries" rather than people from countries "that are hotspots of conflict today." The U.N. chief said measures like those adopted by the Trump administration that spread anxiety and anger "help trigger the kind of recruitment mechanisms that these organizations are now doing everywhere in the world." Guterres said that's why the U.N. has been pushing for strong measures to control borders, but "not to base them in any discrimination link to nationality, religion or ethnicity." ___ 6:55 p.m. A Syrian man who was detained with his family upon arrival in Philadelphia and forced to board a plane back home because of Trump's executive order says he is still in shock. Bassam Abu Assali was turned back over the weekend despite having an immigration visa. He says he would never have made the journey if he knew he would be humiliated this way. Abu Assali also says he would still like to live in the United States if he is allowed and that he believes "America has democracy, freedoms and human rights" despite what happened. He spoke to The Associated Press in the Syrian capital on Wednesday. Abu Assali also said that he believes Trump's ban is an "individual" act that does not reflect the position of the U.S. government. ___ 5:30 p.m. A top European Union official says the U.S. clarifications shielding EU nationals with dual citizenship from the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Trump does not change the bloc's fierce opposition to the order. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told the European Parliament on Wednesday that what made Trump's order even worse was its Jan. 27 release date on the worldwide Holocaust Remembrance Day. She said, beyond commemorating the millions of Jews killed by Nazism, it also was a day "to reject any discrimination and to reflect on our duty to host those fleeing persecution." Mogherini also urged Trump "to pay attention to what is happening in his own country." ___ 5:15 p.m. Iranian-born Swedish actress Bahar Pars, who hopes to share an Oscar for best foreign film, says she and fellow actor Rolf Lassgard "have decided to travel" to the Academy Awards ceremony despite the confusion around U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban. Pars, who got Swedish citizenship in 1995, said by traveling to the prestigious Feb. 26 ceremony in Los Angeles "the effect will be a lot bigger." The 37-year-old actress holds both Swedish and Iranian passports. She tells The Associated Press that "standing there together and holding hands is a statement in itself" on Trump's temporary immigration ban against seven majority-Muslim countries, including her native Iran. Pars stars in Sweden's entry "A Man Called Ove." ____ 3:40 p.m. An American lawyer says hundreds of Yemenis with U.S. visas are stranded in the tiny African state of Djibouti because of President Donald Trump's ban on entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. Lawyer Julie Goldberg told The Associated Press on Wednesday that "these are all the children, parents and the spouses of U.S. citizens." She says they are not refugees and that more than half of the more than 200 Yemenis are children. Speaking from Djibouti, Goldberg says she obtained a court order dated Tuesday from the U.S. District Court in California's central district instructing the U.S. government to not enforce Trump's executive order and allow the Yemenis to fly to the United States. She seeks an airline that will comply with the order. Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014. ___ 2:40 p.m. British Prime Minister Theresa May says Donald Trump's refugee ban is "divisive and wrong" four days after she insisted it was a matter for the U.S. government. Trump's ban on citizens of seven majority Muslim nations entering the U.S. for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days has sparked protests in Britain, along with calls for Trump's state visit later this year to be scrapped. Asked about the travel ban at a news conference in Turkey on Saturday, May said that "the United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees." But on Wednesday she told lawmakers in the House of Commons that "this government is clear that that policy is wrong. We wouldn't do it ... We believe it is divisive and wrong." ___ 2: 05 p.m. Five U.N. human rights experts say President Donald Trump's move to bar entry to the United States to citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries violates U.S. obligations on human rights. The five, who are commissioned by the United Nations, said in a statement issued in Geneva on Wednesday that Trump's executive order signed last week is "clearly discriminatory" and leads to greater stigmatization of Muslims. The order bars nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from U.S. entry for 90 days. The five U.N. special rapporteurs are Francois Crepeau on migrants; Mutuma Ruteere on racism; Ben Emmerson on human rights and counter-terrorism; Nils Melzer on torture and Ahmed Shaheed on freedom of religion. They cited U.S. obligations to protect the principles of "non-refoulement" or not chasing away people who have a right to protection and nondiscrimination based on race, nationality or religion. They said the United States' responsibility "must extend to offering refuge" to people fleeing Iraq and Syria, citing U.S. participation in conflicts in those countries. ___ 12:45 p.m. The United Arab Emirates' top diplomat has come out in defense of President Donald Trump's order temporarily barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Wednesday that the United States was within its rights to take what he said was a "sovereign decision" concerning immigration. He says he does not believe the move was based on religion, and noted that the majority of the world's Muslim-majority countries were not covered by the order. Sheikh Abdullah spoke following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Abu Dhabi. The Emirates is one of the United States' closest Arab allies. It is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group and hosts American troops and warplanes taking part. ___ 11:45 a.m. Iran's state TV is reporting that President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at the recent executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump to suspend immigration and visa processes for nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Iran. Rouhani described Trump and his administration as newcomers who don't understand politics, saying, "A man had been living in another world and now has entered the world of politics." Rouhani also said that Trump would end up harming not only his own nation but other countries as well. Rouhani called the American administration dishonest for claiming to be on the side of the Iranian people, but then banning them. By AFP AVDIIVKA, UKRAINE: The UN Security Council Tuesday called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Ukraine where three days of fighting in a flashpoint town have left at least 13 dead and thousands of locals without power in freezing conditions. Endorsing a Kiev-drafted statement that did not raise objections from Russia, members "expressed grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population." The Council's unanimous call came as Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels were locked in fighting for a third straight day in the flashpoint town of Avdiivka that has also sparked renewed EU concern about security in its backyard. The industrial hub came under an unexpected assault Sunday from insurgents seeking to wrest back territory controlled by Kiev during the nearly three-year war. The clashes have claimed the lives of at least 13 civilians and fighters on both sides since Sunday -- the worst outburst of violence since the two sides agreed a new truce on December 23. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko underscored the urgency of the situation by cutting short a visit to Berlin on Monday and convened an emergency meeting of his National Security and Defence Council. Poroshenko is worried that Donald Trump's rise to the US presidency and praise for Russia's Vladimir Putin may add fuel to a conflict that began shortly after Ukraine's 2014 ouster of its Moscow-backed leader and tilt toward the West. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the Kremlin was "extremely worried" but had "reliable information" that renegade units of pro-Kiev fighters were in fact responsible for the initial attacks. An AFP reporter saw the separatists shell the town of about 20,000 people with repeated rounds of Grad multiple rocket systems and artillery fire from the early morning. "Right now, there is no power. We have not resolved problems with heating homes, and the gas pipe has been shattered," local Ukrainian army unit spokeswoman Olena Mokrynchuk told AFP. The town's military administrator Freedon Vekua told AFP he was preparing for a possible evacuation of the town that sits just north of the rebels' de facto capital of Donetsk because of the power outage. Ukraine is struggling through freezing conditions in which temperatures drop to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. "The issue of an evacuation has not been decided fully. We see it as our very last resort because there is still a chance of restoring heating," said Vekua. The town's heating is provided by a coke plant that has been heavily damaged by the falling shells. Plant director Musa Magomedov said it would be incredibly difficult to resume gas production were the factory's generators shut down. That would leave Avdiivka without a source of local power and uncertainty about its future. The fighting has prevented repairs being carried out, Magomedov said. - Global condemnation and concern - The Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) is responsible for monitoring ceasefire violations and organising peace talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine. It helped negotiate a February 2014 truce deal in Minsk that was co-sponsored by Germany and France and which EU leaders cling on to as the one remaining roadmap to peace. "The intense fighting around Avdiivka in the last few days... is a blatant violation of the ceasefire, as stipulated by the Minsk agreements," the EU foreign affairs arm said in a statement. The OSCE said the fighting was "of grave concern" while the US embassy tweeted that it was especially worried about "the 2,500 children who are without water, electricity and heat". Charge d'affaires Kate Byrnes of the US mission to the OSCE's Permanent Council said that "Russia and the separatists initiated the violence in Avdiivka". Washington was "deeply concerned" and called for an immediate ceasefire "to avert a larger humanitarian crisis", State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people since 2014 -- more than half of them civilians -- and plunged Moscow's relations with the West to a post-Cold War low. The Kremlin denies backing the insurgents and only admits that Russian "volunteers" and off-duty soldiers have entered the warzone of their own free will. AVDIIVKA, UKRAINE: The UN Security Council Tuesday called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Ukraine where three days of fighting in a flashpoint town have left at least 13 dead and thousands of locals without power in freezing conditions. Endorsing a Kiev-drafted statement that did not raise objections from Russia, members "expressed grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population." The Council's unanimous call came as Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels were locked in fighting for a third straight day in the flashpoint town of Avdiivka that has also sparked renewed EU concern about security in its backyard. The industrial hub came under an unexpected assault Sunday from insurgents seeking to wrest back territory controlled by Kiev during the nearly three-year war. The clashes have claimed the lives of at least 13 civilians and fighters on both sides since Sunday -- the worst outburst of violence since the two sides agreed a new truce on December 23. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko underscored the urgency of the situation by cutting short a visit to Berlin on Monday and convened an emergency meeting of his National Security and Defence Council. Poroshenko is worried that Donald Trump's rise to the US presidency and praise for Russia's Vladimir Putin may add fuel to a conflict that began shortly after Ukraine's 2014 ouster of its Moscow-backed leader and tilt toward the West. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the Kremlin was "extremely worried" but had "reliable information" that renegade units of pro-Kiev fighters were in fact responsible for the initial attacks. An AFP reporter saw the separatists shell the town of about 20,000 people with repeated rounds of Grad multiple rocket systems and artillery fire from the early morning. "Right now, there is no power. We have not resolved problems with heating homes, and the gas pipe has been shattered," local Ukrainian army unit spokeswoman Olena Mokrynchuk told AFP. The town's military administrator Freedon Vekua told AFP he was preparing for a possible evacuation of the town that sits just north of the rebels' de facto capital of Donetsk because of the power outage. Ukraine is struggling through freezing conditions in which temperatures drop to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. "The issue of an evacuation has not been decided fully. We see it as our very last resort because there is still a chance of restoring heating," said Vekua. The town's heating is provided by a coke plant that has been heavily damaged by the falling shells. Plant director Musa Magomedov said it would be incredibly difficult to resume gas production were the factory's generators shut down. That would leave Avdiivka without a source of local power and uncertainty about its future. The fighting has prevented repairs being carried out, Magomedov said. - Global condemnation and concern - The Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) is responsible for monitoring ceasefire violations and organising peace talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine. It helped negotiate a February 2014 truce deal in Minsk that was co-sponsored by Germany and France and which EU leaders cling on to as the one remaining roadmap to peace. "The intense fighting around Avdiivka in the last few days... is a blatant violation of the ceasefire, as stipulated by the Minsk agreements," the EU foreign affairs arm said in a statement. The OSCE said the fighting was "of grave concern" while the US embassy tweeted that it was especially worried about "the 2,500 children who are without water, electricity and heat". Charge d'affaires Kate Byrnes of the US mission to the OSCE's Permanent Council said that "Russia and the separatists initiated the violence in Avdiivka". Washington was "deeply concerned" and called for an immediate ceasefire "to avert a larger humanitarian crisis", State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people since 2014 -- more than half of them civilians -- and plunged Moscow's relations with the West to a post-Cold War low. The Kremlin denies backing the insurgents and only admits that Russian "volunteers" and off-duty soldiers have entered the warzone of their own free will. By PTI MAZAR-I-SHARIF: A man in northern Afghanistan has cut off his young wife's ears, the head of a hospital caring for her said today, confirming the brutal act of domestic violence. The 23-year-old victim, Zarina, was attacked today evening in Balkh province, according to Noor Mohammad Faiz, the director of a hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif. "I dont want to live with him anymore. I want divorce. I want him in jail," Zarina told AFP from her hospital bed. According to Faiz, Zarina, who was married at the age of 13, arrived "in critical condition, having lost a lot of blood". "Both her ears are cut. We will try to treat her here. If not, she needs to be taken abroad," he added. A spokesman for the governor of Balkh, Sher Jan Durrani, said that the suspect had gone on the run. "Her husband has fled and is at large. We have started our investigation to arrest him." More than 15 years after the end of the Taliban regime, Afghanistan remains the scene of violence and regular abuse against women, most often perpetrated by spouses or in-laws. In January 2016, a husband cut off his wife's nose after a dispute in the remote province of Faryab, also in the north. Unable to be treated in the country, Reza Gul was sent to Turkey. The suspect took refuge in an area controlled by the Taliban to escape prosecution. Last summer, in the province of Ghor, a man set fire to his 16-year-old pregnant wife. The victim, who was married at the age of 14, died at a hospital a few days later as a result of her burns. Her father, who had exchanged her for a wife for herself, had accused her in-laws of torture. The husband fled to avoid punishment. MAZAR-I-SHARIF: A man in northern Afghanistan has cut off his young wife's ears, the head of a hospital caring for her said today, confirming the brutal act of domestic violence. The 23-year-old victim, Zarina, was attacked today evening in Balkh province, according to Noor Mohammad Faiz, the director of a hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif. "I dont want to live with him anymore. I want divorce. I want him in jail," Zarina told AFP from her hospital bed. According to Faiz, Zarina, who was married at the age of 13, arrived "in critical condition, having lost a lot of blood". "Both her ears are cut. We will try to treat her here. If not, she needs to be taken abroad," he added. A spokesman for the governor of Balkh, Sher Jan Durrani, said that the suspect had gone on the run. "Her husband has fled and is at large. We have started our investigation to arrest him." More than 15 years after the end of the Taliban regime, Afghanistan remains the scene of violence and regular abuse against women, most often perpetrated by spouses or in-laws. In January 2016, a husband cut off his wife's nose after a dispute in the remote province of Faryab, also in the north. Unable to be treated in the country, Reza Gul was sent to Turkey. The suspect took refuge in an area controlled by the Taliban to escape prosecution. Last summer, in the province of Ghor, a man set fire to his 16-year-old pregnant wife. The victim, who was married at the age of 14, died at a hospital a few days later as a result of her burns. Her father, who had exchanged her for a wife for herself, had accused her in-laws of torture. The husband fled to avoid punishment. By AFP Guatemala City: The mayor and a council member of an indigenous village in northern Guatemala were gunned down Wednesday by unidentified attackers who ambushed the van in which they were traveling, officials said. The mayor of Rabinal, Angel Perez, died of his wounds in hospital, while the council member, Eldin Gomez, was killed in the attack, a spokeswoman for the national prosecutor's office told reporters. The attackers shot up their vehicle on a rural road as it was headed to the capital, she said. Perez belonged to the opposition Renewed Liberty Democratic Party, which the electoral authorities suspended for campaign irregularities in 2015. A week ago, the body of another mayor, from the southern town of Samayac, was found on the side of a road. Guatemala, along with neighboring El Salvador and Honduras, suffers rampant violence, much of it linked to criminal gangs. Some 6,000 people a year are murdered in the country. Guatemala City: The mayor and a council member of an indigenous village in northern Guatemala were gunned down Wednesday by unidentified attackers who ambushed the van in which they were traveling, officials said. The mayor of Rabinal, Angel Perez, died of his wounds in hospital, while the council member, Eldin Gomez, was killed in the attack, a spokeswoman for the national prosecutor's office told reporters. The attackers shot up their vehicle on a rural road as it was headed to the capital, she said. Perez belonged to the opposition Renewed Liberty Democratic Party, which the electoral authorities suspended for campaign irregularities in 2015. A week ago, the body of another mayor, from the southern town of Samayac, was found on the side of a road. Guatemala, along with neighboring El Salvador and Honduras, suffers rampant violence, much of it linked to criminal gangs. Some 6,000 people a year are murdered in the country. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: Judge Neil Gorsuch earned warm praise from Senate Republicans as he visited Capitol Hill Wednesday a day after President Donald Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court. Democratic divisions were on display as the Senate minority struggled for a strategy to oppose the conservative judge. Accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, Gorsuch met first with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called him an "outstanding appointment" and declared: "We're all thrilled and looking forward to getting the confirmation process started." Pence said the administration looked forward to the Senate performing its constitutional advice and consent role in the nomination process, and to senators having the opportunity to getting to know Gorsuch, a 49-year-old Denver-based judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals whose conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. "I think as they do, they'll come to understand the enthusiasm the president of the United States has for his appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States," Pence said. A handful of Democrats immediately announced their opposition to the choice, insisting that Gorsuch, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan Cabinet official, is outside the mainstream. Democrats are still furious with the way Republicans treated former President Barack Obama's nominee for the open seat last year; the GOP refused to even grant a hearing or a vote to Judge Merrick Garland in Obama's final year in office. Instead, the seat remained empty for 10 months and the court operated with eight justices as McConnell maintained that the next president should make the nomination. "This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Merkley said even before the nominee was announced that he will hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 votes for confirmation. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority. But other Democrats were holding off on announcing their position on Gorsuch, saying he deserved the full and fair hearing Garland was denied. "I think that he is owed what Judge Garland never got which is a full hearing, a chance for the American people over several days to better understand his views on the constitution and a wide range of the rights that are central to our Republic," said Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a Senate Judiciary Committee member. The Judiciary Committee will aim to begin hearings on Gorsuch in about six weeks' time, according to a spokeswoman for the panel's chairman, Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York he said after the nomination was announced that the Senate "must insist" on 60 votes, the threshold for a filibuster, meaning McConnell would need bipartisan support unless he changes Senate rules to lower the threshold for Gorsuch to 50 votes, a scenario known as the "nuclear option." Schumer and Democrats are under intense pressure from liberal groups and the party base to challenge every Trump nominee. As the nomination was announced, hundreds were protesting at Schumer's Brooklyn home, pressuring him to vote against Cabinet picks and block the Supreme Court nominee. A handful of other Democrats joined Merkley in immediately opposing Gorsuch. They included Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said Gorsuch has sided with large companies over workers, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who said Gorsuch's rulings haven't favored American workers or women's rights. Brown and Warren are up for re-election in 2018. Warren's Massachusetts colleague, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, also said he will oppose Gorsuch. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden indicated he would as well, citing Gorsuch's stand against laws that allow terminally ill people to end their lives. Schumer is in a tough position. As liberal groups and Democratic voters angry about Trump's election victory press him to lead the loyal opposition, he must also be mindful of 23 Democrats and two independents up for re-election in 2018, including 10 in states won by Trump. Some of those senators could face blowback from voters who see Democrats as obstructing Trump's pick. And some might decide to vote for Gorsuch. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he had little sympathy for fellow Senate Democrats feeling pressure to support Trump's nominee because they're running for re-election in 2018 in states that Trump won. Manchin is among those up for re-election I n 2018. "I didn't come here to say, 'Oh my goodness, if I don't do this, I might not get re-elected,'" Manchin said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." He's said he will examine Gorsuch's record and make "a determination of whether to provide my consent." WASHINGTON: Judge Neil Gorsuch earned warm praise from Senate Republicans as he visited Capitol Hill Wednesday a day after President Donald Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court. Democratic divisions were on display as the Senate minority struggled for a strategy to oppose the conservative judge. Accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence, Gorsuch met first with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called him an "outstanding appointment" and declared: "We're all thrilled and looking forward to getting the confirmation process started." Pence said the administration looked forward to the Senate performing its constitutional advice and consent role in the nomination process, and to senators having the opportunity to getting to know Gorsuch, a 49-year-old Denver-based judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals whose conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. "I think as they do, they'll come to understand the enthusiasm the president of the United States has for his appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States," Pence said. A handful of Democrats immediately announced their opposition to the choice, insisting that Gorsuch, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan Cabinet official, is outside the mainstream. Democrats are still furious with the way Republicans treated former President Barack Obama's nominee for the open seat last year; the GOP refused to even grant a hearing or a vote to Judge Merrick Garland in Obama's final year in office. Instead, the seat remained empty for 10 months and the court operated with eight justices as McConnell maintained that the next president should make the nomination. "This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Merkley said even before the nominee was announced that he will hold up the nomination and force Republicans to find 60 votes for confirmation. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority. But other Democrats were holding off on announcing their position on Gorsuch, saying he deserved the full and fair hearing Garland was denied. "I think that he is owed what Judge Garland never got which is a full hearing, a chance for the American people over several days to better understand his views on the constitution and a wide range of the rights that are central to our Republic," said Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a Senate Judiciary Committee member. The Judiciary Committee will aim to begin hearings on Gorsuch in about six weeks' time, according to a spokeswoman for the panel's chairman, Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York he said after the nomination was announced that the Senate "must insist" on 60 votes, the threshold for a filibuster, meaning McConnell would need bipartisan support unless he changes Senate rules to lower the threshold for Gorsuch to 50 votes, a scenario known as the "nuclear option." Schumer and Democrats are under intense pressure from liberal groups and the party base to challenge every Trump nominee. As the nomination was announced, hundreds were protesting at Schumer's Brooklyn home, pressuring him to vote against Cabinet picks and block the Supreme Court nominee. A handful of other Democrats joined Merkley in immediately opposing Gorsuch. They included Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said Gorsuch has sided with large companies over workers, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who said Gorsuch's rulings haven't favored American workers or women's rights. Brown and Warren are up for re-election in 2018. Warren's Massachusetts colleague, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, also said he will oppose Gorsuch. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden indicated he would as well, citing Gorsuch's stand against laws that allow terminally ill people to end their lives. Schumer is in a tough position. As liberal groups and Democratic voters angry about Trump's election victory press him to lead the loyal opposition, he must also be mindful of 23 Democrats and two independents up for re-election in 2018, including 10 in states won by Trump. Some of those senators could face blowback from voters who see Democrats as obstructing Trump's pick. And some might decide to vote for Gorsuch. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he had little sympathy for fellow Senate Democrats feeling pressure to support Trump's nominee because they're running for re-election in 2018 in states that Trump won. Manchin is among those up for re-election I n 2018. "I didn't come here to say, 'Oh my goodness, if I don't do this, I might not get re-elected,'" Manchin said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." He's said he will examine Gorsuch's record and make "a determination of whether to provide my consent." Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev said in 2013 a country that builds factories thinks years ahead while one that builds theatres thinks "in terms of centuries" (AFP Photo/STANISLAV FILIPPOV) Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) - In the snowy foreground of a brand new steel and glass building in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, a dancer in national dress stands frozen in a dramatic flourish, her body arching towards the sky. The cast-iron abstract sculpture stands at the entrance of the second major ballet theatre to have opened in the new capital in the last few years. Together they point to the energy-rich country's ambition to stamp its own mark on an art form inherited from its Soviet past. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union 25 years ago, ballet has enjoyed mixed fortunes in the Muslim-majority Central Asian region's newly independent countries. Much of Kazakhstan's multi-million-dollar ballet boom has been funded by the government, but private sponsors and international partners have also stepped in. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 76, famously announced in 2013 that "a country that builds factories is thinking years ahead... a country that builds theatres is thinking in terms of centuries." At the Astana Ballet Theatre's opening last year, stars of its troupe wowed spectators in a production curated by Brazilian resident choreographer Ricardo Amarante. "The artistic level here is very strong: they can do Kazakh national dance, classical ballet and contemporary," the neo-classical specialist, who has been working with the troupe for the last year, told AFP. "The support from the government is there and now it is important local ballet keeps its mind open to new styles to add, to build on, its classical foundations," he added. Next door to the 800-seat auditorium is the first certified professional choreography academy recognised throughout Central Asia and unveiled in September. Three years earlier, the city's largest theatre, Astana Opera, also with its own ballet troupe, opened at a cost of $320 million (297 million euros). The building is considered one of the architectural showpieces of Astana, the capital since 1997. Story continues - 'Space exploration and ballet' - The money being poured into ballet and other arts, even as Kazakhstan suffers an oil-linked economic downturn, testifies to the enduring appeal of cultural tastes popular in the Soviet era. Russian dancer Galina Ulanova, widely considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time, has helped drive the development of Kazakh ballet. Ulanova taught and danced in the country's former capital, Almaty, during World War II after being evacuated from the Kirov ballet in Leningrad, the former name for Saint Petersburg. Under the USSR, ballet became particularly popular in major cities, where Russian-speaking elites helped buttress a cultural agenda driven by Moscow. Now ballet is "equally popular among Russian-speakers and Kazakh-speakers" in a country where over a fifth of the population is ethnic Russian, says Svetlana Dzhalmagambetova, a former senator who sat on the parliament's social and cultural development committee. "The Soviet Union did two things very well: space exploration and ballet," said Kazakh-speaking Zhanat Zhunusbekova, after watching Amarante's ballet "Diversity" at the Astana Ballet Theatre. "We used to have to go to Russia to see a ballet like that. Now we have it here," she added. - Pre-Soviet national culture - After the end of the Soviet era in 1991, state funding for the arts shrivelled up across the region, which suffered a protracted economic slump. In the resource-poor countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan it has never recovered to pre-Soviet levels, driving artists abroad in search of work. "They earn no more than $140 per month," Aigul Muratalieva, a teacher at Kyrgyzstan's main ballet school, told AFP referring to the country's ballet dancers. "They gain experience here then go abroad. Our repertoire has greatly diminished. We have no soloists to take on the leading roles in important productions." In other countries a new emphasis on pre-Soviet national culture has emerged at the expense of the classical arts. Turkmenistan's authoritarian first president Saparmurat Niyazov banned ballet along with opera, insisting both were out of synch with the country's "national mentality". - Keeping ballet at home - During early independence, Kazakh ballet artists would also leave for foreign countries where their classical training was appreciated and they were better paid. Now, increasingly, the best ones stay. The prima ballerina of Astana Opera, Aigerim Beketayeva, starred at the London Coliseum in 2014 in popular Russian choreographer Boris Eifman's production of Rodin. But like her international award-winning male counterpart Bakhtiyar Adamzhan, Beketayeva has remained attached to the Astana Opera troupe, which she joined after being offered a flat in the capital by the government. "Often when you watch ballet artists you can see the effort, their straining for perfection," Gulnara Zhumaseitova, a ballet expert at the Institute of Literature and Arts in Almaty, told AFP. "But Beketayeva is so effortless and natural," she said. Zhumaseitova said however that the government must use the new academy to further develop "national dance that represents our culture and traditions" as well as find its ballet niche on the world stage. "National productions based on our dances are something people might come from abroad to see. Currently, they can still watch a better version of Swan Lake in London or Paris," she said. Ken Griffin Citadel is shutting down one of its four stock picking units a little over a year after launching. Ravelin Capital, a San Francisco-based unit of Ken Griffin's $26 billion hedge fund firm, is shutting down, according to people familiar with the matter. The unit struggled with underperformance, one of the people said. Jeff Runnfeldt, who headed the unit, left on Tuesday, January 31. At the time of Runnfeldt's hire, the unit set out to manage as much as $1 billion with ten teams, Bloomberg reported at the time. Runnfeldt had previously worked at Citadel for about a decade, up until 2012, before being rehired to head Ravelin, a LinkedIn profile shows. The unit included six teams, and the majority of those teams are moving to one of Citadel's other units, Global Equities, one person said. Citadel has decided to consolidate Ravelin Capital into our Citadel Global Equities business," a spokesman for Citadel said. "This decision will further strengthen Global Equities by incorporating the best ideas and strongest talent from Ravelin. Citadel has just been named one of the most successful hedge funds of all time. The firm ranked fifth on a list put together London-based fund of funds LCH Investments ranking funds by net gains, after fees, since inception. The hedge fund giant is also known to be one of the most competitive firms, with former employees and recruiters describing a culture that churns through portfolio managers and analysts who don't put up good performance numbers. The Ravelin shutdown comes amid several other closures. Last year, Blackstone's Senfina platform closed following double-digit underperformance, less than two years after launching. NOW WATCH: We got our hands on the $44,000 watch that only 352 people can own More From Business Insider Sorry, that page not found! Please visit our Home Page for latest updates It incurred $277m impairments in its O&M division. Keppel Corporation's property division sparked hope for the group in 2016 as it delivered a strong net profit of $620m. According to OCBC Investment Research, Keppel Land reported a higher net profit of $586m, with about 5,720 homes sold comprising 3,800 in China, 1,520 in Vietnam and 380 in Singapore. Looking ahead, OCBC said the group still expects healthy sales figures for China and Vietnam. Keppel's property segment prevented the group from sinking further, as it reported a 64.7% fall in net yields in 4Q16. "There were lower contributions from O&M and provisions for impairment of S$336m in 2016. Excluding revaluations, impairments, divestments and major provisions, net profit was S$300m in 4Q16, comparable with that of 4Q15.," OCBC said. The firm noted that in 4Q16, Keppel incurred impairments of S$87.4m for fixed assets, and $120.8m for investments and associated companies. There were also provisions of $81.2m for stocks and work-in-progress, and $11.6m for doubtful debts. In 2016, the O&M division saw impairments of $277m, about S$270m of which was incurred in 4Q16. "With the tough operating environment, apart from reducing variable costs, KEP has also cut its overheads, achieving cost savings of about S$150m year-on-year. The group has mothballed two overseas yards (Bintan, Brazil) and is in the process of closing three yards in Singapore; these are mainly supporting facilities.," OCBC said. More From Singapore Business Review Shah Rukh Khan voices support for Bhansali, calls for 'discussion' as solution Amritsar (Punjab) , Jan. 31 : Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has voiced support for filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who recently found himself in the eye of controversy after being attacked by a political group Karni Sena in Rajasthan on the sets of his upcoming movie 'Padmavati'. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660074 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/bollywood-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660074 173O212O198O32) Citing 'discussions' as the only plausible means to sort issues out, Shah Rukh said art and creativity should initiate conversations."As far as art and creativity are concerned, everybody wants to do something new, say something new. Art should start conversations, discussions. A person might like a painting, or a poem. Other person might not. So, it should be a discussion. And a discussion should be an exchange of knowledge," he said.Shah Rukh added, "If anybody should have a disagreement, or an issue with a form of art, they should sit down and have a discussion. There's no other means that's plausible to sort issues out."Last week, members of Rajput Karni Sena had entered the Jaigarh Fort at Jaipur, Rajasthan, vandalised it and beat up Bhansali accusing him of distorting history relating to Rajput queen Padmini, her ruler-husband Raja Ratan Rawal Singh and Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji, who was besotted with Rani Padmini.According to Karni Sena, which had earlier protested during the shooting of Ashutosh Gowariker's directorial 'Jodhaa Akbar', Bhansali's film has love scenes between Padmini and Khilji.Bhansali's team, however, clarified that there were no love scenes between Rani Padmini and Khilji and history was not distorted.The National award-winning later pulled the shoot off Jaipur.Following the attack, many celebrities, including filmmakers, actors and politicians, have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment over the incident.Padmavati has actress Deepika Padukone playing the titular role, while Shahid Kapoor essays the role of Raja Ratan Rawal Singh. Actor Ranveer Singh will be seen as Alauddin Khilji in the film. ESCONDIDO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 1, 2017 / Laguna Blends Inc. (CNSX LAG) (OTC PINK: LAGBF) (Frankfurt:LB6A.F) (the "Company" or "Laguna") is pleased to announce that it has opened its Southern California office and distribution center in Escondido, California. The 13,916-sq. ft. office and warehouse allows Laguna to successfully expand its B to B and online sales business within the US and Canada. This facility is conveniently located adjacent to the I-78 and I- 15 Freeways allowing easy access to San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties. Laguna will be subleasing space to Carlsbad Naturals LLC, for additional bottled water storage and distribution. Laguna and Carlsbad intend to take advantage of co-working together by sharing certain office personnel as the companies continue growing the CBD water market. Ray Grimm, President & CEO of Laguna Blends, states: "This is a strategic move to have an office and a warehouse combined with Carlsbad. Combining personnel and distribution resources will allow both companies to operate more efficiently. Having the creative and communications team working together with both companies will create the synergy needed to explode the branding efforts of each Company." The Company would also like to announce it has agreed to extinguish a total of $330,000 of debt relating to loans from an arm's-length party by issuing 2.2 million common shares of the corporation at a deemed price of 15 cents per share. About Laguna Blends Inc. Laguna Blends is a market leader in the distribution of Hemp and CBD products. Laguna's growth strategy includes acquiring and incubating companies who formulate and or manufacture Hemp products. Laguna Blends markets Hemp products utilizing its B to B Network along with driving traffic to its Club 8 online marketplace. It's Laguna's intent to provide the highest quality hemp product experience for the end user, utilizing a proprietary nanotechnology in many of its consumable and topical skin care products. Laguna is currently seeking joint ventures and acquisitions to expand its portfolio and will aggressively begin international expansion into Asia and Europe in 2017. Story continues About Carlsbad Naturals LLC - CBD Bottled Water Created by a team of doctors, Carlsbad Naturals brings cutting edge science to deliver nutrients and hydration in an effective way, naturally and responsibly. Applying quantum physics, our nanotechnology successfully increases the surface area of each substance we put in our water, so that less is much more. Carlsbad Naturals is a market leader in the distribution and sales of CBD Water using its unique and proprietary process of infusing CBD's though nanotechnology. For more information about Carlsbad Naturals, please go to www.cbdnaturals.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Ray Grimm Jr" CEO, President & Director CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: Howe & Bay Financial: 604-449-5302 COROPRATE MEDIA: ir@lagunablends.com www.lagunablends.com https://cbdskincream.com/ Join Us On FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/LagunaBlends/ Twitter: @LagunaBlends Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to statements regarding the Company's business, products and future the Company's business, its product offerings and plans for sales and marketing. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Such forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance and developments to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risks that the Company's products and plan will vary from those stated in this news release and the Company may not be able to carry out its business plans as expected. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, and does not intend, to update any forward looking statements or forward-looking information in this news release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and makes no reference to profitability based on sales reported. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. SOURCE: Laguna Blends Inc. PCI organises seminar on paid news in Agartala Agartala (Tripura) , Feb. 1 : On the occasion of Press Council of India's (PCI) (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660076 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660076 173O212O198O32) golden jubilee celebration, a seminar on 'menace of paid news and remedies' was organised in Agartala in association with Tripura Journalist Association (TJA) to create awareness among journalists.Tripura Governor Tathagatha Roy inaugurated the seminar by lighting the lamp in presence of PCI chairman Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad along with its other senior members.During their address all speakers expressed their concern on the growing trend of paid news and viewed that people's trust in the media is most important and if it is lost then the credibility of journalists will diminish.The speakers also expressed that there is lack of evidences often and it becomes tough to identify paid news.However, they felt it is important for economic sustainability for the freedom of media and honest journalism. Rail stocks decline three to five pct ahead of Rail Budget New Delhi , Feb 1 : With maximum focus on safety, speed and infra development, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the first Rail Budget subsumed in the General Budget today. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660079 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660079 173O212O198O32) With higher expectations with the sector, the shares of rail-related companies are in focus. Shares such as Texmaco Rail, Kalindee Rail Nirman, Titagarh Wagons and Kernex Microsystems were down three percent to five percent intraday.On the other hand, the investors are looking for a safety fund for railways reeling under a series of deadly derailments, development of new lines, station redevelopment and setting up of Rail Development Authority and High Speed Rail Authority in the Rail Budget.Jaitley, who is likely to give more focus on infrastructure development such as new lines, doubling, station redevelopment and safety upgradation is likely to announce creation of a separate safety fund of about Rs. one lakh crore over the next five years out of which Rs. 20,000 crore will be earmarked for 2017-18.Texmaco Rail was quoting at Rs. 104.75, down 1.78 percent, Kalindee Rail Nirman was quoting at Rs. 112 down 1.71 percent, Titagarh Wagons was quoting at Rs. 113.05, down 2.46 percent and Kernex Microsystems was quoting at Rs. 37.95, 4.89 percent. NSA Doval ends two-day visit to Russia New Delhi , Feb.1 : National Security Adviser Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Russia from January 30-31, 2017 at the invitation of Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660079 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/more-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660079 173O212O198O32) The talks were part of regular high level consultations between India and Russia.Both sides discussed issues of mutual bilateral, regional and global interest, with a special focus on security and defense cooperation between both sides, an MEA release said.Both NSAs noted with satisfaction the ongoing cooperation between them in meeting threats to their national security, particularly those emanating from terrorism in their respective regions, and unequivocally reaffirmed their intention to continue to work together to confront these challenges.Doval and Patrushev noted that the Special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia was a great asset for both the peoples, and a factor of peace and stability in the region and the world. They agreed to further strengthen this partnership in all areas.The two sides also highly evaluated the plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia in 2017, and pledged to make 2017 a special year in the history of their relations. Govt. announces central travel system for defence personnel New Delhi , Feb. 1 : Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday announced central travel system for defence personnel. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660080 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660080 173O212O198O32) Jaitley said the money allocated for defence expenditure, excluding pension expenditure, is Rs. 2,74,114 crores, adding this would include Rs. 86,488 crore of capital expenditure.Devoid of the pension outlay, the total defence budget for 2016-17 was Rs. 2, 49,000 crore.In the 2016-17 budget, there was an increase of 11 percent from the previous fiscal year as compared to an increase of 10.5 percent the year prior.The Defence Ministry has surrendered about Rs. 35,000 crore from its capital allocation for the previous four years. Cabinet approves amendments in Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders New Delhi , Feb.1 : The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for amendments in (i) the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes of the State of Odisha, and (ii) the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 so as to change name of the Union Territory from Pondicherry to Puducherry in the order. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660081 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660081 173O212O198O32) The Bill namely Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2017 incorporating the above changes will be introduced in the Parliament.Proposal of Sualgiri, Swalgiri caste, as per approved Modalities, was found to be eligible for its inclusion as a synonym of Sabakhia caste at SI. No. 79 in the list of Scheduled Castes of Odisha. Further, the name of Union territory of Pondicherry has been changed to Puducherry vide the Pondicherry (Alteration of name) Act, 2006 w.e.f. 01.10.2006. Accordingly, an amendment is needed in the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 to this effect.The government approved Modalities in June 1999, as amended in June 2002, for considering proposals in regard to modifications in the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. According to the approved Modalities, amending legislation to the concerned Constitution Order is proposed only in respect of such proposals of the concerned State Government/Union Territory Administration, which have been agreed to both by the Registrar General of India (RGI) as well as the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).The Constitution of India provides certain privileges / concessions to the members of Scheduled Castes which are notified under the provisions of Article 341 of the Constitution of India. First list of Scheduled Castes in relation to a State or Union Territory is to be issued by a notified Order of the President after having consultation with the State Government concerned. Any subsequent inclusion in or exclusion from the list of Scheduled Castes can be effected through an Act of Parliament as envisaged under clause (2) of Article 341.Six presidential orders were issued between 1950 and 1978 for specifying Scheduled Castes in respect of various States/Union territories. These Orders have been amended from time to time by Acts of Parliament enacted as per Article 341(2) of the Constitution between 1956 and 2016.After the Bill becomes an Act, members of the community included in the list of Scheduled Castes will be able to derive benefits meant for Scheduled Castes under the existing schemes. Some of the major schemes of this kind include Post Matric Scholarship, National Overseas Scholarship, Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship, Top Class Education, Concessional Loans from National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, Hostels for SC Boys and Girls etc. In addition to above, they are also entitled to the benefits of reservation in services and admission to educational institutions. WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees (all times local): 7:18 p.m. President Donald Trump is swearing in former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state. Trump says in the Oval Office that it is "time to bring a clear-eyed focus to foreign affairs." The president is praising Tillerson's background, telling him, "Your whole life has prepared you for this moment." The Senate approved Tillerson's nomination earlier Wednesday on a vote of 56-43, brushing back efforts by Democrats to derail the oil executive's bid to become the nation's top diplomat. Tillerson will need to deal with the fallout from Trump's executive order on immigration and a temporary travel ban preventing people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. ___ 3:45 p.m. Previous presidents, both Republicans and Democrats, had a much easier time securing Senate confirmation for their nominees for secretary of state than President Donald Trump. The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil, on a largely party-line vote of 56-43. Three Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Warner of Virginia and independent Angus King of Maine joined Republicans in backing the choice. The vote stands in stark contrast to previous roll calls in which nominees were backed overwhelmingly. The Senate confirmed President Barack Obama's choice of John Kerry 94-3 and Hillary Clinton 94-2. President George W. Bush's nominee Condoleezza Rice easily won confirmation 85-13. Colin Powell was confirmed for the job by voice vote. ___ 3 p.m. The Republican-led Senate has confirmed Rex Tillerson as President Donald Trump's secretary of state. Senators voted 56-43 largely along party lines to approve Tillerson's nomination to be the nation's chief diplomat. Most Senate Democrats opposed Tillerson's nomination, angering Republicans who considered the former Exxon Mobil CEO to be highly qualified for the post. Story continues Sen. Ben Cardin, the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, says he feared Tillerson would be a "yes man" and would not be able to prevent Trump from pursuing a misguided foreign policy that leads the country "on a march of folly." But Republicans had the numbers to push Tillerson's nomination through. They got help from several Democrats who crossed party lines. Tillerson's ties to Russia and his stand on sanctioning Moscow have been a point of contention. ___ 2:40 p.m. A spokesman for Andrew Puzder says the Labor secretary-nominee is working to divest his assets so he can take office as part of President Donald Trump's Cabinet. Puzder says he is "fully committed to becoming secretary of Labor." In a statement to The Associated Press, Puzder says he's looking forward to his confirmation hearing, which has been postponed at least three times. Spokesman George Thompson says Puzder's work to divest assets is complicated because his fast food empire, CKE Restaurants Inc., is a private company. The statement comes as Democrats and their allies opposed to Puzder's nomination have raised questions about his fitness for the post. Puzder still has not turned in the required paperwork detailing his plan to avoid conflicts of interest. ___ 2:25 p.m. Two Republican senators have announced their opposition to Betsy DeVos for education secretary. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both say they cannot support DeVos, a wealthy Republican donor and school choice activist. Both said in Senate floor speeches Wednesday that DeVos' commitment to the nation's public schools is in question in light of her long-held support for vouchers and charter schools. If all other GOP senators support DeVos as expected, and all Democrats oppose her, she would end up with a 50-50 vote in the Senate and Vice President Mike Pence would have to break the tie to confirm her. ___ 12:01 p.m. Democrats temporally thwarted a Senate confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency by boycotting a key committee meeting. The seats reserved for the 10 Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee were empty as Wednesday's meeting to discuss to nomination of Scott Pruitt was called to order. Committee rules require that at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held. Chairman John Barrasso accused the absent Democrats of engaging in obstruction amounting to nothing more than "political theater." After recessing, the Wyoming Republican pledged to "do what is necessary" to advance Pruitt's nomination, raising the possibility the GOP majority may seek a rules change to push the issue to a vote before the full Senate. __ 11:25 a.m. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general after angry exchanges between Republicans and Democrats. The 11-9 vote was along party lines. All the panel's Democrats voted against the nomination. The Alabama Republican is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate. Republicans have been strongly supportive of their colleague, arguing that he will follow the law and maintain traditional independence from President Donald Trump, if needed. Democrats have expressed doubts that he would be able to say no to the president since he was one of his earliest and strongest defenders in the presidential campaign. They also expressed concerns about whether Sessions would be committed to civil rights, a chief priority of the Obama administration. __ 11:10 a.m. Tempers flared in the usually decorous Senate as the Judiciary Committee weighed a vote on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions. Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas traded charges on Wednesday over previous committee testimony. Franken said he wanted to set the record straight and complained that his integrity had been abused. Cornyn interrupted Franken as Republicans tried to move ahead and vote on the nominee. ___ 10:50 a.m. The top Democrat on a Senate panel responsible for advancing President Donald Trump's pick to head the White House budget office says she needs time to examine the results of a routine FBI investigation before she can vote on Rep. Mick Mulvaney's nomination. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says she gained access to Mulvaney's FBI file just a half-hour before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee vote Wednesday morning. Mulvaney is a Missouri Republican tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget. The vote has been postponed by not rescheduled. Mulvaney faces a Budget panel vote on Thursday. Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain is a critic of Mulvaney's prior House votes on Pentagon spending, but he said after the hearing that he would have voted to advance Mulvaney. __ 9:50 a.m. A Senate committee has approved President Donald Trump's picks for Health and Treasury secretaries after majority Republicans suspended the panel's rules. The rule they suspended requires at least one Democrat to be present for votes. It was the latest escalation in partisan tensions in the new Congress. The Senate Finance Committee approved Georgia GOP Rep. Tom Price to become Health secretary and financier Steve Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary by a pair of 14-0 votes. Democrats boycotted the meeting, demanding time to ask more questions about both nominees. Democrats say there were unresolved questions about both nominees' financial backgrounds. __ 7 a.m. President Donald Trump's nomination of Rex Tillerson for secretary of state is headed toward Senate confirmation after several Democrats crossed party lines to back the former Exxon Mobil CEO. The vote on Tillerson, scheduled for Wednesday, comes as tension builds among congressional Republicans and Democrats over Trump's executive order on immigrants and refugees. The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, said the order would be a litmus test for Trump's remaining Cabinet choices, and that any who refuse to reject the "horrible" new policy should be opposed. But Democrats lack the numbers in the Senate to block Tillerson from becoming the nation's chief diplomat. Republicans hold a four-seat advantage and during a procedural vote Monday on the nomination, Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Warner of Virginia cast their ballots for Tillerson. They're unlikely to change their minds. President condoles passing away of E Ahamed New Delhi , Feb.1 : President Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the passing away of IUML National President, former Minister and Member of Parliament E Ahamed. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660081 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660081 173O212O198O32) In tweets issued this morning, the President expressed heartfelt condolences over sad demise of E Ahamed and described him as a friend and colleague of long years.The President said Ahamed was a tireless campaigner for the welfare of underprivileged and his services to the nation will be long remembered. Introduction of a new CLSS for middle income group New Delhi, Feb 1 : The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, gave ex-post facto approval to the proposals for extension of tenure of loans under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) of PradhanMantriAwasYojana (PMAY) from 15 to 20 years. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660082 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660082 173O212O198O32) The proposals that received ex-post facto approval from the Union Cabinet were:(i) Extension of tenure of loans under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) vertical of Pradhan MantriAwasYojana (Urban) Mission from 15 to 20 years (to be renamed as CLSS for EWS/LIG. It will be named as CLSS for economically weaker sections of society / Lower Income Group;(ii) Introduction of a new Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme for MIG for targeting the MIG category;(iii) Allowing the Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs) that have signed MoU with the Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs), under the CLSS vertical of PMAY(Urban) (now CLSS for EWS/LIG), the option to extend the mandate of their MoU to CLSS for MIG with appropriate changes as applicable;(iv) For rationalizing/introducing the processing fees payable to the PLIs for the loans sanctioned under these schemes;(v) Allocation of Rs. 1000 crore initially in the budget for 2017-18 at the BE stage for the proposed CLSS for MIG and(vi) Issue of the operational guidelines for CLSS for MIG with approval of the Minister-in-charge.The proposals are expected to increase the off-take in EWS and LIG segments under existing Pradhan MantriAwasYojana (Urban) Housing for All Mission; extend the outreach to the Middle Income Group (MIG); make procedures easy for the Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs); provide an incentive to PLIs for increased participation in the housing and urban development sector; make funds available through Budgetary provisions and clearly define the procedure /implementation of programmes.The outreach of the schemes will ensure greater participation amongst the EWS, LIG and MIG segment of the society to provide Housing for All by 2022, thereby ensuring equity and inclusiveness.The interest subsidy to be disbursed to the beneficiaries will be credited to their home loan accounts after the PLIs have satisfied the eligibility criteria through their due diligence processes.The proposed interest subsidy scheme for the MIG is an innovative approach to address the needs of housing of this category. PM Modi to be 'Guest of Honour' at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum New Delhi , Feb. 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, scheduled from June 1 to 3, as the 'Guest of Honour'. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660083 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660083 173O212O198O32) In response to a question on India as a guest country at the forum, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said, "'This is to confirm that India has been invited as a Guest Country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum which will be held in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia from June 1 to 3, 2017."As a part of this, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will attend the Forum as Guest of Honour. Other details of the Prime Minister's visit are being worked out, and we will announce them as and when they are finalized," said a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).The forum is an annual Russian business event for the economic sector that witnesses more than 4,000 people from over 60 different countries every year.The forum brings together the chief executives of major Russian and international companies, heads of state, political leaders, prime ministers, deputy prime ministers, departmental ministers, and governors.The key purpose of the forum is to provide a practical tool for business, helping to overcome the barriers, both geographical and informational, dividing Russia and other countries. 2017-18 Budget proposals a 'damp squib', says Congress New Delhi , Feb. 1 : Expressing his displeasure over Union Budget 2017-18, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said it has nothing for youth and farmers. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660083 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660083 173O212O198O32) Addressing the media persons outside the Parliament, the Congress leader said, "We were expecting fireworks, instead got a damp squib. This budget is full of poetry. There is nothing for the youth or farmers. The government wanted to make an impact with budget before polls. But there was no impact. It should have announced something big for farmers."Saying that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made a "good speech", Gandhi however added that job creation found no mention in the budget.Speaking on railways, Gandhi said the safety record under this government is "very bad"."The rail safety record of this government is very bad. Did the Finance Minister say anything? Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about bullet train. Has it come?" he asked.The Congress vice-president further said that the country is facing fundamental issues, like unemployment, farmers problem, but the Narendra Modi government didn't offer something substantial on these fronts."It's a Budget of Sher o shayari, it has nothing for the unemployed youths or the farmers," Gandhi asserted.Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari reiterated Gandhi's comments saying that the budget was "rhetorical" and had "precious little" in terms of job creation."This budget has again been high on rhetoric and low on delivery. While there are many grandiloquent pronouncements which have been made, but the fundamental reality that the economy needs to grow, jobs need to be created, private sector investment needs to be incentivised-all these three things are completely missing from the budget," Tewari told ANI.Tewari stated that the budget numbers don't seem to add up as there is huge expansion on government spending on various schemes."If there is going to be that level of government spending then how does the Finance Minister actually plan to keep the fiscal deficit under check. There seems to be a complete contradiction between the two," he added.The Congress spokesperson said that the Railway Budget got a very cursory mention in the entire budget speech."Perhaps this initiative which the government has taken needs to be revisited because railways is the single biggest public infrastructure which is there in the country and possibly railways requires a dedicated stand alone policy initiative which can possibly flesh out as to how this largest public infrastructure in country is performing," he added.Tewari further said demonetisation completely torpedoed the Indian economy."It's very evident from the numbers which the economic survey has put out. There is absolutely nothing in the budget which incentivises and brings the economy back to high growth," he added.Taking a jibe at the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre, another Congress leader Renuka Chaudhary said, "There is nothing on defence spending. How are they fighting the Uttar Pradesh elections? Did they get donations in cheque or digital payment?"Presenting the Union Budget for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha today, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the agenda of the government for the next year is to Transform, Energise and Clean India- TEC India.He said TEC India seeks to transform the quality of the governance and quality of life of people, energise various sections of the society and clean the country from the evils of corruption, black money and non-transparent political funding.Jaitley said the overall approach of the budget has been to spend more in rural areas, infrastructure and poverty elevation and yet maintain fiscal prudence. President Pranab Mukherjee condoles passing away of E Ahamed New Delhi, Feb 1 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday condoled the passing away of IUML National President, former Minister and Member of Parliament, Shri E Ahamed. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660084 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/more-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660084 173O212O198O32) In tweets issued this morning, the President expressed heartfelt condolences over sad demise of E Ahamed and described him as a friend and colleague of long years.The President said Ahamed was a tireless campaigner for the welfare of underprivileged and his services to the nation will be long remembered. Cabinet approves extension of tenure of loans under CLSS New Delhi , Feb. 1: The Centre on Wednesday has given ex-post facto approval to the proposals for Extension of tenure of loans under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) vertical of Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana (Urban) Mission from 15 to 20 years (to be renamed as CLSS for EWS/LIG. It will be named as CLSS for economically weaker sections of society / Lower Income Group. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660086 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660086 173O212O198O32) Introduction of a new Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme for MIG" for targeting the MIG category. Allowing the Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs) that have signed MoU with the Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs), under the CLSS vertical of PMAY(Urban) (now CLSS for EWS/LIG), the option to extend the mandate of their MoU to CLSS for MIG with appropriate changes as applicable.For rationalizing/introducing the processing fees payable to the PLIs for the loans sanctioned under these schemes. Allocation of Rs. 1000 crore initially in the budget for 2017-18 at the BE stage for the proposed CLSS for MIG and issue of the operational guidelines for CLSS for MIG with approval of the Minister-in-charge.Objectives are increase the off-take in EWS and LIG segments under existing Pradhan MantriAwasYojana (Urban) - Housing for All Mission; Outreach to the Middle Income Group (MIG); Make procedures easy for the Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs); Provide an incentive to PLIs for increased participation in the housing and urban development sector; Make available funds through necessary funds through Budgetary provisions and clearly define the procedure /implementation of programmes.The outreach of the schemes will ensure greater participation amongst the EWS, LIG and MIG segment of the society to provide Housing for All by 2022, thereby ensuring equity and inclusiveness.The interest subsidy to be disbursed to the beneficiaries will be credited to their home loan accounts after the PLIs have satisfied the eligibility criteria through their due diligence processes.The proposed interest subsidy scheme for the MIG is an innovative approach to address the needs of housing of this category. WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President Donald Trump, his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and other immigration actions (all times local): 7:51 p.m. Hundreds of students and community members have gathered at Rutgers University to protest President Donald Trump's executive order restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. Organizers of the rally staged Tuesday afternoon in New Brunswick, New Jersey, called on Rutgers President Robert Barchi to publicly condemn the executive order Trump issued Friday. They also want him to reaffirm Rutgers' status as a "sanctuary school" and offer legal assistance for students unable to re-enter the country. The march also drew some Trump supporters who waved large American flags and argued with some rally participants. Officials said the march was peaceful and no arrests were reported. ___ 6:16 p.m. Thousands gathered in downtown Minneapolis to protest President Donald Trump's immigration restrictions. The demonstration was organized through a Facebook event and shut down several blocks around the U.S. Courthouse Tuesday evening. Salveen Siddique and her son Aswar are immigrants from Bangladesh and came to the protest with an American flag draped over their shoulders. Siddique says they moved to make their lives beautiful and experience freedom. Somali-American Sahra Ali says she and her six siblings moved to the U.S. in 2003. She says the temporary immigration ban on predominantly Muslim countries including Somalia has propelled Americans into the past. Ali says many family members are back in Somalia. Now she's afraid that she won't be able to leave the country and be able to get back in. ___ 5:15 p.m. Some families of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks are speaking out against President Donald Trump's ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries. In announcing the temporary ban last week, Trump referenced the Sept. 2001 attacks and said the measure was about national security. Story continues But a group of those whose loved ones were killed say the ban, which also bars refugees, is wrong. Terry McGovern, whose mother was killed at the World Trade Center, says she's "sickened" by Trump's reference of Sept. 11 and is tired of what she calls the "exploitation" of that day. Other Sept. 11 families support the ban. Debra Burlingame, who lost her brother, says she thinks it's smart to have scrutiny of anyone who wants to come to the U.S. ___ 4:25 p.m. Somalian refugee Habiba Mohamed is appealing to First Lady Melania Trump to persuade her husband to reverse course on tough new restrictions on refugees. Mohamed and her husband arrived in Georgia in mid-January but are now separated from their 20-year-old daughter, who planned to fly to the U.S. this week but is now unable to leave a refugee camp in Kenya. Mohamed says she's appealing to the first lady because she's a mother and "knows the love that a parent has for their child." ___ 3:55 p.m. A civil rights group in Michigan has sued on behalf of U.S. green-card holders objecting to President Donald Trump's order temporarily banning refugees and immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries. The Arab-American Civil Rights League argues in the suit filed Tuesday in Detroit's U.S. District Court that the executive action is unconstitutional and targets immigrant communities. It represents about a half-dozen legal, permanent residents, some of whom have been turned away from U.S.-bound planes. League Director Rula Aoun says most plaintiffs live in the Detroit area, which has one of the nation's largest Arab and Muslim communities. Aoun says green-card holders have a "lawful right to be in the U.S." but have been detained or denied entry. Trump says the ban is about safety, not religion. It faces numerous legal challenges. ___ 3:35 p.m. Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says the rollout of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries was "terrible." Christie says Trump's intention to protect the country from terrorist attacks is right but that the order was explained so "unartfully" that it allowed the president's opponents to mischaracterize it. He says Trump deserves to be better served by his advisers. ___ 1:10 p.m. A lawsuit has been filed against the Trump administration on behalf of a Syrian family who was denied entry into the United States at the Philadelphia airport during the weekend. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania says the complaint filed Tuesday on behalf of the Asali family alleges President Donald Trump's executive order violates several constitutional guarantees. The family including four adults and two children landed in Philadelphia on Saturday. They planned to settle in Allentown, where family members who are U.S. citizens had bought a home for them. They were denied entrance and returned to Syria. The families had obtained their visas after a 13-year effort. ___ 1:05 p.m. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling on President Donald Trump to lift his ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries "as soon as possible." Guterres said Tuesday that countries have the right to avoid infiltration of terrorist organizations but not based on discrimination related to religion, ethnicity, or a person's nationality. Guterres warned that "blind measures, not based on solid intelligence, tend to be ineffective as they risk being bypassed by what are today sophisticated global terrorist movements." He also said such discrimination is against "fundamental principles and values" and "triggers widespread anxiety and anger" that may spur extremist propaganda. Guterres expressed concern that refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are finding more borders closing, in violation of the protection they are entitled to under international refugee law ___ 1 p.m. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is denying reports that he was not given details of President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration until around the time Trump signed it. Kelly told reporters he looked at two drafts of the order before the Friday signing and that high-level government lawyers and agency officials were involved in drafting it. He also said he knew it was coming because Trump had long talked about it as a presidential candidate. Trump's order temporarily halted the U.S. refugee program and banned entries from citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. People who know Kelly told The Associated Press that he was not aware of the details in the directive until around the time that Trump signed it. ___ 12:50 p.m. A senior U.S. official says 872 refugees will be allowed into the United States this week despite the Trump administration executive order suspending the U.S. refugees program. Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, said these refugees would be granted waivers. He said that was allowed for under the order, in instances where refugees were ready for travel and stopping them would cause "undue hardship." McAleenan said this was being done in concert with the State Department. He said 872 refugees will be arriving this week and will processed for waivers through the end of the week. He was speaking at a news conference Tuesday about the administration's new immigration restrictions, which also suspends arrival by nationals from seven predominantly Muslim nations. __ 12:45 p.m. Iraq's prime minister says a travel ban ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump is an "offense to Iraq," but that he won't take retaliatory measures. An executive order signed over the weekend temporarily prevents the entry of citizens of Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries. The new U.S. administration says it is necessary to keep out potential terrorists until security procedures can be improved. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a news conference Tuesday that he hopes the order will be changed. He said the U.S. should be grateful to Iraq because of its "sacrifices in fighting terrorism," but that "the way the order was issued was not good, and I don't want to cause the same offense to the American people." U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have been battling the Islamic State group for more than two years, and are currently trying to drive the extremists from Mosul, the country's second-largest city. ___ 12:30 p.m. The U.S. Embassy in Israel says Israelis born in the seven Muslim-majority countries under a travel ban ordered by President Donald Trump can still travel to the United States under certain conditions. A message posted on the embassy website on Tuesday says Israeli passport holders born in Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen who do not have a valid passport from their birth country can travel to the U.S. under a valid visa. The embassy says it's continuing to process visa applications from Israelis born in those countries who don't have a passport from one of the seven countries or have not "declared themselves to be a national of one of those countries." Hundreds of thousands of Jews born in countries in the Middle East and North Africa settled in Israel after the country's establishment in 1948. Many were automatically stripped of their citizenship by those countries when they left. It is rare for Israelis to be dual nationals of one of the seven countries and the U.S. Embassy did not specifically say what happens to Israelis who carry a second passport from one of the countries under Trump's ban. The executive order Trump issued caused confusion among Israelis born in countries affected by the travel ban. ___ 10:45 a.m. France's prime minister is criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's three-month immigration ban on refugees from Muslim countries as being useless in the fight against terrorism. Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Tuesday that Trump's decision "only aims at exacerbating tensions, creating potential conflicts" and "in the end, the greatest inefficiency regarding results in the fight against terrorism." Cazeneuve, who was interior minister in 2015 and 2016 when deadly terror attacks were carried out by Islamic extremists in France, said the government reinforced its counterterrorism law and boosted security forces while preserving "national unity" and the values of the country. He says the U.S. ban "is useless because it ostracizes some countries" and "makes it impossible to welcome people who are persecuted in their country and need protection from free nations." ___ 9:45 a.m. The Netherlands' firebrand anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders has clashed in Parliament with the Dutch foreign minister over U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban for people from seven Muslim nations. In a debate Tuesday, Wilders seen by many as a Dutch equivalent of Trump paid tribute to the new U.S. leader, saying, "Finally America has a president, finally a country in the West has a president, who not only lives up to his promises but who says 'the freedom of my citizens is more important than anything.'" Foreign Minister Bert Koenders hit back, saying, "If you want to fight terror, then the worst thing you can do is trample human rights." The Dutch government has updated its travel advisory for the U.S. to warn of the effects of Trump's new policy on Dutch citizens who have dual nationality with one of the seven nations affected. ___ 9:20 p.m. The leaders of Germany and Sweden are decrying the immigration restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump and both say they're seeking more clarity on how citizens will be affected. Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "the fight against terrorism does not justify such general action against particular countries and people of a particular faith." Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven called the move "counterproductive" and "totally unacceptable." The two leaders were speaking at a press conference in Stockholm Tuesday. Merkel also stressed Germany's commitment to the independence of the European Central Bank and trading "in fair competition with everyone else" on world markets. That came after Peter Navarro, who is to lead a new White House council on trade, was quoted in the Financial Times as saying that Germany is using a "grossly undervalued" euro to "exploit" the U.S. and its European partners. ___ 3:35 a.m. Iran's foreign minister has reiterated that Iran will no longer issue visas for Americans, describing the decision as a "counter-action" to Trump's executive order banning nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, from entering the United States. Mohammad Javad Zarif added that "if there is an exception, it will be reviewed through the mechanism which has been created in the Foreign Ministry." Zarif spoke to the "Khorasan daily" on Tuesday on the sidelines of a joint press conference with his visiting French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault. About 5 million tourists visit Iran each year, most of them coming from Iraq and other neighboring countries. Europeans have also been coming to Iran, but Americans represent far less than 1 percent of the total or about 50,000 and are subjected to rigorous background checks. Zarif first announced the reciprocal move by Tehran on Saturday, when Trump's visa restrictions took effect. At the time, he said Iran's ban will not be retroactive and that all Americans with already valid Iranian visas "will be gladly welcomed." ___ 3:35 a.m. Iran's oil minister says there is no ban on American companies working in Iran's oil industry. The semi-official ILNA news agency on Tuesday is quoting Bijan Zanganeh as saying: "American companies face no ban for entering our oil industry." However, Zanganeh said American companies "have not directly applied" to work in Iran's oil industry, so far. This is the first such remark by Iran after an executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump on Friday banned immigration and visa processing for Iranians alongside six other Muslim countries. In January, Iran's Oil Ministry published a list of 29 international companies qualified to bid for oil and gas projects following the lifting of sanctions under a landmark nuclear accord that went into effect last year. Lt.Gen. Suresh Sharma takes over as Army's Engineer-in-Chief New Delhi , Feb.1 : Lieutenant General Suresh Sharma took over as the Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army here today. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660086 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660086 173O212O198O32) Commissioned into the Corps of Engineers from the Indian Military Academy, he has attended prestigious courses at tri-services institutions like the Defence Service Staff College, College of Defence Management and National Defence College.The General Officer commanded an Engineer Regiment during 'OP PARAKRAM' and has held key operational logistics appointments in an Infantry Brigade along the Line of Control and an Infantry Division and Strike Corps in the South Western theatre. He was assigned to the United Nations as an Advisor and served as Chief Operations Officer of the Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Within the Corps, the General Officer has commanded the Bengal Engineer Group and Centre - a premiere training institution and tenanted the appointments of Chief Engineer (Indian Navy and Coast Guards) Mumbai Zone, Chief Engineer South Western Command and Director General Combat Engineers at the Army HQs.Prior to taking over as the Engineer-in-Chief, he served as the 24th Director General of the Border Roads Organisation (DGBR), where he provided strategic direction with a renewed impetus to 18 projects across 13 Indian states and two foreign countries. During his tenure as the DGBR, multiple initiatives were taken to keep up with the overall strategic vision of the country. Dynamism and energy in the organization is evident and the last working season has shown a shift in thought, approach and delivery. Today, the BRO is a vibrant, effective and responsive government agency that stands tall in the pursuit of its vision.On January 26 2016, the General Officer was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) by the President of India.In his capacity as Engineer-in-Chief, in addition to steering the Corps of Engineers, he will serve as the principal advisor to Chiefs of Army, Navy, Air Force and the Ministry of Defence on all matters pertaining to engineer works services being head of Military Engineering Services (MES). Thomas Cook looking forward to Centre's plan to launch Incredible India 2.0 Mumbai, Feb 1 : Tour operator Thomas Cook has said the Union Budget presented by the Centre on Wednesday has very little to offer to the tourism industry. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660087 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660087 173O212O198O32) The tour operator major, hwoever, said it is looking forward to the Centres plan to launch Incredible India 2.0.Mahesh Iyer, COO, Thomas Cook (India) Limited, said in a statement: This budget has very little to offer to the tourism industry, but with plans to launch Incredible India 2.0 as the next phase of growth for domestic tourism with respect to India, there is something to look forward to.India has a vast railway network and the recently announced Railway Budget acknowledges the strength of this. One of the biggest announcements is the withdrawal of service charge on rail tickets booked through IRCTC. This will not only lead to more bookings but will enable the consolidation of a digital economy. Another significant development is the emphasis on safety and sanitation, by introducing bio-toilets, which will increase passenger comfort. It is also encouraging to note the measures that will be incorporated to make the Railways friendlier for the disabled. With emphasis on a Digital Economy, by introducing measures like elimination of service charge while booking rail tickets on IRCTC, launching DigiGaons to facilitate employment skilling, and even augmenting transactions done via the BHIM app; the Finance Minister has laid out a path that directs the country towards digital transformation. These are signs of a progressive growth story and we are confident that the steps charted in the Budget will act as catalysts for change and thus move people from the unorganized sector to organized sector. Having said that , from my point of view this budget is a subdued one,Mahesh Iyer said. Etihad Aviation Group, Lufthansa Group extend cooperation Abu Dhabi, Feb 1 : Etihad Aviation Group and Lufthansa German Airlines, part of Europe's largest aviation group, today unveiled details of a new commercial partnership. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660087 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660087 173O212O198O32) The two airline groups have concluded a US $100 million global catering agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul.Addressing a press conference today in Abu Dhabi, the chief executives of both airline groups spelled out plans to broaden their commercial partnership.James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group President and Chief Executive Officer, said: Partnerships are at the heart of our strategy and remain fundamental for us to compete effectively and efficiently in a complex and competitive global market.Our collaboration with one of the aviation industrys most established and recognised brands is undoubtedly the most significant non-equity partnership with an airline we have ever announced.This partnership is the platform for a much wider strategic collaboration between our two organisations. It demonstrates the commitment of the Etihad Aviation Group Board and Abu Dhabi to our European growth strategy.Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: We welcome the opportunity to strengthen our cooperation with the Etihad Aviation Group. Together we can create added value for our customers and shareholders. Partnering with the Etihad Aviation Group fits perfectly the Lufthansa Groups global strategy for our passenger airlines and service companies.The four-year catering contract will see Lufthansas LSG Sky Chefs provide catering services to Etihad Airways in 16 cities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. This makes LSG the largest provider of catering services to the UAEs national airline, outside its Abu Dhabi home base.Etihad Aviation Group and Lufthansa Technik (LHT) also signed an MoU to explore cooperation in maintenance, repair and overhaul services across Etihad Airways and its airline equity partners, and opportunities for synergies with Etihad Airways Engineering.Etihad Airways and Lufthansa are also exploring further cooperation in a number of areas, including freight operations, procurement and passenger services to improve their competitive offering globally and in the European market.The previously announced codeshare between the two airline groups goes on sale today, 1 February, for flights between Abu Dhabi and Germany. Lufthansa will place its LH code on Etihad Airways twice daily flights between its Abu Dhabi hub and both Frankfurt and Munich. Etihad will put its EY code on Lufthansas long-haul, non-stop intercontinental services between its home base of Frankfurt, the business and commercial capital of Germany, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and the Colombian capital, Bogota as soon as government approval is obtained.The codeshare agreement will grow both carriers global networks, giving Lufthansa increased access to important feeder markets throughout the Indian Subcontinent via Abu Dhabi, while Etihad will gain access into South America through Germany.To facilitate both connectivity and the customer experience associated with this codeshare, the Abu Dhabi-based airline will also move its operations at Lufthansas hubs, from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 in Frankfurt, and Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 in Munich.The Lufthansa Group signed an agreement in December 2016 with airberlin, in which Etihad Aviation Group holds a 29 per cent stake, for the wet-lease of 38 aircraft. Lufthansas point-to-point carrier Eurowings will wet lease 33 aircraft, and Austrian Airlines, a Lufthansa Group airline, will take on five aircraft. The agreement between Eurowings and Air Berlin, signed on 16 December 2016, will last for six years and is slated to begin on 10 February 2017 when the first aircraft starts operating for Eurowings. Finance Minister reduces the tax rate from 10 to 5 per cent for individual income between Rs 2.5 to Rs 5 lakh New Delhi, Feb 1 : Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reduced the rate of taxation from existing 10 per cent to 5 per cent for individual assesses between income of Rs 2.5 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660088 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660088 173O212O198O32) This would reduce the tax liability of all persons below Rs 5 lakh income either to zero (with rebate) or 50 per cent of their existing liability.While presenting the General Budget 2017-18 in the Parliament on Wednesday, Jaitley said that the present burden of taxation is mainly on honest tax payers and salaried employees who are showing their income correctly. Therefore, post-demonetisation, there is a legitimate expectation of this class of people to reduce their burden of taxation.The Finance Minister further said that if a nominal rate of taxation is kept for lower slab, many more people will prefer to come within the tax net.The Finance Minister made an appeal to all the citizens of India to contribute to Nation Building by making a small payment of 5 per cent tax if their income is falling in the lowest slab of Rs 2.5 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs.Jaitley said that the Government is trying to bring within tax-net more people who are evading taxes.So, in order to expand tax net, it is decided to have a simple one-page form to be filed as Income Tax Return for the category of individuals having taxable income upto Rs 5 lakhs other than business income.Also, a person of this category who files income tax return for the first time would not be subjected to any scrutiny in the first year unless there is specific information available with the Department regarding his high value transaction.In his Budget Speech, the Finance Minister further said that in order not to have duplication of benefit, the existing benefit of rebate available to the same group of beneficiaries is being reduced to Rs 2500, available only to assessees upto income of Rs 3.5 lakhs.The combined effect of both these measures will mean that there would be zero tax liability for people getting income upto Rs 3 lakhs per annum. and the tax liability will only be Rs 2,500 for people with income between Rs 3 and Rs 3.5 lakhs.While the taxation liability of people with income upto Rs 5 lakhs is being reduced to half, all the other categories of tax payers in the subsequent slabs will also get a uniform benefit of Rs 12,500 per person. The total amount of tax foregone on account of this measure is Rs 15,500 crore.In order to make good some of this revenue loss on account of this relief, a surcharge of 10 per cent of tax payable on categories of individuals whose annual taxable income is between Rs 50 lakhs and Rs 1 crore has been proposed. This is likely to give additional revenue of Rs 2,700 crore.The Finance Minister said that the direct tax proposals for exemptions, etc. would result in revenue loss of Rs 22,700 crore but after counting for revenue gain of Rs 2,700 crore for additional resource mobilisation proposal, the net revenue loss in direct tax would come to Rs 20,000 crore. NATO extends support to Libya in its fight against ISIL Brussels, Feb 1 : NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Wednesday for talks on the security situation in Libya. (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660089 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 01 February 2017, 1667660089 173O212O198O32) The Secretary General said he was encouraged by the progress being made in the fight against ISIL in Libya and conveyed NATOs support to the Government of National Accord.During their meeting, the two leaders also discussed how to take cooperation forward.NATO stands ready to assist Libya in building effective security and defence institutions, strengthening your ability to fight terrorism and create conditions for peace, said Stoltenberg after the meeting.He added that, in the future, NATO could offer advice on establishing a modern Ministry of Defence, a joint military staff, and security and intelligence services under civilian control. If requested, the Alliance could also support the efforts of the European Union to strengthen the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy.Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister al-Sarraj, the Secretary General also addressed the situation in eastern Ukraine.He expressed deep concern over the recent spike in ceasefire violations and violence around Avdiivka. Calling for an immediate return to the ceasefire, the Secretary General stressed that OSCE monitors must be guaranteed free and safe access to the region. He further called on Russia to use its considerable influence over the separatists to bring the violence to an end. Thank you for visiting us! But, the requested page is currently unavailable. Kindly start browsing from our Home Page President Donald Trump announces 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch as his choice for Supreme Court Justice during a televised address from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President Donald Trump nomination of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court (all times EDT): 10:20 p.m. The White House is planning a major outreach effort to get Neil Gorsuch confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says the White House is planning a series of briefings with House and Senate staff about Trump's pick. Gorsuch is expected to travel Wednesday to Capitol Hill to begin meetings with lawmakers, including Senate Judiciary Committee members. Spicer says the White House is "going to work really, really hard" to get Trump's pick confirmed. ___ 9 p.m. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer says he has "serious doubts" that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is within what Democrats consider the legal mainstream. Schumer said in a statement Tuesday night that Gorsuch "has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the Court." Schumer says the Senate "must insist" on 60 votes for any Supreme Court nominee, meaning the nominee would have to receive bipartisan support. Schumer has not said whether he would attempt a filibuster, a procedural maneuver that would require 60 votes. But any senator can move to filibuster, and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley has suggested he will. ___ 8:25 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Donald Trump has made an "outstanding decision" in nominating U.S. Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. In a statement, McConnell says Gorsuch has "a long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution" and notes that he was confirmed by voice vote in the Senate in 2006. He is urging Democrats not to block the nomination. Story continues McConnell says, "I hope Members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama." ___ 8:14 p.m. President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court is pledging to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and the laws of the United States. U.S. Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch is also thanking Trump for giving him a "most solemn assignment." If confirmed by the Senate, Gorsuch would succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, whose death nearly a year ago created a vacancy on the nine-member court. But Gorsuch's selection is expected to spark a fierce fight with Democrats. ___ 8:12 p.m. President Donald Trump is praising Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch for his "extraordinary resume." Trump announced he was nominating Gorsuch Tuesday night. He says the nominee's academic credentials were "as good as I have ever seen." He adds that Gorsuch "has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support." Trump also says Gorsuch was "the man our country needs and needs badly to ensure the rule of law and the rule of justice." ___ 8:04 p.m. President Donald Trump has nominated federal appeals judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The 49-year-old Gorsuch has served on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver since 2006, after being appointed by President George W. Bush. He once worked at the Supreme Court as a law clerk. If approved by the Senate, Gorsuch would take the seat left vacant since Justice Antonin Scalia died last year. Republicans refused to consider President Barack Obama's nominee for the seat, saying the choice should go Obama's successor. He would be the youngest justice since Clarence Thomas joined the court in 1991 at age 43. Trump made the announcement Tuesday in a prime-time address from the White House. ___ 7:55 p.m. Congressional leaders, White House staff and President Donald Trump's family members are gathering in the East Room for his Supreme Court announcement. The event has drawn top congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump's former rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump's oldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, are also on-hand. As is Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council. Trump's announcement has taken on the quality of a reality television show, with days of anticipation. Trump is scheduled to make his announcement in a televised address at 8 p.m. 3 Newport County teams are one win from playing for a title The playoffs are underway, and there are teams still alive, while others have been eliminated. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Showers this morning then remaining overcast and windy during the afternoon hours. Morning high of 62F with temps falling to near 50. Winds SW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low 42F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. An international research group of 32 experts from nine countries has updated the guidelines for diagnosing the genetic disease cystic fibrosis. The researchers expect that these guidelines will provide better direction for clinicians looking at patients with symptoms of the disease to make a correct diagnosis and recommend personalized treatment. A report of the updated guidelines and two supplemental articles detailing their implications and the data used in their creation were published on Jan. 24 in The Journal of Pediatrics. "We've more precisely defined what cystic fibrosis is. That precision was a result of the genetic research we did and from studying the many mutations associated with cystic fibrosis," says Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that occurs when an individual has two inherited mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. People with the disease exhibit symptoms in a variety of organs, but chronic and debilitating lung infections are often most prominent. There are more than 2,000 known mutations that can occur in the CFTR gene, but not all of them result in cystic fibrosis. In an effort to better define cystic fibrosis and categorize the mutations associated with it, Sosnay and international collaborators have assembled data from patients in North America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Asia and South America to quantify and describe these mutations. Called CFTR2 (the Clinical and Functional TRanslation of CFTR), the project began in 2008 and has thus far described about 300 out of the 2,000 known mutations, making it the most comprehensive compilation and evaluation of disease liability for all genetic diseases. As a result of CFTR2, mutations are now categorized as either cystic fibrosis causing, mutations of varying clinical consequence, non-cystic fibrosis causing or unknown. Mutations are categorized depending on whether the mutation meets clinical criteria and the likelihood that someone with the mutation will have cystic fibrosis. The updated cystic fibrosis diagnosis consensus guidelines now recommend using CFTR2 as an aid to determine whether a patient has the genetic evidence of cystic fibrosis, a substantial update from the 23-mutation panel by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that has been in use since 2004. "The stakes in categorizing a mutation are particularly high. For example, claiming that a mutation 100 percent causes cystic fibrosis may affect people's reproductive decisions if they believe their child will have the mutation," says Sosnay. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today However, Sosnay believes that providing patients with all of the available information on cystic fibrosis may lead to more informed health care decisions and a better understanding of the wide spectrum of CFTR-related disease. "Therapies exist for individuals with certain mutations. The compilation and availability of all this data can lead to more personalized medicine if people know what mutation(s) they have and seek appropriate care," adds Sosnay. The new guidelines also standardized diagnostic criteria for individuals diagnosed outside of newborn screening. Newborn screening, which started in the U.S. in the 1980s and became rapidly adopted in the 1990s and 2000s, is a standard blood test performed soon after birth that is responsible for the majority of cystic fibrosis diagnoses. However, it's not consistently performed everywhere in the world, and even in the U.S., there is a possibility of a false negative. Given that over one-third of all U.S. cystic fibrosis diagnoses in 2014 did not occur during newborn screening, it will remain necessary to diagnose cystic fibrosis outside of newborn screening. Screening outside of the neonatal period relies on symptoms and evidence of CFTR dysfunction, usually indicated by a test for the amount of chloride in a person's sweat. Cystic fibrosis is caused by defects in a protein, coded for by the CFTR gene that is found in places such as the airways and sweat glands. Elevated levels of chloride in sweat provides direct evidence that the CFTR protein is not working, and is used as a main diagnostic test for CF. Based on data collected from CFTR2 and other research recognizing all cases of cystic fibrosis, the new guidelines lowered the threshold for "possible" cystic fibrosis from 40 millimoles per liter to 30 millimoles per liter for all ages. A normal range for chloride concentration in sweat is 10 to 20 millimoles per liter, and 60 millimoles per liter constitutes a cystic fibrosis diagnosis. A result of this updated guideline is that those with a chloride level between 30 and 40 millimoles per liter who were previously considered unlikely to have cystic fibrosis will now be reconsidered as possibly having cystic fibrosis or a related disease. Evidence supporting a key role for an altered gut microbiome in the development of atopic dermatitis (AD) would suggest that the use of probiotics or prebiotics to correct microbial imbalances in the gut could help prevent or treat AD. A comprehensive review examining clinical studies of probiotics and prebiotics, given separately or combined, and factors affecting their efficacy is published in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology website. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today Eishika Dissanayake, MBBS and Naoki Shimojo, MD, PhD, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan, discuss the most recent knowledge about the link between AD and aberrations in the gut microbiome in the article entitled, "Probiotics and Prebiotics in the Prevention and Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis." The authors emphasize the need for further research to understand the disease mechanisms and the factors that may influence the effectiveness of specific prebiotic or probiotic therapy--such as strain selection, timing, duration, and method of administration. The article is part of a special issue on atopic dermatitis led by Guest Editor Norito Katoh, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan. "Atopic dermatitis is a highly prevalent disorder, especially in developed countries where it affects up to 20% of children," says Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology Editor-in-Chief Mary Cataletto, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook. "Recent studies have demonstrated links between an aberrant gut microbiome and the development of atopic dermatitis. Given the significant impact of atopic dermatitis on quality of life and healthcare utilization, studies examining the potential role of therapeutic manipulation of the gut microbiome for either the treatment or prevention of atopic dermatitis is an important focus for future research." A range of breast, head and neck boards aid a comfortable and welcoming patient experience at one of the UKs leading cancer centres Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust has recently opened its new state-of-the-art Cancer Centre to provide radiotherapy, chemotherapy and outpatient services for oncology patients. The Centre, which has been designed with the help of patients, has now added a range of MacroMedics positioning equipment to enhance patient comfort during radiotherapy treatment. 13 MacroMedics BreastBoard LX, 5 Double Shell Positioning System (DSPS) cradles, 14 Single Shell Positioning System (SSPS) cradles and 14 S-type baseplates from Oncology Systems Limited are being used across two sites. Both Carbon Fibre and MR safe versions of each system will be used to ensure comfort and reproducibility across imaging modalities. Guys & St Thomas uses state-of-the-art patient positioning boards for new cancer and radiotherapy centre. [Left to right: Serafine OBrien, Clinical Specialist at Oncology Systems Limited; Neil Burley, Cancer Centre Project Treatment Lead; Rubina Begum, Treatment Planning Lead; Emily Basset, Treatment Planning Dosimetrist; Matthew Adams, Treatment Lead; Adam Dobson, Mould Room Lead and Stuart Baldwin, Managing Director of Oncology Systems Limited.] Four of the BreastBoard LX units will be utilised in the new satellite centre located in Queen Marys Hospital, Sidcup which will open in early 2017, supporting patients in outer South East London. The board has a light and ergonomic design to provide comfortable and reproducible day-to-day patient set-up. The DSPS solution features a superior strength, fully customisable, 2-part (facial and occipital) non-shrink thermoplastic shell, enabling sub-millimetre accuracy to support targeted stereotactic radiotherapy. In addition, the SSPS solution allows the DSPS facial shell to be combined with standard headrest options. By use of a rigid carbon fibre cradle, DSPS and SSPS remove the need for over-engineered thermoplastic solutions including Kevlar and reinforced thermoplastic material. Serafine OBrien, Clinical Specialist at Oncology Systems Limited, comments: We have worked extensively with the team at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust to provide additional features such as newly designed hand poles on the BreastBoard LX. These will also enable the addition of vacuum cushions for added comfort in the treatment position when required. Serafine OBrien continues: The Cancer Centre will also be using the DSPS and SSPS solutions to support high precision techniques such as the treatment of brain metastases with stereotactic radiotherapy. The equipment will provide accurate individual positioning, which is essential in supporting these advanced techniques. The Cancer Centre at Guys Hospital has been developed to enhance patient care, as the transfer of patients between Guys and St Thomas Hospitals to outpatient and chemotherapy appointments was previously proving to be problematic for patients. Having the facilities under one roof, clinicians have faster access to services. The new radiotherapy service will increase radiotherapy treatment capacity by 68% increasing from 47,500 to 80,000 per year. Stuart Baldwin, Managing Director at Oncology Systems Limited comments: Researchers at Southern Methodist University in Dallas have developed a concise new explanation for the basic mechanics involved in human running. The approach offers direct insight into the determinants of running performance and injuries, and could enable the use of individualized gait patterns to optimize the design of shoes, orthoses and prostheses according to biomechanics experts Kenneth Clark, Laurence Ryan and Peter Weyand, who authored the new study. The ground force-time patterns determine the body's motion coming out of each step and therefore directly determine running performance. The impact portion of the pattern is also believed to be a critical factor for running injuries. "The human body is mechanically complex, but our new study indicates that the pattern of force on the ground can be accurately understood from the motion of just two body parts," said Clark, first author on the study and currently an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "The foot and the lower leg stop abruptly upon impact, and the rest of the body above the knee moves in a characteristic way," Clark said. "This new simplified approach makes it possible to predict the entire pattern of force on the ground -- from impact to toe-off -- with very basic motion data." This new "two-mass model" from the SMU investigators substantially reduces the complexity of existing scientific explanations of the physics of running. Existing explanations have generally relied upon relatively elaborate "multi-mass spring models" to explain the physics of running, but this approach is known to have significant limitations. These complex models were developed to evaluate rear-foot impacts at jogging speeds and only predict the early portion of the force pattern. In addition, they are less clearly linked to the human body itself. They typically divide the body into four or more masses and include numerous other variables that are hard to link to the actual parts of a human body. The SMU model offers new insight by providing concise, accurate predictions of the ground force vs. time patterns throughout each instant of the contact period. It does so regardless of limb mechanics, foot-strike type and running speed. "Our model inputs are limited to contact time on the ground, time in the air, and the motion of the ankle or lower limb. From three basic stride variables we are able to predict the full pattern of ground-force application," said Ryan, who is a physicist and research engineer at SMU's Locomotor Performance Laboratory. "The approach opens up inexpensive ways to predict the ground reaction forces and tissue loading rates. Runners and other athletes can know the answer to the critical functional question of how they are contacting and applying force to the ground." added Ryan. Current methods for assessing patterns of ground force application require expensive in-ground force platforms or force treadmills. Additionally, the links between the motions of an athlete's body parts and ground forces have previously been difficult to reduce to basic and accurate explanations. The researchers describe their new two-mass model of the physics of running in the article, "A general relationship links gait mechanics and running ground reaction forces," published in the Journal of Experimental Biology at http://jeb.biologists.org/content/220/2/247, bitly http://bit.ly/2jKUCSq. "From both a running performance and injury risk standpoint, many investigations over the last 15 years have focused on the link between limb motion and force application," said Weyand, who is the director of SMU's Locomotor Performance Laboratory. "We're excited that this research can shed light on this basic relationship." Overall force-time pattern is the sum of two parts Traditional scientific explanations of foot-ground forces have utilized different types of spring and mass models ranging from complex to very simple. However, the existing models have not been able to fully account for all of the variation present in the force-time patterns of different runners -- particularly at speeds faster than jogging. Consequently, a comprehensive basis for assessing performance differences, injury risks and general running mechanics has not been previously available. The SMU researchers explain that the basic concept of the new approach is relatively simple -- a runner's pattern of force application on the ground is due to the motion of two parts of the body: the lower portion of the leg that is contacting the ground, and the sum total of the rest of the body. The force contributions of the two body parts are each predicted from their largely independent, respective motions during the foot-ground contact period. The two force contributions are then combined to predict the overall pattern. The final prediction relies only upon classical physics and a characteristic link between the force and motion for the two body parts. New approach can be applied accurately and inexpensively The application of the two-mass approach is direct and immediate. "Scientists, clinicians and performance specialists can directly apply the new information using the predictive approach provided in the manuscript," Clark said. "The new science is well-suited to assessing patterns of ground-force application by athletes on running tracks and in performance training centers." These capabilities have not been possible previously, much less in the inexpensive and accurate manner that the new approach allows for with existing technology. "The only requirement is a quality high-speed camera or decent motion sensor and our force-motion algorithms," Clark said. "It's conceivable that even shoe stores would benefit by implementing basic treadmill assessments to guide footwear selection from customer's gait mechanics using the approach." A critical breakthrough for the SMU researchers was recognition that the mass contribution of the lower leg did not vary for heel vs. forefoot strikes and was directly quantifiable. Their efforts lead them to recognize the initial force contribution results from the quick stopping of the lower part of the leg -- the shin, ankle and foot -- which all come down and stop together when the foot hits the ground. Olympic sprinters were a clue to discovery The SMU team discovered a general way to quantify the impact forces from the large impacts observed from Olympic-caliber sprinters. Like heel strikers, the patterns of Olympic sprinters exhibit a sharp rising edge peak that results from an abrupt deceleration of the foot and lower leg. However, sprinters accomplish this with forefoot impacts rather than the heel-first landing that most joggers use. "The world-class sprinters gave us a big signal to figure out the critical determinants of the shape of the waveform," said Weyand. "Without their big impact forces, we would probably have not been able to recognize that the ground-force patterns of all runners, regardless of their foot-strike mechanics and running speed, have two basic parts." When the researchers first began to analyze the seemingly complicated force waveform signals, they found that they were actually composed of two very simple overlapping waveforms, Ryan said. "Our computer generated the best pattern predictions when the timing of the first waveform coincided with the high-speed video of the ankle stopping on impact. This was true to within a millisecond, every single time. And we did it hundreds of times," he said. "So we knew we had a direct physical relationship between force and motion that provided a critical insight." New approach has potential to diagnose injury, rehab The SMU team's new concise waveforms potentially have diagnostic possibilities, Weyand said. For example, a runner's pre-injury waveforms could be compared to their post-injury and post-rehab waveforms. "You could potentially identify the asymmetries of runners with tibial stress fractures, Achilles tendonitis or other injuries by comparing the force patterns of their injured and healthy legs," he said. And while medical images could suggest the injury has healed, their waveforms might tell a different story. "The waveform patterns might show the athlete continues to run with less force on the injured limb. So it may offer an inexpensive diagnostic tool that was not previously available," Weyand said. New research reveals nearly half of trusts only scan internal apps once-a-year for security related defects Veracode, a leader in protecting enterprises from todays pervasive web and mobile application threats, has released new research revealing nearly half (45%) of NHS trusts scan for application vulnerabilities just once a year, with less only 8% doing so on a daily basis. This potentially leaves them with outdated software and at an increased risk of a cyberattack, potentially exposing patient data to the wrong hands. The new findings were gleaned from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted to 36 NHS trusts, with 27 responding. The responses also revealed half (50%) of health trusts also only scan web perimeter apps once-a-year as well, leaving patient data at risk of cyberattacks through legacy websites and third-party plugins. There are some promising results, however, with the request also revealing that 12 percent of trusts scan web application perimeters daily, demonstrating a growing awareness of the role application security plays to safeguard sensitive patient data. These findings coincide with the recent Veracode State of Software Security report, which revealed healthcare as an industry once again has the lowest vulnerability fix rate globally, with the second-lowest OWASP pass rate and the highest prevalence of cryptographic and credentials management issues. The report presented metrics drawn from code-level analysis of billions of lines of code across 300,000 assessments performed over the last 18 months, revealing that two-thirds (67%) of healthcare applications failed OWASP policy compliance. The below percentages detail the prevalence of high profile vulnerabilities within the global healthcare industry, based on first-time application scans: Cross-site: 45.4% SQL Injection: 28.4% Cryptographic credentials: 72.9% Scripting issues management: 47.7% The NHS was also one of the worst performing sectors in terms of the number of data breaches reported to the ICO last year, contributing to 64% of the total figure in the April 2015-March 2016 period. The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also recently announced that data from approved health apps will now feed directly into personal health records, with the NHS website soon to allow patients to book appointments, access medical records and order prescriptions. Indeed, he has called for the NHS in England to be paperless by 2018. In light of recent ransomware and other cyberattacks on healthcare organisations, the industrys low scores on these application security benchmarks is troubling, said Paul Farrington, Manager, EMEA Solution Architects, Veracode. Our new research certainly raises fresh concerns regarding the safety of patient information here in the UK, as well as across the globe. There appears to be a lack of emphasis on application and web app scanning within the NHS, which could put trusts at an increased risk of losing patient data to hackers. The Information Commissioners Office has the authority to fine trusts up to 500,000 for data breaches, so theres even more of a reason for trusts to ensure theyve placed an emphasis on their cyber hygiene. With hospitals correctly demanding rigorous sterilisation of surgical instruments and cleanliness from staff to fight the risk of infections spreading, the same should be considered when assessing their digital cleanliness to defend against the growing - and changing - threat of cyberattackers. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2015, referred to it as a living monument of the failure of the previous UPA regime, yet the flagship job guarantee programme MGNREGA figured majorly in Arun Jaitleys Budget as he gave it one of its biggest allocations ever. On closer scrutiny, the outlay for MGNREGA in Budget 2016-17 at Rs 48,000 crore is pretty much the same as the revised estimate for the programme in the previous fiscal (Rs 47,499 crore as against the budgeted Rs 38,500 crore). That doesnt take away the fact that the scheme now firmly has the Modi governments stamp of approval. So what gives? Abhijeet Sen, one of Indias most respected agricultural economists, said the fact the government ended up spending more money on MGNREGA than it originally budgeted and that a matching figure has been provisioned for the next fiscal could mean the government is concerned the adverse effects of demonetisation on rural economy might continue. Perhaps, MGNREGA is the answer for lifting sentiments in the rural economy. Abhijit Banerjee, co-author of Poor Economics and one of the founders of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), had recently told News18 in an interview that post-demonetisation, the MGNREGA would be one tool in the hand of the government to do something to stabilise demand. Pramathesh Ambasta, member of the Central Employment Guarantee Council (a government-appointed watchdog of the employment guarantee scheme) said despite the criticism that has come its way, MGNREGA has stood the test of time and emerged important for the rural poor. However, Abhijeet Sen said the high offtake still begged the question on what was the money spent and if people are happy with the expenditure. Its not very clear where the extra expenditure led to, said Sen. Jaitley was forthcoming with a few details in his speech. The funds set aside last year for ponds under MGNREGA, he said, had been fully achieved and, by March 2017, 10 lakh ponds will have been built against a target of five lakh. An additional 5 lakh ponds will be taken up for 2017-18. The budget also pointed out that participation of women went up to 55 percent from less than 48 percent. Activist Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kishan Shakti Sangthan, who has worked extensively on the programme, said, "The talk around NREGA has completely changed in the past two years. The government has realised that with drought, with demonetisation and with rural distress they have nothing else for people, which is why this highest-ever allocation." He did caution on the lack of money on the ground. "Two months of the current year remain which generally have high employment rates," said Dey, adding, "by the government's own estimates these will cost 9000 crore. However, 22 states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, have a negative balance right now." To Ambasta, the budgetary allocation is good news. However, he did raise the question of what implementation or governance reforms will accompany the allocation: how well is the money spent well on the poor, how is the programme delivered? He felt that though MGNREGA has generated employment, if implemented well with planning and human resources, it could create sustainable livelihoods that, in turn, will render the need for MGNREGA redundant in the future. This, by creating sustainable assets through drought-proofing or water-proofing which will have an accelerator effect on rural incomes as more land becomes arable and yields go up. While both Sen and Ambasta agreed that labour was going back to rural areas, the latter said that rural India needed such an allocation, due to farm distress. Its basically a normal budget, said Sen, adding, there are no new schemes. This isnt necessarily bad; but based on these amounts, its hard to discover a sense of direction the government is taking. Many of the agriculture-related announcements were similar to the PMs December 31st speech, and much of those werent even budgetary matters but those decided by banks. For example, doubling the irrigation fund from Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 40,000 crore and setting up the micro-irrigation fund of Rs 5000 crore under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). And there is no money transfer budgeted for NABARD this year, he added. Other provisions under these sectors were bringing one crore households out of poverty and to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty free by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi. Roads featured prominently as Jaitley announced the pace of construction of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana roads accelerated to 133 km roads per day in 2016-17, against an average of 73 km during 2011-2014. The scheme, given a total of Rs 27000 crore including the states and the centres share, will also connect with 100 blocks affected by left wing extremism affected areas by 2019. The Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin got a boost, going up from Rs 15,000 crores to Rs 23,000, with a target to complete a crore houses by 2019 for the homeless and people living in kutcha houses. The budget reaffirmed the 100 percent village electrification target of 1 May 2018, and said the sanitation coverage in rural India had gone up from 42 percent in Oct 2014 to about 60 percent now. Under a sub mission of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), safe drinking water to over 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations will be provided in the next four years. Arsenic poisoning has, over the years, affected about 30 districts of Uttar Pradesh, due for elections in a few days. In the Union Budget 2017, presented on Wednesday, the government barred cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh and slashed Income Tax rates. It is also moving to abolish the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), while FDI is getting a big makeover. Heres a recap of Budget Day: Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. Located in central Tokyo, Tsukiji is the largest fish market in the world with separate wholesale and retail areas. Besides being the source for most of the fresh fish served in Tokyos sushi bars and restaurants, Tsukiji is the best food court imaginable. On a recent trip to the market, like everyone else on the crowded sidewalk, I had come to see what wonderful ready-to-eat dishes were for sale. I didnt know what I wanted, but I knew I would find something delicious at one of the closet-sized stalls. In those tiny spaces, chefs stand close to customers as they prepare sushi and sashimi with freshly caught ingredients. Fat oysters steam in shinny stainless steel pots. Thick braids of smoke rise up from scallops and crabs cooking on blazingly hot grills. Tempura vegetables and shrimp sizzle in hot oil before arriving crisp and tender on a paper plate. Ramen noodles are drained and ladled into large bowls with servings of thick savory broth, topped with slices of sticky pork and half a hard-boiled egg. The great variety of dishes available means a stall selling curry is a few steps from another selling shumai and pork-filled bao, and that stall is around the corner from a cook grilling skewered scallops topped with sea urchins. I wanted to taste everything. And yet, for all these wondrous treats, the city of Tokyo wants to tear down the market. The last time I visited, the city had slated Tsukiji for demolition. That the market was still open was a wonderful surprise. Visiting Tsukiji this trip, I felt like I was seeing a long-lost friend. I brought my video camera to record what it is like to walk through the market before it is gone forever. Urban progress, a culinary loss So, if Tsukiji is so wonderful, why does the city want to tear it down? The market occupies valuable real estate in a congested part of Tokyo. In a real estate-starved city, the market occupies acres of land that could be used to construct large building complexes that would bring in much needed revenue. Tearing down the market would also eliminate the truck traffic in and out of the wholesale market. So it makes sense to move Tsukiji out of the city. On the other hand, removing Tsukiji is bad for tourism because every day thousands of people crowd the sidewalks and walkways inside the retail areas. The conflict between these competing interests was all but resolved when the city spent $5.71 billion U.S. (588 billion) to construct a replacement facility in Toyosu, Koto, a suburb of Tokyo. So why is the market still open? The previous governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, had made closing Tsukiji a priority. With the 2020 Olympics coming, the land was needed for other purposes and his administration said there were sanitary problems at an antiquated facility that opened in 1935. When Yuriko Koike was elected governor in 2016, she reopened an inquiry into the cost overruns at the new Toyosu facility and she took seriously vendor complaints that rents at the new facility were considerably higher than at Tsukiji. So much higher that many preferred to go out of business rather than relocate to Toyosu. Those issues were important, but what halted the demolition was something unexpected. Remarkably, the Toyosu facility was constructed on landfill polluted by a gas plant, the previous tenant. Those health reasons were serious enough for Gov. Koike to halt the relocation of Tsukiji. For now, the market is open for business. For how long is the question. A modified demolition has been proposed that would keep the retail part of the market where it is. The food stalls would continue to feed the many visitors and locals. The wholesale operation would move to Toyosu. But if that will happen and when are open questions. At the moment, Tsukijis demolition is still part of the citys master plan. If you are going to visit Tokyo, put Tsukiji at the top of your list of destinations to visit. Come hungry because you will want to sample the ready-to-eat food. Allow several hours so you can explore the market without rushing. Absorb the sights and aromas of the market. Take it all in as if this were your last visit, because it just might be. New Delhi: Overruling demands from the Opposition to postpone the presentation of the Union Budget following the death of IUML leader E Ahamed, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today allowed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to carry out the exercise saying it was a "constitutional obligation". Initially, there were doubts on whether Budget presentation could be postponed since the practice is to adjourn the House for the day as a mark of respect in case of death of a sitting member. E Ahamed, who represented Malappuram constituency in Kerala, passed away in the wee hours on Wednesday. Even as Opposition parties led by Congress and the Left, protested and demanded that the presentation be postponed, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the first General Budget, that also subsumed the Railway Budget. "Today's sitting has been fixed by the President for presenting the Union Budget 2017-18... It is a constitutional obligation," Mahajan said while mentioning that the House is generally adjourned as a mark of respect in case of death of a sitting member. Due to this "exceptional situation", the House will go ahead with Budget presentation as listed on the agenda but will not sit tomorrow as a mark of respect for the departed, Mahajan said before asking Jaitley to present the Budget. Opposing the Speaker's decision to allow Budget presentation, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said it should be postponed as a mark of respect for Ahamed, who was a very senior leader. "Ahamed was on duty when he died...", Kharge said. Peeved over the decision, Left parties, including most of the members from Kerala, walked out of the House. However, they returned to the House some time later. Amid the Opposition protests, Mahajan told the members to "please cooperate". As soon as Jaitley started speaking at around 11.10 am, some Opposition members who were protesting calmed down. Kharge was heard saying that the sky is not going to fall if the presentation is postponed. Prior to Budget presentation, the House stood in silence as a mark of respect for Ahamed -- a sitting member and former Union Minister -- who died after suffering cardiac arrest yesterday during the President's address to the joint sitting of the Parliament. Jerusalem: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-anticipated visit to Israel will likely take place later this year in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, according to a media report. India's ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told local news portal 'Ynet' about the visit as the two countries are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations. Kapoor also mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under the "Make in India" campaign. Other informed sources told PTI that the dates have not yet been finalised by the two sides but "it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017." India's relations with Israel have made steady progress since the two countries established diplomatic relations 25 years ago in January 1992 even as New Delhi has generally shied away from visits at the highest level in the past. The BJP-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to the Jewish state. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejee's invitation which was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi coming after a gap of almost 20 years. The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003 when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Relations between the two countries have constantly shown an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. Modi's visit is being discussed amid talks of a "close chemistry" between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders have already met twice on foreign soil on the outskirts of UN related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. "I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened," Modi told Netanyahu during their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015. The Israeli Premier had then promptly responded saying, "in your case too". New Delhi: Before we get to the macroeconomic picture painted by Budget 2017 let us take into account what has happened since Demonetization. In the three months since November, the economic data suggests that private consumption (the goods people buy in markets, stores and malls) has fallen. Private investments have also been affected while exports have remained sluggish due to weak global growth. A textbook economics response would be to increase government spending to pick up the economic slack and Budget 2017 has resorted to it. While recognizing that three of the four engines of economic growth are faltering, the Budget has used the lone engine at its disposal (government spending) to spur economic growth by focusing on manufacturing, particularly in labour-intensive sectors. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a tax break for 96% of Indian firms, which come under the generic label of small and medium firms. These are the firms that employ 10 or 15 workers, but contribute disproportionately to employment and exports and a cut in the corporate tax rate should make them more competitive. The Finance Minister has also allocated a massive Rs 2.4 lakh crore rupees to transportation (rail, roads and shipping) to spur economic activity and create jobs. Schemes for labour-intensive sectors like leather, textiles and food processing have been announced in order to give a fillip to employment. Upasna Bhardwaj, an economist with Kotak Mahindra bank told News18 that the Budget had done a balancing act between upping government spending while at the same time keeping in mind the need to not deviate from the path of fiscal consolidation. Fiscal consolidation refers to the need to shrink the gap between the governments revenues and its expenditure. A deficit indicates that expenditure is greater than revenue. A large deficit puts a nations public finances under watch from international rating agencies. The fiscal deficit was supposed to come down to 3% of GDP for FY 2017-18, but Jaitley has indicated that it will be 3.2%, keeping in view the governments spending commitments. However, some of the numbers that the government expects to receive as revenue in FY 2017-18 seem to be optimistic. The estimate of a 17% increase in tax revenue seems optimistic, especially given the uncertainty after Demonetisation and collections under the Goods and Services Tax. Then, the government has estimated that it will receive an amount of Rs 72,500 crore from selling stakes in PSUs. However, a successful disinvestment programme needs rising stock markets, which is a big assumption. On the subsidy front the government has penciled in a lower amount towards petroleum subsidy, an amount of Rs 25,000 crore next fiscal Vs Rs 29,000 crore in the current year. The assumption here is that international crude oil prices will continue to remain low. This again is an assumption that could go wrong, since there are signs that global oil prices have started to move north. The budget math seems to have bet big on investing on infrastructure and industry to spur growth while not upsetting the rating agencies either. New Delhi: In the Budget, the government reiterated its commitment to reform political funding, blamed as the root of all corruption plaguing India. The steps adopted include capping the maximum cash donation to Rs 2,000 from any one source, limiting donations to political parties to cheque and digital transactions, and to making IT returns for political parties compulsory. But one measure stood out. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to amend the RBI Act and issue something called electoral bonds. So just what is this new beast? We wish we could give you a comprehensive explainer, but the government has been stingy with details. Doesn't matter, here is all that you need to know until the government comes with its own explainer. What is a bond? A bond is a debt security, similar to an IOU. Borrowers issue bonds to raise money from investors willing to lend them money for a certain amount of time. When you buy a bond, you are lending to the issuer, which may be a government, municipality, or corporation. What is the 'electoral bond'? An instrument that will be used to donate money to political parties. The parties involved will probably be a donor, the political party and the RBI, which acts as the intermediary. Is it the first of its kind in the world? It may be. None of the electoral finance experts that News18 spoke to could recall of a similar approach to political party funding from any other democracy around the world. Jagdeep Chhokar of the Association of Democratic Reforms said that while there were electoral trusts in India, electoral bonds are new. Wait, you mean I buy the bond and will be able to redeem it at a later date? Well, we don't think so. The FM says wait for a new scheme in this regard that will have all details. Obviously, it can't be called political 'funding' if the party will have to return the money at a later date with or without interest. What we understand is that this one will be more akin to a bail bond than a financial bond. One possibility is that RBI will issue these bonds through designated banks. Say, if you want to donate Rs 25,000 to a party of your choice, you can buy 5 of the Rs 5,000 bonds and donate. So the government knows who bought it and what his source of income is, but it wouldnt know who he donated it to. The party can go to the bank and redeem the Rs 25,000. The donor if he wants can choose to be anonymous. How will it be introduced? The government proposes to design a scheme under which the issuance of electoral bonds to political parties will be sketched out. This would only be possible after an amendment to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act. Speaking to DD News, Jaitely gave an example of how Barack Obama funded his political campaign. "According to the electoral bonds scheme, a bank will be notified. Anyone can buy the donor bond from this bank, which will be encashed within a time limit. These bonds are then redeemable in an account which is owned by one party. One political party will have one account. There will be some anonymity on where the bonds are distributed," he said. How would transparency be maintained? To maintain transparency, donors can purchase bonds only through cheque or digital mode which helps track record of the source of the purchase. They shall be redeemable only in the designated account of a registered political party. These bonds will be redeemable within the prescribed time limit from issuance of bond. Will it have any effect in the upcoming assembly elections? No, this proposal would have no effect on the upcoming Assembly elections because even if the government scheme is ready to implement electoral bonds, an amendment to the RBI Act calls for the presentation of a separate amendment bill in both the houses. Arun Jaitley on electoral bonds Arun Jaitley while answering a Network18 question at a press conference clarified how will electoral bonds operate. "A notified bank will be issuing these bonds, any donor can buy those bonds by cheque or digital payment which will ensure it is only clean money, white money. These bonds by the donor can be given to the political parties which will be redeemable in a short period of time as will be mentioned in the scheme. The time will be as short as pragmatically possible. They will be redeemable in the notified account of the political party. This means every political party recognised by the EC has to notify one account to the EC in advance. This would involve donor giving clean money because it will be cheque paid, and the donor will receive the money in its party account. These bonds will be bearer in character because if names are disclosed then it is as good as issuing a cheque which is the present status quo and the present status quo hasn't worked. Because of the present status quo donors have preferred cash payment rather than disclosure of their identities. The present status quo has failed and hence we have to experiment with a new system. Method of enforcement is very simple, if you don't comply with this regulation, you lose your exemption," Jaitley said. Jackie Chan is in India to promote Sino-Indian production Kund Fu Yoga. Recently, the Hollywood actor met Salman Khan along with his co-star Sonu Sood and apart from clicking adorable photo holding little Panda toys, the actors also gave a message of brotherhood.Salman again shared a video of himself along with Chan and Sonu Sood saying, "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai."The actor has already confessed his fandom for Jackie Chan and is doing everything to spend as much time with his 'hero' as possible. Interestingly, Salman is also starring in another Sino-Indian collaboration, Tubelight, which stars Chineses actress Zhu Zhu.Keeping aside the political differences, it is nice to see film-celebrities coming together and collaborating to entertain the audience in both the nations. Thiruvananthapuram: Scores of BJP workers, journalists and policemen were injured on Wednesday as a party-sponsored hartal called to protest police action against BJP leaders agitating against the management of a prominent private law college in Keralas capital city turned violent. Among the injured were BJP state vice president PP Vava besides eight other party workers, four police officials, and three media persons. Vava suffered serious injuries on his head after he was hit by a tear gas shell. The Kerala Law Academy, one of the oldest privately-run institutions in the state, has been in the focus for the past three weeks after students started an indefinite strike demanding an end to management high-handedness and removal of principal Lakshmi Nair. BJP had called for a hartal in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday against the alleged police atrocity on their march on Tuesday. Former BJP state president V Muraleedharan, who was sitting on a hunger strike in front of the law college, has been shifted to a hospital. BJP state general secretary VV Rajesh will take his place on Thursday. Prominent Congress leader K Muraleedharan has said he too will start a hunger strike in solidarity with the students on Thursday. Incidentally, the students wing of the ruling CPM, SFI, had withdrawn their protest on Tuesday stating that the management had decided to keep principal Lakshmi Nair out of the college for five years. SFIs decision was panned by all other protesting student unions including AISF, the students wing of CPMs ruling coalition partner CPI. BJP has alleged that the college management has the blessings of the ruling CPM since the principal comes from an influential Left-affiliated family. The protesting students allege that principal Lakshmi Nair shows favouritism in allotting marks for internal assessment and attendance. Kerala Police has already registered a case against Lakshmi Nair based on the complaint lodged by a student named Vivek, a fourth semester LLB student of the college. According to police, she has been booked under 3(s) of The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which is a non-bailable offence. Panaji: Hailing the decision to restrict cash donations to political parties from individuals to Rs 2,000, BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday said though his party would also be hit by the move, the step was necessary to free politics from black money and for bringing transparency in the elections. During the Union Budget presented on Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to restrict cash donations to political parties from individuals to Rs 2,000 and introduced an 'electoral bonds' scheme. The move aims to cleanse the political funding system and check black money. "Modi, through the Union Budget, has made it clear that just like any common man does not have a right to evade tax or hold black money, even political parties will not be spared from paying the tax on any donation, which is more than Rs 2,000," Shah said. "We do agree that with this legislation, we (BJP) will also be affected, but we believe that it is our duty to free politics from black money. Elections in the country should be freed from the impact of black money. We want to have transparent elections in the country," the BJP president said. He was speaking at a public meeting in Bicholim constituency, his last rally for the February 4 Goa Assembly elections. "In the year 2016, we had promised that we will finish the effect of black money from politics in India. Since the time of Independence, no political party had dared to bring in the legislation governing funding to the political parties," he added. Shah said, "Modi's name would be taken with respect when the history about elections and transparency in democracy will be written." Referring to other announcements in the Budget, Shah said it has given relief to the honest taxpayer of the country. "The special provision has also been made to provide loan to poor farmers through NABARD. The budget has also considered the unemployed youth, who can become an entrepreneur under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana," he said. New Delhi: The Congress has blasted the Central government for the alleged secrecy over the death of former Minister of state for External Affairs E Ahamed who suffered a cardiac arrest during the Presidents address in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Secrecy over Ahameds death was maintained for the Union budget. This is inhuman, Opposition leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said. It seems we are not human beings. We just want to bulldozed everything. Just to present the budget they did not disclose despite the fact he almost passed away the moment he collapse, he said. Meanwhile, Ahameds family accused that the authorities at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, where he was rushed to from Parliament, refused to allow them access to the leader. They also complained the authorities didnt seek their permission before moving Ahamed to ventilator support. Doctors told us that he was declared dead at 2.15 am, but we doubt this, one of them told CNN-News18. News channels in Kerala reported the family had filed a police complaint in this regard. This is absolutely unethical, said Ahameds daughter Fouzia, herself a doctor. Her husband Dr Babu Shehzad said this is shameful that this happening to a citizen of India. The other IUML Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, ET Mohammed Basheer, said not allowing the son and daughter of Ahmed to visit him in his last moments was cruel. New Delhi: A large part of the rhetoric on demonetisation has been restricted to finger pointing by parties at one others resource generation capacity and mechanism. Those in power have alleged that any opposition to notebandi was equivalent to siding with the corrupt and black-marketers. Those against the proposition accused Treasury Benches of having leaked the privileged information to a select few. That the problem is more deep and widespread is evident from a recent report by a non-government organisation, Bihar Elections Watch, on political funding of parties in Bihar for a decade beginning 2004-2005. Based on the return filed by the parties, the data claims that more than 70% of the donations to national parties and close to 60% to regional were made is cash by anonymous donors. The Delhi-based think tank Association for Democratic Reforms or ADR also pegs this figure at 69% at the national level for the same period. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in capping the cash funding of parties to Rs 2000 has accepted Election Commissions recommendation to curb the use of black money in politics in general and electioneering in particular. The minister in his budget speech has announced that any funding above Rs 2000 would be done through cheques, digital transfer or bonds which would be issued by the RBI in favour of a particular party. The FMs proposal attempts to plug loopholes in the current laws on political donations exploited by parties to seek and mobilise funds. The political funding in India is regulated by Representation of Peoples Act, Conduct of Election Rules and Companies Act. As rules stand today, if one were to donate Rs 19,999 to a party, if was neither incumbent upon the donor not the party to make public details of the payee. Now if ten thousand such donors give one rupee less than the threshold figure, a party can mop up close to Rs 20 crore. In effect, by reducing the limit of the funding to one tenth, Jaitley is making this route of political funding non-viable. The ruling party has called the measure historic. Information and Broadcasting(I&B) Minister Venkaiah Naidu says people are anxious to see reforms in political funding and transparency of political parties. Congress VP Rahul Gandhi says his party backs any move to bring in reforms in political funding. But there are also skeptics like BJD MP BJ Panda who feels more needs to be done. EC should forcibly audit political parties, he says. CPI MP D Raja raises a red flag on the efficacy of the measures announced. He feels problem is with parties which do not disclose details of donors which give more than Rs 20,000. On the other hand we have large companies which give money to influence policies, he says, seeking measures to regulate corporate funding. Apart from measures to curb anonymous political funding, FMs speech has two other strong political messages intertwined to underscore the black-money narrative in poll-bound states. Proposed law against loan evaders and ban on any cash transaction above Rs 3 lakh. Prime Minster Modi addresses his first rally in poll-bound UP later this week in Meerut. And these precisely would be the measure he may list before the audience as fellow up measure after midnight demonetisation. Thailand might get more tourists from the Middle East as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's entry ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, the head of the tourism authority said on Monday. "The Middle East is a big market for us, especially in the medical tourism sector. They may choose to visit Thailand more and this may also boost our sector," Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters. He said Thailand would need to assess the situation further. Thailand's military government did not respond to a request for official comment on the ban. Trump has presented his ban as a way to protect the United States from Islamist militants, but it has been condemned by a growing list of foreign leaders and drawn protests by tens of thousands in American cities. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is the government agency responsible for promoting tourism to Thailand. Only just over 2 percent of Thailand's tourists came from the Middle East in 2016, but it expects an 8 percent rise in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the year before. Medical tourism is a growing market for Thailand. The largest operator is Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Pcl. Another is Bumrungrad Pcl.. Muslims represent the second biggest religious group in Thailand behind Buddhists, but make up only about 5 percent of the population. Bucharest: Thousands of Romanians took to the streets Tuesday night after the government issued a controversial emergency decree reducing the penalties for corruption in a move which will allow several politicians to avoid criminal prosecution. In Bucharest protestors gathered spontaneously in front of the seat of government, chanting "thieves" and calling for the resignation of the social democrat government, which has been in power for less than a month, AFP reporters saw. Protests also took place in several other cities, including Cluj, Sibiu, Timisoara and Iasi, according to Romanian media reports. They erupted immediately after the announcement of the emergency decree which could allow many politicians to escape criminal prosecution. Justice Minister Florin Iordache justified the changes, which bypass parliament and will enter into force almost automatically, as needed "to bring the legislation in line with the decisions of the constitutional court". Earlier this month the government of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu published the emergency decrees, sparking angry protests across the country and criticism from Romania's centre-right President Klaus Iohannis, who was elected in 2014 on an anti-graft platform. "It is a day of mourning for the rule of law, which has received a hard blow from the opponents of justice and in the fight against corruption," the head of state said in a statement Tuesday. Iohannis had even taken part in the first demonstrations against the legal changes. "This government has chosen to pass its ordinances secretly because it is afraid," said Martina, an international relations student at the demonstration in Bucharest, fearing a "backtrack" in the fight against corruption. "Nothing gives them the legitimacy to do that ... It's a return to the period of 15 years ago," echoed Cristian Clot, an IT employee. The gatherings dispersed without incident. - Changes benefit party leader - The legal changes decriminalise several offences and makes abuse of power punishable by incarceration only if it results in a monetary loss of more than 44,000 euros ($47,500). The changes will notably allow social democrat leader Liviu Dragnea, who went on trial Tuesday for abuse of power, to avoid prosecution. Prosecutors have put the amount of money involved in his case at 24,000 euros, well below the new threshold. The government did, however, send for parliament's approval another pardon law which would free inmates serving sentences of up to five years for non-violent crimes to help ease pressure on Romania's overcrowded prisons. The government had earlier announced that this too would be the subject of an emergency decree. Dragnea's leftist PSD party romped to victory in December elections but President Iohannis refused to appoint him prime minister because of his previous voter fraud conviction in 2012, for which he was handed a suspended jail sentence. Tens of thousands of people had protested in Bucharest and other Romanian towns on Sunday calling for both proposed changes to the penal code to be scrapped. Both texts have also been denounced by several Romanian officials and institutions, including the attorney general Augustin Lazar, anti-corruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi, and High Court president Cristina Tarcea. On Tuesday the government's Department for the Fight against Fraud (DLAF) joined the critics, arguing that the easing of the rules limits its capacity "to efficiently protect the interests of the EU in Romania". In its annual report released last week, the European Commission, which is closely monitoring justice reforms in Romania, warned against any proposals that seek to slacken the fight against corruption in one of Europe's poorest countries. Avdiivka: The UN Security Council Tuesday called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Ukraine where three days of fighting in a flashpoint town have left at least 13 dead and thousands of locals without power in freezing conditions. Endorsing a Kiev-drafted statement that did not raise objections from Russia, members "expressed grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population." The Council's unanimous call came as Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels were locked in fighting for a third straight day in the flashpoint town of Avdiivka that has also sparked renewed EU concern about security in its backyard. The industrial hub came under an unexpected assault Sunday from insurgents seeking to wrest back territory controlled by Kiev during the nearly three-year war. The clashes have claimed the lives of at least 13 civilians and fighters on both sides since Sunday -- the worst outburst of violence since the two sides agreed a new truce on December 23. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko underscored the urgency of the situation by cutting short a visit to Berlin on Monday and convened an emergency meeting of his National Security and Defence Council. Poroshenko is worried that Donald Trump's rise to the US presidency and praise for Russia's Vladimir Putin may add fuel to a conflict that began shortly after Ukraine's 2014 ouster of its Moscow-backed leader and tilt toward the West. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the Kremlin was "extremely worried" but had "reliable information" that renegade units of pro-Kiev fighters were in fact responsible for the initial attacks. An AFP reporter saw the separatists shell the town of about 20,000 people with repeated rounds of Grad multiple rocket systems and artillery fire from the early morning. "Right now, there is no power. We have not resolved problems with heating homes, and the gas pipe has been shattered," local Ukrainian army unit spokeswoman Olena Mokrynchuk told AFP. The town's military administrator Freedon Vekua told AFP he was preparing for a possible evacuation of the town that sits just north of the rebels' de facto capital of Donetsk because of the power outage. Ukraine is struggling through freezing conditions in which temperatures drop to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. "The issue of an evacuation has not been decided fully. We see it as our very last resort because there is still a chance of restoring heating," said Vekua. The town's heating is provided by a coke plant that has been heavily damaged by the falling shells. Plant director Musa Magomedov said it would be incredibly difficult to resume gas production were the factory's generators shut down. That would leave Avdiivka without a source of local power and uncertainty about its future. The fighting has prevented repairs being carried out, Magomedov said. - Global condemnation and concern - The Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) is responsible for monitoring ceasefire violations and organising peace talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine. It helped negotiate a February 2014 truce deal in Minsk that was co-sponsored by Germany and France and which EU leaders cling on to as the one remaining roadmap to peace. "The intense fighting around Avdiivka in the last few days... is a blatant violation of the ceasefire, as stipulated by the Minsk agreements," the EU foreign affairs arm said in a statement. The OSCE said the fighting was "of grave concern" while the US embassy tweeted that it was especially worried about "the 2,500 children who are without water, electricity and heat". Charge d'affaires Kate Byrnes of the US mission to the OSCE's Permanent Council said that "Russia and the separatists initiated the violence in Avdiivka". Washington was "deeply concerned" and called for an immediate ceasefire "to avert a larger humanitarian crisis", State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people since 2014 -- more than half of them civilians -- and plunged Moscow's relations with the West to a post-Cold War low. The Kremlin denies backing the insurgents and only admits that Russian "volunteers" and off-duty soldiers have entered the warzone of their own free will. Washington: The White House on Tuesday hinted that Pakistan, considered by many as harbinger of terrorism, could be included in US President Donald Trump's travel ban list. "Why not Pakistan," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked when he appeared at the George Washington University on Trump Administration and the News Media. "Maybe we will," Spicer said, responding to the question, which has been trailing senior White House officials ever since US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prevented people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US. These countries are Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. For the past few days, top White House officials have been asked why the list does not include countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. Over the weekend, the White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said that Pakistan is under consideration. "I believe it (ban) only has detrimental effects on the countries it has included and if that is extended to Pakistan it will create a whole host of hostilities," Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had told a Washington audience yesterday in response to a question. The White House Press Secretary indicated that Pakistan could very well be part of that list. "Maybe we will. The bottom line is we started with the seven countries that have previously been identified, did a 90-day review. Maybe during that 90-day review we find other countries or we take someone off or whatever. But it is a review process," Spicer said in response to the question at George Washington University. "Our number one priority as a government and as leaders is to protect the 324 million people who live in this country. So I understand that people may be inconvenienced a little coming into the nation. But this is our nation, our country. Our first and foremost responsibility is to our people," he said. "If people want to come to this country and visit or travel or study, then we welcome them. We've always been a welcoming country. But the idea that we should just have an open door and let people in willy-nilly is ridiculous," Spicer said. DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 1, 2017 / In the latest study analyzing the most affordable U.S. cities for renters, Texas was well represented, with numerous metros scoring favorably and three cities being ranked among the top 15. Marcus Hiles, the state's leading provider of luxury rental communities, credits the impressive standings to the Lone Star State's ability to generate well paying jobs, explaining that the high average income allows for landlords to maintain market rates and improve their properties without burdening renters. Hiles, as the CEO of Western Rim Property Services, creates inspired homes surrounded by scenic landscapes, state of the art amenities, and comprehensive lifestyle services. Utilizing U.S. Census Bureau data, apartment search website RENTCafe conducted a study of the 100 largest cities in the nation, comparing median incomes to rent figures to determine the most affordable U.S. cities to live in. Based on the results, three north Texas cities - Plano, Irving, and Garland - placed in the top 15 best places for renters, with residents retaining on average as much as $43,000 after all living costs. Dallas and El Paso, followed closely by Austin and San Antonio, also achieved impressive income to rental price ratios. Citing ATTOM Data Solutions' 2017 Rental Affordability Report, Marcus Hiles noted that in Dallas/Fort Worth, renting is already more cost efficient than owning a house, a trend that is expected to continue throughout 2017 as mortgage rates and home prices continue to rise. Rounding out the Texas metros scoring in the top 50 were Houston, Corpus Christi, and Fort Worth, with residents spending slightly over 30 percent of their income each month on housing. Hiles indicated that a common factor among the cities to make the list was the presence of major employers in rapidly growing sectors like technology and healthcare and a higher than average young adult population. For example, in a new study from personal finance website NerdWallet, Austin, TX was rated as the best metro in the country for high paying jobs and affordability. Here, the thousands of jobs provided by Dell, Apple and IBM combined with an eclectic nightlife and live music scene have caused young professionals from around the country to flock to Austin, and they are seeking rentals at reasonable rates. "Affordability is a key part of why millenials are deciding to move to the Midwest, as opposed to job centers on the East or West coast," Realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke told Construction Dive in November. "There is a huge disparity in how many dollars are needed to get a home in Des Moines versus San Francisco". Marcus Hiles is a real estate expert specializing in the development and operation of luxury rental communities throughout the state of Texas. A graduate of Rice University, Hiles founded Western Rim Property Services in 1988 with the goal of fulfilling the unmet demand for affordable high-end living. Nearly three decades later, the company operates 15,000 units and is recognized annually as a National Award Winner for resident satisfaction. Marcus Hiles - Chairman & CEO of Western Rim Property Services: http://www.MarcusHiles-News.com MarcusHilestx (Marcus Hiles) - DeviantArt: http://marcushilestx.deviantart.com Marcus Hiles (@marcus_hiles) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcus_hiles Marcus Hiles - New Luxury Apartments in Frisco, TX - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmsJNbfOh-g Contact Information MarcusHiles-News.com www.MarcusHiles-News.com marcus@marcushiles-news.com SOURCE: Marcus Hiles GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us. Happy like Papi Cape is delighted over the historic collaboration between the two top soca artistes and sees the outcome as a great message of healing. The local music industry has been abuzz with the surprise release of the duos groovy single, Buss Head. The song was released last Friday and has since gone viral in various music circles. I think it is something fantastic - really a proud moment for the soca movement. This makes me feel good, Im thrilled! Cape said. ... After 57 years of being a musician, its fantastic that I would actually live to see this moment. They (Montano and Alvarez) have been kind of apart for some time, so for them to do a collaboration it would have to mean that things have gotten better personally and professionally. There had to be a mutual feeling of respect there. The song is a great message of healing, and it is a call to action for everyone responsible for pushing our culture forward and upward, Cape said in a media release. He commended the two former International Soca Monarch kings for displaying their growth through the art form and encouraged others to step up and do the same, the release said. When Roy Cape All Stars came into existence almost 40 years ago, the goal was always success and togetherness; the band will always be a space where artistes and musicians could feel safe and hone their various creative talents, Cape said. Apart from the main front line vocalist, Blaxx, this year the All Stars has added two more Caribbean artistes - Tizzy from Antigua and Teddyson John of Saint Lucia, while Ricardo Drue of Antigua has been a staple with the band. Cape said: Bunji and Machel are setting an example through art. This generation must continue to do the work. A collaboration like this between two of our most popular, talented soca artistes is exactly what our industry needs more of to be respected on the international stage - excellence, respect and unity. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT US$2M At 10am, Ragoonanan and the other relative were detained by a party of officers from the Customs and Excise and the TT Police Services Financial Intelligence Bureau (FIB). He was interrogated for several hours at FIBs office in Port-of-Spain into alleged money laundering, drug smuggling and smuggling of US currency into the country. But speaking with Newsday, Ragoonanan insisted he is being victimised and his name and character dragged through the mud by the State. Ragoonanan, 39, was released from police custody at about 6.30 pm and walked out of the FIB office accompanied by his attorney Gerald Ramdeen. Ragoonanan who has been given State contracts to build schools and has a lucrative scaffolding and party rental company, said that during his eight-hour detention at the FIB office, he was questioned about his bank account and was asked repeatedly if he had any money in the United States, the British Virgin Islands and also if he was connected to any businesses (legal or otherwise) in those countries. During the interrogation, Ragoonanan said, at no time was he asked about US$2 million which was found among plywood sheets in a container at the Point Lisas port in early November. I know nothing about that money. I dont know how my name became linked to that and to my utter surprise, minutes after I was detained it was being reported on the radio news and online, that I was arrested and that charges were being laid against me for the US$2 million found in the container, Ragoonanan said. The businessman said he cooperated fully with the police and said he has nothing to hide. He believes he is being made a scapegoat by police and the Customs and Excise who are under immense pressure (political and otherwise) to arrest and charge someone in connection with the find. Ragoonanan said the entire incident yesterday had left him drained and under severe emotional stress. He fears his reputation and even business prospects could be negatively affected by the actions of the state and by media reports. He said if the authorities are truly interested, they can make their background checks into him and his business to see that he is legitimate. In December, police and Customs and Excise officers raided Ragoonanans businessplace in Santa Cruz and seized documents and a hard drive from his computer. He was advised by officers of the FIB that he was the subject of an investigation and an effort would be made to interview him at a later date. Two other businessmen were also questioned in connection with the US$2 million find. On November 2, a container with false documents arrived at the Port in Pt Lisas and a few days later a search was carried out of the container and US$2 million was found in blue crocus bags between plywood sheets. The money is under lock and key at the Central Bank. Yesterday sources at the FIB and Customs and Excise told Newsday they were working closely with US Customs and Border Protection in Tortola and Miami to bring closure to the investigation. No One Has Done This Before in Billboard's History After 13 years of marriage to an allegedly abusive husband, a Muslim mother in India is formally protesting how easy it was for him to leave herhe divorced her by writing a letter containing the word "talaq," or divorce, three times, to her parents. "I was not even present when he wrote the word 'divorce,'" says the 35-year-old woman who goes by Shayara, per the Washington Post. "What kind of a one-sided, unfair divorce is this?" A long-established one, as it turns out. India's Muslims follow the controversial "triple talaq" law, which allows husbands to divorce their wives by merely uttering the wordor writing it, or texting it, or even Skyping itthree times. The practice is banned in much of the Islamic world, reports the BBC, and now India's Supreme Court is deciding whether it is unconstitutional, based on Shayara's case. "Muslim women have their hands tied while the guillotine of divorce dangles, perpetually ready to drop at the whims of their husbands, who enjoy undisputed power," says Shayara in her petition to the court. She also wants it to outlaw polygamy as well as a practice called halala, in which a woman who wishes to remarry her divorced husband must for some reason marry a second man first, reports India Today. Shayara is under pressure from local Islamic leaders to drop the case, but she has no intention to do so. If she succeeds in having her divorce declared illegal, Shayara also has no intention of going back to her husband, reports Indian Express. She will instead seek divorce through legal channels. (See how one man divorced his wife on Skype.) While President Trump's executive order banning refugees and others from seven Muslim nations had the appearance of being wildly unpopularmassive protests, lawsuits from multiple states, etc.that's apparently not the case. A Reuters poll released Tuesday found 49% of American adults agree with the ban, while only 41% disagree with it. The results were split almost entirely along party lines. However, Slate reports the results were different when the question was phrased generally and without reference to Trump's executive order, with 44% saying the US should keep taking in immigrants and refugees, and 43% saying it shouldn't. The poll also found 56% of American adults think the US should "welcome Christian refugees, but not Muslim ones," something Trump has suggested. The online poll surveyed 1,201 people. (Read more refugees stories.) In March of 2013, after enduring weeks of beatings at the hands of her mother's now husband, 5-year-old Soren Chilson finally succumbed to a fatal blow to the head. One South Carolina detective called her death "one of the most brutal things I have ever seen," while an attorney says her death was a "month-long killing," per People. This week, mom April Victoria Gleason, and her husband, Phillip Gleason, were sentenced to 18 and 38 years, respectively, but WBTV adds a twist: They're expecting another child in April. The case revealed chilling texts in which the couple talked about the beatings and at times seemed to make light of them. In one, the girl's mother wrote that she was ready to perform "Soren-cide" because her daughter was apparently misbehaving. Phillip Gleason's defense argued that the Iraq war veteran was suffering PTSD and traumatic brain injury, which the prosecuting attorney called a "slap in the face to every veteran." Phillip Gleason took photos and video of the injured girl, writing in one text, "She will suffer my rules," and in another, "I just knocked the [expletive] out of her," per the Herald. Authorities say Soren's mother made no attempt to stop the beatings, even buying cream to cover up the injuries, reports the Charlotte Observer. She says she is "not a monster" and that Soren was the "joy" of her life. One of the first responders who held Soren's hand as she died choked up when asked to describe the girl's injuries during sentencing. "Soren endured a living hell," he said. (One teen mom taped her whimpering toddler to the wall.) It was already a rare occurrence when a group of chimpanzees murdered one of their ownand then they started eating the body. In a study published last week in the International Journal of Primatology, researchers recount only the ninth recorded murder of a chimp by its own community. In 2007, Foudouko was the leader of a group of more than 30 chimps in Senegal, National Geographic reports. He was nicknamed "Saddam," and anthropologist Jill Pruetz tells New Scientist he was "somewhat of a tyrant." But Foudouko was overthrown and exiled for years, living on the edges of his former community. Then in 2013, he was killed by a group of younger males. The violence didn't stop there. The community spent nearly four hours brutalizing Foudouko's body, according to a press release. They broke his bones, beat him with rocks, ripped at his body, and ate parts of him. Pruetz says she was "really disturbed" for days after watching video of the incident. Humans may ultimately be responsible for the rare and gruesome violence that befell Foudouko. His community has nearly twice as many male chimps as females, likely due to poachers targeting female chimps. This increases tensions in the community, and Foudouko may have been killed for approaching a female in heat. Horrifying as the incident may have been, one expert says it can help us better understand how chimp societies function. (A lonely, deer-humping monkey shocked scientists and the internet.) An unrepentant serial rapist believed to have attacked up to 1,000 women has finished a 24-year prison sentence in Canada, but he won't be enjoying a minute of freedom there. Instead, guards will accompany Selva Kumar Subbiah on a plane back to his native Malaysia and hand police files on him to authorities there, the Toronto Star reports. The 56-year-old, who moved to Canada in 1980, was convicted in 1992 of drugging and raping dozens of women; authorities believe there were hundreds more victims. Subbiah pretended to have exotic pets for sale or posed as a modeling agent or movie producer to lure women to the basement of his home, where he offered them drugged drinks before raping them and taking "trophy" photos. Officials say Subbiah served his sentence in full because he showed no remorse or any sign of empathy for his victims. "You are the worst offender and the highest risk that has ever come before me in my career," immigration official Andrew Laut said at a hearing Monday. Retired Toronto cop Brian Thomson tells the Toronto Sun that he and his partner spoke to more than 500 women who were attacked by Subbiah. "In a heartbeat, he will reoffendthere is no doubt in my mind," Thomson says. He adds, "He is a total, classic psychopath. I've met a lot of interesting people. He is the scariest I've ever met." The Malaysia Star reports that Malaysian police will meet Subbiah at the airport and plan to monitor him closely. (Cops looked into five sexual assaults and ended up finding 27.) Nearly 19 years to the day that Susan Brouk and her two children were taken to a Missouri pond and killed, one of the men responsible for the crime was put to death Tuesday. Mark Christeson was given a lethal injectionMissouri's first execution since May, the AP reports. Christeson, 37, was hours away from execution in 2014 when the US Supreme Court granted a temporary stay. This time, though, the court allowed the execution to proceed, and Gov. Eric Greitens declined a clemency request for Christeson, the first inmate to be put to death since the Republican took office. Christeson was pronounced dead at 7:05pm CST, eight minutes after the lethal injection, a Department of Corrections spokesman said. The killings of 36-year-old Brouk, her 12-year-old daughter, Adrian, and 9-year-old son, Kyle, traumatized the rural area around the south-central Missouri town of Vichy. Christeson, then 18, was running away from home with a cousin in 1998 and planned to steal Brouk's vehicle. Christeson raped Brouk and decided to murder the family after Adrian recognized him and said his name, according to court records. "It was a heinous crime. I'm just happy to see justice finally served," said Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman after Christeson's execution, which he witnessed. "I have regrets for the family that it took so long, but I hope it provides closure to them." (Last week, Texas executed a man for killing two former colleagues at a Subway.) For 71 years, "we didn't even know about her. I'm getting tears now just thinking about it," says Thelma Janes of Canada, days after discovering she has a Belgian sister. Janes' father, Herbert Louis Hellyer, married and had five children in British Columbia before heading off to war in 1939, reports CBC News. He returned from Belgium after six years, having suffered a serious brain injury, and committed suicide in 1948. Unbeknownst to any of his children in Canada, Hellyer also left behind their half-sister overseas, the result of an affair he had while stationed in Ghent. Belgium's Florence Heene, 71, who knew only that her father was a Canadian soldier named Herbert, found his photo in a box of her mother's things and shared it on Facebook recently in an effort to find out more about him. Hellyer's great-granddaughter saw the photo circulating in the media in Canadaa blogger at the Toronto Sun was among those on the caseand thought it looked familiar. In a box of her own mother's items, she found an identical picture Hellyer had sent home during the war, signed, "Love from Daddy." "I'm an elderly woman, I know what went on in the war and it's to be expected," Janes, 79, says of her father's affair. But the discovery of a half-sister left her in "absolute shock," she says. Several family members have since reached out to Heene to share their father's story and to welcome her to the family. Heene, for her part, tells the CBC that "I have the piece [of my life] that I was looking for," she says. (Read more World War II stories.) mike hager A Michigan man falsely claimed his mother died in Iraq after President Donald Trump's travel ban went into effect, a local imam said Wednesday. Mike Hager, the man, had told a local Fox affiliate that his mother was stranded at an Iraqi airport after Trump's executive order barring immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries went into effect on Saturday. Hager an American citizen and a former refugee from Iraq said he was allowed to board a flight home, while his mother was not. Hager said he had traveled to Iraq with relatives to visit his ailing mother. "They destroyed us. I went with my family, I came back by myself," Hager said. "They destroyed our family." However, a local imam, Husham Al-Hussainy, clarified to the Fox affiliate that Hager's mother had actually died on January 22, five days before Trump signed the executive order. Al-Hussainy said Hager's mother had been receiving treatment for kidney disease in Michigan. Since Trump's election in November, there have been several incidents in which local officials have said individuals embellished incidents related to the president. A Muslim teenager who reported being harassed on the New York City subway by supporters of Trump fabricated the story in December, police said. And an 18-year-old student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette who claimed that she was assaulted and robbed by two white men in the morning after Trump's election admitted to police she fabricated the incident. NOW WATCH: Trump's Attorney General pick wants access to everyone's phones here's why that's a problem More From Business Insider The year was 1968, and John Hartley Robertson, a 36-year-old US Green Beret who worked in a top-secret unit, was in a chopper over the jungles of Laos when a Vietcong rocket shot into the sky and straight into the helicopter, which plummeted and exploded in a valley. Robertson's body was never recovered and he was presumed dead, as Matthew Shaer explains in a deep dive for Atavist, but his story was far from over. In 2008, 40 years after Robertson's disappearance, a Christian missionary named Tom Faunce started hearing rumors of a man from South Vietnam by the name of Dang Tan Ngoca man who claimed he was Robertson, despite a declaration by a 1993 Senate committee that there was "no compelling evidence" any MIA Americans could still be alive in Southeast Asia. Faunce met with the man claiming to be Robertson, as did a recruit who'd trained under him, Robertson's sister, and documentary filmmakers who put together a movie about himand they all insisted it was him, despite muddled forensic evidence and the fact he couldn't speak English (supposedly due to his trauma). Then, a shocker: "Robertson" was exposed by POW investigators as a fraud. When Shaer went to Vietnam to talk to locals, he found out Ngoc was a Vietnamese native raised in Saigon and, in a bizarre twist, he'd acted in a film in the part of an American pilot who was shot down. He'd latched onto the details from that role to formulate a fictitious life"the type of fiction that [allowed people] to locate in it a piece of themselves," Shaer writes. Atavist's fascinating read here, including how Faunce refused to believe the evidence against "Robertson." (A Hong Kong tycoon has vanished.) Coincidence or no? Three days after Kim Kardashian tweeted apparent criticism of President Trump's "Muslim ban," immigration officials decided to keep up with the Kardashians in the form of searching her family's jet when it landed at LAX, the Daily Beast reports. Kardashian, who had also retweeted others critical of the ban, tweeted a chart Sunday showing the number of Americans killed annually by such things as falling out of bed (737), armed toddlers (21), and being shot by another American (11,737) compared to the number killed annually by Islamic jihadist immigrants (2). Her family was in Costa Rica at the time, and upon their return to Los Angeles early Wednesday, immigration officials "scoured" the plane, per the Sun, which has photos. Later Wednesday, Kardashian was back in New York, testifying before a judge who flew in from France about her robbery case, TMZ reports. (One of the robbers explains how Kim was targeted.) A well-known underwater filmmaker from Canada is missing in the Florida Keys. CBC reports 37-year-old Rob Stewart was filming at the site of a shipwreck for a sequel to his 2006 documentary Sharkwater on Tuesday evening. Stewart and his diving partner were using closed-circulation rebreathing devices, which are good for filming wildlife because they don't create bubbles but are more dangerous than traditional scuba tanks, the Miami Herald reports. The two surfaced after their third dive of their day, but Stewart's diving partner passed out as he was getting into their boat, and the boat's crew lost sight of Stewart. The crew thinks Stewart likely also passed out and floated away. The Coast Guard and multiple other agencies are currently searching for the filmmaker. "If we're going to find him on the surface ... it's going to be today," Stewart's sister told CBC on Wednesday. She says people have been known to survive for up to three days while in the water off the Florida Keys. "We have hope," she tells the Toronto Star. Meanwhile, Stewart's family is asking anyone with the ability to join the search, which friends are funding with a GoFundMe page. (Read more Florida Keys stories.) A Trump administration official has called the president's travel ban a "massive success," but a CNN employee may beg to differ. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mohammed Tawfeeqan Iraqi national and permanent legal US resident who's an editor and producer for the news networkwas held at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Sunday evening as he returned after being on assignment in Iraq. Now Tawfeeq, who's enjoyed permanent resident status since 2013, is suing the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies for his detention, which the suit says was illegal. Per Courthouse News, Tawfeeq was returning to the US from Baghdad (he travels to the Middle East often for work) on Jan. 29 when a US Customs and Border Protection officer pulled him aside. Tawfeeq's green card and passport were examined, he was interrogated about his trip, and he was told he'd need to wait for "an email" from the proper authorities to clear him to enter the country. When he was finally allowed to leave, no one offered further explanation, and they didn't even stamp his passport or give him any entry papers. "The executive order has greatly increased the uncertainty involved in current and future international travel" for legal resident such as Tawfeeq, the suit claims, per the Hill. It also adds that, as a legal permanent resident, he should be afforded "greater procedural protections than non-immigrants/temporary aliens." A CNN rep says the network supports Tawfeeq and that his complaint "is a basic request to clarify and assert his rights under the law," per the Hill. (Read more Trump travel ban stories.) Betsy DeVos' confirmation vote in the Senate Wednesday will be tight: Two Republican senators announced Wednesday that they will oppose DeVos' nomination to be secretary of Education. Assuming all of the Senate's 48 Democrats also oppose DeVos, that means she'd have 50 yes votes and 50 no votes if no other Republicans oppose her, with Vice President Mike Pence potentially breaking the tie, the Hill reports. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the first to announce on the Senate floor that she would vote against DeVos, making her the first Republican to oppose one of President Trump's cabinet nominees. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the second to announce she would vote no. Collins said it was a "very difficult decision," but that she was "troubled and surprised" by DeVos' lack of familiarity with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Murkowski said she had "serious concerns" about DeVos, and that "thousands, truly thousands" of her constituents had called her expressing their own concerns. Both Collins and Murkowski expressed concerns with DeVos' support for school voucher programs, Politico reports. In order to avoid using Pence as a tie-breaker, Republicans would need to flip at least one Democrat up for re-election in a red state next yearand Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, seen as one of the most vulnerable Dems in such a position, also said Wednesday he would vote against DeVos. (Read more Betsy DeVos stories.) "Making a Murderer" Season 2 is reported to be released this year. The team is currently in Wisconsin to film the set for the second season. According to a report, there is less information regarding "Making a Murderer "Season 2 as of yet. Although the team is filming scenes for the docuseries in Wisconsin but there is no official release date of the show as of yet. It can be recalled that the first season had 10 episodes and came out in December 2015. "Making a Murderer" tells the story of Brendan Dassey and his uncle Steven Avery. They have been convicted because of killing Theresa Halbach in 2007. Making a Murderer Season 1 focused mainly on the murder trials of Avery and Dassey. The series also moved on to their conviction. The two claimed their innocence and confessed that the real murderer is still free. A judge overturned the conviction of Dassey five months ago. The decision that has been appealed to the state was to free Dassey. When the appeal was made, Dassey remains to be in prison. The judge had stated that there are significant doubts with the confessions of Dassey in "Making a Murderer" Season 1. Meanwhile, it is reported that co-creators Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi are currently in Wisconsin's Manitowac County. They are currently filming the case for "Making a Murderer" Season 2. In fact, Netflix Vice-President Cindy Holland shares that the two are shooting every day. Holland adds that the creators of the docuseries are trying to get the right story for "Making a Murderer" Season 2. She adds that there is no specific time frame s to when the episodes for the upcoming season will be ready. Netflix is just waiting for the episodes from Demos and Ricciardi. Fans can wait for "Making a Murderer" Season 2 and it is hinted to be released later this year. Shares of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MNTA shot up 25.2% after Mylan N.V. MYL announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has issued a decision in favor of the latter pertaining to claims related to Teva Pharmaceuticals TEVA Copaxone 40mg/mL. This news is a positive for Momenta as well, as the company, along with Novartis NVS generic arm-Sandoz Inc., is looking to get approval for their generic version (Glatopa 40 mg ) of 40-mg thrice-weekly formulation of Copaxone. The invalidated patents are United States Patent Numbers 8,232,250; 8,399,413; 8,969,302; and 9,155,776, which are owned by Yeda Research & Development Co., Ltd. and licensed to Teva. Earlier, in Dec 2016, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) reaffirmed a prior decision that three of these patents ('250, '413 and '302) are unpatentable in its inter partes review (IPR) proceedings initiated by Mylan. In addition, Mylan also challenged the '776 patent in an IPR proceeding. The PTAB is expected to issue its institution ruling on the '776 patent IPR by Apr 2017. Further, shares of Momenta have performed better than the Zacks categorized Medical-Biomedical and Genetics industry in the past one year with the stock gaining 50.1% compared to the industrys decline of 9%. Coming back to Momenta the company received a boost with the FDA approval of Glatopa 20 mg/ml (a generic version of Copaxone 20 mg) in Apr 2015. The company has a collaboration and license agreement with Sandoz for Glatopa and Enoxaparin Sodium Injection. The company earned a $10 million milestone from Sandoz upon Glatopas FDA approval and another $10-million milestone upon the first commercial sale of Glatopa. Momenta is also eligible to receive up to $120 million in milestone payments from Sandoz upon the achievement of certain regulatory, commercial and sales-based milestones for Glatopa. Momenta has recorded $715 million in product revenues as well as regulatory and commercial milestones related to Glatopa and Enoxaparin Sodium Injection until Sep 30, 2016. On the other hand, Teva is expected to face continued sales erosion for Copaxone due to increased competition. The generic market is highly crowded and Teva faces competition from players like Mylan, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited and Sandoz among others. Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price | Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote Zacks Rank & Key Picks Momenta currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Teva carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? As of early December, the 2016 Top 10 produced 5 double-digit winners including oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources which racked up a stellar +50% gain. The new list is painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Be among the very first to see it>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Novartis AG (NVS): Free Stock Analysis Report Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MNTA): Free Stock Analysis Report Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (TEVA): Free Stock Analysis Report Mylan N.V. (MYL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. operation atlantic resolve m1a2 abrams In January, a US Army brigade of nearly 3,500 troops and 2,700 pieces of heavy equipment arrived in Poland in the largest deployments of US troops and armor to that country. The brigade came with a simple mission integrate with the Polish army and deter Russia on all fronts. "Russian aggression takes many forms," Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of the US Army in Europe, told NBC News. "Cyber, misinformation, threatening other countries, Russian snap exercises. We're serious this is not just a training exercise. It's to demonstrate a strategic message that you cannot violate the sovereignty of members of NATO ... Moscow will get the message I'm confident of it. " The combine US and Polish forces immediately started training with tanks, artillery, and helicopters in an overt show of force. Meanwhile, US soldiers in Lithuania had just finished a similar exercise. Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary will all also see US troops deployed on a rotational basis. But the US assurance to vulnerable NATO states in the Baltics comes after a years-long Russian military buildup. Current and former US generals have expressed doubts about NATO's ability to deter or stop an outright attack from Russia, and a report from the think tank RAND Corp predicts that Russia could seize control of the Baltic States within 36 hours of a blitz-like invasion. However, experts around the world have noted Russian aggression via softer hybrid means like cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns could also be used against NATO nations in Eastern Europe. Additionally, Donald Trump has criticized NATO as being ineffectual and obsolete, sowing doubts among European leaders of whether or not the US would come to the aid of embattled European allies. For now, US forces will train, eat, and sleep alongside their European allies, meaning that a Russian attack of any sort on the Baltics will draw an immediate reaction from the US. Story continues Watch footage of the training exercises below: NOW WATCH: How Russia's most advanced military equipment stacks up against NATO hardware More From Business Insider New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday placed before Parliament some revealing data indicating that India's direct tax collection is not commensurate with the income and consumption pattern of the economy. Here are 15 shocking details - as mentioned by Jaitley in Budget 2017 - that indicate the direct tax collection is not commensurate with the income and consumption in the country. (1). 3.7 crore individuals filed tax returns in 2015-16. (2). 99 lakh showed income below the exemption limit of Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. (3). 1.95 crore showed income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. (4). 52 lakh showed income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. (5). Only 24 lakh people declared income above Rs 10 lakh. (6). Of 76 lakh individual assessees who declared income of above Rs 5 lakh, 56 lakh are in the salaried class. (7). Number of people showing income more than Rs 50 lakh in the country is only 1.72 lakh. (8). In the last five years, more than 1.25 crore cars have been sold. (9). Number of Indian citizens who flew abroad, either for business or tourism, is 2 crore in 2015. (10). Against estimated 4.2 crore persons engaged in organised sector employment, the number of individuals filing return for salary are only 1.74 crore. (11). As against 5.6 crore informal sector individual enterprises and firms doing small business, the number of returns filed by this category is only 1.81 crore. (12). Out of the 13.94 lakh companies registered in India upto March 31, 2014, 5.97 lakh companies have filed returns for Assessment Year 2016-17. (13). Of the 5.97 lakh companies which have filed returns for Assessment Year 2016-17 so far, as many as 2.76 lakh companies have shown losses or zero income. ALSO READ | Jaitley's Budget 2017 softens demonetisation blow: Major tax relief for small taxpayers, cash transaction above Rs 3 lakh barred; safety fund for Railways announced (14). Only 2.85 lakh companies have shown profit before tax of less than Rs 1 crore, 28,667 have shown profit between Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore, and only 7,781 companies have profit before tax of more than Rs 10 crore. (15). During the period November 8 to December 30, 2016, deposits between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 80 lakh were made in about 1.09 crore accounts with an average deposit size of Rs 5.03 lakh. Deposits of more than Rs 80 lakh were made in 1.48 lakh accounts with average deposit size of Rs 3.31 crore. This data mining will help us immensely expanding the tax net as well as increasing the revenues, which was one of the objectives of demonetisation," the Finance Minister said during the presentation of the budget in Parliament on Wednesday. (With inputs from PTI) READ: UNION BUDGET 2017-18 FULL COVERAGE For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Former Union minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader E Ahamed has passed away on Wednesday after he suffered a cardiac arrest, a senior doctor has confirmed. The 78-year-old Ahamed died at 2:15 am at RML hospital where he was admitted on Tuesday and put on artificial life support. E Ahamed has passed away at 2:15 am. His body has been taken to AIIMS hospital for embalming (a method to preserve a corpse from decaying) as the facility is not available at RML, a senior RML doctor told PTI. Ahameds body will be taken to Kerala later on Wednesday. The MP from Keralas Mallapuram suffered a cardiac arrest during the Presidents address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday. At around 2.15 PM, he was shifted to the RML trauma centres ICU where he was put on ventilator and breathed his last. A sitting member of parliament has passed away. Conventions dictate house adjourns after mourning but Feb 1 is another exceptional day. Government is under considerable pressure. Unprecedented situation for the house and govt as both will have to watch out for developments leading up to house proceedings. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides other party leaders had rushed to the hospital late at night and met Ahameds family. Ahameds family had alleged that they were not allowed to meet the leader. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Goa: Election Commission on Wednesday issued a show cause notice to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his bribery remarks in Goa. The commission has asked the minister to submit an explanation of the bribery remarks he made in Goa, by 3 February. Goa Forward Party on Monday filed a complaint with state Chief Electoral Office, saying that defence minister violated the model code of conduct by making a statement "similar" to the one made by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal who had purportedly asked people to accept money but vote for his party. The Goa Forward Party has attached a statement purportedly made by Parrikar during a BJP meeting in Chimble village, a suburb of state capital. He said, "....I understand if someone organises a rally and you take Rs 500 for moving around with (candidate), that is not a problem. But when you vote, choose the lotus (BJP's poll symbol)..This you must remember," Parrikar was quoted as saying by the Goa Forward party. Chimbel is the part of St Cruz constituency, where BJP has fielded its candidate for the 4 February elections. RELATED NEWS | Goa polls: Goa Police file FIR against Arvind Kejriwal over his bribery remarks Goa polls: EC directs necessary legal action against Arvind Kejriwal for his bribery remarks For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the death of Malappuram MP E Ahamed on Twitter. Ahamed who was the President of Indian Union Muslim League, a Congress ally in Kerala suffered a cardiac arrest during President's address in Parliament on the start of the Budget session. In a series of tweets, PM Modi said that he is saddened by the demise of E. Ahamed. He paid his condolences by saying that Ahamed served the nation with great diligence. In another tweet, the Prime Minister said that Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala's progress.He also hailed his role in deepening India's ties with West Asia. Saddened by the demise of Mr. E Ahamed, a veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence. My condolences. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 Mr. E Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala's progress. His role in deepening India's ties with West Asia was notable. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 The continuous efforts of Mr. E Ahamed for the empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 1, 2017 PM Modi also said that Ahamed's continuous efforts for the empowerment of the Muslim community will be remembered. Survived by 2 sons and 1 daughter, E Ahamed had served as Minister of State for External Affairs in the Manmohan Singh government. Also read: IUML MP E Ahamed passes away after cardiac arrest during Budget session For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday launched attack on Punjab deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President, Sukhbir Badal calling him aa hardened criminala in a series of tweets. AAP National convenor demandedA probe in Sukhbiras role in Bhatinda blast which took place on Tuesday. He also asked Election Commission to arrest Punjab Deputy CM for apeaceful electionsa. Earlier on Tuesday, at least three people died and fifteen injured in an explosion at an election rally in Bhatinda in Punjab. According to PTI report, the blast took place in LPG cylinder in a car at the rally venue. The report says that the blast took place in a car which was in front of the vehicle of Congress candidate Harmindert Singh Jassi. Jassi was leaving the rally after addressing the people when the blast took place. Sukhbir Badal is hardened criminal who will go to any extent to ruin Punjab n its peace. EC MUST arrest him to ensure peaceful elections a Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2017 A To ensure peaceful elections, sukhbir badal shud be immediately arrested. His role in yesterday's blast b probed. He'll cause more violence a Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2017 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday assured all possible help to an Indian student who is admitted in a hospital in Georgia. Swaraj took to Twitter to respond to extend help to the student after she was approached by the latters sister. Gayathri Vijaykumar had approached the minister on Twitter by posting a picture of her brother in the hospital. I have got the report. As per medical advice, your brother cannot travel at this stage.Your mother is with him in Georgia. /1 https://t.co/QOwtXsgmz2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 1, 2017 Her visa has expired. I have asked Indian Embassy to get her visa extended. Indian Embassy will extend all possible help. @GayaVijay28./2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 1, 2017 Madam this is my brother who is in a ICU for past 50 days in Georgia. We need your help to bring him back to India, she said. Responding to another tweet drawing her attention towards conduct of an Indian consular officer posted in the embassy in Tanzania while dealing with an Indian student from Harvard who was mugged in the East African country, Swaraj asked the name of the officer. Charanya Kannan - I have carefully gone through your write up. https://t.co/AgUqLiXaXr /1 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 1, 2017 Just give me the name of this Officer in Indian High Commission in Tanzania. /2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) February 1, 2017 ALSO READ | Sushma Swaraj offers help to 90-year-old woman with visa issues Charanya Kannan who hails from Chennai is a student at Harvard Business School, she was in Tanzania recently for a course when she got mugged. She shared her experience on a blog in which she said that the consular officer at the Indian Embassy in Tanzania told her that Nothing can be done. Even if you give me two crore rupees, nothing can be done. With PTI Inputs For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: The general insurance industry on Wednesday hailed the Union Budget and welcomed the governments decision to increase the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from 30 per cent to 40 per cent in 2017-18 and 50 per cent in 2018-19. The government has increased its spending on PMFBY to Rs 13,240 crore, which the industry believes will help bring more farmers under the insurance cover. Indian farmers need risk mitigation mechanism in the form of insurance and PMFBY will compensate them whenever they suffer crop loss during natural disasters, New India Assurance CMD G Srinivasan said. New India has underwritten premium of Rs 1,100 crore under the scheme in the current fiscal so far and it plans to increase it to Rs 2,000 crore in the next financial year. The increase in insurance cover under PMFBY will result in increase in premium by 15-20 per cent by the industry in the next fiscal, National Insurance chairman and managing director, Sanath Kumar said. ICICI Lombard MD & CEO, Bhargav Dasgupta said, This government has done more to promote insurance as a risk mitigation tool and the decision to increase the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to cover 40 per cent of crop area is a continuation of that approach. The budget aims at continuing with the governments agenda of pursuing an inclusive and long-term development of the economy by focusing on the core enablers, including infrastructure, digitisation, rural development, among others. New initiatives, such as a proposed model on contract farming are a welcome move, he said. With a view to boost the agricultural sector, the government has increased the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from 30 per cent to 40 per cent in 2017-18 and 50 per cent in 2018-19 which will help farmers get insured, M Ravichandran, President - Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance said. Farmers will also benefit further with the government spending Rs 13,240 crore in fiscal 18 on crop insurance, he added. Swiss Re, which has recently opened its India branch, believes that its a positive move to close the protection gap in agriculture Increasing allocations for Fasal Bima Yojana and targeting greater insurance coverage is a positive move to close the protection gap in agriculture, Swiss Re India branch chief executive Kalpana Sampat said. A robust crop insurance framework is an important stepping stone towards food security and financial stability for farmers, she added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday presented Union Budget for FY 2017-18. There are many things which have happened for the first time in the Union Budget. Here are the details: # It was first time in independent India that Rail Budget was presented along with Union Budget. In 93 years, it was for the first time that both Rail Budget and Union Budget were presented together. Since the British rule in 1924, Rail Budget was presented separately. # After independence, it was for the first time that Union Budget was presented on February 1. Earlier, Union Budget and Rail Budget used to be presented in last week of February. Rail Budget used to be presented first, then the Economic Survey and Union Budget in the last. Also read: Jaitley's Budget 2017 softens demonetisation blow: Major tax relief for small taxpayers, cash transaction above Rs 3 lakh barred; safety fund for Railways announced # Planned and non-planned expenditure were abolished. Government has abolished planned and non-planned expenditure for the first time in Budget's history. # It was for the first time that political parties' funding has been reduced. Earlier, there was no scrutiny on the funding of up to Rs 20,000. Now, political parties will have to furnish record of funding above Rs 2,000. Also read: Budget 2017 Highlights | FM Jaitley gives tax relief to lowest slab, MSMEs; increases expenditure for defence, agriculture # It was the first Union Budget post demonetisation. The demonetisation was announced on November 8 last year. This Union Budget is first after the famous demonetisation move. # This Union Budget was presented before the implementation of Goods and Services Tax. The date for implementation of GST is July 1, 2017. This Budget may help in deciding tax structure. # This Budget was first after the announcement of Income Declaration Scheme (IDS). The Government had given last opportunity to the black money holders to declare their income. After paying penalty and tax, they could have changed their black money into white. # The government has decided to limit the cash transactions amount. The government has completely stopped cash transactions above Rs 3 lakhs. Earlier, PAN card details needed to be furnished for transactions above Rs 50,000. UNION BUDGET 2017: FULL COVERAGE For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his decision to impose travel restrictions on people from seven Muslim-majority countries was aimed at keeping "bad people" out of America even as he dismissed the raging debate over his controversial move as irrelevant. "Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country," he tweeted. Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2017 Trump signed an executive order on Friday to block refugees from entering the US for 120 days and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations away for three months. Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia are the countries impacted. Earlier, White House press secretary Sean Spicer had dismissed the idea that Trump imposed a ban. "A ban would mean people can't get in, and we've clearly seen hundreds of thousands of people come into our country from other countries," he had said on Tuesday. But both Spicer and Trump have recently referred to the executive order as a ban, CNN reported. Trump tweeted earlier this week in defense of his order,"If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the 'bad'would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad'dudes' out there!" If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the"bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there! Spicer had used the term ban to describe the order when describing it on Monday while speaking at an event at George Washington University recorded on C-SPAN. Trump's decision has led to nation-wide protests and even triggered international condemnation. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: Top executives of Silicon Valley, constituting India-born CEOs Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella, slammed US President Donald Trump's immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, claiming that the move is capable of troubling their own staffers and stop bringing amazing talent to the US. Executives from Microsoft, Google, Apple, Netflix, Tesla, Facebook, Uber and other top American companies slammed Trump's immigration order that sparked widespread protests across the US. Trump has signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees and impose tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as part of new measures to "keep radical Islamic terrorists" out of America. Condemning the move, Nadella, in a post on LinkedIn, said "As an immigrant and as a CEO, I've both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic," Microsoft President Brad Smith said as many as 76 Microsoft employees are affected by this new executive order. "We appreciate that immigration issues are important to a great many people across Microsoft at a principled and even personal level, regardless of whether they personally are immigrants. Satya has spoken of this importance on many occasions, not just to Microsoft but to himself personally. He has done so publicly as well as in the private meetings that he and I have attended with government leaders," Smith said. "As a company, Microsoft believes in a strong and balanced high-skilled immigration system," he said. Pichai also criticised Trump's controversial immigration order saying it will create "barriers" to bringing great talent to the US. The Internet search giant also ordered its travelling staff to return to America. Pichai in an email to staff said the US ban on foreign nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries will hit nearly 200 Google employees. Also Read: Indian-American lawmakers slam RHC for backing immigration ban "It is painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues. We?re upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US," Pichai said. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was one of the first to address the ban publicly. "We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat. Expanding the focus of law enforcement beyond people who are real threats would make all Americans less safe by diverting resources...," he wrote on Facebook. Zuckerberg called for keeping doors open to refugees and those who need help. "That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today," he said. Also Read: Barack Obama hits out at Donald Trump, warns 'American values' are at stake "My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam. The United States is a nation of immigrants, and we should be proud of that," he asserted. Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey also condemned the immigration order, saying the "humanitarian and economic impact of the ban is real and upsetting." "Twitter is built by immigrants of all religions. We stand for and with them, always," Twitter said. "We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the US," Dorsey said. Also Read: Travel Ban on Muslims: Trump fires acting attorney general for refusing to defend immigration order Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed concern over the order, saying his company's success is because of the immigrants. "I've heard from many of you who are deeply concerned about the executive order issued yesterday restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. I share your concerns. It is not a policy we support," he wrote to his employees. "There are employees at Apple who are directly affected by yesterday's immigration order. Our HR, Legal and Security teams are in contact with them, and Apple will do everything we can to support them," he said. The Internet Association president and CEO Michael Beckerman said the internet industry is deeply concerned with the implications of Trump?s executive order. "While this order impacts many companies outside of the tech industry, internet companies in particular thrive in the US because the best and the brightest are able to create innovative products and services right here in America," he said. "While we support President Trump's efforts to grow our economy and allow ?people of great talent? to come into the US, the executive order signed yesterday has troubling consequences," Beckerman said. Internet Association member companies ? along with companies in many other industries ? include legal immigrant employees who are covered by these recent executive orders and will not be able to return back to their jobs and families in the US, he said. "Their work benefits our economy and creates jobs here in the United States. We maintain our support for immigration reform and will work with Congress and the Trump Administration on this important issue for families and our economy,? Beckerman said. Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick said he will raise the issue with Trump when he along with other business advisers will meet the US President. "The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country?s challenges," tweeted Elon Musk of Tesla. "Many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US. They've done right, not wrong and don't deserve to be rejected," he said. Reed Hastings of Netflix in a Facebook post said Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world. "Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more to come with the lives of over 600,000 Dreamers here in a America under imminent threat. It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity," Hastings said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan on Wednesday placed Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed's name on the Exit Control List. This comes two days after the Mumbai attack mastermind and his four aides were put under house arrest. Pakistan Interior Ministry forwarded a letter to all provincial governments and the Federal Investigation Agency, which included names of 38 individuals placed on the list, preventing them from leaving the country. All of them were said to be linked with JuD or Lashkar-e-Taiba. Earlier, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD) had been placed on the Watch List as per UNSC 1267 Sanctions. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz are reportedly active members of the aforementioned organisations within the meaning of Section 11EEE(1) of the ATA 1997 (as amended), read a notification issued by the ministry. Video | Modi effect? JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, placed under house arrest in Pakistan As such, they must be placed under preventive detention, it added. Saeed is currently under house arrest for 90 days. Reports were doing the rounds that Islamabad being under immense pressure from new US administration had to take action against Saeed and his organisations. Saeed was also put under house arrest after Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 but he was freed by court in 2009. With PTI Inputs ALSO READ | FIR will be registered against JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, says Pak minister For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Aden : Yemeni security forces killed an Al-Qaeda leader in the province of Lahj during a raid on Wednesday, police said. Ammar Qaid, known as Al-Qaeda's "emir" in Lahj, was killed in an exchange of fire with "counter-terrorism" forces after refusing to surrender, said provincial police chief Saleh Sayed. The raid in the provincial capital Huta was carried out as part of a vast operation backed by an Arab military coalition against the jihadists in Aden, Abyan and Lahj, in southwestern Yemen. They are three of five provinces under the control of government forces at war with Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels. In southern Hadramawt, meanwhile, suspected Al-Qaeda militants shot dead policeman Ali al-Bekri on Tuesday night in the town of Qotn before fleeing, a security source told a global news agency. In the north of the country, heavy clashes on Tuesday killed 21 loyalist soldiers and seven rebels in Midi and Haradh, military sources said. The pro-government forces had come under fire in a minefield as they advanced, said one source. Yemen's long-running conflict escalated in March 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition began bombing raids against the Huthis who had stormed the capital and taken swathes of central and northern territory. Around 7,400 people have died in air strikes and clashes since then, the UN says, and aid agencies have warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest nation. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for lifting US travel ban. The chief also said that border policies based on religion, ethnicity or race were 'against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based'. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on President Donald Trump to lift his ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries as soon as possible. Guterres also added that such a ban risks fueling terrorist propaganda. It is worth to mention here, that Guterres was formerly the UN high commissioner for refugees had earlier criticised other western countries for closing doors to refugees. Also Read: United Nations urges Donald Trump to continue US long tradition of welcoming refugees Donald Trump tweets about travel 'ban', says its about keeping bad people out of US The statement said Guterres was on his way back from Ethiopia, the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa that for decades has been keeping its borders open to hundreds of thousands of refugees from its neighbours, many times in dramatic security situations.Countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations, the secretary general said, but he added: This cannot be based on any form of discrimination related to religion, ethnicity or nationality because that is against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based. Countries have the right, even the obligation, to responsibly manage their borders to avoid infiltration by members of terrorist organizations, the secretary general said, but he added: This cannot be based on any form of discrimination related to religion, ethnicity or nationality because that is against the fundamental principles and values on which our societies are based. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Companies that gain access to students' personal information in schools would be barred from using it for targeted ads under a bill presented to Nebraska lawmakers Tuesday. Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln pitched the measure to a legislative committee as a way to protect students' online privacy in schools. The proposal would apply to companies such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft that are used in schools for educational purposes. It also would prevent companies from creating student profiles for non-educational purposes, such as providing credit or insurance. Companies could collect and use data only for educational purposes. "Students today are very tech savvy, but they are also very vulnerable to targeted advertising," Morfeld said in testimony to the Legislature's Education Committee. A similar bill received unanimous support from the committee last year but died because no senator designated it as a priority. If the measure passes this year, Nebraska would join more than 30 other states that have passed similar laws. Personal information could include email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, disciplinary records, test results, grades, health records, food purchases, political affiliations and other data. Microsoft lobbyist Anthony Wilson said the bill sets clear ground rules for companies to protect students who increasingly rely on computers, smartphones and other technology to finish schoolwork. "This imposes the obligation on the companies not the state, not the schools," said Wilson, who worked with other companies to draft a bill they all support. "It tells the companies how we're going to treat (student) data." The issue has surfaced in other states as schools increasingly use online learning services and cloud computing. Mississippi's attorney general filed a lawsuit in January against Google, alleging that the company is violating his state's consumer protections law by selling ads using data from services it provides to schools. Google has not yet responded to the claim. Story continues Nebraska's schools rely more than ever on electronic records to store information about students, said Renee Hyde, a representative for the Nebraska Council of School Administrators. Student information is "not in a shoebox. It's not in a file cabinet," said Hyde, the assistant superintendent for the Papillion-La Vista School District. "This operational protection is extremely important for our kids." Lawmakers may consider an exemption for Nebraska's community colleges, which frequently collect data from high school students. Greg Adams, a former state senator and lobbyist for the Nebraska Community College Association, said community colleges use data to recruit new students and promote dual enrollment programs for high school students. ___ Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte LIMERICK, IRELAND / ACCESSWIRE / February 1, 2017 / One Horizon Group, Inc. (OHGI), a leading optimized mobile VoIP software provider for telecommunications operators, today announced Chief Executive Officer, Brian Collins, will participate at the Source Capital 2nd Annual Disruptive Growth & Healthcare Conference. The conference will be held on February 15th and 16th in New York City at the Convene. The 2017 Disruptive Growth & Healthcare Conference will offer the exclusive opportunity to discover growth companies with disruptive technologies and life science companies focusing on solutions to unmet medical needs. Management will be available for one-on-one meetings with attendees throughout the event. Investors are encouraged to contact Source Capital or KCSA Strategic Communications to request a meeting. About Source Capital Group, Inc. The Investment Banking Group at Source Capital offers a wealth of Wall Street experience to the underserved small cap company sector through its seasoned professionals. They have successfully funded both public and private companies, with an emphasis on Structured Credit and unique equity capital markets transactions, creating tailor-made solutions to enhance their clients' balance sheets. Source Capital Group began as an independent firm specializing in small to medium-sized investment banking transactions. Since 1992, it has grown into a full-service financial institution, while adhering to the highest standards of quality and integrity. For those interested in attending, please contact Richard Kreger at rkreger@sourcegrp.com or visit www.DisruptNYC.com for more information. About One Horizon Group, Inc. One Horizon Group, Inc. (OHGI) is a leading developer and operator of carrier-grade optimized VoIP solutions for mobile telcos and enterprises. The company currently services over 43 million subscribers across 20 licensed brands worldwide. The technology is one of the world's most bandwidth-efficient mobile VoIP, messaging and advertising platforms for smartphones. Founded in 2012, the Company now has operations in Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, China, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Latin America. For more information on the Company please visit http://www.onehorizongroup.com. Story continues Safe Harbor Statement This news release may contain "forward-looking" statements. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include such factors as uncertainty of consumer demand for the Company's products, as well as additional risks and uncertainties that are identified and described in the Company's SEC reports. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. The Company does not undertake, and it specifically disclaims, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, events, or circumstances after the date of such statement. Investor Contact: KCSA Strategic Communications Valter Pinto PH: 212.896.1254 Valter@KCSA.com www.KCSA.com SOURCE: One Horizon Group, Inc. It's that time again! Jim Cramer rang the lightning round bell, which means he gave his take on caller favorite stocks at rapid speed: Teck Resources (Toronto Stock Exchange: TECK.B-CA): "If you think that worldwide growth is going to continue, then this remarkable stock is going to keep going higher. I happen to prefer Freeport at this time, FCX, but Teck, if you think the world goes higher Teck goes higher with it." Molina Healthcare (NYSE: MOH): "Let's understand each other that I am only recommending one in that group, and that stock is UnitedHealth, UNH, which I think will go up 10 points while Molina meanders." Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL): "Royal Caribbean is terrific. Why am I partial to Carnival, then? I think Arnold Donald [CEO] has done a remarkable job and I actually think it's now cheaper than Royal Caribbean. That's the one I want to be in." Fomento Economico Mexicano (Mexico Stock Exchange: FEMS-MX): "I think Mexico is too dangerous. I appreciate that like Kimberly-Clark to Mexico. I understand what you're trying to do. The ETF is probably the best way to play it." Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com More From CNBC California shouldnt secede from the US but should consider a divide in two Los Angeles Liberals used to hate secession, the notion that states could leave the Union as they did before the Civil War because they didnt agree with the policies of the federal government. But with Donald Trumps election, many California liberals suddenly have warm words for a budding ballot initiative that has just begun collecting signatures in order to place secession, or Calexit, on the ballot. (Article by John Fund from Nationalreview.com) At the height of the tea-party movement, Texas governor Rick Perry merely hinted at the thought that Texas might react to President Obamas executive overreach by reclaiming its one-time status as an independent republic. He was denounced as something akin to a traitor; critics lamented that he wanted to return Texas to the era of sharecroppers or Jim Crow. Now Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at the University of Southern California, says California is the new Texas, with its elected officials promoting a virtual secession. The secessionists plan to take to the legislature, the courts, and the streets to resist Trumps agenda. Never before have so many prominent Californians gotten into such a reactionary, defensive crouch. Some of their rhetoric resembles that of the massive resistance movement in the 1950s South, which vowed to fight federal intrusion into the right of states to run their own discriminatory elections, segregate public schools, and ignore federal law enforcement. Assembly speaker Anthony Rendon has warned Trump that he better not dare to go after any of the states estimated 2 million illegal immigrants: If you want to get to them, you have to go through us. Governor Jerry Brown vows to block any attempt to divert California from its radical plan to limit carbon emissions: Weve got the scientists. Weve got the lawyers, and were ready to fight. State attorney general Xavier Bacerra says one of his top priorities is the resistance against Washingtons deportation of illegal immigrants, even to the point of paying their legal fees to fight the federales. Read more at: Nationalreview.com Submit a correction >> DANBURY Praxair, a Danbury-based industrial gas company, announced this week it has started a hydrogen facility that will recover byproduct streams from The Dow Chemical Co.s Freeport, Texas, operations. Under a long-term contract, Praxair will supply high-purity hydrogen back to Dow in order to meet the companys needs in southeast Texas. The hydrogen will also be used by Praxair to help supply increasing customer demand in the region. Freeport is Dows largest chemical site in the world and we are proud to be supporting their continued growth in the U.S. Gulf Coast. This opportunity to further serve our customers in the region is why we extended our pipeline to Freeport, Dan Yankowski, president of Praxairs global hydrogen business, said in a release. Capturing byproduct hydrogen for use in the refining and petrochemical industries is consistent with our mission of making our planet more productive. Praxair has also signed a long-term contract with Dow to supply nitrogen to the company for use in its chemical production facility. The nitrogen supply is expected to start in 2019. Dow will use both gases to support the production of a number of specialty chemicals used in various markets, including automobile manufacturing, coating applications and chemical intermediates. Praxairs knowledge and operating experience in processing hydrogen, coupled with Dows new sources, are enabling hydrogen to be produced to meet industry demands with significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions than by conventional means. We are pleased to continue our strong relationship with Praxair through this new project, said Jack Broodo, president, Dow Feedstocks and Energy. In working with Praxair, we address our strategic vision of developing growth projects that result in environmental benefits to our industry and surrounding communities. Praxair is a major employer in Danbury and had 2016 sales of $11 billion. Last year it announced it will be merging with Linde, a German-based industrial gas company. cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DANBURY - Students and staff from Wooster School will embark on the private institutions third trip to Nepal this summer as part of a partnership with a school in Kathmandu. Six to 12 students will build upon its work on previous trips, continuing to improve the Nepal schools early education program, developing an experiential science curriculum, expanding the high school and more. Wooster developed a relationship with the Rashmi School through a students father, whose own mother founded the school. It offers education from pre-K to 10th grade in an impoverished area of the city. Rashmi was the first school Wooster partnered with in its Center for Social Impact, which establishes collaborative relationships with institutions around the world. Head of School Matt Byrnes said the partnership allows Wooster and Rashmi to learn about each other. How do we help students have an impact that is a result of a relationship that you create with other people? Byrnes asked. Its a mutual impact that you have together on each other. Several administrators and students went on the first trip in the fall of 2015. Byrnes said this trip was exploratory, as Wooster learned what Rashmi needed. During the second trip, five students and two staff members built a playground and a computer lab and worked on the early education curriculum. Pre-K teacher Missy Munk said she and the Wooster students focused on implementing active learning, instead of textbook study, in the program for younger kids. The students were really instrumental in coming into the classroom, working with the children, just bringing out materials for them and showing how to use them and some behavioral expectations, too, giving me some time to work with the teachers, Munk said. The students described the trip as memorable. Senior Marie Klepacz, who went on the first trip, said she loved seeing the excitement of the Nepalese students when her group arrived. One of the best moments was when we walked into the school and nobody knew who we were, but all these little kids just came running up to us and hugging us, she said. It was just so surprising because, compared to kids here, you usually dont get that reaction. Rahsmi administrators visited Wooster last fall to observe classes and plan the June trip. The visitors also saw Manhattan and other sites, Munk said. We took them on many adventures outside of the school and they still just wanted to come back [to Wooster], she said. They just wanted to be here working, which was the same feeling [we had] when we were in Nepal. When we were outside the school, we were all anxious to get back to the school to keep working and learning. During the visit, the group decided to add experiential learning to Rashmis science curriculum, a project students and staff will work on during the June trip, said Chief Financial Officer Andrew Gray, who went to Nepal last summer. Their science curriculum right now is purely textbook, paper-based, and thats another issue that we would like to help them out with, Gray said. Wooster also plans to give Rashmi a microloan so it can expand its upper school. Byrnes said Rashmi administrators are determined to pay that loan back. The school itself and the people that work there are fiercely determined to be self-sustaining, he said. They don't want to create a relationship where theyre relying on us for funding or for any help they cant replicate on their own. Wooster needs to raise an estimated $23,000 to $24,000 for the microloan and for the projects. It will hold a wine experience fundraiser from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Max Wine & Spirits. The cost is $30 per person or $50 per couple and includes a silent auction. The students selected for the trip pay their own way and spend countless hours fundraising and preparing for the work they will do in Nepal, Gray said. That was something that was very important to the people that support us, knowing that were asking for you to go all in, but these kids are all in, too, he said. / submitted photo U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty will take an imam from a Meriden mosque to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on Thursday and plans to make a joint statement with him about religious tolerance. Esty, a three-term Democrat who represents greater Danbury and the Fifth Congressional District, plans to make a statement Thursday with Imam Hamid Malik of the Baitul Aman Mosque in Meriden, according to a statement. I dont know what you were doing when you were 14, but it probably wasnt signing a licensing deal to get your product into big name retailers such as Barnes and Noble and Target. But that is the case for Jakob Sperry, who along with six other young inventors recently presented their work at New York Universitys Tandon School of Engineering as part of Kid Inventors Day, an event hosted by 3-D design and engineering software maker Autodesk. Image Credit: Autodesk Related: 6 Ways to Help Your Kid Start a Business and Learn About Life Sperry is the inventor of GyRings, a line of fidget toys. Sperry has ADHD, and when he was 12 he came up with the widgets as a way to help him and others focus in the classroom and other social settings. Eleven-year-old Jordan Reeves is the creator of Project Unicorn, a prosthetic, 3-D printed arm that shoots glitter. Reeves said one of the biggest lessons shes learned from the experience thus far is, if you dont fail, there is something wrong. Image Credit: Autodesk Related: Meet Your Future Boss: The Elementary Schoolers Taking Over YouTube Alexis Lewis may be a 17-year-old high school senior, but she is already a serial inventor. After reading about the 2011 famine in Somalia, she created the Rescue Travois, a simple and inexpensive transportation device to help families travel safely across inhospitable terrain. Image Credit: Autodesk She also developed the Emergency Mask (EM) Pod to help reduce the risk of smoke inhalation for first responders and an Inventing 101 syllabus for middle school students. Invention is intuitive," she says. "It is something that everyone can do. Its human. Related: How This Teenager Turned Her Childhood Hobby Into a Global Business A quartet of Brooklyn 17-year-olds, Abichael Michel, Victor Shahov, Caitlin Tsang and Jordan Pericles, created an interactive mirror called I Motivate You (IMU). Image Credit: Autodesk A deceptively simple looking device assembled from an LCD display, a mirror, an ultrasonic sensor and 3-D printed case, when the user looks into the mirror, the closer they get, the more affirming and positive messages they see in front of them. The team had a small prototype, but they said they wanted to see IMU installed in community spaces such as school lobbies. Related: 11 Successful Kid Entrepreneurs Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize Sarah ORourke, Autodesks youth audience strategist, says that these young inventors understand what so many adults forget about innovation -- to not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Its important to try and try to fail, ORourke told Entreprenuer. "If you dont, you never know. Things dont have to be perfect. If something isnt innate, people often give up. Push down those shackles. The key part is just to keep trying. Related: These Kid Inventors Get What Many Grown Up Entrepreneurs Don't Presenting the Entrepreneur 2017 League of 35 Under 35 35 Under 35 Special - The Game Changers of 2017 Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Paul Ryan House Speaker Paul Ryan addressed questions Tuesday about President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning travel and refugee resettlement to the US from citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries, calling the rollout of the statute "regrettable" while insisting the merits of it were appropriate. "So first off, I had a long talk with Secretary Kelly yesterday, and I'm very pleased and confident that he is, on a going-forward basis, going to make sure that things are done correctly," Ryan said at House Republicans' weekly news conference, referring to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. "Look, the president has a responsibility to the security of this country," Ryan added. The executive order bars for 90 days people from Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, and Libya all countries identified by former President Barack Obama's administration as terror hotspots from entering the US. It also bars all refugees for 120 days, and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely. The order was interpreted to include barring those who are legal permanent residents in the US, known as green-card holders. It led to widespread confusion at major airports over the weekend and legal permanent residents being detained. On Sunday, Kelly ordered green-card holders from the countries to be allowed into the US. Federal judges in four states issued a temporary stay on Saturday preventing authorities from deporting travelers who were stuck in airports because of the order, but the long-term legality of the measure remains unclear. "I think it's regrettable that there was confusion on the rollout of this," Ryan said on Tuesday. "No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in this. And so I think regrettably, the rollout was confusing. But on a go-forward basis, I'm confident that Secretary Kelly is going to make sure that this is done correctly." Story continues "I had a very good conversation with Secretary Kelly to make sure that we separate fact from myth," he continued. "Clearly, none of us want to see people with green cards get implicated in this." Ryan said the "rhetoric surrounding" the executive order "could be used as a recruiting tool" by terror organizations such as ISIS. "I think that's dangerous," he said. But Ryan also said the pause was necessary from a security standpoint. "We need to pause, and we need to make sure that the vetting standards are up to snuff so we can guarantee the safety and security of our country," he said. "That is what this does. We want that goal to be achieved." "I support the refugee resettlement program," he said. "We're a generous country. It's important. But we can be generous and watch our national security at the same time. That's why I'm confident that Secretary Kelly, along with other Cabinet members, are going to make sure that we have the proper review and vetting." NOW WATCH: Watch President Obama tear up while addressing Michelle in his farewell speech More From Business Insider My wife and I recently toured the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan; a neighborhood that was the first stop for so many immigrants after leaving Ellis Island. There, a remarkable coincidence occurred, perhaps more suitable for a sci-fi time traveler than a visitor from Connecticut. The museum tells the true stories of real-life immigrant families from various cultures, all of whom at one time lived in this building over a 75-year period. We stepped back in time to 1916 and into a tiny three-room apartment to meet a 14 year-old named Victoria Confino, who shared it with nine other members of her extended family. Toilets were in the hall and shared with other families. Baths occurred only weekly at a nearby bath house. The rooms were authentically furnished and a costumed actress told Victorias story in the first person. Her Sephardic Jewish family had escaped from war-torn Greece during the Ottoman era. They traveled to America as most immigrants did, including my grandparents, in steerage, the cheapest, most crowded and most unsanitary part of the boat. She was a factory worker, with little formal education, but related an aspirational tale of immigrant life shared by many of the 7,000 inhabitants from 20 countries who had once lived at 93 Orchard St. After we left the apartment, our guide explained that the adult Victoria Confino had married a man named Cohen, moved to Brooklyn, was widowed and lived with her daughter, Celia, and her husband until her death at age 87. Her granddaughter, Vicky, had worked with the museum to develop the program we had just seen. It wasnt until our trip home that I connected all the dots to come to an amazing conclusion. I knew Victoria Confino. I knew her 50 years later and only as Mrs. Cohen. She was the elderly Sephardic immigrant mother of my parents friends Celia and Stanley (with whom she lived), who had daughters named Vicky and Denise. I recalled hearing that after her grandmother died, Vicky volunteered at the museum. At the time, I did not know in what capacity (later confirmed by the family). What a loving tribute to this wonderful woman and to all immigrants. With calls for a national conversation about immigration, I think a visit to the Tenement Museum, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty or even getting to know our immigrant neighbors in our own communities would make a good starting point. Whatever ones political point of view, learning about our own personal histories, as well as our neighbors, will add color and context to the debate and make us better informed to reach thoughtful solutions to these complex issues. Joel Levitt is a resident of New Milford. TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Boyuan Construction Group, Inc., (TSX: BOY, BOY.DB.A), a growing construction company in China of commercial, residential and municipal infrastructure projects, announced today that it will hold a conference call to discuss its fiscal 2017 second quarter financial results on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 9:30 A.M. (ET). Mr. Paul Law, Boyuan's Chief Financial Officer, will host the call. The Company expects to report its second quarter results on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 after markets close. All interested parties can join the conference call by dialing 1-888-231-8191 or 647-427-7450. Please connect approximately 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the call to ensure participation. The conference call will be archived for replay until Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at midnight. To access the archived conference call, dial 1-855-859-2056 or 416-849-0833 and enter the reservation number 60682392#. About Boyuan Construction Group, Inc. Based in Jiaxing City, China, Boyuan Construction Group, Inc. is in the business of commercial building and residential construction, municipal infrastructure and engineering projects. In its last three fiscal years ending June 30, 2016, Boyuan completed 41 projects for a number of private and public sector clients. Boyuan's current project backlog includes residential, commercial, industrial and mixed-use developments. From its operating bases in Zhejiang Province and in Hainan Province, Boyuan focuses on construction projects in China's fast-growing regions of the Yangtze River Delta and Hainan Province. For more information visit www.boyuangroup.com. SOURCE Boyuan Construction Group, Inc. To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2017/01/c4275.html For further information: Boyuan Construction Group, Inc., Mr. Paul Law, CFO, +(852) 9329 5088, [email protected]; NATIONAL Equicom, Mr. Keith Richards, (416) 848-1599, [email protected] OTTAWA, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - As Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary, Statistics Canada is getting ready to publish the latest chapter in the story of our country and its people. The first results from the 2016 Census of Population will be released next week. The population and dwelling counts will be published at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on February 8, 2017, on our website. The release will provide information on population change between the 2011 Census and the 2016 Census, as well as population and dwelling counts for Canada, the provinces and territories, for all municipalities and for many other levels of geography down to the block level. The unprecedented response to the census allows Statistics Canada to publish high-quality information for use by all Canadians for decision-making. Released at the same time will be two Census in Brief articles, which will examine current population trends that are relevant from a public-policy perspective. The first will look at both the largest municipalities in 2016, and the fastest growing municipalities in the country between 2011 and 2016. The second will focus on municipalities that saw population declines between the 2011 and 2016 censuses. The story of Canada, as seen through the 2016 Census, will be told in words and pictures, through infographics and videos. The Focus on Geography Series will also present population and dwelling highlights through short texts, tables and figures for various levels of geography. These include Canada, the provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census divisions and Canadian municipalities (census subdivisions). Over the coming months, Statistics Canada will continue to release results from the 2016 Census of Population, and provide an even more comprehensive picture of the Canadian population, ranging from income, ethnicity, language, immigration to demographic shifts. Please see the 2016 Census Program release schedule to find out when data and analysis on the different topics will be released throughout 2017. SOURCE Statistics Canada To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2017/01/c7460.html For further information: Media Relations at 613-951-4636 or [email protected] Related Links www.statcan.gc.ca/ TSX Venture Exchange: FGD Frankfurt Stock Exchange: 1G5 TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - First Global Data Limited ("First Global" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") to deploy its mobile payment services in Bangladesh with strategic partner Aamra Payment Solutions, a division of Aamra Group ("Aamra"). Aamra has significant penetration in the Bangladesh market having deployed 14,000+ active Point of Sale (POS) terminals, and currently holds a market share of 75%. Aamra solutions are preferred by 14 out of 17 of the leading banks and financial institutions in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh initiative with Aamra includes a full roll-out of the mobile wallet in Bangladesh with an ecosystem and marketplace for consumers to purchase various goods and services using their mobile phones. The model will be similar to that deployed by the Company in India. Aamra and the Company will work together to bring on strategic partners such as banks and telecom companies, and to penetrate the existing Aamra customer base. "Aamra is a powerhouse and leader in the technology sector in Bangladesh. Their already established point of sale distribution network and banking relationships will enable us to penetrate the Bangladesh market rapidly and to drive good profitable revenues," said Nayeem Alli, Chief Financial Officer of First Global. "We are very pleased to have Aamra as our strategic partner for the deployment of our mobile payment solutions in Bangladesh. Our deployment model has been proven in India as we continue to experience significant growth in that market, and we expect to realize rapid penetration in Bangladesh through this key strategic partnership. This is another major step in our global expansion strategy," said Andre Itwaru, Chairman and CEO of First Global. About First Global: First Global is an international financial services technology ("FINTECH") company. The Company's two main lines of business are mobile payments and cross border payments. First Global's proprietary leading edge technology enables the convergence of compliant domestic and cross border payments, shopping and peer to peer payments. First Global enables its strategic partners and clients around the world with our leading edge financial services technology platform. About Aamra: Aamra is a pioneering technology company that has been dedicated towards providing the banking market with the most advanced and revolutionary hardware, software and connectivity solutions for close to three decades. The synonym of excellence, Aamra is trusted by all the leading local and foreign banks for its exemplary service that is always on the rise owing to its highly talented and empowered human resources. Aamra has throughout the years continued to provide comprehensive IT solutions and services that include Systems Integration, Information System Outsourcing, Core Banking Software, Switching and Network and Solutions, supply, implementation and maintenance. As a major player in the IT sector of Bangladesh, Aamra has developed its business model over the time through carefully analyzing the emerging market trends of the Asia-Pacific region. The company is investing in capacity and technology that will lead to sustainable, long-term growth and profitability based on the value offered to clients. Aamra's core focus is to consistently introduce the latest products while maintaining outstanding customer services as it continues to explore newer horizons to deliver newer and better IT solutions to its most valued premium asset its customers. As Aamra grows ever so competently, it promises to be the first to empower its customer base with groundbreaking technological services that are specifically designed to improve the efficiency of their business for the first time in the history of its industry in Bangladesh. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimates of future events. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are detailed from time to time in the Corporation's periodic reports filed with the Ontario Securities Commission and other regulatory authorities. The Corporation has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE First Global Data Limited To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2017/01/c4455.html For further information: Andre Itwaru, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Telephone: 416.504.3813, Facsimile: 416.504.7092, Email: [email protected] Related Links www.firstglobaldata.com OTTAWA, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Media can now register for the Fifth Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas (RP17), which will take place in Montreal, March 7 to 9, 2017. While every effort will be made to accommodate all media onsite, space is limited and priority will be given to media who register in advance. Registered and accredited media will have the opportunity to engage delegates throughout the event. The RP17, hosted by the Government of Canada in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), will bring together some 1,000 delegates from 35 countries and 20 territories in the Americas. Public officials, governmental and non-governmental, private sector, Ministers, academics and Indigenous representatives will discuss opportunities to reduce disaster risks in the region and to meet commitments set in the United Nations' Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). Media are invited to attend RP17 to know more about Canada and the Americas' regional priorities, including commitments made to improve national, hemispheric and international resilience. The RP17 will focus on identifying how governments, civil society leaders, technical and scientific institutions, the private sector and media can work together toward building capacity in the region and to meet the targets of the Sendai Framework. Plenary sessions, side events on disaster risk reduction, a Photographic exhibit, and a Marketplace will all be held during the RP17, and are open to accredited media (some exceptions apply). A Press Conference area and Media Centre will be available onsite. A detailed media itinerary will be shared with registered media closer to the event. To know more about the RP17, please visit: http://eird.org/rp17/media.html. To attend the RP17, please register before February 17, 2017 here: http://eird.org/rp17/media-form.html. The organizing committee will review all applications. In the days following the application, media representatives will be informed via email on the status of their request. Date Fifth Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas: Tuesday, March 7 Thursday, March 9, 2017 Location Palais des congres de Montreal 201 Viger Street West, H2Z 1X7 Montreal, Quebec Follow on social media: @UNISDR_Americas (available mostly in Spanish) and @Safety_Canada by using the hashtag #SendaiAmericas. You can also follow the discussion on Facebook. SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2017/01/c3690.html For further information: Media Relations: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, Tel.: 1-613-991-0657, Email: [email protected]; Global Affairs Canada, Summits and Official Events, Office of Protocol, Tel.: 1-343-203-2398, Email: [email protected]; The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Humberto Jaime, Communications Manager, UNISDR - The Americas, Email: [email protected] Related Links www.publicsafety.gc.ca Company opens national 24/7 support hotline - 1.844.751.2133 - for anyone coping with effects of traumatic event in Quebec City TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Morneau Shepell, a global leader in employee and family assistance programs and trauma event support, has established a 24/7 support hotline that can be used, at no cost, by anyone impacted by the act of terror at a Quebec City mosque on Sunday evening. "We are shocked and deeply saddened by the violence that took place in Quebec City," said Stephen Liptrap, Chief Operating Officer, Morneau Shepell. "Such a traumatic event has a huge impact on the families, friends and communities directly affected by this needless loss of life. In this time of heightened tensions, we want to make sure everyone has the right support, which is why we established the support hotline." The largest provider of employee and family assistance programs in Canada, Morneau Shepell has client organizations in the community where the tragedy occurred and has been providing trauma support to its clients, as needed, whether or not the people have been directly impacted by the killings. "Anyone having coping problems as a result of the tragedy should not be afraid or ashamed to reach out for help," said Julien Ponce, Morneau Shepell's Executive Vice President, Eastern Canada, and National Leader of the Consulting Practice. "These types of reactions can be expected." Morneau Shepell's trauma support team has provided assistance after many traumatic events from the Fort McMurray wildfires, 9/11, the Haiti earthquake, shootings, floods, fires, to death and accidents in the workplace. The Company's Children's Support Solutions also has specialized therapists who provide trauma support for children. About Morneau Shepell Morneau Shepell is the only human resources consulting and technology company that takes an integrative approach to employee assistance, health, benefits and retirement needs. The Company is the leading provider of employee and family assistance programs, the largest administrator of retirement and benefits plans and the largest provider of integrated absence management solutions in Canada. Through health and productivity, administrative, and retirement solutions, Morneau Shepell helps clients reduce costs, increase employee productivity and improve their competitive position. Established in 1966, Morneau Shepell serves approximately 20,000 clients, ranging from small businesses to some of the largest corporations and associations in North America. With almost 4,000 employees in offices across North America, Morneau Shepell provides services to organizations across Canada, in the United States, and around the globe. Morneau Shepell is a publicly-traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MSI). For more information, visit morneaushepell.com. SOURCE Morneau Shepell Inc. To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2017/01/c8084.html For further information: Cathren Ronberg, Morneau Shepell, 416.355.5632, [email protected]; Josee St-Pierre, Morneau Shepell, 514 392-7862, [email protected] Related Links http://www.morneaushepell.com Beijings second aircraft carrier was taking shape after two years and nine months of construction, mainland Chinese media reported a move likely to further unnerve Taiwan and other neighbors about their growing military assertiveness. Construction of the Shandong, named after province in Chinas east coast, began in 2014, the mobile app of Shandong television and radio said in a report seen on Tuesday. Reports are that the new aircraft carrier would eventually deploy to the South China Sea. However, this would not be until after a lengthy testing phase. Chinas second carrier, currently called the 001A or the Shandong, is being built at the same Dalian shipyard that renovated the Liaoning. The new carrier differs from the Liaoning, with its revised flight deck arrangement and other features, but retains the ski-jump bow used for launching aircraft. The ship is expected to be launched in late 2017, and recent satellite photos of Plans Hulado air base show that the runway replicas constructed for pilots to practice landings underwent modifications between June and October 2016. According to China defense experts, this was done possibly to reflect differences in the new ships flight deck. Images recently surfaced on Chinese social media platforms suggesting that Beijing may be developing a carrier with Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR), that can accommodate carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft, AEW and other large aircraft. This is plausible given the limitations of the arrested recovery (STOBAR) launching method, which limits the payload and range of shipborne aircraft. ray dalio Ray Dalio, the head of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, is cooling off on his opinion of President Donald Trump. Dalio, who had been hopeful about a Trump presidency and some of his economic policies, seems to have struck a less optimistic tone, according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg. In the letter, Dalio warned that there was a high level of uncertainty in the market and told clients to avoid investing too heavily in a particular asset, according to the Bloomberg report. "While there is a lot of potential to improve fiscal policies and make beneficial structural reforms (to enhance the business friendly environment, reduce regulatory inefficiencies, etc.), there is also significant risk that his populist policies could hurt the world economy (and worse)," Dalio said in the letter. It's a quick turnaround for Dalio after the head of the world's largest hedge fund said in a note after the election that Trump's policies could be beneficial to business and the US. "A pro-business US with its rule of law, political stability, property rights protections, and (soon to be) favorable corporate taxes offers a uniquely attractive environment for those who make money and/or have money," Dalio wrote in December. Dalio seems to have since cooled on Trump amid some of the trade policies coming from the Trump White House including a proposed 20% border tax, strained relations with Mexico's president over NAFTA and a border wall, and attacks on China and Germany over their currencies. "Nationalism, protectionism and militarism increase global tensions and the risks of conflict," Dalio's letter said, according to Bloomberg. "For these reasons, while we remain open-minded, we are increasingly concerned about the emerging policies of the Trump administration." NOW WATCH: Here's how to use one of the many apps to buy and trade bitcoin More From Business Insider The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Lasun Yusuf, has described as a misrepresentation of facts, the widespread ... The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Lasun Yusuf, has described as a misrepresentation of facts, the widespread allegations of padding of the 2016 budget.He said that contrary to rumours being peddled around the country, there was no section of the appropriation bill that was padded.The lawmaker explained that the legislature had in exercise of the power conferred on it by the constitution, reallocated figure in the budget estimates as presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.He made the disclosure while delivering a lecture at the 17th edition of the media parliament of Kwara State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).Mr Yusuf spoke on the Challenges of Law-making and the Delivery of Dividend of Democracy in Nigeria during the gathering at the Abubakar Olusola Saraki Pen House in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.He explained that it was the exclusive preserve of the legislative arm to rework annual fiscal document tabled before it by the executive, stating that such document remains an estimate and not real budget.The former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Mr Abdulmumin Jibrin, who had blown the lid that some principal officers of the lower chamber of the National Assembly partook in the budget padding scam, was suspended from office.His allegation had ignited public outrage against the National Assembly while the House maintained that the budget was not padded as alleged.The Deputy Speaker, however, told the gathering in Ilorin that the allegations against the leadership of the House by the suspended lawmaker were of no effect and could not be substantiated, insisting that the House acted within its powers.He stated that the House was empowered to reallocate and reconcile figures in the budget estimates that were believed not to be properly done.Honourable Yusuf decried that many Nigerians were ignorant of the works of the legislative arm and were fond of passing verdict without verifiable facts on some allegations levelled against the lawmakers.He explained further that it was the primary responsibility of the law-making body to scrutinise budget estimates submitted by the executive arm, adding that members could use the avenue to address pressing needs of their people.While the executive makes proposals on projects, programmes and expenditure for every year, the legislature finally approves figures that are spent.In the process, the legislature often interfaces with the executive to have certain projects and programmes form part of (the) budget.This is necessary as I have said earlier because the closeness of the legislator to the constituents must have emerged from that environment.It is critical that certain pressing areas requiring government attention are suggested and included in the estimates.Unfortunately, the poor understanding of the fine details of legislative practice anchored on the express provision of the constitution erroneously informed the so-called budget padding debacle which was a distraction to the polity.For instance, the case of 50-year-old Ojutu Bridge in my constituency that has great potentials in turning around the lives of my constituents, Yusuf said. Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transportation, has urged the national assembly to approve the federal governments borrowing plan so as t... Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transportation, has urged the national assembly to approve the federal governments borrowing plan so as to begin the construction of rail projects in the country.The minister said the China Exim Bank was ready to loan $1.5bn to Nigeria for the Lagos-Ibadan rail line but approval was needed before the agreement can be signed.Amaechi made this known on Tuesday in Abuja when he appeared before the senate committee on land transport.The minister also said the foundation of the Lagos-Ibadan segment of the Lagos-Kano rail line will be ready before the end of the first quarter of 2017.He said: In the first quarter of 2017, the foundation of the Lagos-Ibadan segment two of the Lagos-Kano rail project will be laid. The implication here is that we will start the Lagos-Ibadan rail line before the end of March.Our target is to commence from the Apapa seaport down to Ogun and then to Ibadan. That is our plan. The counterpart funding is ready, but dont forget that we are borrowing the money from China. The China Exim Bank is processing it. Our 15 per cent is ready; so, we are waiting for China Exim Bank. They have managed to release and approve $1.5bn for the Lagos-Ibadan line.It is also envisaged that segment three of the Lagos-Kano rail project, which is the Kano-Kaduna stretch, as well as the first phase of the coastal railway line Lagos-Calabar, commencing from Calabar to Port Harcourt with extension to the Onne Deep Seaport will commence after the conclusion of the negotiation of a financing loan agreement.The National Assembly needs to give us approval for the borrowing plan so that we can commence work. We cant sign the loan agreement with China unless there is an approval from the National Assembly.What the National Assembly has approved is the counterpart funding, but we need the approval to borrow the remaining money. If you look at $6.1bn in naira, and we are paying 15 per cent, you will know that the remaining amount is coming from China and until we have approval, we cannot do anything.Even now, the China Exim Bank has approved $1.5bn for the Lagos-Ibadan line. We are not able to sign the loan agreement because we need the approval of the National Assembly. Comparing me with Obiano is like comparing Messi with Mberi Secondary school player Okorocha A son of former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mohammed Bala, Shamsudeen Bala Mohammed, has been remanded in Kuje Prison ... A son of former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mohammed Bala, Shamsudeen Bala Mohammed, has been remanded in Kuje Prison by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, on Wednesday ordered that the Ministers son, who is currently standing trial for alleged fraud be remanded in Kuje prison till Friday.Shamsudeen was arraigned before the justice Dimgba-led court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on 15 counts involving alleged N1.1bn fraud.EFCC had charged Shamsudeen alongside four other companies, namely: Bird Trust Argo Limited, Intertrans Global Logistics Limited, Diakin Telecommunications Limited and Bal-Vac Mining Nigeria Limited.The anti-graft agency alleged that Shamsudeen carried out business transactions worth billions of naira in violation of Money Laundering Act, adding that he paid various cash sums of money beyond the limit set by the Money Laundering Act for purchase of houses without going through a financial institution.EFCC also accused the defendant of failing to declare his assets when he completed the EFCC Asset Declaration Form A.However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him.Shortly after his plea, the prosecuting counsel, Ben Ikani, applied for the defendant to be remanded in prison.Reacting swiftly to Ikanis application, the defence lawyer, Chris Uche, SAN, informed the court that he had on January 27 filed an application for his clients bail.The judge, however upheld the application of prosecution counsel and ordered Shamsudeen to be remanded in prison till Friday when ruling on his bail application would be delivered. The Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET), a non governmental organisation, has appealed to Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, ... The Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET), a non governmental organisation, has appealed to Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, spiritual director of Adoration Ministries Enugu (AMEN), and TB Joshua, founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, other anointed men of God to avoid hate sermons.In a letter entitled: Hate sermons: Urgent need for prayers and understanding, the group observed the tension in the country and urged the pastors to continue to pray for Nigeria.We consider it particularly very urgent to write you this open letter based on our understanding of your respectful status in Christendom in Nigeria, it said.We have observed with bewilderment recent events in our dear country, Nigeria and after a thorough analysis, we have come to the painful conclusion that current happenings in Nigeria are quite unpleasant. And there is the imperative for collective actions to nip in the bud, any possibility of potential mass conflicts and crisis likely to sprout from it.Nigeria is on the cliffhanger at the moment; burdened by agitations, mutual distrust and suspicions, viral criminality as well as crises of all dimensions, which in some cases, have mutated into violent conflicts.The group said the current administration had been overstretched by the challenges confronting the country.It also accused some men of God of fanning the embers of discord, wondering the infusion of a delicate and extremely sensitive issue like religion into the troubling afflictions of the country.The federal government of Nigeria led by President Muhammedu Buhari has been strained and overstretched in its attempts to contain the crises in different parts of the country in the face of dwindling economic fortunes, the letter read.We are equally encouraged by our implied assumption that you are aware of certain supposed Men of God who have stoke the fire of discord and overheated the polity with bile sermons, utterances and discussions from the pulpit which have a strong potency to spark religious crisis of genocidal magnitude in Nigeria.Initially, this organization was not too worried with the divisions publicly manifest in the disorderliness, in-fighting and leadership tussles which have characterized the body of Christ in Nigeria in recent times. We had hoped the concerned leaders would devote time and energy to resolve these internal squabbles in the nearest future in the interest of Christianity.But we cannot pretend not to know that this negative trend has not only spiraled outside of the Body of Christ in Nigeria, but pulling the strings very hard in attempts to destroy Nigeria by pitching members of one faith against another.We feel compelled to write you because of the respect, honour, integrity and acceptance you have earned amongst Christians and Muslims alike, within and outside Nigeria. We perceive in you, anointed men of God with the best credentials and wisdom to save the body of Christ at this crucial time on this sensitive, but potentially explosive religious incitement. We are further encouraged by your non- discriminatory roles as father to both the orphans, the vulnerable and the widows, much as banking on your vast knowledge of humanitarian complexities countries face when such religious matters are allowed to explode in violent clashes to promptly.But Apostle Suleimans inciting comments happen to be the trouble at the moment. Initially, he opposed the Bill on prohibiting extreme religious views or preachments sponsored in Kaduna state and placed a curse of death on Governor Nasir el-Rufai. But it never bothered anybody because it had personal effect. But invoking the powers of God Almighty to herd Christians into killing and beheading all Fulani herdsmen at sight is not only ungodly, but mocks the thinking of orthodox Christianity and reflects more the thoughts and actions of Nigerias external enemies bent on destabilizing the country by causing crisis of genocidal proportion in Nigeria, worse than Somalia or Sudan. In his latest outing, we can see a nexus in his still opposition to the Bill.Calling for the mass killings of members of an ethnic group- the Fulani herdsmen, who pasture their cattle because of the transgressions of a few criminals suspected to be their kinsmen, is tantamount to exterminating a whole race. This action would also be interpreted in Christian ethos as battling against flesh and blood, which true servants of God, (including you) have repeatedly warned us that we cannot win any war against the spirit.Similarly, we deem it extremely bad faith the tendency of some anointed and venerated clergy, who are advocating for the extra-judicial killing of Boko Haram terrorists in the presumption that they launched war against Christianity. But the same Boko Haram insurgents also slaughtered fellow Muslims in their rage of raids. The bickering in the aftermath of the split in Boko Haram leadership between Abubakar Shekau and Abu Musab Al Barnewi sufficiently placed this notion in public domain. But in all, does it not betray the essence of being a good brothers keeper, love of neighbor and respect for sanctity of human life as decreed by God Almighty for anointed men of God to mount the pulpit to preach internecine wars with the religious card.We believe Apostle Suleiman is acting the script of external enemies by inciting Christians in Nigeria into a religious war. And he goes further to blackmail the Federal Government into shielding himself by instigating Christians to perceive his impending arrest and interrogation by security agents to unearth the masked forces behind his actions as persecution of the church and Christians in Nigeria.would wish to remember that the break-up of Nigeria was predicted for 2015, but the Almighty God saw us through the trying times, but the same forces have not relented. Having studied the sociological psychology of Nigerians on religion, they have realized sparking a religions crisis would instantly actualize this prophesied break-up. The devil is surely at work and we must put on our shield of prayers and not guns to overcome this moment of torment to defeat the devil and his agents.God Almighty has bestowed the onus of avoiding the looming calamity in the land in your hands, as His ordained servants. Please, do not let His children down, to inspire the Western world to laugh and mock us, by allowing the crisis to erupt. Your congregations and Nigerians indeed, listen and heed your words and advice, which beckons to your immediate intervention to save your dear country from ruination. It will be unfortunate if Christians allow themselves to be used as the vehicle for bloodshed that would lead to genocide, hunger and suffering of the ordinary masses of Nigeria who are already pauperized and burdened in several ways.If you kindly devote attention to this cause, you would save Nigeria from a clearly masterminded plot to destroy our country by enemies waiting in the wings to fuel genocide in the country on the platform of religion. Acting thus, you shall also save the entire body of Christ from disintegrating and embarrassing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who laid down His life for us. The Department of State Services has reportedly asked Apostle Johnson Suleman, General Overseer, Omega Fire Ministries, to stop granting i... The Department of State Services has reportedly asked Apostle Johnson Suleman, General Overseer, Omega Fire Ministries, to stop granting interviews.A security source at the DSS told newsmen that Suleiman was equally told by security operatives to know that his follower-ship cut across Christianity and Islam and should therefore mind the way he speaks.The source stated, We asked him why he made such a provocative statement and he defended himself.He (Suleiman) said he made the statement based on available information that some herdsmen were planning to attack him and that he merely asked his church members to defend him and the church property.While we didnt argue with him, we asked him to note that his followership cuts across the two dominant religions, which are Christianity and Islam. We also asked him to note that the Federal Government was doing its best to curtail the activities of the herdsmen and also fight crime generally.He said he knew, but added that the government needed to do much more and that he was not out to cause religious crisis but was merely expressing his anger at the refusal of government to take actions that he said could reasonably convince Nigerians that it (the government) is not partial.The source, who spoke on strict confidence, said both parties also agreed not to speak with the media on the outcome of the interrogation. Former Senator representing Abia Central senatorial zone at the National Assembly, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, has called on Nigerians to be pa... Former Senator representing Abia Central senatorial zone at the National Assembly, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, has called on Nigerians to be patient with President Muhammadu Buharis administration, stressing that the President needs time to reverse what she described as PDPs 16 year misrule.In an interview with Vanguard in Aba, Nwaogu who is now a member of the All Progressive Congress, APC, stated that Buharis change policy has started bearing fruit as it is no longer business as usual since he came to power.Nigerians should be patient with President Muhammadu Buharis administration, he is striving to clear the rot caused by PDPs misrule. The mistake of PDPs 16 years cannot be corrected in a year. Buhari needs time and should be supported. When you look at the state of affairs in Nigeria, you will appreciate the change the President has brought.It is no longer business as usual. Many people holding public offices are beginning to sit up.I have been vindicated by leaving the PDP; the sordid state of affairs in PDP has said it all. The party is now a shadow of itself. PDP failed to be democratic and chose impunity, we cried out but nobody listened.This is a party that boasted that it will be in power for 60 years. It is interesting that none of the PDP members can make such boast again. You can see that a lot of high ranking PDP members are registering with the APC in the ongoing registration exercise in Abia State.She added that the APC had learnt lessons from the mistakes of the PDP which caused it to lose power at the centre, stressing that it is high time Abia state is rescued from what she described as mediocre governance and godfatherism.Nwaogu described the APC as a government in waiting in Abia state, stressing that she took the right decision by resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in 2014. She boasted that with the influx of eminent politicians into the party, APC would win the 2019 general election in the country.You can ask yourself if it is well with the PDP in Abia, why has PDP members especially in Abia state continued to dump the party; a party that produced a governor.The PDP government has failed in Abia, the people have become disillusioned. Go the streets; you will discover that the people of the state are in a hurry to sack the PDP. Even in Abia here, some workers said Buhari people dont want to pay salaries and I asked them, is Buhari in charge of paying salaries to workers in Abia state?As for the APC, we dont want to follow the bad steps that caused the fall of the PDP. We want to build a formidable party that has all it takes to win the state. APC will take over Abia in 2019. The influx of leading politicians in Abia to the APC tells you that APC is a government in waiting in the state. Now is the time to move away from mediocre governance and godfatherism. APC is determined to set things right in Abia, she said. Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, on Monday said he will be partaking in the upcoming nationwide protest led by Innocent Tuface Idibia. Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, on Monday said he will be partaking in the upcoming nationwide protest led by Innocent Tuface Idibia.In a post on his Twitter handle shortly after 10:00 p.m., Mr. Fayose said the organisers have his full backing to launch the protest which they said will be massive.To organisers of Feb. 5 Enough is Enough National Protest, you have my total support and I will be part of the protest, the governor said.Mr. Fayose is the latest public figure to queue behind the organisers of the demonstration, which is expected to hold simultaneously in different cities across the country.Mr. Idibia, while announcing the protest last week, said the Buhari administrations rudderlessness has left too many Nigerians languishing in poverty with little to be hopeful for about the future.The police said they have been duly informed about the protest and will provide security for all participants, although the government called for patience and understanding amongst Nigerians. Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, has urged the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) to remember the federal gove... Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, has urged the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) to remember the federal governments no work, no pay policy as it continues its 5-day warning strike.The minister said theres nothing like warning strike, noting that a strike is a strike.Ngige said the warning strike the association had embarked on was subject to the rules governing strike.He appealed to ASUP to suspend the action in the interest of the nation and students of the affected institutions.I wish to remind the trade unions that there is nothing like a Warning Strike in our National Industrial Relations System (NIRS) a strike is a strike and is subject to all the rules governing strike in the world of work.Accordingly, the provisions of Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act, CAP. T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004, will apply regarding the law of No Work No Pay by workers/employees notwithstanding any other circumstances in any section of the Act.The minister further assured the polytechnic lecturers of the governments commitment to embracing dialogue with ASUP members.It is important for trade unions to embrace social dialogue in the pursuit and attainment of the economic and social interests of their members anchored on equity, natural justice and agreed procedures. James Ibori, former Delta state governor, who was released from a UK prison in December 2016, says he will return to Nigeria in a matter ... James Ibori, former Delta state governor, who was released from a UK prison in December 2016, says he will return to Nigeria in a matter of days.A UK court convicted Ibori of fraud in 2012, and he was in prison until December.In a statement issued on Tuesday, Tony Eluemunor, Iboris media assistant, said: The British government had attempted to withdraw the case from court five, before Justice Garnham to either the Queens Bench Division or the Crown Court. Iboris lawyers argued that this was a delay tactic by the Crown and the judge refused to grant the transfer, insisting that the case will remain in his Royal court of justice.This time, the case before the court on Tuesday was to determine the amount of money Britain will pay Ibori as compensation for the illegal detention he was subjected to when the British prisons did not allow him to leave on the exact day his prison sentence ended in December last year, but detained him unlawfully and illegally by a day, while even seeking for ways to further deny him his freedom by locking him up illegally.Eluemunor said the parties in the matter would make their final statements in March, and that the amount of damages to be awarded to Ibori would be decided.After all the speculations over when Chief James OnanefeIbori will return to Nigeria, Ibori himself has now confirmed that he would be homeward bound very soon, he said.He also quoted Ibori as telling BBCs Mark Eastman that he was planning to appeal against his conviction and return to Nigeria.As soon as possible, may be in a matter of days, Ibori was quoted to have said in response to a question on how soon his trip back home would be.Dotting the is and crossing the ts in briefing his lawyers may be the only thing standing between Ibori now and his journey to Nigeria, the statement read.For instance, there will be mention of the Ibori London case this week Friday at the Southwark London court for the judge to be fully informed on what is happening with the disclosure process and to ascertain if everybody convicted in the Ibori and related cases will be appealing. Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos state, has signed into law the anti-kidnapping bill recently passed by the state house of assembly. Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos state, has signed into law the anti-kidnapping bill recently passed by the state house of assembly.The prohibition of the Act of kidnapping law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment on kidnapping for ransom.The law also stipulates that where a victim dies in the course of kidnap, the suspect is liable on conviction to death.More to follow The Federal Government has secured $1.5 billion (about N450 billion) counterpart funding from China for the Lagos-Ibadan rail project set... The Federal Government has secured $1.5 billion (about N450 billion) counterpart funding from China for the Lagos-Ibadan rail project set to commence in March.The Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, made the disclosure on Wednesday when he appeared before the Gbenga Ashafa-led Senate committee on land transport to give report of his ministrys 2016 budget and defend the proposal for 2017.In the first quarter of 2017, the foundation of the Lagos-Ibadan segment two of the Lagos-Kano rail project will be laid, said Mr. Amaechi; adding that, the implication here is that we will start the Lagos-Ibadan rail line before the end of March.Our target is to commence from the Apapa seaport down to Ogun and then to Ibadan.Lagos-Ibadan rail line is a segment of the Lagos-Kano railway project, one of the most important and ambitious infrastructural targets of the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government.In January, the government announced wholesale release of N72 billion as Nigerias counterpart funding for the Lagos-Ibadan railway.Mr. Amaechi explained to the senators that the $1.5 billion counterpart funding had been approved by China and was being processed by the China Exim Bank.The counterpart funding is ready, but dont forget that we are borrowing the money from China. The China Exim Bank is processing it.Our 15 per cent is ready; so, we are waiting for China Exim Bank. They have managed to release and approve $1.5 billion for the Lagos-Ibadan line.It is also envisaged that segment three of the Lagos-Kano rail project, which is the Kano-Kaduna stretch, as well as the first phase of the coastal railway line Lagos-Calabar, commencing from Calabar to Port Harcourt with extension to the Onne Deep Seaport will commence after the conclusion of the negotiation of a financing loan agreement, said Mr. Amaechi.He then urged the National Assembly to approve the $30 billion national (rolling) borrowing plan of the government. He said the approval was essential for securing funds needed to finance rail projects in the country.The National Assembly needs to give us approval for the borrowing plan so that we can commence work. We cant sign the loan agreement with China unless there is an approval from the National Assembly.What the National Assembly has approved is the counterpart funding, but we need the approval to borrow the remaining money. If you look at $6.1 billion in naira, and we are paying 15 per cent, you will know that the remaining amount is coming from China and until we have approval, we cannot do anything.Even now, the China Exim Bank has approved $1.5 billion for the Lagos-Ibadan line. We are not able to sign the loan agreement because we need the approval of the National Assembly.On the performance of the 2016 budget, the minister said uncompleted projects in the previous year had been included in the proposed 2017 budget.Speaking for the Senate, Mr. Ashafa promised cooperation with the transportation ministry to ensure implementation of the infrastructural objectives. Prof. Akindele Adetoye has apologised to 2Baba, for describing the megastar as illiterate. The backlash that greeted the professors com... Prof. Akindele Adetoye has apologised to 2Baba, for describing the megastar as illiterate. The backlash that greeted the professors comment was unprecedented.In his apology, Akintoye had written, Good day brethren, I put up an update yesterday that incurred the wrath of some of my friends and the population at large for what some considered its harshness to another member of the Nigerian community.In hindsight, I believe I was indeed harsh. I believe I am wrong to have come at him in the manner in which I did. Hes in love with our nation like I am and like the rest of us.It was in finding a lasting remedy to our national malaise that I believe my passion took the best of me, and it was in that regard that I erred.I apologize for that and I apologize to those whom my update affected in any manner. I was wrong and I am sorry.Thank you and God bless you all. MEXICO CITY, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Remittances to Mexico rose by 6.2 percent compared with the same month a year earlier in December, the first full month after the surprise U.S. election victory of Donald Trump, who has threatened to block the transfers to pay for his border wall. Mexicans abroad sent home more than $2.3 billion in December, Mexican central bank data showed on Wednesday. Most of that amount came from the United States. Remittances can include personal checks, money orders, electronic transfers and cash, according to the central bank's website. The sum was slightly below the figure in November, the month of Trump's victory, when remittances jumped by nearly 25 percent, the biggest increase in more than 10 years. Republican Trump ran a campaign steeped in anti-Mexican rhetoric and threatened to halt transfers from Mexican nationals unless Mexico agreed to pay for the wall he wants built on the U.S. southern border to keep out illegal immigrants. Mexico has said it will defend the free flow of remittances and tariff-free commerce under the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump says he will dump if he cannot renegotiate it to American advantage. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Matthew Lewis) The supreme court of the US state of New York, has dismissed a defamation suit which Musiliu Obanikoro, former minister of state for defen... The supreme court of the US state of New York, has dismissed a defamation suit which Musiliu Obanikoro, former minister of state for defence, filed against Omoleye Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters.The charge was struck out after Sowore asked the court to dismiss it based on affidavits and exhibits.The judge granted Sowores request on the grounds of non conveniens a discretionary power that allows courts to dismiss a case where another court, is much better suited to hear the case.Accordingly, it is ordered that the motion to dismiss this complaint on the ground that New York is an inconvenient forum is granted and the complaint is dismissed with costs and disbursements to defendants upon submission of an appropriate bill of costs, Debra James, the judge, ruled.Upon the foregoing papers, it is ordered that this motion is granted in accordance with the attached memorandum decision and order. This is the decision and order of the court.Obanikoro, had alleged that Sowore and Sahara Reporters, committed libel by accusing him of rigging the election that produced Ayodele Fayose as governor of Ekiti state.He said the report harmed his reputation, both in Nigeria and the US, but the judge granted the defendants motion, saying the matter be resolved in a Nigerian court. Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has said that Tuface Idibia and others planni... Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has said that Tuface Idibia and others planning the anti-government protest in February are still angry with the outcome of the 2015 elections.Speaking in an interview with Lagos Talk 91.3fm, Adesina, said those who are calling for the protest are people who supported the last government and are still pained that they lost the last election."This is a country of about 180 million people. It is impossible for 180 million people to think the same way. Yoruba has a saying that is you all sleep and put your head in the same direction, then you are all foolish because you would be breathing in one another's mouth and lungs. Dont forget the last election and how it went. Somebody scored 12.5 million votes, another scored about 15 million votes. There are some people who are still in that election mode.''They have not gotten out of it and till today, they are still living and "rheumatisizing" about the past. What they don't know is that that past is gone and gone forever. Majority of those calling for the protest are still in election mode. Majority of them are people that have resolved not to see anything good in this administration simply because the man they wanted lost at the polls," he said trump wnriqe pena nieto During a phone call with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday, US President Donald Trump disparaged Mexico and threatened to use military force against the drug trade, according to Dolia Estevez, a journalist based in Washington, DC. In an interview with the Mexican news outlet Aristegui Noticias, Estevez, who cited sources on both sides of the call, said, "It was a very offensive conversation where Trump humiliated Pena Nieto." Estevez said that while both the White House and the Mexican president have released information about the call, both sides characterized it as a "friendly" conversation and neither disclosed what was said. Estevez said she "obtained confidential information" corroborating the content of the discussion. "I don't need the Mexicans. I don't need Mexico," Trump reportedly told the Mexican president. "We are going to build the wall and you all are going to pay for it, like it or not." Trump hinted that the US would force Mexico to fund the wall with a 10% tax on Mexican exports "and of 35% on those exports that hurt Mexico the most," Estevez wrote in Proyecto Puente. Before the call, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump was considering a tax on imports from Mexico to pay for the wall. Donald Trump Enrique Pena Nieto Mexico meeting "He even complained of the bad role the [Mexican] army is playing in the fight against narco trafficking," Estevez, who writes for Forbes and is close to the Mexican journalist and anchorwoman Carmen Aristegui, said during an interview with Aristegui's eponymous news outlet. Trump "even suggested to [Pena Nieto] that if they are incapable of combatting [narco trafficking] he may have to send troops to assume this task," she said. The US president "said he would not permit the drugs coming from Mexico to continue massacring our cities," Estevez added. She said Trump went so far as to say, "I really didn't want to go to Mexico last August," referring to Trump's visit to the Mexican capital last year. Story continues Pena Nieto was accompanied on the call by people from his country's foreign ministry, while Trump was joined by "the famous son-in-law," likely meaning senior adviser Jared Kushner, and chief strategist Steven Bannon. Kushner is reportedly close to Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, and they were seen as the likely go-betweens for the two governments. "Before this unusual onslaught, Pena was not firm," Estevez said. "He was stammering." Enrique Pena Nieto Luis Videgaray Mexico Trump foreign minister Despite this confrontation, the Mexican government still believes in negotiating with the Trump administration, Estevez said. She also reports that Videgaray met with US officials on Tuesday in Tapachula, near the Mexico-Guatemala border. According to Estevez, the Mexican foreign minister met with Craig Deare, a member of Trump's National Security Council handling the Western Hemisphere; Adm. Kurt Tidd, commander of US Southern Command; and Roberta Jacobson, the US ambassador to Mexico. The Mexican Foreign Ministry has made no mention of the encounter. Estevez says the meeting was to address Mexican cooperation in deterring the flow of Central American migrants through Mexico to the US. However, neither US nor Mexican officials contacted by Estevez would confirm the meeting. NOW WATCH: 'Mexico does not believe in walls': Mexico's president rejects Trump's push for a border wall More From Business Insider The Senate Finance Committee chair Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) (L) confers with ranking Republican Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) (R) at a hearing on Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday approved President Donald Trump's nominees for secretary of the Treasury and secretary of health and human services without any votes from Democrats. Republicans used a parliamentary tactic to change the committee rules, allowing them to pass the nominations onto the full Senate without Democrats in attendance. Democrats on Tuesday boycotted votes on the two Cabinet picks, Steven Mnuchin for Treasury and Tom Price for HHS, by not attending. One Democrat had to be in attendance for the vote to take place. After the rule change, Mnuchin and Price each passed with 14 votes. "Long story short, we took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues," said Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the chair of the committee. Hatch also attacked Sen. Ron Wyden, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, for failing to cooperate after passing several bipartisan bills. Hatch said Wyden would now "jump off any cliff" that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told him to. Hatch later told reporters that Democrats on the committee "followed a cheap political ploy, and they should be ashamed." None of the 12 Democrats on the committee was in attendance on Wednesday. Republicans similarly boycotted the approval of Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, in 2013, but Hatch said a boycott of this nature had not happened in the finance committee specifically. Democrats said that before they could vote, they had more questions for Price and Mnuchin about the nominees' business and investment practices. During their hearings, both Mnuchin and Price faced questions from lawmakers about their previous business dealings. Price had numerous investments in healthcare-related stocks while he was drafting legislation with the potential to influence the healthcare sector. Additionally, an investment in an Australian pharmaceutical company was called into question as a possible violation of the Stock Act, which governs investments of members of Congress. Story continues Price told the committee that the discounted shares in the company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, were available to all investors. A Wall Street Journal report, however, found that his investment was made through a private offering available to fewer than 20 American investors. It was available to all investors in Australian and New Zealand. Mnuchin was attacked for failing to disclose nearly $100 million in assets mostly real-estate holdings and directorships at offshore entities related to his hedge fund, Dune Capital Management. Additionally, Democrats called out foreclosure activities by OneWest Bank, a mortgage lender owned by a group led by Mnuchin. Mnuchin said during testimony that OneWest had not used so-called robosigning for foreclosure documents, but an investigation by The Columbus Dispatch showed that such automation was used for at least some loans in Ohio. Hatch said Democrats were simply trying to use distractions to block two qualified nominees. He said the delay tactics forced the Republican-controlled committee's hand. Hatch also pointed to the finance committee's approval in 2009 of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who at the time had an outstanding tax bill of about $40,000, as an example of Republicans' willingness to compromise on appointments. Geithner passed with an 18-5 vote. NOW WATCH: Watch President Obama surprise a tearful Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom More From Business Insider The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts. WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all. New Mexico has no plans to provide ABLE accounts to its residents. ABLE accounts are bank accounts that allow people with special needs to save money without jeopardizing their disability benefits. ABLE accounts come from the federal ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) Act, but they are established and managed on a state level. Not all states have ABLE accounts (yet), and each state will have slightly different rules and procedures for opening and using an ABLE account. New Mexico does not currently have an ABLE program, and according to the state treasurer's office, it has no plans to establish one(see below). Instead, New Mexico residents can open an ABLE account in another state. Save Money Without Penalty When people with special needs apply for disability benefits, they must show that they do not have enough money to support themselves independently. Money saved in a traditional bank account counts against the ability to qualify for disability benefits. As a result, people with special needs are not able to build savings with the money they earn or that they receive through inheritance or gifts. On a day-to-day basis, this means that people with special needs must live with very little money if they want to receive government aid. One workaround for this issue is to use a special needs trust which provides a place to save money that can be used for the benefit of the person with special needs (without affecting his or her eligibility for benefits). But special needs trusts must be controlled by a trustee not by the person with special needs who benefits from the trust. Not only does this leave a person with special needs with little control over his or her finances, it also limits the person's independence. ABLE accounts fill this gap by giving people with special needs the opportunity to manage a modest bank account without penalty against their eligibility for SSI, Medicaid, or other government benefits. Rules for ABLE Accounts in New Mexico The basic rules for all ABLE accounts come from the federal ABLE Act. (Read the federal act here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/647/). When states adopt and implement the ABLE Act, they must follow the federal rules and can also add their own rules and regulations. Here are the federal rules: Disability qualifications. In order to open an ABLE account, you swear under penalty of perjury that you have a disabling "condition that began prior to reaching age 26" and you must fall under the Social Security administration's definition of "disabled" for children. (CFR 416.906.) In order to open an ABLE account, you swear under penalty of perjury that you have a disabling "condition that began prior to reaching age 26" and you must fall under the Social Security administration's definition of "disabled" for children. (CFR 416.906.) Only one account . Each person can only have one ABLE account. . Each person can only have one ABLE account. Anyone can put money in the account . Anyone can contribute money to an ABLE account, including the owner with a disability. . Anyone can contribute money to an ABLE account, including the owner with a disability. Contributions are capped at $14,000 per year (in 2017) . This limit is equal to the annual personal gift tax exclusion, so it will rise every few years. Also, to be clear, this is per account, not per donor. The owner of the account must keep track of all contributions to ensure that they do not exceed $14,000 for the calendar year. . This limit is equal to the annual personal gift tax exclusion, so it will rise every few years. Also, to be clear, this is per account, not per donor. The owner of the account must keep track of all contributions to ensure that they do not exceed $14,000 for the calendar year. For many, the account cannot exceed $100,000 . For those who qualify for SSI, the balance of an ABLE account cannot exceed $100,000. For those who do not qualify for SSI, the account can reach the limit allowed for 529 plans in that state. Because New Mexico does not have its own ABLE program, for New Mexico residents who open an account in another state, this upper limit would be set by the provider-state of the plan you choose. . For those who qualify for SSI, the balance of an ABLE account cannot exceed $100,000. For those who do not qualify for SSI, the account can reach the limit allowed for 529 plans in that state. Because New Mexico does not have its own ABLE program, for New Mexico residents who open an account in another state, this upper limit would be set by the provider-state of the plan you choose. Funds must be used for Qualified Disability Expenses (QDE). QDE are expenses that are "related to the blindness or disability" of the account holder. Thankfully, this is a fairly broad definition and can include expenses for housing, education, transportation, employment training, health and wellness, financial management, legal fees, and more. QDE are expenses that are "related to the blindness or disability" of the account holder. Thankfully, this is a fairly broad definition and can include expenses for housing, education, transportation, employment training, health and wellness, financial management, legal fees, and more. Account funds are not taxed if used properly. The income earned from the funds in ABLE accounts is not taxed. Contributions are made with post-tax dollars, and distributions made for QDE are tax-free. The income earned from the funds in ABLE accounts is not taxed. Contributions are made with post-tax dollars, and distributions made for QDE are tax-free. Unused funds pay Medicaid. If the account owner dies with funds in an ABLE account, those funds must be used (in this order), to pay any outstanding QDE bills including funeral expenses, to provide payback to Medicaid for all Medicaid benefits received, and then to be distributed to the account holders legal beneficiaries. When individual states adopt the ABLE Act and provide ABLE accounts for its residents, they may also make rules and policies about: Minimum amounts required to open an account Fees Availability of accounts to non-residents. State income tax deductions for contributions Account rollovers Debit cards Investment portfolios ABLE Accounts in New Mexico and Other States In 2016, New Mexico passed its ABLE law and named it "Accounts for Persons with Disabilities Act." (New Mexico Statutes 6-8A-1 through 6-8A-8.) However, it appears that New Mexico will not be providing its own ABLE accounts. According to the website of New Mexico's treasurer, "New Mexico does not currently offer its own plan due to limited resources and the administrative fees involved with implementing a program. The State Treasurer's Office will administer the program, however residents will be joining other state's plans." Until New Mexico starts its own ABLE program, you can open an account in another state. Make sure that state offers accounts to non-residents (some don't), and keep in mind that each person can only have one ABLE account. You can learn about and compare ABLE accounts across the country at the website for the ABLE National Resource Center. An ABLE account is just one planning tool for people with special needs. You might also be interested in learning more about special needs trusts or estate planning in New Mexico on Nolo.com. OMAHA While time may heal some wounds, a lack of closure remains for the family of a Council Bluffs woman who was killed one year ago by an undocumented immigrant. Friends, family and supporters of Sarah Root gathered Tuesday night at the intersection of 33rd and L streets in South Omaha to release balloons in her memory. Approximately 200 people crowded the parking lot of Hardees near the spot, trading hugs with Roots parents, Scott and Michelle, while wiping away tears. Scott Root said he was grateful for the show of support for his baby girl and the family, but there yet remained a void a lack of closure. Her killer is still running free. He laughed at us, Scott Root said between giving out hugs. We hope her law gets passed. He was referring to Sarahs Law, which Iowa and Nebraska lawmakers have introduced to require federal immigration officials to keep any person in the country illegally in custody when charged with a crime involving serious injury or death of another person. President Donald Trump met with the family while on the campaign trail in 2016, speaking of them at the Republican National Convention and signing an executive order that had some similar aspects to Sarahs Law. Scott Root said he supported Trumps recent actions to crack down on illegal immigration. Its a step in the right direction, Scott Root said. We need more of it. On Jan. 31, 2016, Sarah Root was killed in a crash at the intersection where family and friends gathered Tuesday. She died of her injuries three days later. Edwin Mejia was charged with drunken driving and motor vehicle homicide in Sarah Roots death. Police say he had a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit and was street racing in a pickup truck when he hit her car. Mejia, then 19, was an undocumented immigrant from Honduras and didnt show up to court after a relative posted his $5,000 bail. Authorities are still pursuing him. Federal immigration officials had denied local law enforcement requests to detain him. As the crowd drew in, Michelle Root thanked them all for attending including representatives for U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, both Nebraska Republicans, and a representatives from U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, both Iowa Republicans. Another guest included a woman who received donated organs from Sarah Root, Michelle Root said. As the balloons soared into the night air while swaying on a gentle breeze, Omaha resident Nick Fox told the group he is working to have the intersection renamed after Sarah Root. While Fox did not know Sarah Root personally, he believed in working to strengthen laws against those in the country illegally, he said. I hope we can rename this Sarah Root Memorial Drive, he said. Scott Root added those who want to come to the United States are welcome as long as they do so legally. My mother came here after World War II, but she did it legally, Scott Root said of his mother's journey from Austria. Were not against immigration. _______________________________________________________________ Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Scott Root's grandmother after the war. The Iowa Board of Optometry has placed a local optometrist who was convicted in Nebraska of drunken driving on license probation. The reciprocal disciplinary action was part of a settlement with Dwayne F. Sturtevant of Weston, Nebraska, that allows him to continue to practice optometry. He practices at 2201 W. Broadway, Suite No. 2, in Council Bluffs and two locations in Omaha. In May 2016, Sturtevant was convicted of drunken driving in Nebraska his fourth alcohol-related offense since 1995, according to documents from the Iowa Board of Optometry. On Oct. 5, 2016, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health approved a settlement that called for license probation for five years, which would last until October 2021. He provided timely notification of the Nebraska disciplinary action to the Iowa Board of Optometry and waived his right to a hearing. On Dec. 5, 2016, Sturtevant submitted a proposal to the Iowa Board of Optometry. The board approved the settlement on Jan. 5 and released the order on Jan. 12. Under the terms of the Iowa agreement, Sturtevants license to practice optometry in Iowa will be on probation during his probationary period in Nebraska but he can continue to practice. He must comply with the terms of the Nebraska settlement, and, if it is modified, the Iowa terms will be modified in a similar fashion. If he is granted early release from his Nebraska probation, his Iowa license will also be released from probation. He must notify the Iowa board of any violations of his Nebraska probation, send any reports required by Nebraska and must provide copies of both settlements to current and prospective employers. If he complies with the settlement, all restrictions will be removed at the end of the probationary period. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writers flair, to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, a selection expected to spark a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape Americas legal landscape for decades to come. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter century. Hes distinguished himself on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals with his clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support, Trump said, announcing the nomination in his first televised address from the White House. Gorsuchs nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trumps own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the rights most powerful voice on the high court. The confirmation process will begin with the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is led by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. In a statement through his office, Grassley said Gorsuch is universally respected across the ideological spectrum as a mainstream judge who applies the law without regard to person or his own preferences. By all accounts, he has a record of deciding cases based on the text of the Constitution and the law, Grassley said. Thats important because in our system of government, Congress, not judges, make the laws. Following Scalias death, Grassley said his committee would not consider any Supreme Court nominee until the next president came on board. I said that wed move forward with the next Presidents nomination to the Supreme Court, regardless of who won, Grassley said. The president has made his selection, and thats what well do. Meanwhile, Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowas other U.S. senator, believes Gorsuch will demonstrate an unwavering commitment to interpret the law as written, rather than legislating from the bench. It is critical that the highest court in the land applies the text of the Constitution and statutes impartially, Ernst said through her office. The people spoke last November, and our new president has put forward a well-respected nominee who the Senate has previously confirmed with unanimous support. Its time for Washington to work together as our constituents expect us to do and move forward to fill the Supreme Court vacancy with this eminently-qualified nominee. Gorsuch was confirmed to the circuit court by unanimous voice vote in 2006 with the bipartisan support of his home state senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar. There are 31 sitting senators who were in the Senate at the time of the unanimous confirmation vote, including 11 Democrats. However, some Democrats, still smarting over Trumps unexpected victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the courts stolen seat. President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy after Scalias death, but Senate Republicans refused to consider the pick, saying the seat should be filled only after the November election. Trumps choice of Gorsuch marks perhaps the most significant decision of his young presidency, one with ramifications that could last long after he leaves office. After an uneven start to his presidency, including the chaotic rollout of a controversial refugee ban, Trumps selection of Gorsuch appeared to proceed with little drama. For some Republicans, the prospect of filling one or more Supreme Court seats over the next four years has helped ease their concerns about Trumps experience and temperament. Three justices are in their late 70s and early 80s, and a retirement would offer Trump the opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for many years. If confirmed, Gorsuch will restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench. But he is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on abortion, gay marriage and other issues in which the court has been divided 5-4 in recent years. Gorsuch was among the 21 possible choices for the court Trump released during the campaign. Other finalists also came from that list, including Thomas Hardiman, who serves alongside Trumps sister on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Pryor, a federal appeals court judge and Alabamas attorney general from 1997 to 2004. Pryors standing slipped in the lead up to the announcement, in part because his reputation as a staunch conservative seems likely to make him a rich target for Democratic senators in a confirmation hearing. Yet Gorsuch, too, is expected to face intense scrutiny from Democrats. Some liberals have demanded that Democrats block any Trump choice, underscoring the deep partisan discord surging through Washington. If Democrats decide to filibuster Gorsuchs nomination, his fate could rest in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump has encouraged McConnell to change the rules of the Senate and make it impossible to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee a change known in the Senate as the nuclear option. A conservative group already has announced plans to begin airing $2 million worth of ads in support of the nominee in Indiana, Missouri, Montana and North Dakota, four states that Trump won and in which Democrats will be defending their Senate seats in 2018. Nonpareil reporter Tim Rohwer contributed to this article. LIMA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Southern Copper Corp on Tuesday reported a 183 percent year-on-year surge in its fourth-quarter net profit to $172 million as better metal prices and increased production from a recent mine expansion bolstered its sales. The result was under the mean market estimate of $298 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. In all of 2016, the company posted $777 million in net profit, up from $736 million in 2015. The miner, which is headquartered in Arizona and owned by Grupo Mexico, said its copper production rose 21 percent to about 900,000 tonnes in 2016, a new company record, thanks to an expansion at its Buenavista mine in Mexico. The company said that this year it will launch plans to expand its copper production capacity to at least 1 million tonnes by mid-2018. Southern operates mines in Mexico and Peru. (Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Theres a famous phrase that states, If it aint broke, dont fix it. In a way, thats what state labor leaders are saying about a proposed change by Gov. Terry Branstad in collective bargaining involving Iowa state employees. A local lawmaker, however, said the intent is to save money concerning health care costs. At issue is Branstads proposal to remove health insurance as a subject of collective bargaining for public employees union contracts. The governor has proposed pulling all health care out of the list of items that can be collectively bargained, said Rep. Mary Ann Hanusa, R-Council Bluffs. It would create a much bigger pool, which theoretically would lower the cost because you would have more people paying in. But, Danny Homan, president of AFSCME Iowa Council 61, said any overhaul of the current method that he considers effective is ridiculous. The idea that we should overhaul a system that has worked with increasing efficiency over the past 40 years for a baseless proposal is ridiculous, he said through his office. Ken Sagar, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, agreed: We got a system in place in 1974 that was crafted by Republicans, and they crafted something that has worked well. These union officials also expressed what they consider the one size fits all approach to health care under this proposal. In fact, Homan called it a case of home rule versus Des Moines rule. A single, state-imposed plan would not meet the needs of the diverse communities across our state, he said. Again, Sagar had similar thoughts. Council Bluffs is going to get what Des Moines says it will get, Sagar said. People in the communities should have the right to decide what is right for them. Hanusa has another phrase for those upset with the collective bargaining talk: Wait a minute. She said she hasnt heard of any talk of eliminating collective bargaining for public employees altogether such as a controversial plan adopted in Wisconsin a few years ago and would oppose any attempt to do that. I would not support the elimination of collective bargaining, she said. There isnt a bill yet, so I think we just need to wait until it comes out. I cant speak to the specifics, since it is still being written. (Adds shares, analyst comment) Feb 1 (Reuters) - Canadian uranium producer Cameco Corp said on Wednesday that Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) , the operator of Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, had scrapped its uranium supply contract with the company. Shares of Cameco slid 12.2 percent to C$14.55 in early trading on Wednesday. The company, one of the world's largest uranium producers, said it considered Tepco's move to terminate the contract unfair and that it would pursue legal action. Cameco said Tepco cited a force majeure for ending the contract as it had been unable to operate its nuclear plants for 18 straight months due to Japanese regulations arising from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. The company said it was notified of the contract termination by Tepco last week. Tepco's termination of the contract would affect about 9.3 million pounds of uranium deliveries through 2028, worth about C$1.3 billion ($995.41 million) in revenue to Cameco, the Saskatoon, Canada-based company said. Cameco's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization could take a 10-15 percent hit in the near-term as a result of the Tepco dispute, said Edward Sterck, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets. Tepco's move comes amid a fall in demand for uranium that is largely a result of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown, which led to shutdowns of all of Japan's nuclear reactors. Some reactors have since come back online, but global inventories of the radioactive metal remain high. Cameco warned late last year that the uranium market would remain depressed until Japan's nuclear reactors were restarted and excess supply was depleted. Cameco also said it expected 2017 revenue of C$2.1 billion to C$2.2 billion, inclusive of Tepco's volume, adding that it could withstand any potential loss of revenue this year from the dispute. ($1 = 1.3060 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Sai Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva) Tesla Chief Executive, Elon Musk enters the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, U.S., January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) changed its name to "Tesla Inc" as Chief Executive Elon Musk looks to transform the Silicon Valley firm from an electric car maker to a diversified energy products company. In October, Musk unveiled solar-powered roof tiles that eliminate the need for traditional panels and a longer-lasting home battery illustrating the benefits of combining his electric car and battery maker with solar installer SolarCity Corp. Tesla won approval in November from its shareholders to acquire SolarCity, for a stock swap deal worth about $2 billion, in which Musk was the largest shareholder. The new name is effective Feb 1, Tesla said in a filing on Wednesday. (http://bit.ly/2jD2Mcv) (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh) Last year, the EU ruled that Apple had been illegally avoiding paying taxes by splitting profit from subsidiary companies and re-routing them to a "head office" in Ireland which was not subject to tax. The Commissioner gave Ireland four months to collect the roughly US $14.5 billion in taxes, but nothing has been recovered as of yet. 4 Reviews In late August of 2016, the three-year investigation by the European Union into Apple's operations in Ireland concluded with the decision that Apple had illegally been avoiding paying taxes. European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager ordered the Irish government, with whom Apple had a special arrangement with, to collect about US$14.5 billion in unpaid taxes. She had given the Irish government four months to collect the taxesa deadline which has just passed, seemingly without consequence. In a news conference on Tuesday, Verstager noted that whilst the amount had not been paid, they had been working with the Irish government and they were "moving forward to do the recovery of the unpaid taxes". "It's a tricky thing to do because it's a large sum, so of course you have to figure out how to do that. It's not an escrow account as in some of the other cases where it's 25 million or 30 million or something like that," Verstager said at the conference. Nebraska tourism director to visit NP John Ricks, the new director of the Nebraska Tourism Commission, will visit North Platte on Thursday. The North Platte/Lincoln County Visitors Bureau at 101 Halligan Drive will host an open house at 2 p.m. to give the public a chance to meet with him and discuss any comments or concerns they might have. Ricks has previously spent years working in the destination marketing business. As an ad agency executive, he worked on different state tourism office accounts in Wisconsin and Wyoming. Ricks first day on the job with Nebraska Tourism was Jan. 9. In a webinar hosted by the Tourism Commission on Jan. 25, Ricks introduced himself to the industry, reiterating that tourism is a $5 billion industry for Nebraska that generates more than $700 million in taxes annually. Genealogical Society to meet Wednesday The North Platte Genealogical Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the meeting room of the North Platte Public Library at 120 W. Fourth. The program is Ancestors in the War of 1812. Plays showcase talents of student directors The McCook Community College Theater Department will debut the directing talents of sophomores Allison Priddy and Joe Anderjaska this weekend. The plays, Freak and Sams Funeral, open Friday and continue Saturday at the Weeth Theater on campus. The first of the 30-minute plays begins at 7 p.m. A freewill donation will be taken. MCC Theater Instructor Clay Grizzle said the directors held auditions earlier this semester, cast college and high school students and scheduled and led rehearsals. Priddys play, Freak, is a serious production dealing with suicide. Sams Funeral, written and directed by Anderjaska, is about four people gathering to bid farewell to an old acquaintance and reveal their real thoughts concerning Sam. Little Mermaid cast hosts special party The first Under the Sea party is on Saturday. The party will be from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Patty Birge Room at the North Platte Community Playhouse. All children ages 4 and older are cordially invited. Space is limited. Come see Ariel, Eric and other characters and create memories to last a lifetime. To register, contact the Playhouse at northplattecommunityplayhouse@gmail.com or 308-532-8559, or stop by 301 E. Fifth from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday or Friday, or from 1 to 5 p.m. on Thursday. If children are unable to attend this party, the cast of The Little Mermaid will also be hosting a party from 1 to 2 p.m. on Feb. 11. Organization reveals that it has exceeded years fundraising goal The Mid-Plains United Way has reached its fundraising goal of $272,000 for 2016-17, and celebrated with an announcement on Tuesday morning. Executive Director Jenny Salestrom removed the veil from the sign displayed at the corner of B and Dewey streets in front of Great Western Bank. This is a great day for us, Salestrom said. Im really excited. The Mid-Plains United Way has reached or exceeded its fundraising goal for the third consecutive year. In 2014-15, the organization met its goal and in 2015-16, it exceeded the goal of $220,000. Funds raised are distributed to 13 agencies in and around North Platte. I want to thank North Platte, Salestrom said. Id like to thank everyone and anyone who invested in Mid-Plains United Way. Salestrom also thanked media representatives who kept the fundraising effort in front of the people. This was a great year, Salestrom said. Not only did we hit our goal this year, but weve seen participation in investing in the United Way up as well. Weve had quite a few businesses that had 100 percent employee contribution, more than last year, so its just the awareness is getting greater. Salestrom has been director for four years and said she has grown with the organization. For me, I know [the organization], Salestrom said. Its so second nature to talk about the United Way. Im very passionate about it. She said she wants people to know how important the organization is to the community. I want them to know because we help 13 amazing agencies, Salestrom said. That, in turn, helps a lot of people in our town. Included this year are two new agencies, Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center and the Nebraska Youth Center. The other 11 agencies are: Community Action Utilities, Community Connections, Head Start, L2 FOR KIDS, Lincoln County CASA, Lutheran Family Services, North Platte Kids Academy, the North Platte Senior Center, North Platte Rape/Domestic Abuse Program, The Connection and the Salvation Army. A man who threatened to set his ex-girlfriends house on fire last summer will spend time in state prison. Wesley Stickelman, 46, was sentenced Monday to two to six years in prison and given credit for 218 days served for an attempt of a Class 2 felony. Stickelman was arrested in June 2016 after his 67-year-old ex-girlfriend reported that he crawled through her window and threatened her at her apartment in the 1200 block of East Fourth Street. According to reports at the time, the woman told police Stickelman raised his fist at her before kicking in the door and leaving, threatening to burn the place down. The woman reported that Stickelman poured gasoline on the front of the apartment, down the steps and on her two vehicles. Police found Stickelman near Fourth and Tabor streets with a bag in which he attempted to hide several large knives, as well as a box with matches and cotton in it. He also had gasoline on his body. In court Monday, attorney Robert Lindemeier said Stickelman was blacked out during the incident and had to be told what happened when he woke up in jail. According to previous reports, Stickelman had left behind Tramadol pills, a controlled painkiller. Stickelman has been sober for his entire 218 days in jail, Lindemeier said. In sentencing, Lincoln County District Judge Donald Rowlands commended Stickelman on his efforts, but said Stickelman could have put the woman, firefighters and the public in danger, had he followed through with his fire threats. A man suspected of passing counterfeit $50 bills was arrested Tuesday after a police chase. The investigation began Dec. 8, when North Platte police were called to Little Caesars Pizza, 411 S. Dewey St., just before 1 p.m. There, a man and woman had attempted to pay for a drive-through order with a $50 bill, said Investigator John Deal. An employee suspected that the bill was counterfeit and gave it back to the customers. They paid with real money and left. Employees reported that the man was the one who paid for the order. Meanwhile, other businesses reported seeing counterfeit $50 bills being passed, Deal said. Through investigation and interviews, police identified the man at Little Caesars as Joshua Murphy, 37, of Colorado, Deal said. After police failed to locate Murphy, a warrant was issued for his arrest, Deal said. On Dec. 8, employees at Pump and Pantry, 2601 Eagles Wings Plaza, reported that a woman had bought merchandise with a $50 bill. A store employee inspected the bill after the woman left, suspected it was counterfeit and contacted police, who confirmed the bill to be counterfeit, Deal said. Investigation led police to believe the woman was Savannah Welsh, 23, Deal said. They were unable to locate Welsh but heard she had left town, Deal said. Police located Welsh on Monday near H and York Avenue in a Chevrolet Malibu. Welsh was arrested on a warrant for first-degree forgery, he said. On Tuesday just after 11:20 a.m., an officer saw Murphy driving a silver 1997 Chrysler LHS near Philip Avenue and Poplar Street. Police attempted to stop the car, but it sped up and ran a stop sign at Poplar and Francis, Deal said. The vehicle pulled into the Allo parking lot, and from there Murphy ran north. The officer followed in a car and was able to get in front of Murphy in the South Platte Terrace parking lot, where he surrendered, Deal said. In addition to the North Platte warrant for forgery, Murphy also had warrants out of Colorado, Deal said. He was additionally arrested on suspicion of flight to avoid arrest and no operators license. Scottsbluff Star-Herald Editor Brad Staman, in a recent column (reprinted in The Telegraph Jan. 27), asked readers to disagree respectfully, rather than in a blizzard of hate. Ironically, the day before, Nebraska Sen. Bill Kintners blizzard of hate forced him to resign from the Legislature. In July, Kintner engaged in cybersex with a woman not his wife, using his state-issued computer. Calls for his resignation were met with defiance. He denounced the State Capitol as a den of thieves and refused to step down. That wasnt Kintners first offense. Omaha World-Herald writer Matthew Hansen listed Kintners Greatest Hits comparing refugees to insects and his colleagues to monkeys, posting a photo of a beheaded woman on Facebook, joking that Muslims in our country should be forced to eat pork, using the ethnic slur wetback and stating that LGBT Nebraskans concerned about lack of protection should leave. He raged against colleagues and said disgusting things about the poor. Last week, Kintner put the end gate on it, as we say in cow country, when he retweeted a joke about sexual assault and took issue with people repulsed by it. Kintner blamed liberals for his downfall, despite the 40 votes ready to expel him in a Legislature with only 15 Democratic senators. Republican Sen. Bob Krist said, These are Nebraska values speaking. North Platte Sen. Mike Groene supported Kintner until the final disgraceful act. But Groene couldnt leave it at that. A World-Herald story quotes him as saying, I hope the jackals are satisfied. Nebraska values are upheld by jackals? Our leaders, all the way to the top, would be wise to heed a man of integrity, Republican Chuck Hagel. Our former Nebraska and United States senator, Hagel responding to words that led to the war in Iraq warned, Words have meanings, and meanings have consequences. Roy and Linda Deeds North Platte The North Queensland Cowboys are looking forward to the relaxed atmosphere at the Downer NRL Auckland Nines competition this weekend, having named a host of stars including Johnathan Thurston and young talent Kalyn Ponga. The inclusion of Thurston in the squad along with fellow international Jason Taumalolo and Michael Morgan has made the Cowboys favourites to win the competition for the second time since the tournament's inception in 2014. The club's Nines captain Gavin Cooper said he was looking forward to the first competitive event of the year, and seeing the club's young guns in action. "It's an exciting weekend, it's a little bit different, obviously not the pressure of week-in week-out footy but it's fun, you don't want to lose and we'll be over there giving our best," Cooper said. "There's a couple of guys in there that I'm really excited to see. The boys have really been putting in at training and really deserve their spot at the team this weekend. "Running around on a paddock in front of 50,000 fans in New Zealand is going to be a good eye opener for them and a little bit of a look into the future if they can make that crack into NRL." The second-rower was also excited to see boom rookie Ponga in the Nines format, but didn't want to place undue pressure on the recent NRL debutant. "There's not as much space as everyone seems to think there is, but KP (Kalyn Ponga) can turn someone inside out in two metres, so we'll wait and see what he can do." The Cowboys are in the Hanua Pool and will take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters and the Canberra Raiders in the group stage of the tournament. Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band will perform at Wrigley Field on July 15. Also on the performance roster will be Huey Lewis & The News. Tickets for the summer concert go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 10. There is an 8-ticket limit per customer. Buffett was the first artist to perform at Chicago's Wrigley Field in 2005. This year will be the first time in 12 years he'll perform at the Friendly Confines. The show is part of Buffett's "I Don't Know" Tour 2017. For tickets and prices, visit Cubs.com/Jimmy Buffett or charge by phone at 800-THE-CUBS. - Eloise Marie Valadez Fans of Cajun and Creole food will want to be in the house when acclaimed Chicago chef Jimmy Bannos hosts his monthly Cajun Cooking Class and Dinner at his Heaven on Seven Wabash restaurant. Bannos' next class will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Louisiana-inspired Chicago eatery located on the 7th floor of the Garland Building. During each class, the chef-owner offers a history of Heaven on Seven and how he came to travel the Cajun/Creole culinary path. He then demonstrates five dishes and the recipes are served up to members of the culinary class. "I'm going to Creolize you," Bannos told the crowd at Heaven on Seven's December event. He shared the story of how his parents bought what was once a Jewish deli in 1980 on the seventh floor of The Garland Building and how they transformed it into the New Garland Coffee Shop. It was there where young Jimmy began to hone the culinary craft. He studied at Washburne Trade School in Chicago and started to turn his attention to the flavors of Louisiana. Bannos regularly experimented with Cajun/Creole dishes at the coffee shop and customers loved the food. "I wanted to take (our diner) to another level," Bannos said. Bannos and his wife planned a trip to New Orleans to get first-hand experience of the regional Louisiana fare that they favored. He got to know the legendary Paul Prudhomme and was influenced by the chef who was known as the king of Cajun and Creole cuisine. Later, in 1985, Bannos decided to turn the diner into Heaven on Seven and dedicate his culinary life to the culturally rich and flavorful food. On the menu for the December class were dishes such as Creole Spiced Caesar Salad, Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo, Nashville Hot Chicken, Blueberry Corn Blasters and more. "Cajun cooking is all about balance," Bannos said. "It's not just all hot." In addition to the Cajun cooking class, Heaven on Seven regularly features Mardi Gras celebrations and special menus for the Fat Tuesday season. Various other events are held throughout the year. Class fee for the Cajun course and dinner is $75 per person. Reservations are required. Ticket price includes dinner, demo, beer, wine or Hurricanes and recipes for the dishes that are prepared. Tax and gratuity are not included. In addition to the Chicago location, there's a Heaven on Seven in Naperville, Illinois. Visit heavenonseven.com for more information on the restaurant and upcoming events. In between perfecting your costume for trick-or-treating and watching your favorite Halloween movies, leave time for baking some of the best pumpkin recipes around. With a pumpkin pie spice and cream cheese center, this delicious pumpkin cake roll is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and give you that fall feeling. INDIANAPOLIS State lawmakers are proposing legislation they say will help strengthen Indiana's system for running background checks for teachers. The proposals come after an investigation it conducted with the USA Today Network that found gaps in the state's screening process, the Indianapolis Star reported. Republican State Sen. Jim Merritt, who created one of the proposals, said more frequent screenings would keep administrators informed about their employees. "Unless you see a report on television that an employee has gotten in trouble that we've seen on a rampant basis they don't have knowledge of situations that are occurring," Merritt said. "So I think this constant background check is a necessity." The bills propose to make background checks more routine and reduce the delay between a completed screen and an employee's start date. Current law allows a three-month window for background checks to be completed, but House Bill 1079 would shorten that window to one month. Sally Sloan, a lobbyist for the Indiana Federation of Teachers, told lawmakers that she was unsure if the one month window was realistic if schools have emergency vacancies and need to hire someone fast. "I wonder about the practicality of that," Sloan said. In agreement was Mike Brown, legislative affairs director for the state schools superintendent, Jennifer McCormick. Brown said completing background checks prior to hiring a teacher could cause an "undue burden on our school systems." He said teachers are sometimes hired weeks or days before the semester starts. The proposed bills could keep a newly hired teacher waiting, while a school relies on substitutes. Lawmakers will also discuss whether schools should put policies in place to check a prospective employee's references before an offer is extended. The changes would affect traditional public, charter and private schools, Merritt said. Despite the changes being considered by the state, local school districts would still be in control of the screening process. CROWN POINT A plea agreement is in the works for Stephanie Serrano, one of three people charged with in the beating death of Gary resident Nathan Marshall in January 2015. Serrano, now 31, has been in custody at the Lake County Jail since her arrest in April 2015, charged with murder and assisting a criminal, a level 5 felony. The Gary resident appeared Tuesday with her defense attorney Patrick Young before Lake County Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas. Young told the judge a plea agreement on the murder charge is being worked out with Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Randall and should be ready to submit by Feb. 17. The bail hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday was vacated. James Willingham of Lake Station was also charged in the homicide of Marshall, 31, and remains in the Lake County Jail. Cheyanne D. Evans of Gary was charged with assisting a criminal after her arrest in Orlando, Florida. Marshall, who was confined to a wheelchair, was reported missing by family members on Jan. 23, according to court records. His body was found Feb. 25, 2015 in a wooded area north of the 2200 block of Fairbanks in Gary after a child riding an ATV spotted his remain, the probable cause affidavit states. An autopsy by the Lake County coroners office determined Marshall was strangled to death, with blunt force trauma as a contributed factor. INDIANAPOLIS The Indiana House voted 97-0 Tuesday to fix a quirk in state law that's preventing the privately-funded Porter County Special Olympics from renting buses owned by local school corporations to take athletes to events. House Bill 1507 eliminates the requirement that an organization serving individuals with developmental disabilities be state-supported to rent a school bus. It also deletes a mandate that every individual riding the rented bus live in the school corporation's boundaries. "This is a really simple but very important bill," said state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, the sponsor. "We need to keep it moving so the kids have transportation in the spring." Soliday said the school bus restriction has been on the books, but overlooked for years. It recently was discovered by an insurance company lawyer who advised school corporations to deny Special Olympics bus access. The legislation, which is co-sponsored by state Reps. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, and Earl Harris, Jr., D-East Chicago, now advances to the Senate where it will be carried by state Sens. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, and Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes. INDIANAPOLIS Hoosier Republicans have chosen a campaign aide to Gov. Eric Holcomb as the party's new state chairman. Kyle Hupfer, of Pendleton, who led Holcomb's transition team and served as the governor's campaign treasurer, was unanimously elected party leader Wednesday by the Republican State Central Committee. He replaces Jeff Cardwell, a loyalist of former Gov. Mike Pence, who resigned January 21 after Pence was sworn-in as vice president of the United States. Hupfer said his goal as chairman is to organize the party as a resource for Republican candidates, elected officials, supporters and constituents. "That includes enhanced training, better internal communication and coordination and improved messaging all aimed at preparing us to both maintain our hold of statewide offices, and most importantly, defeat (Democratic U.S. Sen.) Joe Donnelly in 2018," he said. Holcomb said he's confident Hupfer "will be a focused and passionate advocate for Republican candidates at every level of public service." Hupfer also works as chief administrative officer and general counsel for Indiana Mills and Manufacturing, Inc, a safety systems enterprise. (Corrects disciple to discipline in paragraph 6) * Senate Democrats plan procedural hurdles against nominee * Republicans and conservatives laud pick as 'outstanding' * Gorsuch was in Obama's Harvard Law School graduating class By Lawrence Hurley and Steve Holland WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed "very serious doubts" about the nominee. Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Gorsuch while conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like "outstanding," "impressive" and a "home run." Gorsuch, the son of a former Reagan administration official, is the youngest nominee to the nation's highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. He is a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W. Bush in 2006. Announcing the selection to a nighttime crowd in the White House East Room flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuch's resume is "as good as it gets." Trump, who took office on Jan. 20 and has sparked numerous controversies, said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. Story continues "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support," Trump told an audience that included Scalia's widow. "Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent," Trump added. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights and writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. "I respect ... the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws," Gorsuch said, as Trump looked on. "It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official said a screening committee helped in the selection process that included Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Don McGahn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and top strategist Steve Bannon. Gorsuch became the youngest U.S. Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. Gorsuch was in the same 1991 graduating class from Harvard Law School as Obama. The selection of Gorsuch, who was on a list of about 20 judges suggested by conservative legal activists, unified Republicans in a way not seen since Trump's Nov. 8 election victory, with even critics within the party such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham singing the nominee's praises. Trump made his choice between two U.S. appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. Democrats signaled it may not be easy this time. "Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women's rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court," Schumer said. Trump got the opportunity to name Scalia's replacement only because the Republican-led Senate, in an action with little precedent in U.S. history, refused to consider Obama's nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. "This is the first time in American history that one party has blockaded a nominee for almost a year in order to deliver a seat to a president of their own party. If this tactic is rewarded rather than resisted, it will set a dangerous new precedent in American governance," Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said. McConnell said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate would show Gorsuch "fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of (Democratic) Presidents (Bill) Clinton and Obama." A rally outside the Supreme Court building staged by liberal groups drew hundreds of demonstrators against Gorsuch. Michael Keegan, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, described Gorsuch as an "ideological warrior who puts his own right-wing politics above the Constitution." MOTHER SERVED IN REAGAN ADMINISTRATION Gorsuch is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan's administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA's use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trump's selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on Feb. 13, 2016. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick under current rules. Trump said last week he would favor Senate Republicans eliminating the procedural move that Democrats have promised, called a filibuster, for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. Such a change has been dubbed the "nuclear option." Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the Nov. 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasizing the importance of the pick during the campaign. If confirmed, Gorsuch would expand the court's conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy Samuel Alito and Thomas. Kennedy long has been considered the court's pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court's restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia's replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch boasts Ivy League credentials: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bush's Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many U.S. conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the court's longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon's presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the U.S. Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Trump may get to make additional appointments. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him "a faker," is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. (Additional reporting by Ian Simpson, Eric Beech, Susan Cornwell, Andrew Chung, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey, Ayesha Rascoe and Doina Chiacu; Writing Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney) HAMMOND City officials are not satisfied with a recent proposal to deal with a chemical plume located below the grounds of a company in the Robertsdale neighborhood. The plume is under property owned by Ferro Corp. at 3000 Sheffield Ave., which was the former site of the Keil Chemical Facility. In 2003, Ferro sold Keil Chemical to Dover Chemical Corp., but it retains ownership of the land. Dover also is not satisfied with what Ferro has told it so far. According to a remediation work plan prepared for Ferro last October by Hull & Associates Inc., of Dublin, Ohio, the chemicals of concern in the underground plume are 1,2-dichloroethane and vinyl chloride. 1,2-dichloroethane is used to produce vinyl chloride, which is used to make a variety of plastic and vinyl products. Ingesting high levels of the chemical can cause damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys and lungs and may cause cancer, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Hull's report noted that current operations at the site do not use these chemicals. Hammond officials concerned Hammond Councilman Mark Kalwinski, D-1st, and the city's Environmental Department Director Ron Novak believe the data in Hull's report is not current and that monitoring needs to take place beyond the property's borders. Novak has noted there is a large water main and storm and sanitary sewer lines under Sheffield Avenue. Novak said a leak in the pressurized water main, for example, could potentially spread the contaminated material over a much larger area. He said Wolf Lake and Lost Marsh also are not far from the site. In a letter submitted to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Kalwinski said "the joint seals on the main water line along Sheffield Avenue have been compromised by contamination from the site. Failure of a joint seal on that 60-inch main would be catastrophic in regard to supply and due to high groundwater table, would spread contamination over the area." Novak said it is always best to have the latest and best information, "and we don't have that here." Ferro said in response that it is in compliance with all state environmental regulatory requirements. Conflicting views Hull's report said "potential off-site groundwater migration to the Wolf Lake Environmental Conservation Area is highly unlikely." It said the infrastructure "does not create a potential ... for off-site migration of impacted groundwater," although there are a couple of water lines that could come into contact with groundwater. The land directly around the site is used by industry, according to the report. Darren Schwede, chief financial officer of Dover Chemical, said when his company took over the Hammond operation, Ferro officials said they would remediate the environmental problems at the site but have scaled back on their initial promise. He said Dover officials have not seen the final plan, but "what we have seen is insufficient for the environmental problems that were put there by them (Ferro) in the past. What we have reviewed so far appears to be an incomplete document." IDEM responds In response to concerns raised by the report, IDEM replied in a statement that its risk department will still need to review the plan. Per IDEMs Remediation Closure Guide, the risk demonstration requires a minimum of eight consecutive quarters of groundwater monitoring data to perform a plume trend analysis. It said it also will monitor whether the plume is stable or decreasing. The eight quarters of sampling will be performed subsequent to IDEMs approval of the plan. "The site will end up having environmental restrictive covenants prohibiting the use of groundwater and limiting the excavation of the soil for current and future property owners. Additional sampling will be taken in the future as part of the plan as well, alleviating concerns over sampling data being too old," IDEM's statement said. Prior environmental actions The site has been the subject of prior environmental actions and cleanup activities. An agreed order between Ferro and IDEM was signed in 1993 as a result of state inspections in 1991 and 1992, according to Hull. The remediation work plan has been revised over the years. Under Ferro, Keil manufactured Pryo-Chek, a plastic flame retardent, from 1980 until the line was sold to Richmond, Virginia-based Albermarle Corp. in 2000. While manufacturing Pryo-Chek, Ferro emitted tons of volatile organic compounds each year, primarily in the form of ethylene dichloride, a probable carcinogen. From 1995 to 2000, the city of Hammond charged the company with 16 separate violations of the city's air pollution control ordinance for the emissions. In April 2002, Ferro agreed to pay $3 million to the justice department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Indiana for the environmental violations at the facility. EAST CHICAGO Unsafe speeds may have been a factor in Wednesday's crash that killed a Chicago man on northbound Cline Avenue, a preliminary investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Department shows. Police responded a little after 1 a.m. Wednesday on Cline Avenue near the 5C exit ramp. The initial investigation indicates Gerome Bailey, 39, exited northbound State Road 912 onto the exit ramp before crashing into the concrete barrier head on, spokesman Mark Back said in a news release. The exit is in the area of Michigan Avenue, where the road is closed because a bridge is out. Bailey was taken to St. Catherine Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 6:10 a.m. The cause of death was listed as accident by the Lake County Coroner's office. The case has been reassigned to the Lake County Crash Reconstruction Unit for a fatal crash investigation to supplement the initial crash investigation, Back said. It is unknown at this time whether any other circumstances may have contributed to the crash, according to the release. Additional details are pending, police said. Indiana Sheriffs Association will again be awarding college scholarships to qualified high school seniors or college students who are pursuing a degree in criminal justice studies. There will be approximately 40 $500 scholarships awarded to qualifying students throughout the state. To qualify for one of these scholarships, the applicant must be an Indiana resident, be a current member of the association or a dependent child or grandchild of a current member of the association, attend an Indiana college or university, major in a law enforcement field and enroll as a full-time student (12 hours). Applications needed to apply for the scholarship are available from your high school counselor or the sheriffs office. The scholarship application can also be downloaded from the Indiana Sheriffs Association website; www.indianasheriffs.org. The applications must be completed and received by the Indiana Sheriffs Association on or before April 1. CROWN POINT The John Dillinger Museum in the historic Old Lake County Courthouse in downtown Crown Point closed its doors during its normal hours of operation on Sunday and Tuesday. The South Shore Visitors and Convention Authority, which operates the museum, said there was "a brief operational hiccup." Martha Wheeler, president of the Lake County Courthouse Foundation, had no comment on the closure. The museum, which is closed on Mondays, will re-open for visitors today. The museum opened in the courthouse in August 2015 after it was formerly housed in the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority' Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond. Officials with the South Shore CVA announced on Tuesday they will offer visitors a 25 cent admission price for the entire month of February. Admission is ordinarily $4 for adults, $3 for seniors over 50 and groups of eight or more, $2 for children 6 to 12 and free to those under 6. Admission is free for active fire, EMS, military and Hoosier Helpers, as well as active or retired police officers. Dillinger met his demise at the hands of FBI agent, Melvin Purvis outside of a movie theater in 1934," said Erika Dahl, director of communications for the South Shore CVA. "We will be offering admission to the Museum at 25 cents, the average price of a movie ticket the same year. This winter promotion comes at a time when visitor traffic is historically low to attractions and restaurants. We want people to get out and enjoy what the South Shore has to offer. The John Dillinger Museum, since its move to the historic courthouse has introduced a local Law Enforcement Memorial Wall as well as the original indictment of John Dillinger donated by the Lake County Courts. The 25 cent promotion begins today and runs through Feb. 28 during normal business hours. To schedule a group tour of the museum call 219-989-7770. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information can be found at www.dillingermuseum.com. LAPORTE New libraries recently opened in Fish Lake and Hanna while other new and renovated ones throughout LaPorte County will soon be following suit. Despite the $12 million cost, it's worth positioning the libraries better for the 21st century with amenities that include more indoor cell phone chargers and better access to wi-fi in the newly created outdoor seating areas, said Fonda Owens, director of the LaPorte County Public Library system. "We're very excited, and we just really look forward to having the buildings open," Owens said. The newly renovated libraries were also reconfigured to create areas strictly for children and space that's more functional, roomier and brighter. Heather Ford likes the new, fresher look at the Union Mills branch she goes to about once a week. She was most impressed and pleased the renovation that started in November took only five weeks to complete. All of the branches now have community meeting rooms and iPads mounted to walls for use by preschool children, especially for those who might not have such technology at home. "We encourage the use of them. Touch it. Use it. Learn," said Kristi Chadderdon, spokesperson for the library system. The new library at Rolling Prairie is scheduled to open by the end of this month. An extensive renovation of the historic main branch at 904 Indiana Ave. in LaPorte should also be completed in about one month, Owens said. The remodeled branch at Union Mills opened Dec. 16, while the refurbished Kingsford Heights library is scheduled to be completed early next month. The new library at Coolspring Township is a few months further behind schedule, but that one should open in June or July, officials said. The main branch in LaPorte has operated since late May from a much smaller temporary location at 1020 Lincolnway. The move back should begin soon to allow plenty of time for returning materials and reinstalling equipment at the newly improved permanent site, Chadderdon said. The work being financed over 19 years was approved in 2015 by the library board after several years of fierce opposition and a scaling back of the original proposal that called for closing the Hanna branch. The last time Porter County government borrowed money, it was to build the Porter County Jail, which opened in 2002. That's now the only bond the county has left to pay off, in 2025. Fifteen years later, the county commissioners are talking about issuing bonds again to address some of the delayed work facing the county. They plan to offer ideas to the County Council and see what the council members want to tackle first. Among the projects being discussed now, for later in the year, are tearing down the old animal shelter and refurbishing the highway department facilities at that site. The Expo Center needs to be refurbished, too, Commissioner Jeff Good said. We're not talking big bonds at least not yet because the commissioners have been prioritizing projects to get some things done instead of sinking into the trap of trying to do everything at once. It's a new way of doing business for county government. Good, whose hotel business has given him expertise in managing construction projects, knows how to get teams working together. The Board of Commissioners is now functioning as a team. Fellow commissioners Laura Blaney and Jim Biggs are cooperating with Good on fact-finding missions so no one feels left out, so everyone is prepared to address issues when they arise at commissioner meetings. "The old days are over where one guy or two guys make a decision and it's done," Commissioner Jim Biggs said. This team is focused on getting things done but in a thoughtful manner. The Expo Center and Memorial Opera House both ended the year in the black, which makes the commissioners more confident in putting money into those buildings, Blaney said. The north county government complex is a high priority for some Portage officials who want the county to help establish the citys new downtown, bringing additional foot traffic to restaurants and retail outlets there. But it's a lower priority for the county commissioners, who say there's enough acreage at the existing site on Willowcreek Road to accommodate a new building if that's ever needed. They're more thoughtful about the big picture. Courthouses need additional security now, in this post-9/11 era, and that would have to be a factor in planning any new building. For that matter, the courthouse in downtown Valparaiso has suffered from heavy foot traffic and delayed maintenance. Discussion of a new complex in the north would have to factor in consideration of how to distribute courts and other offices in the county. Long-range planning would have to include consideration of whether another courtroom would be needed in another 10 to 15 years, Good said. A project like this would run from $450 to $550 per square foot, Good said. That might be reasonable for downtown Chicago, but it's enough to make anyone in Porter County think twice about rushing to build it. "It's on our radar, but it's not low-hanging fruit," Good said. Very much on the radar now is transportation infrastructure. Expect to see a push to improve drainage, so roads will last longer, and to rebuild roads especially since President Donald Trump has promised a major push in federal funding. "You've got to learn to ride these waves when you see them," Good said. The business case for civility at work will be the topic of a workshop presented by an internationally known expert at World Civility Day on April 13. Lew Bayer, CEO of the multinational civility training group Civility Experts Inc., will hold the workshop at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond. Bayer, of Winnipeg, Canada, is the author of The 30% Solution, released in 2016. Civility Experts, which is among the sponsors for World Civility Day, includes 83 affiliates in 24 countries and has supported hundreds of organizations in building better workplaces. Research shows that 26 percent of workers have quit a job because it was an uncivil workplace. In choosing civility, people find their best self, and in doing so, they experience the grace, courage, generosity, humanity, and humility that civility engenders, Bayer says. Participants in her research-based workshop will learn how civility at work can increase profitability, retention and engagement. They will gain tools that they can start to use immediately to assess, train, and build civility competencies in their workplace. Who should attend the workshop? It is suggested for business owners, educators, workplace trainers, managers or supervisors, human resources professionals, consultants and image professionals. Community Civility Counts, which started as a partnership of the Gary Chamber of Commerce and The Times Media Co. in 2015, will announce times of the World Civility Day workshops soon. Workshops will be held at the Welcome Center and an awards dinner will be held in the evening at Avalon Manor in Merrillville. Tickets can be ordered through the Gary Chamber of Commerce. Call 219-885-7404. Tickets are $25 for the day sessions and lunch and $60 for the celebration and awards dinner. Tables of 10 for the dinner can be reserved for $550. See special hotel rates here. Sponsorships also are available through the Gary Chamber. FORT WAYNE, Ind. Social worker Jackie Martinez described what could happen if a pregnant woman goes into labor and doesnt realize it. By the time she gets to the hospital, her placenta has detached from her uterus. She is bleeding heavily. The baby, lacking a food and oxygen supply, has to be delivered, ahead of schedule and underweight. The newborn dies. Martinez was visiting a client, 20-year-old Nasira Martin, discussing the kind of education she does to keep infants alive in this Rust Belt city near the Ohio border. "We are in the 46806 as we speak right now," Martinez said, holding Martin's 1-month-old daughter, Azariah Dominguez, last fall at the family's home on Fort Wayne's southeast side. "And this is one of our highest areas for preterm labor and infant mortality." Martin lives in the ZIP code that, between 2010 and 2014, had the fourth-highest rate of Indiana babies dying before their first birthdays. The rate was 24.1 deaths per 1,000 live births among blacks, compared to 15.3 overall. Thirty-seven infants died in the 46806 during those five years. No other Fort Wayne ZIP code lost more than 19 babies in that time period. Indiana as a whole has the eighth-highest infant mortality rate in the nation. Martinez and her nonprofit, Healthier Moms and Babies, are trying to change that. The organization sends nurses and social workers into the homes of young, low-income, pregnant women to educate them about how to carry their babies to term and the signs of premature labor. Prematurity is one of the leading causes of infant deaths in Indiana. "Some of these girls say, 'That's just pain because I'm pregnant,'" Martinez said. "No, those are contractions that are coming 10 to 15 minutes apart. There's medicine you can take to stop contractions, or bed rest. That's why education is so important: These are the symptoms that should be normal, and these are the symptoms that shouldn't be." Focusing on 46806 Fort Wayne, the state's second largest city (population 260,000), is located about 20 miles west of the Ohio border in northeast Indiana. The city was the location of a U.S. military fort, named after the Army general who defeated a Native American tribe in a 18th century battle. Fort Wayne once had a thriving manufacturing industry, but lost an estimated 30,000 factory jobs during the deindustrialization of the 1980s. The city typifies the infant mortality problem in Indiana and the nation in general: a large population center, with the high death rate being driven by African-American babies. "If you look at the data, the urban cities in Indiana are really the ones facing this problem. Across the country, all urban areas face this problem," said Paige Wilkins, director of Healthier Moms and Babies. "The United States does not have the best record for birth outcomes." The U.S. ranks 56th in the world for infant mortality, according to the Central Intelligence Agency's 2016 estimates. America has a preterm birth rate comparable to Iran, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the March of Dimes found. "From what we see every day, the thing that is preventing some of our moms from getting care is the circle of poverty," Wilkins said. "It's hard to go from point A to point B when you're in constant crisis mode: housing, utilities, domestic violence." Within Fort Wayne, nonprofits are targeting the 46806 ZIP code, often in concert, as a way to reduce the infant mortality rate citywide. While the ZIP code has just a 10th of Allen County's births, it accounts for a fifth of the county's infant deaths. "Pregnancy outcomes are influenced by a woman's health, race, ethnicity, age, location and, most importantly, access to health care, early health care," said Kayevonne Dailey, executive director of the Fort Wayne referral service Women's Health Link, in an interview in the fall. "I heard about a woman today, nine months pregnant, who carried to term, but she didn't know she was pregnant. Thankfully, the baby is healthy." The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designates "inner city" Fort Wayne, which encompasses the 46806 ZIP code, as having a shortage of primary care providers, which includes OB-GYN physicians. Parts of the ZIP code lack easy access to affordable, nutritious food, according to the Department of Agriculture. Based on such factors as jobs, education and income, the economic distress score in 46806 is 96.2 out of 100, according to the Economic Innovation Group's Distressed Communities Index. Four of 10 people in the ZIP code live in poverty. "46806 is very transient. People move a lot," Wilkins said. "They move and their phones get disconnected. We almost become like the FBI trying to find them." Andrea Daniels, 34, lived in that ZIP code when she lost her son, Jourdan Harris, in 2015. He died at 5 months old after being born premature and with birth defects. Daniels said many women in 46806 lack transportation and are on Medicaid, which not all doctors take. She suggests women reach out to community organizations for help getting prenatal care. "I'm a firm believer that we should be our child's advocates as parents," said Daniels, a day care worker. "That doesn't start when your child goes to school or they get in trouble and you want to protect your child. No, it starts as soon as you find out you're pregnant with that child. You need to take care of that child. You need to take care of your body to take care of that child." Educating young women, moms Half the infants who die in the 46806 ZIP code were born to teen mothers. Statewide, teens are the age group most likely to lose a baby. The Education Creates Hope and Opportunity, or ECHO, program at Lutheran Social Services in Fort Wayne works on keeping teen parents in school as the best defense against infant deaths. "School is a community," said Libby Martin, director of case management for Lutheran Social Services. "Being able to keep them in that community of adults and peers who care for them that's one of the things that definitely lessens a lot of those poor birth outcomes." Other organizations work to prevent teen pregnancy altogether. In late 2016, the Fort Wayne Urban League held a two-week, 13-hour workshop called Healing Our Community. The program, which was aimed at females between ages 15 and 25, touched on abstinence, being healthy before pregnancy and safe sex. The first class took place in the 46806 ZIP code. "We're focused on educating," said Paula McGee, director of economic development for the Fort Wayne Urban league. "We are trying to stress abstinence as a for-certain way not to have an infant death. But if you're going to get pregnant, we want to ensure you're healthy, so we'll focus on eating habits. We realize we are also in a food-desert area. We try to teach them different options, better than Cheetos and pop." Holli Seabury, CEO of Fort Wayne health educator McMillen Health, said her organization works "to have women see the wisdom in planning pregnancy for the time in their life when they're emotionally, financially and physically prepared to be pregnant." Thanks to a grant from Fort Wayne's Parkview Health hospital, Healthier Moms and Babies and McMillen Health launched the Babies Love mobile website this month. The site provides information on where women can go for pregnancy testing, mental health support and free baby supplies. Parents also can sign up to receive regular text messages with community resources. A success story Jackie Martinez, the case manager with Healthier Moms and Babies, calls Nasirah Martin one of her success stories. Martin delivered Azariah at full term. She is on birth control, in the hopes her next pregnancy can be planned. She breastfeeds, which African-American women like her are less likely to do than white moms in Indiana. "It reduces (sudden infant death syndrome) and has more antibodies and minerals and iron and other stuff," she said of breast milk. "It has a whole lot more than normal milk does." She spent the first 40 days after pregnancy at her boyfriend's family's home, part of the Hispanic cuarentena tradition. She said Azariah has been a smiley baby, even grinning in her sleep. The infant likes watching "Tom and Jerry." Martin also is pursuing her GED certificate. She wouldn't be able to get to class in the middle of winter with a newborn, so a tutor from the nonprofit Fort Wayne Literacy Alliance is coming to her. "It's not just about the pregnancy," Martinez said. "She's a young girl who has so much ahead of her, yet she's pregnant at an earlier age. It's not something she planned to do, but you encourage her: Want more, because now you have even more reason to want more. And they're in a demographic where they're not expected to want more." Martinez helped Martin get a free Pack 'n Play, a type of portable crib, from another community nonprofit. Public health experts say putting a baby to sleep in a crib (on their backs, and without pillows, blankets or bumpers) greatly reduces the risk of infant death. Martin was asked how she would have obtained a crib otherwise. "I don't even know," she shrugged, holding and locking eyes with her baby. "It would have been hard to get all the stuff she supplied me with. It would have been a struggle." CHICAGO A nonprofit wealth-building organization says about 65 percent of African-American, Latino and Asian households in Chicago would be thrown into poverty within three months if the breadwinner loses their job. A report by Washington-based Corporation for Enterprise Development asserts the divide between the incomes of white households and minority households is wider in Chicago than in the nation as a whole. Dedrick Asante-Muhammad of CFED says the huge divide is due to Chicago's white households being wealthier than the national average. He adds the city's African-Americans are significantly less wealthy than the national average. The median income of whites in Chicago is $70,960 compared with $56,373 for Asians, $41,188 for Latinos and $30,303 for blacks. Asante-Muhammad notes white households have recovered more than minority households from the 2008-09 recession. A doctor from Sudan is unable to return to work at a Brooklyn hospital because of President Donald Trump's order banning certain travel from seven mostly Muslim nations. NY1's Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report. The interns and residents at Interfaith Medical Center are rallying for one of their own. Dr. Kamal Fadlalla is a second year resident in internal medicine at the Bedford-Stuyvesant hospital. He returned home to Sudan for vacation earlier this month but now can't return to Brooklyn because of President Trump's executive order barring travel from seven mostly Muslim nations. "He's one of the best residents we have. He goes beyond his duty hours to be of help to his patients. He's an advocate for his patients for their rights," said Sumid Dahal, a medical resident at Interfaith Medical Center. Fadlalla has been living in Crown Heights for nearly two years, in housing Interfaith provides its residents. Sumid Dahal is one of his neighbors. "He's very upset about the situation. There's this anxiety. There's a deep sense of fear about the unknown," Dahal said. Third year resident Dr. Mazin Khalid, holding a sign that says "I am taking care of your mom...but I can't go see mine", is fearful too. His mother lives in Sudan. Although he has a green card, he's reluctant to travel out of the United States. "The plan was for me to go back this April or they would come to my graduation in June. But after the executive order right now I'm definitely not going out because things are rapidly changing. Although I'm a permanent resident but I don't know what's going to happen. And for them to come after this ban, that's not going to happen," Khalid said. The majority of those doing a residency at Interfaith are immigrants. They say it's a dream and a sacrifice to study medicine in the U.S. "A lot of examination tests, and a lot of costs involved in those tests and then you have to go through all these visa processing things," Dahal added. But with the president's executive order, there is concern an important source of new doctors will be cut off, affecting operations at the hospital and others. "It separates families, doctors from their patients and employees from their companies as well," said Dr. Osama Mukhtar, a medical resident at Interfaith Medical Center. It's a separation Fadlalla hopes will be resolved quickly with the help of his immigration lawyer. Patients, projects and his Interfaith family are waiting for his return. The page you are looking for was not found. Several of President Donald Trumps Cabinet nominees have stoked controversy, and a few have given shaky performances in Senate confirmation hearings. But all have progressed toward a normal Senate vote, except for onefast-food CEO Andrew Puzder, Trumps nominee for Labor Secretary, who is stuck in procedural purgatory, a lag that could indicate his nomination is doomed. Trump nominated Puzder on Dec. 8, which was nearly 8 weeks ago. But his Senate confirmation hearing has been delayed four times, because he hasnt cleared the necessary hurdles at the Office of Government Ethics, or OGE, which vets nominees for potential conflicts of interest and helps guide many on how to resolve them. That makes Puzder the only Cabinet nominee so far whose ethics paperwork hasnt made it to the Senate, a snag that suggests theres something unusual in Puzders background, or an unforeseen ethical problem. Democrats smell blood, and hope Puzder could be a prominent kill among high-profile Trump nominees. Dems need at least two Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee (or HELP) to vote against Puzder, in order to sink his nomination. Two women senatorsSusan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaskamay be the toughest votes for Puzder to win, due to sexually provocative ads CKE has run under Puzder, and a few claims of sexual harassment at CKE outlets. If Puzder cant win a majority of Republicans on the HELP committee, he probably wouldnt make it to the broader Senate for a full confirmation vote. Fast-food workers protest Trumps nominee to head the Labor Dept., Andrew Puzder. Source: Getty Images Trumps pick for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, is another troubled nominee, but she at least seems headed for a vote. Puzder may not get that far. For now, his nomination is stuck at the Office of Government Ethics, which doesnt do political vetting, looking for potential scandals that might emerge from a nominees personal life. Thats for Trumps transition team to worry about. Instead, OGE mostly analyzes a nominees financial ties, to make sure he or she complies with laws that prevent government officials from capitalizing personally on their government role. And Puzders case ought to be simple compared with some of Trumps other nominees. Story continues Former Exxon Mobil (XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson, just confirmed as Trumps Secretary of State, cleared all the major confirmation hurdles in about one month. As part of Tillersons ethics agreement, hell exchange all the Exxon stock he holds for cash, give up a bunch of Exxon retirement perks and sell his shares in 156 mostly public companies within 90 days. Trumps pick for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, are both private investors with financial stakes in dozens of businesses. Mnuchins ethics agreement lists 43 business entities hell sell stakes in if confirmed, and another 42 in which he holds a position, such as director, hell resign from. Rosss filing lists at least 48 businesses and other organizations hell cut ties with. Both men have been through confirmation hearings and are likely to be confirmed for their new jobs soon. The most controversial Cabinet nominee Puzder ought to sail through the ethics process, compared with the complexities those three have to work through. Puzder, a lawyer, has worked for CKE Restaurants, parent of the Hardees and Carls Jr. chains, since 1997, and been CEO since 2000. The firm, which used to be publicly owned, went private in 2010. At the time, Puzder owned shares worth about $18 million. He may still have a minor ownership stake in the firm, which is primarily owned by Roark Capital. But Puzder would have known hed have to divest any interest in CKE when Trump tapped him for Labor, so thats unlikely to explain the holdup with his nomination. Puzder is also one of Trumps most controversial nominees, which might have more to do with his stalled confirmation process than his financial ties. CKE employees recently filed 33 complaints against the chains stores in 10 states, for labor-law violations such as wage theft, on-the-job intimidation and sexual harassment. Those complaints target individual restaurantssome of which are franchisesnot Puzder himself. But critics say Puzder, as CEO, set a combative tone that encouraged store owners and managers to mistreat workers. Puzder is also an outspoken critic of the minimum wage and other regulations meant to protect workers, arguing that they exert too high a toll on business owners. That has earned him the enmity of workers groups pressuring senators to vote against Puzder. Another vulnerability: Under Puzders watch, CKE outsourced part of its IT department to the Philippines, a violation of Trumps own make-it-in-America-or-else diktat. Theres also a claim by an ex-wife, now recanted, that Puzder abused her when the two were married in the 1980s. Still, Puzder has been a vocal critic of Obama-era policies who seems to thrive on controversy. Hes known for ordering up provocative commercials featuring nearly naked women writhing as they enjoy their burgers, and for scoffing when feminist groups complain. If he ever gets a confirmation hearing, hell have some splaining to do to the Senate HELP Committee, which includes six women. But he would have known that, too, when he accepted the nomination. So whats Puzder hiding? Thats the question swirling on Capitol Hill, as other controversial Trump nominees, such as DeVos and Tom Price, Trumps pick to head Health and Human Services, move through the confirmation process. But the longer the delay for Puzder, the more doubt builds. And President Trump isnt known for being a patient guy. Confidential Newman tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 - Paul D. Wolfowitz, the World Bank president, on Friday suspended all loans to the central African nation of Chad, including one that helped finance a $4.2 billion oil pipeline, on the ground that it had broken an agreement to largely dedicate its oil revenues to alleviating the country's extreme poverty. Chad's Parliament voted last week to allow the country's substantial oil income to be spent on the military as well as on schools, hospitals and roads. It also voted to double the percentage of money that can be spent with no oversight from a committee of government and civilian representatives. In a conference call with reporters, Mr. Wolfowitz said he spent two hours on the phone on Thursday night with Chad's president, Idriss Deby. Mr. Wolfowitz said he saw no alternative to suspending the bank's $124 million in loans to Chad, even as he held open the door to further negotiations. "I think it's very much in the interests of the Chadian government to establish in the eyes of everybody that they are honorable parties to the agreements that they undertake," he said. Iran is offering the Trump administration its first foreign policy crisis. In a provocative act likely intended to take advantage of U.S. political turmoil, Tehran tested a ballistic missile understood by leading Western allies to be a violation of the recent nuclear deal brokered under the Obama administration. Hawks in America and elsewhere had already begun to push Trump to tear up the Iran agreement, with doves warning even an imperfect deal offered a much better chance at peace and stability than any more forceful alternative. Given the political climate he faces at home, Trump must use international support to apply pressure to the mullahs without risking a degree of escalation he can no longer control. Without doubt, Irans plan is to press for advantages now, figuring out how much it can get away with while attention is focused or scattered elsewhere. In addition to the missile test, which it refuses to confirm or deny, the regime has ratcheted up conflict with Americas Persian Gulf allies. Using shoulder-fired rockets supplied by Tehran, Houthi rebels in Yemen crippled and nearly sank a UAE auxiliary ship that had previously been contracted to the United States. Sensing opportunity in a fluid situation, the mullahs likely presume that the Trump administration will struggle to mount a concentrated response or back off in the interest of closer relations with Moscow. Trump should surprise them. Although Russia has indeed denied that the missile test amounts to a violation of the international agreement, Britain and Israel share the U.S. assessment that it has. Countries with a stake in the dispute should be made to go on record about where they stand and what subsequent action they support or oppose. Even a Security Council resolution that draws a Russian veto, or offers only watered-down language, affords the Trump administration a starting point for negotiations and coalition-building. Russias behavior will help reveal just how committed to Iran Putin has become, while European reactions can be used to help gauge appetites for a broader adjustment of priorities regarding Russia from the Baltic Sea to Syria. This episode will prompt the first of many judgment calls from the new administration on Middle Eastern affairs. Trumps opponents and allies alike share little appetite for an unpredictable wider war in the Mideast theater. At the same time, no one will benefit from a lax or inconsistent approach to Iranian aggression and provocation. President Obama does bear substantial responsibility for the current state of play, but Americas best interests are not served by Trump simply doing the opposite of what Obama has done. The key is to quickly and effectively connect a potent, immediate response up to a broader strategy that preserves the basic balance of the international order short of war. Too many enemies and adversaries could pile on and hope to make the best of a chaotic situation. And too many friends and allies could falter in that environment. To prevent that sort of meltdown, the Trump administration needs to mobilize adequate international support for serious but limited consequences against Irans recent acts then swiftly begin the hard work of restoring a durable, predictable order along the blurry edge of the Western world. A Laguna Niguel doctor has been disciplined by the California Medical Board for excessively prescribing Ambien to his relatives without a medical exam, according to legal documents recently made public. In a settlement reached with the board, Dr. John Chu was placed on five years probation, prohibited from solo practice and forbidden from prescribing controlled substances to family members. Chus attorney Fredrick Ray, through an assistant, declined to comment Tuesday. According to the documents, Chu practiced emergency medicine at Kaiser Permanente in Orange County from 2008 to 2013 and used his Kaiser prescription pads to write Ambien prescriptions for relatives and others who he did not see or treat at his Kaiser office. Ambien, intended for the short-term treatment of insomnia, can be abused or lead to dependence, the documents say. Chu prescribed Ambien to his mother and brother seven times apiece over the course of a year. In the case of his mother, the documents say he prescribed the drug for sores and inflammation in her mouth, which is better treated with medication applied directly to the sores. For his brother, he also excessively prescribed and failed to refer him to his own doctor for treatment of insomnia, the documents say. In another case, the documents say Chu prescribed Ambien to a patient more than 75 times over three years. The documents say he prescribed in amounts that indicated a non-medical purpose and failed to refer the patient for help with an apparent Ambien addiction. Chu also prescribed Ambien to an unidentified fellow doctor at Kaiser without performing an exam or monitoring the doctors use of the drug. To view a doctors disciplinary record, visit mbc.ca.gov. Contact the writer: cperkes@scng.com 714-796-3686 BISMARCK, N.D. The Army Corps of Engineers was ordered to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline to proceed under a disputed Missouri River crossing, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said on Tuesday, the latest twist in a months-long legal battle over the $3.8 billion project. The Standing Rock Sioux, whose opposition to the project attracted thousands of supporters from around the country to North Dakota, immediately vowed to again go to court to stop it. Hoeven announced late Tuesday that the acting Secretary of the Army, Robert Speer, had directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with an easement necessary to complete the pipeline. Hoeven said he also spoke with Vice President Mike Pence, just a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order signaling his support for the project. A spokesman for the U.S. Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night. Hoeven spokesman Don Canton says that Speers move means the easement isnt quite issued yet, but they plan to approve it within days. The crossing under Lake Oahe, a wide section of the Missouri River in southern North Dakota, is the final big chunk of work on the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to Illinois. President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 called on the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its December decision to withhold permission until more study is done on the crossing. The pipeline has been the target of months of protests led by the Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation lies near the pipelines route and who have argued that its a threat to water. The tribe has vowed to challenge any granting of the easement in court, and Chairman Dave Archambault renewed that vow Tuesday night. If it does become a done deal in the next few days, well take it to the judicial system, Archambault said. He added: This is a good indicator of what this country is going to be up against in the next four years. So America has to brace itself. The developer, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, says the pipeline would be safe. An environmental assessment conducted last year determined the crossing would not have a significant impact on the environment. However, then-Assistant Army Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy on Dec. 4 declined to issue an easement, saying a broader environmental study was warranted in the wake of opposition by the Standing Rock Sioux. Energy Transfer Parters called Darcys decision politically motivated and accused then-President Barack Obamas administration of delaying the matter until he left office. Two days before he left the White House, the Corps launched a study of the crossing that could take up to two years to complete. President Donald Trump on Jan. 24 signed an executive action telling the Corps to quickly reconsider the Dec. 4 decision. The company appears poised to begin drilling under the lake immediately. BOSTON Universities across the nation say President Donald Trumps ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries is disrupting vital research projects and academic exchanges in such fields as medicine, public health and engineering, with untold numbers of scholars blocked from entering the U.S. For years, schools in the U.S. have worked to widen exchanges with scholars in the Middle East and especially Iran, known for its strength in math and science. But many academics worry those bridges are now in jeopardy because of the ban against Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. Some fear the U.S. will lose its standing as the world leader in research and innovation. Its terrifying, said Sarah Knuckey, director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School. Were damaging international research, including on issues like health and medicine. Students in Knuckeys clinic have been working with a think tank in Yemen to explore the health consequences of the countrys civil war, inviting scholars to lecture and planning a conference in New York this year. Because of the travel ban, they are trying to move the event to Canada. Research between the U.S. and the seven countries covers a wide range of fields. According to the National Institutes of Health, U.S. and Iranian researchers have teamed up to study cancer, heart disease, hepatitis and opiate addiction. Navid Madani, an HIV researcher at Harvard Medical School, said collaboration with scientists in Iran has been crucial to her work. Much of that cooperation is now in question. One of her counterparts in Iran was scheduled to teach at Harvard this year but may be prevented from entering the country. Ive tried to balance my anger and despair with resolve, said Madani, who was born in Iran and is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. This is something that really has to be reversed. An Iranian researcher working on his Ph.D. in Italy was refused check-in at a Milan airport Monday while trying to travel to California. Nima Enayati, 29, had obtained a visa to conduct research on robotic surgery at Stanford University. It is rather disappointing to know that you will not be able at least physically to have more collaboration with them, he said. And we will see how it is going to affect our work. At Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, officials were planning to welcome the first class of Iranian graduate students into a new engineering program in partnership with the University of Tehran. Now its on hold because the students cant secure visas. These are the best and the brightest. They have made tremendous sacrifices to be able to come to the United States, said Gil Latz, the universitys associate vice chancellor for international affairs. In the stroke of a pen, their future hopes and dreams are being questioned or brought to a halt. Overall, colleges and universities in the U.S. hosted about 17,000 students from the seven banned countries last year, a fourfold increase over the past decade. Of those here last year, more than 12,000 were from Iran. Many of the students and researchers here are now stuck in the U.S., afraid they wont be allowed back in if they leave to visit home or travel to academic conferences. Others who were planning to come here are now blocked. Seyed Soheil Saeedi Saravi, a scientist from Iran, said he realized a childhood dream when he received a cardiology fellowship at Harvard. He was scheduled to arrive days after the travel ban was put in place, but found that his visa is now suspended indefinitely. I only can say Iranians are really sad, depressed and somewhat angry, he said in an email. In response to the ban, thousands of academics abroad have signed an online petition boycotting academic conferences in the U.S. Some conferences are being pressured to relocate outside America. Meanwhile, dozens of college presidents have called on Trump to reverse the ban. This is not only unbefitting a country built by immigrants on the ideals of liberty and equality, but it is also a self-inflicted wound that will damage the very innovation that lies at the root of our nations prosperity, said Angel Cabrera, president of George Mason University. Nicholas Dirks, chancellor at the University of California-Berkeley, said the ban gives an advantage to countries that compete with the U.S. for scholars. Allowing them to replace this country as the prime destination for the most talented students and researchers would cause irreparable damage and help them to achieve their goal of global leadership, he wrote. Some academics say the ban will simply leave the U.S. out of future research. Caroline Wagner, who studies global collaboration in science at Ohio State University, said the number of papers published by co-authors in different countries has grown dramatically since 1990. In 2013 alone, academics from Iran and the U.S. teamed up on more than 1,000 published papers. International collaboration is increasingly the way science is done, Wagner said. We cannot assume that leadership and science belong to the United States. Several restaurants, including popular chain Smashburger, have closed locations in Orange County. Heres the latest: Smashburger at Buena Park Downtown closed Jan. 8. Unfortunately, from time to time, we must close underperforming stores that dont meet our rigorous performance standards, a company spokeswoman told the Register. The better burger chain out of Denver entered the Orange County market in 2012. Last year, a Smashburger in Irvine closed. It is being replaced by The Cut, a gourmet burger eatery that started out as a food truck. Cinnamon Productions shuttered another restaurant in South Orange County. The location in Rancho Santa Margarita closed after serving its last meals Jan. 22. Owner Randy Farah said in a statement on Facebook that the bakery cafe was unable to negotiate a new lease. He did not mention the status of the cafes last remaining restaurant in San Clemente. He recently closed the Ladera Ranch cafe. A location in Foothill Ranch closed last year. Cafe Lucca, a longtime food staple in Old Towne Orange, served its last meals and gelato Sunday. Owners Richard and Mary Coleman posted a sign on the door stating they are moving to Dallas and have sold the business to Pandor Bakery, a popular pastry shop with locations in Newport Beach, Belmont Shore and the Anaheim Packing House. The boutique bakery is known for its elegant freshly baked pastries and all-day breakfast. Its unclear when Pandor will open. Stay tuned. (2/1 Update: By coincidence, Lucca cafe in Irvine, also closed this week. CLICK HERE for story.) Mrs Beas Louisiana Chicken and Waffles in La Habra, around since 2012, closed its La Habra location. We are currently looking for another, smaller location, a representative for the restaurant told the Register in an email. The Harbor Boulevard eatery sold 15 different infused waffle flavors, as well as waffle burgers and waffle sandwiches. The owner of Bistro Bleu in Anaheim closed the French bistro in December after nearly five years in business. Owner David Kesler said he is only pausing the business as he needs to take a break to have back surgery. Once hes recovered, he said he plans to find a new home for Bistro Blue. I will be focusing mainly on the North Orange County area, he said. Chew Noodle Bar, an Asian fusion restaurant, took over the Anaheim location. Seoulmate, known for its Korean-Mexican fusion street food, closed its downtown Fullerton location late last year. The original Long Beach restaurant, which opened in 2013, remains open. The restaurant posted the closure on its Facebook page, stating it was bittersweet. A reason for the closure was not mentioned. Contact the writer: Do you know of restaurant closure? If so, contact nluna@ocregister.com WASHINGTON President Donald Trump urged the Senates Republican leader on Wednesday to resort to the nuclear option of scrapping longstanding chamber rules if needed to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, an aggressive opening to whats shaping up as a ferocious clash over the future of the high court. At the White House a day after nominating Gorsuch, Trump endorsed a scenario that would involve majority Republicans unilaterally changing Senate rules over the objections of the Democratic minority. It could come into play if Democrats try to block Gorsuchs confirmation with a filibuster, as the liberal base is demanding, and would allow the GOP to confirm Gorsuch with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes now needed. Addressing GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell from the White House, Trump said, If we end up with that gridlock I would say, If you can, Mitch, go nuclear. He said of Gorsuch that it would be a absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. Trump made his comments as Gorsuch traversed Capitol Hill, escorted by Vice President Mike Pence and winning extravagant praise from Republican senators. Democratic divisions were on display. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced intense opposition from base voters to Trumps nominee, while political risks confronted a half-dozen Democratic senators representing red states who are up for re-election next year and may feel pressure to support Gorsuch. The president made an outstanding appointment; were all thrilled and looking forward to getting the confirmation process started, McConnell said as he stood with a smiling Gorsuch in the senators ceremonial office in the Capitol. McConnell has not said whether he might invoke the nuclear option if minority Democrats block Gorsuchs confirmation, but the Senate leader has said repeatedly that, one way or another, Gorsuch will be confirmed. Democrats are still smarting over the treatment of Judge Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obamas nominee to the court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia a year ago. McConnell never allowed even a hearing on Garland over 10 months, asserting that the decision was up to the next president. Now some on the left are demanding payback. This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee, and I will do everything in my power to stand up against this assault on the court, said Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon. Schumer reiterated Wednesday that Democrats would insist on a 60-vote threshold for Gorsuch in the 100-member Senate, not because they did it to us or we did it to them, but because 60 votes produces a mainstream candidate. But as Schumer and other Democrats made clear, for many the fight was less about the mild-mannered 49-year-old appeals court judge than about Trump himself. Schumer said that this Supreme Court will be tried in ways that few courts have been tested since the earliest days of the Republic. The rules change for Supreme Court nominees would be a momentous departure for the Senate, which traditionally operates day-to-day via deliberation and bipartisan consent. There is concern by some that it could begin to unravel Senate traditions at a hyperpartisan moment in politics and perhaps end up in the complete elimination of the filibuster resulting in an entirely different Senate from the one thats existed for decades Gorsuch is a Denver-based judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Ivy League-educated son of a former Reagan administration official. His conservative legal philosophy is seen as similar to that of Scalia. Gorsuch would restore the court to the conservative tilt it held with Scalia on the bench, but Trumps choice makes it very difficult for Democrats to contest this nomination because he is so qualified, said Melissa Murray, interim dean of the University of California at Berkeley law school. Republicans were quick to highlight the political risks to Democrats in conservative-leaning states. There are 23 Senate Democrats up for election next year, 10 in states Trump won. The minority needs to decide whether or not they want to go to states like North Dakota and Montana and Missouri and Indiana and West Virginia where Mr. Trump won by 17 points or more and talk to the real people there and say were going to stop what was clearly your will, said GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. One of those senators, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, was meeting with Gorsuch late Wednesday. Im anxious to hear his views. Im anxious to read more about him. I will make a decision, Manchin told The Associated Press ahead of the meeting. For Democrats, there was debate about whether Gorsuchs nomination to replace the like-minded Scalia was the right time to launch an all-out fight over the court. Or, would Democrats be better off waiting to wage that battle for another possible high court opening during Trumps presidency, one that could shift the court markedly to the right. Gregory Harrison was already an accomplished actor when he was cast for the film North Shore. He was a celebrity often surrounded by Hollywood elite. But it was the surf stars he was acting alongside on this movie famous surfers such as Laird Hamilton and Gerry Lopez that made him tongue-tied. They were my childhood heroes, said Harrison, who played the fatherly Zen character of Chandler in the cult classic. I dont ever get that in professional acting, I dont feel that way any more. But Im still a kid when it comes to surfers. The 1987 film turns 30 this year, and Harrison will speak Thursday at the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach as part of the new On the Couch series, in which Peter PT Townend, professional surfings first world champion, hosts a dialogue with well-known surfers. Harrison grew up on Catalina Island, where his grandfather migrated to start a glass-bottom boat company. His father ran the boats, and he was in line to take over the family business. In 1959, however, a tourist came to the island with board in arm to ride waves on the south side of the small island, where only about 2,000 people lived. Someone had seen him surfing, and word spread in a little town like that in minutes, Harrison said. Some of the older men on the island got longboards, He was 9 when his dad took him and a few buddies to surf. I remember the first wave I bellied in on a board, said Harrison, now 66. I was hooked. At the same time, he was intrigued when film crews came to the island looking for a tropical setting. He quietly observed when the movie The Glass Bottom Boat with Doris Day was filmed on his family boat in 1965. I was 15 years old and I realized what they were doing wasnt a magical process, it was something I could do, he said. Harrison moved to the mainland and made a name for himself in television shows such as Logans Run and Centennial, then the series Trapper John, M.D. Meanwhile, his passion remained strong for surfing, traveling to places such as Bali, Tahiti and Australia. He eventually bought a home just above the famous Rincon surf spot near Santa Barbara. He was 37 when a friend brought him the script for the role of Chandler in North Shore. It seemed like a dream job. I was going to do what I loved to do already, he said. I had been surfing the North Shore for 20 years when I got cast in the movie. I was obviously right for it. It wasnt a challenging role it was an aspect of myself that already exists. In the film, a young, ambitious surfer named Rick Kane, winner of a wave pool contest in Arizona, heads to Hawaii to take on big waves on the North Shore. Along the way, he meets pro surfers including Mark Occhilupo and comes up against his nemesis, played by Laird Hamilton, in a surf contest. Chandler is Kanes mentor, a soul surfer teaching him theres more to surfing than just competition. I thought it captured the essence of whats magical about the North Shore, Harrison said. The essence of the brotherhood of surfing and the majesty of it, the soulfulness of it is really captured in the film, which I take pride in. That it isnt just a competitive sport, its a lifestyle and religion and its a number of things to different people. As silly as the plot is, the movie captures that and thats why it continues to reverberate and have emotional weight. When the movie came out, it flopped in the theaters. It didnt appeal to the mid-America audience, he said. I wasnt disappointed in the film. I was disappointed it didnt resonate with a wider audience. But then, even to Harrisons surprise, it became a cult classic among surfers. When we shot it, we had no idea it would become an iconic film, that groms would memorize every word, he said. What we didnt realize, the people who appreciated it loved it and revered it and became that cult audience, who loved it and still love it. In real life, Harrison is similar to the role he played in North Shore. To me, surfing has never been a competitive act its a soulful, singular, focused, appreciative, natural moment, he said. It isnt just about riding the wave, although that is a highlight. Its about the ceremony the ceremony of getting up in the morning; the anticipation of getting in our car and trying to go where its going to be best; changing into your wetsuit and waxing your board. Its a ceremony. He said theres no plans for a North Shore remake. About a decade ago, he and the films producers and directors tried to get rights to the script, but Universal didnt want to release them, he said. They didnt want to do it themselves, because it wasnt successful by their standards, but they didnt want someone else to make it successful. Its pretty much standard Hollywood, he said. Harrison is still acting, with recent parts in the series Rizzoli & Isles, and he and his daughter Lily Anne are in a film called Fair Haven coming out in March. And he still surfs as much as possible. It centers me and makes me more balanced in life, he said. More tolerant, less demanding, more satisfied, more mellow. Contact the writer: lconnelly@scng.com Already furious over the Trump administrations visa ban, Iran warned the United States on Tuesday not to escalate tensions over tests of Iranian missiles. The warning, made by Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, came a day after U.S. and Israeli officials accused Iran of having conducted a missile test that they said had violated a U.N. Security Council resolution. The United States requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council for later Tuesday to discuss the issue. Iran has not confirmed that it conducted a test. But Zarif, at a joint news conference in Tehran with his visiting counterpart from France, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said he hoped that the new U.S. administration would not use Irans military defenses as a pretext to create new tensions. When the nuclear deal with Iran was reached in 2015 with major powers including the United States, sanctions on Iran were relaxed in exchange for its pledges of peaceful nuclear work. A Security Council resolution called upon the country not to undertake any tests of missiles designed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Iran contends that it has not violated the resolution and that its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. Nonetheless, the U.S. and Israeli accusations have created what amounts to an early test of the Trump administrations toughness on Iran. During the presidential election campaign, Trump denounced the nuclear agreement with Iran and sometimes conflated it with the Iranian missile program. Zarif also used the news conference on Tuesday to emphasize Irans anger over the Trump administrations executive order on Friday suspending refugee admissions and prohibiting the issuance of visas to Iran and six other majority-Muslim countries. Zarif called the order a shameful act. The order has upended the lives of thousands of Iranians, who are by far the largest population affected among the affected countries, which also include Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Irans government has pledged a reciprocal response to the order. Ayrault told reporters at the news conference that France had expressed its concern over Irans missile tests, according to an account by Agence France-Presse. Earlier upon his arrival in Tehran, Iranian news media quoted Ayrault as saying that the Trump administrations order on refugees and visas amounted to discrimination and should be revoked. Wal-Mart is taking another crack at Amazon.com, launching a free, two-day shipping program without a membership fee for more than 2 million items, the company announced Tuesday. The retail giants delivery service is replacing a program that offered free shipping with an annual fee. Free shipping will now be available for purchases of $35 and up. The threshold previously was $50. The move is seen by some as a way to compete against Amazons Prime subscription program, which analysts estimate has 65 million users who spend $99 for a yearly membership. Unlike Wal-Marts ShippingPass, it includes television shows and movies, music streaming, and data storage. Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics LLC, told The Associated Press that Wal-Marts effort isnt enough. They should eliminate the threshold altogether, Perkins said. I know its a difficult pill to swallow. But if you look at how things are going, click-and-pick is never going to be as popular as click-and-ship. Items outside the list of most popular items will count toward free shipping but not faster delivery, the AP reported. Wal-Marts previous program, ShippingPass launched in 2015. It allowed members to buy a million items for free shipping online. The annual fee was $49 last year. Wal-Mart has 11,593 store in 28 countries. Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans The cost of renting in Southern California rose last year at the fastest pace in nine years, according to the Consumer Price Index. The renting primary residence slice of the widely watched cost-of-living barometer for the five-county region rose 4.7 percent in 2016 vs. 3.9 percent in 2015. It was the fastest increase since the 6.1 percent jump in 2007 at the peak of the last decades economic surge. Rents are up nationwide, too, rising 3.8 percent last year, also the biggest since since 2007. Local rent costs have risen because bosses in the region went on major hiring sprees well before local developers could add many new rental units. This imbalance gave landlords the added power to boost rents. Todays tight rental market is a sharp contest to 2010, just as the Great Recession was ending, when regional rents fell 0.2 percent by CPI math. That was the first yearly drop in rents since 1995. Last years rent increases may also seem steep because landlords have averaged 2.9 percent increases in the last 10 years. But the cost of SoCal renting has risen at an average 4.6 percent pace since 1960! Local rent increases may cool this year as new apartment projects come online and the high rents nudge some renters to buy a home. Housing costs in SoCal have surged far more than other consumer costs. The overall regional CPI rose only 1.9 percent last year vs. 0.9 percent in 2015. It was the eighth consecutive year the local CPI has risen less than 3 percent. Contact the writer: jlansner@scng.com FULLERTON Six days after evading police, wanted gang member Angel Ugalde was arrested, authorities said Tuesday. The 20-year-old parolee had a warrant out for his arrest Jan. 25 when officers tried to take him into custody in Placentia, just west of Valencia High School. Ugalde managed to get away and police released his photo to the public, warning that he was armed and dangerous. On Tuesday shortly after 1 p.m., Placentia police detectives and California State Parole agents found Ugalde at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of North Placentia Avenue in Fullerton. After a short standoff with authorities, he was arrested by Fullerton police officers without further incident. Ugalde was also wanted for a prior incident in Fullerton where he brandished a gun, Placentia Police said in a bulletin. Contact the writer: 714-796-7865 or afausto@scng.com Protecting the country Re: Do you support Trumps new travel and refugee restrictions? [Opinion, Jan. 31]: I absolutely support the restrictions. This action should have been undertaken long ago to establish a more coherent vetting process that better separates the worthy from the evil doers. Indeed, Obama identified these seven countries as terrorist hotbeds but refused to act in any way to protect our country, instead holding the door open for them. The screams from the liberal left are based on lies whose intention it is to divide the country and destroy the new administration. Simple as that. There is little to no truth in anything that they present on this matter which is clearly evident if one takes the time to review the order. Sadly, the political left has the use of the media megaphone to advance its treasonous agenda while the truth remains suppressed. I applaud Trump for acting decisively to protect the U.S. Frank Messina, Yorba Linda Not the right way to protect us President Trumps executive order to initiate a ban on refugees from Muslim-majority nations is rooted in fear. Refugees from many of these nations are fleeing persecution, just like the pilgrims and other immigrants who founded this nation. My father left his native Pakistan in 1971 (in part due to the pressures of being an Ahmadi Muslim, a minority sect in that country which is subject to persecution) so that his children could grow up and practice Islam freely and without fear of prejudice or bias. And in an ironic twist, it was this inclusiveness by America that allows me to write this letter today as a son of a Muslim immigrant. The leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, his Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad said, All genuine refugees should be helped by governments and international organizations. They should be allowed to settle until peace is restored in their home countries. However, it is also important that the authorities remain vigilant and monitor the refugees to ensure that extremists are not allowed to settle under the guise of asylum. I think our government should follow this wise advise, if we truly want to make America great again. Ahsan M. Khan, Fullerton Practice what you preach Why do the protestors waste their time protesting the immigration order when they can spend that energy sponsoring a foreign person. If you love them bring them home. John Seibert, Laguna Niguel UNITED NATIONS, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The UN Security Council expressed its "grave concern" on Tuesday over the "dangerous deterioration" in eastern Ukraine and called for a halt to the violence. "The members of the Security Council expressed their full support of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," the Security Council said in statement. "The members of the Security Council called for an immediate return to a ceasefire regime." The Security Council includes both Russia and the Ukraine, which is a rotating member of the council. Both nations had agreed to the Security Council statement, which noted the unrest's "severe impact on the local civilian population". Earlier in the day, Ukraine and Russia had blamed each other for a surge in fighting in recent days that has led to the highest casualty toll in weeks and cut off power and water to thousands of civilians on the front line. The Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatists accuse each other of launching offensives in the government-held industrial town of Avdiyivka and firing heavy artillery in defiance of the two-year-old Minsk ceasefire deal. Eight Ukrainian troops have been killed and 26 wounded since fighting intensified on Sunday - the heaviest losses for the military since mid-December, according to government figures. (Reporting By Ned Parker; Editing by David Gregorio) An appeals court on Tuesday reversed an Orange County Superior Court judges sentence for a convicted child molester, ruling that the man should be re-sentenced with a much longer sentence. Judge M. Marc Kelly sparked national outcry in April 2015 when he shaved 15 years from a mandatory minimum sentence for Kevin Jonas Rojano-Nieto, convicted in December 2014 of sodomizing a three-year-old relative. Under Jessicas Law, approved by California voters in 2006, the crime carried a mandatory sentence of 25-years-to-life in prison. But Kelly determined that the punishment in this case was cruel and unusual under the federal Constitution and reduced the sentence to 10 years. In a unanimous ruling, the 4th District Court of Appeal said there was nothing cruel about Rojano-Nietos punishment, because his offense was not significantly different from other cases of sodomy on a child under 10. We conclude that Rojano committed a grave and serious offense when he sodomized Jane Doe, the three-judge panel wrote. Therefore, a sentence of 25-years-to-life is not grossly disproportionate to the crime and does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court ordered that Rojano-Nieto, who is in state prison, be returned to Orange County to be re-sentenced to at least 25 years. Rojano-Nieto, 19 at the time, sexually assaulted the girl after she wandered into a Santa Ana garage where he was playing video games. The girl told her mother about the incident, who took her to a hospital clinic where a nurse performed a sexual-assault examination. Rojano-Nieto was arrested that day and later confessed, telling police that the sodomy lasted for five seconds before something in him clicked and he stopped, according to court records. In a nine-page sentencing analysis, Judge Kelly said Rojano-Nieto almost immediately stopped and realized the wrongfulness of his act. While the crime was serious and despicable, the judge wrote, there was no violence or callous disregard for the victims well-being and noted that the girl did not suffer serious violent injuries. The appeals courts take was different. Put simply, a sex offense against a small child is a grave offense because of the vulnerable nature of the victim and the risk of psychological harm to the child, regardless of any associated physical injury, the court said. Therefore Jane Does limited physical injuries and the absence of a violent physical attack are not significant to our assessment of the serious nature of Rojanos offense. The court said Kelly ignored important, undisputed evidence about the entire scope of Rojanos actions. Kellys decision prompted condemnation from public officials and a grassroots recall effort fueled by victims advocates. The movement fizzled after organizers failed to gather enough signatures to put a recall measure on the June 2016 ballot. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas appealed the ruling. Kelly, in a response to the recall effort, has said he acted within his judicial independence. Orange County Deputy District Attorney Matt Lockhart, who argued the case before the appeals court last month in San Diego, said he was pleased with Tuesdays ruling. Rojano-Nieto will now be re-sentenced appropriately to the indeterminate sentence he deserves for such a serious and violent crime, the prosecutor said. Attorney Christopher Nalls, representing Rojano-Nieto, had argued that Kelly used careful consideration when determining that the mandatory minimum sentencing for this case was unconstitutional. Nalls declined comment on Tuesdays ruling. The ruling took place a year before a case with similarities exploded into a national uproar: This past summer, a Santa Clara County judge, with ties to Stanford University, sentenced Brock Turner, once a Stanford University swimmer, to six months in jail for sexual assault a sentence many deemed too lenient. Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com IRVINE A coalition of UC Irvine students denounced President Donald Trump and promoted progressive values in a open-microphone vigil Tuesday evening that was equal parts political protest and cathartic gathering. About 150 people sat on steps leading to the quad, some holding signs, listening as their peers took turns at the microphone discussing everything from Trumps recent executive order on immigration to Americas past blemishes such as slavery and taking lands from Native Americans. http://launch.newsinc.com/js/embed.js var _ndnq = _ndnq || []; _ndnq.push([embed]); The crowd, largely subdued, at times chanted Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go when urged by organizers. And a few shouted comments after one of their fellow students spoke. We have to get involved in the democratic process, show up and run for office, said Aya Labanieh, 20, a junior and triple major. Labanieh, who said she holds American and Syrian citizenship, said Trumps ban on entry into the U.S. of citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations makes it seem as if Islam itself is the target and anyone who is Muslim. It feels like everyone is fair game, she said. But our democracy is strong and the conditions of history have changed. Were stable enough to get past this if we stay involved. The Trump administration says the ban is temporary and is in place to allow time to create better vetting procedures meant to prevent terrorists from coming into the United States. The gathering lasted for about 90 minutes. Once the crowd broke up, several people remained discussing politics or dancing to music sung in Arabic. Organizers, a coalition of students rather than a specific club, are planning another open-mic gathering next week. It was an opportunity for students to come together and voice how they are feeling, said Nour Majzoub, 21, a senior majoring in public policy management. Its important for all our voices to be heard. Contact the writer: 714-796-6979 or chaire@scng.com LONDON When British lawmakers vote Wednesday on whether to allow the government to begin talks on leaving the European Union, a number of opposition Labour deputies face a tricky choice: Should they follow their beliefs or their party line? Thats because the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, declared a three-line whip, a clear order to vote as instructed by the leadership and permit Prime Minister Theresa May to start the negotiations on British withdrawal. Two members of Corbyns shadow ministerial team in Parliament have so far resigned those jobs, saying that they intend to defy the instruction, and other lawmakers are expected to follow. Q. What is this whip, and how did the term originate? A. Like most of what happens in the British Parliament, there is history here. The term derives from hunting terminology; a whipper in being a huntsmans assistant who prevents hounds from straying, using a whip to drive them back to the pack. Exactly when the word was first used in this context is unclear, although it was not recently. According to the House of Commons library, the Oxford Dictionary first recorded use of the term whipper in in the annual Register of 1772, but The House of Commons in the 18th Century, by P.D.G. Thomas, cites two earlier references, one in 1769, another in 1742. Q. Who or what is the chief whip? A. The job of leader of the whips, known as the chief whip, seems to have been formalized in the early 19th century. In more recent times the post became one of power and patronage. In the British forerunner of the Netflix series House of Cards (based on the book by Michael Dobbs), the sinister and Machiavellian antihero Francis Urquhart starts out as chief whip. In real life, some senior whips also have been scary. The former Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw has told of his first encounter, as a young lawmaker, with the partys deputy chief whip, Walter Harrison, who pushed him against a wall and grabbed him by the testicles. When Straw managed to ask what he had done wrong, the answer was nothing, although he said that Harrison added: But think what Id do if you crossed me. Q. What do whips do? A. The main job of the chief whip is to get the governments legislation through Parliament, and that of the opposition chief whip is to oppose it. They are supported by a deputy and a small group of junior whips. There are teams in the elected House of Commons and the unelected second chamber, the House of Lords. Their duties include keeping lawmakers up-to-date on coming votes, and ensuring that they attend debates and vote in line with their partys policies. Chief whips also communicate the views of lawmakers to the party leadership and advise leaders on whom to promote. Q. What is a three-line whip? A. The whip is a document circulated regularly to lawmakers listing coming business and expectations on how they should vote. The importance of the vote is reflected in the number of times it is underlined, hence the phrase three-line whip, which indicates a measure that must be supported. Defying one of these generally means that a government minister, or opposition shadow minister, will resign (or be dismissed) from that position. Q. How powerful are the whips and how do they enforce their will? A. The whips can help determine whether or not a lawmaker is promoted but are probably no longer as powerful, or as ruthless, as they once were. The Conservative chief whip reputedly once kept a black book recording lawmakers misdemeanors and personal weaknesses, which could be used to coerce them back into line. According to one former Labour lawmaker, Joe Ashton, during the 1970s, when the Labour government needed every vote to get legislation through, one whip was routinely dispatched at voting time to check who was in the lavatories, peering over the top of the door when necessary. The Whips Office, Ashton added, killed six people some were forced to attend Parliament to vote hours after surgery, some postponed important operations. Despite suffering a severe heart attack, one lawmaker was taken to the House in an ambulance, where the whips went to count his vote, Ashton recalled. He added that when one whip asked how do we know that he is alive? his counterpart for the opposition leaned forward and turned the knob on the heart machine. When the green light went around, he then declared the sick lawmaker to have cast a crucial vote, adding There, youve lost. ATLANTA As a young prosecutor in the late 1990s, Sally Q. Yates sat at a conference table with a former sheriff and began picking away at his story. With an FBI agent watching, Yates soon had the lawman in knots about a deposition. I watched him as she broke him down, and he confessed that he had lied under oath, the agent, Oliver G. Halle, now retired, recalled Tuesday. She can be very disarming, but underneath that disarming appearance is a woman who knows how to fight. As acting attorney general, Yates picked the fight of her life Monday when she ordered the Justice Department not to defend President Donald Trumps executive order blocking refugees and restricting immigration to the United States. Yates became convinced, based on the presidents own statements, that he had intended to unlawfully single out Muslims, senior officials said. We have comments from the president about what this is supposed to do, Yates said in one meeting Monday, according to two people involved in the discussions. She later added, The intent was clear from the face of it. Yates, 56, was swiftly fired. Before she even finished packing up her office, she had become a hero to many Democrats, the face of a simmering resistance inside the government to Trumps administration. Her firing was a politically divisive turn in a career that had, until now, earned her bipartisan praise. She will be a hero of the American people, a hero of whats right, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said in 2015 at Yates confirmation hearing. Shell call them like she sees them, and she will be fair, and she will be just. While Yates was a reliably liberal voice in the Justice Department on issues of civil rights, criminal justice and sentencing, she worked her way up as a career prosecutor in Atlanta under political appointees from both parties. A native Georgian, she led prosecutions against some of the highest profile defendants in Atlanta, including former Mayor Bill Campbell, a Democrat who was accused of racketeering and tax fraud, and Eric Robert Rudolph, who set bombs at a park during the 1996 Olympic Games, a gay nightclub and two Southern abortion clinics. She also took on the leaders of an Atlanta suburb who refused to allow construction of a mosque. The Justice Department sued, and the city reversed itself. Religious freedom requires that local government decisions impacting the exercise of that freedom be free of discrimination, Yates said at the time. When Yates, who declined to comment Tuesday, became deputy attorney general in 2015, she told colleagues that she had no intention of merely being a caretaker. Trumps executive order prompted a new challenge for Yates, who was serving until the Senate confirmed a new attorney general. The Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel had reviewed and signed off on the order, but Yates believed that the department had to also consider the presidents intent, which she said appeared aimed at singling out people based on religion. Trump had promised to do as much. His campaign website still calls for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what is going on. After the decision was announced, one of his advisers, Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, said in an interview that Trump had wanted a Muslim ban but needed the right way to do it legally. Trump then said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network that Christian refugees would be given priority for entry visas to the United States. In meetings Monday, some in the department said it should defend the order, as it normally does. Others disagreed. Yates considered resigning, four current and former Justice Department officials said, but she concluded that doing so would only defer a difficult decision to a temporary successor. That dilemma was foreshadowed two years ago in her confirmation hearing, when Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who is poised to become the next attorney general, questioned whether Yates had the independent streak needed to be the Justice Departments second in command. If the views the president wants to execute are unlawful, should the attorney general or the deputy attorney general say no? Sessions asked. I believe the attorney general or deputy attorney general has an obligation to follow the law and Constitution and give their independent legal advice to the president, Yates replied. Shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, roughly three hours after she ordered department lawyers not to defend the presidents position, a White House courier arrived with a copy of her dismissal letter. Dear Deputy Attorney General Yates, said the letter, which was signed by John DeStefano, an assistant to Trump. I am informing you that the president has removed you from the office of Deputy Attorney General of the United States. The popular Zeezicht Cafe, in Antwerp, Belgium, has recently stopped serving Coca Cola, Lays potato chips and every other American brand previously on its menu, in protest of President Donald Trump and and his controversial executive orders. No, its not a joke. All American drinks will disappear from the menu as long as Donald Trumps policy does not change, one of the owners of Zeezicht told Belgian reporters. A few days ago, we gathered all the staff and found that something had to be done against the policy of Donald Trump, so someone launched the idea of no longer selling American beverages or food. An economic boycott is probably the only measure Trump can understand. Photo: atv.be Babs Cossaert, one of the managers at Zeezicht said that Trumps policies and views are often criticized there by both the staff and patrons, and at one point they thought it was a little hypocritical of them to express their disapproval while serving drinks owned by the Coca Cola Company or croque monsieur with Heinz Ketchup. So they decided to remove all American-owned brands, from snacks and drinks top cigarettes, and find alternatives, even if they are more expensive. Something had to be done Cossaert told VRT Radio Antwerp. This is why we are only selling products we believe in. We are who we are and follow our own principles. The owners of Zeezicht are aware of the fact that Donald Trump will probably never even hear about their little boycott, but they are not doing it to get his attention. This is for our own peace of mind, its a statement we want to make, Cossaert said. With this we want to show that we do not agree with his right-wing politics. It is true that we used to sell a lot of Coca Cola and Chaudfontaine sparkling water (owned by the same company), but we will replace these drinks with Belgian alternatives, said David Joris, another owner of Zeezicht. The Flemish brewery Roman will provide us with a cola drink and we will buy water from the Val brand now, and the Lays American chips will be replaced by the Belgian brand Croky. Belgian newspaper Der Standard asked the owners if they realized that their boycott sounds just as protectionist as Trumps views, to which they replied Thats debatable. We only feel that this is the thing that we can do to show that we do not agree with the direction taken by the policy. Its a small thing, but its something. Asked if the boycott is likely to scare away customers, David Joris said that that is not likely to happen, adding that the disapproval regarding Donald Trump is widespread, and most of their patrons agree with the boycott. The owner said that American products will remain off the menu at Zeezicht as long as Donald Trump is in power, or until he decides to abandon his radical approach. The sad thing is that some of these companies actually disapprove of Trumps actions too, but they cant do very much about it. Not to mention that most of the products, though American in brand, are actually made in Belgium, by Belgian workers. A young woman from Moscow, Russia, has come up with an innovative way to supplement her income charging single men a hefty fee for laying in their bed for an hour to warm it and fill it with her positive energy, thus guaranteeing a good nights sleep. 21-year-old Viktoria Ivachyova is a human be warmer for hire, charging a whopping 4,900 Russian rubles ($82) per night, or 102 700 ($1700) per month to lay down on strangers beds and make sure its nice and warm when they turn in for the night. Believe it or not, she has already had 10 customers, and with the amount of free publicity shes getting these days in national media, the unusual service is bound to become more popular. In fact, Viktoria is already planning on putting together a team of female bed warmers to keep up with demand. Photo: Viktoria Ivachyova/VK.com Weve seen similar service before. Just a few years ago, we wrote about the now-famous professional cuddlers, who charged tens of dollars an hour to snuggle and cuddle with people in need of human affection. But Viktoria Ivachyovas idea is even more bizarre, as her clients dont even get to experience human touch. The young entrepreneur is very clear that beneficiaries can be in the room while she warms the bed, but there is to be no contact between them. To enforce these rules, she either carries a panic button to call for a security team in case anyone decides they want more than they paid for, or brings along some bodyguards, just to be sure. So how does this whole thing work?. Its quite simple really. It all starts with the client leaving a request on Viktorias website. She then calls them back and explains her services in great detail, so there are no misunderstandings, and if the client agrees with her offer, they schedule a bed warming session. On the set date, an hour before the clients bed time, she arrives at their home, puts on her pajamas and lays on their bed for an hour. The client is allowed to talk to her during this time, if he so wishes, as Viktoria says shes a great listener, and some men feel more comfortable talking about their problems with a stranger rather then a friend or family member. When the hour expires, she gets dressed and leaves. Its unclear if the payment is collected beforehand, or after the bed warming. Photo: Viktoria Ivachyova/VK.com Viktoria says that she doesnt just charge for a warm, comfortable bed, but also the positive energy that she transmits to the client, and that also becomes embedded in their bed. She adds that after having a short conversation with people, she is able to give them a more positive outlook on life. She has no idea what she does exactly, but theres definitely something special about her. Ivachyova mentions that one of her 10 clients was in a semi-depression when she arrived at his home, but in the morning he called her back to say Vika, youre magic. Today I woke up, and I want to live. Viktoria admits that her primary target market is single men, but adds that she wants to help everybody, so if women start asking for her services too, she is willing to warm their beds as well. Photo: Viktoria Ivachyova/VK.com And in case youre wondering how on Earth this 21-year-old Muscovite came up with the idea for such a bizarre service, Viktoria Ivachyova told Big Picture that she read about it in a book by Russian author Anatoly Mariengof. In it, a poet called Sergei Yesenin, paid a female typist to come to his home every morning and lay naked in her bed, under the blankets, for 15 minutes, warming his bed. The whole ritual apparently helped him regain his writing inspiration, and also inspired Ivachyova. After searching online for a similar service, she claims she didnt find anything like it in the world, so she decided to be the worlds first professional bed warmer. She quickly set up a website, and the rest is history. However, Big Picture Magazine claims that a London hotel provides a similar service for its guests. Before bed time, a person wearing a thermal suit crawls into the guests bed and warms it for 10 minutes. But they definitely dont charge over $80 for it. Peggy Murray (nee Dempsey) Glenacurragh, Birr, Offaly Reposing at Boyd's Funeral Home, Birr on Thursday (February 2) from 5pm to 7pm with removal to arrive at Kilcolman Parish Church at 8pm. Funeral Mass on Friday (February 3) at 1pm followed by burial in Clonoghill Cemetery, Birr. Family flowers only. House Private Please. Richard D'Arcy 30 Curragh, Ballinagar Funeral Mass on Thursday morning (February 2) at 11am in St Joseph's Church, Ballinagar. Burial after Mass in the local cemetery. Mary Frances (May) Gath Kilnagall, Kilcormac Reposing at Lawless Funeral Home, Mucklagh, on Tuesday, January 31 from 4.30pm to 6.30pm with removal to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary for 7pm. Funeral Mass on Wednesday, February 1 at 2pm with burial afterwards in St Josephs Cemetery. Terry Fahy Lughill, Durrow, Offaly / Cong, Mayo Reposing at his home on Tuesday, January 31 from 5pm until Rosary that night at 8pm. Removal on Wednesday morning, February 1 to the Church of the Assumption, Tullamore, arriving for Funeral Mass at 12 noon. Burial after Mass in Clonminch Cemetery, Tullamore. Paul Groome Garr, Rhode, Offaly London and formerly Garr, Rhode, Co Offaly. Reposing at Larkin's Funeral Home, Edenderry from 4pm on Wednesday, February 1 with removal to The Church of the Holy Trinity, Castlejordan at 6.30pm (Via Garr, Rhode) arriving for 7pm. Funeral on Thursday, February 2 after 11am Mass, followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery. Joseph Kavanagh 49 Birr Street, Kilcormac, Offaly Reposing at his home in Birr Street on Monday evening, January 30 from 7pm with rosary at 9pm. Reposing on Tuesday from 3pm with rosary at 9pm. Removal from his home on Wednesday morning, February 1 arriving at the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Kilcormac for 10.50am for 11am funeral mass followed by burial to Saint Joseph's cemetery Kilcormac. House private on Wednesday morning please. U.S. Treasury yields edged off session highs after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at its meeting Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes (U.S.:US10Y), was a touch lower around 2.483 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury yield held around 3.086 percent as of 2:04 p.m., ET. The 2-year Treasury yield (U.S.:US2Y), which is most sensitive to expectations about near-term changes in Fed policy, edged lower to near 1.22 percent immediately following the statement release. Yields move inversely to price. The Federal Reserve was not expected to raise rates Wednesday. Ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report, the latest report from ADP and Moody's Analytics showed private companies kicked off the new year with a hiring spree. Amid an explosive month surrounding President Donald Trump's inauguration and the flurry of activity that followed, firms added 246,000 new workers to their payrolls , the report showed. Other data reported included the IHS Markit Manufacturing index's final read for January, which showed the strongest manufacturing production growth for almost two years. The ISM Manufacturing index for January came in at 56, above an expected read of 55. December construction spending fell 0.2 percent, while economist had forecast a gain 0.4 percent. In oil markets, prices stabilized after Russia joined OPEC in cutting production. Brent crude traded at around $56.75 a barrel on Wednesday, up 2.11 percent, while U.S. crude was around $53.83 a barrel, up 1.93 percent. CNBC's Patti Domm contributed to this report. More From CNBC Bandcamp has announced that they will be donating 100% of any purchases made on the site this upcoming Friday, February 3rd to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The decision to make the donations come on the heels of Donald Trumps recent executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries in Africa and the Middle East from entering the Untied States of America. The ACLU received a staggering $24 million in donations this past weekend following the Trump regimes immigration ban. Over 350,000 individuals made donations. Thats about six times what they usually receive in a year. Other companies have also been donating to the ACLU. Lyft announced they would donate $1 million to the organization over a period of four years to help defend our constitution. Venture capitalist and Trump supporter Peter Thiel is major Lyft investor. Read Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamonds statement in full below: Like 98% of U.S. citizens (including the President), I am the descendant of immigrantsmy great-grandparents came to America from Russia and Lithuania as teenagers and worked in sweatshops until they were able to afford to bring the rest of their families over. Most everyone you speak to in this country has a similar story to tell, because we are, in fact, a nation of immigrants, bound together by a shared belief in justice, equality, and the freedom to pursue a better life. In this context, last weeks Executive Order barring immigrants and refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States is not simply immoral, it violates the very spirit and foundation of America. Contrary to the assertions of the current administration, the order will not make us safer (an opinion shared by the State Department and many members of Congress including prominent Republicans). Christian religious leaders have denounced both the ban, as well as the exception prioritizing Christian immigrants, as inhumane. It is an unequivocal moral wrong, a cynical attempt to sow division among the American people, and is in direct opposition to the principles of a country where the tenet of religious freedom is written directly into the Constitution. This is not who we are, and it is not what we believe in. We at Bandcamp oppose the ban wholeheartedly, and extend our support to those whose lives have been upended. And so all day this Friday, February 3rd (starting at 12:01am Pacific Time), for any purchase you make on Bandcamp, we will be donating 100% of our share of the proceeds to the American Civil Liberties Union, who are working tirelessly to combat these discriminatory and unconstitutional actions. As another way of showing solidarity with the immigrants and refugees from the seven banned countriesas well as those impacted by the construction of the Mexican border wallweve compiled a list of albums made by artists from the affected countries (Bandcamp may be incorporated in the United States, but we host artists from every corner of the world). We believe that knowledge and empathy are crucial weapons against fear and intolerance. We hope that, as you listen to these albums, youll not only discover some great new artists, but will also gain a further appreciation and understanding for the way music transcends all borders, and remember that, even in the darkest of times, there is more that unites us than divides us. Ethan Diamond, Bandcamp Founder & CEO Agricultural News Mercy For Animals Targets Oklahoma Hog Production Facility in Undercover Animal Abuse Scam Tuesday morning, the animal rights group Mercy For Animals, held a news conference in Oklahoma City, where footage, secretly filmed by an undercover investigator, was released showing alleged animal abuse taking place in a hog production facility located in Hinton, Oklahoma. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Associate Farm Director Carson Horn was there and spoke with MFA's Director of Investigations Lindsay Wolf about the accusations she presented regarding the Hormel supplier. "What our investigator documented, is piglets having their testicles viciously ripped out, their sensitive tails cut off without the use of any pain relief, stressed animals who are repeatedly biting the bars of their cages," a sign of serious mental collapse says Wolf. "Mother pigs who are crammed in filthy barren crates with no room to turn around or even lie down comfortably." Wolf referred to both gestation and farrowing crates, which provide protection to the animals in different ways. Gestation Crates can protect the sow during pregnancy from other adult female hogs who try to boss other animals in open housing, while farrowing crates which keep the sows from injuring their own piglets - helping prevent the unintentionally crushing of their baby pigs, a problem that happens quite frequently with hogs. And although Wolf paints a horrific picture of what was going on inside this hog production facility, she admits "Everything that we documented at this facility is considered standard practice in the pork industry." Wolf insists what the undercover employee recorded is unacceptable. "These are problems that need to be resolved by Hormel - to get them to adopt meaningful animal welfare requirements at their suppliers." Apparently the hog producer targeted- the Maschoffs, based in Illinois, only learned about the abuse video just as it was being released in the News Conference and online. They quickly released the following statement: "We have launched a full-scale investigation in response to this video," says President Bradley Wolter. "Any animal care deficiencies discovered will be addressed in the quickest manner possible." "The company has taken the following immediate actions as a result of its initial investigation. "Communication of The Maschhoffs zero tolerance animal care policy with all employees and Production Partners. "Re-train all Oklahoma employees on the proper production procedures with respect to the practices that were displayed in the video. "Ensure every farm manager at The Maschhoffs reviews the video and fully understands the responsibility that comes with proper animal care. "We view animal care as a continuous-improvement process," says Wolter. "We will continue to make investments to further our animal care standards in the future. Properly caring for our animals is of the utmost importance." "The Maschhoffs has a zero tolerance policy for any abuse or mistreatment of its pigs. The company is dedicated to achieving high standards of consistent care to ensure the safety and welfare of its animals." As for Mercy for Animals- they offer several solutions in a companion news release, but the very last line on the release seems to boil down the organization's main goal. "And for individual consumers, the best way to help stop this cruelty is to leave meat off their plates," the release states. Wolf said later that technically no wrong doing had been committed and that this particular facility had been randomly selected, but was firm in her position that changes should be made. Listen to Horn's interview with Wolf during the news conference about MFA's allegations, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below. Listen to Horn's interview with Wolf during the news conference about MFA's allegations of abuse WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI Top Agricultural News By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay at least $1.22 billion to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting U.S. 3.0 liter diesel-engine vehicles to settle claims it fitted illegal emissions-cheating software to the cars, court documents showed. German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH [ROBG.UL] also agreed to pay $327.5 million to U.S. diesel VW owners, according to the documents filed late Tuesday. Volkswagen could be forced to pay up to $4.04 billion if regulators don't approve fixes for all vehicles. In December, VW said it had agreed to buy back 20,000 vehicles and expected to win approval to fix another 60,000. The settlement is the last major hurdle to Volkswagen moving beyond the scandal over its installation of secret software in hundreds of thousands of U.S. diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests, although it still faces suits from some U.S. states and investors. Volkswagen has already announced 18.2 billion euros ($19.63 billion) of provisions to cover the costs of "Dieselgate" and a source familiar with the matter said last month that its total bill was likely to remain below 20 billion euros. Volkswagen's luxury car unit Audi said on Wednesday it was reviewing whether it needed to put aside more provisions to cover the costs of a U.S. settlement of the scandal, on top of the 980 million euros it already set aside. "We are using the court documents to review what we still need to set aside for the annual accounts," an Audi spokesman said in Germany. Under the VW settlement that must be approved by a U.S. judge, owners of 3.0 liter vehicles who opt for fixes will get compensation of between $7,000 and $16,000 from Volkswagen if emissions fixes are approved in a timely fashion -- and the automaker will pay another $500 if the fix affects a vehicle's performance. Owners who opt for a buyback will get $7,500 on top of the value of the vehicle. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which had sued VW, voted unanimously to back the deal. Volkswagen Group of America chief executive Hinrich Woebcken said, with the agreement, all owners of polluting diesels "will have a resolution available to them. We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders." VW has been barred from selling diesel vehicles in the United States since late 2015. VW has agreed to repurchase the 2009-2012 Volkswagen and Audi 3.0 liter vehicles, but believes it will be able to fix the 2013-2016 Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche 3.0 liter vehicles. BOSCH AGREEMENT VW previously agreed to spend up to $10.03 billion to buy back up to 475,000 polluting 2.0 liter vehicles after it admitted it installed secret software to evade emissions controls. The settlement marked the largest ever automotive buyback offer in U.S. history and costliest auto industry scandal. Diesel car owners sued Bosch in 2015 claiming the company helped design secret "defeat device" software that allowed VW to evade emissions rules and alleged Bosch was a "knowing and active participant" in Volkswagen's decade-long scheme. Under its settlement, Bosch will pay $163.3 million to address 2.0 liter VW vehicle claims, with most owners getting $350 each, while 3.0 liter owners will split $113.3 million. Most 3.0 liter owners will receive $1,500 from Bosch. Bosch said in a statement it didn't admit wrongdoing or accept liability but had decided to settle so it could focus on an extensive "transformation process" the company has embarked on. A federal judge in San Francisco will hold a Feb. 14 hearing on whether to grant preliminary approval for the settlements. The lead lawyer for the vehicle owners, Elizabeth Cabraser, said in statement the settlement provides "substantial benefits to both consumers and the environment." VW earlier agreed to pay $225 million to offset the excess pollution from the 3.0 liter vehicles, on top of $2.7 billion it agreed to pay to offset 2.0 liter pollution. The automaker is set to plead guilty on Feb. 24 in Detroit to three felony counts as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve charges it installed secret software in U.S. vehicles to allow them to emit up to 40 times the amount of legally permitted pollution. As part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. regulators, the German automaker has agreed to sweeping reforms, new audits and oversight by an independent monitor for three years to resolve diesel emissions-cheating investigations. The United States has also charged seven current and former VW executives with wrongdoing. In total, VW has now agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, U.S. states and dealers, and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting vehicles. This week, Volkswagen topped Toyota Motor Corp as the world's largest automaker by sales. ($1 = 0.9273 euros) Paw Bway Htoo boarded a plane from Omaha to D.C. this week wondering if her looks, her name, her thick accent or the fact that she entered this country as a refugee would put her at risk. She had little reason to worry: Paw is a U.S. citizen. She comes from Thailand, which is not on President Donald Trumps just-announced list of banned countries. And shes a college honor student traveling with classmates and a professor, an expert on the Islamic State, to brief federal officials on how to blunt the digital reach of extremists. Still, Paw was afraid. She fears our fear. And she and the rest of her University of Nebraska at Omaha group say Americans fear is stoked by Trumps order. Last weeks order does the following: It sharply cuts the total number of refugees allowed this year, suspends refugee arrivals for 120 days, indefinitely bars Syrian refugees and bans people from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days. The president characterized his executive order as a way to protect Americans. But opponents have decried the action as antithetical to the very idea of what it means to be American. Paw, a 23-year-old with a long ponytail who grew up in a refugee camp, said she feels like Trump is creating an opening for people to fear refugees and treat them badly. And her professor, Gina Ligon, says the order plays right into the hands of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups she studies. She said it makes their presentation in Washington, D.C., today even more vital, for the UNO students will be showing lawmakers how to counter such groups. The UNO students are competing in a unique and relatively new anti-terrorism effort by the federal government to fight fire with fire in social media. Because social media offers such broad and immediate reach, terrorist and hate groups have been using it to their advantage. But now federal officials, with help from Facebook and a firm called EdVenture Partners, have asked college students to develop so-called peer-to-peer campaigns to counter violent extremism. The hope is that young people can create a digital message of belonging, tolerance and acceptance. Because the messengers are young, this new digital content may be seen as more authentic and therefore better than any formal, overtly government-created message. Launched two years ago, the contest rewards top participants with trips to Washington, face time with policymakers and cash prizes. UNO was one of four U.S.-based colleges or universities selected in the most recent round, out of some 50. Paw and four classmates will give their presentation today to an audience of about 200 people from the Homeland Security and State Departments and social media leaders. Teams were free to choose how to create their campaigns and where to focus. UNOs group decided last fall to shine a light on refugees, given how many wind up in Nebraska. The groups target audience was Nebraska college students who might not have much exposure to refugees or knowledge of their situation. The UNO students then designed a campaign around their classmate, Paw. They determined that knowing refugees personally made a difference. After inviting some other students to Paws family home for a meal, they documented how students reacted: grateful for the meal; warmed by the hospitality; encouraged and interested in learning more. This seemingly simple art of sharing a meal together made it possible to bridge cultural divides, student Virginia Gallner explained. Experiences like this can rectify uncertainties. But since you cant take everyone to dinner, they then went digital, turning to videos, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to tell Paws story. The digital campaign drew some 17,000 views of a 4-minute video featuring Paw; and almost 77,000 views of the groups Facebook page, The Refugee Perspective. Some of the comments on the groups page show what theyre up against. One man called their effort idiotic. Another told Paw to go fix your own country. A third called on the group to take care of our own first. Despite such reactions, the students found that bringing their message to a larger audience had an effect. Using high-tech eyeball tracking, they could see how the video resonated. In an experiment, some people were shown the Paw video while others saw something else. Then both groups were shown a web page crowded with content, including a small ad featuring Paw and the refugee issue. Not surprisingly, those who had seen the video spent more time looking at the Paw ad. And those longer looks created an emotional connection. When surveyed later, students who saw the Paw video were far more likely than the others to view refugees in a positive way. This finding is huge, student Ananya Mitra said, because it quantifies, it shows you this campaign can change the mindset. Influencing the hearts and minds of young people is both the goal of the U.S. project and the strategy behind terrorist groups. Which side will win? Ligon, a business professor who studies the organizational structure of the Islamic State and other groups, said their social media presence is big, well-organized and effective. Terrorist leaders suggest a theme of the day, such as brotherhood, and sympathizers trot out examples of that theme in photos, videos and stories. That bolsters propaganda about joining the terrorist group. Trumps order, Ligon said, was a big gift to such terrorist recruitment. She said it undermines U.S. promises of refugee resettlement to translators and others asked to help the U.S. And she said the order offers yet another argument for joining a terrorist group. Over the weekend, Ligon said, she saw the social media feeds of terrorist groups that held up the order as some kind of proof: See? The U.S. is punishing Muslims and attacking our religion. Part of ISISs rhetoric is theres this pending great apocalyptic war between the powers of the west and ISIS, she said. But she said the U.S. can change that storyline with a countermessage: America is a diverse and welcoming place, where refugees like Paw not only find a home but also can make a difference. Two Nebraska broadcasting veterans who have shared a stage with the late Nebraska Poet Laureate John G. Neihardt will appear together in Wayne, Nebraska, to talk about their mutual friend later this month. Dick Cavett and Ron Hull will appear together at Wayne State College in a Feb. 20 event to support the John G. Neihardt State Historic Site, a branch museum of the Nebraska State Historical Society in Bancroft. The 6:30 p.m. event at the Ramsey Theatre in the Lied Performing Arts Center is part of the colleges Black & Gold Performing Arts Series. The evening is billed as A Conversation with Dick Cavett, featuring Ron Hull. Cavett, a native of Gibbon, Nebraska, who grew up in Lincoln, is a three-time Emmy Award winner with a television career spanning five decades. He is best known for his conversational style and in-depth discussions as the host of The Dick Cavett Show from 1968 to 1986. Hulls television career also spans decades, beginning in 1955 as a producer-director at Nebraska Educational Television, where he currently is senior adviser. Both Hull and Cavett interviewed Neihardt for television. Neihardt, a graduate of Wayne Normal School (now Wayne State College) in 1896 at age 16, had returned to Nebraska in the 1970s after a career as a writer and teacher at the University of Missouri. He lived in Lincoln and sat for interviews with Cavett and Hull. Neihardts national popularity soared after his 1972 appearance on Cavetts program introduced a new generation to the poets life and works, including Black Elk Speaks and numerous other works of prose and poetry. Hulls interviews in Bancroft also preserved Neihardts legacy. For me, the name Neihardt and the name Nebraska are of just about equal weight, Cavett said. Cavett will appear at a book signing after the campus program. Books and DVDs will be available for purchase. Ticket admission for the event is $10 at the door for the general public. The event is free to Wayne State students, faculty and staff. The theater seats 675 people. For more information, contact Amy Kucera, executive director of the Neihardt State Historic Site, at 402-648-3388. University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers say theyve taken another step toward changing HIV drug treatment so that people would have to take medicine only once a month or less from the current once-a-day routine. They now believe theyve found a way to use an immune cells internal defense system to help do the job. The research, detailed in the current issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, represents an important advance in the researchers work over the past decade. If successful, it would help get around the problem of skipped doses, a particular problem in parts of the world with limited access to medical care, said Dr. Howard Gendelman, chairman of UNMCs pharmacology and experimental neuroscience department. The drugs used to keep HIV at bay have to be taken by mouth daily, sometimes multiple times a day. Some have severe side effects, which also contribute to the compliance challenge. About 36.7 million people are living with HIV worldwide, 1.2 million of them in the United States. This would be a more effective way to keep it suppressed, said Santhi Gorantla, an associate professor and one of the researchers who spearheaded the 14-member UNMC team. And maybe, if we use the best drug combinations, theres a way to eliminate the reservoirs (of the virus.) That is the final goal. The researchers also believe the approach could be applied to other long-acting drugs and, potentially, other diseases, said Dr. Harris Gelbard, director of the University of Rochesters Center for Neural Development and Disease in Rochester, New York. Dr. Charles Flexner, a professor at Johns Hopkins University who specializes in HIV therapies, called the research an important step forward. Flexner wasnt involved in the research. There is increasing interest in the possibility of long-acting injectable drugs to control HIV, he said, and this work is an exciting example of a new approach to make that happen. The Omaha and Rochester researchers previously had combined a drug developed in Gelbards lab, called URMC-099, with HIV drugs specially formulated by Gendelmans team to be injected into the body and picked up by a type of immune cell. Most HIV drugs are taken by mouth and travel through the body without targeting the virus specifically. The immune cells, whose job is to rush to the site of injury and infection, could carry the specially formulated drugs to the places where the virus resides, such as the lymph nodes, gut, brain and genital system. Tested together, the drugs eliminated measurable quantities of HIV in cells and mice. That research, published in October 2015, allowed the researchers to leverage additional federal funding, Gendelman said. But at the time, Gelbard said, the researchers didnt know how combined drugs worked. What they determined, and described in their latest publication, is that URMC-099 causes the immune cells to store the specially formulated HIV drugs longer, keeping them available for slow and sustained release at target sites. It did it by restoring the cells ability blocked by HIV to get rid of trash, including invading viruses. The cells also were able to dispose of whatever was left of the virus after treatment. The Japanese scientist who discovered the trash-removing process in cells in the 1990s won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Gelbard said the researchers next hope to begin early clinical trials. While the ultimate goal in the HIV field is to develop a vaccine to protect people from the virus, he said, those efforts are years away from use in people. Gendelman said the fact that the UNMC team, which includes researchers from UNMCs College of Pharmacy, can formulate the drugs at the Nebraska Nanomedicine Production Plant on UNMCs campus allows the researchers to move products forward more rapidly than if they worked with an outside facility. The research was supported in part by four institutes of the National Institutes of Health. Over the past decade, UNMC has gone from 89th to sixth among U.S. medical schools in NIH funding for pharmacology research, according to rankings compiled by a North Carolina group. NEW YORK (AP) Caterpillar Inc. is moving its headquarters to the Chicago area and wont build a new complex in its current Peoria, Illinois, location. The move comes as the company faces a weak equipment market that has been cutting into its bottom line. Last week, the farming and construction equipment maker reported a wider fourth-quarter loss on charges and higher restructuring costs. It has been cutting jobs and facilities over the last several years. As a result of continuing challenging market conditions and the need to prioritize resources to focus on growth, Caterpillar will not build the previously announced headquarters complex in Peoria, the company said. Caterpillar joins several other agriculture-focused businesses in the Midwest that have relocated to Chicago in recent years. ConAgra moved to Chicago in 2016 after nearly a century in Omaha. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. moved from its central-Illinois base in 2014. The company said it will locate a limited group of senior executives and support functions in the Chicago area later this year, saying it is a more strategic location. It expects about 300 people to be based at the new location. Locating our headquarters closer to a global transportation hub such as Chicago means we can meet with our global customers, dealers and employees more easily and frequently, CEO Jim Umpleby said. Caterpillar said the vast majority of its people will remain in central Illinois. The current Caterpillar building in Peoria will continue to be used. Retirees from the once-bustling Western Electric plant in Millard are still waiting to hear if their pension plan is going to be tapped by the new corporate custodian of their retirement fund. The unions that represented the retired workers filed a lawsuit more than a year ago in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, saying the company, Alcatel-Lucent, was improperly transferring $1.2 billion from the fund for hourly retirees to the one for management retirees. The issue, according to the union: Money from the retirement fund of the hourly workers was being used to shore up a retirement fund for management. That fund is underfunded. The company says it isnt doing anything wrong and that the money is essentially in one big pot, anyway not in separate tranches for hourly and salaried employees. But the judge in the case threw the suit out late last year, in a ruling that left open the chance to refile it once the attorneys for the unions made certain changes. That was done and the suit was refiled in December. That leaves what are probably thousands of area retirees from the vast Western Electric plant on L Street around 120th Street wondering what will happen to their benefits. At the heyday of the Ma Bell years, the plant that was part of AT&Ts equipment-making subsidiary employed 8,000 people making telecom gear. You put all those years in and you look forward to having something as you go on with life, said Ken Mass, who started at the plant in 1964, later also serving as Nebraska AFL-CIO President. Now you got someone who wants to take from your fund to put in theirs. There is a word for that, and that word is misrepresentation. The union members say in their lawsuit that their collective-bargaining agreements bar any asset transfers that would benefit people who werent part of the original contract. The suit was filed in November 2015 by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the unions that represented the workers in Millard. The company has made its own points in court filings. It has said that the Communications Workers of America doesnt represent the retirees anymore. Also, according to filings, it is up to company management to decide if it is best to use company money or surplus pension trust money to fix retirement plan deficits. The company also says the pension funds for the hourly union workers are fully funded and not in any peril of defaulting on benefits. The individual funds in question are all part of one larger trust, the company says, so it is just one big asset pool anyway. The whole controversy is full of corporate makeovers. After the end of the Bell System, the plant was owned by others in the telecommunications industry, going by a number of different names before closing in 2011, long after the industrys court-ordered breakup and rise of the cellphone. Responsibility for the pension plan eventually passed to a French telecom company called Alcatel-Lucent. In 2015, Alcatel-Lucent agreed to be bought by Nokia, the Finnish maker of telecom hardware that thereby inherited the pension obligations of the Millard retirees. Attempts to reach officials with Nokia in Finland via email messages were unsuccessful, and messages left with their U.S. attorneys werent returned. The lawsuit filed by the unions asks for a court order requiring the assets that were transferred out of the hourly fund be moved back and a permanent bar on any such conduct in the future. Nokia bought Alcatel-Lucent last year for almost $18 billion. Tom Trusty, a CWA retiree who installed the equipment made at the Omaha plant during a career that lasted from 1964 through 2002, said it appears to him and other retirees that Alcatel-Lucent was transferring assets around to avoid making up the management-plan shortfall with general corporate revenues just as it was negotiating to be bought by Nokia. They were saving their own money, Trusty said. It used to be in the Bell Systems days such things were cut and dried. Each fund was dedicated and sacrosanct. Eyeing that pack of steaks? Beef should keep getting cheaper at the supermarket this year, with supplies growing. The number of U.S. cattle grew for the third straight year in 2016, as ranchers continued to rebuild their herds thanks to good hay and pasture conditions. The U.S. Agriculture Department counted nearly 94 million cattle on Jan. 1, according to its annual inventory report published Tuesday. Thats up 2 percent from a year ago, and was a bigger increase than many analysts expected, said ag economist Gary Lohr of the Denver-based Livestock Marketing Information Center. Numbers of beef cows and calves were both up 3 percent, also higher than expected, Lohr said. He said a smaller increase was expected, with cattle prices declining through much of 2016. The continued growth trend is a turnaround for the industry compared with the first part of this decade. Several years of drought helped reduce the nations cattle herd to a 63-year low by 2014. Dry conditions meant less forage and hay to feed livestock, so ranchers culled cattle, shrinking the U.S. herd in 2014 to its smallest size since 1951. Then, with fewer cattle available to market, grocery store prices for beef spiked. Prices hit record highs in 2014 and again into 2015. Those higher prices helped further depress already-declining U.S. beef consumption, which fell a total of 15 percent in the past decade. Meanwhile, consumption of cheaper-per-pound chicken rose 5 percent, the USDA said. Health concerns about red meat were another factor. But since the drought eased, ranchers have been rebuilding. The total U.S. herd size was up 1 percent in January 2015, 3 percent in January 2016 and now, up 2 percent. Grocery prices have fallen in response to the greater supply. The price of a pound of ground beef at retail fell steadily through 2016 and was down to $4.04 in December, from a high of $4.71 a pound in February 2015. The USDA predicts that the trend will continue over the next decade, forecasting beef production to grow nearly 12 percent and consumer prices to fall nearly 11 percent, thanks to lower feed costs and strong demand here and abroad. That could reverse an ongoing decline in U.S. meat consumption, the USDA said. Beef consumption per person is forecast to increase by 2.7 percent by 2025. With that kind of value presented to consumers, consumers are going to opt for beef as opposed to chicken or pork, Lohr said. Thanks in part to record supplies of cheap grain, we are in unprecedented territory as far as the amount of meat available to consumers. Nebraskas total cattle herd didnt grow in 2016, staying flat at 6.5 million, but the state kept its No. 2 position in the country, behind Texas. And the Beef State remained the nations biggest cattle feeder, fattening the most animals for slaughter. Our state is uniquely positioned with a ready supply of water and feedstuffs that make it a prime place to feed cattle, said Greg Ibach, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. He said the department continues to attend trade shows to promote the states feedlot industry and attract business. As the cattle herd expands and contracts, the different players within the beef supply chain have good years and bad years. Whether the recent herd growth will be good for business, that all depends on whether youre pitching or catching, said Jeff Stolle, vice president of marketing for the Nebraska Cattlemen. We are now getting to the point where we are going to start feeling the impact of that rebuilding in the form of more beef. In 2017, he said, consumers should expect falling prices, and ranchers will continue to see much lower prices for feeder cattle than the top dollars they commanded in 2014 and 2015. Feedlot operators, slogging through about two unprofitable years, may see improvement, while meatpackers, who saw profits last year, may see those margins shrink. Cattle feeder Bill Rhea of Arlington said his part of the beef industry has been a train wreck, as the cost of buying and fattening cattle exceeded the sale price. He worries that by this summer, the number of cattle ready for slaughter will exceed meatpackers capacity, further pushing down prices. He hopes exports will continue to grow, consumers will eat more beef and this year will be the crest of the current herd expansion. This should be the high-water mark, and youll start seeing the cow herd shrink, he said. A 44-year-old man died after he was accidentally shot Tuesday by his son in a northwest Omaha apartment, police said. Benjamin Majestic, whose birthday was Tuesday, was shot in the head about 6:45 p.m. in a building near 144th Street and West Maple Road, authorities said. The son, whose name and age the police did not release, was at the scene when law enforcement authorities arrived and was interviewed by detectives. Police did not describe the circumstances of the shooting. Majestic died at the Nebraska Medical Center. A 53-year-old man has been ticketed by Omaha police for his involvement in a collision that killed a public works employee. Police consulted with the Douglas County Attorneys Office before citing Alan Solarana on suspicion of misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide in the Jan. 23 wreck at 144th and U Streets. Salvatore Fidone III, 48, was about to repair a pothole when he was struck by Solarana, who was driving a Toyota Camry, police have said. Fidone, 48, was standing on the drivers side of a public works truck that was parked on the curb lane of northbound 144th Street. Just before 9:49 a.m., a 2012 Toyota Camry headed north on the inside lane of 144th Street drifted and struck Fidone. Fidone was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition and officials announced his death last week. Solarana was twice ticketed with speeding in 2005. He was unable to be reached Tuesday night. Neither excessive speed nor alcohol were factors in the crash, police say. A police officer fired 11 times at a man who had continued to train a gun on the officers wounded partner on the edge of a central Omaha park Monday, the Police Department said. The man, attempted theft suspect Monroe G. Evans III, had shot Officer Jill Schillerberg in the inside of her lower left leg with a round from a Norinco Tokarev 9 mm handgun, police said. The round grazed her leg, traveled through her boot and landed on the ground. Schillerberg, 39, was released from a hospital in the hours after she was shot. Though it was clear that together, Schillerberg and her partner, Matthew Skradski, fired upon Evans 12 times, the department did not say how many rounds struck him. They said Evans suffered gunshot wounds to his shoulder, both arms, both legs and his torso. He was in critical condition Tuesday night at the Nebraska Medical Center and under police hospital guard. Skradski, 36, fired his .40-caliber Glock 11 times and Schillerberg fired one round from her .45-caliber Glock, the department said. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said he had concluded that Schillerberg and Skradski were justified in their use of deadly force, which was in direct response to Mr. Evans actions. I fully anticipate criminal charges against Mr. Evans upon his release from the hospital. Schmaderer said he and other department commanders watched and listened to the officers cruiser video, though only audio of the shooting was captured. Neither officer had been assigned a body-worn camera, as some of the departments officers have. Schillerberg is the first Omaha police officer to be shot in the line of duty since Kerrie Orozco was slain in May 2015. Omaha police officers shot and killed three people in 2016; grand juries determined that each was justified. Omaha officers shot one person last year who survived. The department on Tuesday night offered the first detailed account of the encounter between police and Evans, a 20-year-old unemployed father of an infant. Skradski and Schillerberg were attempting to detain Evans at Dewey Park because he matched the description of a suspicious person at 1327 Park Avenue. In the moments before Evans was shot, he was uncooperative, police said. He kept his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt, disregarding officers instructions that he remove them, the department said. Evans had tried to walk away from the officers. Evans shot Schillerberg with one round as she and Skradski attempted to pat him down for weapons. Evans gun was found at the scene, police said, and the department released a photo of it surrounded by leaves. One 9 mm shell casing was found at the scene, and it has the same head stamp as the 9 mm bullets that were recovered from Evans handgun, police said. During her interview with detectives, Schillerberg said that while they were attempting to handcuff Evans, he said he was going to start popping. As officers got one handcuff on him, Schillerberg said, she saw the gun in Evans right hand, and he fired it. Schillerberg said that as Evans fell to the ground, onto his back, he still held his handgun. Schillerberg said that Evans raised the gun up in her direction as she scrambled to get out of the way. Schillerberg said that Skradski continued to fire at Evans as he (Evans) was tracking her with his handgun, the department said. OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb 1, 2017) - On the heels of a global mobilization for women's rights, dozens of women's, human rights and labour organizations are calling on the Government of Canada to develop and implement a National Gender Equality Plan. A National Gender Equality Plan is one of the key recommendations made by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) after its recent review of Canada's compliance with the UN treaty on women's rights. The November 2016 CEDAW recommendations are far-reaching and clear. Acting on them will require co-ordination across all levels of government. Women and supporters are calling today for full implementation of the CEDAW recommendations and for leadership from the Government of Canada. Angela Cameron, Chair of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) says: "Canadian governments have stalled for too long on women's rights, despite extensive and repeated international criticism. It's 2017 and now is the time for a full response, one that is thoughtful, coordinated, intersectional in its approach, and able to effect real change." Francyne Joe, President of the Native Women's Association of Canada, said: "Indigenous women and girls are disadvantaged in every area: employment, health, education, safety, housing, food, clean water, political participation, and simple recognition of our worth as human beings. The CEDAW Committee has told Canada to design strategic interventions to address the desperate social and economic conditions of Indigenous women and girls. We are looking forward to real action and real change." Bonnie Brayton, Executive Director of the Disabled Women's Action Network (DAWN) said: "Give Canadian women something to really celebrate for Canada's 150th birthday! Women with disabilities need to see governments take co-ordinated, concrete and forward-looking steps to ensure equity for all women." Story continues Farhat Rehman of the Council of Muslim Women said "A justice system that works equally for all women is a fundamental right. But Muslim women need Canadian governments to act on CEDAW recommendations and combat the negative cultural stereotypes that we face. They are a hindrance to our access to justice against violence and discrimination of every kind." Leilani Farha, Executive Director of Canada Without Poverty, said, "The United Nations CEDAW Committee was clear: Canada does not adequately provide the programs and services essential to women's equality. Women need: income equality, equal pay, decent jobs, affordable childcare and housing, adequate legal aid, access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, sufficient protection from violence, and a justice system that responds to their needs in all parts of the country. Women in Canada do not have that yet." Barb Byers of the Canadian Labour Congress said, "Women can't wait any longer for real progress. There are steps that the Government of Canada can take right now to get a National Gender Equality Plan rolling - restoration of funding to the community-controlled Court Challenges Program, rolling out the promised national child care system, and fixing federal pay equity laws." "On January 21st," said Byers, "thousands of women across this country marched for equality. The Prime Minister sent out a note of congratulations saying that the marches 'keep our government inspired.' We say to the Prime Minister and our government: now is the time for action. Let's begin today the hard work of improving Canada's record: make equality for all women a reality." Getting a National Gender Equality Plan in place is the focus of a new campaign, Step Up for Women's Equality! This campaign will provide information and co-ordination for civil society work on implementation of the CEDAW recommendations http://fafia-afai.org/en/step-up A background in theater helped UNO professor John Wanzenried dazzle in the classroom, a former student said Tuesday. He was, I believe, ahead of his time because he wasnt just lecturing, Mary Bernier said. John would design activities that brought to life the concepts he was presenting, and I think that came from his work in the theater. Bernier, a former director of development for the University of Nebraska Foundation, met Wanzenried when she returned to school as a 28-year-old nontraditional student. She took many of his classes, including interpersonal communication and nonverbal communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Wanzenrieds class on organizational communication, Bernier said, later helped her land a job managing conferences for UNO. She now operates Inspired Giving, a company that raises money for and directs donations to nonprofit groups. John was my mentor as an undergraduate and graduate student, Bernier said. I think that was the reason Ive succeeded in life. I owe John a great deal. Wanzenried, 74, of Omaha had been battling dementia and died Jan. 25 at an Omaha hospice surrounded by his family, said his wife of 34 years, Lucy Wanzenried. Services were held Monday at First Central Congregational Church. Wanzenried was raised in upstate New York, graduating from high school in the village of Cleveland, New York. He received a bachelors degree in communication from Greensboro (North Carolina) College and a masters degree in theater from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, his wife said. In 1966, he began teaching speech and debate at Omaha University, which became part of the University of Nebraska system two years later. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Wanzenried quit teaching in 1990 to become associate dean of Arts and Sciences at UNO. At first, he worried about missing the interaction of the classroom, said former colleague Hugh Cowdin, who retired as chairman of UNOs communications department. He was an excellent teacher, and he loved students so much that he was a little unsure about taking that job in the deans office, Cowdin said. But he found that he was more involved with students than ever. Wanzenried retired in 2007, his wife said. Two years earlier, he told the UNO Alumni magazine that his time at the school had been very special. Ive loved both my jobs here, he said. Forty years is a long time, and Ill surely miss it all when I leave. Wanzenried was preceded in death by his daughter Liesl Wanzenried. In addition to his wife, he is survived by son Brian Wanzenried of Omaha; daughters, Hanna Solberg of Omaha and Marcy Hart of Philadelphia; former wife, Kelly Wanzenried of Omaha; sisters Kathy Ryan of Omaha and Lilly Wanzenried of Rochester, New York; and brother Pete Wanzenried of Sacramento, California; and three grandchildren. Registration is open for nonprofit organizations that want to participate in Pottawattamie Gives this year, the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation announced Monday. Pottawattamie Gives is held annually in conjunction with the 24-hour online fundraiser Omaha Gives, sponsored by the Omaha Community Foundation. New participants need to register by March 1 for the event, which will be held on May 24. Organizations that participated in 2016 will automatically be included. We hope to get some new nonprofits registered by March 1, said Jerry Mathiasen, president and CEO of Pottawattamie County Community Foundation. In 2016, Pottawattamie Gives raised a record amount of money for charities that serve Pottawattamie County. A record 80 nonprofit organizations registered, compared to 63 nonprofits in 2015, he said. Pottawattamie Gives also received 8.25 percent of all donations, a 2 percent increase from 2015. Last year, the preliminary numbers showed that nearly $700,000 came to the charities having services in Pottawattamie County, and were hopeful that we can surpass that amount in 2017, Mathiasen said. The total includes agencies that have a metro-wide reach and received contributions from throughout the area. To register, visit pottawattamiegives.org and click on Sign Up. New organizations will need to enter the nonprofit name, point of contact, federal tax ID number and other details. There is no registration fee, Mathiasen said. Our first step is to get the nonprofits to participate, and the next step is to get charities to remind people that their contributions and donations to their charity organization are going to improve the quality of life in Pottawattamie County, he said. After the registration deadline, PCCF and the Omaha Community Foundation will host two training sessions on effective marketing strategies for the event. The training sessions will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on March 7 at MICAH House in Council Bluffs and from 8 to 10 a.m. on March 16 at Green Hills Area Education Agencys Halverson Center on Iowa Highway 92 between Council Bluffs and Treynor, Iowa. Pottawattamie Gives was initiated in 2015 by PCCF in cooperation with the Omaha Community Foundation as part of Omaha Gives. LINCOLN The legislative pages werent trying to make any kind of statement last month when they put up the state flag upside down. It was a simple mistake. Temperatures in Lincoln were in the single digits and teens on the morning of Jan. 4 when two pages embarked on the tricky task of raising the blue and gold state flag on the opening day of the Nebraska Legislature. The pages are among 30 college students hired during the session to assist senators. One of their duties is to put up the flag, which involves climbing out a window on the Capitols third floor, ascending two metal ladders and walking across a plank to reach the flag pole. The flag was hoisted into place upside down. The mistake was corrected after a state employee noticed the problem on Jan. 11 and brought it to the attention of State Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha and a legislative employee. Harr said Wednesday that he doesnt blame the pages. You cant tell from a distance which side should be up, he said. By law, the state flag must fly while the Legislature is in session. Years ago, pages would put up and take down the flag daily during the legislative session. But since the flag is now lit, it stays up day and night. The flag comes down after lawmakers adjourn sine die on the last day of the session, which this year is set for early June. Harr used the flag-raising story during a legislative hearing this week to support his argument that the Legislature should consider creating a task force to explore designing a new state flag. The current flag is blue, gold and silver and features the state seal, which shows a steamboat on the Missouri River, a train heading toward the Rocky Mountains, and a smith with a hammer and anvil. The seal also shows a settlers cabin, sheaves of wheat and the states motto, Equality Before the Law. Harr and others have said the flag is hard to read, doesnt stand out and features elements that dont represent what the state is known for today. Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse, chairman of the Executive Board, which heard the flag proposal, said he thinks the upside-down flag incident underscores Harrs point. I think its fair game we do take a look at it, he said. Watermeier said he expects the committee to take action on whether to advance Legislative Resolution 3, Harrs proposal, to the full Legislature in about a week. LINCOLN Assaults on staff in the states troubled prison system rose significantly last year, which a key state senator on corrections issues said reflects ongoing problems with staffing shortages. A recent report also indicated that staff turnover was up during 2016, despite efforts in the last half of the year to increase wages to reduce turnover. Corrections Director Scott Frakes said the agency is paying close attention to such statistics and has taken steps to reduce assaults and turnover. We continue to see an increase in resistance, disrespect of authority and outright disobedience from people in prison, Frakes said of the attacks. In recent months, he said, serious staff assaults have declined and turnover has slowed, but its too early to conclude whether those are trends. During 2016, there were 224 assaults on staff by Nebraska prison inmates, an increase of 57 percent over 2015, when there were 143 assaults. Of those attacks last year, 13 caused serious injury, defined as requiring urgent and immediate medical treatment. The 13 serious assaults were more than during the previous three years combined, when a total of nine assaults were reported, according to a memo provided recently to lawmakers by Inspector General of Corrections Doug Koebernick. There were no serious assaults reported in November or December. When asked about the assault numbers Tuesday, State Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete said she has not had time to fully read the memo, but that it was a concern. Pay for corrections officers and overall funding for the Department of Correctional Services is only part of the problem, Ebke said. Much of the issue can be traced to the high number of unfilled positions at the agency and the resulting inability to provide programs that keep inmates occupied, she said. Until we can figure out how to fill the existing positions that we have now, its going to be difficult to do everything we want programming-wise, said the senator, who heads the Legislatures Judiciary Committee, which handles corrections issues. Ebke said corrections was not funded properly for several years and is still a little behind. Additional statistics showed that 424 corrections officers and other protective services staff left their jobs in 2016, compared with 387 in 2015. In the past, Frakes, as well as Gov. Pete Ricketts, have said the problems at corrections accumulated over several years and will take several years to correct. Because of high employee turnover and a large number of vacant posts, officers must work overtime to cover shifts, and inmate activities must be cut back due to a lack of officers to supervise them. Last fall, corrections provided bonuses to front-line employees and then instituted mid-year pay increases. Corrections spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said Tuesday that the agency has launched numerous strategies to reduce staff assaults, including the development of a systemwide intelligence network. LINCOLN John McCollister took the bait, but he refused to accept the switch. The state senator from Omaha was traveling on Interstate 80 last summer when he saw a convenience store in North Platte advertising bargain gasoline. But as he pulled in, he couldnt find a pump that matched the low price on the sign. After McCollister saw a long line of cars waiting at a single pump island with the cheap fuel, he drove off in search of a different convenience store. So when McCollister was asked to introduce a bill putting a stop to the pricing tactic, he happily agreed to do so. On Tuesday, officials with AAA Nebraska, the Better Business Bureau and trade groups representing petroleum retailers and convenience stores testified in support of Legislative Bill 477. Only the lobbyist for an association representing farmer cooperatives spoke in opposition, although his testimony involved technical aspects of the bill and was not in defense of the controversial advertising practice. Former Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning tried to halt the practice in 2007 by opening a deceptive advertising investigation into the owners of two separate convenience stores in North Platte. The owners agreed to change how they were operating and made charitable donations in lieu of fines. Jim Hegarty, president of the BBB region that includes Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and western Iowa, said customers in Nebraska have continued to file complaints about the practice since the attorney general settlements were reached. Based on his research, Nebraska is the only state where the bait-and-switch advertising tactic has been used. Don Quinn, a corporate officer with Sapp Brothers Inc., said research shows that gasoline price is the leading factor that draws customers into a station. So when one store engages in the practice, it puts pressure on other retailers to do the same to remain competitive. I believe this deceptive practice, if its not stopped, will be further adopted, he said. Dan ONeill, CEO of Quick Stop convenience stores, based in North Platte, said his industry does not typically ask for additional regulations. But price marketing that confuses motorists gives the industry a black eye and raises concerns that it could sully Nebraskas reputation with tourists. Such a complaint letter from a motorist who got caught by the pricing practice appeared in a national trade magazine, ONeill said. Everybody agrees its wrong, its just wrong, he said. Colder air is settling into the Omaha area over the next couple of days, along with light snow or flurries possible and minor accumulations in some locations. Forecasters said the best chance for light snow of 1 inch or less in the Omaha area will be tonight into Friday morning. Accumulations reaching about 1 inch or slightly more could occur in northeast Nebraska. Ryan McPike, a meteorologist at KMTV, said a half-inch to 1 inch of snow overnight in the Omaha area could affect the Friday morning drive to work. It doesnt look like a whole lot of snow for us, he said, but it doesnt take much to cause problems. He also said there is a slight chance that the Omaha area could receive rain or snow showers Saturday. Then we turn real mild early next week, McPike said about highs Sunday through Tuesday in the 40s, before it gets colder again by midweek. The National Weather Service office at Valley said the Omaha area can expect mostly cloudy skies and a high in the mid-20s today. Tonight, there is a 40 percent chance of snow after 1 a.m., with a low in the upper teens. The 40 percent chance of snow continues through Friday morning, forecasters said, with a temperatures again reaching the upper 20s before falling into the upper teens that night. Saturday was forecast to be partly sunny with a high approaching 40. The weather service said Sunday through Tuesday were expected to be partly sunny with highs in the 40s. Theres a chance of rain or snow Tuesday night. The rest of the Omaha-area forecast, according to the weather service: Thursday Mostly cloudy with a high in the upper 20s. Thursday night A 40 percent chance of snow after 1 a.m. and a low in the upper teens. Friday A 40 percent chance of snow before 1 p.m. and a high in the upper 20s. Friday night Partly cloudy with a low in the upper teens. Saturday A slight chance (20 percent) of snow between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. and with a high in the upper 30s. Saturday night Mostly cloudy with a low around 25. Sunday Mostly sunny with a high in the lower 40s. Sunday night Partly cloudy with a low around 30. Monday Mostly sunny with a high in the upper 40s. Monday night Mostly cloudy with a low in the lower 30s. Tuesday A chance of rain with a high in the lower 40s. Lana Obradovic is an expert on American foreign and national security. Shes the author of an award-winning book. Shes an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. And, more than 20 years ago, she was a refugee. Obradovic, who moved to Lincoln from Bosnia as a war refugee in the early 1990s, joined religious leaders and current refugees in speaking to a crowd of more than 1,000 people at Turner Park Tuesday evening. The interfaith candlelight vigil was held to show support for refugees in Omaha and abroad. Being a refugee is not a choice, and that is hard to explain, Obradovic told the group, many of whom held candles and signs. You are there because you are out of choices. Refugees differ from immigrants. Refugees go on waiting lists and are vetted to determine whether they meet certain criteria to enter a country, including fleeing dire conditions such as war or persecution. More than 30 religious leaders of different faiths participated in the event, which is the latest local response to an executive order halting refugee settlement in the United States. Lutheran Family Services along with the Tri-Faith Initiative, the Refugee Empowerment Center, Omaha Together One Community, the ACLU of Nebraska, the Anti-Defamation League and Nebraska Appleseed organized the vigil. Illuminated by hundreds of candles and the lights of Midtown Crossing, people held signs that said refugees welcome, hate has no home here and I love my Muslim neighbors. Newly arrived Syrian refugees, as well as refugees from Myanmar, the Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan were in attendance. When they were mentioned, the crowd applauded, some people yelling, welcome! Since 2002, 1,261 Iraqis, 1,081 Sudanese and 734 Somalis have started new lives in Nebraska. In the past year, 163 Syrians have also moved to the state. Dekow Sagar, coordinator of the Lutheran Family Services International Center of the Heartland and a former Somalian refugee, said many Muslim refugees in Omaha didnt attend the vigil because they feared for their safety. No one in America should have to live in fear because of their religion or nationality, he said. We are one from north to south and from east to west, he said. The crowd cheered. Kathy Higbee, who teaches immigrant and refugee students at the Omaha Public Schools Teen Literacy Center, attended to support her students. Its inspiring to have everybody come together, she said. As the temperature dipped, the group ended the event by singing This Land is Your Land. We need to be a light for freedom and for democracy, Higbee said. Sarah Piccolo has had two, and only two, run-ins with the law in her young life: Prosecutors say the 19-year-old tried to set a fire in a Metropolitan Community College bathroom three years after she attacked and stabbed a fellow student at Lincoln Pius X High School. In between the two, she was treated for mental illness and was doing well at work and at school, said her attorney, Robert Williams of Omaha. Then her medication decreased and Piccolos struggles returned. On Tuesday, Douglas County District Judge J Russell Derr ordered state psychiatrists to evaluate Piccolo on two issues: her competency to understand the judicial proceedings against her, and whether she was sane during the alleged Nov. 5 arson in a bathroom at Metros Elkhorn campus. Williams said his client is doing much better. She appeared in court Tuesday hair she had dyed blue had faded since her arrest. Now that shes stable, shes as pleasant as can be, Williams said. Shes doing a lot better now. Piccolo not only faces an arson charge in Douglas County, she faces violation of probation charges in Lincoln. She had received behavioral and mental health treatment following her 2013 ambush of Ellen Kopetzky at Pius, Lincolns only Catholic high school. Piccolo, then 16, was hiding in a restroom, waiting to attack the first person who walked in. She struck Kopetzky whom she didnt know with a hammer and slashed her repeatedly with a knife, cutting her hands, her mouth and her chin. Piccolo, then 16, took off in a car but turned herself in to Kansas authorities the following day. She told investigators that her motive was to kill as many people as she could and then kill herself. Piccolos Lincoln lawyer characterized the attack as a huge cry for help. Piccolo received treatment at the Uta Halee Academy in Omaha. She was released from the facility April 10, 2016, upon turning 19. Under terms of her five years of probation, Piccolo was ordered to live with an aunt and uncle in the Omaha area. Then came Nov. 5. Deputy Douglas County Attorney Eric Wells alleged the following: Piccolo arrived at Metros Elkhorn campus before 7 a.m. that Saturday carrying a gas can into the building and into the bathroom. She poured or spilled some of the gas onto the floor and threw a match into the gas can. Piccolo was identified as a suspect by school personnel with the help of video surveillance. Investigators searching her home determined that Piccolo had been planning a fire for two weeks. She left a note in which she wrote that she wanted to send a message that society is faulty, Wells said. The fire didnt get far, causing only minimal damage to the tile-lined bathroom, according to both prosecutors and Williams. Williams said Piccolo recently has been receiving inpatient care at Lasting Hope Recovery Center. State psychiatrists are expected to evaluate her there. FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit. An online campaign is seeking designs to rework the flag, which was the subject of legislation introduced earlier this year. Though no official study of the state flag is underway, the best designs could be seen at a potential public hearing and be included in possible legislation next year, said State Sen. Burke Harr. WASHINGTON If President Donald Trump wants a new pen pal, former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., is up to the task. Kerrey recently sent a letter to the new president taking issue with both his travel ban and his relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. You seem to measure greatness by gross domestic product, the size of our military, or doing deals, Kerrey wrote to Trump. You could not be more wrong. Dangerously wrong in my strongly held view. The letter was posted on VoteVets.org, which bills itself as the largest progressive organization of veterans in America. Kerrey wrote that Americas greatness had little to do with economic clout or military strength when Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were in charge. In the case of the former, our economy and military were weak and could not compare with those of the great powers of the day, Kerrey wrote. In the case of the latter, our republic almost did not survive. In light of your January 27 executive order and collaboration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, I suspect if you had faced the same set of circumstances as Lincoln did after his inauguration, you would cut a deal with (Confederate) President Jefferson Davis. Kerrey told The World-Herald that hes written half a dozen letters to Trump since the election on topics including trade, health care and Trumps inaugural address. The letter writing began in response to questions from Kerreys 15-year-old son about the contentious election, the incoming administration and what it all meant. People paid attention to this election and want to know what its all about. Is the world going to come to an end? Kerrey said. The answer is no. Kerrey said he finds that his answers are better if he writes them down, and he decided to share what hed written with the president as well as his son. He hadnt intended the letters to be public but after he shared the last one with someone who asked him about the topic, it wound up on a website. In that letter, Kerrey said Trump has agreed to make Putin an ally in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, a group frequently referred to as ISIS. Has it occurred to you that the men who are on the ground fighting against ISIS are Muslims and would be banned from entering the United States under the terms of your executive order? Kerrey wrote. Coupled with your statement that we should consider seizing Iraqi oil (something I am certain Vladimir Putin would embrace fully), your words and actions must be a bitter reminder to these Iraqi freedom fighters they would be wise not to fully trust our purpose. He wrote that he would expect better from an American president. Your executive order does not make me feel like I am living in a great country, which I know I am, Kerrey wrote. You have diminished us; shrunk us to a pale imitation of the real thing. I urge you to reverse yourself as quickly and as humbly as possible. Thus far, the correspondence has been one-sided Kerrey has received no return mail from President Trump. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writers flair, to the Supreme Court Tuesday night. Trumps selection could set up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape Americas legal landscape for decades. At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. Gorsuch would fill the seat of the late Antonin Scalia. Because Scalia was a stalwart conservative, Trumps choice is not likely to change the balance of the court. But it does set the stage for a bruising partisan fight over a man who could help determine U.S. law on gun rights, immigration, police use of force and transgender rights. After more than a week of rapid-fire executive actions, Trump moved to deliver on a key campaign promise: to honor the legacy of Scalia by choosing someone of similar intellectual heft and ideological zeal. Trump made his announcement with trademark showmanship, on the grand stage of the White Houses East Room before a national audience in prime time, creating some suspense around what is traditionally a staid, sober process. A president making such a consequential nomination after only days in office is highly unusual, and the nomination was in part a product of the partisanship that has come to define Washington in recent years. Democrats remain outraged at the GOPs refusal to grant a vote or even a hearing to the man President Barack Obama nominated last year to fill the vacancy, Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland. Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support, Trump declared. Gorsuch is known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement. Gorsuchs nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trumps own fluid ideology. With Scalias wife, Maureen, sitting in the audience, Trump took care to praise the late justice. Gorsuch followed, calling Scalia a lion of the law. Gorsuch thanked Trump for entrusting him with a most solemn assignment. Outlining his legal philosophy, he said: It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the peoples representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge. Some Democrats, still smarting over Trumps victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the courts stolen seat. Barring further changes to the Senate filibuster rules which GOP leaders for now seem reluctant to make Trump needs to sway at least eight Democrats to ensure that his nominee is confirmed. Gorsuch is poised to visit Capitol Hill today. Republicans are hoping to confirm the nomination by early April before a two-week Easter recess, allowing Gorsuch to participate in the final cases of the courts term ending in June. But in a sign that Democrats were ramping up resistance, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and several colleagues declared that Gorsuch would need to earn at least 60 votes to clear procedural hurdles to earn a final confirmation vote. Schumer said he had serious doubts that Gorsuch is within what Democrats consider the legal mainstream. For his part, Gorsuch said at the White House: I consider the United States Senate the greatest deliberative body in the world, and I respect the important role the Constitution affords it in the confirmation of our judges. For some Republicans, the prospect of filling one or more Supreme Court seats over the next four years has helped ease their concerns about Trumps experience and temperament. Three justices are in their late 70s and early 80s, and a retirement would offer Trump the opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for many years. Gorsuch is not expected to call into question high-profile rulings on abortion, gay marriage and other issues in which the court has been divided 5-4 in recent years. Gorsuchs writings outside the court offer insight into his conservative leanings. He lashed out at liberals in a 2005 opinion piece for National Review, written before he became a federal judge. American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means for effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education, he wrote. Gorsuch has won praise from conservatives for his defense of religious freedom, including in a case involving the Hobby Lobby craft stores. He voted in favor of privately held for-profit secular corporations, and individuals who owned or controlled them, that raised religious objections to paying for contraception for women covered under their health plans. The judge also has written opinions that question 30 years of Supreme Court rulings that allow federal agencies to interpret laws and regulations. Gorsuch has said federal bureaucrats have been allowed to accumulate too much power at the expense of Congress and the courts. Like Scalia, Gorsuch identifies himself as a judge who tries to decide cases by interpreting the Constitution and laws as they were understood when written. He also has raised questions about criminal laws in a way that resembles Scalias approach to criminal law. University of Michigan law professor Richard Primus said Gorsuch may be the closest thing the new generation of conservative judges has to Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch, like the eight justices now on the court, has an Ivy League law degree. The Colorado native earned his bachelors degree from Columbia University in three years, then a law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White, a fellow Coloradan, and Anthony Kennedy before earning a philosophy degree at Oxford University and working for a prominent Washington law firm. He served for two years in George W. Bushs Justice Department before Bush nominated him to the appeals court. Gorsuchs mother was Anne Gorsuch Burford, who was head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Reagan administration. Gorsuch was among the 21 possible choices for the court Trump released during the campaign. Other finalists also came from that list, including Thomas Hardiman, who serves alongside Trumps sister on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Pryor, a federal appeals court judge and Alabamas attorney general from 1997 to 2004. Like Scalia, Gorsuch is a clear, impassioned writer, albeit without Scalias flare for biting sarcasm. But Gorsuch also evokes the qualities of Kennedy. (If confirmed, Gorsuch would join three justices who previously clerked on the high court, but he would be the first ever to serve alongside the justice he or she worked for.) Like Kennedy, 80, Gorsuch is a Westerner with a polite, congenial manner who at times has won praise from liberals. He may be more conservative than Kennedy when it comes to expanding individual rights, but he seems to lack Scalias fervor for overturning liberal precedents from decades past. Conservatives clearly hope Gorsuch will be more like Scalia than Kennedy, a centrist swing vote who has often joined liberals on issues such as gay marriage and abortion. Some conservatives have even expressed hope that Gorsuchs personal history with Kennedy might enable him to draw the Reagan-appointee back toward the right. How Gorsuch may change during what may be several decades on the court is one of the great unknowns, however. Some conservatives remain embittered over how former Justice David Souter, a GOP appointee, turned toward the left. Some past justices have shifted right, while some simply began to assert themselves more. In her initial 2010 term, for instance, Justice Elena Kagan asked an average of 10.6 questions per oral argument. This was fewer than any of her colleagues save Justice Clarence Thomas, who always stays silent. Last term, a more aggressive Kagan was asking an average of 14.5 questions, according to statistics compiled by SCOTUSblog. Tied for nearly a year with four Republican and four Democratic appointees, the Supreme Court has steered clear of some deadlock-prone controversies, while hinting that they will be revisited. With Gorsuchs addition, for instance, the court seems likely to eventually take up a Texas voter-identification case. Even as the court on Jan. 23 declined for the time being to consider the Texas law, conservative Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. stressed that the issues will be better suited for review later. Abortion, while it often dominates the political discussion, rarely makes an appearance at the Supreme Court, and it could be a long time before Gorsuch confronts the issue after the barrage of question hell face about it at the Senate Judiciary Committee. A 5-3 decision last year striking down a Texas law restricting abortion clinics was the courts first major abortion decision since 2007. Gorsuch does not appear to have a definitive record on abortion, though last year he wanted the full 10th Circuit to reconsider a decision blocking Utah Gov. Gary Herbert from cutting off Planned Parenthood funding. This report includes material from the McClatchy and Tribune Washington Bureaus and the Washington Post. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. WASHINGTON Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., invited a trio of Nebraska farm group leaders to join his meeting Wednesday with Sonny Perdue, President Donald Trumps pick to lead the Agriculture Department. Its good to introduce the next secretary of agriculture to some of the Nebraskans whose sweat and long hours make us the worlds breadbasket, Sasse said in a press release following what he described as a productive meeting. We talked about the unique interests of Midwest agriculture, the importance of trade and export markets, and Nebraskas role in feeding a growing world. The release included statements from the presidents of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Cattlemen and Nebraska Sugarbeet Growers thanking Sasse for including them in the meeting and talking up the importance of trade to agriculture. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., met with Perdue earlier this week and said in her own release after that meeting that shes confident his experience and perspective make him well-prepared for his new role. Perdue, who has owned a number of agricultural businesses, is a former Georgia governor. Governor Perdue and I had a good conversation today about the Nebraska families who work hard to keep our states economic engine running and feed a hungry world, Fischer said. We also discussed regional differences in agriculture and the importance of sound policies that will enable Nebraska producers to grow their businesses and access new markets. Neither of Nebraskas senators is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee that will vet Perdue, but they will have the opportunity to vote on the nomination when it reaches the Senate floor. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a member of the committee, told reporters Wednesday that he expects a hearing for Perdue within the next 10 days. While the nomination process has recently turned highly contentious for other individuals and committees, Grassley said agriculture is typically an area of more bipartisanship. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a member of the Agriculture Committee, also met with Perdue on Wednesday. She said afterward that their productive conversation covered federal regulations, trade and renewable fuels. Republican members of Congress met in Philadelphia last weekend for what was called a retreat. It might have been more accurately labeled an advance. Perhaps not since the days of President Franklin Roosevelts first term has so much been done by so few that will potentially impact so many (to paraphrase Winston Churchill in a completely different context). Writing on CNNs politics page, Stephen Collinson commented: Forget the first 100 days. Its only been a week and Donald Trump is reinventing the presidency. Given what conservatives consider CNNs hostility toward President Donald Trump, Collinson may not have meant it as a compliment. There are so many issues from abortion (the March for Life featured Vice President Mike Pence, the highest-ranking White House official to address the march); reinstatement of the Mexico City policy, which forbids the U.S. from funding any group that provides or promotes abortion overseas; an executive order reviving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines; beginning the process of building the border wall; focusing on Christian refugees fleeing persecution and performing extreme vetting on people coming from countries that promote and even export terrorism (Saudi Arabia excepted for some reason); ordering the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes; increasing the number of border agents; instituting a government hiring freeze and a stop order on new regulations until they can be evaluated; initial steps to repeal Obamacare; withdrawing from the Trans Pacific Partnership; meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May; and placing a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin. With the mayors of so many sanctuary cities vowing not to turn over illegal immigrants to federal law enforcement, it is worth noting that the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Carlos Gimenez, has reversed a 2013 resolution by the county commission, which refused to indefinitely detain illegal immigrants without reimbursement. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the Obama administration subsequently designated Miami-Dade a sanctuary city, even though the county challenged the label. Gimenez has now ordered county jails to comply with federal requests to hold immigrants, citing Trumps executive order. It is a small victory for the president, who has threatened to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with the law, something some mayors swear to do when they take their oaths of office. While Republicans were advancing in Philadelphia, Senate Democrats were retreating in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where they assembled to figure out how they lost to Trump and what they need to do to win over his voters. If Democrats return to Washington with the same failed ideas, they can count on further defeat. In week two, the president encountered his first speed bump. The first court challenge to his executive orders came Saturday, reports the New York Times, when Federal District Court Judge Ann M. Donnelly blocked part of the presidents actions, preventing the government from deporting some arrivals who found themselves ensnared by the presidential order. It stopped short of letting them in or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trumps actions. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia also issued a temporary restraining order affecting 63 people detained at Dulles International Airport. It ordered authorities to permit lawyers access to all legal permanent residents being detained and said authorities are forbidden from removing the permanent residents for seven days. Responding to the judges orders, the Department of Homeland Security issued this statement: President Trumps Executive Orders remain in place prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety. It will be difficult to top Trumps first week, but dont bet against him. He isnt retreating. Nows a good time to go into nursing. As demand for medical care for an aging population continues to rise, the supply of new nursing school graduates continues to fall short of need. Nationally, the Department of Labor expects a shortfall of 1.1 million. Nebraska alone could face a shortage of about 4,000 nurses by 2020. That drives competition for nursing talent in the Omaha area and elsewhere. The result: Nursing students are being offered thousands of dollars in signing bonuses, training in specialty care, student loan help and more, in addition to starting salaries above $55,000 a year. The Midlands were insulated during some of the recent economic downturn from the worst of the national nursing shortage, thanks primarily to older nurses who delayed retirements and part-time nurses who picked up more hours. That is no longer the case, as The World-Heralds Julie Anderson reported Sunday. Of Nebraskas 93 counties, 71 have fewer than the national average of 9.2 registered nurses per 1,000 people. The Nebraska Hospital Association showed a statewide vacancy rate for nurses of nearly 11 percent. Traveling nurses from local and regional staffing agencies, a more costly option, are being used to fill in some of the gaps. Part of this is simply a numbers game. More people today are seeking medical care because more have access to health insurance, through Obamacare, Medicare or Medicaid. And insurers and hospitals are changing the way Americans are medically treated and hospitalized. While fewer people are admitted to hospitals these days, those who are typically are sicker, which increases staffing demands. Private health care providers, working with the state and others, are trying to answer the call. CHI Health, Methodist Health System, Nebraska Medicine, Childrens Hospital & Medical Center, Clarkson College, Creighton University, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and other teaching institutions are making aggressive efforts to train nurses statewide and boost the education of nursing assistants and others who want new jobs. The problem is nationwide. But heres hoping the Midlands unique blend of private donors, public supporters, lawmakers and civic leaders keeps finding creative ways to address it. In the meantime, young people with an interest in science and helping others would do well to consider nursing. Schools have openings, and hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other medical businesses have good jobs waiting. No time for tax cuts for the rich I urge our state senators to oppose Legislative Bill 337. LB 337 would offer income tax cuts to millionaires and none to those who need it most. It also contains dangerous, irreversible triggers for future tax cuts to the rich. Nebraska is facing a budget shortfall this year and in the foreseeable future. I believe this bill is likely to make our budget problems worse and lead to higher property taxes and cuts in education, criminal justice and other obligated state services. I encourage you to contact your state senator and ask him or her to vote no on LB 337. Laurie Gift, Omaha What about Chambers? So State Sen. Bill Kintner is forced to resign his seat for what Speaker Jim Scheer describes as actions unprecedented in the 80-year history of Nebraskas unicameral Legislature. Scheer also stated that Kintners conduct of business has brought disrespect and disrepute to the legislative process. I guess State Sen. Ernie Chambers has earned and deserves to have his face on Mount Rushmore. Charlie Aliano, Omaha A smorgasbord of vermin A bobcat has escaped from its cage at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. I think the animal can find plenty of rodents to survive. There are a lot of rats in D.C. Bill Allen, Blue Springs, Neb. A nation of immigrants Refugees, immigrants and Muslim people are welcome here. America was founded by people in fear of religious persecution. America was and is made up largely of immigrants. President Donald Trumps ban makes everyone less free and less safe. It damages international relationships and relationships here. Thank you to former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates for standing against it and directing the Justice Department to do the same and to the states that have filed lawsuits against it. I hope that Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson will so the same. The many people at weekend rallies and the refugees, immigrants, Muslims and advocates who spoke there give me hope that our society will continue to work for justice and not be swept under a tidal wave that rips our rights, character and integrity from us. We Americans have a great deal of power. We should be informed, speak up and fight as hard as we can against the erosion of our democratic principles. We can influence the officials we elect and our communities. And we should show compassion, reach out to others, stand up for each other. Michaela Wolf, Omaha Worse than I thought Its been a little more than a week, and Donald Trump has already been far worse than even I anticipated. People, its time to admit weve elected an ignorant, narcissistic, self-absorbed 70-year-old child and given him our country to play with. Perhaps we should take steps to correct this error before he breaks the whole thing to bits. Jackie Nagle, Omaha Yates stood up for the Constitution Acting Attorney General Sally Yates did not betray the Department of Justice for refusing to enforce President Donald Trumps travel ban she was doing her job (Jan. 31 World-Herald). She was following in the tradition of previous attorneys general such as Republicans John Ashcroft, who from his hospital bed fought President George W. Bushs secret wiretap program, and Elliot Richardson, who resigned rather then fire a special prosecutor investigating President Richard Nixon and Watergate. I fear that Jeff Sessions, Trumps pick for attorney general, may not show the same ability to stand up for the American people against similarly ill-considered pronouncements by the president. William Hay, Omaha Majority is siding with Trump President Donald Trumps latest executive order is not a Muslim ban but a pause in order to put in place stronger vetting procedures from terrorist strongholds. Im debating whether these protesters are glittering jewels of colossal ignorance or paid propagandists. I suspect theyre both. The good news is the majority of Americans are not buying it. Ken Ramold, Omaha Order has nothing to do with religion During his second term, President Barack Obama signed the Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, which identified seven countries as state sponsors of terror. In President Donald Trumps executive order last week, he placed a 90-day moratorium on refugees from those same seven countries so current vetting processes can be reviewed to ensure they are working at the utmost level of proficiency. For those saying Trump is banning Muslims, read the executive order. The word Muslim is nowhere in the order. The order restricts all refugees from those countries. Granted, the seven countries are predominantly Muslim, but the order is clearly not designated for Muslims only. If Trump did want to stop all Muslims refugees, why select only those seven countries and not include 43 other predominantly Muslim countries? Where were the protesters in 2011 when President Barack Obama put a six-month ban on all refugees from Iraq? And lets not forget the November 2016 car ramming and mass stabbing terror event at Ohio State by Somali refugee Abdul Razak Ali Artan. I dont remember protesters for the victims of that event. Seems like selective indignation is the order of the day. Dennis Swanson, Glenwood, Iowa Another shameful ban In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into law. The law barred the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States. For 63 years, official immigration policy prohibited a particular ethnic group from immigrating to the United States. The act was finally repealed in 1943 during World War II. At the time, China was our ally. Yet the repeal did not happen necessarily because there was a change of heart but rather because the Japanese used the exclusion act as anti-American propaganda. It didnt look good that the U.S. was an ally with China but wouldnt let the Chinese in the country. Needless to say, this was, and still is, a dark point in Americas history, and it seems to be conveniently left out of contemporary education curricula. This week, we have seen the consequence of such a historical void in our knowledge. Today were witnessing another dark moment in our nations history the return of an exclusionary act towards particular ethnic groups and nationalities. Years from now, people will be able to draw parallels between the respective actions of Arthur and Trump a discriminatory act that judged people by their nationality and ethnicity and not by their character, actions or need. Jared List, Lincoln Now haste is an issue? Isnt it odd that the same people who had no problem with ramming the 2,800-plus page monstrosity that is Obamacare through Congress in the dark of night before anyone had a chance to read and debate it, with zero Republican votes, now demand that a replacement plan be released and discussed before repeal is considered? Dave Reeble, Omaha Plenty of thanks to go around Thank you, Omaha, for packing the Orpheum for the heartwarming play Sound of Music a timeless true story of family and faith. A thank you to The World-Herald for the Jan. 28 front-page article on the March for Life. And, finally, a thank you to the Archdiocese of Omaha for providing direction and oversight in the planning process of the annual Cathedral Flower Festival. Carol Jardine Dworak, Omaha Heroes of the trails I want to thank Brook Bench, Patrick Cieslik and other City of Omaha Parks and Recreation staff for their care and concern in working to keep the trails and sidewalks of our city parks clear of snow. Yes, it is difficult to blade those paths even with the smallest of vehicles, and sometimes unfortunately and unintentionally the turf is disturbed. Fortunately, every spring, those same city personnel who are clearing those paths are out reseeding and repairing any damage done by the plows or winter itself. Thank you for making the effort to clear the paths during our snowy days, allowing us to stay active in winter. Running and walking in our City of Omaha parks is beautiful year round, and were grateful for your contribution. Debra L. Parsow, Omaha 5 policemen killed in suspected Maoist attack at AP-Odisha border India oi-Anusha Koraput, Feb 1: Five policemen were killed in a landmine blast at Koraput on Wednesday. The suspected Maoist attack took place near Mogarguma village of Pottangi district in Koraput, Odisha. Five policemen travelling in a mini bus on the Sunki -Salur highway of Andhra- Odisha border were killed in the blast while others were injured. The Odisha Special Armed Police jawans belonged to the 3rd Battalion suggested reports. Preliminary report suggested that 10 policemen were on their way to Bhubaneswar for driver training the landmine blast took place heavily damaging their vehicle. Odisha Chief Minister condoled the death of the policemen while terming the attack an act of cowardice. OneIndia News Comedian Atul Khatri's joke on seatbelt becomes one on him as Mumbai Police responds 'Two-finger test' should be banned in matrimonial dispute cases too, says Maharashtra doctor BMC- BJP seeks account of Rs. 70,000 crore from Shiv Sena India oi-PTI Mumbai, Feb 1: With 20 days to go for the crucial BMC polls, BJP today asked Shiv Sena to explain what it called a Rs 70,000-crore "mismatch" in the city civic body's account books. "There is no account of Rs 69,899.52 crore funds (spent by BMC) during 2007-12," Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said. "To which contractors were the bills given? Which works were carried out? In which Bandra (East) bank was the money deposited? The Shiv Sena leadership and BMC Standing Committee chairman should explain this," Shelar said. "The report on the basis of which Sena is patting itself on the back (a report in the Economic Survey yesterday) also shows that BMC has fallen to 50th spot in the world," he said. On the BMC standing committee today lauding the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Shelar said, "Those who were so far speaking against the Budget are now speaking in its favour. This change is significant." Ruling alliance partners in the state, Sena and BJP failed to work out a tie-up for civic elections and are now contesting the polls separately. PTI Centre defends its decision to ban Zakir Naik's IRF India oi-PTI New Delhi, Feb 1: The Centre on Wednesday defended in the Delhi High Court its decision to ban controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation, saying the order was made after 'application of mind' as there was apprehension that youths could be 'radicalised' to join terror groups. The government told Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who reserved the verdict on IRF's plea challenging the order to immediately ban the organisation, that it has enough material in its possession to take action against IRF. Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, also produced before the court the files and materials available with the government on the basis of which the decision was made. The ASG handed over these documents to the court and requested Justice Sachdeva to 'have a look at the materials and notings on the basis of which such a decision was taken'. IRF, in its plea, had challenged the November 17, 2016, notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs which had imposed an immediate ban on the organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. During the hearing on Wednesday, senior advocate Dinesh Mathur, representing IRF, submitted that the MHA notification gives no reason and cites no material for taking such a step as was required by the law laid down by the Supreme Court. IRF also said the immediate ban was imposed without giving it any show cause notice. However, the Centre countered the submissions and said that the need for taking the urgent step was felt in view of the apprehension that Indian youths could be 'radicalised' or 'motivated' by the alleged statements and speeches made by IRF and its members, including its President Naik, to join terror groups like ISIS. Opposing the maintainability of the petition, the ASG said the government did not want to wait for some 'catastrophic' incident to happen before taking the decision. Aggrieved by the Centre's stand, IRF's counsel said that whatever has been done by a person in his or her individual capacity does not mean that an organisation can be banned. "IRF is not an accused in the case and the crime report reported against Naik is of 2012-2013," he said, adding, "Why action has been taken afer such a long time? Is this the way the government applies its mind?" PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 18:21 [IST] Experts say social sector may be victim of inadequate budget Congress slams govt for merging budgets, says Rail Budgets' identity lost India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer The Congress on Wednesday lashed out at the Union government for merging the Rail Budget with the General Budget, saying that the Rail Budget had lost its identity. Rail budget ko main budget mein merge karne se uski identity chali gai. Badi machhli chhoti macchli ko nigal gai: M Kharge, Cong #Budget2017 pic.twitter.com/4iKq5mOLSI ANI (@ANI_news) February 1, 2017 Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday presented a combined budget in Parliament, ending the 92-year-old practice of having a separate Rail Budget. Both budgets were separated in the 1920s during the British rule on the basis of the report of the Acworth Committee. The first Railway Budget was first presented in 1924. The Union cabinet last year approved the proposal of separating the two budgets. The cabinet also approved finance ministry's proposal to advance the general budget's presentation by a month. An early presentation of budget will ensure that all legislative works are completed before the beginning of the new fiscal from April. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 15:16 [IST] How Sumitra Mahajan dealt with the tricky issue of presentation of budget RML denies it tried to suppress news of Ahamed's death IUML MP E Ahamed, who suffered a cardiac arrest in Parliament, passes away India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, Feb 1: Former Union minister and Indian Union Muslim League leader E Ahamed has passed away early on Wednesday in Delhi, a senior doctor has confirmed. On Tuesday, Ahamed collapsed in parliament after suffering a cardiac arrest. The 78-year-old Ahamed died at 2:15 am at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, where he was admitted on Tuesday and put on artificial life support. "E Ahamed has passed away at 2:15 am. His body has been taken to All India Institute Of Medical Sciences hospital for embalming (a method to preserve a corpse from decaying) as the facility is not available at RML," a senior RML doctor told PTI. Ahamed's body will be taken to Kerala later on Wednesday. The MP from Kerala's Mallapuram suffered a cardiac arrest during the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday. At around 2.15 am, he was shifted to the RML trauma centre's ICU where he was put on ventilator and breathed his last. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides other party leaders had rushed to the hospital late at night and met Ahamed's family. Ahamed's family had alleged that they were not allowed to meet the leader. OneIndia News (with inputs from PTI) Why Punjab farmers burn stubble at this scale when others do not EC issues prohibition orders for Punjab from Thursday evening India oi-IANS By Ians English Chandigarh, Feb 1: Ahead of polling to be held in Punjab on February 4, the Election Commission has issued prohibition orders for the entire state from Thursday evening. The prohibition will be effective from 5 p.m. on Thursday evening and will end on the conclusion of the voting process on Saturday. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer V.K. Singh said that the guidelines have been issued in accordance with the provisions enacted in Section 126 of Representation of Peoples' Act. As per the guidelines, the ongoing campaigning in all the 117 assembly constituencies and Amritsar Lok Sabha bye-election would come to an end 48 hours prior to the polling date. "Subsequently all the political leaders, functionaries or party workers who are not the registered voters will have to vacate the constituency within this period," Singh said. He said that necessary guidelines have been issued to the police and civil administration all across the state to ensure that outsiders who are not required should leave immediately. The main contest is among the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party. IANS Govt knew of Ahamed's death, delayed announcement: Kharge India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government of deliberately delaying announcing the death of Kerala Member of Parliament E Ahamed. Speaking to the media hours before the scheduled budget presentation, Kharge alleged that the government could have easily postponed the budget by a day but chose not to. "The government knew Ahamed had passed away, but was trying to perhaps delay announcement. This was an inhuman act. It is not March 31 and there is a lot of time and the government can afford to postpone the budget," he said. Kharge's allegations come hours after Ahamed's family alleged that they were not allowed to see the MP who was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital after he collapsed in Parliament on Tuesday. The family's allegations only fuelled the Congress' attack against the government. "In our opinion, including JD-U leaders and former PM Deve Gowda, the Budget should be postponed. I will go to Kerala to discuss with the MPs on how to raise this issue in the parliament," Kharge added. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 10:42 [IST] In Pics: Women to guard high-altitude posts along the Indo-China border India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Ladakh, Feb 2: Indo Tibetan Border Police Force was raised on 24 Oct,1962. ITBP is currently deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of Indo-China Border. Currently ITBP is the only force till now which does not have women in class 'A' officer rank like CRPF, BSF, CISF and SSB has. ITBP has decided that the first deployment of this maiden women squad will be made in the Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir where ITBP troops man posts at a height of over 8,000 feet and more. Here are some pictures of brave women who will be guarding border with China at high altitude soon. ITBP has special contingent of 500 'mahila' constables Indo Tibetan Border Police has decided to deploy women personnel in combat duties at its high-altitude posts along the Indo-China border. ITBP women will be in full combat role It is for the first time that ITBP is deploying women personnel in full combat role right at the border. ITBP women to take charge at border once infra in place for them ITBP is preparing infrastructure for women at border locations and women will take charge soon at the border. ITBP will allow women officers in the entry-rank ITBP will also induct women officers for the first time. The force has already sent a request to induct women officers in the entry-rank of Assistant Commandants (ACs) to the UPSC. OneIndia News Mamata Banerjee says Budget 2017 full of hollow words India oi-PTI Kolkata, Feb 1: Terming the Union Budget 2017 as "clueless and misleading", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed it has no road map and is full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words. "A controversial #Budget2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless and actionless. Heartless. no roadmap for the country or the future from a government that has lost all its credibility," Banerjee said on Twitter. "Tax payers still have restrictions on withdrawals. Remove all restrictions immediately. And where are the figures for #DeMonetisation? Misleading. Full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words which mean nothing," she said. Keeping up its protest against demonetisation, Trinamool Congress on Monday had decided not to attend Parliament on the first two days of the session which began on Tuesday with the President's address. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday presented the budget. The ruling party in West Bengal has been at loggerheads with the Modi government over the issue of demonetisation and the arrest of its two MPs by CBI in connection with alleged chitfund scam. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 15:31 [IST] Mishap averted as IndiGo plane misses allotted runway at IGI India oi-PTI New Delhi, Feb 1: A mishap was averted at the IGI Airport here on Wednesday morning when a Visakhapatnam bound IndiGo aircraft entered a wrong taxiway where a Jet Airways aircraft was already stationed but was timely alerted by the Air Traffic Controller. Regulator DGCA has initiated a probe into the incident which took place around 05:40 hours and impacted operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport. IndiGo attributed the incident to "low visibility." Many flights were delayed while some incoming aircraft were diverted due to the non-availability of runway 28 for over an hour, sources said. "IndiGo flight 6E 719 (New Delhi-Visakhapatnam) was given taxi permission through C lane and was supposed to hold at Runway 28 but the aircraft commander crossed the runway and realised he was standing in W lane, where a Jet Airways aircraft was already stationed," airport sources said. "Following this, IndiGo was contacted to arrange push back toe but it took time and due to poor visibility, toe was guided by a follow-me vehicle. "During this period all operations were on hold, causing a heavy congestion and consequently flight delays as well," they said. In a statement, IndiGo said, "IndiGo flight 6E-719 while taxing from taxiway C for runway 28 for departure with Runway Visual Range of 125 meters at Delhi airport missed the runway centerline due to low visibility and found itself taxing towards taxiway W where a Jet Airways B737 aircraft was already stationed to be lined up." The airline, however, said that its aircraft stopped with adequate separation with Jet Airways, when directed by the Air Traffic Controller, but was unable to turn to line up. "Keeping in mind the safety of passengers and aircraft, the Captain in Command took the decision to switch off the engines and pushed back to line up on runway 28, while following ATC instructions at times," the statement said. PTI Sonia tells Lalu, Nitish to meet her again after Cong gets new president Nitish, Lalu dub budget as 'disappointing' India oi-IANS By Ians English Patna, Feb 1: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday said Union Budget 2017-18 is 'disappointing' for people, particularly the poor, farmers and youths. Both the Janata Dal (United) President and the RJD chief pointed out that the central government has failed to provide special packages to backward states such as Bihar as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign for the state assembly polls in 2015. "The budget has disappointed the people. There is nothing that could speed up growth and development in the country. It is not going to help the common people, farmers and the youths," Kumar told the media in Patna. The Chief Minister said he expected special packages for Bihar but there was no such mention in the budget. "Bihar got nothing new in the budget," he said. Kumar questioned the Centre's silence over the amount of black money returned to the banks after demonetisation. "Why has Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech in parliament not given any information about how much black money returned following demonetisatiion and the benefits of demonetisation," he asked. According to the Chief Minister, it was surprising that there was no specific reference to the much hyped move of demonetising old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes. Lalu said it was a 'nirashajanak' (disappointing) budget as there was no relief for the common people, who have been fighting for survival after demonetisation. "Why has the central government failed to inform how much employment it provided to youths last year as Modi had promised to bring in two crore jobs each year. What about special focus to help farmers, who have been committing suicide," Lalu asked. The RJD chief said the budget was anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-youth. As soon as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley finished the presentation of the budget in Parliament on Wednesday, reactions poured in from all quarters. While Jaitley's party colleagues showered praises on the FM for his acumen to present the 'best' budget, the opposition was quick to slam the budget for failing to meet everyone's expectations. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 17:06 [IST] Post budget: Can railways AFFORD to waive off service tax? India oi-Anusha For the first time in Independent India, the Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget on Wednesday. While the government maintained that the move was aimed at bringing the railways to the centre stage of policy, the opposition claimed that the railways only got a cursory mention. With the merging of the rail budget with the union budget, not only does the railway ministry will get rid of the annual dividend they have to pay for gross budgetary support from the government every year but issue of raising passenger fares, an unpopular decision, will be Finance Minister Arun jaitley's call. The government also effectively removed special mentions of new projects, rail lines, additional routes and most importantly, hike in tariffs if any as Jaitley presented the Budget. The government said that the focus this financial year would be on improving rail safety, pushing digital transactions, listing rail public sector units on stock markets. The finance minister, however, made a special mention of setting fares competing with other modes of transportation. Is this a hint of hike in rail fares in the near future? Fare hike post elections? During his speech, Jaitley said that railway tariff will be fixed based on social obligation cost. "Tariffs of railways would be fixed, taking into consideration costs, quality of service and competition from other forms of transport," he added. If this means a hike in the near future, the Bharatiya Janata Party may have just evaded announcing hikes during the budget keeping the upcoming five state assembly polls. Hike in railway fare in all likelihood will have an adverse impact on the support BJP receives from the voters of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The finance bill spoke largely about the cleanliness drive and innovation in railways in India but key issues of pricing, routes did not find mention. It is now a wait and watch for the people of the country on whether train travel gets costly. Waived during demonetisation The IRCTC had waived off service charge between November 23, 2016, and December 31, 2016 to help passengers and incentivise online payments in the wake of demonetisation of high-value Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The move had encouraged more people to book tickets online and seems to have inspired the government to consider waiving off service charge altogether. Close to 12 lakh train tickets are purchased on the IRCTC website every day, accounting for almost 55 per cent of all the railway bookings in the country. Almost 33 per cent of its revenue comes from the service charge collected on online bookings. About Rs 540 crore of IRCTC's revenue of over Rs 1,500 crore in the last financial year came from ticket bookings reports have said. Where will the money come from? The government is already pressed for funds to ensure safety on tracks. With recent incidents of derailments, safety has become prime importance. It may be duly noted that the finance minister proposed to waive off service charge on e-tickets booked through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. The move, in all likelihood, will cost the railways its revenue generation. Earlier, the IRCTC used to levy a service charge of Rs 20 for sleeper class and Rs 40 on AC class e-tickets. The loss that railways will incur with the waiving off of service charge is being pegged at Rs 2 crore a day. The ministry will be compelled to look for alternate means to raise funds and hike in ticket fares is the most obvious choice. The IRCTC, however, may be able to raise money from the market with Arun Jaitley announcing to list the railway PSU on stock markets. Along with IRCTC, the Indian Railway Finance Corporation and Ircon will also be listed on stock markets according to the finance minister's budget speech. OneIndia News Punjab: Police do not rule out terror angle in Bhatinda blast India oi-Vicky Chandigarh, Feb 1: The blast in which three people were killed in Bathinda in poll bound Punjab was aimed at targeting Congress candidate, Harminder Singh, preliminary investigations have suggested. On Tuesday three persons were killed and 15 others were injured following a powerful car explosion. The incident took place at Maur Mandi, about 200 km from Chandigarh, close to where Congress candidate Harminder Jassi was addressing a rally. SDM Latif Ahmed confirmed three deaths due to the blast. Punjab will be going to polls on February 4. The police are probing two versions currently. The police is not ruling out the possibility of the incident being a terrorist attack. The use of improvised explosive devices is also not being ruled out. The police are also looking into the possibility of it being a cylinder blast since the vehicle was running on LPG. Singh, a candidate from Maur could have been the targeted, informed sources say. Some persons have reported to the police that Singh's vehicle was shot at as well. The police say that they do not rule out the possibility of the blast being timed when Singh's vehicle was passing through the area. The police is also verifying the material that they have found at the blast site. There were broken metal pieces and could either be part of the LPG cylinder or a pressure cooker. Officials said that the IEDs could have been planted in a pressure cooker. The metal pieces have been sent for forensic examination. The police say that the car was parked on the side at the spot where an election rally had been held. In fact the car remained there despite the rally getting over and this has led to further suspicion. OneIndia News Rs 180 crore alloted for training of bureaucrats India oi-PTI New Delhi, Feb 1: About Rs 180 crore has been allocated to the Personnel Ministry for 2017-18 to augment training facilities for bureaucrats. Of the total, Rs 60.61 crore has been earmarked for the Ministry to meet establishment-related expenditure of Delhi-based Institute of Secretariat Training and Management and Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. Both the ISTM and LBSNAA hold several training programmes to equip IAS, IPS and IFoS officers and all other levels of secretarial functionaries with adequate exposure to rules, regulations and aptitude. Another Rs 119.37 crore has been allocated under a separate head for training schemes that include upgradation of LBSNAA to a centre of excellence and for augmentation of training facilities at ISTM. In all, Rs 179.98 crore has been earmarked for this purpose to the Personnel Ministry as against Rs 179.17 crore given to it for the financial year ending next-month end. A sum of Rs 25.42 crore has been allocated for transparency watchdog Central Information Commission and government's head hunter Public Enterprises Selection Board for the next fiscal. About Rs 28 crore has been given to the CIC and PESB for 2016-17. The grant is for establishment-related expenditure of both the bodies. The CIC has also been allocated Rs 25.47 crore for construction of its office building, dak digitisation, setting up of video conferencing facilities, setting up of call centre and establishment of wing for transparency and accountability studies for the Commission. Central Administrative Tribunals, which are entrusted with the redressal of grievances of public servants, have been allocated Rs 105.81 crore for 2017-18 to meet establishment-related expenditure. It has been given Rs 104.62 crore for the ongoing financial year. The government has also allocated Rs 1.5 crore for 2017-18 under the provision meant for reimbursement to state governments towards House Building Advances paid to all India service (IAS, IPS and IFoS) officers. Staff Selection Commission, which conducts various recruitment examination for central government jobs, has been allocated Rs 197.32 crore to meet establishment-related expenditure including those on the conduct of examinations for recruitment of lower grade staff in central ministries or departments etc. The allocation for SSC is Rs 112.11 crore for the current fiscal. PTI 'Severe' yet again: Delhi air continues to remain toxic with AQI at 431 Anand Mahindra's tweet about UPI at country's 'last tea shop' is every Indian's emotion Three arrested for gangrape of a 21-year-old woman in Delhi India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, Feb 1: Three persons accused of allegedly gang raping a 21-year old woman in a moving car have been held, police said. According to police on Tuesday the woman was molested by three persons known to her in a moving car from Lajpat Nagar to Moti Bagh's slum area in south Delhi. Police said the incident took place on Monday late night when all the accused persons, Aarif, Vijay and Mubaarak along with victim went for a joyride. They took the victim at Moti Bagh area and raped her. After dropping the victim near Janta Camp in Moti Bagh area, the three escaped the spot, police said. "We have arrested Mubaarak, Aarif and Vijay from their residence after late night raids," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Banniya. Mubaarak worked as a parking attendant in Okhla area, Aarif worked as a driver and Vijay was a local fruit vendor. The victim resides in a slum area of Tuglakabad area. IANS Union Budget 2017: FM Arun Jaitley woos rural, poor voters India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, Feb 1: In the very beginning of the presentation of the Union Budget 2017 on Wednesday in Parliament, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley laid out his plans for rural areas. "With better monsoon, agriculture is expected to grow at 4.1% in current year," Jaitley announced in the Lok Sabha. The Finance Minister said that he has adopted a unique approach to uplift the conditions of the rural and poor people. "My approach in preparing the budget is to spend more on rural areas, infrastructure and poverty alleviation with fiscal prudence," added the FM. Earlier, the opposition protested against the presentation of the budget ahead of assembly polls scheduled in five states--Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur. However, The Supreme Court in January cleared the presentation of the budget in Parliament dismissing a public interest litigation seeking its postponement citing assembly polls in five states scheduled from February 4 to March 8. But, the FM did not make any specific announcement for the poll-bound states. Still many feel that the budget is likely to make an impact on voters, especially those from UP and Uttarakhand. OneIndia News In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules: EU commissioner on Twitter takeover EU dubs Trump as a threat to Europe International oi-IANS By Ians English Brussels, Feb 1: Lashing out at the new US President, European Union President Donald Tusk called Donald Trump an existential threat to Europe. In an open letter to leaders of the 27 member states, Tusk included the Trump administration as part of a group of 'dangerous' challenges facing the EU, citing Russia, China and radical Islam as other threats. "The change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation, with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy," Tusk said. He issued a call for 'political solidarity' before a summit in Malta later this week where Europe's heads of states will gather to discuss the future of the bloc, the Independent reported on Tuesday. The former Polish prime minister said that an assertive China, Russia's aggressive policy, 'terror and anarchy' in the Middle East and 'worrying declarations by the new American administration' put the future of Europe in jeopardy. "The disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the US, Russia and China." Trump had earlier called Nato 'obsolete' and dismissed the 28-member EU as a 'vehicle for Germany' and said he's had 'a very bad experience' with the EU as a businessman, said a report in CNN. Stefan Lehne, a former EU diplomat from Austria, said Tusk's "dramatic language is something you wouldn't expect. It's extremely worrying, but I can see why. Trump's policies to the EU are completely unprecedented." "Every Brit and European was socialised to expect the US to lead on every international crisis. Now you have a US President who wouldn't mind at all if the EU fell apart," CNN quoted Lehne as saying. Tusk's statement comes as the EU faces Russian assertiveness, a refugee crisis, rising populist movements in Europe and critical elections in France, the Netherlands and possibly Italy. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 16:04 [IST] Pakistan can be included in Trump's tavel ban list: White House International oi-PTI Washington, Feb 1: Pakistan, viewed as an epicentre of global terrorism, could be included in a list of Muslim- majority countries from where immigration to the US has been banned by President Donald Trump, the White House has hinted. "Why not Pakistan?," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked when he appeared on Tuesday at the George Washington University for a forum on media's relationship with President Trump. "Maybe we will," Spicer said, responding to the question, which has been trailing senior White House officials ever since President Trump signed an executive order that prevented people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US. These countries are Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. For the past few days, top White House officials have been asked why the list does not include countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The White House Press Secretary indicated that Pakistan could very well be part of that list. "Maybe we will. The bottom line is we started with the seven countries that have previously been identified, did a 90-day review. Maybe during that 90-day review we find other countries or we take someone off or whatever. But it is a review process," Spicer said. "Our number one priority as a government and as leaders is to protect the 324 million people who live in this country. So I understand that people may be inconvenienced a little coming into the nation. But this is our nation, our country. Our first and foremost responsibility is to our people," he asserted. "If people want to come to this country and visit or travel or study, then we welcome them. We've always been a welcoming country. But the idea that we should just have an open door and let people in willy-nilly is ridiculous," Spicer said. Over the weekend, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had also said that Pakistan could also be included in a list of Muslim-majority countries from where immigration to the US has been banned by President Trump. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 15:27 [IST] Pakistan refuses to grant ID cards to Osama bin Laden doctor's family International oi-PTI Peshawar, Feb 1: Pakistan has refused to grant identity cards to the family of Shakeel Afridi, the jailed doctor who helped the CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden, his lawyer said, effectively denying them passports and voting rights. Afridi has been languishing in prison for more than five years after his fake vaccination programme helped the CIA track and kill the Al Qaeda leader. His lawyer Qamar Nadim told AFP today that officials are refusing to renew Afridi's wife's ID card, which expired in December, because her husband's card had lapsed in 2014. He has also been denied a new card. Officials are similarly refusing to grant new cards to his two children, said Nadim, who has been denied access to his client for more than two years. ID cards in Pakistan are a key proof of citizenship. Without one, Pakistanis cannot get passports or vote, register for a phone number or get utilities installed, buy property or enrol children in school, and could face delays at security checkpoints, among other things. "Why are they punishing the entire family? It's not justice, it's cruelty," Nadim said, adding he will challenge the decision in court in the northwestern city of Peshawar this week. Officials from the interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The refusal to grant ID cards means Afridi's son and daughter are now facing problems getting admission to college, the doctor's brother Jamil told AFP. "So the family can't go abroad and the children are facing difficulties in continuing their education," he said. Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of ties to militants, a charge he has always denied. Some US lawmakers said the case was revenge for his help in the search for the Al Qaeda chief. Last year a US threat to cut aid to Pakistan saw a tribunal slice 10 years off his sentence -- but since then US pressure for his release has tapered off. US President Donald Trump vowed during his election campaign in May last year that he would order Pakistan to free Afridi. "I'm sure they would let them (him) out. Because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan," Trump told Fox News at the time, adding that Pakistan "takes advantage like everybody else". The comments sparked a blistering rebuttal from Pakistan, whose interior minister at the time branded Trump "ignorant" and stated the "government of Pakistan and not Donald Trump" would decide Afridi's fate. PTI PM Narendra Modi's 'historic' visit to Israel in June International oi-PTI Jerusalem, Feb 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-anticipated visit to Israel will likely take place later this year in what would be the first such tour by an Indian Premier to the Jewish state, according to a media report. India's ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor told local news portal Ynet about the visit as the two countries are celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations. Kapoor also mentioned about efforts to boost defence cooperation with Israel which is looking to set up manufacturing units in India under the "Make in India" campaign. Other informed sources told PTI that the dates have not yet been finalised by the two sides but "it is likely to happen in June-July of 2017." India's relations with Israel have made steady progress since the two countries established diplomatic relations 25 years ago in January 1992 even as New Delhi has generally shied away from visits at the highest level in the past. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments seem to have accorded a greater priority to this relationship with President Pranab Mukherjee visiting Israel in October 2015 in what was the first such visit by an Indian Head of State to the Jewish state. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin made a reciprocal visit last year at Mukhejee's invitation which was the second visit by an Israeli Head of State to New Delhi coming after a gap of almost 20 years. The only visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to India happened in 2003 when Ariel Sharon visited New Delhi. Relations between the two countries have constantly shown an upward trajectory, irrespective of the governments in power in New Delhi. Modi's visit is being discussed amid talks of a "close chemistry" between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders have already met twice on foreign soil on the sidelines of the United Nations related events and are said to be constantly in touch with each other over the phone. "I am happy that often we can talk easily on telephone, we can discuss everything. It has very rarely happened. In your case it has happened," Modi told Netanyahu during their meeting on the sidelines of Paris Climate summit in 2015. The Israeli Premier had then promptly responded saying, "in your case too". PTI Trump picks judge Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court International oi-PTI Washington, Feb 1: US President Donald Trump has nominated young federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the high-profile job on the Supreme Court. Gorsuch, 49, is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter century and is Trump's pick to fill a vacancy caused by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia nearly a year ago. Gorsuch's nomination underscores the fast-rising conservative's potential to shape major decisions for decades to come on major divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. "I am proud to announce the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for Justice of the Supreme Court," Trump said in a televised prime-time event from the east room of the White House. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said adding, "It is an extraordinary resume as good as it gets." Born and raised in Colorado, Gorsuch attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School and after graduating with honours, he received his doctorate from the Oxford University as a marshall scholar. Gorsuch is seen as an 'originalist' who believes in the American Constitution's original intent and meaning. "Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparallelled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text. He will make an incredible Justice as soon as the Senate confirms him," Trump said. Making his first nomination to the Supreme Court, Trump also said that he was fulfilling his promise to select someone who loves the Constitution and respects laws and will interpret them as written. In 2006, then President George W Bush nominated Gorsuch for the US Court of appeals for the tenth circuit, and he was confirmed by voice vote without objection. "I am honoured and humbled to receive this nomination. I look forward to meeting with Senators over the coming weeks as we begin this process," Gorsuch said. Outlining his legal ideas, Gorsuch said: "It is the rule of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people's representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge." He also praised Justice Scalia as 'a lion of the law.' Trump said he hoped both Democrats and Republicans can come together for once for the good of the country. But some Democrats have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's 'stolen seat.' "This may be the most transparent judicial selection process in history," Trump said, adding "the qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute." PTI Tweet on US Wall: After Mexico's protest, Israel apologises International oi-PTI Jerusalem, Feb 1: Israel's president has apologised to Mexico for a tweet by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that appeared to endorse US President Donald Trump's proposed border wall. A statement on Tuesday from President Reuven Rivlin's office says he told Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in a phone call that there has been a misunderstanding. It says Pena Nieto said the tweet hurt Israel-Mexico ties. Netanyahu tweeted on Saturday that Israel's barrier along its border with Egypt had stemmed a swell of African migrants. He wrote, "President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea." Netanyahu also said the tweet was meant to draw attention to the success of Israel's fence. Mexico demanded an apology for the tweet. PTI Why are jihadis happy with Trumps travel ban? International oi-Vicky By Vicky A video titled,'The Americans will turn on the Muslims, has gone viral in jihadi circles following the ban on all immigration and visa holders who are citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia. The executive order issued by American President Donald Trump, is the most talked about subject in jihadi circles today. The video which is being circulated across jihadi groups is of Anwar al-Awlaki, the powerful cleric of the al-Qaeda. The video shows the late Awlaki speaking about how the war should be against the Americans as they would sooner or later turn on Muslims. The Islamic State handles and social media groups too are debating the Trump imposed ban. "Use this as a recruitment tool," says one group recruiters to their followers. Another channel, the Telegram which is used most by the IS has termed Trump as the 'best caller to Islam." It may sound strange, but the IS message reeks of sarcasm. The IS operative explains that Trump's birth would give birth to many new believers. The IS has termed Trump as an evil crusader and wants its followers to use the issue to recruit as many people as possible. Intelligence officials say that the ban imposed by Trump could have a flip side to it as well. It is already being used as a recruitment tool. America is being portrayed as an evil crusader and the IS now says that this issue has led to a battle between the West and Islam. While Trump says that this is a war against terror, the IS and Al-Qaeda sympathisers have described as a war against Islam. There will be a lot of propaganda on this front say security experts. By using such heavy words such as 'war against Islam', the IS may manage to capture the imagination of many which in turn could lead to heavy recruitments, officials also point out. Security officials also point out that while the IS is losing ground in Iraq and Syria, such propaganda may increase its strength in the cities of Europe and America. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 11:38 [IST] 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. by Graham Pierrepoint Avatar was one of the most commercially-successful movies of all time the interplanetary action-romance, featuring an awful lot of blue cats and forestry, was another huge hit for James Cameron, perhaps best known for helming the colossal success that was 1997s Titanic. However, since its release in 2009, the word on a sequel has been rather quiet. Cameron has, however, been hard at work writing not one follow-up, but four. According to Cameron, he intends for all four sequels to run together, potentially to be released on a yearly basis. Its certainly an ambitious schedule. Avatar 2, with no working title, has been delayed a number of times due to Cameron needing to finish the scripts for his franchise. The main stars of the original Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver among them are thought to still be in contract, meaning that casting will not be a problem. However, the fact remains when exactly we will return to the world of the Navi is not exactly clear. Avatar 2 was initially slated for a late 2015 release, but has been pushed back on numerous occasions. Cameron has remained loose in terms of committing to a schedule due to his writing diary and has therefore kept details on the sequels fairly hazy while stories are completed. Its thought that we may finally get to see the first in a series of new Avatar movies in December next year but will this be pushed back again? The thought of four sequels being lined up for Avatar is somewhat ambitious, but Cameron is certainly not a director without ambition and its ambition that made him one of Hollywoods most successful film-makers. Is the world crying out for Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5? It will depend, of course, on how well the next instalment goes down. With almost ten years between release dates, it may take viewers some time to return to the story and the characters meaning that Cameron will likely have his work cut out if he hopes to turn his world into a yearly cinematic event. Will Avatar join the likes of Star Wars as a long-running series with regular instalments? We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, however, it may be a good time to brush up on the 2009 classic with the production of 3D TV said to be hitting a downturn, it may be your last chance to enjoy the amazing 3D of the original movie before the technology is scrapped for good. GlobeNewswire 23 Aug 2022 Leaders from government, the United Nations and business gather for first ever global summit to focus solely on accelerating.. Iran and Saudi Arabia are locked in a rivalry that has played out in proxy conflicts across the region, from Yemen to Syria to Iraq Haaretz 10 May 2021 Rumble 31 Aug 2022 MSNBC has a "legal" clown act by the name of Elie Mystal wondering aloud why President Trump has not already been.. BANG Showbiz 21 Oct 2022 Scott Disick is trying to "stay out of trouble" following Kourtney Kardashian's wedding to Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker. November 5, 2022 Iconic footballer Diego Maradona will be immortalized in the brand-new Blueprint Gaming title, D10S Maradona J.I.T. for the 2022 WORLD CUP! Platform Specialisation Enters Spotlight with New World Match-SoftGamings Deal Published February 1, 2017 by Lee R The deal comes within a fortnight of World Matchs big day at ICE. Online casino design specialist World Match has found a promising new client in SoftGamings. The New Deal The new provider deal calls for World Match to supply its entire portfolio of 200+ premium-quality games to iGaming platform SoftGamings. World Match Strategy World Match Executive Director Andrea Boratto explained the organizational move role within a greater organizational expansion strategy, explaining we chose to partner with SoftGamings because their key market is CIS, while they also have a good position in Turkey, Greece and Eastern Europe. SoftGamings Strategy SoftGamings Co-founder Oleg Makovenko further explained his organizations strategy of getting on board the most popular games, such as those of World Match, while confirming his goal of going live as soon as possible, with integration work set to begin immediately. Buoyancy at ICE The new deal will undoubtedly add to the fun energy at the World Match booth in the upcoming ICE (Stand N4-240) at ExCel, London from February 7th - 9th, 2017. At the show, attendees will get a first look at how the pioneering online gaming company World Match is preparing its latest round of premium quality casino games to the iGamings most prominent operators. World Match Approach Since its inception in 2003, World Match has been innovating based on the dual operational pillars of observation and timely analysis of operator requests and casino players needs. Current Portfolio To date, World Match has achieved a portfolio featuring 200+ casino games, distributed amongst 160 Slot Machines, 30 Table and Card Games, 12 Video Poker games compatible to desktop or mobile in HTML5, native iOS and Android. Complementary Benefits This strategic partnership should benefit both companies, providing a much wider target user base for SoftGamings while exemplifying the ability of World Match to help platforms as well operators grow. Emerging Platform Importance The enhancement of platforms can only maximize user engagement and reach, while freeing up individual organizations to specialize in the techniques that are their strengths, to increase the quality of content all the way down the line. Matthias Knab, Opalesque: AllianceBernstein writes in Harvest Exchange: Investors often think of high-yield bonds as just another part of their fixed-income allocation. And when investors seek to reduce equity volatility, they typically shift assets to areas of the fixed-income universe with more stability, such as investment-grade bonds. But they may not realize that high yield offers strong risk-adjusted return potential and a low correlation to interest-rate-sensitive investments. That may argue for giving high yield its own seat at the asset-allocation table. THE CASE FOR HIGH YIELD Today's fixed-income landscape features a dizzying array of securities, from US Treasury bills to corporate bonds, and from asset-backed securities to catastrophe-linked bonds. On the surface, high-yield bonds seem a lot like their fixed-income relatives: they represent loans from investors to an entity, they make regular coupon payments and they commit to repay investors in full on a specific maturity date. So, it's not surprising that investors tend to think of high yield as part of their bond allocations. Because high yield is one of the riskiest fixed-income sectors, many investors adjust their high-yield allocations to raise or lower the overall risk in the fixed-income component of their portfolios. ...................... To view our full article Click here Opalesque Industry Update - Assets held by hedge funds globally reached a record $3.22tn as of the end of November 2016, according to Preqins 2017 Global Hedge Fund Report. Investor outflows through the year totalled $102bn, and at the end of the year, a record 66% of hedge fund investors said their hedge fund portfolios had fallen short of their expectations. However, 2016 also marked the best performance year for the industry since 2013, posting gains of 7.40%. This offset net investor outflows to drive total industry AUM past $3.2tn, a record high. Key Findings from the 2017 Preqin Global Hedge Fund Report ? Performance Highs: The Preqin All-Strategies Hedge Fund benchmark gained 7.40% in 2016, exceeding 2015s return by over five percentage points. Hedge funds recorded their best monthly return for over three years in March (+2.42%); this started a run of positive performance that continued until September. Hedge funds were in the black for nine months in total over 2016 and were able to capitalize on the volatility ensuing from events such as Brexit and the US election. ? Investors Remain Sceptical: Despite 2016 proving to be an improved year for hedge fund performance, a net $102bn in investor capital has been withdrawn from funds. It is likely that this trend will continue into 2017: almost half (47%) of investors made at least one redemption in 2016, and the proportion of investors that intend to decrease their allocations to many strategies over the next 12 months exceeds the proportion that intend to increase them. ? Outlook for 2017: The year ahead looks likely to be shaped by the same broad factors that dominated 2016. Investor dissatisfaction with the asset class remains high, and the pace of net withdrawals has been accelerating in successive quarters. However, many fund managers feel confident that they will be able to sustain good performance in the months ahead, and both they and investors expect 2017 returns to surpass 2016s. It remains to be seen if this will serve to convince sceptical investors of the long-term benefits of remaining committed to the asset class. Amy Bensted, Head of Hedge Fund Products: Hedge fund managers are likely to remember 2016 as a difficult year for the industry. Investor outflows started at the end of 2015 and continued across the year: in total, net investor redemptions exceeded $100bn. Furthermore, some of the largest investors in the world are among those that have withdrawn capital from the industry, with the dual issues of performance and fees leading the concerns they have voiced. However, it was not all bad news for the industry; hedge funds added their largest gains since 2011, which boosted assets under management to record levels. In addition, some strategies have largely been spared the wave of redemptions, with CTAs recording inflows of $17bn as investors sought diversified and non-correlated products amid rising market volatility. Looking ahead, 2017 does not seem likely to prove any less challenging for fund managers; hedge funds will need to continue to perform well in in difficult markets, and address issues over fees in order to win back the growing group of investors sceptical of the value of the asset class. Justice sends mixed messages (Image by Dan4th) Details DMCA Webster's Dictionary (of 1828) definition of justice begins, "The virtue which consists in giving every one his due...." it goes on to include impartiality and equity. Webster himself has been well quoted as saying, "Justice is the great interest of man on earth." The Federalist Papers #51 states, "Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society, it ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in it's pursuit." As a complex society with diverse cultures and the seemingly inevitable conflicts of personal desires and morals we will forever be adjusting our view of this most important virtue. Justice as a goal and value is the cornerstone of a free society, democracy, liberty, and a fair economy all have roots in the concept of justice. Further, every facet of life and society is ultimately dependent on the common respect for the concept to operate properly. Our government activity, our law enforcement, our economy, business, and personal rights are all fully dependent on respect for justice. Though we depend on laws and legislation to sustain justice, we may, and do have, unjust laws. Conservatives usually think of justice in terms of punishing miscreants and social behaviors of which they disapprove. Liberals normally have a larger view, thinking in terms of social justice and economic parity. The concept of environmental justice and animal rights are relatively late 20th century ideas. Very early in United States history Supreme Court of the United States Judge Story invented the idea that property was an overweening value to justice, creating all sorts of mischief throughout our history, from the justification for slavery to private interest eminent domain. Throughout most of the 20th century American justice was advanced in terms of human rights and economic parity. We managed to extend rights to African Americans, eliminate discrimination in voting, housing, and jobs. We greatly increased women's rights in voting and work place dignity and respect. We extended access for the handicapped. In more recent times we have seen incredible diminishment in both legislative and general social justice applications and practices. The United States operates an unjust empire. We are currently engaged in seven separate wars. In recent years we have seen over 3,500 state laws reducing voting access for citizens. Our once "free" markets have become riddled with unjust and impossible entry requirements, while consumer protections and workers rights have been neutered. Our drug enforcement and general sentencing are influenced by race. We protect various corporate interests from lawsuits and criminal prosecution. Our founding fathers well understood the interpersonal relations of their time. Our current leaders, seemingly representatives of corporate America, behave as if their goal is control rather than expanding freedom...and, Justice. The word "Justice" is wrought in stone on public buildings all over the country, yet, curiously, legal pleadings and arguments seemingly have left the concept behind. Precedence, favored by many judges, has replaced the simpler virtues in these instances. The problem with this is that the cold technical history of precedence is far too often founded on truly unjust legislation. The result is that injustice not only prevails but also becomes codified. This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source. From Counterpunch Donald Trump's "Muslim ban" is being described as evidence of the rebirth of fascism in our time. While this may qualify as hyperbole, there is no doubting that the ban is a crude and crack-handed attempt to meet the threat of terrorism, a blunt knife that is tantamount to collective punishment. The blanket ban on the admittance into the US of the nationals of seven Muslim countries stigmatizes millions of human beings, depicting them as a threat for daring to be adherents of a certain religion and cultures. It is redolent of the demonization suffered by Jewish people in Germany in the 1930s, which echoes as a warning from history. Worse than the heartrending and disgraceful scenes of families being forcibly ripped apart as a result of Trump's ban is the fact that it has also had the effect of declaring open season on Muslims and Muslim communities across America itself. It is why Daesh and other Salafi-jihadi groups could not derive a more potent and effective recruiting sergeant if they tried. Muslims are not the enemy of people in the West. How can they be when it is Muslims who have suffered most at the hands of this terrorist menace, along with the fact that it is Muslims who have been and continue to be doing most of the fighting and dying on the ground in resistance to it. To be specific we are talking here the Muslim majority Syrian Arab Army, Hezbollah, Iranian militia forces, and the Kurds. Are we now saying that they constitute the same threat as Daesh? The very idea is an outrage and an insult to justice. Moreover, the fact that Iranian nationals are banned, when Iran has and continues to play such a key role in combating terrorism, while Saudi nationals are not banned, when Saudi Arabia has played a key role in fomenting terrorism, this cannot be justified on any level of logic. That is until we factor in the business interests the President has in Saudi Arabia, and the lack of same when it comes to Iran. Donald Trump's first two weeks in office have been the most tempestuous of any president in US history. No sooner did he enter the Oval Office than executive orders started flying off his desk with the alacrity of a man intent on reshaping an entire country and world with the stroke of his pen. But in the process of doing he has cultivated a mass movement across America in resistance to his presidency that evinces, even at this nascent stage, the character of a popular backlash such as we have not seen in the US since the 1960s. Indeed it may well be the case that having sown the wind Trump is about to reap a whirlwind of public outrage that will leave him more isolated than any US president in living memory. This being said, and in the interests of truth, we cannot allow to go unremarked the fact that while Trump has introduced a ban on Muslims entering the US, his predecessor Barack Obama bombed and slaughtered them. His role in prolonging the conflict in Syria, supporting along with his western allies moderate rebels that only ever existed in the reams of anti-Russian and anti-Syrian government propaganda that issued in the pages of a supine western mass media, should also never be forgotten. As for Hillary Clinton, the footage of her clapping her hands and laughing in response to the news of the brutal murder of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, saying, 'We came, we saw, he died," leaves no doubt of the dark heart that beats inside this wicked woman's chest. Such people and their supporters are in no position to take the moral high ground when it comes to Trump. On the contrary, without their hawkish attachment to a foreign policy of domination, hegemony and conflict without end, there would be no Trump presidency in the first place. Why? Simply because his elevation represents a backlash against a liberal order that has failed not only tens of millions of people across the Middle East and beyond, but also millions of its own people at home in America, given the untold billions and trillions of dollars wasted in the process. This is money that could and should have been spent on funding a system of universal healthcare consistent with a civilized country, investing in jobs, infrastructure, and all the things that the American people so desperately require but do not have. The refugee crisis that has lapped up on Europe's shores in recent years is the direct result of a foreign policy of ruin and societal collapse in the name of democracy and human rights. The mess and carnage that has been left behind as a consequence Donald Trump was elected to clean up. However the path he has embarked upon in cleaning it up is an exercise in punishing the victim, whether they are poverty-stricken migrants from South and Central America, Muslims, or whether they are refugees or minorities in general. It is why Trump has unwittingly posed the question of whose side are you on? In reply millions across America and elsewhere are already answering with one voice, "Not yours." "America First" the man proclaimed during his inauguration speech, words dripping in fascism American-style, embraced by Lindbergh and Joe Kennedy and other Nazi sympathizing isolationists in the 1930s. Many refused to take him seriously then. Some even laughed. They're not laughing now. From Unz Review Israel conspires against the Mother of Parliaments A quite incredible story out of England has not received much media coverage in the United States. It concerns how the Israeli Embassy in London connived with government officials to "take down" parliamentarians and government ministers who were considered to be critical of the Jewish State. It was also learned that the Israeli Embassy was secretly subsidizing and advising private groups promoting Israeli interests, including associations of Members of Parliament (MPs). The story is interesting on several levels, particularly given the recent furor in the U.S. over allegations that Russia has been interfering in American politics. By way of comparison, though no evidence has been provided to support the claim, Russia allegedly arranged for a hack into the Democratic National Committee server to obtain factual information potentially embarrassing to the Hillary Clinton campaign. The information was then made public and may have influenced how some Americans voted. Compare that to what has been going on meanwhile in Britain, where an Israeli Embassy diplomat named Shai Masot, "an officer in the Israel Defense Forces and...serving as a senior political officer at the London Embassy," was meeting with Maria Strizzolo, a senior British civil servant who was formerly chief of staff to Conservative parliamentarian and ardent Zionist Robert Halfon. Masot is certainly an intelligence officer under diplomatic cover. Masot and Strizzolo's candid discussion, which was secretly recorded by al-Jazeera, related specifically to getting rid of Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan, regarded as a supporter of an independent Palestinian state. To Masot's additional query "Can I give you some MPs that I would suggest you would take down?" Strizzolo suggested "...if you look hard enough, I'm sure there is something that they're trying to hide...a little scandal maybe." Another alleged pro-Arab member of Parliament Crispin Blunt was also identified, with Strizzolo confirming that he was on a "hit list." It was also learned that Masot had been secretly subsidizing and advising two ostensibly independent groups, the parliamentary Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) and the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI). Masot did, however, express concern that Israel's control over incoming parliamentarians was not quite what it used to be: "For years, every MP that joined the parliament joined the LFI. They're not doing that any more in the Labour Party. CFI, they're doing it automatically. All the 14 new MPs who got elected in the last elections did it automatically." Shai Masot also was working with friendly young British Jews, providing them with jobs at his embassy and then seeding them into positions in advocacy organizations where they continued to be paid secretly by him while promoting positions that would protect Israel from any criticism. One such group is Britain's National Union of Students (NUS). Recently there has been somewhat of a furor over Shakira Martin, a vice president in the group, who accepted an all-expenses paid trip to Israel organized by the Union of Jewish Students, a pro-Israel organization which is among those receiving funding and guidance from the Israeli embassy in London. The al-Jazeera tape has also revealed that Richard Brooks, another NUS vice president, had been plotting with pro-Israel activists to remove elected NUS president Malia Bouattia, a supporter of Palestinian rights and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. It does not require much in the way of imagination to realize that the Masot meetings probably occur every day right out in the open in Washington, including Israeli officials and Congressmen as well as heads of political advocacy organizations and lobbies. The list of prominent politicians "taken down" by Israel is lengthy, and includes Cynthia McKinney, Adlai Stevenson III, Paul Findley, Chuck Percy, William Fulbright, Roger Jepsen, and Pete McCloskey. And a similar situation prevails in the U.S. regarding human rights and politically liberal organizations that are ostensibly privately funded. As Jeff Blankfort has noted, they are frequently headed by American Jews who prove quite willing to criticize the United States but are generally reluctant to say anything bad about Israel. Whether they are actually directly or indirectly on the Israeli government payroll would be an interesting project for a good investigative journalist. One might reasonably consider Israel's interference in the democratic process in friendly countries like the U.K. and U.S. as much farther reaching and damaging than anything Moscow has done. Yet Russia is being excoriated by the U.S. and European media daily, investigated by Congress and sanctioned because of what are little more than unproven allegations. Israel has clearly done some things to interfere with local politics that are arguably much worse and the silence is deafening. So one should not be surprised by the toothless British reaction to the suggestion that its government officials might be removed by the clandestine activity of a foreign country: "The Israeli ambassador has apologized...the UK has a strong relationship with Israel and we consider the matter closed." Britain under its new Prime Minister Theresa May has also been rolling over in response to Israel's perceived interests almost as obsequiously as the U.S. Congress. After Secretary of State John Kerry described Israel's government as "extreme right wing" on December 28th, May sprang to Tel Aviv's defense, saying "we do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally. We are also clear that the settlements are far from the only problem in this conflict. In particular, the people of Israel deserve to live free from the threat of terrorism, with which they have had to cope for too long." May's rejoinder could have been written by Netanyahu, and maybe it was. Two weeks later, her government cited "reservations" over a French government sponsored mid-January Middle East peace conference and would not sign a joint statement calling for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after Netanyahu vociferously condemned the proceedings. It all recalls Pat Buchanan's description of the U.S. Congress as an Israeli occupied zone, which raised holy hell at the time even though Buchanan did not go far enough, judging by what has been happening in Britain. Indeed, lobbying on behalf of Israel is a global phenomenon with organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) existing in various forms in a number of other countries. BICOM, the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, is an AIPAC clone located in London. It is well funded and politically powerful, working through its various "Friends of Israel" proxies. Americans might be surprised to learn that in Britain Jewish organizations uniquely are allowed to patrol heavily Jewish London neighborhoods in police-like uniforms while driving police type vehicles and there have been reports of their threatening Muslims who enter the areas. Indeed, wherever one goes -- Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States -- there is a well-organized and funded mechanism in place ready, willing and able to go to war to protect Israel. Most of the organizations involved take at least some direction from officials in Tel Aviv. Many of them even cooperate fully with the Israeli government, its parastatal organizations and faux-NGOs like the lawfare center Shurat HaDin. Their goal is to spread propaganda and influence the public in their respective countries of residence to either hew to the line coming out of Tel Aviv or to confuse the narrative and stifle debate when potential Israeli crimes are being discussed. Israel's diaspora allies are backed up by a formidable government organized machine that spews out disinformation and muddies the waters whenever critics surface. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has a corps of paid "volunteers" who monitor websites worldwide and take remedial action and there is a similar group working out of the Prime Minister's office. That is why any negative story appearing in the U.S. or Britain about Israel is immediately inundated with pro-Israel comments, many of which make exactly the same coordinated points while exhibiting the same somewhat less than perfect English. On sites like Yahoo they are actually able to suppress unwelcome comments by flooding the site with "Dislike" responses. If a comment receives a large number of dislikes, it is automatically blocked or removed. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From Smirking Chimp Make America Great Again! (Image by BrentDPayne) Details DMCA Make America Great Again. Trump's campaign slogan was a direct appeal to nationalism. As a son of the Rust Belt city of Dayton, Ohio, I wasn't surprised to see that it worked. People in the postindustrial Midwest and in much of the rest of flyover country are tired of being ignored by the urban coastal elites who seem to think laid-off factory workers should shake off their blues and get a job as a coder. Not that the children of the dispossessed stand a better chance: Silicon Valley is a great wealth generator but a lousy job creator. Many highly skilled American tech workers are unemployed, cheated out of jobs by sleazy companies who abuse the H1B visa program to hire compliant foreigners for a fraction of the cost. If you're one of the millions of left-leaning Americans shocked and awed at Donald Trump's first week as president, his "America First" inauguration speech, his orders to build his Mexican border wall, tear up NAFTA, start a trade war, and especially the sudden brutalism of his Muslim travel ban, I have news for you: there are just as many others who are cheering him on, thrilled that he's keeping his campaign promises. As far as they're concerned, the rest of the world -- including refugees from countries whose wars were started by the U.S. -- can go to hell. After all, their hometowns already have. As Sabrina Tavernise recently wrote in The New York Times, victims of economic decline and their attendant societal ills -- depression, alcoholism, the meth and opioid epidemics -- revolted in the 2016 election against elites "who lived in isolated islands of economic opportunity and sneered at people who didn't." She cited NYU social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who sees a clash between globalists and nationalists. "The globalists, who tend to be urban and college-educated, want a world like the one described in John Lennon's song 'Imagine' -- no religion, walls or borders dividing people. The nationalists see that as a vision of hell...They also want to limit immigration, an instinct that globalists are often too quick to condemn as racist." Globalism dominates economic policy-making in the Democratic Party. Beginning with the takeover of the party by the Clintons' Democratic Leadership Council in the early 1990s, Democrats have pushed through free trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA, and the creation of the World Trade Organization. This has not come without consequences: Globalization eroded the power of Big Labor, formerly a major source of income and manpower for the party. It also turned off people in Ohio and Michigan and Illinois and Pennsylvania -- those who lost their own jobs, as well as their friends, families and neighbors. Democratic politicians have been so blind to the suffering all around that they never even once proposed a bill that would have helped victims of outsourcing with money or job retraining. Some even publicly praised the fact that wages were going up in places like Mexico! Trump gave long-seething Americans an outlet for their rage. The globalist left vs. nationalist right paradigm, however, is a recent thing. In fact, the right part of that equation only dates back to last summer; pre-Trump, exporting American jobs via trade deals was a point of bipartisan consensus. The short history of Democratic globalism suggests that one way back from defeat and political irrelevance, both for the party and for the broader Left, is to make the case for a leftist nationalism. Until the 1970s, Republicans promoted free trade agreements. Democrats opposed them. Protecting workers, especially the highly-paid blue-collar laborers, from foreign competition, kept union donations pouring into party coffers. But then party fundraisers found Wall Street. Big finance craves freedom of movement for capital so business owners can find the cheapest raw materials, supplies and workers in the world -- and a broken, dispirited workforce unable to organize and bargain collectively. Wall Street told the Democrats: dump your other girlfriend. You can't have us as well as big labor. Workers have gotten ground up under the bus ever since. The grassroots campaign of Bernie Sanders -- and of Donald Trump, whose fundraising tactics and social media-driven campaign emulated Sanders' down to the fonts and spacing of his email solicitations -- have broken big corporate donors' hold on campaign financing. Meanwhile, look what happened to Hillary Clinton ("My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders") and her base of corporate and wealthy individual backers. Nationalism, not globalism, is the future of American politics -- but right now, it's only the right that's riding the wave. Though patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel and the first of the nativist, history shows us a long and honorable record of left-wing nationalism. The Chinese civil war turned in favor of the Communists over Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalists after Mao Tse-Tung directed his cadres to lead the patriotic resistance against Japanese occupation. Most members of the French Resistance against the Nazis were communist. Fidel Castro was an ardent patriot/nationalist; so was Ho Chi Minh. These leftists understood that the oppression of workers by the ruling class often manifests itself via forms of globalization: invasions, colonialism, the establishment of puppet states via imperialism. It is not necessary to succumb to the dark forces of bigotry, or to deny refuge to victims of war as Trump did last week, to stand up for the citizens of your own country against those who would exploit or abuse them. There's nothing wrong with imagining a world without borders. It's good for Americans, and for decency, when wages of workers in other nations increase -- there are fewer wars and more consumers. As things stand today, however, nation-states are here to stay. In fact, there are more of them than ever before. Is it really so unreasonable for American workers to expect the leftists who claim to care about them, to fight for them to earn higher wages? A left unable to appeal to nationalism has no future. From Media Matters Sitting down for his first presidential phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart "vowed to repair relations between the countries," during a "warm," hour-long discussion, The New York Times reported. The two men promised "to join forces to fight terrorism in Syria and elsewhere, according to the White House and the Kremlin," noted The Washington Post, and the confab was "positive," according to a White House statement quoted by NBC News. Reuters agreed: "Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to try to rebuild U.S. Russia ties and to cooperate in Syria, the Kremlin said on Saturday." Virtually all the coverage of the Putin-Trump phone call was identical and had the same feel-good vibe, because the information about the call all came from the same two sources: a statement released by the White House, and one put out by the Kremlin. ("The chat took place in a positive and business-like tone.") Noticeably absent from the phone call? According to the White House, Putin and Trump did not talk about U.S. sanctions currently in place against Russia and whether Trump will lift them, even over objection from members of his own party. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus "refused to say whether" there was discussion during the call of U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia made a concerted effort to influence the November election in favor of Trump. The White House and Kremlin accounts suggest they never talked about news that two Russian intelligence officers who had worked on cyber-operations had been arrested on treason charges, in a move that some observers think may be related to Russia's attempts to influence the U.S. election. Or that there was any discussion of allegations that Russian operatives "claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump." Instead, there wasn't even a hint of discord between the two leaders, according to the press reports. And maybe there wasn't any. But again, journalists received all their call information from aides who crafted public statements, which reporters then typed up as fact. Click Here to Read Whole Article Practically speaking, a new government-sponsored persecution of Catholics is breaking out in our midst. I'm not exaggerating. I mean if we consider attacks on predominantly Muslim countries as veiled attacks on Islam, we should also consider attacks on predominantly Catholic countries like Mexico and El Salvador as attacks on Catholicism. Such antagonism has long and bloody precedent. In fact, all during the 1980s the United States fought what Noam Chomsky calls "the first religious war of the 21st century. On Chomsky's analysis, it raged against the Catholic Church in Latin America whose bishops had together dared to affirm a "preferential option for the poor" as their official position. The conflict created chaos particularly in Central America. It took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Latin American Catholics. Today its aftermath remains a principal cause behind the stream of refugees entering the U.S. through Mexico. Donald Trump's policies against refugees represents an extension of that 1980s religious war. In its current form, it vilifies and excludes Catholics as devoid of the moral standards the Church prides itself on teaching. Think about it. Trump has identified Mexicans and Central American refugees as morally deficient. The president said: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. . . They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." Here Mr. Trump identifies good Mexican Catholics among us as the exception, not the rule. The vast majority, he claims, are drug dealers, criminals, and rapists. However, my own specifically Catholic experience gives the lie to his words. He's demonizing my fellow parishioners -- people I consider my brothers and sisters in Christ. I know them by name: Amelia, Carlos, Ana, Isidro, Graciela, Ramon. . . Criminals? Rapists? Drug dealers? There are at least 100 such people in my parish church of 200 families. And that doesn't even count the DACA students in our local Berea College. Under Trump, all of these people and their families stand accused not only by the president, but by those he emboldens to harass them. In other words, my fellow Catholics are in danger, so are their sources of income, their health and well-being. Recently after church, I spoke with some of the endangered. They all agreed; they feel threatened and quite frightened. Moreover, they would appreciate more evident solidarity and support from Anglo parishioners who, in the case of my parish, usually attend a separate Mass. How then might I respond to the plight of their Hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ? Here's what I'm thinking: I might Clearly identify in my own mind President Trump's policies as anti-Catholic and specifically threatening to my fellow parishioners. Lobby my senators and congressional representative to vote against Mr. Trump's immigration policies. Use the term "anti-Catholic" in my phone messages to those politicians. Try to persuade the parish council in my local church to declare our parish a sanctuary for the refugees and immigrants among us. Begin participating in the Sunday "Hispanic Mass" instead of the earlier mostly Anglo ceremony. I suspect that actions like those, if adopted more generally, would start parish-wide conversations about Mr. Trump's policies that affect my brothers and sisters. They might raise the awareness of conservative parishioners. Such actions hold the promise of mobilizing many against the Trump administration's fearful xenophobic juggernaut that, as I've said, is in practice quite anti-Catholic. President Trump banning people from certain countries entering the US has robbed millions of people of their individuality. They are no longer separate human beings with their own thoughts, principles, likes, dislikes, fears and hopes. It is treating them all as an amorphous mass of humanity, not worthy of the right to be judged personally by their deeds and words. Being an Iraqi-born British citizen, I thought the ban would apply to me, but according to our foreign secretary I and others like me are now exempt. Wow, how generous, and what an achievement by our government! So now I am expected to feel grateful to be given my basic human right to be judged as an individual. Forgive me for stating the obvious but we are incapable of choosing where we were born. I can't go back in time to instruct my parents to be elsewhere for my birth. In any case, they most likely would not be allowed to be in Europe or the US. I thought that we had moved beyond assigning collective guilt, blame and negative characteristics on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or the colour of our skin. It fills me with foreboding and anxiety that maybe humanity is entering once again into the darker ages of the past where people were condemned without opening their mouths or doing anything bad. Please, let us not characterise values that should be common to all decent human beings as being British, American, European or from any other nation. This immediately creates division with everybody else put in the category of the "other". They are rights that every human deserves to have regardless of his/her ethnicity, origin or race. Refugees flocking to Europe escaping tyranny and wars share these values. Of course there will be some who are criminals, bigoted, hateful or worse, but the vast majority want to be respected and valued as human beings; they believe they could have that in the west. Collective punishment should be abhorrent to anyone with a shred of decency. My spirit is lifted to see people of different ethnicities, religions and colour demonstrate and sign petitions protesting the collectivisation of guilt inherent in these Trump executive orders. It has brought to the fore the other characteristics we humans have: tolerance, compassion, empathy, fairness and the burning desire to stand up to injustice and bigotry. I am also heartened by Angela Merkel words: "The necessary and decisive fight against terrorism does not justify a general suspicion against people of a certain belief - in this case people of Muslim belief or people from a certain country...that way of thinking is against my interpretation of the basic tenants of international refugee support and cooperation." We are empathetic beings and we must resist the temptation to block our empathy by the barriers of colour, religion, ethnicity or country of birth. Our humanity should trump (excuse the pun) such feelings. It is the stronger bond that binds us all to this fragile planet. How could an individual or a country that constantly lectures the world on human rights take such crass and inhuman action? This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source. Turkey and Zookeeper (Image by Charles Del Vecchio) Details DMCA As if things could not get worse, 43 years after TurkeyMan's heinous heist, the Washington Post strikes again: Ollie the Bobcat Escapes From National Zoo (Jan 30, 2017). Escaped Bobcat (Image by Smithsonian) Details DMCA Naturally, still on the run from the FBI, I took the story with a grain of salt (or Indian Butch did; I confess nothing). The timing, of course, is suspicious, likely a ruse to flush us out of the woods. Speaking of which, the Post reports that the bobcat enclosure is near the woods of Rock Creek Park, where the possibly purloined feline, or in this case feline felon, may have fled to. Of course, having been privy to and acquainted with the unparalleled machination of the TurkeyMan cognitive bird-mind, I have to say we may be idiots, but we are not fools. Only fugitives such as D.B. Cooper have been at large longer than us, and he (1971) beats us only by two years. Frankly, I would say absconding in the night with a bag of money is easier than with a big pissed-off Tom. Cooper's sunglasses would have lasted five seconds. Our notoriety is like fine-fermented wine, likely turned to vinegar in multiple FBI cerebral-spinal minds. Getting back to Rock Creek where the cat could have fled, I am familiar with Rock Creek. It flows through the National Zoo; and although it is not deep, and maybe 10-20 feet wide, it provides a natural moat, which must be forded, if for example, one engages in a lunatic assault in the night. Such a symbolic storming of the Bastille, to kidnap a turkey, or other unsuspecting animal beast of the enemy state, I have to say, is not that easy. Under the weight of a twenty-pound tom, one can sprain a knee (especially one that has already been tweaked)--because Rock Creek is aptly-named, and full of slippery avocado-size rocks. Thus, an angry bird, sensing weakness (even in one's death grip while hobbling on a dead run), can turn on you in an instant, unless you can hand him off--to Butch, for example. Although Indian Butch vehemently denies any participation, who am I, being merely a part-time Indian, to say? Such reconnaissance takes exquisite planning, and almost indigenous, if not shamanic skill and cunning in the night, with only stars to guide the way. Getting close enough to touch the enemy without causing injury--known as counting coup--is how a brave achieves prestige. The likely option is that the cat has been sold by the Trump government for its pelt, which is quite valuable; or is tethered by the turkey cage, as terrorist bait, licking its paws, and thus awaiting the return of TurkeyMan. Such Pink Panther shenanigans and delusions are insulting to any self-respecting terrorist. Any fool can see that Rock Creek flows a few miles south and empties into the Potomac River, practically next to the Watergate Complex. Does that ring any bells? Or the Bobcat's name, Ollie?--obviously for Oliver North--who lied to Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal. No, a wolf may always return to its kill, but not one baited by a compromised bobcat. I assure you, TurkeyMan has fled into the night. "What did you say? I sat upright. "Sh*t--It was that FBI voice. The one I was talking to in my sleep again." I looked around. Was it a dream? Yes, it had to be. My throwback flip-phone showed it was the year 2017. The flophouse walls of Ketchikan's Knickerbocker Hotel, along with Butch's snoring form, faded into Alaskan oblivion. I was in Spokane, Washington.The sweat trickled down my brow. But the long-ago memories of Alaska returned. Butch and I had flown to town from the logging camp. He, of course, had recognized a name on a Nixon photo in the library that linked the Turkey photo to a famous White House photographer: Charles Del Vecchio. "Yeah, ok, big deal," I had said to Butch. "A coincidence. What has Watergate got to do with TurkeyMan?" "I see a storm," said Butch. "A big black cloud." I knew Butch had a sympathetic affinity for birds; maybe even turkeys. I had seen turkey-feather war bonnets sold on Amazon dot com, but mostly I would say he was just sensitive. The zookeeper-turkey photo had almost made him cry. His eyes were welling up now. Maybe the cloud he was talking about was a flight of turkeys; some kind of Indian myth: maybe Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec God of Wind and Learning; a plumed serpent mix of bird and rattlesnake. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From the election of Fucko the Clown to his inauguration, I've started ... and stopped ... seven "moments." I can't finish them. I'll type out what I think is a pretty good sentence or paragraph, but when I read it again it just seems like so much junk. The stuff I write reads like the purple prose H.P. Lovecraft would crank out for Weird Tales magazine at a penny per word. But what the hell ... we're inside a Pulp Fiction world where every day is another issue of Amazing Stories. Just because something sounds like an article from Famous Monsters of Filmland doesn't mean it isn't true. About a week ago, a friend of mine sent me an email with this subject line, "We are headed towards the demise of our Democracy." That title just pisses me off. It implies that we're here ... the cliff is over there ... and we should all get together and do something before we go sailing off into the abyss. I wrote back that I thought the "demise of our democracy" was pretty much a done deal when the Supreme Court decided who our president was back in December 2000. f*ck the voice of The People. George W. Bush is president of The United States -- so suck on that. Then he wrote back that he thought the beginning of the "demise of our democracy" was the day JFK was murdered in 1963. So if he thought it started in 1963, and I thought it was truly over in 2000, then Why The f*ck do we bother saying We are headed towards the demise of our Democracy almost 17 years too late? It's Over. It was Over in 2000. It was Over when Bev Harris and other researchers proved how the election was stolen again in 2004. It was Over when Barack Obama did not prosecute the Bush/Cheney Regime for war crimes. It was Over when our charmingly erudite president put The Left to sleep for eight years and killed more civilians with drones and prosecuted more whistleblowers than Bush/Cheney ever did. And it sure the f*ck was over when Fucko the Clown grabbed the election by the p*ssy and his mouth-breathing minions went wild. And guess what? It's Still Over. I read the results of a poll that was taken on a Right Wing Forum. The subject was: "How long will you give Trump to come into sync with your personal ideas?" 22% said a year, 30% would give him one term, and another 22% said they'd give Fucko two terms. Then one person posted, "I wonder, how long did everyone give Obama? An hour? A minute? Two seconds?" Then the owner of the forum responded, "Niggers give him 100 years." I can't remember how I stumbled onto that forum back in 1999. The Internet has always been a place where one click leads to another and sometimes I find myself down the rabbit hole. And 18 years ago I found myself in a Right Wing Swamp. I saved the link and periodically over the years I'd click on it to see what was riling up the crazy stupid people. They abhorred Hillary and went absolutely batshit when a black man moved into the White House. Of course they were racists. But this was the first time I saw that racism raw and raging. After Fucko won the election, the forum owner felt he could say "n-word" without any blowback. He was right. After five pages and 169 posts, nobody had called him on it. The racism on the forum was always there ... but it was the thinly-veiled racism that bigots like my grandfather adopted when it became generally accepted that it wasn't okay to say "n-word" in public anymore. But now Fucko is the president and they can drop the act. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "You have something special and important here. Somehow you manage to teach and suggest and introduce the reader to concepts in a way that feels inclusive. Like, we're thinking about it together. Partly it might be because the subject, bottom-up, is innately understood by all of us and so it feels like you're stirring up stuff we already know. But also I think it's because you truly are practiced at connection consciousness and so it's natural for you (I'm guessing) to write about it with a desire to include us. As a reader I was learning more because it feels like you're inviting me to think with you." Tsara Shelton, author Progressive Content Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing. To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here. Yesterday on January 31, 2017 I was arrested in the U.S. Senate's Intelligence Committee hearing on the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. I was charged with "Disruption of Congress." Like so many who have been arrested during the confirmation hearings of virtually every nominee of President Trump for every Cabinet position, I felt I had to express my deep concern about Jeff Sessions possibly becoming the Attorney General of the United States. The night before the hearing, on January 30, Acting Attorney General Sally Yates had been fired by President Trump for her decision that Justice Department lawyers would not defend the Executive Order to stop the entire US refugee program for 120 days, indefinitely ban vetted Syrian refugees and suspend all citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from using valid visas or applying for visas to the United States for the next 90 days. The two previous days massive demonstrations in every major international airport in the United States to protest the ban had mobilized tens of thousands of Americans and prompted Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau to state that Canada would take all refugees that the United States was refusing to accept. On the day of my arrest, over 900 career U.S. diplomats issued a Dissent Memo titled: "Dissent Channel: Alternatives to Closing Doors in Order to Secure Our Borders." The memo stated... "A policy which closes our doors to over 200 million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans from using the visa system to enter the United States will not achieve its aim of making our country safer... Moreover, such a policy runs counter to core American values of nondiscrimination, fair play, and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants. "We are better than this ban...Looking beyond its effectiveness, this ban stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold... "Decades from now, we will look back and realize we made the same mistakes our predecessors: shutting borders in a knee-jerk reaction instead of setting up systems of checks that protect our interests and our values... "We do not need to place a blanket ban that keeps 220 million people -- men, women, and children -- from entering the United States to protect our homeland. We do not need to alienate entire societies to stay safe. And we do not need to sacrifice our reputation as a nation which is open and welcoming to protect our families. It is well within our reach to create a visa process which is more secure, which reflects our American values, and which would make the Department proud." When asked about the dissent of career U.S. diplomats serving in Washington and in U.S. embassies around the world, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the executive order is about protecting Americans, and he said those diplomats who are objecting "should either get with the program or they can go." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). I am a Lithuanian, but I live abroad and I am not going back. At least now, at least until the government pays attention to its people. According to some authoritative research institutes, during 2017 the Lithuania population is again projected to decrease (by 45,677 people!), and reach 2,758,290 in the beginning of 2018. (link). As of 1 January 2017, the population of Lithuania was estimated to be 2 803 967 people. This is a decrease of 1.63 % (46,433 people) compared to a population of 2,850,400 the year before. In other words, our nation is slowly disappearing. Everyone except the government knows the reasons why people leave the country. It is not difficult to understand. I can explain why my family left. Simply we need food, clothes and medical care. Our children need better education. And the most important thing is we want to be sure of the future. Simple things for simple people. Instead of doing practical things, our authorities just do everything to make Lithuanians leave. For example, data released by Statistics Lithuania on January 9 showed that in December 2016 prices increased in all but three segments, with a 6.2% boost in the hotels, cafes, and restaurants sector, services became 2.4% more expensive. This is only one example. (link). Along with emigration and an unstable economy, another alarming movement is the attempt to make us live in fear. Lithuanians are sick and tired of fear! People have even lost the sense of reality. They do not understand if it is good or bad when the number of foreign troops in a small Lithuanian town is equal to the number of locals. Surely, the Lithuanian economy needs foreign investments, but who will come and invest in the country that lives in expectation of war? Lithuanian authorities try to persuade the whole world that military aggression and the seizure of our territories are inevitable and at the same time say that Lithuania want foreign business and it needs to create favorable conditions. Does the government really think that foreign businessmen are so stupid as to invest money in a country that probably in some months will be the arena of war? Do you know that all these foreign soldiers demand even more than we Lithuanians? Once it was decided to accept them, Lithuania has pledged to support them. Do you know how much? No one knows the exact figures, but everyone understands -- huge amount of money! For example Japan pays more than $800,000 a year. Are we ready for it? Governments, call me back, do something; convince me and others to return, promise Lithuanians to make our lives better at home and support us. It may be surprising to you, my government, but not only guests, immigrants and foreign troops need help, support and high quality of life in Lithuania. We, Lithuanians, need it more. I want, but I can't go back to Lithuania now" From Our Future There's compelling evidence to show that Steve Mnuchin, Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of the Treasury, lied to the Senate in both written and verbal testimony. Senate Republicans seem to be taking these offenses in stride. None of the GOP's "independents" and "mavericks" have indicated that they will oppose his nomination. If they don't speak up, these Republicans are placing partisan politics over the rule of law and the integrity of their own institution. False Witness Mnuchin received a written question from Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) about the practice of "robo-signing" at OneWest, the mortgage firm he ran as CEO. Robo-signing is a form of perjury that occurs when a bank's employees submit foreclosure documents without reviewing them for accuracy, but falsely state that they have performed those reviews. In this way, banks can quickly foreclose on large numbers of homeowners without going through the processes required by law. Mnuchin replied, "OneWest Bank did not robo-sign documents ..." Note that Mnuchin didn't equivocate, or use qualifying statements like "to the best of my knowledge" or "as far as I can recall." He flatly stated that OneWest never engaged in the practice. But an investigation by the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch found that OneWest "frequently used robo-signers." David Dayen noted that a 2011 consent order from the Office of Thrift Supervision included extensive evidence of OneWest's robo-signing activity, and that an employee of OneWest admitted to robo-signing documents in a 2009 deposition. That wasn't Mnuchin's only "misstatement." He also failed to report more than $100 million in assets when he submitted his initial financial disclosure form, and did not disclose that he is the director of an investment fund headquartered in the Cayman Islands. (It turns out that Mnuchin is registered to vote in two different states, California and New York. Neither is within commuting distance of the Cayman Islands.) The nominee also neglected to mention that he plays a management role in seven other investment funds. Mnuchin called the mistakes "an oversight," adding: "I think as you all can appreciate, filling out these government forms is quite complicated." Sen. Robert Menendez replied, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the words 'list all positions.'" Advise and Submit The applicable statute on Congressional testimony says that "whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the government of the United States, knowingly and willfully" falsifies or conceals information has committed a crime punishable by fine or imprisonment. Sen. Susan Collins waxed eloquent about the Senate's responsibility last year, when a Democratic president was slated to appoint a Supreme Court nominee. "Our role in the Senate is to evaluate the nominee's temperament, intellect, experience, integrity and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law," Collins wrote. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Gentle Dental Care Dentist Reading Award winning cosmetic dental practice located in Reading. The practice is a Denplan Excel practice, with payment plan options to Award winning cosmetic dental practice located in Reading. The practice is a Denplan Excel practice, with payment plan options to spread the cost of your dental treatment.The dentist in Reading has been set up to offer the latest techniques in dentistry, for complete dental care in a modern and friendly environment. The practice has grown at a rapid pace in the last decade, due to adherence to the very best quality in dental care standards and patient attention.6 years ago, the Reading dentist buildings were greatly extended and completely transformed by extensive building works, new equipment and facilities. They now have 4 busy state of the art surgeries complete with waiting room, dedicated O.P.G. facility, decontamination room, offices and staff rooms.They can accommodate a complete range of dental needs from preventative dental treatment and hygiene, to cosmetic treatments, including crowns, veneers, teeth whitening and dental implants. The practice also offers homeopathic dentistry.An attractive smile and fresh breath are really important to ones self esteem. The practice utilises the latest best practices in cosmetic dentistry to transform the look of our patients smiles.For those patients who perhaps have not been so careful in the past with their oral health and find themselves self-conscious about the appearance of their teeth, they can help! There are many reasons why people are not happy with their teeth ranging from teeth looking yellow, to unappealing metal fillings, Patients may also be worried about missing teeth. We can help says Dr Macmillan (Principal Dentist at GDC with a whole range of cosmetic treatments now available thanks to massive technological advances in the materials dentists can now use, almost anyone can enjoy a Hollywood smile.They have received a number of awards in recent years, in 2011 the Reading dentist was a finalist in both the Dentistry Awards and the Private Dentistry Awards. They have also been a winner of the Denplan Practice of the Year award. They are also a BDA good practice.They strive to provide a professional service at all times and have collated a selection of testimonials from some of their patients so you can read for yourself what people think of the treatment theyve received.Gentle Dental Care - Reading.6 Chapel Hill,Reading,West Berkshire,RG31 5DG.Tel: 01189 452 900award winning dentist in Reading.West House, Braeside Business ParkSterte Avenue West Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market 2017 Research Report : Global Industry Shares, Overview and Analysis Market Research Reports http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=910783&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-methyl-2-cyanoacrylate-market-research-report-2017.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/reports.htm Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.This report on global Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate market is a research study that answers pertinent questions about the emerging trends and growth opportunities in this industry. 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The forces analyzed are bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and the degree of competition.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate1.2 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate by Type in 20151.2.2 Water-based1.2.3 Solvent-based1.2.4 Hot Melt1.2.5 Reactive & Others1.3 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Segment by Application1.3.1 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Paper & Packaging1.3.3 Building & Construction1.3.4 Wood-working1.3.5 Transportation1.3.6 Consumer1.3.7 Leather & Footwear1.4 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate (2011-2021)2 Global Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Methyl-2-cyanoacrylate Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionFor Market Research Latest Reports Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States Estrogen Replacement Therapy Market - Advanced Technologies, Growth and Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13460 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/estrogen-replacement-therapy-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is witnessing significant rise in demand and hence growth of the market globally. This rising demand for estrogen replacement therapy is mainly attributed to increasing awareness about menopausal symptoms and its treatment opportunities. Another key factor responsible for the growth of this market is growing population of the post-menopausal women requiring ERT worldwide.Due to change in hormonal levels in the body, women suffer from various debilitating symptoms. ERT is one of the hormone replacement therapies that includes replenishment of estrogen hormone levels in women through administration of external estrogen and/or progesterone hormones.Download Exclusive Sample of this Report:Estrogen replacement therapy helps in treating women suffering from menopausal symptoms. It decreases the symptoms like vaginal dryness, hot flashes, disturbed sleep, night sweats, etc. ERT helps in osteoporosis prevention caused due to depletion of estrogen levels in the body. ERT comprises of natural as well as synthetic estrogen hormones. In order to enhance the menopausal treatment, it is also given in combination with progesterone hormone.The ERT market has recorded positive growth in the recent past due to growing demand for the therapy worldwide. Due to the substantial growth in demand for ERT there has been introduction of highly safe treatment options for the patients located in different geographies of the world. For instance, development of novel drug delivery systems (NDDSs) like vaginal estrogen drugs and transdermal estrogen patches. Another form of ERT such as Low dose ERT are utilized in order to address the backdrop caused due to safety concerns raised against high-dose forms. The non-hormonal treatment have proven least effective, hence the ERT market is expected to grow at a rapid pace during the forecast period.The key restraining factor for the ERT market could be the cost of this therapy. The monthly treatment cost for ERT varies from US$ 40 to US$ 150. Therefore, the population from developing and underdeveloped countries face the challenge of affordability for the therapy. Approved recognition of the products related to ERT in compounding pharmacies particularly from developed countries is another deterring factor. The post treatment risk of cervical cancer and coronary disease can also prove to be the restraining factors for the growth of this market.Global ERT market can be segmented based on dosage forms, routes of administration, end-users and geography. Based on dosage forms, the ERT market can be segmented into patches, tablets, gels/creams, suppositories, implants and injections. The tablet dosage form segment dominated the global ERT market in 2015. However, due to growing safety concerns and demand for effective long-term therapy, the market for injections, gels/creams and patches is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. Based on routes of administration, the ERT market can be classified into oral, topical, subcutaneous pellets, injections, etc. Oral route of administration has remained the most preferred option for the patients world over. However, novel drug delivery systems such as topical and subcutaneous products have also witnessed increased demand and acceptance in the global market in the recent past.Geographically, North America especially the U.S. occupied the largest market share followed by other developed regions such as Western Europe and Japan. The U.S. have been the major market for ERT across the world due to high awareness levels and implausible purchasing power of the people in the country that further led to the expansion of ERT market in the country. However, the same factor of affordability has restrained the market in the developing regions of the world. Despite this, the emerging economies of the Asia Pacific region have displayed striking increase in the growth rates in the ERT market segment. Rising population, increasing disposable income, and improving health care awareness levels are some the key factors driving the Asia Pacific ERT market.Browse Full Research Report:Some of the key players operating in the ERT market include AbbVie, Inc., Bayer AG, Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Novo Nordisk A/S, Orion Pharma AB, Pfizer, Inc., Meda pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and TherapeuticsMD, Inc. among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Medical Aesthetic Devices Market will Exhibit a 9.9% CAGR from 2016 to 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1039 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/medical-aesthetics.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Although aesthetics presently accounts for a relatively small share in the global medical devices market, the rising global demand for a variety of aesthetic procedures is projected to stimulate the market for medical aesthetic devices significantly in the next few years. The demand for aesthetic procedures and thus that of medical aesthetic devices is chiefly driven by the mounting aging population globally, expendable incomes across emerging economies, product innovation, and cultural acceptance of aesthetic procedures.Request a PDF Brochure with Report Analysis:Looking at the excellent growth prospects offered by the market for aesthetic medical devices market, an increased number of companies in the skincare devices market have also ventured in this field in the past few years. Transparency Market Research projects that the global medical aesthetic devices market will exhibit a 9.9% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024. If the number holds true, the market will rise to US$15.1 bn in 2024 from US$6.5 bn in 2015.Aesthetic Laser and Energy Devices to Continue to be Leading Product VarietyBased on the variety of medical aesthetic devices available globally, the market is segmented into aesthetic laser and energy devices, skin tightening and body contouring devices, aesthetic implants, and facial aesthetic devices. Of these, the segment of aesthetic laser and energy devices presently leads, accounting for a share of 30.6% 2015, chiefly owing to the exhaustive usage of these devices as compared to other devices by dermatologists. These devices often use a combination of energy types in order to provide the most effective therapy.Laser and energy devices are most commonly used for skin and hair treatments such as removal of pigmented lesions, tattoo removal, and skin rejuvenation. As patients increasingly demand noninvasive treatment options, aesthetic device providers are seeing these products as an essential addition to their suite of offerings. Further enabling their adoption, a number of manufacturers offer leasing and vendor financing that help limit the upfront capital costs associated with the adoption of these equipment. The segment of lasers and energy devices is also expected to witness expansion at a healthy pace in the next few years, emerging as one with highly promising growth over the period between 2016 and 2024.North America to Remain Center of Development in Near FutureNorth America, driven by the flourishing medical aesthetics market in the U.S., was the leading regional market for medical aesthetic devices globally, accounting for 43% share in 2015. The region is expected to contribute significantly during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024 as well. The presence of a large base of key device manufacturers in North America coupled with the high purchasing power of both the buyers as well as consumers is expected to help the region sustain its leadership in the global market during the forecast period. North America is also at the forefront of aesthetic innovation, with the majority of both established and emerging aesthetic companies either headquartered in or having a significant aesthetic corporate presence in the region.Also driving this corporate presence is the fact that many other countries often look to the U.S. FDAs marketing approvals as a guidepost for their own decision-making processes. In addition, consumers in North America tend to favor more expensive product types and applications. This preference stems from North Americas youth-oriented culture, leading consumers to focus on anti-aging and wrinkle removing products, such as topicals as well as injectables. Within the injectables segment, studies show that consumers favor neurotoxins over dermal fillers to correct facial lines and folds.The global medical aesthetic devices market is also expected to witness strong growth across emerging economies over the forecast period. Across emerging economies in Asia Pacific and Latin America, especially, the market is expected to record strong growth during the forecast period. Increasing disposable incomes of consumers, large population, easier entry for new local manufacturers offering products at competitive prices, and rising awareness levels regarding aesthetic treatments are likely to drive the market in these regions.Browse Full Research Report:Some of the key players in the market are Alma Lasers (Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), Allergan plc, Cutera, Inc., Galderma S.A. (Nestle), Cynosure, Inc., Lumenis Ltd., Mentor Worldwide LLC (Johnson & Johnson), Merz, Inc., Syneron Medical Ltd., Solta Medical, Inc., and ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Tropical Spastic Paraparesis Market: Growth and Opportunities in Global Industry by 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13436 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/tropical-spastic-paraparesis-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) also called as HTLV-1associated myelopathy (HAM) is a type of tropical myeloneuropathies caused by the human T-lymphotrophic virus 1 (HTLV-1). Although initially described in tropical countries, TSP has also been found in temperate regions such as southern Japan. HTLV-1 virus belongs to the Retroviridae family, and preferentially infects CD4 lymphoid cells.Request a PDF Brochure with Report Analysis:The virus has been known to cause certain kinds of leukemia and lymphoma and is transmitted through exposure to infected blood, sexual contact, and use of illegal intravenous drugs. As the virus is also known to spread through breast milk, mothers infected with HTLV-1 virus must avoid breast feeding.According to an article published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology in 2012, the HTLV-1 virus is prevalent in certain regions including the Southwestern part of Japan, sub-Saharan Africa and South America, the Caribbean area, and certain areas of Middle East and Australo-Melanesia. The study also estimates that 5 million to 10 million individuals have been affected globally with HTLV1 virus, however various other publications estimate the global prevalence of 10 million to 20 million.HTLV-1-associated myelopathy mostly affects the spinal cord, and results in an upper motor neurone syndrome, that usually affects lower limbs. Spastic paraparesis or paraplegia is the main characteristic of the infection. Tropical spastic paraparesis results in demyelination, inflammation and necrotic lesions in spinal cord. The progressive disease is associated with degeneration of neurons in the spinal cord, and results in gradual paralysis of the lower limbs.Other rare symptoms include optic atrophy, reduced ankle reflex and cranial nerve lesions. An article published in journal Revue Neurologique in 2012, more than 90% of the tropical spastic paraparesis cases, the neurological features involved urinary bladder disturbance, spasticity and/or hyperreflexia of the lower extremities, and lower extremity muscle weakness.Tropical Spastic Paraparesis Market: Product and Treatment LandscapeVarious immunoassay kits are available for diagnosis of HTLV-1 virus. Companies manufacturing such diagnostic kits include MP Biomedicals LLC, Fujirebio, Inc., Quest Diagnostics, DiaSorin S.p.A. Although the disease cannot be cured completely, medications are available for management of symptoms. Corticosteroids such as methylprednisolone are prescribed to decrease the inflammation of the spinal cord, while pain is treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications.Symptoms of urinary dysfunction can be treated by prescribing darifenacin, oxybutynin, tamsulosin, terazosin, and other drugs which reduce the activity of bladder muscles. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is currently conducting phase I clinical trials for Hu MiK-Beta-1. The investigational drug is monoclonal antibody directed toward IL-2/IL-15R-Beta Subunit which blocks IL-15 action. Washington University School of Medicine in association with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. is also conducting phase II trials for Raltegravir. Various other institutes are also conducting research programs for discovering new and effective treatment options for Tropical spastic paraparesis. Scientists have also tried antiretroviral agents for treatment of HTLV-1 infections. Gradual progress in the research activities is expected to launch more treatment drugs and expand the market in the future.Browse Full Research Report:Due to low and restricted geographical prevalence of the disease, the market for tropical spastic paraparesis is small. Government initiative for increasing awareness of the disease and its available treatment may curb the spread of infections. Lack of sufficient information on geographical prevalence, and epidemiology has restricted the research activities. These factors will also be responsible for a slower global market growth.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edgeContact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Industrial Safety Helmets Sales and Supply Global Market For 2017 Industrial Safety Helmets Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/914537-global-industrial-safety-helmets-market-research-report-2017 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/914537-global-industrial-safety-helmets-market-research-report-2017 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=914537 Industrial Safety Helmets MarketSummaryWiseguyreports.Com Adds Industrial Safety Helmets -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and analysis of Top Key Player Forecast to 2021 To Its Research DatabaseThis report studies Industrial Safety Helmets in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringMsaHoneywellDeltaplus3MJSPDragerUvexScott(Tyco)CenturionSwiss OneLida PlasticHuiyuanXimingKaiyuan FiberFor Sample report @Market Segment by Regions (provinces), this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Industrial Safety Helmets in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSplit by product type, with production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoABS TypeHDPE TypeOthersSplit by application, this report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Industrial Safety Helmets in each application, can be divided intoMiningPowerConstructionForestryOtherEnquiry before buying @Table of ContentsGlobal Industrial Safety Helmets Market Research Report 20171 Industrial Safety Helmets Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Industrial Safety Helmets1.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Industrial Safety Helmets by Type in 20151.2.2 ABS Type1.2.3 HDPE Type1.2.4 Others1.3 Industrial Safety Helmets Segment by Application1.3.1 Industrial Safety Helmets Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Mining1.3.3 Power1.3.4 Construction1.3.5 Forestry1.3.6 Other1.4 Industrial Safety Helmets Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Industrial Safety Helmets (2012-2022)......7 Global Industrial Safety Helmets Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Msa7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.1.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 ABS Type7.1.2.2 HDPE Type7.1.3 Msa Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Honeywell7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.2.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 ABS Type7.2.2.2 HDPE Type7.2.3 Honeywell Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Deltaplus7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.3.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 ABS Type7.3.2.2 HDPE Type7.3.3 Deltaplus Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 3M7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.4.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 ABS Type7.4.2.2 HDPE Type7.4.3 3M Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 JSP7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.5.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 ABS Type7.5.2.2 HDPE Type7.5.3 JSP Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Drager7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.6.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 ABS Type7.6.2.2 HDPE Type7.6.3 Drager Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Uvex7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.7.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 ABS Type7.7.2.2 HDPE Type7.7.3 Uvex Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Scott(Tyco)7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.8.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 ABS Type7.8.2.2 HDPE Type7.8.3 Scott(Tyco) Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Centurion7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.9.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 ABS Type7.9.2.2 HDPE Type7.9.3 Centurion Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 Swiss One7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.10.2 Industrial Safety Helmets Product Type, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 ABS Type7.10.2.2 HDPE Type7.10.3 Swiss One Industrial Safety Helmets Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.11 Lida Plastic7.12 Huiyuan7.13 Ximing7.14 Kaiyuan Fiber.Buy This Report @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (US) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Tier 3 Data Center and Tier 4 Data Center to Witness High Growth in Revenue by 2022 Global Data Center Construction Market - Strategic Assessment and Forecast 2017-2022 http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/reports/research-report-ict-market/data-center-construction-market-report-2022/ http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/contactus/request-sample/ http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/news/press-releases/tier-3-data-center-and-tier-4-data-center-to-witness-high-growth-in-revenue-by-2022/ Tier 3 data center market will grow steadily in terms of revenue but its growth rate is expected to fluctuate.Tier 4 data center market growth rate, will be high in 2016-2017, and will start falling after 2017.A recent report released on Global Data Center Construction Market Strategic Assessment and Forecast 2017-2022 has brought some interesting facts about the worldwide data center construction market.Construction of Tier 3 and Tier 4 data center will witness a high growth in revenue by 2022 says the analyst at Beige Market Intelligence. The report which contains the in-depth analysis of each segments of the data center construction market says that Growing construction of Tier 3 data centers and Tier 4 data centers are going to drive the global market.For more information click here:The world is moving toward the adoption of M2M and connected world, where everything is connected to the internet. Moreover, the requirement of storing data in a single location is growing. This has led to the demand for optimally sized data centers among enterprises to manage capacity and real-time computing requirements for enhancing their business capabilities. Therefore, the construction of tier 3 and tier 4 data centers in several locations to store data has been increasing. For instance, for handling the APAC data traffic and efficient use of applications, Google has established a tier 4 data center in Singapore, and later announced in 2016 to expand it to double the present size.Data centers are classified as Tier 1 data centers, Tier 2 data centers, Tier 3 data centers, and Tier 4 data centers. Level of service offered by data center facilities can be identified based on a tier system. The four tier levels were developed by the Uptime Institute, which also carries out tier classification. This helps to identify whether a constructed data center facility satisfies the business requirements of an organization.Construction of Tier 3 data center and Tier 4 data center will witness a high growth in revenue and y-o-y growth rate in 2016-2018, then a state of saturation in which revenue growth will be moderate and there will be sharp decline in growth rate.For a free sample report:Tier 3 data centers are concurrently maintainable data centers that possess redundant capacity components and multiple distribution paths, with one serving at a time. The Tier 3 data center market will grow steadily in terms of revenue during the forecast period, but its growth rate is expected to fluctuate depending on new data center projects demand.Tier 4 data centers are fault tolerant with multiple physically isolated systems, with each comprising redundant capacity components and distribution paths to simultaneously serve the IT equipment. Rapid growth in data center construction of Tier 4 standard is expected during the period 2016-2018. New construction facilities will encompass the design of innovative products, which can be used to reduce power consumption in data centers to achieve a PUE rating of around 1-1.5. The growth rate, will be high in 2016-2017, and will start falling after 2017. Decline in growth rate is due to the decline in average cost of construction per square feet of tier 4 data centers.Further the report provides detailed description of the market size and market growth forecast for all the tier standards and includes a comprehensive study of all the construction types such as General construction, Electrical construction and Mechanical construction. The report outlines the major market share holder in global market and the market size analysis of all the regions and profiles the major as well as other vendors in the market.Source:About Beige Market Intelligence:Beige Market Intelligence is new-age provider of competitive business intelligence, working across various industry verticals. Our expertise and knowledge ensures that the market analysis Beige provides is comprehensive, detailed and complete. The analysis helps our client organizations become aware and make educated decisions, as far as investing or devising a marketing strategy is concerned. The actionable insights delivered through our market research provide a comprehensive market analysis for every level of market segmentation in an industry. Beige Market Intelligence is a quality driven high end Market Research organization. Our team of experts ensure the analysis you receive is not just analysed and smartly presented, but is completely customized based on the clients requirement. Our deliverables guarantee our current global client base does not look beyond Beige when it comes to any kind of industry and market analysis.Contact info:KhyamaBeige Market IntelligenceChinnapannahalli Main Road, Bangalore 560037contactus@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473 Consumer NAS (Network Attached Storage) To Get Big Boost By Smart Home And Home Automation Smart Home and Home Automation impact on Consumer NAS Market http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/reports/research-report-ict-market/consumer-nas-enterprise-nas-market/ http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/contactus/request-sample/ Consumer NAS and Eneterprise NAS a latest market research report published by Beige Market Intelligence has highlited several key drivers which will drive the demand of Consumer NAS and Eneterprise NAS Market. Consumer NAS demand is expected to increase significantly post 2017. In the consumer NAS users category, the growth will remain stagnate initially, however, will increase significantly in 2018 onwards. The primary factors for the growth are the adoption of smart home and the use of more number of smart appliances by individual users. The growth in the individual consumer NAS market is expected to come from developed countries such as the US and Western Europe. Japan, China, and Australia will also contribute toward the market growth.A household having smart appliances such as fridge and washing machine, smart energy management solutions such as thermostat and remotely controlled bulbs, and smart security solutions is considered as a smart home. A household having any one or any two of these categories or any other smart categories such as smart water management is considered as a partial smart home or home automation solutions.To know more about the Consumer NAS and Eneterpirse NAS:Currently, the demand for smart home is in exponentially rising. This demand is also getting fulfilled by the supply side as well. Consequently, the equipment that require data storage in smart home have been rising. Currently, two types of business models are working from data storage point of view. One in which the service providers such as AT&T Digital Life are offering bundled smart home or home automation solutions in which they are offering cloud storage, which is getting charged based on the customer usage per month. Second one is, standalone smart home solutions which integrated with storage devices. Both the business models provide opportunities for the use of NAS. For instance, the customer can take a bundled solution and has its own storage backup, in which storage will not be charged on monthly basis. In standalone solutions, the NAS storage and the smart home solutions are purchase separately and later integrated with the telecom service provider for seamless integration and usage.Order a free sample:At present, the integration of NAS with standalone devices is high. Solutions providers are also encouraging buyers to take NAS devices. Almost, 90% household home security solutions buyers prefer NAS solutions for video backups. The integration of home appliance and home energy is almost 3540%. However, it will rise as the data will pile-up and users will run out of storage. As of now, the smart home users have been using the cloud storage provided by the telecom service provider, however, they will soon migrate to NAS-based storage devices. It is also expected that in the next 2- 3 years, smart home service providers will opt for a hybrid business model, which will help users to store large media files such as video surveillances in NAS storage, and cloud storage for low data generating services such as thermostat usage and home appliances.In the last 23 years, the consumer NAS market has been stagnant and poised for minimal a Y-o-Y growth rate. The trend is expected to continue till mid-2018 after which the demand for consumer NAS devices is likely to increase.About Beige Market Intelligence:Beige Market Intelligence is new-age provider of competitive business intelligence, working across various industry verticals. Our expertise and knowledge ensures that the market analysis Beige provides is comprehensive, detailed and complete. The analysis helps our client organizations become aware and make educated decisions, as far as investing or devising a marketing strategy is concerned. The actionable insights delivered through our market research provide a comprehensive market analysis for every level of market segmentation in an industry. Beige Market Intelligence is a quality driven high end Market Research organization. Our team of experts ensure the analysis you receive is not just analysed and smartly presented, but is completely customized based on the clients requirement. Our deliverables guarantee our current global client base does not look beyond Beige when it comes to any kind of industry and market analysis.Contact info:KhyamaBeige Market IntelligenceChinnapannahalli Main Road, Bangalore-560037contactus@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473 Inorganic Color Pigments Market Explores New Growth Opportunities By 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4640 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4640 Inorganic pigments are obtained from mixed metal oxides and are produced by a high temperature calcinations process. These pigments are not affected y strong acids, base and oxidizing agents. Also inorganic pigments are non-migratory, do not bleed and are non-warping. Most inorganic pigments can withstand various temperatures and bad climatic conditions; they are heat resistant, have resistance to other chemicals and are easy to disperse. There are a variety of inorganic pigments available and are classified primarily from the source they are derived from. Some of the inorganic pigments include Chrome, which is derived from lead, Cadmiums, which are derived from cadmium compounds, and Irons that are derived from various iron oxides among others. Inorganic pigments are solid materials that obtain their transparency owing to their extremely small size and shape.A sample of this report is available upon request @Inorganic color pigments are used in various industries, which include coil coatings, powder coatings, industrial coatings, architectural coatings among others. They are also used in the coloring of plastics, buildings, constructions etc... It finds its application even in the automotive segments as a colorant for engineering plastics. Owing to the quality of industrial products, which have been improving over the past few years, the demands on their appearance and durability are increasing as well. Due to their fastness properties and their tolerance to adverse conditions, they are the most preferred pigments used in constructions. Inorganic pigments are the most stable class of pigments that have been manufactured as of today.The key drivers for the inorganic pigment market include rapid growth in urbanization, the paints and the coatings market, the construction agency, the building material and plastic industry. The demand for inorganic pigments is expected to be the highest in developing countries. These inorganic pigments are mainly used in the automotive industry due to its durable properties. The market for automotives in developing countries along with the plastic, paint and coatings industry is growing at a rapid pace especially in emerging economies like India and China and hence the demand for inorganic pigments is anticipated to be high in these countries. The main setbacks of the inorganic pigment industry are coping with continuous globalization, markets that are mature in a few applications and regions and the excess production of commodity pigments. The adverse environmental effects inorganic pigments cause can be a restrain for its market especially in Europe. However due to the lack of stringent regulations in Asia Pacific countries especially in countries like India and China, inorganic pigments are used produced and used on a large scale.The key segments for this market include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world (RoW). The most widely used pigments are manufactured from iron oxide. The largest manufactures of inorganic pigments is China, followed by North America and finally Europe. Demand for inorganic pigments is seen to be declining in western countries while demand in Asian countries is increasing especially in China. The inorganic dye market is mature in Japan and is not likely to increase by a huge margin over the next few years. The consumption of inorganic pigments is expected to grow significantly in India and China in the near future.Request to view Table of content @The key companies profiled for pigments include Ferro Corporation GmbH, Shepard Color Company, Bayer AG, Rockwood, Atlanta AG, Apollo Colors, Honeywell International and Todo Kogyo among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com High Performance Data Analytics Market to 2025-Industry Analysis, Applications, Opportunities and Trends |The Insight Partners http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/high-performance-data-analytics-market http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000261 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPTE100000261 The High Performance Data Analytics Market to 2025 - Global Analysis and Forecasts by Type, Deployment Type and Industry Verticals report provides a detailed overview of the major factors impacting the global market with the market share analysis and revenues of various sub segments.Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the High Performance Data Analytics Market to 2025 @Increasing requirement of processing time critical and complex data analytics workloads and the growth in the data intensive simulation demands are few of the major factors that are propelling the demand for high performance data analytics solutions. Banking and Financial industry and healthcare industry are one the foremost industry verticals that are experience high uptake and need for high performance data analytics solutionsThe report aims to provide an overview of Global High Performance Data Analytics Market along with detailed segmentation of market by type, deployment type and industry vertical and five major geographical regions. Global High Performance Data Analytics market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period due to increasing requirement of processing time critical and complex data analytics workloads.Request Sample Copy @The objectives of High Performance Data Analytics Market report are as follows: To provide overview of the global High Performance Data Analytics market To analyze and forecast the global High Performance Data Analytics market on the basis of type, deployment type and industry verticals To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall High Performance Data Analytics market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM), which are later sub-segmented across respective major countries To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key High Performance Data Analytics players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesInquire about discount on this report @Some of the important players in High Performance Data Analytics market are Extreme Networks, Ryft, Dell Inc., Cisco Inc., IBM Corporation, Juniper Networks, Intel Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise among othersAbout The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comThe Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Explore IoT Processors and Chip Market Trends, Business Strategies and Opportunities 2025 |The Insight Partners http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/iot-processors-and-chip-market http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000266 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPTE100000266 The IoT Processors and Chip Market to 2025 - Global Analysis and Forecasts by Component, Processor Type and Application report provides a detailed overview of the major factors impacting the global market with the market share analysis and revenues of various sub segments.Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the IoT Processors and Chip Market to 2025 @The Internet of Things is a fast-growing industry built on the promise of ubiquitous connectivity that will enable billions of devices to talk to each other and to people. The IoT processors and chip market report discuss about the different processors and Integrated circuit used in IoT application.The report aims to provide an overview of global IoT processors and chip market with detailed market segmentation by component, processor type, application and geography. The global IoT processors and chip market is expected to witness decent growth during the forecast period. Increasing demand of wearable devices and smart technology is expected to drive the market in near future.Request Sample Copy @The objectives of IoT Processors and Chip Market report is as follows: To provide overview of the global IoT Processors and Chip market To analyze and forecast the global IoT Processors and Chip market on the basis of component, processor type and application To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall IoT Processors and Chip market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key IoT Processors and Chip players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesInquire about discount on this report @Some of the leading players in IoT Processors and Chip market are ARM Ltd., Atmel Corporation, Cypress Semiconductor, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Intel Corporation, Mediatek Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm Incorporated, STMicroelectronics N.V. and Texas Instruments.About The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comThe Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Isopropyl Alcohol Market Will Continue to Grow by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4641 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4641 Isopropyl alcohol is a chemical compound, which is colorless, flammable and has a strong alcoholic like odor. The compound is manufactured by combining water and propene by either direct hydration or indirect hydration. Isopropyl alcohol is a flammable compound and has a high vapor pressure. This compound is completely miscible in water and is an acceptable solvent for acrylic and epoxy resins, ethyl cellulose, natural resins, gums, polyvinyl butyral, alkaloids and other essential oils. Isopropyl alcohol is immiscible in salt solutions. However, unlike ethanol and methanol, this compound can be separated from various solutions with the addition of salts, which include sodium chloride, sodium sulphate and various other inorganic salts, as this alcohol is not very soluble in saline solutions. This compound increases in viscosity with the increase in temperature. This compound is relatively non- toxic and non-harmful and readily evaporates like acetone.A sample of this report is available upon request @Isopropyl alcohol is a readily available alcohol. It dissolves a wide range of non-polar compounds. Its main application lies in its use as a solvent, a cleaning fluid and a disinfectant. Besides its use as a solvent, the compound is also used as an intermediate to give other compounds; it has its use in the medical, automotive and laboratory field. In earlier days, it was used as an anesthetic but due to its drawbacks, which include respiratory irritation, internal bleeding and visual, and hearing problems, its use in this field was discontinued. This compound is also a major component in gas dryer fuel additives. It is also used to get rid of brake oil fluid traces from hydraulic braking systems. This compound is toxic to some extent and acts as a central nervous system depressant. Poisoning can occur if ingested, inhaled or even absorbed hence, usage has to take place in well-ventilated areas and protective gloves are always recommended. However, it is not as toxic as methyl alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol is also acts as a skin irritant.The main drivers for the isopropyl alcohol market include its use in the automobile industry and its use as a disinfectant and a cleaner. The global automobile market is growing at a rabid rate and hence the need for isopropyl alcoholis also accelerated. The compound is used in combination with either ethyl alcohol or N-propyl alcohol in disinfectants, which include hand sanitizers, surface cleaners, and clinical instrument cleaners among others. The demand for isopropyl alcohol is growing more in developing countries due to the growing economy, growing hygiene awareness and the rise of automobile industries in this region. Isopropyl alcohol soes not have major side effects and hence there are no stringent rules against its use especially in north American and European countries.Te key segments considered for this market include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). The U.S., Europe, and Japan are major manufacturers of Isopropyl alcohol. The market for isopropyl alcohol is maximum in north America followed by Europe and is expected to be almost double in the next few years. The market for this compound is Asia Pacific is also high and is expected to rise as a very fast rate. This is due to the increase in automobile industries in this region, which is also expected to drive the isopropyl alcohol market. In addition, the growing hygiene awareness in Asia Pacific countries drives this market.Request to view Table of content @The main companies profiled for the manufacture of isopropyl alcohol include Avantor, Crystal Clean Chemicals, Denoir Ultra Pure, DongYing Naire Technology, Guangfu Fine Chemicals, Huate Gas, OM group, Tokuyama Corporation, Linde, and Puritan Products among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Global Bubble Bag Market - An Array of Graphics and SWOT analysis of major industry segments http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13559 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Bubble bags are packaging products made up of resins such as high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene and recycled polyethylene, and contains numerous small air pockets. It comes with air retention technology which prevents bubble cell from losing air and provides extra protection while transportation and handling. Bubble bags are light weight, transparent and reduce freight and packaging costs. It also offers excellent moisture resistance, protection against abrasion, good insulation and great ease of handling. It is designed for packaging of fragile products such as electronic goods, pharmaceutical products, antiques and automobile parts among others. Bubble bags are economical, reusable, quick to use and ideal for faster wrapping, hence it widely used in packing industry.View exclusive Global strategic Business report:Bubble bags are commercially available with different functionality such as antistatic bubble bags, water resistance bubble bags, bubble envelops, and heavy duty bubble bags. Antistatic bubble bags are widely used for packaging of electronics components in order to protect it from static damage. While bubble envelopes are used for packaging of CDs, DVDs, jewelry and antiques etc. Bubble bags are also available with adhesives and cohesive insulation, which provides self-sealing adhesive strip.Bubble Bag Market: Market DynamicsGrowing end-use industries such as electronics, FMCG, E-commerce and packaging are key drivers to promote continuous growth of the global bubble bags market. Owing to its value added applications from protection of goods to its safe distribution and transportation, it is expected to see new investments in its market especially in developing countries. The global bubble bags market is expected to grow steadily in developed nations, as consumers will continue to need this product for shopping and handling. Additionally, role of private consumers, retailer, and local packaging firms, who are more focus on delivering the goods in local market is expected to augment the demand of bubble bags.However, sustainability of the global bubble bags market is majorly depends on the price and supply of raw materials. Presence of big and small packaging firms created highly competitive market environment for bubble bags market.Bubble Bag Market: Market SegmentationBased on types, the global bubble bag market can be segmented as follow as;Plain Bubble BagsAntistatic Bubble BagsMoisture Resistance Bubble BagsBubble EnvelopsHeavy Duty Bubble BagsBased on end-use industries, the global bubble bag market can be segmented as follow as;Electrical and ElectronicsAutomobilePackagingE-commerceOthersBased on geographies, the global bubble bags market can be segmented as follow as;North AmericaLatin AmericaAsia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ)Western EuropeEastern EuropeJapanMiddle East and Africa (MEA)Bubble Bag Market: Regional OutlookThe market is well established in North America and western countries, and it is expected to grow linearly over the forecast period. Growing economies such as China, India and Brazil are expected to emerge as most attractive geographical segment in global Bubble Bag Market. This is primarily because of shifting of industrial manufacturing of electronics and automobile components from North America and Europe to Asia Pacific, and rapidly expanding end-use industries such as e-commerce, FMCG and packaging in China and India. Similarly, Latin America and MEA are expected to create opportunities for the bubble bags manufacturers, because of increasing demand for consumer goods in these regions.Bubble Bag Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global bubble bag market are as follow as;Miller Supply Inc.Desco Industries Inc.Tip Corporation Sdn. Bhd.Polybags Limited3A ManufacturingCarters Packaging Ltd.Abco Kovex Ltd.Weihai Fujingtang New Products Co., Ltd.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Magnesium Hydroxide Market Revenue Predicted To Go Up by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4645 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4645 Magnesium is a naturally sourced mineral and is very important for the functioning of many systems in the body especially muscles and nerves. Magnesium hydroxide is an inorganic compound and is obtained by precipitation between magnesium salts and sodium, potassium or ammonium hydroxide. Brucite is a form of natural magnesium and is used for commercial purposes as a fire retardant. The commercial and industrial magnesium hydroxide is chemically manufactured from sea water or brine. As a suspension in water, magnesium hydroxide is called as milk of magnesia owing to its milk-like appearance. This compound has very less solubility in water.A sample of this report is available upon request @The main application of magnesium hydroxide is as a common component of laxatives and of antacids. Magnesium hydroxide should not be taken on a daily basis but very occasionally. It is primarily used to reduce stomach acid. This compound is also used as an antiperspirant underarm deodorant. Milk of magnesia is sold as a liquid suspension, chewable tablets, and capsules as liquid syrups in a variety of flavors. It is mainly used to rid the system of indigestion and heartburn. Magnesium hydroxide powder also finds is application in industrial purposes as a non-dangerous alkali in order to neutralize acidic wastewater. The compound is also used in desulphurization.The main market driver for this product is its use in the health industry. the demand for this product is high in end use industries which is the pharmaceutical industry. as it is used as a antiperspirant deodorant, its demand is high among the younger generation. The pharmaceutical industry is growing at a very high rate and hence the demand for this product will also increase to a high extent. The largest end user for magnesium hydroxide beside the pharmaceutical industry is desulphurization and the water treatment industry. countries are shifting to fossil-fuel based power plants which will in turn increase the consumption of magnesium hydroxide for desulphurization. Owing to its flame retardant properties it is a fast growing application globally due to its performance, price, low corrosiveness and its extremely low toxicity.The key segments observed for this market include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). The global consumption of this compound is mainly concentrated in East Asia and North America. The market for this product is maximum n China and is expected to continue growing at a fast pace over the next few years as well. the market for this product in north America and Europe is mature and is not expected to grow by a huge margin over the forecast period. However, the demand for this product in Japan is high and is expected to accelerate over the next few years due to the increase in the number of fossil fuel power plants there. Its use as a fuel retardant also has increased its demand in the global market especially in the developing counties. The use of this product is increasing at a high pace in developing countries due to its good performance, low price, low corrosiveness and as it is a non toxic compound. North American and European governments do not have very stringent rules and regulations against its use.Request to view Table of content @The key companies profiled for the manufacture of magnesium hydroxide are aAkzoNobel, Albemarle Corporation, Almatis GmbH, BASF SE, Chemtura Corporation, China Minmetals Nonferrous metals, Cyter Industries, Israel Chemicals among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com 3D Holographic Tapes Market - Top Players, Industry Trends, Competitive Analysis, Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14057 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Holography has advanced from security to packaging and its introduction in the packaging domain was first utilized for branding security. Nowadays, packaging industry requires safe and secure packaging of products and 3D holographic tapes meets this requirement. 3D Holographic tapes are not only used for packaging but also for sealing and decoration purpose in different commercial and industrial places.Download PDF Brochure:These tapes have an edge and advantages over other industrial tapes owing to its properties such as adhesiveness, environment-friendly, easy and safe to use and also provides premium finish on the end product. In the packaging industry, these types of tapes are used for sealing purposes in cartons, boxes and envelopes. Moreover, the demand is expected to rise owing to its tamper-evident packaging option. 3D holographic tapes provide an optimum solution for most of the end-use industries and helps brand owners to distinguish their products with a superior packaging concept that also provides a stimulating visual experience for their consumers. Moreover, the advancement of packaging technologies in 3D holographic tapes is not only aiding the manufacturers but also helping counterfeiters.3D Holographic Tapes Market: Dynamics3D Holographic tapes are growing on the backdrop of impressive growth in the packaging industry. Furthermore, higher usability in the commercial and household places has collectively augmented the demand for 3D Holographic tapes worldwide. For instance, holographic packaging used in the pharmaceutical sector is gaining traction as it helps in preventing counterfeiting which is an authentication feature. The trend of adopting holographic tape as an attractive form of packaging material is expected to drive the demand for 3D holographic tapes market over the forecast period. Nowadays, transparent 3D holographic tapes are coming up in the market in order to make the packaging appealing while driving sales and also command significant share in terms of revenue generation. The demand for 3D holographic tapes is constantly rising among the leading FMCG companies and is now practiced as one of the distinctive ways of advertising. In addition to this 3D holographic tapes also provides an eye-catching visual impact for all the products it is used for. Furthermore, packaging companies are now offering 3D holographic tapes with customization option for its customers with the logo printed on the same.3D Holographic Tapes Market: SegmentationOn the basis of materials, the global 3D holographic tapes market can be segmented into,Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP)polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC)On the basis of colors, the global 3D holographic tapes market can be segmented into,SilverGoldenBlueRedOthersOn the basis of application, the global 3D holographic tapes market can be segmented into,Carton sealingPharmaceuticalTextileCosmeticsLubricantsDecorationOthers3D Holographic Tapes Market: Region-wise outlookIn terms of geography, the global 3D holographic tapes market has been divided into five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The global 3D holographic tapes market is expected to witness an impressive growth over the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to be the dominant market during the next few years, followed by Europe and North America. However, packaging companies in North America and Europe are grabbing opportunities to make a strong footprint in the near future. With introduction of advanced technologies in 3D Holographic tapes market in emerging economies namely China and India is expected to drive the demand for 3D holographic tapes.3D Holographic Tapes Market: Key-PlayersManufacturers are instrumental in offering 3D holographic tapes that are available in various colors and designs as per the customers requirements and meeting the global standards. Some of the key market participants in the global 3D holographic tapes market are Aspac India, Holosecurity Technologies, CFC International, Shanghai Henglei Hologram Co., LTD, Euro Tapes Pvt Ltd, Holostik, 3D LASER HOLO ART, BiofarChemicals.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Innovations and Collaborations to Drive the Bare Metal Cloud Industry https://goo.gl/DiXS0b https://goo.gl/nLjuy7 http://www.bigmarketresearch.com On January 19, 2017, CenturyLink, Inc., launched CenturyLink Big Data as a Service (BDaaS) with Managed Cloudera. It is a relatively new managed service that integrates the companys competence in data and advanced analytics, cloud and application services with Apache Hadoop-based data management and analytics platform from Cloudera.Get Sample Copy of Report @The managed service offers data integration along with analytics consulting, which will help the customers to increase sales and enhance operations that will significantly improve customer management. Several organizations are not equipped with resources, expertise and strategy that is required to successfully leverage their big data. The new service launched by CenturyLink will deliver an in-depth managed service along with the required infrastructure that has the ability to handle heavy workloads. Gary Gauba, chief enterprise relationship officer and president of CenturyLink said that organizations that are forward thinking worldwide focus on offering a quick and useful solutions to customer requirement and demand across multiple channels. Several organizations are seeking competitive advantage by exploring the various techniques and services that help them to achieve big data goals set by them.Tom Reilly, CEO, Cloudera, says that the innovations of CenturyLink and Cloudera in big data analytics can largely help businesses seeking solutions to harness the magnitude of the growing volume of data. The BDaaS services include, an intensive quick start program that will help customers achieve objectives and also help them to create customized solutions. On the basis of customer goals, the company also offers workshops that usually last for one day to two weeks. Further, it includes real-time deployment support that will help firms to deploy projects in a proof of concept and then move into production.On January 26, 2017, Oracle announced that the company has pinned down to Bristol to host its global cloud start-up accelerators. The program will choose five cloud start-up companies across the UK to work in collaboration with the research and development team of Oracle over a span of 6 months and providing access to around 420,000 customers worldwide. Oracle does not plan to take equity in the start-ups and will offer free access to its cloud services, co-working space and link new organizations with investors. The companys first start-up accelerator was in India. Phil Bates, Architect for Oracle Cloud says, Large companies such as Oracle, HP, IBM, Amazon and Cray all have engineering and develop centers in Bristol alongside a wealth of start-ups, from VR visualizations of DNA and superfast machine learning accelerators for a new generation of AI applications to start-ups using the fastest cloud platform in the world for animation.Oracle is focusing on a wide array of start-ups that largely prioritize selling as their core business. The start-ups will get access to the companys cloud platform, which is termed as bare metal cloud. Oracle is currently working with a couple of start-ups based in Bristol. Reggie Bradford, senior vice-president, Oracle explains that the company is not restricting to a target AI or IoT and are scouting for as many entrepreneurs as possible. He further throws light on the subject and says that the next five to ten years are crucial to drive the new cloud-based businesses with continuous growth and innovation in the field. The company has identified start-ups as the heart of innovations and is therefore seeking opportunities that will mutually benefit both, Oracle and the start-ups.For more Info about lobal Bare Metal Cloud Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 @Contact us:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect : + 1-503-894-6022Toll Free : + 1-800-910-6452Email: help@bigmarketresearch.comWeb:Our strength is in our research analysts who with their proactive approach are able to source best and correct information which can be detrimental in organizations success. We follow six sigma standards leaving no scope for error.Big Market Research uniqueness lies in its highly ethical reports at economical rates because we value your relationship and growth more than money. Your growth is our aim.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205 Organoaluminum Market Set to Grow Exponentially, 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4648 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4648 Aluminum is found in the earths crust and is the third most abundant material. This element is found predominately in oxidic and silicatic minerals. Organoaluminum chemistry includes the detailed study of compounds which have bonds between carbon and aluminum. Very little about Organoaluminum compounds were known until the 1950s until it was discovered by Karl Zeigler who won the Nobel prize pertaining to his research. Organoaluminum is a structurally weak compound, it is resistant to corrosion, it readily reacts with water, it oxidizes more easily than iron and it is durable. These compounds are also known as polymerization catalysts owing to their use as an excellent catalystA sample of this report is available upon request @Organoaluminum have a few applications, which include its use in Drano to unclog drains, it is used to protect cigarettes and hard candy from moisture, it is also used in the making of various alloys including copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc among others. Industrially Organoaluminum is used in the production of polyolefins, polyethylenes among others. It also acts as a catalyst in various chemical reactions. A catalyst is one that is used to increase the rate of chemical reactions. Organoaluminum is used in the aldol catalysis where aluminum acts as a Lewis acid. It is also used in the amidoaluminum catalysis where Organoaluminum is used to synthesize guanidine.The main application of organoaluminum, which drives the market, is its use as a catalyst. It is used in a variety of chemical reactions and hence this accelerates the demand of the compound. Its use in the production of polyolefin and polyethylene and other polymers is also another feature that drives the market for organoaluminum. Polymerization catalysts are expected to experience the fastest growth due to accelerated expansion of the polymer resin market. Polymers hold a big market share as of today and this is expected to drive the market for organoaluminum for the next few years. Polymers are used in the production of plastic, PVC among others. The stringent regulation by the FDA and the EU is what may restrain the market against the use of organoaluminum in these regions.The key segments analyzed for this market include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). Market for organoaluminum is the highest in North America followed by western European countries, the Middle East and then Asia Pacific. the market in north America and western Europe is still mature but is not expected to grow by much owing to the improved performance of organoaluminum catalysts which are substitute for organoaluminum and the decrease in the production of polyolefin especially polyethylene in the regions. The market for organoaluminum is growing at a very fast rate in Middle Eastern and Asia Pacific countries as most of the manufacturing units of polymers are shifting to this region owing to the lack of stringent rules and regulations from the government. The role of organoaluminum as a catalyst, in North America and Western Europe is what drives the market but by a small margin in these regions. The numbers of chemical and polymer industries are increasing at a fast rate in especially India and China among the Asia Pacific countries, hence the market for organoaluminum is bound to increase in he near future in these countries.Request to view Table of content @T6he main companies profiles for the manufacture of organoaluminum include Akzo Nobel NV, Albemarle Corporation, Chemtura Corporation, BASF SE, Chevron Corporation, Evonik Industries AG, Honeywell International Incorporated, Mitsui Chemicals Incorporated among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Potassium Hydroxide Market to Register a Strong Growth By 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4649 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4649 Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is a liquid inorganic compound also known as caustic potash. Reacting sodium hydroxide with impure potassium gives KOH in its pure form. With the chemical formula KOH, potassium hydroxide is one of the compounds is called lye. As measured on the pH scale it has very high alkalinity. Due to its hygroscopic nature it becomes very tacky in air, hence it is sold as solid translucent pellets. When dissolved in water it dissipates the excess amount of heat thus making the reaction exothermic. KOH is a strong base has its use in niche applications. Potassium hydroxide is included in cleaning products, and has uses in industry and in medical diagnostics. It also has its role as an alternative health product.A sample of this report is available upon request @Its main applications lie in the manufacture of soaps, petroleum refining, fertilizer industries among others. Many potassium salts like permanganates, carbonates, phosphates are prepared by neutralization reactions involving KOH. Potassium hydroxide is used as a direct intermediate for the manufacture of a huge range of chemicals which include potassium cyanide, aluminate, formate, fluosilicate, borohydride, bromated, bromide, gluconate, manganate, oleate, titanate, laurate etc. Other areas of its application include electroplating, herbicides, greases, catalysts, medicines and alkaline electrolyte batteries. Some dermatologists use KOH to diagnose fungal infections in skin, hair and nails. If misused potassium can have a number of ill effects including physical damage to the eyes, skin etc. Environmental damage to aquatic life is caused if KOH is disposed off in water bodies. NaOH is another chemical which has almost similar properties to KOH. They are caustic, corrosive and highly hazardous. Both chemicals are used interchangeably for a number of applications although NAOH is preferred in industries due to its low cost and is widely used. However, KOH finds its use in domestic and household applications. Its usage is also found in petroleum and natural gas refining for the removal of organic acids and sulphur compounds.The key factor that drives the market growth of KOH is its use in household products and in fertilizers. The world is facing ever-increasing population and hence there is continuous use of household products, which is one of the main drivers of the KOH market. Another driving factor is its use in fertilizers .With the growing demand for food, the fertilizer market is expanding causing the growth in the KOH market as well. The hazardous effects of KOH on health and also on the environment are major restraining factors for its market.The key segments for the KOH industry are Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and Rest of the World (RoW). Asia Pacific accounts for more than half of the potassium hydroxide demand and the trend is expected to continue over the next few years. India and China are one of the largest economies in terms of population and are expected to dominate the market in terms of demand. North America follows Asia Pacific as the second largest user of KOH, followed by Europe and then RoW. Emerging economies in the rest of the world segment are expected to offer huge growth opportunities especially in Latin American countries .Potassium hydroxide demand in Russia and Eastern European region will also foresee huge demand during the forecast period.Request to view Table of content @Key companies that manufacture potassium hydroxide include The Mosaic Company, Armand Products, ICL Fertilizers, Occidental Chemical Cooperation, Potash Corp., and Qinghai Salt Lake Potash Company Limited among others. These companies not only manufacture KOH but other chemicals using potassium and potassium hydride as an intermediate .Moist of them manufacture fertilizers which makes use as KOH as one of the main chemicals.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Functional Food Ingredients Market - Evolving Industry Trends and key Insights by 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=10751 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Functional Food Ingredients Market: SnapshotThe top driver of the global functional food ingredients market at the moment is the growing concern among an extensive consumer demographic regarding their calorific intake as well as nutritive intake. The growing number of people shifting from traditional convenience foods to nutritive convenience foods and several other functional foods is providing a strong foundation for players in this market. Consumers currently are showing a very high demand for nutritive convenience foods as well as fortified foods and beverages. The global functional food ingredients market is also being augmented by the high rate of product and chemical innovations laid out by the leaders in the market in order to increase the appeal of functional foods as well as the incorporation of a larger variety of functional foods in commercial markets. However, the market is being restricted by the stringent regulatory bodies that are increasing the time taken for a functional food to reach commercial sales and the overall seasonal nature of demand for different types of functional foods.By revenue, the global functional food ingredients market had reached US$19.38 bn in 2015. This revenue is expanding at a CAGR of 6.0% within the forecast period from 2016 to 2024 and is expected to reach US$32.40 bn by the end of 2024.Download exclusive Sample of this report:North America Continues Lead in Global Functional Food Ingredients MarketNorth America, Europe, Asia Pacific, The Middle East and Africa, and Latin America are the key regions of operation for the global functional food ingredients market, among which the market was dominated by North America in 2015, with a share of US$6.99 bn in its overall revenue. This region is showing a very high rate of increase in demand for functional foods over functional beverages, owing to their growing availability in restaurants and hotels.Europe and Asia Pacific respectively followed North America in terms of demand volume within the global functional food ingredients market. However, Asia Pacific as well as Latin America are showing a very promising future for players, owing to their increasing urban population densities, increasing awareness of the benefits of functional foods, a hectic working class lifestyle, and increasing disposable incomes.Product Innovation a Major Concern for Functional Food ManufacturersWith a general segregation of the global functional food ingredients market into foods and beverages, the demand for foods is expected to witness a greater rate of increase in demand. While beverages have been highly popular due to ease with which they can be manufactured and diversified in content and tastes, functional foods are gaining greater levels of importance. Consumers are pushing manufacturers to investing more into product innovation due to a high and variegated demand as well as an intensely competitive landscape. Technological advancements in healthcare are also creating a high impact on the global functional food ingredients market, as the growing research on what nutrients can do in terms of increasing health and preventing diseases is allowing functional food manufacturers to incorporate specific ones into their foods.In 2015, the key players in the global functional food ingredients market included Associated British Foods PLC (U.K.), Ingredion Incorporated (U.S.), Cargill, Incorporated (U.S.), Kerry Group PLC (Ireland), Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.), E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company (U.S.), BASF SE (Germany), Arla Foods (Denmark), DMH Ingredients (U.S.), Koninklijke Dsm N.V. (Netherlands), and Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Japan).About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Innovation in Technology a New Trend in the Escalators and Elevators Industry https://goo.gl/fUlWjT https://goo.gl/bYi539 http://www.bigmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/880460 http://www.bigmarketresearch.com A recent report added by Big Market Research highlights the market share, size and growth of the escalator and elevator market worldwide. It further discusses the important parameters of the market in terms of consumption and production. The adoption of elevators has seen a considerable growth in the last two decades.Get Sample Copy of Report @In the modern generation, machines and technology are panning out to be a vital component of human beings. The ability to ease the workload, reduce time and cost are the major factors that have supplemented the adoption of these machines. Similarly, elevators and escalators have significantly helped to reduce time and made it easier to move around a building, airport, shopping mall and hospitals.In the developing economies such as India and China, it is a common sight to see how urbanization is engulfing these regions. Urbanization has seen the growth in the adoption of elevators and escalators in India. Several players operating in the elevator industry in India are prioritizing energy-saving features to expand their business opportunities in the region. India is the second largest market for elevators and escalators in the world after China. The rise in the number of industrial sectors, residential complexes, malls, and shopping centers across the country have encouraged the growth of the elevators and escalators industry in India. The major players operating in the Indian market include, Kone, Schindler, Johnson Lifts and Otis.Enquire here @Major architects, contractors and consultants are installing elevators and escalators with unique features as a vital key differentiator. Technologies such as V3 i.e. variable voltage and frequency introduced by Johnson along with a German organization have significantly helped to save energy. Service and pricing are the other essential differentiators that are aiding brands to penetrate the market. According to Harish Bijoor, brand consultant, durability and longevity of a product is essential in the Indian market. Elevators that are fashion-centric may not do well in the Indian market as consumers dont focus on the aesthetics of the elevators.Otis has expanded services throughout the Indian sub-continent whereas Johnson has focused on South India. Otis and Kone have made a mark in metro cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi. The elevator and escalator market is staring at a bright future in the country as two upcoming metro projects would require as many as 1000 escalators in 2017. The elevator and the escalator market in India will continue to grow in the Asian countries such as India, China and Japan owing to rapid urbanization.Get Discount on Global Elevators & Escalators Market Research Report 2017@ at USD 2900 (Single User License):Contact us:Dhananjay Potle5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect : + 1-503-894-6022Toll Free : + 1-800-910-6452Email: help@bigmarketresearch.comWeb:Our strength is in our research analysts who with their proactive approach are able to source best and correct information which can be detrimental in organizations success. We follow six sigma standards leaving no scope for error.Big Market Research uniqueness lies in its highly ethical reports at economical rates because we value your relationship and growth more than money. Your growth is our aim.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205 Fluorite Market Shares, Strategies and Forecast Worldwide, 2015 to 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-370 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-370 www.futuremarketinsights.com Fluorite, also known as fluorspar is a popular mineral that is available naturally in all colors of spectrum. It is the mineral form of calcium fluorite that belongs to the halide minerals. It is a visible mineral both in ultraviolet as well as visible light. Pure fluorite is colorless and the variations in the color are caused by impurities. The common colors of fluorite include purple, blue, yellow, green, and blue. Fluorite has an attractive cleavage habits and the cleavage, which is perfect and parallel to octahedral faces, can be peeled off in some cases to make a smooth crystal perfect octahedron. Fluorite is known to be one of the famous fluorescent minerals. The word fluorescent has arrived from fluorite mineral. Fluorite crystallizes in a cubic design. The major reserves for fluorite is found in China which accounts for around 24 million tons in inner Jiangxi, Mongolia, Hunan, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. These reserves make about 80% of the national total of fluorite reserves. As China has introduced many measures to protect the fluorite reserves, the output for fluoride has remained steady.Fluorite generally has lapidary and ornamental uses. Fluorite can be drilled into jewelry, however it is not used as a semiprecious stone due to its relative softness. In industries, fluorite is usually used in the production of certain glasses and enamels and used as flux for smelting. Three different grades of fluorspar include acid, ceramic and metallurgical. The pure form of fluorite is used for manufacture of hydrofluoric acid, which acts as an intermediate source for most of the fine chemicals containing fluorine. Transparent fluorite lenses have low dispersion and so lenses that are manufactured using them have low dispersion and they exhibit very less chromatic aberration. This property of fluorite mineral makes it important in telescopes and microscopes.Request Free Report Sample@The major driving factors for fluorite market are the growing chemical industry and increasing use of fluorine in the glass industry. The chemical industry and glass industry accounts for the major share of the fluorine demand globally. The other market that has applications of fluorite includes the metallurgy and aluminum smelting industry among others.The key segments for fluorite market include North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW). Western Europe, China and the U.S. are said to be the major consumers of fluorite worldwide. Western Europe and the U.S account for major demand for acid fluorite that is used in the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid. The cement and glass industry in China generate the largest demand for fluorite and are expected to drive the market globally.The key companies profiled in the report include Centralfluor Industries Group and Zhejiang Wuyi Shenlong Flotation Co Ltd., Sinochem Lantian Co., Ltd, Inner Mongolia Xiang Zhen Mining Group Ltd., China Kings Resources Group Co., Ltd. DO-Fluoride and Zhejiang Yongtai Technology has started its expansion in the fluorite field. Multiple fluorite enterprises are focusing on strengthening the integration of downstream and upstream industry chain of fluorite reserves for avoiding price volatility and to achieve higher value for its products. Mexichem enterprise has large reserves of fluorite that produces fluoroelastomers and fluoropolymers for benefits. Minersa is said to be the second largest producer of fluorite with production capacity of 380 Kt/a. It has a fluorite-fluorine industrial chemical chain.Request For TOC@ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Welding Consumables Market - U.S. Industry Analysis 2023 U.S.Welding Consumables Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=9509 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchmarket.blogspot.in/ Welding consumables are filler materials that are used to fuse metal and thermoplastic components. Metals, metal alloys, and minerals are employed as raw materials in the manufacture of welding consumables. These consumables are incorporated on the base metal or thermoplastic surface by use of a heat or pressure source during the welding process. Stick electrodes, metal rods, solid wires, flux-cored wires, shielding gases, and SAW wires and fluxes are the commonly available welding consumables in the U.S. These consumables are used depending on the type of welding technology.Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), submerged arc welding (SAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) are the key welding technologies. Flux-cored wires are the preferred consumables employed in FCAW, while others such as solid wires and metal rods are employed in GMAW applications. Welding consumables are primarily used in core end-user industries including building & construction, automobile & transportation, marine, power sector, and oil & gas. Industrial repair & maintenance and aerospace are some of the other end-users of the welding consumables market in the U.S.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECH-NICAL INSIGHTS:Demand for welding consumables in the U.S. has been driven by the building & construction industry since the past few years. This trend is anticipated to continue in the near future, owing to the revival of building & construction industry in the country (post the 2008 financial crisis). Increase in consumption of steel as a sustainable material for construction of green buildings is estimated to be the primary factor driving industrial growth. This, in turn, is likely to propel the demand for welding consumables in the U.S. during the forecast period. Automobile & transportation and power sector are another major end-users of welding consumables that are expected to augment the welding consumables market in the U.S. during the forecast period.Flux-cored wires was the largest product segment of the welding consumables market in the U.S. in 2014, due to key factors such as high deposition rates, capacity to withstand varying atmospheric conditions, and strong weld ability. This product segment constituted more than 30% share of the welding consumables market in the country in 2014. Furthermore, the flux-cored wires segment is projected to witness the fastest growth by 2023, led by its performance enhancing attributes vis-a-vis other product segments.In terms of volume, building & construction held more than 20% share of the welding consumables market in the country in 2014. Welding consumables are extensively used for fabrication of infrastructure components for various constructions such as bridges, railways, tunnels, residential buildings, and commercial complexes. Automobile & transportation accounted for significant share of the total welding consumables market in the U.S. in 2014. However, others segment which includes end-users such as repair & maintenance and aerospace is anticipated to provide lucrative market opportunities for welding consumables in the country during the forecast period. The others segment is likely to witness the fastest growth due to significant requirements of welding consumables for repairing industrial pipelines, transmission lines, power utility components, storage vessels, and ship hulls.The value chain depicts high degree of forward integration in the welding consumables market in the U.S. The Lincoln Electric Company, The Linde Group, voestalpine Bohler Welding GmbH, ESAB, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Hyundai Welding Co., Ltd., Kobe Steel, Ltd., and Air Liquide S.A. are some of the key players operating in the welding consumables market in the U.S.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog: Baby Monitors Market: Rising Per Capita Spending on Child Care Products to Boost Growth Prospects http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=5156 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/baby-monitors-market.html According to Transparency Market Research, the global baby monitors market was valued at US$876.8 mn in 2015 and will reach US$1,291.8 mn by 2024 in terms of revenue. Over this period, the market will expand at a CAGR of 4.4%. In terms of connectivity of baby monitors, the wireless section held the majority of the market, accounting for nearly 82.8% in 2015. From a geographic perspective, the North America market led with over 40% of the global baby monitors market in the same year and is expected to retain dominance over the forecast period as well. The Asia Pacific market, however, is expected to be the most promising regional market over the forecast period.Download Research Brochure PDF@Rising Preference for Online Retail to Boost Global SalesOne of the key factors driving the global baby monitors market is the vast rise in the number of online retailers of baby products. The easy availability of a wide array of baby monitors that parents can choose from, without having to rely on the time-consuming task of shopping in the physical world, has significantly boosted the sales of baby monitors globally. Moreover, the intense competition among online retailers could help parents land into some really good deals for these products. In the next few years, the online retail segment will be one of the key propellers of the global baby monitors market.Apart from this, the market is also highly influenced by rising per capita spending on child care products across developing economies and the rising trend of both parents taking up full-time jobs and enrolling kids to day care facilities. As a way of keeping an eye on the kids activities throughout the day or making sure that the kid is safe and secured in the day care, an increasing number of parent are preferring day care facilities with baby monitors in place, which can be controlled via applications installed on the parents or the guardians smartphone.Security Concerns over Information Leakage through Baby Monitors to Restrain Market GrowthFalling birth rates owing to factors such as increasing stress levels and sedentary lifestyles, are expected to have an adverse effect on the growth of the market in the next few years. As per a report published by Forbes, the birth rate in the U.S. fell to an all-time low in 2013. The fertility rate in women also fell from 69.7% in 2007 to 62.5% in 2013 in the U.S. The issue is expected to have a medium-level negative impact on the development of the market in the next few years, especially in developed regions such as Europe and North America, which also happen to be the prominent buyers of baby monitors.In addition to this, the overall growth of the market is also hindered by parents concerns regarding the safety and security of baby monitors. Advancements in information technology have made baby monitors smart, capable of being controlled via applications installed in smartphones. According to a report published by wired.com in 2015, the security of baby monitors can be easily compromised with the help of several hacking tools and tactics. Hackers can turn baby monitors into spy cameras, defeating the entire idea of installing baby monitors for keeping an eye on children to ensure their safety.Browse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Cosmetic Skin Care Market Projected to rise to be worth just over US$200 bn by 2024, expanding at a 5.1% CAGR http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13724 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cosmetic-skin-care-market.html Cosmetic Skin Care Market: SnapshotConsumer trends for cosmetic skin care products vary from region to region. While skin lightening and brightening products are in greater demand in Asia Pacific, anti-aging creams have been witnessing higher demand in Europe and North America. On the other hand, consumers in countries with dry weather, such as Brazil and Argentina, are more prone to purchasing sun protection products.Cosmetic skin care is one of the most dynamic markets in the personal care industry and is driven by evolving consumer trends and innovations on the part of manufacturers. The opportunity in the global cosmetic skin care market stood at US$127.1 bn in 2015 and this is projected to rise to be worth just over US$200 bn by 2024, expanding at a 5.1% CAGR therein.Download Research Brochure PDF@Multi-utility Skin Creams Gain Prominence among ConsumersCosmetic skin care products include those for anti-aging, skin whitening, sensitive skin, anti-acne, dry skin, warts removal, infant skin care, anti-scars solutions, mole removal, and multi-utility products such as beauty and balm, color correcting, and daily defense creams. In terms of revenue, anti-aging creams led the global cosmetic skin care market in 2015 owing to their diversified applications. Multi-utility skin care cosmetics, on the other hand, are expected to be the fastest growing product segment by the end of 2024.The main applications of cosmetic skin care products include stem cell protection against UV, flakiness reduction, skin rehydration, minimizing wrinkles, and increasing the viscosity of aqueous. Among these, the segment of wrinkle minimization led the cosmetic skin care market in 2015. The stem cells protection against UV segment, on the other hand, is anticipated to expand at a rapid pace due to increasing awareness regarding the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays.MEA to Offer Stiff Competition to APAC in Cosmetic Skin Care MarketBased on geography, the global cosmetic skin care market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. While Asia Pacific is the leading cosmetic skin care market in the world, the Middle East and Africa is predicted to be the fastest growing regional segment.Accounting for a share of more than 40.0% during the forecast period, Asia Pacific is expected to retain its lead in terms of revenue through 2024. The rising adoption of beneficial skin care products in the emerging economies of China and India is one of the key factors driving the APAC cosmetic skin care market. These developing countries have been witnessing rapid changes in consumer living standards, which in turn, is expected to result in high market growth. Increasing purchasing power of the urban population, coupled with rising product awareness in rural areas, is also fueling the demand for cosmetic skin care products in the region.The cosmetic skin care market in the Middle East and Africa is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period due to the increasing average disposable income level and the rising expenditure on personal care products among consumers. In addition, consumer preference toward skin brightening creams has fueled the demand for cosmetic skin care products in the MEA region. Over the recent past, companies manufacturing cosmetic skin care products have been adopting extensive marketing strategies to strengthen their position in the market. This is expected to further the cosmetic skin care market growth in the region.Key players in the cosmetic skin care market include LOreal S.A., Unilever PLC, Procter & Gamble, Beiersdorf AG, Avon Products Inc., The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Kao Corporation, and The Body Shop International PLC.Browse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Allantoin Market Is Expected To Generate Huge Profits by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4660 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4660 Allantoin is a white powder produced by oxidation of uric acid and major excretory product of purine degradation in many vertebrates. It is a nitrogenous compound found in the body of various mammals except humans and primates. It is present in allantoic fluid, amniotic fluid and fetal urine. It is used medicinally to promote tissue growth. Allantoin which is valued for its soothing properties is used in a wide range of cosmetics, skin and personal care products.A sample of this report is available upon request @Allantoin is present in botanical extracts of the comfrey plant and in the urine of various mammals. It is safe, non-toxic and is compatible with cosmetic raw materials. It meets all the requirement of the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA) and Japanese Standards of Cosmetic Ingredients (JSCI). Allantoin based ointments and creams are used to treat skin ailments such as diaper rashes, chapped skin & lips, sunburned skin. Allantoin is used to speed up the healing of cuts, burns and bruises on the body. In addition, it is used in shampoos to treat various hair related ailments such as scalp psoriasis, seboorhea, dandruff and eczema involving the scalp. Furthermore, the powder is used to treat skin burns in radiation treatment for cancer. It is also present in toothpastes, mouthwashes and other oral hygiene products.Growing demand for skin care and hair care is expected to drive the hair and skin care products market within the forecast period as there is an increasing awareness regarding healthy skin and hair among consumers. This in turn is expected to drive the demand for allantoin in the global market. Skincare and hair care are the largest segments present within the personal care industry. Skincare products include face creams, hand and body lotions, sun care products and facial treatment products, while the hair care treatment market includes shampoos and conditioners among others. Changing lifestyle and increase in disposable income of consumers, particularly in emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil, is expected to drive the personal care industry, thereby augmenting the demand for allantoin The consumption of allantoin based skin and hair products has become high on account of factors such as hectic lifestyle and pollution damage on human health and skin. Mens grooming has become a mainstream industry in the past few decades and this industry is anticipated to grow further driving the allantoin market. Furthermore, rising awareness regarding oral care coupled with the increasing demand for mouth fresheners, teeth whiteners and mouthwashes is expected to further fuel the demand for allantoin over the next few years. However, allantoin when used orally causes liver damage. This may act as a restraint to the allantoin market.Regions such as Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin America are predicted to emerge as the fastest growing markets for allantoin over the forecast period. The continual and rapid growth in the industries such as skin care, hair care, cosmetics and oral care in these regions is expected to drive the demand for allantoin in the production of various applications products. Moreover, developed markets such as the U.S. and European economies are steadily recovering from the economic downturn and are anticipated to generate significant demand for allantoin in the coming years.Request to view Table of content @Key players in the allantoin market include Allan Chemical Corp, Akema Fine Chemicals, Ashland Inc and EMD Chemicals Performance Materials among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Refrigerated Display Cases Market to Exhibit 9.6% CAGR due to Growing Demand for Plug-In Refrigerated Display Cases http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1576 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/refrigerated-display-cabinets.html Refrigerated display cases/cabinets (RDCs) are refrigeration equipments used for storing and displaying products (food and beverage items) which require chilled or frozen conditions. The global market for RDCs was valued at USD 8,780.3 million in 2012. It is further expected to grow at 9.6% CAGR during forecast period 2013 to 2019 and reach market size worth USD 16,283.4 million by 2019. Factors such as expanding retail (food retail) store network, rise in consumer dispensable income, and changing consumer lifestyle, are expected to help support market growth during the forecast period.Download Research Brochure PDF@Demand from small to medium sized stores, which often have limited investment power and floor space, is expected to support the market growth of plug-in RDCs as compared to remote systems. For same reasons, vertical RDCs too are expected to see higher demand as against horizontal or other types. Advantages such as flexibility to move them as per store floor-plan and low installation time are seen as key attributes to support demand for plug-in RDCs. In contrast, features such as more display space per unit area of floor makes vertical RDCs preferred by store operators. These are also suited for cold storage items (non sub-zero), which see higher volume sales and turn-around (fast moving items) as compared to items requiring sub-zero storage.Geographically, Asia-Pacific region is highly promising for RDCs growth as the region is witnessing encouraging economic growth. Commercial sector, especially retail and HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, and catering) industry is fast expanding, resulting in increased demand for cold merchandisers. North America and Europe are seeing high competition as these regions are saturated with regional brands such as, Arctica Showcase Canada Ltd., ISF Group, Omega Refrigeration, and others. RDCs manufacturers such as Frigoglass, Hoshizaki International, Dover Corporation, Manitowoc Company, Inc., and United Technologies Corporation, are among leading players, in the market. However, other players such as Hussmann Corporation, Blue Star Limited, Sanden Corporation, Beverage-Air Corporation, too have strong market positioning in their respective regions.The report concludes with the company profile sections which include key information about the major players in the market. Some of the key players profiled in this report include Metalfrio Solutions S.A., Beverage-Air Corporation, Daikin Industries, Ltd., United Technologies Corporation Climate, Controls & Security Unit (Carrier), Dover Corporation, Illinois Tool Works, Inc., Hussmann International, Inc., Lennox International, Inc., AHT Cooling Systems GmbH, Epta S.p.A. and Blue Star Ltd.. This study includes the strategies adopted by these key players to sustain competition. Recent developments by the companies and barriers of the market will help emerging players design their strategies in an effective manner. The study is expected to help key players of the refrigerated display cases market in formulating and developing their strategies.The global refrigerated display cases market is categorized into the following segments:Refrigerated display cases Market, by Product Type (refrigeration system)Plug-in (self-contained)RemoteRefrigerated display cases Market, by Product DesignVertical Front OpenHorizontal Top OpenOthers (Hybrid/Semivertical)Refrigerated display cases Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldBrowse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Xanthan Gum Market is Expected to Witness a Steady Growth by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4843 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4843 Xanthan gum is a microbial polysaccharide used as a thickener in several industries such as food and beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical. It is also known by other names such as bacterial polysaccharide, and corn sugar gum. Xanthan gum is manufactured by fermenting corn sugar with a bacterium named Xanthomonas Campestris. After the consumption of food containing xanthan gum, it swells in the intestine and stimulates the digestive tract. Xanthan gum also slows the absorption of sugar in the digestive tract and functions like saliva to lubricate the mouth of people who have Sjogrens syndrome. Xanthan gums are also used in drilling activities in the oil and gas sector. Food and beverage is the key end-use industry for xanthan gum and the bakery and confectionary industry accounts for the largest demand.A sample of this report is available upon request @The growth of end user industries is the key driver for the global xanthan gums market. Rising disposable income is propelling the demand for food and cosmetics, which is consequently boosting the demand for xanthan gums. The consumption of convenience foods that contain xanthan gums has also increased significantly in the recent past. The increasing population and a growing economically-active population in Asia Pacific is further increasing demand for on-the-go foods. Increasing government investment in healthcare is also boosting pharmaceutical sales across the globe, which is driving the xanthan gums market.A mounting demand for gluten-free foods is also driving the xanthan gum market. Xanthan gum is used in the gluten-free baking process for several products such as cookies, cakes and pancakes, muffins and quick breads, breads, pizza dough, and salad dressings. Among these, xanthan gum is used in large quantities in the preparation of pizza dough. The nutritional characteristic of xanthan gum further increases its acceptability, as it contains carbohydrates and fiber. One of the greatest restraints for the xanthan gum market is the availability of guar gum as a substitute. However, guar gum is mostly used in ice cream and pastry fillings, whereas xanthan gum finds its largest use in the manufacturing of bakery products. Another restraint for the xanthan gum market is that it is not suitable for people with certain allergies.Request to view Table of content @Asia Pacific dominated the global xanthan gum market in 2014 owing to increasing demand for bakery and confectionary products from countries such as China, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Europe also has a large share in the xanthan gum market thanks to its large bakery and confectionary industries. Key players in the global xanthan gum market include Danisco, Cargill, Pfizer Inc, Jungbunzlauer, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), CP Kelco, and Fufeng Group Company Ltd.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Algae Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2024 Algae Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=14804 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchmarket.blogspot.in/ The global algae market is developing at a gradual pace around the world, with a number of algae oil production facilities yet to be fully commercialized. Growing concerns regarding the emission of greenhouse gases have driven the adoption of renewable energy sources, algae being a prominent one. Apart from a rising demand for algae-based biofuels in road, marine, and aviation applications, the plastics industry has also upped its demand for algae to produce biodegradable plastics.The global algae market was valued at US$608.0 mn in 2015 and is projected to reach US$1.1 bn by 2024, at a CAGR of 7.39% therein. In terms of volume, the market is poised to expand at a 5.32% CAGR between 2016 and 2024.Low Investment Requirements Drive Adoption of Open Pond Cultivation TechnologyIn terms of cultivation technology, the algae market has been classified into open ponds cultivation technology, raceway ponds cultivation technology, closed photo bio-reactors, and closed fermenter systems. On a global scale, more than 80% of algal biomass is generated through open pond cultivation technology. Open pond cultivation systems require low investment and as a result are utilized on a larger scale.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECH-NICAL INSIGHTS:However, in recent years, established players such as Algae Tec and Solazyme, Inc. have been investing more on emerging cultivation technologies such as closed photo bioreactors and fermenter systems for better productivity under the close monitoring of automated systems.Closed photo bio-reactors are an emerging technology used to promote biological growth by controlling environmental parameters such as light. The only disadvantages presented by this technology are high capital costs and long payback periods.Surge in Algae Cultivation in North America a Key Contributing FactorIn terms of geography, the global algae market comprises North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. In 2015, North America led the global algae market. Countries such as the U.S., Canada, and Mexico house more than 135 companies engaged in algae cultivation and this is a key factor driving the algae market in the region. The North America algae market is single-handedly driven by the U.S., constituting around 86.4% of the market by volume and around 87.6% by value in 2016. The U.S. is anticipated to dominate the algae market through 2024 thanks to the expansion of production facilities and efforts to overcome the demand-supply gap. The North America algae market is considerably more mature than other regional markets such as Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA.Countries in Asia Pacific are focusing on algal biotechnology in wastewater bioremediation and CO2 capture and utilization. Asia Pacific hosts five of the top 10 carbon emitters in the world India, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Iran who contribute to more than 40% of the global emissions. Strong movements are under way to fully commercialize the production of biofuels from algae. Currently, more than 50% of the algae produced through various cultivation technologies are utilized in DHA production to manufacture chemical components for medicines, health foods, cosmetics, and food additives.Key players in the global algae market include Algae Tec, Pond Biofuels Incorporated, LiveFuels, Inc., Algae Systems LLC, Sapphire Energy, Inc., Solazyme, Inc., Diversified Energy Corporation, Algenol, Kai BioEnergy Corp., Algix, DSM Nutritional Products, Dao Energy, LLC, Phycal LLC, and Kent BioEnergy Corporation.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog: Candy Market - Evolving Industry Trends and key Insights by 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=2144 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Candy Market: OverviewThe food and beverages industry identifies candy as a part of the confectionary industry and uses the term confectionary and candy interchangeably. This preferably includes preserves, pastries, and ice creams. The global candy market has been segmented on the basis of the presence of chocolate. The candy market is considered to be a seasonal market and has skyrocketing sales during festive seasons. To meet the mounting requirements for candies during festive seasons, manufacturers raise the employment in order to intensify production and output. Chocolate candies are referred to the ones which include cocoa products or chocolate in them, for instance cocoa butter. Non-chocolate candies comprise confectionary products which do not have chocolate or any chocolate-replicate within them such as marshmallows, licorice, hard candies, and jelly beans.This market study is an assessment of the growth scenarios and chronological tract of the global candy market. It deals with the valuation of the facets that have been projected to influence the expansion of the market both destructively and positively. Further, the significant trends have also been indicated in the publication. The market study further presents an extensive outlook on the seller background of the market referring to Porters five forces analysis. The research report also deals with the R&D accomplishments, mergers, acquisitions, and essentials on certifications and partnerships. The report analyses the tactics related to shares, profile-raising, and product series of the key companies in the global candy market.Download exclusive Sample of this report:Global Candy Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe prime facets influencing the growth of the global candy market are the incessantly increasing expenditure capacity of consumers and growing urbanization. The growing target consumer base and product innovation is further expected to drive the growth of the global candy market. The majority of candies are made for children and the young population. The demand is basically driven by population growth, disposable income, and consumer tastes and preferences. Large multinational companies have a significant advantage over small and medium scale companies in terms of economies of scale in purchasing and manufacturing.The industry demand is likely to get subdued because of growing health concerns among consumers, shifting preferences, and falling prices of sugar with low selling prices. The promotion by companies selling health improving products is also a prime inhibiting factor in the growth of the market. Most of these are underpinned by research and scientific studies. As candies contain a sizeable quantity of sugar, thus they are directly connected with diabetes and obesity. This issue is likely to be addressed by the development of low-calorie and sugar-free candy substitutes. However, the performance of the global candy market is anticipated to gain speed owing to the rising consolidation and investment in innovation by leading multinational companies. As a result of this, candy manufacturers are likely to develop healthier candy alternatives to mitigate the adverse perception consumers have towards candy.Global Candy Market: Key RegionsEurope, Asia Pacific, and North America are likely to emerge as lucrative markets for the manufacturers of candy across the world. The growing innovations, rising disposable income, and increasing candy consumption across various age groups in these regions is likely to bode well for the market growth here.Global Candy Market: Vendor LandscapeThe competition among the players in the global candy market is relatively strong with the presence of a large number of companies and variety of products. It is likely to be moderately difficult for new players to enter the market due to strong positioning of the leading companies. A sufficient amount along with safety standards and packaging rules makes entry in the market a rather difficult task. Some of the leading players in the market include Nestle Nestle SA, DeMets Candy Co., Mondelez International Inc., Mars Inc., and Ferrara Candy Co.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Waterborne UV Coating Systems Market Explores New Growth Opportunities By 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5204 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5204 Waterborne UV coating systems is developed as a replacement for solvent coating systems. In order to meet specific requirements of the industries, these systems are available as UV coating systems within waterborne coating technology and waterborne coating systems within UV coating technology. Waterborne UV coating systems are easy to matt, superior in adhesion and are simple and easy to use. Waterborne UV coating systems are used in a variety of applications such as plastic, paper, soft touch coating, industrial metal, wood flooring, vinyl flooring and wood furniture (especially in kitchen and office) among others.A sample of this report is available upon request @Increasing environmental awareness and concern for our surrounding is expected to drive the global waterborne UV coating systems. The presence of stringent environmental standards for emission of volatile organic compounds imposed by various governments and regulatory bodies has played a crucial role in the development of a substitute for solvent coating systems. Waterborne UV coating systems uses water as the solvent unlike the solvent system which utilizes harmful chemicals. Moreover, the waterborne UV coating systems are easy to apply and have its emerging benefits as composite repair, direct to metal applications, sunshine-cure coatings for decking and aerospace application among others.The growing construction and furniture industry, particularly in China is expected to boost the growth of the market. Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest consumer of waterborne UV coating systems in the next few years, owing to the increasing population and growing industry for secondary processed products especially in China and India. Currently, Europe is the largest market for waterborne UV coating systems due to the stringent regulations with respect to the environment in this region. Therefore, numerous automobile companies in this region are replacing solvent coating systems with waterborne UV coating systems.Request to view Table of content @Bayers MaterialScience, Axalta Coating Systems, Nanovere Technologies, Becker coatings and Sirca SpA are some of the key participants of the waterborne UV coating systems.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Motor Oil Pouch Packaging Market - Global Industry analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Forecast 2024 http://bit.ly/2jtO4sY http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The recent development in motor oil pouch packaging is the use of flexible, stand up pouches, instead of the traditional rigid bottles. Motor oil pouch packs are easier to use and are portable due to its light weight. Many special design features can be incorporated in stand up pouches such as handles and spouts. In 2012, Universal Lubricants, a US based leading manufacturer of motor oils and lubricants, were the first to implement pouch packaging for their Eco Ultra range of products. The Eco Ultra FlexPak is more light weight, durable and sustainable as compared to conventional rigid plastic bottles. The pouch pack is made up of three barrier layers of nylon, polyester and LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene). It is provided with a pouring spout to prevent bubbles and glugs while pouring the oil or lubricant.Get a PDF Sample for Professional & Technological Insights atMotor Oil Pouch Packaging Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe ease of handling and portability are the major advantages of motor oil pouch packaging as compared to other packaging types, which is the major driver for the growth of global motor oil pouch packaging market. Motor oil pouch packs are lighter in weight and the plastic content in these type of packaging is less as compared to that of rigid bottles, which is expected to boost the global motor oil pouch packaging market growth. Motor oil pouch packaging provides more surface area for printing visually appealing graphics that attracts consumers and is the advertising strategy adopted by major oil and lubricants manufacturers. The ratio of product with respect to package is high in motor oil pouch packaging.However, the motor oil pouch packs are multi-layered plastic packs, which are not easily recyclable. This fact might hamper the growth of global motor oil pouch packaging market during the forecast period.Motor Oil Pouch Packaging Market: SegmentationOn the basis of material, the global motor oil pouch packaging market can be segmented as follows:-PolyesterNylonLinear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene Films (BOPP)Polyphenylene Ether (PPE)On the basis of accessories, the global motor oil pouch packaging market can be segmented as follows:-Pouring SpoutEuro SlotTear NotchMotor Oil Pouch Packaging Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global motor oil pouch packaging market can be divided into five regions, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Europe holds the major share in global motor oil pouch packaging market, owing the well-established, mature automotive industry in the region. North America accounts for second largest market share in global motor oil pouch packaging market. This is attributed to the increasing number of motor vehicles in the region and also the oil and lubricant industries. The rise in aftermarket sales of automotive products in Europe and North America is expected to propel the growth of motor oil pouch packaging market in these regions. APAC is anticipated to exhibit high CAGR over the forecast period. China is the new hub of automotive industry and there is a rise of investment in packaging industry, which is anticipated to boost motor oil pouch packaging market growth in the country. MEA motor oil pouch packaging market is anticipated to exhibit significant CAGR during the forecast period due to increasing sales of automotive and the expanding engine oil market in the region.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Drive Shaft Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Analysis For 2016 - 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=10211 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/drive-shaft-market.html A drive shaft or propeller shaft is a piece of an automobile which takes power from the engine and delivers to the wheels. A drive shaft has to be strong enough to absorb the torque of the engine and lightweight to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. A drive shaft should be perfectly balanced and should spin equal to the torque coming out of the engine and the transmission for a smooth driveline performance. In the recent times most of the automobiles are front wheel drive, soothe drive shafts are between the transaxle and each front wheel. In rear wheel drive automobiles the drive shaft is between the rear axle and each rear wheels. Drive shaft has to be strong and rigid as it has to bear the immense torque produced by the engine.Download Research Brochure PDF@Increasing concern about fuel efficiency, manufacturers are more focused on developing lightweight driveshaft without compromising on its performance and rigidness. Rise in the growth of automobile sector globally, it is indirectly fueling the growth of drive shaft market as drive shafts are required in every automobiles to power the wheels. With the rise of four wheel drive vehicles is also increasing the demand for drive shaft market. Drive shafts are also used in motorcycles to as they are maintenance free and have a long life than a chain drive. Increasing demand for vehicle comfort and performance offered by the new light weight drive shafts, OEMs are also adopting to the new light weight drive shafts. The increasing number of vehicle production, enhanced driving experience, stringent carbon emission regulations and norms and increase in fuel efficiency by using the new light weight drive shafts is mainly driving the market globally.Some of the major drivers influencing the drive shaft market globally is the increasing number of global automobile production and the growing demand for light weight drive shafts which would aid to better fuel efficiency. Some of the major restraints of the drive shaft market globally are high fluctuations of the material prices which hinders in manufacturing of light weight drive shaft.The drive shaft market can be distinguished by product outlook and vehicle type. In the product outlook, there are generally three types; slip in tube drive shaft, one piece drive shaft and two piece drive shaft and. In the vehicle type segment, it generally includes heavy commercial vehicles (HCV), light commercial vehicles (LCV) and passenger vehicles.Asia Pacific being the largest automobile manufacturer globally also posses the largest market for drive shaft industry. Moreover the increasing demand for fuel efficient vehicles in regions such as India, China, Japan and South Korea has led to the development of light weight drive shaft to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle, thus returning more mileage. Europe led the second largest market for drive shaft industry followed by North America and West of the World.Some of the major players in this industry are GKN PLC (U.K.), Dana Holding Corporation (US), NTN Corporation (Japan), Nexteer Automotive (U.S.), American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc (U.S.), Hyundai Wia (South Korea), Yamada Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan), Neapco Holdings LLC (U.S.) and Trelleborg AB (Sweden) among others.Browse Full Report@About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact Us:-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Market: Industry Analysis, Trend and Global Forecast to 2024 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/711 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/advanced-cardiovascular-life-support-market Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Market:Advanced cardiovascular life support is a set of clinical interventions for the urgent treatment of cardiac arrest, stroke and other life-threatening medical emergencies. ACLS entails airway management, accessing veins, interpretation of ECG, applications of emergency pharmacology and early defibrillation with automated external defibrillators.Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support provides the theoretical background to resuscitation as well as explaining the essential resuscitation skills required to manage an adult cardiac arrest from the time it occurs until subsequent transfer to the ICU.Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support also discusses ethical and legal issues, record keeping, dealing with bereavement, audit, equipment and training providing an essential quick reference tool for nurses and health care professionals.Request a Sample Copy @Key Players of Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Market: Cardiac Science Corporation (U.S.) CPR Medical Devices, Inc. (Canada) General Electric Company (U.S.) Michigan Instruments (U.S.) Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands) Physio-Control, Inc. (U.S.) St. Jude Medical, Inc. (U.S.)Market Segmentation:The ACLS can be segmented into algorithm, techniques, instruments, applications and end-users.ACLS market by algorithm: Cardiac arrest, Acute Coronary Syndromes, PEA/Asystole, VF/Pulseless VT, Bradycardia, Tachycardia, and Suspected Stroke algorithms.ACLs market by techniques: Airway management, non-invasive airway, endotracheal intubation, Electrical Therapy and Lethal Arrhythmias.ACLs market by instruments: Device and Accessories.ACLS market by applications: Medical Training Centers, Hospitals, Clinics And Cardiac Catheterization Labs.ACLS market by end-users: paramedics, doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists.Access Report Details @Market Influencer:The market growth drivers of ACLS market are: the rising prevalence of a number of cardiovascular diseases related to cerebrovascular, valvular, rheumatic, coronary artery, and peripheral vascular conditions. The raising preference for minimally invasive treatment methods, continuous up gradation and modification of products, rising population of obese and aged people across the globe, and busy modern lifestyles are also driving the advanced cardiovascular life support market.The less availability of trained personnel is the restraint of the market.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash AnandMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Hospital and Laundry Boilers Market Is Expecting Worldwide Growth By 2020 Persistence Market Research Study http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3389 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3389 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Laundry and boilers services play an important role in sterilization and maintains contamination free environment in hospitals. Laundry service is responsible for delivery of adequate amount of clean and sterile linen to patients and healthcare professionals. The major tasks of laundry service include collection of linen, washing, drying and delivery to users. Boilers are used for steam and hot waters for vital needs, such as space heating and sterilization of linen and provide hygienic conditions for patients.A sample of this report is available upon request @The U.S. and Canada dominates the North American hospital and laundry boilers market due to improved healthcare infrastructure in the region. For instance, in 2012, American Hospital Association (AHA), a national organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals and healthcare networks conducted an annual survey of total number of registered hospitals in the U.S. This number was 5,723 in 2012. Registered hospitals are those hospitals that fulfill all the AHA criteria. This improved healthcare system in the U.S. has resulted in significant rise in demand of laundry and boiler services to main hygienic conditions for the patients and healthcare professionals.In recent time, rising number of hospital admissions is key driver for the North American hospital and laundry boilers market. For instance, in 2010, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 2, 58,000 hospital admissions had registered for hip fractures among people aged 65 and above and the number is expected to reach 2, 89, 000 by 2030. This increasing number of hospital admissions requires sterile linen for their better comfort in hospitals. However, the high energy cost to operate boilers in hospitals is key restraint for the North American hospital and laundry boilers market. In addition, strict regulation associated with the generation of steam through boilers also obstructs growth of the North American Hospital and laundry boilers market. For instance, hospitals require accreditation from Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for steam generation.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the major companies operating in the North American hospital and laundry boilers market are Parker Boiler Co., Indeck Power Equipment Co., Fulton, Powerhouse Equipment & Engineering Co., Inc., Smith Hughes Co., Nationwide Boiler, Inc., Energy Equipment Co., Inc., Reagan-Riter Boiler Works, Inc. and Energy Products Co..About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Fluorescence Microscopy Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/189752 http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-fluorescence-microscopy-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/189752 Fluorescence Microscopy is an optical microscope that uses fluorescence and phosphorescence instead of, or in addition to, reflection and absorption to study properties of organic or inorganic substances. Fluorescence microscopy has become an essential tool in biology as well as in materials science as it has attributes that are not readily available in other optical microscopy techniquesDownload PDF Sample of Fluorescence Microscopy Market@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Fluorescence Microscopy in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversOlympusNikonLeicaZEISSMoticPicoQuantBrukerPTIShanghai Optical InstrumentSunnyCOICNovel OpticsBrowse Full Report with TOC:Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America, Middle East and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversBy Working ModeBy Illumination MethodPlace Purchase Order for this Report@Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoBiologyMedical ScienceMaterial ScienceOthersThere are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Fluorescence Microscopy market.Chapter 1, to describe Fluorescence Microscopy Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Fluorescence Microscopy, with sales, revenue, and price of Fluorescence Microscopy, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Fluorescence Microscopy, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 9 and 10, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 11, Fluorescence Microscopy market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;Chapter 12 and 13, to describe Fluorescence Microscopy sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data source.Table of Content:1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Global Fluorescence Microscopy Market Competition, by Manufacturer4 Global Fluorescence Microscopy Market Analysis by Regions5 North America Fluorescence Microscopy by Countries6 Europe Fluorescence Microscopy by Countries7 Asia-Pacific Fluorescence Microscopy by Countries8 South America, Middle East and Africa Fluorescence Microscopy by Countries9 Fluorescence Microscopy Market Segment by Type10 Fluorescence Microscopy Market Segment by Application11 Fluorescence Microscopy Market Forecast (2016-2021)12 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers13 AppendixList of Tables and Figures:Figure Fluorescence Microscopy PictureFigure Global Sales Market Share of Fluorescence Microscopy by Types in 2015Table Fluorescence Microscopy Types for Major ManufacturersFigure By Working Mode PictureFigure By Illumination Method PictureFigure PictureTable Fluorescence Microscopy Sales Market Share by Applications in 2015Table Olympus Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Fluorescence Microscopy Type and ApplicationsTable Olympus Fluorescence Microscopy Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table Nikon Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Fluorescence Microscopy Type and ApplicationsTable Nikon Fluorescence Microscopy Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table Leica Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Fluorescence Microscopy Type and ApplicationsTable Leica Fluorescence Microscopy Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table ZEISS Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Fluorescence Microscopy Type and ApplicationsTable ZEISS Fluorescence Microscopy Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table Motic Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Fluorescence Microscopy Type and ApplicationsTable Motic Fluorescence Microscopy Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Orbis Research is a single point aid for all your Market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customised reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialisation. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required Market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Global Market Industry 2017 and Forecast Report Market Research Hub http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=943871 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=943871 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-hysteroscopic-resectoscopy-industry-2017-trends-and-forecast-report-report.html#discount-form http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-hysteroscopic-resectoscopy-industry-2017-trends-and-forecast-report-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ Albany, New York, February 01, 2017: Market Research Hub has recently announced the addition of a new report to it broad database titled as Global Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Industry 2017, Trends and Forecast Report. This Report provides professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).Request for Sample Report:The report firstly introduced the Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) basic information;2.) the Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Market;3.) the North American Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Market;4.) the European Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.Make an Enquiry:Table of Contents:Part I Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Industry OverviewChapter One Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Industry Overview1.1 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Definition1.2 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Classification Analysis1.2.1 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Main Classification AnalysisChapter Two Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market AnalysisPart II Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Market Analysis3.1 Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Product Development History3.2 Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Competitive Landscape AnalysisChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast4.1 2012-2017 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Capacity Production Overview4.2 2012-2017 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Production Market Share Analysis4.3 2012-2017 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Demand Overview4.4 2012-2017 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Supply Demand and Shortage4.5 2012-2017 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Import Export ConsumptionAsk For Discount:Chapter Five Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Key Manufacturers Analysis5.1 Company A5.1.1 Company Profile5.1.2 Product Picture and Specification5.1.3 Product Application Analysis5.1.4 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value5.1.5 Contact InformationChapter Six Asia Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Industry Development Trend6.1 2017-2021 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Capacity Production Overview6.2 2017-2021 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Production Market Share Analysis6.3 2017-2021 Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Demand OverviewPart III North American Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Seven North American Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Market Analysis7.1 North American Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Product Development History7.2 North American Hysteroscopic Resectoscopy Competitive Landscape AnalysisContinued @.....Get Full Info with TOC:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Cotact90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite: Master Control Switchers Market is Expected to Experience Immense Growth During 2015 to 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5072 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5072 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ Master control switchers are an essential part of television and video broadcast that aggregate programming feeds from different sources such as audio and video. Global emergence of broadcasting industry forced operational cost reduction and technological enhancements in the same, leading to invention of more efficient techniques of operation. Broadcast industry and master control switchers are considered to be cross-linked technically, as bulk of demand for the switchers comes from broadcasters, despite the fact that master control switchers help in making broadcasting process efficient and uncomplicated.A sample of this report is available upon request @Development of novel revenue generation models and existing trends of uninterrupted technological development in the broadcasting market are motivating industry players towards higher altitude of corporate activities. Broadcasters are required to deploy master control switchers that are able to support and transmit SD and HD video streams owing to the growth in requirement for HD quality content of key live television events. Factors such as development of innovative video compression techniques together with Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG), improved bandwidth availability and the consequential improvement in flexibility and advanced production speed are expected to boost the demand for digital video technology. The necessity for accessing premium priced content and streaming HD video layout highlighted the significance of master control switchers market globally. In addition, demand for enhanced quality live TV and gradually declining costs of digital media technologies are expected to provide a major drive to the switchers market.Regulations mandating shift to digital broadcast signals by 2012, globally are expected to boost the demand for broadcast switchers and in turn contributing to solutions for digital technology. During the forecast period, broadcasters decision to procure switching products would be primarily influenced by factors such as level of customer support, functionality, product pricing and interoperability. Healthy economic situations in emerging markets of India, South Korea and China have significantly strengthened projections of master control switchers in these areas. These budding economies are slating capabilities in HD transmission and digital technologies on a larger scale, leading to overall market strengthening. Conventionally, Europe and North America were considered as key markets for master control switchers, technological advancements and leading growth owing to emergence of digitalization in the broadcasting market. However, in the last few decades, these trends have radically shifted in support of the developing markets of Asia-Pacific.There was a fall in demand for master control switchers in revenue during the unstable global recession period between 2008 and 2009. Due to this, the developed markets of Europe and North America were badly affected, where low capital spending and budgetary restraints towards new investments led to descend in sales revenues. Postponed investment activities of broadcasters to HD quality content transmission and modify from analog to digital technologies among tight economic conditions were reasons that led to rigorously weakened demand for master control switchers.Request to view Table of content @Key players in the master control switchers market include Evertz Microsystems, Ltd, Harris Corporation, Grass Valley USA, LLC, PESA, Miranda Technologies, Inc., Pixel Power, Inc., Utah Scientific, Inc and Snell Group.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Research and Markets Report Q4 Global Ammonia Capacity and Capital Expenditure Outlook Fuel Ammonia Industry Market Research Hub http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=943614 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=943614 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/q4-global-ammonia-capacity-and-capital-expenditure-outlook-asia-and-middle-east-fuel-ammonia-industry-expansion-report.html#discount-form http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/q4-global-ammonia-capacity-and-capital-expenditure-outlook-asia-and-middle-east-fuel-ammonia-industry-expansion-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ Albany, New York, February 01, 2017: Market Research Hub has recently announced the addition of a new report to it broad database titled as Q4 Global Ammonia Capacity and Capital Expenditure Outlook - Asia and Middle East Fuel Ammonia Industry Expansion. Global Ammonia capacity will experience considerable growth in the next five years with increase from 229.0 MTPA in 2015 to 278.6 MTPA by 2020.Request for Sample Report:SummaryAround 82 planned projects are expected to come online primarily in Iran and the US in the next five years. Dangote Group, Eurochem Mineral and Chemical Co and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. are the top three companies by capacity additions expected to come on-stream over the next five years.Global Ammonia industry is expected to spend around US$24.9 billion by 2020 for the upcoming projects. India, Iran and US are the top three countries by capital expenditure for projects by 2020.ScopeReport provides information and insight on -- Historic and forecast global Ammonia capacity by region- Ammonia planned plants details- Global Ammonia capacity by feedstock- Capacity share of the major Ammonia producers in the world- Global Ammonia capital expenditure forecast by regionReasons to buyThe report will clarify -- Understand the key trends in the global Ammonia industry- Understand the regional Ammonia supply scenario- Identify opportunities in the global Ammonia industry with the help of upcoming projects and capital expenditure forecast- Understand the current and likely future competitive scenarioMake an Enquiry:1 Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 31.2 List of Figures 42 Global Ammonia Industry 52.1 Key Highlights 52.2 New Project Announcements 62.3 New Project Cancellations 62.4 Planned Ammonia Projects in the World 183 Appendix 303.1 Definitions 303.1.1 Installed Capacity 303.1.2 Key Feedstock 303.2 Abbreviations 303.3 GlobalDatas Research Methodology 303.3.1 Coverage 303.3.2 Secondary Research 313.3.3 Primary Research 323.3.4 Expert Panel Validation 323.4 Disclaimer 33Ask For Discount:1.1 List of TablesTable 1: Total Ammonia Capacity by Region (mtpa) 7Table 2: Active, Planned and Announced Ammonia Capacity by Region (mtpa), 2016 8Table 3: Ammonia Capacity Share of Top 10 Companies (%) 9Table 4: Ammonia Capacity of Top 10 Countries (mtpa) 10Table 5: Global Ammonia Capacity Share by Feedstock (%) 11Table 6: Total Ammonia Feedstock by Region (mtpa) 12Table 7: Planned Capacity Additions by Region (mtpa) 13Table 8: Planned Capacity Additions by Top 10 Countries (mtpa) 14Table 9: Planned Capacity Additions by Top 10 Companies (mtpa) 15Table 10: Total Capex Spending On Planned Projects by Region (US$ bil) 16Table 11: Total Capex Spending On Planned Projects by Top 10 Countries (US$ bil) 17Table 12: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details - Development Stage (Feasibility) 18Table 13: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details (Contd.) - Development Stage (Feasibility) 19Table 14: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details - Development Stage (Approval) 20Table 15: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details (Contd.)- Development Stage (Approval) 21Table 16: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details - Development Stage (FEED) 22Table 17: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details (Contd.) - Development Stage (FEED) 23Table 18: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details - Development Stage (Construction) 24Table 19: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details (Contd.) - Development Stage (Construction) 25Table 20: Global Ammonia Major Planned Plant Details (Contd..) - Development Stage (Construction) 26Continued @.....Get Full Info with TOC:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Cotact90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite: Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service Market is Expected to Experience Immense Growth During 2015 to 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5090 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5090 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ The cloud infrastructure for data storage offers numerous options for sourcing, approach and control. It brings well-defined set of services that are perceived by customers to have continuous availability, infinite capacity, improved cost efficiency and increased agility. To attain these attributes in customers minds, information technology (IT) must move its traditional server centric approach to service centric approach. This entails that IT must go from organizing applications in silos with the minimal leverage among environments to deliver applications on a pre-determined standardized platforms with agreed service levels. A hybrid strategy that uses numerous cloud options at the same time would become a norm since organizations choose a mix of several cloud models to meet the specific needs.A sample of this report is available upon request @Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is a model where an organization is able to outsource the equipment used to support operations, including hardware, storage, networking components and servers. The service provider owns equipment and is accountable for running, housing and maintaining it. Cloud IaaS adoption is growing, as enterprises are turning to cloud based IT model to decrease the capital expenditure. Characteristics and several components of IaaS are:Billing model and utility computing serviceComputerization of administrative tasksDynamic scalingDesktop virtualizationOffers policy based servicesInternet connectivityDelivers resources such as storage and network components as services and serversEliminates the need for hardware maintenance and administrationCloud infrastructure-as-a-service is among three fundamental service models of the cloud computing beside Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). As with cloud computing services, it offers access to the computing resource in virtualized environment, the Cloud, across public connection, normally the internet. In case of IaaS, the computing resource offered is particularly that of virtualized hardware, in the other words, computing infrastructure. The definition involves offerings such as virtual server space, bandwidth, network connections, IP addresses and load balancers. The pool of hardware resource is dragged from a multitude of networks and servers normally distributed among several data centers, all of that the cloud provider is responsible for maintaining. The client, on other hand, is given access to the virtualized components in order to create their own IT platforms.Some important factors supporting the growth of cloud infrastructure-as-a-service market include decreased IT structure, disaster recovery plans and support for business continuity, improved compliance and security profile, and reduced IT staff. Cloud IaaS helps reduce complexity by elimination of software, servers, disaster recovery and backups. However, concerns about application reliability and performance, security risks and unwillingness to retreat controls are factors act as a challenge to this market.A TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the major players for cloud infrastructure as a service market include Amazon Web Services, Bluelock, CA Technologies, Cloud Scaling, Datapipe Inc., Rackspace, Hewlett Packard, Logicworks, GoGrid, Layeredtech, Verizon, Savvis, OpSource and NaviSite among others. Amazon Web Services is the market leader in this market followed by Rackspace and Verizon.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Global Methanol Market to Reach 99 Million Tons by 2022 http://www.expertmarketresearch.com/request?type=report&id=65&flag=B http://www.expertmarketresearch.com/reports/methanol-market http://www.expertmarketresearch.com/categories/chemicals-market-reports www.expertmarketresearch.com Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is a volatile, combustible, colourless and noxious liquid with the chemical formula CH3OH. It is a polar liquid at room temperature and exhibits excellent blending properties. Methanol also has a high octane and oxygen content due to which it produces a cleaner burning gasoline which helps to lower the emissions caused by vehicle exhaust.Methanol finds broad range of applications in various industries. It is extensively used as a denaturing and anti-freezing agent. It is also used as an industrial solvent for resins and inks, adhesives to wood items, and dyes. Methanol holds a key position in the chemical industry where it is extensively used in the production of formaldehyde, acetic acid, di-methyl terephthalate (DMT) and some other solvents. Additionally, in the energy industry, it can be used either solely as a vehicle fuel or can be blended with gasoline to produce a fuel which is more efficient as compared to the conventional gasoline. According to Expert Market Research, the global methanol market reached a volume of 76 Million Tons in 2016 and is further expected to reach 99 Million Tons by 2022.To request a sample copy or view summary of this report, click on the link:Key findings from the report:Methanol serves a number of application domains which include formaldehyde, dimethyl ether, gasoline, chloromethane, MTBE/TAME, acetic acid, DMT/others, MTO/MTP, solvents, methylamines and methyl methacrylate. In 2016, formaldehyde production represented the most popular application segment, accounting for nearly 30% of the total share.Region-wise, China dominated the market with a share of around half of the total global demand. China was followed by Asia (excluding China), Europe, North America and Latin America.On a competitive front, the global methanol market is fragmented and consists of a number of small and big players operating in the market. In 2016, Methanax represented the worlds largest methanol producer followed by SCC, SABIC, MGC, Mitsubishi, PETRONAS, IPCC and Mitsul.Browse full report with TOC @Expert Market Research has analysed the global methanol market according to applications, major regions and top players:Market breakup by ApplicationsFormaldehydeDimethyl EtherGasolineChloromethaneMTBE/TAMEAcetic AcidDMT/OthersMTO/MTPSolventsMethylaminesMethyl MethacrylateMarket breakup by Major RegionsChinaAsia (excluding China)EuropeNorth AmericaLatin AmericaTop playersMethanaxSCCSABICMGCMitsubishiPETRONASIPCCMitsulFind more reports related to Chemical & Materials Market Research @Expert Market Research (EMR) is a market research and consultancy firm providing syndicated and custom research along with consultancy services to a wide clientele base which includes Fortune 1000 companies as well as small and medium enterprises. With our tailored approach, the clients gain valuable and unbiased insights that help to improve their competitive edge and realize sustainable growth.With a keen focus on the qualitative aspect as well as accuracy of the reports, we align our resources and services as per the clients requirement and offer a flexible engagement model that best suits their needs. We offer market intelligence across a range of industry verticals which include Pharmaceuticals, Food and Beverage, Technology, Retail, Chemical & Materials, Energy & Mining, Packaging and Agriculture.Expert Market Research85 Broad StNew York, NY 10004United StatesWebsite:Email: sales@expertmarketresearch.comUS & Canada Phone no: +1-415-325-5166UK Phone no: +44-702-402-5790 Data Center RFID Market is Expected to Experience Immense Growth During 2015 to 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5117 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5117 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ A data center is a facility of computer systems that houses the data and applications which are critical for the success of business organizations. Data centers are integrated to deliver timely, trusted and secure information within the organization. Currently, data center managers are continuously facing pressure to enhance the security of data center assets and ensure optimal utilization of resources. Hence, they are integrating various technologies such as Radio-frequency identification (RFID) to keep track of critical assets such as servers, routers and other IT assets. Automation via RFID reduces inefficiency and human error, reduces costs and complexity while increasing flexibility and control. RFID allows companies to identify and collect a range of metrics for data center assets. Additionally, they help to increase inventory accuracy and operational efficiency. Based on the type of assets, RFID tags can be for servers, switches, storage devices (removable drives and backup drives) among others. Based on solutions, RFID for data centers include tags (active or passive tags), readers, antennas and software.A sample of this report is available upon request @Data centers consists of expensive, mission critical assets which need to be tracked. Tracking data center assets helps to organize them and reduce operational costs. Moreover, manual tracking is expensive and consolidating inventory can be tedious and inefficient. Hence, a large number of data centers are increasingly turning to RFID technology to decrease expenses, increase inventory accuracy, and improve operational efficiency. RFID tags when used on racks of data center equipment can help in retrieving information about racks within no span of time. Additionally, misplaced equipment can be easily located without reading individual serial number on tags.. Globally, an increasing number of enterprises are demanding better management of data center resources. RFID tags and other solutions help to improve the management of data center assets. This is driving the Global Data Center RFID Market. Additionally, these solutions help increase efficiency and productivity by decreasing the manual workforce which can be used for other vital tasks in an organization. Thus, the increased need for better management of resources with better productivity is collectively driving the global data center RFID market.Presently, due to the Internet of Things (IoT), massive amounts of data is being generated which is driving the need for data centers. As the number of data centers is expected to rise during the forecast period there is abundance opportunity for RFID technology to be incorporated within data centers.Request to view Table of content @Geographically, the data center RFID market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. North America is the biggest market for data centers RFID technologies. Increasing digitization in the Asia Pacific region is driving the growth of data centers in this region and hence it is an emerging region for data center RFID market. Some of the leading players in the global RFID marketplace include IBM Corporation, Zebra technologies, Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P., Invengo Information Technology Co. Ltd and Impinj, Inc. among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Multi-Service Business Gateways Market is Projected to Grow at a Healthy CAGR During 2015 - 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5207 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5207 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ A multi-service business gateway is a device that integrates multiple network data and voice communication tasks into a single device. The multi-service business gateway solution combines crucial functions such as VoIP (voice over internet protocol), routing and security of firewall, virtual private networking and intrusion prevention into a single fault tolerant platform. It also involves functionality related to filtering and email-server, storage and wireless networking. Multi-service business gateways enable OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and SMEs (small medium enterprises) to differentiate themselves in the market place by incorporating additional functionalities such as session border control and trans-coding and other call management capabilities in their organizations infrastructure. Multi-service business gateway security framework consists of various components such as access, routing, firewall, VPN (virtual private network), MGW (media gateway), SBC (session border controller) and IP (internet protocol) PBX (private branch exchange).A sample of this report is available upon request @In recent years, most of the small and mid-sized companies have increased the installations of new multi-service business gateway devices due to various benefits offered. Increasing demand for converged voice and data services among large and small to mid-sized enterprises is driving the growth of the market. Furthermore, rising popularity of hosted and managed services, and growing migration of enterprises to cost effective services to reduced total cost of ownership is expected to fuel the growth of multi-service business gateways market over the forecast period.The global multi-service business gateway market can be segmented based on its end-users and security threats. Depending on the type of end-users, the multi-service business gateway market can be segmented into three major categories as OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), large enterprises, and SMEs (small medium enterprises). The multi-service business gateway market can be segmented on the basis of security threats into four categories which include communication session threats, network level threats, media threats and application level threats. The global multi-service business gateway market can also be segmented based on major geographical regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (Middle East, Latin America and Africa). Among all the regional markets, Europe is dominating the global multi-service business gateway market owing to the increased adoption of these devices in countries such as France, Germany, UK and Italy. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit fastest growth due to increasing industrialization, international business expansion and rising enterprise mobility in emerging economies such as India and China. In addition, benefits such as low cost and reduced initial cost are increasing the demand for hosted multi-service business gateway services in this region.Request to view Table of content @Some of the key players in multi-service business gateways market include ADTRAN Inc., AudioCodes Ltd., Cisco Systems Inc., Fortinet Inc., LSI Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Allied Telesis Inc., Avaya Inc., Edgewater Networks Inc. and Nuera Communications Inc. among others. In order to outperform competitors, multi-service business gateway solution providers are emphasizing on offering advanced and cost effective solutions to solve security threats prevailing in enterprises. In addition, key players are focusing on acquisition and merger activities to increase their penetration into the market. For example, in 2011, Frontinet Inc. acquired TalkSwitch to further expand its product portfolio in existing multi-service business gateway market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Standard Based Communication Servers Market is Anticipated to Show the Robust Growth During 2015 - 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/6095 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/6095 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ Standard based communications servers are open computing systems that function as a carrier-grade universal platform for an extensive assortment of communications applications. These servers enable the equipment providers customize the system architecture as per the requirement by adding potential value to it. Irrespective of the differentiated features and specification, the standard based communications servers offer attributes such as open platform, carrier grade and flexible. The standard based communications are designed in accordance with the industry standards and provide interoperability with the architecture. Moreover, standard based communications servers offer carrier grade attributes as they provide extended lifecycle support, high availability, and longevity of supply. Additionally, these servers are upgradable without any disruption and offer high speed for real time communication applications to ensure high quality of service.A sample of this report is available upon request @The standard based communication servers offer an introductory platform for building a network infrastructure using the several equipment for applications such as IPTV, wireless broadband and other IP multimedia subsystems. These servers are based on managed industry standards such as Advanced Telecommunication Computing Architecture (ATCA), Advanced Mezzanine Card, Micro Telecommunication Computing Architecture, High Platform Interface (HPI), Carrier Grade Linux and Application Interface Specification (AIS). The Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) refers to string of specifications by Peripheral Component Interconnect Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group (PICMG), which is developed to meet essential necessities for carrier grade equipment. In addition to these standards, the standard based communication server is governed by different industry associations and vendor alliance programs. The industry associations include SCOPE Alliance and Communication Platforms Trade Associations. The vendor alliance programs include Intel Communications Alliance, Motorola Communications Server Alliance and Mobicents Open Source Communications Community.ATCA integrates the latest interconnect technologies, manageability and serviceability, improved reliability and next generation processors. The specifications provided by PICMG for Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) identify the base-level necessities for a variety of mezzanine cards that are optimized for ATCA Carriers. AMC enhances ATCAs flexibility by widening bandwidth and provides multi-protocol interface to individual servers. MicroTCA specification is basically a framework for directly combining AMC modules, instead of using an ATCA. Moreover, MicroTCA is designed for smaller equipment for application running on low entry cost, small physical size and high scalability. This framework is primarily used for Wi-Fi, wireless base stations, VoIP access gateways and WiMAX radios.Carrier Grade Linux is basically an enhanced version of Linux that is used by the communication servers to offer high security, high availability, scalability and easy maintenance. HPI and AIS are defined by Service Availability Forum (SA Forum) for telecommunication platform to maintain the availability of communication services. The HPI specifies the interface used between the middleware and the primary hardware and the operating system. The AIS specifies the interface between the application and middleware. Moreover, AIS enables applications to run over a variety of computing modules and provides easy migration between the platforms.The standard based communications servers market is primarily driven by the rising demand for high speed and compatible servers across the communication industry. The progressive and vigorous communication server ecosystem consists of several hardware and software providers, server vendors, standard bodies, vendor alliance programs, industry associations and the end-users.A TOC of this report is available upon request @Leading players in standard based communication servers market are NEC Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, AltiGen Communications, Inc., Emerson Network Power, Barrcuda Networks, Inc., Fenestrae B.V., Estech Systems, Inc., B Labs, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Siemens Enterprise Communication GmbH, Cisco Systems Inc., Sun Microsystems, Avaya, Inc. and IBM Corporation.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Consumer Network Attached Storage Market is Expected to Experience Immense Growth During 2015 to 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/6460 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/6460 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ A network attached storage (NAS) appliance is a processing device that is attached on the network, primarily to store files in real time. The network attached storage appliance has its own IP address due to which it is easily accessed by end-users directly over the network to store files and retrieve them when needed. Network attached storage provides file level storage and access to files as it uses multiple disks to store files. One of the main advantages of network attached storage is its simplicity of setup. Moreover, NAS connects storage to the network rather than to a server, hence there is no server downtime. NAS devices use Linux operating system, eliminating the licensing costs associated with other operating systems. In addition, NAS devices support bothCommon Internet File System (CIFS), as well as Network File System (NFS), and are completely compatible with windows, Mac, Linux and UNIX clients. Owing to this, no specialized IT knowledge is required to ensure cross platform compatibility.A sample of this report is available upon request @Increasing adoption of video surveillance services isthe key factor boosting the demand of network attached storage and increasing its adoption globally. Furthermore, due to advancement in payment models, multi-tenancy and reliability, increase in the adoption of cloud storage is observed. This is, in turn, influencing the growth of consumer network attached storage. Also, the demand for consumer network attached storage (NAS) is expected to be driven by increasing need for anytime and anywhere usability and accessibility to Internet networks. At the same time, a limitation of NAS systems such as operating system complexity and low processor power is restraining the market growth, globally. Moreover, lack of technical knowledge among end-users is also one of the key challenges restraining the market growth. Another obstruction in the market growth is its connectivity and transferring of large data. However, increasing number of Internet users and real-time use of digital media applications are expected to foster the demand for broadband services over the forecast period.The global consumer network attached storage (NAS) market is segmented by application, by solutions, by end-user, and by geography. Based on the applications, the market is segmented into cloud and data processing components. Based on the different solutions, the market is segmented into analytics and Hadoop solutions. Based on end-users, the market is broadly classified as- large enterprises and small and medium enterprises. The global market segments in terms of geographical regions include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle-East and Africa (MEA). Based on the revenue generated, North America region is projectedto claim a major share in future, on account of growing demand of small businesses as well as home networks coupled with various technological innovations.A TOC of this report is available upon request @New technology and development of server based storage network is one of the key strategies adopted by key market players to expand their market size and boost their market position. Some of the key players operating in the consumer network attached storage (NAS) market are Dell, Inc., Buffalo Technology Inc., Hewlett-Packard Development Company, Hitachi Data Systems, NetApp Inc., International Business Machines (IBM) Corp., Netgear, Inc., Seagate Technology plc, Synology Inc., and QNAP Systems Inc. Moreover, some of the key innovators are ASUSTOR Inc., Drobo, Inc., Thecus Corporation, and ZyXEL Communications Corporation.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Global Barite Market Growth Opportunities, Key Driven Factors, Market Highlights Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2035 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/barite-market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/2035 Market HighlightsGlobal Barite Market has been evaluated to be rapidly growing and is expected to grow tremendously. The benefits such as superior properties like good stability, strong inertia & rigidity and high specific gravity etc. had increased their market globally. With numerous usage of barite, the global barite market is expected to increase in the future. Moreover, increasing demand in construction industry owing to the rising surge for paints is another factor that drives the global barite market growth over the forecasted period 2022.Automobile industry is also increasing the demand for barite which is used in brakes, clutch plates and finishing coats to make them smooth and resistance to corrosion. All these things are expected to drive the market globally in coming years. Due to the non-toxic property of barite; it can be used in barium, which will further grow the barite market by 2022. Other application of barite is in medical equipments, electronic devices like computer, television and smartphone; all these are leading the growth of global market.Request a Sample Report @Key Players: Ashapura Minechem Ltd, CIMBAR Performance Minerals, Desku Group Inc, Halliburton Company, Excalibar Minerals LLC, P & S Barite Mining Co. Ltd, Anglo Pacific Minerals, Kaomin Industries, Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation Limited, Mil-Spec Industries CorporationTaste the market data and market information presented through more than 50 market data tables and figures spread over 140 Numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Global Barite Market Research Report- Forecast to 2022Regional Analysis:The largest market of barite is Asia-Pacific owing to the growth of electrical, construction and automobile industry. Rapid industrialization in countries like China, India and Mexico contribute further to the growth of this market. Moreover, growing use of LED in computer screen and television particularly in China, India and Taiwan is expected to drive this market in coming years. With robust growth of paints, rubber and plastic industries in Asia-Pacific which uses grade 4.3 & above are expected to be largest consumer in barite market. It is seen that North America is the second largest consumer of barite due to the changing trend in the automobile industry over there. Middle East and Africa uses large quantity of barite grade 4.1 & 4.2 due to oil & gas production in these regions. Growth of barite market is slow in Europe due to economic crises in Western Europe.Segmentation:Global Barite Market is majorly segmented on the basis of grades and by application. Based on grades the market is segmented into Sp. Gr. 3.9, Gr. 4.0, Gr. 4.1, Gr. 4.2, Gr. 4.3 & above. Further on the basis of application the market is classified into paints, automobiles, oil & gas, textiles, pharmaceutical, electrical appliances and more.Access Report Details @Brief TOC of Global Barite Market:1 Executive Summary2 Scope of The Report2.1 Market Definition2.2 Scope of The Study2.2.1 Research Objectives2.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations2.3 Markets Structure3 Market Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Secondary Research3.3 Primary Research3.4 Forecast Model4 Market Landscape4.1 Five Forces Analysis4.1.1 Threat of New Entrants4.1.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.1.3 Threat of substitutes4.1.4 Segment rivalry4.2 Value Chain/Supply Chain of Global Barite Market5 Industry Overview of Global Barite MarketContinued..Make an Enquiry for Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.ContactAkash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Cement Market: Industry Analysis, Demand, Trend and Global Forecast to 2022 Cement Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2047 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/cement-market Market Research Future published a half cooked research report on Cement Market. The global market for cement is majorly driven by growing demand for infrastructure in emerging nations.Market Highlights:The global market of cement is growing rapidly. Focus towards construction, and infrastructural development makes cement popular among manufacturers. Mortar and concrete is estimated to account for the largest share in the cement market. Moreover, government is also pushing the market of cement for better infrastructure facility to support increasing population in emerging nations. Whereas high capital costs and long gestation periods acts as a significant entry barrier. New trend shows that China leads the market followed by India in cement production. Overall, demand for cement is expected to rise notably during the next few years.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 50 market data tables and figures spread over 110 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Global Cement Market Research Report - Forecast to 2022.Key Players of Cement Market: Lafarge Holcim Ltd Anhui Conch Cement Company Ltd. HeidelbergCement AG Jidong Development Group Co. Ltd. CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. China National Building Material Company Ltd. UltraTech Cement Limited, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation Shanshui Cement Group Ltd.Request a Sample Copy @Market Research Future Analysis:Market Research Future analysis shows that the global market of Cement market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of around 8% during the forecast period. Growing consumer demand for construction, infrastructural developments are the major factors which are driving the market of Cement. Sustained growth in housing sector, government emphasis on infrastructure and increased global demand exceeding the demand for cement industry and resulted into improved efficiency, transportation and logistics. Asia-Pacific region is leading the market of Cement in terms of value. This is because of the growth in construction industry and rapidly rising urban population are the boosting factors for the market. Cement demand is growing in housing and infrastructure sector. The Government's thrust on housing and infrastructure development ,various initiatives like rural employment guarantee ,low cost housing in urban and rural area under schemes and other fuel the market cement demand.Brief TOC for Cement Market:1 Executive Summary2 Scope of the Report2.1 Market Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objectives2.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations2.3 Markets Structure3 Market Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Secondary Research3.3 Primary Research3.4 Forecast Model4 Market Landscape4.1 Five Forces Analysis4.1.1 Threat of New Entrants4.1.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.1.3 Threat of substitutes4.1.4 Segment rivalry4.2 Value Chain of Global Cement Market5 Industry Overview of Global Cement Market5.1 Introduction5.2 Growth Drivers5.3 Impact analysis5.4 Market Challenges5.5 Impact analysisContinueAccess Report Details @Target Audience: Organizations Manufacturer Research Institute / Education Institute Potential InvestorsAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Technologies and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash AnandMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Obesity & Weight Management Devices Market Growth with Worldwide Industry Analysis to 2021 http://www.sa-brc.com/Global-Obesity--Weight-Management-Devices-Market-Assessment--Forecast-2017-2021/up72 http://www.sa-brc.com/Global-Obesity--Weight-Management-Devices-Market-Assessment--Forecast-2017-2021/upcomingdetail72 www.sa-brc.com Obesity is a condition where high density of fatty tissue is observed in the body that directly results in a person being overweight by 20% than standard values. These values calculated through a body mass index or BMI help in identifying and monitoring obesity. The system is extremely beneficial and can be used across people from all regions although many consider it only as a rudimentary tool. A body can be overweight due to excess muscle, fat, bone density or water; however obesity is directly dependent on the amount of accumulated fat in the body.There are several threats of obesity to the body. It is directly linked to most cardiovascular disorders such as myocardial infarction, stroke, atherosclerosis, hypertension, sleep apnea and some respiratory disorders, gall bladder disease and diabetes along with several mental disorders such as clinical depression, anxiety, lethargy and generally a low quality of life. Obesity is also linked to cancers of gall bladder, liver, breast and colon. Obesity has increased rampantly through the years among adults and especially among children. Among children, obesity can become the reason for lack of social life, derision and can result in severe depression. In United States over one-third of the population (36.5%) continues to be grouped as obese with a significant portion being morbidly obese. Other regions where obesity is on the rise include countries such as Brazil, China and India along with Middle-East countries. Obesity rates in countries such as United Arab Emirates have doubled. Data from the International Diabetes Federation to mark World Diabetes Day in November last year showed that there were 803,900 diabetics in the UAE, about 19 per cent of the population. Studies show that in developed countries such as United States the rate of morbidly obese people requiring surgical intervention may be as high as 6%.Free Sample Report@SA-BRC will present the market for therapeutic obesity & weight management devices across three categories of weight-groups; clinically obese, obese and overweight. The analysis encompasses several of the popular surgical procedures and devices gastric bands, electrical stimulation systems, lap bands, gastric balloons, endobarrier and gastric emptying systems such as Aspire Assist. These devices are stringently regulated by the U.S. FDA. The report will also provide data on the assessment of the global obesity & weight management devices market size by other surgical procedures such as gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion surgeries and incisionless procedures such as StomaphyX. This report also covers weight management devices for overweight category. These devices may or may not be FDA regulated such as ultrasound devices, infra-red devices, vibration based fat burners among others.The obesity & weight management devices market is fragmented in terms of players in the weight loss and weight management category and is consolidated for the bariatric surgery and obesity treatment devices segment. Key players in this area include Allergan Inc, Medtronic Inc (Covidien), Intuitive Surgical Inc, Johnson & Johnson, GI Dynamics, TransEnterix Inc., Orbera, ReShape, USGI Medical Inc., Semiled Ltd., Cousin Biotech, and Mediflex Surgical Procedures. Several new innovative devices are being introduced by players such as Obalon Therapeutics and Redustim. The market for obesity & weight management looks highly promising even with competition from unconventional avenues of therapies such as herbal and eastern weight loss remedies.Click For TOC@About UsSpearhead Acuity Business Research & Consulting Private Limited (SA-BRC) is a premium Life Science business intelligence and data analytics firm. SA-BRC team offers a wide range of business intelligence services to multiple stakeholders such as Medical Device Manufacturers, Service Providers (Hospitals, Payers, etc.), Suppliers, Group Purchase Organizations, Distributors and all other individuals in the entire value chain of healthcare industry. Our research and consulting capabilities extend across several sub-domains within the sphere of Life Sciences such as Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Medical Devices, Veterinary Sciences, Wellness Products and Pharmaceuticals.Contact UsJohn Whitmore10685-B Hazelhurst Drive,Suite 17411Houston, Texas 77043,United StatesPhone: +1(832)-426-3701Email: sales@sa-brc.comWebsite: We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. Cloud Services Market is Anticipated to Show the Robust Growth During 2015 - 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/6667 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/6667 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ Cloud services are those services that are offered to users via the Internet from the server of cloud computing service provider. Such services provide scalable and easy access to various resources and applications, and are entirely managed by the cloud service providers. The examples of cloud services include web-based e-mail services, online backup solutions and data storage, document collaboration services, technical support services, and database processing among others. Cloud service providers supply the necessary software and hardware required for cloud service, thereby eliminating the need for organizations to deploy their own resources for managing networked services. The other advantage of cloud services over the traditional methods of providing infrastructure is faster deployment of services and reduction in in-house maintenance costs.A sample of this report is available upon request @On the basis of mode of delivery, the cloud services market is segmented into Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). The SaaS mode of delivery is further segmented into SMB and mobile corporate SaaS cloud services, corporate SaaS cloud services, SMB SaaS cloud services and others. North America is the largest contributor to the cloud services market due to the high penetration of internet in this region. This region is followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW).Major benefits offered by cloud services are driving business organizations in implementing the use of cloud services. Cloud services maximize the effectiveness of shared resources and ensure the business organizations higher returns and faster paybacks. In addition, cloud services offer scalable solutions to growing business organizations at low cost of ownership. This drives business organizations to invest in such services that allow them to generate higher revenues by optimizing the available resources. However, the data security issues are the roadblocks that are adversely affecting the growth of this market. The increasing data hacking incidences using sophisticated tools result in loss of sensitive data, causing serious dents in the business revenues. Also, there are constant evolutions of new security threats that are affecting the quality of cloud services. Further, the small and medium businesses find it difficult to repeatedly invest in the customized solutions available for cloud services security. Due to such factors, the business organizations are reluctant in investing in the cloud services and prefer to carry on with conventional methods of network infrastructure.A TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the major players in the market are improving their existing services by adding new and innovative features. This helps them in staying competitively ahead in the market. For instance, Akamai Technologies, Inc., one of the leading cloud services providers, recently added Zone Apex Mapping feature to its Ion network acceleration technology. This feature reduces DNS resolution time and avoids HTTP redirects. Other major players in the market include VMware, Inc., (U.S.), Taleo Corporation (Ireland), Oracle Corporation, (U.S.), NetSuite Inc., (U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), Joyent Inc., (U.S.), International Business Machines Corporation (U.S.), Hewlett-Packard (U.S.), Flexiant Limited (United Kingdom), ENKI Consulting (U.S.), Etelos Inc.,(U.S.), Citrix Systems Inc., (U.S.), Cisco Systems Inc., (U.S.), CA Technologies, Inc., (U.S.), and SAP AG (Germany).About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com Igor Iankovskyi about scent of innovations: the ways of migration for Ukrainian science Igor Iankovskyo about Ukrainian innovation A new discussion on migration whether to go or to stay emerges in Ukraine not for the first time. The main reason for such a question is the lack of understanding of the societys development thrust. Meaning either the absence of the real vision, or the lack of consensus within society on where exactly are we going. And what are we trying to build in Ukraine.Lets find out which communities supported the discussion and their reasons for that.Firstly the creative cluster, meaning the citizens who know already what they want and see the possibilities for their ideas realization regardless of the territory or State where they could realize them. For these people there are no problems with migration they regard it only as a way for more qualitative self-development.Secondly the entrepreneurs. For this cluster what matters the most are the conditions for doing business. They will overcome all the difficulties if in the end they receive fewer headaches from the State. This includes not only taxes or fiscal methods introduction to fight the informal, but also omnipresent bureaucracy and being out of simple Ukrainian businessmans problems. Which are quite numerous regardless of the States reforming agenda, being implemented already for several years. Yes, if the entrepreneurs have the possibilities and the vision of better conditions they will be the first to leave.Thirdly the young people. Which is the most active and passionate part of the society. What are they lacking here? Maybe, the quality of education that doesnt automatically mean the competitiveness on the marketplace. In reality, the most talented youngsters will gladly go to study abroad. Theres nothing bad in this at least a part of them will return in order to try to make some changes here. That is why the discussion on migration concerning the young people is not totally correct. Rather it is a matter of personal choice, implying the existence of possibilities nowadays, making the idea of studying abroad absolutely realistic.The last but not the least is the scientific and innovative cluster. For them the migration presents both the opportunity and the risk. On one hand, they could accomplish more in the specific sector, but on the other their ideas could simply dissolve in more potent scientific clusters or become another commercial victim in long-lasting plans of some multinational corporation.In reality, all the above mentioned communities have a vision of their future in Ukraine that is different from the State (meaning contemporary politicians and bureaucrats). Nowadays we observe the most confrontational situation in those spheres where there is a competition for resources speaking first of all about business and entrepreneurship development.However, the science has escaped from the keen interest of the State. New edition of the Bloomberg Innovation Index, issued in January, for the second year in a row testifies on the Ukrainian upsetting realities. The rating puts us on the 42nd place between Croatia and Serbia, which is one position lower than the previous year. Bloomberg Innovation Index considers such indicators as the intensity of research and innovations, productions added value and economic output.The first place in the rating has been kept by the Republic of Korea, Sweden is on the second place and Germany on the third. For example, the Republic of Korea leads the rating due to the highest rate of spending on scientific research and development, patenting activity, added-value industry and level of higher education.Despite of the States declarations on the need for scientific and innovative development, the State budget for 2017 pledges only 4 billion UAH for science. Which means only 0,16% from countrys GDP. Last years spending on research and development in Ukraine was only 0,8% of GDP or 2,5 billion UAH. Notionally the volume of State spending on science has increased, but in terms of percentage from GDP, on the contrary declined.In developed countries, this indicator is on the level of 1,5% - 3% from GDP: these States invest dozens, if not hundreds billions of dollars into scientific research and development. The States leading the innovations ratings spend from 1,5% to 3% from their GDP, which is incomparable to our realities. For example, the United States budget in 2016 pledged $ 405 billion (or 2,7% GDP) for scientific research and development, China - $ 338 billion (2,1% GDP), Japan - $ 160 billion (3,7% GDP).It proves that the States interest in science and innovations in Ukraine is minimal. Is it good thing or bad thing? Does it make a good reason to leave? In my opinion certainly not!As we speak, Ukraine has all the conditions for the new scientific clusters emergence, which could become the driving force of the economy in the nearest future. We possess maybe the most important thing the absence of over-regulating and the possibility to create the terms of game in the innovative scientific cluster form square one.The most important thing is placing less hope into the providing role of the State. The civil society and its demand for the new quality of life are the most important horizontal links for innovative scientific development. There is no need to physically leave the country to fulfill the dream about Ukrainian scientific cluster. In times of digital technologies and hegemony of the Internet the main factors that matter are our ideas and strive for success."Initiative for the Future" is a Ukrainian Charity Foundation, founded by Igor Iankovskyi a successful Ukrainian businessman, financier and philanthropist. Charities unite like-minded people in a common goal - to develop and implement educational and cultural programs in Ukraine. Activities of the organization are based on voluntary initiatives.Since its creation, the Foundation supports talented young people from all over Ukraine, contributing to the creation of a highly cultured society. The Foundation has a strong international dimension, having successfully completed a range of projects abroad: in Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and the USA.12, Amosova Street, build. 1, 5th floor, Horizont Park Business Center, Kiev, 03680, Ukraine Automotive Sensors Market : Global Snapshot by 2020 Automotive Sensors Market, Automotive Sensors http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/2842 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2842 www.persistencemarketresearch.com Sensors are use in detecting, measuring or recording physical phenomena and subsequently responding by transmitting information, initiating changes or effecting system control. Automotive sensors is integrated part of vehicle system and is designed to detect, transmit, analyze and display vehicle performance information within internal and external environment of the vehicle.TOC of this report is available upon request @Sensors have a widespread use in all type of automobiles right from two wheelers to heavy duty lorries. Some of the most common automotive application of sensors is found in wipers, lighting, dashboard, rain sensors, sunroof, parking, seat, climate, tilt alarm, tail gate release, tailgate close, trailer management, rear door, anti theft alarm, immobilizer and radio. With increasing popularities of vehicle automation and demand of concept cars around the globe, most of the research and development (R&D) attention of automotive industries is towards development of advanced automotive sensors such as MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) sensors, wireless sensors and radar sensors. According to BMW (Germany based automobile company), 90% of the future car innovation will be focused on the advanced and efficient use of electronics in automotive., It is also evident in most recent development of automotive sensors technology such as pre-emptive technology and Conti APIA (integrated stability, collision avoidance, occupant protection). Sensors in automotive application such as emission control, battery control and occupant detection is witnessing escalating growth in recent years.Based on the application automotive sensors can be broadly categorised under powertrain vehicle security system, body electronics, safety and control, telematics and others. On the basis of technology the automotive sensors are broadly categorized as temperature sensors, pressure sensors, level/position sensors, NOX sensor, speed sensors, MEMS sensors, magnetic sensors, oxygen sensor, inertial sensors and others.The automotive sensors are one of the fasted growing sectors in automotive industry with growth rate in double digit, especially in OEM (original equipment manufacturing) section. North America remains the largest market for automotive sensors market, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. Germany leads the European market and China and Japan leads the Asia Pacific market. The growth is expected to be highest in Asia Pacific mainly attributed to growing economy of some of the other Asia Pacifics nations such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.The continuous development in electronics sensors application and technology, the rising concern for safety, increasing demand of automation in automobiles, demand of concept cars from high income consumers and increasing use of sensors in hybrid semi hybrid and electric cars are boosting the demand of automotive sensors market. Lack of aftermarket for sensors is one of the chief restraints in the developing market of automotive sensors.Development in the field of Advance Driver Assistance Systems(ADAS) and hybrid and electric vehicle are showing promising the future opportunities for automotive sensors market.Sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the major players operating in the automotive sensors market include Analog Devices, Inc., ATI Industrial Automation, Denso Corporation, Robert Bosch, Gmbh, Sensata Technologies, Inc., Asahi Kasei Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc, Maxim Integrated, Infineon Technologies AG, Measurement Specialties, Tekscan, Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated and GE Measurement and Control Solutions.Key points covered in the report Report segments the market on the basis of types, application, products, technology, etc (as applicable) The report covers geographic segmentationo North Americao Europeo Asiao RoW The report provides the market size and forecast for the different segments and geographies for the period of 2010 to 2020 The report provides company profiles of some of the leading companies operating in the market The report also provides porters five forces analysis of the market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Acai Berry Extract Market 2017 The Green Labs, Xian DN Biology, JIAHERB and Brazilian Forest Acai Berry Extract Market http://bit.ly/2jVmeVg http://bit.ly/2judUwW The Global Acai Berry Extract market report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include The Green Labs, Xian DN Biology, JIAHERB and Brazilian Forest and more.The Market Research Store report offers majority of the latest and newest industry data that covers the overall market situation along with future prospects for Acai Berry Extract market around the globe. The research study includes significant data and also forecasts of the global market which makes the research report a helpful resource for marketing people, analysts, industry executives, consultants, sales and product managers, and other people who are in need of major industry data in a ready-to-access format along with clear presentation of graphs and tables.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The report comprises the current size of the Acai Berry Extract market. It also provides with different types of product segments of the global market. Furthermore, the Acai Berry Extract market research report gives an in-depth information about the overall market and various product segments and their growth trends. The future market forecasts about the global Acai Berry Extract market are also covered in the research report. In addition, the overall market potential is further described in the report along with different countries around the globe.The latest and the newest trends of the Acai Berry Extract industry are also included in this report. Moreover, overall global market size, the market size by product segment, growth rates of the global market along with and different product segments of the market, and various product segments with their value and volumes evaluation are also included in the research report.The Market Research Store report offers the global market potential rates of the Acai Berry Extract market along with various product segments. The research report provides an overview of the current market situation, historic development, and future outlook of the Acai Berry Extract market. It also tracks the industry developments trends and identifies the global market opportunities. The report helps to plan and develop precise marketing, market expansion, market-entry, and other business strategies through identifying the major market prospects and opportunities.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The data in the report is clearly presented which can be easily integrated into presentations and internal reports.About Us:MarketResearchStore.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact US:Joel JohnSuite #8138, 3422 SW 15 Street,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803 Global Wall Lamps Market 2017 OPPLE, Philips, NVC, Panasonic, AOZZO and HY Wall Lamps Market http://bit.ly/2kpRuN5 http://bit.ly/2jC5UVH The Global Wall Lamps market report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include OPPLE, Philips, NVC, Panasonic, AOZZO and HY and more.The Market Research Store report offers majority of the latest and newest industry data that covers the overall market situation along with future prospects for Wall Lamps market around the globe. The research study includes significant data and also forecasts of the global market which makes the research report a helpful resource for marketing people, analysts, industry executives, consultants, sales and product managers, and other people who are in need of major industry data in a ready-to-access format along with clear presentation of graphs and tables.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The report comprises the current size of the Wall Lamps market. It also provides with different types of product segments of the global market. Furthermore, the Wall Lamps market research report gives an in-depth information about the overall market and various product segments and their growth trends. The future market forecasts about the global Wall Lamps market are also covered in the research report. In addition, the overall market potential is further described in the report along with different countries around the globe.The latest and the newest trends of the Wall Lamps industry are also included in this report. Moreover, overall global market size, the market size by product segment, growth rates of the global market along with and different product segments of the market, and various product segments with their value and volumes evaluation are also included in the research report.The Market Research Store report offers the global market potential rates of the Wall Lamps market along with various product segments. The research report provides an overview of the current market situation, historic development, and future outlook of the Wall Lamps market. It also tracks the industry developments trends and identifies the global market opportunities. The report helps to plan and develop precise marketing, market expansion, market-entry, and other business strategies through identifying the major market prospects and opportunities.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The data in the report is clearly presented which can be easily integrated into presentations and internal reports.About Us:MarketResearchStore.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact US:Joel JohnSuite #8138, 3422 SW 15 Street,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803 Global Myo-Inositol Market Research Report 2016-2020 Myo-Inositol Market http://www.9dresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/myo-inositol-market-2016-global-industry-size-trends.html http://www.9dresearchgroup.com/report/104678/request-sample The report titled Myo-Inositol Market is an in-depth and a professional document that provides a comprehensive overview of the global Myo-Inositol market.Read Complete Report @The report provides an executive-level blueprint of the Myo-Inositol market beginning with the definition of the market dynamics. The analysis classifies the Myo-Inositol market in terms of products, application, and key geographic regions. With focus on presenting a detailed value chain analysis, the study evaluates the set of region-specific approaches forged by the industry. To determine the market potential for Myo-Inositol in the international scenario, the study delves into the competitive landscape and development landscape exhibited by the key geographic regions.Development plans and policies significantly impact the market dynamic. The report therefore studies in detail the impact of the strategies, plans, and policies adopted by leading vendors of the Myo-Inositol market. Manufacturing cost of products and the pricing structure adopted by the market is also evaluated in the report. Other parameters crucial in determining trends in the market such as consumption demand and supply figures, cost of production, gross profit margins, and selling price of product and services is also included within the ambit of the report.To provide a detailed analysis on the competitive landscape, the report profiles the key players in the Myo-Inositol industry. Information present in these chapters includes details of products manufactured by the leading companies, product specification and price, and production capacity. Using reliable analytical tools, the report evaluates the information sourced from both primary and secondary research. Results obtained through the detailed analysis helps in presenting refined forecasts regarding growth prospects of the Myo-Inositol market. Apart from this, the analysts have also conducted upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis to compile and present an exhaustive study on the Myo-Inositol market.Request for Sample Report @A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Myo-Inositol market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report.9D Research Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442, USA Global Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Market: Size, Trends And Forecasts (2016-2020) http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/938716 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ Scope of the ReportThe report titled Global Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Market: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2016-2020) provides an in-depth analysis of the global electronic design automation market with detailed analysis of market size on the basis of value along with the comprehensive examination of each of the segments of the market, namely, Computer-Aided Engineering, IC Physical Design & Verification, Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP), PCB & MCM and Services.The report provides detailed regional analysis of the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA). The regional analysis of the Asia-Pacific EDA markets include market size by value along with the analysis of the Japanese EDA market in comparison to rest of the Asia-Pacific region.Furthermore, it highlights key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall global electronic design automation market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in the global EDA market is stiff and dominated by the big players like Synopsis. Further, key players of the market Cadence Design Systems and Mentor Graphics are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.Download Sample Copy of Report atRegional CoverageAmericasAsia-PacificEurope,Middle East and Africa (EMEA)JapanCompany CoverageSynopsys, Inc.Cadence Design Systems, Inc.Mentor Graphics CorporationExecutive SummaryThe global electronic design automation (EDA) market witnessed an upsurge at a significant CAGR during the span of 5 years, i.e., 2010-2015 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. The market is spread across Asia Pacific, Americas and Europe, Middle East & Africa. Among these regions, the Americas held the largest share, followed by the Asia-Pacific region.The electronic design automation market can be segmented on the basis of the products in Computer-Aided Engineering, IC Physical Design & Verification, Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP), PCB & MCM and Services. The market is led by the Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP), followed by Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) and IC Physical Design & Verification. Although, Services segment is still emerging in the global EDA market.The major growth drivers for the global electronic design automation (EDA) market are: chip design complexity, emergence of Internet of Thing (IoT), slowing of Moores law, adoption of FibFet architecture and demand for miniaturized devices. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as scalable design methodologies, customer & industry consolidation, rapid changes in the industry standards & customer requirements, uncertain global economy and highly competitive environment. Some of the recent trends in the market include the emergence of EDA technology in various industries, especially biology systems.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Rapid Medical Diagnostic Kits Market to Grow Phenomenally due Increasing Incidence of Infectious Diseases http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1301 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/rapid-medical-diagnostic-kits.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The rapid medical diagnostic kits market is experiencing impressive growth globally because of continuous increase in the demand for preventive management of infectious diseases. Since their introduction, rapid medical diagnostic kits are becoming a vital part of the medical diagnostics industry and the scope of this market has been perpetually increasing in terms of detectable diseases and adoption by end users.Request a PDF Brochure with Report Analysis:This report studies the global market for rapid diagnostic kits through three major perspectives namely, application areas, technologies and geography. The stakeholders of this report include the manufacturers of rapid medical diagnostic kits and the new entrants who are planning to enter this market. This report includes executive summary, which provides the market snapshot covering the overall information about different segments of rapid medical diagnostic kits market.The market overview section of the report provides a detailed explanation of the market dynamics and trends including drivers, restrains and opportunities that have an influence on the current and future scenario of the rapid medical diagnostic kits market. Porters five force analysis is included in this section to explain the competitive scenario among the market players. Market attractiveness analysis by geography is also included in market overview section of this report. All these factors will help the players in the rapid medical diagnostic kits market to plan their business strategies, which will help them in strengthening their position in future.The global market for rapid diagnostic kits has been differentiated based on three factors namely, application areas, technologies and geography. The application segment of this market has been further segmented into three sub-divisions namely clinical testing, home use and veterinary diagnostics. Clinical testing has been further categorized into five segments namely infectious disease testing, cholesterol monitoring, substance abuse testing, fertility & pregnancy testing and blood glucose testing. Home use is also further differentiated into five major segments including blood glucose monitoring, fertility & pregnancy testing, cholesterol monitoring, infectious disease and substance abuse testing.Based on technologies, the rapid medical diagnostic kits market has been categorized into lateral flow, flow-through, agglutination assays and solid phase. Each of the above segments is analyzed on the basis of their market size (in terms of USD million) for the period 2011 - 2019. This also includes the forecast of the market segments in terms of compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) (%) for the forecast period 2013 2019, considering 2012 as the base year. Based on the technology and application areas, comparative analysis is also provided in this section of the report.Geographically, the rapid medical diagnostic kits market is categorized into four regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). The market revenues (for the period 2011 2019) and forecast (for the period 2013 - 2019) for each of these regions have been included in this report. The market overview section of the report demonstrates the qualitative analysis of the market dynamics of the global rapid medical diagnostic kits market and thus includes information about the drivers, restraints, opportunities, Porters five forces model and market attractiveness analysis of this industry.The recommendations section in the report is included to help the market players grow in this market and to assist the new entrants in establishing their position in the market. The company profiles section of the report includes key information including company profile, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies and recent developments about the major market players currently operating in this industry.View Report:The major market players which have been profiled in this market report includes Abbott Laboratories, Abaxis, Inc., Alere, Inc., Becton Dickinson & Company, BioRad Laboratories, Danaher Corporation, MegaCor Diagnostik GmbH, F. Hoffmann La Roche, MegaCor, Trinity Biotech Plc and Zoetis, Inc.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Industrial Gloves Market to Maintain Healthy CAGR During 2015 to 2021 Industrial Gloves, Industrial Gloves market, Gloves Market, Gloves, Glove, Glove market http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4587 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4587 www.persistencemarketresearch.com Industrial gloves are utilized to ensure employee safety and sanitary conditions in the workplace. Industrial gloves are a necessary item, especially in the food, chemical and healthcare industry. Industrial gloves provide protection against cold, heat, damage by friction, abrasion, chemicals and diseases. Industrial gloves can be manufactured from natural materials or synthetic materials. The gloves are selected according to the occupation environment, the duration of the job, and the type of conditions or contaminants associated with the job.TOC of this report is available upon request @There are different types of industrial gloves and each glove has unique applications. Disposable gloves are used by people who work in industrial kitchens to meet health and hygiene standards. Chemical and liquid proof gloves are applicable for protection against abrasive substances, such as acids and aqueous solutions. These gloves are manufactured using nitrile butadiene rubber, or NBR, a durable material, capable of withstanding exposure to acids, greases and oils. Chemical and liquid safe gloves can be treated with additional materials such as neoprene for additional insulations and safety purposes. Water proof gloves are manufactured using polyvinyl chloride or PVC which is also known as vinyl chloride plastic. Water-proof gloves are suitable for handling detergents and variety of aqueous solutions. In addition, polyvinyl chloride coated gloves are germ resistant and can be used for handling oil soaked components and pesticide applications. Butyl and neoprene are used for the fabrications of chemical safe gloves which are resistant to petroleum and oil. Chemical safe gloves are suitable for protection against alkalis, alcohol and wide range of hydraulic fluids and oil types. Latex gloves are used for light duty operations and laboratory applications. They are not as heavy and bulky as other industrial gloves and are suitable for intricate operations. Latex gloves are multipurpose gloves and are used for laboratory operations where solutions such as ketenes, acids and salts are involved. Latex gloves can be treated with polyurethane coating for clean room use. Latex gloves can also be fabricated using polyehtylene for similar operations and are available as disposable, thin gloves. Cut resistant and heavy duty safety gloves are constructed from high grade steel, are resistant to tears and puncture from sharp objects such as knives and glass and are designed for a precise fit. Thermal proof gloves protect against extreme temperatures and are often fabricated from neoprene. These gloves are used by the fire departments and petrochemical industry for safety against frost and burn injuries. Thermal gloves can withstand high temperatures and are more durable and flexible than other industrial gloves.Industrial glove market is being driven by rising consumption of industrial gloves in the healthcare, chemical and food industry. In addition, healthcare awareness, healthcare reforms and stringent government regulations are expected to drive the consumption of industrial gloves. However, raw material prices and currency fluctuations may hamper the growth of this market in the coming yearsChina, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and the U.S. are the largest markets for industrial gloves while strong growth is expected to occur in Georgia, Turkey, Senegal, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The emerging economies represent the greatest potential for the industrial gloves market.Sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the key players in this market are Top Glove, Supermax, Kossan, Latexx, Adventa, Smart Glove, Riverstone Resources, WRP World, Bacou-Dalloz, Inc, Liberty Glove and Safety, Inc, BSF Coated Products, Protective Industrial Products (PIP), and Hartalega among others.Key geographies evaluated in this report are: North Americao U.So Canada Europeo France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UKo Eastern Europeo CIS APACo Chinao Indiao Japano Australiao Others Latin Americao Argentinao Brazilo OthersKey features of this report Drivers, restraints, and challenges shaping the Industrial Gloves market dynamics Latest innovations and key events in the industry Analysis of business strategies of the top players Industrial Gloves market estimates and forecasts(2015 -2021)About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Forensic Technologies Market Global Industry Volume By Region 2019 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=819 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/forensics-technology.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ There has been a growing demand to improve the potential, efficiency, and value of forensics, a factor that has been significantly inspiring the constant development of forensic technologies. Transparency Market Research, in a report titled Forensic Technologies Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019, studies the emergence of this market and its performance over the years. The forensic technologies market is anticipated to expand at a healthy 12.4% CAGR from 2013 to 2019, rising from a value of US$8.3 bn in 2012 to US$17.7 bn by 2019.In this blog post, TMR analysts answer significant queries about the worldwide market for forensic technologies:What factors will shape the future of the global forensic technologies market?Predominantly, the escalating crime rate, coupled with the sophistication of crime, has the most prominent influence on the global market for forensic technologies. Over the years, the sophistication of crime has evolved drastically. The prevalence and supply of illicit drugs have increased to great extent. Nowadays, almost every week, a novel type of illicit drug is synthesized, creating severe issues for experts in the examination of the evidence. Due to this scenario, developers of forensic technologies are being exposed to a whole new set of promising opportunities, which is likely to boost the market substantially in the long run.Download Complete Healthcare Analytical Brochure:On the flip side, the decline in the government expenditure on forensic services in almost all economies will reflect negatively on this market over the next few years. However, the impact of this factor will not be much strong as the demand for these technologies will largely be unaffected in the near future.Which of the regional market will take the lead in the coming years?North America, which is the leading contributor to the global market for forensic technologies, will retain its position in the forthcoming years; however, its share in the overall market will decline sharply.Asia Pacific, on the other hand, will gain significant momentum in the next few years. DNA profiling, specifically, will witness a remarkable rise in the demand over the years to come. The untapped status of this region is alluring key market players, which are increasingly engaging into partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions with local participants.What are the most favored strategies among leading players?For business development, leading companies are relying on advancements in technologies. Recently, Bio-Rad, a global leader in forensic technologies, introduced Prime PCR probe assays for quantitative amplification. These new assays are to be utilized in qPCR gene expression analysis for human genomes. With this addition to their product portfolio, the company hopes to expand its client base.Other prominent players in this market are GE Healthcare Life Sciences, SPEX Forensics, Pyramidal Technologies Ltd., Eurofins Medigenomix Gmbh, LGC Forensics, and NMS Labs Inc.Browse Full Research Report on Forensic Technologies Market:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Sheet Face Masks Market - Global Industry Analysis | Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=17687 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Sheet face mask has occupied a significant position due to its associated product benefits. By fabric type the market has been categorized into non-woven, cotton, hydrogel, bio-cellulose and others and by category type the market has been segmented into premium sheet face masks and mass sheet face masks. Previously facial mask was considered only mud mask and cream mask but due to various limitations such as dry skin problems, time consuming and others resulted to inclination towards traditional facial mask products.Get a PDF Sample for Professional & Technological Insights atGlobal Sheet Face Masks: Drivers and TrendsThe market for sheet face masks is booming at a different pace across different geographical regions worldwide. Currently, the market is growing at a steady pace globally, and is majorly driven by the demand for anti-ageing formula, dehydrated skin and this factor strongly influences purchase decisions among consumers. The market for sheet face masks in all regions is expected to grow significantly owing to increasing research and development for enhancement of sheet mask products. Moreover, emphasis on innovation in technology on the formulation of new sheet face masks to improve performance, and increasing demand to ensure damage repair are impacting the market for sheet face masks globally.Sheet face masks comprises of five types of fabrics which includes non-woven, cotton, hydrogel, bio-cellulose and others. Rising aging population and growing trend in personal beauty enhances products is booming sheet face masks market globally. In addition, rise in male grooming products is also driving the growth of this market across the globe. In addition, bio-cellulose segment in sheet face masks market is growing rapidly. Major factors driving the growth of the market includes thin natural fiber use in bio cellulose fiber and also rising economic growth, changing lifestyle, and rising trend towards new facial masks is boosting the market of bio cellulose fiber sheet face masks globally. Asia Pacific has the largest market for bio cellulose. The growth of the market in this region is directly impacts the revenues of the leading vendors in Asia Pacific.As per current trend, hydrogel fabric is growing rapidly. Increasing demand for hydrogel fabric is due to consumers preference and their changing buying behavior towards beauty products. Furthermore, local manufacturers in Africa and APAC, focuses on new product development and product innovations according to consumers preference in order to developed a loyal customer base over the years. In addition, the presence of numerous manufacturers in the nation and their continual effort to develop various types of sheet face masks such as aloevera, honey flavor, hydrogel mask, aqua skin ampoule mask and others as per consumers need is a major driver for the market in the developed country such as U.S, U.K. Canada and others. Moreover, considering the growing skin problem during winter like dry skin problem, wrinkle problem the global key players of sheet face masks market are expected to adopt improved technology for manufacturing sheet face masks.Global Sheet Face Masks Market: Regional OutlookMoreover, in this report the study provides different countries included in different regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. North America includes the U.S. and Rest of North America. Europe includes U.K., Germany, France, Russia, Italy and Rest of Europe. Asia Pacific includes countries such as India, China, Japan and Rest of Asia Pacific. In addition, Middle East and Africa includes country such as UAE, South Africa and Rest of Middle East and Africa. Latin America comprise of countries such as Brazil and Rest of Latin America.Key Players Mentioned in this Research Report are:In order to get a better understanding of the sheet face masks market, a key trends analysis has been included for all the segments. In addition, the market players in the sheet face mask market have also been profiled in terms of their financial overview, product segments, recent developments and business strategies adopted by them. The leading players in the market include. Sephora Inc. (California, U.S), Boss Biological Technique Ltd., (Guangdong, China) Dolce & Gabbana S.r.l. (Milan, Italy), 3Lab Inc. (New Jersey, U.S.), Kracie Holdings, Ltd.. (Tokyo, Japan), Innisfree Corporation.(South Korea), BioRepublic Skin Care (Atlanta, U.S.), Star Skin Beauty Group AG (Los Angeles, U.S.), Yunos Co. Ltd.(Osaka, Japan) and DECLEOR Paris. (Paris, France) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Demand for Sheet Face Masks Expected to Experience Market Growth with a Value of US$336.7 mn by 2024 Market Research Hub http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=918676 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/sheet-face-masks-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2016-2024-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/united-states-anti-dust-masks-market-report-2017-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-anionic-surface-sizing-starch-sales-market-report-2017-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com Albany, New York, Feb 01, 2017: The rapidly expanding global market of sheet face masks is the focus of a new study by Transparence Market Research, added to the vast portfolio of Market Research Hub (MRH). According to the research analysts, sheet face masks market currently represents a remarkable share in the skin care industry and is further anticipated to grow with beneficial share with the robust growth of the industry. This study is entitled as Sheet Face Masks Market- Global Industry Analysis 2016-2024, which provides precise information about the market including market trends and drivers, influencing factors, industrial growth rate etc. As per TMR estimations, the global market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period of 2016 and 2024.Request for Sample Report:In the initial section, the report presents a brief overview of the market by covering some of the key regions such as Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. At present, the market status for sheet face masks is flourishing across these geographical regions, majorly driven by the rising demand for anti-ageing formula, wrinkle problems and dehydrated skin of consumers, as well as by men, who are taking an interest in cosmetics and body care. Additionally, the analysts have observed that emerging economies such as Argentina, China, Brazil and India are the lucrative market for the sales of sheet face masks.Furthermore, the report presents a detailed segmentation of the market. The market has been segmented on the basis of fabric type and by category. Sheet face masks comprise of five types of fabrics including:hydrogelnon-wovencottonbio-cellulose and othersBrowse Full Report with TOC:Among these, Asia Pacific has the largest market for bio-cellulose that is why this segment of the market is growing rapidly. Major factors driving the growth of the market includes thin natural fiber use in bio-cellulose fiber globally. As per current market trend, hydrogel fabric is also evolving due to consumers preference and their buying behavior towards beauty products. On the other hand, by category type, the market has been segmented into premium sheet face masks and mass sheet face masks. Due to the growing demand from consumers, key players in the market are developing face masks such as aloe vera, hydrogel, honey flavor, aqua skin ampoule mask etc.Related Reports:United States Anti-Dust Masks Market Report 2017:Global Anionic Surface Sizing Starch Sales Market Report 2017:The leading players in the market profile in the report includes Sephora Inc. (California, U.S), Boss Biological Technique Ltd., (Guangdong, China), 3Lab Inc. (New Jersey, U.S.), Kracie Holdings, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), BioRepublic Skin Care (Atlanta, U.S.), Dolce & Gabbana S.r.l. (Milan, Italy), Star Skin Beauty Group AG (Los Angeles, U.S.), Innisfree Corporation (South Korea), Yunos Co. Ltd.(Osaka, Japan) and DECLEOR Paris. (Paris, France).About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of Market Research Reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State StreetAlbany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free : 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel : +1-518-621-2074Email : press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite : Global Remote Cardiac Monitoring Market Size by value, volume, segments, Shares, Trends & Forecasts (2016-2020) http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/910680 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/category/38 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressreleases http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketresearchreports-biz Recent research, study report entitled Global Remote Cardiac Monitoring Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2016-2020) provides a detailed analysis of the global remote cardiac monitoring market with analysis of market size by value, volume, segments, etc.The report also includes a detailed regional analysis of the remote cardiac monitoring market of regions such as, US, Europe and Asia Pacific comprising of its market by value. Under competitive landscape, different players in the global remote cardiac monitoring market have been compared on the basis of their revenue and market capitalization.The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the global remote cardiac monitoring market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.The competition in the global remote cardiac monitoring market is stiff and dominated by the big players. Medtronic Plc, Boston Scientific Corporation and Life Watch AG are some of the key players operating in the global remote cardiac monitoring market, whose company profiling is done in the report. In this segment of the report, business overview, financial overview and the business strategies of the companies are provided.Download Sample Copy of This Report:Regional CoverageUSAEuropeAsia PacificCompany CoverageMedtronic PlcBoston Scientific CorporationLifeWatch AGExecutive SummaryRemote cardiac monitoring is the continuous monitoring of electrical activities of the heart, which takes place outside hospitals. The monitoring can also be done while the patient is doing the day to day activities. Devices like pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillator is placed with the patient through minimally invasive procedures and the transmission of data takes place via a transmitter which works in sync with the device.Browse More Published Report By Pharmaceutical Market Research:The global remote cardiac monitoring market is expected to grow at a healthy rate during the forecast period (2016-2020). The growth is expected on account of many factors, such as an increase in cardiovascular diseases, increasing incidence of obesity, less cost of remote monitoring and rising ageing population.However, the market also faces some challenges, which includes reimbursement issues and the risk of over treatment. Increasing health care expenditure, cardiomems heart failure monitoring system and telesense remote cardiac monitoring device are some of the latest trends in the remote cardiac monitoring market.About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.To View The Latest Industry Press Releases:ContactMr. Nachiket90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E-Mail: sales@marketresearchreports.bizFollow us on LinkedIn:Thanks..!!!!!!!!!!!MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Printed Electronics Market (Materials - Substances and Inorganic Materials, Inks ; Technology - Flexography, Ink-jet Printing, Gravure Printing, and Screen Printing - Worldwide Industry 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=252 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Printed Electronics Market: OverviewIncreasing technological advancement and growing application of printed electronics in the aerospace, defense, and military sector is anticipated to have a positive impact on the market for printed electronics globally. Increasing usage of organic materials for printed electronics is having a positive impact on the market. Organic materials primarily offer a low-cost alternative for flexible displays and printed electronics. Usage of flexible substrates coupled with well-established methods are some of the boosting factors for the printed electronics market. The growing usage of papers, polymers, and oligomers in the production of printed electronics is expected to have a positive impact on the market. In addition, rise in usage of nanoimprint lithography technology for printed electronics is another prime factor which is contributing in the positive development of printed electronics market. With technological advancement, different sort of nano-patterning techniques have been developed for example nano-imprinting and nano-contact printing to upgrade light extraction from Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) along with low-cost anti-reflection coatings for LCD displays. These advancements are fueling the growth of the market.Get More Information :Global Printed Electronics Market: Segmentation AnalysisBased on material, the market is segmented into substrates and inks. Substrates are segmented into organic materials and inorganic materials. Polymers, papers among others are included in organic materials. In addition, silicon, glass among others is included in inorganic materials. Inks are segmented into dielectric inks, conductive inks among others. Ink is segmented into conductive inks and dielectric inks among others. Based on technology, the printed electronics market is segmented into flexography, gravure printing, screen printing and ink-jet printing among others. Based on application, the market is segmented into automotive, retail and packaging, electronics, display among others. Geographically, the global printed electronics market is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. The market for printed electronics has been provided in (USD million) in terms of revenue as well as the CAGR for the forecast period of 2016 to 2024.Global Printed Electronics Market: Scope of the StudyThe report also provides assessment of different drivers that is impacting the global market, along with the restraints and opportunities that has also been covered under the scope of this report. For each segment (such as materials, technology applications), market dynamics analysis has been provided. All these factors helps in determining different trends that has been impacting the overall market growth. Moreover, after taking into consideration all this factors, an extensive analysis of the region wise growth parameters of printed electronics market along with the overall assessment for the forecast period of 2016-2024 has been also been provided within this report. Furthermore, the report includes the porters five forces and value chain analysis. Moreover, patents analysis is also included in the scope of the research. Difference between conventional and printed electronics has also been covered in the report.The key players in the printed electronics market have been competitively profiled across the five broad geographic regions. This competitive landscape is inclusive of the various business strategies adopted by these major players and their recent developments in the field of printed electronics. Further, the report includes the market attractiveness analysis of different materials, technology on of printed electronics and insight into the major application area of the printed electronics.Key Players Mentioned in this ReportSome of the major companies involved in the printed electronics market include Thin Film Electronics ASA (Norway), T+ink, Inc. (The U.S.), NovaCentrix (The U.S.), Optomec Inc. (The U.S.), Xerox Corporation (The U.S.), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (The U.S.), Vorbeck Materials Corporation, Inc. (The U.S.), Intrinsiq Materials, Inc. (The U.S.), Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Belgium), LEONHARD KURZ Stiftung &Co. KG (Germany), BASF SE (Germany), E Ink Holdings Inc. (Taiwan) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Market Size, Major Trends, Growth Drivers, Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/946146 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/category/38 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressreleases http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketresearchreports-biz The report "Global Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021)", has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts.Growth hormone (GH)/ Human Growth hormone (hGH) is a type of peptide hormone produced by the body which is responsible for stimulating cell reproduction, growth and regeneration amongst humans. Within the anterior of pituitary glands, lateral wings are present the somatotropic cells which synthesize, store, and secrete the GH, a 191-amino acid in single chain polypeptide. It is responsible for keeping a check over the normal human growth and development especially amongst the teenagers and children. Apart from stimulating cell growth and maintaining muscle mass, hGH also prompts the liver to produce IGF-l which in turn regulates the metabolic functioning of muscles, tissues and osteocytes.The deficiency of growth hormone is termed as Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD), which is a medical condition affecting both children and adults. Amongst children, GHD could be associated with congenital conditions, like marred pituitary development and other genetic abnormalities. On the other hand, GHD amongst adults is supposedly linked with pituitary tumors and it usually has non-specific symptoms, like weight gain, reduced energy levels, disturbed sleep, and emotional sickness. Depending upon the indications targeted, the hGH market can be segmented into two broad categories; Pediatric GHD and others. Others segment include adult GHD, PWS, ISS and other GH related abnormalities.The global hGH market is driven by development and entry of long-acting drugs, rising cases of cancer and HIV/AIDS, higher incidence of GHD and other related diseases, rising healthcare expenditure and increasing purchasing power. However, this market growth is challenged by high cost of drugs, off-label uses of hGH drugs and side effects related to rhGH.Download Sample Copy of This Report:The report Global Human Growth Hormone (hGH) Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) analyzes the development of this market, with focus on the US, Europe and Japan. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the market are discussed in detail in this report. The four major players: Novartis AG., Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk A/S are being profiled along with their key financials and strategies for growth. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the global human growth market along with the study of the regional markets.Table of Content1. Overview1.1 Human Growth Hormone1.2 Physiological Effects of hGH1.3 GH Deficiency (GHD)1.4 Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH)1.5 hGH Market by Indications2. Global hGH Market2.1 Global hGH Market by Value2.2 Global hGH Market Forecast by Value2.3 Global hGH Market by Volume2.4 Global hGH Market Forecast by Volume2.5 Global hGH Market by Indications2.5.1 Global Pediatric GHD Market by Value2.5.2 Global Pediatric GHD Market Forecast by Value2.5.3 Global Other hGH Market by Value2.5.4 Global Other hGH Market Forecast by Value2.6 Global hGH Market by Regions3. Regional Markets3.1 The US3.1.1 The US hGH Market by Value3.1.2 The US hGH Market Forecast by Value3.1.3 The US hGH Market by Indication3.1.4 The US Pediatric GHD Market Forecast by Value3.2 Europe3.2.1 Europe hGH Market by Value3.2.2 Europe hGH Market Forecast by Value3.2.3 Europe hGH Market by Indication3.2.4 Europe Pediatric GHD Market Forecast by Value3.3 Japan3.3.1 Japan hGH Market by Value3.3.2 Japan hGH Market Forecast by Value3.3.3 Japan hGH Market by Indication3.3.4 Japan Pediatric GHD Market Forecast by ValueBrowse More Published Report By Pharmaceutical Market Research:4. Market Dynamics4.1 Growth Drivers4.1.1 Development and Entry of Long-Acting Drugs4.1.2 Rising Cases of Cancer and HIV/AIDS4.1.3 Increasing Incidence of CKD and ESRD4.1.4 Upsurge in Healthcare Expenditure4.1.5 Increasing Global GDP4.1.6 Higher Incidence of GHD and Other Related Diseases4.2 Trends & Development4.2.1 hGh Used as Performance Enhance Drug4.2.2 Innovation in Drug Delivery System4.3 Challenges4.3.1 High Cost of Treatment4.3.2 Off Label Uses of GH4.3.3 Side Effects of rhGH5. Competitive Landscape5.1 Global hGH Market5.1.1 Global hGH Market Share by Company5.1.2 Net Sales and Market Cap Comparison5.2 The US hGH Market Share6. Company Profiles6.1 Novartis AG6.1.1 Business Overview6.1.2 Financial Overview6.1.3 Business Strategies6.2 Pfizer Inc.6.2.1 Business Overview6.2.2 Financial Overview6.2.3 Business Strategies6.3 Eli Lilly and Company6.3.1 Business Overview6.3.2 Financial Overview6.3.3 Business Strategies6.4 Novo Nordisk A/S6.4.1 Business Overview6.4.2 Financial Overview6.4.3 Business StrategiesAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.To View The Latest Industry Press Releases:ContactMr. Nachiket90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E-Mail: sales@marketresearchreports.bizFollow us on LinkedIn:Thanks..!!!!!!!!!!!MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Tantalum Market Growth, Trends, Price and Forecasts To 2021 https://marketreportscenter.com/request-sample/499419 https://marketreportscenter.com/reports/499419/global-tantalum-market-2017-2021 https://marketreportscenter.com/request-discount/499419 https://marketreportscenter.com Market Research analysts forecast the global tantalum market to grow at a CAGR of 3.13% during the period 2017-2021.Tantalum is an element of the periodic table with the symbol Ta, and atomic number 73. Tantalum finds use as an industrial metal due to its properties of capacitance, hardness, corrosion resistance, and high heat resistance. Tantalum is available in the form of wire, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as nanopowders. Tantalum is usually found in the compound form and is not available in nature as a free element. The most common tantalum mineral is columbite or tantalite. Both tantalite and columbite have the same mineral structure.Download Sample Report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global tantalum market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the sales of tantalum for capacitors, turbine and aircraft structure parts, optical coatings, medical implants, thin-film resistors, carbide cutting tools and wear parts, and other end-markets.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEAGlobal Tantalum Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsAdvanced MetallurgicalChina MinmetalsGlobal Advanced MetalsH.C. StarckNingxia Orient Tantalum IndustryOther prominent vendorsEthiopian Mineral Development Share Company (EMDSC)Jiangxi KING-TAN Tantalum IndustryMineracao TabocaMarket driverSmartphone penetration triggering demand for capacitorsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeTantalum designated as conflict mineralFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendHuge growth prospects due to increasing IoT applicationsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.Complete Report Details @Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportMarket overviewPART 03: Market research methodologyResearch methodologyEconomic indicatorsPART 04: IntroductionKey market highlightsOverviewTantalum value chain and market structurePART 05: Market landscapeGlobal tantalum marketFive forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by IntermediatesOverview: Global tantalum market by intermediatesGlobal tantalum market for potassium saltsGlobal tantalum market for oxidesPART 07: Market segmentation by end-productOverview: Global tantalum market by end-productGlobal tantalum market for anode powder and wireGlobal tantalum market for superalloyGlobal tantalum market for carbidesGlobal tantalum market for chemicalsGlobal tantalum market for sputtering targetsGlobal tantalum market for othersPART 08: Market segmentation by end-marketsOverview: Global tantalum market by end-marketGlobal tantalum market for capacitorsGlobal tantalum market for carbide cutting tools and wear partsGlobal tantalum market for turbine and aircraft structural partsGlobal tantalum market for medical implantsGlobal tantalum market for optical coatingsGlobal tantalum market for thin film resistorsGlobal tantalum market for other end-marketsPART 09: Geographical segmentationOverview: Global tantalum market by geographyTantalum market in AmericasTantalum market in APACTantalum market in EMEAPART 10: Market driversSmartphone penetration triggering demand for capacitorsIncreasing demand for implantsIncreasing use of tantalum in aerospace superalloys....ContinuedDiscount On This Report @For more information, please visitMarket Reports Center is an e-commerce platform obliging the needs of knowledge workers, experts, professionals who are subject to market research information for their work, or to make strategic business decisions. Market Reports Centers team consistently works to update and extend our existing repository of market research reports by partnering with new publishers and adding their studies to our website.Sam Collins303, Astral Court,Aundh, Pune,MH - 411045, India Global Ultrasonic Flaw Detectors Market 2016 Growth, Trends and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2022 Global Ultrasonic Flaw Detectors Market 2016 MRSRESEARCHGROUP http://bit.ly/2kqVE78 http://bit.ly/2kq29r7 The Global Ultrasonic Flaw Detectors Market 2016 industrial analysis on the basis of market size, annual report etc.The report includes current and future scenario of the company. The industry was steadily improving in the last few years and moving fast to achieve standard position in the global market. This report is formed to deliver the best picture of Ultrasonic Flaw Detectors industry to the client. 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The company strategy is to grab market position in near coming future.This report studies Ultrasonic Flaw Detectors in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringOlympusSonatestGEMODSONICMagnetic Analysis CorporationDanatronicsAcoustic Control SystemsHUATEC GroupOceanscanAustralian NDT SalesROOP TELSONIC ULTRASONIXSilverwingOKO AssociationRDMVibronicsRead Complete Research Report @Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketEmerging niche segments and regional marketsImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelMarket shares and strategies of key playersHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMRS Research Group provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Prof Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United States Global High Pressure Mercury Lamp Market 2016 Growth, Trends and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2022 Global High Pressure Mercury Lamp Market 2016 MRSRESEARCHGROUP http://bit.ly/2jUbILm http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/global-high-pressure-mercury-lamp-market-2016-production.html http://bit.ly/2jU2I96 The Global High Pressure Mercury Lamp Market 2016 industrial analysis on the basis of market size, annual report etc.The report includes current and future scenario of the company. The industry was steadily improving in the last few years and moving fast to achieve standard position in the global market. This report is formed to deliver the best picture of High Pressure Mercury Lamp industry to the client. To achieve this aim, the report has segmented Global market in to different components on the basis of products, application, regions and end users wherever needed. By following this perspective the report has dug in to the details to come out with the vital facts and figures.Check Free Sample Research Report @To complete this report the analysts have extensively used primary as well as secondary sources of information. Combination of these two techniques has made this report factually and statistically sound and strong. The areas touched in this report will help to understand the future and present of High Pressure Mercury Lamp industry in terms of innovations, revenue, opportunities and many more.This report studies High Pressure Mercury Lamp in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringOSRAMPHILIPSPanasonicGECNLIGHTCHINTKONICAMINOLTAFSLUSHIOEverfineRead Complete Research Report @Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketEmerging niche segments and regional marketsImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelMarket shares and strategies of key playersHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsDo Enquiry Of Research Report @MRS Research Group provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Prof Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United States Global Bluetooth Gamepad Market Size- 2016 Analysis, Cost, Consumption, segment, Sales Revenue 2021 Bluetooth Gamepad http://bit.ly/2kqQpUI http://bit.ly/2juEOF8 The market research report by QY Research provides detailed study on the overall Bluetooth Gamepad market size, its financial positions, its unique selling points, key products, and key developments. This research report has segmented the Bluetooth Gamepad market based on the segments covering all the domains in terms of type, country, region, forecasting revenues, and market share, along with analysis of latest trends in every sub-segment.Click Here to Request Sample Report @The qualitative segmentation of Bluetooth Gamepad market covered in the report gives in-depth information of the overall market. Furthermore, the market size, share, forecast trends, analysis, sales, supply, production, demand, major manufacturers, end-users, and many other vital factors are comprised in the Market Research Bluetooth Gamepad report by QY Research. By these comprehensive data, it is simple to take and make precise and accurate decisions taking into consideration the present market situation and the forecasts of the global market, which in turn may result into profitable step for our clients.A competitive landscape that identifies the major competitors of the global market and their market share are further highlighted in the research report. A deliberate profiling of major competitors of the Bluetooth Gamepad market as well as a inclusive analysis of their current developments, core competencies, and investments in each segment are also elaborated in the research report.Browse Full Report at @The overall information of the Bluetooth Gamepad market provided in the report helps our client to make precise and accurate decisions in order to gain maximum profit in this cutthroat competition in the global market. The report comprises various elements such as table, figure, charts, TOCs, chapters, and so on so as to provide a crystal clear data to the client giving a brief of the market and its trends. Thus, the report provides in-depth information of the Bluetooth Gamepad market in terms of revenue, value, volume, region, and many more.About Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651 Global Medical Cannula Market Standards, Variant Applications, Shares, Services & Key Advancements 2016-2021 http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=879133&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-medical-cannula-market-research-report-2016.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/press-releases.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/press-releases.htm This report on global Medical Cannula market is a research study that answers pertinent questions about the emerging trends and growth opportunities in this industry. It also identifies each of the prominent barriers to growth, apart from identifying the regional trends and trends within various application segments of the global market for Medical Cannula. Collecting historical and recent data from authentic resources, and based on all the factors and trends, the report presents a figurative estimation of the future of the market, along with compound annual growth rate (CAGR).To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The study segments the market by geography into: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. It provides forecasts of revenue of the market as a whole as well as each application segment. The competitive landscape is mapped based on product and technology. This study also offers an overview of pricing trends and ancillary factors that will influence pricing in the global Medical Cannula market. The market study, estimation, and market sizing have been done utilizing a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches.Of special value are the key recommendations and predictions by our analysts, intended to steer your strategic business decisions. The company profiles section of this research service is a compilation of the growth strategies, product portfolio, financial status, and recent developments of key market participants. The report provides detailed industry analysis of the global Medical Cannula market with the help of proven research methodologies such as Porteras five forces. The forces analyzed are bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and the degree of competition.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsGlobal Medical Cannula Market Research Report 20161 Medical Cannula Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Medical Cannula1.2 Medical Cannula Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Medical Cannula by Type in 20151.2.2 Cardiac cannula1.2.3 Vascular cannula1.2.4 Arthroscopy cannula1.2.5 Dermatology cannula1.2.6 Nasal cannula1.2.7 Others1.3 Medical Cannula Segment by Application1.3.1 Medical Cannula Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Hospitals1.3.3 Ambulatory Surgical Centers1.3.4 Others (Blood Banks and Home Healthcare Facilities)1.4 Medical Cannula Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Medical Cannula (2011-2021)2 Global Medical Cannula Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Medical Cannula Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Medical Cannula Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Medical Cannula Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Medical Cannula Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Medical Cannula Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Medical Cannula Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Medical Cannula Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2011-2016)3.1 Global Medical Cannula Capacity and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.2 Global Medical Cannula Production and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.3 Global Medical Cannula Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.4 Global Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.5 North America Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.6 Europe Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.7 China Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.8 Japan Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.9 Southeast Asia Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.10 India Medical Cannula Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)4 Global Medical Cannula Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.1 Global Medical Cannula Consumption by Regions (2011-2016)4.2 North America Medical Cannula Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.3 Europe Medical Cannula Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.4 China Medical Cannula Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.5 Japan Medical Cannula Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.6 Southeast Asia Medical Cannula Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.7 India Medical Cannula Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)For Latest QYResearchreports Press Release Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.QYResearchreportsContact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States+1-518-621-2074866-997-4948USA-Canada Toll freesales@qyresearchreports.comFor Latest Press Release Visit @ In-depth Study On Ghana Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report - Passage of Petroleum Act Creates Regulatory Stability Despite Ongoing Offshore Border Dispute http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/943617 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/943617 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressreleases http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Report Ghana Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report - Passage of Petroleum Act Creates Regulatory Stability Despite Ongoing Offshore Border Dispute provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Ghana Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report - Passage of Petroleum Act Creates Regulatory Stability Despite Ongoing Offshore Border Dispute, presents the essential information relating to the terms which govern investment into Ghanas upstream oil and gas sector. The report sets out in detail the contractual framework under which firms must operate in the industry, clearly defining factors affecting profitability and quantifying the states take from hydrocarbon production. Considering political, economic and industry specific variables, the report also analyses future trends for Ghanas upstream oil and gas investment climate.View Report @Scope- Overview of current fiscal terms governing upstream oil and gas operations in Ghana- Assessment of the current fiscal regimes state take and attractiveness to investors- Charts illustrating the regime structure, and legal and institutional frameworks- Detail on legal framework and governing bodies administering the industry- Levels of upfront payments and taxation applicable to oil and gas production- Information on application of fiscal and regulatory terms to specific licenses- Outlook on future of fiscal and regulatory terms in GhanaGet Sample Copy Of This Report @Reasons to buy- Understand the complex regulations and contractual requirements applicable to Ghanas upstream oil and gas sector- Evaluate factors determining profit levels in the industry- Identify potential regulatory issues facing investors in the countrys upstream sector- Utilize considered insight on future trends to inform decision-makingTable of Contents1 Table of Contents 11.1 List of Tables 31.2 List of Figures 42 Regime Overview 53 State Take Assessment 74 Key Fiscal Terms 94.1 Bonuses 94.2 Permit Fees 94.3 Surface Rentals 104.4 Training Allowance 104.5 Technology Allowance 114.6 Royalty 114.7 Direct Taxation 134.7.1 Corporate Tax 134.7.2 Deductions and Depreciation 134.7.3 Ring-fencing 134.7.4 Withholding Tax 134.7.5 Capital gains Tax 134.8 Additional Oil Entitlement 134.9 Indirect Taxation 174.9.1 Value Added Tax 174.9.2 Customs Duties 174.10 State Participation 174.10.1 Initial Interest 174.10.2 Additional Interest 174.11 Stability Clauses 184.12 Domestic Market Obligation 185 Regulation and Licensing 195.1 Legal Framework 195.1.1 Governing Law 205.1.2 Contract Type 205.1.3 Title to Hydrocarbons 205.2 Institutional Framework 215.2.1 Licensing Authority 215.2.2 Regulatory Agency 215.2.3 National Oil Company 225.3 Licensing Process 225.4 License Terms 225.4.1 Duration 225.4.2 Obligations 235.4.3 Relinquishment 235.5 Local Content 236 Outlook 287 Contact Information 30Read our latest Press Release atAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Adhesives & Sealants Market Size, Shares, Growth Rate, Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) Key Players- Henkel, 3M, H.B. Fuller, ITW http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/946149 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/category/54 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressreleases http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketresearchreports-biz The report "Global Adhesives & Sealants Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021)", has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts.Adhesive is a non-metallic material which is able to join two substrates using adhesion mechanism which is developed between the adhesive and substrate and cohesive mechanism which is developed within the adhesive itself. Sealant is a substance used to block the passage of fluids through the surface or joints or openings in materials. The main difference between adhesives and sealants is that sealants typically have lower strength and higher elongation than do adhesives.The adhesives and sealants market is quite fragmented. The competition in this industry is high and mainly on the basis of quality, reliability, technology, novelty, durability and broad spectrum usage of adhesives and sealants. Product innovation and product performance play a major role in the defining the competition in the global adhesives and sealants industry.The key factors driving the growth of global adhesives and sealants market are accelerating economic growth, growth in urbanization, increase in global construction spending, growing automobile production and growing demand for thermal and noise insulation. Some of the noteworthy trends and developments of this industry are new developments in adhesives, trend of eco-friendly adhesives, adhesive end market performance trends and strong opportunity in emerging economies. However, the expansion of global adhesives and sealants market is hindered by negative effect of fluctuating raw material prices and strict regulation on volatile organic chemical.Download Sample Copy of This Report:The report Global Adhesives & Sealants Market: Industry Analysis and Outlook (2017-2021) provides an in-depth analysis of the market on a global scale. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the industry are being presented in this report. The industry comprises few large players such as Henkel, 3M, H.B. Fuller and ITW. All these companies have been profiled in the present report highlighting their key financials and business strategies for growth.Table of Content1. Introduction1.1 Adhesives and Sealants: An Introduction1.2 Application of Adhesives and Sealants1.3 Types of Adhesives/Sealants by Reactive Nature1.4 Types of Adhesives by Technology1.5 Curing of Adhesives and Sealants1.6 Value Chain Analysis2. Global Adhesives & Sealants Market Analysis2.1 Global Adhesives & Sealants Market by Value2.2 Global Adhesives & Sealants Market Forecast by Value2.3 Global Adhesives & Sealants Market by Volume2.4 Global Adhesives & Sealants Market Forecast by Volume2.5 Global Adhesives & Sealants Market by Region2.6 Global Adhesives & Sealants Sales by End Markets2.7 Global Adhesives Market Forecast by Value2.8 Global Sealants Market Forecast by Value2.9 Global Sealants Market by Application Areas2.10 Global Sealants Market by RegionBrowse More Published Report By Petrochemicals Market Research:3. Regional Adhesives & Sealants Market Analysis3.1 North America3.1.1 North America Adhesives & Sealants Market by Value3.1.2 North America Adhesives Market by Value3.1.3 North America Adhesives Market Forecast by Value3.1.4 North America Adhesives Market by Volume3.1.5 North America Adhesives Market Forecast by Volume3.1.6 North America Sealants Market by Value3.1.7 North America Sealants Market Forecast by Value3.1.8 North America Sealants Market by Volume3.1.9 North America Sealants Market Forecast by Volume3.2 Asia-Pacific3.2.1 Asia-Pacific Adhesives & Sealants Market by Value3.2.2 Japan Adhesives Market by Volume3.2.3 Japan Adhesives Market Forecast by Volume3.2.4 Japan Adhesives Market by Product Type3.2.5 Demand for Adhesives in India3.2.6 Demand Forecast for Adhesives in India3.3 Europe3.3.1 Europe Adhesives and Sealants Market by Value3.3.2 Europe Adhesives and Sealants Market by End Use4. Market Dynamics4.1 Growth Drivers4.1.1 Growth in Urbanization4.1.2 Accelerating Economic Growth4.1.3 Increase in Global Construction Spending4.1.4 Growing Automobile Production4.1.5 Growing Demand for Thermal and Noise Insulation4.2 Market Trends4.2.1 New Developments in Adhesives4.2.2 Trend of Eco-friendly Adhesives4.2.3 Strong Opportunity in Developing Economies4.3 Challenges4.3.1 Fluctuating Raw Material Prices4.3.2 Strict Regulation on Volatile Organic Chemical5. Competitive Landscape5.1 Global Adhesives Market Share by Company5.2 Global Top Adhesives Producers by Various Parameters6. Company Profiles6.1 Henkel AG & Co. KGAA6.1.1 Business Overview6.1.2 Financial Overview6.1.3 Business Strategies6.2 H.B. Fuller6.2.1 Business Overview6.2.2 Financial Overview6.2.3 Business Strategies6.3 3M Company6.3.1 Business Overview6.3.2 Financial Overview6.3.3 Business Strategies6.4 Illinois Tool Works (ITW)6.4.1 Business Overview6.4.2 Financial Overview6.4.3 Business StrategiesAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.To View The Latest Industry Press Releases:ContactMr. Nachiket90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E-Mail: sales@marketresearchreports.bizFollow us on LinkedIn:Thanks..!!!!!!!!!!!MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Mannequins Market Size- 2016 Analysis, Cost, Consumption, segment, Sales Revenue 2021 Mannequins http://bit.ly/2kqinAj http://bit.ly/2kqVTil The market research report by QY Research provides detailed study on the overall Mannequins market size, its financial positions, its unique selling points, key products, and key developments. This research report has segmented the Mannequins market based on the segments covering all the domains in terms of type, country, region, forecasting revenues, and market share, along with analysis of latest trends in every sub-segment.Click Here to Request Sample Report @The qualitative segmentation of Mannequins market covered in the report gives in-depth information of the overall market. Furthermore, the market size, share, forecast trends, analysis, sales, supply, production, demand, major manufacturers, end-users, and many other vital factors are comprised in the Market Research Mannequins report by QY Research. By these comprehensive data, it is simple to take and make precise and accurate decisions taking into consideration the present market situation and the forecasts of the global market, which in turn may result into profitable step for our clients.A competitive landscape that identifies the major competitors of the global market and their market share are further highlighted in the research report. A deliberate profiling of major competitors of the Mannequins market as well as a inclusive analysis of their current developments, core competencies, and investments in each segment are also elaborated in the research report.Browse Full Report at @The overall information of the Mannequins market provided in the report helps our client to make precise and accurate decisions in order to gain maximum profit in this cutthroat competition in the global market. The report comprises various elements such as table, figure, charts, TOCs, chapters, and so on so as to provide a crystal clear data to the client giving a brief of the market and its trends. Thus, the report provides in-depth information of the Mannequins market in terms of revenue, value, volume, region, and many more.About Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651 Research Report Covers United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing Market 2021 Market Research Reports http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=873923&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/united-states-eu-japan-china-india-and-southeast-asia-commercial-aircraft-leasing-market-size-status-and-forecast-2021.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/reports.htm Qyresearchreports include new market research report "United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.Various factors are responsible for the high revenue growth witnessed in the United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing market. However there are a few restraints as well forecast to challenge the markets trajectory. Nevertheless, through the course of the forecast period starting from 2016 to 2021, the market will continue exhibiting steady growth. The chief drivers supporting the markets expansion are studied in detail besides including an in-depth analysis of the restraints creating bottleneck for the United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing market. Besides this, the profiles of some of the leading market players are included in the report, intended to provide a snapshot of the prevailing competitive landscape.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @For the purpose of the study, the United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing market is split on the basis of diverse parameters. Using industry-leading analytical tools, the factors influencing the markets growth across all its segments are studied in detail. The report compiles exhaustive information sourced via proven research methodologies. Information thus sourced, is logically interspersed relevant graphs, statistics, infographs, and statistics. It is presented in a coherent chapter-wise format. To present a holistic overview, the report also gauges the impact of Porters five forces on the United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing market. In addition, it investigates the feasibility of potential projects for the new entrants.In order to present an executive-level blueprint of the prevailing vendor landscape, the report conducts SWOT analysis on the companies profiled. This helps presenting insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the leading companies in the United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing market. The analysis also provides valuable information on the opportunities and threats that these companies are likely to witness over the course of the reports forecast period. The report therefore includes valuable information intended at providing the stakeholders a better perspective about the United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Leasing market.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Commercial Aircraft Leasing1.1 Commercial Aircraft Leasing Market Overview1.1.1 Commercial Aircraft Leasing Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Commercial Aircraft Leasing Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Commercial Aircraft Leasing Market by End Users/Application1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 32 Global Commercial Aircraft Leasing Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Commercial Aircraft Leasing Market Size (Value) by Players (2015-2016)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in FutureFor Market Research Latest Reports Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States Global Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/189759 http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-piezoelectric-accelerometers-consumption-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/189759 Piezoelectric Accelerometers is a type of accelerometer that employs the piezoelectric effect of certain materials to measure dynamic changes in mechanical variables (e.g., acceleration, vibration, and mechanical shock).Download PDF Sample of Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Market@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversPCB PiezotronicsMeggitt Sensing SystemsBruel and KjaerHoneywellKISTLERMeasurement SpecialtiesDytran InstrumentsRIONKyowa Electronic InstrumentsMetrix InstrumentDJB InstrumentsCEC Vibration ProductsASC sensorsJewell InstrumentsCESVAIMV CORPORATIONHansford SensorsVibrasensBrowse Full Report with TOC:Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America, Middle East and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversPE typeIEPE typePlace Purchase Order for this Report@Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoAerospace and defenseAutomotivePharmaceuticals and chemicalsSemicon & electronicsEnergy/PowerGeneral industrialOtherThere are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption market.Chapter 1, to describe Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption, with sales, revenue, and price of Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 9 and 10, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 11, Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;Chapter 12 and 13, to describe Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data source.Table of Content:1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Global Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Market Competition, by Manufacturer4 Global Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Market Analysis by Regions5 North America Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption by Countries6 Europe Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption by Countries7 Asia-Pacific Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption by Countries8 South America, Middle East and Africa Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption by Countries9 Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Market Segment by Type10 Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Market Segment by Application11 Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Market Forecast (2016-2021)12 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers13 AppendixList of Tables and Figures:Figure Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption PictureFigure Global Sales Market Share of Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption by Types in 2015Table Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Types for Major ManufacturersFigure PE type PictureFigure IEPE type PictureFigure PictureTable Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Sales Market Share by Applications in 2015Table PCB Piezotronics Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Type and ApplicationsTable PCB Piezotronics Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table Meggitt Sensing Systems Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Type and ApplicationsTable Meggitt Sensing Systems Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Table Bruel and Kjaer Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and CompetitorsTable Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Type and ApplicationsTable Bruel and Kjaer Piezoelectric Accelerometers Consumption Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2015-2016)Orbis Research is a single point aid for all your Market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customised reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialisation. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required Market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com HIV Vaccines Market Applications, Key Players Analysis, Competitor Strategy, Trends and Outlook to 2027 HIV Vaccines Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1084 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/hiv-vaccines-market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/request-toc/1084 Market HighlightsHIV/AIDS has become one of the main irresistible diseases which are taking an enormous loss of life over the globe, surpassing intestinal sickness and TB. The accessibility of a safe, highly effective and available preventive HIV antibody would be a profitable supplement to other preventive interventions, essentially adding to the interference of the chain of transmission of HIV.Market SegmentationGlobal HIV Vaccines market has been segmented as follows: On the basis of Types which consist of Whole virus vaccines, Envelope Proteins, Attenuated Virus Vaccines, Synthetic Peptides, Nucleic Acid Vaccines, DNA vaccines, Recombinant vectored vaccines and others. On the basis of End Users which includes hospitals clinics and healthcare research institutes.Request a Sample Copy @Key Players for HIV Vaccines Market:Some of the key players in this market are: AlphaVax, Inc.(US) Argos Therapeutics, Inc.(US) Bionor Pharma ASA (Norway) FIT Biotech Oy (Finland) Crucell Holland BV (Netherlands) Genecure LLC (US) GenVec, Inc.(US) Novartis AG(Switzerland) Sanofi(France) TVAX Biomedical, Inc.(US)Access the market data and market information presented through more than 85 market data tables and figures spread in 115 numbers of pages of the project report Global HIV Vaccines MarketBrowse Report Details @Brief Table for Contents for Global HIV Vaccines Market1. Report Prologue2. Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.3 Market Structure2.4. Market Segmentation3. Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 Opportunities5. Market Factor Analysis5.1 Value Chain Analysis5.2 PORTERS Five Forces5.3 Demand & Supply: Gap Analysis6. Global HIV Vaccines Market by Types7. Global HIV Vaccines Market by End UsersCONTINUEDGet In-depth Table of Contents (TOC) of Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Virtual Bronchoscopy Market 2017 Trend and 2021 Forecast Research Report http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/190328 http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-virtual-bronchoscopy-market-research-report-and-forecast-to-2017-2021 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/discount/190328 https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbis-research https://twitter.com/orbisresearch https://plus.google.com/+Orbisresearch/posts This market analysis includes a detailed segmentation of the Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market by development trend and by application.The report covers the present year 2017 scenario and the growth prospects of the Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market for 2017-2021.The report Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market 2017-2021 has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. The report also covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years.The Virtual Bronchoscopy Market By Geography North America Asia-Pacific EuropeRequest a sample of Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market Research Report @The Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market research report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market key players are: Company A Company B Company C Company DBrowse the full Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market Research Report @The report provides an extensive analysis of current and future market status of the world Virtual Bronchoscopy Market.Some of the points from table of content:Industry Overview Definition Classification Share Analysis Application AnalysisMarket Analysis Product Development History Process Development History Competitive Landscape AnalysisIndustry Development Trend Capacity Production Overview Production Market Share Analysis Demand OverviewMarket Status and Forecast Supply Demand and Shortage Import Export Consumption Cost Price Production Value Gross MarginReasons for Buying this Global Virtual Bronchoscopy Market Research Report This report helps to analyzed the world's main region market conditions It provides product manufacturing processes It provides industry policies and plans It provides overview of product specification It provides cost structures & so on.The Report Contains: 156 Pages.Price of the report: 2850$ (single user license)Check discount @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Follow us on G+ : Global Healthcare Business Intelligence Market 2016 Industry Growth, Demand, Segment, Statistics Report 2021 http://www.9dimengroup.com/report/105951/request-sample http://www.9dimengroup.com/market-analysis/healthcare-business-intelligence-market-2016-global-industry-size.html Healthcare Business Intelligence Market 2016 - Global Industry Growth, Size, Trends, Share, Opportunities and Forecast to 2021 by 9Dimen GroupGlobal Healthcare Business Intelligence Industry 2016 Report is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions of the Healthcare Business Intelligence industry, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia) and the main countries (United States, Germany, Japan and China).The report titled Healthcare Business Intelligence is an in-depth and a professional document that provides a comprehensive overview of the global Healthcare Business Intelligence market.Request for Sample Report:The report provides an executive-level blueprint of the Healthcare Business Intelligence market beginning with the definition of the market dynamics. The analysis classifies the Healthcare Business Intelligence market in terms of products, application, and key geographic regions. With focus on presenting a detailed value chain analysis, the study evaluates the set of region-specific approaches forged by the industry. To determine the market potential for Healthcare Business Intelligence in the international scenario, the study delves into the competitive landscape and development landscape exhibited by the key geographic regions.Development plans and policies significantly impact the market dynamic. The report therefore studies in detail the impact of the strategies, plans, and policies adopted by leading vendors of the Healthcare Business Intelligence market. Manufacturing cost of products and the pricing structure adopted by the market is also evaluated in the report. Other parameters crucial in determining trends in the market such as consumption demand and supply figures, cost of production, gross profit margins, and selling price of product and services is also included within the ambit of the report.To provide a detailed analysis on the competitive landscape, the report profiles the key players in the Healthcare Business Intelligence industry. Information present in these chapters includes details of products manufactured by the leading companies, product specification and price, and production capacity. Using reliable analytical tools, the report evaluates the information sourced from both primary and secondary research. Results obtained through the detailed analysis helps in presenting refined forecasts regarding growth prospects of the Healthcare Business Intelligence market. Apart from this, the analysts have also conducted upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis to compile and present an exhaustive study on the Healthcare Business Intelligence market.Read Complete Report with TOC:A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Healthcare Business Intelligence market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report.9Dimen Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact UsJoel JohnTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@9dimengroup.comWeb: 9Dimen Group Absorption Chillers Market Analysis Detailed Profiles of Top Industry Players and Their Segments Till 2025 https://goo.gl/Yj4QZ9 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=2 https://www.tmrresearch.com/absorption-chillers-market Global Absorption Chillers Market: OverviewThe rising importance of consuming waste energy is driving the deployment of absorption chillers across various end-user industries. The oil and gas industry is one of the major end users of these chillers. Therefore, the increasing exploration and production activities in the oil and gas industry is fuelling the global market for absorption chillers. The burgeoning demand for robust chilling facilities across pharmaceutical and chemical industries is also paving way for the growth of the market. The increasing reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) is another factor providing a fillip to the global market.The report is an outcome of in-depth research and exhaustive coverage of every aspect of the global absorption chillers market and its affiliated industries. It provides a comprehensive overview of the dynamics of the market. It offers essential insights into the regional segmentation of the market for a better understanding. It includes a detailed description of the competitive landscape and also profiles the key players in the market along with their business strategies and latest developments.Request a Brochure of the Report @Global Absorption Chillers Market: Restraints and OpportunitiesThe rising awareness about energy-efficient products is promoting the deployment of absorption chillers market. However, due to the high-end technology requirement of these chillers, their set-up cost is high, which is limiting their widespread adoption. This factor is exacerbated by the availability of low-cost conventional chilling equipment, whose demand is still strong across various industries. Moreover, the high risk of deterioration and damage associated with these chillers is hindering the growth of the market.Nevertheless, the manufacturers will be able to see light at the end of the tunnel with the continuous advancements that will mitigate these technical issues. Furthermore, the increasing demand for absorption chillers from the commercial sector and data centers is likely to augur well for the market in the coming years.Request for TOC of the Report @Global Absorption Chillers Market: Geographical SegmentationThe key regions studied in the report are North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World. The growth of the North America and Europe regions will be facilitated by the presence of developed end user infrastructure. The increasing demand for absorption chillers from the food and beverages industry is also bolstering the growth of these regions. The Asia Pacific market is augmented by the rising capacities of geothermal, nuclear, and solar power plants. The improving economic conditions and expansion of commercial sector are providing a significant boost to the growth of the region.Global Absorption Chillers Market: Competitive LandscapePlayers in the global absorption chillers market require highly skilled labor, advanced technology, and complex production facility to stay relevant. The highly capital intensive nature of the market is creating a significant barrier to the entry of new players. Some of the key absorption chiller manufacturers are Thermax Ltd, Johnson Controls Inc, Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Limited, Yazaki Energy Systems Inc., Kawasaki Trading Co. Ltd., Broad U.S.A. Inc., Hitachi Ltd., Simons Green Energy, Clarke Energy, Ebara Refrigeration Equipment & Systems Co Ltd, Solair, Voltas, Ltd., and Shuangliang Eco-Energy Systems Company Ltd.Read Complete Report @TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@tmrresearch.com New Release | Global Oil Storage Market Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast Research Report 2013 - 2019 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=207108 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=207108 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Oil Storage Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019" to its huge collection of research reports.Global oil storage market is composed of many small independent owners and will experience growth in the coming future. This can be attributed to the demand for oil storage which is rising at the major global supply hubs because of increased trade between countries and is expected to continue with the leading terminals worldwide as the major beneficiaries.The global market for oil storage has seen a rapid growth due to increasing oil prices over the last few years. The rise in demand for oil in some of the countries in South East Asia is likely to propel the oil storage market in the region. Countries such as China have lack of robust storage infrastructure which is propelling the need for storage system which is driving the market for oil storage systems. Some other factors such as to secure future oil needs for the country is driving oil storage market in many regions. The tank cleaning process generates oil sludge as residue which requires cleaning under certain regulations such as Solid Waste Disposal Act before releasing into environment. Also the storage tanks have potential of soil contamination in the plant and storage sections of refinery such as underground storage tanks and pipelines.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Some of the major oil storage choke points and terminals in the world are Singapore, Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) and Rotterdam (The Netherlands). Rotterdam has a strong position in oil storage market as a trading place due to the blending capacity and specialized storage. Singapore is one of Asias major petrochemical and refining hubs due to its strategic location between the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Fujairah port is also expected to rise with the growing demand in the Middle East countries. On the basis of geography global oil storage market is segmented as:- North America- Europe- Asia-Pacific- Rest of WorldOther storage terminals include Amsterdam, Hamburg, Houston, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Shandong, Dalian and Jiangyin. The storage systems can be used to store the bi-products from the refinery; it can store both refined and un-refined products. On the basis of product type stored in the storage systems the global oil storage market is segmented as:- Crude oil- Gas oil- Gasoline- Aviation fuel- Naphtha- Diesel- Kerosene- Liquefied Natural Gas- Liquefied Petroleum GasCrude oil is transported by two basic means:- Tankers- PipelinesOnce the oil has been separated from natural gas it is transported through pipelines to the refinery. The petroleum products travel through tankers to the end user such as different countries or their coasts. Tankers like ships and barges are used to supply vast volume of liquid cargoes.Some of the key players in the oil storage market are Vopak, Oiltanking, Kinder Morgan, Nustar, Magellan Midstream, Buckeye, Vitol (VTTI), CLH, IMTT, Sunoco, CIM, Horizon, Odfjell, SUMED and Dalian Port. Vopak is one of the worlds largest independent tank storage service provider it operates nearly 84 terminals. The company specializes in storage and handling of gases, chemicals and oil products. Oiltanking is headquartered in Germany and it owns around 73 terminals in about 22 countries within Middle East, Europe, North and South America. There are two major acquisitions recently in the global oil storage market, in 2012, Oiltanking has acquired Helios Terminal Corporation for USD 285 million and in 2010 Buckeye acquired Bahamas Oil Refining Company for USD 1.7 billion.This research report analyzes this market depending on its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. This report provides comprehensive analysis of- Market growth drivers- Factors limiting market growth- Current market trends- Market structure- Market projections for upcoming yearsThis report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Reasons for Buying this Report- This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics- It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth- It provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow- It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future- It provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors- It helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segments- It provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segmentsMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global Smart Water Management Market Is Expected To Grow At A CAGR Of 17.7% During The Forecast Period From 2013 To 2019 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=168961 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=168961 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Smart Water Management Market (Component Types - Hardware, Solutions, Services; Meter Read Technology - Fixed network, Cellular network) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2013 - 2019" to its huge collection of research reports.In urban areas, water is the most neglected natural resource. Smart water solutions and services are still struggling for rapid adoption in major part of the globe owing to lack of regulatory support from the governments in some regions such as Africa, and Western Asia among others. Aging water infrastructure especially in developed economies such as the U.S.A., Canada, and Germany among others is a major driver for adoption of smart water technology solutions Aging water infrastructure results in bursts, pipe leakage, and increased customer complaints. Water regulatory bodies are mandating stricter environmental standards related to smart water management which is another important driver for this market.The report includes segmentation of smart water management market by component, by meter read technology, and by geography. Further, it provides current market size and forecast in terms of revenue for the aforementioned categories. Cross sectional analysis for component and geography segments is a part of the scope. Factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of the market have been analyzed. Porters five forces analysis offers insights on market competition.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @This study includes profile of key players in the market and the strategies adopted by them to sustain the competition. Recent developments and barriers of the market will help emerging players to design their strategies in an effective manner. The study is expected to help key players providing smart water systems and solutions formulating and developing their strategies.The global market for smart water management is segmented as follows:Smart water management market analysis, by component- Hardware- AMR- AMI- Others- Solutions- ServicesSmart water management market analysis, by meter read technology- Fixed Technology- Cellular TechnologySmart water management market, by geography- North America- Europe- Asia-Pacific- RoW (Rest of the World)Table of ContentsChapter 1 Preface1.1 Report description1.2 Report scope1.3 Research methodology1.4 List of abbreviationsChapter 2 Executive Summary2.1 Global smart water management market snapshotChapter 3 Global Smart Water Management Market Analysis3.1 Market definition3.2 Market trends3.3 Market dynamics and impact analysis3.3.1 Drivers3.3.1.1 Aging water infrastructure3.3.1.2 Government regulations3.3.1.3 Need for mapping of water resources3.3.1.4 Lack of water management in urban areas3.3.1.5 Need to reduce water loss and non-revenue water (NRW)3.3.2 Restraints3.3.2.1 Low adoption rate due to high cost of installation of AMI3.3.2.2 Water utilities apprehensive of adopting cloud services3.3.3 Opportunities3.3.3.1 Just in time irrigation in agriculture and landscaping3.3.3.2 Large untapped market in developing countries3.4 Value chain analysis3.5 Porters five forces analysis3.5.1 Bargaining power of suppliers3.5.2 Bargaining power of buyers3.5.3 Rivalry among existing competitors3.5.4 Threat from new entrants3.5.5 Threat from substitute products or services3.6 Market share analysis3.7 Market attractiveness analysisChapter 4 Global Smart Water Management Market Analysis, by Component, 2013 2019 (Revenue)4.1 Introduction4.2 Hardware4.2.1 SWM hardwared market size and forecast, 2011 2019 (USD million)4.2.2 SMW hardware market size and forecast, by type, 2011 2019 (USD million)4.3 Solutions4.3.1 SWM solutions market size and forecast, 2011 2019 (USD million)4.4 Services4.4.1 SWM services market size and forecast, 2011 2019 (USD million)Chapter 5 Global Smart Water Management Market Analysis, by Meter Read Technology, 2013 2019 (Revenue)5.1 Fixed network technology5.1.1 Fixed network technology in SWM market size and forecast, 2011 2019 (USD million)5.2 Cellular network technology5.2.1 Cellular network technology in SWM market size and forecast, 2011 2019 (USD million)Chapter 6 Global Smart Water Management Market Analysis, by Geography, 2013 2019 (Revenue)6.1 Introduction6.2 North America6.2.1 North America smart water management market size and forecast, 2011 - 2019 (USD million)6.3 Europe6.3.1 Europe smart water management market size and forecast, 2011 - 2019 (USD million)6.4 Asia-Pacific6.4.1 Asia-Pacific smart water management market size and forecast, 2011 - 2019 (USD million)6.5 Rest of the World (RoW)6.5.1 RoW smart water management market size and forecast, 2011 - 2019 (USD million)Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Dental screening conducted in bangalore almost 2000 govt school students and teachers http://www.orident.in/ The society for People Health, in association with Orident conducted Dental Screening camps at 13 different places simultaneously for almost 2000government school students and teachers, on Saturday, 28th January 2017.The Camp was conducted around Kaval Byrasandra, DJ Halli, LingarajapuramNS Line, Murphy Town Gandhinagar and Venkateshpuram.In India dental care is one of the vital health sectors that has been overlooked, especially among children. Studies say, 90% of people in our country suffer from some dental problems in which the most common are gum problems and periodontics, said Dr. Shine, Orident.Almost 25% of childrens first visit to the hospital will be for dental related issues. More than 50% of four million children born every year will have dental cavities before they reach second grade. Whereas, 40-50% of children suffer from dental decay before the age of five. Out of ten kids in India, seven kids will be affected by gum diseases. Almost 70% children below 15 years have dental carries and more than 50% of school children have decayed teeth in India, added Dr. Shine.Accentuating the issue, Orident has started to promote the importance of oral health care by among the government school students and teachers through such camps.Orident is Indias first complete oral care solution provider at an affordable cost. A complete dental coverage using the state of the art technology facilitated with its unique features and benefits. Focused on providing all the necessary dental services to sustain a healthy smile through preventive care solutions.For more information log on toOr you can also write us at smile@orident.inOrident, Indias first complete oral care solution provider at an affordable cost. Provides you a complete dental coverage with its unique features like one payment for one whole year, risk transfer mechanism for sharing your unused membership, unlimited number of session and much more, better than having a dental insurance.Quality dental treatments by top-notch dental specialists with services available in best dental care clinics in Bangalore, Hyderabad and other states of India. Specialized centres for dental services and multispecialty dental hospitals coming all over the country.71/2, 71/3, Nehru Road, Arvind nagar, Kammanahalli, Bangalore-560084 Global Fitness APP Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 | Now Availble at Researchmoz.us http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=910931 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=910931 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Fitness APP Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Fitness APP market, analyzes and researches the Fitness APP development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeMapMyFitness IncRuntastic GmbHFitnessKeeper IncAzumio IncEndomondo ApSWahooGarmin LtdJawbonePolar ElectroPearsportsAzumioFitbitJawboneRunkeeperUnder ArmourTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Fitness APP can be split intoHRMsRunning computersOtherMarket segment by Application, Fitness APP can be split intoHouseholdCommercial useOtherTable of ContentsGlobal Fitness APP Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Fitness APP1.1 Fitness APP Market Overview1.1.1 Fitness APP Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Fitness APP Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Fitness APP Market by Type1.3.1 HRMs1.3.2 Running computers1.3.3 Other1.4 Fitness APP Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Household1.4.2 Commercial use1.4.3 Other2 Global Fitness APP Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Fitness APP Market Size (Value) by Players (2015-2016)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 MapMyFitness Inc3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Runtastic GmbH3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 FitnessKeeper Inc3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Azumio Inc3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Endomondo ApS3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Wahoo3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Garmin Ltd3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Jawbone3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Polar Electro3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Pearsports3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Fitness APP Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Azumio3.12 Fitbit3.13 Jawbone3.14 Runkeeper3.15 Under Armour4 Global Fitness APP Market Size by Type and Application (2011-2016)4.1 Global Fitness APP Market Size by Type (2011-2016)4.2 Global Fitness APP Market Size by Application (2011-2016)4.3 Potential Application of Fitness APP in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Fitness APP5 United States Fitness APP Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Fitness APP Market Size (2011-2016)5.2 United States Fitness APP Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)6 EU Fitness APP Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Fitness APP Market Size (2011-2016)6.2 EU Fitness APP Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)7 Japan Fitness APP Development Status and Outlook7.1 Japan Fitness APP Market Size (2011-2016)7.2 Japan Fitness APP Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ K-12 Talent Management Software Market in the US 2016-2020 | Now Available at Researchmoz.us http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=825363 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=825363 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "K-12 Talent Management Software Market in the US 2016-2020" to its huge collection of research reports.Talent management software is an application that provides a complete set of tools to organizations to automate, monitor, and analyze various HR functions efficiently. Moreover, the software assists the HR department in better talent acquisition activities, effective retention, and career succession planning strategies. Therefore, talent management applications have been gaining prominence in institutions as well.Technavios analysts forecast the US K-12 talent management software market to grow at a CAGR of 14.57% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the US K-12 talent management software market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated by the talent management software providers for the K-12 education market.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:ROWUKUSTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Technavio's report, US K-12 Talent Management Software Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsCornerstone OnDemandHalogen SoftwarePeopleAdminOther prominent vendorsEllucianIBMiCIMSInfor Global SolutionsOracleSAP SESumTotal SystemsWorkdayMarket driverGrowing improvement in employee engagementFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeRising threat from open-source platformsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendRise in cloud-based software solutionsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia 3PL Market Research Report 2021 | New Release http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=887357 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=887357 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia 3PL Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global 3PL market, analyzes and researches the 3PL development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeTNTFedExUPSDHLMaerskAPLNippon ExpressExelNOLCOSCO LogisticsSinotransCMSTDChina ShippingCNPLP.G. LogisticsChina Merchants LogisticsSouth Logistics GroupZtkyZJS ExpressKerry LogisticsTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Application, 3PL can be split intoApplication 1Application 2Application 3Table of ContentsUnited States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia 3PL Market Size, Status and Forecast 20211 Industry Overview of 3PL1.1 3PL Market Overview1.1.1 3PL Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global 3PL Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 3PL Market by End Users/Application1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 32 Global 3PL Competition Analysis by Players2.1 3PL Market Size (Value) by Players (2015-2016)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 TNT3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 FedEx3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 UPS3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 DHL3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Maersk3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 APL3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Nippon Express3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Exel3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 NOL3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 COSCO Logistics3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 3PL Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Sinotrans3.12 CMSTD3.13 China Shipping3.14 CNPL3.15 P.G. Logistics3.16 China Merchants Logistics3.17 South Logistics Group3.18 Ztky3.19 ZJS Express3.20 Kerry Logistics4 Global 3PL Market Size by Application (2011-2016)4.1 Global 3PL Market Size by Application (2011-2016)4.2 Potential Application of 3PL in Future4.3 Top Consumer/End Users of 3PL5 United States 3PL Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States 3PL Market Size (2011-2016)5.2 United States 3PL Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)6 EU 3PL Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU 3PL Market Size (2011-2016)6.2 EU 3PL Market Size and Market Share by Players (2015-2016)Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Demand of ePharmacy Market in Global Industry : Overview, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Research 2017-2023 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=497262 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=497262 Albany, NY, 1st FEB : ePharmacy or Internet pharmacy or online pharmacy is an online platform which acts an an intermediary between consumer and the seller for the sale of medicines via online retail platforms. ePharmacies are increasingly becoming popular owing to the benefits it offers such as lower price, access to comprehensive information on prescribed drug, round the clock delivery of medicines, and easy availability of drugs that are otherwise difficult to find. Patients do not have to physically visit the pharmacy store to procure medicines; rather, they can just upload the prescription from doctor on the ePharmacy portal and receive the necessary medicines at their doorsteps.With the rise of Internet penetration, there has been a dramatic shift in the buying behavior of customers toward increased online purchasing. From essentials such as groceries and apparel to luxury products, everything is available for purchase on online retail platforms. The healthcare sector is no exception to this online retail trend, with pharmacies going online. With advantages such as round-the-clock availability and delivery of drugs, complete information on the prescribed drug, and knowledge of cost-effective substitutes, the market for ePharmacies is expected to experience a surge of growth in the coming years.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Operating within all the guidelines and standards set by their respective national governments, ePharmacies have emerged as ethical business entities and have become an effective source of prescription medicines. The trend of ePharmacies was initially witnessed in the developed economies of North America and Europe; however, with the rising penetration of the Internet and growing awareness among customers about prescription medicines, the market for ePharmacies is gaining momentum in the emerging countries in Asia Pacific.This research study focuses on providing a comprehensive market assessment on current trends in the global ePharmacies market, along with a focus on various factors affecting the markets growth. The influential factors that affect the growth of the ePharmacy market have been analyzed under the market dynamics section, which comprises market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. The report also provides comprehensive assessment of vendor strategies for excellence in the business. The report segregates the market into five different geographies: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Some of the major countries/regions analyzed in the report include the U.S., the EU7, the CIS, China, Japan, the Indian Subcontinent, Australasia, the GCC countries, North Africa, and South Africa. The report provides market size estimates and forecasts for all the regional and country segments for the ePharmacies market.The research study estimates the global ePharmacies market in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) for the period 2013 to 2023, which comprises:2013: the base year2014: estimated value20152023: forecast periodThe market estimates have been evaluated considering different technological, economic, political, environmental, social, and legal factors. The market positioning analysis of major players in the market is provided in the research study, which would help the buyers of this report understand the key strategies adopted by these players.Make an Enquiry @The company profiles section in the report provides competitive profiles of the leading players (however not all the market players) in the market. This section elucidates on the below details:Company addressGeographical presenceProduct/service portfolioRecent developmentsHistorical roadmapFinancial performanceBusiness strategiesSome of the leading players profiled in the report include Banner Health, Dr. Fox Pharmacy, Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd., eDrugstore.MD, Walgreen Co., DocMorris NV, Rowlands Pharmacy, MediSave, CVS Caremark, and PlanetRx.com.ePharmacy Market Segmentation:ePharmacy Market, by Geography:North AmericaU.S.Rest of North AmericaEuropeEU7 (UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands)CISRest of EuropeAsia PacificJapanChinaIndian Subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka)Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, and Guinea)Rest of Asia PacificMiddle East and AfricaGCC CountriesNorth AfricaSouth AfricaRest of MEALatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States Mobile Data Pricing: Innovative Practices to Drive Adoption and Traffic Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=225408 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=225408 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Mobile Data Pricing: Innovative Practices to Drive Adoption and Traffic" to its huge collection of research reports.Mobile Data Pricing: Innovative Practices to Drive Adoption and Traffic, a new Research Report by Pyramid Research, provides a strategic analysis of the mobile data opportunity across different regions through 2018, and keys to developing the mobile data business. The report includes an in-depth assessment of mobile service provider pricing plans worldwide, identifying effective data plans and best practices to grow mobile data usage and revenue. The report incorporates detailed country case analyses for China, France, India, Japan, the UK and the US, with examples of a variety of pricing schemes from different market environments and types of players.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Key Findings- Mobile data has emerged as the single most important driver of telecom revenue growth. Pyramid Research forecasts that mobile data revenue will reach $633bn globally in 2018, increasing from 40% of overall mobile revenue in 2013 to 52% in 2018. Asia-Pacific, the worlds most populous region, which accounted for 37.8% of the worlds mobile data revenue in 2013, should lead this expansion.- Increasing uptake of 4G data services will shape future mobile data usage and adoption. We expect the global 4G subscription base to surge at a CAGR of 52%, from 211 million in 2013 to 1,750 million in 2018. Almost all major MNOs have already deployed or are in the process of deploying their own 4G networks.- The transformation of mobile operator business models is evident in their pricing strategies. With mobile voice revenue on the decline, operators are increasingly selling mobile data; unlimited voice and text messaging services are thrown into data bundles that are priced by their different bandwidth allowances, as well as into quadruple-play bundles. Innovative pricing schemes that are resulting in increased data traffic and revenue include shared data plans, specialized tariff plans (for premium content, specific applications and social media) and tariffs that cover the cost of mobile devices.- Prepaid data plans are further extending the mobile data proposition to consumer segments with low data usage and increasing mobile data consumption, particularly in emerging markets. Similarly, partnerships with mobile device manufacturers as well as OTT players are accelerating mobile data adoption in these markets.- Smaller operators and new entrants have gained significant market share with disruptive pricing strategies that involve lowered data tariffs and unlimited data plans. Most rely on Wi-Fi offloading to reduce costs, but EBITDA margins have been affected as a result, except when offered by larger operators in emerging markets where volumes have made up for the difference.SynopsisMobile Data Pricing: Innovative Practices to Drive Adoption and Traffic a new Research Report by Pyramid Research, provides a strategic analysis of the mobile data opportunity across different regions through 2019, and keys to developing the mobile data business. The report includes an in-depth assessment of mobile service provider pricing plans worldwide, identifying effective data plans and best practices to grow mobile data usage and revenue. The report incorporates detailed country case analyses for China, France, India, Japan, the UK and the US, with examples of a variety of pricing schemes from different market environments and types of players.The report has three main sections:- Strategic business analysis, where we look at the contribution of mobile data to overall operator revenues; in addition, we analyze the major mobile data adoption trends in key countries and by region and look at how they are likely to pan out in the future.- Mobile data pricing strategies, where we analyze the different mobile data strategies being implemented by operators in order to increase mobile data usage and maximize revenue; we also identify best practices.- Country case studies, where we look in depth at pricing strategies and tariff plans of operators in China, France, India, Japan, the UK and the US.Reasons To Buy- This Research Report provides a broad but detailed analysis of the mobile data opportunity worldwide, supporting industry players business planning efforts.- The report should help mobile operators build innovative, effective pricing strategies to drive mobile data usage and revenue.- The report offers a wealth of pricing data from different types of operators across the world- Case studies on China, France, India, Japan, the UK and the US examine a wide variety of innovative pricing strategies in actual use by operators.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Clopidogrel Market is expected to prompt pharmaceutical companies to venture into clopidogrel drug manufacturing https://goo.gl/eD8H9a https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=6 https://www.tmrresearch.com/clopidogrel-market Global Clopidogrel Market: SnapshotClopidogrel is an antiplatelet agent of thienopyridine, which is primarily used to prevent the blood clots and help against cardiovascular problems associated with the blood clotting. The medications for inhibiting blood clots after a recent heart stroke also use clopidogrel, which is a white colored powder that is insoluble in water at neutral pH but freely soluble at pH1. Clopidogrel was the second most successful drug trailing behind Pfizers Lipito in 2010. Sold under the brand name Plavix, and marketed by Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb, the demand for clopidogrel is escalating due to the increasing number of heart attack cases across the globe.Request a Brochure of the Report @The patent of clopidogrel manufacturing got expires on Market 31, 2012 and is expected to prompt pharmaceutical companies to venture into clopidogrel drug manufacturing. Moreover, companies such as Dr. Reddys have acquired the approval to manufacture clopidogrel 300mg. Furthermore, several other organizations such as Roxane Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharma, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, and Apotex Crop have gained approval for marketing clopidogrel 75mg. Clopidogrel is also used with aspirin to treat worsening chest pain and to keep blood vessels open and present blood clots after certain heart related operations.Global Clopidogrel Market: Trends and ProspectsThe primary factor for the increased demand for clopidogrel is the mounting population across the world who are suffering from cardiovascular diseases and related problems. Additionally, the changing lifestyle and increase in number of patients related with cardiovascular diseases among the emerging economies in the Asia Pacific region are also expected to be the major consumers for clopidogrel in the next six years. Moreover, the patent expiry of clopidogrel drug is anticipated to open floodgates for various pharmaceutical companies to venture into production of clopidogrel drug.Request for TOC of the Report @According to the World Heart Federation, nearly 15 million people suffer from heart attack or related problems globally. Out of these, roughly six million of these patients die while another five million are disabled permanently. This vast patient base is the primary factor that will sustain the demand during the forecast period.Global Clopidogrel Market: Geographical OutlookCurrently, North America and Europe contribute to the maximum demand for clopidogrel, owing to factors such as robust healthcare infrastructure and high affordability of the residents in this region. However, several countries in the region of Asia Pacific, such as China, India, and Japan are aggressively working towards improving their healthcare sector with the help of favorable policies by the localized governments and increasing disposable income among the urban population. Asia Pacific is home for nearly half of the worlds population, which makes for a high quantity of patient base. Additionally, these regions also have skilled labor at low cost which is encouraging players in the market to invest actively and tap the unmet demand.Read Complete Report @Some of the key players in the global clopidogrel market are Pfizer, Dr Reddys, Apotex Corp, Roxane Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Sun Pharma.TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Dental Implants and Prosthetics Market Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-386 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-386 www.futuremarketinsights.com Dental implant is an artificial tooth that is placed in jaw to act as replacement tooth. People who have lost their tooth or teeth due to injury, periodontal disease and other reasons may use dental implant as an alternative to the natural tooth. Prosthetics are used to reconstruct the intraoral defects such as soft or hard structure of the jaw, missing parts and others. Rising number of people suffering from periodontal disease is one of the important factors driving the growth of dental implants and prosthetics. For instance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that 47.2% of the total population above the age of 65 years suffers from some kind of periodontal disease. Thus, with the rise in periodontal diseases globally the dental implants and prosthetics market is also expected to grow in near future.The global dental implants and prosthetics market can be segmented as follows:Dental Implants MarketBy TypeTitanium Dental ImplantsProcedure StageSingle StageTwo StageConnector TypeExternal HexagonalInternal HexagonalInternal OctagonalZirconium Dental ImplantDental Prosthetics MarketCrowns and BridgesPorcelain fused to Metal Crowns and BridgesAll Ceramics Crowns and BridgesMetallic Crowns and BridgesDenturesAbutmentsRequest Free Report Sample@Rising edentulous population, increasing disposable income and growing awareness for dental care are some of key factors driving the growth of dental implants and prosthetics market. For instance, it has been estimated that in 2010 approximately 160 million people globally were edentulous which accounts for 2.3% of the global population. In addition, increasing geriatric population and changing lifestyle also propel the growth of this market. According, to the World Health Organization (WHO) it has been estimated that the global elderly population is expected to reach around 2 billion by 2050; thiswas around 524 million in 2010. Moreover, the global geriatric population is expected to grow at the fastest rate in developed countries such as Italy, Germany, the U.K., the U.S. and Japan. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, around 40 million people in the country belonged to the elderly category in 2011. Around 89 million people are estimated to be beyond the age of 65 years by 2050.Thus, increasing geriatric population globally augments the demand for dental implants and prosthetics.Technological advancements in the field of dentistry also drive the growth of this market. With the introduction of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology has significantly reduced the dental treatment time. Thus, all the above mentioned factors collectively drive the growth of dental implants and prosthetics market. However, unfavorable reimbursement policies restrict the growth of this market during the study period.Geographically, Europe accounts for the largest share of the global dental implants and prosthetic market as the key players are domiciled in this region followed by North America. In addition, increasing geriatric population, presence of organized distribution channels and rising disposable income are of the major factors driving the global demand of this market during the forecast period 2015 to 2025. In addition, Asia-Pacific is estimated to be fastest growing market for dental implants and prosthetic owing to increasing healthcare awareness, population aging and rising medical tourism in countries such as India, Japan, Malaysia and others. However, economic slowdown in developed regions such as Europe and North America coupled with unfavorable reimbursement policies inhibits the global growth of dental implants and prosthetics market.Request For TOC@3M Company, Biomet, Inc., Nobel Biocare, Straumann, Zimmer Holdings, Dentsply International, Zimmer Dental, BioHorizons, Inc., Ivoclar Vivadent AG are some of the leading companies having their presence in the global dental implants and prosthetics market.ABOUT US :Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Waterproofing Membrane Market - Global Industry Analysis & Key Insights by 2021 http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/request-for-sample.html?flag=S&repid=87260 https://goo.gl/zgqEmg http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com The report covers forecast and analysis for the Waterproofing Membrane market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based on volume and revenue (USD Million). The study includes drivers and restraints for the market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes study of opportunities available in the Waterproofing Membrane market on a global level.Get a copy of free Sample Report @In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the Waterproofing Membrane market, we have included a detailed competitive scenario, and product portfolio of key vendors. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters five forces model for the Waterproofing Membrane market has also been included, strategic development along with patents analysis is included in this report. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, where in type segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2015 to 2021.The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil.Inquire more before buying this report @The report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Dow Chemical Company, Carlisle Companies, Inc., Siplast, BASF SE, W. R. Meadows Inc., Johns Manville, Soprema Group, Firestone Building Products Company, LLC, GAF Materials Corporation, and Sika AG.This report segments the Waterproofing Membrane market as follows:Waterproofing Membrane Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaBrowse detail report @/market-analysis/waterproofing-membrane-market.htmlAbout Us:Syndicate Market Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Syndicate Market Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with the one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Contact Us:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8138Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@syndicatemarketresearch.comWebsite: Butyl Rubber Market Demand will generate new growth opportunities by 2021 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/butyl-rubber-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/butyl-rubber-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com Zion Market Research has published a new market research report analysing the latest trends and developments in the global Butyl Rubber Market, titled Butyl Rubber Market - Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015 2021.Butyl rubber is a synthetic rubber or polymer and possesses unique physical and chemical properties. Butyl rubber is denoted as IIR in abbreviation which stands for isobutylene isoprene rubber. Butyl rubber is a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. In manufacturing process of butyl rubber the percentage of isoprene is very less compared to isobutylene. Butyl rubber is used in tires, sealants, and adhesives. Various qualities of butyl rubber include high flexibility, air tight and gas impermeability (specific), good vibration damper, biocompatibility, good weathering, heat, and chemical resistance.Butyl rubber has widespread applications in tubes and tire industry due to its enhanced damping property. Rising application in construction, healthcare, and consumer product are supporting the growth of butyl rubber market. Further, growing demand for butyl rubber for roof repairing and damp proofing and application of food grade butyl rubber as a chewing base are further expected to stimulate the growth of butyl rubber in coming years. However, fluctuating raw material prices and availability of substitutes may restrict the growth of the market. Nonetheless, demand of butyl rubber as a binding agent in explosives is increasing significantly. It can be added to diesel fuel in order to resist fouling of fuel injectors.Request For Sample Report @The report covers forecast and analysis for the butyl rubber market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based on revenue (USD million). In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the butyl rubber market, we have included a detailed value chain analysis. Study also covers Porters Five Forces model, which offers an insights view and intensity of competition within the market. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein application segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.The study provides a decisive view of the butyl rubber market on the basis of type, application and region. In term of type, the market segmented into regular butyl rubber and halogenated butyl rubber. On the basis of application, the butyl rubber market categorized into tires and tubes, adhesives & sealants, automotive mechanical component, pharmaceutical & healthcare, consumer products and others (industrial etc.).Major regional segments analyzed in this study include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. In Asia Pacific, China is expected to witness significant growth over the coming years.Browse detail report at:Key players profiled in the report includes Reliance Industries Ltd.(India), ExxonMobil Chemical (U.S.), Lanxess AG (Germany), Japan Butyl Company (Japan), Yanhua Petrochemical Company (China), Togliattikauchuk Ltd (Russia), Nizhnekamskneftekhim JSC (Russia), Timco Rubber (U.S.), and Kiran Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd.(India) among others.For more Inquiry Contact our Sales Team @ sales@zionmarketresearch.comAbout UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite: Growth of Construction Market in Singapore : Analysis and Status 2017 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=944540 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=944540 Albany, NY, 1st FEB : Industry growth over the forecast period (20172021) is expected to slow, posting a CAGR of 2.06% in real terms. This can be attributed to the impact of economic slowdown in China, Singapores largest trade partner.In addition, the probable withdrawal of the US as a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership as proposed by president-elect Donald Trump will affect Singapores economic performance.Growth in the industry will be driven by public sector investments in transport infrastructure projects, the expansion of the manufacturing sector, and positive developments in the tourism sector.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @SummaryTimetrics Construction in Singapore, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021 report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into Singapore's construction industry including:The Singaporean construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activityAnalysis of equipment, material and service costs for each project type in SingaporeCritical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, and the risks and opportunities they present to participants in Singapore's construction industryProfiles of the leading operators in Singapore's construction industryData highlights of the largest construction projects in SingaporeScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Singapore. It provides:Historical (2012-2016) and forecast (2017-2021) valuations of the construction industry in Singapore using construction output and value-add methodsSegmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by project typeBreakdown of values within each project type, by type of activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by type of cost (materials, equipment and services)Analysis of key construction industry issues, including regulation, cost management, funding and pricingDetailed profiles of the leading construction companies in SingaporeKey HighlightsAccording to the Singapore Department of Statistics, the number of building permits granted to private residential property developers declined by 35.7% from 8,454 in 2014 to 5,438 in 2015. During the first half of 2016, the number of building permits fell by 19.9%, as compared to the same period in 2015. This demonstrates the impact of weak economic conditions on private sector investments.Public sector investments are expected to dominate the countrys construction industry over the forecast period. According to the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore, the total worth of construction contracts is expected to value between SGD26.0 billion (US$18.9 billion) and SGD35.0 billion (US$25.6 billion) during 20172018, and between SGD26.0 billion (US$18.9 billion) and SGD37.0 billion (US$26.9 billion) during 20192020.In a bid to promote economic growth, in December 2014 the government launched the Government Land Sales (GLS) program, under which it releases land for various commercial, industrial and residential developments. As a part of the GLS program, in December 2016 the government announced plans for developments to be undertaken during the first half of 2017. Accordingly, it announced its intent to supply 158,080m2 of gross floor area for commercial development, with a particular emphasis on office buildings in Woodlands Square and Beach Road.Make an Enquiry @In April 2016, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore initiated the construction of the first phase of mega-port terminal in Tuas. For a total investment of SGD2.4 billion (US$1.8 billion), the project includes the construction of a giant wharf structure consisting of 222 caissons.The government is focusing on implementing public housing schemes in a bid to enable the low- and middle-class population to acquire their own homes. Accordingly, under the Build-To-Order plan, the Housing & Development board (HDB) is building affordable flats. In December 2016, the HDB announced plans to launch 17,000 flats in 2017.ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States Biopesticides Market Growth & Research Globally to register highest growth by 2021 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/biopesticides-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/biopesticides-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/biopesticides-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com Zion Market Research has published a new market research report analysing the latest trends and developments in the global Biopesticides Market, titled Biopesticides Market - Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015 2021.Pesticides are ubiquitous, toxic and synthetic agents. It mainly kills or prevents pests present on plants and animals. The other functions of pesticides are crop protection, prevention of vector-borne diseases and preservation of food and materials. As of April 2016, there are around 299 registered biopesticides active ingredients and 1401 active biopesticides product registrations. Biopesticides target the organisms affecting the growth as compared to the conventional pesticides which are harmful for birds and other animals.Request for sample report @Biopesticides can be applied using different formulations. They are mainly used as liquid solution or in dry form. The liquid solution can be directly sprayed on plants or in the soil whereas dry form can be thrown over the field. However, this formulation type solely depends on the crop type. Biopesticides are derived from the natural resources and can be mainly classified into three major groups such as biochemical pesticides, microbial pesticides and Plant-Incorporated-Protectants (PIPs) pesticides. Microbial pesticides are extensively used pesticides owing to their high effectiveness.The report provides a comprehensive view on the biopesticides market. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the biopesticides market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period.Biopesticides are considered to be eco friendly and hence rising awareness for use of eco friendly products drives biopesticides market. Ample support and funding from the government for the use of eco friendly biopesticides further stimulates the growth of this market. Furthermore, increasing incidence of crop diseases coupled with growing demand for organic food fuels supports the demand for biopesticides. However, lack of awareness from the developing and underdeveloped regions may hinder the growth of the biopesticides market. Research and development expenditure for biopesticides is low as compared to the conventional pesticides. This factor may persuade the inventors to focus on the development of innovative products.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The biopesticides market can be segmented on the basis of type, which includes biofungicides, bioinsecticides, bionematicides and bioherbicides. On basis of end user the biopesticides market can be segmented as fruits & vegetables, grains & oilseeds and others. Fruits, vegetables, grains and oilseeds are the most prominent segments due to high consumption of biopesticides. The biopesticides can be applied by means of soil treatment, post harvest, seed treatment, and foliar spray among others.North America dominated the biopesticides market in 2015 followed by Europe owing to high use of organic products. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest pace and is likely to continue the traction in the forecast period. This growth is mainly attributed to rapidly developing agricultural sector and growing demand for eco friendly, organic products. Also, continuous demand for high productivity due huge population base and cost effective techniques in production of food further contribute to the market growth. Latin America is anticipated to experience decent growth over the coming years due to high growth in agricultural sector in Brazil. Middle East and Africa may show sustainable growth in the estimated period owing to rising living standards and abundant arable land for agriculture.Browse detail report @Bayers CropScience Ag, Parry America, Inc, BASF SE, Monsanto Company, Certis USA L.L.C, Isagro S.p.A, Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. and The Dow Chemical Company are some of the major key players in the biopesticides market. Companies primarily focus on the extensive R&D for the development of innovative products in order to maintain their shares in the market.For more Inquiry Contact our Sales Team @ sales@zionmarketresearch.comAbout UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite: Mold Inhibitors Market Growth Globally to register highest growth by 2021 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/mold-inhibitors-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/mold-inhibitors-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/mold-inhibitors-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com Zion Market Research has published a new market research report analysing the latest trends and developments in the global Mold Inhibitors Market, titled Mold Inhibitors Market - Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast 2015-2021.Mold is a ubiquitous type of fungus which commonly grows on the food products and when present in large quantity can be hazardous for human health. Molds are generally grown over the food with high water content and temperature produce aflatoxin. Mold inhibitors are the substance that inhibits or restrict the growth of molds.Request for sample report @Rising demand from the consumers for the extended shelf life of food drives the mold inhibitors market. Moreover, increasing concern for health effects caused due to molds stimulates the growth of the market. In addition, animal feed market is growing rapidly owing to escalating demand for meat which is turns prompts the market demand. Growing demand for beverages and baked foods further adds to the mold inhibitors market growth. However, impact of some of the inhibitors on the human health is likely to hamper the growth of this market. Nevertheless, rising awareness along with high demand from the emerging economies is expected to offer ample opportunities for mold inhibitors market.In order to provide comprehensive view on the mold inhibitors market we have included a detailed value chain analysis. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the mold inhibitors market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @On the basis of type the mold inhibitors market can be segmented as benzoates, natamycin, propionates, sorbates and others. Natamycin is the most prominent segment and has usage in food industry, animal feed and pharma industry. Mold inhibitors have various applications in animal feed, food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics & personal care and other. Animal feed is the one of the leading segment due to high global demand for animal feedstock.North America dominated the mold inhibitors market owing to high usage of mold inhibitors in animal feed, food industry, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and others. U.S. is the leading consumer for mold inhibitors. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market due to rapidly growing food industry along with rising disposable income, particularly in China and India. Latin America, Middle East and Africa are expected to experience sustainable growth in the forecast period owing to rising awareness for mold inhibitors.Browse detail report @Some of the key players in the mold inhibitors market are Pacific Coast Chemicals, Associated British Foods Plc, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Handary SA, Niacet Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, Kemin Industries Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company, BASF SE, Koninklijke DSM N.V., Associated British Foods Plc and Hawkins Watts Limited among others.For more Inquiry Contact our Sales Team @ sales@zionmarketresearch.comAbout UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite: Industrial Robotics Market in APAC: Key Trends, Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, and Forecast 2017 - 2021 Market Research Report http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=720177 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=720177 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG ResearchMoz presents this most up-to-date research on "Industrial Robotics Market in APAC: Key Trends, Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, and Forecast 2017 - 2021".Industrial robots have become an alternative application to replace human workforce. Various counties in APAC have witnessed increased demand for industrial robots for mass production, efficiency, better quality, product standardization, and reduce wastage. These robots comprise a robotic arm, control cabinet, control panel, and other peripherals. They are used for various manufacturing applications, including welding, painting, pick and place, palletizing, cutting, assembly, and product testing, and inspection. They are often used to perform tasks that are repetitive, laborious, and dangerous.Technavios analysts forecast the Industrial Robotics Market in APAC to grow at a CAGR of 8.7% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the Industrial Robotics Market in APAC for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, we consider revenue generated from the sales and aftermarket services of industrial robots.The market is divided into the following segments based on region:ChinaJapanSouth KoreaIndiaTechnavio's report, Industrial Robotics Market in APAC 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Key vendorsABBFANUCKawasaki Heavy IndustriesKUKAYaskawa ElectricSIASUN Robot & AutomationOther prominent vendorsAdept TechnologiesEpson RoboticsHondaMitsubishi ElectricNachi-FujikoshiStaubli RoboticsYamaha RoboticsMarket driverRise in factory automationFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeHigh switching costFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendGrowing IoT in roboticsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ New SGS Product Testing Lab in Vietnam www.sgs.com/cgnr SGS opened a new product testing laboratory at Hai Phong, in northern Vietnam on Janu-ary 11, 2017. The state-of-the-art facility is designed to provide physical and restricted sub-stances testing for a range of products.During 2017, the laboratory intends to gain ISO 17025 accreditation and deal with products including: Textiles Apparel Footwear Handbags Jewelry Candles Toys Hard goodsThe new site, in line with the existing SGS lab in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam, will serve the countrys manufacturing industry by providing closer and faster services to those seeking to comply with international regulations in readiness for export.In 2016, Hai Phong the third biggest city in Vietnam - attracted more than USD 2 billion in direct foreign investment. With a population of over two million people, the city is also the biggest port in northern Vietnam and serves the northern manufacturing regions of Hai Duong, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, and Nam Dinh.About SGSSGS has been providing quality, reputable and independent international services in Vietnam since 1989. It currently employs over 900 people there and gives Vietnamese manu-facturers access to the most sophisticated laboratory testing equipment in the country.With its global reach, SGS is the ideal partner for European and US companies producing or sourcing products in Vietnam.For further information contact:Linh TranSGS VietnamTel: +84-8 38 160 999Email: cts.media@sgs.comWebsite:About SGSSGS is the worlds leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 90,000 em-ployees, SGS operates a network of over 2,000 offices and laboratories around the world.1, Mons CalpeChitcombe RoadBroad OakRyeEast SussexTN31 6EU United States Hybrid Power System Market 2017 Industry Trends, Demand, Growth, Share and Opportunities forecasts to 2021 Hybrid Power System https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=913856 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/913856-united-states-hybrid-power-system-market-report-2017 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=913856 www.wiseguyreports.com Hybrid Power SystemThis report studies sales (consumption) of Hybrid Power System in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, and revenue and market share for each player, coveringTry Sample Report @EmersonHeliocentrisShanghai GhrepowerSiemensSMAAEG Power SolutionsAlpha PowerDanvestElectro power systemsElgris powerEltek PowerKLiUX energiesReGen PowertechRepowering solutionsSchneider ElectricUrban Green EnergyWindStream TechnologiesMarket Segment by States, coveringCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaIllinoisSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoResidentialNon-residentialSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Hybrid Power System in each application, can be divided intoOil and GasMiningCommercialOtherSome Major Points from Table of content:United States Hybrid Power System Market Report 20171 Hybrid Power System Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Hybrid Power System1.2 Classification of Hybrid Power System1.2.1 Residential1.2.2 Non-residential1.3 Application of Hybrid Power System1.3.1 Oil and Gas1.3.2 Mining1.3.3 Commercial1.3.4 Other1.4 United States Market Size Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) of Hybrid Power System (2012-2022)1.4.1 United States Hybrid Power System Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Hybrid Power System Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)For Detailed Reading Please visit @2 United States Hybrid Power System Competition by Manufacturers2.1 United States Hybrid Power System Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 United States Hybrid Power System Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.3 United States Hybrid Power System Average Price by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.4 Hybrid Power System Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 Hybrid Power System Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 Hybrid Power System Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion......6 United States Hybrid Power System Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis6.1 Emerson6.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors6.1.2 Hybrid Power System Product Type, Application and Specification6.1.2.1 Residential6.1.2.2 Non-residential6.1.3 Emerson Hybrid Power System Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.2 Heliocentris6.2.2 Hybrid Power System Product Type, Application and Specification6.2.2.1 Residential6.2.2.2 Non-residential6.2.3 Heliocentris Hybrid Power System Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.3 Shanghai Ghrepower6.3.2 Hybrid Power System Product Type, Application and Specification6.3.2.1 Residential6.3.2.2 Non-residential6.3.3 Shanghai Ghrepower Hybrid Power System Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.4 Siemens6.4.2 Hybrid Power System Product Type, Application and Specification6.4.2.1 Residential6.4.2.2 Non-residential6.4.3 Siemens Hybrid Power System Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.5 SMA6.5.2 Hybrid Power System Product Type, Application and Specification6.5.2.1 Residential6.5.2.2 Non-residential6.5.3 SMA Hybrid Power System Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.6 AEG Power Solutions6.6.2 Hybrid Power System Product Type, Application and Specification6.6.2.1 Residential6.6.2.2 Non-residential6.6.3 AEG Power Solutions Hybrid Power System Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.7 Alpha Power6.7.2 Hybrid Power System Product Type, Application and Specification6.7.2.1 Residential6.7.2.2 Non-residential6.7.3 Alpha Power Hybrid Power System Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.7.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinuedBuy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPh: +91 841 198 5042info@wiseguyreports.com Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Industry 2017 Best Market Benefits, Bright Trends, Developments & Scope http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=927263&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-phosphorus-fertilizer-sales-market-report-2017.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/category/agriculture-market-reports-150.htm Qyresearchreports include new market research reportGlobal Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.This market intelligence report serves its readers with an executive-level blueprint of the global Phosphorus Fertilizer market. Data from a number of paid and unpaid sources including press releases, journals, presentations, and white papers has been taken into account for collating this report.The various factors influencing the growth of the global Phosphorus Fertilizer market, including drivers, restraints, and opportunities, are studied in detail. The report serves as a repository of analysis and information regarding various aspects and is aimed at updating stakeholders about the prevailing market dynamics. It identifies the ongoing trends of the global Phosphorus Fertilizer market in both developed and emerging marketplace.Enquiry For Discount Visit @The report uses tools such as Porters five force analysis and market attractiveness analysis to offer essential insights into the vendor landscape of the global Phosphorus Fertilizer market. It profiles the key companies operating in the market along with their revenue generation, market shares, latest developments, contact information, and business strategies. Details pertaining to the latest mergers and acquisitions in the market are also mentioned in the report. The report also includes a SWOT analysis that aids in deriving the potential growth trajectory of each prominent player in the market. It contains a separate section of recommendations that help organizations in the market in decision-making and formulate their future strategies.To provide a holistic overview, the report has divided the global Phosphorus Fertilizer market on the basis of various criteria such as geography and application. It identifies the leading and the most promising segment based on both value and volume. The statistics presented for each segment have been represented through graphical segmentation for a better understanding. This report, thus, provides a 360-degree view of the global Phosphorus Fertilizer market.Table of Contents1 Phosphorus Fertilizer Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Phosphorus Fertilizer1.2 Classification of Phosphorus Fertilizer1.2.1 Rock Phosphate1.2.2 Superphosphate1.2.3 Triple Super Phosphate1.2.4 Di-ammonium Phosphate1.2.5 Ammonium Polyphosphate1.3 Application of Phosphorus Fertilizer1.3.1 Canola1.3.2 Corn1.3.3 Vegetables1.3.4 Flowers1.3.5 Others1.4 Phosphorus Fertilizer Market by Regions1.4.1 United States Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Phosphorus Fertilizer (2011-2021)1.5.1 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.5.2 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Browse Complete Report with TOC @2 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2011-2016)2.1.2 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2011-2016)2.2 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)2.2.2 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)2.3 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer (Volume and Value) by Regions2.3.1 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by Regions (2011-2016)2.3.2 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2011-2016)2.4 Global Phosphorus Fertilizer (Volume) by Application3 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Value (2011-2016)3.1.1 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)3.1.2 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)3.1.3 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)3.2 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers3.3 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by Type3.4 United States Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by Application4 China Phosphorus Fertilizer (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Value (2011-2016)4.1.1 China Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)4.1.2 China Phosphorus Fertilizer Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)4.1.3 China Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)4.2 China Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers4.3 China Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by Type4.4 China Phosphorus Fertilizer Sales and Market Share by ApplicationExplore New Reports on Agriculture market @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States Calcium Carbonate Market to Cross US$ 28.5 Billion Globally by 2021 https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/calcium-carbonate-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/calcium-carbonate-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, February 01: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Calcium Carbonate Market (GCC and PCC) for Paper, Plastic, Building & Construction and Other Applications - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2021.As per this exploration report, the worldwide calcium carbonate market remained at US$15.6 Billion in 2012. Growing at a CAGR of 7.0% from the 2013-2019 period, the overall business sector is prone to reach US$25 Billion before the end of the estimate period.Browse Full Report here:Calcium carbonate that is CaCO3 is chemical component found in nature as aragonite and calcite, in pearls, plant ashes, chalk, marble, shells of marine organisms, bones and eggs. Calcium carbonate particularly used for making Portland cement, lime and gastric antacid. It is energetic element in agricultural lime which is created by combine reaction of calcium ions in hard water with carbonate ions. Calcium carbonate is used in paints and coating application and in cement for constructing and building industry. It also used in pharmaceutical and medical industry as a calcium supplement. Calcium carbonate is found all over the world.How Big is the Calcium Carbonate Market?The calcium carbonate market is expected to exceed more than US$ 28.5 Billion by 2021; Growing at a CAGR of more than 7.0% in the given forecast period.The major driving factors of calcium carbonate market are as follows:Growing demand from plastic divisionRising paper industry marketIncreasing demand from construction industry and building industryThe restraining factors of calcium carbonate market are as follows:Undesirable effects of extreme utilization of calcium carbonatesDownload Free Sample Report:The calcium carbonate market is segmented on the lines of its product, application and geography. Under application segmentation it covers building and construction, plastic, paper, agriculture and pharmaceutical. The calcium carbonate market is segmented on the lines of its product like precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate. The calcium carbonate market is geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geography market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for calcium carbonate and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2021.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for calcium carbonate4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for various types of coatings with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Excalibar Minerals, Great Lakes Calcium Corp., Imerys, Huber Engineered Materials, Minerals Technologies Inc., Maruo Calcium Co. Ltd., Mississippi Lime Co., Omya Ag, Okutama Kogyo Co.Ltd., Schaefer Kalk GMBH & Co. KG, Solvay S.A., and Shiraishi Kogyo Kaisha Ltd.. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary,business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Calcium Carbonate Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment AnalysisGround Calcium Carbonate (GCC)Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC)By Application AnalysisPaperPlasticBuilding & ConstructionOthers (Pharmaceutical, agriculture, etc.)By Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2016 - 2030 | Researchmoz http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=804859 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=804859 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" to its huge collection of research reports.Due to the bandwidth limitations of their traditional voice-centric LMR (Land Mobile Radio) networks, public safety agencies are keen to leverage commercial cellular network technology to support their growing broadband application needs. Considering its thriving ecosystem, spectrum flexibility and performance metrics, LTE has emerged as the leading candidate for public safety mobile broadband networks. In addition, with the recent approval of the MCPTT (Mission Critical Push to Talk) voice standard as part of 3GPP Release 13, LTE has also become an attractive substitute for providing LMR-like voice services.The Qatar Ministry of Interior made headlines when it deployed a private 800 MHz LTE network in 2012. Since then, numerous public safety LTE networks have sprung up across the globe, including the UAE, China, Laos, Turkey and Kenya. Several early adopter LTE deployments are also operational in the United States, as part of the planned FirstNet nationwide public safety broadband network. While most initial public safety LTE investments are limited to small-scale networks, nationwide rollouts in the United States and South Korea are expected to trigger significant large-scale investments throughout the globe.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The European market is largely dominated by MVNO arrangements, such as the UK Home Offices ESN (Emergency Services Network) program that will use EEs commercial LTE network to deliver prioritized mission critical voice and data services for the UKs public safety agencies. As part of the program, EE is enhancing its existing network with additional sites, satellite backhaul and a dedicated mobile core for first responders, among other investments.Driven by the thriving ecosystem, SNS Research estimates that annual investments on public safety LTE infrastructure will reach $600 Million by the end of 2016. The market, which includes base stations (eNBs), mobile core and transport networking gear, is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 33% over the next four years. By 2020, these infrastructure investments will be complemented by over 4.4 Million LTE device shipments, including smartphones, rugged handheld terminals and vehicular routers.The Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2016 2030 Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts report presents an in-depth assessment of the global public safety LTE market, besides touching upon the wider LMR and mobile broadband industries. In addition to covering the business case, challenges, technology, spectrum allocation, industry roadmap, value chain, deployment case studies, vendor products, strategies, standardization initiatives and applications ecosystem for public safety LTE, the report also presents comprehensive forecasts for mobile broadband, LMR and public safety LTE subscriptions from 2016 till 2030. Also covered are public safety LTE service revenues, over both private and commercial networks. In addition, the report presents revenue forecasts for public safety LTE infrastructure, devices, integration services and management solutions.The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report, as well as a list and associated details of over 90 global public safety LTE network commitments (as of Q22016).Key Findings:The report has the following key findings:- SNS Research estimates that annual investments on public safety LTE infrastructure will reach $600 Million by the end of 2016. The market, which includes base stations (eNBs), mobile core and transport networking gear, is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 33% over the next four years.- By 2020, these infrastructure investments will be complemented by over 4.4 Million LTE device shipments, including smartphones, rugged handheld terminals and vehicular routers.- Following the Qatar Ministry of Interiors private 800 MHz LTE network deployment in 2012, multiple private LTE rollouts are underway by security forces throughout the oil rich GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, including the Abu Dhabi and Dubai police forces.- Driven by nationwide public safety LTE network rollouts in the United States and South Korea, the North America and Asia Pacific regions will account for nearly 70% of all public safety LTE investments over the next four years.- Almost all major LMR industry players are leveraging partnerships with established LTE infrastructure OEMs such as Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and Samsung, to offer end-to-end LTE solutions.- Consolidation efforts are continuing to take place throughout the industry, particularly among the largest LTE infrastructure OEMs and public safety system integrators.Topics Covered:The report covers the following topics:- Business case for public safety LTE and mobile broadband services, including key benefits and challenges- Technology, economics, trends, commercial commitments and deployment case studies- List of public safety LTE engagements worldwide- Public safety LTE infrastructure, devices and applications- Industry roadmap, value chain and standardization initiatives- Spectrum allocation, deployment models and funding strategies- Profiles and strategies of over 260 ecosystem players including public safety system integrators and LTE infrastructure/device OEMs- TCO analysis of private and commercial public safety LTE deployments- Military and tactical LTE deployments- Public safety LTE base station (eNB) form factor analysis- Exclusive interview transcripts from 5 key ecosystem players: Ericsson, Airbus Defence and Space, Sepura, Aricent and Parallel Wireless- Strategic recommendations for vendors, system integrators, public safety agencies and mobile operators- Market analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast Segmentation:Market forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:Public Safety LTE Infrastructure- Submarkets- RAN (Radio Access Network)- EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and Policy- Mobile Backhaul and Transport- RAN Base Station (eNB) Mobility Categories- Fixed Base Stations- Transportable Base Stations- RAN Base Station (eNB) Cell Size Categories- Macrocells- Small Cells- Transportable RAN Base Station (eNB) Form Factor Categories- NIB (Network-in-a-Box)- VNS (Vehicle Network System)- SOW (System-on-Wheels)- Airborne PlatformPublic Safety LTE Management & Integration Solutions- Submarkets- Network Integration & Testing- Device Management & User Services- Managed Services, Operations & Maintenance- CybersecurityPublic Safety LTE Devices- Submarkets- Private LTE- Commercial LTE- Form Factor Categories- Smartphones & Handportable Terminals- Vehicle Mount Routers & Terminals- Tablets & Notebook PCs- USB Dongles & OthersPublic Safety LTE Subscriptions & Service Revenue- Submarkets- Private LTE- Commercial LTEPublic Safety User Subscriptions over Private Mobile Broadband- Submarkets- Private LTE- Private WiMAXPublic Safety User Subscriptions over Commercial Mobile Broadband- Submarkets- 3G- WiMAX- LTE- 5G & BeyondLMR Subscriptions- Submarkets- Analog- DMR- dPMR, NXDN & PDT- P25- TETRA- Tetrapol- OthersLMR Data SubscriptionsSubmarketsP25 - Phase 1P25 - Phase 2TETRATEDSTetrapolOthersPublic Safety LTE Applications- Submarkets- Video Applications- zGIS, AVLS and Mapping- Mobile VPN Access & Security- CAD (Computer Aided Dispatching)- Remote Database Access- Telemetry and Remote Diagnostics- Bulk Multimedia/Data Transfers- PTT & Voice over LTE- Situational Awareness ApplicationsRegional Segmentation- Asia Pacific- Eastern Europe- Latin & Central America- Middle East & Africa- North America- Western EuropeKey Questions Answered:The report provides answers to the following key questions:- How big is the public safety LTE opportunity?- What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?- How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?- What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?- Which regions and submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?- How does standardization impact the adoption of LTE for public safety applications?- When will MCPTT and proximity services see large scale proliferation?- What is the status of private LTE rollouts and public safety MVNO offerings across the globe?- What opportunities exist for commercial mobile operators and MVNOs in the public safety LTE market?- Is there a market for 400 MHz LTE networks?- What are the prospects of tactical, vehicle-mounted and airborne LTE eNB platforms?- How can public safety agencies leverage unused spectrum resources to fund private LTE networks?- What strategies should system integrators and vendors adopt to remain competitive?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global Low-Cost Airline Market Analysis and Forecast 2020 | Now Available at Researchmoz.us http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=885022 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=885022 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "The Global Low-Cost Airline Market to 2020" to its huge collection of research reports.In terms of seat capacity, the global low cost carrier (LCC) industry is expanding. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), LCCs hold 26% share in Asia-Pacific, 54% in Southeast Asia, and 26% globally. More than 12 airlines started operating in Asia-Pacific during the period 20052015. The fast growth in Asia-Pacific can be attributed to the fact that it has some of the fastest-growing economies including China and IndiaKey Findings- The US is the largest market in the world in terms of revenues and seats sold. In 2015, its revenues stood at US$31.6 billion and the number of passengers carried totaled 216.6 million. Spain and the UK held second and third position in terms of seats sold, while Japan was the fastest-growing market at a CAGR of 33.7% during the historic period (20112015). Switzerland (90.6%) had the highest load factor in 2015, followed by France (90.5%) and Mexico (89.9%). In terms of revenue per passenger, New Zealand was the largest market while China was the fastest-growing market at a CAGR of 3.7% during the historic period- LCCs are increasingly gaining a foothold in the global aviation industry and their growth is not driven only by leisure customers. Today, LCCs are also adding direct flights to business destinations. For instance, Wizz Air and Ryanair run flights from London to Vilnius, the economic hub of Lithuania and one of the biggest financial centers of the Baltic States. Europes two leading LCCs in terms of seats sold Ryanair and Easyjet are also making profits. In 2015, Ryanair (101.4 million) sold more seats than IAG (95 million), which owns Iberia, British Airways, Vueling, and Aer LingusTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @- LCCs in general do not add anything extra, which increases the cost; however, the trend is changing. For instance, flydubai offers free meals on flights from Prague to Dubai- LCCs usually operate on short-haul routes and do not fly on long-haul networks because of the additional expense incurred in flying over six hours. However, this is changing as airlines such as Norwegian and Scoot are able to operate on long-haul routes as they are using more fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Dreamliner 787. Norwegian runs flights on transatlantic routes.SynopsisCanadeans report The Global Low-Cost Airline Market to 2020 provides detailed information on global low-cost airlines industry, analyzing market data and providing insights.What else does this report offer?- Historic and forecast revenue of global low-cost airlines market covering 40 countries- Detailed region-wise (Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa) of low-cost airlines' key performance indicators such as the number of seats available and seats sold, load factor, average revenue per passenger, total revenues, revenue generating passenger kilometers and passenger kilometers available for the historic (2011-2015) and forecast (2016-2020) periods- Brief analysis of global low-cost airlines market and the present scenario- Detailed analysis of the markets trends in key low-cost airlines marketsReasons To Buy- Make strategic business decisions using historic and forecast market data related to global low-cost airlines industry- Understand the demand-side dynamics within the industry to identify key market trends and growth opportunitiesTable of Contents1 Global Low-Cost Airline Market - Key Trends2 Global Low-Cost Airline Deals3 Global Low-Cost Airline KPIs - the Americas3.1 The Americas - Seats Available (2011?2020)3.2 The Americas - Seats Sold (2011-2020)3.3 The Americas - Load Factors (2011-2020)3.4 The Americas - Average Revenues per Passenger (2011-2020)3.5 The Americas - Total Revenues Generated (2011-2020)3.6 The Americas - Revenue-Generating Passenger Kilometers (2011-2020)3.7 The Americas - Passenger Kilometers Available (2011-2020)4 Global Low-Cost Airline KPIs - Asia-Pacific4.1 Asia-Pacific - Seats Available (2011?2020)4.2 Asia-Pacific - Seats Sold (2011-2020)4.3 Asia-Pacific - Load Factors (2011-2020)4.4 Asia-Pacific - Average Revenues per Passenger (2011-2020)4.5 Asia-Pacific - Total Revenues Generated (2011-2020)4.6 Asia-Pacific - Revenue-Generating Passenger Kilometers (2011-2020)4.7 Asia-Pacific - Passenger Kilometers Available (2011-2020)5 Global Low-Cost Airline KPIs - Europe5.1 Europe - Seats Available (2011?2020)5.2 Europe - Seats Sold (2011-2020)5.3 Europe - Load Factors (2011-2020)5.4 Europe - Average Revenues per Passenger (2011-2020)5.5 Europe - Total Revenues Generated (2011-2020)5.6 Europe - Revenue-Generating Passenger Kilometers (2011-2020)5.7 Europe - Passenger Kilometers Available (2011-2020)6 Global Low-Cost Airline KPIs - the Middle East and Africa6.1 The Middle East and Africa - Seats Available (2011?2020)6.2 The Middle East and Africa - Seats Sold (2011-2020)6.3 The Middle East and Africa - Load Factors (2011-2020)6.4 The Middle East and Africa - Average Revenues per Passenger (2011-2020)6.5 The Middle East and Africa - Total Revenues Generated (2011-2020)6.6 The Middle East and Africa - Revenue-Generating Passenger Kilometers (2011-2020)6.7 The Middle East and Africa - Passenger Kilometers Available (2011-2020)Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global BPO Business Analytics Market 2016 - Accenture, Cognizant, Genpact, IBM, TCS, HP, Tech Mahindra http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/19882/request-sample www.fiormarkets.com www.9dimenreports.com The BPO Business Analytics market research report distils the most essential aspects of the market and presents them in the form of a comprehensive and cohesive document. The findings of this report have been obtained via a balanced mix of both primary and secondary research. Interviews of C-level executives in the BPO Business Analytics market form a chunk of the qualitative analysis contained in this report.To begin with, the report defines the BPO Business Analytics market and segments it based on the most important dynamics, such as applications, geographical/regional markets, and competitive scenario. Macroeconomic and microeconomic factors environments that currently prevail and also those that are projected to emerge are covered in this report.With a view to deepen the scope of the analysis, the report also tracks milestone developments and regulations that have shaped the BPO Business Analytics market thus far. To help readers effectively plan their future strategies, the report provides a set of expert recommendations. The analysts working on the report have successfully identified expected policy changes, industry news and developments, and trends and opportunities this information can be harnessed by companies to strengthen their market presence.Other important aspects that have been meticulously studied in the BPO Business Analytics market report are: Demand and supply dynamics, import and export scenario, industry processes and cost structures, and major R&D initiatives.Download Free Sample Report @Based on all of this information, the report provides recommendations and strategies to the following market participants: New players, investors, marketing departments, regulatory authorities and suppliers/manufacturers. The BPO Business Analytics market research study has been composed using key inputs from industry experts. Furthermore, the extensive primary and secondary research data with which the report has been composed helps deliver the key statistical forecasts, in terms of both revenue and volume. In addition to this, the trends and revenue analysis of the global BPO Business Analytics market has been mentioned in this report. This will give a clear perspective to the readers how the BPO Business Analytics market will fare worldwideFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Fior Markets provides you the full spectrum of services related to market research, and corroborate with the clients to increase the revenue stream, and address process gaps.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market to Exceed US$ 4 Billion by 2024 https://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/womens-health-rehabilitation-products-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/womens-health-rehabilitation-products-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, February 01: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market By Product type (Breast Cancer, Lymphedema, Osteoporosis, Introduction, Orthopedic, Urinary Incontinence, Pelvic Pain, Pregnancy and Post-partum) - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024How Big is the Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market?The womens health rehabilitation products market is expected to exceed more than US$ 4 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of around 5% in the given forecast period.Download Free Sample Report:In the most recent couple of years, the frequency of constant diseases has significantly expanded among ladies. Be it the adjustment in way of life or the rising geriatric populaces, specialists extends this predominance to keep ascending in the imminent years too, hence making ladies well being recovery more basic than any other time in recent memory. Medical rehabilitation is an exceedingly checked movement considered essential for helping with the change general well being status after a drawn out ailment. Interest for women restoration has in this way considerably expanded in the late years. The expanding maternal passing, particularly in creating countries, rising wounds because of street mischance, and the expanding commonness cardiovascular sicknesses bringing on death of women have constrained governments to concentrate more on women rehabilitation and health.The major driving factors of womens health rehabilitation products market are as follows:Rising developments for community based rehabilitation centersTechnological developmentIncreasing aging female populationThe restraining factors of womens health rehabilitation products market are as follows:Low approval of some productsHigh product costThe womens health rehabilitation products market is segmented on the lines of its product and regional. Based on product segmentation the womens health rehabilitation products market covers osteoporosis, lymphedema, breast cancer, pregnancy and post partum, pelvic pain, urinary incontinence and orthopedic. The womens health rehabilitation products markets geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Browse Full Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for womens health rehabilitation products and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for womens health rehabilitation products.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Marketfor variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Access Health (Victoria, Australia), GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, U.K.), Carib Rehab Ltd. (St. Michael, Barbados), GPC Medical Ltd. (New Delhi, India), Meyer Physical Therapy (New York, U.S.), Pelvic Health & Rehabilitation (San Francisco, U.S.), Rehab Plus (Timmins, Canada), Sportstek (Oakleigh, Australia), Win Health Medical Ltd. (Jedburgh, U.K.). Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary,business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment AnalysisOsteoporosisLymphedemaBreast cancerPregnancy and post partumPelvic painUrinary incontinenceOrthopedicIntroductionBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States Global Wine Market Share, Size, Trends, Growth and Forecast 2017-2025 http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-wine-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/ http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-wine-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/ http://www.slideshare.net/IndexBox_Marketing/world-wine-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020 www.indexbox.co.uk IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Wine - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025"().This report provides an in-depth analysis of the global wine market. Within it, you will find the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption and production, food balance and price developments, as well as global trade (imports and exports). The forecast reveals market prospects to 2025.With nearly 4.1 billion liters of wine consumed in 2015, the U.S. became the world's leading wine consuming country. Per capita wine consumption in the U.S. was estimated at 12.8 liter/year, significantly higher than the global average (3.9 liter/year).From 2007 to 2015, global wine consumption increased by a healthy +1.6% annually. The highest annual rates of growth in terms of wine consumption between 2007 and 2015 were registered in China (+4.8% per year), the U.S. (+4.7% per year) and Italy (+4.3% per year).Global wine consumption in 2015 amounted to 28.6 billion liters. Wine consumption is on the increase, mainly due to the enhanced wine consumption figures recorded in the US, Chinese and European markets.The USA is continuing to retain its position as the dominant leader in the wine market in terms of total wine consumption. It is followed by Europe; here there is a tangibly developed wine consumption culture and wine's general popularity in comparison to other types of alcohol remains relatively high.China is the sole Asian country to rank amongst the leaders in terms of wine consumption and production. In recent years, China has observed an increase in wine consumption; this growth in consumption has been fueled by the middle class, as a result of the shift in their drinking habits, moving from beer and bai zhu (a strong alcoholic drink) to red wine, due to the rise in levels of household income.TABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION1.1 REPORT DESCRIPTION1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2.1 KEY FINDINGS2.2 MARKET TRENDS3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1 MARKET VOLUME AND VALUE3.2 CONSUMPTION BY COUNTRY3.3 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES BY COUNTRY3.4 MARKET FORECAST TO 20254. PRODUCTION4.1 PRODUCTION OF WINE, HARVESTED AREA AND YIELD OF GRAPES IN 2007-20154.2 PRODUCTION BY COUNTRY4.3 HARVESTED AREA AND YIELD BY COUNTRY5. IMPORTS5.1 IMPORTS IN 2007-20155.2 IMPORTS BY COUNTRY5.3 IMPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY6. EXPORTS6.1 EXPORTS IN 2007-20156.2 EXPORTS BY COUNTRY6.3 EXPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY7. PRICES AND PRICE DEVELOPMENT7.1 PRODUCER PRICES7.2 PRODUCER PRICES INDEX8. PROFILES OF MAJOR PRODUCERSDownload a free sample of the report now!You can also find a template on SlideShareIndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. We conduct market research and publish reports.You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.We collect this data from hundreds of highly reliable sources, verify it and carry out market analysis, uncovering new business opportunities and empowering you with actionable insights.The structure of our reports is intuitive and clear. We do our best to allow you to make strategic decisions and take immediate action. If you want to go further and be a step ahead of the market, just tell us your goals and we will tailor a report to your needs.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QWWebsite: Market Overview: In todays information age, there is a requirement for protection. But, not all information is created equally, so rather than trying to protect everything; critical information needs to be singled out. 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With its foundation built in deep content inspection, the field of Information Governance solutions, encompassing Come and enjoy Read more [...] Lech Walesa Denounces Report Labeling Him a Communist Informer WARSAW A handwriting analysis has determined that Lech Walesa, the leader of Polands anticommunist Solidarity movement and later the president of Poland, was a Communist paid informant in the 1970s, according to a new official report issued on Tuesday.Mr. Walesa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, immediately denounced the report as unreliable and politically motivated, while his supporters insisted that the full picture of his seeming collaboration with the Communist authorities was more complicated than the report suggested.The report was prepared by the state-run Institute of Forensic Research in Krakow, which analyzed more than 150 documents that were found last year in the home of Gen. Czeslaw Kiszczak, the longtime interior minister during the Communist era, who died in 2015.From Dec. 29, 1970, to June 19, 1976, the future leader of Solidarity, Lech Walesa, was an informant for the Communist secret services under the code name Bolek, who spied on his colleagues and got paid for it, said Jaroslaw Szarek, the president of the government-run Institute of National Remembrance, which looks after the records of Polands Communist past.Andrzej Pozorski, who leads a commission that investigates Communist-era crimes, said that Mr. Walesa could be prosecuted for giving false testimony, though it seems unlikely that the authorities will want to pursue criminal charges.Mr. Walesa, 73, said he believed the handwriting experts and officials from the government-run institute were under political pressure from Polands right-wing governing party, Law and Justice, to declare the uncovered files authentic.The party has long tried to undermine Mr. Walesas legacy. Its leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is effectively the most powerful man in Poland, has been estranged from Mr. Walesa for over 25 years, after a falling out soon after the collapse of the Iron Curtain.The files in question include a handwritten agreement, signed Lech Walesa, Bolek, to cooperate with the state security service, as well as 17 receipts and 29 denouncements, all handwritten and signed by Mr. Walesa either as Bolek or himself, the report says.Jan Widacki, a representative of Mr. Walesa, said the matter was by no means settled. This is just an opinion, and we have the right to respond to it, he said at a news conference on Tuesday. We would like the prosecution to gather expert witnesses from various institutions, not just one that is subordinate to the government.The accusations against Mr. Walesa have been made for more than 20 years, and he has long maintained that they are a result of a vendetta by former Communists. He was cleared of collaboration charges by a special court in 2000, but the controversy along with the taint on his reputation has endured.In a Facebook post, Mr. Walesa, who was traveling outside Poland on Tuesday, repeated his denial that he had ever been a Communist. Kiszczak could not recruit me, he could not buy me or even kill me, he wrote. So he decided to write those quasi-denunciations to convince you. You can either believe me or Kiszczak.Jan Skorzynski, a historian at Collegium Civitas in Warsaw who studied Mr. Walesas dossier, said that he believed the documents were authentic but that the political context behind them was much more complicated than the institutes analysis suggested.Mr. Walesa was just 27 when he found himself one of the leaders of a major strike at the Gdansk shipyard. He was arrested like many other dissenters and faced grave pressure to collaborate, Mr. Skorzynski said.After the police arrived at his house to arrest him, he left his wedding ring and watch with his wife so that she could exchange them for money in case he didnt come back, Mr. Skorzynski said. Those were the times when police tortured their prisoners. Walesa signed the agreement to collaborate in an general atmosphere of terror.Over the next several years, Mr. Skorzynski said, Mr. Walesa was transformed from reluctant informant into genuine rebel.Andrzej Celinski, a Solidarity leader in the 1980s who later became a critic of Mr. Walesa, said that whatever might have transpired between Mr. Walesa and the Communists in those early days, it only made him tougher, stronger and smarter when it came to playing them in the 1980s.Mr. Walesas critics say he was wrong to sit down with Communists in 1989 to negotiate a peaceful transition of power, which resulted in many Communists remaining in public life.On Tuesday, Mr. Szarek even wondered aloud how cooperation with the Communists might have influenced Mr. Walesa during the Solidarity years and as Polands president, implying that he could have continued to function as a Communist agent.But Mr. Celinski called that charge insulting. Since 1976, Walesa was constantly under surveillance, fired from one job after another, he said. He and his family lived in constant fear.Mr. Skorzynski, the historian, said he hoped that this single episode in Mr. Walesas life would not define his legacy. Because he went on to redeem himself, he said. He redeemed himself many times over. Federica Mogherini, the EU Bloc's foreign policy chief, released on Wednesday a strongly worded statement decrying continued settlement expansion, which she noted is "illegal under international law".The EU "deeply regrets that Tel Aviv is proceeding with this, despite the continuous serious international concern and objections, which have been constantly raised at all levels," she said.On Tuesday, Tel Aviv announced the construction of 3,000 settlement homes in the West Bank, the fourth such announcement in the less than two weeks."Therefore, these Ugly Zionists should be stopped, and the, and this is a first step to be undertaken against the guilty Zionists. Robert Poulin exaggerated, slippery, one-sided and petty reporting for your tax dollar citizen.For a short, hopeful moment Monday, Trumpian conservatives were clucking and warbling triumphant tweets at one another.Rumours swirling about the slaughter at the mosque in Quebec City had the shooter yelling "Allahu Akbar," albeit in a strong Quebecois accent, as he killed and reloaded.So why wasn't the fake-news liberal mainstream media concentrating on that instead of portraying it as an anti-Muslim hate crime encouraged by President Trump's crackdown on Muslim immigrants? Maybe it was a Shia/Sunni thing: the sort of atrocity that takes place all the time in countries where ISIS operates. Maybe it was Muslim-on-Muslim terror.Then came confirmation of the names of the two men arrested shortly after the shooting. One was Alexandre Bissonnette. But the other! The other had a Moroccan name! Mohamed Belkhadir.Hah! HAH! See, liberals? President Trump was right. He's keeping America safe. Maybe Justin Trudeau could just shut up and stop yammering about diversity and welcoming refugees and learn a thing or two from the new president. Turns out we aren't so safe from foreign terrorists after all, are we?Maybe we should be barring immigrants from Muslim countries or at least interrogating them before we let them in to ensure they share our Canadian values.But then the story changed, as stories tend to do when facts begin to emerge.Belkhadir, it turns out, was a witness, and called the police himself. The suspected shooter is Bissonnette. Not an immigrant. Not a Muslim. Probably a Christian, judging from his name. And, reportedly, a big admirer of Trump.By then, though, the attack had already been labelled terrorism, which is a difficult description to walk back.So, the right-wingers suddenly piped down on social media. Some deleted earlier tweets (step right up, Ezra Levant!). Perhaps Bissonnette was just, you know, a bad apple.In fact, in the pantheon of Canadian mass murderers, Mr. Bissonnette is entirely unremarkable. Just about every single one in our modern history has been a Canadian-born, Canadian citizen, and usually white and Christian, meaning extreme vetting of immigrants from places like Yemen and Iraq wouldn't have done a thing to prevent their predations.The first one I covered was the 1975 shooting at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa. The shooter was a student named Robert Poulin. The inquest failed to determine why he bought a shotgun at Giant Tiger, raped and killed his 17-year-old friend, then headed off to school, where he opened fire in hallways and classrooms. Three people died in that case, including the perpetrator. There was no determination of terrorism or any analysis of religious motivation.That same year, a 16-year-old named Michael Slobodian arrived at Brampton Centennial Secondary School west of Toronto with two rifles in a guitar case. He killed two people, wounded 13, then committed suicide. He left a note explaining he hated school and wanted to kill teachers. Stories from the time made no mention of his religion.Less than a decade later, a white, Christian francophone named Denis Lortie opened fire in the Quebec National Assembly , killing three people and wounding several others. He's free today, having been released on parole more than 20 years ago. Had he been a Muslim, and a terrorist rather than just a mass killer, one suspects he'd still be behind bars.In 1989, Montreal-born Marc Lepine headed out into a dreadfully cold December night with a Ruger Mini-14 rifle and a knife, intent on hunting and killing as many women as he could. He eventually left 14 women dead at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal before killing himself. Authorities concentrated on his extreme misogyny, but, given that his name was Lepine, did not characterize it as terrorism. (Today, no doubt, much would be made of the fact that his father was an Algerian named Gharbi, even though Lepine took his mother's name.)A few years later, Valery Fabrikant, an associate professor at Concordia University in Montreal, decided to settle his grudges with colleagues using three pistols. He killed four people and now resides in a federal penitentiary. Actually, Fabrikant was different in one respect from other mass shooters in Canada: he was an immigrant from Belarus. He was not Muslim. The killing was not treated as terrorism.In 2006, Kimveer Gill entered Dawson College in Montreal with a Glock, a Beretta carbine and a shotgun and cut down 20 people. He wasn't a very good shot, fortunately, and only one of his victims died. He then killed himself. Police concluded he was mentally ill, and deteriorating fast, when he decided to kill. It was treated as a simple crime, rather than terrorism. Gill had a foreign-sounding name and was from a Sikh family but was born in Canada.In 2014 in Moncton, a man opened fire on several RCMP officers, killing three of them and wounding two others. Security hawks were ready to cry terrorism, but then it turned out the shooter was named Justin Bourque, was born in Canada, was home-schooled in a religious Christian family, talked a lot about the right to bear arms, and harboured a deep suspicion of government and its agents.That put an end to any talk of terror. Just another bad apple.The same year, Calgary experienced its worst mass murder: five people stabbed to death at a house party. The killer, a university student and son of a Calgary police veteran, named Matthew de Grood was not deemed a terrorist. He believed in vampires and werewolves. He was found not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. De Grood was a Canadian citizen.But then there was the big one. Michael Zehaf Bibeau, a homeless habitual criminal from Quebec, travelled to Ottawa in October 2014, where he shot a soldier dead from behind at the cenotaph before heading up to Parliament Hill, where he was killed by armed security staff.Bibeau was born in Canada, and therefore a Canadian citizen, but he'd converted to Islam years earlier. The crime shook the nation. Military bases increased their security. The government brought in legislation increasing police powers and curtailing Canadians' civil liberties.Terror had finally made its debut here. Canada would never be the same.And now, Alexandre Bissonnette. The question has to be, what further measures to take? And will Donald Trump begin banning white nationalist Christians from Canada?guess neil couldn't find photos and names of the other white (and we're to assume, christian as well):Michael SlobodianDenis LortieGamil Rodrigue Liass Gharbi (aka Marc Lepine)Valery FabrikantMatthew de GroodMichael Zehaf Bibeau Cass County Historical Society has opened an exhibit about Isaac Wiles and the Great Seal of the State of Nebraska. Many people in Cass County are unaware that Isaac Wiles of Plattsmouth introduced the bill in 1867 that called for the making of a state seal. He also suggested the state motto "Equality before the Law". ELMWOOD Cass County Democratic party leaders announced a list of citizens that have applied to replace Bill Kintner As District 2 senator. Kintners state legislative district included all of Cass County. Kintner resigned his position on Jan. 25 after incidences of misconduct. Last summer Cass County Democrats turned in over 800 signatures of LD 2 residents asking for Kintners resignation after he was found to have used a state computer to engage with a pornographic video service. The following Cass County citizens have applied for the Nebraska Legislative District #2 seat. The citizens are registered Democrats in Cass County. Mel Luetchens, Murdock Tim Dunlap, Plattsmouth Marsha Babcock, Elmwood Thomas Burtch, Murdock Dawn Josoff Jacobsen, Louisville James Harrold, Plattsmouth Karen Harvey Holmes, Louisville Cass Countys Democratic Party chair, Marsha Babcock, stated that the Democrats wanted to make a statement that they are here to be heard. Multiple Republicans from Sarpy and Cass County have also applied for the office including Ron Nolte, former Cass County Commissioner, and Janet McCartney, current Cass County Commissioner. While it is likely Gov. Pete Ricketts (Rep) will choose a member of his own party, the names of Democratic applicants deserve the Governors attention and consideration. There are Democrats in Cass County that feel strongly about making sure our residents are adequately represented in our state government proceedings. Our issues are issues of the common small town resident and they have not been well represented under Kintner. We are fair, open-minded and honest people and we can serve this county with strong leadership. Babcock said the new State Senator should come from Cass County. In previous years Nebraska Legislative District 2 covered the entirety of Cass County and small portion of Otoe County. Redistricting of legislative districts lumped Cass and Otoe with parts of Sarpy County. Kintner was from Papillion. Cass County residents have long protested that as an urban senator, Kintner did not represent the concerns of rural Cass County. There are numerous reasons for why patients may develop a conditions causing abnormal blood clotting increasing age, family history, previous conditions, etc. However, among the reasons that tend to be lesser known to most, is a disorder known as Factor V Leiden a gene mutation causing an increased tendency for abnormal blood clotting. For those unaware, Factor V is a protein, mostly comprised by cells found in the liver. Factor Vs job is to circulate throughout the bloodstream, standing by to be called upon when injury to the blood vessels occurs When this happens, Factor V interacts with another coagulation and clotting element called Factor X to help prevent blood from clotting. Those who have a deficiency or abnormality of Factor V, however, have a higher risk of developing blood clots because there is unopposed action of Factor X to form a clot. This clot may form deep vein thrombosis where clotting occurs in a deep vein system. Because Factor V Leiden makes it more difficult for Factor V to be broken up by anti-clotting proteins, Factor V stays in the blood for longer than needed, and increases unnecessary clotting. Because of this, those who have a Factor V deficiency or abnormality may not know the mutation exists until a deep vein thrombosis occurs, as the deficiency carries no known prior symptoms. However, there are a number of risk factors to consider when relating the Factor V Leiden mutation to the development of other conditions. For instance, those who smoke, take hormonal contraception, or have suffered from complications due to recent surgery, are at an increased risk of developing a deep vein thrombosis if they also possess the Factor V Leiden mutation. Furthermore, though clotting most often occurs in the form of a specific condition, it should also be known that Factor V Leiden increases the risk of general clotting in the body. With the national odds of developing a blood clot currently at 1 in 1,000, a Factor V Leiden increases those odds to at least 4 in 1,000, and as high as 8 in 1,000. Factor V deficiency or abnormalities are usually inherited and run in families. Patients may possess one or two abnormal genes that were inherited from both parents. If one gene is abnormal, then the condition may be mild. However, if both genes are abnormal, then the clotting disorders may be far more pronounced. Some telling signs of conditions linked to a Factor V deficiency, in addition to deep vein thrombosis, are superficial venous thrombosis (clots forming closer to the skin) or a pulmonary embolism (a clot that travels and dislodges in the lung). Nearly 30% of people that suffer from deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism have this mutation. Because these conditions most often come without warning, it is important to recognize any signs of irregular clot formation that may occur. For example, chest pain or discomfort could be the result of a pulmonary embolism, and pain or swelling in the leg could be a symptom of a deep vein thrombosis. Furthermore, when consulting with your doctor or vascular specialist, you should make them aware if a history of irregular blood clotting runs in your family, or if any relatives have a Factor V Leiden. The deficiency of this gene, also referred to as Owren disease, is synonymous with both genders, though women tend to develop blood clots from pregnancy or the intake of estrogen, making them more susceptible to the mutation. Factor V Leiden is also predominantly found in North American Caucasians, with 5 percent of this group possessing the mutation, though it can also be found in Latin Americans and African-Americans, though less commonly. To help fend off irregular blood clotting brought on by Factor V Leiden, anticoagulant medications can be utilized, helping to avoid life-threatening complications. Lifelong anticoagulation for patients with both inherited gene mutations are usually recommended. However, in order to get the full picture on how Factor V Leiden can impact a vascular lifestyle, as well as how the development of irregular blood clotting conditions can be controlled, consult your medical doctor or vascular specialist for more information. Though possessing a Factor V Leiden mutation can increase the risk of developing a blood clot, its existence only makes it all the more important to stay alert of other conditions that can arise as a result. Dr. Omar P. Haqqani, M.D., is the chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Vascular Health Clinics in Midland. To the editor: Betsy DeVos has no qualifications for Secretary of Education. DeVos is a billionaire lobbyist who loves public schools so much that she did not attend them and did not have her children attend them either. Her love for public education is for-profit and voucher-centered public school systems. DeVos has made it her mission to lead the charge in Michigan to bring for-profit charter schools to us for 28 years. In 2014, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers ranked Michigan among the worst states for charter accountability, noting that almost none of the policies it recommends (standards for granting or renewing a charter, provisions for closing poor performers, reporting and transparency requirements) is law in this state thanks to DeVos. In many categories, Michigan received no points for accountability. This is no way to hold authorizers accountable for school performance, for instance, and no way to evaluate authorizers. EducationNext, a journal that supports major change and reform in education, published a scathing look at Michigans loose oversight of charters. This lack of oversight is due to DeVos and her lobbing efforts. Whats interesting about the EducationNext report is that its not an attack on the idea of charters or choice. Its simply an indictment of the neglectful way that Michigan has pursued those ideals for the past 20 years. Michigan has gone too far, paid too little attention to quality and allowed anti-regulatory fervor to replace educational outcomes as the primary purpose for public schooling thanks to DeVos and her money. CHARLES RUSSIAN Sanford PLATTSMOUTH A La Vista man will spend multiple years in state prison for sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Cass County. Robert W. Nielsen, 41, appeared in Cass County District Court on Monday for sentencing on a Class II felony charge. Nielsen pled guilty to one count of first-degree sexual assault-statutory ages 12-15 this past summer. Nielsen was with a group of people at a residence on Mahoney Road by Louisville on Oct. 24, 2015. Cass County Attorney Nathan Cox told the court this past summer that Nielsen gave a teenage girl alcohol during the evening. He then waited for other people at the residence to go to sleep. Cox said Nielsen then made sexual advances towards the teenager. He touched her inappropriately during the encounter. Deputy County Attorney Richard Fedde told the court Monday that the state and defense had agreed to recommend a sentence of nine to ten years in state prison. He said the felony crime warranted a lengthy term in the Nebraska Department of Corrections. I think it is a fair agreement when you consider the facts of the case and the nature of the crime, Fedde said. Defense attorney Ryan Hoffman also asked the court to follow the recommendation. He said Nielsen had been dealing with problems with alcohol in the months leading up to the night of the crime. He said alcohol also played a major role in the offense. Judge Michael Smith agreed to sentence Nielsen to a term of nine to ten years. Nielsen will be given credit for 413 days he has already spent in jail. He will also be required to enroll on the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry. When Dan Bawden teaches contractors and builders about aging-in-place, he has them get into a wheelchair. See what it's like to try to do things from this perspective, he tells them. That's when previously unappreciated obstacles snap into focus. Bathroom doorways are too narrow to get through. Hallways don't allow enough room to turn around. Light switches are too high and electrical outlets too low to reach easily. Cabinets beneath a kitchen sink prevent someone from rolling up close and doing the dishes. It's an "aha moment" for most of his students, who've never actually experienced these kinds of limitations or realized so keenly how home design can interfere with -- or promote -- an individual's functioning. About 2 million older adults in the U.S. use wheelchairs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; another 7 million use canes, crutches or walkers. That number is set to swell with the aging population: Twenty years from now, 17 million U.S. households will include at least one mobility-challenged older adult, according to a December report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. How well has the housing industry accommodated this population? "Very poorly," said Bawden, chair of the remodelers division at the National Association of Home Builders and president of Legal Eagle Contractors in Bellaire, Texas. "I give them a D." Researchers at the Harvard center found that fewer than 10 percent of seniors live in homes or apartments outfitted with basic features that enhance accessibility notably, entrances without steps, extra-wide hallways or doors needed for people with wheelchairs or walkers. Even less common are features that promote "usability" carrying out the activities of daily life with a measure of ease and independence. Laws that guarantee accessibility for people with disabilities go only so far. The Americans with Disabilities Act applies only to public buildings. And while the Fair Housing Act covers apartments and condominiums built after March 1991, its requirements aren't comprehensive and enforcement is spotty. We asked several experts to describe some common issues mobility-challenged seniors encounter at home, and how they can be addressed. The list below is what they suggested may need attention and has suggested alterations, but is not comprehensive. Getting inside. A ramp will be needed for homes with steps leading up to the front or back door when someone uses a wheelchair, either permanently or temporarily. The estimated price for a five- to-six foot portable nonslip version: $500 to $600. You'll want to take out the weather strip at the bottom of the front door and replace it with an automatic door bottom. "You want the threshold to be as flat as the floor is," Bawden said. Consider installing an electronic lock that prevents the need to lean in and insert a key. Doors. Getting through doorways easily is a problem for people who use walkers or wheelchairs. They should be 34 to 36 inches wide to allow easy access, but almost never are. Widening a doorway structurally is expensive, with an estimated cost of about $2,500. A reasonable alternative: swing-free hinges, which wrap around the door trim and add about 2 inches of clearance to a door. Clearance. Ideally, people using wheelchairs need a five-foot-wide path in which to move and turn around, Bawden said. Often that requires getting rid of furniture in the living room, dining room and bedroom. Another rule of thumb: People in wheelchairs have a reach of 24 to 48 inches. That means they won't be able to reach items in cabinets above kitchen counters or bathroom sinks. Also, light switches on walls will need to be placed no more than 48 inches from the floor and electrical outlets raised to 18 inches from their usual 14-inch height. Lighting. Older eyes need more light and distinct contrasts to see well. A single light fixture hanging from the center of the dining room or kitchen probably won't offer enough illumination. You'll want to distribute lighting throughout each room and consider repainting walls so their colors contrast sharply with your floor materials. "If someone can afford it, I put in recessed LED lights in all four corners of the bedroom and the living room and install closet rods with LED lights on them," Bawden said. LED lights don't need to be changed as often as regular bulbs. Kitchen. Mark Lichter, director of the architecture program for Paralyzed Veterans of America, recommends that seniors who use walkers or wheelchairs take time in the kitchen of a unit they're thinking of moving into and imagine preparing a meal. Typically, cabinets need to be taken out from under the sink, to allow someone with a wheelchair to get up close, Lichter said. The same is true for the stovetop: The area underneath needs to be opened and control panels need to be in front. Refrigerators with side-by-side doors are preferable to those with freezer areas on the bottom or on top. Slide out full-extension drawers maximize storage space, as can lazy Susans in the corner of bottom cabinets. Laundry. Get a side-by-side front-loading washer and drier to allow for easy access, instead of machines that are stacked on top of each other. Bathroom. When Jon Pynoos' frail father-in-law, Harry, who was in his 80s, came to live in a small cottage in back of his house, Pynoos put in a curbless shower with grab bars and a shower seat and a handheld shower head that slid up and down on a pole. Even a relatively small lip at the edge of the shower can be a fall risk for someone whose balance or movement is compromised. Also, Pynoos, a professor of gerontology, public policy and urban planning at the University of Southern California, installed nonslip floor tile and grab bars around a "comfort height" toilet. Cabinets under the sink will need to be removed, and storage space for toiletries moved lower. A moveable toilet paper holder will be better than a wall-based unit for someone with arthritis who has trouble extending an arm sideways. CARBONDALE Just over three years ago, Centerstone administrators opened an eight-bed critical care facility in Carterville, where people in mental health crisis could be counseled and regroup for a few days. The program, which served 400 people and purportedly saved taxpayers millions of dollars because people no longer were going to hospital emergency rooms, closed last summer. In Clinton, DeWitt County's largest provider of outpatient mental health services has had to spin off most of its programs to other human service providers. "We are still here," Stephanie Coonce, developmental training director with DeWitt County Human Resource Center (HRC) said recently. "But we are a very small piece of what we were." In the Bloomington-Normal area, YWCA McLean County, LIFE Center for Independent Living, Collaborative Solutions Institute, PATH, Children's Home + Aid and Mid Central Community Action are among human service providers that have made cuts because of delayed state funding due to the lack of a complete state budget for 17 months. "Enough is enough," said Rickielee Benecke, LIFE Center advocacy and advancement director, noting the agencies are providing services under signed contracts with the state. The agency has discontinued one program and laid off one employee. Other Twin City agencies, such as The Baby Fold, are owed millions of dollars by the state, but are maintaining services by using lines of credit with financial institutions. "The state of Illinois has gotten too comfortable with not solving its budget issues and then expecting public schools, mental health and social service agencies to figure out a way to provide necessary services without providers knowing how or when we will be paid," said the agency's Dianne Schultz. In Peoria, the Center for Prevention of Abuse which serves 5,000 people in six counties, including Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford had to eliminate its Safe From The Start program for children and its Self Neglect program for 90 seniors. Executive Director Carol Merna said the staff tried to minimize the impact, even though state funding is supposed to cover 40 percent of the agency's $4.5 million budget. Farther south, cities served by the Ullin-based Southern Seven Health Department saw clinic hours reduced. Judith Gethner, executive director of the Chicago-based Illinois Partners for Human Service, said this is happening to human service agencies across the state as they wait for promised state funding. Those agencies have reacted by extending lines of credit with financial institutions, organizing fundraisers, furloughing staff, not filling vacant positions and doubling up on duties and, in some cases, laying off staff, suspending programs and limiting new clients. Planning for uncertainty Just because state lawmakers passed a six-month stopgap funding measure last year didn't mean money was released the next day, Gethner noted. Recipients still had to wait, adding to their economic stress and workload. "These guys are living under uncertainty," she said, adding that uncertainty increased when the stopgap budget ended Dec. 31. Merna said the Center for Prevention of Abuse agency was able to absorb the children and seniors from the programs it had to eliminate. "We continue to root for our legislators, but compromise is a very important piece of that and we dont see a whole lot of compromise in the upper levels of leadership," she said. 1 million impacted More than 1 million people have been impacted by cuts to Illinois social service agencies, according to a recent Associated Press report. Typical is Centerstone, a not-for-profit provider of behavioral health care for 14,000 people in several communities, including Alton, Carbondale, Marion and West Frankfort. Last summer, agency officials made the decision to close the Carterville facility, said Chief Executive Officer John Markley. Delayed state funding and no state budget mean "chaos" in an environment where service continuum is important, Markley said. "And that to me, as a taxpayer, is unacceptable." Nancy Holt, executive director of the Southern Seven Health Department, said "We are probably 10 to 11 positions (down from) where we were prior to the budget crisis." Before fiscal year 2016, six of the agency's seven clinics were open five days a week; today, they range from four days to one. At the best, its an inconvenience," Holt said. "At worse, they cant get services when they want to get service or they have to travel." Southern Seven staff has forged relationships with area churches and food pantries to get needed food and milk to infants, children and their mothers. In some cases, staff themselves have purchased needed baby formula and food for clients. In DeWitt County, HRC handed off crisis intervention services to Decatur-based Heritage Behavioral Health, and substance abuse prevention and early childhood addiction intervention were taken over by Piatt County Mental Health. HRC retained its developmental training/day program and Kleeman Village, 14 apartments for low-income adults with mental illness. In the Bloomington-Normal area, PATH last summer handed off three senior services programs to larger agencies, laid off six employees and closed its Pontiac and Clinton offices, while retaining its other programs and its Bloomington main office. YWCA McLean County has eliminated five positions and not filled four vacancies, said Vice President of Operations Liz German. Collaborative Solutions Institute has let go one employee and not replaced another who retired, meaning its down to three employees. BLOOMINGTON Three Republican congressmen from Central Illinois support President Donald Trump's efforts to improve security through an executive order limiting immigration from certain countries. But they also want to see modifications or clarification of how it is being carried out. Trump issued an executive order on Friday that led to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen being detained at airports upon entry to the United States or prevented from boarding planes headed to the United States. The order, titled, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, suspended immigrant and non-emigrant entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of those seven countries. It also halted entry to the U.S. for all refugees for 120 days and for Syrians indefinitely. U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville said in a statement that the order is in need of tailoring and better communication to lower departments handling the directive," but people are kidding themselves if they think our current 'vetting' processes for refugees are not leaving our country open to terrorist attacks like we've seen in Europe." Ashley Phelps, a Davis spokeswoman, said, He wants to see the administration start to clarify some of the unintended consequences, such denial of entry for green card holders and people who had worked with the U.S. military. Likewise, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon said: I support a comprehensive look at our vetting processes, and I believes it's something every new administration would be expected to do. "However, reports of green card holders and those who assisted us in the war on terror being denied or delayed entry is deeply concerning. Such detention is unacceptable and must be remedied immediately. U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria said in a statement that, while the United States will continue to be a beacon of hope, priority must go to national security for our American citizens and our homeland. He said, Strengthening our immigration vetting process as it relates (to) Syria and a small handful of other countries with a history of terrorist activity should be viewed as protecting our homeland and its citizens. He also encouraged the administration to quickly clarify any questions or confusion as it relates to those individuals who are lawful permanent residents. Davis also took issue with characterizing the president's order as a "Muslim ban." This is not a ban on Muslims and anyone spouting that rhetoric is dangerous, and it's frankly insulting to me and the work my office has done to help many Muslim immigrants go through the legal channels to become citizens, he said, adding, I have never and will never support a religious test to enter this country. Phelps said any constituents who have encountered a problem or whose family members have had problems as a result of the executive order should contact Davis' office. Kinzinger urged the Trump administration to clarify the specifics on what should and should not be done to best protect our homeland, our people and our communities. Kinziner joined five other congressmen both Republicans and Democrats in a letter to Trump in support of a request by Defense Secretary James Mattis to exempt Iraqi interpreters, aides and other allies who risked their lives alongside U.S. personnel in Iraq. The letter noted, These allies risked their own lives, as well as the well-being of their families, to advance America's security interests. He knew we were beyond weary with the direction our country was headed. He came to us strong and soft, and put his arms around all of us. He then proceeded to hear us we didn't want any more war ever! We now had a protector who would take care of us, doing everything he could to make this country stronger. President Obama was ready to make a big difference in the direction of this country. His accomplishments were vast. This has never been fully recognized or accepted because of the path the Republican Congress chose to take. They chose to destroy this first black president, instead of being true patriots and working hard to make sure he succeeded. He came to us with people doubting his legitimacy. Our current president is the top birther of all time, with his innuendos and lies spewed about President Obama, who ended up saving this country. He came to us with Congress wanting to destroy him. Congress wasn't going to work with him. It took no part in allowing this president to succeed, making us a stronger and healthier country. Now here we are with an egomaniac who lies, a person accused of being a sexual predator, at the helm of this country. Those voting for this horrid individual should be asking themselves: Why? I'm thankful we had such a wonderful man at the helm, taking this country out of the abyss. Thank you so very much President and Mrs. Obama. Kathy Todt, Bloomington Bruno Mars has kicked off Black History Month in a big way, explaining in his profile with Latina magazine that pretty much every musical genre in America originated with black culture. Mars, who is half Puerto Rican, even attributes Latin genres to Africa, saying even "salsa music stems back to the Motherland." "When you say 'black music', understand that you are talking about rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown. Black people created it all...So, in my world, black music means everything. It's what gives America its swag." He went on to describe the impact of black music on his upbringing, particularly the prevalence of black artists who dominated popular music during his childhood. "I'm a child raised in the '90s. Pop music was heavily rooted in R&B from Whitney, Diddy, Dr. Dre, Boyz II Men, Aaliyah, TLC, Babyface, New Edition, Michael, and so much more. As kids this is what was playing on MTV and the radio. This is what we were dancing to at school functions and BBQs." "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for these artists who inspired me. They have brought me so much joy and created the soundtrack to my life filled with memories that I'll never forget." Speaking on current socio-political landscape in America, Mars added that he "hates" the fact inequality and racial injustice is still a talking point in the 21st century. "I hate that we're even having a conversation about injustice in America," he continued. "That we are having a conversation about this in 2017; the same conversation that's been had decades and decades ago." You're dead right, Bruno. Frustrating, isn't it? Image via Joe Schildhorn/BFA.com Frankly, what a mess. We've got two very, very big stars, with two very, very famous exes. There is much evidence to suggest aforementioned celebrities are seeing each other, but no explicit acknowledgement by either of that fact. Selbel (pop a bit of that word wizardry in your pipe and smoke it!) may even be a straight up troll, but even so, it's a troll worth documenting. So come take a look at the goods, it's been a wild ride. Alrighty. Let's throw it back to TWO WHOLE MONTHS ago. November, 2016 Bella Hadid and The Weeknd break up . This makes for big news. Bella Hadid and The Weeknd walk past each other on the Victoria's Secret runway. This makes for big memes. @bellahadid relatable? #thenewsclan #awkward #victoriasecret #lmao #bellahadid #love #vsfs #vsfs2016 A photo posted by The News Clan (@thenewsclan) on Nov 30, 2016 at 1:19pm PST A photo posted by The News Clan (@thenewsclan) on Nov 30, 2016 at 1:19pm PST January 11, 2017 Selena Gomez and the Weeknd are spotted kissing outside Los Angeles restaurant Giorgio Baldi after they allegedly shared pasta and were all over each other. Selena doesn't remove her tag from these photos on Instagram. Chaos ensues.Bella Hadid unfollows Selena Gomez on Instagram. January 12, 2017 Bella Hadid posts a picture of her giving the paparazzi the finger. Feels pointed. A photo of Selena posing in a gold g-string and a towel is posted on Instagram. Looks pretty great. LOOK AT HOW GOOD SHE LOOKS 2017 WILL BE HER YEAR AMEM SELENA GOMEZ #Selenators #BestFanArmy #iHeartAwards pic.twitter.com/TShKnoEbv7 (@Queen_Sel_Go) January 12, 2017 Bella Hadid uploads a near-nude photo of her own to her Instagram story. Caption reads "couple girls, couple stories, n a couple ..hm". Deletes it shortly after. Punctuation feels off but overall great times had by all. January 21, 2017 TMZ asks Justin Beiber if he can listen to a Weeknd song! Despite often appearing on the same track, responds that he cannot! Explains "that shit's wack!" January 26, 2017 Selena Gomez and The Weeknd attend the same arcade in Los Angeles on the same day. Friends post separate pictures of each star individually. They're later caught by paparazzi leaving together. January 27, 2017 In what feels like a huge leap forward, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd are spotted in Florence, Italy. January 29, 2017 Selena Gomez and The Weeknd follow each other on Instagram, which feels a little belated but hey who am I to judge. Videos ensue . January 31, 2017 This just in! Our trusted friends over at TMZ have reported that The Weeknd requested him and Selena be seated next to each other at the Grammy's on February 12. They have also both RSVP'd for the same afterparty. I can only imagine this will include the big couple debut that will finally satisfy everybody and their PR teams. That's a wrap folks! It's been a long, covert romance but I'm sure Selbel appreciates your patience. Images via Billy Farrell/BFA.com and Zach Hilty/BFA.com Using basic chemistry principles, Dr. Dan Sullivan seemed like a magician Jan. 26 as he turned clear liquids to colorful ones and created flames without the use of a match at Plattsmouth Community Middle School Sullivan, a retired University of Nebraska-Omaha Physics Professor, presented a 45-minute Chemistry and Physics on Wheels (C.A.P.O.W.) program for members in the Blue Devil After School Academy. I do science programs all over the country, Sullivan said. Sullivan explained that magicians dont really know magic tricks. Magicians know how to make it look like they can do magic, he said. Magicians rarely share their secrets, he explained. He said there was an older magician living in Hanson Park in Omaha for many years. He performed a magic trick that made it appear his head was floating across and above his shoulders. Penn and Teller, Las Vegas magicians, tried to buy the trick from him, but were turned down. Using a variety of glass flasks, Sullivan showed students how different chemicals produce reactions when mixed. Sullivan told them he attended a one-room country school as a young boy. There were kids who went to school with me who never had a new pair of shoes and who slept on the floor, he said. Those same youth went on to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists and any other career expert one can name today, he told them. You dont have to be a genius. You dont have to be rich. Just find out what you really like to do. When you grow up, you get to choose the life you are going to have, Sullivan said urging the students to make good choices in their lives. He told them he often visited Valentine, a community on the Niobrara River. There is a beautiful state park to go to where you can hear the wild canaries, he said. However, the area also has rattlesnakes, which he compared to lifes dangers and bad choices such as drug abuse. If a friend tells you to pick up the rattlesnake, your job is to not pick up the rattlesnake, he said, telling them that a person who would tell you to do so is really not a friend. Learn how to be good friends and have good friends. Sullivan told the students they would be smarter than the existing adults when they grew up. You already have jackets made from recycled soda bottles, he said. Throughout his experiments, Sullivan urged students to reuse items and not pollute the earth. The albatross can fly thousands of miles but it has a small brain. He thinks soda pop lids are clams and feeds them to its babies. We find thousands of dead baby birds on islands filled with lids, he said. One of his magic tricks involved putting out a flame with a fire extinguisher. Before he finished, however, he sprayed the audience with the extinguisher. Just days after Kim Kardashian hit out at Trump's controversial "Muslim Ban" in a tweet that showed annual deaths caused by Islamic jihadists, her private plane was searched by immigration officials at LAX. Upon returning from shooting upcoming episodes for Keeping Up with the Kardashians in Costa Rica, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kylie, Scott and Tyga were interviewed by customs officers who boarded the plane. Whether this has anything to do with Kim's social media criticism of the President's immigration policy, we don't know, but the timing all seems a little bit too serendipitous. Kim's opposition also seems bizarre considering husband Kanye West's friendly relationship with President Trump. Happy to have you back tweeting, Kim. [h/t Complex] Image via Matteo Pradoni/BFA.com It's not just families and the economy that will be grappling with President Donald Trump's executive order to temporarily ban the entry of Muslims in America. This ban will also impact higher education and learning, and analysts say it could cost the country $700 million in losses. According to The Atlantic, American universities have, for decades, welcomed foreign students because their presence boosts learning opportunities. By having students of different nationalities at universities, the kids can gain more knowledge about other cultures, races and people without having to travel outside America expensively. Many of these foreign students also come from institutions that have forged solid partnerships with American universities for years. In some cases, these foreign students also end up contributing to America's innovations in science, technology and other important fields. Since the ban, however, foreign students, especially those who belong to the seven countries listed Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are feeling the stress. According to Vox, at least 17,000 students are affected by the Muslim ban and many of them are the best and the brightest. Some are worried to leave the U.S. to visit their homes because they might not be able to go back to finish their studies. Some have deferred enrollment or have chosen to study in Canada and other countries because their status in the U.S. has become uncertain. The ban is only effective for 90 days or three months but no one can guarantee if this will be lifted or if more countries will be added to the list. If it does continue, the country could lose $700 million from higher education, Bloomberg reports. "These are very financially desirable students," Professor Robert Kelchen told the news outlet. "These tend to be people who earn quite a bit of money, come up with new innovations, and they tend to pay a lot of taxes." An 18-year-old girl has developed a new language she calls Skenavanns. Melissa May has so far come up with 1,500 words and a 50-page dictionary for her original creation but she's the only one who can speak or understand it. According to MDaily Mirror, May is a talented linguist who is fluent in speaking European languages like French, German and Spanish. She can also read Portuguese, Norwegian, Italian, Swedish and Danish texts. May also studied old languages like Latin and Norse and she is currently learning Chinese while intending to attend Cambridge University. With all her skills and talent, May still found the time and motivation to develop Skenavanns. The news outlet describes the 18-year-old as a budding J.R.R. Tolkien, the famous author of the classic novels "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit." Tolkien is known for creating unique languages for his stories and he based this on known languages like Latin, according to the Ardalambion. The intellectual author also invented words that are now part of the English language, according to Oxford. Will May's work one day be found in commonly used languages as well? May said she has no end goal for creating a new language but only that she loves what she's doing. "It's an artistic venture and language creation is an art," she told Daily Mirror. This is not her first shot at creating language, though. She's first tried this at age 11 after reading Tolkien and watching the movie "Avatar." Her father, Derek May, says May might not have a practical sense of other things, such as figuring out how a TV works. Her process of words, however, is astounding. In school, May exceeded expectations in language classes. She can absorb lessons from a two-year language course in as short as three months. May said her work on Skenavanns is far from over, however. She will develop it some more in the next few years. A lawmaker from Nebraska would like schools to be more accepting of teen moms. Two bills have recently been filed with the legislative committee seeking to help these young women finish high school while taking care of their baby. Nebraska Legislative Bill 427 and 428, which are sponsored by Omaha's Sen. Tony Vargas, seeks to expand laws on breastfeeding, as well as implore schools to be more accommodating to teen moms. LB 427 proposes all high schools should provide the student mothers with a clean and ideal space for breastfeeding or for pumping milk for their baby. LB 428 proposes the drafting of written policies for pregnant teens and teen parents, Omaha reports. As it is, Nebraska has laws allowing for public breastfeeding but it doesn't specifically cover high schools and teen mothers, hence Vargas wants this identified and defined. At least 17 percent of schools in Nebraska currently have policies for student parents but Vargas wants more schools to be involved. Vargas wants schools to be more accommodating to students who are raising babies, especially when it comes to absences or doing projects. He hopes for schools to provide teen moms and student parents alternatives to ensure they can finish the course. If possible, schools must also help the teen parents with child care, according to KLIN. If the school doesn't have such a facility, the bills propose school officials should find providers to partner with to help the teen mothers. Vargas hopes by coming up with these bills, the state would be able to retain more teen moms in school. The senator cites at least 70 percent of teenagers who get pregnant do not go back to school anymore and it's costing the future of Nebraska's youth. "Student mothers are mothers," the senator said, according to Ledger Enquirer. "We're just clarifying that and extending that to make sure they have the same rights." With the Donald Trump Muslim ban in place, a 29-year-old mom from Missouri is forced to accept the inevitable. She could be giving birth without her Iraqi husband by her side as the executive order laid out by President Donald Trump bars him from entering the United States. Rachel Adrian, who works as a nurse, is due to give birth at any time in her hometown in Saint Joseph, Missouri. She met her husband, Hoger Ameen, while doing relief work in the Middle East region and Iraq was where she chose to temporarily settle down with him three years ago. Rachel, however, moved back home in July 2016 when the couple agreed to raise kids in the United States. Hoger's spousal visa paperwork has been under process for the last two years and it was almost complete when Trump's Muslim ban happened. "As soon as we heard the news about the ban, all of our hope was gone," Hoger told People. Now, instead of flying to the U.S. to be with his wife during the delivery, he's not even sure if he's going to ever meet his soon-to-be-born son named Aland face-to-face. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad advised Hoger that his visa application has been stalled. The couple is also not sure when the processing will resume or if they have to go through another round of paperwork with even more difficulty. According to Fox 2 Now, Rachel and her husband are devastated by the turn of events. The mom-to-be, however, reached out to President Trump to express her sentiment. "Sorry @realDonaldTrump there is one little Iraqi Kurd you can't stop from coming into this country. #RefugeesWelcome #RefugeeBan #MuslimBan," Rachel wrote on Twitter. Since Trump's Muslim ban took effect, families have had to deal with the fallout. Protesters call the executive order as an insult and an attack against citizen's rights but the new government believes this is the best way to protect America. A father-of-two from Sacramento died from a tooth infection after he did not pay much attention to his toothache that went on for days before his death. Reports say that the infection from the tooth also affected his lungs and ultimately caused his death. The Sacramento Bee identified the father as Vadim Anatoliyevich Kondratyuk. He was only 26 and worked a long-haul trucker. At the time of his death, he was driving a truck from Truckee to New York. Kondratyuk started to feel pain in the lower left side of his mouth according to his wife, Nataliya, 22. When he pulled over in Oklahoma to see a dentist, he was told he had an infection so he was given antibiotics. The dad's pain went away at first but it got worse so he called his wife to complain about what he was feeling. Kondratyuk was still able to make a delivery in New York but he could not make it home because of his swollen mouth. His brother flew to him to accompany him back home where his wife and his two kids, a 2-year-old and an 11-month-old, were waiting. On their way home, however, Kondratyuk grew pale and had trouble breathing. He was rushed to a Utah hospital and was given oxygen. He was transferred to a larger hospital in Salt Lake City and doctors found out that his tooth infection spread to his blood and lungs. Nataliya said that doctors had her husband on medication and tried everything they could. She added that they prayed for her husband but "God has his plan." "It was just not healing how it was supposed to," the wife said, KTLA 5 reported. "It was just getting worse." A GoFundMe page was set up for Kondratyuk so that his body could be transported back to Sacramento. The page raised nearly $85,000 as of writing. As per the experts, tooth infection occurs when food gets trapped between the tooth and the gum. If the infection does not get treated, it could result in inflammation at the root of the teeth then it could spread to the head and the neck. In rare cases, which was exactly what happened to Kondratyuk, the infection spread to the bloodstream. This is not the first time that a simple toothache led to someone's death. In 2007, a 12-year-old Maryland boy died due to his tooth infection. His family, who could not afford dental health care, thought it a simple toothache but the infection spread to his brain, ABC News reported. Dentists recommend regular brushing and flossing after meals to prevent tooth decay. If there is a throbbing pain, such as in an infection, people are advised to seek dental help as soon as possible. A "white privilege" essay writing contest in Connecticut has drawn the ire of the public. The idea was met with criticisms and backlash mainly from its predominantly white community New York Daily News reported residents in the area were not okay with essay's theme as it implied there is a racial divide in the community. The contest asked writers to define "white privilege" as they understand it. The essay begged the questions, "To what extent do you think this privilege exists? What impact do you think it has had in your life - whatever your racial or ethnic identity - and in our society more broadly?" A 72-year-old resident of Westport, Connecticut, Bari Reiner, said in a statement that their area is an "open town" and there are no "barricades." He pointed out that no one in their community tells an African-American neighbor, for instance, that he or she could not stay there. The contest was organized by a diversity council called Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism (TEAM) Westport and they focused on the term "white privilege" since it was a statement that was widely used during the presidential campaign. The term refers to the social, economic and other advantages white people are able to enjoy because of their color, Yahoo reported. TEAM Westport president Harold Bailey Jr. said this was a lot more controversy than they expected, noting how people are accusing the group of making others feel guilty. Parents believe the team overstepped regarding the topic. They also think that the issue about white privilege should not be discussed among teenagers or students without the guidance of the parents. Although there are a lot of people opposing the contest, one parent, Bert Dovo, said he liked the idea as it can encourage kids to embrace diversity. It is unclear how many students plan to join the contest as no one among Westport's kids openly expressed their thoughts on the highly controversial topic. The essay contest is open to all Westport high school students. The prizes are $1,000, $750, and $500. The winners will be announced this April. A mom of two from Missouri received an overflowing of support from netizens recently after she posted her battle with depression on her Facebook page. Cierra Fortner said she has a personality disorder problem, and she has survived suicide twice. Fortner revealed her depression and anxiety problems started after her mother died in 2010 due to melanoma, according to Huffington Post. She was already on medication and under the care of a therapist when she got pregnant with her first child and experienced postpartum depression after. "After having him, I had my first suicide attempt as postpartum depression was added in and I had an extremely rough time with it," Fortner told the news outlet. "I wasn't diagnosed with the personality disorder until my second suicide attempt in April of 2014," she added. Fortner said postpartum depression has affected her daily life as a mother and a wife, She wanted people to know about her pain and struggle, and how she is getting by, as this might help others who may be suffering from the same symptoms. "I don't know a mother out there that has it all together but everything we do is done with love for our children," she wrote on Facebook. "That right there makes you the perfect mom and in our children's eyes we most definitely have it all together." Up to 80 percent of first-time mothers have the baby blues a few days after giving birth, as per Baby Center. This condition is characterized as an emotional state where a mother is filled self-doubt, worry, unhappiness and tiredness. Baby blues are common but when the feelings become too intense, it could already be postpartum depression. A mom who is suffering from postpartum depression should get proper treatment before the symptoms get worse. Among the symptoms are depression, excessive crying, severe mood changes, insomnia, inability to form a bond with one's baby, irritability and panic attacks. Moms are advised not to hesitate about consulting with the doctor if these symptoms are present especially if she has suicidal thoughts. Women who are suffering from depression may not be aware they are already experiencing its symptoms. A support group consisting of family and friends would also be of great help in helping moms get over the condition. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. The Fremont Public School District adjusted its Early Separation Program involving administration and instructors during Monday evenings specially-held Board of Education Meeting in an effort to create more financial efficiency within the school district. The new Early Separation policy enables teachers and administrators who have completed 10 years of district service, are at least 55 years of age and meet a minimum index on the districts salary schedule comprised of years of experience and education attainment level to take advantage of retirement without receiving a penalty. With the passage of the new policy, which has now been revised 11 times since 1988, 22 FPS district administrators/instructors will now have the opportunity to consider utilizing the Early Separation Program, Superintendent Mark Shepard said during a Tuesday Phone interview with the Tribune. The policy itself, Shepard said, is a district-wide policy, not a state-wide policy. The state system allows individuals who are at least age 55 and have 30 years of experience in state to take advantage of retirement without a penalty, Shepard said. In a single blow, Apple's Q1 2017 financial results crushed the collective negative financial analyst community to point of embarrassment. Apple delivered a nice pie for each of their faces and joyfully rubbed it in as they broke yet another revenue record yesterday with iPhone 7 sales shocking all estimates, even Apple's own internal estimates. Of course there were a few missteps in the quarter, one of them being Apple's iPad which VentureBeat was all too pleased to pounce on in a new report this morning titled "iPad in free fall after sales plunged 22% in Q1." VentureBeat (VB) reported that "The company said it sold 13.1 million iPads, down 22 percent from the 16.1 million it sold during the holiday season last year. iPad revenue was $5.5 billion, down 19 percent from $7.1 billion a year ago." You could check out Apple's iPad unit sales in the chart above. I highlighed Q1 2017 vs. Q1 2016 two columns over to make it easy to see. VB further noted that "Last year, the iPad was comfortably Apple's No. 2 product after the iPhone. Now, it's fourth, behind the iPhone, Macs, and Services even the 'Others' category (Beats, Apple Watch, Apple TV) has almost closed the gap. The gathering gloom over the iPad deepens further when you consider that three years ago during the holiday period, Apple sold 26 million of them." You could read the VentureBeat report here for more. As Apple's iPad units fell 22% it just so happens that Microsoft's Surface line gained 29% this quarter. The percentages make it sound like a direct correlation but that's not true. The 29% for Surface growth would roughly work out to 240,000 units at $1000. Of course Microsoft's lowest price is $1000 with most in the $1200 - $1800 range. So that probably translates to a wild estimate of about 185,000 200,000 units, and that's being generous. Apple's 29% accounted for a drop of 3,024 million units. So no, Microsoft's Surface didn't make a dent in Apple's iPad market. In addition, Apple's CFO quoted NPD market research yesterday during Apple's conference call. At the 17: 40 mark of the conference call Luca Maestri stated that NDP's statistics pointed to Apple's iPad having 85% of U.S. market share in tablets priced above $200. So does that sound like a gloomy statistic to you? No, of course not. Apple's CEO talked about the iPad starting at the 51 minute mark of their conference call and made it clear that they underestimated the demand for the iPad in the holiday quarter and more importantly, had a shortage issue with one of their suppliers that held back sales for the quarter. Cook added that "if I kind of zoom out of the 90 day clock [meaning looking beyond a single quarter by quarter focus] we have some exciting things coming on iPad. I still feel very optimistic where we could take the product." Whatever the "shortage" issue was and still is, Cook said it's going to effect Q2 as well. But again he reiterated that beyond the 90 day clock he is very bullish on iPad. On the tablet front we learn this morning that Samsung is preparing to unveil new tablets during a press conference on Feb. 26, the day before the Mobile World Congress trade show begins. In the big picture no one really has a clue what they'll be introducing beyond the basics. Yet they could use this event to introduce their new Viv-driven digital assistant called Bixby. Will they save that for their new Galaxy S8 or launch it on their tablet? Another new feature could be adding the curved display edges like they offer on their Edge smartphones. Apple has a few patent pending ideas for future iPads with a few interesting ones at that, but you just can't count on patents until they actually launch. All we know is that Cook believes that there are "some" exciting things for iPad on the horizon. The biggest threat to Apple's iPad kingdom in 2017, in my view, could come from the new Windows 10 + Qualcomm platform that is exciting new players to jump on board this train. Players such as Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi, beyond their traditional PC OEM's like HP, Dell, Asus and others, are on board to deliver new mobile products this year that will be thrown into the tablet sector. These OEMs will be launching Surface and SurfaceBook-like products which will shift many notebooks into the Hybrid Tablet category and drag Apple's market share down measurably over the next few years if these hybrids prove to be successful. This could be a challenge that Apple may decide to counter. A newly granted patent surfaced this week illustrated that Apple is still working on a cellular MacBook. So who knows, maybe it's an iOS based notebook that's a variant of the iPad Pro models. A hard cover iPad versus a softcover with keyboard. If anything, the challenge from Microsoft's war on the iPad is likely to cause some sparks to fly this year and that's always fun to see play out. Good competition usually gives birth to new ideas that could shake up a sector. The tablet sector could use a little shock therapy in order to get it to the next level. So stay tuned as this could be an interesting year for iPad. About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus. While browsing Facebook on Monday, I saw a reference to a shooting at a mosque in Quebec. Like any good millennial, I went immediately to twitter to get the latest. There I learned that the suspect was a Moroccan Muslim, and that the shooter had yelled Alahu Akhbar during the incident. This was, in fact, being reported by major news networks. I concluded that the shooting must be a sort of workplace violence incident rather than one motivated by Islamophobia. On Tuesday it came out that all of that was wrongand the shooter was a white supremacist Trump supporter. Do you know what I find most appalling about this? On Monday, Trumps press secretary, Sean Spicer, spoke to reporters, offering condolences to those involved. In the wake of Trumps executive order banning individuals from seven countries from entering the U.S., Spicer called the incident at the Quebec mosque a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant and why the president is taking steps to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to our nations safety and security. Bear in mind that the perpetrator of the Quebec mosque shooting was a white supremacist Trump-supporter. Unless Trumps executive order is extended to ban white supremacist Trump supporters, it does nothing to prevent situations like thisin fact, by portraying Muslims as a threat to American security, Trumps executive order feeds the very Islamophobia that fueled this attack. It has become pretty clear that many Americans are extremely afraid of being the victim of an Islamic terrorist attack. Fine. Thats their right, I suppose. However, the chances that that will happen are next to zero. They are far more likely to die falling out of bed than at the hands of Islamic terrorists, but I dont see them worrying about that. Heres something I wish more people would understand: Muslim Americans are far more likely to be victims of Islamophobic terror than the average American is to be the victim of Islamic terror. Not so long ago, a Muslim woman was physically assaulted in my own town, near a restaurant I frequented regularly, by a white man yelling Islamophobic slurs. I wondered, then, what it must be like to live with that realityto know that your beliefs and your dress make you the target of such hatred and even violence. Over the weekend, a mosque in Texas burned down mysteriously. While officials havent determined the cause, the mosque had been the target of Islamophobic vandalism in the pastas is unfortunately far too common for mosques. I had a medical appointment on September 11, 2001. My doctor was a Pakistani immigrant; Id been his patient since I was small. Do you know what I remember from that appointment? I remember that my doctor was afraid. I was only a teenager at the time, but I understood this. He wasnt the only one who was afraid. At the time, my family hosted a Muslim international student from Kuwait who attended the local university. He hid in his apartment for three days, until we finally came and got him. And he had good reason to be worried: Have a look at this (incomplete) list of incidents perpetrated in the U.S.: There are around 3.3 million Muslims living in the U.S., making up only 1% of the total U.S. population and intensifying the impact of these incidents. Now remember that graph up the page a bit, that shows anti-Muslim hate crimes spiking after September 11th, 2001, and then decreasing but remaining substantially higher than previously? Well, there is reason to believe that anti-Muslim hate crimes are spiking againperhaps as high as 2001 levelsdue at least in part to rhetoric like Trumps. We humans are terrible at risk assessments. A child is far more likely to die in a car accident while being driven to school than they are to be kidnapped while walking to school, yet many parents drive their children to school precisely due to fears about child abduction. 44,000 Americans commit suicide each year, but we are more interested in shutting Syrian refugees out of the country based on a perception of riskin the face of all evidence to the contrarythan we are in creating accessible mental health systems. Sometimes I think we Americans are more interested in our fear of what might go wrong than we are in working to right what has already gone wrong. I have a Patreon! Please support my writing! Before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube made their entry in the media market, the PatnaDaily had already registered its presence in... Patna: On the eve of Saraswati Puja, idol-makes in the state capital were a busy lot giving last-minute touch to their masterpieces as government offices and educational institutions prepared to celebrate the festival in honor of the Hindu Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom in a big way. Throughout the city, youths were seen constructing and decorating their pandals appropriately for the occasion as roadside stalls mushroomed almost overnight selling small idols of Ma Saraswati along with other puja items and paraphernalia. As always, idol shops between Patna's Gandhi Maidan and Daldali Lane was a busy place on Monday as artists, some going back several generations, gave finishing touch to their creations as children, even adults, stood there watching in awe as artists, showing full dexterity, worked their magic on unfinished statues. Meanwhile, around the state capital, schools and colleges even those that are affiliated with religions other than Hinduism, were gearing up to celebrate Saraswati Puja in a big way. "We have made full arrangement for tomorrow's event and our students are very much looking forward to it. We also have several cultural shows planned for tomorrow that our students and their wards will enjoy," said the director of an English-medium school in Kankarbagh. Patna: People in Patna on Wednesday celebrated Saraswati Puja with much enthusiasm as students across the state capital observed the festival at their schools and colleges praying Goddess Saraswati to give them wisdom and knowledge. {gallery}newsimages2017/feb/020117{/gallery}After finishing the puja, students at various colleges including Magadh Mahila College, Women's College, and Patna College rubbed 'gulal' at each other's faces to symbolize the arrival of spring. As always, Goddess Saraswati's idol was set up at all nook and corners in the state capital where devotees kept pouring in to offer their prayer to the Goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and art. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, while participating in the Saraswati Puja at the residence of senior IAS officer A K Sinha in the IAS Colony in Rupaspur, sent his wishes to all urging them to pray for the development and prosperity of the state through knowledge and sound decisions. He was accompanied by senior Janata Dal U leader and Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Chowdhary, General Administrative Department Chief Secretary D S Gangwar, Information Commissioner Arun Kumar Verma and many other senior bureaucrats. Patna: Grand Alliance leaders in Bihar, as expected, described the 2017 Union Budget as 'very disappointing', 'worthless', 'anti-poor', 'anti-Bihar', among other adjectives, saying Bihar had high hopes from the Narendra Modi-led NDA government but as the last two years, it had nothing for Bihar and everything for the rich friends of the Prime Minister. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, talking to the media on Wednesday, said the 2017 budget was 'utterly disappointing' and showed an immense lack of empathy for the nation's poor and farmers. "We had very high hopes from the Prime Minister but it turned out to be a very disappointing. The budget does not include anything that would help kick start growth in the nation. Not only that, there is nothing in it that helps Bihar in any way," he said. Kumar, who just concluded his nearly two months long 'Nishchay Yatra' of all districts in Bihar to talk about his draconian prohibition law and how it had ushered prosperity in rural areas, also expressed his displeasure with 'only a passing reference' to the Center's demonetization move that, he said, brought the nation's financial sector to its knees. "I heard Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys two-hour hoping he would say something meaningful about black money or help to Bihar but it was a poor speech and a waste of time," the Chief Minister said adding he was surprised that there was no mention of demonetization in the budget. "Nothing was said about the required follow-up steps in the aftermath of demonetization and it is quite evident that it's exclusion in the budget was by design and not a coincidence," he said. The Chief Minister, who has railed against the Center's refusal to provide Special Economic Status to Bihar despite his repeated requests, said that Bihar was nowhere in the budget picture and none of the promises made by the Prime Minister were kept after the NDA swept into power in 2014. "Money allocated under various central schemes and the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) are yet to be disbursed. Even the promise of a special package of Rs. 1.25 lakh crore has not been kept," Kumar said while veering off from the budget topic. Meanwhile, also as expected, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi praised the budget using terms like 'progressive', 'forward thinking', and 'pro-general public'. Finding a job can be difficult. Whether you spend hours surfing through online job posting sites, or going to local businesses and asking for applications in person, the process can be tedious. For those currently seeking employment Midlands Spring Career and Internship Fair can help make the process easier. In an effort to connect students, and the general public, with local businesses Midland will be hosting their annual Spring Career and Internship Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15th at Wikert Event Center. Currently 64 area employers are slated to participate in the event, with the possibility of more signing on, as the deadline for employers to register is February 8th. At this point in time we have a record amount of employers (participating in the event), Connie Kreikemeier, Executive Director of Midlands Personal and Career Development Center, said. Last year we had 52 employers and we have 64 so far this year and registration is not even closed yet so we are really excited. Participating employers will be offering full time and part time jobs, as well as summer internships at the event. The most gratifying part of our job is when students get that internship, or they come to our office and say they got the job, Kreikemeier said. Thats why we are in this business, we want to help our students succeed and their success is everything to us. While the Spring Career and Internship Fair is geared toward Midland students, anyone in the community is encouraged to attend the event. We want people to know that anyone in the community can attend, if youre looking for a career opportunity we have employers coming and they have openings and want to hire, Kreikemeier said. According to Kreikemeier the growing interest and success of the Spring Career and Internship Fair has been due, in part, to a campus wide initiative to engage businesses and to help businesses promote their brands on campus. We are seeing more and more employers interested in Midland and a lot of that is because all across campus everyone is working really hard to add value for our students and to engage employers, Kreikemeier said. Employers interested in participating in the career fair can register online at http://www.midlandu.edu/midland-university-career-internship-fair-2017/. The registration deadline for employers interested in participating is February 8th. Those with questions about the event can email Midlands Personal and Career Development Center at ccenter@midlandu.edu. mSecure password manager review TechRadar Pro Updated In our mSecure password manager review, we take an in-depth look at this password manager to help you decide if its the most secure way to handle your sensitive data. During his campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump called the Federal Communications Commissions net neutrality rules a top-down power grab, leading many observers to expect a quick repeal. Trumps presidency is still in its infancy and its unclear what his administration will do about the hot-button issue. Its difficult to determine what direction the unpredictable Trump administration will take, said Nathan White, senior legislative manager at Access Now, a digital rights group. The world is a very complicated place right now, he said. I dont think we can get too far out front and predict the future. Ajit Pai, Trumps pick for chairman of the FCC, has promised, however, to fire up the weed whacker and kill net neutrality and other regulations passed by the FCC during President Barack Obamas administration. But this week, Pai declined to outline a path forward on net neutrality, saying only that he continues to oppose the FCCs 2015 decision to reclassify broadband as a regulated common carrier under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. We havent made any determinations at this time, Pai said during a press conference Tuesday. My position is pretty simple. I favor a free and open Internet and I oppose Title II. Thats pretty much all I can say about that topic. The Republican-controlled Congress may take a different path than a possible repeal of the rules at the FCC. Lawmakers will likely push for legislation, similar to a proposal from early 2015, that would write basic net neutrality protections into law, Senator John Thune, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said recently. A law passed by Congress would supersede any actions taken at the FCC. Even though the FCC may move to repeal its reclassification, Thune called for a bipartisan agreement on some baseline rules. A Republican-controlled FCC moving to repeal the net neutrality rules may help inspire some of my Democrat colleagues to embrace the idea that a bipartisan, legislative solution is the best possible outcome, he said in a Jan. 23 speech. Internet companies and users need certainty about long-term rules that wont change every time theres a new party in power, Thune said. We need clear and reasonable rules for the digital road that Internet companies, broadband providers, and end users can easily understand, he added. Complex and ambiguous regulations that shift with the political winds arent in anyones best interest. Its unclear, however, if Congress will have the attention or the political will to move forward with a bill, said Access Nows White. Meanwhile, supporters of strong net neutrality rules vow to fight any effort to repeal the rules and rescind the classification of broadband as a regulated service. About 4 million people submitted comments to the FCC during its recent net neutrality rulemaking proceeding, with the large majority favoring strong net neutrality rules, supporters noted. Net neutrality advocates will look to fire up that crowd again if Pai or Trump move to kill the rules. Without Title II authority for the rules, broadband providers may be able to change charge websites for paid traffic prioritization, said Holmes Wilson, co-founder of digital rights group Fight for the Future. Recent court rulings were pretty clear that the FCC cant ban paid prioritization without Title II authority, he said by email. If theyre talking about reclassifying back out of Title II, people should see that as an underhanded way to kill net neutrality and give companies like Comcast free reign to shake down your favorite sites, Wilson added. Pai and the FCC would need to explain a major shift in policy two years after the FCC passed its rules, supporters of the regulations said. Chairman Pais FCC cannot move quickly to dismantle protections supported by the vast majority of the American people, said Matt Wood, policy director at digital rights group Free Press. While Pais boss, Donald Trump, may have little respect for the rule of law, administrative law still binds the FCC. Congress could pass legislation, but thats not a given, Wood added. Thats assuming this Congress can get anything done, unlike its recent do-nothing predecessors, he said. But the current rules are the common-sense floor for any new law, not the overreach that members of the current majority in Congress and the FCC preposterously make them out to be. Editors note: This article was updated to correct a typo in the quote from Holmes Wilson, co-founder of digital rights group Fight for the Future. The Galaxy officially announced the signing of French midfielder Romain Alessandrini on Tuesday. Alessandrini, 27, will be a Designated Player. He recently played for Marseille in Frances Ligue 1. He joined Marseille in 2014 from Stade Rennes. Alessandrini scored 11 goals with nine assists during his time with Marseille. Alessandrini also spent six years of his youth career at Marseille. He made his professional debut in 2008 with Gueugnon of Frances third division. We are very excited to add a talented, attacking winger like Romain to our roster, Galaxy General Manager Peter Vagenas said. He is in the prime of his career and has spent time playing at a top division in Europe. He will play a valuable role in our teams success this season, and we look forward to him joining the team ahead of the 2017 season. Alessandrini will join the Galaxys preseason camp at a later date. He joins Giovani dos Santos as the current Designated Players on the Galaxys roster. He also joins Jermaine Jones in the Galaxys new-look midfield. The Designated Player rule allows clubs to sign up to three players, whose total compensation and acquisition costs exceed the maximum budget charge, with the club bearing financial responsibility for the amount of compensations above each players budget charge. The city of San Bernardinos over four-year-long bankruptcy is nearing its end. On Friday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury agreed to issue a written confirmation order formally paving the way to the citys exit from bankruptcy. The last words I will say is congratulations to the city, Jury said in court. I look forward to the order and I look forward to the city having a prosperous future. City officials expect the citys plan to take effect in March or April. Its a momentous occasion for San Bernardino, which has experienced significant tumult over the past several years. Being free from the confines and stigma of bankruptcy is sure to provide a boost to economic development efforts. It is difficult to overstate the magnitude and breadth of the citys problems at the time of its August 2012 filing for bankruptcy protections. A lagging economy, inadequate financial planning, rapidly growing pension obligations and a fundamental breakdown of the integrity of city government contributed to a dire situation, forcing San Bernardino to become one of the largest municipalities in history to file for bankruptcy. Some of these issues have since been ameliorated. City residents approved a new city charter in November, which is expected to clear some of the many redundancies in how city government is organized. The city has also contracted out a significant portion of city operations to the private sector, which should yield long-term savings on retirement costs. Though difficult, the city also took the step of closing its long-held fire department in favor of receiving services through the county, alleviating the city from responsibility over one of its largest budget items. More controversially, however, has been the citys decision not to impair its obligations to the California Public Employees Retirement System. The state pension giant had intimated the prospect of costly legal action against the city were it to pursue cuts to pensions. The city has also approved a bankruptcy exit plan that will shortchange many victims of excessive police uses of force owed money under settlements. Alas, it must be hoped that city officials in San Bernardino and abroad have learned a few things from what has been a difficult, contentious process. And may the city of San Bernardino find itself in a better place moving forward. At least one child has died in each of the two Inland counties this flu season, but health officials said influenza-related activity appears to be about normal to date. Still, officials note that the flu season has yet to hit its high point. Last year, it looks like the peak was late February, said Nurse Practitioner Susan Strong of San Bernardino Countys public health department. This year it looks like it will peak in late February or early March. In Riverside County, about 9 percent of hospital emergency room visits in mid-January were attributed to people exhibiting flu-like symptoms, according to a weekly influenza surveillance update. Compared to historical data looking back several years, were within normal limits for this time of year, said Disease Control Chief Barbara Cole at Riverside Countys public health department. Strong said hospitals in that area were receiving a little more than 6 percent of their visits from those with flu-like symptoms. Both officials emphasized the percentages do not reflect whether those cases were later diagnosed as flu. Earlier this month, both Riverside and San Bernardino counties experienced their first flu-related deaths. Both of the victims were children. Statewide, the California Department of Public Health announced that overall influenza activity remained widespread. Several counties in northern and central California, including Monterey and Napa counties, were hard hit by the flu. Yet, the number of influenza-like incidents remains low in the state, according to the federal Centers for Disease Controls website. Strong said San Bernardino County is not getting overwhelmed with flu cases at this point. Cole added that Riverside County officials will be monitoring to see if there is an increase in cases. The flu is caused by influenza viruses and easily spreads. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue. The elderly, pregnant women, infants and people with other health conditions are most at risk of severe flu and should contact their medical provider at the first sign of symptoms, health officials say. The fact that the flu season is building means people still have an opportunity to get vaccinated, officials said. The vaccine is working for the most part compared to last year, when many individuals reported getting the flu despite getting their shots. It does appear that there is a better match with the vaccine to the viruses that are circulating this year than there was last year, Cole said. There is also plenty of vaccine to go around, she added. Riverside County residents can call 800-720-9553 to see about getting vaccinated. In San Bernardino County, residents can call 800-722-4777. Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@scng.com Midland Universitys Luther College of Arts and Sciences will provide the greater Fremont community with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the various religious traditions in the region when it hosts the Exploring Faith: Global Religion in Our Community series. As a university rooted in the Lutheran tradition, Midland University is proud to host the five-part series, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 9, in Eppley Auditorium in the Swanson Hall of Science and Mathematics on the Fremont campus. It continues Feb. 23, March 16, April 6 and April 27. There is no admission charge to these public events. We live in a diverse world with people of many different faiths and beliefs, said Dr. Jamie Simpson, director of the Luther College of Arts and Sciences. Exploring Faith: Global Religion in Our Community will provide an opportunity for our campus and community to learn more about five different religious traditions. Speakers will discuss the distinctive traits and shared values and beliefs among the different religions, which will include Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. If youve ever wondered what you as a religious person have in common with members of the worlds other four major traditions, this is a chance to learn! said Dr. Courtney Wilder, professor of religion at Midland. Each speaker will talk about his or her own tradition and reflect on shared values and similar practices, and there will be a chance to ask questions at the end of each talk. Scheduled speakers are: The Rev. Chris Alexander, associate pastor of Countryside Community Church, will discuss aspects of Christianity on Feb. 9. Dosho Port Roshi of the Nebraska Zen Center will speak about Buddhism on Feb. 23. Murali Deshpande, the former president of the Hindu Temple in Omaha, will discuss Hinduism on March 16. Karim Khayati, co-founder and vice president of the American Muslim Institute, speaks about Islam on April 6. Rabbi Darryl Crystal, interim rabbi at Temple Israel in Omaha, will discuss Judaism on April 27. We believe this series is an incredible opportunity for the community to become engaged in a respectful and educational dialogue that can lead to increased respect, understanding and cooperation among members of our community, Dr. Simpson said. We hope that members of the community, regardless of their religious beliefs, will join us to learn about the beliefs and traditions of a variety of faith traditions. The Exploring Faith: Global Religion in Our Community series is sponsored by the Midland University Luther College Honors Program and the Luther College of Arts and Sciences. The series is funded in part by Humanities Nebraska. For additional information about the series and the speakers, visit www.midlandu.edu/interfaith. Two deputies who work as part of Temeculas Homeless Outreach Team helped reunite a homeless man with his family members in Washington, according to officials. The deputies Jeret McClellan and Todd Johnson contacted 60-year-old Scott Chambers on Wednesday, Jan. 25, in an area of Temecula, according to a Riverside County sheriffs news release. Eight months before that, two of Chambers sisters from Washington had traveled to the San Diego area in a search for him, according to the release. Unable to find their brother, the sisters filed a missing persons report with the San Diego Police Department, officials said. After finding Chambers, Deputy McClellan contacted Chambers sister in Washington, officials say, and she arranged for a flight to arrive at Ontario Airport the next day. The deputies coordinated with the Temecula Food Pantry and got him temporary housing at the Extended Stay America on Jefferson Avenue. Officials say they provided him with food and clothing and then gave him a ride to Ontario Airport so he could reunite with his family. Contact the writer: 951-368-9693, agroves@scng.com or @AlexDGroves on Twitter. A proposed budget for operating southwest Riverside Countys animal shelter in Wildomar for the coming fiscal year is scheduled for review Thursday, Feb. 2, by the facilitys oversight board. The meeting of the Southwest Communities Financing Authoritys directors will start at 2 p.m. in Murrieta City Hall at Jefferson Avenue and Kalmia Street. The authority is a coalition of government agencies that rely on the shelter Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore and Riverside County. Animal Friends of the Valleys, the nonprofit that runs the shelter, is proposing a $1.3 million budget for the year starting July 1. The budget includes the addition of a position dedicated to marketing, fundraising and donor development and an assistant directors position. Thursdays meeting will be the first at which the directors will be introduced to Animal Friends board President Tammi Boyd and the shelters interim assistant executive director, Monty Jordan. Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@scng.com Hundreds of UC Riverside students rallied Tuesday, Jan. 31, against President Donald Trumps recent immigration actions that protesters said affect many of their family and friends. Some people among the crowd of more than 200 waved Palestinian, Syrian, and Mexican flags. Chanting, No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA! students marched down University Avenue, at one point blocking the intersection of University and Iowa avenues in Riverside. They held a long paper sign that read, No Ban No Wall, as drivers honked, some in approval and others who just wanted to get through. _informq.push([embed]); From Palestine to Mexico, remove all border walls! and Undocumented, unafraid! were also among their rallying cries. Students said they were protesting Trumps order temporarily banning refugees and immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries. They also were rallying against Trumps executive actions to move forward with construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and cut federal grants for so-called sanctuary cities. RELATED: Travel ban wouldnt have stopped Dec. 2 attack, survivors say Mohamed Hussein, a senior UCR student, said its hard to navigate life being black and Muslim. But I love my people. Im always going to represent my Muslim side and Im always going to represent my black side, said Hussein, in front of a cheering crowd before the march began. And Im always going to fight for the right side of history, he added. The event, which began about noon, was organized by students involved with undocumented and Muslim campus groups. Ive never had to find myself being with this community and standing in solidarity with them, said Rubyd Olvera, an undocumented student and president of the campus group PODER. It made me think that it sucks that it has to come down to this sometimes for us to be this united, Olvera added. Said UCR student Dinah Muhammad: Were finally coming together. Hussein agreed. He said he was grateful that Latino and black students, as well as professors and teacher assistants attended to show support. The solidarity we got from the undocumented community, the Latino community, they really pulled their weight in organizing and attendance, said Hussein. Jose Venegas, a third-year anthropology student who attended the demonstration, is a son of Mexican immigrant parents and said he feels a connection with his Muslim peers. Theyre not here to do anything bad, he said. Theyre here to start new lives, to make better lives for their children and for themselves. I thought Trump was going to divide us, but Im starting to realize more and more everyday with every protest that were more united than weve ever been, Venegas added. Contact the writer: 951-368-9462, amolina@scng, or on Twitter @alemolina The Trump administrations 90-day ban on travelers from seven primarily Muslim countries wouldnt have prevented the terrorist attack in San Bernardino or the other most deadly attacks on U.S. soil, people impacted by the Dec. 2 shooting say. A survivor of the 2015 attack at the Inland Regional Center said Tuesday, Jan. 31, it was a mistake more federal agencies werent consulted before immigrants and travelers from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia were temporarily blocked from entering the United States. Yet Hal Houser also thinks there should be extra vetting and a permanent ban on radicalized Muslims who believe anyone of a different faith needs to die. RELATED: Hundreds of UC Riverside students protest Trumps immigration actions People who have declared war on America. I cant sum that up except to say radical Islam, said Houser, who was among 71 people who came under fire from a San Bernardino County coworker and his wife at a Dec. 2 county training session/Christmas party. Syed Rizwan Farook, who attacked his coworkers, was a Muslim born and raised in the United States, said Rialto resident Ryan Reyes. He was already here. He didnt come from someplace else, said Reyes, whose boyfriend Daniel Kaufman was among 14 killed Dec. 2. Tashfeen Malik, Farooks wife, grew up in Pakistan and married Farook in Saudi Arabia yet neither country is included in the ban, said Salihin Kondoker, husband of survivor Anies Kondoker. The couple went to Farooks mosque but didnt know him. The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the Boston bombing and the Orlando nightclub shooting were carried out by people without ties to any of the countries on the banned list, added Salihin Kondoker. As an average citizen, Kondoker said he doesnt have the security intelligence President Donald Trump had in ordering the ban. Houser, a lead environmental health specialist for the county on the day of the attack, said the U.S. State Department should have helped vet Trumps policy before it was announced Friday, Jan. 27. I keep hearing about all these agencies that should have been involved and werent consulted. That was a big mistake, Houser said. Yet Houser said he doesnt believe Trump wants to ban all Muslims, despite what Trump said on the campaign trail the president wants to ban the four or five percent who think all nonbelievers should die. Houser supports extra screening for people from Muslim-held countries to determine each persons true identity and possible terrorist ties before they can enter the U.S. If the IRA was trying to come here and bomb America, Id want them screened, too, he said, referring to the Irish Republican Army. Reyes has been outspoken in saying not all Muslims should be blamed for the Dec. 2 attack. He reacted angrily after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer referenced the San Bernardino attack to defend the Trump administration suspending travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. I think it is an absolute disgrace that they used what happened here in San Bernardino as a way to further their personal agenda and personal hate, Reyes said. I find it disgraceful that (Trump is) doing it because of (his) agenda. Dont hide behind someone elses tragedy. Kondoker said he and others of all colors and faiths arent confident law enforcement investigators know for certain that the Dec. 2 attack was politically or religiously motivated. I think theres a lot of unanswered questions here, he said. Yet Houser said Farook should definitely be called a terrorist because he planned to attack Riverside City College and the nearby 91 freeway three to four years before the San Bernardino mass shooting. Reyes said moves such as the ban only fuel the hatred in groups that reach out to radicalize people who feel disenfranchised. This is a global problem, the only way were going to solve it is by unity, he said. This doesnt create unity. (Trump is) not preventing anything, hes just making this problem worse. Karen Fagan, an Upland resident who is the ex-wife of Dec. 2 victim Harry Hal Bowman, noted that Trumps order also affects people here legally with green cards. Our country does need to think carefully about immigration and travel by individuals who might cause harm to our citizens, Fagan said in an e-mail. However, the current executive order is not the way. Not only did it not undergo the proper and responsible review by the relevant government agencies, it clearly violates American law. Staff writers Craig Shultz and Jennifer Iyer contributed to this report. Contact the writer: 951-368-9444 or shurt@scng.com A flurry of lawsuits have been filed in the wake of President Donald Trumps first wave of executive orders aimed at toughening U.S. immigration policies. Trump postponed the scheduled signing of a directive on cybersecurity Tuesday as his administration addressed the legal challenges. From Los Angeles to New York to Washington state, those affected by the Trumps decree temporarily barring the entry of certain citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries alleged that Trumps order and the way it has been carried out is unlawful and discriminatory. Our main concerns right now are people are not being allowed to board planes at all internationallywere definitely talking about people with visas, said Stacy Tolchin, a Los Angeles-based immigration attorney. She said that was happening at a massive level. San Francisco sued over another Trump order, his move to cut funding to immigrant-protecting sanctuary cities. The U.S. government cannot put a gun to the head of states and localities to carry out federal dictates, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said at a news conference with Mayor Ed Lee. Los Angeles, another avowed sanctuary city, did not appear ready to follow San Franciscos lead. We are still weighing our options, said Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Attorney Mike Feuer. REALTED: Hundreds of UC Riverside students protest Trumps immigration actions Meanwhile, in Sacramento, the state Senate Public Safety Committee advanced a bill that would provide statewide safe haven for immigrants by restricting local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The 5-2 vote fell along party lines. Republicans and law enforcement groups say the bill would make it harder to keep California secure. I think this bill is making it that much more difficult for the federal authorities to get the most dangerous criminals that we want to deport to keep our communities safe, said state Sen. Jeff Stone, R-Temecula. Stone voted against the measure. In the midst of the challenges, the Trump administration said Tuesday that 872 refugees will be allowed into the United States this week. Kevin McAleenan, the acting head of Customs and Border Protection, said Tuesday that the refugees were already traveling and stopping them would cause undue hardship. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the travel ban for the seven countries may be extended and other countries could also be added to the list. Trump supporters say his immigration moves are intended to keep America safer. This is not about religion, the president said in a statement after issuing his orders. This is about terror and keeping our country safe. RELATED: Travel ban wouldnt have stopped Dec. 2 attack, survivors say While supporting the presidents immigration efforts, Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that the rollout of the travel restrictions was terrible. The rollout of this executive order was terrible. The way people were not involved or consulted. The president deserved much better than the rollout that he got of this plan. WAVE OF LAWSUITS Trumps travel restrictions include blocking the entry of citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 90 days. On Sunday, a federal judge responded by issuing a stay that bars U.S. border agents from removing anyone in the U.S. with a valid visa from those seven countries. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, along with other entities, filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit in Washington state challenging the executive orders suspension of immigrant visas, family visas and employment visas that are being processed abroad. Despite the judges stay, people are not even being permitted to get on planes abroad to come to America, said Matt Adams, legal director for Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. These are individuals who have already been approved and now are stopped from boarding planes coming here as well as people still in the process (of being approved) based on the fact that theyre from the seven countries that are predominantly Muslim, Adams said. Among the plaintiffs is a Syrian mother, a green-card holder, who had filed a petition to bring her 16-year-old son from war-torn Syria to the U.S. They are in the final stage of processing, waiting only for an immigrant visa interview to be scheduled, Adams said, but the executive order has suspended these interviews. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Sunday that green card holders would not be subject to the temporary travel ban unless theres significant derogatory information indicating the person is a serious threat. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials did not respond to a request for an interview Tuesday. At least two lawsuits filed over the weekend involve Los Angeles International Airport. One filed by the Public Counsel and other immigrant groups seeks an injunction ordering officials to permit lawyers access to individuals detained at LAX, said Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrants rights for the American Civil Liberties Union of California. We still dont have access, she said Tuesday. There is no access for attorneys. A separate lawsuit involves Ali Khoshbakhti Vayeghan, an Iranian citizen who arrived at LAX after his visa for permanent legal residence was approved by the U.S. last year through his son, a U.S. citizen who lives in Indiana, according to court documents. The lawsuit alleges Vayeghan, whose wife had already immigrated to Indiana, was held for more than 18 hours at the airport, forced to sign a document that he did not understand and was carried onto a flight to Dubai before being sent back to Iran. A judge ruled Sunday that he should be allowed to return and hes expected to arrive in the U.S. sometime soon, Pasquarella said. The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this story. Contact the writer: bgazzar@scng.com@bgazzar on Twitter Cal State University trustees voiced some reluctance Tuesday with implementing the systems first tuition increase in about five years, but avoiding a tuition hike may prove difficult. Im not yet convinced that we should increase the tuition fees, trustee Silas Abrego said during Tuesdays meeting. Abrego wasnt alone in expressing such a view, and he and other trustees still have about two months before its time for an actual decision on tuition. A vote cannot happen before March, and trustees for the 23-campus system appear to face a choice between raising tuition or holding off on the systems ambitious plan to increase graduation rates over the next several years. Beyond those two scenarios, there is perhaps an outside chance the state Legislature will appropriate enough money for CSU leaders to receive the funding they want without raising tuition. For the present, however, Gov. Jerry Browns initial budget proposal would leave a substantial gap between the amount of money trustees have requested and what Sacramento may actually be willing to provide. Student impacts vary Tuition at CSU campuses, not including fees assessed at the campus level or the costs of room and board, has remained stable since the 2011-12 school year. A California resident taking a full load of undergraduate classes currently pays $5,472. If trustees increase tuition in March, those students would see their tuition increase by $270, to $5,742. California residents enrolled in credential programs, such as those who are preparing to become teachers, would see their tuition increase by $312, to $6,660 per year. Resident graduate students tuitions would rise $438, to $7,176. CSU administrators, however, have sought to emphasize that most undergraduate students would not actually have to pay the tuition increase because financial aid packages will continue to cover those costs. Assistant Vice Chancellor Ryan Storm said during the meeting that students with family incomes of $70,000 or less would not have to pay increased tuition costs out of pocket. If tuition rises, roughly 60 percent of CSU undergraduates would have the increased costs covered via waivers, Cal Grants or the CSU State University Grant, according to CSU. CSU has also projected $77.5 million in net revenue from increased tuition paid by the remainder of California resident students, and that money may be necessary to implement a recently adopted strategy intended to accelerate CSU students graduation rates. If the strategy is successful, 40 percent of undergraduates would earn their diplomas within four years by 2025. Among students who enrolled in the CSU as freshmen in 2011, about 19 percent completed their studies in four years. Sacramento gave the CSU a $35 million appropriation to start the graduation initiative, and university officials estimate they will need $75 million in continual funding to add the 3,000 classes and hire the 400 faculty members they say are needed to make the plan work. Trustees chairwoman Rebecca Eisen said during Tuesdays meeting that board members should be cognizant that tuition increases create an ongoing expense for students. Absent any additional tuition increases, an additional $270 would multiply to $1,350 over five years. That said, Eisen also asserted that students may save money in the long run if the CSU can shorten the time necessary for students to earn their degrees. RELATED University of California system approves first tuition increase in 7 years Heres how UC Riverside students are reacting to the tuition hike Would you pay a $282 rise in University of California tuition? Contact the writer: aedwards@scng.com@AndrewEdwardsLB on Twitter A giant inflatable rat draped in caution tape was placed outside the K&N Engineering facility in Riverside on Tuesday, Jan. 31, as members of a local labor union denounced the companys treatment of its workers. The demonstration came a week after 621 workers unionized under the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, one of the largest labor unions in North America. IAMAW District 725 organizing director Joe Solis said the purpose of Tuesdays demonstration was to bring workers concerns of unfair pay and unsafe working conditions to light as the collective bargaining process with K&N begins. In 2014, workers filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging among other things that it failed to provide required meal periods, failed to pay overtime and minimum wages, and carried out unfair and unlawful business practices. The civil case is ongoing. K&N company representatives could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Riverside-based K&N is the worlds leading manufacturer of washable performance air filters and air intake systems, according to its website. Solis who was one of about 10 people handing out fliers that read, Pay workers not lawyers, and advertised a union meeting Wednesday said company officials have expressed plans to appeal the National Labor Relations Boards decision to allow the unionization. Theyre refusing to enter into collective bargaining with their workers, Solis said. Among workers other concerns are breaks that they claim are too short, limits on restroom breaks, the requiring of workers to sign a log prior to using the restroom and a general lack of respect for workers, Solis said. Contact the writer: 951-368-9284, atadayon@scng.com, @PE_alitadayon Airtel Africa, a leading telecommunications company with operations in 15 countries across Africa, has described as speculative media reports stating its possible exit from Africa. According to the organisation, it remains committed to Africa and will continue to invest in its operations to grow sustainably in Africa. In a press statement issued and signed by Michael Okwiri, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Airtel Africa, the company noted: Airtel Africas recent 3rd quarter results were strong. The underlying Africa revenues for the quarter accelerated by 6.0 percent Y-o-Y, the highest over the last 9 quarters. The organizations efforts to improve the quality of customer acquisitions have resulted in a reduction in customer churn to 4.9 percent from 6.0 per cent. Data consumption and revenues have grown by 91.0 percent & 24.0 percent Y-o-Y respectively, led by stronger data networks. The strong focus on cost management has led to a significant underlying EBITDA margin expansion of 4.5 percent Y-o-Y, which now stands at 24.5 percent. Africa is now generating positive free cash and is PBT positive in constant currency. Raghunath Mandava, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Airtel Africa, said, All the steps taken recently with regard to human resources and infrastructure have been geared towards readying the organization to grow efficiently and sustainably in the medium to long term. The company remains committed to competing in various markets and providing more choice to customers through further investments to ensure consistent delivery of quality and value for money services to our customers. We are also accelerating our investments in new data networks and to modernize our existing networks. We are committed to launching 4 G in multiple countries. He added that mergers and acquisitions continue to be the norm for any multinational organization and they affect all global organizations in equal measures as and when they happen. As a strategy, we look for opportunities to acquire or merge companies that are operating in a fragmented market structure with too many players in a small market. Last year, Airtel and Orange reached a mutually beneficial agreement on the assets in Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso. Similarly, Airtel also acquired assets in Uganda, Congo Brazzaville and Kenya in recent times. The agreements brought together the strengths of Airtel, Warid and Essar. This has offered benefits to customers in the form of a superior and wider network, affordable voice / data services and better customer care. Away from Africa, recently, we merged with Robi in Bangladesh to create a solid and profitable No.2 player in the market. The recent results demonstrate the effectiveness of Airtels business strategy in Africa. The organization sees an opportunity ahead to emerge with a broader reach and sharper execution. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Youth of Nzema are angry over the reported nomination of Dr. Ben Asante as Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Gas. Accoroding to the group, Dr. Ben Asante is an NDC mole and also neck deep in many controversial deals during the period of his consultancy services to the company. The Nzema Youth Association have simply sought answers to a few questions which, in its view, would help for better understanding of the work Dr. Asante did for Ghana Gas. Below is the full statement: Nzema Youth Association Protest Against Dr. Ben Asantes Imminent Appointment as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Gas The attention of Nzema Youth Association (NYA) has been drawn to an intense lobbying by Dr. Ben Asante and his surrogates to enable him occupy the enviable position of the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gas Company. This antics and machinations by Ben Asante, is what the NYA has vowed to resist and implore His Excellency Nana Akuffo Addo, President of the Republic not to cave in to those lobbyist, as Dr. Ben Asante; a Petro-chemical Engineer with specialty in natural gas is an NDC mole and technically bankrupt. A conclusion we have drawn from his dealings with Ghana Gas as a consultant brought in from Texas in 2010 by the NDC government to help kick start the Early Phase Gas Infrastructure Project. In fact, he was the Chief technical advisor to the Former CEO Dr. Sipa Yankey, he later became the Gas advisor to former minister of petroleum Hon. Kofi Amah Boah. Today, five years down the line, the realities from the advices and decisions carried through by Ghana Gas makes Dr. Ben Asante a Misfit to the CEO position. Here are the facts; Foremost, the decision to relocate the Early Phase Gas Infrastructure Project from the Domunli enclave (site that had been concluded with all the geophysical test done) in the Jomoro District to Atuabo in the Ellemble District was masterminded by him to promote a parochial political agenda of his pay masters, most especially Hon. Armah Kofi Buah then Minister of Energy and his surrogate, Dr. Sipa Yankey. Subsequent to the above, we would proceed by interrogating Dr. Ben Asantes advice on the following landmark decision carried through by GNGC. They are as below; What was Ben Asantes input in the controversial relocation of the Gas Processing Plant from the Domunli enclave to Atuabo, knowing very well that Atuabo does not have the geophysical advantages for the construction of a Calm Buoy to facilitate the transport of NLNG from the suppose NLNG plant which was an integral part of the Gas Master Plan? Where was Dr. Ben Asante when the decision was taken to extend a lean gas pipeline to a No Mans Land in the Prestea area knowing very well that an extension of the pipeline to the Tema Power Enclave where Gas is most needed could have averted this country the power crises which crippled this countrys economy? What was Dr. Ben Asantes input when Ghana Gas was recording all those huge cost over-runs due to poor technical decisions that shot up the entire project cost beyond its $750,000,000 threshold? What was Dr. Ben Asantes technical input when GNGC delayed to tie- in the Atuabo Gas pipeline to the West Africa Gas Pipeline at Aboadze in order to make Gas readily available to the Tema Power Enclave? What was his input when GNGC decided to delay the construction of the LPG loading gantry project to pave way for a privately owned LPG Bay called Amorkyi Quantum Terminal to set up and enjoy monopoly for the usage of their terminal? Perhaps, to allow his pay masters to have a monopoly. Isnt it Dr Asantes vouch attempt to the position of Director of Projects at GNGC and his subsequent posting to Petroleum Commission; a position that he did not seem to like that is prompting his over-arching quest to the position of CEO of GNGC? In fact, this and many more technical ineptitude demonstrated by the Former CEO with the tacit support of Dr Asante that made this country incurred avoidable cost over- runs. Notwithstanding the above, we are of the firm belief that Dr Ben Asante was in bed with the NDC Government to push a parochial agenda. We also have it on record that when his name popped up as the CEO to be, there was jubilation amongst some prominent Senior Management staffs at GNGC perhaps to celebrate one of their own who is likely to cover- up for them. Whiles we have nothing against Dr Ben Asantes person, we strongly believe that his imminent appointment to the CEO position of GNGC will not bring radical positive changes to the company which has been a sleeping giant. What GNGC needs now is a radical shift from the past in order to make Ghana great. Thank you. Mark Asma President NYA Cobby Secretary Source: Prince Obimpeh / Peacefmonline.com / Email: [email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The government has signaled its commitment to amend sections of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 to make corruption a felony instead of a misdemeanour. The move is part of measures being undertaken by the government to make corruption unattractive in the country. Declaring the commitment of the government to fight corruption at the launch of Good corporate governance initiative by the Action Chapel International in Accra, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said we will amend relevant section of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), particularly sections 3:151 and 239 to 257 to make corruption a felony rather than a misdemeanour. The event that brought together players in both public and private sector was on the theme: Accelerating Ghanas development through transparency and integrity from talk to action. Public Procurement Act Dr Bawumia also hinted that government was determined to strictly enforce the Public Procurement Act, (Act 663) to ensure transparency. The Act, in his opinion, was most abused and, therefore, there was the need to bring sanity into the public procurement. The resort to sole sourcing of contracts is now the rule rather than the exception. The way the Act was designed, sole sourcing was not supposed to be as rampant as it is today, he said. The Vice President said there was the need for transparency, adding that the bidding process needed to be made public on the website so that everybody would know who was bidding and how much. It will help us. It will help Ghana and it will help emphasise the issue of value for money, he added. Citing an instance where the residency of the Vice President, which was under construction, was quoted at $13.9 million, Dr Bawumia said he was convinced that the project did not go through competitive bidding and wondered why a single house could cost so much. Auditor-Generals Report He hinted that the government intended to implement the recommendations of the Auditor-Generals Report to the fullest in order to retrieve public funds embezzled by some individuals. Alhaji Dr Bawumia noted that there were a number of Auditor-Generals reports with billions of money that needed to be refunded to the state. We also intend to bring an end to the prevailing regime of impunity, where people found to have stolen or fraudulently benefited from public fund are merely requested by the Attorney-General to refund some or pay on their own terms, he said. He announced that the government was still committed to its campaign promises, noting that during the 2016 electioneering, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sent a strong signal about the importance of good and transparent governance for sustainable development. In government, we are still committed to the establishment of solid efficient machinery for good governance that comprises accountable government and respect for the rule of law and human rights, Alhaji Dr Bawumia said. He reiterated governments commitment to prosecuting good governance by establishing an Act of Parliament and office of a Special Prosecutor, who would be independent of the Executive, to investigate and prosecute certain categories of cases and alleged corruptions. Alhaji Dr Bawumia announced that the government would enhance accountability by promoting effective separation of powers, while adequate provisions would be made to secure the independence of the Judiciary. National Identification system He said in seeking transparency in governance, there was the need for national identification data base, because the government is convinced that the National ID scheme will help formalise the economy. Alhaji Dr Bawumia believed that the successful implementation of the national identification system would impact on the work of the corporate bodies. Outlining the benefits, he said with the national identification system, corporate bodies could use it to check the background of applicants, the criminal records of people as well as help in resolving some of the challenges facing financial institutions in the country. Corruption as pervasive The US Ambassador to Ghana, Ambassador Robert Jackson, said corruption was a pervasive problem in the world, including the United States, adding that the time was ripe to fight against the canker. He said the system should be able to prosecute corrupt practices and pledged the US willingness to support President Akufo-Addo in his effort to fight corruption. The Founder and General Overseer of the Action Chapel International, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, in a message read on his behalf, appealed to corporate Ghana to support the initiators of the project to succeed. He said an important focus in the initiative was the adoption of daily practices by organisations to ensure that all officers, staff and stakeholders abided by what was right. Partners The Chief of Staff of the Action Chapel International and Pastor in-charge of the Airport Residential Area, Rev. Kennedy Okosun, explained that the initiative was by Archbishop Duncan-Williams, in partnership with Krif Ghana Ltd, the US Embassy, the American Chamber of Commerce and LeadAfrique International. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Frances Gayetta Hanna Lenser, 83, of Houston passed away on Jan. 3, 2017. Fran was born on Aug. 16, 1933, in Clay Center, Kan. She graduated in 1955 with a bachelor of science in chemistry from the University of Kansas, where her future husband was her physics lab partner. While at KU, Fran was active as a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, served as vice president for the Torch chapter of Mortar Board and the Sunday Evening Fellowship program of the Presbyterian Student Organization and played flute in the concert band. She was also named to the Honor Roll of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences multiple times and was honored by the Kansas Division of the American Association of University Women. Immediately after graduation, Fran worked as a chemical librarian for Shell Oil Company in Wood River, Ill., until her marriage to Ron Lenser. Fran was a lifelong volunteer, spending significant time as a volunteer with Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council and the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She served the Girl Scouts at the chapter level as a Troop Leader and Cookie Mom, and also at the board level. As a Life Loyal member, she served Delta Delta Delta in several capacities, including as an Area Financial Specialist, helping university chapters manage the ins and outs of collegiate chapter finances and furthering the education of collegiate women. Fran was also a lifelong crafter, focusing much of her time on cross stitch, setting up a small company to sell her creations, and supporting the Baptismal Stitch ministry at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. She was also an avid bridge player, playing with womens and couples groups through the Houston Tri Delta Alumnae chapter and Westchester Neighborhood groups. Although Fran hated packing and getting ready for a trip, she graciously let her family drag her across the world from the top of the Eiffel Tower to the Great Wall of China to the Hermitage Museum. She particularly loved the mountains in Colorado. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lawton Morrison and Mildred Green Hanna; and her brother, Thomas Taylor Hanna. Fran is survived by her husband of 61 years, Ronald Arthur Lenser; and daughters, Ronda Lenser Dillard (husband Scott Sims Dillard), and Leslie Wynne Lenser. Services were held Jan. 28 in the sanctuary of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Tri Delta Foundation at www.tridelta.org, (click Donate on the upper menu) or to Tri Delta Foundation, 14951 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75254. Chief Executive of Engineers and Planners, Mr Ibrahim Mahama, has warned acerbic tongue New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyepong, to forthwith, refrain from dragging his hard earned reputation in the mud or face his wrath. Irked by the incessant but unwarranted and unguarded attacks on his person and family by the foul mouth Assin Donpem-born legislator, Mr Ibrahim Mahama has been narrating how Kennedy Agyepong, for several years without any provocation, has made him his chop stick in the media. The shrewd entrepreneur and media-shy Engineers and Planners CEO, who is also a younger brother of immediate past president John Mahama, having perhaps had enough of Kennedy Agyapongs never-ending vituperations in the media, was speaking to well-wishers and friends who thronged his residence to inquire what the problem is between him and the maverick MP. Most of the people who came to commiserate with Mr Ibrahim Mahama following the NPP MPs recent attacks on him and her late mother; could not fathom why Hon Agyepong, who was only recently adjudged by policy think tank, ODEKRO, as among MPs who never made statements on the floor of parliament in the life of the 6th parliament, would spend much of his time lampooning the business magnate at the least opportunity. Livid by the shameful behavior of the NPP MP, the former Presidents brother intoned: "I dont go around bragging about what God has blessed me with and I dont also go round threatening people like what Ken does...but he should know that some people, such me may, not be abrasive publicly as he is butsome of us when weve had enough of trash can be as wild as the beast. Short of sharing exactly what that meant, the usually reclusive and soft spoken Engineers and Planners CEO only told his audience, "go n tell him (Ken) that I can be more ruthless than he thinks he is but, I just respect myself, my family and Ghanaian people hence; I have restrained myself following him into the gutter in spite of his numerous unsubstantiated and wild allegations and most of the time, pure lies. "Tell Ken that by the grace of God I have long been blessed before John (John Mahama) became Vice-president and later President... is it my fault that my senior brother climbed to those heights? Is it my fault that I am where I am todayIm not God to determine others future and Im content with what God has gifted me...I dont compete with anyone neither do I envy those before me and even those after me. It is God's wish, he stated. The NPP Assin Central MP has since the defeat of President John Mahama and the NDC in last December elections picked on Mr Ibrahim Mahama and his family and has on countless occasions made unguarded statements and spurious allegations against him. In one such unsubstantiated allegation against Mr Ibrahim, the MP who has always promised to expose shady deals of his political opponents but is yet to redeem any of his pledges accused the former Presidents brother of dealing in cocaine and stolen cars. In his usual abrasive no hold bar claims on Oman Fms Boiling Point programme, Kennedy Agyapong alleged that President John Mahamas late step mum, who is also the mother of Ibrahim Mahama, was a drug baron. She is obsessed with drugs and she baths with it, he alleged He also accused Mr Ibrahim Mahama of dealing in stolen cars which he alleged the latter supplies to some prominent chiefs in this country. Interestingly, checks on the CEO of Engineers and Planners, Ibrahim Mahama who is being accused of involvement in stolen cars revealed that his company is having in its possession over 300 pieces of earth moving equipment, pay loaders, bulldozers, multi-purpose tipper trucks, tankers, pickups etc. With the attacks becoming one too many, Mr Ibrahim is warning Kennedy Agyapong he has had enough of his gibberish and may be forced to react in like manner I'm just blessed by God as a young man, I dont engage in shady deals as Ken has variously alleged neither have I been boastful of where God has placed me...Im not even directly into politics nor being executive member of my brother's party, the NDC, so what is my offence that should warrant his (Ken) inexorable attacks on me? Ibrahim queried. Source: aL-hAJJ Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A whopping $13.9 million dollars is to used to construct a new mansion to house Ghanas Vice Presidents, Peacefmonline.com can confirm. Peacefmonline can also confirm that construction of the new residence being built at the Switch back road in Accra, has currently stalled though contract was awarded and started under the erstwhile John Mahama-led administration. Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, who made the startling disclosure during a speech at the Launch of the Good Corporate Governance Initiative at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Tuesday, indicated that he strongly believes the bidding process for the construction of the house did not "go through competitive tender." Lamenting on how the state in recent times abused the Procurement Act by "the resort to sole-sourcing of contracts" needlessly, Dr Bawumia stressed the need to safeguard the taxpayer's purse by strictly enforcing the Public Procurement Act, Act 663. "Very importantly, we want to ensure the strict enforcement of the Public Procurement Act, Act 663; it is an Act that in my opinion and in the opinion of many, has really been abused recently, the resort to sole-sourcing of contracts has been more the rule rather than the exception. "The way the Act was designed, sole-sourcing was not supposed to be as rampant as we are seeing it today and I think that we will have to enforce this Public Procurement Act. There was this whole brouhaha about this Vice Presidents residence, I am sure you heard about it, so in the context of discussing this issue, there is supposed be a vice presidents residence under constructionso I asked the question why this project has not been finished, why has it delayed and they said well the contractor is owed a lot of money and I said how much is this money and am told well it is a lot of money. So [I asked] how much is this house actually costing and I was shocked when I was told, can you believe in Ghana we are building a house to house our Vice President and this house is supposed to cost 13.9 million dollars. I mean what sort of house is it supposed to be, is the gate made of gold, pavement made of gold, blocks of gold, a house in Ghana for 13.9 million dollarsI couldnt believe itand I am hundred percent sure it didnt go through competitive tenderand there it stands uncompleted, Dr. Bawumia said. Bawumia Stranded? Earlier this year, when John Dramani Mahamas successor, President Nana Akufo-Addo, took over the administration of the country, news went viral that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was stranded, since his residence was still being occupied by the former president. But Mr. Mahama in a statement, rejected the report, describing it as mischievous. Per the statement, Dr Bawumia (the Vice President) was expected to take up residence in the House known as Australia House, which was previously occupied by former Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur. An Official and Permanent residence for the Vice President is currently under construction, off the Switchback road. Dr. Bawumia will move into the new structure when completed, the statement read. Transparency?...Push Parliament To Amend Certain Laws Within 100 days Addresing parcipants at the event, Dr Bawumia pointed out that the NPP and therefore President Nana Akufo-Addo's vision to build "a new Ghana Ghana in which hard work pays and cutting corners does not," will likely fail to materialize "unless we promote good governance, accountability and transparency." "Leadership plays an important role in good governance," he acknowledged. Consequently, he said, the present administration, seeking to enhance transparency, will impress on parliament the need to amend certain laws and pass the Right To Information Bill swiftly. "We are going to have to push parliament to make the necessary amendments and if I had my way, it should be passed within these first 100 days of this government...It brings transparency in our governance," the Vice-President stated. Source: Nana Kwadwo Asante/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has acknowledged his humanity in his effort to transform Ghana into a modern state, suggesting that mistakes will be inevitable. They will not be mistakes borne either out of ill-will or malice, he explained. They will be mistakes because I am human and we all make mistakes as human beings. President Akufo-Addo made these remarks on Tuesday evening, when he met Ghanaians resident in Ethiopia. The president has been in Addis Ababa since Saturday, January 28 for the 28th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU). He delivered the Vote of Thanks on Tuesday at the end of the Session, which he attended for the first time as President of Ghana. Addressing Ghanaians at a meeting held later on Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo said he is bent on transforming the Ghanaian economy in order to get raving praise by posterity. He said he will put his best foot forward in this quest. I am going to do my best. Hope my best is going to be good enough. I will make mistakes but I can promise you they will be genuine, he said. Diasporan desk He revealed that a diasporan desk has been set up at his office to reach out to Ghanaians resident abroad. It is already being occupied by a diasporan from London. And he has begun the task to first of all compile the database of all of you. The president, who is almost a month old in office, called for the support of Ghanaians abroad in his effort to make Ghana great again. I am going to give it my best shot and I am asking you to help me and also put your shoulder to the wheel of Ghana so that we can give our people a better life that they are aspiring to. Source: 3news.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Popular Hollywood filmmaker /Director, Roger Bobb, has invited Ghanaian celebrated actor, Van Vicker, to Hollywood days after having the privilege to co-direct a movie with him in Liberia. The director, who could not hide his joy from working with the Ghanaian act, posted a short video just after arriving in America telling his fans he can-not wait to work with Van Vicker in Hollywood. My man Van you get to come to Hollywood for us to do big things he said. In the video, he also asked his fans to check out the movie Providence which was produced and co- directed by Van Vicker. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Head of Communications at Charterhouse Ghana, organisers of the Ghana Music Awards, has refuted speculations that some categories have been scrapped from the awards. George Quaye says the nomination list for this years awards is not out. Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM, Quaye stated that the information making the rounds online is lazy journalism on the part of whoever wrote the story without double checking, he said. He added that Im surprised that somebody will go to town with a story like that without checking or giving me a call. Ive endeavoured to be a friend to the industry and one of the most accessible communications executives for any scheme in this country. Mr Quaye concluded by emphatically stating that the whatever is being circulated is not from Charterhouse Ghana and cannot vouch for where it came from. Source: JFM Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Most inspiring, creative rapper Okyeame Kwame will be going down the history of showbiz and the corporate community as the first Ghanaian musician to possess a brand book, having had the official launch yesterday, 31st February 2016 at Zylophon Media in East Legon. The brand book, as indicated by his Business and Brands Manager, Mrs. Annica Nsiah-Apau who doubles as the author was written to provide a guide for the Okyeame Kwame brand and partners. According to her, the creative arts is stuffed with some disturbing ways of survival by some practitioners, a thing she wants her artiste to dissociate from; hence the publishing of the said guide. The mission of the OK Brand is to become one that intelligent professionals aspire to work with we go beyond exciting, creative content. We value your values, she said. The press launch hosted the media, members from the corporate community and practitioners of arts. It was hosted by Earl Ankrah, was graced by Mr. KwabenaAgyekum of CIMG, Bola Ray, KSM, corporate managers from Unilever Ghana Ltd, West Hills Mall, private businesses and many others. The event also saw the release of the rappers calendar of events for 2017, a list which includes the annual Versatile Show, Flaunt Your Lover Movies Night, the OK Rap Reality Show, international music tours, his 5thAlbum release etc. The OK brand book launch, powered by Firm Bridges Communications was sponsored by SC Johnson, Ransbert (Dealers in Unilever Products), Zylofon Media and Menzbanc. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video International music star, Rocky Dawunis inability to win the Grammys was due to the lack of support from Ghanaians media reggae artiste, Knii Lante has said. According to the musician cum doctor, the citizenry failed to create the needed buzz around their countryman who made history as the first musician to earn a Grammy nomination for Ghana. Rocky Dawunis sixth album, Branches of the Same Tree, released worldwide on March 31, 2015 by the Cumbancha record label was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards 2016 but lost to Morgan Heritage. Knii Lante in an interview with GhanaWeb expressed that Dawuni could have won but the support was not enough. He lamented that the attention given reggae music in Ghana is disheartening, adding that if it were other genres, Ghanaians would have unflinchingly rallied behind the artiste. Watch the video below: Source: Ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The former girlfriend of Lindt Cafe siege gunman Man Haron Monis has been sentenced to 44 years in prison for the murder of his ex-wife in 2013. Amirah Droudis, who was dating Monis at the time of the attack, was found guilty last November of stabbing his ex-wife 18 times, dousing her in petrol and setting her alight at a block of flats in Sydneys west. It was a hot blooded and frenzied murder by an enraged female attacker, Justice Peter Johnson said while delivering his verdict. He described Monis as an evil man who had orchestrated the attack after a bitter family dispute, and that if Monis had not died during the siege in 2014, then he would be sitting next to the accused in the dock. Droudis chose not to give evidence at her sentencing hearing last year, but her lawyers said she was repeatedly assaulted by Monis during their relationship. She has been given a non-parole period of 33 years, meaning she wont be released until at least 2050. Photo: Twitter / Channel 9. The Sunshine Coast is a bad place for vertebrates these days: more than 22,000 jellyfish stings have been recorded on Sunny Coast beaches since December 1. Exclusive footage of Peregian Beach last weekend. According to Surf Life Saving Queensland, Noosa and Mooloolaba copped the worst of it, each recording about 3000 stings. Northerly winds continue to bring the plague of mucilaginous murder-bags into coastal waters, as evidenced by Brisbane woman Charlotte Lawsons extremely disconcerting photo (featured) of thousands of bluebottles lining the beach at Deception Bay like a snotty, stingy carpet. It also looks like the flabby tentacled ghouls have tired of simply ruining the weekends of innocent beach going humans. Coolum Beach vet Dr Dan Capps told the Sunshine Coast Daily that he had to treat three dogs for jellyfish-related symptoms over the weekend. The sweet, dumb pooches most likely scoffed a bluebottle as it lay temptingly glistening on the sand, and had to deal with a stung oesophagus, vomiting, and a whole bunch of pain for their trouble. Look, I know that the ocean is their habitat, theyre just trying to live their lives and they dont have brains in which to hatch evil plans or whatever, but lets be serious for a second messing with puppers is a bridge too far. Listen to me, you phlegm-sacks, you naked frilly testes, you see-through fucks: sting me all you want, but you stay the hell away from my dog. Source: Sunshine Coast Daily. Image: Charlotte Lawson. Dozens of cops have descended on a homeless encampment on Flinders Street in Melbourne with the intention of breaking it up, facing opposition from protesters. Two people have been arrested after the special operations police arrived at around 1pm. At approximately 1:50pm, according to The Age, a man on a mobility scooter and a woman were arrested as protesters yelled let them go and fuck the police. The visual of the cops moving in on the camp is pretty shocking: Breaking: Heavy police squad moving into homeless Camp on Flinders Street @abcnews @abcnewsMelb pic.twitter.com/1hJUzOe5Ob James Dean (@JamesDeanNOW) February 1, 2017 The pretence for moving the rough sleepers on is a $100 million project to restore Flinders Street Station and the area around it. Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle made a number of inflammatory (and ultimately unsubstantiated) comments over the past few weeks suggesting the people were pretending to be homeless in order to shake down money from tourists. Warnings were issued that homeless were going to be moved on by police, and many of the rough sleepers had voluntarily vacated the area often due to harassment and the constant presence of media. Homeless person shouting at police as they prepare to move in on the campsite at Flinders Street @abcnews @abcnewsMelb pic.twitter.com/IGVBxdBjpY James Dean (@JamesDeanNOW) February 1, 2017 The people from the encampment has been offered temporary accommodation at the Coburg Motor Inn, which The Age said does not enjoy a good reputation. Housing Minister Martin Foley said Tuesday that 15 people from the camp had been successfully housed while four others had been placed in drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation facilities. Foley had said the people needed to accept a path out of homelessness or be evicted. Video was captured by the ABC of police using force on protesters as they were moved on: Scuffle breaks out as police escort two protestors from street #Flindersst #springst huge crowd booing police pic.twitter.com/xKpVspDM72 ABC Radio Melbourne (@abcmelbourne) February 1, 2017 Source: ABC. Photo: Twitter. Lee W. Hartmann, 54, of Bangkok, Thailand (formerly of Hooper), died Jan. 6, 2017, at his home in Bangkok. He was born Aug. 16, 1962, in Fremont to Clarence W. and Lois Jean (Moseman) Hartmann. Lee graduated from Logan View High School in 1980 and received his Bachelor of Science degree in animal science in 1985 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) where he performed in the UNL marching band. Lee was employed by Pig Improvement Company (PIC) as a district sales manager for Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska. Lee soon advanced to national account manager and international sales (selling and servicing large U.S. and overseas accounts) in Missouri and Kentucky. In 1998, Lee seized the opportunity to move to Bangkok as general manager for PIC Siam (Thailand, Japan and Korea). Later, he serviced the Greater Asia Region including Pakistan and Australia as general manager for Chore Time Brock International. As managing director and technical support for Pig Pro Systems, Lees scope of operation covered Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Most recently, he was self-employed as an agriculture technical consultant and in sales in the Greater Asia Region including China. Lee was gifted with an easy-going nature which was evident in his passion and discernment to effectively interact with various cultures in both a professional and personal level. He was a lifetime member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hooper. Survivors include: his mother of Hooper; one brother, Glenn, of Garland; two sisters, Kay Ann of Fremont, and Darla of Hooper; nieces, and nephews. Preceding him in death were his father and a sister, Joni Rae. A 10:30 a.m. memorial service will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hooper on Saturday, Feb. 11. Visitation with the family will be from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hooper. Memorials may be directed to the charity of ones choice. Ludvigsens Hooper Funeral Chapel in charge of arrangements. An online guestbook may be signed at www.hooper-scribner.com. James Bond might still be demonstrably white after the franchise threw money at Daniel Craig till he caved, but the UKs other long-running franchise with an ever-changing lead Dr Who might be actually be in for a shake up. Yesterday Peter Capaldi, the shows current Time Lord, announced hed be leaving after the 2017 Christmas special, during which the 13th Doctor would be reincarnated. It coincides with the departure of longtime showrunner Steven Moffat, giving a real chance for incoming showrunning, Broadchurch writer Chris Chibnall, to breathe fresh life into a series thats seen its last season dip in the ratings. And fans are calling out for Chibnall to cast a black or female actor in the iconic role. I would love love the next #DrWho to be Olivia Coleman ( there Ive said it!) Tracy Ann Oberman (@TracyAnnO) January 31, 2017 As Peter Capaldi is leaving Doctor Who, there is only one logical replacement . . . Say hello to Number 13! pic.twitter.com/Q8SNm2V7cF 50 Nerds of Grey (@50NerdsofGrey) January 30, 2017 Dont watch Dr Who anymore but would love to see a female doctor this time around, its about timetravel Turps (@The_T) January 31, 2017 Olivia Coleman (Peep Show) and Richard Ayoade (my dream journal) are the two frontrunners as far as the fanbase goes but David Harewood (Supergirl) and Ben Whishaw (neither black nor female, but an adorable Q in the Bond films) are also in the mix. Bookies are favouring Whishaw to step into the Tardis, with Richard Ayoade a close second, Rory Kinnear (that guy you know from everything, including the determined detective in Imitation Game) in third, and Miranda Hart (Call the Midwife) sliding in fourth place to be the favourite female contender. Fan favourite Coleman who has previously starred in Doctor Who as herself doesnt even get a look in until #10 place, after Helena Bonham Carter. Billie Piper, who played companion Rose Tyler, ruled herself out of contention, but said it would feel like a snub if the role didnt go to a woman and that it would be great given the spirit of the world at the moment. Moffat who said he had previously offered the role to a black actor, but for various reasons, it didnt work out said it would be amazing for the show to have two non-white leads (this season debuts Pearl Mackie, whose father is from the West Indies, as the new companion). However, founder of mega fansite Doctor Who Online, Sebastian J Brook, told The Guardian that while most fans support the idea of a non-white Doctor, a female doctor would change the dynamic of the show and that it should only happen for the right reason. He also made a strong push on Twitter for the show to hire more female writers and directors, which he says its been severely lacking. As for should it happen?, possibly but only if it was for the right reason and not for the sake of it. Theres been a long and Doctor Who Online (@DrWhoOnline) January 31, 2017 successful formula, and its down to the BBC to judge whether its time to change that formula and the dynamic. Weve had a lot of Doctor Who Online (@DrWhoOnline) January 31, 2017 strong female leads since the show returned, and I wonder if we would have had as many if wed had a main female lead in The Doctor? Doctor Who Online (@DrWhoOnline) January 31, 2017 the focus (in our opinion) should be hiring more female writers and directors and getting the equality right behind the scenes. We Doctor Who Online (@DrWhoOnline) January 31, 2017 were rather shocked to discover that in the entire 50-year history, there have only been 10 female Directors on #DoctorWho! This is Doctor Who Online (@DrWhoOnline) January 31, 2017 something that has to change. Also, dont attack the fans that want The Doctor to remain male not all of them are sexist or Doctor Who Online (@DrWhoOnline) January 31, 2017 misogynistic. Its perfectly ok if you just want him to be a him But this show is about change, so who knows. Who knows. [/rant] Doctor Who Online (@DrWhoOnline) January 31, 2017 Nothing will be firmed up till later in the year, so theres plenty of time to make your opinions incessantly known on the line. Photo: Getty / David M. Bennett; Karwai Tang; Mike Marsland. The following list includes business bankruptcies that were filed in United States Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg) from Dec. 1, 2016 - Jan. 31, 2017. CHAPTER 7 Under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code may be used by businesses or individuals. A portion of the debtors assets is liquidated and distributed among creditors by a trustee to satisfy debts. In some cases, action can be brought against a debtor by creditors. Gary P. Ulrich doing business as Assured Growth Industries, doing business as AGI Fundraising and Karen J. Ulrich, 5051 Ravenwood Road, Lower Allen Township. Docket No. 17-0087. Wicks Educational Associates Inc. doing business as Wicks Educational Program, 6 Kasey Court, Suite 205, Upper Allen Township. Docket No. 17-0175. Cumberland Valley Creamery LLC, 21 Mulberry Drive, Silver Spring Township. Docket No. 17-0239. CHAPTER 11 Provides businesses or large investors with protection from creditors while they continue operating and develop a repayment plan. Both creditors and owners must agree on a reorganization plan, which ultimately must be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. Mann Realty Associates Inc., P.O. Box 5, Camp Hill. Docket No. 17-0080. CHAPTER 13 Provides protection from creditors to individuals, including those who are sole proprietors of a business, while they repay their debts from current assets and income, usually over three to five years. Charles Michael Stackhouse doing business as Omnigraphics Inc., and Debra Lea Stackhouse, 5201 Watertank Road, Codorus Township, York County. Docket No. 17-0266. Janette B. Moraski doing business as Swallowtail Fiber Arts, 1101 Columbus Ave., Apt. 2, Lemoyne. Docket No. 17-0297. A woman in western Pennsylvania may have set a record when it comes to racking up DUIs - she was hit was two separate DUI charges in less than 90 minutes, according to the Butler Eagle newspaper, which explains how she did it. Amy Ann Lumley, 47, of Butler, first got into it with a neighbor over a parking dispute last Thursday, the newspaper explains. Lumley had apparently parked her vehicle in the neighbor's driveway, and when the neighbor confronted her Lumley appeared intoxicated, the paper writes. There also was some alleged pushing and shoving involved. Sure enough, the patrolman said he smelled alcohol on Lumley's breath and noticed a plastic bag containing suspected marijuana in her vehicle's console, the Butler Eagle reports. And when Lumley failed a field sobriety test, she was hit with her first DUI charge. A breath test given at 9:29 p.m. showed her blood-alcohol level was 0.086 percent - just above the 0.08 percent legal limit in Pennsylvania, the newspaper writes. Lumley then was released to the custody of a friend, who took her car, and advised not to drive again that night. She didn't listen. By 10:14 p.m. the same night, police received another complaint after Lumley was seen driving her Pathfinder. Police pulled her over and described her as follows, according to the Butler Eagle: "Lumley was still visibly intoxicated, displaying slurred speech, glassy bloodshot eyes and had a strong odor of alcoholic beverages about her person." This time, however, her breath test came back with a 0.06 percent blood alcohol reading, but police charged her anyway, saying she was "incapable of safe driving." For her first arrest, Lumley faces charges of DUI, possession of a small amount of marijuana and harassment, the newspaper reports, adding: For her second arrest, she is charged with DUI, reckless endangerment and careless driving. york fire.png An unidentified victim was rushed to the hospital in life-threatening condition after a two-alarm fire broke out in the 300 block of West Philadelphia Street in York Tuesday night. Multiple people were rescued from the blaze, according to White Rose Ambulance. (White Rose Ambulance ) An unidentified victim was rushed to the hospital in life-threatening condition after a two-alarm fire broke out in York Tuesday night. Crews rescued multiple people from apartments that caught fire in the 300 block of West Philadelphia Street, according to York City Fire Department. EMT crews rescued an adult and an infant from the third floor, and the fire department rescued an adult from the second floor, according to White Rose ambulance. The adult female from the second floor was treated and transported to York Hospital in life threatening condition. The adult and infant were not injured, according to a ydr.com report. White Rose Ambulance said two of its emergency medical technicians were taken to a local hospital for the treatment of smoke inhalation. EMT's discovered the fire after they responded to a medical call in the second-floor apartment above a vacuum cleaner repair shops, according to White Rose Ambulance. cover beam.jpg Oscar Cover and Holly Beam, of Southampton Township, were sentenced in Cumberland County Court on Tuesday. Cover is accused of abusing her children, and she was accused of allowing it to happen. (Submitted.) CARLISLE - In Oscar Cover's mind, he was trying to discipline his girlfriend's children. His attorney, John Scheidemann, said the abuse Cover had pleaded guilty to did not come from a place of anger. "These are not anger issues, they're more parenting issues," Scheidemann told Cumberland County Judge Albert H. Masland on Tuesday. His actions were inappropriate and wrong, but, "this is not somebody lashing out as in a true crime of violence." But the paternal grandmother of the children Cover abused wants to see him go away for a long time. "He physically abused them over a two-year time period," Angela Wilson told the court. "When I picked up my little grandson, he had bruises from the top of his back down to his buttocks." The child, she added, slept many nights while chained to a desk. And while the mother of the children, Holly Beam, did not actually take part in the physical abuse, Senior Assistant District Attorney Nathan Boob told the court she allowed it to happen and did nothing to protect her children. Masland sentenced Cover, 27, to 2 to 8 years in state prison on charges of simple assault and persons not to possess firearms. And the boys' mother, Beam, 28, was sentenced Tuesday, as well, to 4 to 23 months in Cumberland County Prison on one count of criminal conspiracy to commit simple assault. The Southampton Township couple had pleaded guilty to the charges on Nov. 30. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation unfolded like this: Beam's children, who are 9 and 11, told investigators that Cover had been beating them for two years and that their mother knew this was taking place. The children said Cover would bind them to a desk with a 10-foot chain, would zip tie them to vehicle wheels, and made them hold bricks as punishment. The children also told police that Beam told Cover to start beating them over again after a prior beating had ceased. The judge gave Cover a chance to explain his actions on Tuesday. "Yes, I was wrong in what I did, but I was only trying to discipline the boys and give them a chance at a better future," Cover said. "There was no ill will intended, your honor." But, upon issuing his sentence, Masland told him, "You may believe you were only trying to discipline, but the facts prove otherwise." And Beam said she takes full responsibility for what happened, adding it started because she was having trouble dealing with the behavioral issues of one of her children. "I turned to Oscar for help. I was at my wit's end," she said. "I know now that it was too strict, it was too harsh on him." But the children's grandmother asked her, "How did you go to bed at night knowing your 9-year-old child was chained to a desk?" Beam, however, denied that the child was ever chained up, saying Cover only, "smacked him on the bottom - maybe a little too hard." The judge said the punishment the children experienced, according to the charges she pleaded to, was more than merely too aggressive of a form of discipline, resulting in a prison sentence for both of them. Hamburger the clown.png James Edward Bryar, or "Hamburger" the clown, has been charged with the sexual assault of a young girl over 14 years, beginning when the victim was 7. Bryar, 79, has been a well-known member of the Jaffa Shrine Calliope Clowns based in Altoona for nearly 50 years. (Submitted ) James Bryar A 79-year-old man charged with the sexual assault of a young girl over 14 years is the longest serving member of a Shriner clown group based in Blair County, the president of the clown unit confirmed to PennLive. James Edward Bryar, or "Hamburger" the clown, has been a well-known member of the Jaffa Shrine Calliope Clowns based in Altoona for nearly 50 years, said John Myers, president of the clown unit. Myers, 72, said the news of Bryar's arrest "comes out of the clear blue sky," and that he never would have guessed that "Hamburger," a retired postal worker and veteran he has known since joining the unit 25 years ago, would have found himself facing sexual assault charges. Bryar, of Duncansville, was charged with assaulting a girl over a 14-year period, starting when she was 7, state police said. He was charged on Jan. 27 with 22 offenses and placed in Blair County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail. He is accused of committing the assaults between 2004 and 2017, police said. Myers said he didn't know how Bryar knew the girl he is accused of assaulting. Hamburger the clown is a well-liked character of the Calliope Clowns, which boasts about 39 members who perform together during the annual Jaffa Shrine Circus and at parades and other local events, he said. When asked whether Hamburger, named as a play on Ronald McDonald, would return to the clown unit, Myers said the decision would rest with the shrine's governing Blue Lodge. He said he doesn't suspect that Bryar would want to return to the group, however. Myers described Bryar as a "kind of a strange character. He (keeps) to himself and would talk about strange things. Has a few buddies he hangs out with." Still, he said he didn't come off as the type of person that could sexually assault a minor. "I could look at my unit and say, 'that person could do that.' I would never say that (Bryar) could," Myers said. "At this point, it's all hearsay as far as I'm concerned." Bryar is charged with four counts of aggravated indecent assault; three counts each of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of a child; and two counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and someone less than 16, and indecent assault on someone less than 13 and 16. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 7. Trooper Jeff Petucci said state police were not aware that Bryar had been a clown for many years. Petucci said they are aware of only one victim in the case. "As far as crimes we have one victim, but if any additional come forward we will investigate," he said. Anyone with information may call state police in Hollidaysburg at 814-696-6100 Reactions to President Donald Trump's nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court was swift and unsurprising. Gorsuch's nomination was cheered by conservatives wary of Trump's own fluid ideology. If confirmed by the Senate, he will fill the seat left vacant by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, long the right's most powerful voice on the high court. Trump praised Gorsuch's "extraordinary resume: and said the nominee's academic credentials were "as good as I have ever seen." He added that Gorsuch "has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support." Some Democrats, still smarting over Trump's unexpected victory in the presidential election, have vowed to mount a vigorous challenge to nearly any nominee to what they view as the court's "stolen seat." President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland for the vacancy after Scalia's death, but Senate Republicans refused to consider the pick, saying the seat should be filled only after the November election. A conservative group already has announced plans to begin airing $2 million worth of ads in support of the nominee in Indiana, Missouri, Montana and North Dakota, four states that Trump won and in which Democrats will be defending their Senate seats in 2018. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.: "I was pleased to see President Trump nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. "Crucially, Judge Gorsuch understands the proper role of a judge. He understands that his job is to apply the law and U.S. Constitution as written, not to pick winners and losers based on personal or partisan policy preferences. Judge Gorsuch's record shows that he will treat everyone equally--regardless of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, political views, influence, or wealth. And I believe that like Justice Scalia, Judge Gorsuch will be a principled justice, will be dedicated to the principles of originalism, and will neutrally apply the law, even when doing so leads to a policy outcome he personally opposes. "Judge Gorsuch's record indicates that he has the character, intellect, and experience to make an excellent addition to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Judge Gorsuch has sterling credentials. He earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, his law degree from Harvard, and a PhD in Law from Oxford University. In 2006, the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Gorsuch to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit without a single Democrat or Republican objecting. "I have long held that when considering judicial nominees, objective qualifications are more important than partisan politics, and Senators should work across the aisle to fill the federal bench with highly qualified jurists. "I have worked on a bipartisan basis with Senator Casey and the Obama White House to fill 16 vacancies on the federal bench in Pennsylvania. And, although I knew I would disagree with many of her decisions, I supported President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I plan to apply the same standard of fairness to the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch. And I hope my fellow Senators will do the same. I hope they will review Judge Gorsuch's record with an open mind. And I hope they will remember that the test is not whether we agree with every decision Judge Gorsuch has rendered, but whether Judge Gorsuch understands the proper role of a judge and has the character, intellect, and experience to merit confirmation. "I look forward to the Judiciary Committee's hearing and meeting Judge Gorsuch in person." ** U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.: "The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Roberts, has moved far outside the mainstream and has too often favored big corporations at the expense of our workers and middle class families. I am concerned that far right groups presented an edict to Donald Trump when he was a candidate, demanding that he select a nominee from their approved list. These same organizations have pushed for legal rulings that rig the system in favor of big corporations and against workers, stacking the deck against everyday Pennsylvanians. "The Supreme Court plays a role of unique importance in our democracy and therefore nominees require substantial scrutiny. I will thoroughly review Judge Gorsuch's record, particularly his appellate decisions and his answers to questions during the hearing and those submitted in writing afterward." ** Rea Carey, executive director, National LGBTQ Task Force: "Judge Neil Gorsuch's record reveals a jurist who believes that bosses should control their employees' private health care decisions; supports the misuse of religion to legalize discrimination; and holds LGBTQ equality with disdain. He is also a darling of those who are vehemently opposed to marriage equality. He seems like someone who aligns perfectly with Donald Trump and Mike Pence's view of the world, but is completely out of touch with the realities of most people's lives." ** Rob Gleason, chairman, Republican Party of Pennsylvania: "Tonight, President Trump nominated a wonderful jurist to the Supreme Court," Gleason said. "Judge Gorusch is a strict constructionist who has repeatedly displayed a deep commitment to our constitutional principles. With a distinguished career and tremendous qualifications, Judge Gorusch is a worthy successor of the great Justice Scalia, and we're proud to support his nomination. "Sadly, Democrats have already decided to play political games with our Supreme Court. The fact of the matter is the people have spoken, and President Trump has selected his nominee. It's time for U.S. Senators such as Bob Casey to get on board and confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch." ** Marcel L. Groen, chairman, Pennsylvania Democratic Party: "Donald Trump has chosen Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. From his anti-worker, anti-class action stances to his extreme, Scalia-esque interpretation of the Constitution, Gorsuch is a dangerous choice for the Supreme Court. "Donald Trump has spent the first weeks of his administration trying to circumvent the laws of the United States of America. If the past few days have proven anything, they've proven that any Supreme Court justice needs to be capable of standing up to this administration. I'm not convinced that Judge Gorsuch will be that independent voice," "The American people deserve a Supreme Court justice who will interpret the law with fairness, guarantee equal protection, and uphold the Constitution of the United States. Gorsuch is not that justice." Why Courts Matter - PA coalition: "We're profoundly disappointed in President Trump's nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch, a judicial extremist in the mold of Clarence Thomas, who believes in granting unelected judges more power to strike down federal regulations that protect workers, consumers, and the environment. "Gorsuch's record does not demonstrate respect for our constitutional values of liberty, equality, and justice for all, nor has he shown respect for the belief that the Constitution protects all of us, not just the wealthy and the powerful. "While President Trump would like to pretend our current political circumstances are normal, they most certainly are not. The American people are well aware that the current President may have won the electoral college, but did so with only 46 percent of the vote. Seventy-five million Americans voted against him, while 62 million voted for him. While Trump has the right to name a Supreme Court justice, it is imperative that he seek a consensus nominee who is supported by both parties - and Democrats have every right to demand such a choice." ** U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa.: "The death of Justice Antonin Scalia left more than just a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court - it left a tremendous void. And it left the court without one of the sharpest conservative legal minds in American history. No one will ever replace Justice Scalia, but from what I have learned about Judge Gorsuch, he is a first rate selection as a successor. "Judge Gorsuch believes in understanding the Constitution as it was written, instead of finding new laws and legal theories where none really exist. And he believes in interpreting the law, rather than creating legislation from the bench. He is a strong, conservative choice for this vacancy. Pennsylvania's own Judge Thomas Hardiman, of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, is another fine jurist who was named as a finalist and would also have been an excellent nominee. "I am heartened about the direction the new court will take with Associate Justice Gorsuch. Given his age, he should be a mainstay on the Supreme Court bench for decades to come. It is also refreshing that President Trump was transparent about his decision making process, as these were names circulated widely months ago when he released a list of candidates he would consider for this important appointment. The result is the nomination of a sound conservative who admires judicial restraint, which should be a lasting reminder of just how important November's election was. "Neil Gorsuch is a solid choice for the Supreme Court and he should be confirmed by the Senate without delay." ** Vicki Saporta, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation: "We need a Supreme Court justice who will honor established precedent, including the constitutional right to privacy and Roe v. Wade. That Justice is not Neil Gorsuch. "Judge Gorsuch has been described as "a predictably socially conservative judge who tends to favor state power over federal power[i]," and a member of a group of judicial appointees "as good a College of Judicial Cardinals as the conservative and pro-life movements have ever seen[ii]." He is a far-right jurist who would overturn basic and well-established principles of American law. "President Trump promised to put forth a nominee who would oppose Roe v. Wade. We should take him at his word. With an Administration that wants to overturn Roe and abortion opponents in control of the House and Senate, the stakes are extremely high for women's health and safety. Americans overwhelmingly believe that Roe should be upheld and will not tolerate retreating to the days when women had to sacrifice their lives and health to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. We urge Senators to carefully scrutinize the record of Neil Gorsuch, and vote against this nominee, who could jeopardize the lives and health of American women." ** U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader: "I hope Members of the Senate will again show him fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama." The Associated Press contributed to this story. LANCASTER -- Thousands of people took to Penn Square in Lancaster, once again proclaiming the city's support for refugees and immigrants. Tuesday evening's vigil was held in the wake of President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order banning immigrants from seven countries as well as other executive immigration reforms the president's detractors have deemed unjust. Church World Service Lancaster partnered with Lancaster Stands Up for the hour-long vigil and call to action, which came days after a benefit concert for refugees that raised $28,000. Carrie Carranza, an immigration legal counselor with Church World Service, said the vigil brought out the largest participation she has seen for any type of demonstration. She pointed to the fact that Penn Square was filled with people on both sides of King and Queen Streets -- overflowing to the Lancaster Market courtyard, in front of the Lancaster Convention Center and in front of area businesses. "I didn't expect anything less from Lancaster," Carranza said. "This is only the beginning. This type of demonstration is going to be regular." Adanjesus Marin, director of Make the Road Pennsylvania, said he protested at the airport in Philadelphia over the weekend, will attend an event in Hazelton on Wednesday and plans to continue speaking out against injustice against immigrants and refugees. Marin spoke to the crowd in English and Spanish, also imploring the group to make such demonstrations the norm and prove what the people want. Omar Mohamed, a Somali refugee who has lived in the U.S. for seven years, said he's still in disbelief at Trump's executive order and the effects of the action. Mohamed held a sign during the vigil: "I didn't choose to be a refugee," and explained that he loves Somalia and, like many refugees, never wanted to leave. "The last thing we want to do is ask for refuge," Mohamed said. Pointing to a countrywoman who came to the U.S. two weeks ago by way of Kenya, Mohamed said his friend is now separated from her family and does not know when they will be reunited. He said he is very disappointed that his friend's family has been torn apart, even though they meet the requirements for refugees to enter this country. "I don't understand." Mohammed said, noting that many of his friend's family members were children. "What did they do?" Mohamed said he was heartened by Tuesday's vigil and the outpouring of support from the people of Lancaster. Mohamed noted that though he has had some negative experiences with people and their biases since he's been in the U.S., the way he has been treated has been overwhelmingly positive, which is why he is thankful for everyone who stands for refugees. Jose Torres, a Mexican immigrant currently studying at HACC, spoke on behalf of "dreamers" in expressing his gratitude for those who attended the vigil. He encouraged attendees to fight together for the sake of protecting the diversity and values that make America great. Lancaster mayoral candidate Kevin Ressler said Lancaster Action Now Coalition is organizing a daylong call to action next week. The event aims to connect people with ways to get involved. Ressler said the event will also push a campaign to protest to state senators Scott Martin and Ryan Aument and their stances on sanctuary cities and places like Lancaster that don't actively pursue undocumented immigrants. As the vigil came to a close, protesters let out one last chant: "Love, not hate, makes America great." prison bars hands.jpg (File photo) WILLIAMSPORT -- A State College man who the government says has shown sympathy toward ISIS and made threats of violence has been ordered detained pending trial. U.S Middle District Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle III Tuesday made the ruling about Alexander Pringle, who had been charged in November with possession and distribution of child pornography. Pringle, 32, was arrested late last week for violating terms of his house arrest, on which Arbuckle had placed him. "You forced my hand and I played it," Arbuckle said in ordering his detention. The magistrate said he thought when he released Pringle following his arraignment on the child pornography charges he would get the help he needed for a drinking problem. Arbuckle pointed out Pringle was not deemed in violation when he resumed drinking, which was prohibited under terms of his release. Texts he sent Jan. 21 and 22 using Facebook were the reason the government argued for detention. The messages mentioned ISIS, threatened the community and investigators and inferred jury tampering, Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey MacArthur told the judge. In one text he wrote that ISIS are pedophiles, and in another he claimed if he goes down, everyone burns, the prosecutor said. Pringle posted these texts even though he was aware of a program installed on his computer by the probation department to monitor his activity, he said. Defense attorney Kyle W. Rude characterized the texts as frustration over being indicted and not real threats. In ordering him detained, Arbuckle found Pringle not only violated terms of his release but that there was probable cause he committed another crime. The pornography charges say the distribution occurred between June 30, 2010, and April 29, 2011. He is accused during the same time frame of possessing images and videos of youngsters under the age of 12 and prepubescent children engaged in actual and simulated intercourse. Neil Gorsuch In this Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, photograph, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch listens to an attendee after delivering prepared remarks before a group of attorneys at a luncheon in a legal firm in lower downtown Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski) President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court is Neil Gorsuch. If confirmed, he will replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last February. "Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said, announcing the nomination in his first televised address from the White House. Two finalists for the high court slot -- Neil Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman -- were both summoned to Washington ahead of Tuesday's announcement. Their travel to Washington was confirmed by a White House official, who was not authorized to discuss the Supreme Court pick and insisted on remaining anonymous. Gorsuch, 49, serves on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, where he has made a name for himself as a graceful writer. Gorsuch is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, and served as a law clerk to Justices Anthony Kennedy and fellow Coloradan Byron White. If chosen, he would be the first justice to serve with a colleague for whom he once worked. With a clear, colloquial writing style, Gorsuch has written in favor of courts' second-guessing government regulations, in defense of religious freedom and skeptically about law enforcement. He has contended that courts give too much deference to government agencies' interpretations of statutes. He sided with two groups that mounted religious objections to the Obama administration's requirements that employers provide health insurance that includes contraception for women. He is the son of President Ronald Reagan's Environmental Protection Agency chief, Anne Gorsuch. He worked for two years in Bush's Justice Department before Bush appointed him to his appeals court seat. He was confirmed by a voice vote in 2006. Gorsuch has written 175 majority opinions and 65 concurrences or dissents in his decade on the 10th Circuit, according to Rebecca Love Kourlis, a former Colorado Supreme Court justice. Gorsuch also is a notable advocate for simplifying the justice system to make it more accessible, Kourlis said. Gorsuch is also an avid skier, fly fisherman and horseback rider, Kourlis said. He teaches at the University of Colorado's law school in Boulder. Because Scalia was a stalwart conservative, Trump's choice is not likely to change the balance of the court. But it does set the stage for a bruising partisan fight over a nominee who could help determine law on gun rights, immigration, police use of force, transgender rights and other issues. Barring further changes to the Senate filibuster rules -- which GOP leaders for now seem reluctant to make -- Trump will need to sway at least eight Democrats to ensure the major political victory that a successful confirmation can often bring. A tractor-trailer fire has shut down Route 581 east in Cumberland County. The eastbound portion of the highway is closed between Exit 3 to Route 11 and Exit 6B to I-83 South, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation traffic alert. No additional information was immediately available. For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources. Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here. Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com. 21359466-mmmain.jpg Stephayne McClure-Potts and Michael McClure-Potts (file photo) A woman who claimed to be Artur Samarin's adoptive mother pleaded guilty Wednesday to Social Security fraud and harboring an illegal alien, the U. S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday. Stephayne McClure-Potts, 51, of Harrisburg, was accused of providing false information to the Social Security Administration on 10 occasions in order to obtain a Social Security card with a fictitious identity for Samarin, the U.S. attorney has said. She is also accused of harboring Samarin, a Ukrainian who posed as a Harrisburg High School student, between March 2013 and August 2015. Michael McClure-Potts, 60, was also charged last October with harboring an illegal alien, and his trial is scheduled to start Feb. 21. Samarin, 23, was sentenced in November to 11 1/2 to 23 months in county prison, plus seven years on probation, for masquerading as a Harrisburg High School student and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. That comes in addition to the two-month jail term a federal judge imposed on Samarin in a fraud case last year. This case was investigated by the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and Harrisburg police. If convicted, the maximum penalties for these offenses is 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine. Where can entertainer Bill Cosby get a fair trial? Not in Montgomery County, according to his defense team. But that will be up to a judge to decide. A hearing is set for Feb. 27 for the prosection and defense to make their arguments before Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O'Neill, The Intelligencer is reporting. The comedian's lead attorney, Brian J. McMonagle, had asked for this change of venue on Dec. 30. Cosby is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at this suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. It has been more than a year since Cosby was charged with the three counts of aggravated indecent assault. In that time, the defense has made numerous attempts to convince the judge to toss the case, all of which were ultimately denied. Among those attempts, McMonagle cited what he argued was a promise made by the previous district attorney, Bruce Castor, not to prosecute Cosby in the Constand case. But before Cosby can go to trial, there is another pending motion for the judge to consider. Current District Attorney Kevin Steele wants the court to allow 13 of Cosby's other accusers to testify. Though Constand's is the only case to spawn criminal charges, roughly 60 women have accused Cosby of similar acts over the course of decades, and Steele said he wants to include the other accusers in Constand's case to show jurors Cosby has a decades-long pattern of this sort of behavior. Cosby is expected to go to trial by June. A former employee of an Upper Allen Township veterinary clinic is accused of taking up to $46,000 while working there in 2015, police say. Roxanne Mohler Roxanne Mohler, 44, of New Holland, was charged with theft and receiving stolen property while working at Gettysburg Pike Animal Clinic, and was released on $10,000 bail. Upper Allen Township police said they began the investigation in March 2016, after an audit concluded Mohler may have taken funds between Jan. 1 and Nov. 5, 2015, court records state. Auditors determined that between $30,400 and $46,430 was taken, court records say. Auditors noted that if the scope of the audit had been expanded back to 2011, the loss "would be significantly higher." The audit was not more extensive due to cost, records state. Mohler is accused of: Recording false cash refunds. Changing cash payments to fictitious Visa payments that were never received. Applying fictitious payments to customer accounts that were not deposited. Diverting customer payments for her use. Deleting cash payments from customers in the clinic's accounting system. Det. Brian Barnes said Mohler was interviewed Jan. 10, and that she provided a recorded confession. She surrendered to police Jan. 31 and was arraigned on the offenses. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13. Martin-Roberts Papenfuse Former Council President Gloria Martin-Roberts plans to challenge incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse for the mayor's seat in the 2017 election. (PennLive file photos) HARRISBURG--Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse is starting his reelection bid with a huge financial advantage over Gloria Martin-Roberts, his challenger in the Democratic primary. Papenfuse has a $43,000 war chest compared to former City Council President Martin-Roberts, who has raised $6,425, according to year-end reports filed Tuesday. Papenfuse had a built-in advantage with more than $30,000 leftover from his original run for mayor in 2014. In addition, he raised $10,550 last year from a single fundraiser in late December at the home of Alex Hartzler, a local developer. Challenger Gloria Martin-Roberts, meanwhile, raised her $6,425 from a Nov. 17 fundraiser at the home of Monica Massey, who was married to the late retired Police Capt. Quinn Massey. Papenfuse cited nearly $328 in campaign expenses in 2016, mostly for website and mail services, while Martin-Roberts spent $1,248 to rent the National Civil War Museum for her kickoff announcement and for catering for her fundraiser. Papenfuse has since held another fundraiser this month at City House, a bed and breakfast. He said he plans to hold regular fundraisers throughout the campaign. Martin-Roberts said people have expressed interest to her in hosting fundraisers but she has not committed to any dates yet. She said she probably would do so in the coming weeks and noted that her campaign staff is always in a "fundraising mode." Still, Martin-Roberts said her campaign's strength can't be judged on cash alone. "I think our campaign is not just focused on money," she said, "but focused on the community and getting out there and talking to people and listening to people...Money does not always translate into votes." Papenfuse, meanwhile, said he has retained nearly all of his original supporters from his successful 2014 race for mayor. He said he believes they have stayed with him because of his fiscal conservatism and visible improvements in the city. "I think the city has made progress in all of our neighborhoods," he said. "I'm proud of the accomplishments we've been able to achieve over the past three years." Martin-Roberts' campaign finance report from 2016 listed 15 donors, who gave amounts ranging from $75 to $1,000. Her largest contributions of $1,000 each came from Patricia Manjon, who operates the Tres Cubanos restaurant in Shipoke with her husband and his two business partners; and Bill Balaban, a local attorney who represented the Harrisburg Authority under former Mayor Stephen Reed and recently attended Reed's criminal sentencing. Ellis Roy, a retired police lieutenant who works at a midtown bar targeted for closure by Papenfuse, also donated $1,000. Brian Hudson, CEO of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, donated $500 while Homer Floyd, a civil rights leader gave $300. City Treasurer Dan Miller, who ran for mayor in 2014 against Papenfuse, also supported Martin-Roberts with a $250 donation, along with Tina Nixon, a PinnacleHealth executive and former CEO of the YMCA. Other financial contributors include: Alex Reber, first chair of the county Democratic committee, Evelyn Henderson, who ran for clerk of courts in 2011 and John E. Coleman, who held a 2014 fundraiser at his home for Linda Thompson's campaign against U.S. Sen. Scott Perry. Martin-Roberts so far has not received any money from political action committees. Papenfuse last year secured donations from 25 individual donors. The only financial supporters Papenfuse said he lost from the first election were owners of the Third Street Cafe, who now oppose him because he has been trying to shut down their bar as a "nuisance." The midtown bar remains open while the case is tied up in court appeals. Papenfuse also got support from four political action committees. The "Strategy PAC" chaired by political strategist Ray Zaborney donated $500 to Papenfuse. Zaborney owns Red Maverick Media, a company that runs Republican campaigns. Two other PACs donated $250 each: Buchanan, Ingersoll and Rooney and Home Builders Association for Metropolitan Harrisburg. The third PAC, from Greenlee Partners, gave $200. Other donors to the sitting mayor include attorneys, lobbyists, bankers, and business executives. Some of the supporters who gave $500 each include Benjamin Abrams, president of Consolidated Scrap Industries, and his father Richard Abrams; Erica Bryce, proprietor of City House bed and breakfast; William Lehr, former CEO of Capital Blue Cross, Bridget Montgomery, the litigation chair at Eckert Seamans and developers Brad Jones, Doug Neidich and Josh Juffe. Two partners from the Saul Ewing law firm made donations: Joel Burcat gave $250 and Bill Warren gave $500. The owner of the Millworks restaurant, Josh Kesler, gave the largest donation of $1,000. Tuesday's deadline for 2016 campaign finance reports represented the first of several deadlines associated with this year's election. Candidates will begin circulating petitions to get their names on the ballot on Feb. 14, a process that ends on March 7. The next campaign finance report is due April 4. The primary election is set for May 16. Papenfuse is expected to compete against Martin-Roberts and Lewis Butts in the Democratic primary. Butts did not submit a 2016 campaign finance form. The winner of the Democratic race could face Republican opposition in the November election. Chief Deputy District Attorney Johnny Baer has said he may join the race as a Republican. Former Harrisburg Police Officer Jennie Jenkins is also considering a run for mayor. Papenfuse 2016 Campaign Finance by PennLive on Scribd Andy Puzder,Donald Trump In this Nov. 19, 2016 file photo, President Donald Trump walks Labor Secretary-designate Andy Puzder from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J. Puzder was CEO of a fast food empire that is outsourcing jobs on his watch, a stark contrast with his boss' threats and tweeted slaps at companies that outsource jobs. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) (Carolyn Kaster) By Alfredo Ortiz While President Donald Trump is making his way through his first weeks in office, his cabinet nominees are undergoing another week of grueling confirmation hearings. Alfredo Ortiz Proponents hope that they can quickly be confirmed and get started bringing reforms to increase American prosperity and security. At the top of the list of nominees who can help reinvigorate the small business community, which drives the nation's job and economic growth, is labor secretary nominee Andy Puzder. Puzder knows how to create jobs and finally raise wages for working Americans. This is evidenced not only by his copious writing on the subject but also by his success as CEO of CKE Restaurants. Under his tenure, CKE, which owns the restaurants Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, has grown from a multi-million dollar company into a billion dollar brand. The country needs this leadership now. Despite a string of positive economic indicators in recent months, labor-force participation - including participation of "prime-age" people - is hovering near a generational low. There are nearly two million long-term unemployed Americans. And millions more American employees can't get enough hours and are forced to work multiple jobs. Median household income hasn't increased in almost two decades. Puzder has seen firsthand - with 3,000 domestic franchises employing 75,000 Americans -- how Labor Department over-regulation contributes to this stagnant labor market. His employees and franchisees have had to contend with the Labor Department's proposals to double the overtime exemption salary threshold, dramatically raise the minimum wage, and push for a "joint employer" mandate that would upend the franchise system, among others. Though such regulations may sound good on paper, Puzder has seen how they make it more difficult to create jobs and raise wages in practice. Such regulations have a disproportionate impact on small businesses, which often don't have the compliance resources or the economies of scale necessary to implement them. As a result, small businesses, which create two-thirds of new jobs and half of existing jobs, still haven't recovered from the Great Recession. Government data shows that job gains from new firms are at the lowest share of employment since 1992 and startup formation continues its steady decline. Puzder's approach would reduce the regulatory roadblock preventing business creation and expansion. Who ultimately gains from the resulting robust small business environment? Employees and jobseekers who receive more opportunities to achieve the American Dream. Some progressive critics are criticizing Puzder's nomination and regulatory approach. But you can't argue with results. The last eight years have proven that the regulatory model doesn't work. American history, on the other hand, shows that the best way to produce median wage gains and a strong middle class is through economic growth and economic freedom. Puzder's record also shows that CKE has effectively balanced labor compliance with business growth. According to a Bloomberg BNA analysis, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have the third lowest wage-and-hour violation rate among 20 major fast food restaurants. And some of these violations were for minor protocol errors like failing to display a Labor Department poster. It's no surprise, then, that the overwhelming majority of CKE employees are happy at work. In fact, in a national survey of CKE employees conducted by the independent survey company CorCom Inc., 93 percent of female CKE employees agreed that they felt "safe and respected" in the workplace. Overall, 92 percent of employees agree that CKE is a great place to work. Puzder will make an excellent labor secretary because he will roll back the current Labor Department's burdens on small businesses and their employees. This will help create jobs and raise wages the proven way: with economic growth and an increased competition for labor. That's the pro-worker agenda this country needs. Alfredo Ortiz is the President and CEO of the Job Creators Network, a business advocacy organization. Readers may email him at alfredo.ortiz@jobcreatorsnetwork.com Donald Trump President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci) By Jay Ambrose A big hope when Donald Trump was campaigning to be president was that, if he somehow made it to the White House, wise advisors would control him, and they recently more or less did but failed to be wise. Jay Ambrose (Tribune News Service photo) According to The New York Times, it was some inner-circle types who composed the executive order on refugees and immigrants that now has so many screeching to the point of endangered lungs. The advisors, it's reported, did not want to risk politically inspired leaks that could have resulted from consulting the federal bureaucracy. So, aside from some invited experts, they decided to forego the assistance of the State Department, the Department of Defense, the National Security Counsel, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and others that know what they are doing and would have roles in carrying out the policy. If they had been involved, we could just maybe have had a public roundly informed prior to the order going into effect and well-prepared operatives avoiding klutzy confusion and individual misfortunes. We might have had some rethinking, additional, intelligent explication and less of what ensued: outrage within government, angry crowds causing traveler troubles at airports, diplomatic damage and ideologically inspired commentary that put fantastically imagined evil over reality. Advisors or no advisors, of course, Trump was part of this and wanted it and had not himself stopped to consider that maybe he is not the entire government, that maybe those agencies are there for a reason. The cost to him was an exclamation mark behind a belittled first week in office and the conclusion of not a few that he was helplessly bigoted, stupid and un-American. The conclusion of too many was that here was his once-threatened Muslim ban. It was not a Muslim ban. It was timeout on admitting refugees, immigrants and travelers from the terrorist-ridden countries of Iran, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The idea was for Homeland Security to work with others in making sure we were not taking unneeded risks that could result in another 9/11 and other sad consequences for our nation. After some months, with one exception, everything would get going again, presumably with less to worry about. The exception is Syria, where the Islamic State connivers are especially active and the timeout would be indefinite. Bringing in Syrian refugees would seem like the compassionate thing to do, but, at best, you are talking about a relatively few of the multimillions left in torment arguably aggravated by Obama fumbles as president. The real issue for anyone who is serious is to find what can be done in the Middle East for the vast numbers who will not be going elsewhere. Because the countries selected happen to be Muslim-majority states, it is maintained that this is all about beating up on Muslims. Sorry, but there is a definite, undeniable connection between terrorists and Muslims, and, when you try to spot large groupings of terrorists now violently trying to change the face of the earth, you are going to bump into Muslims from the Middle East. To say this is a religious hunt is akin to saying Obama's recent ban on Cuban refugees without visas was a Hispanic hunt. That would obviously be ridiculous because, for one thing, there are lots of countries with Hispanics who face no such ban just as there are 42 Muslim-majority countries that are facing no re-examination of who heads for America. There are any number of other issues here, such as Trump and advisors rationally enough wanting to limit the annual number of refugees to what it has often been in the recent past. For a while, it appeared the Trump move would hinder travel by legal U.S. residents, but that went away, as have some other legitimate concerns, if not all of them. Let's hope Trump and his advisors learn some lessons from all of this, but let's also hope that some of the delusional critics retreat to reason. Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. His work appears occasionally on PennLive Opinion. Readers may email him at speaktojay@aol.com. Donald Trump,Reince Priebus President Donald Trump, with his Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, sits at his desk on Air Force One upon their arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. (AP photo / Pablo Martinez Monsivais) By Jeffrey Lord You remember Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohammed Shareef Hammadi, yes? Jeffrey Lord (PennLive file) They were persecuted Iraqi refugees who sought and got refuge in the United States, courtesy of a sympathetic American government. Hammadi had been the first to arrive. In financial straits, he was resettled in Bowling Green, Kentucky and quickly placed in public housing with public assistance. When his fellow Iraqi refugee Alwan arrived he too was resettled in Bowling Green, the two living together, all courtesy of a compassionate America. Alas, eventually there appeared what might be called the fly in the ointment of this Iraqi refugee resettlement. It seems the FBI, busy assisting American troops in Iraq, had conducted an investigation into an unexploded IED - shorthand for "improvised explosive device." IED's as Americans have come to understand, have been repeatedly used by ISIS to kill Americans troops in Iraq. Let's let ABC News tell the rest. It seems that the FBI "found his (Alwan's) fingerprints on a cordless phone base that U.S. soldiers dug up in a gravel pile south of Bayji, Iraq on Sept. 1, 2005. The phone base had been wired to unexploded bombs buried in a nearby road." As a precaution the fingerprints were run through a computer with a comparison of Iraqi refugees in the United States and lo and behold there is a match with the fingerprints on that unexploded IED buried in that gravel pile and the finger prints of none other than Waad Ramadan Alwan now of Bowling Green, Ky. Undercover FBI agents were quickly given the task to investigate the two Iraqi "refugees" from "persecution" and now living in public housing with public assistance in Bowling Green. And gosh golly. It turns out the two refugees from persecution were planning to build "a bomb to assassinate an Army captain they'd known in Bayji, who was now back home - and to possibly attack other homeland targets." Not to mention that they admitted to attacking U.S. soldiers in Iraq. In other words, al Qaeda-Iraq fighters, in the guise of Iraqi refugees, were brought by the American government - aka the Obama administration (and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) - right into the American heartland. They were put up in public housing and given public assistance. And only through the sheer dumb luck of finding - in 2005- an unexploded IED in a gravel pile in Iraq and matching the bomb maker's fingerprints with those of Iraqi refugees in 2009 did they uncover the plot to kill a U.S.Army captain who had now been sent home from the front. Worse? ABC News, which uncovered this story in 2013 headlined their scoop this way: Exclusive: US May Have Let 'Dozens' of Terrorists Into Country As Refugees You read that right? The number of al Qaeda fighters masquerading as refugees to get into America was in the "dozens." ABC's story began this way: "Several dozen suspected terrorist bombmakers, including some believed to have targeted American troops, may have mistakenly been allowed to move to the United States as war refugees, according to FBI agents investigating the remnants of roadside bombs recovered from Iraq and Afghanistan." Now here's the kicker: ABC reported that as "a result of the Kentucky case, the State Department stopped processing Iraq refugees for six months in 2011, federal officials told ABC News - even for many who had heroically helped U.S. forces as interpreters and intelligence assets. One Iraqi who had aided American troops was assassinated before his refugee application could be processed, because of the immigration delays, two U.S. officials said. In 2011, fewer than 10,000 Iraqis were resettled as refugees in the U.S., half the number from the year before, State Department statistics show." And right on cue there were massive protests all over America. Thousands flooded airports to demand that then President Barack Obama and Clinton halt the six-month ban on Iraqi refugees, with furious anger sweeping the nation as the news that an Iraqi who had assisted American troops had been assassinated before his refugee application could be processed. Not. There was, in fact, not a single peep of criticism of Obama and Clinton for suspending Iraqi refugees coming into America for six months. Six months - not the 90 day suspension for refugees from seven countries with a severe terrorist problem that is the Trump executive order. Why was this so? Obama and Clinton did the sensible thing. To borrow language from Trump, they halted the refugee flow until they "could figure out what was going on." When they thought they had a handle on it, they started it up again. Alas, a handle on it they did not have. What is on display here with all these outraged protests is just how much liberals detest Trump. There's nothing more to it than that. Contrary to media myth, Trump has no more instituted a "Muslim ban" than did Obama. Some 40 Muslim countries are not on the Trump suspension list of seven countries. For a reason. As former Michigan Congressman and House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers explained on CNN, threats to the US are assessed in several different layers and it is the final combined threat assessment that determines whether a temporary ban on refugees is needed for a particular country. Obama, for obvious reasons after the discovery of the Kentucky plot and those "several dozens" of Al Qaeda fighters in the United States temporarily suspended the entry of refugees from Muslim Iraq. He didn't ban Muslims, he banned Iraqis. To suggest otherwise is simply wrong - just as suggesting Trump is banning Muslims now. While all Islamic radicals are Muslims, it is not true that all Muslims are Islamic radicals. Over the course of the Obama years there were seven attacks inside the US by those proclaiming their allegiance to some form of Islamic radicalism. Sometimes the attackers were immigrants, sometimes - as in the attack at Ft. Hood by the American born Palestinian Maj. Nidal Hasan - they were American born. In San Bernardino the husband/wife team of Islamic radical mass murderers were American born (the husband) and Pakistani-born (the wife.) In whatever form these attacks appeared, millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump in part because they felt the Obama-Clinton administration had left America unsafe. Neither they nor Trump are "anti-immigrant." One hundred percent of the American people are descendants of immigrants (yes, including the "First Americans" who settled here after journeying from Asia.) Trump himself is both the son and grandson of immigrants and, famously, is married to an immigrant from Slovenia. The very first duty of a president is to protect the safety of the American people. The temporary Trump travel ban for seven countries, as with the Obama ban on Iraqi refugees - a ban twice as long as Trump's -is both well within the law and plain common sense. And based on the silence from protestors at the Obama ban, one can reasonably believe the suddenly loud objections to the much lesser and decidedly temporary Trump ban is nothing more than the tiresome leftist politics of protest that has been a staple of the American political scene since the 1960's. Yesterday it was Vietnam or the nuclear freeze or Occupy Wall Street. Today and doubtless for the next four years at least it will be anything having to do with Donald Trump. But protests or no, without doubt Trump is at one with millions of Americans who believe the time to finally fix the American immigration system - and make America safe again - is at hand. Jeffrey Lord, of Camp Hill, is a former Reagan White House staffer and a current CNN political analyst. His work appears frequently on PennLive Opinion. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan speaks to media at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Thursday Dec. 8, 2016. Sajjan says the federal government is concerned about a new outbreak of fighting in Ukraine and is looking at ways to improve Canada's military support to the country.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2107 file photo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford greets Defense Secretary Jimn Mattis at the Pentagon. By visiting Japan and South Korea on his first official overseas trip, Mattis is seeking to reinforce key alliances after President Donald TrumpAos campaign-trail complaints that defense treaties disadvantaged the United States.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) FILE - In this June 12, 2016 file photo, law enforcement officials work at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., following the a mass shooting. A federal judge in California declined Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, to release Noor Salman, the widow of Omar Mateen, who killed dozens of people at the nightclub, after prosecutors said she accompanied her husband on scouting trips for potential targets that included a Disney shopping complex. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File) Here, there, everywhere why car washes seem to be on every corner First-ever oil trade surplus U.S. with Latin America WSJ/Eddie Seal Oil tankers are loaded with crude in Corpus Christi, Texas, in December. Change spurred by soaring gasoline imports, led by Mexico, HOUSTON/LONDON Petroleumworld.com 02 01 2017 The U.S. for the first time is pushing more crude and refined petroleum products into Latin America than it brings back, signaling a change in the global trade map that could be tested if President Donald Trump introduces border taxes. The scales tipped in favor of the U.S. in October, when it recorded a surplus of 89,000 barrels a day of petroleum, the first gain for the U.S. since records began in 1993, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In November, the surplus grew to 184,000 barrels a day, the EIA said Tuesday. That compares to a 4.3 million barrel deficit in 2005. The change comes as Latin America, led by Mexico, is importing unusually large amounts of gasoline as aging refineries fail to keep up with soaring demand. At the same time, the region's output of heavy crude, once a staple for U.S. refiners, is declining just as Canada's production is on the rise. As the U.S. Gulf has looked for a destination for its swelling supply, Mexico has been a more than willing recipient in the last year, taking in nearly a third more gasoline in 2016 than in the year prior, said Matthew Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData, a New York-based consultant that tracks global oil flows. "This appears to be more of a longer-term trend than a blip." With the U.S. shale boom reinvigorated by prices above $50 a barrel, the surplus is likely to continue, though the U.S. president's statements about trade with Mexico have added a level of uncertainty to the future. Last week, Trump's administration floated the idea of a 20 percent border adjustment tax to pay for his planned wall along America's southern edge. A spokesman for Petroleos Mexicanos , Mexico's state-run oil monopoly, has said the company is already seeking to diversify its shipments away from the U.S. Half of Consumption Mexico now relies on U.S. gasoline for more than half its consumption, up from 20-30 percent in early 2014. Meanwhile, Canada last year displaced Mexico and Venezuela as a leading exporter of heavy crude into the U.S., with the promise of more interaction ahead as new pipelines are completed. Another factor supporting a surplus is the rising use of light, sweet crude from U.S. shale fields imported into the region to serve as a blending agent. Oil output in Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina fell last year as low prices accelerated the natural decline of aging fields. Only Brazil posted an annual production increase, according to data from the International Energy Agency . The slumps in production were paired with lower availability of refining capacity in those countries and lower subsidized fuel prices, which created more demand for U.S. products like gasoline and diesel, according to Ixchel Castro, an expert on Latin America at consultancy Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Wood Mackenzie. "The lower prices allowed demand to pick up in some of these countries before the prices were liberalized," Castro said from Mexico City. "The other side of the story is the refinery capacity utilization in 2016 is the lowest we've seen since 2012." Vegan eating has skyrocketed in popularity over the course of recent decades, with more than 1,400 plant-based restaurants opening all across the US. While Philadelphia is historically known for cheesesteaks, countless vegan restaurants now call the city home. This is After the Muslim ban this weekend, stories poured in about separated families, stranded travelers, and a confused nation, wondering what next? I found myself consoling many people; young students who I work with that are refugees and immigrants as well, mothers, fathers, and many who had no way of knowing what to expect. My head spun, as I tried to come up with answers to those who needed them, only to realize that I did not have any myself. As I exercise my right to speech, I find that I am compelled to stand up for the voiceless, for those who hide in the shadows of uncertainty. For that I am reprimanded, I am told to be thankful that I live here and that if I do not like it, then to go somewhere else. I hear people talking about security, and how we need to close our borders before another atrocity happens, but those same people are quick to forget names such as Daniel Cowart who was one of two supremacists who plotted to kill 88 African American students at a school, as well as to kill president Obama in 2008. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. Or Dylan Roof who slaughtered 9 people in a Charleston church, and that since 9/11, white right-wing terrorists have killed almost twice as many Americans in homegrown attacks than radical Islamists have, according to research by the New America Foundation. So before people agree with the ban to keep Muslims and refugees out, maybe they should realize that the monsters dont have to look different, or speak a different language, perhaps, the monsters are sitting right next to them on the bus, or living next door. While people take their time to realize this, there are people in countries who need refuge, who need aid, who need reassurance that there is good in the world. I am deeply bothered by people who have been arguing that they are pro life, or that they are devoted Christians, yet are completely against allowing innocent children and families pursuing freedom and a chance at life, to come into their homes. How can someone be pro-life but only when it is related to a fetus? This hypocrisy needs to be reassessed. If we are going to only care about the lives of those who look like us, then that is not being a true Christian. What happened to works of mercy? Feed the hungry? Give water to the thirsty? Clothe the naked? Shelter the homeless? Console the afflicted? If you are a true Christian, you will know that your first duty is to do these things, not to conveniently choose what benefits you, and only you. The fabric of America is torn, but that does not mean that it cannot be mended. For that to work, we must, with exigency I ask, come together for the common good and help our brothers and sisters. At the end of the day, we the people are what matter, not the 1 percent who do not know what it is like to go hungry, worry about how they will come up for next months rent, choose between medicine and paying student loan debts, or worse. Scare tactics of those in power, telling you that the enemy is overseas, or in some distant, unknown land to you, are not real. They tell you this so that you do not question their actions, or hold them accountable for the wrongs that they do. Dont be blind. Open your eyes and see for yourselves, that while politics divide us, there are much larger troubles that afflict our world, and it is up to us to do something about it, not wait for the men behind screens to do it for us. For scientists interested in habitability and life, Titan and Enceladus are obvious targets for exploration. The Cassini spacecraft, which is nearing the end of its thirteen year exploration of the Saturn system, discovered that both worlds have salty water oceans beneath icy crusts. Titan also has a rich stew of organic molecules in its atmosphere that are deposited on its surface and into its methane-ethane surface seas. Enceladus conveniently has plumes jetting samples of its ocean into space. Within the plumes, Cassinis instruments have found organic molecules and trace minerals suggestive of hydrothermal water-rock interactions that could provide a habitat for microbes. The three proposed missions to Enceladus and Titan would employ relatively simple spacecraft with just two to three instruments. They stand in contrast to NASAs planned mission to explore the habitability of Europa, another ocean world. The Europa mission will bristle with nine instruments, several of which will produce floods of data that require a high-powered communications system to return the data to Earth. A key difference between the Europa and the Saturn moons missions is the prior history of exploration. Europa was explored by the Galileo spacecraft built with 1970s technology that had a crippled communications system. As a result, NASAs new Europa mission must conduct its own comprehensive global study of this world. At Saturn, this initial investigation of Enceladus and Titan has been conducted by the highly capable Cassini spacecraft built with 1990s technology. As a result, the next mission to these moons can focus on a few specific questions answerable with two to three instruments. (For those of you who recall that the Galileo spacecraft explored Jupiters system in the 1990s, the completed spacecraft sat on the ground for almost a decade due to launch delays.) Two of the E2T spacecrafts instrument would focus on in situ composition measurements. At Enceladus, the spacecraft can fly through the plumes and directly taste the oceans contents. At Titan, complex organic molecules are carried to the outermost fringes of the atmosphere where the spacecraft can sample the atmospheres chemistry. The E2T spacecrafts two mass spectrometers would sample material during each passage and determine their composition by weighing their constituent molecules. The distribution of the weights of the different molecules can be interpreted to determine the composition of the original material. The spacecrafts ion and neutral gas mass spectrometer would determine the composition of gases while the Enceladus Icy Jet Analyzer would determine the composition of ice, salt, and dust particles in Enceladus plumes. The two mass spectrometers will measure the nature of the organic chemicals, the pattern of carbon isotopes, the relative abundances of noble gases, and search for amino acids and abnormal isotope rations in organic molecules that suggest a biological origin. The Cassini spacecraft carried versions of both these instruments, but the E2T instruments would have a forty to fifty times improvement in resolution (the ability to distinguish similar molecules) and sensitivity (the ability to measure minute amounts of a substance) over their predecessors. (NASAs Europa mission would carry similar instruments to E2Ts as will Europes JUICE mission to Jupiter and its moon Ganymede.) The E2T team has several key questions that the two mass spectrometers would address. For Enceladus, are the materials in the plume most likely from its formation or from current geological or biological processes? What does the composition reveal about the nature of the liquid reservoir (currently believed to be a global ocean beneath an icy cap) and its potential as a habitat for life? For Titan, what are the sources of its volatiles and how they have been subsequently processed? Does the atmospheric composition suggest that the current atmosphere is refreshed by material reaching the surface from the deep water ocean? The E2Ts spacecrafts third instrument would image Titans surface and the sources of Enceladus plumes (the so called tiger stripes) in the near- and short-wave infrared. (The instruments name spells out TIGER for the Titan Imaging and Geology, Enceladus Reconnaissance camera.) Titan is perpetually shrouded in atmospheric haze, hiding the surface from cameras that image in most wavelengths. However, spectral windows at 1.3, 2, and 5 microns allow a camera to image the surface at several times finer resolution than a similar instrument on the Cassini spacecraft (and also at better resolution than Cassinis radar images). The images returned by the camera will address several key questions such as: To what degree are sediments produced and transported by fluvial and aeolian processes? How have the rivers and seas of liquid methane and ethane modified the surface? How does the composition of the surface, revealed by the three colors of the spectral bands, vary? If the E2T mission is selected as a finalist in ESAs medium class competition, the team will investigate whether a radio science experiment to study the two moons gravitational field could be added. If it is, this experiment will investigate the thickness and mechanical properties of the ice shell at Enceladus southern pole where the plumes originate. The gravity measurements would also be used to investigate Titans ice shell and the properties of its internal ocean. The Planetary Society Our Vision Know the cosmos and our place within it. Our Mission Empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. As she sits in Musbach Museum, Nona Wiese is surrounded by history. There are old-time doll buggies, a collection of salt and pepper shaker sets (the museum has 1,728 of them), and a small wooden rocking horse. In one display case is a wedding cake that was never eaten. Deemed too pretty to cut back in 1933, the cake totally dried out and has been part of the museum display for years. Wiese has spent years preserving history and promoting local rural communities. She was one of the people who helped start the Scribner museum and was part of a tourism council that worked to draw attention to the area. Shes already teaching a museum board member to take over when shes no longer able to tend to the memorabilia-filled rooms. At the same time, the woman whos worked to preserve pieces of the past has her own unique history. Wiese was born in Washington County. My parents rented farms so we moved often, she said. In the 30s, it was so dry that everybody was moving. She remembers walking barefoot in her familys yard. There was no grass and even the weeds had dried up. Thats what drought meant to me as a little kid, she said. Her mothers cousin talked the family into moving to California so her parents had a farm sale, then packed their belongings into a trailer and set out. We were just about in California and we were going over the last mountain range, and a guy on a motorcycle hit the corner of the trailer, she said. In order to save us from rolling down the mountain, dad drove down and we lost everything in the trailer. So my parents had nothing. Nona, who was about 5 years old, would get a black eye from the accident. The family did reach Anaheim, Calif., where theyd settle. They grew vegetables in their yard and Wieses mother sold homemade bread to a grocery store down the street. Her father got a job for $15 a week at a business that laundered grease rags used in mechanics shops. The first year, Wieses dad got his sleeve caught in a chain and broke his arm. While his boss could have let him go, he kept him on the job and Wieses dad would talk about how many good people there were in the world. One Christmas, her dad emptied a large drum of rags to dry and found a $20 in the bottom. He called his boss, who told him to keep it. With that money, her mom bought a big roast to cook for Christmas. Wiese and her sister got dolls and her dad bought himself a quart of beer. The rest of the money went for essentials. Because of the black eye from the accident, Wiese hadnt started school the first year. So when she did she was a year behind most of the other students. She also had asthma. I was sick all the time, Wiese said. Wieses mother became homesick and the family returned to Nebraska in 1939 and lived on different acreages. Her dad farmed and worked for different people through the years. After her grandfather died in a car accident, Wieses grandmother sold their farm and moved into Scribner, where she eventually bought a house. Wiese stayed with her grandmother and went to Scribner High School, graduating in 1949. Wiese then ran a linotype machine at the Scribner Rustler newspaper office. She later married Lloyd Wiese, quit working and they had three children. They bought and still live in the same house her grandmother had purchased. In 1963, Wiese started a job as a bookkeeper at Consumers Public Power District in Scribner, where she worked almost 20 years. After that office closed, she worked at a company office in Oakland to finish with 25 years. She later would work for German Mutual Insurance. Wieses work in preserving the past began decades ago. In 1971, Wiese was the youngest person named to Scribners centennial celebration committee. From that came a suggestion of having a museum. A group of people convinced Amos Musbach to save some of his collection of items and buy a building for a museum in Scribner. He bought a building on the towns Main Street. Weve been collecting and its full of mementos and memories and Ive been here ever since, Wiese said. Its kind of become my fourth child. The museum has a collection of cameras and there is big wooden wagon. Different areas are set up to look like old time dentist and doctors offices. There are numerous plows and even information and memorabilia from the old Scribner Air Base, which during World War II was camouflaged to look like a farm. Were now collecting memories from the 50s,60s and 70s just little mementos that remind you of that era, she said. Besides her work with the museum, Wiese was involved in the community in other ways. She was elected and served one term on the Scribner City Council. She was chairman of the former Extra Metropolitan Council of Governments. She and Loree Dahl and the late Jo Zucker worked to promote tourism. They had the Elkhorn Valley Tourism Council and took a slide show to area meetings. We promoted the Elkhorn River and we got the other communities up the line to support us, she said. We formed the Northeast Nebraska Travel Council. Wiese also has been involved in genealogy. A group of us formed the Eastern Nebraska Genealogical Society, Wiese said. Its still going. Wiese said shes proud of her family and the community. We all have our talents and we all contribute and thats what makes a well-rounded community, she said. Wiese said shes teaching Georgiene Ebel, whos on the museum board, to take over when she can no longer do it. Shes community-minded, too, and so is her husband, Jim, Wiese said. Wiese has enjoyed her work in the community and believes others are happy the memorabilia has been preserved in the museum. I think its a joy when people come back home to their community, she said. Theyve gone off and worked somewhere else and come back and theyre pleased that its saved. I have a number of notes from former residents who said, Thank you for what youre doing and theyd help you in any way they could. People are very supportive of the museum and saving local history, she said. Theyre interested in what grandpa used to do or the wagon he used to ride on or the stove that grandma used to fire up to make rolls. NYPD Deputy Chief James Molloy, 55, died Monday night of 9/11-related cancer (Photo: NYPD) An NYPD chief has died of 9/11-related brain cancer after a long struggle, officials said Tuesday. Deputy Chief James Molloy, 55, died Monday night at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip on Long Island with his family by his side. He left behind his wife, Mary Williams Molloy, and two daughters, Christina, 16, and Alexa, 25. Roy Richter, head of the Captains Endowment Association, told the New York Daily News that Molloy led the search efforts at Ground Zero for six months following the 9/11 terror attacks. About 31 months ago, Molloy began having vision problems and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. On Sept. 11, 2001, Molloy was driving to work when authorities stopped traffic through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel as the towers burned. When they collapsed, massive waves of dust and debris flooded into the tunnel. Molloy, covered in dust, went to Ground Zero and began working right away, his wife said. What began as an unwanted person at a local motel Sunday ended with deadly violence as an officer fatally shot a man who had been hitting her with her own TASER, police said. "It's a very difficult time for us," said Leonard Bunnell, lieutenant of the 26-member Montville police force, which operates under the supervision of the Connecticut State Police. The officer is recovering at home and will return to work when her physician says it's OK, he told the Hartford Courant Monday. On Tuesday, state police said the man was Val Thomas, 53, whose last known address was on West Main Street in Norwich. Neither state police nor Bunnell released the officer's name. Omaha police officer Jill Schillerberg was shot Monday in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect. (Photo: Omaha PD) A police call in Omaha quickly turned violent Monday when an officer was wounded in the leg and a 20-year-old man was shot multiple times by police. The man, Monroe G. Evans III, was taken in critical condition to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. He remained in critical but stable condition Monday night, his father said. The police officer, Jill Schillerberg, 39, was treated at the medical center and released. She had been struck in the lower left leg, Omaha.com reports. Police say that Evans exchanged gunfire with officers and that his handgun was recovered at the scene. Chrysalis. Polish Fashion Stories The Polish Cultural Institute in London is launching Chrysalis, a limited edition art book, charting the history and evolution of fashion in Poland from the 1930s to the present days new crop of designers making waves on the Polish and international stages. From Lola Prusac, who designed for Hermes in Paris between the wars, daringly introducing traditional Polish folk designs and creating Mondrian-inspired prints 30 years before Yves Saint-Laurent, to Kasia Skorzynska, a recent fashion graduate from Warsaws Katedra Mody who founded the already acclaimed and successful label k a a s k a s, Chrysalis will introduce the designers, photographers, models and fashion icons who shaped Polish fashion over the last 90 years. Beautifully designed by one of Polands most exciting artists, Tymek Borowski, and the first publication of its kind in the English language, Chrysalis is being launched alongside an accompanying website www.polishfashionstories.com, which will offer a constantly updated source of information about past and current trends in Polish fashion. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The responses from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Al Franken (D-MN) focused on issues that represent big trouble ahead for Trump and his Supreme Court nominee Neal Gorsuch. Sen. Franken said in a statement, Long before his election, President Trump promised to appoint a Supreme Court justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia, who held a deeply conservative view of the Constitution and the Court. In the coming weeks, I will be closely examining Neil Gorsuchs background, but I have serious concerns about his judicial philosophyespecially on issues like access to justice, corporate accountability, workers rights, and womens health. I was hopeful that the President would have selected someone like Merrick Garland, a consensus candidate lauded by the same Republicans who ultimately refused to hold a hearing on him for nearly a year. Sen. Sanders said, The stakes are very high. It is imperative that a new justice be prepared to defend the rights of all Americans, not just the wealthy and large corporations. Our next Supreme Court justice must vote to protect American democracy and keep campaigns free of the corrupting influence of big money, treat workers fairly, safeguard liberties for women and minorities, protect religious freedom and to safeguard the privacy rights of citizens. There is a clear pattern in both statements. Democrats are going to Gorsuchs record on womens health, money in politics, and workers rights. Unlike Merrick Garland, Gorsuch is not a moderate choice. It is difficult to envision any year where Democrats would embrace his nomination. Big trouble is looming ahead for Trump and his nominee. Democrats are saying all the right things about questioning Gorsuch and looking forward to his answers, but beneath the surface, the votes lining up against Trumps nominee are visible. It is a safe bet that Trumps nominee doesnt get to 60 votes in the Senate. The Senate Democratic caucus is more liberal than it has been in recent memory. The questions and reservations expressed by Sanders and Franken illustrate that Gorsuch isnt the type of Supreme Court nominee that Democrats will support. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print For Republicans, if not for most of the rest of us, it matters whether Jesus of Nazareth was a refugee himself, as stated by Al Sharpton in a tweet. You can see the ramifications of the answer to this even if you are a nonbeliever. Asking Is Al Sharpton right that Jesus is a refugee? the Fox crew somehow bizarrely concludes his family fled Judea to pay taxes in Egypt, which isnt at all what the Bible says. Media Matters Craig Harrington caught this debate on Fox & Friends, the one place in the universe (outside now of the White House) you are guaranteed to find no intelligent conversation: Fox & Friends Debates Whether Jesus Was Really A Refugee (Proving They've Never Read The Bible) https://t.co/QwKe3ufejS pic.twitter.com/WRXw1b1D7W Craig Harrington (@Craigipedia) January 31, 2017 Heres the thing: whether Jesus was a refugee depends on which gospel you read, like a great many other facts about Jesus life. Only Matthew mentions it. Mark, Luke, and John are silent. But if Jesus was a refugee, then how can the Religious Right dominated GOP ignore refugees? This is the point raised by Pope Francis in 2014, when he said, We believe that Jesus was a refugee, had to flee to save his life, with Saint Joseph and Mary, had to leave for Egypt. He was a refugee. Let us pray to Our Lady who knows the pain of refugees. In fact, the panel on Fox & Friends reject the Pope and the Bible both out of hand, demonstrating once again that the loss of Elizabeth Hasselbeck did nothing to raise the shows collective IQ: Instead, they portray Jesus family as good tax-payers, implying that his family went to Egypt to pay taxes, which is not at all what the Bible says, and by that, I mean not one single one of the four gospels: BRIAN KILMEADE: Is Al Sharpton right that Jesus is a refugee? CARLEY SHIMKUS: Well so lets talk about his tweet first. On Sunday he tweeted, Before you head to church today, remember to thank God for his son Jesus a refugee who fled to Egypt. STEVE DOOCY: Well thats not exactly accurate. SHIMKUS: Well, according to the Bible, its really not. And a lot of people on social media had something to say about that. MC wrote, umm his parents werent refugees.They traveled to pay their taxes. Please Al. And then Brian, he made it personal. He wrote, He paid his taxes unlike you. Different times, no comparison. He also returned to his home. As you can imagine, the criticism continues to roll on in. How fortunate for the GOP that Fox & Friends can pick and choose passages to believe and disregard and conflate the rest into entirely new facts. Alternate facts. A brand new Gospel of Fox News. It is important to note again that this account exists only in Matthew but it does exist, contrary to Doocy & Co. The other Gospels do not record it but if even one of them does, then making the claim is accurate. Republicans have no problem picking and choosing other passages that exist only in one or another gospel while absent from the rest. Sources outside the Bible leave the question more problematic. The Jewish historian Josephus does not mention it, nor any Roman historian, and many modern scholars reject it. The historical record, contrary to the Gospel of Matthew, shows that Herod killed his own children. There is no record of him killing all the babies in the kingdom. There is another side to this question: the alleged plot by Herod to kill Jesus has been seen as an anti-Semitic storyline used to show that it was the Gentiles who accepted the truth of Jesus identity and go on to worship him, while the Jews reject and try to kill him. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print A presidential visit to a Harley Davidson factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been canceled because the company was worried about the fallout from protesters for hosting the toxic Trump. CNN reported, President Donald Trump will not head to Milwaukee for a previously scheduled visit of a Harley Davidson factory after the company decided it wasnt comfortable hosting him amid planned protests, an administration official said TuesdayIt was the threat of protests, and not Trumps planned signing of executive orders, that made Harley Davidson uncomfortable, the official said. The protests are having an impact. May companies who were worried about being the focus of a negative Trump tweet are now concerned about being protested against if they have anything to do with the unpopular president. From the thousands of people who have deleted their Uber apps to the protests that were being organized against the Trump Harley Davidson visit, companies are becoming aware of the damage to their brand that will come with associating with President Trump. Trump was toxic before the Muslim ban, but now he is radioactive. The President has taken unilateral actions that have isolated him from the mainstream of the country. America is pushing back, and those companies that choose to associate their brands with this president are at risk of suffering a deadly blow to their bottom lines. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Republicans fumed on Tuesday night after Democrats quickly lined up in opposition to Donald Trumps Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch a right-wing extremist who has consistently fought to restrict womens rights. One GOP senators reaction was particularly rich, given his own history of unprecedented partisan obstruction. Video: Sen. Ted Cruz: The Democrats are engaged right now in unprecedented partisan obstruction https://t.co/UYpqI3w42L https://t.co/rNBruSGDF9 CNN (@CNN) February 1, 2017 Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said: There is no doubt that the Democrats are engaged right now in unprecedented partisan obstruction, but I hope on the Supreme Court they will not engage in that practice What I can tell you is the Democrats will not succeed in filibustering Judge Gorsuch. They may try, but they will not succeed. The Senate will confirm a strong constitutionalist to replace Justice Scalia. There are two major reasons this is laughable: 1. Republicans, including Cruz, spent nearly the entirety of 2016 blocking President Obamas middle-of-the-road Supreme Court appointee, Merrick Garland. Did the Texas senator just suddenly start to believe that Supreme Court nominees should rise above partisan politics? Too late for that, Ted. 2. Sen. Cruz the guy who just slammed Democrats for unprecedented partisan obstruction is the same fella who shut down the government in 2013 in an effort to defund and derail the Affordable Care Act. Cruz spent 21 hours rambling on the Senate floor and treating us all to a creepy reading of Green Eggs and Ham, all so he could take health insurance away from millions of Americans. Now, when Democrats decide to stand up to an incompetent president after he picked a right-wing ideologue to fill a vacant spot on the Supreme Court, the same man Ted Cruz is whining about obstruction. But nobody is buying the phony outrage. Republicans spent the last eight years writing the playbook on unprecedented obstruction. It was only a matter of time before Democrats picked it up and started reading from it. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Immediately after President Trump nominated Neal Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer released a statement that strongly suggested that Democrats intend to block Trumps nominee. In his statement, Schumer said: A little more than a week into the Trump presidency, the new Administration has violated our core values, challenged the separation of powers, and tested the very fabric of our Constitution in unprecedented fashion. It is clear that the Supreme Court will be tried in ways that few Courts have been tested since the earliest days of the Republic, when Constitutional questions abounded. Now more than ever, we need a Supreme Court Justice who is independent, eschews ideology, who will preserve our democracy, protect fundamental rights, and will stand up to a President who has already shown a willingness to bend the Constitution. The Senate must insist upon 60-votes for any Supreme Court nominee, a bar that was met by each of President Obamas nominees. The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and, in this new era, willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the Executive branch and protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all Americans. Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuchs ability to meet this standard. Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward womens rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent Justice on the Court. Make no mistake, Senate Democrats will not simply allow but require an exhaustive, robust, and comprehensive debate on Judge Gorsuchs fitness to be a Supreme Court Justice. Schumer laid out a standard that Gorsuch is unlikely to meet, which makes it probable that Senate Democrats are going to block his nomination. The country will go through the political theater of meetings and hearings on Gorsuch, but Democrats have already publicly stated that they are going to force the Senate to require 60 votes on Trumps nominee. Sen. Schumers statement tonight made it look highly unlikely that Trump will be able to pick up nine votes to get his nominee to the needed sixty for confirmation. Democrats havent forgotten the obstruction of Merrick Garlands nomination, and it is going to be an uphill battle for Trump to get his Supreme Court nominee confirmed by the Senate. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Trump botched the nomination of Neal Gorsuch by mangling the Constitution and referring to it as a them. Video: Trump began his remarks by referring to the Constitution as a them, and claiming that he is a man of his word. President Trump said, I promised that as president I would find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court. I promised to select someone who respects our laws, and who is representative of our Constitution, and who loves our Constitution, and someone who will interpret them as written. The President then announced that he had nominated Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. Trump brought Gorsuch and family up, and then continued to talk about himself, and what a great decision that he made. Trump eventually ran down Gorsuchs resume and claimed that he thinks his nominee is going to be confirmed unanimously, which is never, ever going to happen. The President was very proud of himself for pulling a surprise that wasnt a surprise to hardly anyone. Video: So was that a surprise! Was it?! President Trump pic.twitter.com/TnMd1T8yeR Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 1, 2017 Trump thinks the Constitution is a them. I dont think it is Judge Gorsuchs qualifications that America needs to be worried about. The President doesnt seem to know that the Constitution isnt a them. Donald Trump wants America to trust his judgment, but he has once again demonstrated the lack of basic knowledge that exposes the ignorance beneath the bluster. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The White House tried to blame Donald Trump calling his Muslim ban a ban on the media by claiming that Trump was only repeating what he had heard in the press. Video of Press Secretary Sean Spicer: WATCH: White House: Pres. Trump is using the word "ban" because the media is using the word "ban.@kwelkernbc: "Those are his words." pic.twitter.com/hu10yUB9Q5 NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) January 31, 2017 Spicer was asked why the White House continues to claim that the Muslim ban executive order is not a ban when President Trump says it is. He answered, Hes using the words that the medias using. At the end of the day, it cant be.it cant be a ban if you are letting a million people in. If 325,000 people from another country cant come in, that is by nature not a ban. Press Secretary Spicer was asked if he was confused or the President was confused because Trump called it a ban. Spicer answered, No, Im not confused. I think the words that are being used to describe it are derived from what the media is calling this. He has been very clear that it is extreme vetting. The White House was trying to blame the media for the President Of The United States calling his Muslim ban a ban. It is not the medias fault that Trump called his own Executive Order a ban. Sean Spicer himself has also called it a ban. Following Spicers thought process, President Trump is like a child who learned and repeated a bad word, while watching television. The Press Secretarys answer was an admission that Trump lacks the discipline to stick to his own message. The more likely answer is that Trump was calling the Executive Order what it is, and the due to public outrage, the White House is trying to spin the ban out of the Muslim ban. Either way, the laughter that could be heard in the briefing room when Spicer tried to blame the media was proof that blaming the press for teaching President Trump about the word ban is not going to fly. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The Trump White House made a bad thing worse when, after enacting a disastrous and ill-thought-out executive order banning Muslims it contradicted itself on whether or not the ban was a ban, with Trump saying it is a ban and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer saying it is not. Trump this morning attempted to cut through the self-inflicted wound by clarifying that his executive order is not a ban but simply keeps bad people out of the country. You know, like a ban. Heres his tweet: Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2017 This is an appalling use of logic, which is to say, it is completely illogical to say something that functions exactly like a ban is not a ban. Rather than answering any questions, Trump only made matters worse. The truth is, he put little or no thought into the original order, as Mark Cuban said, it calls into question the management skills of the guy in charge. He followed this up with an inexcusable lack of communication by saying one thing and allowing his voice, his press secretary, to say something else. Such a thing was unthinkable under President Obama. Now in this latest tweet, Trump has told us we can call it what we want, but it is a ban because it functions exactly like a ban. This is where it stands now, as CNNs David Wright parses it for us: Trump, Monday: The ban Spicer, Tuesday: Thats not a ban. Trump, Wednesday: Call it what you want. Tomorrow, it might be something different. It depends on how eager Trump is to put his foot in his mouth again. So X, Thursday: ??? Next time, Donald Trump might want to try something completely alien to him, a mea culpa and an acceptance of personal responsibility for the mixed messages sent by his administration. As it is, he is only making himself an object of further ridicule. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print People for the American Way (PFAW) has issued a statement condemning Neil Gorsuch, who was chosen as Trumps nominee for the Supreme Court in place of the moderate choice stolen from President Obama in violation of the United States Constitution. Trump has called Gorsuch a good and brilliant man, respected by all, but like everything Trump says, that is not really true. And People For the American Way (PFAW) President Michael Keegan explained why: Judge Neil Gorsuch is an ideological warrior who puts his own right-wing politics above the Constitution, the law and the rights of everyday people. Supreme Court justices serve for life, and President Trumps recent discriminatory executive actions that betray American values send a sobering reminder of how critical it is to have an independent and fair Court. Americans know we need Supreme Court justices who will protect the most fundamental American freedoms. Trump would like a justice whos a rubber stamp for the kind of anti-constitutional actions that we have seen over just the last week. We simply cannot afford that, and thats why the Senate should reject Judge Gorsuch. Trump could have nominated someone who has demonstrated an understanding that the Constitution and our laws are there to protect all of us. Instead, hes outsourced his choice to the right-wing Federalist Society and the oil billionaire Koch-supported Heritage Foundation, giving us a nominee who has protected the privileges of the wealthy and powerful, not the rights and freedoms of ordinary people. Judge Gorsuch has spent his entire career pushing an extreme agenda that hurts ordinary Americans. He has made clear that hes a patently unacceptable choice whod push his own dangerous agenda from the bench. Over the course of his career, hes turned his back on fundamental American rights, from shutting down claims of gender discrimination in the workplace, to trying to limit Americans ability to join class-action lawsuits to challenge corporate wrong-doing, to ruling in the original Hobby Lobby decision that corporations are people and can refuse to offer their employees birth control, to claiming that a police officer could not be sued for using excessive force when his stun gun killed a young man running from police simply because he was growing marijuana plants. Thats appalling. Judge Gorsuch has spent years building an extreme record that makes him unfit for the Supreme Court: Gorsuch has consistently advocated and ruled against workers and in favor of big corporations. Hes argued for limiting class-action lawsuits against corporations and has ruled against women bringing suits that challenge gender discrimination in the workplace. Such Corporate Court jurisprudence leads to the elevation of corporate interests above the interests of the people, who the Constitution was meant to serve and who the laws were written to protect. He was one of the original judges in the Hobby Lobby decision, in which the Tenth Circuit ruled that corporations are people and that they can refuse to cover birth control as part of their employees health insurance. The ruling that Gorsuch joined disturbingly allowed corporations to use religion as a guise to discriminate against women. He ruled that a police officer did not use excessive force when he killed a young man by shooting him in the head with a stun gun, contrary to his training manual. The man had been stopped by police after he admitted that some marijuana plants were his, at which point he ran off. At no point had he committed any violent acts. At a time when the abuses of our criminal justice system are becoming a national crisis, we cannot confirm a justice who does not understand the role of the Supreme Court to protect the most vulnerable among us. Gorsuch has supported overruling the so-called Chevron doctrine, an established Supreme Court rule deferring to administrative agencies interpretation of ambiguous statutes. Even Justice Scalia rightly noted, [I]n the long run, Chevron will endure and be given its full scope because it more accurately reflects the reality of government, and thus more adequately serves its needs. Overruling this precedent would cause far-reaching repercussions and serious harm to everyday Americans. The doctrine is crucial for worker protections, scientific advancement, and more. PFAW maintains a Neil Gorsuch fact-sheet which can be found here. As Joy Reid said of Trumps pick, This is the moment Trump pays back the Christian right, which ignored every one of its own principles to support him in exchange for SCOTUS. Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) February 1, 2017 Its not a pretty picture no matter how you look at it. A stolen pick and a violation of the Constitution translated into a pick by a man with no respect for the Constitution of a man with equally little respect. Worse, as Reid reminds us, Its also a reminder that for the religious right, the subordination of women matters far more than anything Jesus actually preached. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Joe McCarthy is doing backflips and somersaults in his grave as Trump surrogate Roger Stone goes on Russias RT to defend Putin and Russia against allegations that Russia hacked the DNC. Media Matters for America caught this despicable and treasonous act and you can watch it here: I think its pretty established that the Russians did not hack the DNC. Thats a falsehood. Craig Murray, who is a respected British diplomat, has come forward and admitted that he was handed the material on the Clinton campaign cheating to beat Bernie Sanders by an informant, a disgruntled employee at the Democratic National Committee. After Seth Rich, an employee of the DNC, was shot in the back three times on the streets of Washington at 3 a.m., Julian Assange posted a $25,000 reward for information regarding his murder. If that isnt a clear indication of who his source was, I dont know what is. The entire notion that the Russians hacked this election and did so in order to affect the result is a falsehood, is a canard. The intelligence services and the deep state in our country have produced no evidence, no proof. What we have are, from our vaunted CIA, assessments, judgments, projections, briefings but no Republican on the Senate or House Intelligence Committee has been given or shown proof that this happened. Of course, the U.S. intelligence community says otherwise. The FBI, as it turns out, knew about it as early as 2015 but Director Comey preferred to call out Hillary Clinton for a bogus email scandal rather than call out the Russians for very real hacking. Even Reince Priebus finally admitted Russia was guilty. We have seen Trump try to turn attention to the lie that Hillary Clinton got debate questions ahead of time and Kellyanne Conway blame those very same U.S. intelligence agencies, and not the Russians. This is the most despicable in a long series of despicable acts by Trump and his allies. The Republican Party presented itself as the bulwark against Russian aggression (real or imagined) in the Post-War Era and under Donald Trump they have undone that long dark history of the Cold War, and betrayed all they claimed to stand for. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Politico reports that The White House has refused to send its spokespeople or surrogates onto CNN shows, effectively icing out the network from on-air administration voices. Currently CNN ranks #2 behind Fox News. A White House official told Politico Were sending surrogates to places where we think it makes sense to promote our agenda. And CNN wont play ball. We recently saw Anderson Cooper fluster Kellyanne Conway with basic math. Enjoyable as episodes like that may be, this has been seen as more than a defensive measure by Trumps White House. Not only is Trump selling the idea that CNN is fake news but, perhaps seeing how effective his attacks on Boeing and Lockheed were, he sees a chance to really hurt CNN, to punish them for asking questions he doesnt want asked: A CNN reporter, speaking on background, was more blunt: The White House is trying to punish the network and force down its ratings. Theyre trying to cull CNN from the herd, the reporter said. Jake Tapper, host of State of the Union said the White House isnt accepting any of his invitations, explaining on air Sunday, We invited the Trump White House to offer us a guest to provide clarity and an explanation of what the president just did, especially given so much confusion, even within its own government by those who are supposed to carry out this order. The Trump White House declined our invitation. Of course, Tapper isnt doing himself any favors with the Trumptator when he tweets incindiary things like this: Of course, Kellyanne Conway has already said she wants a bunch of people fired and Sean Spicer now says of his failure to appear on CNN recently, Im not going to sit around and engage with people who have no desire to actually get something right. Trumpspeak: with people who refuse to let me and Trump lie our pants off with impunity. What the White House is selling is alternative facts a completely fantasy-driven reality completely at odds with everything we know to be true. It has been suggested that Trumps war with CNN is personal. Apparently, Trump is under the impression he got Zucker the job at CNN and thinks Zucker, therefore, owes him. Zucker says thats not true and CNN says thats not true but we all know by now what is at stake is what is true and what Donald Trump wants to be true. New York Magazine cites a high-level source at CNN as saying, This is entirely personal. Trump thinks just because hes known Jeff that CNN should be covering him like Fox News does. White House press secretary Sean Spicer says, To think hes sitting around worried about Jeff Zucker is a little ridiculous. Not ridiculous at all, given how much time Trump spends sitting around thinking about Alec Baldwin. Knowing our POTUS as we do, Spicers denials ring just a little hollow. And this is the same Spicer who unwittingly retweeted a satirical Onion piece on him which says Spicers role in the Trump administration will be to provide the American public with robust and clearly articulated misinformation. So, yeah. The last laugh may be on Trump. CNN chief Jeff Zucker, who has known Trump a long time (and while with NBC brought The Apprentice to TV) told New York Magazine, One of the things I think this administration hasnt figured out yet is that theres only one television network that is seen in Beijing, Moscow, Seoul, Tokyo, Pyongyang, Baghdad, Tehran, and Damascus and thats CNN. On the other hand, this might be okay with Trump, just all a part of his America First program. He might even realize foreigners arent dumb enough to believe the kind of nonsense Fox News peddles anyway (he certainly thinks the American public is that stupid). There is an upside for America: We might get to see the Democratic point of view stated on network news shows, typically dominated by right wing talking points, a bit more than we have in the past. And CNN would not only have a chance to redeem itself for the sin of hosting Corey Lewandowski but might actually see its ratings go up. Charleston, SC (29403) Today A mix of clouds and sun. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 80F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. PHILADELPHIA Two weeks ago, Mary McCreesh got the kind of news that makes your heart sink: Her 82-year-old father was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's. So McCreesh, of Wayne, Pa., spent that Friday afternoon at, of all places, the Philadelphia Home Show. She figured she can't change her father's diagnosis, but she can make it easier for him to stay at home, in the house McCreesh grew up in. "We can see the house through his eyes and find ways to make it easier for him, not knowing what's ahead." 'Design prescription' She was there for a presentation by Theresa Clement, an Ambler designer and aging-in-place specialist whose own father succumbed to Alzheimer's disease in September. Clement learned along the way that her line of work was surprisingly relevant to managing certain symptoms of the disease. ADVERTISEMENT "If I had known at the start what I know now, my dad would have been able to live at home with my mom a year or so longer than he did," Clement said. So, consulting with experts including Dylan Wint, a neurologist and psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic, she's developed what she calls Design Prescription. "I'm giving people some simple things that are inexpensive to do that can save so much stress, so much time, and make you be able to enjoy your loved ones even as they start to fade away," she said. "If you're living with someone with Alzheimer's, you don't have time to read all the scholarly research to say, for example, 'What can I do to stop my loved one from peeing in the trash can?' So I try to distill it down." One in three senior citizens dies with dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Association. And it doesn't affect just memory. Many people with the disease also have challenges perceiving colors, contrasts, and depth, and organizing visual information. "The brain takes things the eye sees and executes a wonderfully complicated task of telling us how far one thing is from another and knowing where one thing ends and another begins," said Jason Karlawish, a professor, physician, and associate director of the Penn Memory Center. "As Alzheimer's disease affects the part of the brain that organizes visual images, people have a hard time understanding that." Easier than meds For some, those are the first symptoms of the disease; others don't suffer visual-spatial challenges until later. Either way, caretakers can help. "A lot of the challenges people face with Alzheimer's disease could perhaps be more easily solved with design choices as opposed to medication," Wint said. ADVERTISEMENT At the Home Show, Clement pointed out an area rug on the stage. "This rug is a big trip hazard. This beautiful modern pattern can be an optical illusion," she said. Contrasts in flooring, like a light rug on a dark wood floor, might appear to be an elevation change. A patterned rug might appear as uneven terrain, and small tiles might appear as scattered objects to be picked up. On the flip side, people may have trouble distinguishing actual elevation changes between rooms, or judging the height of a step; in those cases, a ramp might be helpful. And in the bathroom, the lack of contrast can have messy results. "The white toilet on a white floor with a white wall that's what all the pictures on Houzz show, and it's a beautiful look," Clement said. "But for people with Alzheimer's, it can be hard to see white on white on white. So a hamper is often used, or a trash can." Painting a contrasting color behind the toilet can be an easy fix, she said. Color coordination Other ideas she learned from her father: Keep essentials in plain sight. "If you take a door off one cabinet and put the plate, bowl, spoon, and cup there, they can see it." ADVERTISEMENT Also, try to maintain even lighting throughout the day, because changes in lighting can be confusing, and dark shadows can appear as an abyss. (Although, Karlawish noted, some special-care units use that to their advantage, placing black rugs in front of exits to prevent patients from wandering away.) Wint, who is collaborating with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas' architecture program on a new health-care interior-design program, said research on the issue so far is scarce. For now, much of his advice to caregivers is about things like avoiding multipurpose tools, which can be hard for people with dementia to identify and navigate. He also prescribes minimizing clutterincluding the visual kind. At mealtime, that means avoiding patterned plates, which can get confusing, and even serving one food item at a time. But, mostly, said Clement, it's about "having giant empathy." She learned to look at things through her father's eyes, to recognize what might be strange or confusing to them. "One day, I went to visit my father and he was so agitated. The nurses couldn't calm him down. I went into his room and I noticed that across the way there was an ambulance with its light flashing. So I pulled the shade down, and within a couple minutes, he was fine," she said. She's been giving presentations at home shows, senior centers, and conferences, and hopes to start offering one-on-one consultations. She wants to prove that accommodations don't have to be hospital-like, especially in an era when grab bars, for example, can be disguised as stylish towel racks, soap dishes, or toilet-paper holders. "I think the process of updating your house is absolutely crucial," she said. And the sooner the better. "Introducing these things and creating a safe environment in stage one, where they can participate in what happens in the house, is really important." A fight at a Rochester high school may lead to criminal charges against the parent of one of the students involved. The case began Monday with a fight between several girls at John Marshall High School, resulting in the suspension of the participants from school for a period of time, said Capt. John Sherwin of the Rochester Police Department. That night, Marilyn Haywood-Ransom, 36, described in the police report as the mother of one of the students, went on Facebook Live, a feature that allows the user to broadcast video in real time. In the video, Haywood-Ransom made threats toward the other females involved, as well as their parents, Sherwin said, while holding a handgun. According to the report, she made comments such as "you don't know where I come from," and identified herself as a Gangster Disciple, a criminal gang formed in the 1960s on the south side of Chicago. ADVERTISEMENT Multiple people saw the video and reported it to law enforcement Tuesday; Haywood-Ransom was arrested and could be arraigned as early as today. She has multiple convictions on her criminal record, court documents show, including a felony conviction in 2010 that would prohibit her from being in possession of a firearm, among other conditions. Brenda Lewis, assistant superintendent of Rochester Public Schools, said by email this morning that "the Rochester School District is committed to providing a safe environment for all students. The district takes its responsibilities in that regard very seriously and investigates all allegations of threats to student safety..." The statement went on to say that district officials are "unable to comment on specific student matters because student data is private educational data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act," adding that the district "collaborates with the police department in matters in which they request assistance and reports crimes committed on campus to the police." Lewis directed any other questions about the incident to law enforcement. A Rochester woman has been charged after authorities say she was under the influence of alcohol when the vehicle she was driving struck a car, injuring its two occupants. Tiffany Mae Arnold, 22, faces one count of gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation. She was charged Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court and released on her own recognizance. The charge stems from a crash that was reported at 11:36 a.m. Monday at the intersection of 18th Avenue and 48th Street Northwest. Arnold was westbound on 48th when she pulled out in front of a southbound car driven by Luvern Quandt, 84, of Rochester, the report says; the collision flipped the car onto its side. Quandt and his passenger, Audre Quandt, 79, both sustained a cut on the hand; Audre Quandt also complained of knee and chest pain, said Capt. John Sherwin of the Rochester Police Department. ADVERTISEMENT Neither Arnold nor her passenger, Kog Malith, 23, also of Rochester, were injured. Arnold failed field sobriety tests at the scene, Sherwin said; a warrant was obtained for a sample of her blood. She's due back in court Feb. 14. MANTORVILLE Crysta Parkin, an attorney in the Dodge County Attorney's office, has been appointed to the State Guardian ad Litem Board. Established in 2010 by state legislative action, "the purpose of the board is to administer a statewide, independent Guardian ad Litem program to advocate for the best interest of children, minor parents and incompetent adults in juvenile and family courts." Parkin was appointed to the board on Jan. 23 by Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Parkin had submitted her resume and letter of interest in December. She was selected from a group of applicants from several judicial districts in greater Minnesota to fill the four-year term on the board. There are seven members on the board. Four members are appointed by the governor and three by the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. The board meets monthly at locations throughout the state. Parkin's background includes participating in Guardian ad Litem Juvenile Court training and volunteering as a guardian ad litem in the Second Judicial District while in law school. She also served as Child Advocacy Clinic student director at Hamline University School of Law. She has more than eight years of family law practice at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. ADVERTISEMENT Parkin explained the program has changed from a "locally managed contractor model to a statewide employee model." When a guardian ad litem is appointed to look after the best interests of a child, for example, they are responsible for "conducting an independent investigation to determine the facts relevant to the situation of the child and the family, advocating for the child's best interests, submitting written reports to the parties and court on the child's best interests, monitoring the child's best interests throughout the proceeding and maintaining confidentiality as required by law." As an example, she explained, in a child protection case, the parents of the child each get an attorney, and the child, if they are older than 10, gets an attorney, but a guardian ad litem also is appointed for all minor children. The board is responsible for administering the statewide independent guardian ad litem program, recommending a budget to the legislature for the board and the program and establishing standards, policies and procedures that are "consistent with statute, rules of court and laws that affect a guardian ad litem's work," according to the state courts' website. ST. PAUL Perry Schramm always wanted to be a cop. That's why he enrolled in the Minnesota School of Business' criminal justice program seven years ago. He finished in 2013. "Just imagine everything that you've worked for three to five years," he said. "And, one day somebody said all that work was for nothing." In so many words, that's what happened to Schramm. He knew the school wasn't certified by the state's police board, but said he was told by the school that his credits would transfer. And at the time, was working a full time job to help support his family. The Minnesota School of Business offered online courses he could take at night, an easy path to become a police officer. After graduating, he tried to transfer to Metropolitan State University. He was told only 27 of his 180 credits were transferable, most of which had come from one semester at St. Cloud State University. ADVERTISEMENT "What am I going to do now? I'm $60,000 in debt. You're just confused. I was angry. I was sad. I was hurt. I was lied to. It was awful," he said. Schramm said the Minnesota School of Business and Globe University led him to believe its criminal justice program would prepare him for a career in law enforcement. Many students say they were encouraged by the for-profit schools to take out loans to pay tuition. The state sued, alleging the school defrauded more than 1,000 students. A Hennepin County judge ruled the schools violated state consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices laws , and ordered the schools to pay restitution to those students. Following the suit, the State Office of Higher Education said the schools could not be registered in the state or take on new students. When the schools became ineligible for federal funding in December, they began to close campuses. Currently enrolled students are finishing courses over the next couple of semesters at Globe and Minnesota School of Business. Whether the schools will try to stay open is unclear. Globe did not respond to multiple interview requests. Last week, school CEO Jeanne Hermann told the state Senate Higher Education Committee Globe regretted "any harm that may have been realized by some students as a result of not being able to fulfill a dream they may have had in becoming a police officer." She added: "I do ask that you consider the collateral damage that's been caused to the citizens of this state. In attempting to protect a specific group of students, thousands of students were displaced and hundreds of Minnesotans have lost their jobs." ADVERTISEMENT Hermann did not answer specifically when asked whether the schools would pay students back as ordered by the court, only that they intend to comply with legal requirements. "We understand and take very seriously the findings in this case," she said. Given the loss of federal income and no longer being registered with the state, bankruptcy could be one avenue for the schools. It's possible, said Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, who brought the lawsuit against the schools. "At this point, we'll have to see, there hasn't been a bankruptcy filing made at this juncture," she said. "But certainly the ability of the school or willingness of the school to pay restitution is a concern to me as well." Former student Schramm said paying back a large amount of debt weighs on his family. But he's also unhappy about the time he said was wasted. "My world ended. I spent three years working for a B average. Right at the end, a 3.0 is what it took. I was really proud of that," he said. "Then I found out that my dreams of being a police officer in the state of Minnesota were just gone, just like that. Just completely vanished." At least three former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by the former leader of the islands Catholic Church, Archbishop Anthony Apuron, have been contacted by a stateside priest to provide information about their stories. Attorney David Lujan confirmed that three of his clients were contacted to be interviewed in a deposition for Apuron's canonical trial. In addition to the canonical trial, which is held behind closed doors in the Vatican, the number of recently filed civil lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Agana in the federal court in Guam rose to 11, after five additional cases were filed yesterday. The 11 cases now filed in the District Court of Guam seek more than $55 million in damages combined. The lawsuits also seek to hold the Vatican responsible for the allegations against the archdiocese. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Not much is known of the canonical trial for Apuron, and it's unclear why Apuron was found living in Fairfield, California if the trial is ongoing in Rome. Private investigators working for Lujan tracked Apuron to a two-story house in Fairfield. In a statement to the press in August of last year, Apuron said the Pope had granted his request for a canonical trial. The 71-year-old was placed on leave by Pope Francis in June of last year. Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Byrnes stated last November that the initial phase of the canonical trial had started. Attorney Patrick Wall, a former priest and an advocate at Jeff Anderson & Associates, said he believes the initial phase means that a complaint was filed by the Promoter of Justice at the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith. Wall, who has been a canonical advocate for accused clerics, and later as a canonical advocate for victims of clerical sexual abuse, said a canonical advocate for Apuron would submit an answer to the complaint, followed by the discovery phase of the trial that includes the exchange of documents and depositions. 'Nothings going to happen' Attorney Lujan has written to the priest who contacted three of his clients, expressing concerns with the veil of secrecy over the entire canonical trial process, but most especially the depositions. Ive written to the priest asking him what authority do you have? Lujan said. It may be secretive as to all of us, but Im not sure its secretive to whoevers taking it and Apurons lawyers. I mean, hell, we want in on this action. Its only fair. Church law does require that formal trials and other processes that lead to the imposition of penalties be dealt with confidentially to protect the accused, the witnesses, and the integrity of the process, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Whats more disconcerting to Lujan is that he understands there is a judge going around whose job it is to take depositions. Whats he a judge of? Obviously, weve never heard of a judge taking depositions in American juris prudence. Hes not an American judge, Lujan stated. Because the entire canonical trial process hasnt been clearly explained or divulged, the attorney said he isnt inclined to subject his clients to being deposed while there are so many unanswered questions. If its secretive, what rules are these secretive depositions supposed to be done? What law authorizes the confidentiality about this? Who do they represent? The prosecutor? Or Apuron? Are they part of Apurons defense? Our position is until they answer those questions, nothings going to happen, Lujan explained. Wall in his research said he is unaware of any bishop, who sexually abused children, finishing a canonical trial. He said Archbishop Jozef Weslowski, Apostolic Nunio to Haiti, died prior to the completion of his 2015 trial in Rome. SNAP reaction There is no such thing as a speedy process when it comes to the Vatican, said Joelle Casteix, western regional director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. The organization has been encouraging victims of sexual abuse by the clergy on Guam to come forward since 2010, and has called for Apurons resignation. We were disturbed to learn that Archbishop Apuron is living in hiding and unsupervised in California. The Vatican has promised transparency when it comes to child sexual abuse. In fact, Pope Frances told the world that child safety is the churchs highest priority. Yet the Vatican and Coadjutor Archbishop of Guam Michael Byrnes most likely knew that a credibly accused child molester was secretly living in a California neighborhood and refused to warn the community, Casteix told the Post. If this reckless, dangerous and shameful behavior on the part of Vatican and Guam church officials is any indication of how Apuron and others were protected, we fear that we will hear from dozens more men and women who were sexually abused by Guams predator clerics, she added. When asked about Apurons whereabouts, his attorney, Jacqueline Taitano-Terlaje said, The archbishop is in a location where he is able to continue working on defending his innocence without distraction. Five new cases filed Lujans office on Wednesday moved five more cases from local courts to the District Court of Guam. According to court documents, the five newly filed suits include the four original plaintiffs who publically named Apuron as their accuser beginning in May 2016. Roland Sondia, Walter Denton, Roy Quintanilla and Mary Jane Cruz all had their cases filed in the District Court of Guam yesterday afternoon. Additionally, the single suit accusing former Guam priest and Father Duenas Memorial School theology teacher David Anderson that was filed on behalf of Robert Aguon Perez was also moved to the federal court. Like the six cases moved last week, the five cases filed yesterday each demand relief in the form of a minimum $5 million in damages. (Editor's note: this story has been updated to clarify Public Health Director James Gillan's statement.) Guam's medical marijuana law may be due for another amendment as the Calvo administration and local agencies determine what can be done to foster medical tourism on the island. Koichi Maeda, head of the Japan Medical Marijuana Association, met with Gov. Eddie Calvo yesterday afternoon to talk about access to medical marijuana for non-residents. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. A provision in the Joaquin "KC" Concepcion Compassionate Cannabis Use Act of 2013 limits access to Guam residents, according to government officials. Calvo, who had recently championed the legalization of recreational marijuana through proposed legislation, stated that he was not aware the provision existed but appeared amenable to changing the law so that it would allow for non-resident access. "If there's medicinal use here for our local residents, then I do believe that same medicinal use should be for anyone that goes through Guam," Calvo told Maeda and local government officials during yesterday's meeting. Stigma in Japan According to Maeda, a Japanese law prohibits contact with marijuana even outside of the country. The Japan Times, in a November 2016 article, referenced the stigma surrounding the substance and pointed to a case of a snowboarder who was investigated by Japanese law enforcement after admitting to have smoked marijuana in Colorado. Research into medical marijuana has also been restricted in the country. Maeda and his organization have been able to take patients into California and introduce them to medical marijuana but JMMA has had to be careful about these actions so as not to draw ire from the Japanese government, according to Colin Cecil, Maeda's translator. Marijuana laws in Asia are restrictive in general and Guam's proximity to these countries place the island in a unique situation. "This is going to be the only place in all of Asia where you will be able to legally have some kind of medical marijuana system," Cecil said. Conservative estimates show about 250,000 more Japanese tourist visiting Guam per year as a result of recreational marijuana legalization, according to Cecil. While these individuals may engage in marijuana use on their own, JMMA is responsible for the patients they bring in. Exchange proposal There are over 920,000 patients in Japan registered with the government as having incurable diseases. It would be easier to present the medical marijuana program to the Japanese rather than recreational use, which does not have residential restriction to access, because of the care aspect, Cecil added. JMMA is offering to provide advice and consultation services in addition to advertising the local cannabis program in Japan, while Guam is expected to provide housing accommodations for patients and space for consultation by Japanese staff on the use of medical marijuana in exchange. However, as discussions take place on how Guam can better serve the region's medical marijuana needs, local implementation is still under way. According to James Gillan, the director of the Department of Public Health and Social Services, there are additional regulations that need to be finalized. These include standards for medical marijuana cultivation facilities. "Some of these facilities require even special flooring because of the gasses that they use to grow ... In the law, it requires us to write standards of regulations. This is going to delay the implementation some more," Gillan said. Standards and procedures The Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the marijuana law and Gillan said he hoped they would adopt standards already determined by patient focus group Americans for Safe Access, noting that he was not out to "reinvent the wheel," in the interest of expediting the process. Moreover, out of 73 license applications taken from DPHSS for various cannabis operations, none have been submitted yet for cultivation, manufacturing and distribution or for establishing a testing laboratory - a necessity before the program can take off, Gillan said. The Department of Revenue and Taxation also has to establish its own licensing procedures for business and cultivators wanting to take part in the medical marijuana program, an initiative not yet completed, according to Sen. Joe San Agustin, the legislative chairman of the committee on taxation. "We want to be careful," Gillan said. "I don't think we want to get a reputation in any of the countries bringing tourist here as being a bad place, a place for marijuana, because a lot of attitudes are that it's a bad thing ... The medical model I think is acceptable to anybody. The recreational one is going to be a little dicey, we have to be careful in how we present that." GTA TeleGuam has a buyer. The wireless phone, landline phone, digital cable and high-speed internet company is being purchased by Salt Lake City, Utah-based Huntsman Family Investments. The transaction will still need local and federal regulatory approval, and could become final later this year, according to GTA TeleGuam and Huntsman Family Investments, the buyer and seller announced jointly today. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. The price tag was not released. Huntsman Family Investments also has had other recent acquisitions, including: 146-year-old newspaper The Salt Lake City Tribune; and American Pacific Corp., which primarily supplies rocket-grade ammonium perchlorate used in solid propellant rockets, booster motors and missiles that are used by the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. GTA is being bought from an investment group serviced by Advantage Partners, a Japanese private equity firm. This transaction represents our first investment in Guam, and we are excited to be associated with the premier provider of telecommunications services on the island. We are committed to ensuring our customers have the highest-quality experience, said Paul Huntsman, president and CEO of Huntsman Family Investments, in the joint statement with GTA. In keeping with our familys commitment to the communities in which we operate, we hope this investment leads to more opportunities to invest back into the Guam community. GTA is also a part of a consortium of U.S. and Asian telecommunications companies investing in SEA-US, a new submarine cable system, which provides high-speed cable connection between Southeast Asia and the United States, via Guam. Guam plays a critical role in representing our countrys interests in the Pacific and maintaining the integrity of our nations security initiatives in the region. Following our investment in American Pacific Corporation, our investment in GTA allows us to continue our broader mission in supporting our military, said Benjamin Wu, partner at Huntsman Family Investments. Furthermore, Guam is a gateway between Asia and the US and it is crucial that we continue building GTAs network infrastructure to meet our customers growing demand for secure international connectivity. The majority of Huntsman Family Investments investment proceeds will be donated in support of humanitarian and educational initiatives, according to its website. Life is Dulce We call it the dolce far niente. It means the sweetness of doing nothing. You may have heard this while scrolling through Instagram or T Read moreThe benefits of doing nothing The Democrats are doing everything they can to impede President Trump from assembling his administration. In a particularly pathetic display, all of the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee boycotted the meeting where the nominations of Rep. Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services and of Steve Mnuchin as Treasury secretary were to be voted on. Under normal rules, the committee cant conduct business unless at least one member of each party is present. The Democrats ploy is discussed (ridiculed, really) at Althouse, where commenters recall similar hijinx the Democrats pulled in Wisconsin and Texas to try to delay votes. It didnt work for them then, either. Committee chairman Orrin Hatch consulted the Senate parliamentarian, who approved suspending the rules to proceed without the AWOL Democrats: They on their own accord refused to participate in the exercise, Hatch said about the Democrats on the committee. They have nobody to blame but themselves. Hatch said the Senate Parliamentarian had approved of the procedural maneuver, and insisted to reporters after the exercise was a just utilization of the rules. This is all approved by the Parliamentarian, he said. I wouldnt have done it if it hadnt been. The story here is that Republicans proceeded to conduct business, despite childish game-playing by Senate Democrats. So how does the enemy press report the story? GOP suspends Senate rule, muscles Trump picks through panel. In the latest intensification of partisan hostilities, Republicans rammed President Donald Trumps picks to be Treasury and health secretaries through a Senate committee on Wednesday with no Democrats present after unilaterally suspending panel rules that would have otherwise prevented the vote. *** The GOPs show of brute political muscle came shortly before a testy session of the Senate Judiciary Committee at which lawmakers approved Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to be attorney general. And so on. Emphasis added. This is idiotic reporting. Actually, however, I think a great many readers will be pleased to see, for once, Republicans using muscle and brute force on anything. I have been on vacation in Italy for the last ten days, and so have observed the Democratic Partys crack-up from afar. This is perhaps a good perspective from which to view recent tumultuous events. Byron York thinks the Democrats are pursuing a strategy, not just venting: From Washington State to Washington DC, Democrats across the country are stepping up what some call The Resistance to President Trump, moving across political, legal, bureaucratic, legislative, and civil disobedience fronts to frustrate the newly elected presidents agenda. *** Senate Democrats threw more sand in the gears of the confirmation machinery for Trump nominees. *** Across the country, in Washington State, Massachusetts, San Francisco, and elsewhere, Democratic state officials initiated or joined lawsuits to challenge Trumps executive order. *** [A]s The Resistance organized itself and pushed on multiple fronts, a new supporter spoke up to encourage the protesters former President Barack Obama, who managed to stay out of his successors affairs for all of 11 days. *** As all that was happening, Democrats took to the media to proclaim a constitutional crisis over Trumps policies. We are here tonight because it is a constitutional crisis, said Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a protest outside the Supreme Court Monday night. A constitutional crisis, said Democratic Sen. Cory Booker as he joined demonstrators at Dulles Airport Saturday night. A constitutional crisis, said Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer when he arrived at Dulles Sunday. There is, of course, no constitutional crisis. But the Democrats are going beyond the usual hyperbole. Shockingly, their just-defeated vice-presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, is urging the partys faithful to make like Brownshirts: [A]s protests against Trumps executive order continued in spots around the country, the recent Democratic vice-presidential candidate urged Americans to fight in the streets over the new presidents policies. What weve got to do is fight in Congress, fight in the courts, fight in the streets, fight online, fight at the ballot box, Sen. Tim Kaine told MSNBC Tuesday. I dont believe any major American political figure has previously urged his followers to fight in the streets; not since the Civil War, certainly. Things may be about to get even more dangerous for Americans who dare to show their support for our duly-elected president, and for our democracy. It probably is true that the Dems have a strategy. They certainly have message discipline, which is half-way to a strategy. But as President Trump fulfills one campaign pledge after another, surprising only the most cynical, the Democrats, to a person, are reacting like toddlers denied a second helping of ice cream. What they need is a good spanking. At the polls, I mean. The Democratic Party has been in decline for a number of election cycles. The verdict on the Democrats strategy of synchronized hysteria will be rendered in November 2018. My guess is that after two years, most voters will have seen enough of the Democrats vileness. Watch for the Democrats to slide nearer to irrelevance in 22 months. The race for the DNC chairpersonship just got mildly more interesting with the news that one of the candidates has somehow been disqualified for criticizing Keith Ellisons Muslim faith. Is this a case of rank Islamophobia from a closet rightist inside the Democratic tent? Quite the contrary, as it emerges when you read down into the story a little bit: DNC boots candidate from chairmanship race for criticizing Ellisons Islamic faith By Jonathan Easley The Democratic National Committee is kicking a candidate out of the chairmanship race after he told The Hill that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) should not be the partys next leader because he is a Muslim. In a Jan. 5 email to The Hill, Vincent Tolliver, a former House candidate in Arkansas, said that Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, should not be chairman because of Islamic positions on homosexuality. His being a Muslim is precisely why DNC voters should not vote for him, Tolliver wrote. Muslims discriminate against gays. Islamic law is clear on the subject, and being gay is a direct violation of it. In some Muslim countries, being gay is a crime punishable by death. Clearly, Mr. Ellison is not the person to lead the DNC or any other organization committed to not discriminating based on gender identity or sexual orientation, Tolliver continued. Im shocked [the Human Rights Campaign] has been silent on the issue. A vote for Representative Ellison by any member of the DNC would be divisive and unconscionable, not to mention counterproductive to the immediate and necessary steps of rebuilding the Democratic Party. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport should be a sidebar to the story of the case against the Minnesota men that resulted in guilty pleas and verdicts last year. One of the Minnesota men who pleaded guilty and cooperated with the prosecution had worked on the tarmac at the airport in positions where he could have done serious damage. So did the Minnesota man who turned informant and was never charged in the case. Thats a lot, but thats not all. In Prosecutors say member of alleged ISIL recruits defense team preached jihad, Star Tribune reporter Stephen Montemayor noted in passing that local imams and Muslim community leaders had received a behind-the-scenes security tour in February at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Montemayor mentioned the tour when he noted that Hassan Mohamud Sheikh Hassan had been uninvited from the tour. What??? What tour? Thats where Montemayor left matters, so I asked airport spokesman Patrick Hogan about it. Hogan gave me the courtesy of a prompt response, though he denied any knowledge of the tour. He also referred me to the Transportation Security Administration and to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A TSA spokesman denied knowledge (wrongly, as it turned out). Several calls to CBP resulted in a bingo with midwest CBP spokesman Kristoffer Grogan in Michigan. Grogan called in response to my inquiries at the airport and emailed me the following explanation: Per our conversation U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conducted a community engagement tour at the St. Paul International Airport on February 18th. The tour included roughly 20 community members from the greater Minneapolis area and was facilitated through the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The tour showed the participants the process that all arriving passengers go through when arriving at the Federal Inspection Services (FIS) area at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. CBP conducts these types of tours regularly as part of our outreach efforts to improve ties between CBP and our community members. The tour was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection leadership assigned to the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. I currently do not have a list of those who attended the tour. You would need to reach out to the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties for that information. So I called the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the number provided by Grogan. DHS instructed me to email my inquiry to their public affairs address. I wrote with the subject Request for information regarding security tour of MSP International Airport given to imams by CBP on February 18. This was my request: [The March 29] Star Tribune refers in passing to a behind the scenes security tour given to local imams and Muslim community leaders at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport [in February]. They report that Imam Hassan Muhamad was disinvited from the tour. I have confirmed the date/location/purpose of the tour with CBP midwest spokesman Kristoffer Grogan. He tells me that the tour was facilitated by the DHS Office of Civil Rights and has referred me to you for additional information regarding invitees and details regarding the tour. I am following up on Mr. Grogans referral. I am seeking the information regarding the tour including: invitees, participants, tour guides, areas toured, and the nature of any security checks conducted before extending the invitations. I received this ludicrously unilluminating response from DHS press secretary Marsha Catron: Scott We cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy concerns. However, the Department of Homeland Security does not at any time nor for any reason bar a participant from an event based on protected First Amendment activity. If an event takes place at a secure facility, a security or background check may be run on an individual before he or she is allowed to enter a secure location. She added an equally uninformative sentence for my BACKGROUND use. I wrote her back: Marsha: I understand. This is to request the other information: invitees, attendees, areas of the airport that were toured, who conducted the tour and so on. Thank you. And again: I am writing to make one more request for the additional information I sought earlier this week. Please give me the courtesy of a response. No response. In response to my inquiry, Ms. Catron advised me of the departments procedure for submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request. I submitted my request under FOIA. Why this should have been necessary for the basic information sought is beyond me. I received the following response by email attachment: Re: 2016-CRFO-00069 May 11, 2016 Dear Mr. Johnson: This is the final response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), dated April 03, 2016, and received by this office on April 05, 2016. You are seeking information and documents regarding the tour given to local imams and Muslim community leaders at MSP Airport on February 18, 2016 including invitees, participants, tour guides, areas toured, and the nature of any security checks conducted before extending the invitations. CRCL has considered your request under the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552 [i.e., the Freedom of Information Act]. A search of CRCL for records responsive to your request produced 9 pages that are responsive to your request. After review of those documents, I have determined that 0 pages will be released in their entirety. Portions of 9 pages will be withheld pursuant to exemptions of the FOIA as described below. CRCL has applied FOIA exemptions to protect from disclosure CRCL has applied Exemption 5 to protect from disclosure intra-agency documents that contain the recommendations, opinions, and conclusions of agency employees. The disclosure of these communications would discourage the expression of candid opinions and inhibit the free and frank exchange of information and opinions among agency personnel on important agency decision-making by having a chilling effect on the agencys deliberative process. FOIA Exemption 5 protects from disclosure those inter- or intra-agency documents that are normally privileged in the civil discovery context. The three most frequently invoked privileges are the deliberative process privilege, the attorney work-product privilege, and the attorney-client privilege. After carefully reviewing the responsive documents, I have determined that portions of the responsive documents qualify for protection under the deliberative process privilege, the attorney-client privilege, and the attorney work-product privilege. The deliberative process privilege protects the integrity of the deliberative or decision-making processes within the agency by exempting from mandatory disclosure opinions, conclusions, and recommendations included within inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters. The release of this internal information would discourage the expression of candid opinions and inhibit the free and frank exchange of information among agency personnel. The attorney work-product privilege protects documents and other memoranda prepared by an attorney in contemplation of litigation. The attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between an attorney and his client relating to a legal matter for which the client has sought professional advice. It applies to facts divulged by a client to his attorney, and encompasses any opinions given by an attorney to his client based upon, and thus reflecting, those facts, as well as communications between attorneys that reflect client-supplied information. The attorney-client privilege is not limited to the context of litigation. CRCL has applied FOIA Exemption 6 and to protect from disclosure the names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of DHS employees contained within the documents. FOIA Exemption 6 exempts from disclosure personnel or medical files and similar files the release of which would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. This requires a balancing of the publics right to disclosure against the individuals right to privacy. The privacy interests of the individuals in the records you have requested outweigh any minimal public interest in disclosure of the information. Any private interest you may have in that information does not factor into the aforementioned balancing test. You have a right to appeal the above withholding determination. Should you wish to do so, you must send your appeal and a copy of this letter, within 60 days of the date of this letter, to: Associate General Counsel (General Law), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C. 20528, following the procedures outlined in the DHS regulations at 6 C.F.R. 5.9. Your envelope and letter should be marked FOIA Appeal. Copies of the FOIA and DHS regulations are available at www.dhs.gov/foia. If you need to contact our office again about this matter, please refer to 2016-CRFO-00069. This office can be reached at 202-357-1218. Sincerely, CRCL FOIA Office Enclosure(s): 9 pages The nine pages were mostly redacted. Two pages listing the tour participants and their nationality are blacked out completely. The only possibly applicable FOIA exemption is 6, although I dont think it applies. There is no legitimate privacy interest supporting the redaction of the tour participants. The text of the invitation, however, is provided: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would like to invite you to participate in a tour of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as part of our ongoing efforts to engage with community leaders and members. During the event, participants will be provided with a step-by-step tour of our operations, designed to offer a greater understanding of airport processes and procedures. Throughout the event, we will discuss traveler expectations, rights, and procedures. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of representatives from DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration.Participants will be met by airport officials and led into the secure area of the airport. Please note that this event will be closed to the press and participants will not be allowed to take pictures or video recordings during the event. I appealed the determination of my FOIA request. The administrative law judge remanded the determination to DHS for clarification because he was unable to determine if the Agency properly applied the FOIA exemptions at issue. Sixty days elapsed without response by DHS. Because a reasonable amount of time has passed without further response, he ruled in a letter dated January 17, 2017, the Agencys action must be viewed as final. Advising me of my appeal rights to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota or the District of Columbia, he signed off on my appeal. I have exhausted my administrative remedies, as they say. The administrative law judge did not explicitly rule on DHSs determination of my FOIA request. I kid you not. I would like to appeal DHSs treatment of my FOIA request in a lawsuit. The golden rule of FOIA provides: An agency seeking to withhold information under an exemption to FOIA has the burden of proving that the information falls under the claimed exemption. GC Micro Corp. v. Defense Logistics Agency, 33 F.3d 1109, 1113 (9th Cir. 1994). DHS has done nothing to satisfy its burden in this case. If I were to prevail in the appeal, my attorney would qualify for an award of fees and expenses in the discretion of the court. The only catch is that I need a lawyer. I dont qualify for such an award representing myself. If you are a Minnesota attorney and might be willing to represent me, please write me at [email protected] FOOTNOTE: I wrote about Sheikh Hassan on Power Line in Sheikh Hassans retreat and A tale of five Muhammads. The interjection I kid you not applies to him several times over. Worldhotels is strengthening its development force by appointing Jennifer Boccara as its new Vice President of Development EMEA. Jennifer Boccara will substantially expedite the companys development in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Boccara, who joined the group on January, 2nd 2017, will be based in the Worldhotels office in Paris, France. Jennifer Boccara is a hotel expert with extensive work experience with hotels throughout Europe and a strong sales and marketing background. Before joining the Worldhotels team, Jennifer Boccara was the General Manager of Hotel De Sers in Paris. In addition, she also served as General Manager at Hotel Edouard7 in Paris and was responsible for the new opening and renovation of the Hotel De La Paix in Geneva. Jennifer Boccara will report directly to Geoff Andrew, the Worldhotels Chief Executive Officer, who states: "We are very glad to welcome Jennifer into our group. Her strong background in the hotel industry makes her the perfect choice for this position. We carefully considered how we grow our portfolio of properties. The Worldhotels development strategy reflects our focus on quality over quantity. With Jennifers great experience, she knows how to expedite our expansion. Anyone familiar with Savor Borgata Week, which typically occurs in November, knows that its the ultimate foodie dream come true. But Borgata Hotel Casino & Spas Savor Borgata Series lineup in February is pretty impressive in its own right. While the resort usually has one or two Savor Borgata Series events a month, February will offer three. And those three dont even include another fantastic event: the Taste of Restaurant Week Kickoff event on Feb. 22. So if you like food, Borgata is a good place to be this month. We are excited because all of these events are so different, says Vice President of Food and Beverage Becky Schultz. The events start 8 p.m., Feb. 10, with A Lobster Lovers Dream at Old Homestead Steakhouse, where acclaimed restaurateurs Greg and Marc Sherry are working with Executive Chef Romeo DiBona on a five-course crustacean dinner paired with a flight of single-vineyard chardonnays from Kistler Vineyards. It will be a night you wont soon forget. Whats unique about this dinner is that all of the courses are complemented by a different Kistler chardonnay, Schultz says. These wines are very difficult to get. You cant just go into a liquor store and get these. You have to buy them right at the vineyard, and even then its difficult. But we were able to work directly with the winery and the distributor to make this happen. The night will begin with possibly the best first course you could ever ask for: lobster bisque with a Kennebunkport lobster grilled cheese sandwich paired with Kistler Les Noisetiers. But things get more exciting from there: popcorn lobster with sherry cream sauce paired with McCrea Vineyard; open-faced lobster ravioli Armorica with lobster tail, shiitake mushrooms and brandy tomato reduction paired with Vine Hill Vineyard; a 2-pound fresh, steamed Maine lobster with turnip, broccoli and tomato salad paired with Estate Vineyard; and lemon bread pudding paired with La Spinetta Moscato dAsti. Love is the main ingredient at El Rincon del Sabor What hides behind the bright red walls and sunny yellow awning of El Rincon Del Sabor in Atlantic City is every bit as vibrant as its exterior Although the night is currently sold out, check closer to the date for last-minute cancellations. Tickets are $195 per person. When you look at the wines and the food, its a tremendous value even though it looks like an expensive ticket, Schultz says. Any wine geek would pay the ticket price just to try these wines, and thats why it probably sold out so quickly. The action continues 8 p.m., Feb. 18, with an event made for those with a sweet tooth, called So Divine Dessert & Wine with Executive Pastry Chef Thaddeus DuBois at Immersion Spa pool at The Water Club. For $59, DuBois invites you to rediscover the romance with perfectly paired small bites and delicious dessert wines which would make a for a great Valentines Day present. We like to do these events where we can take advantage of some locations that you would typically not be able to dine at, Schultz says. Immersion Pool is ... such a great place to have an event, as you look out our two-story windows over the bay and ocean to the skyline. It starts with warm pancetta, gruyere and wild mushroom quiche tartlettes with greens, apples and walnuts with cider vinaigrette; and continues with butter toasted brioche a tete with bechamel, sweet and purple potatoes and a roasted trio of onions; basil-ginger granite with frozen red berries; and milk chocolate mousse and lemon creme coupe with warm cinnamon Madeleines all accompanied by a variety of top-notch dessert wines. The night is really focusing on these great dessert wines, Schultz says. So the menu itself is more on the savory side than you would expect from an event with Thaddeus. But he is a great chef, so his savory creations are as amazing as his sweet creations. The finale is A Night on the Red Carpet at Wolfgang Puck American Grille. The second annual event follows an extremely successful debut where Executive Chef Aram Mardigian and General Manager Anthony Santiago are literally rolling out the red carpet for an Oscar night extravaganza that is the next best thing to actually being at the acclaimed Governors Ball itself. For $119, guests arrive 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, for an Academy Awards viewing gala that will include amazing food, Moet Chandon Champagne and hand-crafted cocktails. Last year, the party centered more on the food and drinks, and less on watching the Oscars, and we were surprised how long people stayed, Schultz says. Knowing that people stayed for the entire broadcast, we wanted to accommodate those individuals and have a true Oscar viewing party where you feel like youre the star. More screens, more seats and a live DJ playing during commercial breaks are additions this year. A good portion of the food will be the same signature dishes served by Puck at the Governors Ball, the biggest Oscar night gala in California that Puck has catered for years, such as petite baked potatoes with creme fraiche and black caviar; grilled tuna sopes with tomatillo salsa and queso fresco; four-cheese agnolotti pasta with shaved black truffles; American wagyu steak tartare crostini with Dijon aioli; Angry Lobster with spicy Chinese black bean sauce; Wolfgangs Smoked Salmon Pizza with dill cream and black caviar; duck sausage pizza with shiitake mushrooms and shishito peppers; mini wagyu beef pastrami sandwiches with spicy cole slaw; grilled lamb Lule kabobs with spicy harissa and tzatziki sauce; Chinois chicken salad with Chinese mustard dressing, cashews and crispy fried wontons; hand-rolled ricotta gnocchi with pork and beef Bolognese and parmesan reggiano; and baked mac-n-cheese with cavatappi pasta, three cheeses and crispy pancetta, plus an elaborate dessert display. 7 places to watch the Sunday showdown between the Patriots and Falcons The holiest of days for the football fanatic is finally here: Super Bowl Sunday. While havin People will really get to eat the same food Wolfgang is making for the celebrities that night, Mardigian says. Tickets and more information for all events can be found at TheBorgata.com. ATLANTIC CITY New faces should bring down the average age during business hours near City Hall, the library, AtlantiCares HealthPlex and Atlantic Cape Community College. Those new kids on the block really will be kids, students at Gateway Community Action Partnerships Head Start. The agency expects about 300 children ages 5 and under to fill a buildings 20 classrooms. The new center looks mostly complete from the outside, but Edward Bethea, Gateway CAPs chief operating officer, said the first children are expected in late May. The agency is based in Bridgeton and runs more than 30 Head Start programs in South Jersey and one in Philadelphia. Bethea said theres no relation between Gateway CAP and the Gateway project the $220 million development scheduled to open a Stockton University campus and a South Jersey Gas office in the Chelsea section by fall 2018. Gateway CAPs Head Start building isnt nearly as big, but its substantial. The building, where contractor P. Agnes broke ground in May 2015, will include almost 44,000 square feet of space and cost about $21 million. Hurricane Sandy relief funds are paying for the project, because the 2012 storm damaged several Head Start locations in Atlantic County. The first children will be infants and toddlers who need care year-round. Head Start students ages 4 and 5 will start in September and will follow a standard school-year schedule, Bethea said. The centers neighbors include St. James AME Church, Second Baptist Church and the Renaissance Plaza shopping center, which includes a CVS pharmacy, a Save-a-Lot supermarket and a Family Dollar store. PLEASANTVILLE Main Street has been getting a new infusion of residents lately, but retail businesses have been slower to follow. People are moving into City Center, a new rental complex expected to grow to about 250 units when its finished. The first phase, a five-story building that fronts Main Street, is already filled. Two more sections are under construction, including a townhouse-style building along Washington Avenue that is reserved for people ages 55 or older. Amy Lee got her Manhattan Beauty store in on the ground floor in one of three street-level retail spaces in the first building. She opened in September, and now were getting more people, said Lee, who ran a store called Pleasant Beauty, about two blocks north on Main Street, for almost 20 years before moving. Her store more than tripled in size. And a lot of the customers are those new people right in her building, Lee said, but shes looking for more company on the first floor. The space next to her is scheduled to become a Head Start center, operated by Gateway Community Action Partnership in Bridgeton, but it hasnt opened yet. And another storefront, on the south side of the building, is still available. Were waiting for more businesses to fill up and activate this area, Lee said. Edward Bethea, Gateway CAPs chief operating officer, said his agency has been waiting for a state license to open the Head Start center. He estimated it will take a month after that go-ahead to move students and teachers into the Pleasantville location. Across Main Street at the City Market, Elias Boustani said since he opened his grocery store about 15 months ago, most of his customers have been coming over from the new apartments. Hes looking forward to more homes opening this year, but hed like to see some more retail traffic over there, too. We would like to have a bank over there, he said. Pleasantville Mayor Jesse Tweedle is happy to talk about all the improvements the city has made on Main Street, including new lighting and sidewalks. And hes particularly looking forward to the over-55 units opening. Still, he knows its been a challenge to fill all the business space on the first floor in the new apartment building. Were doing everything we can to entice people to come to our central business district, but retail is very tricky now, the mayor said. I think one deterrent (in City Center) is having to sign a minimum five-year lease. On the far side of the Black Horse Pike, George Elyas has run a bar and restaurant on Main Street since 2005, when he bought the old Gaslight Pub. A few years ago, he upgraded the place thats now called Club Mia, and hes seen his neighborhood upgrade, too. In 2011, La Cosecha opened as a grocery store with about 12,000 square feet. Two years later, owner Jose Marin opened Mambo Cafe, also on Main Street. We got new facades, sidewalks and even decorative bike racks, Elyas said. Things arent perfect. Winters can be slow, but when Atlantic City is slow, everything is slow, he said. And Elyas knows this: Its a thousand times better than what it was, especially from 2005 to now. The Womans Christian Temperance Union made its mark on national history, helping push the United States toward outlawing alcohol in 1919 and giving women the right to vote the following year. But in Ocean City, the WCTU made its mark on local history even before that. And that mark is still visible today, in the form of a fountain the organization donated to the city. The fountain was part of a national campaign to convince people not to drink alcohol by giving them the healthful, helpful alternative of water instead. The famously dry city dedicated the fountain in a place of honor outside City Hall on Memorial Day 1915. Local residents and officials are scheduled to rededicate it Monday with a brief ceremony at 10 a.m. Memorial Day weekend kicks off in South Jersey 7:25 p.m. Concert goers were out on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City Friday night as they wait Eileen Steelman definitely plans to be there. And based on history, Steelman figures shell probably surprise some people by showing up because shes an active, current member of the WCTU, a group that many people assume is itself ancient history. They dont know it still exists, other than the ones working for it, says Steelman, a member of the union WCTUs official name for its chapters based in the Cedarville section of Lawrence Township, Cumberland County. You try to get people interested, and they say, I didnt even know they were around anymore. Its not an easy thing. Steelman moved to Ocean City from Bridgeton a few years ago, and most of the members she knows are from around her old home. She said the groups activities now focus on trying to educate children against drugs and alcohol at an early age. They do that mostly at Christian schools, but a few public schools, too. Other than that, they mainly write letters about similiar issues to state legislators. The Cedarville Union has 37 members, but just about 15 are very active, says Steelman, 78, who has been a WCTU officer for 20 years. Ocean unlocked for summer as Memorial Day weekend begins About 100 merchants, elected officials and costumed characters marched into the edge of the She was thrilled when she learned that her new hometown was planning to rededicate its century-old drinking fountain and in the process pay tribute to the WCTU. She read that news in the local Ocean City Magazine, in a piece written by the citys official historian, Fred Miller. He went to the June 3, 1915, issue of the Ocean City Sentinel and started his story with its headline: W.C.T.U. PRESENTS CITY WITH HANDSOME FOUNTAIN; Mayor Champion Accepts Gift from Mrs. S. S. Warren. Miller says the group initially tried to give the fountain to the city in 1912, but then-Mayor Harry Headley said he would accept the gift when City Hall was completed. The new City Hall opened in January 1915, but a few months later, Headley was voted out of office and Joseph G. Champion was elected mayor, as Miller wrote apparently because (Headley) spent too much money on City Hall, he added in an interview. Atlantic City, dry town Ocean City among best places for chefs, barkeeps It may come as no surprise that Atlantic City ranked second in the country as the best city Ocean City would seem to be the WCTUs perfect partner the town was founded by ministers and has been proudly dry ever since. Just in 2012, voters overwhelmingly defeated a bring-your-own-bottle referendum promoted by some local restaurants. But the truth is that the WCTU gave out hundreds of fountains to towns across the country early last century. The national organization keeps a list of dozens still in existence around the United States and Canada at wctu.org. Miller says todays event will be just a brief ceremony, rededicating the fountain and mentioning how Mayor Champion dedicated it on Memorial Day of 1915. ... The mayor said the city was going to take care of it and he hoped it would last a long time. Its been a century and counting so far. But one resident may be happier about todays gathering than most others. Things to do and places to go Memorial Day weekend in South Jersey If youre ready to show off your red, white and blue, South Jersey is the perfect place to h We tried to find information about the fountains, said Steelman. We got a lot on Salem the home of another but not much on Ocean City. We thought they just forgot it. Contact: 609-272-7237 The New Jersey Su-preme Court has refused to reopen the Abbott vs. Burke school-funding case to allow the state to make changes in teacher contracts and funding in the 31 affected school districts. However, the order filed by the court said the state can file a new, separate action in trial court. The 31 Abbott districts include Pleasantville, Vineland and Millville. In September, Gov. Chris Christie filed a motion asking the court to let the commissioner of education override teacher contract provisions in the Abbott districts when the commissioner determines they impede the delivery of a thorough and efficient education. Christie also asked the court to vacate prior orders to fund the state School Funding Reform Act. The Governors Office did not respond to a request for comment on the decision. The Education Law Center, which opposed the motion, praised the court order. Issues related to collective bargaining and teacher layoffs were never in the Abbott case, which has been singularly focused on ensuring adequate funding and resources for students in New Jerseys poorest schools, said David Sciarra, ELC executive director and lead Abbott counsel. Six Newark parents have also filed a separate lawsuit against the state, regarding the last-in, first-out provisions of teacher contracts that Christie wanted to overturn. Ralia Polechronis, executive director of Partnership for Educational Justice, said in a statement they support handling the last-in, first-out provision as a separate issue and not part of the Abbott case. They are asking the court to declare the provision unconstitutional and unenforceable in Newark and similar districts, saying it allows ineffective teachers to remain on the job while good teachers are let go. GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP Never again without my consent. Five words, written in black marker, were written across the chest of 21-year-old Rachel Kern. They hid underneath a T-shirt, peeking from its neckline. She had to tug on the shirt to reveal the phrase. Never again without my consent. Kern was sexually assaulted when she was 14, years before becoming a student at Stockton University, before her time as a student leader with the universitys interfaith program. For the senior in religious education, Tuesday was a day to speak out. A day to relate to one another. Its a sigh of relief, she said as she gathered her breath. It was the first time she had gone public with the consentless struggle. This is a picture saying a thousand words. Its the greatest thing, she said. This is honestly something Ive been dealing with for years by myself, and just knowing that other people have gone through this and Im not alone, it empowers me. The empowerment, the words, the markers were all part of the Dear World photo project that came to Stockton on Monday and Tuesday as part of a nationwide college tour. The campaign is an interactive portrait event focused on individual storytelling. A couple of students patiently waited in line while they wrote the words on their friends arm I Do This 4 You. Another guy walked to the back of the line, took off his shirt and had a girl write Different but Equal across his chest. Markers were sprawled out across multiple tables at Stocktons atrium as close to 100 students waited their turn to have their picture taken with their individual message. Along with students participating in the event, student organizations set up tables to promote their individual clubs. Yonnie Colleluori, 28, of Sweetwater, Mullica Township, is the vice president of the Highest Praise Gospel Choir. She sat at a table promoting the club with marker fading on her hands from a previous photo she took for the event. Colleluori is married with two children, two jobs and a full-time course load. Her hands said to speak life to continue encouraging herself and to keep pushing forward. I love how this encourages people to really commingle, Colleluori said. According to Lauren Wilson, assistant director of the Office of Student Development at Stockton, about 300 to 400 students were expected to have their photograph taken during the Tuesday event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dear World hosted a VIP event at the university Monday night, where about 100 individuals had their photos taken. A final photo unveil was set to take place Tuesday night on campus. The point of the two-day event is to promote community engagement on campus, said Amy Jones, director of student rights and responsibilities for Dear World. We see each other in the hallways and in the classrooms, but we dont necessarily know the tales behind each person, and this gives us a chance to learn those stories and to feel more connected to each other, Jones said. Colleen Bolton, 22, of Little Egg Harbor Township, had writing from her shoulder down to her wrists. Those Who Stand For Nothing Fall For Anything blanketed her two arms like tattoo sleeves. The quote, an ode to Alexander Hamilton, was a call to her millennial generation to not stay quiet during these times. Sometimes we come off as more bystanders and will see things we may not agree with and just let them go. I think its more important to speak your mind and really let your voice be heard, Bolton said. Kern came back in line with a Muslim friend. They took a photo together with their arms reading Wherever She Goes I Go, with the hashtags #NoBan and #No Wall. Empowerment feels like the word of the day. But its many more words than that. With each individual story written on a students arm, the story becomes more clear. Kern said shes been to other student-led conferences where she has recommended that Dear World come to other campuses. She calls the project moving and inspirational. And shes glad that she was able to tell her story Tuesday. Even though mentally I knew I wasnt alone, it was something, deep inside that I felt I had to conceal. Now I know I really dont have to, and its a really good step for me to move forward in life, she said. ATLANTIC CITY The citys firefighters union withdrew a lawsuit against the state Wednesday after the state delayed implementing changes to the unions contract. But the unions attorney said the suit may be refiled as early as Thursday if the state doesnt drop demands to cut 100 firefighters and make other changes. The withdrawn lawsuit, filed in Atlantic County Superior Court but moved to federal court, aimed to block actions the state could take against the union under the so-called takeover law. That law ultimately gave former U.S. Sen. Jeffrey Chiesa authority to hire or fire workers and break union contracts, among other powers, to fix the citys finances. International Association of Fire Fighters Local 198 President Bill DiLorenzo said the union initially sued the state to block layoffs and other changes the state was prepared to make by Feb. 5. But he said the suit was pulled after the state said changes would not be made until Feb. 19. We took the initial action because we feel cutting the fire department in half is reckless, he said. We withdrew it because they said they would wait until the 19th to impose any changes. A state spokesperson did not returned a request for comment. The unions lawyer, Michael Bukosky, said the suit could be refiled Thursday if the state doesnt drop demands to cut about 100 firefighters and make changes to work schedules, which he said would create unsafe gaps in coverage. The department has 225 firefighters. All we have is two weeks of breathing room, he said of the new Feb. 19 deadline. (Chiesa) is looking to lay off almost 100 firefighters and alter the schedule of the firefighters, so I guess there would be gaps in the coverage. We think that is patently unsafe. State officials delayed implementation of union contract changes to Feb. 19, according to a Tuesday letter sent to Bukosky that was obtained by The Press of Atlantic City. In the letter, attorney Ron Israel, a partner at Chiesas law firm, said there is no intention of laying off firefighters until further analysis is made on how layoffs would affect a federal grant that pays for 85 firefighters. Therefore, we expect that your clients will forgo any attempt to request a (temporary restraining order), he wrote, referring to the fire unions lawsuit. Should your clients intend on pursuing its request for a preliminary injunction, we should work out a briefing and hearing schedule with the court. The letter said Fire Chief Scott Evans requested more time to implement changes and the police union has asked for an additional two weeks, among other reasons for the implementation delay. The letter said the fire union cut off meetings to find an amicable resolution weeks ago. Bukosky said the lawsuit was pending before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez, but the state pulled out the rug from under the proceeding and sent the case to federal court, where they hoped it may die on the vine. Its very unusual for a state government actor to behave this way, in terms of I would say very aggressive legal maneuvering to try to get an unfair advantage, he said. State officials running a takeover of the city havent commented on the labor negotiations. Local Government Services Director Timothy Cunningham recently said there has been a lot of misinformation about the talks but declined to comment further. State hires Atlantic City's business administrator to assist in takeover ATLANTIC CITY The state has hired a high-ranking city official to help in its takeover of The state took over major decision-making powers from city officials in November to address the citys dire finances, which include a $100 million annual budget hole and $500 million in total debt. At a state Assembly hearing this week, union officials said the state wanted $14 million in givebacks from both the police and fire unions by Wednesday. The unions support a bill from Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto to add a $2 fee on city hotel rooms to raise about $8 million annually for two years. We would like a study to be done to vet out any implications of downsizing a department by up to 50 percent, DiLorenzo said. Im sure there are citizens and visitors who would appreciate something like that as well. Council President Marty Small said the potential deep cuts to public safety are what city officials were trying to avoid when fighting the takeover. He said its the citys duty to make sure residents feel safe. Measures like this are what we were clearly trying to avoid in the state takeover, Small said of the potential cuts. We dont support the state of New Jersey or anyone else trampling on the rights of collective bargaining. Atlantic City has a residential population of about 39,000 but gets millions of visitors each year and has many high-rise buildings. Meanwhile, community leaders met with attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and Food and Water Watch about the state takeover of the city. About two dozen people packed a conference room Wednesday behind City Council chambers. Reporters werent allowed inside. Councilman Frank Gilliam, who was at the meeting, said the city is not allowed to sue the state because of language in state aid memorandums of understanding. Thats why community members are pursuing legal counsel to help them combat the state takeover, he said. I think this is a very necessary step, Gilliam said. The community is using their power and their voice. ACLU of New Jersey attorney Rebecca Livengood said the ACLU has not determined whether it will help residents file a lawsuit against the takeover. We are just here to talk about everyones concerns and how residents are feeling, she said. Debra Haugen has retired as administrator of the IOOF Home and Community Therapy Center in Mason City and will become compliance officer. The move will allow her to spend more time with her family and aging parents, according to news release. As compliance officer, she will monitor regulations and oversee quality assurance. IOOF is located at 1037 19th St. S.W., Mason City; phone 641-423-0428. Jessica Marson has been hired as a private banking officer at First Citizens Bank in Mason City. She holds an associates degree from NIACC and a bachelors degree from Iowa State University with an emphasis in business management/entrepreneurship, with an additional focus in banking and finance. Prior to joining First Citizens she worked at Principal Financial Group and other financial institutions in North Iowa. Marson and her husband, Tony, live on a farm outside of Mason City. First Citizens Bank is a community bank with nine locations in eight communities in North Iowa and Mora, Minnesota. For more information visit www.firstcitizensnb.com or call 800-423-1602. Hogan Hansen,P.C. has promoted Shannon Lerdal, CPA, to office director of the Belmond location effective Feb. 1. Lerdal has been with the firm since 2010 and is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa. In addition to overseeing the operations in Belmond, she works with individuals and businesses on their tax needs, is a QuickBooks consultant and performs bookkeeping and payroll services. Lerdal can be reached at the office at 303 E. Main St., Belmond; phone 641-444-3274. Lichtsinn RV is a Diamond Sponsor for the Hanson Family Fine Arts Center in Forest City. This state-of-the-art, $9.6 million arts facility will hold school performances, Waldorf University events, touring acts and more with seating capacity of more than 600 people. Completion of this facility, which will include an outdoor plaza, is scheduled for the fall of 2018. Lichtsinn RV is the No. 1 dealer of Winnebago motor homes in North America for a single-point location dealership. To help combat the nations food waste issue, Hy-Vee Inc. recently began offering so-called ugly produce in nearly all of its 242 grocery stores. Ugly produce is cosmetically challenged fruits and vegetables that would traditionally go unsold due to the industrys size and shape standards. However, a movement to make this imperfect produce culturally acceptable to purchase and available to consumers has been gaining popularity overseas in Europe and now in the United States. Hy-Vee has partnered with Robinson Fresh, one of the largest produce companies in the world, to offer its unique line of Misfits produce. Misfits provides customers more fruit and vegetable variety at a lower cost while also helping to reduce produce waste. Through the program, four to six Misfit items are delivered weekly, based on what is seasonally available, and are sold on average at a 30 percent discount. Some of the lines items include peppers, cucumbers, squash, apples and tomatoes. Send your business news to news@globegazette.com, in care of the Business page. Photos are welcome in jpg format but their use is not guaranteed. For more information write tom.thoma@globegazette.com. Mayors across Atlantic County are adamant Atlantic City should give the county the 13.5 percent of the PILOT money promised before the legislation passed last year. The leaders of all the municipalities outside Atlantic City unanimously passed a resolution at the Atlantic County Mayors Association meeting last week demanding the county get the 13.5 percent of the payment in lieu of taxes from Atlantic City casinos. After the PILOT legislation passed the New Jersey Assembly, the city said it only wanted to give the county 10.3 percent of the money, a difference of $4 million a year for 10 years. We only agreed to support the PILOT bill because of that 13.5 percent, Galloway Township Mayor Don Purdy said. They cant put Atlantic Citys problems on the backs of taxpayers around the rest of the county. If the county does not get the 13.5 percent of the PILOT money, taxes will go up for all residents in the area, according to County Executive Dennis Levinson. That has the municipal leaders worried about the potential economic challenge higher taxes could mean for residents already living in a state that has high taxes. I think everything about the PILOT bill is just terrible, Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough said. The fact that were not going to get the percent is not in the best interest of the taxpayers. A major issue county officials see with the negotiations over the PILOT money is that theyre not sure who is going to make the final decisions. The state has taken over financial control of Atlantic City but has told the county it needs to negotiate with city officials on what percentage the county gets. The state hasnt helped us nail this down, Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said. We all have to live and work as a team. I just dont see that right now. Freeholder Chairman Frank Formica said the freeholders would not have supported the PILOT if it were not for the 13.5 percent. Now, theyre also confused about who is going to make the decision on how the money is divided. This is all because the state doesnt want to keep its promise, Formica said, referencing Gov. Chris Christies statement that the county would get the 13.5 percent last year. If you wanted to play with the finances of a county, why would you play with a county where the taxpayers are facing the highest foreclosure rate in the country and a high unemployment rate? PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account. UPDATE: Another corrections employee and more than two dozen inmates have been released from a Delaware prison building where inmates had taken hostages, leaving authorities negotiating over the release of two more staffers. Authorities initially said five staff members had been taken hostage Wednesday at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna. But at a news conference Wednesday night they reduced that number to four and said two of those people had been released. One was freed earlier Wednesday afternoon, the other Wednesday evening. Robert Coupe, secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said 27 inmates also left the building that's been the scene of negotiations all day. Authorities said they didn't know whether the inmates had been held against their will. DOVER, Del. (AP) Inmates at a Delaware prison took five corrections department workers hostage Wednesday, a move the inmates told a local newspaper was due to concerns about their treatment and the leadership of the United States. The hostage situation drew dozens of officers and law enforcement vehicles to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna and prompted a statewide lockdown of all prisons. One hostage was released Wednesday afternoon, but four remained in custody and negotiations were ongoing as the evening stretched on, authorities said. A preliminary investigation suggests the incident began around 10:30 a.m. when a correctional officer inside Building C, which houses over 100 inmates, radioed for immediate assistance, Delaware State Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz said at a news conference. Other officers responded to help, and five Department of Corrections employees were taken hostage. Later, inmates reached out to The News Journal in Wilmington in two phone calls to explain their actions and make demands. Prisoners funneled the calls to the paper with the help of one inmate's fiancee and another person's mother. The mother told the paper her son was among the hostages. In that call, an inmate said their reasons "for doing what we're doing" included "Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that he's doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse." That caller said education for prisoners was the inmates' priority. They also said they want effective rehabilitation for all prisoners and information about how money is allocated to prisons. Bratz did not address the phone calls during the news conference or give details about negotiations, which he said were ongoing. He did not take questions. "We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of everyone involved and using all of our available resources," he said. The inmates released one hostage around 2:40 p.m., and that person was taken by ambulance to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Bratz said. Authorities don't know whether anyone else has been injured, he said. Bratz did not say how much of the prison, which houses about 2,500 inmates, was involved in the incident. But Bruce Rogers, counsel for the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, told The Associated Press Building C was under the inmates' control. Rogers described the hostages as four guards and one counselor. He said he'd been briefed on the situation by the union's president, who was talking to officials at the scene. The officer who was released "had been beaten and bruised and banged up," said Rogers. Video from above the prison Wednesday afternoon showed uniformed officers gathered in two groups along fences near an entrance to the prison. Later, video showed several people surrounding a stretcher and running as they pushed it across the compound. People could be seen standing near a set of doors with an empty stretcher and wheelchair. According to the department's website, the prison is Delaware's largest correctional facility for men. It houses minimum, medium, and maximum security inmates, and also houses Kent County detainees awaiting trial. It employs 1,500 corrections officers, according to Rogers. The prison opened in 1971 and was the site of the state's death row and where executions were carried out. In 2004, an inmate there raped a counselor and took her hostage for nearly seven hours at the Smyrna prison, according to an Associated Press report at the time. A department sharpshooter later shot and killed 45-year-old Scott Miller, according to the report, ending the standoff. ___ AP writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report. Birders around New Jersey are heading for Alpine in Bergen County in hopes of seeing the worlds largest falcon, called a gyrfalcon. The birds home territory is farther north. Its such a rare visitor here that it would be a life bird for New Jersey Audubon President and CEO Eric Stiles, if he is lucky enough to see it. I have never seen one (in the wild) in my life, he said, and work obligations are keeping him from high-tailing it to where it was first spotted last Sunday on the New York border in the Palisades area. The town overlooks the Hudson River 15 miles from Manhattan. The bird, about the size of a red-tailed hawk but much different in color and shape, has been seen in the Palisades Interstate Park at the State Line Lookout scenic overlook, according to eBird.org. Brian Moscatello, of Cape May Court House, has been unusually lucky in seeing the creatures, he said. Hes the sales manager for NJ Cape May Bird Observatory in Goshen. Im among the rare people who had gyrfalcons on my life list before I had 100 species on it, he said, adding he hasnt tried to see this one in Alpine. In winter 1971-72, he saw two different gyrfalcons at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway Township, he said. Later, he saw one on a Cumberland County Christmas Bird Count expedition, and at Sandy Hook in Monmouth County. It was a combination of luck and being out in the field a lot. I was a teacher, naturalist and tour leader then, and I was out in the field 85 days a year, he said. These are hard times for many of our friends and neighbors, but when we work together we can make a bigger difference for those who need our help the most. For example, when Ebony and her baby had no place to call home they turned to Covenant House of New Jersey, a United Way Impact partner, for help. There, she connected with compassionate mentors and a program focused on independence and achievement. Today she is independent, confident and proud of the life she has built with her daughter. With support from people like you, Ebony changed her story. In our neighborhoods, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey works to improve lives and strengthen local communities one child, one adult and one family at a time by joining the caring power of 100,000-plus donors, advocates and volunteers to improve the quality of education for children and financial stability of working adults, while ensuring that people can meet their most basic needs of food, shelter and safety. As we turn the calendar to a new year, its important to remember that tough challenges remain. Nearly 15 percent of our neighbors live below the federal poverty line 23 percent are children. Our local nonprofit community works tirelessly to change this story, but the reality is no one person or organization can do it alone. It will take strong partnerships and integrated solutions to address the complex challenges of poverty right here at home, and thats the power of our local United Way. We invite you to join our movement, where the community and members of the business, nonprofit and labor sectors join forces for those in need. Together, we can drive measurable, lasting impact that none of us can achieve alone. Learn more about our work and meet more people like Ebony, visit UnitedWayStories.org. Mark Blum, publisher of The Press of Atlantic City, and Rick Mazer, regional president and general manager of Harrahs Resort, are members of the Atlantic Cape Local Board of the United Way; Tom Merighi Jr., owner of Merighis Savoy Inn, is Cumberland County campaign chair for United Way. A.C. should stiff state and declare bankruptcy The casinos in Atlantic City should keep all the taxes they pay to the state and pay off the citys $500 million debt. The state would sue and by the time the issue was legally resolved, the city could file for bankruptcy. The city has sent billions to Trenton with little in return. Dont lay off any workers and give Bob McDevitt, president of Unite Here Local 54, a one-way ticket to Timbuktu. The city would recover with this ingenious and perhaps nefarious tactic if the local politicians have the courage to tell Trenton that the welfare of the citizens, who are in dire straits, is more important than filling the coffers of the ham-fisted bureaucrats who seem determined to eviscerate a wonderful town. Atlantic City is the wounded Golden Goose, not the tail of the dog. Richard T. Halfpenny Atlantic City Prefers Gov. Christie for U.S. attorney general Though I support President-elect Donald Trump wholeheartedly, I dont have much confidence in his nomination for attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions. It was speculated earlier that Gov. Chris Christie was going to be the nominee. And I thought it was a great choice. As U.S. attorney for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008, Christie restructured the U.S. Attorneys Office to place more emphasis on pursuing anti-terrorism cases; created an anti-terrorism unit within the office; called the Patriot Act the single biggest reason why weve been able to prevent another terrorist attack; and successfully prosecuted four major post-9/11 cases. With Christies experience, in my view, there would be no better candidate who would protect the country as the nations highest-ranking law enforcement officer. Though Sessions has a respectable reputation as a former federal judge, he also has meddled with minorities voting rights in Alabama. President Trump should nominate only the best qualified candidates for his Cabinet posts based on their experience and on what the country needs, not by cronyism. Leading the country is entirely different from running a corporation. But then again, he claims to know more about how to protect the country than its generals. So I guess I have no other choice but to put my faith in that. But will the American people? George I. Anderson Millville Trump needs thicker skin Donald Trump needs cheese to go with his whine. He has only just become president and already his constant whining about people including the media is starting to get old. I can see even his most rabid supporters growing tired of this. Trump is not the first president to be criticized. Im sure George Washington didnt have nice things said about him during the Whiskey Rebellion. Im sure Abraham Lincoln was heavily criticized by the Southern press during the Civil War. In more recent history, Chevy Chases depictions of Gerald Ford on Saturday Night Live were far more critical than Alec Baldwins depiction of Trump. I dont recall Gerald Ford ever complaining about it. He criticized the cast of the musical Hamilton. After a performance with Vice President-elect Mike Pence in attendance, a cast member spoke to Pence in a manner I didnt find in any way disrespectful, yet Trump felt the need to whine about this. I found it curious that Trump said he heard the play was overrated. If it is overrated, why has the play been on Broadway so long? Donald Trump needs thicker skin. Kenneth Shifflett Brigantine The rally point has changed for Saturdays protest march against the South Jersey Gas pipeline. It will now be held at Beesleys Point Beach on Harbor Road near the Tuckahoe Inn, said Pinelands Preservation Alliance Communications Director Becky Free. The alliance and the Bus for Progress are organizing the protest, which will start with the rally at 11:15 a.m. then continue with a protest march along the pipeline route. Protesters will convoy to a marching location, Free said. Previously, the groups had said the rally would be held at the B.L. England generating station in the Beesleys Point section of Upper Township, which the pipeline would serve. Free buses provided by the groups for transportation from Burlington and Ocean counties are already full, organizers said. The proposed route travels along Routes 49 and 50 from Maurice River Township in Cumberland County to Upper Township in Cape May County. Ten miles of that route is along roads that run through protected Pinelands Forest Area. Free asked that anyone who intends to participate call the alliance at 609-859-8860 so the groups will know how many people to expect and can provide updates in plans. The city and the borough are looking at a potential shared services agreement for police coverage, according to the Daily Journal. Buena Mayor David Zappariello told the Journal that the two sides were looking at the agreement as a cost-savings move. Vineland Mayor Anthony Fanucci confirmed the two sides met and that further discussion would take place. This week, the Legislature made significant progress by reaching an agreement on FY17 budget reductions. House Republicans worked to protect K-12 funding and soften cuts to key priorities like public safety and community colleges. House Republicans were thoughtful in making reductions, though it was a difficult process. With the legally mandated 2017 budget fix behind us, the Legislature will now focus our attention on new policy issues and the FY18 budget. The House, Senate and governor have agreed to a maximum level of spending totaling $7.455 billion. This agreement is within ongoing revenue and is $25 million below the 99 percent expenditure limitation. Keep in mind, if the March revenue estimate is lowered then the maximum spending level will be lowered. Let me clearly state that House Republicans have not agreed to spend $7.445 billion, but we do agree this is the ceiling at this point. A total spending level below that amount could still happen. With budget projections being very unpredictable over the last several years, a conservative approach to budgeting is prudent. Current law allows the Legislature to spend 99 percent of projected available revenue. We do not want to repeat the short fall we are currently wrestling to correct from last session. Expect us to be conservative and build in a margin for error slightly less than the 99 percent of projected revenue. House Republicans remain committed to setting SSA in the first 30 days of this session. I expect this will be the focus of next week. Total spending on K-12 education now totals nearly $3.2 billion annually, which amounts to 43 percent of Iowas budget. Since Republicans have been in the majority in the House, funding for schools has increased $640 million. Most importantly, we have delivered on our commitments. I am getting a lot of feedback about Modernizing Chapter 20. Most of it is hype based on misinformation being spread by misinformed people. Iowas current law on collective bargaining was passed in 1974 and has been relatively untouched for nearly 40 years. Republicans believe now is the time to take a look at the law to ensure that there is an equitable and fair process for public employers, employees and taxpayers to all be represented. Let me dispel a few myths. First, the bill is still being drafted. No one has final details. Second, though IPERS is technically included under chapter 20, it is not included as part of the ongoing bargaining process. It never has been. My understanding is that the review is not about IPERS. Beyond that we all need to wait for a bill to emerge to discuss details. Coupling is also a big issue. Last session House Republicans championed tax coupling legislation and fought for weeks with Senate Democrats and the governor to ensure its passage. Had we not done this, thousands of Iowa taxpayers would have faced an unexpected tax bill. House Republicans made it clear through the entire process that this was a one year deal and to plan accordingly. Unfortunately, at a time when were making budget reductions of more than $100 million, the state isnt in the financial position to be able to couple for tax year 2016. Going forward, House Republicans will continue to look for ways to leave more money in the pockets of Iowas hardworking taxpayers. This conversation could include coupling or broader tax reforms that make Iowas tax code simpler, fairer and more competitive. This week I was happy to attend the Fire Chief Association Legislative Breakfast and was able to meet with a few members. I was also joined by Khawar Nasim from the Consulate General of Canada. For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. DES MOINES After an emotional and at times tense day, the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee moved forward legislation that would cut funding from Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. Senate File 2 would discontinue a federal Medicaid waiver that provides millions of dollars in funding to family planning providers across the state. It instead would create a new state-funded program that would exclude facilities providing abortions from receiving the funds. In fiscal year 2016, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland received about $1 million in funding through the waiver. To cover the new program, the state would shift money from a federal block grant that pays for child and family services. Last year, more than 12,000 Iowans received services through the waiver, including Pap smears, birth control and cancer screenings. No state or federal dollars are used to fund abortions. Before the committee meeting even took place, supporters and opponents of the legislation packed the statehouse. Anti-abortion advocates, dressed in black, sang hymns and prayed outside the committee room. Meanwhile, pro-abortion rights supporters, wearing pink, stood in the room holding up signs that read, I stand with Planned Parenthood. Ive received many comments and Ive read them, said Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, co-sponsor of the bill. Many Iowans have brought questions to me and concerns, and I have considered them all. Even the ones that called me names, shamed me and told me I have a special place in hell. Sinclair argues that the state-funded program would increase access for women, especially those in rural areas not served by a Planned Parenthood clinic, by spreading out dollars more evenly. She said the state-run program, which would begin on July 1, will fund the same services, including Pap smears and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. There are zero Planned Parenthood clinics in my senate district, she said. And I would suggest that is true for many other rural Senate districts as well. So anyone in my district would have to drive to one of those clinics, all located in urban areas, to access care for their needs under the current system. Echoing Sinclairs argument, Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, worked to poke holes in that argument, asking several senators all co-sponsors of the legislations to name the new providers in their districts that would offer the same level of care as Planned Parenthood. They were unable to. I have not availed myself to family planning services, replied Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola. Petersen argued that the program has been proven to work. Citing a May 2016 University of Iowa Public Policy Center study, she said, the Iowa Family Planning Network waiver has provided health care to 80,000 women since its inception in 2006; reduced Medicaid costs for deliveries, birth and first year of life by nearly $345 million; and saved the state about $3.40 for every dollar spent. Whats more, she said, politicians are putting themselves between women and their doctors, jeopardizing the care that thousands of low-income women receive through Planned Parenthood. Twenty-eight men (who co-sponsored the legislation) who have never had to get undressed, put on a gown and put their feet in stirrups for a Pap smear are telling women whats best for them, Petersen said. The bill, which was approved 8 to 5, now will move forward to debate on the Senate floor. A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017: JOB IMPACT: Members of the Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to approve legislation to require that every administrative rule proposed by a state agency or department be accompanied by a jobs impact statement. The information is to outline the rules purpose and statutory authority and to detail the effect on state agencies, local governments, the public, and the regulated entities, businesses and self-employed individuals. Backers of Senate File 1 say the measure codifies an executive order that was put in place by Gov. Terry Branstad in March 2011 to build a job-friendly environment for new government rules and regulations. Under the bill that goes to the Senate debate calendar, each impact statement must determine whether a proposed rule would have a positive or negative impact on private sector jobs and employment opportunities. SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION: HSB 15 would change definition of incarceration so adults in residential correctional facilities would have to register as sex offenders. Under current law, they can go out in the community for at least part of the day without being registered as a sex offender. That, Rep. St eve Holt, R-Denison, said, presents a danger to the community. HSB 15 was approved by the House Public Safety Committee and sent to the full House for consideration. PIERCING BAN: Discussion has indefinitely suspended on HF 33 that would make it a misdemeanor for a minor to receive a body piercing or for anyone to provide a piercing other than in the ear lobe without the consent of the minors parent or guardian. A Judiciary subcommittee of Rep. Ashley Hinson, Liz Bennet and Megan Jones agreed there were too many questions about the bill to proceed. The ACLU opposed the prohibition of minors freedom of expression while the Family Leader said the bill would complement similar regulation of minors receiving tattoos. MONEY SWAP: HF 9 would allow the Iowa Department of Transportation and local governments to swap federal funds in a way that Rep. Gary Worthan, R-Storm Lake, said would make more money available for local projects. Local governments would give their federal funds to the DOT, which would replace the money from the Primary Road Fund. By using local funds, he said cities and counties would not have to meet Davis-Bacon wage requirements and environmental regulations that might increase the cost of the project. The DOT would have to meet those requirements, but Worthan said the agency has the expertise on staff to meet those requirements more efficiently than a local government that might do a project a year. Committee Democrats were concerned with the attempt to circumvent the wage requirements and the elimination of the buy American provisions attached to federal money used on local projects. When you vote for this bill you are voting against having to use American-made products, Rep. Abbey Finkenauer, D-Dubuque, said. Taxpayers might appreciate the savings, but not at the expense of American manufacturers and American jobs, she said. The committee approved the bill 12-7. GPS TRACKING: It would be a serious misdemeanor to place a global positioning device on a vehicle without the consent of the person who owns or leases the vehicle under legislation approved by the House Public Safety Committee Tuesday. Exemptions to HF 2 would include parents tracking a minors vehicle, a business owner tracking fleet vehicles and police with warrants, according to Rep. David Kerr, R-Morning Sun. There was no consensus on whether the bill would apply to someone turning on an on-board GPS device purchased with the vehicle. Kerr said amendments will be offered on the floor to address Iowa Department of Transportation concerns about inhibiting the development of driverless vehicles and to expand the prohibition to on or in someone elses vehicle. QUOTE OF THE DAY: I want to say to the people that are concerned -- the young people, immigrants, families, you are welcome in Iowa. We are welcoming people. You are valued, your voice is valued and I want you to stay strong because at least some of us here have your back. Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, during an Iowa Senate floor speech discussing President Trumps immigration policy executive order. President Donald Trump may be urging Senate Republicans to "go nuclear" on his Supreme Court's nomination, but U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, isn't so eager to have the topic up for discussion. Grassley declined to say Wednesday whether he would support a move to eliminate the ability for minority Democrats to filibuster the president's pick for the court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. "We on the majority side are not going to get involved with any discussion whatsoever of changing the rules ...," he said, noting that Republicans did not obstruct two court nominees from President Bill Clinton and two from President Barack Obama, and he didn't expect Democrats to do it. Asked whether that meant the option was still on the table, Grassley replied: "It shouldn't be interpreted in any way except we aren't going to talk about it or encourage you to write about it." Grassley sees April swearing in for new Supreme Court justice DES MOINES | Sen. Chuck Grassley expects it will be April before a ninth Supreme Court justi The president announced Gorsuch as his choice Tuesday night for the court, but Democrats still are chafing at the refusal of Senate Republicans to take up Obama's nomination last March of Judge Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia. Democrats also have expressed doubts about Gorsuch's views. Republicans argued that, in an election year, the person voters chose to be president should make the choice fill the Scalia vacancy. Democrats called it obstructionism, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said Tuesday night that 60 votes ought to be required to confirm Gorsuch. It takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, but eliminating it would mean only 51 votes would be required to confirm Gorsuch. On Wednesday, Trump said he would encourage Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell get tough if Gorsuch is blocked. If we end up with that gridlock I would say, If you can, Mitch, go nuclear, Trump said. Going nuclear has been taken as shorthand for eliminating the filibuster. In 2013, after several Republican filibusters and over their objections, Democrats led by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid changed the filibuster rule to allow majority votes to confirm presidential appointees, but not for the Supreme Court. SAN FRANCISCO, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global angioplasty balloon market is expected to reach a value of USD 2.9 billion by 2024, according on a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The growth of the market is attributed to favorable government policies, approval & commercialization of several angioplasty balloons, and increasing coronary & peripheral interventions. Angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure, hence patients and surgeons prefer this procedure over high cost stent placements. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 ) Furthermore, advancements in the angioplasty balloons are likely to propel the market. For instance, in December 2014 Medtronic plc received a U.S.FDA approval for their drug coated balloon IN. PACT Admiral for the treatment of peripheral artery disease. Approval and commercialization of cutting and scoring balloons, such as Flextome, AngioSculpt, TREK and MINI TREK balloon, rising adoption of new balloons, and lower cost as compared to stent placement are likely to drive the market during the forecast period. Browse full research report with TOC on "Angioplasty Balloons Market Analysis By Type (Normal Balloons, Drug Eluting Balloons, Cutting Balloons, Scoring Balloons), By Application (Peripheral, Coronary), By End Use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2013 - 2024" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/angioplasty-balloons-market Further key findings from the report suggest Normal balloon segment dominated the market in 2015 due to low cost and favorable U.S. FDA policies. Its ability to treat coronary artery obstruction is further expected to propel the market growth. Drug-eluting balloon segment is anticipated to be the most lucrative during the forecast period. This is attributed to increasing investment in R & D by major players and lower restenosis rates. Coronary balloon dominated in 2015 and is expected to maintain its dominance during forecast period. This is due to rising incidence rate of coronary artery diseases around the globe. Peripheral is the most lucrative segment owing to launching of new peripheral products in recent years. Market players are in a process of introducing newer products with increased efficiency. Ambulatory surgery centers dominated the end use segment in 2015. They accounted for the highest share of the vertical as they help minimize the medical expenses and hospital stay. Regionally, North America dominated the market in 2015 and is expected to maintain its position during the forecast period due to local presence of major market players and high cost of devices as compared to other regions. dominated the market in 2015 and is expected to maintain its position during the forecast period due to local presence of major market players and high cost of devices as compared to other regions. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be fastest growing segment during the forecast period due to rising healthcare expenditure, growing investment of key market players in the region, and high patient population. is anticipated to be fastest growing segment during the forecast period due to rising healthcare expenditure, growing investment of key market players in the region, and high patient population. Some of the market players operating in the industry are Abbott; Boston Scientific Corporation; Cardinal Health (Cordis); Cook Medical; C. R. Bard, Inc.; ENDOCOR GmbH; Medtronic; Spectranetics; and Johnson & Johnson. Browse related reports by Grand View Research: Home Healthcare Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/home-healthcare-industry Home Infusion Therapy Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/home-infusion-therapy-market Surgical Equipment/Instruments Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/surgical-equipment-market Prefilled Syringes Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/pre-filled-syringes-market Grand View Research has segmented the angioplasty balloons market by balloons type, application, end-use, and region: Type Outlook (Market Revenue in USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Normal Balloons Drug Eluting Balloons Cutting Balloons Scoring Balloons Application Outlook (Market Revenue in USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Coronary Peripheral End Use Outlook (Market Revenue in USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) Hospitals Catheterization Laboratories ( Cath Lab ) Regional Outlook (Market Revenue in USD Million, 2013 - 2024) North America U.S. Canada Europe UK Germany Asia Pacific Japan China Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East and Africa South Africa Read Our Blog - Angioplasty Balloons Market: Rising Peripheral and Coronary Interventions to Propel the Market by 2024 About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc. Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. LONDON, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CleanEquity Monaco, 9th & 10th March, is the preeminent global forum where 30 of the world's best in class emerging sustainable technology and resource efficiency companies gather to meet specialist financial investors, strategic family offices, corporate venturers, partners & acquirers, policy makers, end users and media. It is an invitation only event. Please use the link below to register your interest in attending. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Innovator Capital is pleased to announce new collaborations with the Social Stock Exchange and Hobbs & Towne. Tomas Carruthers, CEO, Social Stock Exchange commented: "I believe that CleanEquity Monaco provides a unique forum, bringing together the world's most innovative clean technology propositions. At the Social Stock Exchange, Europe's only public market for impact investing, we are committed to helping businesses that deliver positive impact and be that environmental or social gain better access to capital markets at scale and we are delighted to be working with innovative finance providers such as Innovator Capital to showcase our public market. Our membership already includes a number of clean technology innovators, underlining the fact that our investor audience is all too aware of the benefits of looking for more than just a financial return. We are delighted to be involved in this flagship event, I'm excited to see what the next round of disruptors in cleantech have in store and am confident we can work with them to help achieve their ambitions." Steve Kyryk, Partner at Hobbs & Towne said: "Our firm has been working with cleantech investors and their portfolio companies for 20 years providing innovative talent solutions and advisory services to the global community. Utilizing our extensive network of executives and thought leaders we are delivering results for a worldwide assortment of exceptional VC, PE, family office, and corporate investor-backed organizations. Hobbs & Towne is excited to be sponsoring CleanEquity Monaco 2017 in its 10th anniversary year and supporting the investors and entrepreneurs in their efforts to develop and commercialize sustainable energy and environmental impact businesses. We look forward to attending this prestigious event and to interacting with global leaders in the cleantech sector." Innovator Capital's CleanEquity unit has reviewed over 600 companies for the 2017 event, 30 will be selected to present; the following companies are confirmed: Interested in attending CleanEquity Monaco 2017, as a presenting company or a delegate? Please see the contact details below or visit the website www.cleanequitymonaco.com Contact: Conor Barrett Innovator Capital conor.barrett@innovator-capital.com Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/440230/CleanEquity_Monaco_2017_Logo.jpg Related Links http://www.innovator-capital.com SOURCE Innovator Capital AMSTERDAM, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Constellium N.V. (NYSE and Euronext: CSTM) ("Constellium" or the "Company") today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions (the "Offering"), approximately $625 million of senior unsecured notes due 2025 (the "Notes"). The Notes will be guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by certain of the Company's subsidiaries. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering, together with cash on hand, to cause its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, Wise Metals Group LLC and Wise Alloys Finance Corporation (the "Wise Issuers"), to repurchase pursuant to a tender offer (the "Tender Offer"), and/or redeem, satisfy and discharge in accordance with the relevant indenture, all of their 8.75% Senior Secured Notes due 2018 (the "Wise Senior Secured Notes"). Constellium intends to use the remaining net proceeds, if any, for general corporate purposes. There can be no assurance that the Company will successfully complete the Offering on the terms described herein or at all. The Notes will be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933. The Notes have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the Notes or any other securities, shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, and shall not constitute a notice of redemption. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area which has implemented the 2003/71/EC directive as amended (the "Prospectus Directive") (each a "Relevant Member State"), an offer of securities to the public has not been made and will not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer in that Relevant Member State of securities may be made at any time to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive, if the qualified investor prospectus exemption has been implemented in that Relevant Member State and provided that no such offer shall result in a requirement for the publication of a prospectus in that Member State. About Constellium Constellium (NYSE Euronext: CSTM) is a global sector leader that develops innovative, value added aluminium products for a broad scope of markets and applications, including aerospace, automotive and packaging. Constellium generated 5.2 billion of revenue in 2015. www.constellium.com Forward-looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" with respect to the Tender Offer, the redemption of Wise Senior Secured Notes, our business, results of operations and financial condition, and our expectations or beliefs concerning future events and conditions. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as, but not limited to, "believes," "expects," "may," "should," "approximately," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "targets," likely," "will," "would," "could" and similar expressions (or the negative of these terminologies or expressions). All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Many risks and uncertainties are inherent in our industry and markets. Others are more specific to our business and operations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to those set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F and as described from time to time in subsequent reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The occurrence of the events described and the achievement of the expected results depend on many events, some or all of which are not predictable or within our control. Consequently, actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130624/NY37453LOGO Related Links http://www.constellium.com SOURCE Constellium N.V. STOCKHOLM, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Coor has signed a renewed agreement with SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) with an estimated contract value of some SEK 1 bn. In the agreement, SAS shows continued confidence in Coor to deliver integrated FM services (IFM) to several offices, hangars and technical facilities in Sweden, Norway and Denmark for a further six years. SAS is the Nordics' leading airline company. The extended IFM agreement means that Coor will coordinate, develop and deliver a large number of FM services to SAS, including property maintenance, cleaning and security. The agreement spans six years, with fixed annual subscription volumes estimated at some SEK 160 m. Variable project volumes are additional. "SAS is an important customer to Coor, who we've worked with since 2008, and we're delighted to be able to continue the collaboration for a further six years. The key to a satisfied customer lies in our ability to understand and continuously adapt our operations according to our customers changing needs. In this case, we sought ways to further develop our partnership and increase transparency. We're now looking forward to the task of continuing to renew and improve our delivery alongside SAS", commented Mikael Stohr, President and CEO at Coor. One of the new services being introduced is improved delivery follow-up. Using clear key performance indicators will allow SAS to monitor progress and compare different national markets and locations in Coor's Performance Portal, a digital follow-up tool. "We've worked alongside Coor for eight years, and are now taking a further step towards a closer partnership. Besides balanced quality and price considerations, an effective and close collaboration based on trust and transparency is of great important to us," commented Bjrn Frivold, Head of Facility Management at SAS Group. For more information, images etc., please visit www.coor.se or contact: Mikael Stohr, President and CEO at Coor, Tel: + 46 10 559 59 62, E-mail: mikael.stohr@coor.com AnnaCarin Grandin, President of Coor in Sweden, Tel: +46 10 559 59 57 70, E-mail: annacarin.grandin@coor.com Asvor Brynnel, Communications and Sustainability Director at Coor, Tel: +46 10 559 54 04, E-mail: asvor.brynnel@coor.com This information is information that Coor Service Management Holding AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on February 1, 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/coor/r/coor-extends-a-nordic-ifm-agreement-with-sas,c2177807 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/8962/2177807/622001.pdf PDF http://news.cision.com/coor/i/mikael-stohr--ceo-of-coor,c2067111 Mikael Stohr, CEO of Coor http://news.cision.com/coor/i/coor-employee-ifm,c2067114 Coor employee IFM Related Links http://www.coor.se SOURCE Coor RIGA, Latvia, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Data center operator DEAC, one of the leading cloud resource and IT services providers in Northern Europe, is investing 10 million euros in building a significantly larger data center in Riga, Latvia. The company plans to double the capacity of its already existing data centers, thus strengthening its leadership in operating the largest amount of server racks in the Baltics and becoming an increasingly influential provider of international data center services to companies in Russia, Europe and USA. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/462670/DEAC_Data.jpg ) Andris Gailitis, DEAC CEO: "After more than ten years of experience in foreign markets, we have achieved recognition as a secure and premium service provider on a regional scale. We have also succeeded in positioning Riga as one of the most attractive places for data storage in Europe. We are developing our infrastructure to provide customized, complex IT solutions and unlimited infrastructure capacity for fast growing projects on a world-class level." DEAC plans to launch the new data center in 2018. The new facility will be built according to the highest standards of redundancy and security. The capacity of both existing data centers in Riga is 330 server racks, but after launching the new data center, DEAC will operate already 730 server racks. Thus DEAC will have the largest number of server racks in commercial segment in the region, providing its customers with almost unlimited capacity of IT resources available immediately. "The new facility will offer 4MW (megawatts) of critical IT load to 400 server racks and feature excellent energy efficiency using state-of-the-art technologies designed according to EN50600 standard Class 3 to meet demanding customer requirements, providing availability rate at a minimum of 99.98%," adds A. Gailitis. "One should take into consideration that CIS countries are still a rather unexplored market with many companies still not taking advantage of data center services, whereas for the US region we are attractive thanks to Europe's well developed communications network and the experience we have gained with customers from CIS countries, all together this provides US companies with a bridge from Europe for further developing their business in Russia," says A. Gailitis. About DEAC DEAC (http://www.deac.eu) was founded in 1999 and has been providing data center services for more than 15 years at six locations to more than 40 countries across the world. Today DEAC is one of the largest independent data center operators in Northern Europe, specializing in providing tailor-made data center services to customers in Europe, CIS countries, Asia and USA. The company operates two data centers in Riga as well as manages several POPs in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Moscow, and Kiev. Globally recognizable customers trust DEAC to provide uninterrupted service and security in order to achieve key business objectives. https://www.deac.eu/en/ SOURCE DEAC STOCKHOLM, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricardo Cons has been interim head of the business area since October 1, 2016, replacing Ruy Hirschheimer who, as previously announced, resigned from the company. "Ricardo is a strong leader with extensive experience and proven success from senior management positions in the appliances industry in Brazil. We're convinced he is the right person to lead Electrolux in Latin America in the future," said Jonas Samuelson, President and CEO of Electrolux. Ricardo Cons was Managing Director of Franke do Brasil Ltda. from 2011 to 2016. He held various management positions at Electrolux in Brazil from 1997 to 2011, including President of the Small Appliances business area in Latin America, and head of Marketing and Sales of Major Appliances in Brazil. He is a Brazilian citizen and holds a Bachelor's degree in Financial Administration and Marketing. For further information, please contact: Electrolux Press Hotline, +46-8-657-65-07. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/electrolux/r/electrolux-appoints-ricardo-cons-as-head-of-major-appliances-latin-america,c2177877 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Electrolux AMSTERDAM, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A new joint publication with the International Federation of Automatic Control Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, and the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) today announced the launch of a new joint publication, IFAC Journal of Systems and Control. The journal will publish research papers on generalizable, extensible and transferable innovations across all aspects of the field of control and automation. The journal's remit broadly reflects the areas of interest of IFAC's Technical Board and dovetails with the other IFAC journals in seeking new areas of application and investigation for systems and control. The journal will only consider submitted papers consisting of significant previously unpublished material germane to applicable systems theory, its application, and cognate modelling and feedback-control-related areas of formulation, implementation, and analysis. The Editor-in-Chief, Professor Bob Bitmead, has extensive experience across many aspects of automation and control, from fundamental theory to modeling to implementation across many application sectors: aerospace, telecommunications, sonar, sugar, steel, and photolithography. In 2014, he was awarded the ASME Rufus Oldenburger Medal and the 2015 IEEE Control Systems Society Transition to Practice Award. "Systems and control is an enabling technology which helps put the 'smart' into many fields of application by combining modeling, sensing and actuation," Dr. Bitmead said, "but 'enabling' can also imply 'bottleneck' technology. As reliance grows for the field's formulations, tools and techniques in new domains, so too does the requirement for new technically advanced transferrable ideas to be shared. The IFAC Journal of Systems and Control is precisely the venue for identifying and clearly communicating the principles underpinning the sweep of new applications domain." "The new journal is uniquely positioned to provide content of broad interest to the international community involved in systems, control and automation, fostering interdisciplinary advances and a community publication outlet for all areas represented in IFAC," said Dr. Alison Waldron, Publisher of the IFAC Journal of Systems and Control. Read more about the IFAC Journal of Systems and Control and submit your article. About IFAC The International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) was founded in September 1957. IFAC is the worldwide organization tasked with promoting the science and technology of automatic control in all systems, whether for example, engineering, physical, biological, social or economic, in both theory and application. IFAC is also concerned with the impact of control technology on society. About Elsevier Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com Media contact Emma McEwan Elsevier +31 20 485 2485 e.mcewan@elsevier.com SOURCE Elsevier LONDON, January 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Boardroom today releases a new report on the Oil & Gas sector in Argentina, 'Inside Oil & Gas Argentina.' With abundant natural resources, a century-long history of hydrocarbon extraction, and the eighth largest land mass in the world, Argentina is truly an energy giant. However, efforts by the previous administration to ensure security of supply which involved nationalization of the country's largest E&P actor, YPF, and expropriation of Repsol's assets in Argentina, helped scare off international investors and led to the country being demoted from a net energy exporter to an importer in 2014. Now though, change is in the air. The government of new President Mauricio Macri has declared that Argentina is "open for business," and the political winds seem to be flowing in the direction of greater international investment into Argentina's oil and gas industry. With the third largest shale reserves of any country in the world and a series of mega-play discoveries throughout the 2000s, now is the time for Argentina to leverage international capital to exploit its undeniably massive potential. The report is an authoritative and up-to-date assessment of the major sector in this strategically important oil and gas producing country. Themes covered include The impact of the Macri administration's economic reforms The huge unconventional resources in the Vaca Muerta basin Energy infrastructure construction EPC Human Resources Energy Boardroom's Argentina Oil & Gas report features in-depth interviews with: Omar Gutierrez , Governor of Neuquen Province , Governor of Neuquen Province Guillermo Juan Pereyra , National Senator, Neuquen Province; Mining, Energy & Fuels Commission (Senate Chamber); Rio Negro , Neuquen & La Pampa Oil & Gas Union , National Senator, Neuquen Province; Mining, Energy & Fuels Commission (Senate Chamber); , Neuquen & La Pampa Oil & Gas Union Andres Ondarra, Invest Argentina Richard Spies , Pan American Energy (PAE) , Pan American Energy (PAE) Horaccio Turri, Pampa Energia Adrian Mascheroni , AESA , AESA Javier Pastorino , Siemens Quotes "All the industry stakeholders must be aware that, within an environment where the price is generally determined by the international market, the advancement towards structural cost optimization is crucial to survive and compete." Omar Gutierrez , Governor of Neuquen Province "We have embarked upon a new political phase, and are ushering in the new Argentina." Mauricio Macri , President of Argentina "Argentina has enough energy resources to satisfy the national demand and will eventually bring back the country to its former export status." Guillermo Juan Pereyra , National Senator, Neuquen Province; Mining, Energy & Fuels Commission (Senate Chamber); Rio Negro , Neuquen & La Pampa Oil & Gas Union "We're at a pretty special juncture in which the momentum of the business winds can be entirely different to the rest of Latin America" Andres Ondarra, Invest Argentina "President Macri is really opening up the country and the relationships with important countries such as the US are better than ever before." Rodolfo Gonzalez , TECMACO Download Download the report at energyboardroom.com/oil_and_gas_report/argentina-oil-gas-report/ and visit energyboardroom.com for up-to-date reports, news, articles, interviews, and facts and figures from a wide range of global oil and gas markets. SOURCE EnergyBoardroom PUNE, India, February 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ReportsnReports.com adds "Macular Edema - Pipeline Review, H2 2016" to its store providing comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Macular Edema (Respiratory), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases. Browse 26 market data tables and 12 figures, spread across 63 pages is available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/755870-macular-edema-pipeline-review-h2-2016.html . Companies discussed in this Macular Edema Pipeline Review, H2 2016 report include ActiveSite Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp., Clearside BioMedical, Inc., Coherus BioSciences, Inc., Mabion SA, Pfizer Inc., Precision Ocular Ltd, Promedior, Inc., Taiwan Liposome Company, Ltd., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and Xbrane Biopharma AB. Drug Profiles mentioned in this research report are (aflibercept + triamcinolone acetonide), ACX-107, ASPPDC-020, BLO-021, celecoxib, danazol, dexamethasone sodium phosphate SR, HO-10, PRM-167 and ranibizumab biosimilar. The Macular Edema (Ophthalmology) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Macular Edema and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Phase II, Preclinical, Discovery and Unknown stages are 2, 9, 1 and 1 respectively. Macular Edema. Order a Purchase Copy of this Report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=755870. Scope of this report: The report provides a snapshot of the global therapeutic landscape of Macular Edema and reviews pipeline therapeutics for Macular Edema by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sources and key players involved Macular Edema therapeutics and enlists all their major and minor projects. The research covers pipeline products based on various stages of development ranging from pre-registration till discovery and undisclosed stages. The report features descriptive drug profiles for the pipeline products which includes, product description, descriptive MoA, R&D brief, licensing and collaboration details & other developmental activities and assesses Macular Edema therapeutics based on drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The report summarizes all the dormant and discontinued pipeline projects with latest news related to pipeline therapeutics for Macular Edema. Another newly published market research report titled on Diabetic Retinopathy - Pipeline Review, H2 2016 (http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/755878-diabetic-retinopathy-pipeline-review-h2-2016.html) provides comprehensive information on the therapeutic development for Diabetic Retinopathy, complete with comparative analysis at various stages, therapeutics assessment by drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type, along with latest updates, and featured news and press releases. Companies Involved in Therapeutics Development are Acucela Inc., Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Aerpio Therapeutics, Inc., Amakem NV, Antisense Therapeutics Limited, Araim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., BCN Peptides, S.A., Biomar Microbial Technologies, Charlesson LLC., Coherus BioSciences and more. Explore more reports on Pharmaceuticals Market http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/pharmaceuticals/. About Us: ReportsnReports.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 100+ leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets. With comprehensive information about the publishers and the industries for which they publish market research reports, we help you in your purchase decision by mapping your information needs with our huge collection of reports. Contact: Ritesh Tiwari UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune - 411013 Maharashtra, India. Tel: +1-888-391-5441 sales@reportsnreports.com SOURCE ReportsnReports BROMMA, Sweden, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Information about Nordnet is available at www.nordnetab.com. In January, 2,262,411 trades were made in stocks, warrants and options among Nordnet's customers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. That corresponds to 110,362 trades per day. The number of customers in the end of January was 576,600, which is 9,800 more than previous month. The number of accounts was 747,800, which is 12,800 more than previous month. Net savings for the month was SEK 500 million and the savings capital was SEK 236 billion. Lending to customers by the end of January was SEK 9.5 billion. Table: Nordnet's total trades on all exchanges and market places for all customers, and average number of trades per day. Average number of trades per day is calculated as total trades divided by the number of days the Swedish exchanges are open. Accounts, customers, net savings, savings capital and lending are based on preliminary data. January January Change December Change 2017 2016 one year 2016 one month Number of trades Sweden 1 155 780 1 036 043 11,6% 1 078 773 7,1% Norway 404 626 270 640 49,5% 335 418 20,6% Denmark 375 221 395 010 -5,0% 309 214 21,3% Finland 326 784 322 839 1,2% 300 833 8,6% Total 2 262 411 2 024 532 11,7% 2 024 238 11,8% Average per day 110 362 109 434 0,8% 96 392 14,5% Traded value cash market (SEK million)* 69 147 66 194 4,5% 62 645 10,4% Active customers 576 600 495 900 16,3% 566 800 1,7% Active accounts 747 800 635 000 17,8% 735 000 1,7% Net savings (SEK million) 500 2 000 -75,0% 1 600 -68,8% Savings capital (SEK billion) 236 193 22,1% 235 0,5% Margin lending (SEK million)** 5 269 4 690 12,3% 5 102 3,3% Personal Loans (SEK million) 3 208 2 618 22,5% 3 172 1,1% Mortgage (SEK million)*** 1 032 - - 937 10,2% * Cash market relates to trades in stocks, warrants, ETFs and certificate. ** Lending excluding lending with cash and cash equivalents *** Nordnet launched mortgage in April 2016. The lending volume was published for the first time in May 2016, which is why there are no comparison data available before that. Watch CEO Hakan Nyberg and Head of Communications Johan Tidestad comment on the monthly statistics at 14:00 live on Twitter. Link on Twitter @Nordnet. For more information, please contact: Hakan Nyberg, CEO E-mail: hakan.nyberg@nordnet.se, Tel: +46 703 970 904 Johan Tidestad, Head of Communications E-mail: johan.tidestad@nordnet.se, Tel: +46 708 875 775 This is information that Nordnet AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 12:40 CET on 1 February 2017. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/nordnet/r/nordnet--monthly-statistics-january,c2178479 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/116/2178479/622334.pdf Nordnet: Monthly statistics January Related Links http://www.nordnetab.com SOURCE Nordnet A man facing sex abuse and kidnapping charges in Davenport has been captured near Las Cruces, New Mexico, police said. Alan Ray Cassias, also known as Allan Ray Cassias in court records, 54, is charged in Scott County with one count of first-degree kidnapping, a felony that carries an automatic sentence of life in prison upon conviction. He also is charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a felony that carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years. According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport Police Detective Bill Thomas, at about noon Jan. 18, Cassias saw his victim walking in the area of Lombard and Harrison streets in Davenport. Cassias asked the victim if she wanted a ride and she agreed to get into his vehicle. Cassias told the victim he would give her a ride to work, but first he had to stop at his apartment at 1819 W. 3rd St., Apt. 1. Once inside the apartment, Cassias choked the victim until she passed out, according to Thomas arrest affidavit. Cassias then tied the victims hands together with zip ties. When the victim woke up, Cassias threatened her with a knife and told her several times he was going to kill her, according to the affidavit. He then removed one of the zip ties and told the woman to take off her clothes. He then forced the woman to perform several sex acts. The woman pleaded for her life and Cassias continued to threaten to kill her. She begged Cassias to let her go, promising she would not tell anyone, according to the affidavit. Cassias took the woman to her job and let her out of his vehicle. The victim then called the police and was taken to a hospital, according to the affidavit. A nationwide detainer was issued for Cassias. Cassias was captured Jan. 23 by U.S. Border Patrol agents and then turned over to New Mexico State Police. According to a news release issued Jan. 25 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agents assigned to the Interstate 10 checkpoint west of Las Cruces were conducting immigration inspections when an alert was received on Cassias, who had just passed through in his vehicle. Agents located the vehicle and made a stop without incident, according to the news release. Cassias was being held Tuesday night without bond in the Dona Ana County Jail in Las Cruces. STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At a Board meeting of SAS AB, the November 2015-October 2016 annual report for the SAS Group and its parent company SAS AB was presented and approved. The annual report is now available on the internet, www.sasgroup.net under Investor Relations, and will be printed and distributed to shareholders who have notified their interest to receive a copy. The annual report does not contain any new substantial information which has not already been disclosed in SAS's year-end report for 2015/2016 or via separate press releases. Annual General Meeting 2017 The annual general meeting in SAS AB will take place on 22 February 2017 at 15.00 CET at SAS's head office, Frosundaviks alle 1, Solna, Sweden. See the notice convening the annual general meeting which was published on 18 January 2017, for further information. For further information: SAS pressjour +46 8 797 29 44 Bjorn Tibell, Head of Investor Relations, +46 70 997 1437 This information is information that SAS AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.25 CET on 1 February 2017. CONTACT: This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/sas/r/sas-annual-report-2015-2016,c2177368 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/290/2177368/621934.pdf PDF http://mb.cision.com/Public/290/2177368/97d7c771c31b6294.pdf Release Arsredovisning2016 1feb2017eng SOURCE SAS STOCKHOLM, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "Faltcom is a market leader in Scandinavia and has recently seen early success internationally. The combination of great products and services, and talented and passionate people, will position the combined companies to become the leading provider of Smart Public Transport services whilst laying a foundation for further expansion in the Smart Transport & Logistics and Smart City space," says Brendan Ives, Head of Telia Company's emerging businesses unit Division X, and continues: "This is also fully in line with our ambition to find digital solutions to societal challenges such as climate change while making cities more liveable" Swedish company Faltcom was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Umea. The company has roughly 40 employees. Faltcom's systems make it possible for customers to monitor and control devices in one place on the globe from another. The company today has more than 160,000 installations, of which 40,000 are online, in buildings, vehicles, and customized IoT solutions. Faltcom is the market leader in Scandinavia for mobile platforms on buses, and every speed camera in Sweden is equipped with its technology. For 2016, Faltcom had preliminary revenues of SEK 83 million. Faltcom's main owners SEB Venture Capital and Nordic VC Industrifonden together own 93 percent of Faltcom and the employees own the remaining 7 percent. The acquisition is expected to close in February. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. "Faltcom and Telia Company share a common belief that open platforms and ecosystems are key to unleashing the endless possibilities of IoT. Having achieved a market leading position, we are really excited to be part of Telia Company. Together we'll strengthen our market position, open up significant growth potential and accelerate the rate at which we can create value for our customers and partners," says Mikael Langstrom, CEO of Faltcom. This information is information that Telia Company AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and/or the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 10.30 CET on February 1, 2016. For more information, please contact Press office +46 771 77 58 30, visit ourNewsroom or follow us on Twitter @Teliacompany. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in the press release relating to future status or circumstances, including future performance and other trend projections are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to many factors, many of which are outside the control of Telia Company. We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 - on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at http://www.teliacompany.com/. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/telia-company/r/telia-company-to-acquire-falt-communications-ab,c2178283 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/40/2178283/622222.pdf Press release (PDF) Related Links http://http://www.teliacompany.com/ SOURCE Telia Company LIMASSOL, Cyprus, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Larnabel Enterprises, a company founded by the Gutseriev family to invest in the information technology sector, and VP Capital, a technology-focused investment vehicle founded by Viktor Prokopenya, today announced that they have made an investment in Astro Digital, a satellite imaging and imagery analysis company. Astro Digital's software enables users to easily search for and process images of the Earth's surface so that they can monitor specific areas and analyze changes over time. The company is planning to launch a series of satellites with high-definition and broad coverage capabilities in 2017, and will be able to monitor and gather its own multi-spectral images of the Earth's surface on a daily basis. Astro Digital's satellite imagery capabilities and software can be applied to a wide range of fields, including agriculture, disaster management, forest management, urban development, and business intelligence. Mr. Prokopenya said, "Astro Digital is a unique company that is as innovative as it is impactful. Businesses and organizations across a wide range of sectors need data and analysis to make informed decisions; by using Astro Digital's satellite imagery and artificial intelligence algorithms, researchers can gain access to the type of valuable data and analysis that will help them make meaningful, informed predictions across the natural, urban, and business arenas. We are thrilled to give this impressive team the added resources to grow the business and strengthen their enterprise customer pipeline." Chris Biddy, CEO and Co-founder of Astro Digital, said, "We believe that having fresh images of the Earth's surface at your fingertips will benefit a wide array of people and fields, from farmers to emergency workers to city and municipal organizations and businesses. With this additional support and resources at our back, we will be able to accelerate our strategy, serve our customers in even more innovative ways, and take our business to the next level." About Larnabel Enterprises Larnabel Enterprises was founded by the Gutseriev family to invest in the information technology sector. About VP Capital Founded by Viktor Prokopenya, VP Capital is a global investment vehicle focused on the technology sector. For more information, please visit https://vpcapital.com/. About Astro Digital Founded in 2015, Astro Digital enables big data analytics from space. With its team of engineers, analysts, and developers, the company processes images of the Earth from space with open data and provides software for imagery analysis and distribution. The company plans to launch a constellation of multi-spectral satellites and will monitor commercially active land use in order to model global change and analyze local activity. The company is based in NASA Ames Research Park at Moffett Field, California, in the hub of the aerospace industry. For more information, please contact: media@vpcapital.com. Related Links https://vpcapital.com SOURCE VP Capital LONDON, January 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global engineering, management and development consultancy Mott MacDonald and Essentia Trading Ltd (Essentia), specialist providers in strategic development and healthcare planning consultancy, have unveiled their collaborative partnership to deliver advisory and implementation services globally. The move brings together two of the UK's leading healthcare consultancies to offer technical expertise covering the whole spectrum of consulting from infrastructure development to health system transformation. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/463045/hospitalcorridor3_image.jpg ) "We are proud to partner with Mott MacDonald," said Steve McGuire, CEO of Essentia. "We believe this integration is a perfect fit for customers as it enables us to collaborate in areas to create better connected healthcare systems. Our collective understanding from working on global projects allows us to pass on that wealth of experience, from the NHS all the way through to some of the world's largest healthcare infrastructure projects." Large complex healthcare infrastructure projects require financing, resources and collaboration. All over the world, governments and healthcare organisations face many similar but distinct challenges in the delivery of care. The success or failure in the prevention, treatment and management of illness, disease, infirmity and disability is dependent on the design of infrastructure and the systems put in place. To meet the needs of growing and aging populations means keeping pace with the rapid rate of change in medicine, movement of people, society and technology, all of which demands investment. The partnership between Mott MacDonald and Essentia is valuable as it maximises collaboration to offer a broad range of expertise including building and infrastructure engineering design services, facilities management advice, technical and procurement advisory services for both capital and revenue funded projects, plus the provision of business case proposals. It also comprises healthcare planning, medical equipping, estate development, information technology and planning, project, programme and cost management. Richard Cantlay, Mott MacDonald's global head of healthcare buildings, said: "Partnering with Essentia will mean clients can benefit from a complete specialist and multidisciplinary healthcare service with a major global presence. The move sees some of the leading experts in the public sector collaborating closely with those in the private sector." About Essentia Essentia supports the development of healthcare infrastructure in the UK and internationally, with its team of experts working on a variety of projects which help to define new sustainable health systems. Namely, optimising patient pathways, improving process efficiencies and reducing costs. Also, Essentia operates extensively in the Middle East and has advised on projects in Australia and Ireland. In the UK, Essentia works with NHS Trusts on managing and improving their estates to rationalise the space in which clinical services are provided. In addition, Essentia actively supports the development of Sustainability Transformation Plans (STPs) and is a strategic partner to the South-East London STP. Essentia sponsors a UTC school in South East London. essentia.uk.com About Mott MacDonald Opening opportunities with connected thinking. Mott MacDonald is a US$2bn engineering, management and development consultancy. We're involved in: Solving some of the world's most urgent social, environmental and economic challenges Helping governments and businesses plan, deliver and sustain their strategic goals Responding to humanitarian and natural emergencies Improving people's lives Our expertise by sector includes buildings, communications, defence, education, environment, health, industry, mining, oil and gas, power, transport, urban development, water, wastewater and more. Our skills encompass planning, studies and design, project finance, technical advisory services, project and programme management, management consultancy and beyond. For every project, we create the blend of talent needed to create the right result - appropriate; cost, carbon and resource-efficient; safe, easy and swift to deliver and operate; reliable and resilient; delivering great outcomes. Engineering. Management. Consultancy. mottmac.com SOURCE Essentia "Children can be seized by the excitement, power and beauty of science and the admirable people who do it. And they can develop a lifelong reverence for evidence that will serve them well, whether or not they become professional scientists," said Rush Holt, AAAS CEO and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, in lauding the award program. Through a variety of subjects, the winning books demonstrate examples of outstanding science writing and illustration. AAAS and Subaru of America, Inc. co-sponsor the prizes to recognize recently published works that are drawn from and inspired by sound science. The award program, now in its 12th year, seeks to encourage the writing and publishing of high-quality science books that engage readers across all age groups and leave readers with a richer understanding of all corners of science. Sara Levine, author of Tooth by Tooth: Comparing Fangs, Tusks, and Chompers, a children's picture book that won the author and illustration prizes, captured the mission of the award, writing in a blog post: "In the lab, once students learn to differentiate types of teeth, they can identify them on individual skulls and use this to determine the animals' feeding patterns. And, then, for fun, they can guess what kind of animals the skulls come from." The five prizes are awarded for their significant and lasting contribution to children's, young adult and adult science non-fiction literature. Prizes are awarded in the five categories: Children's Science Picture Book (author and illustrator), Middle Grades Science Book (author), Young Adult Science Book (author), and Hands-On Science Book (author). The AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books will be presented during an event on 18 February at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston that begins on 16 February. "For students of all levels, it remains vitally important to encourage both discovery and innovation in science amongst the leaders of tomorrow," said Thomas J. Doll, president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America Inc. "Through the Subaru Loves Learning platform and our partnership with AAAS, Subaru continues its support for science education by helping recognize some of the most influential and informative works of the year." The Winners: Children's Science Picture Book: Tooth by Tooth: Comparing Fangs, Tusks, and Chompers, Sara Levine. (Illus. by T.S. Spookytooth.) Millbrook Press, 2016. Award to author and illustrator. Amazing and bold illustrations like a floret of broccoli wedged between two molars and make this book a visual and verbal standout. The book is written in engaging terms that spark the imagination. Together, the appealing drawings and text convey lots of accurate information. Young readers learn how to differentiate teeth among mammalian carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. They are shown that humans share similar types of teeth. They are walked through the purpose of specialized teeth like tusks and can visualize the scale of an elephant's tusk that is accented by a compact, red backpack. In the explanation of the absence of teeth in some mammals, readers are treated to an illustration of ants perched on an anteater's tongue. Sketches of skulls successfully balance the study of natural history. The book's accessibility is vital to readers just gaining scientific literacy. The book includes a useful glossary and suggestions for further reading. Because creatures are biologically accurate, yet whimsically presented, readers will enjoy learning about critters' teeth. Middle Grades Science Book: Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World's Brightest Bird, by Pamela S. Turner. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. In Crow Smarts, Pamela S. Turner makes the case for the New Caledonian being the world's brightest bird. Turner and nature photographer Andy Comins join Dr. Gavin R. Hunt and his research team from the University of Auckland in field expeditions to observe crows using and producing wood-probing tools in the New Caledonian forest. The local species of crow uses sticks and makes hooked tools from twigs or the leaves of the Pandanus plant to dig out grubs from logs. Adult crows teach their young to use and produce such tools. Turner briefly covers the use of multiple tools by other animals humans, chimpanzees, orangutans, and capuchin monkeys and notes that only the New Caledonian crows and humans are known to make hooked tools. The book does a marvelous job connecting nature and nurture behaviors in animals. And, like all the other books in the Scientists in the Field series, it provides an intimate and realistic portrait of the researchers who have devoted their professional lives to studying nature. Young Adult Science Book: Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren. Alfred A. Knopf, 2016 Reading Hope Jahren's Lab Girl is almost like reading three books for the price of one. In addition to being a memoir by a three-time, Fulbright-winning geobiologist, it is also a fascinating tutorial on botany, paleontology and soil studies. Of even greater value to school- and college-age readers, as well as parents and teachers, is how well the author describes the life of a real scientist as one who "doesn't perform prescribed experiments," but "develops her own and thus generates wholly new knowledge." The author's obvious love of science and the book's exquisite writing show how thoroughly she has channeled and extended her parents' interests. Lab Girls begins with Jahren accompanying her father to his teaching lab, with table surfaces so solid they couldn't be damaged with a hammer and includes her undergraduate and graduate education, subsequent teaching positions and research postings as far afield as an isolated Arctic Ocean island. Jahren also addresses the compound challenges she faced as a woman scientist in a male-dominated profession, coupled with her eventual diagnosis as a manic-depressive. This book is one of the very few scientist memoirs that are also a great read. Hands-on Science Book: Ricky's Atlas: Mapping a Land on Fire, by Judith L. Li. Oregon State University Press, 2016. Ricky Zamora and his mother travel from their home in Blue River, on the western side of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, to his Uncle John's ranch on the eastern side of the Cascades. Ricky uses his trip as an opportunity to draw maps of what he sees as the terrain changes from the western side of the range to the eastern side. As they approach the ranch, they witness a severe thunderstorm and lightning ignites a wildfire. Ricky leverages the experience to learn more about wildfires and document his knowledge on a variety of maps. The author uses a narrative, hand-drawn maps, illustrations and diagrams to provide rich content. In an easy-to-read style, the author contrasts the climate and vegetation on the windward and leeward sides of the Cascade Mountains, details how firefighters contain a wildfires and how wildfires can help the growth of vegetation and specific types of trees. The maps show changes in vegetation, elevation, amount of rainfall and include scales to show distance. The section of prehistoric fossils helps the reader understand that at one time, a prehistoric sea and sea creatures covered the region. This helps students understand the climatic differences of moist air traveling over a mountain range and creating lush vegetation on one side and a drier climate on the leeward side. About AAAS The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science (www.sciencemag.org) as well as Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling, a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances, Science Immunology, and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes nearly 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert! (www.eurekalert.org), the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS. See www.aaas.org. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants, and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information, visit media.subaru.com. About Science Books & Film (SB&F) Since 1965, Science Books & Film (SB&F) has been the authoritative guide to science resources, bringing expert information to bear on choices of materials for a library, classroom or institution. Published by AAAS, SB&F is the only critical review journal devoted exclusively to print and nonprint materials in all of the sciences and for all age groups. Every year, SB&F (www.sbfonline.com) evaluates nearly 1,000 books, videos, DVDs and software packages for general audiences, professionals, teachers students from kindergarten through college. Diane Anton Subaru of America, Inc. 856-488-5093 [email protected] Anne Q. Hoy AAAS 202-326-6696 [email protected] SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc. Related Links http://www.subaru.com IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today announced pricing for the 2017 MX-5 Miata soft top, which will arrive at dealers nationwide this month. Following its resoundingly successful launch as a 2016 model, becoming the only vehicle to ever win World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year awards in the same year, MX-5 retains its $24,915 base MSRP1, providing the best thrills-per-dollar ratio of any car on the market today. 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata Soft Top Arrives in Showrooms this Month, Retaining Unbeatable Performance Value For 2017, the only packaging changes include adding Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA) as standard equipment for MX-5 Club models. Previously, these features were exclusive to MX-5 Grand Touring. There are three MX-5 trim levels from which to choose, including the entry-level MX-5 Sport, leather-lined MX-5 Grand Touring or harder-edge MX-5 Club. Rather than a typical "good-better-best" trim strategy, MNAO has sought to provide three distinct flavors of MX-5 to cater to different customers. Perhaps the purest distillation of the original formula of MX-5 that graced U.S. shores in 1989 as a 1990 model, MX-5 Sport comes with black cloth seats, bright-finish 16-inch wheels, one USB port in addition to standard Bluetooth phone pairing and audio streaming, six-speaker audio system, leather-wrapped shifter and handbrake, cruise control and power mirrors and windows and LED headlights and tail lights, in addition to many other features. MX-5 Club builds upon those features with red stitching on the seats, steering wheel and shifter, a limited-slip differential and shock tower brace in models equipped with the six-speed SKYACTIV-MT manual transmission, a front aerodynamic body extension and spoiler and a Bilstein suspension. Optionally available is the Brembo/BBS Package, which further upgrades MX-5 Club models with side still extensions; lightweight, forged BBS wheels; and front Brembo brakes that have greater heat tolerances in addition to red-painted brake calipers on all four corners. Shared with MX-5 Grand Touring models, MX-5 Club also comes with a nine-speaker BOSE Premium audio system, featuring headrest-mounted speakers and MAZDA CONNECTTM infotainment, which makes phone, SiriusXM satellite radio, audio and infotainment controls accessible through a seven-inch commander control knob and touchscreen interface. Both MX-5 Club and Grand Touring also feature LED running lamps. MX-5 Grand Touring substitutes cloth seating surfaces for leather in addition to picking up three-stage heated seats, automatic climate control, automatic headlights, High Beam Control with Adaptive Front-lighting System, auto-dimming rearview mirror, navigation, rain-sensing windshield wipers, additional sound absorption material in its cloth headliner and Advanced Keyless Entry. Advanced Keyless Entry is standard on all automatic-transmission-equipped models and a $130 option on Sport and Club models equipped with a manual transmission. The fourth-generation MX-5 returns for its second model year approximately 150 lbs. lighter than its predecessor through greater use of ultra-high-tensile steel as well as aluminum construction. A testament to Mazda's "Gram Strategy" and the innovation of SKYACTIV Technology, it is approximately 25-percent more efficient than its predecessor in EPA testing, yet it's also quicker and more refined with technologies customers expect in today's cars. All North American MX-5 models come equipped with a quick-revving, 2.0-liter SKYACTIV-G engine that produces 155 horsepower at 6,000 rpm. It sends power to the rear wheels via a standard six-speed SKYACTIV-MT six-speed manualcurrently accounting for 60 percent of MX-5 salesor an available six-speed automatic that comes standard with paddle shifters. The approximately 2,300-lbs. roadster embodies Mazda's "Jinba Ittai" philosophytranslated as horse and rider as one. And, it sets the pace for all of Mazda's current- and next-generation cars and crossovers. For 2017, it is joined by the MX-5 RFretractable fastbackwhich went on sale in November, and imbues MX-5 with coupe-like style and sophistication. MSRP2 for all models is as follows: Trim Level/Options MX-5 Soft Top MX-5 RF MX-5 Sport 6MT $24,915 MX-5 Sport 6AT $26,395 MX-5 Club 6MT $28,800 $31,555 MX-5 Club 6AT $29,530 $32,285 Brembo/BBS Package (6MT only) $3,400 $3,400 MX-5 Grand Touring 6MT $30,065 $32,620 MX-5 Grand Touring 6AT $31,270 $33,825 MX-5 RF Launch Edition 6MT $33,850 MX-5 RF Launch Edition 6AT $34,925 Advanced Keyless Entry (Standard on 6AT, Grand Touring and Launch Edition models) $130 $130 Premium paint colors (MX-5 soft top and MX-5 RF): Soul Red Metallic $300 Crystal White Pearl Mica (GT models only) $200 Premium paint color (MX-5 RF only): Machine Gray Metallic $300 Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through more than 600 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom. 1 MSRP does not include $875 for destination and handling ($920 in Alaska) or any additional taxes or fees. Dealers set actual sale prices. 2 MSRP does not include $875 for destination and handling ($920 in Alaska) or any additional taxes or fees. Dealers set actual sale prices.Contact: SOURCE Mazda North American Operations Related Links http://www.mazdausa.com HORSHAM, Penn., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AAMCO Transmissions, Inc. ("AAMCO"), franchisor of the world's largest branded chain of transmission specialists and an industry leader in total car care services, announced today it has expanded in Georgia with the opening of its first location in Hiram. The new auto repair shop is located at 5575 Wendy Bagwell Parkway and features transmission, auto repair and fleet services. AAMCO of Hiram marks the brand's 27th location in Georgia, and is owned and operated by local resident and first-time franchisee Mohamed Moutassim. "I am thrilled to bring AAMCO to the Hiram community," said Moutassim. "With the tools and guidance provided by AAMCO, I look forward to providing excellent customer service and positive experiences for local residents for many years to come." Prior to purchasing his first franchise, Moutassim served as a senior sales associate at AutoNation for more than 12 years. In addition to his automotive industry experience, the entrepreneur held various sales positions in the electronics and cosmetics industries, which instilled him with a strong passion for customer service. For more than 50 years, AAMCO's network of locally owned and independently operated automotive service centers has employed the latest technology. Expert technicians diagnose a repair, fix it right the first time and back it with a nationwide warranty. Known as the world's leading transmission expert, the company has evolved into a total car care brand that provides a variety of services including brake repair, tune-ups, shocks and struts, routine maintenance and more. AAMCO was named to Entrepreneur's 2017 Franchise 500, ranking at the top of the transmission repair category for the third consecutive year. Based on network size, growth rate and financial strength, the brand also earned a spot on Entrepreneur's "Best of the Best" list. Additionally, AAMCO has been consecutively ranked on Franchise Times' Top 200+ for the last two years. AAMCO in Hiram serves customers Monday Friday from 7 a.m. 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. 6 p.m. For more information, please visit www.aamcohiramga.com or call (770) 627-5582. About AAMCO AAMCO is the world's largest branded chain of transmission specialists and a leader in total car care services. AAMCO has nearly 650 franchised automotive centers throughout the United States and Canada. Established in 1962, AAMCO-branded centers are proud to have served more than 45 million drivers. For more information, visit: aamcouniversity.com, aamco.com or aamcoblog.com. Contact: Chelsea Bear Fish Consulting 954-893-9150 [email protected] SOURCE AAMCO Transmissions, Inc. Related Links http://www.aamco.com SEATTLE, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines will begin daily, nonstop-service from Orange County's John Wayne Airport to Albuquerque starting Aug. 18. "We are pleased to bring low fares and another new nonstop destination to our guests in Southern California," said John Kirby, Alaska's vice president of capacity planning. "With this addition, Alaska will offer 21 peak, daily departures to nine destinations from John Wayne Airport, including Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico." Alaska has been serving Orange County's John Wayne Airport for 30 years. "We are excited to work with Alaska Airlines, a great partner that helps connect Albuquerque to great destinations for business and leisure travel," said Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry. "With today's announcement, Alaska will now serve three nonstop destinations from the Sunport and we look forward to their continued presence and growth in our great city." Summary of new service: Start date City pair Departs Arrives Frequency Aircraft Aug. 18 Orange County- Albuquerque 2:15 p.m. 5:15 p.m. Daily E175 Aug. 18 Albuquerque-Orange County 12:25 p.m. 1:32 p.m. Daily E175 Flight times based on local time zones. Alaska started service to Albuquerque from Seattle in 2014. The airline recently announced that it would begin service between Portland, Oregon, and Albuquerque, also starting Aug. 18. "I am pleased that Alaska Airlines is providing new direct service between Orange County and Albuquerque, New Mexico," said Michelle Steel, Chairwoman, Orange County Board of Supervisors. "This additional service will allow travelers to enjoy the unique culture, scenery and tourism that both destinations have to offer." Flights will be operated by Horizon Air with 76-seat E175 jets, which feature 12 seats in first class, 12 seats in premium class and 52 seats in the main cabin. The E175 boasts cabin dimensions on par with a narrow-body jet. Tickets for the new routes will go on sale today. To purchase tickets on Alaska Airlines, visit www.alaskaair.com to find great savings, or call 1-800-ALASKAAIR (800-252-7522 for Hearing & Speech Impaired (TTY): Dial 711 for Relay Services). Editor's note: High definition b-roll and photos of Alaska Airlines aircraft can be downloaded from the airline's newsroom at https://newsroom.alaskaair.com/multimedia. Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional partners, flies 40 million customers a year to 118 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba. With Alaska and Alaska Global Partners, customers can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900 destinations worldwide. Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service and unmatched reliability at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). SOURCE Alaska Airlines Related Links http://www.alaskaair.com TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anchor Glass Container Corporation announced today that its President and CEO, Jim Fredlake, will take a leave of absence for personal reasons, starting immediately. During his leave, Jim will remain on its board of directors. During Jim's absence, Anchor Glass board member and non-executive Chairman of BA Glass, Carlos Moreira da Silva, will serve as the interim CEO. Carlos has decades of experience in the glass industry, and he will spend a significant amount of time at corporate headquarters in Tampa, and the company's plants during the interim period. "Carlos brings decades of glass manufacturing experience to Anchor Glass and will help guide our employees and leadership team to continue executing on our business strategy and our commitment to quality," said Jim. "I am committed to Anchor Glass, our customers, employees and senior leadership team, and I hope to be able to return to the company in a full-time capacity later this year." "Jim has built an exceptional executive team at Anchor Glass with years of experience in glass packaging manufacturing, sales and operations," said Thomas Kichler, chairman of the board. "We have full confidence in the team's ability to continue implementing the company's strategy under Carlos's guidance." About Anchor Glass Container Corporation Anchor Glass Container Corporation is a leading North American manufacturer of premium glass packaging products. Anchor Glass has long-standing relationships with blue-chip companies across the beer, liquor, food, beverage, ready-to-drink and consumer end-markets. The Company employs approximately 2,000 people, and operates six manufacturing facilities in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, and Oklahoma, an engineering and spare parts facility in Illinois, and a mold manufacturing facility in Ohio. For more information, please visit www.anchorglass.com. SOURCE Anchor Glass Container Corporation Related Links http://www.anchorglass.com DES MOINES | There is a bipartisan move afoot in the Legislature to go lights-out on daylight saving time in Iowa. Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, has filed legislation -- Senate File 168 -- seeking to establish Central Standard Time as Iowas official 24-hour daily measurement. House Republicans expect their bill to surface Wednesday as well to put the kibosh on making the time switch later this year to move clocks ahead by one hour on March 12 and move them back one hour on Nov. 5. I think its a good idea, but Im open, said Rep. Jarad Klein, R-Keota, one of several House Republicans who favor doing away with the switch to daylight saving time. If somebody comes back with a solid reason not to, he said, he would consider the argument but nobodys come up with it yet. Klein said he got interested in the bill based on a request from a constituent. I said, 'Ill pick the ball up and Ill run with it for you,' and we did, Klein said Tuesday. This has gotten a lot more people interested than I ever thought would. Nobodys contacted me to say they dont like this. Since the bills are just surfacing, no lobbyists have had time to declare support or opposition, but Danielson said he expects there likely will be critics who enjoy the extra evening time during summer months for outdoor activities and other benefits for retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours. There are both pluses and minuses of daylight saving time, but I think the minuses may outweigh the pluses right now, he said. There will be people who are opposed to it, said Danielson, but I dont know, there may be a sliver of daylight in this idea. I think there are some Iowans who want to be heard about this. Whether or not we can get it changed is another matter. Danielson said there are health aspects associated with switching times twice each year, while Klein said he has heard from parents who dont like the effect that the time changes has on setting schedules for their kids. I can remember in high school wrestling, as soon as daylight saving time hit you were walking home in the dark, said Danielson. It gets darker much quicker in the wintertime. We know exposure to sunlight and daylight affects peoples mood. As a farmer, Klein said he doesnt start and end his day with the clock. Daylight saving time gained wider acceptance as a way to deal with past problems like the energy crisis, but Klein said advances in lighting technology have made the advantages of saving daylight less of a factor. If the switch to year-round Central Standard Time becomes law, Iowa would join Arizona, Hawaii and parts of Indiana in shunning the switch to daylight saving time. I want to have the conversation, Klein said. If something happens with it, great; if nothing happens with it, weve had the conversation and we can continue on that going forward. FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a leading business process services company, announced today the appointment of Ann Vezina to the Company's Board of Directors. The appointment adds a new Independent Director to the SYNNEX Board, bringing the total number of Independent Directors to eight and the total Board membership to eleven. In addition to joining the SYNNEX Board, Ms. Vezina has been appointed to the Company's Audit Committee. Ms. Vezina most recently was the Corporate Vice President, Human Resources, of Xerox Business Services, a role she was promoted to in 2013. Prior to that she was the Corporate Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Xerox Business Services, where she led the operation and growth of Enterprise BPO. Ms. Vezina came to Xerox when it acquired Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. where Ms. Vezina had been the Executive Vice President and Group President, Commercial Solutions and Services since 2006. Ms. Vezina had been with Electronic Data Systems from 1985 to 2003, commencing as a system engineer and then taking on various roles with increasing responsibility. Ms. Vezina is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in IT services and Business Process Outsourcing and experience in company integration and global expansion. "Ann Vezina specializes in business process outsourcing and her expertise will be invaluable to our global business services, particularly our Concentrix business, in the coming years. We look forward to her contributions as a member of the SYNNEX Board of Directors," said Duane Zitzner, Chairman of the SYNNEX Corporation Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Kevin Murai, President and Chief Executive Officer of SYNNEX Corporation, added, "Ann's expertise in growing a BPO business and her particular expertise in human resources provides an important perspective as we build our business to succeed in a complex global environment." Ms. Vezina received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Central Michigan University. About SYNNEX Corporation SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a Fortune 500 corporation, is a leading business process services company, providing a comprehensive range of distribution, logistics and integration services for the technology industry and providing outsourced services focused on customer engagement strategy to a broad range of enterprises. SYNNEX distributes a broad range of information technology systems and products, and also provides systems design and integration solutions. Concentrix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation, offers a portfolio of strategic solutions and end-to-end business services around customer engagement strategy, process optimization, technology innovation, front and back-office automation and business transformation to clients in ten identified industry verticals. Founded in 1980, SYNNEX Corporation operates in numerous countries throughout North and South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Additional information about SYNNEX may be found online at www.synnex.com . Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this release that are forward-looking, such as anticipated contributions to the Company and the Board of Directors, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance that may be suggested in this release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release. Copyright 2017 SYNNEX Corporation. All rights reserved. SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo, CONCENTRIX, and all other SYNNEX company, product and services names and slogans are trademarks or registered trademarks of SYNNEX Corporation. SYNNEX, the SYNNEX Logo and CONCENTRIX Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. Other names and marks are the property of their respective owners. SNX-F SOURCE SYNNEX Corporation Related Links http://www.synnex.com BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Valeant Dermatology, a division of Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC, today announced its annual ASPIRE HIGHER Scholarship Program will award nine individual scholarships of up to $10,000 each to students who will be attending undergraduate or graduate education programs during the 2017-2018 school year. The aim of the scholarship program is to recognize students who have been diagnosed and treated for a dermatologic condition and are pursuing their goal of a higher education degree. Applicants need not have used a Valeant dermatologic prescription medication to be eligible, nor will the use of a Valeant product increase an applicant's chance of winning the scholarship. Three scholarships will be awarded in three different categories: Undergraduate Scholar Awards for students pursuing an undergraduate degree, Graduate Scholar Awards for students pursuing a graduate degree and Today's Woman Scholar Awards for students who are mothers pursuing either a graduate or undergraduate degree. Last year's scholarship winners were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants, the highest number of applications received since the program launched in 2013. "Valeant Dermatology is proud to be able to help support outstanding individuals achieve their educational dreams through our scholarship program," said Bill Humphries, Executive Vice President, Dermatology. "We applaud their aspirations to attain a higher degree and recognize that beyond the challenging demands of their schooling, they have also had to overcome the difficulties of living with a skin condition." Applicants are required to submit a 500-word essay describing the impact their dermatologic condition has had on their life and the role their healthcare practitioner has played in helping treat their condition. Other application requirements include two letters of recommendation and information on their current school and community activities. Applications will be accepted from February 1, 2017 through April 30, 2017 and the winners will be named on July 10, 2017. To apply for a scholarship go to www.ValeantAspireHigher.com. Students eligible for the scholarship are those who have been diagnosed with a dermatologic condition at some point in their life, were under the care of a dermatologist, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner and have used a prescription medication from any manufacturer as treatment. All applicants must have applied to, have been accepted to or are currently attending an accredited college, university or advanced vocational or technical school. Healthcare professionals (e.g. dermatologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners), those in all other specialties and their staffs, and their family members (i.e. parents, children, siblings, and spouses, and those with whom they live) are NOT eligible for Valeant Dermatology Scholarships. In addition, any person eligible for reimbursement of prescriptions, in whole or in part, by any federal, state or other governmental programs, including, but not limited to, Medicare (including Medicare Advantage and Part A, B and D Plans), Medicaid, TRICARE, Veterans Administration or Department of Defense health coverage, CHAMPUS, or any other federal or state health care programs, is not eligible. Please visit our website at www.ValeantAspireHigher.com to learn more about the Valeant Scholarship Program. About Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America, LLC Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC, is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of pharmaceutical products primarily in the areas of prescription dermatology, eye health, gastrointestinal, consumer healthcare and other pharmaceutical products. More information about Valeant can be found at www.valeant.com. SOURCE Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC Related Links http://www.valeant.com SINGAPORE and PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- InterOil Corporation (NYSE:IOC;POMSoX: IOC) today provided an update on the Antelope-7 side track appraisal well. On December 22, 2016, InterOil announced that the initial Antelope-7 well had reached 2,127 meters (6,978 feet) measured depth below rotary table ("MDRT"). After encountering drilling difficulties in the Orubadi Formation, Total E&P PNG Limited ("Total"), the operator of Petroleum Retention License 15 ("PRL15") in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea commenced the Antelope-7 side track appraisal well. On January 31, 2017, according to information provided by Total, the Antelope-7 side track appraisal well reached 1,980 meters (6,496 feet) MDRT and is drilling ahead in the Orubadi Formation. The well is designed to provide structural control and reservoir definition on the field's western flank. It has a proposed total depth of around 2,300 meters (7,545 feet) MDRT and is located about 1.45 km west-south-west of Antelope-5. InterOil holds a 36.5375% interest in the well. Total E&P PNG Limited has a 40.1275% interest, Oil Search has 22.8350%, and the remaining 0.5000% is held by minority parties. About InterOil InterOil Corporation is an independent oil and gas business with a sole focus on Papua New Guinea. InterOil's assets include one of Asia's largest undeveloped gas fields, Elk-Antelope, in the Gulf Province, and exploration licenses covering about 16,000sqkm. Its main offices are in Singapore and Port Moresby. InterOil is listed on the New York and Port Moresby stock exchanges. Investor Contacts Singapore United States David Wu Senior Vice President Investor Relations Cynthia Black Investor Relations North America T: +65 6507 0222 E: [email protected] T: +1 212 653 9778 E: [email protected] Media Contacts James Golden / Aaron Palash Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher T: +1 212 355 4449 E: [email protected] Forward Looking Statements This media release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined in United States federal and Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that InterOil expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our current beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to the company. No assurances can be given however, that these events will occur. Actual results could differ, and the difference may be material and adverse to the company and its shareholders. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company, which may cause our actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include the risk factors discussed in the company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and on SEDAR, including but not limited to those in the company's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2015 on Form 40-F and its Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015. In particular, there is no established market for natural gas or gas condensate in Papua New Guinea and no guarantee that gas or gas condensate will ultimately be able to be extracted and sold commercially. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the fact that this press release remains available does not constitute a representation by InterOil that InterOil believes these forward-looking statements continue to be true as of any subsequent date. Actual results may vary materially from the expected results expressed in forward looking statements. InterOil disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities laws. InterOil's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in the company's Form 40-F, available from the company at www.interoil.com or from the SEC at www.sec.gov and its Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . SOURCE InterOil Corporation Related Links http://www.interoil.com SALISBURY, Conn., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascendant Compliance Management, a leading compliance consulting firm, today announces its partnership with Compliance Solutions Strategies ("CSS" or the "Company"), a newly founded global compliance risk management company launched by CIP Capital, LLC. The CSS platform was created through CIP Capital's investments in three leading businesses in the governance, risk management and compliance ("GRC") market: Ascendant, Advise Technologies, and The MoneyMate Group. This strategic combination of three leading organizations will result in a global platform that leverages software across a broad range of solutions to enable clients in the financial services industry to meet mandatory regulatory and compliance requirements. "We're very enthusiastic about our partnership with a team that has recognized Ascendant's industry-leading talent and entrepreneurial spirit," said Jon Higgins, Ascendant president and CEO. "One of the compelling and symbiotic aspects for us is CSS' strategic and business philosophy, and we look forward to expanding services and solutions for our clients and increasing our international footprint." The CSS platform provides a comprehensive technology-enabled offering encompassing regulatory reporting, data management, outsourced compliance management services, compliance workflow tools, shareholding disclosure, trade monitoring, trading analytics and cybersecurity solutions. The Company focuses on serving the global financial services industry and collaborates with a large client base across asset managers, alternative investment funds, investment advisors, broker-dealers, banks and insurance companies. The platform offers expertise in an extensive range of regulatory requirements including AIFMD, CPO-PQR, Form ADV, Form PF, MiFID II, N-MFP, N-PORT, Rule 206(4)-7, Rule 38a-1, Solvency II and PRIIPs, among many others. Key products across the platform's current offering include Consensus, Signal, Vault, Ascendant, ACM, Trade Blotter Manager, Accudelta, Silverfinch and Longboat Analytics. The Company maintains a global footprint across both the United States and Europe with offices in locations including New York City, Salisbury (CT), Dublin, London, Paris and Amsterdam. The senior executive teams of all three companies will continue to run their respective businesses as part of the CSS platform. "The financial services industry faces significant operational challenges and headwinds from the complex and ever-changing regulatory environment," said Jim Casella, who will serve as Chairman and CEO of the CSS platform and be based in New York City. "Now more than ever, firms need to leverage technology and software to ensure compliance with a broad range of non-discretionary regulatory requirements in a transparent and efficient manner. This unique combination of Advise, Ascendant and MoneyMate will provide the industry with a strategic partner for regulatory compliance." CSS will streamline these challenges faced by the financial industry by integrating services and technology to ensure the most effective and efficient solutions for clients. Ascendant leverages the experienced and diverse backgrounds of its team members to offer innovative compliance consulting to investment advisers, investment companies; Advise focuses on regulatory intelligence software tools that work simply and intuitively; broker-dealers and more; and MoneyMate specializes in fund data technology, working with stakeholders across the investment lifecycle to achieve better access to data. By synergizing their offerings and creating a diversified platform of solutions, CSS can uniquely serve a global customer base and ensure the client's full service from the outset of the trading cycle until post-compliance. "Advise, Ascendant and MoneyMate have each developed a range of innovative solutions in response to the needs of their clients," said Bobby Kelly, Managing Director of CIP Capital. "We look forward to serving as their partner as part of the combined platform and providing additional resources and further investment in order to better serve our global client base." About Ascendant Ascendant Compliance Management is headquartered in Salisbury, Conn., with offices in New York City, San Francisco and Chicago. Ascendant offers integrated compliance and business solutions for investment advisers, broker-dealers, and hedge and private equity funds, including its Ascendant Compliance Manager software tool, designed to streamline compliance processes. For more information on Ascendant's services, or to sign up for email alerts, please visit www.ascendantcompliance.com or call 860-435-2255. CONTACT Mike Chiappetta, 860-435-2255, [email protected] SOURCE Ascendant Compliance Management Related Links http://www.ascendantcompliance.com STOCKHOLM, Feb 01, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "I am very pleased that Southeastern Dock & Door is joining the ASSA ABLOY Group. I welcome this addition that further reinforces the ASSA ABLOY Group's leadership in entrance automation, where our sales have grown from SEK 3 billion in 2008 to SEK 20 billion in 2016", says Johan Molin, President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY. "This is another important step to further increase our penetration both in equipment and service of Entrance Automation products in the North American commercial and industrial segments. We are happy to welcome the new colleagues to our strong team", says Juan Vargues, Executive Vice President of ASSA ABLOY and Head of Division Entrance Systems. Southeastern Dock & Door was established in 1996 and has some 70 employees. The company is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Sales for 2017 are expected to reach USD 19 million (approx. SEK 170 million) with a good EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from start. For more information, please contact: Johan Molin, President and CEO, Tel. no: +46 8 506 485 42 Carolina Dybeck Happe, CFO and Executive Vice President, Tel. no: +46 8 506 485 72 About ASSA ABLOY ASSA ABLOY is the global leader in door opening solutions, dedicated to satisfying end user needs for security, safety and convenience. Since its formation in 1994, ASSA ABLOY has grown from a regional company into an international group with about 46,000 employees, operations in more than 70 countries and sales of SEK 68 billion. In the fast-growing electromechanical security segment, the Group has a leading position in areas such as access control, identification technology, entrance automation and hotel security. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/assa-abloy/r/assa-abloy-acquires-southeastern-dock---door-in-the-u-s-,c2178069 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/7333/2178069/622067.pdf Press release (PDF) SOURCE ASSA ABLOY ADDISON, Texas, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Think Finance, Inc., the leading provider of software technology, analytics, and marketing services to lenders, today announced the appointment of Barney Briggs as the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In this role, Briggs will be a critical member of the senior executive team that guides Think Finance's strategic direction and growth efforts, as well as lead all of the company's financial planning and operations and investor relations. "Barney Briggs is a tremendously talented senior business leader whose deep experience across the financial sector will be invaluable to Think Finance as we continue serving our clients and growing as a fintech innovator," said Martin Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Think Finance. "We are very pleased and fortunate to be welcoming Barney into the Think Finance family." Briggs comes to Think Finance with more than 15 years of experience in banking, budget management, investor relations, and global operational risk management. Most recently, he served as CFO for the International Global Consumer Technology Group at Citigroup. He has also held a number of other roles at Citigroup, including as Senior Vice President of the American Airlines AAdvantage co-branded cards business, CFO of Citi's Travel & Business Strategic Unit, and Vice President of Citi's Private Label Oil Planning & Control unit. Briggs has also worked as CFO for Barclays Bank Delaware, as well as for venture backed start-up companies. "I am honored and excited to be joining Think Finance, the premier innovator in the online lending technology field today," said Briggs. "Fintech is a rapidly evolving space, and Think Finance is at the forefront of developing best-in-class tools and technologies like our Cortex platform that enable lenders to smartly offer expanded credit opportunities and empower consumers to access them. I'm eager to help the company grow even more and continue to be the pacesetter for the industry." Barney holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Texas State University. In his free time, Barney enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and is a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. About Think Finance Think Finance is the leading provider of software technology, analytics, and marketing services to financial clients in the consumer lending industry. Think Finance's customized services allow clients to create, develop, launch and manage loan portfolios while effectively serving their customers. Founded in 2001, the company is based in Addison, Texas. For more information, visit www.thinkfinance.com. SOURCE Think Finance Related Links http://www.thinkfinance.com CLEARWATER, Fla., Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to expanding access to health care, BayCare Health System has launched HealthNav, a free mobile app that can help guide people with non-urgent conditions to convenient, quality medical services. "Whether it's a cold or a minor injury, most people have that moment where they wonder what to do next," said Eli Freilich, MD, director of clinical performance and responsible for medical oversight for care management, BayCare. "HealthNav can provide guidance, information and links to care options based on someone's non-urgent symptoms, right from a smart phone or tablet. The app can be a resource that fits in with today's busy lifestyles and help people return to their daily activities as quickly as possible." By using HealthNav, people can more easily: Find the closest BayCare emergency room Make an appointment for an office visit See a doctor through a virtual visit Reserve a visit at a nearby BayCare Urgent Care Center Receive directions and contact information for their desired location "HealthNav combines several processes symptom checking, mapping a location and scheduling so that someone can get more information on a possible condition and make a decision about the next step. This multiple functionality can help streamline the process of getting the right care at the right time at the right place," said Dr. Freilich. HealthNav connects patients to BayCare services across Tampa Bay and Polk County. This includes 14 leading hospitals, emergency centers, urgent care centers and physicians. The search can be filtered to look for specific criteria such as location. Designed to help evaluate someone's condition, HealthNav's symptom checker feature uses an outline of the human body. By clicking on the appropriate body area on the outline, a list that describes conditions appears and the most appropriate choice can be selected. If an urgent care visit is indicated, HealthNav can link a person to an online scheduling feature to book a visit at one of BayCare's Urgent Care Centers. For patients who would like to see a physician virtually, HealthNav can link them to BayCare Anywhere, BayCare's 24/7 non-emergency telemedicine service offering virtual doctor visits through a smart phone, tablet or computer. To find a physician, contact information to BayCare's physician referral service is available. Wi-Fi enabled HealthNav is free and available for Android and Apple smart phones and tablets and can be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store. "Anyone can use the app, regardless of whether or not they are a BayCare patient or if they don't currently have a primary care doctor," noted Dr. Freilich. HealthNav complies with HIPAA guidelines for patient safety and confidentiality. Users can download the app before they have an illness or injury so it's ready when needed. HealthNav is just one of a series of telemedicine solutions that BayCare is using to enhance care and improve access. The solutions include: eCare, an electronic patient monitoring system that uses remote computer monitoring technology to enhance the care of critically ill patients in the hospital BayCare Anywhere, a 24/7 non-emergency telemedicine service offering virtual doctor visits through a secure, interactive video and audio communications on a smart phone, tablet or computer Telemonitoring of patients in nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities Telemonitoring of certain BayCare HomeCare patients For more information on BayCare's HealthNav, visit www.BayCare.org/HealthNav. BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 14 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and west central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit www.BayCare.org. SOURCE BayCare Health System Related Links http://www.baycare.org LONDON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Summary In 2016, Belgium will record an estimated telecom service revenue of $6.8bn (6.3bn) in 2016. The telecom services revenue will grow at a CAGR of 1.7% in in 2016-2021, driven by the strong performance of the broadband Internet access and mobile data segments. Fixed broadband will be the largest contributor to overall service revenue in 2016, accounting for 28.9% of the total revenue, followed by mobile data (26.8%). Mobile data will record a CAGR of 7.3% in over 2016-2021, driven by rising LTE adoption and M2M revenue, while fixed broadband will record a CAGR of 2.6% in during the same period. LTE/LTE-A expansion, vectoring, DOCSIS3.1, fiber, FMC and M2M/IoT will present opportunities for vendors and investors. Key Findings - The overall telecom services revenue in Belgium is estimated to generate $6.8bn (6.3bn) in 2016 (an increase of 1.0% in over 2015) and is estimated to reach $7.9bn (6.9bn) in 2021. - The telecommunications market in Belgium will see service revenue growth boosted by mobile data and fixed broadband segments. - Mobile revenue will account for 51.7% of the total telecom market in 2016. Mobile data will be an important driver of this trend, as it will expand at 8.4% CAGR from 2016 to 2021, driven by growth in the adoption of LTE and M2M revenue. - We expect the contribution of Internet access to fixed services revenue will increase from 63.4% in 2016 to 68.2% in 2021. - The telecom market in Belgium will be controlled by two operators - Proximus and Telenet. Operators are focusing on quad-play bundled packages, data-intensive bundles and FMC offerings to strengthen their position in the telecom market. Synopsis "Belgium: Focus on Improving Internet Connectivity Through Fixed and Mobile Broadband to Drive Revenue Growth" provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Belgium today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2021. It delivers deep quantitative and qualitative insight into Belgium's telecom market, analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing risk factors, based on proprietary data from Pyramid Research's databases. The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following: - Regional context: Telecom market size and trends in Belgium compared with other countries in the Western European region. - Economic, demographic and political context in Belgium. - The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, number portability and more. - A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, fixed Internet, mobile voice and mobile data. - Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed and mobile sectors and between voice, data and video from 2014 to 2021. - The competitive landscape: an examination of key trends in competition and in the performance, revenue market shares and expected moves of service providers over the next 18-24 months. - In-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice and mobile data services: a quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by network technology and by operator, as well as of average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period. - Main opportunities: this section details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in Belgium's telecommunications market. Reasons To Buy - Gain in-depth analysis of current strategies and future trends of the telecommunications market in Belgium, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format, to build proactive and profitable growth strategies. - Understand the factors behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Belgium's mobile communications, fixed telephony and broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares, to align product offerings and strategies to meet customer demand. - Leverage the graphical information (more than 20 charts and tables in the report based on the Pyramid Research forecast products), to gain an overview of the telecom market in Belgium. - Analysis of key telecom players in the markets and major business strategies being adopted by them, to identify the opportunities to improve the market share. - Explore novel opportunities to align your product strategies and offerings to meet the requirements and succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Belgium. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4540312/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com LONDON, Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose (SMBG) Device Market is expected to cross over US$ 16 Billion by 2020 as incidence of diabetes is increasing dramatically. It is estimated that 642 Million people will develop the disease by 2040. This is putting pressure on governments and social institutions to take necessary steps to keep the disease in check and avoid complications in order to ensure that diabetic impact is kept to a minimum. United States is the single largest market for SMBG devices market followed by Russia and United Kingdom. However, China has the highest self-monitoring of blood glucose users compared to other countries. United States, Russia and United Kingdom together hold more than 63 percent of the total test strips market share whereas in blood glucose meter market China is the dominating country. All big players such as Roche, Bayer and Abbott Laboratories are continuously losing their market share. "Blood Glucose Device Market & Forecast (SMBG) (Test Strips, Lancet, Meter) Worldwide Analysis" analyzes the worldwide market for, blood glucose test strips market, blood glucose lancet market and blood glucose meter market. This is the 3rd publication on Glucose Device Market by Renub Research. This report studies separate comprehensive analytics for the 15 countries: United States, European Countries (United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland), BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), Australia and Kuwait. Annual estimates and forecast are provided for the period of 2016 through 2020. A nine year historic analysis is also provided for these markets. This 269 page report with 257 Figures and 12 Tables provides a complete analysis of top 15 countries of worldwide self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) market. Test Strip, Lancet, Glucose Meter Market, Diabetes Population of 15 Countries covered as follows - Diabetes Population Scenario and Forecast in all 15 countries - Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Scenario and Forecast in all 15 countries - Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose (SMBG) Devices Users and Forecast in all 15 countries - Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Devices (SMBG) Market and Forecast in all 15 countries - Blood Glucose Test Strips Market and Forecast in all 15 countries - Blood Glucose Lancet Market and Forecast in all 15 countries - Blood Glucose Meter Market and Forecast in all 15 countries Countries Covered in this Report: 1. United States 2. United Kingdom 3. Germany 4. Spain 5. Italy 6. Netherlands 7. Norway 8. Sweden 9. Switzerland 10. Brazil 11. Russia 12. India 13. China 14. Australia 15. Kuwait 4 Companies Revenue (Sales) from Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose (SMBG) devices have been analyzed in this report. 1. Roche Diagnostic 2. LifeScan Inc., 3. Bayer HealthCare 4. Abbott Laboratories Data Sources This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by Renub Research team of industry experts. Primary sources include industry surveys and telephonic interviews with industry experts. Secondary sources information and data has been collected from various printable and non-printable sources like search engines, News websites, Government Websites, Trade Journals, White papers, Government Agencies, Magazines, Newspapers, Trade associations, Books, Industry Portals, Industry Associations and access to more than 500 paid databases. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4603771/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com "I am proud to have Gloria as a partner," said Melville. "She is one of our bank's longest-tenured employees in the Houma and Thibodaux market, and her leadership is a key reason for our success in the Bayou Region area. Her experience building relationships and advising clients on how best to grow their businesses, matched with her lifelong commitment to Louisiana, contribute meaningfully to Business First Bank's goal of becoming the most influential community bank headquartered in Louisiana." Ms. Navarro has previously served as senior vice president and senior relationship manager for Business First Bank since 2010, holds an MBA in Finance from Nicholls State University and is a graduate of LSU's School of Banking of the South. She has over 35 years of banking and financial experience serving the business community of Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary Parishes. She is a member of the South Central Industrial Association, the Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce, and is a Board Member and Treasurer of the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center Foundation. About Business First Bancshares, Inc. Business First Bancshares, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Business First Bank (member FDIC), provides a wide range of commercial and personal banking, treasury management and wealth solutions products and services to private businesses and their owners, operators, executives and employees. Business First Bank operates 18 offices, including 16 banking centers, one loan production office and one wealth solutions office in seven markets across Louisiana. Business First Bank was chosen as one of American Banker magazine's Top 40 Banks to Work For in 2014, and was also chosen as one of Baton Rouge Business Report's Top Companies to Work For in 2014 and 2015. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release may not be based on historical facts and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be identified by their reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "may," "might," "will," "would", "could," or "intend." We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, in that actual results could differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this news release. SOURCE Business First Bank